Work Text:
The day had been entirely ordinary.
Nie Huaisang hadn’t noticed a single thing that was out of place, and he had always been proud of his skills of observation. Jiang Cheng, his fiancé, had left the house before him, as usual, with a kiss before he went to work. Also as was their norm—especially after getting engaged—Nie Huaisang had tried his damndest to tug him down for more than a single kiss, clingy and sleepy and so deeply in love with this man that he would never grow tired of the way he chuckled against his lips or tucked a lock of hair behind his ear before he drew away.
Then, Nie Huaisang had gotten ready and went to his job as a museum curator. He worked on his current project restoring an old painting from the 1800s, before meeting the director of a new installation that was planned for the following weekend. He texted Jiang Cheng various heart emojis and thought nothing of the lack of reply—Jiang Cheng’s career involved a lot of tedious meetings that he would likely complain about over dinner that night.
Nie Huaisang finally left work at his normal time, and hummed to himself as he unlocked the front door to their house. He hung up his jacket and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his white shirt, hearing a rustling noise coming from the living room. A smile curled at his lips and he headed in to greet his husband-to-be.
“I’m home, A-Cheng—”
He froze, staring at the small six year old boy who was currently sitting at their coffee table, staring wide-eyed at him as he was caught red handed flipping through one of their photo albums.
“How do you know my name?” the child asked, narrowing his eyes. It was adorable and familiar and far too serious for so little and sweet a face. “Who are you?”
Oh no. Nie Huaisang was trying very hard not to panic, and he was fairly certain that he was failing miserably. It was impossible to deny the truth; the child replied to A-Cheng, and the photo album was open to a picture of Jiang Cheng and his siblings from that age, playing in the lake near their childhood home. He had the same grey eyes and slightly chubby cheeks and tanned skin from all the time spent out underneath the Yunmeng sun, and he was maybe six years old.
“Oh, my,” Nie Huaisang said faintly, blinking rapidly. “Um… if you don’t mind, I’m—I’m going to make a phone call. Over… over there.”
Jiang Cheng, a child, frowned at him. “Okay,” he said slowly, as if Nie Huaisang was the one being weird.
Nie Huaisang nodded quickly and scurried into the kitchen, fumbling with his phone and nearly dropping it. He didn’t even think, clicking the second person on his speed dial— Jiang Cheng was the first, but Jiang Cheng was now a child, and therefore couldn’t help him with this particular issue, which was that Jiang Cheng was somehow at least twenty years younger—
“Huaisang. Breathe.” Nie Mingjue’s voice was steady and grounding.
Nie Huaisang whimpered, but he obediently took in a deep, shaky breath, letting it out and leaning heavily against the counter. “Da-ge, what do I do?”
“Call his siblings and have them come over. I’ll be there in ten minutes. In the meantime, just talk to him, okay? Don’t overwhelm him, but keep him occupied. You’ll be fine, and we’ll find a way to fix this.”
Nie Huaisang nodded, even though his brother couldn’t see him. He knew he could always rely on Nie Mingjue when the rest of the world was falling down around him, and he followed his instructions after hanging up with him. Jiang Yanli was just as firm and level, telling him that she’d handle getting in contact with Wei Ying, and by the time he was done with the call, he felt a little bit more in control of himself (and his breathing).
Reentering the room, he found that Jiang Cheng had finished the first photo album and had progressed to looking at the picture frames on the shelf with studious intent. The boy turned around to look at Nie Huaisang, his little brow furrowed in thought.
“Are you… are you Nie Huaisang?” he asked, a touch of hesitance entering his voice.
“Yeah,” he replied softly, going to sit on the couch. He fiddled with his phone just to have something to do with his hands. “How are you feeling? Does anything… hurt, or feel uncomfortable?”
Jiang Cheng shook his head, approaching him cautiously. “Did I travel into the future?” he guessed.
“We’re not sure just yet,” Nie Huaisang replied, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. He had no experience with children, and always felt so painfully awkward around them. Still, this wasn’t just any child, this was A-Cheng. “But you’re safe here, okay? I have Yanli-jie and Wei-xiong coming over, along with my da-ge, and we’ll figure out what exactly is going on. Until then, you can… play, or nap, or—if you’re hungry, I can get you food?”
That, somehow, got Jiang Cheng to smile, just a little bit, and he climbed onto the couch next to Nie Huaisang. “You still babble,” he commented, the fact apparently giving him some comfort.
Nie Huaisang huffed, puffing out his cheeks in indignation. “And you’re still a brat,” he shot back on instinct, before wincing, afraid that he’d offend him—
But Jiang Cheng laughed, the sound adorably clumsy, almost a giggle. Nie Huaisang relaxed a fraction, smiling in return. What was he so worried about? This was still A-Cheng, after all.
Magic had become less prominent in modern times, but curses still existed, and cultivation was something like an extracurricular activity. The old families kept up the practice for situations just like this, where there was some strange flare of magic that caused a ripple effect into everyday life.
The consensus was that Jiang Cheng must have offended some magical being, or otherwise triggered a temporary curse on himself. Everyone felt rather confident that it would wear off naturally, and it was unfortunately very believable that Jiang Cheng’s notorious lightning temper could have made something think he needed to learn a lesson.
It had happened before.
What hadn’t happened before was that Jiang Cheng, after being poked and prodded by adults who only resembled the people his brain knew, grew upset and fussy and started to cry. They were big, distressing tears, hiccuping and awful, and he was nearly inconsolable when anyone tried to comfort him.
For whatever reason, he reached his hands up to Nie Huaisang, and Nie Huaisang was helpless to do anything but to pick him up, propping him on his hip and patting his back. Jiang Cheng buried his little face in Nie Huaisang’s neck, soaking his shirt with his tears… and possibly snot.
Nie Huaisang swallowed down the urge to shudder and struggled with his breaking heart, humming soothingly. “You’re okay, A-Cheng. I know, this is a lot, right? But you’re with people you know, and you can just relax while we wait it out. Treat it like a vacation!”
Jiang Cheng sniffled, wrapping his arms around Nie Huaisang’s neck and clinging to him tightly. “Where’s A-Niang?”
It was lost on no one that he didn’t ask for his father.
“Oh, A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli sighed, stepping close to stroke his hair. She was heavily pregnant, which was the only thing stopping her from taking him into her own arms. “A-Niang is at home, but I’ll stay here with you and A-Sang, okay? And tomorrow we can go find some new clothes for you with A-Xian at the mall.”
He sniffled again, peeking up at her without loosening his grip on Nie Huaisang. He glanced over where Jin Zixuan had been hovering on the edge of the room with Lan Zhan, both of them looking wildly uncomfortable and ready to bolt if he started crying again.
“Did you really marry the peacock?” Jiang Cheng eventually asked in a small voice.
Jin Zixuan started sputtering, but Nie Huaisang couldn’t help but laugh, and Jiang Yanli’s eyes crinkled in the corners as she bit down on her own laughter.
“I did,” she confided, wiping away his tears. “And you’re going to have a little nephew, too. I can tell you all about it, if you want.”
He hesitated for a moment more, before he nodded and squirmed until Nie Huaisang set him down. Nie Huaisang let out a sigh of relief as Jiang Cheng took Jiang Yanli’s hand and let her sit down next to him on the couch, talking to him soothingly about vague things regarding her marriage and Jiang Cheng’s impending unclehood, leaving out anything regarding himself. They didn’t want to overwhelm him or influence him, if that was a possibility, and Nie Huaisang had even agreed to leave his engagement ring in his bedside drawer, so that Jiang Cheng didn’t get more confused than he already was.
He missed the weight of it on his finger, but if it was the temporary price paid for Jiang Cheng’s smile, it was worth it.
Wei Ying was not ready for a six year old.
Don’t get him wrong—he was great with kids by all accounts, and he and Lan Zhan were particularly fond of little Wen Yuan, who was only a toddler. He knew how to talk to kids and get them laughing, but it was different when it was his own didi.
He had been fostered by the Jiangs when they were five years old, and he just… never left. It had been tumultuous, growing up, as Madame Yu never came around to him, and the natural falling out of that was the constant fighting and ultimate dissolution of her marriage.
It had taken a long time for Wei Ying to stop blaming himself. The slamming doors and shouting voices weren’t something that went away with time, but with age, he had come to the slow, dawning realization that it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t any of their faults. Some people just didn’t work out, and they had been kids.
Kids, like Jiang Cheng currently was.
Jiang Cheng was quiet as they walked through the outdoor mall, holding onto Jiang Yanli’s hand tightly, his little face scrunched up in anxiety. Wei Ying couldn’t blame him—this was a confusing situation to be in for the adults. He couldn’t imagine what was going through that little brain of his.
But how to talk to him? He wasn’t the man that Wei Ying had grown up alongside, and Wei Ying wasn’t the boy that this Jiang Cheng recognized.
He wished that Lan Zhan was here. He always felt more stable with Lan Zhan, but they had all decided that another unrecognizable stranger wasn’t what Jiang Cheng needed. It was better to be with his siblings and Nie Huaisang, who he had already latched onto for inexplicable reasons, outside of the fact that maybe those two really did mesh. Compatible energies, and all that.
Wei Ying was stalling. In his own brain.
He glanced down at Jiang Cheng again as Jiang Yanli shifted through a rack of clearance shirts, only to find that Jiang Cheng’s attention was elsewhere. He followed his gaze out of curiosity, before stiffening in instinctual fear as he saw an owner with two large dogs walking by.
They were outside, separated by a large glass window and a door. They weren’t even looking at him. It was okay, Wei Ying was safe, he needed to calm down.
Then, guilt took the place of fear.
“Ah, Jiang Cheng,” he sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “You miss your dogs, right?”
Jiang Cheng continued to stare until the dogs rounded the corner, before his tiny shoulders slumped and he heaved out a big sigh, far too heavy for his little body. “It’s okay,” he mumbled, kicking at the floor idly. “A-Die was the one to send them away. I think he never liked them at all.”
Jiang Yanli’s head shot up, and the heartbroken expression on her face nearly brought tears to Wei Ying’s eyes. He swallowed hard, crouching down to be at Jiang Cheng’s level and forcing a bright smile.
“Well… I think they’re monsters, but I know that you like them a lot!” he said brightly. “I also know a secret—that there’s a puppy café not too far from here.”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes went wide, and he finally looked up at him. “Really?” he whispered loudly, his excitement so endearing that Wei Ying relaxed despite the ache in his heart.
“Yeah! I think once we finish up here, we should go visit. I’ll wait outside while you and A-jie play with some puppies,” Wei Ying said decisively, nodding to himself in self-satisfaction.
“Won’t you be bored?” Jiang Cheng protested, a pout pulling at his lips, and was he always this sweet?
Who was Wei Ying kidding? Yes. Jiang Cheng at any age was always extremely considerate, especially of his family, and he had thrown himself in the line of fire when it came to his mother’s temper on Wei Ying’s behalf countless times over the years. This was the same man who, when he was in college, stressed so much about asking Nie Huaisang out that he went to talk to the man’s brother before they even started dating.
Jiang Cheng wanted nothing more than to be the best that he could be for his loved ones. He felt like he had to fight to be worthy. Wei Ying wished he knew that he was more than enough just the way he was.
Wei Ying stroked Jiang Cheng’s hair, smoothing it out of his face. “I’ll get us something to eat while you’re playing,” he reassured him, his smile more real now. “And I gotta call my husband and update him, anyway.”
“I can’t believe you’re married,” Jiang Cheng commented, reaching to latch onto Wei Ying’s sleeve. It was the first contact he initiated, and Wei Ying was maybe a little emotional about it. “Is he nice?”
Wei Ying wanted to laugh. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan never got along, their relationship consisting of catty remarks and sneers, but they both loved Wei Ying so much that they knew how to share a space on his behalf.
“He’s the brattiest man you’ll ever meet in your life,” Wei Ying replied, bopping Jiang Cheng’s nose. “And I love him very much.”
He called Lan Zhan while Jiang Yanli took Jiang Cheng into the puppy café. He kicked his legs as he sat on a bench outside, glancing inside periodically and actively ignoring the chill of fear to focus instead on his didi’s grin, the way that his entire face lit up as he was covered in puppy kisses.
“Everything’s going okay?” Lan Zhan asked after a moment of silence, ever the fretter.
“Yeah,” Wei Ying sighed, smiling. “You know what? It really is.”
Jiang Cheng wasn’t as distressed as everyone thought he was.
Yes, in the beginning, he woke up on the couch of a place he didn’t recognize, and the man who came home to see him looked vaguely familiar, but there was no way little Nie Huaisang was that old, right? The boy was shorter than he was!
Except, no. The man introduced himself by the same name, and then bigger versions of his a-jie and gege came in, and everything got really confusing.
After they explained, though… well, what was the point of crying? He found that he didn’t really want his parents—they’d probably only yell at each other about the whole thing, anyway, and make everything worse than it was. His siblings would always be there to take care of him, just as he would with them, even if they were way taller than him now.
Plus, Nie Huaisang was the same. He was calmer now, his voice deeper, but his laugh was so similar to what Jiang Cheng remembered—the way his nose scrunched up and his eyes sparkled, and something about being near him made Jiang Cheng feel relaxed. Soothed. Like the world wasn’t spinning quite so fast.
Jiang Cheng was sitting on the couch next to his A-Jie, whose hands were idly stroking her round belly. They were supposed to be watching a movie while Nie Huaisang bustled around the kitchen, preparing dinner. Jiang Cheng kind of wished he could have A-Jie’s soup, but he understood that pregnant ladies weren’t supposed to be on their feet a lot.
He looked at her for a moment, thinking hard, before he grew the courage to ask, “Are you excited?”
Jiang Yanli tilted her head, meeting his eyes. “About what, A-Cheng?”
“To have a baby,” he clarified.
“Yes, I am,” Jiang Yanli said, laughing softly. She picked up his hand, laying it carefully on her stomach, and beaming when Jiang Cheng jolted. “Did you feel him kick?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng breathed, awestruck. “Does he… does he have a name?”
“A-Ling,” Jiang Yanli replied, lifting her hand to stroke his hair. “He’s very excited to meet his jiujiu.”
The fact that Jiang Cheng was going to be an uncle was blowing his mind. With great determination, he climbed to his feet so that he could face her properly. “I promise that I’m going to be the best jiujiu,” he swore, bowing formally to her with all the intensity of an elementary schooler. “I’m gonna take care of him, and feed him, and make him laugh!”
Jiang Yanli giggled, watching him. She’d cup his cheek, but leaning forward like that was getting difficult. “You know you can let people take care of you, too, A-Cheng,” she murmured gently, her eyes filled with affection.
Jiang Cheng stiffened, a bit of discomfort rising within him. He knew, logically, that his family loved him. He knew that little A-Sang from Qinghe liked playing with him, for some reason, even if they didn’t have a lot in common. But somewhere along the way, he had internalized giving in order to prove his worth—people would only want him around if he was a good boy, if he could do things for them. His temper was too ugly, his moods too volatile, his personality too brash. It wasn’t enough, just to be himself.
He put on his best smile, forcing down the stinging in his eyes. “I’m gonna go check on dinner! You stay right here.”
Jiang Cheng scurried off before she could catch him—A-jie always hated when he was mean to himself, and she knew how to hold him while he cried, until he felt a little better about himself.
But it was nice here. No one had yelled, not once, and everyone was being so patient and kind to him. His siblings were the same, just more mature, and he had such a good day, despite everything. He didn’t want to ruin it, or to be sent away.
No. Everything had to be perfect—
Everything was a mess.
Jiang Cheng froze in the doorway, staring at the utter disaster that was the kitchen. Bowls were everywhere, something on the stove was burning, and two different timers were going off at the same time. In the center of the chaos was Nie Huaisang, his hair tied up in a messy bun, and he was frantically trying to turn off the stove and open the oven at the same time.
Jiang Cheng hurried forward to grab oven mitts, shoving them at Nie Huaisang before the man grabbed something out with his bare hands. Nie Huaisang put them on, pulling it out and turning off the timers, before leaning heavily against the counter now that everything was out of danger.
He was flustered and flushed and frazzled, and Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but laugh at him, even though it was rude.
“Hey!” Nie Huaisang whined in protest. “Don’t be mean! I didn’t set anything on fire this time.”
This time. How many times had there been? Jiang Cheng wasn’t stupid, even if he was a little kid. He had started to put together that he and Nie Huaisang lived here together once they were adults, and exploration had revealed that there was only one bedroom.
“What am I like?” Jiang Cheng asked suddenly, staring up at him.
Nie Huaisang quieted, a softer expression flickering in his eyes. He didn’t need to ask for clarification, instead brushing a lock of hair behind his ear as he thought. “Hmm… stubborn, for one. Cranky, sometimes. Thoughtful, sweet, and really strong. The kind of man who would give his jacket to a stranger, or leave work in the middle of a meeting just because I had a little cold.”
He was so fond. Jiang Cheng found himself blushing from the sheer amount of affection in Nie Huaisang’s voice, and he was filled with longing to be that man, the kind of man that had someone—had Nie Huaisang— looking like that.
“Do you miss him?” he asked, his voice small.
Nie Huaisang’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit, perceptive and intelligent in a way Jiang Cheng wasn’t entirely familiar with. As a child, Nie Huaisang liked to look at birds and puff out his cheeks when he didn’t get his way and get watery eyes when he was trying to convince other people to do things for him.
Nie Huaisang as an adult knelt down right in the center of the kitchen floor, a sparkle in his eyes that spoke of mischief and fun things. “Do you wanna know a secret?” he whispered.
Jiang Cheng nodded, taking a step forward to listen better.
“When I was six years old, I had a huge crush on you,” Nie Huaisang confessed, grinning at him. “And it never goes away.”
Jiang Cheng’s face flooded with color, and he couldn’t help the wide, beaming smile that stretched across his face. “Really?”
“Really really,” Nie Huaisang confirmed, winking at him. “So how about we get some dinner out to your A-jie, and we actually watch a movie?”
Jiang Cheng nodded quickly, hurrying to help. When Nie Huaisang put some of the thankfully salvaged food into a bowl, he passed both it and a pair of chopsticks to Jiang Cheng, who very carefully carried it out to Jiang Yanli. She thanked him graciously, and Nie Huaisang decreed that they could eat on snack tables on the couch, just this once.
The food was delicious, despite the chaos, and Nie Huaisang heaped praise on Jiang Cheng, claiming that it was his quick thinking that made dinner salvageable. Afterwards, he dug out some ice cream for each of them, and then Jiang Cheng was able to cuddle in between the two adults as they put on another movie.
It had been a long day for a boy his age, and he felt himself growing increasingly drowsy, especially once Jiang Yanli started running her nails against his scalp in soothing, steady motions. Jiang Cheng was flushed and happier than he could remember being in a long time, and maybe that made him a bad son, but he felt safe and loved, here.
He leaned his head against Nie Huaisang’s arm, who let out a soft laugh and shifted until he could snuggle more comfortably. And, slowly, Jiang Cheng let himself slip away into the sweet caress of sleep.
When Jiang Cheng next woke, his neck was a little sore from the angle at which he had fallen asleep.
It took him a moment to get his bearings. He was in his own living room, curled up against the arm of the couch. At some point in the middle of the night, a blanket had been draped over him, though it pooled mostly on the floor by the slow shift in the size of his body.
He was himself again, an adult, and his memories were hazy, but present. He had bumped into… someone, he was fairly certain, and in the resulting argument, was called immature and childish. He must have said something particularly nasty and rude, because after somehow making his way home, there had been a sudden bright flash, and he had been six years old again.
Jiang Cheng groaned softly and rubbed his head. The details didn’t matter, he supposed, considering that it had only been a temporary spell. When he pushed himself up, he noticed that his sister was on the recliner chair, sound asleep and snoring quietly.
Jiang Cheng smiled, a small, private thing, and got to his feet. He dropped a feather light kiss to Jiang Yanli’s forehead, before making his way into his bedroom, where he found Nie Huaisang sprawled out under the comforter, his hair splayed across their pillows.
Jiang Cheng crawled onto the bed, hovering over his sleeping fiance and stealing a kiss from his pliant lips. Nie Huaisang stirred gradually, making a tiny noise and instinctually kissing him back, though it was a touch clumsy from his fatigue.
Eventually, Nie Huaisang managed to crack open his eyes, and a sleepy smile pulled at his lips. “Am I dreaming?” he murmured.
“No, A-Sang,” Jiang Cheng replied, resting his forehead against his fiancé's. “You’re awake now.”
“Oh, good.” Nie Huaisang wound his arms around Jiang Cheng’s neck, holding him close. “You were a cute kid, but I like you the same age as me. We have plans, you know.”
“I do know,” Jiang Cheng chuckled, kissing him again. Then, a touch more seriously, he added, “Thank you for taking care of me.”
Nie Huaisang softened, sighing and letting one hand travel down to stroke Jiang Cheng’s cheek. “I’ll take care of you no matter what you look like, or whatever happens. You know that, A-Cheng. I kind of promised.”
Jiang Cheng smiled at him, his heart filled to the bursting. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
They kissed again, and again. And then, a little more mischievously, Jiang Cheng whispered against his lips, “So… you’ve had a crush on me since we were kids? How embarrassing.”
Nie Huaisang groaned and did his best to shove him off the bed. They ended up rough housing and laughing, doing their best to keep quiet, so as to not wake Jiang Yanli up.
And Jiang Cheng was happy, and loved, and so, so warm.