White is the Color of Safety

Chapter 1

Everything was soft.

It was not how Wei Wuxian expected death to be but after the life he had, he wasn't about to complain.

This is a test to see how the lines work.

Everything was quiet.

Wei Wuxian appreciated the silence, though it left too much time for him to think; about how he would have liked to say yes to Wangji, how going to the Recesses maybe would not have been that bad.

Everything was white.

The color he associated with the man who had inexplicably stayed a friend, or at least Wei Wuxian thought so. The color that meant rules, the color that meant safety.

Everything was wrong.

Wei Wuxian knew this was not where he was supposed to be. He had killed so many people. He had killed his JieJie. He had killed the peacock, which had made his JieJie sad and left his nephew an orphan. This was not where he was supposed to be. He should be punished; should be tormented for eternity for what he did. Instead, he was here in this space of silence and tranquility.

Touch.

Someone would brush against him and Wei Wuxian expected it to hurt. Instead, it made him want to cry. No one had ever been so gentle. The action held a reverence that Wei Wuxian did not deserve.

Noise.

Soft, but sound. A song, familiar in a way Wei Wuxian could not place. He loved it, craved it, and was sad when it left.

Color.

Briefly at first but growing brighter until Wei Wuxian opened his eyes.

Right.

Whatever picture death had decided to leave him with was perfect. Lan Wangji, looking as beautiful and perfect as always, stood looking out the window, hands behind him. The soft light of the morning sun brought an ethereal quality to the scene, one that Wei Wuxian appreciated. Death certainly was being kind to him.

"Lan Zhan," he whispered, voice rough and unused.

Lan Wangji turned as if waiting to confront a Spector. Upon seeing the awake Wei Wuxian, he paled and went ridged, eyes as seemingly emotionless as always, except they weren't.

"Am I ugly now?" Wei Wuxian asked, half-joking.

"Never," Lan Wangji replied immediately, startling Wei Wuxian. "Never ugly."

Lan Wangji approached him like he was the one in the dream, not Wei Wuxian. He sat on the edge of the bed, scared.

Wei Wuxian wished he could move but his body was not responding, the most he could do was roll his eyes, which he did with great proficiency.

Lan Wangji reached out with a hesitance that was strange on him. Wei Wuxian had never known him to hesitate in anything. Lan Wangji's hand brushed some hair from Wei Wuxian's forehead, and the contact was gentle, loving.

"Rest," Lan Wangji said as he withdrew his hand, something confirmed.

"But I feel as though I've been sleeping forever," Wei Wuxian whined.

Appearing content with his reply, Lan Wangji repeated. "Rest."

Pouting, but having no other choice, Wei Wuxian did as he was told falling asleep again as soon as his eyes were shut.

Ꙛ

When he awoke next it was dark and the people surrounding him had multiplied. Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen, Jiang Cheng, and a Lan disciple he had never met were standing or sitting in various states of alertness. The disciple was the first to notice him.