#but whilst wei wuxian has his full attention on the people in his life | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

satonthelotuspier · 4 years

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ooooh could we get 2 or 5 maybe for sangyu pretty pls?

Thank you so much for the prompt, Anon. I think I picked out the right prompt list for this, if not get back in touch and I’ll try again. Either way I hope you enjoy :)

I was a little worried about this; because we don’t get any MXY in canon I’m never really sure how to characterise him. I have put him in the Dreams AU but he has a very specific purpose there which dictates his character. For this AU I’ve decided to go with a more scholarly MXY - logic being he did work out how to use WWX’s demonic sacrificing curse from his papers, this also meant the no 5 prompt worked well with his personality.

In this verse canon events didn’t happen as you’ll see from most people being alive. JGS died early and JZX took his place as Sect Leader and was much better to his half brother, probably with JYL’s influence. MXY (now JXY) is very happy with his life at Koi tower, but of course there’s just that one thing missing...

He woke up to the beam of sunlight shining in through the library window and onto his face.

Jin Xuanyu blinked several times and rubbed at his face; then glanced down at his ink stained hands. He hoped he hadn’t fallen asleep on wet ink too; it would take so long to scrub off and he really needed to look his best today.

Wait. Today. It was today.

He had to go and get cleaned up quickly, what if he arrived and he still looked like he’d fallen asleep at his desk in the library? Despite the fact that was what had actually happened.

He rushed towards the door, but halfway he remembered something and had to return to pick up the paper he had been working on last night.

He folded in carefully and tucked it safely into his robes then ran to his rooms. He encountered his sister-in-law and Sect Leader’s wife Jiang Yanli on the way, with his nephew Jin Ling. He skidded to a halt and offered her his respects.

She chatted briefly but she could also see he was in a great rush and as she was ever considerate she didn’t keep him long; Jin Ling offered the barest respects required, purely because his mother was there.

His nephew held him in low regard due to the fact he pursued a mainly scholarly path of cultivation; never having a strong aptitude for a more martial route, which Jin Ling did respect. He was boring in his nephew’s eyes; something he could live with. Probably it wasn’t helped that he was an awkward age; neither the same age as Jin Ling’s parents, therefore due more respect, nor the same age as Jin Ling and his peers, therefore a potential playmate.

He excused himself once they’d finished and rushed on.

Once back in his own house he arranged to have a bath drawn and paid careful attention to scrubbing. He had smeared ink on his cheek while he slept which took some cleaning up, the same went for that covering his fingers. The ink in his nail beds was just something he’d have to live with; it was all the result of scholarly pursuits, like a sword wielder would develop callouses on their hands.

Once clean, unusually for him, he paid careful attention to his appearance. He could normally be found haunting the library and music rooms of Koi Tower in his unremarkable black robes, hair caught up in a careless ponytail. Today he chose golden robes embroidered with ivory coloured peonies to match his clan’s colours and emblems.

He had a servant help him braid some golden beads through his hair too; the braids a bow to the styles the Nie clan were frequently seen to wear in their hair.

He checked the final effect and barely recognised himself. He’d never been strikingly handsome like his brother; he had many of his mother’s features which softened what he had inherited from his Jin blood into a more gentle attractiveness. Secretly he was glad that he didn’t look much like his “father”.

While people assumed he should be thankful to Jin Guangshan, because he’d done the bare minimum as a father figure and brought a young Mo Xuanyu to Koi Tower to study cultivation before he died, Jin Xuanyu was much more thankful to his brother Jin Zixuan and his brother’s wife Jiang Yanli, who had done much more to make him welcome, find the correct path to cultivation for a young man who had shown no talent for marital pursuits and utilized his natural intelligence and tendency to studiousness to both progress and contribute to his clan as one of Jin Zixuan’s advisors.

He dismissed the unusually elegant looking figure in the glass and made his way to Jin Zixuan’s side so they could prepare to welcome the arrival of the other clans to the discussion conference Koi Tower was hosting.

It was a tiring day, especially for someone who was more comfortable surrounded by book and scrolls, musical instruments and painting materials than actual people.

He was pleased to see Jiang Yanli’s adopted brother Wei Wuxian here with his husband Lan Wangji; Wei Wuxian had always had a lot of time for Jin Xuanyu, they had often talked and philosophised together long into the night in the past. They both had a skill for the dizi too and he hoped he might find time to convince Wei Wuxian to share more of his expertise.

But there was really only one person he was desperate to see today. And then the Nies arrived and he suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

Nie Huaisang was with his brother, Sect Leader Nie Mingjue, and really Jin Xuanyu hadn’t considered what he’d do if the former had decided not to attend; that thought had never occurred to him, but he was extremely thankful it hadn’t turned out like that, otherwise all the effort he’d spent convincing himself and working himself up to making his confession would have been wasted.

Nie Huaisang had also been one of the few people to spend time and talk with Jin Xuanyu over the years, and while he would always be thankful to the others, it was Nie Huaisang he had given his heart to. Not that the other man was aware. Yet.

Nie Huaisang stood at his brother’s shoulder, his delicately painted fan open and fluttering rhythmically. As ever he was sumptuously dressed with his hair caught up in an intricate design full of braids, his delicate features only just avoiding being set into a look of pure boredom.

The Jins moved forward to greet the Nies and Jin Xuanyu had to work hard to not drift off and just spend the time staring at Nie Huaisang instead of assisting his brother in his duties as host.

***

It was after the feast that evening had ended and before Jin Xuanyu had intended to find Nie Huaisang when he came across him talking with Wei Wuxian. He was loathe to insert himself into the conversation but Nie Huaisang noticed him walking past and waved him over.

“A-Yu will know if there’s any shenanigans to be gotten into while the dull people attend the discussion conference tomorrow” Wei Wuxian patted him on the shoulder. They had both called him A-Yu from being a young boy when he had first been brought to Koi Tower, and, except in formal situations, neither of them had ever stopped.

“Well, there is a festival in a nearby town. I hear they’re showcasing several brewers from the countryside as well as local taverns wares. You may enjoy that” he said and Wei Wuxian’s eyes did indeed flash in interest, “Or the fishing is particularly good this time of year in the local rivers”

“Well I think a little visit to the festival might be just what we need to distract us from the tedium”

“Wei-xiong, I think you might be right” there was a happy grin on Nie Huaisang’s face, “A-Yu, you’ll come with us too?”

Whilst Wei Wuxian referring to him as A-Yu was a slight annoyance, it was a blow to hear it from the object of his feelings. Was it just habit or did the other really still see him as a child? He was twenty-five now; he hadn’t been a child for a long time.

“Zixuan-ge may have need of me, I wouldn’t dare put him to such inconvenience” although he really would like to attend the festival with these two troublemakers he was aware of his responsibilities.

“Rubbish, the Peacock can do without you for a day, I’ll go agree it with him now. I need to find my husband anyway, lets meet tomorrow just before midday. You’re coming too, don’t forget, A-Yu” and Wei Wuxian left with a wave.

Jin Xuanyu could feel his breath stick in his chest again; he had been handed the perfect opportunity now he had been left alone with Nie Huaisang, dared he actually take it?

“It would be nice to have someone care for you like Wei-xiong and Lan er-gongzi do” there was soft trace of longing in Nie Huaisang’s voice, and being handed an opening like that how could he justify not making his confession?

“Nie Huaisang, I can give you a list of how you make me feel...” he reached into his robes and pulled out the folded paper he had worked on yesterday, holding it out.

Nie Huaisang stared at him in complete confusion, then disbelief. He reached out to take the paper from Jin Xuanyu’s shaking hands, a look of amusement finally settling on his delicate face.

If Nie Huaisang laughed at him he might actually just die here and now.

“Why don’t you try using your words, instead?” Nie Huaisang told him instead and he was about to point out the words he wanted to use were on the paper the other now held in his hand, but he realised at the last moment what he meant.

“Oh. I see. I like you, Nie Huaisang, I’m in love with you”

#Sangyu #nie huaisang #mo xuanyu #confession #mdzs #mdzs fic #mdzs fanfic #shay's stuff #prompts

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