Work Text:
The sun was setting. The sun was setting and the temperature was near freezing. The sun was setting and the temperature was near-freezing, and Nie Mingjue’s dumbass of a little brother was half an hour late for his curfew.
“Forgive me, Baxia,” Nie Mingjue said to his dog, a giant fluffy monster of a mutt that was currently salivating over the dinner that was getting cold on the table, “for the words you are about to hear.” He punched in the final digits of his brother’s phone number and dialed, putting it on speaker.
His brother picked up on the second ring. “Da-ge! Da-ge, I’m so sorry I’m late for dinner, I’m–no, shh, stop it! I’ll be back,” he heard his brother hiss at whichever moronic little friend of his he was with. “Da-ge, I’m so sorry, I–”
“Nie. Huaisang.”
“Da-ge, please, I–”
“Nie Huaisang!” Nie Mingjue barked. “Where the fuck are you?! It’s getting dark and you haven’t so much as texted for hours! I thought you were dead, you fucking idiot!” Baxia, startled by her owner’s tone, whined and slunk away to the corner of the room. Nie Mingjue held his hands up and mouthed silently at her, trying to comfort her, to no avail.
“Da-ge, Da-ge I’m sorry!! I just–I lost track of time!”
“I don’t care!” Nie Mingjue bellowed, then winced as Baxia fled the room, looking guilty. “No, Baxia, I’m not mad at you, sweetie–”
“Da-ge, are you scaring Baxia?!” Nie Huaisang whined, his voice squeaky over the phone.
“No! Shut up, Baxia’s fine! Baxia is a very good girl! You, on the other hand, are going to be grounded for a month unless you tell me where you are right the fuck now!”
“Okay, okay! I’m sorry! I’m at–” his brother paused, then spoke again in a hushed voice, “I’m at Jiang Wanyin’s house.”
Nie Mingjue’s eyes narrowed. “Huaisang,” he said, “are you throwing out Jiang Wanyin’s name to hide that you’re hanging out with Wei Wuxian? You know I don’t care if you’re with him as long as you tell me where you are, right?”
“I know, Da-ge, I know!” Nie Huaisang’s voice dropped again. “But da-ge, I really am with Jiang Wanyin. Wei Wuxian isn’t even here.”
Nie Mingjue’s brow furrowed. He’d always liked Jiang Wanyin, thought he was a good kid, but… “I thought you said Jiang Wanyin didn’t like you?”
“I thought he didn’t!” Nie Huaisang said excitedly, and Nie Mingjue could picture his brother’s radiant smile, the way he would flap his hands, just a little, when he got excited about things. A pang went through his chest, a mix of pride at the fact that he’d managed to protect his brother from having to grow old too young, and jealousy that this was at the expense of Nie Mingjue’s own youth. “But da-ge, I think he does! I came over to see Wei Wuxian, and he was gone, but Jiang Wanyin asked me to hang out anyway, and–” he cut himself off. “And… I’ve been having fun! And I just… lost track of time. I’m really, sorry, da-ge, I didn’t mean to worry you!”
Nie Mingjue sighed heavily. “Are you coming home for dinner, or no?”
“... Ah,” his brother said sheepishly. “Jiang Wanyin’s parents invited me to stay for dinner, maybe even the night. Is… is that okay?”
Something heavy twisted in Nie Mingjue’s gut. As much as he and Nie Huaisang butted heads, being apart from his brother for a night always sent Nie Mingjue into fits of anxiety. His brother sounded so thrilled, though, to be hanging out with the aloof Jiang Wanyin, and he knew that he would be safe with the Jiangs for one night, so Nie Mingjue drew in a deep breath and prepared himself for a sleepless night. “Of course, Huaisang,” he said. “You know you just have to ask.”
“Thank you da-ge! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you–”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m the best brother in the world,” Nie Mingjue said, smiling and scratching the stubble on his jawline. “Be safe, okay? Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”
“Yes, da-ge! I love you!”
Nie Mingjue closed his eyes, smiling wide. “I love you too, didi. Goodnight.” The line went dead, and Nie Mingjue sighed, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He stood there with his eyes closed for a minute, reveling in his brother’s happiness.
It was then that he heard a thudding noise from outside of the house. It was dull, nothing too alarming, but it was enough to have Baxia trotting back into the dining room, sniffing curiously.
“Good girl,” Nie Mingjue said, bending down to pat her ribcage. As he did so, he heard another thud, and then the distinct metallic sound of the lid to their dumpster swinging open and bumping against the side of the dumpster. Baxia began barking, running to the back door and looking back at Nie Mingjue expectantly, wanting to be let out to investigate.
“Back down, girl,” he told her, approaching the back door and pushing her gently out of the way. “It’s probably just a raccoon. I can handle it.” He didn’t really feel like bathing Baxia tonight, and if she caught the raccoon, he would certainly have to wash the remnants of said raccoon out of her long fur and sharp teeth.
Nie Mingjue slipped out the back door, closing it behind him quietly, and made his way down the stairs. The grass tickled the soles of his bare feet as he walked around the corner of the house to where the dumpster was located.
It was not a raccoon.
Dangling out of the dumpster were a pair of slender, denim-clad legs, attached to a pair of slim hips and a bony rear end. Said rear end and legs wriggled around as the person currently in Mingjue’s dumpster rooted around in the garbage. There were rustling noises as the person dug through the trash, apparently looking for something, and then the rustling stopped. Then, there was a loud crunching noise, followed by quieter, rhythmic crunches.
Abruptly, Nie Mingjue realized it was chewing noises. Someone was diving in his dumpster for food.
He watched for a moment longer, stunned. He heard the person take another large, crunching bite of whatever they’d managed to dig out. Nie Mingjue pursed his lips, considering, then spoke.
“Find anything you like in there?” He asked. The crunching stopped immediately, and the wriggling legs froze. They hung there for a moment, suspended, before they wriggled again, and their torso levered up out of the dumpster.
Messy hair, dirty face, dirty hands clutching a hunk of stale bread that Nie Huaisang had thrown out the other day. Pale cheeks and chapped lips stretched around a massive bite of bread, crumbs hanging from them. Ratty clothing, far too thin for this weather, covering scrawny limbs. This is what a normal person would have noticed about the person in Nie Mingjue’s dumpster.
This was not what Nie Mingjue noticed, however. Wide eyes. That’s what he first noticed. Wide brown eyes with long, dark eyelashes. They were enchanting, dark and deep, and they were filled with terror as they took in the sight of Nie Mingjue.
The scrawny legs kicked suddenly, and the person slid down from the edge of the dumpster, landing gracefully on their feet. Their hand trembled as they brought it up to their mouth, inelegantly pulling the chunk of bread out of their mouth. A pink tongue darted out, licking at those chapped lips, and the person spoke, their voice trembling just slightly.
“I’m sorry, sir,” they said in accented English. “This one means no harm, he just…” he trailed off, wide eyes darting around as he searched for words.
“Got hungry?” Nie Mingjue said. The man looked down at the ground and nodded, a sheepish smile spreading across his face, and oh, those were deep dimples.
“Yes, sir. I’m very sorry.” He swallowed hard, ducking his head in a motion somewhat like a bow. “Please, sir, don’t call the police. This one won’t cause you any more trouble.”
“... Okay,” Nie Mingjue said. “I won’t.” The man thanked him profusely. Nie Mingjue turned and began to head back up the steps to the house, but paused with his hand on the doorknob. He looked back and watched as the man bent down to pick up the hunk of bread he had dropped on the ground and wipe it off with his sleeve, clearly intent on eating it.
“My dipshit brother didn’t come home for dinner tonight,” Nie Mingjue found himself saying, to his surprise. The scrawny man startled, nearly dropping the bread again as he looked sharply up to Nie Mingjue. They held eye contact for a moment that seemed to stretch for ages. “... would you like his plate?”
The man’s mouth fell open. His lips, though dry, were quite plump, Nie Mingjue noticed. “I–sir, I…” the man cleared his throat, his dark eyes again roaming anxiously. “I thank you, sir, but… I…” he bit his lip, glancing anxiously at the house.
Right. Walking into a stranger’s house at the prospect of food was the exact kind of stupid decision Nie Mingjue had nightmares about his brother making. Nie Mingjue nodded to himself and opened the back door. “I’ll bring it out here.”
“Place,” he commanded Baxia as he shut the door behind him. She whined, but obediently trotted to the living room and sat on her elevated bed. Nie Mingjue picked up both his and Nie Huaisang’s plates off of the dinner table, balancing their chopsticks on them. He carried them to the counter, where he opened a cupboard and pulled out a tray. He placed the food on the tray, poured two glasses of water, and set them on the tray as well.
He pulled the back door open with some difficulty, then made his way down the stairs. The man was still there, frozen, eyes wide with shock. Nie Mingjue set the tray of food down on the steps and leaned up to pull the door closed again. “It’s sort of cold already, but I guess you’re not exactly a picky eater.”
The man blinked at him, and Nie Mingjue closed his eyes. Why did he always have to put his foot in his mouth? He sighed and sat on the stoop, taking his plate off of the tray and placing it in his lap. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. The food, in his unbiased opinion, was delicious: some Cantonese-style roast duck, fried rice, and an assortment of vegetables that he had been planning on forcing down Nie Huaisang’s throat. It smelled good, at the very least, and he glanced up to see his dumpster person gaping at the food, his eyes wide and glossy.
“Well?” Nie Mingjue said around a mouthful of rice. He gestured to the empty space next to him on the stairs, and then the food. “Go ahead, then.”
The man blinked rapidly at him, glancing between Nie Mingjue and the food. Nie Mingjue turned his gaze away, knowing staring at him would only intimidate the man further, and shoved a slice of duck into his mouth.
After a moment, the man’s hunger clearly won out over his fear. Still cautious, he crept slowly towards the stoop, settling gingerly on it, his muscles tensed as though ready to run at any given moment. Nie Mingjue ignored him, focusing instead on the green beans on his plate.
Once the man set his plate in his lap, he was anything but slow. Nie Mingjue was frankly impressed with the speed at which the tiny man managed to put down the food–he almost worried about him choking.
“Sir, this is…” the man gulped down a large slice of duck, looking up at Nie Mingjue. His lips and chin now glistened with grease and fat from the duck, and he had a speck of rice stuck to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you. This is the best meal I’ve had in… in a long time.”
“Mingjue,” said Nie Mingjue. The man peered at him curiously, pausing his frenzied eating. “Don’t call me sir, I’m not that old yet. My name is Mingjue.”
The man’s mouth hung open. “Mingjue… Nie Mingjue?!”
Nie Mingjue blinked, startled. “... How do you know that?”
The man’s eyes widened suddenly. “Oh, I just, I’ve heard–forgive me, sir, I just… I know a lot about your company. I studied up on it, thinking that…” the man trailed off, gazing down at his food, his expression shuttering. “It doesn’t really matter. Basically, my father owns a company involved with yours, and I had… I had hoped to get a job there.” He smiled ruefully, and Nie Mingjue’s eyes caught again on those dimples. “Obviously, that didn’t work out.”
Nie Mingjue tilted his head. “Who is your–oh fucking hell,” he cursed, “you’re one of Jin Guangshan’s bastards, aren’t you.”
The man’s head snapped up, those dark eyes glittering with fury as his face flushed. Nie Mingjue set his chopsticks down to hold his hands up placatingly. “Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I just…” he trailed off, sighing heavily. “Jin Guangshan’s… exploits… are quite infamous.”
The rage slowly drained from the little man’s countenance, and he deflated with a huff and a smile that was anything but amused. “Yes. They are.” He licked his lips, picked up another slice of duck, and brought it to his mouth. “Anyway. Thank you, Nie Mingjue. For your food and for your understanding.”
Nie Mingjue simply nodded, picking his own chopsticks back up. He was dying to know more, to know everything he could about this captivating little man, but he held his tongue, not wanting to push.
They finished their meals in silence. The little man finished before Nie Mingjue did, and gulped his water down just as desperately as he had devoured the food. Nie Mingjue was also a fast eater, though, and finished shortly after. He glanced over at the other man, who had relaxed enough to recline with his elbows on the step above them, his eyes closed and face blissful.
Nie Mingjue set his own plate back on the tray, next to the other man’s. He drained his own water, then took hold of the tray and stood up. He lingered for a moment, unsure. The sun had set and the only lighting was from the fluorescent motion detection light above the back door, which shone down on the man, highlighting both his ghostly beauty as well as the sharp angle of his jawline, the gauntness of his cheeks.
“What’s your name?” he found himself asking.
The other man cracked one eye open, peering up at him, seeming to measure him up. He was silent for a long moment, before his lips parted slowly. “... Meng Yao.”
“Meng Yao,” Nie Mingjue echoed. “Do you have anywhere to stay tonight, Meng Yao?”
Meng Yao sat up straighter. “Sir, I–”
“Nie Mingjue.”
“... Nie Mingjue,” Meng Yao said slowly, clearly considering his words carefully. “Nie Mingjue, I appreciate all of your help. But you needn’t worry yourself about this one. He will find a way.” He smiled again, those dimples stunning, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “He always does.”
Nie Mingjue pursed his lips. “If you do not feel safe accepting, I understand,” he said, equally as slowly as Meng Yao had. “But I would sleep better tonight knowing you were not out here in the cold with no shelter.”
Meng Yao’s dead-eyed smile stretched wider. “This one thanks you humbly, and means no offense. It’s just…” he trailed off, his teeth sinking into his lower lip. “After the life I’ve lived, trust does not come easily.”
Nie Mingjue nodded. “I understand.” He shifted the tray to balance in his one hand, then offered the other hand to Meng Yao. Meng Yao took it gently, his hand so, so tiny in Nie Mingjue’s. He helped Meng Yao stand, fascinated at the difference in their sizes. “You don’t have to stay here. You don’t have to accept anything I offer. But…” he trailed off, looking down at Meng Yao’s filthy hands and fingernails. “... Would you at least like to shower? Maybe get a warmer coat?”
Meng Yao’s doe-like eyes batted up at him. It had gotten cold enough that Nie Mingjue could see his breaths puffing out from his plump, cracked lips. Meng Yao stayed silent for a long while, so long that Nie Mingjue was sure he was going to refuse him.
“... yes,” Meng Yao said, to Nie Mingjue’s surprise and delight. “Yes, please.”
Nie Mingjue smiled down at him. He didn’t miss the way Meng Yao’s cheeks colored at this, nor the way his eyes dropped to examine Mingjue’s own dimples. “Anything you need, Meng Yao,” he said, and found that he meant it entirely. “How are you with dogs?”