An Unlikely Friendship

by JiangChengLotus

Summary:

But Nie Mingjue was still wary of Wei Wuxian. He had no idea what the other was truly like other than what he’d heard via rumors...

And as he subconsciously rubbed his throat, fingers brushing up against the fine stitches that had been used to sew his head back to his body, he was reminded of the fact that he really didn’t need nor want any new friends this time around.

And yet despite Nie Mingjue’s wishes-

“Ah! Chifeng-zun! There you are!”

Nie Mingjue paused, shoulders tensing. He could've sworn he’d lost the other-

“I was wondering where you’d gone off to...” Wei Wuxian tapped his nose, squinting at him. Just as Nie Mingjue braced himself for an onslaught of resentful energy in turn for upsetting him, Wei Wuxian was gasping and pointing at the ground behind him.“Look! It’s a rabbit!”

(Or Nie Mingjue is, secretly, kinda terrified of Wei Wuxian, and has a lot of repressed issues he's been ignoring since his resurrection. He's forced to face his problems when he's accidentally put under a spell. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, just really wants to be his friend.)
~All fics in this series can be read separately!~

Notes:

I missed NMJ (as evident per the series' title) so I wanted to write a little fic for him.

Hope you enjoy!!

Nie Mingjue was... wary of the Yiling Patriarch-- ‘Ex-Yiling Patriarch,’ he corrected in his mind …

During the Sunshot Campaign, obviously, he’d been against the use of resentful energy, and he’d condemned Wei Wuxian for his demonic tricks. But on the other hand, he was only standing today, fully resurrected as a human and not a fierce corpse, because of the same man as well. He was well-aware that Wei Wuxian had played a pivotal part in Nie Huaisang’s endeavor to bring him back to life. 

But Nie Mingjue was still wary of him. He had no idea what the other was truly like other than what he’d heard via rumors...But Nie Mingjue would’ve been perfectly fine living the rest of his second life without ever really knowing.

As he subconsciously rubbed his throat, fingers brushing up against the fine stitches that had been used to sew his head back to his body, he was reminded of the fact that he really didn’t need nor want any new friends or acquaintances this time around.  

And yet despite Nie Mingjue’s wishes-

“Ah! Chifeng-zun! There you are!” 

Nie Mingjue paused, shoulders tensing. He could've sworn he’d lost the other-

“I was wondering where you’d gone off to...” Wei Wuxian tapped his nose, squinting at him, and just as Nie Mingjue was about to brace himself for an onslaught of resentful energy in turn for upsetting the other, Wei Wuxian was gasping and pointing at the ground behind him. “Look! It’s a rabbit!”

The infamous demonic cultivator-- Ex-demonic cultivator-- rushed over, squatting down and trying to pet it, but the rabbit immediately hopped away, it was almost comical how fast it left.

Wei Wuxian pouted, glaring at the fluffy creature in its wake, and Nie Mingjue could’ve sworn he heard the other mumble something about “rabbit stew”...

“...Let’s go.” Is all Nie Mingjue grunted, before continuing his trek through the forest, this time with the ever-chattering Wei Wuxian ambling by his side 

Nie Mingjue supposed he himself was the one to blame for his current predicament. 

He hardly slept at all these days because...because every time he closed his eyes he could feel himself dying all over again...feel himself being torn apart limb from limb and in his dreams, Jin Guangyao always saved his head for last…

So instead, Nie Mingjue took to the markets at nighttime, Qinghe had a spectacular nighttime scene.

 A few days ago, he’d overheard a few cultivators talking about something they’d found lurking in the forest all the way in Gusu. Nie Mingjue would’ve stopped eavesdropping if not for the mention of ‘ Tianshang Haibao ” which translated roughly to the ‘Heavenly Seal’. After demanding more information from the pair-- though Nie Mingjue hadn’t had to say much at all. His demeanor had been frightening enough --he was affirmed that they had encountered what he’d thought they had. 

The ‘Heavenly Seal’ was an elusive spirit, one who had the power to seal off any form of resentful energy. 

And as Sect Leader, one of Nie Huaisang’s goals was to finally put their Blades to rest, and seal off the resentful energy once and for all so that the future generations would have to rely on their own golden cores for power, and avoid suffering a similar fate as Nie Mingjue had…

“I’ll help you.” Nie Mingjue had promised soon after Huaisang had told him.

His little brother was good at masking his emotions, but even then, his shock had been palpable. 

“Dage…”

“You’re my little brother, of course, I’ll help you.” 

The hug he’d received in turn had been so tight, that Nie Mingjue had briefly worried if he was going to have to be resurrected again.

And now, he was back in Gusu, currently hiking deep into the forest, looking for a spiritual creature he’d never encountered before. 

Lan Xichen had offered to help him look, but Nie Mingjue knew the other was busy with Sect Leader duties, so he didn’t want to bother him... and he also didn’t want to face him at the moment because, for some reason, the thought of Xichen set his face aflame and made his knees feel all shaky and wobbly and Nie Mingjue didn’t like it-

He could’ve asked-- bullied --Lan Wangji into helping him, but Nie Mingjue was quite sad to realize that perhaps he could’ve gotten away with the phrase “I’ll tell Xichen if you don’t~” when they were kids, there was only a 50/50 chance that would work as adults. Furthermore, the esteemed Hanguang-jun was busy. Nie Mingjue could ask, but again, he hadn’t wanted to bother him.

He didn't want to bother anyone. 

He’d even turned down his own brother, for similar “Sect Leader” reasons, but, furthermore,  he was well aware that a certain other Sect Leader from Yunmeng would be visiting Qinghe soon...And perhaps Nie Mingjue wasn’t as capable as he’d been before he’d died, but he was much more perceptive. He certainly knew something was going on between Huaisang and Sect Leader Jiang, and Nie Mingjue vowed not to interfere, his brother deserved to be happy, especially after everything. 

And so, Nie Mingjue had been fully prepared to make his journey alone…

He hadn’t been prepared to run into Wei Wuxian during the first five minutes of his journey, and for the other to insist upon accompanying him on said journey, despite the fact that Nie Mingjue was sure they’d spoken a grand total of 10 words to one another.

The conversation, or lack thereof, played back in his mind as he watched Wei Wuxian stumble over a tree branch for the fifth time that afternoon.

“I’ll come with you!”

“...Huh?”

“A-Sang already told me what you’re looking for-”

“What-”

“And Lan Zhan’s busy all day…”

“I’m sure your husband would want you to stay-”

“Nope! Actually, he was all for it! ...And he said if you don’t accept my help, he’s telling your brother… We should get moving! I brought snacks. I tried to ask Xichen-ge which ones you liked...-Eh? Why’s your face getting red? Are you allergic to Xichen-ge? Is that it? Wow! It’s getting even redder-! Wait! Chifeng-zun, wait for me!”

Nie Mingjue had, foolishly, tried running away from him because he’d actually been lying before...He wasn’t just wary of Wei Wuxian, he was a bit terrified of him, but Nie Mingjue would’ve rather died... again ...than admit that aloud, especially since the infamous “villain” was at least two heads shorter than him in his current body. 

“We’re getting closer.” Nie Mingjue mumbled, hands unconsciously twitching to his side for a Blade that wasn’t there. He had to wonder how Wei Wuxian handled it, being unable to brandish any weapon--his flute aside. 

Perhaps, Nie Mingjue realized, he was so afraid of Wei Wuxian not because of the other’s infamy, but rather, because of how much they inexplicably had in common. They both had younger brothers they would’ve done anything for, were hopelessly in love with one of Lan Qiren’s nephews, and had been brought back to life. 

It was unsettling. 

Unnerving even.

“Huh...” Wei Wuxian momentarily stopped spinning his flute and tapped it against his chin. And then he paused in his tracks, carefree demeanor shifting into something entirely different. He grabbed Nie Mingjue’s shoulder, halting the other in place. 

Nie Mingjue slowly turned his head to narrow his eyes at the offending hand. 

“Ah! Sorry!” Wei Wuxian immediately removed his hand with a sheepish smile. But then his expression sobered. “But the spirit’s actually closer than you think.” He waved his flute towards the tree that stood billowing before them.

And Nie Mingjue tried to repress thoughts about how if he still had his golden core, he would’ve been able to sense the Spirit more accurately as well. 

But feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to help anyone, it certainly wasn’t going to help Huaisang 

“So how should we summon-”

“‘ We?’” Nie Mingjue squinted at him.

Wei Wuxian met his narrowed eyes with practiced ease. “I am here to help you-”

I didn’t ask for your help. Is what Nie Mingjue would’ve said if he hadn’t been working on his anger issues with Huaisang recently. It was true, Wei Wuxian was here to help, and he didn’t owe Nie Mingjue or the Nie Sect anything. In fact, Nie Mingjue was in debt to him --yet another reason why Wei Wuxian’s presence threw him off so much...

How were you supposed to repay someone who helped give you back your life?

Instead, Nie Mingjue bit the inside of his lip and tried not to make the perpetual scowl on his face so lethal. 

“...Okay.” He huffed, breaking Wei Wuxian’s mini-rant. 

“And furthermore-Wait. Did you just say ‘okay’?”

Nie Mingjue nodded once, and at Wei Wuxian’s resounding smile, he felt some of the tension leave his body. 

“You can set up the talismans.” Nie Mingjue instructed. “I’ll try and make contact.”

Wei Wuxian nodded, shooting him a thumbs-up which Nie Mingjue awkwardly returned, and then they were off to work. 

Surely, with their combined skill, summoning the Spirit would take no time at all-

~~

Apparently, either Nie Mingjue had overestimated his and Wei Wuxian’s abilities or underestimated the spirits’. When he explained this to his tentative acquaintance the look that had crossed over the other’s face almost made Nie Mingjue try to summon Baxia to defend himself. 

“What do you mean you think you’re not strong enough to summon her?”

Nie Mingjue's eyes widened on their own volition. “...I didn’t say that…”

“But you implied it! ” Nie Mingjue wondered whether or not he was hallucinating the resentful energy coming off him. “You’re one of the strongest cultivators I know!”

“...Thank you?” It was the angriest compliment he’d ever received. 

And in an instant, Wei Wuxian’s easygoing grin was back. “Your welcome! Your talismans are done, by the way.”

Nie Mingjue nodded, slowly, getting whiplash from Wei Wuxian’s ability to go from terrifying to nonchalant in mere moments, but accepted the talismans anyways. 

He placed them in front of the tree and then got to work, citing the incantations from memory. As soon as the last word rolled off his tongue, he clenched his fists and waited, expecting the Spirit to appear. 

And then he waited some more. 

And some more. 

And a little while longer-

“So is anything supposed to be happening right now?”

“Yes, obviously .” Nie Mingjue snapped, accidentally. Again, his anger management issues were a work in progress…

Wei Wuxian hummed, twirling his incessant flute, “Then why isn’t anything happening-”

“I don’t know-... Don’t touch that.”

“I’m just looking at it-”

“You’ll mess it up.”

“No, I won’t-! Hey! Give it back!”

“You’ll screw it up.”

“ You’ll screw it up!”

“You know, you’re just as bad as Huaisang.” Nie Mingjue gave up, throwing his hands in the air, finally relenting the talisman. 

“And you’re just as temperamental as A-Cheng.” Wei Wuxian gave back, amused.

Nie Mingjue was about to growl something when suddenly the ground began trembling. He abruptly shared a look with Wei Wuxian, and the other was already reaching for his flute. Nie Mingjue opened his mouth to recite a few more incantations, trying to get a hold of the situation but found that no sound was coming out of his throat. And slowly, a darkness began to settle over him. 

It didn’t feel like dying, no. 

Dying had been far more painful.

This was relaxing. Soothing almost. 

And as he blacked out and fell to the ground, he could register Wei Wuxian’s cries surrounding him, until he couldn’t. 

~~

~~

~~

“Dage! Dage! Wake up!”

Nie Mingjue woke up, a tingling sensation flowing through his body. He recognized he was in his quarters, he was home...but something didn’t feel right. Something felt off. 

“Dage!” Nie Huaisang came crashing into his quarters throwing himself across the foot of Nie Mingjue’s bed, and crushing the other’s feet. 

“Huaisang!” Nie Mingjue snapped, unimpressed. 

“And people say I’m the one who always sleeps in.” Huaisang rolled his eyes, shifting to get more comfortable, crushing Nie Mingjue’s toes even more.

Nie Mingjue glared at him, but his little brother shot him a winning smile, and all Nie Mingjue could do was laugh. 

“Come on! You have to get up. We have a Sect to run!” 

Nie Mingjue paused at that. We? 

Hadn’t he...hadn’t he left Nie Huaisang in charge of the Nie Sect because he... because he’d already let his Sect down once and left Qinghe in shambles after his death, he didn’t want to do that again. 

“Huaisang what-”

But Nie Huaisang wasn’t invading his bed anymore. He was throwing a pair of robes at Nie Mingjuer’s face. They were grey and elegant and...they were his old robes, the one he’d worn as Sect Leader. 

“We...we run Qinghe together…?” That wasn’t right. 

Nie Huaisang giggled as if Nie Mingjue had said a spectacular joke. “Well of course we do! What sort of brother would you be if you made me run it alone?”

“But I thought you wanted to-” Nie Mingjue shook his head, ice crawling into his veins. “I thought you wouldn’t want me to interfere. I thought…”

Nie Huaisang just laughed again. “Dage, why would I ever want to do this alone?”

He could feel the corners of his eyes beginning to sting. Guilt washed over him. 

Huaisang, I’m so sorry. Nie Mingjue wanted to say, but his voice wouldn’t let him. Instead, Huaisang was ushering him to get changed into his robes and-

Suddenly he was in the Conference Hall.

“Huh…” Nie Mingjue muttered, looking down at himself in shock. Somehow he was fully dressed in his robes, but more importantly… “ Baxia .” He could feel tears coming to his eyes again as he took in the stunning sight of his blade. He hadn’t seen her since he’d died-

He raised trembling fingers to his throat, but realized that no stitches were there. 

Something was wrong. 

Something was definitely wrong. 

But-

Nie Mingjue’s eyes scanned the Conference Hall. It looked like they were in the aftermath of a meeting. He caught Nie Huaisang’s gaze from across the room, and his little brother grinned at him and waved. Jiang Cheng was there, holding hands with Huaisang and nodding in Nie Mingjue’s direction in greeting. And when the Jiang Sect Leader turned and whispered something in Nie Huaisang’s ear, Nie Mingjue couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his brother look so happy. 

“Mingjue…” A gentle voice appeared behind him.

Nie Mingjue startled, reaching for Baxia but when he turned around it was Lan Xichen grinning at him with that same smile that could easily rival the sun.

“Xichen…” Nie Mingjue mumbled, feeling his heart begin to race. 

“Would you like to go for a walk?” 

Before Nie Mingjue could answer, they were suddenly outside.

Nie Mingjue found himself walking along the training fields with Lan Xichen’s hand grasped within his. He felt like he was about to faint, not only because he was disoriented from being transported for the second time in a row, but--

“Um.” Nie Mingjue coughed, feeling his face heat up. At Lan Xichen’s curious gaze, he immediately looked away. “Why are we..um…” He couldn’t even look the Lan in the eye. 

“Hm?” Lan Xichen ran a comforting thumb across the back of Nie Mingjue’s knuckles, and then had to steady the Nie as he stumbled over himself. “Dage, are you alright?”

“Why are we holding hands?” Nie Mingjue rushed out, a bit mortified. 

Lan Xichen paused in his tracks. He gently cupped Nie Mingjue’s chin and tilted the other’s head so that they were facing each other. And in a soft whisper…

“Should I not hold hands with my husband?”

...

His what?

“Huh…?” Nie Mingjue let out, eloquently. 

Lan Xichen lifted their connected hands and pressed a light kiss to the back of Nie Mingjue’s skin. Nie Mingjue suddenly felt like he was overheating, and that his heart might very well explode in his chest. 

“Is this... not what you want?” Lan Xichen asked, anchoring the Nie back to the “present.”

“I-it is but-”

Lan Xichen smiled, “Well, then, how do you expect me to even want to marry you, if you won’t even talk to me?”

Nie Mingjue tensed as Lan Xichen slowly let his hand go. 

“If you won’t come to me for help? If you actively avoid me?”

Something was wrong with this world. And yet, he couldn’t deny the truth in “Lan Xichen’s” words. 

“How could I ever let myself love you if I think you hate me?”

Nie Mingjue found himself reaching out for Lan Xichen, or rather a figment of the love of his life, when suddenly he was transported again , for the very last time. 

“You…” Suddenly Nie Mingjue found it very hard to breathe. 

Where was Baxia? Why couldn’t he reach out to his blade? Why...why couldn’t he move at all? Was there something wrong with his legs?

They were back in the Conference Hall, and this time Nie Mingjue sat on his throne.

Jin Guangyao stood before him.

And even sitting upon a throne , the sight of him still managed to make Nie Mingjue feel so... weak . And helpless. 

He opened his mouth. And then he closed it.. And then he opened it and, and closed it again. 

“How have you been, dage?” Jin Guangyao finally asked, with a serene smile, as if they were just two friends catching up. In this “perfect world”, they just might’ve been.

But Nie Mingjue was done playing along. Because there was a part of him, a big part of him, that wanted to play along. Despite everything, there was still a part of him that...that cared for the man that stood before him. That had loved him, like he loved Huasing...there’d been a time when Jin Guangyao, no, Meng Yao had been like a little brother to him.

There was a part of him that, aside from anger and fury when recalling his death, just felt an overwhelming sadness because at the end of the day, Jin Guangyao had been his friend. 

“Why did you kill me like that?” Nie Mingjue’s voice was barely above a whisper. 

Jin Guangyao had despised him, hated him even. Nie Mingjue understood why the other had wanted him dead. Nie Mingjue was sure there were times where he’d wanted to kill Jin Guangyao too, despite the fact that he never would’ve... 

But if he’d had , it would’ve been quick. Painless. Dignified…

It wouldn’t have hurt so much.

At the question Jin Guanyao paused, smile never once wavering. 

“Because I wanted to hurt you.” He replied easily, and Nie Mingjue could imagine the response coming from the real Jin Guangyao as well.

 It was so simple, so painful.

“You did.” Nie Mingjue said softly. It was the one thing he hadn’t wanted to admit out loud. But then he said it louder. He didn’t care if it made him weak. He’d already been at his weakest, he’d been dead. “You hurt me. You...you hurt me the most. It still hurts.”

There was some sort of satisfaction Nie Mingjue got at finally letting his deepest thoughts surface. 

“I hurt you.” Jin Guangyao nodded, and then he began to fade away, his voice morphing into something higher and ethereal.

 “And now, it’s time for you to stop hurting yourself.”

 Nie Mingjue woke up, for real this time. 

~~

~~

~~

Wei Wuxian was pacing back and forth because Chifeng-zun was lying., knocked out and unconscious on the ground next to them, and Wei Wuxian was almost certain that this “Heavenly Spirit” thing or whatever was not who she said she was. But he hadn’t confessed this to the Nie because Wei Wuxian wasn’t blind , he saw how tense the other was around him, and he knew that would’ve only made things worse. 

Suddenly, he heard rustling from behind him. 

Wei Wuxian stopped pacing and sighed in relief as Nie Mingjue suddenly awoke, slowly coming back to his senses. 

“Chifeng-zun!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, ambling over to him. He squatted down in front of the ex-Sect Leader trying to scan him for any signs of pain or resentful energy, and was relieved to find none. “You’re okay! That’s great, for a second there I wasn’t too sure…”

And finally, Wei Wuxian took in the expression on Nie Mingjue’s face. He was shocked to find that it wasn’t a trick of the lighting, but that there were actual tears pooling in Nie Mingjue’s eyes. 

Wei Wuxian started panicking again-

“Thank you.” It was whispered, so quiet that Wei Wuxian thought he’d been imagining it. 

He stared at Nie Mingjue in disbelief. “Uh, Chifeng-zun? What…?”

“Thank you.” Nie Mingjue repeated louder this time. 

Wei Wuxian tapped his nose, wracking his brain for an explanation. “Oh! Are you thanking me for tagging along? I told you it was no big deal...It’s too bad the Spirit got away from us-”

Nie Mingjue shook his head. “Thank you for helping my brother bring me back to life.” 

A breath caught in Wei Wuxian’s throat. From Nie Huaisang’s frantic letters, Wei Wuxian had been under the impression that Nie Mingjue avoided speaking about his resurrection at all costs. 

But to his continued surprise, Nie Mingjue kept speaking. 

~~

Nie Mingjue took a deep breath, mustering up all of his Nie courage. 

“I’m scared of a lot of things actually…”

I’m scared of letting Nie Huaisang and the rest of my Sect down, so I’ve let him run Qinghe alone. 

I’m scared of rejection, so I’ve avoided Lan Xichen, and I’ve probably hurt him in the process. 

I’m scared of other people being kind to me, because Jin Guangyao was kind to me at first too. 

“I was scared of you.” Nie Mingjue admitted, and it took all of his willpower not to snap his mouth shut and run away. “For a lot of reasons…And I...” Nie Mingjue trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. He wasn’t good with things like this, especially not with people he didn’t know well. 

And he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Perhaps for Wei Wuxian to brush him off? To laugh at him, though that wouldn’t have made much sense because the other was many things, but he wasn’t cruel. 

What he didn’t expect however was Wei Wuxian to reach into his pocket and pull out a silk handkerchief, offering it to Nie Mingjue with a smile. 

And suddenly, the handkerchief was very useful. 

“I’m scared of dogs.” 

Nie Mingjue paused mid-wipe. “Huh?”

Wei Wuxian barreled on with a wry smile. “I’m scared of dogs. And heights. I’m scared of A-Cheng sometimes. I was terrified of his mother. I was scared of you too! I’m not anymore, but that’s not because you’re any less formidable, it’s just that when you want to be friends with someone, sometimes their scariness fades into the background.” 

Nie Mingjue winced at the word ‘friends’ flashes of gold and fake smiles rushing through his mind. 

“But we don’t have to be friends!” And then Wei Wuxian grinned. “We can be ‘Resurrection Buddies’ instead.”

Nie Mingjue froze. “ Resurrection Buddies?”

Wei Wuxian scratched the back of his head, sheepishly, “Well, it’s the best I could come up with in such a short-” He paused mid-sentence, as Nie Mingjue let out a startled snort, shaking his head as he stared at Wei Wuxian in awe. 

“Wei Wuxian?” It was the first time the Nie had referred to him by name.

“Yeah?” Wei Wuxian’s voice sounded hopeful. 

“I’d like that.”

Wei Wuxian smiled and for the first time, in a very long time, Nie Mingjue felt himself doing the same. 

“Me too.”

~~

Notes:

They're best friends now, your honor.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Resurrecting dage because I missed him