One year later

"Your brother told me I'd find you here."

Lan Xichen turned to see Nie Mingjue behind him, a look of soft fondness on his face. "Were you looking for me?"

"I hoped to see you before the conference ended," Nie Mingjue said, walking up to Lan Xichen's side. The water lapped against the edge of the dock before them, and the floating lotuses bobbed as the gentle waves rose and fell. "What did you think of it?"

"Lotus Pier is beautiful," Lan Xichen murmured. "And I do think the idea of these Discussion Conferences is a good one. It is better for us to have an open dialogue between the sects instead of the silence we had before."

"But it's crowded," Nie Mingjue said. "You have a look in your eyes that you always have when a place is too crowded for you to be comfortable."

"I do admit, I think I would prefer to visit Lotus Pier with less people here," Lan Xichen said ruefully. "Wei Wuxian offered to show me around after the conference ended, if I wished to stay for a while longer."

"Did he?" Nie Mingjue asked dryly.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Lan Xichen asked.

"Nothing wrong with it at all, but Wei Wuxian is being sneaky again," Nie Mingjue said. "He invited me and Huaisang to stay for a few extra days as well. Something about wanting to show Huaisang a spot that's good for painting. I didn't understand why he made such a point to invite me too, but now I do."

"He was saying he thought it was a shame we wouldn't be able to spend much time together during the conference," Lan Xichen mused. "He must have taken it upon himself to make some time for us."

"He just likes meddling," Nie Mingjue grumbled.

"Are you truly irritated with him?" Lan Xichen asked, looking at Nie Mingjue out of the corner of his eye. "Perhaps he is meddling, but he has given us a perfect chance to spend some time together."

"I know that, but he also knows that, and he's insufferable." Nie Mingjue looked over at Lan Xichen and rolled his eyes. "But you indulge him almost as much as Wangji, so I'm guessing you don't care at all."

Lan Xichen ducked his head, smiling. "Perhaps."

Nie Mingjue gently lifted Lan Xichen's chin. "Does it make you happy? This time together, even if Wei Wuxian meddled to make it come to pass. Does that thought make you happy?"

"Of course it does."

Nie Mingjue leaned forward, resting his forehead against Lan Xichen's. "Then it makes me happy too."

Nie Mingjue always kissed so gently, like Lan Xichen was something delicate. Lan Xichen wasn't, especially after a year of training with Lan Wangji had brought him back to his old cultivation levels, but Nie Mingjue was still gentle. Lan Xichen could feel the strength in his hands as he gripped Lan Xichen's hips and pulled him closer, but even that was gentle. It was a gentleness Nie Mingjue showed to few people in his life, but he had always shown it to Lan Xichen.

"Hey, Da-ge!" a familiar voice yelled. "Da-ge, where are- Oh. Hi, Da-ge. Hi, Xichen-ge."

Nie Mingjue broke off the kiss, but he didn't step away from Lan Xichen or look away from him. "Do you need something, Huaisang?"

Lan Xichen looked over at Nie Huaisang, who was hiding his face behind one of his ever-present fans, his eyes barely peeking over the top. "The Jin delegation has just left, and I think Lan-laoxiansheng and Zonghui are gathering our delegations to leave as well. And Wei-xiong has some plan for tonight, so he wanted us all to meet up after they go."

"I should bid my uncle farewell," Lan Xichen murmured, but he made no effort to step away from Nie Mingjue.

"I should speak with Zonghui," Nie Mingjue agreed, but he stayed equally still.

"You two are worse than Wei-xiong and Hanguang-jun," Nie Huaisang complained.

"I'm sure my brother would allow you to call him something other than his title," Lan Xichen told Nie Huaisang for the thousandth time.

"Your brother is terrifying," Nie Huaisang replied, also for the thousandth time. "And he still calls me Nie-gongzi, so I'm still going to call him Hanguang-jun."

Lan Xichen made a mental note to speak to Lan Wangji about that. He was sure Lan Wangji wouldn't mind if Nie Huaisang called him something a bit more informal, but he was equally sure that Lan Wangji wouldn't be the first to let go of formality on his own. Perhaps Lan Xichen could take a leaf out of Wei Wuxian's book and meddle a little.

"Anyway," Nie Huaisang declared, "you should probably go find Lan-laoxiansheng and Zonghui, and then you should find Wei-xiong or he'll find you."

Nie Mingjue sighed and took a small step away from Lan Xichen, although his hands were still resting on Lan Xichen's hips. "And after that, we'll find a place where we can have some privacy."

"In my defense, you two were kissing in an entirely public area just now," Nie Huaisang protested. "Go to one of your rooms if you want privacy."

"My room tonight, then?" Nie Mingjue asked.

"I look forward to it," Lan Xichen replied with a smile. He was still smiling against Nie Mingjue's lips as he leaned forward for one last kiss, then Nie Mingjue finally let go of him and walked over to Nie Huaisang.

"Alright, let's go see Zonghui off and then find out what Wei Wuxian wants."

The two of them wandered off, leaving Lan Xichen alone on the dock. He stayed there a moment longer, breathing in the fresh air and watching the sunlight sparkle on the water, and then he turned around and headed off to find his uncle.

Lan Qiren was where Lan Xichen had expected to find him, surrounded by the other Lan disciples they'd brought along to the Discussion Conference. "Xichen," he called when he saw Lan Xichen. "I will see you in a week's time, correct?"

"As long as that's alright with you, Shufu," Lan Xichen replied with a shallow bow.

"I've heard that Chifeng-Zun is staying as well," Lan Qiren remarked. Lan Xichen willed himself not to blush. "Enjoy your time with him, and remind him he is always welcome in the Cloud Recesses."

"Yes, Shufu," Lan Xichen replied, fairly certain he was losing his fight against blushing. He was glad that his uncle supported him in his relationship with Nie Mingjue, but it was still embarrassing to hear his uncle, of all people, speak about it so frankly.

"And enjoy yourself, Xichen," Lan Qiren added. "You deserve to."

Lan Xichen smiled and ducked his head slightly. "Thank you, Shufu. I will do my best."

He walked with Lan Qiren and the other Lan disciples to the main hall, where Lan Qiren went inside to say his farewells to Jiang Fengmian. Instead of following him in, Lan Xichen went over to where he could see two familiar figures in black and white.

"Wangji. Wei Wuxian. I hear Mingjue-xiong and Huaisang are staying as well?"

"I thought you'd appreciate it," Wei Wuxian said with a grin. Lan Xichen could tell he'd gone for a swim earlier; his hair was wet and tangled around his shoulders. "But Lan Zhan is the one who came up with the idea."

Lan Xichen looked at Lan Wangji, one eyebrow raised. "Did you?"

"I did," Lan Wangji replied, completely unrepentantly. "Xiongzhang deserves to be happy."

Lan Xichen smiled. "Thank you, Wangji."

"Before you and Chifeng-Zun disappear off into one of your rooms, you do need to come and have dinner with us tonight," Wei Wuxian declared, ignoring Lan Wangji's mutter of shameless! "I've got a whole plan for a picnic for all of us at the best spot to watch the sunset."

"All of us?" Lan Xichen repeated curiously.

"You, Chifeng-Zun, Nie-xiong, me, Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng, Shijie, and unfortunately, her peacock husband," Wei Wuxian listed off. Lan Xichen ignored the remark about Jin Zixuan; he knew Wei Wuxian had warmed to his brother-in-law, even if he would never admit it. "The two of them are staying an extra day, and Shijie said she'd make soup."

"Well, I couldn't possibly miss your shijie's soup," Lan Xichen agreed good-naturedly.

"Exactly!"

Lan Qiren emerged from the hall and walked over to Lan Xichen, thankfully ignoring the way Wei Wuxian muttered a quick curse and started combing through his admittedly messy hair. "Xichen, I will see you in a week. Wangji, Wei Wuxian, when will you return to the Cloud Recesses?"

"We will leave Lotus Pier at the same time as Xiongzhang, but we will travel before returning home," Lan Wangji reported as Wei Wuxian wrestled with what seemed to be an especially difficult knot. "We will send word if we will be gone more than a month."

"See that you do," Lan Qiren agreed. "Be careful."

Lan Wangji inclined his head. It would look like a cold, distant farewell to outsiders, but Lan Xichen knew what they both meant.

Lan Qiren swept back over to the Lan disciples, and within minutes, they were all on their swords and heading back towards Gusu. Lan Xichen watched them leave, then he turned with a smile to the figure beside him.

"How is Zonghui?"

"Paying his respects to Jiang-zongzhu now," Nie Mingjue reported. "Then he'll leave and the conference will be officially over, and I'll be able to get you all to myself."

"Not quite yet," Lan Xichen disagreed. "Wei Wuxian has dinner plans for all of us."

Nie Mingjue groaned. "You can't be serious."

"Jiang Yanli is making soup."

"I suppose we can stay for dinner."

Lan Xichen did his best to hide his smile. "Wei Wuxian says he's going to bring us all to the spot with the most beautiful view of the sunset. I look forward to seeing it."

"And after that, will we finally be able to have some time alone?" Nie Mingjue asked.

Lan Xichen took Nie Mingjue's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "After that, I'm all yours."

There was a hint of mischief in Nie Mingjue's smile. "Aren't you already?"

"Mingjue-xiong!"

"Chifeng-Zun," a voice said, and both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue turned to see Nie Zonghui behind them. He bowed quickly. "We are ready to depart."

"I'll return to Qinghe in a week," Nie Mingjue said. "You're sure you're alright keeping things together until then?"

"Yes, Chifeng-Zun," Nie Zonghui replied in the long-suffering voice of someone who had had to answer this question many times before. "If you're actually going to take a break, I'm not going to do anything to impede that."

Nie Mingjue rolled his eyes. "I'll see you in a week, then."

Nie Zonghui bowed, then returned to the other Nie disciples. They mounted their sabers and set off just as the Lan disciples had, if a bit louder and not quite as uniformly. Once, Lan Xichen was sure he would have found the more unruly Nie disciples scandalous, but now he was rather fond of them.

"Off to find Wei Wuxian and our brothers, then?" Nie Mingjue asked, once they were alone in the courtyard.

"We ought to find Wei Wuxian before he tracks us down," Lan Xichen agreed. "And Jiang Wanyin, Jiang Yanli, and Jin Zixuan will also be there."

"So we've got the whole extended family," Nie Mingjue said dryly.

"Indeed."

"Do we have any idea where they are?"

"Somewhere with a good view of the sunset," Lan Xichen said, a bit dubiously.

"Ah, are you looking for A-Xian?" a new voice said, and Lan Xichen turned to see Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan behind him. "I suppose he forgot to tell you where we'll be eating. A-Xuan and I will show you."

"Thank you," Lan Xichen said, bowing sightly. "We wouldn't want to miss dinner."

"I hope you don't mind soup," Jiang Yanli said, gesturing to the basket that Jin Zixuan as carrying.

"The promise of soup is one of the only things that's keeping me from just grabbing Xichen and disappearing," Nie Mingjue said, ignoring the way Lan Xichen's cheeks went bright red at the words. "That and knowing Wei Wuxian will track me down if I do."

"Trust me," Jin Zixuan said with a slightly haunted expression, "you don't want Wei Wuxian tracking you down, but he absolutely will."

Jiang Yanli laughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear you like my soup."

"Everyone likes your soup, A-Li," Jin Zixuan said with the stalwart support of a devoted spouse. "Even the Lans eat it, and they don't eat meat."

"Technically, we're only forbidden to eat meat within the Cloud Recesses," Lan Xichen remarked. "So this will break no rules."

"Xichen is very good at figuring out how to technically break no rules," Nie Mingjue told Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan conversationally.

"You'd be surprised at how many people in my sect are," Lan Xichen agreed.

"I've met your brother," Jiang Yanli replied, beginning to walk in one direction. The others all fell in step with her, trusting she'd get them to the right place. "I'm not particularly surprised."

"Ah, but Wangji is different," Lan Xichen replied. "I do mostly keep to the rules, if only my interpretation of them. Wangji decides which rules he thinks are important, and he follows those to the letter. He also decides which rules he thinks are not important, and he ignores them entirely."

"Which is how you end up with him and Wei Wuxian getting married," Nie Mingjue finished.

"Wei Wuxian has never followed a rule in his life," Jin Zixuan said, sounding a bit like a child tattling on a classmate.

"A-Xian has his own rules, and he follows those," Jiang Yanli said supportively. "But when it comes to the rules of others… You're right, he doesn't care much for them unless they coincide with his own values."

"We are lucky his values are so good," Lan Xichen remarked. "I imagine we have you to thank for that, at least in part."

Jiang Yanli smiled. "I cannot take full responsibility, but thank you."

She led them down a narrow corridor and then along the water, and Lan Xichen began to hear faint, familiar voices coming to them on the wind. As they got closer, the voices became clearer, and Lan Xichen smiled at the sounds of the now-familiar bickering between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin, with Nie Huaisang making faux-innocent comments that were mostly definitely meant to egg them on. Lan Wangji was silent, unsurprisingly, but when Lan Xichen turned a corner and was able to see them all, he could see that Lan Wangji was watching with some amusement and some protectiveness. If Jiang Wanyin crossed a line, Lan Xichen had no doubt his brother would immediately make him regret it.

"You're here!" Wei Wuxian cried, immediately breaking away from his conversation with Jiang Wanyin. "Shijie, did you bring the soup?"

"A-Xuan brought it," Jiang Yanli said, gesturing towards the basket Jin Zixuan held.

"Making yourself useful for the first time in your life," Wei Wuxian said with a thoughtful nod. "Well done."

Jin Zixuan just rolled his eyes and set the basket down. "Are we eating here?"

"We are," Lan Wangji said. "And we will watch the sunset."

"Da-ge, did you bring my paints?" Nie Huaisang asked, going up to Nie Mingjue with big eyes.

"Why would I have your paints?" Nie Mingjue countered. "You didn't ask me to bring them."

Nie Huaisang pouted. "I forgot to bring them, and I forgot to ask you, but I thought maybe you would have thought of it yourself."

"We'll be here for a week," Nie Mingjue replied. "You can paint this sunset some other time, when you remember your paints."

"Anyway, you need to keep Jiang Cheng company, because the two of you are the only ones who aren't in a couple, and I'm planning on spending at least part of the night making out with Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian said.

Nie Huaisang sighed. "Of course you are."

"Who wants soup?" Jiang Yanli asked, kneeling down and opening the basket.

Wei Wuxian perked up immediately. "Ooh, me, Shijie, me!"

Once all the bowls of soup had been passed out, Lan Xichen settled himself next to Nie Mingjue and leaned against his arm. He still felt a bit drained after visiting with all the other disciples during the Discussion Conference, and while he loved and trusted everyone he was eating with, he still wasn't entirely up to saying much. Sitting next to Nie Mingjue and basking in his warmth felt like a much better idea, and given the way Nie Mingjue leaned over to give Lan Xichen a kiss on the head, he didn't seem to mind. Given how much everyone else spoke, Lan Xichen wasn't even sure his silence was noticed.

But he knew he was safe, and he knew he was loved, and as Lan Xichen listened to the voices of his family around him and ate Jiang Yanli's delicious soup, he didn't think there was any other place in the world he would rather be in that moment. When he was with his family, he was home.

And the sunset, when it glowed across the water, was just as beautiful as Wei Wuxian had promised.

And that's the end! Thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!