Slipping Through My Fingers | Xicheng

Chapter 15

"Huaisang, I am so sorry." Jiang Cheng hugged the man strongly, allowing to hide in his embrace at least for a moment.

"First Da-ge and now Bojing, I cannot take it anymore Jiang Cheng. How did you do it?" He asked, crying again.

"I put my mind into what I still had left. I had the Sect and Ren Tian to take care of, and I knew that they wouldn't want me to lose myself in mourning. No one wants that for their loved ones. I can assure you of that much. You still have A-Shan, and he needs his dad to be there for him. You lost a son as much as he lost a brother. I know those are two different types of pain, but it's still pain nonetheless."

With a hand gesture, he indicated for the boy to come up to him. He took his face in his hands and smiled through the pain. Tears flew from Shaoshan's eyes and ran down his cheeks, Huaisang wiped them away then hugged his son to his chest.

"I love you, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay eventually. Maybe not now, but sooner or later it will."

Jiang Cheng looked at his friend and his heart broke a little for him. He knew the magnitude of Huaisang's loss was enormous, and even though he had lost so many people he loved, it still couldn't be compared to the loss of a child. He could empathize with him after Nie Mingjue's death, but not now. At that moment all he could do was try to console him, and assure that someday the pain will be lesser.

Nie Bojing and Nie Shaoshan were children of Nie Huaisang's older cousin and his wife, and since they lived in the Unclean Realm he knew the kids from the day each was born. He played with them, spoiled them, but most importantly he cared for them whenever their parents were busy and he was available.

That is why Nie Mingjue allowed him to adopt them after their parents died during the Sunshot Campaign. Although he was barely seventeen years old, he became a parent, just like Jiang Cheng did some months prior after the Lotus Pier Massacre. A-Shan and A-Jing were three and five years old respectively back then.

Now the ten years old A-Shan was clinging to his father for dear life, and Nie Huaisang was doing the same, because after taking his son in his arms he became irrationally afraid that if he lets go he will also disappear.

***

As the sun rose over the Lotus Pier Ren Tian stirred in bed, when the door to his room creaked open. He was about to reach for his sword, but a hand found its place on his own hand. He shooed away the remaining sleep and opened his eyes. Smile creeped its way onto his lips.

Nie Shoushan kneeled next to his bed and also smiled sweetly at him. "Hi." He whispered before he leaned forward to plant a kiss on A-Tian's forehead. "Sleep some more, my love. I will be here when you wake up."

Ren Tian was truly too tired to answer, so he just nodded, scooting over in order to make some place in the bed for his fiancé. And that is how he woke up, in the warm embrace of the man he loved. He always felt at ease and calm whenever he was with A-Shan.

He loved waking up before him to admire his sleeping form. A-Shan slightly creased his forehead during sleep, creating a small wrinkle which Ren Tian liked to smooth with his finger before proceeding to plant pepper kisses all over his face.

The man giggled. One of A-Tian's favorite sounds.

"Stop it, you know I am ticklish." He said it without an ounce of anger.

"Oh really?" A-Tian grinned like a fool and proceeded to tickle him. This time properly.

"Ahhhh! I surrender! Stop!" He laughed, pulling him in for a kiss.

Ren Tian obliged with no resistance. They kissed for some time before pulling apart, still looking each other in the eyes.

"I missed you." They said it at the same time, bringing another smile to their faces with it.

"I am sorry for not being here for you for the past weeks. I wish I could have come back faster than this." A-Shan apologized, hiding his head in the crook of A-Tian's neck.

Ren Tian smiled sadly. "You were far away, doing something to which you committed yourself long ago. It is natural that your letters did not bring me as much solace as your presence at my side would have given me, but they were enough. Still, I know that you would be willing to jump on your sword and come to me in the blink of an eye, and that is one of the things I love you for."

"I love you too, sweetheart. I love you so much."

"You goof." He smiled. "How long are you going to stay?"

"Hmm... It depends."

"Depends on what?"

"On how long will it take for you to get tired of me and want me as far away as possible." He giggled.

"Oh? So you are staying here forever then? That's nice. " A-Tian hugged the man, planted one more kiss on his lips, and proceeded to get up. "I am going to get us some breakfast first, and later we will go to see my Baba so you can greet him properly." We don't want a repetition of the last time. Remember, he swore to break your legs. This time for real. "

"Haha, of course, my love. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

"Idiot."

Ren Tian couldn't help himself, so he grinned from ear to ear all the way to the kitchen.

They started off with a friendship, their fathers being friends and all. It was hard to go from being best friends to love interests to lovers. They were both bottling up their emotions since they were too afraid of losing the other. It took literal years for them to come clean about it. But when they finally did it was totally worth it.

The only obstacle on the way of their wedding was Nie Shaoshan's vagabond lifestyle, but that's not something that Ren Tian really minded. If it brought the man happiness he was more than willing to let go of him for some time from time to time.

If it brought the man happiness he was more than willing to let him go away from time to time. After all he wasn't bound by the Sect heir duties like he was.

Ren Tian never complained, because he actually liked his role in the Sect, but sometimes the stress really made him want to leave it all to someone else. But then he looked at Jiang Cheng and thought to himself that he wants to be a great Sect Leader like him.

Nie Shaoshan also admired and loved his father very much, but he always said that he is simply not cut out to be a Sect Leader himself. Nie Huaisang listened to his son's wishes and decided that he would choose his heir among the disciples. He hasn't done that yet though.

The fact that A-Shan could roam wherever he pleased, whenever he pleased, was one benefit, but there was another as well. Ren Tian won't have to be separated from his beloved like his parents were because of their duties. Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen split their time between Cloud Recesses and Lotus Pier, and Ren Tian could tell that it eventually put some strain on them. He was happy he won't have to experience that in his own marriage.