#and of course Wen Ning is judging the hell out of everything

[cerusee]

Your Challengers series on AO3 is giving me life right now. I love it so much. Like... the way you give all the characters such rich inner worlds and depths of emotion and motivation is just *chef's kiss*. Also the dynamics between the characters are so good as well!!! And the way you write Chengqing is perfection. I love how they got their happy ending after all. Thank you!!!

Thank you! That’s very lovely of you to say. 🥰 I think in many ways that whole series is like, my Chengqing thesis statement. I’m still always kind of peering around corners trying to figure out where I can fit Chengqing into my other works, because I loooooooooooove them, but I don’t think I’ll ever top what I did with that series. I was so glad I eventually got to balance out Jiang Cheng being a fairly steady rock/safe landing place for a very, very traumatized Wen Qing with flipping the script a little bit down the line, and having Wen Qing be the steady figure holding them both up while Jiang Cheng is being blindsided by his own unaddressed trauma. The whole time I worked on those fics, I was kind of thinking in terms of, what do these characters get from each other, what do they want to be able to give to each other, and it felt so clear to me, that the kinds of things Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing each want the most to give and to get are the same things. They agree on everything that’s important! In an ideal world they are perfectly suited. In an unideal world, they cannot be together because the things that make them compatible are also the things that tear them apart due to The Circumstances. Post-canon ChengQing splits the difference and lets them be together but only after they’ve lost a lot of what they loved the most. And I think because of that, I really did want to give them the happiest, most-hopeful ending that they could have.

[qilingxiong]

ChengNing Lawyer AU

Please keep in mind that when I originally wrote this it was in a caffeinated, sleep deprived fervor.

- So Jiang Cheng is known in the courtrooms for being a top-notch lawyer. No one wants to be opposing him, the name of the Jiang firm carries a lot of weight and he's been upholding that reputation since he passed the bar. He's on track to make partner relatively soon for someone his age.

- Today is a day that should be like any other: He's representing the Jins, who are regular clients (Somehow that family and the company they run are always involved in lawsuits, whether they're the plaintiff or the defendant). His sister is married to Jin Zixuan, so whether Jiang Cheng likes it or not, the Jins are family and they have to do favors. Plus, they have money.

- It should be an open and shut case, with Jiang Cheng successfully convicting whoever is on the other side, except the defendant is his estranged brother Wei Wuxian. He's been trying not to think about that, or about the sixteen year prison sentence the Jins want him to recommend. Wei Wuxian hasn't reached out to him in a year, since he left the firm and got dragged down in the whole Wen mess. But dammit, Jiang Cheng doesn't want to see his brother locked in a cell for nearly two decades. He thinks. Maybe.

- He arrives at the courthouse early, and the room is already abuzz with people. The Wei Wuxian case is massive. It's only because the Jins paid the press to keep away that Jiang Cheng's not swarmed with reporters. A couple other lawyers he knows- Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen- stop in for quick conversation, but other than that he's left alone.

- Jiang Cheng is usually reasonably calm on a court day, but this time he can't keep from pacing. Wei Wuxian is sitting mere feet away from him, the closest they've been for months. He's got his usual carefree air, dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket, because of fucking course he can. Jiang Cheng adjusts his own deep purple tie, wishing not for the first time that business attire wasn't so stifling.

- He doesn't look at, doesn't make eye contact with Wei Wuxian, but he can't help glancing at the defense lawyer with him. He's young, probably around Jiang Cheng's age and about his height, but he hunches over like he's trying to take up less space. Jiang Cheng scoffs. His opposition probably just passed the bar exam, with no idea what he's doing, and even if he happens to be kind of cute he still needs actual skill to succeed in this career. Hell, if good looks were all that mattered, Jiang Cheng wouldn't have had to work this hard to get this far. 

- Although, Wei Wuxian chose this unknown, and he has logic, if not a skewed one, for everything. He seems to know this other man well, throwing an arm around his shoulder and laughing with him. Jiang Cheng clenches his jaw. Maybe he'll have to keep an eye out. He won't go over there and inquire himself. The last conversation they had grew ugly very quickly.

- The bailiff announces for all to rise as the judge enters the room, calling the court to order. It's Lan Qiren, which Jiang Cheng is grateful for; he's stern but he can be relied upon to value professionalism. He's the uncle of the Twin Jades Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, who are both on par with Jiang Cheng in a courtroom if not better. He doesn't like Lan Wangji quite as much, but that's for personal, Wei Wuxian-related reasons.

- Lan Qiren is familiar with Jiang Wanyin, but he seems just as surprised as Jiang Cheng when the defense lawyer introduces himself to the court as Wen Ning, Wen Qionglin. Whether or not he's related to them, Wen Qionglin has the same name as the massive Wen firm that was charged with corruption and disbanded a few years ago, the firm Wei Wuxian attached himself to and a contributing factor as to why he's here in the first place. Where did his brother dig him up? Jiang Cheng shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and runs over his notes again. 

- His opening statement goes well. Jiang Cheng rehearsed it over and over so his voice didn't shake, pausing at the right places, correcting his posture in the mirror, adjusting his cadence and volume. He's smooth, and persuasive, and the jury seems to respond about as well as he could have hoped. Wei Wuxian had certainly made mistakes, and when it comes to pointing them out, Jiang Cheng has a literal lifetime's worth of experience. It's a honed art.

- If his hands tremble so that he has to put them in his pockets, he ignores them.

- Then it's Wen Qionglin's turn. His chair scrapes loudly on the floor as he stands up, but there's a determined set to his mouth and he seems to stand taller. He approaches the jury cautiously, sweeping  a little lock of dark hair out of his face, and Jiang Cheng has just enough time to find the gesture endearing before Wen Qionglin starts talking and it's all downhill from there.

- Jiang Cheng's problem with speaking in front of a crowd is emotion. Even though they were raised together, Wei Wuxian has no problem showing his feelings on face, but Jiang Cheng naturally holds everything back so whatever he says comes out as either angry or indifferent. As a lawyer, it doesn't hurt to be called ruthless, to be intimidating. But against Wen Qionglin it's all a futile effort.

- He breaks down the jury's defenses immediately with a bit of self-deprecating humor and a shy little smile that is so infuriatingly effective Jiang Cheng wants to look away. But he can't, because Wen Qionglin begins to paint a picture of Wei Wuxian as one man against the Jin tyrants, someone working for the people everyone else overlooks, and it's clear it scrubs out everything Jiang Cheng has said. Maybe Wen Qionglin isn't quite as eloquent as Jiang Cheng, but he believes his words so wholeheartedly, and defends Wei Wuxian with such conviction that all the jury has started nodding along with him. Jiang Cheng almost, for a second, does the same.

- For the first time today, he looks directly at Wei Wuxian, who gives him a sort of shrug and a smirk. His brother knew exactly what he was doing. Wen Qionglin is not going to be a problem in this trial, Jiang Cheng decides then and there. He won't give him another chance to be one.

- Of course, fate does not give a shit about Jiang Cheng's decisions. He draws up his evidence, brings in his witnesses, crossexamines efficiently, but Wen Qionglin has a way of going about things he can't match. He speaks slowly, but what he does say is thoughtful and drives his points home with minimal effort. Jiang Cheng is used to a verbal firefight with quick witted exchanges. The only people with Wen Qionglin's style of argument are the Twin Jades, and there's a reason Jiang Cheng has avoided going against them at all costs when possible. Lan Qiren is not a judge to show empathy or any kind of emotion at all, but there's one moment where Jiang Cheng sees his lips twitch into a hint of a smile and that shocks him more than anything else.

- It is a long, terrible trial Jiang Cheng knows he's already lost a few days in. He shows up every day with more and more frustration directed at Wen Qionglin and his stupid delicate features and how fucking good he is at this. If he has to send his brother to prison, Jiang Cheng at least wanted it to be quick and clean. Wen Qionglin is granting him no such mercy. 

- Jin Guangshan has been sending one of his sons, Jin Guangyao, to sit in on the trial, and based on what he's reporting back the Jins are not happy. On the fourth day Jiang Cheng has to contend with Jin Guangshan himself demanding answers for his apparently poor performance, and it takes all his self control not to yell at his father-in-law that this wasn't a case he wanted and he doesn't want to be on it at all. But he can't back out now, so he's stuck in this hell as he watches Wen Qionglin make him look stiff and unfeeling, inexperienced, as he speaks.

- It's all over when Wen Qionglin brings in a guy named Mo Xuanyu, a (illegitimate) son of Jin Guangshan who claims his father was conspiring with Jin Guangyao to bring Wei Wuxian down, as he was instrumental to the Wen business staying afloat. It's the last push the jury needs, and when they're asked to make a verdict it's almost unanimously for Wei Wuxian to be acquitted. The Jins are furious, and they'll be asking the Jiangs to defend them later, but that's for another day. Jiang Cheng isn't happy either, he's lost a case and his brother is walking free and he doesn't know how he feels about that. He's just relieved that he no longer needs to face Wen Qionglin, and is now ready to drink until he forgets the man ever existed.

- It's late, and Jiang Cheng is on the couch in his office, a glass or two into the decanter he keeps on the side table. He's pretty sure there's no one else left on the Jiang floor, but then someone knocks on his open door and it's Wen Qionglin, suit rumpled from the courthouse with his collar undone. What the fuck does he want. The other man has to be aware that Jiang Cheng is both on his merry way to intoxication and not happy to see him, but he greets him politely anyway. Jiang Cheng offers Wen Qionglin a drink and allows him to step inside. He still has some dignity.

- Wen Qionglin says he wants to discuss the case with Jiang Cheng, since that was his first and he wanted to know what he could've done better. Jiang Cheng nearly laughs and absolutely does not say that if he weren't pissed off at Wen Qionglin for being so good, he'd offer him a place with the Jiangs. But he says that for his first case he did fine, and Wen Qionglin seems to relax and Jiang Cheng looks at his wide dark eyes and never gets around to asking him to leave, and the night goes on.

- As it turns out, Wen Qionglin is in fact related to the doomed members of the Wen firm. It was Wei Wuxian who encouraged him to push through law school, and his sister Wen Qing, who Jiang Cheng now remembers as the terrifying pre-med student he had a brief fling with in university. That explains a lot about Wen Qionglin.

- He doesn't want to talk about Wei Wuxian, at all, but after enough alcohol they somehow get around to the topic of growing up with Jiang Cheng. God, he tries not to go there, but it ends up spilling out as to how he betrayed the Jiang for the Wens. How Wei Wuxian left them all behind and he still doesn't understand, and he knows this is Wen Qionglin's family he's talking about but the decanter isn't very full anymore and he's just lost this fucking trial so he can do what he wants, thanks. 

- Wen Qionglin has moved closer, enough that Jiang Cheng can see the details of his face sketched out in lines of rage. His voice is very, very soft as he tells Jiang Cheng that Wei Wuxian was the only person who looked out for him and his sister, when their family was crushed and they were left as collateral damage. He practically owes his life to Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng has no right to be speaking ill of him when he wasn't the one who ruined his own reputation to help those who couldn't stand up for themselves.

- Jiang Cheng really, really doesn't know how to respond to that, not when he's this drunk, and he's definitely not thinking about anything other than Wen Qionglin cast in the shadow of the streetlights outside when his answer is to crush their lips together in a harsh, furious kiss.

- He didn't expect Wen Qionglin to respond, but he does, shoving back like they're both in a courtroom again though there's no words and no one to judge them this time. It's fast and messy and there's no time to contemplate anything else except to continue. Jiang Cheng's brain short-circuits when Wen Qionglin presses him down into the couch, pinning him by his wrists, and then there's a nip at his neck that's going to leave bruises and he just gives in to instinct, sitting up and pushing Wen Qionglin back so Jiang Cheng is straddling his hips and free to strip off his shirt.

- Wen Qionglin leaves shortly after midnight, hair a tousled mess. Jiang Cheng stares at the ceiling of his office, still half undressed and with a sheen of sweat cooling on his skin, and tells himself that nothing like this is ever going to happen again. To hell with the insistent thought that wants it so very, very badly.

- Wei Wuxian won't be gone for sixteen years, like the Jins wanted him to. For now, there are more pressing things to be focusing on, but Jiang Cheng is sure he'll be seeing Wen Qionglin again soon.

[dreamingsushi]

The Untamed - Episode 31

I must say before I start watching this episode. I am so not ready for this. These reviews are spontaneous and I write them as I watch the episode for the first time. And I am pretty sure I will be in pain and will write it down there. Just as disclaimer, I don’t know what is going to happen next other than somewhere in the near future, we will get back to the beginning of episode one, so please bear with me if I judge a character wrongly because that is how they want me to see it like... right now as I am watching. Moreover, if I do criticize a character it doesn’t mean I don’t like that character or don’t understand why he/she acts this or that way. Now that has been said... I am getting ready for this torture.

The relationship between Ah Yuan and Wei Ying is so cute. Sometimes, I feel like if it was not for that little guy, Wei Ying would feel much worse than now. It’s giving him somehow a feeling of having a family, but also must comforts him in his thought of making the right choice. It’s also so very cute how Wen Qing likes to watch over Wei Ying taking care of that child. Truthfully, I really like that girl, she understands a lot more even though she doesn’t say much. She’s probably the one who understands most what Wei Ying have given up and probably feels bad for imposing on him so much. She’s the one to get the invitation that Wen Ning got from someone of the Jin clan and hands it to Wei Ying. When he knows that he can see Yanli again, his face... it’s filled with happiness. That’s probably the hardest part for Wei Ying, not being able to see her.

As he goes in town to buy a little gift for his nephew, people gossips about the baby and the fact that they invited over Wei Ying. A lot of people disagree. but that gift isn’t the real gift: Wei Ying carved each beads of a bracelet for Jing Ling to wear, that way it will repel ghosts and monsters. As Wen Ning is about to touch, he tells him not to, even for him this could be bad.

It’s mean cousin again. I know he has a name, but I can’t remember it. Anyways, as Wei Ying and Wen Ning gets close to their destination, he was waiting for them and almost killed Wei Ying with an arrow. Fortunately, Wen Ning stopped it right in time. That guy is so annoying. Oh god. So disgusting. What happened to that dude’s skin? Whatever that is, he definitely blames Wei Ying for it. And here, I love how Wei Ying is just like: who the hell are you? Do we know each other? I don’t even know you and if I wanted you dead, you’d be much uglier and everybody would know it was my doing. That’s pretty arrogant, but I kind of missed a little bit that side of him. However, that was probably not the smartest thing to say, but somehow, whatever he would say, that Jin guy wouldn’t even believe it. So he will fight with Wei Ying to kill him. Wei Ying being himself is like: oh well, since you really want to die that much, I will help you, it’s a pleasure. Gosh... That’s not what you should do right now... You’re here to see your nephew. Not to fight with those worthless people. Of course this means trouble... And then, Wen Ning take of his charms around his neck, probably to lock his killing instincts or whatever you want to call it. AND HE YELLS AGAIN LIKE THOSE UGLY KUILEI. The smoke was bad ass though. But the screaming... why would they make him do that... it doesn’t really make him look that much powerful. Or maybe he’s in pain for releasing all of this? And if that’s the case... STOP IT RIGHT NOW. Wen Ning’s my poor baby and leave him alone. He’s a nice guy, not his fault that he was brought up in the wrong clan...

While Wen Ning takes care of that army of small fry, that annoying cousin goes alone for Wei Ying and they fight. Which is pretty unfair since Wei Ying doesn’t wield a sword. During the fight, Wei Ying loses his gift for Jin Ling. Just then, Jin Zixuan comes to put an end to his cousin’s doing: he’s really mad. Sometimes, that Jin Zixuan really awes me. He’s probably the least despicable person from the Jin clan, if we omit how he treated Yanli before. Oh wow. Even Zixuan doesn’t think it’s Wei Ying who gave that cruse to his cousin. He’s really not that bad.

That ugly cousin. He reduced to nothing all the beads bracelet that Wei Ying spent so many nights to carve. In Wei Ying’s place, I would also be very bad and as he’s about to attack that ugly cousin, it’s Zixuan who stops him. Zixuan tells him to stop Wen Ning now so they can go ban to Jinlin tai and if really it isn’t Wei Ying’s doing, the curse I mean, then it’s nothing. But Wei Ying won’t stop first, he’s starting to think that they invited him over to kill him actually.

So then Wei Ying starts playing the flute. And then,... what is he doing? Wen Ning now has to irises. It’s so scary. Stop this right now, I don’t like this, unless it’s to make Wen Ning go back to his regular self, I don’t want to see this. Don’t use poor baby Wen Ning like he’s a puppet. He’s your friend. Would you do something like to Jiang Cheng? No never. I know Wen Ning will never replace him, but he has been true to you since the beginning, he deserves you treat him like a real friend, not just like an underling...

Oh my god. Wen Ning just killed Jin Zixuan. What the hell... That’s definitely not Wei Ying’s doing. I am pretty sure of that. He promised he wouldn’t do anything to Zixuan. And even so, I wouldn’t believe it. Yanli likes Zixuan so much and she has his kid now, Wei Ying would never do something to harm Yanli. And the look on his face. I never thought I would be crying over Jin Zixuan’s death, but I am. And as he’s dying, the only thing he wants to say, it’s that Yanli is waiting for him to participate in the festivities for the baby... ALL OF THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THAT UGLY COUSIN. It’s obvious that that wasn’t what Wei Ying wanted to do. So either someone else used Wen Ning (but how?) either he doesn’t control his powers as he thought he was.

I think. This is the worst moment. When Wei Ying wakes up back at luanzang gang and kicks Wen Ning away, his eyes filled with resentment. Clearly it wasn’t Wen Ning’s fault, he was not himself back then and Wen Ning was the one to tell Wei Ying not to fight with Jin Zixuan. He wouldn’t have done such a thing willingfully. It hurts me such. I cried as loud as when I thought Wen Ning was dead. Why are they doing this to me? Why. Wei Ying even scared away the poor Ah yuan...

This is so sad. Wei Ying is now regretting leaving, he’s doubting that what he did was right and just then Wen Ning apologizes and says everything was his fault. And then... Wei Ying is thinking, is it really his fault? Did Wen Ning became like because he wanted to?

It’s like there is no answer to all Wei Ying’s despair. He doesn’t know what to do anymore, so Wen Qing and Wen Ning they... They are going to surrender themselves to the Jin. I cannot accept this. I can’t even see clearly as I write this. Wen Qing used her needles to force Wei Ying to lie down for a few days as she and Wen Ning are going to surrender. There’s no use in finding the culprit for the curse on Jin Zixun (the ugly cousin) because they are convinced now that it was Wei Ying’s doing and the world is too big for them to find the person behind all of this.

Wei Ying doesn’t want Wen Ning to go, none of this his fault. He says why should the weapon be punished and not the person who wields it? Wen Qing is slowly trying to convince him, but it’s not working as he knows that for them going to Jinlintai only means they will get killed. But Wen Qing says they should have died earlier, this is just what should have happened way before if not for him. He asks her to help him get up, but instead, she puts him to sleep. I don’t want this to happen. I don’t want them both to die. These two characters are some of my favorites... (ok, all characters from this drama are my favorites so far, except for Wen Ruohan, Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao, Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao - I am trying to like him, I understand why he is the way he is, I pity him but... he has too much pride for me to be able to forgive him, he’s a liar and doesn’t mind hurting those who care about him to protect himself and then trying to deny what he did. I think I should make a post about all the characters from this drama, because it’s so hard to explain how I feel about them in just few words in the middle of my recaps, it’s too complicated)

Now that I have calmed down a little, that scene was way too much to handle for my poor heart, I left out so many important things.

Oh my god.

As I press play again, it’s the river of tears again. She lied to him. The whole group is going. They are all going to their death. Even small Ah Yuan. I don’t want to see this. This is so unfair, those people never did anything wrong in their life. And that is so stupid. By sacrificing themselves like this, they just throw away all of Wei Ying’s efforts for all this time. The other people from other clans still won’t accept him anyways. I thought Wen Qing was smarter than that.

When Wei Ying wakes up it’s only to find an empty Luanzanggang, with no one left. In despair, he runs away to try and save those he gave up everything for.

Honestly. I never cried so much in front of a drama. I almost choked myself because of my tears. This episode is just so heartbreaking. It took me hours to go through the whole thing. It was way too hard to watch. This episode really hurt me. I am very shaken and not sure if I want to keep watching something that puts me in such a state. However, I want to see Wei Ying’s name being cleared, I want to see more of Xiao Zhan’s and Wang Yibo’s acting, especially both of them together since they have such a great chemistry. I know that in the novel, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are a couple and that in the TV show they are not, but... they did such a good job of making it unofficial. It’s like, the whole drama says they are not, but in the acting. Yes. I am not crazy when I see it. It’s so unusual for something like that to be aired in China when homosexuality is still something... homosexuals in China have a tough life. It’s still considered as something that can be healed. I am not going to give my opinion on homosexuality here because it is off topic, but also because it would probably offend some people and that’s not the point, but for something like that to be aired in China... I am impressed. And I am absolutely impressed by the actors of this drama who are doing such a good job, but not only them, the people dubbing, the producers, cameramans, writers, everyone. Maybe the people from special effects would have done better with a little more budget though (can I remind you of the dancing statue, the creepy wolf/dog and the turtle monster?), but overall, this drama. Yep. I have to convince the whole world to watch it. It’s so great. If you have any tricks to make people go over the first episode (you need to watch more than one to get addicted) please share. I want all of my sisters to watch this, even my brother (though it might be easier to convince my sisters).

And I am going to stop this right now. There’s so much I still want to say about that drama. Too much probably. I am usually only doing recaps for the episode, but I think I am going to post about every characters a little bit. None of these characters are simple, they are so well thought and complex. And I will probably write an overall appreciation post. Maybe try fan fictions sometime? I never wrote any, I don’t if I can, but Cheng Qing Ling really changed my life. I don’t know what I am going to do when I will be done watching. Maybe watch again until Wang Yibo’s new drama is out. Watch their interviews. Stalk all the cast. I need twitter and Weibo now.

Please, someone save me. By the end of the month, I will have the CD too. I think I will sleep with the ost playing. I almost know all the lyrics of all songs.

Send help. And tissues, because I am not done crying. Thank you for reading.

[antiquecompass]

So this is the second part in that Wen Ning/OC fic (first part here) and also for Untamed Winter Fest Day 8. (Eventually it’ll be up on Ao3, but I want to keep this one in order at least, for a little bit.)

Wen Ning wasn’t sure how to dress for a date that also included tire shopping and three of his students. Granted, he only taught gym, and only coached Aisling in archery, but still it was all a bit muddled. Not that he was complaining. At all. He was just a little out of his depth.

Okay, a lot out of it.

He still couldn’t believe last night had happened. He pressed his fingers to his lips as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror. He swore they still tingled from the feel of Aidan’s own against them. Mr. Tumnus, his white and orange tabby, was luckily the only other living being in the house who could judge him and the blush that just would not die down. 

He desperately wanted today to go well. 

He needed help.

“Just don’t wear all black,” Qingyang said before he could even greet her. “I mean, you like black, so you wear a lot of it, even among all that blue and white at Lan Academy. And it looks good on you, so you should, but today is special. So just don’t wear all black. Throw some color in there. A green. Hell, even a heather grey. A red. No, no, you’ll look too good. Save that for when the kiddos aren’t around.”

Wen Ning didn’t bother to hide his laughter as his sister’s indignant yell came down the line.

“For someone who had me--” Qingyang yelped and then her voice cut off. He heard a door slam shut and then his sister cursing under her breath.

“You love her dearly,” he reminded her.

“Yes,” Wen Qing said.

“And you often say she’s the best thing that ever happened to you,” he reminded her.

“After you, of course,” she corrected.

“She’s only trying to be helpful,” he said.

“She is, but she’s also trying to rile me up,” she said. Another closed door and then a start of the engine.

“Are you driving away? With her phone?”

“She has mine and she’ll catch up,” his sister said. “Stay where you are. I’m coming to you.”

“No, no, you’re in Boston,” he said. “The storm just finished an hour ago.”

“So I’ll be there in three hours,” she said. “When is he picking you up?”

“Noon,” he said.

“It’s seven. Plenty of time,” she said. He heard a loud noise and his sister sigh. “She caught up faster than I intended. I’ll still be there in three hours.”

“The hell you will,” Qingyang said. “The roads are for shit, the storm is moving east, and he needs to do this on his own.”

“But--”

“He’s a grown ass man,” Qingyang said. “Let him be a grown ass man.”

Wen Ning bit the inside of his bottom lip to hold back his laughter as he overheard the struggle. A final victorious cackle signaled that Qingyang had won.

“Definitely Facetime us the outfit choices,” she said. “And give poor Aidan some warning that she’s about to descend upon him like some overprotective fury. I think I’m able to hold her back this time, but she’s probably going to try and crash your second date.”

“Thank you,” Wen Ning said. “For everything.”

“That’s what future-sisters-in-law are for,” she said.

**********

After he’d settled on an outfit--dark green sweater, black jeans, boots that wouldn’t make him slip and fall and make a fool of himself--there had then been a long consultation on his hair. One that had brought Wei Wuxian in as well. They’d all agreed that he should leave it down, but with some strands pulled back from his face.

Gotta hit him with those puppy dog eyes.

That’s what Wei Wuxian had said, even as he went on a twenty-minute long rant about how Aidan was too nice to be human and was probably an archangel in disguise sent to judge the world. Or something. Wen Ning had stopped paying attention after Wei Wuxian and Qingyang started debating about the true forms of archangels.

He kept fidgeting with the tiny ponytail fixed at the back of his head. His hair was always either completely loose or completely up. He wasn’t used to it; he didn’t dislike it, but it was different enough, and enough of a distraction to make him forget his nerves even as Aidan arrived and started the drive into town.

His phone vibrated with a text from his sister.

Stop touching your hair!

He loved her. So much.

“Everything okay?” Aidan asked.

Wen Ning smiled and nodded. “Just my sister.”

“She’s a doctor right?” Aidan asked. “Qingyang’s girlfriend?”

“She is,” he said. “Pediatric surgeon."

"She's amazing!" Una said, the most excited he'd ever heard her. "She spoke at one of the special lectures and threatened to stick a needle in Mr. Lan-Wei's skull if he didn't stop fidgeting."

"They're really good friends," Wen Ning explained to Aidan. "They just have their own love language built on insults."

Aidan smiled at that as he turned onto the road for Mike's Automart. 

"Sounds like me and Catie," he said. "She's my eldest sister. First of all ten of us."

Wen Ning knew he was gaping and couldn't stop.

"Yes, ten," Aidan said. He glanced over at him and laughed, took one hand off the wheel and gently closed Wen Ning’s mouth.

"Told ya he was going to need a chart," Finn said. 

He was very definitely going to need a chart. Aisling's purple painted nails appeared at his side as she waved a sheet of graph paper at him.

"It's just our basic family tree. I ran out of room for cousins and in-laws, but that’s us."

Wen Ning took the paper and his eyes ran over the names. Liam Delaney married Mary Catherine Moore when they were nineteen. From there they had Caitlin, Aidan, Brian, Dermot, then twins Erin and Neve, an apparent long gap where they didn’t have any kids and then based on the birthdates Aisling provided, Una, Aisling, Finn, and Patrick, the youngest, at all of six years old.

“Okay, everybody out,” Aidan said as he took his keys out of the ignition.

“Can we get snacks?” Finn asked. 

“We’re going to lunch after this,” Aidan said.

“Yeah, but can we get snacks?” Una asked. 

“One candy bar each,” Aidan said. “And no soda,” he yelled after them as he followed the three out of the car.

Wen Ning carefully folded up Aisling’s family tree and was reaching for the door when Aidan opened it for him. 

“Hi,” he said.

“You’re very fast,” Wen Ning said. 

“Proper motivation,” Aidan said. He offered his hand up to help Wen Ning down.

“Despite my performance last night, I’m usually not that clumsy,” Wen Ning said. He took Aidan’s hand anyway.

“I know,” Aidan said. “I’ve seen you work. You’re very graceful, but you can’t blame a guy for trying to get five seconds of alone time before the Terrible Trio comes back.”

“No,” Wen Ning said. “I can’t.”

One of Aidan’s hands drifted up to his hair and softly tapped the small ponytail at the back of his head. 

“It’s a good look on you,” he said. “Different, but good.”

“Thanks,” he said, feeling that damned blush starting to come back.

“A.B., can we get the little trees?” Finn yelled from the storefront.

“You can each pick one,” Aidan yelled back.

“A.B.?” Wen Ning asked. He smiled to himself as Aidan’s other hand rested on the small of his back as they both walked towards the store, snow crunching under their feet.

“Aidan Brendan Delaney,” Aidan said. “My father’s called me A.B. for as long as I can remember, but it’s what of those family names, you know?”

Wen Ning nodded. He understood. “My granny. She calls me Qionglin sometimes. It’s the name she gave me after I started competing in archery. She wanted to boost my confidence. And while Wen Ning was a shy, awkward, stuttering mess, Wen Qionglin was a champion--would be a champion. It helped to settle my nerves, to put on that persona.”

“And which do you prefer?” Aidan asked as they lingered outside the store.

Wen Ning looked up into those kind, patient eyes and knew he could tell the truth.

“Part of me will always want that brash arrogance of Qionglin. It took me a long time, but I’m very happy--very proud--to be Wen Ning,” he said.

Aidan cupped his cheek. “If it matters at all, I definitely prefer Wen Ning.”

“It matters,” he said, almost desperate to kiss him again, but not here, in front of an entire store of people looking out at them. “It matters a lot.”

The door opened and a middle-aged man, Mike by his nametag, grinned at them, a phone to his ear.

“Aidan, something you’ve been meaning to tell your Uncle Mikey?” he asked.

“My mother’s on the phone, isn’t she?” Aidan asked.

“She wants to know if you finally pulled your head out of your ass and ‘asked that nice young man out.’” He glanced between them, a huge grin on his face. “Can I tell her it’s a yes?”

Aidan sighed and rested his forehead against Wen Ning’s own. “So, in addition to having shit hours, being responsible for the Terrible Trio, I  also have a family that doesn’t understand personal boundaries.”

Wen Ning daringly pulled back and pressed a quick kiss to Aidan’s lips before he could lose his nerve. 

“I understand,” he said. “You’ll meet my sister soon, and understand just how much I get it.”

“They’re adorable,” Mike said into the phone.

“Give me that,” Aidan said, grabbing the phone. “Uncle Mikey, he needs a replacement tire and a spare for a Subaru Outback 2014 2.5i Limited.” He held the phone against his chest and swooped in for another, soft, quick, sweet kiss. “Don’t worry about Uncle Mikey, he’s nicer and smarter than he looks.”

“Hey, I got some of your baby pictures in the back, A.B. I’ll break them out and show your boy, if you don’t watch that mouth of yours.”

Aidan patted his uncle’s cheek and then walked into the store, phone to his ear.

“Ma? What’re you doin? Come on.”

Mike gestured for him to come inside. The Trio were in front of a rack of air fresheners debating on scents. Aidan had wandered over to a shelf of cushion covers. Two of the shop assistants waved at him, while a woman over in the waiting area sat with a toy-sized poodle in her lap.

Mike brought him over to what seemed like an entire wall of tires. 

He never knew there were so many different types.

Mike patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, kiddo. I’ve got it. Why don’t you try to help save my air freshener display? Aidan's going to be stuck on that phone for at least twenty minutes, knowing my sister."

Wen Ning had never been happier in his life to be around tree-shaped car air fresheners. 

Aisling handed him her phone. “Uncle Mikey won’t break out the goods, but all the baby pictures are in the family Cloud.” She swiped through various family photos before stopping on one. “I call this the self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Little Aidan, a too-big fireman’s helmet on his head, and a stuffed dalmatian under his arm. It was absolutely precious.

“Want me to send you a copy, Coach?” Aisling asked.

“It’s too quiet over there,” Aidan said. “What are you up to?” He turned his attention back to the phone. “I’m not being suspicious, Ma. Of course, I trust them. No, I only said that once. If you’d seen what they’d done to the kitchen you’d swear they were the devil’s spawn too.I don’t know, Ma, do you have something to tell me? What? No. Ma. Don’t you dare. Please. I take it back.”

Wen Ning’s phone started blowing up with text messages from an unknown number. Containing a plethora of childhood photos. Awkward and embarrassing and sweet ones, too.

He showed the number to Aisling.

“That’s Erin’s number,” she said. “Wow. I haven’t even seen some of these. There are pre-braces pictures in here! I thought Aidan burned all of those!”