Work Text:
It takes Wei Wuxian days to realize he’s sick. In his defense, he’s been very busy recently. Lan Zhan is coming to Lotus Pier in four days! Lan Zhan is coming to visit him, his friend! There’s a long list of things in Lotus Pier he wants to show Lan Zhan in his head, and suddenly they’re all possible. He has so many preparations to do!
“Are you sick?” Jiang Cheng demands, after Wei Wuxian sneezes three times in a row.
They’re on the training grounds, supposedly sparring, but Jiang Cheng stopped when Wei Wuxian doubled over to sneeze loudly.
“No,” Wei Wuxian denies. “It’s just dust.”
“Hmph,” Jiang Cheng says, and then they’re sparring again. Wei Wuxian wins, barely.
And if Wei Wuxian feels just a little too dizzy afterwards, that’s no one’s business but his own.
Three days before Lan Zhan arrives in Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian wakes up feeling a little too cold. He lays in bed and lets his mind play out what will happen. If he tells anyone he’s sick, Jiang Yanli will make him stay in bed and feed him soup, and then Lan Zhan will arrive and Wei Wuxian won’t be there.
So he gets out of bed and goes to train the junior disciples.
Several hours later, he’s sweating and shaking under the hot Yunmeng sun, wondering how he found the strength to lift his sword this morning. He and Jiang Cheng go to swim in the lake afterwards, but his usual dunking-Jiang-Cheng-in-the-lake game is watered down, because he’s so tired. He’d rather just relax in the lake. Or better yet, sit in the shade with a bowl of lotus and pork rib soup. But he doesn’t want Jiang Cheng to get any hint that he’s sick, so he continues floating around the pier until it’s time for dinner.
Two days before Lan Zhan arrives in Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian wakes up with a runny nose and a terrible cough. If someone sees him now they’ll immediately know he’s sick, so Wei Wuxian gets out of bed and walks all the way to the edge of the pier. There he sits, splashes his face with water, and waits until it’s time for breakfast. At breakfast, Jiang Yanli peels lotus pods for him until Madame Yu yells at her and everything is normal.
After breakfast, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng lead the junior disciples out to hunt water ghouls. They spend an hour weaving nets, designed by Yunmeng craftsmen, and modified by Wei Wuxian, before casting them in the lake. He’s just starting to develop a headache when the water ghouls actually show up, and the disciples explode into motion, well-versed in the art of fighting water ghouls. He and Jiang Cheng are a well-oiled team, guarding each other’s backs and moving in sync. If Wei Wuxian’s strikes have just a little less force today, well, no one notices. Jiang Cheng kills the most ghouls, for once, and Wei Wuxian spends the entire half-hour flight back soaking wet and trying not to shiver.
“Are you cold?” Jiang Cheng asks.
Wei Wuxian hasn’t managed to entirely conceal his shiver. “I’m fine,” he says weakly.
“Are you sick?” Jiang Cheng asks, even more suspicious than before.
Wei Wuxian summons up a laugh. “You think that’s why you killed more water ghouls today?” Wei Wuxian teases. “Jiang Cheng, that had nothing to do with me!”
Jiang Cheng goes pink. “Whatever!” He looks away, thoroughly embarrassed, pleased, and frustrated. “If you’re sick, you’re gonna miss Lan Wangji’s arrival,” he warns half-heartedly. “All you’ve done the past few days is talk about him.”
“Then it’s good that I’m not sick!” Wei Wuxian says brightly, and that’s that.
One day before Lan Zhan arrives in Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian wakes up and feels like he’s dying from the inside. He has a throbbing headache and he can’t stop himself from shivering. He feels like he might throw up if he tries to eat anything.
It’s…not ideal.
“Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asks grumpily from his doorway, since Wei Wuxian has failed to get out of bed. “Did you do the thing where you forget to sleep?”
“Maybe,” Wei Wuxian says, voice muffled by his pillow.
He can almost hear Jiang Cheng rolling his eyes in response. “Do you need someone to bring breakfast to your rooms?”
“No,” Wei Wuxian manages. “I’ll get up.”
Jiang Cheng snorts. “You better,” he says, and then leaves.
Wei Wuxian allows himself half an hour of rest before he forces himself to get up. His head is still spinning, but he trudges through Lotus Pier until he finds himself on the training grounds.
Jiang Cheng is there. It seems he just finished running the junior disciples through their drills, given that he’s currently sitting in the shade, helping himself to a bowl of soup. Jiang Yanli is there too, having provided said soup.
“Don’t bother,” Jiang Cheng says as soon as he sees Wei Wuxian. “You look like death warmed over,” he says bluntly.
“Hey,” Wei Wuxian says half-heartedly, lacking his usual heat. “I’m at least 80% alive.”
“A-Xian, are you okay?” Jiang Yanli asks, all concern. “You’re looking…pale.”
“I’m great!” Wei Wuxian says. He doesn’t even manage to convince himself.
“If you need to rest, you should rest, A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli says. “I know you’re excited that Second Young Master Lan is arriving tomorrow–”
“Excited,” Jiang Cheng snorts derisively. He has an impressive collection of snorts. “That’s one way of putting it. Maybe lovesick maiden works better.”
“A-Cheng,” Jiang Yanli says, half-fond and half-exasperated. “Be nice.”
Jiang Cheng resides, grumbling. He continues stuffing his face with soup, but doesn’t continue insulting Wei Wuxian’s character like the disloyal brother he is. She’s the best.
“I think it’s cute that A-Xian has a crush,” Jiang Yanli continues.
Wei Wuxian gapes in shocked, horrified betrayal. “I–! I don’t–” He’s about to finish his sentence when he realizes that he very much does, and decides to turn and run in the other direction instead.
Fifteen minutes later, he finds himself alone on a pier, very much regretting his decision to run away. Now he’s out of breath and wheezing, one hand on the wooden pillar for support. He leans over the side and tries to not throw up into the light purple lotuses floating on the water’s surface.
This is fine. He’s fine. If he thinks about it too much, he’ll realize that if he continues the way he is, he’ll only get sicker, which means he won’t be able to show Lan Zhan around Lotus Pier. But if he says he’s sick now, Yanli will make him stay in his rooms for at least a day and insist on bringing him soups for at least three. Wei Wuxian has dug himself in a hole this deep, he might as well jump in.
Which is why, when he finds himself volunteered to go scout out a forest for a future night hunt that afternoon, he accepts.
“I don’t think A-Xian is feeling well,” Jiang Yanli protests.
Madame Yu scoffs from her table. “If Head Disciples could sit out whenever they weren’t feeling well, they’d never do any work!” She doesn’t have the highest opinion of servants, except of course her own.
“A-Xian, I know you are nervous about Lan Wangji arriving,” Uncle Jiang begins.
“And why wouldn’t he be?” Madame Yu interrupts archly. “This is the one occasion where he cannot afford to embarrass the Jiang Sect!”
“A-Xian and Lan Wangji are friends,” Uncle Jiang points out. “That is the reason for his visit, is it not?”
Madame Yu sniffs. “As if GusuLan’s precious Second Jade would ever be friends with Wei Wuxian.” She does not refute the statement, however, likely because it is true.
“I’m fine!” Wei Wuxian interrupts their argument. “I’ll go. It’s no trouble.”
Or more accurately, it’s no trouble for anyone but himself. It does, however, trouble himself when it starts raining in a forest about two hours from Lotus Pier. All he’s really managed to do is stumble around the forest for an hour. He hasn’t caught nearly as much game as he usually does. Wei Wuxian sneezes once, twice, and then decides that even if there are corpses out there, hiding in the rain, he’s not going to find them like this.
The world is awash in monochrome gray and dark green as he stumbles home. Yunmeng forests are always wetter than regular forests, and in the pouring rain the level of water on the ground rises several inches. His boots are soaked through, and his socks slosh around in them. His wet hair clings to his face, and he shivers uncontrollably.
Wei Wuxian knows the general direction of Lotus Pier, and it’s too dangerous to fly in the rain, so he walks mindlessly. The wind picks up and blows him backwards, and cold air tears through his robes, stinging his skin. With such heavy cloud coverage, he can’t quite tell if it’s day or night. He’d planned to stop by the night market on the way back home so he’d have something fresh for Lan Zhan when he arrives, but that’s clearly not happening.
The woodland forest gradually fades into a rockier hillside. Wei Wuxian forces himself up the hill, trying to avoid slippery rocks in the dark, but they all seem slippery when covered in water. Past this hill, he knows, is the river delta. He’s trying to decide whether it’s better to try and navigate his boat through the waters or fly across on Suibian. On the one hand, he’s been steering boats since he was old enough to hold the oar. On the other hand, the waters tonight are especially dangerous, since it’s raining and dark, and the river will be rushing by fast. He’s only semi-confident in his ability to fight off a group of water ghouls like the ones they faced yesterday. Flying on Suibian will keep him above the reach of water ghouls, but falling off Suibian is potentially worse. On the other hand, he hasn’t fallen off Suibian in years.
Then Wei Wuxian sneezes. This proves to be a disaster for several reasons. First, his right foot slips on the rock it was attempting to find purchase on, and he loses his balance. Second, a particularly strong gust of wind blows directly at him, pushing him downhill. And third, the action of sneezing whips any unstuck hair into his face, where it promptly clings, obstructing his view.
His arm comes up first, an instinctive reaction to sneeze into his sleeve, even though his sleeves are soaking wet. Then his other arm comes up, when he loses his balance and begins to fall. Wei Wuxian twists and flings his hands in front of himself. Unfortunately, the hillside is rocky enough that he’s caught on the lower cheek by a rock jutting out of the ground. He rolls to his side, wincing, while his jaw smarts in pain. Wei Wuxian tries to stand up, but he can’t find purchase. The storm is strong enough that Wei Wuxian’s fall prompts a small landslide. His attempts to stand are met with slowly sliding rocks, and one under his foot twists suddenly, causing him to lose his balance again. He sneezes again, and the action wracks his whole body.
Possibly he should’ve just slept in this morning.
The storm continues howling around him, while the moon rises behind him. Wei Wuxian goes sliding face-first down the hillside, and he doesn’t get up again.
Lan Wangji forces himself to walk at a sedate pace and reminds himself that he and Wei Ying are friends. Both he and Wei Ying have said it, therefore it must be true. Uncle acknowledged it when Xichen was arguing for Lan Zhan to visit Wei Ying in Lotus Pier. He must be truly antisocial, he thinks, if even Uncle is willing to let him go to Lotus Pier to maintain his friendship with Wei Ying, when he knows Uncle would rather he be friends with almost anyone else.
He’s here as Wei Ying’s friend. This is what Lan Wangji reminds himself of as he walks through the gates of Lotus Pier.
It is standard for the Lans to be up at 5 am. Lan Wangji understands that no other sect follows this rule, or many of the rules of GusuLan, but he is still expected to, still expects himself to follow the rules. Moreover, he is excited to see Wei Ying and maybe hastened just a little bit this morning to get to Lotus Pier as soon as possible. He knows there’s no chance Wei Ying will be up this early, but he’s unprepared for the sheer lack of life when he walks through the gates of Lotus Pier at 5:30 am.
The early morning markets of Lotus Pier are already out on the streets, but they have a distinct early-morning feel that Lan Wangji did not expect. The fishermen are out setting up their stalls, but other than that the streets are mostly empty. The people walk around with the air of one who exists on a slightly different plane of reality from everyone else. None of the usual customers are up yet, so none of the usual vendors are either. There’s no flowers, no steamed buns, no shops selling trinkets or antique items.
They stare at Lan Wangji like he’s a novelty when he passes, which he supposes he is. He stares straight ahead and ignores them, even when they call out. He doesn’t know how to deal with them, so he doesn’t. Lan Wangji sets his sights on the gently sloping rooftops of Lotus Hall, and continues onward.
He worried last night when it started raining that his arrival would have to be delayed. He could hardly travel in the rain, after all. It would be improper, no matter how much he wanted to see Wei Ying. Fortunately, it stopped raining at some point in the night, though recently if the heavy scent of dew in the air is anything to go by.
Lan Wangji is nearing the gates of Lotus Hall when he spots the figure. It’s still dark out, with a pink dawn just now beginning to spill over the horizon. The nearest light source are the lanterns hanging on the outer walls of Lotus Pier, which is how Lan Wangji found the main road to begin with. The figure appears to be attempting to sneak into the Lotus Hall, a feat which Lan Wangji quickly aims to correct. He has no idea whether this person is allowed in, and does not seek to assume. He does, however, quicken his steps so that he catches up with them. At the very least, they will know they’ve been seen.
The figures starts guiltily and half turns when Lan Wangji’s footsteps echo across the wet stone path. It is almost quick enough that Lan Wangji does not see the face. Almost.
“Wei Ying?”
Wei Ying stills in the middle of rushing through the gates. He wavers for a second, appearing to decide whether he should run or stay. Lan Wangji hastens to narrow his options down by catching up to Wei Ying before he can run. Finally, Wei Ying turns, and Lan Wangji allows himself to blink once in shock.
Wei Ying looks terrible. He’s completely soaked through, from head to boots. Lan Wangji is confused as to why Wei Ying would be out in the rain, and why he would be attempting to sneak back into Lotus Pier now. Based on his robes, Lan Wangji would say he’s been out night-hunting, except one does not night-hunt all night. But Lan Wangji’s attention is primarily drawn to Wei Ying’s face. He has a large purple bruise coloring his lower right jaw, and numerous scratches on his face. As if someone with nails first hit him hard across the face and scratched him repeatedly.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, with only half his usual enthusiasm. He looks bone-dead tired. “I–you weren’t supposed to see this.”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says again. Wei Ying’s cheeks are wet. Is it from the rain, from his hair? Or was he crying? Wei Ying’s voice is scratchy. Has he been yelling? Lan Wangji doesn’t think he’s ever heard Wei Ying yell before. “What happened?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Wei Ying says, absolutely failing to assuage Lan Wangji. He sighs. “Ah, two minutes and I’m already a terrible host.” He reaches for Lan Wangji’s hand, and Lan Wangji finds himself allowing it. “Come on, Lan Zhan, I’ll take you to your guest quarters.”
He turns away, one moment away from dragging Lan Wangji into Lotus Hall, when Lan Wangji hears a quiet sniffle. He digs on his heels and refuses to move.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji repeats stubbornly, when Wei Ying turns around again.
“I know, I know, I’m a sorry sight,” Wei Ying sighs. “You can yell at me for being a terrible host later, okay? Right now can we please just go inside? I–” He cuts off whatever he was going to say and looks away sharply.
Lan Wangji doesn’t know how to tell him that he’s the most beautiful person he’s ever seen, so he doesn’t. Wei Ying is your friend, he reminds himself. Wei Ying has called Lan Wangji his friend. Surely that means he trusts Lan Wangji. Surely that means Lan Wangji is allowed to ask, allowed to care. With that in mind, Lan Wangji removes his hand from Wei Ying’s grasp and takes one step closer, until he’s in Wei Ying’s personal space. He doesn’t think he’s ever dared to do that with another person before.
Wei Ying starts to turn away, his expression going first scared and then flattening when Lan Wangji steps closer. Gently, Lan Wangji lifts his hand to the unbruised side of Wei Ying’s cheek and turns his face to meet his gaze. “Wei Ying,” he says. “Who did this to you?”
Wei Ying’s silver eyes widen. “N–no one! Nobody!” His laugh sounds forced. His voice is still hoarse. “I slipped and fell, Lan Zhan.” He steps away from Lan Wangji. “Come on, can we please go inside?”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji begins, frustrated. “Do not lie.” He combs through his memories of all his one-sided conversations with Wei Ying, but he cannot find mention of anyone who would and could do this. It is just like Wei Ying, he thinks, to neglect to mention anyone who has hurt him.
“I’m not lying!” Wei Ying protests immediately. “It’s just–you’ll think I’m dumb, Lan Zhan.” He tries to play it off for laughs. Lan Wangji doesn’t think it’s funny.
Wei Ying, didn’t you say we were friends? Lan Wangji begs. “Wei Ying,” he tries again, pained, “do you think I am stupid?”
His silver eyes go wide again, this time from horror. “No, of course not!”
“Then please,” Lan Wangji says, “explain how you slipped and fell in the rain at 5:30 in the morning.”
Wei Ying laughs awkwardly. “I told you, Lan Zhan, you’ll think it’s dumb.”
“I will not,” Lan Wangji promises. Wei Ying does not look convinced, so Lan Wangji reaches for his hand before he can pull away. “Please, Wei Ying.”
Wei Ying looks away again, but he doesn’t attempt to move away. “I’m sick,” he says finally. “It’s just a fever! But…I didn’t want to miss your arrival. And I didn’t!” He adds brightly.
Lan Wangji is unconvinced. “Wei Ying,” he says, just short of begging, “please, look at me.”
Wei Ying meets his gaze. Lan Wangji feels like he could melt under the force of Wei Ying’s undivided attention. “I swear, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, his silver eyes steady, “I’m just sick. That’s all it is. What,” he adds, amused, “did you think someone hit me or something?”
Lan Wangji thought that Wei Ying was hiding an injury from him, and that Lan Wangji could help. It turns out that Wei Ying was hiding an injury of sorts, one that Lan Wangji is far less prepared to help with. “I did not think,” he admits.
This finally brings a genuine smile to Wei Ying’s face. “Alright, Lan Zhan,” he says. “Let’s go inside before you hurt your pretty head from thinking too much, hmm?”
They do so. Wei Ying keeps a running commentary on every building they pass, even the ones that Lan Wangji can’t quite see yet in the dark. The guest rooms are in the left wing of Lotus Hall, and Wei Ying heads for the largest one.
“…breakfast at eight,” he’s saying. “Although I suppose that’ll feel like lunch to you, eh, Lan Zhan?” He stops in front of the doorway and opens the door for him. “Ta-da!” Wei Ying says proudly. “What do you think?”
Lan Wangji looks. He sees a bed, a dresser, and a sitting room to entertain guests in. He doesn’t think he’ll be doing much of that, but it does look like a nice space to practice his guqin in. Other than the basic requirements, the style of a YunmengJiang room is very different from what he’s used to. He has no particular opinion on it. But something about it feels…Wei Ying. He has a suspicion that Wei Ying had a hand in preparing the room for him.
“Wei Ying,” he says instead, “will you sleep now?”
Wei Ying shifts guiltily. “Well…you’re already up, Lan Zhan! It feels rude to go to bed now!” He doesn’t even deny that he hasn’t slept at all, which Lan Wangji had only been half sure about.
“Wei Ying,” he says patiently, “will you take me to your rooms?”
Wei Ying gapes a little at him. “So forward, Lan Zhan,” he says, and Lan Wangji flushes red even though he knows that Wei Ying is only teasing.
The quarters of the Head Disciple aren’t usually located in the quarters of the main family, but in this case the Head Disciple is part of the main family. Wei Ying takes him through the Jiangs’ private courtyard and into his own rooms. His bed, Lan Wangji is unsurprised to see, is a mess. The blankets are twisted up in knots, and one pillow has found its way to the floor. Papers are scattered all over the room, not just at the desk. Several robes are heaped on the floor. It feels like Wei Ying’s room.
“Is this your way of steering me into going to bed, Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying asks finally.
“Yes,” Lan Wangji says, unashamedly, and Wei Ying manages a laugh at that.
“Okay, okay, you win,” Wei Ying says, grinning. “Don’t get lost on the way back, or Madame Yu will never let me hear the end of it, okay?”
Lan Wangji nods seriously. “I will not,” he promises, and Wei Ying laughs again.
One day after Lan Zhan arrives in Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian wakes up to the feeling of warmth. It’s the loving, comforting kind of warmth, rather than a sick sweat, and Wei Wuxian snuggles closer, still half asleep.
“Wei Ying,” he hears, and immediately tries to sit up.
Wei Wuxian’s limbs flail in the blankets he’s wrapped in, and he almost rolls off the bed. Lan Zhan is standing in the doorway, looking almost fond as he watches a bundle of Wei Wuxian squirm on his own bed.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian says brightly. “Good morning!”
He’s feeling better than he did last night/this morning, though that’s not saying much. His throat is still sore and he’s still dizzy, but he doesn’t get a headache until he sits up. His bruise is already almost gone–one of the perks of being a high-level cultivator.
“Good afternoon, more like,” a familiar grumpy voice says from behind Lan Zhan, who moves gracefully into the room to reveal Jiang Cheng. “It’s past noon,” Jiang Cheng gripes. But when he stomps in after Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian can see that he’s carrying a tray of Wei Wuxian’s favorite tea.
“Jiang Cheng, is that for me?” Wei Wuxian asks, delighted.
“Obviously,” Jiang Cheng says, still griping. “Who else?”
But Wei Wuxian’s attention is diverted by the smell of soup, also from the doorway. Jiang Yanli walks in, holding a tray with two bowls of lotus and pork rib soup. His mouth waters. He feels hungry for the first time in…a day? Two days?
“You shouldn’t have,” Wei Wuxian croaks.
Jiang Yanli gives him a look that would qualify as a glare on a regular person. “But I must take care of my A-Xian if he gets sick and doesn’t tell us for days,” she says sweetly.
“And spends the night running through a forest!” Jiang Cheng shouts from behind her as she puts the tray down on Wei Wuxian’s table.
Wei Wuxian wiggles himself into a seated position without shaking his blankets off. The bowls of soup and cups of tea are set up on the table, and he scoots himself closer.
“A-Cheng was worried about you,” Jiang Yanli translates serenely.
“Damn right I was,” Jiang Cheng huffs. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us, you idiot.”
“I will stay,” Lan Zhan announces, out of the blue, but his eyes dart towards Wei Wuxian, asking permission.
“Sit, sit!” Wei Wuxian beckons, smiling cheerfully. “I can’t possibly eat all this soup by myself!”
“We are delighted to have you, Young Master Lan,” Jiang Yanli says smoothly, preventing Jiang Cheng from putting his foot in his mouth.
Lan Zhan sits down smoothly across from Wei Wuxian, and does his very best not to look uncomfortable when Jiang Cheng plonks himself down next to Wei Wuxian. Jiang Yanli passes around teacups and picks up the teapot to serve them, and Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian bicker about Jiang Cheng sitting on his blanket. Nobody mentions whether it’s improper of Wei Wuxian to take tea like this; wrapped up in a bundle of blankets and last night’s clothes.
The three teenagers sit around Wei Wuxian, and in that moment Wei Wuxian is surrounded on all sides, bundled by more than blankets. He feels their love keenly, then, sharper than a knife to the heart.
Ah, he thinks, wondrously. So this is what it feels like.