Work Text:
Sometimes nights in Shu Jing weren't the best.
Sometimes Piandao woke to the twin screams of two children, both in his care.
Sometimes Piandao went and gathered up the two shivering bundles of anxiety and insecurity, and brought them to the garden to lool up at the stars and sit with them in a pile of blankets and family.
Sometimes Piandao would hold them as they cried and spoke of their dreams.
Sometimes he'd hold his children tight and swear he'd do his best to keep them for longer, despite their prodigious skill under his tutelage.
Sometimes they needed eachother, and sometimes balance wasn't so two-dimensional.
Sometimes a family needs the others to be strong.
Sometimes they cry together and tell stories.
And sometimes a fleeting thought passes through their minds, whispering what-ifs about the fate of this family. How it'll never work.
And when those whispers rear their heads?
They always hold on a little tighter and breathe in their comfort.
It's a family after all.