@cerbykerby: lwj is very intently scanning ...

lwj is very intently scanning the streets before suddenly he's tugging the donkey over to one of the stalls.

the vendor smiles upon seeing him. "Good evening, sir! Do you see anything you like?"

wwx relaxes a little. it seems no one recognizes lwj as the emperor.

well, wwx supposes that, with his hair down and his hairpiece gone and his elaborate outer robes missing, lwj looks more in line with a local noble than the emperor himself.

before wwx can intervene, lwj has bought three sticks of tanghulu and is proudly presenting them to wwx.

"Oh-h, how nice," wwx laughs. "Ah, hm. Are they all for me?"

"And A-Yuan," lwj says.

"But A-Yuan doesn't have teeth," wwx reminds him gently. "He can't eat these."

a look of shock crosses lwj's face, as if this is completely new information for him.

before lwj can get too upset, wwx hurriedly takes the tanghulu sticks.

"We can eat them together," he reassures lwj. "I'll even feed them to you."

that seems to cheer lwj up a bit before he's once again leading the donkey elsewhere.

in the span of half an hour, lwj somehow amasses a small hoard of food, ranging from a bowl of spicy noodles (which wwx, again, tells him that a-yuan can't eat, and no—it doesn't matter that noodles are soft) to scallion pancakes to delicately-made sweet little desserts.

at one point, lwj hears chickens clucking in a nearby courtyard and ties the donkey to a tree before walking through the gate.

by the time wwx manages to dismount without jostling a-yuan too much, lwj returns, covered in feathers and proudly holding out two unfortunate chickens.

"Ohh, wow," wwx laughs nervously. "Wow, uh, what do you have there?"

"Chickens," lwj says. "Are they fat?"

"Haha, ahh," wwx looks at the chickens. "Yeah, I guess they are."

"Do you like fat chickens?" lwj whispers.

"I sure do," wwx giggles uncertainly.

lwj's eyes light up. "Here. Chickens for you." he passes the chickens into wwx's hands.

wwx immediately holds them far away from a-yuan. "Ahh, ahaha. Wow. These are some fat chickens. Good job."

lwj doesn't puff out his chest, but he lets out a content little, "Mn."

when lwj gets sidetracked by a loquat tree, wwx hurriedly tosses the chickens back over the wall and back into their home courtyard. luckily, by the time lwj returns with an entire armful of loquats, he seems to have completely forgotten about the chickens.

"Oh, how nice," wwx says, looking at the bundle of fruits, leaves, and branches in lwj's arms. "Are these all for me?"

lwj nods. "For Wei Ying. And A-Yuan. But A-Yuan has no teeth."

"Correct," wwx praises. "Good job. Good boy."

"Yes, good boy," lwj agrees, nodding.

they end up gathering a lot of items, many of which are children's toys that a-yuan happened to glance at. the donkey's saddlebags are stuffed so full that the donkey has taken to braying as loudly as it can every now and then out of protest.

the tanghulu sticks are so long that wwx and lwj can only eat one together. luckily, by that time, the guards have long-since caught up and wwx is able to sneak the remaining two to the guards before lwj notices.

but aside from the stress of minding both lwj and a-yuan, wwx has to admit that it is a good evening. he hasn't been outside of the palace walls in so long, and the town feels vibrant beyond measure. the people, the sounds, the food—wwx has almost forgotten what it was like.

a-yuan is being so good. he has only cried once—when a firecracker startled him—but aside from that, he seems happy to take in the world with his wide little eyes.

and lwj? for an emperor who has spent most of his life within palace walls, he isn't afraid in new surroundings.

yes, he has a pretty poor concept of blending in and is quick to accept the first price named, but his sheer determination to provide (although what he provides is a bit muddled; wwx isn't quite sure what he's thinking at times) means they now have a bunch of goods to take back.

at one point, wwx's gaze lingers a little too long on a bracelet made of snow-white jade and lwj purchases it without a moment of hesitation.

"Look at how much your husband spoils you," the vendor gushes to wwx as she wraps up the bracelet and hands it over to lwj.

wwx should correct her. she is wrong, after all—they are not married—but he can't get his mouth to move. instead, he just smiles, tries to swallow the lump in his throat, and nods along.

like a coward.

the lump in his throat grows when lwj helps him slip on the jade bracelet. lwj misses a few times—mostly because he gets distracted holding wwx's hand—but he finally gets the bracelet on wwx's wrist.

then, as if he's trying to give wwx a heart attack, lwj kisses his wrist.

"Wei Ying," lwj says, turning wwx's hand over to kiss the back of it. "Wei Ying."

the lump in wwx's throat hurts, but wwx manages to say, "Lan Zhan."

although a bit glassy-eyed and unfocused, the look of adoration lwj gives him is enough to make his heart skip a beat.

soon, the evening melts into night. a-yuan's blinks grow longer and heavier as his cheek squishes against wwx's chest.

wwx gives him a hug. "Our little radish is tired," he whispers to lwj. "Maybe we should head back to the palace?"

lwj looks to the town with some reluctance.

wwx takes his hand. "I had a good evening," he says. "I'm glad you brought us out, but I'm getting tired too." he flicks a stray twig off of lwj's hair. "And you need a bath before you sleep."

lwj is indeed a little unkempt. his hair was already in disarray from wwx grabbing at it earlier; now it has stray twigs and leaves stuck in it. and since he walked around the entire time, the bottom of his white robes are covered in dirt.

"Bath," lwj says.

wwx nods. "Yes."

lwj deliberately drags his gaze down and up wwx's body. "And you?"

"I will be taking a bath too," wwx nods. "So let's go home."

"Home," lwj whispers, looking up at wwx with wide, earnest eyes.

did wwx say that? whoops. although now that he thinks about it, he doesn't have anywhere he could call home other than the palace. he will be wherever a-yuan is, and wherever a-yuan is is home.

although, wwx thinks as lwj carefully picks him up and sets him on the donkey's back, he supposes lwj is part of his home now, too. he cannot imagine living in the palace with just a-yuan. lwj has to be there too, and he has to be with them.

as lwj leads the donkey back to the palace, wwx reaches down, takes hold of lwj's forehead ribbon, and gives it a gentle tug.

lwj turns around to look at him. upon seeing the ribbon in wwx's hand, his eyes darken with a deep-set hunger.

"Hey," wwx says, smiling. "This was fun."

"Mn." lwj is still staring at the ribbon in wwx's hand.

"I wouldn't mind doing this again," wwx says. "When you're not drunk, of course. How much did you drink? You're still out of it."

instead of answering the question, lwj looks up at wwx. "Do this again?" he asks.

wwx nods. "With better disguises, next time," he laughs. "And less messed-up hairdos. We got some interesting looks today."

"Again. Yes." lwj nods. "Always."

"That's a pretty big promise," wwx says.

"I promise," lwj says.

and wwx believes him. against all better judgement, he believes him.

by the time they arrive back at the palace, the gates are already open, with guards, servants, and the stable-hand there, waiting for them.

the stable-hand takes the donkey, the servants help them carry their items and fuss over them, and the guards close the gate.

"Could you draw up a bath?" wwx asks one of the servants. "Lan Zh—His Majesty is a little, uh…"

the servant glances at lwj, who still has twigs in his hair and dirt staining his robes, and nods. "The water has already been heated. It'll be ready in no time."

wwx takes lwj's hand. "Come along," he says, tugging lwj with him. "It's time for a bath."

eagerly, lwj follows him.

behind them, a wall of shocked guards and servants watch them go, their gazes fixed on wwx's and lwj's joined hands.

as promised, lwj's bathtub is set up in a side room and filled with steaming-hot water. wwx unstraps a-yuan from his chest and lays him down in a crib; it is very convenient that lwj is an emperor and can afford luxuries like cribs in every room.

while wwx tends to a-yuan, he feels arms wrap around his waist from behind as lwj presses up against his back.

"Bath," lwj mumbles against wwx's hair.

wwx places a hand over lwj's. "A-Yuan also needs a bath. How about I bathe him while you take the bathtub?"

lwj doesn't say anything, but he also doesn't move. when wwx tries to go retrieve a-yuan's bathtub from a nearby table, lwj doesn't let him move.

"Lan Zhan," wwx says. "A-Yuan needs his bath."

"Mn," lwj says reluctantly, but still doesn't move.

wwx turns around in his arms until he's facing lwj. "What's the matter?" he easily hangs his arms around lwj's neck. "Did you want to wash A-Yuan?"

a pause, before lwj agrees with another, "Mn."

"Aw." wwx pats the back of his head. "That's so sweet of you."

with that established, lwj finally lets wwx go. as wwx unwraps a-yuan from his swaddle, he hears fabric rustling behind him.

"Alright, here's the baby," wwx says, picking up the now-naked a-yuan. "Did you retrieve his…"

the end of wwx's question trails off. he stares.