This is a gift for TlkFluentSarcasm everybody give them compliments and hugs right now or die
WangXian IS endgame in this, but it mostly follows Nie HuaiSang and Wei Ying's journey in self-discovery together because it's the cutest thing ever.
Requests are closed for a bit.
But always open for frog gang 🐸😤
The boy and his porcelain jars were glossy with the moon's breath. Perched upon a large, flat rock, skirts of white water at its foot, he appeared bothered and uneasy. He hugged his Emperor's Smiles closer. He couldn't bring himself to drink the fruits of his labor, ergo he embosomed them sourly.
Softer than a fawn, another boy landed behind him.
"Wei Ying, it is past curfew."
"Ah—shit!" Wei WuXian pounded his chest, heart in his throat. "Nie Xiong, you devil! I really thought you were Lan Zhan!"
Tugging on his braids, Nie HuaiSang wheezed in delight gone breathless. When the young master laughed, his chubby cheeks almost swallowed his eyes. His lips always thinned, whitening with tightness so all his teeth were shown.
Wei WuXian stared dumbly before giggling himself.
"I'm disappointed, Wei Xiong. Sneaking out past curfew to drink without me?" HuaiSang had slumped against Wei Ying's back and lain his head upon his shoulder. Just as maidens go a-swooning after their crush, Nie HuaiSang fanned himself with a sigh. As he rocked both their bodies he said, "I'm hurt now. Don't you care? Won't you make it up to me?"
"Nie Xiong, don't make me feel bad." Wei Ying laid back his head as well. Back to back, cheek to cheek, the young boys gazed up at the waning moon. "Sorry. I didn't plan this. I just needed a drink tonight."
"Whatever." Nie HuaiSang pushed away and crawled around to his friend's side. Holding out a hand, he waggled his fingers like a scolding teacher. "Gimme gimme."
Wei WuXian reluctantly handed a jar over. "I worked hard to sneak these in you know."
"Then I will appreciate every sip."
Together they indulged. Wei WuXian tossed back his head and bore his throat for all to see. The amber brew spilled down his face, down the ghostly skin of his neck where his Adam's apple was hopping like a rabbit.
"Jeez." The Nie tried to keep up, not to be outdone by his drinking rival, but alas. Wei WuXian traded his breath for alcohol, burying his face in the porcelain mouth and only pulling away once it was empty. Angered by what now lay hollow, he threw it at a rock in the river below them. It shattered into hundreds of crystalline beads.
"A-Xiaaaan, what's wrong?"
Wei WuXian grunted and popped the cork from another Emperor's Smile. Another became another and Nie HuaiSang helplessly did the same, wondering how he could help his friend. The six Smiles were all downed by two frowning faces, and scales of white clay glimmered beneath the water. Drunk out of their minds, HuaiSang laid down on the stone and Wei Ying laid down on HuaiSang's abdomen.
"Wei Xiong, Wei Xiong, Wei Xiong," he sang. Patting the other boy's head, the Nie asked, "Nooow will you tell me wha's wrong?"
Wei WuXian said nothing, but his silence was loud. The nights in Gusu were always filled by music. Crickets fiddled their violins. Owls hummed for a starry sky. Cloud Recesses had blue nights like nowhere else in the world. The romance of it was organic and raw. Nie HuaiSang was pulled from his thoughts as the boy finally turned his cheek and murmured, "When you see a pretty woman, do you... feel anything?"
There was no hint of mischief in Wei WuXian's eyes.
"Me or him?" Nie HuaiSang nodded at the thing of masculinity between his legs.
He shrugged. "Either, I guess."
The young master thought about it. He appreciated women of course, goddesses like sculpted clay of a river bank. Fine creatures they were indeed. He loved women with thin, willowy bodies; he loved women with plump stomachs and scarlet stretch marks; he loved women with skin as dark as night, or skin as white as snow; he loved women that defied the order of things and wielded blades better than any men; he loved women, but not in the way he was supposed to. He admired them, worshipped them like temples, but he didn't want to kiss them and wed them, nor bed them.
"Ah, Wei Xiong, I can't say I do. Unless of course it's envy, though I'm sure you're talking about a more primal emotion. Why do you ask?"
Wei WuXian sighed. "Because I don't feel anything."
"That's—"
"I try so hard to. I'm always shamelessly flirting with every beautiful girl in Yunmeng, but I still feel nothing."
"Maybe you're not ready for love?" HuaiSang offered.
"But then... why do I feel things for men?"
"Oh."
"I think I'm in love with Lan Zhan."
"Oh."
"Am I... broken?"
"I don't think so. Loving differently is not the same as loving wrong."
"You said you don't feel things for women either?"
"Honestly Wei Xiong I'm not sure. I'm unsure if I like men, but I'm sure that I don't like women."
"Does your brother know?"
"No. He already hates my affinity for 'women's' work. The arts and music, nature, makeup, fashion... If dage ever found out he'd probably castrate me."
"He—"
"Metaphorically. He's already burnt my fan collection for refusing to learn the saber."
Nie HuaiSang mourned, stroking the fan he'd hung on his belt.
Seeing this, Wei WuXian said nothing. He knew his friend preferred to grieve quietly. For awhile, they watched the sky. Midnight's lullaby filled their ears, and they found peace in the drunken haze shared among them.
"Wei Xiong!" The Nie suddenly sprang up, pulling the other with him. They were sitting so close their legs became tangled, and HuaiSang's hand gripped Wei WuXian's torso. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That owl! I can't believe my ears!"
Wei WuXian felt as though he was missing something. "Huh?"
"It's a collared pygmy owl! Wei WuXian I'm going to die! Did you know the collared pygmy is Asia's smallest owl? Five inches. Five damn inches of fluffiness. But Wei Xiong, they're so smart. While singing, they turn their heads to produce a ventriloquial effect. Oh and..."
Nie HuaiSang shared so many things, probably things only an owl should know. He spoke of canaries and hummingbirds, of flowers too. Such knowledge fell so prettily from his lips.
But then he bit his tongue. Abruptly. He looked ashamed and Wei WuXian couldn't imagine how many times his brother must have told him to shut up. But why? The way his face lights up when gushing about the simplest of things was just heavenly.
Wei WuXian grabbed his smaller hands. HuaiSang's knuckles were whitened by the cold, so Wei Ying stroked them fondly with his thumb.
"N-no, A-Sang, I like listening to you talk about your passions. Don't stop."
Up close, Wei WuXian appreciated his beauty. If Lan WangJi was a jade, cold to the touch and elegant as ice, Nie HuaiSang was jasper. With the calm spirit of the earth and the trees, and a scent of milk tea, he was the humble elegance of a little red gem.
And the boy was... leaning in?
Nie HuaiSang crashed into him. Their teeth scraped together, and he'd kissed too high, for his upper lip was upon Wei WuXian's nose. The boy pulled away. Alcohol's blush was red on his face, redder than the wings of a cardinal. His eyes were glazed over and his lips were swollen. A thread of saliva tethered them still.
"S-s-sorry, I've never kissed a boy and I wanted t-to try—"
Wei WuXian shut him up with another kiss. He had more luck finding the perfect spot. Their virgin lips were sloppy and desperate, more concerned with tasting each other than chasing pleasure. Nie HuaiSang tasted like biscuits and cinnamon, Emperor's Smile only an aftertaste. It was marvelous.
Wei WuXian was about to grab the boy and pull him closer when HuaiSang's hands roughly dug into his hips, beating him to it. Their legs tightened around one another. The Nie traded his breath for a kiss just as Wei WuXian had for alcohol.
Eventually, they parted. Neither spoke. They just laid down as they had before, gazing up at the waning moon.
And the man in white who'd been watching from the shadows turned away in anguish.