Chapter Text
“What if we got a little place by the sea?”
Jiang Cheng wants to turn and look at his fiance, but Xichen has him wrapped securely in his arms, leaning against the sun-warmed rocks overlooking the cold springs.
“I thought you wanted to stay in Gusu?” he says.
“We’ll have rooms in the family home, of course, and I figured you would want to keep a place in Yunmeng, but I just thought it would be nice to have a place of our own, you know? Away from the expectations of people who know us.”
Jiang Cheng considers this. “When you say ‘little place,’ do you mean like that villa we stayed at in Sanya, or an apartment in a city?”
“I hadn’t gotten that far,” Xichen admits. He nuzzles the crook of Jiang Cheng’s neck. “I was just thinking about beaches and swimming and--”
“Tourists and tourists on e-bikes and sand in your shorts and sunburn and--”
“Alright, alright!” Xichen covers Jiang Cheng’s mouth. “Fine, my grumpy grape, no beach house.”
“I don’t mind beach houses, but they’re far away from everyone, and we already split our time between here and Yunmeng. And Lanling. And Qinghe, now that you and Mingjue-ge have patched things up. Having another place to go seems excessive at this… oh.” Jiang Cheng frees himself from Xichen’s octopus grab and turns so he can look at Xichen. When Xichen pouts, Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes and settles in his lap, wrapping his legs around Xichen’s waist.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hello,” Xichen replies, following it up with a kiss.
“You don’t want to live at the beach. You’re overwhelmed with everything and you want to run away from home.”
“No, it’s fine! I’m fine! We’re getting married, and I’ve wanted this for the last three years, and now it’s happening, and I’m --”
Jiang Cheng cuts him off with a kiss.
“You’ve wanted to marry me for three years?” Jiang Cheng asks when Xichen stays obediently quiet. “You’ve only known me for three years.”
Xichen blushes and looks away.
“You’re ridiculous!” Jiang Cheng declares with a laugh. “I love you!”
“I love you, too. No take-backs.”
“As if I would,” Jiang Cheng scoffs. “You’re stuck with me.” He smooths Xichen’s hair away from his face and kisses his forehead. “But seriously. I know you’re deliriously happy and all that -- I am, too! -- but weddings are a lot. Especially with our families. My mother called me again to make sure I didn’t want to have a Jiang family banquet instead of the combined dinner.” He sighs and rests his head on Xichen’s shoulder. “I told her if she asked me again, we’d elope.”
“We can do that anyway.”
“Not on your life, Lan Xichen! I will not copy my brother! I’m going to marry you in front of all our friends and family. I just don’t want the whole public spectacle part to last a week!”
“Fair enough.” Xichen strokes Jiang Cheng’s back.
“I think I’d like us to get one place in Caiyi and one on the far side of the lake in Yunmeng,” Jiang Cheng says. “Someplace with a bedroom for Jingyi.”
Xichen goes still. “Why do you say that?”
Jiang Cheng sits back. “Okay, first of all, I am not saying your uncle is old, nor that he’s doing a bad job raising Jingyi. But ever since our brothers adopted Sizhui, I was thinking maybe it would be nice. I don’t know. I love being an uncle, and I thought I was fine with just that. I never thought much about being a dad, but, I don’t know. It feels possible with you.” He tries to curl up against Xichen again, but Xichen grabs hold of his chin so he can look at Jiang Cheng’s face as he talks. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes again. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it once or twice.”
“Once or twice,” Xichen demures.
“It’s just, your uncle is set to retire in a couple years, so he could come see us when we’re in Yunmeng. And we could stay here during the school year. The Academy is really the best place for him as far as school is concerned. I mean, the boy doesn’t have a musical bone in his body.”
“Utterly tone deaf!” Xichen says.
“Completely!” Jiang Cheng kisses Xichen’s cheek. “If we get a house of our own, we can all be close but still have the space we need. Jingyi’s gonna have friends. He’ll want to have sleepovers and study parties, and I’m reasonably sure your uncle hasn’t realized it yet.” He grins at Xichen. “No offense, babe, but you don’t strike me as the type who had slumber parties as a kid.”
“A-Zhan and I would camp in the yard sometimes,” Xichen interjects, as if he has to defend his upbringing.
“I’m not trying to criticize your uncle, Xichen. But camping out with your brother is not the same as a sleepover with friends from school. I never had one. I was too busy practicing to hang out with anyone besides my siblings. So we may have to do some research, but at least we’ve got the energy to deal with six sugared-up preteens.”
“Six?” Xichen can’t help but ask.
“Maybe four,” Jiang Cheng says with a grin. “At least the first few times.” He looks thoughtful. “Wait, I’ve just been rambling on, but I’m right, aren’t I? You’ve been thinking about asking your uncle to let you be Jingyi’s primary guardian?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you for weeks, but then someone asks me about place cards or party favors, and then I get distracted.”
“And then you blue screen,” Jiang Cheng says fondly. “Yeah, I know.”
Xichen can’t help but kiss him again.
“Alright, alright,” Jiang Cheng says, a little breathlessly. “So the wedding is in six weeks. Honeymoon after. School starts in, what, ten weeks? If we talk with your uncle now, will that be enough time to find a place and get it ready for Jingyi?”
“If not, we can stay here at Cloud Recesses while it’s prepared. But I think it’s enough time to get Jingyi used to the idea. If we talk with Uncle tonight.”
Jiang Cheng allows himself a moment to sit with this, struck for the hundredth time how lucky he is, how he’s weeks away from getting everything he wants, things that, until he met Lan Xichen, he didn’t even allow himself to wish for.
“I love you,” he tells Xichen.
“I love you, too.” Xichen kisses him once before he allows Jiang Cheng to help him to his feet.
Jiang Cheng reaches out for Xichen, and they walked down the mountain, hand in hand, toward their happily ever after.