🔞 oh boy today is a just nsfw content from me. i am now about cherry magic au where virgin wwx turns 30, gains the ability to read thoughts and finds out his serious and stuffy coworker lwj is actually 24/7 horny
wwx has just earned his mind reading ability. he’s kinda freaking out but is curious to what ppl are thinking, especially his coworker lwj, who sits right next to him.
lwj is quiet and cold. he doesn’t really talk to anyone in the office but is good looking and does good work without getting distracted— it’s no question that he’s one or the bosses’ favorite employees.
so wwx goes for the kill and puts a hand on lwj’s shoulder. he expects some grumbling complaints about work or how wwx is annoying him, but instead he gets a very... interesting picture.
🔞 wwx is sucked into what looks like a memory. lwj is in front of a body mirror, writing on his skin with permanent marker. the words are all degrading: slut, whore, cocksucker— there’s even sentences like “fuck me” and “cum in me” plastered all over his body.
shocked by this, wwx pulls back, eyes wide. what. what the fuck what THAT?

lwj looks at him with a frown, “is something the matter?”

wwx immediately laughs, a hint of awkwardness in his voice. “i uh- i was wondering if you have an extra pen? i can’t seem to find mine!”
lwj shoots a look at wwx’s desk, where his pen is very clearly in view. “you have one there.”

“oh!” wwx says, making the best fake surprised reaction he can. he chuckles nervously, “thanks lan zhan, i didn’t even see that! i must be going blind!”

“mn.” is all lwj says
wwx must be going crazy. does this power have a glitch? it HAS to have a glitch. when the rest of their coworkers mention something as simple as dates or kissing, lwj gives them a sharp look and tells them to focus.
🔞 determined to prove his powers wrong, the next day he does the same thing.

what he gets is an image of lan zhan sitting on a couch (presumably in his living room), watching a video of himself blindfolded and wearing a black harness as he rides on someone’s dick.
okay.... okay. wwx is mentally panicking. he is trying very hard to process this.

so... SO. lwj is. kinky. VERY kinky.
wwx spends the rest of the work trying not to think not safe for work thoughts about his coworker. he avoids lwj as much as he can so that he doesn’t see anything more. well... it’s not like he /didn’t/ like it. it just felt a little invasive of lwj’s privacy.
when wwx leaves work, it’s raining.

unfortunately for him, he didn’t bring an umbrella with him today. so, he decides to stand by the entrance until it clears.

unfortunately for wwx, lwj has just finished work and has not brought an umbrella either.
they stand next to each other in awkward silence until wwx can’t take it, he is loud and chatty and when he sees someone, he /needs/ to talk.

“it was real sunny today, didn’t expect it to rain.”

“mn.”
“did you forget to bring an umbrella too, lan zhan? i’d never expect that from you, you’re always so perfect.”

“mn. i was distracted this morning.”

distracted by watching a video of you riding someone, wwx thinks.
instead of that, wwx sighs. the rain is heavy and looks like it’s not going to go away for a while.

“guess i’m getting home late tonight.”

they stand in another silence before lwj turns to look at him, tips of his ears blushing red. wwx doesn’t know if it’s from the cold—
—weather or something else, but he finds it just the tiniest bit cute.

“wei ying.”

“yes, lan zhan?” wwx asks, a lilt in his voice. lwj looks a little nervous, smth wwx rarely ever sees.

“my brother owns a cafe a few blocks down. if you need to get home we can walk there.”
wwx is puzzled. lwj, helping /him/? not to mention...

“lan zhan, are suggesting we run all the way down to your brother’s shop drenched in rain?”

“mn.” lwj says, lowering his head shyly. but if wei ying doesn’t want to, we don’t have to.”
well, this week is just full of surprises isn’t it?

amused by the idea, wwx laughs.

“alright, let’s do it!”

so, the both of them run down the pavement, failing to cover themselves from the rain with their arms as lwj leads the way to the cafe.
it isn’t long before they stop, arriving in front of a little shop called “clouds and coffee.”

lwj opens the door, revealing to them a man who looks almost exactly like lwj. he looks up from wiping the counter when he hears the bell chime, immediately smiling.

“oh, a-zhan!”
“ge.” lwj says, setting his tote bag onto the floor. it’s white and blue, surprisingly matching the cafe’s colors. “do you have any towels available to use? for me and wei ying.”

at this, his brother’s eyes widen. “wei ying?”
wwx laughs awkwardly when lwj’s brother looks to him. he waves, “that’s me! sorry about the mess, haha.”

“oh that’s alright. i’m lan huan, by the way. a-zhan has told me so much about you!”

“/ge/.” lwj says impatiently. “please hurry. wei ying will get sick.”
“oh alright, alright,” lxc says, seeming disappointed by their short conversation. “leave your coats on the rack, i’ll be right back!”

as he leaves wwx puts his backpack down. he’s drenched and is sure even his undergarments are wet from the rain.
when wwx turns around to take off his coat, he is frozen by what he sees.

lwj is wearing a white dress shirt today. which is all fine and dandy, really. but what shocks wwx is the black marker on lwj’s body— the exact ones from yesterday!
“wei ying?” lwj asks, completely unaware that wwx can see the words “slut” written on his chest. how, just how does wwx get himself into situations like this?

“lan zhan, uh...” he starts, voice nervous. he slowly points a finger to lwj’s chest, feeling his face flush with heat.
“you got... a little something on your chest.”

confused, lwj looks down to his chest. and then his stomach. and then his forearm. when he lifts his head back up, his eyes are wide. he looks horrified.

“wei ying, this— i-i apologize—“
oh my god. wwx is stupid. wwx is so stupid. but is he just gonna let lxc walk in and see his little brother with derogatory words written all over him? make lwj have to explain to him that he’s okay and is just actually super kinky? NO!
wwx shakes his hands in front of him, panicked and half wanting to cry about his sad life.

“no, no! lan zhan it’s fine! i don’t care what you’re into! it’s just your brother is gonna walk in and—“

“a-zhan! i’ve got the towels!”

when he hears lxc, lwj looks even more terrified.
seeing lwj’s frightened face and hearing lxc’s increasing footsteps, wwx does the only thing he can think of.

“oh god. please don’t kill me for what i’m about to do lan zhan.

“wei ying, wha—“

wwx runs into lwj and wraps his arms around him, stuffing his face in lwj’s chest.
and at that moment lxc walks in. wwx hears a little “oh!” come from him and looks up. he doesn’t let go out lwj, in fact, hugs him together. his face is probably beet red and he imagines lwj’s is too.

“a-zhan, you didn’t tell me you were already dating him!”

??? what
“i knew something was up when a-zhan brought someone here.” lxc giggles, setting the towels down on a table next to them.

wwx makes sure lxc can’t see what’s written on lwj’s arm.

“well, i’ll be in the kitchen then. just pretend i’m not here!”
as soon as he hears the back door close, wwx lets go of lwj, who is still throughly wide-eyed and shocked.

“sorry lan zhan.” wwx says, looking down to the floor. he feels very embarrassed. “i just didn’t want you to have to explain to your brother.”
lwj swallows down empty air, visibly anxious. there’s silence as he grabs the white towels on the table next to them. lwj doesn’t look up at wwx.

“i apologize for... all of this. i will tell my brother we are not dating.” lwj sounds ashamed as he hands a towel to wwx.
wwx is about to tell him it’s okay when his hand brushes against lwj’s, sending him into another one of his thoughts.

“i wish i were dating you, though.” lwj’s inner voice says.

wwx blinks. what?

“it’s okay. i’ll just sleep with someone again.”

???
“wei ying would never love me, anyway.”

WHAT.
shocked by this, wwx stands up.

“i-i have to go home!” he screeches,l stupidly, voice so obviously tense he wants to crawl into a hole and die.

lwj, alarmed by this, finally looks up at him. “wei ying—“
“really, it’s fine! i’ll just—“ he takes the towel and hurriedly rubs his head with it before putting his coat back on and grabbing his bag.

“wei ying, i—“

“thanks for everything lan zhan, tell your brother that too!”

not letting lwj say another word, wwx rushes out the store.
wwx gets home, somehow. he doesn’t remember how long it took, but that bus driver had been kind enough to stop when he saw wwx drenched in the rain.

he greets his bunny suibian, takes off all his clothes and steps into the shower.
it’s takes a few minutes before he processes it all.

lan zhan likes him. lan zhan /likes/ him.

and worse, he’s been hooking up with other people because he thinks wwx doesn’t like him back??? what is he supposed think about this????

that night, wwx tries to sleep.

he doesn’t.
(stopping here, see ya’ll tomorrow!)
the next day is very awkward.

wwx and lwj bump into each other, stare, and then promptly walk away without a word.
wwx is not disgusted by lwj. but he’s gotten a magic ability only three days ago, found out his coworker was extremely kinky, and also discovered that said coworker who he thought hated him, actually very much likes him.
wwx strays from his desk almost all day, and the atmosphere in the office is painfully quiet. he can focus on nothing but what’s happened in the past few hours, trying to process everything it all while clumsily doing his work.
wwx ends up being the last one in the office. he hasn’t gotten anything done all day and has to stay overtime, or else risk getting a scolding from his boss.

a few hours pass before he finishes. he’s still packing up when he hears a familiar voice.

“wei ying.”
wwx turns around and just as he guessed, it’s lwj.

“oh, lan zhan! what are you doing here?” he says in his brightest voice. it seems like pretending nothing happened is the plan, at least from what he gathered this morning.

lwj frowns, “you’re staying overtime. you never do.”
wwx scratches his head, laughing. “ah, yeah. i just... never really got to work today.”

he expects at least some sort of “mn” from lwj, but instead what he gets is awkward silence.

of course the natural thing to do is run away, so he goes back to pack his things.
“ah, i was just about to leave though so—“

“wei ying.”

oh boy, what is it now? i thought we were ignoring this whole thing, wwx thinks.

wwx stop fumbling with his things, “yeah, lan zhan?”
lwj is visibly very anxious. he’s flickering his eyes left and right (lwj doesn’t flicker his eyes! he stares you down!) and wwx can see his throat bob when he gulps down nervously.

“if you’d like... i want to treat you to dinner at my house, as an apology for the other day.”
“i would like to explain myself.” lwj says, lowering his head.

wwx immediately shakes his head, because what?? who invites someone to dinner after seeing all of that?? and at their house??

but lwj looks /really/ nervous. he doesn’t even look lwj-nervous. he looks like wwx!
it’s a bad thing to do, but wwx is very confused to lwj’s motives . so he puts a hand on lwj’s shoulder and gets swooped into lwj’s thoughts.

“wei ying looks uncomfortable. i am sure he hates me. if he rejects me, i will no longer bother him. he must think i’m disgusting. he—“
oh boy. wwx must have made him nervous when he suddenly ran out of the shop.

okay sure. wwx freaked out. but does he hate lwj? no.

his image of lwj has changed from “pure, serious, definitely has his chastity” to “serious, almost a repressed catholic kid” but—
— does he think of lwj as any lesser? no. also, kink shaming is extremely lame. and is wwx lame? no!

sure, he hid lwj from lxc. but only because as an older brother, if jc showed up with /that/ written all over him he would freak out too. be kinky, just don’t let me see it!
“wei ying?” lwj asks, when wwx has been staring into empty space for too long.

when he’s thrown back into reality, wwx lets go of lwj and sighs.

“lan zhan, you’re gonna freak out until i agree to go with you, aren’t you?”
wwx hadn’t meant for the words to be ill-sounding, but lwj freezes and then anxiously clenches his jaw. bites his lip, even.

“if wei ying is uncomfortable...”

“ah, ah wait, i didn’t mean it like that!” wwx says shaking his head profusely.
“i’m trying to say that it’s fine, lan zhan. you don’t have to explain yourself if you don’t want to, but if it really bundles your nerves that much, then i’ll go. plus, you look more uncomfortable than me!”
lwj’s eyes widen at each word, mouth parted in what seems to be surprise. a moment passes before he finally processes wwx’s words, and gives wwx a little bow.

“thank you, wei ying.”

wwx ends up scolding him for bowing and they leave work together to go to lwj’s apartment.
(oof brb gotta go to class)
lwj’s apartment is just as wwx expected. its design is minimalist, with the only colors being a few touches of blue. he sits on lwj’s couch awkwardly and only moves to the kitchen when lwj finishes.
“ah, thank you lan zhan.” wwx says, looking down at his dish. tonight’s meal is tofu with some stir fried broccoli, garlic, and green onions.

“mn.” is all lwj says before they start eating, nothing but the sounds of munching and sipping as an uncomfortable silence sits—
—between them. wwx is starting to think that this will be a very frequent thing for them in the future.

he’s in the middle of drinking his water when lwj calls his name and he chokes. bad move when he literally “everything is fine, lan zhan!” just an hour ago.
“wei ying, are you alright?” lwj stretches an arm across the table to wipe wwx’s face with a napkin when he stops coughing. wwx insists he can do to himself, but lwj shakes his head.

“what were you going to say, lan zhan?” wwx asks when they’ve both sat down again.
“ah, yes...” lwj starts, lowering his head and flickering his eyes for what seems like the tenth time today. wwx feels like he’ll learn all of lwj’s habits by the end of this. “i told brother we are not dating, and he understands. he says that he wishes you will forgive him.”
“well, please tell tell him he’s forgiven.” wwx says, smiling as he rests his chin on in his palm.

“mn, i will. and...” is lwj squirming? he definitely looks like he’s squirming, wwx thinks. “the... things. that you saw written on me the other day.”

oh boy, here it comes.
“i wrote it on myself, if you were wondering. no one is harassing me or anything of the sort.”

lwj’s ears have turned red again and wwx almost smiles— it’s just something he thinks is really cute.

“i am... into that and other similar things. i know some do not think well of it—
—but it is something i enjoy. if it displeases you, i am willing to ask someone to switch desks at work. we do not have to speak to each other ever again.”

oh gosh, just how many times does wwx need to tell lwj that everything is fine?
“aiya lan zhan, havent i told you it’s okay? you can into whatever and i wouldn’t mind!”

“but—“

wwx sticks a hand out, shushing lwj completely. “lan zhan, if i was into the same things you were, would you judge me?”

lwj frowns, realizing that he’s lost.

“no.”
“exactly! now, stop with the ridiculous ideas and finish your food.” wwx picks his chopsticks back up and shoves a chunk of broccoli into his mouth, chewing as he continues to talk. “i’m going to be your annoying clingy friend forever, so get used to it!”

lwj blinks.

“friends.”
“we are... friends.” lwj says again, like it’s the most unbelievable thing in the world.

“outrageous! this is outrageous, lan zhan!” wwx exclaims, pointing chopsticks at lwj accusingly. “i spend all this time trying to get to it attention at work, i run to a cafe with you—
—in the middle of downpour, i save you from exposing yourself! i even eat dinner at your apartment! not even at a restaurant! and yet, you still don’t want to be friends!” wwx stuffs more tofu into his mouth, just to spice up the dramatics. “i am /heartbroken/ lan zhan!”
“wei ying, do not speak while eating.” lwj scolds. it seems like the words are an automatic thing, because he’s still blinking like he’s trying to process wwx’s words. then, “you want to be friend with me?”

wwx rolls his eyes. “yes, lan zhan. at what point was that not clear?”
“but, everything you saw...”

put up with lwj’s stubbornness, wwx sighs. “fine. if you’re so worried about that, i’ll tell you my secret! i’m a virgin, there!” he says proudly, even as he feels a blush creeping up his neck. “now we have to be friends. you know too much!”
lwj only just processed his last words, but now it looks like wwx has pushed the poor guy back to the starting line.

“oh.” is all he says. and then seeming to realize how just how important the information he was told is, “wei ying. thank you for telling me.”
“yeah, yeah, you’re welcome or whatever.” wwx says, painfully realizing he is failing very hard at making it seem like it’s not a big deal. “i try not to be embarrassed. virginity is just a dumb social construct, anyway.”
“i agree.” lwj says, finally seeming at least a little calmer. he chews and swallows his food before speaking, “it was only created to oppress women.”

wwx laughs, feeling more comfortable. “exactly, lan zhan. like huaisang always says, slut solidarity! let the people be horny!”
“mn. slut solidarity. let the people be horny.” lwj says calmly, causing wwx to burst into loud laughter.

“holy crap, you’re so funny lan zhan.” wwx says, wiping a tear from his eye. “it’s unfair, share your talent to the world!”
lwj is looking at him in the eye now, the hint of a grin forming on his face. “not as funny as wei ying.”

“oh my god, did you just smile lan zhan? wwx asks in disbelief. when lwj blushes he continues teasing— somehow, he likes it. “you’re even prettier when you smile! you—
—should laugh more, lan zhan!”

at this lwj tilts his head down, shy from hearing the compliment. “i will smile more now that i am with wei ying.”

this time wwx is the one to blush. but instead of being shy, he laughs— it’s a coping mechanism for him, okay?
wwx quickly picking up some rice with his chopsticks. “well, we should probably finish the food before it goes cold.”

“mn. no wasting food.” lwj responds, coping his actions.

they have an enjoyable dinner that night, filling the room with endless chatter and laughter.
(going to sleep now, see y’all tomorrow!)
so, they spend the next few weeks being the best of friends. they talk to each other daily! they’re not afraid of asking each other for help at work! lwj even starts bringing him lunch of mondays, because “wei ying often forgets to bring his lunch on mondays.”
wwx is like “lan zhan i can just eat out!”

but lwj is like “eating out is not healthy.”

wwx insists that he doesn’t need it and that he’d be causing lwj trouble. lwj stops wwx’s hand from moving bc apparently it always does that when he’s nervous.
“wei ying. it is no trouble.” lwj says.

but his inner voice says, “i want to take care of wei ying.”

it makes wwx’s heart skip a little beat— jesus, lwj is charming. and then he’s reminded that he does not! have a crush on lwj!
it’s not long until they go somewhere that’s not work or a cafe. wwx invites lwj to the arcade downtown, then the movie theatre, then bowling. they even go shopping together sometimes!
wwx spends approximately 70% of his time with lwj. the other 30% is either work, alone, or with other friends and family.

and naturally, as they spend more time together, wwx hears more of lwj’s thoughts.
it’s not his fault, okay? he didn’t ask for these powers nor did he think that almost all of lwj’s thoughts were about him.

sometimes lwj is thinking of lewd things, in which, wwx always quickly pulls away. but unlike when they first started talking, most—
— of lwj’s thoughts are /not/ about sex. but they are embarrassing sentences that make wwx want to crawl into a hole and die.

“wei ying is pretty today.”

“wei ying is so smart.”

“wei ying enjoyed the food i made.”

“i like wei ying so much.”
so wwx is /very/ aware that lwj likes him. he still doesn’t comprehend why, but... it doesn’t bother him?

he feels a little guilty that he can read of lwj’s thoughts, that lwj’s love is one-sided. but again, it isn’t his fault that he can hear thoughts and that lwj likes him.
and he doesn’t want to tell lwj either, because telling your new friend that you have a virgin mind-reading ability is not exactly normal. plus, if lwj knew then he would definitely hate wwx. wwx likes lwj too much now to let go of their friendship.
one weekend they go to the mall and wwx stops by a jewelry shop. he tells lwj that he needs to look for a gift for his jiejie, since her birthday is coming up. her watch broke a little over a month ago, and wwx called dibs on buying it before jc and jzxuan could.
lwj suggests a few pretty-looking watches here and there, but wwx shakes his head at all of them.

“aiya lan zhan you don’t understand.” he leans on lwj’s shoulder without thinking, “my jiejie is beautiful and elegant! the perfect person! she needs something that’s on her level!”
“wei ying is also beautiful and elegant.” lwj’s thoughts say, startling wwx into realizing that he’s touching lwj.

wwx retracts as smoothly as he can, clearing his throat. lwj’s thoughts always make him feel so embarrassed.

“anyway! help me pick one won’t you?”
after a few minutes lwj points to a watch in the front of the display. it’s a gorgeous gold, the inside of the case sprinkled with diamonds as well as on top of the rim. not to mention the simple but beautiful butterfly bracelet that comes with it!
(btw this is what i imagine the watch to look like! i just think it would fit jyl so well 😭💜)
wwx’s eyes are practically sparkling as he looks at it. because look! it’s perfect! it’s the one!

he’s about to thank lwj when he takes a look at the price tag, and his heart drop. oh boy, that’s a lot isn’t it? he may have a good amount already saved, but he can’t afford that.
it must show on his face, because lwj looks at him worriedly. “wei ying, are you alright?”

“oh it’s nothing!” wwx says as brightly as he can, not knowing how obvious he looks. “i think i should go look at some necklaces or something, just in case, ya know?”
he goes to the back of the store, where other jewelry and watches are displayed. they’re considerably less pretty than the one he just saw, but at least he can afford these.

he’s lost in thought as he looks at them. he’s disappointed at himself because now he has to get some—
—thing different. jiejie would definitely love and appreciate anything he gives her, but he knows she’d adore that watch over anything else in this store.

“wei ying.”

wwx turns around and sees lwj standing behind him, holding a small bag... with the store’s logo on it.
a few seconds pass before he finally understands what’s going on.

“lan zhan, please tell me you didn’t buy that.”

lwj shrugs. “wei ying wanted it.”

wwx is having a very hard time not grabbing lwj by the shoulders and shaking him, because that was an INSANE amount of money! no!
“LAN ZHAN. oh my god!” wwx whispers, unfortunately not being able to shout in this quiet jewelry store. “i’m going to /kill/ you!”

“please do not kill me.” lwj deadpans, shoving the bag into wwx’s hands. “you will miss your sister’s birthday if you are charged for murder.”
“lan zhan, now is not the time to funny!” wwx digs into the bag and opens up the velvet box— it’s definitely the watch he wanted. then he picks up the receipt, looks at the numbers, and nearly screams at lwj.

“lan zhan, how am i going to repay you? you can’t just be buying—
—expensive ass watches like it’s a meal at mcdonald’s!”

“wei ying, you are being overdramatic.” lwj says calmly, despite the little curves forming at the ends of his mouth.
“stop /laughing/ at me lan zhan! i know you well enough now to know when you’re secretly laughing!” he fumbles with the receipt and stuffs it back into the bag, “i can’t— you— i have to repay you somehow...”

lwj shakes his head. “no need.”

“but—“
“if you really feel the need to, continue spreading time with me. i am already happy enough with only wei ying.”

oh.

oh. okay. /okay./ that made wwx feel a little... different.
“wei ying?” lwj asks, because wwx has suddenly frozen and stopped scolding him.

“no, no lan zhan. i really need to pay you back.” he says calmly, senses coming back to him. “i’m just your friend. you- you can’t be this nice to me.”
at this lwj’s eyes widen, and he puts a hand on wwx’s shoulder. “wei ying, wei ying i apologize if i overstepped any boundaries.”

“but you are more than a friend,” lwj’s thoughts say.
god. lwj is too nice to him. even with wwx not returning his feelings, lwj expects nothing and just wants to spoil him.

“no, no you didn’t.” wwx shakes his head, looking up at lwj. he’s just a little taller than wwx himself. “but please, just buy things i can afford?”
lwj nods, face serious. “mn, i will keep that in mind. i apologize, wei ying.”

“it’s fine lan zhan.” wwx says, lifting lwj’s hand off of his shoulders. he takes a deep breath before returning to his usual bright demeanor, as if needing to recharge himself.
“thanks though, really! i’m sure jiejie will love it!”

lwj is still visibly worried, quietly overlapping his thumbs on top of each other over and over again. this time wwx is the one to put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him.

“lan zhan, really it’s okay.”

“but wei ying—“
“i messed up.” lwj thinks.

“lan zhan, if you keep being sad i’ll be sad” wwx complains, taking two hands and slapping them onto lwj’s cheeks. he lifts lwj’s face to make sure their eyes meet.

“look at me properly, hm? if we don’t have a few bumps here and there, is this—
—really a friendship? we discussed it and made an agreement! i’m not mad at you so you shouldn’t be worried, alright?”

“ah. i. yes.” lwj stutters, and only then does wwx hear his thoughts ringing in his head.
“wei ying is touching me. i can see his eyes. they’re pretty. oh my god his lips. i can see his lips. no, i need to calm down. but they look so kissable, i— nononono—“

wwx pulls back quickly, blinking at lwj in shock. they stare at each other for a moment, both equally confused.
“ah— sorry, i didn’t mean to touch you!” wwx says when he has his brain back. he didn’t linger too long, did he?

“it— it’s alright.” lwj stammers. his ears and cheeks have turned red, and he looks the most stiff he ever has been around wwx.
“jiang cheng always says i’m too touchy,” wwx laughs, awkwardly sweeping some non-existent dust from his pants. “i should really stop that.”

“i don’t hate wei ying’s touch,” lwj says, looking down at the floor again. wow, look at those tiles huh? “it’s okay.”
wwx is mentally screaming. did lwj really just say that out loud? not that he minds, but in the middle of the store?? with people walking around???

“ahahaha,” wwx chuckles, feeling much more embarrassed than just five seconds ago. “ah. yeah, i guess. thanks lan zhan.”
“mn.” lwj says, looking like he wants to get out of this situation as much as wwx does. “yes... s-should we go now?”

wwx nods and they leave the store.
(that’s all for today! sorry for the long pauses in between, i was updating this during class haha)
fast forward to next week! it’s friday and wwx has gone to the jyl’s house for her birthday. it’s just a small gathering, since his jiejie had never liked very extravagant parties.
wwx recognizes almost everyone there. nhs, wq, wn, and mm are already there before him. jc had called wwx earlier screaming in panic because there was an accident on the highway and he was going to be late.
he doesn’t spot jyl anywhere near the cake or presents, so he runs over to the kitchen. sure enough, she’s there.

“a-xian! come here!” jyl says excitedly, signaling for a hug. wwx walks over and hugs her as gently as he can. his jie is in her third trimester of pregnancy—
—and it won’t be long until he has a baby nephew.

they talk for a while, just about normal stuff. work life, friends, and as always, jyl wants to talk about love. she’s disappointed when she finds there is nothing to talk about.
“no one at all a-xian?” she says, just the tiniest bit hopeful.

wwx laughs, “really, there’s no one jie! my life isn’t as interesting as you think.”

jyl sighs, “alright. being home all day is a little boring you know? i can’t wait for this baby to be born.”
“speaking of, where’s the peacock?” wwx asks. jzx and him have long stopped fighting seriously, but they still talk to each other the same. i mean, can you imagine calling jzx something respectable? much worse, jzx calling him something nice? wwx would cringe so much he’d die.
“oh, a-xuan js in the living room with his friend.”

wwx blinks. “he has friends?”

“a-xian,” jyl scolds. “why you don’t get some drinks for them, hm? maybe you’ll get along with a-xuan’s friend.”

“but jie, i don’t wanna!” he whines, never afraid to be a child around his sister.
jyl shakes his head and points to the entry of the kitchen, “you’ve made a pregnant lady angry, now you have to suffer the consequences.”

wwx knows she’s not serious because she’s still smiling, but will he ever deny his sister of anything? no.
so wwx goes out to where the drinks are, pleasantly surprised when he finds jzx with his friend. at least he won’t have to walk to the living room.

“hey there!” wwx says brightly, laying an arm on whoever jzx’s guest is. they’re facing away from him, so he can’t see their face.
“i heard jin zixuan had friends?” his brother-in-law scowls at him and tells him to take his arm off, but he ignores it. instead he turns to the other man,

“i couldn’t believe it, so i just had to find out who you are—“
then he sees it. perfectly structured face, plump lips, golden eyes. a wide-eyed expression he’s seen at least 3 times the last few weeks

“lan zhan?” wwx says, both horrified and shocked because:

1) lwj knows jzx?

2) they are FRIENDS. FRIENDS!
“wei ying.” lwj looks as surprised as he does. they stare at each other for a few seconds before jzx speaks, snapping them back to reality.

“you know each other?” jzx says, looking as horrified as wwx. he turns to lwj, “how in the hell do you know wei wuxian?”
“we are friends.” lwj says, like them all knowing each other is not the most shocking in the world. “wei ying is a coworker.”

“and how do you know jin zixuan?” wwx asks. these past few weeks have just been one surprise after another. why is he even shocked this happened?
“my family is familiar with the jins. we are childhood friends.”

now it’s wwx and jzx’s turn to stare at each other. they know they’re both questioning the same things , “like how did someone like you get along with lwj?” or “lwj puts up with /your/ bs?”
“wei ying, how do you know jin zixuan?” lwj asks, politely taking a sip of what wwx knows is definitely a juice of some kind. he remembers lwj scolding him for secretly bringing drinks at midnight on his first friday at work. he thought nobody was around, but apparently lwj was.
“he’s married to my sister.” wwx finally replies, the wheels in his head still struggling to turn. “we’re...”

“brother-in-laws.” jzx finishes.

“don’t call me that.” wwx cringes, even though he knows it’s the truth.

jzx throws his hands up, “what am i supposed to do! lie?”
“your sister is jiang yanli?” lwj says, voice hesitant. but there’s a clear question under his words.

“ah, i’m adopted! if you’re wondering about my name.” wwx says. he appreciates lwj for trying to being polite about it. most people just ask him like they deserve to know.
“i see.” lwj says. then seeming to think twice about the situation, “thank you for telling me.”

wwx laughs, only remembering that he’s leaning on lwj’s shoulder when he hears the familiar sound of lwj’s inner voice:

“... rude to wei ying. i should have thought about my words.”
“i’m gonna go find a-li.” jzx says, knowing that he’s obviously been kicked out of the situation.

wwx waves him off before moving to stand in front of lwj and picking out one of the cups from the alcohol table.
“lan zhan, you’re not stalking me are you?” he teases, grinning with joy. because look! lwj is here! his mood is boosted 1000%

lwj clears his throat, ears flushing red. wwx never gets sick of seeing it. “i am not. it is pure coincidence.”
“that is exactly what a stalker would say,” he jokes, gulping down a few sips from his cup. lwj frowns and he laughs, words passing through them even in silence.

“aiya lan zhan, don’t look at me like that! i drink like this all the time.” wwx says, amused.
lwj is still frowning. almost pouting, even. wwx finds it very cute. “please drink slower then.” he says.

“sure, sure, anything for my dear lan zhan.” wwx says, continuing to drink. not noticing lwj’s sharp inhale at his words. “let’s go sit down, hm?”
they sit down at the folding chairs in the corner of the room, not aware of all of the eyes staring and whispering at them.

it’s only then when wwx notices lwj’s outfit, and how gorgeously handsome he looks.
lwj hair is down as always, but it somehow looks even /better/ today. it looks like he might have curled the ends a bit. his loose-fitting blue blouse is very... um. seductive? if that doesn’t sound too weird for a friend to say, wwx thinks to himself.
there’s a triangle dip that’s showing some of his chest and not to mention the thin, white choker he’s wearing.

at this point wwx is /very/ aware of his bisexualness. but just— keeps staring.
he hears lwj say his name at least twice before he processes it and realizes he’s been staring for a little too long.

“oh.” wwx says, then laughs because he can’t think of any other way to make up an excuse to make this not awkward.
“wei ying?” lwj says, and then wwx realizes that he sounds like he’s either insane or is making fun of lwj, and says the first thing he can think of.

“can i see your choker?” he asks, then he immediately horrified by himself.
lwj doesn’t say anything, only staring back with wide eyes. wwx wishes that his mind reading powers somehow came with invincibility.

“um— sorry. that’s kind of weird of me to ask. i should just—“

“it’s fine.”

what?
“i’m sorry, what did you say?”

“you may look at it.” lwj says, already unclasping the back of his choker.

his neck makes wwx feel things that he knows he should /not/ be feeling about a friend. so he looks away until lwj plops the choker into his hand.
“thanks!” wwx says, panicking when he realizes how high pitched his voice. he fumbles with the choker and barely even registers how it feels, focused too much on what he should say.

“do you like it?” lwj asks. he sounds calm but wwx is too scared to look up and see his reaction.
(uhh i’m brb i’m very distracted rn 😭)
wwx is panicking. how does he make this not awkward? how does he relate chokers to the conversation?? what are chokers even used for—

“i heard chokers are a thing!” he says, instead of being able to be a logical thought.
lwj stares at him, confused. then his cheeks turn red and wwx knows he’s messed up, somehow, someway.

“are you... talking about the bdsm community?”

fuck. fuck, how does wwx always do this to himself.
wwx mentally slaps himself and laughs. because what else can he do? if he says no, lwj will be embarrassed and never talk to him again!

“uh, yeah. why do people like them?” then realizing how he might comes off, “oh, not judging or anything! i’m just. um. curious.”
lwj looks equally as nervous as him. maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to say “nevermind,” but it’s too late now.

wwx waves his hands frantically, “only if you’re okay with talking about to of course! sorry if i assumed too much!”

oh boy, he can feel his face burning.
lwj shakes his head, “it’s alright. i am.. familiar with these things.” his hands are politely in his laps, thumbs twiddling quietly as he gathers his words. “some people like the feeling of it. some simply think it’s something attractive. but in my personal—
—opinion, it is a statement from both parties that there is enough trust to allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other. the submissive is telling the dominant that they trust them enough to let them do whatever they want to the submissive, and vice versa.”
that... seems like quite a passionate relationship. as expected, lwj always has a way with his words. wwx isn’t really into this stuff himself, but maybe he’ll look it up later.

“that sounds romantic.” wwx says, calmer now that he is genuinely curious about the topic.
lwj nods. “mn, but not all are. some are sexual, others are completely platonic.”

“oh shit, really?” wwx finds this more interesting than he thought he would. “i guess people don’t really talk about the platonic part, huh?”

“yes,” lwj says. “unfortunately many do not know.”
wwx hums in understanding, resting his chin in his palm. he’ll probably be up until 3am reading about this, because once he gets interested in something he needs to know everything about it.

does lwj have a partner? he must, wwx thinks. lwj is handsome, beautiful, attentive—
—and his personality is wonderful. i mean, who wouldn’t want lwj?

so like an idiot he says,

“do you belong to anyone, lan zhan?”
wwx is horrified at himself for what seems like the fiftieth time tonight. he expects to see lwj’s face flush red as he stammers out an apology for stepping too far over their boundaries, but instead lwj looks... sad.
“unfortunately i do not.” lwj says. he’s even smiling as he says it, but wwx has been with him enough to know it’s completely fake.

“oh.” wwx says, because he doesn’t know what else he should say. “i see.”

fuck, that was definitely a touchy subject. he needs to say sorry.
“lan zhan, sorry did i—“

lwj gets up before he can even finish his sentence. “everything is alright. please excuse me, i have to use the restroom.”

and then he leaves. wwx sits there for 10, 15 minutes. then he gets a ding from his phone. when he checks it, it’s lan zhan.
“my brother called, it seems something came up at the cafe. please send my apologies to jiang yanli.”

wwx leans back on his chair and puts an arm over his eyes, sighing. he messed up. lwj didn’t even let him apologize.

i’m a fucking idiot, wwx says to himself.
then, he feels someone nudging him. he immediately gets up thinking it’s lwj, only to be disappointed.

“why are you all surrounding me? i know i’m hot, but you don’t— ow!” wwx gets cut off by a smack on the arm from wq. it doesn’t hurt at all, he just likes being dramatic.
“who was that?” jc asks, but it sounds more like a demand. everyone else nods along with his question, curious about the same thing.

“nice to see you too, jiang cheng.” wwx groans, then leans back into his chair. “lan zhan, he’s a co-worker. apparently he’s childhood—
—friends with the peacock. don’t look at me like that jiang cheng, lan zhan is nice! i have no idea how they became friends either!”

“i didn’t know you were friends with wangji-xiong!” nhs says, “that man doesn’t hang out with anyone.”

“what? you know him?” wwx asks.
nhs pulls out his fan and hides behind it, “he may be my da-ge’s husband’s brother.”

wwx nearly bolts out of his chair, “so you /do/ know him! why didn’t you say anything!”

“i may have wanted to gossip with everyone.” nhs replies, eyes looking to his side.
“asshole,” wwx mutters. nhs blows him a kiss, and he ignores it.

“okay but did you see the way he was looking at you?” mm says, sounding a lot like she does when she screams about her lesbian webtoons. “it’s so obvious he likes you!”
actually he does, wwx thinks.

“nah. besides i don’t even like lan zhan! we’re just friends!” wwx says, waving it off. and then he remembers that lwj just left and that may not be true now. “or maybe we’re not friends anymore.”
“damn right. did you see how he walked away? definitely not seeing him again.” wq says, arms crossed. wwx groans, because she’s probably right.

“what happened?” wn asks, because he is genuinely concerned and the best person out of their friend group.
“i love you wen ning, you’re the greatest friend.” wwx makes sure to say, ignoring everybody else’s protests. and then, “i just— i asked some things that might have been too personal. i think he got upset but was too nice to tell me off, and left.”
“yikes.” mm puts a hand on wwx’s shoulder and shakes her head, “good luck with that buddy.”

“doesn’t explain the choker in his hand though,” mm’s thoughts say.

wwx jolts in his chair and looks down at his lap. the choker is indeed in his hands.
“fuck, i can’t believe i kept his choker.”

jc scrunches his face, disgusted. “god, were you talking about sex? no wonder why he left!”

wwx is about to tell jc to shut up when nhs shuts his fan loudly, clearing his throat. everyone becomes quiet.
“thank you, i love the respect.” then he points to the choker with his fan, “i think you should go return that to him. use it as an excuse to apologize. maybe he’ll fall in love with you!”

“huaisang he is not going to fall for me just because—“ wwx shakes the thought off, not—
—wanting to entertain nhs any further. “i just think it’ll be awkward. what if he doesn’t want to see me?”

“doesn’t hurt to try.” wq says, picking out some dirt from under her nails. “better than trying to avoid each other at work all day, right?”
“i agree with a-jie.” wn says quietly, an apologetic smile on his face.

wwx thinks about it. lwj and him have gone through the same thing before. he had to stay extra hours because he couldn’t concentrate on his work. he really doesn’t want to stay up looking at numbers again.
“fine.” wwx says, and everyone but wq and jc enthusiastically cheer.

when that conversation finishes jyl and jzx come into the room, both carrying bowls of warm soup. jzx urges everyone to help and they all run to the kitchen. wwx spends the rest of the night thinking about lwj.
(i have to sleep now, see y’all in the morning! ❤️)
on sunday, wwx finally gets the courage to go to lwj’s apartment. he brings some of his jie’s soup because he doesn’t want to just stand around after giving lwj his choker back. plus, jyl made a vegetarian version just for him, but he left before he could even try it!
wwx rings the doorbell. at least three minutes pass and he’s fidgeting very nervously. he’s about to get up and leave when the door suddenly opens.

“wei ying?”
wwx lowers his head and immediately starts blabbering the speech he went over at least one hundred times last night. he pushes the soup and choker in front of him,

“lan zhan, i wanted to apologize. um, i brought some soup if—“
wwx stops talking when he looks up.

there are multiple purple bruises and bite marks all over lwj’s neck. wwx would just assume that he had a fun night, but his eyes are sunken and he’s wrapped in a thin blanket. he looks frail and fragile, as if he’s going to cry.
(lmao i’m sorry to leave you off here but i’ve got to get to class! be back in like an hour or so! 😅)
“lan zhan. lan zhan, what happened?”

lwj doesn’t even seem to register that wwx can see him until that moment. he steps back and nearly shuts the door when wwx stops him.

“i am fine.” lwj says, hiding himself behind the door. “you can leave.”
lwj tries to close to door, but wwx pulls on the handle harshly, keeping it open.

“wei ying, everything is fine.”

“lan zhan, you look like shit! i am not going to leave!” wwx protests. it’s only been one day, just what happened?

instead of going away, wwx steps inside.
wwx shuts the door. he has a feeling lwj won’t take care of himself even if wwx leaves.

“wei ying, you don’t—“ lwj says, but stops when wwx brushes a hand against his lips, flinching at the pain. he couldn’t see it earlier, but there’s a small scratch at the corner of his mouth.
“lan zhan, where’s your first aid kit?”wwx says gently, keep any of his anger from coming out of his voice. “i don’t know what happened, but it’s clear you’re not taking care of yourself.”

lwj can’t lie, wwx knows. so instead of arguing he tells wwx where it is.
wwx sits lwj down on his couch. when he notices that lwj is shivering, he asks if he has any blankets or a heater and brings them all over to the living room.
“you don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to.” wwx says, applying ointment to the lines around lwj’s wrists. he figures that lwj must have used ropes yesterday. “just— you’re not in danger are you?”

lwj shakes his head, “no.”
“then that’s all i need to know.” wwx sees a glimpse of the soup he set on the floor, and only then does he remember that it’s still early morning. “lan zhan, have you eaten?”

when lwj says no, wwx wraps his blankets tighter and sets the heater on the coffee table. he goes to—
—the kitchen and heats up the soup. he turns on the water boiler to make prepare some ginger tea. lwj always gives him a cup when he comes over and constantly lectures him about its health benefits, so he knows it’s good for bruises.
when everything finishes, wwx brings it all over to the living room. he gives lwj the mug of tea first, knowing that it’s not as hot as the soup. he doesn’t think it’s right to get in his phone, so instead sits on the other couch, waiting to see if lwj needs anything else.
“a scene.”

“hm?” wwx asks, not understanding.

“a bdsm scene. i met someone on saturday, the day after the party.” lwj grips his mug, nervous. “everything was consensual, but...”

wwx says nothing, heart beating fast. he’s not sure he’s allowed to know about this, considering—
—what happened on friday. but he doesn’t want to interrupt lwj either.

“there is something called aftercare in bdsm. if the dominant doesn’t do it or does it poorly, it can affect the submissive’s mental and physical health.”
wwx’s eyes widen, “and that asshole didn’t?” he was already angry before, but now he’s furious.

lwj shakes his head.

“they did. but it was not... enough. for the type of things we did.” he takes another sip of his tea before continuing, “they gave me some food and left before—
—i fully recovered. i didn’t realize they had gone and woke up alone, this morning. i... did not react well.”
“that’s...” wwx doesn’t know how to respond. people are allowed to have their own fun, he understands that. but how could you just leave like nothing happened? and after leaving so many scratches and bruises on someone?

the room is silent.
“i apologize.” lwj says. wwx notices that his hands are shaking. “i didn’t want to burden you.”

wwx walks over and kneels next to the couch, putting his own hands on top of lwj’s. “there’s nothing to apologize for. i’m doing this because i want to, okay? do you need anything?”
“need?” lwj asks. he seems a little scared, somehow.

wwx gulps nervously. “for the— um, aftercare. i don’t know anything about this at all. but i’ll try my best.”

“wei ying...”
“only if you want to, though!” wwx backtracks, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. “if you tell me to go i’ll go, but i also just... really don’t want you to be alone.”

lwj states at him for a while, and then wwx hears his thoughts.

“i love him so much.”
wwx feels guilt growing in his chest. he does not love lwj the same way lwj does him.

“i have not taken a bath since yesterday.” lwj says, snapping him out of his thoughts. “if that is okay with you.”
“ah— yeah. yeah, i’ll just go and prepare the bath for you.” wwx says, getting up from the floor. “is there anything else you need?”

“there is a bag of epsom salt in the cabinet. it helps with soreness and bruises.”
“cool. i’ll be right back, then.” wwx says, then starts walking toward the bathroom.

“um. wei ying.”

wwx stops and turns around, “hm?”

lwj’s ears have turned red again. wwx adores any moment he can see him being shy. “thank you.”

“no problem.” wwx smiles, then goes off.
(that’s all for now! i might update later tonight but i’m not sure yet 🤣)
fast forward to the next two weeks.

their office is extremely busy. apparently someone messed up and they ended up sending one of their partner companies the wrong data for some very vital information, and now everything is a mess.
wwx’s workload is a little bigger, but not anything that he can’t handle.

lwj on the other hand, is extremely stressed out.
lwj is one of the employees that their boss depends on, so a lot of ppl come to him if they can’t get help from their boss. but not only that, the person lwj worked with is also the one who messed up all their information and caused their department to spiral.
the entire thing doesn’t stop until the end of the week, and everyone is incredibly exhausted.

wwx and lwj are walking to the train station, both desperate to just go home and relax. lwj looks especially tired, and it worries wwx a bit.
“so, what are you doing after hell week?” wwx asks, trying to sound funny. he doesn’t really know what to do, all he knows he is wants lwj to go home with at least one smile.

instead, lwj just groans and rubs his eyes. he’s so worn out even his always perfect posture is gone.
“gonna go under. i need it.” lwj mumbles.

“ah.”

wwx has been reading up on bdsm ever since what happened at lwj’s house. he had been very fascinated by the topic, and lwj was willing to tell him a lot more about it. they’ve gotten to a point where they openly—
—talk about it. wwx thinks that he wants to try it out with someone, one day. probably someone he dates, if he ever gets to that point.

“are you gonna go out and find someone again?...” wwx asks, hesitant.
okay. it’s not that wwx thinks that lwj is incapable of finding someone safe to play with. the partner that lwj had 2 weeks ago just happened to be a terrible person. however, that doesn’t mean that he’s /not/ worried about lwj. who doesn’t worry about their friend?!
lwj shakes his head, “no... ‘m gonna try by myself.”

he almost sounds like a child before his bedtime. wwx finds it a little endearing to see lwj without all of his manners and perfection.

“yourself?” wwx asks, because he hasn’t exactly read about that yet. “that’s possible?”
“mn. it’s possible.” lwj replies, blinking a little to keep himself awake. “it is a little hard to fall into it by myself, but i do not wish to find a partner this weekend either. too much thinking.”

wwx nods in understanding. he gets it. he’s gone a few dates before, but—
—just getting those dates took a ton of effort. he’s pretty good looking so that helps the process. but having to set up a time and place? having to think about what they’re going to do? having to be entertaining? yeah, it’s definitely a lot of work.
then, he has a thought.

what if lwj can’t slip under by himself? what if he just stresses out more? what he doesn’t like it too much when lwj meets other people for these kinds of things, but what if he needs to? he can’t blame lwj for wanting to, i mean—
wwx’s brain spirals into a tornado of questions and thoughts. lwj is tired but is still able to notice that somethings off, and asks what’s wrong.

instead of saying he’s fine, the first thing that comes out of his mouth is,

“do you want me to help?”
lwj just blinks at him, and wwx is horrified at himself.

“what do you mean?” lwj asks immediately, not even giving wwx any time to respond back.

wwx should punch himself in the face, he really should.

“ah, no, just— just ignore me lan zhan! i’m just being stupid...”
“wei ying is not stupid. unless you choose to not tell me what you meant. because we will have misunderstandings and then i will end up considering the possibility.”

“lan zhan you’re so cruel!” wwx whines and stuffs his him face into his hands. it’s silent for a moment before—
—he sighs and finally gives in. lwj is staring at him intensely, waiting for wwx to gather his thoughts.

“i don’t know. you— you said that it’s rare for you. and i saw firsthand how stressed out you were and i don’t want you to strain yourself more. so i just thought...”
“wei ying. are you asking to dom me?”

wwx squeaks, feeling his face heat up. “lan zhan, oh my god! don’t say it so loudly, someone could hear you!”

lwj ignores him. “wei ying, am i right?”

wwx hides his face again. he is embarrassed, so embarrassed. his brain is so shitty.
“i mean... i guess, yeah? i just want to. um. take care of you, lan zhan. if that doesn’t sound too weird. it’s not like i don’t trust you to handle yourself or anything. but i just saw how you were last time, and with how stressed you were this week i just... you know.”
you know? you know?? i’m so lame, i suck at this, wwx thinks.

“lan zhan, if this makes you uncomfortable i—“

“it’s fine...” lwj finally says, making wwx look at him. he’s rubbing one of his arms nervously, “i- i believe it would help me immensely, if you were willing to do so.”
wwx gulps.

“really? please be honest with me, lan zhan. i’m an idiot and don’t know if you’re lying or not.”

lwj shakes his head. “no, wei ying is smart. and yes, i was being honest.”
they get to lwj’s house is wwx is feeling /very/ nervous. he’s read a lot about bdsm these past few weeks. he’s learned about pre and post scene procedures, being safe with toys, the traffic light system—hell, he even bought a few ropes to practice bondage on his legs. but he—
—doesn’t know what lwj is going to ask from him. he’s going for his best no matter what, but only worries that his work isn’t going to satisfactory.

“what do you want lan zhan?” wwx asks, fidgeting a little with his hands.
lwj’s ears turn red at the question. and only then does wwx realize just how that question could be interpreted.

“i have some rope.” lwj answers, a little quiet and shy. “i would my ankles and wrists to be tied up. and...”
“and?” wwx’s heart is beating so fast he thinks it might explode.

“if it is alright with you...” lwj is looking at the ground, cheeks dusted with small tints of pinky “i like being restrained as i sit in someone’s lap. i would like to do nothing but that, today.”
a wave of relief passes through wwx’s body. thank god.

so, wwx thinks about lwj’s request.

then his face heats up when he realizes that he likes the idea /a lot./ he’s imagining a quiet room, darks lights— imagining the peaceful feeling of lwj resting his head on his chest.
“okay.” wwx says when he finally remembers to speak. “is there anything else?”

lwj nods, “i would also like to use my blindfold. i find that it helps a lot.”
“okay, cool.” oh boy, is wwx actually about do this? “anything i need to know beforehand? i’ve read that it’s better for you to relax before we start. oh, and your safeword...”

“i will take a shower, first. then we can discuss more. my safe word is bunny. please help—
—yourself to anything in my fridge.” lwj says, and scurries off to his bathroom. wwx catches a glimpse of his ears and notices that they’re even redder when as he leaves.

he sits on the living room couch and waits for lwj to come back.
about 30 minutes later, lwj comes out of the bathroom dressed in light blue pajamas. with him he’s brought a black blindfold, a comb and hairdryer.

he explains to wwx that he likes to have his hair combed before starting a scene. he says he brought the hairdryer because he—
—doesn’t want to get wwx wet with his hair, but also because he finds the heat blowing on him soothing.

lwj sets himself on the carpet as wwx sits in the couch and combs through his black locks, admiring how pretty they are.
they discuss about what’s going to happen as the hairdryer quietly hums in the background.

“lan zhan, are you ready?” wwx asks when lwj’s hair is completely dry.

lwj turns around and nods, “mn.”

lwj looks much more relaxed already, wwx notices. it makes him happy, somehow.
“safe word?” wwx is aware that lwj is already knows it, but he asks anyway. he wants lwj to feel safe, even it means repeating information again and again.

“bunny.” lwj replies.

wwx smiles. lwj sounds a little cute saying those words. “okay, good.”
wwx sets lwj in his lap, and picks up the the black blindfold. he wraps it around lwj’s eyes gently, asking if it’s comfortable enough for him. lwj nods.

then he picks up the soft, blue rope and starts to tie it around lwj’s slim wrists. he makes an effort to tell lwj—
—everything he’s doing. he tells lwj when he’s wrapping the rope around his wrists and ankles, when he’s tying up the ends.

“is this comfortable?” wwx slips a finger under them to make sure they’re loose enough. wwx is still not too good at it, but he’s definitely tied—
—rope many times these past few weeks. he saw a few binding patterns, watch some tutorials and thought they were pretty. even if he might be doing a bad jobs with aesthetics right, but it’s okay. all he needs to do is make sure that the bindings aren’t too tight on lwj’s skin.
“mn.” lwj replies.

“alright.” wwx says, then leans back into the couch. “you can lay on me if you want, i don’t mind. i’ll be right where the entire time, okay?”

lwj nods and rests his head on wwx’s chest, allowing himself to slowly slip under.
the room is dark, silent and possibly the most peaceful thing wwx has experienced since the beginning of this week. he is exactly sure how much time passes. he’s completely focused on lwj, who is relaxed in his arms, breath matching with each rise and fall of his own chest.
lwj is calm most of the time, but he’s always running around and doing something, whether it’s work or reading a book or practicing yoga; it’s nice to see lwj unwind for once. wwx can’t even hear any of his inner thoughts right now.
when lwj comes back, he lifts his head and shuffles against the restraints.

“wei ying?”

“i’m here.” wwx says, trying to make his voice sound as gentle as he can. “are you ready to come back yet?”

it takes a little before lwj finally answers him with a little nod of the head.
wwx undos the little blue knots as slowly and carefully as he can, not wanting to irritate lwj’s skin any further. he takes some of the ointment from a little jar and presses it onto the lines circling lwj’s wrists and ankles, whispering soft praises to him.
“i’m going to take off your blindfold now. is that okay?”

lwj nods.

wwx unties it the black cloth with a light and deliberate touch, smiling when he sees lwj again. his eyes are still shut, and he only opens them when he realizes that it’s off of his face.
“hey there, welcome back. how are you feeling?” wwx asks.

suddenly lwj’s face forms into a little, goofy smile. his face is slightly lit up by the moonlight from the window, and he laughs. “good. thank you.”
lwj’s expression completely throws wwx off, and he immediately can feel and /hear/ his heart pounding. what? what...

“wanna sleep.” lwj says, and snaps him from his thoughts.

wwx nods, “of course. let’s go then?”
wwx brings lwj to his bedroom and quietly tucks him into his sheets.

lwj says to sleep next to him, in the bed. wwx isn’t sure he should, but he also knows that he shouldn’t leave lwj alone.
so, wwx complies with his wishes. lwj leans into his chest and snuggles himself there. wwx can feel his heart beating faster, likes it’s a ticking time bomb. he feels scared, somehow.

he stares at the ceiling, stuck in thought.

and then he realizes it.

he is in love with lwj.
(it’s literally midnight here so i’m gonna go to sleep before i miss class tomorrow haha 😭✌️i’ll reply to all of you guys tomorrow, hope you enjoyed this update!)
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