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eleanorfenyxwrites · 3 years

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@evilteddybear requested: I always love a LWJ/WWX fic where the sect leaders, especially Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, and Lan Qiren, come to the Burial Mounds and see what it's like before attacking, try to negotiate.

Thanks for the request (and your patience in seeing it filled), hope you like it!

[Masterpost] [Ao3]

“Xiongzhang.”

“Wangji. I don’t like it any more than you do but it’s going to be the best solution for everyone.”

The weight of his brother’s glare is nearly a physical blow but Lan Xichen is used to it and stands firm. It helps that he can distract himself from the heat of it by focusing on the long trek down to the bottom of the staircase of Jinlintai. With Jin Guangyao busy for the afternoon Lan Xichen had offered to take Lan Wangji into the city for the day, though now he’s wondering just why he had though that would be a good idea in the first place. Now at least, he supposes, they have the excuse of going off to purchase paper fine enough to be suitable for an invitation for Wei Wuxian to attend his nephew’s one-month celebration.

“I will take him the letter myself,” Lan Wangji states, voice pitched low and steady. Though it’s an obstinate, unmovable tone that Lan Xichen has heard far too many times before, he can’t help but feel that it’s his duty to put up at least something of a token argument. He can never seem to argue with anyone but Lan Wangji, but even then he almost always ends up bowing out as gracefully as he can under the strength of his headstrong brother’s will.

“Wangji, it’s not safe…”

“Wei Ying will not hurt me.”

“I didn’t say that he would.”

“The Wens are not a threat.”

Lan Xichen sighs heavily and pauses as they reach a landing to close his eyes against the inevitability of his little brother getting to have his way. He always has until the day Wei Wuxian left with his band of Wens, and Lan Wangji has been doggedly pursuing him – whether Wei Wuxian is aware of it or not – ever since. He’s never done well with not getting precisely what he wants when he wants it, and Lan Xichen adores his brother and the fact that he’s grown up being given what few things he has wanted without much thought. However in this moment, for this situation, he can’t help but privately wish deep down that his brother knew how to practice the same sacrifice that Lan Xichen himself makes when it comes to those he wishes to protect.

“If you doubt me you may come with me.”

“Wangji-“ Lan Xichen cuts off with another sigh as his brother simply walks away, his piece said and his interest in the conversation clearly exhausted. They both know very well that he’ll do what he wants, and Lan Xichen will allow it. Which is why, in the end, it’s no surprise at all that Lan Wangji makes his way to Yiling with his invitation tucked safely in a qiankun pouch, nor is it particularly surprising that Lan Xichen has accepted Lan Wangji’s sort-of-bluff of an invitation to go with him. What isa surprise is that Nie Mingjue had elected to join them when he’d caught wind of where they were going and why.

“Mingjue,” Lan Xichen attempts to soothe now as the man in question paces back and forth in the confines of their room. In the interest of keeping the peace he had taken it upon himself to make sure that Lan Wangji got to have his own space, but any notions that Lan Xichen may have had about utilizing the relative privacy this arrangement affords to Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue have so far borne no fruit whatsoever. “I warned you that this would be a matter of patience, you didn’t have to come with us.”

“What? And let you both walk into the lion’s den? Of course I had to come.”

“Wangji and I are far from helpless, Mingjue, and he is certain that Wei Wuxian won’t harm us.”

“He’s the only one.”

“He’s not, I-“

“Xichen I will walk all the way back to Qinghe right now if you can honestly tell me that you’re completely and utterly certain that Wei Wuxian won’t hurt anybody!”

Xichen lets out an uncharacteristically audible sigh at that and fixes Nie Mingjue with one of his Looks that always make the man cave. “Even if I could meet those terms I wouldn’t want you to go back to Qinghe. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other.”

“Can we stay on task here?”

“We are. We are waiting for someone to leave the Burial Mounds so that we may approach them in town rather than appearing threatening by attempting to infiltrate their settlement on the mountain. There is nothing to do now but be patient. What about our current activities are not on task?”

“We need to use this time to strategize. Plan. Things may go wrong. We may need to protect Wangji, he may need to protect either of us. We don’t know what we’re in for.”

“Mingjue.”

“Xichen.”

“This is not a battle, nor a war. We are approaching a young man – a young man Wangji trusts - who hasn’t done anything dangerous in a year so that we may invite him to a family event. Please sit down and relax.”

Nie Mingjue finally stops his pacing to turn a betrayed glare on Lan Xichen, but as with Lan Wangji he’s well used to absorbing Nie Mingjue’s frustration and neutralizing it with the soft, reassuring lines of his smile. Nie Mingjue has never been able to stay angry with him – or even near him – for longer than a few heartbeats anyway, and Lan Xichen watches the tension bleed from his broad shoulders with his next blustering exhale.

“Wangji believes that our presence may alarm the inhabitants of the Burial Mounds should we be allowed to enter their wards. You will need to remain calm in such a case so that we can show that we bear them no ill will.”

“Speak for yourself,” Nie Mingjue grumbles and Lan Xichen’s heart aches a bit for Nie Mingjue, so level-headed when it matters but so hot-headed when it shouldn’t. Nie Mingjue meets his gaze and then groans, covering his face with both hands and tipping his head back a bit as he says, slightly muffled, “Don’t give me that look, Xichen, that’s not fair. How do you always know how to get your way?!”

“It would be significantly harder to have my way if you didn’t know in your heart that I’m right. This is a delicate situation, Mingjue, we can’t let past anger cloud our judgement now. Wangji has been here before and he says that what’s going on here isn’t what everyone says it is. We’re only here to keep him safe on his errand and see things for ourselves, alright? Now is not the time to declare the continuation of Jin Guangshan’s blood feud with the Wens.”

“Yes, fine, fine! I’ll keep my thoughts to myself.”

“And no glaring.”

“Xichen!” Nie Mingjue manages an affronted look for only a scant moment before it too fades into grumbling acquiescence as he resumes his pacing. “Fine. As little glaring as I can manage.”

“Thank you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I love you.”

“Xichen!” Lan Xichen laughs softly to see Nie Mingjue’s blush overtakes his handsome features, turning his entire face a lovely shade of red as he splutters his way through returning the infrequently-expressed sentiment and accepts kisses that thoroughly distract him from any lingering anger.

It takes two full days of waiting before Wangji suddenly stands and strides off right in the middle of their morning meal. The behavior is so unusual that Lan Xichen is instantly worried, though as he stands to follow – with Nie Mingjue hot on their heels – he relaxes ever so slightly to see that Lan Wangji is heading straight for a young man Lan Xichen recognizes dimly as Wen Qionglin. He reaches out instinctively to rest a restraining hand on Nie Mingjue’s arm when he feels the man tense next to him, but though the Ghost General looks a little wary upon spotting Lan Wangji he doesn’t look hostile. In fact, he looks as timid and soft-spoken as he had when Lan Xichen had seen him during the lectures in Cloud Recesses. The only hint that he can see that something is different than it was then is the pallor to his skin and, just barely visible through the curtain of his mostly-unbound hair, thin spiderwebs of black cracks on his neck that creep up towards the underside of his jaw.

It takes some convincing from Lan Wangji before Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue are allowed to approach, and then further convincing from Lan Xichen before Wen Ning agrees to let them all come up the mountain. He takes the invitation Lan Wangji presents with gentle, steady hands and holds it as gingerly as one would expect someone to hold little Jin Ling himself, and once again Lan Xichen finds his heart aching – this time for the cruelty of the world that always seems to touch the gentlest of souls.

The trek up the mountain is slow and hot, but the further they get from the town the colder things get. The sensation of the sun on his skin is still there, but it somehow brings him no warmth. The shade cast by the twisting, barren limbs of the trees seems wan and thin, and yet the chill he feels in their shadows reaches into his bones with clawed fingers of dread. The soil becomes loose and dusty under their feet and before too much longer he can feel resentful energy crawling along his skin, seeking weakness. That sensation, at least, passes almost as soon as he notices it and he realizes they must have passed through the wards. Things grow, if possible, even more gray and sere from then onwards, though by the time he can begin to hear sounds besides the wind through dead, hollow trees there are a few with some life in them. A few gnarled leaves on some of the branches in the underbrush, a few trees bearing small fruits.

They pass the first field for planting before they see anyone to till it, though the next field has a figure bent to their task. They sit up straight to watch them pass and Wen Ning offers a little wave to the figure who nods back, wariness etched into every line of their posture. Lan Xichen chances a glance at Lan Wangji to find him facing staunchly ahead, fist held behind his back and his eyes glued to the invitation in Wen Ning’s hand.

“Wei-gongzi should be tending to his field this time of day,” Wen Ning says in his typical soft stammer as they approach what seems to be the heart of the settlement. There are more people around now, all going about various agrarian tasks with varying degrees of vigor. Lan Xichen is about to ask what he means by field when he looks ahead again and spots it, shocking in the gray landscape around them – a bright green space dotted with soft pink petals, and a man in shades of black and grey bent over it with his trousers rolled up to the knee.

It’s clear that Lan Wangji is aching to go to him but they’re stopped before they can go any further by a small young woman suddenly in their way, her feet planted and her arms crossed over her chest.

“Wen-guniang,” Lan Wangji greets with a salute as Wen Ning offers a quiet, “Jie..”

“A-Ning. What are they doing here?”

There’s a beat of silence that Lan Xichen abruptly realizes it’s his responsibility to fill, despite this being Lan Wangji’s errand.

“Wen-guniang,” he greets with a salute of his own that Nie Mingjue copies at his side a beat later. “Wangji has an invitation to extend to Wei Wuxian, and Nie-zongzhu and I agreed to accompany him.”

“An invitation?” At her prompting, Wen Ning hurries to hold out the document itself for her to take, which she does with another skeptical glance at the three of them before she opens it to read the contents. Lan Xichen watches her face for some sort of reaction to the news that Wei Wuxian is invited to Jinlintai, but if she has any sort of feeling about it she does an admirable job of hiding it.

“Wei Wuxian!” she calls without looking away from them. Lan Wangji’s spine stiffens and goes miraculously straighter, as if Wei Wuxian’s name alone is enough to electrify. The man in question waves a mud-stained hand in their general direction without turning around.

“What is it, Wen Qing? A-Yuan is playing with Popo right now.”

Lan Xichen glances up at Nie Mingjue at that with a question in his expression though he knows Nie Mingjue likely doesn’t understand that any better than he does. Nie Mingjue isn’t even looking at him anyway, as it turns out. Instead he’s looking around what they can see from where they are – a crumbling stone structure built into the side of the mountain. Crude wooden huts made from the subpar lumber available in the twisting dead forest around them. Tired farmers in clothes that look one hard winter away from falling apart. And over it all the pall of death and decay that’s inescapable in the midst of a field that had once been, as the name suggests, nothing but a hill of bones and restless spirits.

“You have…guests.”

Lan Xichen looks ahead again in time to catch Wei Wuxian whipping around so quickly he nearly falls off his perch at the edge of his ‘field’ of lotuses, thriving right there in the middle of the Burial Mounds, against all odds.

“Lan Zhan!” he squeaks, looking utterly shocked to see Lan Wangji, let alone him or Nie Mingjue. “What are you-“

“Rich-gege!!!” A tiny voice suddenly cries and Lan Xichen is startled to see a small blur come running from the direction of one of the other fields to plaster itself against Lan Wangji’s leg.

“Hello A-Yuan,” he says softly, almost too softly for Lan Xichen to hear, and he drops his hand down from behind his back to pet the top of the boy’s head, smoothing flyaway hairs back from his little face.

“A child, Mingjue,” he whispers, though the volume can’t hide his horror. This is the ‘band of Wen rebels’ the Jin Sect is so afraid of? This is who remains as the target of their revenge and hatred?

“I see him,” Mingjue replies quietly, jaw working with a little flutter of the muscles in his cheek. “I see them.”

“Rich-gege Xian-gege said you wouldn’t come back but you did!! Pick up, please!”

Lan Xichen wonders if it’s possible for his eyes to go any wider as Lan Wangji reaches down without hesitation to curl his hands under A-Yuan’s reaching arms and, heft him up onto his hip where the boy promptly clings and lays his head down, seemingly content to hug and be held.

“Lan Zhan what are you – what are you all doing here?” Wei Wuxian tries again as he stumbles out of the mud of his pond to traipse across the space between them, cleaning his hands rather ineffectually on his robes hiked up around his hips. When he draws level with Wen Qing she holds the invitation out to him with a look in her eyes that Lan Xichen can’t quite decipher. It’s the first time she’s taken her eyes off of them since she had intercepted them, and Lan Xichen is a little embarrassed to realize he’s relieved to no longer be the subject of her sharp attention.

“They brought you this. You can go see your sister.”

“What?!” Wei Wuxian scrambles to open the letter, eyes flying across the page as he reads whatever it was Lan Wangji had written – knowing him it’s probably as bare-bones as possible, conveying only the necessary information and nothing else. It doesn’t take him long at all to look back up from the page with suspiciously shining eyes. “Is this real?”

“Mn. It was agreed upon.”

“Jiang Cheng agreed to this? And Jin Zixuan?”

“Mn.”

For an alarming moment Wei Wuxian looks like he’s in desperate need of a place to sit, but he rallies quickly and all of a sudden his smile is absolutely blinding, the way it had been once when he’d been a younger, much more carefree teenager coming to study in Gusu. When his smiles had turned Lan Wangji’s ears red and made him glare daggers through whatever poor wall or floor or passing disciple happened to be in his line of sight.

“Oh. Oh wait come in, come in, you’re making everybody nervous out here,” he says with a laugh that doesn’t sound..entirely genuine, but another glance around the settlement proves that he’s got a point. The Wens are all watching them now, tasks forgotten in the need to watch for approaching danger. “Lan Zhan sorry about A-Yuan, he probably won’t be willing to let go for a while.”

“No need.”

“Aiyah. Fine, fine. Come in. Wen Qing and Wen Ning, you too. Come on, let’s go,” he says and just like that Lan Xichen realizes with amusement that they’re all being shepherded into…a cave. It’s a spacious cave, the dilapidated remains of the palace built into the mountain, but it is still effectively a cave. There are tables set up in what’s clearly a communal dining area and Wei Wuxian bustles ahead of them to swipe some accumulated dirt from a couple of the benches before gesturing for them to sit.

“Ah Zewu-Jun, Chifeng-Zun, apologies for my manners,” Wei Wuxian says with a salute for both of them that Lan Xichen is quick to smile away. “We’re not exactly ah…equipped for visitors such as yourselves, I’m sure you understand.”

Lan Xichen takes a seat at the table between Nie Mingjue and Lan Wangji, who has now transferred the child clinging to him to his lap where the boy sits looking at the two strangers to him with wide, curious eyes.

“Xian-gege, Rich-gege brought friends this time,” he observes and earns himself an affectionate ruffle of his hair from Wei Wuxian.

“He did! And they’re very important friends so behave for Rich-gege, alright?”

“A-Yuan is better behaved than you are, Wei Wuxian,” Wen Qing retorts in what Lan Xichen is sure is meant to be their usual banter, though it comes out flat and, if he’s not mistaken, too stressed for the joke to properly land. Wei Wuxian doesn’t seem to notice, or if he does then he is still adept at charging through any sort of tension with his usual charm.

“So rude, Wen Qing, we have guests,” he says with a little flourish as he finally takes his robes down from where they’re hitched up and pats them into place where they belong. It becomes even more apparent how threadbare they are with the full length of them on display. He sits down quickly enough and the Wen siblings move to stand behind him, arms crossed protectively over their chests though rather than looking intimidating, as he’s sure other people would find them, to Lan Xichen they just look…afraid.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says softly, and though Lan Xichen knows his brother well enough to know that there’s a whole thought tucked into those two words, he doesn’t know them well enough to know what those thoughts are. And that is strangely disconcerting, to realize that there’s an entire facet of his brother that he doesn’t understand anymore.

“Lan Zhan, not that I’m not pleased to see you, of course you know I am. But why are you here?” Lan Wangji flicks his gaze towards the invitation now stowed safely in the front of Wei Wuxian’s robes and the man rests a hand gently over it, though his resolved expression doesn’t waver. “This could have been delivered by post, or by messenger. The townspeople know Wen Ning, they would have gotten it to him if you had left it for us. Why did you come here in person? And - no offense Zewu-Jun, Chifeng-Zun, but..why are you part of this too?”

“Wei-gongzi,” Wen Ning speaks up softly, surprising everyone else in the room. “I don’t think you’ll be safe in Jinlintai.” It’s something of a non-sequitur but somehow the thoughts must be connected, and Wei Wuxian muster understand how they are judging by the way his entire demeanor changes into something much more alert.

Lan Xichen sighs softly as Wei Wuxian’s sharp gaze fixes on them, but it’s Nie Mingjue who speaks up first.

“Jin Guangshan wants your amulet.” It’s bold and barefaced in the way that Nies tend to be and though Lan Xichen is used to it, it still makes him feel a bit squirmy and anxious in the pit of his stomach to hear something so unpleasant laid out so plainly. Not that he’ll ever let it show, of course.

“Well he can’t have it. Next.”

“He thinks the Wens here are dangerous.”

“Clearly we’re not. Wen Qing, Wen Ning, and I are the only cultivators here. Besides, we’re barely feeding ourselves, let alone preparing to take on the Jins. Next.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji cuts in, and this agonized tone, at least, Lan Xichen recognizes.

He interrupts before they can begin any sort of argument. “Wei-gongzi. During the discussion of whether or not you should be present for Jin Ling’s celebration, Jin Guangshan presented concerns about both the amulet and Wen-gongzi. You can’t deny that these are valid concerns for those whom you consider to be enemies.”

“I don’t have enemies unless they make themselves my enemy,” Wei Wuxian shoots back, all trace of boyish excitement gone from his face now. “None of you were there that night in Qiongqi Pass. Did any of you even visit the work camps Jin Guangshan put the Wens in? Did you see, with your own eyes, the field of corpses they created because they knew that the cultivation world would turn a blind eye?” There’s ringing silence for a moment before he repeats his demand. “Did you?!”

“Wei Wuxian,” Wen Qing warns, low and quiet.

“If Jin Guangshan is so bored of watching over Lanling and sending his cultivators to protect the interests of his own Sect then by all means, create an enemy of me. I knew what I was doing when I took these people away and brought them here. I know what people say of me, and of the Wens, do you think I don’t? Words are nothing. Fear is nothing. But if someone acts against me and those I’m sworn to protect, can I not defend myself? Can I not defend them?!”

Lan Xichen curls his hands into slow fists on his knees under the edge of the table as Wei Wuxian makes a wild gesture in the general direction of the rest of the settlement, beginning to look desperate as he works himself up.

“You saw them with your own eyes. They’re just farmers, they’re just regular people, the kind that we’re supposed to protect! Popo plays with A-Yuan to keep him occupied while we work in the fields and Fourth Uncle makes wine from the fruit that grows here and everyone here is just trying to survive, yet you would rather see them all dead for the sin of having once been related to a man who has already been killed for his crimes?”

“Xian-gege,” A-Yuan says softly from his perch in Lan Wangji’s lap. Lan Xichen turns an agonized glance on him to find him reaching out for Wei Wuxian with one chubby little hand, his eyes still wide though now it’s with something like concern rather than the curiosity of before.

“A-Ning, take A-Yuan back to Popo,” Wen Qing instructs. Her brother obeys with a nod, reaching down for A-Yuan even as the boy tries to cling to Lan Wangji.

“Want to stay with Rich-gege!”

“I will come find you soon, A-Yuan,” Lan Wangji promises with something fierce and immovable in his eyes. “Go with Wen Ning.”

There’s a quick flutter of activity as the child allows himself to be carried away, and as Lan Wangji shifts his weight to get comfortable again Lan Xichen doesn’t miss the way he subtly positions himself a little closer to Wei Wuxian. It’s hardly noticeable, but it puts him on the same half of the table as Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing still standing behind his shoulder, and when Lan Xichen meets his brother’s eyes he knows precisely whose side he will stand on should it come to that.

He desperately hopes that it won’t.

“This invitation to Jin Ling’s celebration is a trap, isn’t it?” Wei Wuxian asks and unlike the boyish cheerfulness of before, or the anger of mere moments ago, his tone is now as cold and blank as the stones outside.

“No,” Lan Xichen protests, though it’s undercut significantly by Lan Wangji replying with a simultaneous (and much more convincing), “Yes.”

“Lan Zhan?”

“Jin Guangshan wants the amulet. He knows you will not miss a chance to see your family. He will demand you hand over your amulet and Wen Ning to show that you are no longer a threat to him, and if you refuse I do not know what he will do.”

“He just wants to destroy the amulet and the…weapon,” Nie Mingjue cuts in, gruff and clearly unhappy with the way things are going but it is, surprisingly, Wen Qing who rises to meet him.

“You can’t seriously tell me you buy that? That a man like Jin Guangshan can be handed something powerful and decide, out of the goodness of his heart, to get rid of it,” she snaps, eyes once again cutting and her hands clutched in her sleeves where her arms are crossed. “And that ‘weapon’ is my brother, who, in case you haven’t seen, is in full control of himself and his thoughts. He counts as one of us, and destroying him now would be to finish the murder that those guards at the work camp didn’t finish.”

An uncomfortable silence drops in the wake of her anger and in it Wei Wuxian rises slowly from the table to stand next to Wen Qing, his arms crossed over his chest as well. Lan Xichen can’t help but flick a cautious glance at the hand closest to the flute tucked into his belt but at least for the moment it doesn’t seem like he’ll be reaching for it.

“If you’ve come as nothing more than Jin Guangshan’s messengers then I’m taking you right back down the mountain, one way or another. I’m protecting these people, and that is not up for negotiation. You can tell Jin Guangshan that yourself.”

“Wei Ying-“

“Lan Zhan this isn’t directed at you. It’s them.”

Lan Xichen blinks slowly as he realizes that Lan Wangji’s subtle positioning hadn’t gone unnoticed by Wei Wuxian after all. Or, he supposes, it’s equally likely that Wei Wuxian simply trusts Lan Wangji. Despite their differences, their arguments, it’s possible that Wei Wuxian sees now how ardently Lan Wangji wants him to be safe. How far it seems he’s willing to go to ensure it.

“So what’s the deal, if we leave you keep Wangji here as leverage?” Nie Mingjue barks. Lan Xichen’s eyes go wide as he abruptly realizes he’s lost all control of this conversation and it is heading in a dangerous direction much more quickly than he could have expected.

“Lan Zhan is free to come and go as he pleases, he won’t hurt us. He allowed you to come here with him this time so I assume he trusts you to do the same. But if seeing the truth is going to do absolutely nothing to change what you want and what you’ll help Jin Guangshan accomplish in wiping the Wens off the face of the earth then we’re done here, and you will not be welcome back.”

Lan Xichen can’t deny the dread settling thick and heavy in the pit of his stomach, and only a small portion of it has to do with the resentful energy in the air. Wei Wuxian has proven himself time and time again as a formidable opponent, and while Lan Xichen doesn’t think that it’s necessary to see him as an enemy he knows that the majority of the cultivation world would disagree. It’s plain to see, though, that even should that be the case there’s no force on earth that could turn him aside from the path he’s on. He said it himself – his purpose now is to protect the Wens, and if the cultivation world sees that as a reason for him to die alongside them then he will.

“We’ll help you,” he promises. Rash, perhaps. Uncharacteristically sudden of him, perhaps. But it’s actually not really, in the end. Lan Wangji has been worried about Wei Wuxian ever since that banquet in Jinlintai and his disappearance with the Wens later the same night, and so Lan Xichen has been worried about his brother since the same moment. And not only that, but he still remembers Wei Wuxian as he had once been. Where now it seems everyone wants to paint him as a devil, as an evil mastermind, as a cruel and power-hungry tyrant amassing an army of the dead, all Lan Xichen can see is a young man whose heart has always been kind, who cultivates with evil things he can’t understand but who’s using it to keep a group of helpless people safe. It is not such a sudden change of heart for him to wish to see everyone around him treated well and fairly.

“Xichen,” Nie Mingjue says, startled by his declaration, but Lan Xichen puts a hand on his knee beneath the table, a silent promise to explain himself later.

“We’ll help you. The Lan Sect. What do you need?”

Wei Wuxian is staring at him, mouth hanging open rather comically, and so it’s Wen Qing who speaks up after a moment though Lan Xichen can see in her eyes that she doesn’t trust him yet.

“Food. Blankets for A-Yuan and for the elderly at least. And we want to be left alone.”

“These are the only demands you have?”

“What else could you possibly offer us, Zewu-Jun?”

“Fertile land,” Lan Wangji supplies, eyes beginning to alight with the first dangerous edges of hope. “Protection. Homes.”

“In Gusu?” Wei Wuxian cuts in to ask. There’s weight behind that question, a hostility, but when Lan Wangji looks at him all Lan Xichen can see is his desperation.

I want to bring a man to Cloud Recesses, his brother’s voice echoes softly in the back of his mind. Bring him there and keep him safe.

“It would not have to be permanent, necessarily,” Lan Xichen supplies, hand tensing a little more on Nie Mingjue’s knee when he feels the man shift restlessly beside him. “But it could be. None of this should have happened to you and your family, Wen-guniang. Will you allow the Gusu Lan to begin attempting to make reparations?”

Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing look at each other but whatever passes between them in their glances is beyond Lan Xichen’s comprehension.

“I will think about it,” she replies after a moment and Wei Wuxian turns on his heel to put his back to the rest of them, effectively hiding whatever expression he makes in response. “Come back in three days.”

It’s a clear dismissal and so Lan Xichen stands, Nie Mingjue at his side. Lan Wangji doesn’t move, his eyes fixed firmly on Wei Wuxian’s back, but he doesn’t seem to be included in the dismissal anyway. Wen Qing simply leads them to the doorway again where Wen Ning is standing patiently on the steps outside, likely to keep any eavesdroppers away.

“We’re escorting Zewu-Jun and Chifeng-Zun back to town,” she informs him and he falls in quickly at her side.

“Where is Lan-er-gongzi?” Wen Ning asks with a concerned glance over his shoulder. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine. He and Wei Wuxian might finally be ready to stop acting like they don’t want to be together,” she replies so flippantly that Lan Xichen is suddenly grateful for Nie Mingjue’s hand at his elbow as he stumbles ever so slightly on the uneven terrain in response.

“O-oh,” Wen Ning stammers out and Lan Xichen is abruptly sure that if it were still possible he would be blushing. “Well that’s nice I suppose. Is Wei-gongzi going to go to Jin Ling’s one-month and see his sister?”

Wen Qing glances back at them at that, though what she’s measuring them for Lan Xichen isn’t exactly sure. “Whose idea was it to have him there?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Wangji’s.”

“Oh yes then I daresay he’ll go no matter if it’s a trap or not,” she remarks so dryly that she actually gets a chuckle out of Nie Mingjue, which is startling to say the least. Lan Xichen looks at him, trying to gauge what he’s thinking, but he’s got his expression carefully locked into stern, unreadable lines. They continue on in silence down the mountain and back to their inn in the town. Only when the Wen siblings have departed and he and Nie Mingjue have retired to their rooms does he unbend enough for Lan Xichen to see that he’s deep in thought.

“Do you think Jin Guangshan truly means to destroy the amulet?” Nie Mingjue finally asks when Lan Xichen has waited him out long enough for him to speak his mind.

“In all honesty no, I do not. At least not right away, and power corrupts. We already know he is a man of vices, it’s no secret that power is one of them.”

“Can you really offer the Wens land and protection without consulting anyone else? The elders, your uncle?”

“It will have to go through more official channels I suppose to actually begin the movement – we’ll need to send resources to keep them clothed and fed while travelling and cultivators to keep them safe, after all. But yes, that is something I can offer them. I will make my case to the elders with what we saw here today, Wangji is my witness, and you could be too. They’re nothing but humble citizens who simply bear the curse of an unfortunate name through no fault of their own. So many Wens have already paid the ultimate price for what Wen Ruohan has done. There’s nothing and nobody in this last remaining group to be so afraid of that they must be eliminated. The only part that should worry the rest of the sects is that Wei Wuxian is at the helm, but their fear of him is slightly misguided as well. I believe once Uncle and the rest of the elders know the truth they will allow such peaceful people to live and work in Gusu.”

“Hm. Well alright then, the Nie will support you.”

That pulls Lan Xichen up short and he stares at Nie Mingjue with undisguised shock. Nie Mingjue at first only raises an eyebrow at him, but after another moment he exhales sharply and shakes his head as if bedeviled by a fly.

“I still don’t like the Wens but I can’t in good conscience lead them to the slaughter. If you want to protect them, then protect them. And I’ll protect you. Maybe we can finally take Jin Guangshan down a notch or two in the process, I definitely won’t be opposed. Nor do I think Jiang Wanyin will take much issue with it either, not if it can get him his brother back. And we already know Jiang Yanli will support anything that repairs Wei Wuxian’s reputation, and Jin Zixuan will support anything that makes Jiang Yanli happy. I’d say the winds are in our favor if we act too quickly for Jin Guangshan to counter it.”

Lan Xichen can still only blink as Nie Mingjue finally cracks his expression to smile ever so slightly and offer him a wink.

“You should have agreed to strategize with me days ago, none of this would have been so surprising, I thought it may become an option. Now it’s just up to Wangji to talk Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing into agreeing.”

“I believe he will find it in himself to be persuasive, and Wen Qing at least is quite sensible. I believe she understands their position well and knows that it is not sustainable for much longer. Or that even if it were, it would be better if their people could get the care and treatment they need to thrive, not just to survive. I believe they’ll agree.”

“Well we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Lan Wangji doesn’t return once during the three days Wen Qing asked for them to wait. On the morning of the fourth day Wen Ning returns for them to bring them back up the mountain where they find Lan Wangji kneeling in the dirt with A-Yuan perched happily in his lap chattering away to Wei Wuxian, who is sitting far closer than necessary to listen as the rest of the Wens bustle around them, hurrying from field to field at a much quicker pace than mere days ago. Wen Qing meets them again at the entrance to the main clearing, arms once again crossed over her chest as she eyes them up like a hawk studying its prey.

“We accept. We’ll all come to Gusu with everything we can carry to start things anew.”

And just like that Lan Xichen gains a new branch of his family in the most unlikely of places.

#the untamed fanfic #Wangxian #Nielan #Lan Xichen #Lan Wangji #Nie Mingjue #Wei Wuxian #Wen Qing #Wen Ning #Prompt fill #I hope this works!#@ everyone who's sent in a request over the last couple of weeks:#I see the requests I promise and I'm trying to come up with stuff to write haha #It's been a busy couple of weeks

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merlinsbed · 3 years

Text

was losing my mind today from a combination of sleep deprivation, anxiety, and five different ideas all competing at the exact same time for my attention so I picked one and spent a few hours writing it out.

basically, prince lan wangji falls in love with concubine wei wuxian in nightless city. a/b/o verse mostly because it was a very convenient excuse for wwx being wen ruohan's concubine. about 5.8k in length.

When he arrives in Qishan Lan Wangji can see why people consider the Imperial Palace to be intimidating. The sharp, cutting angles combined with the black and red color scheme, not to mention the sheer mass of the place. It's a city in its own right. Lan Wangji takes it all in with the same blank expression he keeps carefully in place anytime he's somewhere public. The personal guard his brother sent with him shifts nervously where they stand.

Second Prince Wen Chao is sent to greet him. He manages to make Lan Wangji's own royal title sound like an insult and the Gusu Lan guards bristle. Lan Wangji has to remind himself of exactly what's at stake if he offends a member of the Wen royal family and just barely manages an appropriate bow.

The guest quarters set aside for him aren't bad. They smell... not exactly bad and even if they did Lan Wangji is well disciplined enough to ignore it, but it's not exactly pleasant either. The source is an incense burner left out in the bedroom. Lan Wangji stares at it for a long moment, frowning. Then he dumps the old incense and brings out some of his own. Sandalwood, like his own natural scent. Within minutes the smell starts to permeate the room and some of the tension fades from Lan Wangji's shoulders. He doesn't want to be here, but the Wens had... not demanded it, but implied that they were prepared to if the King of Gusu denied their request. They wouldn't say outright that they're taking hostages, but it's the only reason they would suddenly demand that the heirs of the major provinces must be sent to Qishan. For their education, ostensibly. To learn about appropriate leadership or something. Really, it's just a show of power. It's the Wens showing that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, including take the heirs of the provinces.

Lan Wangji steps out onto the porch and takes in the courtyard of the guest quarters. He's sharing the compound with the other province heirs from Qinghe, Yunmeng, and Lanling. Guards from each province are scattered in front of their respective dwellings. Lan Wangji has been on his fair share of diplomatic visits, usually to assist his brother rather than represent him. Qishan is, by far, the most depressing. The palace of Cloud Recesses rests high in the mountains of Gusu and is surrounded by lush forests, flowing rivers, and mountain meadows. By comparison, Qishan is browns and greys painted across severe cliffsides. Even the palace gardens are far more barren than Lan Wangji is used to. He turns to go back inside when movement catches his eye.

A young man enters the courtyard of the guest quarters and pauses, hesitating just inside the threshold as he worries his bottom lip between his teeth. He's dressed in delicate reds and blacks, hair held away from his face by an ostentatious golden ornament. A light breeze carries his scent across the courtyard, something light and floral that tickles at Lan Wangji's memories. He thinks of loud, carefree laughter carrying through the library window accompanied by the flick of long dark hair over a shoulder clad in white guest robes during the lecture his uncle hosts every few years for children of noble families. He blinks and frowns. The young man- an omega, based on his scent- takes a halting step forward. Then he seems to release a great breath and frowns at the ground. His eyes keep darting towards the Yunmeng quarters where Prince Jiang Wanyin is staying. Interesting. Lan Wangji searches his memory, but the lecture feels like a lifetime ago. So much has happened in the five years since then.

Lan Wangji is so caught up in his thoughts it takes him a moment to realize that the omega is now staring at him. Their eyes meet and Lan Wangji sucks in a sharp breath. There's something distinctly sad about the omega's entire being. He's unhappy here, Lan Wangji thinks, but who isn't? The omega's chin tilts up slightly, scenting the air and his breath seems to catch in his throat. Then a Wen guard storms in and ushers him along. Lan Wangji stands on the porch of his new residence until long after the omega is gone from his sight.

It takes several days to find out the identity of the omega. Gossip is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, but his brother had also told him to do what he has to to survive here. This probably isn't quite what Lan Xichen had in mind, but who's to say Lan Wangji won't suffer greatly for not knowing the young omega's name.

He is called Wei Wuxian.

He was given to Emperor Wen Ruohan as a concubine for his harem four years ago.

"The Wens demanded tribute," the head of his personal guard reports. "the Jiangs refused to hand over their daughter, so they gave Wen Ruohan their ward."

Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji remembers him. Cloud Recesses has only very recently begun to desegregate alphas, betas, and omegas. Back then, Wei Wuxian had spent most of his time with his adopted older sister in the quarters for omegas, but that hadn't stopped Lan Wangji from catching sight of him. All too often that lotus blossom scent would drift to him on the wind, accompanied by Wei Wuxian's unrestrained laughter. It had grated on Lan Wangji at first. Until the day he'd gone to his rabbits and found the clearing already occupied. Wei Wuxian had sat in the grass, the skirts of his guest robes spread haphazardly around him, giggling as the rabbits cautiously approached him, sniffing at his fingers. Lan Wangji had stood for too long on the edge of the clearing, Wei Wuxian's intoxicating scent swirling around him, laughter dancing in his ears, and that sweet smile seared forever into his memory. It's a far cry from the sadness Wei Wuxian carries himself with now. No wonder Lan Wangji hadn't recognized him at first.

There's a feast commemorating something Lan Wangji doesn't care to remember two weeks after their arrival in Qishan. It's the first time he manages to get a glimpse of Wei Wuxian since that first day when he'd come to the guest quarters. Wen Ruohan's wife passed away eight years ago, so he often has his favorite concubine sit beside him at feasts. She's a sultry looking omega who flutters her eyelashes at the emperor and giggles flirtatiously all through the meal. Lan Wangji's eyes slide right past him and instead land on Wei Wuxian where he stands stiff backed and obedient just behind Wen Ruohan's shoulder, there to serve food and drinks for the emperor, apparently. All through the feast he diligently assures that the emperor's cup remains filled and that the best dishes are always within reach. He looks miserable. Lan Wangji wants to sweep him away from here, take him back to Gusu, back to the clearing with rabbits where Wei Wuxian had smiled so sweetly.

He doesn't realize he's staring until their eyes lock. After a moment, a ghost of a smile hesitantly touches Wei Wuxian's lips. Lan Wangji's heart pounds in his chest. Even the ghost of Wei Wuxian's beauty is enough to leave him breathless. For a moment, the rest of the room falls away. Then Wei Wuxian's eyes shift and the smile disappears. Lan Wangji follows his gaze to Jiang Wanyin. Wei Wuxian had never been officially adopted by the Jiang family, but Jiang Fengmian had raised him alongside his own children anyway, much to his wife's chagrin. Lan Wangji wonders what it's like for Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin to see each other now.

The banquet drags on. Lan Wangji is used to a strict schedule of sleeping at nine and waking at five. He can tell by how exhausted he is that nine has come and gone, but Wen Ruohan does not permit anyone to leave a feast before he does. Nie Huaisang, sitting to Lan Wangji's left, reaches over and flicks him every time his eyes start to droop. It's annoying, but for the best. Lan Wangji does not want the embarrassment of falling asleep on the remnants of his meal at a feast in Qishan. The less the Wens have to attack him with the better. He'll have to thank Huaisang later for this. They're not friends, really, but close enough, thanks to forced proximity. As princes their older brothers were close friends and they remain so even after ascending to their respective thrones.

When Wen Ruohan finally leaves, Lan Wangji lets out the barest hint of a relieved sigh. He waits until a few minutes after the emperor has exited the room before getting up and leaving as well. Outside, he pauses and takes in a deep breath of cold, night air. It wakes him up a bit and that's how he becomes aware of the crying. Frowning, he follows it to a small alcove tucked out of the way and shaded by a tree in the process of losing its leaves. Wei Wuxian stands there, arms wrapped around himself, shoulders hitching with sobs he's desperately trying to quiet. A stick cracks under Lan Wangji's boot. Wei Wuxian's head whips up.

"Your highness," he says quickly, bowing, tears still trailing down his cheeks.

"Wei-gongzi, are you alright?" Lan Wangji asks. The head of his guard had mentioned that Wen Ruohan is possessive of his harem. He loves to show them off, but no one is allowed to touch. Last year he caught one of his concubines having an affair with a foreign dignitary from a small clan. Both had been executed. He should turn around and leave before someone sees them, but Wei Wuxian's eyes go wide.

"I didn't think you remembered me," Wei Wuxian says. His smile is watery and sad. "The few times we talked I just seemed to annoy you."

"That was a long time ago," Lan Wangji says. He wants to explain that it hadn't been because he couldn't stand Wei Wuxian, but because he didn't know what to do about the odd, uncomfortable feeling in his chest every time he caught Wei Wuxian's scent or saw the flick of his red ribbon or heard his laughter. Instead, he asks again, "Are you alright?"

Wei Wuxian wipes at his tears and his laugh is anything but joyous. "It's just- a lot," he says. "I thought it would be nice seeing Jiang Cheng again, but it just reminds me that I..." That he's stuck here. That he can't go home. Before he realizes what he's doing, Lan Wangji raises a hand. Wei Wuxian's breath hitches. Lan Wangji freezes. For a long moment his hand remains there, hovering in the space between them. Then Lan Wangji drops it to his side.

"You look like you need to go rest," Wei Wuxian says, dropping his eyes. It's so uncharacterists that Lan Wangji doesn't know what to do. The Wei Wuxian that wreaked havoc on Cloud Recesses was anything but demure and polite. Before he can figure it out, Wei Wuxian bows and whirls around, disappearing into the night.

They fall into it slowly. Lan Wangji tries not to. He is well aware of the consequences if Wen Ruohan catches wind of him anywhere near one of his concubines, but even back in Cloud Recesses he'd been unable to help but be drawn to Wei Wuxian. They go from sideways glances to little stolen snatches of conversation in unobserved corners to his guard pointedly turning a blind eye to Wei Wuxian climbing through his window as the sky darkens, looking more alive than Lan Wangji has seen him so far in Qishan.

It's been six months since Lan Wangji and the other heirs arrived, but it hasn't been nearly as miserable as he anticipated. They're expected to attend lessons several days a week which mostly consists of reciting various sayings from past members of the Wen clan and listening to second Prince Wen Chao tell them how stupid and worthless they are. But at the end of the day now comes the possibility of Wei Wuxian crawling in through his window. It doesn't happen every night. Wei Wuxian is far from being Wen Ruohan's favorite concubine.

"He likes to look at me," Wei Wuxian had said one night, head pillowed on Lan Wangji's thigh as Lan Wangji absently plucked out melodies on his qin. "But he rarely actually takes me to bed."

Tonight, as the melody of a song Lan Wangji started writing five years ago fades into the darkening evening, Wei Wuxian crawls into his lap, arms wrapped loosely around Lan Wangji's neck, their noses almost touching. His sweet lotus blossom scent permeates the air, mixing with Lan Wangji's sandalwood. They twine together in a beautiful harmony. Lan Wangji doesn't know who moves first, but the touch of Wei Wuxian's lips to his own is everything he's been imagining and more. The layers of silk slide easily from his shoulders and Lan Wangji splays his hands against the bare skin of Wei Wuxian's back, swallowing his gasp in yet another kiss. From there, it seems only natural to carry Wei Wuxian to his bed, lay him down on the soft sheets, and crawl between his legs. Lan Wangji has read books, but none of them prepared him for what it's actually like.

He doesn't fall asleep with Wei Wuxian wrapped in his arms because someone would notice that Wei Wuxian is missing from his room in the morning. Instead, he wipes the evidence of their activities carefully from Wei Wuxian's skin, helps him dress, then watches him climb back out the window. Wei Wuxian pauses.

"You can call me Wei Ying," he says, almost shy. Lan Wangji swallows, mouth suddenly dry. Wei Wuxian- no, Wei Ying is giving him permission to call him by his birth name.

"You may do the same," Lan Wangji says. A warm smile spreads slow and beautiful across Wei Ying's face.

"Okay." He leans in through the window and kisses Lan Wangji on the cheek. "Goodnight, Lan Zhan." And then he's gone. Lan Wangji stands there for several long minutes before closing the window, smiling to himself.

His brother would be horrified if he knew about the affair. Not because premarital sex goes against their clan's rules. Lan Wangji happens to know his brother would be a hypocrite in that case. No, he would be horrified that Lan Wangji is behaving so recklessly. Every day he tells himself he'll stop and every evening he leaves the window unlocked for Wei Ying to sneak through. It's stupid. Wen Ruohan will kill them both if he finds out. Lan Wangji keeps doing it anyway.

The thing is, it's not just his life at stake if things go wrong. Lan Wangji knows that if Wen Ruohan were to discover the affair and send his men, his own Gusu Lan guards would fight every soldier in Qishan to protect him. There's no way they would survive that. And no doubt his actions would have consequences back home in Gusu as well. It's selfish and stupid and a million other things that Lan Wangji has been raised not to be.

And yet, when Wen Ruohan leaves Qishan right as Wei Ying is about to go into heat, Lan Wangji still sneaks through Nightless City to Wei Ying's room and stays there through the whole weekend. He leaves only because he is expected at Wen Chao's ridiculous indoctrination lessons the next day. Wei Ying pouts at him, his heat temporarily soothed.

"There's still two more days of my heat left," he complains. He flutters his eyelashes at Lan Wangji. "Er-gege, won't you stay and take care of your Wei Ying?" Lan Wangji looks at him, sprawled naked on his bed, hair splayed across the deep red fabric of the sheets. It sends a stab of want through Lan Wangji and it takes all his willpower not to strip back down himself and rejoin Wei Ying in bed. He reminds himself he would have to scrub Wei Ying's heat laden scent from his body all over again, lest someone smell it on him and report the incident to Wen Ruohan when he returns.

"I will return to you tonight," Lan Wangji promise. He shouldn't. But as he looks at Wei Ying's mollified expression he knows he will. He's already cutting it close staying until morning, but when he tried to leave the bed last night Wei Ying had whined and clung to him and he hadn't had the heart to leave him. This is one advantage at least to waking up early. There's still time for him to get back to his room before it gets too light out. He doesn't kiss Wei Ying goodbye because he knows he won't leave if he does.

Two days later, on the final night of Wei Ying's heat, they lie pressed together, sweaty and heaving. Wei Ying is sprawled across him, the two of them still tied together. Lan Wangji closes his eyes, his arms tightening around Wei Ying. He fights the urge to dip into the crook of Wei Ying's neck and sink his teeth into soft, smooth skin. He wants so badly to mark Wei Ying, to claim him as his own, but it would only get them both killed.

He feels Wei Ying's nose brush against the skin of his neck, lightly scenting him. It's followed by little kitten licks, then soft nips. Lan Wangji shivers. He thinks about the high collars of his robes. If it's a little towards his shoulder, no one would ever know. His hand comes up and tangles loosely in Wei Ying's hair, gently guiding his mouth to the right spot. Wei Ying stills.

"Lan Zhan?" His lips brush against Lan Wangji's skin as he says his name.

"You can, if you want to," Lan Wangji says. Wei Ying pulls back far enough to blink down at him, eyes wide. His skin is flushed pink with the fever of his heat and there's a haze to his eyes, but there's also wonder and perhaps a spark of hope.

"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying says again, so soft and fond. "Lan Zhan I can't." He sounds so pained. Lan Wangji hates it. Wei Ying should never sound like that. He strokes his fingers soothingly over Wei Ying's cheek.

"Yes you can," he says.

Wei Ying shakes his head, even as he leans in to Lan Wangji's touch. "You're not mine to claim," he whispers. "What if you meet someone else? Someone better?" Lan Wangji recoils from the very thought there could be anyone better than Wei Ying. Wei Ying is perfect and beautiful.

"For me, there is only you," Lan Wangji says. He guides Wei Ying's head back down to his shoulder. "There will only ever be you, Wei Ying." Wei Ying's breath shudders across his skin. Then he bites and Lan Wangji gasps.

Lan Wangji leaves Wei Ying's room late that night, the new claim bite hidden beneath his pristine robes.

A month later, a banquet is held to celebrate the end of the indoctrination. It's been a year since the heirs of the noble families were sent to Qishan to be educated. Lan Wangji should be happy that it's almost over. And part of him is. He can't keep the smile from his face when he goes to greet his brother in his own guest rooms. He's never gone so long before without seeing his older brother. If not for Wei Ying, his time in Qishan would have been so much more miserable.

"Wangji," Lan Xichen greets warmly. Lan Wangji isn't the sort that often seeks physical comfort from others (Wei Ying excepted, of course), but when Lan Xichen opens his arms in invitation Lan Wangji takes it. It feels good to be folded in his brother's embrace.

"I hope you've been well," Lan Xichen says when they pull apart and sit to share tea.

"I have sent letters," Lan Wangji points out. Not overly detailed letters, but he was always sure to let his brother know that though he missed home he was doing alright.

"Yes, but it isn't the same as seeing you with my own eyes, didi," Lan Xichen says. They chat and it's so nice and familiar that Lan Wangji can almost forget they're still in Qishan.

The banquet is much more bearable with his brother and the other rulers there. No one pays as much attention to one prince in a room full of kings. It's good because Wen Ruohan is having Wei Ying serve him again tonight. Lan Wangji steals more glances at him than he should, eyes lingering on the peak of Wei Ying's wrist when he holds his sleeve out of the way to pour Wen Ruohan more wine. His gaze keeps being drawn to Wei Ying's smooth, unblemished neck. Someday, he will figure out how to take Wei Ying away from here so that he can claim him the way Wei Ying has already claimed him. They will belong to each other.

That night, he isn't surprised when Wei Ying doesn't come to his room, not with so many guests about. He is surprised when his brother shows up at his door though.

"Xiongzhang," Lan Wangji says, surprised. Lan Xichen's smile is strained.

"Wangji, may I come in? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Not exactly reassuring, but Lan Wangji has never had reason to fear his brother, so he steps aside and shows him to a table where Lan Xichen sits in silence as Lan Wangji prepares tea. Lan Xichen takes a long, measured sip before he speaks.

"I had heard that when the Jiang family of Yunmeng was forced to give Wen Ruohan a concubine in tribute, they sent their ward, Wei Wuxian," his brother says. Lan Wangji doesn't wince, but it's a near thing. "I remember when he came for the lecture with the prince and princess of Yunmeng." Lan Xichen gives him a knowing look. "And I remember how taken you were with him." Lan Wangji can feel his ears burning. Sometimes he hates how well his brother knows him.

"That was a long time ago," he says, for lack of anything else. He can't lie very well in the first place, but he especially can't lie to his brother.

"I see some things haven't changed," Lan Xichen says, tone soft and regretful. "Wangji, I won't ask you to confirm what I suspect. I saw enough from how you two looked at each other all evening." Lan Xichen takes another sip of his tea. "Wen Ruohan has heavily hinted that extending your stay here would curry great favor with him. He's made the same offer to the other provinces. I was already hesitant to accept it, but considering tonight, it's only reaffirmed my decision that bringing you back to Gusu is the right thing to do." The spark of hope that ignited at the thought that he could have a bit more time in Qishan, more time to figure out how to make sure that when he leaves Wei Ying can leave with him, shatters.

"Xiongzhang," he says, unable to keep the pained pleading from his voice. Lan Xichen closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, Lan Wangji recognizes the firm resolve in them.

"Wangji, there's more at stake here than you realize," Lan Xichen says carefully. "I want you back home, safe." Lan Wangji stares at his brother for a long moment, trying to parse out his words. He doesn't ask for clarification, not here in Qishan surrounded by enemies. He knows his brother has been planning something with Qinghe and Lanling and Yunmeng for a while now, slowly and carefully so as not to draw Wen Ruohan's attention, but the details have been kept even from him. He trusts his brother though.

"Okay," Lan Wangji says, even as cracks form in his heart.

Three days later when they leave, he doesn't get the chance to say goodbye to Wei Ying.

It's probably a good thing.

Probably.

(Lan Zhan pointedly ignores the sorrowful looks Lan Xichen keeps giving him as they ride away from Qishan. He will be strong for his people, for his brother.)

War is what his brother and the other kings have been planning. War against the tyranny of the Wen Empire of Qishan. It's a year and a half of bloody, brutal battles. Lan Wangji acts as one of his brother's generals, leading their soldiers into battles against the Wens' forces. He thinks often of Wei Ying, too often probably. He's acutely aware of the claim bite on his neck and wonders if Wei Ying is thinking of him too.

When the final assault on Nightless City comes, Lan Wangji is resting back in Gusu. His forces had found themselves facing unexpected reinforcements in their last battle. They came out victorious, but only just. Casualties were numerous and those who survived suffered many injuries, including Lan Wangji himself. He's just starting to get back into his normal training regiment when news arrives that Nie Mingjue is leading the assault on Nightless City with the intent of wiping out every last member of Wen Ruohan's clan. Lan Wangji thinks of Wei Ying trapped in the palace, thinks of him getting caught in the crossfire.

He rides hard for Qishan. By the time Nightless City comes into view there's smoke rising into the sky and the air is filled with screams. He makes for a narrow valley where Wei Ying once told him of a secret passage intended for escape. He doesn't know where it is or how to open it, but it's this or try and ride through the chaos of the battle taking place in the city. He won't be much use to Wei Ying if he gets himself killed in crossfire.

As he crests the top of the valley, Lan Wangji looks down and sees two figures already making their way away from Nightless City, dressed in black and red. Lan Wangji recognizes Wei Ying immediately, would know him even if he were blind. The other figure is familiar to him as well, one of the only friends Wei Ying has managed to make in Nightless City. Wen Qionglin is the younger brother of one of Qishan's best doctors, Wen Qing, a soft spoken young man with a talent for archery. He carries a sword now, looking nervously around as he escorts Wei Ying away from the danger. Lan Wangji is just starting to relax when he catches movement from the corner of his eye across the narrow valley. His eyes find golden robed soldiers. If he were closer, Lan Wangji knows he would see the sparks-amidst-snow peony of the Jin clan. There are two archers, each with an arrow already knocked. Lan wangji doesn't think. He pulls his own bow from his back, fits an arrow to it, and takes down the first archer. Before the second one has time to react, he's dead as well. Lan Wangji looks down into the valley and sees Wei Ying looking back at him. Quickly, he leads his horse down and leaps from the saddle, ignoring the twinge of pain in his recently healed leg.

"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying breathes. He looks awful, pale and tired and shaking.

"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji says. He steps closer and that's when he realizes that Wei Ying is holding a child. A baby not yet a year old. His breath hitches. "Wei Ying..." Wei Ying's smile is exhausted, but just as soft and beautiful as Lan Wangji remembers.

"Lan Zhan, I knew you'd come for us," Wei Ying says and Lan Wangji knows that he isn't talking about Wen Qionglin, who watches them cautiously, grip tight on his sword. Wei Ying puts a hand on his friend's arm. "It's alright, Wen Ning. Lan Zhan will keep me safe." Wen Qionglin observes Lan Wangji for a long moment, then nods to himself. He turns and bows to Wei Ying.

"Then I'll leave you in his care, Wei-gongzi," Wen Qionglin says. Wei Ying frowns, receiving a smile in return. "I have to go back for my sister." Wei ying sighs.

"I know." Wei Ying briefly places his hand on Wen Qionglin's cheek. "Be careful."

"I'll do my best." Wen Qionglin bows to Lan Wangji, then turns back to the city. Wei Ying watches him go, expression filled with grief.

"I don't know what I would have done all these years without Wen Qing and Wen Ning," he says softly. "They looked out for me, almost treated me like their brother." Lan Wangji wrap an arm around him and finds his gaze transfixed on the child in Wei Ying's arms, blinking sleepily up at him with familiar eyes. He reminds himself that there's still a war being fought in Nightless City. There could be more Jin soldiers around or others that wouldn't think twice about killing Wei Ying and the child. Anything to ensure Wen Ruohan's entire family ends here.

"Let's go," Lan Wangji says and guides Wei Ying over to his horse.

As it turns out, the invading forces of the other provinces hadn't been the greatest danger to Wei Ying. That had been Wen Ruohan himself. When it became clear that the battle was not in his favor, Wen Ruohan gathered his concubines together. They thought they were being taken somewhere safe, somewhere they would be protected until the battle was over.

Then the guards lining the edges of the room drew their swords and Wei Ying knew they weren’t meant to walk out of that room. Wen Ruohan was possessive of his concubines. If he couldn’t have them, no one could. Wei Ying isn’t sure how he managed to escape. Chaos had erupted in screams and blood as Wen Ruohan sat imperiously in the center of the room and watched his personal guard kill without mercy. Somehow, the door to the inner sanctum of the palace was unlocked. Wei Ying suspects Wen Qionglin knew of Wen Ruohan’s plan. He had been nearby when Wei Ying stumbled out of the room, clutching his screaming child to his chest.

Wei Ying tells Lan Wangji all of this in Gusu, in the safety of Lan Wangji’s private residence, the Jingshi. He’s dressed in borrowed white and blue robes from Lan Wangji’s own wardrobe. They’re of a similar height, but Lan Wangji is broader, his robes slipping slightly down Wei Ying’s shoulder. Lan Wangji fixes it and Wei Ying hums an absent thank you, attention focused on the baby.

“What is his name?” Lan Wangji asks. He hasn’t had time to. He’s been focused on getting Wei Ying back to Gusu and keeping him and the child safe. Wei Ying looks up at him.

“A-Yuan,” he says. “Our son’s name is A-Yuan.” Lan Wangji’s breath leaves him in a shaky exhale. Their son. He had known. He’d known the moment he’d looked down at A-Yuan and seen the shape of his own eyes looking back at him. “Here.” Gently, Wei Ying shifts A-Yuan into Lan Wangji’s arms. Lan Wangji holds his son reverently.

“Our son,” he whispers. Then he frowns at Wei Ying. “How…” Wei Ying hears the question he’s not asking.

“I told you, Wen Ruohan liked to look at me, but otherwise he never paid me much attention,” Wei Ying says. “He heard I was in heat while he was gone and thought I still was when he came back. Wen Qing knew you were with me during my heat, so just to be safe she gave me an herbal tea that mimicked heat symptoms. When I realized I was pregnant, he just assumed it must be his.” Lan Wangji’s shoulder slump, just the slightest bit, in relief. If Wen Ruohan paid a little more attention, perhaps he might have realized that something was off.

“You’re safe now,” Lan Wangji says not for the first time. He’s been saying it the entire journey back to Gusu. “You and A-Yuan. I will make sure of it.” Wei Ying smiles, stepping closer to rest his head on Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

They marry in spring, trees and flowers blooming all across cloud recesses. Jiang Wanyin, newly ascended to the throne after his father’s death in the war, grumbles about it.

“Don’t take it to heart,” Wei Ying says cheerfully as he cleans paint from A-Yuan’s chubby little hands. He's taken an interest in painting lately that Wei Ying enthusiastically encourages. “I’m pretty sure if Jiang Cheng doesn’t have something to complain about he’ll die.”

“Would you prefer to marry at Lotus Pier?” Lan Wangji asks. He’s asked this before. Wei Ying laughs.

“Lan Zhan, the wedding is tomorrow,” he says. “We are not moving it to Lotus Pier. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m perfectly happy to get married in Cloud Recesses.” He checks A-Yuan’s hands for any lingering paint, then rises and comes to wrap his arms around Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji buries his nose in Wei Ying’s neck, nosing along the unblemished skin there. Now that Wei Ying is no longer trapped in Qishan, he could sink his teeth in and leave a claim bite there. Wei Ying goes still in his arms. Lan Wangji presses a kiss to the spot he wants to bite and lifts his head. He doesn’t blame Wei Ying for being hesitant to complete the bond. He spent nearly six year as a prisoner in Qishan. Lan Wangji will be patient and wait as long as needed.

His uncle had been horrified when Lan Wangji had finally admitted to his year-long affair in Qishan with Wei Ying and the child he had fathered outside of marriage. The only thing that had saved them from his uncle’s wrath was the claim bite on Lan Wangji’s neck. It’s enough- barely- to legitimize both their relationship and their son, but Lan Qiren had made it clear that marriage better be in their future.

Lan Xichen had been easier. After all, he already saw with his own eyes the connection Wei Ying and Lan Wangji share. He was delighted to be introduced to his nephew and took immediately to being an uncle.

Lan Wangji searches Wei Ying’s expression carefully. “You would tell me if you are unhappy?” he asks, far more tentative than he would like. Lan Wangji doesn’t normally do tentative. Wei Ying smiles, full of love. Lan Wangji feels a tug on his robes and looks down to see A-Yuan frowning up at them, arms extended in a silent request to be picked up. Lan Wangji doesn’t even hesitate to indulge him. Wei Ying leans in to press a kiss to the crown of their son’s head, then looks at lan Wangji, eyes sparkling with joy.

“Lan Zhan,” he says, “I have never been happier.”

#the untamed #mdzs #wangxian #my fic #behold my latest brain child #I might flesh this out more today

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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years

Text

part 3 of Strange Creatures Brothers Be (aka WWX & NMJ sworn brothers) - part 1, part 2

The few days it took for the Wen sect to arrive at the Nightless City counted as among the worst in Wei Wuxian’s life, right alongside the destruction of the Lotus Pier and the continuous agony of that one night and two days on a bare Yiling peak, watching as the cultivation he’d worked so hard to nurture was taken away forever.

Each day, they moved slowly in their caravan, and he followed behind them; each night, he heard screams of agony coming from their camp and thought it might be Nie Mingjue making them.

Each night, the Stygian Tiger Seal pulsed at his breast, resentful energy thick and black and tasting of tar; each night, Wei Wuxian thought: not yet.

The common roads used by all were cleansed of resentful spirits on a regular basis – even with the seal, he might not be able to summon enough of them to defeat the Wen sect’s forces. Not these ones: these were the soldiers Wen Ruohan prized the most, cultivated the most; they were powerful and dangerous, and Wei Wuxian would only ever have one shot at a rescue attempt. If he tried too early, if he wasn’t quick about it, wasn’t smart about it, someone would just cut Nie Mingjue’s throat before Wei Wuxian could get to him.

That was the Wen sect’s way of doing things. Better the other side lose, even if they couldn’t win.

Wei Wuxian had never hated anyone more.

Soon, he promised himself. Soon they would arrive at the Nightless City: the bulk of the army would remain outside, in preparation for any external attack, while the prisoners would be taken inside…and who didn’t know the sort of atrocities Wen Ruohan perpetrated in his Fire Palace?

There would be all the corpses he could want and more.

It was clear that waiting gave him the best chance for victory. It was obvious, even, that Nie Mingjue would prefer to suffer pain now in favor of a successful rescue later, and yet each night Wei Wuxian’s resolve was stretched almost until its breaking point.

Nie Mingjue was suffering – his brother was suffering, his da-ge, the man who’d seen the sorts of atrocities Wei Wuxian had perpetrated, the sort that he could perpetrate, and who’d still chosen to trust him and treat him as the righteous man Wei Wuxian so desperately longed to be. Who’d given him his good name as a shelter from the disdain of the world, who’d shared his sect’s secret history with him, who’d stood beside him…

And Wei Wuxian, who could do something, did nothing.

What sort of indictment of his character was that? He, who thought himself righteous, saw an injustice, an abomination of this magnitude, and did nothing! It was utterly intolerable; he should act at once, free and unrestrained, he should do the impossible just as the Jiang sect always said –

Quicker to anger is quicker to act, but you can’t take an act back once it’s done. If you persist in your path, you will need to be twice as cautious as before.

Wei Wuxian kicked a tree to vent his fury, grimacing as the mild pain in his foot cleared his mind of the rage and fear that clouded it. He was being foolish: the Jiang sect motto said to attempt the impossible, yes, but nowhere did it say that it was advisable to do so without adequate preparation. If you were going to scale a mountain, it wasn’t being weak to first invest in some good shoes and a sturdy rope.

The same principle applied here.

Getting into the Nightless City wasn’t hard at all – elite corps or no, the Wen sect cultivators had been recruited from a myriad of different sects, and they didn’t know each other’s names and faces all that well. Wei Wuxian kept watch at the doctors’ tent, waiting for someone meet their fate; the second they did, he summoned their corpse at once, letting them stand and walk out of the tent.

With the corpse’s eyes averted to avoid anyone seeing that they were white and mindless, Wei Wuxian allowed himself to be seen conversing with them while wearing stolen Wen sect robes. After a few of these, he unleashed the corpse to cause some havoc, ordering it with a whistle to ram itself onto the sword he had stolen – moments later, the other Wen sect cultivators were there, chopping off its head.

“He must have been hiding an injury, and passed away without us knowing it,” the team captain said, and put his hand on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. I know you were friends.”

Wei Wuxian, who’d fallen to his knees with his head bowed, hair covering his face, murmured something in a voice too low to be heard, allowing the pain of the past few days to come to the surface. He covered his face with his hands.

This team captain was inexperienced, newly promoted, and unsure of himself; his predecessor among the Wen sect elites had fallen to Nie Mingjue’s blade, and he himself was suddenly facing the realization that being a talented soldier didn’t mean anything about his capacity to lead men. He shifted from one foot to another, uncomfortable with the blatant display of emotion, and eventually ordered Wei Wuxian to return to the formation.

Wei Wuxian obeyed, kept his head down, and passed successfully through the gate to the Nightless City.

Once inside, he lingered with his formation only long enough to ensure that he wouldn’t be missed, that no alarm would be immediately raised, and then headed towards the Sun Palace, where the prisoners had be taken. He dredged up ancient memories of the archery competition that felt as if it had happened in another life to try to remember where the receiving hall was – there was no doubt in his mind that that was where Nie Mingjue would be.

Wen Ruohan wouldn’t be able to resist seeing his enemy forced to kneel before his throne.

The only question was whether, after that, he would order him to be taken to be tortured, or if he would simply execute him at once –

No, Wei Wuxian couldn’t think that way. He had to find Nie Mingjue before anything like that could happen.

(The Sygian Tiger seal was hot under his robes. There were plenty of corpses around.)

He found a wall and climbed up, hoping to orient himself. Hoping to find –

“– guess how many times Sect Leader Wen will need to slap your saber to break it?”

Wei Wuxian froze, feeling his fingers clench and his head burn with rage, wanting to immediately murder the person who had said such a thing, and in such a slimy, intimate voice, too – who didn’t know how much Nie Mingjue regretted his father’s death? Who didn’t know that this was Nie Mingjue’s sore spot, his bottom line?

There was the sound of a blow, then the wet sound of a bloody cough – “How dare you dirty Sect Leader Wen’s eyes with your actions!” – the sound of a boot against flesh, followed by the sound of a sword shattering.

A sword, and not a saber: from the sound of metal hitting the floor, it was two-sided, not one, and that meant that Nie Mingjue had been pushed too far; he was fighting back.

They were going to kill him!

Wei Wuxian dropped off the wall at once, landing lightly on the ground and running at top speed around the maze that was the interior of the Sun Palace, pulling out Chenqing as he went – running was not conductive to playing, but he didn’t care. Let the song be ugly and wretched, let it be too sharp and too broken, just like he would be if he lost anyone else.

The seal’s power amplified his playing even though he wasn’t actively using it yet, and the corpses beneath the Nightless City began to rise up to his call: there were so many of them, countless numbers; even he hadn’t thought there would be so many. With the seal, he would be able to summon them all –

“Wei-gongzi?”

Wei Wuxian’s head turned in shock, and he even stopped playing for a moment. “Sect Leader Lan? How are you here?”

“I’ve led a combined set of forces to attack the western gate,” Lan Xichen explained, and that made sense: the forces Wei Wuxian was with had come from the southern gate, and the Nightless City was large enough that they wouldn’t cross paths until they came here to the center. “The gate there was left open for us – I have a spy on the inside that’s helping us. He’s going to try to assassinate Wen Ruohan when he’s not expecting it…Wei-gongzi, why are you playing? You can’t summon corpses now – if you interfere before my spy sends the signal…”

Wei Wuxian stared at Lan Xichen. “I don’t care about your stupid signal!” he shouted. “They’re going to kill da-ge!”

Lan Xichen’s eyes widened. “Mingjue-xiong? But he’s at Heijian –”

“No, he’s not; he’s here. He was captured at Yangquang; it was a trap – a trap we went into based on your faulty information, no less! Your spy on the inside, how sure are you of him?”

“I’m certain –”

Wei Wuxian sneered, the resentful energy he’d already summoned up cloaking him; the seal’s resentful energy beating against his chest like another heartbeat. “Well, I’m not.”

He had always known that he would only have one chance to rescue Nie Mingjue – he wasn’t going to risk missing it. He lifted Chenqing to his lips and played.

Lan Xichen’s sword was drawn, but he didn’t turn it against Wei Wuxian the way he’d almost half-expected he would; instead, with a helpless expression, he turned to defend him as the Wen sect finally noticed they were there, rushing against them to stop Wei Wuxian’s playing.

As if a few Wen sect cultivators could stop him when he was using the Stygian Tiger Seal.

The power was unlike anything he’d ever felt before: the Burial Mounds had been like this, full of seething energy, but he hadn’t had the seal then; this time, he was in a place of death, death and murder and torture, dishonorable deaths that could only lead to resentment and regret, and the seal was finally able to fully unleash its true power.

It was a mistake.

Wei Wuxian realized it too late. The resentful energy was like a wild horse refusing to take to the rein; it was like being a child again and trying to control Suibian, except that Suibian had been his, made for him and bound to him with his blood, and it had loved him even before he’d become its master.

The Tiger Seal had no love for him, barely any use for him – except as a vessel.

He couldn’t make his fingers stop moving over the flute, couldn’t stop the resentful energy from filling his heart and lungs; he was summoning too many of the dead and he knew it, they would kill everyone they saw, kill them all, Wen sect and Sunshot Campaign alike – he himself would die, ripped apart by the backlash, and Nie Mingjue would be dead, too, and it would all be for nothing, a victory for the Sunshot Campaign crowned in ash and blood –

Arms wrapped around him from behind.

There was no intent to attack that he detected, or he would have responded; they are firm, unyielding, but not angry. Nie Mingjue’s voice rang in Wei Wuxian’s ear: “Stop it.”

Wei Wuxian wanted to, he did, he longed to stop it, but he couldn’t –

“Wei Wuxian. I know you can do this. Stop it now.”

Wei Wuxian bit his lip, summoning all the frayed parts of his willpower, and – stopped.

It felt as if his heart stopped with it.

Chenqing fell to the floor.

“Well done,” his sworn brother said. “Well done, A-Xian.”

And suddenly his lungs could work again, his heart could beat again; his soul dropped back down into his body. He turned: Nie Mingjue was standing, somehow, body broken and bloody as it was, with Lan Xichen and another man in Wen sect robes – a small man, Nie Huaisang’s height or less, but with a gentle face – not far behind him.

“Da-ge…” Wei Wuxian whispered, his lips and voice cracked and painful. “Da-ge, Wen Ruohan…”

“Wen Ruohan is dead,” Lan Xichen said. “A-Yao killed him before he could kill Mingjue-xiong.”

There was a flicker of anger on Nie Mingjue’s face, but it died quickly. “We need to get the situation stabilized,” he said. “The Wen sect is distracted by the army of fierce corpses – we should retreat and leave them to it, recover our own strength even as theirs is depleted.”

“And leave the Nightless City to the dead? We can’t do that!” Lan Xichen protested. “If we don’t purify the corpses soon, this city will become another Burial Mound!”

“Purification will not be any more or less difficult if it waits a few days for Wei Wuxian and I to heal,” Nie Mingjue argued, implacable – and oh, Wei Wuxian liked that, he liked that they were a group in Nie Mingjue’s mind. It was as it should be: sworn brothers standing together, shoulder-to-shoulder, against all threats, against all comers.

He smiled and closed his eyes, resting his head against Nie Mingjue’s shoulder, utterly depleted by his use of the Stygian Tiger seal. He had faith that Nie Mingjue would win this argument.

“To abandon the living, even our enemies, to the dead goes against all principle –”

“We are not abandoning them,” Nie Mingjue said sharply. “A retreat will enable us to summon reinforcements from the remainder of our forces, which will allow us to avoid unnecessary losses. If any Wen cultivator wishes to seek refuge with us, they will be welcome to become prisoners of war, to be treated in accordance with the law.”

“But –”

The smaller man cleared his throat. “Xichen-xiong, perhaps we should defer to Sect Leader Nie for now; we would not want to aggravate his injuries any further by being – unduly intransigent.”

His voice was intimate and gentle, seeming almost inappropriate in a place of death like this.

Wei Wuxian opened his eyes even as his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles going white with fury.

He knew that voice.

This was the man who’d been torturing Nie Mingjue inside the hall just now.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #nie mingjue #lan xichen #jin guangyao #meng yao #my fic #my fics #strange creatures brothers be #sworn brothers au

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trensu · 5 years

Text

Episode 13: The One where WWX’s Gaydar is Completely Nonexistent

YOU GUYS, THIS EPISODE, THIS EPISODE YOU GUYS

IT’S THE ONE WITH THAT CAVE SCENE

YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

But in case you don’t know, I’M GONNA TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT

So we start off with wwx offering to carry lwj

Lwj, being the Repressed Gay that he is, flatly refuses: “how boring”

Pretty sure the thought of wwx touching him gives him vapors

Also? LWJ, You gotta come up with some new stuff; this line’s getting old

And wwx is completely immune to it by now

Wwx: *internally* such a stubborn fool!

He’s annoyed that lwj isn’t letting him help him in any way

And, like, i get that

I understand, wwx

But, WHO ARE YOU TO TALK?? MR. I’M GONNA SACRIFICE MYSELF FOR OTHERS AT ANY GIVEN OPPORTUNITY

Okay, moving along now

WE GET A PAPERMAN!! A CUTE LITTLE YELLOW PAPERMAN!! SAY HI TO THE PAPERMAN, EVERYONE, LOOK HOW ADORABLE HE IS!!

And ~Their Song~ starts playing as soon as we see the paperman appear

Wwx sends it floating over to wen qing

Paperman!wwx: plz find a way for lwj to get some rest

Actual!wwx: *hovers at lwj’s shoulder TOTALLY READY TO CATCH HIM IF HE FALLS*

WQ pulls through like a BOSS and everybody takes a break from walking near a river

Poor lwj looks so tuckered out here as he sits down on a rock

Wwx: i’ll go get you some water lan zhan! *runs off to get water*

Omg wwx, you are not subtle

LET ME TAKE CARE OF YOU LAN ZHAN

LET ME LOVE YOU LAN ZHAN

LET ME TENDERLY TREAT YOUR WOUNDS LAN ZHAN

LET ME INSPIRE SOME KINKY NURSE FANTASIES LAN ZHAN

How do you not realize what you’re doing wwx. How.

Ewww, now wc is talking, double ewww, he’s talking Plot Things

Gross, now his gf JiaoJiao is talking and is annoying and unfortunately necessary for a future wangxian moment so we have to acknowledge her existence

I know it hurts guys, but i promise you it’s worth it

She’s all “alright losers, go find us that cave with the cave monster thing”

Wwx releases a talisman (no Dramatic Twirl tho) which then locates the cave

Right, the cave.

The very important cave

The cave that will give us lots of quality wangxiantics

That cave.

And now we’re in the cave!! The best cave!! I mean, it’s way bigger and way scarier than the other cave, but still! (Dancing Fairy Cave, who??)

Plot stuff happens, wc is being an asshole, nothing new or exciting here

Then we see everyone find a cliff within the cave!

Wwx: wow, that looks like a bottomless pit

Wc: let’s see if that’s true! *yeets wwx off the cliff* (WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WEN CHAO)

Lwj: Wei Ying!!

he not-quite shouts this, it’s more of a startled yelp than anything

Be grateful bc when he starts yelling his name for realsies in this show IT’S NOT GONNA BE FUN

ALSO if wc was not at the top of lwj’s shit list before, he’s definitely there now

So now that wwx confirmed that the pit is NOT bottomless, the hostages i mean visiting disciples throw down some rope and start to climb down

Uh, why didn’t they use that BEFORE chucking wwx down like a bag of trash?? Oh right bc wc is an asshole

Once they reach the bottom, lwj ALL BUT RUNS to wwx’s side

AND HELPS HIM UP!! HE GRABS HIM BY THE ARM AND HELPS HIM UP

BC HE LOVES HIM

I’m gonna give JZX a moment here bc this episode is chock full of wangxiantics and jzx was in snark-master mode

Wwx: well, i know why LWJ and JC came down to check that i wasn’t eaten by a monster, but why are you here, jzx?

Jzx: i’d rather fight an unknown monster whilst weaponless than listen to wc and jj talk for another minute

SAME, JZX, SAME

Lol, everyone is like yeah, that makes sense

More stuff happens and eventually wc and his flunkies catch up with everyone else at the bottom of the cliff and want to lure the monster out

Wc: lets bleed some of this cannon fodder as bait bc i’m an asshole

Jj: i pick mianmian

STAY AWAY FROM MIANMIAN, YOU HORRID PERSON, HOW DARE YOU

And of course everyone loves mianmian so they jump to her defense

Now there’s a showdown between the wens and the hostages, i mean visiting disciples

LWJ IS SUCH A BADASS HERE, GUYS

HE’S TAKING PPL DOWN LEFT AND RIGHT USING ONLY TORCH WHILST INJURED

AND HE MAKES IT LOOK SO CASUAL. DUDE’S NOT EVEN BREAKING A SWEAT

HE FREAKING SNATCHES A SWORD OUT OF A WEN FLUNKIE’S HAND LIKE NBD

While he’s doing all that, wwx is completely humiliating wen chao by reciting some of the wen clan rules

WC: stop talking shit

Wwx: uh, i just quoted the wen clan rulebook sooooo you actually just insulted your ancestors

Wwx: what did the rulebook say was the punishment for insulting the ancestors…? Oh yeah, EXECUTION. Prepare to die!!

Wwx proceeds to take wc as a visiting disciple, i mean hostage on top of a giant rock in the middle of a pond inside the cave and we’re at a standstill

It probably could’ve gone on forever except 🐢🔪🐢🔪🐢 SURPRISE MURDER TURTLE!! 🐢🔪🐢🔪🐢

THAT’S NO ROCK

IT’S A MURDER TURTLE SHELL

LWJ, being the clever boy that he is, notices that the Murder Turtle has bad eyesight

Lwj: quiet, don’t move! It can’t see us *🎶jurassic park theme plays🎶*

Maybe i should call the Murder Turtle something else. It looks more like a loch ness monster tbh

A distant cousin perhaps?

Nessie: oh, that guy? We don’t really talk to that side of the family

Murder Turtle: *is murderous*

Nessie: yeah, he makes family dinners awkward…

Ahem, anyway

Wen chao is a coward and instead of staying quiet and still like lwj says, he starts screaming like the world’s ugliest baby for wen zhuliu to save him

Murder Turtle does not like this noise coming from it’s shell so wwx and wc end up leaping off of it and landing back on shore and all hell breaks loose

In all fairness to the Murder Turtle, I too hate listening to wc

Murder Turtle starts, you know, murdering. And the hostages i mean visiting disciples don’t have weapons and the wen flunkies are awful

Shit’s happening is what i’m saying

And while all this goes down, jj shows us that she is the MOST AWFUL DUMBEST PERSON ALIVE

THERE’S A GIANT KILLER REPTILE TRYING TO EAT EVERYONE

AND SHE’S MORE CONCERNED ABOUT GETTING BACK AT MIANMIAN FOR BEING BETTER THAN HER IN EVERY WAY???

PRIORITIES MUCH??

She has two of the wen flunkies hold mianmian in place and is about to stick a wen crest branding iron on her face (WTF, JJ)

But oh, WWX TO THE RESCUE!! He shoots an arrow in jj's arm and she ends up throwing the branding iron at mianmian but wwx dives in to stop it!

(and we’re just gonna ignore how terribly fake that dive looks, okay?)

Anyway he dives and blocks the branding iron but oh no, it somehow manages to hit him square in the chest with enough force to burn through his clothes and into his skin!!!

(we’re not gonna question this, just roll with it)

And he drops the Medicine Bottle he hid away to use on lwj eventually

(we’re gonna also ignore the fact that it somehow fell out of where it was securely hidden in his robes even tho he was literally just thrown off a cliff and the Medicine Bottle manages to stay with him and not break at the time)

(look we’re ignoring a lot of things bc we've already determined that special effects are not a high priority in this show AND all this is gonna lead up to great wangxiantics and that makes all of it worthwhile)

Okay so all that happened and then the wens FLEE LIKE THE COWARDS THEY ARE and totally ditch their hostages i mean visiting disciples

Then the bastards not only run away, but cut the ropes leading up the cliff and THEN block off the cave entrance WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU WC

The hostages i mean visiting disciples start freaking out. Like oh no, we’re stuck in here forever, WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE

Wwx diffuses the panic by being like, hey CANNIBALISM LOL I’M ALREADY PARTIALLY COOKED. i am a snack FOR REAL LOLOLOL

After all this, AFTER ALL THIS PLOT-ISH NONSENSE I HAD TO EXPLAIN, we get a little bit of wangxiantics. As a treat.

Mianmian is crying her heart out and apologizing profusely bc she feels bad for getting everyone trapped in this cave EVEN THO IT’S NOT HER FAULT AT ALL PLZ DON’T CRY MIANMIAN ILU

Wwx obvs agrees with me and goes to comfort her. Which he does in a weird way

Wwx: mianmian, why are you crying? I was the one that got branded! It hurts so much mianmian, won’t you stop crying and say something nice to me to make me feel better??

BUT HE SAYS THIS SO CHARMINGLY??

HE EVEN PUTS ON THE MOST ADORABLE, FAKE-HURTING FACE

If jzx had tried this, he’d have sounded like a douchebag BUT WWX? WITH HIS SUNSHINE SMILE?? HOW COULD ANYONE RESIST THAT???

(apparently mianmian can, bc she keeps crying and doesn’t say anything nice to wwx)

HERE’S THE WANGXIAN BIT

Lwj takes one look at wwx & mianmian being all cozied up to each other and you know, spilling feelings everywhere and turns away in a snit

Lwj: *internally* what am i willing to put up with today? Not fucking this.

Jc: lwj, where are you going??

Lwj: to the pond bc it has a way out not bc i can’t stomach the sight of wwx flirting with mianmian

(if you hadn’t been so proud earlier, lwj, you could’ve had wwx carrying you lovingly in his strong arms i’m just saying)

And now we get another example here at how well lwj and wwx work together

So obvs wwx zooms to lwj’s side as soon as he realizes lwj’s going somehwere without him (again!!) and he’s all “there’s a way out??”

And all lwj says in response is “maple leaves”

That’s it. Two words.

BUT WWX INSTANTLY CATCHES ON

Wwx: oh, yeah, the leaves couldn't possibly come from the cave so there must be an opening in the pond where the leaves are floating in!

THEY’RE JUST SO IN TUNE WITH EACH OTHER??

HOW DID HE GET THAT FROM JUST TWO WORDS??

THEY’RE GENIUS SOULMATES, THAT’S HOW

Now everyone’s coming up with a plan to escape the cave and the Murder Turtle

Details don’t matter here

Skipping that

Nearly everyone escapes the Murder Turtle Cave!! Because of teamwork and the buddy system!! It’s very heartwarming and inspiring AND WE DON’T CARE BC IT’S NOT WANGXIAN

But oh no, at the last minute when lwj and wwx are oh so conveniently the only ones left in the cave, the Murder Turtle notices them!!

It tries to attack wwx!!

But lwj SWOOPS IN TO GRAB HIM AND THROW HIM BACK TO SAFETY WHILE HE FACES THE MURDER TURTLE

ON A STILL INJURED LEG

AND THEN HIS DRAMATIC TWIRL OF DODGING ISN’T DRAMATIC ENOUGH AND MURDER TURTLE DOES MORE DAMAGE TO LWJ’S LEG

Wwx notices right away and goes to grab lwj and pull him to safety now

It’s nice having partners willing to share duties like that

Like, oh, you washed the dishes yesterday? I’ll do them today!

Except, you know, at a more intense level what with the whole “barely escaping the jaws of death” thing they’ve got going on

But same thing basically

So now our wonderful injured boys are in a different part of the cave that the Murder Turtle can’t reach.

Wwx: lan zhan, it’s fine now! The Murder Turtle is asleep or smth

Then shoves the tattered robes around lwj’s leg out of the way to get a better look at the wound, and he’s got his worried expression on!! WHILE ~THEIR SONG~ PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND

Wwx: wait here!!

Lol, where do you think he’s gonna go wwx, it’s not like HIS LEG HAS BEEN MAULED AND THE ENTRYWAY IS GUARDED BY A MURDER TURTLE OR ANYTHING

Wwx comes back with a branch that he turns into a makeshift splint

HE’S TENDING HIS SOULMATE’S WOUND GUYS AHHHH

And now he steals lwj’s SACRED FOREHEAD RIBBON to tie the splint on properly

LOL LWJ’S FACE

HE IS AGHAST

Wwx: chill out about the ribbon, we have MORE PRESSING MATTERS, like how your LEG IS PROBS GONNA FALL OFF IF WE DON’T TREAT IT

Wwx: oh hey, Medicine Pouch! Wait where’s Medicine Bottle?? I saved it specifically for…*meaningful look at lwj* uh, never mind

what’s the matter, wwx?? why so shy suddenly???

are you embarrassed to show how much you think of lwj?? is that it?

OMG GUYS HERE WE GO

THE FIRST OF TWO OF THE BEST WANGXIANTICS SCENES OF THE SHOW!!

Wwx: *internally* gotta find a way to get lwj to spit out that bad blood he’s so obviously choking down

Wwx: the only possible way to accomplish this is by STRIPPING BOTH OF US OUT OF OUR CLOTHES

Wwx: hey lan zhan, take off your clothes!

Lwj: *GAY PANIC*

Lwj: you want me to what now??

Wwx: strip! Both of us! Since we’re all wet from the pond

Lwj as you might guess, does NOT start stripping in front of the Love of His Life

Wwx notices that lwj is not stripping even tho he himself has already divested his black outer robe and is clad in only his red inner robe

(AND I LOSE MY GODDAMN MIND OVER IT EVERY TIME, LOOK AT HIM WITH HIS TINY WAIST, THOSE ROBES ARE OBSCENELY FLATTERING)

Wwx reaches over and starts tugging at lwj’s robe

Lwj: WHAT ARE YOU DOING???

Wwx: BEING HELPFUL!! But i guess if you don’t want my help, i’ll finish getting myself naked

Lwj: *turns around and pukes out the bad blood from the sheer strength of his Gay Panic*

Wwx: haha! My plan worked! Now all the bad blood is out!

Lwj: oh. Right. That.

Lwj: thanks

Wwx: noooo, don’t thank me! I can’t handle it when ppl thank me!!

After THAT PHENOMENAL STRIP TEASE, wwx goes back to tending lwj’s wounds

He applies stuff from the Medicine Pouch bc Medicine Bottle is gone forever now

He does this very carefully and is very focused on his task

BC HE LOVES HIM

I LOVE THEM

THERE’S A LOTTA LOVE HAPPENING IS WHAT I’M SAYING

Then lwj snatches a bit of the medicine and presses it into the burn on wwx’s chest

Wwx: owww, that huuurts

Lwj: you’re welcome

Lwj: *internally probably* omg i just touched wwx’s chest, be cool be cool bE COOL

Then they have this cute little exchange where wwx tells him how he got injured all the time bc he was a rambunctious tyke (no, surely not you, wwx! I’m shocked!) so he doesn’t need much medicine and lwj’s injury is more serious so he should get more medicine anyway

AND NOW WE GET TO THE OTHER BEST WANGXIANTIC

Lwj: if you know you’re gonna get hurt, don’t be so rash all the time

Wwx: it’s not like i got myself injured on purpose!!!

Wwx: I had to protect mianmian! She’s so pretty

(he says distractedly while staring at their campfire and COMPLETELY MISSES LWJ’S LONGING LOOK)

Wwx: what if she’d gotten her face all scarred up?

Lwj: but now you’re scarred for life!

Wwx: that’s different!

(bc he has issues with self worth and ALWAYS RISKS HIS LIFE FOR OTHERS AT ANY GIVEN OPPORTUNITY)

Wwx: i’m a guy. Scars are cool for us!

(that too, I guess)

Wwx: besides, it’ll be a reminder of the time i saved a pretty girl who now will remember me always~!

GOD WWX YOU’RE SO DENSE

Lwj: *bitchy* oh, you’re sooo sure she’s gonna remember you, huh

Wwx gives him a wounded look, like, sincerely confused and hurt at lwj’s tone: “why are you mad?”

And, good god, lwj sees that expression and can’t keep looking at him. He has to turn away, like FUCK i’ve hurt his feelings, shit, i’m getting my feelings all over him

It’s actually kind of painful to watch, POOR LWJ

So he looks away and says: if you don’t mean it, you shouldn’t go around flirting with people

Wwx: *pouts* it’s not like i was flirting with you

THAT’S THE PROBLEM WWX

HE WANTS YOU TO FLIRT WITH HIM AND MEAN IT, YOU COMPLETE MORON

Remember how i said wwx is dense? Here’s another example

Wwx: *teasing* ohh, you like mianmian~!

Like, really teasing. It doesn’t sound like he believes what he’s saying either

Lwj gives him an incredulous look and we get some slo-mo here WHILE ~THEIR SONG~ PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND AND THEY GAZE SOULFULLY AT EACH OTHER FOR A SOLID 10 SECONDS

Wwx’s face gets this befuddled look and after staring at each other for 10 continuous seconds he says much more seriously, “oh...you really do like mianmian?”

Why do you sound so disappointed wwx? WHY ARE YOU SO CONCERNED ABOUT IT, HUH?

And omg guys, i will NEVER get over the expression LWJ gives him after he says this

It’s an expression that says R U FUCKING SRS RN

HIS WHOLE FACE IS SCREAMING, “FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE”

AND I’M DYING BC WWX, YOU’RE TALKING TO AN ENTIRE GAY BOY WHO IS SO IN LOVE WITH YOU, YOU IDIOT

Then wwx laughs to diffuse the situation (it’s so cute, my heart bursts with rainbows)

And we’re winding down now

Lwj: why should i talk about these meaningless things with you here?

Wwx: you don’t have a choice pal, it’s just you and me stuck here in this cave

Wwx: hey, lan zhan, i think this is the longest conversation we’ve had!!

Omg why’s he keeping track of that? How did he even notice this??

THERE’S NO STRAIGHT EXPLANATION FOR THIS BEHAVIOR

WWX: even after all we’ve been thru, you still don’t talk much. You lan clan types--

*awkward silence*

Wwx realizes he’s stepped in it and taps his mouth as a reprimand for being insensitive

Then he changes the topic about how long they can survive without food/water and how long it will take for help to arrive

And here we have lwj verbally acknowledge what’s happened to him for the first time

He explains that they won’t get help from gusu

Lwj: the cloud recesses has been burned. Uncle is badly injured, brother is missing.

His tone is so matter-of-fact but HE ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE HE’S ABOUT TO CRY!!

OH GOD MY HEART 💔💔💔

And then lwj is like, welp, that’s enough Emotions for the day! And falls asleep.

THEN WWX TUCKS HIM IN WITH HIS OUTER ROBE ALL GENTLE AND LOVINGLY

BC THEY’RE SOULMATES

And that's the end of the episode

SO MUCH QUALITY WANGXIANTICS GUYS

I LOVE THIS SHOW

EVERYTHING IS GREAT (I MEAN, EXCEPT FOR THE HEARTBREAKING PARTS)

LOOK AT THESE TWO SOULMATES IN LOVE, LOOK AT THEM

Return to Masterpost

#WangXiantics #wangxian #the untamed #cql #i think this might be the longest one so far

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giftwrappingpaper · 6 years

Note

If I may request a practice ficlet, Lan Zhan with a fever and sick and Wei Ying doting on him?

slight canon divergence where lwj gets sick in the xuanwu cave instead of wwx, bc apparently i’m never gonna write postcanon wangxian lolol

edit: polished and edited version posted on ao3

—–

The predicament Wei WuXian has found himself in is grim. The week he’s spent without food or water is beginning to gnaw at him, and the only chance he had at escaping this godforsaken hellhole had caved in during his and Lan WangJi’s joint effort in killing the Xuanwu of Slaughter.

All he could do now is wait for help to hopefully arrive, with only Lan WangJi as company.

Overly stoic, boring, and surprisingly temperamental Lan WangJi, who had spent however many hours with long, sharp chords digging into his hands as he suffocated the XuanWu to death. Lan WangJi, who had cried in front of Wei WuXian before biting him so hard he still has a mark on his arm the shape of Lan WangJi’s teeth. Lan WangJi, who, not even a moment after the bite, thanked him with more emotion in his voice Wei WuXian hadn’t ever thought the other man was capable of feeling.

Lan WangJi, who currently seems to be on the verge of collapsing where he stands, swaying listlessly as they haul themselves out of the corpse-infested waters.

“Whoa, there,” Wei WuXian cautions him, hesitating for a moment before grabbing at Lan WangJi’s shoulders. “You okay?”

As expected, his grip is immediately shaken off. “I’m fine,” is Lan WangJi’s curt response before taking a single step out of the murky pool, only for his knees to buckle under his own weight and send him toppling down. The resulting splash washes over them both, drenching their already soaked bodies even further.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Wei WuXian says drily as he watches him hastily right himself back to his feet. “Let’s get you back on dry land.” He fights off any attempts at pushing him away and slings Lan WangJi’s arm around his own shoulders, leading them back to their makeshift fireplace with a hand hovering over the small of Lan WangJi’s back.

Lan WangJi begrudgingly accepts his help and allows Wei WuXian to support him as he takes a seat near the fire. His eyes are cloudy and his cheekbones, tinged with red, are the only spots of color on his unusually pallid face.

“You’re burning up,” Wei WuXian says, bringing a hand to cup Lan WangJi’s forehead. “Here, why don’t you lay down?”

He does so, the dense thwack his head makes as he unreservedly drops it onto the rocky ground echoing throughout the cave. Wei WuXian tsks and, wholly unashamed, transfers Lan WangJi’s head to his lap.

“No,” Lan WangJi says.

“Yes,” Wei WuXian corrects. “Stop wriggling around and let me help you.” He brings a hand to Lan WangJi’s forehead again and brushes his long bangs from his eyes. He really is far too warm.

When Lan WangJi tries to swat him away, Wei WuXian only now realizes just how ruined his hands are. “Just how long were you up there strangling the Xuanwu?” he asks, taking in the deep lines of red that criss crossed Lan WangJi’s palms. “I think I passed out about a few minutes in.”

“None of your business,” Lan WangJi answers. Wei WuXian laughs and begins to tear the hem of his robes into long, thin strips.

“Have you always been this haughty? Is this what you’re hiding under your perpetual face of indifference?” he wonders out loud as he wraps Lan WangJi’s hands to the best of his abilities. Exhaustion tugged at his mind, but he shakes off the feeling. With Lan WangJi’s current state, Wei WuXian’s well being is at the bottom of the list of things to worry about.

“I can’t wash your hands off, and we ran out of medicine,” he tells Lan WangJi. “So hopefully this won’t get infected despite all that.”

He gets no reply. Lan WangJi is too busy staring up at Wei WuXian’s face to give him the time of day. If Wei WuXian didn’t know any better, he would assume that Lan WangJi hasn’t blinked the entire time they’ve been out of the water.

Maybe that’s just how Lan WangJi gets when he has a fever. Hot headed and wide eyed.

When Wei WuXian is finished with his first aid, Lan WangJi’s voice is stuffy from congestion when he says, “Do that again.”

“Do what again?”

Lan WangJi’s eyebrows furrows, and if he were anyone else, Wei WuXian would think that the action is cute. “Your hand. My head. Do that again.”

Oh. Wei WuXian chuckles and does what he is told. “You really are sick.” Wei WuXian teasingly follows the slope of his eyebrow with his thumb, and Lan WangJi’s eyelashes flutter. “Deliriously so.”

“Mn,” Lan WangJi says. Wei WuXian wonders if, after they both get out of this damn cave and recover, he will remember this.

Finally, Lan WangJi blinks. And then he blinks again, his eyes closed longer than before.

“You’re tired?” Wei WuXian asks. Would it be okay for Lan WangJi to fall asleep? Would he wake up if he did? Cursing his past self for not paying enough attention in his medical studies, Wei WuXian panics and says, “Hey, stay with me.”

Lan WangJi coughs, his breaths scratchy yet wet. Fear begins to clog Wei WuXian’s throat, and he clutches at one of the other man’s hands to begin sending him spiritual energy. The glow of it makes Lan WangJi’s damp hair and damp face shine a faint red, dancing alongside the reflected light of the flames that already flickers across his prone figure and the fabric of his robes.

“Stop that,” Lan WangJi warns. His eyes are only half-open, and he’s as close to mumbling as Wei WuXian has ever heard him being. “You are hurt, too. Preserve your energy.”

“You seem like you need it a lot more than me,” Wei WuXian says. “I don’t — Hey! What did I say? Don’t fall asleep on me, Lan Zhan.”

Lan WangJi seems very keen on not listening to him. By his expression alone, it is clear that his mind is not entirely present.

“How about…” Wei WuXian bit his lip and ran a hand down Lan WangJi’s hair. “How about you sing me a song? To keep you awake. A good one, now; I’ll be judging. And I’ve been told that I can be a harsh critic.”

At first, Wei WuXian isn’t sure that Lan WangJi hears him. But after a moment of heartstopping silence, Lan WangJi starts to hum. His voice is still congested, scratchy, and so soft, and it is clear that he’s untrained. But his timbre is deep, and the melody is lovely, and the cave acts as an echochamber that has Lan WangJi’s voice reverberate in its every crevice until it sneaks into Wei WuXian’s hands and blood and intestines until it becomes a part of himself — and all he can do is stare and listen.

When Lan WangJi finishes, he settles more comfortably on Wei WuXian’s lap and looks up at him. His face is still pale and his temperature is sky-high, but there is, at least, a semblance of anticipation in his expression, like he is eager for Wei WuXian’s verdict.

Wei WuXian gives him a smile. “That was beautiful,” he says, wholeheartedly honest. He can still hear the melody in his head.

The tune is too well-structured to be improvised, but he has never heard of it before. So he asks, “Whose song is that?”

Lan WangJi, still so feverish he has an almost reverent look on his face as he stares up at Wei WuXian, still so sickly he must not have enough cognitive awareness to know what he is saying, answers, “Yours.”

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #myfic #asks #thank you!!! :')))#wow this is got uh...longer than anticipated #also i wrote this instead of doing my thermo quiz lollllllll #prompt fills

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rosethornewrites · 3 years

Text

Tuesday’s T and G fics

Again, all The Untamed/MDZS.

I’m 5ish pages away from my goal of clearing most of the fics under 3k words from my AO3 to-read list. (It’s 60 pages long lol.) Then I start on the 5k and under.

Finished:

Rated T:

Everything Is Solved With Soup (And Poison), by Love_Psycho

Waking up from a nightmare – that may or may not just be a nightmare – Jiang Yanli decides she needs to stop that nightmare from becoming reality.

Any moment now, by Anonymous

A heavily pregnant Wei Wuxian takes a moment to breathe and look forward to the life ahead of him.

& again tomorrow, by bleuett

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying exclaims. He pretends to be annoyed but he bursts into laughter. “Gege, you’re too much. What would I do without you? My life would be so boring.”

Lan Wangji’s breath hitches, but he doesn’t cry.

Or: 114 days in space.

zooming out of the scene, then rapidly zooming back in, by kkochiya (loveta)

"Haven’t you noticed?" Nie-xiong snickered, fluttering his fan in front of his face. "Second Childe Lan always smiles when he says your name."

or:

Wei Ying sneaks some of his precious Emperor's Smile into Cloud Recesses. It goes a little differently than expected.

slipping secrets, skipping stones, by LaivineNinuiel

There’s a chubbiness to A-Zhan’s cheeks, especially when his head is turned down the way it is, and his bottom lip is pushed out in a pout that never fails to make Lan Huan laugh. His little brother manages to keep his expression even, no matter if he’s frowning or pouting, often not even responding to the measured praises the Lan elders give him for being such a well-behaved child. It’s only Lan Huan who seems to see the subtleties of his blankness, and who already understands that the young child’s guardedness isn’t necessarily something to be praised. A-Zhan is quiet, but he’s too quiet, as if he’s told himself to keep all his feelings a secret, only to be whispered about. And he only whispers it in A-Huan’s ear.

About a Farm shop, Toy Castles, and Bunny Pictures, by KrisisUnmanaged

Lan Zhan’s bunnies’ castle broke. He is, against all odds, very thankful for this.

Wei Ying spends a lot of time contemplating whether or not he might be hallucinating.

What else is there to say?

Rated G:

Hold On Tight (Never Let Go), by Purplepulu (2 chapters)

4 times Wei Wuxian asked Lan Wangji to let him go and the 1 time he doesn't.

Let The Spice Flow, by hinotoriii

With Lan Wangji facing a cold, Wei Wuxian fixes him a meal. One with enough flavour that he hopes his husband can taste.

Close Captioned Enabled, by makebelieveanything & nerdzeword

Lan Wangji is not good at talking, luckily, he doesn’t have to because Wei Wuxian will do it for him.

Jiang Cheng thinks his brother is a menace with a big mouth, and he's only half wrong.

stained with red, by mnousay

Lan Wangji’s life was a series of black and white pictures, monotone and dull.

Until he met the man painted a vibrant, alluring red.

Spice, by 1PB2PB3PB4

"Sugar and spice and all things nice. That's what little girls are made of."

Jiang Yanli is a Yunmeng girl, spice burns.

Character study of JYL and some of her relationships while trying to meet expectations.

Affection, by eponinemylove

Lan Wangji is amazed by how easily Wei Wuxian shows affection. Luckily, Wei Wuxian doesn't seem to mind that Lan Wangji is a little bit more reserved, especially when it comes to PDA.

I Will Remember, by Grace_Logan

Wei Wuxian has a moment of clarity through the resentment filled haze over his mind during the sunshot campaign and begs Lan Zhan to help him once the Sunshot campaign is over.

Watching The Sunrise, by Preludian_Staves

Sometimes he likes to get early even before his husband and watch the sunrise break through the mists that have settled around the Cloud Recesses during the night.

Jasmine Tea, by Speechless_since_1998

Yanli was the first to recognize that demonic cultivation had changed her younger brother. It would be hypocritical, however, not to see how the war had changed the people around her.

A-Cheng looked more like their mother. They had always had similar characters, but it had gotten worse. He was shooting for anything, the weight of the reconstruction of the sect all on his shoulders. And she felt guilty, because she was weak, useless, and all she could do as the world destroyed her family was cook.

But sometimes even the little things could help.

Wangji, by youjezebel

In the end, he picks the guqin. It is the exact opposite of who Lan Wangji is; it is loud, and it is passionate. The thrum of the strings demand attention and evoke raw feeling. It is everything he has ever wanted to be.

And so he named it Wangji.

trees sing with the river, by twigofwillow

When Jiang Yanli was eight years old, she was sent on a visit to her grandmother in Meishan.

Let us be there for you, by Jade_Pearl

Sizhui was always there for them, no matter what; now they have a chance to return the favor. It's got to be perfect; can they pull it off?

Cleansing, by tabulaxrasa

Sizhui didn’t remember Wei Wuxian. He would not have used resentful energy on purpose.

WangXian 4ever, by Aki_no_hikari

At the end of their latest concert, as Wei Wuxian is saying their goodbyes, Lan Wangji interrupts him for the first time ever.

“How long do you want to keep doing this?”

“As long as I can, of course!”

“How about forever?”

Wangxian Week Day 1: Modern AU

Radish, Rabbits, Rinse, Repeat, by scifigeek14

Lan Wangji was not planning to save a child from falling into a washing machine and get a date when he set out to do his laundry, but these things happen.

Short little Wangxian Meet-Cute at a Laundromat, feat A-Yuan being the cutest.

Unfinished:

Rated T:

love's a hand-me-down brew, by tricksterity

After being convinced by his brother that his current life as an office drone for the Lan family business is making him unhappy, Lan Wangji moves across the globe to follow his dream of opening his own café.

Lan Wangji is happy, and Jingshi is running well - even if it has to be closed on Tuesdays so that Lan Wangji can get some sleep outside of his seventy-hour work week. But as usual, Xichen is right, and Lan Wangji needs to let go of his careful control and let a second staff member into his café, and into his life.

Enter Wei Wuxian: everything that Lan Wangji is looking for in an employee wrapped in the personality of his worst nightmare. But maybe, just maybe, this will work out. If Lan Wangji can stop himself from strangling Wei Wuxian to death. Or bending him over the counter and licking coldbrew espresso off his neck.

To Dream the Impossible, by LadyHallen

Lan Hui is Lan Zhan's cousin.

She is the kind of curious that would stop at nothing until she achieved results.

Unfortunately, she and Wei Wuxian get along very well.

let's call the whole thing off, by jotarems

Recently returned from being burnt at the stake after being tried as a witch, Wei Wuxian wakes to the past and does everything in his power to not repeat it.

Chenqing: "setting forth one's thoughts and explaining one's actions", by LyzDrake

After an assassin is nearly successful, Wei Wuxian grows concerned that should it be needed, there will be no one who knows the truth. She decides to entrust it to someone honorable, and the last person she ever thought possible.

An Inch of Grass, and All The Sunshine of Spring, by ChilianXianzi

"Did you…Did you know our A-Ying?"

Cangse Sanren's eyes are wide and full of hope, and Lan Wangji is suddenly struck by the realization that he is the only one in the world now who would still speak of Wei Ying with fondness. Who knows him enough outside of the wild and hurtful rumors scattered across the land. Just him, in all of his own failings and his poor grasp of words.

But Lan Wangji had failed Wei Ying once, and if he could not speak for Wei Ying when the whole world had bayed for his blood, then he owes it to Wei Ying to speak of him kindly now, to let his meagre words tumble out of lips unused still to speech after years of silence. He doesn't expect there to be so much words inside him, doesn't expect that his words would carry him until the sky darkens around them. Doesn't expect the embrace enveloping him after he is done - Warm and firm and safe.

Making Different Choices (For A More Hopeful Future), by Preludian_Staves

Through a bout of unexpected time traveling, they decide to usurp Fate's plans and do their best to make different choices to create more hopeful future.

Dawn, by Jengabears

The canon divergence which might have happened, if Wen Qing came with Wei Wuxian to ask the Jins where Wen Ning was being held, rather than waiting outside.

fade into view, by Zoodan21

Jin Ling is pretty sure that his friend’s dad is the same guy that his uncle used to have a crush on in the ’90s, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to get them to actually talk to each other.

Journey, by ninho_emy

This is the story what could have been if Lan Zhan returned to the Bourial Mounds before the Siege, took Wei Ying and A-Yuan and travelled together as rogue cultivators as a family of three.

Rated G:

the sum of us, by baobeijuns (canyoudamianot)

A series of ficlets about reincarnation across time and universes, where soulmates only remember their past lives when their eyes meet.

First up: fashionista!wwx/model!lwj at Paris Fashion Week.

#the untamed #untamed fanfiction #mo dao zu shi #chen qing ling #cql #mdzs

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giftwrappingpaper · 5 years

Text

grief

obligatory “wat if lwj was in denial when he found out wwx is dead” ficlet

edit: polished and edited version posted on ao3

-----

Lan WangJi is too preoccupied to notice his brother enter the jingshi.

He is bedridden, and will continue to be bedridden for the next few years. Hopefully he will be recovered by the time his forced seclusion is lifted — for now, his entire back is an open wound aggravated at the slightest touch. It hurts to move, so he doesn’t. He stays put. Preserves his energy, letting the healing process run its course.

Lan WangJi has always been a quiet man, electing to keep to himself rather than participate in stilted conversation. And so the silence he has been surrounded by for the month since his return to Gusu from Yiling does not bother him. He spends his time thinking about Wei WuXian instead.

It is his usual — preferred, even — state of being. He has endured most of his life in love apart from Wei WuXian rather than near him, so his mind regularly strays. Often, he thinks about Wei WuXian’s laughter. Or his smile. Or his collarbones. Or his kindness, his unrelenting bravery, the way he would treat Lan WangJi unlike anyone else in the world.

But most of the time it is all these things, combined, Lan WangJi finds himself longing for. Which is nice. it is his favorite indulgence, after all. He cannot think of any better way to spend his time.

Nevertheless, his reverie is cut off, as his brother is here now. He says his name, and Lan WangJi looks up.

There is a troubled expression on Lan XiChen’s face. He hadn’t visited for the past week, which is strange of him. And his absence had made Lan WangJi needlessly worry. But he has visited him just the same, which is more than Lan WangJi can say for anyone else — so Lan WangJi will focus on Lan XiChen, who is the only person now who can stand the sight of him after what he had done, and entertain him to the best of his ability until Lan XiChen returns to the world outside of the jingshi.

When that happens, Lan WangJi will continue to repent for the rules he had broken, bear the pain of his repentance — well deserved, well earned — and resume to think about Wei WuXian.

“Brother,” Lan WangJi greets, bowing his head in respect.

Lan XiChen kneels across from where Lan WangJi sits. “WangJi,” he says. His voice is as frail as Wei WuXian’s wrists had been when Lan WangJi held him in his arms a month before.

Wei WuXian’s cheeks had been sunken and his pallor far too pale. It was clear he was not taking care of himself.

Lan WangJi will remedy that. As soon as he is fit to leave the Cloud Recesses, he will. He has already made his choice, has made it, long ago. He is already itching to escape these walls, to find Wei WuXian, wherever Wei WuXian may be, and grovel at his feet for the privilege it would be to stay at his side.

But for now, he remains, and Lan XiChen is distraught. So Lan WangJi asks him, “What is wrong?”

After a while of tense silence, Lan XiChen admits, “I didn’t want you to hear the news from anyone else.” He is looking at his hands placed over his kneecaps, unable to meet Lan WangJi’s eyes.

This improper habit had been taught out of them through years under their uncle’s scrutiny. Something is wrong.

“But even then, I don’t…” Lan XiChen trails off with a sigh. While unnerved at his brother’s uncharacteristic behavior, Lan WangJi nevertheless waits patiently for him to gather his thoughts.

He does. Lan XiChen finally lifts his head to look at him, his eyes colored with weary conviction and a soft hue of something that makes Lan WangJi frown.

Lan XiChen is renowned for his latent ability to decipher his stoic brother’s emotions with nothing but a glance. But the skill is shared, and Lan WangJi can read his older brother just as easily as Lan XiChen can to him.

The hue is a shade of pity. It is a bad look on someone so righteous.

“WangJi,” Lan XiChen says. Lan WangJi belatedly realizes that the pity in Lan XiChen’s heart must be for him. “He...I’m sorry, WangJi. Young Master Wei, he is. Wei WuXian is dead.”

This week, the Cloud Recesses had welcomed the beginning of spring; the rustle of leaves from neighboring trees and flowers, freshly blooming, saturate the jingshi, louder and more discordant than it had been before.

Lan XiChen would not lie to him. Their bond and trust in each other is as indestructible as the mountain their sect’s two thousand rules are carved on. Lan WangJi has more faith in Lan XiChen and his honest character than he does his own.

None of that mattered. Lan XiChen was still wrong.

Lan WangJi says as much. “He is not,” he dismisses. “He cannot.”

“WangJi,” Lan XiChen says, gently reproachful. His hand reaches forward but lands only on the polished wood of Lan WangJi’s writing table.

“You must be mistaken,” Lan WangJi says.

The look on Lan XiChen’s face becomes aggrieved. “A siege was led by YunmengJiang Sect to Burial Mound. Wei WuXian...I will spare you the details. But he did not walk out of it alive.”

“Ridiculous,” Lan WangJi says. It hurts him to use such language with his brother. But what he said, what he so erroneously implied, was, and could only be labelled as, ridiculous.

“I haven’t been able to visit you for a while. That is because LanlingJin Sect had hosted a week-long banquet celebration the success of the siege.” Lan XiChen sighs and briefly closes his eyes to recollect himself. “I wouldn’t leave you here alone without a reason. And I wouldn’t lie to you, either. WangJi, I would never, not about this.”

Lan WangJi rights his already impeccable posture and straightens his shoulders. The bandages wrapped around his torso and his fresh, healing wounds stretch in protest.

“WangJi,” Lan XiChen says, warns. “Please.”

His back feels both wet and hot. Much like how Wei WuXian’s forehead had been during their time trapped in the cave of Xuanwu. He had been battling a fever, then, his disabling smile pinched from the pain, but nonetheless heartstopping. Everything reminds Lan WangJi of him. He focuses on the pain, on the distant recollection of Wei WuXian’s forehead cupped under Lan WangJi’s curved palm, instead of his brother.

How improper. His brother always deserved the utmost amount of respect. Later, he will regret doing this more so than his betrayal against the GusuLan elders in the name of a man who hadn’t wanted Lan WangJi to protect him at all.

Lan XiChen calls his name again. Lan WangJi hadn’t noticed he had closed his eyes. He opens them to find his brother staring back in worry.

A week. Lan XiChen said it has been a week.

“You’re wrong,” Lan WangJi tells him. Lan XiChen’s face changes again, this time in fear.

“WangJi.”

Wei WuXian is dead, but he can’t be dead. Lan WangJi knows this because he would have felt it, knows with the entirety of his whole heart that it would be an emptying loss, like a sword to the heart the moment it happened: Wei WuXian’s soul leaving this realm, Lan WangJi left to fend for himself — he would have watched as his own blood seeped past his fingers, numb and freely spilling, as his life, the man who housed his life, died, leagues and leagues away atop a barren hill Lan WangJi was not on, was not on to bear witness to his entire world fall apart.

It had been a week since the day Lan XiChen claimed the siege of Burial Mound occured, and this is why Lan WangJi knows he is wrong: Wei WuXian cannot be dead, because Lan WangJi would have felt him die.

Out loud, Lan WangJi admits to his brother, to himself, “I would have felt it.” His voice sounds waifish even to his own ears.

“I’m sorry,” Lan XiChen says. His bottom lip trembles and his eyes are glassy. It is too convincing. He is taking this joke too far. “WangJi, I’m so sorry.”

In one swift movement, Lan WangJi gets up. Everything — Lan XiChen, his wounds, Wei WuXian’s voice echoing laughter in his head — begs him not to. He does not listen to any of them, and instead he calls Bichen to his grip, straps his guqin to his weeping back, and hobbles his way to the exit using BiChen as a crutch.

(He was wrong before, the realization hitting Lan WangJi without warning. His choice, his choosing, of this — it was not him who made it, as it was not his choice to make. The second Wei WuXian breached the Cloud Recesses walls, with a jug of Emperor’s Smile in each hand and a smile that blinded Lan WangJi the moment he beared witness to it; it was Wei WuXian, it was his doing. Lan WangJi’s conscience was clear, and the blame could not be placed on him. Because it was never his choice, to love and live in love this deeply. It was Wei WuXian’s, with his thick face and crooked smile, who first made the decision for him.)

Lan XiChen follows him, grasping Lan WangJi’s hand when he makes to open the door. He asks,“Where are you going?” despite them both knowing where Lan WangJi was heading of to.

When Lan WangJi doesn’t respond, Lan XiChen changes tact. “You’re still healing,” he says, frantic. “Please, you’ll hurt yourself.”

Lan WangJi opens the door anyway. Lan XiChen lets go of him as if scalded, and he winces when Lan WangJi turns to look at him.

“Will you stop me?” he asks. He sounds calm, but his tone is misleading. He feels nothing.

After a moment of elegant sputtering, Lan XiChen closes his mouth, the click of his teeth audible. “I wouldn’t be able to,” he acknowledged, defeated, “even if I tried.”

Lan XiChen takes a step back. The air between them is colder. Lan WangJi turns away.

Disregarding Lan XiChen’s concerned calls, Lan WangJi leaves the jingshi, the Cloud Recesses, Gusu, and the shackles his ruined body has become. Even in this broke state, Yiling is only a negligible distance away if he flies fast enough. He will go there, to Yiling, to Burial Mound — and if Wei WuXian is not there, Lan WangJi will search elsewhere, because there is no way he could be anywhere Lan WangJi couldn’t follow.

Wei WuXian is not dead. Lan WangJi would have felt it. He will find him, and together, they will prove his brother wrong.

-----

tbh i don’t think the scenario of lxc telling lwj that wwx is dead would have panned out this way at all, since lwj respects and trusts lxc too much to not believe him. but the angst bug had bitten me and i needed an excuse for lwj to be emo and in denial… so ya purposeful ooc for the sake of Sad

still taking mdzs writing prompts! they’ve been rly fun so far, so don’t be shy to send some my way

twitter’s turning out to be rly fun so come by if you wanna say hi!

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #myfic

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