Mdzs Oneshots

The Meaning of Love (Lovers of Light and Darkness 2)

"Don't hurt Wei Ying."

Seeing the heavy glimmer in the Second Jade's eyes, he shrunk back. Not one to be taken easily, his hazel eyes held Lan Wangji's, weighing and analyzing, who glared directly back at him. Wangji. Long, tapered, but callused artist's hands wrapped around his wrist. Under Wei Ying's touch, Wangji's hand felt like smooth silk, and he couldn't help but caress it. To the cat's shock, the stoic Young Master of Lan didn't flinch or pull away. On the other hand, he turned to Wei Wuxian.

His molten gold eyes were soft as he gazed at Wei Ying, the love so obvious then even the blind could sense it. Seeing he had his attention, the troublemaker grinned broadly, swiftly holding up his hand before kissing it.

Finally, the blind one got it. Something had happened at the Cave of Xuanwu, he was sure of it. But realisation only just started trickling through Jiang Cheng as he stared at the pair in what I would put as disbelief- but that wasn't strictly true. Seeing the way the two melted and burned in front of one another, he wondered how he hadn't noticed earlier. He'd seen the way Wei Ying acted in front of Lan Zhan, with boundless teasing and affection that seemed reserved for him and him only. The way the Lan endured him as he would do for no other.

Looking at them in a world of their own, he couldn't do anything but watch on. Even if he'd never said to it, he longed to find something like that someday. Someone who'd look at him like that, even with a fraction of what they had. A picture spoke a thousand words, after all. But a picture of those two could rival the length of novels.

The troublemaker continued grinning, his eyes tracing over the not-so-frigid face of Lan Zhan. He pressed each line, each curve into his memory again. Lan Zhan was so perfect. His. The other simply basked in his undivided attention, cementing Wanyin's status as a third wheel. Those two were a pair made in fate, that much he could admit. Then Lan Wangji did the unthinkable. The corners of his rosy-red, equally swollen lips tilted up. A small, but genuine smile graced his lips.

Just for Wei Ying.

Just looking at them gave Wanyin goosebumps, and he quickly retreated. A pang of something like jealousy and sorrow shot through him, but he was emotionally clueless as always, unable to place a finger on that feeling. So he did what he did best in these situations. Let his body take control, walking to where the kitchens. As he stepped into the kitchen, the familiar scent of lotus pork ribs soup infiltrated his senses, and he gushed to a particular purple and gold-robed figure. "Jie!"

Jiang Yanli was beautiful, her eyes as soft as her brother's were hard. Softness radiated from her, clinging onto the soft and gentle curves of her body, encompassing her features. She smiled at her brother fondly, glad to have him back after the adventures at Xuanwu cave. "A-Cheng, what is it? I haven't seen you in so long, how are you doing?" Yanli's warm voice replied softly. She pinched her brother's chubby cheeks, moving his face upwards so she could see.

Upon seeing his forlorn face, she worriedly asked "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

To her surprise, Jiang Cheng didn't put up his normal show of bravado. Instead, he slumped himself on the table in front of them. Yanli's worried gaze shifted from her brother to their surroundings. Seeing that there was no one, she let out a sigh of relief, using a quick silencing and locking talisman. Seeing that, Jiang Cheng blurted out his question.

"Jie, what's it like to fall in love?"

His sister paused imperceptibly, pondering over it for a while before answering. "A-Cheng, I don't know, Everyone falls in love differently. For me, falling in love was the flutter of butterflies in one's stomach as you think about them, the longing and fear of being near them, wanting to do nothing more than to help them, to see them happy. And the realisation that the best version of yourself you can be around and in front of them is yourself."

"Don't get me wrong, Di. some people will love you as you are, the others will not- no matter what you do. And that's okay. Love cannot be forced. Then, you have two options. To stay, or to move on."

Jiang Cheng looked at her raptly. "Then Jie, which one is better?"

Yanli smiled softly. " I can't answer that, either. Sometimes, if you stay, the person will grow to love you. Sometimes, no matter how you try, nothing works, and you get hurt."

Jiang Cheng pressed on. "Then why do people fall in love? Why do they stay?"

" Because sometimes, you'll never know until you try to stay. Sometimes, the idea of 'what if' and 'what could have been' haunts you. So people choose to stay to avoid that feeling. Everyone is different. And to answer your first question: Because love can be the most amazing thing in the world. The joy of having loved someone, and having them love you back- is indescribable. Imagine the best feeling in the world and amplify it by a thousand times. Love can move the heavens and raise hell, purify the darkest of souls and taint the purest of souls. Love can creep onto you, or love can take you by sudden force and thrust you into it. I can't explain it wholly, but I can tell you that it's amazing in its ways. Do you remember the saying?"

Jiang Wanyin, who was listening, enraptured, jerked up at that. "Which one, Jie?" For once, he looked like a kid, like a child he should have been. Letting go of his 'annoyed and annoying' face.

Yanli chuckled and intoned,

" Before time ends, two will entwine in an empty cavern,
a shower of red and black, white and blue will ensue and blossom,
As well as a lifetime of woe and pain, but lastly and mostly joy.
Communion unites, and the romance of heaven and hell commences,
Never easy but always worth it.
For their love fights, endures and supports.
The love that will unite the worlds and shatter the realms,

Forever present, always blossoming."

--------------
A/N: 1070 words!I'm not sure if this counts as long or short, but here it is. Does it seem like my usual writing style? I wrote this about 6 months ago, so some of the style may be different from my current one- the next chapter for this will be the same, but afterwards this story may seem different, since I'll be continuing it with my normal style-

Thank you guys so much for 11K reads! I treasure each and every one of your votes, as well as the time you put in to reading this. In case no one has told you today, you're amazing the way you are, and I'm proud of you.