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Xie Lian woke to a chill in the air. He could tell by the light in the temple that it was quite a bit later than he normally would have slept. He pulled the blankets up tighter and burrowed closer to Hua Cheng. He felt a gentle hand stroke up and down his back. He smiled and pressed his face deeper into Hua Cheng’s chest and enjoyed the peace of waking up in his husband’s arms.
“It’s cold,” Xie Lian said into Hua Cheng’s chest.
Hua Cheng chuckled and rubbed his hand up and down Xie Lian’s arm. Xie Lian relaxed into the touch of his husband for a little longer, before eventually sighing and standing up.
He made his way towards the temple door and looked outside. “Oh! San Lang, come look!”
The entire mountain was covered in a soft, brilliant white blanket of snow. Birds hopped around on the ground, flying from tree to tree singing. Xie Lian hopped up and down. It had been ages since he’d seen a good snow fall like this. He grabbed Hua Cheng’s hand and dragged him outside.
It was still snowing lightly. Xie Lian looked up and turned in a cirle watching the flakes fall. He turned back to find Hua Cheng gone. A moment later he exited the shrine, coat in hand and draped it around Xie Lian’s shoulders.
“I didn’t know Gege liked snow so much.” Hua Cheng wrapped his arms around Xie Lian’s waist and rested his chin on top of his head.
Xie Lian leaned back against Hua Cheng and hummed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this much snow. When I was a child, I would always beg to go play outside. I thought the world always looked pretty like this.”
Hua Cheng squeezed tighter. “It is pretty,” he agreed. Hua Cheng turned and started brushing the snow away from the entrance to the temple.
Xie Lian stepped forward into the beginning of the lines of trees, brushing some of the snow off the branches. The ground here was also covered in snow. It must have been going for a long time. He squeezed a bit of the snow together. It was soft and wet enough to hold together. Perfect snow. He knelt down and scooped some into his hand. He glanced up at Hua Cheng. He’d finished clearing the snow away and had turned back towards where Xie Lian had been a moment before.
THWAP!
Hua Cheng stared at Xie Lian in shock. The snowball was thrown with all the precision of an eight hundred year old martial god and landed right on the front and top of his head. Bits of snow fell down around his face.
Xie Lian doubled over laughing so hard his sides ached. “I’m so sorry, San Lang, but the look on your face.” He dissolved into a fit of laughter once more. He’d never seen the ghost so caught off guard or shocked before.
“Oh, is that how it is?” Hua Cheng grinned mischeviously and swooped down to scoop up his own snow.
Xie Lian ducked behind a tree just in time. He watched the snow sail past him and hit a tree. “You missed!” He scooped up more snow, using the trees as cover as he made more ammunition. He glanced over his shoulder. Hua Cheng had disappeared. Foot prints led around the corner of the temple.
He slipped through the trees, snow balls in hand until he had sight of Hua Cheng. At a blinding speed, a snowball was pelted at him. He huffed and jumped back, the edge of the snowball hitting his arm. Oh. This would be so fun. He stepped out from behind his tree and lobbed two snowballs at Hua Cheng. He heard the satisfying smack as one found its target, the other going to long.
Hua Cheng quickly threw his own back, one managing to hit Xie Lian’s shoulder as he ducked away from the other. The two continued to trade snowballs back and forth, both dodging and jumping away. Their fight continued into the late afternoon until the sun started to set and golden light lit the area. They had long since abandoned the cover of trees and the temple, and instead moved into the field as they relied on ingrained skill instead.
Xie Lian’s heart raced as they ran around the mountainside like children. His cheeks hurt from the cold and smiling so wide. He yelped as a snowball managed to clip his side. A barrage of snowballs came at him. He laughed as he ducked and ran from them. He could see the bright red of Hua Cheng’s robes growing closer and closer until he was nearly caught up with Xie Lian. In an act of pure desperation, Xie Lian knelt and flung a handful of snow at Hua Cheng before turning and sprinting away.
He could hear Hua Cheng behind him and getting closer. His face was flushed as he ran, he dodged around the temple and made a beeline for the trees. On the edge of them, he felt strong arms wrap around his waist and pulled. Everything tilted as he started falling backwards. The two landed on the ground, limbs tangled, a strong body below him to cushion the fall.
“Caught you.” Cold lips whispered against his ear and made him shiver. Hua Cheng pressed a kiss behind his ear.
Xie Lian gave a weak attempt at struggling to get away, not wanting to leave his husbands arms for anything. After a brief moment, he gave up and sagged against Hua Cheng’s chest. “And what will you do now that you’ve caught me?”
Hua Cheng moved suddenly, scooping Xie Lian up in his arms and standing. Xie Lian laughed as he looped his arms around Hua Cheng’s neck and rested his head against his shoulder. “Gege looks cold, perhaps I can help him warm up?”
Xie Lian blushed. “That sounds nice,” he said quietly.
Hua Cheng continued to walk towards the temple, his hold on Xie Lian tighetning briefly at his words. Xie Lian glanced around, taking in the way the reds and yellows lit up the snow, the way they hit Hua Cheng, giving him a glow. He sighed and rested further against his chest, perfectly happy.