Come Back to Gusu

11. He's a monster?

For Lan WangJi, the blunt statement was as good as a confession: Wei Ying forced Wen Qing to remove his Golden Core to give to Jiang WanYin. How the new Sect leader damaged his Core was still unknown, but.... Was it even necessary to know?

They started the night in separate beds. But with the first whimpers of a nightmare, Lan WangJi grabbed his blankets and settled into Wei WuXian's bed, pulling him into his embrace. As he had in the afternoon, Wei WuXian used his friend as a pillow, grasping tightly with arms and legs, and finally relaxing into a nightmare-free sleep.

They left Caiyi late the next morning, and took a route to Yunmeng that would avoid the main contingent. They walked for the most part, only taking short flights with Bichen at only about knees' height above the ground.

Lan WangJi's emotions had a wider range to traverse now. He would spend many happy hours reliving kissing Wei Ying. Remembering how it felt to taste, to touch, to know that his friend was also very interested in the proceedings. And then he'd remember that Wei Ying mentioned 'wife', and must be thinking that 'kissing' was for anyone, but being more intimate must still be reserved for marriage.

With a woman.

And so he yearned, and burned, and ached to once again feel Wei Ying's body responding to his kiss, his touch. Knowing that if it ever happened again, it would end, once again, with them finishing alone. Which made his day dreams that much more fiercer. The need to claim, to rip Wei Ying's clothing off, to shove himself into Wei Ying's body, whether he was willing or not, and take was almost overpowering at times. Wei Ying calls himself a monster for being a soldier in wartime and fighting against the enemy in the only way he had left to him. He's a monster? He's not the one who dreams of raping someone.

I'm a monster. I'm the perverted one. I'm the one who needs to be kept away from him.

It was impossible to keep away, now. Wei Ying's nightmares were kept at bay only through being held at night. He would apologize profusely in the morning, and at night when they stopped pretending to sleep separately, and simply laid down together. "No need to apologize," Lan WangJi always insisted. If you knew how much I enjoyed this, you wouldn't let me sleep in the same building, never mind share a bed with you. In some ways it was cathartic: being allowed to hold his friend close and be the light in the dark keeping the bad dreams at bay. Just touching settled his desires and inflamed them at the same time.

They arrived at Lotus Pier to find the place crammed with people. Jin GuangShan stood on the dias in Sword Hall, looking as if he might take Jiang WanYin's seat at any moment. "We should have this sham of a trial held in Koi Tower. At least I have the room to hold everyone there."

"Since you call this trial a 'sham', we already know how you'd rule," Wen Qing snorted.

More sect and clan leaders shouted out their opinions, most of which involved 'Wen dogs'. Lan WangJi stifled the urge to break their teeth.

Jin GuangYao worked the room, apologizing for the Phoenix Hunt being interrupted, and assuring everyone that the Hunt would only be delayed by at most a day or two. Surely the trial wouldn't last longer than that?

Lan WangJi's hands fisted at his sides; A day or two? When over one hundred people should be interviewed? He hoped Jiang WanYin would hold a fair trial. The young man sat on his throne, partially obscured by Jin GuangShan. A metaphor for what's to come?

"Wei WuXian! Just the man I was hoping would be here!" Jin GuangShan yelled over the noisy room. "A hero of the Sunshot Campaign left to the tender mercies of the GusuLan. It's good to see you looking well."

Wei WuXian smiled in response, "It's good to be looking so well." It wasn't his 'I'm happy' smile. It was a performance. Lan WangJi knew him well enough by now.