So they say, in the unremarkable is where you find the universe sublime.
Langley wasn't anything special. He wasn't some son of a king or a wealthy businessman. Yet it couldn't have been any other man in Dechliant that could get him to unravel like this.
It was a frustrating, yet intoxicating how much of a spell he had on him. Langley was his antithesis. His tan, sun-kissed skin looks full of life compared to Alexander's pale, corpse-like pallor. His smaller, wiry frame looked diminutive next to Alexander's larger, muscular build.
Cool blue eyes looking down on warm purple ones. Rough, calloused hands grasped on elegant, pianist fingers.
Langley could be any other stranger Alexander normally would miss, yet it couldn't be anyone else. No one else could be this beautiful. It's not him to find comfort in dances with uncertainty, but finding his footing when duty calls is second nature to Alexander.
For now, he embraces the heady thrill that the free fall brings. One clandestine rendezvous at a time.
M Rating for bedroom allusions, nothing graphic though
Canon Divergent Oneshot Set during the lull between Act 3 and 4
Also crossposted on AO3
The dread that clarity brought in refused to settle down.
'Maybe because it's Alexander', Langley thought as he glanced at the man sleeping like a stone beside him. The Supreme Commander of Clavaria in the flesh right before him, literally. His imposing figure somehow remained intimidating, even without the uniform.
A hazy memory resurfaces from the inky depths of drowsiness. Langley couldn't help but grimace at the second-hand embarrassment. He'd never drank before, at least not like last night. But really, the most the alcohol did was fill his head with a warm, pleasant buzz and lower his inhibitions a little to act on desires that were already there. Drunkenness wasn't like how the romance books depicted it to be. He wished it was, so he wouldn't have to confront the truth that for the most part, he was in full control of his actions. He was in full control of the words that left his mouth.
'So,' Langley thought, flushing a little, 'What then, does that say about Alexander? What does it say about him when he was being--'
A murmur from a low, gravelly voice broke him out of his train of thought. Alexander had turned his head to face him. "Qui… vets..?"
Langley feigned confidence. If he was going to be mortified about this, he'll be damned if he wasn't going to bring Alexander with him, "I thought I ordered you to call me Langley instead." He said, a direct allusion to a specific memory.
Alexander turned his head away from Langley, but he could see a flush creeping from his cheeks to his neck. Langley felt smug. 'Hah, got em.'
It took a while before Alexander spoke again, "We slept together."
The urge to reply sarcastically was tempting. Instead he opted for a simple, "Yeah, we did."
A pause settles between them, the silence amplifying the tension to an unbearable degree.
Alexander glanced at Langley, narrowing his eyes, "We shouldn't have." He sat up and stared at his hands, blanket cascading off his chest to reveal his sculpted physique, "I... shouldn't have."
It was hard to get a proper read on what Alexander was really feeling. The room was dimly lit by moonlight flitering through the windows. Alexander wasn't making it easy either. His eyebrows were furrowed but his lips weren't scowling. A bonafide unreadable expression. The mark of a diplomat, through and through.
Langley frowned for the both of them. "Do you regret it?" He craned his head to look Alexander in the eye, "If you could redo and unfeel everything, would you?"
Alexander faced him head on. His brow more furrowed and lips thinned into a fine line, "What's your objective here? What is it you stand to gain from this?"
"I'm not looking to gain anything." It was Langley's turn to avert his gaze, "All I'm saying is, I still meant all the things I'd said. I thought you were-- still think you are attractive. I... wanted to see you disheveled, stripping off that military uniform. That the faces you were making looked so good with your undone hair." The word-choice was deliberate, despite not being verbatim. He's trying not to focus too much on the specifics. Even just by going off the blurred imagery of hazy memories was enough to get his blood rushing below the blankets again.
"I wanted you." Langley pressed harder. He sat up so that now he's eye to eye with Alexander. "I wanted. still want to make a mess out of you." The quick glance to his lips doesn't go unnoticed, and Langley feels an inexplicable warmth pool at his chest.
Alexander looks down and mutters, "You've already made a mess of things." If Langley couldn't see his lips, he wouldn't be able to know. It was barely audible.
He chose to point out another thing entirely, "You never answered my question."
Alexander inhaled sharply and sighed. "It'll be sunrise soon. Won't your associates be looking for you?"
"They'll be fine. I'm honestly still spent." Langley said as he'd returned to laying on his back. "Yours?"
Alexander glanced at the door, "They know not to enter my office until I've already went out for the day. Admittedly, I—" He paused, the look of someone realizing what they're about to say on his face. "I feel like I need more rest."
Langley gestured lazily, "Well... It's your bed, so..."
It was silence again for a while. Langley looked at Alexander intently from the soft pillows. He was right beside him and yet his eyes looked like he was miles away, deliberating every move. The moonlight casted on his troubled face made him look almost ethereal. The same moonlight that illuminated him as he tried to get him on his side. Langley's still not buying his crazy ideals, but damn. Alexander is gorgeous. Like a marble statue, in all ways. He honestly still doesn't know how he managed to get in his bed.
"I..." Alexander paused and looked at Langley's lips. Langley gave him a look of silent understanding. Alexander's throat bobbed as he seemingly swallowed down his hesitance "May I?"
Langley responded by propping himself up his shoulder to make it easier for him. Alexander put one hand on his cheek gingerly and kissed him softly. It was chaste, nothing like the way they made out with so much heat, hunger and want earlier in the evening. And yet, Langley's heart stuttered and filled up with warmth.
WAIT YOU'RE YANGREI ON AO3??? I remember when the fandom was niche and your langlex fics were one of the less than 20 fics on the dechliant fandom tag!
Even to this day, Magicked Strength is still one of my favorite Langlex oneshots! Thank you for your service!!!!
Thank you very much 💙
We were in the trenches, anon haha. It was rough to be part of the few who started shipping at the early hints of their shared past, but theorizing was very fun. I think it's because I've been with this ship for so long that I feel it's such a comfort ship for me.
Honestly I already cringe at a lot of my early oneshots but i'm still really proud of a few specific lines from Magicked Strength.
Langlex being childhood friends will never not be peak to me. The concept of cool collected intimidating Alexander Evergreen having an internal crisis over a gay little crush because his childhood friend from the orphanage grew up to look fucking hot.
What your Dechliant OTP says about you (ft. Rarepairs)
NOTE: THIS IS A JOKE. DON'T COME AT MY ASKS WITH HATE. I LOVE ALL OF THESE SHIPS.
Leslex & Langphelia: The Privileged Canon Adherents. you guys are winning either way with the post-story content. you just love your good ol plain chocolate cake and you know what, you're valid for that. eat your cake indeed
Langlex: it's a tie between Langley joins Alexander AUs and Childhood Soulmates. Angst bastards. you think Narrative Foils should fuck, regardless if they're beating the toxic yaoi allegations or not. you're also weak for height differences
Langster: proponents of the Chosen Lester AU. the feel good wholesome chill ship. you saw the post-dechliant epilogue and thought wow! similar interest nerds! these two should get together!
Artephelia: has an alliance with the Langlex shippers AND the Arteley shippers. Chosen Swap AU enjoyers. you insist something more happened in the travel scenes with just Artemisia and Ophelia and also, you just think they're hot
Arteley: insists there's something more in Artemisia's scenes with Langley. has a rivalry with Langster for Funniest Shipname. Chosen Lester AU Enjoyers because they actually get together here. you are also an advocate for Men👏Getting👏Pegged👏
Morrihope: Everybody Lives No One Dies AU #1 Fan. If you ship Morrihope you're either a Morrigan diehard fan or a Hope diehard fan. fionna and marshall lee was your childhood ship.
Dyrigan: Like Morrihope, Everybody Lives No One Dies AU #1 Fan. Except you are also the LGBT community and you love your angst. gumball and marshall lee was your childhood ship.
Mirihope: Toxic Yuri 2 Electric Boogaloo. I can fix her x I can make her worse. you saw that fight scene between them and decided they should make out.
Magward: proponents of the "Edward joins the Gangley AU" insists these two spent more time after the trial in Desmontis. Angst bastards #2, if you ship Magward you probably also ship Langlex because you love that layer of ✨generational yearning angst ✨
Alysiam: a LOT of Desmontis-focused post Act 2. or post-dechliant content. Miriam redemption arc truthers. you guys saw looked at langlex and decided no, artephelia wasn't enough we need more toxic yuri in this house. respect!
Alexela: the crack ship of all time. the don't even interact in canon, but that's not stopping you. Royalty AUs where Alex Evergreen gets to meet Alex Lockhart. you ship this because you thought the shipname was funny and actually got invested once you read through Act 3 and saw how involved the clavarian military is in the plot.
Ignarthur: YEARNING, so much yearning. SO MUCH ANGST... you craved for angstier toxic old man yaoi slow burn and you will get it. in your heart of hearts ignatius rescued arthur and they're both living off the grid now.
Arthurora: That one raggedy looking pony and his wife meme. Either a fix-it rewrite enjoyer or angst enjoyer. who needs marriage counselling when you can fix their marriage and prevent 90% of Act 3's events by your own hands.
Artlexy: power couple dynamic enjoyer. you started with "haha! guys ophelia's brother has the same name as alex! artlexy is artlex if alexander wasn't gay!" but when the post-dechliant content hit and alexandre and artemisia Actually Interacted it was no longer a joke ship, was it?
unstoppable force immovable object except it's the need to see alex grow out of his toxic habits and become a healthier happier person with lester vs the undeniable toxic yaoi homoeroticism of whatever it is alex and langley have during events of the book
personally, i see langlex as familial. i know they were only raised in the same orphanage but zofuri's designs made them look borderline related and i can't see it as anything else. their relationship in canon is also hardly romantic like they both were magnus' mentees for gods sake!
plus, almost every ship fanart i see makes langley look like a goddamn child throwing a tantrum while making alex act like nothing but stoic and masculine. i think this ship fuels the infantilization of langley and is at best weird and at worst fujoshi-levels fetishization.
me: i love shipping alex with anyone because i love seeing this husk of a man who spent his entire life neck deep in hatred be taught to learn how to love again
also me: alex ships are my favorite bc of how funny it is how consistent he pulls in his twinks
