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Qi Rong grumbled and wiggled farther under the covers as something lightly patted his rear. He hissed, dragging the pillow over his face.
"Still not a morning person, I see." Came the amused, slightly rough with sleep voice of his spouse, and the ghost king huffed and wriggled out of Lang Qian Qiu's grasp.
"Fuck off." He managed to mumble through the pillow before long fingers closed around his torso and tugged him back into Qian Qiu.
Not for cuddles like a normal fucking couple. No.
For torture.
Qi Rong shrieked, bolting upright in bed and trying to scramble away as Lang Qian Qiu held him tightly and continued to tickle his sides mercilessly, laughing his ass off the entire time. Qi Rong knew a variety of colorful terms in multiple languages, and he didn't hesitate to toss them out at his husband, growing and spitting and attempting to escape his god's clutches.
After a fucking eternity, Lang Qian Qiu loosed his hold and let the ghost scramble away.
Qi Rong bolted to the edge of their wide bed and sat there, gasping, glaring darkly at his husband, long green hair flopped all over his face and bare shoulders, covered with marks from their spontaneous love making the night before.
"I hate you." He spat.
Qian Qiu folded his arms behind his head and lay back, looking like a cat that just ate a canary. "Uhhuh." He agreed. "I hate you too, babe." The martial god unfolded his stupidly sculpted arms and held out one hand to him, and Qi Rong glared at his hand for a long moment.
"I hate you know my weaknesses." He grumbled, finally taking the hand and letting his stronger husband pull him into his arms.
"Many years of practice." Lang Qian Qiu dropped a soft kiss on his tangled locks and nuzzled into his neck, breathing in the ghost's warm smell.
For all his protests, Qi Rong adored being wrapped up in his husband's arms, and slowly let himself relax into the firm muscles, letting out a soft sigh.
"I hate mornings." He mumbled after a long moment, watching the sun start to peep its little head over the courtyard he could see out the window of their room in their heavenly palace.
"I know." Lang Qian Qiu ran his hands comfortingly down Qi Rong's sides, avoiding his ticklish spots this time. "But we have a lot to do today. Got the meet at noon and stuff. Your cousin still coming to that??"
"Unfortunately." Qi Rong grit out between clenched teeth. They were... still not on great speaking terms. Even after all this time. And it had been a while. Almost a thousand years, in fact.
Qi Rong was a god now! ... well....ok, not actually, but people worshiped him and Lang Qian Qiu together now, as a couple. So take that dumb black lotus cousin. You weren't the only special one any more.
He and Lang Qian Qiu were married now!! As of like, three hundred something years ago and getting back together after their huge breakup which left the heavens literally rocking to its foundations.
And, and!! He went to therapy now, with the therapy gods, and it was helping a lot, and he and Qian Qiu went to counseling a couple times a month with other gods and... and things were... they were good.
Surprisingly good. Finally.
Except for having to get up early in the mornings to answer prayers. That was shitty.
Qian Qiu's lips brushed lightly against his temple. "Penny for your thoughts, A-Jing?" He inquired softly and Qi Rong melted a little inside at that. A-Qiu was trying so hard to understand him now. He'd always ask so softly what Qi Rong was thinking, kind of shy but honest. The first couple decades it had been... weird. Really weird. Like Qi Rong had run from it.
And when he'd finally stopped running, when he'd finally broken down the walls he'd build up, when he finally talked with Qiu Qiu, it was like the first time they'd actually understood each other in years. Like he felt like his god actually understood him and what he was thinking. How he felt. Every weird tick that made him work.
Now it just made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, every time Lang Qian Qiu got that doey-soft look in his pretty brown eyes and asked him what he was thinking.
He hummed, nuzzling into the nearest bicep appreciatively and shrugged a little in his husband's arms. "Meh. Just lucky to have you." He admitted quietly. That had taken a while too. Being able to say that aloud. The way Tai Hua's face lit up every time he did though, like a child being presented with free candy, it was worth it.
Soft lips pressed into his temple, a contented hum near his ear from his husband interrupting his thoughts. "Bathe now or later?"
"Yuck." He grimaced. "Later." Qian Qiu was laughing softly, gently patting his butt in his amusement, and Qi Rong squirmed a little.
They were both very clear when to came to sex - anything really rough had to be healed with spiritual powers before they slept. It eased the anxiety of too many years of aches and pains they had caused each other before they worked things out. But he still jumped reflexively when Lang Qian Qiu's big hand landed on his rear.
"Didn't you get enough last night?" Qi Rong groused, sitting up and wiggling away, pretending to be annoyed.
"No." Lang Qian Qiu sat up after him and rolled his shoulders, popping them as he stretched, grinning, "Never." He knew, just like Qi Rong knew, the Night-Touring Green Lantern would be the first one to start stripping off their robes tonight, his hot little mouth glued to Qian Qiu's neck until his god lifted him up and put a knee between his legs.
Qi Rong kicked out of the covers at the edge of the bed and stood, yawning as he crossed to the open window and checked their courtyard. Their deputy gods and a few of the ghosts Qi Rong trusted enough to pull up into heaven with him were finishing setting up their breakfast, out on the open stone patio that overlooked their private bath.
He glanced back as Qian Qiu came up behind him, sliding a light robe over his shoulders. It matched the one Qian Qiu was now wearing, soft and breezy, a light gold trimmed in dark green. Their colors.
Qi Rong grinned, reaching for the tablets that were recharging on the table near the window and picked one up, flipping open the camera app. Lang Qian Qiu knew where he was going and leaned down, wrapping his broad arms around Qi Rong's shoulder and pressing his cheek into the ghost's messy hair, a contented grin on his face. Qi Rong took a couple selfies and handed the other tablet to his husband.
"Early post?" Qian Qiu tucked the other one under his arm and reached for Qi Rong's hand.
Qi Rong nodded, letting his husband lead him out of their room and toward the stairs down to their courtyard. "We can do one from on stage at the meet too." He added. Qian Qiu nodded and smiled at him.
Social media was kind of their thing. As times changed, Qi Rong considered himself knowledgeable with trends and fashions (far more so than his holy cousin, if nothing else) and he'd been poking around the internet and social media pretty much since the days of dialup.
A few years ago, he finally convinced Qian Qiu to start a shared profile with him, something to connect with younger worshipers, to share their daily lives and plans. Bring more people into their joint temples. Also because he was Bored As Fuck and it was a whim.
One thing led to another and now they were handling the largest page on the app, leading a rush of ghosts and gods to join social media. Pei Ming and the HuaLian couple were second to them, and Qi Rong was absolutely determined not to let his cousin's husband overtake them.
He had his nose buried in the app, checking comments and tags, reading the prayers submitted via anonymous drop as Lang Qian Qiu steered him over to their table and eased him down into his lap, settling them both down for breakfast.
"Hey." Qian Qiu tapped the edge of the tablet with his finger, "Put it down." Qi Rong obliged, setting the tablet aside for the time being and cuddling into his husband's lap as Lang Qian Qiu poured them both orange juice.
Qi Rong snatched the first piece of bacon and held it out, over the side of the chair, kicking his feet idly. A rough, warm tongue licked the bacon up and he giggled, reaching down to scratch under their tiger's chin as the big cat started purring and rubbed his head against Qi Rong's palm.
"You shouldn't feed him at the table." Qian Qiu chided, like he did every morning. "You'll teach him bad habits."
"You shouldn't let him sleep on our feet either." Qi Rong countered, and Lang Qian Qiu just hummed and handed him his juice.
They ate in comfortable silence, snuggled against each other, both of them tuning into the daily morning communication array Ling Wen’s palace ran. They didn’t typically talk much in the array with the other gods unless they were addressed, but it was the quickest way to update the other gods on what was happening on earth and in the heavenly courts. Sort of like a gossip array mixed with official news.
The biggest thing to happen recently was Pei Ming moving out of his heavenly palace to live in the mortal realm with a recently reincarnated Shi Wudu.
Qi Rong usually turned out the other heavenly realm residents, focused on feeding their tiger from his fork and eating his own food, but he perked up when the deputy god leading the array mentioned the Wind Master. He shushed his husband with a look and cocked his head toward the deputy to hear a bit better.
Apparently Lord Wind Master had been sighted in the far west, subduing some monsters along side Quan Yi Zhen and Yin Yu.
He wasn't aware he was chewing on his lip until Lang Qian Qiu wrapped a hand around his waist and soothed him. "He's OK. He'd a strong kid. Powerful god." His husband breathed into his skin as he buried his face in Qi Rong's neck.
"You're worried too." Qi Rong muttered back as he disconnected from the array, but he took comfort in his husband's embrace.
"Mn." Lang Qian Qiu agreed quietly. "That many gods from the high Court in one place... of course I'm worried."
"But he'll be fine?" Qi Rong heard the faint warble in his voice, the faint nervous edge to it as his husband squeezed him tighter.
"Course he will." Qian Qiu repeated. "We taught him how to fight, you really think anything can beat our combined brute stupidity?"
"Excuse you, I am the master tactician of this family!" Qi Rong hissed in mock annoyance. "You're the himbo who can only feel one emotion at a time! You threw a fucking door at a demon!! A fucking door!! With the house still attached!!"
General Tai Hua burst out laughing, his face still buried in his smaller husband's neck, "It was a very small house!!" He gasped out between laughter. "It was six hundred years ago!!"
Qi Rong flailed in his grasp for a moment, "QIU QIU YOU CAN'T JUST...THROW HOUSES NO MATTER WHAT SIZE THEY ARE! PEOPLE LIVE IN THOSE!!"
Qian Qiu's shoulders were shaking, jostling the ghost in his lap, "Look who's a proper protector of the common people now, huh??" He snorted and Qi Rong hit him with the last slice of toast, growling low in this throat.
Their tiger looked up from where he lay in the sun a few feet away, tail flicking with agitated interest. He was very attune any time they raised their voices after their final breakup before they got married. Almost anxious.
Qi Rong brought his voice down to a normal level, rolling his eyes, "It's your fault, you dumbass god." He grumbled.
Qian Qiu's lips brushed his neck. "I adore you, you asshole." He muttered as his laughter finally subsided. Qi Rong felt his ears flush but elected to look away in silence. Qian Qiu sighed contentedly and reached for the tablet and his phone, handing his husband his device. "Prayers?" He asked, smoothing switching the subject.
Qi Rong nodded, swiping open his tablet as Lang Qian Qiu disconnected from the communication array and they both sat quietly, wrapped together at the patio table in the soft warmth of the early sun and listened to the prayers of the followers tumbling through their heads.
The first time it had happened to Qi Rong, he'd been so caught off guard he hadn't been able to move, rooted to the spot. Not necessarily the prayers, those weren't new. Ghosts (and definitely calamities) had followers who prayed to them too. He'd heard his share of prayers about placing curses, getting away with murders, and worse. Some things so bad he refused to think about them. But those were few and far between now.
Now his head was filled every morning with prayers to him. As Lang Qian Qiu's spouse. As his partner. As a protector. People prayed to the Night-Touring Green Lantern for protection. For safety for loved ones. For good grades in school. To be saved from monsters. For courage to come out to their families. For help finding therapists. For strength to keep carrying their burdens and not fall.
The first time, the first prayer like that, he'd just been frozen. Frozen and slightly lost.
He and Qian Qiu had only been married maybe fifty years then. The world was still rocking at their union, at the fact they both were so open about it, had made a point to let the heaven's and Qian Qiu's followers know that General Crown Prince Tai Hua of Yong'an had married the Green Ghost.
And Qian Qiu had just gently taken his hand and stared at Qi Rong until he could find the words to stammer out what he'd heard. Everything kind of changed for them from that moment on.
It wasn't fast, at first, the people accepting that Qi Rong accompanied his husband to answer prayers. He'd been so genuinely afraid Lang Qian Qiu would loose too many followers he'd considered threatening them to stay and worship his husband.
But then it was fast. When people realized others were getting prayers answered by the god-ghost couple, saw Qi Rong fighting beside his husband, defending them. Saw them teasing each other and play fighting and generally being a normal couple.
Qi Rong suspected it also had to do with the insane amount of prayers they had answered the first few decades as a married couple - humans were easily swayed when they thought there was something in it for them - but either way, worshipers started adopting him into Tai Hua's temples.
Suddenly they weren't just Lang Qian Qiu's temple or worshipers any more. Suddenly they were theirs. And he could admit maybe it felt a little good, to be able to
look his cousin in the eye and tell him he wasn't any better then Qi Rong now.
Speaking of. His glorious heaven favored cousin and his red bastard husband were supposedly going to show up to their fan meet later. Xie Lian had been a little brisk about it, telling him they'd be there. He'd been doing this shit lately. Trying to reconnect, or some fucking thing.
Qi Rong was kind of over being dramatic about it. He usually just turned up his nose and walked off when Xie Lian tried talking to him.. A couple thousand years will do that to you, honestly.
He sighed, flicking his fingers across the tablet's keypad and recording the noteworthy prayers on auto pilot. Xie Lian and Crimson Rain wouldn't be the first of the gods to attend a QiuRong meetup - and then probably try to rip it off with their own follower meets - but it felt like more of a threat then any of the others.
"Hey. What are you thinking?" Qian Qiu's broad hand rubbed circles across his back. "You worried about the meet later??"
A-Qiu knew him so well now. Qi Rong didn't even bother to hide it as he finished typing the last prayer. "I just... why are they coming now?? We've been doing these for like, fifteen years or some shit. Why they gotta fucking show up now??"
He pushed his tablet toward Qian Qiu moodily, watching his husband gently bump his own phone against the tablet so their prayer synced to the Tai Hua palace network. From there, one of their brilliant deputies (maybe hand-picked by Qi Rong to ascend purely for his technical knowledge) had set up an automated program that compared the lists, prioritized any repeated prayer requests like monsters or rouge ghosts terrorizing a village, and shuffled the rest around to the various ghosts and deputy gods that answered the smaller prayers.
Lang Qian Qiu and Qi Rong typically took the larger, prioritized requests themselves, although Qi Rong also made a point to look over any prayers that dealt with abuse or neglect and handle those personally. He had that power now, finally a Supreme level ghost and a worshiped husband of one of the five martial high gods. The least he could do was protect the people, the kids like him who didn't have anyone.
"I dunno, ghosty." Lang Qian Qiu shrugged behind him as their tiger padded over to nuzzle at Qi Rong's knee. They were both so attuned to his moods, it made him feel warm inside even on the worst days when he still hated himself. "Maybe your cousin's finally trying to catch up with the times." Qian Qiu dropped a sweet kiss on Qi Rong's hair before he lifted the ghost to his feet and stood after him. "He's what, still stuck in like the 1800s?"
"Please, he hadn't made it there yet. He's still communicating with followers via carrier pigeon." Qi Rong snorted under his breath and reached for his husband's hand. Xie Lian was not exactly technology inclined, unlike his butterfly encrusted husband.
Lang Qian Qiu squeezed his palm gently and they started walking toward the stairs back up to their bedchambers, tiger padding after them.
One of their deputies had already come through the room and straightened up the bed clothes, and then laid out their robes for the day. One of the things they had compromised on surprisingly early in their relationship was the choice to blend their two kingdom's traditions into their daily lives.
Lang Qian Qiu, crown prince of Yong'an, wearing Xanlien braids in his hair was one of those choices.
Qi Rong, Xiao Jing of Xianle, wearing the royal headband and guan of Yong'an was another. It was a sacred ribbon to set apart the royal family and their consort or spouses, and the way A-Qiu's eyes lit up the first time Qi Rong put his on made him decide it was probably worth the annoyance of keeping his hair clean.
They'd spent a much longer time arguing over which country had the better armor for them to wear when battling monsters. Embarrassingly long, actually. It'd only been settled by Pei Xu who stared at them like they were both crazy and suggested they wear both sets to battle and learn by experience. To be fair, though, at the time they had been standing in the middle of battle field screaming at each other while ghosts flittered around them and Pei Xu did all the work.
In the end, Qi Rong had to admit that Yong'an's lighter, less bulky armor suited both their fighting styles better then the heavy, fully body armor favored in Xianle. To which Lang Qian Qiu had also reluctantly admitted that Xianle's fashion at the height of the kingdom was more elegant then Yong'an's, more sweeping and flowing and graceful.
So they wore Yong'an armor to battle and Xianlian robes for formal occasions, and most days Qi Rong wore ratty rock band t-shirts and scuffed up jeans under an open outer robe in green and gold, his hair pulled up in a low ponytail around his ribbon to show off his shaved sides. Lang Qian Qiu dressed almost the same, except he preferred button down shirts and slacks. His little preppy boy.
Qi Rong made a beeline over to their jewelry collection and started sorting through their various earrings and studs. He took accessorizing very seriously, double checking his black nails weren't chipped as he picked put a matching pair of gold tassel earrings for himself and his husband.
He turned to find Qian Qiu nude, stretching leisurely before he picked up his small clothes to start dressing. Qi Rong watched appreciatively, his eyes sweeping up and down the bronzed muscles in his husband's broad chest. Some days it all still seemed surreal, knowing this was all his.
Lang Qian Qiu glanced up at him with an easy smile and Qi Rong moved to join him, leaning up for another kiss as he passed his god his earrings.
"Gold?" Lang Qian Qiu glanced at the tassels as he tied off his robe with one hand.
"We did green last time." Qi Rong shrugged, letting his thin morning robe slide off his shoulders. He grabbed for his inner layers and started dressing, scowling at all the ties. As much as he appreciated looking like a newly minted god in front of his followers, he hated the process of getting dressed like one. Lang Qian Qiu caught his wrist after a moment and soothed his hand away, finishing the ties for him. Qi Rong titled his head back and let himself be dressed, a pampered little spouse of a high court god, grin flickering on the edges of his lips but never quite landing.
"Hey." Qian Qiu leaned in to plant a soft kiss right above his sacred ribbon as he finished the last of the ties on Qi Rong's robes. "It's gonna be a good day, ok?"
Qi Rong tilted his head up to meet him, asking for another kiss, and his husband indulged him. "Ok." He agreed quietly, and moved to the jewelry box to finish adorning himself as Lang Qian Qiu finished dressing behind him.
Qi Rong slid on a handful of his favorite rings and double checked all his piercings were in, trying to psych himself up as he stared himself in the eye through the mirror. Their tiger nosed at his hip and he absently turned his hand over to pet the big cat along his ears, grabbing for the little fluffy cap the cat sometimes donned then they went out.
"Taking tiger today?" Lang Qian Qiu looked up from finishing his sash and grinned as Qi Rong tied off the hat with a cute little bow.
"Guy's gotta have his emotional support animal." Qi Rong shot back, standing to grab for his guan off the shelf where they kept their matching ones. "My therapist said so." They did say so, about thirty years ago, but neither of them every pointed that out.
Lang Qian Qiu beat him to the guans - he was annoyingly faster then Qi Rong when he used his spiritual powers and fuck did Qi Rong hate it - and settled Qi Rong's on his own head. "Do I look cute?"
Qi Rong swiped it back and started putting his hair up, "You look like dumbass." He shot back and Qian Qiu laughed, staring to put his own hair up in a matching style.
They finished together, sliding the pins holding their quans in place for each other and Lang Qian Qiu paused, cupping Qi Rong's cheek in one hand, his lips titling up in a smile. "You know you're beautiful, right, A-Jing?" He whispered.
Qi Rong flushed, glancing away. ".....if you think so." He mumbled. Somehow, that never got less intense to hear, no matter how many years they'd been together. Lang Qian Qiu just smiled softly at him and then reached for his hand, and they exited their bedroom together.
Qi Rong's chief assistant, A-Ying, was waiting for them and bowed deeply, "Good morning, milords." They greeted, holding out a cat treat to their tiger, who took it with a haughty lick of A-Ying's hand.
"Good morning." Qian Qiu agreed.
"Fucker." Qi Rong narrowed his eyes at the other ghost, who bowed their head, acting repentant when they both knew they weren't.
"I'm dreadfully sorry for the early morning wake-up, milord. I'm sorry to have offended you by disturbing your beauty sleep." A-Ying sounded apologetic, but at this point Qi Rong had known them long enough he knew the other ghost knew when he knew they were lying.
He'd met A-Ying when the savage level ghost had been impersonating the Night-Touring Green Lantern himself, viaing for Qi Rong's spot when the ghost realm had mistakenly believed Qi Rong was dead. A-Ying had put Lang Qian Qiu in a bad spot, severely injured and surrounded by lesser ghosts.
Qi Rong had put A-Ying in a worse one and nearly burned them alive before changing his mind and tasking the other ghost with informing the world he was still alive. A-Ying had sworn their loyalty to Qi Rong and surprisingly survived everything Qi Rong had thrown at them to kill them, which had grudgingly earned them a place as the green ghost's second in command.
It had been A-Ying who had told Lang Qian Qiu where to find Qi Rong after their breakup. Qi Rong had nearly strangled them for it and then taken the other ghost up to heaven to act as the couple's steward instead.
Qi Rong wouldn't exactly say he was close to the other ghost but...if he had a sibling, he imagined they'd be a lot like A-Ying. Someone he'd never admit he trusted with his life, but when the chips were down he knew A-Ying would throw down everything for him, risk their own position with Qi Rong just to ensure their master's survival.
And also toe the line of impudence on occasion.
A-Ying switched smoothly into their professional voice, striding down the corridor behind the god-ghost couple as they walked ahead. "I've sent you both an expected guest list to your private communication array. Outside of the public we're looking at a few media personalities and influencers showing up to the meet, possibly a politician's daughter, and um... your..." the other ghost sighed, aware of the hostility between the cousins. "His royal highness of Xianle and his husband."
"Get 'em a seat in the fucking back." Qi Rong grumbled, and A-Ying nodded ascent.
"Shall I have them detained outside the doors?" They asked.
Lang Qian Qiu slid an arm around Qi Rong's waist and pulled his small husband closer, "That won't be necessary. Be polite but keep them away, thank you."
A-Ying bowed, dropping back a few feet to flank them, fingers to their temple as they answered a call in the QiuRong palace group array.
Generally speaking, Qi Rong and Lang Qian Qiu preferred to answer questions in the communication array themselves - they were both very hands-on when it came to prayers - but on days they had engagements they'd agreed it was best for A-Ying and Lang Qian Qiu's chief deputy to handle things.
Qian Qiu freed Qi Rong's waist as they stepped out into their main hall, but his fingers slid down to catch his husband's hand instead, almost seeking the physical touch as they strode forward together. "You ready?" He asked. Qi Rong took his eyes off the mirrors that lined the hall, off their reflections that he never tired of watching or marveling at, and nodded. Lang Qian Qiu smiled softly at him, squeezing his hand lightly as he stepped up to the big blank wall they used for distance shortening arrays, and started drawing.
Qi Rong let his other hand stroke along tiger's head and glanced back at A-Ying, who flashed him a quick, small smile, hand still to their temple.
Sometimes, moments like this, when they went out in full finery with tiger in his hat and their deputies in matching robes, Qi Rong missed the elegance of Xianle. He glanced up at his taller husband as Lang Qian Qiu finished drawing the symbols and let himself smile a little. A Yong'an prince in Xianlain robes, his hair in Xianlian braids and his hand in the young prince of Xianle's. Moments like this made it feel like he'd never really left.
They stepped through together, the familiar ripple of Qian Qiu's spiritual energy passing through them, and then they were being greeted by applause and cheers and a few high pitched screams.
Qi Rong preened. Fan-meets were the greatest idea he'd ever had, if he did says himself. He tossed his free hand aloft, waving broadly and grinning as Lang Qian Qiu matched his movements, albeit a little less widely, and tiger just yawned to their side as A-Ying tried to guide the big cat toward the side of the stage.
The crowd just erupted into more cheers and A-Ying gave up, surrendering to the fact, like Qi Rong had unwillingly long ago: their tiger was a bigger ham then he was.
The master of ceremonies to other side of the stage finally made himself heard over the scream of the cat fans, calling out, "Ladies, Gentlemen, Non Binary folk, children and everyone else, please welcome our guests of honor, The Martial Gods of the East: Crown Prince of Yong'an, General Tai Hua! And his husband, Supreme Ghost, Prince of Xianle, The Night-Touring Green Lantern!"
Tiger huffed and the MC added quickly, "And their tiger!"
The crowd broke out in even louder applause and laugher and Qi Rong couldn't help the grin on his face as he snuggled closer to his husband.
"Hope we didn't keep you all waiting." Lang Qian Qiu was grinning too, his little fangs showing as he wrapped his arm around Qi Rong's shoulder. He was using his spiritual powers to project his voice into each ear, so everyone could hear him without raising his voice. Qi Rong had taught him that. "We couldn't decide what to wear."
Qi Rong rolled his eyes, "Yeah, apparently nothing wasn't a valid option." He sighed dramatically, and basked in the laughter.
Qian Qiu bobbed his head in agreement. "And that's my husband." He mock sighed in distress and the crowd ate it up.
They played well off each other, and their worshipers knew it. It was a mix of teasing, genuine affection and sexual tension when they were on stage, and Qi Rong drank it up. In another life he would have been a great theater kid.
"Anyway." He waved his hand and let his head rest on Qian Qiu's side, "Who's excited to be here?" There was another round of applause and screams and Qi Rong grinned, finally feeling like he'd done something right in life to earn his spot where people adored him.
"So, I think you all know, but hi, I'm General Tai Hua of Heaven's High Court. This is my beautiful, amazing husband Qi Rong, and that's our tiger." Lang Qian Qiu waved toward tiger who flicked his tail in acknowledgment. "We know you've already heard a report about the temples and prayer in the area, so less go ahead and open the mics up for questions?" He glanced at Qi Rong, his smile turning a little soft. "You ok with that, ghosty?"
Qi Rong shrugged. People loved it when they answered questions from the crowd, so why not? "Yeah, sure." He agreed easily, finally freeing his long sleeves from Qian Qiu's waist and stepping away from his husband. "Who's got the first question?"
A hundred hands went up and the QiuRong couple waited as the assistants in the audience selected one follower and held a mic out to them so they could ask their question.
"HI, omg, I've been praying to you guys my whole life, this is like, a dream come true to be here!!" The girl sounded enamored and Qi Rong felt his face flushing. He still wasn't used to this whole...thing.
Lang Qian Qiu just smiled kindly at her, "I hope we can make today special for you." He replied easily.
"Ok, um, this is less of a question and more of a request..." the girl tapped her fingers together nervously for a moment and then blurted, "Can we get a kiss on stage?? Like, you two are so cute together!!"
Qi Rong started laughing, his skittery, I-might-be-insane laugh that somehow people didn't find as scary as before, and shrugged. "Sexy times on stage, Qiu Qiu." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Lang Qian Qiu just rolled his eyes and caught his waist, pulling him in to nuzzle their noses together.
"You, behave." He muttered, leaning in to catch Qi Rong's lips with his own.
"Make me." Qi Rong stuck his tongue out before his husband captured his mouth and then he gasped as Lang Qian Qiu's hand that was hidden from the audience squeezed his ass hard enough to bruise. They pulled apart to more cheers, and Qi Rong had to catch his breath and soothe his hands down his robes real quick to collect himself.
"Next question?" Qian Qiu smiled innocently at him.
"Hi, I'm Qian." Came another voice, and Qian Qiu grinned in their direction.
"Good name." His husband smiled as Qi Rong nodded.
"Thanks, my mom named me after you. She was a devout believer up until she died."
"I'm so sorry." Qi Rong answered honestly. "I bet she was an amazing woman."
"Oh she was." Qian agreed. "Actually, my question is um, for you, Night-Touring Green Lantern.... how did you deal with the loss of your mother? Some days it just hurts so much...I..."
Qi Rong swallowed, feeling Tiger nose at his palm again, and stroked their pet's head slowly as he put his words together. "Um. It took me a really long time to be able to talk about her again, and I regret that. She was...she was everything to me. Some days it still hurts."
He felt the weight of Qian Qiu's palm on his shoulder and continued, husband on one side, big cat on the other. "To be honestly I didn't deal with it well for...well. Fucking centuries." He gave a nervous laugh and felt Qian Qiu squeeze his shoulder the same moment Tiger licked his hand. "But um, therapy helped me a lot. I recommend therapy for like, everything, but specifically for handling my grief, they helped me find better ways to remember her, not just grieve. It helped. Talking about her and the things I remember with her helped. Finding someone who wanted to listen... that helped a lot." He shot a glance at his husband.
"Thank you." Qian sounded choked, "I think she would have been really proud of you."
Qi Rong swallowed the knot in his throat and blinked back the prickles in his eyelids as he looked up at Qian Qiu. "I'd like to think so..." He agreed quietly. His husband didn't even hesitate to wrap both arms around him, cuddling him close and planting a soft kiss on his forehead before he nodded for the next question.
"General Tai Hua, do you work with the other martial gods often?"
Lang Qian Qiu kept rocking Qi Rong in his arms as he hummed. "Mn. Depends. For the most part the regional martial gods handle their own affairs, but we do team up when there're monsters or rogue ghosts on the loose between boundaries. Outside of work, we probably spend the most time with the elemental gods, actually."
"Right, because your grandson is the Wind Master."
"Yeah." Lang Qian Qiu agreed, "And we're pretty close to the Earth Master. But I guess as far as the other martial gods go, we used to see Ming Guang the most, but now I guess we see Qi Ying the most often."
"What is it like working with Jun Wu?? Any idea what happened to make him into a wandering martial god that works for the other martial gods?"
Qi Rong snorted. "He was a really big ass." Qian Qiu poked him and he sighed, rolling his eyes. "The guy mostly keeps to himself and we just point him at fires and let him put them out. Not much to it."
"Night-Touring Green Lantern! At the last fan meet you alluded to the fact your voice is rough because your father tried to strangle you as a child...is that true??"
Qi Rong sighed. "Yeah. Fucker couldn't kill me though, so here I am."
"It's one of the reasons we take such a strong stance on abuse." Lang Qian Qiu stepped into the conversation, steering it away from Qi Rong quickly, "No child or woman or human being should be mistreated by another. It's principle we agreed on pretty quickly when we got together."
"You two push therapy a lot in your temples. As a skeptic, is there a reason why?"
"Yeah, because it saved our marriage." Qi Rong huffed, annoyed. There was one at every meet.
"More then once." Lang Qian Qiu agreed quietly. "Therapy and medication aren't things to be feared. Counseling and therapy have literally gotten us where we are."
"There's a lot of unhealthy ways to cope with trauma." Qi Rong snuggled into Lang Qian Qiu's arms a little more. "Trust me, we've gone through a lot of them. But they didn't help us.. move on. They weren't healthy. We realized pretty quick if we wanted to make things actually work between us, we needed to get some help."
"A lot of people assume gods are perfect." Qian Qiu huffed his little laugh and sighed, "But actually we've all just gone through a fuck-ton of therapy."
"Also no one should have to carry the burden of trauma alone." Qi Rong added, his fingers tightening in Lang Qian Qiu's robes. "And kids who want gender therapy should be able to get it. Families shouldn't have to struggle when someone can help them. Yeah, we suggest therapy and prescribed medications a lot because they can make a whole world of difference in someone's life."
Qian Qiu flashed his charming, heaven's-good-boy smile and smoothly closed the conversation, "Next question please?" His hand was rubbing circles on Qi Rong's back.
"General Tai Hua!! How did you get your spit eyebrows?? Is it actually from the first time you fought the Night-Touring Green Lantern back before you got together, like everyone says??"
Qi Rong tried to hold back his cackle and failed, and Lang Qian Qiu flushed sheepishly, ducking his head a little. "No, um....I shaved a slit in them when I was twelve because I thought it looked cool and uh... it never grew back."
Qi Rong cackled again, elbowing his husband in the side, "Smart crown prince."
"I wanted to look cool!" Qian Qiu stammered, his cheeks red. "I thought I looked dashing!"
"Dashing yes, intelligent no." Qi Rong snorted, and ducked under his husband's half hearted swat, popping up at the edge of the stage and snickering. "Who's next?"
"Hi, thank you so much for being here today, I've literally been looking forward to it for months." The next man looked maybe a little older then Qi Rong himself, "I hope it's not rude to ask, but how did you guys feel when you realized you were falling in love with your... well, your enemy??"
Qi Rong's grin turned a little soft, he could feel it as Qian Qiu joined him at the edge of the stage. "By the time we called it love we were too far into it to get out." He shrugged.
"I was ... conflicted for a long time." Lang Qian Qiu added slowly, as if picking his words with care, "Sometimes the heart wants something your head says it shouldn't. Sometimes you get lucky and it works out after a couple hundred years." He smiled down at his husband. Qi Rong let himself be pulled back in for a soft kiss, resting his head on Qian Qiu's chest again as they glanced back out over the hall again.
"Hi, I love you both, I pray to you every day! As a follow up to the last question, how did the two of you decide to blend Yong'an and Xianle culture into your lives? Like, what made you decide to not do one over the other?"
Qian Qiu laughed into Qi Rong's hair as Qi Rong grinned, his fangs showing a little. "We literally killed each other over our countries and cultures...it wasn't like either us were just going to set those aside." He shrugged.
Qian Qiu nodded, his cheek still on Qi Rong's hair. "We both love our cultures. Don't get me wrong, we also love the current culture of the world -"
"Coffee." Qi Rong nodded astutely.
"Public libraries, public museums." Qian Qiu added.
"Health care, gender affirming care, ice cream." Qi Rong agreed.
"K-Pop." They added at the same time and then started laughing.
"I do not look like a K-Pop sort of guy." Qian Qiu admitted between gulps of air.
"I look like a child who was raised on screamo and married a classical piano player." Qi Rong snorted, nuzzling into Qian Qiu's side with a grin. "But yeah, we love our cultures. Blending Xianle and Yong'an together wasn't as hard as you'd think because of how they originated, but it was really important for us. Because we both still wanted to be part of our own cultures, but ...." He paused, looking to his husband for guidance on wording.
"But we were also open to traditions from each other's culture, because we love each other and loving each other means loving both our cultures." Qian Qiu finished for him, his hand over his heart like the little fucking boy scout he sometimes was. Qi Rong adored him for it. "It took us a long time to realize that, but it was very important to both of us that we celebrate both Xianle and Yong'an in our lives."
"Hi...I just wanted to say you guys are... really happy together and you have a lot of great things to say and I'm happy for you. Uh. No question, thanks."
Qi Rong recognized the voice, his eyes darting to the crowd to pick out the speaker, a slim woman dressed all in white, staring nervously at him. He swallowed, felt Lang Qian Qiu's fingers close over his own, and nodded to his disguised cousin. "Thanks." He managed to choke out.
"Awww, you're both super cute today!!" Came another familiar voice and Qi Rong froze, his jaw dropping as Qian Qiu startled beside him. "Hope you don't mind me crashing~~!!"
The crowd turned as the slight figure in white and green practically danced up the isle, light as a leaf on the breeze, wind stirring around them as they flashed their fan and lifted themselves onto the stage right into the middle of Qi Rong and Lang Qian Qiu. "Hi dads!!" Their son exclaimed, throwing his arms around them, face split in the widest grin imaginable. "Did you miss me~??"
"You fucker!" Qi Rong found his voice as Lang Qian Qiu's big arms closed around them both, covering his relief with irritation, "You little shit! We were worried about you, we heard the news report!! Don't you dare worry your fathers like that again!!"
The Wind Master giggled, his head dipping in a mildly chastened apology. "I can handle anything the heavens throws at me, dad. I had the best teachers, you know. I mostly helped with protecting civilians anyway. . . but hey!" He swapped the subject smoothly and Qi Rong recognized himself in that, "I wrapped everything up in time to come to your meet! I hope you don't mind me crashing??" His voice tipped up into the nervous range at the end and Qi Rong couldn't stay irritated at their grandson any longer.
Qian Qiu squeezed them both tighter. "We don't mind. It's nice to see you, it's been a while."
"Someone's been popular lately." Qi Rong agreed, slightly sourly. "No time for your dads any more, huh?"
Their grandson shrugged, flicking his hand a little, "It's just because I'm so cute, is all." He batted his eyelashes at Qi Rong - yet another mannerism he saw himself in - and Qi Rong huffed and pinched his cheek affectionately.
"Little shit." He made a mental note to have A-Ying put a closer tail on their boy and glanced up at his husband.
Lang Qian Qiu shook his head fondly and raised his voice, addressing everyone again, "I hope you folks don't mind our grandson joining us!"
The cheers nearly rivaled those for tiger, and Qi Rong snorted. "Couldn't organize your own fan meet boy? Gotta come steal our followers now?"
The Wind Master molded his face into a look of sincerity, "Why no, father! I'm simply here to enhance the experience!"
Qi Rong snorted again. Sometimes it struck him how very cheeky their grandson was, and it reminded him so much of Guzi.
Guzi had been the brightest, warmest, cheekiest light in all the world as far as Qi Rong was concerned. Nearly a thousand years later and he sometimes still forgot his son was long buried.
But not without leaving behind a family, a family that called Qi Rong their ancestor, that welcomed him with open arms when he was able to visit them.
And a son, a son who had Qi Rong's green eyes and Guzi's warm, cheeky grin and Lang Qian Qiu's love of tigers embedded in his bones. A boy who had ascended as a young adult, joining his grandfathers in heaven and been given the title of Lord Wind Master.
Now he waved to the crowd, bright smile splitting his face, and called out, "Hello everyone!! Bright sky and warm wishes to you all!!"
About a hundred more hands shot into the sky, waving for mics and Lang Qian Qiu nodded their assent for more questions.
"Hi, Lord Wind Master, I pray to you and your parents every single day!! What's it like being raised by General Tai Hua and The Night-Touring Green Lantern???"
Their son laughed, his dimples flashing for a moment, "Oh, it's OK if you like tigers and the color green." He joked, and the crowd laughed with him for a moment before he sobered. "In all honestly, I couldn't ask for better dads. Not only are they a wonderful example to follow as far as patron gods, but they genuinely care for each other and for me. I'm very lucky to be so close to both of them."
"Hi hi hi, oh my God, hi!! Is it true your tiger's name is Stripes???"
Their son coughed lightly between them, his cheeks turning pink, "Ah...father helped me name him."
"In my defense, he has a lot of stripes." Qian Qiu huffed, his own cheeks tingeing pink.
Qi Rong scoffed, turning his palm over to rub along Tiger's ears as he felt the big cat nosing at his palm. "Better then Tiger."
There were a handful of other questions, partly for the newly arrived Wind Master, partly for the QiuRong couple and they chatted their way through them until A-Ying finally signaled they were at the end of their time.
"A-Ying is telling us we need to wrap it up now." Lang Qian Qiu translated, glancing to his husband. "You wanna do the honors, ghosty?"
Qi Rong rolled his shoulders, grabbing out his tablet from his sleeve, "Yeah, sure." He flipped it open to the camera and spun, holding up the tablet to show the top of his head, Lang Qian Qiu, their grandson and the hall crowded with followers behind them. "Everybody squeeze in!!" He sang out, and snapped a few shots.
"You've all been amazing!" He sing-songed as he turned back around, grinning widely as he opened their social media to upload, "You make our jobs easier."
Lang Qian Qiu slid an arm around around his waist and pulled him flush, grinning. "Thank you all for all your prayers and support! Uh, don't forget to tell you loved ones you care about them today, and we'll see you all next time!"
"Thanks for letting me crash!!" Their grandson chirped, his grin almost as wide as his fathers' as he waved, and the crowd erupted into cheers and applause as the couple made their way off stage toward A-Ying with their grandson and tiger behind them.
A-Ying greeted them with a glass of water each and another treat for Tiger. "Your cousin is requesting an audience." They reported, their burned face carefully neutral. "Shall I turn them away?"
Qi Rong felt Lang Qian Qiu's grip tighten around his waist, felt his husband stiffen on his behalf, and sighed. "If it's quick." He mumbled, and A-Ying nodded, putting a finger to their temple to give a command.
Qian Qiu stepped behind Qi Rong and wrapped both arms around his shoulders, bending down to rest his chin beside Qi Rong's matching guan. "I'm gonna be right here, babe."
"Yeah." Their son agreed quietly. "Not going anywhere if you need us."
Tiger prodded at Qi Rong's hand again and he let the big cat lick his fingers and swallowed. "It's fine. Just get it over with."
A-Ying lowered their hand and nodded toward a stage hand, one of their deputies in mortal disguise, Qi Rong realized, and the man stepped aside to let Xie Lian past, his red clad husband trailing behind him. Wife, Qi Rong supposed, since they were both still in female forms.
"Qi Rong!" Xie Lian started, her hands out, and then stopped herself as if second guessing her words. "Cousin...??"
Qi Rong sighed. "What?"
Xie Lian looked uncertain, uncomfortable with the silence, and reached for Crimson Rain's hand. "We... you look... good. Happy...?" She seemed to be struggling to find the right words.
Qi Rong shrugged around Lang Qian Qiu's grip. "Yeah." He agreed.
"We're very happy. Thank you." Qian Qiu spoke up, his chest pressed up reassuringly against Qi Rong's back. He hadn't quite lost the shine of respect he held for Qi Rong's cousin, but he certainly sounded cooler toward him.
Hua Cheng held Xie Lian's hand and simply glanced around, bored, as her wife struggled to put words together.
"I...um. I just wanted to say I'm...happy for you. That you... found... some ones that makes you... happy."
"That I'm not a piece of shit staining your reputation any more?" Qi Rong supplied, and Xie Lian's face flushed a little at the bluntness.
"Ah." His white robed cousin rubbed the back of her neck. "I... said and did some things in the past that weren't.... kind to you. And I just.... wanted to tell you that um, I'm glad you're happy now, despite that."
"Gege, we should go." Crimson Rain Sought Flower finally spoke up, tugging lightly on her wife's sleeve. "This is pointless."
Xie Lian shifted, swallowing, eyes searching Qi Rong's face as she sighed. "This is important, San Lang..." She corrected her quietly and drew another deep breath. "Qi Rong...or Xiao Jing? I just... I'm glad you found a place you are happy and you belong. Good for you, cousin." She finally stammered out.
Qi Rong huffed, glancing away from his cousin's stare and shook his head. "Thanks, I guess." He mumbled. It wasn't really enough to make up for the counts he had against his cousin, not really. He wasn't an idiot, He knew Xie Lian didn't think he was good for Qian Qiu, or that he was a great father. But maybe Xie Lian was tried of all of this stupid animosity between them too.
It didn't make it better, not even close. But it was... like a an olive branch. Qi Rong wasn't great with those, he knew, and he fumbled with the words inside his head for a long moment.
"Glad you....have Crimson Rain. I guess." Qi Rong mumbled, not looking at the other god/ghost couple. He almost blurted 'glad you're finally getting some' but bit it back at the last second.
Xie Lian offered a tentative smile, and then A-Ying stepped in, calmly addressing the flower crowned martial god because they couldn't address Crimson Rain Sought Flower directly, acting like they were completely unphased by the hostile look Hua Cheng directed at them for addressing her wife. They ushered the couple to the deputy god who lead them out. Qi Rong finally drew a breath when Xie Lian's white dress disappeared. "Fuck."
Qian Qiu leaned down to press a kiss into his temple. "Proud of you for that, Ghosty." He whispered into Qi Rong's ear and Qi Rong flushed.
"Shut up." He grumbled, waving his hands like he could dispel the whole notion of his cousin entirely, "So are we done here? Can we go home?"
Lang Qian Qiu grunted, glancing at A-Ying, who glanced up from the tablet in their hands with a nod.
"You can go, I'll handle clean up. It's just setting up the next event and verifying a few new officials for the temple here." Their deputy ghost agreed.
"I can help!" Their son pipped up, glancing at A-Ying from under his lashes. "I know the vows and it's a lot to handle alone."
A-Ying didn't meet his eyes and nodded, clearing their throat abruptly. "Sure." They agreed.
Qi Rong felt Lang Qian Qiu tug him away and let himself be pulled as his god started drawing their return array on a blank wall. "A-Ying, you better not let him miss work in the morning." Qi Rong narrowed his eyes at his second in command and the savage level ghost didn't meet his eyes.
"Yes, sir."
Qian Qiu squeezed Qi Rong's hand lightly and pulled him forward, and they stepped through the array together, Tiger right behind them.
Qi Rong let out a long breath as they stepped out into their own court, familiar mirrored walls with their brackets for lanterns on them. It felt like they'd been gone ages, when he knew in reality it had only been a few hours.
"Come here." Lang Qian Qiu reached out and snagged him, pulling his little husband in for a sweet kiss as he wrapped his broad arms around Qi Rong. "I'm so proud of you, babe." A slight frown crossed his brows, "And I think our son is gay."
Qi Rong snorted, his face buried in Lang Qian Qiu's robes. "In this family? Why would you ever think that?" Qian Qiu started laughing, his shoulder shaking slightly around Qi Rong and he snickered into his husband's robes, more amused at the reaction then anything.
"Hey, do you wanna go make dinner together?" Qian Qiu finally controlled his laughter and pulled back a little, soft smile on his face. "I had someone grab those oranges you liked, I figured we could make something with them."
Qi Rong grinned, head tilting to the side, "You offering to be my sous chef, Great Lord of the East?"
General Tai Hua snorted, reaching for Qi Rong's hand as they started walking. "One of these days I'll shock you by making a whole, entirely edible meal from scratch." He teased, and Qi Rong started laughing in turn.
"I await the day." He giggled, swinging their joined hands lightly between them.
Qian Qiu waved to a couple deputies as they rushed past, and smiled at his husband. "Wanna curl up with dinner and watch a movie?" He proposed.
"Mn." Qi Rong considered their options. "Something sappy but no angst." He allowed, and grinned up at Lang Qian Qiu.
His husband glanced around and then lowered his voice, eyes flickering. "I also picked up some more of that flavored lube you liked...if you want desert." He winked and Qi Rong felt his face coloring.
"A-Qiu!!" He slapped his husband's face away, pointedly looking in the opposite direction. "Fine, but you're topping."
Lang Qian Qiu grinned, and rocked back on his heels.
They kept walking, hands swinging between them, and Qi Rong let himself breathe for a moment, quietly content. This was right. This was how life was supposed to be. Tiger behind him, his grandson visiting often, his wonderful, attentive husband holding his hand as they made their way into a slow romantic night.
Everything seemed perfectly alright to him.