Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian’s excitement could barely be contained after he had accidentally glanced at that email that had sent both himself and Lan Wangji into a fit of giggles. In the days following that night, Wei Wuxian often found himself peeking at Lan Wangji out of the corner of his eye, wondering if he would be able to catch his boyfriend with that small box that would be recognizable to anyone. Wei Wuxian never did catch him, Lan Wangji was much too careful after his initial slip up to let any more clues drop.
But Wei Wuxian was Wei Wuxian. Curiousity bubbled just beneath the surface, barely contained, and so he couldn't help himself as he began his one-sided game.
"Hot or cold, Lan Zhan?" He would call out loudly from random spots around their shared apartment. Every time, Lan Zhan had simply sighed, shaking his head. "Does that mean hot or cold?" Wei Wuxian presses, hands itching to search through their belongings but holding himself back because he wasn't that cruel to ruin Lan Wangji's surprise. In fact, he was enjoying himself, watching Lan Wangji squirm as the latter tried to keep his plans under wraps, even as his ears tinged with a soft red that showed his nervousness.
"Mn." Every time, Lan Wangji refused to respond with an actual answer, only replying with curt sounds, because he knew Wei Wuxian would latch onto anything he said and would pester him until Lan Wangji would ultimately crack and give Wei Wuxian everything he wanted on the spot. But Lan Wangji wanted to give Wei Wuxian a proper proposal, only befitting for the one he loved, and who loved him in return.
Lan Wangji approached his older brother soon after the email incident, panicking at the thought that Wei Wuxian had found out about the ring so soon. From Wei Wuxian's visible excitement, it seemed that there was no rejection to be feared. But now that Wei Wuxian knew that a proposal was on the way, Lan Wangji felt all the more pressure to make it one that was perfect. He could not afford to disappoint Wei Wuxian with a mediocre proposal. Lan Xichen was not yet married himself, but Lan Wangji was sure that his brother was much more charming than himself and would have some useful suggestions that he could use.
And he did. Lan Xichen gave him plenty of advice; ranging from a candlelit dinner at Wei Wuxian's favourite restaurant, or taking Wei Wuxian on an island getaway where there would only be them and nobody else, or even perhaps a special dinner at home where Lan Wangji could cook all of Wei Wuxian's favourite dishes. But none really fit with the idea of what he imagined his proposal to Wei Wuxian would be, even if Lan Wangji could not yet articulate precisely what he wanted to do. Wei Wuxian's favourite restaurant was nothing fancy; yes, they served the spiciest noodles in town that made even Wei Wuxian sniffle in delight, but it was a place that they frequented often and just not special enough for what Lan Wangji had in mind. As tempting as an island getaway sounded, only himself and Wei Wuxian away from the rest of civilization, it wasn't really their thing. Lan Wangji wanted the proposal to be special, but he also wanted to do it at a place with memories of their time together. And as for Lan Wangji cooking Wei Wuxian's favourite food, well, he already does that every single day; it would not be anything different from their current routine.
He had thanked his brother, but Lan Xichen seemed to understand his younger brother's inner conflicts.
"Wangji, these are merely suggestions from an outsider," Lan Xichen says with a chuckle, a glimmer in his eyes. "You know best what is meaningful to both yourself and Wei Wuxian, better than anything that anyone else could suggest," he adds, patting his brother on the shoulder.
"Thank you, brother." Lan Wangji lets out a small sigh. "I just want to make this perfect, especially since, well, Wei Ying already knows I'm planning to propose…" His brother had laughed when Lan Wangji first told him the story, before quickly muffling his laughter after noticing Lan Wangji's embarrassed expression.
"From your description of his reaction, I'm sure he'll be pleased regardless of how or when; as long as you end up engaged by the end of it," assures Lan Xichen. “And I’m sure when the moment comes, you’ll know.”
A few weeks pass, and Wei Wuxian has not given up trying to get Lan Wangji to play the ‘Hot or Cold’ game with him, although the frequency at which he brought it up lessened to every few days (Lan Wangji knows by the third week that Wei Wuxian would bring it up every Tuesday and Friday, the two days that he would have lunch with his older sister and younger brother, and so his excitement would be rekindled after spending an afternoon with his closest family).
It was on one of these Tuesdays that Lan Wangji, after replying with his usual non-committal ‘Mn’, had an inkling of how he wanted to propose to his boyfriend. Just like that fateful night, Wei Wuxian was lying down with his head resting on Lan Wangji’s lap. Wei Wuxian was scrolling through Instagram, as he often does after dinner, and Lan Wangji had a book in his hands. He peers over the top of his book to look at Wei Wuxian, who had a smile on his face as he watches something on his phone. Wei Wuxian, noticing his boyfriend’s gaze, turned the phone screen to face him, showing him what had been making him smile.
“Lan Zhan, look! A-Ling has been growing up so fast, Jiejie has been posting so many videos of him taking his first steps! Doesn’t he look so adorable, waddling around like that?”
“Cute,” Lan Zhan replies as he looks straight into Wei Wuxian’s eyes.
“Are you talking about A-Ling, or are you talking about me?” Wei Wuxian teases, giggling when Lan Wangji leans down to kiss his forehead as his answer. As Lan Wangji leans back up, Wei Wuxian goes back to his phone, continuing to coo over the many photos and videos of Jin Ling courtesy of his older sister.
This, Lan Wangji thinks. These were the moments where Lan Wangji felt as if his heart would fly out of his chest, right into Wei Wuxian’s arms. The small moments that were part of their everyday routine, and yet it was those moments that were only theirs to share.
They didn’t need anything extravagant to commemorate the proposal because this, their relationship, was what was special. Lan Wangji almost proposed right there and then, overcome with the sudden revelation; but he held himself back. Thinking back over how this had all started, he was hit with a sudden inspiration. Considering that the coming Thursday would also be their anniversary, he supposed there was no other time he would want to propose to Wei Wuxian. So, Lan Wangji began his preparations, smiling softly to himself as he thought of what was to come.
“Hot or cold?” Wei Wuxian asks, flopping down onto the couch as Lan Zhan stood in the kitchen finishing up washing the dishes. Their dinner had consisted of the usual dishes, all of Wei Wuxian’s favourites, but tonight they (or at least Wei Wuxian had) indulged in a bottle of Emperor’s smile to celebrate their anniversary, lights in the apartment dimmed as a scented candle was lit in the centre of their dining table.
“Cold,” Lan Wangji replies, looking over his shoulder at Wei Wuxian, who jumped up from the couch like an excited puppy.
“Wait, you’re letting me guess today? Does that mean...” Wei Wuxian’s expression is full of glee, although he’s biting his bottom lip nervously, and Lan Wangji can’t help the fond smile on his face as he nods. Lan Wangji dries his hands using a towel after finishing the last of the dishes, and sits down at the dining table.
“Three guesses, then I’ll give you a clue,” says Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian immediately runs off their bedroom.
“Hot or cold?” Wei Wuxian asks, peeking his head out of the bedroom, looking expectantly at Lan Wangji.
“Cold.” Wei Wuxian hums contemplatively, then darts into Lan Wangji’s office.
“Hot or cold?” he asks again, bouncing on the heels of his feet.
“Still cold.” Wei Wuxian whines, furrowing his eyebrows as he thinks of where Lan Wangji could have hidden the rings. Running out of ideas - their apartment was not that large - Wei Wuxian steps back out into their lounge.
“Hot or cold?” he asks for the third time, eyes darting around to see where the small box he was expecting could be.
“Warmer,” answers Lan Wangji, “but still quite far,” he adds with a light laugh. Wei Wuxian huffs, crossing his arms at having been defeated. “Time for your clue.” Wei Wuxian waits expectantly, raising his eyebrows at his boyfriend. “They are where I promise to keep Wei Ying forever.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes widen at the implications of that sentence, and he splutters as his brain tries to process what his boyfriend had just said. Wei Wuxian takes a step closer to Lan Wangji, pausing.
“Warmer,” murmurs Lan Wangji, maintaining eye contact with Wei Wuxian as the other takes another step forwards. With every step that Wei Wuxian takes towards Lan Wangji, the latter utters a single ‘warmer’; until Wei Wuxian ends up right in front of Lan Wangji, holding his breath as Lan Wangji wraps his arms around him.
As Wei Wuxian is pressed against Lan Wangji, his hands come up to rest on his chest and Wei Wuxian can’t stop the gasp that leaves his lips. His right hand, which was resting on top of the pocket on the left hand side of Lan Wangji’s shirt, feels the touch of two rings. He looks up at Lan Wangji, who is smiling so sweetly at him, and he feels his cheeks warm.
“Forever in my arms, beside my heart,” Lan Wangji whispers into his ear, taking a step back and pulling out the rings from his shirt pocket. Lan Wangji drops to one knee, holding one of the rings in his fingers. “Wei Ying, my love, will you marry me?”
Wei Wuxian finds that his vision blurs slightly as unshed tears, happy tears, collect in the corners of his eyes. “Yes,” he manages to utter, “yes, of course, I will marry you, Lan Zhan, my love.” Lan Wangji breathes out a sigh of relief, slipping the ring onto Wei Wuxian’s ring finger on his left hand, placing a chaste kiss on top before he rises to take Wei Wuxian in his arms once more.
They spend the next few minutes in each other’s embrace. Wei Wuxian tries to compose himself, although he can feel Lan Wangji in his arms also trying to steady his breathing. Once he feels his vision clear, the extra moisture in eyes gone, he lifts his head from Lan Wangji’s shoulder, resting his forehead on the other’s.
“Lan Zhan, you should warn me next time you’re going to be all romantic,” he mutters, pouting his lips in a mock frown. “My poor heart won’t last long if I keep getting surprises like this!” Lan Wangji merely chuckles in response, pulling back to place another kiss on Wei Wuxian’s forehead.
“Thank you, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji breathes again Wei Wuxian’s skin.
“Why are you thanking me? I should be thanking you!” countered Wei Wuxian, shaking his head. “You prepared the rings- oh! I haven’t put on your ring!” Wei Wuxian removes himself from Lan Wangji’s embrace, extending his right hand to ask for Lan Wangji’s ring. Before putting it on his boyfriend- no, his fiancé, he examines the ring that Lan Wangji had chosen for them. They were both a simple silver band, with something inscribed on the inside. He turns it so that he can see exactly what was written, and his lips stretch into a wide smile upon seeing the word ‘WangXian’ engraved.
Satisfied, he finally looks at Lan Wangji, dropping to one knee as the other had done. Lan Wangji lifted his left hand up to meet Wei Wuxian’s hand, allowing the latter to slip on the ring onto his ring finger. Wei Wuxian followed Lan Wangji’s example and kissed his hand, above the ring. He stands to find himself in Lan Wangji’s embrace once more.
"Time for bed," Lan Wangji murmurs against his lips and Wei Wuxian giggles as he wraps his arms around Lan Wangji's shoulders. It was just like all those weeks ago when the email was first accidentally revealed, but this time, things were different despite being familiar.
"Only if you carry me." Wei Wuxian laughed as Lan Wangji effortlessly carries him to their bedroom in bridal style, snuggling his head into the crook of Lan Wangji's neck. It was tonight, and the proposal that Lan Wangji had planned was so perfect, something that was uniquely theirs; and Wei Wuxian had said yes, and he no longer had to wait for the day Lan Wangji would become his fiancé and he Lan Wangji’s. All that was left was to wait for the day that Lan Wangji would become his husband, and he Lan Wangji’s.