Chapter Text
“Uncle, there is something I need... no, that I want to tell you.” Lan Xichen's voice broke at the end and he silently cheered him on from where he almost suffocated in the awkward air. Lan Zhan sat next to him at the table in the Hanshi, not entirely happy but willing to support his brother nonetheless.
Nie Mingjue sat on the right of Lan Xichen, ramrod straight and it was the first time he ever saw the man look nervous, he didn't think he was capable of that. On his left sat Jin Guangyao with his usual friendly smile but his nerves were betrayed by the rigidness of the expression, not a single muscle so much as twitched.
The three of them were clutching hands out of sight from Lan Qiren.
A while ago Lan Xichen told Lan Zhan and him that he finally wanted to talk to Lan Qiren about his relationship and asked them to help him deal with the expected fall out, ranging from Lan Qiren having a fit to to a major qi deviation.
After the events at Koi Tower there had been a drawn out investigation and even the government got involved but everything turned out like Nie Huaisang said. Jin Guangshan was the one pulling the strings and either threatening, bribing or blackmailing people into compliance with his schemes.
Jin Guangyao fell into the latter but the man was smart, he kept records of everything. His mother's hospital bills only getting payed after he completed whatever was asked of him. Voice recordings and videos from hidden cameras which clearly showed Jin Guangyao being coerced into the crimes he committed and being belittled all the while, what exactly was said was something he tried to forget but it wasn't surprising the man thought his partners didn't love him, merely saw him as an amusing toy to use until they grew bored of him.
Not once did he more than Jin Guangshan demanded. Not that he thought Jin Guangyao wasn't capable of being a criminal mastermind, he was a lot like Nie Huaisang in that way. But he simply didn't seem to have the ambition for it. Maybe it was his mother's influence or that of his partners'.
Perhaps even Shijie's.
When he visited her last Jin Guangyao had still been in the dungeon and asked to see them. He hadn't known what to expect but the man kneeling in front of them and asking for forgiveness for his part in the crimes against them hadn't been it.
Many were convinced it was all an act to mitigate his punishment, maybe they were right, maybe not. But he thought he had been genuine in his apology.
In the end Jin Guangyao got off with a very strict probation while Jin Guangshan would rot in jail the rest of his life. Xue Yang got a life sentence as well but seemed more amused than anything about it.
The Jin Sect was placed under the oversight of the other major sects by the government for now to ensure something like this wouldn't happen again. Jin Zixuan had to step up as the new sect-leader, horrified and mortified at what his family had done, trying to do better. The bar certainly wasn't high off the ground and with Shijie by his side he should do well.
When Jin Guangyao was released, he was allowed to stay in the Jin Sect. His relationship was rocked to the core but none of them wanted it to end and they've been to counseling.
Month's later they were here. Lan Xichen was downright terrified to tell his uncle, had been a nervous wreck for days until the other two arrived but finally wanted to go public with their relationship. Of course that meant telling Lan Qiren before any announcement was made.
He didn't envy his brother-in-law.
His life on the other hand had turned peaceful. His days were filled with teaching more and more classes and occasionally night hunting with Lan Zhan. Every day was spent with their son. He still randomly got teary eyed about being able to call A-Yuan that. They had signed the adoption papers shortly after the events at Koi Tower.
Lan Xichen cleared his throat while Lan Qiren watched him with a raised brow. It jolted him back to the present and he would have nudged his brother-in-law if it would have been possible without being obvious.
“I... have been in a relationship for a while now with... A-Yao.... and Mingjue.”
Silence.
He held his breath as Lan Qiren stared at his nephew and the men at his sides with an unreadable expression. No one dared move.
Lan Qiren was the first to do so, picking up his tea cup with a trembling hand, almost spilling the contents as he took a sip. His shoulders began to shake as well. Lan Xichen swallowed audibly.
Lan Qiren sat the cup down with a click that echoed in the room, his lips pressed in a thin line.
“Uncle, I assure you-”
He was too stunned to finish the sentence when Lan Qiren coughed. It clearly was an attempt to cover laughter. His mouth dropped open, he had never seen Lan Qiren laugh. A smile at most.
“A while?,” he pressed out when his fake cough faded. “It's been nearly a decade.”
Lan Xichen was white as a sheet. “You knew?”
Lan Qiren cleared his throat, regathering his dignified air. “Xichen, you are great at many things, deception is not one of them.”
*
He hurried along the path home, Lan Xichen had asked him to come over after his afternoon classes but it turned out that it wasn't anything that couldn't have waited and suspected it was a ruse to keep him out longer.
He was eager to get home.
The wind crawled underneath his clothes, the weather getting more chilly by the day. It reminded him that his nephew would be born soon and he was looking forward to visiting his sister when the time came. He and Lan Zhan have been planning an extended trip to Koi Tower for months now, this time they'd take A-Yuan as well.
As he quickened his steps even more he played with the small gift box in his pocket.
The Jingshi was lit with warm and inviting light as it came into sight and it reminded him of his wedding day, only that this time Lan Zhan wasn't at his side but waiting for him inside. In the beginning he couldn't think of this building as more than a house, now he realized that it wasn't so much the place but the emotions he associated with it that made it his home.
He skipped up the steps and quickly went inside after opening the door. “Sorry I'm late. Xichen wanted to talk about...” He trailed off, watching his husband set out chopsticks on the table ladden with all of his favorite dishes, his eyes zeroing in on the pot of soup. The aroma of lotus root and pork rib soup had his mouth watering instantly.
Lan Zhan straightened and he didn't wait to throw himself into his arms, knowing he would be caught. They shared a kiss and when he pulled back he spotted something else that made him laugh, burying his face in his husband's shoulder.
There was a flask of Emperor's Smile among the dishes.
“How did that get here?”
“Smuggled in.”
He laughed even harder, having to wipe away some tears. “Lan-Er-Gege, how shamelessly you break one of the precepts and after so cruelly fighting me for exactly that in the past.”
Lan Zhan's ears turned pink, he relished the sight and he'd love nothing more than to tease him further but perhaps later. There was something he wanted to do even more.
Releasing Lan Zhan he stepped back, his husband reluctantly let go of him, and he pulled out the box he had been fiddling with on the way back. It looked pretty unassuming and he presented it with a shy smile, nervous despite himself.
His stomach fluttered as Lan Zhan took it, he looked at it with curiosity before he opened it and his eyes widened at what lay within. He didn't say anything, only continued to stare.
He shifted his weight and swallowed, his mouth opening without conscious thought. “Do you like it? I wanted to give you something meaningful but it was kind of hard to figure out what and then I thought you gave me yours but you never gotten one from me and isn't this a giant deal for you Lans?” Lan Zhan still didn't stir, didn't even give a sign he heard. “If.. if you don't like it I can give you something else, anything you want, just name it.”
He was cut off in his rambling, pulled into a bruising kiss and crushing hug as the box clattered to the ground. The red silk ribbon adorned with golden lotus flowers it contained held reverently in his husband's hand.
“Love it. I love you,” Lan Zhan said, voice raspy as he held it out to him. “Would you?”
He gave a nod and with a dry mouth he took the ribbon and wrapped it around the wrist his husband held out, Lan Zhan watching him all the while with a fond smile on his lips.
When he was done he placed a kiss on the inside of Lan Zhan's wrist that now matched his own. “I love you, too. Happy anniversary.”
It was the first of many to come.