Archive of Our Own ^beta

Wei Wuxian didn't mean for things to end up this way:

Wrapped in a nest of… Lan robes; drinking in the faint scent of sandalwood as his body grows warm and full of want.

The original plan of sneaking around to find the jingshi was to startle Lan Wangji — give him a fright! The mischievous omega loves to see his stunted facial expressions of frustration, it always sends bubbly laughter through his chest that he enjoys so dearly. He truly had planned to peek through one of the shaded windows and jump inside to scare Lan Wangji, but it ended going… differently.

—

Wei Wuxian stands behind a large tree off to the side of the jingshi, keeping his giggles silent as the familiar sandalwood of the alpha graces his senses. He hums happily, his chest rumbling along with it. If he had a tail, surely it would be rapidly thumping. Considering class was out for the rest of the week due to Lan Qiren leaving for a few days, Wei Wuxian assumes that Lan Wangji is home.

He tip toes around the tree and then jumps up onto one its branches, carefully and quietly climbing across it with ease and finesse. In one fell swoop, Wei Wuxian jumps down from the branch right in front of a window on the side of the jingshi. The sandalwood is stronger now, seeping into the omega more and more.

His skin feels a bit sweaty given the coolness of the weather outside right now, but he brushes it off. He just scaled a tree, after all.

Wei Wuxian gently pries the paper covering of the window to the side, jumping inside the small home with a, "Surprise!" but he freezes and the laughter in his throat dies out as quickly as it had begun.

Lan Wangji isn't here… but his scent is so strong. The omega's brow furrows, confusion swirling around in his mind as the scent quickly becomes stronger, more overwhelming. He finds a spot on the floor to plop down onto, and with a hand on his chin, he thinks hard about what could possibly be going on. The only time he remembers his sense of smell growing abnormally strong was earlier that year when he presented.

Oh, shit.

Fear quickly sinks Wei Wuxian's stomach through the floor and six feet under the ground. Is he in pre-heat?

Is he going to have to go through his heat here?! He's never gone through a heat before, except for his first time presenting.

The fear and panic that quickly settle within the omega's chest have him standing and pacing around the jingshi, his mind whirling with thoughts of what he's going to do, who he should tell, where he should go… There's so much to think about and not enough time because his skin is feeling warm and the sandalwood inside the jingshi smells so good.

His eyes flicker to the draws off to the side of the bed.

"No!" He slaps himself in the face lightly. "I can't…"

Wei Wuxian spins around to face the window. He should leave. He can't be in an alpha's home right before his heat starts — that would be terribly embarrassing. Also the fact that he's in Lan Wangji's residence, not just any other alpha. He thinks of what would happen if Lan Wangji found him here, emitting his own sweet and spicy scent all over his living space. The alpha would be so angry and probably kick Wei Wuxian out on the spot!

Shivers run down his spine at the thought of Lan Wangji having a negative reaction to the reality he's brought upon himself, but when he glances towards the drawers again, Wei Wuxian can no longer stop himself from moving forward.

The drawers hold Lan Wangji's other sets of robes. All of them except for the ones he's wearing, wherever he is.

Wei Wuxian is overcome with a wave of comfort as the fresh sandalwood scent wafts out of the drawers the moment he opens them. He falls to his knees and claws the robes out with an urgency that feels unfamiliar to him. Burying his face into the white and pristine robes, Wei Wuxian can't find an ounce of shame bubble up within him.

He never knew the scent of alpha could smell so nice and be so calming, comforting. His body quickly reacts to the scent, growing warmer and weaker — begging for more comfort and something Wei Wuxian doesn't quite understand. The robes are terribly soft and he pulls as many of them out as he can find, naturally allowing his body to react as it pleases.

Before long, the omega finds himself wrapped in a cocoon of Lan Wangji's robes, blankets, pillows, anything with that sandalwood scent he could find.

A whine leaves his lips as he wriggles around in his makeshift nest. He's warm and the discomfort grows, no matter how many items he surrounds himself with. It's not enough.

"W- Wei Ying?"

Wei Wuxian's eyes well with tears at the sound of Lan Wangji's voice. For one, he didn't get to startle him! All of his plans were ruined. Second, the soft sandalwood within the jingshi is suddenly stronger with him here and it makes the omega's chest rumble again.

"Lan Zhaaaaan," he whines softly.

When Lan Wangji comes into the omega's view, his brow is knit so tightly it looks as if he might shout as Wei Wuxian any moment to get out. He wants to stand up and defend himself, but he doesn't really want to — he wants to stay here. Wei Wuxian wants to keep bundling up like this and he wants more of the alpha's sandalwood, he wants more.

Golden eyes carefully observe the scene before him, trailing from the open window shade to the haphazardly opened drawers to the omega nesting tightly in his bed. "Are yo-" Lan Wangji clears his throat. "Are you starting your heat?"

Wei Wuxian nods furiously. "Accident, it was an accident!"

A groan slips out of the omega's throat as he nuzzles into the sandalwood scented robes further, burying his nose as deeply as it can go. He feels the bed dip next to him, but he doesn't have the strength to look up and see a disappointed or disgusted Lan Wangji right now. Wei Wuxian is so deeply in need of his scent that seeing anything negative on his face would hurt.

"It will be alright. I will go get the omega medics."

"No!" Wei Wuxian pops out of his cocoon to grab tightly at Lan Wangji's sleeve before he can stand up. "Don't leave! Please, please stay…"

Lan Wangji's tightly knitted brow eases ever so slightly, enough for the omega to continue his silent pleading as he tugs his sleeve closer. As Wei Wuxian's wide, begging eyes stare up towards stubborn gold ones, the scent he's been chasing surrounds him tenfold. It's fresh, strong, even more than Wei Wuxian has been able to gather with all of the robes surrounding him. He whines as the sandalwood covers him completely, settling the desperate need within his stomach for now.

He barely notices that Lan Wangji moves, turning to sit closer and place a hand atop Wei Wuxian's forehead. His touch is so gentle, so unlike what the omega would expect of the stalwart and impassive Lan Wangji, but he only croons and nuzzles further into it. Wei Wuxian drinks in the sandalwood until his mind's haziness plateaus and his eyes slowly open to see the alpha before him with a look of worry and hesitation.

"L- Lan Zhan, what's wrong?" he whispers.

Lan Wangji shakes his head. "Are you in pain?"

Despite the omega's body warm and on the cusp of fully diving into an intense heat cycle, he feels the pit of his stomach swoop at the notion of the alpha being worried about him.

"Um, well, a little, haha…" Wei Wuxian tries not to wince at his skin growing prickly and warmer by the second. "I"ll be okay, though! It's normal, I think!"

Lan Wangji gives the omega more of his scent at those words and Wei Wuxian's pain lessens almost instantaneously. If he was smart, he would agree and have the alpha go fetch the omega medics that live here and they would be able to help him properly, but despite Wei Wuxian being one of the top in their class, he's choosing to not be smart right now.

Because right now, he only wants Lan Wangji.

He doesn't want to see a medic, another omega. Hell, he doesn't want to see anyone except Lan Wangji right now — not even another alpha. A shiver runs down his spine at the thought of a different scent attempting to ease his discomfort. Only sandalwood would work, only Lan Wangji.

Tears slowly start slipping down the omega's cheeks and the alpha's expression grows ever-worried. Without a word, he raises a hand to gently wipe away his tears and hum softly as he releases more of his scent. Wei Wuxian's worries fade away, getting lost in the comfort of Lan Wangji's soft touch, his scent, the sound of his humming. It all feels so real and right.

He doesn't think about what this will mean when he comes out of his heat, or how he will get through his heat with Lan Wangji, all he can think about right now is this.

Hopefully, maybe, the omega can have this every time he goes into heat. It sounds like a relaxing way to live, surrounded in comfort and protection. He wouldn't mind it, he thinks — not when it feels this good to be cared for and looked after.