XiChen was lying next to his husband when Jiang Cheng finally stirred.

He moaned, clutching his head.

"Wanyin!" XiChen kissed him all over his face, delighted that their plan had worked.

Jiang Cheng was awake.

"Why does my head hurt so much?" He whispered, closing his eyes again. He sniffed the air, and his stomach let out a groan.

"I'll fetch Healer Fei. And you some food." XiChen jumped out of bed, and got to the door before Jiang Cheng stopped him.

"Can I please, er, could you please bring me an onion?" He asked, utterly serious.

"Of course." XiChen kept his face neutral at the strange request.

He met Wei Ying on his way out.

"He's awake!" XiChen told him happily. "Stay with him until I get back?"

"Okay." Wei Ying agreed and went inside.

Jiang Cheng was sitting up now, but holding his head. Wei Ying hugged him gingerly, not wanting to add to his pain.

"How are you feeling?" He sat next to him on the bed.

"I have the mother of all headaches," he laughed ruefully, "and I'm not talking about you."

Wei Ying playfully punched his arm. He would hug Hui Gai for a long time now, to say thank you for bringing his brother back.

"And that Demon of yours!" Jiang Cheng remembered.

"First of all, he's not mine, and secondly, what did he do?"

"You know, it's kind of fuzzy in here." He pointed at his head. "I don't remember much, but he was there."

"He helped you to come back to us." Wei Ying told him. "Do you remember anything from your last night in JinLinTai? We tried Empathy, but it didn't reveal much."

"Empathy? On me?" Jiang Cheng shook his head. "I must have been really out of it."

XiChen came in then, followed by Healer Fei. Wei Ying looked at the raw onion rolling around the tray and stared at his brother in bond, who shrugged back at him.

Jiang Cheng reached for the onion first, and took a big bite out of it. Like an apple.

"Um, I guess I'll leave you to it." Wei Ying wrinkled his nose at his brother in barely disguised disgust, and left quickly.

XiChen tried to ignore the pungent smell emanating from his husband and he eagerly took more bites out it.

Healer Fei took his temperature and checked his pulse.

*****

SiZhui tried not to run, but he was excited. This was the last free day he had, in between looking after his sister and running errands, and he really wanted to leave now.

He wanted to go and see Jin Ling.

That sentence alone, had him floating the rest of the way to the Jingshi.

Father Zhan was there, and for a second, SiZhui was happy. He had grown up with this man, shared his pain, shared his joy, and loved him beyond any measure.

He sat next to him quietly, humming with excitement, waiting for him to rouse from his meditation.

"SiZhui?"

"Yes, father." He had been daydreaming, he realized, and blushed.

Lan Zhan looked at his face and smiled.

"I came to ask permission. I wish to visit Jin Ling- I mean, JinLinTai!" He stumbled over his words, groaning internally.

"You may go." Lan Zhan said, ignoring his fumble.

SiZhui stayed where he was, finding a different kind of peace here. They were quiet, lost in their own thoughts, when Lan Zhan spoke to him.

"Are you happy? With the boy?"

SiZhui blushed. Heat crawled down his neck and into his robes. The question had been asked out of genuine interest and nothing else.

"Yes. I am." He replied simply.

"Good. You have our blessings."

Simple words.

And they meant so much.

"Thank you, father."

Lan Zhan stood up and opened his arms. SiZhui was surprised but didn't hesitate to hug him.
Lan Zhan breathed in the never fading scent of baby and jasmine. SiZhui would always be his.

*****

He met Wei Ying just outside the infirmary as he was going past.

"SiZhui!" Wei Ying pulled him into a long hug. "Are you leaving now?"

SiZhui was busy filling his lungs with the scent of lotus flowers and wine. Wei Ying pulled his hair to get his attention.

"What? Er, yes, I am. I'll be back before this evening." SiZhui blushed again.

"Say hi to Jin Ling for me!" Wei Ying giggled as he waved.

The flight to JinLinTai was uneventful, and so eager was the young man, that the time sprinted by, and he was at the gates of JinLinTai already.

As a familiar face, and the son of prominent cultivators, SiZhui was let in without much fuss. Jin Ling was in a meeting, so he waited outside.

The doors opened, and men left the hall. As soon as he could, SiZhui entered as the last of them left. He closed and locked the door, testing it to make sure.
He turned around.

Jin Ling was resting his head in his hands, looking tired.

SiZhui came up behind him and started kneading his shoulders, causing a grateful moan to leave his mouth. The sound travelled straight...to other parts. SiZhui blushed again.

"That feels amazing. Thank you." Jin Ling breathed out.

He opened his eyes, and nearly fell over from the surprise.

"SiZhui! You're here!"

"I-I came to see you." He stammered, now wondering if it was a mistake.

But Jin Ling pulled him into his arms and held him tight.

"Are you alright? You look worried."

"I'm fine. Um, actually," he pulled back slightly so he could see his face. "I came to tell you something."

"Okay." Jin Ling looked at him curiously.

"So I'm going on a family trip. It's a long story, but-"

"I've got time." Jin Ling pushed him to sit down at the table and poured him fresh tea.

"Don't you have meetings?"

"I'll always make time for you."

SiZhui blushed again. He out his cold hands on his face, trying to cool off.

Jin Ling took away his hands gently and replaced them with his own.

"Are we okay?"

SiZhui looked into deep burgundy eyes, and smiled. He took a long breath.

"Yes. Yes we are." He told him everything about Li XiWang, and her situation. "So the long and short of it is, we are going to find out more, about where she be from."

Jin Ling nodded silently, thinking. "How long are you going away for?"

SiZhui shrugged, going for nonchalant but appearing sad. "I'm not sure. Father Wei is trying to find the best route. And I think it will be good, for us as a family. We live together, but I sleep separately, and so did
Li XiWang until recently. I can be with my parents and my sister without...other things in the way."

"So I won't be able to see you whenever I want to. Right?" Jin Ling had a smirk on his face, contrary to his words.

SiZhui was confused.

Jin Ling sat closer, and held his face carefully.

"So we should make the most of the time we have. Isn't it?"

SiZhui hadn't even finished nodding before hot lips stole across his.