One season melds into another and Wei Wuxian grins brightly at the small tufts of flowers breaking through the fields and meadows all around the mountain. It's late Spring, and while these flowers would hardly be worth a second glance in places such as Lanling, whose golden halls and bustling streets were filled to the brim with even grander flowers in the dead of winter, they bring an energy to the citizens of Yiling who excitedly proclaim this summer will likely be the hottest in over a decade!
Wei Wuxian thinks to collect small bouquets of the proud flowers for Lan Wangji, to decorate their brightening mansion, but decides to buy a small flower arrangement instead, much happier to watch the plants continue to grow tall and grand instead.
"The mountain must look so pretty from above!" Wei Wuxian sighs out as he and his husband make their way across the plateau, hands (and claws and jaws) full from Wei Wuxian's latest shopping trip. He tilts his head back to better enjoy spring's warm rays.
"Everyone in Yiling is talking about how great the weather is, and how the flowers seem to be just bursting from the earth's seams. I bet you can see all the colors from the sky!" Lan Wangji lets out what could be a confirmation hum and Wei Wuxian laughs before it fades from his voice and he murmurs, expression now holding a familiar ache.
"I wonder if they're enjoying the flowers in Lotus Pier too..."Wei Wuxian doesn't speak of his family much, not intentionally, Lan Wangji only learns bits and pieces through Wei Wuxian's sudden bursts of stories when something offhandedly reminds him of his siblings or of home. He doesn't know the more formal aspects of either Jiang Cheng or Jiang Yanli, but he knows what their laughter sounds like, the chime of their voice, their favorite foods, and how their noses move to make room for a smile or scowl. He knows these things because Wei Wuxian is a vivid storyteller, and because these things are important, Lan Wangjiworks hard to remember them.
After they've dropped their groceries off and have finished greeting the ever-increasing number of rabbits that share their home, Wei Wuxian turns to Lan Wangji and asks, "Lan Zhan, what's it like flying? Is it fun?"Lan Wangji considers the question, he's never particularly spared any thought to whether the action is fun or not, and as he does so Wei Wuxian continues to chatter, teasing the rabbits who still look like chubby snowballs, "Is it anything like swimming? We were always swimming at LotusPier! Racing or playing games or running away from the old man whose lotus pods we were stealing."
He laughs at the memory and Lan Wangji makes sure to listen attentively to it. "He would come after us with paddles you know! The mayor's children! But he didn't care, that's what made it so fun."Expectedly, Wei Wuxian's idea of "fun" is quite different from Lan Wangji's and the dragon huffs. Wei Wuxian beams back at him."I wonder if the water is warm enough to swim yet... Jiang Cheng and I would have competitions to see who would go in the water the earliest and then who could stay in the longest! One time, when we were still teenagers, he got a bad cold because of this and Madam Yu was so angry! She told Jiang Cheng not to play around with me anymore and yelled at me a bunch too..." WeiWuxian softly strokes the rabbit, who's quite happy in his arms—likelier happier now to be spoiled instead of pestered.
"I actually did stay away from him for a while, but then JieJie came and snuck me into his room and then Jiang Cheng yelled at me! He said I had to take responsibility and keep him company since it was my fault he was sick."The story is both familiar and not, simply because many of Wei Wuxian's stories of his adoptive brother involved the latter shouting at him. Lan Wangji's brother has never even raised his voice at him, much less shouted angrily at him, so he finds it hard to understand why Wei Wuxian always seems so giddy at such memories."But I'm getting off-track!" Wei Wuxian huffs.
"Well, Lan Zhan? Is flying fun?"Despite being given much time to contemplate the question, Lan Wangji is no closer to an answer so he decides to simply lower himself to the ground and give Wei Wuxian a pointed look. When the man only stares back at him, blinking owlishly, he lets out a huff and indicates his back with a patient turn of his head.
"You mean...?" Wei Wuxian asks softly, with no small amount of wonder. Lan Wangji nods and the beaming smile that he's rewarded with makes it entirely worth it. Wei Wuxian quickly scrambles forward, after ensuring the bunny he had been holding is placed safely on the ground and pauses for a single moment when he reaches Lan Wangji, still kind enough to give the dragon room to refuse. But, Lan Wangji simply nods again, and Wei Wuxianwastes no more time in pulling himself onto the dragon's back, hands grabbing at the tuft of soft white fur that grows on Lan Wangji's neck.
He lets Wei Wuxian settle, waiting for the man to finally chirp, "Okay, Lan Zhan! I'm ready!" before readying himself and taking off. A hint of worry that's immediately offset by amusement forms in his chest when Wei Wuxian still shrieks the moment they come off the ground but it's a sound that's quickly overcome by his laughter so Lan Wangji continues into the sky. "No dropping me now!" Wei Wuxian shouts as they ascend, "And if you do, you better catch me, Lan Zhan!"
Ridiculous, Lan Wangji thinks and it must show in his body or something similar because WeiWuxian laughs again. Ridiculous! As if Lan Wangji would ever let Wei Wuxian fall. They continue to rise, the heat of the sun dancing across both of them while the cooling air swirls around them. The small snowball rabbits hop to where Lan Wangji had just been standing and soon become nothing but vague white specks, blurring together like paint on an artist's pallet, mixing with the vivid hues of the surrounding land.
Once they've reached an acceptable height, Lan Wangji begins to move in a horizontal fashion, giving Wei Wuxian the view he had mentioned before and Wei Wuxian can't help his delight when he learns he was very much correct. The flowers do look beautiful from up above; dappled across the green grass and dusty brown of the earth, hidden only by the forest's collection of trees that grow thicker as the mountain flattens.
Flying turns out to be nothing like swimming, where the water cradles and carries you gently, but it's exhilarating all the same and Wei Wuxian knows he is safe as he clings to Lan Wangji's back. The ride is smooth and careful about the first part but, as they carry on, an idea sparks in LanWangji's head.
Perhaps he wishes to make sure Wei Wuxian isn't bored, or perhaps he wishes to pay him back for the wide selection of teasing he's had to endure these past five months, but something changes his course and they're suddenly speeding up and forming a wide circle, looping their way through the sky. Wei Wuxian screams, but it's paired with a laugh so delighted and free that Lan Wangji immediately repeats the motion, dropping and winding and twisting through the sky, all while WeiWuxian's voice rings loudly through the air. A light drizzle soon accompanies them, but when LanWangji makes a move to return to the ground, Wei Wuxian holds on even tighter, burying himself in close to Lan Wangji's fur.
"Lan Zhan! Let's keep flying!" He sounds breathless but so incredibly happy that Lan Wangjiagrees immediately and pushes for the clouds instead, the rain steadily growing heavier and heavier as Wei Wuxian's bright voice pitches higher and higher with delight. Lan Wangji knows that if he could, he would be smiling as well.
(It's the first rain he has felt in a long, long time.)
When they're both drenched and Lan Wangji can feel Wei Wuxian shivering against his back, he decides to descend and give Wei Wuxian the opportunity to dry himself off and warm up. While it's nearly summer, the rain and evenings are still cool and Lan Wangji has no desire for WeiWuxian to catch a cold. Wei Wuxian climbs off him with ease and though he stumbles when he hits the ground, his legs trembling, he still makes his way over to Lan Wangji's face and clutches at his snout in the closest form of a hug they can manage.
"Thank you..." Wei Wuxian whispers, nuzzling against the smooth scales. The rain is thick and heavy but Wei Wuxian shows no inclination to hurry inside. Instead, he holds on even tighter.
"Oh, Lan Zhan, thank you."Lan Wangji's heart nearly stops at the proximity. Lan Wangji is so enchanted with this man he thinks he just might die.
Chapter End.....
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The Bride of Dragon
FanfictionWei Wuxian has only ever seen Hanguang-Jun from a distance, and often in the light of the full moon which reflected off his scales, blurring his figure to any who dared look at it straight on. Many villagers claimed it was then bad luck to do such a...
