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starofsolitude-huacheng · 2 years

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Frolicking in Foxglove - New HuaLian Fic!

I'm addicted to fandom challenges, apparently! Coming hot off the heels of the MXTX Big Bang, I decided to write something "quick" (cough over 5k words cough) for the @starofsolitude-huacheng event. I hope you all enjoy! :) I had fun, at least.

Read on AO3

…ge

Ge…ge

Xie Lian stirred, the last bits of sleep escaping into the eaves of his consciousness like fog under the glare of the morning sun. As he rolled from the curled position on his side to his back, he opened his eyes, the dusty beams of Puqi Shrine greeting him in the late morning light.

Gege.

Xie Lian stretched his arms above his head and yawned, rotating his bare ankles as they popped.

“San Lang?” he asked softly as he surveyed the very empty room.

Gege!

Xie Lian blinked as he slowly sat up. After unsuccessfully stifling another yawn, Xie Lian gently tapped his index and middle finger to his temple to respond to Hua Cheng in their communication array.

San Lang?

Ah, there you are gege, Hua Cheng’s warm voice echoed inside Xie Lian’s head. Are you just waking up, my beloved?

Xie Lian smiled to himself as he patted down the blankets on their simple pallet. They were cold, indicating that Hua Cheng had left some hours ago. Xie Lian’s smile flattened. Hua Cheng never left his side without saying goodbye, no matter how long they would be separated. He would plant a kiss in his hair and leave a note in their bed if he was asleep. As Xie Lian shuffled around the bedclothes, but no barely legible note was to be found. Perhaps whatever caused Hua Cheng to leave made him do so in a hurry.

I am, Xie Lian finally answered. Are you in Ghost City? It was always Xie Lian’s first guess if Hua Cheng was not by his side.

Surprisingly, no. There was a beat of silence in Xie Lian’s head before Hua Cheng continued. Could you open the door, gege?

Xie Lian looked towards the closed shrine door, his dark brows drawing together as he stood and straightened his under robe with one hand.

Open the door? Xie Lian asked. Why couldn’t Hua Cheng just come in? It’s not like the wards that were placed on the lintel were any match for a supreme ghost king. Besides, Xie Lian would never put up wards to keep out his husband. The shrine door?

Ah, yes please. I seem to have my hands full.

Xie Lian shrugged and removed his hand from his temple as he crossed the short distance to the door though he kept the communication array open.

“San Lang, you could have just given a shout,” Xie Lian teased as he grabbed the door handle. “Or even just kicked down the door.” Though Xie Lian would have mourned if it would have had to be replaced. It was a good, solid door, crafted by Hua Cheng’s own hands.

I assure you, gege, I can do no such thing.

“You’re silly,” Xie Lian said as he opened the door, “my silly…San Lang?”

Xie Lian had opened the shrine door expecting to see broad crimson clad shoulders and a playful smirk on a handsome pale face. Instead, all he saw was the orderly courtyard in front of Puqi Shrine. Before Xie Lian’s panic could irrationally spike, Hua Cheng’s voice one again appeared in his head.

Down here, gege.

Xie Lian dropped his eyes to the shrine’s porch. And blinked.

Sitting at his feet was a fox. It was red with black paws, the majority of its fur as shimmery as new copper with a white chest and jaw. Clenched between it’s teeth was a plume of white bell flowers with pink spots. When the fox tilted it’s head inquisitively to one side, Xie Lian sucked in a breath. The fox’s right eye was closed and a scar, barely visible as a white streak of fur, was scrawled across the eyelid.

“San Lang…” Xie Lian said slowly. “You’re…you’re a fox.”

The fox seemed to grin, sharp white teeth revealing themselves from around the green stem in it’s mouth.

Very good, gege. The fox tilted it’s head to one side. May I come in? Hua Cheng asked nonchalantly as he stood on all fours.

Xie Lian stepped aside as though it was the most natural thing to let his husband, who was currently a fox, pad into the shrine. He stared, slack jawed, as he watched the fox, or rather Hua Cheng, approach the altar. Hua Cheng then stood on his hind legs and delicately deposited the plume of white flowers on the surface.

This is for you, gege, but don’t touch it, Hua Cheng warned.

Xie Lian raised his brows at the odd request but nodded as he continued to stare.

When Hua Cheng landed back on all four feet, he looked at Xie Lian over his shoulder and tilted his head, his fluffy tail which was tipped in white flicking slightly.

Yes, gege?

“San Lang.” Xie Lian said the name slowly and firmly. “Why…are you a fox?”

Xie Lian had seen Hua Cheng take on many forms, from a fisherman to a carefree youth, from the precious child that Xie Lian loved to dote on to the towering height of Crimson Rain Sought Flower. He even once saw Hua Cheng take on a female form, much to the delight of Shi Qingxuan, but it had flustered Xie Lian so much that it was short lived. Xie Lian loved every form that Hua Cheng took, but that particular one had too many…features for his liking. Xie Lian shook his head to clear the memory as he stared at the single dark eye of the fox in front of him.

This form of the fox, however, was a first.

When Hua Cheng’s answer was simply to continue to stare, Xie Lian asked, “Can I check you for curses?” as he finally relented his grip on the shrine door and closed it gently. It was the only explanation Xie Lian could think of, though he doubted there was anyone left on earth that could trick Hua Cheng into a shapeshifting curse such as this.

Of course, gege, Hua Cheng replied easily as Xie Lian knelt next to him.

Xie Lian held his hands over Hua Cheng’s head and then gently hovered them over his vulpine body. Hua Cheng’s aura was the same as always: vibrant and steady without a single trace of malice. Xie Lian furrowed his brows.

Is something the matter, gege?

Xie Lian frowned. “No…”

And that’s the problem, Xie Lian thought to himself. When Hua Cheng lifted his snout, Xie Lian could swear he was smirking. “Did you change into this form on purpose?” Xie Lian asked, his eyes narrowing.

Hua Cheng tilted his head to one side as his poofy tail swished across the wooden floor of the shrine.

Would gege be upset if I did?

Xie Lian snorted. “No, not upset. It’s just…well, if a certain husband wanted to be pampered or doted on, all he had to do was ask.”

Hua Cheng narrowed his eye in question and then let out an undignified yelp as Xie Lian scooped him into his lap.

“Ah! So small and holdable!” Xie Lian grinned as he held Hua Cheng to his chest. He rubbed his face into the fur at Hua Cheng’s neck. “Oh…and very soft.”

Hua Cheng somehow managed to look offended, even as a fox, as Xie Lian positioned him on his back in the cradle of his arms. He crossed his front paws delicately.

I did not want to be…pampered.

“Are you sure?” Xie Lian teased as he booped Hua Cheng’s nose gently with his left index finger. That earned him a small growl which made Xie Lian giggle. “Then why did you choose such a cute form?”

Instead of answering, Hua Cheng wriggled out of Xie Lian’s arm. When he was safely back on all fours, he looked at Xie Lian and made a motion with his head to follow.

Would you like to work on the garden some more, gege?

Xie Lian pursed his lips together and debated whether or not to press Hua Cheng further. Judging by the way Hua Cheng started to scratch at the shrine door, Xie Lian sighed and chalked it up as a lost cause. For now.

After donning an outer robe and his straw hat, they made their way to the garden behind the shrine. Well, garden was a generous term. What it was was a poorly weeded rectangle of dirt with burgeoning vegetable plants whose chances at survival were continually diminished by hungry rabbits. Xie Lian had suggested putting a fence around the garden. Hua Cheng had suggested traps, though he had insisted they would be humane. As Hua Cheng zoomed off into the tall grass a few meters away, Xie Lian began to doubt that.

Xie Lian busied himself with erecting a halp-hazard fence while astutely ignoring rustling in the nearby grass or Hua Cheng’s prolonged absence. When Xie Lian called to Hua Cheng to take a break for lunch, Hua Cheng had been sitting and licking his front paws while cleaning his face.

Oh, I’m not hungry, gege, Hua Cheng had replied. The grin that followed was lined with sharp, white teeth.

Xie Lian would have rolled his eyes if he thought it would not encourage the behavior.

As the afternoon wanned, Xie Lian retreated to the front porch of the shrine to watch the sun slip across the sky as he cleaned vegetables for dinner. Hua Cheng lay next to him, on his back with all four paws in the air as he basked in the sunlight. Xie Lian smiled and was tempted to run his hands through his soft fur, but he restrained himself. The image was too similar to that of a content cat who would strike at a moment’s notice. Eventually, Hua Cheng rolled back upright and sat primly on his haunches next to Xie Lian.

Has this one done something to offend dianxia? Hua Cheng asked as he tilted his head to one side.

Xie Lian chuckled as he rinsed the dirt from a leek in his water pot. “No, not at all.”

You’re ignoring me.

“I’m not ignoring you. I just didn’t want to pet you if you did not want to be petted.”

Hua Cheng nosed his head under Xie Lian’s arm and draped his torso across Xie Lian’s right thigh.

This one would not have taken this form if he did not want to be petted a little bit, Hua Cheng replied as he looked up at Xie Lian through - what Xie Lian thought must be unnaturally long - eyelashes. Xie Lian did not stand a chance against his pouts when he was human but the large pleading eye of the fox made it much worse.

“Alright, alright,” Xie Lian said with faux exasperation as he dried his hands on his robes. He then cupped Hua Cheng’s head gently in his hands. “You are the cutest fox I have ever seen, so I might as well take advantage of it.” Xie Lian bent his head to brush his nose with Hua Cheng’s, the only kiss he could give while he was a fox. Apparently Hua Chen thought otherwise.

Xie Lian shrieked as he pulled away from Hua Cheng and wiped a hand over his face.

“Ew, San Lang!”

Xie Lian could hear Hua Cheng chuckle in his head. Yes, gege?

“You licked me!”

Hua Cheng’s reply was laughter, though this time it came from the fox like a high pitched wheeze.

I wanted to give dianxia a kiss.

“Ack!” Xie Lian wiped the water damp sleeve of his robe over his face. “Wait until you’re human again to kiss me.”

Hua Cheng’s snout creased in an evident frown. I thought gege liked it when I licked him.

Xie Lian felt his face burn and kept it buried in his sleeve as he wailed, “San Lang!”

Hua Cheng snickered again, but then abruptly stopped, his ears popping straight up on his head. As Xie Lian lowered his sleeve, he watched as Hua Cheng’s ears flicked in a quick arc as though pinpointing a sound. Then he flattened his ears back against his head and growled.

You have company.

Xie Lian looked out beyond the courtyard of the shrine. He could just make out two figures walking up the road towards the shrine in the distance.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Feng Xin and Mu Qing are coming over for tea.”

Hua Cheng turned a wide eye to Xie Lian and his jaw clicked open in disbelief. What?

Xie Lian nodded as he began to collect the cleaned vegetables. “Yes. We try to meet every month. I usually schedule it when you’re busy with affairs in Ghost City though I must have forgotten today.” He gave Hua Cheng his best cheeky grin. “Oops.”

Hua Cheng’s ears flattened further in horror. They can’t see me like this, he said as he began to frantically look around the shrine courtyard. Focusing on some tall grasses that abutted the nearby woods, Hua Cheng took off and was soon concealed among the greenery.

Are you embarrassed, San Lang? Xie Lian teased in their communication array. You can always just turn back, you know.

Although he could not see Hua Cheng, Xie Lian could feel his vulpine glare from among the grasses.

I’ll keep my distance, thank you, Hua Cheng curtly replied. But I will keep watch over gege.

Xie Lian sighed though he wore a smile on his face. He entered the shrine and began to prepare the kettle and teapot. He had long since given up trying to provide Feng Xin and Mu Qing with snacks or other foods when they came to visit as they always went untouched. Hua Cheng would have his fair share of them afterwards, however, and would provide Xie Lian with compliments and gentle feedback. Xie Lian thought his tea biscuits were really starting to improve. Perhaps he’d try a batch again for next month’s tea.

Xie Lian was just bringing out the tea tray when Feng Xin and Mu Qing entered the courtyard. They insisted on wearing disguises, the same ones that had been used when they accompanied Xie Lian to Ban Yue Pass, though Xie Lian did not know why. It’s not like they ever went into the village together and even if they did it’s not like the villagers would recognize them in their true forms. Neither of them bore any resemblance to the statues that adorned their temples. They both insisted, however, that they kept to the shrine. As a result, they usually sat on the porch or inside at the table if the weather was inclement.

“Hello!” Xie Lian called as he delicately set the tray on the porch. “How are you two?”

Mu Qing shrugged, as was usual, while Feng Xin stared intently at the tree line until Mu Qing elbowed him lightly in the ribs. Feng Xin swore under his breath but inclined his head to Xie Lian in greeting before speaking.

“Do you know there is a fox…over there?” Feng Xin asked as he hooked a thumb towards the tree line.

Xie Lian hid a wince behind a forced smile. Ah, of course Feng Xin’s hunters’ eyes would catch everything. Why was Xie Lian even surprised?

“Ah, no,” Xie Lian fibbed. “Does it look friendly? And cute?” Xie Lian grinned as he felt Hua Cheng groan in his head.

Feng Xin narrowed his eyes at the treeline. “I didn’t see it well, but it has quite a murderous aura.”

Xie Lian shrugged as he sat on the porch and began to dispense tea into three worn ceramic cups. “It’s probably just hunting rabbits. They’ve been quite a nuisance in my garden.”

Feng Xin narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious, but gave up the pursuit when Mu Qing changed subjects.

“Speaking of murderous, where is…he?”

Xie Lian raised his brows slowly as he set down the pot. “Who?”

“Crimson Rain.”

Xie Lian blinked, as though still not comprehending. Finally Mu Qing heaved a deep sigh.

“Your husband.”

At that, Xie Lian smiled. It was a bit of a game they played, one that Xie Lian enforced. If they wanted this newly rekindled friendship to work, Feng Xin and Mu Qing had to make an effort to be accepting of Xie Lian’s choices, even in spouses. It was a slow process, but the next big hurdle was getting them in the habit of ditching Hua Cheng’s infamous title in informal conversation for the one that both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng preferred: husband. If it meant that Xie Lian had to play ignorant every now and them in order for them to learn, then so be it.

“Oh, he’s in Ghost City.” The response came without hesitation. When it came to matters of his husband, Xie Lian felt it was to omit the truth or lie. It’s not like Feng Xin and Mu Qing needed to know that Hua Cheng was nearby, skulking in the grasses as a fox. What they did not know could not hurt them. If anything, what they did not know could save them, as Xie Lian was fairly certain Hua Cheng would go feral if only in an attempt to defend his pride if Feng Xin and Mu Qing were to discover him in his current four-legged form.

“Tending to business?” Feng Xin asked.

Xie Lian gave a prompt nod. That was always his canned response when Hua Cheng was in Ghost City. Xie Lian was glad that they were learning.

As they drank tea, they talked, sometimes about the past, mostly about the present. Feng Xin or Mu Qing never mentioned that the tea was bitter though Xie Lian always knew it was oversteeped. All the while, Xie Lian could feel Hua Cheng in the nearby grasses, stalking back and forth but keeping a watchful eye as promised.

After Feng Xin and Mu Qing exchanged hugs and promises with Xie Lian to meet again soon, they took their leave. When they had shrunk considerably into the distance, Hua Cheng emerged and trotted to Xie Lian’s side. Xie Lian smiled and gently patted the crown of Hua Cheng’s head. Hua Cheng smiled and pressed his head more firmly into Xie Lian’s palm.

“Thank you for keeping watch, San Lang.”

Of course, gege. I can protect you no matter my form.

Xie Lian had no doubts about that. He scratched under Hua Cheng’s fuzzy chin until his eyes closed and used the distraction to plant a quick kiss on Hua Cheng’s snout. Hua Cheng’s eye snapped open and then narrowed.

No fair, Hua Cheng pouted.

Xie Lian giggled and ruffled Hua Cheng’s ears. “If you can give me kisses then I should be able to give them to you, too.”

Hua Cheng rolled his eye but did not leave Xie Lian’s side until it was time to make dinner.

Making dinner with Hua Cheng was similar to every other night despite him being a fox. Although he could not help Xie Lian chop vegetables, he could nudge them into the pot with his snout once Xie Lian brought over a chair for him to stand on. It was almost like cooking with Hua Cheng’s child form and by the time the slightly burnt vegetable soup was done Xie Lian’s face hurt from smiling. His stomach then hurt from laughing as he watched Hua Cheng devour the soup, his snout and chin covered by the time he was done licking the contents out of the bowl.

“Let me clean you up,” Xie Lian offered as he reached across the table with his sleeve. Hua Cheng instead pulled back to sit on his haunches and began licking his left paw.

I can clean myself, gege, but I would gladly join you if you took a bath. Hua Cheng paused in his cleaning to fix Xie Lian with a look that was somehow seductive even on the face of a forest creature.

Xie Lian did not reply as he focused on not dropping the bowls on his way to the sink.

Once the kitchen was cleaned, they engaged in their usual evening activities: reading on the front porch while the stars came out. Well, usually Xie Lian read and Hua Cheng made an attempt at practicing calligraphy before he would crawl to Xie Lian’s sigh and beg to stop. Lucky for Hua Cheng, having a lack of opposable thumbs made practicing calligraphy impossible.

I can still try if gege wishes, Hua Cheng said as Xie Lian settled on the porch, though I think the result would just be pawprints on parchment.

Xie Lian snorted. “An artist, in every form. I would hang your pawprints proudly in the shrine.”

Hua Cheng wrinkled his nose and twitched his whiskers. I think I’ll pass. Besides, I would get ink all over gege’s white robes. You know I can’t keep my hands to myself.

Xie Lian’s cheeks heated at the thought of more than one pair of ink stained robes, though he blamed it on the warm glow of the evening sun.

Xie Lian read until the glow of the shrine lamps made it difficult to decipher the characters on the page. In his lap Hua Cheng had curled and fallen asleep, content to listen to the symphony of night sounds and the occasional poems Xie Lian read aloud.

Hua Cheng’s breathing was deep and steady. Reluctant to disturb his sleep, Xie Lian lifted the skirt of his robe into a hammock and slowly stood. Once inside, he gently deposited the sleeping fox ball on the mat in Hua Cheng’s usual spot before slipping out of his outer robe and washing the day’s grim from his face. Once he crawled onto the mat, Xie Lian curled around on his right side and faced Hua Cheng’s still curled form, as he did every night. Sometimes they would lay for hours in the dark of the shrine, hands clasped together as they talked in the hushed tones that nighttime demanded. Tonight, Xie Lian expected no different, though he was surprised when Hua Cheng uncurled himself and padded over to Xie Lian only to curl into a ball again in the space between Xie Lian’s stomach and thighs.

“Is something wrong?” Xie Lian asked in a whisper as he ran his hand through the soft fur on Hua Cheng’s side.

Hua Cheng was silent but Xie Lian felt his side heave up and down in a deep breath.

Gege, I…I was not honest earlier.

Xie Lian stilled his hand, a silent signal for Hua Cheng to continue.

This one did not choose this form. I was…forced. Xie Lian’s stomach started to plummet before Hua Cheng quickly continued. But it was not malicious! It was…I was…foolish.

Hua Cheng uncurled and turned, his single eye finding Xie Lian’s in the darkness of the shrine.

I woke up early, and you were sleeping so peacefully, I did not want to wake you. So I went for a walk. There was a field of flower plumes. And I picked one. Hua Cheng inched closer, his long nose only an inch or so from Xie Lian’s. They were beautiful, gege. You had to have one.

Xie Lian flicked his gaze over to the altar where the flower plume in question lay.

“So, you picked one…and turned into a fox?” When Hua Cheng nodded, Xie Lian asked, “What kind of flower is it?” And more importantly, how did Hua Cheng not know the risks? He was an expert in flowers, if the gardens of Paradise Manor were any proof. He had also been picking Xie Lian flowers for well over eight-hundred years. Although Xie Lian loved every single one, Hua Cheng often aimed to bring only the most worthy specimens as an offering, even now. There was no doubt that the plume on the altar was gorgeous, but if picking it caused Hua Cheng to turn into a fox, and if the effects were permanent, well…Xie Lian would rather not think about that.

It’s foxglove, gege.

If it wasn’t for Hua Cheng’s grave tone, Xie Lian would have snorted at the irony of the name. At the revelation of the name, however, something else wriggled to the surface of Xie Lian’s mind. It was a memory of his mother and her gardens in the palace. They were gorgeous and Xie Lian spent a lot of his time when he was younger wandering them with his mother. While he ran about the paths and fountains to exert the boundless energy of youth, she enjoyed the peace of the flowers, bushes, trees, and the sun on her face. She had only barred him from one area, an area that hosted beautiful flower plums in shades of purple and pink.

“This is foxglove, my love,” the queen had told Xie Lian sternly as she held him on her hip. “You are to never play near them. They are extremely poisonous and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

Xie Lian blinked to dispel the memory and focused on Hua Cheng’s sharp and furry features in front of him.

“Foxglove is poisonous,” Xie Lian said softly.

Hua Cheng nodded. Correct, gege. And I knew that. But poison wouldn’t bother me. What was left unsaid was Hua Cheng’s usual logic in these situations - that poison could not bother him because he was long dead.

Xie Lian’s brows furrowed as he tried to logic the concept of a poisonous plant with Hua Cheng currently being in the form of a fox.

“But…the poison…it wouldn’t turn you into a fox…would it?”

Hua Cheng shook his head. No. It turns out I had found the rarest form of foxglove there is. Instead of being poisonous it’s magical. Hua Cheng wrinkled his snout. Magically cursed, that is.

Now that….actually made sense. When Xie Lian had checked for curses earlier, he only probed malignant energies. He had not scanned for natural energies and as a result a curse from a plant would go unnoticed.

To be fair, Hua Cheng continued while Xie Lian was piecing everything together, they were the most beautiful flowers I had seen. So I think it was worth it.

“Worth it?” Xie Lian blinked. “San Lang! You were turned into a fox!”

Yes, but gege thinks I’m cute. Hua Cheng smirked, his white fangs glistening in the moonlight.

Xie Lian would usually scold Hua Cheng playfully when he fished for compliments, but his current distress outweighed his usual cheekiness.

“San Lang…how long are you going to be a fox for?” Xie Lian’s question was quiet but grave.

Hua Cheng rolled his shoulders in an attempted shrug. I don’t know, gege. I guess we’ll see in the morning? I don’t think it would be permanent.

There was the smallest beat of hesitation when Hua Cheng spoke. He did not think it would be permanent, but there was the smallest shadow of doubt in his words, the faintest entertainment of the concept that it might be.

Xie Lian expected to feel his panic crescendo at the idea, to break past the dams and drown him. That was his immediate fear, after all - that his husband would be stuck as a fox forever. Instead he was surprised when he felt a wave of calm break over him. It was not a deep peace, but an ease that came from knowing that whatever the outcome it would be okay, so long as Hua Cheng was with him. Hua Cheng was here, in their bed, and that alone outweighed everything else. It took Xie Lian a long year to learn that, but it was not something he was going to take for granted ever again.

Gege. Hua Cheng had wriggled closer in the silence and was now butting his head under Xie Lian’s chin in an effort to get even closer. Gege…it’s going to be okay.

“I know,” Xie Lian said, and he meant it. He felt the finality of his words as he wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng’s furry body and kissed the crown of his head. “You’re here and that’s all that matters. I’m sorry for…freaking out a bit.” Xie Lian smiled as he pressed another kiss to Hua Cheng’s snout and he giggled when he received a quick lick in return. “I love you, no matter your form. We’ll see what tomorrow brings and face it together. Okay?”

Xie Lian did not miss the way the tension left Hua Cheng’s body upon hearing his response. Hua Cheng whined and snuggled into Xie Lian fiercely while repeating I love you, I love you, I love you, in their communication array.

Xie Lian smiled and held him close. They lay like that in silence for a few moments before Xie Lian yawned and his eyes started to drift close.

Goodnight, gege, Hua Cheng said.

“Goodnight, San Lang,” Xie Lian whispered. He felt a soft, damp tongue swipe across his cheek and then he drifted to sleep.

***

When Xie Lian woke up the next morning, he was not alone.

There also wasn’t a fox in his bed.

Instead, Xie Lian woke up to find his face buried in broad bare shoulder blades with his left arm slung around a similarly bare and narrow waist. Inky black hair flowed in waves around Xie Lian’s face and across the mat and Xie Lian could not be happier. Xie Lian smiled and pressed his lips to the knots of Hua Cheng’s spine. Hua Cheng shifted slightly at the kiss and let out a small groan.

“Good morning, San Lang,” Xie Lian said softly as he propped himself up on his right elbow. He was anxious to see his husband’s face again even after only one day.

Hua Cheng grunted. “Exhausted,” he finally mumbled.

“Mmm, even if you don’t need sleep?”

Hua Cheng made a noise of agreement in his throat.

“Well, I think you may have overdid it yesterday, chasing rabbits and all.” Xie Lian grinned. “Or do you not remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Hua Cheng said softly as he started to turn on his back towards Xie Lian. “I think my hands hurt from running on them,” he added as he started to flex them.

Xie Lian grinned. His husband was human again, at least, though he was not in his true form. His skin was sunkissed and freckled, not pale, and he had two eyes. He was not as wiry, either, more stocky and filled out, though just as tall as usual. It was the form he took whenever they went into the village or helped the nearby farmers and was just a modification of the form he took when they met on the ox cart years before.

Xie Lian looked adoringly at his husband, who was still inspecting his hands and blinking in the morning light, and was overcome with the urge to kiss him. So he did. Hua Cheng’s eyes widened in surprise, but they quickly slipped closed as Xie Lian cupped Hua Cheng’s face and deepened the kiss. When they parted, breathless, Xie Lian kept smiling. Hua Cheng mirrored his smile lazily, his eyes still half closed from the kiss.

“Hello, gege.”

“Hello, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng smirked, his left hand coming to rest lightly on the small of Xie Lian’s back. “What do you want to do today? Help the farmers in the rice paddies? Finish the garden fence?”

Xie Lian hummed as he shifted his left leg over Hua Cheng’s. “Sure, we can do that. Or…”

“Or…?” Hua Cheng grinned, his teeth no longer sharp and pointy, as his hand slipped down Xie Lian’s body to cup his bottocks.

“We can stay in.” Xie Lian’s voice was quiet as he brushed his nose against Hua Cheng’s. “At least for a little while.”

Hua Cheng chuckled. “Did you miss me, gege?”

Xie Lian always believed that actions spoke louder than words. When he kissed Hua Cheng he knew the answer to his question was clear: always.

#hualian #fic #aaaa this looks great #thanks for participating

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