#xisangweek2023

[ibijau]

For the theme 'in another life" of xisang week

inspire by this strip of @falseknees because it had been living rent free in my head since it was posted

[i-will-cry-you-a-river]

Like all things in Nie Huaisang's life, it started with Da-ge.

When killing Jin Guangyao and causing the heartbreak of Lan Xichen didn't help, didn't bring back his Da-ge nor gave him happiness or peace, at least - he tried something else.

The thing about sacrificing one, and alienating the other source of his to demonic cultivation was that it made everything way harder than it should have been - but he was always a resourceful little demon. Just as easily as he defeated the mastermind behind the murder of his Da-ge, he found himself back in time, when Jin Guangyao was still called Meng Yao and Da-ge was still a living, lovely little ball of rage and fierceness.

It was a strange experience, to be older than his brave and strong and talented Da-ge, but... he would always be his spoiled little didi. It wouldn't take long to get back to being the pampered little Second Master of Qinghe. Except...

He couldn't allow himself to be that lazy and shallow as he was. His Da-ge would. Not. Die. Not under his watch.

He was ready to kill Jin Guangyao, before the man could lay even a finger (or a faulty note) on his brother, but-

The man he met at the first time he opened his eyes in his past - in his new present -, was Meng Yao. His favorite non-Da-ge person, his friend, his first (second, if he wanted to be honest) crush. Da-ge's deputy, whose presence was essential in the daily lives of Qinghe. Nie Huaisang's plans changed in the minute he heard his A-Yao's soft words of concern.

"Is Second Master okay? Should I call for the healer?"

It was real.

Ever since he realized who killed his beloved brother, he questioned everything he knew about Meng Yao. He questioned his care, his love, his friendliness. But it was all real. His A-Yao really cared about him.

Maybe not Jin Guangyao. But Meng Yao did. And that care was what saved him.

"No, it's okay! It was just a quick dizziness, but everything is good now. And how many times more should I tell you that it's A-Sang?! A-Sang! A-Yao is so cruel to his A-Sang," he pouted, and the helpless adoration in the other man's eyes was so clear to him now that he didn't understand how past him had failed to notice it.

"Once more, probably," Meng Yao sassed, his tiny smile and cute little dimples hidden behind his sleeves.

"So cruel..." Nie Huaisang muttered, hiding his own smile behind a fan.

"Sect Leader sent me to tell you to get ready for the arrival of Young Master Lan," A-Yao said, taking Nie Huaisang's hairbrush in his hand to tame the unruly hair, and the younger boy allowed it, deep in his thoughts.

Meng Yao had to stay. Qinghe couldn't afford losing him right now, Jin Guangshan didn't deserve him, Nie Mingjue needed him at least until after the war, and Nie Huaisang... well, he wanted him. But in the past, as soon as Meng Yao had a better option, he took it, be it the adoration of Lan Xichen, the acceptance of Jin Guangshan or the opportunity to become Sect Leader. Meng Yao would do everything to be as close to power as he could, to be acknowledged and respected.

Nie Huaisang couldn't give that to him. He was just the heir, and saving Nie Mingjue was the whole reason for doing the whole time travel thing. He was not powerful enough. On the other hand, he would never allow Nie Mingjue to fall for Meng Yao, as his brother would never survive that relationship. Allowing Jin Guangshan to accept Meng Yao into the Jin Sect was absolutely out of the question. But-

But.

Hm.

That might work.

Lan Xichen had fallen for Meng Yao before. It was inevitable, but it was not enough. They would never do anything with their feelings; Xichen-ge was too Lan for anything, and Meng Yao would always feel inferior. And just the two of them... that would not guarantee Nie Mingjue's survival. (Hah! On the contrary, it would make the whole murder easier.) But!

But...

Lan Xichen always had a soft spot for Nie Huaisang. With some carefully timed helpless tears, some grateful hugs that last longer than appropriate, some flattering words and carefully cultivated image of being soft and sweet and just spicy enough to not be seen as a younger brother, it would be so easy to seduce the First Jade.

A-Yao already adored him, and if he had the means, the opportunity and the incentive to have Nie Huaisang as his, he would take it. Before, he never started anything with Huaisang because being the husband of the Second Young Master was not attractive enough. But being the spouse of the heir of Qinghe AND the heir - soon-to-be Sect Leader - of Lan was a completely different thing. Having connections to not one but two of the Big Sects, being Consort Lan, the husband of a man who would be indulgent to all of his manipulations and power games would be a temptation not even Meng Yao could resist.

Jing Guangshan had to die soon, though. It would be a shame to kill his not-yet-husband because he thought it was a good idea to suck up to his walking sexually transmitted disease of a father.

[xisangweekend]

Welcome to xisang week 2023, organized by the xisang discord!

From Sunday, Oct 8 - Saturday, Oct 14, we will be celebrating the relationship between Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang.

Please join us by creating art, fic, edits, crafts, or any other content featuring xisang, and share using #xisangweek2023 to be reblogged here! You are also welcome to share on twitter, or on AO3 using the xisangweek2023 collection.

This year's prompts are as follows:

DAY 1 - Sweet nothings / Secret relationship / Between the lines

DAY 2 - Rogue cultivators / Night hunts / Sunshot campaign

DAY 3 - Lxc avenges nhs / Better than revenge / In the next life

DAY 4 - Mythical beast / De-aging / Kidnapping

DAY 5 - Dual cultivation / Identity porn /Bone

DAY 6 - Fear toxin / Betrayal / Funeral

DAY 7 - Aftermath / Mulberries and gentians / Free theme

Prompts are a suggestion--any content featuring xisang is welcome! We can't wait to see your works!

[the-sill-of-all-sills]

Until the setting of the Sun

I wrote this short fic for the Xisang Week promt "In the next life". Hope you enjoy!

-.-.-.-.-

“In my next life,” Xichen says, “I will be a farmer.”

Huaisang takes his eyes from the setting sun, “Whatever that for?” he asks but doesn’t mean it. Not really.

“Easier work.”

No politics. No sunshot campaign. No Qi Deviation and no sworn brotherhood to betray you. Only the fields that needed tending, and the question of if you would make it through the winter.

“Xichen,” Huaisang says, “If I said I’m sorry, would that change anything?”

“Hhm,” Nie Huaisang says, “I suppose.” He looks back at the sky again. And then, picking up a forgotten strand of conversation, “They’re going to start wondering where we are.”

“They won’t come looking anytime soon.”

“I suppose.” He says again. There’s something dead in his eyes as he does. It won’t take much longer, Xichen thinks, until the sun is set and the sky is dark.

The sun will set. It always does. It feels final this time. Xichen dares, moves his hand, grasps Huaisang fingers light enough it could be imagination. But it isn’t. Huaisang winces and pulls away. Their eyes meet, and Xichen sees his empty face reflected.

“If I said I’m sorry, would that change anything for you?”

Huaisang looks back at the sunset. “I suppose it wouldn’t.”

“Just a little longer.” He places his other hand on Xichen’s cheek. A caress. It would be. But the pleading of his voice is real, it almost brings his face back to life. Almost restores the image of a young boy who would laugh at any joke Xichen made, no matter how bad. “Let us pretend Er-ge. Until the sun sets.”

“Then we should stop pretending it would. We should go.”

“No.” He makes it sound like a plead. He caught Xichen’s wrist. And now, he changes the placement. He holds Xichen’s hand. Firm enough to pretend.

Pretend. To pretend that what could have been, was. Or still was. Maybe, Xichen thinks, in the early days, they had been happy. He could ask Huaisang when it stopped. When he knew. When he decided what was necessary. Maybe Huaisang would even say the truth.

But Xichen doesn’t ask. It wouldn’t change anything. “Alright.” He says instead and looks towards the sun. “Until the sun sets.”

It is almost real, the way they hold each other. It almost doesn’t hurt.

“In my next life,” Huaisang says once the sun is truly gone, “I'll make you happy.”

[veraverorum]

Secret relationship/between the lines for the first day of Xisang week 2023! [read it on AO3]

[ibijau]

based on Never lovers, ever friends by @veraverorum

To Gusu Lan sect leader Lan Xichen  Do you think me a fool?  Your well wishes on the day of my nuptials are as welcome as your presence. And you were not there.  I was never capable of forgiveness, you should know that very well.  Occupy your mind with your family and your child, not with the thought of me. 

for the themes "secret relationship" and "between the lines", and also because I just loved so much this fic when I got to beta it~

[i-will-cry-you-a-river]

It was startling to realize how naive he had been. He always thought Nie Huaisang was the sweetest of them all, precious and so far from the cruel word's machinations. He always had been so innocent and wide-eyed and pure. Sure, Da-ge always laughed at him when he gushed about their sweet didi, telling Lan Xichen that their little A-Sang was anything but pure, but he always thought Nie Mingjue only meant his sweet brother's tendency to be entranced by spring books.

Not...

Not this.

He had seen a glimpse of the side of Nie Huaisang he felt a bit more uneasy about, but it didn't make him anxious at that time. Seeing his beloved and adored big brother to die such a way in front of him, of course that broke something in him! But he never feared of it. It was Nie Huaisang, the same A-Sang he loved since the first time he saw him.

Yet... That moment he felt dread.

If his lover could do all of these things behind his back... If he could fake brotherly affection towards the murderer of his brother then use Lan Xichen to kill him, then...

What punishment could be waiting for him?

A mere glance at the cruel glint in Nie Huaisang's eyes and the vicious smile on the corner of his mouth after the death of Jin Guangyao made Lan Xichen shiver in trepidation.

His lover... His sweet, precious lover, the mastermind behind the fall of Jin Guangyao. How many people's blood was on his hands? How many lives did he ruin in his quest for revenge? How could he stand to be in Sang-ge's presence, planning his humiliation and murder?

Those were all questions he should have been asking. But the only thing he wanted to find the answer for was: did he even love Lan Xichen?

All the things he did, all the lies he told and deeds he hid-

Lan Xichen was just as sick as Nie Huaisang was, because he didn't mind them at all. Not when being with A-Sang made him the happiest person alive. He loved his sworn brother. He did so many things to help out him... But if his death meant Nie Huaisang could live in peace, it was okay.

"What... What are you planning to do with me?" He asked unsteadily as the others left, Lan Wangji leaving as the last, throwing an uneasy glare at his brother for staying with the one who orchestrated the whole thing. "Do you hate me?"

"Of course not," his lover smiled, and Lan Xichen's heartbeat quickened. That wasn't a smile, not a real one, nor a convincing fake one either. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes...

"You hate me." It broke something in the Lan Sec Leader's chest.

"Why would I hate you?" His beloved A-Sang asked again with the same cold smile, with a dangerous undertone in his voice. Those pretty, innocent eyes he adored so much were full of cold fury.

"A-Sang..." He started, his arm stretched towards his lover, trying to reach him, but it felt like there was a canyon between them. He wanted to bridge it. He needed to bridge it.

But it was Huaisang who moved; an unexpected pain ran through him as his hair was roughly pulled at, baring his throat. His breath hitched as the familiar, lovely lips touched his sensitive skin on his throat, and he had to bit back his scream of pain when his lover bit down on his neck. It was hard and angry and a show of ownership, and Lan Xichen readily gave in.

He didn't want to struggle. He didn't need to struggle. If Nie Huaisang wanted his death, he would be dead. No, his lover only wanted to punish him, to show the world that he belonged to him. And he did.

He might have hid so many things from Lan Xichen, but this man in front of him, this dangerous, cruel man was still Nie Huaisang; the same Nie Huaisang he gave his heart and soul years ago. The one who laughed with him, cried with him, made love with him. It was his A-Sang.

And Lan Xichen was his.

Slowly, his arms locked around the younger man's waist, holding him close. The smaller body froze as Lan Xichen melted against his. "I love you. I love every sides of you," he confessed.

"Er-ge," A-Sang whispered against his throat, still sounding so young and innocent.

Lan Xichen smiled, turning his head towards his lover, whose eyes were no longer cold, but lost and confused. "You can murder anybody, plan the fall of the whole cultivation world, punish me for my crimes, it won't matter to me. I love you. I'm yours."

The possessive glint flashing through those pretty golden eyes made him shiver with want. Nie Huaisang was dangerous - but it was okay. He was Nie Huaisang's and he never wanted to be anything else.

"Yes," came the breathless agreement. "Yes, you are."

[i-will-cry-you-a-river]

"Pretty!" The almost prayer-like soft whisper came from the tiny Lan, whose eyes were big and round and more expressive than all of the Lans' together. He was absolutely adorable, and Nie Huaisang had to suppress the squeal that threatened to leave his mouth behind his fan. The tiny Lan in pale blue, with his tiny hands on his tiny chest was the most adorable thing Nie Huaisang had ever seen in his life, and he had the fortune to grow up looking into the mirror day by day.

The tiny Lan beat him in adorableness, fair and square. Now, he just needed to know who was his competitor and how come he had never seen him before.

"Hello there," he cooed, lazily fanning himself as he kneeled down so he could be at the same eye level as the kid. "And who might you be?"

"This one is Lan Huan," he said seriously, properly bowing, with his hands in front of him. "Who are you, Pretty gege?"

"L-Lan Huan?" Nie Huaisang's voice trembled. The tiny boy in the tiniest Lan robes, with the tiniest headbands, who had the widest and most innocent blue eyes ever was Lan Xichen?!

"Yes!" The boy nodded with a toothy smile, then waited patiently.

When he remembered, he bowed, and said as serious as he could be while wanting nothing more than to take the child into his arms and squeeze him tight, "This one is Nie Huaisang."

"Nie-gege?"

Huaisang melted. "To you, it is Sang-ge!"

The smile he received back was brighter than the Sun itself. Suddenly, the kid grew shy, almost curling up, looking down the ground instead of up to Huaisang's eyes.

"What is the problem, Little One?" He asked, booping the tiny nose with his pointing finger. Eyes crossed to look at the offending digit, and the sight was just too cute to bear for the young Sect Leader who already had an unfortunate soft spot for Zewu-Jun.

"I wan- can-," the kid bit into his lips. "This one would be honored if Pretty Sang-ge would hug him."

Nie Huaisang never had self-restraint when he saw something cute, and there was nothing cuter than the small, more adorable version of the First Jade, with his chubby cheeks and toothy smile and huge eyes.

Of course he had to hug him!

Contrary to what he wanted - to squeeze the kid like a toy -, he took him into his hands gently, taking care of his precious burden. He was holding him like he never wanted to part from him, and the little body relaxed against his bigger one.

"It's okay, Huan-di, Sang-ge is here for you," he whispered, and it was a shock to even himself that it was the truth. As much as he despised Jin Guangyao and the brotherhood between the two older Sect Leaders, he couldn't hate Lan Xichen.

Especially not Lan Huan.

His hand came up to the back of the kid's head, who buried his head into Nie Huaisang's neck, his breathing tickling the sensitive skin.

"Lan Xichen!" sapped the voice of an angry Lan Qiren. "Sect Leader Nie!" yelled again, sounding offended and aggravated. Nie Huaisang had experience with both of those emotions coming from Teacher Lan. "Put him down immediately! It is highly inappropriate and unacceptable!"

Nie Huaisang's hold on the child only tightened, one of his hands continued to gently caress Lan Huan's back.

"Lan Huan asked me to hug him, and it is my pleasure to finally be able to complete a task right," the Sect Leader of Qinghe said airily, referring to his Headshaker persona.

Lan Qiren spluttered and muttered something about the rules, but Nie Huaisang didn't pay attention to that. No, his focus was only on the precious little boy in his arms.

"Sang-ge's hug is the best!" Smiled Lan Huan sunnily, and Nie Huaisang was defeated.

After a day spent with his favorite boy, he was basically thrown out of Cloud Recesses. He wanted to stay, to know if they found a solution for the de-aging spell, but as he was not a family member nor a well-known expert in this field, his presence was undesirable.

He wanted to stay.

He couldn't. And no information was forthcoming from Cloud Recesses either, the Lans closed their metaphorical gates. He didn't know anything about Lan Huan nor about Lan Xichen, until-

"Sect Leader Lan is asking for permission to see Sect Leader Nie," his discipline stated. It didn't take more than a blink for Nie Huaisang to hurry to the gates, where Lan Xichen was standing, in all his grown up glory.

Lan Huan was the cutest little boy ever.

Lan Xichen was the handsomest, most devastatingly gorgeous man Nie Huaisang had ever seen.

"Er-ge!" He yelled in delight, rushing towards the other Sect Leader.

The man smiled with a mysterious smile, one that hid the mischief nobody would ever believe him that Lan Xichen had, and asked, "Will Pretty Sang-ge hug me again?"

There was only one possible answer to that, really.