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“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian calls out, shifting with the motions of Lil Apple beneath him. He pouts, having been ignored, and takes it upon himself to simply sigh dramatically, as if Lan Wangji’s selective hearing was anything new. “Lan Zhan… Lan Zhan… I am tired. So tired! My hips hurt, Lan Zhan, and I’m wondering if it is this bumpy road or perhaps, last night, when you—“
“It is the bumpy road,” Lan Wangji says. He keeps his gaze straight ahead, not even squinting in the afternoon sun.
“Pardon me? What was that? Second Brother Lan, did you just interrupt me? Is it just me, or is interrupting someone else while they speak against the sect rules?” Wei Wuxian asks, his eyes wide in exaggeration. He leans forward, trying his best to get a peek at the expression of his other half, but then thinks better of it as his balance shifts dangerously.
Lan Wangji continues to say nothing. He holds the reins loosely because Wei Wuxian had asked him to, and it was such a simple thing to do—extend his arm and curl his fingers to enclose the leather in his grasp. It was simple, but it always managed to make Wei Wuxian light up, as if it were the greatest thing in the entire world, so Lan Wangji didn’t particularly mind to hold the reins although the animal would not veer off the path.
This time, there was no words of a little one, but the way Wei Wuxian’s face morphed into softness spoke more than his silence did.
“I am so tired, Er-gege.”
Still, no response—perhaps Wei Wuxian’s choice of words were getting dull the more he used them? He sighs, his gaze drifting from tree to tree, from the butterflies dancing around to the birds soaring in the sky. Wei Wuxian was so engrossed in the scenery, of the vibrant life surrounding them, that he was not aware that Lan Wangji guided them along a different path.
Only when the scenery around them darkened as they went through the trees did Wei Wuxian perk up, his heart dancing because this secluded path could mean so much! There is a leer morphing onto his face the farther they tread on.
“Oh, Lan Zhan? Are you going to take advantage of me? Please, no! I am so tired, Lan Zhan! Whatever you do, do not pick me up from this steed and lay me bare on the ground!”
If not for having been around the man in front for so long, Wei Wuxian would have missed the slight change in his voice, the softness of his tone.
“Don’t be so frivolous.”
“Was I wrong? I was wrong, wasn’t I?” Wei Wuxian asks, dramatically fake in the way he comes off as embarrassed. “Please, Lan Zhan, do not look at me.”
“I will not.”
“I was kidding! Kidding!” he yelps, leaning forward. Perhaps the light being scattered by the leaves is affecting what is real—Wei Wuxian was sure there was the smallest upward curve of Lan Wangji’s lips. He doesn’t register the next change of scenery around them as he continues, “If you do not look at me, Lan Zhan, what reason will I have to carry on living?”
Lan Wangji comes to a stop, and so does the steed he guides. “You are…” he begins, voice just barely heard over the wind rustling the leaves. “…silly.”
Wei Wuxian laughs so hard he topples over, landing with a thud onto the ground. “Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Silly?! When have you ever said such a simple word?!” Wei Wuxian snorts, arms crossed over his stomach because he is sure that his intestines could tear through the muscle and skin with how intense he is laughing. “Oh, Lan Zhan, you—oh! Oh! Lan Zhan?”
Wei Wuxian’s laughs simmer to giggles as he finally looks around them.
The clearing Lan Wangji guided them to wasn’t particularly big nor small, but it was bright and full of colorful flowers dotting the green, with birds chirping in the trees and dragonflies parading in the air. Wei Wuxian looks up at Lan Wangji expectantly, eyes wide and full of something that Lan Wangji can definitely feel, warming his heart further.
“Tell me, what are we doing here?” Wei Wuxian asks, his smile on the verge of teasing. He lifts his hands because Lan Wangji outstretched his own; swiftly, Wei Wuxian finds himself being pulled up onto his feet, hands clasped with his other half’s, still. With a tilt of his head, his smile grows.
His ears—they’re pink!
The sight was something to behold, always.
“Resting.”
Lan Wangji turns, guiding Wei Wuxian simply because he enjoys the feel of Wei Wuxian’s stare at the back of his head. He comes to a halt in the middle of the clearing, unwilling to uncurl his fingers from Wei Wuxian’s hand but knows he must, if they are going to sit and rest. Lan Wangji lowers himself carefully, mindful of the dirt. Not a second passes until Wei Wuxian flops himself down as well, lifting loose dirt into the air with a booming laugh that seems to shake the Earth.
Lan Wangji’s smile is as tiny as possible—but Wei Wuxian knows, by now, the shift in his expressions, no matter how minuscule. When their eyes meet, Wei Wuxian smiles back widely.
“Lan Zhan… now that I’m looking at you, I don’t want to rest.”
“Mm.”
Wei Wuxian leans toward the other, his smile soft and his eyes full of adoration. His heart thumps rhythmically against his core as he says, “I require a kiss.”
Lan Wangji looks over dubiously.
“It’s not a joke! I’m not plotting anything!”
“You must rest,” Lan Wangji says, but his voice doesn’t sound as confidence as it should.
Wei Wuxian smiles, aiming to make the curve of his lips look as sweet as possible. He knows how to coax his other half—most of the time, but he would never admit to the times he could not. “I would rest better if you gave me a kiss, Er-gege.”
Lan Wangji mm’s again, full of doubt, but ultimately, he is hooked. Wei Wuxian can’t help but laugh. He watches as the other leans over, his eyes barely closed, as he presses a kiss against Wei Wuxian’s own.
The sensation of being kissed and kissing in return is something Wei Wuxian would never be able to describe. From his first kiss, stolen by Lan Wangji in scenery similar to the current one they were in—to this one, easy and soft, without a care in the world. A stampede seemed to rage against his ribcage, his mind seemed to cloud over and his joints seemed to grow softer and softer—at times, he wondered how it was for Lan Wangji, but even now, as he extends a hand and places it on the other’s chest, Wei Wuxian knows.
After all, his own heart strums just as fast.
“Thank you, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says, a light laugh leaving his lips. Lightning bolts seem to spark where his hand is, on Lan Wangji’s chest.
“Mm,” Lan Wangji hums. His movements show no hesitation as he covers the back of his other half’s hand with his own. Lan Wangji squeezes Wei Wuxian’s hand before letting his hand drop. “Always, Wei Ying.”
Emotion rushes through Wei Wuxian’s blood as he falls back onto the ground. Always, Wei Ying. The words reverberate in his skull, bouncing around erratically.
“Wake me up soon, will you?” he says, pretending his voice isn’t as shaky as it really is.
“…Mm,” Lan Wangji hums. He would, of course, let his other half sleep for as long as he desired.
“I mean it, Lan Zhan!”
“Mm.”
Sometimes, it was best to humor Wei Wuxian.
***
Wei Wuxian never took long to fall asleep. The sun had barely moved at all before Lan Wangji heard the soft snores from beside him. Leisurely, he looks over, taking in the sun that hits the side of Wei Wuxian’s face and the strands of hair that blow in the wind, tickling his nose.
Lan Wangji reaches over as the expression of his face changes, deft fingers brushing aside the hair and tucking it behind Wei Wuxian’s ear.
“…Soft,” comes out of Lan Wangji’s mouth before he could stop it. Quickly, he retracts his hand as if burned, his ears reddening because he was not used to the changes in him, no matter how minor, with Wei Wuxian ever at his side.
His heart quickens in his chest and he does his best to calm down—he closes his eyes, attempting to quell the rush of emotions but the sleepy noises that Wei Wuxian makes beside him is making it difficult to do anything but open his eyes and stare at his sleeping face.
Naturally, Lan Wangji does just that.
He watches as Wei Wuxian’s brow furrows, as his lips twitch and as his expression fades back into easiness. Lan Wangji finds that the wind is merciless, sweeping past them in waves and tousling Wei Wuxian’s hair. He knows, of course, that he could simply move to the other side of Wei Wuxian’s sleeping form, blocking the wind so that it could not cause his hair to tickle his nose—but, that would give Lan Wangji no excuse to touch his other half as he slept.
Lan Wangji thinks, for a moment, that Wei Wuxian would surely call him silly if he knew the process of his thoughts.
As the wind reads Lan Wangji’s intentions and dies down, Wei Wuxian rolls over, his back to Lan Wangji.
His eyebrows immediately furrow, just a bit.
Lan Wangji reaches over the short distance to dutifully pluck away the few strands of grass that mingled in Wei Wuxian’s hair. Once again, he cannot help but mutter, “soft…” as the tips of his fingers smooth over his other half’s hair.
Lan Wangji usually does not indulge in much.
Today, oddly, is different.
He scoots closer to Wei Wuxian, carefully lifting a portion of his hair and just as carefully, Lan Wangji combs his fingers through Wei Wuxian’s hair, smoothing it out, easing the tiny knots that came with being tousled by the wind and shifting in slumber. Lan Wangji tilts his head, gaze flickering between Wei Wuxian’s sleeping face and the hair that now gives way to the motions of his fingers.
Lan Wangji lets the hair fall from his hands and back downward. He reaches once more for a portion of Wei Wuxian’s hair, combing his fingers through, watching as his fingertips slip through the black. The sensation… it feels nice against his skin, and he comes to find that he could get used to the feeling.
The repetitive motion of braiding hair comes back of Lan Wangji easily. While the set up is not ideal, with Wei Wuxian sleeping on the ground, Lan Wangji figures that it will do, although the portion of braids, he knows, will look lopsided once Wei Wuxian awakens and sits up. Still, the indulgence is strong, just as the desire to hold any part of Wei Wuxian in his hands.
The sun moves gradually and the sky darkens just a fraction as Lan Wangji sits on the ground, the motion of combing through hair and the continuous shift of his fingers seeming to embed in his mind as Wei Wuxian sleeps against the grass. He braids carefully as if weaving cloth as to not misplace a single strand of hair.
A thought intrudes itself in Lan Wangji’s mind—that Wei Wuxian will surely be upset, being allowed to sleep so long.
Lan Wangji can feel the corners of his lips tug upward, just barely. Warmth spreads throughout his chest and it is then that he feels the air shift. Beside him, Wei Wuxian makes a sound that comes deep from within his chest; as his senses come alive, his whole body freezes.
“Lan… Zhan?”
“I am here.”
Wei Wuxian sighs happily; he moves to flip over, but realizes in mid-movement that he’s unable. “What are you doing, Lan Zhan?”
Lan Wangji finishes the third braid he managed to create, leaving it as it is because they had no sort of accessory to tie it in place with, in their belongings. He doesn’t respond, a strange sense of embarrassment coating thick on his tongue. There were many emotions he rarely experienced, and even now, with Wei Wuxian at his side for all these years, it was still strange to feel them.
Wei Wuxian sits up the moment Lan Wangji leans back. His hands immediately touch his hair, a look of curiosity on his face as he carefully brings a braid over his shoulder to examine it. “Oh!” he gasps, and Lan Wangji sees a variety of emotions cross his face so quickly, that he wonders if it was even possible. “Lan Zhan, this is very… it’s wonderful! Very well done. You are incredible!”
“Mm.” Ultimately, Lan Wangji’s body betrays him. His ears pinken instantly.
“Where… did you…” the rest of his question trails off the moment Wei Wuxian realizes what the answer could be.
Unexpectedly, Lan Wangji answers him, “My… mother.”
Wei Wuxian nods, a tightness in his chest because the topic of Lan Wangji’s mother and father had always been one they barely ever touched upon. “Thank… you, Lan Zhan. For telling me. For—uh, sharing this…” he takes the other two braids in his hand, cradling them carefully in the palm of his hand, showing them to Lan Wangji, “with me.”
“Mm. Wei Ying is… my family, after all.”
“Oh.” Wei Wuxian’s eyes widen in surprise. For once, his smile is sheepish. “Yes. Family—we are husbands.”
“Husbands,” Lan Wangji repeats, and Wei Wuxian can tell just by the slight shift in his tone that he is happy.
Wei Wuxian smiles widely, the rush of emotion back, stronger than ever. He sighs, curling his fingers around the loose ends of the braids as he stands up, glancing up at the sky. “How close is the next town?”
Lan Wangji rises alongside the other, watching as Wei Wuxian shakes Lil Apple awake. “Close.”
“Good. Let’s get to town, see if any vendors are open, and get a room.”
Lan Wangji tilts his head, just slightly. “Vendors?”
Wei Wuxian laughs as he sits atop their steed once more. “Of course!” he says, as if he didn’t understand why Lan Wangji asked. Wei Wuxian raises his hand, the one that is securing the three braids. “We must buy something to keep your handiwork secured, yeah? Come on, Lan Zhan, take the reins.”
Lan Wangji does. He guides them through the trees once more, and he doesn’t speak until they’re on the main road. “Wei Ying…”
“I am here.”
Lan Wangji glances behind him, taking in the way Wei Wuxian holds the braids like something precious, taking in the way his smile is soft and sincere, much like it always is. He can feel his expression soften—knows that it does because Wei Wuxian’s eyes widen and his lips purse together, holding in the intensity in which he wishes to smile.
As if the sun could ever hide, Lan Wangji thinks.
“It is nothing,” Lan Wangji says instead. He faces forward, away from the sun behind him and instead taking in the sun in front of him. “Let us go.”