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General Tai Hua stepped out from the distance shortening array and cast a long glance up at his temple, heavy sigh dragging from his lips.
He was not in the mood to deal with whatever this was today. He'd just gotten back from a two day battle with some snake-thing, and he didn't ever want to see a forked tongue again in his life.
He hadn't even had time to change out of the grimy armor, let alone wash or clean his hair and face before the deputy god that he had in charge of tracking prayer requests when he was gone came running up to him.
As soon as he set foot in his heavenly palace, the man came bolting up to him, babbling about a ghost attacking one of his temples and tormenting his followers by throwing rocks and insults at them.
Lang Qian Qiu hadn't even had to ask which temple. He knew.
This one was built on the outskirts of his territory, edging close to the old borders of Yong'an....and by extension, Xianle.
There was only one ghost who had recently taken it upon himself to harass his followers here.
Surprisingly, it all was petty, harmless things - like throwing rocks or messing with their prayers. Switching people's livestock in the middle of the night. Leaving little scraps of threatening messages tacked to doorways.
Harmless, really. Almost innocuous, considering who was behind it.
And Tai Hua could see him up there, wobbling a little as he balanced on the apex of the temple roof on one leg, arms spread for balance, long green hair actually unknotted ever since Lang Qian Qiu had thrown a comb at him a couple months ago and told him to clean himself up if he was going to keep doing this.
Whatever this was.
Because he wasn't making friends with the Green Ghost. That would be ridiculous, to befriend the murder of his family. The person he hated. Right?
So why did he show up every time Qi Rong threw his little bratty tantrums here? The little annoyances that never really hurt anyone... just enough to get Qian Qiu's attention.
He really didn't have an answer for that.
Instead he sighed again, shifting the great sword on his back, and stepped out of the small patch of woods, into the open and Qi Rong's field of view, his head tilted upward.
'What the fuck do you think you're doing?' He demanded, and realized he'd said it into the Night-Touring Green Lantern's private communication array instead of aloud.
He still wasn't sure how he'd gotten the password.
Qi Rong started, arms waving sharply to keep his balance as his face tilted down and his little sharp eyes scanned the ground for any sign of the god.
He caught Lang Qian Qiu's eye and waved, a sickly grin spreading across his sharp features. 'Qiu Qiu! You came!'
They had this odd unspoken agreement. Neither of them used their communication arrays to speak unless they were within eyesight. It made...whatever this was less real.
'Like I had any choice.' Lang Qian Qiu crossed his arms with a sigh. He had long ago given up trying to get Qi Rong to stop using that name. 'What are you doing?'
'Awww, come up and join me! The weather's great!!' Qi Rong cooed, and Lang Qian Qiu heard the unfamiliar hitch in his voice.
He'd never admit it, but it alarmed him. Qi Rong was not a stable person by any means, but his emotions were usually fairly easy to read between his face, body language and the lack of filter on his tongue.
It was when he was hiding something that Qian Qiu was most worried.
He crossed the short distance to the temple and summoned a little bit of his spiritual energy to leap from the ground up onto the roof in one bound, landing elegantly beside the shorter ghost with his arms crossed.
Qi Rong's head tilted back to look up at him, fangs on full display as he grinned that wide, wild, slightly off-kilter grin of his. "Qiu Qiu!!
General Tai Hua wasn't generally very good at reading the room. He didn't exactly think it was a weakness, but lately he'd been wishing he was better at people.
Better at ghosts.
Because he could swear there were faint tear tracks down Qi Rong's cheeks.
The ghost turned away, half dancing across the roof before he could lean closer to see, his hands waving in the air, "I knew you'd come! I just have to fuck up your shit and you show up!! What a good nemesis you are!!"
There was a bubbling giggle, half choked, and now Lang Qian Qiu was sure something was wrong.
Qi Rong didn't drink, his father had been a drunkard who tried to kill him and his mother more than once, but this was erratic, even for him.
The protective, righteous urge that always welled up in him whenever Qi Rong mentioned his past started to move Qian Qiu's tongue. "Hey....?? Are you... alright?"
It was the same urge as he felt for his followers. For Yong'an. For his family. The same urge that told him he should strike down this blasphemous ghost dancing around him on the rooftop; the same that made him want to pull him close and tell him everything would be OK.
Qi Rong was teetering on the edge of the roof now, pushing his luck by leaning out farther and farther over the dirt below.
If he fell, his immortal soul would be fine, but the body he happened to inhabit this time was more frail then he let on. He could be seriously hurt.
Qian Qiu had figured that out when he realized how much spiritual energy Qi Rong used to maintain it. It was a constant low thrum around him whenever he was near the ghost. He's almost gotten accustomed to it.
Qi Rong let out another choked off cackled, "Yeahhh I'm fine! Don't worry your pretty head about me, Qiu Qiu!!"
That was another thing.
He kept using Qiu Qiu. Not A-Qiu. Not Qian Qiu. He typically called Tia Hua by that nickname when he was teasing or flirting or being coy. When he was being serious he used the other names he had for the god.
Lang Qian Qiu watched the ghost throw more of his weight carelessly toward the edge of his temple roof as the tiles made a shifting noise, and he stepped forward, reaching out to snag Qi Rong's arm and yank him back before the tiles slipped and clattered to the ground below.
Qi Rong watched them fall with a distant look in his eyes, almost unfocused. Hazy. "Ha..."
Lang Qian Qiu could see the tear tracks clearly now, soft and slightly shiny against the ghost's deathly pale skin.
The protective part of him won in that instant and he tugged the smaller ghost into his arms and held him tightly, threading his fingers through the dark green hair. "Hey. I've got you. It's ok."
Qi Rong let out a choked off sob and just buried his face in Lang Qian Qiu's chest plate, his thin shoulders shaking under the broader man's arm.
Qian Qiu just held him, whispering whatever comforting phrases he could think of into the ghost's hair.
He was surprised how many of his own parent's words came back to him now, how the memories of falling and skinning his knee as a child or getting hurt in training or failing to win a competition, or even his first heartbreak all seemed to come back to him in the moment.
Even the times Feng Xin used to comfort him. Although he supposed he would never tell Qi Rong some of the comforting things he was saying in his ear were from his cousin.
The ghost sniffled at last, arms wrapped tightly around General Tai Hua's waist, and grumbled something like, "You're covered in shit."
Qian Qiu huffed awkwardly, finally letting the slim ghost pull away from him and flinching internally at the smear of snake guts across Qi Rong's pretty face.
"Ah...yeah...sorry. I didn't get a chance to clean up before I came." He reached out with one hand to wipe off the ghost's face and hesitated when the ghost flinched away, realizing his glove was also coated in thick mucus.
"You're a mess. You better not get that shit in my hair." Qi Rong hissed, scowl forming on his lips.
Qian Qiu laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck and belatedly realizing he had just smeared guts across his neck. He grimaced, trying to shake the slime off his hand behind his back. "So...what's wrong??"
Qi Rong's scowl slipped into a petulant pout, and he glanced away, crossing his slime covered arms. "Nothing."
He almost reminded Qian Qiu of his youngest sister like this. Lip stuck out, trying to hide under his short fluffy bangs.
It was cute.
"Common, ghosty. You can tell me." He reached out and nudged the smaller man's shoulder playfully, teasing. "Did you run out of porn about Pei Ming to read??"
Qi Rong's pretty cheekbones colored very faintly pink. That was about as much of a blush as he got, and it was adorable.
He glared, sputtering, at Lang Qian Qiu, "Sh-shut up!! Ok!"
Qian Qiu giggled and left that alone. "Common, A-Rong, what's wrong?" He'd never tried that name for Qi Rong before but this seemed important.
Qi Rong's eyes widened, his body going slack for a moment as he just stared up at Qian Qiu with something so close to vulnerability in his face that Qian Qiu wanted to call him that name for the rest of their lives.
"I.....I..." Qi Rong stammered for a few moments, and then forced himself to swallow, gulping hard as he glanced down. "....it's my birthday." He mumbled under his breath, "Fuck."
He meant the curse as a comment on the name, and Lang Qian Qiu understood that he meant that he'd never expected to hear someone refer to him in that familiar way. He was starting to get the hang of how Qi Rong spoke. To follow his slightly off beat logic.
"Oh. Happy birthday, then." General Tai Hua reached out to pat the ghost on his head again and Qi Rong sent him a glare. He realized he was still covered in grime and sighed, slowly setting himself down on the apex of the roof and glancing up at the now taller calamity. "Do you have any plans?"
Qi Rong flopped down beside him, his face twitching, "Never have plans. Birthdays are stupid. I'm stupid."
Oh. So that was... ok. Lang Qian Qiu had learned in a surprisingly short amount of time that when the Green Ghost wasn't being loud and overly obnoxious to cover up his insecurities, he was always picking himself apart.
It made him hurt somehow to see the ghost this way, a dull sort of ache that made him want to pull the other into his lap and do his hair and tell him how pretty he was.
"You're not srupid." Was all he actually said, shifting closer to the ghost. "If you were you wouldn't have made it this far."
Qi Rong huffed, an angry snort, and Lang Qian Qiu glanced over at him.
The younger prince of Xianle was picking at the skin on his wrists, something he did when he was in the process of hating on himself, and Lang Qian Qiu reached out to cover his own small hands with his much larger one.
"Qi Rong. What's wrong?"
He wasn't good at diplomacy like Pei Ming, or Mu Qing. But he liked to think he was at least sensitive to other people's feelings, especially people he was close to.
And he was close to Qi Rong. However that had happened.
The ghost let out a soft sound that made Lang Qian Qiu want to wrap his arms around him again and never let go.
"I don't want to be lonely today." Qi Rong mumbled, staring down at the roof tiles under his feet.
Oh. Oh that made so much sense.
He never fucked up anything irrevocably in this little town. He just messed a little bit, just enough for Lang Qian Qiu to hear about it.
When he needed attention.
Qian Qiu gave up and slid an arm around the ghost beside him, pulling the smaller man close. "It must be hard to spend your birthday alone." He agreed softly, and when Qi Rong nodded against his chest plate, he added, "Do you wanna do something?"
Qi Rong glanced up at him, the vulnerability back in his eyes, and nodded slowly. "I guess."
General Tai Hua had vanquished monsters, demons, ghosts, everything heaven had thrown him at. He was the martial god of the east, popular with his followers for his looks, youthful charm and martial skills.
And he would absolutely kill for that tiny, hopeful look in Qi Rong's face.
"Ok." He tightened his grip around the ghost's shoulders and muttered the first thing that popped into his head, "Do you wanna go take a bath?"
Qi Rong blinked at him slowly, lips screwed to the side. His entire expression read 'why am I talking to this idiot'.
"I hate baths. I hate water." The ghost deadpanned.
Lang Qian Qiu rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh. Yeah. Well... you kinda need one right now." He reached out and gently booped the end of Qi Rong's nose, leaving more slimy entrails on the ghost's face. "I have a private bath at my palace if you want??" He offered.
Qi Rong froze against his side, halfway between shocked and appalled. "You ... want me to go to your heavenly palace with you??" He echoed, and Lang Qian Qiu realized how crazy it sounded as the words left the ghost's mouth.
Yeah. Him, the golden martial god. Bringing his sworn enemy and rival up into the sacred heaven. For a bath.
"Um." He blinked slowly. "I forgot." Because he had gone completely and totally insane and as long as the man at his side was smiling he didn't care right now. "Why don't we go somewhere else then?" He offered, tilting his head as he stared over Qi Rong's shoulder, deep in thought.
OK so, the heaven's were out but...
"Oh, what about this really nice natural springs I know? It's got a little waterfall and the water's always warm. It's behind one of my temples but no one ever goes there because it's kind of dedicated to me..." He caught the look Qi Rong was giving him and huffed an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know I know. Spoiled god things."
Qi Rong shifted against his side, biting the inside of his lip, his expression showing the debate in his head. He finally nodded, not quite looking certain, but giving his assent.
"Not like I have anything better to do. Still don't like baths though." The ghost grumbled, idling picking snake guts from under his fingernails.
Lang Qian Qiu could see the very faint blush on his cheeks again, and it made his chest warm. It made him want to reach out and scoop up the little ghost into his broad arms and nuzzle his hair and carry him all the way to the spring.
So he did.
Qi Rong squealed as Lang Qian Qiu scooped him up, his slim limbs flying in every direction as he struggled for a moment, but then Qian Qiu pressed the smaller man against his chest and Qi Rong froze instead, his face slack.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, his voice very small.
"Spoiling the birthday boy." General Tai Hua of the East replied, standing to his full height on top of his temple, the Night-Touring Green Lantern held gently in his arms.
It was a good thing the people of this village didn't come around his temple when Qi Rong was around. Someone might start talking.
He wondered that he didn't exactly hate that idea.
He jumped down from the roof, Qi Rong squeaking in his embrace and he felt thin arms circling his neck before he landed lightly.
"You ok, ghosty?" He inquired as the calamity poked one eye out from where he had shoved his face against Qian Qiu's gut soaked breastplate.
"M'fine." Came the muffled grumble, a poor excuse to hide the fluster in the tone and cover it with nonchalance.
He knew Qi Rong too well now.
Lang Qian Qiu just shook his head, humming deep in his throat, and crossed to the patch of trees he used for his distance shortening arrays, shifting Qi Rong's light weight to one arm.
The ghost poked his head up to watch him draw the sigil, probably in a half-hearted attempt to make sure he wasn't about to be dumped in some ghost containment array or something.
Lang Qian Qiu wondered if Qi Rong knew that somehow, in the past few months, that had become the furthest thing from his mind.
He finished the array and settled Qi Rong in both arms again, stepping forward confidently.
Qi Rong tensed once in his arms as they stepped through the array and spiritual energy rippled around them, and then relaxed as they stepped out into a small grotto surrounded by trees.
Lang Qian Qiu stopped, waiting for his verdict as the savage level ghost in his arms twisted this way and that to look over the pool.
The pool itself was in a deep dip in the center of the grotto, lined with rocks in shades of soft gray and black, cultivated by time. A stream ran away from it, gurgling pleasantly as it danced among the tree roots and boulders, away into the wilds.
The pool was indeed fed by a small waterfall, the gentle cascade of the water a soft splash and not an overwhelming roar.
There were a couple towels and a small basket of bathing supplies on one of the larger rocks near the pool.
Qian Qiu actually used this spot to bathe and swim with his tiger, so the people nearby had started leaving him offerings of bathing items here. He thought it was kind of charming, the way the older ladies and young children would fuss over these offerings almost more than the ones they left at his temples.
"Well?" He asked as Qi Rong finally sat back in his arms. "What do you think?"
The ghost rolled his tongue around in his mouth for a moment before responding. "It's pretty." He finally admitted.
Lang Qian Qiu had also learned that about Qi Rong. He liked pretty things, and he especially appreciated beauty in nature despite his habit to hang dead people from it.
To be fair, it'd been a while since he'd heard of the ghost doing that though.
He stepped forward, lowering Qi Rong's feet to the ground and letting the ghost slide down and stand up at his own leisure, before he took a step back and started working on the clasps of his armor.
Qi Rong must have heard him, heard the creak of leather straps as he started untying his sword, because the ghost king glanced back with a half grin, half leer. "You sure you trust me enough to strip, Qiu Qiu?"
There it was. That was the flirting tone Qian Qiu had started hearing in his daydreams.
He gave a lopsided grin back, tossing his long ponytail over his shoulder sharply, sending some slime flicking off the end at the calamity. "You're saying you don't want to see me naked, ghosty?"
Qi Rong's throat bobbed as his eyes jumped down Lang Qian Qiu's form and back up again before he turned away and started peeling off his own green robes. "I never said that." He mumbled.
He was really easy to read, after all this time. Or maybe Qian Qiu was finally learning to read between his blustering and loud outbursts.
The emerald green outer robe fell to the ground to reveal a light gold one and Qian Qiu paused as Qi Rong struggled with the knotted ties for his second layer.
Gold was his color.
Qi Rong finally wiggled out of the gold robes down to his inner layer - a light green - and Lang Qian Qiu swallowed, turning to face away before the ghost could see the flush spreading across his own face.
He laid down his sword, soothing it out in the grass as it hummed for reassurance, and pulled off his chestplate to drop next to it, the rest of his armor coming off easily after it.
He didn't need armor around Qi Rong. If the ghost actually tried anything, he was more than powerful enough to put up a fight like this.
Lang Qian Qiu knew he was a little simple. That he had a childish view of the world, of what was right and wrong. Good and bad. ....but ... he was starting to wonder lately how many of the grey areas he'd overlooked and what they held.
Because this, whatever this was between them, this was not something that was good or evil. It was something of both.
They still fought tooth and nail, he still swore up and down in front of the other gods he was going to destroy the Night-Touring Green Lantern's ashes. Drive him from the world.
Qi Rong still taunted him and went out of his way to piss him off, to cross paths with him in front of other gods. Other ghosts.
....but General Tai Hua was starting to understand, a little. This was a safe place. This grey area. A place they didn't have to be enemies. Somewhere these crazy, stupid warm feelings and the overprotective urge he felt whenever he saw that tiny, insecure look on Qi Rong's face belonged.
It was a lot for his simple worldview to understand, so mostly he just let it happen, let it feel natural.
Qian Qiu pulled his last layer off, dropping his pants and turned to find Qi Rong hesitantly poking one foot into the pool, his thick dark hair falling like a wave down his thin back as his face screwed up in a look of disgust.
He was so small. Qian Qiu could wrap his much larger hands almost all the way around his waist if he wanted. His bones still showed through his pale skin in most places.
Qi Rong had once, off-handedly mentioned his true form still looked similar to the moment he died, and it made that protective urge flare up in Qian Qiu's chest again.
He hadn't deserved the death he'd gotten. No one did.
He stepped up behind the ghost, one hand reaching out to rest half posessively on the thin waist. Qi Rong didn't flinch, not exactly, but he did jump at the touch. It occured to the crown prince of Yong'an that this might be the first time anyone had ever touched Qi Rong like this.
His skin was softer than Lang Qian Qiu expected and he withdrew his hand quickly, before the heat could show on his face. He cleared his throat instead, asking, "Is it warm enough for you?"
Qi Rong's green eyes were narrowed at him, his face pinched in a confused sort of frown. "It's a little cold." He mumbled after a moment, turning his face away.
"Ah." Qian Qiu hummed, stepping away from the smaller man and letting himself wade into the pool up to his waist before he put his hands down and sent a burst of spiritual energy into the water, warming it.
"Better??" He asked, glancing back at the ghost and deliberately trying to keep his eyes above the other man's waist. Cuz it's not like he hadn't thought about this before. About ... what he was like down there.
His parents would probably have been so ashamed of him thinking thoughts like that in the middle of the night, alone in his bed.
He just turned his body away quickly, before he let his eyes wander, and listened to Qi Rong splashing at the edge of the pool for a moment.
"Yeah. Ok." Came the ghost's reply, and then the slow splish splash of Qi Rong gingerly wading out into the pool.
"Fucking wet. Hate water. It's slimy! What the fuck....why baths..." Came the grumbled mumbling, half cusses under his breath, half annoyed complaints. It was, in it's own way, really cute. The green ghost was like a cat who didn't like water, arching it's back to avoid it even as he waded in deeper.
"Come here." Qian Qiu held out one hand without looking, and there was a pause in the mutterings.
Then a small, cold hand slid into his, the fingers slim and delicate against his own rough palms, and he closed his hand around Qi Rong's, pulling the ghost to him.
"Fucker." Qi Rong hissed, but his high cheekbones were flushed with that faint blush, and he wasn't struggling. The water nearly came up to his pecs here, but he let Lang Qian Qiu settle him with his back to the god, let Qian Qiu run soothing hands down his shoulders.
"It's ok." The martial god of the east found himself mumbling, reassurances that were probably unneeded but slipped out anyway. "This is as deep as it gets. We'll just stay here, ok?"
Qi Rong shrugged, but his head bobbed in agreement, and Lang Qian Qiu used his spiritual energy to send the basket of bathing items bobbing across the water to them.
He let go of Qi Rong's shoulder with one hand, digging through the basket quickly until he found a comb, and tapped the ghosts's back with it.
"Lean back?" He asked.
Qi Rong shot him a look over his shoulder, proclaiming him crazy without words, and Qian Qiu found himself laughing at the sight. "I'll support you, it'll be fine." He promised.
Qi Rong eyed him, still silently judging him, and finally reached a conclusion. "If you drop me I'll eat you." He mumbled, slowly easing his weight back into Qian Qiu's arms.
This... felt more intimate then Qian Qiu had thought it would and he could hear the slight waiver to his voice as he agreed. "Yeah, ok."
The ghost gave him a sharp look but didn't comment as Lang Qian Qiu lowered him down so he was half laying in the water, his long dark hair spread out around his face like a halo. Cold, thin finger closed around Qian Qiu's bicep, the tightness of the grip giving away the green ghost's anxiety.
Lang Qian Qiu had a momentary flash of clarity.
He had his family's murder in his arms, naked, half submerged in a pool in the middle of nowhere. He could end everything right now and no one would ever know what was happening between them.
Qi Rong seemed to feel the difference in his stance because the ghost tensed in his arms, narrow face sharpening as his eyes darted up to General Tai Hua's face, searching for something.
He barely weighed anything. It would be so easy to snap his neck, shove him under and hold him for a while.
But how could he? Those green eyes looked almost scared for a moment as the ghost licked his cracked lips and attempted a tiny, lopsided grin.
"You ok, big guy...??" Qi Rong asked slowly, his body still tense in Lang Qian Qiu's arms.
Qian Qiu blinked slowly, coming back to himself and cleared his throat. He started running the comb through Qi Rong's long snarls. "Yeah." He agreed, his voice heavy. "We're good."
Not on his birthday, no. This was fine for today.
He felt Qi Rong swallow and squirm a little in his arms and he readjusted his hold.
"My mother used to help me wash my hair." The ghost finally mumbled, his eyes downcast when Lang Qian Qiu finally looked at him again, "When I was little. Don't remember what she looked like, but I remember she was really careful. Picked out the knots and everything."
"Mn." Lang Qian Qiu hummed softly. "Sounds like she was a good mother."
"Yeah...." Qi Rong agreed, his voice very thin, "She was."
They were silent then, the sound of the lapping water as Lang Qian Qiu worked out the knots in the ghost's hair the only sound.
Qi Rong got brave enough to kick off the bottom of the pool and let Qian Qiu support his whole weight as he just floated - sort of floated. Whatever ghosts did.
The calamity sighed after a while, those cold fingers loosing enough to run up and down Lang Qian Qiu's bicep, tracing the shape of the smooth muscles beneath the skin.
"You'd taste good." The ghost mumbled.
Qian Qiu snorted. "Thanks, I guess."
Qi Rong's fingers wiggled on his arm for a moment longer. "A-Qiu??" He sounded almost shy, his voice softer than Tai Hua had thought he could get.
"Yeah?" He asked, trying to match the ghost's soft tone as he finished with the comb and replaced it in the basket.
The fingers twitched on his arm. "I lied."
Qian Qiu stopped, frozen. "What?"
Qi Rong let out a thin, warbly laugh, "Today isn't my birthday. I don't know when my birthday is. I......"
I just wanted company.
It hung unspoken between them, and Lang Qian Qiu felt the urge to wrap up the little ghost and carry him home burning hot in his chest like a flame again.
Instead he just slid both arms under Qi Rong in the pool and pulled him a little closer, watching the calamity's breath hitch. "Well. Then today could be your birthday. Who's to say it's not??"
Qi Rong breathed. He was always breathing, his chest always moving. It took a while for Qian Qiu to realize it, to realize how odd it was.
Ghosts didn't have to breathe, yet Qi Rong's breathing patterns were the same as any humans. He also slept and ate like a human, though he had no need to.
Lang Qian Qiu wondered if Qi Rong even realized he did those things. If he was trying to mimic humans to pretend he was still alive. Or if he was subconsciously refusing to admit he wasn't.
In his arms, Qi Rong gave him a weird look, his face a little strained. "You're not gonna fight me because I lied to you?" He mumbled after a moment.
Lang Qian Qiu shook his head. Qi Rong's nose wrinkled. "Oh." Was all the ghost managed to reply.
General Tai Hua, martial god of the east, stood there for a moment longer, cradling the Night-Touring Green Lantern in his arms, and then sighed.
"I should bathe."
Qi Rong's hand, still tracing along his bare skin, ventured into a patch of slime and the ghost grimaced. "Yeah, maybe." He agreed.
"Mm." Lang Qian Qiu gently lowered him to his feet and waited for Qi Rong to scramble out of his arms before reaching for the soap in the basket.
He could feel Qi Rong's eyes on his bare torso as he started scrubbing himself down, with all the heat of the green fire the ghost was known for. "Can I help you?" He asked finally, glancing up to meet Qi Rong's gaze as he rubbed soap across his broad chest.
Qi Rong had retreated out of reach, his own arms crossed over his much smaller chest. His lips screwed to the side in that lopsided grin again, accompanied by a lick of desire. "Just admiring." He admitted quietly.
Lots of people had flirted with General Tai Hua over the years. Princess, princes, advisors, fellow gods - thanks, Pei Ming - but he hadn't really found any of them as captivating as the green ghost in front of him.
Something about the way Qi Rong tilted his head, water from his wet hair trickling down his cheeks, accentuating the sharp set of his chin, the point to his eyebrows. His green eyes, hot with something, always burning, always flickering; it was impossible to look away.
Maybe it was the temptation of something forbidden. Something...something neither of them was really sure was going on or what to call.
Qian Qiu lowered the soap, letting his own eyes flicker over Qi Rong's form.
He'd never given much thought to what he considered an ideal partner before. If you asked him back in Yong'an, he would have said a soft, curvy young woman.
But right now, the sharp edges and faintly muscled planes of the ghost in front of him seemed like heaven.
Qi Rong was blushing, his cheeks stained that faint rose color. "Creep." He tossed the insult accusingly, and Lang Qian Qiu found he could hear both the embarrassment and the desire behind it this time.
"Hm." He muttered, reaching out with one broad hand to close around the ghost's thin arms. "Bastard."
Qi Rong shivered, he felt it under his hand, and he let the god drag him closer, until they were pressed up against each other.
Lang Qian Qiu wasn't sure if Qi Rong could get hard or not as a ghost - he wasn't sure how those things worked - but he was pretty sure the ghost could feel his own interest pressed up against the smaller man's thigh.
Qi Rong's pretty, burning eyes got very wide, his mouth flapping open for a moment. "Oh, shit." Was all he managed to gasp out before Lang Qian Qiu leaned down and kissed him.
He didn't have much experience and neither did Qi Rong judging by the awkward slam of their mouths against each other and the clack of their fangs - one larger set, one smaller - but that didn't deter either of them.
Qi Rong kissed him back like he was starving, like he could feed off Lang Qian Qiu for centuries. As if the god alone could quench his hunger for human flesh.
Lang Qian Qiu felt like he was burning, caught in a fire of mutual passion springing from their lips, one that coursed through his every vein and turned every touch to heat.
Qi Rong broke the kiss finally, gasping - his cute need to breathe again - and just stared up at him, green eyes hazy with some new kind of burning Lang Qian Qiu hadn't seen on him before.
Somehow the ghost's arms had ended up around his neck, clutching him close, as his own broad hands had ended up wrapped tightly around that tiny waist, pulling the smaller man flush against him.
"Hey." Qian Qiu managed after a moment, his voice rough.
Qi Rong stared at him, his eyes wide with that new kind of burn, his lips a little swollen from their kiss. "....hi..." He breathed, his voice unsteady.
Something he'd never known he could feel before ignited in the fire in Lang Qian Qiu's chest and rushed all the way down to his groin, pressed against Qi Rong in the pool.
He could feel the ghost's answering arousal pressed back against him now, and just the knowledge that he did this - him, he made that breathless, kissed-speechless fire in Qi Rong's eyes - it made the heat in his burn even hotter.
His hand slid a little lower on the ghost's waist and Qi Rong groaned, his soft mouth falling open as his eyes closed.
God, if that was how he looked like this… Lang Qian Qiu moved one broad hand down to the ghost's ass and squeezed, and Qi Rong's head fell back in a loud moan.
Maybe neither of them had much experience. Maybe neither of them really understood what they were doing.
Maybe they were in the middle of the woods in a pool, still covered in snake slime and Lang Qian Qiu was ignoring his deputies trying to get a hold of him in his communication array.
Maybe neither of them cared. Because maybe the gray area between good and bad held a lot more than Lang Qian Qiu had realized before.
He just leaned in and let the fire between them take over.
💚🔥🔥💚
Qi Rong was wrapped up in his outer robe on the bank, long dark hair falling over one shoulder as the ghost watched him finish cleaning himself.
Qian Qiu let him watch, let him see how he washed the ghost's spend from his abs and thighs. He watched Qi Rong's little pink tongue dart out to wet his dry lips.
He had to look away, before the ideas about what he could do with that tongue became too much and they ended up back in the water for yet another round.
Dusk was falling. He was needed back in the heavenly realm. The good side was calling him a little louder now.
When he looked back Qi Rong had looked down, was tracing the bruises on one thin wrist. He could have healed them if he really wanted to, but the ghost chose to let them stay.
Not from a fight this time, those bruises. From something more personal, better memories to keep on his body.
Qi Rong looked up as Tai Hua finally waded out of the pool, green eyes rising slowly up Lang Qian Qiu's sculpted body.
He met the ghost's eyes easily, and Qi Rong swallowed. Tha vulnerable look was back in his face, and Qian Qiu's chest warmed with the urge to hold him.
He sat next to the ghost, one hand rubbing slow circles on the calamity's knee. Compared to what they had just done, it was next to nothing, yet Qi Rong still tensed.
Qian Qiu looked at him as the ghost licked his lips again, not meeting his gaze.
"....so..." the Night-Touring Green Lantern's voice was a little soft, a little wavery with uncertainty, "What happens now?"
Lang Qian Qiu sighed, still tracing his knee. "I don't know." He answered honestly.
Who ever heard of a ghost and god being together. A murder and his avengers? It was... not what Qian Qiu ever saw for himself.
Yet here he was, both feet firmly in the grey between good and evil.
He leaned in a bit closer, resting his chin on the ghost's thin shoulder. "For starters, why don't you keep the robe?" He suggested slowly, watching the pleased blush settle on Qi Rong's cheekbones.
"You're a sap." Came the annoyed reply, and Lang Qian Qiu could hear the fluster under it. He smiled, finally giving in and wrapping his arms around the ghost's thin waist, burrowing his face into that wet mane of hair.
"Mn." He agreed, "You like sappy. Makes you smile."
"Fucker." Came the sharp reply, and Qian Qiu smiled to himself.
"So was it a good birthday?" He asked after a moment when neither of them moved.
Qi Rong gave that little, warbly laugh of his that was softer than the loud, brass guffaws he usually let free. Selfishly, Qian Qiu wished no one else had ever heard this laugh.
"Can't complain about getting laid on your birthday." The green ghost muttered, his fingers itching slowly along his own thigh until they poked timidly at Lang Qian Qiu's hand on his knee.
The god took his hand, feeling the weight of the thin palm in his own, and raised it to his lips to leave a soft kiss. "Have to make it special somehow." He replied gently..
Qi Rong let him touch, let him shift his smaller frame until he was practically nestled into Qian Qiu's lap, let him nuzzle his face into his cheek, let him drop a tentative kiss on his sharp cheekbone.
Qi Rong flushed harder at that, turning his face to push it into Lang Qian Qiu's neck, hiding his red cheeks.
General Tai Hua ran a hand through the ghost's still damp hair and sighed softly, content to just stay like this for a while.
But eventually the voices in his head started to speak louder, and he knew he had to get back. His deputies weren't supposed to be dealing with prayers on their own for this long and he needed to put his affairs in order before Ling Wen bitched at him again.
Qi Rong felt him shift and grumbled, one hand coming up to poke at his face. "You leavin'?" He demanded.
Qian Qiu nodded slowly, feeling the ghost pull away from him. He reached out, gently tracing Qi Rong's chin with his fingers. The ghost let him.
A smile quirked at his lips, and he let the question spill from his lips. "If today wasn't your birthday, do you think your birthday's next week?"
Qi Rong's forehead wrinkled a little until understanding dawned in his eyes, and then he grinned that lopsided grin of his. "You know, it might be. You gonna help me celebrate again, Qiu Qiu??" He inquired.
Lang Qian Qiu stood up, pulling Qi Rong to his feet and into his arms, combing the ghost's long hair back from his face with his fingers. "It would be a shame to let you be lonely on your birthday." He replied.
Qi Rong's fangs showed in his grin. "Next week then?"
"Mm." Lang Qian Qiu leaned down to catch the ghost's soft lips with his own. "I'll meet you at the temple again."
"Bring snacks this time." Qi Rong demanded and leaned up into the kiss.