WangXian Untamed Together

Chapter 14 - To Become A Lan

Lan WangJi led a quiet Wei WuXian along the paths back to the Jingshi. Wei WuXian held his hand tightly the entire way but walked in unaccustomed silence, his silver eyes cast down on the path just before his feet. His mind was lost in his thoughts, but his body betrayed tension with a muscle ticking in the corner of his jaw although no sound escaped.

Home once more, doors shut for the night, Lan WangJi pulled Wei WuXian into his arms and held him close. Turning to his husband Wei WuXian buried his nose in Lan WangJi's hair, lifting his arms above his husband's broad shoulders and linking them behind his neck while the sandalwood scent so much a part of Lan WangJi soothed his soul. A quiet moment or two, and Wei WuXian's body relaxed, releasing a heavy sigh, even as his arms tightened around his husband. Lan WangJi's hands stroked down Wei WuXian's back, smoothing his hair and offering sweet assurance of his place, his home, in his husband's arms. Time slid by, slow and steady and unremarkable in its passing, until the silence was broken by a quiet, soft voice.

"I love this and I hate this, Lan Zhan," Wei WuXian mumbled into Lan WangJi's hair.

"Mn?" responded Lan WangJi, his hum resonant and low.

Wei WuXian twitched, readjusting his arms and pressing more closely to his husband.

"Your heartbeat... I miss being able to stand with my head on your heart," he confessed. "I know it's silly..."

Lan WangJi cut him off, pulling Wei WuXian's head back by the hair and silencing him with a solid, heated kiss. Holding his husband tightly in his arms, Lan WangJi used all the skills he'd learned in the past few months to turn Wei WuXian's knees to jelly as he slowly melted in his husband's arms, until all that kept him on his feet were Lan WangJi's two strong arms around his waist. Pulling back at last, gold eyes stared sternly into dazed silver pools.

"Nothing Wei Ying feels is silly," Lan WangJi insisted, with force. He leaned in and gave a softer, sweeter kiss.

"I miss it, too," Lan WangJi confessed. "But I will take Wei Ying in any form, always. Only Wei Ying. It can only be you," he reminded his husband. Long minutes passed as the two men stood in silent communion, as they gradually relaxed in each other's arms. Finally, Wei WuXian nodded and took a step back, looking into his husband's eyes.

"A welcoming banquet, ah?" he asked.

"Mn. It is tradition," responded Lan WangJi.

"Aiya, I never thought of such a thing," said Wei WuXian, wonder creeping into his voice. "Here I've stolen away with the prized Second Young Master of the Lan Clan, one of the incomparable Twin Jades, the esteemed HanGuang-Jun... I'm the pig who ran away with the farmer's prize cabbage, and I'm to be rewarded with a banquet? Of welcome? For me, the YiLing Laozu?"

Lan WangJi shook his head. "Not because you are the YiLing Laozu. Because you are my Wei Ying, my husband."

Wei WuXian caught his breath. "That's... that's not something I ever expected."

Lan WangJi waited quietly for Wei WuXian to work out how he felt.

"I don't know what to say," was all he came up with, eventually. He turned and paced across the Jingshi as he was wont to do when he needed to process his thoughts, the agile mind seeming to process better when the body could move.

"I never thought a minute past belonging together, being yours... and then we were suddenly married," he continued. "Is this really something that is done for everyone who marries into your Clan? Or did you plan this just for me somehow?" He slipped a quick side eye at his husband, looking for any sign of a setup.

Lan WangJi simply moved to the table, assembled the makings of tea, and sat himself before the kettle.

"When one marries into Lan Clan there is always a ceremony. It is usually folded into the usual wedding celebrations and events, but there is no reason it cannot be held separately." Lan WangJi's careful fingers measured the tea leaves and prepared the cups. "The new partner is formally welcomed and acknowledged as a spouse. As they are married in from another Clan, they are entrusted with a replica of their spouse's forehead ribbon symbolizing the restraint of their partner, which is now in their hands. Many wear this ribbon on a wrist as a reminder of their duty and fidelity." Lan WangJi took a careful look at Wei WuXian, fidgeting where he stood and listened, before continuing his explanation as he poured the water over the tea leaves. "They are also gifted a forehead ribbon of their own to represent the restraint they have accepted as a spouse within the Lan Clan. As a member raised outside the Clan, it is up to the individual to determine if they choose to wear their forehead ribbon or simply keep it privately. Their name is entered into the record and their marriage is recorded, legitimizing any children that may be born."