#the name of the google doc i wrote this in was ‘gratuitous nieyao smut’

[sunbunnyyy]

for @monhiio

“I haven’t bled in seven weeks.”

Nie Mingjue did not look up from the missive he was writing instructing Nie Zonghui to take several of their best scouts further south to investigate a supposed weakness in Qishan’s forces on the border.

“We’re running low on supplies for the healers. Anyone who hasn’t bled in so long can get an extra set of rations,” he muttered, before he chuckled at himself. It sounded ridiculous, which was the point. Why Meng Yao mentioned this now, so near the front lines of war, when Nie Mingjue’s arm was wrapped tight with fresh poultice and a bandage that looked mostly clean—

“A-Jue.” Nie Mingjue looked up at Meng Yao’s use of the diminutive. He froze when he noticed the way Meng Yao picked at his own fingers. He was staring at Nie Mingjue with those wide doe eyes, his long eyelashes framing the fear there. With a shaky breath, his hands dropped in a gesture to his lower dantian and he repeated, “I have not bled in seven weeks.”