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Jiang Cheng isn’t a stranger to snow. He has seen it before, experienced it more than once in the Cloud Recesses, and he can’t say he’s a big fan of it.
It’s beautiful, right until people step all into it and make it muddy, and when it melts it’s just uncomfortable.
Jiang Cheng truly can’t say he’s a fan.
He would never say that to Lan Xichen’s face though, because the man adores the snow, even though he has seen it every year of his life.
“Isn’t it beautiful,” Lan Xichen mutters, standing in the door of the hanshi, hands clasped together and breath fogging in front of his face.
“Yes, it is,” Jiang Cheng gives back, though he can’t tear his eyes off Lan Xichen as he says it. “But you’re going to freeze,” he tacks on, embarrassed by his own thoughts and dumps his own scarf on Lan Xichen’s head.
“I won’t,” Lan Xichen softly gives back, though he does sling the scarf around his neck, tugs it up until it’s covering his mouth, too.
Jiang Cheng can still tell that he’s smiling. It’s clear in the creases around Lan Xichen’s eyes.
“Go for a walk with me?” Lan Xichen asks, after a few moments where they both just stare at the silent white landscape in front of the hanshi, and while Jiang Cheng really isn’t a fan of getting his feet all wet and cold, he can’t say no to Lan Xichen.
“Fine,” he huffs out, and goes back inside to retrieve his and Lan Xichen’s coat.
Lan Xichen isn’t quite reckless, but he loves the snow enough to go out without thinking about the cold.
“Thank you,” Lan Xichen says as he slips into the coat and then he starts undoing the scarf.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Jiang Cheng demands to know as he stops Lan Xichen from unwinding the scarf further.
“Giving you back your scarf? You must be freezing.”
“And you’re not?” Jiang Cheng wants to know in return. “Just tell me where yours is and I’ll wear that,” Jiang Cheng says, without thinking and then flushes bright red when the implications of his words hit him.
The tips of Lan Xichen’s ears go suspiciously red, too, but he points towards his own scarf in the hanshi.
Jiang Cheng brusquely turns around to get it, and then goes all weak-kneed when he realizes that it smells like Lan Xichen.
Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea after all.
Before he can voice his doubts though, Lan Xichen steps outside, and Jiang Cheng rushes to follow him.
He is somewhat familiar with the Cloud Recesses by now, but the snow turns it into a completely different landscape, and Jiang Cheng might be a bit afraid of getting lost.
“I love this season the most,” Lan Xichen tells him, as if that wasn’t apparent in the way his whole face lights up every time it snows, but Jiang Cheng simply nods, encouraging Lan Xichen to go on if he wants to.
“It’s so silent and peaceful,” Lan Xichen says, his voice awed as he looks around the garden, and this, Jiang Cheng can agree with.
Though he would much prefer to see it from the inside of the hanshi, a fire in the background and a hot tea in his hands.
They make their way through the garden, and it’s not long before they hear the screeching and excited yelling of children. When they round the corner they see a bunch of Lan disciples running around and throwing snowballs at each other.
Jiang Cheng sends a worried look at Lan Xichen, already feeling bad for the kids who no doubt will be told to behave now, but he’s entirely unprepared for the smile on Lan Xichen’s face.
“You’re not going to remind them of the rules?” Jiang Cheng wants to know when Lan Xichen just looks at them playing, and he curses himself when it wipes the smile off Lan Xichen’s face.
“Of course not,” he says, almost defensively. “Do you think I would deny them their fun?”
Jiang Cheng helplessly shrugs.
“Lan Qiren—,”
“Knows when to enforce the rules and when not to. We’re not a bunch of funless, rule abiding boring people.”
“I never said that!” Jiang Cheng tries, but he still very much remembers how Lan Qiren always yelled after Wei Wuxian and demanded he be quiet.
“They are allowed to play in the snow until it gets dark,” Lan Xichen tells him and waves excitedly at the disciples when they finally spot them.
They all bow towards Jiang Cheng, but they beckon Lan Xichen closer.
“Zewu-Jun, join us!” they call, and Jiang Cheng can barely believe his eyes when Lan Xichen pushes his sleeves up and joins them.
“What the fuck?” Jiang Cheng mutters under his breath as he watches Lan Xichen form a snowball and hit the first disciple in reach with it.
From then on it’s pure and utter chaos. The disciples gather together to attack Lan Xichen who smiles as he pelts each and every single one of them with snowballs.
They don’t have a chance at all.
Jiang Cheng is content to just watch them, until Lan Xichen turns towards him, a wicked smile on his lips.
There’s a snowball in his hands, and he’s weighing it as if he’s trying to make a decision.
Jiang Cheng is immediately on edge.
“Don’t you dare throw that snowb—, goddamit,” he yells, when the snowball hits him neatly in the face, and the snow drops in his collar.
A shiver goes down Jiang Cheng’s spine and he’s already lamenting the fact that he’ll be damp and cold later, but this calls for vengeance.
He leans down to pick up snow and quickly forms a ball. The disciples have all gone suspiciously quiet around them, but Jiang Cheng pays them no mind.
Lan Xichen is looking at him with a clear challenge in his gaze and Jiang Cheng will not disappoint.
After he throws his snowball at Lan Xichen chaos breaks out. There are no longer any fractions; everyone is just hitting the closest person, though Jiang Cheng is sure that Lan Xichen does aim for him more often than for the disciples.
Jiang Cheng can’t deny that he’s doing the same.
It isn’t until it’s getting too dark to see properly that the attacks die down.
“I think you should all get dry and warm,” Lan Xichen mildly suggests when a snowball flies by him, missing its goal, and the disciples quickly agree.
Jiang Cheng is dripping wet, and unlike the disciples he doesn’t have a change of clothes just lying around.
“You can have some of my clothes,” Lan Xichen tells him and Jiang Cheng narrows his eyes at him.
“Is this payback for me giving you my scarf?” he wants to know as he wrings out his sleeves, which are soaked.
“More of a desire to see you wear more blue,” Lan Xichen gives back, his gaze dropped to the light blue scarf still wrapped around Jiang Cheng’s throat.
“Oh,” Jiang Cheng mutters and jerks slightly when Lan Xichen steps close, closer than he has ever dared to come before.
“I’m sure we can find some guest disciple robes for you, if you would prefer that,” Lan Xichen offers, and Jiang Cheng is surprised to find just how much he would mind that.
He wants to be dressed in Lan Xichen’s robes.
“I would not,” he courtly gives back and tugs Lan Xichen closer by the end of the violet scarf Lan Xichen is still wearing.
“Good,” Lan Xichen replies with a smile and when he leans in to press their lips together, Jiang Cheng forgets that he’s uncomfortably cold and wet.
When they finally part, Jiang Cheng is in fact feeling quite hot under his clothes.
“We should get changed and heated up,” Lan Xichen mutters, though Jiang Cheng can hear regret in those words as the prospect of having to part.
“Or we could not,” Jiang Cheng says and tugs Lan Xichen right back in.
They can get changed later. There’s no rush after all.