A/N: FIRST OFF! CONGRATS FOR *FINALLY* GUESSING THE DARK KNIGHT'S IDENTITY 🎀😂 I mean, had you found it out later, the sudden angst would come as a shock later chapters hehe... 

@gegeford don't facepalm me for that, I said zero deaths, not zero angst hehehehe. ALSO as you can see, WWX is a dense dunce here too, so OBVOUSLY there's going to be angst *eyeroll, JC-premium-edition* 

Aaaanygays, hope y'all liked the wedding! Here's an even sweeter night! Of course, more friend zoning *sigh* and a little impatient Hanguang-Jun. Chaos begins next chapter, I'm guessing, so cherish this one! 🙃

Love y'all as always! ❤︎ WXLL. 

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Caiyi Town had probably never been merrier. Their much-loved Qingheng-Jun had been forced to marry secretly, so they hadn't seen the wedding couple in all their red and gold glory. They hadn't been able to give their wishes to their beloved Sect Leader Lan back then.

But this time, Lan Wangji took Wei Wuxian's hand — by the wrist because they were only 'friends' for now — and walked with him through Caiyi Town, headed for the pier.

The night was the least dark a night could possibly be. Hundreds and millions of lanterns sat on the ground all over the city, hanging from roofs, lying strewn across paths, waiting to be let off into the shimmering black sky. The first full moon of the year glowed bright, beaming down upon the crowds huddled together all over the bustling town.

The duo stood on the deck, the nearby surroundings having been cleared to leave them in blissful peace after the villagers had given their wishes and flooded the deck with well-wishing bouquets.

Lan Wangji stared up at the moon.

Wei Wuxian fixed the loose edges of their lantern. "There, all perfect and ready." He looked up at his new husband. "Lan Zhan?"

"Mn?"

"I know all this is just a contract between the sects, but how about we make it a proper contract between you and I?"

"What would the contract be about?"

"Two things. One, the whole reason that led me to this is A-Cheng. He... he seems to have....... feelings..............."

"For xiongzhang."

"Ah? You know?"

"Plain as day."

"Hahahaha, exactly! Everyone's seen through his mind but I just don't get how Xichen-ge didn't get it yet?! But anyways, since you know of it too... how about we make use of this deal between us to get them together? Since our sects are closer now... and it's my brother and your brother...?"

"Mn. And what's second?"

"Second," Wei Wuxian kept the lantern on his lap aside and stood beside him. "You're a Divergent. I'm a Divergent. And I'm the only one other than your brother who knows it. I have a feeling there's something between your mother and mine. So, how about we help each other?"

"Talismans? Or controlling our magic?"

"All of it. I don't need to control my magic or anything. But I can teach you. Teach you talismans. All of it."

"Since it's a contract, what do you want in return?"

"Actually, something simple," Wei Wuxian blushed. The veil had been removed sometime while walking down the hill because they were 'friends' so no bedchamber rituals for them. That was settled and definite. 'Plain as day'. 

"Anything, Wei Ying."

"Mind teaching me calligraphy?"

"Calligraphy?" Lan Wangji's eyes swelled. That's all he wanted?

"Yes. Calligraphy and embroidery. I... I don't know, seeing Shijie doing all of that so beautifully made me want to try..."

"Do you want to gift her something for her wedding?"

"No, her wedding is four days away, I can't–"

"We could practise all day. You'll be good enough by the third day. Wei Ying learns fast."

"Haha, being my competitor, of course you'd know that! Okay then, as you say, Laoshi," he grinned.

Lan Wangji nodded and smiled at him. Wei Ying is teaching me such important stuff and all he wants in return is how to make a wedding gift for his shijie? Wei Ying... His smile stretched a millimetre wider. Too cute.

Wei Wuxian gazed back into his golden eyes, flushing red. Oh no, that smile again... Melting. I'm like chocolate thrown into an oven!

"Wei Ying, anything else?"

Wei Wuxian blinked to recover and saw that the smile had gone again. "Ah yes. Since we won't be doing the cross-cupped wine thing, I just... wanted you to promise me."

"Promise?"

"Yes. We're best friends now. I don't want you hiding anything from me. Cross-cupped wine ritual is for a promise of sharing all joys and woes. So I want you to promise me. We're besties at heart, husbands by contract. You'll share all your joys and woes with me? I don't like people who hide things from me. Makes me feel worthless. Unworthy of their trust..."

"And Wei Ying will share yours?"

"Of course!"

"Then I promise."

"Pinky swear!" Wei Ying pouted childishly.

Lan Wangji held up his little finger and Wei Wuxian clasped it with his.

For about two entire minutes they stood there, fingers clasped together, studying the silver and gold swimming in each other's eyes.

Until the party-spoilers cut in.

"OI! You setting off your lantern or WHAT?" The shout came from half a mile away, far from the deck.

"JIANG CHENG!" Wei Wuxian jumped, almost falling off the deck out of fright.

"What? We're waiting!"

"Correction..." Nie Huaisang grinned.

Jin Zixuan rolled his eyes and finished the line. "...The whole TOWN is waiting."

"Who said you have to wait for us anyway?" Wei Wuxian moped.

"The townspeople want the wedding couple to set off the first lantern," Lan Xichen explained.

"Oh, alright!" Wei Wuxian nodded and turned back. "Hey, Lan Zhan, want a surprise?"

"Mn?"

"Ta-da!" Wei Wuxian held up the lantern he had found for them to set off.

Lan Wangji gaped at the round and fluffy rabbit painted onto it, eyes red, fur white, black outline against the golden lantern.

"Eyyy, you're smiling!"

Lan Wangji didn't raise Bichen to hit him like he had the last time. He smiled wider. "Mn." Holding the lantern from below, one hand at each side, they let it off into the night sky. Everyone cheered and set off their own.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan looked up, watching the aureate lights drift up to the moon and the equally bright stars above.

One let out a gentle sigh and observed the way the gold lit up the midnight blue.

The other smiled a smile not at all subtle. As subtle as a flying brick. Bright and summery, gleaming white teeth grinning at the shimmer of the lanterns.

"Lan Zhan, isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Mn."

"Still not sleepy?"

"No."

Another hour passed, still silently watching the lanterns. Lan Zhan let Wei Ying send up at least a dozen more random ones, until Wei Ying finally got tired. He wiggled his arms and let out a soft yawn.

"Lan Zhan, you're still not sleepy?"

"No."

"Wow, you've beaten me now... Haaa..." he yawned again.

Thump! Lan Zhan found Wei Ying slumping on his chest, leaning on him, eyes closed, mouth still smiling. Lan Wangji took the chance to wrap an arm around his back. "You fall asleep while standing?" He asked, bemused. Wei Wuxian didn't answer, having fallen fast asleep.

"Oh dear, he fell asleep?" Jiang Yanli chuckled, walking up to them with the rest.

"Wangji, it's midnight. He must be tired with the stuffy robes. Take him home."

"Mn." Lan Zhan tried gripping Wei Ying's arm and shaking him gently to wake him up.

"Oh, no, no, no, doesn't work that way. He sleeps like a log," Jiang Cheng laughed.

"Want me to wake him up?" Wen Qing asked.

"Jiejie, please don't!" Wen Ning stood in front of her.

"Exactly, you'll kill him on his wedding day!" Jin Qingyang snickered.

Lan Wangji shook his head. "It's fine, I'll take him. Thank you," he nodded to them, bent down, picked Wei Wuxian's knees up in one hand and held his back with the other, and carried him home. All the way up the hill, round the compound, back to the Jingshi.

"So much for the consummation part," Nie Huaisang shook his head with dramatic sorrow.

"Those two? You nuts?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"I'd bet on all my money Wei Wuxian gets to sleep on the bed and Lan Wangji sticks to a couch or something," Wen Qing smirked. 

"No way!" Jin Qingyang exclaimed.

"Yes way!" Jin Zixuan nodded.

"You guys..." Lan Xichen chuckled and shook his head.

"...Are terrible friends," Jiang Yanli finished for him.

"A-Sang, put that bottle down," Nie Mingjue walked over and they bowed.

"Da-Ge..."

"Put. It. Down. You've drunk too much. We're going home, it's too late."

"Have a safe journey home, Da-Ge," Lan Xichen waved to him.

"Er-Geeeeee! I don't want to go!"

"Aish, A-Sang," Xichen shoved him off of his shoulders. "Be pathetic like this and Da-Ge's going to make you practise from four in the morning tomorrow!" He whispered.

That spurred him into action. "Bye bye, Er-Ge! Bye, Mianmian!"

"WHAT are we?" Jiang Cheng shouted.

"Ghosts?" Wen Qing huffed.

"Sorry, sorry, goodbye, everyone!" Nie Huaisang waved his fan, scurrying to catch up with his tall brother.

"So about the bet," Wen Qing looked around. "Who's betting against me?"

"I still think they'll sleep together. At least courteously? I mean, wouldn't leaving Wei Wuxian alone on the bed be rude? So I bet. If I win, I need four bottles of the best herbal potions."

"Roger that, Mianmian. Four perfume pouches," Wen Qing snapped her fingers at her and they nodded to each other.

"I really don't believe you two," Jiang Yanli laughed.

"A-Li, ignore my meimei, come along," Zixuan took her hand and pulled her away to stroll down the brightly lit streets.

Xichen watched them leave, smiling. He looked up at the hill to Cloud Recesses. Wangji... please don't rush things... take it slow, or Wuxian... He sighed.

**********

Back at the Jingshi, Wei Wuxian slept comfily underneath crimson quilts tucked up to his shoulders. He had been stripped down to his inner red robes in which he now dozed. Lan Wangji sat on the bedside, watching.

He watched the rise and fall of the strong yet small chest.

He watched the way the slender curve of the slim waist floated like a smooth wave of water.

He watched the way the long, black eyelashes occasionally fluttered in Wei Ying's dream-filled sleep, sliding over one another.

He watched the way the tips of his rosy, gratifying lips rose in an everlasting smile etched into his mind.

Lan Zhan clenched his fists, gripping his robes. No. I should approach slowly. Xiongzhang warned me in the dressing room.

He sighed, bent down and picked up the red ribbon in Wei Ying's hair, tugging it lightly off his hair. Placing a heartfelt kiss on it......

.........like he had several nights earlier at Lotus Pier.....

...he kept the ribbon on the bedside table, beside Cangse Sanren's jade hairpin.

Wei Ying's two greatest treasures right now. Must protect them, he chanted to himself and looked back down at Wei Ying's smiling face.

He slid his finger up the perfect groove of the rosy cheek, up to the ear — which was now pink with exhaustion and wedding-fluster-syndrome — and up to the strand of hair that fell over the perfect face crafted out of porcelain. He tucked the hair behind his ear and caressed his head silently, eyes welling up with joy.

Two years. Two years he had held on, silently prayed to Yue Lao, Chang'e, whoever was related to the topic of a yearning heart deeply in love.

And here was the answer.

The brightest star in his life. That was the answer.

This would be an unforgettable wedding night, no matter the lack of physical bonding. They were bound by soul. Lan Wangji was sure of it. And that was all he needed to know.

Gulping down the urge to kiss his forehead, he stood. "Good night, Wei Ying," he mumbled, walked to the screen, changed into his night robes and lay down on his divan. With one last look at his beloved for the night, he dozed off.

**********

Lan Wangji was up by five, out of pure habit. He sat up on the divan and rubbed his back. The hard back of the settee was a bit uncomfortable. I should get a long pillow to keep next time, he nodded to himself and stood up. Putting on a pair of slippers, he fixed his loosened night robe and looked around the room. He pulled aside the curtains to let in the morning light before moving to the main table. He found the water jug and the box of tea bags, and quickly made the tea for the morning, placing two teacups ready on either side of the table. He then moved to the bed and sat on the bedside. One hand on the slumped shoulder, he shook lightly.

"Wei Ying. Wake up."

"..."

"Wei Ying. Wake up, it's five."

"Mmmmm?" Wei Wuxian squeezed his eyes closer to shut them against the sunlight.

"It's five. Get up."

"Who wakes up at five?" Wei Wuxian groaned and dozed off again.

Lan Wangji sighed. Of course, this guy woke up at nine...

"Wei Ying... just today. We need to greet Shufu and xiongzhang."

"Ahhh...?" The sleepy eyes still refrained from opening.

"Wei Ying, I promise I'll let you sleep tomorrow. Just today."

"Lan Zhannnnn... five minutes?"

Lan Wangji smiled at the pouting mouth. "Mn."

Apparently the man had fallen back to sleep already. The pout remained on his face, unconsciously still there, pronounced and puffed up, his full lips rounder and fuller in an impeccable moue. 

Impeccable... 

Irresistible...

Lan Zhan traced the lips with his thumb, trying to wipe off the tantalising pout and relax his face. But Jiang Cheng had been right. Wei Wuxian slept like a log. Rigid, unchangeable, unfazed by even a sandstorm hitting him, let alone a gentle finger caressing his lips.

Lan Wangji gulped. Long and hard. He had held back all night...

...but at the sight of that tempting pout... enticing... inviting... arousing...

...his resolve crumbled away into dust.

Hating himself for what he was doing, he clenched his left fist into a painfully tight ball, and held Wei Ying's face with his right palm, bent down and captured the sleepyhead's lips in his own.

At first, all he had wanted was a mere unnoticeable peck.

But then... a peck turned to a smooch, and the smooch turned to a long, drawn-out suck on both lips. The pouting face went lax under his tender kiss, letting him take both lips fully in his own.

Voices screamed in his head to pull back... and yet his darker side won over it all. Two years' worth of restraint was tumbling down the cliff of desire fast. 

Alas, the euphoria was not for long.

The instant Lan Zhan moved deeper into Wei Ying's mouth, the tongues touched, and silver eyes shot open in shock. Widening and swelling at the sight of the man looming over him, golden eyes closed in ecstasy, understanding came crashing down on him. He began thrashing under Lan Zhan's grasp, and kicked his legs, punching him hard in the chest.

Lan Zhan immediately shot up onto his feet, his soul sinking into a pit of shame and awkwardness he would never come out of.

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying shouted, all strands of sleep having been chased out the window. He scuffled and scooted backwards along the bed until his butt and back hit the back of the bed. Sitting up on the pillow, he hugged his legs closer to his shaking body, sweating hand clasped over his defiled mouth. "You... How could you?"

Silence.

"Lan Zhan! Look me in the eyes!"

Intense staring, down at the slippers.

"Lan Zhan! I... you..." Wei Wuxian gripped his hair, pulling hard out of agitation. "There's something called CONSENT! Just because I'm your husband doesn't mean you can do WHATEVER YOU WANT to me! We're friends! Best of friends! Best friends don't... ABUSE each other! Lan Zhan, if you do this again, I really won't be able to forgive you!"

Deafening, guilty, agonising silence. 

Abuse. Wei Ying had said it. The one word Lan Wangji detested to hear, coming from his love's mouth. Abuse. 

"Don't screw me up, throw me around however you want to like it's nothing. Show some respect! Play the fool with me again and I... I don't know..." There really was nothing Wei Ying could do anyway. "Just... just promise me you won't do that again."

Lan Zhan avoided his eyes, knowing well enough the painful glare flashing at him. "Mn."

"Speak!"

"Promise."

Wei Wuxian sighed and stretched out his body. "Why are you standing there like a punished child? Sit down."

Lan Wangji silently shuffled over to the table and drew the screen behind it. "We need to greet Shufu, xiongzhang and the elders. Have a bath," Lan Zhan pointed to the side-room with the tub in it. "The maids have drawn the bath early."

"Right, I forgot that you've got servants here," Wei Wuxian laughed.

Lan Wangji sighed, wondering how he could turn back into his casual-and-humorous mood so soon. "Wei Ying's no longer a servant."

"Lan Zhan, you wash first, I'll go in after tea. I need to wake up first," he grinned, stretching his arms and yawning loudly.

"Mn," Lan Zhan, still not looking him in the eye, walked behind the screen and entered the bathroom.

Hearing the door slide shut, Wei Wuxian let out a deep breath.

Lan Zhan... please, please forget this incident. Please let us go back to being friends, I really won't hold a grudge against you.

I mean, this isn't my first kiss...

I only said you've got to do things like that with consent, I never said to not do it...

'Promise me you won't do it again,' his own words echoed in his hand, ringing a bell of mental torture.

Right, I did say. But who'd have thought... he touched his lips, stroking them, gulping at the epiphany washing over him. Who'd have thought...

...that I'd want it to continue? He pouted at the sudden need to feel those lips on him again. 

Exactly what is holding me back anyway? He wondered, scratching his head. Shaking his head, he walked to the table and quaffed down the tea.

Zero confidence? Because I don't trust myself?

No... Boasting all the time back in Yunmeng, I'm the most confident you could get!

It's fine. I've scolded him now, I can't just take it all back. Plus... bonding with me...

Won't do him too much good...

He nodded to himself and sighed. Guess we'll just stay friends for eternity. That's the best way to keep him safe. 

**********

Having greeted the Elders and swallowed the bland breakfast, Wei Wuxian staggered as he walked tiredly back to the Jingshi. "Lan Zhan's at the library again, Xichen-ge's busy, Shifu's no good anyway... I don't know anyone else... what should I do?" He groaned. "Ey, right!" Leaping up when he remembered his friends, he ran down the hill to the Springs. 

"There you are!" He beamed at the bunnies. He picked one up and held it up to his face. "From now on, you guys will be my friends, alright? I'm lonely here," he pouted.

The rabbit nuzzled its nose on his and he chuckled at it. "Ah, right. You're Lan Zhan's A-Ying, aren't you? Little A-Ying, did he name you after me? Haha, so he did miss his boring and shameless friend after all... A-Ying, I should bring Shijie here to meet you guys again. Three more days for her wedding. I'll bring her on the day before, how's that?" He stroked A-Ying's ears. "You'll be here, right?"

Swish! Wag!

"Haha, fluffy tail!" Wei Wuxian smiled and cuddled the bunnies one by one, chatting endlessly about missing his Yunmeng children, his juniors at Lotus Pier, his Shijie and A-Cheng, Jiang Shushu...

"...even Madam Yu's lightning whip," he laughed. 

"Hey, this Jiangsu province is the main region of dwelling for the Dark Knight, right? I say, I wonder if I'll meet the fellow again when I go on night hunts... I could ask him how the chocolate was," he chuckled. "Anyways, so tell me, has Lan Zhan ever broken rules at least now? Two years has to have changed him, right? Emperor's Smile? Ever come to see you guys reeking of alcohol?"

On and on he chatted, ceaseless, relaxed and merry.

Little did he notice the tall man watching from the thicket nearby.

Hm... lonely, eh? I see you're taking your time, good job, Wangji. Something tells me Wuxian wants to take his time, too... but why? Wangji is simply afraid Wuxian would reject him... Is Wuxian thinking the same? Aish, these two...

Lan Xichen pinched the bridge of his nose. I mean, Wangji literally named his favourite rabbit A-Ying and Wuxian still doesn't get it? I'll never understand them, he shook his head and silently walked back up the hill.