Read on Twitter
After Wei Ying is disowned, Yu Ziyuan forbids Jiang Cheng from letting Wei Ying live w/him. JC lets him stay anyway because Fuck That. He tells his parents Lan Zhan is his new roommate instead.
OMG, they were fake roommates (zhanchengxian, eventually 18+)
Wei Ying tries to say he should move out — he doesn’t want JC to get in trouble — but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go and JC insists.
They do a lot of crying and yelling at each other, culminating in a fight where Jiang Cheng yells “BECAUSE I LOVE YOUR STUPID ASS!” and slams the door. Wei Ying stays.
(Lan Zhan would definitely have let Wei Ying move in w/him & Lan Huan but doesn’t know how to communicate that. Agreeing to the fake-roommate system seems like a good alternative way to help Wei Ying).
Mostly it works out fine. Wei Ying hides whenever Jiang Cheng FaceTimes his parents, and Lan Zhan is over at their place enough that Jiang Cheng can sometimes get him in the background to say hi.
Meanwhile, Wei Ying doesn’t know how to handle Jiang Cheng taking his side against Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian, even covertly. Jiang Cheng doesn’t know how to handle the idea that Wei Ying might leave him.
They each spend a lot of time staring at the other person when said other person isn’t looking. Neither is aware that the other one also does this. They don’t talk about it.
Much of Jiang Cheng’s staring is done when Lan Zhan is over, because when Lan Zhan is there, Wei Ying only has eyes for him.
Jiang Cheng kind of wants to hate Lan Zhan, but Lan Zhan is a good dude who didn’t have to participate in their deception. He’s also megahot, and nice in a mean way which they both like. Really, he thinks miserably, how could Wei Ying not be into him?
Lan Zhan *does* notice Jiang Cheng staring at Wei Ying, but then, Jiang Cheng stares at him too. Maybe Jiang Cheng is just intense?
The Jiangs are coming to visit for a week. Fortunately they always stay in hotels, but they’ll expect to be over at the apartment a lot. The 3 of them spend a day removing all traces of Wei Ying’s existence from the common areas.
JC is already an aggressively tidy person so WY’s clutter is mostly confined to his bedroom, but they take WY’s art down from the walls (all except the pieces he made specifically for JC, which JC angrily insists he’d still have up even if WY really had moved out) -
Remove Wei Ying’s records from the stack, his favorite mug from the kitchen, his few knickknacks from the shelves. That sort of thing.
Lan Zhan feels a restless, directionless fury as they work. It is wrong that someone like Wei Ying, whose presence fills every room he’s in, could be excised from his own home so easily.
Wei Ying can’t stop apologizing: “Thanks so much for doing this Lan Zhan! I’m sorry it’s such a big imposition, I hope you don’t mind sleeping in my room - I tried to get as much gremlin out of there as possible, haha” -
Which just worsens Lan Zhan’s mood. Jiang Cheng is tense and silent, avoiding their eyes. He’s ashamed. He should be.
(Lan Zhan, who was raised to be a dutiful son just as much as Jiang Cheng was, knows full well that it’s nowhere near that simple - but it’s hard to remember that when Wei Ying is unhappy)
Finally there’s nothing left but for WY to hoist his duffel bag over his shoulder, exchange keys with LZ, and go. “Thanks again, Lan Zhan. I know how much you hate lying. If it gets too bad and you want to go home just text me, OK? I can always crash a couch for a few days.”
As though the thought of Wei Ying in his home, sleeping in his bed, hasn’t been keeping Lan Zhan awake all week. “That will not be necessary,” Lan Zhan says.
Wei Ying punches Jiang Cheng in the shoulder. JC punches him back. “Take it easy on yourself, OK?” WY tells him. “Try not to let them wind you up.”
JC scowls, the extra-scary scowl that means he’s worried. WY sighs. “Call me if you need to,” he says. “Even late.”
JC scowls, the extra-scary scowl that means he’s worried. WY sighs. “Call me if you need to,” he says. “Even late.”
Wrapping Wei Ying tight in a rib-cracking hug, Jiang Cheng breathes him in, trying to make it say all the things he can’t say. I’m sorry. I love you. Don’t leave me.
//Gotta go eat dinner now! More to come!//
The Jiangs arrive and do the visiting-parents thing, commenting on everything in a vaguely critical manner while reacting with wounded surprise to any implication they might be doing so.
Yu Ziyuan purses her lips at Wei Ying’s art on the walls. “All that money on school and they couldn’t instill any appreciation for fine art,” she sniffs, despite the fact that Jiang Cheng’s degree is in economics.
Lan Zhan dutifully submits to the Lan-oh-yes-you-must-be-Lan-Quiren’s-nephew-I-know-your-uncle conversation and ensuing grilling about his family’s activities from Jiang Fengmian.
He’s being beautifully polite, and it’s only when Jiang Cheng catches his eye with a crooked grin that Lan Zhan realizes that Jiang Cheng knows him well enough to know he’s only this polite when he’s irritated.
The Jiangs invite him to dinner. Lan Zhan declines the requisite number of times and then graciously accepts their invitation, wishing desperately that he didn’t have to.
Dinner is...very long. Jiang Fengmian asks Jiang Cheng about his Master’s thesis, then monologues for a while about the other, tangentially related topic he thinks Jiang Cheng should have done it on instead.
Yu Ziyuan asks Lan Zhan questions about his life that are somehow, in ways Lan Zhan can never see coming ahead of time, pointed reminders to Jiang Cheng about his own shortcomings.
Lan Zhan has never felt more triumphant about his own lack of a girlfriend, just because it finally gives Jiang Cheng a break -
He’s tempted to add “Also, I’m gay as a maypole” but figures as far as ways for Lan Qiren to find this out go, this would be among the worst.
(Lan Zhan has no way of knowing this but it’s actually going *really* well - the Lan name has them both on their best behavior. Jiang Cheng feels extremely relieved and grateful to Lan Zhan for going along with this.)
They ask how Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng know each other; Lan Zhan says “through Wei Ying,” which is true and also shuts the conversation allllllll the way down, to Lan Zhan’s satisfaction.
Meanwhile, across town, Wei Ying feels bizarrely like he’s on a spa vacation. Everything is in soothing neutral tones and natural wood. Soft music is playing.
Lan Huan makes him a beautiful and delicious vegetarian meal that is by far the healthiest thing Wei Ying has put in his body in weeks.
He feels a little weird because he doesn’t *know* Lan Huan very well and now the man is just...stuck with him for a week thanks to Wei Ying’s own poor life choices.
But Lan Huan is really cool about it: “We all go to surprising lengths to convince our families we have the lives they want us to have.”
Wei Ying is DYING to know what that means but Lan Huan is weirdly intimidating and he’s too afraid to ask.
Then Lan Huan goes to bed at 9 pm, and Wei Ying sits in the living room by himself watching Netflix on his laptop, because the Lans don’t even *own* a TV.
//that’s all for now! More soon!//
That night, Lan Zhan goes to bed in Wei Ying’s bedroom.
(Things are going to be 18+ from here through the end of tonight’s installment, although not full smut yet)
Wei Ying had “cleaned,” which for Wei Ying means that the floor is clear and there are fresh sheets on the bed but the surfaces are still covered with clutter.
The big things - Wei Ying’s clothing, his art supplies, his flute - have been shoved in the closet in the name of their “someone else lives here” fiction but the room is almost unbearably full of Wei Ying nonetheless, in his books and papers and sketches, his little trinkets.
The room even smells like Wei Ying, smells like his skin, his hair. Lan Zhan lies awake thinking of Wei Ying’s body where his is lying now.
Wei Ying’s perfect skin against these sheets, Wei Ying’s long legs tangled in these blankets, Wei Ying’s beautiful mouth pressed into this pillowcase. There’s a valley in the middle of Wei Ying’s lumpy old mattress; LZ imagines Wei Ying’s beautiful heart-shaped ass cradled there.
Wei Ying lying right here, staring at this ceiling, one deft clever hand sliding lower over that perfect flat stomach, Wei Ying’s exquisite throat tipping back as Wei Ying takes himself in hand.
Lan Zhan stares at the ceiling, hard, aching, resolute, hands clenched into fists. He’s not going to jerk off in his friend’s bed while thinking about him. That would be inappropriate. That would be too far. Even if it’s as close as he’ll ever get to sleeping with Wei Ying.
Wei Ying isn’t usually one for baths, but he’s always wanted to take a bath in Lan Zhan’s enormous tub, which is actually long enough for him to sit in without folding his legs up.
While the water is running, Wei Ying peruses Lan Zhan’s bewildering array of bath products, finally deciding to just pick the ones that smell the best instead of paying attention to what they’re supposed to do.
It’s not until he’s submerged himself in the warm, fragrant water that Wei Ying realizes he’s picked the scents that most remind him of Lan Zhan.
He’s reclining naked in a sea of sandalwood and lilies, and if he closes his eyes and breathes in it’s like Lan Zhan is there in the room with him.
Wei Ying pictures that - Lan Zhan leaning against the wall, muscular arms crossed, his eyes on Wei Ying’s skin, serious and intent - and feels his face grow warm, even though no one’s there to see him.
When he gets out of the bath his skin is going to smell like Lan Zhan.
Wei Ying lets his head relax back against the edge of the tub, closing his eyes. He slides his hands across his bath-oil-slippery skin, toying with a nipple, scraping his nails softly up his inner thigh, inhaling Lan Zhan’s scent and imagining Lan Zhan watching him.
Not that Lan Zhan ever *would* — Wei Ying knows LZ doesn’t like him in that way, and if there’s 1 thing this roommate exchange has proved, it’s that LZ has his shit together in too many ways to ever be interested in a trash panda like WY — but what’s the harm in a little fantasy?
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying whispers as he slides a hand around his stiff cock, thinking of Lan Zhan’s deep, quiet voice saying “Wei Ying” in return.
“Wei Ying,” he imagines Lan Zhan saying as he thrusts upward into his closed fist; “Wei Ying” as his heels slide against the steep sides of the tub; “Wei Ying, Wei Ying, Wei Ying,” until he’s coming with a gasp and a sigh into the warm water.
If you’re going to jerk off at your friend’s house, it’s courteous to at least do so in the bath, where the evidence can just be washed down the drain.
Afterward, Wei Ying snuggles his Lan Zhan-scented body into Lan Zhan’s Lan Zhan-scented sheets, and tries to tell himself that the way he feels about Lan Zhan isn’t an issue or a problem. He’s very good at telling himself things aren’t an issue or a problem, so it works OK.
(Jiang Cheng, meanwhile, is *also* lying awake, staring at the ceiling, but he’s not thinking about masturbating at all — he’s replaying every critical word and passive-aggressive comment his parents had made all evening like it’s a humiliation highlight reel)
//We’ll stop here. See you next time!//
Between the unfamiliar bed and his restless thoughts of Wei Ying in it, Lan Zhan sleeps terribly. He gets up in the morning feeling sore, sour, and excruciatingly horny.
He gradually becomes aware of a rhythmic sliding, clacking noise coming from the living room; Lan Zhan can’t think what it could possibly be. He walks out and stops short, flummoxed.
He’s seen the rowing machine before, of course, tucked neatly out of the way beneath the bookshelf in their living room - he’s just never seen it in use.
Jiang Cheng, clad only in a pair of black basketball shorts, is rowing away at the machine like it owes him money, like it fucked his wife, like he’s going to murder it.
From his vantage point in the doorway Lan Zhan can watch the flex and slide of muscle in Jiang Cheng’s back beneath his taut skin, just starting to gleam with sweat. He can see the tension and extension of Jiang Cheng’s long, powerful thighs, the movement of his lean calves.
Jiang Cheng’s hair is pulled back in a small ponytail at the top of his head, exposing his undercut. A wisp of hair has escaped and is brushing his razor-sharp cheekbone.
His face as he rows is set in that cold, arrogant scowl, the one that always makes Lan Zhan want to - to - *bite* him or something, shove his fingers in Jiang Cheng’s mouth, mess up his hair, *something.*
Lan Zhan stands there watching him for a moment. Two moments. Too long.
“Did you need something?” Jiang Cheng puffs, not looking up.
“Did you need something?” Jiang Cheng puffs, not looking up.
Lan Zhan jumps. His tongue feels too big for his mouth. “I...didn’t know you had a tattoo,” he finally says.
“Oh, yeah,” Jiang Cheng grunts, the purple snake wrapped around his bicep writhing as he pulls the handlebars toward himself. “I got it when Wei Ying got his.”
“Oh, yeah,” Jiang Cheng grunts, the purple snake wrapped around his bicep writhing as he pulls the handlebars toward himself. “I got it when Wei Ying got his.”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan says, since he can’t very well shout *Wei Ying has a TATTOO?* like he would like to. Jiang Cheng had said it like he assumed Lan Zhan knew.
Why wouldn’t Lan Zhan know? Wei Ying is his best friend. His only friend, really, since his other friends - Jiang Cheng, Wen Ning, Nie Huaisang - were all Wei Ying’s friends first. Well, that's great. Wei Ying has a secret tattoo. Splendid.
“OK if I get in the shower?” he asks.
“Go for it,” Jiang Cheng breathes, slamming the rowing machine seat back with extreme prejudice.
“Go for it,” Jiang Cheng breathes, slamming the rowing machine seat back with extreme prejudice.
Lan Zhan turns the shower to its coldest setting and softly beats his head against the wall. It’s going to be a long week.
Wei Ying manages to make himself an espresso using the Lans’ terrifying machine, and is only 5 minutes late to to work despite the longer commute.
He meets Lan Zhan for lunch as he often does - but without the usual addition of Jiang Cheng, who’s meeting his parents for lunch.
He meets Lan Zhan for lunch as he often does - but without the usual addition of Jiang Cheng, who’s meeting his parents for lunch.
Lan Zhan scrutinizes Wei Ying closely when he arrives, like he’s looking for something, but sinks into their usual booth without comment. “Wei Ying,” he says in that deep, resonant voice, by way of greeting.
Wei Ying’s cock stirs at the sound, reminded of his fantasy from the night before. He hopes he hasn’t accidentally given himself a Pavlovian response to Lan Zhan saying his name, since that's a huge percentage of the total things Lan Zhan says.
“You’ll be so proud of me, Lan Zhan,” he babbles to distract himself. “I used some of your skin care products this morning.” Lan Zhan has never fully recovered from learning Wei Ying doesn’t use a daily moisturizer with SPF.
Lan Zhan frowns at him. “What did you use?” he asks, peering into Wei Ying’s face.
“Ummm...” Wei Ying tries to conjure up the names of the products he’d used, which he'd picked entirely based on smell again. “A grapefruit thing...toner? And a rose lotion?”
“Ummm...” Wei Ying tries to conjure up the names of the products he’d used, which he'd picked entirely based on smell again. “A grapefruit thing...toner? And a rose lotion?”
Lan Zhan looks pained. “The grapefruit toner is not right for your combination skin. And the rosehip oil moisturizer is for night.” He sighs. “But I’m glad you tried.”
Wei Ying isn’t sure how something like lotion can be just for nighttime - don’t you have the same skin no matter what time it is? - but changes the subject anyway. “How’d it go last night?”
“Well, I think,” Lan Zhan says, sipping his tea. “Jiang Cheng seemed pleased.”
Wei Ying bites down the question he moats wants to ask: *did they say anything about me?* If they *had* said anything about him, he’s pretty sure Lan Zhan wouldn't be saying it went well.
Wei Ying bites down the question he moats wants to ask: *did they say anything about me?* If they *had* said anything about him, he’s pretty sure Lan Zhan wouldn't be saying it went well.
"I hope they weren't too weird to you about the whole roommate thing," Wei Ying says instead.
"No," Lan Zhan says. He looks like he'd like to say something more; he doesn't, but he tenses his mouth slightly in disapproval.
"No," Lan Zhan says. He looks like he'd like to say something more; he doesn't, but he tenses his mouth slightly in disapproval.
Even though it would have been excruciating and a terrible idea Wei Ying suddenly wishes he'd been there last night — *nobody* disapproves of things the way Lan Zhan does. Wei Ying sometimes lies awake thinking of ways to make Lan Zhan disapprove of him.
"Was Jiang Cheng OK?" Wei Ying asks. "I know he can get kind of, um, amped up around them." Jiang Cheng sometimes comes home from dinner with his parents and has a full-blown panic attack, but Wei Ying isn't sure he should tell Lan Zhan that.
"He seemed all right," Lan Zhan says slowly.
"Look, Lan Zhan, maybe this is weird for me to ask — but you gotta keep an eye on him for me this week, OK? He'll act like everything is fine, and he'll yell at you if you try to ask him about it, but — I don't know, just —"
"Look, Lan Zhan, maybe this is weird for me to ask — but you gotta keep an eye on him for me this week, OK? He'll act like everything is fine, and he'll yell at you if you try to ask him about it, but — I don't know, just —"
Wei Ying doesn't know how to say what he wants to say. "Just...talk to him. I know talking isn't your *thing* exactly, but it will help if you can draw him out a little. Otherwise he'll just hide in his room and freak out."
Lan Zhan nods, gravely, thoughtfully. "I can do that."
"You can!?" Wei Ying beams at him. "Lan Zhan, you're the best, you're the very very best."
"Mn," Lan Zhan agrees, signaling their server that they're ready to order.
"You can!?" Wei Ying beams at him. "Lan Zhan, you're the best, you're the very very best."
"Mn," Lan Zhan agrees, signaling their server that they're ready to order.
//that's all for tonight! See you next time!//
And we’re back! Top of the thread for reference: https://twitter.com/giraffeter/status/1348450693330440192
Jiang Cheng only has an hour between classes to meet up with his parents for lunch, thankfully. He and Wei Ying and Jiang Yanli had made a pact pretty much as soon as they were all out of the house that they’d try to avoid one-on-one interactions with their parents —
But with Yanli-jie having moved away with her terrible husband, and Wei Ying no longer considered a part of the family, Jiang Cheng finds himself without a buffer.
It’s not too bad, really. Jiang Cheng can see that his parents are low-key not speaking to each other again - which is probably the reason behind this visit, come to think of it, they’re desperate for a third party to converse with - so they can’t gang up on him.
Jiang Fengmian hates Jiang Cheng’s haircut, but what else is new. Yu Ziyuan implies that if he were really applying himself, he’d be completing his Master’s degree faster, as though the semester system were within Jiang Cheng’s control.
There are big gaps in their conversation, gaps where his father would rave about Wei Ying’s accomplishments, where his mother would subtly try to pit them against each other. Wei Ying’s absence is almost as conspicuous as his presence would have been.
The one choice of Jiang Cheng’s they both approve of is, of course, the fake one: they both loooove Lan Zhan, and are thrilled to death with the idea of the two of them as roommates.
Jiang Cheng supposes he should be pleased - isn’t that the point of all of this? - but listening to them extol Lan Zhan’s virtues, he just feels bummed.
Lan Zhan is so polite, so cultured, so well-dressed, so successful, from such a great family. He’ll be such a great influence on Jiang Cheng, and having a connection to the family like the Lans is never a bad thing.
Jiang Cheng is well aware that Lan Zhan is a better option than he is. That much has been perfectly clear to him on a daily basis ever since Lan Zhan came into Wei Ying’s life.
“Have you been dating anyone recently, Chengcheng?” his mother asks at one point.
The answer, of course, is no - the answer is almost always no - which begins the rundown of available young women who are tangentially related to Yu Ziyuan’s friends.
The answer, of course, is no - the answer is almost always no - which begins the rundown of available young women who are tangentially related to Yu Ziyuan’s friends.
One advantage of living in a different city from his parents is that most of these women aren’t local, but Jiang Cheng begrudgingly agrees to meet up for coffee with Mrs. Li’s niece who just moved here for university.
“I just want you to be happy,” his mother tells him. His father snorts, but Jiang Cheng is pretty sure it’s true - his mother *does* want him to be happy, preferably in a way that provides her with grandchildren.
“I don’t know why you have such trouble finding a nice girl,” she says. Ordinarily this is where she’d imply that marriage is some sort of contest that he can’t let Wei Ying beat him at, but they’re not discussing Wei Ying currently.
Jiang Cheng imagines, as he often does in these conversations, flipping the table over and yelling, *Because I’m in love with Wei Ying, I’ve always been in love with Wei Ying -*
* - Because women are nice and I like them in theory but I’ve never once felt about a woman the way I do about him and there’s NO POINT IN ANY OF IT.*
But Wei Ying doesn’t feel the same way. He loves Jiang Cheng but not like that, and as soon as Wei Ying stops kidding himself that he and Lan Zhan are “best friends” they’ll be super mega disgustingly married, and Jiang Cheng will be alone.
So why not have coffee with Mrs. Li’s niece? Fuck it.
When Jiang Cheng gets home that night, Lan Zhan is there, cooking dinner. Jiang Cheng isn’t used to coming home to someone cooking; he and Wei Ying mostly subsist on a combination of frozen stuff and takeout.
“Have you eaten?” Lan Zhan asks, not looking up from the carrot he’s slicing.
“No,” Jiang Cheng says. “My parents are meeting some friends tonight, and I’ve been in the library all afternoon.”
Lan Zhan nods. “You’re welcome to join me. There will be plenty.”
“No,” Jiang Cheng says. “My parents are meeting some friends tonight, and I’ve been in the library all afternoon.”
Lan Zhan nods. “You’re welcome to join me. There will be plenty.”
If it were Wei Ying, Jiang Cheng would say something snarky like *what are you, my wife?* But he and Lan Zhan don’t really joke like that. “Uh...thanks,” he says. “Can I help with anything?”
“No need.”
“No need.”
Jiang Cheng sits down at one of the bar stools across the kitchen counter from Lan Zhan, watching him cook. He moves confidently in the kitchen, his large capable hands reaching for each new ingredient, his athletic forearms flexing as he rapidly works the knife.
They’ve never really hung out just the two of them, Jiang Cheng realizes. Wei Ying is alway there, laughing, teasing, flirting. He’s *so obnoxious,* but as usual, Jiang Cheng is at a loss for what to say to people when he’s not around.
“How was your day?” Lan Zhan asks after a while.
“Oh! It was good, busy. You?” Is this what it’s like having a roommate who’s not Wei Ying? Polite small talk, home-cooked meals? It’s kind of nice.
“Also busy,” Lan Zhan says. “I had lunch with Wei Ying.”
“Oh! It was good, busy. You?” Is this what it’s like having a roommate who’s not Wei Ying? Polite small talk, home-cooked meals? It’s kind of nice.
“Also busy,” Lan Zhan says. “I had lunch with Wei Ying.”
Jiang Cheng tells himself he can’t snap at this man who, in addition to the huge favor he’s already doing for him, is now also cooking him dinner, but the jealousy is like a knife to the gut. “Oh? How’s he doing?”
“He is well.” Lan Zhan glances at him from underneath his perfectly-groomed eyebrows. “Worried about you.”
Jiang Cheng scoffs, surprised, defensive. “Me? I can take care of myself. I’m not the one getting kicked out of my house for a week - if anything, *I* should be worried about *him.*”
Lan Zhan hums noncommittally but somehow manages to whisk oil into vinegar in a way that suggests he agrees with Jiang Cheng.
“I suppose you think it’s pretty pathetic, me putting together this whole ruse just to avoid standing up to my parents,” Jian Cheng spits, a ball of nervous tension rising in his chest.
“Not pathetic,” Lan Zhan demurs. The rice cooker beeps, and he gets a couple of bowls down from the cabinet.
“No?”
“No?”
Lan Zhan gives him a small, troubled look. He starts to say something. Stops. “In my experience,” he finally says, “things are rarely so simple when it comes to family.”
Jiang Cheng rubs his eyes. “Ain’t that the truth.”
Jiang Cheng rubs his eyes. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“I ask myself what I would do. If my uncle told me to cut Wei Ying out of my life. I like to think I would stand up to him. But...it is often easier to let him believe what he likes about my life, and to continue living as I wish, rather than to fight him head-on.
“To fight would be to risk losing. And I would not want to lose Wei Ying.”
“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng says softly.
“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng says softly.
“If you had kicked Wei Ying out - that I would have found pathetic.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Jiang Cheng scowls.
Lan Zhan raises an eyebrow at him. “I know.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Jiang Cheng scowls.
Lan Zhan raises an eyebrow at him. “I know.”
LZ spoons rice into two bowls, ladles vegetables on top. He sets one in front of JC and brings the other around the counter to sit beside him at the bar.
"Thanks," Jiang Cheng mumbles. "For dinner. And for...this whole thing."
Lan Zhan's dark eyes are warm. "You're welcome."
"Thanks," Jiang Cheng mumbles. "For dinner. And for...this whole thing."
Lan Zhan's dark eyes are warm. "You're welcome."
//We'll stop here for tonight! See you next time!//
The rest of the week passes more or less without incident.
Jiang Cheng isn’t used to someone else being awake when he gets up in the morning - Wei Ying always sleeps until the last possible second - but Lan Zhan is quiet and doesn’t expect him to talk, so it works out.
After he catches an eyeful of Lan Zhan walking back to Wei Ying’s room from the shower, a towel wrapped around his trim waist, Jiang Cheng tries to already be in his room or out the door by the time his Dorito-shaped temporary roommate is done showering.
(He files the mole above Lan Zhan’s right hip next to the mole just beneath Wei Ying’s sternum in his mental Things It’s No Good Thinking About file and shoves it away.)
Jiang Cheng takes his parents sightseeing and to the symphony. He makes up reasons why they can’t meet his thesis advisor, workshopping them with Wei Ying over text ahead of time.
Lan Zhan helps him cook his parents dinner at “their” apartment and afterward the two of them watch a soccer game with Jiang Fengmian in total, expressionless silence. It could be worse.
Lan Zhan makes it three days into his resolve not to jack off in Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng’s apartment.
On the morning of day 4, Wei Ying texts *Will u bring me my black boots @ lunch 2day?* along with a selfie of him making a “pretty please” face IN LAN ZHAN’S BED.
On the morning of day 4, Wei Ying texts *Will u bring me my black boots @ lunch 2day?* along with a selfie of him making a “pretty please” face IN LAN ZHAN’S BED.
If the sight of Wei Ying’s pouting lips and teasing eyes, his sleep-mussed hair and a hint of bare shoulder against Lan Zhan’s Egyptian cotton sheets, wasn’t bad enough -
He walks out to find Jiang Cheng standing with the fridge door open drinking orange juice directly from the carton, his jaw tipped back, his long throat working. Lan Zhan is grossed out and turned on and FURIOUS.
He has no choice but to give Jiang Cheng an outraged glare, march into the bathroom, and angrily rub one out in the shower. Mercifully, Jiang Cheng has already left for class by the time he gets out.
Using a combination of YouTube and a willingness to caffeinate himself into the stratosphere, Wei Ying teaches himself to draw a bunny in his morning latte foam.
He shows Lan Huan, who is warmly congratulatory and asks several polite questions about his process. Lan Huan is *really* nice and his sincerity is starting to freak Wei Ying out.
What Wei Ying really wants is Jiang Cheng, who would make fun of him for wasting his time on something so stupid and then ask if he could make a frog.
He sends a picture of his latte art to the group chat. Lan Zhan sends back 
which is wild enthusiasm for him. Jiang Cheng replies *oh well thank fuck you went to art school*
which is wild enthusiasm for him. Jiang Cheng replies *oh well thank fuck you went to art school*
Wei Ying has a weird lump in his throat. It’s ridiculous that he misses Jiang Cheng. It’s only been a few days, Wei Ying shouldn’t be feeling like a homesick child at sleepaway camp for the first time.
It’s just weird not seeing him every day. He thinks of Lan Zhan having to deal with Jiang Cheng’s morning crankiness and the way he yells at video games and feels envious and left out.
He’s been trying not to text Jiang Cheng more than he usually does, but he can’t resist messaging him: *How’s the fam? Are you engaged yet?*
Jiang Cheng sends back, *ugh no. But I have to go on a date with some girl*
*Oooooo get it didi
* Wei Ying replies, because he is a good and supportive friend.
*Oooooo get it didi
* Wei Ying replies, because he is a good and supportive friend.
He knows that sooner or later Yu Ziyuan is going to set Jiang Cheng up with a woman he doesn’t hate, and Jiang Cheng will get married. He knows this. He knows this.
Wei Ying wonders if things between him and his - well, “former legal guardians” is probably most accurate at this point - will have thawed out enough by the time Jiang Cheng gets married for him to get an invite.
Not to the tea ceremony, of course, but to the big event. They’ll probably want to invite a couple hundred people so maybe Jiang Cheng can slip him in the back.
If nothing else, he could plan Jiang Cheng one hell of a bachelor party. See? He knows that this time in his life, when he and Jiang Cheng live together and are in each other’s back pockets all the time, is limited and he should enjoy it while it lasts.
He tries not to think about what that will mean for him. If nothing else, he’ll have to find somewhere else to live - Jiang Cheng pays about 70% of their rent - but hopefully Jiang Cheng won’t move away, like Jiang Yanli did.
*fuck off* Jiang Cheng texts back, and Wei Ying forces himself to snap out of it. Maybe he should wait until Jiang Cheng goes on at least one date before getting depressed about his wedding.
//that’s all for tonight! See you next time!//
On Saturday, Jiang Cheng spends the whole day with his parents. Lan Zhan makes an enormous green-juice smoothie and pretends he accidentally made too much so Jiang Cheng will drink some - he'll need the extra nutrients.
(This is also an excuse for Lan Zhan to stock the freezer with frozen fruit and vegetables - having seen how Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying live, he’s becoming concerned they’ll both get scurvy)
Lan Zhan spends the afternoon at his own apartment with Wei Ying. They both have some work to catch up on, and have a work session together in the Lans’ home office.
It’s surprisingly companionable. Lan Zhan would have thought that Wei Ying would be a ball of distractions, but it turns out he’s intensely focused when he’s designing something.
When they do take breaks, Wei Ying chatters at him, shows him funny videos, pesters him to get up and go for a walk around the block.
Lan Zhan ends up getting more work done than he’d thought he would, even accounting for the time he loses to a ridiculous, self-indulgent fantasy about living with Wei Ying, having this every day, coming home to him.
“Ah, Lan Zhan, I bet you’ll be happy to get back here tomorrow,” Wei Ying tells him. “I can’t believe you still even want to hang out with me, now that you’ve seen how I live. Have you managed to go the full week without throwing all my clutter into the street?"
“Yes.” Lan Zhan hasn’t been able to resist a small amount of straightening up in Wei Ying’s room, but it turns clutter doesn’t bother him as much when the clutter is Wei Ying’s. Not that he’s going to *say* that, not to Wei Ying.
It takes him a moment, as it sometimes does, to hear the question behind Wei Ying’s question. “I like hanging out with you,” he adds. Wei Ying likes to leave little escape hatches in conversations -
Places where someone could extricate themselves from the conversation, or from Wei Ying entirely, without too much trouble. Lan Zhan tries to listen for them so he can make a point of not taking them.
“Aaahhh, you’re so *nice* to me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying laughs, covering his face with his hands, a tantalizing flush creeping down his neck. “You better watch out or I’m going to refuse to leave tomorrow and you’ll have to be nice to me all the time.”
Through a Herculean effort Lan Zhan does not mention that that would be his ideal dream scenario.
He knows Wei Ying is just being silly; he knows Wei Ying is going to go back to Jiang Cheng tomorrow. And he *should* - the last thing Lan Zhan wants is to come between them. Even if he does wish there was a space for him there.
That evening, Jiang Cheng doesn’t get back to the apartment until late. Lan Zhan puts down the book he’s been reading on the couch when Jiang Cheng comes in, belatedly realizing that he’s been waiting for Jiang Chen to get back. When did he start doing that?
He waits until Jiang Cheng has gotten himself a beer and settled onto the couch with a heavy sigh before asking, “How was it?”
“Hm?” Jiang Cheng asks. “Oh, fine. We went shopping downtown and walked along the waterfront.” He rubs his eyes. “Long day, but, you know, fine."
“Hm?” Jiang Cheng asks. “Oh, fine. We went shopping downtown and walked along the waterfront.” He rubs his eyes. “Long day, but, you know, fine."
Lan Zhan raises a skeptical eyebrow and waits.
Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Cheng laughs. “Fuck off, dude, it actually *was* fine. I know Wei Ying makes it sound like they’re going to eat me alive, but they’re not that bad.”
Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Cheng laughs. “Fuck off, dude, it actually *was* fine. I know Wei Ying makes it sound like they’re going to eat me alive, but they’re not that bad.”
Jiang Cheng feels disloyal to Wei Ying for even thinking it, let alone saying it to Lan Zhan, but it’s the truth.
“They stress me out, and I’m still really pissed about how things went down with Wei Ying, but they’re my parents.
“They stress me out, and I’m still really pissed about how things went down with Wei Ying, but they’re my parents.
"They care about me,” he tells Lan Zhan. “They don’t really *get* me, but I came to terms with that a long time ago.”
Thinking of his Uncle Qiren, Lan Zhan nods.
Thinking of his Uncle Qiren, Lan Zhan nods.
“Did I tell you they want to have brunch before they go to the airport tomorrow?”
Lan Zhan nods again. “That’s why I’m still here.”
Lan Zhan nods again. “That’s why I’m still here.”
“Oh, right, duh.” Jiang Cheng takes a long pull of his beer. “Are you all packed? You must be excited to get back to your own place.” In a weird way, he’s going to miss having Lan Zhan around. The guy’s a good roommate.
“I am,” Lan Zhan says truthfully. “Although I haven’t minded staying here.” He’s kind of liked it, actually - he’s never lived with anyone he wasn’t related to before. He and Jiang Cheng are surprisingly well-suited to living with each other.
“Good,” Jiang Cheng says. They look at each other. Jiang Cheng looks away. He’s suddenly aware of how quiet the apartment is. Should he put some music on? Would that be weird?
“If you don’t watch out, Wei Ying is going to steal that espresso machine on his way out,” Jiang Cheng finally blurts out. “He’s like, imprinted on it.” He doesn’t know why he keeps bringing up Wei Ying. Maybe because Wei Ying is the one thing they have in common.
“I know,” Lan Zhan says with a small, soft smile - his Wei Ying smile. “I was thinking of getting him one for his birthday, but -“
“He’d never accept a gift like that,” Jiang Cheng finishes the sentence for him. “He is *so weird* about gifts.”
“I know,” Lan Zhan says again.
“He’d never accept a gift like that,” Jiang Cheng finishes the sentence for him. “He is *so weird* about gifts.”
“I know,” Lan Zhan says again.
“You could like, get a new one for *totally unrelated* reasons, and then give him the old one," Jiang Cheng suggests. "Just, you know, let him take it off your hands.”
“Really, if anything, he’d be doing me a favor,” Lan Zhan laughs.
“Really, if anything, he’d be doing me a favor,” Lan Zhan laughs.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t know why everyone thinks Lan Zhan is such a damn robot - he’s funny, when he’s feeling relaxed. “Exactly.”
“It’s a good suggestion,” Lan Zhan murmurs, still smiling. “Thank you.” He watches a small flush creep across the freckled bridge of Jiang Cheng’s nose, the sharp ridges of his cheekbones.
“Oh, well, like I’m always saying, the one thing Wei Ying needs is more caffeine,” Jiang Cheng jokes weakly.
LZ hums. His bare feet are tucked up beneath him on the couch. He has really nice ankles, JC thinks. Of course Lan Zhan would have nice ankles, he’s just that extra.
LZ hums. His bare feet are tucked up beneath him on the couch. He has really nice ankles, JC thinks. Of course Lan Zhan would have nice ankles, he’s just that extra.
“What did you do tonight?” Jiang Cheng asks, setting down his beer and tucking his own feet beneath him, bizarrely self-conscious about his own bony ankles.
“Not much. Made dinner. Cleaned up a bit.”
“Not much. Made dinner. Cleaned up a bit.”
“You don’t have to clean,” Jiang Cheng protests. “It’s not like you actually live here.”
“I enjoy cleaning. I thought about cleaning up in Wei Ying’s room, but I didn’t want to overstep.”
“I enjoy cleaning. I thought about cleaning up in Wei Ying’s room, but I didn’t want to overstep.”
“Yeah, if you moved his piles, he’d never be able to find anything again. He swears he has a system.” Jiang Cheng shakes his head, his mouth gone rueful and affectionate.
“Just because his system is incomprehensible to us, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one,” Lan Zhan points out loyally.
Jiang Cheng laughs. “True.”
Jiang Cheng laughs. “True.”
*You’re in love with him,* they each think, but neither feels the need to say it out loud to the other. It’s understood.
Jiang Cheng looks at Lan Zhan, at his firm jaw and soft, sensuous mouth, his long clever fingers, and thinks that if he has to lose Wei Ying to anyone, it’s right that it be Lan Zhan. He’s a good guy, and Wei Ying deserves to be with someone who really loves him.
LZ meets JC’s eyes, finding the wary, vulnerable look there at stark odds with the hard set of his chin. JC and Wei Ying have a history, an intimacy, that LZ could never hope to match. Perhaps it’s wrong for him to even hope, when they clearly care for each other so deeply.
*If I were a better man,* each of them thinks, looking at the other, *I’d tell you he’s in love with you, too.*
Lan Zhan isn’t really sure who leans in first, which of them closes the last gap between them to press their mouths together. One minute Jiang Cheng is meeting his eyes and the next they are both inhaling sharply, their lips sliding against each other.
(Gonna be 18+ from here to the end of tonight's section, although still not full-on smut)
Jiang Cheng kisses him hard, insistent, bringing a hand to Lan Zhan’s jaw to better angle their faces together, and it’s been a *long* time since Lan Zhan kissed anyone - the scrape of Jiang Cheng’s teeth against his lower lip is enough to send a flickering heat all through him.
A part of Jiang Cheng’s mind is registering that Lan Zhan is a really good kisser and thinking *of course he is, he has to be the best at everything* —
— and then Lan Zhan wraps his arms around Jiang Cheng’s neck and pulls their bodies together, his mouth opening for Jiang Cheng’s tongue, and Jiang Cheng’s mind shuts up entirely.
Jiang Cheng makes an urgent sound deep in his throat and slides one hand up to cup the back of Lan Zhan’s neck, dropping the other to caress the line of Lan Zhan’s thigh. Lan Zhan gasps against his mouth, his body lighting up like an electrical grid.
He slides his hands over Jiang Cheng’s shoulders, down his chest, impatient with the layers of fabric separating him from Jiang Cheng’s warm skin. Jiang Cheng's mouth is fever-hot and tastes faintly of beer.
The solidly-defined muscles of Jiang Cheng's stomach jump under Lan Zhan's hands as he slides them up underneath Jiang Cheng's shirt; Jiang Cheng groans and pulls the shirt off over his head, tugging at the hem of Lan Zhan's t-shirt until he does the same.
His heart racing, Jiang Cheng pulls Lan Zhan against him, running his palms up the flawless skin of Lan Zhan's back, kissing Lan Zhan's shoulder, his throat, until with a breathy sigh Lan Zhan grabs his chin and brings their mouths together once more.
Lan Zhan runs a hand up into Jiang Cheng's closely-shaved undercut and reclines back onto the couch, pulling Jiang Cheng with him until he's flat on his back with Jiang Cheng's narrow hips bracketed between his thighs.
Jiang Cheng's skin is velvety-soft over lean muscle, and Lan Zhan can't stop running his hands up JC's sides, over his shoulders, down over the purple snake tattooed around his lean bicep. Lan Zhan is burning up, he feels like he might combust and incinerate them both.
"*Fuck* you're hot," Jiang Cheng growls, pressing the length of his body against Lan Zhan's smooth poreless skin, the rock-hard muscles of his chest. He strokes a thumb over one of Lan Zhan's nipples and Lan Zhan arches into him with a tiny sound.
He can feel Lan Zhan getting hard against his hip, can feel Lan Zhan's breath coming hard and fast beneath him. *This is a bad idea,* a distant voice in Jiang Cheng's mind says.
*This is a bad idea,* as Lan Zhan pulls him in for another searing kiss. *This is a bad idea* as Jiang Cheng presses their hips together. *This is a bad idea* as Jiang Cheng kisses down the tantalizing stretch of Lan Zhan's throat.
"This is a bad idea," he says out loud against Lan Zhan's neck. He can feel Lan Zhan's pulse pounding wildly against his lips. Already mentally kicking himself, Jiang Cheng pulls back, sits up, tries to slow his own heartbeat.
Lan Zhan blinks up at him, his eyes dark with lust. For a moment his kiss-bitten mouth pulls into a stubborn expression, one that's so sexy Jiang Cheng almost leans in to kiss him again, but then Jiang Cheng can see the realization start to dawn in him.
Lan Zhan's eyes go wide; a flush creeps into his ears. He sits up as well, and Jiang Cheng moves back to make room for him. "I..." Lan Zhan says, making a helpless gesture.
Jiang Cheng runs a hand through his own hair, exhaling heavily. "...Yeah."
Jiang Cheng runs a hand through his own hair, exhaling heavily. "...Yeah."
"Probably not a good idea, yeah," Lan Zhan says softly.
Jiang Cheng hands Lan Zhan his shirt, picking up his own as well. They pull them back on in embarrassed silence, not looking at each other.
Jiang Cheng hands Lan Zhan his shirt, picking up his own as well. They pull them back on in embarrassed silence, not looking at each other.
Once they're both dressed again, Jiang Cheng clears his throat. "I. Um....I would appreciate it, if you would...not mention this to Wei Ying." The last thing he needs is for Wei Ying to find out he made out with the guy Wei Ying likes.
Lan Zhan nods. His face is solemn. His hair is a mess. Jiang Cheng is going to hell. "Best to keep it between us," he murmurs.
"Well." Jiang Cheng stands up briskly, because if he doesn't get off the couch right now he's definitely going to fuck Lan Zhan on it, which would be a violation of several tenets of his Roommate Code with Wei Ying. "I'm gonna..." he gestures toward his room.
Lan Zhan nods, swallowing. "OK."
"Good night, Lan Zhan." Jiang Cheng risks smiling at him.
Lan Zhan smiles back, one of his tiny little hidden smiles. "Good night."
"Good night, Lan Zhan." Jiang Cheng risks smiling at him.
Lan Zhan smiles back, one of his tiny little hidden smiles. "Good night."
In the safety of his room, Jiang Cheng buries his face in his pillow. *Cool,* he thinks. *Cool, now I'm in love with both of them, that's not going to ruin my life at all. Cool cool cool cool cool.*
//that's all for tonight! See you next time!//
Back again! Top of the thread for reference: https://twitter.com/giraffeter/status/1348450693330440192
The next morning isn’t as bad as it could have been, all things considered. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan manage to go about their morning routines without making eye contact or speaking to each other -
Jiang Cheng is relieved they’re on the same page about that, if nothing else.
His parents arrive to take them to brunch.
His parents arrive to take them to brunch.
Yu Ziyuan is carrying an enormous bouquet of orange daisies, a thoughtful gesture that happens to double as an Adulthood Test for Jiang Cheng - one he’s going to fail, sadly, since he and Wei Ying don’t own any vases.
He’s about to sheepishly put them in an old slurpee cup when Lan Zhan wordlessly opens the cupboard above the blender and gets out the pebbled-glass pitcher Wei Ying found a thrift store, which they sometimes use for margaritas.
He shoots Jiang Cheng a sidelong, dark-eyed glance as he hands the pitcher to a beaming Yu Ziyuan, a glance that sends a jolt through Jiang Cheng like licking a battery.
Jiang Cheng can’t believe he’s going to have to go through the rest of his life knowing what the inside of Wei Ying’s husband’s mouth tastes like.
They get through brunch OK. Jiang Cheng has a bad moment when Lan Zhan flicks out his tongue to lick an errant crumb off of his lower lip -
But fortunately Jiang Fengmian is busy telling a long and boring story about a time he had dinner with Lan Zhan’s uncle and Jiang Cheng can will his hard-on to go away without having to talk to anyone.
He kissed Lan Zhan. He kissed the guy Wei Ying likes. He kissed the guy the guy he’s in love with is in love with. This is so bad.
Just when he finally was starting to feel like he and Lan Zhan could be friends in their own right, instead of just through Wei Ying, he had to go and fuck it all up. Who could eat French toast at a time like this?
*Finally,* Jiang Cheng’s parents leave for the airport. Jiang Cheng texts *coast is clear* to Wei Ying from the Uber back to the apartment, and Wei Ying sends back a string of exclamation points and heart emojis.
Back at the apartment, Lan Zhan sits in awkward silence. He can’t leave until Wei Ying gets there - he *could,* but the three of them had plans to hang out and it would be weird to just leave without saying anything about it.
Besides, he wants to see Wei Ying.
Besides, he wants to see Wei Ying.
He can’t believe he’s been so stupid. He’d been drawn into the fantasy of belonging here with Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng: becoming a part of their habits and routines and inside jokes, enveloped in the casual intimacy that suffuses their every interaction.
And now not only are things weird between him and Jiang Cheng, but he’s potentially driven a wedge between JC and Wei Ying as well.
It’s just as well he’s going back to his own apartment today. He’s never been anything but a visitor here, and he can’t afford to forget that.
It’s just as well he’s going back to his own apartment today. He’s never been anything but a visitor here, and he can’t afford to forget that.
Jiang Cheng is hovering in the kitchen. Lan Zhan realizes with a sinking feeling that Jiang Cheng is avoiding coming in and sitting on the couch with him. *I messed everything up,* Lan Zhan thinks.
“Do you...want to talk about it?” Lan Zhan asks, despite the fact that he really, really doesn’t want to talk about it. You’re supposed to talk about things with people you care about.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Jiang Cheng’s face is a cool, careful blank. “We just...got a little carried away. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“Yes,” Lan Zhan agrees, although a part of him would like to ask if it *could* mean something, and if so, what.
“Let’s just put it behind us,” Jiang Cheng suggests. “Go back to normal.”
“Right,” Lan Zhan agrees dully. “Back to normal.”
“Let’s just put it behind us,” Jiang Cheng suggests. “Go back to normal.”
“Right,” Lan Zhan agrees dully. “Back to normal.”
Wei Ying bursts through the door, face lit up and joyful, and as usual Lan Zhan has a quiet mini heart attack over how beautiful he is. Since this is his standard reaction to Wei Ying he’s very good at hiding it, and neither Wei Ying nor Jiang Cheng notice.
It still bowls Lan Zhan over sometimes, that Wei Ying is just walking around all the time looking like that.
He’d be Lan Zhan’s favorite person regardless of how he looked - he’s brilliant and passionate and deeply, deeply kind -
He’d be Lan Zhan’s favorite person regardless of how he looked - he’s brilliant and passionate and deeply, deeply kind -
but Wei Ying’s luminous eyes, his perfect bone structure, his luscious mouth still strike Lan Zhan right in the heart every time.
“Did you miss me?” Wei Ying beams, lower lip caught in his slightly-rabbity front teeth.
Jiang Cheng scoffs. “It’s been like six days. I survived.”
“Did you miss me?” Wei Ying beams, lower lip caught in his slightly-rabbity front teeth.
Jiang Cheng scoffs. “It’s been like six days. I survived.”
Wei Ying grabs him in one of their wrestle-hugs. “I know you missed me, I know you were *lost* without me,” he shouts, wrapping an arm around Jiang Cheng’s neck and aggressively ruffling his hair.
Jiang Cheng sputters and shoves and elbows him off. Like he always does, Lan Zhan can’t help but notice the way Wei Ying’s hands linger on Jiang Cheng’s sides, the way Jiang Cheng turns his face toward Wei Ying’s neck.
The weight of the guilt is crushing now. Lan Zhan should go, give them a chance to spend some time together.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying turns from Jiang Cheng to pull Lan Zhan into a hug, clapping him soundly on the back. “Don’t worry, I left the place even cleaner than I found it.” Lan Zhan doubts that, but is sure Wei Ying did his best.
“So what are we doing today?” Wei Ying asks, rubbing his hands together. “Little Call of Duty? Little MarioKart? I’m *starved* for video games, did you know Lan Zhan doesn’t even have a TV?”
Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “I’ve been to their place, Wei Ying.”
Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “I’ve been to their place, Wei Ying.”
“Actually,” Lan Zhan interjects quietly, “I think I might just go home.”
“Lan Zhannnnn,” Wei Ying pouts. “I just got here!” Behind him, Jiang Cheng is stiff and tight-lipped, his jaw tense, his brow furrowed.
“Lan Zhannnnn,” Wei Ying pouts. “I just got here!” Behind him, Jiang Cheng is stiff and tight-lipped, his jaw tense, his brow furrowed.
Lan Zhan remembers how it had felt to cup his hand around the back of Jiang Cheng’s neck. He wishes he could do so right now, run his thumb up into the fuzz of hair at the base of Jiang Cheng’s skull, feel Jiang Cheng relax beneath his hand. But he can’t.
“I should get home,” Lan Zhan tells Wei Ying, who is still whining. “Check in with my brother, get ready for the week.”
Wei Ying deflates slightly, and LZ feels another twinge of guilt. “Sure, of course,” WY says. “You’re probably eager to get back to your own space, huh?”
Wei Ying deflates slightly, and LZ feels another twinge of guilt. “Sure, of course,” WY says. “You’re probably eager to get back to your own space, huh?”
“I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow?” Lan Zhan offers.
“Definitely,” Wei Ying grins.
“Jiang Cheng? Lunch tomorrow?” Lan Zhan asks, not even totally sure what he’s asking. He tells himself sternly that the question of lunch tomorrow is not a referendum on their entire friendship.
“Definitely,” Wei Ying grins.
“Jiang Cheng? Lunch tomorrow?” Lan Zhan asks, not even totally sure what he’s asking. He tells himself sternly that the question of lunch tomorrow is not a referendum on their entire friendship.
“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng says, making eye contact with him for the first time all day and smiling a little. “I’ll see you then.”
“Great.” Lan Zhan swings his bag onto his shoulder, not bothering to hide his relief.
“Great.” Lan Zhan swings his bag onto his shoulder, not bothering to hide his relief.
“Thanks again for all this,” Jiang Cheng adds, extending his hand. Lan Zhan takes it and holds it, maybe a moment too long, wishing he was better at talking, or relationships, or people.
“It’s my pleasure,” Lan Zhan says. Jiang Cheng’s eyes are so deep. He has to get out of this apartment. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
//we’ll stop there tonight. See you next time!//
Shorter update tonight! Here we go:
Wei Ying is aware that he’s A Lot. He spent years in therapy (back when he was still on the Jiangs’ health insurance and could afford therapy) talking about ADHD and poor impulse control and anxious attachment styles and touch starvation and all that stuff -
But it boils down to this: Wei Ying is A Lot to deal with. Too much, for some people. He tries his best not to be, but nobody can try their best all the time.
He’s spent the last week on his best behavior, trying not to talk Lan Huan’s ear off or God forbid hug the guy, trying not to pester Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan for attention while they were dealing with Jiang Cheng’s parents.
Now, back in his own apartment, the emotional rebound of all of that self-regulation is hitting him hard. He can feel it like a squirming, crawling sensation under his skin, making him want to act out in a hundred different ways.
Spending the afternoon playing video games with Jiang Cheng helps - it’s nice to hang out with someone who’s already aware how obnoxious Wei Ying is, and hasn’t run for the hills so far - as does going for a long run, to pound some of the excess energy out of his body.
After his run, after he’s showered and put on some lounge pants and a t-shirt, Wei Ying pauses in the doorway to Jiang Cheng’s bedroom. Jiang Cheng is sitting in bed, watching an old episode of Forged in Fire on his laptop.
Wei Ying could suggest they put it on the big TV in the living room and watch together, as they often do, but instead he climbs into Jiang Cheng’s bed to sit next to him.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t say anything, just scoots over a bit to make room for him, angling the laptop screen so they can both see.
Wei Ying leans against him, taking comfort in Jiang Cheng’s warmth and solidity, the familiar home-smell of him.
Wei Ying leans against him, taking comfort in Jiang Cheng’s warmth and solidity, the familiar home-smell of him.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t push him away or tell him to fuck off, which is nice, but Wei Ying knows he can *trust* Jiang Cheng to push him away or tell him off if he gets to be too much for Jiang Cheng, and not to avoid him after, and that’s even better.
One episode ends, and they let autoplay begin the next one without discussing it, sitting in drowsy, comfortable silence together. Eventually, Wei Ying lets his head droop down to rest against Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. Jiang Cheng doesn’t react. Maybe he’s dozed off already.
Smiling at the screen, feeling at peace for the first time in days, Wei Ying drifts gently into sleep.
Jiang Cheng sits in the flickering light from the screen, feeling Wei Ying’s body grow sleep-warm and heavy against him, listening to Wei Ying’s breathing slow and soften. He should wake WY up, tell him to go sleep in his own bed. But he’s so comfy. Maybe after 1 more episode.
45 minutes later, Wei Ying is snoring quietly into his shoulder. Jiang Cheng shuts his laptop and sets it aside. He eases his shoulder out from under Wei Ying’s cheek -
Wei Ying goes “Hmm?” and smacks his lips, but doesn’t otherwise wake - just snuggles down into the pillows and curls into his customary sleep ball.
Jiang Cheng shakes his head, laughing a little to himself. He lets himself smooth Wei Ying’s hair out of his face, just once, with more tenderness than he’d ever be able to show in the light of day; Wei Ying hums and presses his face into Jiang Cheng’s hand like a cat.
Jiang Cheng pulls the covers over them both and settles into sleep, Wei Ying warm at his back.
//That’s all for tonight! A little Sunday night softness for your soft Sunday night. More soon!//
Life goes back to normal, just as Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan had agreed it would. If things feel a little awkward, a little strained between them, they’re both very good at hiding how they really feel - no one notices.
One unexpected outcome of the roommate swap is that Wei Ying starts coming over to Lan Zhan’s apartment sometimes to use Lan Zhan’s home office (and, more specifically, his external monitors, which are way nicer than Wei Ying’s and make designing a lot less of a headache).
It’s really nice getting out of the house to work sometimes - Wei Ying can’t really afford a spot at a coworking space on what he makes freelancing, and working from a coffee shop means relying on just his laptop screen.
The three of them are still meeting up for lunch and hanging out after work as much as they always have, but the extra time spent together is a bright spot in the week for both Wei Ying and Lan Zhan.
“Ah, fuck,” Wei Ying mutters to himself one afternoon, after a minor change has caused the whole image to go wonky. He undoes the last change, examines the settings, tries a few things. “There we go, that’s better.”
“Hm?” Lan Zhan asks from the other desk. “Everything OK?”
“Hm?” Lan Zhan asks from the other desk. “Everything OK?”
“Aiyah! Lan Zhan! I forgot you were here,” Wei Ying blurts out hastily. “I’m sorry, sometimes I talk to myself out loud when I work. I know it’s annoying.”
“Not annoying,” Lan Zhan says with a catlike squint of affection.
“Not annoying,” Lan Zhan says with a catlike squint of affection.
“Well, yes annoying,” Wei Ying laughs. “Sorry, I guess I’m just too used to working on my own.”
“It is. Nice. Having you here,” Lan Zhan says, because he’s the best boy in the whole world. “If I wanted silence, I could work alone.”
“It is. Nice. Having you here,” Lan Zhan says, because he’s the best boy in the whole world. “If I wanted silence, I could work alone.”
Lan Zhan’s hair is a little rumpled around his ears, against his neck - he usually styles it pretty severely when he goes in to the office, but doesn’t bother when he’s working from home.
It makes him look softer. More approachable. Touchable. Wei Ying has to sit on his hands to keep from reaching out and running a hand through it.
“What is it?” Lan Zhan asks. Wei Ying realizes he’s grinning at Lan Zhan like a lovesick and slightly unhinged hyena.
“What is it?” Lan Zhan asks. Wei Ying realizes he’s grinning at Lan Zhan like a lovesick and slightly unhinged hyena.
“Nothing, never mind,” Wei Ying says quickly. “What are you working on today?”
“A few different things.” Lan Zhan presses his lips together in a tiny frown. “Right now I am trying to compose an email to my uncle. I...disagree with his approach on a new project.”
“A few different things.” Lan Zhan presses his lips together in a tiny frown. “Right now I am trying to compose an email to my uncle. I...disagree with his approach on a new project.”
Wei Ying laughs. “That may be the strongest stance I’ve ever heard you take against him.” He makes a serious face that Lan Zhan supposes is an impression of him. “I disagree,” he says in a deep voice, and laughs again.
Wei Ying’s lips are chapped and his T-zone is oily; his hair is up in a messy ponytail that does nothing to hide his split ends, and he’s wearing a faded old sweater with a stretched-out collar. He’s beautiful. Devastating.
Lan Zhan grips the armrest of his office chair so tightly it creaks, afraid the sheer force of his yearning will carry him across the small room and into Wei Ying’s lap if he doesn’t hold on to something.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I got a sternly-worded email from you, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying grins. “I think I’d die. I think I’d have to literally curl up and die. It would totally destroy me.”
“I’m certain you would survive,” Lan Zhan says drily. “Shufu will as well.” He says this as though he hasn’t spent the last hour writing and rewriting his email to strike the perfect tone of respectful dissent. Old habits die hard.
“I knew there was a rebel in you somewhere, Lan Zhan.” Wei Ying shakes his head admiringly. “Next you’ll tell me you’re secretly covered in tattoos under all those button-downs.” Not that WY has spent any time thinking about what LZ looks like under his clothes or anything.
Lan Zhan’s eyes fly up to his, startled, and then stutter away. “What?” Wei Ying asks. “OMG, *are* you covered in tattoos?”
Smiling, Lan Zhan shakes his head. “I am not, no.” He picks up a pen and puts it back down again. “Jiang Cheng, ah, mentioned that you have one?”
Smiling, Lan Zhan shakes his head. “I am not, no.” He picks up a pen and puts it back down again. “Jiang Cheng, ah, mentioned that you have one?”
He tries to make his tone one of casual curiosity, one that says neither *how do I not know about this as your best friend* nor *the thought of your tattoo has consumed my waking thoughts for days,* and he must succeed, because Wei Ying just smiles.
“Oh, yeah, I do. A nice commemoration of my youthful indiscretions.” He gives Lan Zhan a crooked, mischievous grin. “Do you want to see it?”
Lan Zhan pivots in his office chair to face him fully, his eyes and body language intent. Wei Ying feels pinned in place by the full force of his attention; his heart gives a nervous little flutter. “OK,” Lan Zhan says, quiet, serious.
Wei Ying’s cheeks warm slightly under his scrutiny, which is ridiculous — he’s usually the *definition* of shameless. Trying for his usual brazenness, he pulls the hem of his sweater up, rucking it up under his armpits to reveal the red-orange sunburst tattooed on his chest.
Most people just say “oh that’s cool” about WY’s tattoo, but Lan Zhan isn’t most people. He rolls his chair forward until their knees are almost touching, scrutinizing the tattoo. Wei Ying shivers and tries to chalk it up to having his torso exposed, even though the room is warm.
“Don’t, ah, haha, I was gonna say don’t tell the Jiangs but I guess that’s a moot point now anyway - don’t tell them about Jiang Cheng’s, though, they would *freak,*” Wei Ying babbles, aware that he’s babbling but seemingly unable to stop.
Lan Zhan frowns, which is how Wei Ying realizes he’s been looking at Lan Zhan’s lips. Still frowning, Lan Zhan reaches out one long-fingered hand and Lan Zhan is touching him, Lan Zhan is touching Wei Ying’s bare chest.
Wei Ying feels like he might jump right out of his skin at the sensation. His nipples go hard, and Lan Zhan is totally going to notice because Wei Ying still has his shirt pulled up -
except maybe not because Lan Zhan is still frowning, brushing his thumb over the circular, slightly-raised knot of red-brown scar tissue that forms the center of the sunburst tattoo.
“This looks like a burn scar,” Lan Zhan says, his voice low and serious.
“This looks like a burn scar,” Lan Zhan says, his voice low and serious.
//That’s all for tonight! Sorry for the cliffhanger - part 2 of this scene coming soon! //
Wei Ying swallows. “Oh, um, yep! Good eye, Lan Zhan!”
Lan Zhan glances up at him, one eyebrow raised. His fingers are still lightly brushing Wei Ying’s chest.
Lan Zhan glances up at him, one eyebrow raised. His fingers are still lightly brushing Wei Ying’s chest.
“Um, yeah, so in high school I kind of got into it with this guy, he’s Wen Ning’s cousin actually? He was bullying Wen Ning a lot, and I started sticking up for him, and things kind of escalated, and well, long story short I ended up getting my ass kicked pretty spectacularly.
“There was, um, a car cigarette lighter involved.” That said cigarette lighter had been wielded by a viciously mean teenage girl almost a foot shorter than Wei Ying is neither here nor there, and not information Lan Zhan needs.
Lan Zhan’s eyes widen; he’s close enough that Wei Ying can hear his tiny intake of breath. He strokes his thumb across the burn scar again. “Wei Ying,” he says softly.
“Oh, it’s - um - it’s OK, Lan Zhan, it was a long time ago. It wasn’t really all that bad, honestly, the worst part was that my - ah - the Jiangs were pissed at me for fighting. I was grounded for *so long,*” he jokes, trying not to drown in Lan Zhan’s honey-brown eyes.
Lan Zhan feels like he’s drowning too, drowning in love for this laughing, damaged man, who cares nothing for his own pain but will fight so passionately to keep others from harm. It’s the first thing that drew him to Wei Ying, and it steals his breath now.
“Anyway,” Wei Ying says, “in college I figured my body’s permanently marked there already, why not make it something beautiful?” He loves his tattoo, both the way it looks and what it represents, but that feeling is hard to describe to another person.
“It is,” Lan Zhan murmurs. He traces the lines of the sunburst with his fingertips, vivid against Wei Ying’s smooth creamy skin. “Beautiful.”
Wei Ying can’t disguise the way his breath catches at this, the way his skin breaks out in goosebumps.
Wei Ying can’t disguise the way his breath catches at this, the way his skin breaks out in goosebumps.
Abruptly, Lan Zhan seems to realize what he’s doing; his head comes up, meeting Wei Ying’s eyes with a look of frantic embarrassment. His ears go red.
Lan Zhan starts to snatch his hand away; on impulse, Wei Ying grabs his wrist, pulling Lan Zhan’s hand back toward him until it’s flat against his chest, just above his jackhammering heartbeat.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying whispers. Lan Zhan’s eyes are still locked with his and they’re burning, burning; Wei Ying watches, mesmerized, as Lan Zhan’s soft lips fall open slightly, parting around a shakily inhaled breath.
Lan Zhan glances down at Wei Ying’s mouth; this is all the encouragement Wei Ying needs to lean into him.
Helpless, tormented, Lan Zhan leans in as well, knowing he doesn’t deserve this but unable to resist the look in Wei Ying’s eyes, the warmth of WY's skin under his palm.
Helpless, tormented, Lan Zhan leans in as well, knowing he doesn’t deserve this but unable to resist the look in Wei Ying’s eyes, the warmth of WY's skin under his palm.
“I…” Lan Zhan breathes. His breath is warm against Wei Ying’s lips.
“Yes,” Wei Ying whispers, eyes drifting closed, tilting his head and lifting his chin toward Lan Zhan’s, but Lan Zhan’s fingers make a small convulsive motion against his chest that says *wait*.
“Yes,” Wei Ying whispers, eyes drifting closed, tilting his head and lifting his chin toward Lan Zhan’s, but Lan Zhan’s fingers make a small convulsive motion against his chest that says *wait*.
Wei Ying has already lost so much, so many people he’s cared about. Lan Zhan can’t endanger Wei Ying’s relationship with Jiang Cheng, no matter how badly he might want either of them for himself.
Wei Ying opens his eyes to find Lan Zhan looking at him with a deeply conflicted expression.
“I need to tell you something,” Lan Zhan rasps.
Wei Ying blinks at him. “OK.”
“I need to tell you something,” Lan Zhan rasps.
Wei Ying blinks at him. “OK.”
Lan Zhan sits back from him a little. Gently, he takes the hem of Wei Ying’s sweater from where he’s still got it hiked up to his armpits like it’s Mardi Gras and pulls it down, covering Wei Ying back up.
Oh.
Oh.
“I, ah,” Lan Zhan stammers, looking miserable.
“Oh - it’s - ah - it’s OK, Lan Zhan, don’t worry about it,” Wei Ying says hastily, trying to spare them both the awkward conversation.
“Oh - it’s - ah - it’s OK, Lan Zhan, don’t worry about it,” Wei Ying says hastily, trying to spare them both the awkward conversation.
“I think I misread things there, but no biggie.” He’ll have to move & change his name to get away from the embarrassment, but no biggie.
“*No,*” Lan Zhan says, with a stern forcefulness that sends a zing right into Wei Ying’s poor confused dick. “You didn’t. Misread anything.”
“*No,*” Lan Zhan says, with a stern forcefulness that sends a zing right into Wei Ying’s poor confused dick. “You didn’t. Misread anything.”
The hope in Wei Ying’s eyes is terrible.
“But I...” Lan Zhan sighs. “I should tell you. I kissed Jiang Cheng.”
Wei Ying stares at him, mouth hanging open.
“But I...” Lan Zhan sighs. “I should tell you. I kissed Jiang Cheng.”
Wei Ying stares at him, mouth hanging open.
Of all the things Wei Ying might have thought Lan Zhan was about to say, *I kissed Jiang Cheng* was precisely *nowhere* on that list.
Wei Ying laughs in surprise and confusion. “I’m sorry, you *what?* When? Why did I not know about this?”
Wei Ying laughs in surprise and confusion. “I’m sorry, you *what?* When? Why did I not know about this?”
“It was during the whole roommate thing,” Lan Zhan says. “It kind of just...” He makes a futile gesture. “...Happened,” he finishes weakly.
“Wait. I need a minute with this.” Wei Ying’s mind is reeling. Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng. This is...well, it’s kind of awful, actually, but good for them. His two best friends! Good for them. “So are you guys, like...?”
“No,” Lan Zhan says hastily. “Nothing like that. It was just a kiss. Well,” he adds, making his *scrupulous honesty* face. “Some kissing.”
Kissing. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan. Wei Ying is going to need some time to process this. And imagine it. Possibly imagine it a lot. *Fuck.*
Kissing. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan. Wei Ying is going to need some time to process this. And imagine it. Possibly imagine it a lot. *Fuck.*
“I’m sorry,” Lan Zhan tells him, looking mournful. “I know how you feel about him.”
This is news to Wei Ying, for whom ‘how he feels about Jiang Cheng’ is one of the great unsolved mysteries of his life. “How I feel about him.”
This is news to Wei Ying, for whom ‘how he feels about Jiang Cheng’ is one of the great unsolved mysteries of his life. “How I feel about him.”
Lan Zhan nods, perfect brows drawn together in guilty concern.
“And...how is that, exactly?” Wei Ying asks, curious. He can’t believe he’s never thought to ask Lan Zhan about this; Lan Zhan is so smart.
“And...how is that, exactly?” Wei Ying asks, curious. He can’t believe he’s never thought to ask Lan Zhan about this; Lan Zhan is so smart.
“You two are...” Lan Zhan fidgets. “I’d never want to come between you.”
“Come between us,” Wei Ying echoes faintly. He almost makes a joke, then realizes the idea of LZ *coming* between him and Jiang Cheng is...wow. Not a joke at all. Interesting. This is all very interesting.
“Come between us,” Wei Ying echoes faintly. He almost makes a joke, then realizes the idea of LZ *coming* between him and Jiang Cheng is...wow. Not a joke at all. Interesting. This is all very interesting.
“Jiang Cheng and I. We, ah. Agreed not to tell anyone. But...I thought you should know.” Lan Zhan stares at his hands. “Before anything...happened between us.”
That is enough to snap Wei Ying’s mind out of the increasingly detailed fantasy it’s been building & back to the present moment. He looks at Lan Zhan, heart overflowing with affection. Poor Lan Zhan has been torturing himself over this, unbelievably decent human being that he is.
Moving slowly, trying not to spook him, Wei Ying takes Lan Zhan’s hand, twining their fingers together. “But...you do *want* something to happen?” he asks. “Between us?”
Lan Zhan’s voice is almost too quiet to hear. “Very much. Yes.”
Lan Zhan’s voice is almost too quiet to hear. “Very much. Yes.”
Wei Ying focuses very hard on not doing a cartwheel or kissing Lan Zhan. “What about Jiang Cheng?”
“I don’t want to hurt him,” Lan Zhan says, looking so miserable Wei Ying wants to wrap him in a blanket and bring him some tea and maybe get married.
“I don’t want to hurt him,” Lan Zhan says, looking so miserable Wei Ying wants to wrap him in a blanket and bring him some tea and maybe get married.
“But...” Wei Ying says softly. “You want him, too?”
“I’m sorry,” Lan Zhan whispers. “I do.”
“I’m sorry,” Lan Zhan whispers. “I do.”
“Lan Zhan, ah Lan Zhan, you don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Wei Ying smiles, the wheels turning rapidly in his head. “You can want us both. Who wouldn’t, when Jiang Cheng and I are both so very very sexy?”
“Be serious, please,” Lan Zhan says, but he’s cracked a tiny smile.
“Be serious, please,” Lan Zhan says, but he’s cracked a tiny smile.
“I am serious! You can want us both.” Wei Ying draws a tiny, nervous breath. “After all, I want both of you.” At the same time, if possible - now that the idea’s occurred to him, Wei Ying can tell it won’t be going away any time soon.
Lan Zhan’s eyes go all adorably melty. “You do?”
Bringing their joined hands up to his mouth, Wei Ying kisses the back of Lan Zhan’s hand. “Yes,” he says, holding eye contact. “So much.”
Bringing their joined hands up to his mouth, Wei Ying kisses the back of Lan Zhan’s hand. “Yes,” he says, holding eye contact. “So much.”
The melty look in Lan Zhan’s eyes hardens, sharpens. Without seeming to have moved his face at all, he’s now looking at Wei Ying like he’d like to throw him onto the desk and have his way with him.
Regretfully, Wei Ying kisses his hand once more and lets go. “I think... I need to talk to Jiang Cheng about this.”
“That might be wise,” Lan Zhan agrees.
“That might be wise,” Lan Zhan agrees.
“But...I’ll call you?” Wei Ying rises to his feet, slipping his laptop into his bag - he’s definitely not getting any more work done today.
Lan Zhan stands up with him, polite as always. “Please do.”
Lan Zhan stands up with him, polite as always. “Please do.”
“Okay!” Wei Ying chirps, attempting to return to a more normal tone. “Well, thank you for the work session, Lan Zhan. It was very enlightening.”
“Wei Ying.”
“Wei Ying.”
When Wei Ying turns back toward him, Lan Zhan pulls him in, one hand at Wei Ying’s waist, the other cupping his chin. He kisses him, soft and sweet and slightly open-mouthed, the scent of sandalwood dancing in Wei Ying’s nostrils. Wei Ying’s knees buckle a little.
“I’ll see you soon,” Lan Zhan murmurs, tracing the line of Wei Ying’s jaw with his thumb.
“Flumfh,” Wei Ying tells him, and flees.
“Flumfh,” Wei Ying tells him, and flees.
//That’s all for tonight! See you next time!//
