Chapter Text
There are, of course, problems.
Wei Wuxian is not necessarily a deceitful person, but he is someone who depends on employing a carefully crafted set of half-truths and little white lies to survive without upsetting people.
Or getting in fist-fights.
Which would be against the rules.
During a break between sessions, just after lunch, he stands amongst a group of his peers, teasing Jiang Cheng as is customary, and glances away to find Lan Wangji approaching from his uncle’s office.
He sees the change in his soulmate’s gaze—the immediate brightening of the eye, and the slightest upturn at the corners of his lips. He feels the blossoming warmth in his chest.
Hears Jiang Cheng snort and ask, “Come on. When have you ever held back before?”
And panics.
“Aish, Lan Zhan! Go away!” He yells.
And watches Lan Wangji dull before his eyes. “That hurt me.”
“That hurts me.” Wei Wuxian winces, and then takes his partner by the hand to move out of hearing distance from his scowling younger brother.
“Does Wei Ying not want me near his friends?”
“Oh, no. Never that! I’m so proud of you it’s a little awkward, actually. Jiang Cheng says I’m a sap because I couldn’t stop talking about your eyes this morning.”
Something in his chest flutters at the way Lan Wangji’s ears flush red.
“It’s just that my relationship with my…with the Jiang family is complicated.”
“Wei Ying cannot be honest with his brother?” Lan Wangji pinpoints the cause with a sorrowful tone, as if he can imagine few greater tragedies.
And it kind of is, isn’t it?
That his brother isn’t his brother in front of the mother who’s had guardianship of him since he was six years old?
“I know I’m sort of a clown, Lan Zhan, but there are certain things I’m actually really great at.” He says, and pauses for a moment, frowning. That’s more credit than he usually gives himself, but it is The Truth. He fortifies himself for more uncomfortable admissions and continues: “Specifically, there are things I’m more skilled at than Jiang Cheng, and his mother always made a point of scolding both of us for it.”
“This is not a secret to Jiang Wanyin. Why did Wei Ying ask me to leave?”
“Because he asked me when I’ve ever held back. And I can’t tell him the truth, Lan Zhan. Not about that. I really love him, you know? And it would break his heart.”
The understanding in Lan Wangji’s eyes adopts a searing sort of fury. “Wei Ying was taking care of his brother.”
“Yeah.” He admits, lowering his head onto Lan Wangji’s shoulder when his eyes start to burn. “Wei Ying kind of does that a lot.”
And again, Lan Wangji says, “That hurts me.”
“Yeah? Me, too.”
-
Then again, there are some bright sides to total honesty with two such complicated people.
When Lan Wangji comes upon the troublesome trio of Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang, and Jiang Cheng merrily trying to murder each other with a mess of overturned bottles and nutshells scattered on the table, he does not immediately leave to find the nearest authority to report them to.
Which does not stop the others from immediately fleeing the scene of the crime, but it does mean Lan Wangji lingers as Wei Wuxian rights himself from his disheveled position on the bed.
Lan Wangji watches, golden eyes fixed on the glimpse of skin where Wei Ying’s robes have slipped from his shoulder. “I am envious.”
“Ah, Lan Zhan, did you want to drink with us?”
He shakes his head. “I will always want to spend time with Wei Ying, but I have never been allowed alcohol. I am afraid of what may happen.”
“I can’t see you being an angry drunk. Maybe you’re the melancholy sort, but I think I’d like it best if you were the giggly sort.”
Lan Wangji huffs. “Wei Ying knows too much about this. Wei Ying drinks too much.”
His arms cross over his chest defensively, like he’s penning up his frustration and concern to avoid overwhelming his own soulmate, but Wei Ying sighs because—well, point.
“I know I rely on it too much. I told you about things at Lotus Pier—and I’m not saying it’s bad, alright? I’m not some poor, hopeless waif with no friends or life even if sometimes it feels like it. Aaaagh, I hate this a little bit.” He makes a demanding ‘come here’ gesture and Lan Wangji sits closer to him than he thought he would, settling delicately on the bed. Something heavy in him lifts. “Sometimes I just feel worthless. Mostly because Madame Yu will tell me I am. And I know she’s not even mad at me. It’s my parents she’s mad at, my mom especially. Fuck, Lan Zhan, I can remember maybe one smile and sometimes I almost hate that, too, because she’s only ever been held against me!”
He stops short, yelping softly as Lan Wangji drags him into a tight embrace. “That isn’t true. Wei Ying is kind, and charming, and clever. Wei Ying is the Head Disciple. Wei Ying is beautiful.”
“Aw, gee. Flatter a guy, why don’t you?”
“It is impossible to lie about this.”
He buries his overheating face in the broad expanse of Lan Wangji’s chest, enjoying the way his cheeks hurt from smiling. “You’re too good to me, Lan Zhan. What will I do with myself if you spoil me rotten?”
“Be happy and rotten. That’s what I want most: your happiness.”
“Fuck,” Wei Ying whispers. “I’m happy right now. I’m so happy.”
Lan Zhan braces his hands on Wei Ying’s shoulders and leans back, ensuring the best view of his soulmate’s glistening eyes and flushed cheeks when he smiles so gently and says, “Then so am I.”
-
But clearly, the bond between them creates certain unavoidable external issues.
Knowing that Wei Wuxian can’t lie in the presence of Lan Wangji raises the subject of a certain faux pas—using one soulmate to extract unwilling honesty from the other.
There are some carefully-spun tales Wei Ying maintains to shelter others from the ills he believes of himself. There are other obfuscations he maintains for his own safety and peace of mind, and there are still more playful fibs he maintains because he’s young and alive.
Lan Qiren is too blinded by old grudges to understand that inherent innocence: that Wei Wuxian, if tall and occasionally overconfident, is still a youth.
So he summons Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to his office to demand the truth of any upcoming pranks from their guest disciple.
“Ahhh,” Wei Wuxian groans, pouting like a much younger boy. “I don’t want to tell, laoshi! It’s really all in good fun. Is that so bad?”
Lan Qiren purses his lips, a thunderstorm clear on his face before he barks: “Why are you like this?! Your mother was bad enough!”
And despite the question being a rhetorical insult, it is still a question and Lan Wangji still reaches out to grab his partner when he is forced to answer, the weight of honesty burning in his throat.
It feels an awful lot like vomiting.
“I only remember—” He sobs. “I only remember the one time she smiled at me, and how it felt like I was somebody's whole world, and I was safe. And then I wasn't for a very long time. I haven't been for a very long time, but when--" He chokes. "When people look at me, I can almost pretend that--"
And that's about when Lan Wangji very gently presses a hand to his mouth and says, "That's enough. Uncle," He says, "This hurts me."
And Lan Qiren looks at these boys, and he regrets the pain he sees in both of them. And he says, very quietly, "Wei Wuxian...no one here is likely to forget you."
Because in all the ways that matter, this boy really is just like his mother.
-
Much later, in a quieter time when Lan Qiren sits on the porch of the Jingshi with his nephew-in-law, he admits: “Your personality is a great deal like your mother’s, but in terms of looks—you are your father with only slightly less eyebrow.”
And he snorts when Wei Ying dissolves into bellowing laughter.
-
It takes some adjusting, this balance of honesty and reassurance that becomes such an integral part of both of their lives. For Lan Wangji, it is a new experience to communicate so fluidly and be understood with no miscommunication.
Wei Ying is gentle and patient with him, seemingly delighted by each and every thing he has to say. The light in his eyes and the dimples in his cheeks motivate the Second Jade to speak up more and more—regardless of any importance behind his thoughts.
He wants to hear what truths Wei Ying will exchange for his own, what thoughts occupy his brilliant mind and what unhampered silliness he can concoct at rest.
Wei Wuxian is equally pleased to have someone to meander with.
The problem is that just as Wei Ying has met all of Lan Wangji’s most important people, so too must Lan Wangji meet Wei Ying’s.
Jiang Cheng has grown to appreciate Lan Wangji during the course of lectures—especially when the young master declines to have him disciplined for his own late night drunken misadventures.
Jiang Yanli will love him instantly, and Wei Ying has done nothing if not sing his beloved shijie’s praises. Lan Wangji listens eagerly every time.
Which is kind of the problem in a nutshell, really: Lan Wangji knows too much about Wei Ying’s childhood, about the internal workings of Lotus Pier and its masters.
He can’t be in the same room with Wei Ying and his foster parents at the same time!
This makes arranging the marriage details very difficult.
-
They’re in town for perhaps a week before Lan Wangji hunts Wei Ying down in the afternoon, determined to haul him back to the Jiang family seat for a meeting. The old woman he was in the middle of charming tucks a meat bun into his hand and pats his cheek as she declares, “For strength, hm?”
All of the sympathy in the world for him and his eardrums.
Merciless.
-
The thing is that it would be incredibly ill-advised to tell Madame Yu half the things the wronged child inside of him wants to, but it would be worse to tell Uncle Jiang.
Jiang Fengmian has never had much of an opinion on anything, but happily welcomes any happiness that comes Wei Wuxian’s way. It’s just that he’s never thought to stop the vitriol, blame, and misfortune heaped on by his wife.
It doesn’t occur to him, so he thinks nothing of frowning with fatherly concern as Wei Ying keeps his eyes locked on the table between them like the wood grain might somehow save him.
“This is a happy occasion, but you’ve been so reluctant to sit down and plan things out. A-Ying, what’s the matter?”
“Uncle,” He says quietly, “I don’t want to tell you. You won’t like what I have to say. I don’t like it either.”
And this might have been fine—Jiang Fengmian could take a hint, at least, his eyes drifting between the stern expression on Lan Wangji’s face and the anxiety on Wei Wuxian’s.
But Yu Ziyuan had never been a delicate woman, least of all toward her husband’s ward. She huffs: “What could he have to be concerned about? He’s found someone who has to tolerate him.”
It’s not Wei Ying who bares his teeth at the Violet Spider.
-
“You have failed the person that means most to me. I have never been more disgusted by an elder. Were it not for the vital ties between our two sects, I would challenge you outright, and I would break any number of rules to put you through the humiliation and shame you have dealt him.”
Wei Ying blinks, stunned at the hostile rumble that issues from his soulmate.
“You have spent the better part of Wei Ying’s life making him feel worthless. This alone is unforgivable, but you have unjustly punished your own children as well: Jiang Cheng is bitter because he believes himself inferior, and you tell him that he is right. Jiang Yanli believes that she is lacking, and you affirm this every day. You lie to your children.” He hisses this last, and Wei Ying finds himself struggling to breathe.
“Sect Leader Jiang, whether or not you can lie to your wife, it was your duty to keep her honest. You owed that to your children and you failed.”
When neither of the adults at the table manage a prompt response, trying and failing to connect the reputation of the Peerless Jade with the ready volley of hatred, Lan Wangji sums up: “I dislike you. Very much. It is your involvement I will ‘tolerate.’”
“Lan Zhan, you can’t just say that.”
He looks at the love of his life, eyes flint-hard and robbed of patience. He demands, “Tell me where I lied.”
-
So it’s determined that Wei Ying will be staying in Cloud Recesses for a while longer.
This is fine by Xichen, who welcomes the chance to get to know his new brother-in-law. Initially, he was delighted just to know that the fates had seen fit to introduce Lan Wangji to a person he could love so dearly, but given the chance Wei Ying is quick to prove his own merits.
He’s bright, funny, and a lovely conversationalist. He’s eager to join the brothers when they play their instruments in the evenings, and equally quick to share his own expertise with the upcoming Lan juniors, cooing over them and correcting brushstrokes and stances.
And then, of course, there is his unfailing ability to locate the nearest bunny at the drop of a handkerchief.
There is nothing about him that Lan Xichen finds difficult to love, and so he quickly comes to regard him as a second beloved sibling—which is why he stifles his laughter, turns right back around, and sets a ward at the door when he comes across them in the library.
-
In fairness, Lan Wangji really has been trying to transcribe a text when Wei Ying rests his pointy little chin on his shoulder and drapes himself over Lan Wangji’s back.
“Lan Wangji.” He whines.
“Trying to focus.”
“Lan Zhan.”
“Have to read this.”
“Lan er-gege.”
“Once more and I throw you down and fuck you right here.” Lan Wangji snaps.
…
“A-Zhan, I have a problem.”
Lan Zhan’s attention is immediately diverted. He turns his head to study his partner for any signs of injury or distress. “Is Wei Ying all right?”
“That got me hard.”
So, rightly—ward at the door.