"Chicken, Fox and Flowers" is a oneshot fic by Anbessette. It's a Modern AU Fic which centers around Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen, and Meng Yao's relationship. All seems to be going well until Mingjue, noticing Xichen and Meng Yao seem to be more affectionate with each other than either one is with him, starts coughing up flowers.
It can be read here
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This fanfic contains the following tropes
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Lan Xichen kisses Nie Mingjue on the forehead twice over the course of the fic.
- Amicable Exes: Lan Qiren and his girlfriend, a fact that Xichen uses to disprove the idea of Lans having One True Loves.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Xichen and Mingjue, according to a reference Xichen makes during his declaration of love to Mingjue. It's implied in one line that they started dating either in high school or college.
- Closet Key: From the same speech referenced above, Mingjue was this to Xichen:Lan Xichen: We’ve been married almost ten years. I’ve loved you since we were children. You were the reason I realised I was gay, and then the reason I realised I was polyamorous and not a terrible person.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: It turns out that Xichen bringing Meng Yao home after a hike was this: he found the guy Mingjue had had a crush on and brought him home so they could all be together.
- Hanahaki Disease: The central problem of the fic is that Mingjue develops this. In a twist on the usual formula (that it develops as a result of unrequited love), in this universe Hanahaki can also result from feeling unsatisfied in a relationship, and Mingjue believes now that he's less important to Xichen and Meng Yao than the two are to each other. He isn't.
- I Kiss Your Hand: Lan Xichen kisses Meng Yao's hand at one point in thanks for Meng Yao passing him something in the kitchen. Mingjue witnesses...and subsequently starts coughing up flowers.
- Xichen kisses Mingjue's hand again while declaring his love for him.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: One reason Mingjue tries justifying getting the flowers surgically removed from his chest is that Meng Yao and Xichen will be happy without him, as they love one another more than him anyway. It's downplayed, as he knows they would be hurt, but he thinks they'd eventually be happier. They do not see it that way.
- Love at First Sight: Xichen and Meng Yao apparently met on a hike, locked eyes, and fell madly in love. The truth is more complicated, as while Xichen did fall for Meng Yao and vice versa...but their first meeting largely centered around Mingjue and the fact that Xichen was really excited that he'd met his husband's crush.
- One True Love: A large portion of the fic centers on the idea that every Lan has one of these in a soulmate-type way. It's then deconstructed, as Mingjue believes himself not to be Xichen's one true love, and comes close to dying of Hanahaki as a result. Even if he's wrong, his assumption clearly hurts both Xichen and Meng Yao.
- Polyamory: Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue have been together for a long time, but occasionally have threesomes or partners on the side. Then, once Meng Yao enters into the equation, they both start dating him. The end suggests that they're going to close their relationship and only be with Meng Yao as a triad.
- Sadistic Choice: The surgery to remove Hanahaki presents one. If someone has it, they will lose all emotional context as to why they loved a person in the first place. The other major option is to just die of the Hanahaki.
- Sickening Sweethearts: Meng Yao and Xichen are a downplayed version, often making sweeping declarations of love for one another and getting physically affectionate. This is Played for Drama, as they're both also with Mingjue and aren't like that with him, causing his Hanahaki to take root.
