Chapter Text
"Lan Zhan, when we meet again, I hope you'll have named the song." The memory of Wei WuXian's words echoed through his memories.
"I've already thought of it." He answered the memory of Wei WuXian in his mind.
He'd reached the area where they'd parted ways, visiting when he could, given his duties as Chief Cultivator, and assisting his uncle with sect duties. With Lan XiChen returning from seclusion, the duties were being gradually returned to the proper sect leader, though there were days XiongZhang still needed help.
There was a twinge of disappointment when no one was else present, even though his intuition said he would be there.
Wei WuXian had written and said as much, besides. As had Jiang WanYin, as they'd began to work through their issues as well. It felt good to him that his family was in the process of expanding. There were still things he and Wei WuXian needed to discuss, but those things were better discussed in person and not over letters, even with the instant delivery talisman.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he checked for spiritual energy. There was and provided directions and other information, including familiarity and longing.
He felt a tug to the area above the waterfall area where he liked to go to meditate and play WangXian. Moving water always reminded him of Wei Ying. And while it didn't eliminate missing him, it soothed the feeling a little.
There was the faint sound of a flute playing in the air as he approached the area. With the way sound traveled in the mountainous area, he couldn't be sure of the origin. He recognized the melody, though. Of course he did. He'd written it. It was their song. Only two people ever played it.
Wei WuXian was standing next to Little Apple, standing on a hillside just above the waterfall that was a landmark in Gusu. He was dressed in all black - as per his usual preference - though the black fabric had cloud patterns which also resembled river currents embossed on it. He'd found the fabric while at Lotus Pier, and the robes were made during his visit.
The blue cloud patterned robes he'd worn the day of his departure were under the heavier black robe. The weather was consistently colder. Winter would arrive shortly and layers were a practical way to retain body heat. There were, of course, other ways, but some of them involved other things which were not on the table. At least, not yet.
He was far enough out of town that he wouldn't be heard in Gusu, and there was the possibility he'd be heard on the boundaries of the Cloud Recesses.
With ChenQing at his lips, he was playing the song Lan WangJi sang for him in Muxi Mountain. The same song which frequently came to mind during this second chance at life, starting just after his resurrection at Mo Manor.
He now knew the origin of the song. He didn't know the name, and Lan WangJi had yet to tell him.
As he continued playing, a voice - warm and familiar - spoke from behind him.
"Wei Ying."
He stopped playing. He knew the person behind him. Of course he did.
His hands dropped to his sides, though Chenqing remained in his grasp.
The person came closer, and he turned, verifying the other's identity.
The familiar form of Lan WangJi approached, lacy white over-robe with fancy adornments and familiar light blue usual robe, though it was different from the day he'd left to wander and reconcile his presence in the world.
A bright smile burst onto his face, reflecting his love for his zhiji.
Tucking Chenqing into his belt, he moved a few steps toward the other, and held open his arms, looking at WangJi's approach with an offer of a hug.
With some qi assisted movement, WangJi moved into his arms and they held each other close.
"Lan Zhan, I'm back. For good if you'll have me." Wei WuXian spoke after the hug ended and they began to move toward the main Cloud Recesses complex.
Lan WangJi moved to take his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Wei Ying. You need to know. The song's name is WangXian."
It took a moment for the knowledge to be absorbed. "WangXian?!"
"Yes. I started writing it the night we first crossed swords and I broke your jars of Emperor's Smile. It was completed before Cloud Recesses burned."
Wei WuXian gasped. "But you didn't even LIKE me then! All I did then was annoy you! Yet you wrote a love song. About us?!"
"Xiongzhang told you the story of our parents. Most of my family believe Lans only love once. I think I agree. You didn't annoy me. I was frustrated because I couldn't understand my feelings. I acknowledged my feelings for you the day of the lantern ceremony, when the vow you made matched my own. I didn't know if you would ever welcome them so I kept them to myself. Understanding came during our search for the yin iron. I didn't know if I'd ever tell you. I didn't know if you felt anything for me."
"I came to several realizations while I was away. Mostly involving you, and us."
There was a flicker of curiosity across the other's face. Just enough to be read.
Wei WuXian smiled. "Let's head back while we catch up. We've exchanged letters, but I know life is more than letters."
"Mn."
During the walk back to Cloud Recesses, Wei WuXian remembered something.
"Lan Zhan, there's something I haven't figured out."
"Mn?" Lan WangJi's inquiry was in his usual manner.
"The brand scar on your chest I saw just after my return from the dead is in the same place as mine was before."
"Mn." There was no difference in his tone. It also wasn't an answer.
"I'm still recovering my memories from before my death at Nevernight. They're not returning in any sort of order. What I do remember is that while you were injured in the Muxi Mountain cave, it was not that way."
A deep breath. "I did it to myself three years after you died. I found Wang LingJiao's brand in the library archives. A quick trip to Caiyi obtained Emperor's Smile. I drank it and blacked out. I woke up with it on my chest in the same place as yours. XiongZhang said he found me passed out drunk after branding myself."
"Ah. That explains why, when I asked you in QingHe the night before we left for ShuDong if you'd ever had the Emperor's Smile at Cloud Recesses you said you hadn't. If you'd obtained it in CaiYi and not out of the secret compartment in your floor, which I found that first morning after you brought me back to Cloud Recesses. But why?"
"No one who knew you prior to the cultivation world plastering you with the title you dislike remembered who you really are. I wanted to remember, and I remembered your words when we were in MuXi."
A blink. "You didn't even like me then."
"Remember what I said about WangXian. I liked you too much. Was worried for you. You changed while you were missing. I tried to stand with you as much as I could, but the world kept pushing and pushing until you snapped at Nevernight. I don't know if you even know what I asked, but I wanted you to come back. To me. So I could protect you. Even while you gave up and threw yourself off the cliff. I remember the look on your face when you died."
"'I'm sorry. And thank you.'"
"Mn. Wen Ning said it was the last thing Wen Qing said to you before she took her family to JinLinTai."
"It was. And she'd immobilized me at the time with her needles. Otherwise I might have been able to stop them."
"I don't think you could have."
"That's not what I believed at the time."
"Mn."
"Okay, I think I understand now. Oh, I have a question on a different subject. Do you suppose I need a new flute? ChenQing is used for mainly music now, cultivating with resentful energy in the rare instances it's needed. I don't need to do that as often anymore, since my core is stronger and I actually have one now. I don't know whether it will still work the same if I'm using proper methods."
"You still have SuiBian."
"Yes. Though that isn't a musical instrument. And the stronger my core got, the less Jiang Cheng was able to draw it. The last time I had him try, he said it felt like he was trying to pull it with something stuck in it. At least that's what he told me."
"Mn. Good sign, then."
"Lan Zhan, are you jealous?! About my SWORD?!"
There was no answer from the other man. Not even a sound.
"You ARE!"
"It is undignified."
"You are and you hate it. You have since you found out about the core transfer."
"Why did you let him continue to attempt to draw the sword?"
"Curiosity. I wanted to see what would happen once my core started getting stronger, we wanted to see what effect it would have on SuiBian. If I'd known it meant that much to you, I'd have let you keep drawing it too."
"We've tried that once already, remember? I can't."
"Well, Jiang Cheng can't now either. Before I came back, it sealed itself to him too."
"Mn."
Wei WuXian burst out laughing. "Oh, Lan Zhan, never change."
There was an expression on WangJi's face which was what passed for fondness.
After ensuring Little Apple was secured in the Cloud Recesses stables, they made their way over to the waterfall with a bit of a pond and clearing around it.
It wasn't the first time they'd been to that location, and it was a good place for them to relax and play music.
"Shall we play WangXian together? I think it would make a lovely duet with your guqin and my flute."
"I think it was always meant for that." Lan WangJi's words were quiet, though emotional.
WangJi settled on the rock nearest the waterfall, then called his guqin, starting to play along with WuXian, who'd pulled ChenQing out of his belt, where he usually carried it.
When they finished, Wei WuXian examined the area between where they'd reunited and where they were now.
"Lan Zhan, let's go up a little ways from here. I think we can get a better view of everything from up there."
The other man nodded, but didn't speak anything aloud.
It took them a little time to get up to where Wei WuXian had wanted to go. Thanks to their abilities, the climb took no time, and with the new core, Wei WuXian wasn't even winded when he moved.
They stood together on a rock in the middle of a pool being fed by a waterfall further up from where they'd played WangXian. Wei WuXian held a jar of TianZi Xiao in his right hand, which he pulled from the pouch at his waist, ChenQing tucked into his belt, tassel swinging freely. Lan WangJi stood to his left, BiChen in his left hand, his right tucked behind him. It was his usual stance.
"Lan Zhan, to tell the truth, I never thought you'd accept the office of XianDu."
There was a moment of quiet before WangJi answered. "We made a vow here."
The lantern lighting ceremony during the period he was visiting for study purposes.
Wei WuXian, contrary to his typical protestations, vividly remembered the day.
It was near the end of the summer he'd spent in Cloud Recesses as a teen, and all the guest disciples were invited to paint and then light lanterns, allowing them to rise into the sky. Tradition also indicated wishes or vows could be made on the rising lanterns.
He'd drawn a rabbit on the lantern he was sharing with Lan WangJi, getting a genuine, if subtle smile out of him. Wei WuXian was thrilled, pointing it out. Lan WangJi'd run from it, of course, becoming angry - frustrated - at being discovered, almost leaving the ceremony but stopped when Wei WuXian had apologized and asked him to stay.
Upon lighting the lantern, Wei WuXian had closed his eyes, clasping his hands together at his chin, speaking his vow aloud. "I, Wei WuXian, vow to always uphold justice, act with conscience, and live without regrets."
'I, Lan WangJi, vow to curb the violent, assist the weak, and live without regrets.' Lan WangJi's vow was not spoken aloud, but it was remarkably similar to Wei WuXian's.
He'd thought it while watching the other man and then their lantern floating higher and higher into the sunset sky.
It verified his feelings for the other man, indicating they were not merely an act of rebellion on his part. At the same time, though, it was also a clear sign of who they were to one another, even as they were possibly too young to be entirely aware of it.
Years later, during a dark night in the rain, it had been thrown back at Lan WangJi by a Wei WuXian who had stopped carrying his sword and taken up resentful cultivation due to extenuating circumstances he'd kept secret from everyone. The fear of him by the Jins - Jin GuangShan and Jin GuangYao especially - produced lies, propaganda and manipulation by Jin GuangYao only later revealed during another dark night, in a temple in YunPeng.
The revelations in the temple were the start of a healing process neither were aware was needed, though the effects were clearly felt in their present.
"I, Wei WuXian, vow to always uphold justice, act with conscience, and live without regrets." The words were spoken as though brand new.
"I, Lan WangJi, vow to curb the violent, assist the weak, and live without regrets." Lan WangJi spoke his vow aloud for the first time, eyes directed to where the ceremony was held all those years ago.
Beside him, Wei WuXian looked at him, then nodded, smiling, before drinking from the jar in his hand. Then, he turned to face him as he spoke.
"Lan Zhan, you really are the embodiment of HanGuangJun." Wei WuXian smiled.
"You are as well, Wei Ying." Lan WangJi's eyes shifted, as he turned his head to look at him, subtly smiling, eyes warm.
Wei WuXian's smile increased, showing his teeth and narrowing his eyes. It was a smile reserved only for the man at his side.
They remained where they were standing - on a rock in the middle of the lake formed by the outflow of the waterfall near the boundaries of the Cloud Recesses - for a little while.
Wei WuXian finished the jar of Emperor's Smile he'd brought with him, tucking the empty bottle in the pouch at his waist again.
"Lan Zhan, are you ready to go home now?"
"Mn. Let's go."
They moved quickly. With a little bit of a boost to get them from the rock over to where there was solid ground.
When they were firmly on the ground again, WangJi took WuXian by the wrist, stopping them where they stood, turning to face each other.
"Wei Ying, will you stay with me? I am your zhiji, as you are mine. I love you, and have since I began writing the song. Will you marry me and become my husband?"
The smile - the one Lan WangJi adored, reserved only for him - returned. Wei WuXian's eyes narrowed to crescents, his cheekbones rose slightly even as his lips parted in a bright smile which showed the two rows of teeth present in his mouth. That same mouth Lan WangJi wanted so very much to plunder with his tongue.
"Thought you'd never ask, Lan Zhan. What will your family say, though?"
"ShuFu has moderated his views on you. Your request of my ensuring I am XianDu for the correct reasons and not merely honor and duty indicated to him you were truly looking out for my well-being. XiongZhang has quietly supported us since we first met. I'm uncertain whether your intent was for Jiang WanYin to hold a place in his heart, it happened, and ShuFu told me there was a request to begin a courtship recently."
"I wanted to make sure Zewu-jun was made aware that there were people outside of his family who cared for and about him and did not seek to manipulate him."
"Mn. And GusuLan as a whole, especially myself and ShuFu, are grateful. XiongZhang still needs to continue on the healing process, but he is out of seclusion now."
They took a few steps onto more even solid ground before Wei WuXian stopped their forward motion.
"Lan Zhan, I have a question for you that I think I know you wouldn't ask unless I mentioned it first."
"Mn?"
"While I was traveling, I examined my memories as they gradually returned. We are technically one bow away from completing the marriage ceremony. We've bowed to your ancestor in the Cold Pond Cave. We've bowed to your family - your brother here - and mine at Lotus Pier. The only bow remaining is to each other. If you don't want to finish, I'll ignore the other bows and we will remain zhiji, as we are now. Given everything, including WangXian, I want to complete the bows. What do you think?"
There was that look again on Lan WangJi's face. The same one present just a little while earlier when they were renewing the vows they'd taken during the lantern ceremony decades earlier.
"Yes."
Wei WuXian's smile returned - the same from earlier - as they moved to a clear patch of level ground with room to complete what was decades in the making.
Turning to face one another, and never breaking eye contact, they bowed three times toward each other. Then they stood, hands clasped together.
"I have wanted this for quite a while. Thank you, husband." Wei WuXian's words were filled with a teasing happiness he hadn't felt in a while.
"Mn. Husband. Although by Lan tradition, our marriage occurred in the Cold Pond Cave. Just the ribbon and the ancestor is enough."
"Is THAT why you'd been dressed like you were in mourning when you arrived at Mo Manor?!"
"Mn."
"Then why-"
"I won't force you into anything. In the Cold Pond Cave, your life was in danger with only one way to protect you. So I did what I felt I had to."
Wei WuXian rubbed his nose with his finger. "I understand why you never told me. I was annoying at that age."
"I was so emotionally shut down after my mother's death, I felt you were a disruption. I didn't know anything outside of Clan Rules. XiongZhang encouraged me to be friends with you. Then again, he knows me best, and I was of an age that I wanted to rebel, so I did it against that."
Wei WuXian laughed, throwing his head back, and the sound reminded Lan WangJi of their teen years. "Ah, Lan Zhan, and here I thought you hated me."
"Never." The word was soft.
WangJi wrapped an arm around WuXian's waist, pulling him close. A long intense kiss was exchanged, neither of them certain who moved first. Not that it mattered.
"Let's go home and scandalize some Elders, and your uncle. Will your brother approve?" Wei WuXian spoke after catching his breath.
Lan WangJi smiled. "Mn. XiongZhang already approves. ShuFu does as well. The Elders will have to live with it if they don't approve. The Juniors would probably revolt if the Elders do anything, though. And if you find you want to wander the world for a time or are needed outside of Cloud Recesses, I want you to consider it, and me, your home to return to, especially on occasions I may not be able to go with you."
Wei WuXian laughed again, rubbing their noses together before speaking. "Okay. Let's go home."