Work Text:
Nie Mingjue wakes up when he hears a key turn in the front door. Nie Huaisang is supposedly soundly asleep in his own room, and he’s long past the age of sneaking out, so there really is only one other option.
Nie Mingjue turns his head just far enough to get a good look at his alarm clock. 2am. So family dinner went badly and Jiang Wanyin tried to deal with it on his own for much longer than Nie Mingjue is comfortable with.
“Mingjue?” Jiang Wanyin whispers from the now open door to Nie Mingjue’s bedroom and Nie Mingjue turns his eyes from the clock to him.
“Wanyin,” Nie Mingjue says, his voice rough from sleep as Jiang Wanyin shuffles closer to the bed.
“Can I—?” he jerks his head at the bed and Nie Mingjue would never deny him.
“Course,” he mutters, lifting the blanket just enough that Jiang Wanyin can slide under it.
He is ice cold which probably means that not only did he try to tough it out on his own for a while but that he also hesitated in front of door for a good long time. Nie Mingjue has barely secured the blanket around them again, hoping to warm Jiang Wanyin up quickly, when Jiang Wanyin starts to sob.
Nie Mingjue’s heart aches at the sound and he’s quick to pull Jiang Wanyin into his arms.
“I’m so sorry,” Jiang Wanyin gets out between his sobs and Nie Mingjue strokes a hand up and down his back.
“Shh, that’s alright, you never have to say sorry here,” he reminds Jiang Wanyin, because this is by far not the first time he comes to the Nie house only to have a breakdown.
It’s just usually not that late into the night and it usually doesn’t happen in Nie Mingjue’s bed.
They don’t speak again for a while and it takes Jiang Wanyin a lot of time to calm down again. Nie Mingjue wants to shelter and protect him from the world—mostly from his family—but for now he has to be content to offer any kind of support he can.
“I’m still sorry,” Jiang Wanyin says once he stopped crying for good and Nie Mingjue sighs.
“I know, but I still maintain that you don’t have to be,” he tells him and it’s enough to coax a small smile out of Jiang Wanyin.
“What am I going to do?” Jiang Wanyin whispers eventually and for that, at least, Nie Mingjue has an answer.
“You’ll leave your family,” he firmly tells Jiang Wanyin who stares up at him with big eyes.
“But then I would have nothing. I can’t just—I would have nothing,” he mutters and Nie Mingjue can hear how scared he is.
“That’s not true,” Nie Mingjue reminds him. “You always have us. And please don’t take this the wrong way but I put up a savings account for you the first day Nie Huaisang brought you home from school.”
“You did what?” Jiang Wanyin breathes out and Nie Mingjue shrugs as best as he can while still laying down. “But that was—over ten years ago!”
“Yeah, so I saved a nice amount for you,” Nie Mingjue simply gives back and refuses to feel bad about it, no matter how shocked and surprised Jiang Wanyin seems to be.
“But what if I was no longer in your life at this point? What if I turned out to be a complete asshole who deserves all of this?”
“Well, first of all, no one deserves a family like yours. And second; it’s a savings account, it’s not even a trust fund. It’s just an account I put money in on a regular basis. I can take the money out of there whenever I want. If for whatever reason you were no longer in my or Huaisang’s life, I could simply take the money back and nothing would have happened.”
Jiang Wanyin worries his lower lip in thought and Nie Mingjue is content to wait him out.
“So what happens when I leave my family?” he then asks and joy blooms in Nie Mingjue’s chest.
It’s the first time Jiang Wanyin said ‘when’ and not ‘if’ and Nie Mingjue feels as if this is the most important step so far.
“You move in here. You take all the possessions you would like to keep and everything else you can by from that savings account, which will be officially transferred to you. You become a part of our family and you’ll be much happier.”
There is not a single doubt in Nie Mingjue’s mind that this is how it’s going to go, because he and Nie Huaisang have planned for this for years. They would have loved nothing more than to take Jiang Wanyin away from his shitty family before, but it has to be his decision, otherwise it would all be meaningless.
And even though it took Jiang Cheng years to get to this point, it doesn’t matter, because it only means that they are perfectly prepared.
“As easy as that?” Jiang Wanyin whispers and it pains Nie Mingjue to hear how unsure he sounds.
“As easy as that,” he promises him and tightens his arms around Jiang Wanyin. “I promise you.”
“What is Huaisang going to say?”
“You are thoroughly mistaken if you think that he hasn’t yet decorated your room in anticipation of this. You’re not going to hear any kind of objection from him, I can assure you of that.”
“And—you?”
“I’m not going to object either, Wanyin,” Nie Mingjue says, confused how Jiang Wanyin can still doubt this. “You can move in this very second and get enthusiastic consent from me.”
“Okay, but what about—” Jiang Wanyin takes a deep breath and turns his head into the pillow. “Us? I mean—there is an—I know that we have been flirting or—just—” he trails off, clearly more than unsure about that and Nie Mingjue chuckles.
Jiang Wanyin flinches in his arms, but Nie Mingjue soothes it with a soft kiss to his temple.
“Huaisang has our wedding planned already. You get a voting right on the how but according to him not really on the if. And honestly, I would hate to tell him no as well,” Nie Mingjue tells him, his heart beating away in his chest.
It’s true that they have been flirting like crazy but for the most part they danced around this thing between them for the longest time now and while Nie Mingjue was more than content to give Jiang Wanyin all the time he needs he can’t deny that he wished for this much sooner.
“How long has he been planning that?” Jiang Wanyin asks and the moon illuminates the room just enough that Nie Mingjue can see the light blush on his cheeks.
“For about as long as I have had the savings account,” Nie Mingjue nonchalantly says and thoroughly enjoys the surprise on Jiang Wanyin’s face.
“You said you set that up the first day you met me!”
“Yeah. And when you left that day, Huaisang turned to me and said ‘You’re going to marry him and I’m going to be best man and plan the wedding. His favourite flowers are lotuses so one will be on every table, just so you know’ and then he left to really start planning. There’s a binder in his room somewhere, he’ll be more than happy to show you.”
“And—you were okay with that?”
“Well, I thought he was joking at first, but I was happy that he put his energy into something other than driving me up the wall all day, so I let him be. But you stuck around and eventually I could see the appeal,” he says and cups Jiang Wanyin’s cheek in his hand. “I actively helped him plan during the last year, because he keeps revisiting the decoration.”
Jiang Wanyin blinks at Nie Mingjue.
“We’re not even together and you already planned our wedding?” he asks.
“Well, I know this is stupidly romantic but for me it’s either you or no one.”
“But what if I—what if we—”
“Never get together or if you didn’t love me?” he asks for confirmation and Jiang Wanyin nods. “Well, then I would still want to keep you close, just to make sure that you are safe and sound. It doesn’t matter to me if you love me as well. As long as I know you’re happy, that’s all I need. I’m going to contribute to that happiness as much as you will let me, but in the end it doesn’t matter what happens to me.”
“Don’t say that,” Jiang Wanyin vehemently says and sits up. “Your happiness matters, too. You matter, especially to me.”
“And that already makes me happy,” Nie Mingjue tells him with a smile because really, to him, that is all that matters.
“I do love you,” Jiang Wanyin whispers and lays down again, snuggling close to Nie Mingjue and seemingly unable to look at him directly. “I love you.”
“I love you as well, my heart,” Nie Mingjue gives the sentiment right back and hugs Jiang Wanyin properly to his chest again.
“I still want to wait with the wedding, though,” Jiang Wanyin says and Nie Mingjue huffs out a laugh.
“It is a bit early for that,” he agrees but at least in his mind there is no doubt at all that he’s going to marry Jiang Wanyin.
He knew that five years ago and he knows it now.
“What is going on here?” Nie Huaisang suddenly asks from the door and Jiang Wanyin turns around in Nie Mingjue’s arms.
“Having a bit of an existential crisis,” he easily says, and if one didn’t know him, they would never guess that half an hour ago he had a complete break-down.
“I see,” Nie Huaisang says and comes into the room, not even waiting to hear if he’s invited. “Move over.”
Nie Mingjue does obediently move backwards but he keeps his arms around Jiang Wanyin and moves him as well.
“I see,” Nie Huaisang says again but this time with a smile. “Are you finally going to move in?”
“Yes,” Jiang Wanyin says and Nie Mingjue knows him well enough to know that he is rolling his eyes.
He presses a kiss to the back of Jiang Wanyin’s neck, happy that he is finally allowed to do so.
“Good,” Nie Huaisang decides as he climbs into bed as well, laying down to face them. “That’s very good. I’m sorry for whatever finally prompted this but I’m very happy that you’re here,” Nie Huaisang has in that disarming way he has and Nie Mingjue feels how Jiang Wanyin shudders in his arms, clearly not completely over whatever happened this evening.
“I’m also happy to be here,” he whispers and Nie Mingjue tightens his arms around him, reminding him that he’s not alone. “And thank you for remembering that lotuses are my favourites. I would love to have them on the table,” he then adds and it startles a laugh out of Nie Mingjue.
“You’re going to love what I have planned,” Nie Huaisang excitedly tells him and Nie Mingjue has absolutely no doubt that he’s right about it, too.
His plan is very good.
“But—not yet,” Jiang Wanyin says and threads his fingers with Nie Mingjue’s. “We just got together.”
“Silly you,” Nie Huaisang chides him fondly. “The wedding is planned for two to three years after you get together. The fact that you even think me capable of rushing this,” he shakes his head in mock-outrage.
“I should have known,” Jiang Wanyin says, clearly trying for a funny tone but his voice is husky and Nie Mingjue is not surprised when he starts to cry again a moment later.
“Yes, you should have,” Nie Huaisang simply says and scoots closer to rest his forehead against Jiang Wanyin’s. “Welcome to the family, A-Cheng.”
“Welcome to the family, my heart,” Nie Mingjue says as well and then he simply holds Jiang Wanyin through his new—and decidedly more happy—tears.
There will still be talks in the morning and Jiang Wanyin will still be devastated over the loss of his original family, but Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue are going to be there for him through it all.
And Nie Mingjue will see Jiang Wanyin happy in the end.
(And he does. At first it’s rare, but as time passes, Jiang Wanyin always seems happy. It’s clear that he is happiest during the wedding though.)