a/n: Hello lovely readers! I recently fell in love with a new show and decided to pound out a quick one-shot as a sort of love letter to the wonderful characters, as well as just something sort of cathartic for myself. I managed to get the whole thing done in a couple of hours and it was honestly some of the most fun I've had writing in a good while.

Also disclaimer! I've only seen the first season of the animated series, so there may be one or two inaccurate lore bits, lol.

Wei Wuxian is always the one with a bright smile painted over his face. He's the one cracking jokes at everyone around until Jiang Chen either glares or (if he's in a particularly bad mood) grabs him and wrestles him to the floor.

…Which is completely unfair.

Wei Wuxian lets a small smirk pass across his face at the thought, the sheet rustling as he flops over onto his back.

He's always the one looking after the others, keeping a subtly protective eye on Yanli, running to cheer up Jiang Chen when he gets in his moods, slipping right into the chaos and stealing all the glory for himself.

When he does get hurt, he plays it up and begs to be pampered, making a joke out of everything with his loud wails and protests.

But not tonight.

No, tonight his room is unbearably hot, the air stuffy, the thin paper walls seeming to shrink around him. His arm pulses with a steady beat of pain, pushing any thoughts of sleep far out of his reach.

So, Wei Wuxian kicks off the sheet and rolls over, his body hitting the floor with a small thump and a groan. The shush of cloth ripples through the still air as he pulls on his outer robes and makes his way out to the gardens.

It's a beautiful, lonely night at the Cloud Recesses. The paths are lit with small, warm lanterns, casting pools of yellow along the gray path. Frogs croak in the bushes, a few leaping out of the way of his bare feet as they slap against the stone. He grits his teeth and pushes forward, one hand clamped around his aching shoulder.

A small voice prods at him, whispers he should have gotten it looked at earlier. But it was just a scrape, nothing major.

Now it feels hot under his hand, a steady throbbing that's increased in pitch over the last two days. He can barely move his arm without his jaw clenching, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.

Wei Wuxian plonks himself down on one of the rocks, poking at the water with the reed he plucked earlier, his other hand rubbing at his burning eyelids.

He doesn't cry.

He especially doesn't cry when there's no good reason to. (He just wants to sleep, he's exhausted, but the pain won't let him.) The water ripples as he taps it with the rush, sleepy fish swimming up to nibble at the end.

Wei Wuxian stays there for maybe half an hour. Pressure slowly builds up in his temples, a sort of dizziness that makes spots appear over his eyes. But it's cool and airy, and so he stays there until he remembers he's breaking another one of the rules, and he doesn't want to be caught and punished. Not tonight.

The trip back is much worse than the trip out. The dizziness grips tighter, forcing his hands to reach out and grab various objects just to keep from falling over.

He's so tired and it's getting hard to fight down the swollen feeling in his throat.

He barely closes the door when the first sob catches.

There's a soft thunk as his back hits the doorframe, masking the sound of the second sob. Then his arms wrap around his knees, forgetting for a second how bad of an idea that was. He ends up biting down on his sleeve, muffling the small cries of pain. Tears gather at the corners of his eyes, but he blinks them back because he doesn't cry.

But there's no one around. No one to play the fool for, the wide-eyed, happy-go-lucky fool.

He sobs. Quiet, so no one will hear, pressing his head down between his knees, squeezing his temples. Choking, gasping for breath, face contorting to let out a soft wail of agony because it hurts. His arm wraps around his empty stomach—he hasn't eaten in over a day, he's tired, but he can't sleep. He reaches up with a hand to stem the flow of snot coming out of his nose, the other hand squeezing onto the soft material of his pants, grabbing his own leg like it's the only thing keeping him from shattering like a broken vase.

He sobs. Wet tears drip off his chin and spotting his clothes and everything is falling apart. He doesn't know what to do, he doesn't know why he's feeling like this, he doesn't know, please don't let anyone hear this—

The wood behind his back vibrates as someone knocks against the door.

"Wei Wuxian?"

His head jerks up so fast he bangs it into the back of the door, eyes going wide. He glances at it, then shoves himself away from the door like it's burning him, scrubbing at his eyes with rough hands, scraping the skin around his eyes in the attempt to keep the tears away. Forcing an unwilling mouth into a wobbly smile as the door slides open.

"Ah, Lan Zhan! If it isn't my friend!" Reaching up to rub at the corners of his eyes, as if he's simply sleepy. He can feel the puffiness and winces as his fingers run over the small scratches he's caused.

The young man casts a look over him, his gaze steady and calm (and slightly disgruntled) as always.

"I saw the light on and heard some noises. I came to check that you weren't getting into trouble again."

"Aw, but even if I was, you wouldn't tell on me, right? We're friends!"

Letting out a small chuckle and crossing his arms, ignoring the sudden chill creeping over his limbs. He glances at the curtains, unruffled by any sort of wind.

No response, like usual.

"But, as you can see, I'm not doing anything here, so you…" Everything around him doubles, colors swerving into each other. His hand gropes at empty air, reaching for something to grab and failing to find it.

"Are you… alright?"

"I'm… fi…" His voice comes out faint, slurring in his throat. Then his knees drop from under him.

.

Lan Wanji doesn't quite remember reaching out to catch Wei Wuxian's crumpling body. The next thing he knows is the feeling of the young cultivator's weight hitting his arms, his head falling back, mouth slightly open to let in a few gasps.

His entire body is burning up. Lan Wanji can feel it, even through the layers of dark clothing, and his own breath catches in his throat.

What happened to him?

He wraps one hand around the back of Wei Wuxian's head, an arm slipping around his back, and gently lowers him to the floor.

"Wei Ying!" The words are soft, but more worried than he means them to be. His eyebrows pull together as his fingertips rub against the young man's cheek, trying to get him to respond. Long, delicate fingers press against a sweaty neck, feeling the heavy beat of his pulse.

"Wei Ying…"

Shaking his shoulder, watching his head loll to the side, lifeless except for the small rise and fall of his chest.

Lan Wanji glares, his fingers clenching into a fist to keep them from trembling. Why has Wei Wuxian not let him… or the healers, or anyone know that he wasn't feeling well? Just as soon as that thought crosses his mind, his gaze softens. How many times has Xichen gently prodded him with that same question?

He gives another small shake, and Wei Wuxian's body twitches in response, eyes fluttering as his face twists in pain.

Lan Wanji's gaze flicks from his face to the hand he has clamped around Wei Wuxian's shoulder. Fingers tangle into the soft cloth of Wei Wuxian's robe, pulling it back to look at his shoulder.

Red, angry and most certainly infected. Hot to the touch, and causing quite a bit of pain. He prods it ever so gently and Wei Wuxian's already paper-white face tinges with a bit of sickly green.

Lan Wanji curses his foolishness and pulls Wei Wuxian over on his side, just in case. A long shudder runs through the body that is usually bursting with energy and melodrama, the body that goes still.

Lan Wanji's heartbeat skids, until Wei Wuxian drags in another shuddering breath.

Once he is satisfied Wei Wuxian's stomach isn't going to try and force anything up, he lays Wei Wuxian down again with his back to the floor.

There's a part of him, the practical part, that says he should simply leave and inform the healers that Wei Wuxian has taken ill and leave him in their more than capable hands.

But—

His eyes catch on the red surrounding Wei Wuxian's eyes, contrasting harshly against his pale skin, taking in the small abrasions he must have made in the effort to scrub away his tears.

He wouldn't want anyone to see him like this.

Lan Wanji presses his lips together in concentration, trying to remember how the spell goes. Blue flames engulf his hand, though there's no heat to them. If only he had brought his guqin to help aid his magic. He runs his hand up and down the injured shoulder, watching the wound slowly shrink with each pass. He will need medicine when he wakes, and Lan Wanji will certainly not let him go without a strong word of advice to see the healers, but this will help for now.

Now, he just needs to keep Wei Wuxian comfortable. He glances over towards the bed, but that will require a fair bit of jostling, no matter how gentle he tries to be.

So instead, somehow, Wei Wuxian's head finds it's way into his lap. Somehow, his fingers work their way into the dark, unruly hair, painted with the warm colors of candle light. He tries to smooth it out, frowning each time it springs back. Much like Wei Wuxian himself.

He begins humming one of the songs he likes to play on his guqin. It's different than the rest: not one whose purpose is to communicate with spirits or quiet resentful energy, but simply to release a bit of music into the air, to sooth the living rather than those passed.

.

Consciousness slips into Wei Wuxian's body and he gives a small moan. Soft cloth presses against his cheek.

His eyes flutter open to the sight of blue and white, the sound of soft humming. Gentle fingers press against his hair, smoothing it down.

"Lan Zhan..." he murmurs, letting a goofy smile slide over his face.

The hands still, the humming cuts off.

"How long ago did you get that wound?"

There it is, the simultaneously sharp and soft words of Lan Wanji.

"T… two days ago." He grins, but his voice comes out weak, his words slurring. "When we…we ran into the… trouble wwwith… some of the Wen clan." He rolls a sleepy eye up towards the owner of the lap he's currently resting in, and almost startles at the obvious concern flickering in Lan Wanji's eyes. Then it snaps back to his usual disgruntled look.

"I remember. When you rushed in so foolishly and almost upset the whole operation."

"I think you… meant saved it." He lets out a quick gasp as fingers press against his scalp, lifting his head. "Lan Zhan…" His voice cracks as he tries to raise the volume, his throat refusing to go any louder. " 'm already injured, d-don't…"

His head is gently settled onto the floor and a small moan escapes his lips.

"Lay still. You need medicine. I will be back."

He sweeps out of the room in a flurry of blue and white and black. Wei Wuxian lets his face drop, shivering in the sudden cold without the other young man's body heat. Then all the pain and the trembling floods back.

He pulls his knees in towards his chest and curls up, as if that will somehow make it all go away. A lump rears up in his throat and he tries to swallow it, but it pushes past, blurring his eyesight with something wet that slips down his cheeks.

"Now—wait… what's wrong?"

The chuff of cloth as Lan Wanji drops beside him. That concerned gaze again. Wei Wuxian lets out a small, choking laugh, reaching up to swipe away the tears, but—

His wrist is caught in Lan Wanji's gentle, firm grip.

"You don't want to move your arm. It will only hurt more."

Lips pressing into a thin line as soft sleeves wipe away at his cheeks

Wei Wuxian gives another watery smile that turns into a wince as the cloth catches on the small abrasions.

"I didn't know you cared so much."

A glare.

"Drink this."

His head, once more being lifted onto the soft mess of robes and lap, warm fingers pressing a cup to his lips. He swallows the bitter medicine then presses his body closer.

"Does this mean we're friends now?"

The only answer is a very long sigh.

a/n: Wei Wuxian is my bby and he needs all the hugs and I wuv him. XD