Work Text:
It will rain soon.
He Xuan could always tell by the sudden tension in his hand, tendons sensitive from hours of diligent writing. His wrist emits a sore pulse now and then, as skin prickles with the smallest change of temperature.
Rain was good, the small town with it’s humble crops always appreciated rain and with good fortune it would fill the surrounding streams with fresh water and new fish from the river ahead. Wash the banks of salt residue from the nearby ocean and make the waters more palpable for the well.
Of course He Xuan didn’t mind the constant sting of salt in everything he ate living so close to the waters. It was as much a part of him as the gloomy dark trees and the sweltering summertime which clung to FuGu like seasonal sisters battling for hold over the humble village. He might have read something like that once, a myth or local tale, he frowned with eyes closed and the soft earth beneath him echoing with distant rain. Letting the sun grow cold on his cheeks while clouds began to gather ahead.
It was a peaceful late afternoon, one he appreciated as his work for the evening was complete and catching the lowering sun for a quiet moment was relaxing. Though he wasn’t too friendly with heat, he liked getting out from behind his desk and giving his hand a break from his studies.
He really did like the quiet.
“HE- XIONG!”
The sing song holler was something so commonly ringing in his ears that He Xuan didn’t flinch at the abrasive sound. Finding his ears listening for the pat pat pat of bare feet on grass and the swish of fabric as the caller came bouncing down the hill. A bright commotion at his side as his peaceful evening was interrupted by the sudden warmth of another.
“Shi Qingxuan.” He answers, eyes still closed and he can hear the whine muffled in the other’s throat.
“He-xiong must you always be so formal!?” Shi Qingxuan huffs, a light hand smacking He Xuan’s unguarded belly with a deep sound. “I told you to call me--”
“I won’t.” He interrupts and feels Shi Qingxuan stomp heels into the innocent grass and earth. Yet his heated pout was as temperamental and fleeting as the wind and He Xuan didn’t have to wait long before a laugh trailed after the tantrum.
“You’ll never guess what ge brought me from his trip!” He’s vibrating at He Xuan’s side and it’s tempting to peel open his gaze and accommodate Shi Qingxuan’s desires. But instead he keeps still, closed off and waiting.
“He brings you too much, you’re spoiled.”
“And??” Shi Qingxuan snaps. “Why shouldn’t I be spoiled?”
“What have you done for it?” He counters and the side of his mouth threatens to twitch with a smirk but He Xuan won’t allow Shi Qingxuan to see it.
“I do quite a lot! I manage the home and ge’s paperwork and I even - I’m not just some layabout who can’tOh!”
He Xuan could practically count down to Shi Qingxuan’s movement. To the warm hands that brush his face and pinch viciously at his cheeks until He Xuan is forced to open his eyes in a scowl.
Above him Shi Qingxuan is framed by the lingering glow of the sun dipping towards the far off horizon, his hair lit with gold strands, endless waves pour over his shoulders - face flushed pink with embarrassment as he punishes He Xuan’s rudeness. The body dressed in foreign silk and bright colors leaning into He Xuan’s chest for better reach until the scent of Shi Qingxuan’s white flower soaked skin overtakes the salty air.
“You’re a cruel man He-xiong! A cruel cruel man! What do you have to say for yourself??”
“Hairpin.” His voice is distorted by the shape Shi Qingxuan is pulling his lips and while it feels unpleasant, he’s suffered this bullying since they were children. He thinks with every year his face changes shape, growing sharper at cheekbones and jaw just to give his lifetime friend less to grab a hold of.
“Oh?? You noticed! How does it look??” Shi Qingxuan forgives him with a fluttering smile, moving to touch the delicate shape. Gold and broad with strings of pearls dangling sweetly like naive little clouds from the turquoise beads. Bright green gems sit at the center of silver shaped petals and the coral leaves are all trimmed in gold as well. A small fortune before his eyes, more money than He Xuan’s father would ever make in a lifetime.
If such a gaudy thing were sitting atop the elder Shi brother’s crown he might snarl with displeasure, call him wasteful and arrogant.
But this is Shi Qingxuan who manages to look like a princess preparing for her wedding day.
“It’s fine.” He sighs and Shi Qingxuan returns his arms to lay over He Xuan’s chest, using his friend like a table as his smile carries on despite the lackluster complement. “Don’t wear something so brazenly, you’’ll be mugged.”
“I can handle myself.” Shi Qingxuan huffs and begins to toy with the tail of He Xuan’s long ponytail swept over his shoulder. A thing he’s done since they were children and would at times sleep together when Shi Wudu was traveling and Shi Qingxuan was brought into his home. Cuddling close and pinching his hair or ear or sleeve between his fingers and holding on through the night. It was an action Shi Wudu broke his younger brother of years ago when he said it was inappropriate for a young man to cling to others, but He Xuan never denied him when they were alone.
A part of him liked being the one Shi Qingxuan reached for blindly.
“Besides!” The other chirped, his features too pretty for a man and even the mischievous smile could not take the beauty from him. “I’ll need to look my best for when I go to the capital in a few weeks!”
“You’re going?” He Xuan felt a rock appear in his throat and he wanted to close his eyes against the small agitation.
“UhHuh! Ge is finally completing his business there and his newest ship is ready to sail! He even said he’s made very close friends with some court officials and he thinks he can begin doing more business directly!”
“Hn.” He Xuan rarely cared for Shi Wudu’s business, personally not a fan of the arrogant prick who was in his life as long as Shi Qingxuan. They never managed to get along and clashed at any meeting lasting over a few scattered minutes. He found the man self obsessed and shallow, too harsh at least. To appease his little brother’s whining he would bring He Xuan tomes and scrolls across the lands that were difficult to find in the nearby cities of their humble village - but at most they despise one another.
He was eleven when Shi Wudu glanced up from his table stacked with ledgers and trade routes as He Xuan waited to walk Shi Qingxuan to school. His sharp eyes taking in He Xuan’s appearance and said:
Don’t get too attached to my brother. One day I’ll be taking him far away from this place.
From that moment on he considered the elder Shi brother his enemy.
“Well, say something.” Shi Qingxuan pouted and moved to press half his weight over He Xuan’s chest. Laying across his torso like a cat claiming a spot of sunlight. Greedily and uncaring if he was comfortable, round eyes fixated on He Xuan.
“You’ll get lost in a week.” He answered. “Or mugged.”
“Will not!”
“Will too.”
He-xiong! I can take care of myself.” He reaches up to pinch the cheek again but He Xuan saw it coming. Snatching the lean wrist midair and pinned the other’s hand to his shoulder for safe keeping. Amused but unaffected by the other’s pitiful cries at being caught.
“I have big plans once I get there, you’ll see!” Shi Qingxuan huffed and puffed and gave up too quickly. No energy for roughhousing. He melted against He Xuan’s chest once more and He Xuan forgot to release the hand in return. “Ge wants to move there and grow his business. He tells me all about the fine houses of the elder merchants and companies he’s visited, how they have honey-gold walls thick as trees and real jade etched into their tables! He said I could have a garden with a moving stream if I wanted one day…”
“So your big plan is to do exactly the same thing as you are here. Nothing." He Xuan observes and feels Shi Qingxuan’s wistful sigh where they bodies meet, laying together beneath a clouded sky. His thumb brushing over the captured wrist now and then.
“I want to be an actor.” Shi Qingxuan answers and He Xuan's thumb pauses where it stroked the pulse. “I know so many stories and plays and songs, I love dancing and celebrations! I think I could do it.”
His voice trails off, clearly hoping for He Xuan to agree.
He doesn’t.
But He Xuan also doesn’t turn him down.
Truth was Shi Qingxuan was a fine actor. Years watching his best friend push his way in all sorts of costumes across any clearing or stage he could find in FuGu. Any celebration or festival an excuse for him to show off, his chin high and his eyes dazzling as he performed for the village. Uncaring of what clothes he wore, or what character he played. Man woman demon king empress - it was all his favorite.
And the older he grew, the more instruments the old mothers taught him to play, the more songs he learned and would hum at He Xuan’s side as they fished at creek banks beneath a spring sun…
The more it was impossible for He Xuan to deny that his best friend could captivate the world with even the performance of a smile.
“Imagine it, a theater house with a dressing room filled with gowns and props! Music and song pouring out of every corner, a line of people wanting to see me!” He giggled and the bob of his chest tickled He Xuan’s stomach, that laughter sinking into his very bones. “Wouldn’t that be fine?”
“Actors don’t make much money.” He Xuan brings up with a sour taste on his tongue. “They have patrons to spoil them and the theater house takes the rest. You’d be at the mercy of whatever man fancies you.” He says the words too coldly and regrets it immediately.
“Well…” His lifetime friend cleared his throat, the free hand plucking at He Xuan’s hem, cheeks flushed until his ears looked like they were on fire. “Would that be so terrible?”
He Xuan fails to cover the strangled noise in response.
“It doesn’t have to be a crude thing!” Shi Qingxuan defends. “There’s no reason a good man couldn't take interest in me as a lover! A young general even! Or a handsome cultivator from a regal family, serving the will of the gods, it could happen!”
He Xuan grinds his teeth and doesn’t answer - the dreamy look in Shi Qingxuan’s eyes is somehow offensive to him.
“It could be romantic, a table reserved just for that special person…”
He Xuan sits up without warning the boy leaning against him, pushing Shi Qingxuan to turn and fall with his back across He Xuan’s thighs. Pushing up at the hand still caught in his grip and dark waves of hair poured across their crossed bodies. He looks startled but not afraid, never afraid of his He-xiong. The color in his face lingering as love stories played in that empty head of his.
“Dream on.” He Xuan grouses, looking Shi Qingxuan over and it’s been years that it's felt strange to openly stare at his friend. Like he’s doing something he shouldn’t.
“He-xiong,”
“If you only chase after rank and nobility your feet will be left bleeding and raw - your pretty costumes torn to shreds - aim lower.”
He releases Shi Qingxuan’s hand just as the other’s pink mouth turns to smile, amusement was a familiar shape in this one’s face. He Xuan preferred him this way, smiling. Especially if he was the one to put it there.
“Oh? And what sort of patron should I want-”
“A scholar.”
“A scholar?!” Shi Qingxuan blinks and then laughs. “Why would I have a scholar over a prince?”
“Because a prince would throw you in a room with all the other treasures in his life and forget you.” He Xuan says with bitterness in his tone. “A lusting general would use you and throw you away, your cultivator would choose his duty over you and you’d be left alone.”
He reaches up, boldly taking Shi Qingxuan’s face in hand. His ink stained fingertips looked offensive to pampered and soft skin. Finding the sweep of a delicate jaw and resting his thumb on the gentle chin.
“A learned man would take care of you, give you a home. Chase after someone who would go to court, do his job with pride, and return home to you.”
Shi Qingxuan giggled and covered his mouth, trapping He Xuan’s fingers beneath the warmth of his palm with the act. Those eyes glowing in the low sunlight and the chilling shine of evening battling for the sky.
“You’re secretly so romantic He-xiong.” Shi Qingxuan smiled and brought his hand to rest over He Xuan’s wrist, a tentative squeeze following, and He Xuan realizes he is jealous of imaginary princes and soldiers. Of men who might not deserve Shi Qingxuan.
“It doesn’t matter.” He Xuan tightens his jaw and tries to avoid Shi Qingxuan’s warm gaze. “You’re not in the capital yet, wasting away on daydreams. What do I care?"
“You’re so protective He-xiong.”
“Who’s protective?”
Shi Qingxuan laughed again and above them the skies churned with rainclouds and the promise of a thunderous evening. It finally was enough to steal the light from Shi Qingxuan’s ever glowing eyes and He Xuan moved his hand to pull away a lock of hair tangled in the expensive hair pin. Something he’s never thought to buy, and something he will have to work hard to afford if it's the life Shi Qingxuan wanted.
Shi Qingxuan sits up, but doesn’t move far. His body in fashionable robes brought by his brother, wrinkles and shifts where he adjusts. Goes to lean into He Xuan’s side and the hand which reaches back attaches to his hanging ponytail like it was drawn there.
It’s a strange embrace and He Xuan turns his head like he dislikes it, but rests his hand at the curve of Shi Qingxuan’s waist in contrast. Feeling swift fingers playing with his hair and the loose wrinkles of his robe at his back as he thinks ….what a curse. He’s not even a student in the city yet and already he’s having to plan courting an actor who has yet to step onto their first stage.
Ridiculous.
Fine.
He’ll do it.
“He-xiong?”
“Hn?”
Shi Qingxuan presses his cheek to He Xuan’s shoulder, and when he smiles the incoming storm hesitates.
“When you become a scholar, I’ll reserve a table just for you.”