ah yes...a re-sketch of an old sketch of a scene from one of my own fics...
... ... ...
“Wei-qianbei, watch out!”
Lan Sizhui yells out in alarm but it’s too late. Bichen sinks into Wei Wuxian’s unguarded shoulder and drags along his flesh as he presses forward...
...
Abruptly, Lan Qiren raises a severe finger to point at the younger of his two nephews. Lan Wangji blinks. “Is this how Gusu Lan disciples are taught to treat their cultivation partners? Have you lost your mind?!”
Post-canon; WangXian. Not for the first time, nor the last, Lan Wangji gets mad at his incorrigible husband.
... ... ...
“Wei Ying, come here.”
Wei Wuxian stops in his tracks, smile frozen on his face. The kids facing him have also become paralyzed, gazes fixed on something over his shoulder, and he can almost see the nervous sweat breaking out on their foreheads. He turns slowly.
A tall, white-clad figure is standing there. The sight sends a shiver down Wei Wuxian’s spine.
“Lan Zhan. Haha. Um...”
“Come here.”
He goes. In fact, he runs. There’s no other choice.
When he’s within arms reach, he lifts a hand to tug on his husband’s sleeve. Lan Wangji steps back before he can make contact, stalking away without another word. His elegant Gusu Lan robes swirl gracefully around him.
Wei Wuxian knows he’s expected to follow and he does so without hesitation, struggling slightly to keep up with Lan Er-gongzi’s long strides. As he picks up his pace, he doesn’t forget to wave a frantic hand behind his back. The kids immediately scatter and scurry away.
“...bad this time...”
“...did I tell him? I told Wei-qianbei that was...”
“Shh!!”
Lan Wangji turns his head a fraction and Wei Wuxian swears that single sweep of amber eyes pierces through him like a thousand arrows. His heart skips a beat. He doesn’t know whether to swoon or cry.
...He’s so screwed.
...
It’s quiet in the Jingshi. Wei Wuxian is seated upright and proper in front of their small tea table. His fingers betray his restlessness, the cup clutched between them spinning around and around and around…
A minute passes. And another. He takes a breath.
“Lan—“
“What did you promise me?” Lan Wangji’s words are monotonous.
“I...”
Wei Wuxian’s reply dies in his throat, drowned in a rising tide of guilt. Swallowing, he looks up but Lan Wangji shifts away the second their eyes meet. The tightness in Wei Wuxian’s chest increases. Finally, he catches sight of Lan Wangji’s clenched fists, half hidden beneath his sleeves, and he can no longer stand it.
He jumps up from his seat and wraps both his hands around one of Lan Wangji’s. This time, Lan Wangji doesn’t dodge his touch. Wei Wuxian gently, carefully, uncurls those long, slender fingers, smoothing them out until they lie straight. They rest there in the palm of his hand and, for a moment, no one moves. Then...
“I came back and you were not here.”
Wei Wuxian’s own hand trembles. He can hear hurt in Lan Wangji’s voice, a tiny wisp of a thing, but it’s enough to take his breath away. He has the sudden urge to slap himself. Instead, his fingers find and intertwine very naturally — subconsciously — with Lan Wangji’s which instinctively tighten around his.
“I...didn’t think...” Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian’s thoughts are darting around wildly, trying to find a good enough reason. Something, anything that can make up for his actions. “But there’s no way I would’ve put the kids in real danger! And everything turned out fine, didn’t it?”
“You didn’t know that!”
Lan Wangji’s fingers disappear from between his and suddenly strong hands are clamped tightly around his arms. The two of them stand there, face to face, with Lan Wangji’s eyes fixed on Wei Wuxian’s widening ones, full of an intensity that Wei Wuxian can barely withstand.
“Why didn’t you wait for me?” Why did you leave me behind?
He has no good enough answer. There’s nothing left for Wei Wuxian to do except throw himself into his Lan Zhan’s embrace. Lan Wangji is stiff beneath his arms. Then, all the tension drains out and Wei Wuxian feels his husband relax around him, enveloping him in the faint scent of sandalwood. When Wei Wuxian speaks, his words are muffled against Lan Wangji’s chest.
“It’s my fault. Er-gege can punish me however he wants. The Yiling Patriarch won’t dare to resist.”
“Mn.”
The deep baritone tickles against Wei Wuxian’s neck and the corner of his mouth lifts. There’s a hint of rare childishness in Lan Wangji’s voice that Wei Wuxian can detect even from that single syllable. And indeed only Wei Wuxian would be allowed to hear it. Somewhat inappropriately for the moment, a thought rises in his mind: cute!
He sighs and snuggles closer, if that’s even possible. The moment is over; they both know that. As if Lan Wangji could possibly stay mad at him — Wei Wuxian snickers quietly. Yet when he leans up for a kiss, Lan Wangji thwarts him again. Wei Wuxian blinks. He pouts.
“Lan Zhan~!”
“Your arm.”
Wei Wuxian is blindsided for a split second before realizing what Lan Wangji is talking about. It didn’t escape Lan Wangji’s sharp observational skills after all. Resigned, Wei Wuxian sticks out his left arm and even rolls up his sleeve on his own, all without further prompting.
Lan Wangji is no longer exuding that scary ice-cold aura from before but he’s still clearly unhappy as he begins taking care of the long but shallow cut. His touch is feather-light.
To be fair, the wound is very minor and is already mostly healed despite the short amount of time. Wei Wuxian sends a silent prayer for small mercies.
“Next time, you must not do this.”
Wei Wuxian nods frantically. “Whatever Lan Er-gege wants!”
Lan Wangji shoots him a sceptical look and is met with a shameless grin. He sighs. With a final tug to secure the cloth bandage, Lan Wangji leans down for that long-awaited kiss.
... ... ...
Why was LWJ mad? Firstly, I figure this is still pretty early on in their post-canon life. My intention was: it’s not that LWJ doesn’t trust WWX’s abilities — he completely trusts WWX to be responsible and protect the kids at all costs. But this is also his worry. He knows WWX wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice his own safety for others. And they’re just humans. They can’t predict every single thing that might happen no matter how skilled you are. Obviously, the other aspect is that LWJ is still deathly afraid of losing him, and especially that he might fail to protect him (yet again, in his view).
And why did WWX go off on his own? Well, we all know how one-track minded he can be...this little asshole...lmao... He was probably just like: hey look, now’s a perfect time. No sense in wasting this opportunity! Lan Zhan’s not back yet? Ah well, I’ll just bring him a present back. Or something.
Jiang Cheng is having a great day. An alliance is going smoothly and a profitable business agreement has just been reached. All is well in Lotus Pier.
“…Yeah, I heard he’s still bedridden.”
“That’s what I heard, too! Everyone’s talking about it now.”
“Apparently, the fight lasted two straight days.”
“No way…”
Passing by the training grounds, Jiang Cheng shakes his head. These rascals are clearly slacking off again if they have the spare energy to gossip, and so loudly at that. They’re due for a good thrashing, Jiang Cheng thinks. Tsk, tsk.
“…Of course it’s possible. Who do you think we’re talking about here?”
“But that’s what I’m saying. Who doesn’t know of Hanguang-jun’s devotion? Him of all people?”
“Hmph! Well it didn’t stop him from trying to kill Wei-qianbei. I guess true love doesn’t exist after all!”
Jiang Cheng stops dead. He turns, making a beeline for the little crowd.
“What did you say?!”
... ... ...
A short (but longer than planned) post-canon fic in which both LWJ and WWX lose their memories.
Lan Sizhui yells out in alarm but it’s too late. Bichen sinks into Wei Wuxian’s unguarded shoulder and drags along his flesh as he presses forward...
... ... ...
Abruptly, Lan Qiren raises a severe finger to point at the younger of his two nephews. Lan Wangji blinks. “Is this how Gusu Lan disciples are taught to treat their cultivation partners? Have you lost your mind?!”
I’ve been wanting to start a drabble series that’s just WangXian fighting or getting angry at each other for various reasons...lol.
... ... ...
Shufu | 叔父 = a formal address for uncle from dad’s side, i.e. what the Twin Jades call LQR
... ... ...
It’s been a long several days.
A rather sticky problem had arisen several villages away that the juniors were unable to resolve. The matter of the demonic vandalism itself was neither life-threatening nor difficult to take care of but rather the hold up was due to the village leader. He was paranoid and wealthy — an irksome combination that could wear anyone’s patience thin.
Finally, even Lan Wangji could only put his foot down firmly and cut off the endless back and forth. He muses vaguely that Wei Wuxian must be rubbing off on him. Shufu would disapprove, no doubt, but Wei Ying’s little tricks are quite useful at such times.
Speaking of whom... Lan Wangji is quite eager to get back to his husband, to wrap himself around him and receive an enthusiastic kiss in return.
Wei Wuxian must be tired as well — he’s been leading the juniors’ lessons in Lan Wangji’s absence. It’s not an uncommon occurrence and in fact the kids secretly look forward to their Wei-qianbei’s refreshing teaching methods. On the other hand, Wei Wuxian always uses it as an excuse to ask for extra hugs and extra treats as a reward. Not that he needs to try very hard.
The Jing Shi comes into view and lights are on inside. The corners of Lan Wangji’s lips tilt up, barely noticeable, and his footsteps quicken unconsciously.
At long last, he opens the door, expecting to be tackled by an overdue hug...
It doesn’t come.
It’s too quiet and suddenly Lan Wangji’s anticipation is doused by uneasiness.
“Wei Ying?”
There’s no response. But the candles are flickering pleasantly in their holders so there must be someone here.
From the inner room, a loud splash breaks the silence.
Heart in his throat, Lan Wangji all but flies towards the sound, summoning Bichen to his side. He barrels around the divide to see...nothing. There’s no commotion, no action, no danger. He takes a breath and sharpens his gaze.
The bathtub is filled and familiar black and red robes are draped haphazardly on the racks. There’s a a figure submerged in the water, black hair fanning on the surface...unmoving...
“Wei Ying?!”
The room bursts into activity. Just as Lan Wangji lunges towards the tub, Wei Wuxian shoots up, coughing and spluttering, cold water sloshing in all directions.
With lightning speed, Lan Wangji scoops him out and wraps a robe around him, dashing to the bed. Wei Wuxian’s gasping breaths do nothing for his panic. Lan Wangji rushes to settle him down but keeps his upper body clutched tightly in his embrace.
“Wei Ying! Wei Ying, are you all right? What happened?”
He pats Wei Wuxian’s back, desperate to calm his breathing and soothe his water-clogged airways. A gentle stream of spiritual energy slowly warms the shivering body in this lap.
A million possibilities fly through Lan Wangji’s mind. Has he fallen ill? An injury? A sudden attack from an unknown assailant strong enough penetrate the Lan Sect’s defences? How could he let this happen right under his careful watch?!
Wei Wuxian was slowly getting a hold of himself and Lan Wangji’s heartbeat calmed in time with his husband’s breaths.
“Wei Ying, how do you feel? Do you know what happened?”
“Lan Zhan...” Wei Wuxian’s voice sounded a little hoarse. “Sorry...I...think I fell asleep while bathing...and fell in...”
