Chapter Text
The Gambler's Den was especially lively and loud compared to the other nights during the season. Although it had been snowing for the last few hours, the ghosts and gamblers had kept the inside warm.
All those below hardly paid attention to the two behind the red curtain, only when a voice would make announcement. Which in that moment, happened to be very unlikely.
A black-clothed hand slowly ran its way across the arm of a chair, the other hand being wrapped around the waist of the one clad in white.
Hua Cheng glanced up to the one sitting beside him on the velvet divan with a smile, "Is gege warm enough?"
While sitting next to the ghost king, Xie Lian had well endured several of long, and passionate kisses, ones that made his stomach fill with warmth everytime. Along with the robe he had been gifted that morning, how could he be anything but warm?
The robe was surely expensive, made with a high quality fabric and a soft fur along the hood and opening of the outer coat.
Xie Lian nodded, leaning into Hua Cheng's shoulder. "I am, San Lang has made very sure of that."
Hua Cheng chuckled before placing a soft kiss on the crown of Xie Lian's head. "This one's duty is to ensure you're alright, especially when we come to visit the den."
Xie Lian looked up, the fur on Hua Cheng's coat slightly rubbing against the side of his face. "I appreciate that, however, it is my job to look after San Lang as well," He turned, his hands reaching up to cup Hua Cheng's face, "Are you warm enough, San Lang?"
The ghost nodded and leaned his head down towards Xie Lian's, his hand flattening against his waist. "I'm well comfortable, especially since gege is here."
The two stared at each other for a quick moment before Xie Lian closed the space between them, surging up to reach Hua Cheng's lips.
Hua Cheng's hand tightened around Xie Lian's waist, gently grounding him to the divan.
It was calm and warm, as most of their shared moments like this were. There were silent words said between the two, every-time they came together, it was if they repeating the words, "I love you," to each other over and over.
Quietly, Hua Cheng gently pulled Xie Lian over his lap, chuckling when his coat happened to get stuck under his knee, causing Xie Lian to stumble into Hua Cheng's chest as he straddled him.
Xie Lian pulled away with a light flush lingering on his cheeks, likely from embarrassment or something else he'd rather not speak about.
As his hands fell from Hua Cheng's face, they landed back in Xie Lian's lap, resting comfortably against the white fabric, "If San Lang doesn't mind, I invited Feng Xin and Mu Qing to spend some of the holiday with us. Just for a day."
If Xie Lian hadn't been paying so much attention to him, he would've missed the slight eye roll from Hua Cheng at the mention of Mu Qing's name. After a light pinch, the ghost king chuckled, "Mn, that works, gege. When were you thinking?"
Xie Lian moved to rest one of his hands near Hua Cheng's hip, idly playing with the pieces of jewelry hanging from his belt. "Would tomorrow be alright?"
Hua Cheng slowly nodded, his eye drifting down to Xie Lian's hand. A sweet smile lifted his lips as he pulled Xie Lian's hand above his chest, holding it near his lips as he spoke. "That will work, I will let Yin Yu know."
He placed a soft kiss on the tip of Xie Lian's finger, trailing further down his hand as he spoke, "Meanwhile, I would like to spend as much time with you as I can, if gege would allow it?"
Xie Lian nodded with a rising blush on his face as Hua Cheng's lips reached his wrist. "Anything. I want to spend as much time with San Lang too."
Hua Cheng chuckled and paid mercy to Xie Lian as he entwined their fingers together and laid them to rest atop of his lap. "Very well, then. I suppose those idiots can't be trusted to spend a whole holiday alone, who knows what kind of trouble they'd cause?"
As he laughed, Xie Lian failed to notice the hand on his waist shifting behind him. "It might be the first one they've celebrated in a while. Last year, we all just spent the night together, however, we didn't do much."
Hua Cheng clicked his tongue, his hand releasing Xie Lian's and drifting behind him to where the other hand was resting on his lower back. "That's too bad, I'll just have to treat gege to something much better this year. Isn't that so?"
Quirking his brow, Xie Lian quietly followed Hua Cheng's hand as it continued to move. He was no where near feeling nervous, however, his voice stumbled when he spoke, "What does San Lang have in mind?"
Hua Cheng tilted his head back, resting it against the back of the divan as hands lazily made their way back to Xie Lian's hips. He smiled, one of his fangs poking out for a moment, "For starters, I could treat gege to a well-deserved breakfast, or brunch, depending on what time we wake up."
Slowly nodding, Xie Lian tilted his head in confusion, "Wouldn't it be depending on what time we got out of bed?"
Hua Cheng's eye gleamed over for a mere second before he laughed, his hands tightly grounding themselves to Xie Lian's hips. "Ah, well that too, if gege would like to cook the two of us a meal."
As he slowly began to understand, Xie Lian's eyes widened as he shook his head. "San Lang.. you're too much."
The ghost king tapped his finger against Xie Lian's hip, a few strands of hair finding its way in between his fingers. "But, gege, I've hardly began."
Xie Lian shut his eyes in embarrassment, lightly poking at Hua Cheng's chest. "Why don't we discuss the rest later, then? I.. want to talk about something else with San Lang."
It wasn't often Xie Lian chose to steer away from the dirty things Hua Cheng would say to him, especially when it came to all the ways he knew he would be pleasured by him. No matter how embarrassed he would show to be, he adored that Hua Cheng had thought about him in so many ways.
However, possibly due to the cold weather, or the loud atmosphere, he had a lingering headache that only one thing seemed could fix.
Hua Cheng pouted for a moment before bringing his head back up, holding it only a few inches from Xie Lian's. "Anything gege wishes to talk about, he always can."
Xie Lian's heart pounded at how sweet Hua Cheng had always been to him, even when he had practically shut down his own thinking. Xie Lian worried his bottom lip between his teeth before raising his hands to rest on Hua Cheng's shoulders. "Kiss me?"
After a few heartbeats of silence, Xie Lian looked forward at Hua Cheng, his eyes dropping once he was met with the playful smile and held back laughs.
Hua Cheng quickly wrapped his finger around Xie Lian's chin, while he was still chuckling, it was clear it wasn't towards the other. "Gege, you said you wanted to talk. Kissing isn't much of speaking, is it?"
Xie Lian frowned, "Please."
At that final word, Hua Cheng wasted no time pulling Xie Lian forward to connect their lips, his tongue gently dashing out between Xie Lian's lips, a silent question.
Xie Lian parted his lips, allowing Hua Cheng to deepen the kiss as he pushed forward. At the memory of the hand on the hip, Xie Lian slowly sat himself fully down, allowing the two to be as close to each other as they could in that moment.
As he did so, Hua Cheng hummed against Xie Lian's lips as both of his hands found found room to rest atop of hips, encouraging Xie Lian as they did so.
Xie Lian slowly rolled his hips against Hua Cheng's, muffled sounds releasing from the two of them.
In the past few weeks, they had commonly found themselves lost in each other. Whether it be in the Gambler's Den, Paradise Manor, or their shared cabin, they were constantly trying to make up for all the time they had missed with each other.
Xie Lian had no complaints, whatsoever. He found himself being incredibly excited every-time Hua Cheng would pull him into a kiss, almost as if he were a child on Christmas.
As his movement gradually began to increase in speed, Hua Cheng's lips fell from his mouth and began kissing down his chin, nuzzling the neck of his robe to the side to suck a spot over his neck.
"Hua-Chengzhu!"
As the voice rang out from the other side of the curtain, Hua Cheng reluctantly pulled off of Xie Lian's neck after being satisfied of his work on the tan skin.
Surprising the both of them, Xie Lian continued to roll his hips against the ghost king, his moans muffled against Hua Cheng's shoulder.
Whenever someone had previously interrupted them, no matter where they had gone to, Xie Lian had always been quick to stop in action. Often embarrassed of being caught in such a state.
This time, though, Xie Lian noticed that his headache seemed to almost go away as he and Hua Cheng began their activity. While he did in-fact notice and acknowledge the ghost from outside the curtain, he couldn't be bothered to stop what he was doing.
Hua Cheng stifled a groan as Xie Lian's lips moved to occupy themselves on Hua Cheng's neck, sucking onto the light skin that had been revealed as Xie Lian pulled the collar of his robe down.
Coughing, Hua Cheng stared out to where the ghost had been standing. His hands gradually began to ground Xie Lian's hips, attempting to slow his movement. "What is it?"
If Xie Lian hadn't been in such a state, he likely would've lectured Hua Cheng about his tone when speaking to his workers. However, he was in no state of mind to even begin wondering why Hua Cheng's tone only further encouraged him.
That was something to be thought about at a later time.
The ghost outside stuttered before speaking, "It's Night Touring Green Lantern, we've captured some of the ghosts following him."
Hua Cheng groaned in blatant annoyance before reaching up to pull Xie Lian's face out of the crook of his neck. Without looking at Xie Lian, he remained his focus on the ghost, "I'll take care of it. Leave."
Xie Lian stared down at Hua Cheng, a small pout forming as Hua Cheng had managed to completely stop everything he had managed to start.
"Gege. Gege," Hua Cheng whined as he looked back at Xie Lian. "Please, don't make this one feel so terrible, he's already suffering."
Xie Lian glanced down to Hua Cheng's lap, the strain in his pants showing through his robes. "My poor San Lang, whatever will we do?" Xie Lian leaned forward, tilting his forehead against Hua Cheng's. He quietly sighed, glancing off to the side, "I apologize, San Lang. I don't know what came over me just now."
Hua Cheng quickly shook his head, "Gege needn't be sorry, God, please don't be sorry," Although the two had seperated with Xie Lian seated back on his thighs, Hua Cheng's voice was a mix between whining and begging. "Do that whenever you'd like, actually, please."
Xie Lian chuckled lightly, his headache now relieved of the pain that had been there a few moments ago. "I'll keep that in mind," He glanced behind them, looking ahead of the curtain. "Should we go?"
As he traced his fingers along Xie Lian's thighs, Hua Cheng politely shook his head. "Gege doesn't need to worry about something like this, I'm sure that idiot has already fled with his tail between his legs."
With a light smile, Xie Lian reached to cup Hua Cheng's face, leaning forward as he did so. As he proceeded further, he left little room between the two, their chests touching at every breath. "If it's no trouble, why shouldn't I come with? If I do, we'll likely get done faster, and find ourselves home sooner."
Letting out a shaken breath as he exhaled, Hua Cheng clicked his tongue. "Gege is so sly," He tilted his head forward, their lips barely brushing against one another. "How could I ever possibly decline such an adventure?"
Xie Lian's lips curved upwards as he quickly slid off of Hua Cheng's lap, chuckling when the other was left with his lips stuck out, waiting for a kiss. "Let's get going, then!
Groaning, Hua Cheng stood from the divan, wrapping his arm around Xie lian's waist. He whined, "Gege, stop teasing this one."
Waiting for dice to be thrown into the air, Xie Lian decided to play along with Hua Cheng. Before speaking, he quietly wet his lips and leaned into Hua Cheng's hold. "And if I don't?"
Hua Cheng quietly chuckled, his voice similar to the tone he held earlier against the ghost while he was distracted, without any ill intent towards Xie Lian, however.
The hand around Xie Lian's waist curiously pulled at the coat, gently running its fingers throughout the pockets. Releasing his waist, Hua Cheng planted a soft kiss against Xie Lian's head before reaching behind him and pulling up the hood to Xie Lian's coat. He slowly leaned in towards Xie Lian's ear, "If gege is so eager to know, I suppose I'll just have to show him when we get home."
Xie Lian's mouth fell agape for a moment at Hua Cheng's tone at the side of his ear. His voice echoed throughout his mind, while it posed almost as a threat, Xie Lian felt nothing but excitement in that moment.
As the color on his face began to rise, he laid his head against Hua Cheng's chest, "As I said, let's get going?"
.
.
Outside of the den, snow continued to fall, frosting over the roofs of stands and structures that crowded the streets.
Although the snow posed as a problem in calmer parts of the city, the center had found itself as lively as ever. Ghosts crowded stalls with grills and open flames, finding cheap and sufficient ways to heat themselves up.
As they danced throughout the crowds, Xie Lian paid mind to the decorations which had been put up for the upcoming holiday. With a bright smile, he paused in his step and pointed to a line of stalls. "Ah, San Lang, look! There are Christmas decorations."
Hua Cheng looked to the side, his eye continuing onward as he paid mind to the stalls. "Does gege like them? I suppose we haven't decorated much at Paradise Manor," He paused, worrying his lower lip for a moment, "My apologies, gege."
Xie Lian quickly shook his head and continued walking, gently pulling Hua Cheng along side him. "Of course they are nice, however, both San Lang and I have been quite busy. To me, decorations aren't nearly as important as spending time with you."
A warm chuckle escaping his mouth, Hua Cheng nodded, "If gege is sure."
Xie Lian lightly squeezed Hua Cheng's hand, smiling once his eye had found its way to Xie Lian's face. "I am."
The two continue to wander forward towards the entrance of the city before Xie Lian paused in step and glanced down an alleyway. In contrast to the gleaming white, a pile of pink flowers stuck out of the snow.
As they approached, it was evident that the flowers had been long dead. "They dont seem like they were buried here, so..?" Xie Lian looked up at Hua Cheng, trailing off as he saw his expression. "San Lang?"
Hua Cheng released Xie Lian's arm and took a few steps forward, picking up a flower. "Gege is right, they weren't buried here. However, it seems someone tried to hide them here, possibly in a hurry."
Xie Lian tilted his head in confusion as he approached, "Why hide flowers? Is there something wrong with them?"
Snapping his fingers, Hua Cheng cleared the flowers in an instant with the help of a few butterflies. "They're potent flowers commonly found in old caves, they release a scent and aroma that cause anyone who smells them to fall into a trance."
As he listened, Xie Lian couldn't help but think it was much too common and familiar. His mind was instantly flooded with old memories of being a prince and stuck in a cave. He quickly covered his mouth and nose. "..?!"
Hua Cheng quickly grabbed his free hand and held it between his own, "No need to worry, gege. The flowers were dead and weren't releasing anything. These aren't the same ones you've dealt with before, these act as more of a longtime curse until given relief."
Xie Lian removed his hand and quickly sighed in relief, "But who would've left them here?"
They glanced at each other, Hua Cheng shaking his head. "That fool. No need to worry, gege, I'll have everything taken care of."
Nodding as he was lead out of the alleyway, Xie Lian's mind filled with more confusion. "So where has Qi Rong gone now?"
Hua Cheng laughed, "Probably back to his lair, he can't fight without his minions, remember, gege?"
Xie Lian nodded once more before clinging onto Hua Cheng as dice were thrown in the air.
The cold air dispersed into warmth around the two as they were transported into their shared chambers.
Xie Lian sighed as he walked into the welcoming air of their bedroom, beginning to shrug off his coat as he approached the bed.
Behind him, arms quietly slid around his waist once the coat was taken off. Hua Cheng's voice then sounded in his ear, "Would gege like to a bath?"
"That sounds nice," Xie Lian folded the coat and placed it onto the bed before turning in Hua Cheng's arms.
He stared up at him for a moment before wrapping his arms around his companion's neck, a gentle smile curling at his lips as he spoke, "Would San Lang care to join me?"
Hua Cheng chuckled, "Does gege even need to ask?"
Xie Lian shrugged before releasing Hua Cheng, spinning out of his arms as he did so. As he spoke, he strode across the room, loosening his robes, "Depends. In the future, there's a possibility San Lang may no longer enjoy a simple activity such as bathing with this one."
Hua Cheng quickly followed him into the bathing quarter of the room, "Gege, if I were to ever refuse such a thing, please kill me."
Xie Lian quietly gasped as he quickly turned around to face Hua Cheng, "San Lang! Don't say such silly things, I was only joking."
The ghost king chuckled, his eye roaming over Xie Lian as his robes were taken off. He thought for only a moment before snapping two of his fingers and quickly removing his own robes.
From infront of him, Xie Lian quietly watched as Hua Cheng stepped into the bath. Thankfully, the bath was more than large enough to fit the two of them comfortably.
Xie Lian folded his inner robe before stepping into the water and taking a seat next to Hua Cheng. He sighed as he laid his head onto the shoulder next to him.
When Hua Cheng had first come back, Xie Lian had wanted nothing but to spend every waking moment alongside Hua Cheng, including the times he spent bathing. Rather it be the ghost king sitting outside the bath or bathing with him, Xie Lian found much comfort.
The next few moments were spent in a comfortable silence, apart from the wind outside and the occasional knocking of a tree against the window, they both found themselves taking the time to rest with each other.
Rather until Hua Cheng's hand found itself in Xie Lian's hair, messing with the messy bun that Xie Lian had lazily thrown up.
Xie Lian quietly giggled as Hua Cheng continued to play with his hair until it had finally fallen out. "San Lang," He lifted his head and glanced up, his laugh settling down as he met his eyes.
Contrary to his playful hands, Hua Cheng's eyes were glossed over and staring down directly at Xie Lian. Xie Lian stared up at him, trying not to react to how Hua Cheng had suddenly been eyeing him as if he were going to devour him.
The prince couldn't help but be brought back to the time that Mount Tonglu had reopened.
Xie Lian tilted his head, reaching up to cup Hua Cheng's face. "San Lang? Are you—"
Before he could barely continue his sentence, Hua Cheng quickly leaned forward and captured his lips, locking him into a deep kiss.
With a gasp, Xie Lian's hand fell to Hua Cheng's shoulder in an attempt to ground himself. As he opened his lips to speak, Hua Cheng easily found his way in, his hand gripping onto the back of Xie Lian's head.
With his free hand, Hua Cheng swiftly grabbed at Xie Lian's hip, sliding his hand down his thigh until finding enough area to pull the prince across his lap.
Pulsing with shock at how quickly the intensity of the situation had changed, Xie Lian barely registered the hands that had gone under water and down his back.
While it was apparent that both of two were enjoying themselves, Hua Cheng especially, Xie Lian found his mind fogging further at the second. Whether it be from the steam of the bath, or how Hua Cheng had been practically devouring him in affection, he needed a break.
Xie Lian tapped the palm of his hand against Hua Cheng's shoulder a few times, only for his hand to be shrugged away. He quirked his brow and raised his hands once more before cupping Hua Cheng's face and pulling off of him.
He quickly regained his breath, panting as the fog in his mind slowed yet continued to fog his thoughts. At this rate, he'd most likely end up fainting.
Without looking at the ghost king, Xie Lian slid his arms around Hua Cheng's neck, resting his head on his shoulder for a moment. He sighed with a gentle smile as hands continued to knead below his back, "Just a minute, San Lang, this one just needs a minute—"
"...!" Xie Lian quickly rose from his resting place, turning his head in confusion. To where he looked, teeth marks had been beginning to blossom in color on his shoulder. "San Lang.."
He turned back to face Hua Cheng, whose lips were now in a pout. Looking quite childish, Hua Cheng leaned forward and lapped his tongue over the bite mark, placing a few gentle kisses around it.
Xie Lian's mouth fell slightly open for a few moment, he had rarely ever seen Hua Cheng's emotions switch so rapidly.
When Hua Cheng looked back up at Xie Lian, his eyes stared intently at him. His expression practically presented itself as devotion, and unfortunately, Xie Lian couldn't take the pouting lips any longer as his last clear thoughts only said one thing.
"Need you."
Xie Lian wasn't sure if he had spoken that out loud, but at the way Hua Cheng's pout had disappeared, he was sure he had.
The next few moments were a blur for Xie Lian, he only had one present feeling within his body and all it wanted was to be with Hua Cheng.
All that could be remembered before the two had both fallen asleep were the soft sounds from Hua Cheng that filled Xie Lian's ears, he yearned to always be blessed with hearing those sounds.