Blood Cultivation

no to courting, yes to cousins

"So I think we've all realized that you're not courting Jin Ling," Wei Wuxian starts, legs swinging back and forth off the end of the pier. "But that doesn't mean you're not courting anybody."

Lin Meili doesn't startle or hit him or declare outrage. She does slowly roll her eyes over to look at him, all her youth and vulnerability shining a bit too bright. Wei Wuxian has to steady himself for a second, remembering her age and her past. Her lips part but no sound comes out. After a moment she merely presses them back together and resumes staring at the lake in front of them.

"Why do I have to be courting anyone? If I were, I would do it properly, ask for permission and everything." Her inflection is light, unconcerned. Typical of them both, really, to hear something that unsettles them but pretend they're unaffected.

"Ah, so you're not courting Jiang Cheng, then," Wei Wuxian says, also to the lake. "Right?"

The consternation in Lin Meili's eyes is slight, but there, and Wei Wuxian knows that when she denies it he isn't going to believe her.

"Of course not," she says, predictably. "We just decided we're cousins, anyway."

This is new. "I thought you and Jin Ling are cousins."

"Yes, but Jiang Cheng is not prepared to have a niece, and definitely not me in particular, so we settled on 'cousins' to keep it more comfortable to both of us."

Wei Wuxian is still a little confused. "Why do you have to be cousins, though? You're distantly related to Jin Ling, and the whole being cousins with Sizhui and Jingyi I don't totally understand but it's very cute. You're not related to the Jiang clan, though. You could court him if you wanted to."

"I like having more family."

"Marriage creates families," he points out, leaving the 'obviously' unspoken. "And now would be a perfectly good time to ask for permission."

Lin Meili does hit him this time. The punch bounces off his upper arm and only hurts a very little bit. "Ouch," he says anyway, on principle.

"I am not courting Jiang Cheng, I am not going to be courting Jiang Cheng, and wouldn't he court me first, but it doesn't matter because we're not interested?" Lin Meili stares at him incredulously, hand threatening another hit at any moment. "Leave your brother alone. If he doesn't want to get married he doesn't have to."

Wei Wuxian rubs his arm dramatically. "But you two get along so well!"

"No. We're cousins." She sticks her tongue out at him and Wei Wuxian remembers there is still a significant age gap between his brother and Lin Meili.

"Fine. Just checking."

"For a second I thought you were going to say I was courting Jingyi."

"Jingyi?!" Wei Wuxian gapes at her. "Why would I think you were-, hang on, does that actually make more sense? He admires you, loves to talk about you, he complains when you're away from Cloud Recesses, he bought you that embroidered pouch that one time in Caiyi Town." He's getting excited now.

Lin Meili is looking a little murderous. "Absolutely not. I told Jin Ling the same thing when he brought it up."

"Jin Ling brought it up? So there's more to this!"

"There is not!" Lin Meili raises a hand again.

Wei Wuxian can't help cackling a little anyway. "I'm completely supportive of your relationship of course, don't worry, I wont tell anyway, except probably Lan Zhan, but I tell him everything-"

Lin Meili has pushed him off the pier and he comes back to the surface spitting water.

"Alright, you're not courting Jingyi."

"I'm not," Lin Meili says rather petulantly, crossing her arms. "He's a cousin too."

"But barely," Wei Wuxian says as he hauls himself out of the water. "And recently decided. It could be undecided."

"I'm not courting Jingyi." She sighs like the whole world is against her and Wei Wuxian pats her on the shoulder once.

"But are you sure he's not courting you?"

Lin Meili looks murderous again and Wei Wuxian scoots backward so she can't push him off the pier a second time. Then he takes a closer look at her face. There's an additional layer to her expression that rings familiar. Jingyi had made that exact face when Wei Wuxian had questioned him about the gift.

"Is he- courting you?"

Lin Meili loses all the anger she'd been about to unleash and just slumps back on her hands. "It was just to get people to stop talking about me courting Jin Ling."

Wei Wuxian doesn't doubt that it had been Jingyi's idea nor that the unruly Lan more than likely had a crush on Lin Meili, but he holds his tongue on that for now. "Fake courting?"

She nods, looking fond. "Jingyi has been very protective of Jin Ling recently. I agreed because I am too. We're family, after all."

"Do you really feel nothing for him?" Wei Wuxian leaves it ambiguous on purpose.

"We're family," Lin Meili says again, her affection proud. "All of us. And I've made it clear that's how I feel," she glances at him.

He nods encouragingly.

"Jingyi will adjust," Lin Meili says eventually, another sigh filling up the space. "He understands."

Wei Wuxian hums, tipping his head back to stare at the moon. "He's a good kid. Even though he's not really a kid anymore."

"Jin Ling, too. He's been so good."

"So like his uncle."

"Which one?"

"The good one, of course."

"Ah, yes, he does take after you these days."

Wei Wuxian shoves Lin Meili's shoulder with little force. "I meant Jiang Cheng."

"I know." She smiles at him, a glint in her eyes. "Also, we're cousins too, you know that right?"

Wei Wuxian wrinkles his nose. "If you and A-Yuan are cousins, wouldn't that make me your uncle?"

"Cousins." Lin Meili shakes her head and says it firmly. "Easier. Simpler. We get to choose. We're the family that we want to be."

Wei Wuxian likes the sound of that.