#4K of jin rusong being the best little boy ever and all the adults around him being complete messes

[ibijau]

Jin Rusong Lives / On AO3

Jin Rusong is reunited with his uncle Lan

Nie Huaisang wrapped the blanket around Lan Xichen, just as he would have done with Jin Rusong, and took a step back to look at the man lying in his bed. Lan Xichen really looked awful, worse than Nie Huaisang had ever seen him, but at least he was calmer now that he’d fallen asleep. 

"I'll have the men who allowed this punished," Nie Funyu said from the doorway. "And we're moving you and Jin xiao-gongzi somewhere else for the night."

Tearing his eyes from Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang threw his first disciple a severe look. 

"A-Song sleeps too lightly to be moved," he pointed out. "It's already a miracle he didn't wake up when we went in his room. And if he spots Lan Xichen now, it'll be a mess. No, I'll finish the night in his bed, and we'll deal with this in the morning."

"Nie zongzhu! You can't sleep next door from that man!"

"What, you think he'd hurt me?" Nie Huaisang asked dismissively, as if he hadn’t nearly fainted from terror upon finding Lan Xichen on his doorstep. He laughed when Nie Funyu glared in answer. "You worry too much."

"You don't worry enough,” Nie Funyu snapped, both hands on his hips. “You're not sleeping here."

"I am still your sect leader, and I get to make my own decisions," Nie Huaisang retorted, fidgeting with his sleeve. "I'll be sleeping with SongSong, and that's final. But go warn the guards on duty to expect more Lans very soon. He wasn't sure that Jin Rusong was alive and his family wouldn't have let him come here alone if they'd known, so he must have found out and run away." 

The idea almost made Nie Huaisang smile in spite of his nerves. The mighty and ever perfect Zewu-Jun, acting like a capricious child and running from his family. If the situation had not been so complicated, Nie Huaisang might have found that cute. Things being what they were, he was just worried about the repercussion this would have.

"Should they be brought to you if that's the case?" Nie Funyu asked.

Nie Huaisang hesitated, fiddling some more with the hem of his sleeve as he considered the question. 

"No, make them wait at the gate," he decided, wrinkling his nose. "I'd rather not have to deal with Lan Qiren, or worse with Lan Wangji, more than I need to. But let it be known that Lan Xichen is here with us and safe, and that they’ll see him... if he wishes it." 

He glanced toward the bed, and frowned. 

"I want a healer here first thing in the morning," he added. “Nie Zhilan if she’s free, she’s good with reluctant patients. And breakfast must be brought for all three of us. I don’t know if Zewu-Jun will be awake to have it with us, but I’m not having him go hungry if he is.”

Nie Funyu pleaded and threatened a while longer, until Nie Huaisang at least agreed to allow him to come sleep in Jin Rusong’s room as well, for security. Nie Huaisang gave in, more because he was finally getting sleepy than because he thought it necessary.

While Nie Funyu went to transmit those few messages, and after one last look at the man sleeping in his bed, Nie Huaisang returned to Jin Rusong’s room. He did not bother undressing before climbing in bed with the child, too exhausted for that last effort. All he could do was pull the little boy against him. Jin Rusong protested a little, even cracking an eye open, but he relaxed and quickly went back to sleep when he realised it was just his uncle Nie holding him.

Nie Huaisang only stayed awake long enough to see Nie Funyu return with a thick blanket which he laid across the doorway, stubborn man that he was.

-

It came as no surprise to Nie Huaisang that he slept uneasily. He awoke several times, bothering poor Jin Rusong who grumbled and even kicked him the final time. Since it was nearly dawn, Nie Huaisang took it as a sign that he should give up on rest for that night. He managed, through great effort on his part, to leave the bed without waking Jin Rusong, but wasn’t so lucky with Nie Funyu who raised his head the instant he stepped on the floor.

“I swear I’m getting Zhilan to give you a sleeping draught,” he grumbled. “Zongzhu, it’s still night.”

“It is, so go back to sleep,” Nie Huaisang ordered.

He wasn’t shocked when Nie Funyu did no such thing and instead sat up to watch him as he returned to the main room.

All Nie Huaisang wanted was to grab something to occupy himself with until Jin Rusong woke up. A pile of Night Hunt reports from the juniors maybe, or a book if he felt like being kind to himself. But when he entered the room, in the pale light of a dawn that wasn’t quite there yet, he found Lan Xichen with his eyes wide open, lying down but staring at him as if surprised to see him.

Nie Huaisang’s first instinct was to run back into Jin Rusong’s room and pretend he hadn’t noticed the other man’s gaze on him. It was impossibly tempting, especially when Nie Huaisang had no idea what to expect from the man who had once been his friend. They hadn’t talked since that day in the temple… or even since long before that, in a manner of speaking. Nie Huaisang couldn’t remember when was the last time he had allowed himself to be honest and unguarded around Lan Xichen. Even before finding the truth about his brother’s death, there had been that other issue between them…

In the end, what stopped Nie Huaisang from running was the realisation that Lan Xichen looked just as unsure as he felt, if not more so. At least, it was a bad situation for both of them.

Though after looking at Lan Xichen more thoroughly, Nie Huaisang decided that actually, the situation was probably far worse for the other man. Lan Xichen had the air of a deeply sick man, weak and gaunt in a way few cultivators got to be, unless they were cursed or took truly awful care of themselves. It was doubtful that anyone would have dared to curse the great Zewu-Jun, who they all saw as the hero who had killed Jin Guangyao, so this pitiful state had to have been self-inflicted.

It angered Nie Huaisang that Lan Xichen had clearly been suffering, and he seized that anger with relief. At least that was an emotion he knew how to deal with.

“Zewu-Jun, you’re unreasonable to be awake at this hour!” he scolded in the same tone Nie Funyu had used on him just moments before. "Really, who would have expected you would be so wilful? And am I right in guessing that you barely took any breaks on the way here?"

Nie Huaisang stomped closer to the bed, rearranging the blanket quickly before stepping away to a safer distance. Startled at being addressed and treated this way, Lan Xichen nodded weakly. 

"How troublesome!” Nie Huaisang sighed, shaking his head. “I've called for my personal doctor to come by later, you know. She's an awful sadist, and she's going to feed you the worst potions you've ever tasted, which you will deserve. Flying straight from Gusu, in this state! Zewu-Jun, that's really not very serious."

Again, Lan Xichen only nodded. Nie Huaisang wondered if he might manage to convince him to sleep some more.

"Can I see A-Song later?" Lan Xichen asked weakly. 

Before he could stop himself, Nie Huaisang glanced behind himself, toward the door to the child's room. From where he was he could not see the bed, but Nie Funyu, who could, made a gesture to signify Jin Rusong was still asleep. 

Nie Huaisang sighed in relief, and returned his attention to the man in his bed. 

"I have no objections. We can have breakfast all together. SongSong will be happy to see you. He really has been asking for you, you know. He's missed you." 

And he wasn't the only one to have missed Lan Xichen, though Nie Huaisang knew he would not be believed if he said as much. 

"How much does he know?" Lan Xichen whispered, a shiver running through his body. 

"Exactly as much as he needs to," Nie Huaisang retorted, a little more defensively than needed perhaps. "He knows his parents are dead, and he understands it means he'll never see them again." 

He paused, waiting to see if Lan Xichen would scold him for burdening such a young child with the truth… but if anything, he thought he saw some approval in the other man's expression.

"He doesn't know how they died," Nie Huaisang added. "He hasn't asked, and I'm not in a hurry to tell him. When things are calmer in Carp Tower, maybe… but for now, he needs a little stability." 

"He does," Lan Xichen agreed, and Nie Huaisang had to fight a smile. 

Even like this, getting Lan Xichen's approval still affected him.

That attempted smile was easily dropped when he realised that he, too, had a question to ask, and that he was unlikely to enjoy the answer.

“He really does need stability,” Nie Huaisang insisted. “Though I’ll understand if you think here is not the right place for him to get it. Zewu-Jun, have you come here because you want to take him back to the Cloud Recesses?”

“What?”

“I won’t fight you on it,” Nie Huaisang sighed dejectedly, lowering his head. “You were closer to his parents than I was, you have more experience raising children and I… you know what I’ve done. I won’t fight you if you try to take him, although it might be best to check with Jin Rulan and Jiang Wanyin first, since they’re the ones with actual guardianship over him.”

To keep himself from babbling any further, Nie Huaisang bit his lip and waited, head still hung low. In the heavy silence of that room, he felt the piercing gazes of Lan Xichen and Nie Funyu on him, making him increasingly uncomfortable as time went on.

“Huai… I mean, Nie zongzhu, the child was entrusted to you,” Lan Xichen said after what felt like an eternity, his voice painful void of emotion. “You have been caring for him all this time, and it is my understanding that your care has been found satisfactory by his relatives. I could make no claim over him, least of all by waving my closeness to his father, when I… you also know what I’ve done, Nie zongzhu. I am already grateful I’m allowed to see A-Song, and I would not dare to ask for more.”

Nie Huaisang frowned. First, because Lan Xichen had never called him Nie zongzhu in his entire time as sect leader, and it felt like a final blow to whatever friendship might have once existed between them.

Mostly though, he had assumed all along that as soon as Lan Xichen knew about Jin Rusong (and he would have known sooner or later, the Lans weren’t half as good at keeping secrets as they thought) then of course he would demand to have the child given to him, and everyone would agree. It would not have been easy for Nie Huaisang to have given up on his ward, not when caring for Jin Rusong had given him exactly the sort of goal he had been lacking in life since he’d finished avenging his brother, but… but if it was better for the child, then he would have done it.

Jin Rusong deserved the best in life, and the best was to be cared for by Lan Xichen.

They stared at each other awkwardly, Lan Xichen clearly still too out of it to hold a conversation, Nie Huaisang too torn between desperately wanting to keep Jin Rusong at his side, and arguing for what would be best for him. It was selfish of him, but he was a selfish man, that was nothing new.

The tense silence was only broken when Nie Funyu, still carefully watching them, glanced in the other room.

“Nie zongzhu, I think he’s waking up,” he announced.

Immediately Nie Huaisang rushed into his ward’s bedroom, where indeed he found the little boy sleepily blinking at him. Nie Huaisang lingered near the door, wondering how to handle the situation, before deciding that a little fake joy would probably work best.

“SongSong, did you sleep well?” he asked, coming to sit on the bed.

The child shook his head with a pout.

“Uncle Nie moved too much,” he accused.

“What? So I have to put up with your cold feet when you join me but you can’t handle a little moving when it’s the opposite? How cruel to your uncle Nie.”

Jin Rusong yawned.

“Why did uncle Nie come to my room?”

“For a very good reason,” Nie Huaisang retorted with the largest smile his face could allow. “SongSong, we have a guest who arrived late last night, and I wasn’t able to have a room prepared for him, so I had to give him my bed. He is very, very tired because he’s had to take a long trip to come here, but he came all this way just to visit you. Can you guess who it is?”

“Is it LingLing again?”

“Even better. It’s someone you haven’t seen since you woke up, but you asked about a lot.”

Still half asleep, Jin Rusong blinked a few times, pouting harder as he tried to guess the identity of their guest. When he realised who it might be, he shouted and sat up, eyes wide with excitement.

“Uncle Lan?”

Nie Huaisang barely had time to nod before Jin Rusong scrambled out of bed, nearly falling face first on the floor in his haste. He passed by Nie Funyu without seeing him, and shrieked upon entering Nie Huaisang’s room. There was a bit of a commotion in there. By the time Nie Huaisang joined them, Jin Rusong had climbed next to Lan Xichen and was holding him close. Lan Xichen appeared a little overwhelmed at first, clearly no longer used to such demonstrations of affection, but he managed to recover enough to wrap his arms around Jin Rusong.

“Uncle Lan, I’ve missed you so much!” Jin Rusong said, pressing his face against Lan Xichen’s chest, before abruptly pulling away. “Mommy and daddy are dead you know,” he announced, as if expecting that Lan Xichen hadn’t heard it.

Nie Huaisang winced, especially when Lan Xichen visibly flinched at that reminder of what had happened. Jin Rusong noticed, and sighed heavily before tapping gently on Lan Xichen’s cheek.

“It’s okay if you cry,” he said gently. “Uncle Nie says it’s normal to miss them. I miss them a lot, and I’ve cried a lot. I still cry sometimes, and then uncle Nie hugs me and I’m a little less sad. If you want you can cry, and then I will hug you and also uncle Nie will hug you.”

“I’m pretty sure uncle Lan doesn’t want me to hug him,” Nie Huaisang objected with a nervous laugh. “But he’ll surely be happy if SongSong hugs him. A gentle hug, please. Uncle Lan is a little unwell, so try to be gentle with him.”

Jin Rusong nodded with great serious, before giving Lan Xichen a very forceful hug that knocked the breath out of him. Lan Xichen did not appear to mind. He seemed too dazed to care about something as insignificant as breathing.

Truth be told, Nie Huaisang was starting to worry. Hopefully Nie Zhilan would arrive soon and she’d tell him if Lan Xichen was simply tired from his trip, or if there was something else going on. He really looked too pale and frail, even for a man who had been in seclusion for several months. The only reason Nie Huaisang did not run out to fetch his doctor himself was that Lan Xichen, slowly, managed to smile at the child hugging him.

“A-Song has grown a lot,” Lan Xichen whispered. “You look so much bigger than last time I saw you.”

“It’s because I eat all my vegetables now,” Jin Rusong assured him. “Even the green ones.”

Lan Xichen let out a small puff of laughter, the sound of which made Nie Huaisang’s heart stop for a moment.

“A-Song is such a good boy,” Lan Xichen said fondly. “I am happy to see A-Song again, after so long, and to find he is still the best little boy I know.”

“I’m happy to see uncle Lan too. I know you were busy, but I missed you,” Jin Rusong claimed, before turning toward Nie Huaisang. “Uncle Nie, I don’t want to go in class today. I want to stay with uncle Lan. Can I, please? Please?”

“Only if you promise to be good,” Nie Huaisang replied as sternly as he could, which was not very stern at all. “And if Nie Zhilan says that you can. I’ve told you, uncle Lan has been a little unwell, so he will probably need rest. Can you let him sleep if he needs it?”

“I will be very good. I will let uncle Lan rest and I will be quiet and good. Please?"

Nie Huaisang made a show of hesitating for a moment, until he noticed that Lan Xichen looked as anxious for his answer as Jin Rusong. 

"Of course SongSong can stay here. I don't think you'd manage to focus in class anyway. Now, while we wait for breakfast, why don't you tell uncle Lan about all you've been learning?" 

That was all the prompting Jin Rusong needed to start chattering about his life in the Unclean Realm. Lan Xichen listened with great attention, as he'd always done with their nephew or any other children he came in contact with. 

It made Nie Huaisang feel a little guilty that he was using such an underhanded method to show how well Jin Rusong was treated in his care. Lan Xichen had said he wasn't there to take the child away, but Nie Huaisang feared he might change his mind if he had any reason to think Jin Rusong was unhappy. Between the two of them, Lan Xichen had the higher claim over the little boy since he'd been sworn brother with his father. Besides, he had been around Jin Rusong more before the child was taken from them. If they had both been there that day Nie Huaisang found out the little boy had survived, he knew it wouldn't have been into his arms that Jin Rusong would have ran. 

But it had happened this way, Jin Rusong was in his care, and Nie Huaisang dared not think what he would do if he had to give up on that little boy. 

Before much longer, a servant came in to bring them breakfast, followed closely by Nie Zhilan who inspected Lan Xichen. Nie Huaisang and Jin Rusong both watched her work, anxious for her diagnosis. 

"Lan zongzhu is exhausted," she declared when she was done. "He will need food and rest for the next few days, and then he will need exercise to rebuild his strength. I'm right in guessing Lan zongzhu had not used his sword in a while before flying here?" 

"Those last few months have been rather quiet for me," Lan Xichen admitted. "Occasions have been lacking." 

Nie Zhilan exchanged a look with her sect leader who grimaced. He did not know what those Lans did whenever they went in seclusion, which was common for them, but he was half sure Lan Xichen's seclusion had been different. He dared not ask though, and Nie Zhilan seemed to have enough respect for Lan Xichen that she satisfied herself with that answer for the time being. 

"If he needs rest, does it mean I can't stay?" Jin Rusong asked in a small voice. 

Again, Nie Huaisang and Nie Zhilan glanced at each other. 

"I supposed there's no harm in you staying," she reluctantly granted. "If you are good and let him rest. In fact, I'm counting on you to make sure Lan zongzhu sleeps, like a good assistant." 

Jin Rusong nodded eagerly, while Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes. Nie Zhilan had engaged Jin Rusong in her quest to bully her sect leader with healthier food, which was a constant pain in the ass for him. But if the little boy's attention could be directed elsewhere for a day or two, Nie Huaisang might manage to eat something properly greasy and without a trace of greens for his next meal. He'd have to drop by the kitchen to check if they too had turned to the enemy. 

For the time being, breakfast had to be a reasonable affair. Nie Zhilan left to attend her other duties, but Jin Rusong made sure that both his uncles ate properly. He also ordered Nie Funyu to do the same and share what had been brought for them. 

Nie Funyu, who barely listened to Nie Huaisang on a good day, obeyed without protest. 

It was hard, when breakfast was over, to leave Jin Rusong alone with Lan Xichen. Not because Nie Huaisang had any fear that the other man would hurt their nephew, but because the more time they spent together, the more likely it would be that Jin Rusong himself would ask to follow his uncle Lan to Gusu.

Still, Nie Huaisang had promised.

He left with Nie Funyu who scolded him for trusting Lan Xichen so much, and went to see if he would manage to get any work done that morning. With the threat of more Lans likely to visit in the coming few shichen or days, Nie Huaisang wanted to get as much done as possible before being stuck dealing with that. 

A series of requests for help to be split between different groups of disciples kept Nie Huaisang busy all morning, and hardly thinking about Lan Xichen and Jin Rusong at all. At least, so he told himself. Still, when lunch time came, Nie Huaisang went back to check on them.

He found Jin Rusong playing quietly on the floor while Lan Xichen had apparently fallen asleep, looking a little more peaceful than he had the previous night. Nie Huaisang huffed quietly, half annoyed that the other man had been so reckless and unreasonable. That was behaviour he would have expected of Lan Wangji, not of Lan Xichen. That seclusion of his must have been awful if he had lost all his good sense this way.

Since Lan Xichen was sleeping, Nie Huaisang felt no remorse in stealing away Jin Rusong so they could both eat a little. Nie Huaisang did not feel in the mood to join the dining halls. Instead, they headed together toward the kitchen to steal a few meat buns for their lunch. Those were not on the list of food Nie Zhilan approved of, but Jin Rusong was distracted enough not to mind. He looked very serious and deep in thought as Nie Huaisang took him to a garden to sit on a bench and eat. Serious enough, in fact, that it was starting to worry him.

“Did something happen this morning, SongSong?”

The child shook his head, then nodded.

"Uncle Lan is very sad," Jin Rusong said around a mouthful.

"He is mostly tired,” Nie Huaisang replied, relieved it was only that. “And I'm very proud of you for letting him rest. You have been so good, SongSong." 

Normally, any praise would have had Jin Rusong beaming, but this time he instead frowned.

"He is sad when he looks at me. Like uncle Nie is sad sometimes. Did I do something bad?" 

"Of course not!” Nie Huaisang exclaimed, nearly dropping his bun. “Sometimes, grown ups are just sad. And…” He hesitated, unsure how much to say. “When you were asleep for a long, long time, we didn't know about it. We thought our SongSong was gone. It made Uncle Nie and Uncle Lan very sad. And sometimes, when you're very sad for very long, it's hard to stop."

Jin Rusong’s frown deepened. He silently nibbled on his bun, clearly concerned over the way the adults in his life behaved. 

“Uncle Nie, I want to draw for uncle Lan. He is always happy when I draw for him,” Jin Rusong pointed out as if he were imparting some great wisdom. “He says I’m very good. If I draw for him, he’ll stop being sad, right?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Nie Huaisang replied, petting the little boy’s hair. “I think uncle Lan would be very, very happy if you did that. Do you want me to prepare some paper for you to take in the bedroom?”

“No, it should be a surprise. It will be a great drawing! I want to give him the best drawing ever, and then he’ll never be sad again.”

Nie Huaisang’s hand stilled a moment on the child’s head, thinking that it would need to be one spectacular piece of art to achieve that. He kept that comment to himself though, and patted Jin Rusong’s hair a few more times.

“If anyone can manage that, I know it’s my SongSong,” he said instead. “Now finish eating, and let’s both go work in my office.”

Jin Rusong promptly obeyed, finishing his own bun and Nie Huaisang’s, who had lost his appetite.

When they reached Nie Huaisang’s office, the first order of business was to settle Jin Rusong so he could work on his masterpiece. Nie Huaisang gave him some charcoal and a decently sized pile of paper that should hopefully last at least half a shichen, and asked him to be quiet so he could work as well. His occupation for the afternoon was a little less creative, but not necessarily unpleasant. Nie Huaisang started checking some bills that his sect had received, comparing them with the careful budget he kept to make sure nothing was out of line. It would have been nice to spend the rest of the day like this, just the two of them.

Hopes for a pleasant afternoon were quickly ruined when Nie Funyu came to knock on the door.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were at the gate, demanding to see Nie Huaisang.