lan_wangji

In hindsight, Lan Wangji ought to have been more suspicious of the fact that Wei Ying had agreed to stay behind. He'd been unhappy with both Lan Wangji and the entire idea but he'd agreed.

Or so Lan Wangji had thought.

They'd both received the messages and had agreed it must be related to what they'd both seen. Whatever is at the end of the train's journey is a lie and knowing this place and this time of year (poor Wei Ying's birthday), it is dangerous. Little else is known about what to expect but Lan Wangji knows he must be there to try and either stop it or save as many people as he can. And he cannot do that if he is worried about Wei Ying's lungs smothering him to death.

The train itself yields no immediate threat that he can find as he pushes his way from one crowded car to another nor do the inhabitants. There is a faint, dark energy that he cannot place but so much of the city pulses with foreign, dark energies that Lan Wangji is uncertain if this is new or where it stems from. Wei Ying would likely be better at determining such a thing but he stands by his proclamation that he was better off at home.

There are a few startled cries as he hoists himself neatly out of the window of the moving train, jumping to land neatly on top to watch the cars cut through the dark hills. If something is going to happen, he needs to try and see it coming.

Lan Wangji is grateful that the countdown to this day is over. Extremely grateful. He's dutifully reminded Wei Ying of the occasion every day since the beginning of the month per their agreement after several years of Wei Ying forgetting and tormenting himself.

The day is meaningless to him, always has been but he enjoys celebrating Wei Ying on his day and while it took Lan Wangji too long to realize, he ought to give Wei Ying the same opportunity.

It is not Wei Ying's fault that his memory is atrocious.

He is uncertain what, if anything, Wei Ying has planned so a trip into town to procure wine and sweet treats for Wei Ying has also yielded hard kombucha for himself. He thinks it might be...fun. It might be fun to drink with his husband.

Perhaps he ought to hide Bichen, just in case, he thinks as he lands silently in the snow outside their door, unsure if Wei Ying is home, yet. The glass bottles clink softly as he pushes the door open, pleased as always to arrive back at their warm, lovely home.

Lan Wangji knows that he has long been incapable of denying Wei Ying almost anything. He indulges his every whim and desire, thrilled at the chance to do so. He wonders, now, if Wei Ying knows the increased power he now holds every time he casually refers to Lan Wangji as zhàngfū.

When Wei Ying had sped out of the house in a flurry of tangled hair and robes, laden with coin for whatever his pursuits would be that day, Lan Wangji had found himself simply watching the space he'd occupied for several long moments. Ridiculous.

He must be productive today, must do something other than pine for his husband who has been gone only hours.

The day is horribly, irritatingly hot as they have been as of late and he is glad for the privacy of their home as he strips down to only his inner robe and pants to complete work that has gone neglected due to their considerable amount of time spent indulging in other pursuits, post wedding. His hair is tied up in a neat bun and every cooling charm he can muster cast as he carries soil and flowers down to the altar.

He has never spoken of his mother to anyone, not even Brother after she had gone and he had finally understood. He is ashamed of this. He imagines Xichen wanted to speak of her, remember her with the only other person who did not detest her and Lan Wangji had denied him that. His robes are damp with sweat and face flushed when he finally sits back on his knees, assessing the small, purple flowers of the juvenile gentian tree and the circle of yellow chrysanthemums surrounding the altar.

While it may have been a prison, the gentians are the most tangible reminder he has of her and he wonders if there is such a thing for Wei Ying. It is far past time that he asked.

The journey home is bitterly, bitingly cold in the way that Lan Wangji most enjoys but he finds himself grateful for Wei Ying's monstrously large coat, even if it makes it more difficult to properly hold him. It is dangerous for Wei Ying to travel in such weather, thin as he is and without the protection of a core.

They will have to find some other means of transport for him, Lan Wangji thinks, as disdainful as he is of the metal carriages. Wei Ying seems to have perked up, likely from the sugar and the small group of children who had cheered their departure but Lan Wangji cannot help but worry. He does not know how to make Wei Ying believe that his memory issues do not pain Lan Wangji, that such trivialities as a birthday mean nothing compared to the joy Wei Ying brings him.

He must do better at this. They touch down silently on the soft, thin snow and he drops a kiss on Wei Ying's red, icy nose before turning towards their house, glowing warmly from within.

"I will start a fire."

Lan Wangji has not been this publicly agitated since the Pride festival, seeing Wei Ying on display and needing to claim him for himself. He'd promised himself he would not lose control in such a way ever again but he had not anticipated how it would feel to proclaim Wei Ying as his betrothed in a tavern full of people. He hadn't anticipated imagining Wei Ying in red, marital robes. He hadn't anticipated how happy it would make Wei Ying.

This will be the last time, he tells himself sternly as he clings to Wei Ying as they fly through the cool night. By the end of the night, Lan Wangji's behavior had been bordering on lewd as he had pulled Wei Ying closer and closer, murmuring against his skin and fingers clenched around his small waist. He finds the lack of anyone to find his behavior appalling to be both worrying and freeing.

He tightens his hold as their house comes into view and he starts his descent towards the warm glow. "Want something different, tonight," he says as he bites at Wei Ying's neck. "Want many things."

Lan Wangji would be the first to admit that he knows little of courtship or marriage, not the details at least. It had not been a subject he'd received any instruction or advice on so he must rely on what little he has witnessed in his youth outside of Cloud Recesses. The hair pin and comb had been the obvious choice but the second is less so. He provides Wei Ying with food and drink daily so there would be no great gesture in such gifts.

The idea had finally come to him as he had flown home one evening and array of animals in the countryside.

It had not been hard to conceal the building of a small structure by Bunny's own hutch as Wei Ying rarely noticed such things or took part in the maintenance of the home. He had smuggled them home under the cover of night when he'd known Wei Ying would be in the city, fraternizing with Klaus and likely speaking of all manner of subjects Lan Wangji would rather not know of. The four chicks, two yellow and two black had seemed cozy when he had left them that night and again when he'd checked as the sun rose the next morning.

He opens the door to their room and smiles softly at the still sleeping bundle of blankets now in the middle of their large bed. He kneels onto the bed, pushing his fingers through the mess of black hair half buried by blankets. "Wei Ying. Wake up."

Lan Wangji knows that he has been - intense, as of late. His instinct is to protect Wei Ying from what would harm him and as he is unable to protect him in that way, he finds himself wanting to protect him from every other possibility. His already present concerns regarding Wei Ying's diet and general health have only been magnified and compounded by worries about his mental state.

Not to mention that the seal still very much exists and that every time he tries to fathom the damage done to a person without a Core, he spirals into unshakeable fear.

All of this to say that he knows he has been a bit much. And Wei Ying deserves to do something enjoyable. And Lan Wangji has promised to do this.

He steps outside into the warm air to wait for Wei Ying still changing inside, barefoot and clad only in his inner robe feeling entirely ridiculous and even more naked than he has in their own bed. He has kept his forehead ribbon on but gathered his long hair up in a knot, all the while trying to will any boaters to steer clear of the river for at least a time.

He is uncertain he could endure the embarrassment.

It seems that nearly every day with Wei Ying, Lan Wangji has found himself doing or thinking something he'd never imagined for himself. He supposes he has proceeded with their relationship in the wrong order. He has provided a house for them and their pets, not long after declaring love. He has pushed them along quickly and only now has he stopped and realized he has failed to offer Wei Ying the courting he deserves.

He will court him and if accepted, he will marry him. Wei Ying will be treated as reverently as he deserves.

The gifts, in the end, prove the most difficult hurdle. Lan Wangji has never allowed himself to entertain the fleeting thoughts of courtship he'd had prior to Wei Ying's death and this place lacks gifts made in the proper style. In the end, after some carefully worded questioning, he'd found something suitable in a place called an Antique shop. The comb and matching hair pin are finely made in a white jade that he thinks will look lovely in Wei Ying's hair. The style is not precisely correct but they are simple and durable and as he carefully places them in a wooden box, he hopes well received.

He has prepared a spread of Wei Ying's favorite, spiciest foods and wine to be eaten outdoors on this lovely, temperate evening. Now he must simply wait, seated neatly on a blanket with the box next to him, watching the river flow by.

This world is ridiculous. He is beginning to understand that some ridiculous thing will happen with regularity but as he delivers a sweeping kick to a group of what look very much like think cakes with sharp teeth and then fires off powerful notes from his guqin, dispelling enough of the cold inspects to make a path for a few more people to escape.

There seems to be no sense to these creatures, their origins and motivations a mystery that frustrates Lan Wangji to no end. Without understanding, fighting them is a frantic trial and error that does not always succeed. One sting on the back of his legs rendered the limb cold and pained before he managed the right combination of notes and now all he can think is that he cannot find Wei Ying.

Wei Ying's body cannot endure such cold.


He whips around, pushing back the swarm of bees approaching from the back before he ducks, some new horrid creature swooping out of the sky. "Wei Ying!" he shouts, taking the risk and leaping into the air, jumping to a clear spot and searching for a flash of red ribbon.

Lan Wangji already has a multitude of regrets. They are not about Lee-gonxi nor about his faith that he and Wei Ying can find a way to help him.

Wei Ying had been enthusiastic about the idea of inviting Lee-gonxi to their new home for dinner, intrigued by the idea of investigating a new type of magic, sure about the desire to help Lee-gonxi but far less so at the idea of meditation. In fact, most of Wei Ying's enthusiasm seemed centered around having a new drinking partner and the meat that Lan Wangji has prepared for their meal.

He left Wei Ying with strict instruction not to imbibe all their wine or eat the meat or let Bunny out of his hutch OR mess up the careful, clean order he'd left their house in until he has returned with Lee Ahn. He is dubious as to what they will return to.

The wind cuts cold as he and Lee-gonxi fly close enough to see the warm lights of their home and he dips down, fingers tight of Lee-gonxi's shoulders. "Still alright?"