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Even if the Jade Emperor’s council hadn’t been on winter recess, nothing would’ve kept Lan Wangji from his Wei Ying.
They’d spent uncountable moments together since the three-month winter break began (though, Lan Wangji had definitely counted every precious day he got to spend with his beloved), but today was different.
Wei Wuxian was hunched over his biggest workbench in the middle of his workshop. Papers lay strewn about, held down or marked by random raw materials like rocks, twigs, jars of water, and more. Ink cut bold lines across the pages, detailing what Wei Ying had attempted to describe was an enhanced portable protection array.
The Jade Emperor would never cease to be amazed by his Oracle. Visions and unique cultivation skill aside, Wei Ying was truly a practical genius. Lan Wangji could memorize things quickly, write, and learn facts with startling speed, but Wei Ying had a truly innovative mind.
Lan Wangji watched from his desk in the corner. Out of the way, but still within sight of most of the room if Wei Ying needed to bounce ideas off someone.
When the workshop had first been built and Lan Wangji included a small desk for himself, it almost sent Lan Qiren into qi deviation. The Jade Emperor working on official business in the shop of a servant’s son? Shameless, inappropriate, impossible.
Lan Wangji simply reminded Lan Qiren, he hadn’t been asking. Simply informing his uncle where he might be found on slow days, or during recess.
“Lan Zhaaaaan,” Wei Ying whined, and the Emperor looked up from his correspondence to meet his beloved’s liquid silver eyes. Dark hair wreaked riot around his face, part of it barely held back by a struggling red ribbon. Charcoal work clothes wrapped around his body, gaping at the neck from Wei Ying yanking at it to keep the fabric out of the way of any experiments. Ink and soot covered spattered his body, including a charming streak across his cheekbone.
“Wei Ying,” he said, returning to himself, basking in Wei Ying’s presence and his own undying affection for his Oracle.
“Hanguang-Jun looks so serene and jade-like. How does His Excellency manage to work all day and still look so perfect?” Wei Ying complained, slightly pouting. Lan Wangji felt the irrational urge to leave the room to compose himself. Or squeeze Wei Ying with all his strength for the rest of the day. Or outlaw pouting, except when permission was explicitly granted by the Emperor.
He did none of those.
“I have been sitting. Writing correspondence,” Lan Wangji said, even though he knew Wei Ying didn’t want a real answer. “Wei Ying has been active.”
Wei Ying’s bottom lip stuck out even further. Lan Wangji thought he might need to visit the infirmary due to the overwhelming flood of love he felt for the other man.
“My hair is in the way,” Wei Ying said, finally getting to the point of his statements. But Lan Wangji never minded his wandering way of conversing - not as long as Wei Ying was speaking to him.
Lan Wangji put down his calligraphy pen and unrolled his precisely pleated sleeves. He took the small box from the edge of his desk and went to Wei Ying. “Would the esteemed Oracle like some assistance?”
Wei Ying nodded, pout immediately transforming into an incandescent smile. Lan Wangji wondered if Wei Ying truly understood that the Jade Emperor would do anything for him - no paltry, pouting manipulations necessary.
It would’ve been the right thing to tell him. But Lan Wangji couldn’t sacrifice the vision of his beloved sticking out his bottom lip, silver eyes wide and liquid, trying to convince the Emperor to do something for him.
Lan Wangji would seek punishment later. Concealing the truth from one beloved was forbidden. But for now, he led Wei Ying to a chair and stood behind him.
“What’s the box?” Wei Ying asked.
Lan Wangji untied the other man’s red ribbon and gently finger-combed his night-black hair. They both knew Wei Ying had a hairbrush just a room away. Neither of them said anything.
“Tools,” Lan Wangji answered, making quick work of the knots in Wei Ying’s hair. Due to practice, diligence, and patience, the hair was silky smooth again in record time.
“How mysterious, Lan Zhan.”
“Does Wei Ying have a preference to style?”
Wei Ying tilted his head, finger tapping on his chin. “Hmm… Not today. Lan Zhan always knows best, anyway. My imagination for hair pales in comparison to His Excellency.”
The tips of Lan Wangji’s ears burned. “Do not tease.”
The Emperor could hear the smile in Wei Ying’s voice when he said, “I would never.”
Lan Wangji let that go - knowing when to choose his battles with his beloved - and began styling Wei Ying’s hair.
Utility. Functionality. But Lan Wangji would never be able to do anything to his Wei Ying that didn’t also enhance his beauty.
It didn’t take long for the rhythmic pull of Lan Wangji’s hands to have Wei Ying’s head lolling back. “Lan Zhan,” he moaned, and the Jade Emperor had to remember years of self-discipline - the Lan headband pressing into his forehead - to maintain control. “That feels so good.”
“Hmm.”
Lan Wangji split Wei Ying’s hair down the middle and braided both lengths from the nape of his neck, tying them off with thin leather strips he kept on his person whenever he spent the day with Wei Ying.
He crossed the braids in the back, then wrapped them around Wei Ying’s head to cross in the front, laying flush against his skull and tucking the visible ties under the thick braid, allowing only his bangs to flop down. Holding the hair with one hand, Lan Wangji gently opened the box and extricated several brilliant jade hair pins, fixing them to the lengths of hair until the whole thing resembled a crown of emerald green.
Lan Wangji was done, but his hands simply fell to massage Wei Ying’s neck and shoulders. “Finished.”
Wei Ying moaned at the Emperor’s large, warm hands working out the kinks of hours of work. Again - Lan Wangji had to firmly reign in his control. He was never as lost as he felt with Wei Ying. And yet, a small part of him never wanted to be found.
“How do I look, Hanguang-Jun?” Wei Ying asked, his head fully laying against Lan Wangji’s stomach, eyes closed so his sooty lashes kissed the delicate skin under his eyes. Lan Wangji wanted his lips to join them.
These precious moments were why he would give up almost anything for even a scrap of extra time with his beloved.
“Mn. Beautiful.” Lan Wangji gently stroked a braid, following the flow of the hair to avoid snagging. “Like the sun has deigned to spare a moment for his humble servant.”
Red flooded Wei Ying’s cheeks, and his silver eyes snapped open. But he didn’t move. “Lan Zhan! You have to warn my poor heart! It will give out if you say things like that.”
“Mn.” Lan Wangji’s hand moved to Wei Ying’s cheek, gently thumbing away the smudge of… Whatever it was on his cheek. He reveled in the soft skin under his fingertips, warm and alive. “Cannot stop. Wei Ying simply must learn to endure.”
The blush migrated from Wei Ying’s cheeks to his whole face, clearly remembering the last time Lan Wangji had told him to endure. Tied to the bed, writhing and withering and suffering beautifully.
Wei Ying puffed out his cheeks and exhaled, finally getting up and inspecting his reflection in a pocket mirror on his work desk.
“Lan Zhan!”
“This humble servant can try again if Wei Wuxian is not satisfied.”
Wei Ying jerked around and glared, but it was obvious he didn’t mean it. “These are Imperial jade pins. I don’t know anything about jewels, but even I can recognize them!”
“Mn.”
“This is mined for exclusive use by the Imperial Family! By your family!”
“Mn.”
“And they’ve just been sitting in a box on your desk, waiting for me to convince you to fix my hair! Why give these to me?”
Lan Wangji simply stared. Gold and silver energy crackled between them, the atmosphere going from playful to intense in an instant.
Could Wei Ying still not see? Even after everything they’d done together since he came to Cloud Recesses? Lan Wangji blinked slowly, conceding this little battle in the long war for Wei Ying’s heart. “Figure it out.”
No amount of wheedling or begging or demanding would get Lan Wangji to respond once he sat back at his desk and returned to work. Eventually - after almost half an hour - Wei Ying gave up and returned to his inventions.
Every so often, Wei Ying would gently stroke one of the jade pins, muttering to himself.
Lan Wangji hid a smile.
Visions were hard on Wei Ying.
There hadn’t been an Oracle in centuries, but they were well-documented. Side effects of such a unique, intense ability included, but were not limited to, head and body aches, fevers, vomiting, severe mood variations, and bouts of depression.
So, it wasn’t necessarily the visions that were hard on him, though they could be. But sometimes, apropo of nothing, Wei Ying would be overcome by darkness. Be it mental or physical, they were equally as hard on the vibrant, lively, energetic young man.
As the afternoon wore on, Lan Wangji’s hairstyle lasting even through a few of Wei Ying’s head scratches, the Emperor noticed a cloud beginning to gather around his beloved.
It was in the hunch of Wei Ying’s shoulders, the frustrated huffs, loudly banging around and treating his tools and materials with more violence than the respect he usually reserved.
It was also in the air, a tension and feeling almost visible to the Jade Emperor, like shadows blanketing Wei Ying.
But Wei Ying never reacted well when Lan Wangji said he should end things before he was ready. So, the Jade Emperor had gotten creative.
He made a show of slowly stretching out his neck, then putting his tools away.
“Done for the day?” Wei Ying asked from across the room. Lan Wangji could hear the tension in his voice.
“Mn,” the Emperor replied. The day had been long, and he’d accomplished much. He could keep going for several more hours, but the shadows were getting long outside and inside. And Lan Wangji would do anything for his Wei Ying. “It has been a satisfying day.”
Wei Ying huffed. “I just… I can’t figure out a part of the array. I want to weave in stealth talismans, but they can;t interfere with the subject’s activities and don’t want to play with the love and temperature control talismans and I don’t want to sacrifice anything - ”
Lan Wangji went to Wei Ying’s side and stood behind him, gently rubbing up and down his arms, braced and straining against the work table. “Perhaps Wei Ying can talk to me. It has helped before.”
“Oh, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying sighed, pivoting from leaning against the table to Lan Wangji’s chest. The Emperor gratefully welcomed the weight, adjusting his hold without a hitch in the soothing movements of his hands. “A few of the lines intersect and make a talisman to attract evil, which is useful but not in this case - ”
Lan Wangji slowly put an arm around Wei Ying and led him through the main room of the Huashi, then into the washroom.
Such a room devoted entirely to bathing and pampering was a true luxury, but Lan Wangji spared no expense for his beloved. The room was made of stone, the floor darker than the walls, to impede any mold or spore growth from steam. A mirror and vanity dominated the back wall, while a massive jade tub sat on the other end with a view out the huge window. It was warded, of course, to be transparent only from the inside.
Wei Ying spoke rapidly through the walk, getting increasingly frustrated and angry. As usual with most of his dark thoughts, they were focused internally. Wei Ying wasn’t smart enough, he couldn’t figure it out, he was too dumb to see the solution. Lan Wangji hated Wei Ying being so unkind to himself.
The frustrated man hadn’t questioned their new location, so the Emperor gently sat him on the vanity chair before turning his attention to the tub.
A few talismans later, water sat hot and waiting. Steam curled off it like a painting, the backdrop of snowy bamboo forest adding serenity to the scene.
“Are you bathing here, Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying finally asked. “If so, I’ll return to the workshop. I need to get this right - ”
“Wei Ying should rest his mind.”
“This array is important!”
“Wei Ying is more important.”
“It’s for you, Lan Zhan!”
Quiet followed, broken only by Wei Ying’s harsh breathing at his unexpected shriek.
Lan Wangji smothered the overwhelming affection surging in his heart that Wei Ying was working this hard for him. In his speech - Lan Wangji listened, even when he seemed otherwise occupied - he’d said the array was meant to be sewn inside a cloak to protect the wearer. It was painstaking and draining, and needed to be perfect to attune to one singular person, and accomplish everything Wei Ying wanted.
“Wei Ying is working hard, and will figure it out in time. After rest,” Lan Wangji said. True, he was in danger as Emperor. But he was also one of the strongest cultivators of his generation. Stronger, even, than many older than him. “This humble servant can wait.”
In an instant, Wei Ying went from flushed with anger to surprise, red chasing from his cheeks down his neck. “Lan Zhan! And you call me shameless! Just let Old Man Qiren hear the great Jade Emperor calling himself my servant - ”
“Happily,” Lan Wangji said, returning to Wei Ying and standing him up. “Shall I call for him? Anything for Wei Ying.”
The flush deepened. “Aish, Lan Zhan. Why can’t you be flustered like when we were kids, and I was the bold one?”
Lan Wangji wasn’t sure what to say, so he gently rested his hands on the collar of Wei Ying’s hanfu, rubbing the tension in his neck and shoulders. “Wei Ying is working very hard. A bath would surely soothe his mind and spirit.”
Wei Ying’s eyes had slid closed at the soothing ministrations, but cracked to peer suspiciously at Lan Wangji, gleaming like veins of silver, hidden deep underground. “Lan Zhan,” he admonished. “Has this been your plan all along? I was working.”
One of Lan Wangji’s hands slid around Wei Ying’s neck, pushing on the vertebrae. Wei Ying sighed, eyes reluctantly closing again. “Wei Ying,” he said, trying to infuse the depth of his feelings. If Wei Ying kept working, he would only fall deeper into his black mood. And Wei Ying, in that state, was always more a danger to himself than others. “A rested mind is a productive mind.”
Wei Ying scowled, but it was more playful than angry. “Don’t quote your Gusu Lan rules to me.”
Lan Wangji decided not to remind Wei Ying that, since he lived in Cloud Recesses, the rules of Gusu Lan did, in fact, apply to him.
Wei Ying would be Wei Ying, and Lan Wangji wouldn’t have him any other way.
“Not a rule,” Lan Wangji corrected, still massaging Wei Ying’s neck. “Advice from the industrious servant of a hard-working Oracle.”
“Lan Zhan.” Wei Ying still blushed, but fainter. He was getting used to this vein of teasing. Good, Lan Wangji thought. The sooner he accepted the teasing, the sooner Wei Ying would accept it as truth.
This Emperor would, without order, action, or look, happily kneel at the feet of his Oracle.
“Bath,” Lan Wangji said, not quite a question, his other hand now lightly stroking Wei Ying’s face in a soft lymphatic massage. It wasn’t hard enough to truly get the benefits, but it was soothing and Wei Ying’s stubbornness was slowly crumbling under his hands.
“Hmm,” Wei Ying groaned, pouting again. Lan Wangji fought the urge to lean over and kiss the pout away, settling for running his thumb just under the protruding lip.
“Hmm,” Lan Wangji agreed, gently but insistently getting Wei Ying to his feet and undressing him.
They weren’t together, in any official capacity. Though they were lovers, no one would count that as any kind of claim. Wei Ying was an Oracle, and the Jade Emperor sometimes needed to prompt visions instead of waiting on them.
Everyone in Cloud Recesses had learned very quickly not to say such things in His Excellency’s presence.
The Imperial Family knew better, though his uncle would rather pretend otherwise. A Lan only loved once. And Lan Wangji had belonged to Wei Ying since they met.
Lan Wangji untied Wei Ying’s robes, using the practiced movements to calm his mind. Should Wei Ying accept, they would truly belong to each other one day. The Jade Emperor had a plan. But it would take time.
Disrobing his beloved shouldn’t calm Lan Wangji, but the situation was far from titillating. He would always be attracted to Wei Ying, of course. But right now, Wei Ying needed something else from him. And though it would inevitably come, Lan Wangji would do everything in his power to delay the day he couldn’t give Wei Ying what he needed.
Once Wei Ying was bare, Lan Wangji quickly folded his robes on the stool and swept his beloved into his arms with only the quiet, token protest of “Lan Zhan.” Wei Ying was even more drained than the Emperor had suspected.
Lan Wangji slowly laid Wei Ying in the bath, and only once he was settled did Lan Wangji quickly assemble the necessary bathing materials and sit at the stool behind Wei Ying’s head.
Lan Wangji made quick work of the jade pins and hair ties, undoing Wei Ying’s hairstyle and relishing every heavy length of hair that pooled over his careful hands, hot from long hours pinned to the heat of Wei Ying’s head. The hair ornaments were returned to their box, tucked into Lan Wangji’s robes. He couldn’t resist putting his hands through Wei Ying’s hair, tenderly scratching his Oracle’s scalp and sending goosebumps all over his skin.
Lan Wangji shivered at the reaction, heat pooling between his hips at it and accompanying gasp. “Will His Excellency bathe this humble Oracle?”
Lan Wangji removed his hands, took a deep breath, and lathered hair soap between his hands. “Mn.”
“Lan Zhan, I was kidding!”
“This humble servant was not.” He plunged his hands into Wei Ying’s thick hair, gently but insistently scrubbing his scalp in small parallel lines. Circles tangled, and if he was too rough, the rigorous movement broke the more delicate hair strands that framed the face. They hadn’t done this often, as Wei Ying wouldn’t allow it if he had an ounce of fight in him. But Lan Zhan had allowed his own servants to care for him more and more since he’d begun building the Huashi in anticipation of Wei Ying’s hopeful arrival. The better to learn how to care for his beloved, if he would be permitted.
Under his hands, Wei Ying melted. He went entirely boneless in the bath, only held up by Lan Wangji’s diligent hands and his own arms propped over the sides of the tub.
Thankfully, Wei Ying took pity on the poor Jade Emperor when he was tired enough and allowed himself to be pampered. There was a specific kind of deep, hot, peaceful satisfaction Lan Wangji got from caring for Wei Ying. It was so all-encompassing and powerful, the first few times Lan Wangji felt it, he thought he was about to be sick.
And he supposed he was.
Lovesick.
Lan Wangji rejected his own horribly, cheesy, ridiculous pun. How unbecoming of an Emperor.
One glance from Wei Ying’s scalp to his face - eyes closed and mouth slightly open - reminded Lan Wangji, he would do a million more things worse than making a ridiculously shameful comment for his beloved. His Sun. The center of his universe.
Then, Wei Ying moaned. Long. Low. Obscene.
“Shameless,” Lan Wangji murmured, unable to stop his tone from being painfully gentle as not to shatter the soft aura encompassing them.
“Your hands are magic,” Wei Ying breathed, his eyes slitting open to gaze at Lan Wangji’s face in abject wonder. “Is this a new cultivation technique? You could slay every monster just from making them feel this good. Then again, you’d have to do this to them instead of me. I changed my mind. This is only for me, even if it is a new type of cultivation. Your Oracle is selfish, Lan Zhan - ”
“Only for you,” Lan Wangji reassured, pouncing on any opportunity to show Wei Ying his faithfulness and love. Even if Wei Ying was the most oblivious person he’d ever met. Lan Wangji would wait, however long it took.
Normally, Wei Ying would protest. But his eyes slipped shut as he succumbed to the spell of being taken care of. “Hmm, good. Lan Zhan only for me.”
Lan Wangji’s heart lurched.
Patience. He couldn’t scare Wei Ying away. One day, he would see Lan Wangji’s feelings and make a decision on what he wanted from the Emperor. Until then, Lan Wangji would just do his best to love Wei Ying as he deserved.
Lan Wangji carried on, conditioning Wei Ying’s hair and scenting it with his own personal vial of sandalwood oil. Lan teachings warned against pettiness or possessiveness, but the Emperor would seek punishment later. Nothing would stop the satisfaction of Wei Ying smelling clearly of Hanguang-Jun until he washed his hair again.
Irrational. Primal. Shameless. But Lan Wangji applied the oil anyway.
By the time Lan Wangji finished Wei Ying’s hair, the Oracle was asleep. Lan Wangji made sure to prop Wei Ying’s head on a cushion affixed to the side of the bath, which would provide enough friction to keep him above water while Lan Wangji quickly but thoroughly washed his body. He monitored Wei Ying’s head, making sure it didn’t slip, until he was done.
Lan Wangji quickly drained the water and toweled off the lightly-dozing Wei Ying while he was still in the tub, also summoning a quick gust of hot wind to dry his hair. Lan Wangji braided Wei Ying’s silky, fragrant strands into a single, thick braid and tied it off. One, because it would prevent tangles, as his beloved was wont to toss and turn in his sleep. Two, because Lan Wangji would take any excuse to touch his Wei Ying.
Lan Wangji carried Wei Ying from the tub to his bed, dressing the dozing man in a night robe before tucking him under the blankets. The sun had just set, barely seven hours past noon, but Wei Ying had a long day. And his black moods always drained him.
The Emperor was content to leave, take his dinner in his rooms - perhaps visit his brother - then sleep himself. The sooner tomorrow came, the sooner he would see Wei Ying again.
A tug at his sleeve anchored him when he would walk away from the bed.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying murmured, surprisingly strong fingers latched onto his white sleeve. “Stay?”
He shouldn’t. It was improper, and he didn’t want to tarnish the reputation of his beloved. Many would argue the Oracle was already tarnished, little better than a whore useful for more than one thing. Lan Wangji would gladly relieve those saying such things of their tongues. Oracles had always occupied an odd space, both revered and reviled. Lan Wangji was certain anyone who had anything bad to say was just jealous.
Outside their visionary visits, Lan Wangji wanted Wei Ying to maintain as much dignity and reputation as possible.
But Wei Ying was pouting, his bottom lip just slightly jutted out, and his grip refused to loosen.
Powerless against his beloved, Lan Wangji sat on the edge of the bed, back straight to remind him of his discipline, and said, “Mn.”
But Wei Ying didn’t relinquish his sleeve, and his pout grew. “Closer.”
Lan Wangji moved closer to his head.
Wei Ying pulled harder, scooting back to make space and lifting the covers with his free hand. “Closer.”
Resigned to his fate, Lan Wangji slowly joined Wei Ying under the covers. But, he sat against the headboard, refusing to lay down. He moved his hair - thinner and more manageable than Wei Ying’s, but still very long - over his shoulder to prevent snagging on the wall. The tails of his forehead ribbon joined the black strands, longer even than them.
Wei Ying immediately plastered himself to Lan Wangji’s side, head nestled in his lap. Lan Wangji took a deep breath and controlled the flow of his qi, diverting it from… Inappropriate places.
“Headache,” Wei Ying murmured. Lan Wangji began petting his hair, from scalp to ends, and Wei Ying sighed happily.
Unconsciously, on the edge of sleep, Wei Ying’s hand inched up Lan Wangji’s thigh and his fingers absently tangled with the tails of the Emperor’s forehead ribbon. Within an instant, he was asleep.
Lan Wangji stayed perfectly still, embodying his title as Jade Emperor except the rise and fall of his chest, and the rhythmic movement of his hand on Wei Ying’s hair.
Inside, he was happily drowning in a typhoon of love.