#also im pretty meh about Jiang Cheng ships but i do love me some hurt comfort

[pocketsizedowls]

The following is a possible timeline of Jiang Cheng's romantic (?) endeavors:

He meets Wei Wuxian when he was a toddler. Since Wei Wuxian is a little older and a little taller, Jiang Cheng thinks he's kind of cool, even if he's also a toddler. A few years later Wei Wuxian comes to live at Lotus Pier full-time. They start sharing a room and it takes only about a month for Jiang Cheng to realize that Wei Wuxian, who he now sees as a brother, is a fucking idiot.

Wei Wuxian follows Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses when they are 15 and they meet Nie Huaisang, who is timid but mischievous. Nie Huaisang runs an illegal pornography distribution business without ever getting caught, not even after Wei Wuxian gets booted from Gusu and Lan Qiren grows eyes on the back of his head. It piques Jiang Cheng's interest. Nie Huaisang kisses Jiang Cheng on the last day of school before skipping away to Qinghe.

In The Untamed, Jiang Cheng meets Wen Qing around this time as well. He grew up watching Jiang Yanli pine after the peacock and, after making a list of qualities that he would like for the future Madam Jiang to have, he thinks Wen Qing is a good choice for courtship. She's smart and pretty, just like his jiejie. His mom will probably like her, which is... preferable. Either way, Jiang Cheng courts Wen Qing by bringing her a comb he bought at Caiyi Town, just like Yanli says he should. He leaves the encounter feeling proud of himself.

The romantic (?) side plots of Jiang Cheng's life take a pause for the next 5ish years because he's busy trying not to die. Lotus Pier burns, the Sunshot Campaign goes by, and good news! He succeeds in not dying. Bad news! Every other Jiang didn't. So, he spends the next 10 years after that recovering from not-dying. Understandably, it put a slight damper on his mood and now, he's been blacklisted from every matchmaker in the country! Oh well. He's got his hands full anyways, with a nephew to raise and a sect to rebuild, yada yada yada.

Soon enough, Jiang Cheng forgets all about his youthful naivete and teenage follies. Growing up has a way of hardening your soul and rewiring your memories, so he spends most of his days as Sect Leader Jiang overworking until he feels absolutely nothing. Raising Jin Ling brings some light into his life, of course, but he's a Jin, not a Jiang. He doesn't get to spend all his time at Lotus Pier, no matter how much Jiang Cheng would secretly love that. In a matter of years, chasing down demonic cultivators became his only source of dopamine. It's an incredibly self-indulgent thing. He investigates every smoke trail, every rumor, and every crudely-drawn Yiling Patriarch poster with the intention of destroying Wei Wuxian the moment he comes back. He tells himself he doesn't miss him but finds himself pausing the witch hunt every year on October 31st, Wei Wuxian's birthday.

At the Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji, and the new-returned Wei Wuxian take down Jin Guangyao with help of a dubiously-intact Nie Mingjue and dubiously-intentioned Nie Huaisang. Jiang Cheng returns to Lotus Pier with his (?) golden core feeling lopsided in his dantian, only to receive a wedding invitation barely a few months later from Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. He wonders for a second if they intend to make amends...? Then he banishes the thought as soon as it comes.

He attends the wedding only to save face for the Jiang Sect because people would surely talk if he doesn't show. He escapes the festivities by the time the banquet starts and walks right into Lan Xichen on his way out of the Cloud Recesses.

"Zewu-jun," he says, "aren't you supposed to be in seclusion?"

Lan Xichen smiles. "Yes."

"Then why are you out here?"

"My brother is getting married," Lan Xichen says, "why shouldn't I be here?"

"If you're truly here for the wedding," sighs Jiang Cheng, "then go inside? Pat your brother on the back? Eat a piece of cake?"

Lan Xichen's smile wobbles, but Jiang Cheng doesn't let up. He's not stupid. Sure, Lan Xichen is in seclusion, which means his time is his own and he can do anything he wants, but Lan Sect would definitely be alarmed to find their sect leader grimly wandering the grounds of the Cloud Recesses on a celebratory night. So.

"Well?" Jiang Cheng asks, pointed.

Lan Xichen's expression darkens. Jiang Cheng thinks anger is a good look on.

"Sect Leader Jiang," Lan Xichen starts, eerily peacefully, "you tell me to go inside, to congratulate my brother, and to eat. But did you do any of those things? It's barely nightfall and you look about ready to leave Gusu. With no Lan disciple walking you to the gates, however, you resemble a student sneaking out of class. Here at the Cloud Recesses, that crime is worthy of 20 lashes. Would you like to explain your behavior?"

Under any other circumstance, Jiang Cheng would lash out against this kind of condescension, but Lan Xichen is swaying under the moonlight like a reed. The sight of the strong, courteous Lan Xichen at his lowest unlocks something inside Jiang Cheng, a rough-around-the-edges feeling associated with flashes of memories that he can no longer fully remember. A shared bedroom. A kiss at school. A comb wrapped in cloth. A bowl of pork rib and lotus soup delivered to the front lines of war. A bloodied hairpin tucked in a purple waist stash. A declaration of love under the watchful gaze of dangerous enemies.

The feeling threatens to knock him over, but this is Jiang Cheng we're talking about. Naturally, he tucks the strange feeling back inside the box where it came from and locks it once again with the key. Meanwhile, he offers to walk Lan Xichen to the banquet. He says to him: I'll stay with you if you want. I'll even eat a piece of cake with you. Lan Xichen declines--thank goodness--so they make their way toward the Hanshi instead.

"What do you want to do now," Jiang Cheng asks when they make it to Lan Xichen's residence. He hovers at the dorm frame like a teenage boy trying his best not to intrude, leaning on one foot and then the other.

Lan Xichen considers Jiang Cheng's words for a moment and says, "I don't know. It's been a while since I had company, so please," He leaves the door wide open, gesturing inside the Hanshi, "come on in. Make yourself at home."

Jiang Cheng takes a ginger step across the threshold.