Useless

Chapter 12

Almost a year had passed since they had left the Cloud recesses and everyday Wei Wuxian couldn't help but miss his friends that he had made there. Not that he didn't enjoy spending time with his siblings, especially on a day like today.

Currently, he and Jiang Cheng were drying off in a grassy area next to the lake.

They both had been helping out the other disciples with gathering lotus pods. Their gathering had gotten a little out of hand and some of them may have fallen into the water. When Jiang Cheng had started berating them for being childish, Wei Wuxian had dragged him into the water too. It had been hilarious when his brother spluttered out water and angrily started trying to drown him. Of course his brother would never actually drown him but it was still really funny.

After that whole ordeal, Jiang Cheng had made the other disciples go back before he told Madam Yu that they were all playing around. Of course with the threat of Madam Yu hanging in the air, the disciples quickly made their way back. With them gone Jiang Cheng had gotten out of the water angrily and onto the grassy bank. He then started stripping out of his wet purple robes and laid them out to dry. Once he was left in nothing but his pants, he flopped onto the ground.

Wei Wuxian giggled as he followed his brother's example. He also stripped out of his black robes and sat down on the grass. The sling that he usually kept his right arm in was soaked through and so were the bandages, so Wei Wuxian opted to take those off as well.

Jiang Cheng was surprised by that. He knew how uncomfortable it was for Wuxian to see the horrible scars lining his arm but if his brother was fine with it then he wouldn't say anything.

The two brothers then laid next to each other in a comfortable silence. As they laid there, Wei Wuxian was having a good little time just watching the clouds in the sky above them. It was a little childish but it was still fun to pick out the little animals that the clouds made. He giggled to himself as he pointed up.

"Look Jiang Cheng! That cloud looks like a cat!" he said. Beside him, Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at his brother's childishness.

"It looks like a fucking cloud," he said. Wei Wuxian pouted at him.

"You're no fun Jiang Cheng! See that one over there? It looks like a little bunny," he said pointing again. But as soon as he said those words, a sad look passed over his face. Just thinking of bunnies made him think about Lan Zhan. He hadn't seen his friend in almost a year and it made him sad just thinking about it. Well, he hasn't seen any of his friends but still. He was currently being grounded and he wasn't even allowed to send out letters. It upset him.

"What's with that face?" Jiang Cheng asked from beside him. Wei Wuxian blinked as he was brought out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" he asked.

"That face. What's wrong?" Jiang Cheng asked in turn. His brother only looked like that when he was being bullied or if something was wrong. Jiang Cheng leaned over and grabbed hold of his brother's hand.

"Wei Wuxian, is someone bothering you?" he asked, squeezing his hand. "I'll go beat them up for you if that's it."

Wei Wuxian let out an amused laugh at his brother's behavior. He was glad his brother cared about him (though usually it was indirect and aggressive) but sometimes his overprotective nature was a little too much. He squeezed his brother's hand back.

"Jiang Cheng, calm down, it isn't like that. I guess.....I guess I'm just bored," he said, shrugging. Jiang Cheng stared at his brother as he sat up.

"Bored?" he asked, not believing a word his brother was saying. But Wei Wuxian nodded at him.

"Yup. Bored," he said again. It was mostly true. And besides, the other Jiang disciples didn't bully him much anymore. The ones his age respected him enough and the younger ones admired him. It was usually outsiders that had something bad to say.