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Wei Wuxian was woken by a hand roughly shaking his shoulder, and he jerked awake with a gasp.
For a moment, he was delirious. How someone managed to get close enough to touch him without waking him is a mystery - that he woke to a hand on his shoulder and not a blade to his throat was a blessing. He jerked in that hold, unseeing, the lingering traces of dark dreams blurring his awareness. His fingers fumbled for Chenqing, kept close always, at all times, the weight of the Stygian Tiger Seal still there in his sleeves -
A hand closed around his wrist, a grip of iron, and fear and rage churned in his stomach and up his throat like a black, sickening thing -
"Wei Ying!" A voice - familiar enough that it soothed the resentful energies choking his form, and Wei Wuxian blinked his tired eyes and actually focused.
Lan Wangji stood over him, his usually stone-like face pinched - a look Wei Wuxian hadn't seen since the Sunshot Campaign. His eyes were dark, his lips pressed into a thin line. Wei Wuxian blinked at him again, feeling a little dizzy - as he often is these days upon waking, and reality asserted itself once more.
"Lan Zhan?" He murmured hoarsely.
He hadn't known that Gusu Lan would also be at Koi Tower. There was no reason for it - but as Wei Wuxian’s addled brain reminded him a second later, the head of the Lan Sect had ties with a prominent member of the Jin Sect, so there wasn’t any real reason why the youngest of the Twin Jades wouldn’t be there also.
But why was Lan Wangji here ?
Wei Wuxian blinked again, the familiar unease and suspicion crawling through his mind, when suddenly Lan Wangji tugged his wrist - easily pulling Wei Wuxian’s thin, near weightless body into a sitting position. ‘’
“Come with me.” Lan Wangji said. “We must go.”
Wei Wuxian began to scowl and tugged ineffectually at the hand holding his wrist. “Hanguang-Jun, I don’t know what you’re doing but-”
“We must go.” The youngest of the Twin Jades insisted, something frantic in his eyes - seeing that, Wei Wuxian clicked his mouth shut, scowl giving way to a frown of confusion. He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, crumbled and bunched up robes falling loose around his emaciated frame. He hadn’t changed into sleeping clothes before going to bed, having been too wary of this place with it’s flaunted wealth and lavish decorations, wanting to be ready if he needed to run -
Run.
“What’s going on?” Wei Wuxian demanded as Lan Wangji led him to the door of the room by his wrist. “Is Koi Tower under attack? What-”
A hand was slapped over his mouth, preventing him from saying anything more, and Wei Wuxian stared at Lan Wangji with wide eyes.
Lan Wangji hated bodily contact. Yet here he was, holding his wrist like his life depended on it. Placing his hand over Wei Wuxian’s mouth .
Just what was going on??
“Quiet.” Lan Wangji murmured, and withdrew his hand to open the door. He remained still for a moment, peering out cautiously, and Wei Wuxian kept his mouth clenched shut. Then he was pulled bodily from the room and tugged down the hall at a pace that would most certainly be frowned upon had they been in the Cloud Recesses.
“Lan Zhan-” Wei Wuxian hissed as he was pulled, feet stumbling a little before he managed to match Lan Wangji’s pace. “Lan Zhan, what are you doing? What’s going on?”
For a moment, he thought Lan Wangji wasn’t going to reply. They turned another corridor, and Lan Wangji doubled his pace - actually running now, and Wei Wuxian had no choice but to keep up lest he let himself be dragged along like a dead weight. They reached stairs, and Lan Wangji paused for a moment, and turned to Wei Wuxian with dark eyes.
“They’re after you.” Was what he said. “They’re going to kill you. I cannot… I will not let them do that.”
Wei Wuxian felt his blood freeze in his veins, and a dull roaring drowned out his thoughts.
“Kill me?” He registered saying vaguely. He couldn’t really hear himself, but felt his mouth move. That black rage reemerged, boiling in his gut, and he tightened his grip around Chenqing. He stared at Lan Wangji, meeting those molten golden eyes, and bared his teeth in a snarl. “ Who ?”
Lan Wangji was silent. He was breathing heavily, like their brief dash through the halls had tired him out. The way he looked at Wei Wuxian was almost… Desperate.
Wei Wuxian sucked in a breath. Forced himself to calm. Sucked in another breath, and pushed down the resentful rage churning in his gut, and said, “Lan Zhan. Tell me.”
He saw Lan Wangji swallow. The grip on his wrist spasmed, just a bit, before gentling it’s hold. Those long, elegant, fingers would likely leave bruises on Wei Wuxian’s thin wrist - a detail that once asserted itself in his mind, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but focus on, despite the tense situation.
“Them.” Lan Wangji said finally. His voice was devoid of emotion. He’d managed to centre himself, expression smoothing out into the familiar one Wei Wuxian was most familiar with. “All of them. The Sects. They lured you here, were going to strike when you were least -”
The mask cracked a little. Something raw entered Lan Wangji’s eyes, something that had Wei Wuxian’s breath hitching, the rage stalling.
“I can’t let them kill you.” He said. “I won’t.”
Oh , Wei Wuxian thought, captivated by the gold of Lan Wangji’s eyes.
Wei Wuxian found that he couldn’t say anything in response. His grip on Chenqing was loose now, the resentful rage buzzing calmly beneath his skin. He should - he should be angry. He should rage. He should kill them all before they had the chance to kill him-
Wei Wuxian let out a shuddering sigh, and closed his eyes. “... Lan Zhan. You…”
Lan Wangji’s grip tightened again. But it was still gentle - warm, and strong, and for some reason Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but find it comforting.
Wei Wuxian opened his eyes and looked at Lan Wangji, expression hard. “You know by helping me, you’re betraying the cultivation world as a whole. Your sect. Your brother. The great Hanguang-Jun… are you truly alright doing this? Helping me? You’ve always hated me, I don’t-”
“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji cut him off, and stepped closer. Wei Wuxian stiffened, narrowing his eyes. They were almost the same height, Lan Wangji was just the slightest bit taller, but for the most part they stood eye to eye.
Something had affirmed itself in Lan Wangji’s expression. He released Wei Wuxian’s wrist, only to raise that hand and cup his cheek.
Wei Wuxian stood frozen. He could feel the slightest tremble in Lan Wangji’s hand. His palm was warm - so warm against the chill of his cheek. Wei Wuxian’s breath stuttered in his throat.
“Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji said again. The tips of his ears were pink, ever so slightly. “Wei Ying, I love you. I have never hated you.”
Wei Wuxian’s mind screeched to a halt. Every thought, full or half formed simply disintegrated into nothing.
All he could do was stare at Lan Wangji dumbly.
Lan Wangji pulled his hand away, and grabbed his wrist. A gentle tug, and he pulled Wei Wuxian down the stairs, picking up a quick, hurried pace once more.
All Wei Wuxian could do was follow.