Chapter Text
Lan Wangji woke to the most beautiful and glorious smile he had ever seen. Granted, he hadn’t seen a lot of smiles in his life, having been pretty much confined to the back hills of Gusu so his curse wouldn’t interfere with any ongoing agricultural ventures. But, if he had to bet, he’d bet that it was one of the best smiles that had ever existed.
He blinked up at it and tried smiling back. Incredibly, the smile got even bigger. Lan Wangji’s heart felt like it might burst right out of his chest.
“You’re awake,” the smile said, and Lan Wangji remembered that there was a person attached to the smile and that that person was his future husband, the unconventional demonic cultivator the Yiling Patriarch, also known as Wei Wuxian. Future husband , he thought. He’d get to wake up every day to this smile. Incredible.
“Future husband,” Lan Wangji said.
Wei Wuxian laughed and his laugh was almost as wonderful as his smile, which was saying a lot . “Future husband,” he said back.
“I’m sorry I fainted,” Lan Wangji said. “I did not mean to.”
“Sorry?” Wei Wuxian asked, incredulously. “Do you know what you did?”
Oh no , Lan Wangji thought. The curse .
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “Was it very bad?”
“Bad?” Wei Wuxian laughed again. “No- it was good. It was the best thing ever. You’re so wonderful. You cleared all the resentment in the Burial Mounds. You made things grow. You made it beautiful.”
He gestured, clearly meaning for Lan Wangji to look out the open windows, but Lan Wangji couldn’t tear his eyes away from his future husband’s face. You’re beautiful , he wanted to say. You’re divine. You’re perfect. I love you.
“We missed our wedding,” he said instead.
“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian said, and sighed. “Qing-jie says it will five days before she allows you to get up.”
“Five days?” Lan Wangji asked, with alarm.
“I know,” Wei Wuxian said. “I know you’re thinking right now that you’ll sneak out of bed when she’s not looking.”
Lan Wangji hadn’t been thinking that exact thing, but something like it. It must have shown on his face because his amazing future husband laughed and squeezed his hand.
“Don’t do it!” he urged him. “Learn from my experience; she’ll stick you so full of acupuncture needles you’ll think you’re being used as a pincushion.”
“Qing-jie is your sister?” Lan Wangji asked.
Wei Wuxian smiled and nodded. “Sister by association,” he clarified.
“She’s a very small sharp looking person?” Lan Wangji asked.
“Yes!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed. “How did you… oh- your brother said you snuck away to come and get a glimpse of me!”
Lan Wangji felt his ears growing pink.
“Mn,” he said.
“I did the same thing,” Wei Wuxian admitted. “How could I marry you without knowing what I was getting into? What if all the stories about you being the most beautiful man in the world were a lie?”
“Mn,” Lan Wangji said. “They were.”
Wei Wuxian gasped. “They were not!” he exclaimed. “My future husband is the most gorgeous creature there is!”
“He is not,” Lan Wangji said. “ My future husband is.”
Wei Wuxian gaped at him, then theatrically clutched his chest. “Lan Wangji!” he exclaimed. “I had no idea you were secretly an assassin!”
“I am not,” Lan Wangji said, confused.
“Come to assassinate the Yiling Patriarch with your sweet words!” he continued. “Tell me truly, who sent you? It was the Jin Sect, wasn’t it?”
Lan Wangji caught on, finally, and couldn’t help the side of his mouth curling up a little. “If such words are deadly to you,” he said. “We must marry soon.”
“Yes?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Why is that?”
“I would like to kiss you before you die,” Lan Wangji said, shocked at how brazen he was.
Wei Wuxian actually laughed. “And we must marry before you kiss me?” he asked, his voice low and flirtatious, bending his head towards Lan Wangji’s.
A faint coughing sound interrupted them and Lan Wangji looked over and realized that this whole time there’d been someone else not just sitting on the other side of his bed, but holding his wrist and feeding him spiritual energy!
“Sorry!” Wei Wuxian said, moving away a little.
The Lan disciple attached to Lan Wangji’s other arm gave a look that seemed to indicate that she was not impressed.
“Yep, we’re waiting for the wedding all right,” Wei Wuxian assured her. “No need to worry. But Lan Wangji! The astrologers say it will take three months for another auspicious day to come around!”
“Three months?” Lan Wangji repeated, frowning.
“That’s what I said,” Wei Wuxian replied, sighing.
“No,” Lan Wangji said. He glanced over at the Lan disciple who was feeding him spiritual energy. He tugged on Wei Wuxian’s arm so he would come closer. “We will elope,” he whispered.
“Lan Wangji!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, a delighted smile plastered across his face.
“Lan Zhan,” Lan Wangji corrected.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian said. “Call me Wei Ying. Lan Zhan, I knew you were sexy, but I didn’t know you were this sexy. Let’s do it.”
“If you elope you’ll invalidate the marriage contract,” the Lan disciple on Lan Wangji’s other side said in a bored tone.
“Oh, who cares,” Wei Ying said. “That’s just about money and allies and land and whatever. This is way more important.”
He leaned in and for a moment Lan Wangji thought they were going to kiss, but then Wei Ying’s head was abruptly jerked back by a hand clutching his hair.
Lan Wangji quickly grabbed for his sword, which was of course not at his side, dislodging the Lan disciple who had been feeding him spiritual energy. The sudden lack of it made him gasp and reel back.
Gentle hands caught him and laid him back down on the bed, and he looked up into the beautiful liquid eyes of his future husband, before Wei Ying let go of him to turn and scowl at the tiny sharp woman who’d grabbed his hair. “Qing-jie!” he whined, rubbing the back of his head. “Why did you do that?”
“You can’t invalidate the marriage contract,” Wen Qing, the tiny sharp woman, hissed. “I put so much work into it!”
She turned to the person beside her, who, Lan Wangji was relieved, to see was Brother. “I’m glad to see your brother is just as much a horny idiot as mine is,” she said. “It makes me feel a little less embarrassed for him.”
“Mn,” Brother agreed. “Perhaps they are right though. It seems unkind to make them wait a further three months, especially when they seem so attached already. Perhaps the astrologers can give us a slightly less auspicious date.”
Wen Qing frowned. “I’ll try,” she said. “But you know how astrologers get. In the meantime, you two behave! It’s very dangerous to pull out of an energy transfer like that!”
“You were the one who grabbed my hair and made Lan Zhan think he needed to protect me,” Wei Ying said, turning at the last part so he could smile fondly down at Lan Wangji. “You don’t have to, you know,” he said. “I’m very powerful.”
“I want to,” Lan Wangji replied. “No one is allowed to grab Wei Ying but me.”
Wei Ying blinked and blushed. “But you? Lan Zhan!” His face broke into a big grin. “You planning on grabbing me often?”
“Mn,” Lan Wangji said and was pleased to see Wei Ying blush even more deeply.
“Heaven help us,” Wen Qing said. “I’ll talk to the astrologers.”
Wen Qing, through her magic tiny woman powers, was able to talk the astrologers into a date two weeks in the future, which was a short enough time that Lan Wangji and Wei Ying agreed to ‘be good,’ though Wei Ying got a concerningly devious look on his face when he was agreeing.
Wei Ying, who besides having the most beautifully, delightfully animated face Lan Wangji had ever seen, a laugh that could bring the dead back to life (was that how he did necromancy?), and a stunningly brilliant mind, also had a streak of mischievousness that thrilled Lan Wangji, who had been so utterly confined by rules his whole life that he didn’t even know how to start breaking them.
Wei Ying had promised to be good, but he was very very not good in a very very good way. He and Lan Wangji never touched, beyond holding hands but Wei Ying looked at Lan Wangji in a way that somehow made his blood run hot and cold at the same time. Sometimes when he spoke to him he spoke in a rough low voice that promised… things. When Wei Ying sat at Lan Wangji’s bedside and held his hands, sometimes he’d rub his callused thumb across Lan Wangi’s palm in a way that made Lan Wangji want to gasp and shiver.
Lan Wangji couldn’t imagine what he would do when he had access to his whole body.
After three days of being fed spiritual energy, Wen Qing finally decided that the Lan disciples could take a break. After five days of being bed-bound, Lan Wangji was finally allowed to get out of bed, first in short trips (the first of these, blessedly, to the bath. Sadly, Wei Ying was not allowed to assist Lan Wangji with his bathing and Lan Wangji had to be content with Brother helping him in and out of the tub and washing his hair for him.)
But Wei Ying was allowed to show him around his new pavilion, pointing out the various amenities that had been provided for him; the little pond in the courtyard, the music room, the kitchen, the chests for his clothes and jewelry. It was all very similar to his little house back in Cloud Recesses, but Wei Ying seemed so very proud of it, he didn’t make this comparison, only hummed with appreciation at everything his future husband pointed out.
“But where are your things?” Lan Wangji asked after Wei Wuxian had finished showing him the chests full of Lan Wangji’s clothes and the shelves for his books.
“My things?” Wei Ying had repeated, confused. “No- this is your house.”
Lan Wangji had frowned at that and leaned on the porch railing. The porch overlooked a scenic view of distant hills covered in blossoming forest. Wei Ying had told him that just a few days ago it had overlooked a dreary scene of grey mist and dead trees.
“But you’re my husband,” Lan Wangji had said. “Shouldn’t we share a house?”
“Really?” Wei Ying asked, doubtfully. “Would you want to?”
Lan Wangji had frowned at that. “I thought you thought I was beautiful,” he said, trying to sound casual.
Wei Ying’s eyes widened. “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen!” he exclaimed.
“Then why wouldn’t you want to live with me?” Lan Wangji asked. His voice perhaps wobbled a little. It was very unbecoming.
“I do!” Wei Ying exclaimed. “I’m sorry- I had just assumed you wouldn’t. I’m a very messy person, you know, and I’m up at odd hours working on my projects and I talk all the time and everyone says it’s really annoying.”
“Oh,” Lan Wangji said. “I don’t think you’re annoying.”
Wei Ying flashed him one of his beautiful brilliant smiles. “Really?” he asked. “You really want to live with me?”
Lan Wangji smiled back up at him. A sad shadow of his future husband’s smile, he was sure. “Yes,” he said.
Wei Ying bounced on his heels. “Okay,” he said. “Okay- I’ll pack my things! I’ll find a chest.”
“There is room in my chests for your clothes,” Lan Wangji said.
“But that’s for you,” Wei Ying said. “For when I buy you more clothes.”
Lan Wangji took his hand and tangled their fingers together. “We could share,” he said, and Wei Wuxian somehow smiled even brighter.
The next day, Lan Wangji was allowed to go for a longer walk and Wei Wuxian showed him around the Burial Mounds. “It’s really impressive,” he said, as he pointed out the Demon Subduing Cave (Lan Wangji was really very unimpressed with the Blood Pool), and the huts the Wens lived in. “The sudden forest you made appear didn’t damage any of the permanent structures.
Lan Wangji was casting a doubtful eye at the huts, thinking to himself that they didn’t seem very permanent, when an object collided with his legs and made him nearly fall over.
“A-Yuan!” Wei Ying scolded, catching Lan Wangji and holding him up.
“A-die!” the little boy cried. “a-die! I missed you.”
“This is your son?” Lan Wangji asked, looking at the little creature wrapped around his legs.
“Ah, yes,” Wei Ying said. “This is A-Yuan. A-Yuan, this is your new baba.” He suddenly looked at Lan Wangji nervously. “Is that okay? You knew I had a son, right?”
“Yes,” Lan Wangji said. “I knew. I was wondering where he was these last few days.”
“Ah,” Wei Ying said. “We didn’t want to tire you out. He can be… a lot.”
“He must inherent it from you,” Lan Wangji said.
“Baba?” A-Yuan asked, staring up at him. Carefully, Lan Wangji sank to his heels, ignoring Wei Wuxian’s protests that he’d get his expensive robes dirty.
The little boy put a dirty hand in his mouth and stared shyly at Lan Wangji.
“Hello,” Lan Wangji said, softly.
Wei Ying knelt down beside them. “Baba made all the trees and flowers grow and the animals appear. Do you like them?”
A-Yuan nodded. “Pretty,” he said.
“Yes,” Wei Ying agreed. “He’s very pretty.”
“I think he meant the flowers,” Lan Wangji said, smiling.
On the day of their wedding, Lan Wangji dressed up in the phoenix crown again, the layers and layers and layers of red silks, and took Brother’s hand to help him down from the palanquin. This time when he stepped on the flagstone (neatly cleaned of the fake blood, since Wei Ying had given in and agreed that his aesthetic was no longer working, what with all the flowers and fluffy animals that had appeared), he stayed conscious.
Oh, he might have swayed a bit when he looked up at saw Wei Ying standing there dressed in his fine red silks.
The ceremony passed in a blur- the bowing, the tea pouring, the other things that happened. Lan Wangji hadn’t really paid attention. All he had eyes for was Wei Ying, smiling down at him.
Eventually, he found himself in his room, the bed freshly made with red sheets, the canopy hung with red silks. Wei Ying followed him into the room and waited until the door was closed and then laughed.
“Finally, Lan Zhan!” he cried. “Did you think it would ever happen?”
“What?” Lan Wangji asked.
“Our wedding?” Wei Ying said. “I’ve been waiting for ten infinities at least. I stopped counting halfway through the ninth one,” he added, ridiculously. “Oh, let me help you with your guan.”
“Please,” Lan Wangji said, sighing as he felt Wei Ying’s fingers in his hair, patiently pulling out the pins that held the ridiculous headpiece in place. When the ornament had been put back into its case and the pins laid in a neat little stack on the side table, Wei Ying smoothed his hands into Lan Wangji’s hair, rubbing at his scalp. Lan Wangji couldn’t help moaning a little.
Wei Ying stepped away and smiled shyly. “Was that okay?” he asked.
Lan Wangji smiled at him. “Mn,” he said. He motioned for Wei Ying to sit down so he could remove his hair ornaments as well- silver pieces that were significantly more elaborate than the simple ribbon Wei Wuxian usually wore. Copying his husband’s ( husband !) example, he rubbed at his scalp when he was done.
Wei Ying sighed. “Copycat,” he said. He tugged at Lan Wangji’s hands so he was sitting down beside him. “What do we do now?” he asked.
Lan Wangji gestured to the food. “We’re supposed to eat,” he said. “For good fortune.”
“And lots of children,” Wei Ying agreed. “So I guess our future adoptees?”
Lan Wangji frowned. “You don’t want… biological children?” he asked.
Wei Ying stared at him. “I didn’t think… is it possible?” he asked.
Lan Wangji was suddenly filled with dread. “You don’t know,” he said.
“What?” Wei Ying asked, confused. His grip on Lan Wangji’s hands tightened. “Please tell me, husband.”
( Husband!)
Lan Wangji took a deep breath. “I thought Brother would have told you,” he said. “During the negotiations.”
“Perhaps I was just not paying attention?” Wei Ying suggested. “I’m not always the best at listening.”
“I think you’d remember this,” Lan Wangji said.
“Tell me now then,” Wei Ying said. “Lan Zhan, I like you so much. We’re husbands. It’s okay, whatever it is.”
“We’re not really husbands,” Lan Wangji said, feeling horrible.
“What?” Wei Ying asked confused. “But we got married?”
“But I’m not…” Lan Wangji swallowed, closed his eyes. “I’m not really a man.”
“What?” Wei Ying asked again. “What are you then?”
“I’m a woman,” Lan Wangji said, his voice trembling.
“Eh?” Wei Ying asked. He didn’t let go of Lan Wangji’s hands. “Then why does everyone talk about you like you’re a man?”
“When I was a child,” Lan Wangji said, “I insisted I was a boy and I made everyone treat me like a boy.”
“Oh,” Wei Ying said. “But you changed your mind and no one would listen to you?”
“What?” Lan Wangji said. “No- I haven’t… I still feel like a man.” He opened his eyes. Wei Ying still seemed very confused.
“Then why did you say you were a woman just now?” Wei Ying asked.
“My… down there… is like a woman’s,” Lan Wangji said. “I can probably bear children. If you want.”
“Oh,” Wei Ying said. “I mean it’s up to you, but if you say you’re a man doesn’t that make you a man? No matter what your… down there… looks like.” He giggled and repeated “ down there ” to himself.
“Other people don’t agree,” Lan Wangji said.
“What business is it of others?”
“You don’t mind?” Lan Wangji asked.
“ Mind? ” Wei Ying repeated disbelievingly. “ Mind? I got to marry the most beautiful man in the world! Are you crazy, husband? Mind?!” He shook his head and laughed again.
( Husband!)
Lan Wangji slumped a little and Wei Ying pulled him forward into a hug. “Thank you for telling me,” he murmured into Lan Wangji’s hair. “It seemed like it must have been really hard.”
Lan Wangji nodded into his chest and Wei Ying stroked his hair.
“I’m sorry,” he said, eventually.
“Why?” Wei Ying asked, lifting his cheek from Lan Wangji’s head.
“Because we’re supposed to be… you know… and instead I’m…”
Wei Ying’s arms tightened around him. “Lan Zhan,” he said. “We’re not supposed to do anything,” he said. “Only be ourselves and do what we’re comfortable doing.”
“Really?” Lan Wangji asked, pulling back so he could look his husband in the face.
“Of course,” Wei Ying said, leaning forward and kissing him on the nose. “Do you mind if I take off these wedding robes, though? They’re really hot and itchy. We don’t have to get naked if you don’t want to. I can change into my sleeping clothes.”
Lan Wangji sat up quickly. “Yes,” he said. “Of course. Sorry.”
“Ah, stop apologizing for things!” Wei Ying said. “Husband, will you help me with my robes?”
(Husband !)
Lan Wangji smiled up at him, then stood. “Of course, husband,” he said.
He woke to early morning light pouring into his windows and the most beautiful man in the world lying soft with sleep beside him and a little bit on top of him.
Lan Wangji stared at him for maybe hours as the daylight grew and shifted and the sound of distant voices began to seep through the windows, until Wei Ying sleepily opened his beautiful eyes and a soft smile stole over his face.
“Good morning, husband,” he whispered softly.
(Husband!)
“Good morning, husband,” Lan Wangji whispered back. “May I kiss you?”
And Wei Ying’s soft smile grew brilliant.