The Bride of Dragon

12. Lotus Pier

Wei Wuxian moves with a melancholic air as he flits about the mansion, tending to his impressive and expanding garden, teasing their incredibly spoiled rabbits, and sighing softly as his gaze moves far beyond the autumn sky. He denies his mood every time Lan Wangji pins him with a searching look and abruptly changes the conversation several times over when Lan Wangji takes to nudging at him with his snout. 

"I'm fine!" He insists, bumping a small rabbit against Lan Wangji's nose to fend off his husband's inquiries. "I'm fine, I promise! I'm just... a little tired, that's all." It's a lie clear to the both of them but Lan Wangji's dragon form leaves him without the tools needed to properly question the other man. So he keeps to his side, enduring the endless teasing and mindless chatter as they continue with their day. 

It isn't until the sun begins to set that LanWangji manages to gain the truth, when he curls in close beside him, and Wei Wuxian responds with a whispered murmur quickly buried in the fur of Lan Wangji's neck. "I really am fine," Wei Wuxian tries to insist while he continues to cuddle into Lan Wangji. "Its just... It's my birthday today and—" Lan Wangji starts, a whine starting low in his throat as he tries to face the man who becomes even more persistent in hiding himself away. 

"No! Don't look at me, I'm going to look very ugly right now, so you're not allowed!" Lan Wangji lets out another whine and tries to tuck his head around the man, desperate to wrap his arms around him instead."I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just... I miss them."

A light wind whistles by. So loud in the silence that now surrounds them."Lotus Pier, Jiang Cheng, and Li-Jiejie, I..." Wei Wuxian's words tremble, unsteady as they stumble along with a shaky breath. "I want to see them. But..."Snow, light and delicate, begins to fall as Lan Wangi's heart crumbles in his chest. Wei Wuxian does not often express his regret at being stuck on the mountain alongside him, but Lan Wangjialways knew it had to live somewhere in his heart. 

 He waits, patient, for Wei Wuxian to continue but the man falls quiet, either unable or unwilling to speak any further on the matter. His fingers are warm where they've tangled in Lan Wangji's fur; firm, solid, real. After another moment, when Wei Wuxian sighs and begins to detach himself, Lan Wangji steps away in order to lightly push him with his snout. Away from the mansion, away from the cold, and away from the trap that is Hanguang-Jun. 

Wei Wuxian is puzzled at first but his face goes stern when he realizes what Lan Wangji is attempting, digging in his heels as he grabs the side of Lan Wangji's face. "No. Lan Zhan, we're not having this argument again. I'm not leaving you." Lan Wangji huffs and nudges him anyways, persistently stubborn. " No. See, this is why I didn't tell you! I'm not... I just miss them, okay? It'll pass. I'm not going to abandon you. I promised you I would help break this curse." 

As they hold each other's gazes, neither willing to break, Wei Wuxian lapses into his usual teasing, tugging on Lan Wangji where he still holds him, "Lan Er Gege~! Let's just forget it! Let's have a party! With all our bunnies! Let's celebrate my birthday with them, okay?" It's a tempting offer, Lan Wangji will admit, but he refuses it.

 Pushing at Wei Wuxian one more time, he guides him to his back and lowers himself to the ground. They've shared several rides together since the summer and the awe that blooms on Wei Wuxian'sface each time Lan Wangji offers it to him has yet to dim. He reaches for him immediately but hesitates just before pulling himself up, suspicion creeping into his tone when he asks, "You're not going to drop me in Lotus Pier are you?" Lan Wangji doesn't deny it, having not thought of it at first. Wei Wuxian's eyes narrow. 

"Lan Zhan! I won't forgive you if you do! I'll march right back up to our mansion and pout and be sad for the whole night! What a terrible birthday that would be!" 

It's incredibly petty and so flimsy an argument Lan Wangji shouldn't concede to it, but he does, shaking his head to give Wei Wuxian his reassurance that he won't be dropping him anywhere. Only then does the bright and enticing smile so often found on Wei Wuxian's face return, and rethrowing himself properly onto Lan Wangji's back. 

"All right, Lan Zhan, let's go!"He does not take them as high this time, the night air already dropping enough in temperature that Wei Wuxian briefly shivers against Lan Wangji's back not long after they've taken off. He makes a move to return but Wei Wuxian laughs it off, Lan Wangji hears the grin he wears when WeiWuxian shouts back, "Don't worry about me, Lan Zhan! My husband is very warm, so I'll just have to hold on tighter! I hope you don't mind!"Lan Wangji doesn't. He hasn't for a long time. He does a leisurely circle of the mountain first, Wei Wuxian giggling as the snow kisses his cheeks, the hour painting the forest in an array of beautiful blues.

 A few birds nearly join them, to Wei Wuxian's delight, but seem to reconsider, tittering as they swing from the trees only to fall back almost immediately. When the night sky grows dark, Lan Wangji lifts them a touch higher and, for the first time, crosses the frosted forest to reach Lotus Pier, which is lit with a dazzling amount of lights. Wei Wuxian gasps, and while Lan Wangji does consider shaking the man off him to leave him with the ones he deeply loves, his promise—and his own selfishness—keep him steady and he only slows his speed instead, giving Wei Wuxian more time to take in his town.

Lan Wangji can see the inspiration Wei Wuxian took from it when he brought his own cascade of lights to their mansion and knows when they've reached their destination at the way the man's fingers tighten at the nape of his neck, his body stretching out, hoping to drink in every last drop of his home. The house is dressed for a celebration and Wei Wuxian's eyes soon burn from more than the wind.

If Wei Wuxian pretends hard enough, he can almost hear the sound of his family's voices rising up, bright and cheerful as they had been at his last birthday celebration. He can hear his sisters laugh and his brother's embarrassing snort. He swears he even hears the familiar ring of MadamYu's voice as she shouts at him for one thing or another. I'm sorry, he thinks, as they glide away. I miss you. The breaking of his heart does not crack any deeper than it has already, which surprises Wei Wuxian. 

Instead, a flutter of warmth flows over it at the knowledge they have not forgotten him. That he still has a place amongst them." I'll be home soon," he promises, voice heard by no one but the night air. "I just have one thing I have to do."He stays turned around, even after the lights have been smoothed out by the night, but he is not sad. In fact, when he faces forward once more he promptly buries himself in Lan Wangji's fur with a bright and echoing laugh.

"Lan Zhan! Let's go home!"(And while the joy from above can almost be faintly heard by those hiding in their homes, below the people mourn, for what had they done to deserve a snowfall so soon after autumn's arrival?)

Chapter End...