Time Reversal

33. Lessons Learned

He made a quick stop at the kitchens to pick up a basket of vegetable scraps for the rabbits. "Ah.... Er Gongzi," the aide bowed five or six times in quick succession. "Wei Gongzi already took a basket over to the field for your... for the wild rabbits."

He mindlessly answered with a bow of his own, and a 'thank you', but he was already mentally with his bunnies. And his husband.

Wei Ying was dancing, cheeks flushed from the cold. No one could become an expert swordsman and not be light on their feet, but Wei Ying seemed to be floating above the grass; his steps were so agile. As he reached and twirled and snapped his fan enticingly, he started laughing in sheer delight. "It's snowing!" He opened his mouth wide, sticking his tongue out flat, trying to catch one of the few snowflakes floating gently to the ground. The childlike innocence made his heart flutter.

"Wei Ying," he called out, hearing all the love and affection he held for his husband in his voice.

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying spun in a circle a few times. "It's snowing!"

"I see." He could feel his facial features softening and the corners of his lips turning up slightly.

"It's snowing and you're smiling!" Wei Ying ran across the field and skidded to a stop right before him. "Is there such a thing as a more perfect day?"

"Mmmm." Any day that involves me seeing you happy is a perfect day.

"Dance with me Er Gege," Wei Ying demanded, holding out his empty hand.

He had no idea how to dance; it wasn't something taught in Yunshen Buzhichu. He artlessly followed his husband's lead as he spun and hopped around the bunnies' glade to a tune only heard in his husband's head. Sometimes they were pressed up tightly to the other and sometimes they were only connected by their fingertips.

At some point, need/desire/want overcame him and he held Wei Ying close, kissing him as fervently as if it was their first kiss. They stumbled to the pavilion, untying robes as they went.

His back and Wei Ying's knees were very appreciative of the workmen's skill in sanding out the splinters on the floor.

They moved to the couch to cuddle in the afterglow. "It snowed last year on this day, too," he mentioned once he was capable of saying words.

"Such a fuddy duddy," Wei Ying teased. "Only you would remember what the weather was a year ago."

"I remember because today is our wedding anniversary."

Wei Ying twisted so they could look each other in the face. "No it isn't."

Technically, Wei Ying was correct. "It was a year ago today that we gave each other our real vows. Right here in this pavilion."

"Oh you." Wei Ying kissed him until he was once again hard and aching. "You need to warn a man when you're going to be so romantic."

Their knees and backs appreciated the makers of the couch and its cushions, too.

Several times.

~*~

The invitation for Wei Ying's new class had been sent. It wasn't the most tactfully written invitation. While Wei Ying permitted a secretary to rewrite 'I am looking for students at least fifteen years old who want to learn talismans. Your sect status is irrelevant. Who your parents are doesn't help you. There will be entrance exams.' in more appropriate words, he insisted on having the exact phrasing, 'All you need to get a place in this course is an honest desire to learn talismans and creativity.' as the last line in the letter.

On the examination day, severity-three prospects arrived in Yunshen Buzhichu. Students were sent, twenty at a time, into a classroom.

"You have one sichen to open the box in front of you," Wei Ying grinned from his place at the head of the classroom. "And by open, I mean open without damaging it. There is only one way to properly open it." Anti-cheating spells kept the examinees' eyes fixed on their desk and kept their ears from hearing anything other than their own thoughts.