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When MianMian was little, her A-niang used to take her to conventions with her. She loved a good convention. She went to comic con whenever she could and had been bringing MianMian with her since she was a baby.
She had been five when she got her first figurine. She loved anything her A-niang did because of the fancy colors and cool looking poses. She wasn’t good at reading yet but the way her A-niang read stories to her or told her what was happening on screen was magical.
That year, a figurine had caught her eye. She couldn’t remember the characters name, but she had recognized them and she had wanted it so bad. She begged and pleaded with her mom, she promised not to break it, she would work off the money, anything!
That had been her first figurine. MianMian loved it so much that as she grew, she began a collection. She hoarded them from anything she liked, kids cartoons, adult shows and movies, books, anything. If she liked it and there was a figurine? It was hers. Especially when it comes to anime.
She can’t stand the sight of them anymore. Not after losing them all.
As she grows, A-niang introduces her to her soon to be best friend, Jin Zixuan. She knows somewhere in her brain that the Jins were important. They had a big name and lots of money. The head of the company’s wife was A-niang's friend from her understanding, and thus, their kids were meant to be friends.
Zixuan was a tough nut to crack. He was quiet and seemingly rude, but MianMian just saw someone who couldn’t get his feelings across right. She vowed to stay with him forever and help him. He had turned red in embarrassment and shouted “I’m 8! I don’t need protection!”
It took MianMian too long to understand why that made her heart flutter.
When they’re around 13, they meet Zixuan’s promised one. They one who he’s been engaged to since before he was even born. Her name is Jiang Yanli. She’s beautiful and kind, with three protective brothers. She’s perfect . And honest to god, Zixuan nearly fucking ruins it because of his trauma, but MianMian fixes it because she doesn’t know what she’ll do if he loses someone who will be a good fit for him.
Yes, MianMian knows they’ll be a good fit. Yanli is kind and caring, full of compassion and patience. She doesn’t shy away from a fight and always uses words to diffuse a situation with ease. MianMian can’t tell if she wants to be her or be with her. She balances Zixuan well, and she teaches Yanli her patented Zixuan tricks to help her take over in being his ‘translator’ (as she had dubbed herself).
At 17 she presents and she’s tossed to the side by Jin Industries. Her A-niang was getting older and had stopped working a few years ago due to medical issues. They threaten to stop paying for her medical care if she doesn’t leave. They get rid of all her stuff, emptying the apartment she lives in. They send her money so she can stay afloat and stay away.
MianMian fucking hates it. She presents as an omega, she has the body of an omega, and since she was Zixuan’s childhood best friend, clearly if she stayed something would happen. He was an alpha, she was an omega, it was only bound to go wrong. So she gets cast aside.
Except she’s not an omega. She’s not . She might have the body of one but her inner being is an alpha, who snarls and fights when she’s forced to leave. She can’t do anything, though. She’s newly presented, her mom is on the line, and Zixuan has Yanli now. He doesn’t need her to help anymore and Yanli doesn’t need anyone thinking that MianMian is a threat to her future husband and mate. Jin Industries was the viper’s nest and she won’t do that to them.
She’s in her 40s when she’s given a call by an old friend.
-
The first time Wei Ying remembers meeting MianMian is when he meets Jin Zixuan. At first he seems pomp and callous. He acts like he’s looking down on his jiejie, not saying anything, avoiding her gaze. He’s upset and angry, and he can tell his brothers are too, but-
“Zixuan!” A girl pops up from behind him, eyebrows furrowed. “You have to speak!” She turns and bows to them. “I apologize for him,” she says sincerely. “He’s no good at putting his thoughts into words, please excuse his behavior.”
Wei Ying is stunned. He’s heard about his jiejie’s betrothed only through gossip and everyone said he was pomp, callous, and mean, just like he had seemed. And yet this girl-
He looks at A-Cheng, who’s also surprised, and then at A-Yao, who is calculating. He can see it in his eyes.
“Ah, I can understand that,” his jiejie nods, all smiles. The earlier sadness that had surrounded her has faded. “May I know who you are?” She inquires.
The girl grins. “Luo Qingyang, but everyone calls me MianMian,” she introduces herself. “I’m Zixuan’s best friend and I promise you, even if he phrases something wrong, he means well,” she explains. “I’m basically his translator.”
Jiejie, their A-Li, giggles at that. “It’s very nice to meet you, MianMian. I’m Jiang Yanli, and these are my brothers, Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian and Meng Yao,” she introduces them.
Wei Ying notices as Jin Zixuan turns red at MianMian’s words, arms crossing, lips pursed. He snorts at that, turning his head to hide it.
He remembers thinking about how dumb the boy looked and how lucky he was to have this girl. After that, MianMain had become close friends with them. She was always there with Zixuan, helping him, and helping his jiejie learn to read him better. Of course, as Jiang Yanli is perfect, she picked it all up easily. He’s known for a very long time that MianMian was the only reason Jin Zixuan and his jiejie had had a smooth courting and marriage. Without her he would’ve made so many mistakes that are hard to take back. He knows that he would’ve been more upset at him, same with A-Cheng and A-Yao if it hadn’t been for her.
Wei Ying, when he thinks back on it, thinks that A-Li and the peacock had both been a little bit in love with MianMian. Zixuan made sense, she had been childhood friends with him and she was so good at reading him and helping him. They’d had years to know each other and even if he didn’t realize it, he saw it. And his jiejie… she had love for everyone. As long as you didn’t hurt her family, Jiang Yanli had love, kindness and care to spare. She had liked MianMian since the day they met and it just hit him one day that his jiejie looked at Jin Zixuan and Luo Qingyang the same way, with so much love and softness. It was different to how she looked at her family, those she considered brothers or sisters, full of a tenderness meant for a lover.
And then one random day their senior year, she’s gone. They try messaging her, calling her, checking her home. Zixuan throws a fit, yells at his father and mother as if it’s their fault (which, privately, Wei Ying is 99% sure it is). He protests and fights, A-Li a silent but angry supporter by his side. The rift between Jin Zixuan and his parents starts to grow then. He has no proof, he tells them, but he knows it was them. There’s only a few things MianMian couldn’t risk and the main thing was under complete control of Jin Industries.
His jiejie mourns for two weeks alongside him. They wear white and seclude themselves a bit. She isn’t dead, Wei Ying refuses to believe that, but he understands. They’d both lost a love of their life. He lets them mourn and tries his best to help where he can. Life moves on.
Jin Ling is well aware of MianMian from a young age. Neither of them shy from talking about her and her bright spirit, the way she fiercely loved and was the best friend either of them could ask for. A-Ling is always aware of his Ayi that his parents love something fierce.
Once Jin Guangshan is put into prison, and Zixuan takes over Jin Industries, he begs for anyone in the family to help him find her. A-Li is right beside him, pleading for the same thing. And how could any of them deny them this? Not all of them knew MianMian, no, but the ones that mattered did. Wei Ying, A-Sang and A-Yao had all known her personally, and had been her friend. They waste no time, coordinating, doing their best and-
They get her number. They get her number .
-
MianMian doesn’t remember the last time she’s been to the city. Any city overall, but also specifically this city . The city that hosts Jin Industries. The city she was kicked from when she presented.
She had made a habit of ordering her food so she didn’t have to go into town too much. She went only to visit her mom in the hospital, who had moved to one closer to her when she was forced out. She didn’t leave the house much, she was too paranoid that Jin Industries would think she was trying to go back. She wasn’t a hermit but it was a close call.
She gardened. She learned to cook and bake. She got into coding. Wrote and published a book under an alias. Got a job online so she could donate her income to local charities (since she lived off of the payments from Jin Industries). She visited her mom until she passed. She took up woodworking and book binding and other odd hobbies. She learned to draw and started taking commissions locally. She learned how to build different things like fountains, porches, etc. She learned interior design. Anything she could get her hands on she tried, no matter how good or bad, so she had a reason to still exist.
And then she gets a phone call from someone she had never dared to let herself hope to see again. She gets invited to the city, invited to see her old friends and meet their kids. Cause, yeah, they have kids now! It makes sense, they’re all well into their 40s or 50s, so it makes sense. A-Li and A-Xuan had to have gotten married and she knew about a few other couples when they were in high school, Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, etc.
She agrees after a bit of convincing. Her life is- it’s fine. She’s fine . But it’d be nice to see them… especially since Jin Guangshan is behind bars and Madam Jin had apparently fucked off across the world. Her friends miss her, that’s what Wei Ying tells her. They miss her. Even after nearly 30 years and her being the one to leave, they want her back. She doesn’t even know if they know the full story and-
MianMian is scared. She’s not perfect, okay? The rest of them have grown up the past 30 years from what she’s seen (she stalked them as soon as she agreed to go back), and she… hasn’t. Yeah, she’s older, a bit more mellow, but she’s still the same old MianMian. She’s spent years scared for herself and her mother, scared that if she made one wrong move, got too close again, that they’d be ruined. Her mom had passed and so had about half of their leverage, but it was Jin Industries . They would hire a hit on her if needed. Even if A-Li and A-Xuan were married and she had transitioned, she knew that Madam Jin and Jin Guangshan would see her as a threat. Simply because she was Zixuan’s childhood best friend and born an omega.
Plus… she’s not sure how well she’ll be able to handle all the change. They grew while she didn’t. She probably couldn’t read A-Xuan that well anymore and that had always been the one thing she was good at, it had been what made her useful and satisfied Madam Jin to keep her around (until she presented). Her friends will be more mature, more grown up, with kids! Who are young adults! They’re probably the same at the core but they’ll be so different and-
MianMian is so fucking scared.
But she trudges on, taking a cab to the address she was given. She’s surprised when she sees a more… modest looking house. More so than Lotus Pier and Jinlintai by leaps and bounds (the estates that A-Li and A-Xuan grew up on) There’s around 4 cars in the driveway, making her nervous all over again. How many people were there? Was this an ambush of all of her old friends? Their families?
MianMian pays the driver, thanking him, and then stands on the sidewalk as she watches him drive away. She stares up at the house, shaking out her nerves. She forces herself to walk up the steps, to stand at the door, and to ring the doorbell. It rings a cheery little tune and she can hear a call of “I got it!’ and then-
The door opens.
-
Jin Ling is confused. He knows, logically, that there’s a reason for this sudden family meeting. It was out of the blue, planned half a day ahead of time, and everyone conveniently had free time to show up. Plus, it’s held at his house. Well, his parents' house. They didn’t tend to host anymore after their family grew and their house decidedly didn’t. But now they’re all cramped in the house. Well, not cramped, there’s space and it does feel lively, but it’s different to the high ceilings of Yao-ge and Sang-ge’s apartment or the wide floor plan of Wei-ge’s house.
He just doesn’t understand what the meeting is for. No one has made any announcements but most of the adults are on edge and the rest of his generation or younger aren’t sure either. The only one who could know would be A-Yuan since Wei-ge called the meeting, but he had shook his head when asked.
When the doorbell rings, he rushes to answer it. He wants to see what the surprise is, sue him! He makes it to the door before anyone else can even stand and doesn’t even check the peephole. He’s an adult now and if anything went wrong, all of them knew how to protect themselves. However, who he finds on the other side is shocking, not scary.
She’s pretty. Short cut brown hair, tawny eyes that look pink in certain lights, pale skin. She’s older than him, probably around his parents' age, and she looks… anxious. He can’t help but stare for a moment. His brain turns, trying to decipher why he seemingly knows this woman. During that, she stares back, eyes slightly wide, as if seeing something new or surprising.
“How can I help you?” Jin Ling manages to speak after a moment.
She stuffs her hands into her pockets, the anxiety back. “U-Uh, is there a Jiang Yanli or Jin Zixuan here?” She asks.
Her voice is pretty too , he notes in his head as he nods.
“Yeah, uh, let me grab you some indoor slippers,” he turns, going to fetch the guest ones in the closet. When he comes back the woman is still standing there awkwardly in the doorway, but she thanks him once she sees the slippers.
Maybe he shouldn’t be letting her in the house. Maybe he should grab his parents or an uncle. Maybe he should think this through better. But something inside of him is telling him that this woman is safe and can be let in. Like an old memory.
She slips the slippers on and lets herself inside. Jin Ling takes her coat and hangs it on the rack before leading her inside. Most of them have congregated in the living room so he takes her there, looking for his parents. As soon as they enter the whole entire room goes quiet. He looks up and sees his parents' shocked face and then turns to catch as the woman’s face flits through too many emotions to count.
“MianMian?” His father murmurs.
And it all clicks into place for Jin Ling.
–
When Yanli was little, she was told she was to marry this boy. She had just met him, kind of, looking at each other across the room as their parents interacted. He was the kid of her A-niang’s best friend and they would be betrothed for the good of their companies. She had been enamored with him since and even as she became older and understood everything better, she still thought she loved him. Yes, she didn’t know him, but they were to be married and she would love him.
And then MianMian is thrown into the picture. She had never once imagined in her life what it felt like to fall in love with someone that wasn’t predetermined. Truly falling in love with Jin Zixuan was one thing, he was really the sweetest when you got past how hard it was for him to articulate, but he had been promised to her since she was young. Even when her parents assured her that they’d call it off if she wanted, she hadn’t. But MianMian was different. She was fierce and hot-headed, and could read Jin Zixuan like he was a kids book. She was a whirlwind of energy, yet caring and soft when she wanted to be. Yanli was enamored all over again.
But it didn’t last. Something had happened and due to it, she was gone. Both her and A-Xuan refused to believe it was her own choice. She loved them, even if not the same exact way, she was A-Xuan’s best friend and her best friend. She didn’t have a lot of friends who were girls, not with her brothers and how their friends all flocked to her, so MianMian had been hers .
The others might find it silly, but she mourns for 2 weeks. A-Xuan is with her the whole time. They hole up in Wen Qing’s house for the two weeks, who’s exasperated but takes care of them. Even as they miss school, none of their parents come knocking, the Jin’s because they know what’s good for them and her parents cause she had told them nearly everything. They had her location, as did her brothers, and they promised they weren’t having sex or anything, which Wen Qing wouldn’t let happen even if they wanted.
Life goes on. She never thought she’d see MianMian again but held her close to her heart, right beside where A-Xuan and A-Ling resided.
And then she steps into their living room, nearly 30 years later. She’s older, hair shorter and a bit paler, but she has the same rosy brown eyes and the way her nose slopes is all MianMian and-
“MianMian?” Her husband murmurs.
She should be worried, hearing her husband whisper someone else’s name so reverently, but she feels the same. MianMian had been hers , but she had been A-Xuan’s first . They both had loved her fiercely and-
“MianMian!” A-Ying crows, breaking the moment. He bullies his way over, grabbing her by the arm. “Here, follow me,” he says and then leads her to the hallway to-
“Come on,” Yanli grabs her husband's wrist and drags him after her to their room. When they arrive A-Ying has already slipped away and has left MianMian standing there in the middle of their room.
She smells of freshly cut grass and soft wool, which intermingles with her lotus and pork rib soup, and A-Xuan’s jasmine peonies nicely. Despite not knowing what she smelt like before she left, it feels like coming home.
“Hi,” MianMian greets awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot and-
Yanli can’t hold back anymore. She surges forward and pulls her in for a hug. She freezes in place for a few seconds before her arms wrap around her in return. She hides her face in her neck and she can feel as hot tears run slowly down her chest. She doesn’t mind. She’d stand here for a millenia if it meant she got to hold her MianMian again.
She only pulls back when A-Xuan draws closer. She silently shifts the crying woman over to her husband and lets him hold her. He curls around her protectively, a hand on her hip and the other tangled in her hair. He closes his eyes and breathes her in. Anyone else would feel jealous, but Yanli feels so happy.
After letting them get their hug time in, she leads MianMian to their nest. With some prompting she gets her to sit down and they sit in a little circle in the nest. Yanli uses the sleeve of her shirt to wipe at the other’s tears, gentle and caring. She peaks at them shyly after that, eyes red, nose runny, and yet oh so beautiful.
As beautiful as the day they’d lost her.
“MianMian,” A-Xuan starts before either of them can. “Will-” he cuts himself off for a moment, thinking. “Can we ask about what happened?”
MianMian sighs, her scent turning slightly sour. “I presented at 17. I have the body of an omega and Madam Jin didn’t like that. She saw it as a threat to your marriage, Jin Guangshan agreed, it escalated. They threatened to stop paying for A-niang’s medical bills and to ruin my life. I didn’t know what to do so I left. They paid me so I could stay afloat and I wasn’t even aware Jin Guangshan went to prison until A-Xian contacted me. I was protecting my mum and then- myself. I was afraid if I came back that I could be, be killed or hurt or ruined for life. I was a bit of a coward,” she chuckles ruefully, rubbing the back of her neck. “I just… didn’t know what to do so did as I was told.”
Yanli takes a moment to take that all in. She watches A-Xuan do the same, eyebrows furrowed.
“I knew they did it,” he says harshly once he’s collected all his thoughts.
“Even if it hurt, MianMian,” Yanli speaks up, catching both of their attention. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You were keeping your A-niang and yourself safe. You did what you could in a shitty situation. And I’m sorry they thought you were a threat, when it was quite the opposite,” she reaches a hand out to settle on her knee, gentle.
MianMian frowns, tears pricking her eyes again. “I promise, I didn’t want to leave,” she says sincerely. “I just- didn’t see another option.”
“No sorry’s,” A-Xuan replies. “There’s no reason to be sorry. You’re safe, you’re alive, you weren’t ruined.”
The other laughs wetly. “When did you get so good at words, A-Xuan?” She teases with a watery smile.
“I’m not the same traumatized teenager who could barely open his mouth,” he snaps playfully in reply.
All the happiness leaves at that statement and Yanli frowns as MianMian does. Sadness seeps out of her pores and into her smile, turning the grass wilted and the wool wet. She hunches in on herself a bit, as if…
“No, you’re not,” she says.
Yanli has never heard her that defeated before. She takes a moment to think over her words again, and her heart squeezes painfully in her chest when she remembers what she said.
“You were alone for nearly 30 years,” she breathes. Sadness echoes throughout her and it turns her sent a bit sour. “You- MianMian ,” she breathes. She plasters herself to the other’s side, pulling her close, scenting her, reassuring her, holding her.
A-Xuan growls protectively and pulls them both close, curling around them. He acts as a barrier to the outside world for a few moments as MianMian starts crying again and Yanli does her best to soothe her.
She couldn’t imagine forcing herself away from her friends and family. She couldn’t imagine having to be alone for nearly 30 years to protect her A-niang and herself. She couldn’t imagine coming out on the other side willing to face her family again, knowing they’ve changed since she’s seen them. She can’t imagine it. Can’t imagine the pain that her MianMian has been feeling for nearly thirty years . She doesn’t want to imagine it.
A-Xuan is whispering reassurances into MianMian’s hair. Calls her good, tells her she did good, she protected her A-niang and herself, how she’s safe now, she’s home, that they’ll protect her. This just makes her cry harder and Yanli is happy that they can be this safe space for their MianMian.
Eventually, after all the shaking, crying, and comforting, they all manage to calm down enough to pull back a bit. They’re all holding hands still, in a comfortable little circle, finally back together.
“You said-” A-Xuan clears his throat. “You said you have the body of an omega, but…?” He trails off in question.
“Alpha. I’m an alpha,” she replies without hesitating. “Your parents don’t believe in being trans though. And it wasn’t like I wasn’t your biggest supporter, rooting for you guys. If anything were to happen, it’d be all three of us, not just two.” She says it all so casually, as if a fact.
Yanli smiles. “So, you knew then?”
MianMian nods. “Yeah, I did back then a bit and then realized more later on. I knew I loved you guys but I also knew you two loved me. It was kind of obvious.”
“Even though we’ve all changed, I still love you,” A-Xuan says. “You’ve been mine since we were 8, MianMian. And when A-Li came along, we were all willing to share, which just solidified it. I love you, Luo Qingyang.”
MianMian turns red at the sudden confession, which Yanli finds beautiful.
“I’ve loved you since I saw you spinning on the sidewalk in the rain, laughing. I’d never fallen in love before, not like this when A-Xuan had been promised to me since I was 5, but I knew then that I was in love with you. No matter how we’ve changed, my heart has always been held by you and A-Xuan. I love you, Luo Qingyang,” she confesses next, her cheeks warm and smile wide.
MianMian starts crying again, but these tears are happy ones. “I’ve loved you, Jin Zixuan, since we were 8 and you declared you didn’t need to be protected. And I’ve loved you, Jiang Yanli, since I saw you giggle as I tried to salvage A-Xuan’s botched attempt at a greeting when we met at 13. For nearly 30 years I’ve held you in my heart and I know you’ve both changed, even if I haven’t that much, but I love you both the same since I met you.”
Yanli starts crying then too. She pulls her alpha close, pressing light kisses all over her face. Her eyelids, her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, her dimples, they’re all kissed with reverence. Once she finishes she presses a sweet, chaste kiss to MianMian’s lips before pulling back. Her scent is sharp and rolling off of her in waves, happiness mixed with a slight arousal. A-Xuan wastes no time and uses his 30 years of practice kissing with A-Li to kiss her stupid. There’s tongue, teeth, and more heat than there probably should be at the moment, but when they pull back, both of them are flushed from their neck up.
Yanli giggles as she cries, pulling her two people towards her.
“I love you both so much. A-Xuan, MianMian. My A-Xuan, my MianMian, all mine .”
-
Hours later, the get together is still going. Meng Xiang had fallen asleep and had been put to bed in Jin Ling’s old room. The younger adults are playing cards while the older ones mingle and lightly drink. They’re all waiting to see what happens, first and foremost, but also the ones who knew her want to see MianMian.
When they emerge, all of them have red eyes but they’re all smiling. MianMian is between Yanli and Zixan, all of their shoulders pressed close.
“Jin Ling, Lan Yuan, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen, Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen, Mo Xuanyu, this is Luo Qingyang or MianMian. She’s the kids Ayi and one of our partners,” Yanli introduces her to the room as soon as they have everyone’s attention.
“Wait, what!?” Jin Ling exclaims, jumping up. “So I was right!? You were in love with her?” He questions.
Zixuan sighs fondly. “Clearly,” he shakes his hand, which is holding one of MianMian’s.
“You look just like A-Xuan and A-Li when they were younger,” MianMian speaks up, smiling gently at Jin Ling.
Annnnnnnnd the boy melts. Beside him, Zizhen sighs and helps him sit down, all fond. Xiao Qing looks around, clearly amused at everybody’s shock (aside from Wei Ying’s of course). Lan Yuan and Lan Jingyi are all smiles, happy for their uncle and aunt.
“I should’ve seen this coming,” Meng Yao murmurs. “That’s why-” his face pinches and he turns away.
Huaisang giggles, flicking his fan open. “That makes so much sense!” He says sweetly.
Jiang Cheng is completely shocked, staring at the three as if they’re grown a new head. Which, in a way, they have. He’s not upset, far from it, but he needs a moment to process.
“Called it~” Wei Ying calls, grinning at his spot perched on his husband's lap.
“Don’t start, you thought Wangji was joking when he asked to date you.”
“And Mo Xuanyu,” Wangji adds.
Wei Ying turns pink and looks away, sipping at his drink. Mo Xuanyu snorts at his partner while Lan Wangji gazes at both of them fondly.
Yanli smiles, slipping her own hand into MianMian’s. She’s finally home .
-
MianMian hums, looking around the room that's now also hers. It smells like all three of them, like jasmine peonies and lotus n pork rib soup and grass n wool. There’s touches of her partners everywhere, A-Xuan’s paperwork on the desk alongside varying trinkets from different family members. There’s fabrics in different corners of A-Li’s, and their clothes are in a mix of in the hamper and half way being put away. A bookshelf full of books MiaMian recognizes from her time spent in A-Xuan’s room and some she doesn’t, but when she takes one out there’s flowery handwriting in the margins (alongside some done in different colors, most likely A-Li’s brothers). There’s pictures along the walls of their family, most of Jin Ling and his partner, Ouyang Zizhen.
And there’s a fresh figurine on the bookshelf of Deadpool, a match to the first one MianMian got when she was five.