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“Gege, what did I ever do to deserve this treatment? You know this humble servant will go above and beyond for you, but I think this punishment is far too cruel,” Hua Cheng complained.
Xie Lian turned his head from where he was sitting. “Well, this husband,” he corrected, “must endure this cruel and brutal punishment until I am satisfied,” he replied, a smirk spreading across his face.
“Oh heavens, it seems I am suddenly becoming weaker! I will be unable to continue as I am simply too weak now,” the other whined, before promptly collapsing to the floor.
With a smirk, Hua Cheng continued to lay on the floor, the color draining from his face. The calligraphy brushes he was just holding lay abandoned by his side, covered in black ink.
With an exasperated sigh, Xie Lian stood up and walked over to his dramatic husband. Clicking his tongue a few times, he said, “I thought this ghost king was all powerful? Yet,” his eyes darted over to the scroll laid on the table, covered with frustrated marks, “he is unable to complete a simple calligraphy worksheet. What a shame, I was even hoping to reward him for his good actions.”
Hua Cheng’s teasing smirk quickly turned to a pout, as he realized his stubbornness had prevented him from getting spoiled by his gege. “Even ghost kings can get tired, after all I have been cooped in this room all day doing calligraphy.”
“Oh, don’t make it seem like you’ve spent your whole life doing this!” Xie Lian retorted, as he knelt down and brought his face closer to Hua Cheng’s, “Calligraphy is a very important skill. I am only doing this for San Lang’s own good, you know that, right?” he asked, brushing a hand against his husband's face.
The ghost king nuzzled his face into his hand, refusing to speak, and only letting out a frustrated “hmph.” Xie Lian then brought his other hand to caress Hua Cheng’s face as well, turning it forward to face him. “Well, it seems that you have been working very hard all day, and deserve a break after all you have done. If this gege gives you some affection, will you promise to work hard afterwards?”
Hua Cheng felt excited at the prospect of receiving some attention, just like a little child would. “En. This San Lang promises to do his very best if he is properly rewarded now.”
Xie Lian bent his head down to pepper small kisses across his husband's forehead, before landing a quick one on his mouth. Pulling away, he was met with the flushed face of his beloved, pointed ears turning red at the tips with eyes that would always widen whenever his gege took initiative. It was adorable, really, how flustered he got after he had just so confidently teased him. He couldn’t handle how his love for his husband was overflowing from every point in his body, so he simply collapsed on top of Hua Cheng, watching the other squirm in surprise.
Hua Cheng dropped the brushes he was just holding and wrapped his arms around Xie Lian, moving his hands up and down the silk robes on his back. His face that ended up in the crook of the other's neck relaxed, a small chuckle let out from time to time.
“Your punishment for not listening to me is having to deal with my weight for the next 10 minutes!” Xie Lian exclaimed.
“Ah, but gege only feels like a feather lying on top of me? Even if you weighed a thousand pounds, this husband would be more than happy to carry you whenever you pleased.”
“Stop with the teasing, San Lang!”
“You know you will never find another man as sincere as me, gege,” San Lang claimed.
In response, Xie Lian pulled himself off of the other, while also flipping San Lang so they were both on their side, facing each other. He looked into his husband's face, and couldn’t help feeling a bit flustered at the sight. No matter how many years they spent together, he would never think that his husband was any less handsome. In fact, today he seemed even more attractive than normal!
Hua Cheng's eye stared back at him with nothing but love in his gaze, crinkling a bit as his mouth was drawn up into a smile. Shiny flecks swirled around in his iris, and pink dotted his face even though he had no blood left to flow. His dark brown hair was strewn across his face, falling to the floor and snaking its way towards Xie Lian. There were rays of sunlight entering the room from a window whose blinds were never closed, shining gold onto their faces. Xie Lian wanted to close his eyes due to the brightness, but there wasn't a chance in hell, or heaven for that matter, that he would shut them when such a sight was right in front of him!
“How,” Xie Lian wondered, “Can this man be so perfect?”
It seemed that his husband was thinking the exact same thing as at that very moment, Hua Cheng sighed, “I really don’t deserve you.”
Xie Lian gave Hua Cheng’s chest a light slap with one of his hands and brought the other up to hold his head. “Don’t say things like that! You are the most perfect husband I could ever ask for. Words cant express how much I love you and how grateful I am for you. San Lang, you will forever be my most special and most devoted believer. Okay?”
“En,” Hua Cheng replied, as he shifted his gaze away.
“I want you to tell me in clear words, or else I’ll make you do twice as many calligraphy practice sheets!”
“.... I am geges most special and devoted believer,” he mumbled.
“And? What else?” Xie Lian probed.
“And I am his husband who he loves very much.”
“My perfect and wonderful husband who I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Xie Lian finished, “who always talks badly about himself and who I wish would see what I see in him.”
The god pulled the ghost king into an embrace, laying a fat kiss on his eyepatch, where a missing eye lay underneath. “As a reward for his hard practice, will my husband allow me to pamper him today?”
“I will always go along with whatever my gege desires,” the other said, his eyes now solely focused on Xie Lian’s own, looking with a mix of desire and admiration that was hard to describe.
Without saying a word more, he began to run his hands through his San Lang’s hair, pushing it behind his ears to reveal his adorable cheeks. He took a hand out of the hair to run a finger down his sideburns and across the chin, bringing it down to caress his clavicle, causing the other to shiver a bit. He kneaded his thumbs against the crook of San Lang’s neck, frowning at the stiffness.
“San Lang, has anyone given you a massage before?” he asked.
Hua Cheng seemed to be lost in his own world, happy with the spoiling, so he could only lazily reply, “No, gege.”
“Then, will you let me give you one? These shoulders are far too stiff.”
It finally registered to the ghost what his husband was offering, and his once half-lidded eye grew wide again. “No-no gege, you don't have to force yourself!” He exclaimed, his hands moving rapidly in nervousness.
“I’m not forcing myself. I want to do this for you. You just said you would let me pamper you, so can I not also give you a massage?”
“If that’s what gege truly wishes.”
“It truly is.”
Xie Lian sat up with a small groan,and Hua Cheng soon followed suit. Then, he shuffled to be behind the other, his white robes trailing behind him as he moved. He happily hummed to himself as he used his nimble hands to gather up all of the black hair that fell off of his husbands shoulders, pushing it all to the middle of his back.
“Gege, I'm really fine, are you sure you wanna-” Hua Cheng hesitated.
“Yes, yes. I want to give you some relief, I know running a whole city isn't exactly easy! You deserve a break too.”
“Even just seeing your face for a quick moment is enough relief for me, you know,” he retorted.
“Yes, yes. I know that perfectly well.”
Leaning over to give his husband a peck on the cheek, Xie Lian continued. Firstly cracking his knuckles, he began by using his thumbs to lightly knead into the ghosts stiff shoulders. Hua Cheng instantly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. As the god continued to push into his skin, using the heels of his hands, it was like the other began to melt. He continued to hum away, feeling incredibly happy at the rare opportunity to pamper him. As Hua Chengs shoulders relaxed, he moved down to his back, and then his arms, and then his hands. Of course, the hand massage was simply an excuse to hold his hand for some time (although Hua Cheng did not mind at all.) After an amount of time unbeknownst to the both of them, Xie Lian was finally finished, and gave his now gooey mess of a husband a final kiss.
“Did you like that, San Lang?”
Hua Cheng, now completely relaxed, only replied with a simple, “Mm.”
“See, its not so bad when I pamper you for a little bit! Let me do this more often, okay?” Xie Lian asked.
“Mm.. but in return I want to do something for gege too,” he muttered.
“Then, you can stay with me right now,” he replied, before moving back to face San Lang. The man's face looked 10 times more at peace than he had ever seen him, with relaxed eyebrows and eyes that fluttered shut for multiple seconds at a time.
“Gege, I love you.”
“I love you too, San Lang.”
Hua Cheng unexpectedly jumped forward, grabbing the other and pulling him close to his chest. Xie Lian adjusted himself so he was now sitting in his lap. They both cuddled together, neither wishing to move, as their red and white robes blended together in the embrace. San Lang played with his beloved's hair with one hand, the other firmly clasped in Xie Lian’s. “Do I really have to continue my calligraphy practice?” he mumbled.
With a small giggle, his husband replied, “I’ll let you off for today.” This seemed to please San Lang as he snuggled even closer to the other, allowing more time for his eyes to remain closed between blinks as his head slowly lolled forward. It took no time at all for him to fall asleep, a still very-conscious Xie Lian in his arms.
Xie Lian glanced over at the brushes San Lang was once holding, feeling a twinge of pity in his heart at their abandonment. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and he reached to grab one of them. With the ink still on the tip he took San Lang’s hand that was still entwined with his, and began to draw.
Hua Cheng woke up to find Xie Lian asleep in his lap, and their entwined hands decorated with countless marks of love and devotion. Oh heavens, Xie Lian really was going to be the death of him.