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“We should get back to the practice yard,” Jiang Cheng says before leaning in to kiss the hollow of Huaisang’s throat.
“Ah, ha, yes, we should, we absolutely—mmph!”
Huaisang isn’t keen on being the voice of reason, particularly not when Jiang Cheng has taken so enthusiastically to kissing him. He’s tempted to lay back on the sun-warmed boulder to which they have retreated for the morning and pull Jiang Cheng along with him, potential witnesses be damned. Jiang Cheng’s left hand is working its way under the first layer of his robes, and he’s about to give in to his most shameless urges when a shadow falls over them.
“Huaisang. Jiang Wanyin.”
The speed with which Jiang Cheng scrambles away from Huaisang as Mingjue’s voice registers would be comical if he didn’t almost tumble off the boulder and have to be caught as though he were a cat and Mingjue held his scruff.
“Da-ge! Seriously?”
Mingjue helps Jiang Cheng to his feet and steadies him. His face is set in a grim expression, but it’s close enough to his normal expression that Huaisang isn’t worried. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, flushes so deeply he nearly matches his sect’s colors. He opens and closes his mouth like a fish, even as Mingjue pats his back and tells him to calm down.
“Sect Leader Jiang is looking for you, Wanyin,” he says. He straightens the collar of Jiang Cheng’s robe with the same gruff affection he shows Huaisang, and this is what tells Huaisang that something's wrong.
He gets up and adjusts his own robe before taking Jiang Cheng’s hand. “What’s going on, da-ge?”
Mingjue turns to Jiang Cheng and says, “Have you seen your brother or sister today?”
“Not since breakfast,” Jiang Cheng replies, having wrestled his breathing under control. “What’s the problem, Sect Leader Nie, really?”
“Go to Lan Qiren’s quarters. Your father is there, waiting for you.”
“Da-ge—“
“Huaisang, give us a moment?” Mingjue reaches out and squeezes his shoulders. “Meet me at the head of the path, alright?”
“A-Cheng?”
“Go on, brother,” Mingjue says, his voice gentle.
Huaisang goes, climbing down from the boulder to the path. The river runs close by, so Huaisang can see the others but not hear them, and Mingjue, damn him, turns them away so Huaisang can’t read their lips. After what is surely the longest five minutes of his life, Jiang Cheng steps back and bows to Mingjue before climbing down. When Huaisang meets him halfway, Jiang Cheng’s face is one of a person whose world has ended.
“A-Cheng!”
Unshed tears brighten Jiang Cheng’s eyes, and he blinks them away before forcing a smile. “I have to go home,” he says. He tries to say more, but the words stick. Instead, he kisses Huaisang, briefly.
“Jiang Cheng.” Huaisang takes his hands and sighs. “You have some of those paper bird talismans I sent you? The messengers?”
Jiang Cheng nods. “A few.”
“Good.” Huaisang squeezes his hands. “Wei Wuxian knows how to make more when you run out. Write to me, at least every other day.”
Jiang Cheng pulls Huaisang in for a bone-crushing hug. “I will,” he whispers.
Huaisang holds him with equal desperation for a few moments more before letting go and kissing him once more. “I love you, Jiang Cheng, and whatever happens, hold onto that.”
“I love you, too.” He kisses Huaisang a final time before turning and leaving.
Huaisang watches him go, barely acknowledging Mingjue’s presence at his side, even as his brother puts an arm around his shoulders.
“You need to pack,” he tells Huaisang as they watch Jiang Cheng disappear into the trees. “We’re leaving tomorrow before dawn.”
“What’s going on, da-ge? What happened?”
“The Wens,” he says. “Come. We’ll talk more over dinner with Xichen and Wangji.”
“Da-ge, you can’t—“
“Come, Huaisang.” He grips his brother’s shoulder. “We’ll talk more tonight. Just know, I will keep my promise. I’ll keep you safe, by any means necessary.”
Without another word, Mingjue strides down the path, and Huaisang has no other choice but to follow.