new plot bunny because i don't have enough?
i want a cold-pond-cave-surprise-marriage fic where it's a surprise to both of them. like the whole handfasting thing is absolutely not common practice, but rather an ancient tradition that still counts but was not entered into with full knowledge of either party. of course, because lan yi was there to witness it and after they tell lqr and lxc about it, they have to decide whether they wish to honor the ceremony or to annul it. lqr and lxc tell them to give it some time. these things often happen for a reason and bonds like this should not be altered lightly. (lqr nearly qi deviates about it, but it's a funny qi deviation!)
they can't just tell people they got married in a cave after being gifted an ancient magical artifact that needs to be kept absolutely secret, so they go off on the adventure to find the other pieces a little bit married and a lotta bit unsure of what to do about that.
because here's the thing. lwj is still trying really hard to figure his shit out right about then. it's only afterward that we get the Moment of Realization (tm) at the lantern festival. he's flustered, sure, attracted probably, but he's not ready to propose marriage. plus! he's a second son. he has to know that his marriage has the potential for political gain. it's a little bit unclear in cql but he very much also seems to be the sect heir and if he's not, he's second in line. marrying a boy in a cave at 15(ish) is not the kind of shit lwj is likely to just do. he does not want to be his father. he also does not want to turn his back on a vow like this. he's conflicted and ultimate-wx-shipper!lxc is like 'just go with it for a minute.' so he does.
and wwx is also surprised. he remembers that the forehead ribbon is special (he may even remember exactly how special, but rather than making the whole thing more awkward by bringing it up, he keeps his mouth shut for once), but he has no idea that this is a wedding. he bows to his teacher's wife zhijiao good friend because he's agreeing to a quest. he's 15. he loves quests! he also knows that as the head disciple and ward of the jiang sect, his marriage could be a political tool as well. he certainly doesn't intend to marry out of his sect. but there's no time to deal with all of that right now. first there's a quest! and if he automatically annuls this thing, he might not get to go on the quest.
meanwhile, having not exactly lied but also not told the whole truth to lwj and wwx, lxc and lqr make a trip down to the cold pond cave to talk ly into letting the boys out of their marriage. because the fun thing about magical ancestral ribbon marriages is that they're not easy to fuckin break. there's fate and strings and romantic almost-ghosts who miss their immortal wives good friends and are incredibly stubborn.
in the end, bssr comes down from her mountain to attend the second wedding because this may be a baoyi fic in disguise.