Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air is tense and heavy around them. Jiang Cheng is somehow just as scary as Lan Wangji. Wen Ning really has no idea how - maybe it’s the fact he doesn’t hide his ever growing emotions… Instead of being a dormant volcano, he’s an active one.

Wen Ning keeps his gaze down, fiddling with the hemmed sleeve of his plush sweater in attempts to self-soothe. It doesn’t help. Not when he still feels the weight of Jiang’s eyes, unfortunately. He tries his best, though.

They’d been set up on this blind date by none other than the one, the only; Wei Wuxian. How he’d convinced his brother to go on a date with anyone was something that remained unknown to Wen Ning. How disappointed he was to see the timid medical student sitting across from him, however, was very evident to Wen.

“Trust meee!~” Wen remembers Wei’s sing song tone clear as day, “You’ll like him. He’s harsh at first but his affections are unwavering. He’s real protective, too.” He wouldn’t let just anyone take his little friend on a date. Even if they’d only known each other since the second year of high school, and even if Ning was a few months older than him, Wei Ying was protective. He knew of Ning’s struggles with his own mental health, self imagery, and home life(parts of it, anyways). Getting him to open up and come out from behind the thick walls he hid took years in its own right. Now, in their second year of college, Wen Ning had finally agreed to try dating.

This was not what Wen Ning pictured his first date would be like.

Sitting in a booth at a small, local café, maybe… but… Being stared down like he’s unfit to even be in the room? Definitely not. He could feel the anxiety gnawing at his stomach like a ravenous beast. He had no desire to drink the most certainly delicious cocoa that sat in front of him. It was cute. Whipped cream piled high, a thick chocolate straw, pretty sprinkles of pink, blue, and purple. The thought of drinking it - the thought of even just picking it up filled him with worry. What if he spilled it on himself? What if he spilled it on Jiang Cheng!? He’d make a fool of himself… not to say he already wasn’t.

“Do you not like this?” they’re the first words spoken between the two since they both sat down. Jiang slowly nudges the cup a few millimetres closer to Wen Ning.

He goes to speak but the words catch in his throat. His mouth is somehow watering yet too dry. He only ends up coughing and quickly turning his head to the side. His brows knit together tightly, his bottom lip wobbling. He’s so frustrated with himself, he just wanted to go on one date, and he couldn’t even do that right. It wasn’t even over and he already wanted to sob and curl up in his bed, tucked under his weighted blanket Wei Ying had gifted him for his graduation.

Finally, he manages to clear his throat and turn his head, but the second he meets Cheng’s cold gaze, he feels his tongue tie in knots. He looks down to the cup, shakily reaching out to it, wrapping both hands around the warm ceramic.

He’s trembling like a leaf under the intense gaze. “‘S good.” he manages to croak out, voice soft and quiet.

“You haven’t even taken a sip. How do you know if it’s good or not?” Jiang Cheng presses, his own tea left untouched to the side of him. His arms are folded across his chest - his strong, muscular chest, left barely contained by the tight, deep purple button up shirt that hugs his body snugly. He looks good in dark colours…

He lifts the mug, finally; ever so slowly bringing it to his lips. The whipped cream barely gets a chance to graze his upper lip before someone knocks into him, sending the cup careening out of his hands and back onto the table where it clatters and spills. As if everything moves in slow motion, he watches the rich brown cocoa bleed across the table’s surface, headed directly towards Jiang’s lap.

He tries to fix his mistake by grabbing the folded cloth napkin beside him and reaching to stop the flow before it reaches him. However, it backfires, and he only serves to push the liquid directly onto Jiang’s lap, who hisses, his lip curling back in a vicious, snarling grimace. Dread fills Wen Ning’s body, his eyes going wide as Cheng looks up to him like he wants to kill him. Tears well in his eyes and quickly start to flood over, rolling down his cheeks like a dam has ruptured. Jiang doesn’t get the chance to tell him off because just seconds after the entire ordeal has happened, Wen Ning is darting out from the booth he’d just been sat at and bolting through the cafe’s doors like he’s being chased by a branding iron.

- - -

Wei Ying is the first one to learn of how disastrous their date had gone. Well, besides Ning’s big sister, Qing. He hears the whole ordeal over the phone, Wen Ning sobbing the entire time as he explains how badly he’d fucked up. Wei Ying promises he’ll fix the situation and tells his friend he shouldn’t worry too much… but they both know that’s not gunna happen. Wen Ning is going to continue to worry until the issue is resolved, and then even a little bit afterwards.

The call prompts Wei Ying to listen to his brother’s recalling of events. They line up perfectly. Well, besides how they describe each interaction. “He was shaking like a fucking leave in fall.” Jiang grumbles, shoving his pants and shirt into the washing machine with little care. Still more care than Wei Ying would’ve given, but to be honest that wasn’t saying much.

“Wow, You really hadn’t said 5 words to the guy and you scared him off. Maybe you are hopeless~” Wei teased.

“I’d said plenty before he fled.” Cheng immediately snaps back. “He said not even two words to me after we met up and ordered our drinks. I’d spoken more than he did!”

Wei Ying makes a ‘tsk’ noise as he waves his hand a little more, turning his head away from his brother, one cheek puffed up in mock annoyance. “Yeah but the way you look when you say things is scary.”

“Yeah? If I’m so scary why don’t you run away screaming?”

Wei Ying looks at him, deadpanned. “I grew up with you, I know how much of a softy you actually are behind all of-...” he gestures to his didi. He can see the veins that protrude in his brother’s forehead and the anger in his eyes. He loves to poke fun at A-Cheng. It’s just too much fun. “You really should apologise.”

“Me!?” Jiang snaps, his voice raising several octaves. Wei Ying is out of his fucking mind if he thinks Cheng is going to apologise for something that wasn’t his fault in the slightest.

“Yes you. You’re the one who scared him off!”

“He’s the idiot who spilled his drink on my lap!”

“It wasn’t even his fault! He was bumped!”

“Yeah and his useless attempts at righting the situation only made it worse!”

The bickering back and forth continues for nearly two minutes before Yanli comes into the room, baby Jin Ling tucked in her arms. “Please, Please… Quiet down… You’ll wake Bao-Ling.”

They both murmur a quiet apology, and Yanli offers her own advice. “Why don’t you take him on a second date, to make up for the first. Maybe somewhere else, though.” her smile is earnest, her quiet laughter soothing to both younger brothers. “Somewhere without food to knock over, perhaps... Maybe a walk down by the Lake? The lotus are in full bloom right now.”

Jiang’s brows furrow, but even with his hesitance… he can’t deny it’s a good idea.

- - -

“H-He really… wants to see me again after how badly I’d messed up…?” Wen Ning hesitantly asks, worry and regret written across his dainty features.

“Yeah. He knows it was an accident, and you guys didn’t really get to go on a date … so why not try again?” It’s sound logic by all means but… Wen Ning isn’t sure he can ever face him again. Not after he’d fucked up so bad on what was practically their first interaction.

Someone so intense… A Legal Major… How is he to speak to someone like that? Especially so carefreely like A-Ying insists is possible. Jiang Cheng has all the intensity a prosecutor needs… Not only that, he’s incredibly smart and has a high moral compass. He’s amazing, in all regards. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, the man is gorgeous !

Ning looks down to his hands, watching them tremble in thought alone. He’s not good enough for a man like that… He’d probably only cause him more problems. If not immediately, surely later down the road.

“You’re thinking bad things again, aren’t you?” Ying hums as he watches his friend, smiling fondly when Wen Ning jumps. There’s a lot of things one person can do to help another… but Wen Ning’s problems are deep rooted. They’ll require a lot more than just one man - even if that man is Wei Ying.

Even so, Wei Ying isn’t one to give up. “I know it must be hard to imagine people want you around… but they do. I do. You deserve to be happy and have friends.”

Everything Wen Ning was told growing up countered all of that. “I don-” He’s startled by another presence. Lan Zhan slid into the seat next to his boyfriend, silently and gracefully as ever. He looks between them and gives a short nod to Wen Ning, as he normally does.

“ZhanZhan, you enjoy Ning-ge’s company, right?”

A short nod, “Mn.”

“Do you think he should give my idiotic didi another chance?”

Lan Zhan looks over to Wen Ning, their eyes meet for a split second before Ning averts his gaze, darting to the corner of the table they sit at.

“Mn.”

“See! Lan Zhan is never wrong.”

“Wei Ying.” The two start idle banter - well, mostly Wei Ying speaking and Lan Zhan staring, admiring . Wen Ning’s heart squeezes as he watches them. He wants what they have.

Chapter Text

The second date takes longer to schedule. Exams are coming up and as a medical student attending on scholarship, Wen Ning has to study harder to make sure he doesn’t lose said scholarship. He pours every drop of his energy into making sure he passes, and it pays off. He gets a near perfect score. Just a few points behind his sister’s 98%.

They made the date for mid day. A warm summer’s walk down by the lake to see the lotus blossoms. This was something the Jiang family had done since he and his siblings were children… but this time it was with someone new. Jiang Cheng wasn’t quite sure of his feelings on that just yet.

Jiang Cheng had been told to pick Wen Ning up from the Wen Family home. Wen Ning’s family was larger than most in their area, so Cheng found it strange that he’d only ever seen Wen Ning and Wen Qing. Especially when there were apparently at least 3 other siblings, but, he wasn’t one to intrude on others’ lives… usually.

He sat in his car, arms folded over his chest, eyes closed as he waited for Ning to show up. When the door opened he peaked open an eye. He was startled by the sight. Wen was dressed up like a woman! It was… cute, but also very weird. Why would he dress like a woman??

He had on a soft, pale pink blouse with long sleeves. It had ruffles and lace, a bow and ribbon here or there… it didn’t suit him. He wore a long skirt that went down nearly to his ankles which revealed frilly little socks that peaked over his usual, worn sneakers.

Cheng goes to open his mouth to speak but he notices the uncomfortable position Wen Ning sits in. Like… Like he’s uncomfortable even existing . Cheng takes a few moments to just stare at Ning, who seems to curl into himself a little bit when he notices the intense gaze.

“Are you comfortable with what you’re wearing?”

Wen Ning’s eyes dart over to meet Jiang Cheng’s, and after a few seconds he forces a smile, trying to downplay his discomfort. “I’m fine, really, it’s no big de-”

“That’s not what I asked.” Cheng states, shutting the boy up immediately, “I asked, ‘Are you comfortable in what you’re wearing?’.” Wen Ning finally looks up to Cheng, his eyes searching his face for something. When he finds it, or maybe when he doesn’t find it, his head slowly shakes in a silent ‘no’.

“Are you allowed to go back inside and change?” Another shake of his head no, “All right. We’re going to visit a friend first, then.” Before Ning has the chance to question what he means by that, they’re already driving off.

The ride is… silent. Wen Ning feels uncomfortable in it, but he’s sure as hell not gunna speak up about that. He’s burdened Jiang Cheng enough, it’s probably best if he just stays quiet.

They pull down a street Ning’s never been before, and after a few more minutes of driving they stop in front of a small but quaint home. “C’mon.” Cheng says, putting his car in park and then moving around to the other side. Ning seems hesitant, but he does as directed. Unbuckling his belt quickly and following Cheng to the front door.

When the front door to the home opens, just a minute or so after knocking, they are greeted by a face Wen Ning knows, or has at least met in passing. Lan Huan - Lan Xichen , the big brother to his best friend’s boyfriend! Wow, that was a mouthful. Thankfully he didn't have to say it aloud.

“Wanyin. I take it you’re here to see Huaisang?” Lan Huan says, head peaked through the door. He’s wearing a shirt at least two sizes too big, hung off of one shoulder.

“Who’s there babe?” Nie Mingjue rounds the corner and opens the door wider, one hand on Lan Huan’s hip as he looks through. “Oh it’s just one of the brats. Huaisang’s downstairs.” Mingjue grunts before the two step away from the door and head back into the kitchen. Wen Ning follows his date through the house, stealing a small glance into the kitchen as they pass.

Lan Huan’s jumped onto the counter, Nie Mingjue is between his thighs, arms wrapped around his back. They’re whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, lips grazing over each other’s skin. Wen Ning blushes darkly and quickly averts his gaze and continues following Jiang Cheng down the stairs.

The room is… very well lived in. It looks comfortable. It looks like someone’s home . There are string lights along the rafters, there’s paints and crafting materials strewn about various surfaces. A large easel in the corner with a half finished painting. It’s beautiful.

“Hey. Get up. I need something.”

Ning glances up over to Cheng who’s kicking the bed where someone rests. There’s pretty curtains draped around it in a canopy style and some more string lights. A tired grumble came from the mess of blankets and pillows before another person he recognized sat up. Nie Huaisang, an art major, and someone who occasionally ate lunch with He, Lan Zhani, and Wei Ying. He didn’t know his home was so close to the campus.

“Whaaaaatt” Huaisang whined, rubbing his eyes groggily. As he pushed himself up, a few pillows off of him and the bed, flopping around the floor.

“Get up, I need to borrow some of your clothes.”

“Uh?” Huaisang seemed to wake up quicker hearing this, rubbing his eyes a few times before he glanced over to the stranger in his doorway. “W-... Wen Ning?” Huaisang tipped his head to one side, as if accessing the situation before it all dawned on him.

“Oh! Yeah! Clothes! C’mere!” Nie Huaisang jumped up out of bed and bolted towards his closet.

“Oh my god, put on some pants, at least!” Jiang growls, covering his eyes. “Shameless.”

“Mn? Oh yeah!” Huaisang looks down and sees his pretty lace boxers that leave nothing to the imagination. Wen Ning tries not to look, however, he does perk up when he sees the top surgery scars on Nie Huaisang’s chest. It dawns on him then, why Jiang Cheng brought him here. Warmth blooms in his chest, something akin to a warm fire after being soaked to the bone in a rainstorm.

After Huaisang pulls on some loose fitting basketball shorts (ones that belonged to his big brother well over ten years ago, when he was average size and not jacked), he opens his closet and starts to dig for things.

He pulled a few things out, handing a small pile to Wen Ning and then pointing to a door off to the side. “Whatever you feel comfortable in, go ahead and wear. There’s a binder in there too that you can have!”

Wen stares at the fabric handed to him like he’s been given something worth his weight in gold. Something he’s undeserving of.

“Go. Get dressed, we have plans.” Jiang Cheng ushers, getting Ning to snap out of his little stupor and run to the bathroom. It’s small but cosy, like the rest of the home. It also is very meticulously clean. It makes Ning happy to be in a small, tidy space like this.

- - -

“A date, huh?”  Huaisang murmurs with a small smirk, one leg crossed over the other as he stares down Jiang.

“A make-up date.” Cheng nods once

“Surprised he allowed you to take him on a second date. Knowing you, ya probably scared the shit out of him.”

His eyes narrow at his friend, and Huaisang bats his lashes to try and feign innocence. It doesn’t work. “For your information … He’s the one who fucked up. He’s making it up to me .”

Nie Huaisang burst out laughing like he’d heard the funniest thing. He gasped for air and choked on his laughter, his ribs starting to ache after just a few minutes. He really does laugh for minutes .

“It’s true!” Jiang Cheng growled, before they heard a quiet clearing of someone’s throat.

They both turned to see Wen Ning timidly standing just a few metres away, his arms nervously tucked over his stomach. “Waah! Look at you!!” Nie Huaisang chimed, jumping up and coming over to look at his friend’s date. “My clothes look so cute on you!” Ning’s cheeks are flushed darkly as he’s greeted so casually. Having friends… it’s new. It’s nice.

“Th-thank you, Huaisang.”

“Does your-” he gestures to his own chest, but doesn’t say the words aloud “feel okay? Is the binder too tight? Too loose? I have m-”

“I-It fits well.” Wen Ning blurts out, red faced, nervous. He doesn’t get to talk about these sorts of things with other people, so while he’s grateful, he’s very embarrassed. “Th-Thank you. I’ll return them to you tonight.”

“Nonsense. You can keep the binder, I don’t need it anymore, and … well, I assume you’re not really allowed to dress how you want, so, If you want to keep some more comfortable clothes here and switch into them before class or dates .” Huaisang winked to him, Ning’s eyes flashing over to Cheng who was pretending to ignore the two of them. His eyes darted down again, and nodded quickly, face red.

“Y-yes, thank you. That’d mean a lot to me.”

- - -

They stayed a foot or so apart as they walked the cobbled path. It’s not much space, but they aren’t pressed side to side either. Even with the tension still in the air, this is far better than their first date. “I’m sorry..” Wen Ning is the first to speak up, eyes still on the ground as they walk along the river.

“Sorry…?” It takes Jiang a moment, “Oh, yeah.. It’s fine. My pants didn’t stain…” He knows he probably should apologise - Wei Ying would tell him he needs to, but he hadn’t done anything wrong that day. If this guy can’t handle his resting bitchface and harsh demeanour, he wouldn’t survive as his boyfriend.

When Ning only gave a small nod, Jiang sighed, “I… I’m also sorry.”

“S-...sorry?” he repeated, quickly looking away when Jiang looked at him. “You didn’t do anything wrong…”

“Would you have spilled the cocoa if I hadn’t pressed you to drink it?”

Wen Ning opens his mouth like he’s ready to argue that it was solely his fault, but Cheng was right. He doesn’t say this however. He simply opens his mouth and closes it a few times before he finally settles on something “I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been bumped…” Even when he’s being told it’s not his fault, he refuses to place the blame on Jiang Cheng. It really hadn’t been his fault, in fact, it hadn’t been either of their faults. 

Cheng’s lips pull into a tight line, but he gives a small nod. It seems the best they’ll get for today. “It’s in the past now. No point in dwelling on it.”

Wen Ning gives a nod of agreement, seeming to fiddle with the ends of the simple shirt he wore before he chose to speak up this time. “You… you weren’t mad… About…” He waits until he knows Jiang is looking and then gestures to himself.

“Mad?” he repeats like Ning has started murmuring nonsense.

“Y-Yeah.. That… I’m not…” His tongue feels heavy, the words caught in his throat as he tries to force it out of him.

They stop and look out over the lake and the lotuses, a silence overtaking them once more before Jiang Cheng speaks. “That’s not something for anyone else to get mad over. It’s not my choice whether you’re a man or a woman. It’s no one’s choice but your own.”

His words may not have been the most optimal, but his point got across none-the-less. He was supportive even if he seemed a bit lost on how to offer said support. For the first time in their hour or so of consecutive dating, Wen Ning smiles. It’s soft, timid, but happy. He looks over the lotus blossoms, watching loose petals dance along the water’s surface. Beautiful . He thinks

“Have you never been to see them before…?”

Oh shit, had he said that aloud??

“N-No, I… I don’t leave the house much besides for classes.”

“Shame.”

They leave it at that, looking over the flowers and the water for several more minutes in what has now become comfortable silence. Wen Ning steals a glance up towards Jiang Cheng, admiring him more openly now that they’ve found some level of comfort between them. Neither on edge currently. It’s nice.

His long bangs blow in the warm summer breeze, his hair pulled back into a tight bun even loses a few strands that now blow in the wind. Dark grey eyes look over the lake and Wen swears he can almost see the reflection of the Lotuses in them. His cheeks start to heat up as he stares in awe and wonder.

The moment Cheng looks at him, however, Wen Ning’s eyes dart elsewhere. He might’ve been subtle enough not for Jiang to take notice of his blatant staring, had he also not jerked his head to the side. “Wen Ning.”

“Y-yes!” It comes out as a squeak instead of an easily understandable word, thankfully Cheng doesn’t seem displeased.

“If you weren’t wearing Huaisang’s clothes, I would throw you into the lake right now.”

Wen Ning is instantly filled with dread, his mind running over everything he’d done in the last half hour to possibly have upset Cheng. He manages to snap from his thoughts when he hears warm, rich laughter.

Timidly, his eyes flick up to Cheng’s face. It’s true! He’s laughing. He’s smiling! Wen’s cheeks bloom with warmth at the sight. ‘ He’s so handsome ’

“You look cute when you panic. Like a little baby deer ready to cry.” Was it mean? Definitely, was it the wrong thing to say? Probably.

Did that mean Wen Ning’s entire face didn't bloom with warmth from the words? Absolutely not. He looked like a tomato.

“Th-Thank you..?” he whispers soft and quiet like he always is, doing his best to swallow down any worries that are quickly trying to boil over the surface.

He doesn’t get much of a reply to that besides a head nod, and they keep walking along the path.

It’s rather quiet on the cobbled path today. They’ve passed one or two people in the 20 or so minutes they’ve been walking. The silence persists but still, it’s comfortable.

Well, it was until Jiang interrupted it.

“Let’s talk about today.”

“T-Today?”

“Your outfit when you got in my car.”

“ Oh… ” Wen doesn’t want to talk about that. Definitely doesn’t want to think about that. He tugs the hem of his borrowed shirt a little lower over his hips. Nervously fiddling with it all the same.

“How about we talk about why you chose this outfit first.” He offers a partial out even if it’s only temporary.

“S-Sure.” Nie Huaisang had given Wen Ning several articles of clothing, a few pairs of trousers and shorts, a few t-shirts, a button up or two, as well as a soft vest that was far too be hot to wearing in this weather.

Wen had chosen a button up to hide his arms, the vest that reminded him of his favourite sweater, and a pair of light brown trousers. He looked very proper and well dressed, but it was by far an outfit meant for fall.

“You’re dressed like the leaves are about to change colour.”

“Oh… Is it bad?”

Cheng sighs, any sign of amusement or joy he’d had just minutes ago now gone. Guilt starts to nip at Wen’s heels.

“It’s not bad. It’s just hot outside, and you’re dressed like you’re ready for pumpkin spice lattes.”

“I…I thought it was cute.”

Cheng nods in agreement, but presses still. “It is cute. You look lovely.” He steals a quick glance but jerks his head away when he sees the blush on Wen Ning’s cheeks. “But it’s hot. You’re going to get sick in weather like this wearing things like that. I saw what he gave you. There were shorts. There were t-shirts. They’d even be comfortably baggy like this. So I’m asking why you chose these specific articles of clothing.”

“Oh.” Wen seems to understand fully now, thank god he did now before Jiang Cheng burst a blood vessel. “This reminds me of my favourite sweater at home” he mentions as he gently tugs on the vest. “And… uhm, I chose long sleeved things because….” He pauses for far too long there, trying to find an adequate reason that doesn’t reveal everything wrong in his life.

“I… feel more comfortable with long sleeves?” it’s phrased like a question, like he’s asking Jiang if the answer is right or not.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Eh? I-... uhm.. I was… just mentioning it. Sorry.” It’s a lie. Wen Ning isn’t good at lying.

“Alright.” Wen Ning almost lets out a sigh of relief, before he’s backed into a proverbial corner once again. “Why were you dressed in clothes you didn’t want to be in?”

There’s no easy way to say ‘ My family hits me when I try to dress like who I’m meant to be.’ There really just isn’t. That’s also not something he wants to admit to anyone. If he says it out loud then he’d have to come to terms with the fact his family doesn’t treat him like family should. It’d taken him almost 3 years to let Wei Ying know his family was violent. He didn’t even know the whole story.

“My Family doesn’t like me wearing boy’s clothes.”

“Why does your family get a say in what you wear? You’re 20 years old.”

Ning’s nails start to dig into his wrists. The pain is grounding and keeps the tsunami of anxiety at bay. “C-Cause I live with them?”

The silence from this draws on a lot longer than it’s meant to. Both parties seem to be struggling with what to say next.

“You’re a guy. Right?”

Wen Ning was dreading this question. He’d heard the horror stories of transgender people getting dumped after the other finds out they don’t have the expected equipment. “N-...No..”

“I’m not asking about physically.”

Wen Ning pauses in his steps, his eyes locked on Jiang. His face is contorted in a mix of so many emotions. Confusion, Hurt, Curiosity, Hope . “Wh-... I-... do-don’t understand..”

Cheng rubs at the bridge of his nose with one hand, “I’m not asking about what’s in your pants-” he pauses as he walks closer, standing within arm’s distance. He pokes at the centre of Ning’s chest, “I’m asking about what’s in here.”

“Lungs, Ribs, Veins, Bones, a thin layer of mus-”

Jiang Cheng gives out an annoyed grumble that makes Wen realise he wasn’t being literal.

“I’m asking about how you feel about yourself. If you feel like a man, you’re a man. I don’t give a shit what anyone else wants you to be or whatever’s in your pants.”

Wen Ning looks down to where he was poked, rubbing the spot gently. It hurts a little bit but he’s not going to complain after what Cheng had just explained to him. It was… probably one of the nicest things he’d ever heard. Especially from someone he’d spilled food or drink on.

“Y-Yes. I’m a guy.” He finally answers. This time, it’s not a question, it’s a fact.

Cheng raises his hand to tuck a strand of hair from Ning’s face, but falters when Wen Ning flinches, eyes squeezing shut like he’s expecting to be hit, his nails bite sharply into his wrists- almost to the point of drawing blood.

“You… you seriously think I’d hit you..?” Jiang’s voice sounds strained but not in his usual angry way. It sounds… sad.

Wen Ning’s eyes go wide and when he sees the look on Jiang’s face he feels guilt start to drag him down. He looks as sad as he sounds. His brows are still drawn in but they’re not downturned and angry like usual. He looks pensive.

Immediately Ning tries to back pedal, even taking a step back, “N-No! I don’t! Y-you’ve never once given me that inclination!” That’s not entirely true, but Wen Ning knows how respectful the Jiang Family is. He’d never assume that Cheng would hit him.

Cheng stares at him like he doesn’t believe the boy, that it’s simply a lie to make him feel better. “Whatever..” he finally grumbles, turning away from Ning and continuing on their walk.

Chapter Text

“You fucking idiot! You got mad at him for flinching!?” Wei is practically yelling as he slams his hand down harshly on the wooden dining table the family (and Lan Zhan) are sitting around. How Jiang Yanli’s little sleeping baby in the room just over doesn’t wake is both a shock and a miracle.

“Not outwardly! But so what?!” Cheng growls back, arms folded tightly over his chest, blunt nails digging into his biceps as he glared up at his big brother.

It was a heated debate that Yanli looked quite nervous about from where she leaned against the countertops behind them, sipping tea. Lan Zhan looked… like he always did. Emotionally unavailable, distant. But he had his fingers loosely wrapped in the base of Wei Ying’s oversized shirt, as if that little action could hold him back.

“All my fucking dates think I’m going to be abusive or beat them and I’m sick of it! I gave him a stupid second chance and he fucking blew i-” The sound of Cheng’s nose crunching when it colides with Wei Wuxian’s fist echos in the now deathly silent room. Wei Wuxian’s chair clattered to the floor, Jiang Cheng spilled out from his own, blood dripping onto the tile below them both.

“A-Xian!” , “Wei Ying!”

Jiang Yanli and Lan Zhan are on Wei Wuxian in a moment, Lan Zhan wrapping his arms snugly around his boyfriend’s middle to keep him from hurting Cheng anymore.

“You-” Jiang Cheng speaks up, his eyes narrowing at his older brother.

“ Shut up .” Wei growls with a finality to his words. His vision is red. “You got mad at someone who’s fucking abused! And for flinching at you!? How fucking stupid can you be!?” Wei Wuxian is yelling now, his hands trembling with anger.

Yanli steps between them quickly, placing her hands on Wei Ying’s chest to stop him from going any further, “A-Xian, please, please calm down. Talk about this later, civilly .”

Wei is ready to move his sister aside and beat the shit out of Cheng, when a cry of little Jin Ling sounds from another room- snapping Wei Wuxian out of it enough to jerk from his Jiejie and his boyfriend’s protective hold, grab Lan Zhan’s wrist, and storm from the family’s home.

“Fuck me…” Jiang curses under his breath as he spits out a mouthful of blood onto the already dirtied tiles below.

- - -

As protective and rage-filled as Wei was from hearing Jiang explain the date, Wen Ning hadn’t been all that upset. Sure it ended not great, but way better than the first had! They may have sat in silence all the way back to the Nie’s home so Wen Ning could change back before he was dropped off, but Jiang wasn’t mad! At least, he didn’t look like he wanted to kill him. So that was a step in the right direction!

Right?

To be honest, after seeing how Jiang Cheng deflated, Wen Ning was quickly starting to realise there was more to the man than met the surface. He seemed to be struggling in his own right, and that was perfect.

Well, for Wen Ning at least. It was so much easier for him to focus on helping others and doing anything he could for them instead of focusing on helping himself. He was a people pleaser through and through.

It was the main reason he was going to medical school - besides it running in his family and that he was strangely good at it - He wanted to help people.

He was told time and time again that he was far too timid to be a doctor, even some of his classmates laughed and said no one would take his advice, that he should switch to psychology or something more suited to his attitude. However for as much as they bullied and belittled him, none of them had ever once seen him practising. It was almost like a switch was flipped. No longer was Wen Ning timid, or shy, he didn’t even stutter! He was able to take charge and order nurses around and direct them to bring him things- he’d fully memorised the entire medication-directory (he blames that on a small piece of himself titled hyperfixation ).

His schooling wasn’t the focus for now, however. His focus was on doing anything he could to make Jiang a little more open with his feelings, maybe even to the point he could confide in Wen. It would take time, but Wen Ning had enough of that. He didn’t do anything else besides studying, and since he’d aced his most recent exams, he had plenty of time to dedicate to Jiang Cheng.

‘Cheng’ ... Ning’s cheeks flushed at the thought of one day being able to call him by just his given name. He squishes his cheeks to stop himself from smiling, but there’s nothing he can do to stop the thrumming in chest - His heartbeat quickening from the thought of the man alone. Was this love? It surely was too soon to be in love. It must just be a crush, yes. That’s it. He’d had a crush on Wei Wuxian when they first met! It’s easy to catch feelings for the first person to be so kind to you.

His phone buzzed from his pocket, startling him from his little daydream. Speak of the Devil.

> Wei-ge ♥
Can u meet me @ library tonight?

Meet tonight? Wen glanced at the clock; it was already 6pm. It wouldn’t be open for but a few hours more. Did he need help studying? Why didn’t they meet at his- Jiang Cheng, right.

> NingNing
Yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can.

> Wei-ge ♥
Ok

Wen Ning stared at the reply for almost a minute without closing it or replying. Something was wrong. Wei Wuxian never sent just ‘ok’. He used emojis and emoticons constantly and that was part of what helped Ning decipher his messages. What tone they held… Well, usually. Wei Wuxian used emojis in confusing situations, but never seemed upset or even slightly annoyed when Wen Ning asked for clarification.

He tucked his phone into his backpack, along with his wallet and keys. He slipped out of the loose pyjama pants he wore and pulled on his medical slacks. Going to medical school gave him a freedom he’d never had before. Being allowed to wear pants outside of the house.

It was a uniform, so of course his parents couldn’t reject it. They’d tried, but failed ultimately when the school told them it was mandatory. Wen Ning had never once been happier. Well, maybe when he met and befriended Wei Ying…. But ever since starting college, and being allowed to wear pants every day. He felt so much more comfortable in his body.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and tried to make a quiet but quick dash to the front door - only narrowly having made it silently down the stairs. Of course he’d be stopped, however.

“A-Ning.”

Wen sighed in relief, it was just his big sister. She was the nicest to him. Maybe it’s because she understood what it was like to be born as a woman into the Wen family. She’s also the only one who didn’t misgender him around every corner. Sure she messed up sometimes but she genuinely tried her best to accommodate him.

“J-Jiejie, H-How are-”

“Where are you going?”

Ning sighed softly, standing up a little straighter and scratching at the back of his neck. “I-I’m going to th-the library. To… to meet w-with Wei Wuxian.” Her eyes scoured him for any sign of dishonesty, she set down the small bowl she was holding and walked over to her baby brother.

“Wei Wuxian? What does he possibly want at this hour?” The scowl on her face wasn’t from distaste. Well, not completely at least. It was from her own protective instincts. She didn’t want to see her baby brother’s heart broken, especially not by some harlot . Wei Wuxian definitely had a poor reputation, even if he had only ever been with one person.

“I-I think he wants t-to study.” Even as he admits this, eyes averted to the side, Wen Qing knows he’s not lying. He doesn’t lie. Not to her, at least.

“Be back before dark. If you can’t make it before dark, bring him back so he can apologise for your tardiness.” She says, gently patting his shoulder in the most affectionate manner she knows how to.

Even if she’d done it a thousand times the exact same way, woithe same level of caring and comfort - he still flinches. It’s something so deeply ingrained in him now.

“I-I will! I’ll be safe, promise JieJie.” He nods quickly and turns to leave the door.

“Keep your phone on you!” All she gets is a wave in return before he’s running around the fence in their front yard and headed towards school.

- - -

Jiang hisses as Yanli wipes the blood from Jiang’s nose with a warmed cloth. “I don’t… I don’t think it’s broken, but…” She smiles apologetically, “I’m not a doctor, either. You should probably go to the emergency room.”

“Like hell I will.” Jiang tries to argue, but the look of concern his JieJie gives makes his shoulders sag in defeat. “Okay… Can you drive me?”

He watches Yanli’s look between him, then back at where her husband - Jin Zixuan - and their baby sleep soundly on the couch. It’d taken the better half of an hour to get Jin Ling back to sleep, thankfully Jin Zixuan had just returned from work and was able to take on the responsibility of such. Now the both snored lightly, both exhausted from different forms of stress.

When Yanli turns back to her brother she gives a short nod, “Yes, let’s leave quickly before either wake up and cling to me” Her laughter is light, airy. She’s quite happy with her marriage, and that makes Cheng happy as well. Even if he and Wei still can’t stand the prick she married.

Cheng nods a little bit and stands up, wobbling slightly as blood tries to rush to his head, only to come out his nose.

“Careful” Yanli chides, holding his arm as if she’d be able to do anything if he were to tumble.

-

They manage to get out of the house, but they’re not gone 5 minutes before Yanli’s getting a text from her husband asking where she’d gone and if she’s okay.

As much as Cheng hates the guy, he’s glad Jin Zixuan isn’t being a prick anymore and has come to terms with how wrong he was about Jiang Yanli. Yanli was great and the fact that peacock took almost 20 years to figure that out still pisses off both of Jiang Yanli’s younger brothers.

“A-Cheng. You’re glaring at the dashboard.” His eyebrows raise quickly as his eyes come back into focus, his lips curling into a pout he’d inherited from Wei Wuxian.

“Sorry, JieJie..”

“Talk to me about what’s going through your mind?” She may have worded it like a question, but they both knew it very much was not. She was great at pulling things out of people and her little brothers were no exception to this.

“I… I didn’t know.” Cheng mutters, earning an inquisitive hum from Yanli, pressing him to continue. “He doesn’t-” he cuts himself off before he can finish that sentence. “I didn’t know …”

Yanli sighs, her tone somewhere between sad and fond, “You can’t know what people don’t want to share, but there are things you can gather from the way they behave.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re a therapist. You’ve learned to read body language.” He’s pouting- he knows he’s being childish, but how was he supposed to know? He’s never been good at reading people and somehow even worse at taking them at face value. He had people issues plain and simple.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, alright?” When she sees Jiang nodding from the corner of her eye, and hears a little hum of approval, she continues. Between every question she asks, she waits for a reply before continuing.

“Does he fidget a lot? Not in a way that he’s bored, but in a way that he’s uncomfortable?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he skittish?”, another nod, “Does he hide his arms and legs with clothing?”

“Yeah but that’s just a pref-”

“It’s 30(c) degrees outside, Jiang Cheng. That's not a preference .” Hearing her use his full name startles him. That’s when he knows he’s actually fucked something up. He sits up a little straighter in the car but neither of them speak for a good minute.

Yanli sighs, softly. “I don’t know him well, I’ve met him a few times, but I’m sure being abused isn’t the only issue he has.”

There’s a long pause in their conversation before Wanyin speaks up, “I don’t understand…”

She smiles a little sadly as they pull up to the hospital parking lot, once she’s parked the car she turns to face her brother. “You know how Wei Wuxian rambles aimlessly and seems to be able to switch topics faster than anyone else can keep up with?” Cheng nods, “and do you remember how sad I’d become after A-Ling was born?”

“Of course I do! We were all so miserable seeing you so sad and having no way to help.” She smiles fondly at his sympathy.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something along those lines. Things outside of his or anyone else’s control.”

Jiang stares at her for a minute, his eyes squinting as he tries to understand her vague wording. Before he gets a chance to question, she’s tugging on his sleeve. “Come, let’s get you seen by the doctor.”

- - -

Wen Ning was panting by the time he’d reached the school campus. He didn’t need to run, he understood that, but he felt bad making Wei Ying wait for him - assuming he was already there.

He took the last 60 metres or so to walk and catch his breath. As well as think about what could be bothering Wei Wuxian. He hadn’t talked to him since before they’d gone on the date. He’d sent him a few text messages here and there throughout the morning. He’d also sent Wei a picture of the stray cat he’d taken to feeding that lived in the alleyway behind his home.

Something must’ve happened after Jiang dropped him off…

Ning stopped dead in his tracks, a heavy weight of anxiety settling over his shoulders. His stomach twisted in the worry that he’d made Wei Ying upset. Was it what had happened on his date? Had he done something to upset Jiang Wanyin that badly that Wei Wuxian could no longer be friends with him!?

He shook his head quickly to rid himself of the bad thoughts. No, Wei Ying would flat out tell him if he’s upset with him. They’d stated that from the beginning. It was a requirement of being Wen Ning’s friend even if the boy never verbally stated it as such. He couldn’t handle the push and pull of people normally, that was even more so true with how hostile his home life was.

Wen Ning closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, grounding himself with what he could hear and smell first, then what he could see.

Rustling of leaves, smell of the warm summer air and the freshwater late just the other side of campus. He opened his eyes and looked around him; A beautiful pink and orange sky from the setting sun, cobbled paths older than he or anyone he knew, trees that hung overhead and offered shade mid day.

It was alright. He was alright.

Chapter Text

Upon entering the Campus library, Wen Ning immediately spotted Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji sitting at a table off to one side, away from the one or two other people still lingering and browsing for books or sitting at other tables studying. They had no books in front of them and Lan Wangji was staring at his boyfriend in a different way than normal. His brows were furrowed and his usually straight, neutral lips were pulled tight into a frown.

Wen Ning was right. Something was wrong.

Quietly and quickly he made his way over, setting down his book bag next to the seat he’d take, yet not sitting. Wei Wuxian perked up a little bit when he came over, even doing his usual big grin.

That’s when Wen noticed. In Lan Zhan’s caring grip lay Wei Ying’s right hand, knuckles bruised and blood on his fingers.

“W-Wei!” Ning squeaks, darting around the table to kneel between the two. He opens his palms and offers them, silently asking for Wei Ying’s hand which Lan Zhan places there before his boyfriend has a chance to deny.

They’re all silent as Ning looks over his fingers, moving them ever so gently in a manner of precision. He’s working right now. Even if he’s with his friends, he’s gotten into his medial headspace.

“What hurts?” he asks firmly, leaving no room for questioning.

“Knuckles, but it’s not that ba- OW! ” he slaps a hand over his mouth quickly. His eyes dart around the room in hopes he didn’t bother anyone else with his outburst. He didn’t expect Wen Ning to start touching them so directly. They were bruised for fucks sake!

“You punched something. Something soft or else you probably would’ve shattered this part here” Wen Ning explained, pointing to a part along his knuckles. Lan Wangji seems much more interested than Wei Wuxian does. The eldest of them isn’t even looking, he’s pouting.

“They’ll be tender for a few days. I suggest drinking lots of water and keeping a cold compress on it. If the pain gets to be too much where you cannot focus, take some over-the-counter pain medications.”

The switch from normally timid and shy, stuttering over himself Wen Ning and Doctor Wen Ning is incredible. Wei Wuxian has stated it many times as his friend’s patched him up from whatever little scuffle he’s gotten himself into.

They fall into silence, Lan Wangji giving Wen Ning a nod that tells him at least one of them was listening and plans to follow through with his guidance. “I assume you knew it wasn’t broken, at least Lan Wangji did, or else you’d be at the hospital… so i-if… that’s not wh-why you needed me…” His medical headspace drops quickly and he raises his shoulders slightly, hunching a little bit to make himself seem smaller.

“I punched A-Cheng.” Wei Wuxian mutters, clearly upset. He’d understood now that he’d fucked up, but he was still pissed at his little brother.

Wen Ning fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, doing his best to think of what to say. What was he supposed to say to this? Was he supposed to apologise? Had he made them fight?

“I-...  I’m sorry… h-had I done so-some th-” Wen Ning stops when Lan Wangji gently tugs at his sleeve, it’s almost reassuring.

“Not your fault.” Wangji adds, which definitely makes it reassuring.

“Wh-What happened?” Wen makes his way back around the table to the seat where he’d set his bag down, looking over their faces until one of them would look into his eyes, then he’d look away.

“He was being a douchebag.” Wei Ying mutters. “I got mad cause he was… he’d been a dick to you… and he kept talking and talking and I just…” his words grow quieter as he retells what happened.

Lan Zhan places his hand on Wei Ying’s arm and another on his thigh, trying to offer comfort in the only way he knows how.

“ I hit him… ” Wei says, barely audible even in the silence of the library. He looks like he’s about to cry. Lan Zhan and Wen Ning can see the tears lining his lower lashes that Wei Wuxian so desperately fights back.

“I-...” There’s no words that Wen Ning can say to fix this. He’s not good at comfort… He’s good at healing physical wounds, not emotional. Doesn’t mean he doesn't try , he’s just not the best at it. “Ma-maybe you c-could tell him y-you’re sorry? T-Tomorrow? After everything-” he makes a little gesture that Wei Ying misses “has s-settled down?”

A long and heavy sigh leaves Wei Wuxian, his shoulders slumping a little. He still nods. “Yeah… I’ll tell him tomorrow… we can talk it out.”

Wen Ning nods a little, a small frown on his lips. He’s worried for his best friend. It hurts him to see the other sad. Wei Wuxian is rarely ever outwardly sad, so when it does happen… It makes Wen Ning sad as well.

- - -

“I can’t believe he broke my nose…” Jiang Cheng grumbles, his voice now more nasally with the splints inside of it and the thick bandages over it. The doctors were nice enough to set it properly so he wouldn’t have a bent nose, but it still was annoying as hell. Hurts like hell too . Getting it fixed hurt worse than getting it broken.

“We’ll talk to him tomorrow. Everyone needs to settle down tonight.” Yanli says as she reaches over to buckle her baby brother into the car.

“My arms are fine, Jiejie, I’m not incapable of buckling myself in.” Jiang complains, only to earn a flick to his forehead, well above where the bandages stop. She didn’t want to hurt him after all.

“I feel bad I hadn’t stepped in sooner and prevented this visit. So allow me this, please A-cheng?”

He wants to protest that she wouldn’t have been able to stop Wei Wuxian from doing what he wanted. No one was able to do that, not even his giant dog. Jiang scoffed. Wei ying was petrified of dogs yet he had one attached to his side every waking moment.

“Alright… but you can’t baby me once we get back. You have a husband and child to baby. I don't need it.”

The light and happy laugh he hears right before his door shuts makes him smile. As long as he can make his family happy… he doesn’t need a partner.

Even with that thought the words of his elder siblings still ring in his mind.

“You got mad at someone who’s fucking abused!” , “Things outside of his or anyone else’s control”

He supposed he needed to apologise to Wen Ning for getting upset… Well, upset wasn’t even the right word. Distant was probably better.

- - -

“I-I don’t mean to be rude… b-but if you di-d-didn’t ne-need my medical assistance… a-and you didn’t wa-want to study...” Wen Ning swallows down any fears he may have, “Wh-why did you need t-to see me?” Don’t get him wrong, he loves his friends, loves spending time with Wei Ying and Lan Zhan even if it’s just during their lunch hours.

“I… I wanted to talk about you.” Wei Wuxian seems hesitant.

‘ Weird’ Wen Ning thinks. Wei is always super confident in everything, so what could have him faltering now?  “M-Me? Wh-what about me…?”

Wei Ying sighs heavily, his eyes falling shut for a moment as he rubs the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index of his uninjured hand. He takes a moment to look around the library. No one is in earshot of them, and even if they were, the three are conversing too quietly.

“Your home situation.”

Ah, one of those types of ‘talks’. He’d had school therapists and teachers ask him about his home life, ask if he was okay, if he was eating enough, if he felt safe.

The answer to all those questions and almost every other they asked were ‘no’, but of course he never said that. He never told anyone what happened behind the closed doors of his family’s home. He’d probably get killed before anyone could even do anything to help.

Okay, that might’ve been a little overdramatic, but it certainly wouldn’t end well.

“I-...” He looks down to his hands, rubbing his thumbs nervously over the sides of his index fingers. He had no way to self soothe subtly besides this, and this was growing to be not enough quickly. “I c-can’t.”

Wei Wuxian sighed softly and rested his forehead in his hands. “If I ask questions, will you just tell me yes or no if I’m right?” He looked up to Wen Ning hopefully, but not expectantly.

They were close, but Wei Ying knew abuse was a difficult subject and many victims had trouble admitting how injured they were. He couldn’t force Wen to talk, and he wouldn’t force him to talk. They’d come close to having this conversation several times before.

Wei Ying knew how difficult Wen Ning’s home life was from the few times he’d seen the bruises that littered his arms or up his neck. Things that a simple school uniform wasn’t able to hide.Yet he didn’t know any details besides Wen Ning was hurt more often than not.

With the subtle nod of Wen Ning’s head, Wei Ying felt a little relieved. This was further than he honestly expected to get. “Do you want to bring your chair over here and sit between us?”

Wen glanced over to the empty space between Lan Zhan and Wei Ying where he’d just been a moment ago. It was tempting- they were both a comforting presence, but he still shook his head no. If he was between them accessing Wei Wuxian medically, it was fine, but being that close to more than one person and talking about something so private was definitely a no-go.

Wei Ying smiled apologetically and nodded, “alright. Well, Let’s just get into it, then, eh?” He shifted a little bit, resting both elbows on the table. “Does anyone in your family hit you? Not like a love tap on the arm-” Wei used his left hand to gently punch Lan Zhan’s shoulder to show how he meant. The taller man swayed to each side once before sitting up straight again - simply letting the energy flow through him like a wave.

“-but in an aggressive or angry way?”

Wen Ning Nodded, keeping his eyes on the table just in front of him. If he didn’t verbally say anything, his family couldn’t get mad, right…?

“Do they feed you enough?”

That was a harder question. If his sister was around, yes, he ate enough. Though, she wasn’t around very often any more. Between her last year of university and her constant internships, she was rarely ever home. With such stipulations, Wen Ning could only give a little bit of a shrug.

“Has anyone ever-”, He pauses mid sentence, as if trying to find an easy way to ask this. There isn’t one, unfortunately. “Touched you sexually without your permission?”

If Wen Ning admitted that, well, it’d just prove how broken he was. It was easier to deny that. No one wants to admit they’ve been sexually abused. If Jiang Cheng ever found out… Wen Ning shakes his head ‘no’, but instantly feels guilt gnawing at him when Wei Ying gives a sigh of, what has to be, relief.

Surely it’s because of Jiang, right? Certainly Wei Ying doesn’t want his brother to be with someone who’s used . Someone who’s tainted by another . Or maybe that was just what his elder brothers had drilled into his head. He’d never be good enough for anyone else so why should he try? He should stay at home with them and be their good little housewife and punching bag.

Wen Ning’s lash line wells with tears, but he doesn’t realise it. He doesn’t realise they’ve slipped down his cheeks until he’s being pulled into strong arms and a stiff body. Lan Zhan is kneeling at his side and hugging him. He’s never been hugged by Lan Zhan. It’s strange, but apparently comforting enough for the tears Wen Ning tried to hold back to cascade down his round cheeks. He trembles as he leans into his friend, sobbing as quietly as he can. He’s going to get in trouble if he cries. Chao-ge always made sure of that…

“A-Ning…” Wei Ying murmurs quietly, the words pulling another silent sob from Wen Ning. It hurts so badly to hear his friend upset. He could’ve prevented this, He could’ve just said no to everything. He could’ve denied it all like he’d done for so many years…

But then none of this would change, would it?

- - -

“I’m sorry for getting him back so late!” Wei Ying says with a nervous laughter, scratching the back of his head as Wen Qing stares daggers into him. Arms folded tightly over her chest.

“You better be! If he had come home a moment later I would have-”

“JieJie…” Wen Ning murmurs, coming over to her side as if begging her not to start things. This wouldn’t have been the first group of friends his big sister had accidentally chased away by being too protective.

She sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose, thankfully not able to see the redness and puffy swelling in his eyes with how dark it’s gotten outside. “Thanks for bringing him home. Now get lost.” Qing nearly drags Ning back inside before slamming the door behind them.

“Go get tidied and get into bed. I don’t want you getting in trouble for being up this late.”

Wen Ning nods and rushes off to his bedroom, stripping down into an oversized shirt and some loose fitting pyjama pants. Just as he’s about to turn off his nightstand’s lamp, his phone buzzes from where he’d left it in his backpack.

> Jiang Cheng
Can I come collect you before class tomorrow?

> Wen Ning
Yeah! My first class is at 8 a.m. is that too early?

> Jiang Cheng
No, that's fine. My class starts at 8:15. I’ll get you at 7.

7 am?! That was definitely going to be the earliest he’d ever left the house without having a class right away. He wonders if he can sneak out quietly. Usually his siblings are all in the kitchen around 7 am. Preparing for work or classes. He tries to reassure himself that it’ll be fine, but deep down in the pit of his stomach, he knows something is going to go wrong.

> Wen Ning
Okay :) What will we be doing?

> Jiang Cheng
Coffee and breakfast. Go to sleep. See you tomorrow.

Part of Wen wonders if this is always how Jiang types, so… formally. So short and to the point. He supposes that Jiang speaks that way too. Wen sends a ‘goodnight’ in reply before setting his alarm for an hour earlier than he’d planned. He has to make sure he looks okay and doesn’t put any of his clothes on inside out or backwards for their date. Was it a date?

‘ Go to sleep.’ He can hear Jiang’s voice in his head clear as day- annoyed but fondly like he had been when they were at Nie Huaisang’s house.

Wen Ning decides it’s best to listen to the Jiang inside his head and settles into sleep.

- - -

“We need to talk about this.” Yanli tried, dark circles under her eyes and a blanket over her chest where she nursed little Jin Ling. Poor woman needed some sleep but her baby kept her up at all sorts of strange hours. At least Jin Zixuan had the day off and was able to help her today.

“Can’t, I have to pick him up in 15 minutes.” Jiang says as he throws on his button up shirt and tie. Might be weird dressing up so formally just for classes, but it made it easier for Jiang. If he always wore a fitted button up, and a nice set of suit pants when he went to classes and studied, it’d be easier to switch that section of his mind on and off. Being a lawyer wasn’t going to be an easy or even fun job- but Jiang was good at arguing, so when Wei Ying joked about him being a lawyer. He did. It was partially to spite him, and partially because, well, he wanted to fight for what was right. In Wei Ying’s words ‘You want to take the longest and slowest way possible for what’s right.’

Jiang set his backpack in the car and scratched at his cheek. As closely as he could to his nose without actually touching it. It still hurt, but he’d taken some pain killers so it was fine currently. That’d change the moment he touches it.

“I look like a mess…” He sighs heavily as he looks himself over in the rearview. “Probably deserved it…”

- - -

Readying himself was easy. Wen Ning didn’t need to do much. He slipped on the binder he’d snuck home from Huaisang’s house then a long sleeve black shirt to cover the bruises that still remained on his arms. His scrubs came next. This set was a dark blue - typical of hospital attire, at least in his area, but these ones had some purple accents stitched along the hems and seams. They were cute in a not overly feminine way.

Brushing his teeth and combing his long hair before throwing it into a bun was also easy. The rest of the things he had to do to slip from the house, however, were not.

If his sister was in the kitchen, Wen Ning would be forced to eat, hence ruining Jiang’s breakfast plans. If Wen Chao was in the kitchen, Wen Ning would have to spend probably another 10 minutes or so to make sure there were no bruises uncovered, or maybe applying make-up to cover some new ones. If their father was anywhere downstairs… Wen Ning shuddered. He really really hoped their dad wasn’t home.

With his backpack slung over his shoulder, Wen Ning creeped down the stairs as slowly as he possibly could. Every step was deafening to his ears even though he probably didn’t make a sound. Occasionally the floor boards would creak from beneath him and Ning would freeze like a deer trapped in headlights.

Getting to the front door was easy. Too easy . Ning looked around the living room, nearly jumping when he saw Wen Chao passed out on the couch, one arm over his eyes, a beer bottle by his hand on the floor. Calming his nerves took almost as long as sneaking all the way down the stairs and to the door. He’d managed, thankfully, and even managed to slip out the door and shut it without Wen Chao waking. Thank the gods.

Just as Wen Ning neared the street, a familiar, sleek black car rounded the corner. Just on time!

The doors unlocked as it stopped in front of Wen Ning, “G’morning.” Wen murmured as he climbed in, shutting the door and then buckling himself up.

“Morning.”

The car ride was tense. Wen Ning didn’t meet his gaze, didn’t even look at his face. It wasn’t until they’d stopped and Ning went to unbuckle that he saw the large set of white bandages over Jiang Cheng’s nose. The startled squeak that left his throat thankfully didn’t piss off Jiang.

“Yeah, Yeah… it’s fine I deserved it.”

‘ Wei Ying cried because he felt bad.’ is what Wen Ning wanted to say, but instead he could only dumbly nod and look back down to his thighs. Wait had he just agreed!?

“I-”

Before he even has a chance to apologise for what he implied, Jiang’s waving his hand “calm down, it’s fine. Really. Let’s just go get something to eat, I’m starving.”

The café that morning thankfully wasn’t very busy. It was actually rather empty. It benefited both of them like this. The fewer people there were to stare at Jiang Cheng’s broken nose, the fewer there were to make Wen Ning anxious.

This was a different café than they’d gone to on their first date - if you could even call it that - And this time, Ning chose something with a lid.

There was a long tense silence as they both picked aimlessly at their breakfast, both of them occasionally taking bites and stealing glances at each other only to avert their heads with a blush. Well, at least Wen Ning knew he was blushing. He wasn’t able to tell if Jiang Cheng was as his face was already flushed from the swelling of his nose.

Finally, Jiang Cheng spoke up and broke the awkward tension that lingered, “I’m sorry.”

“So-sorry??” Wen Ning repeated, choking on a bite of toast in the process. He didn’t think Jiang Cheng had anything to apologise for. He honestly would’ve scolded Wei Wuxian had the tears and guilt that radiated off of him not made Wen Ning pity him.

“Yeah. And I’m not saying it ever again so you better accept it.” He crossed his arms and looked out the window, pretending to be averse to Wen Ning’s reaction.

After the silence drew on, however, and Wen Ning had gotten lost in thought (forgetting to respond, in actuality) making Jiang Cheng sigh heavily. “I’m sorry.”

Didn’t he just say he wouldn’t repeat himself!?

“Wh-Why…?” His tone wasn’t cold nor condescending. He was genuinely confused on what Jiang Cheng needed to apologise for. He hadn’t been around to hear all the apparently awful things Cheng had told Wei Wuxian - Wei Ying’s own words. “Y-You didn’t d-do anything wrong…” Wen Ning was bad at reassurance, but he was really trying his best. Being able to state the truth so bluntly made it a little bit easier.

“I… I treated you so distantly on our last date. I didn’t even tell you goodbye, I dropped you off and drove off. I could’ve at least texted or something to make sure you got home fine.”

‘ You’ve still treated me better than anyone else I’ve ever kissed, and we haven’t even kissed yet!’ He left these words unspoken. He was fine being ignored, honestly he was. He could wait as long as someone needed for them to approach him. Wen Ning was patient to a fault.

“But that’s ok-” His chipper tone was cut down in an instant, Jiang’s words coming out gritted through his teeth. Still Nasally and distorted from the splint and bandages.

“No it’s not. You don’t deserve to be ignored when you weren’t the one who fucked up.”

“B-But you di-didn’t fuck up!” Ning pressed, brows knitted together in worry. “I-I’m not mad, I promise! I… I just figured you wanted some space.. A-and that’s okay! Th-there’s nothing wrong with that!” He nodded quickly, not even realising he was starting to panic ramble, “I-If you don’t want to ta-talk to me that’s okay! I d-don’t blame you I’m not really that fun to talk with… o-or really do a-anything with…” His voice grew quieter and quieter as he rambled on.

“Can… I take you on another date…? I heard about a new arcade that just opened and I thought it’d be… fun..?” His words aren’t as sure as they normally are. He’s asking Wen Ning if this is fun, he wants to know Wen Ning is okay with their activities…

Jiang Cheng always seems so confident, so sure of himself and everything he does… but the more Wen Ning talks to him, the more he realises he’s just as broken as anyone else. He holds himself up on a pedestal in hopes no one will see the shattered man hiding behind it.

Ning can’t help but smile and nod softly, “I’ve never done a-anything like that… bu-but that sounds like a l-lot of fun! Yeah. I…I’d like that,'' he squeezes his cup a little fondly as he stares into it.

Jiang may not sigh solely in relief, but with the way his shoulders lower, you can tell the tension and worry leaving his body is most of it.

‘ I want to see him smile…’

Chapter Text

Before Jiang Cheng had left that morning, Jiang Yanli had made it very clear that as soon as Jiang Cheng arrived home, she, Wei Ying, and he were all going to sit down and have a sibling meeting. Jiang Cheng wasn’t excited. He actually abhorred the idea. Sibling Meetings always ended up with someone crying and today he wanted none of it.

He and Wei Ying had gotten into fights all his life, sure, they’d never resulted in a broken nose, but Wei Wuxian had apologised already so it was fine to just leave that as that. Right?

Apparently not to their Jiejie.

Was it because of how heated their fight had gotten? Probably… it did escalate to the level of breaking bones, after all. Their fights never went past bruises or a few scratches. Rarely did either of them bleed. So he guesses he can’t blame her for wanting to make sure everything was all laid out and no hard feelings remained.

However, that was all he worried about throughout the day. Having to deal with the emotional wreck that he reluctantly called his big brother. He wanted to avoid it. He wanted to sweep it under the rug like he did everything else. Though he knew he wouldn’t be so lucky. Someone always cried during sibling meetings and today it would not be him.

With the anxiety that twisted his stomach, he couldn’t bring himself to eat lunch. He skipped it and chose to go to the library instead, hoping to at least read a few chapters of the assigned philosophy book before having his next and final class for the day.

But the moment he sat down at the table, with books in hand, he saw someone sit down across from him. Normally it wouldn’t be too big of an issue but as it was currently, Jiang Cheng was a little bit self conscious of his bruised face and the large bandage that covered his nose.

“Ouch.” The voice says, “He really did a number on you, huh, gege?”

Jiang Cheng looks up through knitted brows to see a smirk across Nie Huaisang’s face. They hadn’t seen each other in a few days - since Jiang Cheng had last brought over Wen Ning.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t dignify his friend with a response, instead just opens his text book.

“I take it this is the result of your last date?” Nie presses, as if he already doesn’t know. Wei Ying and Nie Huaisang are closer than two peas in a pod. They tell eachother everything . Jiang Cheng had sat in on one of their ‘slumber parties’ growing up, and ended up leaving before the moon had even began to rise. He heard so many things he didn’t want to know in those few hours. He mentally shuddered.

“If you already know why are you asking?” Jiang grumbles, picking up his book to partially hide behind it. His face aches the more he scowls.

“Mmmm, because I want to hear all the sides of the story. Easier to gossip that way.” Nie Huaisang flashes a playful smile full of feigned innocence.

“Yeah well you’re not getting anything else from me, so drop it.”

“So cold to me A-Cheng!” Nie Huaisang rests the back of his hand against his forehead and tips his head back dramatically. Yeah, It’s easy to tell Wei Ying and Nie Huaisang are best friends.

“Don’t you have studying to do? Why are you in the library?”

Nie Huaisang snaps his fingers, “Oh, yeah! I was supposed to be researching the statue titled Laocoon and his sons .”

“Isn’t that the one with the really big guy and two smaller guys entangled with a snake?”

“Yep! We all got to pick a super old statue and research it and then write an essay, and I chose this one ‘cause-” Before Nie Huaisang can explain his reason, Jiang Cheng is interrupting him.

“You chose that one because it had three hot men?” Jiang Cheng accuses, no real venom in his words, instead they’re twinged with playfulness.

Nie Huaisang grins, very pleased with Jiang Cheng’s guess. “One looks way too young for me, but the one in the middle, the DILF?” Nie huaisang fans himself with his hand before taking a sip of water

“You mean the one that is shaped like your big bro?”

Nie Huaisang chokes, his entire face red with mortification. Thankfully he doesn’t spit out his water, managing to swallow with little excess dripping elsewhere. “Ew!? Jiang Cheng! Gross! He’s my brother! He’s married! ”

“Yeah, and he’s hot, so is his husband.” Jiang Cheng smirks, peeking his head up over the book to watch Nie Huaisang collect his things.

“Disgusting! That’s like me saying your big sister is hot!!”

“You never would, you’re gay.”

Nie Huaisang seems to have had enough, shivering with disgust before he shoves in his chair and promptly flees the library. ‘ Finally,’ Jiang Cheng thinks, ‘ it’s only taken me 10 years to find something to get him to leave.’

Now Jiang Cheng can study in peace before attending his final class for the day. Well… Almost.

He’s interrupted once again, but this time by Lan Zhan. At least he’ll be able to study now, as his brother’s boyfriend is the quiet type.

As expected, Lan Zhan says nothing. He sits down and pulls out a few books of his own. Jiang Cheng wants to question why he’s by his side and not Wei Ying’s, but honestly he doesn’t care enough.

After a few minutes, though, he does get curious enough to peek over his book. Except what he sees shocks him more than seeing Lan Zhan without Wei Ying. To think he’d find Lan Zhan having dozed off, arms folded on the table, breath steady as he naps, in the middle of the school’s library . Nie Huaisang would never believe him.

Just as he pulls out his phone to take photo proof, the bell for the next class chimes, and Lan Zhan sits up, alert as ever.

“What the fuck?!” Jiang exclaims as quietly as he can.

“Mn?” Lan Zhan looks to him as he begins to gather the book he’d been resting on.

“You were just sleeping!?”

They share a silent and tense exchange, all movements halted ; almost as if time had been frozen. Lan Zhan is the one to break their silence, making an attempt at a joke; “No one will believe you” and then makes his quick escape. The worst part is, he’s right.

Jiang sends Wei Ying a text.

> Grump-ge
Teach your dog better jokes. He’s learning but he’s still not good at it.

Jiang Cheng expects a gif or an emoji, probably of laughter or some sappy shit directed towards Lan Zhan, but he gets nothing. The message stays unread for minutes. ‘Weird,’ Jiang Cheng thinks. Wei Ying is glued to his phone, so the fact he hasn’t even opened it…

He tries to brush off the worries as he packs his things and heads to his final class of the day.

- - -

Upon stepping into the house and shrugging off his suit jacket, Jiang Cheng could already hear the sniffles of his big brother. Jiang Yanli was consoling him in the living room, and the youngest of the three had a perfect view of it from where he stood in the foyer of their family home. Jiang Cheng slowly hung up his jacket, attempting to be as quiet as a dormouse in hopes of sneaking past the overflow of emotions that was in that room.

He knew it wouldn’t work. They’d heard his car pull up, he was expected to be home just after 2, they’d heard the door opening… but he held out hope. He really didn’t want to have to deal with any of that.

“A-Cheng.”

‘Damnit…’ Slowly, Jiang Cheng turns from where he’d just been trying to sneak, and looks in the living room, “Jiejie…”

Yanli patted the couch next to her, telling her little brother to come sit, a sad smile on her face. Beside her, on the accent chair to her left, was Wei Ying. His guard dog was surprisingly nowhere to be seen. Ying had his head down in shame, his back pressed snugly into the chair as if it’d be able to swallow him whole.

The Chair would not, in fact, swallow him whole - nor even partial.

Jiang Cheng kicked his shoes further into their spot along the wall childishly, before stepping onto the carpet and then flopping down next to his sister. His arms were crossed over his chest and his usual scowl was looking more like a small child pouting than a full grown man pissed off.

However, he was rather pissed off.

“A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli began, looking over to the middle child, prompting him to apologise.

Wei Ying’s bottom lip wobbled as he looked to her, then to Jiang Cheng, and in a cracking voice, lined with regret and hurt, he choked out “I’m sorry, A-Cheng…”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Cheng said as fast as he could, trying to immediately get up only to get yanked back into his spot by Yanli.

“That’s not all, just give him a moment.” She hummed, keeping one hand on both of their knees. She’d always been their mediator. She acted more like a middle child than an eldest sibling.

Wei Wuxian took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself. He wiped at his red, irritated eyes. His cheeks were already puffy from crying, but it seemed he wasn’t even close to having cried all his feelings out.

“I shouldn’t have hit you. I let my anger get the best of me a-and I’m sorry! I don’t ever wanna hurt you” his tears flood down his cheeks. Wei Ying takes a moment to choke back his tears before he continues to ramble, “you’re my brother so of course I’m gunna bully you bu-but I never ever wanted to actually hurt you and It’s all my fault you’re in pain right now and I’m so sorry A-Cheng!”

Faster than light, Wei ying is launching off his chair and onto Jiang cheng’s lap. Wei Ying throws his arms around Jiang cheng’s neck and sobs into the crook of his neck, staining the collar of his white shirt black with ruined eyeliner.

“I’m sorry, Didi! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Wei Ying babbled to a stunned Jiang Cheng, his words occasionally breaking between hiccups and sobs.

Jiang Cheng had apologised to Wen Ning, but he didn’t expect Wei Ying to apologise to him. Nor to feel so… so genuinely sorry. They’d fought before, it had never been a big deal, but apparently to everyone besides himself, this was a big deal.

Stiffly, Cheng slowly reached around and patted Wei Ying’s back, looking to his sister for guidance on what to do. Was he supposed to hug him? Jiang Cheng was horrible with physical contact, with consoling people, with understanding feelings… anything that involved other humans, he was bad at. Hence why he chose to study law. It was a well paying career that perfectly utilised his social issues and ability to keep everyone at a distance.

Jiang Yanli smiles at him and nods, telling him he’s doing well, but when that doesn’t seem to be enough she shifts onto her knees on the couch and gently pats his head, ushering both her little brothers into her arms. “You’re such a good guy, A-Cheng… we’re so lucky to have you as our baby brother. We’re so proud of you.”

Jiang Cheng’s vision starts to blur. He’s not crying. He’s absolutely not crying. The warmth that slides down his face isn’t tears. He doesn’t have an explanation to what it is, but it’s not tears.

He closes his eyes and feels more liquid come from his eyes, but he can’t bring himself to care about what it most definitely isn’t at the moment. His arms wrap tightly around both of his siblings, a silent sob leaving him as they hug.

“I forgive you, Ying-ge.”

Jiang Cheng is definitely crying.

Chapter Text

An Arcade; In theory it sounded wonderful. Wen Ning would get to watch Jiang Cheng play games, maybe they could win a prize together, hell maybe Wen Ning might even play a game!

It wasn’t as amazing as he’d hoped.

Nothing between them had gone wrong this time, but the moment they stepped through the doors Wen Ning was anxious. The narrow rows of games were tightly packed with people and overwhelming with loud noises. Bright flashing lights that made Wen Ning want to turn his head away and hide in the hems of his sleeves.

They waited about a month to go on their third (fourth? Wen Ning had lost count by now) date. They texted much more often now, almost every day even if it was a simple picture of an animal, food, plants, or just a simple “good morning”.

The delay was caused by several things. Jiang’s family had gone on a short vacation for roughly a week, then they both had a few big assignments, Wen Ning with an essay and Jiang Cheng with several important exams. So it took awhile for their plans to take effect. That had given Jiang Cheng’s nose time to properly heal, as well.

In the entire month they'd gone with this date planned, Wen Ning had hyped this up in his head. Telling himself how amazing it’d be, how much fun they’d have! Maybe he’d even get the courage to give Jiang a goodbye kiss this time!

His dreams were quickly being shattered, however.

Just as Wen Ning turns to try and flee, he feels warm, calloused fingers slipping between his own, and giving his slightly smaller hand a gentle squeeze. He feels his entire face bloom with warmth. ‘ Is this?! Are we really holding hands!?’ Ning feels his heartbeat in his throat, nerves and anxiety lighting his veins ablaze beneath his skin.This time however they’re bearable, much more bearable. Welcomed .

He turns to face Jiang Cheng, staring at his cheek instead of his eyes - Ning was able to judge his reaction this way without needing direct eye contact. Jiang Cheng wears a comforting smile, one that makes Wen Ning’s knees wobble and his heart swoon. He gets another reassuring squeeze to his hand. One that reassures without needing to even say “You can do this”, though Cheng still does.

This is already so much better than their last dates, all of them combined, actually! This is going so well and they’d only been together maybe 30 minutes in total (only 10 or so alone, as they’d had to swing by Nie Huaisang’s house so Wen Ning could change).

Wen Ning gives him a soft smile and a little nod saying ‘I’m okay’ without having to voice it, and they make their way into the arcade. For once, Wen Ning hadn’t even begun to worry if he’d stopped somewhere that put him in the way of others. Or if he was holding up a line. Those anxious thoughts that normally ran through him like a plague weren’t even being considered- he was far too distracted by the thumb that gently rubbed over his knuckles.

“We can walk this way, there seems to be less people down here.” Jiang says as he guides Wen Ning in a direction. With the hand not holding Wen’s, Jiang holds a small aluminium bucket filled nearly to the brim with tokens. Using these nowadays seems almost archaic with how much exists digitally. But maybe that’s the fun of it. Nostalgia.

“Have you be-been to a-.. an arcade before?” Wen pipes up, barely loud enough for Jiang to pick up over all the noises of the machines. Dings and Beeps and Music all overlapping and making a cacophony of annoyance

“Yeah, there used to be one down the street from the primary school Wei Ying and I went to, so we’d go there every Friday after school.”

“So you m-must be good at th-these sorts of games.”

The deep rumbling laughter that erupts from Jiang Cheng both startles Wen Ning and makes his heart race. It’s so unfiltered and earnest. He’s never heard him laugh so openly before and now it’s the only thing he wants to hear. Maybe their texting for the last month or so had made it easier to be comfortable around each other.

“I wouldn’t say that. Wei Ying had gotten us kicked out too many times for trying to cheat. I didn’t honestly get to play much.”

That sounds like Wei Wuxian behaviour. “Hi-him and his loop holes…” Ning murmurs fondly.

They’re walking down a row of claw machines and Gachapon, all seeming very influenced. There are anime figurines, collectables, candies, toys. There’s so much. Wen Ning only recognizes some of the more prominent characters. One he’s seen on manga covers in Wei Ying’s room, or the occasional fanart Nie Huaisang shows to the group over lunch. He can’t say he knows any of their names, however.

He stops dead in his tracks, partially jerking Cheng back to his side as well. His eyes are locked on a few giant squishy stuffed toys inside one of the claw machines. They’re big, round, and even through the fingerprint smudged glass Wen Ning can already tell they’re incredibly soft. He’s mesmerised by them and his newfound urge to squish his face into the soft bellies.

They stand there for maybe all of five seconds before Cheng lets go of Ning’s hand and walks up to the machine, depositing 5 of the gaudy golden tokens into it before placing his hands on the joystick and buttons.

“W-Wait, I-...” His mouth goes dry when Jiang Cheng looks over to him, his lips curled in such a kind and calm smile. How can one man change so fast!? A man who previously made his heart race with anxiety and nervousness was now making his heart race from affection and his smile . God, he's too handsome for Wen Ning’s soul.

“Do you want to try?”

Wen Ning swallows quickly before shaking his head ‘no’. He knows he’ll mess up, and when he does then he’ll just be wasting money. His family had drilled frugality and self-doubt into him so deeply he’d assume his marrow is replaced with their thoughts and ideals. If someone else messed up their money, it was fine… but if he did it, the world would surely come to an end.

Cheng didn’t press, not for now at least, as he was on a rapidly depleting timer. The first two times he missed the toy, the third time he’d grabbed it, raised it up only for it to slip and bounce against the bottom. It was close, though! It was dangling right over the edge! Wen Ning also did a little bounce, rocking quickly from heel to toe twice, excitedly. It was so close! They’d almost got it!

Jiang Cheng was glad Wen Ning was so distracted by the plush, because with his eyes focused on the stuffed creature, He could really look at him. He could take a brief few seconds between turns to admire him without Wen Ning’s eyes daring away or his head ducking down so he couldn’t be stared at.

He was pretty. Soft, flawless skin, big round eyes that showed all his emotions so blatantly, thin but most certainly soft lips. He really was handsome.

Jiang knew he could get it on the next try, so he gently grabbed Wen Ning’s arms and tugged him in front of him, dutifully ignoring the startled yip. He guided Ning’s hands on the buttons and joystick, then gently placed his own over them. He moved the joystick just as he would if it were his turn, guiding Wen Ning so he felt like he was doing it too. “Hit the button.”

“A-Are you sure? Wh-what if I m-m-mess it up?!”

“You won’t.” He doesn’t say anything else, just lets Ning press the button. Just as Jiang Cheng had promised, the plush fell into the collection side. Cheng takes a few steps back and lets his date collect the plush, a smile crossing his lips as Wen Ning’s eyes sparkle in awe.

Wen Ning was right. It’s unbearably soft. Smooth and squishy and the texture makes him want to wiggle in delight - he doesn’t, but he considers it. Instead he fully wraps his arms around it and hugs his face into it. It’s so soft. He’s already in love with it. This date is already the best he can ever imagine and it’s only just started!

- - -

Jiang may be a little bit envious of the plush that now takes up Wen Ning’s arms. He doesn’t get to hold his hand anymore but maybe that’s for the best. This is pretty much their first date, after the first had gone so miserably and the second ended less than ideal. Maybe this evens it all out?

They shouldn’t be rushing affection if this is their first date. (But) As it’s their third, Cheng is more than a little antsy to try and show minute amounts of affection.

He’s not fond of PDA, but for some reason, when being surrounded by so much … he’s not too bothered by it. There are so many people crammed into such small places, all of them absorbed in games or prizes, no one’s paying anyone any mind.

They doubly find out that’s the case when Wen Ning gets bumped like he’s invisible so many times. The third time Jiang is about to yell at the person who did it - how can they not see such a tall man with a stuffed toy in his arms that almost completely covers his entire torso?! Wen Ning isn’t small by any standards, not that Jiang Cheng minds that. In fact he almost prefers it. Not having to crane his neck up or down to look at his partner.

A  gentle tug on the sleeve of his shirt distracts him from his anger. He sees Wen Ning pointing to a game as he gently tugs the sleeve with his other hand. It’s not a crane game, this one is a typical arcade cabinet. It looks like a fighting game. Jiang Cheng wasn’t bad at those. He almost got good enough to beat Wei Ying, in fact. “You wanna play?”

Wen Ning shakes his head ‘no’ and Jiang suppresses a chuckle. That’s all Wen Ning has wanted since they won the toy; to watch Jiang Cheng play all the games. He doesn’t mind doing that however, but it’s their date. They should be playing games together . “You sure you won’t join me…?” he hums, putting in the required two tokens to start the game.

“I-I’ll find one to play e-eventually.” Wen Ning murmurs, squeezing the stuffed toy in his arms a little tighter as he watches the screen with intrigue.

“Maybe, next time we come here, It’ll be a double date.”

Next time . “With Wei Ying and Lan Zhan?” Wen Ning barely suppresses a laugh at Jiang’s grimace.

“I suppose it would have to be them, wouldn’t it…”

It would, as neither of them know any other couples save for Lan Huan and Nie Mingjue. Thankfully, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng had made up. It was a rather tearful exchange that in all honesty Jiang Cheng was glad he had.

“It could be fun..”

“Yeah right, Wei Ying is a show off. He’s going to kick my ass and the first time he loses he’s going to go get pity from his giant guard dog.” Jiang grumbles as he mashes the buttons.

Wen Ning laughs quietly because he can already picture it. Wei Ying stealing Lan Zhan’s glasses, claiming not even this ‘impairment’ will be able to defeat his winning streak. Lan Zhan would try to take back his glasses, ultimately unsuccessful. Wei Ying loses and of course dramatically drapes himself in Lan Zhan’s arms.

Wen Ning is startled from his thoughts when the arcade machine sounds, “ FINISH HIM! ”, the machine’s gruff voice calls.

“I-Is this…?”

“Mortal Kombat Two. It’s a vintage machine, they’re hard to find and especially in such nice condition.” Jiang says as he hits the buttons in an order that’s far too fast for Ning to comprehend.

Wen Ning frowns a little bit when the game returns to its title screen with no other fanfare. “N-No tickets…?”

“Nah, If you want to win tickets, follow me. You’ll have to play too, though.” Jiang’s hand gently rests on the middle of Wen Ning’s back, keeping him close so he doesn’t get lost. Maybe, just maybe it’s also so people will think twice about bumping him.

The redness of his cheeks must be evident enough even under the dim overhead lighting and multicoloured flickering of the machines, because Jiang Cheng murmurs “Sorry”, and withdraws his hand. “Should’ve asked,” He adds - not that Wen Ning would ever deny him such a soft gesture.

“It’s alright.” This was farther than they’d ever gotten, Wen Ning had nothing to complain about. How could he when not only did he get to hold Jiang Cheng’s hand, he got his arms around the softest plush in the world!? Okay, maybe it was a little bit of an over exaggeration, but… Wen Ning was very happy with it.

This date was also turning out to be the longest, too. They had walked the lake’s edge by the lotus blossoms for about an hour, but this was a little different. By the lake they had plenty of space, they could walk as close or far as they wanted (they’d gone for somewhere in between), but here they were pressed side to side almost the entire time, and if Wen Ning didn’t have his arms around the plushie he held, they’d certainly be around Jiang Cheng’s arm.

“D-Dance Dance Revolution!?” Wen Ning squeaked as they stopped in front of an older, restored DDR machine. He’d never played but he’d been told it was a lot harder than it looked. Jiang Cheng just laughed a little bit.

“Yep. This is one of the games that got us kicked out a lot. Wei Wuxian found a way to farm tickets and every time we went up to it they shooed us, eventually banning us from coming at all.”

“Ho-how… it’s just… dancing?” Wen Ning tipped his head to one side as they waited for the current set of people to finish their round.

“If you can hit every step, on the hardest difficulty, you’ll get an obscene amount of tickets. But it’s not easy to do. Most of these machines don’t even give tickets anymore, and if they do they have a cap.” Jiang Cheng explained before gesturing to a certain part of the machine, “But this one is the same one we grew up with-”

‘Convenient’ , Wen Ning Thinks.

“- it should be able to spit out a few hundred tickets if I play it right, double that if by some miracle you can get a flawless score as well.”

“I see.. I…I’m n-not very good at dancing… and I-I’ve never played b-before..”

“It’s fine, if you don’t want to play we can do something else. I mean there are plenty of other cabinets we haven’t looked at. Or there is skeeball… That was one of the first ones I ever beat Wei Ying at.”

His eyes sparkle at the mention of skeeball. The two times he’d ever played an arcade game, it had been that, and the second time he was actually pretty good. “Th-That one. Can we do that one?”


- - -

“Thank you for today, Cheng…” Wen Ning isn’t sure how long they’d been out, but the sun is just setting. They’d done their usual routine of swinging by the Nie home for him to change back into whatever he was wearing, and then Jiang Cheng would return him home. This time, however, Jiang Cheng got out of the car too.

They were standing on the sidewalk, both with a faint pink dusted over their cheeks that spoke volumes that neither of them could.

‘ Kiss him!’ Wen Ning’s brain screams, only serving to worsen his blush and make him flounder. He tucked his face into the back of his stuffed toy that had barely left his arms all evening. Jiang Cheng had held it while they were in Nie Huaisang’s basement bedroom.

‘ It still smells like him…’ Wen Ning’s brain supplies.

He tenses up when he feels two hands on his waist, and then a gentle kiss to the crown of his head. Just as quickly as they were there, they were gone. Even so, Ning still feels the ghostly lingering of the warmth his hands left behind.

He peaks over the top of the stuffed toy, looking up at Jiang Cheng, “Have a good night, I’ll text you, and we can plan our next date?”

Ning nods enthusiastically, smiling so hard behind the soft fabric of his plushie that his cheeks ache. He doesn’t trust himself to speak, so he just gives a little wave as Cheng gets back into his car - He’s smiling too.

Wen Ning loves Jiang Cheng’s smile. He should wear it more often.

Chapter Text

Wei Ying is a special kind of asshole. He loves to watch his friends suffer as long as their pain isn’t genuine. If he can bully Wen Ning just a little bit by talking about his Didi, it’s worth it. Plus Wen Ning is adorable when his cheeks are all pink and he’s trying to cover his embarrassment with his hands. He’s just cute all around.

Lan Zhan seems to get the memo too, because occasionally he’ll chip in a tidbit of information to spur on the playful banter.

“He came home Sunday with a smile so big I thought he’d finally lost his mind.” Wei Ying hums, a smirk across his lips. “He looked like he was floating on cloud nine. What’d you do to him?”

“N-Nothing!” The timid squeak and the shake of Wen Ning’s head made Wei Ying grin even wider. Everyone was glad that the couple’s rocky start hadn’t meant their end. He still definitely felt bad about breaking Jiang Cheng’s nose, though, even months later.

“Nothing at all? He pulled in the driveway and sat there for a good five minutes. I’m sure he was squealing like a little school girl who finally got to kiss their crush!” Wei Ying presses.

“Mn. He looked very pleased when he came into the house.” Lan Zhan confirms.

“W-We di-di-didn’t!!” Wen Ning’s heart is pounding in his chest, he feels his entire face grow warm. He swears his ears must be red too. He’s so embarrassed but for once, it doesn’t feel bad. It’s different from how his family embarrasses him. This one is friendly, kind, playful. He’s not meant to feel demeaned or stupid, and he doesn’t.

“Hey guys!” Nie Huaisang hums as he sits down next to Wen Ning, giving him a little nudge on the shoulder.

This is their usual arrangement. Every day at lunch at least two of them sit together. Today is Tuesday, however, the only day that their schedules align perfectly to have all four sitting together.

“Hey SangSang.” Wei Ying hums softly, “We’re bullying Wen Ning about his last date with my brother.”

“Oh! They come over to my house before and after every date, so I can tell you all the juicy gossip before A-Cheng even gets home~!” Nie Huaisang grins deviously. He and Wei Ying are insufferable when together.

“E-Eh!? Wa-Wait, No!” Wen Ning sputters

“Oh, ho ho! Spill it!” Wei Ying slams his hands down on the table excitedly.

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan stares at Wei Ying for a moment, then gestures to the food in front of them. Wei Ying sighs dramatically, putting the back of his hand to his forehead as if he’s about to faint.

“Aiyah.. Lan Zhan! So mean to me, making me eat my lunch! And during our lunch hour! So cruel to your boyfriend, honestly.”

“Mn. Eat.”

Wen Ning sheepishly smiles at Lan Zhan, thanking him silently. If Nie Huaisang is going to become Wei Ying’s confidant in relationship gossip, Wen Ning would prefer it not be done in the middle of the lunch hall.

Their lunch after that goes by smoothly, Wei Ying and Nie Huaisang gossiping about this or that and sharing little gasps of feigned shock. It’s honestly fun to watch, even if Wen Ning doesn’t participate or even understand a majority about what’s being said.

He feels a buzz from his pocket and pulls out his phone. A message from Jiang Cheng!

> Jiang Cheng
You look cute today.

Wen Ning’s cheek flush darkly and he pulls his phone to his chest like he’d just been sent something lewd. Wei Ying’s eyes are locked on him, a curious yet knowing smirk on his face. Does he know what it says? No one would’ve been able to see it, surely!!

“Got somethin’ neat there, A-Ning?” Wei Ying asks before humming around the thick straw of his milk tea.

“N-No!” his words come out timid and startled, a squeak. He shakes his head quickly, as if his adamant denial will keep Wei Ying from prying.

It won’t. All of them know as much.

“C’mon~ You know I can keep a secret~.” Ying presses

They all give him a look that says ‘no you cannot’.

Wei Ying sighs “Look, as long as it’s a secret that can stay between us four, and my brother, and my sister, and my sister’s newborn baby… then yes! I can totally keep secrets.”

Lan Zhan rolls his eyes, and Nie Huaisang gives a soft scoff, smirking as he says “Even I can keep secrets better than you.”

“Not if you keep those secrets between your legs you can’t~”

Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian begin slinging half hearted insults at each other like they do almost every Tuesday. This was something that took Wen Ning a long time to get used to, and apparently Lan Zhan as well. Now Lan Zhan doesn’t even bother defending either of them nor butting in to try and stop.

Wen Ning still gets worried it will grow out of hand, but the two are usually laughing so hard by the time lunch is over, their insult slinging devolving into words that Ning isn’t even sure are real.

Nie Huaisang recovers from this fit of laughter first, and seems to have remembered what started it all in the first place. He shifts a bit in his seat to better face Wen Ning, “did Jiang Cheng text you? When are you two going on your next date?”

“O-Oh, yeah… h-he did.” Wen Ning looks down to his black phone screen, his cheeks starting to burn again as he remembers the text. He too wonders when their next date is. “Sh-should I ask him? It’s o-only… only been a-a few days. Is that t-too soon?”

“Psh! No way. Between semesters, Lan Zhan and I go on dates almost every day. And if it’s not an ‘out of the house’ date it’s a stay in and cuddle and watch movies sorta date!”

“Just because you two practically live together doesn’t mean everything you do together is a date.” Nie Huaisang butts in, ignoring the little angry pout Lan Zhan gives.

“Well we’re dating , so I find your points irrelevant. Besides, you don’t even have a boyfriend.” Wei Ying waves his hand dismissively, hoping Nie Huaisang will fall right into his trap.

“Yeah, you’re right, I’m too busy fucking your dad.”

“I didn’t know you liked corpses.” Wei Ying wears a cruel smirk, one that shows how truly pleased he is with his victory.

“Y-You know what I meant!! Your Uncle!!” Nie Huaisang’s face is entirely red. Rarely does he get outplayed verbally but Wei Ying is his ultimate match when it comes to borderline cruel banter.

“U-uhm, If I ma-may?” Wen Ning gently raises his hand to get the attention of his friends, “when… when should I ask hi-him if we’re… t-...t-to-...” His words die off as his cheeks grow more red, and finally he whispers out the last word “ together?” more embarrassed than that time Wei Ying smacked his ass in highschool and he shrieked so loudly the entire lunch room turned to look at him.

“I mean… you can ask him now? You’ve gone on how many dates?” Wei Ying asks, pulling his chopsticks from his lips and pointing them at Wen Ning. Lan Zhan brings his own set down over Wei Ying’s, pointing them at the table instead of at their friend.

Wen Ning reads his lips but doesn’t hear Lan Zhan’s quiet scolding of ‘rude’ to Wei Ying. Wen Ning replies after mentally counting “Three…? B-but… o-only the last one w-was good.”

“Still, I think that’s a reasonable amount of time. Maybe on your next date you can ask.” Nie Huaisang adds.

“Speaking of dating,” Lan Zhan asks, looking towards nie Huaisang, “How is my Brother?”

“Oh! He and Da-ge are very happy. They’ve been talking about getting a dog-”

Wei Wuxian pretends to faint, slumping into Lan Zhan dramatically in the process. Lan Zhan wraps his arms around his boyfriend but Nie huaisang ignores him after rolling his eyes, and continues. “They also just finished renovating their master bathroom and they’re way too happy about it. Ugh they act so old-”

“They’re almost 30.” Wei Ying murmurs with a pout.

“That is not old.” Lan Zhan states so matter-of-factly.

“Old enough. I’m barely 21 and I already feel so old! ” Nie Huaisang whines, his bottom lip pouting and puffing out his cheeks in an attempt to make himself look cuter.

Something Wen Ning knows he’s seen before. He can really tell Nie Huaisang and Wei Ying have been friends for a very long time. They act so similarly.

The clock tower in the centre of campus chimes loudly, signifying the turn of the hour. “Lan Zhaaaaan, I don’t wanna go to class…” Wei Ying tries his puppy dog eyes on his boyfriend.

They do not work, Lan Zhan’s expressionless face states as much.

“Carry me?” Wei Ying pouts

“Mn.”

Lan Zhan picks up his boyfriend bridal style and presses a chaste peck to his lips.

“Keep it in the bedroom, you two!” Nie Huaisang pretends to be disgusted

“Yeah, yeah.” Wei Ying waves him off before addressing Wen Ning, “NingNing, you’ll be coming to our family banquet this weekend right?”

“B-banquet?” Wen Ning repeats. He hadn’t heard of a family banquet. That sounds formal. That sounds stressful .

Wei Ying reads the anxious look on his friend’s face and hops down from his boyfriend’s arms to better explain. “I figured Jiang Cheng would’ve invited you, but maybe he’ll do it later in the week. He might be nervous. Also, don’t panic, it's not fancy or anything. It’s just when our family gathers together and has a whole evening of drinking and eating, and talking about life. Uncle and Aunt Jiang work way too much, so we have these sorta things twice a year.”

Wen Ning nods a few times as Wei Ying explains. His position shifted into a more relaxed one, instead of the cowering hunch he had been.

“Ah, I see… He’d never mentioned it.”

“I’ll tell him to invite you. It’ll be Friday?” Wei Ying looks over his shoulder to his boyfriend for confirmation, like Lan Wangji is his walking calendar.

“Saturday.” Lan Wangji is, in fact, Wei Ying’s walking calendar.

“Saturday!” Wei Ying beams. “If he doesn't invite you, I’ll invite you and pick you up myself.”

And with that the group separates and heads to their respective classes, well, almost. Wen Ning’s phone is burning a hole in his pocket. The unanswered text message at the forefront of his mind. He choses to reply to Cheng's text message first.

> Wen Ning
I didn’t know you were in the habit of watching people.

>Jiang Cheng
Only certain people.

> Jiang Cheng
Are you free Thursday evening?

> Wen Ning
I should be! Classes that day end at 1:45.

>Jiang Cheng
Can I pick you up at 4?

> Wen Ning
Yeah! I’ll make sure to be ready.

>Jiang Cheng
I’ll make sure Huaisang is awake this time.

Wen Ning smiles at his phone before tucking it away. He doesn’t rush, however. He’s already going to be late, better let his face cool down so he has less things to be scolded for.

Chapter Text

Wen Ning wasn’t at lunch. Never once had Lan Zhan known Wen Ning to miss school.

On Thursdays, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan’s schedules alternate. One week, Wei Ying will have lunch free, the next Lan Zhan will. So, they’ll trade off again, leaving only one of them at a time with Wen Ning .

Wen Ning didn’t miss school. Never. Not willingly. He’d come to school sicker than a dog on multiple occasions. He’d laugh it off, wear a mask, say he was fine when everyone could tell he was not fine.

> ♥♥♥ZhanZhan♥♥♥
Wen Ning is not at lunch.

> Wei Ying ♥
What?!! Did he show up to classes?!

> ♥♥♥ZhanZhan♥♥♥
I do not know.

>Wei Ying♥
:( I think he and Huaisang have overlapping literature classes today. I’ll text him. 

Wei Ying shouldn’t be texting in class, but he’s not paying attention anyways. He doesn't need to hear what the teacher has to say, he passes all his tests without needing to study - much to Huaisang’s dismay. Besides, his friends and family had always meant more to him than his studies or part time jobs.

He sends a text message to Wen Ning, asking if he’s sick, before texting Huaisang;

>Ying-ge
Hey! Did Ning make it to class today?

>Whore-sang
I didn’t see him, but he’s as quiet as a mouse…
>Whore-sang
So idk

>Ying-ge
Ok thanks!

>Whore-sang
Did he not show up at lunch?

>Ying-ge
No :( Zhan said he wasn’t there. I’ve tried to text him but didn’t get anything.

>Whore-sang
Weird! D:
>Whore-sang
When you get a hold of him tell him my bedroom door will be unlocked tonight.
>Whore-sang
He can wear whatever but don’t let his boyfriend wake me up this time!! Or else someone is gonna get bit.

Wei Ying sends an ‘ok’ hand emoji before pulling up his messages with Wen Ning, no response.

He sends another one and watches it deliver, hopeful to see the ‘read’ message pop up. He’s about to type away another, pressing his concern, but he’s scolded by his professor before he gets the chance.

After class, he sends another, after the next class, another. He’s acting like a concerned mother but frankly he doesn’t even care. He’s worried. So, when he doesn’t get a response after two hours, Wei Ying decides to call Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t answer the first time. The second call he does pick up after a few rings,  “What do you want, I’m busy.”

“Too busy for your big brother!? I’m heartbroken.”

There’s an audible sigh, but Jiang Cheng gives in; continuing whatever he had been doing as Wei Ying can hear shuffling and some other background noises. “Hurry up, I’m about to go pick up Wen Ning.”

“Oh! Perfect… well, actually not really perfect-”

“Spit it out.”

“He didn’t show up to school today.” Wei Ying rushes out, finding it easier to rip the bandaid off at once than slowly peeling it. Jiang Cheng would have to find out sooner or later anyways

The shuffling Wei Ying heard on the phone stops abruptly, and he can’t help but wonder if Jiang Cheng is as worried as he is. Surely he must be. Even if Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng hadn’t put a title to their relationship, they were dating.

“He… He’s never missed school before.” Cheng says in a whisper, more to himself than Wei Ying

“Yeah! I know! And everyone I’ve texted said they haven’t heard anything. Lan Zhan was the one to tell me he missed lunch.” Wei Ying explains in a rush. The shuffling on Jiang Cheng’s side grows loud again, quicker, more urgent.

“And you didn’t think to call me almost 4 hours ago when you found out?!” Jiang Cheng growls, masking his concern with anger.

“I was in class!! Besides, I sent him a bunch of texts! And it was like two and a half hours ago, thank you very much.”

Cheng grumbles again, “If I send you a location, call the police and get there as fast as you can. Also tell Jiejie to get bail ready.”

“Deal. Be safe, his family is…” Wei Ying trails off only for Jiang Cheng to finish his sentence.

“Awful, yeah, I know.”

“Violent.” Wei Ying corrects.

- - -

He’d gotten no text messages that morning. Jiang Cheng knew something was wrong deep down in his gut, but he’d chosen to ignore it. He feels like an idiot now for that, but he can’t change the past. Their usual good morning text had been received but never read. The two pictures after that as well, left unread.

Even if he was sick he’d have checked his phone. He would’ve called in to school, he would’ve asked someone for notes to study… Radio Silence with Wen Ning as concerning as Wei Ying not speaking.

At little before 4pm, as he told Wen Ning, Jiang Cheng arrived at his house. He didn’t text and say ‘Hey I’m here’ nor did he wait in the car like usual, he marched right up to that door with the intent to knock so hard he woke the dead. He wasn’t leaving until he saw Wen Ning. Even if all he got was a “Hey I was sick, sorry, I’ll see you later.” Jiang Cheng had to see him.

However, he knocks twice and gets no answer. He knocks a third time and finally hears cursing and shouting and the knocking over of beer cans that clink against the floor, and finally someone answers. A Wen, but not his Wen.

“What do you want?” Wen Chao slurs, squinting at the bright sunlight that floods in from the open door.

“I’m here to pick up Ning.” Jiang Cheng glowers at the man who can’t be more than a year or so older than himself. Wen Ning didn’t talk of his family, but he knew it wasn’t a good situation. The only one he ever willingly mentioned was his big sister Qing.

The slimy smirk that crosses Wen Chao’s face disgusts Jiang Cheng more than words could ever describe.

“So you’re the boy she’s always running off with. Sorry, pal, she’s busy. So fuck off.”

Jiang Cheng had always considered himself well disciplined - even if he was mouthy. He knew when he could and couldn’t punch someone (more than Wei Ying, anyways) and most of the time the answer was ‘you can’t punch this person’. The lines here, however, were quickly becoming blurred.

Punching your partner’s family members is usually a sure fire way to get in trouble with said partner, but hearing Chao so casually misgender Ning… Let’s just say it’s quickly becoming more and more appealing to Jiang Cheng.

“Let him tell me that.”

Wen Chao’s disgusting smirk drops in a split second to a sneer, “You’re the one who’s encouraging that shit, huh? That she can be a guy?” He takes a step back and faces into the house, pressing a finger to each side of his mouth and whistling. It’s a sharp and loud noise that echoes throughout the rooms. Similar to how someone would call for a dog who’s a hundred or more metres away.

There’s big footsteps pounding down the stairs and suddenly a man almost the same size as Nie Mingjue steps into view in nothing but a pair of loose fitting sweats that hang around his hips. He says nothing as looks at the two standing in the front doorway. “Bring her. If she’s still naked put something on her, or don’t, I don’t care.”

The man - Wen Zhuliu - walks back up the stairs and after a minute that feels like it drags on for an hour, soft sniffles can be heard before Wen Ning rounds the corner. He’s got a red mark on his cheek that looks like he’d been slapped, bare thighs covered in bruises that… that aren’t just bruises. They’re bite marks and scratch marks, some old and beginning to yellow, some a pale red that’s just starting to shift…

He keeps his head down as he limps and stumbles to the door, roughly wringing the ends of his oversized shirt. He looks like he’s sore, like his whole body hurts if the way he forces himself to keep walking is any clue.  “Ning-er. Tell this nice man here that you’re sorry for deceiving him.”

Wen Ning doesn’t even look up to see who’s there. He knows what day it is, what time it is… He should’ve been out on a date with the man who actually gave a shit about him, but instead he was being used in ways he never wanted, by his family. Wen Ning keeps his eyes firmly on the floor, lash line wet with tears that spill faster than he can hold them back. When Ning doesn’t apologise fast enough, Chao grabs him by his hair and yanks him forwards.

“Tell him.” he commands.

Wen Ning squeezes his eyes shut tightly, trying to reach for the hand in his hair. His tears fall freely now and he quickly chokes out. “I’m sorry!” The way his body trembles makes Cheng’s blood boil, his knuckles go white with how tightly his fists clench.

Ning’s apology doesn’t seem to be enough for Wen Chao, however. Humiliation is what he wants. He wants to humiliate his ‘little sister’ to the point she never tries to find someone again.

His sickening smirk returns, but this time directed towards Jiang Cheng. “That’s a shame, you probably didn’t even get to see her pretty little pussy, huh? Won’t ever get to, either. I’ll let you in on a little secret, though. It looks best when it’s stuffed with cu-” A bone sickening crunch is heard and the hand releases from Wen Ning’s hair as Wen Chao goes flying into the home, landing in a pile of his own beer cans. Wen Ning screams, but from being startled rather than fear for himself or his safety.

Jiang Cheng steps in and shoves his car keys into Wen Ning’s hands, giving him a quick order. “Go lock yourself in the car, use my phone to call Wei Ying”, he takes another step inside, blocking Wen Ning from view when Wen Zhuliu comes down the stairs.

He can still feel Wen Ning against his back, trembling, so quickly he shouts “Go!”, he feels guilty for the flinch, but it gets Wen Ning moving. However, he doesn’t run to the car, he wraps his arms around Jiang Cheng and tries to tug him out the door too.

Wen Zhuliu is a big guy. At least 7 centimetres taller than Cheng, wide like Nie Mingjue - built like he goes to the gym every day. Even said, Jiang Cheng is willing to get pummelled into the ground to protect his boyfriend. With every step the man takes forwards, fear twists deep in Jiang Cheng’s guts. Boyfriend his mind latches onto for a split moment before remembering the situation he’s in, that the intimidating eldest brother of the Wen family is now just a metre or so away. Jiang Cheng is now definitely in punching distance.

“Go.” The larger man says, shoving a small backpack into Jiang Cheng’s hands before forcibly shoving both him and Ning out of the door and slamming it behind them.

The bag contains Wen Ning’s Wallet, Phone, Charger, and a single pair of clothes - presumably for right now as he’s not wearing nearly enough. Cheng is speechless but he’s not dumb enough to look a gift-horse in the mouth. He turns around and quickly rushes Ning to the car, the poor boy trembling like a leaf as Cheng helps him inside, kneeling by the passenger side as he hands off the bag.

Wen Ning’s wrists are splattered with bruises, newly yellowing things that look as if they’d only happened within the past 18 hours or so. Cheng’s eyes flick down for just a moment, spotting similar ones on his partner’s thighs. He forces his eyes anywhere besides there, the shirt Wen Ning wore didn’t even go to mid thigh, after all. He didn’t want to be labelled as a pervert (even though Wen Ning would never).

Cheng looks up to his face, the red and puffy cheeks and bloodshot eyes, the trembling bottom lip and the bruises on his throat- the bruises on his throat. “I’m gunna kill him” Jiang Cheng whispers under his breath, standing up and turning around but getting tugged immediately back to the car by a soft sobbing plea.

“Do-Don’t go”

Jiang Cheng takes a few deep breaths and turns back to Ning, “Do you want to come home? Back to my house?” he whispers, offering his hand for Ning to take if he wants it.

Ning stares at it as if it’s going to lash out at any minute, his eyes flick nervously to Cheng’s face and then back to his hand. He takes one last glance to his “home” and without another second of hesitation, places his own trembling hand in Cheng’s. Jiang Cheng has more than enough clues on what happened, but for now he chooses to focus on the comfort of his partner over anything else. A simple nod tells Cheng all it needs to.

He gives Ning’s hand a gentle squeeze before tucking him into the car and shutting the door. He climbs in and locks the doors, driving as quickly but safely as he can to his home.

Chapter Text

Wei Ying is practically glued to the window, his face squished against the glass panes as he watches cars drive by. The only time he pulls his face away is to check his phone, look at Lan Zhan for the confirmation or denial he’d heard anything, then squish his face back to the warmed glass.

“He should be here. He should’ve texted. He said he’d send the location if something got bad, he-”

“Wei Ying” Lan Zhan’s shoulder rests on Ying’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, “Patience.”

Wei Ying sighs and flops into his boyfriend's arms for all of 30 seconds before he presses himself back to the window. Patience wasn’t his strong suit. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be tested any longer. Jiang Cheng’s black sedan pulled into the driveway and Wei Ying was out the door faster than a cheetah.

- - -

“A-Ning,” Cheng whispers when he kills the engine, unbuckling himself, then his partner. “We can go up to my room and you can shower, or we can ask Jiejie to let you stay in her old room?”

Wen Ning shook his head ‘no’. He’d stopped trembling during the drive, but his eyes were still red and puffy from how hard he’d been sobbing. His throat felt raw and the feeling of his heartbeat constant and frantic in there wasn’t helping. His stomach was in knots as anxiety gnawed at him like a starved, rabid beast.

“No to what? Do you not want to stay in my room?” Even though his tone was soft and even, Wen Ning still flinched. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to be safe in Cheng’s arms for the foreseeable future. He didn’t want to be separated for even a minute, even if he knew that was both impossible and unhealthy.

“Do-don’t l-…leave me..” He managed after a minute or so of attempting to steady his breath and level out his voice. Quiet, Pathetic; he could hear his father’s voice in his head saying such nasty things but Cheng’s hand that covered his own was quickly silencing those, washing away his lingering fears.

“I’m not. Shower first and we can lay down. I’ll order us dinner and we can stay in my r-... room…” Cheng’s words tapered off as he looked behind Ning and saw Wei Ying bolt out the front door, tripping as he jumped off the steps. He still made his way towards the car once he’d steadied himself.

“Give me a sec, wait in the car, okay?” Cheng said as he glanced back at his boyfriend, waiting for Ning’s nod of confirmation.

Boyfriend. The realisation still made him giddy. They’d been dating, but they hadn’t put a title on their relationship. He’d actually been planning to ask him to officially be boyfriends tonight, on their fourth date. If Ning had trusted Cheng enough to more or less run away with him… well, that probably made them boyfriends, right?

Jiang Cheng climbed from the car and held a hand up for Wei Ying to stop - still a good few metres away from the car. Thankfully he did, halted like a well trained dog. That thought made Cheng mentally snicker. Jiang Cheng walked around the front of his car, blocking Wen Ning from Wei Ying’s view.

“He needs space right now. He’s… I wouldn’t say alright, but he’s alive and nothing’s broken.” Cheng starts off, glancing up for a split moment when he sees Lan Zhan walk down the front steps of the Jiang Family home.

Wei Ying seems to understand the severity of the situation, and nods quickly, trying to get a brief peak around his didi. “So he’s not hurt? Nothing’s broken, right? Why did he miss school-” Wei Ying rapidly fires off questions, bouncing on his toes with nervous energy.

Thankfully for Jiang Cheng, Lan Zhan comes up behind his partner and places both hands on Wei Ying’s shoulders, “Wei Ying.”

Ying whines and turns to his boyfriend, “Lan Zhaaaaaaaann!”, but thankfully Zhan is used to his whining, and simply lowers himself enough to wrap both arms around Wei Ying’s hips and hoist him up over his shoulder. He gives Cheng a single nod and turns on his heels, carrying a very loud and complaining Wei Ying back into the house.

Jiang Cheng sighs with relief. He already has enough on his plate right now without having to deal with his dearest older brother. They can discuss everything after the storm has settled and the dust has cleared.

He’s careful when helping Ning from the car. Wen Ning had slipped on the sweat pants from his bag while Jiang Cheng spoke to Wei Ying, so he’s not half naked anymore, but he’s still nervous. His fidgeting, while usually cute, is now painfully obvious to Cheng that it’s stress induced. His hands are reddened and his skin looks picked raw. It looks painful, frankly.

Ever so gently he wraps his arm around Ning, hand resting on his upper back between his shoulder blades as he leads him into his home.

- - -

A warm shower was definitely what Wen Ning needed, even if he hadn’t wanted it. Feeling the hot water wipe away the filth of his family’s touches was freeing - knowing he wouldn’t ever have to endure that again was even more so.

He never thought he’d be so lucky, and honestly, he’s not even sure if he is. For instance Jiang Cheng could change his mind about him - about them - and Wen Ning would have nowhere left to go besides back there. He can already feel his lungs squeezing with anxiety and dread, but thankfully a knock on the bathroom door startles him from the edge of his self induced panic attack.

“Ning, can I come in?” Jiang Cheng asks. Wen Ning is grateful for the thick shower curtain that hides him entirely. He doesn’t want Cheng to see him naked just yet. Probably not for a while, not until the bruises all heal. Preferably not until he’s gotten top surgery either, but that’s not here nor there, currently.

“Ye-yeah.” Ning replies. He grips the edge of the shower curtain to make sure his body is fully covered as he peeks his head out of the shower’s warmth.

Cheng comes in and seems a little startled to see Ning looking at him, but he lifts up a small pile that’s in his hands and moves to set it on the counter, “There’s one of my shirts, some sweat pants from Ying since he’s closer to your size, and your bag. If you don’t like the feel of those towels, there are more under the sink.” As he speaks he keeps his eyes away from the shower, trying to respect Ning’s decency even if his body is perfectly covered by the shower curtain.

“Thanks.. I-... I’ll b-be out soon.” Wen Ning can’t help but wonder if he’d ever mentioned his textile issues. He doesn’t think he did, maybe off-hand to Wei Ying once or twice when they were shopping at the mall. He knows for a fact he never told Jiang Cheng, though. So how did he know? Thankfully towels weren’t a texture that bothered him.

“Don’t rush. I’ll be directly across the hall.”

As the door closes and Wen Ning ducks back into the shower, he can’t help but feel happiness bubble inside him. He feels safe here. He feels warm and fuzzy, and not from the shower’s steam. Warm and fuzzy like he found a place where he belongs, where he has people who care about him. A place he can truly be himself… and he hasn’t even been here 30 minutes! Though, maybe it’s not the literal meaning of ‘place’? That’s his only conclusion he can come to in his mental exhaustion.

Ning turns off the water and stands in the warm air for another few seconds, letting out a long, content sigh. As he steps from the shower onto the fuzzy bath mat, but as he goes to reach for his towel, he catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

’it’s a shame, you probably didn’t even get to see her pretty little pussy, huh?’ He hears his brother’s words in his mind. Disgusting things from not even an hour earlier.

Wen Ning looks down to the space between his legs and nausea sets in faster than he can look away. He turns promptly and grabs the nearest towel, wrapping himself tightly in it as if the squeeze will make him forget the parts he was born with. He wished he could forget his brother’s words. Hell he wished he could forget the things his family has done to this body. In the moment it’s easy to dissociate and pretend it’s not happening. It’s not his body that they’re touching. Because he’s not a woman. The aftermath and the marks they leave behind on his body are harder to ignore.

He turns back to the mirror, towel wrapped around him from chest to mid thigh. The near handprint of a bruise on his throat is more obvious after the steamy shower. It’s darkened. The bite marks on his thighs have lessened a little, but they’re still quite noticeable.

A sinister voice in the back of his head starts to whisper awful things to him, as it always does when he is forced to look at the marks.

‘You’re used.’ it whispers, as if Wen Ning didn’t already know that. ‘Why would he want to keep you? Who wants a used plaything?’

He can feel the tears welling along his bottom lash. They burn. His eyes are so exhausted from crying, still yet, his body in the mirror grows blurry. Big aqua eyes dart up to his own face in the mirror. ‘Pathetic.’ Ning shakes his head ‘no’ but the voice laughs at him.

“I’m not” he tries to say, but his voice doesn’t come out, instead he’s just mouthing the words. His tears will come whether he wants them to or not. They roll down his cheeks, leaving warm wet tracks in their wake.

The feeling of warm hands on his shoulders make him flinch, but just as fast as the startle came, it’s gone with a deep, hushed voice, “Hey, shhh... It’s okay.” The hands turn him around and just as quickly he’s being tugged into a warm embrace. The dark purple tee-shirt is soft against his cheek, the gentle scent of cologne is comforting. The hands that rub up and down his back and the quiet, deep humming soothes him.

All these slowly pull him back from the edge of a breakdown. He’d been close, hell he’d probably had one foot in the door, but now he was taking deep breaths and pressing himself closer to the comfort. Letting it swallow him whole as his body took its time relaxing.

He doesn’t know if he’d been standing in that embrace for a few seconds or for ten minutes, when the humming ceases and the voice speaks, still soft, still calm. “C’mon. Get dressed and we can go lay down, okay?”

Wen Ning slowly pulls back from his spot, bringing his finger up to gently brush over the wet spots he’d left in Jiang Cheng’s shirt. “S-sorry..” he manages, barely a whisper.

“It’s fine, it’s just clothes. It’ll dry. You’re more important than having dry clothes.” Jiang Cheng says in that still soft tone. Wen Ning didn’t know he could speak like that. He’d never heard Jiang Cheng sound anything like that. Soft, Quiet, Calm… With no sass or heat. Like these words - this entire side of him - was solely for Wen Ning.

Tears start to well in his eyes again, but now for an entirely different reason. His bottom lip wobbles as he looks up to Cheng’s face. The ginger smile he wears instantly makes Ning burst into tears. He feels loved, he feels happy. He doesn’t remember a time he was ever able to say that; that he was happy… But he is happy. Honestly and truly.

Jiang Cheng, not knowing of the revelations Wen Ning is having, starts to panic himself - thinking he’d upset Wen Ning more by coming in without asking, or perhaps touching him while Wen Ning was still unclothed. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, please don’t cry. I heard you crying and I just wanted to make sure you were okay! I shouldn’t have touched you and-” His rambling of apologies is quickly cut short by laughter.

Oh,

Oh.

His laugh is so pretty…

“I’m no-not upset.” Wen Ning starts, pausing to wipe some tears from his eyes, “I’m… happy. I’m… you ma-make me happy.” He smiles so fondly up to Jiang Cheng, his eyes squinting from how much he smiles.

Wen Ning sees the moment of realisation in Cheng’s eyes. The moment where they turn from a worried expression to one of complete happiness. He swears he can see the hearts in them.

“I love you…” Cheng whispers, reaching up to gingerly wipe a fallen tear from one of Ning’s cheeks.

Such a heart-felt confession deserves a reply, and Wen Ning wastes no time telling Jiang Cheng. He smiles brightly and his hand slowly comes up to rest over larger hand on his cheek.

“I love you too.”