Wen Reian

2012 years after The Long Night

Hêi’àn Palace

Reian held Yi-jun's hand as the King cried. There wasn’t anything else he could do except be here with him, as Songcai was still in A’Jun’s room, making sure she was comfortable enough to sleep after being healed for over an hour. The Princess would be fine, however her father at the current moment was decidedly not.

“It’s all my fault…”

Xie Yi-jun had his face buried in a pillow and wouldn’t move or look at him when Reian sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Of course it’s not!” Reian squeezed the man’s hand. “Yi-jun, listen… she’s going to be completely-”

“I shouldn’t have let her talk me into it, Songcai was right, she’s too young! I’m a terrible father…”

Wen Reian could only scoff, “And you learned to ride a horse when you were, what? Half her age?! Yi-jun, listen to yourself! You’re not a terrible father, and A’Jun was hardly upset at all. Children fall, they break bones. It’s not the end of the-”

Reian quieted as he heard the King continue crying, louder now.

Ah, heavens-

As he moved his other hand to gently pat Yi-jun on the shoulder, the healer mused over just how much his beloved King had changed, and how he'd stayed exactly the same.

Xie Yi-jun was, as always, over-dramatic. Surprisingly so, but he was also deeply swayed by intense love for his family. Reian knew that the man would rather experience endless torture and suffering if it meant no harm would come to the rest of them.

When faced with such an accident as the one that had happened this afternoon, Yi-jun became entirely too self-critical and unreasonable. Reian knew that the only thing to do was wait it out… he would calm down soon enough.

Occasionally he’d hear the King’s breathing slow as if maybe he’d stopped crying, but then his whole body would shake, painful sobs and a burst of tears following. Wen Rei’s heart ached at the sight, yet he held onto hope that tomorrow once the King woke to see A’Jun perfectly healthy and happy, his spirits would lift again. Yi-jun really did worry so much about his daughter, and whether or not he was doing right by her.

Songcai had mentioned it to Reian a few times, how Yi-jun’s parents had hardly been there for him, his father not at all after having died only a few months before the young Prince’s birth. Xie Yi-jun was doing the best he could with nothing to go off of except his heart. Reian admired him for that, more than he could say. His King was the bravest person he knew.

Time trickled by and before long Wen Reian had been sitting there comforting Xie Yi-jun for several hours, each time he thought the man had fallen asleep he would suddenly start up again, muttering to himself about how he was a failure.

Silly, Reian thought… how he’s the Yi-jun I’ve always known and loved and yet, my heart has changed so subtly for him.

The man was his best friend, his confidant, the knower of all his secrets… his headache, his laughter and most importantly his savior. But, the King was no longer Reian’s lover.

It had happened slowly; months between their encounters turning into years, confident kisses becoming more infrequent. Reian thought that the two of them, along with Songcai, all had so much on their plates recently, what with A’Jun getting bigger and brighter everyday, and then Reian taking on more work as a healer. It made sense things had changed.

They hadn’t drifted apart per se, but the lines of their lives were no longer as entwined. Yi-jun never mentioned it, nor did Wen Reian. As far as Reian felt, his appreciation and respect for the King and his husband only grew the longer he knew them. A little thing like being intimate with either of them wasn’t something he seemed to miss or cherish as much as he once might have. Besides, between raising a child and running a country, who had the time?

“Shh…”

Wen Rei brushed a few strands of soft brown hair away from the King’s face, noticing the redness on his cheek and the tears that had dried there, which made his eyelashes look even fuller.

Xie Yi-jun had finally drifted off just moments ago, still clutching his pillow with one arm and occasionally waking from a fitful sleep to nudge at Reian’s hand that he was clutching. Reian spent a few minutes gently entwining his energy with the King’s, being patient with his emotional pain and treating it as best he could. At least, Yi-jun wouldn’t have a headache when he woke…

“Wen Reian?”

Songcai’s voice was audibly exhausted but just as comforting as ever. Reian smiled at the man as he came inside quietly, as Reian attempted to pry his own fingers out of the sleeping King’s without much luck as he whispered to the other healer-

“Is she okay?”

He knew that A’Jun had only broken her arm and likely had a concussion. Songcai spent extra time being sure that even whatever bruises she might have wouldn’t hurt, that’s why it had taken a little longer than usual. No suffering, not for our girl…

The man nodded and came to the side of the bed, opposite of where Reian was sitting. Songcai stared down at his husband, a visible worry line appearing on his forehead and his bottom lip pushing up the way Reian knew Yi-jun liked.

“He just fell asleep but probably won’t stay that way for long,” Wen Rei sighed, again going to take his hand away. Xie Yi-jun only tightened his fingers in his sleep…

“Thank you, Reian.”

He exchanged a soft smile with Songcai and finally retrieved his hand, already getting up by the time Jin Songcai was sitting down and hesitantly placing his own hand on the King’s back. Yi-jun suddenly relaxed, all of the tension visibly leaving his face the moment Songcai touched him.

“Make sure you get some rest too,” Reian said. “I can look in on A’Jun in a few hours.”

Reian watched, his heart bursting with love and memories, as Jin Songcai carefully lay down beside Xie Yi-jun and wrapped his arms around the man. The two always appeared to Reian like two blessedly beautiful immortal beings, or rare gemstones that complimented each other perfectly. Yi-jun and Songcai were magical, and they were made for each other.

“Goodnight, really… thank you.”

Reian took Songcai’s soft whisper and left, closing the door to their bedroom as slowly behind him as he could and then heading off to his own.

At one point in time, Reian felt that he himself completed the image of Yi-jun and Songcai, but it wasn’t that, he knew now. It was with no bitterness he thought this, in fact it seemed to him that if for a while, the three of them had needed and given such love to each other, all the better. Their souls might be mates but Wen Reian had stopped believing that he was their destiny a long time ago.

My destiny was The Soul-Shatter Spell. I likely only existed to bring them back together. Such a fate is one I cannot be anything but thankful for, as their companionship has given me so much-

Wen Reian had a difficult time falling asleep that night. He kept thinking of Xie Yi-jun, imagining the man’s hand was still holding his own. He thought of the King’s tears and how Yi-jun letting Reian see them was just one more sign of their closeness and trust.

Reian stayed awake, swearing to himself that above all else he must not lose sight of what those two were to him. He would use their goodness and their love and their light as the stars with which he carried himself home, again and again… repaying them both for each and every beautiful moment, and every single tear.