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[alongfallfromgrace]

(OOM: In which Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are introduced to the concepts of 'vacation', 'Airbnb', and 'charcuterie boards' all in one go. AKA Zenigata steals his new son and new son's hopeless crush soulmate away on a vacation to the French Countryside)

Wei Ying is back in the bar, a little more at home in the skin he has now, thankfully much less prone to knocking his shins against every chair and low table in existence. He has managed to bring back his little makeshift flute, and is currently perched on the railing of the porch, trying to coax out a Yunmeng tune he heard in a previous life.

It doesn't help that this flute is no Chenqing, and there's something... wrong, with it. Considering he made it in under a minute to try and save a bunch of under-prepared juniors, it's a pretty amazing flute (if he does say so himself, which he does), but it's not exactly the height of handcraft artistry.

Comments

[thesecondjade]

"Do you wish to play together?"

It's a straightforward question from a man who is glad to be in straightforward clothing. It's not that he actively disliked the clothing of France (it was strange, though, and hard to adjust to along with everything else) but Lan Zhan is happier as himself, in his own clothes, with the right hairstyle.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying is just glad he got through the trip without being subjected to the more outlandish 'modern' exercise clothing. He smiles when he looks up, twirling his flute idly.

"Yes please - you can make even this humble player sound good." He laughs, "Though the demonic bunnies haven't protested my music yet."

[thesecondjade]

Lan Zhan takes his seat before summoning his ebony guqin to his lap with a gesture.

"You are playing Yunmeng's music?" he asks, before the carefully begins to tune. He works in silence for a time, thinking back to where they have just been, and yet, where they are not. "Is Wei Ying homesick?"

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying misses Lotus Pier every second of the day, and has done since escaping a Jin work camp with a bunch of innocent Wens. But what right does he have to miss the place he abandoned?

Wei Ying smiles, shaking his head. It's unimportant.

"Just an old song stuck in my head. You know how it is."

[thesecondjade]

"Mn," Lan Zhan continues to tune. Then, once he's satisfied, he looks up to find Wei Ying's eyes. "Rule 9: Do not lie."

Then he slides his hands over the strings; though he stopped composing with Wei Ying's death, he has not stopped learning. He continues to modify borrowed music that is folk-born instead of academically perfect guqin work. It is an act of rebellion and a hymn to the past, and no one in Cloud Recesses likes it, but neither can they gainsay the Second Jade of Lan.

A fishmerman's tune comes off the strings from memory; Lan Zhan picked this one up years ago.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying frowns, stung. He didn't... explicitly lie.

But the song is one he has known from childhood, and he joins in without a hitch. Well, without much of a hitch. He still hasn't figured out how to correct the slight warble this emergency-made flute has, but at least it can make itself at home in the lilting rhythm of the song.

[thesecondjade]

Lan Zhan knows exactly how he lied, because Lan Zhan does it all the time. Even the Second Jade can be a hypocrite, especially when he knows what's up.

To soothe feelings, though, he makes the merriest music -- strumming rivers into being and laughter on the shore, working to remember the things he felt when he was there in Yunmeng, the bittersweet pleasures of hearing people who sounded like Wei Ying did, when Wei Ying had more reasons to laugh.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying follows along for a while, until he decides it is better to listen, twirling the flute between his fingers. He had no idea Gusu Lan had such a collection of folk songs from other regions. He'll have to learn some Gusu songs, so he can return the favor sometime.

[thesecondjade]

Finishing one reel, Lan Zhan lets the song fade, before he tilts his head.

"Wei Ying stopped," he says, watching him with his deep, golden eyes. "Was it incorrect?"

[alongfallfromgrace]

"No, no, you are perfect." Wei Ying assures him, shaking his head. "Just wasn't sure about that middle bit, and I didn't want to ruin it."

[thesecondjade]

"These are Yunmeng songs, Wei Ying's songs," Lan Zhan points out, looking down at the guqin strings. "Whatever Wei Ying plays is part of Yunmeng; whatever I play, it is as a guest, a visitor."

They're not the songs he grew up with. Wei Ying will know them better than he will. They are foreign to Lan Zhan, which is the point of taking them, learning them, refusing to couch himself only in the music of Gusu or the academic songs of the Lan.

[alongfallfromgrace]

"It's been a while since I was in Yunmeng." Wei Ying notes, wistfully. He then interrupts himself with a laugh. "Besides, you know how bad my memory is. Horrible, really."

For example, he still for the life of him cannot remember the name of that Horrible Jin Cousin. He remembers there was a Horrible Jin Cousin who attacked him and had a horrible curse (probably because he was a horrible, horrible person) and he died. But Wei Ying couldn't tell you what his stupid name was. Just as well. He was horrible.

[thesecondjade]

"Mn," says, rolling arouund the idea of we can travel there someday when truthfully, maybe they can't. They have to make sure Wei Ying survives, for one thing. For another, there's the matter of the Jiang Sect. As Wei Ying has learned first hand, Jiang Cheng is not the man he knew.

...well, alright, he's just all the wrong things with Jiang Cheng magnified by time and distance.

"Wei Ying told me who he was," Lan Zhan adds, "by remembering."

One song. One song that only three people really know. He cannot remember the tunes of Yunmeng, but he remembered the soft sounds of Lan Zhan's voice in a dank cave. If he was a softer man, he would think that's love, there, but he is not, and so he simply takes it as a strange sort of kindness, to have it be so memorable.

[sunbaked_baker]

The weather has been nice enough lately that the cooler outside air nicely balances out the heat from the ovens in the kitchens, with the doors open. And it's pleasant to work with the sounds of a flute drifting in.

Eventually, a small plate of golden, oblong, cross-hatched tarts is set upon the railing next to Wei Wuxian.

[alongfallfromgrace]

"Thank you, Mistress Sunshine!" Wei Ying carols, managing a slightly wobbly half-bow from his perch before settling back and pulling the plate closer.

[sunbaked_baker]

"You're welcome!" she calls back cheerfully from within the kitchen, nowhere near the plate.

Rae doesn't often use her magic unless there's a need, but sometimes she can use it to drift a plate of treats out to show appreciation for the music drifting in.

[alongfallfromgrace]

Wei Ying frowns. He thought... mmm. Maybe a wait rat? He doesn't see any wait rats, but they're fast. Still, he's not going to refuse the treats, that's ridiculous.

He hums in pleased contentment as he bites into one of the tarts, the sweet interior a lovely surprise.

[sunbaked_baker]

It's a little while yet before she emerges from the kitchen with her own small plate of pineapple tarts. The rest are on distributed evenly upon wire cooling racks and are making the kitchens smell amazing. Rae has her sleeves rolled up and her hair kept back by a blue and yellow plaid kerchief today, as it is still short enough that ponytails are unreliable.

"How'd they turn out?" she asks, beaming at him in the cooler air of the outdoors.

[alongfallfromgrace]

"I like them! What fruit is this? I've never had something like this before." It's sharp, like the pepper of fruits, but with enough sweetness to balance it.

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae leans against the porch railing, stretching a little in enjoyment of the sunlight. "They're called pineapples, in my where and when. I had them a few times before the wars, when I was little, but you hardly ever find them available back home now," she says, inhaling their sweet-sharp scent. Even when she can find them, they're terribly green or already overripe, and they are never as good as she remembers.

"Hooray for Milliways," she murmurs, and takes a bite.

...yup, those turned out well.

[alongfallfromgrace]

"Pineapples." Wei Ying echoes, making sure to set a couple of the tarts aside to share with Lan Zhan later. Of course he has to share such tasty things with Lan Zhan. He deserves everything tasty.

[sunbaked_baker]

"I advocate for trying the fresh fruit too, which the bar can provide. It's pretty amazing," she smiles. Taste testing ingredients for quality is the baker's prerogative, of course. "How have you been?"

For what it's worth, Wei Wuxian is looking a bit more at home in his skin than he did when she saw him last. If that wouldn't be a wildly inappropriate thought.

[alongfallfromgrace]

"Improving - Zenigata took Lan Zhan and myself to France, to enjoy the countryside and just... take a bit of a break. Though the training continued, never fear." He grins, ruefully.

[sunbaked_baker]

"I have no doubt," she grins back. "But that's good to hear. Some time away gives you some time to catch your breath when things are unsettled."

"Bet it was... different, too. Other worlds and times always are a bit weird to try and get used to in a short time."

[alongfallfromgrace]

"I made a mistake. Lan Zhan wore clothing to more fit in to France, and..." He groans, burying his face in his hands. "Of course he looked amazing in it."

Lan Zhan in trousers. Wei Ying will never recover, never.