WC: 760
"Lan Tian! We have to go, Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning found... Oh, that looks nice."
Lan Wangji barged in the door before freezing at the sight before him. Lan Tian sat hunched over a pile of long dark brown hair as they held a sword in their right hand a clump of hair in the other. Lan Tian only quickly met Lan Wangji's gaze before returning to their task at hand.
"Geez I'm not even done yet, give me ten seconds and it'll look better. I promise." Lan Tian made quick sawing motions on their hair as strands fell beneath them.
Lan Wangji nodded his head slowly before turning around. "Um, just follow Wen Ning when you're done. We'll... talk about this later." Lan Tian chuckled before tying their white head band around their head.
After a few seconds of brushing his hair Lan Tian emerged just as Lan Wangji was about to leave. "You're right it looks better." Was all he said in response before the group left.
A smirk crossed Lan Tian's face as they ran a hand through their hair. Their new bangs parted in the middle barely reaching above their eyes. The sides were short and naturally stuck out while the bottom still ran to a little below their collar bones.
"Don't worry I won't go any shorter anytime soon Dad." They chucked at Lan Wangji's concerned glances.
It was only a short walk to reached Guanyin Temple. However, about half way through the trek Fairy came barreling towards Lan Tian. "Fairy? What are you doing here?" Lan Tian reached down to pet the dog as they searched eagerly for their owner.
"Isn't that Jin Ling's dog?" Lan Wangji asked watching the dog carefully.
"Yep." Lan Tian nodded. A sudden realization hit Lan Tian like a brick. If Fairy is here and Jin Ling isn't close behind, where is he? "He did something stupid didn't he." Lan Tian thought out loud as more of a statement than a question. "Fuck, we better speed up."
With a new sense of urgency the group quickly reached the Temple which seemed as calm as ever with not a soul in sight.
"They set up a barrier." Lan Wangji and Lan Tian said in tandem.
Lan Tian could see Lan Wangji throw a glance to Wen Ning towards them. They shook their head clasping their sleeves, "Please don't. Don't make me go. Not now, I can't leave them both in there. Please Dad."
Both of the men stayed silent moving slowly looking anywhere but in Lan Tian's eyes.
"You... you can't do this to me. I'm not a kid anymore, I have people I love now, people I need to protect. I can't let four of the people I love most go in there and possibly die without even having a chance to do... ANYTHING!" Lan Tian's whole body heaved with each gasping breathe. As their face became covered with lines glinting as they slid down their face, their eyes slowly found Lan Wangji's, "You, Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian are five of the only people on this planet I feel like I can truly call my family. When the whole world was against me you all stood by my side, protected me, and loved me like no one else would. How could I face Lan Sizhui if anything happened to any of you. Please don't... don't leave us alone again."
Flashes of Lan Tian and Lan Sizhui growing up flew through Lan Wangji's head. He knew the two hadn't gotten along sometimes but the way they stuck together as children always made him proud. He was so happy in the past few months when the two began to talk again after a year of ignoring each other, it wasn't fair what the two of them went through.
Lan Wangji placed a hand on Lan Tian's cheek to direct their eyes to meet his. "Lan Tian, Ti Ti, you know I love you and Lan Sizhui more than anything else in this world. You two have been through a lot and its not fair how much you will have to overcome in the future. However, you two will be the only two who will ever understand each other, so you must stick together." Lan Wangji nodded at Wen Ning as he circled behind Lan Tian, "Please take care of your brother for me, and tell him I love him and believe in you both, you'll do great things in the future."
With those final words of parting, Lan Tian's vision went black.
And, as if fate, they were left alone... again.