HuaLian: Book Of AUs

6. Broken and Built (part 2)

Everyone knew of the deadly calamity, Crimson Rain Sought Flower- Scourge of Heavens, who made the heavens shiver in terror. His very name brought fear upon people. Everyone had seen him defeat and humiliate the 33 gods and burn their temples to the ground , everyone had seen his wrath but never before had anyone seen the great Ghost King crumble to the ground, clutching a broken god- his beloved ,in his arms. That day he cried and cried , and his wails shook the heavens and the earth .

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Hua Cheng stood beside the bed, he placed a bowl of cool water on the bedside table and gently placed a wet cloth on the unconscious Xie Lian's forehead. Xie Lian hadn't woken up ever since the battle ended, and by the end of the second day Hua Cheng's worry begins to gnaw and eat up his non existent heart. He tucked a strand of loose hair which had fallen on xie Lian's forehead before placing a soft kiss there.

Xie Lian had woken up for brief moments, either gasping for breath haunted by feverish nightmares or twisting and turning, blinking up at the Paradise manor ceiling with bleary eyes before passing out again. Hua Cheng couldn't do anything rather than trying to coax and sooth his beloved in such moments, digging his nails into the heels of his palm until the knuckles turned white. He supplied him with endless spiritual energy.

Hua Cheng had been hurt too, but his injuries were far less as Xie Lian had been the brunt of Bai Wuxiang's attack. It was his incompetence that hurt his beloved even more. Hua Cheng bites back a scream of frustration again.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing come to visit him while Hua Cheng stands at watch, wind master drops by.

Its on the fifth day that Xie Lian finally wakes up. Hua Cheng had gone to fetch a cloth to wash The God when he heard distressed screams, calling for him, begging to not be left alone. He rushed to his beloved, the washcloth forgotten.

" Your Highness, it's okay. He isn't here , he can't hurt you anymore" , Hua Cheng reassures him. "Its over, gege."
Xie Lian bites into Hua Cheng's robe and continues to bawl.
Hua Cheng slowly lowers himself into his knees and gently takes his beloved's hands into his own. "I'm sorry" , he says . And keeps saying until the Xie Lian wraps his arms around his neck and pulls him impossibly closer, and cries silently into his chest. Hua Cheng cries too.

Its only after he has calmed down, does Hua Cheng suggest him to take a bath. He leads the still disoriented Xie Lian into the bath and helps him remove his outer layer of robes.
" Does gege need help ?"
"I.." , Xie Lian hesitates. " I want to be alone for some time."
"This one understands".
Hua Cheng stands outside while Xie Lian baths. He doesn't deserve this,he thinks. Xie Lian's kindness, his love and affection, his presence ....he is unworthy of all those, even more so after he failed his beloved so badly.

Nothing he ever does can make up for his inability to protect the one person who showed him love and care. Wasn't he the reason Xie Lian couldn't fight back? E-Ming quivers at his hip giving away the despair hidden under his neutral expression. Hua Cheng only steels his dead heart, he needs to be strong for his god.

There is a rustling sound from the bath and Hua Cheng turns around just in time to see his beloved stumble dangerously across the floor. Xie Lian trips but Hua Cheng catches him before he hits the ground and Xie Lian nuzzles his face in Hua Cheng's chest. He is completely naked, back glistening from the bath water. At any other time, Hua Cheng would have found this scenario arousing given the intimate position they were in, but things weren't exactly going well. Xie Lian buckles to the ground and Hua Cheng follows, letting his god rest on his lap.

Xie Lian doesn't speak and neither does Hua Cheng. He wraps a towel around his shoulder and lovingly strokes his hair. He wants to kiss it too but he wouldn't dare.