Thread by @sweetlolixo

at the very height of war, dragon prince lwj rides to the jiangs’ battle camp. “I come in peace,” he tells the enemy. “I’m here for negotiations.”

wwx, the fox war general, steps out of his tent. “and your offer is?”

“we surrender,” lwj declares. “and I’m yours, forever.”

they’re still in the thick of battle. the dragons are not losing—but the jiangs are not, either. it’s far too early for any side to call it quits.

it makes no sense for the dragons to yield at this stage of war. “you’re bluffing,” wwx scoffs at him. “or, you have a motive.”

“I am not bluffing,” lwj firmly answers. “the dragons make good on all of our promises, I’m sure you’re well-aware of that.”

wwx *is* aware of that. the dragons are steadfastly loyal creatures, and never go back on any deal that they make. this side of them, he can trust.

“the dragons started this war,” wwx sneers at him. “and you’ll have me believe your clan wants to end it this soon?”

“I pulled some strings,” lwj says. “I spoke to my family. they listen to me.”

wwx eyes him carefully. “Lan Wangji, Second Prince of the Gusu Lan Dragon Clan.”

“at your service,” lwj says.

“you are offering yourself in exchange for the peaceful conclusion of this war?”

“yes,” lwj affirms. “in fact, I insist on it.”

“insist on what?”

“marriage,” lwj breathes out, much tenderness in his gaze. “I suggest for us to be officially wed.”

their first meeting was in a setting much less hostile.

the dragons, with their ill-repute for being closed-off, secluded creatures, pay their first visit to the prosperous jiang kingdom. the phoenixes have been flourishing the past few years.

that’s when lwj first meets wwx.

“I’ll show you around,” wwx had excitedly offered, taking lwj’s arm. “I’ve never seen a dragon in the flesh. you guys are so elusive!”

while the First Dragon Prince, Lan Xichen, convenes with Jiang Cheng, heir to the kingdom, Second Prince Lan Wangji tours the kingdom with wwx.

“so here’s our battle grounds, where we train,” wwx grins. “pretty cool, right? you’ll have to invite us over! we’re friends now after all—tell me you’ll let me come!”

lwj can’t take his eyes off of wwx. “…I’ve never seen a huli jing too.”

(see, that’s when lwj falls in love.)

lwj returns to his assigned quarters that night, where his brother is already waiting for him.

“how’s the fox? they say he’s the best war general of these lands.”

lwj says quietly, “…one of a kind.”

“will he be a threat?” lxc frowns.

lwj hesitates, “I believe he already is.”

“then find his weakness,” lxc orders. “the jiang heir is tough to deal with, but he won’t be the one leading the battle.”

lwj raises his gaze up to him. he deliberates, then finally says, “…it doesn’t have to be this kingdom.”

“it has to,” lxc says. “we need their lands.”

so lwj wakes up to another day with wwx, who takes him outside to the markets, this time.

on a whim, the fox buys a basket of flowers from a girl on the streets, and throws it over lwj’s head.

“this is how fair maidens court handsome men like you in these lands,” wwx teases.

“I see,” lwj responds, softly. “then are you officially courting me?”

“whaa—no!” wwx says, all flushed. he tosses the basket to the side. “it was just a demonstration!”

“hm,” lwj says. he picks up a handful of flowers, and sprinkles it over wwx’s head. “it suits you better.”

the nine-tailed fox breaks into nervous laughter, and skips away from him on the street, with pink flowers still tucked into his hair.

lwj stares at his back, his lips shifting up into a small smile of his own.

(perhaps he will do as wwx says, and take him home, hide him away.)

a week flies by. lxc gets all the information that he needs, under the guise of a friendly visit to the kingdom—and lwj establishes a rapport with the war general; learning all he can about him.

(wwx likes spicy food, he dislikes dogs, he even wants a large family of his own…)

all useless facts to his brother—but very important information to lwj.

“tell me you’ll visit again,” wwx tells lwj at the gates of the palace, sulking at him. “I haven’t even showed you all the places I wanted to, yet!”

“I’ll come back for you,” lwj promises. “wei ying.”

the second time they meet, it’s on the battlefield.

wwx does not hold the same excitement in his eyes, this time. “you lied to me,” he growls, brandishing his sword. “to us!”

“wei ying—“

“don’t ever call for me again,” wwx hisses. “I’m not your friend!”

“I don’t want to be.”

somehow or another, their altercation leads them to a quiet lake in the forest, where their battle remains undisturbed by other soldiers.

“come back to gusu with me,” lwj manages to get out, as their swords clash. “if you follow me home, I’ll do my best to keep the jiangs safe.”

“and give up my family? are you insane?” wwx yells, pouring all his might into his next move. the tip of his sword manages to pierce the skin of lwj’s cheek. “I’m never giving up the jiangs. they’re my home. you can forget about me ever returning with you—anywhere, lan wangji!”

when foxxian is angry, he’s *angry*. he channels the battle spirit inside him, the darkness he holds as a huli jing. he fights lwj like his life—his kingdom—his family depends on it. after all, cut down the warrior prince, and you’ll have won the battle.

but lwj is a mighty foe.

and dragons, they have formidable power and a will that never breaks.

“be with me,” lwj asks, through gritted teeth. wwx refuses to relent with his sword. “be with me, wei ying.”

“you’re the enemy here, lan wangji!”

“and I love you,” lwj says. wwx’s movements stutter.

that’s the advantage lwj needs to pin wwx back down onto the ground.

“stop fighting me,” lwj pleads, softly. “and be with me.”

wwx gazes up into those golden eyes, and wonders why his enemy makes his heart quiver so. but even so… “I’m never leaving the jiangs, lan zhan.”

lwj looks back into his favourite foxy silver eyes, and knows wwx isn’t lying. the fox spirit is incredibly stubborn; and loyal to a fault, perhaps as much as the dragons are.

but whatever wwx is, lwj is—worse.

“you started this war,” wwx whispers. “and I’ll never forgive you.”

lwj knows he has nothing to say to that.

he leans forward, pressing his forehead to wwx’s as if in apology. then, after a long silence, he eases the pressure off wwx and pulls away from him, allowing him to be free.

he watches wwx walk away from him, robes bloodied from battle.

but not without turning his head back one last time to look at lwj’s face.

“maybe, in another life, if you had been different,” wwx mournfully says, his hand clutching tightly at his chest.

he doesn’t finish his sentence, but lwj heard it all.

(I could have loved you, too.)

wwx’s rejection is a slap in the face. lwj could have had it all—only that he can’t, anymore, just by the very fact that he is a dragon.

dragons are savage creatures, always so one-track minded, always hoarding for more power. but this is his brother’s ambitions—it is not his.

he arrives at his brother’s door in the middle of the night, and drops his sword before him. “I resign from my battle post.”

“you cannot,” lxc barks, with much concern. “you are our warrior prince. you lead our men into battle.”

“I am not going head to head with wei ying.”

“you don’t have to /kill/ him,” lxc snarls. “I didn’t ask for his head.”

“but he wants mine,” lwj snaps. “and you know I love him.”

“I should never have brought you to that kingdom!”

“then you might as well wish that you never had a brother.”

lwj wounds lxc—as wwx wounds him.

“in the morning,” lwj shakily proclaims. “I am setting off for him.”

lxc has never been able to change lwj’s mind when he sets his mind on something. “…did I fail you, wangji?”

“he won’t come to me, so I’ll go to him,” lwj says. “and if you still care for me, brother…”

“go,” lxc heaves a soft sigh, easing his eyes shut. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

his big brother always gives in, in the end.

(dragons are steadfastly loyal to the one they love.)

“…so I surrender,” lwj says, when he lays his eyes upon wwx again. “and I am yours, forever.”

wwx trembles, at what he hears. “come into my tent.”

the rest of the soldiers scatter, like they’re intruding upon a moment so intimate. (and perhaps they are.)

“the jiang kingdom does not take war prizes,” wwx informs him, easing the tent close.

“who says I am a war prize?”

when wwx turns to face him, lwj grabs at his wrists, and presses him against the material of the tent. “I think you misunderstood. I am offering a marriage.”

wwx’s face grows hot. “you—came riding in saying you are mine, so—“

“unless,” lwj says. “you want me to be a war prize.”

“I do not!” wwx insists. “I—we don’t do that, here!”

“I can be a war prize,” lwj declares. “anything that wei ying wants.”

“stop! is this just a joke to you—“

“no,” lwj frowns, gripping those wrists tight. “I am being very serious.”

wwx can feel his dragon breath on his face.

“if wei ying won’t leave his family to be with me,” lwj breathes. “then I’ll leave mine.”

wwx’s eyes quaver. he’s evidently moved by the gesture. “your proposal is not mine to accept.”

“arranged marriages are traditionally one of the ways to conclude a war,” lwj hastens to say.

“the jiangs have to agree,” wwx informs him, shaking his grip off his wrists. “they have to agree to take you in.”

“will you fight for me?”

“what?”

“to be your husband,” lwj says. “will you fight for them to agree?”

wwx’s face is red, again. “presumptuous! you dragons—“

“I fought for you,” lwj whispers, his hand cradling wwx’s face close. “to come here, to be with you. so I hope you’ll take me as your husband, as well.”

wwx has the very moment lwj arrived here etched in his mind. ‘I am yours,’ he said. ‘forever.’

it was all he ever wanted.

“I’ll try,” wwx swallows, averting his gaze. “the jiangs are kind, they’ll see reason. as long as you… you don’t try anything with us again.”

“I won’t, not this time,” lwj promises, embracing him close. “I’m sorry I did, the first time.”

wwx’s chest grows tight. “it hurt.”

“I’m sorry,” lwj’s hands caress past wwx’s hair, his lips press against wwx’s forehead. “I *am* a different man in this lifetime. I’ll do anything to earn your trust again.”

wwx’s heart flutters with hope, sinking into his embrace. “then, let’s have that talk with the jiangs.”

the discussions take awhile due to suspicions on the jiangs’ part (see: jiang cheng), but lwj manages to convince them of his sincerity.

“I do not joke around when it comes to wei ying,” he tells them, signing their contract with his blood. “the war will end, with our marriage.”

“xianxian, are you happy?” jiang yanli asks the fox—her only worry.

wwx barely hesitates when he looks back up at lwj and answers, “yes.”

after all, just as lwj is his, wei ying is lan wangji’s.

“I’ll tame the one dragon we have,” wwx teases. “make him do my bidding, forever.”

“mn,” lwj nods without question. “I am here to serve wei ying, forever.”

wwx may believe he’s just teasing him, but jyl has a feeling lwj’s not joking all that much…

“if all is decided,” jc says. “then let’s start preparing for a wedding.”

and so begins wwx and lwj’s forever.

🐉✨THE END✨🐉

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