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Jiang Cheng is going to break his brother’s legs. Actually, no, scratch that, killing him would be more appropriate, since the punishment they’re all going to receive because of him is probably gonna be worse than leg-breaking anyway. But right now, as he comes to an abrupt stop after running away to put a safe distance between him and the room that hosted their little drinking party, he is more focused on not throwing up than on any revenge plan.
He braces himself against a wall with his two arms, fighting against nausea, too proud to admit his alcohol tolerance is much lower than Wei Wuxian’s. After a moment, he turns around and lets himself slide to a sitting position, closing his eyes and tilting his head backwards to let it rest on the cold wooden surface.
A few seconds later, though, Jiang Cheng’s attention is caught by the sound of footsteps approaching and slowing down. He opens his eyes to look up at the other boy walking unsteadily towards him. To be honest, Nie Huaisang doesn’t seem to be faring much better than Jiang Cheng. In fact, he looks like he’s having even more trouble handling the alcohol, which is understandable given that he drank almost twice as much as his friend.
Jiang Cheng frowns as Huaisang almost bumps against the wall for the third time. At this rate, they’re gonna attract even more attention than what his brother’s antics already granted them. And also…
“Nie-xiong, are you okay?” he asks, frown deepening when Huaisang doesn’t even react to the sound of his voice. “I thought you were right behind me, did something hold you back?” A pause. “Did Wei Wuxian try to drag you down with him? This shameless idiot!” he continues, trying to at least catch a sign that his friend is hearing him.
Jiang Cheng curses himself, having unintentionally raised his voice on those last words. Great job, really, as if we needed to wake up the rest of the Lan sect! However, this seems to finally trigger a reaction from Huaisang, who blinks twice at his friend before opening his mouth to say something…and immediately clutching it with one hand, bending over with a distressed whine. His other hand is still stubbornly holding onto his favorite fan, a fact that Jiang Cheng can’t help but classify as one of those things about the other boy that make him feel warm in a way he isn’t quite ready to acknowledge yet.
Fuck it, Jiang Cheng thinks, pushing himself off the tiled floor and back on his feet. He takes a second to steady himself, not sure he has totally recovered yet, before approaching Huaisang, who turns his head slightly to look at him. Unfortunately this is more movement than he can endure in his current state, which results in him starting to empty his stomach in the nearest bed of peonies.
Jiang Cheng’s hands start moving before he is fully aware of his actions, probably helped by the remnants of Emperor’s Smile lingering in his system. He carefully gathers Nie Huaisang’s hair in a ponytail of sorts, holding it so it doesn’t fall in his face. His hair is soft, he notices helplessly, feeling his face flush. With the hand that is unoccupied, he starts rubbing soothing circles on his friend’s back, tentatively at first, and then more confidently as he waits for the crisis to pass.
After a moment long enough that Jiang Cheng starts to think it’s a miracle they didn’t get caught yet, Huaisang seems to feel better and straightens himself, rubbing at his mouth with the back of his hand. And oh god, Jiang Cheng absolutely shouldn’t stare at his lips in this situation, but he does, even when an internal voice sounding suspiciously like Wei Wuxian’s suggests that he should be at least a bit grossed out by the whole mess. However, he is promptly distracted from this train of thought when Nie Huaisang, still unsteady on his feet, stumbles backwards with a small gasp. He would have fallen over if not for the hand Jiang Cheng had absentmindedly kept on his back.
Shifting so he can put his hands on both the other boy’s shoulders and keep him from falling again, Jiang Cheng does what he always does when he’s concerned and doesn’t know how to express it: he starts scolding his friend.
“You really shouldn’t have drunk that much. Look at you! You shouldn’t follow along with Wei Wuxian’s stupid ideas, he never thinks about the consequences of his actions. Oh, I’m gonna kill him, this is all his fault in the first place!” he rambles, words spilling out at a rapid pace.
Nie Huaisang winces at the sudden outburst, looking utterly miserable, which makes Jiang Cheng stop in his tracks. Fuck. He sighs, still harboring a concerned frown. “Come on, let’s head inside so you can clean yourself up and get some rest, you look like you need it.” He motions towards the disciples’ quarters. “Your room is closer to Wei Wuxian’s so we should go to mine in case Lan Wangji is still hanging around there, I don’t want to get into even more trouble.” he adds after a small hesitation.
Huaisang visibly relaxes upon hearing his friend’s change of tone, but he immediately tenses again, making a face. “We are in trouble, aren’t we?” he asks, finally able to speak again, although with some difficulty. Seemingly remembering he still has his fan, he unfolds it in front of his face, hiding his expression as he whines dramatically: “Ah, Jiang-xiong, I’m never drinking again!”
Jiang Cheng snorts at this declaration. “Sure you aren’t”, he retorts, disbelief clearly showing in his voice. He starts heading towards his quarters, not wanting to stay in plain sight any longer. “Wait, wait, wait!” he hears as Huaisang catches up with him, clinging onto his sleeve for support when he almost trips over himself again. Jiang Cheng doesn’t stop walking until they reach the door to his room. His head has started spinning again, and he isn’t sure if it’s the effects of the alcohol coming back after being temporarily covered by his worry for the other boy, or if it has to do with the fact said other boy is leaning into him as they move forward. Surely it must be the first explanation.
Once they are finally inside, away from trouble for the time being, Jiang Cheng allows himself to release some of the tension accumulated in his shoulders. However, he doesn’t completely let go of his signature frown, trying to focus on what to do next. Growing up in Yunmeng, where alcohol is nowhere near prohibited, he normally knows what to do in order to avoid dealing with a killer hangover in the morning, but the presence of Nie Huaisang at his side is…distracting.
Suddenly his friend chuckles lightly, and Jiang Cheng turns his head to look at him, confused. “What’s the matter?” he asks, frown deepening. Huaisang shakes his head, seems to instantly regret it, and ducks behind his fan again for countenance. “Why are you looking at your room like it personally offended you?” he asks in return, teasing, albeit in a more tired voice than usual.
Jiang Cheng inevitably takes the bait. “I wasn’t…!! You know what, forget it” he finishes, crossing his arms, which forces Huaisang to let go of his sleeve. Aware that his friend is hiding a new laugh behind his fan, Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes and crosses the room to grab two cups and a jar of water from the top of a sideboard. He also fumbles around for a clean cloth that he soaks in cold water. Carefully balancing the whole thing in his arms, he turns back to the door, where he thought Nie Huaisang would still be standing since he hasn’t heard him move, only to find him slumped over the edge of Jiang Cheng’s bed.
Huaisang doesn’t react when his friend approaches and places what he is carrying on the table near the bed. Jiang Cheng pours water in both cups and takes a seat on his bed, next to the other boy. “Here, you should drink some water if you don’t wanna be hungover when you wake up”, he says, more softly than he intended to. Huaisang groans in the blankets but doesn’t move. Jiang Cheng sighs, gathering the two cups in one hand to shake his friend’s shoulder lightly with the other hand. “Please, Nie-xiong, just drink, I don’t wanna have to carry you through whatever punishment is waiting for us!”
His brain registers what he just said a second after the words leave his mouth and he feels his face heat up. “I-I mean…” he trails off, not sure how to finish his sentence. Thankfully for him he doesn’t have to, because Huaisang reluctantly rolls on his side to face him and takes the cup of water from his hand. Jiang Cheng stares as he sits up and chugs it in one go, unable to look away. Huaisang’s hair is a bit messed up and Jiang Cheng blushes again when he remembers how delicate it felt in his hands earlier. He downs his own cup of water to hide the fact he is flustered.
As he sets the cup down on the table, he grabs the wet cloth he brought earlier and holds it out for Huaisang to take. “There, if you want to clean yourself up after… well, you know” he finishes awkwardly. Nie Huaisang takes the cloth but doesn’t move further, watching with a strange glint in his eyes as Jiang Cheng takes back his spot beside him. He stifles a yawn behind the hand holding his folded fan before speaking, his voice slightly slurred. “Thank you, Jiang-xiong. Ah, I’m so tired, do you mind if I take a nap for a moment?”
Before Jiang Cheng can answer, Huaisang lets his head drop against his shoulder, closing his eyes. Jiang Cheng freezes, all thoughts crashing down, leaving his mind blank as he tries desperately to process what is happening. The other boy’s hair is tickling his neck, but Jiang Cheng doesn’t dare move at all, half afraid that waking his friend up would make things even more awkward than they are now. And, to be quite honest with himself, the light weight of Nie Huaisang’s head resting on his collarbone feels good, and this is probably what is scaring Jiang Cheng the most.
He bites his lip, not sure what to do now. Surely they can’t spend the night –or what is left of it, for that matter– like this! Starting to get restless, he shifts slightly on the bed. Unfortunately, this is all it takes for a still very much asleep Nie Huaisang to fall onto his lap. And, oh, this is doing things to Jiang Cheng’s stomach. He holds his breath, clutching the covers in his fists. I shouldn’t feel like this, he thinks, panicking. Nie Huaisang is his friend, and he is also obviously very drunk; Jiang Cheng has no right to enjoy the current situation.
And yet… His hands move on their own again, tucking a strand of hair behind Huaisang’s ear, praying that the other boy doesn’t wake up right this moment. Almost all the candles in the room have burnt completely by now, the only one remaining painting moving shadows on Huaisang’s face, and Jiang Cheng stares, and stares, unable to look away. I want to kiss him, he realizes, heart beating faster as the implications down on him. Instead, he reaches for the cloth that is still hanging from Nie Huaisang’s hand and gently wipes the other boy’s face clean, tracing his traits with slow gestures, almost…tender.
Suddenly, Huaisang stirs slightly, causing Jiang Cheng’s heart to skip a beat. Face burning, panicking at the prospect of being caught red-handed, he instinctively throws the cloth aside. It lands on the candle, its dampness effectively smothering the last source of light in the room. Great, this is great, Jiang Cheng thinks, embarrassed. He squints in the dark to try and see if his friend’s eyes are open, but to no avail.
After a moment of silence, he hears a whispered “A-Cheng?” coming from the darkness. A-Cheng. This is the first time Nie Huaisang calls him this, and it makes Jiang Cheng temporarily forget how to speak. He shakes his head to put his thoughts back in place and whispers in return, swallowing past the lump in his throat: “Yes?”
He waits for an answer that doesn’t come. Huaisang is silent again. Did he go back to sleep? Or… was he even awake in the first place? Maybe he was simply sleep-talking? Jiang Cheng is left to wonder. As the minutes pass and he can’t seem to sort through all the confusing feelings bubbling inside him, he decides that he has to do something before the situation gets out of hand. Carefully, he slides one of his hands behind Huaisang’s head and the other behind his shoulders, lifting him slightly so he can move away. He purses his lips during the process, trying not to think about the fact he is basically holding Huaisang in his arms, which is disturbing to say the least.
After shifting slightly so he isn’t occupying the spot anymore, Jiang Cheng carefully lays the other boy’s head down onto the mattress. He is hardly able to distinguish Huaisang’s features in the dark, but he can hear his quiet breathing over the hectic beats of his own heart, and the sound fills him with a fondness he isn’t really familiar with yet. With a sigh, he lets himself slide to the floor, settling half-sitting, half-laying against the side of the bed, resigned to spend the couple of hours left before dawn alone with his thoughts.
Needless to say, Nie Huaisang is the only one who actually gets sleep that night –although he still ends up with a hangover.