A Secret for Only the Two of Us
Also, @shiranai-atsune gave me a long (and I mean L O N G) list of prompts and one of them included a Fem!WWX so here you go!
Lan Wangji had been patrolling yet again tonight, hoping he’d catch a glance of Wei Wuxian sneaking over the rooftiles with contraband and was not surprised to see it happening again.
The boy must have thought that Lan Wangji was not there as he smiled gleefully and took in the scent of Emperor’s Smile. But Lan Wangji was, in fact, there, he was merely out of Wei Wuxian’s sight for the moment.
Lan Wangji took in the beautiful sight of Wei Wuxian’s smile (read: glared) and Wei Wuxian, probably not expecting Lan Wangji’s appearance, slipped on the tiles and fell forward, landing right on top of Lan Wangji.
Normally, Lan Wangji would have pushed Wei Wuxian off by now and taken him for punishment but……but what is this softness he feels from Wei Wuxian? It’s on his chest and……doesn’t feel like anything his ever felt before.
Lan Wangji isn’t thinking of anything at all.
“Ah, Lan Zhan. Do keep this a secret, okay? I know your sect forbids men and women interacting, but I have a good reason! You’re the only person who knows, so please do me a favor and don’t tell anyone!” Wei Ying babbled, sounding oddly frantic.
Lan Wangji blanked out. Wei Ying……is female?
“I need punishment.” Lan Wangji told his brother without any warning. “With the paddles.”
“Huh?” Lan Xichen nearly dropped the scroll he was reading. “Wangji, why?”
Lan Wangji opened his mouth to confess what happened, but remembered the slightly desperate tone of Wei Ying to keep his–her gender a secret. “I cannot say.”
Lan Xichen frowned. “This is about Young Master Wei?”
“Why the need for paddles? You have not broken any rules.”
On the contrary, Xiongzhang, I have. All those fantasies I’ve had tell a very different story. And now, knowing what I know about Wei Ying, I have been very disrespectful. Not to mention the thoughts I had after feeling Wei Ying pressed up against me like that– Judging by the look on his brother’s face, Lan Wangji knew he got the message loud and clear.
“You are adamant.” Lan Xichen sighed, “How many strikes?”
“Wangji, no.” Lan Wangji was stubborn though and Lan Xichen was reluctantly resigned. “I will assign fifty and you will go to the Cold Springs after.”
“But, Xiongzhang….” Lan Wangji frowned.
“This is final, Wangji. Whatever happened between you and Wei Wuxian, I do not exactly know, but he hasn’t acted particularly different, so it must not have been that bad.”
Lan Wangji jutted out his lower lip slightly in an approximation of a pout.
Wei Wuxian had not seen Lan Wangji all day and was worried that after last night’s incident, she wouldn’t be able to see the other anymore. But she really had a good reason for hiding her gender!
It started off with warnings she had heard from the other street children about female orphans being sold off into a brothel. She didn’t want that to happen, so did her best to disguise herself as a male. It worked of course and soon, Wei Wuxian didn’t have to worry about being sold into a brothel.
That is, until Uncle Jiang had started making those idle comments.
“You look so much like your mother. You have Changze’s face structure and nose, but everything else is Cangse’s…..”
“With every year that passes by, you resemble her more and more……”
“If only you were a woman….”
“I miss Cangse so much. I’m so glad you look like her.”
He always had a strange gleam in his eyes that made Wei Wuxian shudder and once she was old enough to understand, it made her even more desperate to hide her gender. She could only imagine what would happen should she be revealed to be a woman……
Regardless, there’s no use thinking about that now. She has to find Lan Zhan and make sure he doesn’t tell her secrets to Old Man Lan! As she rounded the corner to the discipline pavilion - because she’s sure that Lan Wangji would be there - she was shocked to see him getting hit by the discipline paddle. The senior disciples disciplining him looked really confused and Wei Wuxian had a feeling that Lan Wangji was only there because of her.
Lan Wangji always followed the rules and to be interacting with her was against it. Not to mention how she had been pressed up against him the other night……… Just remembering that made her face hot. But anyway, Lan Zhan shouldn’t punish himself for that!
Just as she was about to step forward, Lan Xichen stopped her.
“Ah, Young Master Wei, I was just looking for you.”
“There’s no time for that! Zewu-Jun, why is Lan Zhan being punished?”
Lan Xichen raised an eyebrow, “I was under the impression you knew why?”
For a moment, Wei Wuxian panicked before remembering Lan Xichen’s form of address of her. “It wasn’t Lan Zhan’s fault! Zewu-Jun, please stop him.”
Lan Xichen merely shook his head. “Wangji is stubborn. And I’d rather I give him the punishment than he doing it himself. He has always been strict with himself.”
Wei Wuxian pouted. “Well, he shouldn’t. Lan Zhan should learn to let go sometimes.”
Lan Xichen smiled. “He should, shouldn’t he? Anyway, now that I’ve successfully distracted you,” And Wei Wuxian realized that Lan Zhan’s punishment was indeed done. “You will find Wangji in the Cold Springs recovering. You can speak to him about it then.”
“Really? Thank you, Zewu-Jun!” Wei Wuxian turned around and followed Lan Xichen’s directions to the springs, completely missing his mischievous smile.
Lan Wangji had been meditating in the Cold Springs when a familiar voice drifted close to him.
“Wei Ying!” Lan Wangji yelled, realizing that he was half-naked. “What are you doing here?”
Xiongzhang……what have you done?! Lan Wangji panicked.
“Anyway, Lan Zhan, why did you punish yourself? I know I fell on top of you and you….felt…..that….but it was an accident!”
Lan Wangji sunk his body into the water, trying to cover up. “Wei Ying…..!”
“Aww, Lan Zhan, don’t be shy! I’m the maiden out of the two of us, I should be the one who is embarrassed!”
Lan Wangji glared at her before getting out and quickly changing. His ears were still a furious red as he turned around, intending to leave.
“Ah, I didn’t come here to tease you.” Wei Ying said, stopping him. “You…..didn’t tell anyone that I’m female, right?”
“I didn’t.” Wei Ying sighed in relief but this only made Lan Wangji curious. “Why hide your gender?”
Wei Ying’s responding smile was an ugly thing. “Ah….Lan Zhan, you wouldn’t believe me.”
Lan Wangji frowned, “I will listen. But, I will not push.”
Wei Ying studied him for a moment. “Okay, Lan Zhan, you asked for it.” Lan Wangji stopped her before she could speak, asking to change to a private location. They ended up going to the Jingshi which brought up all kinds of feelings Lan Wangji decidedly did not address.
The tale Wei Ying told him was nothing short of horrifying. Her being on the streets for a number of years was one thing but…..but the fact that a man the age of her father - that was friends with her father - had told her such things…….it was no wonder she felt the need to hide!
“We will figure something out.” Lan Wangji said, in an attempt to comfort her.
“Ah…..” Wei Ying didn’t look like she believed him.
Lan Wangji paused for a moment, “I…..If you are comfortable, we can speak with Xiongzhang. He has never been one to judge.”
“I…..” Wei Ying still seemed hesitant. “I….will think about it.” She reluctantly acquiesced.
The two of them settled into a light chatter until the dinner bell rang out. They decided to head out together but not before Wei Ying had something to say.
“Lan Zhan……you…..you won’t treat me any differently now that you know my secret, right?”
“Mn. Wei Ying is Wei Ying, no matter the gender.”
Wei Ying let out a sigh of relief before shyly smiling, looking at him from under her lashes. “That’s good. I…..really do like you, Lan Zhan, and didn’t want this to change anything between us.” She rocked back on her feet, as if contemplating something, before leaning forward and pressing a small kiss to Lan Wangji’s cheek.
Lan Wangji stopped breathing.
“Thank you, for today. See you at dinner!” And then fled.
Lan Wangji held a hand to the place where she had kissed him. The blush that had formed on his ears rapidly spread to the rest of his face. She…..She kissed me!