For Wei Ying

[lan_wangji]

Filling the day is not the problem for Lan Wangji. His days have been filled, all his life, with every minute accounted for. One rose at precisely 5AM, had tea and a small meal, cleaned one's self and then began morning meditations. The rest of the day was filled with physical training, studies, and practical application. After the evening meal and bath, a meditation focusing on reflecting on one's progress and behavior was completed and notes made before falling asleep at precisely 9PM.

These things can, in some way or another, be done in this place as well. The course of studies are very different as are the practical application. They are...disappointing, largely. Every day reveals some new way he is weaker and duller and unable to provide to the world what he once could. He might have been cold and not particularly liked but he was unparalleled in skill. Here, well. Here he does not know quite who he is or ought to be. Wei Ying points out often, that not all of the 3000 rules he grew up under need apply so literally. But parsing through 3000 rules, some he holds very dear, and making such determinations feels impossible some days.

The days when he cannot make those decisions, he wanders without aim. This is definitely against the rules. He likes the market, early in the morning before the crowds have descended. At this time of day it is only himself and those out gathering supplies for the day's meals. He'd rarely gone to market in Caiyi Town, disliking the bustle and the stares and the comments he was clearly meant to overhear. But no one cares who he is, here. If anyone finds his silence off-putting they do not say so. He is looking over various trinkets, bits of leather and bone fashioned into jewelry when he sees an array of combs. He does not know where the impulse comes from, only that he has hazy memories of styling Wei Ying's hair (he really must never drink again). He takes it without another thought, horrified at the lack of payment system but determined to find a way to make it up to the merchant. It is a purchase born entirely out of impulse and affection rather than need, another rule broken.

A few quick strokes with a small knife have inlaid a small protection charm, likely useless in this place but he thinks Wei Ying will appreciate it. He has no idea how he will go about giving it to him but he wraps it up in a piece of cloth and heads over to Heimdall District, feeling light and not a little unsettled.

"Wei Ying," he sends through the bizarre bracelet contraption. "Am in Heimdall. May I come to the Haus?"

Comments

[yiling_laozu]

That it could belong to a person and not the powers that rule this place hasn't occurred to Wei Wuxian, and he pauses, thumbing at his nose. "Lan Zhan," he says, turning to beam at him for his willingness to help. "Perhaps you're right and it would be cruel to take. But we could at least discover what it is. And perhaps..." Wei Wuxian pinches his fingers.

"A small taste."

[lan_wangji]

Lan Zhan fights a smile, wanting to still seem stern and a good influence to Wei Ying.

But again, it is very, very hard to say no to Wei Wuxian.

"A small taste," he agrees. "Lan Wangji will wait outside the kitchen, will keep watch. Wei Ying can find his treasure."

[yiling_laozu]

Wei Wuxian's grin widens, and he all but runs the rest of the way to the kitchens. There's no one inside - for now - and he considers what little he knows. It's a rare treat. It isn't usually served. It's meant to be cold.

"Lan Zhan," he says, "I'm going to look in the cold boxes that hum. If someone is coming, sneeze!"

[lan_wangji]

"Can't force myself to sneeze!" he hisses as he takes up his position outside of the door. He looks entirely conspicuous, standing at attention in his white robes but he cannot imagine anything to fix that.

Such a description is bizarre and Lan Zhan can only imagine some sort of sweet or beverage, something he imagines Wei Ying enjoying either way.

He hears a voice down the hall and freezes, unable to tell which direction it will move.

[yiling_laozu]

Wei Wuxian tears into the metal boxes immediately, searching through cold shelves, pushing past bottles and preserved vegetables, lifting what must be someone's leftovers to discover nothing of note behind it. Undeterred, he moves his search to the even colder boxes where food is preserved in frost, all the while keeping his ears open to any sounds from Lan Wangji.

[lan_wangji]

He's barely breathing, entire body tensed as if he is preparing for a fight. He will, if needed. If they are caught and Wei Ying is punished, he will fight for him.

He's left Bichen, behind and is cursing himself for the mistake when the voice turns away and starts to fade.

"Hurry up!" he whispers, unable to imagine any treat worth such anxiety. He cannot imagine how Wei Ying has managed a lifetime of such behavior.

[yiling_laozu]

"Hǎo ba hǎo ba hǎo ba," Wei Wuxian shout whispers back, pushing aside another frozen parcel to find a little tub, and beneath it, an even larger one. It looks like nothing he's seen before - milk? - but it's quite solid, and on impulse, Wei Wuxian grabs it and rushes back to Lan Wangji.

"I've got some, I think," he says, darting back to grab a wooden spoon, "Let's go!"

[lan_wangji]

He is unsure what he was expecting but that does not look like a small taste of anything. That looks rather as if Wei Ying has stolen an entire treat but Lan Zhan is too worried about Wei Ying being caught to do anything other than grab onto his arm, ready to flee.

"Must leave Heimdall," he urges, feeling get farther away from the crime as soon as possible is the most urgent priority. "Go to my room. Is private."

[yiling_laozu]

"So far, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian protests as Lan Wangji takes his turn at dragging him across Heimdallhaus. His fingers itch with the desire to remove the covering off the little tub and examine his treasure, and he worries that the heat of his hand is already beginning to melt the frost. He tucks it into his robes, yelping when it burns cold against his skin.

"Lan Zhan," he says, stopping their movement suddenly to push Lan Wangji into a closet as they pass. He closes the door to surround them in total darkness, in which Wei Wuxian whispers, "Summon your lights."

[lan_wangji]

"What," he breathes, snapping his mouth shut when he founds himself standing in the dark with Wei Ying. He doesn't dare say anything, in case Wei Ying heard something he had not and summons only one orb, afraid more will draw attention.

It floats in between them, illuminating each other's faces, the treasure and not much more.

"Okay?"

[yiling_laozu]

Wei Wuxian nods happily and yanks the covering from the little tub, discarding it somewhere at their feet. "There was this and a much larger one," he assures Lan Wangji. "What do you think it is?"

Without waiting for answer, Wei Wuxian stabs at it with the wooden spoon, finding it solid, yet soft. "It smells only of snow. Lan Zhan, do you want to try it first?"

[lan_wangji]

"No," he murmurs, leaning back a little bit as if the strange substance will somehow leap into his mouth. He does not like to put unknown substances in his mouth. Gusu Lan Sect does not allow a varied diet and Lan Zhan cannot say he has particularly minded.

Lan Zhan cannot even imagine what that is.

"Wei Ying's treat. You should have it."

[yiling_laozu]

Wei Wuxian smiles when Lan Wangji leans away as if he holds a snake and not a pot of ice. "Very well," he says, dragging the spoon through the milky ice*. He sniffs it once more before pushing it wholesale into his mouth. He freezes. His eyes widen.

"Lan Zhan!" he declares, "It's sweet!" Digging harder at the milky ice, he uncovers a thread of caramel brown that tastes sweeter still. "It's so good!"

[* this thread is just for us but since Asgard has a) no animals and b) dairy will likely result in ass thunder in the both of them, the ice cream is non-dairy]

[lan_wangji]

"Worth the great risk?" Lan Zhan murmurs, happy to simply watch the delight spreading across Wei Ying's face.

It takes so little to make him happy, something Lan Zhan has observed since nearly the beginning. Wei Ying can find delight in life in a way Lan Zhan deeply envies.

"It's...frozen sugar?"

[yiling_laozu]

Wei Wuxian nods fervently, pushing another spoonful into his mouth, for it'd been worth the risk and then some! He's never tasted anything so decadent, and Lan Zhan really must experience it.

"There is sugar, I think," he says, for what else could be so deliciously sweet, "But a richness, too. Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian scoops him a smaller portion and holds it to his lips. "Please try it."

[lan_wangji]

Sugar is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses is right there, on the top of his tongue but he thankfully stays silent. They are no longer there and Wei Ying should not be punished as if he were.

He simply stares for a moment before opening his mouth and darting out his tongue to swipe across before leaning forward and swallowing the entire bite. Sweetness more potent than the few sweets he has ever tasted over his lifetime. It's so sweet it nearly makes his teeth ache and he looks up in surprise.

"What is it?"

[yiling_laozu]

"I don't know!" Wei Wuxian laughs happily, half unable to believe he's just seen Lan Wangji dart forward to inhale an entire bite as if against his will. "But it is certainly a treasure. How accomplished we are today, Lan Zhan, it's barely past breakfast!"

He digs out another spoonful to push into his mouth, and then another, and then - "Aiya," Wei Wuxian groans, clutching at his forehead. "Don't eat too much at once, Lan Zhan."

[lan_wangji]

Lan Zhan's fingers dart out, pressing against Wei Ying's forehead, hoping he has hit the correct nerve.

"Should not eat all at once. Too sweet," he warns, eyeing the small tub with fascination and suspicion. In a place with people speaking of flying ships, he cannot imagine the strange things the food must contain. "Will get a stomach ache."

That is not spoken from experience, as he has never eaten a large amount of any single thing, but the rule had always seemed to make logical sense.

[yiling_laozu]

Lan Wangji's fingers soothe the strange, never before discovered point of pain in Wei Wuxian's temple and he sighs, using the momentary reprieve to shove more milky ice into his mouth.

"If we don't eat it now," he reasons, "It will melt. You will have to help me, that is all," he decides, holding up another spoonful for Lan Wangji. Compared with his last bite, it's much darker in color. "This has more of the deeper sugar taste."

[lan_wangji]

That is not what Lan Zhan meant but Wei Ying is insistent and the treat presented to him.

Shameful. Twenty years of intense study and devotion to self regulation and restriction all undone because of one person.

He leans in, taking this bite more carefully, grimacing as he cannot decide if the sensation is pleasurable or painful. "How does a person eat this much sugar?" he wonders, now very concerned about the amount Wei Ying has consumed.

[yiling_laozu]

"Is it very much?" Wei Wuxian asks, though the tingling on his tongue - and the grow tremors in his bones themselves - say that it must be. If they put it back, someone might find that they've taken some and track them down, but if they destroy the evidence that means destroying the last of their milky ice, too!

"Can we hide the rest in Odinhaus?" he asks hopefully.

[lan_wangji]

He takes a deep, slow breath, thinking over the proposal. It would be harboring a stolen good with full knowledge of what has done. And on the other hand, Wei Ying looks very sad about the prospect of permanently parting with his treat.

"Mm," he agrees, gesturing for Wei Ying to hide the treat, yet again. He floats the ball over to the door to highlight the exit which then winks out as soon as the door is opened. "Follow."

[yiling_laozu]

Wei Wuxian tucks the treat once more inside his robes, the position much more precarious now without its discarded lid, and nods solemnly.

"Wei Wuxian will follow without deviation," he swears.

[lan_wangji]

He steps out, quickly striding towards the nearest exit, trusting that Wei Ying will be following close behind. He does not look over or behind him until they are both safety outside the boundary of Heimdalhaus.

"Can bring your treat to my room if you desire to eat more," he offers, nothing Wei Ying cradling it underneath his robe. It looks like very bad idea. "But must eat many vegetables with dinner."

[yiling_laozu]

Hurrying after him, Wei Wuxian does his best not to disturb the treasure, but he can feel it growing sloshier by the moment. "I'm not sure it will last so long," he admits, cradling it all the same.

"We must eat it now or never, Lan Zhan. Or..." His eyes light on a pair of tow-headed youths playing not far away. "Find another to enjoy it."