prompts / continuations.

[fennu]

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[fennu]

[ Painfully red, apparently, since his first instinct is to try and turn his head away and look somewhere else, completely flushed. ]

A kind way of saying old!

[lanclan]

Wanyin.

[ Is he going to have to get the smelling salts, should a Sect Leader faint? Maybe. There aren't that many years between them but he feels a lot older with Jiang Cheng blushing furiously and, refreshingly, not using it to act cute or charming. ]

Wanyin, look at me.

[fennu]

Xichen, you -

[ He huffs a little, unused to the attention or the embarrassment, but he’s stubborn if nothing else and his head turns back. ]

[lanclan]

[ He is waiting with patient dark eyes and a gentle, forgiving smile. ]

Have some more tea.

[ Xichen will pour. ]

[fennu]

[ A menace to society. ]

Yes. Thank you.

[ It gives him a way to hide his face behind his hand as he drinks. ]

[lanclan]

[ A menace who watches him, still. It's not illegal. ]

Wanyin. [ His smile widens. ] It sounds nice to say.

[fennu]

You’re one of the few to say it.

[ He’s trying to calm down, but those eyes are distracting. ]

Most people forget the courtesy.

[lanclan]

[ Names are a way to show affection for Xichen, he likes that Jiang Cheng is open to less formal addresses too. ]

Zewu-Jun is all I hear. It was a relief, at first.

[ And a little sad to have lost the one person who would talk to him like he was more than a figurehead. ]

[fennu]

And yet I never hear Sandu Shengshou.

[ People are odd. And often rude, truthfully. He sighs. ]

We can remain Wanyin and Xichen, then.

[lanclan]

Hmm. Stirring the pot between the two of us would seem the way to go then, if only to make sure our ears are working properly.

[ Mischief brews in his eyes as he tries and fails to keep his smile down. Leaning forward to break the rules and slouch, chin in a hand, Xichen watches him steadily and it's a warning of the tease to come. ]

Sandu Shengshou. Wanyin. [ His smile broadens before he can subdue it by biting his lip momentarily and he breathes out in a rush, ] Jiang er-ge.

[ Wei-ge may have been becoming the norm in Cloud Recesses as of late, after protests he was "still the eldest" despite his new body. It doesn't stop Xichen's cheeks from turning pink now like the snow touched them for too long as he watches his friend, but this is fun. Who needs alcohol? Yet.

He could go on, but he waits for that line to be crossed by however playful Jiang Cheng is feeling. ]

[fennu]

I always thought Wei Wuxian was the one more suited to that sort of engagement.

[ Jiang Cheng is well aware that he takes after his mother, angry and severe and serious, a little too brittle to be well loved. His brother never thought that, of course, and neither did his sister, and he cherishes those memories as a sharp relief to his own pain and heartache.

The tease is met with a flicker of his eyes, though, and he huffs a noise, shaking his head and trying not to be too embarrassed.

Is this forward of the two of them? Maybe, but it’s not as if there’s anyone here to scold them. They’re two sec leaders - they can talk as they like, however they like. ]

You can never allow Wei Wuxian to have me known as er-ge, Xichen. He would never allow me relief.

[ It still sours him a little that he’s ‘Jiang Cheng’ to his brother now, rather than… ]

He might even forget that I am a-Cheng to my closest.

[lanclan]

I would not throw you to the fox that way.

[ Like a chicken squawking as Wei Wuxian joyfully tossed it around, no. He wouldn't want to embarrass Jiang Cheng or make him want to flee. ]

A-Cheng. [ It's only murmured to as not to be rude, soft enough to clearly taste it on his tongue. His lashes flutter on his cheeks as he looks down, a sadder smile canting on his lips. ] I was A-Huan, for a time.

[ No more, though. ]

[fennu]

A terrible fate indeed. Thank you.

[ He watches - the softness, the flutter, the way he can almost see Xichen’s heart wobble and ache, and he recognises the pain. To be betrayed by someone you loved dearly is a terrible curse indeed. He understands that.

Shaking his head, he tries not to fall into that embarrassment again. ]

You could be a-Huan again.

[lanclan]

[ The way he glances up without moving, looking at him intently. Jiang Cheng was right, they didn't need alcohol; this exchange feels exactly the same as being light-headed. ]

To you?

[fennu]

[ He feels drunk. It’s been a while since he let himself imbibe like that, but surely this is similar to that feeling. He also feels a little queasy, if only because he’s nervous. ]

Perhaps. If it is the preference we agree on.

[lanclan]

Preferences are very important to share.

[ He ought to take pity on him, be kinder. It's been a long time since he had this kind of connection with someone, playful and light with a thread of deeply-rooted interest at the core. ]

Say my name, in that case.

[ While Xichen is watching him steadily. ]

[fennu]

[ Jiang Cheng doesn’t know much about this sort of thing - preferences in friendships, the sudden surge of nervous excitement, not being at all sure what to do with his hands. It feels like he’s crossing a line somehow, and he’s not sure where that’s going to take him.

It’s never been this easy before.

Bowing his head a little, suddenly shy, he speaks. ]

Lan Huan. A-Huan, is that it?

[lanclan]

It suits your mouth when you shape it. Yes.

[ After a moment's pause for thought, he gathers up his robes and slides around the table to sit beside him instead, rearranging the drinks so that they don't have a block of wood and ceramics between them. His knee bumps Jiang Cheng's and he sets about pouring the tea. With his gaze lowered, holding back a sleeve to set a cup before him, he gently asks, ]

Do you want me to call you a-Cheng? It's alright if not.

[ Wanyin is nice, he wouldn't mind. Its entirely, as Jiang Cheng said, about preferences. ]

[fennu]

Fine. Then when we are together I will call you that.

[ It feels like a huge step for someone like Jiang Cheng, who so rarely lets people close anymore, who avoids intimacy and tenderness for fear of it burning him. He has to shake his head to focus, eyes widening as Xichen moves closer, their knees touching and… Suddenly it is far more intimate.

Suddenly he’s not sure how to form words, staring at their legs as if it is a foreign tome. ]

You can use that. You may call me a-Cheng if you’d like it.

[lanclan]

[ His chuckle is warm and pleased, nodding to agree. ]

In private, mm. Jiang-zongzhu sounds so far away from me now, when I say it.

[fennu]

Do you expect to see my in private often, a-Huan?

[ Considering he’s only just got an agreement to visit. ]

[lanclan]

[ Seamlessly, he looks up. ]

That depends on how often you want to hear me saying your name.

[fennu]

[ This is why he’s the most eligible bachelor, isn’t it… ]

As often as you want.

[lanclan]

[ The part of him that has been secluded for so long feels miniscule now, he almost can't remember why he wanted to hide so much when he could feel this fond for someone other than his family again. Although, technically, he supposes they are. ]

How often I want you to want to hear me saying your name?

[ Don't come to Gusu where word-games and puzzles are the height of entertainment. ]

The tea is making you coy, a-Cheng.

[fennu]

[ Jiang Cheng has spent so long keeping himself separate from people that being any kind of close is a new realm of intimacy. He feels himself open his mouth to speak and then close it swiftly, suddenly unsure of what to do or say.

He doesn’t think he can misstep, but he worries all the same. ]

The tea makes me honest. I’ll hear it often, you just have to say it. It’s a name, and it sounds good when you say it.