#PrideMonthSnippets

[westiec]

June 9: Ace Rights Wangxian!

A/N: I've thought about this conversation between them since I finished the novel. While I would broadly classify WWX here as "sex-favorable asexual" and LWJ here as "grey-ace/demisexual (Wei Ying specific)," each person's experience is unique and neither of these are mine. I beg your forgiveness if anything I've had them say rings false. This fic is largely a discussion is about their sex life, but nothing more physical than kissing is shown in this story.

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🖤🤍💜

Wei Ying likes everything Lan Wangji does. Lan Wangji knows this to be true, because Wei Ying tells him, in exactly those words, every time Lan Wangji draws his husband close and asks what he would like.

But.

Perhaps there should be no "but"—Wei Ying is vocal, even loud, in his enthusiasm for all the ways Lan Wangji touches him, all the ways he takes him apart and feasts on the sight and sounds and sensation of his body.

But when Lan Wangji asks his fantasies, hoping to fulfill Wei Ying’s desires as fully as Wei Ying has fulfilled his, they are games, stories, often moments from their own past or clichés from romantic tales or erotic literature, and if playacting is the shape of Wei Ying’s desire, then Lan Wangji will do his best, but.

The jingshi glows warm tonight, and the day has been a good one, and when Lan Wangji draws Wei Ying into his lap and asks, "What would you like from me?" and Wei Ying replies, as he always does, "I like everything Lan Zhan does," Lan Wangji pauses.

"Wei Ying," he asks, "is there nothing in particular you desire from this husband?"

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying is confused. Lan Wangji considers the shape of what he has been wondering and arranges the words.

"You know there are many rules about restraining desire and excessive indulgence in physical pleasure," he begins.

Wei Ying grins. "Ooh, is this a new game? Have we broken rules, Lan Zhan?"

"Hush," Lan Wangji says, softening it with a kiss. "Listen." Wei Ying settles into Lan Wangji's arms, his thoughtful face on.

"In my youth, I did not understand these rules, why the other disciples joked about them. To me, they seemed simple, easily followed.

"Then, Wei Ying."

Wei Ying’s cheeks flush, and Lan Wangji has to restrain himself from taking that beautifully reddened skin between his teeth.

"I felt urges so intense they frightened me, reactions in my body I had no context for." He feels the corner of his mouth twitch. "I thought the problem could be solved if only you would learn to observe the rules."

Wei Ying laughs. "And yet I remain a problem, eh Lan Zhan?" he says, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Never," Lan Wangji disagrees. "It was only ever that I had not yet learned how to hold wanting you inside my skin."

"Lan Zhan, you can't say things like that," Wei Ying protests. "It makes it sound like you wanted to ravish me all the time."

"I did want to ravish you all the time," Lan Wangji replies easily. "I do still. I'd never felt anything like that before, nor for anyone else, since. When I look at you, when I think about you, sometimes when I'm doing something else entirely, the wanting is there, dozens of different ways I desire to have you. Just now, I wanted to bite your cheek." Wei Ying shudders against him, breathing coming faster as Lan Wangji speaks. "What I wonder," he asks gently, "is whether that is how it feels for you."

Wei Ying's brows draw together. "Lan Zhan, you know I love you. You must know I love what we do together, all the ways you love me."

Lan Wangji kisses the wrinkle away. "I do know. I only ask to see if there is something you want that I haven't offered, or..." this is the delicate part "...or anything you don't don't want that you accept only because I want it from you."

"That doesn't make any sense," Wei Ying argues. "Everything I like, I like it because you want it from—oh..."

He pauses, and Lan Wangji can see the ideas rearranging behind his eyes. He is so grateful for the ways Wei Ying understands him and for the second chance he has been gifted, to be able to understand Wei Ying in return.

"Oh, so... for you, the wanting is separate from the—" he waves his hands, blushing again "—the loving me of it all?"

Lan Wangji tilts his head side to side. "Not separate," he says, "but distinct. Like a hunger that remains, whether a meal is spread out before me or I'm practicing inedia, only for Wei Ying."

"Lan-er-gege!" Wei Ying squeezes him tight and buries his face in Lan Wangji's chest. "The things you say..."

Lan Wangji holds him. Sits with the ever-present simmer under his skin and waits.

"I like that you want me," Wei Ying admits, in his smallest, most honest voice. "I don't know that I feel that hunger the way you describe, but it feels good that I'm what you want, just as I am."

He wipes his face against Lan Wangji's chest, and Lan Wangji's heart clenches at the wetness that clings to his eyelashes when he looks up. "Is that okay?" Wei Ying asks. "I'm sorry if I'm not—"

Lan Wangji cuts him off with a kiss, and Wei Ying melts into it, like always.

"No sorry between us," he insists. "Just as you are, as you said. If you wanted nothing more from me than someone to buy you Emperor's Smile, that is what I would give you, and gladly."

"Well I certainly won't turn that down," Wei Ying chuckles, "but I've grown rather spoiled by the rest of it too. I think we'll keep things as they are, Lan Zhan, everyday and all."

"If it's ever too much, if I'm ever—" he needs Wei Ying to understand, needs him to know that he's not beholden to what he said once or what he says now.

"I'll tell you," Wei Ying promises. "I don't think you could be too much for me, Lan Zhan, if I'm honest, but I'll tell you."

Lan Wangji nods and lets his body show the gratitude he feels for the promise, for Wei Ying’s understanding, for everything about the man in his arms. Wei Ying meets him, warm and welcoming as ever, opening to receive all the love and desire Lan Wangji has to give. Their lips and bodies move in tandem, a dance they've both learned all the steps to, until Wei Ying suddenly stops and pulls back.

"Wait!" he says, looking stunned, "Wait, so you mean to tell me all that poetry about desire and yearning and aching for the touch of your beloved is literal? People are really walking around out there feeling a physical need to, to kiss on somebody? Isn't that distracting??"

Lan Wangji can't help but smile. "Highly."

"And some people feel like that for more than one person? Maybe even for anybody attractive they see?"

"I believe it differs in focus and intensity," Lan Wangji says, "but as I understand it, yes."

"Holy shit," says Wei Ying, looking a little gobsmacked by the very idea. "All this time, I assumed that was metaphor."

Lan Wangji loves him so, so much.

"Well. WELL!" Wei Ying says, as he pins him with a serious look. "Anytime you're feeling too distracted by all that yearning, you just come and find me, husband. It won't do to have Hanguang-jun incapacitated by his amorous desires."

Lan Wangji chuckles. "If my husband insists."

"He does! This Wei Ying will accept as many kisses and everydays as his poor, horny husband requires." His grin is wide and beautiful and so fond, and, as ever, Lan Wangji wants to kiss it right off his face.

So he does.

🖤🤍💜

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost here!

[westiec]

June 27: Nie Mingjue, ace king

asexual Nie Mingjue, queer Lan Xichen, what even is flirting, rated T

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Contrary to popular (Huaisang's) belief, Nie Mingjue can in fact tell when people are flirting with him.

It's just, well, easier to pretend he doesn't. Nie Mingjue's a big, buff guy, so when he's friendly and affable and cheerfully misinterprets any flirting, then women tend to assume he's gay, and men tend to assume he's straight, and neither is quite right, but either way, he's planted himself solidly in the bro zone once more without any awkward conversations or needing to turn anyone down directly.

Which is why he can't quite figure out Lan Xichen’s deal. He was fairly sure the man was flirting with him when they first met at the gym. (Lan Xichen’s traps and lats, Nie Mingjue will readily admit, are downright enviable. He doesn't need to be interested anyone that way to recognize that.)

Nie Mingjue had expected him to go the way of so many other gym flirtations after a few rounds of his patented cheerfully oblivious act, but Lan Xichen had instead just backed way off the obvious flirting while continuing to extend cheerful overtures, offer to spot his lifts (and then actually do it), and greet him with that same dazzling smile every time they're at the gym at the same time.

"You're sure he's not just flirting more subtly?" Huaisang asks, when Nie Mingjue comes home from the gym once more buzzing with the weird energy working out with Lan Xichen always leaves him. "Some guys like the challenge of pulling a 'straight dude,' you know."

Nie Mingjue shakes his head. He's run into those kind of guys occasionally, and they do get the awkward conversation—and the smile with all the teeth he learned from his one and only ex. (They're still friends. Meng Yao had been great, back when Nie Mingjue was coming to the realization that, no, actually, he wasn't interested in sex with men either.)

"He's not flirting at all anymore," he says. "And you know I can tell. He's just so... intensely friendly."

Huaisang laughs at that, not unkindly. "Well, Da-ge, he just might want to be friends, then. Real friends, not just gym buddies."

Huh. Nie Mingjue had always vaguely wondered how people made friends as adults. Maybe that's it after all.

So the next time they're both at the gym, after they've finished their workouts and chatted through their cooldown stretches and are grabbing their post-grind smoothies—and okay maybe they've developed something of a routine while Nie Mingjue wasn't looking—Nie Mingjue asks, "You hike, right?"

"Sometimes," Lan Xichen replies, like it's not a total non-sequitur to the conversation they've been having about protein supplements. "I haven't been in awhile, but I do enjoy it. You?"

"There's a day hike I've been wanting to do, if you're interested. Huaisang sometimes goes with me, but he declared this one, 'too few birds, too much elevation,' and I was thinking it'd be fun for us to hang out together somewhere besides the gym."

"Somewhere that doesn't smell like sweaty feet, you mean?" Lan Xichen laughs. "I'd like that a lot," he says with one of those wide, warm smiles.

They trade numbers and pick a day and text a great deal over the next couple weeks, and that's how Nie Mingjue finds himself here, taking a hydration break at a scenic overlook halfway back down a mountain with Lan Xichen. It's been honestly perfect. The hike was everything he'd hoped for—great views and a decent athletic challenge—and the company is excellent. He and Lan Xichen match pace easily, chatting about little brothers, cooking mishaps, and a surprise shared love of movie musicals during the less strenuous portions of the climb. He's more relaxed than he can remember being in a long time, right up until Lan Xichen says, "Mingjue, can I ask you something? No wrong answer."

Hell.

He nods for Lan Xichen to go ahead and hopes he's not about to ask what he thinks he's about to ask.

"Am I reading you wrong, or did you mean for this to be a date?" And there it is. "If you did, it's been a great one, it's only... I didn't think you went in for that sort of thing."

He—what?

"What?"

Lan Xichen grins playfully. "Mingjue, I don't know if you've noticed, but you get hit on at the gym, like, a lot." Nie Mingjue raises an unimpressed eyebrow at him, and he laughs. "Yeah, I figured. Anyway, you always turn them down—guys, ladies, whoever—but you've also never mentioned a significant other or anything like that, so I figured you just didn't date. But then it also sometimes feels like you're flirting with me? So, I just wanted to check in. I really enjoy hanging out with you, either way."

That's... okay, that's a lot. Nie Mingjue mentally reviews his interactions with Lan Xichen, today and over the last few months at the gym, and realizes he has been flirting with him. It's apparently easier to recognize in the other direction. "I'm sorry!" he blurts.

"It's not unwelcome," Lan Xichen says, still smiling.

"No, I mean—" Ugh, Awkward Conversation time. "I'm ace. Like, the 'not interested in any kind of sex, with anyone, ever' kind."

"Oh," says Lan Xichen, "cool. Thank you for sharing that with me, Mingjue."

Nie Mingjue shrugs and gestures back towards the path. Lan Xichen falls into step beside him. 'Cool, thanks,' is not the worst reaction he's gotten, Nie Mingjue supposes.

"So not flirting then," Lan Xichen says after awhile with a chuckle. "I can't always tell. Sorry for putting you on the spot."

"No, it's... I was flirting, I think," Nie Mingjue admits. Lan Xichen’s been so honest with him, and he wants to respond in kind. "But I'll cut it out."

Lan Xichen's ears flush red. "I mean, you don't have to," he says. "I like being gym buddies. I've liked texting with you lately. I've really, really liked today. If you wanted to do more of all that, with or without flirting, I'd like that too."

"You'd want to date me," Nie Mingjue clarifies, "even though I just told you I'm not ever gonna want to have sex with you?"

Lan Xichen's lips twitch into one of his sarcastic smiles. "Gosh, Mingjue, everything's not about sex, you know."

Nie Mingjue throws his head back and laughs. "Fine then," he says, "it's a date."

🖤🤍💜

Shoutout to @shadaras for suggesting hiking when I got stuck on a good schroedinger's date activity!

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 24: canon-era trans Lan Wangji 🏳️‍⚧️

featuring smol Twin Jades, supportive ally Lan Xichen, and Good Uncle Lan Qiren

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The first person he ever told was his brother.

They were young then, too small for Lan Zhan to have begun lessons but old enough for Lan Huan to be trusted to see them both safely to what would later become the rabbit meadow on a sunny afternoon Shufu had deemed, "too pretty for children your age to spend indoors like this old man."

(He was not, Lan Wangji would later realize, very old at all in those days, but by the time he understood this, he knew, too, how the weight of a responsibility borne too soon settled on one's shoulders.)

They passed a gate, through which Lan Zhan could see pathways and courtyards and buildings like the ones he knew but that he realized suddenly he had never visited. "Gege," he asked, for there surely wasn't anything his brother did not know, "what's through there?"

"That's the part of Cloud Recesses where the female disciples stay," Lan Huan answered. "When you are older and begin lessons, you will join our shijies and shimeis there."

The wrongness of that statement stopped Lan Zhan in his tracks. "No," he said, looking up at Lan Huan for a sign that he was joking—he always had a special smile when he teased Lan Zhan, so he would know—but finding only confusion. "Gege, why would I live with the girls?"

"Well, because you—" Lan Huan began, then he stopped. As though he were working out a riddle, he asked slowly, "A-Zhan, aren't you a girl?"

That wasn't a good joke OR a good riddle. "No," Lan Zhan said, starting to worry that his brother was more confused even than he was. "Gege is a boy?" he asked, to be certain Lan Huan would understand him.

"Yes," Lan Huan agreed, nodding. Good.

"And Shufu is a boy," Lan Zhan said, then frowned and corrected himself, "Man." Be careful with your words, he thought, especially when his brother was so confused! Lan Huan nodded again. "And A-Niang is a woman, and Lan-ayi and Su-ayi."

"Yes, that's right," Lan Huan agreed.

Lan Zhan nodded too, feeling more sure now that he knew his brother was not completely mixed up. "And I am a boy, like Gege and Shufu," he concluded.

"Oh!" Lan Huan said, as though it was a surprise. "That makes you my didi, then, not my meimei."

The word felt warm to his ears. "Mn," he agreed, glad Lan Huan was no longer confused. "So I will not live there?" he confirmed.

"No, didi, I suppose you won't," Lan Huan agreed with a smile. "'Do not make assumptions about others,'" he quoted, then bowed. "Gege apologizes, A-Zhan; I did not know."

Lan Zhan was glad he had explained before things got so mixed up that he was sent to live in the wrong place! Another thought occurred to him. "Does Shufu not know either?"

"He may not," Lan Huan said, "but if he doesn't, we can tell him together."

True to his word, Lan Huan was there when Lan Zhan explained things to Shufu, nodding and adding that, "Didi was very clear."

(Later, Lan Wangji would appreciate the equanimity with which his uncle accepted two very serious children telling him that the child he knew as his niece was actually his nephew.)

Lan Huan was also there when Lan Zhan told their mother, squeezing his hand as A-Niang swept them up into a hug and called them, "my two sweet boys."

He was there when Lan Zhan became Lan Wangji and received his first guan, and when they attended their first conference together, he nearly strained something making Significant Eyebrows the first time they were called, "the Twin Jades of Lan."

He introduced him to Nie Mingjue, who Lan Wangji was thrilled to discover was like him, with useful practices to share in addition to the gift of a sympathetic ear.

(It would be a few years before he realized exactly how Lan Xichen had come to find out that Nie Mingjue was like him, and Lan Wangji resolved never to tell his brother about his own boyhood crush on a young Nie-gongzi.)

Lan Xichen was there, quietly brimming with mirth, as a certain guest disciple teased and tormented him, and Lan Wangji had never felt so betrayed by his brother as when he brought the two Jiang disciples along to Caiyi because, "You looked as if you wanted Wei-gongzi to come."

The Cloud Recesses burned, and the Cloud Recesses were rebuilt. They fought a bloody war, and Lan Wangji’s heart was broken, and Lan Xichen saw him whipped for crimes he might well have faced death for, then tended to the wounds with his own hands.

He helped him save A-Yuan.

It was when Lan Yuan was old enough to begin his lessons that Lan Wangji discovered something else his brother had quietly done.

"The classes are no longer divided by gender?" Lan Wangji asked, watching the children curiously–and rambunctiously, in one case—greeting one another.

"Not for a few years," answered the instructor. "It was Lan-zongzhu's idea. With fewer teachers these days, it's practical, for one, plus it's easier for any of the little ones who might not be comfortable where the adults assume they should go."

Lan Wangji smiled. "Xiongzhang is wise."

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 21: a (very) belated bisexual awakening

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"No, I mean..." They'd been having this conversation for awhile now, and Wei Wuxian still didn't understand what Jiang Cheng was so worked up about. He growled out a frustrated noise, then took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, "let me try it this way." Wei Wuxian put on what he thought of as his Patient Shixiong Face and hoped this attempt would actually make sense. "You know how sometimes a really pretty girl—like Liu-qianbei or that jiejie who sells tanghulu—makes you... feel things?"

Was Jiang Cheng... just now noticing people like that? Wei Wuxian supposed that, like the lotus flowers on the lake, different people blossomed at different times. Perhaps none of the older disciples had felt comfortable having this talk with the Sect Heir? Wei Wuxian could be a good shixiong and reassure him what he was feeling was normal! He nodded encouragingly. "Or like Yinzhu and Jinzhu, yes! That's very normal, Jiang Cheng; it just means you're growing up!"

Jiang Cheng turned bright red. "You are ONE WEEK OLDER than me! Wait—Yinzhu and Jinzhu?? I don't even want to know what— anyway, that's not the part I'm asking about."

Heavens help them. "Okay, so then what are you asking about?"

Jiang Cheng glared at him—as though he were the one making this conversation difficult! "Is it— Am I— D'you-ever-feel-that-way-about-boys-too?" he asked, all in one breath.

"Oh, is that all? Yeah, Jiang Cheng, that's normal." Honestly, what a thing to get worked up about.

Jiang Cheng frowned, which Wei Wuxian felt was rather the wrong reaction. "But everyone always seems to act like boys are going to marry girls, like Jiejie and the Peacock."

"Oh, well if you're talking about marriage, yeah, because you've got to make little sect heirs—wait, you do know how little sect heirs are made, right?"

"I know enough!!" Jiang Cheng spluttered, which was good, because Wei Wuxian wasn't... 100% sure he could explain that part.

"Well good. But yeah, as far as just who you notice is pretty, I'm pretty sure everyone notices all kinds of people." Jiang Cheng still didn't look convinced, so Wei Wuxian brought out the big guns. "If you don't believe me, we can always ask Shijie."

"I can't ask Jiejie that!!"

"Ask Jiejie what?" Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng both jumped when Jiang Yanli piped up behind them.

"Wei Wuxian, don't you dare—"

Wei Wuxian covered his mouth and asked the question that would put Jiang Cheng at ease. "Shijie, please enlighten these humble disciples: Isn't it true that it's normal for someone to find both boys and girls pretty? Y'know, Like That?"

Jiang Yanli's expression was fierce. "Yes," she said emphatically, "that is perfectly normal."

"See, Jiang Cheng, I told you!"

Jiang Cheng buried his face in his hands. "Great, let's never speak of this again."

//

A lifetime later, in the middle of the night, Wei Wuxian sat bolt upright in the Jingshi. "Oh my god, she meant that in a SUPPORTIVE way, not in an everybody's-like-that way!"

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 26: Lan Qiren Appreciation

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Lan Qiren was certain he would never approve of his nephew's boyfriend.

It's not that he's a homophobe. Just because he’s never seen much point in sex or romantic relationships doesn’t mean he can’t understand how meaningful they can be to others, and he knows, after all, how scary it can feel to realize you don't desire in the ways that you're expected to. From his perspective, the various genders of the people in a relationship are none of his concern.

He's proud of his boys. All he wants for his nephews —all he's ever wanted for them—is to be good men and to be happy and loved in whatever ways they desire.

So Lan Qiren does not mind at all that Wangji is gay. But why, out of all the young men in the world, did it have to be that no-good Wei Wuxian who captured his nephew's heart? He could've introduced Wangji to so many nice suitors! He'd taught plenty of suitable boys. Several of the women in his tai chi group had sons and grandsons! Either of the Nie boys would've made fine matches. Or even Jiang Fengmian's son, he was the right age! But no, Wangji had to fall for Wei Wuxian, as clever as they came and twice as cocky. That little brat had been a terror in the classroom, and Lan Qiren had been prepared for more of the same disrespectful audacity when he met with Wangji and his—sigh—boyfriend this afternoon.

So far, though, he's been... less than objectionable. Louder than Lan Qiren would prefer, as expected, but not excessively so. He seems to have learned some restraint in the years since he graced Lan Qiren's classroom. And he's certainly attentive to Wangji.

The final blow, though, comes when Wangji says, "Wei Ying, tell Shufu about your kids," and Wei Wuxian absolutely lights up.

He's teaching, Lan Qiren is shocked to discover, working with elementary school children, and absolutely, undeniably smitten with them. He describes his favorite lessons, speaks with fondness of his star pupils, and admits, wryly, "I even have a couple of know-it-all troublemakers, like I'm sure Lan-laoshi remembers. Ah, but they're all good kids though, really. So excited to learn."

It's at that moment that Lan Qiren looks across the table to catch Wangji smiling smugly behind his teacup, knowing his uncle has been won over.

Ah well, Lan Qiren supposes. Perhaps Wei Wuxian isn't such a bad match after all.

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

And check out the other #LQRWeek21 works for more Shufu appreciation!

[westiec]

June 4: ace Wen Ning

making a home with your immortal QPPs and finding words for yourself

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🖤🤍💜

Wen Ning never really had the words for what it was he felt for Wei Wuxian.

Fascination, certainly, from the first time he'd wandered over to where he was practicing archery, complimented his form, made a few suggestions, and then scampered off again like a whirlwind. Loyalty—outsize in its intensity, he could admit later—that made him want to help him, even against his own clan, when Lotus Pier had been captured. Devotion, gratitude, and a little hook of connection in his gut, after Wei Wuxian had rescued his family and raised him from death. There was just a draw to him, before he'd died and after, that made Wen Ning want to be by his side.

A-Jie had asked, once, in those grey days at the Burial Mounds, whether he loved Wei Wuxian. He thought about a little bundle she had carried close to her heart that was gone, about the way Hanguang-jun had looked at Wei Wuxian as he was leaving, and he shook his head. "Not like that." She gave him a sad sort of smile, then, and he wished he had better words to explain.

When Wei Wuxian returned, he felt like a lodestone, something inside Wen Ning settling even before Wei Wuxian removed the nails from his head and gave him back to himself again. Staying close after that was a choice, one Wen Ning again made gladly. He laughed to himself when Hanguang-jun, drunk and frustrated, chased him off, and he wondered how long it would take Wei Wuxian to see that for what it was.

It was Hanguang-jun—Lan Wangji—who gave him the jade token later, who told him that he would always find welcome with them.

(He thought LWJ meant in Gusu, at the time, and was warmed down to his cold bones when they began to travel, and Wen Ning realized what—who—the token was really keyed to. Lan Wangji, Wen Ning thinks, might have been the first person who understood.)

The thing about immortality, however you achieve it, is that time passes slowly and quickly all at once. People change and people stay the same, and they invent new words, new meanings, new ways to understand themselves. Wen Ning has traveled the world, has spent years with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji and years apart, comfortable in the knowledge that they were all in the world and that Wen Ning would find welcome when he looked for it.

It's Wei Wuxian, sometime after the turn of another century, who offers him words. "I saw this online," he explains, still as eager and excited by the chance to share what he knows as when Wen Ning first met him, "and it made me think of you, kind of, and how you've always explained how you feel about our whole" —he waves his hands to indicate Wen Ning, himself, Lan Wangji, the pairs of them and the three of them and all of their history— "thing. How I didn't break anything when I brought you back, because you still felt like how you'd always felt about me." He taps his nose, still cutely embarrassed after all these years. "Anyway, so! There's a whole bunch of people who feel a similar way and they've got words for it—asexual and aromantic and demi and grey and—"

He pulls out a little box and slides it across the table to Wen Ning. "Anyway, some of them wear these. You don't have to, of course, but I thought you might like to—it even fits your whole friendly goth aesthetic—and it could even be, if you want, kind of a symbol of us, too."

Inside the box is a plain black ring, shiny and simple and elegant in an understated kind of way, much like the wedding bands Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had begun wearing a few decades before.

"Middle finger of your right hand," Wei Wuxian says, and Wen Ning slips it on. He smiles at Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji—he's had a lot of time to relearn how.

He visits the forums WWX had found, talks with people about kinds of attraction, words like "squish" and "queerplatonic." He adds more purple to his wardrobe.

He occasionally sees others with a ring like his and exchanges a little nod of understanding. They're not alone.

🖤🤍💜

Pride Month Snippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 13: T4T Wangxian! 🏳️‍⚧️

genderbend wangxian, no, bendier than that

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When they first meet in high school, Lan Zhan can't stand him; she doesn't like boys as a rule, and Wei Ying is the worst: loud and cocky and flirts with everyone.

Her friend Nie Huaisang goes out with him once and swears up and down that he's pretty cool really, a perfect gentleman on their date. Lan Zhan bites her tongue and asks if he'll be seeing him again, but Nie Huaisang shakes his head.

"There just wasn't much of a spark there, y'know? I'd like to be friends, though, if you wouldn't mind him hanging out with us sometime?" And Nie Huaisang has been her best friend since they were five-year-olds drug to their big brothers' wushu competitions, so...

So that's how Lan Zhan finds herself eating lunch every day of senior year with Nie Huaisang and Wei Ying, Most Awful Boy in School.

It's surprisingly un-awful.

Wei Ying is still loud and cocky, but he is also kind and generous. She'd known he was smart—they'd often competed for the top spot in their classes—but she comes to realize that much of his flirting is honest curiousity about everyone and everything.

Including her.

"Lan Zhan, you should let me set you up on a date! Who do you like? There are lots of girls at this school who have a crush on Lan-jiejie, you know."

She did not know. She tries to tell him she does not need to be set up. Nie Huaisang betrays her and sides with Wei Ying.

Here's the other thing about Nie Huaisang & Wei Ying: they are weirdly good at matchmaking. She knows of at least four couples who started dating on their suggestion.

(They are not good at finding themselves dates, but that's a different story.)

"Hmm... oh! Lan Zhan, do you think you might like Mianmian?"

Lan Zhan goes on the date.

(She and Luo Qingyang date for the rest of senior year and part of that next summer, then break up amicably when they start university in different cities. They remain friends and pen pals.)

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying graduate at the top of their class. She has a little snapshot of them all at graduation, she and Nie Huaisang and Mianmian and Wei Ying and even Wei Ying’s brother Jiang Cheng, all in their hats and baggy gowns, looking proud and happy and ready to take on the world.

There's a lot of world, as it turns out.

People move, they graduate, they get jobs and fall in love and change their number and lose touch.

Sometimes they find out new things about themselves.

"Nonbinary" is a new thing.

Ge is adorkably supportive. Nie Huaisang congratulates them, and Mianmian sends a sweet message. Lan Zhan doesn't really have a conversation about it with Uncle, but the first time they wear a binder and blazer to a family lunch, he just compliments them on their outfit and asks about the new exhibit they've been working on for the museum.

Wei Ying’s messages had started bouncing a few years back, and Lan Zhan mostly manages not to wonder what he'd say.

Lan Zhan cuts their hair and grows it out again, because sometimes you just have to try things to see if they're you.

(Lan Zhan had learned that from Wei Ying.)

They date, a bit, and adopt a pair of rabbits. They find what makes them feel at home in their body.

They love their job and smile inside every time a wide-eyed kid takes in their long braided hair and earrings and makeup and the lean, crisp lines of their work outfits with awe.

They let Nie Huaisang teach them how to dance, and do brunch with Ge and his partners, and they travel, sometimes for work and sometimes for themself.

They visit Mianmian, meet her wife and baby daughter, and travel to see their mother's family, and other times go somewhere they know no one.

It's at a craft market in one such town, looking at handmade jewelry and homemade jams, that Lan Zhan hears a musical laugh they haven't heard in years.

They follow it past booths of landscape photos and hand-thrown pottery and beaded necklaces until they turn a corner to see —

Long glossy hair in a high ponytail. Elegant wrists and lively hands. A flowing skirt that flutters in the spring breeze as the person at this table of what Lan Zhan belatedly realizes is small-batch fruit wines waves goodbye to a happy customer before turning and—

"Wei Ying."

It's undoubtedly Wei Ying's eyes that go wide and surprised. Undoubtedly Wei Ying’s smile that spreads across this lovely face. Undoubtedly Wei Ying who responds, "Lan Zhan! Fancy meeting you here, after all this time."

Lan Zhan can feel a smile in the corners of their own lips.

"Come here, come here, tell me what you're up to these days. You look fantastic, Lan Zhan, have a seat, I want to hear everything that—ah, if you have time?"

Lan Zhan has time. Lan Zhan thinks they would sit at this market stall until dark to keep that smile on Wei Ying’s face.

"I do. Wei Ying, you also look—" beautiful, captivating, happy, alive "—fantastic."

Lan Zhan does not remember Wei Ying blushing like this in school. It's utterly charming.

Lan Zhan sits at Wei Ying’s stall for hours.

("This is more words than you ever said to me back then!")

They catch up. Wei Ying lives and works at a small family farm outside this town. Wei Ying declares Lan Zhan's job as a museum curator "perfect for you!"

They do the pronoun thing.

("It changes? But 'she' today."

"'They,' as a rule; 'she' when it's too..."

"Sure, I get it.")

Eventually, Wei Ying carefully asks if Lan Zhan has kept up with anybody they'd both known.

She's delighted by the news of Luo Qingyang's marriage and child, and thrilled that she and Lan Zhan remain friends. ("I knew you'd like her, Lan Zhan!")

Wei Ying’s face does something complicated when Lan Zhan asks about the Jiangs, so they let her change the subject. There's a little boy on the farm, apparently, who Wei Ying adores.

Wei Ying does not sell very much more wine that day, but she won't hear of Lan Zhan apologizing.

It's not quite dark when Lan Zhan helps Wei Ying pack up the unsold jars, but it is late enough that it's easy to ask her for a recommendation for where to eat dinner, then insist that Lan Zhan treat her to a meal.

It is dark by the time they leave the restaurant.

Lan Zhan goes to bed smiling that night, a new number in their phone under a contact they could never quite bring themself to delete.

Wei Ying has never visited the museum Lan Zhan had come here to see. Lan Zhan barely notices the art, too distracted by the light in her eyes.

The train ride between towns is not long.

Later, under cheerful lanterns strung up at the Wen farm to celebrate Wei Ying's birthday, Lan Zhan mentions they've gotten a position at the museum they visited that first weekend.

Wei Ying's kiss tastes like cherry wine and happiness.

Epilogue thoughts:

Wei Ying's jiejie does her hair at the wedding. Jiang Cheng cries on Nie Huaisang at the reception. Mianmian and Mian's Ma'am and Xiao Mianmian are, of course, all in attendance as well.

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying hang a picture of all of them at the wedding in their new house, with an old, faded snapshot tucked in the corner of the frame.

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

#PrideMonthSnippets June 1: Lan Wangji & Wen Qing, MLM-WLW solidarity

read on ao3

"Can I sit by you? There are always way too many straight people at these things."

Lan Zhan glances at the sharp-looking woman who collapses into the chair beside him, posture somehow conveying utter done-ness without wrinkling a single crease on her impeccably-tailored suit. He's fairly certain they've never met, and he wonders whether he should feel some sort of way about a total stranger so accurately pegging him as not included in "straight people."

She's not wrong about the Mandatory Fun portions of these company retreats, though, which always seem to turn into a vaguely embarrassing spectacle of alcohol-lubricated flirting. There's a reason Lan Zhan has been nursing a soda-with-lime in the corner.

He nods in sympathy, and she snickers. "'Em-el-em wuh-luh-wuh solidarity,' as our mutual friend would say."

The only person he knows who says that sort of thing is Wei Ying, which means this must be—

"Wen Qing," he says, belatedly greeting his roommate/best friend/crush's so-called 'work wife' he's heard so much about as the pieces slot into place. "A pleasure to finally meet you."

"Oh no, I didn't even introduce myself, did I?" Wen Qing pinches the bridge of her nose. "I was just so relieved to see a familiar face after the third Chad from Marketing hit on me back there."

"Chads from Marketing are seldom worth the effort, in my experience," Lan Zhan agrees. Wen Qing laughs.

He's still puzzling how he could be familiar to someone he's never met, and something warm curls through him when he arrives at the only obvious explanation. "Wei Ying has shown you a photo of me," he deduces. "You must have a good memory for faces."

She stops laughing and stares at him at that.

He blinks.

"A photo," she says, with odd emphasis, and he nods.

Wen Qing tilts her head, confused, then something sparks behind her eyes, and she gasps. "No. NO, I cannot believe this. You haven't seen his desk, have you?"

Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 29: Mianmian & Sangsang's Big Bisexual Plans

Read on ao3

Luo Qingyang marched straight into Nie Huaisang's rooms, slammed the door so hard it rattled in its frame, and threw herself down onto the bed.

Nie Huaisang snickered. "Hello to you too, Luo-guniang."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't punch him in the teeth myself," she demanded.

"You're much too good for Wei Wuxian’s sloppy seconds," he replied immediately.

He meant it to make her laugh, she knew, and it worked beautifully. By the time she sat up and wiped the tears out of her eyes, he had produced a small jar of wine and two cups, and was at the table ready to pour. He inclined his head to her in silent question, and she crossed the room to sit beside him. "Gods, yes." She downed the first cup immediately, then slumped against his side, exhausted. "Why are boys such idiots?" she asked.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to the boy currently providing you with illicit alcohol," Nie Huaisang countered, but he wrapped an arm around her and settled her more comfortably against him anyway, so she knew he knew she didn't mean it like that.

"Says the one calling himself sloppy seconds just a minute ago." He hummed noncommittally at that, and she twisted her head to catch the conspiratorial smile on his face. "No?" she asked.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," he began, "but our dear friend Wei-xiong prefers to not-kiss and imply. I think he's saving his first kiss, actually."

"That's honestly kind of sweet," Luo Qingyang mused. She poked Nie Huaisang in the stomach. "Don't think I don't notice you're distracting me, though."

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her right between the eyebrows, where her vermillion mark would sit if she were allowed one. "I assumed distraction was why you were here," he said. "Would you rather talk about it, then?"

She sighed. "How can he not like her? She's kind, and so pretty, and I know he's not in the girls' classes, but she's really very clever, and I just—ugh!! What's not to like?"

"Might be marriage in general," Nie Huaisang pointed out reasonably. Probably accurately too—it wasn't like Jin Zixuan had any great example of wedded bliss in his own parents. Still.

"He'll have to though," she said. "He's the heir. Jiang Yanli's easily the most eligible young mistress, politically speaking, plus she's actually nice, and even her laugh is cute, and—" She huffed, frustrated, and reached for her cup again, which Nie Huaisang had obligingly refilled.

"There are remarkably few young ladies among the gentry in our generation," he mused. "Perhaps if her engagement to Jin-xiong is broken after all this, I'll ask Da-ge to petition Jiang-zongzhu for me."

Luo Qingyang snorted. "Gee thanks, Sangsang, not like I'm right here or anything."

"A thousand pardons, Mianmian; are only you allowed to wax rhapsodic over Jiang-guniang, then?" he teased. "Besides, Qinghe has a tradition of taking multiple wives; maybe I'll just marry both of you. I suppose you'll have to be er-furen, of course, what with politics... Da-ge will be very pleased with me doing something so traditionally Nie, I think."

Luo Qingyang laughed. "It's definitely not your worst scheme. But who would that leave Zixuan to marry then? I'd hate to see him all alone in Jinlintai with nobody left to stick up for him."

Nie Huaisang took a slow, considering sip of wine. "Fine," he said, "he can come too."

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 28: Yes, WWX Can Cook

Zhuiyi, Wangxian, domestic postcanon fluff

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Lan Jingyi pushed back from the table with a happy groan. Of all the perks of courting Sizhui—of which there were, wow, SO very many—one of the ones that had come as a pleasant surprise was being invited to join family dinners in the Jingshi from time to time. Hanguang-jun, it turned out, was an excellent cook. The dishes were Gusu fare for the most part, but richer, with more depth of flavor and just a little of the spicy kick Wei-qianbei so liked. And best of all, the rules about talking during meals and eating only three bowls were often overlooked.

"Hanguang-jun," he said, "you really outdid yourself today. It's a good thing we finished the dishes, because I don't think I could fit another bite, but I wouldn't want to stop."

Beside him, Sizhui giggled, and Lan Jingyi shot him a quizzical look. He just shook his head, as Hanguang-jun said, "I agree with your sentiments, but you should address your praise to our cook tonight," inclining his head towards his husband, who was blushing almost as red as the dregs of his bowl.

"Ah, Lan Zhan, it's okay," he said. "Your cooking is at least as worthy of our future radish-in-law's praise too, after all. Probably more so!"

Lan Jingyi looked at the other faces around the table—Sizhui's amused grin, Wei Wuxian's pleased blush, and Hanguang-jun's calm but deeply besotted... well, his "Wei Ying" face. None of them were joking.

"Wei-qianbei, you can COOK??" he asked incredulously.

"Aiyo, don't sound so surprised!" Wei Wuxian huffed. "I'm not as good as Shijie was, or even as good as your Hanguang-jun here, but it's not like you haven't eaten my cooking before."

The only time Lan Jingyi could recall knowingly consuming a dish prepared by Wei Wuxian was years back, in Yi City, when he still thought he was Mo Xuanyu. "Yeah, and I had nightmares about that congee, Wei-qianbei," he said, petulant.

"Did you think I had cooked every time you ate with us?" Hanguang-jun asked.

"Well yeah," Lan Jingyi said, looking at Sizhui to back him up. "The first time I came over, I asked if it was going to be Wei-qianbei making the food, and you said, no, Hanguang-jun was cooking."

Sizhui nodded. "Yes, that time he was."

"We take turns," Hanguang-jun added.

"Lan Jingyi, have you really been avoiding my cooking all these years because of one bowl of congee I overspiced while I was busy trying not to let any of you DIE??" Wei Wuxian wiped away tears of laughter. "I'm not sure if I should be proud or insulted."

"But you drown every dish you eat in chili sauce!" Lan Jingyi protested. "How was I supposed to know you could actually cook."

"Every dish I eat, sure, but that goes on at the very end," Wei Wuxian said.

"Wei Ying is an excellent cook," Hanguang-jun added, with a level of fervor that set off warning bells in Lan Jingyi’s mind.

"Apparently Jingyi here thought you were my little housewife, preparing all my meals," Wei Wuxian shot back, grinning now.

Hanguang-jun's eyes flashed, and Lan Jingyi glanced at Sizhui, who had begun swiftly stacking the empty dishes on a tray.

"Who's the wife?" Hanguang-jun asked, one eyebrow climbing dangerously, and yup, definitely time for them to leave. Lan Jingyi hopped up and grabbed the other tray, tossing the last few bowls on it and heading towards the door to stuff his feet into his shoes.

"Thank you for the meal, Wei-qianbei!" he tossed back over his shoulder, as Sizhui somehow bowed sarcastically while holding a tray full of dirty dishes before striding smoothly to the door.

Lan Jingyi was fairly sure Hanguang-jun and Wei Wuxian didn't even notice them leave.

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 20: Happy Father's Day!

Modern diaspora AU where they're all on vacation together? Something like that...

Read on ao3

"Oh, careful, A-Ling! Lan Zhan, can you—"

"I've got him." Lan Zhan carefully steadies Jin Ling's little arm to make sure his blueberries all make it to the top of his father's pancakes, rather than scattered all over the kitchen floor.

"Thank you Uncle!" Jin Ling chirps.

"Of course," Lan Zhan tells him. "Is your Baba's plate ready?"

"Mmmm, no! Whipped cream!" Jin Ling yells. When Lan Zhan meets Jiang Yanli's eyes, she's stifling a laugh.

He nods seriously. "How much?"

"LOTS!" Naturally. Lan Zhan duly applies a generous dollop of whipped cream. He sincerely hopes Jin Zixuan likes his pancakes extra sweet. By the stove, Wen Yuan is waiting patiently for Jiang Yanli to slide the next batch of pancakes onto his plate. Lan Zhan is so proud of him.

"Uncle, if it's Father's Day, how come you're helping cook?" Jin Ling asks.

"I enjoy it," Lan Zhan answers.

"Fuqin never sleeps in late enough for breakfast in bed," A-Yuan adds conspiratorially, dusting Wei Ying’s plate with the cinnamon sugar he prefers.

Jiang Yanli laughs and pours another batch on the griddle. "There will be plenty for everyone, A-Ling." When they're ready, she hands him a plate. "Happy Father's Day to you too, Lan Zhan," she says.

"Thank you, Yanli-jie." Lan Zhan adds his pancakes to the tray.

"Can I carry it?" A-Yuan asks. "I'll be careful!"

Lan Zhan nods at their son, and together, they go wake up Wei Ying.

(Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang are gonna wake up in an hour and pout because nobody brought them pancakes. Perhaps Jin Ling will very seriously tell jiujiu that pancakes in bed are for FATHER'S Day, and Jiang Cheng will leap across the kitchen so Nie Huaisang doesn't finish the sentence, "Well, maybe I should get some then, because your jiujiu calls me—")

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 5: the Untamed gang goes to Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

read on ao3

Wen Qing has never really seen the point of going to Pride. A parade or a march or just a festival full of too many people in rainbow gear—it's not like it'll make her any more or less bisexual.

But this is the first year since A-Ning had come out as agender, and ve had asked, and Wen Qing could never say no to her little sibling's big pleading eyes, so here they are, in a sea of sweaty bodies and rainbow-themed swag, and much to Wen Qing's surprise, it's... fun? Loud, hot, crowded, yes, but there's an energy to this space so unapologetically queer.

"Best Wens!" comes a shout from behind her. Wei Ying, dressed in an eye-searing neon pink, purple, and blue ensemble, bounds over, followed at a more sedate pace by Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan in matching pastel striped sundresses with Jin Ling in a stroller and Jiang Cheng, bringing up the rear in an extremely normal (for him) weekend outfit of shorts that make his legs look amazing and a perfectly-fitted button-up with the sleeves rolled up.

(Honestly, how dare.)

His concession to the festivities appears to be pins in bi and demi flag patterns.

"Tell the truth, did you go bi over pan for the purple?" Wen Qing teases, once greetings (she, JZX, and JC) and hugs (WY, JYL, and WN) have been exchanged.

Jiang Cheng huffs a sardonic laugh. "Wei Ying keeps teasing me that if I try hard I can level up and unlock nonbinary too."

Wen Qing chuckles. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, but that's an extremely Wei Ying thing to say."

It's a fun afternoon. They meet up with the Nies, eat overpriced street food, and make their way towards the parade route so that they'll have a good view when—

"Is that the Lan brothers in hot pants??" Wen Qing asks incredulously, when the group behind the Gay Men's International Folk Music Ensemble approaches.

"Yup," says Jiang Cheng, with an almost audible eyeroll, "and every year, Lan Zhan—"

Before he can finish, Lan Zhan breaks ranks, glides over to their group, and dips Wei Ying in a passionate kiss, before calmly rejoining the band and continuing to march.

"—does that," Jiang Cheng concludes. "See what you've been missing out on?"

She takes in A-Ning and Nie Huaisang teasing a laughing Wei Ying, at Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan holding hands, at Nie Mingjue with a delighted Jin Ling on his shoulders, at the whole riotous, colorful crowd, and at Jiang Cheng, smirking at her, leaned on the barricade pretending he's not enjoying every minute, and grins. "Here's to Pride."

🖤🤎❤🧡💛💚💙💜

Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 3: Nie Mingjue

trans man Nie Mingjue, first time NieLan, and a little bonus trans!LWJ too

read on ao3

💙💗🤍💗💙

They had cautioned Nie Mingjue, his father and the healers, that students at the lectures might not be familiar with young men like him, that not all sects were as open-minded about such things. For the most part, it hadn't been an issue—the Lan Sect's strictures against gossip and immodesty in dress served to make the particulars of his body irrelevant as compared to his obvious mastery of the saber or his apparently less-obvious talents in the classroom.

(He might prefer martial training, but the first son of Qinghe could hardly allow himself to be found lacking in any of the Six Arts. He would, if pressed, admit that he had a very poor ear for music, but he made up for it by extra diligence in other pursuits.)

So it wasn't until he found himself in a secluded meadow in the back hills, trading kisses with Lan Xichen, that Nie Mingjue even thought to mention it.

"Ah, Xichen," he said, running his nose against the edge of a graceful ear. (Even Lan Xichen's ears were graceful!) "Forgive my presumptuousness, but if you were thinking of taking my robes off, there's something you should know."

"Nothing to forgive," Lan Xichen insisted. He gave another kiss to Nie Mingjue's neck, then sat back, a twinkle in his dark eyes. "I've been thinking about it for some time and hoped you were too."

Nie Mingjue could feel himself blushing. "Awfully bold for a Lan," he muttered.

"Awfully shy for a Nie," Lan Xichen countered, smiling wide and guileless. He wrapped a hand around Nie Mingjue's wrist and rubbed soothing circles with his thumb. "We don't have to if you're not comfortable, you know. I'm more than happy with your kisses."

NMJ shook his head. "It's not that. I just... might not be what you're expecting." Lan Xichen nodded for him to continue, not rushing him, merely patient and attentive. Nie Mingjue took a deep breath and tried to explain this for the first time to anyone outside his family. "They thought I would be a girl, when I was born."

Lan Xichen's face lit with understanding. "Oh, you're like—" he cut himself off with an apologetic shake of his head— "ah, someone else I know." He raised Nie Mingjue's hand to his lips and placed a kiss in the palm. "Thank you for telling me. Please let me know if I do or say anything wrong."

"You haven't yet," Nie Mingjue promised, heart warming in Lan Xichen's gentle understanding. "Did you still want to...?"

"As long as you still do, yes," Lan Xichen said eagerly, blushing a little for the first time. "I haven't done this with anyone before, so you'll have to show me what you like."

"We'll figure it out together, then," Nie Mingjue said and pulled Lan Xichen in for another heated kiss.

[Some NSFW/🔞 content in this one under the cut! Words used for NMJ are: folds, erection, cock; NMJ's chest is not mentioned/described, and he does not experience dysphoria here.]

Nie Mingjue liked Lan Xichen's lips, they discovered, over his collarbones and stomach and hipbones. He liked the sounds Lan Xichen made when he took him in hand, his cock jerking in Nie Mingjue's fist.

He liked when Lan Xichen rubbed long, elegant fingers along Nie Mingjue's folds in return, stroking and tugging at his own erection.

He especially liked it when Lan Xichen whispered sweetly in his ear how hard and hot and eager his cock felt.

They brought each other off like that, mouths hot and hungry against skin and hands exploring new territory, new ways to tease and touch.

After, Nie Mingjue swiped his fingers through the mess Lan Xichen had left on his hip and brought them to his mouth, smacking thoughtfully. "Mine tastes better," he decided. "Must be all those medicinal herbs you Lans eat."

Lan Xichen laughed and showily licked his own fingers clean. "I would happily taste Mingjue-ge more directly next time, if he would like," he said, and Nie Mingjue felt his cheeks burn.

"They told me you Lans would be very prim and private, you know," he said, grinning over at him.

Lan Xichen made a show of looking around, then sniffed, primly. "I don't see anyone else, seems private enough to me." Nie Mingjue laughed and tugged Lan Xichen in for another kiss.

They dressed and did their best to set each other's hair back in order, and Lan Xichen took Nie Mingjue's hand as they began walking back towards the main areas of Cloud Recesses.

"You're right that we are private about things," Lan Xichen said suddenly, "but I know it can be helpful to know someone who understands, sometimes. The person I mentioned before, would you be willing to talk to him? Not about—" he gestured between them, cheeks pinking again "—this, of course, just, in general."

Nie Mingjue consisered, then nodded. He had people to talk to at home—an older cousin, some of the healers—about cultivating his body the way that felt right, meditations, foods, ways to use his qi. His cousin had even figured out how to grow a moustache. He wondered if Lan Xichen would enjoy kissing him with one? Maybe he'd surprise him...

(There was only one person Nie Mingjue could think of for whom Lan Xichen would ask such a personal favor, so he wasn't terribly surprised when, a few days later, Lan Wangji knocked on his door.

He was quiet as ever, but the chubby-cheeked kid he remembered was replaced with the gawky beginnings of long limbs and that tall stature shared by so many of the Lans. He'll look just like Xichen in a few years, Nie Mingjue thought.

"Wangji-di!" he said aloud. "You're looking so grown up! Come in, come in. I understand we might have some things in common...")

Pride Snippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

🌈 On Twitter, I'm doing a little thread of #PrideMonthSnippets headcanons/AUs/plotbunnies each day, and I think I will post them here too, so here is a:

MDZS/Untamed Pride Month Short Fics Masterpost

You can now read the series on ao3!

June 1: LWJ & WQ, MLM-WLW solidarity

June 2: Happy Wives Xuanli 💛💜

June 3: trans Nie Mingjue

June 4: ace Wen Ning, immortal QPPs

June 5: the gang goes to Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

June 6: WANGXIAN MARRIED (with a bun)

June 7: fuck you to expectations (Wen Xu modern AU)

June 8: Vital Intelligence (juniors polycule!)

June 9: Ace Rights Wangxian! 🖤🤍💜

June 10: a Songxiao gift 🤍🖤

June 11: Hot! Girl! Summer! (JYL/JZX/LQY)

June 12: the good ship ouyao

June 13: T4T Wangxian 🏳️‍⚧️

June 14: Jiang Yanli, badass bisexual 💖💜💙

June 15: Wen Qing, #3 🏳️‍⚧️🖤❤

June 16: MXY & NHS's fabulous friendship

June 17: Chengxian (modern AU) 💜🖤💕

June 18: LQY & NHS & their pining BFFs

June 19: Wangxian Honeymoon (again)

June 20: Happy Father's Day!

June 21: a (very) belated bisexual awakening

June 22: lingyi flirty fashion fluff

June 23: Jinzhu/Yinzhu/Yu Ziyuan

June 24: canon-era trans LWJ

June 25: t4t chengqing 💜❤

June 26: LQR Appreciation

June 27: Nie Mingjue, ace king

June 28: Yes, WWX Can Cook

June 29: Mianmian & Sangsang's Big Bisexual Plans

June 30: Dramatic Adventures (more juniors polycule!)

[westiec]

June 18: Luo Qingyang & Nie Huaisang and their pining BFFs

Read on ao3

It was almost funny, Luo Qingyang thought.

Nie Huaisang leaned over to mutter under his breath. "Is it bad that I always want to laugh when they do that?" Well, at least it wasn't just her.

"I was just thinking the same thing," she admitted with a chuckle. Like approximately four hundred eighty-seven times before, as soon as the Jiang contingent arrived, both Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan had immediately abandoned all pretense of paying attention to the social niceties of the pre-conference meet-and-mingle to stare, wistfully.

(In fairness, the average person might not identify Lan Wangji’s expression as wistful, but neither Luo Qingyang nor Nie Huaisang were average when it came to reading the young master who held the title* of "hottest resting bitch face in the cultivation world."

*bestowed, of course, by Nie Huaisang)

((Lan Wangji knew about the title, and had given the Eyebrow Quirk of Deep Amusement when he learned of it, so.))

(((Jin Zixuan's wistfulness, on the other hand, was, in Luo Qingyang's opinion, painfully obvious.)))

"Honestly, this is getting beyond ridiculous," Luo Qingyang said, as the also-inevitable shout of, "Lan Zhan!" signaled the imminent arrival of Wei Wuxian and the Jiang siblings to their corner of the hall. "Not a one of them is ever going to make a move at this rate, are they?"

Nie Huaisang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Not without a push, certainly," he mused, lips curling into a grin behind his fan that only Luo Qingyang, standing next to him, could see. That expression, now, foretold a very interesting next few days.

So she wasn't surprised when Nie Huaisang pulled Wei Wuxian aside later and whispered something to him behind his fan. She wasn't even surprised at the scandalized, "What??!" that Nie Huaisang hurriedly shushed and Wei Wuxian awkwardly waved off when everyone turned his direction. She certainly wasn't surprised when Nie Huaisang came back looking like the cat who'd not only got the cream but caught the canary too.

"Dare I ask what you told him, that you look so smug?" she asked.

"My dear Luo Qingyang, I'm sure I don't know what you're implying. I merely clued our friend Wei-xiong in to Lan Wangji’s ardent and long-held admiration for Jiang-guniang."

No. NO.

"For Jiang Yanli," she clarified, horrified and impressed at the shape of the impending chaos Nie Huaisang had just unleashed.

"We've put up with their mooning for years; I think we deserve a little fun," Nie Huaisang said, with a nearly feral grin.

"This is going to be the best conference ever," Luo Qingyang declared. She stifled a truly undignified snort behind her sleeve as another thought occured to her. "Oh gods, Jiang Wanyin's head is going to explode."

All they had to do now was wait for the fireworks.

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[westiec]

June 19: Wangxian Honeymoon (#327... or 328?)

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"Y'know, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying began.

Lan Zhan took a sip of his frozen concoction and settled in to listen to whatever his husband felt like expounding upon today. They were on vacation, celebrating another honeymoon. (It had been a few decades since they had last had a wedding. Their record was the 15th century, when they'd done their first tour of Europe and been married no less than thirteen separate times.)

"There have been a lot of great inventions over the centuries," Wei Ying continued, "but the hot tub has to be up there as one of the best." Not Wei Ying’s most surprising declaration, considering they were currently in a truly magnificent specimen of hot tub at the cute bed & breakfast cottage they were renting for the week. (Owned and run by a local family—they'd lived too long not to prefer sustainable tourism.)

Still, Lan Zhan couldn't pass up such a perfect setup. He gazed into the middle distance thoughtfully. "Hmm... not vaccines? Airplanes?" He cut his eyes over to meet Wei Ying’s. "Wifi?"

Wei Ying giggled and splashed water at Lan Zhan. "I said 'one of,' Lan Zhan, don't tease!"

"You like it when I tease," he replied.

After all these years, Wei Ying still blushed so easily. "I really, really do."

"Good," said Lan Zhan. "Now, you must come closer."

Wei Ying cocked his head and grinned. "Oh yeah? Want to get frisky in the hot tub, Lan-er-gege?"

"Perhaps," he allowed, because, well. "But mostly, you are too far away. We are two dudes, chilling in a hot tub..."

Wei Ying blinked for a moment then snorted. "And we are so very, very gay." He giggled and surged over to settle in Lan Zhan’s lap. "Can't believe you learned MEMES, Lan Zhan."

#PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!