Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For twenty-six years, Xie Lian had been sealed into a coffin, with a spike impaling his heart. Gasping and bleeding, unable to die but unable to heal, in agony that never ended, even in his hallucinations and nightmares.

Then, Hua Cheng had saved him.

At first, Xie Lian hadn’t known who this mysterious man who saved him was, or why he had cared for him with such tenderness and devotion. He had known that San Lang was hiding something from him, but at first, he had simply tried to recover from a wound that would have killed a mortal long ago, and which was enough to critically injure a banished god. Every step of the way, San Lang had been at his side, whether it was helping him dress himself, eat, or consoling him after nightmares. Eventually, San Lang admitted that he was actually Hua Cheng, a Supreme ghost king who ruled over a city of ghosts and was powerful enough to topple gods.

As the days passed, Xie Lian found himself falling in love with his benefactor. He hadn’t realized that it was happening at first. He had just known that he would be miserable when he left Hua Cheng’s home, and when he heard Hua Cheng describe the beloved person that he would do anything for, he had felt as though his heart was breaking.

It wasn’t until he had followed Hua Cheng to a far-off cave that he had realized who that beloved person was. It had been filled with statues of Xie Lian, and paintings stretching back five hundred years… revealing that Hua Cheng had once been a child that Xie Lian had rescued during the Shangyuan Festival. As the years had gone by, and Xie Lian ascended and then fell from grace, Hua Cheng had followed him, his devotion unwavering and deepening to the point of obsession. For five hundred years. He hadn’t just loved Xie Lian — he worshiped him.

Xie Lian still remembered Hua Cheng’s face as he had waited, dreading the rejection that he had been sure would come. More powerful than many of the gods, an ancient and powerful ghost… and his heart had been as fragile as a soap bubble between Xie Lian’s fingers. Instead, Xie Lian had begged Hua Cheng to kiss him… and Hua Cheng had eagerly obeyed.

And since that day, they had been inseparable.

That had been six months ago.

*

“What do you want to eat, gege?” Hua Cheng asked.

He no longer looked like a youth of sixteen or seventeen, a form he often took when he and Xie Lian explored the mortal realm. Instead, he appeared in his true form, which was also Xie Lian’s favorite — a tall, lean young man with unbound black hair and elegant features, dressed in clothes the color of autumn maple leaves. The greatest difference was his right eye, which was now hidden by a black patch.

“I’m not sure,” Xie Lian said, glancing around at other tables to see what other patrons were eating. “I haven’t been in a place like this for a very long time.”

“Well, then…” Hua Cheng said, with a slightly devilish smile.

He snapped his fingers, and a waiter immediately rushed over. “Bring us one of everything you make,” he ordered.

“San Lang!” Xie Lian cried. “I can’t eat that much!”

“You don’t have to finish,” Hua Cheng assured him. “Just eat what you like, and ignore what you don’t.”

He placed a hand on Xie Lian’s, and lightly twined their fingers together. Xie Lian started to protest again, but then he saw the look in Hua Cheng’s eye, and felt heat flooding into his cheeks again. Hua Cheng probably wouldn’t kiss him in a crowded restaurant — probably, unless Xie Lian asked him — but it was abundantly clear that he wanted to.

Flustered, Xie Lian lowered his eyes, but clasped his fingers tightly around Hua Cheng’s hand. He still wasn’t used to Hua Cheng looking at him that way, and sometimes it caught him off guard. He was with someone who loved him, treasured him, adored him as if he were still a god… and it felt like something that should have happened to someone else.

He had known what it was like to be loved and worshiped when he was young and naive. Throughout his childhood and youth, he had been surrounded by people who thought he was a shining jewel. When he had ascended to godhood, his people had worshiped him, erecting countless temples and shrines to the prince who had captured their hearts.

Then love had turned to hate, and those that had worshiped him looted his temples and spat on his statues. His friends had left, and his parents had killed themselves, leaving him with nothing but sorrow, rage and remorse. For five hundred years, Xie Lian had drifted through his immortal life, without love of any kind touching him. He had become used to being alone, to having no one in his life who cared about him. He no longer had thought about it.

But someone had loved him all that time. He just hadn’t known it.

The waiters brought over several dishes, so many that they nearly overflowed from the table. Xie Lian thanked them profusely, and then wavered over what foods to try. It reminded him of the first real dinner that he and Hua Cheng had had together — Hua Cheng had ordered some of everything on that occasion as well, and had even fed Xie Lian with his own chopsticks.

“How does that one taste, gege?” Hua Cheng asked, as Xie Lian tried a pork dish with a spicy sauce.

“It’s good,” Xie Lian said after swallowing. “San Lang, have some.”

“Just a taste,” Hua Cheng said, with a wicked smile.

Before Xie Lian could react, Hua Cheng leaned over towards him, close enough that Xie Lian could feel his eyelashes brush against his cheek. Then he felt something cool and wet pass over his lips, just briefly enough to clean traces of the sauce from his mouth.

Then Hua Cheng settled back on his seat cushion, smiling with satisfaction. “Delicious,” he said in a low voice.

Xie Lian could only hide his burning face behind his hands.

“Gege,” that deep voice murmured, close to his ear. “I won’t do it again — not in public, at least. Please, look at me.”

Gentle hands took Xie Lian’s, and pulled them away from his face. As he opened his eyes, he felt cool lips touching one burning cheek, and gentle fingers touching the other. Hua Cheng’s raven-black hair was brushing against his throat, and the red bead at the end of his thin braid tapped lightly against Xie Lian’s jaw.

For a moment, he forgot that they were in a crowded restaurant, surrounded by strange people. A smile crossed his face, and he tilted his face towards Hua Cheng so that the kiss would linger a little longer.

“You look so beautiful when you blush, gege,” Hua Cheng whispered. His fingers skimmed Xie Lian’s hair before he settled back in his own seat, and gazed at the crown prince while they ate.