wangxian au where:

lwj manages a coffee shop chain and orders all supplies for the shop

wwx is a call line worker for the distributor lwj orders from

lwj calls the same time every monday morning, 10:15am on the dot, and wwx is always the one to receive his call

lwj has been in this business for years, he makes his long lists every monday morning based on the inventory reported by the shop workers diligently every Sunday night.

it's a bit odd that this one distributor, let's call em bun-co', doesn't have online ordering yet

these days all he has to do is navigate these poor websites that clearly haven't been updated since 2002, but he much prefers it, at least he doesn't have to deal with chatty call line workers for hours on end.

all but one

he stares at the long list he has for this weeks order and sighs inwardly before dialing the number into his phone.

3 rings then:
'Thank you for calling bun-co, how can we help you today?'

it's a new voice lwj thinks, he's been using this distributor for years

it's a rather....nice voice lwj thinks, deeper pitched than most, and he can /hear/the smile in his voice thru the phone.

lwj grips his phone a little tighter. he's a musician, and sounds are something super important to him, and voices are on the top of that list

and this voice, is /nice/ and just to his tastes. he clears his throat before beginning.

'hello, I have an order to place for bun and brew llc'

there's a sputtering on the other end of the line and lwj presses the phone closer to his face.

'sorry sorry, did you say bun and brew?' the worker asks

'yes, that is the company name'

another sputter.
'is there a problem?' lwj asks slightly agitated.

'no! no! it's just, that's such a cute name for a shop, I'm sorry, this is my first day here!!'

lwj waits.

'ok ok, let me just pull up your account real quick'

lwj waits

'ok what can we get for ya' '

lwj orders, same way he does every monday morning

the worker responds to each and every item:
'yah' 'gotcha' 'sure thing' 'of course'

this is why lwj prefers websites

after he's read out the entire order the worker reads it back to him, making comments on half of the items on the list.

'you really need /that/ many marshmallows?'
'what do you use nutmeg for??'
'wow i love this brand of chocolate syrup'
'how many stores do you even have???'

lwj rubs the space between his eyebrows with a silent groan.

'ok ok, is that all for you this week?' the worker asks.

'yes'

'ok sweet, thank hon!'

lwj stills, hon?

'thank you, have a good day' he says politely

'you too love!'

the call ends

lwj stares at the phone in his hand. love? hon?? he blinks like an owl, his ears feel hot. isn't that overly friendly? that was weird he thinks.

he goes about his week like normal pushing the thoughts from his mind.

monday rolls around again.

lwj stares at his phone in his hand, hesitant for the first time.

he dials.

3 rings.

'thanks for calling bbbuuuuunnnnn-cooooooo! what can we help you with today dear?'

lwj furrows his brow. the same voice. and they've gotten even /friendlier/?

'hello, I have an order for bun and brew llc' he says, same as always.

the voice on the other end gets louder.

'ah! mister bun!!! glad to hear your voice again!'

lwj blinks. /mister bun?/
lwj also thinks /it's nice to hear yours as well/ he doesn't say it.

silence.

'mr bun? you there?'

lwj swallows.
'Yes, i'm here' he begins reading off his order again as usual.

the worker makes remarks on every other item once more.

lwj finds he doesn't mind it, he almost /likes/ listening to this man's ramblings.

he pushes the thought away

'can I get anything else for you love?'

lwj stomach flips.
'No, thank you, have a good day' he responds as always.

'Thanks!!! you too dear!'

the call ends.

lwj stares at his phone again, he takes a deep breath, he slips it into his pocket, and he continues his week.

it continues like this for /weeks/. the same monday morning call, the same line worker, the exchange between them getting more and more strange as the weeks drag by.

by the end of the 2nd month the worker begins asking him personal questions

which is /very/ unprofessional, and anyone else, lwj would have reported already but he finds himself looking forward to each monday that rolls along.

'mr bun, do you mind that i call you mr bun?'

'no'

'sweet! i think it's cute'

lwj's ears heat

'mm' he finds himself responding to a lot of the worker's comments this way.

'but what's your real name mr bun?'

very unprofessional.
'Lan Wangji' he responds.

a small gasp from the other line, lwj stills.
'What a good name! I like it a lot mr bun!'

'mm' lwj responds again. 'thank you'

'i'm wei wuxian!! but just call me wei ying!'

'Wei Ying'

'That's me!' followed by laughter, and has lwj ever heard anything so sweet before? he finds he could listen to that laugh for hours on end and not grow tired of it.

'Ok but what's your birth name?' wwx asks.

extremely unprofessional, but to be fair wwx had given his.
'Lan Zhan'

'Wow!!!! another good name, I like that as well. Can I keep calling you mr bun tho? it's so cute'

lwj hasn't felt his face cool down in a long time

'mm, you may' he allows.

more laughter, and lwj begins pacing around the room as wwx starts rambling on about random facts, and anything that comes to his mind.

before long the hour has passed, lwj looks at the clock on his desk with a start.

'Wei Ying, I have to go' he says.

There's a whine from the other end of the line, lwj likes the sound /a lot/ he finds.

'Awwwwwww, always sad when my favorite customer has to gooooo'

lwj clutches the phone tighter, he needs to be careful or he's going to need a new phone

'I will talk to you next monday again, i have a meeting at noon' he tells him. /why am i sharing these things?/ he chastises himself.

'Hmph, fine! i'll talk to you next monday mr bun! have a great week love!'

'Goodbye Wei Ying'

the call ends.

lwj stares at his phone. does wwx call /everyone/ that places orders these words...? he finds himself hoping it's not the case.

he shakes his head. /unprofessional/ he admonishes before hastily gathering the materials needed for his meeting

They continue like this for another month, lwj choosing to skip lunch so he can keep the calls longer. how wwx isn't getting in trouble for taking such a long call is beyond him, but he finds he doesn't want to question it, doesn't want whatever this is to end.

Another month, and a monday that changes everything.

The line is answered with several coughs and a sniffle.
sniffle
'Thanks for calling-'
sniffle
'bun-co-'
cough
'What can we help you with today?'
sneeze

'Wei Ying?' lwj asks.

'Ah mr bun-'
sniffle
'Hi!'

lwj furrows his brow.
'Wei Ying are you well?' he asks.

Another fit of coughs.
'Yeah Yeah! Nothing for mr bun to worry himself about, i'm ok'

3 sneezes in a row

'You do not sound well' lwj says

'Aaaahhh mr bun, seriously, I'm fine, I've worked thru worse!!'

lwj frowns, 'Wei Ying, you should take the day off to rest'

'No!' lwj swears he can hear the pout on the other end of the line.
'I want to be the one to take mr buns order'

'I'm sure someone else could take my order so you can go home, you are not well' he says.

'But i only get to talk to mr bun on mondays, it's my favorite day of the week' more whines from the other end of the line.

lwj feels oh so very fond.
'we can talk on other days'

'You only order on mondays' wwx sounds dejected.

'We can...' he starts, building up the courage.
'We can talk outside of work, if you will take the day off to rest'

there's nothing wrong with a little bribery to get those you care about to take better care of themselves

wait- care about? lwj /cares/ about him?
yes....yes he definitely does.

'Really?' wwx asks.

'Yes, I promise'

a soft chuckle, followed by a sniffle.
'Ok, give me your number then' wwx says

lwj swallows nervously, the only non-work contacts in his phone are family

he gives his number.
'Will you take the rest of the day to rest?' he asks.

there's shuffling on the other end of the line
'Yes, yes mr bun'

lwj feels the corner of his mouth tug up at the pet name.
'Good, please message me whenever you'd like'

'mm ok, bye lan zhan'

that's the first time wwx has called him by his name. he finds he might like it even /more/ than mr bun.

'goodbye wei ying, feel better'

the call ends.

wwx is an avid texter lwj discovers. the type to send 14 half written sentences in a row, just like he speaks.

the first message he gets is at 5:00 on the dot.
'mr bun, it's wei ying, are you done with work?'
'i waited till 5 on the dot to message!'
'i didn't want to bother you at work'
'aren't i a good boy??'

lwj stares down at his phone.
the word 'good boy' like a brand on his eyes

lwj texts like he speaks of course, what did you expect?
'Wei Ying, I am done with work yes. You are not a bother. Yes, you are a good boy.'

lwj flushes as he presses send.

his phone buzzes in his hand 4 times.

'Yay!'
'You can tell me if i bother u tho srsly'
'I know i can be a lot'
''

lwj stares at the emojis. /cute/ he thinks.

'Wei Ying is never a bother. I enjoy speaking to Wei Ying. You are not a lot. How are you feeling?' he asks.

The typing dots show up for a few seconds.

'I feel soooooooo bad mr bun!!!!!!'
'I dont even know if i have a head anymore'
'is it attached?? who knows'
'it huuuurts!'

'Have you taken any medicine? What have you eaten? I'm sure your head is still there Wei Ying'

wwx literally types out 'WHINESSSS'
lwj stares. he waits for more messages.

'I don't haaave any medicine....
'or food.....'
'teehee!'

lwj frowns again.
'Where do you live?' he texts.

'!!!!!!!!'
'Mr bun are you going to come kill me????'
'Are you a serial killer????'
'Why do they always go for the cute ones!!!!!'

lwj sighs. of course, they're strangers, he'd almost forgotten with how familiar wwx acts.

'I am not going to come kill you. I am not a serial killer. I want to bring you medicine and food. If you're not comfortable then, do you have venmo? You can order delivery'

more typing dots.

'Nooooooo u don't have to lan zhan, I'm fine srsllyyyy'
'i couldn't let u pay!!'

'Wei Ying'

the typing dots appear, then disappear, no message comes.
they reappear.

'Mr bun don't be so nice to meeeee'
'I'll get used to it!!!'

lwj's thumbs pause.
'Wei Ying can get used to it'

he begins gathering things from his own apartment, medicine, food.

'!!!!!!! Lan Zhan!!!!!'
'you can't saaaay those thingsssss, i'll dieeee!! reallly!'

'Don't die Wei Ying. I have medicine and food for you, if you would let me?'

the dots disappear and reappear like blinking lights.

wwx sends his address.

wwx lives 10 minutes away, this entire time. the building is....well...shabby for lwj's standards. he's gotten a bit nervous, what was he thinking? this man was a stranger! and he's going to his place to take care of him while he's sick??

has he lost his mind??

well, he's already at the door, no going back now. he buzzes the 3L ringer and waits.

there's a staticky voice: 'who is it?' it /sounds/ like wwx.

'Lan Wangji' he says, fiddling nervously with the bags in his hand.

more static
'Mr bun!!!!!!!'

the door buzzes, lwj enters

it's a walk up, of course it is. but lwj is fit, it's no matter. the thought of wwx dragging his sick addled body up these stairs alone makes his heart clench.

he knocks tentatively on the door, there's no ringer up here.

there's shuffling heard, then the sound of things fallin

lwj knocks again 'wei ying?'

there's the sound of what seems to be 3 deadlocks being unlocked and then the door is wretched open and lwj's heart is in his throat.

/oh/

lwj had already enjoyed wwx's voice, his personality, he didn't think about what he would look like, it didn't matter, he never thought he'd be standing in his doorway face to face with the voice on the other end of the line

and he was /gorgeous/

his hair was a mess, mostly pulled back into a high ponytail with a red ribbon, escaped strands stuck to his face and sticking up at odd angles. he had a baggy red sweater that his hands mostly disappeared into, just the tips of his fingers visible at the hem

there's /probably/ shorts under the sweater, but lwj can't see them, the sweater is too long, and long long long pale legs are staring right back at him.

he swallows audibly.
his eyes finally track their way back up to the man's face and he can swear his heart misses a beat

big wide grey eyes stare back at him wordlessly. there's little dark blue circles underneath those wide eyes and his skin is pale, too pale for lwj's liking.

thick expressive eyebrows shoot up directly into his hairline
'mr bun?'

lwj blinks at him, he feels like he's in orbit, not exactly in his own body, and his heartbeat is /loud/ in his ears.

lwj can't find his words, he nods silently, frozen to the spot. his lifts his arms mechanically holding the bags he'd brought with him.

wwx's eyes flit down

and then back up to lwj's face and he smiles.

and oh he smiles.

and lwj falls

and he falls

and he falls

and he falls

lwj's brain cells finally gather themselves.
'Wei Ying' is all he says.

wwx moves aside, letting lwj enter the apartment. it's small, but it's lived in.

wwx closes the door behind him.

lwj tries not to start like a startled rabbit.

'Hi' wwx says after another moment of silence.

lwj turns towards him. it's like staring directly at the sun, when he closes his eyes wwx's smile is burnt into the backs of his eyelids.

'Hello' he responds. he sets the bags on the table and remembers why he came here.

'How are you feeling Wei Ying?'

he turns to the sound of shuffling feet and then a PLOP of wwx settling himself onto the couch.

he gets a small 'mmrph' in response.

/why/ is that endearing? mmrph should not be endearing to him, but it is, he is endeared

'Use your words Wei Ying' lwj tells him.

a longer 'mmmmmrrrphhhhh' in response.

lwj turns to stare, wwx has curled himself into a ball under an impressive fort of blankets, just his eyes and ponytail sticking out of the top of the pile staring at lwj

fond. he's /so/ fond of this boy and he's just barely met him. lwj doesn't exactly need an answer, he prepares the medicine + food anyway.

cough syrup + a tablespoon, and congee he picked up on the way heating up in the microwave

he approaches blanket fort!wwx

'I brought cough syrup...for your cough' he clarifies when wwx just stares at him.

he scuttles further into the blankets somehow. there's muffled words said but lwj can't make them out.

'Wei Ying I can't hear you'

he peaks back out. 'dont likeeee medicine' he whines

'it will make you feel better' he tells him, unscrewing the top of the syrup.

lwj whines ducking back down into the covers.
'Wei Ying?' lwj doesn't touch people, but how else can he get blanket fort!wwx to come out and take his medicine?

he hesitantly peels back the top layer of blanket to reveal wwx's head, big eyes staring up at him small pout on his face.

'It will help you' he repeats. wwx doesn't hide again which he takes as an answer. wwx is staring at him he can feel it as he grabs the spoon + bottle

he pours the cough syrup carefully onto the spoon and freezes. he hadn't thought this far. was he actually going to /spoon feed/ the medicine to wwx?? isn't that a bit...intimate??

lwj doesn't have time to process his thoughts before wwx is sitting up slightly

wwx closes his eyes in reflex and opens his mouth awaiting the medicine and lwj's entire face heats up. oh my /god/ what an image wwx makes in front of him, sleep messed hair, thick lashes fanning onto the tips of soft delicate cheek bones, and those plush, pink lips open, waitin

lwj brings the spoon slowly, pressing lightly against wwx's bottom lip, wwx opens his mouth a bit wider, his eyelashes flutter and lwj's hand tremors, a tiny droplet of medicine escaping down wwx's lip as he closes his mouth around the spoon

lwj's eyes follow it

lwj wants to lick it up for him, lwj pushes the thought out of his mind.

a soft pink tongue comes out to lick it up and lwj is staring, he knows he's staring but he can't tear his eyes away. he's done nothing /but/ stare at wwx since he opened that door

he finds he doesn't want to stop either. when lwj's eyes finally make it back up to wwx's, wwx is staring at him, expression unreadable, but a small smile is tugging as the corners of his mouth.

'thanks lan zhan' he says, their faces are close enough that lwj can feel his words

brushed across his face from his breath. lwj hadn't realized he'd leaned in. he pulls himself back, collecting himself before he can speak.

'you're welcome' he says, averting his eyes, he does not wish to be perceived any further than this and he no longer trusts himself.

the microwave dings loudly and they both jump. wwx's cheek have flushed scarlet, it's probably because he's sick lwj thinks to himself.

he stands up and makes his way to the microwave, fumbling thru drawers for a spoon for the congee, and brings it to wwx

'can you sit up to eat?' he asks

wwx's head swivels towards him and he presses his lips together. 'help me?' he asks, his eyes glinting.

lwj blinks back at him. he nods, placing the food on the table in front of them before leaning towards wwx

wwx has pulled his arms free

he reaches them out towards lwj and lwj's step falters. he is /not/ going to survive this man, he simply can't, it's impossible.

he feels his entire body is on fire as he reaches around in a hug to pull wwx to a sitting position

wwx is warm in his arms, and so pliant

wwx's stray hairs tickle lwj's cheeks and he feels it in his own body where they're pressed together when wwx speaks into his ear.

'thanks mr bun'

lwj shudders, but wwx is in sitting position now and unfortunately he has to let go. he pulls away and he swears wwx sighs

lwj reaches for the congee and hands it to wwx, doing his best to not let his eyes linger on the exposed collarbone that's revealed itself since wwx's sweater slid sideways.

wwx smiles again at him and he thinks for sure, he's 100% not going to make it, he will qi deviate today

wwx eats his congee in silence, lwj stands awkwardly in front of the couch, afraid of intruding a space that isn't his.

wwx looks back up at him and pats the couch next to him, lifting the blankets up for him.

lwj stares at him, surely.....surely he can't be inviting lwj

'lan zhan come'
he /is/ inviting lwj

lwj deff thinks he's moving stiffly, he's praying wwx doesn't notice. he slides under the blanket next to wwx and it's oh so warm, in fact it's too warm with the combo of the blush that hasn't left his body, and wwx's warmth besides him

wwx finishes the food and sets it on the table reaching his arms up high to stretch and let out a big yawn.

'lan zhan that was delicious, i don't know how to thank you for bringing all of this stuff to me...' he's turned his body sideways on the couch to stare at lwj

lwj would like him to stare at him for the rest of his life-

'it was no problem wei ying, i wanted to' he can't turn his head to meet wwx as he speaks.

he feels wwx shuffling around under the blanket and then two long, warm legs are in his lap and wwx is sliding to lay down

lwj jumps, and snaps his head to wwx who has a sheepish grin on his face.

'ah lan zhan, you're just so warm and comfy, let me lay like this for a while, remember i'm sick?' he's taken on that whiny tone that sends chills down lwj's spine and he's at a loss of words again

he doesn't move wwx. he doesn't move at all in fact. wwx has closed his eyes again and he lets himself stare at him unabashedly.

his hair is messy and lwj wants to sooth it, wants to brush his fingers against soft cheeks, and tuck strands behind warm ears, and touch soft lips-

'mr bun' wwx doesn't open his eyes.

'mm' lwj responds

'will you sing for me?' he asks.

lwj doesn't respond.

wwx peeks one eye open to look at lwj's flushed cheeks and smiles.

'mm' lwj responds again and wwx closes his eye again and lwj begins to hum

yes he hums wangxian.mp3 yes wwx falls asleep to in, breathing softly and lwj is allowed to stare, and he's allowed to run his hands lightly over wwx's legs on top of the blanket in soothing patterns, and yes he drifts off too, so warm and safe and content

and they doze

and they doze

and they doze

and they feel like they were meant to be, and they find a quiet warm happiness within each other as the setting sun casts rays on their sleeping forms, curled up together as they fell asleep, hidden away from the rest of the world.

~ fin~ !

everytime i write a threadfic it gets longer.

thank you guys so much for reading! as always if you enjoyed please comment/qrt/like and interact w the thread it makes me so happy!!!

<3