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”Aaaaaa Lan Zhan let me down please” came the exhausted whine as the sliding door to the Silent room closed behind a beautiful tall man.
“Alright” was the man’s cool reply as he moved from the door to the bed and dropped his cargo as gently as he could, but Wei Wuxian still hit the bed with a dull thud.
“Aw, Lan Zhan you meanie” Wai Wuxian huffed as he squirmed around trying to straighten himself out, but it proved to be slightly problematic with hands tied behind his back. “You didn’t have to be so rough. I’m hurt”
“Then don’t run around” Lan Zhan replied completely unfaced by his husbands childish whining.
“But I’m bored. I just wanted to go for a walk” Wei Wuxian huffed and pouted like a child after having finally gotten into a sitting position.
“Two more days” was all the other said and grabbed the duvet.
“Noooo I don’t wanna go to sleep” Wai Wuxian wailed and kicked his feet in protest.
“Wei Ying” the tone made the pouting man stop his antics. Wei Wuxian knew that tone. Firm, but gentle. He didn’t want to look at his partner because he knew what face awaited him, yet he couldn’t stop himself and his eyes slowly lifted to look at his tormenter. Lan Zhan was sitting on the edge of the bed, back as straight and stiff as a board, hands gripping the duvet, eyebrows tilted, eyes wide, jaw tight and the mussels in the neck tense. Lan Zhan was worried and very much so. Lan Zhan didn’t say anything further, but he didn’t need to. The intensity of his stair alone was enough to burn a guilty whole in Wei Ying’s soul.
“Just untie my hands” Wai Wuxian mumbled as he looked away in defeat.
“Alright” Lan Zhan instantly agreed and surged forward and place a tender kiss on Wai Ying’s forehead. After removing his headband from Wei Wuxian’s wrists Lan Zhan quickly tucked the other back in bed. “Hey Lan Zhan?”
“Mn” the elder hummed as he tied his headband back in place.
“Play a song for me” Wei Wuxian demanded with a smile as he snuggled into a comfortable position
“Alright” Lan Zhan agreed. After making sure that Wei Wuxian was as comfortable as possible Lan Zhan gave him another kiss on the forehead before getting up and walking over to his worktable where he sat down. His qin placed perfectly on the table ready to be played. With gentle and sure fingers, a melody sprung to life from the beautiful instrument. A song so familiar to the two of them that they would recognize it anywhere, yet so foreign to the rest of the world that no one would even notice it. It drifted through the room, promising anything and everything while demanding nothing in return. It had a presence all its own and when Lan Zhan opened his eyes and peeked over at the bed his suspicion was confirmed. This was indeed the perfect lullaby for Wei Wuxian. Not that it wasn’t inevitable. Wei Wuxian had been like a taketombo all day. Spinning around himself and flying under the ceiling with energy, but Lan Zhan knew that it was energy easily burned. He had brought Wei Wuxian back to bed eight times already. Not once did Lan Zhan tire of getting up to retrieve the newly escaped Wei Wuxian, after all it was only a matter of time before the younger would tire himself out and fall asleep. Lan Zhan took in Wei Wuxian’s still form and tried to take note of his breath. It appeared deep and steady. Hopefully finally asleep. Lan Zhan turned his eyes back on the instrument in front of him, not that he needed to look in order to play. Lan Zhan continued to play for the sleeping Wei Wuxian. Eventually Lan Zhan closed his eyes and let the melody sooth his own mind as well. How long he sat there playing he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t miss the creaking of the floorboards.
“Please return to bed Wei Ying” Lan Zhan requested not missing a tone or needing to open his eyes. Silence greeted him, but Lan Zhan wasn’t fooled. “Wei Ying if I bring you to bed one more time, I will tire you to it”
“Ahaaa” came a nervous laugh. Lan Zhan finally opened his eyes and looked over at Wei Wuxian. The man was frozen in the middle of the floor. Nervous smile across his face. His eyes whipped all over the room trying to find either an excuse or an escape. Lan Zhan stopped playing and ever so lightly placed his hands on top of the strings to stop their gentle vibration. Then firm eyes turned to Wei Wuxian. For a moment they two just looked at each other, Lan Zhan waiting for Wei Wuxian to make a decision and Wei Wuxian hoped that if he stood still long enough Lan Zhan would forget he was there. Finally, Wei Wuxian broke the stale make by taking a single step forward.
“Wai Ying” it was a warning, but not yet hostile.
“Just an hour, a walk around the hallways, five minutes out front” Wei Wuxian pleaded. Lan Zhan stood up fast but elegantly and headed for his husband. Said husband gave a squeak and scurried back to bed, like a frightened mouse, before Lan Zhan reached him.
“Sleep” Lan Zhan demanded as he reached the bed and started reaching for the knot on the back of his head.
“Aaahhh, wait, wait, wait. I went to bed on my own. You didn’t actually bring me back this time” Wei Wuxian panicked as he backed as far away as he could on the bed. Lan Zhan stopped and seemed to consider Wei Wuxian’s argument for a moment before lowering his arms leaving his headband in its intended place. Relief washed over Wei Wuxian’s face when he realized that Lan Zhan wasn’t going to follow through with his threat.
“Sleep” Lan Zhan demanded again, but still with the soft edge that he only used with Wei Ying.
“Oh right” Wei Wuxian quickly made himself comfortable and allowed Lan Zhan to tuck him in once more without a fuzz, just in case Lan Zhan changed his mind. Instead of returning to the qin to help Wei Wuxian relax and fall asleep Lan Zhan remained by his husband, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently ran his fingers through lose strands of hair. Without thinking about it, Lan Zhan started humming, softly, quietly, constantly.
“Lan Zhan is the best” Wei Wuxian mumbled tiredly as his eyelids seemed to become heavier and heavier until they finally closed. The mussels around the eyes relaxed and the tension in the eyebrows eased and eventually smoothed out. His breathing slowed and quickly became deep, this time genuinely asleep. Even after Lan Zhan was certain the battle was won for now, he remained sitting by Wei Wuxian’s bed side, perfectly content with watching the younger sleep peacefully in a secure environment. Lan Zhan reveled in knowing that his husband was safe and happy and that nothing was going to happen to him, that right now Lan Zhan could look at him for as long as he wanted to. Then he heard voices. It was rear, but not unlikely to hear the other residences of Cloud Recesses moving about, but these were raised voices and they were getting closer, and quickly. Lan Zhan wasn’t about to let something else interrupt Wei Wuxian’s sleep now that Lan Zhan had finally gotten him down to sleep. Lan Zhan rushed to the door, fast but quiet and opened the doors just in time to see most of the junior rushing through the outer gate, led by Sizhui. When they spotted a displeased HanGuang Jun waiting for them in the doorway they all slowed down and seemed embarrassed at having caused a disturbance.
“What’s the batter?” Lan Zhan asked cool and firm as he looked over the juniors, who all suddenly wouldn’t look at him and shifted nervously on their feet.
“Ah, HanGuang Jun” Sizhui said and stepped forward. He politely held out his hands and bowed respectfully, the rest of the junior quickly followed his example. “We just returned from a hunt and heard Senior Wei was bedridden. We wanted to see that he was well” he explained as he straightened. Concern was written all over the young cultivator’s face and he was clearly doing his best to not panic. Lan Zhan was just about to reassure them all that Wei Wuxian was fine and just needed rest when a voice came from inside the house.
“Lan Zhan, what’s going on?” Wei Wuxian called. He sounded tired. Lan Zhan took a deep breath before letting out an equally deep sigh. Now he had to let the juniors in otherwise they would be coming one at a time to see for themselves that Wei Wuxian was alright. Then he looked at the juniors very seriously.
“You may come in but be quiet. He needs rest” Lan Zhan stressed, and all the young cultivators eagerly nodded their heads. Lan Zhan turned on his heel and led them all inside.
“Sizhui, Jingyi, everyone. What brings you all here?” Wei Wuxian asked confused but was also clearly excited to see them. When he started to get up a stern look form Lan Zhan was all it took to stop him. “Excuse my manners, but Lan Zhan has forbidden me form getting up” Wei Wuxian teased.
“Mm” was all Lan Zhan answered before sitting by his table to allow the juniors the room they needed.
“Senior Wei” Sizhui called and got Wei Wuxian’s full attention. “We heard that you were bedridden and wanted to see if you were doing alright”
“Aww that’s sweet, but I’m not even that ill. Lan Zhan is just being a pain” Wei Wuxian continued teasing and Lan Zhan was pleasantly surprised when Wei Wuxian refrained from sticking his tongue out.
“Then how come you are bedridden?” one of the juniors in the back spoke up. He sounded unsure of himself, like he wasn’t sure if he could ask or not.
“Ah, relax, relax. I just used a lot of spiritual energy. It’s nothing to worry about, besides Lan Zhan always protects me” Wei Wuxian reassured them all with a smile and a light chuckle. “Now sit down. It feels strange to have you all hover over me. Tell me about your hunt. How did it go?” Wei Wuxian quickly changed the subject and the juniors looked at each other, not sure if they could or should make themselves comfortable in the home of the legendary HanGuang Jun. Eventually they all glanced over at the man in question. Lan Zhan just gave an almost unnoticeable nod and they all quickly made themselves comfortable on the floor. Wei Wuxian turned on his side and prodded his head up in one of his hands, ready to listen to the juniors exciting new adventure. As the young cultivators started talking, almost taking turns telling different parts of the story, Lan Zhan kept a close eye on Sizhui. The boy did partake in the story telling but was for the most part quiet and just seemed fixated on Wei Wuxian. He didn’t need to say it, but Lan Zhan knew that Yuan had been deeply worried about hearing that Wei Ying was sick. Lan Zhan had noticed how Sizhui seemed to lock onto Wei Wuxian every time the two were in the same room and Lan Zhan knew that the young boy had been scared that he was going to lose Wei Wuxian once more. That he would be left behind without an explanation or worse without a reason as to why. Lan Zhan knew because that’s how he himself felt and it was why he was being so persistent about Wei Ying’s rest. Wei Wuxian was a captivated audience and was animatedly engaged in the story, making large and arguably overreacting expressions, but it spurred the juniors on and probably made them embellish their story just a little.
Lan Zhan should probably reprimand them for not telling the absolute truth, but he caught Wei Wuxian’s eyes and the younger just smiled from at him from ear to ear. That beautiful smile that had a warmth one could almost feel. It also told Lan Zhan that Wei Ying knew the junior were exaggerating, but he was just so happy and having too much fun listening to their story to call them out on their inconsistencies, so Lan Zhan decided to let it slide this time.
As the story dragged out Wei Wuxian started rearranging his head more and more often, clearly getting tired and Lan Zhan decided that perhaps it wasn’t all bad that the juniors had interrupted Wei Ying’s sleep. This certainly quilled the boredom to some extent and bay make it easier to keep him in bed for the next two days. Eventually a yawn escaped Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan decided that that was his sign to step in.
“Enough. Wei Ying needs rest now” Lan Zhan broke in as he stood form the table and walked over to the others. The juniors were quick to get up and bowed respectfully before just as quickly wishing Wei Wuxian a speedy recovery and headed out the door, not wanting to overstay their welcome. As they fall left Lan Zhan walked over to the bed and made Wei Ying lie back down and made him comfortable.
“HanGuang Jun?” a nervous voice called behind him and Lan Zhan calmly turned to look at the anxious Sizhui. He waited patiently for the boy to continue while giving him his undivided attention. “Will Senior Wei truly be alright?”
“In two days” Lan Zhan answered honestly, and he saw the relief wash over the young boy. Not that Lan Zhan blamed him for his fear. The two stood like that for a moment where Lan Zhan knew that there was more that Sizhui wanted, but was content waiting for the boy to be ready to ask.
“Han… HanGuang Jun?” it was said like a question as Sizhui took a small and careful step forward.
“Mn”
“May I… may I stay with him?” the young boy finally asked, and Lan Zhan felt the corner of his moth twitch in a smile. Leave it to Sizhui to be the exception to the rule. He really took too much after Wei Wuxian on that front.
“Sure” Lan Zhan answered tenderly, and it didn’t take long before the young boy found his place on the floor next to the bed. This time in a less formal way as he was leaning against the side of the bed, practically staring at Wei Wuxian’s face. Lan Zhan just huffed humorously to himself as he retook his seat and started to play for both Wei Wuxian and Sizhui. Before long he lulled the young boy to sleep as well, the young boy having found rest halfway sprawled on the floor with his head resting on folded arms on top of the bed. Lan Zhan only stopped his playing to find an extra blanket and carefully draped it over Sizhui’s shoulders. Deciding that they were both comfortable and safe Lan Zhan grabbed a book before settling down on the foot end of the bed, being mindful not to disturb either of the slumbering men, content with quietly watching over his family as they regained their strength.