Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian had miscalculated.
His heartbeat filled his ears as he rounded the street corner and burst through crowds of people. They yelled and cursed him out as he sped through, trying his best to escape detection before the sirens grew closer. Of course, his luck had been shit recently and proved to get worse as figures came from the shadows of a nearby building. Wei Wuxian sidestepped one man in his haste and forced his legs to pick up momentum as they hollered after his quickly retreating form.
His evening shouldn't of turned out like this, but the knock on his door prior to current unfolding events had told him the status of his pre-planned evening. Wei Wuxian had slammed the door shut, not giving the officer a chance to speak, and jumped onto the fire escape. Fast forward to current time, the station must of been furious in order to send such a vast number of officers. After all, didn't Chief Lan specifically say he couldn't afford to waste his energy or resources on him? The man chuckled to himself as he jumped over construction work signs and avoided piles of busted concrete.
It wasn't apart of his Grand Plan, but being forced into a corner brought few options to the table.
The bridge had been under construction for as long as he could remember. Wei Wuxian had seen the bridge on his way to lunch back in his university days, and watched as the bridge was constructed. Even as he hurdled over the road barricades now, he felt a sense of gratitude for them being able to block cars. His feet carried him to the edge of the bridge as he stopped and took a moment to breathe. Wei Wuxian stared at the concrete beneath his feet, blocking out all other sounds, yet knowing the police cars had rolled to a stop at the barricades and officers were surrounding the perimeter. He had a moment to breathe as a voice called out to him.
"Wei Wuxian, you are under arrest for the murders of Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli! You have committed treason and planned to flee the country! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Wei Wuxian stared across the bridge before he sighed and put his hands in his pockets.
"Read me my rights," The officer sputtered at the audacity.
"You-!"
"Or you can bring Chief Lan here. I'll only speak to him."
"You're in no position to order them around, Wei Wuxian." A tense, authority filled voice cut through the air as Chief Lan Qiren approached the criminal.
"Chief Lan," Wei Wuxian grinned. "What happened to not having time for me, eh?" The older man narrowed his eyes as he came to stand directly across from the young man.
"This isn't a game, Wuxian. We have incriminating evidence of you at the scene of the murders." Wei Wuxian's eye twitched.
"You have shit, Qiren."
"We have DNA samples, Wuxian." The young man's jaw clenched.
"I'm being framed, Qiren." The older man grew visibly angry.
"The Yiling Patriarch is being framed? You are more shameless than I remember." Wei Wuxian smiled tensely at the older man.
"I haven't heard that one in a while," He muttered as he started to pull something out of his coat pocket. Before he could, a bullet went through his shoulder. The black of his shirt seemed to hide the intensity of the bleeding, but he didn't get another chance to say something as one pierced his chest. Lan Qiren stared in confusion and rage as he yelled for answers behind him. Wei Wuxian gripped his chest, laughing weakly as he pulled his hand away to find it drenched in blood. He stumbled closer to the edge of the bridge, placing a bloodied hand against the concrete of the bridge. He cast a look over his shoulder at the water below and sighed shakily. He felt his bones rattle as he forced himself to stand straight.
They weren't going to let him go and he knew that. The most they would do is give him a trial and then decide his fate. Being taken into custody only to be sent to jail for life was a death sentence he didn't have time to live out. Even if by some miracle he is found innocent, the prosecutors would try their damnedest to send him to jail. He chuckled weakly, pressing his hand back to his chest. He could either die free or in prison. Neither one of those options settled well with Wuxian.
Fortunately, he was prepared either way.
"Chief," He shouted, gripping the edge of the bridge. "Tell them something crazy."
Lan Qiren turned back to face the man, who only grinned at him, and watched as the criminal flung himself off the side of the bridge. The older man hurried over to where he jumped and found ripples beneath the bridge.
For a while, Qiren waited for something to happen, and only felt disappointment coarse through him when the black haired male did not breach the surface.
Tell them something crazy.
"I plan to, Wuxian." He muttered as he pushed himself from the bridge and stalked back to where Wei Wuxian had been standing. He stared at the pack of cigarettes that Wuxian had undoubtedly pulled from his pocket. The man had been a notorious smoker. Lan Qiren bent and snatched the pack from the ground, handing it over to a Forensics specialist before walking past the barricades to his officers. The men surrounding him were silent as he stared at them.
"Call Xichen." The officers shifted back and forth on their feet as they observed Lan Qiren.
One brave soul spoke up. "What do I tell him, sir?"
"Wei Wuxian jumped off the bridge and didn't survive." The officers gawked.
"We haven't searched the bay, sir. He could've-"
"He didn't." Lan Qiren grunted out. "He's dead. Spread the word."
After he spoke his peace, Qiren walked past the cars, having no intention of riding or driving inside of one for the rest of the night.
It seemed even the best fell on judgement day.
Lan Xichen had gotten the call while eating dinner with his younger brother. He hadn't bothered to excuse himself from the table and merely listened as he was informed of the situation. Then, the news came swiftly in his ear, and he felt his hand clench against his slacks. His eyes drifted over his plate to catch any signs of distress from his brother and answered the officer on the phone.
Wei Wuxian was dead.
He carefully observed his brother as he agreed to make arrangements for the situation and hung up the phone shortly after. Lan Xichen resumed eating his dinner and said nothing of the call to his guest. Silence built between the two and stretched on thin ice before the other spoke.
"Brother," Lan Wangji broke through the fog. His golden orbs felt like daggers against Lan Xichen's chest as the brother raised an eyebrow at the man.
"Yes, Wangji?" He forced himself to stay calm. There was no reason to break the truth of his friend so early.
"Who called?" The two words set Xichen's heart into a frenzy as he calmly cut off a piece of his steak.
"One of uncle's officers," He mumbled, loud enough for Wangji to hear, as he took another bite. "They lost the man they were tailing."
The lie forced it's way out of his mouth before Xichen could catch it. He couldn't possibly tell his brother that Wei Wuxian jumped off a bridge after having two bullets fired at him. Last he knew, the two of them had been close friends, and there was no telling what Wangji would do if he heard about the man's self-influenced death.
A low rumble of acknowledgement came from his brother. The two continued with their dinner, the topic dismissed, and conversation ceased to a minimum. As the brothers finished their meal, Wangji stood and took their plates to the counter to clean them.
"Wangji," Xichen muttered as he stood. "You should go home and sleep. There are classes to attend tomorrow." The dish in Wangji's hand cluttered to the sink as he cast his eyes on him. The murky gold that settled on him sent a thread of unease through Xichen. With a blink, the look was gone and Wangji nodded.
"I will call tomorrow." Xichen nodded calmly as he hugged his brother goodbye.
Within minutes, Wangji had deserted his apartment and guilt settled into Xichen's bones. He had lied to his brother's face about the death of his best friend. Xichen could only collapse on his sofa, head in his hands as he thought about all the ways he could've redirected the lie. He could've said nothing, but Wangji would've picked up on that. The man shook his head, sitting up and sighing through his frustration.
I should've told him.
Lan Wangji was not a fool.
As he took a step outside of the apartment, he knew there was something uneasy in the air. Wangji wasn't sure what exactly caused such unrest in his brother, but the matter wasn't to be dismissed. Whatever it was had clearly upset him, and Wangji wouldn't let it eat him apart. The man sighed as he cleared his way to the street and started his way towards his own apartment. The sky seemed to grow darker with every step Wangji took away from Xichen's and he frowned as small drops of water began to drop down upon the street.
Wangji quickly found shelter under a building’s terrace as he observed the skies and the intense gray that glared back. Taking a quick look at his surroundings, Wangji took a seat on one of the benches outside as he let the rainstorm pass. In some ways, the storm reminded him of what he had to do upon arriving home and he shut out his brain for a few moments to breathe.
As he stared out at the world, the sound of rubber burning against dry asphalt brought him to the surface. A man in purple slammed the door of the taxi cab, cursing colorfully at his phone as he made call after call to someone. Wangji cast a quick glance at the man, only to fall short for words upon seeing an irate Jiang Cheng.
Flashes of red, black and gray coursed through Wangji’s mind before he blocked the images from surfacing completely. He stood quickly and stalked over to the man. It was a split second decision that he should’ve never made.
The man in purple turned as a hand grabbed his arm and his mouth dropped open as he stared at the form of Lan Wangji. Jiang Cheng quickly shoved his phone into his coat pocket and sighed in relief.
”I have never been more grateful to see a Lan in my life!” The man claimed and grabbed Wangji by his shoulders. “Have you seen Wei Wuxian? I know the two of you are friends.”
”Were friends.” Jiang Cheng stared at him before shaking his head.
”Doesn't matter. Have you seen him? He’s not answering his phone. He told me he had a flight that was supposed to leave an hour ago and the pilot called me, asking if I knew where the idiot was.”
Wangji felt as if he was underwater. Why was he being asked about him? He hadn’t talked to the man in over a month. Wangji shook his head, creases appearing on his forehead as he tried to think of a reason for Wei Wuxian to miss a plane flight.
Jiang Cheng broke into another series of curses as Wangji stood at the curb beneath the terrace. Wangji stared at the sky, information running rampant in his mind as he tried to figure out why the man wouldn’t show up.
They lost the man they were tailing.
Horror filled Wangji’s chest as he tried to reason out the possibility. The men his uncle chased never got away unless-
Wangji sat down on the bench.
”Wei Ying,” He mumbled, dread filling his heart as his jaw clenched and head fell forward into his hands. The rain poured as the evening’s missing pieces fell into place.
The phone call, the immediate silence, and his brother’s awkward movements. Wei Wuxian hadn’t shown up to his flight in time. He had been leaving the country. His uncle had lost his main suspect.
As the storm continued it’s course, lightning filled his veins and his heart beat felt like thunder.
Wei Wuxian was dead and Lan Wangji would never see him again.