💀Penumbral Lady💀

Ingress stops short when she turns around, still some ways away from the familiar duo. Her eyes grow wide with shock and surprise.

"Aziraphale? Crowley?"

She's completely forgotten she's dressed as Wonder Woman for the moment.

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Having already seen Ingress in a short, form-fitting dress, Wei Wuxian isn't as taken aback by her costume as he might have been some weeks ago. It's still startling, to be certain -- her entire legs are bare! -- but he recovers quickly enough.

Especially since...

"Ingress!" Unless Crowley's voice and demeanor have changed drastically in the past decade or so, his true identity quickly becomes apparent as he waves a hand over his head. "You know who we're supposed to be?"

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His eyes widen, startled, and his ears flush pink.

Lan Wangji was not expecting to see Ingress wearing nothing more than the very least of clothing, even less than the dress she had been wearing in the pictures, and in the middle of a common room full of people.

He makes a slightly strangled sound and then shakes his head, looking resigned.

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As she takes a few steps forward, her expression clouds over with confusion. But then she realizes who she's actually talking to, and her usual expression of delight spreads across her face.

"Hi! Yes, I do. You're dressed as old friends who used to be fixtures here, when I was growing up. I honestly thought you were them for a moment." She gestures to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in turn and says, "You're Aziraphale, a heavenly angel, and you're Crowley, a demon but not a terribly demonic one."

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Wei Wuxian lets out a small, knowing ohhh and glances sidelong at Lan Zhan, grinning anew. "A heavenly angel, hm?" he asks, leaning to bump shoulders (and, inadvertently, wings) with Lan Zhan. "I see. Strange that she would dress us like another pair of patrons, though."

What if this Aziraphale and Crowley walk through the front door and see them?

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His ears go much brighter at Wei Ying's comment.

"Mn."

After a moment, he brushes one hand over the cuff of his sweater, a little self-consciously, and says,

"What is your attire, Ingress?"

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"I'm a superhero called Wonder Woman," she says, and she quickly realizes that her lack of clothing may be a bit shocking for them. And this costume isn't even that scanty!

"She's in something called a comic book in different worlds; she has super strength and is indestructible and fights dastardly villains. I met her here, though, and she was remarkable. As for Aziraphale and Crowley, I don't think they'll be here. They went away a long, long time ago."

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"I have met a superhero or two," says Wei Wuxian thoughtfully. "None dressed quite so remarkably, but they spoke of fighting creatures and villains in their world much like a cultivator would."

He shrugs. The wings, by some hidden mechanism, stretch fluidly and resettle against his shoulders.

"And if Aziraphale and Crowley no longer visit the inn, then we will simply have to live up to their reputations as best we can."

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"It suits you, then," he says to Ingress, before giving Wei Ying a sideways look.

"Depending on their reputations."

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"They were well-loved and respected," she says, her voice fond. "I think they even watched over me sometimes when I was small. Just don't order Atlantean."

And then her face gets serious and she admonishes Wei Wuxian, "Actually, don't ever order Atlantean, or at least not more than a tiny amount. It's from my world, and it will really take you down."

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Wei Wuxian's golden eyes go wide and reverent.

"Ingress," he says, "you cannot tell me there is a kind of drink I've never tried and then say I cannot order it! How cruel! We are friends, Ingress, dear friends -- "

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"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."

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"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?"

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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...?"

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He sighs, very deeply, but does not argue.

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"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."

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"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.

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

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"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."

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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!"

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"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.

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This is all perfectly normal to Ingress.

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

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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.

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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.

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