This is Halloween!

[we_bring_hell]

The Bar loves her holidays, but she is also capable of respecting religious strictures. That's why she put a lot of thought into finding a Halloween costume for Harrow that works with her face paint and general insistence on the monochromatic.

Harrow, for her part, is baffled by the white-pinstriped black suit and the oversized bow, but the gloves are very cool, and the buckled shoes suit as well. She has no idea what's going on but she can live with this.

The Bar seems even more unusually populated than usual, and there are a lot of gourds around. Hm.

Comments

[lightamidchaos]

"Wei Ying."

It is amazing how much his name sounds like a warning - if a gentle one.

(He suspects he will have to resign himself to what is obviously going to happen.)

"A tiny amount. Only that. If at all."

[herald_ingress]

"It's only for very special celebrations when you're a mortal," she agrees, and then she notices the cupcakes.

"Ooh, did Bar give you cupcakes, too?"

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian, already winding up to pout tremendously at Lan Zhan, brightens when Ingress speaks.

"She did! Please, please, have one -- it seems by Madam Bar's reckoning, it is also my birthday today." A pause; a sly look toward Lan Zhan. "Which... could count as a very special celebration, yes...?"

[lightamidchaos]

He sighs, very deeply, but does not argue.

[herald_ingress]

"It's your birthday?!?! Happy birthday, Wei Wuxian!!!!!"

Her facial expression and body language require the amount of exclamation points that have been used.

"Oh, well, then. We have to celebrate a special occasion. But I'll get small glasses. I promise. And I'll absolutely have a cupcake, I love birthday cupcakes."

She whirls round and hurries back to the bar. When she returns, she has three shot glasses of Atlantean in her hands, because she either doesn't know or in her excitement has forgotten that Lan Wangji doesn't drink.

"Here we are, happy birthday! This is- I've only had it a couple of times, but when you drink it, it makes you feel like you're on holiday in a world where the sun is brand new."

[acrookedpath]

"Thank you!" he laughs, delighted, and immediately grabs two of the shot glasses: the one she hands to him, and the other she starts to hand to Lan Zhan. "Ah, Lan Zhan does not drink. Even ordinary wine will strike him hard -- I do not want to think about what will happen if he has this."

He studies one of the shot glasses, filled nearly to the brim with a shimmery golden alcohol that seems to glow as if light itself has been suspended in the liquid. Oh, yes. This will certainly be a worthy way to celebrate his birthday.

[lightamidchaos]

He nods, silently affirming. It is not the first time Wei Ying has protected him in this way.

[herald_ingress]

"Oh, sorry, no offense meant," she says, smiling at Lan Wangji. "I'll remember next time and bring you something you can drink."

Then she snaps her fingers at Wei Wuxian, "Oi! We'll split that second one, then, thank you very much. And sip it, don't down it. Trust me, you want to take my word for it."

[acrookedpath]

He heaves a great, put-upon sigh, but the corner of his mouth twitches into a smile before he can pretend for too long.

"If you insist," he says. "Lan Zhan, here -- "

He sets down one of the shot glasses in favor of a cupcake, passing the treat over to Lan Zhan.

"It is not a drink, but toast with us anyway!"

[lightamidchaos]

"I insist."

Wei Ying can consume a truly prodigious amount of alcohol with no ill effects, he knows, but Ingress's warnings are very clear, and it would be foolish not to heed them.

He accepts the cupcake in lieu of a drink, and -- feeling a little ridiculous but showing no sign of it -- holds it up in the fingers of both hands as though it were a cup for a formal toast.

[herald_ingress]

This is all perfectly normal to Ingress.

“To our dear Wei Wuxian on his birthday on Halloween,” Ingress says, raising her glass.

[acrookedpath]

He beams. "Thank you," he says again, tapping his glass to Ingress's, then (more gently) to the side of Lan Zhan's cupcake.

Considering it is even smaller than a typical wine cup, Wei Wuxian has to fight every instinct to toss back the entire glass in one gulp. Surely it isn't as strong as Ingress claims, is it? It doesn't taste particularly strong when he ventures a sip. But it does taste...

His eyes widen in awe.

[lightamidchaos]

He lifts the cupcake to Ingress's toast, then nibbles a small bite of it, but his attention is on the two of them as they take the first sips.

Wei Ying's expression surprises him, and he lowers the cupcake entirely.

[herald_ingress]

“I told you,” she says, smiling with her eyes closed, savoring the taste and the feelings that come with it.

“You can only get this here now. In my world the last bottle is long gone.”

[acrookedpath]

It is sitting on one of the docks at Lotus Pier, wedged between shijie and Jiang Cheng, laughing as he kicks water at his brother and Jiang Cheng threatens to tackle him into the river. It is the way the sunlight glints off every drop that spatters them all; the warmth in shijie's voice even as she tries to admonish her younger siblings.

It is the first time he felt his golden core ignite like a miniature sun in his belly. It is spreading his arms, soaring into the sky, the wind tangling his hair.

It is the nights he shares now with Lan Zhan.

There is no way to put it all to words, and he wishes, desperately, that he could, just so Lan Zhan could know even if he will never drink a drop of it. "Wow," is all he can breathe as the wave of warmth crests over him.

Eagerly, he takes a second, larger sip, inadvertently draining three-quarters of the shot glass.

[lightamidchaos]

“Wei Ying—“

He reaches out to try to catch his hand.

[herald_ingress]

Ingress glimpsed the ancient meadow in London Below, their special family place, where she so often snuggled in Door’s embrace as Tom took them up and up on his broomstick.

She opens her eyes just in time to see Wei Wuxian drink. She giggles.

“Maybe I’ll take that third glass back to Bar,” she manages after she fights the laughter down enough to speak.

[acrookedpath]

"Nooooo, no no no, don't!" he exclaims. He lets Lan Zhan catch his hand to pull the mostly-empty shot glass away, but counters it by trying to drag the other shot glass toward him protectively. "You said! You said. It's very rare. We can't waste it, Ingress, what will Madam Bar think?"

Just like their evening in London Above, Ingress's laughter is catching: he's beginning to snicker midway through his words, too.

[lightamidchaos]

"Sip," he reminds him. Reminds them, now. "Small amounts."

He does not snatch the other glass away, although he is sorely tempted.

[herald_ingress]

Ingress does, patting Wei Wuxian on the shoulder in consolation right before her hand snakes past him.

“It won’t go to waste, I promise. Bar will take it back for later. Tom’s potions don’t touch Atlantean hangovers and I can’t get more drafts from Serpentine. You will thank me in the morning, I promise.”

She giggles again, spare glass in hand, but she’s careful not to let a precious drop slosh.

“So will Lan Wangji!” She sweeps over to the bar to return it, and when she comes back, she stands in front of them for a moment, her eyes sparkling, and sighs. “You’re beautiful together. I’m so happy for you both.”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian lets out another sad noooooo as Ingress pulls the shot glass out of his reach. He stares longingly after it like she has just cruelly yanked the smallest, fluffiest, most adorable rabbit out of his arms, drooping visibly as she returns it to Madam Bar.

All of this is swiftly forgotten once she returns.

"Me, too," he says cheerily. Wei Wuxian slings an arm around Lan Zhan's shoulders as best he can despite the wings, planting a kiss on his temple. Fond, "He puts up with so much from me. And! Lan Zhan, did you know, when I went drinking with Ingress -- "

He's punctuating every few words with a small poke to Lan Zhan's side.

" -- she helped convince me I should say something to you?"

[lightamidchaos]

"Mn."

He patiently endures each poke, and puts his arm around Wei Ying's waist to support him.

With his other hand, he takes Ingress by the elbow, and tugs her gently toward the nearest barstool.

"I am glad." To them both. "Very much so."

[herald_ingress]

Ingress is doing fine, she thinks, as she sits down, and then slides over a little because she wasn’t quite aimed the most accurately. She repositions herself and sits straight and prim.

Or as prim as a woman in a skin tight superhero costume can be.

“You’re so sweet, thank you.” She takes a tiny sip of Atlantean and sighs.

“I wish I still had birthday parties here because you’d both be invited, and we’d have such fun.”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian would also argue that he doesn't need the extra support. He's not drunk yet, just -- happy! How can he not be happy when the drink stirred up such wonderful memories? And really, it was such a tiny amount, no matter what Ingress said about its potency, and it tasted no stronger than ordinary wine.

(The way his head is slowly listing to meet Lan Zhan's voices the lie to literally all of this.)

"Why don't you?" he asks earnestly. "You could still have one! When's your birthday? We will celebrate, I promise -- "

[lightamidchaos]

It is a good question, and he looks over at Ingress, waiting for her answer --

-- but he does so carefully, so as not to dislodge Wei Ying.