Once upon a lifetime

Familiarity - Part three

Revised 18/05/22

Lan Wangji has potentially gone crazy.

As a matter of fact, 'crazy' would be an understatement by far. A mad, deranged lunatic would be considered more accurate.

Why, you may ask? Now, such an answer wouldn't require much thinking, for of course it's due to that troublemaker, Wei Wuxian. The great Lan Wangji would never be driven mad otherwise.

That utterly shameless, pretentious, attention-seeking boy has been causing incidents of mischief left and right, his unkempt demeanour inciting Lan Wangji's rage as if he were holding a sign that said 'LOOK AT ME AND GO MAD.' And yes, mad Lan Wangji was, for Wei Wuxian's incessant pestering was making him break so, so many rules and oh, the sorrow it brought him could move one to tears.

And despite Lan Wangji's endless rants of internal monologue cursing every single movement, every jostle of Wei Wuxian's, condemning him to an entire catalogue of punishments, he couldn't not like it.

Wei Wuxian was the cold breeze in midsummer; the fire of a cold, snowy night, warming Lan Wangji's heart; the breath of fresh air that relaxed him down to his very bones; he was like a drug–an unhealthy addiction that Lan Wangji found himself drawn to more and more each encounter.

Ever since that fateful night–the night that he had imprinted within his brain, painted with careful intricate details, a memory forever stored away to be cherished–Lan Wangji could feel his heart, that had been frozen over since the passing of his late mother, begin to melt. It was as if something within him ignited, a kindred flame taking form, resting unsettled within the wind, as if contemplating whether to fade or to stay alight, heating the surroundings.

A healer he could not consult, for this constitution of his was not merely a sickness caught by chance, but was (most likely) the origination of affection.

Affection was something he hadn't felt, unlike his brother, for a long, long time.

Wei Wuxian, Wei Ying, The Jiang Clan's head disciple; even his name was sickly sweet to the tongue.

He was someone whom Lan Wangji thought of as an equal, someone he respected and who respected him in turn. Someone whose swordsmanship far surpassed his peers, whose cultivation was unrivalled in terms of strength alone.

He was also someone (despite what Lan Wangji had originally assumed) who had troubles of his own.

Wei Wuxian slept soundly in class, assumedly to catch up on lost rest at night; he broke many rules, but Lan Wangji did too–they were too suffocating for someone like him; and Wei Wuxian was also too exhausted to finish copying out the rules as punishment, so Lan Wangji made an exception.

He played his qin with practised ease; infusing spiritual energy into the strings as to coax the boy into a soft slumber.

His peaceful form was too much of a temptation, so while he was unconscious, Lan Wangji briskly walked his way to the desk, and, with a slow, hesitant hand, gently brushed away a stray lock to the side of the his face. He then tucked it behind Wei Wuxian's ear with a gentle, eased motion, and just as he was about to take his face in hand, abruptly pulled away, as if burned. He held his wrist, glancing hesitantly at the hand he'd used to... to disrespect Wei Wuxian like so.

Lan Wangji inhaled a deep breath before pacing around the room, the 3000 rules of Gusu obsessively being recited within his head. He glanced at the resting form with undiscovered longing, observing the way Wei Wuxian's eyelashes gently fluttered, lips slowly closed after each breath, and hair pooled over his shoulders like a cascading waterfall.

Lan Wangji looked away.

* * *

A dream.

Lan Wangji glanced around with uncertainty, multiple questions at the tip of his tongue that had yet to be spoken.

He was inside a large cave, the walls a dark shade of grey due to the moisture within. The damp rocks provided a dark atmosphere to the dream, further adding to his already anxious demeanour.

He began to make his way through the dark cave, but froze in place after noticing two other presences before him: Wei Wuxian, his face worn and tired and hair strewn about him as his head rested on... Lan Wangji's lap..?

"Wei Ying," The he of the dream whispered. "Wei Ying, wake up.. Please!"

Lan Wangji unconsciously startled at the vivid display of emotions from those two words. He glanced down to his hands, which had begun to shake, and took a hesitant step forward.

"Get lost.." Wei Wuxian retorted, weakly swatting the hand away. "Get lost!"

Lan Wangji suddenly felt a foreign emotion take fruit within the pit of his stomach. His throat felt constrained, as if someone had shoved a mountain of air down it and into his oesophagus, restricting his breath. "Wei Ying..?"

"Please, Wei Ying!"

"Get lost!"

"Wei Ying..." The he of the dream whispered, "Please... I lov-"

Lan Wangji opened his eyes.

He didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *