[He complains in a series of whines and groans, but eventually lets his arms fall from his husband so they can get out of the tub. His legs feel sore and wobbly from being bent so long, but he’s able to remain upright when he finally stands up.]
You already know what I like.
[Does that mean he shouldn’t have the reassurance of being told? No, it’s only fair if they’re both upfront about it, otherwise one of them - Lan Zhan, in this case - will wonder if they’re doing things the other might not want.
He steps close to Lan Zhan and lets himself be pampered and dried.]
No, you’re right. If I want you to tell me when you want something different than our usual thing, then I can give you the same. [He stands up on his toes and kisses Lan Zhan’s lips. Just a light peck so they don’t stand around dripping wet for too long.]
It would be boring if we start planning every time we sleep together, but we can talk while we’re getting each other worked up. It’s nice to make love gently sometimes and it’s nice to have you throw me over the nearest surface and pound me to oblivion, too.
[Once he’s toweled off, he grabs the nearest towel to do the same for his husband. Washing and drying each other is just something that comes naturally to them. They both want to please the other before themselves, which is why he’d been so happy and open to listening to Lan Zhan’s wants. And why he chose to answer seriously instead of brushing it off.]
( His mouth, ever a telltale of his moods, crinkles and briefly sours at the fleeting mentions of pounding his lover into oblivion, when he has told Wei Ying repeatedly that even between the worst of their bruises — they make love. Vulgarity and dismissiveness do not suit their act. He begrudges it in principle.
Yet he holds unfailingly still, waiting for Wei Ying to finish both Wangji's toweling — gratefully accepted with a low nod — and his argument. It is fair, on both counts. )
I know which way Wei Ying's tastes turn.
( Never, in truth, to gentleness or delicacy, never to treating himself with sweetness. Wei Ying is for roughness, for pinning, for hunting, for throwing down. And Lan Wangji — )
[He can tell he’s misstepped and he thinks he knows what he said to upset Lan Zhan. He doesn’t apologize for it, but he does reprimand himself internally. Only he knows he’ll make the same mistake in the future. Censoring himself doesn’t come naturally.]
You don’t.
[He reaches up to cup Lan Zhan’s cheek.] I know I’ve called you boring before, and back then I thought you were a personification of the Lan rules, but you’re not boring now.
[One more little kiss and he lets go and moves to climb out of the tub. His foot slips, but he catches himself and looks down at the floor. The area near the tub is flooded and it’s spread out a considerable distance.]
At least we didn’t break the tub this time. [He drops the towel Lan Zhan’s used on him onto the floor. It absorbs as much as it can, but it’s not enough to make a dent in the puddle.]
( Ah, the mess his beauty makes. For someone so bereft the privileges of a young master, Wei Ying has ever prevailed to require complete and utter care. An entire household could be picking up behind him, and he would still make a mess.
Even now, once their toweling has completed, Lan Wangji puts down the cloth to wipe their waters, steering Wei Ying to make his way toward their bed where they can pick up fresh layers. It will do, for now. Wei Ying will do.
Taking his lover's hand, he guides them until they sit before their coffers where Yunmeng disciples have obediently already delivered Wei Ying's possessions and Lan Wangji has collapsed his smaller own. He ruffles through both his and his husband's bearings, ever at ease with selecting Wei Ying's garments as if he is a beautiful doll to please him: deep azure tonight, a beautiful transition between Wei Ying's loyalties to Lotus Pier and Cloud Recesses. A few meager white layers for Lan Wangji himself, only hesitating at the third round of silks — )
[He stays close to Lan Zhan and only makes a few casual attempts at helping with drying the floor before he’s walked over to their belongings. The water will evaporate on its own if they don’t bother with cleaning it thoroughly. Dampness is merely a part of life this close to the lakes.
He brings their hands up to his mouth to press kisses on each of Lan Zhan’s fingers. He watches as Lan Zhan picks through their clothes, curious to see what he chooses. Ah, the ones that look like the ocean. Blue and vibrant, and even he can see what Lan Zhan means by it. He gives the hand a little squeeze before letting go and hugging his husband from behind.]
It gets humid here, too. You’ll kick the covers off and push me away from you in your sleep or you’ll wake up sweating buckets. It’s only spring, so it won’t be too bad, but if we come in the summer even you will want to sleep naked!
[He rests his chin on Lan Zhan’s shoulder and squeezes him tight before letting go and taking the azure robe to put on.] As long as you drink enough water and don’t exert yourself too much, you should be fine. If you get light-headed, let me know and I’ll grab some for you.
( But they both know the truth of his fragility before heat, and he would be a liar and a fool to play pretend with proof so readily apparent. Leaning back into Wei Ying's touch he releases a punched-out sigh, tacitly resigning himself a few days' wretched malaise. Wei Ying's notion of won't be too bad will likely translate to conditions near infernal under Lan Wangji's diminished tolerance.
They will not, he pledges, come in the summer. Not unless Wei Ying is wholly welcome as a brother of the sect, greeted warmly by Jiang Cheng and those who follow him. Not unless he is restored in their graces and afforded every privilege. Not unless Lan Wangji, entirely begrudging but ever dutiful, must come collect him at the turn of the season from his travels in his ancestral home.
For now, his hands lock over Wei Ying's where they sit on the flattened span of Wangji's waist, desperately attempting to ignore the start of humid discomfort between them. )
We shall bathe both at night and morning. ( Perhaps this is why the locals so often take their dips in the lakes. ) And practise chastity.
[He does the smart thing, for once, and doesn’t respond to Lan Zhan’s claims about his fragility. He’s seen how grumpy and miserable Lan Zhan is during Gusu summers, so he’s expecting some amount of ruffled feathers at some point in their stay. It’ll probably concern Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, or both of them.]
Did you say chastity?
[Lifting a hand up to his chest, he gives Lan Zhan his best scandalized pose complete with a gasp.] And leave your poor wife wanting? How could Hanguang-Jun be so cruel?
[He reaches over Lan Zhan’s shoulder and picks up one of the layers he’d set out for himself.] Do you have anything thinner? On second thought, maybe you should only wear one layer to sleep. [He drapes the robe over one of his husband’s shoulders.]
I’ll take you swimming tomorrow. It’ll help cool you down. It’s near the end of loquat season, but I bet we can find some in the markets.
( He is fleetingly stunned, watching Wei Ying's hands on drzwn silk as if he threatens the very foundation of Gusu Lan's precepts, the core of every virtue. And he says mutely: )
One... layer? ( As surely only courtesans and the free spirits of Yunmeng don. Surely.
He is still dismayed as Wei Ying speaks onward, promising everything he might have gladly delivered in his first lifetime, were Lan Wangji only helpfully more willing. How they both failed each other, unknowingly. How Lan Wangji regrets still. )
We may pace ourselves. I worry foremost for Liang. ( Though children, he supposes, are excused immodesty. ) He is not yet for lake dips. Perhaps if Wei Ying may devise a cooling talisman.
[He ties the sash around his waist loosely, leaving a plunging neckline that does nothing to cover most of his chest. It’s been a nice day out today and the weather is naturally coolest in the middle of the night, but come morning he’s sure Lan Zhan will melt if they’re not careful. He hadn’t been thinking about the weather when he’d made plans for this trip.]
You think so? Babies have an instinct for swimming. I’ve seen kids younger than him tossed into the water. Don’t worry, I won’t throw Lan Liang into the water!
[He sits down on the foot of the bed, legs spread out but his robe manages to cover up the important parts.]
I forgot all about those! I was working on them for a while… I’m sure I have my notes somewhere. I have a new idea for how to make them work that I wanted to test out. [He pushes himself off the bed again to go to his qiankun pouch to start digging around in it.] I think I can get it to work with a few alterations.
( Strange to watch Wei Ying indulge languidly in chatter, no longer possessed of the frantic energy that governs him when he assaults Lan Wangji at their end-of-day reunions in Cloud Recesses. He sprawls now, ungainly in ways Lan Wangji does not remember, immodest and irreverent and... easy.
It strikes him, not for the first time, what lingering under the tutelage of Gusu Lan costs his husband. )
You are more at ease here. ( He need not say, unlike home. Instead, he drifts to sit beside his lover, obediently composed, hands on his knees and their limbs studiously not touching to avoid the warmth of connection. )
[He thinks about that for a moment. This is the first time he’s felt welcome in Lotus Pier since he’d defected all those years ago and that most likely has a lot to do with his current state of comfort. And after his harrowing evening of cleansing and exorcising, it’s a physical and emotional relief to be done with it.
But then he realizes with a start that Lan Zhan is probably comparing him to how he feels at home rather than how he feels tonight specifically. He leans towards Lan Zhan, closing some of that distance until they’re shoulder to shoulder.]
I guess you’re right. It’s not just being in Lotus Pier, though. I’m feeling better. [He rests his head on Lan Zhan’s shoulder, closing his eyes to rest them for a moment.] After tonight, I feel like I’ve done something good. By releasing all those souls from ongoing torment, I feel like maybe my soul is lighter for it, too.
[But there’s no denying that he has a hard time being the perfect Lan spouse when they’re back home. He knows Lan Zhan doesn’t expect perfection from him, and he appreciates that, but he does feel some amount of pressure to follow the Lan precepts. At least, in public.]
( Mere moments prior, Wei Ying straddling him in waters, he had felt only connection, only affection, only comfort. Now, his husband collapsed on his front, Lan Wangji visits every prickle of inconvenience that sudden warmth may deliver, grumpily settling his gaze where his lover leans to rest his head on his shoulder. This... may prove a taxing sojourn.
For his part, at least, he can direct more of his attention to Wei Ying, ungainly stroking his back with his very fingertips to avoid an irritating bout of excess contact. )
This should not have been Wei Ying's burden to bear. ( But it was, with hungry inevitability. ) You have done well, my love.
( Certainly better than the man who did owe the spirits his apologies, his repentance. )
[He pats Lan Zhan’s knee a couple times and gives them both a little space. Something they haven’t needed during the long Gusu winter that seems reluctant to give up its icy grasp even through the first parts of spring. He might just be acclimated to his new climate, because the heat seems to be more annoying than he remembers this time of year feeling.
He stretches both arms above his head and flops back onto the mattress with a sigh.]
Lan Zhan, I’m tired but I want to try out that new idea I had for the cooling talisman. What do you think? Should I take… maybe an incense time or two to work? It’s a matter of sleep. If we go straight to bed, we can sleep longer but if I work for a little while, we have a chance to sleep better. You’re good at being the voice of reason, so what do you think?
[He kicks his feet idly and tugs on Lan Zhan’s sleeve. The more he stays horizontal, the more he’s going to have a hard time getting out of bed. If it’ll make Lan Zhan and Lan Liang more comfortable and let him sleep tangled up in his husband’s arms, it would be worth it.]
( The voice of reason, sorely tempted to coax his husband in his arms despite heat and humidity for another tumble, purely because, on his latest sprawl, Wei Ying showed an indecency of ankle. Ah, but Lan Wangji too is a beast.
He arms himself with moderation, nudging Wei Ying with a light knock of their elbows after his sleeve is tugged, before obediently starting to withdraw beneath their sheets. Another complication — further layering. This... will be unpleasant business throughout his visit. )
The cooling talisman, now. ( Let it never be said Hanguang-Jun is incapable of selfishness. ) Else you will don a widow's whites imminently.
[He half-rolls to the side to let Lan Zhan lift up more of the sheet. He’s already leaning towards staying up to work because he’s unlikely to be able to fall asleep when he feels inspired. It’s just better to spend the time working than laying around restlessly.]
And then I’ll die from heartbreak and Sizhui and Jin Ling would have to adopt Lan Liang.
[He sits up and climbs out of bed to leave Lan Zhan with the image of his nightmare future. He’ll work all night if he has to in order to keep it from coming to fruition. He knows Lan Zhan won’t really die so easily, but he knows his husband must be severely uncomfortable to request him to stay up instead of coming to bed. Or maybe he’s only worried about Lan Liang? Either way, his family needs him and he likes the feeling.]
Let’s see… I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before. But if pushing cold outward doesn’t work, I might be able to pull heat inward instead. I’ll be specific about how much heat so it doesn’t get too cold, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
( There is an element of pride, of chest-filling affection that overwhelms him whenever he watches Wei Ying at his work, holding nothing back. He is magnificent in his industry, the finest mind of his generation, a wizard of talismans. And maybe Lan Wangji's partisanship is entirely too saccharine, but he will abide no correction on this point.
Wei Ying withdraws to attend to his duty, and Lan Wangji spreads out in the bed, obediently casting the single sheet over him and intent to tolerate whatever indignity the heat throws at him — until the reassurance of Wei Ying's murmurs confirms it will be only a short inconvenience. )
My wife is brilliant. ( And softer, siren-like: ) If he completes his work, shall I wake him in my mouth or speared on me?
( After all, they are already in a land of wine and spices. The only rewards that Lan Wangji can offer are the satisfaction of Wei Ying's body. )
[Once his supplies are laid out, he starts sketching on regular stationary to draw out iterations of what he’s thinking. He strikes out the first two and leaves the third as is. It’s a relatively simple idea that uses the same concept he’d used when devising the spirit attraction flags. That’s only the first and easiest step. He also needs to regulate the strength of the attraction.
He hears Lan Zhan behind him and can’t help but grin at the proposal. He doesn’t like waking up early and he naturally sleeps in even if he does get to sleep early. But the exception is when Lan Zhan wakes him to sleep together first thing in the morning.]
Surprise me! If Lan Zhan wakes up feeling amorous, he should take me! If not, his mouth will probably lead to him taking me afterwards anyway.
[He ponders for a few moments, scribbling on his parchment again while he works out the strength of the effect. It’s not typical to limit the strength of talismans so this is where creativity meets science.]
( A well humored truth, this once honeyed. He has never failed to covet his husband's body, barring when Wei Ying was too exhausted to bear him, or their quarrels too fresh and tinted by anger to entertain. These circumstances, few and far between, pale before the unnatural hunger with which he has always welcomed Wei Ying in his arms.
Still, he must pretend himself composed, decent. His ardor manageable and readily controlled. He betrays himself neatly with the rise of a brow, the careful telltale announcement of skepticism. )
You have been wanted longer than you knew what it meant to desire a man.
( If there is one between them who has lacked in transparency in this, it has not been Lan Wangji alone. )
[He smiles at Lan Zhan’s words, briefly wondering if Lan Zhan’s steady sleeping schedule is the only reason he hadn’t seen or felt his husband’s ardor come every morning. His husband is truly insatiable, yet Wei Wuxian is the one that benefits from multiple orgasms more than half the time they sleep together while Lan Zhan rarely has more than one.]
So that’s why you want me to observe earlier sleeping hours. You’d be able to wake me with pleasure every morning. [He scratches out his current design and starts over again.] Would Lan Zhan insist on two baths per day even after going back home? I don’t know if I can take it twice a day! I wouldn’t be able to sit down.
[He feels the heat rising up his neck and cheeks at that last part. He knows he’s loved and wanted now and he realizes he must have been wanted when they were younger too, but he hasn’t thought so deeply about it. If he’d known how desired he was back then, would he have walked the same path? Probably, he would have just invited Lan Zhan to the Burial Mounds more than the one time they’d spent the day in Yiling together with A-Yuan.]
I have a lot of wanting to catch up to, don’t I? You’ll always have me beat, but I won’t make it easy for you!
( He finds, for once, as Wei Ying's cheeks ripen and the flush claims him, that it is Lan Wangji who grows emboldened now, watching his husband hawkishly for further signs of his embarrassment. No, too seldom are these tables turned in ways that favor Lan Wangji. He cannot allow his rare advantage to elude him.
Instead, carefully measured, in a voice at once honeyed and thickly and rusted, he schools himself to ignore his own discomfort and embrace instead shrewdness: )
If propriety and Wei Ying's health permitted, I would take him every other hour. On my lap behind courtesy curtains during envoy visits. Over a learning bench after disciple classes. Against the river bank as we bathe. Under the table during the evening meal. Abed again, then with morning.
( Of course, such a strict regimen of constant hedonism risks exhausting Wei Ying past measure — and bleeding his body of stamina. ) Two would be inevitable.
[That tone of voice combined with those spring scenarios are having more than just an effect on his cheeks. Of course, Lan Zhan wouldn’t know that by looking at him. Though, it makes it a bit harder to concentrate on his work when he’s letting Lan Zhan’s sensual sweet talk get to him.]
And you’d take me in the bath, too! I’d never get any rest. My poor hole will weep and Hanguang-Jun will keep going, anyway!
[As much as he protests, he loves the idea of spending a day just lazing around and sleeping together all day long. There’s no way they could do that without repercussions… unless…]
After we have the clan wedding, we’ll be able to have a real seclusion, wouldn’t we?
[He realizes he’s barely working and that he’s made an error in his last attempt. He starts to wad the nearly-full sheet he’d been using, then stops and stares at it for a moment with his head cocked to one side. Maybe his subconscious works best when he’s barely paying attention because it reminds him that he can make this adjustable instead of static.
He bends down and grabs a blank talisman paper and he draws the appropriate symbols for his new design.]
Lan Zhan! You’re a genius. You knew exactly how to steer me the right way. I think this should work. It’s messy, but I can clean it up later. Want to see if it works?
( He is about to confirm to Wei Ying that yes, assuredly, they will enjoy each other's bodies at length throughout seclusion, they will have one another wholly and indiscriminately, a true vacation —
Only for his lover to be inevitably distracted by the fruit of his own brilliance, a mind at constant and riotous work. If only Lan Wangji could begrudge him this, he would. Doesn't, and only sidles closer, careful to nudge Wei Ying until their arms brush, and Wangji can peer over his husband's work attentively. The least he can do, if Wei Ying requests his scrutiny, is to deliver it, even if he remains the weaker talisman caster of the two.
With a soft nod, he walks his fingertips over the parchment, imbuing it with trickles of qi that light up the calligraphy, threatening to overpower the sorcery — before suddenly there is a sound as if a deep exhalation, and limpid chills spill out, radiantly. A small, short stream, but there.
He finds himself leaning in, absorbing it, eyes shuttering close with a pleased murmur. )
[He doesn’t pull away even when Lan Zhan comes up behind him. They’re close enough that their body heat is shared uncomfortably so, but he tolerates it because he likes being close. And if the talisman works correctly, they’ll be feeling much better in a short moment anyway.
He grins when Lan Zhan imbues it with a small amount of qi and it actually works. He feels a swell of pride and pats Lan Zhan’s wrist.] People are going to scramble to copy these! [Like they’ve done with several of his other inventions without crediting him for them.
He grabs another talisman paper and writes out the appropriate symbols with a slight adjustment to increase the range and effectivity to cover their bedroom.] If this one gets too cold, I’ll rely on you to keep my feet warm.
[He hands Lan Zhan the second iteration and grins expectantly at him. He’s personally low on qi after working all evening, but he could spare enough to activate the talismans himself. He doesn’t have to, though, since Lan Zhan is more than willing to volunteer to do it.]
I should work under pressure more often. Not that I felt like you were pressuring me or anything, I just wanted to get back to bed and cuddle up to you.
( He murmurs on instinct, because the pale of the active talisman's breeze doesn't yet spread out so decisively that it can dismiss all of Lan Wangji's discomfort. It's doing part of the work, and he watches the second sliver of parchment before him with incredulity that only wavers after he's alighted it with qi — and it begins to breathe out an even more industrious volume of chilled air, heavily ventilated.
He feels his skin alive again, his nerves awakening. The tips of his ears carefully flushed, reanimated as he no longer melts in the name of conjugal peace and diplomacy with Yunmeng. He supposes, after a moment at the intersection of two of the cooling talismans that he might be hogging the chill — and only spares Wei Ying an unsympathetic glance, before sliding him a fresh piece of parchment. )
One for Liang. ( As for Wei Ying, apparently Hanguang-Jun's wife can suffer eternally. )
[He elbows Lan Zhan in the side, nudging at him when he activates the second talisman.] You’ll still deny your wife sleeping in your arms? [Whether Lan Zhan invites him or not, he’ll still move close and cuddle with him when they lay down to rest. Lan Zhan would have to be miserable to deny him then.
He plucks the sheet out of Lan Zhan’s hand and scribbles out the appropriate characters and embellishments for Lan Liang’s side room. He holds it out for Lan Zhan to take.]
You’re sure you’re not going to keep that one, too? Maybe we can create the bitter cold of Gusu winters if I keep going.
[He’s too amused at his husband’s rare show of selfishness to take offense at being forgotten. He’ll be plenty cool enough just by being in the same room as Lan Zhan and his talismans.]
You can go give this to our son and I’m going to get back into bed. You won’t keep me waiting long, right? I can’t promise I won’t be asleep before you come back.
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no subject
You already know what I like.
[Does that mean he shouldn’t have the reassurance of being told? No, it’s only fair if they’re both upfront about it, otherwise one of them - Lan Zhan, in this case - will wonder if they’re doing things the other might not want.
He steps close to Lan Zhan and lets himself be pampered and dried.]
No, you’re right. If I want you to tell me when you want something different than our usual thing, then I can give you the same. [He stands up on his toes and kisses Lan Zhan’s lips. Just a light peck so they don’t stand around dripping wet for too long.]
It would be boring if we start planning every time we sleep together, but we can talk while we’re getting each other worked up. It’s nice to make love gently sometimes and it’s nice to have you throw me over the nearest surface and pound me to oblivion, too.
[Once he’s toweled off, he grabs the nearest towel to do the same for his husband. Washing and drying each other is just something that comes naturally to them. They both want to please the other before themselves, which is why he’d been so happy and open to listening to Lan Zhan’s wants. And why he chose to answer seriously instead of brushing it off.]
no subject
Yet he holds unfailingly still, waiting for Wei Ying to finish both Wangji's toweling — gratefully accepted with a low nod — and his argument. It is fair, on both counts. )
I know which way Wei Ying's tastes turn.
( Never, in truth, to gentleness or delicacy, never to treating himself with sweetness. Wei Ying is for roughness, for pinning, for hunting, for throwing down. And Lan Wangji — )
I do not wish to bore you.
no subject
You don’t.
[He reaches up to cup Lan Zhan’s cheek.] I know I’ve called you boring before, and back then I thought you were a personification of the Lan rules, but you’re not boring now.
[One more little kiss and he lets go and moves to climb out of the tub. His foot slips, but he catches himself and looks down at the floor. The area near the tub is flooded and it’s spread out a considerable distance.]
At least we didn’t break the tub this time. [He drops the towel Lan Zhan’s used on him onto the floor. It absorbs as much as it can, but it’s not enough to make a dent in the puddle.]
no subject
Even now, once their toweling has completed, Lan Wangji puts down the cloth to wipe their waters, steering Wei Ying to make his way toward their bed where they can pick up fresh layers. It will do, for now. Wei Ying will do.
Taking his lover's hand, he guides them until they sit before their coffers where Yunmeng disciples have obediently already delivered Wei Ying's possessions and Lan Wangji has collapsed his smaller own. He ruffles through both his and his husband's bearings, ever at ease with selecting Wei Ying's garments as if he is a beautiful doll to please him: deep azure tonight, a beautiful transition between Wei Ying's loyalties to Lotus Pier and Cloud Recesses. A few meager white layers for Lan Wangji himself, only hesitating at the third round of silks — )
Will the heat be as abominable as you threaten?
no subject
He brings their hands up to his mouth to press kisses on each of Lan Zhan’s fingers. He watches as Lan Zhan picks through their clothes, curious to see what he chooses. Ah, the ones that look like the ocean. Blue and vibrant, and even he can see what Lan Zhan means by it. He gives the hand a little squeeze before letting go and hugging his husband from behind.]
It gets humid here, too. You’ll kick the covers off and push me away from you in your sleep or you’ll wake up sweating buckets. It’s only spring, so it won’t be too bad, but if we come in the summer even you will want to sleep naked!
[He rests his chin on Lan Zhan’s shoulder and squeezes him tight before letting go and taking the azure robe to put on.] As long as you drink enough water and don’t exert yourself too much, you should be fine. If you get light-headed, let me know and I’ll grab some for you.
no subject
( But they both know the truth of his fragility before heat, and he would be a liar and a fool to play pretend with proof so readily apparent. Leaning back into Wei Ying's touch he releases a punched-out sigh, tacitly resigning himself a few days' wretched malaise. Wei Ying's notion of won't be too bad will likely translate to conditions near infernal under Lan Wangji's diminished tolerance.
They will not, he pledges, come in the summer. Not unless Wei Ying is wholly welcome as a brother of the sect, greeted warmly by Jiang Cheng and those who follow him. Not unless he is restored in their graces and afforded every privilege. Not unless Lan Wangji, entirely begrudging but ever dutiful, must come collect him at the turn of the season from his travels in his ancestral home.
For now, his hands lock over Wei Ying's where they sit on the flattened span of Wangji's waist, desperately attempting to ignore the start of humid discomfort between them. )
We shall bathe both at night and morning. ( Perhaps this is why the locals so often take their dips in the lakes. ) And practise chastity.
no subject
Did you say chastity?
[Lifting a hand up to his chest, he gives Lan Zhan his best scandalized pose complete with a gasp.] And leave your poor wife wanting? How could Hanguang-Jun be so cruel?
[He reaches over Lan Zhan’s shoulder and picks up one of the layers he’d set out for himself.] Do you have anything thinner? On second thought, maybe you should only wear one layer to sleep. [He drapes the robe over one of his husband’s shoulders.]
I’ll take you swimming tomorrow. It’ll help cool you down. It’s near the end of loquat season, but I bet we can find some in the markets.
no subject
One... layer? ( As surely only courtesans and the free spirits of Yunmeng don. Surely.
He is still dismayed as Wei Ying speaks onward, promising everything he might have gladly delivered in his first lifetime, were Lan Wangji only helpfully more willing. How they both failed each other, unknowingly. How Lan Wangji regrets still. )
We may pace ourselves. I worry foremost for Liang. ( Though children, he supposes, are excused immodesty. ) He is not yet for lake dips. Perhaps if Wei Ying may devise a cooling talisman.
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You think so? Babies have an instinct for swimming. I’ve seen kids younger than him tossed into the water. Don’t worry, I won’t throw Lan Liang into the water!
[He sits down on the foot of the bed, legs spread out but his robe manages to cover up the important parts.]
I forgot all about those! I was working on them for a while… I’m sure I have my notes somewhere. I have a new idea for how to make them work that I wanted to test out. [He pushes himself off the bed again to go to his qiankun pouch to start digging around in it.] I think I can get it to work with a few alterations.
no subject
It strikes him, not for the first time, what lingering under the tutelage of Gusu Lan costs his husband. )
You are more at ease here. ( He need not say, unlike home. Instead, he drifts to sit beside his lover, obediently composed, hands on his knees and their limbs studiously not touching to avoid the warmth of connection. )
Your smile is wider. You speak more readily.
no subject
[He thinks about that for a moment. This is the first time he’s felt welcome in Lotus Pier since he’d defected all those years ago and that most likely has a lot to do with his current state of comfort. And after his harrowing evening of cleansing and exorcising, it’s a physical and emotional relief to be done with it.
But then he realizes with a start that Lan Zhan is probably comparing him to how he feels at home rather than how he feels tonight specifically. He leans towards Lan Zhan, closing some of that distance until they’re shoulder to shoulder.]
I guess you’re right. It’s not just being in Lotus Pier, though. I’m feeling better. [He rests his head on Lan Zhan’s shoulder, closing his eyes to rest them for a moment.] After tonight, I feel like I’ve done something good. By releasing all those souls from ongoing torment, I feel like maybe my soul is lighter for it, too.
[But there’s no denying that he has a hard time being the perfect Lan spouse when they’re back home. He knows Lan Zhan doesn’t expect perfection from him, and he appreciates that, but he does feel some amount of pressure to follow the Lan precepts. At least, in public.]
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For his part, at least, he can direct more of his attention to Wei Ying, ungainly stroking his back with his very fingertips to avoid an irritating bout of excess contact. )
This should not have been Wei Ying's burden to bear. ( But it was, with hungry inevitability. ) You have done well, my love.
( Certainly better than the man who did owe the spirits his apologies, his repentance. )
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He stretches both arms above his head and flops back onto the mattress with a sigh.]
Lan Zhan, I’m tired but I want to try out that new idea I had for the cooling talisman. What do you think? Should I take… maybe an incense time or two to work? It’s a matter of sleep. If we go straight to bed, we can sleep longer but if I work for a little while, we have a chance to sleep better. You’re good at being the voice of reason, so what do you think?
[He kicks his feet idly and tugs on Lan Zhan’s sleeve. The more he stays horizontal, the more he’s going to have a hard time getting out of bed. If it’ll make Lan Zhan and Lan Liang more comfortable and let him sleep tangled up in his husband’s arms, it would be worth it.]
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He arms himself with moderation, nudging Wei Ying with a light knock of their elbows after his sleeve is tugged, before obediently starting to withdraw beneath their sheets. Another complication — further layering. This... will be unpleasant business throughout his visit. )
The cooling talisman, now. ( Let it never be said Hanguang-Jun is incapable of selfishness. ) Else you will don a widow's whites imminently.
( And then chastity will truly be inescapable. )
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And then I’ll die from heartbreak and Sizhui and Jin Ling would have to adopt Lan Liang.
[He sits up and climbs out of bed to leave Lan Zhan with the image of his nightmare future. He’ll work all night if he has to in order to keep it from coming to fruition. He knows Lan Zhan won’t really die so easily, but he knows his husband must be severely uncomfortable to request him to stay up instead of coming to bed. Or maybe he’s only worried about Lan Liang? Either way, his family needs him and he likes the feeling.]
Let’s see… I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before. But if pushing cold outward doesn’t work, I might be able to pull heat inward instead. I’ll be specific about how much heat so it doesn’t get too cold, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
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Wei Ying withdraws to attend to his duty, and Lan Wangji spreads out in the bed, obediently casting the single sheet over him and intent to tolerate whatever indignity the heat throws at him — until the reassurance of Wei Ying's murmurs confirms it will be only a short inconvenience. )
My wife is brilliant. ( And softer, siren-like: ) If he completes his work, shall I wake him in my mouth or speared on me?
( After all, they are already in a land of wine and spices. The only rewards that Lan Wangji can offer are the satisfaction of Wei Ying's body. )
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He hears Lan Zhan behind him and can’t help but grin at the proposal. He doesn’t like waking up early and he naturally sleeps in even if he does get to sleep early. But the exception is when Lan Zhan wakes him to sleep together first thing in the morning.]
Surprise me! If Lan Zhan wakes up feeling amorous, he should take me! If not, his mouth will probably lead to him taking me afterwards anyway.
[He ponders for a few moments, scribbling on his parchment again while he works out the strength of the effect. It’s not typical to limit the strength of talismans so this is where creativity meets science.]
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( A well humored truth, this once honeyed. He has never failed to covet his husband's body, barring when Wei Ying was too exhausted to bear him, or their quarrels too fresh and tinted by anger to entertain. These circumstances, few and far between, pale before the unnatural hunger with which he has always welcomed Wei Ying in his arms.
Still, he must pretend himself composed, decent. His ardor manageable and readily controlled. He betrays himself neatly with the rise of a brow, the careful telltale announcement of skepticism. )
You have been wanted longer than you knew what it meant to desire a man.
( If there is one between them who has lacked in transparency in this, it has not been Lan Wangji alone. )
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So that’s why you want me to observe earlier sleeping hours. You’d be able to wake me with pleasure every morning. [He scratches out his current design and starts over again.] Would Lan Zhan insist on two baths per day even after going back home? I don’t know if I can take it twice a day! I wouldn’t be able to sit down.
[He feels the heat rising up his neck and cheeks at that last part. He knows he’s loved and wanted now and he realizes he must have been wanted when they were younger too, but he hasn’t thought so deeply about it. If he’d known how desired he was back then, would he have walked the same path? Probably, he would have just invited Lan Zhan to the Burial Mounds more than the one time they’d spent the day in Yiling together with A-Yuan.]
I have a lot of wanting to catch up to, don’t I? You’ll always have me beat, but I won’t make it easy for you!
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Instead, carefully measured, in a voice at once honeyed and thickly and rusted, he schools himself to ignore his own discomfort and embrace instead shrewdness: )
If propriety and Wei Ying's health permitted, I would take him every other hour. On my lap behind courtesy curtains during envoy visits. Over a learning bench after disciple classes. Against the river bank as we bathe. Under the table during the evening meal. Abed again, then with morning.
( Of course, such a strict regimen of constant hedonism risks exhausting Wei Ying past measure — and bleeding his body of stamina. ) Two would be inevitable.
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And you’d take me in the bath, too! I’d never get any rest. My poor hole will weep and Hanguang-Jun will keep going, anyway!
[As much as he protests, he loves the idea of spending a day just lazing around and sleeping together all day long. There’s no way they could do that without repercussions… unless…]
After we have the clan wedding, we’ll be able to have a real seclusion, wouldn’t we?
[He realizes he’s barely working and that he’s made an error in his last attempt. He starts to wad the nearly-full sheet he’d been using, then stops and stares at it for a moment with his head cocked to one side. Maybe his subconscious works best when he’s barely paying attention because it reminds him that he can make this adjustable instead of static.
He bends down and grabs a blank talisman paper and he draws the appropriate symbols for his new design.]
Lan Zhan! You’re a genius. You knew exactly how to steer me the right way. I think this should work. It’s messy, but I can clean it up later. Want to see if it works?
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Only for his lover to be inevitably distracted by the fruit of his own brilliance, a mind at constant and riotous work. If only Lan Wangji could begrudge him this, he would. Doesn't, and only sidles closer, careful to nudge Wei Ying until their arms brush, and Wangji can peer over his husband's work attentively. The least he can do, if Wei Ying requests his scrutiny, is to deliver it, even if he remains the weaker talisman caster of the two.
With a soft nod, he walks his fingertips over the parchment, imbuing it with trickles of qi that light up the calligraphy, threatening to overpower the sorcery — before suddenly there is a sound as if a deep exhalation, and limpid chills spill out, radiantly. A small, short stream, but there.
He finds himself leaning in, absorbing it, eyes shuttering close with a pleased murmur. )
...not messy. ( In fact, heavenly. )
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He grins when Lan Zhan imbues it with a small amount of qi and it actually works. He feels a swell of pride and pats Lan Zhan’s wrist.] People are going to scramble to copy these! [Like they’ve done with several of his other inventions without crediting him for them.
He grabs another talisman paper and writes out the appropriate symbols with a slight adjustment to increase the range and effectivity to cover their bedroom.] If this one gets too cold, I’ll rely on you to keep my feet warm.
[He hands Lan Zhan the second iteration and grins expectantly at him. He’s personally low on qi after working all evening, but he could spare enough to activate the talismans himself. He doesn’t have to, though, since Lan Zhan is more than willing to volunteer to do it.]
I should work under pressure more often. Not that I felt like you were pressuring me or anything, I just wanted to get back to bed and cuddle up to you.
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( He murmurs on instinct, because the pale of the active talisman's breeze doesn't yet spread out so decisively that it can dismiss all of Lan Wangji's discomfort. It's doing part of the work, and he watches the second sliver of parchment before him with incredulity that only wavers after he's alighted it with qi — and it begins to breathe out an even more industrious volume of chilled air, heavily ventilated.
He feels his skin alive again, his nerves awakening. The tips of his ears carefully flushed, reanimated as he no longer melts in the name of conjugal peace and diplomacy with Yunmeng. He supposes, after a moment at the intersection of two of the cooling talismans that he might be hogging the chill — and only spares Wei Ying an unsympathetic glance, before sliding him a fresh piece of parchment. )
One for Liang. ( As for Wei Ying, apparently Hanguang-Jun's wife can suffer eternally. )
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He plucks the sheet out of Lan Zhan’s hand and scribbles out the appropriate characters and embellishments for Lan Liang’s side room. He holds it out for Lan Zhan to take.]
You’re sure you’re not going to keep that one, too? Maybe we can create the bitter cold of Gusu winters if I keep going.
[He’s too amused at his husband’s rare show of selfishness to take offense at being forgotten. He’ll be plenty cool enough just by being in the same room as Lan Zhan and his talismans.]
You can go give this to our son and I’m going to get back into bed. You won’t keep me waiting long, right? I can’t promise I won’t be asleep before you come back.
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