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As the first rays of dawn shone through the window of their bedchambers, Xie Lian slowly opened his eyes, fatigue still visible on his brow. He expected a strong arm firmly embracing him as usual, since his husband loved cuddling him at night, but instead felt a small and weak body pitifully curled up on itself beneath him. Xie Lian looked down in surprise and found a small child, head covered in bandages, trying to find warmth under the covers.
Hmm… this child looks very familiar, thought the god. Ah yes! Isn’t this San Lang’s child form, Hong’er? But why would he convert to this form.. he hates it.
Xie Lian pondered a little more on the subject and eventually came to the conclusion that Hua Cheng Qi deviated. Why else would he wake up to his husband in a form he so hated? So, Xie Lian gently shook the poor boy awake.
“San Lang? San Lang? Wake up…” he whispered.
“Ugh…” came the dull reply.
The child suddenly sat up brusquely, whipping his head this and that way. He looked very scared and pitiful, and certainly not like the confident and calm man Xie Lian called his husband. As soon as the boys eyes landed on the god, they opened wide as saucers and his entire small body froze.
“Taizi…Dianxia..?” Said Hong’er, very quietly.
After this one sentence from the shy boy, Xie Lian understood what happened. Hua Cheng had Qi deviated and in result turned into his ten year old self with no memory of his current life. Xie Lian quickly reacted, fabricating a tale to tell his de-aged husband.
“Hello, Hong’er. How are you feeling? You had hit your head quite hard when I found you and were unconscious. Do you remember anything?”
“No…” came the timid answer.
“That’s okay, we’ll figure everything out. In the meantime, I brought you to one of my palaces to recover. Are you hungry?”
Xie Lian was going to play the part of the seventeen year old Crown Prince so as to not confuse poor Hong’er. The boy subtly nodded, and coincidentally, a faint rumble could be heard from his stomach.
“Alright then. Let’s go get you some food.”
They got out of the bed, and Xie Lian took Hong’er’s hand to lead him down winding hallways to the kitchen. The young boy looked around in awe at the beautiful architecture, and the god couldn’t help but notice.
“Do you like the design of the manor? A very dear friend of mine designed it for me, sculptures and all. He’s very talented.” He said.
“Mhm… it’s very nice…”
Ah! Xie Lian had forgotten how cute and silly Hong’er was! So shy! All because he was in the presence of his precious Crown Prince. Xie Lian knew for a fact that the child kicked and screamed at everyone who wasn’t him, and he found it utterly endearing. After a short walk, they made it to the kitchens. No way in heavens was Xie Lian going to cook for this poor child. He knew Hua Cheng delighted in his cooking, but how could he feed little Hong’er such poisonous meals? No way was that going to happen. So instead he called on one of the chefs to make a nice platter of food for the boy.
When the meal arrived a few minutes later, Hong’er looked at the huge platter in awe. Never had he seen so much food in his life! He really wanted to scarf it all down, but how could he ruin the beautifully arranged meal?
Xie Lian noticed his predicament.
“Go on now, don’t be shy. Eat all you want.” He encouraged.
So Hong’er obeyed. He practically shoved the food down his throat he was so hungry. Watching this, Xie Lian could barely hold in his laughter. How much more silly and pitiful could one boy get?
“Hey, hey, slow down before you choke.” He scolded. And of course Hong’er obliged, gently swallowing each bite before taking another. When he was done, Xie Lian noticed he was quite filthy. His robes were tattered, the bandages on his face were horribly dirty and his hair was full of dirt and grime.
“Hey Hong’er, how would you feel about a bath? I’ll wash you and get you fresh robes afterwards.” He asked.
Hong’er peered up at the fallen prince, clearly not used to being treated this well, especially not by the Crown Prince. A light blush dusted over his cheeks and he lightly nodded, his face pointed downwards. So Xie Lian went to gently pick him up and lead him to the bathroom. The young boy looped his hands around the gods neck like a little monkey. Xie Lian found the sight utterly endearing as he headed towards the indoor hot springs in Paradise Manor.
He told Hong’er to take off his dirty clothes and turned around to give the boy privacy. While Hong’er stripped out of his clothes Xie Lian carefully selected gentle soaps that wouldn’t irritate the child’s sunburnt skin. At the same time he opened his spiritual communication array to ask Yin Yu to fetch fresh robes for Hong’er. When he was finished he took the soaps over to the hot spring, finding Hong’er peering into the water, unsure if he should get in or not.
“Go ahead” the god encouraged. After all, this version of Hua Cheng had never experienced the luxuries of a hot spring.
And on top of that, the boy was shy, not wanting to dirty the pristine waters with his filth. But Xie Lian loved him, every version of him, and was very happy to bathe the child.
“Dianxia… why are you doing this… for me?”
Xie Lian paused at this. Why? Because this is the love of his very long life, of course! He knew he couldn’t say exactly that though, but he wanted Hong’er to know just how loved he really is. So instead he headed over to the boy, gently placing his arm on his emancipated shoulders and massaging him carefully. The boy tensed at first but when he figured his god was the one touching him, he melted into the feeling.
“Little Hong’er… I want to help you. I really do. I want you to be happy, but I also want you to show me your sadness, your grief. I want you to be clean, but if you come home filthy, I’ll gladly clean you without a second thought. I want you to always have a good meal, but if you come to me hungry, I will provide an entire table of food. Do you understand?”
Hong’er was both furiously blushing at the same time that fat tears were plopping down his small face, flowing down the curves of his cheeks. He looked up at the god, his eyes round, adoring and worshipful. Suddenly, he captured Xie Lian in a tight hug, wrapping his small arms around the god’s waist since that was where he could reach. Xie Lian slowly coaxed him into the bath and started rubbing his bony back, each vertebrae popping out unaturally. The only sounds that could be heard in the vast room was sloshing water and small, quiet sobs. Xie Lian gently rubbed soap into Hong’er’s hair, washing out the grime with care making sure not to pull on any knots, which there were a lot of.
“Dianxia..?”
“Yes, Hong’er?”
“Can I stay here forever? I… don’t want to go back…”
Xie Lian paused at this. “Go back where, baby?”
“…”
Seeing that Hong’er was reluctant to speak up, Xie Lian gently brushed his sopping hair and dropped the subject. After all, he wasn’t going to force anything on his husband, child form or not. Instead he said:
“You can stay as long as you want. I would like that.”
The child’s slowly lit up at this, and his shoulders gained some confidence. With a determined look in his eye, he shyly responded to his god.
“I will become strong enough to protect you… stronger than anyone who tries to hurt you!” He declared.
“Okay”, the prince laughed. “But until then, I will protect you with all I have.”
After the bath, Hong’er and Xie Lian played around Paradise Manor until the boy became tired and weary. As they walked back to their bedroom, Hong’er clung to his prince’s arm firmly but gently, making Xie Lian giggle at the adorable sight. He bent down and picked him up, slowly rocking him in his arms. Unable to stay alert in his god’s warm embrace, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
“Goodnight, Hong’er. I do hope you stay forever, though I miss my San Lang.”
He looked down at the weak body in his arms and gently brushed the hair the hair out of his eyes, kissing his blood red one.
“Wake up soon, my love.”