Return

Time had never been kind to Wei Wuxian.

One moment, he was standing in the middle of an empty field, the echoes of the past ringing in his ears. The next, he was jolted back to the time before all of it—before everything had gone wrong, before the war, before the betrayal, before the last farewell he never had the chance to say.

When Wei Wuxian opened his eyes, he was standing in the familiar courtyard of the Lan Sect. The air was crisp with the scent of pine trees, and the moon hung high in the sky, casting a pale light across the stone walls. The sound of a zither could be heard in the distance.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian whispered to himself, heart pounding.

For the first time in years, he was back. Back to a time when things hadn’t been broken yet, when Lan Wangji still looked at him like he was the most important person in his world.

The next morning, Wei Wuxian found himself walking through the familiar halls of Cloud Recesses, his heart pounding at every turn. He had a mission—to fix the mistakes he had made. But as he walked, he couldn’t help but notice how everything felt… different. The air felt lighter, the landscape a little more vibrant, as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

It was then that he saw him—Lan Wangji, standing by the flower garden, his usual stern expression softened by the peace of the morning.

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched, and for a moment, he couldn’t move. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. But what did he even say? How did he explain all the years lost? How could he tell Lan Wangji he was here because he couldn’t bear living without him anymore?

Lan Wangji turned, as if sensing him, his eyes locking onto Wei Wuxian’s with a familiar warmth that made Wei Wuxian’s heart ache.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said quietly, his voice rich with emotion that Wei Wuxian hadn’t expected. “You’ve returned.”

Wei Wuxian’s throat tightened. He didn’t know how to respond. There were so many things he wanted to say, but in that moment, nothing seemed enough.

“I… I didn’t want to leave,” Wei Wuxian finally managed, his voice barely a whisper. “But now that I’m back... I don’t know how to fix everything.”

Lan Wangji’s gaze softened, the edge of his lips pulling into the smallest, almost imperceptible smile. “You don’t need to fix anything,” he replied, his tone calm, but there was something unspoken in his words. Something that Wei Wuxian could feel in the pit of his stomach, something that told him Lan Wangji had never truly given up on him, even in the darkest times.

Wei Wuxian took a step closer, his eyes never leaving Lan Wangji’s. “But I hurt you,” he said, his voice thick with regret. “I hurt everyone. I left you when you needed me most.”

Lan Wangji didn’t step away. Instead, he reached out, his hand resting gently on Wei Wuxian’s arm, as if grounding him to this moment, to this reality. “I don’t blame you,” he said, his voice steady but filled with a deep, unspoken longing. “I only wanted you to be happy. And now that you’re here…” He trailed off, his hand slowly curling around Wei Wuxian’s wrist, his thumb brushing against his skin in a gesture so intimate, so tender, that it made Wei Wuxian’s heart race.

“You waited for me?” Wei Wuxian asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his chest tight with emotion. He couldn’t believe it. All the pain, all the mistakes—could Lan Wangji really have waited for him?

Lan Wangji didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stepped closer, his face just inches from Wei Wuxian’s. The air between them seemed to hum with the weight of everything they had never said. “I never stopped,” he said, his voice low and steady. “Even when you were gone, I never stopped thinking about you.”

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched, and before he could stop himself, he stepped forward, his hands reaching out to touch Lan Wangji’s face, as if confirming he was really here, really in front of him. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked into Lan Wangji’s eyes—those deep, endless pools of sincerity and longing.

“I’m sorry,” Wei Wuxian whispered. “For everything. For leaving you. For not being the person you needed me to be.”

Lan Wangji’s hand moved to gently hold Wei Wuxian’s wrist, his eyes softening even more. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m here now,” he said, his voice full of the promise that Wei Wuxian had been waiting for, that deep, undeniable connection that had always been between them, even when they were apart.

Wei Wuxian felt something break inside him—a wall he had built around his heart, a wall he had erected to protect himself from the pain of losing Lan Wangji. But now, standing here, with Lan Wangji’s hand on his, the wall crumbled.

“I want to stay with you,” Wei Wuxian said, his voice barely audible. “I don’t care about the past. I just… I just want to be with you, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji’s expression softened, and before Wei Wuxian could say another word, Lan Wangji closed the distance between them, his lips gently brushing against Wei Wuxian’s. It was a kiss that spoke of all the years they had spent apart, the regret, the longing, the love that had never faded, no matter the time or the distance.

When they finally pulled apart, both breathless, Lan Wangji whispered, “You’re here now, Wei Ying. That’s all that matters.”

And in that moment, Wei Wuxian knew that no matter the mistakes of the past, they would face the future together. Hand in hand, they would build something new, something they had both been waiting for.

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