The Space Between Our Heartbeats [XianWang]

They had once imagined a future filled with tiny footsteps, sleepy mornings, and a love that would grow into something even bigger than the two of them.

Then, one night, everything they had imagined disappeared.

Two years later, Lan Wangji still wakes from nightmares he cannot explain.

Sometimes his heart races for no reason.

Sometimes he cannot breathe.

Sometimes the walls close in, the room becomes a hospital corridor, and he is once again reaching for something that is no longer there.

Wei Wuxian knows what his husband is fighting.

He also knows something else.

Lan Wangji isn't the only one who never healed.

Because while Wangji learned how to survive his panic attacks, Wei Wuxian learned how to hide his grief.

He smiles.

He cooks.

He stays awake beside him.

He says, "I'm here."

And every night, when Wangji falls asleep, Wei Wuxian quietly grieves for the child they never got to bring home.

Neither of them realizes that they have been protecting each other with the same lie:

"I'm okay."

Until one night, Wangji has the worst panic attack yet.

And Wei Wuxian finally understands-

sometimes healing doesn't begin when the pain disappears.

Sometimes it begins when two people finally stop pretending they aren't hurting.