Waking up to a solid warmth at his side felt so good. Lan Zhan smiled, feeling Wei Ying stir as sleep left him momentarily and he yawned, reluctantly opening his eyes.
"Sleep. It is early still." He murmured, shifting his arms to hold Wei Ying closer to himself.
Warm lips kissed his neck, making him shiver.
In the cold hours before dawn, he had yet not activated the ability to appear unaffected by the little things his husband did for him, and to him...the little notes of perfection that sang a chorus of love.
There was so much love in that small gesture as Wei Ying settled more comfortably in his arms. Lan Zhan found his lips had automatically kissed Wei Ying’s forehead, spreading the warmth of their affections.
"I guess....I guess...we found....the thing...." Wei Ying was finding it hard to stay awake.
Lan Zhan’s hand was rubbing soft, soothing circles on his back, the rhythm of which was not helping him stay awake.
And then Lan Zhan began humming their song.
A love song that lived in memory, to traverse through different lifetimes, and yet heralded their reunion.
Wei Ying’s eyes fluttered shut, his body relaxing fully to the familiar melody and Lan Zhan too, closed his eyes, at ease with the world now that his beloved was here and in his arms.
********
Later, it was Wei Ying who awoke first.
Under his ear was the steady beating of a wonderful heart, strong and powerful as the man himself, a man who did not rest as much as he should and it is this thought which prevents his movements.
Wei Ying listens to the birdsong outside; a pair of magpies have taken up residence in the Great magnolia tree outside the Jingshi and this morning, they are cackling.
It makes him smile.
He has always harboured a fondness for crows and magpies. At one point in his life, they were the only kind of birds able to survive the strength of the Burial Mounds, and became his only companions when he was learning how to do the same.
Their persistence in the face of adversity gave him courage because teachers could be found anywhere; you just had to look.
Now Wei Ying contemplates their new discovery.
The JingLing is found and it is the item, the price that Xiannu requires to rid Jiang Cheng of his curse...and yet Wei Ying is filled with an unwillingness to part with this latest of children.
For that is what the JingLing reminds him of.
It's innocent wish to make him not be sad any more...
Wei Ying recalls its happy face, delighted that it had done something right, the joy...if it had hands, they would have been clapping by then.
So now, Wei Ying does not want to give it away. It feels like a betrayal of sorts, to give something away as if did not hold any value to him.
And the price was also something he cannot ignore.
His brother has been harbouring a curse, something none of them knew about until his grandmother had identified it. Somehow XiChen had contacted Feng Li Pao and together they had found someone who could help...but surely...surely that wasn't the only way to help Jiang Cheng?
Wei Ying sat up in alarm.
They had been approaching this problem in entirely the wrong way...
In spite of his reluctance to wake Lan Zhan, that's what happened in his excitement. Lan Zhan sat up too, rubbing his back, mostly awake.
Wei Ying thought he was the luckiest man alive to be able to see Lan Zhan like this, unadorned, and concentrated...if it could be called that.
Here in their bed, Lan Zhan was just himself, all of himself, only Lan Zhan and Wei Ying could be just Wei Ying because of him. Though this observation could be stretched to the whole of the Jingshi, Lan Zhan was only wearing his sleeping robes here...nothing else.
Lan Zhan could see that Wei Ying was distracted.
Whatever was going on in his head right now wasn't what had woken him; of that he could be certain.
"Good morning." Lan Zhan said, a smile on his face reserved only for this beauty that was Wei Ying.
"Good morning, my love." Wei Ying leans towards him for a kiss....but he isn't satisfied with just one.
Somehow, Lan Zhan lifts him up so that Wei Ying is more comfortable straddling him, this kiss even deeper and sweeter than the first one.
Lan Zhan’s hand cradles his head, and when they stop kissing, it begins to card through his hair.
There is a question hanging in the air.
But Wei Ying does not want to answer it, not immediately.
His quick mind has already gone through the ramifications of his choices, what will happen if he chooses one way or another.
Now it is just a matter of explaining his reasoning and hoping they will understand, because he knows in his heart of hearts, that he has already made up his mind.
Lan Zhan holds him close, perhaps a part of him always knows what Wei Ying needs because those same needs are inside him too.
The soft sounds of the morning washes over them...and again there is that familiar cackling laughter outside from the Magnolia tree. It breaks the peace of their tranquility and Wei Ying begins to reveal his heart.
As the words pour forth from his lips, they are a true reflection of his soul. His heart has always been bigger than his body, Lan Zhan thinks, bringing his hands up to kiss them softly. He too, has already decided to support Wei Ying, as if there could be any other path for him.
He listens to Wei Ying laying out his plan, half of his attention there, while the other half is jumping up and down in disbelief and joy that he has married this brilliant man, the only star in his galaxy.
When Wei Ying finishes laying out his theory, Lan Zhan smiles reassuringly back.
"We will inform Xiongzhang after breakfast." His words hold a weight that gives Wei Ying hope...hope that their intentions...his intentions will not be taken the wrong way.
And there was only one way to find out.