[pfsb] happy halloween!

[acrookedpath]

It's that time of year again.

The inn is bustling. All manner of strange outfits have been donned (some more willingly than others). Lanterns flicker ominously in the corners, pumpkins stand sentry at either end of the bar, and every order comes complete with a handful of wrapped candies.

And -- if you're Wei Wuxian -- Madam Bar has also gifted you with an enormous array of tiny cakes, each one with a little candle stuck in its center. His second birthday at the inn has arrived, and he could not be more pleased.

(He's also wearing a red T-shirt that reads, simply, I'M THE CHAOS. Just like last year, he has set his mild confusion aside in favor of delight at the bounty Madam Bar has given him.)

Comments

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian eyes Lan Zhan a moment -- but arguing the point in front of his sister would raise too many questions, he knows. So he accepts the offered seat, leaving anything he wants to say to a pointed look instead, and settles in to begin pouring tea for everyone.

"But not as much as I want to," he says, in cheery protest. "How cruel!"

[lotus_sister]

“A-Xian!” she scolds, gently. “Surely not cruel.”

Lan Wangji turns a perfectly bland look on Wei Ying and says, “Mn.”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian bursts out laughing at Lan Zhan's unperturbed remark. "All right, not so cruel," he relents, as he sets the tea in front of Jiang Yanli and Lan Zhan. "You did allow me a little bit of coffee, after all."

Much-needed coffee, in fact. He picks up his own cup for a lingering sip.

[lightamidchaos]

He curves his fingers around his own cup and draws in its warmth.

"I want you both to have the whole night," he murmurs.

[acrookedpath]

Oh.

He lowers his mug, revealing the most heartstopping, aching smile. "The whole night," he echoes, far softer.

Oh, Lan Zhan. My beloved.

Glancing Jiang Yanli's way, he lifts his cup in a small toast and says, "A good thing I still have so much more to tell you!"

[lightamidchaos]

Jiang Yanli’s smile is gentle and warm, and Lan Wangji is quietly pleased at their shared joy.

He sits as still as he can, listening as Wei Ying chatters and his sister laughs with him, as time passes and the moon moves slowly across the sky, changing the angle of the light through their window. It is hard, so hard, for him to stay awake, exhausted as he is, but strangely the pain helps, and he sinks into it as into a wave and lets it buoy him at the edge of awareness.

And then all of a sudden it is gone, or almost, as light and warmth explodes within him, and a gasp escapes his lips.

[acrookedpath]

The noise cuts down Wei Wuxian's latest words mid-syllable. Startled -- and clearly worried -- he looks his way.

"Lan Zhan?"

[lightamidchaos]

“I am all right,” he promises. “I was only - I drifted, for a moment, and only returned to myself.”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian studies him an extra moment. Indeed, he doesn't appear to be in distress; if anything, he looks less pale than he has been for most of the evening. Still, with a quick smile, he reaches to squeeze his hand.

"We are not boring you too badly, are we?" he asks, lightly teasing.

[lightamidchaos]

“You could never,” he says, immediately, and Jiang Yanli laughs in delight.

“The two of you are so well matched!”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian beams, cheeks reddening slightly. "We are!" he says. "You would not have thought it that first day we arrived at Cloud Recesses, eh?"

[lotus_sister]

She hums a smug little sound in answer, and watches in mischievous delight as both of them stare at her.

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian's jaw drops.

"Shijie! That early?"

[lotus_sister]

“You didn’t see how impressed you were when Lan Wangji arrived at the gates of Cloud Recesses,” she observes, and watches the upper curve of Lan Wangji’s ears turn pink.

“Until he cast the silence spell on you, anyway.”

[acrookedpath]

"Aiyo, if someone could have told me -- "

That's as far as Wei Wuxian gets before collapsing into fresh laughter.

[lotus_sister]

“That’s not the sort of thing you can tell someone,” she chides, but gently. “You have to realize it for yourself.”

[acrookedpath]

"I know, I know," he sighs. A smile still twitches the corners of his lips. "Besides, if you had told me after that very first meeting, I am not sure I would have believed you."

[lightamidchaos]

“Mn.” The look he turns on Wei Ying is soft.

“Wei Ying knows now. That is what matters.”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian's blush deepens. He lifts Lan Zhan's hand to drop a kiss on his knuckles.

"Yes," he murmurs. "It is."

[lotus_sister]

"I'm so happy," Jiang Yanli tells them, and sets her tea cup aside. She has to; her grasp is slipping, she's noticed.

"Be happy too, A-Xian, okay?"

[acrookedpath]

The way she says that -- the way she sets her tea down --

Wei Wuxian's smile slips, all his attention on Jiang Yanli.

With quiet apprehension: "Shijie?"

[lightamidchaos]

She raises a hand to touch Wei Ying’s cheek, and Lan Wangji sees with shock that it is more pale than before, as though all color is fading from her.

His glance goes to the window behind her, where the first, faintest hints of dawn are beginning to paint the horizon, and he realizes what is happening.

[acrookedpath]

"Shijie," he repeats, and his voice cracks, helpless, as he covers her hand with his own. Already it feels so much colder than it did a moment ago.

He had begun to think he would be all right, when the time came for her to depart. This extra night with her was such a balm to his grief; a chance to drink his fill of the lost moments he thought he would never have again. But how could he ever truly drink his fill? How foolish, to think he would ever be all right with his shijie leaving him again.

Tears well fast and stinging in his eyes as he watches the color bleed away from his sister's face.

[lotus_sister]

She brings her other hand up as well, and tips her head to rest her forehead against his. “Shh,” she soothes. “Don’t cry, A-Xian. I’m not leaving forever! I’ll come back.”

“You will,” Lan Wangji declares. “We will find a way for you to do so and remain as long as you wish.”

[acrookedpath]

"I know," he croaks, wobbly. "We will see you again. I know."

But --

He wraps his arms around her and clings as tight as he dares, as if he could prevent the sunrise from pulling her away.