Work Text:
Lan Huan watched attentively as his little brother explored the room on his own, unsteady but determined.
When Lan Huan had arrived at the house earlier, Mother had told him that A-Zhan had just began to walk and she had asked him to look after him while she prepared tea and cakes for them. As a big brother, Lan Huan took his duty very seriously. As soon as A-Zhan was out of reach, he started following him around, not intervening but careful all the same because he was so small and his steps were still uncertain.
Lan Huan had no recalling of how he had behaved at his age. He had no memory of exploring the house for the first time or how his mother had smiled at him but seeing how she looked at them from where she prepared the tea, he imagined it must have been akin to the smile and warmth he could see on her face.
Lan Huan smiled back at her then hastily returned to his brother’s side.
A-Zhan seemed set on exploring the entire room.
He went to a bright coloured painting then towards the window when the clear melody of a singing bird reached them before he was distracted by a mirror by the table. Lan Huan trailed after him, keeping out of his way but attentive.
A-Zhan walked with the same sweet clumsiness all toddlers shared but there was an undeniable grace and calm about him.
Their uncle would approve if he were here and the thought had Lan Huan laugh softly.
A-Zhan startled upon hearing him then turned to look at him, swaying a little precariously before finding his balance once more. Lan Huan stilled then smiled, warm and kind like their mother. There was a beat then A-Zhan smiled back at him. It was not as bright and wide as the other young disciples, but Lan Huan could see the joy in his eyes in the same way he could see it in their mother’s or their uncle’s.
Forgetting all about the mirror, Lan Zhan walked towards him as fast as his little feet would take him, his arms stretched in front of him until he reached Lan Huan. Lan Huan giggled when his brother collapsed into his legs, gripping them tightly, and nodded when he tugged him towards the few toys laying across the room.
Soon, they were engaged in a deep conversation while playing with said toys, though it was more of a monologue with the way Lan Huan babbled while A-Zhan only nodded and added a few sparse sounds when he wanted to give his input. A-Zhan was sitting on his lap, laughing at the toys moving in front of him, quieter than most babies his age but visibly entertained and happy.
Lan Huan didn’t mind. He could feel his brother’s happiness and it was funny.
Until he felt small teeth bit down on his arm holding a bunny toy in front of his brother..
“Aiyo! A-Zhan!” Lan Huan winced, pulling his arm away and tucking it against his chest.
Lan Zhan had slipped off his lap to land on his bum and he was looking upset now, his eyes rapidly filling with tears.
“A-Huan? A-Zhan?” In an heartbeat, Mother was kneeling between them, pulling A-Zhan on her lap while holding a hand out to beckon Lan Huan closer. “What happened?”
“We were playing and he bit me!” Lan Huan explained, lifting his sleeve to show her his arm. His robes had preventing any real injury but he was still stunned. That had never happened before. With anyone.
All the while gently shushing his little brother’s soft whimpers, Mother examined his arm carefully before a smile lit her expression. “Do you know what that means, A-Huan?” She asked, gently rubbing his arm.
Lan Huan shook his head, looking at his brother hesitantly before looking back at her.
“It means your brother loves you very much.”
“He does?” He asked hesitantly. He didn’t mean to sound so disbelieving or suspicious but to be fair, he had just been bitten. Uncle would say it was unbecoming to be so upset, it was probably forbidden somewhere in the rules he was still learning, but with Mother, he knew he was allowed to be.
She nodded, wrapping an arm around him to pull him close and kiss his forehead. “He does. Very much. See, some people, when they are very, very happy or love someone very much, can’t contain how happy they feel so they can only bite to show their feelings. It just means your didi loves you but he can’t say it yet so he bit you! And you know, A-Huan… I love you just as much!”
Lan Huan immediately forgot about the bite to laugh as Mother pretended to bite them both, eliciting delighted laughs from the two brothers.
—
“And that’s how I learnt my brother would bite me if I made him too happy,” Lan Xichen concluded with a smile as he filled their cups with more tea. “I was happy to learn about that because Wangji was a quiet baby but I have to admit that during the few weeks that followed that… enlightening lesson, I took on wearing thicker robes.”
There was a moment of silence then laughter exploded in the Hanshi. Lan Wangji caught his husband with an arm around his waist before he could topple backward, carried away by his full-bodied laughter.
Eyes unbearably fond with love, he could only smile as he watched Wei Wuxian laugh in his arms, crinkles around his eyes, fully trusting Lan Wangji to catch him and hold him. Lan Wangji knew the tip of his ears was red with embarrassment but he would happily bear it if it meant seeing Wei Wuxian laughing so happily. His husband’s happiness was bright and Lan Wangji could not look away.
Encouraged, his brother spent the rest of their meal recounting various childhood stories about Lan Wangji, much to Wei Wuxian’s delight and Lan Wangji’s embarrassment.
(If Lan Wangji shared a few stories about his brother in return, it was only fair.)
--
“Tonight was really nice,” Wei Wuxian commented happily as they walked home under the moonlight, blaming the chilly wind to cling to him. Naturally, Lan Wangji held him by the waist until they were practically melting into each other. “You must have been such a cute little baby, with your little ribbon and your little robes, all serious and cute! I hope you know I will ask your brother to tell me all the embarrassing stories about your childhood.”
“Mn.” It did seem like an inevitable outcome but Lan Wangji only smiled in anticipation, looking forward to his husband laughing so freely in his arms again. Tugging Wei Wuxian closer to kiss his temple, Lan Wangji listened quietly as Wei Wuxian alternatively teased, praised and cooed at him as he imagined his younger self based on his brother’s stories.
“But you know, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian continued once they reached their house. “There’s one story that really stuck me tonight.”
Lan Wangji hummed inquisitively as he let Wei Wuxian inside before closing the door behind them. From the look in his husband’s eyes alone, he already knew what was coming but he waited, only moving to help him out of his robes while Wei Wuxian was looking up at him with a smile.
“See I was thinking about what your brother said earlier and I think my dear husband must love me very, very, very much,” Wei Wuxian said, moving closer to Lan Wangji to help him undress as well, eyes twinkling even though he was pretending so hard to pout. “Because I can never seem to leave our bed without many, many love bites. So many that my skin is almost constantly bruised with it!!”
Lan Wangji shivered at the memory of the marks he had left just this afternoon, barely concealed beneath Wei Wuxian’s collar. He wanted to surge forward and kiss his pouting mouth. He wanted to bite his husband’s bottom lip and his soft neck, mark the miles of skin waiting for him under that last white layer of robe to show Wei Wuxian just how much he loved him. He knew Wei Wuxian wanted that as well. He could see it in his heated gaze, in the way his body arched closer to him and his lips were slightly parted in anticipation.
“Your husband loves you very much. You’re the only thing on his mind. But you know,” Lan Wangji said, voice soft. Wei Wuxian leant closer, whether drawn in by his voice or his expression, Lan Wangji couldn’t tell. “My mother forgot another reason why one might bite.”
“Yeah?” Wei Wuxian’s voice was breathy, his body already melting in Lan Wangji’s arms.
“Mn. To mark what’s theirs so the world knows.”
“L-Lan Zhan! How dirty!” Wei Wuxian stuttered around a laugh, his face turning a delicate shade of red before he hid his face in Lan Wangji’s chest. Lan Wangji welcomed him with a soft laugh. “You beast, are you saying I’m only yours?”
“Yes.”
“Lan Zhan!!” Despite his apparent embarrassment, Wei Wuxian was smiling and laughing, his hands clinging to Lan Wangji’s robe as if he was afraid he might collapse if he didn’t.
Smiling, Lan Wangji peppered his face with kisses until Wei Wuxian tipped his head back, offering him his lips for the searing kiss they both sought.
Nibbling at his husband’s lips until they parted for him, Lan Wangji wasted no time licking into his mouth while he lifted Wei Wuxian up in his arms, earning a delicious moan. Strong legs wrapped around his waist and a hand tangled in his hair, clinging to his ribbon, as Lan Wangji walked them back to their bed.
“A-ah, yes! Lan Zhan, come mark me up,” Wei Wuxian asked with an enticing smile once he was laid on the bed, his dishevelled robe falling around him and revealing the fading marks on his skin. “Come make me yours.”
Lan Wangji took a moment to appreciate how beautiful his husband looked beneath him, his body glowing under the silver moonlight, open and sweet and his, then he proceeded to show him just how much he loved him.