#fated to die young and the other is fated to outlive everybody they care about. they kill each other in at least half the lives they lived

[vinyls-and-valentines]

I hate how hard it is to come up with character names because how am I supposed to make character playlists that make me even more insane about my own OCs WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO PUT THEIR GOTDAMN NAMES IN THE PLAYLIST TITLE??!

[immacaria]

Xichengclipse2020 - Day 6: Reincarnation/Sacrifice

 “Great God!” He heard Isabella whisper as a million of images came to his mind. Him and Wei Wuxian arriving to Cloud Recess, meeting with the Twin Jades of Gusu, everything that happened, the discover that Lan Xichen was his soulmate and the denial. All of his history with Lan Xichen and even what he didn’t remember was being shown in the front of his eyes, quickly and almost insanely.   “Oh, gods!” Jiang Cheng breathed deep, letting go of Lan Huan’s hand. “I… I…”  “Wanyin?” Lan Huan whispered, slowly, eyes still unfocused. “Oh, my heart. I am so sorry!” He sobbed, reaching blindly to the smaller one. “Oh, Wanyin. I never wanted this to happen…”   “I’m here.” Jiang Cheng held Xichen’s hands, hoping that his soulmate would remember him even a little. He kept looking at his eyes until they focused on his again, slowly becoming golden. “Lan Xichen?”  “I thought we agreed in you calling me Huan, my heart.” Lan Xichen whispered, his hands going to Wanyin’s face. “My heart, my light, my Wanyin.” He murmured, pulling the immortal closer. “I love you, I love you. Thank you.” He kissed Jiang Cheng lightly on the lips, before he felt the smaller pulling in away.   “Wait a minute, your fucker! You promised me that you never would sacrifice yourself like that, your idiot! You promised that you would never leave me, Xichen!” Jiang Cheng grabbed his neck, making him bow over himself. “You never do that again to me, are you hearing me? Never again!” He let go of him, breathing deep. “Dear Gods, please don’t…”  “I won’t, I promise. And this is a promise I intend to keep.” Lan Huan whispered in his hair. Silence surrounded them, meaningless of all the noises around them. They stayed that way until Isabelle whispered at Laura.   “Does it mean that you have two hot dads now? Holy shit!”   “Izzy, please, shut up. Dad has been waiting for this for too long.” Laura whispered, hitting her. Jiang Cheng smiled against Xichen’s chest before turning to her, seeing a familiar figure behind her, waving a fan in front of his face.   “Huaisang…” He mumbled, seeing the boy, close his fan and bow a little at the recognition. He was alive too, maybe the others were too.   “Thank Laura for that.” Huaisang mouthed, silently. “You deserve it, Jiang-Xiong. No immortal should pass the amount of time you passed waiting for your soulmate again.” He smiled sadly. “Not even you, not even me. Be happy, Jiang-Xiong, we will meet again. I promise.” Nie Huaisang waved at him, before disappearing in the crowd. Well, maybe Jiang Cheng wasn’t the only secret the cultivators hide from the world, maybe there was a hope for him, but, for now he would just enjoy the fact that Zewu-Jun, Lan Xichen, Lan Huan, his light was back to him.   “Thank you, A-Sang.” He mouthed to the air, before turning to his husband and his daughter, happy into meeting his future, happy that he finally was going to love again. “Dad?” Laura called, from inside the school, raising a hand to silence her friend.  “What’s wrong?” Her friend asked, turning to Jiang Cheng, who still were stuck on the ground, staring at the man who couldn’t be Lan Xichen, he simply couldn’t. “Mr. Jiang? Are you okay?” Laura and her walked to him as he did everything he could to turn to them, but he was there, his husband was there in front of him. That was the only thing Jiang Cheng thanked the gods for, because whenever he wanted to remember Lan Huan’s laugh or the way he smiled happily at him, he would do it with perfection. But, now, the same voice of his memories and dreams were ringing in his ears, belonging to a breathing and moving man talking in a phone.  “Lan Huan.” He cried, a choke stuck on the back of his throat. The man looked up from his phone, looking around. “Oh, gods.” Jiang Cheng’s feet walked away from him, his hands going to his chest.   “Dad!” A girl called him, shaking his shoulder, afraid. “Dad!” Jiang Cheng looked at her beside him, feeling his heart rising, his breath shallow. “Dad, are you fine?” She asked, eyes scrutinizing his face with worry. Oh, that’s right, he wasn’t in China anymore, neither he was a Sect Leader anymore. Instead he was living in Europe, being a stuntman and raising a kid once again.   As a sad smile came to adorn Lan Xichen's features, he knew his life was coming to an end and the only thing he regret was not being able to enjoy more of his time with Wanyin, it was such a small time that Xichen couldn't help but mourn for its loss. Wanyin would be so sad, but it was for a greater good, Wanyin's greater good. If it all went wrong, at the very least, his lover and their son and nephew would be safe, his family would be fine. 

  "Huan!" Xichen heard Wanyin scream, but he couldn't move, even though he wanted to comfort him, hug him just one more time.  "Huan, don't do this to me. Don't you leave me too!" He cried out, the scream broking Xichen's heart in a million pieces. Lan Xichen knew that there was people holding Jiang Cheng back, on the contrary he already would be there with him. Thank you, gods., he thought, grate for the brave souls impending Sandou Shengshou' s impulsive decisions.  

 "I love you, Wanyin. For this live and all the ones to come." Lan Xichen, the Zewu-Jun, whispered to the wind, hoping it would calm his restless lover. "I love you. I love you. Thank you." He said, finally collapsing into the ground beneath him, not hearing Jiang Cheng's desperate cries, his sad mornings, his angered screams, his broken prays. Xichen didn't saw as Jiang Cheng worked harder and harder into cultivation, didn't saw his lover vanishing little by little, not wanting to be there without his soulmate. 

  Yes, he understood the sacrifice Lan Huan had made, but it was supposed to make him feel good about it? About letting the body of his husband behind because of the curse that horrible creature had put in him?! Was it meant to amenize the agonizing void on his chest?! Was it the reason why Lan Xichen choose to use his own body and spirit to seal all of that demons in that cavern without letting Jiang Cheng help?! Was Jiang Cheng expected to understand and accept what his husband had done? He didn't know and preferred that way, he didn't want anything to do with the GusuLan clan anymore. In truth, he didn't want anything to with cultivation itself, but he had responsibilities, which couldn't be denied. 

As time passed, everybody around him, slowly become to change, growing old with every drop of water, but Jiang Cheng remained the same. Immutable, immovable, immortal. He was obliged to see his brother die once again, joining Lan Wangji in death some days later. He had to see his nephew suffer through the death of the other three juniors, first Ouyang Zizhen went away in a night hunt, protecting Lan Jingyi and Jin Ling. After that, A-Huan followed his partner and dads in death as he developed as fatal disease after a disastrous hunt. Ironically, Lan Jingyi and Jin Ling lasted longer than everyone else. At least, them Jiang Cheng got to see grow older and raise the kids their adopted early in their life. 

  Now, almost four thousand years later, Jiang Cheng was doing an action movie. In the beginning, Jiang Cheng thought this type of entertainment wouldn’t last, but maybe he had guessed wrong. Anyway, an agent discovered him after he helped a young woman who had her purse stolen by little kid. In the end, Jiang Cheng got a job, a new kid to take care of and a friend without even realizing it. He liked the job, though, it allowed him to forget who he was, even if it was just by a minute or so, it let him be mortal again. 

  But, the cold truth always come back at him, the cold fact that he was alone in the world, fated by the gods to outlive everyone he loved, fated to suffer their absence for the rest of the eternity. By day, he tried to forget about his past, about the loss of his family and beloved ones, yet, when the night came, the once Sendou Shengshou couldn’t escape from the memories and the silent screams, couldn’t avoid the nightmares that creeped in his mind. For more than once, he had wake up with the urge to find Lan Huan, to make sure he was okay and alive and, all the same, he wanted to run away and forget everything about cultivation, the Lans and everything related to that. 

  Even now, Jiang Cheng still ran from them, hiding from the remainascent cultivators. Anyway, they now prefered to make sure their clans survived through the new and crazy modern world and had long forget about the Immortal Sect Leader Jiang, the Immortal Sendou. It was better that way, he didn’t need to worry about them sticking their noses where they didn’t belong, he could live his life with no worries beside having to stay low. Yet, in spite of everything, the Jiang Clan refused to let Jiang Wanyin alone, always making sure that he knew everything about his clan, never hiding anything from him, accepting his opinions without fear. 

  “Dad!” A girl called him, shaking his shoulder, afraid. “Dad!” Jiang Cheng looked at her beside him, feeling his heart rising, his breath shallow. “Dad, are you fine?” She asked, eyes scrutinizing his face with worry. Oh, that’s right, he wasn’t in China anymore, neither he was a Sect Leader anymore. Instead he was living in Europe, being a stuntman and raising a kid once again. 

 “Sorry, I fell asleep.” He murmured, rubbing his face, sleepy. “The movie already ended?” He looked to the black screen in front of him. 

  “It ended about a two hours ago, but that’s okay. You needed the sleep.” She smiled to him, patting his shoulder. “I just got scared when you started to scream. You seemed like you were about to combust.” Jiang Cheng froze, even though he knew she wouldn’t say anything, his daughter worried about him. “You were calling Huan again, you know?” She said, her eyes not focusing in anything in particular. “I know you adopt me after he was gone, but I can help but imagine how he was.” She whispered, looking up to the ceiling. 

  Since Jiang Cheng had adopt her when she was five years old, after he found her stealing, she always did everything in her power to make him happy even when he said she didn’t need to. Even now, in the verge of going yo college, Laura still tried to make everything good to him.

  “Do you think it would help talk about it?” She looked back at him, worried.

  “It was a long time ago, Laura. It doesn’t matter anymore.” He sighed, getting up. “C’mon, you have school tomorrow.” 

  “Yes, sir.” Laura smiled to him, before giving him a hug. “Don’t forget that I’m here, okay? Always.”

  “I know, sweetie. Now go to your room and you better being sleeping when I go check up on you or…”

  “You will break my legs, I know.” She smiled, dismissing him with a gesture, sighing exasperatedly. “I love you too.” Jin Ling would have liked her as would have Wei Wuxian, since the girl liked to prank her dad endless. He liked to think that Lan Huan would like Laura too even if she act a lot like Jiang Cheng most of the time, even using his famous phrase “I’ll break your legs!” 

  He had just let Laura on school when he stopped dead on his tracks, on the scene ahead him. It couldn’t be, the gods wouldn’t do something like that to him, not again, not after four thousand years. They cursed him with an immortal life and an impeccable memory, never failing whenever he needed to remember something.

  That was the only thing Jiang Cheng thanked the gods for, because whenever he wanted to remember Lan Huan’s laugh or the way he smiled happily at him, he would do it with perfection. But, now, the same voice of his memories and dreams were ringing in his ears, belonging to a breathing and moving man talking in a phone.

  “Lan Huan.” He cried, a choke stuck on the back of his throat. The man looked up from his phone, looking around. “Oh, gods.” Jiang Cheng’s feet walked away from him, his hands going to his chest. 

 “Dad?” Laura called, from inside the school, raising a hand to silence her friend.

  “What’s wrong?” Her friend asked, turning to Jiang Cheng, who still were stuck on the ground, staring at the man who couldn’t be Lan Xichen, he simply couldn’t. “Mr. Jiang? Are you okay?” Laura and her walked to him as he did everything he could to turn to them, but he was there, his husband was there in front of him. 

  “Sir, are you feeling anything?” Lan Huan, no, not his Lan Huan, someone with the same voice and face of his husband, but not him, asked getting close to him. “Sir?” 

  “What’s your name?” Jiang Cheng asked, feeling Laura beside him, breathless.

  “I’m Lan Huan.” The man said slowly, examining his face.

  “Oh, shit.” Laura said as her friend choked on the air. “He should be dead. He was dead.”  She said, eyes widening. 

  “Holy fuck!” Jiang Cheng whispered, still staring at the man. “I mean, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay. But do I know you?”  The new Lan Huan asked, smiling at him, hands on his back. “I am almost certain that I know you from some places.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m Jiang Cheng and, this is my daughter, Laura.” Jiang Cheng answered, still a bit awestruck with the resemblance between them, standing a hand to him. “And her friend, Isabelle.” He eyed the girl, who were looking at the other with amazed eyes. 

  “Jiang Cheng.” He said his name as if testing it on his tongue. “A beautiful name.” Lan Huan said, smiling again. The same habit as the first one., Jiang Cheng thought sadly. “Well, I don’t quite remember seeing you from other places, but it would be a pleasure to do so, Jiang Cheng.” Lan Huan flirted, finally accepting his hand. 

 “Great God!” He heard Isabella whisper as a million of images came to his mind. Him and Wei Wuxian arriving to Cloud Recess, meeting with the Twin Jades of Gusu, everything that happened, the discover that Lan Xichen was his soulmate and the denial. All of his history with Lan Xichen and even what he didn’t remember was being shown in the front of his eyes, quickly and almost insanely. 

  “Oh, gods!” Jiang Cheng breathed deep, letting go of Lan Huan’s hand. “I… I…”

  “Wanyin?” Lan Huan whispered, slowly, eyes still unfocused. “Oh, my heart. I am so sorry!” He sobbed, reaching blindly to the smaller one. “Oh, Wanyin. I never wanted this to happen…” 

  “I’m here.” Jiang Cheng held Xichen’s hands, hoping that his soulmate would remember him even a little. He kept looking at his eyes until they focused on his again, slowly becoming golden. “Lan Xichen?”

  “I thought we agreed in you calling me Huan, my heart.” Lan Xichen whispered, his hands going to Wanyin’s face. “My heart, my light, my Wanyin.” He murmured, pulling the immortal closer. “I love you, I love you. Thank you.” He kissed Jiang Cheng lightly on the lips, before he felt the smaller pulling in away. 

  “Wait a minute, your fucker! You promised me that you never would sacrifice yourself like that, your idiot! You promised that you would never leave me, Xichen!” Jiang Cheng grabbed his neck, making him bow over himself. “You never do that again to me, are you hearing me? Never again!” He let go of him, breathing deep. “Dear Gods, please don’t…”

  “I won’t, I promise. And this is a promise I intend to keep.” Lan Huan whispered in his hair. Silence surrounded them, meaningless of all the noises around them. They stayed that way until Isabelle whispered at Laura. 

  “Does it mean that you have two hot dads now? Holy shit!” 

  “Izzy, please, shut up. Dad has been waiting for this for too long.” Laura whispered, hitting her. Jiang Cheng smiled against Xichen’s chest before turning to her, seeing a familiar figure behind her, waving a fan in front of his face. 

  “Huaisang…” He mumbled, seeing the boy, close his fan and bow a little at the recognition. He was alive too, maybe the others were too. 

  “Thank Laura for that.” Huaisang mouthed, silently. “You deserve it, Jiang-Xiong. No immortal should pass the amount of time you passed waiting for your soulmate again.” He smiled sadly. “Not even you, not even me. Be happy, Jiang-Xiong, we will meet again. I promise.” Nie Huaisang waved at him, before disappearing in the crowd. Well, maybe Jiang Cheng wasn’t the only secret the cultivators hide from the world, maybe there was a hope for him, but, for now he would just enjoy the fact that Zewu-Jun, Lan Xichen, Lan Huan, his light was back to him. 

  “Thank you, A-Sang.” He mouthed to the air, before turning to his husband and his daughter, happy into meeting his future, happy that he finally was going to love again.

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  So, here it is Day 6! I’m sure I never wrote this uch of angst in a fanfic. This prompt hit me with a brick, but I will live. I don’t know if I will be able to post the other two days in time, but I think I will post them anyway, slowly, but I will. Thank you for reading it until here! Hope you are safe and well in this trying times. 

@xichengclipse