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]

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.

[herald_ingress]

“Oh, it’s not for a long time, not until May. But I’d like that. But oh! You’ll both come to Valdemar with me and we’ll go to my favorite bakery in Haven and have cake anyway.”

[acrookedpath]

"Yes!" he declares, straightening up -- or straightening up as best he can when his legs seem to have gone a little wobbly. Just a little. "I will make that my next great adventure. Alcohol from every world and cake from every world."

A thought strikes him, and he suddenly frowns.

"Wait. There was..." Worlds. Ingress. Visiting different worlds. What was it? He spins his free hand, trying to recall. "Lan Zhan, we needed to ask Ingress about that -- "

Oh. Right.

"That thing, with -- ?"

[lightamidchaos]

"Not tonight," he says, very firmly, and kisses Wei Ying's temple.

"Instead, we need to plan for visiting Ingress's Haven. And the Collegium. And-- wherever else we should see? Ingress?"

He glances back and forth between them.

"Wei Ying. You will come? You did not seem interested, when I tried to tell you of it, before--"

[herald_ingress]

Ingress’ eyes go wide. “No, but you have to go. You said! Please come with us.”

[acrookedpath]

"I will! I will," he promises swiftly. "I want to go, I was only -- "

Unsuccessfully, he smothers a laugh.

"You asked me when I was distracted, Lan Zhan, before I'd said anything to you, and you looked so excited when you said you'd meet this Vanyel. I was jealous! I thought I'd missed my chance to say anything at all!"

Which was clearly, absurdly the wrong thing to think, and he is struck so hard by the humor that he starts giggling all over again.

[lightamidchaos]

Lan Wangji just stares at him in disbelief, and then looks to Ingress for support.

[herald_ingress]

“I didn’t know either when I first invited Lan Wangji. All Vanyel knows is I have friends who are interested in musical cultivation who’d like to visit. That’s it!”

[acrookedpath]

"I know that now," he protests through his laughter. "But I didn't then! That's all. That's all."

He hugs Lan Zhan tighter.

"I know you love me. And I love you, too. So much."

[lightamidchaos]

"My Wei Ying. Yes. I love you."

He presses a kiss to his hair, openly, unapologetically, unashamed of showing affection in the middle of the inn's common room.

He wants everyone to know that Wei Ying is his, that he loves him.

To Ingress, he adds,

"So. It is as with Mianmian. I see."

[herald_ingress]

She has no idea who Mianmian is, but she’s too busy dying from the adorableness to care.

“Just a misunderstanding but he’s brilliant, really, and worth meeting no matter, and oh, gods, you're so sweet together and in love and-“

She sniffles and wipes away happy tears, but she’s smiling hugely as she gushes.

“I love you guys. I do.” She reaches out to grab a hand, anyone’s will do. “I’m so happy I came back to Milliways and found you both.”

[acrookedpath]

"Ingress. My friend!" She'd grabbed Wei Wuxian's hand, and now, beaming -- and perhaps a little misty-eyed himself -- he tugs her off the barstool to drape his other arm around her. "I'm so glad I met you, too. I'm so happy this is how I'll spend my afterlife."

Wait. Wait a moment. Lan Zhan has a hand free, doesn't he?

...Lan Zhan does not have a hand free: he's still holding the remaining fraction of Wei Wuxian's drink. Interesting. With what he believes is a craftiness to rival the finest spies of the Great Sects, Wei Wuxian scoots his arm lower to circle Lan Zhan's waist.

[lightamidchaos]

"Of course I want to meet him - why would I not?" he asks, bemused, before realizing that he will likely have to wait for another day for any meaningful answer.

Wei Ying puts his arm around him, and he lets himself be drawn closer, as it is much easier that way to keep him from falling over -- or potentially Ingress, too, now that the two of them are hugging. He does his best to brace Wei Ying with his own body so that no one falls over in a heap on the floor.

[herald_ingress]

It’s group hug time because Ingress has strong arms that were made for hugging. Well, and fighting, but hugging, too. The wings make it a little tricky, but Ingress will not be deterred.

Also it’s really, really easy to lean into Lan Wangji because he’s just so... nice and solid.

“But yes, we’ll have such a good time, and you’ll meet the other Companions - I think they’re excited to meet you, too, or that’s what I pick up from Megwyn when I burble at her about it.”

She sniffles, her head resting on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, and sighs. Leaning into her friends’ embraces, she feels more anchored than she has in quite a long time. It’s like there were several puzzle pieces for her adulthood that were missing and now a few more are slotting firmly into place.

[acrookedpath]

It's such a nice group hug that Wei Wuxian doesn't want to disrupt it by making that planned grab for his drink.

(Yet.)

"I want to meet everybody," he says, nodding firmly. "All the Companions. All the cultivators. Everybody! It'll be fantastic, Ingress, it will."

[lightamidchaos]

He is more than a little startled when Ingress hugs him as well, throwing herself against him -- and even more surprised to find that he automatically extends one of his (?) wings around her, returning the embrace and supporting her so that she does not fall over.

"It will," he avers, to them both. "We will visit, and meet everyone, and it will be very enjoyable."

Is this why people drink?

[herald_ingress]

“Oh,” she says with a gasp, pulling back a little, but not enough to leave the hug.

“We have to work on your cover stories! You can be a little bit sneaky, right? Only a few there know about Milliways and me being from an entirely different world. They just think I’m from a foreign kingdom. I’ll teach you what to say; it won’t be intensive but more just in case.”

[acrookedpath]

Wei Wuxian perks up. "I can be sneaky!"

...Sometimes.

"Lan Zhan, don't look at me like that," he adds without even glancing Lan Zhan's way -- and then, with the hug loosened just enough, he snakes a hand between them to snatch the shot glass from Lan Zhan's grip and down the rest of it in one go. "Hah! See?"

He punctuates this with a quick kiss.

[lightamidchaos]

Wei Ying's kiss tastes strangely golden, fizzing with light and laughter, enough so that when it breaks he cannot do anything other than sigh.

"Wei Ying."

He is smiling.

"Fine. You can be sneaky."

To Ingress, he adds, "Lying is forbidden. I will have to be careful."

[herald_ingress]

“We’ll make it work,” she promises. She and Wei Wuxian can do his lying for him, if need be!

“It’s less lying and more not saying ‘oh yes I’m from a far away world you have no idea exists which might make me a threat to the kingdom’, so it will be fine.”

[acrookedpath]

"He's allowed to do that!" says Wei Wuxian with an enthusiastic nod. It makes the room wobble a little more than he expected, and he lists into Lan Zhan a bit. Beautiful, solid Lan Zhan. He loves him so much.

...maybe the Atlantean really was as strong as Ingress declared.

"And if not, I will lie for him. All you have to do is keep quiet, zhiji. You're good at that. We'll play to our strengths! I'll talk and you... won't talk."

He dissolves into more giggles.

[lightamidchaos]

He does not think that he has ever seen Wei Ying as drunk as this. But he is happy.

They all three are.

"Yes."

To both of them.

"It will be fine."

[herald_ingress]

“He is patient, isn’t he?” she says to Wei Wuxian. Looking up at Lan Wangji, she continues, “You really are lovely.”

She sighs happily. Getting back to Haven after this is going to be a trick. She’s not entirely sure she can get out of this hug, much less the bar.

She’ll worry about it later!

[acrookedpath]

"He is," says Wei Wuxian with a nearly identical sigh. He settles his chin on Lan Zhan's shoulder and beams up at him. "And he's mine."

How wonderful is that?

[lightamidchaos]

His ears flush bright red.

"Mn."

He keeps his wing around Ingress, though, and his arm around Wei Ying.