lastjinstanding | Brothel meme continued

"I-I didn't mean to! I just got lost! I'm sorry!" Yuan says desperately, unable to keep himself from leaning into that steady embrace. It felt safe, protective, and he needs that right now - however much it makes his stomach twist with guilt to want it so badly.

"I shouldn't have come here. It's only going to cause trouble, ruin your reputations. I don't belong here."

Zizhen smiles back.

"It did, we did, and I'm definitely not mad." he promises "I'm a little bit worried about you, please don't faint on me again?"

Jingyi's blush darkens and he wants to hide behind his hands again, but he it's so not like him to get bashful. He's just so giddy and Zizhen was so cute and sweet! He could show this other side of himself that wasn't hard and sarcastic to him. However, the man also had a great sense of humor and surprisingly tough skin so he didn't mind a little playful ribbing either. It made Jingyi fall all that much harder for him and his silly romantic views.

"I can't promise that. It was a pretty amazing kiss." His smile widened. "But, I can promise to try to remember to breathe next time!" Pause. "When will next time be?" He looks so hopeful!

Wangji frowns and looks toward the cold springs. He's not sure who upset his son, but he knows a couple who might have overreacted. It was unfortunate that back when everyone thought Wei Wuxian was Mo Xuanya he'd made an ass of himself publicly stating he'd been gawking at Lan Zhan bathing. Those memories for some fools around here were hard to live down.

He gently takes Yuan's face between his hands and very tenderly kisses his forehead. "You belong wherever I am. My reputation is only valuable so long as it protects you."

Zizhen's just so grateful that Jingyi has woken up and seems to be fine that he can't resist.

"Right now," he says happily, leaning in to kiss him - gently, though, and he doesn't let it linger as long, the last thing he wants is for him to pass out again.

"If he finds out the truth he's going to hate me," Yuan whispers "he'll kick me out."

He appreciates the solid reassurance and the gentle affection, he does, his heart aches for it, but it's going to take him a long time to really, truly believe he can belong here, that this isn't something that's going to be snatched away from him.

And then the boys keep exchanging soft, brief kisses until they're interrupted.

~~~

"Who?" Lan Zhan asks, his frown deepens with growing anger. "No one has that authority. No one but me and I've given you my word that you are safe and welcome here. Whoever-"

That's when he spots the person coming up the stairs and sees why this is more complicated than he thought. He looks back at Yuan. "Still true."

He straightens and glares at his uncle. "It is forbidden to make assumptions about others and to bully the week, shufu. Your behavior toward Wei Wuxian is one thing because he.. is in a different position. I will not tolerate you mistreating my son."

"You dare speak to me this way, nephew? After I've raised you?" The old man asks, appalled. "He spied on me! Just like your-"

"My husband spied on his lover. My child just got lost on his first day here. Speak like this about him again and you'll retire in the countryside."

Yuan bites his lip, shrinking in on himself as the two men argue - he appreciates Hanguang Jun standing up for him so staunchly, he does, but they're family and they're arguing over him. The tears had stopped, but they were threatening to start again.

"Please," he says wretchedly "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause any trouble, I was just-"

His head jerks up and his eyes widen.

"Jingyi! Oh how could I have forgotten! Hanguang Jun, Jingyi collapsed again, I promised Zizhen I would find some help I- Shifu I'm so very sorry but this is urgent, Lan Jingyi suffered a head injury only yesterday." He's definitely panicking now - he wants to make sure everything is fine, doesn't want to cause any more arguments, but he also needs to make sure Jingyi is seen to right away.

Qiren sputters indignantly at Wangji speaking so plainly about some promiscuity! The nerve! And with that- that horrible man! He's all ready to fire back some other nonsense when Yuan interrupts- another sin against him on the old man's scorecard.

Wangji, on the other hand, immediately is shifting his attention from the frivolous fight to the much more important concern. He snatches Yuan's hand, turns on his heels, and moves swiftly (not running) back to the Jingshi. In his head, he's running through every medical issue he knows around head trauma. There were so many ways a mind injury could go wrong.

He is up the stairs and through the front, just in time to see.. two young men getting carried away again kissing on his bed. "Jingyi!"

Yuan calls another apology as he's pulled away, still feeling terrible about causing such problems.

Then they make it back to the Jingshi and he feels bad all over again because now his new friends have been interrupted (he's a little pleased though, he's seen the way they look at each other)

Zizhen springs away, nearly falling over backwards.

"Hanguang Jun!" He gasps "I was just...uh...I'm sorry, he woke up!"

Yuan bites his lip, this time to keep from laughing at the absurdity of it all.

"Hanguang Jun!" Jingyi is also visibly mortified to get caught like this. His cheeks were a rosy pink. This is a sin of epic proportions! Yuan, you don't even understand! He was *gasp* kissing! (And on the Chief Cultivator's bed!) Okay that might have been way worse than the kissing part. He tries to get up so he can drop to a bow, but fortunately the older Lan blocks him holding a hand out.

"Are you alright? What happened? Yuan says you passed out." He's not saying that wasn't true, but he's a little confused.

Jingyi's blush somehow darkens and, like he's confessing some horrible crime, he works on summoning up his courage to answer. "I was um.. I got emotional and um.. Zizhen kiss- er- I kissed Zizhen. And.. uh.. I.. fainted."

"What had you so emotional?" He asks, though less confused now and more concerned. He steps further into the room and kneels near the bed.

Jingyi glances guiltily at Yuan and then unsure at Zizhen before taking another breath. "I was thinking about how easy it would've been for Jin Ling to not have done this really weird plan of his and then we all would've missed out on knowing Yuan and getting him out of that awful-" His voice cracks and he has to look down at his hands. "-life he was living. And some other stuff like that."

Zizhen reaches to take his hand, squeezing it encouragingly - whatever happens, he's trying to say, I'm on your side, it's okay.

When he does explain what got him so upset, Yuan gasps - that had been about him?

"Oh, Jingyi...." he says softly "I'm sorry, I should never have told you that story. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No," Wangji corrects kindly but firmly. "Were you hurt in that story?"

Jingyi nods for Yuan even if he doesn't answer.

"Then as difficult as it is to hear, the correct response to injustice is to be repulsed and angered or upset by it. Most of the disciples have learned to contain their reactions but Jingyi is one of our most passionate students." Sometimes that love couldn't and shouldn't be contained, as Wangji has learned from Wei Ying.

"Yeah and I wouldn't want you to feel like you couldn't share things with me. It's just important and.. it reminded me of A-Qing." He sniffles. Was anything more tragic than the story of A-Qing and the two cultivators, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen. He is never going to get over that particular night-hunt. "We met her ghost during a night-hunt and it was really sad. We got her killer though.. still didn't seem like enough."

Zizhen has never admired Hanguang Jun more than in that moment - both reassuring Yuan that it was okay to share his story, and doing so in a way that told Jingyi he wasn't wrong too. He squeezes Jingyi's hand and turns to him with a nod when he mentions A-Qing, his expression grave.

"That poor maiden," he agrees softly "such a sad end and so undeserved. I am glad we saw Xue Yang brought to justice but you're right, it doesn't feel like enough..." after everything Xue Yang did, death was almost too good for him.

Yuan bites his lip and nods, indicating his understanding - he still feels bad for upsetting Jingyi, though, and bringing up such bad memories for him.

Hanguang Jun is in his element. He loves teaching the juniors like this. It feels to him like the heart of cultivation. There's the practical side and the rules, but there is also the philosophy and righteousness that carries their spirit through the dark hours.

"Mmm-hmm, sometime we'll share that story with you, Yuan," Jingyi promises.

As there's a lull in the conversation, some bells chime in the distance. Jingyi looks happy about it but Hanguang Jun doesn't.

"Time for dinner! You want to come with Zizhen and I, Yuan, or...?"

"No, we'll stay here. Please tell the servants to bring a meal for Yuan. Go on to the dormitory afterward," Lan Zhan instructs.

Yuan feels a flood of relief - he doesn't want to turn Jingyi down, but the idea of eating with the whole of the rest of Cloud Recesses - particularly Lan Qiren - is incredibly daunting. He gives the two boys a small smile as Zizhen helps Jingyi to sit up slowly.

"Thank you, Hanguang Jun," Zizhen says politely "We'll makes sure somebody brings some food up."

He feels a little bad for snooping, now.

Not that bad, but a little.

"Lean on me if you need to, A-Yi," he tells the Lan boy softly.

Jingyi doesn't. That was so interesting! He is going to talk about what was in that secret compartment all night once they get away from everyone else.

"Thank you. Good night, Hanguang Jun. Good night Yuan!" He smiles at the sweet boy helping him. "Okay, thanks, A-Zhen!"

While it's a sin to lie, Jingyi has to wonder as they leave if leaning on Zizhen a little more than he really needs to falls under that same category. Once they've made it to the archway, he asks, "We're going to ignore that he just asked for food for Yuan, right?"

Inside the small house, Lan Zhan quietly picks up the used tea cups and sets out a fresh one for himself. He refills Yuan's glass. He takes a sip before setting his cup down. And.. silence.

Zizhen doesn't think it counts. Or rather, if it does, he doesn't care, because he's pleased that Jingyi is leaning on him.

"Oh, of course, we're making sure there's enough for two." he grins - Hanguang Jun would be too polite to not eat if the food was brought for him.

Yuan moves back to the table, thanking him quietly for refilling his tea and taking a sip. He lets the silence settle over them for a moment, actually finding it quite restful. He isn't sure exactly what to say, in truth, he's still worried about causing too much trouble to really justify being here. Eventually, though, he decides on a different subject.

"Why didn't Wei-Qianbei come back with us?" he asks softly, realising that was never actually explained.

Wangji remains quiet as he thinks over how best to answer the question. He believes in telling the truth but he also doesn't believe in emotionally torturing people. There is nothing Yuan can do but worry about Jin Ling just as there's little Lan Zhan can do but worry about Wei Wuxian. In the end, though, the truth was the most important.

Therefore, he goes classic Lan Zhan. "He was helping someone."

Yuan thinks it must be his brother, since he is the one who just had his engagement broken off, and he nods slightly - he isn't entirely sure why Hanguang Jun took so long to respond, but he doesn't suspect the truth.

"When do you think he will be back?" he asks.

He's still not sure how to deal with this new - or old, really - family that he's suddenly a part of, and they're both intimidating (for very different reasons), but that doesn't mean he isn't interested, isn't starting to care about them. He remembers so little of Wei Wuxian, but what he does remember is fond.

Wangji frowns and gets to his feet. He looks out the window worriedly for a moment before turning back. "It depends.. on if he had to travel all the way to Lanling or whether he just needed to pass on a message and would be shortly behind us." He hates that once again, he's asking the night 'Wei Ying, where are you?'

"If he's not here tomorrow, then I suspect he did go that far and will be a couple more days away," he admits with a sigh. "Our plans won't change, helping you get acclimated here."

"Lanling?" Yuan repeats, brow furrowing. Why would he need to go to Lanling? Worry creeps up his spine.

"Is... has something happened to Jin Ling?" he asks. Why had he let Jin Ling talk him into coming here? He should have refused, should have insisted on staying with him, what if he's in danger still? What if he's hurt?

Dimly, he knows he would have been little help, that he would have only been a distraction or something more for Jin Ling to have to protect, but that doesn't help the guilt.

Wangji nods and with a sigh, he slowly comes back to the table.

He sees the worry growing and decides being frank is the most fair. "No, not to my knowledge. However, Wei Wuxian requested two of the Jiang clan members to report back to him after caring for the Jin guards of any suspicious behavior. Jin-zongzhu departed before your father received word back from the disciples and has been unable to find them."

"There was a lot of chaos in the house, including helping many clans leave with short notice, so it's possible there is reason for their absence that shouldn't have caused alarm. We didn't want to take that risk, so Wei Wuxian went after him to make sure he was alright and that he knew."

Yuan breathes out slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. It's fine, something odd had happened and Wei Wuxian was just following it up, he's making sure Jin Ling is fine.

"Alright," he says with a nod, though he knows his worry won't entirely go away until Wei Wuxian returns and he can ask him for certain. There just isn't anything he can actually do about it right now.

"I'm sorry," he says softly, looking down at the teacup in his hands "I know you're doing so much for me, risking so much bringing me here, I don't mean to be ungrateful..."

He is worried too. His husband was wonderful but trouble has a way of following him wherever he goes. The former Yiling Patriarch showing up in Lanling after the captain of the guard is abruptly executed could have negative reactions they weren't prepared for. If something happened to Jin Ling and one of his cousins took over, would it mean war between the Jin clan and Jiang clan for the treatment in Yunmeng? All these headaches he never had to think before becoming Chief Cultivator.

His attention is drawn back to the present when Yuan apologizes. "You've mentioned that before. What action do you think you're doing that makes you ungrateful?"

"I simply mean... what you're offering me, what you're giving me, is so beyond anything I could have ever imagined, it feels wrong to still be wanting other things. I know you said it's okay, but I just..."

He bites his lip, trying to figure out how to put it into words.

"I feel like there's an expected way I should be behaving and I'm... not." he glances up nervously, hoping that made any sort of sense. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to act in this situation, so I'm trying to put together what I know from all sorts of other places and I feel like I'm just making mistakes all the time."

Lan Zhan thought over Yuan's concern for a few moments, unconcerned with the quiet. For some it was unnerving when the powerful man went silent like this, but for others- particularly those who have worked with him- they knew he was being careful.

"Be righteous. Always stand with justice. Protect the weak. Help the poor. The rest.. will come. You went for help when Jingyi needed it even though you were unfamiliar with this place and were afraid. You've been brave to come here and have been willing to let us get to know you. Even though you're in a vulnerable position, you keep showing concern for Jin Ling's safety and well-being."

He picks up his teacup and takes another sip. "I've seen no mistakes."

Edited 2021-08-25 23:58 (UTC)

Yuan waits nervously for his response, listening quietly when it comes. He's silent for a long moment, gathering his thoughts, though it's clear Lan Zhan has no problem with that so he doesn't feel the need to rush.

"Thank you," he says eventually "That's... that's very reassuring. I will continue to try and follow your guidance."

Even after he learns more, he thinks as a foundation those things are pretty important, he can continue to live by those words.

There's a knock at the door, then, from a servant bearing a tray with food - for both of them, of course.

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