WangXian Untamed - One Shots

Second Husband

Wei WuXian knew his husband didn't like crowds, but it was their first day out alone together in several weeks, and he had convinced Lan WangJi that the festival in Gusu would be fun. Looking at his husband's long-suffering expression - not that anyone else would see it on the composed face of the Second Jade - Wei WuXian wondered if he should have chosen another activity. He looked around at the crowds, the children chasing each other from stall to stall, the alleys teeming with vendor carts, and knew Lan WangJi was reaching the end of his tolerance. Where could they go for some peace? Even the inns were noisy and filled to the brim with merrymakers.

Off to one side of the main street, halfway into the opening of an alley, a small, gaily coloured tent caught his eye. A sign announced a fortune teller worked within. Perfect! A peaceful break!

"Come on, husband!" Wei WuXian commanded. "Let's get out of the crowds for a minute, yeah?" Grabbing Lan WangJi by the wrist, he dragged him over to the fortune teller's tent.

"Have you ever visited a fortune teller before, my love?" he asked.

"Boring," responded Lan WangJi.

"Aiya! You're so conservative," Wei WuXian stated the obvious. "Come on, Lan Zhan. It will be fun!" So saying, Wei WuXian dragged his husband into the tent.

Once inside the tent it was very dark, a sharp contrast to the bright day outside. As their eyes adjusted to the change, details began to emerge from the dim. Shielded lamps provided a small bit of illumination, casting intriguing shadows and well placed to conceal more than the light revealed. Curiosities were on several shelves around the perimeter and a table in the centre. At the table sat a crone, repeatedly turning a tea cup around in her hand. Her clothes were many-layered and strangely light; it seemed almost as if they floated about her. Multiple rings and bracelets winked and tinkled with her motions and a fringed scarf encircled her head. When she looked up the men were startled to see her white eyes. Wei WuXian reflexively grabbed Lan WangJi's arm, while Lan WangJi automatically reached for the hilt on Bichen, moving to place himself between the woman and Wei WuXian.

"Well met," said the woman. Her voice had an unfamiliar lilt, while being softened and mellowed with age. "Have you come to see your past, present or future?"

Setting aside his initial unease, Wei WuXian put a reassuring hand on Lan WangJi's shoulder. He was familiar with the usual opening gambit of a seasoned fortune teller and felt reassured to hear it now.

"We have no secrets from each other," answered Wei WuXian. He felt a slight shiver from Lan WangJi. Is he nervous? he wondered. "We know our past and our future is in the hands of the gods. What can you tell us about the present?"

"Be seated and we shall see," came the response.

The two men sat at the table, across from the woman. Putting down her tea cup, the woman placed her hands, palm up, on the table between then.

"One hand, please," she said. Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian shared a look, then each placed on hand on the nearest palm. The old woman's hands felt warm, a little soft, a little smooth. She moved her fingers to encircle their wrists, gently tasting their pulses. She traced down the tendons into the fingers, then turned the hands over and brushed her fingertips over their palms, the callused pads of their fingers, flexing the joints.

"Interesting," she said. "Your other hands, please."

Silently the men complied. Again, the old woman addressed the hands resting on her own, as if drawing forth the unknown from their very skin.

"You have a larger past than many have lives," she began. "Most interesting. You." She turned her unseeing eyes toward Wei WuXian. "I have not seen a life thread split before."