Bring him home

Questions

Wei Ying fell asleep in Lan Zhan's arms. He had made it to the place he missed most of the world.

Lan Zhan's strong arms.

How he had ached to be held in them. He had spent long years restlessly thinking about Lan Zhan. His eyes, his serious face, the soft smile, the way he called out 'Wei Ying,' his arms.

Lan Zhan did not sleep though, no amount of tiredness could keep him from looking at the glorious boy in his arms. The boy he spent so many years aching too hold. He took in every bit of Wei Ying that he could.

Lan Zhan couldn't help but notice how dark the bags under his eyes were. Or how thin his Wei Ying had become. It hurt his heart to see him like this. Even in the few moments, they had to speak Lan Zhan knew it would be a long recovery process.

Being dead was no easy feat. Lan Zhan stroked Wei Ying's soft hair, it was not as smooth as it had been but still soft.

Wei Ying's eyes opened drowsily, and he took in Lan Zhan staring at him. His face grew into a fragment of a smile.

A ghost of what once was a brilliant smile. A smile that could blind anyone.

Now just a small upturn of the lips.

" It wasn't a dream," Wei Ying said, sounding like he didn't really believe it. Lan Zhan shook his head, looking lovingly to Wei Ying.

" Real," Lan Zhan said. The two sat up slowly, Wei Ying was still getting accustomed to being alive again.

He felt like his footing was not right, and he was prone to fall over at any moment. Luckily for him, Lan Zhan was there to catch every little miss-step. Wei Ying looked shorter; he no longer stood as tall as Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan's head was filled with worry as his love stood. He was no longer the sure Wei Wuxian he always was; instead, he seemed to walk with caution to his step. His typical elegance and air of recklessness was gone replaced with a hollow shell of that man.

" Lan Zhan," Wei Ying said, turning to look at his beloved. 

"Mn," was Lan Zhan's response. He was looking deep into Wei Ying's eyes, hoping the younger would give something away with them.

"Lan Xichen said something odd, he said you..." His sentence staggered off as he looked down, unsure of how to approach the topic.

Lan Zhan wrapped his arms around Wei Ying, trying to will it out of him. Wei Ying's eyes were foggy with tears that were so close to pooling out of his eyes. 

"A-Yaun," he simply said. Lan Zhan nodded a silent confirmation that made Wei Ying's heart skip a beat. He did cry at that, relief that the young boy had not faced death at such a young age. 

That he didn't die because of him.

Wei Ying's shoulders sagged at the thought of all that did give their lives for him.

He wasn't worth it.

Lan Zhan sensed the change in mood, and he gently sat down, pulling Wei Ying onto his lap.

Of course, this is the exact moment that sect leader Lan and Lan Xichen decide to come.

"Hmph." Lan Qiren coughs to let the two youngers acknowledge his existence. Because Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were perfectly content to look into each other's eyes for the rest of eternity. 

They both turn to look.

"Uncle,"

"Sect leader Lan," both boys said at the same time. Lan Xichen raised his eyebrows at the two.

" We trust that you both rested well," Lan Qiren said, deciding to discover the art of small talk. Not something he was known for.

Wei Ying nodded as Lan Zhan responded with his famed "Mn,"

Lan Xichen, however, gets straight to the point, knowing that only a few questions would be answered and probably not wholly truthfully.

He had spent all night pondering why those visions had been the ones to show. Yes, they were all significant in their own way, but why.