Chapter Text
It wasn't the first time that Jin Ling was eating lunch at the Cloud Recesses. In fact, since the events at the Guanyin Temple, it had become a habit for him to drop by to see his friends every time he was around Gusu for a hunt. He would spend a few days there, and sometimes Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi would even accompany him on his journey.
No, he had eaten in the company of the Gusu Lan Sect more than once.
But this time, it was too much.
"That's it." He angrily set his empty cup on the table and a noisy thud resonated in the dining room. "I can't take it anymore!"
A few eyes turned to him, frowning at the disruption. A silent moment passed by but soon enough, the Lans in the room got back to their own meal. They were apparently used to guests not following the "no talking while eating" rule.
Next to him, Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi both set down their own cup.
"Jin Ling," Lan Sizhui whispered trying to not anger the others Lans even more. "What's wrong?"
"Have you looked at them?!"
He followed his gaze towards the table in the back of the room where Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were sitting. As usual, they were eating face to face, Wei Wuxian's dish looking way redder and more spiced than the rest of them.
"What do you mean?" Lan Jingyi asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
"They can't stop making eyes at each other!"
An awkward silence followed Jin Ling's statement.
"Well, they…" Lan Sizhui began, a slight blush creeping up his face. "They do that all the time."
"I know! And that's my problem!" Jin Ling clenched his fists. "Look at Lan Wangji! He's smiling!"
The two Lans turned once again towards the table. Lan Wangji had indeed the tiniest upward turn of lips while intensively looking at Wei Wuxian.
"Lan Wangji, of all people, is smiling," Jin Ling continued. "He's smiling just by watching Wei Wuxian eat! And talk! And he's probably talking about mindless things like his last nap!"
"What's your point?" Lan Sizhui asked, grabbing his cup again.
"He's so smitten that I'm going birth puppies with that overload of love!"
Lan Sizhui spitted the tea he had tried to drink while Lan Jingyi simply shrugged. "I don't think anyone is surprised at this point."
"That's the thing," Jin Ling said while Lan Sizhui was still coughing. "Everyone knows they love each other! Lan Qiren is probably writing their wedding vows as we speak so they don't mess them up."
Lan Sizhui had given up his cup. He cleared his throat. "But how is that a problem?"
"Everyone knows. Everyone but them! Do you remember that time we all ate at that inn after a hunt? The waiter asked them if they wanted to share the couple's special!"
"But—"
"They said yes, Sizhui. A stranger literally called them a couple and none of them even reacted!"
"Maybe they thought it was a friend thing—"
"The waiter brought them flowers and called them cute!"
Another silence. Lan Jingyi let out an awkward cough. "I mean… Surely they would know, no? After this? After everything?"
Jin Ling shook his head. "At this point, Wei Wuxian isn't oblivious of Lan Wangji's love. He's utterly blind."
"What about Hanguang-Jun, though?" Lan Sizhui asked. "Senior Wei has given up everything to be here with him in the Cloud Recesses, whereas he has always said he despised this place and its strict rules. He must know that's because Senior Wei loves him, right?"
Jin Ling let out a loud pained breath. "It kills me to say this, but he's not better than my uncle. On this subject, they're both morons—"
"Jin Ling."
"—so thick and—"
"Jin Ling!"
"If only they would talk," he exclaimed. "Or kiss! I don't care as long as they get rid of that tension around them!! I can't stand it anymore!"
He furiously pushed his empty bowl away, as if it was the cause of all of his frustration. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed Lan Sizhui's lips turn upward.
"What now?" Jin Ling grumbled.
His friend tried to hide his smile but clearly failed. "Nothing."
"Just tell me before I—"
"I just— You want them to be happy." It wasn't a question.
Jin Ling scoffed. "I just want my peace of mind, thank you very much."
Lan Sizhui simply nodded but his smile was still on his face.
The three of them stayed silent for a while. The room was starting to clear up, people getting back to their sect duties. They watched Lan Wangji gracefully get up and take the hand of a (falsely) tired Wei Wuxian to help him up as well. Jin Ling made a helpless whining sound at the sickly sweet scene in front of them.
"So…" Lan Jingyi began.
Jin Ling tore his gaze from the annoying couple and turned to him. "So?"
"Are… we going to do something about it?"
Jin Ling had a plan. It was perfect in his head. Easy. Get Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in a confined space, alone. Eventually, they would have to talk about their feelings. They had too. It was a foolproof idea.
But he wasn't sure how his plan ended up with both him and Lan Jingyi standing in front of an obstructed cave in the middle of the night.
And Lan Jingyi frantically jittering at his side.
Jin Ling let out a deep breath and turned to him. "Will you calm down?! You're making me nervous!"
"He's going to skin me," Lan Jingyi muttered under his breath, almost to himself. "Hanguang-Jun is going to skin me alive and eat me."
Jin Ling hit him on the shoulder, trying to get him back to the present moment. "Will you stop being so dramatic? He's vegetarian!"
"He's going to skin me and feed me to his rabbits!"
"They're rabbits!"
Lan Jingyi finally tore his gaze away from the cave and turned to Jin Ling. He pointed his index finger at him. "It's your fault!"
"My fault?! You're the one who thought the cave would make a perfect confined space!"
"You're the one who set out an array to seal it!"
"I didn't know the entrance would collapse on its own and that they would be stuck inside!"
Lan Jingyi turned back towards the cave and a moan escaped him. "I told Hanguang-Jun the cave had a fierce corpse inside so he would get in with Senior Wei. Not only do they now know I lied but we blocked them for who knows how long!"
Jin Ling shrugged. "They're experienced cultivators, they'll find a way out. Maybe they'll even solve their love issue."
Lan Jingyi seemed doubtful. "In a dark cave? With no way out? Very romantic."
"Shut up." Jin Ling looked around. "Where's Sizhui anyway?"
"I told him to check the surroundings and to stop anyone who would try to interfere. Not that there's much to interfere with, now…"
As he opened his mouth to once again scold Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling spotted a white blur behind the dark trees.
"I think he's coming back!"
Lan Sizhui was indeed walking towards them with a satisfied expression.
"I haven't seen anyone around," he said when he was before them. "I think—" His eyes found the cave and his face turned white. "What the— Weren't you guys just supposed to seal the entrance?!"
"It's Jin Ling's fault!"
"Shut up!"
Suddenly warm, Lan Sizhui fanned himself with his hand, worried eyes never leaving the cave. "My dad is going to skin you alive, Jingyi."
The latter turned angrily towards Jin Ling. "Told you!"
Jin Ling gave a sour laugh. "What's the deal with you Lans and skinning? Don't you have normal punishments like handstands or something?!"
Lan Sizhui opened his mouth to answer but a loud bang interrupted him. The three friends turned at the same time towards the cave where a heavy cloud of dust surrounded the entrance. They heard several coughs followed by Wei Wuxian's voice.
"See, Lan Zhan! I told you it would work!"
"Mmh."
The two cultivators took shape through the dust, first Wei Wuxian with a bright smile on his face, then Lan Wangji as impeccable as usual despite the circumstances. Wei Wuxian appeared to want to add something but his eyes stopped on the the Juniors, frozen and gaping at them.
Surprised, he walked towards them, closely followed by Lan Wangji. "What are you kids doing here?"
None of them said a word till Jin Ling kicked Lan Jingyi's shin.
"Uh, oh, we— we were just passing by—" He received another kick. He grunted at Jin Ling. "Will you stop?"
Lan Sizhui posted himself in front of them, diverting the Seniors' attention. "Those ones were worried about you so they came looking for you!" He bowed. "We are now relieved you are safe!"
Wei Wuxian laughed. "Aw, Lan Zhan, aren't they adorable!"
"Mmh."
Lan Sizhui straightened up. "What happened?"
Wei Wuxian stroke his chin, thoughtful. "Turned out there was nothing in this cave, after all. I don't know your sources Jingyi, but they were wrong."
Behind Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi let out a strangled cry but Wei Wuxian didn't notice him. He continued:
"The entrance collapsed though, and we were stuck. We had to create an array that would allow us to unblock it and it took longer than expected." He turned towards Lan Wangji. "Right, Lan Zhan?"
Lan Wangji took a step closer to Wei Wuxian and gently removed a seeming fragment of rock from the top of his hair. "You did."
Wei Wuxian looked up to him. "What?"
"Create the array in such a short period of time. Wei Ying did it by himself. You saved us."
Wei Wuxian swooned and put a hand on his heart. "Lan Zhan! Don't say such nice things!"
Feeling completely invisible in front of this scene, Jin Ling was sick of them flirting. He kicked once again Lan Jingyi.
"Ouch!" He jumped up and down in pain. "What now?!"
"Say something!" Jin Ling said between his teeth.
Understanding what the meant, Lan Jingyi loudly coughed. As if waking up from a dream, the two Senior cultivators tore their gaze from each other and turned to him simultaneously.
Lan Jingyi blushed at the sudden attention.
"Um," he began, nervous. "Did— did something else happened?"
Wei Wuxian raised his eyebrows. "Something else?"
"Yes. Like—" He took a deep breath. "Did you have a… a conversation?"
Next to him, Jin Ling silently facepalmed himself.
"A conversation?" Wei Wuxian asked, taking him seriously. He tapped his nose, reflective for a moment. "Not that I can remember. We were pretty busy with the array. It wasn't like last time!"
"Last time?" Lan Sizhui inquired, confused but also curious.
"Yes!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed in glee. "Another lifetime ago, we were stuck in a cave as well! But it lasted several days, and we were in such bad shape there was not much we could do. Lan Zhan even sang for me!"
Jin Ling choked "He sang?!"
"Mmh" Lan Wangji confirmed, the tip of his ears getting red.
"He's so nice to me!" Wei Wuxian continued, oblivious to the longing look Lan Wangji was giving him. "I'm so lucky to have him as a friend!"
Jin Ling was so done. Without missing a beat, he turned around and started making his way towards the Cloud Recesses.
"Friend," he muttered to himself. He could hear Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi following. "The cold and emotionless Twin Jade of Gusu sings for him in a dark cave, and he calls him a friend—"
"Jin Ling, wait up!" Lan Sizhui shouted behind him.
He slowed down, and the two Juniors caught up with him.
"What are we going to do, now?" Lan Sizhui asked after catching his breath.
Jin Ling said nothing. He looked defeated.
"Guys."
Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling turned to Lan Jingyi. He was smiling, determination in his eyes.
"I have an idea."