Chapter Text
It was his driver that picked him up that afternoon after classes. And for the rest of the week tensions ran high in Jin Ling’s house. His Grandma Yu came by four times and each time his uncle Cheng somehow managed to beat her there and would sweep Jin Ling off and keep him until he got a call from Jin Zixuan confirming that his grandmother had gone.
It was weird, Jin Ling thought. While his grandma Yu was strict and not overly affectionate, she had never been outright mean. He and Sizhui spent hours texting and video calling, thinking up reasons that his parents and uncle wanted to keep him away from her. They knew she didn’t want him (or anyone else in the family) to go to the wedding so most of the hypothetical reasons revolved around why she didn’t want them to go.
Jin Ling had even managed to convince Sizhui to ask Lan Wanji about it. But he had only shaken his head and said, ‘it’s in the past’. All inquiries about the subject after that were met with a stony silence so the boys had given up on that route.
They had briefly considered asking Wei Wuxian but that would ruin the surprise, so it was swept away almost immediately. Jin Ling did ask Sizhui if they should reconsider though, as the risk of ruining the wedding with his parents and uncle’s presence seemed more likely than the happy reunion they had imagined. Sizhui stood firm by their decision, his father hadn’t mentioned calling it off yet so they should just wait it out.
On Friday, two days before the wedding and five days since the invitation incident (as Jin Ling now called it) Sizhui called Jin Ling at almost nine o’clock and was ecstatic. Not only had Jin Ling’s parents and Uncle called Lan Wanji to RSVP that night but so had his grandparents. Jin Ling knew that he should be happy about this development, and he was, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to end very poorly for all of them.
As the wedding date grew close Jin Ling's anxiety also grew. On Saturday night he found himself in a cab, on his way to Lan Sizhui’s, on the verge of breaking down. If you asked him, he wouldn’t be able to tell you how he got out of the house without being caught.
Arriving at Sizhui’s he ran up the path and pounded on the door, completely forgetting that it was nearly ten at night and that Wei Wuxian was most definitely home. All he could think of was how their plan was going to absolutely destroy not only his family but Sizhui’s and the wedding.
After a few minutes of frantic knocking the door was wrenched open by a completely flustered and angry Wei Wuxian who had most definitely been asleep moments ago. Upon seeing who it was and after taking in Jin Ling’s very distressed face, Wei Wuxian’s own face turned from anger to concern.
“Hey, hey, hey, A-Ling?” The man gently took hold of Jin Ling’s arm and guided him into the house. “A-Ling? A-Ling look at me” Wei Wuxian sat him on the living room sofa and crouched in front of him, brushing some of Jin Ling’s hair out of his eyes.
Jin Ling’s breathing became even more erratic as he stared at Wei Wuxian’s concerned face. It finally hit him that Wei Wuxian was home. That it was the night before the wedding and of course Wei Wuxian was home. His breath started coming in short, shallow gasps at that.
‘Im the reason this wedding is going to be a disaster. It’s my fault. I couldn’t hold it together for one more day. I had to come over here and ruin everything.’ Jin Ling was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear Wei Wuxians shaky call for Lan Wanji and Lan Sizhui.
He was too trapped in his own thoughts to even register Sizhui sitting down beside him until Sizhui wound his arm around his shoulders. He tried to turn and look at Sizhui but he was stopped by Sizhui placing his forehead against his temple.
Wei Wuxian knelt in front of Jin Ling again, pushing a glass of water into his hand that Lan Wanji had brought in.
“Ahhh A-Ling what’s happened?” Wei Wuxian asked again, holding onto Jin Ling’s hand to steady the shaking limb, stopping him from dropping the water cup. Jin Ling Looked at Wei Wuxian then, and Wei Wuxian’s concern only grew as he noticed the tear streaming down the boy’s face.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’ve ruined your wedding!” He sobbed, still struggling to breathe. Wei Wuxian frowned and glanced quickly at Lan Wanji. His next question was cut off by Sizhui.
“I know what this is about.” He pulled Jin Ling fully into his chest, letting him clutch his shirt and cry into his neck. “Father, dad, can you give us the room? I’ll call his family and let them know he’s here, so they don’t worry. He can sleep in the spare room tonight” Wei Wuxian still looked worried and was about to say something again when Lan Wanji nodded and gently took Wei Wuxian’s hand, leading him back to their bedroom. Wei Wuxian’s concerned gaze was locked on Jin Ling until the two disappeared down the hall.
Jin Ling kept whispering quiet ‘I’m sorry’s’ into Lan Sizhui’s neck. Sizhui let him cry, simply hugging him tighter and rubbing his back in soothing circles.
It was an hour before Jin Ling was calm enough to sit up from Sizhui. He started to wipe away his tears when Sizhui batted away his hand, whipping his face with a Kleenex.
“Now my love, what happened?” Sizhui asked, one of his hands clutching Jin Ling’s while he ran the other one through Jin Ling’s hair. It was silent for a minute while Jin Ling collected himself before he started explaining.
“We have to call this off Sizhui. It’s going to ruin the wedding and our families will hate each other.” He paused, pulling in a shuddering breath. “I won’t be able to see you again and I can’t lose you. I don’t want to ruin your family.” Tears slowly started falling again and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop them. Sizhui just smiled and pulled him forward, kissing him lightly before putting their foreheads together.
“Listen to me my love, your family knows who mine is yes?” Jin Ling nodded. “And they are still letting us date?” Another nod. “And you told your Uncle about our plan and he knows that dad doesn’t know they’re coming?” Another nod. “Then everything will be fine. Even if, and this is a big if, everything goes wrong at the wedding, it is not your fault. We both did this plus father helped us and backed us up. There is nothing that could happen that would keep me away from you, you understand?” Jin Ling let out another shuddering breath, but it turned into a sob and he nodded once again. “Good.” Sizhui kissed him again, then pulled him back into a hug. While Jin Ling cried, quieter this time, more relieved than panicked, Sizhui pulled Jin lings phone out of his back pocket, and after entering his password, he sent a quick text to the contacts labeled ‘mother’ and ‘purple uncle’. He would have to ask Jin Ling about that nickname.
The morning of the wedding Jin Ling was woken up by soft hands trailing through his hair and soft words whispered into his ear.
“Time to wake up love, we have to get ready to go” Sizhui whispered, still playing with his hair. Jin Ling grumbled and tried to burrow his way farther under the blankets. Sizhui sighed before standing and ripping the blankets off the bed. Jin Ling sat up, shooting a glare at Sizhui.
“We have to get ready!” Sizhui said, dodging a thrown pillow. “We leave in a few hours and I need your help with a few things!” he dodged another pillow, this one thrown with a laugh, and slipped out the door and into the hall. Jin Ling sighed and pulled himself off the bed. It was going to be a long day.
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Jin Ling was nervous. He shifted in his seat, looking to the door at the end of the banquet hall. He sat with his parents, grandparents, and uncle. The banquet hall had been set up with three long tables at the front, set on an elevated platform, eight or so round tables in front of them and a large strip of carpet led from the door to the long tables at the front of the hall. The long tables were for the grooms and their families. The left table was for Wei Wuxian’s family, set with three chairs, and the right table for Lan Wanji’s, it was set with two chairs. The middle table was for the grooms themselves.
Jin Ling and his family had been put at a round table right at the front of the banquet hall. The front tables were usually reserved for close friends or indirect relatives of the wedding party. Jin Ling suspected this was Lan Wanji’s doing, so Wei Wuxian would see them as soon as he sat down. Right now, everyone had been served drinks and they were waiting for the grooms and their families to return from the ancestral hall where they took their vows.
Jin Ling looked around the hall, trying to distract himself from the panic that was creeping up on him again. He saw a few faces he recognized from either photos in Sizhui’s house or from meeting over the year he had been dating Sizhui. He was slightly surprised to see Nie Huisang at one of the front tables. He saw the man in a few of the photos on the walls at Sizhui’s but the man in those pictures was at least 5 years younger than the one sitting at the table across from him. He tried not to freak out at the prospect of meeting the man, he would never admit it but Jin Ling was a huge fan of Huaisang and almost obsessively followed the man's Instagram. Nie Huaisang was one of the most famous Instagram influencers of the decade.
Jin Ling was pulled out of his daydream about meeting Nie Huaisang when the man looked over at his table and flashed him a quick smile and wave. He almost waved back when he heard his Uncle Cheng choke. Staring a moment longer he noticed Nie Huaisang’s eyes weren’t focused on him but on something behind him. Looking back, he saw his uncle staring determinedly at his drink cup, his face a bright red. Looking back at Nie Huaisang them man finally turned his gaze to Jin ling, only to smile and wink, before hiding behind one of his signature fans and looking away. He wanted to ask his Uncle how he knew Nie Huaisang but the sound of the back doors opening drew his attention away.
Lan Wanji entered, followed by his brother Lan Xichen and his uncle, Lan Qiren. Jin Ling had only met the two a couple of times and only Lan Xichen was present in some of the photos on the walls. As the trio walked the length of the carpet to the raised tables, people in the crowd clapped politely, and a few called congratulations to Lan Wanji. When Lan Wanji spotted Jin Ling and his family he gave them a small nod and kept walking. Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren also nodded to Jin Ling but when they’re gaze passed over the rest of his family they both paled and quickened their pace, catching up to Lan Wanji and stopping him as he rounded the end of the long tables. It was a quickly whispered conversation that Lan Wanji seemed to shrug away before continuing to the Grooms table.
Lan Wanji sat and was immediately accosted by his brother and uncle again. The whispered argument was one-sided. Jin Ling didn’t see Lan Wanji respond to anything his brother or uncle said to him. It wasn’t until ten minutes later when the doors to the hall once again began opening that Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren finally sat down at their table.
Wei Wuxian entered the hall walking backward, seemingly deep in conversation with the man and women behind him, Lan Sizhui followed slightly farther behind, a fond smile on his face. Jin Ling recognized the man and women from many pictures around the house but had never actually met them. Jin Ling was slightly confused as to why Lan Sizhui entered with Wei Wuxian and made a mental note to ask him about it later.
The woman was frowning at Wei Wuxian. She reached out and grabbed him by the arm, forcing him around so he walked forward. This got a loud laugh from the crowd and everyone started yelling congratulations to him as well, though much louder for him than it had been for Lan Wanji. Jin Ling was unsure if this was because Lan Wanji was quiet by nature and the guests in attendance knew this or if most of the guests were friends of Wei Wuxian instead of Lan Wanji.
Jin Ling heard his mother and Uncle pull in a quick gasp when Wei Wuxian turned. He also heard his mother try to stifle a quiet sob a moment later. Wei Wuxian turned this way and that, calling out to all the congratulators as he heard them as he traversed the length of the carpet.
As they made it to the front, Wei Wuxians eyes fell on Jin Ling. His smile widened and he gave Jin Ling a quick nod and small wave. He didn’t seem to react to Jin Lings family. The man and woman behind him however did. The man’s face paled considerably, and the woman’s fell into a deep scowl. She stopped at their table and went to take a step forward, but the man grasped her arm, shook his head at her, and pulled her after Wei Wuxian. Sizhui followed the two quickly, pausing long enough to throw a bright smile and thumbs up to Jin Ling.
As soon as the four sat at their designated tables Lan Qiren stood and the hall descended into an easy silence.
“Thank you all for coming to celebrate this momentous occasion.” His voice was rough with age but steady and loud enough to be heard without raising it. “My Nephew and new Nephew-in-law have told me that they wish to eat before moving on with the ceremony so, without further ado, I hope you all enjoy this wonderful feast” Lan Qiren sat and multiple servers streamed out from the shadows, laden with trays of food.
While Lan Qiren had looked pleased his voice had definitely given away his annoyance.
“Seems like old Qiren still doesn’t like it when people deviate from tradition” his uncle noted. A quick glare from Madam Yu was enough to quiet him for the rest of the meal though.
Jin Ling spent most of the meal watching Wei Wuxian. The man didn’t even glance in his table’s direction the whole time. Once, he glanced at Sizhui only to see his own confusion mirrored on his boyfriend’s face. After that Jin Ling spent the rest of the meal in quiet, building panic.
The meal was delicious, and it lasted entirely too long in Jin Lings opinion. He sat, listening to his family’s stilted conversation and stewing in his own panic for almost two hours. Finally, after the last plate was whisked away, Lan Xichen stood, clearing his throat.
“I remember the day Lan Wanji met Wei Wuxian.” He started, a small smile falling into place. “They were 15 and Wei Wuxian had joined the calligraphy club at their school. I had never seen Wanji so frustrated and flustered by someone before.” Lan Xichen continued in this vein, describing Lan Wanji’s first meeting with Wei Wuxian and how they eventually became friends.
“I had to talk Wanji into going to university. He didn’t want to leave Wuxian, even though they hadn’t even started dating yet.” This got quite a few chuckles from the crowd. “Wanji was gone for eight years. And in those eight years he rarely ever mentioned Wuxian. If I didn’t know my brother so well, I’d have thought he had gotten over his crush on Wuxian. But then he came home.” At this Lan Wanji’s head shot up, his gaze focused on his brother and a scowl forming on his face. Lan Xichen just smiled and continued his story.
“I work late sometimes, and one night, Wanji’s third day home I believe, I didn’t get home until one in the morning.” Now Wei Wuxian’s face had gone a deep scarlet. “Now imagine my surprise when I walk into the kitchen and find a completely naked Wei Wuxian rummaging in our pantry for a snack.” The crowd was in an uproar. How shameless!
“It turns out, that the two had been dating for three months before Lan Wanji left for university. And that Wanji had wanted to move out of the dorms in his fourth year so Wuxian could move in with him.” The smile he turned on the newlyweds was one of deep fondness. Lan Qiren however, was so red Jin Ling thought he might explode.
“Wei Wuxian, I can’t imagine what Wanji’s life would have been like without you and if I’m honest, I don’t want to. I think you’re the best thing that could have happened to Wanji and I wish both of you many years of happiness.” He raised his glass to the couple and the hall filled with applause and cheers. Wei Wuxian grasped Lan Wanji’s hand and gave it a quick kiss.
Once Lan Xichen sat, the women that came in with Wei Wuxian stood, the hall descending into silence once again.
“I technically met Wei Wuxian when he was 21. I was his doctor when he was rushed into my operating room in critical condition.” Jin Ling heard his mother sob again, this time a little louder, and his dad pulled her into his arms, and his uncle had turned his glare on his grandmother, who looked almost ashamed.
“Wei Wuxian had been in a car accident that night and while his passenger had managed to walk away with nothing but a fractured wrist, Wuxian had so many injuries that, after ten hours of surgery, we didn’t think he would make it through the night.” pausing she reached and gave Wei Wuxian’s shoulder a small squeeze.
“He lived through that night, and the next, and the next. It was a week and a half before he woke up though. That’s when I officially met him. He was in hospital for three months total. When he left the hospital, I didn’t think I would see him ever again. But, two months later I did see him again. That’s also when he met my brother, Wen Ning.” Jin Ling looked around at his family, his Uncle was still glaring at his Grandmother and his mother had tears rolling down her face, but they all looked as confused as Jin Ling was.
“After another two months in the hospital, I put him out of my mind. It wasn’t until a month after he left that second time that I saw him again. And it was in my brother's apartment. Much like Lan Xichen, I had an encounter with a naked Wei Wuxian. He was in my brother’s kitchen at five in the morning. But unlike Lan Xichen, Lan Wanji was with him and was also very, very naked. They were not looking for snacks.” She threw a glare at the men in question, Wei Wuxian’s face was a beet red and Lan Wanji was looking off to the side. Jin Ling could feel his own face heating up and a quick look at Wen Ning showed that his face was also a deep, beet red.
“Apparently my brother had known him for a month before Wei Wuxian’s second stint in the hospital. Wei Wuxian had been renting my brother's spare room. Now, despite this tragic encounter, Lan Wanji would become a dear friend and Wei Wuxian would become like family.” Turning to the couple she raised her glass. “I will forever be grateful to have you as my family, Wei Wuxian, and to have you as a friend Lan Wanji. But you should know Wanji, if you ever hurt my little brother, I will break every bone in your body.” the hall once again erupted into cheers and applause. Laughing, Wei Wuxian stood, hand still entwined with Lan Wanji’s.
“Thank you, Wen Qing and Lan Xichen, for your lovely words and stories. I just wanted to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate with us. Today has been a long time coming and as they say, third times the charm. I have to say, maybe the last two times we’ve tried to plan our wedding was always destined to fail. Looking around today I see so many people that couldn’t have attended the last two dates we chose. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you all for coming.” Wei Wuxian also raised his glass and the rest of the hall followed suit, cheering.
After that everyone left their tables and started mingling. Lan Wanji and Wei Wuxian made their way around the hall, making sure to talk to everyone. Tables were cleared away to make room for the dance later on. Dessert tables were also set up along the wall and Jin Ling made himself at home near a chocolate fountain and pile of strawberries. The motion of dipping his strawberries into the pool of liquid chocolate on his plate became mechanical after only a few moments as he watched his family stand around and chat among themselves. His uncle seemed so angry and was not hiding it well. He watched him for a while longer, trying to puzzle out what could have made Jiang Cheng so angry at his own mother when he saw Lan Wanji, Wei Wuxian, and Lan Sizhui approaching him at the dessert table.
Sizhui arrived at him first, placing a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth before stealing a strawberry off his plate. Jin Ling's face heated as Wei Wuxian laughed. Wei Wuxian pulled him into a quick hug and Lan Wanji gave him a pat on the shoulder.
“Thank you for coming Jin Ling.” Wei Wuxian said, voice light. “I know your only here to see my A-Yuan though” he added with a wink. Jin Ling's face was on fire as he tried to stutter out a response. Sizhui saved him by slapping his dad on the arm and hissing “dad!”. Wei Wuxian just laughed and patted Jin Ling on the head.
“So, who did you have to share your table with? Lan Wanji did all the seating arranging, and I know we’ve talked to everyone we invited so I’m curious if he made you sit all alone” Jin Ling stared at him, speechless. They had sat no more than six feet from him for over two hours and he hadn’t noticed them? He hadn’t seen them when he entered the hall and acknowledge him? He looked at Sizhui for confirmation. His boyfriend gave him a frustrated smile and nodded, confirming that this was the truth.
“Um I-I actually came with my parents, Uncle, and Grandparents.” He turned as he said this, pointing to his family. They had gathered in a circle and it looked as though his mother and uncle were having a very quiet and heated argument with his Grandmother. Only his Father seemed to notice them looking at them. He started shaking his head at Jin Ling, maybe to say ‘don’t come over here yet’ when his eyes shifted, and he froze. Jin Ling looked to Wei Wuxian who had also frozen, eyes impossibly wide as they connected with his fathers, Jin Zixuan. Wei Wuxian seemed to absent-mindedly throw his hand around, looking for Lan Wanji’s hand. His eyes never left Jin Zixuans.
Jin Ling watched as his father reached out and patted his mother on the shoulder. Once he had her attention he pointed to Wei Wuxian. The group all turned to look and all simultaneously froze. Jin Ling was sure they would have all stayed there, staring at each other for the rest of the night had Lan Wanji not started forward, pulling the nearly catatonic Wei Wuxian with him.
Lan Wanji bowed slightly as he greeted everyone. Wei Wuxian seemed to snap out of his shock as well and pulled himself into a bow as well.
“Madam Yu, President Jiang” he bowed to Jin Ling's grandparents “Jiang Cheng, Jin Zixuan, Jia-Jiang Yanli” he bowed to the rest of his family and stuttered over Jin Ling's mother's name. “Thank you for coming to our wedding. I’m surprised to see you all here.” His smile was forced, and Madam Yu’s nose scrunched, she looked as though she wanted to say something but Jiang Cheng surged forward, pulling Wei Wuxian into a hug.
“You idiot!” he said into his shoulder. Wei Wuxian’s arms remained at his side but Jiang Cheng’s arms simply tightened around him. “you absolute moron.” Jin Ling heard the tremor in his uncle’s voice and knew he was crying. Wei Wuxian was crying as well; tears ran down his cheeks. His mother chose that moment to rush forward and join the hug. She was crying as well. Finally, Wei Wuxian moved his arms. He put one around Jiang Cheng and the other around Jiang Yanli, pulling them closer to him.
The three stood there, crying and hugging for a long time. Eventually, Wei Wuxian pulled away, wiping his face with his sleeve. Jin Ling watched as Lan Wanji took his hand once again. Both his uncle and mother wiped their faces as well. It was his mother that spoke first though.
“A-Xian, you know I never blamed you for the accident, right? It wasn’t your fault.” Wei Wuxian simply nodded, tears continued to fall, and he tried to wipe them away again. Jiang Yanli frowned. “Why did you disappear? You never came home after the hospital. Mom went to pick you up and was told you had already checked out…” She looked to Madam Yu and Wei Wuxian did as well. Madam Yu looked away, a faint blush creeping up on her cheeks. Wei Wuxian stared at her a moment longer before turning to Jiang Yanli again and putting a smile on his face.
“I-I was embarrassed I guess.” He stuttered; voice still thick with tears. “I always manage to ruin things so I decided it would be best if I just left, especially after the accident” he trailed off and Jiang Yanli pulled him into another hug. Jin Ling watched his uncle throw a glare at his Grandmother again. His Uncle opened his mouth to say something when they were interrupted by the arrival of Wen Ning. He placed a hand on Lan Wanji’s shoulder and leaned in, whispering something to him. Lan Wanji nodded, and Wen Ning left, walking very fast.
“Wei Ying,” he said, putting his hand on Wei Wuxian's shoulder. “The dance is about to start.” Wei Wuxian nodded, disentangling himself from Jin Ling's mother and uncle. He hadn’t even seen his uncle join the hug again.
“We can talk after?” Wei Wuxian asked and upon receiving an enthusiastic nod from Jiang Yanli he departed with Lan Wanji to the dance floor. Jin Ling was pulled along with Lan Sizhui as he followed his parents. Lan Xichen was in the middle of the dance floor, a microphone in his hand as he addressed the gathering crowd.
“The song for the first dance was chosen by Lan Wanji for Wei Wuxian. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a story for you all about why he chose it. I tried for days to get him to tell me and all he said to me was ‘Wei Ying will understand it’.” He gave a small smile and continued, “I hope you all join me in welcoming the happy couple to the dance floor and please, feel free to join them on the dance floor in the second verse of the song” with that the lights dimmed and as he left the dance floor, the first strums of a guitar could be heard. Lan Wanji and Wei Wuxian walked out onto the dance floor.
Jin Ling stood hand in hand with Lan Sizhui and watched the two men dance. Wei Wuxian was crying as Lan Wanji led him around the floor.
“I can’t believe dad actually does understand the meaning of the song” Sizhui whispered to him. Jin Ling nodded and made what seemed like the tenth mental note to himself, reminding himself to get the song's story out of Sizhui in the coming days. As the song entered its second verse, he was hit with the urge to dance so he pulled Sizhui with him onto the dance floor. He almost tripped though, seeing Nie Huaisang also pulling his Uncle Cheng, whose face was a bright red, onto the dance floor.
Jin Ling led Sizhui across the floor, easily in time with the music. And when Sizhui smiled at him and said ‘see, I told you it would all end well’ he realized just how happy he was. He pulled Sizhui closer to him, putting their foreheads together.
No matter what the future held, as long as he had Lan Sizhui, he would be able to get through it.