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This is it, Lan Jingyi tells himself one fine summer morning, halfway through the Discussion Conference. It’s now or never.
Not five paces away is Sect Leader Jiang, looking like something out of a daydream as he treats Sect Leader Yao to the sight of his stunning, otherworldly-in-its-beauty glower. Sect Leader Yao does not notice. Sect Leader Yao is a fool.
Jin Ling had promised, once, when they were drunk and 25, that if Lan Jingyi ever had the balls to actually court his Jiujiu instead of fawning over him and waxing poetic about his jawline, he would put in a good word. Because, as Jin Ling had put it, you’d be good to him. It was soft and honest in the way Jin Ling only ever is when he’s a little drunk and a little sentimental, and Lan Jingyi thinks maybe he cried. Granted, they’re both the sort to cry when they get drunk enough, but the fact of the matter is, it was the closest thing Lan Jingyi would ever get to having Jin Ling’s blessing.
Two years later, Lan Jingyi holds that promise close in his heart as he approaches Sect Leader Jiang and Sect Leader Yao, asking, “Sect Leader Jiang, may I have a word?”
It’s Sect Leader Yao who speaks up first, enthusiastically greeting him with an, “Ah, Ambassador Lan! It’s good to see you again. Thank you for all your help negotiating that land rights treaty; it could not have ended so favorably without your assistance.”
Lan Jingyi nods and smiles as politely as he can without outright dismissing Sect Leader Yao. “The pleasure was mine. I’m glad to see our people flourishing together,” he says, as formally as he can when it feels like he’s got sparklers in his veins. “Now, Sect Leader Jiang, if you have time - “
Sect Leader Jiang looks over at Sect Leader Yao, giving him the opportunity to gracefully bow out before Sect Leader Jiang leaves him looking a little less graceful. Sect Leader Yao does not get the picture, his boisterous need to be heard drowning out all other semblance of sense. “Ambassador Lan, have you - “
“I’m so sorry, Sect Leader Yao. My business with Sect Leader Jiang is rather urgent. We need to get going. Sorry again!” Lan Jingyi grins, and as charismatically as possible, Lan Jingyi takes Sect Leader Jiang by the elbow and tugs him away.
When they’re out of earshot - actually, by that point, well out of the bounds of the outdoor banquet - Sect Leader Jiang gruffs, “What did you need me for, then?”
It startles Jingyi into embarrassed laughter as he says, “It just looked like you needed saving.”
Sect Leader Jiang blinks and then snorts, turning away to hide his snicker. “My hero,” he deadpans, the corners of his mouth tugging up despite his best efforts. Lan Jingyi would swoon, maybe, if he were a few years younger and a little less experienced in his own gay yearning. As it stands, he’s still in danger of swooning, so he hurriedly changes the topic.
“You look tired, Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Jingyi says, as smoothly as he can. If Sect Leader Jiang notices the way his voice creaks dangerously at the end, he has the kindness not to mention it. “We’ve got a few hours before the sect stuff starts up again. If you want to take a break we could - I mean, do you want to - I mean, there’s a place that I like to - I, um. Well, I know a place?”
Sect Leader Jiang gives Lan Jingyi a long, appraising look the likes of which he hadn’t felt since he spent a season in Yunmeng as a part of the training he did for his ambassadorship. If looks could kill, Sect Leader Jiang would probably be flaying his skin off with the intensity of that stare. It’s simultaneously terrifying and also the sort of thought he will be revisiting later, when he is alone in his bed while Sizhui is out visiting his fathers.
“A place,” Sect Leader Jiang says.
“A place,” Lan Jingyi echoes. And then he catches himself, swallowing hard as he says, “I, uh. I found it and thought of you. I thought you’d like it.”
Smooth, Lan Jingyi. You might as well just ask him to push you into the cold spring like the dweeb you are.
Sect Leader Jiang huffs a laugh, putting his hands on his hips as he looks at Lan Jingyi expectantly.
“Well?” he asks, doing something with his eyebrows that Lan Jingyi will also revisit, when he’s alone in his bed while Sizhui is out visiting his fathers. “You said you knew a place.”
“Yes! Quite. I definitely. Know a place. Follow me?” Lan Jingyi says, tittering nervously, as he gestures in the direction of The Place .
Sect Leader Jiang follows.
--
See, the thing is - the thing is, it would’ve just been a crush. Just a little hero worship here, a little oh-gods-your-Jiujiu-sure-can-work-that-whip there, with a little The Romance of Mountain Peaks and Freshwater Coves on the side. But then Jingyi just had to go and listen to Lan Sizhui’s suggestion to try being a Lan ambassador. Just had to take his session in Yunmeng the exact moment his mentor decided that she would go into labor two months early. Just had to be competent enough to be allowed to just. Stay there . For four months. Unsupervised. Working side-by-side with Sect Leader Jiang, day in and day out, learning the ropes (and also staring at the ropes of muscle in his arms as he threw disciples to the ground during their daily training, oh gods ).
It would’ve been a crush, of course, but Lan Jingyi just had to go and fall in love. Lans only fall in love once, and even if Lan Jingyi is a pretty shitty Lan by any metric, he’s still a Lan. He only had one shot to shoot, and, well, he shot it.
He’d be a little less upset about it if Sect Leader Jiang noticed his affections and shut them down on the spot. But either Sect Leader Jiang never noticed (unlikely; it’s not like Lan Jingyi is subtle ) or he didn’t think it serious enough to warrant any attention, because he just. Lets it happen. It’s not like he encourages it - but, at the very least, he’s good to Lan Jingyi in ways that he generally reserves for people he considers close.
It’s been three years and some-odd distance, and yet, every few months he’ll receive a personal letter from Sect Leader Jiang, asking after his health. He knows Sect Leader Jiang wrote it himself, because he’s deeply familiar with his personal assistant’s handwriting and Sect Leader Jiang’s just isn’t quite that delicate. Every time Lan Jingyi needs to make an emergency stop at the Lotus Piers, he’s greeted as if he’d sent word months in advance. Every time there’s a Discussion Conference, or Sect Leader Jiang just happens to be visiting the Cloud Recesses at the same time Lan Jingyi is, Sect Leader Jiang invites Lan Jingyi to a meal to catch up.
He’s not quite sure if he has a chance, but Sect Leader Jiang always makes sure to order chicken wings whenever they go out. Sect Leader Jiang always indulges his impulses for adventure and is happy to follow after if he’s got the time. Sect Leader Jiang is even willing to trust him enough to lead him through the Gusu wilds, as if establishing stronger ties with other sects (or, y’know, the threat of assassins, or natural disasters, or just plain old getting lost in the mountains) didn’t exist.
The thought warms Lan Jingyi’s chest, calms the thump-thump-thump of his heartbeat, eases his nerves into something resembling normal, non-I-have-decided-today-is-the-day-I-will-ask-Sect-Leader-Jiang-to-be-with-me levels.
They hike up to the pretty little stream in no time at all, though Lan Jingyi had forgotten just how rocky and uneven the terrain got. It would be a little while yet before they reached the clearing in the pines that told Lan Jingyi they were almost there, and like a fool, Lan Jingyi unthinkingly offers his hand to help steady Sect Leader Jiang’s step. Like a fool in love, he quite nearly shrieks in excitement the moment Sect Leader Jiang’s warm, dry, hand clasps around his, leaning into Lan Jingyi’s support.
The rest of the hike is a blur - honestly, Lan Jingyi can’t remember how he’d even gotten there, so distracted as he is by the feeling of Sect Leader Jiang’s hand on his, the weight of keeping Sect Leader Jiang’s balance, the thrill of his heartbeat any time Sect Leader Jiang laughs at something stupid Lan Jingyi says. Before he even knows it, he quite nearly walks off the edge of the cliff. It’s only his tether to Sect Leader Jiang that keeps him from falling.
“I meant to do that!” Lan Jingyi exclaims, as Sect Leader Jiang tugs him back, practically gathering him in his arms. His big, strong, gorgeous arms. It’s, uh, it’s a lot. It’s great.
Lan Jingyi bites his lip trying to push down his grin, but there’s no hiding it. “Here we are!” he chirps, sweeping his arm wide at the view.
And it is quite the view - green trees as far as the eye can see, sparkling waters rushing down the cliff, austere rocks arranged artistically all around them. It’s perfect.
Sect Leader Jiang lets his eyes drift, taking in a deep breath as he does. “It’s nice,” he says, voice soft. Reverent. “Worth the hike.”
God, Lan Jingyi likes him so much. “Wait, there’s more - “ Lan Jingyi says, shrugging off his outer robe. Sect Leader Jiang’s eyes go big as Lan Jingyi starts shucking off more and more layers, until he’s down to his trousers, shoes kicked off to the side.
“Watch me!” he grins, winking at Sect Leader Jiang as he takes a few steps back…
And does a running jump right off the cliff.
Under the whistle of the air rushing past his ears and the crash of the water from the falls, he can just barely pick out Sect Leader Jiang barking out his name as he tucks his arms in and does a flip in what little airtime he has left. He likes this - the adrenaline, the vertigo, the tug of air and gravity on his skin, the final moments before he has to untuck and -
The water is cold and crisp and perfect against the dry summer air; a lover’s embrace, squeezing him in from all sides until he inevitably must come up for air. At the center of the little lake, maybe ten feet away, is a sunning rock that he blindly paddles toward, the perfect handhold to kick up from. He’s known about this lake since he was a teenager, exploring the mountains of Gusu the very second he was given the chance. He’s spent summers here, on the rare occasions where he needed to just exist. Sizhui doesn’t even know about this place. This place is about as his as any spot in Gusu could belong to anyone, and now, if Sect Leader Jiang wants it, he’s excited to let it be Sect Leader Jiang’s, too.
When he finally resurfaces, his loose hair a mess, he can hear Jiang Cheng cursing and yelling at him, but it’s all shot with a thread of worry that Lan Jingyi can’t help but thrill at, buoyed by the fact that Sect Leader Jiang likes him enough to care. Even if Sect Leader Jiang knows a little fall would never be enough to hurt Lan Jingyi. “Come in! It’s perfect!” Lan Jingyi cries out, waving up to Sect Leader Jiang.
Lan Jiangyi can just barely hear Sect Leader Jiang’s quiet grumbling as he disappears behind the edge of the cliff, and for a single, heart-breaking second, Lan Jingyi thinks maybe Sect Leader Jiang’s had enough of his shit and decided to leave. But then, there’s a blur of black and tan, and Sect Leader Jiang is vaulting over the cliff in his inner robes, his body arcing through the air in a perfect dive.
He’s beautiful, cleaving through the water like he belongs there, resurfacing in seconds right beside Lan Jingyi on the sunning rock.
“Are you fucking crazy?” Sect Leader Jiang gasps, swiping water off his face as he tries to scowl at Lan Jingyi. “I almost spat up blood watching you jump the fucking cliff! If I’d known you were just going to jump, I would’ve pushed you!”
Lan Jingyi can’t help it - he laughs. He can’t keep himself from it, especially not when Sect Leader Jiang’s face goes all cute and sulky. Not actually upset - just embarrassed, in that frowny way of his. “Were you worried?” Lan Jingyi asks, his mirth turning him loose and overfamiliar. A hand comes up, drifting across the sodden fabric of Sect Leader Jiang’s under robes until his thumb can just brush the hinge of his jaw.
It’s terribly intimate. Normally, Jingyi would be a sip and a half into his drink before he got this far.
Sect Leader Jiang takes Lan Jingyi’s hand in his and holds it there. Says, “Yeah. Of course I was. Idiot.” His voice is soft and fond and warm and Lan Jingyi, all of a sudden, feels a little hot in the midday sun.
Lan Jingyi is pretty sure his ears have gone all red, staring wide-eyed at the gentle expression on Sect Leader Jiang’s face. His heartbeat quickens in his chest, the rapid one-two flutter kick of a thrashing rabbit, and he has to pull away before he says, does, something stupid. Er, stupider.
He doesn’t get the chance to see Sect Leader Jiang’s face before he dips under again, swimming around the sunning rock to come up behind Sect Leader Jiang. The water out here is clear enough to see to the bottom, clear enough to see every single fish from the surface to the silty floor, clear enough to think, if you just reached out, you could grab one. So it’s no surprise that Sect Leader Jiang turns to see Lan Jingyi before he can tug at his inner robes.
It’s… kind of a surprise that Sect Leader Jiang just lets Lan Jingyi tug at his inner robes and doesn’t do a thing about it. He patiently, almost fondly, waits for Lan Jingyi to run out of breath and resurface, and when he does - well.
The thing with Sect Leader Jiang, the thing that no one ever expects, is that he’s actually kind of a goofball. He’s got a streak of mischief a mile wide, if only you start it first. So really, Lan Jingyi shouldn’t have been surprised that the moment he resurfaces, Sect Leader Jiang reaches out with alarming accuracy, tugs at the string that’ll undo the knot keeping Lan Jingyi’s pants up, and kicks away from the rock, laughing as he slips back under the surface. Lan Jingyi only has the dexterity to pick two: fumble with the ties of his quickly-dropping pants, stay afloat, or chase after Sect Leader Jiang.
Unfortunately, he still has his wits about him enough to pick the first two. Absently, he thinks about that scene in Romance of Mountain Peaks and Freshwater Coves where the character clearly standing in for Sect Leader Jiang leads a romantic chase in the water, only to be captured by the main character and ravished at the shore’s edge and -
And he very carefully stores that thought away, before it can cause problems. He really ought to receive a medal for his restraint.
He does, of course, kick off the sunning rock and chase after Sect Leader Jiang once he is properly clothed, because you honestly can’t expect Lan Jingyi, of all people, not to rise to the occasion.
For all the streams and ponds and spiritual springs in Gusu, though, you really can’t expect a man to keep up with someone born on the lakes of Yunmeng. It’s like he’s got an extra lung, or something, staying underneath the water for so long, darting here and there like all the fish they’ve surely chased off.
Even when Lan Jingyi comes up with an excellent plan to capture Sect Leader Jiang around the middle, he’s still about 70% sure Sect Leader Jiang had let himself get caught. It’s honestly a little humbling, even if it makes Lan Jingyi’s cheeks ruddy at the thought of Sect Leader Jiang indulging him so easily.
They resurface, legs nearly tangling, with Lan Jingyi stubbornly wrapped around Sect Leader Jiang’s middle. His excuse is that he didn’t want Sect Leader Jiang to slip away again, not that Sect Leader Jiang asks. As for why Sect Leader Jiang doesn’t pull away… well, Lan Jingyi can’t be sure. After all, having Lan Jingyi’s ungainly weight clinging to him in the water has got to be pretty uncomfortable. And yet -
And yet, here’s Sect Leader Jiang, nudging at Lan Jingyi’s shoulder, easing him into a recline. And yet, here’s Sect Leader Jiang’s hand, curled around Lan Jingyi’s middle as they float atop the water like a pair of otters. And yet, here’s Sect Leader Jiang, gently tugging Lan Jingyi closer, until he has no choice but to rest his head against Sect Leader Jiang’s shoulder.
It’s -
Wow. Lan Jingyi thinks maybe he hit his head on a rock when he jumped, because this is what being dead and happy’s gotta feel like, right?
It takes a few minutes of them drifting together before Lan Jingyi finally starts to feel guilty about taking advantage of Sect Leader Jiang’s, uh, kindness. Or whatever it is. Lan Jingyi isn’t about to get his hopes up for anything more than it is. But when he moves to sit up or pull away, he can feel Sect Leader Jiang almost insistently tugging him closer, his eyes still closed and face about as serene as one can get with permanent, albeit faint, frown lines.
But they can only keep the charade up for so long. Eventually, Lan Jingyi rights himself in the water, leisurely kicking to keep himself afloat as he stares at Sect Leader Jiang. Sect Leader Jiang steadfastly keeps his eyes shut, even if the slightest furrow in his brow tells Lan Jingyi he wants to get up too. “Hey Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Jingyi murmurs, reaching out to push some of the hair out of his face. “You know what I’m trying to do, right?”
“Mmh?” Sect Leader Jiang hums. His eyes are still stubbornly closed, but he looks like he really, really wants to open them.
It makes it easier for Lan Jingyi to muster up the courage to do what he’s been aching to do since the first time he’d made Sect Leader Jiang laugh. He leans in a little closer, close enough to breathe each other’s air, close enough to feel the sun-warmth off each other’s skin, and then he kisses him.
He misses, of course, because it’s Lan Jingyi and he’s nervous as hell and also completely out of his wheelhouse even if he was the one that found this place and took them both here and prepared a picnic for them just beyond the waterfall.
Well, the corner of the mouth isn’t so bad for a first (and only, probably) try, is it?
He has about half a second to make his escape, before Sect Leader Jiang’s eyes snap open and he, too is treading water. But a half-second is nothing when you’re up against a man that might as well also be a fish. Before he knows it, Sect Leader Jiang has him around the middle, their legs just barely keeping from kicking each other with how close they are.
“What was that,” Sect Leader Jiang says, because it’s not really a question when he says it like that.
That’s… mm. That’s not a good sign.
Lan Jingyi laughs, nervously, heart thumping in his chest with the sick anticipation of rejection. “That, uh. I - “
“Tell me the truth, Lan Jingyi,” Sect Leader Jiang says, and ohhhhhh no, that’s not a good sign. His voice is low and serious and Lan Jingyi’s heart leaps in his chest like a startled deer.
“I, um, that is, - “ Lan Jingyi starts, and then finally, he sucks in a breath, pulls on his big boy pants, and says, “ SECT LEADER JIANG. I HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU! ” loud enough to echo down the mountain, loud enough to scare the birds from the trees. Loud enough, probably, that they could hear it all the way down at the banquet. “And, um. If you. Don’t have feelings for me back, thats - “
That’s all Lan Jingyi gets, because the next thing he knows, Sect Leader Jiang is tilting his chin up and fitting their mouths together the right way. He maybe, sort of, kind of nips Sect Leader Jiang’s lip, but Sect Leader Jiang doesn’t seem to mind it so much, what with how he’s holding Lan Jingyi at the small of his back, and tilting him back against the water so he’s the one doing all the treading, and making a soft little sound at the back of his throat not unlike a purr.
Lan Jingyi feels, a little, like he’s falling, but that’s kind of just the way he always feels, when he’s around Sect Leader Jiang. At least he knows Sect Leader Jiang’s going to catch him, every time.
When they finally part, Sect Leader Jiang’s eyes are dark and glossy, like maybe, possibly, he’s a little - like he liked it, and wants more of it, but he’s too good and responsible to push for it. “If you’ve got feelings for me, the least you can do is call me by my name.”
“Ah - uh,” Lan Jingyi stammers, staring up at Sect Leader Jiang’s handsome, slow smile. “J-Jiang Wanyin.”
“Mm,” Sect Leader Jiang rumbles, offering him another kiss in reward. Lan Jingyi is pretty sure he makes a little “ ohhh ” at that touch of lips against his, and he can’t help but breathe out, again,
“Jiang Wanyin.”
Another kiss. Another quiet, thrilled little moan.
“Wanyin. Wanyin. Wanyin.”
--
For the record, they do, eventually, get to the picnic just behind the waterfall. Jiang Wanyin is suitably impressed when Lan Jingyi sings the waterfall aside, sings the water into pretty little arcs that shoot rainbows into the air.
They don’t quite get to eating the picnic, though. Their mouths are a little occupied with something else.