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Jiang Cheng was still nervous when he thought about visiting Cloud Recesses. The place, in addition to bringing him many memories of the past, was now also his shixiong's home, someone he hadn't yet learned to really talk to again after everything that had happened two years ago at the Guanyin Temple. Any relationship they had in the past had been completely dissolved, which made communication even more complicated, after all they didn't understand each other perfectly as they used to and he and Wei Wuxian had thirteen years of difference between them. Both had changed a lot, they were completely different people from the two boys who had once run along the piers of Yunmeng Jiang with the impression that the world was theirs and now they needed to get used to it, to this new reality.
Anyway, he was a leader of one of the four major sects, as well as being a friend of Lan Xichen; how that happened, so far Jiang Cheng didn't know either. Visits were inevitable, even more so after Xichen left seclusion. This one in particular was about Jin Ling and what he would study when his classes returned, but of course there were other things behind it like being able to spend more time with his new friend—that Jiang Cheng might or might not like more than usual. — and try to patch up a little more the tear that separated him from Wei Wuxian. When he arrived, everything looked pretty normal. He was received by some disciples and was taken to Lan Qiren's personal office where they had tea and put Jin Ling's studies on the agenda. The boy was close to turning sixteen and would eventually take over LanLing Jin for good, so following him closely was sorely necessary for Jiang Cheng.
To his surprise the time passed considerably quickly even though the subject was substantially quite tedious, which left him in a relaxed mood. Upon leaving, Jiang Cheng walked for a while through Cloud Recesses until he found the place where the rabbits were.
Later he would meet Xichen as promised, but as long as he had time he preferred to stay there. Jiang Cheng was generally a controlled person about such distractions, but he could never ignore so many adorable animals like that. He sat down in the middle of the grass, smiling faintly as he saw some rabbits approaching without fear and jumping into his lap. He caught the first and bravest of the group, stroking his white fur gently.
Later, after long minutes there, Wei Wuxian would appear for a chat. Jiang Cheng and he would still act awkward around each other even if they were alone and had no reason to hold back, but the relationship was better than before. It still hurt Jiang Cheng to hear his brother talk about how Cloud Recesses was his home now, though he understood that they were both definitely past that stage. Wei Wuxian obviously missed Yunmeng Jiang as much as Jiang Cheng missed him, but in each other's presence they could alleviate that longing just by standing close and smiling. Of course, they didn't speak this directly to each other, but it was visible in the gentle touches and hugs that, although awkward at first, later became gentle, translating into gestures what words couldn't say.
And when Wei Wuxian insisted that they go on a night hunt together, Jiang Cheng would eventually accept—not exactly because of him, after all he knew that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian could take care of themselves, but because Lan Xichen would show up later to do it. the same invitation.
Jiang Cheng thought this was just another regular visit to Cloud Recesses.
Until the visit became a spiral of unbelievable conflicts, but somehow too real to seem like a dream.
It turns out that for some reason a demonic cultivator decided to show up in the same place they were hunting and everything got worse from there.
Containing him shouldn't have been difficult, after all there were four of them there for just one man, but they didn't count the horde of fierce corpses that had appeared. Wei Wuxian's cultivation hadn't yet reached a point where he could fight alone and then mount his sword and fly if anything happened, so he didn't have the advantage of simply evacuating the scene if he had to. As a result, Jiang Cheng became hyper aware of his shixiong's movements. Fortunately, having spent years following Jin Ling on night hunts, Jiang Cheng was used to keeping an eye on someone else while fighting. Also, being trained in using both hands for combat because of Zidian made him nearly unreachable when it came to a short attack, which would likely ensure that no fierce corpses could hit him. Still, that horde was made of corpses far stronger than normal.
Even though Lan Wangji was also protecting Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng simply couldn't relax. It was the thought of losing his brother again that haunted him—the possibility of being by his side and by any mistake lose him scared Jiang Cheng. Even though he was used to fighting looking for someone else, Jiang Cheng's movements were much slower and his eyes didn't focus on a single point. As Chenqing didn't work on corpses, apparently Lan Xichen and Wangji were trying to find a window of time to be able to play Liebing or the guqin, though the demon cultivator was probably aware of both Lan's abilities, not even allowing them time to adjust the instruments. . Wei Wuxian quickly realized this too, because in the next moment he turned and yelled at Jiang Cheng.
“You need to cover Xichen-ge!” Wei Wuxian pointed, dodging an attack. Jiang Cheng hesitated, holding Sandu tightly between his fingers. Wei Wuxian noticed his reaction but just smiled “What? Jiang Cheng, I can take care of myself. It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me again, you know?”
Not that those were the best words for the moment, which Wei Wuxian must have sensed from the way Jiang Cheng looked at him.
“Lan Zhan is here with me, hurry up!” he yelled "Xichen-ge needs you."
Jiang Cheng eventually granted his shixiong's request, slowly gravitating towards Lan Xichen, who fought so brightly that he seemed to be dancing between Shouye's thrusts, his icy robes swaying along with his fluid and addictive movements. He didn't really have an opening to attack, but Liebing was in his other hand just waiting for the moment it could be used. When he saw Jiang Cheng approaching, Zidian's electric purple glow illuminating everything around them, Lan Xichen could barely hold back the smile that tried to cut his lips. When he told Jiang Cheng that he loved having him around at any time, there was really no lying—even though they were in the middle of a battle, he was more than happy to have him on his side and observe the force of nature that the other became when fighting with Zidian and Sandu in hand.
He honestly didn't know how they had become so close either. Xichen saw him only once before entering seclusion, outside the Guanyin Temple, so fragile that he honestly thought that the one beside Jin Ling was another man, not the dreaded Sandu Shengshou. Still, they both had their own wounds to tend and too busy with their own pains they just said goodbye to each other, leaving for their respective homes. After that, they only talked by letters. Jiang Cheng refused to write directly to Lan Qiren at the time because he thought his former teacher was a very strict man, unlike Lan Xichen, who could understand his points and see the whole situation more clearly.t
Initially, when letters were still addressed to Sect Leader Lan, full of politeness, and not to Lan Xichen, his friend, he honestly didn't want to answer them. It wasn't related to Jiang Cheng per se, but Xichen was just… exhausted. Seclusion started killing him even before the first month had passed, but afraid of disappointing someone else he just forced himself to answer each letter. Not that anyone was really disappointed in Xichen, though all the betrayals and the weight of teaching Jin Guangyao the song that killed one of his best friends made him think things through in a twisted way. Over time, however, the letters came to be something he expected. They arrived two or three times a week, keeping him updated on the outside world while Jiang Cheng busied him with asking for some advice—complaining, too—and dealing with Jin Ling's teaching.
One day Lan Xichen invited Jiang Cheng to visit. Not him per se, but Cloud Recesses. Jiang Cheng was being much more honest in his letters and he began to admit that he might miss Wei Wuxian. Seeing this, Xichen began to encourage him to visit, to try to vocalize more clearly the things he felt in his heart. With these visits, he also started to appear at Hanshi. They were friends and even though Xichen couldn't receive visitors, both began to allow themselves these moments because they needed each other's presence. At the time Jiang Cheng still hurt everything around him out of fear that these people would hurt him first, which made the approach to Wei Wuxian a little more troubled, however Lan Xichen saw him in the middle of all that mess, he understood Jiang Cheng's feelings and did everything to reassure him that the war was over, he just had to stop fighting so much.
Maybe that was the beginning for both of them. When Lan Xichen smiled after Jiang Cheng yelled at him because he couldn't accept compliments and Lan Xichen always ended up saying nice things, when he just opened his arms and allowed himself to trust a person again even if he still suspected his own shadow, when Jiang Cheng trusted him back and allowed himself to hear, even though it ached, the comfort he'd never received his entire life, or at least not the way he needed it.
They had come a long way since then, though they were being careful with each other. While Jiang Cheng was afraid that Lan Xichen would see his ugly side and leave, Lan Xichen was suspicious of his own steps because his past mistake—even if it was totally unintended—had cost thousands of lives. It was only because of this that they still hadn't confessed to each other, but expressed all their feelings through their eyes and gentle touch. It was obvious to anyone who saw them and yet they liked to fool themselves into thinking they were being discreet.
When Jiang Cheng stepped in front of him, Lan Xichen, too distracted watching his every move for the past three minutes, thought it was just to buy him time so he could play Liebing. It wasn't like Lan Xichen to get so lost in thought, especially during a fight, but it just happened in Jiang Cheng's presence—his eyes naturally sought him out, and when they found him they no longer allowed themselves to travel in other directions. What Lan Xichen failed to notice, however, was the fierce corpse larger than Wen Ning that appeared when summoned by the demonic cultivator and ran towards them wielding a sword. His speed was such that Jiang Cheng barely had time to throw himself in front of him, his belly pierced by the blade engulfed in resentful energy and then the blood spurting into his body, hot as the embraces they exchanged at Hanshi in the late afternoon.
When the fierce corpse withdrew the sword from Jiang Cheng's stomach, he immediately fell to the ground, blood spreading across his purple robes. The red color didn't suit him at all in that situation, yet in a brief moment of cold rationality Lan Xichen thought he looked gorgeous anyway.
The last thing he heard was his brother's call, then something in him shifted along with the anger and he suddenly lost control.
Jiang Cheng had already experienced many near-deaths in his life. All of them terrible, but he never thought he would be someone deserving to die in peace anyway. When he opened his eyes, the sunlight practically assaulted him, stealing a grunt from him, making him move slowly to try to put something over his irritated eyes. Though Jiang Cheng didn't make any effort with this harmless attempt to avoid the sun, he soon felt an agonizing pain spread through his torso, making his breath catch for a moment, his eyes closing immediately from the hateful sensation. It took some time for him to calm down again and get his eyes open again, but with a patience he certainly didn't have, Jiang Cheng waited for his body to get used to the environment and not long after he realized he was in Hanshi, lying on Lan Xichen's bed, who wasn't around.
His throat was dry from disuse. When Jiang Cheng tried to call for someone, he just made a miserable, scratchy sound. Luckily he didn't have to force himself to do anything else, because just as he was getting the courage to sit up, someone entered the room.
“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian yelled and Jiang Cheng closed his eyes again, expecting his idiot shixiong to hug him without thinking too much and accidentally hurt him again, but the thud never came.
Looking at him again, he noticed that Lan Wangji was holding Wei Wuxian by the robe. If there was someone who knew Wei Wuxian as well as Jiang Cheng, it was certainly Lan Wangji, so it was no surprise that he had read his shixiong's movements. For a brief moment he was grateful for Lan Wangji's presence, not that he was going to say any of this aloud.
"I'm glad you woke up." Wei Wuxian knelt beside him, calmer.
Jiang Cheng pointed to his throat, aware that if he tried to speak, he would probably sound like a rook. Wei Wuxian soon seemed to understand, pouring Jiang Cheng a glass. The water went down cooling his entire body, making Jiang Cheng feel much more awake.
"For how long did I sleep?" he muttered, handing the glass back.
"One week, A-Cheng." he sighed, smiling tiredly. Before Jiang Cheng could begin to despair, Wei Wuxian held him by the chest on the mattress “It's okay! Jin Ling is resting, he came running here and spent the night with you. Jiang Fei and Luo Yunxi were made aware of your condition, flew here, analyzed the situation and are taking care of Yunmeng Jiang now that everything has calmed down. The healers said you can go in two or three weeks, depending on your rest.”
Jiang Cheng's shoulders visibly relaxed at that, and he quickly nodded, feeling a lot calmer. Two weeks was a long time, but from what he remembered a sword literally went through his body and despite being a high level cultivator, he wasn't invincible. What made him remember that…
"That corpse, what happened to him?" he widened his eyes "It was very big, bigger than Wen Ning..."
"Oh, we took care of him." Wei Wuxian smiled with some amusement in his eyes "I mean, Xichen-ge tore his body apart after he saw what happened to you."
"Lan Xichen did what?" his voice rose a few octaves, Jiang Cheng was disbelieving "He doesn't… I'm sorry but I just can't associate this situation with Xichen!"
His shixiong's smile only grew.
"Well, you might not associate this with Xichen's human image, but what about his dragon form?"
Jiang Cheng suddenly paled.
"Dragon?" his voice was so out of tune that he thought he was back to puberty "Am I still on medication?"
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji exchanged a quick look before turning to Jiang Cheng, helping him to his feet. He got a little scared in their hands because, well, his shixiong was as careful as a donkey playing chess and Lan Wangji was just... Annoying, but he couldn't walk without their help, so he kept quiet.
“See for yourself!”
In short steps they walked to Hanshi's balcony. Jiang Cheng still had a horrible pain in his stomach, but luckily his weight was evenly distributed between the two who were practically carrying him, so it wasn't that bad. The moment he stepped out of the way, however, Jiang Cheng swore that he had suddenly entered a dream, because what was in front of him sure as hell couldn't be real. Of course, as a boy he'd heard the stories about how pure Lans could change into dragons, but honestly he thought it was all idiotic—especially since there were similar legends in Yunmeng about mermaids and, amazingly, Jiang Cheng hadn't created one fish tail in all these years. Yet there in front of him, so convincing of his existence that his surroundings seemed to mold to his giant form, was a dragon.
The white scales had a pearly sheen against the sun, contrasting with its blue and gold accents on the wings and tail. The horns and claws were huge, looking very dangerous. Upon noticing the approach of more people, the dragon opened its eyes. It was at this point that Jiang Cheng felt his knees suddenly give way, grateful that Lan Wangji had held him upright practically alone as Wei Wuxian got distracted watching them interact. The golden eyes looked lethal, but the heat in them, the feel… That was Lan Xichen. Even if his shixiong hadn't told him Jiang Cheng would have believed it, because that warmth that quickly enveloped him with just a brief glance was unique and belonged only to the crazy feelings Xichen made him feel.
As if he sensed his thoughts, the dragon approached gently, resting his head on the porch. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji helped him to sit directly across from him, Jiang Cheng still completely shocked.
“By the gods…” he muttered, looking at Xichen, who seemed to carry amusement in his eyes. Just to test, to confirm that what was in front of him really existed, Jiang Cheng clasped a hand into a fist and gave Xichen a weak punch to the nose, which he complained with a grunt. The touch of the cold scales on his hand made him shiver, but they confirmed enough "YOU ARE A REAL DRAGON, LAN HUAN, HOW COULD YOU HIDE IT FROM ME!" Jiang Cheng screamed as loud as he could, shocked, which wasn't even half as strong as Wei Wuxian speaking normally by the way, and touched the dragon again, but gently this time.
In his shock he barely noticed that he had called him Lan Huan. Wei Wuxian and Wangji exchanged a look again, causing the dragon to grunt softly so they wouldn't make a big deal out of it. He wanted to hear Jiang Cheng call Lan Huan while he could! If they corrected him, Jiang Cheng would never say something like that again out of shame. Fortunately, because Wangji could read him so well, they were both quiet.
"Believe me, A-Cheng, Xichen-ge would have told you if he'd known." Wei Wuxian sat down next to his shidi “After you lost consciousness, Lan Zhan and I ran towards you, but Xichen-ge suddenly transformed and… Well, I said, didn't I? He shredded everything that came close, which, huh…” made a face “Which then was a problem, because it took us a long time to convince him that we weren't going to hurt you.”
"Wait…You mean he hasn't gone back to human form since then?" Wei Wuxian nodded. Jiang Cheng just widened his eyes, turning to the dragon "Why?"
“On the days you were sleeping, we did research. As you may know, there is an ancient legend that pureblood Lans can change into dragons. Xichen-ge is literally of the purest lineage in existence as a direct descendant, which legend confirms that he would have this power, but this was not considered real even among the elders of the Lan Clan. When he transformed, it was purely because of you, Jiang Cheng.”
"B-Because of me?" he muttered, confused. Xichen nudged Jiang Cheng's hand with his nose, then laid his head in his lap. Jiang Cheng couldn't help but touch his face, the cool scales comfortable against his still-fevering body.
“When you got hurt, Xichen-ge must have released something inside him that allowed him to transform into a dragon. It was fear, anger and despair together. Powerless, he lost the strength to fight when he saw you hurt, but something inside him took all those feelings and spurred the transformation. We think that until you get better, he probably won't be able to change back to human form. It's a bigger instinct than him, something from the dragon.”
Jiang Cheng stared at Lan Xichen, whose eyes were closed by the affection he was receiving. With a sigh, he smiled again.
"Thanks." Jiang Cheng muttered, soon seeing the other look at him.
Lan Xichen couldn't speak, but he wanted to tell him that there was no need to thank him when it was Jiang Cheng who saved him first. Wei Wuxian continued to explain the situation as soon as he saw that his shidi wouldn't say any more.
"We're still trying to, um, work things out." he said, smiling awkwardly “Xichen-ge was not happy when we left him in the infirmary and he destroyed some things, which got some attention. Ah! Jin Ling also threatened war against Gusu Lan in the name of Lanling Jin, but, huh…”
“Wait… Jin Ling, he…” Jiang Cheng again felt like he was going to faint.
“Oh, Yunmeng Jiang also threatened to declare war. It's not everyday you see your leader in the arms of a dragon, is it? Even more so when such a dragon growls when someone approaches, or is extra possessive even with animals. Jiang Fei and Luo Yunxi weren't too excited by the sight, believe me.” Xichen snorted, glaring at Wei Wuxian with some irritability, “But we've already taken care of all this! It took a while to calm everyone down, but as soon as we explained the situation they understood. Xichen-ge also behaved better after that, so everything was back to normal... I mean, how normal this can all be. Jin Ling still wants to talk to him when Xichen-ge returns to his normal form, however. Jiang Fei and Luo Yunxi too.”
Jiang Cheng sighed. He didn't want to have to deal with any of this, not really. Suddenly, all he wanted was to lie down and sleep until these things were over.
"We still have more to discover, but you should rest for now, A-Cheng." Wei Wuxian touched his shoulder, smiling "I think the fact that Xichen has seen you well will calm him down a bit, he hasn't even been eating these last few days."
"Huh?" turned to Xichen, who turned his face away, pretending not to see him. “Listen here you big evil dragon, if you don't start eating again you can be sure that as soon as I get better I'll tie Zidian around your neck and drag you around Gusu until you swallow a lot of grass, understand me, you damn vegetarian?” he threatened, hearing a whimper. It was as if Jiang Cheng understood his complaints, because he immediately replied, “I don't care! You need to eat. If you don't eat, I won't be able to rest well.”
The dragon snorted but nodded, resting his head one last time on Jiang Cheng's lap, soon feeling his hands gently touch him.
"You need to take care of yourself too." he whispered, suddenly gentle. Lan Xichen wanted so badly to hug him.
He wanted to stay there longer and ask more questions, but soon he felt his eyelids growing heavy. Before Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji took him back into the warmth of Lan Xichen's bed, he smiled one last time at the dragon and fell asleep.
Lan Xichen had only regained his senses when he heard his uncle's scream calling for him. As the space in front of him suddenly came into focus, he looked to either side and realized he had destroyed half the infirmary. When he tried to move, he accidentally destroyed a few houses behind him, then noticing why the world around him seemed so weird — he was so much taller.
Wangji and Wei Wuxian were standing in front of a bed inside what was left of that ward, with an unconscious Jiang Cheng being treated in the background. From the way they were looking at him, they had probably adopted the defensive posture because Xichen was about to do something dangerous. It was dawn, it was probably already past five in the morning for a long time because of the number of disciples in the place where they were. He… He was a dragon. It took Xichen a while to figure that out, but it didn't take long to notice that he was a completely different shape now.
He refrained from making any move, fearing that because he no longer knew his own proportions, he might end up hurting someone. He carefully checked his own body, noting the scales, the size, the wings and how absurdly dangerous his claws looked. Lan Xichen didn't believe in legends, at least not those involving mystical creatures. Dragons, if they ever existed, were last seen many, many years ago. His uncle used to tell him bedtime stories about how such creatures were formidable, how they protected Gusu, and how their predecessors, perhaps even Lan An, were descendants of such dragons. Of course, like most people, Xichen thought this was just a legend. At that moment, in front of all his disciples and family, he totally reconsidered everything he thought about legends.
His first instinct was to sit down and look at Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji so that they would understand that he was already in control of his body again, showing that he wasn't going to do anything else. After they confirmed that Xichen could understand them with a series of yes and no questions that his dragon form responded with nods, his brother then finally explained to him briefly what had happened. After Jiang Cheng was wounded, Lan Xichen quickly transformed and killed the fiercely strong corpse that had attacked them—and not in a pleasant way, by the way. The shock prevented Wangji and Wei Wuxian from acting immediately, but that wasn't even necessary, after all the target became Xichen and all corpses that had thrown themselves at him were quickly eliminated. The demonic cultivator was quickly captured after that, perhaps equally shocked to see the dragon.
He refused to let them get close to Jiang Cheng for quite some time after everything had calmed down, but Wangji, probably because they were brothers and had a blood connection that gave them the same chance to transform, managed to convince him that they just wanted to help through a silent communication full of respectful glances and bows, showing they weren't a threat. After that they ran to Gusu Lan, after all Jiang Cheng was really badly hurt and despite being a strong cultivator, he couldn't resist going a few more hours without cleaning and treating his wounds. When they arrived, Lan Xichen didn't like seeing Jiang Cheng taken away from him to a building and well… There they were hours later trying to hold him away from the infirmary so that the healers could treat Jiang Cheng's wounds.
Wei Wuxian and Wangji said they would research with Lan Qiren to fully understand the transformation. The fact that he could transform couldn't leave Gusu Lan, but Jin Ling, Jiang Fei and Luo Yunxi were warned, after all Jiang Cheng was hurt and it was certain that Xichen wouldn't leave his side anytime soon, so it wasn't possible, not even correct, to keep it a secret from them. The days passed like that. Well, Wei Wuxian had to convince the guests who arrived pretty quickly after the letters sent about what had happened that it made no sense to go to war with Gusu Lan, that Xichen hadn't changed to threaten them or do any harm to Jiang Cheng — very on the contrary, by the way—and that the man was being treated well. Jiang Fei and Luo Yunxi had to leave early to take care of Yunmeng Jiang in the absence of their leader, but Jin Ling intended to stay until his uncle woke up.
Lan Xichen tried to transform back into a human several times, but none of them worked. After a few days of research, they determined that his body would probably not change shape until Jiang Cheng was completely well, after all Xichen transformed at first precisely to protect him and as long as he could be in any danger, he would continue to do so. Lan Xichen also couldn't deny that he was terribly worried. Although the cut was terrible, the resentful energy in the fierce corpse's sword was poisonous and infected Jiang Cheng's golden core, which was delaying his body's natural recovery. The days passed so agonizingly because of his concern that Lan Xichen refused to eat, silently guarding the Hanshi where Jiang Cheng was staying because of Lan Xichen's stubbornness to keep him there.
Seeing him again soothed Lan Xichen's heart terribly. Although Jiang Cheng was only awake for a short time, those minutes were enough to make him more relaxed. Over the next few days, Jiang Cheng managed to recover enough to walk alone, but he still needed help showering and didn't complain a bit when Jin Ling offered to comb his hair. Xichen stood in the corner, sulking, jealous of the boy helping his uncle, which made Jiang Cheng laugh because somehow he just knew what the other was feeling just by the looks and the way he was snorting. After the surprise of having a dragon there had passed, Xichen had considerably lost that certain special glow and now just looked… Lovely. Jin Ling was still extremely cautious around Xichen, but he became calmer when he realized what his uncle Wei Wuxian had been trying to show him all this time.
'These two idiots sure like each other', Jin Ling thought, sighing at the sight of Jiang Cheng, wearing Xichen's outer robes—because Xichen was so irritated to think of him borrowing any other robes for guests. They were huge in Jiang Cheng and would probably be dirty if he didn't take care to lift them when he walked, but neither of them seemed to mind. Now that his uncle was able to get around alone without anyone helping him, they commonly found him in Hanshi's garden lying on Xichen's body, who lay there in silence just listening to him say anything or both just enjoying each other's presence and resting in the shy afternoon sun. Jiang Cheng didn't want to admit it out loud, but spending all those days with Xichen, even though there was no communication between them, made him extremely happy.
Perhaps Jiang Cheng was even happier to see how pleased Xichen was with him. The way he lay his head in his lap, purring gently for the affection, the voice of Jiang Cheng singing to him, the way they both woke up early in the morning and then went to greet each other. It was so domestic and pleasant, especially since they didn't even have anything sect related to do. For two people who were constantly short on time, being able to just exist there was like a dream. Xichen meditated his entire life looking for that satisfying peace only to have it suddenly there in his arms reach in the form of the person he liked, lying on himself with a serene expression or simply singing, keeping him more and more calm. If he could, he would do anything to keep this place just for himself and Jiang Cheng, forever theirs.
Of course Lan Xichen knew that this was not to last, however he would be happy as long as Jiang Cheng was there.
At the beginning of the third week that Jiang Cheng was there, Lan Xichen suddenly woke up at dawn and noticed that he had returned to his human form. Jiang Cheng had already improved considerably, so it was no surprise that he was able to return to normal. Smiling, Lan Xichen quickly entered the Hanshi, after all he was without clothes and it wasn't good to be outside like that. He made as little noise as possible once inside, after all he could hear Jiang Cheng sleeping peacefully and he certainly didn't want to wake him up. His senses were strangely heightened, which was interesting. He took an ice-cold bath, quickly putting on his robes to bed and heading to the bedroom. Jiang Cheng was sprawled out on the bed snoring gently, which made Xichen laugh, lying down beside him carefully. Maybe it was his normal heat or just a coincidence, but Jiang Cheng didn't take much longer to come closer, wrapping his body around his in an adorable way.
Well, it wasn't either, actually. He had woken up to the sound of water.
"You are human again." he muttered, eyes still closed.
"Yes." Lan Xichen smiled, turning to him. Jiang Cheng hugged him, groggy with sleep "Is it okay for me to sleep here?"
"The room is yours, of course you can." he frowned.
“Always good to guarantee.”
Jiang Cheng approached, resting his face against his neck. Xichen felt himself blush at that, but he loved every second. Jiang Cheng was probably too groggy with sleep to police himself.
"I don't want to leave here." he muttered.
"It's okay, we can sleep like this."
"No, you don't understand." Lan Xichen felt Jiang Cheng frown, “I don't want to leave here. Leave the Hanshi. Leave you.”
'Oh,' Xichen thought, unable to contain his smile 'he likes me too'.
"We can do something about that." Lan Xichen brought his hand to Jiang Cheng's hair, giving a gentle caress "Maybe I can visit Yunmeng more."
“Hm…” he nodded, smiling slightly “I can come for Gusu more, too…” Jiang Cheng yawned.
"Sleep, Wanyin." he pulled Jiang Cheng close, satisfied "Tomorrow I'll be here."
Said and done, the next morning they both woke up to Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian screaming about how inappropriate this was for two men who hadn't even begun the process of courting each other. Scandalous!
"You don't have to do this." Jiang Cheng commented, walking down Gusu Lan's steps.
After the healers assured him that he was healthy, Jiang Cheng was released and was to return to Yunmeng Jiang, where his work was probably piling up on the table. Xichen didn't want to let him go, not now that they were passing through the official stages of courtship—with Lan Qiren insisting that at least the two of them do it right—but he understood how important a leader's job was, so it was better for Jiang Cheng to come back and ensure that everything was all right at home.
Fortunately, after much begging, Lan Xichen was allowed to accompany him back home with the excuse of 'being overly concerned about Jiang Wanyin's health' who might as well or not have pretended to feel a little feverish just to Lan Qiren let them go. Jin Ling, despite being on vacation from his studies, was going to stay a few more days because of his friends, but Jiang Cheng had already said goodbye to him and Wei Wuxian before, so they would go alone.
"But I want to." he assured, smiling "Besides, I would never deny time with you." Lan Xichen whispered, looking up at him gleefully.
Jiang Cheng blushed, but he couldn't help smiling either.
"You know, I really wanted to stop by Lanling first... I have some things to take care of there."
"I see…" Xichen nodded, snickering, "I assume we could be a little late as you have a reason."
"Of course." he muttered, soon looking at the other. The moment they exchanged glances, they burst into laughter.
"I will accompany you wherever you need to go from here." Xichen approached, touching his shoulder gently.
Jiang Cheng nodded, smiling.
"And will you let me ride on your back when you change into a dragon again?" Xichen chuckled, nodding.
"Of course. My dragon loves you.” he admitted, seeing the other blush even more deeply "I only turned because I saw you in danger, I think this is something like these soul mate stories."
“Oh, you better not be in danger in front of me then. Yunmeng's legends are nothing majestic like Gusu's.” he commented, thinking what hell it would be like to suddenly turn into a merman in the middle of the earth.
Xichen chuckled, suddenly looking very close.
"Let's go?" he asked, extending his hand.
Jiang Cheng didn't even think before pulling him away and stealing a chaste kiss, smiling at the sight of Lan Xichen embarrassed.
“Let's not count this as the courtship process, okay? No one needs to know that we've skipped a few steps.” he whispered, seeing Xichen nodded, smiling too.
“Jiang Wanyin, you are terrible. The people of Yunmeng Jiang have come to corrupt us from Gusu Lan.” he said, leaning over and holding his hand "No one needs to know that either."
"Huh, it's just the opposite, you Gusu Lan people are terrible." he teased, but ended up intertwining their fingers.
When they took off that day, Jiang Cheng knew he would be nervous to return to Gusu Lan again as usual, but this time for entirely different reasons.