xingchen wasn't used to receiving gifts. the closest to a gift he had ever received was his sword, shuanghua. it was presented to him, when he was sixteen years old, by his master. baoshan sanren had forged shuanghua herself and the sword had immediately recognised xingchen as its master. but he'd never received a gift for his birthday. much less, for the sake of it. it was the very reason, why he didn't give other people gifts in turn. he didn't really understand their significance, until his best friend had presented him with one.
zichen wasn't the type to spend money, unnecessarily. although he wasn't exactly poor, he always insisted in the pair being careful with how they manage their little fortune. sometimes, they'd spend one or two silver pieces for meals. which could only afford them a small portion of food, each. xingchen had suggested that they hunt their own food instead. but zichen, being mysophobic, refused to skin rabbits, clean fish or pluck bird feathers. nevertheless, sometimes xingchen was forced to do so, because they were in need of a meal but were too far away from a town or village. zichen was willing to eat it, as long as he didn't get blood on his hands and it was cooked thoroughly.
he wasn't exactly stingy with money, but he wasn't willing to spend more than necessary on food and supplies. which is why it came as a huge surprise, when the daoist clad in black presented his friend with a small, wooden box. xingchen run his fingers across the engraved letters on the surface. the characters carved were those of " love ", " friendship " and " loyalty ". he felt his cheeks heat up, when he read them.
although it didn't come as a surprise to those who found out, xingchen and zichen had recently become a couple. they had been friends for a few years and traveled the world together. but it took them quite some time to realise, that their feelings for one another transcended those of platonic friendship. xingchen didn't fully understand the concept of love and sex. baoshan sanren taught him cultivation ; not how to form a relationship with another man. thinking back on it, xingchen could bet that his old master would vomit blood, if she found out that her disciple was a " cutsleeve ". he didn't like to use that expression, for other people used it as an insult. and xingchen didn't think there was anything inherently wrong with two men being in love. it wasn't like one could control who they fell in love with. such a way of thinking was widely frowned upon in that era. there had been instances, where inn owners refused to rent them a room, in fear that their inn's " reputation " would plummet because of it. zichen got quite angry in such situations, but xingchen was level - headed and cool. he simply took his partner's hand and led him outside, his head held high. there was nothing to be ashamed of, in his opinion. love was love. those people would never understand the pure, unconditional feelings zichen and xingchen shared.
this time, the inn they were staying in was neat. the owner had given them no trouble and hadn't even questioned the fact that two grown men had requested a single room with a double bed. xingchen enjoyed snuggling up to zichen at night and sleeping with his face buried in his partner's neck. this had taken zichen a long time to get used to, due to his fear of germs and physical contact. at first, he always asked xingchen to take a bath, before joining him on the bed. after he had taken a bath himself, of course. xingchen had never taken offense to that. he was very understanding of zichen's fears and had fully complied to bathing nightly and before joining zichen in the same bed.
" open it. " came zichen's voice ; steady and soft. his speech was, usually, commanding and sharp. but it became gentle and mellow, whenever he addressed xingchen. which made it obvious that he was very fond of his partner.
xingchen complied, albeit surprised to receive something out of notice. " it's not my birthday, is it ? " he chuckled, pulling the box open. inside was something wrapped in thin paper, which xingchen unwrapped carefully. underneath the paper were two charms. they were shaped to represent ying and yang energy and were stringed, so one could hang it from their sash. such gifts were common amongst couples. each party received one charm that represented their partner, which was a display of love an devotion.
zichen spoke again, " i had them commissioned several weeks ago. "
" is this why we stayed here for so long ? " xingchen chuckled, picking out the yang charm and looked at it in the morning sunlight. it was finely crafted and on the back of it was zichen's birth name, written in gold ink. xingchen placed the box on the table before him and quickly tied the charm to his sash, admiring it. he paused for a moment, before practically throwing himself in zichen's arms, kissing his neck and shoulder lovingly. " my zichen is so thoughtful. " he cooed happily.
zichen was taken aback by the sudden hug, for he still held onto his phobia of germs and physical contact, but he ended up wrapping his arms around xingchen's waist and squeezing him against his own body. the kisses were returned and he even leaned back to peck xingchen's lips. " anything for you . . . my love is eternal and unconditional and i want you to remember this, even if we wound up parting ways in the future. " he spoke, before releasing xingchen and tying the other charm to his own sash.
eternal, unconditional and undying love. that was what they shared.
zichen wasn't the type to spend money, unnecessarily. although he wasn't exactly poor, he always insisted in the pair being careful with how they manage their little fortune. sometimes, they'd spend one or two silver pieces for meals. which could only afford them a small portion of food, each. xingchen had suggested that they hunt their own food instead. but zichen, being mysophobic, refused to skin rabbits, clean fish or pluck bird feathers. nevertheless, sometimes xingchen was forced to do so, because they were in need of a meal but were too far away from a town or village. zichen was willing to eat it, as long as he didn't get blood on his hands and it was cooked thoroughly.
he wasn't exactly stingy with money, but he wasn't willing to spend more than necessary on food and supplies. which is why it came as a huge surprise, when the daoist clad in black presented his friend with a small, wooden box. xingchen run his fingers across the engraved letters on the surface. the characters carved were those of " love ", " friendship " and " loyalty ". he felt his cheeks heat up, when he read them.
although it didn't come as a surprise to those who found out, xingchen and zichen had recently become a couple. they had been friends for a few years and traveled the world together. but it took them quite some time to realise, that their feelings for one another transcended those of platonic friendship. xingchen didn't fully understand the concept of love and sex. baoshan sanren taught him cultivation ; not how to form a relationship with another man. thinking back on it, xingchen could bet that his old master would vomit blood, if she found out that her disciple was a " cutsleeve ". he didn't like to use that expression, for other people used it as an insult. and xingchen didn't think there was anything inherently wrong with two men being in love. it wasn't like one could control who they fell in love with. such a way of thinking was widely frowned upon in that era. there had been instances, where inn owners refused to rent them a room, in fear that their inn's " reputation " would plummet because of it. zichen got quite angry in such situations, but xingchen was level - headed and cool. he simply took his partner's hand and led him outside, his head held high. there was nothing to be ashamed of, in his opinion. love was love. those people would never understand the pure, unconditional feelings zichen and xingchen shared.
this time, the inn they were staying in was neat. the owner had given them no trouble and hadn't even questioned the fact that two grown men had requested a single room with a double bed. xingchen enjoyed snuggling up to zichen at night and sleeping with his face buried in his partner's neck. this had taken zichen a long time to get used to, due to his fear of germs and physical contact. at first, he always asked xingchen to take a bath, before joining him on the bed. after he had taken a bath himself, of course. xingchen had never taken offense to that. he was very understanding of zichen's fears and had fully complied to bathing nightly and before joining zichen in the same bed.
" open it. " came zichen's voice ; steady and soft. his speech was, usually, commanding and sharp. but it became gentle and mellow, whenever he addressed xingchen. which made it obvious that he was very fond of his partner.
xingchen complied, albeit surprised to receive something out of notice. " it's not my birthday, is it ? " he chuckled, pulling the box open. inside was something wrapped in thin paper, which xingchen unwrapped carefully. underneath the paper were two charms. they were shaped to represent ying and yang energy and were stringed, so one could hang it from their sash. such gifts were common amongst couples. each party received one charm that represented their partner, which was a display of love an devotion.
zichen spoke again, " i had them commissioned several weeks ago. "
" is this why we stayed here for so long ? " xingchen chuckled, picking out the yang charm and looked at it in the morning sunlight. it was finely crafted and on the back of it was zichen's birth name, written in gold ink. xingchen placed the box on the table before him and quickly tied the charm to his sash, admiring it. he paused for a moment, before practically throwing himself in zichen's arms, kissing his neck and shoulder lovingly. " my zichen is so thoughtful. " he cooed happily.
zichen was taken aback by the sudden hug, for he still held onto his phobia of germs and physical contact, but he ended up wrapping his arms around xingchen's waist and squeezing him against his own body. the kisses were returned and he even leaned back to peck xingchen's lips. " anything for you . . . my love is eternal and unconditional and i want you to remember this, even if we wound up parting ways in the future. " he spoke, before releasing xingchen and tying the other charm to his own sash.
eternal, unconditional and undying love. that was what they shared.