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Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian had been nothing but a complete nuisance from the moment he had arrived in Gusu. Sneaking into the Cloud Recesses after curfew, smuggling in alcohol, engaging Wangji in an altercation, and yelling at unacceptable hours of the night were the most glaring of transgressions within his first few hours inside their walls.

Now he had spent the past few weeks sequestered under the watchful gaze of Wangji in the Library Pavilion as they split their days between his lectures and Wei Wuxian’s punishment after he had suggested concepts so forbidden and heretical within the Lanshi that it had taken Lan Qiren hours to calm himself.

This particular afternoon was Wei Wuxian’s last day of copying and he had come to release them both. He was also hoping to take some time to impress upon Wei Wuxian the importance of appropriate self conduct and steering clear of dangerous cultivation practices.

He paused by the open door, neither young man seeming to notice his presence. He surveyed the pair in silence; Wangji was sat perfectly in his seat, attention solely on the text he was copying with delicate precision. In contrast, Wei Wuxian was splayed loosely, though focused on his work, occasionally nibbling on the end of his brush and frowning thoughtfully at his page.

He watched as Wangji looked over, his golden eyes lighting on the other, and his whole demeanour softened; his eyes seemed to go warm, losing their usual hard edge as he took in Wei Wuxian and his terrible posture. Wangji blinked and the hand holding his brush dropped ever so slightly to mark his page, ink quickly seeping into the paper, though he didn’t notice it. Lan Qiren even sighted the ghost of a smile lingering on Wangji’s lips.

Oh.

Oh no.

Lan Qiren pushed down the indignant cry that wished to escape his mouth. He pressed his lips together, let out a long breath, and walked swiftly away.

Wangji was in love.

Wangji could not be in love.

Wangji could absolutely not be in love with Wei Wuxian, known unrepentant troublemaker and general menace.

When Lan Qiren came back to himself he was sitting at the table in his own quarters as he stared blankly into a now cold cup of tea, trying to pick apart the past few weeks and find where he had gone wrong. Where had the miscalculation been? Assigning Wangji to oversee Wei Wuxian’s punishment was clearly a large misstep, but he couldn’t be sure it was the whole explanation.

He thought hopefully that perhaps it was just lust. Lan Qiren could feel the doubt in himself at that statement, he knew what he had seen, but he had to be sure. He could not let history repeat itself. Unfortunately he knew how much of his brother’s unwavering stubbornness Wangji had inherited, and reluctantly admitted to himself that just telling Wangji ‘no’ was not going to solve this problem. If this was love though…

He would not let history repeat itself.

Lan Qiren spent the next month keeping half an eye on Wangji and Wei Wuxian, carefully cataloging their interactions. He watched them both more carefully in his classes. He attended a few of the group’s physical training sessions. He observed them over meals. He walked through the Cloud Recesses slower than he usually would, keeping his eyes and ears out for any scrap of information. While Lan Qiren had held some hopes it was just lust, an easily distracted fancy he could dissuade Wangji from, there was undoubtedly love swimming in his nephew’s eyes.

It was there in the way Wangji would confiscate the little papermen Wei Wuxian sent skittering across the room to his friends, which Wangji would intercept and quietly pocket without alerting his uncle; Wei Wuxian even seemed to send a fair portion of these distractions directly to Wangji, his nephew continuing to pocket them and then absently fiddle with them in the hidden compartment of his sleeves through the lesson and on into the day. The way his eyes were constantly seeking Wei Wuxian, tracking him from the moment he entered a room, always desiring to spend time with him, but so hesitant in approaching the other when he was surrounded by his circle of friends. The way he would let Wei Wuxian into his personal space, or speak to him in ways that were entirely inappropriate, and had it been anyone else they would have been given punishment immediately. The way Wangji would place Wei Wuxian’s work on the top of the pile every time he collected their papers at the end of a lesson. The way that his nephew would play his guqin every night, a new song slowly singing its way into existence, changing and shifting with each new day until Lan Qiren could feel the longing and the devotion dripping from each note.

However, there was also far too much lust.

The way his gaze would drink in Wei Wuxian’s whole form, damp and heaving, after executing a particularly difficult move on the training grounds. The way his eyes darkened when Wei Wuxian drank with so little decorum, water splashing down his chin. The way Wangji’s lips would part, sucking in a quick breath when Wei Wuxian would talk back at him, engaging him in a complex and thoughtful conversation. The way Wangji’s hands would clench around his sword when Wei Wuxian would tease him mercilessly, dancing around Wangji like a courting bird. Wei Wuxian continued to take these dark looks and frowning stares from Wangji as disdain and anger.

It was probably best that Wei Wuxian was unaware of his nephew's attentions for now. However, Wei Wuxian was blatantly just as bad, although he was seemingly oblivious to not only Wangji’s feelings, but his own too.

Wei Wuxian was within Wangji’s orbit as much as he could swing the fact. Wei Wuxian was, without a doubt and to anyone with eyes who took the time to notice, flirting shamelessly with Wangji. Constantly drawing his attention, poking and prodding and complementing and teasing as much as he could get away with until Wangji reached the end of his patience and either snapped at him, calling him shameless or ridiculous, or simply walked away. He touched Wangji at every opportunity, sliding into his nephew's personal space, bumping him with his shoulders, knocking their legs together, grasping at the edges of Wangji’s clothes and even hands when he was feeling particularly bold. He even once spotted Wei Wuxian make a pass at his nephew's forehead ribbon, which was promptly shut down, all the while completely oblivious and continuing to flirt with any pretty young lady that crossed his path.

Lan Qiren could fully understand why Wangji seemed so frustrated with the situation.

Finally, came the last step in his investigation.

“Please, sit down,” Lan Qiren said softly, indicating for his nephew to join him.

Xichen nodded, and did as asked, sitting with perfect form and dignity before pouring them both a cup of tea. It was a subtle fragrance and one of Xichen’s favourites.

“Uncle?” Xichen pressed when he was not immediately forthcoming. “You requested my presence?”

“Wangji is in love.” He said it as a statement. He suspected Xichen would try to wriggle out of the question if he posited it as such, trying to deflect and soften the blow. That is not what Lan Qiren needed. He needed to know, and no-one could read Wangji like his brother.

Xichen froze his his seat, just for a moment, eyes flicking between his cup and his uncle, and it was enough to confirm it. Lan Qiren let out a little sigh.

“Yes,” Xichen confirmed, placing the tea cup delicately on the table between them. “He is.”

“Wei Wuxian,” Lan Qiren said.

Xichen pressed his lips together and nodded.

A beat of silence passed between them.

“Uncle—” Xichen began, an edge of pleading in his tone, cut off as Lan Qiren raised his hand to silence him.

“I knew. I just wanted confirmation.”

Xichen sat with his lips pressed together, a small wrinkle creasing his brow. He seemingly lost the battle with himself, blurting out, “Uncle please—”

“Xichen!”

“—please don’t put a stop to it, Wangji has been so happy, he’s finally made a friend. We’ve been so tough on him, he deserves—”

“Xichen!” Lan Qiren slapped his hand on the table, stopping his nephew in his tracks.

“Please, Uncle,” Xichen insisted.

Lan Qiren sighed. “I am not going to put a stop to it.”

Xichen blinked rapidly, eyes widening in surprise, quietly letting out a hopeful, “Thank you.”

Lan Qiren took a long sip of his tea. “What are your thoughts on Wei Wuxian’s character?”

It was confirmed. Wangji was in love with Wei Wuxian, and Lan Qiren, knowing the depths of devotion that Lan men experienced, knew there was nothing he could do now to change this. Trying to force them apart would likely cause much more damage and lose Wangji to them far quicker than anything else they could do.

He would not allow history to repeat itself.

He would not let his brother’s failings destroy his nephews' lives anymore than they already had.

But he could contain it somewhat.

Wei Wuxian, while he was many things, was not irredeemable. He was already acutely aware of Wei Wuxian’s failings; too loud, too brash, too much in many ways, but he was also highly skilled, highly intelligent, and commanded a great charisma that even Wangji had not been able to resist the sirens call of. All the same things Xichen had reported to him.

Lan Qiren needed to see exactly what he was working with if he was ever going to get anywhere.

He started with a test.

The guest cultivators were due for one, so he began his investigations there. He gave the rest of the class their usual test, looking for how much information they had retained from their lessons so far, more of a check-in then a true exam, and to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji he gave a more difficult test. For Wangji it was the usual fare, as he recognised that his nephew already knew most of what they were covering with the guest cultivators, and so tested his extracurricular reading and his critical thinking skills. This test in particular Lan Qiren had crafted with a focus on hypothetical scenarios, laying out night-hunting situations, unusual curses, and the odd political conflict.

He gave the same test to Wei Wuxian, interested to see how he fared.

The first few moments of the test were the most entertaining. Wei Wuxian flipped open the question booklet, skimming his eyes over the page before he paused, frowned, leaned in closer to the page while squinting, then sat back, grimaced, and glanced over at Nie Huaisang.

A short time into the test Lan Qiren could see the dawning disappointment in Young Master Nie’s eyes as the answers Wei Wuxian was funnelling him were entirely wrong. Lan Qiren felt the twitch of a smile at realising he had solved two problems with one stone. He covered it with a stroke of his beard and returned to watching silently.

Wei Wuxian was the most engaged he had ever seen him in his classroom. He was resolutely focused on the test, aside from sending off the occasional paperman to Nie Huaisang. He spent much of the time frowning at his page, seemingly deep in thought as he tapped the end of his brush against his chin—a movement that Lan Qiren had of course caught Wangji looking at—before furiously writing with a determined expression. Rather than what had occurred at the last test, where Wei Wuxian had finished early and spent the next hour staring at Wangji and sending him little papermen, the Yunmeng Jiang sect’s head disciple earned his title and spent the whole period in silence, carefully answering each question. It was a welcome change of pace.

Lan Qiren began to wonder if his nonsense in class was far more tied to boredom than any real maliciousness.

“Wei-xiong,” Nie Huaisang whined, bumping shoulders with Wei Wuxian as they stood in the garden after the test, their voices just audible beyond the door, “why didn’t you help me! We had a deal didn’t we?”

Lan Qiren watched as Wangji continued to walk around the room, picking up the tests where they lay on their respective desks. He could see his nephew's attention split between his job and the conversation going on outside, frowning at the implication of attempted cheating.

“I did help you,” Wei Wuxian shot back. “Did my papermen not make it to you?”

Nie Huaisang pouted. “They did, but, Wei-xiong, your answers were so weird! They didn’t even answer the questions!”

Wei Wuxian scoffed and shot back, “Yes they did! And you should be even more thankful I sent them to you! There were so many hard questions on that test! So many things old man Lan hasn’t taught us yet—that third question on the Moling haunting was so complex!”

Lan Qiren couldn’t resist a quiet smile from within his room. He noted the way Wangji paused as he looked over to his uncle questioningly. Lan Qiren chose to ignore it, instead flicking through a few pages of his notes.

“Wei Wuxian, what are you talking about,” Jiang Wanyin bit back, “the third question was about the Gusu Lan rules! The first ten questions were about that, and after copying them so many times you really should know them all.”

“There weren’t even ten questions on the whole test!” Wei Wuxian argued, voice raising. “What test were you doing?”

Jiang Wanyin scoffed, “What test were you doing!”

“You—!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed.

Lan Qiren heard a smack of a hand on fabric at the same time as Wangji placed the last of the papers on his desk. He continued to not meet his nephew’s questioning gaze.

“Wei-xiong,” Nie Huaisang cut in, voice placating, “Jiang Wanyin is right.”

Lan Qiren nodded at Wangji, releasing him for the afternoon, and watched his nephew head for the door.

“Now you’re siding with him, Nie-xiong? Traitor. You guys are no fun.” There was an audible pout in his voice. “I should go hang out with Lan Zhan in the library—” An excited gasp. “Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian called, clearly catching sight of him slipping out of the Lanshi. “Lan Zhan you believe me right? The third question on the test was about a haunting in Moling?”

Wangji must have made some sign of agreement as Lan Qiren suddenly heard Wei Wuxian chime in again with, “See! I told you, and Lan Zhan doesn’t lie!”

“We had the same test,” Wangji said softly, before the others could cut in.

“Wait, Teacher Lan gives you a different test?” Jiang Wanyin asked.

“Mn.”

“See! That makes sense,” Wei Wuxian said, “Lan Zhan’s so smart he doesn’t have to do the same tests as the rest of us! He’s well past having to just know things about the clans and quotes and rules, aren’t you, Lan Zhan?” Lan Qiren watched Wei Wuxian invade Wangji’s personal bubble and gently nudge his elbow. Wangji allowed it.

“Except he gave it to you this time,” Nie Huaisang pointed out.

Wei Wuxian crossed his arms. “Maybe it was a mistake?”

“No,” Wangji said.

“No?” The other three echoed.

Wangji did not elaborate.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian began, leaning back into his nephew’s view, “why would your uncle give me your test, that doesn’t make any sense.”

He watched Wangji’s posture become ever more perfect. “Wei Ying is also very intelligent.”

“Lan Zhan—!”

Lan Qiren resisted a chuckle as he watched Wangji make a strategic retreat from embarrassment, striding quickly away with Wei Wuxian trailing after him, still calling his name.

Reading through the test revealed and confirmed many things to him about Wei Wuxian’s character, namely his suspected intelligence and creativity. His answers also very clearly illustrated his clear sense of right and wrong, of justice, and of standing up for those who most needed it.

Where he was consistently failing was that while he generally had good answers that would solve the issues the question posited, Lan Qiren, in all of his life experience of dealing with the sects and their politics, could see how Wei Wuxian was creating problems for himself and others down the line. How not asking the right question, or speaking to the wrong person could trip him up.

Wangji’s answers were both similar and different. Their goals were the same, both young men had such a strong sense of justice, but Wangji’s answers were so much more textbook perfect and not lacking in foresight as Wei Wuxian was. Though Wangji lacked some nuance and did not come up with some of the more creative suggestions of Wei Wuxian, Lan Qiren was trusting his future night-hunting experiences would fill in some of those gaps; now he had some hopes that Wei Wuxian might be helpful in that regard as well.

Wei Wuxian, with a bit of focused effort and some smoothing of his rougher edges, would be a perfect counterpart for Wangji.

The fact chafed him a little.

Now with a clear enough of a picture of Wei Wuxian as Lan Qiren could create before him, he pulled out a small book he kept his notes in and began to carefully layout his plan for the betterment of the head disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang sect. Wei Wuxian would come out of his stay in Cloud Recesses a fine young man. He had never had a student he couldn’t improve, and Wei Wuxian would not be the exception, especially now that he had Wangji’s heart to consider.

They also needed to get ahead of this before it got away from either of them. Lan Qiren trusted Wangji to be able to restrain himself, and Wei Wuxian seemed entirely oblivious to both his and Wangji’s emotions, though for how long was an unknown quantity. No, it would be best to put something in place.

Now he just needed an opportunity.

Said opportunity neatly presented itself a few days later after the lighting of the lanterns when Wei Wuxian, Jin Zixuan, and Lan Wangji were brought to his receiving room, all three of them kneeling with Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan both looking more the worse for wear. An explanation from Wangji quickly cleared the matter. Once again, Wei Wuxian was trying to do the right thing and protect his sister and his clan’s pride, but had gone about it in the way that would cause the most trouble.

He wrote to Jiang Fengmian that evening proposing a few ideas.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian felt that things had been odd recently.

It had started with the fact that he had not been kicked out of Cloud Recesses after his fight with Jin Zixuan. Neither of them had been. Instead, both of them had to receive a long period of kneeling punishment, and while the peacock had been given copying to do, Lan Qiren had insisted on private, additional classes with Wei Wuxian which he had apparently received approval for from Jiang Fengmian. He supposed it was better than being sent home and ending up on the receiving end of Madam Yu’s tongue. But only barely.

“Jiang Cheng,” he whined in the privacy of their own room, “it’s not fair! The peacock only has to copy the Gusu Lan rules, I have to spend time daily with the living wall of rules!” Wei Wuxian flopped onto the floor, pouting and staring up at the ceiling. “Copying with Lan Zhan is way more fun. Why can’t we swap? The peacock needs more lessons on manners than I do.”

“How is Lan Wangji more fun?” Jiang Cheng barked back. “He’s also the human wall of rules.”

Wei Wuxian pouted. “Lan Zhan is very fun.” He grinned, glancing over at his brother. “Fun to tease.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, kicking at where he was sprawled on the floor. “You brought it upon yourself. You’re lucky you weren’t sent home. Then it would just be me and jiejie. Who would I play with then?”

“Nie-xiong?”

Jiang Cheng scoffed at him. “Well now you can spend your evenings with old man Lan and finally maybe learn some manners and some shame and Mother will finally stop criticising you.”

“I’m fairly certain Madam Yu’s ideal scenario is marrying me out of her hair,” Wei Wuxian grumbled, swatting at his younger brother.

“Well you still need some manners for that so my point stands.”

“Traitor.”

Jiang Yanli’s voice suddenly called them from beyond the open door. “A-Xian, A-Cheng, get off the floor and come here. I made you a snack.”

“Soup?” Wei Wuxian asked hopefully, swiftly pulling himself up off the floor.

“Mm, not today,” Jiang Yanli replied setting the basket on the table, “maybe next time. If you’re good.”

“I’m always good,” Wei Wuxian replied indignantly.

Shijie just smiled at him, though it was distinctly sceptical, and placed a bowl of dumplings in front of him before doing the same for Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian’s eyes lit up at the red flakes he could see floating in the broth. Finally some spice in this beautifully scenic hellscape of flavour. He hummed in appreciation, popping the dumpling into his mouth.

They both thanked her for the meal once they were finished, the three of them sat around the table.

“When do you start your extra classes with Teacher Lan?” Jiang Yanli asked, packing the bowls away into her basket.

“Tomorrow,” Jiang Cheng said with far too much excitement for Wei Wuxian’s taste, then stood up, and made back towards their shared room. “I’m going to finish the reading.”

“Tomorrow,” Wei Wuxian confirmed gloomily when Jiang Cheng had vanished behind the doors. “I don’t regret it though. The peacock deserved it.”

“A-Xian—”

“I won’t let him treat you like that, shijie! You deserve better than him, even if you do like him.”

Jiang Yanli hummed in response.

“I’m sorry they nearly called off the engagement,” he admitted quietly. “I didn’t want that for you.”

She smiled at him, her hand cupping the curve of his head. “We are very lucky then that Father clearly listened to whatever advice Teacher Lan sent him.”

Wei Wuxian felt himself frown, his lips pressing together into a pout. “Shijie,” he whined, leaning across the table into her space, “I don’t want to spend more time with old man Lan. His lessons are so boring.”

“Perhaps they will be less so.”

Wei Wuxian hummed thoughtfully. “I wonder if Lan Zhan will also be there. I think he sometimes has classes with his uncle in the evening.”

“Would you like Lan Wangji to be there?”

He glanced away, eyes lighting on a flower at the edge of the courtyard. “Yes.”

Wei Wuxian crossed his arms on the table and dropped his head to rest in the cradle of them, staring up at Jiang Yanli.

“Shijie, why do you like Jin Zixuan?”

She blinked at him. “Why?”

“Mn,” he hummed back, “what’s the appeal? He seems so…”

Shijie gave him a funny smile. “Well. He’s clever. He treats those around him with respect. He is well mannered for the most part, and is a good cultivator and a good leader. He’s spoiled, yes, but there is a kind young man in there, A-Xian.”

Wei Wuxian grumbled, unconvinced. “You forgot to mention that he’s handsome,” he added slyly.

“Oh? Do you think so?” she shot back with a smile.

“Mn, objectively speaking, he’s not terrible to look at,” he groused. “Not as handsome as Lan Zhan though. Makes sense both Jades are the highest ranked of all the young masters.”

His shijie just looked at him again and hummed in agreement, a faint twitch pulling at the edge of her lips.

Wei Wuxian slept badly that night. He lay there in the dark, listening to Jiang Cheng snore and staring at the ceiling, worrying about what horrible and boring lectures he was going to have to endure for the rest of his time here, and how that number had now doubled. He really hoped it wasn’t going to be as bad as everyone thought it would be, though he was not overly optimistic about it. Lan Qiren hadn’t been particularly subtle in his disdain for Wei Wuxian. Although…Teacher Lan had been less biting in his comments recently. Definitely still harassed him at every possible juncture for rule breaking, but the tone felt less sharp. He wondered at it. Maybe he had somehow convinced the old man that he wasn’t evil incarnate, though he wasn’t sure how as he hadn’t exactly tempered in the few months he’d been here so far. Maybe Lan Wangji was putting in a good word for him? It nearly made him laugh. That seemed even more unlikely.

He was sluggish the next morning, Jiang Cheng pulling off the covers after he ignored his brother the first time around. They made it through breakfast with Wei Wuxian scowling at his food in silence before they all trotted off to class, Wei Wuxian standing by his desk and staring up at Lan Qiren’s desk with a mild sense of impending doom.

“Uncle said you would be joining us this evening,” Lan Wangji said to him.

Wei Wuxian jumped, turning sharply and gaping at him for a second. Lan Wangji was talking to him. For no clear necessary reason. Wei Wuxian hadn’t started the conversation, hadn’t pestered the Second Jade into looking at him, hadn’t even stared at him hopefully from across the room. Wei Wuxian hadn’t realised he had arrived until he first spoke. It was…unprecedented.

As a slight frown began to mar his perfect face Wei Wuxian shook himself out of his daze, exclaiming, “Yes! Tonight. I am. Yes.” From the faint wince, he had been a bit too loud about it.

“Mn,” Lan Wangji replied flatly with a gentle nod, and went to sit at his own seat.

Wei Wuxian just blinked at him for a moment before feeling a smile make its way onto his lips, something strange fluttering in his stomach. He considered how the food here really didn’t suit his tastes or stomach as he sat down at his table, suddenly dreading the afternoon just a little bit less.

Of course he had to make it through the first boring lecture first. He kept himself entertained with his papermen and sending Nie-xiong increasingly stupid erotic drawings until Teacher Lan got a hold of the last one and disintegrated it. Whoops.

Soon enough, and after a thorough chewing out from Teacher Lan, class ended, lunch passed, and Wei Wuxian found himself back in the Lanshi while his brother and Nie-xiong left to complete the work they had been given. What Wei Wuxian wouldn’t give to go with them!

“Do you know why you are here?” Lan Qiren asked him, staring directly at Wei Wuxian.

Teacher Lan was seated in his usual place on the raised platform at the head of the room, while his and Lan Wangji’s desks had been moved closer and into the centre to sit right in front of the elder.

“Because I caused trouble?” Wei Wuxian tried. He really didn't know what Lan Qiren wanted him to say, so he may as well be honest.

Teacher Lan let out a quiet sigh. “You are here because while you are undisciplined and seem to enjoy bending the rules, you remain an intelligent and talented cultivator.”

Wei Wuxian could feel his face go hot and had never been so glad in his life that Lan Wangji’s gaze was fixed on his uncle. It would never do to show Lan Wangji that he did have some shame.

“Sect Leader Jiang and I both agreed that you would do well with some additional time with myself and Wangji to improve your skills and fill in some of your educational gaps. We both believe you have the capability to be a great cultivator and do not want to see you squander it for the laughter of your peers.”

He couldn’t decide where to look, so he settled on his hands. He was not entirely sure what emotion he was feeling. Wei Wuxian briefly glanced over to see Lan Wangji’s golden gaze fixed on him, something equally unreadable in his eyes. That was so much worse. Wei Wuxian shot him the brightest smile he could muster.

Lan Qiren seemed to take pity on him and moved right along. “Today we will review and discuss both of your answers to last week's test.”

The first month of additional classes were…difficult. Lan Qiren, he was quickly coming to discover, was not a soft and kindly teacher no matter who or what the situation. He had expectations for the both of them and was very clear about them. Wei Wuxian’s posture was critiqued, and he had become very accustomed to feeling the quick rap of a hand on his shoulder until he sat at least something approaching properly. His calligraphy was interrogated and his technique frequently corrected. Both he and Lan Wangji were quizzed and questioned and given piles of reading and analysis and discussion.

Wei Wuxian found himself more tired than he had ever been from studying. His brain was exhausted from the barrage of new information and his body drained from the additional physical training he and Lan Wangji were doing together under Lan Qiren’s watchful gaze. He kept falling asleep in his breakfast or Lan Qiren’s guest disciple morning class. He was constantly busy with work for his extra-curricular lessons, which had the side effect of ensuring he had no free time for fun with Jiang Cheng or Nie-xiong. He had so been hoping to be able to skip down into Caiyi to procure some Emperor's Smile and snacks for a night in, but given how much work he had to do and how damn tired he was, it just didn’t happen.

Although…while the work was intense, it was at least interesting. Even though Lan Qiren remained horrifyingly boring in the way he taught, Wei Wuxian was still engaged in the lessons and found them far more interesting than the ones they had earlier in the day. It wasn’t things he already knew, or even if it was, those ideas so often got applied in new ways and examined from new angles that it was worth his time. They discussed hypothetical night-hunts and rare or unusual beasts. He even found the political and sect oriented discussions more tolerable as Lan Qiren laid them out as puzzles to be solved, looking at cause and effect and tracing the paths of powerful cultivators.

It was also nice to be able to spend more time with Lan Wangji, though he definitely couldn’t tease him anywhere near as much as he wanted. With only the two of them, it was much harder to hide any nonsense he wished to pull. While it didn’t stop him, it definitely did curtail him. But within the privacy of the trio, Lan Wangji was more inclined to engage in discussions—Wei Wuxian suspected that the Second Jade was just has horribly bored in the other classes as he was—and provided an excellent sounding board for him to bounce ideas off of, so there was less of a need to harass him.

“Lan Zhan!” he whined one afternoon when the both of them had been excused to conduct reading and research in the Library Pavilion. Wei Wuxian was sprawled in his seat, definitely not sitting in a way Lan Qiren would approve of, flicking through his book. “Is your uncle always like this? I’m so tired all the time.”

Lan Wangji didn’t look up from his book but answered, “Yes. You should sleep earlier.”

Wei Wuxian pouted. “Lan Zhan, that’s no fun.”

“Mn. What are you reading?”

“Oh, it’s a chronicle of Lan Bowen’s journeys and night-hunting around the countryside.”

Lan Wangji blinked at him, and Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but stare at his eyelashes for a long second. “Uncle did not set that.”

“Ah.” he rubbed at his nose, smiling awkwardly. “No.”

Lan Wangji placed his own text down on the table in front of him. “You wish to travel?”

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian admitted, nodding. “I would like to, if I can. Just wandering from town to town, with nowhere to be; night hunting and seeing the world at my own pace. Doesn’t that sound good?”

“Mn.”

There was a stretch of silence and Wei Wuxian glanced back at his book.

“Would you like company?”

Wei Wuxian frowned, looking over at Lan Wangji. “Now?”

“When you travel.”

He felt a bright smile break out on his face, and he leant forward, elbows on the table as he rested his head on his hands. “Are you offering?”

“Mn.” Lan Wangji wasn’t quite meeting his eyes, his eye-line slightly off to his left where a vase of flowers sat.

“Then yes!” Wei Wuxian replied, tilting his head toward Lan Wangji’s gaze, trying to catch his eyes. “I would like that very much, Lan Zhan.”

It worked. Lan Wangji flicked his eyes to meet his own, and he felt he must be getting better at reading the other because he got the impression that Lan Wangji was particularly pleased at his answer.

The fluttering in his chest was back.

As their second month of additional classes rolled around the unthinkable happened. Wei Wuxian realised that he was was, as terrible as it felt to admit it, really enjoying them and looked forward to them each day. It was a fact that neither Jiang Cheng nor Nie Huaisang were ever allowed to discover. He made sure that every night, or at least the nights he had dinner with the two of them, he forced down his happiness and plastered on the tired and annoyed attitude he had displayed in his first few weeks of the additional classes. They seemed to buy it.

The relationship between himself and Lan Qiren had also settled in a way he could never have predicted into something resembling a quiet understanding of one another. Wei Wuxian was not perfect in his conduct, his posture was still always a little off, and he would still run his mouth when he had a good thought, but the three of them now had a dynamic which was comfortable.

It even got to a point where Lan Qiren engaged them both in a moral and practical discussion of Wei Wuxian’s proposed demonic cultivation. Wei Wuxian felt he got in a number of good points on his side of the argument, championing the concept of being able to redirect resentful energy or even just looking at it to see cultivation techniques from an unusual angle. It was a riveting argument, and Teacher Lan only threw his brush at him once, though he had been intentionally pushing his buttons on that point. He had to get his kicks somewhere. Though he did have to concede in the end, after he and Lan Wangji had done further research in the library, that actively practicing demonic cultivation was likely going to go poorly in the long run. He still had some ideas though, just…tempered.

To add insult to injury, not only was he enjoying class, he noticed his sleep schedule did exactly as Lan Wangji suggested. It didn’t shift to the perfect nine to five of the rest of the Lan clan, but his previous night owl schedule became something more along the lines of eleven until seven and he was absolutely ashamed of himself for it, but heavens he needed the sleep so badly.

The main benefit of these classes, besides the fact he suddenly felt like their time in the Cloud Recesses wasn’t a complete waste of his time and he was learning just, a wild amount of fascinating things, was the extra time he got to spend with Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji now spent time with him even when he was not under duress to do so. Yes, they spent most of their days in class together, but now Lan Wangji would sometimes take his dinner with Wei Wuxian, or speak with him outside of a classroom setting. He now frequently initiated conversations with Wei Wuxian, a fact which brought him an unexpected amount of joy.

Class and private study time in the Library Pavilion also gave Wei Wuxian ample time to watch Lan Wangji, a pastime that was quickly becoming one of his favourites. It was legitimately unfair how beautiful Lan Wangji was because it was distracting and no-one else seemed to have this problem and it was driving him to tears. Could they not see how artfully his hair fell? Or the way his eyes were always so focused and intense, and how it felt for that to be turned on you? How gentle his mouth was? Sure, maybe he shouldn’t think about how he might like to kiss him while he was in class and Lan Qiren was right there but, look, Lan Wangji was more attractive than any young lady he had come across and it wasn’t his fault. So, he ignored that particular problem. 

While he also now had a solid friendship with Lan Wangji, he also had a passing relationship with Lan Xichen, who had taken to engaging him in conversation in the spare moments he was out and about in the Cloud Recesses. He’d even attended a couple of their classes and one of their duelling sessions, seeming inordinately pleased on all occasions. They had also discussed recently, after a number of their classes had covered the topic of musical cultivation, the fact that Wei Wuxian had had dizi lessons in his youth and had some thoughts he would like to try out. Lan Qiren had pointed him in Zewu-Jun’s direction and now they had plans to go look in the stores in Caiyi when they were both free next to find him a dizi. Lan Wangji had been nearby at the time and quietly invited himself. It was strange how comfortable he was beginning to feel in the Cloud Recesses.

He still spent time with his siblings and Nie-xiong where he could, and even managed to sneak in a bit of time with Wen Qionglin and go shooting together—off the Cloud Recesses' land where Lan Wangji couldn’t glare at him for killing something. Most of the time, Wei Wuxian’s time together with his friends was more study focused, all of them clustered around a table in their rooms or the Library Pavilion. Nie-xiong was becoming increasingly good at his work. He was passing, a fact which the man himself had professed to be an impossible feat, but with all of them working together rather than fooling around—which they did when they could sneak it in, but it was mainly going to catch fish in the river and having sneaky picnics on the back hill with food that did not taste like wet paper—all of them were doing well. Lan Wangji even joined them on occasion, a fact which had flabbergasted all of them the first time it happened. Watching the placid face of the Second Jade sitting under the shade of a flowering tree, food and laughter spread amongst them, had made his chest do that weird thing again.

He found he was just…really happy.

“You know,” Jiang Cheng stated one evening when just the two of them were hunched around the table in their rooms, both doing their respective readings and completing work, “I’m beginning to think you like your punishment.”

“My what?” he asked, not looking up from his book. It was a fascinating discussion of talismans that had fallen out of common use and he had so many ideas—his head popped up. “Oh, the classes you mean?”

Jiang Cheng scoffed, “Yes, you know, the thing you have to do because you punched Jin Zixuan? You don’t even think of them as a punishment, do you?”

“What! I do so! It’s terrible! You’ve seen how much work I have to do! It’s insane!” he shot back, gesturing at the piles of books around him.

His brother snorted disdainfully. “Yeah, and you love it.”

Wei Wuxian pouted and returned back to the book, muttering an unconvincing, “Do not.”

Jiang Cheng just rolled his eyes at him.

The next afternoon, two months into their extra lessons, Lan Wangji had been excused to conduct some research in the library about an hour or so ago, and Wei Wuxian had been taking some notes on a past night hunt report, when Lan Qiren cleared his throat. Wei Wuxian looked up, and blinked as he realised more time had passed than he had thought, the room lit up a stunning pink as the last rays of the sun stretched across the Cloud Recesses.

“Finish your notes tomorrow,” Lan Qiren instructed. “Tidy up and then come here.”

Wei Wuxian nodded, feeling some disappointment he wouldn’t get to to learn the outcome of this night hunt today, but did as he was told. He tidied up his desk, stuffed the pages into some semblance of order, and placed it all back on Teacher Lan’s desk. He then stopped and waited, glancing over the texts on Lan Qiren’s desk.

“Here,” Lan Qiren said, holding out an unlabelled book to him.

Wei Wuxian took the object, tucking it against his chest and looking at Teacher Lan expectantly.

“Please take the time to read this on your own. You might find it rather informative for the future,” Lan Qiren said, back to looking at his notes. “If you have any questions, you may ask if necessary.”

Wei Wuxian nodded.

Lan Qiren waved his hand dismissively. “Alright. You may go. Goodnight.”

Intrigued, he nodded, wishing Teacher Lan a hasty goodnight, and headed out the door. Once outside he ducked into an out of sight alcove and frowned down at the book in his hands, fascinated as to what Teacher Lan had left him to study on his own time. He flipped the book open to a random page.

He choked, hand flying up to cover his mouth and the shout that threatened to escape his lips.

He snapped the text shut.

He blinked, let out a long breath, and looked around himself furtively. Upon seeing no-one nearby, opened the book again.

Nope. Hadn’t been a hallucination.

He shut it again and ran.

Chapter Text

Lan Wangji heard Wei Wuxian coming before he saw him, as fast paced footfalls against wood and calls of outrage came increasingly closer to his position. Lan Wangji closed his eyes and let out a low sigh before he closed the book he had been reading, placing it carefully on the table before him, and turned his head toward the doors of the Library Pavilion as they were wrenched open.

Silver eyes met gold. “Lan Zhan!”

Wei Wuxian looked wildly around the room of the library, then darted inside, shutting the doors hastily before skittering across the floor to sit beside him. He looked a mess, robes out of place and hair utterly windblown. Lan Wangji particularly cursed the strand of hair that had caught on his lower lip and clung there as he spoke.

“Lan Zhan, I think your uncle is trying to kill me!”

Lan Wangji flicked his eyes up to meet the other’s gaze and frowned. He was aware Wei Wuxian had remained behind with his uncle today, but he thought the statement highly unlikely. They had been getting along relatively well recently, a fact which perplexed yet pleased him.

Wei Wuxian continued unhindered, “Or he’s having a qi deviation or he’s made a terrible mistake and I don’t know what I’m going to do!” The frantic movement paused for a moment as the other leant in. “Lan Zhan,” he began in the low teasing voice Lan Wangji both dreaded and desired, “you didn’t tell your uncle about the little prank I played on you, did you? I thought we were past all that, because you know, we’re friends, and it really was very funny and nobody got hurt and you were also out of line in ripping it up, it took me forever to get Nie-xiong to trust—”

“Wei Ying,” he cut in, stemming the flow of nonsense. “What happened?”

Wei Wuxian slapped the book he had been holding onto the table in front of them.

Lan Wangji looked at the text, and then looked back at Wei Wuxian.

“Open it,” he demanded, shuffling closer and leaning his forearms onto the desk.

Lan Wangji frowned at his position. Wei Wuxian met his eyes before rolling them and sighing dramatically. He did however lean back and sit properly. Lan Wangji returned his focus to the book before him.

It was bound in the familiar style of other books found in the library and bore the small stamp of the Cloud Recesses on the lower corner, marking it definitively as one of their texts. While the book did not have a title on the cover, there seemed to be nothing overtly wrong with it.

He flipped the book open and promptly glared at Wei Wuxian for trying this prank on him a second time. He could feel his ears heat again as his eyes landed on an image of two men in an erotic embrace.

“See! I don’t understand!” Wei Wuxian began again, leaning back onto the desk and tapping at the text, not allowing Lan Wangji to shut it again. “Did he mean to give me this? If he did then why—?”

“Wei Ying!”

Wei Wuxian scoffed, barely leaning back from Lan Wangji’s face. “Lan Zhan, don’t look at me like that! I’m being serious! This isn’t me trying to prank you again! Your uncle gave me this! He handed it to me with a completely straight face, told me to read over it on my own, and come back with questions tomorrow!”

Lan Wangji was inclined not to believe the known trickster, but noted how earnestly he professed his innocence, as well as the horribly endearing dusting of pink across his cheekbones. He took a deep breath and returned his eyes to the page.

It seemed an odd choice from his uncle.

“Lan Zhan, is your uncle a cut-sleeve?”

Lan Wangji shook his head and felt an adjacent feeling of sinking fill his chest. He frowned at the book and began glancing through the written content.

“Then why—?”

“This is an educational text,” Lan Wangji cut in, wanting this conversation to be over as soon as physically possible. Every step away from this conversation and examining his own feelings about Wei Wuxian was a positive one. He could not do this with him. He could not bear the weight of Wei Wuxian’s disgust.

“Huh?” Wei Wuxian leant in again and snatched the text up, pulling it out from under Lan Wangji’s hands.

He watched Wei Wuxian flick through the pages with undisguised interest and could feel how his own ears heated, could feel the blood rush through him, hot and intense. This was an unacceptable situation.

“Why is this in your library?”

Lan Wangji attempted to calm his feelings and push down the worst of it. “We have a wide variety. Elder brother and I were given them when we came of age. They are for dual cultivation. Uncle wanted us to have a wide base of knowledge.” He, personally, had only given them the required, cursory look. A fact he was beginning to regret. Getting these texts from the Forbidden Chamber of the library without making anyone aware was difficult. Perhaps he could convince Wei Wuxian to let him put it back.

“So you’ve already read these and others?” Wei Wuxian asked, a playful lilt to his voice. “Ah, and yet you were so flustered when I hid the other porn in your poems! So mean of you, destroying that book when you are even more shameless than I am!

“You know, this is pretty interesting,” Wei Wuxian said distantly, returning his attention to reading. “I mean, I’m not a cut-sleeve though, so I don’t see why your uncle would give me this?” The sinking feeling Lan Wangji had been feeling dropped away to hopeless void of grief, quickly giving rise to a hot, burning sense of embarrassment and shame. The other continued, unaware of the turmoil burning its way through Lan Wangji, “I mean, I’ve always flirted with girls right? Where would he get such an idea from? Shouldn’t he have given me those other books?” Lan Wangji drank in the way Wei Wuxian continued to read, not once glancing back up at him, his chatter slowly becoming less like ranting at Lan Wangji, and more along the lines of talking to himself. “It’s just, you know, everyone has those thoughts sometimes, right? You know Lan Zhan, maybe this is your fault”—Lan Wangji didn’t know it was possible to feel such a degree of panic at mere words, his heart clenching, the breath leaving his body sharply—“your uncle always seems to know what I’m thinking and look, honestly, sometimes I’ve thought about how I might like to kiss you—you’re stupidly beautiful, did you know that Lan Zhan?—but I bet everyone thinks—!”

Lan Wangji’s restraint, which had been hanging on by the finest of silk threads, snapped sharply. Wei Wuxian’s face was within the cup of his hands and their lips were pressed together between one breath and the next.

There was a gasp against his lips and hands resting on his shoulders, but they didn’t push him away. Instead he felt fingers curling into the fabric of his robes as he kneeled half on top of Wei Wuxian and continued to press kisses against his lips—and oh they were just as soft as he’d imagined—and slid his hands along his jaw and cradled the back of his head, tangling his fingers in the long black tresses.

He pulled back for just a moment. Just enough time to see the warm flush on Wei Wuxian’s cheeks and the way his hair was coming undone, then hands were on his own face and Wei Wuxian was surging forward and knocking their lips together again.

Lan Wangji had a faint fear that he might perhaps die from how hard his heart was beating against his breastbone, but he returned the kiss with equal fervour, leaning back in, his hands hitting the floor to prop himself up as Wei Wuxian continued to drag him ever closer, leaning back and letting out small contented moans from between their lips.

Soon enough, Wei Wuxian was flat on the floor, Lan Wangji’s hand beneath his head where he’d tried to protect the other from hurting himself, with Lan Wangji kneeling over him. The both of them kissed like it was the only thing keeping them alive, their hands entirely outside of their control and searching relentlessly to find what made each other tick. Hands dipped into folds of fabric, earnestly trying to get closer. Wei Wuxian was just so unbelievably warm beneath him. Lan Wangji could feel him smiling against his lips. He felt like he was burning up from the inside.

Lan Wangji almost kept expecting to wake up at any moment, embarrassed and frustrated. It was not uncommon in recent days. He was certain though that his mind could never have come up with the way Wei Wuxian would hum contentedly when he ran his fingers over his cheek, or the way his whole body arched up when Lan Wangji slipped his tongue into his mouth, or how he kept giggling when Lan Wangji would growl his appreciation back at the other.

His eyes caught the dot nestled beneath the curve of Wei Wuxian’s lower lip. He had been thinking about that beauty mark for far too long. Thoughts of kissing it and running his fingers over it before sliding into—Lan Wangji pushed that thought down and nipped at that corner of his mouth, teeth grazing the warm, soft flesh before trailing kisses down his jaw and sharply biting at the juncture of his jaw and neck.

“Ah, ah, Lan Zhan, what are you—ah!” Wei Wuxian shuddered in his grasp, hands suddenly latching onto his waist and gripping hard. As Lan Wangji trailed harsh bites and soft kisses down the column of Wei Wuxian’s neck, the other was half collapsing into giggles, laughing out, “What are you, hungry? So much biting! Ah, Lan Zhan!”

He pulled back, just slightly, apologising with a lingering kiss. “Do you dislike it?” His own voice was far lower than expected and he did not miss the shiver that ran through Wei Wuxian at the tone.

“Ah-hah,” he chuckled, one hand coming up touch Lan Wangji’s face nervously. “Ah, Lan Zhan, such a shameless question, I—ah!” He bit again. “Fine! Yes! I like it. So mean to me, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji took pity on him, removing his mouth from the other’s neck and returning to lean over his face, drinking in everything about this scene. Wei Wuxian’s eyes were blown more black than silver, glowing merrily like a lunar eclipse. His hair was in shambles, strands falling free from where it should have been tied up, glistening over the floor like a midnight river and tangled around Lan Wangji’s hands. His neck was littered with marks, mottled peach and scarlet and Lan Wangji felt hot spikes of pride and greed burn through him. Best of all were his lips, red and glistening and kiss swollen, parted ever so gently…and smiling. Always smiling. Lan Wangji could do nothing but stare.

“Come here,”  Wei Wuxian said and gripped at Lan Wangji’s clothes, pulling him to lie down fully on top of him, tucking his head just beside his, leaning into his neck. They both lay in quiet  and Lan Wangji tried to calm the frantic pattering of his heart and bask in the intimacy of just holding Wei Wuxian and being held in return. He inhaled and shut his eyes, enjoying the warm, clean scent of his hair.

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian breathed, a smile in his voice, “so I might be a cut-sleeve, Lan Zhan. Just for you though.”

Lan Wangji let out a tiny huff of laughter, amusement curling around the strong burn of possessiveness that struck him at the words. “Love you,” he whispered into the crook of Wei Wuxian’s neck, hands gripping just that little bit tighter at his hips, the words unable to be contained within his chest any longer.

He heard the sharp inhale of breath beside him, felt the quick lift of the chest beneath him. “Lan Zhan, I—”

“Wangji! Wei Wuxian!” came the sharp, biting admonishment of Lan Qiren, dousing the pair of them in ice-cold shock. “Get off the floor!”

Lan Wangji froze for half a second, before inelegantly scrambling up from the floor and tugging Wei Wuxian with him. They both hastily attempted to pull their robes into some semblance of order and stood to attention before Lan Qiren’s burning anger, though Lan Wangji retained a tight grip on Wei Wuxian’s hand as they stood there. It felt as though Wei Wuxian was holding onto him just as tightly.

“Wei Wuxian,” Lan Qiren began sharply, Wei Wuxian beside him snapping to attention, before his uncle let out a sigh and visibly deflated. “I gave you that text to read, not to find my nephew and immediately attempt practical demonstrations.” His uncle’s hand loosely gestured to the book still lying open on the floor where Wei Wuxian had dropped it.

Both of them froze, meeting each others' eyes for a split second, Wei Wuxian’s looking distinctly wild around the edge.

“Wangji,” his uncle said in a tone he recognised. He lifted his gaze to meet Lan Qiren's. He was horrified to learn that Xichen was also there, stood just behind their uncle, his lips pressed together in obviously contained amusement. Lan Wangji scowled at him.

“Wangji,” Lan Qiren tried again, and Lan Wangji refocused on him.

“Uncle,” he replied evenly.

Lan Wangji stood resolutely, anxiously waiting for his uncle's wrath to fall upon them.

Lan Qiren sighed again. “You both couldn’t have waited a few more days, could you?"

They both just blinked at him.

“Uncle?” Xichen began, stepping up beside him. “Perhaps you should tell them the good news?”

Uncle Qiren inclined his head toward Xichen and nodded. “Sect Leader Jiang will be arriving later this week to finalise your engagement.”

There was a long beat of silence.

Lan Wangji’s heart fluttered strangely.

He was certain he had heard incorrectly.

“Our what?” The question burst out of Wei Wuxian, his hand tightening its grip on Lan Wangji.

Xichen smiled brightly at the both of them. “Your engagement. Uncle has been negotiating it with Sect Leader Jiang over the past month. He should be here in a few days to make it official.”

Lan Wangji felt his heart stumble over itself. Hope took flight in his chest, warm and fluttering like tiny bird wings.

In contrast, he watched as Wei Wuxian seemed to stop breathing. His love stumbled, uneasy on his feet. Lan Wangji stepped closer, his unattached hand catching at Wei Wuxian’s elbow, keeping him upright.

“That’s why you gave me the book,” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, “you wanted me to know how to—” He paused, shock painted on his face. He tried to continue, glancing at Lan Wangji, “—with—oh.”

Apparently, Wei Wuxian could experience embarrassment, the evidence of it turning his whole face and neck pink, as he realised he suddenly could not make eye contact with any of them. He heard a quiet, “What the hell?” whispered beside him and Lan Wangji couldn’t help but feel a small sense of irrational satisfaction of Wei Wuxian being on the receiving end of the embarrassment for once.

“Yes,” Lan Qiren said plainly. He looked between the pair and Wangji felt his gaze most keenly. “We were planning on telling you both once Sect Leader Jiang arrived. Clearly I should have postponed giving you that book.”

“Luckily we came to fetch you for dinner,” Xichen added, looking far too smug.

“Uncle, may I speak with Wei Ying alone?” Lan Wangji asked, ignoring his brother.

“Just for now.” Lan Qiren looked between them. “We will be on the other side of the door.” He fixed the both of them with a serious stare. “You will both have chaperones from now on.”

“Yes, uncle.”

“Chaperones seem a bit much,” Wei Wuxian grumbled softly as Lan Qiren and Xichen exited the library. “It’s not like we can’t control ourselves.”

Lan Wangji fixed Wei Wuxian with a dark stare.

Wei Wuxian gave him an incredulous look, murmuring, “I stand corrected.”

There was an awkward beat of silence.

“I was certain he was going to kill me. You don’t seem shocked?” Wei Wuxian half stated, half asked, his eyes darting over Lan Wangji’s face, seemingly searching for something, their hands still clasped between them.

“I am,” he replied.

Wei Wuxian pressed his lips together thoughtfully, Lan Wangji greedily tracking the movement. He held his hand between them and then tugged Wei Ying toward him.

“Listen,” he said, guiding Wei Wuxian’s ear to press against his chest where he could feel his heart beating wildly with a heady mix of hope and fear.

Wei Wuxian let out a breath, muttering, “So fast,” as his eyes glanced up to where Lan Wangji’s placid expression still met him. He pulled away, but didn’t step back, the two of them standing far too close for it to be proper.

Lan Wangji did not step back either.

“You didn’t know about this then?”

Lan Wangji shook his head, looking at their hands. “No, but I am…happy.”

A pause. He felt Wei Wuxian’s hand tremble faintly in his grip.

“Did you mean it?”

Lan Wangji looked up.

“Before. When you,” Wei Wuxian stuttered, his eyes fluttering and darting away like butterflies, his cheeks turning pink once again. His voice dropped to a whisper, and he glanced up. “When you said you loved me?”

“Mn.”

Wei Wuxian's eyes danced over him all the more. “I think I might, maybe, also—I mean I’ve never been in love before so I’m not sure, but I really like you, a lot, or whatever,” Wei Wuxian rambled, tugging at Lan Wangji’s hand, his voice rising in intensity, “and, I think I would like to keep kissing you—actually, you know what, you just took my first kiss! Lan Zhan, you should probably take some responsib—!”

Lan Wangji kissed him again. Long and slow and gentle, quietly cataloguing all the small sounds he was wringing out of his beloved. He pressed closer, his hand clinging to Wei Wuxian’s with what had to be painful strength. When he pulled back, Wei Wuxian’s mouth followed his, his whole body swaying closer, eyelashes fluttering against his cheek.

Wei Wuxian kissed him back, chasing his lips and wrapping his arms around Lan Wangji’s shoulders, pressing his whole body up against him. Lan Wangji, filled to the brim with unimaginable joy and his heart beating frantically in his chest, wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian’s waist, grasping onto to back of his robes and leaning into him as far as he could.

A low murmur of voices outside the door startled them both. They broke apart, though did not disentangle, Wei Wuxian smiling brightly and Lan Wangji feeling something similar tugging at his own mouth.

“Ah!” Wei Wuxian cried, pressing their foreheads together, their noses bumping. “Lan Zhan! You’re smiling again!”

“Mn,” he replied, leaning back in and shutting his eyes, pressing a gentle bite to the edge of Wei Wuxian’s jaw, earning him a quiet inhale.

“You’re even more beautiful when you smile,” he insisted, turning his head toward him and Lan Wangji silenced him again, lips meeting in a final gentle caress.

“Wei Ying.”

Their eyes met, with barely space between them, Wei Wuxian’s silver eyes just in focus beyond the blur of his lashes.

“Hm?”

Lan Wangji could feel the hum of his words through his chest.

“You will marry me?” Lan Wangji asked, unable to keep the hope from his voice.

The soft exhale of a laugh brushed against his lips. “Yes.”

Neither of them saw the satisfied smile on Lan Qiren’s lips as Xichen threw the doors open again, breaking them apart and ushering them all to dinner.