#tgcf fluff

“Baobei, are you alright?” You hear Xie Lian comment from beside you, “You’ve been staring at your glass for nearly ten minutes now…” Xie Lian rubs his hand along your back.

You grumble softly, “I’m fine A-Lian, I just got distracted”

Xie Lian arches his brow at you but he doesn’t question you further. You’ve been like this a few days now. Staring off into space, being confused over simple things, mixing things up, and fumbling your words. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian know it’s because you haven’t been getting good sleep. 

“Beloved, is there a reason you put your hair-pin in the seasoning cabinet,” Hua Cheng hums and runs his fingers through your hair. Your hair has been loose all day because you couldn’t find your hair pin. 

You flush pink in embarrassment as Hua Cheng puts up your hair, “Well it certainly wasn’t on purpose, San Lang!”

“Mm,” Hua Cheng kisses your forehead, “Then this one should also tell you that your book is in the washroom?”

Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are both growing more concerned the more days that pass. They refuse to stand by anymore!

This time, tonight when you go to the bedroom Xie Lian quickly tugs you into bed. You grunt softly from surprise. Being tugged into soft sheets, where two handsome men wait for you in silky robes. You’re truly blessed. You sigh softly, pecking Xie Lian on the lips, “No reason to tug, my love” 

“All the reason,” Xie Lian hums and presses a kiss to your collar bone. 

Hua Cheng shuffles closer behind you and gives a quick peck to your shoulder. “Our beloved needs to get plenty of rest tonight.”

You grumble at him, and get comfortable between the two, “I will most certainly try. I’ve just had a hard time recently getting to sleep.”

“Mm,” Hua Cheng flashes a mischievous smile, “If our beloved cannot sleep, this one could help with that,” he moves to sprawl out on your chest. 

“That is not going to help him, San Lang.” Xie Lian chides.

You chuckle and swat at Hua Cheng’s arm, “A-Lian is right, don’t try to bully me this late at night.”

“This one has an idea!” Xie Lian perks up a bit. He comes closer as well–both of your lovers seemingly try to bury themselves in your skin, “My mother used to sing me lullabies to go to sleep… What if I- uhm,” Xie Lian’s cheeks flush a warm red. “Well, this one would be happy to sing a lullaby if it will help you sleep.” 

“Oh?” you smile up at him and kiss his shoulder, “A-Lian would be so bold to serenade me?”

Hua Cheng lies his head against your chest, setting his gaze on Xie Lian, “Oh yes Gege, serenade us to sleep.”

Xie Lian lets out a huff of embarrassed air before swatting his hand at Hua Cheng’s back. He slumps against your arm around him and nudges his head under your jaw to give you a nip. “I will never offer you my kindness again.”

You kiss the curve of his nose with a quiet laugh, “This one is sorry, I was only teasing. I would be overjoyed to hear A-Lian sing me to sleep.”

You doubt it will put you to sleep but you would never be one to reject hearing your lovers’ beautiful voice. 

So with Hua Cheng sprawled against your chest and Xie Lian tucked under your chin, you close your eyes and listen to your lovers’ song. 

Soft, silky, smooth.

Sometimes you really asked yourself how he was doing it.

Staring at the man slumped over the throne in Paradise Hall, you shook your head.

You had asked if you could give him a new hairstyle, since his hair was getting long and it seemed fun.

But you got lost in how soft his hair was.

His hair wasn’t even supposed to feel real and yet somehow, he had the softest hair you’ve ever felt.

It was almost frustrating how perfect Hua Cheng’s hair seemed to be.

His eyes were closed, humming contently as your fingers combed through his hair.

You twirled a strand of it around your finger, mesmerized.

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Your lips were pressed tight, eyes squinted.

Why did his hair have to be so perfect?

Hua Cheng’s laugh filled Paradise Hall. He adjusted his position, cracking his eye open and looking at you.

“Whatever do you mean my sweet?” His voice was deep, soft and a serious threat to your ability to breathe.

You could feel your cheeks burning up and he hadn’t even said anything… bad!

You hated how much he affected you. A smirk. A few soft words. And every time it caused your brain to just stop…

Your infatuation with this man was going to kill you one day, you were sure of it.

“Your hair. It’s so soft! And silky!” You averted your eyes from the long-haired man. The ground suddenly so much more interesting than before.

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. His smirk made you forget what you were asking him before anyways.

Hua Cheng leaned into your touch again, eyes closed and enjoying your warm touch.

“Is that why you’ve been combing through my hair for the last two hours?”

Your cheeks burned as you slapped his shoulder lightly.

He really was the worst.

“y/n?” his voice is quiet, as if you’re a small animal that will bolt at the first sight of danger. xie lian pauses for a second as if to search for the right words before finally settling on, “are you alright?”

“yeah,” you breathe. you run a shaky hand through your hair, taking a shallow breath. “i’m fine.”

xie lian doesn’t believe you. he’s smart enough to recognize the signs of anxiety. he’s known you for long enough to know exactly which nightmares plague your dreams. even the exhaustion of traveling for hours on foot isn’t enough to starve off the horrors that live inside of your mind. 

xie lian turns, reaching over to grab his boots. “why don’t i go get you some water? it’s been a while since you had anything to drink.” 

“wait,” your hand catches xie lian’s wrist before you can stop yourself. disguised by the darkness of the night, a flush rises to both of your cheeks. your grip around his hand loosens, but you don’t pull away completely. “stay?” your voice is barely a whisper; it’s all but swallowed by the quiet of the night. “please.”

xie lian’s gaze lingers on your hand for a second before he looks up into your eyes once again. your touch ignites goosebumps along his skin. since the fall of xianle, he had long since forgotten what it felt like to be touched with care. 

despite his reservations, xie lian curtly nods. “alright,” he murmurs, settling down on the straw mat beside you once again. 

the ground is uncomfortable, but it’s nothing you’re not used to. xie lian lays facing you; even with your eyes closed you can feel him studying each of your features. you can feel the mat move slightly as he shuffles closer. he props his head against his arm like a makeshift pillow.

you tense momentarily when xie lian reaches over, gingerly resting his hand on top of your own. despite the cold night, his skin is warm. his fingers gently trace along the grooves of your knuckles. “try to get some sleep,” he whispers. “i’ll be here when you wake up.”