"Lan Zhan, is it dead?" Wei Wuxian's voice trembled. At the sound of chattering teeth Lan Wangji drew away. He hated to stop touching Wei Wuxian, but he needed to start a fire. He needed light, he needed to be able to get Wei Wuxian warm and dry.
"Mn. It is dead." Lan Wangji answered softly.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian's voice sounded so anxious that Lan Wangji wanted to immediately turn around and wrap Wei Wuxian in his arms.
"I'm here." Lan Wangji resisted abandoning his tasks. He settled for giving Wei Wuxian the soft verbal reassurance, and hoped it would help ease the anxiety in Wei Wuxian's voice. Lan Wangji needed to start a fire, and find the appropriate medicine in their supplies. Lan Wangji cursed himself for not laying these items out beforehand. Wei Wuxian had told him he came down with a fever last time. Lan Wangji should have kept all the relevant medicines out and had the fire going before the fight even began. Wei Wuxian had also soaked his wounds in water and who knows what else. Lan Wangji should clean and redress them promptly.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian's voice sounded increasingly urgent. It stabbed Lan Wangji's heart. It was clear his verbal reassurance had not been enough.
"Wait just a little longer Wei Ying." Lan Wangji tried to soothe him. The wood was assembled and Lan Wangji quickly set it to flame. Lan Wangji heard a groan of pain from behind him and he whirled around to see Wei Wuxian squeezing his eyes shut in pain.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian's voice was filled with a desperate panic.
"Wei Ying. I am here. The monster is dead. You are safe, but I need to get you medicine." Lan Wangji said urgently. Lan Wangji couldn't shake the feeling that something else was wrong. Why was Wei Wuxian panicking more?
Lan Wangji hurriedly dug out the medicine Wei Wuxian needed the most. Wei Wuxian needed something that could help stave off infection. Other medicines were not quite as urgent and Lan Wangji found he needed Wei Wuxian in his arms more than he needed to find those medicines right this second. Wei Wuxian's panic was affecting Lan Wangji. He couldn't bear to hear it in Wei Wuxian's voice. He needed to make that terror go away. To his horror Lan Wangji saw Wei Wuxian trying to climb to his feet.
"Wei Ying!" Lan Wangji's voice was urgent as he shot forward and caught WeI Wuxian in his arms before he could hit the floor. He pulled Wei Wuxian into a tight embrace, trying to calm his own racing heart.
"Wei Ying. Please. Don't try to move. I'm here. I promised to take care of you. Let me take care of you." Lan Wangji begged softly. He felt Wei Wuxian return the embrace as best he could. It helped ease Lan Wangji's heart a little.
"Lan Zhan, my ears hurt." Wei Wuxian mumbled. Lan Wangji frowned. He tried to look to see if there was something wrong. A small trickle of blood coming from Wei Wuxian's ears trailed down his cheek and neck. Lan Wangji gently wiped the blood away.
"Wei Ying, can you hear what I am saying?" Lan Wangji inquired in a very soft voice. There was no response, causing Lan Wangji to frown. Lan Wangji took out a pill and pressed it to Wei Wuxian's lips.
"Wei Ying! Medicine!" Lan Wangji forcibly raised the volume of his voice, but he found it difficult to do so. He was not someone who shouted as part of normal conversation. Lan Wangji accepted that it was good enough as Wei Wuxian opened his mouth and accepted the medicine. Lan Wangji's fingers gently caressed near Wei Wuxian's ear. With his hand on Wei Wuxian's back, Lan Wangji began to transfer spiritual energy.
It was perhaps unwise. Lan Wangji had expended a tremendous amount of spiritual energy to decapitate the Xuanwu of Slaughter. It had taken so much to cut through even the more vulnerable area, that Lan Wangji had not been able to guide his energy to protect his hands appropriately. His palms were covered in long bloody cuts from the string he had used, but Lan Wangji couldn't bring himself to worry about them too much. His own injuries were not life threatening. Even if Lan Wangji expended all his remaining energy by transferring it to Wei Wuxian, as long as he took enough time to guard himself from infection with appropriate treatment, the worse Lan Wangji would experience would be scarring.
On the other hand Wei Wuxian was hypothermic, had multiple injuries from earlier that were still vulnerable to infection, and his hearing had evidently been damaged. Lan Wangji did not want to risk the hearing damage becoming permanent. All Lan Wangji could do for that was to provide transfusions of spiritual energy, and treat everything else as best as he was able. Wei Wuxian was not running a fever yet, but Lan Wangji fully expected it to set in at any time. Still, Wei Wuxian was naturally dismissive of his own injuries. Lan Wangji fully expected Wei Wuxian would protest to Lan Wangji transferring his remaining spiritual energy into Wei Wuxian.
Lan Wangji began to gently come his fingers through Wei Wuxian's hair. He channelled a very small amount of spiritual energy into his fingers, using it to dry Wei Wuxian's hair quickly. Lan Wangji had been hesitant. He wanted to use all the spiritual energy he had left to heal Wei Wuxian's ears, but hypothermia was dangerous. It would take only a tiny amount of spiritual energy to dry Wei Wuxian's hair. That would be a big help, and Lan Wangji could change Wei Wuxian into dry clothes as soon as he had finished his first round of transferring energy.
Lan Wangji was already mapping out a schedule in his mind. After this first transfusion he would change Wei Wuxian into dry clothes, clean and dress his wounds in new bandages, and give Wei Wuxian the rest of the medicines. If the fever had not set in yet he would attempt to get Wei Wuxian to eat and give him fever medicine preemptively. After that he would have to divide his time between meditating to restore his spiritual energy, and then providing additional transfusions. There would also need to be time spent on keeping himself and Wei Wuxian fed and hydrated.
Lan Wangji felt Wei Wuxian melt in his arms. A low moan escaped Wei Wuxian's lips with a deep sigh. Lan Wangji smiled fondly. Wei Wuxian deeply loved the feeling of having someone run their fingers through his hair. Lan Wangji considered it almost as powerful a weapon as kissing. Between the two Lan Wangji could stop most of Wei Wuxian's self-jeopardizing protests.
The last tension fled from Wei Wuxian's body as he collapsed bonelessly in Lan Wangji's arms. Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian close. He began humming softly, uncertain if Wei Wuxian would be able to hear it or not. Whether or not he could hear it yet, Lan Wangji continued to hum gently into Wei Wuxian's ear. Lan Wangji took comfort in the feel of Wei Wuxian in his arms, and the warm puffs of breath against his neck.
'I promise I will take care of you, Wei Ying. I'm sorry I couldn't think of a better plan. A plan that wasn't so dangerous. In the end you were the one who had to do all the real fighting. The longer it took me to cut through the longer you had to fight. I should have been faster. Then you wouldn't be suffering.' Lan Wangji kept these words in his head. They would not help Wei Wuxian. If Wei Wuxian did hear them, Lan Wangji was certain Wei Wuxian would protest.
Lan Wangji hummed gently in Wei Wuxian's ear and hoped the spiritual energy he was transferring would heal Wei Wuxian's ears quickly. Wei Wuxian never mentioned any hearing damage. Either it was something new, or it healed last time and Wei Wuxian forgot about it. Wei Wuxian was always quick to forget and dismiss his own suffering.
'My Wei Ying. You are too accustomed to pain.' Lan Wangji thought grimly as he kissed Wei Wuxian's temple.
All too soon Lan Wangji had expended the spiritual energy he had left. To try and force anymore would be dangerous for Lan Wangji, and could jeopardize his ability to give additional transfusions later. Lan Wangji ignored his exhaustion. He pushed himself through the motions of extracting Wei Wuxian from his wet clothes. Wei Wuxian was so exhausted that he hardly even made a sound of complaint. His biggest resistance was to Lan Wangji laying him down on the floor.
Lan Wangji cleansed his own hands and Wei Wuxian's wounds with purified water. He applied medicine quickly and redressed Wei Wuxian's wounds. Lan Wangji discovered his own hands had mostly stopped bleeding. Wei Wuxian was shivering again and Lan Wangji hurried to dress Wei Wuxian in dry robes. Lan Wangji hastily changed his own. It wouldn't do to dampen Wei Wuxian's clothing simply because he didn't take the time to change out of his own wet robes.
After forcing a few more medicines down a reluctant, and mostly unconscious, Wei Wuxian's throat Lan Wangji sat himself down to begin meditating. He pulled Wei Wuxian into his lap and kept them near the fire. With his own body on one side and the fire on the other, Lan Wangji hoped Wei Wuxian would be warm and comfortable. Finally Lan Wangji closed his eyes and began meditating to help restore his spiritual energy. The faster he could replenish it, the sooner he could transfer more to Wei Wuxian.
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Backlash Part 1
FanfictionAt the moment of his death, Wei Wuxian is sent back in time. He wakes up in the Cold Spring of Cloud Recesses during the time when he was there to study. Traumatized and exhausted Wei Wuxian attempts to end his life, only to be stopped by Lan Wang...
