Red Rose [Never Let You Go, Again Book 3]

50: All Aboard the Red Rose!

Lan Zhan sat on the grass at their garden in the heavens, Wangji on his lap, silently playing WangXian. Night had come and the moon was shining bright. Chang'e was nearby, not yet come, but it was clear as day that she would pay a visit. So he waited here.

Why was he alone? Because his beloved husband was busy helping another husband. They had just rounded up the bachelors' party. Lan Xichen had gone to sleep. Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang had gone to Lotus Pier with Jiang Cheng to help him with the last-minute preparations before tomorrow's grand ceremony.

And thus, here he was, quietly and tranquilly waiting for his dearest to come home.

Playing their song on the guqin, he hardly heard the sound of rustling leaves and twigs.

"PEEKABOO!"

Lan Zhan smiled. "A-Ying," he looked up at the tree near which he sat.

Wei Wuxian hung upside-down from the tree, his legs hooked around the lowest branch, head and hands lolling over the grass and the white robes. Cherry blossom petals fluttered in the wind he created by swinging from the tree; they covered the zither, entangled in his hair. Wei Wuxian reached out and held the adoring face in his palms. "A-Zhan! I'm back! A-Cheng didn't let us help out much, said he could do it well himself. So we returned to our own homes. And here's my home sweet home!" Wei Ying grinned, pecking Lan Zhan's lips.

"Mn, good that you came."

Wei Ying laughed and fell from the tree branch, letting his husband catch him and cuddle him close. "Was Mama's Zhan-Er lonely?"

Lan Zhan blushed at the teasing. "A-Ying..."

"What? She pets you a lot now! Kinda like you're her daughter," Wei Wuxian chuckled.

"Son. A-Ying's the daughter."

"SAID WHO?"

Lan Zhan smirked, grabbed him by the shoulders and pinned him down onto the grass. The instant he straddled Wei Ying, bestriding him and licking his neck, Wei Wuxian flushed a deep pink, turning his head away.

"See? Still shy as a girl."

"A-Zhan! You're getting cheekier and cheekier!"

"Influence," Lan Zhan whispered hotly against his ear.

"My influence on you?"

"Mn," he nodded, nipping the pink earlobe.

"Ngh! A-Zhan, look! The Moon Palace is so near, Chang'e might want to meet us! Let go!"

Lan Zhan pouted.

"Don't you pout like that! You've got a hundred petals in your hair, I'm already holding back so hard. Now get up!"

Sighing, Lan Zhan rose and brushed his robes and hair down, dismissing the flora adorning him. Wei Wuxian dusted his own robes, tightened his red hair ribbon and turned to the bright moon. "Chang'e! Chang'e!"

"Right here!" Chang'e materialised before them. "Didn't want to disturb you," she giggled.

"Chang'e! You– Aish, never mind," Wei Wuxian reddened and hugged her tight. "Happy to see you, Chang'e!"

"Delighted," Chang'e nodded to him and Lan Zhan standing a few feet away. "I see you found your lost love?"

"Mn."

Chang'e smiled benevolently. "So? How are things going?"

So Wei Wuxian ranted to her about his grandmother saving him, his mother returning home with him, and sobbed over his uncle passing away. Then he told of his oldest son deciding to propose to his youngest, and then said of his middle child being Head Elder and of how four of his students were parents-to-be. And then he told of how his gege and shidi were marrying tomorrow. And he finally ended the rant, topping it all off with a whine about how Lan Zhan wouldn't let him sleep with his long-lost mother.