Daybreak
At five in the morning, the world still slumbered. Lan Wangji treasured that time more than any silver or gold. He hoarded memories of watching Wei Wuxian sleep while the world woke up around him.
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For the 3/21/20 weekly prompt of "aubade" from my Cheng Qing Ling and MDZS discord.
au·bade
/ōˈbäd/
noun
a poem or piece of music appropriate to the dawn or early morning.
a song or poem of lovers parting at dawn
In French it means "dawn serenade."
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At five in the morning, the sun had not yet begun to rise. It had not peeped over the edge of the mountains like a child attempting to sneak an extra sweet while their parents were away. It had not graced the tops of the trees or kissed the snow covered peeks. Fog and dew clung to the earth, creating the illusion that the buildings truly sat amongst the clouds, as their name suggested.
In the silence, the distant sound of waterfalls could be heard – a far off, comforting rumble. The background rhythm to the musical calls of the earliest songbirds and the quiet drip of water off the roof, evidence of a late night shower.
It was into this calm and quiet morning that Lan Wangji woke, his eyes sliding open without a hint of sleep to cloud them. The blankets had slipped off sometime in the night, but Lan Wangji didn't mind. The air coming in through the cracked window was mild, and there was heat pressing all along his front.
Wei Wuxian always started the night curled up against Lan Wangji's side – like a cat in winter would lie near a kitchen fire. By morning he was always draped over Lan Wangji, as if he needed to have physical contact with as much of his husband as possible. It never failed to bring a smile to Lan Wangji's lips – waking up like this.
How many years had he dreamt of a life like this? A life where he went to bed every night with Wei Wuxian at his side, where he woke up and the first thing he saw was Wei Wuxian's sleeping face? A life where he was Wei Wuxian's last goodnight and first good morning? Too many. Even long before the Battle of Nightless City, when everything came to a head and crumbled beneath their feet, Lan Wangji had dreamed of this.
If he had a thousand more years, Lan Wangji would never tire of waking this way. All of nature and the universe was in harmony, was good and right, with Wei Wuxian lying atop him, his head placed so he could listen to Lan Wangji's heartbeat even in slumber.
For a few minutes, Lan Wangji indulged himself. He postponed rising for the day as the Lan rules dictated and instead gently ran his fingers through his husband's hair. Wei Wuxian hummed in contentment and snuggled closer. His breath ghosted over Lan Wangji's chest, warm and damp. His fingers gripped at Lan Wangji's side for a moment before falling still once more. And Lan Wangji continued to stroke his hair, reveling in each minor reaction. Every tiny scrap of evidence that this was real, that Wei Wuxian was there in his arms and, more than anything, wanted to be there.
Finally he could put off rising no longer. Soon his uncle would begin to wonder at his absence. Copying the rules of Cloud Recesses or enduring some other punishment did not frighten Lan Wangji, but he did not want to bring his uncle's ire onto Wei Wuxian. Thus he heeded the rules.
Carefully, slowly, Lan Wangji disentangled himself from Wei Wuxian's clinging limbs. He gently laid Wei Wuxian down on the mattress in the same position he had been in before. Instantly, as usual, Wei Wuxian frowned and curled into the warm place where Lan Wangji used to lie.
Smiling, Lan Wangji reached out to brush hair from Wei Wuxian's face and pulled the covers up to his neck. Assured that his husband was as comfortable as possible, Lan Wangji moved to ready for the day.
He washed his face, then returned to the bed to check that Wei Wuxian was still sleeping peacefully. He changed into his clothes for the day, layer upon layer, covering up his vulnerabilities and strengthening his resolve. Then he returned again to see his love.
By now, the first rays of sunlight had begun to slip through the window, kissing Wei Wuxian with radiance. Lan Wangji knelt by the bedside, watching the play of light over Wei Wuxian's face. In these moments, Wei Wuxian was so beautiful that Lan Wangji often forgot to breathe.
A bird landed on the edge of the window and chirped. Lan Wangji lifted his gaze to watch it hop around, tweet, twitter, then take flight once more. He sighed with its disappearance. He really had to leave now.
Reaching out, Lan Wangji wrapped his fingers around the Lan headband loosely held in Wei Wuxian's fingers. At the same time, he leaned forward to place a kiss on his forehead.
"Mmmm Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian hummed, turning his face further into the pillow.
Lan Wangji smiled again, then stood and tied his headband in place. Finally decent for the eyes of the world, he moved to leave the jingshi but paused at the door and looked back. It was always hard leaving Wei Wuxian in the morning. No matter how many days passed, he never got used to the sight of Wei Wuxian in his bed, to the idea of Wei Wuxian as a constant physical presence in his life. And he didn't want to. He never wanted to take any of this for granted. So he never fought the desire to return one last time to bed, to give Wei Wuxian one last kiss before leaving.
First he would make breakfast for Wei Wuxian and bring it back to the jingshi for him to eat once he awoke. Then Lan Wangji would eat his own meal before beginning his duties for the day. At some point around nine, Wei Wuxian would wake up and come to find him. They would kiss in greeting, startling whoever was near enough to see and never caring for an instant.
A composition of Lan Wangji's had been instrumental in reuniting him with the love of his life. Many times, he had tried to capture the feeling of these mornings on his guqin. None of them had compared to the real thing. It was music only nature could capture; a song one could only truly appreciate by hearing it firsthand. And Lan Wangji gladly let it repeat every morning.
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