wuding | Date in Lotus Pier

[As soon as Lan Zhan looks at him, he spreads his arms wide and spins in a slow circle to make sure Lan Zhan can have a good look at him. When he gets his answer, there’s a bounce in his step as he walks to where Lan Zhan is already sitting and takes his place at his side, right where he belongs.]

You flatterer. It must be a sign from the heavens, because you look like my soulmate, too.

[He leans against Lan Zhan to enjoy a little more touch. With the way Lan Zhan’s been looking at him, he really can believe his beauty is legendary.]

Are you ready, Lan Zhan?

[He sits up straight again and takes in the place Lan Zhan chose for their ceremony. It’s a pretty view, though that could be said of any number of places here. They’re not facing the discarded food from their meal earlier, but he does think about it and regrets not finishing it anyway. He won’t let it tarnish the moment, so he focuses on something else instead. The way the silk clings to Lan Zhan’s skin.]

( A sign from the Heavens. He thinks, at times, it was the Heavens who brought them together, Wei Ying the only man to call his own. But the same powers divided them, and hewatches his lover absorb the light and laughter of the place beside him, watches Wei Ying make his home near him, exacerbating the heat.

In the end, the rites are simple. One by the other, they bring their hands together and ahead, and wilt down in a bow before them, to the Heavens of the enclave's cracked ceiling, to the Earth that holds them. A second bow, to the ancestors of moss and stone with murmurs of mute gratitude. Then, shifting imperceptibly, to Wei Ying, his lover, his muse, his shadow.

He waits on his husband to proceed with the same, the rituals learned by now, familiar. )

[His attention is drawn forward as he moves in tandem with Lan Zhan. His heart beats excitedly as he kowtows, each bow taken with gratitude for this second chance at a love he didn’t have the words for. That he gets to live loving his best friend and being loved by him always leaves him feeling grateful. Moments like these, more so.

They fold themselves over for the third time, taking the opportunity to honor the man he loves enough to live for. His salvation. His light. His current and future husband.

He reaches to the side to pick up his nearby quankun purse to make sure there’s still some rice that hasn’t been sitting out. When he finds it, he uncovers it and places it between the two of them. And Lan Zhan made sure they were close to the wine, too.]

Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-Jun, I would choose you every time in every lifetime.

( Every time, in every lifetime — and their bows fulfilled. Once, he might have thought the rites themselves would change his world, that he would finish them and find himself different. Throughout their countless marriages, that miracle has yet to pass. He remains unchanged, indiffferent to the act...

Always, until Wei Ying looks at him, just so. Until his husband's happiness alights them both. Until he dips in to lay out rice in one bowl, and fills out the very bottom of their cups with the remnants of Wei Ying's wine. After, one cup held to his bride, the second grasped — he twines their arms to attempt the nuptial toast. )

Wei Ying, Wei Wuxian, Yiling patriarch. I would choose you above the world.

( And he leans in, carefully, to pass his lips over the wine and drink in. )

[His surprise at Lan Zhan’s declaration is quickly replaced by a softness. He’ll never be alone again -- well, not permanently alone. As long as they’re both breathing, they’ll return to one another no matter what lies in their future.

He grins sheepishly when only the lasts drops of wine fills their cups. Lan Zhan would benefit from the smaller volume, so he’s not going to complain. He lifts the second cup and follows Lan Zhan’s lead.]

I believe you, but I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’m tired of living rough. You’ve spoiled me so thoroughly that I can’t imagine living without the comfort of Lan Zhan’s loving care.

[He waits until the moment feels right, some 30 heartbeats or so later when he finally tips his cup back. He feels good. Rejuvenated after loving his husband just a short time earlier.]

Lan Zhan, you make me feel whole.

( He is late to drink his fill, he suspects, shamelessly arrested in the face of the bead of wet — water or sweat — that cascades down Wei Ying's throat, drawing the eye, enraptured, to the sun-kissed column. To his collarbone, peering sharp and neat and pretty below. To the curve of Wei Ying's shoulder, yonder. His mouth all but sallivates.

At long last, more beast than man and decidedly uncontrollable, he tips back his own cup, the sharp burn of the alcohol a mean punishment. His body shivers with it, with the ache born in his gut, with the pleasant exhilaration of relief that follows.

Then, he sets the cup cleanly on the stone pedestal, picking the bowl of rice and untouched chopsticks and collecting a few glued grains to peddle by Wei Ying's pretty mouth. A bride is too shy to take the first bite alone, after all. )

You were ever whole. Only, at times, more brittle.

[He catches the way Lan Zhan’s looking at him and he shrugs to expose a bit more skin. Not enough to be obscene or detract from their ceremony, but enough to show more of his shoulder and chest than before. Back in his first body, he’d been so sure of his good looks, but he’s learned to treat this body the same. Lan Zhan’s attraction to it definitely helps.]

I just didn’t realize a piece was missing until my second life. You fill in all the spaces I hadn’t noticed needed filling and have made me stronger for it. Happier.

[He waits for Lan Zhan to present him with rice and closes his mouth over the chopsticks to make sure he gets every last grain. He takes the chopsticks and picks up a similarly sized bite of rice and offers it to Lan Zhan’s expecting mouth.]

Not so brittle, now. I feel like I could face anything at your side.

[He shifts again, letting his robe part enough to show his thigh. Everything important is more or less obscured (partially, because of the thinness of the silk) by the garment.]

( Obediently, he rounds his lips around the morsel presented to him, keen to entrap it, to taste the grains. Plain, blandly seasoned, nothing to speak of. A delightful tribute and foundation for their marriage days to come.

When they have their proper wedding feast, an escalation from the scant offerings of their elopement — they might enjoy a more ambitious fare. Not yet. Not just now. )

Perhaps even face Uncle?

( No truer challenge, no greater foe to Wei Ying's relaxed, at times utterly debauched nature. They've improved their relations, Lan Wangji likes to think — if not for their own sakes, then certainly for Lan Liang's.

Stealing the chopsticks again, he offers out a fresh morsel of sticky rice to Wei Ying. )

I could face him anytime. It’s the aftermath of facing him that I’m trying to avoid.

[It’s not like Lan Qiren could kick him out of Cloud Recesses with Lan Zhan as acting clan leader. These days, the old man would be more likely to ask him to stay. The house they’re building is no secret nor is the amount of genuine love shared between Lan Qiren and Lan Liang.

He smiles, tasting the rice again. Lan Zhan could be tricking him into eating more by suggesting this impromptu marriage, but he suspects it’s just an added benefit for him and not the main reason for the offer.]

With you by my side, what’s he going to do? Bore us to death? Doesn’t it mean anything that I follow more of the precepts than half of the disciples he teaches?

[Despite their tolerance of one another, he can tell his presence isn’t entirely welcome. Even when he brought it up recently, he still isn’t allowed to teach any classes.]

( It should. But then, Lan Qiren has never been the most readily forgiving of men, and Wei Ying — despite his improvements before the precepts — still willingly courts disaster. He has, Lan Wangji suspects, an appetite for playful riling, for inviting correction.

Feeding each other, Wei Ying speaks through his meal — and should that not give him pause? Of course, Wangji will not be the man to say so. Yet it would be unfair to his uncle to pretend all of Wei Ying's life has been reshaped around the Gusu Lan commandments.

Gently, once Wei Ying has consumed enough mouthfuls to Lan Wangji's satisfaction, he lays down the chopsticks and nudges the bowl forward, should his freshly minted husband wish to once more take over. )

He would offer his life for yours and that of your children. ( A truth, no matter Wei Ying's doubts. ) He would not hesitate.

[When Lan Zhan abandons the rice, Wei Wuxian takes over for him and offers a fresh bite to his husband. He pauses, however, when Lan Zhan claims Lan Qiren would die to keep him safe. It should make him feel like he’s accepted, maybe even liked in some way, but it isn’t so simple. He doesn’t particularly like the idea of someone laying down their life for him.]

He doesn’t have to go that far. I’d be happier if he’d just let me train the disciples.

[He starts up again, offering the bite he’d stalled. It’s true that he’d love the opportunity to work with the kids, but he’s so far been denied the chance outside of traveling for night hunts. Wen Ning is the one who accompanies them during their outings most of the time as a protector in the shadows, leaving him to watch for flares in case something goes wrong.]

Do you think Uncle Lan will ever let me teach in Cloud Recesses?

[It’s unfair to put the burden on Lan Zhan, so he tries not to bring it up too often, but it does still bother him to be excluded. There are other things that he could do to help out the clan, and he does try to do those things, but they’re not his calling.]

( Teaching the disciples, imprinting on them an example, being a formative presence — certainly, Wei Ying isn't at fault for wanting the privilege. Uncle, too, only wishes to ensure that the most impressionable minds of Gusu Lan are exposed to the essence of Cloud Recesses' learnings.

It is... a natural tension, unlikely to be extirpated through the passage of time and pleas alone. He cannot hope to abolish it, only perhaps to quiet some of the flames of Lan Qiren's anguished anger. So be it — he knows the work set before him, nodding in increments, only daring to gaze up at Wei Ying again once he has solidified a battle plan. )

I shall speak to him on our return. ( An unwise intervention, both as a nephew and the acting clan leader, to force his uncle's hand. Yet what else can he do? He, too, sacrifices for their sect. Is the price of his contentment, so that he may best serve the clan, not enough? )

[He shakes his head, reaching to the side to touch Lan Zhan’s hand. It’s a tricky situation to have Lan Zhan speak on his behalf to Lan Qiren. It’s not fair to put that on Lan Zhan’s shoulders or to gang up on the old man to get his way. It would likely end in him getting what he wants and being allowed to teach the kids some practical knowledge to help with their training, but he doesn’t want it to be a forced concession.]

You don’t need to speak on my behalf. I can ask again. It’s been a while since I have and maybe he’s warmed up to me more than the last time. The worst that can happen is him saying no again.

[He rubs at the back of Lan Zhan’s knuckles with his thumb before turning his hand to invite Lan Zhan’s palm against his own.]

I would want his blessing before I took on any classes and I won’t get that if we force his hand. It’s just a shame since I’m a font of useful knowledge most of the kids don’t get to have access to.

[He brings Lan Zhan’s hand up to his mouth so he can kiss his knuckles. It’s their first kiss since they’ve renewed their marriage.]

( Barely bidden, his palm slips onto Wei Ying's, grateful for the contact and reassurance that they're together, bound and true, that — no matter the hurdles of their empty chatter — Wei Ying makes no attempt to abandon him. This should not be what they speak of on their marriage day, not toil or trouble or the infinite complications of clan politics and family dynamics.

Still, they've ventured. Still, Wei Ying remembers enough of Lan Wangji's private discomfort to steer them back and away from the abyss. Gratitude blooms in his cheest, thunderous, the bones of his ribcage groaning. His thumb catches on Wei Ying's knuckles, answering the morsels of affection in the only language that finds him forthright.

The kiss finds his hand shivered, pale, straining. He wants to hold, to reassure. Cannot. The truth of Lan Qiren's objections remains a bridge they cannot forge between them, and Wangji will not lie to his husband in this. He will offend neither the blood of his familial bond, nor the sanctity of his matrimony. )

Then, will you speak to him? ( Alone, without Lan Wangji to shield him? Surely not. )

[This time he nods his head, agreeing to handle the situation himself. He passes his lips over Lan Zhan’s knuckles again before he presses one cheek to them instead. It may be strange to have such a serious conversation while sharing some affection, especially after a wedding, but he doesn’t mind.]

I’ll talk to him after we get home. Would it be playing dirty to wait until he’s holding Lan Liang to bring it up?

[It would do wonders to improve the old man’s mood, but it’s unlikely to change the answer. He’s expecting another ‘no,’ but it’s been a year since the last time he’d suggested it. A lot of stuff has happened since then and Lan Qiren seems to hold some minuscule amount of affection for him now.

Still, his reputation and willingness to break rules and orthodoxy both make him an odd choice to teach the children of Gusu Lan.]

It’ll be okay no matter what he decides.

( But will it? Wei Ying's disappointment is the bittermost medicine, a slap upon two cheeks. With one blow, Lan Qiren risks disciplining both his nephew's mercurial wife and the boy he raised on his knee. A difficult choice, on both sides.

And still it is not Lan Wangji's war to wage, not with its political implications. Perhaps, one day soon, Wei Ying and his uncle may negotiate their understanding. For now, he is Wei Ying's foremost accomplice and the elder's most obedient servent, and he prays the twain positions need not come into conflict.

As for Wei Ying's shrewd suggestion — he laughs, timidly, quickly chocked off after, the shake of his head faint. )

Do not make weapon of Liang. ( As if Lan Wangji too has not strategically held or invoked the child, whenever he wished to summon Wei Ying's better behavior. ) He will learn to leverage himself and become unstoppable.

He’ll learn it one way or another.

[But he’s laughing as he says it. Seeing the mirth on his husband’s face and hearing the bell chime of his laughter breaks the mood that had fallen over them. He leans his shoulder against Lan Zhan’s and sets the chopsticks down. They’ve had their ceremony and he wants to enjoy their renewed matrimony.]

I’ll talk to him alone, then. He might budge if I promise to only teach what’s in an approved lesson plan but that won’t give the disciples practice using their brains when they’re out night hunting.

[He massages Lan Zhan’s hand between his two, rubbing the meaty part below the thumb at first before moving onto the digits.]

It’s been a while since I accompanied the junior disciples night hunting. Maybe I can take Sizhui and Jin L… or just Sizhui while we’re in Lotus Pier. We can see if any locals have any problems.

( Ah, but he flinches when Wei Ying nearly slips, the specter of his wretched nephew yet darkening the horizon of their peaceful days ahead. Of course he cannot expect Wei Ying to suddenly and effusively neglect this boy he has chosen for his family.

...will he ever be able to accept him? Perhaps. But to welcome Jin Ling, to desire his company? Here, Lan Wangji feels as if a wretched thing, fingers curling alongside his husband's, mouth slack. He wants, more than anything, to set Wei Ying's mind at ease and promise him peace and contentment.

Cannot. ) Will you take Liang, also?

( Perhaps they should begin to consider when and whether to expose their youngest son to such things. )

[He ignores the look on Lan Zhan’s face at the prospect of going somewhere with both Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui. To put it out in the open doesn’t feel appropriate after their nuptials. They’ve already argued about it once today and they’re both far too stubborn to concede to the other in this.

His desire to go night hunting is diminished by the feeling of not wanting to separate the two love birds. He knows how happy he feels when he spends time with the one he loves and who is he to deny them that?]

Sure, I doubt there’s anything too dangerous. Maybe we can find some water spirits. They’re not uncommon around here.

[They’ll be here a few days longer than Jin Ling, so he plans to wait until then to bring it up with Sizhui. It’s the only way his conscience will allow.]

You can come too, you know. Since we’re bringing Liang, there’s no reason you’d have to skip it.

( Lan Liang, Lan Sizhui, Wei Ying. The three poles that govern his heart, while his uncle and brother both retain their distance. Warmth floods his chest, and he is, not for the first time, nearly too fond to breathe.

He manages belatedly, the sound half wheezing, his own gaze impossibly loving. Truly, Wei Ying, his Wei Ying, is a gift. Clenching his husband's fingers, he brings them up to kiss once more. )

I have enjoyed that pleasure often enough before. ( Perhaps not with Lan Liang, but certainly the opportunity will come. ) My fierce husband must also.

( After all, there is intimacy and a deepening of relations between cultivators that only night hunting together may achieve. It's Wei Ying's turn to enjoy himself with their children. )

Summer draws out energy sappers. Fine prey.

I’ll ask around town if anyone’s been having trouble. You’re sure you don’t want in?

[He won’t push it too hard, since it’s Lan Zhan’s choice. Though, maybe it would be better if Lan Zhan sat this one out. He can’t tease Sizhui about Jin Ling too much in front of Lan Zhan otherwise he gets sulky and temperamental. And Sizhui wouldn’t be as open to talking about how things are progressing between him and Jin Ling with an audience.]

Sizhui's clever. He’ll have no problem taking the lead against either of those. The energy sappers might be a good lesson, too. He’s usually so calm and unhurried, but he won’t want to spend too much time against a foe like that.

[He takes his hand back so he can turn more towards Lan Zhan because he wants to look at his handsome face and bewitching eyes. His husband is practically radiating contented happiness, at least to a trained eye. He’s powerless against it.]

I’ll make sure he packs a flare, but I don’t think we’ll need it. Especially not if we use dual cultivation the night before.

( All sensible plans, entirely reasonable. Far more organised and peaceful than Uncle Qiren would ever presume to give Wei Ying credit. If only he could see this side of the vaunted Patriarch —

But then, they would no longer be at war over Wei Ying's involvement, then. They would have no grounds, no appetite to dispute him. And Lan Wangji — he would hardly need to mediate.

For now, he can only agree, radiating smug contentment, entirely too at ease with Wei Ying's proposal. Let uncle say as he wishes, intercede as he will. Let the world try to stifle them. As long as they are together, they are unbeatable. )

We will dual cultivate ahead. Attend to Sizhui's weaknesses. ( A pause, then: ) Perhaps test Liang's core.

[His hands squeeze Lan Zhan’s at the suggestion to test the potential of Lan Liang developing a golden core. He vaguely remembers being put in a “dangerous” situation shortly after being welcomed into the Jiang clan. There are dozens of ways he can simulate danger without putting their son through something that could scar him for life.]

I didn’t realize I’d be the one testing him. I don’t mind being the one to do it or anything, but I assumed it involved your uncle somehow.

[He’s already coming up with a hundred ideas that he’ll whittle down to a handful once he has an idea of where they’ll be night hunting. Lan Zhan has been torn between hoping their son will be able to become a cultivator and dreading the curse of that fate. Personally, he wants Lan Liang to have a golden core because that means he’ll be better able to protect himself.]

Is there some way the Lan clan does it or do I get to make it up as I go?

Apologise. I misspoke. The clan will wish to attend his diagnosis.

( A half-truth, though one the precepts will accept. Of course they could push the point and force the sect to permit the parents to carry out the procedure, though it would be unwise, given their likely sentimentality. But Lan Wangji would not be tempted by the possibility, not when Wei Ying, lacking a fully developed core, could not yet hope to partake in the rites to the same extent.

It's one thing that they must both wait out the result of a practice carried out by the elders, hand in hand. It would be a deeper wound for Wei Ying to watch as Lan Wangji shares in a moment so profoundly intimate with their child alone. No, he will not force his overly generous husband to make that choice, knowing all too well it would favor Lan Wangji.

For once he will be selfish enough to decide for the twain. )

But we may ask them to perform it before your hunt.

[He relaxes marginally, somehow feeling the relief of not being the one to callously ignore their son’s fear response. If someone else is in charge, the betrayal won’t cut so deep. Though, he doesn’t like the idea of being completely uninvolved, either.]

If the results come back inconclusive, then what? I could try to push him or I could just hold and protect him from whatever we find. If he reacts to my methods, would that be enough for the clan?

[He plays with Lan Zhan’s hands, massaging each of his fingers and kissing the fingertips of each one.]

I’ll take him with us either way. It’ll probably take a few days to get everything organized.

[He opens up Lan Zhan’s hands and presses the palms to either of his cheeks. Lan Zhan’s hands feel cool against his skin. It’s refreshing.]

I’ll keep them both safe, Lan Zhan. I’ve faced all the common hauntings in this area. If for some reason it feels like too much, we’ll notify you and I’ll start using ghost cultivation to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

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