Chapter Text
Taking his first steps out of seclusion, Lan Wangji sighed into the crisp night air. The Cloud Recesses were as peaceful as ever, starlight glimmering in the specks of dew and frost. He tucked his arms into his sleeves and began to trace a path through the gardens. The guest disciples had supposedly arrived this morning, and so the need for patrols had arisen once more.
Sure enough, there was a whisper of movement along the exterior wall. As he approached, Lan Wangji heard the telltale scuffle against stone, followed by grunting and soft swears, before a leg hooked itself over the top of the tiles. He gracefully launched himself to the top of the roof with a flutter of robes, a reprimand ready on the tip of his tongue for the first troublemaker to enter the Cloud Recesses after curfew. One look down had him captivated by a pair of silver eyes, wide with panic and a hint of mischief, framed with soft black hair.
And then he saw the giant rabbit in his arms, and all words left him.
“Uh, h-hi!” The disciple grinned sheepishly. The rabbit just stared at him blankly, apparently accustomed to the manhandling.
“What… are you doing?” Lan Wangji manages to find his voice, the initial shock fading.
The boy’s eyes darted around, looking very shifty. “I uh...I was trying to bring in my forgotten belongings?” He leans over and whispers conspiratorially, “I’ll let you have a cuddle with the rabbit if you pretend you never saw me!” He smiles broadly, and Lan Wangji can’t help but notice his pronounced front teeth, and the small mole under his lip that pops out as he grins. Cute.
Lan Wangji frowns, “Pets are not allowed in the Cloud Recesses.”
He pouts. “He’s… not really a pet? He’s my family!” Lan Wangji shot him a confused look. "He's my brother who's always been with me ever since I was born! I can’t live without him and he can’t live without me!” The disciple declared boldly.
The rabbit, on the other hand, didn’t even move. It just stared at Lan Wangji with bored, beady eyes. It almost looked like it either could not be bothered with his master, or it wanted to find some place to burrow into already.
“Ridiculous. Get out.”
The disciple gapes at him in mock hurt, “How could you say no to such a fa-NGH!” The huge bunny finally become too much for his arms and started sliding out, taking the boy off the roof with him. Lan Wangji darts forward, plucking the rabbit from the air and letting the disciple tumble inelegantly down into the courtyard. The bunny is surprisingly heavy, as well as luxuriously fluffy, and the Jade can feel his muscles straining to hold it with one hand. He needs to do more handstands.
He rests it on his shoulder, glaring down at the groaning teen on the dirt. “Punishment in the morning. Rabbit stays outside.”
That night, Wei Wuxian staggered back to his room, still half in disbelief over what happened. From getting caught by a very beautiful and very strong Lan disciple, that same disciple taking Xiao Bai away and Xiao Bai not even trying to struggle away from his grip… it was a bit too much to take in, and he plopped face first on the bed and stayed like that until the next morning, when two Lan disciples marched in at the ungodly hour of dawn to drag him off to be spanked.
“You look like shit.” Jiang Cheng points out helpfully as they met in front of the classroom.
“Ngn… my poor ass… I wasn’t even smuggling in alcohol!” Wei Wuxian complained.
“What were you smuggling in then? Wait, don’t tell me.” Jiang Cheng immediately shot him a dirty look, “You brought that monster with us?!”
“Hey! Xiao Bai is a cute rabbit and I can’t bear to leave him at home! Besides, wouldn’t it chase your dogs all over the place if I left it back there?” Wei Wuxian shoots back.
“True. But you should have known that pets are banned in the Cloud Recesses. You know what? Forget it. If anyone asks, I don’t know you.” Jiang Cheng moved to leave.
“Ah, Jiang Cheng! I know you care for Xiao Bai, so why don’t you help petition for Xiao Bai’s entry for your beloved shixiong!?” Wei Wuxian whines as he grabs onto Jiang Cheng.
“As if I would!” Jiang Cheng tried to pry him off.
“Wei-xiong, you were smuggling in a pet? Why not just hide it in your clothes or something?” Nie Huaisang chirps in, joining in out of nowhere, flicking a fan open to hide his smile.
“Yeah, I am, but he's too big. That won't stop me though; he’s been with me through thick and thin. I can’t sleep without him.” Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes.
“Does Jiang-xiong have one?” Nie Huaisang asked in confusion.
“Oh hell no, I prefer my dogs, thank you. I’ll still take the rabbit over Wei Wuxian though.”
Wei Wuxian sticks his tongue out at his brother.
“By the way, Wei-xiong, who caught you? It wasn’t… Lan Wangji was it? He’s the worst possible person you could cross here…” asks Nie Huaisang.
“I don’t know, it was some really handsome Gusu Lan disciple. He was pretty strong too, he could carry Xiao Bai with one hand. If he wasn’t wearing the Gusu Lan disciple robes, I’d have mistaken him for an immortal or something.”
“Oh damn.” Jiang Cheng muttered while Nie Huaisang stared at them in confusion. How hard is it to carry a rabbit?
As it turned out, the one who caught him was indeed Lan Wangji. Jiang Cheng immediately punched Wei Wuxian in the side once he found out. Despite Lan Qiren’s lecture on the rules of the Cloud Recesses that day, Wei Wuxian makes another attempt in smuggling the rabbit again when the sun went down. He ends up in the same spot as before, and Lan Wangji catches sight of him as he just got onto the wall. Again.
“Pets are forbidden in the Cloud Recesses.” Lan Wangji sternly reminds.
“Ah, you spotted me and Xiao Bai again! Don’t tell me that you’re chasing after me Wangji-xiong?” Wei Wuxian teases.
“What did you call it?” Lan Wangji asked.
“Xiao Bai. He’s a cute one, right?!” Wei Wuxian cheerfully replied as he edged his way across the wall.
Wordlessly, Lan Wangji’s hand moved to pull out Bichen. If Wei Wuxian keeps doing this, there would be no end to it. But before he could even pull it out of its sheath, something white and fluffy hit him in the chest. He nearly loses his balance, and found that the rabbit had pounced on him. He blinked, regaining his balance by stepping back two steps. Upon closer inspection, he realised Xiao Bai had claws and almost lost his composure. What kind of rabbit is this?! He blinks again, as the rabbit stares into his eyes.
“Are you okay?!” Wei Wuxian asked, concerned.
“Mn.”
The rabbit feels very soft to touch and didn’t even hurt him. It just sat in his arms, comfortable. It’s cute. However, rules are rules.
“Out, and report for punishment tomorrow.” He speaks, before heading off to the same place where he let the rabbit go the night before.
The next day, Wei Wuxian drags a reluctant Jiang Cheng and a curious Nie Huaisang outside the Cloud Recesses to check on Xiao Bai and make sure Lan Wangji didn’t just hand the rabbit over to his uncle.
“So where do you keep the rabbit, Wei-xiong?”
“The forest. He will always answer me or find me when I whistle.” Wei Wuxian then proceeded to make a loud whistling noise.
Nie Huaisang blinked when he heard the ground shake slightly. Out of nowhere, from the trees, jumps a big white animal. It takes a while for Nie Huaisang to register the two long ears of the animal, and the sheer size of it before Wei Wuxian walks towards it like it was the cutest thing in the world. Wei Wuxian hugged it tightly, while Jiang Cheng walked over, reluctantly patting it.
“Wow.” Nie Huaisang says as he meets Xiao Bai for the first time. “Wei-xiong, when you said rabbit, I wasn’t expecting this. This is… the biggest rabbit I have ever seen in my life!”
“Yep! Isn’t Xiao Bai a cutie?! Who’s the cute one!? That’s right, it’s you, Xiao Bai!” Wei Wuxian snuggles with the rabbit.
The rabbit continued to stare at Nie Huaisang, expression unchanged as Wei Wuxian rubbed his cheek on it. Nie Huaisang failed to verbalise any words, if he had any. All he knows is that the rabbit would probably be able to beat him in a fight, judging from its big paws. Oh, speaking of that… it kind of reminds him of his older brother back home. He tried to imagine what his brother would do if he found such a huge rabbit, and can’t help but entertain the idea that his brother might like the rabbit. Xiao Bai looked feisty, and loyal. Characteristics his brother admired in people.
“I think my brother would find it cute.” Nie Huaisang finally commented.
“Introduce me to him! I need more Xiao Bai lovers!” Wei Wuxian slung his arm around Nie Huaisang, eyes sparkling.
“Wei Wuxian, would you please just stop already?” Jiang Cheng sighed.
Lan Wangji stared down at the group from the top of the path, passing by quite by chance. His eyes narrowed at Wei Wuxian’s happy grin as he squeezed Nie Huaisang to his side, and his lips pressed into a thin line until they paled. He snorted and tossed his hair, whispering “ridiculous” to himself as he strode away with slightly more force than necessary.