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There were times Wei Wuxian still couldn't believe his luck, because despite everything that had happened to him, he still thought that he was most likely the luckiest man alive; although it's not like a lucky man could be dead. It's been around four years since the death of Jin Guangyao and the realization of his feelings for Lan Wangji and there he was, sitting at the steps of the jingshi looking at the night sky with a bunny in his arms that he fetched to keep him some company: a lucky man indeed.
It must be early, earlier than usual, given that his husband was still sleeping inside. It was a relatively common occurrence for Wei Wuxian to wake up in the middle of the night and go outside for a walk or to think and it no longer really bothered him; it's been more than half a year since a nightmare didn't let him go back to sleep.
But today, he couldn't identify what woke him up, there just was this tingling feeling all over his skin. It could be the cold wind of end of autumn or the fact that, for once, he was truly excited about a night hunt with the juniors the next day. He didn't paid it much attention to it though, he felt at peace and looking at the sky was as relaxing as painting talismans.
He didn't realize how much time had passed until he heard the doors of the jingshi open up and a blanket fell upon his shoulders. He looked behind him and smiled, he rarely got to see Lan Wangji in mornings. His hair was loose and still had his sleeping robes on, and the best part is that he had an amazingly soft look on his jade eyes. Wei Wuxian sighed, was there a limit of how much he could love this man?
"It's cold outside," Lan Wangji said softly.
Well, damn, in that he was right. Wei Wuxian could feel the hair on his arms stand and barely felt his toes at this point but he had felt so at peace outside that he overlooked all of that. The look Lan Wangji gave him was not reprimanding, like it had been in the first year after be returned when he didn't take care of himself, it was a look of outmost care.
So, with a tiny smile, Wei Wuxian took the bunny out of his lap, grabbed Lan Wangji's warm hands and got up. Inside, Lan Wangji gave him a hot cup of tea to then go around the jingshi doing his morning routine. Wei Wuxian sat on the bed, despite breaking the still not written rule of not eating or drinking in bed, and started to admire his husband as he talked about why was he outside.
It wasn't absolutely necessary though, but after so many misunderstandings that could've been fixed by just talking in their lives, Wei Wuxian now talked about everything and anything. He learned that actually that didn't bother Lan Wangji, in fact, it calmed him. Knowing that it wasn't anything bad that woke him up and that it felt quite nice, not lonely, outside helped him go about his day reassured that his husband was happy.
Now lying in bed, Wei Wuxian started to feel sleepy again; he knew that Lan Wangji usually helped him get ready in the morning but he didn't have anything to do that day, he was actually on mandatory rest to be at perfect condition for the night hunt tomorrow.
He was about to slip into unconsciousness when he felt a kiss on his forehead, as light as a feather. With peace in his mind, he fell asleep.
⏳
An especially bright ray of sunlight woke him up. Of course Lan Wangji would leave the curtains open so he would wake up at a reasonable hour. With a small groan, Wei Wuxian sat on the bed. Given how the light entered through the strategically open curtains and how bright it was, it must be around midday. So after getting up to heat up some more tea and eating something, he thought about what he could today.
There wasn't much really, everything was already prepared for the night hunt but he figured that his talismans were running a bit low. Yes, he was slowly and surely building a new golden core with the help of Lan Wangji, but he still couldn't do that much. He no longer got tired easily, could mount on his sword for a good couple of hours but to attack and to defend himself were still a couple years ahead of him.
He searched for blank talismans among his stuff and he wasn't actually that surprised when he found none, so went through Lan Wangji's stuff as well but there wasn't any talismans there either. He could wait until his husband came around to see if he was still sleeping and to offer lunch if he was, but he didn't want to wait, there was absolutely nothing he could do in the meantime. Yes, he could meditate or lay in bed, but he wanted to lay in bed and do something. That should be possible, right?
Well, this is unfortunate, he thought. Resigned, he walked and opened the doors of the jingshi but didn't take a single step outside; right, he had to dress. After sloppily putting some decent clothes on, he took the hairbrush.
This was something he realized immediately after being back from the dead in Mo Xuanyu's body: his hair was unmanageable. It was curlier than his original and only looked cute after quite some effort. He had to brush it a good couple of times before trying to put it in a ponytail, Lan Wangji usually helped him but Lan Wangji wasn't there so Wei Wuxian looked at the small mirror they had on the wall and tried his best.
He was almost done when he saw something unusual. He finished tying up his ponytail and looked closer, a slight frown between his eyebrows. There was mole under his lip.
Funny, he thought. Out of all the places in my face I can get a mole in, it had to be that one. It was rather confusing at first, as well as awkward, even after years with Mo Xuanyu's face and body; he had long made peace with the fact that this was his body now. He had felt like an intruder for the few good struggling months, maybe a year, it took him to accept it but at the end he did, with a little bit of Lan Wangji's help, of course. So after some more looking, he huffed a laugh; this was a really nice coincidence.
He always liked that mole and he bet Lan Wangji liked it too, so without thinking it any longer, he put down that brush and walked outside the jingshi.
⏳
The next day, he said his "See you later" in the morning to Lan Wangji, because after all, they couldn't always go night hunt together. Especially with Lan Xichen thinking about coming out of seclusion and the fact that this was still a training exercise for the juniors, so they couldn't, and wouldn't, have Hanguang-Jun coming to save their asses.
The group Wei Wuxian was actually accompanying was made from the top disciples of the GusuLan Sect, this was most likely one of the last night hunts they would need company because maybe, if the Lan elders approved, they would become full fleshed cultivators by next year... and Lan Sizhui was in this group, so of course Wei Wuxian wanted to be present.
This night hunt was rather simple, some people in a town nearby had reported something scary and they had to investigate but nevertheless Wei Wuxian wanted to go; it had sentimental value. So there he was on the side, mounting his sword, looking with pride at his son leading a new generation.
⏳
It was nighttime when they finished interrogating the very few and poor people on the town they were in. As part of the GusuLan Sect, there were obviously rules against judging someone over their appearance, but even they could tell this people didn't looked trustable, or at least, looked suspicious. Wei Wuxian, despite liking this Lan rule, agreed with the disciples, and even though Lan Qiren would try to kick him out of Cloud Recesses, he encouraged the thought. But still, when they looked at him when discussing if they should stay in the only inn in town or to camp outside, he said nothing; he had come has an observant.
The group decided to stay in the inn, taking turns to guard and deducing that something interesting could happen during the night. It was very hard for Wei Wuxian to hide the proud smirk that appeared on his lips.
He tried to relax, there was no point in waiting at the edge of his seat so, after rejecting the lady in charge offering some food, he went to sit beside the window of the room, which had a relatively clear view of the street and the entry of the inn. He was alone, despite sharing it with Sizhui, who was probably making some plans with the rest of the disciples and Jingyi, who was on guard duty.
He started at the night sky and frowned, the tingling feeling had come back, but this time, it was slightly focusing on his face; he scratched a little bit his cheeks and tried to control his breathing to heat up his body but it was all useless, he was also sure he had nothing on his face, someone would've told him. A strange occurrence, indeed.
Suddenly, he looked down at street; he couldn't be absolutely sure but he could've swore he saw something move in the corner of his eye. It was a dark night, and the town had no lanterns on but the street was a hundred percent empty. He was about to look up at the sky again when he saw it: a human figure moving right under him.
It was sliding across the wall below him, where not even the moonlight could touch him. Wei Wuxian waited a few seconds and then smirked, there was only one place the strange man could possibly head to and he was right; he quickly grabbed Chenqing and went down the stairs to meet their new guest. This might be interesting.
⏳
It wasn't.
After a days in town and a nice shock for Wei Wuxian, they went back home to Cloud Recesses... empty-handed. It was almost soul crushing, but they had no more clues or evidence so it was the only thing they could do; although Wei Wuxian made sure, despite the scolding from the elders, that they understood that the disciples had no fault at this and shouldn't be punished for any reason they could think of. They hadn't failed, they just didn't quite succeeded and he was sure there were more important things they could think of.
It was strange when they crossed the gates of Cloud Recesses, Lan Wangji was waiting before him. It was barely unnoticeable but Wei Wuxian knew his husband better than he knew himself, Lan Wangji stared at him just a little longer than usual, mere seconds and Wei Wuxian thought he understood why. They later talked about the real reason the town had asked for help, that if he had known Lan Wangji would've accompanied him.
They of course did a little bit of research after but as the night hunt, it lead to no results; whoever did it left no track, no sign, no nothing. So despite how much it shocked Wei Wuxian and how burning his curiosity was, they had to let it go, after all it wasn't the only unsolved mystery in the cultivation world.
They let the winter pass, Wei Wuxian just a little more used to it as the years went by. It no longer bother him that much how wet his feet felt after walking in the snow, he ignored it and grew to appreciate the beauty of it. It no longer bother him how cold mornings were because Lan Wangji would spend a little more time cuddling him after he woke up.
This year felt specifically nice for some reason. Despite the humidity, his hair was somehow more manageable, the way it had been before and he thought the juniors finally stopped growing, he almost sighed in relief when he realized he wouldn't have to walk on his toes to look them in eye. It was all nice, even if you looked at the fact that he and Lan Wangji couldn't have a lot of time together because of how busy they were. Lan Wangji helping and introducing some duties to his brother and due to that, Wei Wuxian had taken a lot more little task to help his husband on top of his own classes, like grading almost all of the night hunt reports and even to supervise one or two rule copping punishments; but in general it was fine, they still had plenty of time at night.
Everything would be perfect if it just wasn't for that damn tingling feeling, it came when he least expected it and it was so annoying he wanted to scream. Sometimes it was very light, it could pass as a chilling breeze but there were times were he just wanted to rip his skin off. It was one of those unbearable times when he told his husband, they searched in the library and went as far as to ask one of the nicer Lan elders but found nothing.
Suddenly it all clicked after an especially bad episode, might as well be the worst one yet, in a specially bad morning, because Lan Wangji sadly had to leave on time, he had something to discuss with his uncle about the Spring Cultivation Conference in Yunmeng and Wei Wuxian had things to do, he had a new chunk of freshly delivered reports from the night hunt the juniors came back the day before.
Three thousand Lan Sect rules were engraved in his brain and despite living in Cloud Recesses for years and even being part of the Clan by marriage, he still had some trouble with the new thousand rules so around midday and after a very late breakfast, he went to library and took the reports with him.
There, he grabbed one of the updated books and sat down to work. He didn't how long had passed, must have been at least a couple of hours, when a voice stopped him from falling asleep.
"Who are you?"
Oh, he knew that voice. Jingyi.
Wei Wuxian focused his sight and saw Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi carrying some books, the first one was staring attentively at him while the later had a scowl on his face. Wei Wuxian let out a small laugh, since when the Lans pulled pranks? Even if they were as lame as this one.
"I asked who are..."
"Senior Wei?"
Lan Jingyi looked with wide eyes at Lan Sizhui and then at Wei Wuxian, who's chuckling had died down.
"Senior Wei?" The Lan Jingyi used actually sounded confused. "You look... different"
The juniors had been away for at least two weeks, it had been a very long night hunt and this two had been given a special permission from Hanguang-Jun himself to visit Jin Ling; they also came back rather late last night, so they just wrote their reports and passed out in their beds. They haven't seen Wei Wuxian in a while.
"What are you two talking about?" Wei Wuxian said. See? This was why he always worked at Lan Wangji's desk in the jingshi, he always got interrupted doing anything everywhere else.
"It's true, Senior Wei." Despite living a lifetime as part of the Lan Sect, Lan Sizhui was still not very good at hiding his emotions; his eyes were wide and the corners of his eyebrows frowned slightly, like when he did when he fighting or solving a mystery puzzle. "You look... I'm afraid I don't know how to describe it"
To say the least, Wei Wuxian was confused. Yes, he no longer needed the mirror to do his hair but he had looked a couple of days ago, he looked fine; not been able to resist curiosity, he began to gather the reports on the desk.
"Well, everyone looks different this days," he almost tripped on his way outside. "Just because you stopped growing or do your hair differently, doesn't mean people has to stay the same, isn't?"
"Senior Wei..."
He didn't get to hear what Lan Sizhui had to tell him because even if running was forbidden in Cloud Recesses, he went as fast as he could without anything falling out of his arms to the jingshi.
⏳
By the time he got there, he knew he was about to have a tingling episode; the annoying feeling just starting at the end of his spine. He quickly closed the doors, dropped the reports and looked in the mirror before trying to scratch himself, red skin didn't look pretty on him.
As expected, he looked fine. Yes, his hair was less curly, he had the tiny mole under his lip and his face was a bit slimmer, but training with Lan Wangji in a Lan Sect regiment, it was normal to lose the baby fat on his cheeks, right?
But if he stopped looking at those details and instead looked at the bigger picture, he could say there was something indeed different. The corner of his eyebrows looked a bit straighter, his eyes looked a bit bigger but it had to be the angle, right? It definitely could have something to do with the light.
His breath was caught in lungs when it hit him, with a slightly shaking hand he touched his face.
He looked like Wei Wuxian.
Well, he was Wei Wuxian but at the end of the day, that was still Mo Xuanyu's face and body but somehow, even after years and maybe not even remembering his own face, he realized he looked like himself; he and Mo Xuanyu definitely looked alike but this was something entirely different.
He hadn't changed completely though, his lips were still a bit fuller than before and his complexion still a few tones lighter; the reflection staring at him in the mirror looked like a weird mix of Mo Xuanyu and his own old face.
He almost let out a laugh, after so long struggling to accept it and suddenly it came back to him. He almost flinched when a warm pair of hands lightly fell on his shoulders and another reflection showed up in the mirror.
"Lan Zhan, you scared me," he rushed. "You came early, I thought you still had work."
"My brother wanted to talk with Uncle, I was dismissed earlier." Wei Wuxian had some trouble understanding him though, given that Lan Wangji had his arms wrapped around his waist and his face buried on the crook of his neck; a very different kind of tingling ran through him.
Wei Wuxian couldn't see the face of his husband in the mirror but he didn't care, the simple fact that Lan Wangji had grown comfortable enough to ask for physical affection made his heart burst, so he put his hands over his husband's and leaned into his embrace. He quietly thanked the Heavens that the annoying tingling stayed at an ignorable level.
It wasn't long before Lan Wangji started to leave soft kisses on his neck and at some point Wei Wuxian had the intention to stop him and tell him what he discovered but it soon was proved that the intention was weaker that an old stone, quickly crumbling down as one of Lan Wangji's hands tightened around his waist and the other went up.
Wei Wuxian closed his eyes and let himself be loved, they rarely had time to do this type of fun lately; he could feel his heartbeat at the tip of his fingers and warmth ran through this body as Lan Wangji slipped a hand through the neck of robes to touch the skin around his chest.
Suddenly, Wei Wuxian felt Lan Wangji's body tense, as fast as an arrow and as tight as the string of the bow. He looked in the mirror and saw him frowning, a very confused and worried expression on his always peaceful face; Lan Wangji withdrew his hand and turned him around by his shoulders.
He slowly pushed aside the layers to take a look at Wei Wuxian's chest, right above his heart as he also looked down, wondering what could it be; yes, he liked undressing with his husband but the vibe was important too. His breath hitched in his throat and could've swore Lan Wangji stopped breathing altogether; it was almost unnoticeable but it was there still, specially to Lan Wangji, who most likely knew his husband's body better than himself.
It was a faded mark of a Wen brand, or you could say, appearing mark.
After a wave of nausea, Wei Wuxian looked at his husband and that's when it hit him like a punch in the gut: he was looking at Lan Wangji in the eye.
Not up, not down, but straight in eye. He knew Mo Xuanyu had long stopped growing and Lan Wangji definitely wasn't shrinking. He was frozen in his place not really knowing what to do, his thoughts running way too fast in his head with all of the possibilities and Lan Wangji now unreadable stare on him.
Wei Wuxian felt his face been held and he forced himself to hold onto those big and strong hands, to hold onto the ground. A deep voice warmed his body like a blanket on a cold morning, he hadn't realized he had closed his eyes until his husband called him again.
"Wei Ying." He felt temped to close his eyes again but he needed those perfect jade to remind him that Wen-dogs were dead, the Sunshot Camping was over and he was safe in Cloud Recesses. "Does it hurt?"
A tight knot sat on his throat, a sudden urge to cry crashed against him; out of all the things Lan Wangji could've said, that was the first thing that crossed his mind, as if all he needed to know what if his husband was okay, everything else could wait.
Wei Wuxian moved slightly his head from side to side and after a few eternal seconds, Lan Wangji gave him a quick peck on the lips and wrapped his arms around his husband's now not so small body, who tried to slow down his breathing in an effort to relax himself.
He was going to be fine, the same as he was the first time in a stranger's body... he just didn't expect the foreign body now to be his own.
⏳
Turns out it there wasn't much of a change in his life. Yes, some Lan elders, specially Lan Qiren, almost had a qi deviation when they saw the actual face of their nightmares come back but the juniors adapted fairly quickly and Lan Xichen just let out a small chuckle.
On the flip side, it was also hard for himself, and especially for Lan Wangji, to have his entire body covered in scars again, there were a few times he had a nightmare after staring at them a little too long and his husband's hands trembled once or twice when they touched him.
They thought about why, after years since the reincarnation, his body was changing back now and came with the theory that it was a year after every revenge victim Mo Xuanyu had commissioned him with. As if Mo Xuanyu was finally letting go.
The final days of winter, when he barely looked like Mo Xuanyu at all, Wei Wuxian thought about him; he wasn't going to lie, he was going to miss the guy. He knew that haven't actually meet each other and never will but knowing Mo Xuanyu's story and what he went through, he kind of got attached to him; his family was never going to actually claim him as theirs, so besides the collective memory of crazy young man being kick out of the Jin Sect, the body Wei Wuxian had was everything that was left of him and now it was going to disappear.
He made a reminder to ask Jin Ling that even if Mo Xuanyu was one of Jin Guangshan's bastards and technically practiced some demonic cultivation, he could at least get a tiny engraved stone in his honor somewhere in Carp Tower.
⏳
Spring came around sooner than he expected. The snow melted, more green started to blend with the white of Cloud Recesses and the sun started to serve it´s purpose. Most of important of all you could say the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian, had now come back in the flesh.
It felt rather nice to completely look like himself again. For example, after years of the Lan elders getting used to him as Mo Xuanyu, those who remembered him now looked at him in barely hidden horror, which could made him laugh for hours or the fact that the height difference between him and Lan Wangji was no longer perfect for forehead kisses, so his husband had to tilt his head the tiniest bit so Wei Wuxian finally finally found a new thing to tease him about.
There also was this special moment he had with Lan Sizhui, they were spending an afternoon together playing with the bunnies per the younger's request and Wei Wuxian payed it no real mind until Lan Sizhui told him how good it was to see his face. Wei Wuxian was in shock, could his son even remember his old face? When he asked, Lan Sizhui said that no, he didn't remembered it exactly but said that his features held certain familiarity to them and when he said it, a warmth spread through Wei Wuxian's chest.
Everything crashed when they received the official invitation to the Spring Cultivation Conference in Yunmeng. Usually it wasn't a big deal, for years only the mighty Hanguang-Jun had invited plus the Lan cultivators he estimated right, they just didn't bother much with the invitation and everyone knew Lan Wangji would bring Wei Wuxian with them anyways; after all there wasn't much Jiang Cheng could do to stop them, to kick the husband of such an important person as Hanguang-Jun would be considered very rude.
The first two years of conferences Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng limited themselves to hardcore glaring and attempts at casual conversation that almost always ended up in fights. The third year however something happened in an special conference in Cloud Recesses: they found themselves just exchanging glances and had a heated discussion about a few demands the fisherman in Yunmeng had but it didn't reach the level of fight and when they said goodbye at the gates of Cloud Recesses, the scowl in Jiang Cheng's was very deep and clearly looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he bowed with true respect and left. Sometimes Wei Wuxian wished to just ask his brother what was it but he knew better, he knew that if pushed, Jiang Cheng would just bite back so the only thing he could do was to have patience.
This year something must have changed because the invitation clearly invited Hanguang-Jun and his cultivation partner and husband, Wei Wuxian. The handwriting in the paper looked like an imitation of the perfect handwriting it was used on this type of work, something got squeezed inside Wei Wuxian's chest when he realized Jiang Cheng must have written this, but clearly didn't want him to know.
⏳
It was nerve-wrecking for him, to say the least, to travel to Lotus Pier after being officially invited in four years. It was a beautiful day actually, with a clear sky and light breeze but inside Wei Wuxian could easily be a storm. He traveled on his sword the first half of the way, a good way to train he told himself, but later he asked to go with Lan Wangji, with the excuse that he was tired. He knew his husband knew that was a complete lie but understood why, he needed reassurance so Wei Wuxian prayed that his sweaty hand didn't bother his husband that much.
When they landed, Wei Wuxian breathed in and let small smile grow on his face. Despite everything, Lotus Pier looked almost exactly the same; well, plenty of buildings were new and the people were new as well but the air felt like home, almost as much as being in Lan Wangji's arms. The lakes reflected almost perfectly the sky and the tiny lotuses were starting to show themselves to fully bloom in summer; if this wasn't a political visit, Wei Wuxian could easily spend weeks here.
Two young disciples, dressed in purple Yunmeng Jiang clothes, were waiting for them so when they landed, they bowed and asked the Lan delegation to follow them; they did it without a single word, they were used to this formalities and everything was inside the norm except for one thing: the look they gave him and Lan Wangji.
By now, everyone in the cultivation world knew about them and everyone had an opinion about them too but the look the disciples gave them was one of upmost and absolute confusion; but the Jiang disciples didn't said anything so Wei Wuxian let it be.
Until it repeated. Walking through the docks that lead to the main courtyard and the main hall, they got more confused looks. Well, this is odd, Wei Wuxian thought. It's not like they've never seen them before but then everything clicked when he heard a very old vendor whisper to his son beside him with fear in his voice.
"That's the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian"
Wei Wuxian's eyes suddenly were wide open and his mouth formed a perfect 'O'. He quickly grabbed Lan Wangji's hand and looked at him as they kept walking
"Lan Zhan, I think we forgot something very important," he whispered.
It was almost imperceptible but his husband's steps slightly staggered and he squeezed his hand as he looked back at Wei Wuxian. By the Heavens, how come they forgot something as important as this? Was is really that natural for them that they forgot to tell everyone else? At this point, there hardly was anything they could do so feeling as if his heart was going to come out of chest they reached the main courtyard, where a middle age Jiang cultivator received them.
Next, he did something very out of the norm. With an expression as if he had seen his mother in law crawl out of the grave, he dropped his sword and ran to the main hall as fast as he could. Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and the rest of the cultivators were rather surprised, were they supposed to wait or just walk into the main hall?
They didn't had to answer any of those questions because suddenly the doors of the main hall bursted open and Jiang Cheng came out, looking like someone has personally insulted him, purple robes flowing around him; apparently some people had arrived earlier because right after Jiang Cheng, came Jin Ling with Ouyang Zizhen right behind him. At least twenty or thirty cultivators were now surrounding them, most of them looking confused yet a few held looks of absolute horror.
Wei Wuxian kind of understood how they felt when he catched Jiang Cheng's eyes. To anyone else, Jiang Cheng's fierce eyes were filled with burning rage but Wei Wuxian, who you could say was the only person alive that knew him before he became Sect Leader, saw hurt behind the fire; his fingers twitching around Zidian but not a single spark flying out.
In one second, his face went completely emotionless except for a displeased gesture at the corners of his mouth, he looked away from Wei Wuxian and found the sword at his feet, which he picked up and shoved into the cultivator's chest that went to inform him.
"You should never drop your sword.”
That was all he said before he turned around and walked back into the main hall, Wei Wuxian's eyes glued to his back, his throat suddenly felt very dry. It could've been worse, he thought, it could've been a scene, with them shouting and Lan Wangji and Jin Ling somewhere on the middle but no, Jiang Cheng just looked at him with very dark yet hurt eyes to then said absolutely nothing and walk away.Somehow, to Wei Wuxian, that was even worse, as if his brother just didn't acknowledged him anymore, something heavy sat inside of him.
He was brought back to reality when a warm hand slipped into his, he focused his sight and saw the middle age cultivator signaling them to follow him into their room. With one last look at the main hall and squeezing Lan Wangji's hand, he moved; as simple as putting one foot in front of the other, even if he felt like a new weight was put on top of his shoulders.
⏳
To say that the dawn at Lotus Pier was beautiful was an understatement, words were not enough to describe it. The sky was a beautiful mix of orange and pink, with some clouds turning purple and stars starting to come out, all reflected in the calm waters of the lake. Wei Wuxian thought he could never grow tired of it, the light spring breeze and the water at his feet gave him a sense of peace, even if that peace would be short-lived and quite false in reality.
Despite how harsh his attitude just was, Jiang Cheng did seemed to have thought about him and tried to give him something nice. The guest room he had assigned to him and Lan Wangji was part of one of the new wings of Lotus Pier built closer to the lake and each one had a tiny personal dock, he had never stayed in one of these but, by the Heavens, he wanted to stay forever.
So there he was, with his naked feet dangling of the dock and slowly pealing lotus seeds. Lan Wangji had something urgent to talk with one of the Sect Leaders about something in the border between Gusu and Yunmeng and the welcome banquet this year was more of a celebration so it would be held at nightfall, therefore Wei Wuxian had nothing to do and was alone with his thoughts.
He could sleep, but the banquet would start soon and he wouldn't wake up by then. He could ask Ouyang Zizhen what he meant when he said he looked more handsome that in the portraits but he doubt that his father would let him get close to him. He could grab a drink but to show up drunk at the welcome banquet would definitely start a fight between him and Jiang Cheng.
An hour must have passed because the next thing he knew was that the moon was high in the sky and light steps were coming in his direction.He looked up and smiled when he saw his husband, who, without a single word, sat crossed legged beside him.
Lan Wangji looked beautiful in the moonlight, he had to say. After years looking at him wear white, he had finally found the beauty of it, it made Lan Wangji stand out, even in a crowd of Lans, the way he carried himself was just unmatched; he looked like a beacon of hope in middle of a long lost battle. A sigh slipped out of Wei Wuxian's mouth, then he leaned his head on his husband's as he let him put an arm around his shoulders, he breathed in.
"I wished we could stay like this forever," he said.
Wei Wuxian left the last lotus seeds and took Lan Wangji's free hand in both of his, playing mindlessly with his fingers. He appreciated Lan Wangji's silence in moments like this, he didn't need to say anything to show that he was here for Wei Wuxian, as solid or as soft as he needed him to be.
"I know Jiang Cheng and I will have to talk sooner or later," Wei Wuxian continued as Lan Wangji started to draw steady circles with his thumb on his shoulder, "whether we like or not.”
Wei Wuxian let himself close his eyes and snuggled against his husband's shoulder, he could allow himself a few more seconds of peace, he and Lan Wangji deserved them. They worked hard every day for moments like this, in where after two lifetimes of running, Wei Wuxian could finally stop a few minutes and take a look at view. He smiled.
"Lan Zhan, we shouldn't make ourselves wait, it's very impolite." He felt Lan Wangji's body shake a little bit, as if he was huffing a laugh. What? Couldn't Wei Wuxian talk about politeness? He lightly slapped his husband's thigh, straightened his back and looked at him.
"I'm serious," he said with a wide smile on his face at the same time that the corner of Lan Wangji's lips came up the tiniest bit. Then he stood up, put on his boots and offered his hand.
Lan Wangji gently took Wei Wuxian's hand and left a soft kiss on his knuckles, Wei Wuxian's breath caught on his throat. Ugh, this man was going to give a heart attack any day of he didn't stop, not that he would mind honestly; he swung their hands a bit until Lan Wangji finally got up.
Then Wei Wuxian picked up the last lotus seed and threw it in air, his mouth catching it perfectly.
"Come on," he said with a grin as he began the walk to the main hall, holding tightly Lan Wangji's hand, "I want to see if someone passes out from shock."
❤