#MDZS ficlet

[sasukimimochi]

.✦ Blackened Wings. (Pt 1) - Happy Halloween!! 🦇

WC - 1080 ( .MDZS Bat flock AU✦. )

Summary: The siege of burial mounds was set, but upon arrival none were found- all belongings left behind besides the clothes on their backs and Wei Wuxian's scripts. When there is nothing else left behind and no traces to find, what more is there to do than move on?

Timeline: Post first siege on the timeline. Wens/WWX did not die in the seige, and are completely off the map.

Prompt 26, for my Writing/Drawing Challenge- Animal.

.✦

Lan Wangji had been spending a great amount of time with the bats that had chosen to roost under his roof- he knew it wasn’t good practice to be in close contact with them, but he felt especially attached to them since they showed up not too long after Wei Wuxian’s and the Wens disappearance.

He was, of course, distraught. Absolutely devastated and worried- but he was very much wounded, so what could he do in such a state? When he went there to see, there really had been nothing left of them. All of their belongings were still there besides the clothes that were likely still on their backs, and Wei Wuxian’s inventions. 

The assumption was, despite months of searching, that they had all died, ran away, or the most nausea inducing, been secretly done away with or decided to die together on their own terms. There was just no evidence, nothing- it was like they were spirited away. 

Like they never existed.

Lan Wangji had drank that night. So much so that he thought he might disappear too- his brother had brought him home safely though, somehow.

He’d spent the next few nights trying to sneak out, being brought home and at one point even restrained- his family didn’t want him to go on a search for someone they considered evil, but especially when injured and having no leads- he didn’t care. However all he was allowed was time sitting on his deck, the night sky all he had to keep himself from going completely out of touch.

He could remember stories that Wei Wuxian told him as he looked at the stars- how he hoped his parents were two of those very ancient lights watching over him- on a long past anniversary of his mother’s passing.

And then…they came from that sky.

A somewhat large, black and red bat with a group of small white bats- he hadn’t ever seen the small white kind before, but the larger one looked kind of like a flying fox. It was large, but it wasn’t as big as some he’d seen- which made him think it was a different breed than those he’d seen in the past. Its wingspan was impressive, but its body was smaller than a cat’s. The small ones could fit in his palm if they allowed him to hold them, with sunburst orange details and dark gray wings, accented by that same golden color mixed with a light, delicate red on the outer fold of their wings. The smallest of them had an especially brilliant hue and a lovely fluffy white coat, and was the friendliest of the bunch. A baby, he presumed.

He’d focused on them, watching them hang from the beams and all huddle up inside the larger’s wings in what he assumed to be to stay warm. It was still chilly at night, and the white bats were quite small- and as they were white primarily they likely didn’t get a lot of heat retention. The larger bat though was the one who shivered. The smaller ones would huddle close, and eventually the larger one would fall asleep for a short time.

So he watched them, and stopped trying to run away. For some reason the bats stuck around, and one of the smaller ones especially loved to fly over to him and hang off his robes, sit on his shoulder or on his head. The larger one would quickly follow as if worried, but would stay as well when treated to pets and figs. It turned out even the smaller ones ate fruit as well, which he found unusual. He’d never met such small bats that didn’t eat insects and rather ate fruit.

It became his reason to keep going day to day, the only reason he didn’t rush off with his injured body looking for the one he loved. He had to stay here as long as he was injured, but he felt the time was easier now, spending time with his bats.

“A-Ying,” Lan Wangji whispered to the large bat, watching as its head turned to him expectantly. These bats were so smart, and the little things this one did reminded him of all the cute characteristics Wei Wuxian had. Rubbing its nose with its wing, tilting its head when told something curious. He still remembered the angry flapping accompanying a quite squeaky, chittery shriek the bat had made when his uncle had gotten too close to the little white bat. Those two seemed bonded, despite the little one appearing to have some sort of family amongst the other white bats left.

“Is it alright if I name your little one too?” Lan Wangji asked softly, watching as it leaned forward to give him a little lick on the nose with its soft little tongue. He exhaled quietly like an attempt of a laugh despite the exhaustion, listening to the soft mewling and chirps that sounded like real laughter to him.

“What about ‘Sizhui’?”

The bat moved its head back as if it truly understood the words, mouth slightly ajar with its head tilting ever so slightly and eyes wide- as if he was looking into his heart with those dark eyes.

“It is from a poem…do you want to hear?”

The bat chittered quietly in response.

“Yearning for but cannot chase after you, longing for someday when you will return.” He looked outside briefly, where the bats usually were roosting. The bats however were roosting in the corner of his room where it was warm, except for the littlest one currently hooked into his lapels. “It loosely means ‘chasing memories’, or another: ‘to yearn for’.” He gently scratched under the large bat’s jaw, watching its ears vibrate with happiness to the affection, but still stare at him so closely. It was unusual to see the bat this focused.

“Do you like it?”

The bat gently booped their noses together and wiggled its ears again, the soft little clicks bringing the corner of his mouth up, however tired it was. “Little Sizhui then.” 

He paused, remembering the boy that followed at Wei Wuxian’s heels. He called the boy little radish, didn’t he? He missed them so much…

He hadn’t realized he had started to drift to sleep until he felt something soft gently wiping away the tears he hadn’t known he shed. His eyes cracked open just slightly, and he could have sworn he saw pale anthracite blue looking back at him.

✦.

Hope you guys enjoy Halloween! I took time to finish most of chapter 28 instead of working on the second part for this, but just so you know its basically a second perspective with perhaps a bit more addition. It'll be for prompt 18 "Love."! I will hopefully have another part to show you guys before long, but for now i hope you enjoy this ! 🦇 💖

I did a very quick sketch with it, but I apologize cuz it doesn't look too great hahaha I'm just trying to get ahead so I can't spend time on side stuff too much. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! eat lots of candy and enjoy some halloween movies etcetc!!

.✦.👻🦇💀🎃🍬🍭🍫🌙✨✦. *

Read More MDZS stuff I've written or look at more MDZS stuff I've drawn in my masterpost! ❤

-

Random Information about this au:

WWX turned himself and the Wens into bats together to “disappear”. The bats start roosting under the edge of the Jingshi roof in the corner and LWJ watches them during his recovery days. He thinks it's in his head that two of them remind him of wwx & wy but doesn't care - he protects them now, and even a bit of the vice versa.

WWX is a fruit bat (I felt like a flying fox would be too big), and the wens are Honduran white bats. They are seen as a flock, despite WWX presenting as a different breed. They CAN change at will, except for Wen Yuan which WWX keeps tight control of because he’s a kid and accidents can happen. They don’t though, so the Lans assume they are all just regular bats that have taken a liking to the Jingshi roofing.

(Extra: convo excerpts when developing, it won't be completely cohesive):

Sasu: Someone is mean to LWJ (forcing him to accept liquor, etc etc) bat wwx pops out and starts squeaking at them from inside his lapels. It scares em off (works almost everytime).

A-Yuan is still little so he stays on LWJs shoulder half the time (tucked under wwx wing the rest of the time).

Yuyu: “Pristine cultivator Hanguang-Jun” chilling in front of his uncle who’s seething. Cause there’s two bats on his nephew; One is chewing his ribbon.

Yuyu: Would be funny if only wwx was the big bat and all the wens and a-yuan were just-

A tiny mob of fluffs under his wing

Sasu: jfhshfjfj beautiful, I like the idea. Maybe not a flying fox size cuz that's huuuuuuge but fruit bat. still big enough!

Yuyu: Everyone in Gusu just sighs as they now not only got “totally not pets” bunnies but bats too. Wangji privilege smh

I like to imagine Qiren is like….slightly afraid of the larger bat

Sasu: all the Lans start to like the small bat flock tho cuz the big one brings bugs and fruits to the small ones

they also don't poop there which is a plus xD

I'm sure they wouldn't like guano on Gusu paths

Yuyu: Omg.

Maybe one of the smaller bats got stuck in Qiren’s closets or something 

And well….

Qiren might explode

Sasu: jfhsgdjfb LMAO LWJ is just like “why did you close them in there” and just babies the bat and feeds it a berry or smth

Yuyu: The lost bat was a-yuan ಥ_ಥ Hence wwx was just panicking flying everywhere

Sasu: I think wwx woulda led them to the closet and just sqUEAK

Qiren: "no u cant get in there!" but then heard the other squeaks gjhsgxjf

LWJ just following them around like what's wrong and that's how he ends up on the scene jfjshdhf much bat cuddles after that

Yuyu: wlskjheiocewin one day LWJ just full on cuddles bat wwx like a plushy and wwx bat is just (a bunch of flustered emojis) And all the other bats are just looking at him from the other side of the room like e u e

Sasu: HAHAHAHA they know they for sure know- god I'm dying a little imagining LWJ petting wwx slowly while he's going to sleep like he's a cat (and falls asleep with his hand on him)

Yuyu: God imagine if that’s how he poofs back into a human- /jk

Sasu: ignshdjfn fruits basket style. imagine he wakes up and sees the bat replaced with wwx nods

Yuyu: Wwx has not dared to move all night

Sasu: wwx panic shifts back into a bat and LWJ wonders if he was seeing things

Yuyu: Just eyes his water next to his bed all suspiciously……"did i accidentally drink"

Sasu: hfhsbdjd - he starts calling the bat a-ying (cuz wei ying would be too on point) and the bat seems a little flighty so he's like ‘did i catch smth’ nfhshdjjf he's sus but also doubtful haha ‘maybe i offended him’

aw but imagine he like recognizes mannerisms in bat wwx that human wwx would do, like rubbing his wing over his nose a lot, having human like expression and these squeaks that seem like laughter (and he of course gets scary or protective depending on who he's with) so he act like air puppy sometimes or shows his teeth at other times and he likes to wrap his wings over LWJs shoulders to have a full body rest

Yuyu: A living blanket

Sasu: mn, living blanket with claws

Yuyu: Lwj has learned not to voice this opinion out loud or the bat gets upset (A puppy! Of all things)

Sasu: kfhsgzcjfj hahaha- that’s just the term for fruit bats they’re nicknamed air puppies. I don't think LWJ would call him that, maybe some juniors tho haha

Yuyu: Jingyi

Sasu: pft haha Jingyi bonds with bat a-yuan nods the bat LWJ personally named Sizhui because he is small and reminds him of the little boy wwx once cared for owo

so a-yuan is a shoulder bat for Jingyi a lot when he's in his kid years

Jingyi says he's his best friend and has to be convinced to leave the bat at home when training dnhdgshsj

Yuyu: Mo Xuanyu lives in this? I can imagine him being absolutely infatuated with the bats, also hilarious if he looks at wwx bat for like 1 min and is just ... leans in whispering, Yiling Patriarch!?

Sasu: wwx, internally: that's my name don't wear it out

wwx, outside: angry bat flutters

how would he recognize tho

vkjdhdj hahaha

Yuyu: Haah love bats, wonderful stuff

Sasu: Bats are the best (❁´◡`❁) ❤

[imperfectpompom]

Wei Wuxian wakes up to tiny hands grabbing at his shirt and small whimpering noises whistling over to his ears from beside the bed.

"Baba...?"

It's that part of the night where you can't decide if it's too late, or too early in the day to be awake. Whatever time it is - Wei Wuxian doesn't want to be awake right now. He scrunches his face up and blinks open a bleary eye, trying to find the precious face of his little Baobei in the dark.

"A-Yuan... What's wrong, Baobei?" Wei Wuxian wiggles himself more upright, gently manoeuvring himself out of his sleeping husband's arms. "Did you have a bad dream?"

He reaches out and scoops A-Yuan into his arms and up off the floor as he hears the rustling noises of Lan Zhan waking himself up. A-Yuan buries into his chest as soon as Wei Wuxian has settled him onto his lap, his pudgy hands gripping at the worn fabric of Wei Wuxian's shirt. The faint outline of A-Yuan's ponytail bobs in the moonlight as he nods.

Silently, Lan Zhan shuffles closer to them until he’s sat just behind Wei Wuxian, an arm around each of them. Wei Wuxian leans into his husband’s chest and listens to the rustle of fabric as Lan Zhan rubs his hand up and down A-Yuan’s back. He can feel the worry radiating off of Lan Zhan, pouring into him from where the top of his head fits in the crook of Lan Zhan's neck.

"I... I was a radish..." A-Yuan hiccups as Wei Wuxian shifts to hold him tighter, "And-And you tried to ate me!"

A huff of amusement from Lan Zhan, some of the tension that he had been holding tight slipping. Wei Wuxian can feel himself slide down Lan Zhan’s body as he starts to relax again. 

"Oh no, Baobei." he presses a kiss into A-Yuan's bedhead, "Dream-Baba sounds really mean."

"He was." A-Yuan's breaths are slowing down as he relaxes into the embrace.

"But, you know, I bet Dream-Baba only wanted to keep you safe."

A Yuan's little head turns up to look him in the eyes, "He did?" He frowns. "then why did he tried to ate me?"

Wei Wuxian sighs, "Well, before I gave birth to you, I kept baby A-Yuan safe by keeping you in my tummy. Do you know the best thing about A-Yuan being in my belly?" A-Yuan shakes his head.

Wei Wuxian smiles, brings his cheek to A-Yuan's, and smushes them together. "You were all mine, Baobei. And no one could hurt you! Not even scary Dream-Babas." Wei Wuxian turns their faces to look up to his husband above them. "Isn't that right, Lan Zhan?"

"Mn." 

A-Yuan lets out a soft sound of understanding. Wei Wuxian lets go of his son’s adorable chubby cheek and turns to look him in the eye. A-Yuan is finally smiling again, his puffy eyes staring adoringly up at them. Wei Wuxian wants to coo over him like he’s a baby all over again. 

"Let's get to bed now. Okay?"

"Mkay Baba."

Wei Wuxian lifts A-Yuan up again and drops him into the newly made space between him and Lan Zhan as they all lie down, both of them turning to face A-Yuan and cuddle their Baobei to sleep. Wei Wuxian pulls the covers back up over all of them, and he and Lan Zhan reach their arms over A-Yuan to reach each other, arms resting softly in a lattice-like blanket over their son.

Wei Wuxian cuddles closer and presses a kiss to A-Yuan's cheek. 

He pauses.

"Lan Zhan!!! Did we just kiss A-Yuan at the same time?!" 

"Mn." Wei Wuxian can hear the smile in his husbands voice.

"We're so cool, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian smiles at his husband's lazy eyes across from him, peaking up from behind the top of A-Yuan's head.

Wei Wuxian quickly decides that just looking is not enough.

Wei Wuxian pushes himself up onto his elbows and leans over to kiss his husband, and is surprised when he meets his lips halfway there. Wei Wuxian grins into the kiss - his Lan Zhan is so eager!! 

"Baba!! A-Die!!!! ... Eugh."

Wei Wuxian laughs as Lan Zhan kisses the mole beneath his lips. "This is perfectly normal A-Yuan! Chances are that you might want to do it with someone someday!!"

"No."

Wei Wuxian settles back down and nuzzles his nose into A-Yuan's forehead. "Well, that would be fine too, Baobei. Sleep well, my loves!"

Lan Zhan's hand tightens around his waist, "Goodnight, Wei Ying."

A-Yuan sighs happily into the darkness. 

...

"Don't eat me whilst I'm asleep, Baba."

[foxyyaoguai]

Lan Wangji plays matchmaker for his bunnies ～～

Every time Xichen goes on a trip he brings back a few new bunnies for Wangji to take care of. Eventually, Wangji has a whole flock of bunnies of all different kinds of colors, shapes, sizes, and temperaments.

Wangji spends a lot of time with them and naturally, he knows all their little personalities. He knows which of them like to cuddle up, which get jealous over food, which like to tease the others into playing. And he notices that some of them partner up together, not leaving each other's side for even a second.

Whenever he receives new bunnies he gets to know them. He tries to find their favorite foods, the spots they like to be petted, until they trust him with their true selves. Then he plays matchmaker, trying to find the perfect bond mate for them. He wants all of his bunnies to find their fated bunny partner, so they can spend their entire lives together, happily bouncing around the CRs and idling their time away in peace.

Sometimes the pairs are female/male, sometimes male/male, sometimes female/female. Sometimes they are siblings. Sometimes there are not two, but three! The only thing that matters is the comparability of their personalities. Bonded bunnies make happy bunnies, and happy bunnies live a long life.

Officially, he doesn't have a favorite bunny, but... there are two he pets just a bit more often than the others. It's his secret, but the food he feeds them might be infused with spiritual energy. He secretly hopes they will turn into animal cultivators and grow old with him.

[treemaidengeek]

@hunxi-after-hours the noise I made out loud when I finished reading this amazing piece & went back to the top to see who else out there is this invested in my man Zhuliu & what his life could be out of WRH's shadow, and then realized that it was YOU MA'AM SEMPAI HELLO

i know you're not doing so much MDZS/CQL these days but if you ever want to talk about the above AU I am all the ears of a cornfield 🌽🌽🌽

I have a whole series that arrives at some similar notes from a different point of departure, in the off chance that you might have an interest. (he & Meng Yao get messily entangled during & after the Sunshot Era & bond over their very complicated relationships to loyalty and authority, power and powerlessness, and the assumption that all good things come with strings; WZL survives, sort of, & shifts his focus to the Wen remnants)

If you could change the fate of one character from The Untamed, whom would you choose and what change would you make?

…just one, anon? Just one?? Do you know the sheer body count of this show???

All of my gut instinct responses are the ladies of CQL, because they all get royally screwed over by the plot for reasons of various legitimacy (they were fridged. let’s be honest here. they were completely and totally fridged)

Jiang Yanli deserved a life outside of the men in her life. Wen Qing deserved to be respected for the leader and healer she was. Lan Yi deserved to be respected as an innovator and a sect leader, regardless of her gender. Cangse-sanren deserved to live in defiance of societal expectation, to love the man she chose, to raise their brilliant, beautiful son together. A-Qing deserved an entire life beyond her not-childhood.

But fate means more than just life or death; changing someone’s fate could mean a version of Jiang Cheng who forgives himself much earlier than canonical Jiang Cheng does; changing someone’s fate could mean a Lan Xichen who holds his blade and spares Jin Guangyao’s life, and never confronts the emotional agony of murdering his sworn brother, never goes into an indefinite seclusion. 

You know what? Fuck it – for novelty’s sake, I’m going to say Wen Zhuliu. Change his fate, and change it early – he never falls in with the Wen Sect, remains Zhao Zhuliu, rogue cultivator, Core-Melting Hand, dark-robed vigilante. He haunts the five provinces; he enacts a cold, unseen kind of justice. He occasionally turns up at Lotus Pier in the middle of the night, silent and shivering and bloodied, and Madam Yu snaps at the guards to fetch a healer for him. He’s almost always gone by the morning. Sometimes, when Madam Yu gets particularly vicious, a toxic kind of violence bubbling low in her gut, resentment and dissatisfaction boiling over, she ignites a talisman and meets Zhao Zhuliu in the woods beyond Lotus Pier a few nights later, and they go night-hunting together, taking aim only at the most ferocious of legendary beasts, the most vicious of vengeful spirits. Their exploits only make their way into public knowledge as gossip and myth, but Zhao Zhuliu is long accustomed to being the subject of both.

He is afforded a terrified kind of respect; he is left alone.

Of course, this means that Jiang Cheng never loses his core to Wen Zhuliu; this means Wei Wuxian never makes his sacrifice, the Yunmeng Shuangjie never experience that particular heartbreak. I’d love to see Zhao Zhuliu interact with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan, two other rogue cultivators who choose to remain outside of sect politics. I’d love to see him defend the Wen refugees, just glare everyone else into terrified submission with implicit threat. I’d love to see his blank-faced surprise when Wei Wuxian, lead disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect, a boy he’s watched grow up over his erratic visits to Lotus Pier, now a young man he’s seen cut ruthlessly through opponents during Sunshot, shows up in the fragile settlement Zhao Zhuliu’s helped the Wen refugees establish; I’d love to see Wei Wuxian offer to help with that wide, guileless smile of his, and in between building up the foundations of new houses, he breaks down Zhao Zhuliu’s walls, becomes the first to see Zhao Zhuliu for the man he is behind the fearsome reputation, the awful technique.

Would you teach me? Wei Wuxian asks one night, when everyone else is asleep. The cookfire burns low between them, occasionally spitting a spark into the darkness.

Zhao Zhuliu knows exactly what Wei Wuxian is asking. No, he says. After a moment, he adds, but I would consider it.

Why not? There is no hurt in Wei Wuxian’s tone, just idle curiosity as the lead disciple of Yunmeng Jiang leans back to look at the stars, long legs stretched before him.

I’ve always intended for the technique to die with me, Zhao Zhuliu says. It’s just taking longer than expected.

And Wei Wuxian looks at him with those dark, heavy-lidded eyes that have always seen more than he lets on in his carefree, careless demeanour, and Zhao Zhuliu feels seen, inspected, assessed, judged.

He thinks about his solitary night-hunts, the weeks spent in hard, lonely pursuit of brutal criminals on the fringes of society, where sect law wears thin and evil deeds go unreported, unpunished. He thinks about the invisibility of the justice he metes out, about a society that never wanted him, a world that barely tolerates him. He thinks about the suicidal missions and the dangerous night-hunts, thinks about the number of times he’s stumbled back to Lotus Pier in a haze of blood-loss and injury, thinks about how accustomed he’s grown to saluting death as it brushes his shoulder on its merciless path. He realizes that people feared him because he was fearless, and that he was fearless because he’d always expected to die young and unmourned.

Zhao Zhuliu lets out a long breath, one weighted now with the self-awareness that he’s always assumed his years were running out soon, and leans back against the wall of a half-built house, crossing his legs at the ankles and staring up at the stars. Around him are the delicate skeletons of lives he’s saved, lives he’s helping rebuild, living and breathing and laughing proof that his hands can do more than destroy.

Zhao-ge, Wei Wuxian says, eyes closed. Do you think Wen Qing would let us plant potatoes if you suggested it instead of me?

Not a chance, Wei-gongzi, Zhao Zhuliu says, and feels something warm and glowing settle in his chest, like the dying embers of the fire between them, barely visible in the dark.

[antebunny]

find me in the future

After so many reincarnations and reunions, Wei Wuxian’s soul is so attuned to Lan Zhan’s soul that all it takes for Wei Wuxian to remember his past lives is making eye contact with Lan Zhan. He never remembers a life before the first one where he met Lan Zhan, which is probably for the best. You have to start somewhere. 

Of course, as the centuries fly by and Wei Wuxian collects reincarnations like Pokemon cards (fantastic new invention, he’s finally born in the right century!), it takes longer and longer for him to recalibrate to centuries of memories getting dumped into his previously innocent nine-year-old brain. (Always nine years old. Can’t ever get away). 

This is Wei Wuxian’s excuse for why he doesn’t immediately run to Lan Zhan after making eye contact with him on a crowded street. Well, one of many excuses. There’s also the part where he’s a tiny little nine-year-old orphan (again?!) tossed between the bodies of many, many stampeding adults, all attempting to reach for Lan Zhan. He’s above them, of course; Lan Zhan cultivated to immortality so long ago that now he doesn’t walk, he glides, or floats, or flies. The result is the same: the god-like light-bearing lord appearing before his people, who fall over themselves (and Wei Wuxian) in their eagerness to be blessed by his presence. 

By the time Wei Wuxian struggles to the front of the crowd, Lan Zhan is long gone. 

Okay, so here’s his problem: Wei Wuxian is not immortal. Mo Xuanyu’s body, if it ever possessed the potential to cultivate to immortality (doubtful), had that potential beaten out long before Wei Wuxian came to own it. Unfortunately, back then, he and Lan Zhan, still young and naive (ha, funny what perspective time gives you), truly believed that with enough effort he could succeed where so many had failed. 

Instead, Lan Zhan was forced to watch as his beloved withered, wrinkled and finally grew still while he remained as pristinely young adult as ever. To make matters worse, Jiang Cheng also cultivated to immortality, proving that Wei Wuxian’s original golden core had that capability. The ensuing guilt from both of them–Jiang Cheng for having Wei Wuxian’s core, Lan Zhan for encouraging Wei Wuxian to cultivate to immortality with him–and loneliness as the only two immortals of their generation brought the two of them together, which Wei Wuxian still thinks is kind of cute. They’re like frenemies now, who know how to work with each other instinctively and will defend each other to the death (or a death–no, bad Wei Wuxian, not funny) but still hate each other’s guts. 

Over the centuries Wei Wuxian has been reborn as just about every type of person. Some lived entire lives without ever even hearing of Lan Zhan. Some never learned to write, much less cultivated a golden core, some were widely beloved, some were scorned, and some found their way back to Lan Zhan.

If Wei Wuxian is being completely honest–and he’d never share this brutal honesty with any of his loved ones–those lives are the worst. Inevitably, Wei Wuxian’s new body lacks the capability to cultivate to immortality, and his loved ones who have are all forced to watch for the thousandth time as Wei Wuxian sputters and stalls until his body inevitably gives out and he dies. Old age, Wei Wuxian has come to learn through vast unwanted experience, is an unlucky way to go. No, better to go out in a blaze of glory, for a cause or for a people. The death is temporary and he will be remembered by people who love him. Making his loved ones watch his slow demise when he knows that he will never reach immortality in this lifetime is nothing short of torture.  

Perhaps that’s why it is such a surprise when little nine-year-old Wei Wuxian (Zhang Xinyin, or William Zhang, in this lifetime, he’s Chinese again but he speaks Cantonese now for a total of twelve languages, nice) hunkers down in a quiet little corner of the orphanage and discovers that this body has the highest potential to cultivate to immortality of any body he’s ever had, including his original. 

The practice of cultivation fell out of use many, many centuries ago. Wei Wuxian is on his own for this one. The good news is that he’s an expert at forming a golden core at this point, perhaps more than anyone else in the world. So all Wei Wuxian has to do is find a stable way of life for the next decade or so, which supports a child practicing an esoteric art like his life depends on it, and then he can worry about finding his family.

That is, of course, easier said than done. 

“Will! Hey, Will!” 

Wei Wuxian startles out of meditation (if only Lan Zhan could see him now) when he hears one of his new friends calling his name (well, one of many). He had spread a blue rubber yoga mat out on the green concrete rooftop, hoping to find some peace and quiet wherein he could meditate and nurse that slowly-budding golden core in his chest. 

Freckles, or Ruddy, or Rush, or Chen, pokes his little cherub-like face over the roof edge. (Everyone Wei Wuxian’s age–biological age–looks like a little baby child to him, and everyone in the world seems impossibly young. It helps that he likes kids, and they tend to like him). 

“What troubles you?” Wei Wuxian calls as he stands up.

So the last time he learned English it was quite different, okay? Sue him. He’s relearning it. 

“You’re so weird,” Chen informs him as he picks his way between cracks and loose sand and dust. “Were you meditating again?”

“Yes.” Wei Wuxian pounds a fist to his chest twice. “I will be stronger than anyone. You will see.”

Chen only rolls his eyes. “Okay, Bruce Lee. Anyways. Lynch is asking for you.”

A very nice white lady who is unfortunately named Ms. Lynch came to volunteer at their school to teach. Wei Wuxian likes her, and to his surprise he likes the woman who runs the orphanage too. He’s had a bad run with orphanages in the past but this one is okay. No funding, of course, and understaffed, but Wei Wuxian doesn’t need adult supervision. (Somewhere on a different continent, Jiang Cheng sneezes loudly). 

“Yeah? Whatever for?” Wei Wuxian follows Chen down the ladder and misses Chen rolling his eyes again.

“Dunno, go find out.” 

Wei Wuxian takes a few shortcuts on his way through the school building. He goes to public school, of course, as do all the kids from the orphanage, but Wei Wuxian is their star. A shining example of what orphans can be if they apply themselves. The kids all think he’s weird, which is fair, because he is, but the (other) adults think that Wei Wuxian is a studious little goody-two shoes. The truth is that Wei Wuxian has learned how to solve problems discreetly and how to cause trouble without getting caught. And that he’s only well-adjusted in the sense that he’s had dozens of childhoods; one more isn’t going to mess him up too terribly. 

Ms. Lynch is poking around her computer (absolutely amazing new invention, Wei Wuxian was definitely reborn in the right century) when Wei Wuxian skids to a stop by her desk. 

“Hello, Ms. Lynch.” Wei Wuxian beams in a way that he knows she loves. “Chen said you were asking for me?”

Ms. Lynch closes out of a few tabs and turns in her swivel chair (another great new invention), brushing straw brown hair behind thick plastic glasses. “Yes, I heard that you have been trying to learn cultivation all by yourself, can I ask what sparked your interest?”

Wei Wuxian shrugs. “It seemed interesting.” He really wants to become immortal this lifetime in order to save people who he cares about deeply a lot of grief. “It’s fun.” 

“I see.” Ms. Lynch clearly isn’t satisfied with this answer, but she nods and smiles all the same. “You know, I wrote about the ancient practices of cultivation for my senior thesis, and it’s quite dangerous to do without supervision. Have you considered joining a class?”

“Uh.” Well, actually, Wei Wuxian could teach that class better than probably anyone else in the world, except maybe for Jiang Yanli, but it’s irrelevant because he certainly doesn’t have the money to afford it. “Noooo?”

“Hm.” Ms. Lynch smiles again, in a gently disapproving kind of way. “Well, I know that they can be expensive and quite a hassle, but I just wanted to make sure that you aren’t taking anything you learn from the internet about it too seriously. A lot of it is misleading and you can really harm yourself.”

Wei Wuxian is fighting for his life on the Wikipedia pages for cultivation. First, because he’d hoped that leaving some kind of coded message there could catch the attention of someone in his family and lead to them finding him. When that didn’t work, Wei Wuxian started combating misinformation (a losing battle) while having the reputation of that Wikipedia editor who put random gibberish in for fun. 

“Oh, I’m not,” Wei Wuxian chirps. “It’s all for fun, Ms. Lynch. I promise I’m not doing anything dangerous.”

“Okay, I believe you,” Ms. Lynch says, mostly sincerely. “I don’t mean to discourage you. It’s wonderful to see you taking an interest. Most kids your age have no interest in stuff like that.”

What she means is that cultivation is the ancestral practice and cultural heritage of his people. Because Wei Wuxian was born into the right social group: there are maybe a couple hundred thousand of his people spread across the globe, in little diaspora communities with varying levels of wider acceptance. Wei Wuxian’s family–the ones who have cultivated to immortality–are their leaders. Mysterious, reclusive figures who almost never interact with outsiders yet are beloved within their communities for how steadfastly they’ve protected them over the centuries. A lot of people outside the community think they’re a cult, which is probably fair, all things considered. 

It’s funny. Wei Wuxian has never been closer and yet never felt further from his family than this lifetime. A real chance of cultivating to immortality, a place in the only group of people with access to the famed (or rumored) immortals, and his reputation has never been better; his people celebrate his birthday every year (or they celebrate the excuse to party, same difference) and pray for his reincarnation. Yet if he–William Zhang–claimed to be the legendary Wei Wuxian’s reincarnation, no one would believe him. They’d ignore him as a loud-mouthed kid, at best. At worst, well, Wei Wuxian isn’t going to test that. In no situation would they–the community leaders–reach out to the immortals on his word. 

Instead, Wei Wuxian slinks back to the bedroom he shares with Chen and two other boys (he doesn’t miss being a girl, but damn could they keep a room clean) and wonders if Sizhui has gotten Lan Zhan an iPhone yet.

Maybe it’s for the best, Wei Wuxian tells himself. Reuniting with his family while in the body of a child will be awkward. Especially with Lan Zhan, who has been attracted to Wei Wuxian in whatever body they reunited in but is obviously not attracted to children. Wei Wuxian is not looking forward to spending years lusting after his own damn husband while Lan Zhan can only see a child. Yes, it’s definitely for the best.

Even if Wei Wuxian is terribly lonely. 

So the years pass. Wei Wuxian cultivates a golden core, gobbles up modern slang like he was born for it, learns how to code in Python, and enters high school with an end goal: immortality by age twenty-four. The current record-holder is Wen Qing, who cultivated to immortality at the ripe old age of twenty-five, the lucky bastard. She reincarnated in the 1500s into the perfect set of circumstances: a second-eldest son of a wealthy family who practiced cultivation. Her family patriarch was one of the community elders who semi-regularly communicated with the immortal cultivators. The year when Wen Qing was brought along for the first time, Wen Ning took one look at her and said “jiejie” and that was that.

Obviously, Wei Wuxian has to beat her record. 

Some of them choose to forget.

Over the centuries Wei Wuxian and the others have encountered countless reincarnations of people they knew from their original lives. (And important people from future lives too, but those were never quite the same. There’s something about their original lives that always sang like an unfinished symphony, an epic story not yet fully written, even though Wei Wuxian lived a full life). Sometimes the choice is made for them not to help them remember. Such was the case for a reincarnation of Jin Guangyao, found in 556 B.C. by Wen Ning and Sizhui. Sometimes they choose to move on, like the reincarnation of Jiang Fengmian found by Jiang Yanli. They leave him alone nowadays, whenever they find him. His soul is not so attuned to anyone else’s as to have the strike of realization that hit Wei Wuxian on that crowded street. 

The worst is when they reunite, live happily, and still choose to say goodbye. Nie Huaisang reincarnated in Italy, dragged Wei Wuxian off to France to learn Impressionist painting, and still chose to reenter the reincarnation cycle. Wei Wuxian, whose body that decade could not even form a golden core, simply could not understand Nie Huaisang’s unwillingness to cultivate to immortality. He still doesn’t. 

Humans have orbited the moon. For that alone, it is worth it. He only wishes all humans could feel how far they’ve come.   

Even those that chose to become immortal have retreated from the world. So many lifetimes, so many childhoods, so many parents and lovers and children–it’s impossible to care equally forever. The world feels so much larger when you have been an Egyptian farmer during the reign of Cleopatra, to whom the pyramids were ancient history, and one of the slaves who built them, and a Finnish soldier who fought on skis against invading Russians in 1939. In the face of such grandness, how can one tiny community, one family, one person matter?

It’s a blessing and a curse. Wei Wuxian has had good parents and bad parents and everything in between until he finally figured out how it works. He’s grown up in enough families with pet dogs that he’s lost his fear of them. On the other hand, he has had so many friends in so very many forms that he struggles to convince himself they truly matter. They’ll all be dead within the century, anyways. 

Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng have the opposite problem. They only have one life, the original, to remember, even as that life’s length stretches far past the boundaries of a normal human lifespan. Their main link to the world, Wei Wuxian knows, is him. Sizhui and Jin Ling drag them out for enrichment exercises, and Jiang Yanli can usually get her way if she sets her mind to it, but it’s still guilt over Wei Wuxian’s second life as Mo Xuanyu that keeps them here. 

The 21st century slams in, a rush of technicolor and lightspeed and skyscrapers (and like all centuries, war, disease and death). The tale of the Yiling Patriarch vastly outstrips the size and weight of Yiling. The Burial Mounds are a nice forest now. Hundreds of thousands of people hope for his return. And still Wei Wuxian cannot manage a single immortality-sized golden core. 

The opportunity sneaks up on Wei Wuxian. Shamefully, he needs the obvious spelled out before he can see it. 

“You going to the cultivation tournament?” 

Wei Wuxian was actually studying calculus. Seriously, it’s crazy how much people have proven about math since the last time he–wait, cultivation?

When Wei Wuxian digs his nose out of his textbook, Ian is smirking at him, and Chen is blinking innocently. Ian slouches over the library table so he can push the textbook shut.

“Eh, probably not worth it,” Wei Wuxian dismisses. He’s not learning cultivation so he can dunk on some kids who only learning cultivating without the cultivation. 

“You sure?” Chen butts in, now smirking too. “I hear winner gets to meet the immortals.”

Ian grins when Wei Wuxian’s mouth falls open. The kid has no idea what’s going on with “the immortals” or cultivation–he’s pretty sure that Ian thinks he and Chen are deep in a religious cult with weird beliefs but normal holidays–but Ian  gleefully abuses the effect it has on Wei Wuxian.

“Sounds made up,” Wei Wuxian says suspiciously.

“No, no, it’s true!” Chen insists. “They hold it every twenty-five years. Or they say they will. They haven’t done this before.” 

It’s very hard to get very old immortals to do something new. What changed? 

The answer smacks Wei Wuxian in the face as Chen pulls out his phone and shows an official-looking announcement, shared around their community, to Wei Wuxian. It’s the internet. Previously, Wei Wuxian lived entire lives without ever hearing of cultivation. Now, anyone with an internet connection will probably run into the term at least once. Now, Wei Wuxian’s family can reach out, through screens and cables and the casual interest of millions, to him.

They’re doing this for him.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t read Wikipedia articles. Lan Zhan regresses into a fugue state whenever Wei Wuxian’s not around. Maybe Wen Qing had the idea, maybe Sizhui put it together. Because they’re still reaching out, still waiting for Wei Wuxian to come home. 

This is his chance. 

[wangxianficrecs]

Chapter 66: Tenderness - Part Four, Take Two by ninehoursofsleep

Chapter 66: Tenderness - Part Four, Take Two

by ninehoursofsleep

M, <1k, Wangxian

Summary: What if Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian communicated about their feelings, putting me out of my misery? Unrealistic, right? Minor spoilers for chapter 66 of the novel. Kay's comments: Another canon-divergence where Wangxian get to confess earlier in the story and I also really loved this one. It takes place during the scene where Wangxian are hiding in the hay and are almost discovered by some farmers. Here, Wei Wuxian doesn't freeze up and instead stands his ground. Short and cute! Excerpt: Wei WuXian touched the ribbon. Finding that Lan WangJi didn’t stop him, his fingers followed its path across Lan WamJi’s temple. Lan WangJi, “Behave.” “Lan Zhan,” Wei WuXian paused. “I’m allowed.” Lan WangJi, “...” Wei WuXian continued, almost to himself, “On top of me like this, you have control. If I’m doing something inappropriate, there’s no need to save my face, you can call me ridiculous.” Lan WangJi just stared at him. For a moment, Wei WuXian really thought Lan WangJi was about to call him ridiculous. Lan WangJi, “You are allowed.”

pov wei wuxian, canon divergence, romance, kissing, ficlet, love confessions, fluff, short & sweet

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[niobefurens]

The True Disciple.

“What would you do if I died?” asked Wèi Wúxiàn morosely downing his drink.

“I would mourn you for the rest of my life;” answered Lán Wàngjī honestly, “And pine away in loneliness.”

“Die?!” Jiāng Chéng scowled, and shook his head, “I know you Bro! You wouldn’t die! I wouldn’t believe it, even if saw your body! I would look all over for you, until I found you!”

“Yadda, yadda;” sighed Niè Huáisāng, “If you died, I would have to call you back!”

“Call me back?!” asked Wèi Wúxiàn knitting his brow.

“Yes;” answered Niè Huáisāng grinning, “How else would I deal with these two?”

He raised his glass: “Happy Birthday Wei Wuxian!”

“I love you!” laughed Jiāng Chéng; “Waiter! Please bring us another round!”

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

There's something so deeply bittersweet and aching about Wangxian and their little one.

This tiny innocent born into war, plucked from horror into a barren wilderness, planted among radishes and nourished with affection.

Wei Wuxian is such a natural parent, so silly and so caring and so protective. And he and Lan Wangji are so enchanted by watching each other play with and care for this child, who lights up at teasing and delights over simple gifts and is so full of pure and easy love.

And then there is blood and fire and death and fever.

And this child that might have been in some ways theirs, some remnant thing that binds Lan Wangji to a memory, does not remember.

Lan Wangji loves him for his own sake, of course, more as time goes on; as agony fades to a dull constant ache and Sizhui develops ever more into his own person. He is a constant source of pride and joy and parental concern and motivation for Lan Wangji to grow up in ways that he had not before.

And in the end, Wei Wuxian comes back and Sizhui remembers and they are finally a family...but it does not erase the things that were missed. And sometimes Wei Wuxian looks at little drawings Sizhui made as a child, or toys he played with, and tears up a little over having not been there. Sometimes Lan Wangji thinks of a particularly scary illness or a challenging school situation and imagines what it would have been like to have a partner to parent with all along.

There is a happy ending...but it does not return what was lost.

And yet...Sizhui comes to them blushing to talk about a crush. He brings his confusing homework to them. He seeks their advice before night hunts. They get to be parents together. One night, when Sizhui has been injured - not severely but enough to be worrying, enough to run a mild fever - Lan Zhan and Wei Ying sleep on either side of him, watching over him. Their eyes meet over the head of their precious child, and in that moment it as if there were no years where they did not do this together.

What was lost cannot be returned...but there is a happy ending.

[pocketsizedowls]

Lan Xichen, libra extraordinaire, has never made a decision in his life.

He's been trained to, of course, but only in an official capacity. His uncle once told him to only make decisions after gathering sufficient information, and that has since become the most important rule in his life. This means he's great at mediating conflict, hosting banquets, and making executive decisions like which village gets more rice and what policies he should enact, but he never knows what to eat for dinner and what to do during his free time.

Lan Wangji, neurodivergent/autistic icon, is the complete opposite. He's a picky perfectionist with a strict daily routine, which no one ever interrupts because why should they? It's just Wangji being Wangji. And, in fact, everyone should strive to be like him. Perhaps if he grew up somewhere rowdier like Lotus Pier or the Unclean Realm then someone would finagle him into being spontaneous, but this is the Cloud Recesses. Of course nobody bothered him until Wei Wuxian came along and turned his world upside down.

Before Wei Wuxian, though, there was Lan Xichen. He stops by the Jingshi often, not because he is concerned for his antisocial little brother (well, maybe just a little), but because he gets so bored sometimes and he never knows what to do. Whenever Uncle is busy, little Xichen likes to find little Wangji and follow his routine with him. Can I join you as you meditate, he asks, and can I eat dinner with you? What do you suggest I do after lectures tomorrow? The other day I took your advice and made a painting, do you wanna see it? Can you pick a book out of this pile for me to read first? I can't seem to decide.

This is why Lan Xichen gets along so well with people. He goes along with things, lets people make decisions for him, and genuinely enjoys it. He earns the trust of the skeptical people without even trying to, just because he lets them pick which wine to order at the inn and what day they should go on a night hunt. You might think it's quite counterintuitive for an all-important sect leader to be this indecisive, but it worked out for the majority of his life. Just like how he chooses to believe in the good in people, people also believe in the good in him.

These days, though, Lan Xichen is reconsidering his behavior. As weeks turn into months turn into years, he stares out the windows of the Hanshi and wonders: Would everything turn out differently if he made more decisions based on instinct? Who can he even trust anymore? Would Nie Mingjue still be alive today, if he didn't force him and A-Yao to become sworn brothers? Would A-Yao still be alive today, if he listened to Wangji and Wei-gongzi's warning sooner? All the people who tell him he did nothing wrong must be lying. How can nothing be his fault?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji adds more items to his routine. With Lan Xichen in seclusion, he's busy now. He teaches and he nighthunts and he sits through meetings and he spends time with Wei Ying. He also visits his brother. He drops by the Hanshi every three days and says, can I join you as you meditate, and can I eat dinner with you? What do you suggest I do after lectures tomorrow? The other day I took your advice and wrote a new song, do you wanna hear it? Can you pick a book out of this pile for me to read first? I can't seem to decide.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Soo, funny story, turns out celestial mountains can move? So JC finds BSSR and instead of receiving his brother's core and tragedy ensuing, he gets his core fixed, has an illuminating weekend with his brother's extended family, and maybe comes back with backup.

ao3

Untamed

"All right, you all know your parts," Wei Wuxian said, pacing back and forth in a tight circle. "We've got everything we need for the transfer. We're ready."

"We are exactly as ready as we were the last time you said that," Wen Qing said waspishly. Despite her harsh tone, due was clearly nervous, alternating between fiddling with her tools and fingering the veiled hat Wei Wuxian had given her to hide her true identity - the story Wei Wuxian had spun to throw Jiang Cheng off the scent of what was really going to happen would only work if he sincerely believed that she was the fabled Baoshan Sanren. "He won't know a thing. Stop fretting."

"I'm not fretting -"

"Why isn't he here yet?" Wen Ning wondered. "It's not that long a path up the mountain. Even if he was blindfolded, shouldn't he be here already?"

Wei Wuxian started, then exchanged worried glances with Wen Qing. They hurried to the overlook point of the cliff, but no matter how they looked, they couldn't see a single trace of Jiang Cheng, not even his shadow.

-

"Uuuuuh no you're not," the lady said when Jiang Cheng told her he was Wei Wuxian. "You don't - you don't have the right face for it, okay? Cangse Sanren was a bit more - her face - there was this indefinable sort of - listen, I'm not possessed with an overwhelming desire to smack you right now so you can’t be him."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jiang Cheng found himself having to swallow down a snort of agreement - Wei Wuxian really did have that indefinable sort of quality.

"I could take after my father?" he suggested, though he'd mostly given it up as hopeless already.

Sure enough, the lady let out a bark of laughter - it sounded oddly like a bird's call - and said, "No way. Not that much! Anyway, why does it matter who you are?"

At that point, because Jiang Cheng was exhausted and hurting and blindfolded and still managed to see all his barely-resurrected hopes dying in front of him regardless, he burst into tears.

"Oh no," Baoshan Sanren said, sounding distinctly alarmed in a way that - if Jiang Cheng wasn't currently in the middle of humiliating himself - would have made him laugh because of how similar it was to Wei Wuxian being confronted by an emotion. "No, no, no, don't- please - I hate crying - just tell me what the matter is - someone help he's still crying -"

Eventually Jiang Cheng managed to squeeze the whole stupid story out, aided by the kind hands and helpful (or not so helpful) translations being offered by Baoshan Sanren's disciples.

"You can help him, right?" the littlest one asked, tugging on Jiang Cheng's sleeve defensively. He was twelve or thirteen or something - the others called him Xiao-shidi, so that was either his surname or a nickname - but he was a sweetheart that reminded Jiang Cheng of his sister. "Shifu, you'll help him, won't you?"

"I'm talented but no one can make golden cores out of nothing," Baoshan Sanren protested, but the little Xiao started crying, too. "No! No tears! Stop that -"

"But it's just so sad," he wailed, and then one of the other disciples, a girl who had a manner of speaking that suggested Wei Wuxian only tougher by far, gave a loud and thoughtful sniff.

"Don't you dare," Baoshan Sanren hissed. "Don't give me that, you're not even upset! You don't cry over anything, you little beast. You're just trying to bully your shifu!"

"Is it working?" the girl asked, sounding amused. "I could squeeze out some for the cause."

"It's all right, you don't have to," Jiang Cheng said, hating how his voice was still all watery and breaking even though he was finding this pretty funny. "If there's nothing she can do, there's no point, just leave her alone -"

"That's worse," Baoshan Sanren wailed. "No! Not the self-sacrificing routine!”

It wasn’t a routine!

“That’s the problem! I can handle everything but sincerity - ahhh, I hate this. All right, all right, you win, you brats. I'll fix him."

"But you said -" Jiang Cheng started to say.

"I know what I said," she cut him off, grumbling. "And I can't grow one from nothing. But – and I’m going to tell you in advance, this will be unpleasant – I can go get yours from the moment before you lost it and give it back to you."

"What? How does that work? I don't understand..."

"Time doesn't work right on the mountain. It's always the same time, even when it's not; that's why no one can come back after they've left," the girl said, sounding arrogant and carefree in a most familiar way, and Jiang Cheng's grief-fuzzed brain made a connection there that was so appalling that it couldn't possibly be true. "You up for some pain and agony if it gets you your core back, my friend?"

"Y-yeah? I mean, yes. Anything."

"All right," Baoshan Sanren said. Her raspy voice had turned into even more of a croak: it was like listening to a crow try to speak. Also, Jiang Cheng couldn't see, having not removed the useless blindfold, but he had the strangest feeling that she was smaller than before - he'd already assumed she was a wizened old thing, but for a moment she seemed no larger than a especially plump chicken. "Hold on tight, boy - here we go!"

-

"I greatly appreciate all your efforts on behalf of the Sunshot Campaign," Nie Mingjue said, and Wei Wuxian wondered if his greatest strength as the grand commander of the unified forces of the cultivation world wasn’t his saber or his command but his ability to sound completely sincere. "Murdering Wen-dogs by the score, going after critical targets, providing intelligence, even getting Mistress Wen and her brother to defect...but have you considered giving it a rest?"

Wei Wuxian choked.

It wasn't that he was surprised by the request - he'd heard it whispered for a while that he was doing too much, too fast, too viciously. He'd hunted down Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu and harried them into the Burial Mounds, using the power there to tear them to pieces despite their army - if it hadn't been for Wen Qing helping him, he might have torn himself apart in the process. It wasn't healthy for someone with a golden core to use resentful energy the way he did, she had explained. She at one point told him that she was essentially using a bucket to scoop it out of his meridians like a boat that had taken on water.

Yet he kept using it - hunting squads, battalions of Wen, supporting the other sects from the shadows, months of effort - and never mind the worried expressions on Wen Qing's face, on Wen Ning's face, even Lan Wangji, who had just turned up at their camp one day and refused to leave...no, Wei Wuxian wasn't surprised by the request.

He just hadn't expected it to be phrased like that.

"I can't," he said, recovering a moment later. "As long as there are Wen-dogs out there - from the other side, I mean - the Jiang sect hasn't been avenged."

"I know that," Nie Mingjue said with...admirable restraint, actually. Wei Wuxian cringed a little as he remembered that Nie Mingjue was involved in this war for the purpose of avenging his father's death at Wen Ruohan’s hands. "But that's not your job. It's time to stop playing lone wolf and return to the sect that raised you. If nothing else, Jiang Wanyin could use a right hand man."

Wei Wuxian stared. He'd searched furiously for Jiang Cheng without success, days and nights stretching out endlessly only for hope to fade and be replaced by a frantic need for revenge; it had been that desperation, mixed with guilt over losing her prospective patient, that had convinced Wen Qing to officially defect. And now Nie Mingjue was saying - what? That he, Wei Wuxian, was the one missing in action? 

That he knew where Jiang Cheng was?

"...he's been recruiting to resurrect the Jiang sect for the last month down by Qingjiao. Did you not know?"

Wei Wuxian hadn't. Jiang Cheng was - fine? All right? How could he have gotten to Qingjiao in the state he'd been in?

And...recruiting? How could someone without a golden core recruit? Nie Mingjue didn't seem to know about the loss, or he would have mentioned it, surely - everyone would be talking about it - had Jiang Cheng found some other way? But how? And why hadn't he come to find Wei Wuxian?

Well, in fairness, Wei Wuxian wasn't making himself easy to find, traveling in secret with only his few companions. But still...

"He really does need support," Nie Mingjue said. "He has Mistress Jiang, but she's not the martial type, and that little sworn brother he picked up from who-knows-where might be a brilliant talent and a hero for the ages in the making, but Baoshan Sanren's disciple or not, the kid is still only half-grown -"

"Baoshan Sanren's what?!"

"Jiang Wanyin's little sworn brother. His name is Xiao Xingchen, and he's twelve. Maybe fourteen. Far too young, in my opinion -"

"I'm sorry," Wei Wuxian interrupted. "I have to go now. Right now."

-

"About time you showed up," Jiang Cheng said, though his snide words were belied by the wide grin on his face and the way he pulled Wei Wuxian into a fierce hug. "I heard you've been doing wonders in the three months and a day I was gone, and in the month since I’ve been back...you got those Wen to defect, invented a new type of cultivation...what's this I hear about you and Lan Wangji sharing a camp, huh? I thought he hated you."

"Uh, no, turns out that was a misunderstanding," Wei Wuxian - who was currently sharing a lot more than a camp with Lan Wangji once that misunderstanding had been cleared up after Wen Qing had lost patience with what she termed their 'ridiculous mutual pining' - said blankly. It was probably just his imagination, but he fancied that he could feel the golden core under Jiang Cheng's skin, shining bright, as familiar as his own. If he hadn't known what he knew, he would never have thought... "What happened? How did you...?"

"Baoshan Sanren fixed it! Just like you said...though you went to such lengths, with the blindfold and pretending to be you and all that. Apparently it wasn’t necessary at all!"

"Uh, right. My…mistake."

Jiang Cheng pulled him into another hug, nice and tight, and whispered into his ear, "You had better not have been planning to transfer me yours, you bastard."

Wei Wuxian blanched. How had he figured it out..?

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Jiang Cheng said, releasing him and rolling his eyes. "You're a lot like your mother, you know?"

"My mother? What are you talking about?"

Jiang Cheng's crooked grin was the most wonderful thing Wei Wuxian had ever seen. 

"It's a long story," he said. "Probably as long as yours, for explaining everything you've been up to for the past few months...but we'll have time to talk it over. Baoshan Sanren is big fan of talking things over, almost to the point of ridiculousness, but I think she has a point, even if none of her disciples agree. It's made me feel better these past few months, anyway, talking about what happened, whether with the Wen sect or even just frustrations I had growing up..."

He laughed at Wei Wuxian's dumbfounded expression.

"Like I said," he said. "Long story. Come meet little Xiao, will you? We're going to need to work together and put in all our efforts to keep him out of trouble -"

"He's a brat, then?"

"No, worse: he's an idealist. You'll understand when you meet him."

Wei Wuxian let himself be dragged along by Jiang Cheng's eagerness, and he was about halfway across the new Jiang sect camp before it suddenly struck him that this was really happening. That Jiang Cheng was back, alive and healthy beyond Wei Wuxian's wildest dreams, whole once more in both mind and body - that they were side by side once more, finally back on track to fulfill his childish promise of them being the Twin Heroes to match the Twin Jades - that his lies had somehow transmuted to truth, and it was all resolved without sacrifice...

The first smile in what felt like months stole across Wei Wuxian's face. 

"All right," he said, laughing and slapping Jiang Cheng on the back as hard as he could. "Show me this new little brother of yours - I can't wait to spoil him rotten!"

"Tease him to death, you mean!"

"No, no, I can be good! Wen Qing has this little cousin, an orphan, I've been helping out with him - I have child-rearing skills -"

"I don't believe a word of it. Is it Mistress Wen or Second Master Lan that does all the work?"

"...Wen Ning, mostly, but that's not the point..."

Life, Wei Wuxian thought to himself, was good once more.

[askew-d]

today i had an idea. that recess therapy channel, but make it wangxian.

teacher lan wangji, who recently adopted a-yuan, carried out his son’s desires to create a youtube channel interviewing other kids. he’s totally inept at it in the beginning, but fortunately his brother helps. and who would've thought? his son ends up making friends and he really finds children’s minds fascinating.

until their channel gets quite big. like, two million subscribers kind of big. other people interviewing him kind of big. and soon enough, his brother says, “wangji, huaisang wants to be part of one of your videos! he said it looks fun!”

nie huaisang didn’t have a large fanbase without reason. he was a well-known digital influencer with over ten million followers and a good writer. though lan wangji finds him odd sometimes, he accepts it. it couldn't bring any harm.

famous last words.

after nie huaisang, a lot of celebrities wanted to join in. lan wangji imagined it was for that facade of selling a good-hearted image inside the industry, but as long as a-yuan seemed to be enjoying, he continued.

in the two years he had the channel, he progressed to five million followers, hosted many top-tier artists along, interviewed hundred of kids — some more enthusiastic than others, that’s rather true — and received some proposals from famous entertainment companies to work with them, which annoyed lan wangji.

he continued being a teacher, a father and a host content creator for long, and one day, his son was checking his emails with him and jumped in excitement, “baba! look, look!”

lan wangji looked. it was a request from a certain wei wuxian’s agency, that, he later discovered, was one of the singer’s a-yuan and his close friends have been listening to lately. apparently, his rock band was very influential internationally, and when having a tour around china once more, he wanted to join for a video (why would his thirteen-year-old a-yuan be interested in rock music when humanity had the classical ones, he could never imagine).

lan wangji accepted, because again, it couldn’t do any harm.

well, maybe he should learn more about that expression, since wei wuxian was absolutely infuriating.

he was just a handsome, dauntless man in tight black pants and an oversized hoodie with the shiniest smile he has ever seen who got his son's favour in just minutes of conversation and could not, for the love of god, stop teasing lan wangji. lan wangji shouldn't be that affected by someone. he shouldn't be affected by the way he didn't care about social manners and plastered himself on lan wangji's side all the while he interviewed the kids as if they were intimate, but oh, what one shouldn't do truly wasn't how one acted or felt.

he found out that wei wuxian did have a good voice, although he secretly thought that he wasted it with those loud songs about rebelling against the government. he found out that he was exceptionally careful with children, withholding a balance of fun and wisdom; he had that carefree creativity and treated their worries with seriousness, struggling not to let them think he judged them childish. lan wangji was truly amazed at his character, and soon, they had recorded about four videos together.

and when it was all uploaded, the comments and views exploded. people focused more on them together than on the kids. it became the most viewed videos of his channels in no time.

"lan zhan, the numbers are growing each day! i'm so happy for that," wei wuxian said on the phone afterwards (when he proposed the idea of exchanging numbers, lan wangji was hesitant, but wei wuxian insisted that it was for them to share bunny videos, so he gave up on fighting the man, but weeks passed and they still talked more about their lives than just sharing said content). "but tell me, lan zhan, i think my amazing presence did bring some touch to your channel, won't you treat me to something as a sign of gratitude? you told me your family had a rule on being polite..."

they did have one. lan wangji told him once and it was enough to be engraved on wei wuxian's mind. he sighed and said, "mn. does wei ying want to have dinner with us tomorrow?"

wei wuxian laughed in apparent joy, and he shook his head slightly. it would be good to have someone over for dinner once in a while, beyond his brother. maybe he'd even buy some wine and meat for him, just as he said he liked.

lan wangji talked to wei wuxian some more, the other explaining about how his band would perform the upcoming sunday. they also talked about children, books and traveling. and on the other side of the room, a-yuan giggled in mischievousness.

[gentil-minou]

one of my brain worms for Wei Wuxian birthday is an AU where wangxian immigrated to the US west coast so 10/31 begins at 9am PST on 10/30.

Which Lan Zhan uses as an excuse to spend two days celebrating his Wei Ying's bday.

He and A-Yuan prepare breakfast ind bed and greet Wei Ying at exactly 9am when midnight hits in China.

And then the proceed to pamper Wei Ying for the next two days straight, to the point where he's in a permanent state of blushing.

A-Yuan makes him a bazillion drawing while Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng keep showing up to shower him with gifts and soup (though JC pretends he just happens to have these lying around).

And Lan Zhan gives Wei Ying lots of kisses.

Wei Ying never forgets Halloween with it being his favorite holiday, but every year he forgets 10/30 at 9am. And every year he's greeted with bunny shaped pancakes and so many kisses and hugs from his favorite people he feels himself about to burst with the love his family give to him

[foxyyaoguai]

Jadecest //

Thinking about the Jades having to hide their relationship while living in the Cloud Recesses. There are rumors. Wangji looks at Xichen for much longer than he looks at anyone else. Always has, but now he even smiles.

Someone sees them kiss under the eaves of the Hanshi at night. The moonlight is just bright enough to leave no doubt about what they are doing. People whisper behind their back, gape for a moment before they start speaking, frantically avert their eyes when they walk by.

Eventually everyone knows, but it’s an open secret. Whenever there are new disciples or guests at the CR, the other Lans have to elbow them into shutting up until they understand that this is not to be talked about.

After years of this, no one questions why the Jades never got married or why Wangji’s hand lingers on Xichen’s at dinner. Twins are known to be close, aren’t they?

[fortune-maiden]

99. "How could you forget your son’s birthday?”

MDZS with one of the baby Lans? Or Jiang Cheng?

Thank you <333

I'm hoping by baby lans you meant baby twin jades or this is going to be awkward. But at least I got to write Shufu? ^^"

Sorry for sad Lan hours ;w;

Lan Qiren is not the kind of person to question an elder. There is an order and a hierarchy to the world, and his brother’s always had the final say. But this time, he doesn’t agree. “A-Huan was looking forward to this. He wants to see you.” “Not today, Qiren. Please,” his brother pleads. Every time they meet, he looks less a person, and more a fading ghost. “Whether it’s today or not, what difference does it make?” “What difference!” Lan Qiren huffs. “How could you forget your son’s birthday?” He turns away, not willing to see his brother’s reaction.

Also bonus drabble under the cut because I spent a long time looking at this prompt trying to see if I could make it funny somehow xD

“…so next week, we’ll swing by Pingyang – “Not next week,” Lan Wangji interrupts. “It’s Sizhui’s birthday.” “Oh.” Wei Wuxian blinks. “Huh.” “How could you forget your son’s birthday?” “Rather than forget, it’s more that I never – my who?” Lan Wangji stares. “You gave birth to him.” He says it so seriously that Wei Wuxian bolts upright, his mind spinning madly with the dawning horror that he would have to explain to his husband… Then he catches the twinkle in Lan Wangji’s eye, and bursts out laughing. That Lan Zhan – how long had he waited to turn that back on him?

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

I hope I don't murder me (I hope I don't burden you)

AU in which Lan Wangji stays in the Burial Mounds with Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants

idea here

Living in the Burial Mounds isn't easy - not that Lan Wangji expected it to be. He's known what he was getting into, and his expectations have been correct - but this isn't about the shoddy houses, the cold, damp cave he shares with Wei Ying or the scarce food.

Lan Wangji is fine with those. He doesn't care about comfort and luxury, and as long as he can be by Wei Ying's side, he doesn't need anything else.

What is difficult is watching Wei Ying grind himself near into nothingness every single day. His cultivation is eating away at him, no matter how much he argues otherwise. Perhaps it's not in the way Lan Wangji thought it to be - Wei Ying is very much still lucid - the corruption comes more from his lack of oversight for his own existence.

He works himself into exhaustion inventing spells and talismans every single day, and he fights off the Burial Mounds' whims every time they shake with resentment and threaten the little settlement's fragile safety. He doesn't eat much, if at all, always arguing he isn't hungry, and he sleeps only when he can't keep himself upright anymore. Lan Wangji gets why he doesn't like to sleep - he has nightmares every time he does, and Lan Wangji struggles to bring him out of them every time, for hours on end, breaking away at whatever horrors the Burial Mounds have conjured for him.

To put it bluntly, Wei Ying is wasting away. And Lan Wangji can do nothing but watch - Wei Ying still won't tell him why he's given up the orthodox path of cultivation, he waves away any concern and though he seems to be appreciating any attempts Lan Wangji makes to bring him food or take him to bed (not like that, they're still on a very limited touch basis), he doesn't seem to be getting that much better.

And Lan Wangji doesn't want him to die. Not now, not like this, not ever. After all, the only reason he left the Lan was so he could take care of Wei Ying, protect him, and perhaps even love him, if he'd be allowed. There must be something he can do to make Wei Ying even just a little bit happier than he is now, even if just for a day, even if only to see him smile - smile again, like he used to before the world turned against him and he found his home with the dead, bright and beautiful and sincere.

--

Wei Ying returns from the markets with Wen Ning in tow, flinging about two empty baskets of radishes. They've had a miraculously profitable day today - turns out, some parasite has ruined the radish harvests in the nearby region, making Wei Ying's radishes the only viable ones around.

"People are going to think you cursed the fields to sell your yield." Wen Qing laughed as she counted the large coin pouch Wei Ying's so proudly given her.

"You know what, I could do that. Technically. It sounds like a very Jin thing to do, but the profits would be massive."

Wen Qing shoves at him playfully. "At least there's Hanguang-Jun to reel you in, you get the most chaotic ideas."

"You're one to talk." Then Wei Ying looks around, pouting slightly. "Where's Lan Zhan?"

"I don't know, around probably?" She shrugs. "To be fair, I haven't seen him at all today now that I think about it. He left just after you two did, and he was carrying something."

"Did he tell you where he'd be going?"

"No."

Wei Ying's expression falls. "Oh... Maybe he's finally had enough of this place and he left..."

"Where to? He's not allowed in the Cloud Recesses anymore."

"He's still talking to Zewu-Jun, so..." A sad smile, "I mean, if you didn't have to, would you willingly stay here of all places?"

Wen Qing sends him a sympathetic look, and reaches to poke his forehead lovingly. "He's not the type to just up and leave like that. He'll be back before you know it. And if he really did leave, I'll hunt him down and gut him alive for you."

Wei Ying tries to laugh at that but he can't, not really. "I wouldn't blame him if he did leave... I just..." He swallows, hard, "I don't know... I'm going to... work or something."

He leaves before Wen Qing can say anything, and gratefully walks out into the harsh winds announcing an upcoming storm, his tears lost in the wisps of cold air and resentment.

--

His cave is lonely as he has forgotten it should be. He hates that he has forgotten it - why did he allow himself to get used to somebody always waiting for him at the end of the day, ready to listen if he had anything to say, or just sharing in the silence? Of course it wouldn't last long.

Normal people don't live in mass graves. Normal people don't - they don't love the people living in the mass graves.

Not that Lan Zhan would ever love him, but...

Wei Ying lights up the candle at his work desk and decides he's not going to be thinking of anything but his talismans and his arrays. They don't give him false hope, they don't make him feel like he matters and then leave out of nowhere. They don't pretend like they care when they actually don't.

A tear messes the characters on his prototype for a cleansing talisman and Wei Ying angrily throws it away over his shoulder, his vision blurry. He's angry and disillusioned and hurt - and he doesn't know why! Of course Lan Zhan would go, why would he stay? What's there for him to stay in this wretched place for? What would even keep him tethered here, to this hellhole?!

Wei Ying flings a hand over his desk and everything falls haphazardly around, tears sliding freely down his face.

Why would Lan Zhan - why would anyone even fucking stay - stay there?! Stay there for... for someone like...

Wei Ying folds his hands into a makeshift pillow on the rock he uses as a table and buries his face in it, crying silently. How could he have been so stupid? Lan Zhan is a good person, but... there really is nothing keeping here, there never has been. And... and it's better if he's gone.

He doesn't deserve to live the rest of his life in the Burial Mounds, around someone that he probably doesn't even really like all that much. He probably just wanted to help cause he's righteous and felt bad for the Wen remnants and A-Yuan... but there's a limit to everybody's kindness, probably. Maybe he got sick of the poverty and the struggles, and having to wake up to Wei Ying's screaming every night, maybe he got tired of being around someone that's... more dead than alive.

Maybe... maybe it's better this way. Wei Ying's probably been an unnecessary burden to Lan Zhan anyway. Even if he tried to keep quiet as he worked at night, even if he tried not to take much of anything for himself so as not to seem greedy, even if... even if...

Wei Ying bought something for Lan Zhan from the markets today. He made so much money selling vegetables that he figured he could surprise the other with a little trinket, switching their roles for once. He would be the one to give Lan Zhan a gift this time - he's helped everyone so much, and of course a little item doesn't balance any of it out, but Wei Ying thought it would be... cute. He thought Lan Zhan might like it... It's an ornament for his robes, two white jade bunnies hanging off a beautifully embroidered blue ribbon.

But now that Wei Ying looks at it, he realizes Lan Zhan would probably hate it. He'd never say it outright, but why would he even like it? It's just a stupid thing that cost too much money.

What has Wei Ying been thinking buying it? Wasting money? Thinking it would mean anything? Trusting? Believing? Hoping? Loving?

What has he been thinking?

---

Lan Wangji returns so late in the night he's quite sure he's about to fall asleep at the boundary of the Burial Mounds. He's carrying a lot of things, including food and alcohol that he must be careful not to spill, fragile items and, of course, his own very sleepy self.

He really hasn't expected all that shopping to take so long, but then again he hasn't done much of it himself until now, so perhaps this is how it should be. Lan Wangji is tired, but grateful - Lan Xichen sent him a lot of money, as he requested, and he could get everything he could think Wei Ying would like.

Lan Xichen doesn't agree with his brother's decision to live in the Burial Mounds - nobody in their clan or sect does. But unlike all the people that have renegaded him and forbade him from ever returning home, Lan Xichen still loves him and helps him with everything that he can, risking his relationship with the elders' council and even his sect leader position to send him money and gifts secretly.

Lan Wangji needs to thank him properly for all that he does, though he doesn't know how. It's through his kindness that Lan Wangji has been able to prepare all these things for Wei Ying. And though nobody will notice the money missing, it's still a risk to take.

The Burial Mounds are jarring to walk into, even more so at night. It's just rained as well, and the smell is even more pungent now, rot and petrichor intermixed with the faintest trace of blood, both fresh and old.

The ground beneath Lan Wangji's feet has softened into a formless mass of mud, and he has to use Bichen's glare to see what he's stepping on, the beings living in it ready to grab at him. They reach their... hands towards him, grunting and growling with resentment, and though he isn’t exactly scared (he’s a cultivator, after all, he can’t be scared), he wishes he could just mount his sword and fly his way home. But the fog of resentment overhead is so thick he doubts he would be able to maneuver, and if he gets lost in it, there will be no way out for him.

He can’t use much of his cultivation knowledge either – that only serves to attract the dwellers of the Burial Mounds, all ready to devour some new flesh, feast on living souls and bring another into their ranks.

So all that Lan Wangji has left to do is focus on where he is going, ignore the bellowing screams in his ears, the terrifying apparitions, the phantom pains – and imagine he will soon be safe, home, with Wei Ying, and he will give Wei Ying a nice, relaxing evening to enjoy after a long day’s work.

He pointedly refuses the laughing voices of resentment that tell him he is not wanted here, that he will only bring trouble, that Wei Ying doesn’t love him, that he should just give up, come join us, come to us, be with us, be one of us...

--

Lan Wangji feels like he’s been born again the moment he steps into the protective array that Wei Ying’s set up to guard the Wen settlement. He can finally breathe fresher air, his mind clears immediately and he’s overcome with a sense of relief that settles pleasantly into his stomach, his limbs only a little bit unsteady with the feeling.

Exhaustion catches up to him as well, and he knows he won’t be able to be awake for much longer – bit he knows Wei Ying is, and Lan Wangji wants to brighten up his mood right now more than he wants to rest.

There will be plenty of time for that later.

With a much lighter heart, yearning almost, Lan Wangji walks into Wei Ying’s cave, barely suppressing an excited smile. Wei Ying is going to be so happy!

--

He finds the cave in disarray, and Wei Ying hunched over his table, asleep, surrounded by a mess of notes, ink and broken brushes. The side of his face shines with fresh tears, his cheeks wet, features drawn into a pained expression.

Lan Wangji’s brows furrow, and he places all the items he’s brought near the sleeping mats, walking up to Wei Ying slowly so as not to startle him.

“Wei Ying?”

Resentment materializes out of nothing, blocking his path.

Leave!

Lan Wangji is tired of this already. He’s heard every variation of that on his way home and he’s running out of patience for it.

Leave him alone! You’ve hurt him!

Now that’s new. He has done no such thing - he’s been so careful to respect Wei Ying’s boundaries, took care of him, did his utmost to help him... the Burial Mounds may be horrible, but they love Wei Ying and they’re merciful to those that are kind to him. And Lan Wangji has been just that, kind and devoted to the point of leaving his whole life behind for Wei Ying, no holds barred and no regrets.

This has never happened before, either. The Burial Mounds have received him... well, if one could say that. He never got attacked before, now that he thinks about it, and though he put tonight’s unrest on the resentment just being more active in the dark, he's realizing that there be more to it than that.

He wants to see what's wrong with Wei Ying, though, resentment and the Burial Mounds be damned. And if he has to physically fight this thing, he will - it's not like that would be new.

Lan Wangji draws out Bichen and decides he's just going to go right through this thing if it refuses to get out of his way. And perhaps this is not a very wise choice, but he is tired, worried and still jarred by all the horrors he's encountered in the way here - but he's charging at it before he gives himself the time to really calculate. It's almost like an instinct, wanting to get to Wei Ying and comfort him, and he won't let anyone or anything stand in the way of that.

Bichen's blade pierces through the mass of resentful energy, and it only disperses enough so it dodges the hit. Before Lan Wangji can realize, pain overcomes him from everywhere inside him, as though all his organs have ruptured all at once. He doesn't want to scream, but it's ripped out of him before he knows it, and, for a moment his vision blacks out. He distantly notes that he's never faced resentment this strong, and wonders whether this is the kind of thing Wei Ying had to live through in the three months that he was away. He hopes not. He hopes that this is just the Burial Mounds deciding to hate him in particular, and that it was different for Wei Ying back then.

He coughs out a mouthful of blood and realizes he's dropped his sword at some point. He tries to summon it, but he can't find enough spiritual energy in himself to do it. Is this how he's going to die? Will Wei Ying have to wake up and find him dead? Maybe there will be nothing left of him for Wei Ying to find, that would be easier to deal with, right?

The world is starting to become fuzzy at the edges, or maybe it's just Lan Wangji's tears blurring his vision. He wants, selfishly, his last image to be Wei Ying, and he makes the herculean effort to move his eyes towards where he's still asleep.

Perhaps Lan Wangji is indeed dying - because he thinks he sees Wei Ying jump awake and scream.

--

There is a song.

Lan Wangji recognizes it, it flows around him like a soft, gentle warmth, beckoning him towards... somewhere. He doesn't know where, he doesn't even know where he is right now - doesn't even feel like he is anywhere or anything at all. But even as he is, formless and incorporeal, he's compelled to follow the song, beautifully played on a flute.

It's his song, he made it. He made it for the person he loves, even if he didn't know it at the time and even if it is that person that doesn't know it now.

Slowly, like waddling through deep, heavy waters, Lan Wangji returns to his body. He feels warmth around him, and realizes he's leaning against someone's chest, their heartbeat rhythmic in his ears. The knowledge makes him smile, the movement difficult but inevitable.

"Lan Zhan, are you awake yet?"

"Mn..."

He feels Wei Ying kiss the top of his head, running a hand down his back comfortingly.

"You feelin' better?"

"Mhm."

There is a pause. Lan Wangji can hear the heartbeat underneath his ear quicken, and Wei Ying takes in a deep, shaky breath.

"I'm sorry." he says, at last, his voice soft. "This is all my fault... I thought you left and... you know resentment responds to my emotions so it thought... it was-"

"Trying to protect you." Lan Wangji interrupts, "I get that."

"Lan Zhan... you almost..." another deep breath. "This shouldn't have happened..."

"Wei Ying-"

"No, listen, I-I found... the things you got for me... You're always so good and so kind to me and to everyone else, and you've sacrificed so much for us, we all really don't deserve you. I don't deserve you."

Lan Zhan finally manages to open his eyes, blinking to adjust to the faint lighting in the cave. "Why are you talking like you're wanting me to leave?"

"Because I do."

Lan Zhan lifts his head, confused, to look at Wei Ying, and sees his eyes glisten with unshed tears.

"It's dangerous for you to be around me, Lan Zhan. You shouldn't be risking your life living here, and if you ask Zewu-Jun, maybe he'll convince the elders to-"

"I don't want to leave you, Wei Ying."

"And I don't want you to die because of me."

Lan Wangji reaches a hand to hold the side of Wei Ying's face, wiping the tear that's just fallen down his cheek. "Don't make me leave, Wei Ying."

"Lan Zhan..." Wei Ying covers Lan Wangji's hand with his own. "I had to - I had to put your soul back into your body... You died. I held you as you died. What if I fail next time and I lose you forever?" Wei Ying holds him tighter now, a slight shake to his body as he cries. "I'd rather let you go alive, than live with the knowledge that I-"

It takes all of Lan Wangji's strength to lift himself up enough to leave a soft kiss over Wei Ying's trembling lips. "I love you."

It feels so freeing to say it that Lan Wangji wonders why he held onto this confession for so long, why it took him so long to say it.

"I love you." he repeats, and the words taste sweeter than any dessert he's ever had. "And I don't want to be away from you. I want to share my life with you."

Wei Ying leans down to kiss him back, and Lan Wangji realizes he's never been happier than right now, nothing he has ever achieved has ever felt like the fireworks Wei Ying's lit under his skin.

"What if there will be no life to share, Lan Zhan?" He asks, smiling, tearfully, as he traces the seam of Lan Zhan's lips.

"Then I'll come back to you in the next one."

[i-will-cry-you-a-river]

"Huaisang," sighed Jin Guangyao with a slight reprimand in his tone, but instead of resisting, he leaned back into the embrace of the Nie heir.

"Hush, A-Yao, just relax," Nie Huaisang whispered, his hands massaging his overworked lover. It was such a shame that they could barely spend time together because of politics, but he wanted those stolen moments to be as peaceful as possible.

Nie Huaisang hated what happened, and how everything went south after Nie Mingjue banished Meng Yao and the Jins accepted him. He should have stayed with the Nies. He belonged to them.

He belonged to Nie Huaisang.

His hands tightened, but before he could get more frustrated, his lover tipped his head back, silently demanding a kiss.

Meng Yao or Jin Guangyao - the man knew how to make Nie Huaisang go soft. He could never deny his love anything. Especially not a kiss.

So, he complied, leading them to lose themselves in each other's lips.

Not for long, most likely, but that didn't matter. The only thing mattered was the man in Nie Huaisang's arms, soft and pliant, relaxed and so enchanting, entirely different from the usually high-strung overachiever the Jin clan member was.

And it was all because of Nie Huaisang.