grow as we go

grow as we go

(a fantasy / royalty au)

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It is a hot summer afternoon in Yunmeng. The sun is high in the sky, its heat almost punishing, but there is plenty of shade to be had under the towering trees of the royal palace’s aviary at the heart of Lotus Pier.

Under one of these trees, Nie Huaisang waits, hand outstretched as he whistles a short melody.

He does this once, twice, until he hears birdsong in the same melody. He smiles then, as a little bird perches on his fingers and chirps happily.

He pets the bird gently, affectionately, and in the same smooth and practiced motion, unclips the little holster tied to one of its legs.

“Well done, little one.” he says, before giving the creature on his hand a little nudge. He watches as it flaps its wings and takes off, to one of the many nests and birdhouses among the trees of the aviary.

As Nie Huaisang retrieves the small piece of paper from the holster and reads its contents, his companion speaks from just a few feet away.

“Is it good news, your Highness?” a light, cheerful voice says. Nie Huaisang looks over at his guard – a young man very tall for his age – leaning against a tree nearby, relaxed and casual, one hand on the small pouch of dried sweets that he’s been snacking on.

If any of the Lotus Pier guards or royals were here, they would surely scold Dai Lei, Nie Huaisang thinks. The boy is informal and could be considered rude, often speaking unprompted, out of turn.

He is quite lucky then, that his Prince likes him very much.

Nie Huaisang just smiles at him, before returning to reading the message. “It’s not bad news, I can tell you that.”

“So… good, then?”

Nie Huaisang nods, just slightly. “Hm… I suppose it is good, in a way.”

He starts walking along the line of trees, going through his routine of checking on the birdhouses, now and then stopping to watch and admire one of his many pet birds.

Dai Lei trails after him, still in his easygoing manner, mostly quiet, observing. All this is still new to him, having been assigned as Nie Huaisang’s guard for a only few months. He still has much to learn about Yunmeng, and his Prince in Yunmeng.

Despite his sometimes naive questions, his presence is still a comfort, to Nie Huaisang, this far away from their home kingdom.

“So… um… My Prince? I have a question…”

Nie Huaisang stops walking to pet one of the canaries perched just outside a birdhouse.

“Yes, Xiao Lei?” he prompts, purposely using his personal endearment for the boy, to let him know that he doesn’t have to be so formal, while it’s just them.

“Do you think I-… I’m not sure how to say it, but-… Do you know if I did something to… displease… the King?”

Nie Huaisang hums. “Hm… You think da-ge is mad at you?”

“Ah, no- Not your brother, highness! I meant-… King Jiang-”

“Oh.” At that, Nie Huaisang looks up from his pet bird, and turns to look at his companion. “What do you mean? Why would you think he is not… pleased… with you?”

Dai Lei lets out a sheepish laugh. “Ah, I’m not really sure. It’s just… I think he’s mad at me or something? When I’m doing my job… you know, following you and him, sometimes I notice that he is looking at me, and he doesn’t look very happy? And I’m wondering if I’m doing anything wrong?”

Nie Huaisang thinks about it, frowning slightly. He hasn’t really noticed… whatever it is that Dai Lei has claimed to notice.

“Xiao Lei, the King is a very busy and… serious… man.” he starts. “He has a lot of duties and responsibilities, maybe you’ve just caught him deep in thought? Are you… sure that he is looking at you, specifically?”

Dai Lei nods. “It’s happened a lot, gege- I mean- My Prince. I know I’m new, and that I’m not from here, but I try to be really quiet and boring when he’s around, you know… So I’m thinking you might know what I can… do? Or not do? To not piss him off?”

Nie Huaisang has to stop himself from laughing. What can his young guard do to not piss the King of Yunmeng off? That is a funny question.

Jiang Wanyin is definitely not known for being a cheerful, happy man. His default mood seems to be serious, one way or another, at something or other, these days. And most times that seriousness translates to… angry. If he’s not angrily serious, he’s just busy – but that’s just every person in Yunmeng, as they all recover after the war.

That is not to say he doesn’t have other moods, of course. But those are rare and Nie Huaisang knows he reserves those for a select few people.

Still, he doesn’t know what Dai Lei could have done to “piss the King off”. Nie Huaisang knows that his new guard may be… disruptive… at times, but the boy puts on an effort to be formal and proper in the presence of the King.

“I can’t really say, Xiao Lei.” Nie Huaisang lets out a small sigh. “Though I’d wager that it isn’t really you that he might be angry at. You must have just caught him in a bad mood. He’s going through a particularly stressful time these days, you know. We all are.”

“Ah… I guess… Maybe it’s just me? I don’t know him that well…” the boy chuckles sheepishly.

“How about this? The King and I will be going for a stroll on the town his afternoon, right? To see the festival preparations. I’ll ask him what he thinks of you then.”

Dai Lei nods – “Thank you, your Highness.” – and when his Prince starts to walk off, back the way they came, he dutifully follows. “So where are we going now?”

“My office.” Nie Huaisang says. “I have some letters I have to write, before I meet with my husband.”

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Nie Huaisang changes his robes from Nie colors to Jiang ones, only keeping his dark emerald earrings and gold hairpin, to meet his husband for a walk in town, as scheduled.

King Jiang Wanyin arrives a few minutes late, accompanied by only a single guard. As usual he looks mildly annoyed by something, and Nie Huaisang is relieved to be quite sure that he’s not the reason for that expression.

“Were you waiting long?” he asks, brows furrowed more in concern now as he addresses Nie Huaisang. “The meeting got help up. Old men making too many demands, now that we don’t have a war to scare them to reason.”

“It’s no problem at all, my King. We only just got here, too.” Nie Huaisang says, lowering his fan slightly so the other can see his reassuring smile.

They fall into step together, as Jiang Wanyin offers his arm to Nie Huaisang, who is now comfortable enough to take it and let him lead. Dai Lei quietly and dutifully takes his place beside King Jiang’s guard, Captain Wu, who nods at him as they both trail a few paces behind their masters – close enough to keep a good eye on them but far enough to provide privacy.

“I heard you’ve been sending out some messages today.” Jiang Wanyin says, voice quiet, only enough for his husband to hear, as they start their stroll through the busy town proper.

Nie Huaisang nods. “I was.”

People have started to take note of their presence. Shopkeepers, merchants and helpers who were busy walking around and setting up their stalls turn their heads and call out to them, bowing or waving.

They both spare pleasant smiles for their people, even as Jiang Cheng follows up with a new question, “Anything we need to be concerned about?”

“Nothing in particular. Just coordinating things, mostly. Stragglers, seeking sanctuary. Some expected sightings at the outskirts, nothing the lookouts can’t handle.” Nie Huaisang answers easily, then looks up at him to show slight concern. “I hope your meeting wasn’t too stressful?”

“I handled it.” is all the curt response he gets, before they come to a halt as a child runs up to them.

The little girl holds up a bunch of flowers towards the King, cheeks pink but eager. “For Your Highness! H-Happy Harvest Festival!”

Jiang Wanyin lets out a smile back as he takes the flowers. “Thank you, little one.”

He notes the girl turning her head to look giddily towards who must be her mother, a woman standing by the nearby stall carrying a large basket of the same flowers, who bow at him and Huaisang.

He nods back at her before turning back to the child. “Now, did you know that my husband loves flowers?”

The girl’s smile widens, as he looks towards Nie Huaisang then. “Y-Yes, M-Mother told me, Your Highness…”

“Well, she would be right.” Nie Huaisang says, accepting the flowers that Jiang Wanyin hands to him. “And you are helping her prepare for the festival? What a very good and hardworking girl! Keep it up, yes?”

“Y-Yes, my Prince!” The girl blushes, then bows deeply at both of them, before running back to her mother, ecstatic.

As they resume walking, Nie Huaisang leans down to admire the lovely little bouquet in his hand. It is obviously the child’s own picks, all colorful with no proper pattern to them, but Nie Huaisang knows that’s its charm. He peers at his husband’s face and lets out a light, teasing grin. “Passing me your gifts, this early? Don’t you like holding flowers, your Highness?”

Jiang Wanyin shrugs. “No, I just know that we’ll be getting more things handed to us very soon, so I better have my hands free.” He looks back at Nie Huaisang, then smoothly plucks one of the flowers from the bouquet, and tucks it behind the man’s ear. “Besides, they look better on you.”

Nie Huaisang blinks at the unexpected gesture, and fights the urge to take his fan out and hide his pink cheeks behind it. He settles for inching just slightly closer to the other man, hopefully he won’t notice Nie Huaisang hiding behind his sleeves instead.

He hadn’t known what to expect of this outing. He had known about the upcoming festival, and knew of its importance this year in particular, as it would be the first time Yunmeng can actually celebrate it since the end of the war.

As the King’s husband, he had decided to be a spectator for this time and allowed a Yunmeng-born official, a Jiang cousin, take charge of preparations on the palace side, as he did not want to overstep his boundaries for something so important to the locals. When the King asked him, the day before, if Nie Huaisang would like to go with him to see the festival preparations in town, he thought they would probably meet with a representative, who would let them know how the people were faring, and perhaps inform them of any concerns or requests.

He didn’t think it would be an actual stroll, that he would get to see the stalls and preparations up close.

Nie Huaisang has always admired how bright and lively Lotus Pier is, compared to the more subdued and stern stone streets of Qinghe. Qinghe has its own kind of beauty and elegance, and Nie Huaisang loves his home but he couldn’t help but marvel at the sights he is currently surrounded with.

This is the first time he is seeing the market in all its bustling life and color.

It only took five years, but he is glad to see it.

The King is right, as they continue their stroll through the town, as almost every merchant and artisan they approach give them presents and tokens, some even eagerly taking initiative to go to them. The people all offer the items to the King, but they are also pleased to watch him give the pretty hand-crafted figurines, ornaments, silks and various other trinkets to his husband instead.

Nie Huaisang accepts all of them with a smile, of course. He is partial to these hand-crafted works of art, and he knows his husband knows that, but he is beginning to be concerned…

“My King… you’re being very generous…” he says awkwardly, after a while, after he’d finally had to ask Dai Lei to take some of the tokens off his hands, so he could keep receiving more. “Too generous, if I may say so… With me, I mean…”

Jiang Wanyin’s brows furrow, more in curiosity than in concern. “What’s wrong? Which ones aren’t to your liking?”

Nie Huaisang quickly shakes his head. “Oh, no, I absolutely adore all of these good people’s works! But I think it might be good… for you to keep some of them for yourself too…?”

“You do know these are all intended for you.” Jiang Wanyin tells him, like it is just known fact. If it was, Nie Huaisang must have missed it. “They hand it to me as a formality, but they intend for me to give these gifts to you. It’s festival tradition.”

Nie Huaisang blinks. That is new. “It-… It is?”

“It is. Well… I suppose, it’s more of a custom…” he says, but before he could explain, he stops their stroll in front of what looked like a shop of colorful embroidered tapestries and silks, where an old man is being assisted by his son as he rushes to welcome their King and their Prince.

The man offers a deep purple hair ribbon with an intricately embroidered design of emerald beads and silver thread, bowing as best as he can.

The King bows back as he accepts the gift. “Elder Xian, did you make this for me to give to the Prince?”

It isn’t the first time during this trip that Nie Huaisang hears the King acknowledge and address an artisan or merchant by their name, but it still impresses him the same.

Elder Xian nods, “Yes, my King! We have heard of the Prince’s fine taste in art. I hope he finds my humble work to his liking.”

“It is lovely, sir.” Nie Huaisang says with a smile, admiring the handiwork as Jiang Wanyin presents him with the ribbon. “Thank you very much, I will treasure it.”

The old man looks happy with his reaction. The King then asks him about the shop, the family trade, and the old man’s health. Nie Huaisang watches patiently as they catch up.

“So it really is a custom…?” Nie Huaisang asks, after they’ve said goodbye to the elderly man and his son. “Forgive me, I did not know…”

“It’s alright. I should have asked, if you knew. Anyway, I did not even expect this much… response.” Jiang Wanyins tells him, expression thoughtful. “We are recovering from a war. I thought I would see how the people were faring with the preparations. I wouldn’t have noticed if they decided to pass on the custom for this year.”

Nie Huaisang listens, intent to learn this new fact about the place he’d been calling home for the past few years.

“It is not just the royalty, if you must know.” Jiang Wanyin continues. “During the harvest festival, gifts are usually given to men for them to take home to their waiting wives, partners, family. In my case, that would be you.”

Nie Huaisang nods, and now that he is more aware, as he looks around, he does spot more people giving away small tokens, mostly to friends who they have waved over to come to their stalls.

He’d heard of stories about Yunmeng before the war. When he first came with his brother to be wed to Prince Wanyin, the shadow of the war looming over both their kingdoms, Yunmeng was already a different place from those stories. It’s only now that he is starting to see what it must have been like, from before.

“It is a lovely custom, my King.” he says, finally, as he admires his latest gift, the embroidered ribbon. Instead of handing it off to Dai Lei to carry, he carefully folds it and tucks it into his robes for safekeeping. “I suppose I was just concerned, before I knew what the gifts were. I thought they might have been forcing themselves to offer us things, while as you’ve said, we are still recovering…”

The King seems to think about that for a moment, before he shakes his head. “I think it’s a good sign. Our artists and weavers and makers are able to practice their crafts again, and they can afford to feel generous enough to give them away, during a festival that they’re finally allowed to celebrate after years.”

“I see that. I just didn’t want to appear too… spoiled?” Nie Huaisang says, a worried furrow to his brows. If he were younger, if he were still only Prince Huaisang of Qinghe, and King Mingjue’s sheltered brother, he would have relished in such a reputation. But not here in Yunmeng, not anymore, not after everything…

“Ah.” Jiang Wanyin chuckles. “But that’s another good sign. They like giving me things to give to you because it shows that I am here to receive them. The King and our men are home, not away fighting at the front. And you’re here openly being spoiled, not sheltered and tucked away somewhere secret. That makes them feel safe enough to go on with the festival.”

Nie Huaisang takes that in, and then blinks at him, eyes twinkling with a smile. “So it is my job? To be happy and spoiled?”

Jiang Wanyin regards him back, as if taking his light-hearted teasing as a challenge. “Are you? Because that is my job. To make sure you are.”

“Well, you’ve done a good job.” Nie Huaisang laughs. “Is this why you took me? To motivate these good people? You should have just told me right away…”

Jiang Wanyin looks away then. “I-… Not really. I just thought you’d enjoy seeing… the art and things… before it got too chaotic and crowded during the festival proper. We probably wouldn’t have time then either as we’ll be very busy, with parades and ceremonies and all.”

Nie Huaisang smiles, not missing the awkwardness from his usually confident husband. He simply gives the man’s arm a squeeze and draws closer as they keep walking together. “I appreciate this very much, Wanyin-xiong. Thank you for taking me.”

It is the first time Nie Huaisang has called him by only his name, in the presence of common folk. He almost apologizes for the slip, but then Jiang Wanyin leans down slightly, to whisper at him.

“Hey. Wanna ditch our tails?”

Nie Huaisang blinks, and takes a quick glance at their two guards, both holding many of the bigger gifts the people have given today. Dai Lei is listening to something Captain Wu is telling him, the older probably explaining Yunmeng customs and traditions to the younger one.

He whispers back – “Where would we go?”

“I’m hungry and I know somewhere we can get really good snacks.” A pause, as Jiang Wanyin considers, then he continues, “Also I haven’t been alone in weeks, except to sleep.”

Nie Huaisang wants to point out that if they were to sneak off together, he wouldn’t be alone, either, with Nie Huaisang there. But he does understand what the man is trying to say. “But-… How do we-?”

Jiang Wanyin raises an eyebrow. “We both know some spells, don’t we?”

It is in this moment that Nie Huaisang is reminded that his husband may be the King of Yunmeng, and he may have just led an army and fought a war, but he is – like Nie Huaisang – only 23 years old.

He grins and whispers back, “Can we?”

A scoff. “Literally, who will dare stop us?”

Nie Huaisang really did not expect this, but who is he to say no the King? Stifling a giggle behind his sleeve, he nods.

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(then)

Prince Nie Huaisang of Qinghe first stepped foot in Yunmeng when he was 17, accompanied by wedding gifts, a small squad of Qinghe’s best warriors to guard him, an aunt and a younger cousin to attend to him, and a sizeable number of his pet birds.

He will be married to Prince Jiang Wanyin of Yunmeng the very next day.

It was an arrangement between his da-ge and the King and Queen of Yunmeng. It was a strategic move in response to a war looming on the horizon – with spies being discovered everywhere, borders being breached and “conflicts” turning more and more violent. It seals an alliance between two lands, and a good excuse for Prince Huaisang to be relocated to a more secure and advantageous location for his role in the war.

When Nie Huaisang was young, he’d always been secure that he will spend his life pampered and comfortable in Qinghe. His da-ge, as King, is strong, well-loved and respected, and will make sure Huaisang is taken care of. When he asked da-ge if he will ever push Nie Huaisang into one of those political arranged marriages, Nie Mingjue had only scoffed and said ”That’s never been our family’s way.”

It was true. His father had married both their mothers for love. Nie Huaisang grew up a romantic, loving romance stories, confident that he will also one day marry for the same reason.

But war had always changed many things. He was sixteen when Qinghe’s border was attacked by warriors of the Wen from Qishan, armed with elemental magic that they had already used to conquer other lands.

King Mingjue, a fierce and formidable leader and fighter, never to back down, went on to protect their kingdom at all costs.

Nie Huaisang did what he can to help. He didn’t inherit the Nie bloodline’s physical strength and constitution, and wasn’t trained like Qinghe warriors to imbue magic into their bodies and weapons to be fearsome combatants… but he had his mother’s bloodline’s unique connection to nature. He was raised and trained for a different role. So that is what he did, as his brother and their armies defended Qinghe’s borders, he managed their information network with their agents and his little winged messengers.

A year into the fighting, Yunmeng reached out, having discovered spies in their kingdom and a concerning number of skirmishes in their own borders. Queen Ziyuan suggested the alliance, and King Nie MIngjue knew that with the warmongering Wens and their destructive magic on their doors, the offer was their best option yet.

Contrary to what Nie Mingjue expected, his little brother met the arrangement without any resistance. When he asked, Nie Huaisang only gave him a small sad smile.

“I know everything happening everywhere, da-ge. I read and send all those messages myself.” Nie Huaisang told his brother, whose heart broke at realizing that even Huaisang couldn’t be spared from such harsh realities. “If this will help you and our soldiers… and keep everyone safe…”

“You are young.” Nie Mingjue told him then, like a promise. “This marriage is an excuse to get you to Yunmeng, where you’ll be better guarded, where you and your little birds can have better vantage point for more information. After this-… After all of this, we can break it off. Then you can come home, alright? Yunmeng understands this, too.”

So Nie Huaisang traveled to Yunmeng, and got married to a boy that he’d known for a day. He was introduced to Prince Jiang Wanyin, and they got barely an hour alone to be acquainted with each other before they are both pulled back into their own duties and the wedding preparations.

Prince Wanyin had been a bit too formal, very awkward, but not entirely unpleasant nor unkind. He had almost seemed apologetic, that someone had to be forced into a marriage with him, and Nie Huaisang recognized familiar self-deprecation when he said things like “I will stay out of your way.” and “You wouldn’t have to bear with me for too long, I’ll be going to fight in the border soon, with our soldiers.”

All Nie Huaisang could tell him was “My brother is fighting too. I hope you’ll both be safe.”

The wedding ceremony was grand despite the threat of war, but they both knew that it was, more than anything, for show and formality.

Not a week later, Prince Jiang Wanyin and the royal family’s ward, Wei Wuxian, left to join the fight.

Not a month later, on their way back from a supposedly diplomatic trip from another potential ally kingdom, King Fengmian and Queen Ziyuan were killed in an ambush.

Jiang Wanyin returned to be crowned King. Nie Huaisang barely got a word in to console his husband before he is ordered to go into hiding.

“You need to be kept safe. Take your entourage and the birds, and stay in the Jiang estate near the Meishan border. I will have my mother’s family serve as an additional safeguard.”

Nie Huaisang did not resist there either, fully understanding the stakes. He got to keep his title as Prince of Qinghe, but he is now also the King’s husband and the second most important person in Yunmeng.

So he moved to hide near Meishan, but continued his work there, coordinating information and keeping track of every detail of the war that he could.

Jiang Wanyin had gone to him there, twice. The first, to make plans to make sure his sister, her husband and their newborn child were taken to safety as they just sent a call for help after fleeing Lanling. The second, almost two years into hiding, to take Nie Huaisang back to Yunmeng, because the Meishan border has also been compromised, and he couldn’t risk his husband staying so close to enemy camps.

Wherever Nie Huaisang got moved to, he continued his work. Because that is the only thing assuring him everyday that his da-ge was still alive, fighting out there.

He started to write messages to Jiang Wanyin then, too, just simple wishes for him to be safe, and to let him know if there was anything else he could do, from back home. He never got any reply – but he didn’t let it dishearten him. Jiang Wanyin isn’t obligated to answer his personal correspondence, not when he had other, more important things to do. The Yunmeng officials at their base were sending their reports in, and that had to be enough.

At the moment, he and his husband weren’t lovers, not even friends – they were co-workers, allies, comrades. And they were there to each do their jobs.

Jiang Wanyin’s first message back to him came three years into the war, telling him to expect a homecoming.

Nie Huaisang’s da-ge had come home to him tired, scarred and wounded, but alive. He would need time to recover, and Yunmeng was the closer location, so that’s where he and a regiment from Qinghe took refuge. Despite his condition, Nie Mingjue hugged his little brother just as tight as he always had, if not even tighter. Nie Huaisang also got to fuss over the Nie soldiers, some of whom he had known since he was a child.

Jiang Wanyin, meanwhile, had only let the healers do the bare minimum of patching him up before he secluded himself in his quarters, with firm instructions to be left alone.

Nie Huaisang is glad that he had been concerned (and stubborn) enough, and that his brother had urged him to at the very least check in on his husband, who they knew was nursing his own injuries.

That night, he huffed at Jiang Wanyin’s hastily cast locking spell before flicking it away, and when asking politely didn’t work, he proceeded to stomp his foot, whine, and make teary eyes until a pissed, frustrated, angry, devastated Jiang Wanyin let him in his quarters.

“What the fuck can’t wait until tomorrow?!”

“I heard about Wei-xiong. He’s in Gusu?”

A pause, and the King steeled his expression, although Nie Huaisang could so easily see him struggling not to crack. “Yeah. Barely escaped from the Wens that tracked his squad down. He’s safe there, but… We don’t know when-… When he can come back. And I need-… The war effort needs him back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that-”

“Is that all? You wanted a report? You have it. Now leave me be-”

Jiang Wanyin stopped abruptly, when Nie Huaisang wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace.

“I am glad that you’re safe, Wanyin-xiong.”

Nie Huaisang couldn’t remember how long he just stood there, practically hanging off a seemingly frozen man, until he felt arms wrap around him and hug him back – hesitant at first, until the hold tightens as Jiang Wanyin crumbles against him, shaking in quiet sobs.

And, Nie Huaisang liked to think, that was the night he and his husband became friends.

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---

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(now)

The middle-aged woman selling the delicious meat buns by the side of the road blinks in shock when she realizes who the people standing by her cart were. “Y-Your High-”

The King brings a finger to his lips, effectively stopping her. “Madam Fang, you didn’t see us.” Then he points at the buns. “A bag of these, please. And the sweets my sister likes.”

The woman blinks once, looks from the King, to the King’s husband who smiles charmingly at her from where he is tucked to the man’s side, then finally smiles back. She keeps her voice quiet as she reaches for her cooking chopsticks. “Of course, my King.”

She packs up their order with practiced ease, then hands over two bags. She begins to shake her head when the King offers her some coins, but the man insists.

“Please, at least for your silence?”

Madam Fang looks at him like she would a mischievous child, before chuckling. “Very well, my King. I appreciate the business.”

“Thank you for the treats, madam.”

Nie Huaisang supposes he had never seen this side of Jiang Wanyin before. He wonders if this is what he had been like as a boy, carefree running around town with Wei Wuxian and maybe even Jiang Yanli, all children loved and adored by the local townsfolk.

Perhaps, if they’d had more time, if they hadn’t met each other literally a day before their wedding and a week before war broke out… Perhaps, they could have spent a day or two like this together, free of duties and obligations.

Jiang Wanyin somehow manages to find them a quiet, unoccupied spot near the docks. The sky is darkening, so lanterns were starting to be lit up. It is a lovely sight from where they are, to see lights come up one by one from the bridge and leading into the colorful market.

A man just getting off his boat with a big basket of lotuses spots them and begins to tell them that the docks are no spot to be fooling around in at night, but then Jiang Wanyin turns to him and gives a little wave, followed by a gesture for silence, much like he did with Madam Fang.

The man, of course, recognizes who he just shouted at, and quickly nods, bows and then rushes off with a grin.

As they sit down on the wooden planks by the edge of the docks, Nie Huaisang laughs quietly. “Wanyin-xiong, are you actually a troublemaker?”

“Not really. You just learn a few tricks, hanging out with one.” Jiang Wanyin says, unwrapping the packed meat buns and holding them out to his companion. “The troublemaker would be Wei Wuxian.”

“I gathered.” Nie Huaisang says, taking one of the buns and savoring the delicious smell. “Is he busy, today? These festivities… I would have guessed that they were his thing.”

“He said he’ll go tomorrow, with Lan Wangji. They are taking A-Yuan. He wants to buy a kite for the child, and there are more kitemakers during the day.” Jiang Wanyin answers. “I asked jiejie too, but apparently she is busy helping out with the ceremony preparations in the castle.”

“Ah.” Nie Huaisang nods, then chuckles awkwardly. “I hope you don’t mind then, that I’m the one you got stuck with, today?”

“Not at all. I figured you might like seeing Lotus Pier with all the… colors.” Jiang Wanyin says, looking out in the slowly fading light from the distant sunset. “I just wish I didn’t put you on the spot back there, earlier. I should have known that you might not be familiar with all our customs yet.”

Nie Huaisang smiles. “It’s okay. The gifts were lovely! I did enjoy all the colors.”

It is very strange, Nie Huaisang thinks. This is one of the very rare times that they are alone together.

In five years of marriage, Nie Huaisang had spent more time with some of the palace attendants, servants and guards, than he had with his own husband.

At least, that is starting to change these days.

He watches Jiang Wanyin across him lift a hand almost absentmindedly, little sparks dancing around his fingers. He mumbles the words of a spell as he closes his fist as if to capture them. Then like throwing pebbles in the air, releases them into tiny balls of light that spread out and hover around them, almost like fireflies.

He is always fascinated by the way people from different kingdoms use their magic. Qinghe warriors use them to strengthen their bodies and weapons. The Lan from Gusu use them with music to soothe and enrich their minds. Magic in Yunmeng is almost freeform – widely used for aesthetic, but also for magical tools and talismans of all function and utilities.

Nie Huaisang thinks this display defeats the purpose of them supposedly trying to stay hidden, but he appreciates it anyway. The dancing lights were pretty, and it was better than being in total darkness.

“Oh, I almost forgot…” Nie Huaisang starts. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, my King.”

“What is it?”

“Well… about Xiao Lei? My guard?”

Nie Huaisang had figured, a few moments ago, that this would be a good time to ask his husband about an opinion. He looked relaxed and at peace for once, leaning back on one hand, eating a savory meat bun. Overall what looks like a good mood.

Now, as the man visibly tenses, brows furrowing slightly, Nie Huaisang starts to doubt his assumption.

“What about him?”

Still, Nie Huaisang knows it would look very suspicious to suddenly avoid the topic, so he continues, a little more careful this time. “Well… What do you think of him?”

There’s a small frown, beginning to tug at Jiang Wanyin’s lips. “I’ve never had much say about your entourage, specially the ones from Qinghe. Why do you ask now?”

He is right to wonder, Nie Huaisang knows. It’s one of those little details he liked about their relationship. Despite being King, Jiang Wanyin had never pulled rank on who he considers to be Nie Huaisang’s people. No matter how urgent or pressing matters got, Jiang Wanyin would wait for Nie Huaisang to give the command to whoever his attendant or guard is at the moment, never once ordering them around himself.

“Well… You know he’s new. I took him with me from my last trip from Qinghe…” Nie Huaisang starts, trying to sound as appeasing and inconspicuous as he can. “And he’s been very taken with Yunmeng so far, but I suppose he is concerned? He seems to be of the impression that you are not… partial to him. So the poor thing has been thinking he might have done something to… offend you, or such.”

Jiang Wanyin’s frown grows, more obvious know, and he looks like he’s struggling to decide whether he should speak his mind or hold his tongue.

Ah. Nie Huaisang now definitely regrets ruining what was turning out to be a very nice moment…

“If you really must know, I guess…” he finally says, after a while. “Personally – just, to me, my opinion is that he is… too young.”

“Too… young.” Nie Huaisang repeats, blinking. “You think he is too young? I guess I see that… But… Wanyin-xiong, I assure you he is very capable of carrying out his duties.”

This time Jiang Wanyin scoffs, and his expression is more of a grimace as he mumbles, “Sure he is.”

Nie Huaisang rushes to continue, “No, you see, he was too young to be included in the draft, during the war. But he has been training his whole life to be a Qinghe soldier, his family has served for generations. In fact, da-ge even approved of him being my new guard-”

Jiang Wanyin sighs, shaking his head. “No, I don’t mean like-… Sure. I’m sure he is a capable guard. Hell, I was his age when I came to fight at the front. I just meant he might be too young… for, uh. You.”

Nie Huaisang tilts his head, trying to process what he just heard. “For… me?”

“As your-… Isn’t he-…” Jiang Wanyin flails his hand vaguely, as if looking for words. “Didn’t you take him to be your… companion?”

Nie Huaisang nods, slowly considering. “I-… Sure, I might treat him more like a companion than a guard, but that’s only because Zhenzhen is still in Qinghe. My aunt and her wanted to spend time with my uncle after the war, but Zhenzhen will return here soon to be my attendant again-”

“No, not like-… Isn’t he… for…” – this time Jiang Wanyin looks to the heavens, as if summoning up the courage to confront something, before he looks at Nie Huaisang and says, “Look. I know I told you I’d be fine if you ever decided to get someone for… intimacy, but I thought you’d pick… not a kid, at least-”

Nie Huaisang interrupts him with wide eyes. “W-What?”

“What?”

“Wanyin-xiong, you think that boy is-…” His cheeks flush bright red, and he covers his face with his hands. “Ah- I can’t say it…! It’s too terrible to think of!”

Jiang Wanyin sits up straight then, thoroughly confused. “What- Wait, he’s not-…?”

Nie Huaisang glares at him from behind his sleeves. “He isn’t! He is my guard. He follows me around. Nothing else!”

Jiang Wanyin stares.

And Nie Huaisang stares back, then, for a lack of anything else he can do that does not involve invoking a curse or maybe pulling water from the lake to splash at the very ridiculous and unbelievably stupid King of Yunmeng, he throws his half-eaten meat bun at the man across him.

“I can’t believe you think that!”

It would impress Nie Huaisang if he wasn’t so embarrassed, how Jiang Wanyin still managed to catch the meat bun.

“Wait- No- Fuck. Wait!” Jiang Wanyin blinks, holding both hands up. He now has a meat bun in each of them, which just makes everything more ridiculous. “So he really is just a guard?”

“Yes!”

“But-…” Jiang Wanyin is catching up now, and for the first time Nie Huaisang notes a tinge of pink in his cheeks as well. “Well, can you blame me for thinking-…? The way you cling to and dote on that little-”

“He’s a sweet kid-”

“-and you call him that name-”

“I literally held him as a baby-”

“And you keep giving him stuff-”

“The snacks? He’s a growing boy! A-and also just to shut him up, he can get too chatty sometimes-”

“Oh.”

“Have you just assumed that, all this time?”

“Y-Yes…”

“That’s ridiculous. He’s like my baby brother.” Nie Huaisang says despairingly as he buries his face in his hands. “How could you even-… You’re the only one I’ve ever-… Ah, forget it!”

“O-Oh.” Jiang Wanyin coughs, not missing what the other had almost said. “Alright. I’m… sorry. For assuming. Sure, feel free to forget it. Forget everything.”

“Thank you. I will.”

“I will, too.” Jiang Wanyin agrees, readily. He coughs again, before awkwardly asking, ”Do you want your meat bun back?”

“Y-Yes, please.”

Looking at anything but Nie Huaisang, Jiang Wanyin hands the meat bun back, which Nie Huaisang gingerly takes.

They both resume eating at the exact same time, and then slowly, gradually, starting with a snort and shaking shoulders, both break down into fits of giggles and laughter.

Then they freeze when they hear a familiar voice – the very topic of their conversation – calling out as he rushes towards them.

“Gege! Finally! I was so worried! I looked away for a second and then you and His Highness were gone! Captain Wu is also looking for you- He got a basket, by the way, for all the presents-”

Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng look at him, then at each other, and laugh again. Dai Lei blinks in disbelief and confusion as he watches them.

When their laughter finally subside, Jiang Wanyin then turns towards the young guard, and his voice is commanding and stern as he says, “Dai Lei.”

The young guard guard instantly stands straight and formal in attention. “Yes, m-my King?”

“You address Your Prince formally, by his title. Specially when you’re in public, you understand?”

The boy nods fervently. “Y-Yes, my King! Sorry, my King! I will be so careful!”

“Good. Now, catch.” Then he throws the bag with the remaining meat buns on it.

Dai Lei barely manages to catch the bag, and blinks down at the snacks. “Um…”

“It’s very good, Xiao Lei.” Nie Huaisang says, smiling. “The King really is generous today, isn’t he?”

Jiang Wanyin stands up, and then offers his hand to his husband as he relays orders to the young guard. “Go and find Captain Wu. The Prince and I will catch up. Let’s go home.”

“Yes, my King!” – and then the boy is off, to find his fellow guard.

Nie Huaisang lets his husband pull him up to stand.

“Don’t bully my poor guard, please, Wanyin-xiong.”

“Sorry. I had to, this once.”

Jiang Wanyin doesn’t drop his hand and instead tugs on it as they begin to walk back the way they came. Nie Huaisang only smiles and follows.

.

.

---

.

.

(then)

After Nie Mingjue and Jiang Wanyin recover and they leave with their soldiers for the front lines again, Nie Huaisang was happy to see his messages to his husband finally get occasional responses.

They were short messages, almost too formal, but he recognized Jiang Wanyin’s handwriting, assuring him that he was alive and well, thanking him for his concern, and wishing Nie Huaisang and everyone in Lotus Pier to take care and be safe.

Sometimes, he’d find a tiny wildflower tucked into the message holster as well. There would be no mention of it in the messages, but he made sure to keep those tucked safely away in his personal journals.

On the times that the King had gone back home to Lotus Pier, during short periods of inactivity in the border, Nie Huaisang hadn’t needed to throw a tantrum anymore to be allowed to check on his husband. Jiang Wanyin would let him in his quarters, and they’d sit down, drink together and talk about things that aren’t the war.

Jiang Yanli joined them, as much as she could. She had been the one really keeping the palace in Lotus Pier together at that time, while the King led their forces in the border and Nie Huaisang managed their information network.

Those times had been few and far between but Nie Huaisang always appreciated the brief respite and the comfort of company.

And while Nie Huaisang would consider his relationship with his husband during this period as more of a comfortable companionship… brought about not by anything romantic but more by their necessary partnership… it didn’t mean that they had been completely chaste.

They had spent the night together, intimately, several times. He is quite certain he could count those times in one hand, if only because he could barely count the times Jiang Wanyin was home at all in two hands.

It was wartime, and those nights were a blur, but Nie Huaisang only remembered that in each of those times, one of them had been trying to comfort the other.

He couldn’t compare the experiences to anything he’d read in his romance novels, or from how his aunt had taught him about such things between married couples.

He hadn’t even known what to think of it at all, the first time. All he could remember was that it had all been new and he had been nervous, but it wasn’t unpleasant despite their obvious mutual inexperience. Jiang Wanyin had been quite intense, in some moments, but Nie Huaisang never felt unsafe in his arms.

His husband took good care of him. He always did. That is one constant – the other being that Jiang Wanyin would always be gone in the morning. Nie Huaisang didn’t necessarily mind, not when he woke up always tucked warmly under the blankets, his hair braided, his morning tea warm by the bedside, and a bath prepared for him before he even asked any servant to do so.

They never really talked about it afterwards – save for one time.

“When I’m away, who… takes care of you?” Jiang Wanyin asked, gaze far away as they sat together by his room’s open window.

From behind him, Nie Huaisang rose from the blankets, and shifted closer to him. “What do you mean? I have my attendants, and everyone else…”

Jiang Wanyin turned to look at him then, frowning slightly before he reached over to tug the loose robes slipping off from Nie Huaisang’s shoulder back into place. “No, I meant… Like this.”

“Oh.” Nie Huaisang blinked, confused. “Well… Who-… Why would I-…? I have a husband.”

A snort, as if Jiang Wanyin actually found it funny. “Your husband is home one day every three, sometimes four months. Your husband might not even come home at all.” He looked out the window again. “You must have… needs. If you are worried about what I’d think, know I’m fine if you had… someone else. To take care of you. Just be discreet about it.”

Nie Huaisang frowned then, and shifted closer so he can cling to the other’s arm and rest his head on his bare shoulder. “I… don’t want to do that, Wanyin-xiong.”

“Are you sure?” Jiang Wanyin asked, almost turning to him again, but stopping himself. “Don’t you have those in Qinghe?”

“I know what concubines are. I am not that sheltered.” Nie Huaisang huffed. “Do you… expect me to have one? I really don’t want to. What do I even do with one? And I have to be discreet? It’s… insulting. In Qinghe, when a man falls in love with someone, he asks them to marry him. If he is already married, he asks them to marry him and his spouse. Nothing discreet about it.”

Jiang Wanyin must remember Nie Huaisang’s family then. The late King Nie Renshu had two wives, at the same time. Polyamory is common practice in Qinghe, all partners recognized as equals in status, even within the formalities of royalty. That explained how Nie Huaisang would think taking in a concubine is not a good look for someone, and might even be insulting for the person being asked, when there is always the option to take them in as a spouse, to be someone of equal standing.

“I see. But I’m not really talking about marriage-… And I’m just letting you know, if you ever-”

“But I won’t.” Nie Huaisang cut him off, before he blinked, as if coming to a realization. “Wait, do you-…? While you’re away? I-… I never thought about it, but-… It will be fine by me, too. If you… I know I’m not-… If you want someone else-”

“I don’t.” Jiang Wanyin didn’t let him finish, and when Nie Huaisang only stayed quiet, expecting him to say more, he finally relented. “Alright, I understand. We’re both not looking at… other companions. For the moment.”

“But I don’t want you to hold back just because I am not comfortable with it myself…” Nie Huaisang said, sounding almost guilty. “Our circumstances are not the same, you are constantly under a lot more stress and pressure out there, and-”

“I have a husband.” Jiang Wanyin said, voice firm, echoing Nie Huaisang’s own words back to him. He tucked stray strands of brown hair behind Nie Huaisang’s ear. They had gone loose from the man’s hastily pinned up bun – he would braid that later, so his husband wouldn’t wake up to a mess in the morning. Then he leaned in and pressed a fleeting kiss on the other’s cheek. “Let’s go to bed. I leave early tomorrow.”

Nie Huaisang fell asleep with his head on his husband’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. In the morning, he woke up alone, but not lonely.

.

.

---

.

.

(now)

They dismiss their guards as soon as they reach the private chambers in the palace.

The King walks the Prince to his quarters, wearing an amused expresssion as he looks at the man carrying a woven basket filled with various trinkets and gifts.

“Um… Wanyin-xiong…” Nie Huaisang starts, looking down at the basket. “Am I supposed to do something to these gifts? Is there a tradition for keeping them that I have to know?”

Jiang Wanyin shakes his head, shrugging one shoulder. “You can just keep them, do what you want with them. You can give them away, too. Mother did give some away, I think. She often gave some of the silks to my aunts, hairpin for jiejie, and I remember… Ah. She gave me a little figurine once, a lucky charm.”

Nie Huaisang smiles. “I think I might do that too, then. Yanli-jie might like some of these… They’re her colors…”

An approving nod. “She would love them.”

Nie Huaisang thanks his husband again for the very enjoyable trip, and then they say goodnight. Jiang Wanyin kisses him on the cheek and then retires to his own quarters for the night.

.

Nie Huaisang prepares himself for bed but by the time he had changed into his sleeping robes and combed and braided his hair, he still isn’t feeling as sleepy.

So he goes through the gifts he’d gotten that afternoon, and starts picking out specific items. The King had told him he wouldn’t be breaking any custom or protocol if he gave some of these away, so he would.

He picks out a beautiful hand-painted hair comb to give to Jiang Yanli, and a carved hairpin for his cousin and attendant Zhenzhen. He hopes little Jin Ling might like the colorful spinning top, and for A-Yuan, the little bunny figurine. He also sets aside a perfumed charm woven with red thread for Wei Wuxian. Some of the flowers he would press into his journals, like he did with all the other ones he had gotten from his husband.

Then he finds the purple embroidered hair ribbon – this one he will keep for himself.

As he sorts through the rest of the trinkets, he thinks back on his afternoon, of the trip, of his time spent with Jiang Wanyin.

It was ridiculous. To think the man had assumed that Nie Huaisang brought Dai Lei from Qinghe to be a concubine? And all the things he pointed out… Nie Huaisang didn’t even realize that he observed him so closely. Sure, they have started to spend more time together, now that they are both in the palace again, focusing more on recovering, rebuilding and fortifying Yunmeng’s defenses, rather than just fighting a war. But they were both still very busy – Nie Huaisang simply did not consider that such a thing would be the King’s concern.

If he didn’t know better, from Jiang Wanyin’s surly frown just thinking of his (very wrong) assumption about Nie Huaisang and his young guard, he would think that the man might be jealous.

Now that is more ridiculous, Nie Huaisang thinks, chuckling.

Jiang Wanyin has nothing to be jealous about – for one, he is the King, feared and respected, and very young and attractive – he could have absolutely anyone, if he so desired. Secondly, he couldn’t possibly be jealous of Nie Huaisang with another man – because that would mean he had romantic feelings for Nie Huaisang.

Oh, Nie Huaisang knows that his husband cares about him, enough to let down some walls with him. Jiang Wanyin must find him some degree of desirable, as proven by those few times they let themselves give in to those urges.

But that does not change the fact that they are not in love. They never were, because their marriage, above all else, is still an arrangement, a cover – a strategic move.

Perhaps Jiang Wanyin really was just concerned about their reputation. Their image. Concubines weren’t rare or unheard of in Yunmeng’s court, but it is true that it is not a good look for a foreign Prince to only prefer a lover from his home kingdom – and a very young one to top it off.

Yes, that must have been his husband’s primary concern. Rumors and scandals are never good for morale, and Yunmeng needs its people to be in good spirits as they all recover.

The King worries over nothing, Nie Huaisang thinks. Dai Lei is his guard – a favored one for sure, and treated more like a companion than a protector – but the boy is still simply his guard.

Nie Huaisang had already told him once before – he doesn’t need someone to “take care” of him, other than his husband. And that still stands.

.

.

---

.

.

(then)

After four years of conflict and fighting, the war ended.

Prince Huaisang welcomed the King home with an elated hug. In front of their people, King Jiang Wanyin embraced his husband back, making him laugh when he lifted him off his feet and spun him around.

Celebrations were had. Then, rebuilding began. They dove right back in the fray to start the work.

Four years and one month after their wedding, Nie Huaisang asked Jiang Wanyin to allow him to come home to Qinghe.

“I know… I know my place should be here now, but I just worry about da-ge… There is so much to do but he’s still recovering… I just want to see him get properly settled, and not push himself, he shouldn’t have to do everything, not alone…” Nie Huaisang told him, nervous but determined. “My assistants are well-trained, they can handle the messages without me, and… and I’m not much help with the rebuilding anyway, and Yanli-jie said she can oversee managing the castle affairs for a few more months- And Wei-xiong will come home soon too, he said-”

Jiang Wanyin ended his struggle before he could lose his nerve. “Huaisang, it’s fine. You can go.”

“I-… I can?”

A nod. *“You aren’t a hostage here. You are my husband, but you are also a Prince of Qinghe. You can come home. I understand.”

Nie Huaisang threw his arms around his husband as he sighed in relief into the man’s shoulder. “Thank you, Wanyin.”

Jiang Wanyin returned the embrace, running a hand through the other’s hair soothingly. “Don’t worry yourself too much. I’d be asking to do the same, if it had been jiejie out there, or Wei Wuxian.”

“Thank you.” Nie Huaisang said again, sniffing as he pulled back. “Just until da-ge recovers, I promise.”

“You don’t have to hurry. Make up for time with your family.” Jiang Wanyin told him, raising a hand to brush a falling tear away from Nie Huaisang’s face. “Really, you shouldn’t be wasting this time on me. Go and prepare for your trip. You can leave as soon as you’re ready.”

Nie Huaisang nodded at him, smiling, and tip-toed to give him a kiss on the cheek before saying goodbye.

.

Nie Huaisang felt unspeakable joy as he arrived home in Qinghe. Much has changed, but their walls stood strong, and any damaged parts were already being rebuilt. He was welcomed by the palace staff old and new, and his family young and old.

His da-ge received him with a hug that lifted him off his feet, even one-armed. Nie Mingjue had more scars and had his other arm in a sling, but like Qinghe’s walls he only seemed to stand sturdier.

For the next two months, Nie Huaisang busied himself with making sure his brother didn’t rush his recovery or strain himself, all while presiding over the reconstruction efforts in Qinghe.

It was around this period when a package from Yunmeng was delivered to him. For a moment, Nie Huaisang wondered if it was a personal item, if he may have forgotten anything back in Yunmeng that was important enough to warrant being sent all the way to Qinghe for…

Then he opened the intricately-carved box that revealed a beautiful fan, hand-painted with a very familiar myna bird – one of his favorite pets – perched on some branches, with a view of lotuses at the back.

“The King wishes the Prince and his family in Qinghe well.” is all the messenger had said. Nie Huaisang could almost see it written in a piece of parchment in his husband’s hand, just like the ones he used to send him during the war.

Nie Mingjue let out a small hum as he watched his brother marvel at the very expensive gift. “So it is true, what I hear from the Yunmeng soldiers. Their King is taken with you, after all?”

“I… wouldn’t say that.” Nie Huaisang sounded hesitant, but he was smiling all the same, fingers hovering over the delicate paint strokes on the fan. “He is kind to me, and makes sure I am always comfortable and content.”

“So.” Nie Mingjue prompted, studying his brother’s expression. “You really are going back.”

Nie Huaisang knew that in that statement was a question, one that his brother had been meaning to ask but hadn’t found a way around just yet.

“Yes.” he answered, without hesitation. “Soon.”

His aunt who had been his companion and attendant in Yunmeng had decided to stay in Qinghe for good, to tend to her husband, Nie Huaisang’s uncle, who also bore his own share of war injuries.

At least, Nie Huaisang will still have his younger cousin, Zhenzhen, who is now of age and can take over her mother’s duties. Nie Huaisang allowed her to extend her stay at home, and to come to him in Yunmeng when she felt ready again.

In her place, to keep him company, he took young Dai Lei with him – bright, cheerful, and untouched by war.

“Did you miss Yunmeng, gege?” Dai Lei had asked him, during their travel back to the kingdom he had married into.

“I suppose I did.” Nie Huaisang said with a smile, smiling down at the beautiful fan that his husband had gifted him, just seemingly out of the blue. He didn’t know exactly why he would do such a thing, but Nie Huaisang chose to appreciate the gesture all the same.

Four years and seven months after the first time, Prince Nie Huaisang of Qinghe stepped foot in Yunmeng again, and thinks that this is also home.

.

.

---

.

.

(now)

Nie Huaisang arrives at an epiphany the next morning.

“Zixuan-ge,” Nie Huaisang calls to the only person who had joined him for breakfast. Apparently everyone else in the family had an early start that day. “I remember Yanlie-jie told me… that you made a lotus garden for her, back in Lanling?”

“I did.” Jin Zixuan says, turning to him, perhaps curious as to how this topic has been brought up. “As a sort of present for A-Li, I suppose…”

He is pleasant company, for Nie Huaisang, despite the petty squabbles that always ensued when Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian were also around. According to Jiang Yanli though, the relationship between her brothers and her husband had already greatly improved, in this state. Something to do with surviving a war together. Jin Zixuan had always been nice and cordial with Nie Huaisang though, if not a touch awkward at times.

Nie Huaisang feels comfortable enough to ask more, seeing the man’s intrigued expression. “That’s very sweet. That was after you were married?”

“No. We were only betrothed then, but A-Li has been staying in the castle already. I wanted her to be more comfortable.” Jin Zixuan says, thoughtful, before he sighs. “I heard one of my cousins destroyed it after we flew from Lanling, though. Terrible business, but I don’t dwell on it. We were lucky to go unscathed. The lotuses here will always be prettier, anyway.”

“They are quite a sight, aren’t they?” Nie Huaisang says with a smile. “So… um… after you were already married, do you still give Yanli-jie presents?”

“Of course.” Jin Zixuan answers, as if another option is unthinkable.

“Oh- Of course you do! I only mean to ask… I suppose… How… often?”

“Huh.” Jin Zixuan blinks, thinking about it. “Well… before, when I was courting her, I did… give her many presents. Or, I tried to… But after… Well, nowadays, I am more… mindful, of the things I get for her. It caused a lot of friction, back then, before she admitted to returning my feelings. Specially with her brothers. I would admit that it was a flaw on my part, just assuming that the fanciest, most expensive things would be enough, because it did the opposite and only gave the impression that I was trying to buy her affections. Looking back on it, that was not my best showing.”

He chuckles, almost sheepish, and Nie Huaisang smiles.

“I still give A-Li presents, these days. But not as often as I used to. Only because I know now that she appreciates other things more.”

“I see.” Nie Huaisang nods, understanding well. Then he continues, “Zixuan-ge, you’ve been here to celebrate the previous harvest festivals, haven’t you? Before the war?”

“Yes, I have. A-Li always insisted we stay here for the month leading up to it.”

“Right… So… I suppose you’ve been to the festival market before, too? To visit the stalls? Wish the people well?”

“Of course. Me and A-Li, and her brothers. We’d accompany their father, the late king, when he did his customary visit.”

Nie Huaisang blinks. “Only the late king? How about their mother?”

“Well… she usually stayed here. The late Queen Ziyuan was more… private, I’d say. Besides, I don’t recall the queen’s presence being part of the tradition. It would usually just be the king, who visited the market.” Jin Zixuan answers, as he continues his meal. “Though I suppose it really depends on the King’s preferred company. Wanyin took you with him yesterday, didn’t he?”

“He did.” Nie Huaisang says, distracted now by his thoughts.

“I heard tell that you two had a nice time.” JIn Zixuan continues, tone light and easy. It seems he hasn’t noticed his companion’s distraction quite yet.

“We did. Though it was almost quite overwhelming… I was given so many things, all of a sudden, in front of so many people… We didn’t have anything like that in Qinghe…”

“Ah. You’ve been showered with many gifts.” Jin Zixuan chuckles, still not quite catching on. “You do like trinkets and art though, don’t you? I know A-Li mentioned it…”

“I do. But it wasn’t just yesterday though. Wanyin-xiong has been giving me presents lately… Many presents…”

Nie Huaisang thinks of the hand fan that Jiang Wanyin sent to him all the way to Qinghe, as if it couldn’t possibly wait for him to come back to Yunmeng.

Nie Huaisang looks down at the jade bangle on his wrist. Jiang Wanyin bought it from a traveling craftsman they came across while on a formal visit to Meishan a month ago. During that same trip, Jiang Wanyin gave Nie Huaisang the late Queen Ziyuan’s ring for him to wear, only saying that it was imbued with protection and warding spells. He hasn’t asked for it back ever since.

He then recalls the flowers on the little vase on his desk this morning. He never really bothered to have flowers in his working space, because his pavilion already overlooked a lotus garden. But every now and then, he’d find some flowers already there at the start of his day. When he asked the servants, they had simply said that the King handed it to them to be placed in his husband’s office.

He thinks of the gifts from yesterday – should he count those? Maybe he shouldn’t – they were from a custom, after all. And he only got those because of his position. But still… the fact that Jiang Wanyin took him not as part of the formalities but because he knew Nie Huaisang liked art and crafts…

His thoughts are interrupted when his companion speaks up again – “So that is why you’re asking me about presents…” Jin Zixuan nods, looking thoughtful. “I didn’t expect Wanyin to be the type, after he used to give me such a hard time about the same thing… But if it is starting to make you uncomfortable, it would do good to tell him how you feel. That’s what A-Li did, when I got… carried away, with the gifts…”

That is a good suggestion, Nie Huaisang thinks. Except he isn’t uncomfortable. He loves the presents, and he appreciated how thoughtful each of them were. He is aware that he likes this attention.

He just isn’t sure why, all of a sudden-

“He has been visiting the aviary too, these days…” Nie Huaisang says, absently, before he could stop himself. “He never did, before.”

The last time he visited, just days ago, Jiang Wanyin had asked Nie Huaisang about the myna bird that he usually saw sitting by Nie Huaisang’s window in his bedroom, or sometimes in the pavilion where he likes to do his work. Nie Huaisang happily told him about Xiaoyu, his favorite pet, the one closest to him. Also the one he always asked to deliver his messages to Jiang Wanyin during the war.

Then Jiang Wanyin offhandedly said that they must get a perch installed in Nie Huaisang’s window, for Xiaoyu. And he said he’d carve it himself – he had been looking for a project anyway… which bewildered Nie Huaisang because aren’t they both very busy?

Still. It was another gift – or a promise of one.

“That’s nice. The aviary is a good place to be alone together.” Jin Zixuan points out. “It’s yours, too, so it’s good that he meets you where you’re comfortable.”

Nie Huaisang knows that the man is not quite understanding where Nie Huaisang is going with all of this. But he is being very nice and has been a surprisingly good sounding board. And everything he had said so far was right…

“Wanyin-xiong also took me to see the lake, a few weeks ago. The lotuses were in bloom. It was very beautiful. It was my first time… I’ve never been, before.”

That one is different, Nie Huaisang thinks. That trip was… an apology, a reconciliation.

They had their first fight. Or something like it. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had arrived in Yunmeng with a small group of Wen remnants in tow, calling one of them their child. Jiang Wanyin had reacted badly, Wei Wuxian’s defiance didn’t make things any better, and Jiang Yanli did her best to be the diplomat, as always. When Nie Huaisang also made an attempt to de-escalate, Jiang Wanyin had rejected him, had told him to “stay out of a family matter”.

It hurt, but he did recognize that Jiang Wanyin regretted the words as soon as they escaped him, that they were said out of frustration and anger. That was why, only hours later, as soon as Jiang Wanyin sought him out in his quarters with an invitation to accompany him that afternoon, Nie Huaisang had relented easily, not even asking where they would be going.

Jiang Wanyin took him on a boat ride in the lake, and had been appalled by the fact that Nie Huaisang had been in Yunmeng for five years and had never had this experience. He was insistent that it was an issue that must be fixed.

Then he apologized for his harsh words, and had asked Nie Huaisang his thoughts about their… guests. And what should be done about them.

So that was not a gift, exactly – but it was still something new. New and… sweet. And in the end things worked out.

Jin Zixuan’s voice pulls him back to the present – “This all sounds very nice, Huaisang. I know A-Li is glad you two can make up for time you lost, you did get married in a hurry and barely got to be together-”

“I… Yes, I think that may be it, just making up…”

Jin Zixuan lets out a low, amused chuckle. “I didn’t expect Wanyin to be this… upfront, though. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was courting you-”

And that’s it. That’s what felt so familiar yet strange about all of it.

“Zixuan-ge,” Nie Huaisang turns to him, voice small but urgent, wide-eyed as he comes to a realization – “Is my husband courting me?”

Jin Zixuan stares at him. Nie Huaisang stares back. Jin Zixuan blinks. “Courting?”

“You were saying it yourself-”

“I was teasing. Huaisang, you and Wanyin are married.”

Nie Huaisang looks down, a blush on his cheeks. “I know, but we’re not-… It’s different-”

“Different?”

“Different.” Nie Huaisang tries. “The marriage was arranged by my da-ge and his parents! We barely know each other, and Wanyin-xiong and I aren’t… like you and Yanli-jie. Or Wei-xiong and Lan-xiong. There’s no-… We… don’t. It isn’t a love match, is what I’m saying.”

“Oh.” Jin Zixuan blinks again, before raising a brow. “Really? You could have fooled me.”

Nie Huaisang looks at him, a mix of surprised and apologetic. “We-… We weren’t trying to. It just… is. Well, isn’t.”

Jin Zixuan seems to consider all that first, before simply shrugging. “I see. Well, either way…” He looks like he considers how to say something, running through several options, before finally he continues, “I don’t mean to pry, but you and Wanyin have fought in the same war together for 5 years. I think that would make you know each other, even if just a little bit.”

“Yes, I suppose. We do work well together…”

Jin Zixuan nods, and takes a sip of tea. He sends Nie Huaisang an encouraging smile. “In any case, I don’t think it will be the end of the world if someone fell in love with the person they are married to.”

Nie Huaisang turns to him, cheeks red. “W-What-”

A young servant comes in then, telling Jin Zixuan that his wife is asking for him. The man tells her that he’ll be right there. He rises up from the breakfast table and then reaches over to pat NIe Huaisang’s head.

“You shouldn’t worry yourself too much, A-Sang. We have a festival coming up. It wouldn’t do good for the people to see their Prince looking troubled.”

Then he walks off, leaving NIe Huaisang to this thoughts.

.

.

Thinking about it, if he counted the time during the war when the only other members of the royal family that were in Lotus Pier with him were Jiang Yanli and her husband and child, Nie Huaisang realizes that he had spent more time with Jin Zixuan that he had with his husband.

Nie Huaisang would almost find it funny, if it didn’t make him feel frustrated and feeling like that is something that must be fixed. He imagines this might be how Jiang Wanyin felt with his lack of experience on lake boat rides.

It is silly, to complain like this, but Nie Huaisang couldn’t help it.

He finds himself alone for lunch – it seems everyone had just gotten even busier. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan had been roped into festival preparations in the castle. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji took A-Yuan and A-Ling to town to buy kites. Jiang Wanyin is in another one of his meetings.

Nie Huaisang takes it in stride – even he has a stack of correspondences and reports on his own desk to tend to.

So he goes to his office, takes a second to smile at the flowers on the desk and goes to work, knowing it’s better to get them cleared up before the formal festival celebrations, rather than after.

“Gege?” he hears Dai Lei ask, from where he sat by the entrance of the pavilion, sharing a snack of dried nuts and berries with Xiaoyu and another bird. “Did you… get to talk with the King? He seemed not so pissed at me, yesterday, when we were coming back from town…”

It makes Nie Huaisang chuckle, and he sends the boy a reassuring smile. “I did, actually. You have nothing to worry about, Xiao Lei. His Highness thinks you’re doing a fine job. He’s just a bit strict with rules, so make sure you remember protocols and such, when we’re in his company. Alright?”

“Ah… Alright. I will!” Dai Lei sighs in relief. “Thanks, gege.”

Soon Nie Huaisang has cleared a good number of the reports on his desk – his primary job is sorting them anyway, picking through the information and choosing who to pass them off to. He writes down some replies, which he hands off to trusted assistants. Some require a swifter, more discreet response, and he handles those himself.

Some of the palace staff were in the aviary when he arrives, cleaning the cages and checking on the birds. Nie Huaisang thanks them for their work, and proceeds to do his, calling a number of his pets to him to send off with his messages.

By the time he has seen the last of them off, he is alone in the aviary again, save for Dai Lei who trails after him as usual.

Nie Huaisang is happily petting one of the younger birds when he hears his guard behind him speak. “Ah- Your Highness! Good afternoon.”

He turns around in time to see Dai Lei bowing at the King, who had just entered the aviary.

Jiang Wanyin nods at the guard in acknowledgement. He looks surprised for a moment when Xiaoyu lands on his shoulder, but doesn’t lose composure as he looks towards Nie Huaisang.

“My King.” Nie Huaisang smiles. “What brings you here today?”

“The staff said you were asking after me.” Jiang Wanyin says, as always straight to the point.

Nie Huaisang blinks, then returns the baby bird in his hands to its mother before before properly facing his husband. “I… asked after everyone, really. It seems like all of us are busy today, and I just wanted to make sure you weren’t pushing yourself.”

“Oh. Well… I’m doing fine.” Jiang Wanyin answers, lifting a finger to pet the bird on his shoulder. He looks towards Dai Lei and squints slightly, before he says, “Can we have a moment?”

Dai Lei turns to Nie Huaisang, who nods at him. “Very well, your Highness. My Prince.” The young guard says, polite and proper as he bows to both of them, before walking off.

As soon as he is out of earshot, Jiang Wanyin says, “He’s improving.”

Nie Huaisang laughs, nodding as he approaches his husband. “He is taking your notes very seriously, my King.”

Jiang Wanyin just shrugs. He offers his arm to Nie Huaisang as soon as he is close enough. Nie Huaisang pauses for a moment, before accepting the offer distractedly. This gesture is something that they have gotten used to by now – and he couldn’t recall exactly when it became so natural, for them to be this comfortable.

“Is that really why you were asking after me? To make sure I’ve… what, had lunch?” Jiang Wanyin asks, as they begin to walk through the aviary together.

“I suppose.” Nie Huaisang says. “Everyone is so busy today. Even Zixuan-ge has been pulled into the festival stuff… He was the only other one I got to see today.”

Jiang Wanyin rolls his eyes, exasperated. “I’m pretty sure he’s distracting himself from the fact that the rest of his family in Lanling are having a whole cold war within their palace.”

Nie Huaisang grimaces. He is well aware of the ongoing political disaster that is Lanling, both from rumors and from his informants’ reports. “Do you think he should… go back there?” Help sort things out?”

“Hell no. I don’t like him much, but I don’t want A-Ling to lose his father from some backstabbing Jin relative.” Jiang Wanyin sighs. “Let his uncles and cousins and those other people claiming to be his siblings go trip and stab each other. He can just come back when they’re all ready to see reason.”

They stop walking when they reach one of the benches in the aviary. Nie Huaisang sits down first, and he gestures for Xiaoyu to transfer to his hand before Jiang Wanyin follows and sits beside him.

“I agree. He really was right to flee when he did, and he’ll be better off waiting for things to calm down.” Nie Huaisang nods, as Xiaoyu jumps from his hand to his lap, and starts preening there.

They are quiet for a while, before he hears Jiang Wanyin speak beside him. “You’re wearing it.” he says. “Elder Xian’s gift.”

Nie Huaisang turns slightly to see his companion reach out and examine the long purple ribbon that Nie Huaisang wore in his hair today. “I love it. It’s my favorite from all the presents I got yesterday, I think.”

Jiang Wanyin lets go of the ribbon. “It suits you.”

“Thank you.” Nie Huaisang smiles, and looks down to watch Xiaoyu again. “Wanyin-xiong, about… yesterday.”

“Hm?”

“What we talked about…” he starts, trailing out as he hesitates. Then he braces himself and continues in a steadier voice, “About Dai Lei, before we cleared up that misunderstanding…”

He hears rather than sees the deep breath his husband takes. He tries not to look – if he looks, he might lose his nerve.

“What about it?” Jiang Wanyin asks, voice careful, even.

“Were you perhaps… I guess, I want to know if I am reading this right – were you jealous?”

There is a period of tense silence, and Nie Huaisang thinks that Xiaoyu probably felt it and did not care for it, because she then flew off his lap to perch somewhere else.

After a while, Jiang Wanyin says, “I shouldn’t have any reason to be.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Nie Huaisang looks up, finally, and turns his head to look at the other man. “A-Cheng. Can I call you that?”

Jiang Wanyin is not looking back at him. “Sure.”

“A-Cheng.” Nie Huaisang repeats, as if trying a new word out. “Have you been courting me?”

Sitting this close together, he could feel it when Jiang Wanyin’s shoulders tense up. “I-… That’s absurd.”

Nie Huaisang decides that the time of trying not to be nosy and not to poke and prod in his husband’s business is now over. He wraps his arms around Jiang Wanyin’s arm and tilts his head to peer at the man’s face. “So… all the gifts, and the invitations… the visits, and… and this?”

“Fine.” A huff, and even though Jiang Wanyin decidedly looks further away to avoid him, he isn’t making any move to push Nie Huaisang away. “Maybe I am. What-… What of it? If you don’t like it, just say so and I’ll-”

“I don’t… dislike it.” Nie Huaisang says, firmly, to stop the other from diving headfirst into a most likely wrong conclusion. “I suppose I’m just wondering why, since we are already married-”

“And for how much longer?”

That makes Nie Huaisang pause, drawing away slightly, his hold on his husband’s arm coming loose. “What-… What do you mean?”

“I know the arrangement your da-ge and my parents had. You’re allowed to break this off, as soon as the war is over, and you’re safe to come back to Qinghe. And I-…” Jiang Wanyin stops and takes another breath, before he finally looks back at him. “I’ll understand if you want to.”

“But… I don’t want to.” Nie Huaisang blinks. “I already told da-ge. When I was at Qinghe. And I told you too, before I left. That I was coming back here.”

Jiang Wanyin stares, eyes on his, as he reaches a hand up to cup Nie Huaisang’s cheek. The gesture is shaky, almost clumsy – as he takes in the other’s words. “You-… Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Nie Huaisang nods, biting his lip in worry, anxious for Jiang Wanyin’s reaction. He looks down. “Unless… Do you want to break this off?”

This time the answer comes quick, certain. This time Jiang Wanyin’s hand is steady when he nudges Nie Huaisang’s chin to make him look back up. “I don’t.” he says. “I’d… like for you to stay. As long as you want to.”

Nie Huaisang lets out a relieved breath, as he wraps his arms around Jiang Wanyin’s neck and practically falls into him, tucking his head on the other’s shoulder. “I’d like that too.” comes out of him almost as a sob. “Please stop always suggesting that I leave you. It’s becoming ridiculous now.”

Jiang Wanyin chuckles, as he returns the hug and holds his husband tight. “Alright.”

And then Nie Huaisang pulls back, all of a sudden, planting his hands on Jiang Wanyin’s shoulders and looking at him, a grin pulling at his lips.

“Wait, so was I right? You were jealous?”

Jiang Wanyin freezes, and Nie Huaisang almost regrets it, thinking he had overstepped and ruined the moment – but then the man scoffs, looking away sharply, red blooming in his cheeks.

“W-Why would you think that? I told you before, I’m fine if you ever decided to take a lover-”

“And I haven’t changed my mind since then. I don’t want to.” Nie Huaisang laughs, then seems to realize something, and he blinks worriedly again. “Do… do you think I need one? I know we haven’t-… Since the war ended… And maybe you don’t need me that way, anymore, but I’m fine-”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say-” Jiang Wanyin lets out a frustrated, almost resigned groan. “I just didn’t want to force you into anything-”

“What? Force-… When did you ever do that?”

There’s a pause, again, and Nie Huaisang is surprised to see the hint of bitterness in Jiang Wanyin’s eyes, even as he looks at anywhere else but him. “I… When we-… When you’ve had to… comfort me.”

This concerns Nie Huaisang, and he is too confused, too curious, that he does not think to mince words and just goes straight to the point – “Do you mean when we had sex a few times?”

He almost thinks he had overstepped again, because Jiang Wanyin’s face goes a brighter shade of red as he groans, “Huaisang.”

Nie Huaisang decides not to let that intimidate him, and simply pushes on. “What? Wait- I’m sorry- Did you think that-… That you were forcing me-…?”

“Y-You were saying things.” Jiang Wanyin admits, still blushing, but not completely losing his composure just yet. “You were asking what I wanted, if it’s good for me and if I liked- Nevermind! It was clear you were trying to… take care of me. Even if it wasn’t forced, I don’t want you to feel obligated-”

Nie Huaisang blinks, takes in those words, remembers those nights and now his cheeks begin to redden as well. “O-Oh. Those-… You really shouldn’t listen to me that much, I think…”

Jiang Wanyin raises an eyebrow, clearly distracted by that response. “What?”

Nie Huaisang draws away slightly, letting go of Jiang Wanyin’s shoulders, and wringing his hands together instead. He lets out an awkward, shy giggle. “W-Well… You could get so… intense… and it was a bit overwhelming so I just went and said stuff I got from books. Otherwise, I don’t know, A-Cheng, I probably would have forgotten how to talk sense at all-”

“Books.” Jiang Wanyin repeats, looking at him blankly. “I’m being serious here-”

“I know, I know! I just-… You know… I’ve read… books…” Nie Huaisang trails off, then has to shake his blush and his stammering away so he can focus. “Forget it! I’m fine-”

“You just said it was overwhelming.” Jiang Wanyin cuts him off, clearly sounding very conflicted. “Shit, if I knew- You could have told me- I would have… slowed down…”

“Um. I didn’t want you to?”

“…Huh.”

“And I never felt obligated…? I promise! I just don’t have that much experience, but I did… like it. You took care of me too, A-Cheng.”

Jiang Wanyin stares at him then. “I see.” he says, and falls quiet again. Then he lets out a big, drawn-out exhale, even closing his eyes in relief – “Okay. Thank Gods. Fuck, that’s been killing me-”

Nie Huaisang laughs – light, slightly teasing – as he moves to run his fingers gently through Jiang Wanyin’s hair. Softly, he says, “Wanyin-xiong… you wouldn’t be able to force me into anything I didn’t want. I could literally kill you before that happened. My nails have venom.”

“What???”

“It’s my magic. Besides the birds, of course.”

“You… always leave scratches on me-”

“I can control it.” Nie Huaisang says simply. Then a shrug. “Duh.”

“Sure.” Jiang Wanyin looks very much like a man who has had to discover too many things in one day. “Sure. Let’s just have that too.” he repeats, just to confirm.

Nie Huaisang understands that this all might have been too much – for both of them – and he continues to run his fingers through Jiang Wanyin’s hair. “Hm… Maybe we should have talked more. Before and after.”

“Maybe we should have.” Jiang Wanyin agrees. He runs a hand down his face and lets out a resigned sigh. Then he chuckles, and grins wryly at Nie Huaisang. “We’re terrible at this.”

Nie Huaisang nods, giggling. “Could be worse, though?”

“I guess so.”

Jiang Wanyin looks at his husband again. His husband who he really should be talking to more. Well. This can be something they work on. He leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to the other’s forehead, and then opens his arm so Nie Huaisang can tuck himself to his side. The man goes willingly, resting his weight against him as Jiang Wanyin settles his arm across his back and pulls him close.

The watch the birds nearby for a while. The aviary is most comfortable this time in the afternoon, when the sun isn’t blazing hot anymore but still kept everything bright, while the trees and shade kept the winds cool and comforting.

After a while, absentmindedly fiddling with one of the charms that Jiang Wanyin hung on his belt, Nie Huaisang speaks again.

“A-Cheng, you know… when we did talk, that one time… and we both said that we’re not looking for… other people…?”

Jiang Wanyin only hums, prompting him to continue.

“That made me feel… glad.” Nie Huaisang says, hiding his blush between his hair and his husband’s dark purple robes. “I guess I just thought, our marriage may not have been a love match but at least we’re… compatible in another way. So things weren’t all that bad.”

Pressed against him like this, he feels it when Jiang Wanyin takes a deep, settling breath. “No.” the man says. “They weren’t all that bad.”

“So at least I was sure that I didn’t need some complicated arrangement with someone else, to make things work and all that.” Nie Huaisang continues, and for the next part, he braces himself again before he says, “But these days, I’ve been thinking… it sure would be nice to fall in love with my husband.”

This time it wasn’t a settling breath, but more of a relieved exhale, as he feels the other’s arm around him lose grip just slightly, and the shoulders Nie Huaisang didn’t even know were holding tension fall and relax.

“I think that would be nice too.” Jiang Wanyin agrees, before he reaffirms his hold, squeezing Nie Huaisang’s shoulder. He huffs out a laugh. “We’ve just done this whole thing all in the wrong order, have we?”

Nie Huaisang laughs too, more open and carefree. “I think we should give ourselves some grace. There was a war and all!”

“So.” Jiang Wanyin nods, as if making his mind up. “I’m courting you. ‘Cause I never got to do it. Don’t try to stop me. It’s the proper thing to do. Or something.”

“Oh, I won’t. I love gifts. And dates. By all means, please continue.” Nie Huaisang says with a delighted smile, and he tilts his head to look up at his husband. “I guess my question now is, how long do you intend to court me before you allow yourself to kiss me?”

Jiang Wanyin looks at him, eyes narrowed just slightly. Nie Huaisang sees the same mischief there that he saw the day before, when they were sneaking off from their guards, together. “If it’s alright with you, that’s the one thing I wouldn’t wait on.”

Nie Huaisang’s shy laughter is cut off with a sweet kiss to his lips, and his hands reach up to cup his husband’s face to pull him closer, while Jiang Wanyin’s arms wrap around his waist and hold him steady.

Nie Huaisang doesn’t quite know how to describe the feeling – it doesn’t make sense – it’s like finally getting something you didn’t even know you were waiting for.

So they kiss, and kiss, and kiss again, because they had lost so much time already, and they’ve done things in a strange order but this happening now feels right – and they will not waste time, not anymore.

“This is fun.” Nie Huaisang says in between kisses, a little bit light-headed as he smiles against his husband’s lips. “We should do this more often.”

Jiang Wanyin simply kisses him again, then presses their foreheads as he catches a breath and says, “As you wish.”

.

.

fin.