( he breathes out in such a way to likewise blow more lingering tendrils of hair away from his face, partly to distract himself from the apparent ease lan zhan has in reaching out to touch him. all things told, only jiang cheng shares any aspect of it, and it's been tense ever since issues of suitability in performance at uni has meant arguments with his parents, his mother, and her strength of character in demands--because it shakes down to the insecurities wei wuxian cannot fix, and it means one more person who reaches back to him stops doing so, as much as he had before.
he settles back down, leans over, bumps his shoulder against his... well, his boyfriend's, and that's still a mindfuck in a way he's not used to outside of jesting. )
Mah, Lan Zhan, you don't want my noodles? The ones I make you? Or the ones I buy and then boil for you, you don't want the ones I make from scratch, they're a disaster, not even a pig would eat them, and Jiang Cheng and I dared each other to try.
( rambling, because it's easier than thinking hard, and he smiles, reaching over and tapping a finger on the tea cup before lan zhan. )
[It was surprising to Wangji too, how he doesn't mind touching Wei Ying or letting Wei Ying touch him even though he's normally extremely prickly about such things. He doesn't even mind the shoulder bump, doesn't tense weirdly the way he usually does.
And of course, he might not catch the innuendo in that rambling.]
You probably cook just fine, but there's too much spice in what you make for me to try.
[He wouldn't say no to tasting some Wei Ying-made food, but the spice is, indeed, eye-watering for him. And he's even learned to make some of that stuff himself for Wei Ying, but he has to trust the recipes and Wei Ying's comments because he absolutely cannot taste it as he cooks it.
At the tap, he'll pick up his tea cup and sip at it.]
Oh, no, I just made them in a way they... fell apart? Totally fell apart.
( he mimics this with his hands, waggling his fingers. that the innuendo has passed lan zhan is not something he fails to expect this time, but he wants to explain that later.
when it's funnier.
when it's just them. )
Look, we'll do baby spice, such little spice, start you on on the lowest levels, right? Bring you out of always bland to mostly bland but with a little more, what's the term they use... umami? For the broth!
( the auntie from earlier ducking back into the front counter area with two full bowls, milky brothed, and plants them down before each young man with a grin that turns her eyes into happy crescents, highlighting the lines at their corners until her face is wreathed in smiles.
[Maybe a little pouty. There's plenty of tastes in vegetables and you can season with other things than spice, Wei Ying! And also, his things with spice is not just about taste...]
Most spices make me sick. I can't digest them well.
( He likes seasonings, not just spice, Lan Zhan! Spice does however have a certain ability to warm the parts of himself he doesn't know how to address otherwise, and has a nice zing of adrenaline with it to help distract his mind. Like alcohol, only utterly unlike it at all.
Lan Zhan just happens to be allergic to all Wei Wuxian's coping mechanisms. A little saddening, so he doesn't think about it beyond being aware that it's true. )
[When they get older and a bit more spicy, it's harder.
But yes, he gets drunk with one drink and sick with a pinch of baby curry, unfortunately. At least he still can cook the spice for Wei Ying.
And those noodles in vegetarian broth are fine, too. He's not sure he won't get sick later, because a lot depends on the proportion of things, but he's not getting a huge kick of heat from them, and they are tasty.]
Are you sure you still want to cook for me?
[You'd feel awful if you made him sick, he knows.]
( with noodles to eat, and a package of them wrapped up for later if the longevity kind, he reaches over and presses the side of his closed fist to the meat of Lan Zhan's thigh. )
I can handle diet restrictions. I just add more in for me.
( he snorts, but waves a hand, yes yes, he can eat, and then he does indeed tuck in, peppering conversation around spoonfuls of broth and chopsticks full of noodles. delicious, delicious noodles, and he slurps, and it's neither short nor long before he's done and seeing if Lan Zhan is as well, sliding money toward his known auntie and good naturedly sassing with her and taking the comments in return, eat more, put meat on those bones, you're so skinny, too skinny, where's your muscle? where's your fat? one cold, you'll be gone, you're a stick!
before they're up and on feet and away out of the hanging curtains, longevity noodles tucked in their bag, stomachs full, wei wuxian humming to himself and watching lan zhan from the corner of his eyes. )
[This is quite enough of being around people for one day, really. It was made more bearable with Wei Ying being a buffer between himself and the rest of the world, but he's still hitting his limit.
He'll be mostly silent in the car, and not even ask which 'home they're going to before driving back to the Fei Du's building. He doesn't really have more than a change of clothes win his overnight bag that he brought so he'll need to go back to his place at some point.... Not sure when, though. he's reluctant to part from Wei Ying, but also reluctant to ask him to come over.
Wei Ying has been over a lot, that is a fact, but he also did get spooked when Wangji asked him if he would move in, and the space itself seems to make him slightly uncomfortable for now.
For now it's just easier to drive back to this one place that's more Wei Ying's and figure out the rest later.]
( he's not sure he would know how to describe that a space not earned by both of them, or more, neutral to them, starts winding up an awareness and anxiety of time meant to run out, of overstayed welcome, of egg shell walking on ice. so it's easier, calling fei du's owned apartment home, because there's no cost if it changes or leaves or remains. it's not precisely on them.
and he knows that lan zhan is bringing him 'home' to where wuxian is even keel, and that matters.
so gratitude comes once they're inside, when he limpets to lan zhan, nuzzling his neck and by his ear in the contentedness of a feline to say: )
Let me lend you sleep clothes?
( let him boyfriend shirt you, lan zhan, and nevermind what that tells his libido in very Interested terms. )
[It's easy and natural, too, the way Wei Ying clings to him. That's always been one of the reasons that made people believe they were dating way before it happened - or at least way before Wei Ying realized. It's quite well known on campus that Wangji dislikes being touched, and yet for more than a year and half, he hasn't said anything about Wei Ying hanging off of him - something which Fei Du might have mentioned.
And it's even better now, and his own indecision about whether he should stay or go is wiped out when Wei Ying pretty much solves the problem at least for tonight. he'll definitely need to go back to his place at some point tomorrow, though. He managed to text his brother to go feed the bunny today, but he needs to go back for that and clothes.
But that offer does make him raise an eyebrow because he ahs seen what you sleep in, Wei Ying, and it's very far from his own pajamas. And yet...]
( there are ways and reasons to not read deeper than feeling you've managed to worm yourself into better graces. yes, retrospect can educate him now, but not change the reality.
so he moves forward, as he always does. the agreement has him grinning wickedly, and pressing a sloppy kiss to Lan Zhan's jaw before he slides away again, padding down the hall barefoot. )
Great! Can't wait to see you in them!
( oversized shirt and clean boxers, it is going to be a night. )
[For some reason, it hadn't occurred to Wangji that Wei Ying might like to see him in his clothes, even though he remembers quite well how sexy it felt when he found Wei Ying wearing his shirt.
He follows at a more sedate pace, putting his bag down in the entranceway first, and then remembering...]
( there are enough half formed thoughts, but really, when he's handled his libido fine with an imagination and a hand and very few times of quiet to himself (more since here, in essence, but still), sleep doesn't seem a terrible waste of energy or time... as long as he gets to see Lan Zhan dressed to his own shameless pleasure. )
Yes, yes, why you insist on signing up for all the early morning classes is a mystery I'll never understand. Now, here, I've got just what'll fit...
( into the closet, the walk in closet, that isn't even a tenth filled by whatever Wei Wuxian has dragged in. he doesn't own enough clothing for it, partly out of lack of interest, so he's also stored bundles of sketches, notebooks, models built out of balsa wood, 3d printed designs which look like leftovers and also some functional devices to unknown causes, and then: for some reason, a collection 3d printed crows, all in different poses but the simple dark grey of the standard plastic used, and some of them markedly wearing accessories. (if asked, he simply thought it was funny.)
followed in or not, what he liberates from a draw is a rolled up (for storage!) shirt that he shakes out to reveal it's indeed bunny theme, and then he goes for his clean boxers, tugging out an unobjectionable, newer, boxer briefs. )
[The walk-in closet being filled with 90% not clothes is honestly pretty on brand, and Wangji does catch a few glimpses of what's in there, but even if he's curious, he's polite as a guest and will not pry.
His face... remains politely blank at what he's being given. These are, of course, absolutely nothing like anything he would ever consider wearing. In fact, if it were anyone but Wei Ying presenting those to him, and knowing they are to be worn in private, he probably would have rejected them outright because it's absolutely ridiculous.
Ridiculous, and yet bunny-themed. Like taking one of the things he likes to absurd levels, in ways only Wei Ying can.]
Thank you.
[Almost on reflex, he starts going towards the bathroom to change, even though he doesn't really have to, now that they're together. Certain things having to be done away from people's eyes is just ingrained in him.]
( Sincere, knowing at the same time it was nothing at all to Lan Zhan's liking. Which makes it all... sweet. Unexpectedly cute, and certainly kind.
Wei Wuxian promptly trots after him, since apparently he's going to join Lan Zhan in the bathroom to also change. He has his own shirt and clean boxers tossed over his arm, though unlike what he handed Lan Zhan, he hadn't bothered to think twice about what he'd pulled out for himself. )
[It is the furthest thing from his liking, and that's how you know he likes you, Wei Ying.
And the clothes Wei Ying chose for him are at least... well, chosen. here is some thought behind it, even if Wangji isn't sure what that thought is. The ones he took for himself are clashing with one another, a right eyesore, but he can't really object, can he? This is Wei Ying's home, and his clothes and his bed, and he's a guest.
Being escorted to the bathroom is a surprise at first... until one remembers one had a very make-out heavy shower in there already, so just changing is remarkably tame compared to that.
And of course, Wei Ying will not be surprised to see Wangji folding his clothes as he removes them, instead of throwing them in a heap on the floor. And then put on the ones he was given which... are a little snug on him. He and Wei Ying are of similar height, but they are built differently.]
( Wei Wuxian folds his clothes more lacakdaisical, loose bundles as he strips down and redresses, mostly to pounce on Lan Zhan and wind his arms around his waist, hook his chin over his shoulder. The fact they're in the bathroom works to his favour, as he can tug and nudge and turn Lan Zhan just enough to see them both in the mirror.
His smile blooms, a slow and beautiful thing, as he admires what his shirt (really, kindness says he'd have found a looser one, but this one has the rabbit) does to highlight Lan Zhan's physique. Granted, he didn't need to have any particular one according to Wei Wuxian, which means he'd look fantastic regardless, but it's still nice, seeing this entirely out of context Lan Zhan, wearing Wei Wuxian's clothing. Utterly enthralling, and he hums where he is, vibration likely traveling to Lan Zhan. )
I like you like this.
( And what he means is: choosing to be here, with me, and tangled up in whatever that means, and that I can see it, instead of wonder when it's going to inevitably end.
Because that awareness is still around, that part of himself that doesn't believe in unchanged, lasting bonds, but is willing to try believing for a while, to take that chance, and not only be waiting for the moment where Lan Zhan realises like the rest have that Wei Wuxian is simply too stubborn, too set in his own pursuit of justice, or curiosity, or help in ways he's willing to do that many aren't, that he's all these things and they're too much to want to carry the burden of any longer.
He can tamp those thoughts down, settle them to the side, and trace a finger down his lover's front, following the outline of the bunny under the water. )
[It's going to be a whole Thing, convincing Wei Ying that he wants to be there and he's not leaving. It's going to be a whole thing even after he's been around for upwards of two years to the point everyone around them thought they were already dating, and he would have continued to be no matter what, even if things hadn't evolved that way.
It even took Wangji time to see under the smiles. He can't deny he was irritated at first when they first met and Wei Ying seemed to rub him all the wrong ways. he honestly can't quite say when that changed, but that doesn't matter now. And it's not like Wei Ying doesn't have good reason to feel insecure in his attachments. but Wangji won't let him self-sabotage this.
In the meantime, he can appreciate those little moments, put his hand on top of Wei Ying's on his waist, let him play to his heart's content.]
( A smile at the question, as Lan Zhan places his hand over the one Wei Wuxian kept at his lover's waist. Lover? Boyfriend always sounded so paltry to him, significant other, well, somewhat more accurate. His other hand continues tracing the rabbit, but he's looking into the mirror, watching Lan Zhan's face in reflection. )
No, not the only. I like you in whatever you're wearing, or whatever you're not. I like you when you're happy or exhausted, when you make that face that says you're feeding me against my own, ah, forgetfulness around meals, or when you're working through musical theory, or when you're stroking your rabbit's ridiculously soft ears. Really ridiculous! Who designed them to be so pettable?
( here, stroking along one of the submerged rabbit's ears in his jest of a protest. )
There's no only way to like you, ah? I like you. There is no way.
( and that, there, is also scary as anything he can possibly imagine. )
[Well, once the floodgates open, they do not, it appear, close. So, good, now that's out in the open, unlike the very... roundabout way they went about starting dating, because that was a disaster.
But one step at a time, so hat Wei Ying doesn't spook himself too much.]
( he's plenty reserved enough when it comes to certain aspects of his heart, but once those avenues open... expecting an end doesn't mean any less sharing while he has the chance.
regardless, he laughs, there against the warmth of Lan Zhan's back, and turns his face, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. )
Okay, okay, let me tuck you in, sweet dreams and all of that. I'm not quite ready to sleep. You still want me there?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
he settles back down, leans over, bumps his shoulder against his... well, his boyfriend's, and that's still a mindfuck in a way he's not used to outside of jesting. )
Mah, Lan Zhan, you don't want my noodles? The ones I make you? Or the ones I buy and then boil for you, you don't want the ones I make from scratch, they're a disaster, not even a pig would eat them, and Jiang Cheng and I dared each other to try.
( rambling, because it's easier than thinking hard, and he smiles, reaching over and tapping a finger on the tea cup before lan zhan. )
no subject
And of course, he might not catch the innuendo in that rambling.]
You probably cook just fine, but there's too much spice in what you make for me to try.
[He wouldn't say no to tasting some Wei Ying-made food, but the spice is, indeed, eye-watering for him. And he's even learned to make some of that stuff himself for Wei Ying, but he has to trust the recipes and Wei Ying's comments because he absolutely cannot taste it as he cooks it.
At the tap, he'll pick up his tea cup and sip at it.]
no subject
( he mimics this with his hands, waggling his fingers. that the innuendo has passed lan zhan is not something he fails to expect this time, but he wants to explain that later.
when it's funnier.
when it's just them. )
Look, we'll do baby spice, such little spice, start you on on the lowest levels, right? Bring you out of always bland to mostly bland but with a little more, what's the term they use... umami? For the broth!
( the auntie from earlier ducking back into the front counter area with two full bowls, milky brothed, and plants them down before each young man with a grin that turns her eyes into happy crescents, highlighting the lines at their corners until her face is wreathed in smiles.
time to eat! )
no subject
[Maybe a little pouty. There's plenty of tastes in vegetables and you can season with other things than spice, Wei Ying! And also, his things with spice is not just about taste...]
Most spices make me sick. I can't digest them well.
no subject
Lan Zhan just happens to be allergic to all Wei Wuxian's coping mechanisms. A little saddening, so he doesn't think about it beyond being aware that it's true. )
Bellpeppers?
no subject
[When they get older and a bit more spicy, it's harder.
But yes, he gets drunk with one drink and sick with a pinch of baby curry, unfortunately. At least he still can cook the spice for Wei Ying.
And those noodles in vegetarian broth are fine, too. He's not sure he won't get sick later, because a lot depends on the proportion of things, but he's not getting a huge kick of heat from them, and they are tasty.]
Are you sure you still want to cook for me?
[You'd feel awful if you made him sick, he knows.]
no subject
( with noodles to eat, and a package of them wrapped up for later if the longevity kind, he reaches over and presses the side of his closed fist to the meat of Lan Zhan's thigh. )
I can handle diet restrictions. I just add more in for me.
no subject
[This is, after all one of the many ways he himself has been showing his care for months before Wei Ying really noticed anything.]
But finish those first. They'll go cold otherwise.
[You need to stop talking for two seconds and actually eat.]
no subject
before they're up and on feet and away out of the hanging curtains, longevity noodles tucked in their bag, stomachs full, wei wuxian humming to himself and watching lan zhan from the corner of his eyes. )
Home?
no subject
[This is quite enough of being around people for one day, really. It was made more bearable with Wei Ying being a buffer between himself and the rest of the world, but he's still hitting his limit.
He'll be mostly silent in the car, and not even ask which 'home they're going to before driving back to the Fei Du's building. He doesn't really have more than a change of clothes win his overnight bag that he brought so he'll need to go back to his place at some point.... Not sure when, though. he's reluctant to part from Wei Ying, but also reluctant to ask him to come over.
Wei Ying has been over a lot, that is a fact, but he also did get spooked when Wangji asked him if he would move in, and the space itself seems to make him slightly uncomfortable for now.
For now it's just easier to drive back to this one place that's more Wei Ying's and figure out the rest later.]
no subject
and he knows that lan zhan is bringing him 'home' to where wuxian is even keel, and that matters.
so gratitude comes once they're inside, when he limpets to lan zhan, nuzzling his neck and by his ear in the contentedness of a feline to say: )
Let me lend you sleep clothes?
( let him boyfriend shirt you, lan zhan, and nevermind what that tells his libido in very Interested terms. )
no subject
And it's even better now, and his own indecision about whether he should stay or go is wiped out when Wei Ying pretty much solves the problem at least for tonight. he'll definitely need to go back to his place at some point tomorrow, though. He managed to text his brother to go feed the bunny today, but he needs to go back for that and clothes.
But that offer does make him raise an eyebrow because he ahs seen what you sleep in, Wei Ying, and it's very far from his own pajamas. And yet...]
Hm. Alright.
no subject
so he moves forward, as he always does. the agreement has him grinning wickedly, and pressing a sloppy kiss to Lan Zhan's jaw before he slides away again, padding down the hall barefoot. )
Great! Can't wait to see you in them!
( oversized shirt and clean boxers, it is going to be a night. )
no subject
He follows at a more sedate pace, putting his bag down in the entranceway first, and then remembering...]
Put the noodles in the kitchen.
no subject
Right! No mini-fridges in the bedrooms here.
( none anywhere he's lived, but he knows friends who do, thus the joke behind it all when truly.
... he forgot. )
no subject
And of course Wei Ying forgot.
By the time he's done, Wangji will have caught up with him and follow closely behind to the bedroom.]
I have to get up early tomorrow. I have classes.
no subject
Yes, yes, why you insist on signing up for all the early morning classes is a mystery I'll never understand. Now, here, I've got just what'll fit...
( into the closet, the walk in closet, that isn't even a tenth filled by whatever Wei Wuxian has dragged in. he doesn't own enough clothing for it, partly out of lack of interest, so he's also stored bundles of sketches, notebooks, models built out of balsa wood, 3d printed designs which look like leftovers and also some functional devices to unknown causes, and then: for some reason, a collection 3d printed crows, all in different poses but the simple dark grey of the standard plastic used, and some of them markedly wearing accessories. (if asked, he simply thought it was funny.)
followed in or not, what he liberates from a draw is a rolled up (for storage!) shirt that he shakes out to reveal it's indeed bunny theme, and then he goes for his clean boxers, tugging out an unobjectionable, newer, boxer briefs. )
Here you go, Lan Zhan!
no subject
His face... remains politely blank at what he's being given. These are, of course, absolutely nothing like anything he would ever consider wearing. In fact, if it were anyone but Wei Ying presenting those to him, and knowing they are to be worn in private, he probably would have rejected them outright because it's absolutely ridiculous.
Ridiculous, and yet bunny-themed. Like taking one of the things he likes to absurd levels, in ways only Wei Ying can.]
Thank you.
[Almost on reflex, he starts going towards the bathroom to change, even though he doesn't really have to, now that they're together. Certain things having to be done away from people's eyes is just ingrained in him.]
no subject
( Sincere, knowing at the same time it was nothing at all to Lan Zhan's liking. Which makes it all... sweet. Unexpectedly cute, and certainly kind.
Wei Wuxian promptly trots after him, since apparently he's going to join Lan Zhan in the bathroom to also change. He has his own shirt and clean boxers tossed over his arm, though unlike what he handed Lan Zhan, he hadn't bothered to think twice about what he'd pulled out for himself. )
no subject
And the clothes Wei Ying chose for him are at least... well, chosen. here is some thought behind it, even if Wangji isn't sure what that thought is. The ones he took for himself are clashing with one another, a right eyesore, but he can't really object, can he? This is Wei Ying's home, and his clothes and his bed, and he's a guest.
Being escorted to the bathroom is a surprise at first... until one remembers one had a very make-out heavy shower in there already, so just changing is remarkably tame compared to that.
And of course, Wei Ying will not be surprised to see Wangji folding his clothes as he removes them, instead of throwing them in a heap on the floor. And then put on the ones he was given which... are a little snug on him. He and Wei Ying are of similar height, but they are built differently.]
no subject
His smile blooms, a slow and beautiful thing, as he admires what his shirt (really, kindness says he'd have found a looser one, but this one has the rabbit) does to highlight Lan Zhan's physique. Granted, he didn't need to have any particular one according to Wei Wuxian, which means he'd look fantastic regardless, but it's still nice, seeing this entirely out of context Lan Zhan, wearing Wei Wuxian's clothing. Utterly enthralling, and he hums where he is, vibration likely traveling to Lan Zhan. )
I like you like this.
( And what he means is: choosing to be here, with me, and tangled up in whatever that means, and that I can see it, instead of wonder when it's going to inevitably end.
Because that awareness is still around, that part of himself that doesn't believe in unchanged, lasting bonds, but is willing to try believing for a while, to take that chance, and not only be waiting for the moment where Lan Zhan realises like the rest have that Wei Wuxian is simply too stubborn, too set in his own pursuit of justice, or curiosity, or help in ways he's willing to do that many aren't, that he's all these things and they're too much to want to carry the burden of any longer.
He can tamp those thoughts down, settle them to the side, and trace a finger down his lover's front, following the outline of the bunny under the water. )
no subject
It even took Wangji time to see under the smiles. He can't deny he was irritated at first when they first met and Wei Ying seemed to rub him all the wrong ways. he honestly can't quite say when that changed, but that doesn't matter now. And it's not like Wei Ying doesn't have good reason to feel insecure in his attachments. but Wangji won't let him self-sabotage this.
In the meantime, he can appreciate those little moments, put his hand on top of Wei Ying's on his waist, let him play to his heart's content.]
Is that the only way you like me?
no subject
No, not the only. I like you in whatever you're wearing, or whatever you're not. I like you when you're happy or exhausted, when you make that face that says you're feeding me against my own, ah, forgetfulness around meals, or when you're working through musical theory, or when you're stroking your rabbit's ridiculously soft ears. Really ridiculous! Who designed them to be so pettable?
( here, stroking along one of the submerged rabbit's ears in his jest of a protest. )
There's no only way to like you, ah? I like you. There is no way.
( and that, there, is also scary as anything he can possibly imagine. )
no subject
But one step at a time, so hat Wei Ying doesn't spook himself too much.]
Bed. It's late.
[And he has classes tomorrow.]
no subject
regardless, he laughs, there against the warmth of Lan Zhan's back, and turns his face, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his neck. )
Okay, okay, let me tuck you in, sweet dreams and all of that. I'm not quite ready to sleep. You still want me there?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)