A Means to an End (WangXian)

Please Show Me a Smile

He's never been obsessed with anything in his entire life. He has never felt the pull to be near someone or to be there for someone in a particular way. 

Of course, he always stands by his brother's side and helps him and his uncle in any way that they need, but this was different. He felt a weird pang in his chest when he watched Wei Wuxian flinch in class when Lan Qiren yelled at him for not listening. Wei Wuxian didn't react afterwards. Even his responses to Lan Qiren were short and simple. Very un-Wei Wuxian like and it bothered Lan Wangji more than he would like to admit.

There was always something about the boy that drew Lan Wangji in, though he never could explain it. He was intoxicating, yet hair-pulling all at the same time. How can someone entice such a wide range of emotions from one person?

_____

For once, Lan Wangji hated the silence.

He looked up from his book and glanced across the room. Lan Wangji's uncle had forced him to write lines again after class today and Lan Wangji was overseeing him like normal, but this was far from normal.

Wei Wuxian sat hunched over his desk and he was writing lines. His face set on a frown, and there had not been a peep from him all evening. He was not slacking off or creating noise. He wasn't even sitting there drawing like he normally did.

When class came to a close, Lan Wangji heard people whispering. They were not just talking about Wei Wuxian's strange behavior in class, but they also whispered and gossiped about something that happened this morning. Normally, Lan Wangji wouldn't pay attention to rumors and more than often he would discipline the people who gossiped. Gossiping in the Cloud Recesses is forbidden after all, but he grew too worried for the cheerful boy to care. He instantly went looking for his brother for an explanation. Without even having to say a word, Lan Xichen explained the strange encounter that happened this morning.

He told Lan Wangji that he was not sure what had happened and even after speaking with Jiang Yanli, everyone seemed to be in complete turmoil. Wei Wuxian almost never gets upset like that. Jiang Yanli said she had not seen her brother like that since they were very young and he was first brought to Lotus Pier. He did not tell anyone what had bothered him, but Lan Xichen remembers him calling out to his sister asking for forgiveness. Though no one seems to know what for.

Lan Wangji remembers the worried expression his brother wore, and it did nothing to make himself feel better. His brother has always been calm, collected, and gentle, but when he explained what happened, the gentle smile he usually wore faltered.

"Keep an eye on him for me, Wangji. Since he's come to the Cloud Recesses, I haven't heard great things about how he is treated at home. I know I shouldn't be listening to rumors, but the situation this morning has me worried," his brother had said.

Lan Wangji, with an even greater gut wrenching feeling in his stomach, nodded and proceeded to meet Wei Wuxian in the library.

He kept watching him. Staring intently at the boy who became a different person over night. He looked a little pale, Lan Wangji noted, and his hair was a little more lopsided than normal. His sword was strangely not at his side. Wei Wuxian usually never goes anywhere without his sword.

"Do you hate me?" His voice was quiet, maybe a little strained.

Lan Wangji did not realize he had been caught staring like he had earlier today. The question caught him off guard, and he did not respond right away.

What was he supposed to say? No, he doesn't hate him, but then, what does he feel for him?

On the other hand, Wei Wuxian had felt Lan Wangji's eyes for a while. He thought it was weird that the usually quiet and stoic Jade was paying so much attention to him. Lan Wangji had never stared at him so intensely before, at least, not in the beginning. It wasn't until Wei Wuxian had turned to demonic cultivation that he felt Lan Wangji's leering eyes on him at all times. What he felt now was very similar, and an eerie feeling crawled up Wei Wuxian's neck.