Phoenix

chapter 3*Revised*

               It took Wei Wuxian a month of pulling pranks on Lan Qiren, breaking the rules, and helping Nie Huasang cheat on a test before he was assigned a punishment under Lan Wangji's supervision. That entire time was also spent trying to get the boy to notice him; so hopefully, now Lan Wangji couldn't run away in a huff of aggravation.  

             When Wei Wuxian reached the library pavilion, his friends abandoned him like the cowards they were. Lan Wangji already sat in the library copying scriptures with perfect posture. He shivered as golden eyes locked on him before the man pointed at a desk on the other side of the room that was already set up. " You are to write the rules 300 times,  start." 

            His smooth timber made the tightly wound muscles in Wei Wuxian's body unwind automatically. That could have also been from the blood flowing through his body since they were exchanging looks, but to Wei Wuxian, the other thought was more romantic. The idea that the man's voice was enough to soothe his soul made his heart beat even faster.

           Wei Wuxian moved to his desk getting started writing the rules.  Lan Wangji went back to his scriptures. It wasn't long before he got bored of writing and stole looks at his intended mate. The boy was beautiful with perfect posture even as he copied boring old texts. Wei Wuxian wanted... no! he needed Lan Wangji to pay attention to him. He wanted those piercing golden eyes to look at him, to make his heart beat in his chest, to make him feel human. 

           He felt the boy look at him to ensure he was working every so often but without direct eye contact his heart wouldn't beat. He just felt it on his skin his inner phoenix reacting to the boy's stare. Wei Wuxian needed more. He was going to get it no matter what he had to do.

          Decision firmly in place Wei Wuxian made his way over to the boy who was pretending to ignore him. He started leaning on the table gently and then shifting around Lan Wangji always just shy of touching him. He was enjoying the calming scent of Sandalwood that came from the man a little too much. Calling his mate's name in a singsong voice just to get under the man's skin. " Lan er-gongzi, Lan Wangji, Lan er-gege, Lan Zhan!" The brush in Lan Wangji's hand snapped in half. Lan Wangji's glare was mitigated by the warmth he felt as his heartbeat and his phoenix tried to reach out. " I tried to get your attention but it didn't work Lan Zhan. Hey Hey, you call me Wei Ying too okay?" Wei Wuxian gave his most dazzling smile the one that had left maidens swooning. Then he pouted towards the still glaring boy "Lan Zhan pay attention to me!" He knew he sounded a bit whiny but he really just wanted Lan Wangji's attention. 

          His supernatural hearing picked up on Lan Wangji's speeding heartbeat. The excitement of it was momentarily squashed when the boy called him ridiculous and sent him back to work on his punishment. Lan Wangji went so far as to use a silencing charm on him. Wei Wuxian wasn't deterred if anything it made him more determined. Wei Wuxian could tell by Lan Wangji's heartbeat and his agitated energy that Wei Wuxian affected him in a way no one else did. This was his soulmate so of course Wei Wuxian was willing to put in the work. The man was worth it. 

           Unfortunately, in that month together apart from feeling Lan Wangji steal more looks at him, everything stayed the same. Even when Wei Wuxian had taken the time to draw him carefully the boy still seemed annoyed at him. It was hurting him more than he liked to admit. He just wanted some nice memories with Lan Wangji before all happiness was taken away from him. Was he asking for too much?

         The set punishment ended and Lan Wangji didn't even want the bunnies Wei Wuxian got for him. Trying to think of something new he figured he could use the fact that old man Lan had a conference somewhere to go to Caiyi and find a proper courting gift. It was a thought he wasn't too happy with since he couldn't court Lan Wangji as he deserved let alone that he barely had money. Since he was the property of Yummeng he didn't get paid for his work the money he had managed to save was from gifts grateful villagers gave him or elders that pitied his situation. Still with that in mind, he collected his best friend Huasang to help. That also meant taking his brother along for their trip. They had still not been able to have a conversation alone. 

           As they were leaving he saw Lan Wangji and couldn't help calling out to him to Huasang's amusement and his brother's annoyance. He was momentarily stunned when he saw that the person with Lan Wangji was almost identical to him except for a warm smile. Wei Wuxian looked at him but quickly turned his attention back to Lan Wangji. 

            That man had a warm smile but his beauty was nothing compared to his intended mate. "Lan Zhan, we are going to shop in Caiyi do you want to come with us?" Lan Wangji looked at him disinterested while his heart sped up. Shaking his head negatively making Wei Wuxian pout he looked back at the other man. The man introduced himself as Lan Xichen. It was Lan Wangji's older brother perking up Wei Wuxian's interest to know more about his mate. He invited them to a night hunt for water ghouls in Caiyi that he had returned to request help with. 

           That night hunt was a disaster. First, the ghouls attacked the people in Caiyi. Thankfully no civilian was terribly injured in the attack. Only some scrapes and bruises for the most part on some of the slower civilians. They took boats out to the lake to investigate before they were led to the center by the ghouls.  Then to make matters worse some idiot lost his sword trying out a move he wasn't powerful enough to pull off. This made it Wei Wuxian's problem to save the idiot from what they could now categorize as a waterborne abyss. 

           They had almost made it to Jiang Cheng when said idiot propelled himself forward grabbing onto Jiang Cheng but pushing Wei Wuxian off his sword in the process. Wei Wuxian fell right into the heart of the waterborne abyss. Normally this wouldn't be a problem for him since Vampires could command resentful beings or his phoenix could evaporate the water. To act in either manner was to out himself so he settled till he was unconscious and his body acted automatically creating a barrier of fire between himself and the abyss. The next thing he knew something was reaching through the fire to grab him. Air hit his lungs before darkness completely swallowed him.

         Wei Wuxian woke up with a migraine feeling disoriented and not recognizing his surroundings. He was starting to mildly panic when his senses picked up the familiar scent of Sandalwood. He calmed down immediately his body telling him that if his mate was around then he was safe. It was a purely unconscious reaction knowing Lan Wangji was not going to jump to protect him anytime soon. So maybe it was his soul's wishful thinking. Still, he couldn't help the giddy feeling of waking up with his soulmate nearby. 

          Looking through the dark at where the scent seemed to be coming from he saw Lan Wangji asleep on the floor by Wei Wuxian's side. "Lan Zhan?" His voice was scraped raw barely a whisper. His throat hurt from the water he had swallowed while drowning not allowing anything louder. It seemed to be enough since Lan Wangji woke and turned to him with startled puffy red eyes. 

         If Wei Wuxian didn't know any better he could have sworn the other boy had been crying. " Lan Z- (cough cough)" Lan Wangji rushed a glass of water to his lips helping soothe his throat. " Lan Zhan, what is wrong? You seem upset did something happen to your brother? What happened?" Lan Wangji looked at him intensely making Wei Wuxian's heart beat happily at the attention. 

          Slowly Lan Wangji told him how everyone was still dealing with the Waterborne abyss but that Wei Wuxian was on forced bed rest in Caiyi till they could return to Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian pouted at being excluded from the night hunt and was about to argue. He was left speechless however as he found his face randomly placed against the toned chest of his soulmate. "Lan Zhan!?!" He could feel the fire just barely concealed under his skin wanting to wrap around his mate and claim him for his own. It fizzled out with Lan Wangji's next words. "Wei Ying why was your heart not beating but you were breathing?"