lastjinstanding | Brothel meme continued

Wuxian tilts his head thoughtfully, eyes narrowing as he considers it before nodding.

"After dinner? As long as you're back before curfew." he knows it's a risk, but he has to put his trust in his son - and Jingyi - they can't just keep him locked up here or he'll start to resent them before he even really gets to know them.

(And internally, he pulls a face, because Jingyi just made him remind someone of a rule and not even as a joke. He really is a parent now)

Jingyi grins and bows to Wuxian before hurrying out to be with his friends. Having a treat might soften the blow a little, he hopes.

He leaves the library and without bothering to say a word, he immediately wraps his arms around Yuan and Zizhen both. "Did you hear all of that?" He asks after a couple moments, finally drawing back.

"Zizhen, he has something he's making to help Jin Ling heal. I know there's a messenger, but what if you took it back to them? You could get there faster if you rode your sword." Was it too far? He didn't know. He hates sending Zizhen out into the world alone, but he needed to trust his abilities.

Yuan clings to them both for a moment, taking the time to try and get his tears under control. When Jingyi draws back, he takes a deep breath and nods.

It's better for him to stay here - but that doesn't mean he's happy about it.

"That's a good idea," Zizhen says eagerly, wanting to help - it was a long distance, but he thinks he'll be able to make it, and at the very least he can cover a significant portion of it before he'd need to get a horse or something "As soon as Wei-qianbei is done, I'll offer to take it."

He reaches out to take Jingyi's hand, squeezing it softly.

"I'll miss you," he says quietly "but I'll send word about Jin Ling to you both as soon as I can."

It's too soon between that moment and when they're standing at Cloud Recesses' gate. Jingyi doesn't have anything to give Zizhen to take with him but before he can leave, the Lan disciple grabs him and kisses him. He doesn't care who sees it either (not that anyone besides Yuan and maybe his dads are there anyway).

"Zizhen.. I love you. You'd better come back to me in one piece or I'm going to be super pissed at you!" Jingyi warns him, tearing up.

That has Hanguang Jun glancing away hiding the smallest laugh. His hand curls around his husband's and places a gentle hand on Yuan's back.

Wei Wuxian does not hide his laugh, but he does at least bite it back into something like a snort instead. He squeezes Lan Zhan's hand.

Yuan leans into that reassuring touch - it's actually probably good Zizhen is going by sword, it means there's no way for him to beg to go with him. He has to remind himself it's better for Jin Ling if he stays here - it just doesn't feel that way in his heart.

"I love you too," Zizhen says, unashamed despite their audience (but then he is a romantic) "I'll send word as soon as I can, and I'll be back here before you know it."

Probably with his parents in tow, if he can wrangle it.

Jingyi smiles, feeling the joy in his heart at hearing the words but it was so confusing against the sadness of their situation too. He wishes he could beg Zizhen to stay with him, but that would be so selfish and he'd never be happy knowing others were hurting. It just wasn't fair they couldn't remain together longer. He had finally learned how it meant to be with a man and now he couldn't try it until some unknown time in the future. That wasn't right!

However, one glance at Yuan and any 'unfairness' is quickly disproven. Nothing Jingyi's been through compares and it likely never would. From there it was watching and waving to the man he loves disappear in the sky. He tried hard to be strong and stoic, but at that moment, he dropped to his knees to cry.

~~~

"Take them to the dungeon," Jiang Cheng orders with a sneer. One more spy had been caught red-handed thanks to a certain list. He sat on the Lanling throne with two of his fingers rubbing a his temples. The headache hadn't gone away since he'd arrived and he doubted it ever would. A new silver cusp was around one wrist but he'd explained it to no one and not a soul had dared ask. The only one who would was sleeping after his latest spike in fever had broken.

The mix of purple and gold disciples before him bow and haul the offenders away roughly. He'd had to enlist servants to taste their food after all the poisoning attempts. It made meals slower to prepare and serve, but it was worth it if he could feel safe serving it to his nephew. His only comfort while being here in the main hall was that Fairy was at Jin Ling's side. If anything were to go wrong, the dog would and had twice now, come running for him.

He wasn't expecting guests nor a response from his brother for a few more days. As he called for wine, he wondered if they'd all last that long.

Yuan pulls quietly away from his parents - after everything that Jingyi has done for him, this is the least he can do in return - and moves over to kneel beside his friend, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"You'll see him again soon," he whispers softly - but he'll happily stay and hold Jingyi for as long as he needs it.

Wuxian can't help but smile, leaning into his husband - they've got themselves a pretty good son.

~~~

"Jiang-zongzhu?" a Jin servant comes scurrying in and bows "Ouyang-gongzi is here asking to meet with you, he has a message but he's said he'll only deliver it to you personally."

Technically, Zizhen's orders hadn't exactly been that, but he thought it was better safe than sorry - and also felt like a suitably dramatic finish for his long journey. He's swaying a little on his feet and basically running on fumes at this point, but he got here as fast as he could and he really, really hopes that whatever Wei-qianbei has sent him with will help Jin Ling.

Jingyi leans into Yuan's embrace and tries to pull himself together. He can't voice how afraid he is that something bad could happen to Zizhen if Zizhen was going the very place Jin Ling was. However, what would they do if both men got hurt? They'd just begged his precious romantic to walk into the lion's den.

"Y- yeah.. and he'll make sure Jin Ling's okay," he says instead, trying to comfort the very person trying to comfort him. He wipes at his tears and gives Yuan a watery smile. It doesn't work and he ends up just wrapping his arms tighter around Yuan to cry on his shoulder instead.

~~~

A Ouyang? What the hell? On top of everything else, he now had to deal with an unexpected pest from his ex-fiancé's family! There is no justice in the world.

"Get a place set at the table for him and a glass for wine, then send him in," he sighs heavily. He will play the host but he was going to encourage this Ouyang young master to hurry it along back to Baling. Now wasn't the time for this nonsense.

Except then he spots just which Ouyang it was he was dealing with. Jiang Cheng's dour expression lifts seeing Zizhen. He stands, though there's more effort behind the act than there should and gives a tired polite bow. "Ouyang-gongzi, I wasn't expecting you."

Yuan just nods softly, a bittersweet smile on his face at Jingyi mentioning Jin Ling - he's deeply touched that his friend would offer him comfort when he was feeling so sad himself, but it still hurts to hear mention of him.

When Jingyi starts crying again, he just curls gentle arms around his shoulders and holds him, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"Emotional men, you Lans," Wuxian murmurs softly to his husband "Should we leave them to it?"

~~~

Zizhen bows back, offering an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry to arrive unannounced, Jiang-zongzhu, I would have sent a messenger ahead but as I travelled by sword I would have beaten them here anyway," he explains "I've come from Cloud Recesses..."

He steps forward just enough to offer the envelope to Jiang Cheng.

"Direct from Wei-qianbei. I believe you're expecting it."

"Wei Wuxian is the truest pentacle of calm. He should share his secrets with this emotional one." Lan Zhan smirks and turns to head back toward their home. As they draw further away, he glances back at the two young men. "I've been thinking about our son's initiation into the clan. Have you thought any about what courtesy name he should have? A proper young master needs one."

~~~

Jiang Cheng hurries forward the instant he realizes what Zizhen is saying. The relief was almost enough to make his legs weak, but he refused to be slowed down. He snatches the envelope and brushes past Zizhen. It was rude, but they didn't have time for politeness right now.

"Follow me!" He quickly opens the envelope and sees the charm. Not only did his brother send this in a dramatically faster timeframe than he'd expected but somehow he'd sent one of Jin Ling's closest allies. There were few individuals with a purer heart than Ouyang Zizhen, after all, even if Jiang Cheng questioned the strength of his wit at times.

He leads them out of the main tower and through the courtyard, whether Zizhen can keep up or not, he doesn't dare slow down. A guard in gold and a guard in purple stand in front of Fragrant Palace. They step aside and open the door for the acting sect leader and eye Zizhen curiously.

Cheng doesn't stop until they step into Jin Ling's bedroom where he lays with a thick blanket, a bunch of pillows to help prop him up, and his robe only pulled up on one shoulder. The other was covered in a bandage that smelled of medicine. There are a couple talismans on the gauze curtains cascading around his bed and a damp cloth is laid across his forehead.

Fairy normally sleeps on the floor next to Jin Ling's bed, but she is now on the bed beside him. She sits up alarmed when Jiang Cheng enters the room so abruptly, but with a quick sniff she determines that neither newcomers are a threat. Ling groans and opens his eyes, but they don't focus on either one.

Wuxian laughs, looping his arm in his husband's as they walk back towards their house. He frowns thoughtfully at the question.

"He ought to have one, you're right," he agrees "I'm not sure what it should be... something... meaningful, I think. Something to represent the way we never stopped thinking about him, maybe?"

At least he certainly hadn't, even thinking he was dead had never kept his A-Yuan too far from his thoughts, and he suspects his husband is the same.

~~~

Zizhen didn't care about politeness, he cared about his friend, so it doesn't bother him that Jiang Cheng snatches up the envelope and then immediately leaves - at least he has the permission to follow, and he can guess they're headed to Jin Ling's room.

It's difficult to keep up with him when he's already so tired, but he doesn't let himself slow down until they're inside, at which point his steps falter and he gasps upon catching sight of his friend - he had no idea things were so bad. He certainly looks a lot worse than Wei Wuxian had led them to believe.

"Jin-xiong..." he murmurs, edging a little closer and offering the other young man a weak, friendly smile. He isn't sure Jin Ling's even really totally consicous, but he'll try it all the same "we've been so worried about you..." he admits, wanting him to know he's been in their thoughts.

"Will it help?" he asks Jiang Cheng "The charm Wei-qianbei sent, will it help?"

"Sizhui," Lan Zhan says, almost shyly as they get to the end of the long rope bridge. He steals a glance at his husband, a small but real smile on his face.

He normally would leave something like this up to his love to decide, but he'd indirectly meant that he'd been thinking about names. Since there wasn't one on Wuxian's mind, that meant he could offer the one he'd been holding in his heart the last day or so without the full courage to say it. "It means 'to yearn for' or 'to wish for'."

~~~

Jin Ling turns his head vaguely in Zizhen's direction, but otherwise doesn't really respond to him.

"It has to," Jiang Cheng says somberly. He hangs the charm on the bed as close to his nephew as he could. He's a bit thrown off Zizhen is responding with such surprise. The boy had been told of Jin Ling's condition hadn't he? That's why he'd come so swiftly, was it not?

"Did my brother fail to tell you he's dying?" He asks, folding his arms over his chest. Had the 'vulture' comment been too unclear? (Yes, yes it had. Or maybe Wuxian hadn't actually wanted to panic everyone. Or better yet, he was following the instructions you, yourself, had given him.) "Stay and keep talking to him. He is lucid sometimes and even when he isn't, I'm sure hearing a voice of a friend will help."

Wuxian turns a wide-eyed look on his husband, amazement in his expression.

"Lan Zhan, you're so smart," he says, teasing just a little, but his tone drops into something soft and entirely genuine when he continues "it's perfect. Exactly right." He leans over to kiss the other man on the cheek.

"Lan Sizhui. I like it."

~~~

"Dying?" Zizhen squeaks, eyes widening in panic "N-No he can't be! That's not- no, he won't, he can't, Jin Ling's way too strong for that." He says loyally, glancing over at the young man in the bed - he has to believe that, and if Jin Ling is really even processing what they're saying, he wants him to know that he believes in him.

"Wei-qianbei said he was recovering and this would just help him do it faster," he admits, then realisation strikes him and he edges closer to Jiang Cheng so he can whisper "Yuan was listening too, I think he didn't want to worry him."

He nods at the instruction, though, moving closer to Jin Ling's side.

"I can talk, I'm happy to talk. Jin Ling, Jingyi and I are so sorry you didn't feel you could talk to us, I came here because we wanted you to know how much we care about you, you're our best friend." Oh yea, Zizhen can definitely talk.

Oh yes. Let's all keep under wraps how that harlot feels over the reality Ling is facing. It takes everything in Cheng not to say that bit aloud. It makes him so mad though, he turns to leave before he can't hold something else vile back.

"Liling should be back shortly. She's the only servant you should allow to bring him food or drink. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like and let me know if there's anything you need," he says with some hospitality but mostly just gruffness. He just doesn't have the patience or energy for anything more.

Fortunately, Zizhen doesn't have to wait too long before Jin Ling groans and starts to rouse.

Zizhen nods, totally understanding the shortness and not offended by it - Jin Ling's uncle had always been sort of grumpy, and losing his fiancee so recently followed by this was bound to make anybody a bit terse, so he doesn't blame him for it. He might be the only Ouyang that wouldn't, but he's the one that's here so that's all that matters.

(He might be a bit less understanding if Jiang Cheng voiced his thoughts about Yuan out loud, but since he luckily doesn't, they don't have to cross that bridge right now)

"Thank you," he bows, before getting comfortable seated beside Jin Ling's bed. As soon as Jiang Cheng is gone, he starts talking again.

"Yuan is worried about you too, really worried, he wanted to come himself but Wei-Qianbei thought that might be dangerous. I did think he was being over-cautious but... Jin Ling I never knew things were so bad. I'm so sorry we weren't there for you! I know Jingyi teases you all the time but he's doing it with love, I promise, we're your friends and you can trust us to have your back no matter what. Always." He feels himself starting to get emotional and pauses for a few moments to catch himself before he starts crying.

"You need to get better," he says with a slight laugh "I have news and you're the only person I can share it with right now!"

When Jin Ling stirs, he sits upright with a gasp.

"Jin Ling? Are you...?"

Yuan. Yuan is worried. Wanted to come. We're your friends. Always. His sweet Yuan.. He had to keep fighting to see Yuan again. Waiting till the next time he came to the life was far too long to make someone wait. Beyond that, he had love for the man talking. His uncle too..

Or maybe he just really wants to hear the gossip. You never know!

"Water," Jin Ling weakly begs, barely more than a whisper, as his consciousness was slowly creeping back to him. He moves his hand a few inches closer in Zizhen's direction.

"Right away!" Zizhen springs to his feet to grab the cup and jug from the dresser, pouring Jin Ling some water and bringing it over to him, pressing it carefully into his hand.

"It's good to see you awake." he says softly, but doesn't say anything more than that just yet, wanting to give Jin Ling a little time to adjust to it. He can't deny his own breathing is a little easier now, though - seeing him barely conscious had been terrifying after Jiang Cheng said he might be dying. He still looks more ill than Zizhen's ever seen him, but at least he's awake.

It's pitiful but even the simple act of raising a cup to his lips to drink is almost too much for him. His hand shakes from the effort after only getting a sip, causing a little bit to spill down his chin. Normally that would've embarrassed him tremendously, but he doesn't even react to it.

"Zizhen?" He finally asks, starting to piece together how weird it is to see the other sect heir in his bedroom. "Am I hallucinating again?"

~~~

Jingyi walked Yuan back to the Jingshi before giving him one more hug and promising he'd be back the next day. He could see the candlelight in the open doorways of the bedroom, so he knew he was leaving Yuan in good hands. He left, determined to go to sleep in the bed Zizhen had used the night before.

Inside, Lan Zhan sat at his desk quietly reading another letter he received that day from a small clan requesting advice. A wrapped gift sat at the table awaiting their son's return.

Zizhen politely pretends not to notice the spilled water, though privately he's horrified to see Jin Ling so weak - it's always strange to see the cracks in his armour, physical or emotional, but this is something else.

"No," he shakes his head with a sad smile - again. That means he's hallucinated before. He wonders what Jin Ling saw. "I'm real, I promise."

He reaches out to take his friend's hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

"I came to check up on you. We were all worried."

~~~

Yuan hugged Jingyi back tightly with a quiet thank you for his support, watching him go for a moment before turning to head inside.

"I'm back," he announces softly, not wanting to disturb the quiet peace inside the room - Wuxian was reading as well, looking over a disciple's night hunt report as he lounged on the floor near his husband. He puts it aside as Yuan enters, sitting up with a smile.

"A-Yuan! Why don't you come over and join us."

He gives up on the cup and lets his hand drop. It was so much easier when Liling did it for him, but even in this state, he has too much pride to ask Zizhen for help. It was fine. He got enough that he could talk, which was the important thing right now.

"Were you?" He asks, surprised. He looks up at Zizhen with a frown. Did his friends really care? It warms his heart to hear that, even if he was having some trouble believing it. He wants to but it was hard when he's been feeling so alone. "You were supposed to be taking care of Yuan," he complains instead, trying to cover up how much that news had meant to him.

~~~

Lan Zhan sets the scroll down too and gives the young man a small smile.

"Would you like some tea?" He offers. It might be a little abrupt given Yuan just walked in the door, but he was nervous. What if Yuan doesn't like the name or worse, doesn't want a courtesy name? He'd shared some of these worries with his husband already, but had mostly gotten teased and gently reassured it was silly. That didn't make them fully go away though.

"Of course," Zizhen says, gently taking the cup and placing it back on the side table. He smiles slightly at the comment about Yuan, both recognising the deflection and the concern.

"Jingyi is still watching over Yuan, he misses you but he's fine and things seem to be going well with his parents. We all decided someone should be here with you, as well..." he pauses, wondering if he should continue, but then decides that there's been too much unsaid because they weren't sure whether or not Jin Ling wanted to hear it "Jin Ling, you're our best friend and we care about you. We're very sorry that things got so bad you didn't feel you could turn to us. We promise we will try to do better in the future."

~~~

"Yes, please." Yuan agrees politely, coming over to kneel in front of Lan Zhan's desk. His gaze strays to the wrapped package curiously but he doesn't ask, not wanting to be nosy.

"What a sweet boy you grew up to be, A-Yuan," Wuxian comments with a wistful sigh. Yuan gives him a soft smile, cheeks colouring a little.

"Thank you." he says hesitantly.

"Speaking of growing up. There's something we wanted to discuss with you, isn't there Lan Zhan?" he prompts his husband.

"I didn't know it was this bad," he admits quietly. He'd thought they just didn't like him and that maybe there had been one or two bad eggs in the mix. To know he'd been leaving among enough soldiers to mutiny and almost kill him and the few loyal disciples who had traveled with him was terrifying. He has no idea how he survived. He just remembers fire, fear, and chaos.

He sighs. "I wouldn't have told you if I did though." Since they were being honest? "I can handle getting killed. I can't handle one of you guys getting killed because of me."

~~~

Lan Zhan spoons out some tea leaves into a cup and pours water from the little kettle on his desk into it. His smile grows at Wuxian's comment, his silent agreement of it.

With his husband's prompting, he gives his partner an appreciative glance. "Yuan, we'd like to give you a courtesy name to go along with you accepting my last name as your own."

Zizhen nods his understanding - Jin Ling wanted to protect them. It makes him feel a little better about agreeing to Wei Wuxian's suggestion that they not send Yuan - Jin Ling would never be able to focus on getting better if he was too worried about Yuan getting hurt.

In fact...

"That's why Yuan didn't come himself," he admits "Wei-qianbei convinced us that he might be a... a weak spot that somebody might try and take advantage of. That it was safer for him back in Cloud Recesses."

Jin Ling ought to know he would have come if that wasn't the case.

"But he's going to become a Lan disciple, I bet, and then he'll be able to get strong enough to protect himself, too, just like me and Jingyi are. You can let us in, you know, I know it's scary but we're all safer if we stick together. If we're apart and not talking to one another, enemies can pick us off one by one, right? It's better to work together. Even your uncle knows that, or he would't have written to Wei-qianbei for help."

~~~

Yuan's eyes widen a little in surprise - courtesy names were something only the gentry really had, or those trying to emulate them, it was the kind of thing that really would make him a proper young master.

"I..." he hesitates, overwhelmed, before nodding "I would be honoured."

He should feel bad about abandoning the Wen name, but he's spent so long hiding it that he mostly just feels relieved (and he thinks he should feel bad about that, too) - now he will be able to give his name, a name that his parents gave him, without fear. He'll be able to give a name without worrying that somebody will find out it isn't his.

"They already tried, Zizhen. 's why I told him to go." He hates that it worked out this way but Yuan's tea was poisoned just like his was. Yuan was attacked by the captain of his guard. He didn't want the protection for himself but he wasn't going to take any more risks with Yuan's life for his sake. What else could he do but send him away?

He wants to argue that Zizhen is annoyingly naïve. There is no 'strong enough to protect himself'. If Jin Ling can't do it with the might of the Jin clan, all of Jin Guangyao's old magic and resources, with having his name attached to the former fucking Yiling Patriarch and Hanguang Jun and Jiang Cheng, then just how the hell was Yuan, Jingyi, or Zizhen supposed to do it?

He closes his eyes as he thinks about the overwhelming odds and how far he's fallen. He had all those advantages and he still sunk to the bottom like the orphaned runt he was. He's just going to be one more weak chain in the Jin dynasty without any significance at all. As the tears betray him no matter how tight he tries to keep his eyes shut, he can barely hear the rest of what Zizhen is saying.

Except..

"Wait, what?" He blinks and looks up. "Jiujiu wrote to Wei-qianbei for help?" He really is dying..

~~~

Lan Zhan tilts his head a bit to the side at the hesitation. He wants to celebrate that Yuan is accepting but, he's too 'Lan' not to read the quiet response too. "We'll help you find ways to honor being a Wen still. You aren't losing that where it matters, just like your baba has never lost his love of his family the Jiang clan. It's not fair, but Wen isn't safe. Neither is Wei. Lan is."

Pause.

"Even if some refuse to take the name." .. is that a smirk on his face and the quickest glance toward his husband?

There's more he wants to say, more about living in fear and doing their best and repeating that bit about being stronger together until he's blue in the face, but he knows that he can't just make a pretty speech now and fix everything - this is real life, not a novel, it's going to take a lot more to prove to Jin Ling that he's right.

This is the start, though, and they can keep proving it, keep showing Jin Ling that they'll be there for him no matter what, that he doesn't have to look over his shoulder all the time because he's got friends who can do it for him, too.

(and when he finds out about Huaisang helping his uncle to ferret out the rest of the plotters, he'll point that out too - that he's got even more people on his side, more skills he can lean on, he just can't do it all by himself)

He nods at the question.

"Mm, there was a charm that he wanted made that he thought would help... something invited by Wen Qing, Wei-Qianbei said."

~~~

"I understand," Yuan says softly, giving his father a gentle, grateful smile for his understanding. "I don't... regret being a Wen, despite knowing how it makes people think of me, but I would be honoured to become a Lan."

Wei Wuxian just grins at his husband.

"I don't care how good you think Lan Wuxian sounds, it's not going to fool anybody for a second so what's the point?" Besides, him taking the Lan name might actually be what finally finishes Lan Qiren off.

"A-Yuan, though, is going to be an excellent Lan."

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