Wangxian Oneshots

what the heart feels

Summary:
Lan Zhan’s breath stutters in his chest. Seeing Wei Ying like this hurts his heart. He is never supposed to be quiet. He is supposed to be loud, full of energy, always bouncing around and teasing Lan Zhan about every little thing. He can’t bear to see his childhood—his best friend like this.

Wei Ying isn’t supposed to be so still. So quiet.

Or, Gusuxian saves Su She from the waterborne abyss at the cost of himself. He’s saved and brought back to the Cloud Recesses, where he gains a fever and Lan Zhan tends to him.
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It happens so fast that Lan Zhan does not have time to react.

In a split second Wei Ying is yanked from his sword and submerged underwater, his silver eyes wide and his white, pristine robes a beam of light in the murky lake water. Along with Wei Ying, Su She is pulled down too but is swiftly picked up by a Gusu disciple. Safe and sound besides the terror racing through him from almost dying.

The only one not safe is Wei Ying.

With his heart pounding in his ears so hard that it drowns out everything, and his focus narrowing down to nothing else but saving Wei Ying, Lan Zhan steers from his straight path to safety and dives down.

Lan Zhan is the fastest on a sword, but even then his speed is no match for a waterborne abyss. Wei Ying is limp in the water, eyes closed, and mouth open, letting in all that murky, resentment-filled water into his body.

Fear grips him. Will he make it in time? Will Wei Ying survive, is he going to make it?

With those thoughts in his mind, Lan Zhan pushes himself faster, and as Bichen and his boots skim the waters, he reaches out a hand and snags Wei Ying by the only thing he can reach. The collar of his robes.

It was only supposed to be an investigation. A trip meant to find out what exactly was causing the lake in Caiyi Town to begin acting up, nearly drowning civilians. It was only due to Wei Ying’s quick thinking that they realized it was a waterborne abyss, but by that time Su She had managed to lose his sword to the lake in an attempt to show off.

Lan Zhan knows that not all disciples can be as diligent as he or Wei Ying. After all, a majority of their peers are not on the same playing field as them, always five steps behind. It is not a boast either, it is simply a statement of fact. But to be so incompetent and arrogant as to try and gloat…

He wants to have words with Su She. He wants to put him in Wei Ying’s place instead, have him be the one in peril instead of safe and sound on the shores of the river. Lan Zhan quickly reprimands himself for such dark thoughts, resolving to copy lines once they return to the Cloud Recesses.

Wei Ying would scold him for his uncouth behavior.

Lan Zhan clutches Wei Ying closer to him, savoring the easy weight in his arms. The younger boy is cold, far too cold, and he has not moved an inch since Lan Zhan plucked him from the water. He’s too still, too quiet, and unmoving that it is eerie. Wei Ying is not meant to be quiet and still. He is meant to be loud and boisterous and full of energy.