Growing Pains from Growing Family (Xicheng)

Chapter 33: Jealousy

Shuoyue came to an abrupt halt.

"Wanyin? What's going on? What are you talking about?" Lan Huan whose stomach was previously filled with nothing but worry about Jiang Cheng was now filled with worry of a different kind.

"Y-You're mad right? Th-That...." Jiang Cheng broke down into incoherent crying and almost fell off the blade he was standing on. It was only by the quick action of Lan Xichen that he didn't. Catching his fiancé before it was too late he turned the Jiang around and held him close.

"There. There. Take deep breaths. Everything is going to be alright" Lan Huan promised as he patted Jiang Wanyin's back. He lied. Lan Xichen rarely lied, but right now it was necessary to calm Jiang Cheng down. There was no way for him to know if things would turn out alright, because he had no idea what had gone wrong in the first place. And so there was no way of knowing if it could be fixed.

Jiang Cheng wrapped his arms tightly around the Lan's body. So tightly that Lan Xichen felt like the only way he'd ever get free was to pry the Jiang's dead fingers off of him.

Something was wrong. Something was oh so very wrong.

Waiting for Jiang Cheng to calm down enough to be able to speak was horrid and he could feel his own eyes begin to sting as he too was starting to panic.

"I-I..." Jiang Cheng took a deep breath. His voice was small, terrified, and yet he bravely pushed on like the Jiang he was. "Y-You know how me and Jin Ling aren't the best at expressing our feelings towards one another? Even when he was young we were never the most expressive. But...well... Jin Ling has said it once. He said 'I love you' once. Only once. And I never said it back..." Another outburst of tears occurred, but Jiang Wanyin kept speaking through them. "I really regret it and so now whenever someone I care about says it I compulsively respond back to them. T-That's all it was. I promise!" Jiang Cheng sniffled as he continued to profusely apologize, but none of it registered to Lan Huan.

"..." That's what he had been so worried about? That he had flippantly told Wei Wuxian he loved him? Lan Xichen had been so unaffected by Jiang Cheng verbalizing his affection towards his brother that it hadn't even registered to him as weird at the time since he'd been more worried about how upset the Jiang had been.

He'd always known that Jiang Cheng cared deeply for his siblings and so it came as no surprise that his fiancé loved his brother, even after all that had happened. Suppose it should have confused him why a normally cold Jiang Wanyin would be willing to speak it aloud though.

"Wanyin, I'm not jealous of your brother. I don't mind if you tell him you love him, he's family." He hoped Jiang Cheng felt the same way. Not that Lan Xichen ever had a reason to tell Lan Wangji that he cared about him. They too had an 'actions above words' kind of policy in their family. The only time he could imagine saying those three words would be either to reciprocate if his brother ever said it, or if he was on the verge of death. Both were equally unlikely.

"B-But... y-you have been so cold ever since then..." Jiang Cheng insisted. He'd noticed the Lan holding back by not hugging him in excitement when delivering the news about young master Jin. Lan Xichen hadn't even offered to have him get onto Shuoyue when he pretended to feel unwell earlier, it wasn't until he had outright asked for it that he was offered a spot on Shuoyue. And when he was allowed onto the Lan's blade he'd gotten absolutely no assistance or support. It had been as though Lan Xichen was disgusted with him, so much so that he didn't want to touch him at all.

And it wasn't all that weird for the Jiang to believe so. Because sect leader Lan had avoided touching him as much as possible. "Wanyin, do you promise to not be mad at me for what I'm about to say?"

"Mm" Jiang Cheng hummed into his shoulder where the Jiang's head was still burrowed to hide his tear streaked face.

"When I went to scold brother-in-law for upsetting you I found out the real reason why he knew when we slept together." Lan Xichen explained.

"Yeah?" Jiang Cheng was too tired and upset to really care about Wei Wuxian right now. The only person who was important was Lan Xichen, but if he wanted to speak about this right now then he'd hear him out.

"It's my fault. Because I pampered you too much. Father gave both me and my brother the same advice and so Lan Wangji does the same thing for Wei Wuxian as I do for you. That's how he knew. That's how brother-in-law could tell when we slept together. I'm sorry Wanyin. It's my fault" Lan Xichen said, and as he did he let go of his grip on the Jiang. He wanted his fiancé to be able to get space away from him if he wanted. But that was not something Jiang Cheng even thought about.

"That's great news A-Huan." He said cheerfully, in fact Lan Xichen could hear the smile on his lover's face. "Since you've already promised you won't do it anymore he won't be able to do it anymore."

"So you're not upset?" Lan Xichen hesitantly asked.

"I mean, I suppose I'm still a bit upset about it... But Wei Ying's memory is worse than that of a goldfish and besides: we're getting married. People will know. People will know..." Lan Xichen felt a growing warmth where the Jiang's face touched the skin of his neck confirming Jiang Cheng wasn't alright with everyone knowing. But he was also right in one way. They were getting married, after which no one would assume the two of them to remain virgins for long. Even the people who had yet to find out could suspect what happened behind closed doors.

"I was still in the wrong and my actions hurt you. I should still do something to repent." Lan Huan insisted. Even if the Jiang forgave him, Lan Xichen wouldn't forgive himself as easily and doing something to make up for it would help.

"In that case you'll need to carry me all the way to our next destination." Jiang Cheng said before jumping up into the air and wrapping his legs around his fiancé's hips. The sudden shift in weight meant Lan Huan had to not only stabilize Shuoyue but Jiang Wanyin as well, instinctively placing an arm around the Jiang's butt to keep him in place.

Lan Xichen wasn't sure whether this was yet another sign the Jiang needed a break or if he simply enjoyed the close contact but when the Lan eventually spotted light on the horizon, indicating people living nearby, he descended and looked for a place to stay the night.