Chapter Text
Lan Wangji wakes to the face of a man he feared he would never see again in this lifetime. Last night, Wei Wuxian had been nothing like the man he had known after the war, or the boy he had first met. Whatever had happened to him over the past year, it had broken a small part of him. To have Wei Wuxian behave so vulnerably in front of him, to show Lan Wangji the part of himself he had been hiding from the world concerns Lan Wangji greatly. He remembers well how guarded his soulmate had grown to be.
Idly, he wonders who Wei Wuxian will wake as, but for the time being, Wei Ying’s expression is peaceful in sleep, soft and contented. The tear tracks marking his otherwise clean face are a reminder that there is still a lot that needs to be done. The image of Wei Ying's fear and desperation flashes through his mind.
‘Don’t be a dream.'
For long moments Lan Wangji lays in bed and watches the man sleep.
From the light coming through the window, he can tell he has slept late. He thinks he has probably missed breakfast.
With a small sigh Lan Zhan forces himself to face the day. Carefully he disentangles himself from the sleeping demonic cultivator and makes his way out of the room, unwilling to not disturb what must be much-needed rest.
He carefully closes the door behind him, and takes in his home. The sparse, clean elegance of his home is not much changed from his time as a Junior Disciple who was angrily trying to suppress unexpected and highly inappropriate thoughts about a certain guest disciple. His home is more cluttered now, because of the years he has lived here, the effects his expanded family and friend's influence but it had still felt like it was missing something. His home, he knows is still unchanged by its newest occupant but it feels more like it should- as he has always wanted it to be. He wonders if this is something he could hope for, That Wei Ying would choose to stay with him.
He wills away such distracting thoughts, so he can start readying himself for the day.
Quietly he opens the door to A-Yuan’s room and finds it empty. For a moment he is shocked still. He takes in the room; the bed is neatly made, extra blankets folded and every toy and bauble in its place. Soon, His mind runs wild with possibilities. The night before had been chaotic but surely not enough for him to forget his own son's well-being. For several frantic heartbeats that seem to last an eternity, Lan Wangji wonders how he had not noticed but then he remembers. The reason he had been on his own in the bunny meadow so late to begin with.
After more than a year of searching, Lan Wangji had needed to settle himself. He had not wished to trouble A-Yuan, to worry him with his father’s anger, regret, and his disappointment. His failure. He had just wanted the day to think. To breathe. Just a small break from his life and responsibilities before continuing on his way, on his search.
His brother has taken well to being an uncle and had always been one of the best at reading Lan Wangji's moods. Lan Xichen had understood and volunteered to take A-Yuan for a day or two insisting it would serve as a good break for him as well. As His brother, Granny Wen and Wen Qing help care for A-Yuan when Lan Wangji is away on Night Hunts and on his continued search for Wei Ying.
Asking for someone to care for A-Yuan when he was still home and free of duties and responsibilities had felt wrong. But everyone agreed that Lan Wangji needed to take some time for himself. Wen Qing had wished to help but her duties at the Healing pavilion had mounted with the recent sudden spread of the flue. Granny Wen had caught said flue and needed care. Wen Ning was still away, doing his part on their continued search. And While his Brother still had his duties, he had assured Wangji that there was currently nothing pressing that needed his dedicated attention.
Lan Wangji feels his body untense. A-Yuan was with his brother, Lan Wangji was supposed to pick him up in the morning and have breakfast with them. He had missed his time to pick up A-Yuan.
Should he go to his brothers? The Hanshi is not a far walk, but should Wei Ying Wake, he would be alone.
For the moment he busies himself making tea and searching for the prepared tea snacks he keeps for company and guests. It surprised him that guests and company had grown past just his uncle and brother over the past year to include Wen Qing, Granny Wen and Wen Ning. Though the tea snack variety in his home has grown, they are still not filling options. The last bit of prepared food he had in the house had been given to Wei Wuxian the night before since Lan Wangji had been distracted even before Wei Wuxian's arrival and had not refilled his stores as he normally would. His small kitchen area is not large enough or well equipped for more than preparing very basic meals or warming leftovers. On most days, Lan Wangji had felt little trouble walking to the large sect kitchens to cook or just pick up anything he might need.
He hears the door to the Jingshi open and close quietly, soft familiar footsteps making their way toward him. Surprised, He turns and finds his brother. Lan Xichen is dressed for the day. A palpable Concern surrounds him. Only worsening as he takes in Lan Wangji’s disheveled state.
“Wangji?”
“Brother.”
“What happened?” Lan Xichen asks, as he makes his way to Lan Wangji and notes the partly assembled Tea tray.
“Wei Ying… He… appeared” Wangji turns to look towards his bedroom.
“Here?” Awed, disbelieving, but pleased.
“Mhm, Sleeping now.”
“I didn’t think… Where?”
“Mhm, Bunny Meadow.”
A stifled laugh of disbelief. Lan Wangji can’t help but agree with his brother. He has not had time to wonder about Wei Ying’s chosen return site. Honestly, the possibility of Cloud Recesses had never occurred to him since Wei Ying had always been so opposed to returning with him. He shakes the thought away.
“I overslept. A-Yuan?”
Lan Xichen smiles softly as he looks at his brother. His reasons more than understandable. “I had Uncle take him to see the sheltered herb gardens when I was sure you would not come. I Promised A-Yuan, you would come for Lunch, when you missed breakfast. I came to check on you and let you know.”
“Mnm. Thank you” Lan Zhan is sorry to have worried his brother and A-Yuan with his absence.
“Is Master Wei well? Should I get the healers?” Lan Xichen asks as he looks over the room for any signs of Wei Wuxian. But the house is unchanged and Lan Xichen doesn't truly believe that there would be any chance Lan Wangji would not have attended to Wei Wuxian’s immediate needs after his arrival.
Lan Wangji purses his lips but forces his words out, as he and his brother have been working on speaking more openly."Wangji is unsure. Wei Ying has no physical injuries... but his words have been concerning."
Lan Xichen’s face turns troubled. “I’ll go let the healers know.”
Lan Wangji nods his agreement. Since The Shift, Healers have started to focus more on mental well being than was common before. The shock of returning fully healed after having lived through usually violent encounters and the times fellow disciples have had to kill or be killed by their friends in order to insure their survival has lead to this much needed change. Lan Wangji mostly Night Hunts on his own and has not had to take such actions but he knows it will be a difficult one. He knows his brother still has trouble with what he had to do in the aftermath of Lan Wangji's unsanctioned punishment.
A long pause. “Brother… Careful. It was …Wei Ying named Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang as his jailer.”
Lan Xichen’s small frown shifts into a thin tight line, rueful. “This whole time?”
Lan Wangji does his best to explain what he had gathered from Wei Wuxian’s at times confused recounting. “Wei Ying said he believed he had been sentenced to imprisonment by the sects and given to the Jin to oversee. He thought Sect Leader Jin and Young Madam Jin dead. He did not know about the revivals at all-”
There is a voice, faint but gaining volume with a slight frantic edge. “….n Zhan? Lan Zhan?”
The Twin Jades both still instantly.
“Wei Ying” breathes the younger, abandoning his brother and the tea tray- Lan Wangji makes his way back to his bedroom where Wei Wuxian sits in the middle of the bed shivering even while covered under layers of blankets. “Wei Ying, I am here.”
When Wei Ying sees him, he runs over, taking no care that he is still on the mattress and covered in a mess of blankets and oversized robes. He trips over the knot of blankets as they cling and trap his legs, Almost tumbling head-first off the bed. Lan Wangji is quick to catch him before he manages to fall off, and smoothly settling them both down on the soft surface.
“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, LanZhanLanzhanLanzhanlanzhan” The Man chants, voice low and horse. Lan Wangji can feel shaky hands grip his robes tightly and the fall of tears as Wei Ying hides his face away in the crook of his neck.
Lan Wangji holds him close heart beating wildly as he tries to settle himself and Wei Ying. Pushing the flood of emotions back so he can focus on caring for Wei Wuxian, his Wei Ying.
"You are safe. I am here. This is real"
“Not a dream” Wei Ying practically breathes the words into his skin.
“You are safe, this is not a dream. I am here.” Lan Wangji persists, tightening his hold on Wei Ying's person, so as to anchor him to this moment. They cling to each other on the messy bed for long moments, as Lan Wangji continues to reassure Wei Ying of his safety.
Lan Wangji can feel the weight of eyes on him and is not surprised to find his brother watching over them from the doorway, but he was not expecting his kind Serene older brother to look so harsh and forbidding. His normally warm brown eyes are sharp and murderous, mouth a hard determined line.
“Brother?”
And just like that Lan Xichen blinks and the moment passes. His brother’s icy stance vanishes and returns to the soft concern he had shown in the kitchen, while in his arms, Wei Ying tenses. He Glances at Wei Ying's distraught form briefly, before looking back at Lan Wangji.
“I’ll retrieve the tea.”
“Mhn, Thank you.” Without another word Lan Xichen leaves, closing the door quietly behind him and giving them their much needed privacy. Lan Wangji is grateful for his brother's understanding.
In his arms, Wei Ying's hands tighten their hold on him.
"Wei Ying. This is real. You are safe. I am here." Lan Wangji continues to repeat his mantra from the night before, hoping to bring Wei Ying back from where ever his mind had wandered.