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Xie Lian first noticed that Hua Cheng wasn’t giving his hair any attention when they were laying in bed in the early morning. There wasn’t any light to see, but he could feel mats as his fingers ran through his husband’s hair. After pulling his fingers out with a bit more force than intended, he made a mental note to do something about that later.
The state of Hua Cheng’s hair was quite concerning. He’d obviously been prioritizing other things over his self care. This kept Xie Lian awake until Hua Cheng began to stir. When his husband did begin to wake up, he tried to stand up from the bed and get the necessary hair care materials, only to be pulled back down. A small, tired giggle left his mouth.
“San Lang!”
“Don’t leave, Gege.”
Xie Lian sighed and stood back up. “I’ll be back soon.”
Hua Cheng grumbled something but didn’t try to pull him back down again. Meanwhile, Xie Lian prepared some hair care materials for Hua Cheng. He grabbed shampoo, conditioner, a towel, and a hairbrush. It wasn’t much, but it would do the job. Next, Xie Lian looked for water source, but he unfortunately found nothing right for washing his husband’s hair. His best option was two big bowls, so he filled both with water and carefully brought them back to their bed along with the other things he’d grabbed.
When Xie Lian came back, Hua Cheng had finally opened his eye, and he happily was looking at Xie Lian with a sparkle in his eye. Xie Lian smiled at this. He sat down, shifting Hua Cheng’s head so one bowl could fit under it. Doubting that it was a comfortable position, he also put a pillow under Hua Cheng’s neck.
“Gege is too kind.” Hua Cheng said, leaning back against the bowl sleepily. Xie Lian smiled softly, pouring some water over the roots of Hua Cheng’s hair where the other water didn’t reach.
He loved the soft sigh that his husband let out. It was not often that he got to care for Hua Cheng, since it was often the other way around. Doing this always made him happy. It was a beautiful way of expressing love and care that couldn’t quite be matched by anything else.
Xie Lian stared at Hua Cheng’s face as he scrubbed shampoo into his roots and scalp. He looked so serene and content. That look only appeared when he was happy and with Xie Lian. He began pouring water over Hua Cheng’s hair again, and he heard another noise of contentment and tiredness.
"Is San Lang tired?” Xie Lian whispered. “You can sleep if you want to.”
Hua Cheng slightly shook his head, careful to not get Xie Lian wet. “Gege is too good to fall asleep.”
Xie Lian smiled and kissed his husband’s forehead. His fingers gently worked conditioner into Hua Cheng’s hair, doing his best to untangle it. It seemed to be working, for the most part. The hair around his finger was beginning to feel very soft—well, as soft as it could be when wet.
He poured the last of the clean water into Hua Cheng’s hair, watching the conditioner flow down into the bowl. Then, he placed both bowls on the floor and began drying Hua Cheng’s hair. His husband smiled up at him the whole time.
Xie Lian brushed Hua Cheng’s hair, using both the hair brush and his fingers. His fingers were only really playing with his hair, though. It was much better than before.
When he finally finished, Hua Cheng flipped over and clung into Xie Lian immediately, kissing his forehead. Xie Lian hugged him back, breathing in the scent of Hua Cheng’s freshly washed hair. This was perfect, this was beautiful, this was safe.