Chapter Text
"San Lang,"
Hua Cheng looked up from the desk.
"Gege?"
Xie Lian sat, palm propped up under his chin while a concentrated gaze fixated on his husband's face.
"Have you worn lipstick before?"
Hua Cheng cocked his brow. He gave a warm, amused smile.
"Does gege want me to?"
Xie Lian faltered.
"No- No… I'm just asking, San Lang."
With a gentle 'swoosh' of his robes, the Ghost King crossed his legs and propped a hand under his chin. Almost as if he were telling Xie Lian to ‘go on’.
Xie Lian sucked in a breath.
"You wear jewelry, elegant robes, hair accessories-"
Hua Cheng nods, his head pieces jingling along.
"And even sometimes heels."
He opens his mouth but hesitates for a second, before continuing.
"Heels?"
Xie Lian panics.
"B-Boots! I meant boots! With... a heel."
Hua Cheng smiles with a nod, but Xie Lian quiets down. He gestures with a gentle move of the hand for his beloved to go on, once again.
"Thus, I wonder if you've gone further. You know, in... expressing yourself."
"Is gege becoming interested in makeup?"
Xie Lian shakes his head rather cutely.
"No, no, San Lang! You have to listen!"
Crimson Rain Sought Flower was, indefinitely, listening. Not only listening - but understanding. It is only that he cannot help himself when it comes to teasing his beloved, cruelly enjoying every second of it.
"San Lang is listening, go on."
Xie Lian huffs in slight frustration.
"San Lang, have you ever worn red lipstick?"
A nod.
"Yes, I have."
Xie Lian's eyes lit up.
The Prince was truly in awe at such an objectively miniscule piece of information. Although, to him, it was precious. To imagine such a sight, the all-powerful Ghost King; “Crimson Rain Sought Flower” wearing rouge, something traditionally feminine and alluring - was beyond exciting.
But to see it, he thought, was a privilege.
Hua Cheng's foot which dangled carelessly grazed over the side of Xie Lian's shin, prompting the prince to suddenly look ahead and exit out of his train of thought. What he was met with were a crimson eye glaring, demanding for an explanation. With a single look the Ghost King managed to get his beloved speaking.
"When, and… why?"
Hua Cheng continued with the moving of his foot, up and down - noticing a glint of bashfulness in his beloved's eyes.
"San Lang will tell you. But…"
Hua Cheng stood up. Xie Lian looked up.
"Gege will have to help me."
Careful fingers slid under the prince's chin - and a devilish thumb rested atop it.
Xie Lian gulped.
"Yes, San Lang."
The hairs on Xie Lian’s neck stand.
He can feel it - San Lang’s grip on the fabric’s ends, his masterful fingers carefully tying a knot, occasionally grazing his hair. The movement traveled through the prince’s hair, acting as a divider, yet also a linkage between the skin of Xie Lian’s neck and Hua Cheng’s touch.
All he saw was black.
“San Lang… I will see you either way. Is the blindfold necessary?”
Upon finishing, the Ghost King took a few steps beside Xie Lian.
“Unless gege wants to see me change, then no, it is not.”
Xie Lian breathed out, settled in his seat and didn't dare to ask any more.
Hua Cheng’s steps continued far from the prince, thus settling in a spot, unmoving.
The sounds of various fabrics slipping and meshing traveled the bedroom, one’s which Xie Lian was far from unfamiliar with. They were royal fabrics, rich and prestigious - one’s which he has worn many times himself. The prince pondered, using the power of his imagination to guess which type and color of hanfu his husband would wear. The possibilities were truly limitless, considering Hua Cheng’s high status.
“Sa-”
“Is gege feeling comfortable?”
Xie Lian gulped.
Hua Cheng now stood beside him.
At awe with such a circumstance, the prince’s mouth hung slightly agape - left at a loss for words. How come San Lang made his way next to him unnoticed?
“I apologize, gege. You may finish your sentence.”
Oh, right.
“...San Lang, are you sure that I am needed for this? I mean, I’m just sitting down…”
Hua Cheng put a hand on Xie Lian’s shoulder.
“Trust me, gege. If I need you to do more, I will ask. Besides, you’re perfect as you are right now.”
Xie Lian’s lips curled into a small smile, deciding to trust his husband, no matter how unsure he feels.
“...Right. Of course.”
Hua Cheng maneuvered around his beloved, now standing in front of him.
“Now, gege, I ask again; are you feeling comfortable?”
Xie Lian fiddles with the ends of his sleeves.
Hua Cheng declares;
“Your Highness.”
“Ye- Yes, San Lang?”
The blindfold slips off, and Xie Lian follows it with his eyes, but a second doesn’t pass before he’s staring right ahead - his husband’s mesmerizing pearl skin almost blinding him with its beauty.
He’s wearing a single robe. One which is not made for outside adventures, nor daily indoor endeavors, but a time more intimate and private. It covers his body in the perfect places, leaving much to be discovered, and yet at the same time very little. It is red - but a dark red, much different from the reds Hua Cheng is known to wear. This one is deeper, more haunting and it contrasts against his skin like snow coated in blood.
Xie Lian wishes to speak, but he feels as if all words have been fished out of his mouth - not a single one left to utter.
Hua Cheng laughs.
Only then is it that Xie Lian looks up, eyes peeled away from his husband’s body for a single second - only to be met with another tantalizing view.
Rouge.
Like a rose petal it lay on his San Lang’s lips, so delicately and precisely applied - the true product of an artist’s touch. With a single gulp, images of “geji” flash before Xie Lian’s eyes, the graceful and captivating women which entertained his majesty once upon a time. Their lips were similarly painted; a deep rose which beautifully brought out their pale skin. It is only that Xie Lian has never before seen skin so pale and lips so inviting - not until now. Not until he gazed upon his San Lang’s.
None could compare.
“San Lang…”
Was the prince experiencing a second puberty, or simply the effects of a fever?
“You’re…”
In the midst of a warm haziness, Xie Lian would pan down.
“Barefoot?”
Instinctively, Hua Cheng looked down at his feet, then back up at the prince.
“Is that what you have to say, gege?”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“N- No, San Lang, I just… realize now why I couldn't hear you walk up to me earlier. That’s it…”
“That’s it?”
Xie Lian gripped the silky bedsheets in shame, thus looked away. It felt as if every limb of his was weightless, yet on fire. He knew that this wasn’t the end of it, either. So he was only bracing for impact, really.
Hua Cheng made his way towards him quietly, just like last time, and leaned down. He was looking at his beloved, but his beloved wasn’t looking back at him.
“What’s wrong, gege? Won’t you look at me?”
Xie Lian breathed out.
“San Lang…” he whined shakily.
Hua Cheng only embraced his beloved’s cheek, gentle but firm - turning his head back around. Xie Lian looked up into his eye, then at his lips and then at the loosely hung robe which framed his husband’s torso rather scandalously.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
“What do you think, gege? Do you like it?”
Xie Lian stared at Hua Cheng’s torso, still.
“Mm-hmm…”
“The rouge, gege.”
“Oh! Ah… I’m sorry.”
Hua Cheng chuckled.
“I do, I do!”
He cocked a brow.
“Do you?”
“Yes, I promise!”
Hua Cheng took a step back.
“Hmm...”
Xie Lian sucked in a breath.
“It- It looks very natural on you, San Lang.”
A light flickered in Hua Cheng’s eye.
“Go on.”
“You’re just...”
He’d breathe out.
“Very beautiful. And it looks really, really good on you… like it was made for you.”
Stood with his hands crossed while looking down at Xie Lian - Hua Cheng smiled. He looked rather satisfied.
“Gege,”
He’d squat down, now a little below eye level with the prince.
“do you know why I was doing this?”
Xie Lian looked puzzled.
“Doing... this? You did this a lot of times before, San Lang?”
“En.”
Hua Cheng looked down, then caressed his own tattoo. Viewing him from above, it almost seemed as if he were solemn.
Xie Lian pushed Hua Cheng’s bangs to the side.
“I… don’t know. Tell me, San Lang. Why were you doing it?”
Xie Lian’s hand traveled down to caress his husband’s cheek, which prompted him to look up.
“To worship you, Your Highness.”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened - mind immediately racing to piece together the true meaning of those words. But before the prince could retaliate, Hua Cheng took his hand, placing a gentle kiss on top of it.
Once he removed his lips, a mark was left.
A kiss from the Ghost King.
Xie Lian was afraid to think further, because if he were to, his heart simply could not handle the conclusion he would eventually come to.
“Centuries ago…”
Hua Cheng’s warm breath lingered on Xie Lian’s skin as it traveled further up.
“in the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods,”
“San Lang...” Xie Lian pleaded as he gripped the robe which draped over his husband’s shoulder.
Hua Cheng placed a kiss on the prince’s wrist.
“I kissed you, just like this.”
Something caught inside of Xie Lian’s throat.
“San Lang - you can’t be serious!”
“It is only that back then, you were made of clay.”
“No...” he argued against it, but also against the tears which inevitably started welling up in his eyes. The thought of that being true, of San Lang worshiping him in that way, all while he was out and about collecting scraps or doing God knows what other embarrassing act - was mortifying. Xie Lian’s mind and body were both rejecting that image, both rejecting that reality. A reality where he is worshiped so earnestly and shamelessly was simply too much for him to bear. Xie Lian covered his face in humiliation.
“Yes… yes, gege. It’s true. Gege knows that I am sincere.”
The prince dared to peek at his husband, and what he caught was a youthful - almost innocent gaze which was filled with devotion. Like that of a child who relies on their parents earnestly, or a dog which loves its owner unconditionally.
And what Hua Cheng caught from his beloved was the same.
“Time was nonexistent, nor relevant when I did so, gege. The only thing important to me - was you.”
Hua Cheng slowly rose up, not letting go of Xie Lian’s hand. He slid a single knee in between his legs, then settled his body weight onto the bed, leaning into his embrace. He’d intertwined their fingers and moved Xie Lian’s hand away from his face. Now he had a clear view of his beloved’s rosy cheeks - one’s which emitted a warmth of their own.
Xie Lian looked at him, dumbfounded.
“I would wear this robe...”
Hua Cheng continued, and Xie Lian’s eyes followed.
“and paint my lips...”
Xie Lian gulped.
“just so I could leave a mark on you.”
Hua Cheng placed a sudden kiss on the prince’s cheek, one so tender and soft it could be reserved only for the most precious of possessions.
“To ensure that you were mine… and mine only, Your Highness.” he spoke against his skin.
Xie Lian let out a small noise at the pressure as his cheek squished against Hua Cheng’s nose. His San Lang swiped a thumb over the remaining rouge print so delicately - as if Xie Lian were akin to a porcelain doll.
“You can’t... you can’t be serious, San Lang.”
The prince spoke shyly.
“Is it really true?”
Almost as if he were whispering.
“Did you really… do it?”
Hua Cheng smiled.
“Your Highness,” he pressed their foreheads against one another, black hair meshing with brown.
“Do you trust me?”