Growing Pains from Growing Family (Xicheng)

Chapter 28: No More Walking

The sudden insecurity made Lan Xichen became very restless. No longer enjoying strolling through the woods with his fiancé as he simply wanted them to get to the point. He wanted to know what was troubling his lover and get out of the suspense of not knowing.

"Wanyin..." he began, intending to ask the Jiang what it was he wanted to discuss, when he once again noticed Jiang Cheng's almost indistinguishable limp. "Are you really in pain? Waanyin... you promised you wouldn't suffer alone!" Lan Xichen said with whining disappointment. It sounded weird, strange, and above all unfamiliar. He never whined, had never had any reason to, but seeing Jiang Cheng continue to endure all pain by himself was frustrating on a whole nother level.

"What? I'm not in pain." Jiang Cheng insisted as he continued to play dumb. And it would have worked, Lan Xichen would have let it go, if it wasn't for the fact that the Jiang's walking was suddenly fine once more.

If it had continued, he could've reasoned that perhaps he just hadn't noticed the small irregularity in the Jiang's walk. Perhaps it was always that way and Lan Huan hadn't paid enough attention to it to notice. After all, it wasn't very polite to be looking at people's lower bodies for no reason. Even if it wasn't a new occurrence, perhaps Jiang Cheng himself didn't notice it because he genuinely wasn't in pain. There were so many excuses Lan Xichen could have used, if it wasn't for the simple fact that Jiang Wanyin's limp mysteriously disappeared right after being called out.

"Don't lie, you're just going to start limping again in a couple of minutes. Was I too rough on you last night?" Lan Huan accused the Jiang who yet again insisted that he wasn't in any pain. Now Lan Xichen was getting really annoyed. "If you're not going to keep your promise, then I'm not going to keep mine either."

He was not going to allow the Jiang to be walking around in this state, and so regardless of if Jiang Cheng thought his pampering was too much he would be submitted to it. Placing an arm around his lover's knees Jiang Cheng was soon brought to his chest. Letting out a surprised little shriek at so suddenly being carried, the Jiang Clung to the snow-white robes in an attempt to steady himself. Not that he needed to, he was perfectly safe and secure in Lan Xichen's arms. A place which he would stay until he confessed.

"Tell me what's wrong, or else you will spend the rest of our walk in my arms" Lan Xichen threatened his precious little Jiang as they began moving once more, this time with only one pair of feet on the ground.

"Is it not enough that I promise I'm not in pain?" the Jiang asked pleadingly. Despite being the most precious person Lan Xichen had ever met he despised being treated as such. A little bit of pain would certainly not stop him, the one and only Sandu Shengshou, from pushing on regardless. And though this resilience was a very admirable quality and the reason the Jiang sect was as successful as it was today. He didn't have to anymore.

He didn't have to push himself past what was comfortable.

He didn't have to endure the pain.

"Seeing you in pain. It hurts. Please Wanyin, hiding it from me only makes it so much worse. Please tell me" Lan Xichen pleaded. Seeing Jiang Cheng in pain was even worse than if he had that pain inflicted on himself, and the fact that it might have been his fault made it so much worse.

Lan Xichen stopped as Jiang Cheng suddenly began to rearrange himself in his arms. Seeing the Jiang reach over he supported his fiancé's back so that he could place his head in the crook of the Lan's neck, burrowing into the soft skin the same way he had done earlier that morning. Lan Huan assumed it was a safe space for the Jiang. Somewhere he felt comfortable and safe.

Feeling comforted, the Jiang apologized. "I'm sorry Lan Huan it was childish of me to pretend to be limping... I'm sorry, I promise I'm not really in pain. It's just... someone was making fun of me for sleeping with you. He even went as far as to say that I walk weirdly the day after. He's such a..." taking a deep breath Jiang Cheng calmed himself down so that he could continue his explanation without flying off the handle by insulting this very mysterious and unidentifiable 'someone'. "Whatever, it doesn't matter, but I got worried that perhaps I really was walking strangely... so I brought you out for a walk to see if you would mention it if I started to limp and.... I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to worry you. I promise I'm alright."

Hearing the Jiang's heartfelt explanation Lan Huan let the Jiang's feet touch the ground once more.

"Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian is just trying to get a reaction out of you." He was playing around like always, causing trouble wherever he went, and Jiang Cheng had become his victim yet again.

"I know. But he was able to pinpoint the exact days we did it!! How can he know that!?" Jiang Cheng's voice was shrill as he shouted. The alarm in his eyes was familiar. It was the same he had had the night before, when he had chosen to drag the Lan to sleep in his bedroom. A room which coincidentally happened to lack windows...

Thankfully that was just an overreaction on Jiang Cheng's behalf. Wei Wuxian had not been watching them. But even just the thought of his brother-in-law knowing exactly when they made love irked him. However, there was a very simple and non-creepy explanation for Wei Wuxian's accurate guess.

"What do you think is most plausible. Wei Wuxian took a guess in the dark and just so happened to be correct, oo-or your brother is more perceptive than me when it comes to observing the most beautiful Jiang in the entire universe. I haven't noticed anything different about you, so do you really think he did?" Lan Xichen asked.

"..." Jiang Cheng lowered his gaze to the floor like a kid who had gotten caught doing something very stupid. The correct answer was so clearly the first one. With the way Lan Xichen took note of every little thing he did, even picking up on the slightest of limps underneath long robes, there was no way Wei Wuxian could notice something he didn't.

"I'm sure he just picked a couple of dates out at random to tease you with. And perhaps if he was lucky you'd get so mad that you'd correct him, giving him something even more fun to tease you with." Lan Xichen continued to explain what had become very apparent to him ever since his brother-in-law had moved into Jingshi. If Wei Wuxian had information he wanted to tease you about he would, regardless of its accuracy.

His brother-in-law had once walked passed him as he was drawing a portrait of his cute nephew. Worried Wei Wuxian might inquire of his previous sketches if he was allowed to see the one in progress Lan Xichen had been quick to shield his creation from view. But this hadn't been good enough, he'd still been teased for creating drawings of 'the one he loved'. Which, though true, was by no means substantiated in their encounter.

"..." Wanyin's ears were tinted a light shade of red. He had once more been the perfect target for his brother's high jinx.

Wanting to cheer up the flustered man Lan Xichen took a small step closer. "It's not your fault he manages to get to you Wanyin. You're a very passionate man, and he plays off of that. But you know what?" Leaning in close Lan Huan whispered "Your passionate side is almost as sexy as your backside" as he groped the man's well-proportioned hindquarters.

"A-Huan, did you forget that we're outside!?" The Jiang exclaimed as he whipped his head around to make sure no one had seen his lover's inappropriate gesture. But there was of course no one there. The two of them were far out in the Cloud Recesses' woods. There were no disciples in sight or even within hearing-distance.

"So? Someone was ever so kind to lead us to a private spot where no one would find us. It's just you and me here" he said with a smirk before leaning in and planting a kiss on Jiang Cheng's lips, inviting a more intimate moment to occur.