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Hello! So this is Day 3 of @vassar177‘s Mingcheng Week and the prompt is Regret. It’s basically a continuation from day 2 but I think you can read this one without reading the last day. If you don’t understand a thing about it, there’s a link in the notes that will take you to Day 2. Hope you enjoy this and remember to stay safe and healthy!
Request: Kitchen Lovin' (4 - Song List Prompts) for Percy Jackson (PJO), please 🥺 by anon
from this song prompt list
Here's the song on spotify
This is set where the reader and Percy are both over the age of 18 and are living together near camp half-blood, and they still help at the camp.
Today was a day like every other day. You rolled over to turn off your alarm and felt a warm presence pulling you back. You looked to the sleepy man laying in the bed in front of you, sea green eyes staring back at you. You smile down at him, laying a gentle kiss on his lips, and really thinking about just staying in bed for a couple of minutes more, but remembering that you and Percy would likely be in for a stern talking to by Chiron, so you rolled out of the bed struggling for a bit against Percy.
When Chiron had asked the two of you to stay and help out with the camp, he had a small house built for you right outside of camp, so that you could be close enough, but far enough so that you could have your privacy.
As you put on an oversized T-shirt, and shorts, you heard the shower start, so you decided to make him some breakfast along with yours. You start cooking, and turn on some music, so you don't even hear the shower turn off. You jump a little bit when he hugs you from behind, placing soft kisses all over your neck, causing you to giggle a little bit. You can smell his soap shampoo, due to the proximity, and even after knowing him for so long, you still feel giddy around him.
He places one last kiss to your neck, and then strolls over to the coffee pot to make some. As you watch him standing there, all you can think about is the future with him and what that holds. All you can see is the two of you growing old together and enjoying this pure bliss every day for the rest of your lives.
Suddenly you are snapped out of your daydream when you feel his arms around you once again. "(Y/N), I think we should probably get dressed unless you're gonna go to the camp dressed like that," he says with a small laugh.
"Right," you left out a breathy laugh and then turn to go get ready for the day, smiling at the perfect little life you have.
Nie Mingjue loved Jiang Cheng for many reasons. The younger Sect Leader had rebuilt his home with almost no resources and in such a young age with almost no resources and managed to thrive once again, he was determined and knew when to stand his ground, when he loved, he did it with his whole heart and cared deeply. Still, Mingjue knew that he didn't trust easily and, often, it took a long time for him to believe that someone cared back for him.
So, maybe, that was the reason he was surprised when a letter arrived for him and Nie Huaisang, asking if they wanted to participate in the festival they would be having at the end of the harvest season. The festival happened every year after everything was done and, while it was open for everyone to participate, it was known that it was organized especially from the Yunmeng people to the Yunmeng people. There was music, food and dances that anyone could join if wanted and it lasted, at least, three days.
It had been one of the things that Jiang Cheng was more adamant about and even though the rebuilding wasn't finished yet, he insisted on doing it in the first year and never stopped after that. The disciples still talked about that first time and often said that nothing else could ever compare to it, they talked about the music, the food and all the laughs and jokes that occurred that day. And how they talked. It was no secret that the Jiang disciples loved their sect and their leader with their whole heart, but when the topic changed to festivals and music, they always said that nothing would ever compare to the first edition of the Harvest Festival.
That year's harvest had just ended and they all were around a fire, tired and sweaty, but still laughing at the stories of the past and joking about what the future reserved for them while passing food around. At some point, someone brought out a pipa, another one went home to bring a tanggu back and slowly more instruments were brought until there was music and everyone was dancing and playing around. To add to the surprise, not much time later, Jiang Cheng started to sing and the bravest ones joined him, too drunk in the euphoria of still being alive after a war to care if they were out of tune or not.
Jiang Cheng said once that it was important to them because that was their way of saying We are still here. We are alive, we survived and that is reason enough to celebrate. After it, the festival had only grown and nowadays, many people come to Lotus Pier to prove their food, see them dancing and joking around. It was a big event in their routine and Nie Mingjue was honored that Jiang Cheng had asked if he wanted to go.
So, he talked to Nie Huaisang and they agreed that it would be a good idea to take some of their older disciples there as well. In their haste to get there, they ended up arriving a day earlier than they should and were quickly eloped on the lotus picking. The only one who escaped getting knees deep in the mud was Nie Huaisang and only because the grandmas pulled him into one of the boats to help give the others water and sweet dumplings while trasportanting the lotus flowers already picked.
"Thank you." Jiang Cheng said, skin dark from being under the sun for the whole day and a drop of sweat running down the side of his face. "Though I don't know if I should be happy or angry because your people helped." He joked, grinning at the blush that appeared on his cheeks. Indeed, the Nies disciples had gotten quite competitive with the Jiang disciples and decided to do a game to see who could crop more lotus flowers till the end of the day. They chose an unbiased judge in the form of one Wang Yijin, an old woman who loved both the Jiang and the Nie disciples. "Next time, come earlier, I bet that we will be done in no time with your disciples competing against mine."
"We will see about that. Even more now that they know that they can beat your disciples in that." Nie Mingjue grinned back, approaching him slowly.
"That's debatable." He whispered, smiling up at him and putting his hands on his hips. "We all know that Wang Yijin loves you. No doubt she counted more crops on your side than in ours." He said against his lips as they got closer.
"Lovely woman." He said before diving in for a kiss and ignoring the "Gross!", "Ew!" and "Get a room!" screams coming from their disciples. They kissed slowly, just savoring the fact that they were still there, alive and well, that things were good once again. It was more just a press of lips than anything and it filled Nie Mingjue with happiness to still be able to do that.
"Baieyu!" Jiang Cheng screamed when a wall of water fell over them and the disciples started to laugh.
"Baieyu, I love you!" One of the Jiang disciples, Wang Yin, screamed while being held back by the Zhou twins, who too were laughing. Nie Mingjue saw the white crocodile swimming away, growling in a way that sounded like a laugh, while Jiang Cheng glared down at him.
"I didn't teach him that. I swear." He said, trying his hardest to not let his smile break out.
"Yeah, sure. I believe you." He said, too laughing and they finally moved to get out of the water. Once out, they went to take a bath and Jiang Cheng told him about the plans for the festival on the next day while washing Nie Mingjue's hair.
Apparently, he had lost a bet to the Zhou twins - Mingjue called it karma for laughing at him when he fell on their pranks, Jiang Cheng called it being sleep-deprived at the time - and now he would have to dance at the festival along with some other disciples. After the first time, where he sang with the others, he didn't participate in any of the activities they did, mostly just watching from afar and helping with the organization of the event. But Nie Mingjue knew that every year, all his disciples always tried to make him take part in those activities and he never did.
One time, the twins had asked him what he thought that would be able to make Jiang Cheng do something that he refused to do, but that would be good for him and he said that a bet would probably have that result. Their faces had light up at that, instantly making plans and talking too quickly for him to keep track of what they were saying before they walked away. Now it made sense why they had asked that, albeit he still thought that it would have been more productive if they had asked Wei Wuxian or even Jiang Yanli.
Even though they lived a little bit away from Lotus Pier - Jiang Yanli in Lanling and Wei Wuxian in Yiling City with the Wens - they visited often enough that they would be able to ask them and receive good answers too. Anyways, now the twins had already asked and made good use of that new knowledgement and he couldn't really say that he was angry at that. So, after Jiang Cheng finished washing his hair and he began washing his, he asked when he would be dancing and discovered that it would be the next day at the opening of the festival "because the twins are evil like that."
That night they slept together in Jiang Cheng's chambers instead of kissing goodnight and Mingjue going to his own chambers like usually, wrapped around each other and feeling safe. The next morning, he got to watch Jiang Cheng sleepily getting ready for the day before getting ready himself and kissing him good morning as they walked out the room. Almost instantly, he noticed that the atmosphere on Lotus Pier was different than usual, feeling more electric and full of energy than before.
Wherever he looked, there were people laughing and joking, clearly excited about what was going to happen at night and it would be a lie if he said that he too wasn't excited about it. At some point of the day, the twins came looking for Jiang Cheng and took him away, probably to get him ready for the night. After that, the Jiang juniors kept him busy with having him to play judge to one of their games that he understood nothing about, no matter how many times they explained it to him.
When the time came for them to go to Yunmeng's market, where the festival was traditionally held, the Jiang disciples made a point of dressing him up in new robes that he didn't even know that Jiang Cheng had ordered. They were beautiful, adorned with golden accents and little green beads forming designs, and were a type of comfort rarely seen in robes so elaborate. Nie Mingjue loved them and he didn't hide that fact.
"I feel like your ego has grown like six times just in the small time you took from the entrance to here." Nie Huaisang said, hiding a well-known grin behind his fan.
"Maybe that's why you are looking so small from up here." Nie Mingjue said, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Da-ge!" He shrieked, snapping his fan close while he laughed loudly. "C'mon, you besotted fool, let's go before we are late."
"Hmmph, who is the one between us that takes forever to get ready when they haven't already selected a set of robes beforehand?" He looked at him by the corner of his eyes, seeing the way that he puffed his cheek in outrage.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." He pouted, making Mingjue laugh even more. They walked to Yunmeng's market, talking and joking on their way there. Once there, the Jiang disciples said that there was going to be a stage where the opening dance was going to be performed and that their sect leader was going to be on the front. It was clear that they were excited to see Jiang Cheng on stage again and that the Nie disciples weren't losing to them on that matter either, talking animatedly about how they wanted to see him dancing.
And, oh, how he danced! They arrived right on time when the first notes were being played and the dancers were already on stage. The dancers were wearing light robes with bright makeup, only half of their hair pulled up, and Nie Mingjue couldn't say that Jiang Cheng wasn't beautiful there, smiling wide as if he belonged there. As the singers began to sing, they opened their arms as if they were greeting the people there and it was noticeable that most of them were singing along too.
Around then, the people from Yunmeng chorused the song at the top of their lungs while clapping along, the small kids and juniors disciples imitating the dance and giggling. Besides him, his disciples too were clapping and trying to sing along with the Jiang disciples, and he smiled at the silliness of it all. There were people from the other sects there as well, enjoying the show and he couldn't help but think about how much it had changed since the first time celebrating it.
At some point of the presentation, they started to swirl around and everyone gasped as their robes started to glow, creating the illusion of them flying and having small lights around them. The dance lasted for more four minutes and, when it ended, the cheers and applause drowned the music when the dancers made their final bow. Behind him, some Jiang disciples were explaining the meaning of it to the Nie ones.
"This is a traditional greeting dance from Yunmeng. Jiang-zongzhu taught us." One of the Jiang disciples, maybe Liu Min, said, a grin so big on his mouth that Nie Mingjue feared that it was going to rip his cheeks apart. "But this is the first time he dances with us since that time. It took the Twins tricking him to get him to do so."
"Wow, really? How did they do it?" One of his disciples, Zhang Nuoting, said, eyes wide as he looked at the other girl.
"They involved Nie-zongzhu, obviously." She whispered, trying to not let him hear. "They bet that he would be able to come to this year's festival opening and if he did, Jiang-zongzhu would have to dance in the presentation, but if he didn't, the Twins would stop pestering him for the rest of the year."
"That's a good bet, actually." She whistled and Nie Mingjue knew that she was nodding knowingly.
"Yeah, but like, Nie-zongzhu never came to the festival opening before and Jiang-zongzhu thought he was safe. But, as you see, the Twins are never wrong." Giggles came from behind him as the dancers left the stage and he watched as all the bystanders went away talking about the performance and how it had been something akin to magic.
He stayed there, waiting for the dancers to appear in the front of the stage again though he dispatched his disciples to get to the fair. Ever since he and Nie Huaisang had told them that they would pass the week in Yunmeng, for the harvest festival, they had been so excited to see the fair they had that it was the only thing that they talked about all the way there. The disciples had just disappeared in the crowd when he felt someone hugging him from behind.
"Who the hell gave you these robes?" Jiang Cheng whispered, his hands coming to a stop over his chest, his face pressed against his shoulders.
"Your disciples." Nie Mingjue said, his own hands going up to cover his. "You were amazing up in there, my heart."
"Just up in there?" He said, patting his chest and Mingjue could imagine the presumptuous smile on his face.
"Oh, now, you are fishing." He turned around, wrapping him in his arms and smiling.
"And who spoiled me on that?" He retorted, scrunching his nose up to him. The make-up had been removed, though there was still some reminiscent, like the red eyeliner and sparks of gold on his eyelids. Most of the white had already been taken out, but there were still some traces of it.
"I have no idea, but I can tell that you are amazing, both up in there and down here up close." He started, kissing the tip of his nose. "You have achieved so many things that I actually envy you for thinking about half of them. You have not only rebuild your clan, you have transformed it and everyone knows it. All your disciples would kill for you and your people, common and not, love you with their whole hearts." At every word, Jiang Cheng got redder and Nie Mingjue's desire to kiss every freckle on his nose and cheeks. "All of your doings are amazing because you are amazing, my heart. You are kind, you are compassionate, you are strong-hearted and you always fight for justice and for what is right. And that's only some of the infinite reasons why I love you."
"Alright, I think that's enough." He said, hiding his face on his chest. "Enough with your compliments."
"No, no. It's never enough with you." He chuckled, kissing the top of his head and tightening his grip around him until he grunted.
"Asshole." He pinched his side before looking up at him. "Say it one more time?"
"What? That you transformed the Jiang Sect to something million times better? That you are kind, compassionate and strong-hearted? That those are only some of the infinite reasons why I love you? That I love you? Because they are all true!" His eyes were shining at that and, oh, how Nie Mingjue loved to see that big smile on his face.
"All of that." He said, giving him a little peck on the lips before stepping away. "C'mon, I want to buy some tanghulu from Huang-nainai." He pulled on his hand like an over-excited child and he could only admire how much he changed since they started courting.
Jiang Cheng had learned so much through those past years, learning how to trust again, how to relax and joke around like he did when he was a teen. The whole sect had seen the change and they had credited it to Nie Mingjue, but he knew the truth and the truth was that all he needed was to have someone there for him, no questions asked. And he would be there for, right by his side, as long as he let him.
Hello! So, this is the second fic I post today for @vassar177‘s 12 Days of Mingcheng and the prompt is Confidence! So I hope you enjoy it and have a good day!
Nie Mingjue watched as Jiang Wanyin stood beside his disciples, lifting an eyebrow at the Jin disciples that kept talking besides having one of the most scaring Sect leaders staring down at them. He didn't know what they were talking about, but what he did know was that the Jiang disciples were two seconds away from breaking down and jumping at their necks and if he knew Jiang Wanyin - And he did - he wasn't going to stop them. Which, fair.
Those new Jin disciples were being insufferable lately and it would be good if someone just put them in their places. Everyone had thought that now that Jin Zixuan was the new Sect Leader along with his wife Jiang Yanli and had his brother, Jin Guangyao, by his side, the usual arrogance that the Jins usually portrayed would disappear. They were, obviously, wrong and it was a matter of time before one of the other Sects' disciples snapped.
They just got unlucky that those disciples were the Jiangs.
So, he watched as Jiang Xiaosheng, one of the oldest disciples since the war, stopped a fish vendor, pulling him aside to ask how much the fish was costing. They were out at the market and Nie Mingjue was at the tea shop alone and watching the streets, that was how he found the Jiang-Jin dilemma happening on the street. Drinking from his cup, he watched as Jiang Xiaosheng got one of the fishes by its mouth after dropping some money on the merchant's hand.
The boy turned to another disciple, Jiang Weili, one of the "middle child" as Jiang Wanyin said, tapping her on the shoulder before putting the fish on her hands at the same time one of the Jin disciples started on their rambles again. She turned to him, eyes aflame, as she aimed at him and threw the fish at him, hitting right into his mouth the moment he opened it. He stopped at once, looking shocked and outraged as he turned to her.
When he started to talk again, another fish hit his face and Xiaosheng dropped more coins at the merchant's hand. From his seat, Nie Mingjue tried to hold his laugh - And tea - inside his mouth as Jiang Wanyin looked at them. He had his eyebrows raised up in a way that could be either disbelief or amusement, it was hard to tell from that afar.
Then, from that moment on, every time one of them tried to talk, Jiang Weili threw a fish at them and, most of the time, it hit them right in the mouth, bringing disgust to their faces. Every time that happened, the other Jiang disciples had to hold their laughs and so did he. It ended up happening so much that Nie Mingjue was sure that was the merchant's happiest day and Jiang Cheng's most dreadful one. The Jin disciples got tired of having their mouths shut for a fish every time they opened it and finally stormed away, leaving the Jiangs to hold their laughs until they were very, very away from them.
He smiled against his cup too, watching as Jiang Cheng sighed and ordered his disciples to collect the fish from the ground and wrap them up while he paid the poor merchant who just had his products vandalized by them. The disciples faked loud groans as they kneeled down to do as ordered and hid their smiles while it. Nie Mingjue got up, paying for his tea and heading back to Cloud Recess, where all the Sects were staying in for the conference.
When the Nie delegation arrived, the Jiangs were already there and one of his disciples, Nie Liwen, discovered that they had arrived early because Jiang-zonzhu wanted to spend some time with his brother. Though they had agreed to arrive at the same time earlier, he understood why he had done it and even encouraged it. He had to after so many times of he saying that he should try to get in touch with his brother again.
Ever since they started courting, Jiang Cheng had gotten more confident on his steps and opinions, but Nie Mingjue hardly doubted it was his doing. The younger man changed from someone that wouldn't speak up against his elders and take everyone's opinion to someone that said what he thought when it was needed and didn't take people's opinion as seriously as before. It had been so good, to watch him gain more confidence as time passed and he realized that he didn't own them anything.
As he returned back to his quarters on Cloud Recess, Nie Mingjue smiled to himself and remembered the scene from earlier, recalling something his father said to him. Remember, Jue'er, he had said while patting his head, The loyal disciples go where their leaders go, but only if they respect and look to them. and that never left his mind. He tried to be someone that his people could trust and respect, someone they would follow even to war, but Jiang Wanyin was on a whole other level.
When the war started and both Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian disappeared, everyone thought that the Jiang sect had been lost forever, but then one night, they found Jiang Cheng wandering around, almost dead and without a core. Everyone was shocked that he was still alive and Nie Mingjue had put his best healers to make sure he would be fine. Then, he shocked everyone when he insisted on participating in the war, having a core or not.
He had been able to bring so many more people to the war, cultivators or not, and managed to make them follow him in battle. After the end of the war, he rebuilt Lotus Pier and his clan, even if he always said he had no intentions of becoming Sect Leader. Not that his disciples would let him off so easily.
When the clan was rebuilt and he tried to go away, his disciples too wrapped their things up and followed him, claiming that wherever he went they would go because there was only a clan if he was the Sect Leader. In face of that, Jiang Cheng had no option but to become the next Sect Leader and suffer with his disciples' though heads and egos. Nie Mingjue guessed that the disciples learned their leaders' stubbornness as well.
Late at night when he was brushing his hair to go off to sleep, he heard his door slipping aside and turned around to see Jiang Wanyin stepping inside the room. His hair was half up in a bun and his robes were more simple than the ones he used daily. Nie Mingjue smiled as he hugged him from behind and kissed the top of his head, taking the brush out of his hand.
"Didn't we agree that I would be the one to brush your hair every night?" He said, brushing through his hair with the utmost care.
"And didn't we agree that every time your disciples were little pests, you would tell me the tale?" He retorted, looking at him over the mirror.
"How did you know?" He sighed, stopping for a moment on his brushing. "A-Li threw fishes at some Jin disciples earlier."
"The fish merchant must have been very happy then." He turned around to let him see his smile.
"You are insufferable." He rolled his eyes, shoving his shoulder away weakly. "I hate you so much."
"Yet here we are." A chuckle left his mouth as Wanyin leaned down to give him a quick peck on the lip and turned him around again to keep brushing his hair. After he did that, it was his time to have his hair brushed before they went to bed, curling up around each other. "My heart, what were those Jin disciples saying earlier?" He said, running his fingers through his hair and taking a deep breath when he stiffened against his side. That was answer enough already. "You didn't believe in them, did you, my heart?"
"There's nothing to believe in, Mingjue." Jiang Wanyin said, curling up further and hiding his face on his chest, hand closing around his robes. "They spoke what they thought was the truth."
"Wanyin, my heart, my soul, my light." He sat up, pulling him to his lap and kissing his temple. "Don't care about what those disciples said about you, alright?"
"What are you talking about, Mingjue? I don't care about what they say about me. My disciples do, I don't." A smile was appearing on his face and, for a moment, Nie Mingjue stopped to look back down at him. "Oh, gods, my heart, listen. Yes, they did talk about the fact that I don't have a core and they didn't get one single fact right. Yes, my disciples got so irritated with them that they started throwing fish at them which was downright hilarious and yes, the fishmonger had the time of his life." He was now straddling his hips, both of his hands around Mingjue's face. "But, no, I didn't care about what they said. They are kids, they are children and they haven't been through half of what we have, my heart. Now, I'm confident enough to not care about what they say about me, understand? You taught me that."
"I didn't teach you anything, Wanyin. You learned it all by yourself." He whispered before a sweet kiss was placed on his lips. "I'm so proud of you."
"Oh, you besotted fool. C'mon, let's go to sleep." He rolled to the side, pulling Mingjue down with him. Before, when he was younger, Wanyin wouldn't have acted that way, he wouldn't have spoken that way and would have believed in what those kids had said, but Nie Mingjue was right, he was so much more confident now.
