Work Text:
“Jiang Cheng, Hurry up!” Nie Huaisang swam through the currents of the sea with the ease of someone who owned it.
He had traveled this path before, his scales shone with the filtered sunlight of the world above them. The water of the ocean was particularly delicious today, sliding with ease and warmth through his gills.
“Don’t–” The young heir of the Jiang clan rushed to catch up with his friend.
Usually it was his adopted brother, Wei Wuxian, the one who dragged them into adventures and whatnot. Always getting them into trouble with the leaders of the kingdom, but today his trusted companion had preferred to follow the young second heir of the Lan clan.
The Lan ruled over the blue void–as it was often called–where there was nothing but algae, sand and blue as far as the eyes could see. The Lans were as boring as the land they lived in, and yet today the eel had been betrayed for that ice block called Lan Wangji.
The ocean was ruled mainly by five domains. Once every time the season changed, the rulers of the clans would join the king, and with them, every heir and main guards.
Jiang Cheng, son of the Jiang clan, was heir to the reefs and slopes, where the warm waters invited all kinds of merfolk, overflowing with nature and vibrant energy from their inhabitants.
While the Nie clan ruled the geologic fissures. They lived in the cracks of darkness, almost as a vertical fortress from the surface to the depths of the sea. Eyes and spears ready to catch any intruders.
But today, they were neither. They were just the old friends they had always been. Today was different, though—for the first time, they were entirely by themselves, and Nie Huaisang was going to take advantage of that.
“We shouldn’t go that far! We aren’t supposed to be out here anyway, the conference should start any minute!” Jiang Cheng insisted, catching up to the mischievous merman that swirled as if tasting the freedom for the first time. “My mother is going to gut me alive if she finds out!”
“And you think my brother would be chill?” Nie Huaisang snorted.
“Exactly,” Jiang Cheng deadpanned, crossing his arms in protest.
Jiang Cheng kept grumbling under his breath, and yet, he still followed.
“Calm down, it’s not like we are going to the surface,” Nie Huaisang said, taking a sharp dive as if to make a point. “I want to show you something. It will be quick”
They traveled through dark paths in a cave labyrinth, but the Nie seemed to know exactly where he was going. Taking every turn with an agility he had never shown in training and with the familiarity of someone who had taken the road a thousand times.
“Does your brother know about your little trips?” Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow in question.
Nie Huaisang liked to sneak out– that was no secret. Usually, it was to go to shops to buy jewelry, silks, or some new trinket. But this seemed something he would follow Wei Wuxian into instead of actually initiating. And even then, it would take some coaxing unless it meant escaping his heir duties.
It was unusual, but looking at Huaisang now, the usual frown of Jiang Cheng's frustration gave way to something entirely different. He was left with a strange, quiet curiosity, suddenly wanting nothing more than to know exactly what was going on inside Huaisang’s mind.
“Oh no!” Nie Huaisang shrieked, “He would drag me down to the bottom of the canyon and make me face the jellyfish bank.” he paled as the cave came to an end.
The boys crossed a stretch entrance where they found themselves within a vertical shaft of solid rock, creating a deep, circular basin isolated from the open sea. High above, a jagged hole in the stone ceiling served as the only source of natural light. Through this opening, a direct column of sunlight cut through the dim interior, striking the water at a sharp angle, casting its light to a ship wreck where just half of it was intact, and the rest was nothing but pieces of wood where crabs were making a home.
“What is that?! Nie Huaisang!” Jiang Cheng barked, stopping midway, grabbing the boy’s wrist and pulling him in into the cave “How the hell did you find that” he pointed with a glance behind
Nie Huaisang chuckled lightly, opening his fan made of sea grass and fish bones, hiding behind it as he looked away in innocence.
“I don’t know what you are talking about”
“Don’t bullshit me. Your brother is going to skin me alive and feed me to the sharks!” Jiang Cheng snapped, grabbing Nie Huaisang's fan to pull it out of his face.
“If he finds out!” Nie Huaisang said, smiling widely with innocence in his eyes. Reaching out for his fan with a pout, folding it away from the eel's hands.
The boy winked at him and without waiting for a reaction, he dove in into the shipwreck
Just then, Jiang Cheng thought he may have miscalculated everything.
Nie Huaisang had always been a troublemaker, but where Wei Wuxian was loud and obnoxious, Nie Huaisang was subtle and easy to miss in a crowded room. But he was just the same, if not more, who else would dare to sneak human alcohol into the Lan Palace?
And not only that, he might have forgotten the simple fact that he was alone with Nie Huaisang right now, and not that he would become the voice of reason, but it's the danger of being unable to deny him anything. Not when he had just winked at him and let him frozen in place.
“Fuck–” Jiang Cheng muttered when he got himself to react.
Nie Huaisang , once again, led the way as if he knew exactly where to swim. Jiang Cheng followed, still calling for him, but the boy didn’t stop; instead, it was like he danced between the beams and the fish that had made a home in that broken ship. Nie Huaisang’s scales shone with the sunlight filtering down from above, making a rainbow of greens that reflected in the water.
It was for lack of words, a beautiful sight.
“Are you going to tell me what’s interesting about this human crap?” Jiang Cheng asked, sliding through the water to reach Nie Huaisang’s side.
“Aren’t you curious?” Nie Huaisang hummed, tilting his head to look at the eel
“About?”
Nie Huaisang’s lips tilted upward in a sideways smile, mischievous and full of feigned innocence.
“Come on, we are almost there,” Nie Huaisang said instead.
They took a turn, and then skipped a broken piece of wood. Nie Huaisang was oddly smiling, not hiding behind a fan as he usually did, but following Jiang Cheng’s movements with curiosity and playfulness.
It was like when Jiang Cheng played with Wei Wuxian, swimming around corals and fish banks, but this felt different. He could feel the electricity beneath his skin, but it was not the one he was used to, it was something more subtle.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Cheng was swimming with his back down to dodge something big and solid that looked like a rock made of wood, and from above was Nie Huaisang doing the same but facing down, both pushing the object away without being able to take their eyes away from each other.
Nie Huaisang smiled, nervous and almost shy. Twirling around playfully as he swam up a floor.
The men found themselves in a room with broken windows, sunlight filtering through them, and a lot of things floating in the space. But what caught Jiang Cheng’s attention was the massive collection that had no way of having been there in the first place.
Jiang Cheng didn’t know what anything of this place actually was, but there were shelves and desks full of little items with no correlation between each other. Most of the objects were humans, he could even recognize a couple of those. Mirrors and jewelry made of gold and silver, the merpeople had learned to craft plenty of things across the years, crafted by their own people in likeness, given the utility. There was a collection of shells and pigments. Nie Huaisang had always loved art, painting the walls of his room with pigments thick enough not to be carried away by the water. But many things were just strange, weird shapes and materials placed around the room with dedication.
“Huaisang–” Jiang Cheng started, licking his lips in an attempt to form words.
This was dangerous, not only against the law of the kingdom, but this was about treasuring everything they were meant to hate; humans were just dangerous, and Jiang Cheng couldn’t keep wondering where all of this was collected from and for how long this had been going on.
“Jiang Cheng,” the boy interrupted.
He was floating in the middle of the place, as a statue meant to highlight the whole treasure room, he was fidgeting with his hair, he wasn’t looking at the eel, but then their gaze met.
There was this understanding between them, crafted carefully with years of knowing each other, of sharing woes about responsibilities that Wei Wuxian would never understand. That was the bond they had shared, but in this moment, it was no longer a friendship of heirs, not when the water felt warmer and kinder, tentative as they looked at each other.
“Will you trust me?” Nie Huaisang asked, leaning down on a desk, tail swinging with the current. His eyes were roaming around the room, not looking at anything specific, but rather a tactic to avoid Jiang Cheng’s eyes. “At least– I ask you not to tell anyone, not even Wei-xiong”
Jiang Cheng had always been quick to anger. His facial expressions were usually reduced to frowns, accompanied by a purple light that crackled with the native electricity within him whenever he was angered.
Right now, Nie Huaisang was asking for trust from him, and he willingly gave it. He trusted his friend, but this time was beyond him. This was about treason to his clan and kingdom, and beyond that, Jiang Cheng worried.
“You must be kidding me,” Jiang Cheng scoffed. The words cut sharply, but there was a frantic edge to his voice, his chest heaving as if he’d just swam through intense currents. Disbelief warred with a suffocating knot of dread in his throat.
“This—” He emphasized, his hands trembling slightly as he threw his arms open, gesturing wildly to the room. To the dangerous secrets exposed on the shelves. “How long has this been going on?! One thing is sneaking out for fun, but this?! This is madness!”
He moved forward, invading Huaisang’s space. He wanted to shake him, to yell until the idiot understood the sheer danger he'd put himself in, but his fingers only clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists at his sides to stop them from shaking. His eyes were wide, dark with a furious, protective panic. “Do you have any idea what they will do to you if they find out? You’re dancing on a razor-sharp reef, Huaisang, and you're smiling like it's a game!"
Nie Huaisang’s eyes finally looked at the Jiang Heir, and seemed to be disappointed with what he found.
“That’s all you have to say?”
Nie Huaisang’s voice was barely a whisper, leaving his usual theatrical flair until it was dangerously quiet. He looked up through his eyelashes, his eyes searching Jiang Cheng's face for something, anything—other than the harsh judgment radiating from him.
Jiang Cheng scoffed, a bitter, breathless sound. He turned his face away, his jaw so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek, but his chest was still heaving for breath.
“What else do you expect me to say?”
They stared at each other for a moment, holding their breaths as if it would break them if they spoke as much as a word.
“Maybe I was expecting you would enjoy this, at least a little” Nie Huaisang muttered, his tone edging with annoyance and disappointment.
“Enjoy?!” Jiang Cheng snapped, “You have a whole clandestine collection that you got from who knows where and expect me to be marveled by it?! You are the heir of the Nie sect for fuck sake!”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Nie Huaisang glared at him.
“Everything! We are heirs, we cannot be fucking around with human crap!”
Nie Huaisang scoffed. Looking away, he swam toward a small collection of spoons. They were made of various shapes and materials, with intricate art engraved into the metal. His nails traced the patterns carefully, filled with awe despite the bubbling heat and anger still held in his chest.
“It’s my crap anyway.” Nie Huaisang turned to glare at the eel. “I just wanted to show you this place! Did you have to remind me how wrong this all is?! I fucking know, and I do it regardless because it’s the only thing that makes me feel alive in a place that doesn’t welcome me for what I am! I’m no warrior like my brother wants me to be, and I’m no use to the kingdom! So what is wrong with wanting to be myself for once?!”
Merpeople didn’t cry. Tears weren’t able to gather under the sea, but the sorrow was clear on his face.
Without waiting for an answer, he swam away without looking back, swirling through the broken windows and taking the sunlight with him.
Jiang Cheng was left there, feeling as if the world was swallowing him into a vortex, leaving him hollow.
“This is fucking stupid,” Jiang Cheng muttered to himself.
He was swimming back to the shipwreck. No Nie Huaisang this time by his side to guide the path, and the cave suddenly felt so empty, boring and cold.
By the time the eel was back, it was nighttime, nothing but darkness and the noise of his own thoughts.
It had taken him all day to gather what he needed to apologize. Slipping away from his mother and Wei Wuxian had been almost impossible, but one look at his A-Jie, and it was as if she understood something he himself didn’t know yet, and effortlessly she had called them to help her with shopping. His mother joined her to make sure she had the best dress. Wei Wuxian, as designated bodyguard of the Jiang sect, followed, and everything seemed to be as if it had been his mother's idea. His sister was a genius.
But that left him with too much free time and still trying to figure out what he wanted to do and how he should do it, he knew he had done something wrong, but not exactly where.
Maybe he should have talked with Wei Wuxian, but that just managed to make him angrier for some reason. How should he know anyway? All he did was flirt with mermaids to get free food. But no, his pride got the best of him, and he was not going to ask his Jie, she knew too much sometimes. And that was reduced to zero.
So here he was, with a bag slung over his shoulder and swimming through a path he had paid no serious attention to where he was going, because he was being blinded by the shiny sparkly tail of Nie Huaisang, and now he was totally going to get lost.
“I’m doomed,” Jiang Cheng concluded.
And it was not because of being lost in some cavern labyrinth.
By the time he finally had managed to get out, he wasn’t even sure if he was out. It was dark and silent, even the fish banks that had been floating around had left to find somewhere to spend the night. But still, either by sunlight or the moon, the ship was truly something you couldn’t miss, always under the lights like a magnificent statue deserving of recognition rather than the reminder of a human tragedy and the amount of trash they left on their home.
But…
This was Nie Huaisang’s place, his sanctuary.
“I’m such an idiot,” he muttered, looking down. There was a faint light coming from deep inside the ship, likely from some bioluminescent creature or algae he hadn't noticed earlier. He could easily picture Nie Huaisang so clearly. Arranging it with meticulous care so the light would catch on his treasures perfectly, just the way his artistic mind wanted.
“Yes, you are,” Nie Huaisang’s voice piped in, almost playful.
“FUCK!” Jiang Cheng spun around, his tail cracking with purple electricity. His heart hammered frantically, his breath coming in heavy, ragged bursts that made the water around his face churn, his mind racing to catch up with the sudden shock. "Huaisang!” He snapped, groaning in an attempt to calm himself down.
The merman hadn’t been hiding, but from the path Jiang Cheng had come from it was easy to miss, he was perched on a rock almost floor level. A wicked smile was drawn on Nie Huaisang's lips. Resting his weight on his forearms, he arched his back slightly, looking up with a look of quiet amusement, resting his long nails slowly against his chin. His tail coiled upward, the iridescent scales catching the light of the moon in shimmering shades of teal and green. The great, fan-like fin at the end waved back and forth in a slow, hypnotic cadence, cutting through the water joined by his floating hair.
Jiang Cheng once again found himself at a loss seeing him, it was like Nie Huaisang did it on purpose, like he knew how that smile and those light movements that seemed effortless as sliding through water were enticing for him.
“What brings you here? To my personal dumpster?" Nie Huaisang asked, keeping those eyes sharp, fixed on Jiang Cheng, nails tapping lazily on his chin as if lost in thoughts, and the sarcasm wasn’t lost to the Jiang heir.
Awkwardly, Jiang Cheng dove down to find Nie Huaisang close to the sand. He sat down on one of the pieces of the ship, facing away. His heart was beating rapidly; he could feel it as energy on his tail that was coiling uncomfortably in shame around the wood. The bag suddenly felt too heavy, he gripped it tighter and bit his lips. All his determination seemed to have vanished under the merman’s defiant gaze that he could feel pinned to the back of his skull.
Nie Huaisang waited, expectant. Things had started to shift between them; they both knew. It was a careful, delicate craft Nie Huaisang had been weaving for years. But the next move belonged to Jiang Cheng, and it was up to him to decide where they went from here.
“I–” Jiang Cheng bit his lip, tightening his grip, making the wood crack slightly. He turned slightly, facing Nie Huaisang for the first time this evening, his lungs suddenly feeling too tight to breathe. “I’m sorry”
Nie Huaisang leveled him with a look that revealed nothing, silence dragging out as a tool and not for having nothing to say. The ability to read people had become second nature to him, allowing him to guide them exactly where he wanted without them ever suspecting a thing. But he had never once used that skill against Jiang Cheng.
For once, he had tried to move things forward—to be himself, to show vulnerability that was not faked to gain something the way he usually did in front of his brother or his sect to avoid training.
But he had been nothing but disappointed today.
This was all a mistake.
“I’m sorry– This–” Nie Huaisang laughed, hollow. Dragging his nails through his hair, brushing the locks away. “You are not sorry, Jiang Cheng!”
Jiang Cheng turned fully now, eyes open in disbelief “Wha– Of course I am! I fucked up! I’m here to apologize!”
“You are here because you know you did something wrong, but you are not getting it.” Nie Huaisang sighed, dragging his hand up and down his face. “You fucking hurt me, and you don’t even know why!”
Nie Huaisang rose from his rock, frustration and pain showing through those eyes, facing the Jiang heir, fighting the will to just leave, to end whatever this was. He had come here in the hope he would be back, and now they both were here they were getting nowhere, and still had it in him to believe this could be something.
“Maybe I don’t,” Jiang Cheng admitted, defeated, but now driven by a desperate need to ensure Nie Huaisang didn't believe it was because he did not care. It felt as if he had to drag the words out, scraping his throat painfully. It was about opening his heart to feelings and thoughts he had never even considered possible or allowed to have. “But you brought me here, and you haven’t brought anyone else, have you?”
Nie Huaisang bit his lip, avoiding Jiang Cheng’s gaze.
Jiang Cheng took this chance to move toward him, his bag forgotten as it slid through the water, falling softly and kicking up a small cloud of sand. A few small, clattering sounds interrupted the silence of the night, but that was the least of their concerns.
They were facing each other, Nie Huaisang trapped between the Eel and the rock behind him. Their eyes met in mutual defiance, their tails brushed with the swing of their swim, every brush careful, doubtful and allowed anyways.
“You showed me a piece of your world, and all I worried about was our social standing.” Jiang Cheng’s voice was low, almost muted by the water.
“You did,” Nie Huaisang allowed, something gentle and tentative.
Their shared breaths mingled, bubbles tingling their skin. But their eyes wouldn’t leave each other’s, they got closer with every small swing of the water, and they let it.
“I’m sorry”
“What for?”
It was a challenge, soft and fragile.
“I did not understand," Jiang Cheng whispered against his lips. When had they gotten so close? He couldn't even recall. All he cared about was the way Nie Huaisang was looking at him right now, waiting for his answer. “You showed me who you are. Not the Nie heir, just you. I’m sorry I did not see it earlier”
Nie Huaisang smiled, it was soft and small—Almost afraid to do so, but his lips tilted upwards. Finally, those walls that had been between them crumbled into seafoam, letting the true vulnerability, fears, and adoration show through.
Jiang Cheng found nothing but beauty. Losing himself in those eyes that took his breath away.
There was electricity beneath their skin, and it wasn’t Jiang Cheng’s eel nature but the true spark between two beating hearts that had found their rhythm.
It had been a painful moment, where the world had stopped. Every breath had been an effort, but looking at Huaisang now, it was suddenly so easy to just exist.
Who moved first was a mystery.
Nie Huaisang was pinned against the rock, lying on his back as Jiang Cheng kissed him fiercely. They were a tangle of limbs and desperation and love, adoration that had been hidden behind duty and pretenses. Tails and scales brushed and twisted around each other. Nie Huaisang’s hands traveled down Jiang Cheng’s bare back, nails dragging painfully, but Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have it any other way.
He bit and kissed as if his life was depending on it, mind lost, having the man he loved under him, skin against skin, his hand caressing and guiding Nie Huaisang’s chin lovingly, his thumb tracing his face, committing it to memory, his other hand traveling slowly across Nie Huaisang’s arms with gentleness.
“You— You really take what you want,” Nie Huaisang smirked, taking a bite from Jiang Cheng’s lips.
“Attempt the impossible," Jiang Cheng quoted, smug “You seemed so out of reach before, so I had to try.”
“Oh yeah?” Nie Huaisang hummed, his fingers tracing Jiang Cheng’s body with an entrancing smile worthy of a siren rather than a merman.
“Yeah” Jiang Cheng kissed him again, letting their lips find each other again.
They could be here forever. Letting the light of the moon cast over them as a blessing.
So they did just that, letting the world forget about them for a minute, as they existed in this sanctuary that had opened just for them and letting their hearts beat as one with openness, no more hiding behind carefully crafted masks.
“What did you bring me?” Nie Huaisang asked softly, fighting the stubborn will to kiss Jiang Cheng back all over again.
Jiang Cheng chuckled, a low, rumbling sound against Huaisang's temple. Of course, Huaisang knew there was a gift waiting for him and not some crap he was carrying. He was terrifyingly smart like that, nothing escaped that sharp mind of his, no matter how much he hid behind the innocent and useless young master facade.
Jiang Cheng took a second, a deep blush of embarrassment coloring his neck and cheeks. Taking a steadying breath, he hid his face against Nie Huaisang’s neck, his lips leaving a trail of small, slow, and lazy kisses over the skin. Nie Huaisang’s skin tingled, his heart and breath still in disarray. He waited patiently, looking up to where the moon hovered far above them, casting a gentle light over them
“Some treasures for your collection,” Jiang Cheng murmured, casting a shy glance at the voice beneath him.
The eel was going to raise to show him what he got, some hairpins and jewelry, human-made, he had found in the vaults of some shady market, probably paid too much, even more than the cost they wanted, just to ensure they wouldn’t mention they had seen him there.
He didn't mention the grueling hours he’d spent tracking down those specific trinkets. He hadn't known a damn thing about the quality of the jade fan-tassels or the rarity of the ancient pottery he'd bought. He didn't understand the appeal at all, but he knew the exact look Huaisang’s face got when he found something rare, the way he had looked and traced the trinkets in that room hidden in the ship, deliberately and organized in some way that meant years of dedication and appreciation of its beauty. Nie Huaisang had looked in awe and wonder, expectant of Jiang Cheng’s reaction, to share a piece of his world– and he had failed miserably.
Nie Huaisang didn’t let him make an inch of space between them, hands gripping Jiang Cheng’s back tightly and pulling him in once again. He didn’t need to know what the bundle had. What he cared about was that he had made an effort to apologize, made an effort to find something he liked, and was not just making empty apologies. This assured him that their friendship had never been glued merely by their statues and woes, but Jiang Cheng had paid attention despite always assuring otherwise.
A wave of profound warmth washed over him, and he turned back, kissing Jiang Cheng with a sudden, fierce devotion that tasted like a quiet thank you. He wrapped his tail around his, turning them around, making Jiang Cheng wince against the harshness of the stone under his back, flaring up the nail scratches the Nie had done on him.
But it didn’t matter.
Their lips found each other over and over again, hands traveled through skin as they discovered new maps.
It was new.
It was old.
It felt like thousands of feelings they had hidden with fears and doubts until they couldn’t hold it anymore.
“You took your fucking time,” Huaisang whispered against his lips, his fingers tightening on Jiang Cheng's arms.
Jiang Cheng sighed, but the rare, soft smile on his face refused to be washed away. “You should have dragged Wei Wuxian away years earlier.”
Huaisang pulled back just enough to look at him, his eyes widening slightly. “You knew?”
“Of course I knew,” Jiang Cheng scoffed, pressing a hand to the small of Huaisang's back. “Who else would have successfully convinced him to stay put instead of running off on some wild adventure? You orchestrated the whole thing today, how long had you truly wanted me to drag me into your secret hideout? Huh?”
Huaisang smiled, a genuine, fragile thing full of absolute adoration. For years, he had played the fool, pulling strings from the shadows while the world looked down on him. But here, in the quiet circle of Jiang Cheng’s arms, he felt truly seen for the first time.
And accepted for what it was.
“I should have invited you here earlier,” Huaisang groaned, burying his face into Jiang Cheng’s shoulder to hide the sudden sting in his eyes.
“Maybe”
“You wouldn’t have accepted,” Huaisang challenged lightly, his voice muffled against the skin.
“I would have followed you anyway.”
Nie Huaisang tilted his head up, searching his face. “Would you?”
“You would have convinced me with pretty words.” Jiang Cheng said, his thumb brushing over Huaisang's cheekbone, tracing his face with love clear on his eyes.
“Not my looks?” Nie Huaisang teased, a smirk drawn on his face.
Jiang Cheng let out a soft snort, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he pulled Huaisang flush against his chest. “Oh yeah. Definitely add your looks to the list.”
