Chapter Text
Through the open windows of the Jingshi, Lan Wangji watched the night sky as he ran his fingers through the damp hair of his beloved husband, asleep in his arms. The osmanthus fragrance of the bath oils mixed with Wei Ying’s natural smokey scent created such an ambrosial combination that Lan Wangji feared his lungs would never again accept a breath that didn’t contain it.
They had been soaking for over half a shichen, his fingertips had turned to prunes, and yet Lan Wangji refused to end the moment. With a pulse of spiritual energy he increased the temperature of the heating talisman, but the warmth of the water couldn’t compare to the precious heat of Wei Ying’s skin against his own.
Wei Ying’s head rested on his chest, the top of it accessible to Lan Wangji’s lips, so he pressed a kiss there, just because he could. Wei Ying didn’t stir, so he pressed another kiss, then another one, and another. He lost track of how many kisses he had left, there was always room for more.
His hand traveled from the well-oiled hair strands, to the soft shoulder, and then it dipped into the water to follow the path of Wei Ying’s arm, all the way until it settled on his wrist. He pressed his fingers just enough to feel the flow of the resting core and the slow, constant pulse in his veins.
The sky outside their home was the darkest ocean blue, the stars blurred as his mind sailed adrift. The silver moonlight guided his thoughts towards the embrace of his mother’s memory.
Mother, have you seen? Your son found happiness.
In the serenity of the Jingshi, Lan Wangji’s eyes closed, he focused on the sound of his husband’s steady breathing and the heartbeat under his fingertips. Not quite asleep, not quite awake. He allowed himself to just be.
Some time later, movement against his chest pulled him back to awareness.
“Mm... Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying’s voice was heavy with sleep, he didn’t sit up, but he turned his face enough to kiss the chest that had served him as a pillow. “How long did I sleep for?”
Lan Wangji glanced at the sky, the moon had moved a considerable amount. An entire shichen had passed with them in the bath.
Instead of answering, he used his hand to guide Wei Ying’s face closer to him and joined their lips. The kiss was chaste, just the soft press of each other, but he enjoyed it for as long as he could. When they separated, he moved to trail more kisses from the corner of Wei Ying’s mouth all the way to his temple. Wei Ying welcomed the affection with a giggle, he turned completely to sneak his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck and straddled him under the water.
“Er-gege, why didn’t you wake me up?” Wei Ying spoke in that soft intimate tone he only used with Lan Zhan.
“You looked comfortable.”
“Ah I was!” Wei Ying huffed. “But if I hadn’t woken up, would you have stayed here stewing in the bath until the sun came up? Just because I looked comfortable?”
No, Wei Ying’s back would have hurt in the morning, but his heart was light and airy, it slipped a different truth past his lips. “I was comfortable too.”
Wei Ying’s smile was brighter than the moonlight that seeped through the window. He pressed a quick peck to Lan Wangji’s lips, stood up, and offered his hand.
“Come on Lan Zhan, we can be comfortable on our bed too.”
Lan Wangji obeyed, where they went didn’t matter, he just wanted to hold Wei Ying again.
Outside the tub, they dried each other with a towel, but when Lan Wangji turned to pass Wei Ying his sleeping robe, his husband had already made it to their bed. He laid completely naked, face down on the silk sheets.
“Wei Ying, your robe,” Lan Wangji tied his own robe before walking towards the bed.
“I’m still half asleep, Lan Zhan, you put it on me,” his voice was muffled by the pillow he was burying his face into.
“Sit up,” Lan Wangji nudged his calf, but Wei Ying shook his head in response.
A smile almost pulled at Lan Wangji’s lips, clearly, his husband was trying to rouse Lan Zhan into coddling him. It was a good thing, then, that Lan Wangji was feeling playful.
He climbed on the bed on his knees, reached for Wei Ying’s naked ankle, and pulled. Wei Ying let out a muffled squeal when he got dragged away from the pillow. He tried to free his leg, but Lan Wangji’s hold was firm, his other leg flew to kick back but it was quickly caught and pushed down into the mattress right next to the other one.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying squawked, he twisted his body to look at Lan Wangji, but the hold on his ankles was unyielding and allowed no movement past the hips. He turned his torso enough to look at Lan Wangji with a devilish smirk. “Who would have thought the great Hanguang-Jun would manhandle this poor wife?”
“Put on your robe.”
“I don’t want to,” he huffed with an exaggerated pout. Lan Wangji pulled both legs a second time and Wei Ying fell face down on the sheets, but instead of twisting to look at him like before, he began pulling and kicking, flopping around like a fish out of water, trying to free his legs. “Let me go! Let me go so I can manhandle you too Lan Zhan!”
With each kick and pull, Lan Wangji responded with another grab and another yank. Wei Ying managed to free himself two times, but Lan Wangji promptly regained his balance and pressed him back down. Between Wei Ying’s giggles and fake cries for help; and Lan Zhan’s occasional huff of laughter, their roughhousing left them panting and giddy. In the end, Wei Ying was once again pressed face down, blindly trying to reach back to the man who had moved to straddle his legs. Lan Zhan’s bodyweight pinned him to the bed.
“Yield.” Lan Wangji said as he pressed a hand to Wei Ying’s lower back.
“Ha! Who do you take me for er-gege?” Wei Ying smirked over his shoulder, he was out of breath and a bead of sweat decorated his hairline. “You can throw me around all night if you want, but I won’t yield!”
At that point, the matter of the sleeping robe was insignificant, Lan Wangji was focused on the challenge. He needed a winning move. His eyes roamed Wei Ying’s back, from his shoulder blades to the dimples right below the hand holding him down against the bed, and further down, to the smooth roundness of his bottom.
“Like what you see, dear husband?” Wei Ying did his best effort to wiggle his hips, none the wiser to the plan brewing in that husband’s mind.
“I do,” Lan Wangji said, right before bending down all the way and taking Wei Ying’s right cheek between his teeth. A quick nip of the supple flesh, with just enough force to leave a faint imprint.
“Ah! I yield! I yield!” Wei Ying almost jumped in his hold. “You beast! You bit my ass!”
Feeling triumphant, Lan Wangji relinquished his hold and moved to his side of the bed, reaching for the silk sheet that had been kicked to the floor in their brawl. After laying down, he opened his arms to a still blabbering Wei Ying, who easily took the invitation and settled against his chest, nuzzling up against Lan Wangji’s neck.
“Lan Zhan, you cheated.”
“No.”
“You bit my ass cheek!”
“Mn.”
“How is that not cheating?!” He accentuated the question with a light smack to Lan Zhan’s abdomen.
“You yielded,” he grabbed Wei Ying’s hand and brought it to his lips to press a placating kiss on the knuckles.
“I won’t yield next time!”
“Next time. Now sleep.”
Under the covers, their legs intertwined and their arms wrapped around each other. Lan Wangji adjusted the sheet over their bodies to properly cover Wei Yin’s still naked shoulders, he pressed a kiss on the top of his head, and in response, Wei Ying kissed his neck.
“See you tomorrow, Wei Ying.”
“See you tomorrow, Lan Zhan.”
Later, when the silver moonlight fades into dawn, Lan Wangji will find happiness wrapped in his arms once more.