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At the stroke of five in the morning -- no second more, no second less -- Lan Xichen opened his eyes awake, the result of his strict upbringing at Gusu. Normally, without delay, he’d sit up and stretch his muscles before beginning his morning routine. Or so it would be when he’d wake up in his own room, tucked neatly into a bed that only belonged to him, his figure strictly laid out as well.
But that particular morning, he was laying on his side in a bed of tangled purple blankets, his arms full of solid, strong warmth. The fresh scent of lotus blossoms clung to the loose ink-black hair tickling under his nose. Lan Xichen smiled softly and tightened his hold just a fraction. He indulged in kissing along his partner’s bare shoulder and further inhaling that scent before rising.
He’d hoped to be as quiet as possible -- and certainly, his movements didn’t so much as rustle the sheets -- but his partner still stirred when his back was suddenly cold.
Jiang Wanyin turned over, dazed, dark eyes figuring out Lan Xichen’s form in the pre-dawn light.
“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Lan Xichen said apologetically.
“S’fine.” Jiang Wanyin’s voice was still thick with sleep, and it pretty much set the standard to the differences in how the two sect leaders woke up in the mornings. Lan Xichen thought his partner’s grogginess and heavy blinks rather cute.
Instead of burrowing back into the sheets, Jiang Wanyin stretched his limbs out, yawning and looking very much like a black cat rousing from its nap. He sat up as well and began pawing at the floor around his feet, searching for his undergarments that he’d discarded the previous night when Lan Xichen had come up to his room.
Lan Xichen also relocated his clothing, neatly folded right beside the bed. As he smoothed his robes over himself one layer at a time, he glanced over and said, “You don’t have to get up. The night hunt ran late yesterday, so you should get some more sleep.”
“I would say the exact same thing to you, considering who was at my side the whole time. But I know nothing can change a Lan’s strict sleeping patterns,” Jiang Wanyin returned, a hint of a teasing smile on his lips. “I’m surprised that you didn’t fall asleep right in the middle of the forest.”
Knowing there was no room for arguing once his partner set his mind to something, Lan Xichen only gave his own fond smile, hiding a small laugh behind his sleeve. He went over to Jiang Wanyin’s side of the bed and surprised him with a slow, sweet kiss to his lips. Their lips broke away with a small wet smack.
“Good morning, A-Cheng,” Lan Xichen murmured against his jaw.
A quiet, content hum curled in Jiang Wanyin’s throat. “Morning, Lan Huan.”
They went about their morning routine in a comfortable quiet. Lan Xichen was quickly but gracefully dressed, putting his hair up as Jiang Wanyin attempted to wake himself up over near the water basin. Lan Xichen watched him wash his face with the towel, a warmth blooming in his chest. There was no particular reason for it; it was simply tenderness for sharing his morning with another, to wake up in a bed that wasn’t only his, to watch his partner adorably shake off the sleepiness on his lips and in his eyes. It made Lan Xichen want to spend the whole day lazily with Jiang Wanyin curled in his arms, but for now, he simply basked in having the sect leader all to himself in these waking hours.
Lan Xichen approached Jiang Wanyin’s back, placing his hands on his shoulders. “May I do it for you?”
After washing his face, Jiang Wanyin was separating strands of his hair for his braids. He paused in his movements at Lan Xichen’s touch and words, the freeze of his muscles holding hesitant consideration. Lan Xichen was patient in receiving his answer; he always was.
“I won’t stop you,” he finally relented, uncoiling that well-trained tension from his shoulders.
Lan Xichen’s smile grew. He gently untangled Jiang Wanyin’s fingers -- long, calloused, beautiful -- from his hair and retrieved the brush sitting close by. He pulled a chair from the vanity and had Jiang Wanyin sit on it to get comfortable. It wasn’t necessary to accommodate this much, but it was simply Lan Xichen’s nature to be accommodating to others -- and this was especially so for the man in front of him.
He took a moment to appreciate the silky strand resting on his palm before brushing. Jiang Wanyin didn’t have any tangles, as proper as ever even after their rigorous intimacies last night, but Lan Xichen loved stroking through the hair, soft and straight, parting it like it was a black river. Jiang Wanyin seemed to enjoy the treatment as well, if his relaxed brow meant anything.
After he deemed the brush had done its work, Lan Xichen got to work delicately separating thin strands to make a braid. He remembered when Jiang Wanyin began to add them to his hair -- resolution burning in his eyes in an inferno that challenged the same flame that had taken down Lotus Pier. Jiang Fengmian had also worn these braids -- the meaning hadn’t been lost on Lan Xichen when he’d watched Jiang Wanyin plait his hair for the first time.
And now, he trusted Lan Xichen to handle those same braids. Lan Xichen had the strong battle-worn fingers of a swordsman, but they also had the nimble thinness of a musician. Weaving the plait offered the same practice and delicacy as weaving notes through his xiao . It almost made this act seem sacred.
Of course, everything he did with Jiang Wanyin was something he treasured.
“Feels nice,” Lan Xichen heard him murmur, so content it was almost a sigh.
“Does it?” He tucked Jiang Wanyin’s fringe behind his ear, delicately tracing it and making its tip turn a light pink.
“ Lan Huan .” Jiang Wanyin shivered. “That’s too nice.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll save such teasing for tonight,” Lan Xichen promised, his words tinged with a laugh.
Jiang Wanyin crossed his arms, letting his eyes fall closed. “We’ve been awake for ten minutes and you’re already planning tonight .”
Lan Xichen thought to mention that he planned every night that he was promised Jiang Wanyin’s company, but decided to let it rest on his smile. It was bad for his partner’s temperament to tease him so much first thing in the morning.
His silence was unexpectedly rewarded. By the time he finished the braids, he found that Jiang Wanyin had actually dozed off right on the chair, his breaths even and deep. Lan Xichen almost shook his head. He did suggest getting more sleep…
Oh well. I won’t wake him. Besides, he loved it when Jiang Wanyin was asleep. It was one of the few times the frown finally relaxed from his brow and the corner of his soft lips held no tension. It was a side that he confessed he only wanted Lan Xichen to know.
If you say things like that, he remembered thinking at the time, you’ll make me fall for you more. You’ll make me trust you more. You’ll make me think it’s okay to move forward, and walk beside someone again.
--If you say things like that, I’ll want to make sure you know that you are tied to me.
Lan Xichen thought he might as well finish what he started and began gathering the rest of Jiang Wanyin’s hair to put into a bun.
Oh. His hair has gotten longer. It was almost at the point of overspilling his tight bun. I’ll offer to cut it later. Lan Xichen delighted at the prospect of handling his partner’s silky strands again. He wondered if he’d ever grow it out the same way Jiang Fengmian did; Lan Xichen was sure his partner would look very beautiful, and it’d give him more to play with...and grab...
Shaking away his less-than-decent thought, as he reached for the purple ribbon resting on the vanity, Lan Xichen’s hand halted. A stroke of inspiration came to him, with all the mischief that told him perhaps he’d spent too much time around his brother and Wei Wuxian. He took the purple ribbon and placed it into his pocket.
Perhaps he’d tease Jiang Wanyin just a little bit more this morning.
When Jiang Cheng woke up again, the sun was already spilling into his room and Lan Xichen was gone. He let out an irritated tsk -- mostly at himself for falling back asleep after being so stubborn about rising at the same time as his partner in the first place. But how could he have resisted? On top of being tired, Lan Xichen’s hands in his hair had been very soothing, his touch warm and delicate.
Now I’m disoriented with my schedule… Where do Lans get all their energy? Jiang Cheng got up and stretched before leaving his room.
He probably wouldn’t have time to eat now, but skipping meals wasn’t uncommon for him considering all the tasks he did through the day as a sect leader.
First, the junior disciples. Jiang Cheng had to make sure they didn’t take advantage of his oversleeping and neglect their morning training.
As he walked down the hall, two other Jiang Sect disciples crossed his path from the opposite side. They straightened their backs at seeing him then saluted.
“Sect Leader!”
“Sect Leader Jiang! Good mor...ning...”
Jiang Cheng acknowledged them, but frowned at the surprise passing both of their faces. Their eyes were wide, as if they’d seen something shocking.
“What’s that dumb look for?”
His words were as sharp as a crack from Zidian. The disciples straightened up again with a jolt.
“N-Nothing! Excuse us!”
Jiang Cheng watched them dash away, confusion overriding his brief irritation. Okay… Back to his task, Jiang Cheng opted to forget the weird incident.
Except...it continued to happen.
As the Jiang Sect’s cultivators began their day, the paths were busy as disciples went from one place to another. They all took a moment to salute Jiang Cheng but, same as before, a shocked expression would cross their faces. Some even suddenly got flushed cheeks, as if witnessing something embarrassing or scandalous. The fact that these expressions spawned from something to do with Jiang Cheng made him grow irritated. The whispers after he walked away certainly didn’t improve his mood either.
“If you have something to say, spit it out properly in front of me!” he ended up shouting over his shoulder. All he received was a frightened yelp and another claiming,
“It’s nothing! You look nice today, Sect Leader!”
The last sentence sparked suspicion in him. What is it? Do I have something on my face? Jiang Cheng felt around but didn’t find anything. Then again, it wasn’t quite at his face that the others seemed to take notice to. Jiang Cheng huffed, mentally mapping out where the nearest mirror was.
If this is a prank, I’m breaking someone’s legs!
Around the next corner, who should Jiang Cheng bump into but his own nephew. Jin Ling backed away, scowl on his face and a retort ready on his lips. When he saw that it was only Jiang Cheng in front of him, Jin Ling swallowed whatever venomous words he was going to say. The frown on his brow stayed.
“Uncle, where have you been? The junior disciples started their training but they won’t stop pestering me about…” Jin Ling’s voice cadenced, the knit of his brows raising in surprise.
Not again. “A-Ling, what are you staring at?”
Jin Ling wasn’t like the other disciples. His stare was honest and invasive, his expression clearly full of both judgement and embarrassment. It made Jiang Cheng shift his weight almost self-consciously -- if it wasn’t for the fact that his impatience burned far greater. Especially since Jin Ling just kept staring somewhere around Jiang Cheng’s shoulder.
“Is that…” Jin Ling stepped behind Jiang Cheng and a tortured groan left him. Under his breath, he muttered, “I expected this shamelessness from Wei Wuxian and Hanguang-Jun but… Uncle .”
Deducting that somehow he was being classified as shameless, on the same level as Wei Wuxian no less, the blood rushed to Jiang Cheng’s head. “Speak properly already! Do I have to yank out your tongue to get you to talk!?”
“ This ! This is...is Zewu-Jun’s, isn’t it!?” Jin Ling finally exclaimed, his own face growing pink. Whatever the offending item was, it was something he didn’t even dare to touch to bring it to Jiang Cheng’s face. But he did point at it, and so Jiang Cheng reached back until his fingertips brushed over something silk-smooth and long.
A ribbon. It was clearly a ribbon, and yet, it felt nothing like the one Jiang Cheng usually wore. He pulled the end over his shoulder and his heart skipped a full beat.
The ribbon was pure pristine white with elegant flowing clouds embroidered over the length.
Half in shock, Jiang Cheng continued to stare at it, as if convinced his eyes were deceiving him. But no, he did remember letting Lan Xichen handle his hair this morning, and Jiang Cheng had fallen asleep in the middle of it, completely unaware of how his partner would decide to tie back his hair. Walking around all morning wearing this ribbon for his hair instead of it being around Lan Xichen’s forehead…
This...this was a pretty bold statement, wasn’t it!?!?
“Ah… This...” For the first time, Jiang Cheng was at a loss for words.
Jin Ling continued to point. “I knew it! It is Zewu-Jun’s! Y-You’re just walking around with his forehead ribbon on you, th-that’s…!” Jin Ling began to stammer, a torn look on his face like he wanted to dash far away from this display of shamelessness but also stay here to continue ridiculing his uncle.
But Jiang Cheng wasn’t about to let him get away with expressing either of those things. Cheeks burning hot, he shouted, “Yes, so it is his! What of it, do you want me to take it off? What makes you think I take commands from a child?”
“B-But then--”
“But what? People will see? They’ve looked all morning, so I’ve stopped caring!” Jiang Cheng’s words tumbled out before he could even properly think on them. “It’s Lan Xichen’s forehead ribbon and now I’m wearing it! You can figure out the rest, can’t you!? So!! That’s it!!! If anyone has something to say about it, I invite them to speak with Sandu at their throat!”
His familiar shouts were enough to rattle through the whole pier, so even if one hadn’t seen Jiang Cheng’s newest accessory directly, they definitely knew the situation now.
--Including Lan Xichen, who stood on the opposite side of the pier. He hid his pleased smile and laugh behind his sleeve, twirling his finger around the purple ribbon currently resting on his forehead.
Peaceful mornings were fine. But Lan Xichen loved this part of his partner as well.