Chapter Text
The first time Wei Ying came to Cloud Recesses, he was nine years old and in tears. His parents had gone on a night hunt a week ago and they still hadn’t returned. His father had told him long ago that if they took more than a day to come back from a night-hunt, he was to go to an inn and ask for a cultivator to read the letter his parents had written for him. He had obeyed without knowing that it would result in getting picked up by a series of strangers on swords. The latest stranger wore all white, almost like his mother, and urged him gently to stop crying.
Then he was deposited in a room with two other people. One of them was around his age with strangely light eyes and the other was older, maybe a teenager, who smiled at him. Wei Ying took a breath to stop the shuddering of his chest and smiled back.
“Hello. My name is Lan Huan. Who are you?” the older kid asked.
His father had also told him what to say if he was separated from his parents. “Hello Lan-gongzi. My name is Wei Ying. I am the son of Cangse Sanren and Wei Changze.”
He waited for the other kid to introduce himself. The other child simply looked at him with a serious expression.
“Who are you?”
The child blinked and then bowed. “My name is Lan Zhan.”
Wei Ying tried to bow back. He wasn’t sure how Lan Zhan had gathered his sleeves so neatly or stopped his hair from flopping forward the way Wei Ying’s did.
“Hello, Lan Zhan.”
“Hello,” Lan Zhan replied.
Lan Huan spoke again. “What are you doing in Cloud Recesses?”
Wei Ying’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know.”
There was the sound of footsteps coming to the door.
“Did he see what happened?” an anxious voice asked.
“They don’t think so. He went to the inn before they were found.”
Lan Huan’s face twisted with an emotion Wei Ying couldn’t read. It was like the face his father sometimes made when villagers described a matter they wished for his parents to investigate.
The door opened. His Paternal-Aunt Wei was coming into the room looking for him. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying too.
“Aunt Wei!” he shouted, and ran over to hug her legs. He was grinning with pure relief. This was the first familiar face he had seen his his parents had gone on the night-hunt.
“A-Ying,” she said, putting a hand on his head.
“Aunt Wei, my mom and dad are on a night-hunt in Yiling, and they haven’t come back! They told me to go to the inn for food if I got hungry, so I did, but then- but then these cultivators took me away and I need help going back so I can find them!”
“Shh, shhh,” she said.
“Aunt Wei, please!”
“A-Ying, listen to me.”
“They told me to keep the qiankun pouch safe at the campsite. What if they need it?”
“A-Ying.”
Wei Ying forced himself to stop talking so he could listen. His father was always reminding him that if he wanted his questions answered, he needed to give the other person time to speak too. It was difficult: his aunt was taking a long time to speak. He bowed low as he’d seen others do, when they really really wanted something.
“Aunt Wei. Please.”
She sighed, and said, “A-Ying, straighten up.”
He did so, looking at her beseechingly. She reached for his hand.
“Come with me. We must not disturb the young masters.”
“Okay,” he said, impatient. He wanted to be on his way back already. He turned back and waved his hand at the two Lan young masters. “Bye, Lan-gongzi, bye Lan Zhan!”
Lan Huan smiled in a strange way and waved back. Lan Zhan only stared at him.
.*.*.*.*.*.
“Xiongzhang.”
“What is it, A-Zhan?”
“Where is Wei Ying?”
“He is gone.”
Lan Zhan’s breath caught. He thought of the loud boy who had come in and smiled at them. How was it that he was gone too?
His brother suddenly knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“A-Zhan, no, I misspoke. Wei Ying is well. He will return to visit his aunt when his studies allow.”
Lan Zhan relaxed. Wei Ying was not gone-gone. But…
“He is not in our classes.”
“He has joined another sect.”
Lan Zhan blinked. “Why?”
“His father’s sect leader invited him to join Yunmeng-Jiang Sect. His Paternal-Aunt thought that it would be better for Wei Ying to grow up in the same place his father did.”
Lan Zhan lowered his gaze, trying to understand. “Does that comply with the rules?”
“Uncle agreed that Wei Ying would be a better fit for Jiang Sect.”
Lan Zhan nodded, uncertain. No one knew the rules better than his uncle. This felt wrong. But then, Uncle had explained that this is why cultivators needed rules. Some things were righteous even when they did not feel right.
Lan Huan smiled at him. “A-Zhan, there are other disciples you can befriend while you wait for Wei Ying to return.”
Lan Zhan said nothing. They went back to their studies.
.*.*.*.*.*.
The second time Wei Wuxian walked into Cloud Recesses, he wore purple robes and a wide smile. It was the Spring Festival the following year. Lan Zhan and Lan Huan were emerging from a talk with their uncle about their responsibilities during the Spring Festival when they saw Wei Ying on the other side of the courtyard with his aunt. He immediately waved. Only he waved with more enthusiasm than Lan Zhan had ever seen anyone wave.
“Lan Zhan! Lan-gongzi!”
He ran over in defiance of the rules. Lan Zhan was…taken aback.
He stopped before them.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Huan greeted.
“Running is prohibited,” Lan Zhan reminded him.
Wei Ying’s smile dimmed, and then returned in full force. “It is the Spring Festival! Rules are different now.”
Lan Zhan did not think that that was true. But then he did have different responsibilities during the Spring Festival, so he was not entirely sure. He looked at his brother for guidance.
“How are you? What have you been doing since we met? What is that?”
“Guqin.”
Aunt Wei caught up to her nephew. “A-Ying, remember not to run or shout.”
“Yes, Aunt Wei.”
“And do not bother the young masters.” She took his hand and began leading him away.
“Wei Ying is not bothering us,” Lan Zhan said. He belatedly realized he had spoken for his brother.
His brother was smiling. “Wei Ying is welcome to join us for our lessons if he wishes,” he told Aunt Wei, and then looked at Wei Ying to invite him directly.
“I will speak to Teacher Lan about whether that is advisable,” Aunt Wei said.
“We can play together! I have a dizi now!”
He pulled a bamboo flute out of his sleeve. Lan Zhan had never head of anyone cultivating with a dizi.
Nevertheless, his brother said warmly, “That is a good idea. I will also ask Uncle whether Wei Ying can join us.”
Uncle approved. They spent the following days meditating, reading, and playing music together. They even took some of their leisure time for things unrelated to cultivating, such as going to the local market, drawing, and swimming lessons.
(This last activity had not been originally sanctioned by Uncle: one day at the Caiyi town market, Wei Ying had seen something colorful in the water and had jumped in the lake. Lan Huan had hastily told Lan Zhan to stay on the shore before jumping in after Wei Ying. Lan Zhan had felt a little hurt to be left out, until he heard Wei Ying call out, “I’m fine, Lan-gongzi. I know how to swim.” Then Lan Huan had decided that Lan Zhan needed swimming lessons as well.)
.*.*.*.*.*.
The third time Wei Ying came to Cloud Recesses, he stayed for a full lunar cycle in the middle of summer.
“Lan Zhan!”
This time, Lan Zhan greeted him back. “Wei Ying.”
Lan Zhan was busy with cultivation work, but he found it was not difficult to do his tasks while spending time with Wei Ying. Uncle had told Wei Ying to read the rules since he was expected to visit Cloud Recesses so often. Lan Zhan did not think that Wei Ying visited often. He did think it convenient that Wei Ying had to sit still and read, since Lan Zhan also had to sit still and read. Lan Huan approved of their doing so together so much that he volunteered to supervise them during their daily reading time.
“Lan-gongzi?”
“What is it, Wei Ying?”
Wei Ying walked over with the text he was reading so he could point out some characters to Lan Huan.
“What is this?’”
To Lan Zhan’s surprise, Lan Huan did not answer right away.
“That means cultivation partner,” Lan Huan said.
“Oh,” Wei Ying said, and then all the confusion cleared from his face. He smiled and nodded. “Like my parents. Thank you, Lan-gongzi.”
Wei Ying went back to his work. Lan Zhan, however, was now confused about what exactly a cultivation partner was.
Lan Huan looked up from his reading. “A-Zhan, is something wrong?”
“Xiongzhang, what is a cultivation partner?”
Lan Huan hesitated again. “A cultivation partner is your fated person. The one you love. Most cultivation partners marry each other.”
“Thank you, Xiongzhang.”
.*.*.*.*.*.
Another handful of summers and festival visits came and went. Lan Zhan stopped being surprised when Wei Ying came back. It was strange, then, that he never dropped the habit of looking forward to the day when Wei Ying would return. It was a feeling like suspense, but without the doubt. Lan Huan smiled at his excitement.
The summer came when Wei Ying walked into Cloud Recesses named Wei Wuxian, and Lan Zhan waited for him in the courtyard with his new name, Lan Wangji. They told each other their new courtesy names and then left those names in the courtyard as they walked to their favorite waterfall.
Wei Wuxian smiled and held his face gladly up into the spray from the waterfall with his eyes closed.
“It is so much nicer here in the summer than Yunmeng.”
Lan Zhan looked at those long eyelashes and the soft smile and said, “Stay in Gusu, then.”
Wei Ying laughed and shook his head. “Jiang Cheng will drag me back himself if I try to leave all the work to him.”
“What work?”
Wei Wuxian turned a sly smile on him. “We got the results back from our examinations. I, Wei Ying, am the top disciple of the Yumeng-Jiang Sect.”
Lan Wangji nodded, proud and unsurprised. “You deserve it, Wei Ying.”
Wei Wuxian beamed back. Lan Wangji had not had time to brace himself for the force of that smile. The soft radiance. He felt himself smile back, felt his heart thudding in his chest, felt, felt, felt.
They walked some more in quiet joy. Wei Wuxian for his own achievement, Lan Wangji for Wei Wuxian, and for the fact that he was here now, after so many months away.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said, more subdued. “You know of the six-month lessons Cloud Recesses hosts for foreign disciples.”
“Mn.”
“You know that the disciples in my year will be doing our visit two years from now.”
“Mn.” He smiled again. Wei Wuxian would be in Cloud Recesses for six months at a time, then.
“Lan Zhan, that class will be my next visit to Cloud Recesses, after this one ends.”
He said this regretfully. Lan Wangji wondered if he regretted for his own sake, or if he knew what his visits meant to Lan Wangji.
“As the top junior disciple, your duty to your sect prohibits long visits. I understand.”
They were silent again for the space of a birdsong.
“I’m going to miss this,” Wei Wuxian said with a sigh. “But I do not want to start missing it while I am still here. Now, I will enjoy it. Lan Zhan, let’s play a song together.”
“Mn.”
.*.*.*.*.*.
“Don’t worry, Jiang Cheng, Cloud Recesses isn’t that bad.”
“Three thousand rules,” Jiang Wanyin replied.
“I know. Didn’t I tell you that Teacher Lan makes me read them every time I go back? I think I could even recite them from memory now.”
“Do it, then.”
Wei Wuxian smirked and began listing them. Jiang Wanyin got bored by the time he listed the seventh rule.
“Fine! Just because you know them doesn’t mean you’ll follow them. You’re going to get us kicked out of Cloud Recesses just like you.”
“Hey, no one’s ever kicked me out of a sect! I’m adorable. Shut up now, we’re nearly at the gate.”
“You shut up,” Jiang Wanyin muttered.
The guards let them through the gate and gave them directions to the courtyard before the classroom. Wei Wuxian’s obnoxiously bouncy gait was getting more bouncy the closer they got to this courtyard. Jiang Wanyin, on the other hand, got more and nervous the longer they stood there waiting for the other sects to file in in their neat columns. They were reaching Wei Wuxian’s time limit for standing in the same place. Finally Teacher Lan stepped out of the classroom with a nephew on each side. The Twin Jades of Lan.
Wei Wuxian took a breath as if to begin screaming and bounced to the tips of his toes. Jiang Wanyin made a desperate grab for his arm, pulling Wei Wuxian back down, and hissed, “Shut up! They said to stay silent!”
“Jiang Cheng, I only wanted to wave to Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian complained. But he did so quietly.
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lan Wangji hoping he had not heard them. He probably had, because he was glaring at them.
“His name is Second Young Master Lan!”
Wei Wuxian made a disgruntled noise and a Lan disciple somewhere to the side cleared his throat. Jiang Cheng elbowed Wei Wuxian before letting go. Wie Wuxian elbowed him back but stayed silently beside him as Teacher Lan began speaking.
It was a very very boring speech to which Jiang Wanyin paid perfect attention and could barely recall. Really the most important part was a review of the more important rules and the assignment of reading them all again before the ceremony the next day. Wei Wuxian barely waited for him to finish his statement dismissing them before he had run off, his still somewhat gangly limbs floating in the white robes.
Jiang Wanyin stopped to tell the other disciples to go to their guest quarters as Teacher Lan had instructed and then he went to retrieve Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian was currently standing in front of Lan Wangji leaning slightly forward at the waist to peer at Lan Wangji’s face.
“…handsome, too,” Wei Wuxian was saying to Lan Wangji, who was looking back at him with a face completely blank of any emotion.
“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Wanyin said.
He had his hand out to yank Wei Wuxian away from the younger of the Twin Jades. To his surprise, Lan Wangji stepped forward until he stood between Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin.
“Young Master Jiang,” he said coolly.
“Second Young Master Lan,” he replied, bowing. “Zewu-Jun. Please excuse me and Wei Wuxian. We have a reading assignment to complete.”
“Wei Ying already knows the rules,” Lan Wangji said indifferently. “He is of Gusu.”
Jiang Wanyin couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Wei Wuxian had been born in Yiling, actually, and he had spent all of a day in Cloud Recesses as a small child before being sent over to Jiang Sect.
“Wei Wuxian,” he said, emphasizing the courtesy name that Sect Leader Jiang had been allowed to give him “is a Yunmeng-Jiang disciple. He must obey Teacher Lan’s orders to represent his sect well.”
Lan Wangji looked back at him and did not reply. Wei Wuxian suddenly dodged around him and shoved an arm around Jiang Wanyin’s shoulders. Jiang Wanyin wanted to scowl at him for interrupting his exchange with Lan Wangji, but then he noticed the way Lan Wangji blinked. There had been a little flicker in the motion.
“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Wuxian coaxed “Madam Yu was joking when she told you to watch me.”
She had not been joking. His mother did not joke.
Wei Wuxian continued jokingly, squeezing his shoulders. “You’re going to make the Twin Jades think I’m a troublemaker.”
“No I won’t. You will. I’m trying to save your dumb-”
He cut himself off abruptly and Wei Wuxian laughed.
“I promise I will read the rules. I’ll just ask Lan Zhan to supervise me as he usually does,” he said, turning to smile at Lan Wangji.
Lan Wangji met his eyes and then immediately dropped his gaze again, giving no indication that he agreed with this plan. Which made sense because Wei Wuxian was insane.
“Second Young Master Lan has better things to do,” Jiang Wanyin said, and he shook off the arm Wei Wuxian had placed around him. “Come.”
“Mn. No,” Wei Wuxian said. “I will see you later. Zewu-Jun.”
He took his leave of Lan Xichen, patted Jiang Wanyin’s arm carelessly, and walked off on a side path. To Jiang Wanyin’s shock, Lan Wangji followed closely behind him until they were walking side by side.
“What. Just happened?” Jiang Wanyin asked.
Wei Wuxian’s laughter rang in the distance as if he had heard and was mocking him. The disciples lingering in the courtyard had assembled into whispering groups. Jiang Cheng did not have to try hard to make out the names ‘Wei Wuxian’ and ‘Yunmeng-Jiang.’ Wei Wuxian had been in Cloud Recesses for less than an hour and he had already started gossip.
“Young Master Jiang. Did Wei Wuxian not tell you that they are friends?” Lan Xichen asked.
“He did, but I assumed he was joking!” Jiang Wanyin said. Then he jumped a little. “Ah, that is to say, Zewu-Jun…Wei Wuxian is very creative.”
He used the diplomatic word his father used to mean that Wei Wuxian was full of shit. Lan Xichen smiled as if he understood what Jiang Wanyin wished to say.
“He is a dedicated cultivator. He just…has a lot of energy,” Jiang Wanyin added, because Lan Xichen looked a little too understanding.
“He is a lively person,” Lan Xichen agreed after a pause.
Another voice interrupted them.
“He is disruptive,” Lan Qiren said. “Does Wangji mean to attend to his responsibilities today?”
“He told me his plan this morning, Uncle,” Lan Xichen said. “He will make sure to carry out his duties.”
Jiang Wanyin’s mouth curled with dislike. Wei Wuxian had done nothing wrong yet. And if Lan Wangji chose to neglect his duties in order to spend time with Wei Wuxian, that was not Wei Wuxian’s fault. However, there was nothing he could say in defense of his sect brother. He only took his polite leave of Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren.
.*.*.*.*.*.
Lan Wangji’s heart came to halt when he saw Wei Wuxian laying on the bed with another figure leaning over him. He stared, and then it was clear that heir body language was playful, Jiang Wanyin scowling at a grinning Wei Wuxian while Nie Huaisang made a show of trying to intervene. They all bolted upright when they noticed him and scrambled until they were sitting up in better order.
“What are you doing?” he blurted, looking straight at Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian looked at him with wide, placid eyes and grinned before getting to his feet. He bobbled a little while getting up, and once he reached Lan Wangji, he reached out and put a hand on Lan Wangji’s waist. He flinched back as if surprised by the contact, looked up at Lan Wangji’s face at the same time, and lost his balance. Lan Wangji put out his hands automatically to steady him and Wei Wuxian put his hands against his chest to catch himself. Wei Wuxian tilted his head up so that their faces were quite close.
He breathed out, “Lan Zhan.”
Two very powerful things happened at the same time: Lan Wangji felt Wei Wuxian’s breath across his lips and smelled the alcohol on his breath. He felt at once a spike of concern and a guilty, undeniable flare of desire, especially when Wei Wuxian flexed the hands he’d pressed against Lan Wangji’s chest.
“Wei Ying,” he said, voice a little wavering. And then, “Are you drunk?”
Wei Wuxian frowned. He called over his shoulder, “Jiang Cheng, am I drunk?”
Jiang Wanyin’s mouth hung open in petty horror. Wei Wuxian waved a signal of retreat at them in a way that was probably supposed to be hidden from Lan Wangji. Nie Huiasang and Jiang Wanyin would either have to rush past the two of them at the door or open and jump out a window. They glanced at each other and then scurried to the door, flinching away from Lan Wangji as they passed him.
Wei Wuxian sighed and leaned his head against Lan Wangji’s chest. Lan Wangji stood a moment in shock. He had only ever seen such embraces in the marketplace between married couples. He wondered if Wei Wuxian could feel his frantic heart against his cheek.
“Lan Zhan. I think I’m drunk.”
“Alcohol is prohibited in Cloud Recesses.”
He had no idea what else to say to that. His mind was currently very slow.
“I know. But. ‘M gonna get punished anyway…might as well have fun.”
“…Mn.”
“You’re not angry, are you?”
“Wei Ying.”
“I know. I’m gonna get punished,” he said. “Are you angry at me?”
“No,” he said. He had to be honest about that.
“Good.” There was a smile in his voice.
Lan Wangji readjusted his grip to better hold Wei Wuxian as Wei Wuxian relaxed further. His hair was soft against Lan Wangji’s neck.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian sang lightly.
“Let us sit down.”
“Mn,” Wei Wuxian agreed, and he let Lan Wangji half-carry him over to the table.
Lan Wangji seated Wei Wuxian on one side. He sat himself on an adjacent side in an attempt at propriety. Wei Wuxian did not allow this: he was scooting over to lean against Lan Wangji before he had really settled himself. Lan Wangji could not bring himself to scold him until Wei Wuxian reached for the jar of wine.
“Wei Ying.”
Wei Wuxian’s hand stopped.
“You’ll probably be in trouble if you don’t stop me, won’t you?”
Lan Wangji did not respond. That was not the reason he did not want Wei Wuxian to drink more. Wei Wuxian gasped lightly and sat up.
“You’ll probably be in trouble if you stay here. Leave now,” he suggested.
“No.”
“Lan Zhan,” he whined.
He poured Wei Wuxian a cup of water and placed it directly in front of him.
“Drink.”
He frowned at the cup as though it were a puzzle.
“It is water,” Lan Wangji explained.
“I know,” he said. “If I drink, will you-”
“No.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes narrowed. He thought some more and then suggested, “Then let’s play a drinking game.”
“With water?”
Wei Wuxian smiled and Lan Wangji realized he had been tricked into a negotiation.
“Yes. I go first.” He drank the cup of water and then asked “Did you miss me?”
“Yes.”
Wei Wuxian poured him a cup of water. Lan Wangji looked at it, conflicted.
“What are the rules?”
“Tch. Lan Zhan. Always worried about the rules. Just ask.”
He took the cup, weighed it in his hand, and asked, “Do you miss Lotus Pier?”
“You have to drink before you ask.”
Lan Wangji drank it.
“Yes,” Wei Wuxian said.
Lan Wangji’s heart sank. Wei Wuxian made a sound of distress and threw himself into Lan Wangji’s chest, tossing his arms around him. Lan Wangji struggled to get his arms around Wei Wuxian before he sank down against the table.
“It doesn’t mean I want to go back just now! I missed you too.”
Wei Wuxian was too close to his chest to not hear Lan Wangji’s sharp intake. Hey laughed, but it was a gentle laugh, and he began to stroke Lan Wangji’s back in a clumsy way.
“Of course I missed you, you silly- hmm, silly what? Silly bunny? What do you think of that, Lan Zhan?”
Lan Wangji could say nothing. The tips of his ears felt warm, as did the path of Wei Wuxian’s hand, and Wei Wuxian’s face against his chest.
“Doesn’t matter. I missed your face,” Wei Wuxian clarified. “And your voice. Beautiful voice. Beautiful face too, but everyone knows that. And the way you-” he heaved a huge sigh here. “everything so clear. Except for me but I’m an idiot.”
“You are not an idiot.”
Wei Wuxian chuckled, tucking his chin in slightly as his shoulders shook. “Lan Zhan, you only see the best of me.”
“That is not true.”
Wei Wuxian abruptly pulled away from him to sit up and drink another cup of water.
“Lan Zhan.” He opened his mouth and looked Lan Wangji in the eye. Then he faltered, gaze dropping as he held the cup to his chest. “Do you mind when I hug you?”
“No,” Lan Wangji said. He wished he knew what Wei Wuxian had really wanted to ask.
He held out his hand for the cup. Wei Wuxian clutched it closer. He had pressed his lips together and was looking at the ground in some kind of turmoil. Lan Wangji wondered if Wei Wuxian knew that he had not given a full, honest answer. His face grew warm at the idea of saying more. But Wei Wuxian looked faintly troubled, and Lan Wangji could hardly let that stand.
“I like hugging you,” Lan Wangji elaborated.
Wei Wuxian blinked and looked up at him searchingly. He seemed to like what he found on Lan Wangji’s face, because he grinned and said, “I like hugging you too.”
Lan Wangji nodded, face still warm, basking in the glow of Wei Wuxian’s smile and soft eyes. But, that softness was at least in part drunkenness.
Lan Wangji sighed and asked, “Do you want to go to bed?”
“Yes.”
“The cup.”
Wei Wuxian set it down and bounded to his feet. Lan Wangji followed closely in case he needed help.
“You should go,” Wei Wuxian said. “Before Old Man Lan finds out.”
“No.”
Wei Wuxian huffed in frustration. “Lan Zhan.”
“No,” Lan Wangji repeated softly.
Wei Wuxian threw himself into his bed.
Lan Wangji went back to the table. He picked up the jar of wine and pressed his thumb to the rim. A drop of wine came away on his skin, and he drank that. When his Uncle asked, he would tell him truthfully that he’d been drinking with Wei Wuxian.
“What are you doing?” Wei Wuxian asked from across the room.
“Sleep,” he commanded.
“If you’re not going to leave, come sleep with me!”
Lan Wangji’s heart sped guiltily at that. Of course Wei Wuxian meant only to offer his bed for resting together.
“I will meditate,” he said instead.
Wei Wuxian grumbled but soon his breathing leveled out into sleep. Lan Wangji looked at him. His heart ached, fond and afraid all at once. Tomorrow they would face their punishment together. Tomorrow, maybe, they would talk about the conversation they’d had over wine.
.*.*.*.*.*.