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If there was one thing Hua Cheng had learned about his husband over the countless centuries of being blissfully married, it was that Xie Lian had a bit of a wandering eye when they went out. He never looked at other people, of course, not even after all this time. In a way, that would have been easier to handle. If Xie Lian's eye ever strayed in that way, Hua Cheng could simply change himself to suit his beloved's needs.
This though? Hua Cheng is powerless to stop this.
"Gege," he sighs after noticing Xie Lian's eyes drift down the fifth alley passed on their walk home.
“Hm?” Xie Lian tears his eyes away reluctantly. “Sorry, San Lang. I just noticed the dumpsters are full today. Tomorrow is garbage day, isn’t it?”
“It is,” he confirms, knowing full well where this was going, “but gege…”
“It’s just a shame to think of all the neat stuff that’ll just be going to the landfill tomorrow.”
The longing in his voice is obvious, too blatant for Hua Cheng to refuse. Biting back a heavy sigh, he yields. “Just let me choose this time.”
Xie Lian is far too old to feel shame when it comes to most things, but even he cringes at the memory of last month’s dumpster diving. Of course he had had the misfortune of picking the messiest, smelliest, absolutely disgusting dumpster in town. It had taken three days to fully wash out the smell of spoiled milk and rotting fruit from his hair, though Hua Cheng had healed the scratches left by the rats immediately.
“Alright, that’s probably for the best,” he agrees sheepishly.
Hua Cheng takes his hand and leads the way. After last time, he had decided to prepare for the next time Xie Lian insisted on indulging in this pastime of his, so Hua Cheng knows exactly where to go. There's a department store not too far from their home neighboring an arts & crafts store. Because there are no restaurants on this street, that means the dumpster thankfully has less gross surprises to worry about.
Xie Lian perks up as they arrive, as if Hua Cheng has presented him with a brand new car instead of just some oversized garbage bins. Hua Cheng takes care of their clothes from one step to the next, shifting them both into familiar old robes that neither minds getting a little dirty. Xie Lian climbs into the opened half of the dumpster without a care, while Hua Cheng perches himself on the closed lid of the other half. Xie Lian begins rummaging with all the joy of a raccoon.
“Oh! San Lang, look at how clean these canvases are! Ah, what a waste. They’re still perfectly fine.”
Hua Cheng accepts the pair for inspection. The quality isn’t as high as he would normally buy, but Xie Lian is right— they’re clean and usable. With a nod of approval, he sets them aside for safekeeping.
“Good call, gege. Anything else catch your eye?”
Xie Lian digs deeper through the trash, sorting through the odd assortment of junk. They laugh at a few poorly translated T-shirts, and Xie Lian inspects a set of damaged shoes before discarding it at Hua Cheng's insistence. Overall, it's not like they really need any of this stuff, but Xie Lian hates seeing good stuff go to waste, and it's genuinely fun rifling through the various odds and ends — when there isn't any worry of feral rats and suspicious odors, that is.
Hua Cheng keeps watch while the pile of junk beside him grows, though keeping watching usually means leaving a few butterflies to flutter around on guard duty while he gazes unblinkingly at Xie Lian.
It never fails to make him feel complicated, seeing Xie Lian rummage around through the garbage. He deserves better than other people's scraps; he deserves to be clean and safe and at peace in the comfort of their home. Xie Lian should have all that is new and luxurious, the best of the best. But Xie Lian's face lights up with such genuine excitement every time he stumbles across something strange and interesting in these piles of junk that Hua Cheng can only sigh and watch him with fond exasperation. He'd rather break his own legs than do anything to dampen that beautiful smile.
"Oh, I think they tossed the lost and found items. I hope no one is missing these," Xie Lian remarked, turning over a water bottle in his hands. It was covered in colorful stickers.
"They usually wait a few months before giving up and tossing it," Hua Cheng explained. "So if no one claimed it by now, they probably won't be looking for it any time soon."
Xie Lian nods. He studies an olive green cap, and for a moment Hua Cheng fears he's going to try it on. Thankfully, Xie Lian just sets it aside and continues his search.
"It's still a shame, you know? These things belonged to people. Even if it can be replaced, some of them might miss… oh! San Lang, look!"
Xie Lian holds up a dirty little plush fox. The orange fur is dull from what must have been a child's grubby hands, and it's missing one eye altogether, loose stitching sticking out where the black bead should have been.
"Isn't it so cute?"
Hua Cheng wrinkles his nose. "It looks like it has fleas."
"It just needs a bath and some patching up," Xie Lian insists, stroking the mangy little head like the thing can actually feel his petting. "Whoever lost it must have loved it dearly."
"Or they were glad to be rid of it because it's ugly and dirty."
Xie Lian levels him with a stern look. "Well, regardless of the past, I'm going to take care of it because it's worthy of love."
Hua Cheng averts his eyes, chest warm. Because of this, he misses the way Xie Lian's expression softens.
"Let's go home," Xie Lian suggests kindly.
"En."
They carry their loot home, where Hua Cheng takes it upon himself to meticulously clean everything except the fox, which Xie Lian insists on caring for himself. He gives it a bubble bath in the sink, scrubbing out the stains with great care. After the bath, Xie Lian swaddles the little fox toy in a towel and disappears for a while to finish drying it off.
Hua Cheng finishes up, leaving all the new goodies in a clean bin for Xie Lian to go through later. After a quick shower and change of clothes, he's almost ready for bed.
The door to their shared hobby room is ajar. Hua Cheng knocks lightly on the door anyway. "Gege, are you done?"
"Ahh, not quite… I managed to secure the ears, but I'm struggling putting a new eye on," he sighs. "You'd think I'd have gotten better at sewing by now, but I really think Mu Qing would spit blood if he saw this."
"You've done such a good job already. Just leave the rest for tomorrow," Hua Cheng coaxes.
"Ah, but I wanted to- nevermind, you're right. Having fresh eyes will probably help," Xie Lian admits, rubbing a hand over his face.
“You look tired, gege.” Hua Cheng ushers him up and out the door. “Why don't you take a nice hot shower and I'll meet you in bed?"
"Alright, alright. I'm going."
The door to the bathroom closes behind him. The shower comes on a second later. Hua Cheng drifts back to the hobby room and idly picks up the fox for a closer look. His breath catches in his throat.
Dangling loosely from a poorly sewn thread is a bright red button where the right eye should be.
Hua Cheng thinks again about the tenderness with which Xie Lian had bathed the grimy little plush, the firm insistence with which he had decided to take the wretched thing home.
He sits down and reaches for the needle.
A rosy cheeked Xie Lian emerges from his shower a half hour later. He's still disappointed he couldn't finish stitching up his little fox tonight, but he had pricked his fingers so many times he knew it was only matter of time before he drew blood and then Hua Cheng would fret over nothing. Better to wake up bright and early tomorrow to try again.
His husband is already in bed waiting for him, scrolling idly through his phone. Xie Lian smiles at the sight before he spots the addition to his side of the bed. He gasps, picking up the plushie for a closer look.
"You finished him," he breathes, unable to stop the wide grin already overtaking his face.
The fox is wearing a little black eyepatch. When Xie Lian turns it just so, he can make out the thin lines of a butterfly stitched onto the front of it. Out of curiosity, he flips the patch up and is delighted to find the red button he had been struggling with earlier has been firmly fixed in place.
"San Lang…"
"I had a feeling you might want to bring it to bed tonight, so I finished sewing while you showered. Pray gege doesn’t mind."
"Mind?" Xie Lian nearly laughs. "Of course I don't mind! It looks ten times better than what I could have done. Thank you, San Lang."
Any protests Hua Cheng might have had are silenced by a kiss. They exchange a few more while Xie Lian climbs into bed and cuddles up close, his beloved new plush between them.
"Thank you," he repeats, pressing another kiss to Hua Cheng's nose. His voice is gentler this time, and Hua Cheng's heart squeezes once again.
"You don't need to thank me, gege. You said it's worthy of being taken care of."
"He is," Xie Lian says firmly.
Hua Cheng’s smile is wry. "Then who I am to argue with my god?"
He's argued it quite often over the years actually, but Xie Lian is so pleased with the progress that he doesn’t bring it up. Instead he just holds his beloved husband and his beloved little fox tight in his arms, and falls asleep with a smile on his face. Then, and only then, does Hua Cheng rest.