Chapter Text
While it was a little sad to have let go of the fantasy of confessing to A-Qing, Lan Sizhui had to admit it was also freeing. Now that he accepted that he didn’t have a chance with her, he didn’t have to worry about creating a romantic atmosphere when spending time with her. He could just focus on hanging out and making sure she had fun.
By the time he invited her down to Caiyi for a quick shopping trip (he had plans for a present for his father, and her input would be infinitely valuable), he was largely over it. Not over his crush (he wasn’t sure he’d ever be over that), but over the missed opportunity.
A-Qing wrapped herself around his arm when they entered town.
“Are you cold?” He peered over her shoulder to check what she was wearing. She had several layers on, and the boots, but it was possible that wasn’t enough. He wondered if he could peel away from her and buy some wool robes.
“No, I’m fine,” she said.
Lan Sizhui hummed to confirm he heard, but he still turned them down the street toward the tailor.
“Hey!” She elbowed him in the ribs, interrupting his thoughts. “I know what you’re doing! I’m fine and you don’t need to buy me blankets or robes or six stoves or whatever.”
“Sorry,” he said, without an ounce of shame. He really was turning into his father.
“Damn rich fuck.” She was smiling through her grumbles, at least. “You’re lucky I’m too nice to take advantage of you. If you’d met me a few years ago I’d have bled you dry.”
“No you wouldn’t have,” Lan Sizhui laughed. “You didn’t do anything to Xiao Xingchen, and he was kinder than me.”
“You’re right. I only scam assholes, where’s Lan Jingyi when you need him...”
She turned to leave but Lan Sizhui held her arm tight. “No, I still need your help at the apothecary! You can mess with Jingyi tomorrow.”
“Fine,” A-Qing sighed theatrically. “I guess I’ll steal all your money after we buy the supplies for Wei Wuxian.” She squeezed his arm and grinned.
Lan Sizhui was almost too distracted by her smile (and the promise that he could buy her some more robes, because he thought he could feel her shiver and that was unacceptable) to notice the children who bumped into them. Almost.
He immediately grabbed the shoulder of the nearest one, and laughed when he recognized the surly grimace on the kid’s face.
“Didn’t jie tell you not to steal from cultivators until you were better at it?”
The child gasped and shoved Lan Sizhui’s purse back into his hands. “Sorry! I didn’t realize--”
Their friend? Sibling? The other child who had stolen from him before ran forward and grabbed at the purse. Lan Sizhui pulled it up out of the kids’ reach.
A-Qing let go of him to give them an over-the-top parental frown. “You again! I can’t believe--wait, what are your names?”
“I’m Xiao Ying,” said the older of the two, the one who had picked Lan Sizhui’s pocket. “And that’s A-Tian.”
“Well, Xiao Ying and A-Tian, you two have to get better at stealing! If this guy can catch you, you’re nowhere near good enough,” A-Qing said. She did not tell them that she had taught Lan Sizhui to steal and to feel when someone was stealing from him. That was, presumably, beside the point.
“You can steal from the one who looks like me, though.” The kids stared at Lan Sizhui in silence, so he continued. “A little shorter than me, loud mouth, longer face, short ponytail? Steal from him all you want.”
Xiao Ying laughed at him, but A-Tian was still focused intently on the purse in Lan Sizhui’s hand.
“Oh, and you should steal from the young Jin master when he visits. The one with the dog.”
That pulled A-Tian’s attention away from the purse. “No! The dog is nice, I won’t steal from the dog or her person.”
“He can afford it,” Lan Sizhui reached into the secret pocket of his robes for silver to hand the children. “And of course if you’re ever in trouble, just go up the mountain and ask for your Sizhui-gege.” He doubted they’d ever take him up on the offer, but it was worth making the effort. Maybe he could spare them a few days in the snow.
The children took the money and gave him over the top bows in return. “Thank you, gongzi!” Xiao Ying dragged A-Tian away down an alley.
He turned back to A-Qing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you--”
She grabbed his arm and pulled him close, jamming her face somewhere between his neck and collarbone.
“A-Qing?”
“Fuck, I don’t have any aim,” she muttered to herself. Then she grabbed his face and kissed him, gentle in contrast to her usual demeanor. “There.” She nodded and stepped back (though her hand drifted down to keep hold of his).
Lan Sizhui’s brain ground to a halt. This was. Not expected. A-Qing did not like him and the universe had been very clear that she wouldn’t.
The blush covering her face implied that maybe the universe was wrong. Or maybe he was wrong? He couldn’t quite follow what was going on, because A-Qing had just kissed him, and that made thinking rather difficult.
“Sizhui,” now she was calling him just by his given name, this was a great deal to process, “Are you okay?”
“What?”
A-Qing groaned loudly and the blush on her face (the blush on her face) deepened. “I like you, dipshit.”
“I like you, too,” Lan Sizhui replied, for lack of anything smarter to say. What was going on again?
She squeezed his hand before pulling him close again. He kissed her nose and they both broke out into giggles. He still wasn’t operating at full capacity, but he knew the important facts: now he could kiss A-Qing; and she would kiss him back.
“Okay, apothecary, then back to the Cloud Recesses.” The blush on A-Qing’s face was receding, but her smile was still wide and bright.
Lan Sizhui took the chance to kiss the top of her head before walking them to the shops. “Perhaps.” It would be nice to get back home as quickly as possible, so he could give her some of the gifts he’d saved up. But who knew the next time A-Qing would let him buy her winter clothes again? “
--
Kneeling in the snow was probably more mortifying and uncomfortable if you lived your entire life in warm houses with warm clothes and a sense of dignity. It was mostly an inconvenience for A-Qing. If anything, the chill creeping up her knees helped her stay awake and look like she was paying attention to the lecture Lan Qiren was giving. Something about the importance of following the rules and not dragging others into her delinquency, with occasional asides to Lan Sizhui begging him to resist her antics.
As though Lan Sizhui wasn’t the one who had found the blueprints for the fireworks.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Not really. You might want to save some of your anger, though, since this was just a small test. The real show is gonna be on New Year’s.”
Apparently laughing and sneering for no reason was against Lan rules. A-Qing took great pleasure in laughing at Lan Qiren’s sharp inhale. If ever there was a reason to cackle…
“But A-Qing assures me that’s the last time she’ll be lighting fireworks.” Lan Sizhui sounded so innocent and sure that A-Qing had to cough to cover up her grin. Now that they had tested their fireworks, they had plans to give some to Wei Wuxian, sell others in Caiyi Town, and sneak several in among the Sect’s signal flares. And depending on the reception to the New Year’s show, there might be many others.
Poor Lan Qiren. He was trying so hard to be patient with her, given her “special circumstances,” but he was going to lose this fight (and probably all future fights). “Reassuring though that may be,” he said, and A-Qing could practically hear the exasperation in his soul, “you still must face punishment for breaking rules.”
“Must she?” Lan Qiren didn’t immediately shout, so Lan Sizhui continued. “The rules are for guiding our cultivation, ensuring we act with righteousness and honor. But if she’s not cultivating…”
“While within the Cloud Recesses she should follow the rules of the compound.”
A-Qing sat up a little straighter. “To be clear, I was not actually within the walls when the fireworks went off. I was halfway down the mountain.”
Lan Qiren sighed in defeat. “Go further down the mountain, next time. And give us warning. Our students have to sleep sometimes.”
The Lan nerds must have been a positive influence on A-Qing, because she had the restraint and discipline to wait until she and Lan Sizhui were alone to laugh and cover him with kisses.