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jar-of-maise · 8 months

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hcq: jing yuan & yingxing drabble

“What kind of women do you like, Shi-xiong?” Jing Yuan asks one day, when he has a rare free day. He is sitting on one of Yingxing’s workbenches, that annoying little brat. It’s not even like Yingxing has invited him before, it just so happens that Jing Yuan came once, once and wasn’t immediately evicted by Yingxing. Now he won’t leave.

Maybe Yingxing is also a convenient babysitter. Jingliu probably thinks so, given how she doesn’t reprimand Jing Yuan for idling around the Artisanship Commission…until he’s slacking off on official training.

“What sort of question is that?” YIngxing asks in bewilderment, nearly hitting his thumb with his hammer in surprise. Though he misses just slightly, he still glares at the fluffy, white-haired boy who shrugs and says, “you didn’t hit yourself though. Isn’t that proof of your forging prowess?” Yingxing would be flattered…but this is Jing Yuan who’s complimenting him, which is like being mocked more than anything else.

“That was luck you brat,” Yingxing snorts, paying closer attention to his work this time when he examines the metal. Deciding that he was going to ignore that unruly child for real this time.

Jing Yuan watches him for a minute, nose scrunching up as he scrutinises Yingxing’s work. He doesn’t know the first thing about forging but that won’t stop him from running his mouth just to annoy the middle-aged man whenever he can. It’s fun, and gives him a lot more pleasure than studying scrolls. He’s already trying to think of a way to annoy Yingxing, he just needs a starting point…

“Sooo,” Jing Yuan begins, and Yingxing actually stops looking at his work to fix him with a deadpan stare, “I don’t want to hear it, Shi-di,” he grumbles, his frown only deepening when Jing Yuan’s cheeky amber eyes begin to sparkle with mischief.

It’s not a look he minds seeing on most kids’ faces, but coming from Jing Yuan, who is a master schemer of pranks, it feels horrid. Like adding insult to injury. And as the victim of many of Jing Yuan and Baiheng pranks, or aeon-forbid a prank they’ve both planned, Yingxing isn’t keen on entertaining Jing Yuan’s antics.

Well, he tolerates them anyway, because Jingliu will very sincerely murder him if anything happens to this irritating, fluffy ball of sunshine. Or at least, that’s what Yingxing tells himself, especially because he’s totally never ended up laughing over Jing Yuan’s antics before.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jing Yuan insists, the prolonged silence not enough to disturb his conviction.

Yingxing blinks once, then, out of impulse, says, “answer mine first.”

“That’s not how that works!” Jing Yuan exclaims, and Yingxing swears that he sees Jing Yuan’s hair become two times fluffier than it usually is when the boy puffs up in agitation. He almost wants to laugh but keeps the amusement tucked behind his lips, where it threatens to bubble over anyways.

“I’m older, so you should respect your elders. Answer my question first.” Yingxing says, waiting for Jing Yuan to rise to his provocations.

Obviously the bait is taken. Especially because Jing Yuan looks indignant, like he’s about to pull out his sword and poke one of Yingxing’s eyeballs out. With how Yingxing is taunting him, it might actually happen.

“Hmph, fine.” Jing Yuan relents, crossing his arms over his chest like the petulant child that he is, “I’m just curious, I mean, surely you’d have a type right?”

Yingxing feels a vein pop in his temple, “well definitely not a loud person then,” he says, it’s intended to be a direct hint to Jing Yuan, one that the child doesn’t pick up on. With Jing Yuan’s smarts it definitely wasn’t out of ignorance for the sarcastic quip.

“And?” Jing Yuan says, attentively listening with a rapture that Yingxing wishes he could show in a time that wasn’t now.

“What else?”

Jing Yuan looks at him incredulously, like he’s grown two heads, “there has to be more! An old man like you has got to have some kind of idea of their ideal partner or something!”

“I– Did you just call me an old man?” Yingxing demands, picking up a prototype sword and pointing it at Jing Yuan threateningly.

“So what if I did? I bet you like mature old ladies too!” Jing Yuan taunts, “old hags for the ancient old grandpa,” he tries to chant, though failing miserably because of the lack of rhyme.

Yingxing hits Jing Yuan on the head with the flat side of his blade, “this is why you don’t slack off in your studies, young one,” he chides, “and my type aren’t old hags,” he says, putting extra emphasis on the last part.

“So you do have a type!” Jing Yuan crones, eyes lighting up excitedly.

Yingxing rolls his eyes, “everyone has their own preferences, it’s natural.”

“That’s why you should tell me!” Suddenly Jing Yuan gasps, and Yingxing feels his stomach fall to the floor, “you aren’t ashamed of your type…are you?”

Yingxing’s brow twitches, “am not,” he says shortly.

“Are you sure?” Jing Yuan’s eyebrows disappear into his snowy white fringe with obvious suspicion.

“One hundred percent,” Yingxing deadpans, fixing the boy with a flat, unimpressed look.

“So–” Jing Yuan begins, “no you’ve already used up your questions for the day. Shoo,” Yingxing interrupts, waving his hand dismissively.

“Aw, at least spar with me,” Jing Yuan whines, “I’m so lonely,” he adds, like it will help his case.

“Go bother Baiheng or Dan Feng,” Yingxing says, “I’m busy.”

“You’re on a first name basis with Dan Feng?!” Jing Yuan exclaims, his round eyes betraying his surprise, “Aeons I thought you hated each other!”

Yingxing smiles enigmatically, in the exact way that he knows will annoy Jing Yuan the most, “that’s why you pay attention kiddo.”

Jing Yuan puffs up his cheeks. Yingxing takes a certain kind of pleasure in riling him up, and simply laughs, patting Jing Yuan’s shoulder in the most aggravating way he can. Before Yingxing can return to his work though, the child is immediately bouncing over to him, “can you spar with me?”

“Why?”

“You know, because…hey! Stop bullying me!” Jing Yuan exclaims when Yingxing turns away when he’s midway through his sentence and begins to polish a sword absently.

“Mhm,” Yingxing says noncommittally, dodging Jing Yuan’s punch when the boy aims for his stomach, judging by the way Jing Yuan maintains his balance, his close combat must have improved once again. Yingxing has half a mind to ask Jingliu to stop training him so hard before Jing Yuan can outfight a whole Cloud Knight Squadron…not that he isn’t already a child prodigy.

“Come on, shi-xiong,” Jing Yuan pleads, finally managing to land a blow on Yingxing who laughs and parries the next one away with one hand. It’s utterly infuriating.

Yingxing relents a little, “okay, but only if you say the magic word,” he says persuasively, in the way that adults would speak to a very young child. Apparently some call it parent-ese, a strange term but not illogical.

Jing Yuan pouts, “why? Stop treating me like a child!”

“You are one though.” Yingxing retorts, dodging the rain of punches that Jing Yuan tries to hit him with through fits of laughter.

“Hmph.”

“I’ll only spar with you if you say it. C’mon, what’s the magic word?”

“...”

Yingxing waits patiently, watching as the gears turn in Jing Yuan’s head as he comes up with and discards answers. He doesn’t know why it’s taking that silly boy so long, it’s only one word. Yingxing smiles to himself, maybe even a genius prodigy child finds some things challenging. Either way, he does not lack time, he is more than willing to wait.

“...Please…”

Yingxing smiles, he’s already satisfied, but wonders how far he can push the boundaries, “please what?”

“Please…spar with me, shi-xiong…” Jing Yuan says, with the affected air of reluctance, each word is dragged out of him like a gun is being held to his head.

YIngxing relents, brushing his hands and removing his apron, “alright, shi-di.” He pats Jing Yuan’s head and watches fondly when the child immediately jumps up and rushes out the doors. He follows behind, as damage control, making sure to apologise to the disgruntled craftsmen who frown at the boy’s back.

When they finish sparring, the sky has darkened, the sun has long set beyond their horizons. Yingxing stops for a minute to admire the sky then continues walking, Jing Yuan is sleeping on his shoulder. He steps into the Cloud Knight dorms where most of the soldiers are already sleeping. The night has only just begun, but the boy in his arms sleeps as though dead to the world.

The cool wind of the night blows across Yingxing’s cheeks, he makes sure the boy in his arms is covered before he opens a door.

“I…” the boy mumbles, Yingxing pauses briefly to listen to the child, a tickle of fluffy white hair brushing across his cheek when his head turns.

“I’ve finally won…” Jing Yuan says, still seized by the dream world where defeat does not exist and goodbyes are not endings.

Yingxing smiles, compared to everyone else, Jingliu who is already the strongest, Baiheng who commands the astral seas, Dan Feng who is the High Elder of the Vidyadhara and Yingxing himself, this boy has been trying to improve himself everyday. A sun might have already set, and its warmth long lost from the Luofu, but here in his arms, is the sun. The only one the High-Cloud recognises.

He sets the boy down on his bed and lets himself be dragged down too when the boy’s grip does not falter. He waits patiently, for those unrelenting hands to loosen. Lying in the darkness, he pats the boy’s back comfortingly.

"You will soon be better than everyone, and that will be only the beginning..." He says softly, Jing Yuan rests against his chest, one breath away from snoring. He might be annoying, might be a nosy little brat who doesn’t keep his attitude in check and is impulsive at the worst of times, but watching him now, Yingxing is content.

Happy that he has such a shi-di. Maybe, he’ll even let Jing Yuan drool on him, just for tonight.

The moon rises, peeks in through the window and leaves with a satisfied smile. When the sun rises again in the new morning, Jingliu stops at the door and beckons to someone, Baiheng smiles indulgently at them and hides Jingliu’s sword behind her so that the martial artist won’t raise it to hit the slumbering duo. Even Dan Feng lets a rare smile slip through his icy facade when he sees them.

And neither Yingxing nor Jing Yuan are any wiser when they wake up.