WHO Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian WHERE Their apartment at Morningside WHEN Right before the snow storm, around 12/14. WHAT Decorating a Christmas tree and being ridiculous. Mostly FLUFF. STATUS Complete! WARNINGS rly, FLUFF. (Some co-dependency issues)
It wasn’t like they hadn’t been separated before. For large amounts of time, days, months, years. A missing gap of sixteen years hung between them, and Wei Wuxian still found himself missing Lan Zhan when he was gone for mere hours.
In this case, it was unbearable work getting in his way. It was probably a blessing that Lan Zhan had arrived after he found a job, because Wei Wuxian never would have had the willpower to do it after his arrival. But now he had made a promise and had a fair number of students interested in studies about spirits and demons.
So he was stuck. And in class. And missing his cultivating partner. It was a terrible and dramatic thing, the blow only softened by breaks for food and the fact that he only had to be at the university for a few hours each day. The money was a very nice bonus, though, and sent Wei Wuxian on shopping trips on his walk home from the university, easily drawn in by sales and bright lights.
Which is how he ended up struggling through the door of their apartment, arms full of bags and boxes, overloaded as he pushed the rest through with his feet before it could close on his face.
“Lan Zhan!! Come quick, I got things!” The box containing a fake white tree finally crossed the threshold of the door and was pushed into the apartment with Wei Wuxian’s boot.
Lan Wangji was meditating. It was something he did whenever he was uncertain, or off-balance, or seeking clarity on a matter, and the fact that he did it frequently hid his unease by virtue of his always seeming calm, collected. He’d heard Wei Ying stomping down the hall like a herd of horses, and it was a testament to his fondness that he wasn’t even annoyed at being interrupted, slipping gracefully from the floor to walk to the doorway where his cultivation partner was struggling with--- a lot of things. In fact, he was more boxes and bags than a person anymore. Out of instinct more than anything, Lan Wangji caught the tip of the Christmas tree box before it tipped forward and caused an even great unbalance, securing it in his arms and leaning it against the wall to see what it was.
Quick-Set Yuletide 6 Foot Tree - Snowy White.
Well, he understood about three words there.
With an expression of equal confusion and concern, one of his eyebrows set in the ‘are you having a breakdown’ position, he took some more bags from Wei Ying and set them in a neat pile, bells ringing and glass clinking as he did so. He wasn’t stupid; he’d seen the decorations around town, and they were pretty, if foreign. Apparently Wei Ying had liked them enough to bring them inside. Lan Wangji didn’t mind, not really, despite his austere tendencies.
“Did you leave anything for the other residents?” he finally asked, his voice flat, but his eyes were warm and watchful as he pulled out a red and black set of Christmas balls, holding them up to the light so they shined.
Where Lan Zhan was neat with the things he did, Wei Wuxian just unceremoniously dumped the bags he had piled in his fingers and on his wrists in the same general area, looking proud even as they clattered messily across the floor. He put his hands on his hips to beam across at Lan Zhan before digging into the bags himself.
It was-- a lot. Decorations, candies, lights. Most of it was bought with the thought of Lan Zhan on his mind - the whites and blues, in particular. The red and black bulbs were his own preference, of course, but what was life without merging the two? It was how they had made it thus far.
“Of course I did, there was plenty! I know it is a far cry from the Dongzhi decorations but look--!” He found the bag full of white and blue twinkling lights and held it out, beaming like a proud father. He wilted, just a little, under pressure that wasn’t actually there. “It’s just so boring in here. I thought we could use the decorations.”
Lan Zhan, who would have given in to Wei Wuxian’s desire to decorate their new apartment without his cultivation partner resorting to even a mild sulk, pulled out a string of lights to ensure it wasn’t twisted. That he’d been so thoughtful as to combine their favorite colors didn’t go unnoticed.
“The tree looks like it’s been covered in frost,” he observed, and although he didn’t voice it, his eyes slid to Wei Wuxian’s with a slight heat to them as he remembered the first time they’d spent the night together, the snow falling softly onto the ground outside. “Why don’t we put it by the window so that we can see its light when we’re coming home?” Because a house was only a home when you anticipated returning to it. He opened the box’s top and grasped the top of the tree, indicating that Wei Wuxian grab the box and pull to unsheath the full tree.
The disaster across from Lan Zhan chuckled, face heating up with a ridiculous blush that was wholly out of place for someone so forward. But he was fake forward, shameless to a point of pride because it was how he distracted from other things. He knew what that look meant, now. “Lan Zhan,” he fake-whispered, but grabbed the box anyway so the tree could be pulled out.
It was underwhelming, a little, as it was all clumped together and clearly needed fluffing, but it had potential. “By the window, yes!” Okay, yes, he could do this without getting distracted. Probably.
Wei Wuxian let Lan Zhan take hold of the tree as he discarded the box behind him for later cleaning, and made a point to pull out the festive garland he’d also purchased, wrapped that gently around his neck as his own decoration, and then pulled the lights into his arms and followed to the window. “There is someone with one of these and a giant skeleton, you know. So just think how lucky you are to only have me bring home these things, Lan Zhan!”
Lan Wangji was already setting up the tree, carefully and methodically bringing the branches a little more forward, creating an illusion of fluffiness that went a long way to making the decoration look less plastic and more festive. He was already getting glitter on his hands, but he ignored it for the moment, standing on his toes to make certain that the top of the tree received the same treatment as the bottom. Once he was satisfied, he turned to address the notion of a skeleton in their living room, but the sight of Wei Ying with a garland as a scarf and lights in his hands was enough to rattle the reply right out of his head.
It was a ridiculous sight, he knew it was silly to want to fall apart a little at the sight of a thoroughly enthusiastic and domestic Wei Ying, but he indulged the feeling anyway, stepping aside slightly so his cultivation partner could determine how he wanted to drape the lights. It seemed apparent that he had some kind of plan, and Lan Wangji had no interest in slowing him down.
“The lights go first,” he said, “followed by the baubles. Yes?” It was a perfectly valid question, given that he’d never decorated a tree before, and while he didn’t particularly need to give the ends of Wei Ying’s garland a light tug to draw him close, well, he’d set up the action so beautifully.
“Uh,” he wasn’t complaining, as this is exactly the sort of shameless thing Wei Wuxian had wanted. But he was blushing, again, even more. In the way where it was visible just how all talk he had been most of his life, and how it came around full circle to Lan Zhan. His first and his last, who had opened up more than Wei Wuxian could have ever dreamed of, following all of the teasing in their early school days. “Yesssss?”
It was half a question, since he wasn’t actually sure what way the baubles would go, but it made sense? Lan Zhan was very smart, and it was easy to trust him, so he did that.
Or tried to, but was thoroughly distracted by the sudden close proximity of his partner and his awkward laugh morphed into something more sinister and sexy. Quiet, how he knew Lan Zhan liked him. “It’s cold outside more lately. Do you think there will be snow soon?”
“Yes,” his cultivation partner answered simply. The air smelled of its potential when he had walked outside earlier, and every night was a little colder. Lan Wangji liked new snow - it muffled the sounds around them, coated everything in such a pretty, crystalline uniformity while keeping the original shape beneath. Perhaps it was no surprise given his preferred colorless uniform and austere personality, but he didn’t like snow due to its tendency to cover over everything. No, it was just a fresh start. Something new. And so many memories that had formed him were tied up into swirling snowflakes, deep conversations and revelations, and retreats into warm, cozy rooms.
His full attention moved to Wei Ying - that blush couldn’t be hidden, and he didn’t want it hidden, anyhow - and then back to the tree. With a nod, he took the lights from Wei Ying’s hands and stood to begin placing them near the top, leaning over Wei Ying more than was strictly necessary to do so. Sure, he was tempted to toss all of this to the side and drag Wei Ying to the bed, but Lan Wangji hated mess, and they had all the time in the world.
They had all the time in the world. He smiled, ever so slightly, then:
“Help me string this halfway down.” It was spoken in his usual haughty command, but there was no coldness to the habit. “We won’t leave it half-finished.”
Wei Wuxian whined. It was not dignified or structured, or anything the Lan Sect would have appreciated, but it was very him. He melted just a little, in the direction of his partner, and resisted the strong pull to lean in and steal a kiss.
He may have been shameless, but he knew their boundaries, and just where the comfort levels were allowed to be pushed. That was the bedroom, not in public or in full view of a large window.
He also knew that wasn’t likely to last very long, now that they were in a world where having such public displays were openly encouraged and welcome. The opposite of how they were both raised, despite Wei Wuxian’s shameless ways. It didn’t help that Lan Zhan having that small smile was one to always set him off. But it did perk him up, pushing out the whine and making him grin so openly in return. He loved the sight of that Lan Zhan, the relaxed one that let down his guard. “Okay okay, we’ll finish this!” And then there was a mountain of things behind him to add to it and clean up, but that was future Wei Wuxian’s problem as he rushed through stringing the rest of the lights in a less than orderly fashion, just to get it done.
Next were the garland and the baubles but Wei Wuxian had an attention span problem and ended up melting onto the end of the sofa. “Some people only put lights, you know. That would be considered done to them!”
Lan Wangji couldn’t help but neaten the lights behind him, making a small twinge of his lips as he did so. Wei Ying could be so neat and smart and detailed… and then there were the moments when he tossed it all together to see what would happen. “If you only wanted to put on lights, why did you purchase ornaments?” he asked, knowing full well it was going to be a rhetoric question since his cultivation partner’s attention had wandered and wouldn’t be wandering back anytime soon.
Taking a step back, he admired the tree. It looked pretty - white on red - if you ignored the tornado of bags on the floor.
With a glance at the chilling weather outside, he turned back to Wei Ying. “I’ll make you some tea.” He was sure to be cool, after all, and while Lan Wangji wasn’t the most demonstrative person on the planet, he enjoyed showing his affection by taking care of his lover.
There was sputtering in return - frantically trying to come up with an excuse that wasn’t just “I got ahead of myself” or “I didn’t think you would be so attractive standing there in the lights and winter trees” but ultimately it all kind of fell apart as he watched Lan Zhan walk, as purposeful and still elegant as ever.
It was and always would be distracting. Even more so when he was saying he was going to make him tea. It warmed his heart, the same as a hot drink would do, as it always did when someone did something for him because he was shameless and often a pit of lacking self-worth. He was, as they say, a sucker and a goner. It was enough of a desire to even put off chasing Lan Zhan down and directing him to the bedroom.
So he was a good boy, and smiled coyly at his partner. “Make sure you make enough for both of us! We can share when I am done decorating this--” He gestured wildly to the tree and called out a little louder. “Beautiful tree. It will be even prettier than I am, Lan Zhan, I promise!”
Lan Wangji didn’t fondly roll his eyes - that was beneath him - but the expression that preceded someone fondly rolling their eyes was plain on his face if you knew where to look. He knew how to make the tea exactly as Wei Ying favored it, which he did to the letter, using a set of cups he had found in the market painted in silver and red. They were, he realized now, rather festive. Pleased with himself, he made the tea and brought it out to their little table, everything in order as long as you ignored the mess surrounding his cultivation partner - which he did not. He loved that mess.
He gestured to the tea silently, absorbed in the man seated across from him, and served it to him. Snow started to softly fall just outside their window, one tentative flake at a time, but Lan Wangji didn’t even notice.