Ah Cheng curses foully. The sound rings like a guttural war horn through the thick blue sky that reigns high above Lotus Pier. A few moments later, a flock of birds scatter into a soar of flight. Ah Cheng's voice is still ringing.
Wei Wuxian is laughing so hard he nearly stumbles and falls completely on his butt. He narrowly misses slamming a drunken hand into the steaming pot of half-made Lotus Rib soup, which sits like a beacon in the middle of the kitchen.
Ah Cheng staggers away from the pot and collapses onto his front, his expression screwed in pain.
"Ow.. ow, ow... f*ck!" He clutches his hand to his chest like it's a fragile dove with a broken wing.
Across the kitchen, Ah Xian is still laughing.
Ah Cheng whimpers to himself for a short moment, before whirling around to scowl at Ah Xian, "You think this is funny? F*cking bastard. I nearly died!"
"Oh, for crying out loud, no you didn't!" Ah Xian says, his laughs relaxing into an entertained, delighted grin. "You're exaggerating, brother. Honestly, you're such a chicken and a drama queen sometimes, I can hardly believe we're related. Oh... wait... we're not."
Ah Xian immediately cracks up at his own joke, before whirling around and dashing to the other side of the kitchen, grabbing handfuls of ingredients from different cannisters and busily making for the pot. Ah Cheng has scrambled to his feet, eyes blazing daggers.
"Why, you—" He races after Ah Xian, hand hoisted in the air as if he were going to hit him.
"The soup, brother, focus on the soup!"
"I'll have your head in it if you say another word, you fat scoundrel!" Ah Cheng fumes. He reties his apron which had been coming loose and stirs the pot; as though he were stirring away his troubles. He mutters to himself, "How dare you disrespect the Yunmeng Jiang Clan Leader? Disgrace."
"Alright, first of all—" Ah Xian drops a pinch of mint spices into the soup. "—did you just call me fat? Wow."
Ah Cheng turns and begins to picking sachets of ingredients of a row of spice and herb pots.
"That's no way to treat your dearly beloved, oh-so-long lost brother, now, is it?"
"You can cross out that dearly beloved. Fattie."
"Oh brother, you break my heart. I travelled all this way to see you," a cheeky grin toys on Ah Xian's lips as he dices another limb of the lotus flower on the chopping board. He adds it to the soup. "I mean, when else would I have the opportunity to see the great Jiang Cheng behind a cauldron?"
"Shut up," Ah Cheng barks. He's flustered under that adorable lil' bubbling temper. "For crying out loud, I can't believe I agreed to this. This is your fault, brother."
"You're right. It is my fault," Ah Xian admits solemnly. Then, out of nowhere, he throws his brother a devilish smirk. "I shouldn't have asked you to help me cook this. If you weren't such a halfwit in the kitchen, we might actually be preparing something edible!"
"You—" Ah Cheng tosses the stirring spoon out of sight.
Ah Xian leaps over the table, laughing.
"Now we'll be eating food poisoning, thanks! My God, what would Yanli have said if she'd seen this?"
"Don't pin this all on me—y-you're the one who pushed me and made me chuck in all that garlic!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"WEI WUXIAN, YOU BASTARD, YOU GET OVER HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"
The two of them are so entangled in themselves—Ah Xian laughing until tears leak from his eyes as he narrowly misses each of Ah Cheng's warrior grabs, while Ah Cheng's handsome face erupts into flames, hurrying on Ah Xian's heels like a little child—that for just a moment, it feels like nothing's changed. Ah Xian makes a face. Ah Cheng spits a curse word. The two of them spin a web like a pair of rabbits, back and forth, breaking clay pots of ingredients in their wake. It feels like no time has passed at all since they were... well... innocents.
Until both of them hear the uncertain call of Jin Ling—"Uhh... Uncle?"—in the Lotus Pier Kitchen doorway.
The two boys glance up from their fight. Half of Ah Cheng's face is smeared with sticky lotus paste and Ah Xian is completely drenched in drainage water.
Ah Cheng stares, shellshocked, at his nephew, but Ah Xian waves to him, grinning. Water flicks everywhere.
"Evening, Jin Ling!" He says. He points to the unfinished Lotus Rib Soup cauldron. "You want some? It's food poisoning. Your uncle's specialty."
•••
Of course, in the end, the only way they would be able to finish the soup—and have prepared a half-decent, edible serving of it—was to let the Jiang Clan cooks take over. (As Ah Cheng reminds loudly was what he had suggested in the first place.) The Yunmeng Jiang Clan Leader and Yiling Patriarch are busy in an ecstatic conversation when two bowls of hot soup are placed on the table. One bowl for each of them. The boys say "Thank you" and the servants leave.
"Well. We tried, didn't we?" Ah Xian says. Ah Cheng chuckles. "I'm sure it's positively scrumptious."
The two of them pick up their spoons and start on the course in comfortable silence.
Ah Cheng says finally, "Of course, it's nothing compared to how Yanli used to make it." His voice is the gentlest it's been all day.
"Of course!" Ah Xian exclaims. "Dear idiot brother, no one is any match to our Yanli. Absolutely extraordinary."
"She was."
"The soup, too. I meant the soup."
"Yes," Ah Cheng sputters. "Of course. The soup was bloody excellent enough to have served to the gods."
Ah Xian laughs, "You know, they're probably loving it up there right now."
The moment doesn't pass quickly enough. Ah Xian's head overflows with memories of his sister's smile, the gentle manner of her hands stroking his hair, the laugh in her crescent moon eyes. And then his own eyes are overflowing with tears.
"For crying out loud," Ah Cheng wipes fiercely at his wet eyes in two swift motions. Ah Xian doesn't miss the vulnerability in them. "I can smell the onions."
Ah Xian bursts out laughing.
"Crap, brother, you're right. Me too."
He reaches up and wipes a tear from Ah Cheng's cheek. Then he slaps Ah Cheng's face.
Ah Cheng scowls, "Wei Wuxian, what the hell?" But the mood has lifted. Jiang Cheng grips Ah Xian's hair and Ah Xian does the same, causing the two of them to jerk back and forth across the table while slapping for each other's faces. In the back of Ah Xian's mind, he wonders if this will ever get old.
When they finish the Lotus-Pier-kitchen-staff-made Lotus Rib Soup and their stomachs are full, Jiang Cheng reaches out and claps a hand warmly over Ah Xian's shoulder. Something he only does in the rarest sentimental moments.
"Ah Xian," Ah Cheng says. "I'm happy you came home."
"Smiling, are we? Well, now I know you've missed me lots."
"Oh shut up!" Ah Cheng scoffs a laugh. He pulls back and exclaims suddenly. "Hey—so you're staying with Hanguang Jun, are you?"
The sound of Lan Zhan's name is strange to Ah Xian, in a moment where he didn't expect to hear it at all. He turns to face his empty soup bowl. Unexpectedly, his brain scatters.
"Well," he shrugs, exaggeratedly nonchalant. "Yes, I am."
"How's that going?" The Yunmeng Jiang Clan Leader snickers. "I bet you never leave the Cold Pond Cave, do you? How do you even get by with that loud mouth of yours? Honestly."
"Oh, sod off! Honestly, it's nothing like that at all. You think they'd punish me for breaking their stupid rules, do you? Well, I'll have you know, Lan Zhan and I aren't quite as cold to each other as we were a hundred million years ago."
"Oh, dammit! That's right. I forgot you guys are close. Hanguang Jun is always soft on you."
Ah Xian's stomach crumbles into crushed sugar, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well... I mean, I mean exactly that, bogus. Don't make me repeat myself twice!" Ah Cheng says. "Hanguang Jun always protects you over everything. That's the only way many people see him, honestly. He's by your side all the time, caring for you all the time. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was freaking in love with you."
A long silence passes.
Ah Xian's throat is dry.
"Hey. Ah Xian."
Ah Xian blinks, turning scatteredly to face Ah Cheng, who is staring funnily at him now.
"Are you okay? What's wrong with your face?"
Ah Xian rolls his eyes and gasps a cold, soundless laugh, "Nothing. It's just... good thing you know better."