Soon the Phoenix mountain hunt was approaching. Originally Lan Zhan had not been wanting to attend, after all it was just a chance for the lower cultivators and Sects to show off. Someone of his level didn't need to even bother with such things. However Wei WuXian had not been out of the courtyard in weeks and hardly out of the Jingshi, that coupled with how hard he had been working to control his new cultivation and he was close to physically eating his way out through the walls.

It had been decided that Wei WuXian would attend the hunt with him but neither of them would actively participate as members of their respective Sects. They would be their simply for observation and a change of scenery. Wei WuXian had been beyond happy at the idea that he could get away from Gusu for a few days and even see his siblings again. The last few days he had begun to feel more like a prisoner than a guest.

The evening before their trip to Phoenix Mountain, Wei WuXian curled up in bed next to Lan Zhan. He had long ago stopped wearing his full robes to bed as the mixture of the full robes and Lan Zhan's body heat where making him overheated and making him wake up in the middle off the night. The two now laid both in just their thin inner robes. Wei WuXian had also realised that him sleeping so well lately wasn't just because of the heat coming from their shared bodies but also from the fact he had somehow gained the habit of falling asleep to the steady rhythm of Lan Zhan heartbeat while resting on his chest. Sighing gently felt comfortable but could tell by Lan Zhan's breathing that he wasn't yet asleep.

'Lan Zhan' he spoke quietly into the silence.

'mmm' came the non-committal reply.

'I have been in Gusu for a month now, most of it here. You want to be with me when we go to the hunt as well….' Wei WuXian paused unsure how to say the next part but knowing he needed to 'Lan Zhan do you not trust me anymore?'

Lan Zhan's arm tightened around his waist, although he remained silent for so long that Wei WuXian began to squirm to get away. The arm tightened even more though and at length he began to speak gently into the darkness between them.

'I trust you' the words echoed around the room despite the almost whisper they were spoken in. 'I worry about you. What you are doing has only been done a few times before and they took the demonic path.'….Lan Zhan shifted his head to look him in the eye….'I don't want to lose you'…..Lan Zhan paused again as if thinking if he should say the next part….'I love you'

Wei WuXian heard the breath escape him, and as Lan Zhan's hearing was better than his he must have too. He didn't know what to say to such a declaration. He had thought maybe Lan Zhan was helping him out of worry, or maybe affection. But Love! Lan Zhan saved from having to respond when he spoke up again.

'Its 9oclock time to sleep'

With that he simply closed his eyes and slept. Wei WuXian however was left to think over what he had just heard and what effect it might have on their future.

The first day of the hunt dawned. All of the main Sects had sent cultivators to attend, and many of the Sect leaders had taken the opportunity to congregate and speak together on important matters. Jiang Cheng had attended for the YunMeng Sect and of course ZeWu Jun had attended for Gusu. This left Wei WuXian and Lan Zhan in the strange position of not actively participating and also not being senior enough to participate in the meetings.

This didn't however stop Wei WuXian creating his own version of chaos. On the first day there was an archery contest and as he was a known archer, he was invited to participate. There should have been nothing there for him to show off too badly with, however Wei WuXian, being Wei WuXian. Managed to find a few things. Firstly he asked Lan Zhan, with a whisper loud enough to be heard by most of those gathered, if he could borrow his forehead ribbon. Lan Zhan's expression had hardly changed, however the looks on both ZeWu Jun's and Jiang Cheng's faces had been priceless. Most of those gathered knew there was something sacred about the Gusu Sects forehead ribbon even if they didn't know what if it actually was.

The second thing he managed to show off about was the archery itself. The Jin Sect where the hosts of this particular hunt and as they bought out the 'targets' for the competition, which happened to be of Wen survivors looking like they had already been beaten. Lan Zhan's eyes had turned quietly towards to Wei WuXian expecting him to explode, or at least complain. Instead he had simply covered his eyes with a black ribbon from his own robes and shot 5 arrows at the same time at all 5 targets at once. Both of these displays had earned him the disapprobation of nearly all the cultivators present.

Once the participating cultivators had left to begin the hunt, Lan Zhan and Wei WuXian departed themselves to find a private place to speak. Side by side they walked until they found a secluded glade, then Lan Zhan caught Wei WuXian's hand and guided him over to a nearby tree where he sat on the ground waiting for him to join him. Smiling Wei WuXian slumped down inelegantly just in front of him and leant back to rest his head on his shoulder. They remained like that for a moment before Lan Zhan spoke up.

'You made the Jin look foolish today'

Wei WuXian laughed quietly before replying 'So what if I did, I was just having a bit of fun'

'You shouldn't do that' Lan Zhan chided gently but without much heat in his voice.

Wei WuXian snuggled closer, playfully rubbing both his head against Lan Zhan's shoulder and his body against Lan Zhan's. He felt Lan Zhan take a breath as he moved and his internal child came out wanting to make mischief.

'What shouldn't I do Lan Er'Gege?' He said with a little twinkle in his eye as he lifted his head enough to give Lan Zhan a slight peck on the cheek.

A firm grip caught hold of his chin and a thumb ran over his skin.

'Don't' Lan Zhan said with a slight catch in his voice.

But Wei WuXian was already in a playful mood and had his mind set on distracting Lan Zhan from telling him off. Instead of taking the hint and shutting up, he just laughed. This laughter only served to get him a more iron grip from Lan Zhan as he lifted his chin more, exposing his mouth and throat. Wei WuXian was just about to remind him that they were in public when Lan Zhan turned his own head and lowered his mouth to his own, sealing anything he was going to say behind joined lips. Unfortunately for Wei WuXian, as he had just opened his mouth to speak it meant that Lan Zhan could easily slip his tongue inside as well, something the two had only done a handful of times so far. Wei WuXian sobered a little, feeling the hot tongue playing with his own. Lan Zhan seemed more assertive today than normal, more confident for some reason.

Wei WuXian was still trying to work out what had made such a difference to Lan Zhan's mood when he felt a pressure on the outer robes of his chest, unable to look down he moved slightly but the pressure remained. After a moment though the pressure moved slightly downwards and Wei WuXian realised it Lan Zhan's hand. The hand slipped further down until it reached his waist where it paused again. The two remained in place for some moments, their breath quickening. Suddenly though Lan Zhan's moved even lower and settled between his legs. Wei WuXian involuntarily stiffened before making a conscious effort to relax. He didn't know what to think, either of them had touched that part of each other before and now Lan Zhan was touching him in the middle of a hunt where any of hundreds of cultivators could see them at any moment.

Wei WuXian again opened his mouth to try and speak but this only resulted in Lan Zhan's tongue exploring deeper and his hand moving slightly where it rested. Wei WuXian knew their where layers of robes between him and Lan Zhan's hand but somehow at the moment it seemed like there was nothing separating him from those eager, heated fingers. In the end it was this realisation that gave him the power to take hold of Lan Zhan's wrist and remove it from its position. Surprisingly he didn't resist but broke off the kiss and looked down at Wei WuXian quizzically.

'You don't like?' The question came out half fearful, half confused.

'I do like' came the honest reply, although he felt his face was on fire. 'But I think we should do this in private….huh?'

Reluctantly Lan Zhan nodded and released him. Letting them both stand up, dust themselves off and resume their walk back towards the main hunt area.