[♪♫♬]

[one_note]

[after Yi City and the second time Wei Wuxian gets Lan Wangji drunk, it takes about a day for them to reach the Garden of Annual blossoms. this curious incident takes place in the space of that day.

outside of appeasing the corpse pieces they've been collecting each night, it's not uncommon for Lan Wangji to take the time to practice on the guqin. he doesn't play entire songs, since he's not trying to interact with any spirits at the moment, but safely broken-up sections of Inquiry and Empathy (was Empathy always a musical technique? it is in this timeline, shut up) and the other songs he uses for battle hum through the walls of the rest stop they've paused at on the road.

it's partway through a passage of Empathy that there's a notable shriek of strings, and then silence; when Wei Wuxian goes to check, he'll find Lan Wangji half-collapsed over the instrument, his breathing harsh and a strange fluctuation of energy around him.

a qi deviation...? oh no.]

Comments

[one_note]

This is not a real place.

[weiyingdown]

I know that much. But whether it's real or not, it doesn't seem right to leave you here.

If you tell me what's going on I might consider it though.

[one_note]

[considers this awhile]

Here...

Mourning.

[weiyingdown]

[the grief that he can't shake makes that response obvious. of course this is mourning, this is grief, sorrow, loss. hearing it out loud, though, still surprises him]

You really are too good. Weren't we fighting each other right before this? I thought for sure that you hated me. And you still came to find me.

[a beat, and then he can't help but add]

If you're going to mourn you could at least burn some paper money for me.

[one_note]

No.

[their words are heavy in the air.]

But I do not hate you.

[weiyingdown]

[that eases something inside of him, a little knot of worry that he didn't know was there until it loosened, making all of that mourning easier to understand. maybe...all of this time, he really thought of them as friends]

[weiyingdown]

[and then he cracks a smile and laughs. there's an almost breathless sense of relief hidden in his laughter that he doesn't even notice himself; he's too busy shaking his head over his own stupidity.]

I didn't know that back then. But of course I should know better now. You've only ever been nice to me since I came back. I'll make it up to you, okay?

[one_note]

[there's a strange softening in Lan Wangji's face; his arm gently loosening around Wei Wuxian]

...you have already...

[weiyingdown]

I haven't! So just let me do something for you. Besides, you might be the only person who mourned for me. That means something to me too.

[giving him another pat on the head, fond]

I'll start by fixing this qi deviation of yours. Are you sure you won't come back to the Jingshi with me?

[one_note]

[bows his head again, weirdly tolerant of the pats]

I waited for you. This is my place. What would going back to the Jingshi do?

[weiyingdown]

It's just a nicer place to be than here. And you're all dirty! You could get cleaned up. And--

[he leans back slightly, suddenly aware that this position is not one that he usually finds himself in when Lan Wangji is sober. he's not sure what to make of it, beyond thinking that he might be a little drunk. or maybe this place just makes him more honest?

as he ponders what it might be (because it's clearly an abnormality of some kind, Lan Wangji wouldn't act like this normally) he finally notices the little bundle in his arms]

What's that?

[one_note]

[Lan Wangji lets him up, and then looks down at when he’s holding in his other arm. he...hesitates? and then moves it enough to reveal the small, sleeping familiar form]

...A-Yuan could go to the Jingshi.

[weiyingdown]

[for a moment he bluescreens a little, not comprehending what he's looking at. but it's A-Yuan, he's seen him a million times before]

What's A-Yuan doing here? Isn't this after...

[if this is already after the siege, then no one is left, which means A-Yuan should be as gone as everyone else]

[one_note]

[inclines his head towards the split in the trunk]

He was there.

[weiyingdown]

Huh?

[looks up at the tree trunk]

Huh????

[pokes A-Yuan's tiny sleeping face, to check that he's real and breathing]

Lan Zhan, are you sure that you didn't make this up? You didn't really come here and find him, did you?

[one_note]

[he's real and breathing! or at least as real and breathing as this Lan Wangji is. his face is hot and flushed with fever.]

...I looked for you. I found him.

[weiyingdown]

[he's already found himself at a loss for words too many times today, this! keeps! happening! he pokes A-Yuan's cheeks again and puts a hand on his forehead to check the fever. whether it's real or fake in reality, he doesn't know for sure. maybe this is just Lan Wangji's wishful thinking? but no matter which it is, having this moment is already more than he ever thought he'd have.

suddenly more emotionally exhausted than he was dealing with the grief, he leans his forehead on Lan Wangji's shoulder]

Thank you.

[one_note]

[Lan Wangji says nothing -- goes tense under him at the 'thank you,' in fact -- but there's a very careful hand laid on his back, after a pause]

[weiyingdown]

[the moment doesn't last for long--he sits up pretty quickly when he feels Lan Wangji tense up, mentally chiding himself. this is embarrassing! while he wouldn't mind being shameless normally, this feels too...intimate to be something that he can brush off with a thick face. and he was supposed to be helping Lan Wangji, not the other way around

he clears his throat and

smoothly

changes the topic]

Do you, ah, know if anyone else is here? Is it just you and A-Yuan?

[one_note]

[exhales very slowly before he replies, taking away his hand]

You are here now.

[weiyingdown]

I meant besides me. I wasn't sure if I should go further in or not.

[one_note]

If you go forward, there is only older mourning.

[weiyingdown]

Mourning for...

[his memory isn't the greatest, so it takes a second to dig through his sparsely-populated memories]

For your parents?

[one_note]

Mn.

[weiyingdown]

[he's

so curious

it's mourning so it isn't going to be anything particularly pleasant, but the unpleasant things might be what's causing the qi deviation. so, there is an excuse to go and see it]

...If you don't want me to look, I won't go look. But if you don't tell me not to, I'm going to go and take a peek.