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The room is blanketed in a warm candlelight that has been tucked into numerous lanterns. Lang Qianqiu sits on his bed attempting to read a novel. He hasn't been able to move past the first couple pages. Although this time it is not because reading typically just puts him to sleep, but because he isn't alone.
Stretched out across where his own feet should comfortably be resting is Qi Rong and Guzi. They’re flipping through a stack of children's books together, a collection which has spread throughout the room. Originally, the idea was to give Guzi some reading practice before bed but it has devolved into a dramatic retelling on Qi Rong's part.
"-just as the children are about to cross the threshold they hear from the other side
THUNK
THUNK
THUNK"
Guzi's little body jumps with each thunk, especially so as Qi Rong accentuates his story by slamming his hand down on the bed frame.
Lang Qianqiu narrows his eyes at the ghost.
"What are you reading to him?"
Qi Rong doesn't give him the time of day and continues his story "Ah but one of the lil shits decided he was brave and pushed the door wide open! And what does he see?"
Guzi worries at his cheek "wh-what?"
"All those missing friend's bodies! Chopped up on the table haHAHAHHAAH you see, you see- because those friends didn't listen about brushing their teeth the ghosts found out and turned them into dinner"
Guzi pales and turns to Lang Qianqiu for his advice.
"That's not true" he quickly advises.
Qi Rong squacks but Guzi only sighs in relief then pulls the book into his lap.
"Dad I think you told me the wrong story, these drawings are of a mouse in a tree?"
"What a smart ass- fine, Qianqiu go get us a scary book"
Before Lang Qianqiu can even argue with Qi Rong he's sabotaged by Guzi. Large puppy eyes are turned on him, a storybook held up in offering.
"I'd really like for Gege to read this story. Gege is very good at telling stories"
Qi Rong catches a retort on the tip of his tongue to play cute with his son "Ah my son is right, Gege is so good at the voices. Let's listen while Gege reads us to sleep"
"don't-" address me like that...he wants to say. There's no point of saying it out loud, Qi Rong won't listen. Lang Qianqiu looks between the duo and resigns to his fate of sharing his space with them another night. "Okay pass it here"
"Yay!!"
It's a silly storybook, aimed at a far younger age group than Guzi. Lang Qianqiu realizes it’s the collection of tales he purchased shortly after taking Guzi in.
Before Qi Rong's soul was reformed, Guzi had trouble sleeping. He often refused to sleep alone or would wake the god during the night due to his nightmares. Reading to him didn't resolve the problem, but it seemed to soothe him nonetheless.
He's only halfway through reading a story of the little onion who fell out of her onion palace when he notices both Qi Rong and Guzi are fast asleep. Sleeping across the entirety of the bed they leave no room for him to lay down.
They're both fairly small. One, a child and the other, a thin and relatively short ghost; but give them somewhere to sleep and they triple in surface area. Guzi's little legs are kicked out while Qi Rong has one arm under his head and the other stretched in front of him, his hair messily taking up the rest of the bed.
Lang Qianqiu sits up to gather Qi Rong's hair together and loosely confine it to a braid. If he doesn't do so, he'll end up with a mouthful of it during the night.
He combs his fingers through it, his hair is very fine, the main culprit for how easily it becomes tangled. Well that and the fact that Qi Rong hates having to constantly brush it out himself. On days that he does take the time, it's incredibly soft. The god finishes off the braid with one of the ribbons he keeps on his dresser.
In a moment of impulse he gently trails a knuckle along Qi Rong's jaw up to his temple to push his bangs out of his eyes. When he's sleeping like this he looks so peaceful. Spoiled sure, rolled all up in expensive fur blankets and a smooth inner robe, but sweet and calm.
Lang Qianqiu would like to say that Qi Rong has a different personality since returning, something gentle and misunderstood and that's why they've been able to build their relationship.
Their...unnamed, confusing, relationship.
But the reality is he just likes spending time with this ghost as is. This loud and crude spoken ghost who loves solving puzzles and is so sensitive to judgement.
He bites down hard on his cheek to stop the elementary jittery feeling of butterflies in his stomach and fingertips. His mind flips back and forth between this affection of now and disgust of the past. The unease nauseates him, it makes him think of being out at sea when he was young.
When he was repairing Qi Rong's soul in the lantern he wasn't being faced with who's soul he was helping. Over years it eventually just became this little green flame in a lantern, untethered to any kind of being. It was very easy to forget.
When Qi Rong came back all the focus was on Guzi's wellbeing. He had the ghost trapped to one of his palaces in the mortal realm where he could raise his son. It seemed like the only just choice to make. Not imprisoning him exactly, but enough so that he couldn't get up to trouble.
Nobody questioned anything in the Heavens, at least not vocally. That is until he started spending all his own free time in the palace. So much so that it became his home.
From there, the gossip spread like wildfire. He never was one to get involved with this sort of drama but it really got out of control. It didn't help that he started allowing Qi Rong and Guzi to come and go through his palace in the Heavens as they pleased.
Well in truth he fully stopped confining Qi Rong to the palace grounds, they could go anywhere.
He just really hated how bored Guzi seemed. Not that the child was confined to the mortal palace to begin with, but he didn't like to stray far from his father.
Now everytime Qi Rong decides to pop by, he stirs up the Heavens. He's like a tornado let loose leaving behind frazzled, insulted gods in his wake.
That ghost plays tricks on the gods and causes arguments just for the hell of it. At the end of the day he leans into Lang Qianqiu's shoulder, snickering about it. Telling him all about the misdeeds like it's hilarious entertainment.
Scolding him about it is impossible too. Either Qi Rong ignores him or his eyes are lit up in such a way Lang Qianqiu doesn't say anything. It's not like he was causing any real problems anyways.
But after Qi Rong's most recent attempt at causing havoc between Quan Yizhen and Pei Ming again he was really feeling the eyes on him. Others must have picked up on his anxieties too as his old Master very kindly approached him with the ask to have a conversation.
He had worded it in particular as 'a chat' during tea or so.
Lang Qianqiu didn't think much of it outside of the regular discomfort of talking to his old teacher. Another past failed and somewhat awkward revenge attempt on his part. Unfortunately he didn't realize what he was getting himself into til he was sitting down at the table. Xie Lian on one side and Qi Rong on the other.
He may as well have let loose his tiger and told her to go on a rampage, nobody would 've been able to tell the difference.
For three whole days afterwards Qi Rong was like a cat whose fur was brushed the wrong way. Picking fights with everything around him, making a fuss of the place.
It would be funnier if it wasn't for the fact that he was there for the comedown of it, when anger just boiled down to a deep sadness. He holed himself up in his chambers, so quietly Lang Qianqiu didn't realize he was even around til he saw Guzi teetering a tray into the house.
Something about the experience softened his heart. Fine, he can be naive and a little bit sensitive, but he has a hard time seeing others sad. Let alone watching them cry. Something he never imagined he'd run into with Qi Rong. It was disarming to say the least. Heartbreaking even.
Since about then, they fell into a routine of sleeping in his room all together like this. The father-son duo made quick work of making the space their own.
He'd try to encourage Guzi to sleep in his own room, as he's not a baby anymore, but even he can see the implications of that.
Of Qi Rong staying alone with him. Like they are parents shooing their child out to spend time together.
His face flushes at the thought. They've been...intimate together lots, but this feels different. So embarrassingly domestic.
"What are you doing?"
He jolts out of his thoughts to see Qi Rong's bright green eyes staring him down. The colour reminds him of the flash in an animal's eye at night.
"I'm not- nothing- I'm just sitting here"
"I know. Why aren't you sleeping? So fucking weird you've just been starin' at the wall making faces to yurself"
Before he can comment that they do not in fact even need to sleep, only Guzi does, Qi Rong wiggles his way up the bed. He picks up Lang Qianqiu's arms and wraps them around himself, pressing his back into the god's chest.
It causes a restless stir in his chest again. His fingertips tingle but his stomach feels seasick. He holds on tighter and places a kiss to the top of Qi Rong's head.
"Are you really popping a boner so quickly that's embarrassing as hell"
He sputters, still easily flustered by Qi Rong's frequent teasing but whispers to not wake Guzi "Stop it, you are well aware I have not"
Qi Rong cackles but quiets down. He doesn't fall back asleep though, just taps something out onto the god’s arm. It's some kind of melody but he only taps out a few notes over and over again.
Lang Qianqiu follows along to that tapping for a long while before he decides he won’t be able to quiet his mind.
"A-Rong" He pauses to bite down on his tongue, not really certain where the words are going. "We should get Guzi sleeping in his own room"
The tapping abruptly stops.
It's so quiet his eardrums ring for a second.
"Should we"
"He's too old don't you think to be- to not be sleeping in his own room" it was meant to be a question but it comes out too quickly. Nearly panicked.
Qi Rong only hums at that but in the dark bedroom the sudden flash of green flames illuminating the walls is unmistakable. The flames twirl up the god's arms like an affectionate snake before quickly disappearing into darkness.
"The little shit can do whatever he pleases" he starts up his tapping again "but I'll ask him"
Lang Qianqiu's chest feels a little bit lighter as he tightens his hold on the ghost.
"Thank you"
Qi Rong snorts but burrows further into the blankets "Don't fucking thank me about that"