Untamed oneshot/short stories

Fevers and forgiveness

Summary:  Jiang Cheng lets Wei WuXian stay at Lotus Pier for one night after seeing him outside during a winter storm. However, the next day, he had caught a fever and a cold. Jiang Cheng ends up taking care of him and brother bonding is sure to follow after a long winter night.

It was almost winter in Yunmeng. As Jiang Cheng looks up like the gray clouds in the sky, he knows it will start snowing soon. Looking down Yunmeng dock, he could see the merchants and fisherman gathering up their vegetables, fruits and stands. As Jiang Cheng turns back around to head back to Lotus Pier, he thinks he sees a glimpse of a familiar pair of red and black robes. In fact, he had seen it trailing behind him in the shadows all day as Jiang Cheng had made his way around Yunmeng. Shaking his head, he starts walking faster towards Lotus Pier. Before he had reached the door, the first couple of snowflakes had already fallen and within a couple more minutes, it had begun to snow heavily, covering the rooftops and the courtyard in a layer of white. Jiang Cheng wraps his outer robes tighter around him and walks towards his room. He heats up a hot pot of tea using a fire talisman. However, before he can take a sip of it, there is a light knock at his door from a disciple.

"Sect leader."

"Is something wrong?" Jiang Cheng notes the uncertainty in the disciple's voice.

"There's someone standing at the entrance. He's sheltering from the storm under the awning." Jiang Cheng frowns and stands up from his desk to follow the disciple to the door. Just through the narrow gaps in the door, he can indeed see a figure. He opens the door and comes face to face with a shocked pair of eyes. It was Wei WuXian, his robes covered in snowflakes and his face red from the cold. A few wet strands of hair clings onto his face.

"J-Jiang Cheng," Wei WuXian blinks at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jiang Cheng did not intend to sound so aggressive, but he is just as surprised as the latter.

"Er..well, I was running errands and I didn't realize the weather would change this drastically."

"It's mid-winter," Jiang Cheng points out dryly, still avoiding eye contact and staring absently into the distance watching his warm breath turn into a puff in the cold air.

"I should leave before the snow gets worse," Wei WuXian says, staring at the ground and turning to leave. Something trembles on the tip of Jiang Cheng's tongue as he sees Wei WuXian walk back into the snow out of the corner of his eye. Before he can talk, a sudden hack of coughs inadvertently makes him look back at Wei WuXian. It is then that he notices the man is shivering from the cold.

"Where can you possibly go in this weather? The fishmen aren't even at the dock to give you a boat ride. Follow me." Jiang Cheng doesn't wait for Wei WuXian to respond, but he hears the man stop walking. Jiang Cheng walks back into Lotus Pier, keeping the door open. When he still does not hear footsteps following him, he turns back around in annoyance.

"Are you coming in or do you prefer freezing to death in the cold?" Wei WuXian hesitates before stepping through the threshold, closing the door behind him. He brushes the snow off his robes and silently follows Jiang Cheng as they walk through the halls. I'm leading him towards his old room...Jiang Cheng realizes. He had left the room untouched for so many years. Left the doors shut. The only reason anyone could go inside was to clean it. Wei WuXian's stay at his newly rebuilt room had been short lived after he went to the Burial Mounds.

Jiang Cheng opens the door, shivering slightly against the cold draft that hit him as he does so.

"Stay here," Jiang Cheng tells Wei WuXian without looking at him. Wei WuXian only gives a slight nod in response.