lanclan | eastbound inbox.

No such overstep was made. The matter concerns the well-being of your family, your own younger brother. Besides, Wei Wuxian invited your opinion and received it.

If it's possible for me to make amends on his behalf, you need only say the word and I will see it done.

[ after he beats wei wuxian within an inch of his life for causing this situation. ]

[ The way Jiang Cheng takes responsibility for a (not imagined, but very minor) slight has Xichen sighing through a smile. It's been some time since he interacted with another sect leader in a way that was pleasant and reminds him of home, the way things were ... for a time. ]

Yunmeng Jiang and Gusu Lan have not been as close as other sects in the past, for one reason or another. If we might agree for them to remain steadfast allies in the future, regardless of other interactions, that reassurance will be more than enough of a reparation.

That is already a given.

[ for better or for worse. while jiang cheng has many soft feelings about a good relationship with gusu lan for personal reasons, yunmeng jiang and gusu lan are, apparently, effectively tied by marriage now even if parties involved refuse to legitimize their union in any way. jiang cheng honestly isn't sure why he's wasting energy on being surprised. ]

Is there not anything more tangible and immediate you might ask of me?

[ Of Jiang Cheng? In particular? Xichen is wary of overstepping again, but ... ]

I am happy to accomodate Wanyin's company any time.

You are also welcome to my company at any time without it being a favor from me.

[ but this doesn't appear to be getting them anywhere, so... ]

Have you eaten?

[ It's getting silly how Jiang Cheng keeps calling him on that ... ]

I had some fish and rice this morning. Close to noon.

[ It was 9AM. ]

Are you feeling ill?

[ to be a lan and reporting to him you had breakfast close to noon??? ]

Send your location. I will bring porridge and broth.

I forgot to have a meal, that's all. As long as we eat together, come find me.

[ He's on a pier, watching people go about their business from a worn stone bench. ]

[ forgetfulness is... still worrying but better than actually ill. in that case jiang cheng is just going to rummage together the absolutely most eclectic looking meal you've ever seen. bread and mixed nuts and little dried fish and a random assortment of fruits. like half a melon, two apples, approximately five grapes. then he hurries over to the pier because his lonely and unwell zewu-jun senses are going haywire. ]

Apologies for making you wait, [ he greets as he jogs up, flushed and breathless. ]

Wanyin ...

[ He rises, pleased to see him and surprised by the size of the bag Jiang Cheng has with him. What's in there? Quite a lot, it seems! ]

How much did you bring?

A— [ not 'what did you bring?' but 'how much did you bring', which makes jiang cheng to stop and actually look at the heavy sack he's hauled along to this social encounter. that would suggest he's overdone it a bit, and, looking at it, he is inclined to agree. ]

—normal amount of food, [ he attests, sounding strained. ] Just... whatever was on hand.

[ sitting down, he opens the bag up between them to display the contents. ]

Help yourself to whatever you'd like. If there's nothing to your liking I can go, ah, to the market, or—

That won't be necessary.

[ Xichen's smile is almost a fond laugh, restrained out of good manners though his eyes shine with it as he reseats himself and starts eating some grapes to show gratitude. ]

You've been so generous, I'll owe you. If we aren't careful this shall become a delightfully cordial cycle.

You hardly owe me anything for this poor excuse for a meal. It's an insult to Yunmeng hospitality if anything. I'll have to arrange for us to have a proper dinner together in the future, redeem my region's honor.

[ having nothing better to do with his hands, jiang cheng picks up a chunk of bread to start idly shredding into crumbs which occasionally find their way to his mouth as he speaks. ]

...does it trouble you? The... unorthodox relationship between our brothers.

Very well, whenever it is convenient Wanyin may take me to dinner. I look forward to it.

[ The playfulness in his demeanor settles as he considers his answer to the deeper question asked, but he also shakes his head. ]

It would have been a delight to arrange all the marital matters as sect leader and an older brother, the one to arrange a dowry and such. To see Wangji in red ... I should have liked that very much, most of all. That is all rote tradition, of course, and matters little in these circumstances.

It doesn't trouble me, no. Wei Wuxian will honour and keep Wangji safe, that I know as a certainty.

[ tension jiang cheng hadn't even fully realized he was holding releases all at once upon hearing that xichen is merely wistful over the sudden marriage to a less than suitable candidate rather than upset, and that relief lights an awkward, bashful sort of smile upon jiang cheng's face. ]

For all Wei Wuxian's many, varied, terrible flaws, he is deeply loyal. One might even say to a fault. And it's clear how they care for each other. I suppose there are worse things.

[ The relief he senses lifting from Jiang Cheng is almost visible in the shoulders of the other man and Xichen resolves to be clearer in case he has upset more than one of Yunmeng's sons. ]

How do you feel about it?

[ strange that xichen should be the only one to ask him this. it catches jiang cheng off guard, to the point he can only blink after xichen in befuddlement as he tries to parse the question. how does he feel about wei wuxian and lan wangji...? ]

...I don't know, [ he confesses quietly, looking away. ]

I haven't really thought about it. It's been hard. Things aren't how they used to be, and they never will again. This doesn't seem to trouble anyone but me. I don't think Wei Wuxian even thinks about it.

[ jiang cheng's voice drops. ]

That he left me behind. He's spent years not thinking about it.

Years here, I assume.

[ There are two in which this relationship has blossomed and he has missed much of it. Jiang Cheng has often been left out of things when it comes to his brother, from what he remembers of the display at the Guanyin Temple ... even if this Jiang Cheng hasn't lived through all of it yet. ]

Wangji was lost to me for sixteen years. I had never seen a man so gutted of a reason to live as in the aftermath of Wei Wuxian's demise.

We must be patient with them, no matter what, and glad they are reunited as zhiji.

[ jiang cheng shakes his head, trying not to sour the mood here by growing too bitter but it's a tough subject for him. ]

...no, years before that too. In the years leading up to— ...his death. After the war. He picked a path I couldn't walk with him and never looked back.

[ the comment about the depth of wangji's grief draws his shoulders taut, however, and he adds— ]

Some of us could not afford to fall apart even after losing all the family we had left.

[ There is nothing Xichen can do to ease the pain of Jiang Cheng's experiences so he simply listens at first, not wanting to devalue them. It's sad because the two boys and their sister who studied at Cloud Recesses so many years ago were incredibly close, more so than any other group; how time alters the fabric the life, he thinks sadly. We are all threads stitched at the whim of time.

There is that and how grief-stricken Jiang Cheng had been at Guanyin, wracked with sobs over the familial deaths and betrayals that hit him over and over. It was not forgettable. ]

You are the strongest sect leader I have ever known, to have endured as many trials as you have and to remain a good man throughout it all. [ It is not flattery, he speaks honestly as he sits on the bench weighing the man before him. ] There are those who say you have little patience ... I am aware, I have ears. [ A small smile. ] But, the Wanyin I know never speaks truly unkindly when it is undeserving or suffers others' pain if he can help mend it.

[ A gesture covers the whole snack conveyor-belt they have sprinkled between their laps, amused and fond. Xichen tilts his head, makes a show of glancing up and down over Jiang Cheng, and shrugs subtly to help lighten the mood with some genuine fondness. ]

You're my brother-in-law now, and I'm very proud to say so. I hope you feel the same and will pardon my faults, as you do with many, while showing such patience.

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