Thread by @lilbunmilo

Can’t stop thinking about what it would be like if XL was able to revive his mother (a la the Resurrection Stone in Harry Potter), even if only for a few minutes so he could say goodbye and introduce her to HC.

How they would collapse on the ground together and she would hold him close and sift her fingers through his hair like she did when he was small. How they would both apologize for words unsaid and mistakes made and time together lost to tragedy.

How she would cradle his face and smile with /such/ loving warmth as she used her thumbs to wipe away his tears. How he would smile back, eyes watery but no less loving.

How, when they’d both calmed down, XL would beckon HC closer and introduce him to her. Her eyes would widen

just slightly in surprise before dissolving into one of /absolute affection./

Because she can see the fear in HC’s one eye, the self-loathing, convinced he’s not good enough, convinced she’ll be disappointed by what she finds. Just as she can see the way her son looks at him,

content and serene in a way she hasn’t seen since he was a child. And that alone is enough to convince her of HC’s intentions and genuine love for her son. Which is why she pulls him into a firm hug and, despite the

fact that HC towers over her physically, he feels /held/, he feels /safe/ for the first time since his own mother held him all those centuries ago.

Wrapped so securely in her arms, the ghost king returns the embrace, resting his cheek atop her head as thinks

fondly to himself, “So /this/ is where Xie Lian gets it from. Small but mighty.” Without thinking, he leans down and whispers something in her ear. Once again, her eyes widen before creasing into a crescent moon shape from the force of her smile, and HC /feels/ her

spirit ease with sincere appreciation.

By the time she fades away, they’re all huddled together, embracing until there’s nothing left but empty air between them and the warm breath of her memory.

That night, HC holds XL while he mourns, grief and closure waging war within his war-waged soul. Later, he asks what HC told his mother. HC strokes his fingers through XL’s hair, knowing how the sensation calms him. He says that he promised her XL will know

nothing but love and gentle comfort for the rest of their lives.

XL’s eyes once again fill with tears, but not of grief or anguish anymore.

That night, he sleeps soundly in HC’s arms, wrapped in the gentle comfort HC promises to provide.

#hualian #tgcf #TianGuanCiFu #XieLian