Wuji: A Promise Kept

29

Lan Wangji was in the Jingshi. He hated the separation between him and Wuxian but he knew it was tradition. He will be seeing him again soon though as the wedding is the next day. He kept it in his mind that he would be seeing Wuxian again he would be in red, and he would become his.

Lan Wangji was smiling from ear to ear just thinking about him. He never would have thought he'd marry. After his mother died and his father secluded himself, Wangji had decided he wouldn't want to follow his father's path and focus on his cultivation. He followed his uncle's teachings and became a stick in the mud but he was content with his choice. Meeting Wei Wuxian changed everything. His quiet and strict nature and training became loud and boisterous. He had never come across someone who had him question him the way Wuxian has. He has his regrets though as he finally got it out of Wuxian that after all these years of pain and hardships, Wuxian thought he hated him. Hated him!

When Wangji heard that come out of Wuxian's mouth, he immediately felt pain in his heart. He never meant to let Wuxian think he hated him, but he was not good with communication and Wuxian had him questioning himself since the day they met. Thinking about those words he said, I thought you hated me, it caused tears to form in Wangji's eyes. He never wanted to Wuxian to question him like that again.

Lan Xichen had decided to go visit Wangji after spending some time with Wuxian. He made sure Wuxian had eaten his dinner as he knew it would help ease some of Wangji's worry. When he spotted his brother, however, Wangji was sitting on his bed staring out the window. Xichen could see the tears staining his Didi's face. His heart ached at the sight and he hated seeing his brother like this.

"Wangji," Xichen called out calmly.

Wangji looked at him, "Xiongzhang?" He questioned.

Xichen moved to sit beside him. Wangji let him hold him and comfort him. He wanted to try and work on his relationship with Xichen since the incident at Guanyin Temple. He didn't want to go through that again where he felt Xichen could confide in a stranger instead of him and vice versa.

"What's wrong, Didi?" Xichen asked.

"Just lost in thought," Wangji replied, "When I met with Wei Ying on the mountain and asked him to come back with me, he told me he thought I hated him."

"Huh?" Xichen questioned.

"He thought I hated him," Wangji repeated, "I know I did not treat him well in the past but I never knew he thought that way."

"Oh Wangji," Xichen said, "You have him now and he will be by your side from now on. You have forever to make it up to him and prove to him that you never felt that way."

Wangji nodded, "You saw him earlier?"

"He is doing okay, just a bit anxious," Xichen replied, "He was so anxious he couldn't get himself to eat. I made sure he ate though. I told him to try for your sake and he caved."

Wangji let out a small huff of hair as it was a little chuckle, "Thank you for doing that."

"I have to say, if you want him to do something, all you have to do and say it would be for you and make you happy and he'd cave...he's definitely wrapped around your fingers," Xichen explained.

"I appreciate that he does that but I do want him to do things for himself, not because it will satisfy me," Wangji said, "I don't want get to the point where that is the only way to get him to do something. It won't be far to him."

"I know," Xichen said, "He just needs to learn to take care of himself for his own benefit not anyone else's."

Wangji nodded, "he is doing okay though?"

"He is," Xichen said, "I spoke with Jingyi and Sizhui on my way to see you. I asked them if they could spend time with him."

Wangji nodded, "I appreciate that."

"I have to say though, I can tell that Jingyi will be more of a handful," Xichen said.

"Well, you adopted him, you have to deal with that," Wangji said, "Sizhui can only do so much to keep him out of trouble."

Xichen smiled, "You did well with raising him."

"He was the only piece of Wei Ying I had after he died," Wangji said, "He was the only reason I kept going...I didn't want you to worry but I know that is impossible."

"I will always worry about you, Wangji, you are my little brother," Xichen said, "and I am glad that he was your reason to keep living. You eventually got your Wei Ying back."

Wangji smiled, "I did, and I am glad he came back."

"You seem a bit tired," Xichen pointed out, "Did you want me to let you rest?"

"Can you stay?" Wangji asked, "I know it is almost curfew but I do not want to be alone tonight."

"Of course I can stay," Xichen said.

Xichen and Wangji eventually got up and freshened up before bed. Xichen had laid beside Wangji to comfort him through the night. It had been a long time since he and Wangji had been like this. It was only for maybe a couple weeks after their mother died that Wangji would allow Xichen to comfort him. After that, Wangji became more reserved and Xichen respected that. It hurt but he did not want to push at Wangji. The least he could do was make sure he would always be there if Wangji needed him. Wangji would come to him for advice every now and again, so he was glad that Wangji still went to him for something. It was enough for him to know that Wangji was not completely isolating himself.