Work Text:
Hua Cheng returned to Paradise Manor late.
The house was quiet when he stepped through the doors, which was hardly unusual. He called for his gege once, expecting to hear Xie Lian answer from somewhere upstairs or perhaps from the kitchen, but there was no response. Hua Cheng frowned slightly and began looking through the manor.
He found no Xie Lian.
He did, however, find a small white ferret curled up comfortably on one of the pillows in their bedroom.
Hua Cheng stopped in the doorway.
The little creature was fast asleep, its long body curled into a neat crescent with its nose tucked beneath its tail. Its fur was remarkably clean and soft, apart from a faint smudge of dirt near one ear. It looked entirely at home.
"Gege?"
Nothing.
His gaze returned to the ferret. Had Xie Lian brought home another little creature?
It certainly wouldn't be the strangest thing he'd done.
Hua Cheng approached the bed and carefully sat beside it. The movement disturbed the ferret, which stirred beneath the blankets before slowly opening a pair of sleepy eyes.
It looked at Hua Cheng then the ferret immediately crawled towards him.
"Oh?"
It climbed straight into his lap, curled against his robes and promptly settled down again as though it had been waiting for him specifically.
Hua Cheng's expression softened despite himself.
"You're rather friendly."
The ferret gave a tiny sleepy chirp and burrowed closer.
Hua Cheng stroked one finger gently over its head. Something about the creature felt strangely familiar, although he couldn't quite place why. Perhaps it was simply that Xie Lian had clearly been looking after it. He would have remembered if his gege had suddenly acquired a pet, though.
Unless Xie Lian had forgotten to mention it. Which, admittedly, was possible. Hua Cheng glanced towards the empty doorway.
"Where did gege go, then?"
The ferret lifted its head. For a moment, its expression almost looked guilty.
Hua Cheng narrowed his eye. "...You know where he is, don't you?"
The ferret stared at him. Then it crawled further into his robes.
Hua Cheng laughed quietly. "Fine. I'll take you with me."
He stood, carefully gathering the little animal against his chest. The ferret seemed perfectly content with this arrangement, curling against him without the slightest struggle.
If nothing else, Hua Cheng thought, he had acquired a very affectionate travelling companion.
Now he only needed to find his missing gege.
The kitchen was his first stop. Perhaps Xie Lian had decided to prepare dinner and simply become distracted halfway through. Hua Cheng pushed open the door, but the kitchen was empty. There were no vegetables being chopped, no pots simmering over the stove and, most importantly, no Xie Lian cheerfully insisting that tonight's meal had only gone slightly wrong.
The ferret wriggled in his arms.
"Not here" Hua Cheng murmured.
The little creature immediately nuzzled beneath his chin. Hua Cheng glanced down at it, amused. "You're very affectionate, aren't you?"
The ferret answered by climbing onto his shoulder.
Hua Cheng allowed it, continuing his search through the manor. Next came the treasure room. Xie Lian had a particular fondness for interesting little objects, especially anything old, broken or otherwise considered worthless by everyone else. It would not have surprised Hua Cheng to find him sitting on the floor examining some ancient trinket with complete concentration.
There was nobody there.
Only shelves of treasures and a rather suspicious collection of scraps Xie Lian had apparently decided were worth keeping.
The ferret bounded from Hua Cheng's shoulder onto a nearby chest, sniffed around, then scampered back and pawed at his sleeve.
"You want me to play?"
The ferret bounced excitedly.
Hua Cheng laughed. "Later. We have to find gege first."
Apparently, that was acceptable enough. The ferret allowed itself to be picked up again, though it immediately began chewing gently on one of Hua Cheng's fingers.
"You have quite the personality."
He carried it towards the armoury next.
Perhaps Xie Lian had decided to practise. Perhaps he was examining one of Hua Cheng's weapons and had become distracted by the craftsmanship. The possibilities were endless.
The armoury was empty too.
Hua Cheng's smile faded slightly.
He looked around the room once more before glancing down at the ferret, which was now sprawled comfortably across his forearm.
"Where could gege have gone?"
The ferret stared back at him.
Then it suddenly wriggled free and dropped onto the floor. Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow as it scurried towards the doorway, stopped, and looked back at him.
It was clearly waiting.
"...You want me to follow you?"
The ferret chirped.
Hua Cheng sighed and followed the wobbly ferret through the halls, increasingly confused by its determined little journey. It eventually led him into one of the living rooms near the centre of the manor, where an odd wooden box sat in the middle of the floor.
Hua Cheng immediately sensed the curse surrounding it. His expression darkened as he stared at the box. “Gege was cursed?”
The ferret squeaked.
“Is he trapped somewhere?”
“Squeak.”
Hua Cheng was now thoroughly alarmed. He crouched beside the box, inspecting it for any sign of Xie Lian. “Did someone lure him here? Did they use this cursed object on him?”
The ferret squeaked again, but this time it sounded almost amused.
Hua Cheng looked at it suspiciously. “Why are you laughing?”
The ferret merely climbed onto the table and sat there.
Hua Cheng carefully opened it, expecting to find some terrible magical mechanism inside. Instead, there was absolutely nothing.
He stared into the empty box. “Gege isn’t inside?”
“Squeak.”
“Then where is he?”
The ferret hopped down, waddled over to him and began pawing at his robes.
Hua Cheng picked it up automatically. “You’re getting very attached to me aren't you.”
The ferret curled comfortably against his chest.
Hua Cheng frowned. Something about it was familiar. The eyes, perhaps. Or the way it kept looking at him as though he were being particularly slow.
Then the ferret sneezed.
“Squeak.”
…
…
Hua Cheng’s expression slowly changed. “…Gege?”
The ferret’s ears perked up. “Squeak!”
“..Your highness?” The ferret began wriggling happily in his arms. Hua Cheng stared down at him in utter disbelief. “You were cursed and turned into a ferret?”
The ferret squeaked cheerfully.
Hua Cheng looked at the box, then at the ferret, then back at the box. “And you’ve just been wandering around having fun?”
The ferret squeaked again, clearly delighted with himself. Hua Cheng closed his eye, his husband had been turned into a ferret and clearly thought this was hilarious.