Work Text:
Lan Wangji sat at his desk in the Jingshi at the end of a long day, working through the multitudinous problems of the cultivation world. He had one last letter to write before he could put aside work and concentrate on his family, but unfortunately it was to sect leader Ouyang and his mind was struggling to find the correct way to tell him to get lost without using those words. As he concentrated on his calligraphy, he sensed movement to his left and right accompanied by some subtle whispering. He focussed on the paper in front of him as he became aware of a shadow moving overhead. His daughter sat cross legged as she glided slowly over him while on what appeared to be an invisible moving platform. He smiled to himself as he realised that his husband and their younger son were playing with a new spell they had developed together which could levitate objects over short distances.
For as long as he had known him Wei Ying had been a genius at creating new types of magic. Now their son Wei Fen was showing himself to be equally inventive. When working on a new project they would both come up with ideas but usually from entirely different perspectives. When they bounced off each other there was very little that they could not achieve. Gusu Lan was now the undisputed leaders in the development of talisman and array theory and even the most conservative of the remaining elders had been forced to acknowledge how much these two had increased the standing of the sect in the eyes of the cultivation world in general. The levitation spell had proved invaluable when an earthquake had recently collapsed a temple in Qinghe. A small number of cultivators had been able to clear the rubble to pull out survivors in a short period of time.
As A-Xun drifted directly over his head a small leaf fell onto the table before him. It was a vibrant red, her favourite colour. His daughter loved to collect small items – a leaf or a stone, anything that caught her eye. She would lose them as quickly as she collected them but if she gifted one to either of her parents they became a treasured item stored in a special box Lan Wangji had commissioned for such mementoes. He briefly wondered what his uncle would have thought if Xichen and he had played around him in such a way when he was trying to work. They would have been copying out the rules for weeks. Now, however, he suspected his uncle would he inclined to overlook such playfulness from his great nephew and niece. He had proven himself to be putty in their hands on the occasions that he cared for them in their parent’s absence. Lan Wangji carefully placed the leaf on the desk before continuing with his letter.
A few minutes later the shadow passed over from the opposite direction and a new token landed on the table in front of him. This time it was a pale blue flower. Lan Wangji recognised that this was from Wei Ying. His husband would often give him flowers that he gathered from the garden or the woods surrounding Cloud Recesses. Lan Wangji pressed each one between the leaves of a book in order to preserve them, despite Wei Ying’s embarrassed protests that he was being stupidly romantic. Lan Wangji did not care. Any gift from Wei Ying was something to treasure.
There was rustling and a pause before his daughter floated over head a third time. A piece of paper floated down and nearly drifted off the table before he reached out to catch it. He had to smile at the picture A-Fen had drawn. It showed A-Xun running through the field of rabbits with a huge smile on her face. His son had become as skilled at drawing as Wei Ying and the picture captured the essence of his sister perfectly. Lan Wangji put his brush down briefly to hold the paper more firmly in order to appreciate this image. He remembered those sixteen years of the gaping wound that had been Wei Ying’s absence. What would he not have given to have had a single image of the man he loved during those long years, to help him remember his face? He recalled the sense of panic he felt when he realised he could no longer visualise Wei Ying’s smiles, except that last terrible smile as he fell to his death. The picture was placed with care on his desk before he reluctantly picked up his brush again. He was unsure how long this game would last before he gave in and put away work for the day, but he had years of practise at self-control, so he carried on writing whilst inwardly cursing sect leader Ouyang’s insecurities since the fall of his closest friend sect leader Yao.
The next gift was accompanied by a giggle that he could tell his daughter was trying to suppress. It floated down as far as his arm where it landed on his sleeve. It was one of Wei Ying’s papermen but this one was in the shape of a rabbit with floppy ears. Instead of walking down his sleeve, it hopped until it sat in the palm of his hand and raised its head to look at his eyes. His control was wavering as a smile formed unbidden on his lips. If it had had eyes, he was sure it would have had the same woeful expression Wei Ying used on him when he wanted his attention and which Lan Wangji was almost helpless to refuse. As it was, he lifted the rabbit to his face and gave it a light kiss before putting it down on the desk where it hopped to the side of the letter he was writing. He heard a small sigh from his left as he resolutely refused to give in. The game was increasing in intensity.
From his right he heard his son running over to another part of the room before his daughter’s next pass. Another piece of paper landed in front of him, narrowly missing the ink stone. On it was another creation from A-Fen but this was a greater achievement. It was a musical score. Lan Wangji had worked on several compositions with A-Fen who was as gifted at music as everything else he attempted, but he had never written one on his own. Lan Wangji could tell this was an original piece and realised his son must have been working on it in secret, as he did not recognise any of the phrases. This was perhaps the greatest temptation so far. He was impatient to hear A-Fen’s first solo song. His family knew exactly how to entice him away from his responsibilities, but he was determined to win this battle of wills. It had become a matter of principle. The music score joined the picture.
Wei Ying of course, did not play fair. He heard some whispering before the next shadow approached from his left. It was his daughter again, but she was no longer floating on her platform of air. This time she was held horizontally by a pair of strong arms so she could reach across and plant a kiss on Lan Wangji’s forehead. This was a gift too precious to ignore. He placed his brush on its stand and reached out to hold his daughter before kissing her gently on the top of her head. He looked up at Wei Ying who gave him a dazzling smile before pouting in an exaggerated manner.
“Husband, your family miss you. We are bereft…..we may fade away from lack of attention.” Then in a more serious voice, “Come eat with us Lan Zhan, you look tired. Sect Leader Ouyang will survive perfectly well if he does not hear from you straight away.”
Wei Ying reached down and kissed him passionately and he acknowledged defeat. His son was smiling shyly as he started to make room for their dinner. Lan Wangji would cherish every gift from his family, but the true gift was their presence in this, their home.