Lan WangJi watched as his nemesis was carried off the battlefield towards the Healers' tents. Wei Ying's 'Can I sleep now?' bothered him deeply. It didn't sound as if he had meant sleep. It sounded as if he had meant a more permanent version of sleep.... On good days, he and Wei Ying would merely quarrel about using yin energy, about wine. On bad days? They fought. Wei Ying was loudly adamant that he was in control, that he knew what he was doing, to stop treating him like a child.... Does he mean to die now? Is that the price he thinks he had to pay to use the yin energy? Lan WangJi twisted his dirty skirts almost straight. You're not going to die. I will bring you back to the proper path.
He didn't really understand Wei WuXian. Never had. So loud and cluttered. Messy. Completely unaware that there was this invisible circle that surrounded everyone, and no one was allowed inside without an explicit invitation. Or, if he was aware of it, he acted as if he had been invited in a long time ago.
It was infuriating.
He had little self-discipline. And what little discipline he had, he made sure was full of laughter and movement. No sense of stillness and peace.
It was infuriating.
What was even more infuriating was... when Wei Ying was gone from Cloud Recesses: his invisible circle was never breached again. There was no more laughter. Nothing to disturb his peace. And he'd dream....
Horrid dreams where he'd shut Wei Ying's laughing mouth up by kissing him. Kissing him? How can I dream of kissing someone when I have never kissed anyone before? How would I know what it feels like... tastes like... to suck on his tongue? How can I feel... hot and wet when I dream of shoving my cock in his mouth? What kind of monster am I for dreaming about raping him? The dream memories of seeing Wei Ying's backside red and swollen and seeping blood and semen should have been enough to send him into secluded meditation for months. Instead... It made him want to shove his cock into Wei Ying's tender hole even more.... To see if Wei Ying would be just as aroused by it in real life as he'd been in the dream.
The healer was still holding Wei WuXian's wrist when Lan WangJi strode into the tent. "Jiang Guniang, Jiang Gongzi... Wei Gongzi's meridians are highly unstable. His Core is not responding to my touch. I fear the use of the yin energy has done immense harm to his spiritual pathways.... My first priority is to let him rest and heal as much as he can over the next few days. Then we can start to work on getting him back to a healthy weight before I would suggest he even attempt to start meditation sessions. Let the physical body heal first and the spiritual body will heal as well."
"But... Xu Daifu... Shouldn't we heal his spiritual pathways first? So his Core can aid in healing his body?"
The healer stroked his long beard. "Normally, I would agree, Jiang Guniang. However, the body is... troubled. It is clear Wei Gongzi has not been eating properly, and his liver is rotting with liquor. If he doesn't fix those first, whether or not he has clean spiritual pathways will be irrelevant. To be perfectly honest? He's going to die from liquor poisoning long before he dies from yin energy attacking his Core."
"Let me take him to Gusu," Lan WangJi found himself begging.
Jiang WanYin puffed his chest out and stared daggers at the jade. "Gusu? You've been yelling at him to go with you to Gusu since the night we killed Wen Chao. He doesn't want to go. I think he's made himself very clear on the matter."
"A'Cheng..." Jiang YanLi laid a hand on her brother's arm. "This is different. The war is over, now."
"Of course it's different! We need him in Lotus Pier! I need him. We will have new disciples to train. Almost the whole place will need to be rebuilt. I can't have my right hand gallivanting off in Gusu when I need him with me."
"Wei Ying won't recover like that." More words tripped over themselves, tangled up with each other on their way out of his closed mouth. If you take him home... He's just going to keep drinking himself to sleep every night. He needs the peace I can give him in my home. That was a slightly unsettling thought. He'd meant 'home' as in 'Cloud Recesses' but the image sparking in his brain was of Wei Ying living in the Jingshi.
Sleeping in his bed.
Naked. Moonlight whitening the skin on his back. A narrow Lan Sect ribbon tied loosely around one wrist, marks on the other wrist indicating they'd both been restrained. Blankets tangled around his knees and calves. He hoped his arousal wasn't showing through his clothing or on his face.
"Cloud Recesses is peaceful. The Cold Springs are designed to heal the body and decrease damages to the meridians. Our food is designed to be nourishing. No wine."
Jiang WanYin scoffed. "Nourishing? Tasteless more like. Wei WuXian hated that food."
"Can bring chili oil and spices," Lan WangJi conceded. "Can go to Caiyi or Gusu for meat dishes once he's feeling better." The idea of Wei Ying eating a dish covered in chili oil sent a rush of... something... across his body. The absolutely terrifying thought of kissing him, licking the red spice from his red lips.... Titillating. Pain and pleasure together? What is wrong with me that I want to try it?
"Please," Jiang YanLi interrupted his thoughts. "Please take him to Gusu with you and help him heal." She gave a sharp look at her brother. "It is more important that he be healthy when he returns home than that he returns home immediately."
Xu Daifu agreed. "Lan ErGongzi.... Your clan has healing songs, correct? Please play for him for a few hours each day. When he wakes and is coherent for more than a few minutes, you can take him to Gusu for further healing."
~*~
He had Wei WuXian ensconced in what had been an outer disciple's house: Weifengshi. That disciple had perished in the early part of the war, and had no family to take it. It had the added benefit of being away from other houses in case Wei Ying started screaming with his nightmares. "A whole house to myself?" Wei WuXian wasn't smiling as he explored the dust covered space. "Even as a guest disciple, I wasn't given a whole house to myself."
"Cleaners will come later today." Lan WangJi swallowed around the words jumbling in his mouth. Can I stay with you? It will be easier for me to take care of you if I'm here. Please say no. It's difficult enough to want you from a distance. If I were allowed to be with you all the time? "A tailor will come tomorrow to fit you for robes more befitting your status here."
"Gotta clean the jail cell, huh?" Wei Ying sounded hurt. "I didn't realize prisoners were so well treated here."
"Not a jail cell." I would never force you to stay here against your will. I...just want you to heal. With me. Stay with me. Stay forever. "Not a prisoner."
Wei Ying grinned. It didn't reach his eyes. "Of course you have to say that." He took another turn around the room. "ShiJie wouldn't stand for it. So Jiang Cheng wouldn't stand for it. The YunmengJiang's Head Disciple imprisoned by the GusuLan for his heretical cultivation? What utter nonsense! GusuLan has no authority over YunmengJiang!" He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Except when a YunmengJiang disciple turns out to be a demonic cultivator who needs to be put down. Much easier to send him away and let memories of him fade before quietly executing him."
"Not a prisoner. No execution. Just healing." Lan WangJi took out a jade token from his lapel and placed it carefully on a table. "Wei Ying can enter and exit Cloud Recesses as he pleases. Your mail will not be read. Please don't bring meat or alcohol here."
"No wine? I don't have any money to buy it anyways."
From the same lapel pocket, Lan WangJi took out a money purse and placed it next to the token. "This was taken from your tent before it was packed up. If you need more, just ask." If you need me, just ask. I will come to quell your nightmares. I will help you meditate. I will sit in the Cold Pond with you. Practice swordsmanship or archery with you. I will play music with you. Ask me for anything... and I will probably give it to you.
Why? Wei WuXian! Why do you invade my soul like this? The urge to push Wei WuXian up against the nearest wall and kiss him until they couldn't breath was nearly overpowering. I want.... I want to feel what it's like to be pressed against you. I want to know what you taste like. I want to know if you'll surrender to me or try to fight me off. Or if you'll fight to get closer to me.
Why? Why do I want this? It makes no sense!
Dear readers.
Hi! No, I'm not abandoning my other stories. This one has taken over my mind, so.... Gotta post it as there are over 26k words sitting in my google docs already.
Did you check out the cover of the book? Gorgeous isn't it? I took that picture last fall. It's a lake in the Olympic National Park. The water was so still.... A perfect mirror. When I was debating what kind of cover to make, I thought, 'I can totally see WY and LZ meditating there'.
And doing other things there. *cough*.
Thank you for reading, commenting, voting. It means a lot.
- Aitch.