Madam Yu's words echo through his head. "Protect Jiang Cheng, even if you die." He's based so many actions off of that one sentence, each one justified in his head. He gave up his core, he studied demonic cultivation, he'd killed the ones who took so much from his brother; everything was for him. He will never do a thing that could hurt Jiang Cheng—

Will he?

The first thing that registers when he wakes up is the pounding headache, the likes of which he hasn't experienced since before the fall of Lotus Pier. Second, he recognizes the distinct feeling of being unwell—the intuitive knowledge that something has gone very wrong. Finally, he feels his nakedness, his stickiness, and the arm thrown across his back.

Wei Wuxian lies bare, belly-down on a bed, and there is someone next to him who seems to be in a similar situation. It takes a second for the implications to hit him: he had intercourse last night.

He turns, panicked, wondering which maiden he had dared to bed during a war—they might have won a major battle yesterday, but it's no excuse for such behavior. He does not want to become the next Jin Guangshan, sleeping across the cultivational world, leaving broken hearts and illegitimate children in his wake.

However, it turns out that he does not need to worry about illegitimate children, because the person sleeping next to him is distinctly male—and young. The man must be the same age as Wei Wuxian, if not younger, and Wei Wuxian wonders who he is, this man whose face is buried into the crook of his own elbow. He wonders why he seems so familiar, and Wei Wuxian wonders why he had slept with a man in the first place. After all, he'd never considered himself to be a cut-sleeve…his interests, from the day puberty had made itself apparent, had always been in women.

(Vaguely, his mind whispers, "But that's not true, is it?" White flashes behind his eyes, red ears and silky hair and softly strummed notes on a guqin reverberate in his head. "You've dreamed of him, too, haven't you?")

None of it changes the fact that it has happened, though, and Wei Wuxian observes the other man some more. He has the defined muscles of any decent cultivational disciple, and his legs are still tangled with Wei Wuxian's. His skin is slightly tanned from hours in the sun, his hair is wild and unkempt, and his fingers are not the ones that strum beautiful melodies in his dreams. The more Wei Wuxian studies him, the more details pop up: the scratches on his shoulders that are probably from last night, the slightly odd angle of his flexed left thumb (from that accident with the boat when they were thirteen), the scar on the side of his neck (from when he was still learning how to properly handle his sword), the bump on his left hip (from three days ago, when he was hit a bit too hard by a Wen soldier)—

With a sinking feeling, Wei Wuxian realizes who the man is. Man, he says—he's a boy, in actuality. He is Wei Wuxian's little brother, and Wei Wuxian had—

Abruptly, Jiang Cheng wrenches his arm off of his face and sits up, staring at him with wide eyes. Wei Wuxian stares back. He immediately tries to scramble backward—it's Jiang Cheng, he'd touched Jiang Cheng, he'd done this to his dear little brother—only for the other man to lurch forward and grasp his right arm.

"Wei Wuxian," Jiang Cheng says, voice scratchy, eyes starting to water, "what happened?" Wei Wuxian can only watch in horror as thick, hot tears roll down Jiang Cheng's cheeks, because Jiang Cheng knows very well what happened. His grip on Wei Wuxian's arm tightens as he drags him closer. "Wei Wuxian," he sobs, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—"

Immediately, Wei Wuxian envelopes him in a hug, just like he always did on those few occasions that Jiang Cheng sobbed his heart out. Both of them are sticky and uncomfortable, and the slide of their skins against each other is almost painful, but Wei Wuxian doesn't dare stop, because Jiang Cheng's arms wrap around his abdomen as he presses his face into Wei Wuxian's shoulder.

Wei Wuxian can feel the tears on his skin. "You have nothing to be sorry about," Wei Wuxian assures softly.

Jiang Cheng pulls back violently. "We—Wei Wuxian, we—" More tears fall from his eyes as it becomes apparent that he can't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"An accident," Wei Wuxian assures, putting on Jiang Yanli's most comforting smile even as he feels the sudden urge to vomit. "Let's clean ourselves up, okay? You'll feel better then."

He nods hesitantly, and reluctantly peels his hands off of Wei Wuxian's back. He scoots backward, pulling the blanket over himself as he huddles against the cloth of the tent, head down. Wei Wuxian's heart breaks, but he forces himself to think as he finally looks down on himself.

He's covered in dried liquid and he suspects that he smells very distinct, so he starts to scour the tent—it's Jiang Cheng's tent, not his—and he eventually manages to find a pitcher full of alcohol. Ignoring painful ache in his hips, he douses himself with it, knowing that people will think he drank too much, but at least they won't smell the product of last night. The alcohol even manages to wash some of the dried liquid off of his body, but not much. He still has to scrub himself with a wayward towel he manages to scavenge to make himself somewhat presentable.

When he goes to put on his robes, he finds that his inner ones are torn in multiple places, but his outerrobes are untouched. He pulls them on, tells a still-huddled Jiang Cheng to stay inside so he can go grab some things, and hurries out of the tent.

It's very early in the morning, and the only other people who are awake are some Lan disciples—including, unfortunately, Lan Wangji. The older man finds Wei Wuxian while he is scooping a bucket full of water from the nearby stream. "Wei Ying," Lan Wangji says, nose just barely twitching from the smell, "the alcohol…"

"Ah, Lan Zhan, I got a bit carried away with the drinking last night. Ended up passing out in Jiang Cheng's tent—I'm lucky he didn't kick me out." He really is. Jiang Cheng would have been well within his rights to throw Wei Wuxian out the moment he woke up, but he hadn't.

Lan Wangji stares at him, concerned, and Wei Wuxian tries to ignore his gaze as he hauls the water back to the campsite. Honestly, Wei Wuxian would be worried, too, because how much he reeks of alcohol suggests that he drank a truly dangerous amount, but smelling like this is better than the alternative.

He waves Lan Wangji off multiple times when he offers to help. "Don't worry about it—if Jiang Cheng finds out, he'll throw a tantrum. Do you have any idea what he told me this morning? He said, 'I let you pass out on my floor so you go get me some water.' Can you believe him?" Never mind the fact that Jiang Cheng would probably never do that, even in one of his rages—to Lan Wangji, it must seem probable, because he finally backs off.

Wei Wuxian boils the water in silence before bringing it back to Jiang Cheng's tent, grabbing a bit of soap on the way.

Inside, Jiang Cheng sits on his bed, no longer covered by the blanket or crying, apparently having calmed down. His back is to the opening, and Wei Wuxian nearly drops the bucket of water—the entirety of his back is covered in angry red scratches, and Wei Wuxian looks down at his own nails, noticing a bit of red underneath them. Dear Lord, what has he done?

"Jiang Cheng, I—"

Jiang Cheng turns to look at him, face no longer covered in tears, eyes much more focused and aware. "Wei Wuxian," he says, "look at this." He turns so that his front is facing Wei Wuxian and spreads his legs out. It's nothing that Wei Wuxian hasn't seen before—they were both boys who were raised together, after all—but he feels intensely unsettled by the blatant amount of trust Jiang Cheng puts into his movements. Don't trust me, Wei Wuxian wants to scream, I did this to you!

He feels it even more acutely when he realizes what, exactly, Jiang Cheng wants him to look at. On the inside of his thighs, there are multiple red, teeth-shaped marks—the kind that one gives in the throws of passion, and the kind that will take a while to fade away, even with extra attention from a golden core.

Wei Wuxian opens his mouth—to speak, to apologize, to beg for forgiveness that he doesn't deserve—but Jiang Cheng beats him to it. "I don't remember anything from last night," he says. "Do you?"

Wei Wuxian eventually manages, "I drank more than I usually do."

"You don't remember, either," Jiang Cheng accepts. "Is the water still hot?"

"Yes—it'll cool down in a bit." He sets the bucket down, only for his head to snap up when he hears a small hiss of pain. Jiang Cheng is standing up, rolling his shoulders in short, quick motions, face set in a slight grimace. "Jiang Cheng, are you alright?" His voice is more high-pitched than usual.

Jiang Cheng sends him a scowl. "You monster—you really had to go and scratch an entire book into my back, didn't you?" He waits, expecting Wei Wuxian to counter with a quip and a laugh. That doesn't happen.

Instead, Wei Wuxian rushes to him wildly, observing the scratches up and down his back and shoulders, barely-contained horror in his eyes. "Jiang Cheng, I'm so sorry—after you take a bath, I'll rub some medicine into them. Does it hurt too much? You can—"

"Wei Wuxian," Jiang Cheng says, "calm down. It doesn't hurt that bad."

Wei Wuxian frowns. It must hurt—someone's nails clawing down your skin is not something you can just ignore. Still, there is concern in Jiang Cheng's face…concern for him. It takes a moment for Wei Wuxian to realize that Jiang Cheng hadn't meant to be malicious in what he said, instead trying to initiate a normal conversation between the two of them in the most natural way he knew: insulting him.

In the span of a few seconds, it becomes apparent that their usual banter will not be happening, not in this delicate situation.

Quietly, Wei Wuxian says, "I'll check on the water."

"You just boiled it, didn't you? It's not going to have cooled down by now, idiot." He glances at the still steaming bucket. "Go get some more, would you?"

Wei Wuxian nods and immediately obliges, turning to do as he's told without a second thought. More people are awake now, but none of them dare to cross paths with the unusually stone-faced demonic cultivator—even Lan Wangji treads lightly, apparently sensing that this is something more than Wei Wuxian's usual arrogance. He can just brush it off as a bad hangover, so he doesn't care too much.

This time when Wei Wuxian comes back, Jiang Cheng is waiting impatiently by the first bucket. "Finally," he says. "Help me in." Wei Wuxian once again obliges, then, after putting the soap within arm's reach of Jiang Cheng, turns to walk out, only for the younger man to ask, "Where are you going?"

"Outside."

"Help me, you moron."

"Ah." Slowly, robotically, Wei Wuxian approaches where Jiang Cheng is in the tub. "What do you need?"

Jiang Cheng gives him an unreadable look, then says, "I can't move my arms that well because of my shoulders—" Wei Wuxian curls in on himself ever so slightly— "so help me wash myself, okay?"

"Okay."

What commences is complete and utter awkwardness, with Wei Wuxian obviously unwilling to do much actual washing. It gets even worse when Wei Wuxian moves on to Jiang Cheng's back—he barely glances over the scratches, as if scared that he'll break something if he so much as touches them. That is what finally gets Jiang Cheng angry.

Violently, he turns around and grabs both of Wei Wuxian's arms. Wei Wuxian, eyes wide, says, "Did I hurt you? Of course I did. I'll go find—"

"Shut up! You didn't hurt me one bit, you hear? Look me in the eyes, Wei Wuxian!"

Hesitantly, Wei Wuxian does, and he's stunned by the fierce protectiveness in them. Jiang Cheng says, "I trust you. I trust you with my life, so I definitely trust you to wash my back. So, don't just try to run away!"

"But I—"

"Didn't do anything! We were black-out drunk. You are not to blame. You must have thought I was someone else. You already said this was an accident, so why don't you believe your own words, huh?"

It's easy—natural, even—to just comfort Jiang Cheng, protect him, follow Madam Yu's last instructions, but now Jiang Cheng seems like he doesn't need comfort or protection. What is Wei Wuxian left with? The guilt that he's marked Jiang Cheng's skin in such painful and indecent ways. He's failed to do his one job: keep Jiang Cheng safe. Wei Wuxian himself had hurt him.

Jiang Cheng shakes him violently. "Wei Wuxian, stop thinking whatever you're thinking! You're being stupid! This is—this is superficial. This is nothing to worry about, right? I didn't get hurt, so—" His expression shutters. "Wei Wuxian," he says, a growing amount of horror in his voice, "are you hurt?"

Wei Wuxian doesn't answer. How can he explain that, physically, the ache in his hips and behind and neck and so many other places barely registers? How can he explain that he is hurt, but only deep down in his heart and his head? How can he explain that it hurts to breathe now, because of what he did?

"Wei Wuxian!" Jiang Cheng says, panicking. "Wei Wuxian, you…you—where are you hurt? Tell me!"

Why can't he say anything? He's Wei Wuxian, the arrogant demonic cultivator who can wipe out armies on his own, who dared to insult Wen Chao to his face, who managed to get the perfect Second Jade of Lan to tell him to "Piss off!" He's the one who can't stop talking, Lan Qiren's only problem student, he is Wei Wuxian! And…and he feels like someone ripped him open and scooped out his insides, leaving only hollowness behind.

Jiang Cheng shakes him again, this time climbing out of the tub—using Wei Wuxian's shoulder to balance himself—and dragging him over to the bed, forcing him to sit down. "Wei Wuxian, look at me," he says, voice firm and unyielding.

Wei Wuxian does.

"Good," Jiang Cheng says. "Where are we?"

"The…your tent."

"Good. How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"What is my courtesy name?"

"Jiang Wanyin."

Jiang Cheng frowns at him, apparently unsatisfied with something. Then, he says, "Where is Hanguang-Jun right now?"

"I…how could I—"

"Where do you think?"

Well, that's an interesting question. Over the last two months, Wei Wuxian has become very in-tune with Lan Wangji's morning routine. When Wei Wuxian first went outside, Lan Wangji was helping prepare some breakfast, so it must have been a quarter to six. By now, he has probably already finished breakfast, so he must be patrolling. He likes to start from the front of the camp and head clockwise, and he stays at each post for five minutes, so it's easy to come to a possible conclusion. "Maybe near the western edge of the camp," he says, "by the tents of the Jin disciples."

When his eyes focus back onto Jiang Cheng, he's smiling. "Good," his younger brother says, "that's good."

It's only then that Wei Wuxian realizes that he's stopped shivering. He hadn't even known that he'd started shivering in the first place. Shivering in general is not good, for most cultivators can regulate their own body temperature with their golden core. Wei Wuxian might not have a golden core anymore, but that shouldn't be a problem because it's not cold today, and even if it was, his robes are very good insulation. In conclusion, he should not be shivering.

Jiang Cheng, apparently having read his mind, says, "Hey, don't overthink it. This can happen even if you're not cold."

"Really?" Wei Wuxian asks, vaguely interested.

"If you're high on adrenaline, and if you're under a lot of stress, it can happen on its own."

He stares at him. "How do you know that?"

Jiang Cheng's expression turns unreadable before contorting into faux exasperation. "The medics are interesting people who know a great deal of things. Something you would notice if you got off your high horse every once in a while."

"Ah." Wei Wuxian doesn't feel up to banter just yet.

Jiang Cheng takes the hint and backs off. "Wei Wuxian," he says softly, "are you hurt anywhere?"

Wei Wuxian looks away. "I scratched up your back. I bit your thighs."

"And you'll pay for that. Later. Now, where does it hurt?"

Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. He's known early on that his hips hurt, but after a great deal of walking, he's realized something else hurts, too. He's too embarrassed to say it, but Jiang Cheng's insistent face isn't giving him any options. Softly he mutters it.

Jiang Cheng leans closer. "What? You need to speak up."

Face warm and undoubtedly red, Wei Wuxian says, "My hips hurt, and so does my…my butt." Inside his butt. It's uncomfortable and indecent and makes Wei Wuxian want to curl up into a ball and die. To take his mind off of it, he continues, "My neck hurts, too."

Jiang Cheng grabs the opportunity to not look at the lower half of his brother's body just yet. "Where on your neck does it hurt?"

"The very back and the back-left."

"Lift up your hair so I can check."

Wei Wuxian obliges and Jiang Cheng inspects the back of his neck. He sucks in a deep breath. "I think," he mutters, "I've paid you back for biting my thighs."

Wei Wuxian's eyes widen. "Are there marks on my neck?" he demands. If anyone finds out…(if he finds out…).

"Only one," Jiang Cheng quickly assures. "It's in the back. Can I touch it to show you?"

"Yeah."

Jiang Cheng presses a spot high up in the very back of his neck, and Wei Wuxian immediately feels a sting of pain. Jiang Cheng, recognizing it, pulls back. "Is that one of the spots it hurts?"

"Yes."

"I…it should be fine if you don't touch it too much. Just keep your hair down—it should be gone in a week."

It would be if he had his golden core, but Wei Wuxian doesn't, so it will probably remain for longer. Forcing his mind off of it, he asks, "And the other spot?"

"I didn't see anything there."

Wei Wuxian sighs. "I figured. I think I just strained my neck by sleeping wrong."

"That will go away soon, too." Jiang Cheng pulls back. "Do you want me to take a look at your hips now?"

Sucking in a deep breath, Wei Wuxian nods. He stands and undoes his outer robes, ignores Jiang Cheng's gaping at the state of his inner robes, and finally pulls those off, too. In the end, he's once again naked, and he looks down at himself. Despite scrubbing himself down earlier, Wei Wuxian hadn't paid that much attention to the state of his own body. When he sees himself, he immediately regrets letting Jiang Cheng look.

Both his hips have very distinct, hand-shaped bruises and are an angry, flaming red. Around them are other, less-distinct but still noticeable hand-shaped bruises that are in various different positions. At least these are a pretty pink instead of a nauseating crimson.

Slowly, with a shaky hand, Jiang Cheng lifts his hand to Wei Wuxian's right hip. Wei Wuxian grimaces at the reminder of the ache, but still watches on. Dully, Jiang Cheng says, "They're the same size as my hands." It was Jiang Cheng's hands that made them, so that's a fair observation to make. "It looks painful." They only give a vague but insistent ache. "I did this to you."

"It was an accident," Wei Wuxian whispers. It calms himself down, and Jiang Cheng seems to be somewhat mollified.

Still, he says, "We're traveling today. I don't know if you can—"

"I can still walk, Jiang Cheng." He's bared much worse than this before.

Jiang Cheng shakes his head. "Your butt…"

"I think I know why it hurts," Wei Wuxian said.

Evidently Jiang Cheng does as well, judging from how he doesn't quite look Wei Wuxian in the eyes. Upon seeing how uncomfortable his brother has become, Wei Wuxian manages to muster up whatever humor he has left. "I guess Nie Huaisang's porn books weren't lying."

"Did we even properly prepare?" Jiang Cheng asks. "It…isn't it dangerous if we don't? I was so drunk, I don't think that I—"

"It was an accident."

"If you accidentally kill someone, you're still charged with murder, Wei Wuxian," Jiang Cheng says. "This isn't different."

"You didn't murder anybody."

"But I hurt you!"

Wei Wuxian doesn't understand. He's brought this upon himself—he had gotten drunk and taken advantage of his own little brother. Jiang Cheng is the one who's been hurt, not him. "You didn't hurt me," Wei Wuxian says.

"Your hips!" Jiang Cheng says. "Your neck! Your butt! They happened because of me!"

"Your shoulders and back and thighs happened because of me," Wei Wuxian points out.

Jiang Cheng scowls at him, full-force. "Wei Wuxian, why are you denying this? Why are you acting like I didn't do this to you?"

"You didn't hurt me." How on Earth could Jiang Cheng ever hurt him?

"Wei Wuxian!" Jiang Cheng yells—and dear Lord, Wei Wuxian is glad that the tents have silencing talismans. "You idiot! You're human, just like me—you can get hurt! You are hurt! You just said that you're in pain!"

And, well, Wei Wuxian is in pain, isn't he? So how can he respond? Quietly, Wei Wuxian says, "I'm hurt, but you didn't hurt me."

"Those were my hands!"

"And those were my nails!"

Finally, both of them start to sob. Through his tears, Wei Wuxian sees Jiang Cheng stumbling towards him, and they both hug each other tightly—still buck-naked, still unsure of themselves, but in desperate need of comfort anyway. After all, where have they arrived? There are two conclusions: either neither of them are to blame, or both of them are to blame. They wish for the former, but they know it's the latter.

They stay like this for a long while; not a demonic cultivator and his sect leader, but two brothers who've made an irreversible mistake. Finally, when they've both calmed down a bit, they pull back.

"Are you mad at me?" Jiang Cheng asks distantly.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"You didn't want me to be your first, did you?" He looks at him. "And please don't deny that I was your first or I might actually punch you."

Wei Wuxian stares. "You didn't want me to be your first, either."

Jiang Cheng dips his head in agreement. "But you have someone else in mind, don't you?"

Guqin strings and bunnies and "Wei Ying" echo in his head. "Yes," he admits.

"Who is it?"

Wei Wuxian doesn't answer. Jiang Cheng may have discovered that Wei Wuxian is a cut-sleeve, but Wei Wuxian is still unwilling to reveal with whom, exactly, his current interests lie. (Current? He's had these same interests for the last three years. None of Yunmeng's ladies had struck a chord with him after he'd returned to Yunmeng—at least, not like they had before he'd left.)

Jiang Cheng shakes his head. "You don't want to tell me." He sounds mildly offended, but he doesn't push it.

Wei Wuxian says, "And you? Do you have someone in mind?"

"No." There's no hesitance in his voice, no concern, just a clear-cut answer. "Never has been. I don't know if there ever will be."

"You'll find someone one day."

"Wei Wuxian." His voice sounds frustrated. "Not once in eighteen years have I ever wanted someone." He repeats, "Not once."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"What about your list? For a good wife?"

He looks away. "Mother said that's the kind of woman I'd need."

"Oh." They sit in silence for a few moments before Wei Wuxian's eyes widen as he makes a connection. In horror, he asks, "If you've never wanted someone, then last night, did I—" Did Wei Wuxian force him?

Jiang Cheng immediately shakes his head. "No. I might have never seen someone that way, but I can still get…" He trails off, too embarrassed to finish, but Wei Wuxian understands what he means. Clearing his throat, Jiang Cheng continues, "I was most-likely also having a good time."

"Good." Wei Wuxian nods. "Good," he repeats. "That's…that's good."

Finally, Jiang Cheng stands. "I'm clean now," he says. "And relatively dry. Your turn to take a bath."

Wei Wuxian looks up, startled. "What?"

"Why do you think I made you drag another tub up here? Get in."

Seeing no way out, Wei Wuxian agrees, and lets himself be scrubbed clean by Jiang Cheng. He takes extra care of Wei Wuxian's hands, cleaning under his nails and frowning at how one of them seems chipped. "Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Good." He keeps on cleaning. Finally, when Wei Wuxian is nearly clean, he says, "Wei Wuxian, since we had intercourse in the manner that we did, I think there might be another place that also needs to be cleaned."

Oh. He has a point. Wei Wuxian reaches down and, ignoring the discomfort, inspects himself. He feels sticky. He closes his eyes. "Jiang Cheng, can you turn around for a little bit?"

"Of course," Jiang Cheng says as he obliges.

Shoving down the shame, Wei Wuxian cleans himself. When he's done, he stands in the tub, and Jiang Cheng slowly helps him out and hands him a towel. "Dry yourself. I have some of your robes, so don't wear that thing, okay?" He nods to Wei Wuxian's ruined inner robe and crumpled outer robe.

"Why do you have my robes?"

"They were returned to me after they were washed. They used to give them to you, but they stopped when they realized that you kept managing to soil them."

Ah, that's why the disciples stopped handing him his robes. "How are your robes from last night?"

"Okay. It's split at the seam near my left hip, but other than that it's basically fine."

Wei Wuxian offers him a smile. "Those poor disciples of yours—they'll be mending your clothes without any idea of what got them that way."

Jiang Cheng relaxes at the return of Wei Wuxian's teasing. "When they see yours, they'll probably think that a bear mauled you."

"Ah, those poor souls—they'll have a heart attack if they ever find out that it was the fault of the mighty Sect Leader Jiang!"

They both let out soft chuckles, and that's when a voice sounds from outside. "Sect Leader Jiang, Young Master Wei," a random Jiang disciple calls, "Zewu-Jun is requesting your presence!"

Wei Wuxian's eyes widen as he scoops his outer robe off the floor and pulls it on in such a way that no one will be able to tell that he's naked underneath it. He pulls the flap of the tent open and says, "Inform him that we'll be there shortly."

The disciple nods and walks off, and Wei Wuxian lets the flap drop. What follows is a mad dash to put on their robes, comb their hair, and brush their teeth. Finally, when they're both ready, they rush out, grabbing the leftovers of breakfast from the make-shift kitchen and heading straight toward the main tent where they and other prominent cultivators plan their next strategies.

"Sect Leader Jiang, Young Master Wei," Lan Xichen says pleasantly when they enter. "It's good to see you among the living."

"Sorry," Wei Wuxian says as he continues to stuff his face full with steamed buns, "I had a massive hangover and Jiang Cheng had to make sure I wasn't going to die."

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, exasperated, and the other people in the room chuckle. Lan Wangji, however, narrows his eyes. Belatedly, Wei Wuxian realizes that this excuse doesn't exactly line up with the one he gave Lan Wangji this morning, and he holds his breath, waiting for him to call them out, wondering how he will fix this mess when he does.

But Lan Wangji doesn't say a word. Maybe because he doesn't care enough to, or maybe he doesn't feel like antagonizing both Wei Wuxian and his brother at once. Either way, Wei Wuxian mentally thanks him.

The discussion continues on, and Wei Wuxian melts into the background, only speaking to intimidate anyone who's making Jiang Cheng's job hard. Jiang Cheng seamlessly transitions into a battle tactician, muttering over maps and presenting points and counterpoints.

Finally, everyone agrees on a plan, and all thoughts of last night and this morning leave Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's minds.

Lan Xichen offers them both a smile. "It's decided. At noon, we march for Yunmeng to take back Lotus Pier."

Wei Wuxian hurt Jiang Cheng and he will never forgive himself, but he buries it deep down in his heart. (He never even once considers that Jiang Cheng thinks he's hurt Wei Wuxian, even when Jiang Cheng occasionally gives him looks of guilt and shame.) But there's a war to be won, so they both let it go.

For now.

"The hours trip rapidly away, hiding

their dreams in their skirts.

Our life is short; it yields but a

few days for love.

Were it for work and drudgery it

would be endlessly long.

Brother, keep that in mind and

rejoice."

- Rabindranath Tagore, "The Gardener LXVIII"

I wrote this in one day after reading a really upsetting fanfic (it was SO GOOD but it was also upsetting yk) and I was like "oooh I want to write something like that" and I thought jc and wwx dealing with the aftermath of having drunk sex during the sunshot campaign would be perfect! And then I went and filled it with comfort and fluff and brotherly feels, because of course I did.

Anyway, I may or may not turn this into a series, but I probably won't. For now, it remains a one-shot.

I hope you enjoyed it!