Work Text:
Jiang Cheng raised his head as the knock came, “Come in!” he grumbled. His hand carelessly threw away the letter he had been reading before the interruption. God, his eyes burned. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there but judging by the position of the sun, it had been at least over three hours already. Faintly, he noticed his stomach grumbling.
His head disciple entered the room, giving a perfect bow, though he seemed somewhat flustered as he did. Jiang Cheng lifted his eyebrows slightly. His head disciple was usually a very composed and serious man; he wondered what news could possibly affect him this way. His next words answered his unasked question;
“I apologize for the interruption, sect leader. But sect leader Lan just arrived at Lotus Pier and he’s asked to see you. He claims it’s urgent.”
That made Jiang Cheng make a double take, he studied the other’s face to catch any sign of deceit. Was this a prank? There was no way Zewu-Jun was actually there. But his head disciple looked as serious as ever, if only a bit unsettled.
“Are you telling me,” He said slowly, “that Zewu-Jun, the man who is supposed to be in seclusion, is here in Lotus Pier after having sent no previous notice of his visit?” The last part may have come out slightly unhinged, but give him a break, because what.
“Yes,” His head disciple said, sounding equally confused and a little bit breathless.
Jiang Cheng looked down at his desk and thought okay, what the hell before standing up and gesturing for his head disciple to lead the way.
He frowned as they walked to one of the private piers near his office and turned to ask his disciple, “Did you take Zewu-Jun to a pier instead of showing him to a meetings room?”
The other man gulped, “He- he asked us to lead him here.”
Jiang Cheng was even more confused than before, but he didn’t have time to ask any more questions, since he could already make out a figure standing under the shade of a gazebo a few steps ahead. He dismissed his disciple and then made his way toward the pier.
Sensing his presence, Lan Xichen turned with a soft smile on his face and Jiang Cheng almost tripped on his own feet at the sight. Fuck, he wasn’t aware how much he had missed that goddamn smile but his heart apparently was very much aware, since it started pounding almost immediately. Jiang Cheng studied the taller man. He looked fine, if a little bit rougher around the edges, as if he had lost a bit of weight. But other than that, he seemed fine. Much better than Jiang Cheng would have expected. He exuded his typical calm aura and his smile didn’t seem forced but natural, as if he were, well, happy.
Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened slightly when he noticed that he was staring, and cleared his throat before asking, “What are you doing here, Zewu-Jun? I thought you were in seclusion?”
“I’ve come to deliver my proposal in person,” Lan Xichen said a bit too pleasantly.
Jiang Cheng squinted. “Proposal?”
Lan Xichen smiled widely and nodded, reaching into his qiankun pouch, pulling out a letter and handing it wordlessly to Jiang Cheng, who automatically took it and looked down at it. It was a normal official-looking letter. It had the Lan sect leader’s seal, so whatever it was, it must have been pretty important. He thought back to all his current dealings with the Lans, trying to find a clue as to what this was about, but came up empty. Everything had been pretty quiet this last year, all trading of the year already settled with Lan Qiren since February; the treaties on jurisdictions recently revised and agreed upon. His brows furrowed and he turned to look at Lan Xichen again, a question on his face.
Lan Xichen said nothing but merely looked down at the letter on his hands before returning his gaze to Jiang Cheng’s face, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Alright. Jiang Cheng could get a clue. Holding back a sigh, he took off the seal and opened the letter. It was written with the perfect, elegant calligraphy he’d come to learn to recognize thanks to his weekly exchange of letters with the Lan sect leader that had been going on for over two years now. Don’t ask him how it happened. He’d just sent a polite letter to wish him a full recovery and then got a long detailed letter a week after written by Lan Xichen himself, where he talked about his inner feelings and finalized it with a question about how he was holding up and signed Xichen. It had seemed kind of rude not to answer when the man was, for some unknown reason, trying to open up to him. So, he returned another polite letter filled with lies about having a lot of work but holding up quite well. Then, a week later he got another letter with Lan Xichen’s personal seal. He answered again and, just like that, exchanging letters became a sort of thing. Whatever. He skimmed through the letter, which indeed started with the usual meaningless pleasantries all official letters did; an appreciated long-time ally blablabla to strengthen ties blablabla ask for your hand in marriage blabla- Wait. What.
He blinked at the letter before his head snapped up, “What the fuck is this?” he gritted out.
Lan Xichen only smiled more and reached up with his hands. Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened when it dawned on him what exactly was happening. Yup, Lan Xichen was indeed taking off his ribbon.
“My marriage proposal,” the ribbonless Lan announced, while holding out his ribbon to Jiang Cheng.
“Why,” he said, eyes settled on the ribbon held between them. It looked ridiculous and he had the urge to reach his hand and take it just so it wouldn't be hanging there, but he had to hold himself back because he was not taking Zewu-Jun’s ribbon.
“Because you turned forty this year,” Lan Xichen answered simply and Jiang Cheng frowned.
“And what the fuck does my age have to do with anything? We haven’t even been courting,” Jiang Cheng said after turning his gaze back to the other’s face. Though his eyes kept going back to that uncovered forehead. It was so bizarre.
“Ah, well. I thought there was no need for that, since me proposing to you had been mutually agreed upon years ago.”
Jiang Cheng faltered. Years ago? He had absolutely no recollection of that. And he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t just forget about agreeing to marry Sect Leader Lan . Especially, since, well, he was kind of a little too in love with the man. So, yeah, he certainly would remember agreeing to an engagement with him . He was about to open his mouth to ask just exactly what in the fuck kind of cruel prank this was, but he snapped it close as an old memory popped out from some forgotten corner of his mind.
“Oh, shit . You can’t possibly mean-” he stopped himself because it certainly couldn’t be-
But Lan Xichen’s small innocent smile told him that, yes. He meant exactly that.
---
Thirty three years before…
Two kids stood by a pier, watching a small hummingbird fly near a lotus flower. They stared at it enraptured, since it wasn’t common to find that type of bird around there. The children were just trying to pass the time while the adults were casting a vote about something important inside the sect leader’s conference. As the bird flew away and disappeared from their sight, both kids turned to each other and shared a faint smile.
Then, the younger boy scrunched his nose and little a-Huan followed the movement with interest, since it made his freckles move funnily; “I don’t want to get married,” A-Cheng said suddenly.
A-Huan frowned, but immediately fixed his expression to a more subdued one when he noticed; his uncle always said that being too emotional was unbecoming for a future sect leader, “Why?” He inquired curiously.
A-Huan had never truly considered getting married. He knew he’d have to do it at some point in order to have heirs, but it had always seemed like a matter for a future him. Not really something he wanted to dwell on, since it inevitably led him to think about his parent’s relationship, or lack thereof.
“Because,” A-Cheng started, looking directly at a-Huan with an intensity that made the older boy straighten his already straight back, “Every couple I know looks… not happy together. I don’t wanna marry someone who doesn’t like me, Huan-ge.”
A-Huan considered the words. It made sense. He didn’t really know many married couples other than his parents, and he knew that his father’s love wasn’t exactly returned and it brought a lot of pain for both his parents, as well as himself and his didi. A-Huan didn’t want a marriage that made everyone miserable either, and lack of love was certainly a factor in unsuccessful relationships. He also didn’t want a-Cheng to marry someone that made him sad, he was a great kid, even though he had quite a temper. A-Cheng was always nice to him, he told a-Huan stories about his home and brought him candies to every conference because he knew they weren’t allowed to have them in Gusu. The older boy smiled as he realized something and came up with the perfect plan.
“I like you, a-Cheng.” He said.
A-Cheng blinked and jolted back a little bit at the admission, his cheeks turning a soft rosy color. A-Huan could pinpoint the exact moment the meaning behind his words dawned on the other, because his eyes immediately lighted up and a bright smile brightened his whole face. Ah, yes. A-Huan’s plan was flawless.
“I like you too, Huan-ge;” A-Cheng said enthusiastically, before asking; “Are we going to get married?”
A-Huan nodded his head frantically, completely disregarding his uncle’s words about never gesturing too widely, “Yes!”
The younger boy’s face visibly relaxed at having solved this problem, but his face turned serious again a moment later; “But it can’t be now. I don’t want to marry too young.”
“Mn,” A-Huan thought about it. It made sense, they were both young and the future heirs of their respective sects, there probably were many details to consider, “Alright, I can wait. When do you want us to get married?”
A-Cheng tilted his head to the side and looked to the ceiling, a-Huan knew him enough to identify it as his “pensive pose”, as he called it inside his mind. He kept quiet and let the other boy come to a decision. A few beats later, a-Cheng redirected his eyes to a-Huan’s face, a decisive look on his face; “When I turn forty. That’s my a-die’s age now and I think that’s a good age. Gives us plenty of time to do lots of things before marrying,” He explained.
A-Huan nodded. It made perfect sense. Forty was a good age indeed. He smiled widely before sticking out his right pinky finger and putting it in front of him, offering it to a-Cheng so they could make the promise official in the way the young Jiang taught him. A-Cheng immediately reached with his own pinky and as they curled their fingers together, they sealed the promise.
---
Now...
“Lan Xichen, I was seven . And you were like ten!” Jiang Cheng did not squeal.
“Actually, I was ten and a half,” The other answered matter-of-factly as if that made all the difference in the world , “And regardless of the age, I swore on it. We both did.”
“It was just a dumb kid’s game! I wouldn’t hold you onto a promise you did over thirty years ago. Hell, I hadn’t even thought about that in decades . You don’t have to marry someone you don’t love just so your honor isn’t stained or whatever you Lans think about breaking promises.”
“Oh, I know that,” Lan Xichen said with a dismissive gesture of his hand; “But don’t think so highly of me. I am the one taking advantage of that promise. You have no idea how long I’ve been in love with you, I just thought I’d use this as an excuse to finally ask for your hand.”
“You- you-” Jiang Cheng spluttered out and noticed how high-pitched his voice sounded, he paused to clear his throat before continuing, “You are in love with me ?”
Lan Xichen cocked his head and squinted slightly, as if he were the one confused at Jiang Cheng’s words , “Well, of course,” He said slowly, “That’s why I’ve always tried to stay close to you all these years. Even through letters when seeing you wasn’t possible.”
Jiang Cheng thought back throughout the years. About Lan Xichen’s constant presence in the background. At sect leader conferences, always bringing him news from his life in Gusu that he claimed wasn’t gossiping but being informative. Then, he moved to his stay in Cloud Recesses, where the Lan would invite him for quiet evenings sharing tea and trips to Caiyi Town after his brother left. To the times after the war, when he would often write or visit, bringing presents for his a-Ling and offering to take care of him for the day so he could catch up to some much needed sleep. And the letters after that cursed night at Guanyin Temple.
His eyes widened as realization hit.
“I thought you were just being nice,” Jiang Cheng said weakly.
Lan Xichen just watched him blankly. Then he - Zewu-Jun, Sect Leader Lan, - honest to god, giggled. “Oh, Wanyin.” He said from behind his hand, “I am nice. But I am not that nice to everyone. I always send you tokens for your birthday!”
“I thought they were a weird custom you Lans did for all sect leaders!”
“I’ve sent you combs. And paintings. And I wrote you a song once.”
Jiang Cheng covered his eyes, completely mortified, “Stop, please. Just, stop .”
“I even sang it for you that time you couldn’t sleep! I thought I was being so romantic.” Lan Xichen, of course, continued torturing him with mirth in his voice.
Jiang Cheng uncovered his face, “Shut up or I’m not taking your ribbon.”
That immediately caught Lan Xichen’s attention. He sobered up and grinned, “So, if I stop talking, you’ll take it?”
Jiang Cheng pretended to think about it for a moment, “Well, it’s wrong to break promises, right?” He outstretched his right hand, “Why don’t you put it on for me, a-Huan?”
He would have worried about that smile and it hurting Lan Xichen’s jaw if he weren’t smiling just as widely while his new betrothed tied the ribbon on his wrist.