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Being “lazy” had its benefits.
For example, while he was “lazily” avoiding saber practice and instead poking around the abysmally meagre clan records (no, he would not make any sarcastic gripes at his ancestors, but truly, would it have killed them faster if they’d chosen to create just a few more records?), Huaisang found a most intriguing scroll tucked away in the back of the shelves, and as he unfurled it on the nearby desk, he suddenly understood why it had seemingly been pushed to the back to find itself in obscurity.
Across the page were sketches and notes of the step-by-step process for braiding and pinning up of Nie braids in a specific style…
A style unique to the Partners of Nie heirs.
It had probably been generations since any Nie heir was able to put it into practice… no one would recognize it at this point…
“Hm…”He hummed out as his eyes scanned the page, taking in the details and how the style might be paired along with others if the partner was of a rank in the clan.
A hint of a smile tugged on his lips as he quickly rolled it back up and slipped it into his sleeve. Surely no one would notice it was gone, and he simply wanted to try it out, for the fun of it, of course.
Nothing serious at all…
Now to find the one he would try it out on…
And wasn’t that the issue in all this?
As he made his way through the halls of the fortress, he hoped that luck would be on his side, hopefully, he might find the person of interest in their room, diligently at work, but not under the watchful eye of his brother and therefore he would avoid confrontation about skipping practice.
If he were unlucky, however, then they would instead be with his brother in his office, and that wouldn’t allow him to get to work.
Of course, he could do the braids at any time, but now that he’d seen them, he had the most overwhelming desire to see them woven through that warm brown hair already, to watch as honeyed eyes gazed into the reflection of a bronze mirror and observed the work for themselves.
“And what does this style mean…?” They would ask him, turning to look at him with eyes that hungered for knowledge with just that little bit of unconcealed knowing of what it might mean, because they were clever like that, but so doubtful that anyone would consider showing such feelings for them.
“That you are mine…”He’d respond and wrap his arms around them, to show them that he spoke only the truth, that they were accepted here in the Unclean Realm, that they would not be cast out as their own father had done, Nie Huaisang would promise them, promise it true.
He fanned himself slowly as he made his way towards their room, musing on how it would all play out, a smile beginning to press up his lips and the beating of his heart accelerating in his chest.
Oh, if only it were all so simple…
He would relish the small victory, if only for himself, he could not push them too much, couldn’t reveal the meaning quite like that, but it was nice to fantasize it.
At last, he stood in front of the door to the room, taking in a deep breath, he closed his fan briefly and gave a few gentle knocks before immediately opening his fan once more to circulate the air around his face.
The air was suffocating him as he stood in wait, straining his sense of hearing to attempt to hear the other shuffling inside, ‘Please be here…’He willed in his mind, fan fluttering ever faster in his hand.
Just as he was about to give up and turn away, he found the door sliding open and there in front of his eyes was the one in question. Of course, he wouldn’t have heard him moving inside, he was always so light on his feet, even with a weak core. He had such an unnatural ability of almost absolute silence, even someone like Da-ge struggled to sense the other, especially out in the field.
Now was not the time to admire the other’s abilities, for those honeyed eyes stared at him in surprise and were soon trained to the floor as he bowed, “Nie-er-gonzi… To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”The man asks.
Nie Huaisang puffed his cheeks out at the others' display of propriety, “Yao-ge….”He whined, he watched the man carefully rise, and the faintest twitch of a smile played at his lips, though Meng Yao was always perfectly poised, even though there was no one around to force him to act in such a way. Alas, Nie Huaisang hadn’t quite managed to be of bad enough influence on the other to get him out of such practice. “Please Yao-ge, just call me A-Sang…”He added, now pouting at the other and batting his lashes in the hopes he might cause the man to crumble.
Though the man maintained his poise, it seemed that the smile that was threatening to push his dimples out was not as easily fought against, and soon Nie Huaisang found himself being ushered into the other’s room.
Upon the closing of the door, he watched the other relax a bit and, with a smile now on proper display, the man shook his head, “A-Sang… you’re supposed to be at saber practice, what are you doing at my door?”He asks.
Nie Huaisang could swear he might find himself drowning in those eyes as they turned to look upon him once more, and he really wouldn’t have been all that upset about such an occurrence either. He quickly waved his hands as if to wave away the silly notion of him ever taking his lessons so seriously, “Ah Yao-ge… I don’t know what you’re talking about, I don’t have saber practice right now”He says as he shakes his head.
“A-Sang…”The man presses,
“Yao-ge…”He answered, before pouting again, “Please let’s just forget it. I found something and was hoping to show you, and here you are!”He says quickly.
The other raised a brow at his antics, and yet he stood in wait for Nie Huaisang to explain.
The fan in his hand closed abruptly, and he began to tap his chin in thought. In honesty, he hadn’t expected it to go quite so easily, yet as he briefly examined Meng Yao, he noted the tired expression in his features, so that was the reason. He’d caught Meng Yao after several sleepless nights, huh, he was quite lucky today. “I was looking through the records and found an old braiding style that goes along with your current one… and I was wondering if you’d let me try it…?”He asks, batting his lashes quickly at the other and already pointing his fan to the chair near the vanity.
“Oh?”The other’s brows furrowed together for a moment, and yet even in the confusion, he seemed to obey the suggestion of sitting down. “Alright, I suppose”He finally concedes and opens the top drawer and begins pulling out the brush and some pins. “Will I leave my hair as is, or shall I undo it?”He asks, eyes meeting Nie Huaisang’s in the small mirror on his vanity.
Nie Huaisang blinked for a moment, “Hm? Ah-! No, no Yao-ge, I’ll do that! You just sit there, alright?”He asks before moving over.
“Are you sure, A-Sang?”The man asks, now turning his head to look over his shoulder and honeyed eyes looking through his lashes to look up at him.
The fan in his hand snapped open and he quickly fanned away the warmth rising up in his face, he forced a laugh to pass his lips to cover his nerves, the other was far to picturistic to be moving like that, especially with his lids so heavy from lack of sleep, he wasn’t trying anything against him and yet Nie Huaisang felt as he was the one being played in the moment. “Of course, Yao-ge! Just relax while I set to work”He says with a determined nod.
He waited for the man to turn his head once more before he set to work.
They fell into comfortable silence as Nie Huaisang began to unpin his current braids and undo only some of them to adjust his hair to accommodate the adjustments.
At some point in the process, as Nie Huaisang checked the bronze mirror to see how his progress looked from the front, a soft snort escaped him as he took note of how Meng Yao’s eyes had closed now and his lips were parted ever so slightly as he dozed.
“Fallen asleep, Yao-ge…? Ah-... thank you for trusting me so…”He whispered before finishing up his work.
As he stepped back, the other seemed to rouse from the brief slumber.
“A-Sang…?”The man asked softly, no longer feeling the other's hands in his hair, heavy lids blinking away the sleep he’d briefly succumbed to.
Nie Huaisang quickly pulled his fan back to his hand and opened it to cover his smile. “All done Yao-ge! What do you think?”He asks, avoiding asking about the other’s nap, knowing well enough the other would be quite embarrassed if he pressed about it.
He watched the man turn back to the mirror and tilt his head to observe the new style woven through his hair, “Ah- it looks wonderful… thank you, A-Sang”He says, a sleepy smile pressed his lips up.
Nie Huaisang would take the win as he watched it deepen to show off his dimples, a success.
They shared a gaze in that moment, almost knowing… of course, Nie Huaisang had known the other would pick up on something, but no words were shared, unlike in his musings.
As Meng Yao turned his gaze back to the bronze mirror again, Nie Huaisang suddenly watched the other’s eyes widen in sudden horror, “A-Sang… What is the time?”He quickly asked, yet didn’t allow him to respond, as he quickly stood up and rushed to the door.
Just as he made it there was a quick knock, loud and precise, and he watched as the other’s features immediately shifted into their perfect poise, losing all trace of tiredness, and his back went rigid as he opened the door to find the Nie leader standing there.
“Nie-zongzhu”Meng Yao breathed out and quickly dipped into a bow, “Apologies for this one's lateness”He says quickly.
Nie Huaisang blinked in equal shock as he looked between the man and his brother.
“Lateness? You’re not late for anything, Meng Yao. I was just coming to get you for a quick matter before the meeting…”The man begins, eyes trained on his second in command, brows furrowing as he notes the new style of braids.
Nie Huaisang presses his lips together as he begins to shuffle to the side in an attempt to hide himself in the room, given his brother's distraction, and yet–
“Huaisang! Why are you not at practice!”
“Ah! Da-ge! How funny to see you here!”He says nervously, fanning himself. Curses, there goes his luck.
Though it seemed that his brother was unsure where to hold his attention, still fixated on the braids of the man in front of him.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to appease his brother’s anger, it was Meng Yao who made the next sound, clearing his throat softly before speaking up, “Ah… my apologies, Nie-er-gongzi was aiding me, which is why he is no longer at practice”
This caused his brother’s brows to furrow together, and the corner of his mouth twitched before he shook his head, “I see… Fine, fine…”His anger seemed to crumble away, “I have some paperwork in my office I would like your opinion on…”He says with a sigh before moving out of the others' way to allow the man to go before him.
Nie Huaisang felt his heartbeat pick up pace once more, so he hadn’t avoided his brother's ire… He puffed his cheeks out from behind his fan as he watched his only protection accept the request and begin walking away, though not before bowing to him in turn with a sympathetic look.
“Well, I guess that’s my cue to get back to practice, right?”He says with a nervous chuckle as he makes his way to the door as well.
“Huaisang…”
He paused next to his brother, oh please just say nothing this time…
“Meng Yao’s braids… They’re different, aren't they?”He suddenly says.
It causes all thoughts to halt in his mind, and he finds himself choking on the air. He quickly clears his throat, “Ah- ah?”He shakily hums out, eyes looking up at his brother's face, though he seemingly finds only a questioning look in his gaze, huh, he really doesn’t know… Nie Huaisang could work with that.
Quickly composing himself, he nods slowly, “Yes, you’re right, Da-ge… I noticed as well, perhaps Yao-ge is trying something out… after all, it is still in the style of his rank. I quite like it…”He muses, and if a prideful smirk had pushed up his lips now, well, that was between him and the back of his fan as he gazed up at his brother in innocence.
He watched him slowly nod his head, “Yes… it does suit him…”The man muses as he stares off in the direction the other went before composing himself and beginning to follow after, “Don’t let me catch you out of practice again”He adds before walking away.
At that, Nie Huaisang rolls his eyes, though he finds little frustration to be had for his brother’s insistence at the moment, still on the high of such a display of affection he’d pulled off, he finds himself returning for the end of the practice.