It was the third day of their trip. Jin Ling had just pulled himself out of the hot lake and was drying himself off as his friends continued to mess around in the water. They had been going there everyday since the others arrived. Even when it rained the previous day. It had become a routine for them to wake up, have breakfast, go for a short walk and then head to the hot lake.
Jin Ling had hardly seen his uncle and the other adults. They were also spending a lot of time together. Occasionally they would catch glimpses of each other and when they did Jin Ling couldn't help but notice how much more alive his uncle looked. Even though he still didn't know how he felt towards Wei Wuxian, he was glad he was back in his uncle's life.
He was also glad that with Wei Wuxian came Wei Sizhui. He was a great addition to their group. Always making the others laugh and teasing them when they got too wound up. He perfectly complemented each of them.
He was the one Zizhen could go to to talk about novels. He was all for joining in with Jingyi's pranks and Jin Ling was pleasantly surprised to find out they had similar fighting styles so they would often practice together. It was almost easy to forget he hadn't always been there. Almost...
While Jin Ling like Sizhui very much and considered him a close friend. He knew that the boy had secrets he wasn't sharing. Jin Ling couldn't tell if these secrets were bad or not, he wanted to believe they were harmless, but the stories about Wei Wuxian and the Burial Mounds kept creeping their way into his head.
A sparkling splash of purple water caught his eye. His gaze flicked in that direction just in time to see Jingyi and Sizhui surface from under the water. Jingyi was clinging to the older boy's back and cackling evilly.
"Gotcha!" The Lan boy yelled as Sizhui spluttered, his hair covering his face like a curtain. He swung his head back. The dark locks smacking Jingyi directly in the face and making him fall. When he resurfaced for the second time, Zizhen was laughing and Sizhui was smirking.
Jin Ling smiled too, but a bitter feeling crept up inside him. He wasn't sure why. Something about the way his friends were acting together made him want to step in. It was always like this. When his friends seemed to be a little too close together he had a sudden impulse to join in. Deep down it made his worry if he was being overbearing, but he just couldn't stop himself. He wanted to make them laugh, smile or be a part of their conversation.
Jin Ling walked over to the edge of the water and dipped his foot in, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. As he balanced on the edge, he watched as Jingyi tried to fix his hair and headband. The other two were talking as he did so. However Sizhui seemed to notice Jingyi struggling and reached out to help him.
Both Jin Ling and Zizhen stared in shock as he tried to take Jingyi's headband out of his grasp. Even Jingyi seemed to freeze in shock, not entirely sure what was about to happen. Wei Sizhui's hand's moved in slow motion, figures brushing against Jingyi's. At the same time the Lan boy's eyes widened and his head leaned back. While both Zizhen and the still balancing Jin Ling leapt out to stop him.
"Wait!" Just as those words left Jin Ling's lips the world seemed to gain speed again. He had completely forgotten about his footing, his body was thrown forward, his hand outstretched, his mouth gaping open.
He crashed through the surface of the water. Bubbled going up his nose and down his throat. His bare chest burned from the impact, but none of that mattered. His head shot up within seconds. Coughing and spluttering Jin Ling marched his way over to where the other were. They were all watching him with stunned expressions.
"What the... fUCK S-Sizhui!?" He spluttered while pointing a finger at the boy's face. "What kind of idiot...!? Just fucking grabs...!? A Lan's headband!?" He wheezed. Sizhui blinked and then frowned.
"What?" He asked with clear confusion in his voice. Zizhen snorted as Jin Ling's face turned bright red.
"What do you mean 'what'!?" Jingyi suddenly cut in. "You copied out the Lan rules didn't you!?"
"Yeah, but I forgot, like, half of them." Sizhui shrugged. Jingyi's jaw dropped and he looked down at the headband that was thankfully still in his hands. It seemed Jin Ling falling had startled them all into freezing.
Zizhen laughed softly and made his way over to Sizhui who looked completely lost as to what he had done wrong. It reminded Jin Ling of Fairy in a way and it made his chest tight. He probably shouldn't have reacted like that...
"You seriously don't remember?" Zizhen asked gently.
"Remember what!?" Sizhui exclaimed and even Jingyi let out a small chuckle.
"Only significant others and family can touch a Lan's headband." Jingyi explained. Sizhui's eyes went wide and he took a step back out of shock.
"Oh shit!" He gasped. "Sorry, I didn't realise! Fuck! I'm an idiot!" He laughed a little, running a hand through his wet hair.
"Damn right you are! That was a close one!" Zizhen slapped his back, also laughing. "At least we had Jin Ling there to distract us before you two became fated lovers." He chuckled.
"Yes thank you for saving me young mistress." Jingyi mocked. Jin Ling stuck his tongue out at him. What the fuck was he complaining about!?
---<~>---
After that incident, the four boys decided to call it a day and headed back to Lotus Pier for some food. Along the way they ran into Fairy, who once again bounced on Zizhen, before she eventually made her way over to have her ears scratched by Jin Ling.
As he ran his figures through her thick fur, he watched the others plate up their food. Zizhen brought him over his own bowl of food and gave him a small smile before sitting down next to him. It was actions like these that made Jin Ling understand why Fairy favoured the oldest boy over the other two. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Zizhen was a nice person. Even if he could kick your ass without a weapon.
Jingyi took a seat opposite Jin Ling and Sizhui took the seat on his left. Fairy stood up and made her way over to see what they had on their plates. When Jingyi saw her approaching his eyes lit up and he carefully took some chicken off of his plate. He offered it to her with shining eyes of hope, but the dog just turned her nose up and wandered over to Sizhui instead. Jingyi seemed to deflate.
"Why does she hate me!?" He whined.
"Because you sound like that." Jin Ling answered with a mouthful of food. He didn't even bother to look up from his plate. Which meant he didn't see the rude hand gesture Jingyi sent him.
"Don't worry about it too much Jingyi. She doesn't seem to like me much either." Sizhui said as Fairy also made her way away from him. This time Jin Ling did look up and watched his dog walk around the table towards him. Once she was there she slumped down next to him and let him resume scratching behind her ears.
"That's because you're new!" Jingyi continued to whine. "I've known Jin Ling the longest and she still turns her nose up at me!"
His lips quivered for dramatic effect, but Jin Ling could tell that there was genuine sadness buried somewhere in the boy's voice. Despite all their joking, he really didn't like seeing Jingyi upset. Which was why he hated the night hunt they went on in Gusu. He swallowed his mouthful and sighed looking anywhere but at Jingyi.
"She doesn't hate you." Jin Ling explained, trying to ignore the way Jingyi's back seemed to straighten in excitement. "She's playing with you, like when we mess around, she's coping how I act towards you."
Jingyi nodded slowly in understanding, before narrowing his eyes playfully.
"So it's your fault Young Mistress? I should have known." He folded his arms and huffed. Jin Ling rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Fuck off!" He sighed. Zizhen chuckled slightly.
"Are you two ever going to stop?" He asked tiredly. This time Jingyi and Jin Ling locked eyes and shared identical grins of mischief.
"Nope."
"Never."
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Finally back to writing! It has been a hectic week I'll tell you that! Can't wait to get more parts out and try to get back on top of things!