wuding | Date in Lotus Pier

I’ve seen children all over play acting us and our peers from the war. You’re a popular role for the quiet kids.

[He hangs onto Lan Zhan easily, supporting himself when Lan Zhan struggles to access his purse and only switches to both arms when they enter the boat. He’s no stranger to the sway of boats underfoot but this is the first time as an adult to be carried onto one consciously. He trusts his husband to keep his balance and he’s rewarded by being safely sat on one side of the boat.

They could have paid extra to have someone steer and row for them, but he knows how and they’d rather have some modicum of privacy.]

You’ll be recognized as a regular visitor soon enough.

[With his relationship with Jiang Cheng improving, he’s already thinking of coming to Lotus Pier regularly. He knows Lan Zhan is busy when they’re in Cloud Recesses, so it’s only natural for him to want to drag Lan Zhan out of Cloud Recesses to force him to relax.

First thing’s first. He unties the rope mooring the boat to the dock, then he picks up the oar and uses it to push off the dock. The last time they’d been on one of these, he’d been unconscious during the beginning part of it. Wen Ning had probably taken charge of the work back then.]

I’ve never shown anyone about ny special place. Shijie knew I had one but I never took her or anyone else there. You’re the first! I used to go there when I wanted to avoid Madame Yu or when I wanted to get away from everyone for a little while. It’s a good place for fishing, too!

( Play acting... as them. To think they've become mythical, legends alive. To think they're the talk and praise of children. It nearly staggers him, the understanding that, alongside this man, he has achieved something exceptional. That they have spared the realm some harm, once upon a time.

For all that Yunmeng dominates among lake-bearing clans with its territories, they're not alone in knowing the work of water. Still, Lan Wangji politely allows his gracious host — who is more excited to introduce him to his special place than he has been about anything in some time — to unmoor them, settling back on his bench, hands neatly pressed on his knees.

He does not offer to bear the oars, for all he is stronger. He does not intercede. )

Will it not tarnish it, to have it be known by another?

[He grins, thanking Lan Zhan in his mind for allowing him to row for now. It gives him a way to channel some of his excess energy into something productive. Once they’re away from the docks, he turns to look back at his husband.]

Not if it’s you.

[It’s true that it’s a private place he’s never wanted to share with anyone before, but that’s only because he didn’t have a special someone who he’d want to share it with.]

We can’t go the whole way on the boat, but that’s why I’m taking you when we were already going to be swimming.

[He winks, playfully leering at his husband for a moment.]

I figured you’d be more comfortable swimming with some privacy, anyway.

[He doesn’t have plans to take advantage of that privacy, but he wouldn’t be against some making out or more. If his place is still there and accessible, it’s a beautiful little spot. If only they waited until dusk, it would be even prettier with the aid of fireflies. Next time.]

( Swimming, yes. And basking in a sun that already sweetly threatens to burn him, and leaving their limbs out to thaw and their minds to ease. Swimming, and he feels already the honeyed lethargy that compels so many of the natives of Yunmeng to simply simmer and sleep, to move no further. Swimming, and Lan Wangji cannot imagine a world where he moves another beat.

He leans back for a moment, dropping down artlessly on his elbows propped up haphazardly on their bench, facing skies bright and blue and their sea of gossamer clouds and Wei Ying's vibrant shape again. He breathes in. Out. Nods, and it's Wei Ying, Wei Ying who draws him in, Wei Ying whom he orbits.

Wei Ying, whom he cannot get enough of. Cheekily, perhaps no better than the rowdy children who scream ashore, he feels the itch to tease coming. Unbidden, his foot leaves his boot, toes tickling the inner swell of Wei Ying's tender calf, slipping to round behind his knee. )

My husband does not wish to share me with the world. ( To think, even Wei Ying has his manner of possessiveness. )

[Just when he thinks his heart is at capacity for love, Lan Zhan does something adorable and suddenly he’s overwhelmed by fondness all over again. He grins and takes in the sight of his husband basking somewhere between languid and lethargic. There’s a certain allure to the look and the shimmer of sweat adds to it.

Laughing, he allows himself to be caught and lured close. With the oar still in hand, he steps between his husband’s legs and bends over him so he’s sure Lan Zhan will have a hard time looking at anything but him.]

I already have to share you with the kids. I don’t think I could take having to share you with anyone else.

[They’re so close already, all he needs to do is take a half step closer and he puts himself in kissing range. His eyes give away his intent when they glance to Lan Zhan’s lips.]

( ...ah. This child, born to a world of dust and dirt and nothing, can't help himself even now. This child wants to eat him alive.

Wei Ying watches him, an unpracticed predator who never learned to school his gestures, to tame his impulses — and Lan Wangji feels the burn of his interest warm Wangji's mouth, lick its outline. He clicks his tongue once, letting the tip of his straddle the contour. Breathes in. And out.

And, once again, the foot he's bound to Wei Ying's calf pulls him in and deeper and closer. He prepares for the quiet certainty of Wei Ying's collapse over him, one arm splaying in a clean arc to his side, opening wide. Come on. Come on, then. )

Come, then.

( Who can tell, who can see see far into the lake? )

[He all but stumbles onto his husband with a kiss-muffled laugh, catching himself with one hand on the side of the boat. He drops the oar to the bottom of their vessel and makes himself comfortable on his reclining husband.]

I’m here. How would you like me, Lan Zhan?

[Smiling, he peppers Lan Zhan’s jaw and cheeks with honeyed kisses. His real target is his husband’s lips and he kisses him there again, sucking softly at his bottom lip. His tongue explores Lan Zhan’s mouth, tasting the vague memory of their most recent meal and the tea he’d had to drink with it.

The gentle rocking of the boat adds to the moment in a way that keeps both of them technically innocent. At least until he tests the waters by pressing his hips gently down against Lan Zhan’s. Between the kissing and the heat building between them, his body is already showing some interest in more.

Before he gets too breathless, he pulls back enough to look down at Lan Zhan’s face.]

Hello.

( If he could enjoy only one part of his husband for the remaining eternity, if he could partake of only this, if he could only drink Wei Ying down in this way and this way alone — he'd do it, the draw of his husband's mouth infinite, delectable, passionate, powerful.

His hands bind clumsily around his lover's neck, always slower to react from a dominated position. Above him, Wei Ying is strength and resilience, a proper force. Their tongues twine, battle, bind. He kisses back, the innocently accruing friction between their teased bodies another challenge amid the boat's gentle sway.

For once, Wei Ying breaks first — and Lan Wangji is breathless in the wake of his attention, slow blinking, mouth bruised and swollen. His head cotton, wool and soft. He licks his own lips. )

...hi. ( He feels stricken, entirely seduced, thrown off his game. ) Water nymph, have you seen my husband?

[He takes in the look on Lan Zhan’s face. The softness there and the bare affection. All he wants to do is to find somewhere comfortable where they can show each other how much they love each other. The boat is small though, but not as small as the tubs they frequently mess around in.]

I took him to a place far under the surface of the water, but I can take his place for you.

[He takes the time to adjust their positioning so it’s more stable, then he folds his arms and rests them on Lan Zhan’s chest to hold himself up in a flirtier way.]

You’re pretty.

[He smiles sweetly, tilting his head to one side. Lan Zhan looks delicious with his eyes dark with want and his cheeks colored. His eyebrows raise with a question.]

We could put off our swim until later if you want to stay in the boat for a little while instead.

[He eyes Lan Zhan’s lips when he says it. Sure, he wants to show Lan Zhan his special place, but Lan Zhan is his special person and he wants to kiss him more. And maybe do a little more than kissing.]

( Pretty, Wei Ying says, and it's soft and sweet and boyishly, helplessly charming. Every part of him giving and yielding and wooing, a kindly young thing courting his first paramor. Maybe this would have been the earnest Wei Wuxian, luring his first maiden to a boat ride before claiming her lips. He was meant for sweet, tender things, for poetry. He was meant for more.

Just as Wei Ying brackets him, Lan Wangji obediently melts into the boat's floorboard, welcoming his hovered presence, calling him close and suspending a hand over his lower back. There's no reason, Lan Wangji suspects, to assume they'll capsize — but this is their luck, after all, and he's not surrendering Wei Ying to something as pedestrian as drowning.

Their mouths meet again, charmed, slow, easy. He has neither the burning energy of frustratede passion, nor the impatience of a hungry youth. He takes his time. )

You promised. ( He wants to see this safe haven Wei Ying has shared with no others. )

[He follows Lan Zhan’s pace, kissing with a simmering intent instead of a scorching one. Leisurely, he lowers himself on top of Lan Zhan, careful to make sure no parts of his husband are pinched in the process. Maybe it’s the heat or the ambience, but he’s feeling like taking things at a slower pace, too.]

Mmhmm, I sure did. [Smiling, he keeps kissing Lan Zhan’s face and mouth between syllables.] I’ll take you there today. The question is which order we do things.

[He drapes himself over his husband, only holding a small portion of his own weight with one knee and one elbow. His other hand comes up to caress Lan Zhan’s neck and jaw.]

What do you think? This is romantic being out here on the water, isn’t it? I want to be with you. Either here or in my place, or both if you’re up for it, but I’m getting what I want most just by being here right now.

( How forward. How transgressive. How utterly charming, Wei Ying draped over him like a siren who's entrapped his prey in his spell. Lan Wangji cannot escape him, wilted beneath him, answering the call of his touch, drifting his head up.

He stutters only enough to meet Wei Ying's mouth again, to incite another kiss. To enjoy his husband's presence, his warmth, his scent. He breathes him in, then finally, wickedly, devastatingly — he lets go.

And he begins, in trickling motions, to raise himself in measured increments. What a pity. )

Have your reward later. ( And a final, parting kiss, Lan Wangji's teeth dragging over his husband's lower lip. ) You promised.

( He would sooner see Wei Ying's prized secret than risk distraction. )

[A delay isn’t the end of the world, even though he wants to switch spots with Lan Zhan and enjoy some more affection. Still, the reminder of his promise has him reluctantly accepting the dwindling amounts of physical affection. Later, they’ll finish what they started. He just has to wait until later then.

He moves back to let Lan Zhan start to get back up. He’s given what is obviously supposed to be a parting kiss, but Wei Wuxian grabs the collar of his husband’s robe and pulls him close again for another, deeper parting kiss.

He’s the one to pull back this time with a fake pout.]

You’re the one who started it and now I get to suffer through wanting my husband while we finish our date. I’ll hold you to giving me that reward.

[He finishes moving back and sits on his knees for a few moments to just look at his husband and take in the bliss of the moment. The freedom from responsibilities that they get to savor for the rest of the afternoon. They have days like this in Cloud Recesses, too, and they’re his favorite.]

We’re not far from where we’ll have to leave the boat behind. You’re not breath shy when it comes to diving underwater, are you? It’s not a long swim, but it’s the only way to get there.

I will do Cloud Recesses proud.

( Not breath shy, not shy of diving, not shy of anything at all, but the blooming intensity of his husband's sweet regard. Wei Ying at long last releases him from his thrall, and Lan Wangji recovers, sitting properly now, then upright and capturing the oar in hand.

He starts them at a measured pace in the general direction Wei Ying had rowed before, awaiting him to point his steer when the course must change. His lover had toiled enough. Lan Wangji will not suffer his strain any further. )

Tell me when to stop. ( He can be entrusted, he has proven, with hard labor, and the sweet kisses of the warming day's sun will not deter him. It casts a halo around him, warms and gives him light.

He wants to say more. To offer more. As ever, finds he struggles. A bitter fate. )

Show me your world.

[It’s his turn to sit and watch the man he loves do the hard work for him. He wonders if Lan Zhan appreciated the view like he’s doing now. Too bad Lan Zhan insists on wearing layers. If he were in a solitary white silk robe, he’s certain he’d be able to see every detail of his flexing muscles.

It’s been two years and he still has an enormous crush on his husband! And he’s certain it’s true for Lan Zhan, too.]

All you need to see that is a mirror.

[He can’t help it. Lan Zhan gifted him with the perfect opening. With a sly look, he takes a seat to continue watching. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he leans back on his palms.]

Not too much farther. It should be to the east along the tree line. [He points in that direction.]. There, where the hanging willows are. There’s a break below the surface that we can swim through. It’s a straight shot. When you reach the other side, swim to the surface and you’re there. I’ll go first and make sure it’s still there. I can hold my breath for a long time.

[He doesn’t think about the fact that he hasn’t needed to test that in this body.]

( ...and what, precisely, is his beautiful lover doing, stretched back on the boat's belly like a satisfied cat licking cream off his whiskers? Tsk-ing and clicking his tongue, Lan Wangji nearly nudges the pleasingly emerging roundness of Wei Ying's calf with the tip of his boot, careful not to unbalance him, but arduously enough to draw his attention.

Really, this perverted creature, whom Lan Wangji still obeys diligently with the steady, monotonous steer of his boat. After all, why fight the current? )

If you are disciplined now, I shall reward it later.

( Swimming, first — and Lan Wangji's duty to deliver them to safe grounds. He does precisely as instructed, staying their advance only once they reach the willows, content to throw down their anchor until the boat has settled and ripples quiet. After, when he has struck the oar each way to verify the boat won't budge and the waters are clear of any potential danger, he signals Wei Ying ahead: )

Plunge. I shall follow.

I’ll keep my hands to myself if you do. [They both know that it’s not just him who needs to be disciplined when it comes to sharing physical affection. It’s like Lan Zhan wants to catch up on all the time they missed by showering him with enough physical affection to keep him more than satisfied.

He stands back up and sheds his outer robe, leaving himself in just his underpants. It had been too warm to put on more this morning and it’s not like he’s ever been bound by modesty. He kicks off his boots and puts them in the same pile as his robe.]

One more kiss for good luck?

[He maneuvers to the center of the boat so he can pull Lan Zhan in for a slow, sweet kiss. Before long, he’s pulling away with a wink so he can step over the edge of the boat and leap into the water.

He stays under for a few moments before swimming back to the surface and grinning up at Lan Zhan.]

Lan Zhan! I’m going on ahead, okay? The opening isn’t far below the surface and gets wider as you swim down for a while.

[With that, he takes another dive underwater to swim closer to the opening before emerging again and waving Lan Zhan over.]

See you on the other side!

[He disappears underwater again and leads the way through the passage. He’s pleased to find his little cavern right where he expects it. On the other side of the short swim, he’s finds himself in a lotus-filled pool surrounded by dense trees. There’s room enough for a couple on one bank in case they want to get out of the water and sit together.

He swims out of the way and calls back.]

It’s all clear on this side, Lan Zhan!

( One more kiss that, if Wei Ying had not pulled back strategically, might well have turned into a proper diversion and their afternoon melting into a tryst of convulsing limbs and heated gasps. He's still aching as he watches his husband's splendid form in the water, utterly entranced before finally, diabolically slowly, diving in himself.

The water's tepid, never frothing like the glacial rivers of Cloud Recesses, even outside the territory of the cold streams. He cuts through it with unexpected enthusiasm, mindful of the opening Wei Ying had signaled, holding his breath without ache to his lungs as he dives —

Only to resurface on the other side, overwhelmed by the beauty of the enclave. Green thickets, lush vegetation. Pretty flattened lotuses floating idly by. He takes care to keep his limbs by himself and avoid trashing, once he finds his balance, should the waters prove inevitably shallower by the bank.

Then, to Wei Ying, in a voice of wonder: )

...thank you. ( It is beautiful. ) I am grateful for my gift.

[Instead of looking at nostalgic scenery, he spends his time watching Lan Zhan take it in. If anything, it looks like Lan Zhan appreciates it more than he does. It’s a good time of day for this where the sun comes in at an angle and beams between the leaves. Even without the fireflies, he’s pleased.

He swims close to his husband and smiles at him before, finally, taking a look around for himself. It’s perfectly closed off around all sides and he doubts even the owner of the lake knows about it.]

I’m glad you came with me. I’ve never had anyone to share this with.

[He throws his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck and hangs on him for a moment, letting Lan Zhan keep them afloat on his own until he laughs and lets go of him.]

It’s a good spot, isn’t it? Pretty romantic, too! If we want to stay here for a while, I can go back and grab my qiankun purse.

[He tilts his head closer, making sure Lan Zhan is looking at him.]

If you want to stay here for a little while, I’d like some refreshments.

( The view, the feeling of Wei Ying, gently pressed against him. The warmth of the water, the lick of silks on his back. He feels more welcome in this lone nook than in the entirety of Lotus Pier, gaze softening as he takes the space in.

Uninvited, once Wei Ying peels himself off him, Lan Wangji begins to step out on the bank, indifferent to the inevitable cold breeze of wetness on his flesh, his robe's rim dragging like spumes behind him. In the end, after surveying the enclave, he deigns to sit down, legs kicked out ungentlemanly so that his toes might tease the waters. For once, he has had the audacity to renounce his boots, though he has held on to multiple layers, to respect modesty. )

You should not drink and swim. ( But resistance before Wei Ying's appetites is futile, and he waves his husband away to retrieve his refreshments. )

Go. ( And in the same breath, absent-minded: ) We should marry here.

[At first, he follows Lan Zhan to the bank but doesn’t take a seat for himself quite yet. Seeing Lan Zhan relax puts into perspective how tense he’s been while staying at Lotus Pier. It’s doubtful that the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan will ever be good, but he hopes it can at least become welcoming.]

Aww, come on, I’ve been drinking before swimming for ages. I won’t drink a lot.

[He feels his heart stir at the comment about being married in this enclave. He tries to push down the welling of excitement the comment about wedding here brings. Earlier, he’d jumped too fast into the idea of marrying in the Ancestral Hall and he doesn’t want to get his hopes up again.]

After getting the dress robes?

[He looks around again, smiling at the idea of it. It would be another private ceremony between the two of them. They might be able to squeeze a handful of people in if they wanted to include the kids and Jiang Cheng but he doesn’t want to share this place with anyone other than Lan Zhan.]

After.

( He agrees, because it has been some time since meeting Wei Ying in his reds, for all he suspects his husband's wardrobe will soon start boasting a healthy volume of crimson garments. They suit him, both straight worn — for all they harken back to Qishan Wen — and styled as the starting layers of sophisticated robe arrangements. And for all Lan Wangji is loathe to make waste of his ancestral fortunes, does Hanguang-Jun's share of the war spoils and exorcisms conducted for years on the road not entitle him to offer his wife at least this much indulgence?

In light of this, of everything — he has no hesitation. Wei Ying is owed this
much, and Lan Wangji will manifest it, whatever the cost. Even now, delightedly all but comatose, he waits for his lover to approach him, unmoving, uncaring, basking. Waves Wei Ying forward, tapping two fingers on his own mouth to signal the need for a parting kiss. )

Leave me a gift before you head on for refreshments.

( Really, who is the spoiled creature between them? He has become too much of a hedonist, a careless creature. No — his mouth curls softly — he is the worst between them. )

[It makes him smile to see Lan Zhan basking like the cat who at the oriole. He likes to think he’s been a good influence on his husband’s ability to enjoy life. Lan Qiren would be aghast, but that makes him like it even more. If anyone deserves to feel the good parts of life, it’s Lan Zhan.]

You don’t need two layers if it’s just the two of us.

[Though it might me best to keep them on lest Lan Zhan wants to be an insect’s feast now that they’re on land. Alas, it’s the cost of such a beautiful and untouched enclave. He can’t tell if there’s been anyone here or not since the last time he’s been here.

With a little laugh, he kneels down in front of Lan Zhan. ]

I won’t be long. [He knows if he really starts kissing Lan Zhan like he means it, he’ll delay his errand. Unless he retrieves the qiankun pouch, they’ll probably end up rutting against each other with no lubricant to ease their way. So he keeps the kiss shallow enough for his escape.]

Get comfortable. I’ll be back before you know it.

[He walks backwards into the water, watching Lan Zhan until he’s in at waist level. One wave later, he throws himself forward and into the water. It doesn’t take him long to fetch the qiankun pouch.]

Edited 2025-05-26 23:13 (UTC)

( Abandoned, bereft, never to know love again. He might be a — particularly drenched — maiden of old, adrift in his enclave, never to be returned his honor. He might be entirely, hopelessly infatuated.

He might be a fool for Wei Ying, a fool for how he waits with bated breath and does not doubt his lover's return. No, he will come. He ever comes. And Lan Wangji, despairingly trusting, heeds him.

For now, he busies himself with dusting off the stretch of stone he's perched onto, knowing all too well Wei Ying will shortly follow, and casting a talisman of flame at the very opposite end of the cave to lure insects to their death at a distance. Perhaps not entirely safeguarded, but close.

He waits until Wei Ying peers again, until he may hold out his hand and assist even though they both know a son of Lotus Pier will surely always be more comfortable in its confines. )

You swim beautifully. ( What a thing it is, to be so wretchedly in love. )

[Fetching his qiankun pouch is a necessity since he’d left behind everything they would need to have a comfortable time. Drinks, snacks, towels… oils. Among other things. He hadn’t meant to leave it behind at all, but he’d still managed to forget about it.

He’s not gone for long and he comes back to find Lan Zhan hasn’t been idle. In just a few more steps, he’s able to take his husband’s hand and walk out of the water towards him.]

You think I’m beautiful all the time, so doesn’t that mean I do everything beautifully?

[He tosses the pouch to the place they’ll be sitting, then he steps closer to his husband and gazes into his eyes. He can imagine them here with an alter of their creating so they can marry. Both of them in their reds. Dry, of course, as they’d do their changing after the swim.]

Having a wedding here would be nice, wouldn’t it? Somewhere only we know about. We could be efficient, too. We wouldn’t need a seclusion, just a quarter of a shi after the wedding and we’ll swim right afterwards, so no need for a bath.

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