Whumptober day 6 is bruises, so I’m thinking about...
wangxian, rated G, post-canon, pre-relationship, no warnings, 1.5k
Post-canon lonely Lan Wangji running into Wei Wuxian and getting to nighthunt with him every once in a while.
Wei Wuxian is so solid and determined when they're fighting together, and sometimes he just moves Lan Wangji physically.
Sometimes he doesn't remember to be gentle. He doesn't have to, with Lan Wangji—and Lan Wangji doesn't even notice in the moment. He's too focused to register the touch or the possibility of such a small, inconsequential hurt.
But later. Later when he is once again alone, as he understands he always must be. When he is meditating, when he is replenishing his strength. Sometimes he finds a tender place, on a forearm, or a rib. A bruise he could easily heal with barely a thought.
He never does.
He is touched so very rarely, let alone by the single greatest miracle of his life.
Often, he doesn't so much as remember when the bruise happened, which he considers a shame. A waste. But he keeps the evidence. Lets it linger, as a reminder of something precious. Leaves the imprint of Wei Wuxian on his skin as long as it will stay, even if it is just a few meager days longer than the miracle himself.
One day, one of the nighthunts goes on, and Wei Wuxian stays instead of ambling off into the evening. They share a room in an inn, and Lan Wangji can hardly contain his relief, his simple joy at being allowed to be so near for so long.
The next morning, Wei Wuxian rolls out of bed just as Lan Wangji wakes.
"Did you not sleep?" he asks.
"No, I did. I did, I just. Well, I slept a bit. I just keep thinking, why did the fierce ghosts move that way?"
He goes on, puzzling out some theory to which Lan Wangji listens, rapt as always. Their breakfast arrives while Lan Wangji is still dressing. He retrieves it from the door, and as he turns back with it, Wei Wuxian trails off, suddenly going quiet. When Lan Wangji looks at him, he is staring at the faint purple mark his own fingers left on Lan Wangji's wrist in the height of battle the day before.
Lan Wangji goes very still at the realization, but does not try to hide it. To do so would only bring more attention to it.
He gets his feet moving, and sets the tray on the table.
"Eat," he says, and retreats behind the screen to finish dressing.
To his immense relief, Wei Wuxian starts talking again, and they eat breakfast with no mention of it.
Throughout the day though, he keeps catching Wei Wuxian looking down at his left wrist, a deeply thoughtful expression on his face.
Then, when they have once again caught up to their prey, there is a moment in which Wei Wuxian reaches for him.
But he hesitates. He does not touch him.
Their quarry escapes once more.
They look at each other afterward, silently. They both know what happened, and why. Lan Wangji does not know what to say, so he says nothing.
They go to the next town, the next inn. Wei Wuxian seems to move on from the awkwardness, once again conversing in his regular, lively manner.
Until, that is, they both ready themselves for sleep, and Lan Wangji catches him staring once more, waiting as Lan Wangji is about to unwrap his wrists
He stops, and goes behind the screen instead.
Wei Wuxian speaks anyway, hesitant. "What is that?"
Lan Wangji does not try to clarify. They both know. "It is nothing."
Wei Wuxian does not tease, does not tell him lying is forbidden. He hears it all the louder for his reticence.
"I'm sorry," Wei Wuxian says. "I should be more careful. But..." he pauses.
Lan Wangji does not know what he will say.
"Why did it not heal? Did I...did I. Is it like a curse mark?"
Guilt and shame rise up Lan Wangji's spine, to have caused him to believe his mere touch to be inherently harmful.
"No," he says. "It is merely a bruise."
A beat of thoughtful silence. "Are you unwell? You should have said something."
"I am not unwell," he says, peeling off another layer of his robes.
He stops, then. He does not think he will want to have the rest of this conversation unclothed. He steps out from behind the screen to see Wei Wuxian watching him closely.
"Then why is it still there?"
Lan Wangji does not want to say. But neither can he lie to such a direct question.
"It is a reminder."
Wei Wuxian stares at him, silent, until something slots into place. His face goes tight at the edges, and as he takes a swig from his wine jar, his eyes look horrifyingly wet.
"You're the only person in the world who needs a reminder that I hurt people, Lan Zhan."
It knocks the breath from Lan Wangji more efficiently than any hit he has ever taken.
"No," he says. "I did not feel the hurt."
Wei Wuxian shakes his head, uncomprehending and pained.
"It is a reminder that you—" he stops himself. But then decides he must simply say it. "Touched me."
Wei Wuxian's face changes again, but does not relax. "You would rather I didn't."
The thought of that...well. Lan Wangji refuses to entertain it.
"No, Wei Ying," he says. "I would not rather you didn't."
They stare at each other. Wei Wuxian's eyes widen for the briefest moment, and Lan Wangji is afraid he has understood too much, and will want to leave. Or at least get himself a separate room.
But then, "I don't understand," he says.
Lan Wangji is not sure he entirely understands himself in this either. He largely does not try to examine such things too closely. But Wei Wuxian still looks as if he believes himself to be somehow in the wrong.
"It is easy forget," he says eventually. "When you are not there."
Wei Wuxian blinks, his mind working hard behind his sharp eyes. "Forget."
"That you have returned."
It takes a moment, but Wei Wuxian's face relaxes, then tenses again, differently. His breathing goes slightly harsh, and his mouth works.
"Lan Zhan," he says.
L
an Wangji cannot find any more words to say, and it seems neither can Wei Wuxian.
They go to bed in silence.
The next day they apprehend and eliminate their quarry at last.
After they have dealt with the aftermath and returned to the road, Lan Wangji looks down the path to Gusu. His chest is tight, as it always is when they say goodbye.
"Here," says Wei Wuxian.
He is smiling, small and private. He is holding out his hand. In it, is his red ribbon.
"To remind you," he says, trying for impish. Trying.
At first, Lan Wangji cannot make himself take it. He cannot make himself tell him that he already has one, from years ago. Stolen and hoarded away. One of his first crimes.
Eventually, he reaches out and closes his fingers around warm silk.
"You don't look happy," says Wei Wuxian.
Lan Wangji tries to smile. Wei Wuxian likes it when he smiles. He can usually manage it, for him.
But not at goodbye.
"Won't it help?"
"It may," he allows.
Wei Wuxian huffs. "Should I just come back to Gusu with you, then?"
Lan Wangji hears the teasing note too late. He has already looked at him, already shown him something he cannot take back. Wei Wuxian's expression goes slack.
"You want me to come visit?"
The understatement of this is on too grand a scale for Lan Wangji to acknowledge.
"I do not want you to do anything that would make you unhappy," he says instead.
Wei Wuxian just shakes his head. "I'd wear out my welcome even faster than last time."
"Where I am," Lan Wangji says slowly, meaningfully, "you are always welcome."
Wei Wuxian stares at him for a moment longer. "Well," he says, turning Little Apple around, toward the mountains and the sea. "We don't have anywhere else to be...and I don't exactly like the idea of giving you any more bruises." He raises a teasing eyebrow. "Unless you want me to."
Lan Wangji feels his ears heat dramatically. Wei Wuxian's grin falls, and he clears his throat.
"So a visit might be. Might be nice."
"It would," says Lan Wangji, "if you are certain."
Wei Wuxian nods several times, and tugs on Little Apple's lead. "Yeah. Yeah, I. Yeah."
Lan Wangji nods, and feels himself smiling. Wei Wuxian smiles in return They go back to Gusu together.
(They get it together on the way, and obviously live happily ever after with lots of good bruises and absolutely no more loneliness, the end)
Gill: Human, are you making music… with your vocal cord…?
Malvolia: Please call me Malvolia, or just Lia if it’s too hard to pronounce. And yes, I am making music with my vocal cord. It’s called “singing”
Gill: I understand that you would want to celebrate your great achievements, but we have work to do. You may celebrate on your free time with your pack mate.
Malvolia: Oh, I can’t work while singing?
Gill: You can do two tasks at the same time?
Malvolia: Well, if it’s just something simple like singing or taking, then humans could do it.
Gill: Making music is a simple task for humans?!
Malvolia: If one want to be great at it, then one need to study and practice, a lot. But most humans could sing just fine. Does other species need years of practice just to make simple notes?
