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tmariea · 7 months

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Wash Away the Weariness

Fandom: TGCF/Heaven Official's Blessing

Pairing: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Rating: G

Summary:

“San Lang is so kind for letting me borrow his bath.” “Actually gege, I was hoping you might let me help you wash.” ----- Or, Xie Lian comes home dirty and tired after a day planting in Puqi Village, and Hua Cheng takes this as the opportunity to spoil him that it is.

Written for day 12 of MXTX-tober: Hair

Read on AO3, or below the cut!

By the time Xie Lian made it back to the Shrine, the sun was well below the horizon. It had been a planting day in Puqi Village, an activity that most Heavenly Officials would have deemed beneath his dignity. Even if not Xie Lian’s particular dignity, then at least the dignity of his station. The locals at least were always grateful for extra hands, and he was grateful for a way to give his thanks; everyone here had allowed him to make a home for himself, the first real home he’d had in a while. He needed to at least repay the favor. He had spent several awkward conversations deflecting requests to bless the fields with good fortune in the coming season though, for fear of causing drought or blight instead.After all that work since sunup, he was entirely ready to collapse on his mat and sleep until noon - except, there was more planting to be done at dawn anyway.

What Xie Lian hadn’t been expecting was there to be light from the Shrine windows, but he wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t told Hua Cheng about the planting days on purpose. He would have wanted to drop all of his other obligations to help Xie Lian out, regardless of any indifference towards the village. But, he seemed to have a preternatural sense for when Xie Lian had a hard or tiring day.

The ghost king in question was sitting by the altar when Xie Lian opened the door, watching smoke from the incense he had no doubt lit drift into the air. “Good evening, San Lang,” Xie Lian said, and leaned down to steal a quick kiss. He wanted nothing more than to drop into Hua Cheng’s lap and melt into his hold in the way only an exhausted body could, but he had to admit he was completely bedraggled. He’d tied his hair up into a very messy bun, his robes were still tucked up into his belt and pant legs rolled to expose the mud smeared all the way from his knees to his toes, and he wondered if the dirt embedded in the whorls of his fingerprints would come out even if he scrubbed them with a brush. He knew Hua Cheng had personal experience stumbling back in such a state from planting days where he’d helped, but Xie Lian hesitated still. “Let me clean up a bit first.”

“Welcome home, gege. What have you been up to all day?” Hua Cheng asked, letting his gaze drift across Xie Lian’s body. There was a spark in his eye that made Xie Lian have to fight back a blush; he shouldn’t be appealing when this much of a mess, right?

“Planting water chestnuts. There’s more to be done tomorrow too. San Lang is always welcome to stay the night, but I’ll need to sleep before long.”

Hua Cheng only hummed, the light in his eye changing to the one from when he got an idea instead. “This one might have something for that then, if you would permit me to take you back to Paradise Manor for the evening instead.”

Xie Lian turned to hang his straw hat on it’s peg while he pretended to consider. He had a feeling he knew at least part of where Hua Cheng was going with this. Truly the draw of Paradise Manor’s real bath, in comparison to the basin of cold water he would have washed up in here just so he wouldn’t have to make a fire and heat it, was just too great. “Alright, so long as San Lang can have me back here by dawn tomorrow.”

“Anything for you Dianxia,” Hua Cheng intoned, and Xie Lian did a bad job of concealing his snicker at the muscle that twitched in his cheek. He knew Hua Cheng would be loath to give him back so soon.

Xie Lian kissed that cheek in silent apology, and took Hua Cheng’s hand, letting himself be whisked back to the Manor. As soon as they stepped into in the main hall, he felt some of the tension he hadn’t even noticed relax out of his shoulders. It was still early spring, and the Shrine had been colder than he had realized. “San Lang is so kind for letting me borrow his bath.”

“Actually gege, I was hoping you might let me help you wash,” Hua Cheng said has he began leading them in the direction of the master suite.

Xie Lian felt his cheeks start to heat, and raised his free hand to press it against the side of his face. Being comfortable even just changing or otherwise being nude in front of Hua Cheng as something he was still very much getting used to, much less any kind of touch in that state.

Hua Cheng gave his hand a comforting squeeze, no doubt picking up on his hesitancy. “Only if gege wishes. I can wait for you to come to bed if you would prefer to bathe alone.”

“I think I would wish,” Xie Lian replied, taking a steadying breath and squeezing the hand back. Hua Cheng was never anything but respectful of him and how far he was comfortable progressing their relationship. He doubted this would be any different. He looked back up at Hua Cheng with a smile, just in time to catch a pleased look on the ghost king’s face.

“After you then.” Hua Cheng opened the door to his suites and gestured forward.

Ghost City had many bathhouses, beautiful and well-appointed with amenities. However, Hua Cheng’s station and wealth afforded him his own private bath, a fact that Xie Lian was grateful for. It wasn’t even just a bronze tub, which would have been luxury enough, but instead a small pool sunk into the floor and lined with stone tiles. It was also already full of steaming water; Hua Cheng must have called ahead on a private array to have it filled before they’d even arrived. Xie Lian thought he could just about melt at the sight.

He stepped over to a bench near the wall to begin undoing his robes, only to be stopped as Hua Cheng said, “Allow me.”

All Xie Lian could muster was an, “Ah, okay,” and then let his hands fall to his sides. He hardly knew what to do with them while Hua Cheng stepped up so they were only standing with inches between them. Xie Lian had been dressed and undressed constantly in his life as a prince, but that was so long ago it almost felt as if it had happened to someone else, or something he’d read in a book once and only imagined. He’d fallen completely out of the habit.

Hua Cheng reached for the edges of Xie Lian’s robes, which made the god’s heart rate pick up with momentary nervousness (ridiculous, you take off your outer robe every night to go to sleep with him), only to settle back down as those hands lingered, caressing his shoulders in a calming way. Each piece of clothing was the same, gentle hands brushing up and down at his waist, his hips, until he was bare before Hua Cheng.

“Is this alright, gege?”

“Yes, this is fine.” And actually, it was. Hua Cheng’s touch had spoken of slowness and care, in a way that had assuaged much of his self-consciousness. It still burbled along under the surface, but at a level that he could set to the side. Xie Lian gave him a warm smile, and stepped up to the edge of the pool.

The water was so hot when he first stepped in, that he had to pause for a moment standing on the bench halfway into the pool, before easing the rest of the way in with a groan. He could hear Hua Cheng’s delighted laughter from behind him. “San Laaang,” Xie Lian said with only a touch of a whine in his voice. He turned around so he could drape his arms lazily along the edge of the bath, and rest his cheek on them, while he watched Hua Cheng finish folding his white robes neatly onto the bench.

“Yes, gege? Is the water nice?” he asked, while removing his rings and bracers to place on the bench too.

“Very nice, thank you. But you, you are enjoying this too much.”

Hua Cheng only made a humming noise in his throat, one which sounded suspiciously like a self-satisfied agreement, and moved next to collect a towel and rummage about on a set of shelves. He pulled down bottles and brushes and soap beans, before coming to kneel on the towel next to the bath and lay out his finds. “Of course I am enjoying a chance to spoil my Dianxia. It’s my favorite activity. Aside from holding my Dianxia, or kissing my Dianxia, or—”

Xie Lian cut him off by sitting up and pressing both of his hands to Hua Cheng’s face. “You are too much! And all of that is too much too.” He took away just one hand to gesture to the row of tools and products. Hua Cheng just kissed the palm still over his lips, causing Xie Lian to squeak in surprise at the same time as he felt like sparks were shooting up his fingers and down his wrist. His reflex was to pull the hand away, but Hua Cheng gently caught his wrist and lowered it to his lap to begin cleaning under the nails with a pick.

Xie Lian felt he could hardly protest a second time; he had agreed to let Hua Cheng help him bathe after all. What had he expected that to consist of, a quick wash of his body and hair with rice water? There was no way it was going to be that simplistic. So he sighed and relaxed back against the edge of the pool, letting all of his muscles slacken against the tiles - slightly warm from the proximity to the water - and his hand lay still in Hua Cheng’s lap.

Once the nails on his first hand were cleaned and an attempt had been made on the dirt in his fingerprints - as expected, there was still a little bit between the creases but also Hua Cheng had been gentler with his scrubbing than was truly necessary - Xie Lian passed over his other hand willingly. “What is San Lang thinking about?” he asked.

“I was wondering if gege would let me paint his nails. I expect gege wouldn’t want black, but I could get pale peach, or gold, or,” and Xie Lian couldn’t help but notice the faint flush nearly hidden by the bowed angle of Hua Cheng’s head, “would you wear red?”

“Ah, I don’t know, it seems so impractical for me! You know I work with my hands all the time,” Xie Lian replied with the first thoughts that came to his mind. It had always been the same when he was Crowned Prince; even though painted nails were fashionable with the nobility his cultivation training had made it impractical. But then he paused to considered it further. There was something really beautiful about Hua Cheng’s black nails against his pale hands. What might it look like against his own? What would it look like to so boldly wear Hua Cheng’s color? “… maybe someday.”

“I’ll have to find a few colors gege might like then, for someday.” Hua Cheng did a bad job of disguising the excited light in his eye behind a self satisfied grin.

Xie Lian couldn’t help but smile back as his heart did funny things in his chest at the sight of Hua Cheng so happy. But then remembering the ghost king’s particular penchant for going over the top, added, “Just a few. A pale peach sounds nice. And San Lang can pick out his favorite red, too.”

It was Xie Lian’s turn to be satisfied with himself as Hua Cheng let out a breathy, “Gege,” with a gob-smacked expression on his face. He recovered quickly enough though, giving Xie Lian possession of his hand back and asking for a leg next.

The position that required made Xie Lian laugh at first, with his hands braced on the seat so he could rest a foot on the side of the pool. It remained funny, and a little ticklish, while Hua Cheng scrubbed at the dirt on his foot and up his shins from ankle to knee. It became less so, the anxiety he’d kept at a buzz so low he had nearly forgotten it bubbling up again, as the hands attending to him moved up to his thigh. Xie Lian’s hands clenched almost without his notice around the edge of the bench, and he bit the inside of his lip. How had, through all of this so far, he failed to notice the distinct presence of each of Hua Cheng’s fingertips?

The anxiety spawned frustration, his mind pulling in two different directions by the emotions. This was Hua Cheng, he would never touch him in a way Xie Lian didn’t want. And he did want that kind of touch to mean something more someday, to be comfortable with that, but not now, not now. And it wasn’t that now, the hands gentle but not insistent so why couldn’t the rest of him believe—

“Would gege tell me how to plant water chestnuts? I’ve only ever helped with the rice.”

Xie Lian snapped out of his spiral with an inelegant, “Huh?” When he looked back up into Hua Cheng’s eye, that gaze was locked onto his face and held a different question, ‘are you still alright?’ Xie Lian took a calming breath and shook the competing thoughts out of his head. “Oh, ah, yes of course.” He launched into a description of water chestnut bulbs and how to bury them in the flooded fields, while Hua Cheng’s hands resumed their task. It was easy enough to throw himself into the distraction; Hua Cheng’s hunger for knowledge was vast, and wonderful for knowing his full attention was fixed on Xie Lian’s words and only his words.

By the time he was done with the miniature lesson, both of his legs were clean, and Hua Cheng instructed, “Gege, turn around so I can wash your back.” That he could do with a contented sigh. Even if the hands against his bare skin was new, there was an easy familiarity from Hua Cheng running his hands up and down Xie Lian’s back as he fell asleep, any time they spent the night together. This time it was accompanied by a harder press of fingers, thumbs tracing with intention in an arc from the top to bottom of his shoulder blades, then down the middle of his back on either side of his spine. When Xie Lian made an inquiring noise, Hua Cheng answered, “Gege did such hard work bent over all day; this lowly one couldn’t possibly let him go back out sore tomorrow.” And then he really set to work on his back, section by section, devoting knuckles and the heel of his palm to the task in addition to his thumbs.

“San Lang,” Xie Lian groaned as Hua Cheng dug into a particularly difficult knot. He felt like he was only being held up by the shape of the bathing pool and those hands.

“Yes? Is there something you wanted to tell me?” asked his mischievous ghost, as if he was completely unaware of the absolute puddle of god that was about melt all over his bathroom floor if he kept that up.

“Feels good. That one had been bothering me actually.” Xie Lian momentarily dislodged the hands as he rotated his shoulder a bit to test the improved mobility, and then leaned back again.

“I couldn’t let gege hurt,” Hua Cheng said, voice softer than before and touch fleeting. It took Xie Lian a moment to recognize that it had been the gentlest kiss to the spot. But then the insincere tone was back. “Should I give gege more massages then? Maybe next time on the bed so I can give better pressure?”

“Heavens yes,” Xie Lian said with another moan. He recognized the irony of getting so worked up about his legs and then egging Hua Cheng on in this. But his beloved teased him so much that it was always a great pleasure to fluster him in return. This time apparent in the way his hands stuttered where they had continued with the massage. He grinned thinking of the faint cracks he knew would be on Hua Cheng’s face - the almost imperceptible widening of his eye, the slight slackening of his jaw. Xie Lian would would let himself be teased forever if only he could see that expression too.

It seemed the massage didn’t just stop with his back, because as soon as Hua Cheng got his hands into Xie Lian’s hair, he started rubbing circles into his scalp. If Xie Lian had thought he couldn’t get any more boneless, this just about proved him wrong. Hua Cheng laughed at him as he obviously fought to keep his head from lolling. “Come, lay your head on my lap,” he instructed.

“Ah, I’d just get San Lang wet,” Xie Lian protested, not even mentioning the obvious impracticality.

“We’re about to get into sleep clothes anyway. Please, gege?”

Xie Lian gave in, because that really did sound nice. To still give access to most of his head, he turned a little to rest the side of his face on Hua Cheng’s knees. He did have to turn his head back just a bit to try to see Hua Cheng’s expression, such a soft smile. Xie Lian loved knowing that he was the only one who got to see Hua Cheng like this, something special just for the two of them.

He stopped considering such things pretty quickly though, as the hands returned to his hair. This time Hua Cheng’s fingers seemed to just be absently rubbing, without any particular goal. It still felt good, and Xie Lian found himself drifting with his eyes half-shut for a little while, until the dig of the tile into his shoulder reminded him where he was. “Alright, enough of that,” he said, far too sleepily for the admonishment to mean anything, “I’m about to end up spending the whole night in your tub, and then I really will be sore in the morning.”

“Apologies gege. I guess I will have to find a better place next time, so you can fall asleep in my lap comfortably.”

Xie Lian’s cheeks felt warm at the thought, and perhaps if he was lucky Hua Cheng would assume that was just from the heat. He was only ever lucky when it came to Hua Cheng, so maybe he could convince himself it was working. He did want to do this again though, so he gave an affirmative, “Mn,” in reply.

He had to lift his head back up then, so Hua Cheng could actually get to the task of washing his hair. After that, he stepped out of the bath to let Hua Cheng bundle him up into the biggest, warmest towel he’d ever felt, pinning his arms to his sides and all. Xie Lian laughed. “San Lang, I look like one of your butterfly cocoons.”

“Sure,” Hua Cheng replied with a grin, “but usually it’s the pretty thing that comes out of the cocoon, not what goes into it.”

Xie Lian snorted dramatically, to prevent himself from dissolving into giggles at his ghost’s shameless flirting. He wiggled a hand out from the towel and pushed against Hua Cheng’s chest. “You said you were about to get into sleep robes too. Go on, while I dry off.”

“But I was supposed to get to help gege with his whole bath.”

“I think I can do just this one thing, so you’re not still wet too. Go on, and then I’ll let you comb my hair.” Xie Lian had a feeling that would be a good enough exchange, and it was at least one that Hua Cheng accepted. He turned back to the bench and handed over a set of white sleep robes, before starting to strip off his own outer robes. Xie Lian set to his own task, cheeks heating. ‘Ridiculous, he’s been seeing you naked all night,’ he tried to tell himself, promptly realized that that was just making matters worse, and decided it was best if he just stopped thinking.

Dressed and dried, Xie Lian sat down on the stool set out before a bronze mirror. Examining his own reflection, especially in a stable surface rather than in a stream or a basin of water, was also an activity he’d fallen out of practice with. Time was, the figure in the mirror was always proud and tall, impeccably dressed and convinced of his own invincibility. The Xie Lian who looked back at him now still had an upright posture, but a little tired, a little worn around the edges. But then he watched the reflection of Hua Cheng step up behind him, saw the way his own face changed. Hua Cheng had always been the one to remind him what it meant to be happy, and what did a little wear compare to a gift like that?

“Would Dianxia let his San Lang braid his hair?” Hua Cheng asked, shaking the god from his minor ruminations.

Thinking of a day in his little shrine, when their positions were reversed, Xie Lian said, “What, you don’t want to give me a crooked ponytail?”

“No, I think that one is better suited for me, don’t you think.” Hua Cheng’s eye was sparkling as reached around to the small table and picked up a vial of hair oil.

They were surrounded by the scent of honeysuckle as he began to work it through Xie Lian’s hair. It was a different scent than Hua Cheng usually wore - a little musky, a little like roses - so he must have bought this oil with Xie Lian in mind. As much as Hua Cheng liked to insist that everything he had was Xie Lian’s, this kind of little thing was what made him feel most like he belonged in Hua Cheng’s home. Not everything handed over to him, but the thought of his hair oil on the shelf next to Hua Cheng’s. Something for each of them, next to, not subsumed by.

He felt like those thoughts, all of his thoughts since he sat down before the mirror really, were too weighty, too complicated, to voice in the state of sleepy relaxation that was taking him over again courtesy of the hands in his hair. So instead he said, “This scent is nice. Thank you for picking it for me, San Lang.”

Hua Cheng was good at understanding him without words anyway. “Of course, gege,” he said out loud, but the slower stroke of his hands against Xie Lian’s scalp before he separated the hair out for braiding said that he knew.

Xie Lian stood once the braid was tied off, and Hua Cheng took his arm again, as if leading him to a grand procession, not just through the door to the bedroom. He even held open the door, and pulled back the sheets. Xie Lian could protest, but at this point he felt like there may not be any purpose left to that.

“You know, maybe I should come out to help with the planting tomorrow, now that gege has so kindly taught me how to plant water chestnuts,” Hua Cheng suggested as he rounded the bed and slid beneath the blankets on the other side.

“Hmm, but I thought San Lang said he had important ghost city business to attend to. I thought he said it might take all week. Have you finished already?” It was the reason Xie Lian had made a point of not mentioning the planting days in the first place.

Hua Cheng groaned and turned his face into the pillow. “It’s so boring dealing with that trash. Almost as bad as calligraphy practice. Almost worse.”

“If it’s anything like calligraphy practice, then it’s good for you.”

“Gege is so cruel to his San Lang.”

Xie Lian could only laugh at the dramatics that he was well accustomed to by now. “I suppose I will just have to make it up.” He pulled on Hua Cheng’s shoulder a bit, to get him to turn his face out of the pillow, and leaned in for the kiss that he’d been wanting since he first found Hua Cheng waiting in Puqi Shrine.

The humming sound Hua Cheng made against his lips said that this was a perfectly acceptable apology. As did the fingers that cupped the back of his neck and worked their way into the hair at the base of his braid, and the hand that stroked up and down his back, a mirror from in the bath. Xie Lian hooked a knee over Hua Cheng’s legs, and shifted closer, but he really didn’t have the energy left for much more than that. He let himself drift on the feeling of the lazy, languid kisses, until eventually he let his head droop into the crook of Hua Cheng’s neck.

“Next time, San Lang will have to let me help him bathe,” he said, mostly muffled into the red silk sleep robe.

It seemed Hua Cheng understood anyway, because he replied, “This lowly one couldn’t possibly let—”

“Shhh,” Xie Lian cut him off, and then leaned up to kiss the protest away. “You took such good care of me. I want to take care of San Lang too.”

“If gege would let me come out planting with him tomorrow, you’d have an excuse for that sooner.”

“San Lang!” Xie Lian laughed and gave a halfhearted swat against Hua Cheng’s chest. “I know I can’t really stop you.” One look at the smug grin forming on his ghost king’s face, and Xie Lian turned over in his hold so he was facing away. “Goodnight!”

“Good idea, we both have to be up early then.”

“I’m already asleep, I love you, goodnight!” Xie Lian wiggled back until his back rested against Hua Cheng’s chest. A pair of cool arms wrapped around him and pulled him back just a little bit further. Xie Lian was really almost asleep as it was. But awake for just long enough to hear, “Goodnight, beloved,” before he drifted off.

#tgcf #hualian #mxtxtober23 #mxtxtober2023 #hua cheng #xie lian #heaven official’s blessing #tian guan ci fu #this is just fluff truly

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