#whitetiger94things

Great! Except that he hadn’t meant to do that. When he’d moved in, he’d had every intention of planting a kiss on his husband’s lips, not his perfect cheek. Blinking dumbly, he fell back onto his heels and met Hua Cheng’s equally surprised expression.

There was just something a little surreal about seeing two eyes blink back at him after all this time. It had been weeks since Hua Cheng returned to him on Mount Taicang, but it was only now upon their return to Puqi Village that the ghost wore something other than his true form, adopting the youthful visage that had once greeted Xie Lian on an oxcart not far from here a year and a half ago.

“Ah... Sorry,” Xie Lian finally said, uncertain in his words but needing to say something. “I didn’t... I’m sorry!”

Hua Cheng blinked at him, but he didn’t seem upset, only nonplussed. “Is gege feeling shy?” Back in Puqi Village after so long, went unspoken. They had been received exultantly, but at the moment they were alone, allowed the time to explore the new shrine the villagers had erected in the place of Xie Lian’s poor little shack.

Xie Lian shook his head rapidly, little fly-aways of hair following his movements like a lazy eye. “No! No, of course not! It’s just, in this skin, we’ve never-”

He bit on his tongue, too embarrassed to finish. 

We’ve never kissed in this skin before.

And for some reason, as he popped up onto his toes to give his husband a kiss, that thought had likewise popped into his head, and his body had instinctively switched targets to something tamer than Hua Cheng’s lips.

Hua Cheng stared at him for a moment before he shook his head and started to laugh.

“Please don’t laugh at me,” Xie Lian said mournfully. Hua Cheng’s shoulders shook under the force of his laughter. It went on for another few moments before he took a deep breath, pulling his composure back on- or trying to, at least.

“So last night was fine, but a kiss isn’t?” he asked, clearly tickled. Well, it was better than feeling insulted, but...

“A kiss is fine!” Xie Lian insisted. “A kiss is really fine! I promise!” He was never going to live this down. He knew it. The mere thought made him feel defensive. Maybe if he was particularly effusive right now, he could do some damage control...

Maybe.

“Are you sure?” Hua Cheng teased. “Gege, what don’t you like about this form? Let me fix it for you.”

“I like it, I like it! There’s nothing you need to change!!” Please don’t take it the wrong way, I really didn’t mean it!!

“Really?”

“Of course! San Lang is handsome in any form. And this one is- it’s very good! Very, very good!”

Hua Cheng hummed consideringly. “Is that so?”

“Yes! I-”

Xie Lian’s tongue fell thick in his mouth as Hua Cheng swiftly stepped forward. Something about the confidence he exuded had Xie Lian stepping back in tandem, until the wood paneling of the wall beside the shrine’s door was at his back, trapping him in place. Like a rabbit before a fox, he could do nothing but stare with wide eyes as the ghost king leaned in close, a familiar light shining in his dark eyes.

“So the problem is gege?” Hua Cheng asked softly.

“...” Xie Lian nodded slowly. His husband wasn’t even touching him, but when he spoke like that, this old cultivator’s body yearned to feel him. The phantom impression of Hua Cheng’s fingers on his chin blossomed, so strong he could almost believe it was real.

“If that’s so... If gege finds it hard to be with me in this skin, perhaps we should work on that,” Hua Cheng whispered huskily. Heat immediately pooled in Xie Lian’s stomach at the tone. It was a slightly different pitch than he was used to, but it was still deep enough to drag against his bones, an unmistakable promise clear in every syllable.

Xie Lian swallowed dryly. His fingers reached out and curled tight into the loose red sleeves Hua Cheng favored in this form. “M-mn. Good call.” Hua Cheng’s true form might have been his favorite, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love all the man’s other forms. Each of them was special to him. Even the impulse to shy away from giving his husband the affection he deserved was quite a serious problem indeed! So... Obviously... Obviously they needed to work on this. As soon as possible.

Hua Cheng smirked. Yes, in any form that was a dangerous look. Xie Lian felt his heart speed up as his husband stepped even closer. Hua Cheng was a bit shorter in this form, turning their height difference from something nearly insurmountable into something nearly manageable. It certainly shortened the trip between their faces. Xie Lian watched his husband descend with bated breath before letting his eyes fall closed, waiting, waiting, waiting-!

“Xie-daozhang!”

Huh?

Xie Lian opened his eyes. Hua Cheng hovered a mere hair’s breadth away. For a moment, the world was still, and Xie Lian thought he might be able to pretend there was nothing stopping them from simply-

“Xie-daozhang!” The call came again from somewhere outside, coming closer. They probably had only moments until the speaker was upon them.

Xie Lian closed his eyes and poorly stifled a groan. Hua Cheng laughed lightly and closed the distance, letting their foreheads press together lightly. Not the part of their faces Xie Lian had wanted to touch... but better than nothing.

“Later?” his husband asked.

Xie Lian sighed.