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Nie Mingjue is all restless energy. Part of him is itching for a fight, or maybe even just a really good sparring session, but a bigger part of him just wants to curl up next to Lan Xichen and let the day finally end.
Announcing a marriage to the big sects is a tradition no member of a big sect can break, and while Nie Mingjue knew that not everyone would accept their relationship—looking at you Jin Guangshan—he didn’t expect Jiang Fangmian to regard their announcement with such thinly veiled animosity, either.
Nie Mingjue goes cold when he wonders if maybe Jiang Fangmian had hoped to marry his own head disciple to Lan Xichen. The thought almost makes Nie Mingjue growl.
At least Lan Qiren didn’t have to say anything about this, at least not out in the open, and Nie Mingjue tries to comfort himself with the thought that surely he already gave Lan Xichen his blessing.
Still, the whole meeting made Nie Mingjue uneasy, and he knows Lan Xichen isn’t feeling any better, though he does wonder where he disappeared to.
His unvoiced question is answered when Nie Mingjue enters their room and finds Lan Xichen in nothing but a sheer robe, clearly waiting for him.
Nie Mingjue can see the exhaustion on his face and his fingers twitch with the need to bundle him up and put him to bed.
“Mingjue,” Lan Xichen says, voice rougher than usual, and when he turns fully towards Nie Mingjue he realizes that Lan Xichen really isn’t wearing anything but the see-through robe.
“What are you doing?” Nie Mingjue asks, voice not as demanding as it could have been, and Lan Xichen looks down on himself.
“It wasn’t a good meeting and you’re agitated,” he says and Nie Mingjue goes warm at the thought of how well Lan Xichen already knows him. “I thought I could help you lose some of the tension.”
The implication behind his words is clear when he slides the robe off his shoulders, leaving him completely bare, but Nie Mingjue shakes his head.
“Xichen, you’re exhausted,” he says as he rummages around for one of his own sleeping robes.
“But you—,” Lan Xichen tries, but Nie Mingjue won’t even let him finish.
“I want nothing more than to curl up in bed with you and hold you close,” he tells him and bundles him up in his robe.
Nie Mingjue is still surprised by the surge of possessiveness that goes through him when he sees Lan Xichen in his clothes, in his colour.
“Are you sure?” Lan Xichen asks, though he keeps the robe closed, and Nie Mingjue can see the tiredness in his eyes.
“Very,” he decisively says and gently urges Lan Xichen over to the bed. “Now sit, I’ll get the brush.”
“You don’t have to,” Lan Xichen wants to protest but Nie Mingjue keeps one hand on his shoulder and leans down to press a kiss to the crown of his head.
“But I want to,” he reassures Lan Xichen and when he’s sure that he will stay put, he goes to find the brush.
Nie Mingjue is still not overly familiar with the way the Lan Clan uses their forehead ribbon to tie back the hair as well, but he’s sure he can figure out how to get it all loose.
“Can I?” Nie Mingjue asks, still not completely convinced that he’s now allowed to touch the forehead ribbon if he so wishes to do so, but Lan Xichen immediately nods.
Nie Mingjue removes the silver headpiece first, before he unties the knot at the back of Lan Xichen’s head, causing his hair to tumble down in black waves.
Lan Xichen lets out a sigh at that, and the hair piece weighs heavy in Nie Mingjue’s hand. He wonders if Lan Xichen doesn’t already have enough weight on his shoulders, if he really must add this to the burden as well, but he keeps his thoughts to himself.
He puts the ornament down, before he picks up the brush. Nie Mingjue gently brushes it through Lan Xichen’s hair, who almost starts purring at the ministrations.
“Good?” Nie Mingjue wants to know and he finds that the jittery unease under his skin has abated as well.
“Very,” Lan Xichen sighs and leans further back, into Nie Mingjue.
It doesn’t make brushing his hair any easier, but Nie Mingjue doesn’t comment on it. Instead he presses a kiss to the side of Lan Xichen’s face.
“You want me to tie the forehead ribbon back on for the night?” he asks, because some nights Lan Xichen sleeps with it.
Nie Mingjue hasn’t yet figured out why that happens, but he’s sure Lan Xichen will eventually tell him.
“No,” Lan Xichen softly says and closes his eyes when Nie Mingjue resumes his brushing.
There aren’t many tangles in Lan Xichen’s hair and soon enough Nie Mingjue does it for the fun of it, and not because there’s anything left to untangle.
“Mh, you’re too good to me,” Lan Xichen mutters eventually and Nie Mingjue can tell that he’s almost falling asleep where he’s sitting.
“Let’s get you into bed,” Nie Mingjue says with another kiss pressed to the corner of Lan Xichen’s mouth and Lan Xichen doesn’t protest.
Nie Mingjue pushes him forward a bit, making sure that Lan Xichen won’t fall back when Nie Mingjue gets up to put the ornament, the ribbon and the brush back on his table.
He quickly takes off his own hair ornament, before he brushes through his hair just enough times so that it won’t be a hopeless nest in the morning and then he turns back around to Lan Xichen.
Lan Xichen is still sitting in the same hunched over position and Nie Mingjue can’t help the fond smile on his face.
He never expected sleepy Lan Xichen to be so cute, but of course he has to prove him wrong.
“Come on, Xichen,” Nie Mingjue gently says as he pulls the cover back, supporting Lan Xichen’s head with his hand when he finally just collapses into bed.
“I hate long meetings,” Lan Xichen grumbles into the pillow and Nie Mingjue chuckles.
“I wouldn’t have guessed,” he teasingly says and leans down to kiss Lan Xichen’s exposed shoulder before he pulls the robe up to cover him again. “Now scoot over,” he instructs and waits until Lan Xichen wiggles himself to the side of the bed before he slides in as well.
Nie Mingjue pulls the cover up over both of them and he isn’t at all surprised when Lan Xichen immediately cuddles closer to him.
He really isn’t unlike a cat, Nie Mingjue muses quietly as he puts his arms around Lan Xichen’s back to tuck him into the curve of his body.
Lan Xichen sighs against his collarbone and Nie Mingjue can tell that he’s already more asleep than awake but he still can’t help to pepper his forehead with kisses.
It almost seems wrong, to see Lan Xichen without his forehead ribbon, but Nie Mingjue reminds himself what it means, letting go of his regulations, and it warms something deep within him.
No one else gets to see Lan Xichen like this.
“Love you,” Lan Xichen breathes out, falling asleep a second later and Nie Mingjue huffs out a breath.
“I love you, too,” he still says, hopes that it will reach Lan Xichen in his dreams, and then his eyes fall on his own hair ornament; the one Lan Xichen gifted him during their courtship.
It’s a lot lighter than Lan Xichen’s ornament, and a plan forms in Nie Mingjue’s head.
He knows it will cause an uproar, sharing headpieces is usually reserved for married couples, but if it helps with the burden on Lan Xichen’s shoulders then Nie Mingjue couldn’t care less.
~*~*~
The next morning, Lan Xichen doesn’t wake up at five am. It’s a testament to how exhausted he was that Nie Mingjue has to wake him when their breakfast threatens to go cold.
“Good morning, sleepy head,” Nie Mingjue tries, nosing at Lan Xichen’s temple, but it only gets him a disgruntled sound before Lan Xichen burrows deeper into the bedding.
“No,” he rasps out, “go away.”
“It’s time to get up,” Nie Mingjue says, though it pains him.
He is quite enjoying the look of Lan Xichen in his bed.
“It’s time to stay here and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist,” Lan Xichen tries and Nie Mingjue laughs.
“As beautiful as that idea sounds, I think my advisor is going to kick the door down if I’m not up in ten minutes.”
“Then go,” Lan Xichen sighs, and he doesn’t make a move to get up himself.
“Not without you,” Nie Mingjue gives back and is rewarded with a bleary eye blinking up at him.
“That’s just cruel,” Lan Xichen decides and then sighs, clearly giving in. “Fine, I see you don’t love me at all.”
“Untrue,” Nie Mingjue says and pulls him close the moment he starts to rise up. “I love you more than anything.”
“More than your own brother?” Lan Xichen teasingly asks and he’s waking up more with every passing second.
“Now, let’s not be unreasonable,” Nie Mingjue gives back and he could listen to Lan Xichen chuckle at him all day long.
“Let me do your hair,” Nie Mingjue says, pressing lingering kisses to Lan Xichen’s cheek, who presses into every contact.
“Fine,” Lan Xichen says as if it’s the worst hardship to let Nie Mingjue do it.
“Come on, sit up,” Nie Mingjue urges him and waits until Lan Xichen sits on his own and doesn’t threaten to fall back into bed.
Nie Mingjue reaches out for the brush and the hair piece he already has at the ready and Lan Xichen sends him a knowing look when the brush touches his hair a second later.
“Been planning this long?” Lan Xichen wants to know and Nie Mingjue shrugs, carefully untangling the sleep-ruffled hair in front of him.
“Maybe,” Nie Mingjue gives back and Lan Xichen only hums at that as he leans into the contact.
Nie Mingjue takes special care to braid Lan Xichen’s hair in the typical Nie-style, is lost for a second as to where he should secure the forehead ribbon, but in the end it all comes together beautifully.
Lan Xichen must realize what he is doing, but he doesn’t comment on it at all, just let’s Nie Mingjue do as he pleases and he gets a kiss to his ear as a reward.
When Nie Mingjue is done and satisfied with his work he gently works the hair ornament onto the topknot he made. It isn’t until he takes his hands away completely that Lan Xichen frowns at him.
“That’s not my ornament,” he says, bobbing his head a little bit as if he has to get used to the reduced weight.
“Well, technically it is,” Nie Mingjue gives back and Lan Xichen reaches up to feel the ornament.
“It’s the one I gave you,” he says with understanding and then turns around to kiss Nie Mingjue, deep and lingering.
“It is,” Nie Mingjue whispers against his lips when they part and Lan Xichen blushes a little bit.
“People will talk,” he says, though he doesn’t seem put off by that prospect.
“Do you care?” Nie Mingjue asks, because he is absolutely ready to take the hair ornament back, if Lan Xichen should even show the slightest hint of worry.
“Not at all,” Lan Xichen says and Nie Mingjue lets out the breath he held.
“Then let them talk,” he decides and pulls Lan Xichen into another kiss, hand sliding under the robe, resting against still sleep-warm skin.
“Okay,” Lan Xichen agrees and Nie Mingjue can see his eyes sparkle in happiness.
“Let me help you with your headpiece,” Lan Xichen then says and Nie Mingjue planned for this as well.
He reaches out to take Lan Xichen’s ornament in his hand before he holds it out to him.
“With pleasure,” he says and then watches as Lan Xichen reaches back to undo the forehead ribbon.
“Might as well go all out, huh?” Lan Xichen asks and Nie Mingjue loves him so much he doesn’t even know how to put it into words.
“Might as well,” he happily agrees and can’t wait for the looks this will get him.
He couldn’t care less, if it means he gets to carry around Lan Xichen’s love like a visible sign.