The next time Wei Wuxian woke up, it was because Lan Zhan had started talking in his sleep. At first, the words were incoherent, but as Wei Wuxian listened closely, he could make out some words-

"Don't leave me," his voice was soft but slightly high-pitched, as if he'd reverted back to being the children they were just a few years ago. Half of Wei Ying wondered what Wangji was like as a child, wondered if his childhood had been as carefree as Wei Ying wished his own had been, wondered what it was like getting to meet his parents, no matter how brief. But life had other plans, Wei Ying didn't mind them because they brought Lan Zhan to him.

"I promise I'll behave, please stay," Wei Wuxian went still hearing those words, a chill creeping down his spine as the idea of something more sinister set in. What in the...The words echoed his own, words he'd whispered, muttered many times over and over again as a child when he was still out in the streets. He'd said it to any stranger who passed by, or any kind hearted stranger who passed him food, hoping that one of them would stick.

But Wangji had been living with his clan since he was born, his family. Though Wei Ying didn't fully feel the Jiang Clan was family, he couldn't shake off the notion that someone staying shouldn't be conditional. You stayed because you loved someone, stayed out of your own volition. Love shouldn't be conditional, no matter how hard it was for either of them to accept. Without thinking, he brushed his fingers across Wangji's forehead, moving a stray strand of hair out of place. Just what...have they done to you?

—---

When Lan Zhan next woke, he found himself with a throbbing headache. To be fair, he woke up to the feel of fingers brushing across his face. "Wei Ying?"

"What are you doing?" As he blinked, he opened his eyes just in time to see Wei Wuxian hastily retreat. "I'm sorry- I was just adjusting your forehead ribbon because it seemed crooked, that's all."

Wangji paused. "Do you know what it means?"

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened to the size of saucers, his heartbeat quickening. His beating heart leapt its way up to his throat. What could it... He felt a small ember of hope flicker to life in his heart, though it was likely treacherous. Without waiting for a verbal response, drunk Lan Zhan continued.

"Only the family can touch it. Or those intimate to the owner of the ribbon." Lan Zhan's gilt eyes were lidded with intent, darkened to a deep black.

Wei Wuxian felt his throat go dry. "I'm sorry, I-"

But Wangji only smiled. "Don't be. I love you, Wei Ying. Marry me?"

It was amazing what seven words could do. Wei Wuxian felt like his world had been dragged by the ankle and shaken violently upside down, words he'd yearned for, somewhere in the deep, bottomless trenches of his heart and yet never dared to hope it'd come into fruition. Love. There was no other way he could describe the ecstatic feeling he had when he was next to Lan Zhan, that ineffable feeling where you were home, but also on an adventure whenever you were next to someone- Lan Zhan brought him comfort, yet between them there had never been a dull moment- and never would be, if Wei Wuxian had his way. Wei Ying wasn't entirely sure of his ability to love, but he knew one thing: He loved Lan Zhan. Or Lan Wangji, or the Second Jade of Lan. It didn't matter to him what titles or names he bore, as long as he was quintessentially Lan Zhan, Wei Ying would always love him. Love the charged ataraxia he brought, love the way he was steadfast, gentle, even if he seemed cold at times. Love the dedication he put into things, with patience that Wei Ying had never cared to cultivate- he loved him as he was, for his flaws and his weaknesses, for his strengths.

In spite of everything Yu Ziyuan said, Wei Ying realized for the first time that he was capable of loving. You didn't need a reason to love, you just did. It'd be impossible to pinpoint a reason to love someone, because to truly love someone was to accept them for who they were- their strengths, their weaknesses, their quirks- it was a betrayal of love itself to pick and choose what parts of someone to love. Love wasn't conditional, because it was perfidious to claim to love someone and entangle them in rules- that wasn't love, that was obsession. And yet...

"You're drunk, Lan Zhan." Wei Ying didn't want this confession to be a spur of the moment thing. He needed it to be real.

Wangji's next words were straight to the point, "That's not a no,"

This time, it was Wei Ying's turn to smile. Tentatively, he brushed back wayward strands of Wangji's hair, fingers mere millimeters away from his forehead ribbon. " I love you too much to say no, Lan Zhan. But I want to make sure this is real. That this is something you want, not just something momentary,"

Hearing this, Wangji nodded drowsily. " Wake me up tomorrow. If I say the same thing, promise me you'll agree?"

"With all my heart," the younger man had never meant the words more than he did now, with his heart on the line. But by the time he looked back down at Wangji, he'd gone back to sleep.

—---

But the next morning, the first words out of Lan Wangji's mouth were: "I love you, Wei Ying. Marry me?"

Wei Ying's only response was to seal his words with a kiss, a tantalizing promise of whatever lay ahead...

~-~

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian's voice was soft, lulling him out of his reverie.

"Here," He answered.

"You okay? You stopped talking for a while," Wei Wuxian brushed the hair out of Wangji's eyes, the same way he'd done a few months ago, taking care to adjust his forehead ribbon gently. For some reason the action brought back a wave of nostalgia- no one had bothered to be so affectionate with him in ages. It wasn't that Wangji was truly touch averse, he simply preferred being able to trust a person before he was okay with them touching his skin. Despite Wei Wuxian's reputation for being reckless, he was carefully gentle with the people he loved. Part of Wangji still couldn't believe that Wei Ying of all people had loved him back, though he knew that his fear was irrational. If Wei Ying was the moon, then he'd be the tide, following him wherever he went.

But Wei Ying was the Sun, and he was the moon- one couldn't function without the other- Wei Ying illuminated him, and he was always right next to him. They were bound by gravity, but Wangji liked to imagine it was fate. And yet...

"I was just...I love you so much, you know?" the other boy brushed his fingers gently over his knuckles, giving his palm a tight squeeze.

"I know,"

"I can't believe the first time I ever confessed to you was when I was drunk," he let out a bitter laugh,"I didn't even have the courage to confess to you properly."

Wei Wuxian had a vague idea of where this was going, and he was determined to pull Lan Wangji out of it. Once self-deprecation started, there was no going back. "But you did. Isn't that all that matters?"

The other boy huffed, pouting slightly. (It was one of the many things Wei Ying loved most about Wangji, and one of his favorite privileges as his boyfriend- pouting Wangji was a sight to behold) "But it was-"

"No buts," Wei Ying was quick to interrupt. "There will be no buts," (yes, this is a pun)

Hearing this, Wangji just paused, glancing away briefly, before relooking at his boyfriend. "It's just...I'm not sure what you see in me at times, that's all."

At that, Wei Ying grinned, the softness of his smile at odds with the glint of mischief in his eyes that had Wangji sweating.

"I love you all the time, Lan Zhan." His words were sincere, but there was something about his gaze that caused the other boy's heartbeat to quicken.

"I'm hooked onto you," his lips drifted dangerously down, fingers parting Wangji's robes ever so slightly with his proffered permissions. His lips traced Wangji's collarbones, sending tingles of pleasure down Lan Zhan's spine, stopping only when they were hovering above his heart. "Each and every bit of you." "I love you, Lan Zhan. Or in other words, fancy you, like you. I want to live with you for the rest of life, and I mean it. I truly do."

Saying this, he pressed a chaste kiss to Wangji's chest, above where his heart was. If he leaned any closer, Wangji was pretty sure he'd be able to hear his heartbeat accelerating. Without warning, he felt tears clatter down his cheeks. He didn't know someone could feel so loved. Wei Ying paused when he felt the tears streaking onto his own skin, glancing up to scan Wangji's face. Without thinking, the other boy shook his head, chuckling softly before pulling the other boy up, and into a deep kiss. It wasn't unlike their first one, filled with quiet reassurances and whispered nothings, but there was something deeper to it somehow. No longer as hasty, though still filled with longing. It was slower, almost certain, in a way that stood against time.

You were there when I was low, you held me high.
And baby when you take control we can go all night
No matter where we go, I love you
It's my birthright.

------

A/N: 1636 words! I'm finally done with this! Holy crud, it took me months- (and it's 2am over here as I'm typing, forgive my lack of eloquence-) I can't believe I finally finished this, lol- I might come back to rewrite this, I'm not sure- to my sleep-deprived and caffeine-addled brain it seems a little wonky, but I hope you guys enjoyed it either ways- thank you so much for reading, as always! ❤️also, I've come to the odd realization a lot of my works these days focus a lot on love as a concept in general...I get the odd feeling this work has somehow shifted to something more like an essay on love, lol- but enough rambling on my end+ I hope you guys are doing well, how have you been?