Wen Reian
2019 years after The Long Night
Xi Qiáng Forest
Wen Reian didn’t know what to think. On one hand, Xie Yi-jun had gone out of his way to give him prior notice; a scribble of an ink spell on his wrist… but on the other-
Yi-jun was thoughtful enough to give me several hours to try and figure out how to talk some sense into Lan Kai-Le. Unfortunately, I’d only made enough progress as getting him to finally apologize for hurting my dear FRIEND!!
Reian had sent Kai-Le off a little while ago to fetch more firewood and kindling while Reian busied himself with preparing their meal for the night. Abruptly, he’d felt a familiar lightening of his heart. The King was near…
Xie Yi-jun grinned at him as Reian stood and quickly wiped his hands on the rag hanging over his shoulder.
“Wen Rei, it’s so good to see you!”
Reian grinned and hugged Yi-jun, then he saw the King’s eyes widen as he took in Wen Reian’s appearance; wild flowing curls of black hair, wearing only his dark blue inner robe and an apron, likely covered in all manner of dirt and sweat from re-re-re patching the roof all day. He felt beautiful though, and Xie Yi-jun seemed able to tell.
The man shook his head, gazing at him fondly with a bit of wonder…
“Wow-”
Reian smiled but blushed at the attention.
“What…?”
Xie Yi-jun released him with a faint nod of approval, then replied;
“You’re glowing!”
After briefly catching up, mostly talk of life in Hêi’àn City and A’Jun’s troublemaking, Yi-jun graciously not pointing out the faint bruising on Wen Rei’s neck as his daughter would have, Reian was at last able to give the King a very quick tour of their house.
He hesitated bringing the man inside, feeling as if it was his and Kai-Le’s space and wasn’t for the eyes of any others. Xie Yi-jun noticed this of course and smiled widely, examining what he could see of the outside and complementing Reian’s lackluster construction abilities.
“It has your special touch,” the King said. “So this is what you were sneaking off to all the time. Well, it looks perfect, well done…”
Yi-jun seemed to be wanting to ask something. Reian could feel it lingering on his own tongue as he watched the way the man kept glancing at him.
“You’ll write to me often, yes? I just… want to be sure you’re okay. You’re happy?”
Wen Reian let out a sigh of relief and went to place his hand on Yi-jun’s arm. The King was looking down at him with that same gentle warmth in his eyes that he always had for Reian, and the healer knew Yi-jun truly meant it.
He genuinely wants me to do and be wherever makes me happy. That, I have discovered, is the true meaning of loving someone else…
Wen Rei nodded, calmly patting the King’s arm.
“I am…” he searched for the proper words, “Immensely happy, and at peace. I’m where I want to be, with someone I adore. And for the rest of my life; you, Songcai and A’Jun will be my family. I won’t disappear. I am finding myself again, Xie Yi-jun, thank you for helping me be brave enough to do so.”
Before Yi-jun could react to such words, Reian heard the telltale humph of a certain grumpy wolf cub, who upon returning to the cottage had immediately seen his lover with his hands on another man.
Reian drew his hand back, but did not move away from Xie Yi-jun. As he watched Lan Kai-Le approach them, his arms full of twigs and a few heavier logs, Reian also saw the rather adorable display of the hunter visibly burying his resentment at the King.
Lan Kai-Le walked up to them, stood right beside Wen Rei, and locked eyes with Xie Yi-jun momentarily, before the golden-eyed man bent to press a very long and absurdly sloppy kiss to Reian’s cheek. The man then pushed his way inside the house, clearly biting back his grumbling, and Reian knew he might have a handful of a brooding puppy when he tried to go to bed later…
Well, an improvement is an improvement, no matter how you look at it-
Xie Yi-jun, bless him, appeared to have no misgivings about Lan Kai-Le, seeming only largely grateful and relieved that Reian really did have someone who cared enough to be so awfully protective.
“I won’t stay,” Yi-jun said. “I just wanted to see you. And…”
Reian blinked. The thing the King wanted to say was still lingering shyly between them.
Only gone a total of five seconds or less, Lan Kai-Le, the ever excessive moody husband, slinked back outside, purposefully walking between the two of them and then planting himself a little ways away by the outdoor campfire.
Wen Reian wanted to put his head in his hands and weep when he saw the way the man took one of his hunting knives from his boot and began to sharpen it…
The gods gave me patience so I could love him-
“Actually,” it was Yi-jun. “Before I go, I was wondering if I could share something with you.”
Reian looked up, only for Xie Yi-jun’s eyes to not be on him at all. Lan Kai-Le stared back, all traces of venom gone from his eyes, only a sense of distrust and distance, all of which Reian knew stemmed from his protective tendencies. All of which couldn’t be helped.
“Oh, really?! Well… Lan-Le? Won’t you come listen for a moment? Yi-jun is leaving but wants to speak with you.”
Reian was even more shocked when Kai-Le came over without further prompting! Then, with the two men standing there staring at each other, Wen Reian was blindsided once again when the King politely asked him to step inside for a moment.
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“…!”
Xie Yi-jun chuckled, “Don’t worry, we’re all adults here. I have no ill intentions. In fact,” he turned to Lan Kai-Le. “I give you my word, as long as you are within the bounds of this province, you are under the protection and will receive the trust of all of Hêi’àn City, including myself. Both of you.”
Reian was more than a little nervous about leaving them out there alone together, but after meeting eyes with Lan Kai-Le and being positive the man was telling him to just go inside, I won’t bite as long as you are safe-
Reian went inside.
He tried to get a few chores done, but found himself repeatedly making the bed in the corner of the room while he pondered what exactly Yi-jun would have to say to Kai-Le.
Well, he reasoned, at least we’re in the forest. There are no stairs in the forest…
After a few minutes that felt like a little eternity, Lan Kai-Le peaked inside, Reian exhaling in relief, only to see that Xie Yi-jun had gone!
“He left?! What’d he say?”
Reian frowned, then went to place his hand comfortingly on Kai-Le’s back.
“I’m so… proud of you!” The healer blinked, “See? Was it that hard to be civil? Hmm, Lan-Le?”
The hunter was unsurprisingly silent for a while, then Reian heard him mutter faintly;
“I understand.”
And Reian smiled, thinking that was an excellent start. It wasn’t until much later in the evening that Wen Reian again grew curious as to what Yi-jun had wanted to say.
Kai-Le and Reian had eaten several hours ago, and after spending another cozy evening wrapped in each other's arms on the rug by the fireplace; Reian tending to his lover’s sweet clingy nature by hugging him close, at last he sighed and pressed his cheek against the bigger man’s chest.
Reian was sitting in Kai-Le’s lap, facing him, their arms around each other. It was extremely relaxing, so Reian figured Lan Kai-Le might be relaxed enough not to mind him asking. Perhaps he’d even give him a straight answer.
“Mmm, Lan-Le? You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to, however… I’m curious. Just what was it that Yi-jun told you?”
For a while, only the sound of the crackling fire and their breathing made it to Reian’s ears. After so much time, he quietly gave up and began to doze off against the hunter's warm chest. On the edge of sleep, Reian finally heard Kai-Le’s echoey voice, as the man began to speak…
“It is not my place to give him to you, as Wen Reian is not mine. That being said, in the past I have had the blessing of keeping him happy and safe… now that Reian has found and chosen you, it is up to you to do the same. I am telling you this because I know how Reian works, and I know he will want to heal you. I also know, in order to protect him, you’re going to have to let him. You will need to allow yourself to be loved by him, all the places and memories where you don’t want to be loved. Where you are hurting most. Don’t be afraid, don’t push him away… Reian wants to be loved, but he wants so much to love others too. Don’t take him for granted, don’t let it go to waste. Because he is not mine, and because he is now under your protection, I won’t say something ridiculous like a threat, just in case you might break his heart. All you need to know is, once he has loved you, the world changes. Your reason to avoid letting him be hurt or unhappy, is the idea of going back to living in a world without him, because I guarantee, Reian is more than capable of issuing his own threats if he sees fit.”
It was immaculate. Word for word. Exactly as Xie Yi-jun might say. In fact, it was almost absurd to know that Lan Kai-Le had spoken, far more words than Reian could remember hearing from the man at any given time!
The healer raised his sleepy, bleary eyes from Kai-Le’s chest and blinked curiously.
“You… memorized what he said?!”
The hunter stared down at him contently and hummed.
“Mmn. So I could tell you. So you won’t worry.”
Reian smiled. Then Lan Kai-Le surprised him even more-
“I understand now, Wen Reian… I understand what he is to you. Xie Yi-jun and you were healers of each other.”
Reian’s heart warmed and he ended up nodding, “Yes.”
Lan Kai-Le hugged him, “I will be your healer now.”
“Hmmm,” Reian couldn’t stop smiling, “And I’ll be yours.”
As he thought about it more, Reian realized this might be the perfect time to broach the subject. He cleared his throat and said-
“You want me to start trying? Lan-Le… to heal you?” He added quickly, “Only if you’re ready! I won’t push, heh… I’m not even sure your aura has surfaced enough to be visible to me-”
Without thinking, Reian raised his hand and pressed his palm against the man’s chest.
What the-
Gasping, feeling his entire arm tingle, all the way from his fingers and down his spine, Reian caught the very faint but distinct traces of soul-energy. It was pulsing slowly, very warm and… filling, like being relaxed and well-contented after a pleasant meal. Lan Kai-Le’s aura was right there! And it was free!!
“Oh…”
Reian gently caught the little strings of light that were so hesitant and unsure about themselves. He also immediately felt just how much larger Kai-Le’s inner wounds were, as so much of his aura was still shrouded in darkness.
Sweetheart, oh no… look at all this! His heart, it’s just scar-tissue. What am I to do with this strong but delicate thing?!
Swallowing, blinking tears from his eyes, Wen Reian raised his gaze up to his lover’s.
“A’Le? Do you feel that?!”
To his surprise, the man looked down at him, such softened warmth on his face that Reian was abruptly speechless.
“Mmhm,” he replied.
Reian felt the light-strings and the large mass of darkness, which surrounded and was one with Kai-Le’s carefully awakening soul, very gently reaching out to him like a frightened animal being befriended might. It was… startling, and wonderful.
Lan Kai-Le smiled, “That’s you.”
Where to begin? Where to start trying to impress to Kai-Le how much growth he had achieved already, and how much more might be in the future if he wished.
Perhaps this soft budding rose, bloomed on its own. I didn’t do anything really, I never actively tried to heal it. Kai-Le really is shining on his own. Oh, how I want to hold this flower in my hands-
Reian swallowed, “Would you… would you want to start? I would be so gentle with you, only as much at a time as you can take.”
Lan Kai-Le nodded, “Heal? You know we’ve already begun,”
Wen Reian felt his tears drip down. Yes, perhaps it was true. Healed each other… the start of a long road, how beautiful-
Kai-Le let out a long, shuddering breath, catching Reian’s attention.
“You really want to? It might be…” he searched for the words, “A lot.”
Reian smiled, “Don’t worry. We can work on it-”
Lan Kai-Le’s eyes watered, a soft frown pinching his lips, and Reian felt the strings around the man’s soul which he was still holding, trembling slightly, as if gently plucked.
“How long?” Kai-Le couldn’t hide the distinct note of fear in his voice.
“You said it would take years, maybe longer to heal this pain.”
Reian nodded, all the warmth of a million suns colliding inside him as he exhaled.
“Exactly.”