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A for Adorable
“Wei Ying is adorable,” Lan Zhan says out of the blue, to the effect of a spluttering and blushing Wei Ying.
B is for Bravery
At first he had thought of the boy as frivolous, back then when they had first met, and despite it, he had still been attracted.
But he had thought equally what a shame that no matter how courageous the boy was in facing the world to the point of foolhardiness - without a care of how people could hurt him, reject him- and still show a smile that could rival the sun; his bravery most of the time was wasted on tomfoolery and breaking rules right and left. Lan Zhan sighed
That was then. When he was still in utter and futile denial.
But in the cave, against not just the Xuanwu, where people were monsters too; and when they ended up trapped together, for all their efforts, without seeking any recompense even when justice is rewarded by mockings and hurts as if a crude arrow seeking an injured rabbit - and yet, and yet -
-that same smile greeted him.
It was the moment he realized he had fallen deeply and can never get out. The struggle to prevent himself from falling for years into the pit had been futile afterall, when to lose him now was akin to losing a part of himself.
With fears for his brother, and his father on a deathbed. To him, when he was at his most vulnerable, alone, he was here right now, beside him.
He sealed his feelings into a bite. This frustration, this acceptance, this fear of losing another one dear to his heart. He sealed it all into the only way he could announce his feelings to the boy beside him, whom he had though precious all along; and bit harder, never letting go.
He made a vow in his heart. To never let go of this boy.
A promise of a lifetime.
C is for Carrot
Lan Zhan watched as Wei Ying tried to feed a carrot to one of the rabbits in the zoo that was the Cloud Recesses. He pouted when the rabbit sniffed, then hopped away towards Lan Zhan’s proffered lettuce.
“Teach me your ways, oh animal whisperer,” Wei Ying said as he bowed and poked the carrot to the rabbit’s nose.
The rabbit’s nose twitched.
D is for a Dick
“Lan Zhan, yours is the only one I’ve touched besides my own~” Wei Ying teased to an ear-flushed Lan Zhan.
“Shameless!”
D is also for Delusion
Inquiry. A voice. He wakes up thinking his pleas has been returned. But what greets him is silence.
Lan Zhan wakes up many times thereafter. Urged awake by the images of that person disappearing, always disappearing away from him. He runs to give chase and the image dissipates like ephemeral wisps of incense smoke before he could reach him .
As the ache returns and he remembers the silence of the guqin waiting for the other earlier that night, he thinks his wish is nothing but a delusion and his dreams the only way he can see him again.
Every night he dreams. And every morning he wakes up from a delusion.
E is for Emperor’s Smile
..or, rather, also for excitement as he sees the expression on Wei Ying’s face when he buys him a jar of his favorite drink.
Now that he has his wife back, he will buy him as many Emperor’s Smile as he wishes. Seeing that smile again, and again, and again as he continues to spoil him, he thinks the liquor is aptly named.
G is for a Garden of Gentians
Lan Zhan pushed Wei Ying on a field of Gentians.
“Lan Zhan?”
“I wanted to see how you’d look amongst them.” On a garden of gentians my father made for my mother.
Wei Ying grinned, his eyes soft, and motioned for him.
“C’mere you…” and pulled him down so they may hug closer.
I is for Insensitive
No matter how many times they do this, there would never come a time when his body becomes insensitive to Lan Zhan, Wei Ying bemoans as the third orgasm was forced out of him.
I is for Inquiry
It has been years since he last played Inquiry for him.
Since there was no need for it anymore.
J is for Jars
That would be the last time he finishes a jar of alcohol and replaces it with water, Wei Yings thinks as he spits out water.
Jealousy
It was not often that Wei Ying was jealous of Lan Zhan instead of the other way around but when he is he becomes even more obnoxious than usual, not that Lan Zhan minds if said obnoxiousness is manifested as teases and whines. And the not so occasional seductions.
But there are times when his jealousy is not so outward and that is when Lan Zhan worries when Wei Ying
“You could have had a wife and kids and not have to be with someone like me.”
“No.”
“Wei Ying. You are my wife. Our kid is Sizhui. And I will not allow anyone else but you with me.”
“But everyone says you deserve better Lan Zhan.”
“Exactly.”
“Oh.”
K is for Key
Wei Ying never needed his key, the jade token, to Gusu, since he was always with Lan Zhan. The jade entry token hanged as a useless decoration on his belt on most times. They both knew it was more symbolic than needed anyway.
L is for Lan
And Jingy was the UnLanest Lan to ever landed in the land of Lan, with Wei Ying as the Lan’s worst walking nightmare, or dream if you asked a certain Hanguang-Jun.
Lan Qiren sighed often over what would become of the future of the Lans.
L is for Landed
Wei Ying often jumped from trees and no matter the height, would always landed on a Lan Zhan with his hand outstretched.
It happened so often that Lan Qiren decided to add to the Gusulan sect rule “No jumping from trees!”
M is for Money
Everyone knew who has the dough and where the Yiling Patriarch’s money comes from.
Sugar daddy, they try not to cough around Lan Qiren’s and Lan Wangji’s presence.
N is for Nibble
.. which quickly escalates beyond pg13.
O is for Ownership
During days when Lan Zhan feels his ownership of Wei Ying is questioned, he loops his forehead ribbon and ties it around Wei Ying’s wrist before knotting it in the amount of years he spent pining for him with Inquiry and the amount of years they’ve been together thereafter as good measure, so the boy won’t have the chance to run away. Be reminded of my years devoted to you!
The couple of female fruit vendors are stunned in silence. They had only received a few sentence in greeting and inquiry of the price, before their customer was tied up and dragged away.
P is for Pillow
Wei Ying sometimes uses Lan Zhan’s chest as a pillow not that he minded.
No. The people who mind are the ones who stumble on the scene if they so happen to enter with knowing.
Q is for Quiet
The Cloud Recesses was often quiet unless a certain person was in the vicinity. And sometimes, it was not even that person’s fault.
The juniors learned not to stay near the jingshi unless they wanted an earful of things that make their ears go red.
Quiet [2]
It is moments such as this when he is glad to not be anywhere but here.
A swarm of comfort and his husband by his side.
In the rare moments when he can catch his husband sleeping before he wakes, he cherishes the moments when the sun’s rays catch on his face.
“Good morning Lan Zhan~ It’s not often that you are sick. Let this wife of yours take care of you.”
His husband, more quiet than usual due to his colds and cough hums.
He enjoys quiet moments such as this too.
R is for Remembrance
Even though they are together now, Lan Zhan still can’t forget the pain of pining and separation from Wei Ying, but the remembrance only makes him treasure more what they have now and to never let it be taken for granted.
“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, stay together with me okay? Okay. You already said so before but I wanted to hear it again. I promise I’ll never leave you alone, even if you ask me to. You’ll probably come to regret it but as long as this one is wanted then I’ll make you forget the pain of being alone from me. Actually, why don’t I make that promise? I’ll stay with you as long as it takes to forget the pain and remembrance of losing me.” Wei Ying makes the signs, as if a vow from one’s heart.
“You’re oath.” Mark your words.
“And I promise to always abide by your side, through sickness and health.”
S is for Starvation
A day without TianTian is like starvation for Lan Zhan. It must be why Wei Ying calls him a bottomless animal.
Starvation[2]
He had not known he could experience emotions like this before meeting Wei Ying. But now there was an abundance of them it made him only realize how starved he was of those teasings and affections when they were gone and only red eyes see him now. And even those he preferred compared to the silence and absence of those eyes staring at him for thirteen years afterwards.
T is for Talisman
He hadn’t known talismans could be used for that purpose before. He is tied, with a drunk Hanguang-jun prowling towards him.
What was he supposed to do?? Mpphh!!
U is for Underwhelming
Lan Zhan’s tolerance for alcohol is underwhelming but not his kisses, thought Wei Ying as he is kissed 10th time that night.
V is for Volunteer
Wei Ying often volunteers to tutor the Lan kids, to the ever continuing consternation of Lan Qiren.
Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi in return, often volunteers when Wei Ying and Lan Zhan goes on a night hunt. They also accompany him during the rare times when he is left alone and Lan Zhan has some sect business to attend to.
Over the years, many more disciples volunteer to go on night hunts with the Yiling Patriarch and Lan Wangji once they realize the Yiling Patriarch wasn’t so bad and this would be one of the best education they can get, if they can stomach the PDA.
“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Kiss me.”
Wei Ying stands on tippy toes; Lan Zhan’s arms around his waist, as he angles his head upward to accept Lan Zhan’s kiss.
Meanwhile corpses crawl rampant around the background. They look like as if they know they weren’t supposed to belong there and would have run away if only their feets were fast and sturdy to take them away.
“Are they..are they making out in front of the corpses? And in front of us!” screams Jin Ling.
“Even in death, will no one be ever able to escape this shameless level of PDA?” Lan Jingyi exasperates.
Lan Sizhui just stands there smiling while silently commiserating with the corpses.
W is for WangXian
The name of the song Lan Zhan had made for Wei Ying and the song which led him to his identity.
He had made it with thoughts of him.
If we are together, then envies have no reason to exist.
X is for XianXian
“Aaah~~ Please feed XianXian a piece of loquat Lan-er gege ~”
Wei Ying’s 3 year old baby syndrome worsens as Lan Zhan continues to spoil him, to the eternal disgust of Jiang Cheng and people not used to the couple’s PDA.
And if he is drunk enough, and Wei Ying is in a childish enough mood, Wei Ying sometimes tells him afterwards how Lan Zhan is being like a jealous, scolding adult and uses that nickname too.
“You called me XianXian even when you ‘punished me! Have you no shame Hanguang-jun?” Wei Ying gives an exaggerated moan.
Y is for Years
The number of years Lan Zhan and Wei Ying will spend together will be equal more than the years spent pining and separated.
Z is for Zither.
“Lan Zhan, play a song for me,” Wei Ying plucks the strings. Lan Zhan’s den of rabbits play nearby and encircle them as if wanting to hear a song too like their owner’s fated person.
He considers why he never tried playing the guqin, or any other zither. It wasn’t as if his fingers were not nimble enough and skilled to play a zither if he really wanted to.
But then he already had Lan Zhan to play for him. For all his life.
“What did I do to deserve this?” Wei Ying asks when the full weight of spending an eternity with Lan Zhan falls on him and it leaves him wheezing hard out of unrestrained and deep contentedness.
Lan Zhan can recite all the words of the alphabet, but even then; it wouldn’t still have been enough to sufficiently tell his loved one the reasons so he settles on one word.
“You.”
Just by being yourself is enough.
Even if I recite all the letters, and know all the words, it would still not be enough to encompass all the reasons why you are deserving of devotion so I leave it at one word and have you figure out the rest.