Drunken Mistake

DM 61

The soft glow of the setting sun streamed through the large bay window of Lan Wangji's apartment, casting golden hues over the living room. Xue Yang lounged on the couch with an arm in a sling, a smirk plastered on his face as he balanced three steaming mugs of coffee precariously in one hand.

"Yangyang!" Wen Qing's sharp tone cut through the quiet hum of conversation. She quickly marched over, snatching the mugs from his hand with an exasperated glare. "I came here to check on your injury, not watch you give yourself more."

Xue Yang rolled his eyes but leaned back with a dramatic sigh. "It's just a dislocated arm, Qing Jie. I've had worse. You're acting like I'm on my deathbed."

"You're infuriating," Wen Qing muttered, setting the mugs down on the coffee table with a firm clink.

"And yet..." Wei Wuxian teased, a playful lilt in his voice as he sprawled on the carpet nearby. His grin widened as Wen Qing turned a raised brow on him. "You care about him."

A beat of silence. Then, Wen Qing let out a sigh, softening as she glanced at Xue Yang, who was now feigning innocence. "Yes, I do. Don't know why or how, but I do. Can't say that about most of my exes." She paused, narrowing her eyes at him. "But you know Xue Yang..."

"Not as biblically as you do," Xue Yang interjected with a wicked grin, wincing slightly when the movement jostled his arm.

"Yangyang!" Wen Qing barked, though the corners of her mouth twitched upward despite herself.

"I'm just saying," Xue Yang drawled, his smirk unwavering.

Lan Wangji entered at that moment, his calm presence immediately grounding the room. He glanced at Xue Yang and frowned. "You are not ten anymore, Xue Yang."

"But, A'Die, I want to be ten," Xue Yang quipped, sticking out his lower lip in a mock pout.

Wei Wuxian chuckled, leaning back against the couch. "Then until you heal, you can be whatever you want."

"Thanks, A'Niang!" Xue Yang teased, shooting him a wink.

Wen Qing pinched the bridge of her nose, though a faint smile betrayed her frustration. "Enough. Both of you. Xue Yang, stop moving around so much or that sling will be useless."

The lighthearted banter gradually settled, and the conversation turned to quieter matters. Wen Qing tilted her head toward Lan Wangji. "When did you and Wei Wuxian get so close, anyway? He calls you by your real name now."

Lan Wangji blinked, his surprise evident. "You knew his name was A'Ying?"

"Of course I knew," Wen Qing said, crossing her arms. "Everyone knew. But the Jiangs had him on paper as Wei Wuxian. He insisted on using that name when he grew older, probably to distance himself from the past." She shot a pointed look at Wei Wuxian. "It's good if it helped separate you from bad memories, but..."

Wei Wuxian looked down, guilt flickering across his face. "I got all my memories back in Suzhou, Qing Jie. And it wasn't what we thought."

Wen Qing's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Wangji for reassurance. At his slight nod, Lan Wangji stepped out of the room to give them privacy.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath. "The injuries everyone found on me back then... they weren't from abuse. I'd fallen down a flight of stairs because I had a fever. And the... other signs..." He hesitated, his voice growing softer. "I was sexually active, but it was consensual—or at least, I thought it was at the time. My lover, he—he wasn't in his right mind. He thought he'd forced me, and he carried that guilt all these years."