Note – Takes place during the Cloud Recesses Study Arc 

 

 

 

Spiritual energy crackled blue and sharp in the air around him as Lan Wangji glided from one mist-shrouded peak to the next. Hours after he’d kicked Wei Wuxian from the library, his thoughts remained in furious disarray. He had never met anyone so determined to get under his skin—and for no good reason other than the sheer amusement Wei Wuxian seemed to derive from annoying him.

But this stunt with the pornography book…this had been the final straw. How dare he defile Lan An’s sacred verses by association with that—that filth?

Lan Wangji glared ahead, his hands balling into fists. Wei Wuxian…

Truly he knew no shame.

Only meditation and seclusion, Lan Wangji decided, would cure him of this festering indignation. It was driving him to distraction. He resented Wei Wuxian for clouding his judgment—resented him for the very resentment he felt. The only proper response to that rascal was to give him no response at all. But with the way Wei Wuxian seemed to live to get a rise out of him, this would be no easy feat.

Still, Lan Wangji was determined. A few days of intense self-reflection, and when he faced Wei Wuxian again he would be as placid as Emerald Lake.

…

Lan Wangji knew the perfect spot. No one ever came to this place—he doubted whether anyone besides himself even knew it existed. An icy fall disguised the entrance of the cliffside grotto. Slipping past the spray, he gave his long hair and sleeves a brisk wring as his boots padded over a carpet of moss and ferns.

Here in this place, it was always twilight. Giant stalagmites glittered, dappled by the soft, watery glow of the spring-fed pool within. It was between a gap in these rocky projections that Lan Wangji glimpsed movement and realized he was not in fact alone.

Looking past the edge, Lan Wangji ground his teeth, a fresh wave of outrage coursing through him—

Wei Wuxian.

Happy as a cat, he reclined against the lip of the pool, his eyes closed and expression serene. Dark dripping hair framed his smiling face, as he sighed and gave his shoulders an indolent roll. Lan Wangji glowered. His clenched fist trembled with suppressed fury. Would the gods grant him no reprieve from this mischief-making fool?

Pivoting on his heel, he prepared to leave, when a curious flicker of movement caught his eye. Lan Wangji paused, glancing back. Wei Wuxian’s eyes were still closed, but his lips were no longer curved in that lax, silly smile. Not quite frowning, he still looked more serious than Lan Wangji had ever seen him, as the arm slanted across his chest rose and fell in a surreptitious, pumping rhythm. Though Lan Wangji could not see it, there was no question of where Wei Wuxian’s submerged fist was or what it was doing. The trajectory of that flexing arm was as telling as the ripples of motion around it.

Lan Wangji stilled at the sight, heat fanning across his cheeks. He should look away. He should turn and leave right now, as he’d intended. But he felt as frozen as if a binding sutra had locked him into place.

Wei Wuxian’s brows knit as he increased his pace. Little diamond droplets of sweat trickled from his temples, beaded and skimmed down the planes of his chest. His back arched, taut as a bowstring, as his lips parted on a breathy groan. Lan Wangji swallowed shallowly, his own mouth running dry.

As Wei Wuxian began to pant, as he clutched the ledge behind him, and with clenched eyes and gritted teeth bucked splashing into the vise of his hand, Lan Wangji’s paralysis broke with a start. His foot slid back, catching a stray chip of stone, which crunched beneath his heel. It was barely a whisper of sound, but it was enough. Purplish gray eyes snapped open toward him, hazy with lust.

“Haa-ah?” Wei Wuxian rasped out, his chest heaving as he frowned in confusion. “Lan Zhan…have you been spying on me?”

A muscle tensed in Lan Wangji’s jaw. “Don’t be absurd.”

“Isn’t spying against your clan’s rules?” Wei Wuxian asked impishly, cocking his head. “If not, it ought to be—peeping, anyway.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes flashed coldly. “The one who’s breaking the rules is you. ‘No promiscuity,’ ‘no debauchery,’…”

Wei Wuxian waved this off with a snort. “What’s so debauched about it? Every man does it. Me, Jiang Cheng, Jin Zixuan, Lan Qiren—”

“Enough!”

Wei Wuxian chuckled. “Come on, Lan Zhan, even you…”

Lan Wangji’s cheeks flamed as he looked away. Wei Wuxian gaped for a moment, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

“No…!” he gasped out, wiping at his eyes as he brayed like a horse. “Is this why you reacted so strongly to Nie Huaisang’s porn book? Because it offended your virgin eyes? Ahaha…”

“Wei Ying…”

“Lan Zhan, you’re too repressed.” Wei Wuxian lifted a pruny finger, waggling it in admonishment. “It isn’t healthy, you know. Now and then you must tug the snake, or how else will you get the poison out?” Rakishly, he grinned. “Honestly, this explains a lot.”

“‘Poison’,” Lan Wangji muttered. “What nonsense.”

“You only say that because you’ve never done it. Lan Clan’s strictness is too cruel. So many rules, yet the most important points are missed.” Wei Wuxian pursed his lips as Lan Wangji glared. “Ah, I know! Since you like rules so much, Lan Zhan, here is a new one for you: Relax a little. That should be rule number zero.”

Lan Wangji shook his head. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It’s a good rule, and you should follow it.” Gesturing at the spring around him, Wei Wuxian smiled. “Why not join me and soak here for a while? That’s what you were going to do anyway, isn’t it?”

“I came here for peace and quiet,” Lan Wangji said, peering down, “but I see now that is impossible.”

Wei Wuxian frowned. With a swish of robes, Lan Wangji turned back toward the entrance of the grotto, as Wei Wuxian sighed theatrically behind him.

“Too bad. If you’d followed the new rule, everything would be fine. But because you’re breaking it, I’ll be forced to punish you.” Wei Wuxian tisked. “What will everyone think, when they learn that Lan Zhan is the sort of pervert who likes to hide and watch?”

Lan Wangji stiffened, his golden eyes cutting back. Leaning against the edge of the pool with his chin propped in his hand, Wei Wuxian smirked up at him.

Shameless.

“Fine,” Lan Wangji said, menacing and low. “Turn around.”

“So bashful!” Wei Wuxian laughed, as he turned and waded back. About halfway across the pool, he stopped. Clapping a hand to his eyes, he shot a glance at Lan Wangji through the slats of his fingers. “…You wouldn’t attack me from behind, would you?”

Halfway out of his robes, Lan Wangji scowled.

“…Such a scary look.”

…

“Ahhh~” Wei Wuxian sighed, stretching out his arms behind him. “This place is nice.”

“How did you find it?” Lan Wangji asked him from across the pool, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice entirely.

Wei Wuxian beamed. “Oh, I came across it while looking for persimmons. This is the time of year they ripen.”

“Persimmons?” Lan Wangji’s tone was flat. “There are no persimmon trees in the Cloud Recesses.”

“So I learned,” Wei Wuxian replied with a shrug.

“If you like them so much,” Lan Wangji said, “there’s a vendor in town who sells them.”

Wei Wuxian blinked. Lan Wangji frowned, glancing away. Why had he said such a thing? Wei Wuxian was not his friend.

“Thanks, Lan Zhan—I’ll keep that in mind.” Wei Wuxian’s look turned sly. “Say, in return for that favor, why don’t I give you some advice?”

Lan Wangji’s frown deepened. “I don’t want it.”

“No, no, Lan Zhan! You can’t just reject this gift out of hand. This is valuable information—Wei Wuxian’s Secret to Ultimate Pleasure.”

Lan Wangji glared at him. “No.”

“Even if you don’t care for it yourself, Lan Zhan, don’t you want to be a skilled lover?” Wei Wuxian pouted. “Ladies don’t appreciate an inexperienced man.”

Lan Wangji fixed his gaze upon the stone wall to his right. “I’m not interested in this.”

“The secret,” Wei Wuxian said, raising a hand for emphasis, “is to go slowly. Very, ve-ry, slowly, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji closed his eyes, the beginnings of a headache lancing between his brows. “…Be quiet, Wei Ying.”

Unexpectedly enough, Wei Wuxian did fall silent. Lan Wangji cracked open his eyes in suspicion. On the other side of the pool, Wei Wuxian’s eyes had softly shut, as if he were sleeping. His lashes cast long shadows over the high bones of his cheeks. In cool tranquility, he reposed, his spirit in perfect harmony with his being. Like this, Lan Wangji could almost admire him.

Then, Wei Wuxian’s arm glided forward to bring his hand between his legs again.

Lan Wangji’s stomach cinched, his eyes throwing daggers. “Wei Ying!”

Wei Wuxian’s lilac eyes slid open. With his free hand, he pressed a shushing finger to his lips. A vein in Lan Wangji’s temple throbbed.

“Are you an animal that you can’t control your base impulses?” he demanded, incensed. “I am leaving.”

So stated, Lan Wangji started to rise, as Wei Wuxian gave an impatient wave.

“Shhh, Lan Zhan. Settle down. I’m only demonstrating because you forbid me to speak.”

“I don’t need your demonstrations,” Lan Wangji said, unable to mask the bite in his tone.

“No? Well, at any rate, I’m only touching it—what’s so wrong with that? If you flee from here, the one who’ll look guilty is you.”

Lan Wangji’s shoulders fell as he glanced back. No matter how clownish Wei Wuxian acted, Lan Wangji was always left feeling like the bigger fool. Dismally, he sank back down into the pool. Wei Wuxian smiled, slow and indulgent.

“It’s stranger if you just sit there staring, Lan Zhan. This pool isn’t so small that we can’t just be two people who happen to be here at the same time, doing the same thing. It’s not much that different than bathing, if you think about it. You do touch your cock when you’re bathing, don’t you?”

Lan Wangji’s brows rose in sheer incredulity. Though he knew he shouldn’t dignify this sort of crude remark with a reply, he found himself snapping out, “Of course.”

“Well then, that’s all it is,” Wei Wuxian said brightly, before his voice pitched in a teasing murmur. “…Unless of course you’re too squeamish to do it.”

Striding forward through the water as vehemently as he could, Lan Wangji closed his fist around the length of flesh which was hotter and harder in his hand than he’d wished it had been. Backed against the edge of the pool, Wei Wuxian gaped at him. His eyes went comically wide—before his face split in a raucous grin.

“Lan Zhan!” he cried out, doubling over in laughter. “You actually did it! I was only touching my thigh just now, but you—you really did just grab your cock right in front of me! I can tell from the angle of your arm.” As Lan Wangji dropped his hold with a breath of angry shock, the prankster withdrew his submerged fingers and wiggled them in Lan Wangji’s scowling face. “But, Lan Zhan, what an angle! I’m impressed.”

“You wretch…” Beside himself, Lan Wangji could scarcely formulate words through his rage. Caging Wei Wuxian in with both arms, he shoved his blazing face into his. “You are incorrigible.”

A touch of red stained Wei Wuxian’s cheeks as he looked away, biting his cheek. “Ah, Lan Zhan…it was just a little joke. Don’t be upset.” Slippery as an eel, Wei Wuxian ducked Lan Wangji’s pin and glided away, smiling like a fiend. “Here,” he said, his eyes seeming to darken a shade as he drifted backward, his arm slanted across his body again. “I’m touching it now, Lan Wangji—I promise.”

At the unexpected switch to his courtesy name, Lan Wangji suppressed a shiver. There was something strangely beckoning in Wei Wuxian’s tone. It unnerved him, almost as much as the way Wei Wuxian continued to eye him with cock in hand. Another ruse, Lan Wangji decided, his temper flaring.

“Stop this foolishness, Wei Ying.”

“I’m sorry,” Wei Wuxian murmured, his gaze lingering intently somewhere below Lan Wangji’s own. “I didn’t mean to anger you. You’re too good, Lan Zhan—it brings out the worst in me.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes cut aside, as he exhaled shortly. “What are you trying to pull?”

“Nothing at the present, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian quipped, the glint in his eyes betraying his innocent tone. “I’m only holding it, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji grit his teeth. “Will you stop saying my name so much? It’s irksome.”

“Why?”

Frowning, Lan Wangji asked himself the same question. “Because it sounds needling, the way that you say it.”

“But I like your name. I like to say it.” Wei Wuxian’s lashes lowered a fraction, in time with his voice. “…Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji’s chest felt strangely tight. In the tendons of Wei Wuxian’s arm, there was a subtle tension also.

“It’s disrespectful,” Lan Wangji said, quietly, “how you behave toward me.”

“That’s all in your head, Lan Zhan. Truly, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you as a fellow disciple.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes scored over him. “And do you play around with your other fellows like this?” he bit out, before he could stop himself. “Nie Huaisang? Jiang Cheng?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Lan Wangji regretted them. When had he ever spoken with such reckless heat? Only Wei Wuxian could make him abandon his control so completely. But the thought of Wei Wuxian pleasuring himself this openly and casually in front of their peers had filled Lan Wangji with inexplicable fury.

“…No,” Wei Wuxian said at last, one corner his lips quirked faintly. “Just you, Lan Zhan.”

Somewhat mollified, Lan Wangji closed his eyes briefly, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Wei Ying…I don’t understand you.”

“That’s because you overthink things, Lan Zhan. It makes you uptight. You’re stiff as a board.” Wei Wuxian’s impish eyes roved him up and down. “I can see it.”

Could he? Lan Wangji grimaced, the tightness in his groin unmistakable. Despite the coolness of the water, he’d been more or less erect this whole time. It was maddening.

Wei Wuxian was maddening.

“Let’s just sit back and have some fun.” Wei Wuxian smiled, extending a dripping hand. “What do you say?”

“You’re still…holding it, aren’t you?” Lan Wangji accused.

Wei Wuxian’s smile turned wry. “That’s part of the fun, Lan Zhan. I’m going to keep going whether you choose to or not. To be honest, I’m feeling pretty pent-up in this place, and it’s only been a short while for me. I can’t imagine how explosive you must feel. But then, I don’t need to imagine it—it’s written all over that pinched face of yours.” As Lan Wangji’s expression soured that much further, Wei Wuxian gave himself a long, brazen stroke. “It’s fine if you can’t keep up with me, Lan Zhan. No one’s perfect at everything—there’s no shame in backing out.”

Inane as it was, Wei Wuxian’s challenge struck a chord. At his goading look, Lan Wangji’s eyes narrowed.

“Tell me what you’re doing,” he said, “and we’ll see if I can’t keep up.”

“That’s the spirit, Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian smirked. “Why don’t you give that nice big cock of yours a squeeze?”

Lan Wangji’s teeth clenched, Wei Wuxian’s vulgar words knotting his insides. Defensively, he glared, but Wei Wuxian’s answering look was calm and unflinching. Daring, even. Heart pounding, Lan Wangji brought his hand forward. Curling his fingers around the blood-stiffened base of his cock, he squeezed, staring Wei Wuxian down all the while.

“Feels good, doesn’t it, Lan Zhan?” Leaning back against the ledge of the pool, Wei Wuxian pumped himself leisurely again. “Let’s just do it like this for now.”

Uncertainly, Lan Wangji mimicked Wei Wuxian, letting the ring of his fingers slide slow and steady along the smooth length of his shaft. As his fingers skimmed the sensitive underside, his cock jumped in his hand, his pulse in his throat. Wei Wuxian’s gaze smoldered.

“Circle your thumb over the tip now, just barely—yes, that’s it,” Wei Wuxian said huskily, as Lan Wangji bit back a groan. “Lan Zhan, you’re a natural.”

The praise heated Lan Wangji’s blood even more than the touch. His breathing grew ragged as he increased the pace—gripping, sliding, rubbing. Keeping toe-to-toe with Wei Wuxian, whose eyes were growing darker and glassier by the second. As his knees began to shake, Lan Wangji crossed to the ledge as well, and braced himself there beside Wei Wuxian.

This close, the heat from their bodies blended, the long dark strands of their hair weaving together at the water’s surface. The phantom caress of Wei Wuxian’s thrusts rippled against Lan Wangji, dissolving his reason. Eroding everything. There was only Wei Wuxian’s misty gaze trained upon his, Wei Wuxian’s panting breath mingling with his own.

Raptly, Lan Wangji stared at him, as if he could devour Wei Wuxian with his eyes. Just as hungrily, Wei Wuxian stared back. The sharp, feline angles of his face softened with pleasure, and the sight of him coming apart like this was the most lovely thing Lan Wangji had ever seen.

“Lan Zhan…you win,” Wei Wuxian murmured, smiling at him.

As his spine arched and his head fell back, Lan Wangji thrust into his hand with a short cry, unprepared for the sheer bliss that boiled through him. Heavily, they breathed together as it passed, the water between them warm with their essence.

“I thought you said to go slow,” Lan Wangji rasped out. “That was over in five minutes.”

“…Next time,” Wei Wuxian promised, just as breathless. “Next time, Lan Zhan.”

---

Mo Dao Zu Shi © Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

I’ve been watching this series and falling so utterly in love with it <3 This one-shot idea just wouldn’t leave me alone until I penned it down. Now I can move on with my life lol