#fellas is it gay to looks at your brother's bff's lips and wonder how it'd feel to kiss them?

[ibijau]

30 day otp - day twenty four: Xiao

24. X – Xylophone. There aren’t many x words. Xiao, because I am lucky this fandom DOES have plenty of x words, and this lets me stay in the theme of a musical instrument

Set somewhere between the Wens’ archery contest, and the Wen Summer School From Hell

It's been a tough Night Hunt, or so Nie Huaisang is told. He is very glad that he wasn't invited for that one, due to it taking place a little too close to the Wens' territory. His brother's paranoia about Qishan Wen has its good sides when it can get him out of doing anything boring.

But Nie Huaisang is glad as well that Nie Mingjue wasn't alone for this. He can be reckless, but less so when Lan Xichen is with him because he feels responsible for his friend. Nie Huaisang suspects it's some sort of big brother instinct. Or else, it's just the effect Lan Xichen has on people. He is so kind and gentle, anyone would want to protect him.

Not that he needs protecting. For all his beauty and elegance, Lan Xichen is fearsome in a fight. He is a swordsman beyond compare, the best archer of their generation, and has amazing mastery of his sect’s musical techniques. It’s no wonder that, out of all the people he’s met, Nie Mingjue chose that person to become his only true friend.

But Lan Xichen isn’t just a powerful fighter. At the moment, he is playing the xiao to help Nie Mingjue calm down after something during the Night Hunt gave his temper a rise. Nie Huaisang invited himself in spite of his brother’s protests, because he would never miss a chance to listen to Lan Xichen playing. It’s fine anyway, he’s good at making himself invisible, and already Nie Mingjue seems to have forgotten there’s a third person in his room… though that might be due to Lan Xichen’s music more than Nie Huaisang’s skill.

It is not just that the melody is imbued with spiritual energies, Nie Huaisang believes. He’s had the chance to hear other Lans play, and they never have quite the same calming effect as Lan Xichen does. It must be that the personality of the musician matters as well, and in spite of his youth, there is not a person in the world more poised and sincerely peaceful.

It’s a dichotomy that always puzzles Nie Huaisang. He could understand someone with a quiet personality, he’s met a few here and there. And he has also met his share of powerful fighters, an unfortunate side effect of being born within Qinghe Nie. But Lan Xichen is the only person he knows that can be both at once, and it fascinates him.

That’s the reason he thinks so much about Lan Xichen, he figures. It’s just good old fascination, tinted with a healthy dose of admiration. That’s why he can’t stop looking at the other boy whenever he visits, why his eyes are glued to his lips and fingers right now, watching him play with inhuman skill, as if he were hundreds of years old rather than almost the same age as Nie Huaisang. If he watches him so much, it is to understand how a body so slender and graceful can hide the strength to destroy any number of evil creatures in a single blow. If his heart beats so fast every time Lan Xichen looks at him or better yet speaks to him, it’s only the normal reaction to being acknowledged by someone so superior to him in every way.

When the melody dies down, Nie Huaisang can’t help clapping a little. It was so beautifully played that he has to. Nie Mingjue rolls his eyes, but Lan Xichen smiles at him, looking genuinely pleased that his performance was so well received.

He has the most beautiful smile Nie Huaisang has ever seen on anyone. It is a blessing onto the world that he is so generous with it, smiling almost constantly. Seeing that smile now, Nie Huaisang almost wants to…

“You’ve had your fun, Huaisang, now scram,” Nie Mingjue grunts, sounding far more relaxed than before the song. “We have serious business to discuss.”

“Are you going to talk about the Wens again?” Nie Huaisang pouts, a little relieved to be saved from the shameful thought he nearly had. “How boring. Can’t Young Master Lan play another song first? That’d be more fun! You need to have fun sometimes, Da-Ge.”

“And you need to stop thinking only of your own entertainment,” his brother snaps. “Go away, I said!”

“Boring,” Nie Huaisang insists, getting up from his corner of the room. He bows quickly to Lan Xichen. “Thank you for playing for us. I am very grateful to you for taking such good care of Da-Ge, even if he’s the most boring person in the world.”

His brother glares at him, but to his surprise and utter delight Lan Xichen laughs gently and his smile turns impossibly warmer. He is gorgeous like this, amused and happy, and Nie Huaisang is looking at his lips and…

“I am glad Second Master Nie thinks so much of my skill,” Lan Xichen says, sounding more sincere than Nie Huaisang’s silly comments deserve. “If I have time later, I can try to play for you again, if you would like. For now though, I fear your brother is right and we must get to business. Unless you would like to stay and discuss these problems with us? You might be able to provide some interesting insights.”

From anyone else, saying something like that would come as mocking. Everyone knows that Nie Huaisang, while not exactly stupid, is so lazy that in a way it’d be better if he were stupid. But Lan Xichen sounds like he might genuinely value whatever Nie Huaisang could say, and for the first time in his life, Nie Huaisang finds himself tempted to pay attention to politics, just so he won’t disappoint the older boy.

Thankfully, Nie Mingjue comes to his rescue.

“He’ll just be a nuisance if he stays,” his brother grumbles. “Huaisang, leave us alone. How long has it been since you last touched your sabre? Go practice for a while, and stop bothering us.”

Normally Nie Huaisang would protest. Yet for the first time in his life, sabre practice feels like a safe and pleasant option, so he quickly bids the other two goodbye and runs off to the training grounds.

He hates exercise, and he hates getting sweaty and tired, but the more he sees Lan Xichen’s kind smile, the more he thinks how much that mouth looks made for kissing and that’s not a train of thought he wants to face at the moment.