Work Text:
Wen Ning worked tirelessly day and night. He was no accomplished sculptor; his work always too timid or clumsy, never quite ready to show to the world. He had worked at it doggedly all his life, but his art had never captivated him like this, chasing away any exhaustion or hunger until only one thought filled his mind.
His sister worried, and he tried to allay her concerns, but she couldn’t understand what had so suddenly captivated him.
Wen Ning could feel the stone taking shape beneath his chisel. The crinkle of a smile in the corner of an eye; the curve of a large, steady hand; the long, delicate strands of hair caught in motion. They were perfect, both of them; two men caught in a passionate kiss. One, stern and elegant in white jade, and the other laughing and bright in black marble.
He could feel it the moment the sculpture was complete. The tools of his trade fell to the ground with a metallic clunk to allow him to touch his work with his own hands. His fingers trailed across the stone in a delicate caress. His hand lingered, cupping a smooth cheek of black marble, and cradling a slender hand of white jade.
It was almost dawn by the time he had finished; he had worked on the sculpture all through the night again. He stepped back to watch the pearly light of dawn creep through the window and illuminate his completed sculpture for the first time.
The gentle, golden light seemed to mellow out the white and black of the stone, and their fine features reflected back the softest peach tone of the sky, so that they almost seemed to be men of flesh and blood rather than marble and jade. The strands of their hair were so delicately carved that they seemed to flutter in the dappled light.
These hints of life only served to make the passion between the two beautiful figures more captivating, and Wen Ning stood entranced at the sight. There was an impossible fervor to their kiss. The way the delicate hands of white jade gripped the black marble robes at the hip, with a strength that may have bruised mere flesh. The way the arms of black marble were flung around the neck of white jade, leaning so fully that a mere man may have been knocked from his feet. The way the boundary between them seemed to blur where their lips met despite the contrasting colors of the stone, as though they were truly parts of a whole.
Wen Ning was so entranced that he only belatedly gave a squeak of surprise as the two figures drew apart, their arms still wound around each other, their foreheads resting together, still so close that were they living men, their breath would still have mingled.
Both men turned at the sound and laid their eyes on Wen Ning for the first time.
The man formerly of black marble extricated himself from his companion and leaped from their pedestal to examine this intruder more closely.
“Wei-” Wen Ning stammered the name which he had given to the figure of black marble in his heart.
“Wei Wuxian is my name, isn’t it?” the man said as the knowledge which had been wrought into his stone form dawned upon his conscious mind. “And that’s Lan Zhan.”
Wei Wuxian motioned to his companion, formerly of white jade, who deliberately descended from their pedestal and joined Wei Wuxian, a possessive arm around his waist.
“But who are you?” Wei Wuxian leaned forward to examine Wen Ning, so that their noses almost bumped together and Wei Wuxian’s eyes filled most of his vision.
“W-Wen Ning,” he answered with a flush.
“Our creator,” said Lan Zhan—formally, Lan Wangji—his voice a low, steady rumble.
“Of course, it is only fitting that our creator would be so beautiful himself,” Wei Wuxian said, cupping Wen Ning’s cheek in his hand.
Wei Wuxian’s thumb brushed delicately across Wen Ning’s cheekbone, sending a shiver down Wen Ning’s spine.
“You should not flirt if you do not mean it,” Lan Wangji said sharply.
Wei Wuxian withdrew his hand and righted himself to regard Lan Wangji with a laughing smile.
“You’re not jealous, are you, Lan Zhan? Not that I can blame you, he is very cute, isn’t he? But I don’t mind sharing him with you if you would share him with me.”
Wen Ning swallowed, his heart beating so fast it might flutter out of his chest. “I-I don’t mean to cause trouble.”
His heartbeat only quickened as both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji turned their attention to him. Their passion had enthralled him when they were only stone, intent only on each other; now, the intensity of them was almost enough to make his soul pass out of his body in a perfect sort of agony.
Lan Wangji stepped forward and caught Wen Ning’s chin between his fingers, tilting Wen Ning’s face up, as though to examine him. Before Wen Ning’s wobbly knees could give out beneath him, Wei Wuxian’s arms wrapped around his chest from behind in a firm embrace, holding him steady as Lan Wangji bent down and kissed him.
It was a soft, gentle kiss; at first the mere press of lips guiding Wen Ning through the unfamiliar motions. Then, the kiss deepened as Lan Wangji’s other arm wrapped around Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian, gripping Wei Wuxian’s hip to pull them both closer, and Wei Wuxian followed, leaning in toward Wen Ning and Lan Wangji, so that Lan Wangji alone may have been keeping the three of them upright.
Wen Ning could only cling to Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both as he was swept up in their all consuming passion.