The Untamed Oneshots / CQL / WangXian

Tender Rain

Requested by: Nico-00 (WangXian cuddling on a rainy day with any plot.)

Lan Wangji had made many exceptions to the Textbook of Lan over the years since he'd met his soulmate. Running when the time called for it, yelling when anguish took over rationality. Drinking liquor to vanquish sorrows and resorting to the theft of chickens as a love declaration. Admittedly, many a instance has led to questionable situations that he found himself in, some better forgotten than remembered, but the fact remained that despite the deviances from the rules, the teachings of Cloud Recesses still flowed through his veins and some habits he remained unable to break.

Resting at nine was one of them. Such being the case, it was rare for the Second Jade to wake sooner than five. Today was an exception.

Wangji felt uncomfortable. His heart was not at ease, his mind was not tranquil. But most of all, the Jade's soul felt like a shivering cold that settled in his bones, yearning for the half that completed it.

Eyes shut and mind foggy with sleep, Lan Wangji reached an arm to the side, seeking comfort. His fingers grasped a phantom outline and the fading warmth of the sheets. Immediately his eyes shot open, heart racing with a realization: he was in bed, but his soulmate was not there. Wei Ying was not there.

The epitome of righteousness bolted out of bed, grace be damned, balance all but forgotten as he stumbled through the Jingshi, eyes glassy with dewdrop tears that made his vision swim. "Wei Ying?!"

He was gone. His Wei Ying was gone. How could he not notice the absence of his beloved?

"Wei Ying?!"

He couldn't do it. Sixteen years without the untamed spirit by his side, smiling and teasing and caring for the man everyone believed had a heart of stone, it had been hell. It nearly killed him if it hadn't been for a-Yuan and the thought that he simply had to survive for his Yiling Patriarch.

"Wei Yi-ing..." His voice broke, breathes coming in wheezing puffs, chest constricted and aching. Wangji felt raw, a gaping wound left to the elements. He couldn't do it. He couldn't lose Wei Ying again. He was nothing without him. Life lost every essence of meaning the word contained if he was forced to live in a torturous cycle of waking up and carrying on without the sun's smile and breezy laughter.

Wangji's knees buckled and he soon found that he lacked the strength to brace himself for the fall. He could feel it even without the impact, the pain of collapsing to the floor, and knew it was nothing compared to the pain of his heart ripping in two, a fractured soul slicing at his being and-

"Lan Zhan?" Warm arms snaked around his shoulders, preventing his fall.

A certain calm settled over his being when he heard that voice, oh so familiar. It felt warm, safe, with a tinge of giddy excitement that came from being with his beloved. It felt like a blessing bestowed upon the Lan by his ancestors.

Lan Wangji glanced up from the hold that now anchored him to sanity.

The ribbon was foregone and strands of loose midnight hair glistened with drops of rain, a night sky filled with stars. Chocolate eyes swirled with pools of concern, golden flecks reflecting the love that burned deep in the heart of a man that had lived and loved for two lifetimes. Soft cushion lips shining like the first rose of spring with a glaze of dew were set in a grim line of worry, the mole just beneath it more present than ever and teasingly beckoning for attention.

"Lan Zhan? What's wrong? You're crying-mnph!"

Wangji lay claim to those lips, swallowing the questions and whimpers that escaped. He poured everything he had into that one action, all the pain, the gut-wrenching fear and sorrow, feeling it melt away as he lightly tugged on Wei Ying's hair. The other gasped at the action and it deepened their kiss, a fierce showcase of possession and love and assurance tinged with the salty taste of the Jade's tears. Something that reminded him that Wei Ying was here.