Chapter Text
Nie Mingjue had turned down more potential suitors than he could count-- and even more that had been deemed unbeneficial due to the harshness of his temperament. Needless to say, the dragonling had been through this so many different times before.
To arrive in the castle of another royal family to meet and spend time with whatever child had been volunteered-- Only for it to be turned down for one reason or another. Reasons ranged from pure incompatibility of their personalities, to Mingjue just straight up not being able to stand the potential match.
… And some of these meetings ended much worse than others.
And yet he continued to change nothing about himself. As much was his right, as the eldest of his family. The one who would take the throne from his father and the one who, ultimately, was the deciding factor in all of this due to his heritage. There was no point in forcing a dragon to stay with one he did not like--nor was it fair to force one who could not deal with his infamous temper to cope with it for the rest of their lives. No one wanted that-- Not his father, and certainly not Nie Mingjue himself.
What was the point of spending his life with someone that would be unhappy? Let alone terrified of him? He couldn’t see one.
… So now here he stood, barely paying attention to the conversation that was happening between the adults-- His eyes watching the youngest son of the Jiang Family rather carefully. He’d yet to move from his mother’s side-- And yet there was something different about him, at least when he compared him to the previous potential suitors that he had met.
Jiang Wanyin held himself proudly and stubbornly-- Much like himself. Just from a basic understanding of the situation, it was true that he had not left his mother’s side; but his actions were not out of fear or hesitance.
… And it was the moment that Nie Mingjue started to open his mouth that Wanyin spoke for himself. “I was about to head down to the docks,” he states, his tone blunt as he looks Mingjue over. “I’ll allow you to accompany me, if you wish.” And then he was moving, not even waiting for a response.
Mingjue stood in place for a solid few seconds, attempting to register what had just happened-- And then finally allowed himself to move, quickly and easily catching up to Jiang Wanyin. … But there was still a solid minute of silence, Mingjue unable to find the words to express how he felt in the moment.
That… was the first time that someone had spoken to him so bluntly and fearlessly. That someone had treated themself as an equal in comparison to him, rather than someone who only wanted to impress him due to his status, due to pressures to marry the eldest son of an esteemed royal family .
… As a matter of fact, it was Wanyin’s active lack of effort that had managed to catch Nie Mingjue in his net. While he had been stunned for a solid few moments, unsure of how to respond to this sort of behavior-- He was quick to move his feet as soon as he was able, easily catching up to the other prince. “You’ll allow me to accompany you?” he questions, a grin spreading over his face, causing the layers of scales that covered his cheekbones to rise closer to his eyes.
His grin only widened as he noticed the smirk on Jiang Wanyin’s lips, though the other prince hadn’t turned his head to look at him.
“ Yes. I’ll allow you to accompany me. Visitors usually don’t interest me, they're usually either very boring or irritating-- There was a man here from Lanling a few months ago who was also quite disgusting. My brother and I threw his shoes in the river." Jiang Wanyin's smirk seemed to grow wider, pleased with his and his brothers' antics. "But you? You seem different, so I don't mind if you join me."
Hearing about those antics brought a laugh from Mingjue-- A loud and boisterous sound. “Threw his shoes in the river, huh?” he questions, finally falling alongside Wanyin as the two of them walk towards the docks-- Allowing him to lean slightly to the side, nudging his shoulder with his own. “Sounds like he got what he deserved, then! … Besides, that’s an issue that we can deal with at another time, hm?”
Jiang Wanyin’s laughter was like music to his ears as the two of them walked together. “I would have loved to throw the rest of him in, too-- But I’d rather not poison my river, you know?”
All that Mingjue could do was nod in response, amused over this much smaller boy. It had only been a short amount of time, but Mingjue was almost certain of one thing-- This was the one he wanted. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
It had only been a short amount of time with Jiang Wanyin, but there was something about him that he loved so much. His personality was perfect-- He was someone humorous and brave, who could stand up for himself and match Mingjue with ease.
“You’re right… Definitely something to deal with another time,” Wanyin confirms, giving a sharp nod-- And slowing his pace, even though Mingjue had no issue keeping up with him. “ Anyways, the river can wait,” he decides aloud, reaching to grab Mingjue’s hand. “You’re here, let me show you around.”
All that Mingjue could do was nod, allowing himself to trail behind Wanyin as he dragged him around. The moment that he grabbed his hand, Mingjue felt his face heat up-- And, for a short moment, he was at a loss for words and only able to nod as a response.
“... I’d love that--” he finally manages to say, clearing his throat soon after in an attempt to hide just how flustered he was.
He had walked through the town once before-- But he hadn’t paid too much attention to it, in favor of he and his father arriving at their destination as soon as possible. But now that he was with Jiang Wanyin… Well, Mingjue was more than content to pay attention to and notice all the little things.
The sound of the river flowing beneath their feet, the sounds of people chattering and going about their day… The smell of water and lotus flowers, mixed with a variety of scents from various street vendors that were selling their goods.
The feeling that Mingjue got from Lotus Pier was so much different from the feeling that home gave him-- And yet he was perfectly content with that, especially given his current company. … And Mingjue couldn’t help but feel his attention divided; part of it on the sights and scenery of Lotus Pier, but just as much as the warmth that Jiang Wanyin put off.
In comparison to himself, the other prince was so much warmer-- much like the sun that shone brightly and warmly over their heads. It was a pleasant contrast against the coolness of his own skin-- Against the ice that rested in his core, as well as the snow that covered his home for most of the year.
Yunmeng, as well as Jiang Wanyin, were an especially warm summer in comparison to the harsh cold of Qinghe.
… And Mingjue liked that. There were a lot of things that he was starting to realize that he liked about Jiang Wanyin. There was the way that he had spoken to him when they first met, the warmth of his hand in his own… And, now that he was being pulled around Lotus Pier, the joy that Wanyin obviously felt about his home.
… What he didn’t expect, through all of this, was for Wanyin to let go of his hand. “Wait right here,” he demands, glancing back at Mingjue for a moment before heading towards one of the market stalls-- And it was only a matter of minutes before he was back by Mingjue’s side, a wonderful smell filling the air around them.
In Jiang Wanyin’s hands were a pair of meat buns wrapped in wax paper-- And with a grin he held one of them out to Mingjue. “It’s your first time in Yunmeng, right?” he questions, raising an eyebrow.
Mingjue simply nods in response.
“ In that case, you definitely need to try some of the food. ” And without waiting for another response, Jiang Wanyin was holding one of them out to Mingjue. “My treat. I figured that it’d be a good choice, considering it’s fairly similar to what I know about Qinghe’s food--” he explains, looking away sheepishly as he waits for Mingjue to take the bun. “... So, uh… Just take it. I promise it’s good-”
Mingjue stared at him for a moment-- Looking between his face, which had turned a nice shade of red, and the food that was being held out to him. … And then he took the meat bun, laughing just a bit as he did so. “I’ll trust your judgement, then, Wanyin.”
The meat bun was warm in his hands-- But it was a different sort of warmth from that he had felt from Jiang Wanyin’s hand. The dragonling decided that he liked the latter much more.
He didn’t even hesitate as he took a bite-- And out of the corner of his eye he could see that Wanyin was watching him intently, as if looking for some sort of reaction. And… At first the taste was wonderful.
But then his eyes went wide as he felt his tongue begin to burn from the variety of spices that had been used on the meat inside the bun. Even as he made a conscious effort to exhale cooler air, his tongue continued to burn and his eyes watered just a bit.
… And then he noticed the grin on Wanyin’s face as he watched-- Eating his own bun without any sort of reaction or issue.
“Oh! I forgot to warn you, Mingjue. They’re just a bit spicy.”
Mingjue’s nose scrunched as he heard the far too late warning from his companion-- And he couldn’t help but cough into the sleeve of his robes. His brow furrows as he looks back to Wanyin. “ I could have done with a warning sooner, ” he growls, yet… There’s an obvious amusement behind those words.
Now knowing what to expect, Mingjue took another bite of the bun in his hands. “I’d watch your back, pulling shit like that. Revenge can be a huge pain in the ass, you know.”
“Oh? Is that a threat?” Wanyin asks, leaning so that their shoulders touched as they started to walk again.
“It’s a promise,” Mingjue responds with an amused huff-- He’s already decided what he’s going to do to get back at this particular prince. “ Spiciness aside, though, you were right,” he quickly adds on, realizing that he should make sure to note that he did enjoy it. “It’s very good, once you get past that.”
… Wanyin seemed to be incredibly pleased with Mingjue’s admittance to enjoying the food he had brought for him.
---
It had been a long day for the two of them-- And the sun was starting to set over the river. Various shades of oranges and red reflected off the water, mesmerizing Mingjue as he sat at the edge of the dock. Jiang Cheng sat next to him, the other prince’s head laying on his shoulder as the two of them watched the sun set before them.
Both of them had their feet in the chilly water below-- and their clothes were still soaked through from the hours that they had spent together in the water, once the two of them had grown bored with their time in town.
Jiang Wanyin had shown Mingjue how to peel lotus seeds-- Something that had very quickly devolved into the two of them splashing water onto each other and sinking beneath the surface of the water.
Jiang Wanyin showed just how long he could hold his breath beneath the calm surface-- Far too long, as far as Mingjue was concerned. The concern that he had felt when Wanyin hadn’t risen from the depths after a reasonable amount of time still echoed in his chest-- And was part of the reason that the dragon had moved to wrap his arm him.
… And now here they sat, sitting together quite comfortably, the sun setting over the river before them-- And amongst that contentment, Nie Mingjue felt his eyes begin to grow heavy.
He supposes that what he had heard about swimming and staying in the water so long was true-- That it was quite exhausting.
And as he began to drift away from consciousness, Nie Mingjue had one last thing to say to his new companion.
“... I think I want to spend more time with you.” His words were quickly drowned out by a loud yawn, his open mouth revealing pointed teeth as he scooted slightly closer to his potential suitor. “... Will you be mine, Wanyin..?”
There was silence between the two of them-- And while Mingjue’s eyes were closed, he could just imagine the flush that had undoubtedly covered Wanyin’s cheeks. One moment, then two-- And then he finally responded, his own voice so much quieter than it had been during their day together.
“... I’d love to.”