[ near the end of the week, hua cheng will receive a gift. it's handed to him by his mysterious masked assistant, during a less busy time at wu ming.
inside of a small bag is a couple of water chestnuts, and there's a folded note neatly tucked into the bag itself, written in xie lian's beautiful handwriting.
Dearest San Lang, If you aren't too busy this evening, I could use some help harvesting. It would be nice, to have the company. - Xie Lian
[ To say that Hua Cheng's ears perked up would probably be an understatement. With everything happening, any little attention from Xie Lian is welcome, especially as a distraction.
So the trip from Wu Ming to Puji Shrine is quick. He's already rolling up his sleeves and tying them into place as he makes his way back, ready and willing to head back.
... they have some things to talk about, anyways. ]
[ this seems like a silly thing to be nervous about, but xie lian is a little nervous about it. it's not like it wouldn't happen--as wei wuxian had said, perhaps it was an inevitability--and, as he'd said, it didn't have to mean anything. these sorts of bonds were... they were important, for saving-the-world reasons, for keeping the maou safe reasons. they were absolutely necessary, and it would be shameful of xie lian not to participate in them. in the space, they've shared spiritual energy (or rather, hua cheng has given him some), and many secrets about their lives. hua cheng is the person that xie lian feels the most comfortable around, the person he trusts the most, his, quite honestly, most important person. xie lian's friend.
the world is so much happier when he's around.
.....so why is he so embarrassed. this is ridiculous. it means nothing. he's got a few hours to kill before san lang should be able to come by, and it's left xie lian fidgety. in the time since he sent the message down to wu ming, he'd scurried back home and tried to do just about anything to occupy his time. two hours. maybe he could... fix a wall. or, read prayers. or maybe he could try and help someone in the forest as far from puji as possible.
in the end, in his indecision, he sits at the back wall that's not quite fixed yet, and ends up not doing any of those things. rather, xie lian reaches into his sleeve, and pulls out the small red string from algos academy, twisting it between his fingers. how strange, that such a symbol of fate would come into their lives two places in a row, isn't it. and that, combined with... well, the other thing.
another moment of fidgeting, and he looses the chain from around his neck to look at that, too. the perfectly clear diamond on the ring shines and sparkles in the late afternoon light. it was a gift from hua cheng, supposedly one with no meaning (though xie lian found that hard to believe--it also looked incredibly expensive). these two symbols mean the world to so many people in this place, and xie lian had them both on his person already. as if it was some kind of fate.
....how embarrassing.
he's sitting there, back to the entrance, not quite outside yet, because he's not expecting san lang to come for at least another couple of hours, and just, staring at these two objects, pondering them. a sitting duck. ]
[ There are things that he needs to do. People he needs to contact, places he needs to go, investigations that need done. Contacts have to be utilized to the best of their abilities, if only to ensure that everything ends right. But there are a hundred things running in his mind for all of a moment, and all of those tasks are set to the wayside, all because Xie Lian sends him a gift and a note.
Of course he comes as soon as possible. The water chestnuts are secured in a bag, neatly carried with him for later snacks with Xie Lian. Perhaps he'll eat them with him while they're harvesting, or before Xie Lian cooks something for dinner - which he'll eat, more than willingly, and with no negative effects.
... but his ears twitch, and his head lifts, as he finds himself seeing Xie Lian much sooner than anticipated.
The angle that he approaches from doesn't allow for him to see what it is that gege is looking at, at least, but his footsteps are silent as he comes around. Whatever it is, he's as lovely as ever - especially when he's so contemplative. There's this little look to his gaze when he's like this that he loves.
Time to ruin it, he supposes. The surprise and embarrassment is always good, too, though. ]
Oya? [ He says, in his fondest, most teasing voice, as he appears at Xie Lian's shoulder. He should really fix the holes here? Perhaps that's what he'll do, before he leaves for Umite again, because surely gege needs the help. ]
[ logically, xie lian shouldn't be easy to sneak up on. even as the daozhang, he's an observant young man, but san lang is sneaky, and xie lian feels incredibly, incredibly safe around him, so.
the sudden presence of a deep voice in his ear is shocking. he yelps, a high pitched "ah!" noise and jumps about a half a foot, his hands jerking upwards as in shock, he immediately drops everything in his hands, nearly tossing them both. the red string flies up and floats a bit, but perhaps more importantly, the ring on the chain goes flying, hitting the ground on its side and starting to roll innocently away from xie lian's hands. ]
--Ah! [ AH!!!! he nearly clocks hua cheng in the face as he jerks backwards and flails to try and grab the ring as it goes rolling down the crooked floor of puji shrine. ] Nononono--!
[ rip. he's going to go crawling on his hands and knees after it now. ]
[ Well, that wasn't what he intended. Almost as if it's slow-mo, Hua Cheng's dark eye follows the trajectory of the string and the ring, eyebrows raised. The red string floats delicately, and the ring soars off into the wild unknown of Puji Shrine.
But he turns on his heel, tails all flicking behind him - and then it's just one, slapping down into the path of the rolling jewelry to ensure that it can't do any further, since his gege is so worried about losing it. Ironically, he thinks that he would be more than happy to buy him any ring in the world, if that was what he wanted, though surely there's not any out there that are good enough for him. ]
My apologies, gege, I didn't mean to startle you so badly.
[ xie lian jumps for the ring the minute that hua cheng slaps it down, and he's able to safely grab onto it, though not without getting a mouthful of fox fur first. he sighs in relief anyway, wrapping his fingers tight around it, and says a muffled-- ] Shank you, Shan Lang.
[ --before sitting up properly on his heels again. he looks a little frazzled, but the ring is at least safe, and he tucks it hastily back into his sleeve, though, admittedly, it feels odd not to have it hanging at his chest... he'll have to put it back later. xie lian smiles, sheepish, embarrassed, his cheeks pink. ] Ah, no, it's fine, it's alright! I was just.. lost in my thoughts. Haha... ha...
[ ...ha... ] --Oh no, the --!! [ THE STRING... THAT'S EVEN WORSE, ]
Of course. [ His voice is a chuckle, at the muffled voice that thanks him, but Hua Cheng does look away from him as he's sitting up to... look at the slowly landing string. It seems perfectly innocuous, really, just sitting there like that. If you didn't know better, it would be easy to say that it's just a fiddly little bit of string.
Hua Cheng knows better.
But he keeps his reaction from showing on his face, as he moves to bend down and pick up the string carefully between thumb and forefinger. Like he doesn't want to tangle it or separate the strands any. And - maybe he doesn't. Maybe a part of him is hopeful. ]
[ when hua cheng looks up, xie lian is right there. his entire face is bright red, his hands still sort of half stretched out to reach for it, his mouth open in a little o shape. he's left staring at hua cheng as he lifts up the red string, which seems so silly and innocuous. but, the amount of weight on this tiny piece of string makes it more than it seems.
after all, this string was xie lian's from algos academy. it conducted magic, there, and was part of a matching set.
...a matching set with san lang. it's always this way, isn't it? xie lian has come to expect it, come to love it, come to see how much better the world is when san lang is around. seeing that he was hurt so violently in this world had shaken him to his core, because san lang had always felt invincible. but this version, with his cute ears and his cheeky smile, could have been lost.
xie lian closes his mouth, and reaches out for the string. his hand lingers, fingertips pressing gently against his knuckles, and some of the flush starts to fade, as he tries to compose himself a little further. ]
....thank you. [ he says, softly, but he doesn't quite take the string. he doesn't look away, either, keeping his hand there as he tries to decide what to say. it doesn't stop him from looking up at hua cheng like he hung all of the stars in the sky, though. san lang means more to him, he's starting to realize, than he's ever even really thought. than this version of him could even know. ]
[ There's a blink of surprise, seeing Xie Lian so close, although his expression doesn't change from anything but that soft, gentle look that he always has for Xie Lian when he's feeling particularly tenderhearted. He's bent forward, almost like he's about to kneel, and there's no motion to pull away from his side either. Instead, he just - looks at him. A quiet hum is his only response to the gratitude, his ears perked straight on his head, then slowly swiveling back into something relaxed, to match his face.
Xie Lian's hands have always been warm. Even in a world where he has a beating heart, the difference is still there, and Hua Cheng has relished in each and every single touch, gesture, point of contact with the person before him. His kind-hearted Xie Lian, so ready to give you the shirt off his back as much as he is to lay down his life for another person. Who the world was so unkind to.
Every day spent with him, no matter how the rest of the day had been, is a better one. Xie Lian looks at him like he hung the stars in the sky, but, really, the only reason he would have done such a thing is so that Xie Lian could look upon them. For Hua Cheng - back when he was younger, all the way to now, a known and familiar constant - it was Xie Lian who opened up the sky to him in the first place.
So he smiles at him, soft, as he allows himself to follow the natural progression of everything. His posture, his heart, his devotion.
He calmly takes a knee to kneel, breathing out a little huff of a laugh as he covers Xie Lian's hand at his. ] Of course, gege.
[ hua cheng kneeling in front of him is... it's a lot.
seeing san lang like this brings back old memories, of being taizi dianxia, where people would kneel like this on the daily, much to his general disinterest, and it flusters him more than it should. back then, he might have just nodded, used to the behavior from anyone and anyone, but now--now, he doesn't deserve it. the idea of being something valued has been beaten out of xie lian in the past eight hundred years. every amount of pride he had is gone.
but hua cheng has made a concentrated effort to give xie lian what he needed, no matter what that was. most of the time, it was just company, something xie lian ached for more than he ever really knew. other times it was a joke to make him laugh, a cheeky remark that made him smile. sometimes it was help around puji -- a portrait, beautifully drawn for his altar, or a door, when puji didn't have one. in algos, it was much of the same. there, xie lian had fallen head over heels in love with hua cheng, and he carries the memories of that lifetime with him now. and now, again, they're here in this world, a whole other place, where san lang is there. he's always there. he prays desperately perhaps that that will never stop.
xie lian looks down at him, stopping himself from immediately trying to pull him up in embarrassment. his hand is still in san lang's, and he doesn't move it, his fingers curling gently around his hand.
(it would be so selfish of him to say too much. what about the other daozhang? what about-- what could xie lian do, just by being near him? he could destroy hua cheng, and he couldn't live with it.)
but looking at hua cheng here recalls the memories of the six weeks they've spent in this place. of all of the things they've been through. their investigations, his armory, the dreams, the scars, san lang's eye--over and over, they've been through so many things. if the daozhang will remember them all, as he's sure he will, then he can't imagine another xie lian thinking differently.
san lang is so, so important. he is someone to be cherished. a bond that xie lian wants, so badly, to be unbreakable. ]
...San Lang. [ he says, softly, and drops down next to him, to his knees, too. xie lian has not been someone to be worshipped in a long time, but maybe down here they can be equal, giving and taking from each other, learning from each other, growing together. spending time together. his san lang will -- remember this, certainly, even if it's a bit different, and xie lian will hold the terrifying fact in his chest that these little feelings that have started to develop are not just the fault of some alternate universe. they're his.
he gives the hands holding his a tiny squeeze, his face starting to take on color, as he tugs to get him to look at him. ] ...would... we should. I'd like to..
[ be direct, don't chicken out. you can do this. how is it any different from algos academy, before? ]
--if you want to, I'd like to form a red string bond with you. If you'd be willing. [ there we go. once it's out, the words start to tumble. ] I don't ask anything of you, and I don't need anything, and I know, that you'll probably end up supremely unlucky for doing so, and perhaps start running into doors or being chased by disasters but -- I said that I wanted to share with you, and I meant that, and I still do.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
c:
inside of a small bag is a couple of water chestnuts, and there's a folded note neatly tucked into the bag itself, written in xie lian's beautiful handwriting.
Dearest San Lang,
If you aren't too busy this evening, I could use some help harvesting.
It would be nice, to have the company.
- Xie Lian
ya YEET
So the trip from Wu Ming to Puji Shrine is quick. He's already rolling up his sleeves and tying them into place as he makes his way back, ready and willing to head back.
... they have some things to talk about, anyways. ]
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the world is so much happier when he's around.
.....so why is he so embarrassed. this is ridiculous. it means nothing. he's got a few hours to kill before san lang should be able to come by, and it's left xie lian fidgety. in the time since he sent the message down to wu ming, he'd scurried back home and tried to do just about anything to occupy his time. two hours. maybe he could... fix a wall. or, read prayers. or maybe he could try and help someone in the forest as far from puji as possible.
in the end, in his indecision, he sits at the back wall that's not quite fixed yet, and ends up not doing any of those things. rather, xie lian reaches into his sleeve, and pulls out the small red string from algos academy, twisting it between his fingers. how strange, that such a symbol of fate would come into their lives two places in a row, isn't it. and that, combined with... well, the other thing.
another moment of fidgeting, and he looses the chain from around his neck to look at that, too. the perfectly clear diamond on the ring shines and sparkles in the late afternoon light. it was a gift from hua cheng, supposedly one with no meaning (though xie lian found that hard to believe--it also looked incredibly expensive). these two symbols mean the world to so many people in this place, and xie lian had them both on his person already. as if it was some kind of fate.
....how embarrassing.
he's sitting there, back to the entrance, not quite outside yet, because he's not expecting san lang to come for at least another couple of hours, and just, staring at these two objects, pondering them. a sitting duck. ]
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Of course he comes as soon as possible. The water chestnuts are secured in a bag, neatly carried with him for later snacks with Xie Lian. Perhaps he'll eat them with him while they're harvesting, or before Xie Lian cooks something for dinner - which he'll eat, more than willingly, and with no negative effects.
... but his ears twitch, and his head lifts, as he finds himself seeing Xie Lian much sooner than anticipated.
The angle that he approaches from doesn't allow for him to see what it is that gege is looking at, at least, but his footsteps are silent as he comes around. Whatever it is, he's as lovely as ever - especially when he's so contemplative. There's this little look to his gaze when he's like this that he loves.
Time to ruin it, he supposes. The surprise and embarrassment is always good, too, though. ]
Oya? [ He says, in his fondest, most teasing voice, as he appears at Xie Lian's shoulder. He should really fix the holes here? Perhaps that's what he'll do, before he leaves for Umite again, because surely gege needs the help. ]
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the sudden presence of a deep voice in his ear is shocking. he yelps, a high pitched "ah!" noise and jumps about a half a foot, his hands jerking upwards as in shock, he immediately drops everything in his hands, nearly tossing them both. the red string flies up and floats a bit, but perhaps more importantly, the ring on the chain goes flying, hitting the ground on its side and starting to roll innocently away from xie lian's hands. ]
--Ah! [ AH!!!! he nearly clocks hua cheng in the face as he jerks backwards and flails to try and grab the ring as it goes rolling down the crooked floor of puji shrine. ] Nononono--!
[ rip. he's going to go crawling on his hands and knees after it now. ]
no subject
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But he turns on his heel, tails all flicking behind him - and then it's just one, slapping down into the path of the rolling jewelry to ensure that it can't do any further, since his gege is so worried about losing it. Ironically, he thinks that he would be more than happy to buy him any ring in the world, if that was what he wanted, though surely there's not any out there that are good enough for him. ]
My apologies, gege, I didn't mean to startle you so badly.
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[ --before sitting up properly on his heels again. he looks a little frazzled, but the ring is at least safe, and he tucks it hastily back into his sleeve, though, admittedly, it feels odd not to have it hanging at his chest... he'll have to put it back later. xie lian smiles, sheepish, embarrassed, his cheeks pink. ] Ah, no, it's fine, it's alright! I was just.. lost in my thoughts. Haha... ha...
[ ...ha... ] --Oh no, the --!! [ THE STRING... THAT'S EVEN WORSE, ]
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Hua Cheng knows better.
But he keeps his reaction from showing on his face, as he moves to bend down and pick up the string carefully between thumb and forefinger. Like he doesn't want to tangle it or separate the strands any. And - maybe he doesn't. Maybe a part of him is hopeful. ]
It's here.
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after all, this string was xie lian's from algos academy. it conducted magic, there, and was part of a matching set.
...a matching set with san lang. it's always this way, isn't it? xie lian has come to expect it, come to love it, come to see how much better the world is when san lang is around. seeing that he was hurt so violently in this world had shaken him to his core, because san lang had always felt invincible. but this version, with his cute ears and his cheeky smile, could have been lost.
xie lian closes his mouth, and reaches out for the string. his hand lingers, fingertips pressing gently against his knuckles, and some of the flush starts to fade, as he tries to compose himself a little further. ]
....thank you. [ he says, softly, but he doesn't quite take the string. he doesn't look away, either, keeping his hand there as he tries to decide what to say. it doesn't stop him from looking up at hua cheng like he hung all of the stars in the sky, though. san lang means more to him, he's starting to realize, than he's ever even really thought. than this version of him could even know. ]
no subject
Xie Lian's hands have always been warm. Even in a world where he has a beating heart, the difference is still there, and Hua Cheng has relished in each and every single touch, gesture, point of contact with the person before him. His kind-hearted Xie Lian, so ready to give you the shirt off his back as much as he is to lay down his life for another person. Who the world was so unkind to.
Every day spent with him, no matter how the rest of the day had been, is a better one. Xie Lian looks at him like he hung the stars in the sky, but, really, the only reason he would have done such a thing is so that Xie Lian could look upon them. For Hua Cheng - back when he was younger, all the way to now, a known and familiar constant - it was Xie Lian who opened up the sky to him in the first place.
So he smiles at him, soft, as he allows himself to follow the natural progression of everything. His posture, his heart, his devotion.
He calmly takes a knee to kneel, breathing out a little huff of a laugh as he covers Xie Lian's hand at his. ] Of course, gege.
no subject
seeing san lang like this brings back old memories, of being taizi dianxia, where people would kneel like this on the daily, much to his general disinterest, and it flusters him more than it should. back then, he might have just nodded, used to the behavior from anyone and anyone, but now--now, he doesn't deserve it. the idea of being something valued has been beaten out of xie lian in the past eight hundred years. every amount of pride he had is gone.
but hua cheng has made a concentrated effort to give xie lian what he needed, no matter what that was. most of the time, it was just company, something xie lian ached for more than he ever really knew. other times it was a joke to make him laugh, a cheeky remark that made him smile. sometimes it was help around puji -- a portrait, beautifully drawn for his altar, or a door, when puji didn't have one. in algos, it was much of the same. there, xie lian had fallen head over heels in love with hua cheng, and he carries the memories of that lifetime with him now. and now, again, they're here in this world, a whole other place, where san lang is there. he's always there. he prays desperately perhaps that that will never stop.
xie lian looks down at him, stopping himself from immediately trying to pull him up in embarrassment. his hand is still in san lang's, and he doesn't move it, his fingers curling gently around his hand.
(it would be so selfish of him to say too much. what about the other daozhang? what about-- what could xie lian do, just by being near him? he could destroy hua cheng, and he couldn't live with it.)
but looking at hua cheng here recalls the memories of the six weeks they've spent in this place. of all of the things they've been through. their investigations, his armory, the dreams, the scars, san lang's eye--over and over, they've been through so many things. if the daozhang will remember them all, as he's sure he will, then he can't imagine another xie lian thinking differently.
san lang is so, so important. he is someone to be cherished. a bond that xie lian wants, so badly, to be unbreakable. ]
...San Lang. [ he says, softly, and drops down next to him, to his knees, too. xie lian has not been someone to be worshipped in a long time, but maybe down here they can be equal, giving and taking from each other, learning from each other, growing together. spending time together. his san lang will -- remember this, certainly, even if it's a bit different, and xie lian will hold the terrifying fact in his chest that these little feelings that have started to develop are not just the fault of some alternate universe. they're his.
he gives the hands holding his a tiny squeeze, his face starting to take on color, as he tugs to get him to look at him. ] ...would... we should. I'd like to..
[ be direct, don't chicken out. you can do this. how is it any different from algos academy, before? ]
--if you want to, I'd like to form a red string bond with you. If you'd be willing. [ there we go. once it's out, the words start to tumble. ] I don't ask anything of you, and I don't need anything, and I know, that you'll probably end up supremely unlucky for doing so, and perhaps start running into doors or being chased by disasters but -- I said that I wanted to share with you, and I meant that, and I still do.