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After a week or so of fending off malicious ghosts and answering prayers, Hua Cheng decided that Xie Lian had spent enough time doing his “heavenly duties” and deserved some time off. It was the new year, after all--why should everyone else get time off, and not him? Dianxia was clearly tired, his movements slowing and bags forming under his eyes. Hua Cheng was already upset at himself for letting Dianxia work for so long, even though Xie Lian really was the one insisting that he had to keep working.
On the tenth night without sleep, Hua Cheng decided it was time for Xie Lian to take a break. The two of them had separated for the day so Hua Cheng could make sure all was well back in Ghost city (it was, of course--Yin Yu probably did need a raise after all) and buy some snacks for his husband. He had only gotten back to the rebuilt Puqi Shrine an hour ago, in the dead of night. Xie Lian was still out, so Hua Cheng made himself useful by cleaning up a bit.
The sun was just starting to rise in the sky when Dianxia returned, having worked through the backlog of prayers that had built up during the previous day. Xie Lian yawned as he walked through the door into Puqi Shrine.
“Dianxia, you’re back,” Hua Cheng smiled, pulling his husband into his arms. Xie Lian leans into his touch. “You look tired, gege.”
“San Lang, I am tired…” Xie Lian sighs. “But I’m too busy to rest, really. I’ll catch up on sleep tomorrow once the festival is over.”
Hua Cheng guides them over to the straw mat on the ground, “But gege, won’t you be able to answer more prayers after a good rest?”
He settles down, sitting up in their bed while Xie Lian lays back on his chest, Hua Cheng wrapping his arms around him once again.
“San Lang makes a good point.” Xie Lian tilts his head up to look at a smiling Hua Cheng. “But if I sleep, I’ll have so much more work when I get up.”
Hua Cheng looks down at his husband, without a flash of insincerity. “Then I will do it for you.”
Xie Lian mumbles something, but he’s already starting to doze off, leaving whatever he said completely incoherent.
“We’re worshiped together, are we not, gege? It would be no problem for this husband of yours to help you as needed.” Hua Cheng grins, softening to a smile as Xie Lian gazes up at him through clouded eyes. “And when you wake up, we can go see the festivities.”
The moment Hua Cheng begins to move Xie Lian off of him, slipping him comfortably onto his back, his husband whines, before mumbling, “Mm, don’t leave yet, please. Wait until I fall asleep.”
“As you wish.” Hua Cheng chuckles, pulling Xie Lian into his arms once more, laying down beside him.
Xie Lian smiles a little bit and pulls in closer. “Love you, San Lang.”
“And I you, Dianxia.”
---
Hua Cheng was going to burn down the heavens. Again. The only reason that Xie Lian could have been this busy was if the other gods were slacking off on their work to celebrate the new year. With no other gods to turn to, they prayed to the god who would help anyone without asking anything in return.
Hua Cheng was upset with himself for not realizing just how overworked Dianxia was. In the previous days when they would divide up the work to get more done, Xie Lian must have always given him much fewer prayers to attend to than he gave himself. Every time Hua Cheng had finished the work he was given, he would find his husband with a few hours more to do--and Xie Lian, ever selfless, would just say that he was a slower worker or some similar, barely believable excuse. That way, Hua Cheng wouldn’t realize just how much work Xie Lian had, and wouldn’t go storm the heavens during their partying.
Hua Cheng sighed. If it really was so important to Dianxia, of course he wouldn’t act against his will and threaten the martial gods out of their time off. He’d just make sure he’s helping out more in the future.
It’s not like these tasks were particularly hard for him--for prayers requesting wealth, a red envelope with a gold foil would show up at their door if they were deserving; for prayers requesting safety, a single look from the Crimson Rain Sought Flower would scare of any vicious beast or ghost in a second; and for prayers requesting luck, Hua Cheng would give them a little of his, enough to roll double sixes for a month but not enough to mess with his own. He was just annoyed that Dianxia had to do so much work while the other gods feasted up in the heavens.
By the time he had finished most of the prayers, the evening had only just began, so Hua Cheng made one last stop before returning to his husband. Stepping over the threshold into Qiandeng Temple, Hua Cheng took in the state of disrepair he and Xie Lian had left it in after their last visit. He tidied up the altar and shrine, replacing the food and money offerings and cleaning up the discarded calligraphy materials, before lighting some incense and sitting (not kneeling, never kneeling) in front of the statue of his god.
He whispers a quick prayer, one he knows by heart, before standing up and placing a white flower into the hand of the statue.
And in the last second, he adds to his prayer: “And, Dianxia, if it isn’t too much to ask, this lowly one requests that you bless him with your time, and accompany him for this new year, and for many more to come.” He smiles and bows once to the statue of his god, before whispering, “I am forever your most devoted believer.”
And with that, he rolls a pair of dice and steps out of the Qiandeng Temple and into the garden of Puqi Shrine.
The sun is just fading below the horizon as Hua Cheng opens the door into the shrine. Xie Lian lays still on the mat, resting peacefully at last. Hua Cheng sits down next to his husband, watching his breath as he sleeps.
Only a few minutes later, Xie Lian opens his eyes, a small smile appearing as he sees Hua Cheng gazing at him. He sits up, slowly, taking Hua Cheng’s hand and leaning his head on his husband’s shoulder.
“Thank you, San Lang. I guess I did really need the nap.” Xie Lian yawns, leaning more onto Hua Cheng, who pulls him in gladly. “You really did take care of so much… I only have one prayer left unanswered.”
Hua Cheng smiles, knowing exactly what it was. “Well, gege, since you’re up, maybe you should answer it.”
Xie Lian looks at Hua Cheng, somewhat puzzled by his husband encouraging him to do more work. “I thought we were going to do something tonight. What if this takes a while?”
“It wouldn’t hurt to just look at it…” Hua Cheng says, so nonchalant that Xie Lian immediately understands what he’s getting at. That explains why Hua Cheng was so eager for him to do work.
Hua Cheng watches as Xie Lian takes in his prayer, a blush seeping into his cheeks.
“San Lang!” Xie Lian scolds, patting his husband’s head. “You don’t need to pray to me for me to spend time with you, you know.” Xie Lian leans over to kiss Hua Cheng, a smile peeking through his lips.
Hua Cheng pulls back for a second, if only to tease. “Is gege saying he doesn’t like it? Truly no way to treat your,” he pauses, leaning back in, “most devoted--”
Xie Lian cuts him off with another kiss. “San Lang is such a tease,” he sighs.
Hua Cheng chuckles. “Gege married him regardless.”
---
About half an hour and a dice roll later, the two of them find themselves in the Capitol’s bustling festival market. Hua Cheng had chosen to take his San Lang form, albeit with a few festive accents, and even Xie Lian’s normally modest cultivation robe had been swapped out for a nicer one with red butterflies embroidered on the sleeves.
Around them were vendors pushing their wares, children chasing each other through the stalls, friends sharing snacks by street food carts, and young couples taking in the scenery together.
Hua Cheng watches fondly as Dianxia looks around, pulling him by the hand to different vendors and performances. Xie Lian is too distracted by all the excitement to notice that his husband isn’t paying attention to any of it, choosing to watch his joy instead.
“Look, San Lang, the lion dancers are so skilled!” Xie Lian exclaims as he pulls Hua Cheng into a crowd watching a group of dancers.
“Indeed they are.” Hua Cheng smiles, still looking at Xie Lian.
“San Lang, I think they’re setting up firecrackers over there!” Xie Lian points as they walk past a cleared out street lines with fireworks.
“We should watch them later, gege.” Hua Cheng squeezes his husband’s hand.
“San Lang, look, isn’t this beautiful?” Xie Lian asks at a jewelry stand, pointing at a silver hairpin with a little butterfly perched near the end.
“En. It would look beautiful in gege’s hair, too.” Hua Cheng smiles, handing a gold foil to the vendor, who quickly takes it and replaces it with the pin.
The two of them settle down in a teahouse for a bit, taking a break from the chaos on the streets. Behind a curtain separating them from the rest of the patrons, Hua Cheng sits beside Xie Lian, and slowly places the pin into his husband’s hair. Xie Lian sighs into the touch, “Too kind, San Lang, you know that? You are much too kind to me.”
“Dianxia deserves all the kindness in the world.” Hua Cheng whispers, wrapping his arms around Xie Lian’s chest. Even from behind, he can sense the blush that creeps onto his husband’s face.
Xie Lian turns around, cheeks pink. “San Lang,” he whines, buying his head into Hua Cheng’s chest. After a second he looks up again, meeting his husband’s gaze. “Too much. You will be the death of me.”
Hua Cheng leans down slightly, pressing a kiss to Xie Lian’s lips. Even after being together for a while, his dead heart seems to flutter a bit after kissing his Dianxia. Some part of him can barely believe that it could really happen.
“I sure hope not. Dianxia said we would be together forever,” Hua Cheng fake pouts, fluttering his eyelashes.
Xie Lian chuckles endearingly. “Silly,” he whispers, his breath ghosting over Hua Cheng’s lips. “My San Lang is so silly.”
Hua Cheng looks into Xie Lian’s eyes for a few quiet moments, drinking in his husband’s fond expression. “Dianxia…” Hua Cheng trails off, mouth running dry.
Come on. If Xie Lian is going to be like this, a private tea house room isn’t private enough. Although, come to think of it, that could be something to bring up another time. Only if Dianxia was interested of course. But to think of Xie Lian and him--
“San Lang!” Xie Lian interrupts his thoughts. Probably for the best. He smiles, “I know what we need to do before we go home.”
“What would gege like to do?”
“Steamed buns!” Xie Lian pauses. “No, wait. Custard buns!”
“As gege wishes.” Hua Cheng nods.
Xie Lian takes his hand, “Do you think they have the ones that look like rabbits?”
Hua Cheng quickly sends a couple butterflies out. “I’m sure we can find some.”
As promised, after only a few minutes of searching, one of Hua Cheng’s butterflies finds a stall with many animal-themed steamed buns. After a little pointing Xie Lian in the right direction (and a little break to kiss in an alleyway), they’re on the right side street. It’s a quieter area than the main market, bathed in the dim red glow of lanterns.
“San Lang, we found it!”
Hua Cheng only smiles, and allows his husband to pull him towards the stand.
It’s by far the busiest stall on the street, with many groups sitting around, chatting and sharing baskets of steamed buns. Xie Lian crowds up by the stall itself, looking at the bun selection. There’s a lot of options--rabbits, as requested, as well as other zodiac animals.
Hua Cheng orders two baskets, one of rabbits and one of dragons. They find a table a bit more tucked out of the way, and cuddle up next to each other, both a little crouched by the small chairs.
Someone from the stand delivers the buns, and Hua Cheng watches as his husband’s eyes shine with all the options. He takes a black-and-white rabbit bun, and bites into it with a sigh. He chuckles as the filling gets on his lips.
“Gege, how is it?”
“S’ so good. San Lang, try them!”
Hua Cheng leans over to kiss Xie Lian, the sweet custard taste still lingering on his lips. “That’s not what I meant.” Xie Lian whispers, before he’s Hua Cheng presses in once more. After a moment, Xie Lian sighs, pushing Hua Cheng back, and sticking a dragon bun into his mouth. “Eat.”
Hua Cheng removes the bun from his mouth for a moment, looks over it, and gingerly takes a bite. “Gege is right, they are good. You found such a nice shop.”
Xie Lian just shakes his head and picks up another bun, a matching dragon one this time. Where the rabbits were filled with custard, the dragons were filled with sesame & red bean. He chews slowly, savoring the sweet taste. Hua Cheng watches him quietly with a hint of a smile showing on his lips.
Suddenly, a loud blast disrupts their moment. Xie Lian perks up immediately, but sinks back down into Hua Cheng’s touch, arm wrapping around his waist, when he realizes it's just the firecrackers starting to go off. On a faraway street, the chanting of a countdown booms, reverberating miles over. Around them, people at the stall huddle together, quietly preparing for the new year to begin.
Shí, jiǔ, bā, qī, liù!
Hua Cheng wraps his other arm around Xie Lian;
Wǔ!
Tucks his head into the crook of Xie Lian’s neck,
Sì!
Presses a kiss to his collarbone,
Sān!
Raises his head again,
Èr!
And looks up to the sky.
Yī!
. . .
Many things happen at the same time. Cheers flood Hua Cheng’s ears from all directions and firecrackers fill the sky with bright lights, illuminating the street and casting a glow across his pale skin.
But in the same moment, Hua Cheng’s face is taken into Xie Lian’s hands, and his Dianxia’s lips crash upon his own. Tears well up in his eyes, just slightly, as the shock of his prince’s love takes him back in time, hundreds of years, back to when he was weak; a bandaged street rat barely hanging on through his devotion, to a little ghost flame, to a soldier fueled by devotion.
Over eight hundred years had passed alone, but tonight, Hua Cheng, and Hong-er, and Wuming celebrated this new year alongside their god.