༺🌕༻ The bell tolled 9 o’clock and Wei Ying had been suspiciously absent for the first time in months. He had gotten better about abiding by Cloud Recesses’ rules and not venturing out in the middle of the night, but every now and again the wild spirit would take him and do as it would; he would find his way home eventually as always.
Wangji lay in their bed, drifting somewhere between waking and sleeping, vigilant for the sounds of footsteps and the gentle closing of the Jingshi door, which indeed came at last some time later. He waited, feeling the presence draw nearer to him, the careful placing of feet suggesting to him that Wuxian was doing his best not to rouse him — to sneak into bed without his husband’s notice. Wangji decided to play the man at his own game, waiting until the figure leaned over him before a swift hand shot up to catch him by the front of the robes, dragging him down firmly against his lips.
He’d expected to taste warmth there — spices, heady liquor, life— but what met his lips was chilled flesh, breathless, but not from shock, but because the owner of those lips needn’t breathe.
Eyes flashed open, lines of dark lightning on pale skin meeting his gaze, the face unfamiliar for only a moment simply because it was not the face he’d expected to see before stark realization dawned on him. He gave Wen Ning a shove back, scrambling upright in bed and lifting the back of his hand to his lips.
“You-!” he started, though cut himself off as he noticed the jade token dangling from the Ghost General’s grip. Only those with permission to come and go from Cloud Recesses were granted such tokens, and Wen Ning was certainly not among those permitted.
Wangji gave him a calculating look, hand lowering from his mouth. “Wei Ying? Sizhui?” he questioned him, his voice, while calmer, taking on a very different sort of concern.༺🌕༻