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Wen Qing nocks her arrow, aims and fires. Her target is on point, scaring but not injuring the poor innocent horse, who shimmies and neighs and rears up, causing the portly carriage driver to fall off.
They've been waiting for a long time for anyone to enter the forest and fall into their trap. From the looks of the expensive trimmings on the vehicle and the richly dressed horse complete with white and blue uniformed driver, they are going to eat well tonight.
“I think you knocked him out,” Wei WuXian observes, referring to the man on the ground, before he trots sedately towards the white carriage with blue trims. Suibian, his black mare, whinnies under him. He pats her neck soothingly. She's more interested in the white stallion tethered to the nobles's carriage, who huffs under his breath.
“Be careful,” Wen Qing calls, her gaze unwavering.
“Relax!” Wei WuXian replies with a wave, confidence dripping from his glib answer that speaks from experience. He's done this a thousand times, ever since he realised how much more profitable it was to steal from the rich, who had more money than sense, than actually work for tight bosses who never paid fairly. Who was the real thief there, then?
Wen Qing's gang of bandits saved his life back then and he's never looked back.
He pulls out his dark flute and raps smartly against the window cover. The sight of Chenqing should be enough to scare the most stalwart of victims. “Knock, knock…” he says, oozing charm. These brief interactions never need to be unpleasant…unless there's a reluctance to part with their valuables by those inside the carriage.
With a sharp thwack, the blind rolls up and the most beautiful man alive stares back at him with a frosty glare.
“Oh, my?!!” Wei WuXian gasps, recovering well (he thinks) in light of his brain passing out and his tongue tying itself into teeny tiny tangled knots.
“What do you want?” The retort cuts like a diamond, matching the lovely speaker.
“Oh, first time being robbed?” Wei WuXian smirks. “That's okay, I can be the one to steal your looting cherry!”
If anything, the man's grimace deepens, turning even icier. “Hardly,” he offers, before dismissing Wei WuXian by staring straight ahead as if he isn't there.
“Oh, you've done this before? Then I don't need to explain how this works.” Wei WuXian turns serious. “Hand over your jewellery and any coin.”
“No.”
“I beg your pardon?” Wei Ying is understandably flabbergasted.
“I said, no. It means a refusal to comply with your request.”
“I know what it means!”
“Then why ask?”
“No! Look here, there seems to be a misunderstanding. I'm here to rob you! That's not a fucking request!”
“I disagree. I have no wish to be robbed. Go away.”
His petulance makes a startled laughter erupt from Wei WuXian's mouth. “You're so funny!”
“I'm not joking.”
“I can see you believe that. But I think we can blame your lack of experience in matters of thievery. Let me explain to you how this works. You clearly have too much money, and I don't. I'm simply evening out the universe’s mistakes.” Quick as a flash, Wei WuXian switches Chenqing for a dagger, holding it against that pale, gorgeous throat. “You can do this willingly or not. Your choice.” He swallows hard, hating this part.
But it is dangerous to have a conscience in this line of work.
He watches as the beautiful man scowls, knowing that he has been bested. He reaches into his robes reluctantly and pulls out a white silk pouch. If looks could kill, Wei WuXian would be lying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, pierced by this man's loathing stare. Wei WuXian forces himself to smile as brightly as he can when he plucks the loot from his elegant, fair hands.
“Thank you,” he bows minutely, mockingly. His gaze never leaves the arrogant beauty as he swiftly rides away.
Suibian snickers, not wanting to leave the white stallion. Wei WuXian strokes her neck soothingly, as they race away, the pang of regret poisoning his victory. When he reaches where Wen Qing and the rest of his group are hiding, she scolds him.
“You took too long!”
“Hey, it's not my fault,” he says defensively. “He didn't want to give it up.”
“Just be careful. You never know when your luck will run out.”
“You worry too much!” Wei WuXian tells her as they ride away, making sure no one follows them into this part of the woods. “I've never been caught!” It's a fake bravado, and they both know it.
“Wei WuXian, there's a first time for everything,” she warns, riding away from him.
Wei WuXian waits until she's out of earshot. “Wei WuXian,” he repeats snarkily in a higher pitch, “there's a first time for everything!” He snorts, trying to make himself feel better. “We'll show her, won't we, Suibian?” He bends to kiss his horse's head affectionately, between her soft ears. He scratches them and they twitch adorably.
He leads her towards the stable area and spends the next few hours brushing her down and making sure she has enough food and water. He checks on the other horses and then, not wanting to join the others, he curls up in a bed of hay by himself.
For the first time in his career as a guilt-free bandit who is very good at his job, thank you very much, Wei WuXian feels regret.
Sleep evades him that night. Whenever he closes his eyes, all he can see is the glaring hatred spitting back at him from those beautiful golden eyes.
*********************
They don't meet him again until a week later. A slingshot knocks out the carriage driver this time, and then Wei WuXian knocks on the window frame like always.
But this time, he's not expecting a knife to his own throat. So fast! He nods at the golden-eyed beauty, appreciating that he's been bested.
“Nice to see you again,” Wei WuXian offers with a cheeky smile.
“Shameless!” Is the thunderous reply.
“Now, now, let's not be hasty,” he cajoled. “This would go over easier if you thought of it as a transaction.” One finger gently eases the sharp tool away from his vulnerable neck. “I'm sure we can come to a fair arrangement.”
“One must not barter with terrorists.”
“Are you scared?”
“No. Ridiculous!”
“Then how am I a terrorist?” Wei WuXian scoffs. “We're just two people meeting in the middle of the woods on a dark night!” He smiles brightly, enjoying himself. “And I must say, it's great to see you again! I've missed you.”
“I refuse to entertain you!”
Wei WuXian eyes both the knife in his hand and the white purse in his lap. There's also a noticeable bulge there…family jewels, maybe? Perhaps Wei WuXian will allow him to keep something this time. To celebrate their reunion. What Wen Qing doesn't know won't hurt either of them.
“Don't you think we've gotten off to a rough start? How about we pretend this is the first time we're meeting?”
“An ill-conceived idea.”
“No, I think we should be friends,” Wei WuXian insists, getting bolder by the minute.
“Shameless!”
The look Wei WuXian gets is as if he's something to be scraped off the bottom of one's shoe.
“You have a limited vocabulary, but I'm willing to overlook that! Okay, let's have a battle of wits, then, since violence is out of the question. I'll ask you a riddle and if you can't answer it, then you hand over your purse like a good little boy–”
The knife is back at his throat before Wei WuXian stops speaking.
“There is nothing little about me,” the unfairly attractive man bites out.
Suibian decides to take matters out of their hands by shimmying away, and Wei WuXian laughs, joyful and bright. She's taken him away from the danger. Wei WuXian tosses the white purse into the air and catches it gracefully, enjoying the way the other man's eyes dart from Wei WuXian to his own lap, and seeing the empty place where his money lay only moments ago.
“Thank you!” Wei WuXian snickers, recognising the disbelief for what it is. He rides away, his heart lighter than its ever been for once.
*************
“Wow, we've got to stop meeting like this,” Wei WuXian says, grinning with his impeccable charm. “I don't even know your name!”
“Do you not have anything better to do?”
“What do you mean? As in a job, or with my time?” If anything, this golden-eyed beauty has gotten even better looking in the time they've been apart.
“Both.”
Is it his imagination, or does the beautiful man look tired?
Wei WuXian takes pity on him, for once, unable to stop himself. He'll deal with Wen Qing's wrath later.
“Okay, let's switch things up. Today, I'm not here to rob you.”
That gets his attention. And it's the best feeling to be looked at differently than in annoyance or disdain, or even fury. Wei WuXian sees a reluctant curiosity simmering within those golden depths.
“Then, what is the point of your presence?”
The cold delivery makes Wei WuXian bark out a laugh. “I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're in the wrong line of work, you know. You'd make a killing doing stand-up.”
He is unceremoniously ignored.
“Are you any good with riddles?”
A glowering look. Wei WuXian shivers, wondering why he's so affected by this. Maybe he's hardwired to annoy the noble and get his kicks like that, because so far in his life, nothing compares to this feeling. Riling him up just for the sake of it, annoying him just enough to get a reaction, it's a heady, high-inducing feeling, and most of all, addictive. Those gorgeous golden eyes are brimful of emotion despite the man's cold exterior, and Wei WuXian believes he would like to decipher each and every one of them. Find out what makes him tick.
“Okay, then. Tell me this: I'm not alive, but I can grow. I don't have lungs, but I need air, what am I?”
“Fire,” the glare deepens.
But Wei WuXian is delighted! “Best of three!” He shouts gleefully. “What has a mouth but can't eat?”
“A river. Is there a point to this?”
“Yes! I'm determining how smart you are! Last one: I fly without wings, I cry without eyes. What am I?”
“A cloud. I have won all three.”
Wei WuXian claps his hands with excitement, ignoring the put-upon groans from those listening behind him. Serves Wen Qing right for having bat ears.
“Then you get a prize,” Wei WuXian says.
“What kind of prize?”
“You sound way too suspicious!” Wei WuXian laughs. “Why don't you choose something? Just this once, I'll give you whatever you ask for!” Why does he feel so excited by this? And why is he so amazed that this beautiful man is clever, to boot?
“What is your name?”
“What?”
“Your name. It's what people call you.”
“I know what a name means!”
“Then, what is yours?”
“So let me get this straight. You could have anything you want, as long as it's within my power to give it to you, and you want my name?”
“Mn.” There's a flash of interest in his eyes.
“Well, that's too bad because I can't tell you.” He is regretful about this.
“Are you going back on your word?” Now he sounds disapprovingly upset.
“I don't want to. But if I gave you my name, you will turn me in. People rely on me, you know. I can't afford to get caught.” Wei Ying looks up from the stirrup he'd been concentrating on.
Immediately, he's trapped under the severity of a golden gaze, pensive and contemplating. For a moment, all the thoughts in his head turn to mush and he can't breathe.
“What if I promise not to do that?”
Wei WuXian can't believe his ears. “What, you'd do that? Let me off the hook, so to speak?”
“Mn.” The tips of his ears go adorably pink.
“It's a risk.”
“Mn.”
“All about whether I can trust you or not.”
“Mn.”
“I mean, we do not even know each other.”
“Mn.”
“Okay, I'll do it. My name is Wei Ying. What's yours?”
“Wei Ying.” The man fits his lips around the syllables as if they were a delicacy needing to be savoured.
“That's my name.” Wei WuXian points out helpfully.
“I know.” The man gestures at him to step away from the door.
Wei WuXian is too surprised not to do it, and so he's even more shocked when the man opens the door and calmly steps out of the only thing protecting him from one of Wen Qing's arrows. He picks his carriage driver up as if he were a sack of potatoes and tosses him inside the carriage, not gently, Wei WuXian notices with a mix of gremlin glee and awe, because what the fuck? How is he so strong? And tall? And so fucking gorgeous?? Is he even real?
Then the golden-eyed noble nimbly jumps up into the driver's seat and picks up the reins in the most coolest way.
“I'll be seeing you,” he says smartly to Wei WuXian and rides off into the nonexistent sunset like a king.
“You didn't tell me your name!” Wei WuXian shouts out.
“You'll have to earn it!” Comes back the deep-voiced reply.
Wei WuXian watches until he can't see the carriage any longer, when it blends into the shadows of the night. Then he feels a weight in his hands and sees a white silk purse, heavier than normal, sitting in the middle of his palm. His smile spreads across his face until his joy and exuberance can no longer be contained, and he shouts, full of delight.
In this single move, the noble has just stolen his heart right from under Wei WuXian's eyes.
******************
This time, the nobles's window is already open, and his eyes light up with anticipation as soon as he sees Wei WuXian arriving.
“You know, I've been thinking,” Wei WuXian says, pretending to play it cool. His heart is thudding dramatically as if it wants to leap out of his chest and fly towards its new owner. His lungs aren't doing too well, either.
“Don't hurt yourself,” retorts the noble, his golden eyes full of mischief. He hands over two, not one, white silk purses. “Wei Ying.”
Wei WuXian is too surprised and laughing to not take them. “Wow, bitchy. No, I'm thinking that you can stop coming here anytime. You know me and my gang are here–”
“What gang?” The noble looks past him pointedly.
Wei WuXian rubs the back of his neck with an awkward laugh. “They're too embarrassed to come anymore. They've decided you're no longer a threat, not when number one, you didn't give me up to the authorities, and two, you like parting with your money too much. So it's just us two, today.”
“Mn. You were saying?”
“What? Oh, yeah! You could always go around the forest instead of getting robbed in the middle of it.”
“Your point?”
“Well, why? Why do you do that? Why hasn't anyone talked you out of such foolishness?”
“Is it foolishness to want to see you?” His eyes are liquid gold, burning with the implications of his question.
“What?” Wei Ying can't help noticing his adorably pink ears again.
But the noble doesn't answer him. Instead, he looks very determined. “Do you still want to know my name?”
“Yes.”
“You can have it for a price.”
“Anything.” Wei WuXian licks his suddenly dry lips.
“A kiss.”
What the fuck. He can't even look away from those molten eyes. So intense, Wei WuXian feels like the burning is on his insides. Suibian neighs and gets closer to the window.
At this height, Wei WuXian is slightly higher than the noble, and he's still thinking about this. Those pink lips look mighty tempting…and oh god, this is what all of this has been building up to, isn't it? Wei WuXian is a fool for not realising how he feels about this beautiful man, and about leading him on without knowing that's what he was doing.
But! He knows now! He knows that kissing should be great. It's the next logical step, right?
Except…
“I've never kissed anyone before,” he blurts out. And he swears that the gold in those perfect eyes gets even darker.
“Why not?” He almost sounds affronted on Wei WuXian's behalf.
“Well, there have been chances…but I was saving it.”
“For what?”
“For someone who matters. I didn't want to just give it away for nothing.”
“Wei Ying is wise.”
“Now you're just piss-taking.”
The noble shakes his head and looks down and sees Wei WuXian's hand resting on the window frame, and he covers it with his own, holding him there.
“I am utterly serious,” the noble replies, turning his full attention onto Wei WuXian. “Will you do me the honour of giving me your first kiss?”
Mesmerised, Wei WuXian nods. Stuck like a fly in honey, he can only watch as the noble stands up inside the carriage, bending so that the upper half of his body leans out of the window to accommodate his height. Now, he's even closer. And he hasn't let go of Wei WuXian's hand, either. With his free hand, he wraps it around Wei WuXian's neck and brings him near. Wei WuXian smells the most amazing cologne or perfume, and it's sandalwood, immediately soothing him. They lean forward together and their lips meet, and the taste is indescribable.
Hot and sweet, tingling and fiery, and ever so addictive. Once is not enough, and Wei WuXian moans, pulling himself so that he's pressed up against a remarkably hard chest. His lips are so soft, tenderly kissing him back as if there is nowhere else he'd rather be. Then he pulls back and smiles, still holding Wei WuXian in his arms.
“My name is Lan Zhan. Pleased to meet you, Wei Ying.”
“Lan Zhan…Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan!” Wei WuXian tests it out, immediately falling in love with it. “You have to know, you've stolen my heart, Lan Zhan.” He raises a hand to cup that beautiful smiling face.
“It's no crime to steal from a thief,” Lan Zhan replies, kissing away his laughter.
THE END