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Wei Wuxian had been gone for three hours.
This, in itself, is not an uncommon occurrence. Wei Wuxian can chase his whims for days at a time; at most, he had been gone for nearly a month investigating caves to search for a mineral that might have a chance in powering an automaton that would fetch well water in his stead. A few hours’ worth of absence is no cause for concern.
What’s unsettling is that Lan Wangji returns to an empty house without notice or forewarning.
There’s usually a note—a brief scrap with a hastily written ‘Be back!’ smeared across whatever poor surface happens to be nearby. Sometimes, it’s a proper sheet with neat characters and an explanation. Rarely, it’s a talisman against the door or a handful of them against the threshold for when people come too close to the protection array guarding their home.
After a period of secluded meditation, however, Lan Wangji finds nothing.
Even after he extends his senses outwards, encompassing the entire perimeter of the mountain, he finds nothing.
Lan Wangji has lived in solitude for centuries. It’s the destiny of all celestial beings, especially celestial dragons. He and his brother had left their family as the dynasties changed before soon parting with one another. He should be used to this. Yet, despite everything…
He closes his eyes and waits patiently by the door.
Despite everything, Lan Wangji had let himself be pulled into the gravity of a troublesome, charismatic eccentric of a man—had allowed the easy, sweet words tumbling from those lips like a flute melody captivate him. Like his brother, who had defied his preordained stars by choosing to give his heart to humans, Lan Wangji had also fallen in love.
But humans are fickle. Their lives are shorter, their world views more limited. They’re easily distracted by trivial pursuits and pleasures of the flesh. Even the two humans his brother gave himself to had become undone by these desires and the blow his brother had sustained after they fell to ruin is a loss he has yet to recover from. Wei Wuxian, too, is not above these things; in fact, he could be the most human-like human Lan Wangji has ever met.
It’s okay. I’ll never leave you. I promise. You can have my name as proof.
That alone should have been enough to assuage Lan Wangji’s fears. True names are powerful for all creatures, humans and celestials alike. They are always closely guarded secrets, even within the firm bonds of marriages or familial ties. To know one’s true name is to hold control over them, to command their actions and thoughts, to be able to manipulate their stars and change their fates. Lan Wangji can easily invoke Wei Wuxian’s true name: demand his presence and loyalty and his affection and claim ownership to his very being—
But Lan Wangji fell in love.
So, he will wait.
As the sun passes its apex, the door opens.
“Wait, you’re back already?” Wei Wuxian groans dramatically, shifting the armfuls of flowers he holds enough that a few blooms actually fall to the floor in small heaps. “Man! Here I was—going to surprise you and make the house all nice for your triumphant return from seclusion and you have the audacity to get home first!”
“Mn.”
“Come on, go sit. I’m not letting these go to waste. Do you know how much trouble I went through to get flowers as nice as these? A lot! I had to sneak into my brother-in-law’s private gardens and then I got caught by A-Ling so I had to bribe him with sweets so he’d keep his mouth shut and then—hey, I see you trying not to laugh! This isn’t funny, you know!”
Lan Wangji follows him further into their home and wordlessly takes his seat by the table while Wei Wuxian begins to arrange the flowers on his head. He lets the calm wash over him as Wei Wuxian weaves them into his hair and around his horns with gentle hands and tender care. For some reason, it always brings Wei Wuxian great joy to decorate his hair in such a manner with various ribbons, flora, and other finery. Apparently, it makes him look even more majestic, but Lan Wangji fails to see how anything could come close to the brilliance Wei Wuxian brings with every breath.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says, interrupting the riveting tale of the day’s tribulations. “Welcome home.”
Wei Wuxian’s hands pause in their work before a smile dawns onto his face, like the sun that sustains the flowers, the mountains, and the world itself. “I’m home, Lan Zhan.”