At the Jingshi, all was quiet. Bright sunlight bathed the rooms, warmth permeating the space. Healer Shui sat at the desk, adding brush marks to health records, trying to find the characters to describe the indescribable.

On the bed, Wei WuXian lay quietly asleep, gentle breaths evidenced in the rise and fall of his chest, which had been exposed by Lan WangJi, sitting to one side. Lan SiZhui had been sent off to rest, the shock of the day showing more clearly on his young face than Healer Shui had liked. Lan WangJi had flatly refused all efforts to draw him to rest and Healer Shui had to be satisfied with watching him closely, although he had prepared a restorative tea that Lan WangJi had reluctantly accepted, sipping until it was gone.

Lan WangJi now sat beside his husband as he loosened his robes and pulled them aside, taking silent inventory of the changes to his body. The body he had grown to love – had learned to love, had learned how to make love – was no more. The limbs were longer, shoulders wider and hands and feet larger. What had been an unnerving skinniness on the smaller body of Mo XuanYu was frighteningly gaunt on Wei WuXian's wiry frame. The very bones and muscles seemed to have been reworked. Where Mo XuanYu had a gentle curve to his chest, the flatter planes of Wei WuXian's strong pectorals were now in evidence. Mo XuanYu's delicate fingers had been replaced by stronger hands, complete with archer's calluses. White lacework adorned long shins and a place or two on hands and arms, from ancient dog bites, long ago healed and mostly forgotten, save the enduring fear of canines. The Wen brand was prominent on the altered chest, an angry line carved deeply down the centre.

Lan WangJi winced at the sight of a nasty scar that indicated the surgery that removed Wei WuXian's original golden Core. The scar was discoloured, swollen and jagged and looked as if it had been made mere days before, which in fact, it had at the time Wei WuXian had been thrown to his supposedly inevitable death in the Burial Mounds. Even as he watched, Wei WuXian's golden Core was beginning to repair it, the discolouration slowly starting to lift and the scar tissue thin.

Lan WangJi rolled his husband slightly to one side to see his back. More thin white lines of old injuries, overlaid with a web of purple scars adorned his back, the record of repeated attack by a spiritual weapon. The purple stripes ended in a complicated thread work of thinning purple traces, splitting and lacing further from one another until they were no longer visible, like fraying edges of cotton fabric. The lack of flesh was frightening when Lan WangJi could see every knob of Wei WuXian's spine, and he realized that the buttocks Mo XuanYu's body had been losing were now hardly evident at all.

Wei Ying, let me take care of you. Let me feed you, hold you, love you...I'll care for you better. Oh, Wei Ying. Please be alright. Come back to me, my love. Lan WangJi prayed without ceasing, all the while he refamiliarized himself with the body he'd thought gone forever. The body he'd never been intimate with, although parts of it had rarely been revealed by accident, such as in the XuanWu Cave.

Lan WangJi finally finished his inventory, and gently redressed his husband. He drew the quilts back up and Wei WuXian sighed, turning his head into the pillow. Lan WangJi ran his fingers carefully through Wei WuXian's hair, looking where it slipped over his hand, and watching as it drifted back down onto the covers. Even this had changed. Mo XuanYu had fine, wavy hair, prone to tangling, that glistened like silk in sunlight when combed. It now felt thicker and coarser, more like he remembered Wei WuXian from days long gone, when the winds of travel by sword would seek to knot, only to be bested with the briefest of combing after. The coarser texture caught light differently also, almost twinkling where bends and kinks reflected the light. Thicker, straighter lashes in a lush fringe rested on high cheekbones under dark brows, drawn like swords on a smooth brow. A straight nose led the way to full lips, closed above a strong, angled jaw, their colour emphasized by the contrast with the tiny, dark spot below the bottom lip. Lan WangJi's heart ached at the beauty he'd kept alive in his memory for so many years, finally before him in the flesh. Mo XuanYu had been very pretty, and Lan WangJi had loved his face and body for the sake of the soul within...but this – this was his Wei Ying, and Wei WuXian was stunningly beautiful.

A knock at the door and Lan WangJi looked up as Lan XiChen entered, followed by Healer Zhang. Holding a finger to his lips for quiet, Lan WangJi beckoned his brother over to the bedchamber.

Lan XiChen entered, his eyes on his brother. When he opened his mouth to greet him, Lan WangJi simply shook his head for silence and indicated that he should look at Wei WuXian.

Lan XiChen inhaled with a sharp gasp. His eyes went wide, looking askance back to his brother, then back to Wei WuXian's sleeping face once more. Silently the two brothers crossed the Jingshi over to where Healer Shui was continuing to work at the desk, shaping up the records for removal later in the day, should all go well as he quietly murmured with Healer Zhang.

"Healer Shui, can you explain this?" asked Lan XiChen. "He... that's... what happened?"

Healer Shui shook his head. "We don't know, Sect Leader," he replied. "Master Wei began suffering seizures yesterday. They worsened considerably overnight, until this morning. Earlier he had a massive seizure and we sent for Healer Zhang. While Healer Zhang was here earlier, he had one final seizure, the most violent of all, and when his body calmed, he was like this." He gestured across the way to the bedchamber. "I'm told his physical being now looks as it did in his first lifetime. Certainly, I don't see any physical evidence of the Master Wei I've come to know. From my perspective, this is an entirely new patient. One I've never met."

"His appearance is indeed the Wei WuXian we knew as a young man," said Lan XiChen.

"Mn," added Lan WangJi. "His scars from before have all been replaced. His body, his skin, his face... even his hair is as it was."

"I've checked his pulses and Healer Zhang also checked his spiritual energy, as best he could," said Healer Shui. "The resentful energy within prevents a close look at his Core, but his balances are certainly improving, although still a bit Yin-heavy, and his pulses are close to normal. I don't know how this happened or why, but it was clear to see after the final seizure. He hasn't had another since the change. He may simply be resting to recover from the change, or from how he saved the Grandmaster. Hopefully once he awakens, he can tell us more."

All four men walked quietly over to where Wei WuXian rested. Thick, straight lashes lay their fringes on cheeks above lips slightly parted as he breathed. Lost in their private thoughts, none heard the door open, and it wasn't until the tread of boots reached the bedchamber that anyone looked up.

Lan QiRen had not liked being put off when he asked questions about his illness. When Lan XiChen excused himself to go to the Jingshi, the determined older man had taken all the secrecy he would tolerate and decided he would follow. He was not accustomed to being kept in the dark and he had noted Lan XiChen's efforts, however carefully made, to prevent an accounting of his recent illness. Dressing himself took but a short while and therefore the men had only just returned to Wei WuXian's bedside when the Grandmaster made his entrance, going directly to the two Jades and the Healers.

"What is the meaning of this? What is going on?" Lan QiRen demanded, his forceful personality not heeding the evidence of someone in bed and his ordinary volume ringing in the otherwise quiet Jingshi, where whispers and hushed tones had been the norm for several days.

Even as Lan XiChen turned to silence his uncle, Wei WuXian woke up.

Those long lashes swept up over startled eyes, brows raised in the centre and his mouth opened to an "O" of surprise.

"Lan Zhan?" he whispered.

Lan Zhan whipped his eyes back to his husband.

"Wei Ying?"

Wei WuXian raised himself on his elbow and turned to the intruder.

"Grandmaster?"

Lan QiRen froze in shock as features lost nearly two decades earlier moved on a living man before him.

Wei WuXian noticed the Healers and Lan XiChen.

"XiChen-ge? Healer Zhang? Healer Shui? Why is everyone here?" asked Wei WuXian, even as Lan WangJi threw his arms about his shoulders, crushing him to his chest. "What's going on here?" He patted Lan WangJi's back. "Softly, love, you'll break me in half."

Lan WangJi swallowed hard, then sat back, releasing his husband but taking one hand in his own, unable to fully relinquish contact.

"Wei Ying was injured saving Uncle." Lan WangJi cast a heated glance at his uncle, still gaping where he stood, but now supported on one side by Lan XiChen and on the other by Healer Zhang, who had two fingers on his pulse.

"How does Wei Ying feel now?"

Wei WuXian raised his brows a moment and pouted. He rotated his neck and flexed his arms. "Pretty good, really." He pressed gently on his abdomen and winced slightly. "Looks like it's healing well, at any rate. Why is everyone here? How long was I out of it?"

"Two days," replied Healer Zhang.

"Not bad," answered Wei WuXian. "Frankly, I was afraid it might be a lot longer, so two days is not bad at all. But why is everyone here?"

"Wei Ying..." started Lan Zhan. His voice trailed off as he sought the right words to tell Wei WuXian of the unexpected changes.

"Wei Ying," he started again. "When you were recovering you had seizures. At the end of the seizures there were physical changes we cannot explain."

Wei WuXian looked at his hands, front then back, before patting his chest, stomach, then legs.

"Changes?"

"Let me show you."

Lan Zhan took Wei WuXian's hands and helped him from his bed. Wei WuXian did not remark, but Lan WangJi immediately noticed that they were, once more, very much of a height. Walking across the bedchamber he pulled the privacy screen from where it concealed the large, polished brass mirror, which he angled to capture the light in the room. Taking Wei WuXian by the hand, he drew him across the room.

"Ready?" Lan WangJi asked.

"Of course," replied Wei WuXian, a puzzled expression on his mobile face. Lan WangJi thought he would never tire of any expression again, ever. Any expression on that wonderful, long-lost face would be remembered and treasured.

"Mn." Carefully Lan WangJi turned Wei WuXian to face the mirror, standing close beside him.

Wei WuXian froze for a moment as he caught the image in the mirror, then his eyes grew wide. His mouth opened in surprise. His hands drifted up, moving over his cheeks, across his mouth, running over his broad shoulders and down his torso to his impossibly slim waist. He stood still a moment, hands fluttering around his body, before they dropped to his sides and he began to shake. Lan WangJi braced him with a strong hand on his waist, another holding one trembling hand.

"How... what... how..." Words failed Wei WuXian. He turned toward Lan WangJi, eyes large in his face. "Lan Zhan, what happened to me?"

Lan WangJi drew Wei WuXian into his arms, holding him close. Wei WuXian's arms encircled his husband naturally as he lay his head upon Lan WangJi's shoulder a moment only to draw back with a bitter little laugh, shaking his head.

"I like to rest on your chest, my love. Your heartbeat... how can I hear it up here?" He was breathing faster now, as the shock settled in, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I... I don't understand...."

Healer Shui came over and caught Lan WangJi's eyes, before helping gently guide Wei WuXian back to the bed. By the time they crossed the room, Wei WuXian's knees were giving way and Lan WangJi picked him up and laid him gently in the bed before drawing the quilts about him. Wei WuXian was shaking in earnest now, and Lan WangJi noted how cold his hands had become. Healer Shui moved quickly to the small kettle kept on the simmer. He took an envelope from his belt and added a pinch of the powder it contained to a tea cup before adding the hot water and returning to the bed.

"Drink," he directed, holding the medicine before Wei WuXian's face.

Lan WangJi had to hold the teacup, Wei WuXian's hands being unable to obey commands. Sip by sip Wei WuXian took his dose. Gradually his breathing slowed, and the trembling faded away. The pallor eased and a trace of colour returned to lips that had been almost blue moments before.

"Xiong-di," said Lan XiChen. "Healer Zhang and I will take Uncle back to his quarters. WuXian..." he paused. What does one say to a man reborn yet again, and to whom your debt of gratitude could never be paid? "WuXian, I hope you will rest. The entire Lan Clan is in your debt. Thank you for saving Uncle. We will speak more when you are recovered." With a small bow, Lan XiChen turned and led Lan QiRen away, Healer Zhang supporting his other side.

Healer Shui took the tea cup from Lan WangJi's fingers, and quietly returned to his desk as Lan WangJi resettled Wei WuXian upon his pillow.

Wei WuXian looked at Lan WangJi with silver eyes full of questions, and Lan WangJi's heart hurt to see his uncertainty and fear. The two men rested; hands joined as they looked into each other's eyes and long minutes dragged away. Lan WangJi finally broke the connection, looking down at their clasped hands.

"I was afraid when Wei Ying did not wake up," Lan WangJi began. "I was afraid I would lose you again. You were so hurt. You did not wake up." He raised his eyes back to Wei WuXian's. "You had seizures. I thought your soul was trying to leave... you were going to leave me again."

Wei WuXian sat up and rested his head on Lan WangJi's shoulder, arms gently curved about his waist.

"Oh, my love!," Wei WuXian replied.  "I will never leave you, my heart.  I will never leave you by choice. Never again."

Lan WangJi dropped a gentle kiss on Wei WuXian's cheek, before resting his own atop Wei WuXian's dark tresses and drawing him closer into his arms, half into his lap.

"I don't care what Wei Ying looks like," continued Lan WangJi. "Love Wei Ying. Only Wei Ying. Always Wei Ying. It can only be you. I was so afraid you would not wake up."

Wei WuXian wiggled slightly, nestling closer.

"There certainly wasn't anything wonderful happening to make me want to keep sleeping. That horrible nightmare just got stranger and stranger..." Wei WuXian rocked his head back, so he could look into Lan WangJi's eyes.

"Gold," Wei WuXian murmured. "Mine."

"Mn?" questioned Lan WangJi.

"In my nightmare. The last one... it was different. I kept chasing after Gold. I didn't know what Gold was, but I wanted it so badly I had to keep looking for it... it was my whole purpose... always moving toward Gold, needing Gold, wanting Gold... it was you, my love. Gold was your eyes. Gold was your priceless heart. Gold was your soul calling to mine. Even out of my mind and trapped in a nightmare with no understanding or meaning I could find, I wanted and needed you. I didn't even know what Gold was, didn't understand Gold was you, but I knew I belonged to Gold and Gold belonged to me. In a world where nothing made sense, all I needed was you."

Wei WuXian turned his head up and placed a warm kiss below Lan WangJi's jaw.

"Don't you see?" Wei WuXian continued. "You woke me up. You drew me out of it. I needed you so badly I had to wake up to find you. You did what you always do, what I know you'll always do."

Wei WuXian squeezed Lan WangJi just a little tighter, pressing warm kisses wherever he could reach without moving his head.

"You saved me."