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By the time summer had rolled around it’d been a few months since Hua Cheng’s disappearance. Xie Lian settled into a routine to keep busy while he waited. He'd painstakingly plant flowering trees along the pathway to the cottage he built on Mount Taicang. It was nice to finally be able to work without his luck getting in the way of progress. But then he'd step back and realize the trees don't look as beautiful as he wanted. So he'd split time between replanting them somewhere else and scrap collecting for a wider variety of things to plant. Along the way he started a small garden. It was more beneficial for the local boars who kept digging up all his plants but it was a nice way to pass the time. Once he’d even had some root vegetables left to trade!
Sometimes he’d forget himself while out scrap collecting. The little village nearby had a good selection of products available so on occasion he’d instinctively turned to show an interesting bauble to a man who wasn't there. The vendors would look at him a little strangely when he did but he brushed off their well meaning questions for his health. No one had to know how this made his heart twist. How the sight of maple red cloth made his eyes sting. How the jingling of wind chimes had him scanning the crowds for a silhouette he wouldn’t find.
It was fine. He was fine! San Lang would come back. He just had to wait.
And so he did. He woke alone and started on chores and rearranged the mountain and returned to an empty cottage for a sleepless night. The months slowly ticked on like this. If he kept busy he wouldn’t have to acknowledge the hole in his chest. He wasn’t mourning because Hua Cheng wasn’t truly gone. But he wasn’t here. The ghost had a larger than life personality that was starkly missed in his absence.
As the sun set on another day, Xie Lian made the slow journey up the hill on his cart like he always did. Except this time when he came up the hill, it was glowing with the light of a thousand stars. His heart skipped a beat. That light looked so achingly familiar but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Hope had a way of tearing his soul to pieces when it amounted to nothing. Still he spurred on his ox to climb faster. For once his hope wasn’t misplaced. Standing at the top of the hill, surrounded by what he knew had to be three thousand Lanterns of Everlasting Light, was the only man Xie Lian ever had eyes for. Hua Cheng gently released one last lantern before he turned to face him.
“Ge-”
Before the next syllable was even out of his mouth Rouye shot out of Xie Lian’s sleeve to bind around the ghost’s arms. Just as excited to see the supreme as Xie Lian, they launched him straight into Hua Cheng’s chest. But this time the ghost did not stumble, he stayed as firm as a mountain, grounding Xie Lian with the knowledge that this was real.
“San Lang!! San Lang..!" His name was all Xie Lian could say as he just about crushed the ghost.
“Gege..” Hua Cheng whispered against his hair. ”I’m home.”
“Welcome back!” Xie Lian furiously blinked his tears away. He couldn't see through them and it was absolutely unacceptable. Hua Cheng stared down at him with the softest gaze known to man. He could only hold still for a moment before he started squirming.
“Gege this isn't fair,” he whined. “I finally have arms again, let me hug you back!”
Rouye released him to circle endlessly around the two of them instead, making patterns in the air like a tiny dragon. The moment he was free, Hua Cheng lifted his god by the waist so they could be at the same level. Xie Lian took the chance to capture the ghost’s lips, eagerly locking his arms around his neck. Hua Cheng gave an appreciative hum and kissed him until he was breathless. When they finally parted Xie Lian’s head was spinning in the best of ways.
Maybe it had addled his brain since with his first breath he immediately blurted out, “Marry me!”
There was no way he was giving the ghost a chance to back track again. These things had to be clearly said! No doubts were in his mind about who he wanted to spend the rest of his existence with.
Hua Cheng gaped at him long enough that Xie Lian almost wanted to back track himself. But he resolutely held his gaze until Hua Cheng found his voice.
“If gege would have me, this one would be honored..!” he breathlessly whispered.
“Of course I would!” As if he could ever second guess the warmth this ghost brought into his life.
Their reunion was interrupted by the sound of impatient mooing at the bottom of the hill. The ox was eager to be unstrapped after a long day out. Xie Lian fretted in the ghost’s arms, torn between helping his ox and staying right where he was. His head whipped back and forth as he dithered on a decision. Hua Cheng just chuckled and made his way down the hill without releasing him. Xie Lian was all too glad to cuddle in his arms for the time being. Easily holding his weight in one arm, he led the ox to its enclosure to unhook the cart of scrap. Only then did he finally set Xie Lian down.
Xie Lian snatched up his bag in one hand and grabbed Hua Cheng with the other to take them both inside his little cottage.
Not the least bit offended at being dragged, Hua Cheng asked, “Does gege need help putting his spoils away?”
Xie Lian all but threw the bag into a back room, ignoring the sound of something shattering. A pot definitely smashed but he’d deal with that later. “No, it's fine! Does San Lang want dinner?”
Hua Cheng’s eye was crinkled into a happy crescent watching his beloved. “I’d love some.”
It was the fastest congee Xie Lian had ever made. In his haste he really only made enough for one but that was fine. They could share! He poured out a bowl and unceremoniously planted himself on Hua Cheng’s lap. Surprised but definitely not complaining, the ghost securely wrapped his arms around his waist. Xie Lian held up the first spoonful and Hua Cheng gratefully ate without a hint of shame. It was undoubtedly crunchy and far too watery but Hua Cheng ate every bite like it was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted. They alternated bites until the bland mess was gone.
In no hurry to clean up, they stayed cuddled by the table, taking comfort in what the year had denied them. Physical touch wasn’t exactly new for them but it was the first time they let their hands wander without reservation. He welcomed the broad hands caressing his sides, how solid and real they felt. When Hua Cheng cupped his face, he found himself nuzzling into it as his eyes slipped close.
Hua Cheng brushed his thumb under Xie Lian’s eye to trace the bags that had formed. “Gege looks tired..”
Xie Lian got a new straw mat when the cottage was first built but it felt too large to actually sleep on most nights.
“I’m alright..” His eyes flew open as he remembered something. “But that reminds me!” Scrambling up, he excitedly tugged Hua Cheng to his bedroom in the back room.
“I have an actual bed now!” It was such a silly thing to be proud of, this scraped together nest of his. The wooden frame wasn’t even. The poles on one side of the daybed were taller than the other. The mattress stitching wasn’t straight either. But it was his and for the first time in forever it would stay that way. There would be no more nights of making do with a thin mat because anything more would get destroyed anyway. No more camping out under the stars because he turned his back on his hut long enough for it to fall over.
It was nowhere near the luxury of Paradise Manor and yet Hua Cheng looked like he’d just been given the sky.
“Gege, it’s wonderful! His carpentry skills are unmatched.” He was surely joking but somehow it didn’t sound patronizing at all.
Xie Lian chuckled, “Don’t tease!”
Hua Cheng came in close to wrap his arms around his waist in a loose hug. Coyly fluttering his eyelashes, he murmured, “I’m never anything but sincere.”
It was a crime that those shameless lips weren’t on him right now. Xie Lian gave into the temptation to pull him down for a kiss. He wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to give into desire, but it felt natural as anything to trace Hua Cheng’s lips with his tongue. The ghost eagerly parted for him with a soft moan. The feeling of their tongues curling together made his legs go weak. But he was never in danger of falling with his beloved close by. Xie Lian sighed into mouth, endlessly grateful to have him back.
Hua Cheng playfully nipped his lips. “Gege has become so forward..”
Such things still made Xie Lian’s face bloom into a poppy but he wasn’t about to let embarrassment get in the way of showing his love. Shyly placing another peck on his cheek, he murmured, “I missed you..”
Getting ready for bed was hindered by a stream of kisses and their need to keep a hand on the other at all times. Once they were finally under the covers, they were tucked as close together as possible. Without really meaning to, Xie Lian started rambling about the day. The interesting dagger he found, the pot he likely smashed earlier. The new set up of Heaven. He told Hua Cheng anything and everything he could think of. Nothing had happened over the past year and yet everything had happened, and he needed to tell Hua Cheng all of it. He kept talking until his eyes were heavy and a yawn interrupted his story about baby boars stealing onions from the garden. Hua Cheng kissed his forehead so softly Xie Lian’s bones turned to mush.
“Sleep gege, I’ll still be here when you wake,” he whispered against his skin.
Xie Lian fought the call of sleep to slur, “Promise?” The question made him feel childish but the need to ask was stronger than his need to breathe.
“I’ll always be here,” Hua Cheng swore.
Just before Xie Lian fell asleep, he murmured, “San Lang..?”
The ghost bit back a smile, endeared by his determination to stay awake with him a bit longer. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
Hua Cheng only squeezed him tight in response. They desperately clung to each other like if they only squeezed hard enough, they could get rid of every ounce of loneliness the other had felt. If only, if only…
The ghost buried his face in his hair to whisper, “Gege.. Your Highness.. My love, my life.”
His words were a plea, a prayer, a promise to share one life, forever at each other’s side.