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Gusu floats on clouds of silvery mist, ethereal and mystical under the navy night sky. Rabbits and dragons form amongst the stars, dancing in twirling diamonds around Chang’e and reflecting in the gentle ripples of the small lotus pond beneath them. The small duckling balancing on a mass of gray stones quacks once before jumping back into the water, swimming past a blooming lotus flower.
Having just exited the Jingshi, Wei Wuxian stops and settles down, rucking up his robes to dip his legs into the pond. He holds back a shiver as the cold water sends chills up his skin. The autumn season has made Gusu almost unbearable to endure, especially for a person who is used to warmer, humid climates. But Wei Wuxian wants a resemblance of the past, hoping the feeling of lotus pond water will wash away the lingering taste of darkness on his tongue. The wetness of Shijie’s blood still stains his hands. Wen Qing’s resigned expression as she paralyzes him to head to her death still haunts his nights. Wei Wuxian still drowns, and he doesn’t know how to breach the surface back to air.
Even in the midst of all the goodness his second life had to offer, Wei Wuxian struggles to find solace in the world. Nightmares force him to wake up shaking from the fresh agony of corpses tearing into his flesh. Day terrors follow him as he tries to shake off the whispers of Jin Zixuan’s last words. Wei Wuxian tries to ignore them as he always did but he can’t escape, no matter the effort. He’s tired. Nowadays, sleep has become foreign to him, and he knows he’s worrying Lan Wangji. That’s what he hates the most. His husband has to deal with enough, and with both his Chief Cultivator responsibilities and the Sect duties he took on with Lan Xichen in seclusion, he doesn’t need a nearly-catatonic husband on his plate as well. That doesn’t really bode well for an already-stressed out spouse.
So, Wei Wuxian forces a smile and goes about his days normally as if he isn’t haunted every night. He teaches lectures, grades papers, teases the juniors, and fulfills his marital duties with his husband while ignoring the ghosts trailing after his every step.
The easiest act to perform is oblivion.
Wei Wuxian leans back on his hands and mulls over his thoughts. The water ripple as he kicked his feet, sending the lily pads backwards with the motion. He knows he shouldn’t be out here with only his inner robe on. The frigid weather is slowly getting to him, seeping through the thin fabric, and he doesn’t think Lan Wangji would appreciate finding his cultivation partner half frozen. He pulls his legs out from the water and is moving to get up when he hears a soft, “Wei Ying.”
At the sound of his husband’s voice, Wei Wuxian immediately looks over his shoulder to see Lan Wangji striding over to him. His hair is down, resting in elegant waves down in his broad shoulders, and an outside covering is thrown over his blue night robe. Over his arm is one of their smaller, woolen blankets. He wears an inquisitive look, obviously curious as to why his partner is sitting in the freezing weather alone.
“Ah, zhang-fu,” Wei Wuxian says with a grin. “What are you doing up?”
Lan Wangji huffs and moves behind Wei Wuxian to drape the blanket over his shoulders. “I should ask Wei Ying the same thing.”
“Admiring the ducks, of course,” Wei Wuxian says with a snicker and pats the ground next to him. Lan Wangji raises an eyebrow but kneels down beside Wei Wuxian anyways. “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, the babies are getting so big. What are we going to do with them all?”
Lan Wangji tilts his head to glance at Mifen and Mijiu huddling against the grass blades, watching their ducklings swim laps around the pond.
The story of how they got the ducks in the first place isnt much to tell. While on a night hunt in Lanling, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stumbled upon a pair of injured ducks and their twelve children on the side of the road. The ducks were cautious at first when they went to approach, hissing at them hostilely but were eventually too tired out from blood loss to fight off the two cultivators picking them up. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji took them to their inn room and treated their injuries with some of the supplies the innkeeper provided them. They stayed awake overnight to watch over their recovery and came to an agreement to take the animals back home with them. Well, it was more of Wei Wuxian giving Lan Wangji wide eyes and asking to keep them and Lan Wangji giving into his soulmate immediately, not caring about rule breaking as long as the joy on his husband’s face remained. And Wei Wuxian knew a good part of Lan Zhan wanted to as well, with his secret weak spot for small animals.
Of course, getting Old Man Lan to accept it was another task all together. But there was nothing Lan Wangji would not do for his husband, so the ducks stayed, and Lan Qiren had no choice but to accept it.
“Two bunnies, just two bunnies,” his uncle-in-law muttered over and over again, stumbling away from the Jingshi. Wei Wuxian shrugged and bent down to pick up one of the fluffy, little ducklings, nuzzling the baby.
Now, the ducklings are slowly outgrowing the little pond Lan Wangji constructed as a wedding gift for Wei Wuxian, needing more space to freely live their lives. After all, fourteen grown ducks could not sustain a proper life in a singular home alone.
His husband seems to be thinking similarly.
“I will build another pond,” Lan Wangji declares, causing Wei Wuxian to laugh. He pats his husband’s chest.
“Lan Zhan, you can’t just do that! Think about what your uncle would feel,” he says. “Remember all the trouble you had to go through for the first pond?”
“For Wei Ying, anything. Don’t care about anyone else,” Lan Wangji replies, tugging the corner of the blanket on Wei Wuxian to cover his love’s body better.
“Ah, husband, you’re too good. Too good,” Wei Wuxian says and lays his head down on Lan Wangji’s shoulder, lacing their fingers together. “I’ll help this time. We’ll build it together.”
“Mn. Together,” Lan Wangji says. He lifts his husband’s hand and lays a kiss on the back of it.
“Together,” Wei Wuxian whispers, rolling the word around in his mouth. Together.
Lan Wangji stays silent but looks down at his cultivation partner with gentle eyes. Wei Wuxian doesn’t have to hear Lan Wangji speak to know his question. Two years of marriage has taught him enough about reading his husband. He may be a man of few words but he is definitely one of many emotions.
“I’m fine,” Wei Wuxian tells him. “Just couldn’t sleep. You should have stayed inside. I was coming back soon.”
“Couldn’t. Wei Ying wasn’t there.”
Lan Wangji pauses before continuing. “Wei Ying...does not need to hide from me. Anything troubling you, it is okay to tell me.” He lifts a hand to lightly caress his love’s cheek, leaning over to press his lips against Wei Ying’s. Wei Ying hums and falls into the kiss, deepening it as he goes. He tastes the sweetness of snow fungus soup, the savoriness of pork meat buns, and the mildness of winter melon. The tastes mix together as their tongues meet and the world fades away.
Not yet, he knows. Not yet. But soon.
“I know,” Wei Ying tells Lan Wangji after pulling back. He rubs their noses together in a soft kiss and looks Lan Wangji straight in his golden eyes. “I know.”
Lan Wangji gazes at him a bit longer before bestowing his husband a small smile—a beautiful smile that must be blessed by the gods themselves. He gracefully rises and holds out a hand to lift Wei Wuxian up. Wei Wuxian gladly allows himself to be pulled up but in a quick second is promptly yanked into Lan Wangji’s arms.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian gasps, laughing as Lan Wangji adjusts the blanket around him so it would not fall and moves him into a bridal carry. He walks back to their home.
“Hush. It is late,” Lan Wangji says and ignores Wei Wuxian’s giggles as he steps into the Jingshi. He sets him down on the bed, carefully and delicately as if Wei Wuxian is the purest jade shard. As if he was something worthy of protecting. Wei Wuxian tries not to think too deeply of that, even knowing how much his husband cherished him. It would open something inside that he isn’t quite ready to think about just yet.
Lan Wangji slides into the bed, settling beside Wei Wuxian. His golden eyes glimmer under the moonlight streaming through their window as he turns to face Wei Wuxian. He really is the most beautiful man Wei Wuxian has ever seen. Wei Wuxian wants to kiss his wonderful husband again, and so he does. A soft, brief one this time but still one that sends shivers down his abdomen.
“Sleep, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji murmurs after the kiss ends, resting a large, warm hand on Wei Wuxian’s hip. He pulls the covers higher and tighter around the slighter man, enough to ensure the outside chill would be denied access. Wei Wuxian submits himself to the comfort and nestles up to his husband, thankful that for once, he got something right.