Lan XiChen stifled a sigh. No sign of his weariness was visible on the impassive jade complexion, as he stiffly arose from the library table where he had been working through the outstanding Lan Clan business items. He carefully placed everything in their designated homes, rolling the scrolls and removing them to the shelves behind him. Walking to the door, he paused, facing the familiar grounds. Disciples moved with deliberation, never rushing yet always in motion. The trees and grasses responded to the freshening breeze, but he neither saw nor heard what was before him. His mind was occupied with thoughts of his younger brother. What to do about WangJi?

The events of the temple were far past, fading to history, and he would not look back, but he knew something had broken within his beloved brother about that time, and he didn't know how to help him. How to mend him and give him back the soul that seemed to have been frozen within. He'd been withdrawn from that time on, but for months now he had watched as Lan WangJi's famous parsimony with words grew, until entire days would pass without hearing his brother's voice at all. Others when Mn was the extent and equivalent of a conversation.

Unseeing eyes looked at the deepening sky, as Lan XiChen pondered the puzzle of his younger brother, wanting to help, not knowing how to do so.

A flutter of white robes hurrying towards him broke his reverie and Lan XiChen turned toward the heavy-breathing disciple, face flushed with the effort of trying to rush while staying at a walk.

"Yes, JingYi? What is it?"

"Sect..." A voice under great pressure squeaked out and stopped. The disciple swallowed deeply and took control of his voice once more. "Sect Leader, if you please, HanGuang-Jun is at the Gate and requests that you please come see him."

Lan XiChen's eyes grew puzzled as he looked questioningly at the young man before him, clearly agitated about something.

"Why does he not come in and speak with me here? Is there a problem at the Gate?"

Again, the disciple took overt care to control himself. "He's not alone."

"And...?"

"He...he's with him. The YiLing Laozu."

Lan XiChen froze in place. The YiLing Laozu? Wei WuXian? Here? His mind scrambled for information, drawing forth those memories so poorly locked away of the time when the Wen Clan had to be fought and the only weapon strong enough to defeat them was the YiLing Laozu. Closely followed were the confusing revelations of the Guanyin Temple, when he had seen with his own eyes the truth of the love between his brother and Wei WuXian. 

 Crashing down into his mind came the realization that his brother's withdrawal began when Wei WuXian left, to travel he said, see the world at last... pieces of history sifted, settled, and revealed what he'd suspected in his mind and known in his heart. This was Lan WangJi's missing piece. The reason he could not enjoy life as it used to be anymore. The reason he needed to speak, to smile, to anything.

He shook his head. Perhaps he was mistaken or reading too much into something simple. Perhaps Wei WuXian's travels had merely brought him to the region again and he wanted to pay his respects. A smile curved Lan XiChen's lips as he thought of how little care Wei WuXian had for receiving respect, and yet how freely he offered it to even the most humble.

"On my way."

At the Gate, two guards stood uncomfortably, unaccustomed to being faced with a silent Lan WangJi who refused to enter his home, asked to speak with his brother as if they were strangers, then waited silently as a message was sent. They exchanged quiet looks, a raised eyebrow, a faint shrug and neither knew what to do or how to behave. So, they did what the Lan Clan did best. They stood still and silent and kept to their posts.

Lan WangJi also stood silently, although his golden eyes were not still. They followed every move of the restless man in black prowling about the Gate, first examining one side, then the other, then turning to survey the path behind him, with the overwhelming granite Wall of Discipline, chiselled with 4,000 Rules to be obeyed. Wei WuXian ran his eyes over the ornate seal script. No, it looked like his absence had ended the updating. Apparently no miscreant since his time had been sufficiently wayward to warrant additional prohibitions to be officially listed.

Wei WuXian was mildly surprised. It had been years, yet the Gate looked the same as when he first came to Cloud Recesses to study with Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi. With all that had happened since, and the years gone by - even though he hadn't lived well over a decade of them - he somehow thought there should have been changes. Even the two disciples on guard could have been exchanged with those from back then. The very path was neither more nor less worn than it had been on that very first day. The woods were unaltered, and the sense of déjà vu was nearly overwhelming. He swallowed. Hard. That day had been the start of what he considered his real life. The day he first saw Lan WangJi, and the night he unknowingly lost his soul to him for the cost of a mere jar of Emperor's Smile – all the most valued pieces of his past were born of those first moments in this place.

He looked at Lan WangJi, standing so still and beautiful near the Gate. He'd been taken by surprise when Lan WangJi had drawn him to a halt as they reached the Gate. Instead of passing through as Wei WuXian had expected, Lan WangJi had stopped and after formally bowing to the startled guards he requested that they kindly ask his elder brother, Lan XiChen, to please come to the Gate to speak with him. The guards were clearly uncertain how to receive this strange event but eventually one had returned the bow and left to summon Lan XiChen, while the other two returned to their posts. Since then, Lan WangJi had stood, impassive and lovely, as if carved from the Jade for which he was named.

A small sound reached the ear. A brushing, as a leaf was scuffed along a path by a passing boot. Wei WuXian turned from inspecting his surroundings and returned his attention to the Gate. White robes approached with measured tread and Lan XiChen came into sight. 

 Lan XiChen. The elder of the famous Twin Jades, big brother to Lan WangJi. Lan XiChen shared the same perfect complexion, fair and smooth, as well as the spotless appearance and even more spotless conduct expected of all Lan Clan members, but most particularly of the two brothers. Called the Twin Jades, they did not look alike except in the details. Lan Zhan was cool and reserved to the point of coldness, a carved Jade ornament, and most people couldn't detect his feelings. If he was the immaculate, unattainable moon, his elder brother was the warm and welcoming sun. Lan XiChen, in contrast, was soothing and gentle, and frequently smiled. He had a stronger jawline and was slightly shorter compared to the more refined features of his younger brother, with his taller, slimmer yet phenomenally strong frame. The Twin Jades were renowned for their beauty, skill, and strength, closely matched by their reputations for gentleness, exemplary conduct and high expectations for themselves and others.

Well, years may come, and years may go, but the Jades remain unchanged, thought Wei WuXian to himself.

Lan XiChen bowed in greeting to Wei WuXian. "It has been a very long time. I trust you are well?"

Wei WuXian returned the bow. "Thank you, Lan XiChen. I've been busy staying alive..." Wei WuXian winced, realizing he had once again put his foot in it with his weird sense of humour. "I mean, quite well, thank you."

Lan XiChen kept his chuckle entirely to himself, showing no outward sign that he had enjoyed Wei WuXian's small tease. "And Brother? What is it that keeps you to the Gate? Would you not like to enter and perhaps offer your guest a meal?"

Lan WangJi bowed to his brother, who stepped back in alarm at this unanticipated behaviour.

"WangJi! What are you doing?" Lan XiChen took a closer look at his baby brother and realized – his ears were pink! He suddenly knew that despite the outward calm, Lan WangJi was struggling to find words, and calmed himself to allow his brother to find his voice.

"Not a guest."

Lan XiChen's eyes ranged between Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi, trying to understand what his brother was saying.

"Not a guest? But of course, WuXian must be our guest..." his voice trailed off as Lan WangJi stood up from his bow. One long arm reached out to Wei WuXian, took his hand, and drew him to his side, not releasing his grip. Wei WuXian's eyebrows rose, and his silver eyes widened as he realized Lan WangJi intended to make his stand here and now, and to his brother directly, not to mention the goggling disciples, struggling to maintain composure at the Gate.

"Not a guest. Wei Ying has returned. He is mine. I am his."

The most verbal communication Lan XiChen had received from his brother in far too many months. Four scant sentences. And all the world shifted and realigned.

This, then, truly was what Lan WangJi had so desperately needed all these long months, day after day, his soul drying out within him until he was more machine than man. There was no way Lan WangJi would have broached the matter with him unless he was certain of it, and knowing his brother, Lan XiChen knew he would not sway once he made his decision. The Lan Clan loved only once, always for life, and even if parted never strayed from being faithful. For him to make this declaration was tantamount to a vow. He had made his choice and would not abandon this path. A way must be found to make his wishes possible, for to lose his brother was unthinkable.

"Why do you not come in, WangJi, and offer WuXian a meal and a place to rest? He can be made very comfortable in our Guest Quarters, and we can speak of how to approach the elders together and make a plan..." Lan XiChen's voice trailed off as he saw the signs, too subtle for most others to notice, that his brother was beginning to stiffen and withdraw.

"XiongZhang, I will not enter Cloud Recesses again until I do with Wei Ying. With Wei Ying as my husband, a member of the Lan Clan. Where is Wei Ying, there am I. Where Wei Ying lives, there I will live."

Jaws dropped on everyone present, excepting the speaker. The shock on Lan XiChen's face was mirrored on Wei WuXian's, his expressive eyes wide and blinking frantically as he tried to absorb what Lan WangJi had just said. This went far beyond what he had expected when Lan WangJi first spoke to his brother.

Lan WangJi simply bowed once more to his brother, took Wei WuXian by the hand, and with a gentle tug led him away from Cloud Recesses.