Untamed Fic: I Still Burn (for you) (NieYao, happy ending)

[out_there]

I posted last night but forgot to post it here. Oops. (Also, it was a challenge to get a happy ending for NieYao from canon but I'm very pleased with the end result. Next time, I'm going modern AU and making it easy on myself.)

I Still Burn (for you) (9487 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao/Nie Mingjue
Characters: Nie Mingjue, Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao
Additional Tags: set during the Wen Yao era, Sunshot Campaign (Módào Zǔshī), past threats of sexual abuse (didn't happen, just mentioned), Threats of Rape/Non-Con, JGY POV
Summary:

"You're not a Nie," Nie Mingjue snarls as he strides past Meng Yao. "You shouldn't wear those braids."

He's right, Meng Yao knows it. He has no right to them but they serve a purpose. It's a spiteful act of disrespect to a clan that threw him out, the kind of bitter pettiness that Wen Ruohan encourages. But the true reason is that every morning it gives him a few moments where he can pretend he isn't here. He can watch his reflection in the bronze mirror, in his robes of dark grey, and remember Nie Huaisang teaching him, being somewhere that almost felt safe. (The idea of home has always carried some danger.)

Comments

[forestsofpine]

Oh, I really enjoyed that! I do love a good NieYao or Xiyao fix-it, and you did a great job making it plausible.

[out_there]

Thank you! The plausibility thing is so hard to figure out. I usually write xiyao -- honestly, I feel like Xichen is so prone to understanding and forgiving JGY that there's a lot of room for fix-it fics of all flavours -- but nieyao is a lot sharper and the whole thing depends a lot more on when things go differently.