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Lan Xichen stumbled over another rock that was definitely not there a minute ago! He put his finger to his lips to shhh himself. It was late in Cloud Recesses, Lan Xichen should have been asleep. Instead, he was awkwardly making his way through the dark with no real destination in mind and he was…well he had to admit it to himself…he was sulking.
Lan Xichen was sulking because he didn’t know how to fix his brother's problem. Wangji was his little brother, his best friend, his favourite person, and he couldn’t help him. Wangji had never asked for anything and he still hadn’t asked now…not out loud…but Lan Xichen had always known how to read his brother. He knew his brother’s heart. It wanted Wei Wuxian.
And Wei Wuxian had been here! Everything was finally resolved, Lan Xichen thought the two of them would finally…and then Wei Wuxian had left! Why? Why had he punished Wangji like this?
Xichen had been in seclusion from everyone but Wangji. He made the difficult decision to leave seclusion after a few very worrying visits with his little brother. Wangji was so…sad. Not everyone would see it, but Xichen could. So Xichen had reentered the world for his brother’s sake and tried to cheer him up but it became very clear that nothing was going to achieve that goal unless Wei Wuxian returned.
So Xichen waited. Surely Wei Wuxian would come soon…but he didn’t. He sent letters which temporarily helped Wangji’s mood but often the effect wore off all too soon. Lan Xichen kept his smile in place and tried to help his brother but after a while…Lan Xichen became annoyed.
In a fit of frustration, he found a jar of Emperors Smile and drank half the contents. Afterwards, everything was fuzzy but much easier to deal with. He had giggled most of his drunken afternoon away after finding a Spring Book Huaisang must have left behind after a visit, now it was dark and Lan Xichen was sulking beneath the stars trying to think of a solution to Wangji’s woes.
Wangji was on a night hunt so Xichen headed to the empty Jingshi. He sneaked into the door and started searching. He didn’t really know what he was looking for but he soon came across a box with ‘Wei Ying’ written on it. Xichen opened the box and carefully pulled out letters, pictures Wei Ying had drawn, and an old red ribbon. He came across an interesting green stone that was oval in shape and almost see through. He held it in his hand and sighed.
He imagined a world where Wangji was smiling as Wei Wuxian kissed his cheek. He imagined a world where they had many children and he was a happy Uncle with lots of love all around him. He smiled and closed his eyes.
“Come back, Wei Ying,” he whispered to the empty room. “Be the husband that my Wangji deserves.”
Then he closed up the box and put it back where he found it. He swayed a little as he stood up. He moved over to Lan Zhan’s bed and lay down, maybe he would just rest his eyes just for a second…he was asleep within minutes.
As Lan Xichen was holding the stone in his hand…he had no idea the power it contained. The wishing stone held his wish within it and as he happily slept it sent out a burst of energy across the heavens. Wei Wuxian was asleep in an Inn many towns away but the energy found him with ease and as it entered his body, Wei Wuxian sighed “Cloud Recesses, must return…must return…to my husband…”
The following day, Xichen woke up with a terrible headache and no memory of the night before. Wangji had still not returned from the night hunt and Xichen thanked his ancestors; his little brother was not present to witness his low point. He tidied up the Jingshi so his brother would never know of his visit and sneaked out to wash up before starting his daily duties.
When Wangji did return, everything continued as normal and Xichen breathed a sigh of relief. His embarrassing slip up could remain hidden from everyone. He hadn’t caused any lasting damage. Perhaps he could write to Wei Wuxian and suggest a visit? He just had to find out where Wei Ying was located…he didn’t have to wait long to find out.
The next day, Lan Xichen woke early and still feeling the effects of a lingering headache, decided to take a walk around the grounds to clear his head before breakfast. He was nearing the gates when he heard something that made his eyebrows raise and his eyes widen.
“Let me in! See my token? Lan Zhan is expecting me!”
Lan Xichen turned to see Wei Wuxian jumping about at the gates. Lan Xichen smiled. At last! He had come for a visit. Everything would be better now. Perhaps soon…they could even start marriage talks…
Wei Wuxian was allowed entry and Lan Xichen moved to greet him.
“Lan Xichen!” Wei Wuxian cried happily, skipping towards him. “Where is my Lan Zhan hmm? Has he missed me?”
Lan Xichen blinked in surprise. He had not expected Wei Wuxian to be so open with his feelings. He smiled. “Your Lan Zhan has missed you a great deal, Wei Wuxian. Come, he is teaching but I’m sure he will not mind the interruption. I can take over his classes today if necessary.”
“Oh it will be necessary, I need to take him to the Jingshi and we will need at-least twenty four hours alone to get reacquainted with one another,” Wei Wuxian replied with a wink.
Lan Xichen felt his ears heat up. Well, Wei Wuxian had certainly returned with a clear agenda! “Very well,” he mumbled back.
Wei Wuxian danced around beside him talking about his many adventures and how he couldn’t wait to tell Lan Zhan all about them. Lan Xichen smiled and nodded. He couldn’t wait for Wangji to see him. Finally his little brother would be happy again. Lan Xichen’s heart felt full at the prospect. They reached the classroom and Lan Xichen entered.
“Wangji, may I interrupt…” he began to say….
“LAN ZHAN!” Wei Wuxian ran past him into the room and launched himself into Wangji’s arms. Wangji caught him as Wei Wuxian attached himself to his torso like a monkey and began pressing kisses to every inch of Wangji’s face.
“Husband! Have you missed me? I’m so sorry I was away for so long…I won’t leave without you again hmm? I’ll stay here by your side…you would like that wouldn’t you? Ahhh it’s so good to see you!”
Wangji blinked. Then without taking his eyes off Wei Wuxian he barked to the classroom. “Class dismissed!”
All the junior disciples ran from the room as though they were being chased by a terrifying entity.
Lan Xichen was frozen in place. He didn’t know whether to stay or go.
“Wei Ying?” Wangji asked cautiously.
Wei Wuxian smiled at him. “Lan Zhan,” he said softly, then he was kissing Wangji and Wangji was…kissing him back…Lan Xichen turned around although that did not end the assault on his ears. There were some…interesting noises he would not forget easily…
Eventually he heard a soft thump and when he turned around he saw Wangji had put Wei Wuxian down on the ground.
“Wei Ying,” his brother said with a soft expression tucking a lock of hair behind Wei Wuxian’s ear. “You came back to me.”
“Of course I did, husband! My place is always by your side!” Wei Wuxian cried.
“Husband?” Wangji parroted.
“Yes?” Wei Wuxian replied.
Wangji frowned. “Wei Ying, we are not married…”
Yet…Lan Xichen thought to himself.
Wei Wuxian laughed. “Lan Zhan, don’t joke about this…your husband does not like it.”
Wangji looked conflicted. “Wei Ying, I dearly want…but we are not married…please don’t tease about this…”
Now it was Wei Wuxian’s turn to frown. “Lan Zhan, is something wrong? Were you injured on a night hunt? Have you forgotten when we made our bows? Xichen, what is happening? Why does he think we are not married?”
“Because you are not, Wei Wuxian,” Lan Xichen confirmed.
Wei Wuxian looked confused and a little bit…heart broken. “We are…we are married. Lan Zhan, you love me and I love you. We are husbands. Please, say that you know this is true!”
Wangji looked so pained but he was a Lan afterall, so he could not lie. “Wei Ying, I…we are not married. Perhaps it is you who is injured? What do you remember before you arrived here?”
Wei Wuxian rubbed his forehead. “I was travelling around, helping people, missing you desperately, then two evenings ago in the middle of the night I had the sudden urge to get back here, to be by your side and stay there, to be the husband you deserve.”
Something tingled in Lan Xichen’s brain…something about the words Wei Wuxian used…
“Something must have happened that night…” Wangji said, looking extremely sad. “Don’t worry, Wei Ying. We will help you.”
Wei Wuxian smiled. “Look it doesn’t matter if you remember us getting married or not, we are married to me and I will stay and we will be happy husbands!” He wrapped his arms around Wangji’s neck once more.
With a sigh, Wangji gently removed Wei Wuxian’s arms and put a few steps between them. “This is not you talking…this is some sort of curse…” he muttered.
“A curse? No! Lan Zhan! I’m your husband! You’ll remember eventually! We haven’t seen each other in a long time, I was selfish to leave you, you deserve better, we’ll sort this mess out later for now come with me and let me show you how much I missed you!”
“Wei Ying, it would not be proper…”
“Lan Zhan! Stop this silliness! Come! Let’s go to the Jingshi and I’m sure it won’t take long for me to remind you how very married we are…”
Wangji shot his brother a helpless look as Wei Wuxian tried to drag him away by the sleeve.
“Master Wei, perhaps you would like to see Sizhui!?” Xichen offered out of desperation.
Wei Wuxian beamed. “Lan Zhan! Our son is here?” he asked.
Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji choked on air. Wei Wuxian frowned. “Are you both ill?” He asked.
Lan Xichen recovered first. “Just a little dust in the air I imagine! Come, let us go visit Sizhui, Wangji will catch up with us once he finishes putting the classroom back to rights.”
“Okay,” Wei Wuxian agreed cheerfully. “Don’t make me wait too long, Lan Zhan!” He ordered pressing a kiss to Wangji’s cheek before dancing out of the room.
“I will keep him distracted, you talk to Uncle and see what you can find out about this curse,” Lan Xichen whispered to Wangji who nodded.
“Brother, he thinks he is my husband, it is all I have ever…” Wangji trailed off and Lan Xichen felt his heart ache.
“I know Wangji,” he said softly. “I truly believe he cares for you, but we need to get him back to his true self before we can explore that further.”
Wangji nodded again. “Mn. Go, I will talk with Uncle.”
Xichen left the room and quickly caught up with Wei Wuxian. They found Sizhui with a small group of very young disciples, Sizhui was teaching them very simple sword forms which they were practising with wooden swords.
“Sizhui!” Wei Wuxian cried, running towards the young man and throwing his arms around him. Sizhui quickly accepted the hug and wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian.
“You’re here!” Sizhui said with a smile as they broke apart.
“I am. Did you miss me? I missed you and your father.”
Sizhui blushed. “Father missed you too,” he replied.
“Of course he missed his dear husband, but I’m back now and I will be the husband he deserves!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed.
Lan Xichen frowned. Those were the same words he had used previously…were they linked to the curse? His brain tingled once more…
“Husband?” Sizhui asked, his eyes moving between Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen came forward. “Ahhh Wei Wuxian is joking of course!” he assured Sizhui.
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes but thankfully didn’t contradict Lan Xichen. Wei Wuxian and Sizhui had a nice catch up while Wei Wuxian helped Sizhui teach the younger disciples but the class quickly dissolved into a massive game of chase where Wei Wuxian played the part of a child eating monster.
“Uncle has been informed,” Wangji told Xichen as he appeared by his side.
“Hopefully we can shed some light on this predicament soon,” Xichen replied.
They both watched Wei Wuxian for a while as he ran after the little boys and girls and made them giggle when he caught them and tickled them mercilessly.
“It is good to have him back,” Xichen confessed.
“Mn,” Wangji agreed.
Xichen tapped his lip. “He seems very happy…perhaps we could just…”
“No,” Wangji replied firmly.
Xichen felt his ears heat up. “Of course. That would not be right…”
Wangji was quiet for a few moments. “If Wei Ying ever chooses to…give himself to me…it must be his decision…not the outcome of some…cohesion.”
Xichen nodded. “I understand. But I am confident these are Wei Wuxian’s own desires, even if they are being revealed in a rather unexpected way.”
“Husband!” Wei Wuxian cried as his eyes landed on Lan Zhan. “Come help me! There are so many children to eat and so little time!”
Wangji looked tempted but guilty. Xichen laughed. “Go…we can do nothing right now. Go and have some fun,” he urged.
Wangji jogged into the middle of the chaos and all of the little children screamed and fled as Wei Wuxian told them they would be gobbled up if they were caught. Lan Xichen smiled. It was so nice to see Wangji enjoying himself. It was a shame that the circumstances were not exactly right. What had happened to Wei Wuxian to make him believe he was married to Wangji?
The mystery still plagued Lan Xichen as he got ready for bed that evening. They had tried to get Wei Wuxian to sleep in the guest quarters but he had pouted and wailed and threatened to cause a fuss if he wasn’t allowed to sleep with his husband. In the end, Wangji relented as he timidly admitted to his brother that it wasn’t the first time they had shared a bed together. They had managed to conceal the sleeping arrangements from his Uncle who was still tirelessly researching possible curses Wei Wuxian could be suffering from.
Xichen found it difficult to fall asleep and when he did eventually drop off, his dreams were blurry and confusing. He kept seeing a green stone and hearing the words ‘A husband Wangji deserves’ the next morning he shot up out of bed and gasped. He remembered. This was all his fault!
He put on his outer robes and headed to the Jingshi, it wasn’t until he pushed open the door that he realised perhaps he should have knocked first but he found Wangji dressed and preparing breakfast. Wei Wuxian was still sleeping soundly.
“Brother?” Wangji asked quietly.
Xichen came towards him. “I think…I think I may have had something to do with Wei Wuxian’s predicament.”
Wangji’s eyes widened. “Brother?” he asked again.
Xichen moved across the room and collected the box with ‘Wei Ying’ written across it, he brought it to Wangji and placed it on the table before him.
“A few nights ago you were on a night hunt and I was…intoxicated, I found myself here and I opened this box and found...this,” As he spoke Xichen opened the box and picked up the green stone.
“While I was holding this stone, I wished for Wei Ying to come back to you and be the husband you deserve.”
“Xichen…” Wangji whispered.
“I…I just wanted you to be happy…” Xichen confessed.
Wangji nodded and looked at the stone. “Wei Wuxian told me that it is a wishing stone. I did not believe him at the time, he likes to tell tall tales sometimes…but perhaps…it was true?”
Xichen nodded. “It seems so.”
Just then Lan Qiren came quietly into the room. He took one look at Wei Wuxian still sprawled across the bed then gave both Xichen and Wangji an angry glare, then his eyes settled on the stone in Xichen’s hand.
“You should have told me you had a wishing stone in your possession,” he hissed.
“We didn’t know what it was,” Xichen replied.
Lan Qiren huffed out a breath. “Hours of research wasted. It’s an easy fix then, just break the stone.”
“What?” Xichen asked.
Lan Qiren rolled his eyes. He grabbed the stone, put it on the ground and stamped on it. Wei Wuxian immediately sat up in bed. “What?” he said, still clearly half asleep.
“Wei Ying,” Wangji said, coming to sit in the bed next to him. “Tell me, what am I to you?”
Wei Wuxian frowned. “You’re…you’re my best friend Wangji. Am I in Cloud Recesses? How did I get here?”
Wangji’s shoulders dropped. “He has returned to normal,” he informed Lan Qiren and Xichen.
“Very good,” Lan Qiren said and made a swift exit.
Xichen smiled at Wei Wuxian and Wangji. “I’m glad you are back to normal, I will leave you to talk.” He left and headed back to his quarters to eat and prepare for the day.
Later that day there was a soft knock at his door and Wei Wuxian slid in looking rather sheepish. “So it seems I caused quite a lot of trouble recently…”
Lan Xichen chuckled. “No, I created the trouble. I am so sorry for all of this, Wei Wuxian. I did not know holding that stone would lead to this.”
“It’s okay! I didn’t really think the stone was real myself. I got it from an elderly lady who was grateful I freed her from a vengeful ghost and she said it would grant whatever wish I wanted but I just carried it around and then I gave it to Lan Zhan before I left for safe keeping.”
“Will you be leaving again soon?” Xichen pried as he poured them both tea.
“I…don’t know…” Wei Wuxian confessed.
Xichen felt hopeful. “You could stay, I know Wangji would love to have you here.”
Wei Wuxian snorted. “Yeah, your Uncle would love that.”
“It really doesn’t matter what Uncle wants,” Xichen replied. “All that matters is what you and Wangji want.”
Wei Wuxian looked thoughtful for a moment. “Xichen, what would you do if your dream had come true and you were living it and then suddenly one morning there was a crash and you woke up and find out none of it was real?”
Xichen blinked. “You remember everything,” he realised.
Wei Wuxian nodded. “I didn’t know how to admit it to Lan Zhan, what if he didn’t want me like that? After what I’ve done…how could I face him again?”
Xichen sighed. “Wangji does not like me to meddle, but I feel it is necessary in this situation. Wei Wuxian, do you remember when you jumped into Wangji’s arms and kissed him?”
Wei Wuxian covered his face with his hands. “Yes,” he winced.
“Do you recall that Wangji kissed you back?” Xichen prompted.
Wei Wuxian lowered his hands. “He did, he kissed me back,” he replied with confidence.
Xichen nodded. “And I think it is important to point out that Wangji was never under the influence of any wishing stones…”
Wei Wuxian smiled, then he grinned and jumped up. “I have to go, thank you, Xichen!” he called as he sped away.
Xichen sipped his tea and smiled. Later, his curiosity got the better of him and he sneaked a peak into the Jingshi. He saw Wei Wuxian cross legged on the floor, he was wearing sleeping robes and his hair was wet. Wangji sat behind him, brushing his hair for him. His hair was also wet.
Wei Wuxian let out a contented sigh. “Will you do this every night for me when we are husbands for real, Lan Zhan?” He asked.
“Of course,” Lan Zhan replied, pressing a kiss into Wei Wuxian’s hair.
“Ahhhh Lan Zhan, I promise I will be the husband you deserve!”
“I do not doubt it,” Wangji replied.
“I will cook and clean and behave…”
“You will not.”
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian protested.
Wangji pulled Wei Wuxian into his lap and kissed his cheek. “I will cook, I will clean, I will behave for both of us. I do not want you to change to deserve me, Wei Ying. I love you, just as you are.”
Xichen looked away when the kissing turned quite passionate. He smiled to himself. His baby brother had come so far! His communication skills were really improving. Surely there would be no more misunderstandings between the two of them now. Uncle would not be pleased at first, but he would be persuaded. Wangji was his little boy afterall. He would not deny him happiness. Xichen headed back to his quarters with a spring in his step, everything was working out swimmingly…
“Xichen!”
Xichen looked up to see a very angry Jiang Cheng heading towards him. “Good Evening Sect Leader, how can I be of service?” he asked with a bow.
“I heard my brother has been making a fool of himself and acting shamelessly towards your brother, I’m here to demand they are wed before he does anything else to shame my clan!” Jiang Cheng cried.
“Of course, they shall be married as soon as possible, come with me and we will work out the finer details,” Xichen promised, leading Jiang Cheng to his quarters.
“I heard he threw himself at Wangji and called him his husband, he is an embarrassment,” Jiang Cheng muttered.
“Ah but you see Wei Wuxian was not himself at that time, I will tell you the story as I’m afraid I am somewhat at fault here also…” Xichen admitted.
Jiang Cheng blinked. “I don’t see how you could be to blame for Wei Wuxian, he has acted this way since we were little but I will hear you out.”
“Thank you, I assure you, Wei Wuxian’s actions were not his own at that time.”
“But they are now?” Jiang Cheng asked.
Xichen nodded. “Yes, he is himself now.”
“And is his behaviour any more proper?” Jiang Cheng pressed.
Xichen thought back to what he had just witnessed in the Jingshi…by now they were probably…
“From how red your ears have just gone I assume my assumptions are correct and we better make sure this wedding happens as soon as possible,” Jiang Cheng said with a roll of his eyes.
Xichen rubbed his lips together then smiled. “Yes, I am rather inclined to agree with you…”
The End!