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Lan Wangji was not someone who used pet names often. It was just something that didn't happen often, a rare occurrence. When asked by Wei Wuxian why he never used pet names for him, since unlike the stoic man, the other would use disgustingly sweet pet names like “honeybun” and “sweetie” that made his friends gag, he was answered with a very serious, “Wei Ying’s name is better.” Wei Wuxian quickly combusted and yelled at his boyfriend for not warning him, again, before saying something romantic.
But when Lan Wangji does decide to use pet names, they’re usually few and far between as well as loving and sappy, like “my dear” or “love” and whispered to Wei Wuxian in a soft, fond voice, as if it were only for him to hear. Affection always bursts in the smaller’s chest, spreading warmth throughout his body and he always jumps into his boyfriend’s arms, peppering his cute, impassive face with kisses and makes sure to lean back and watch as the taller's ears bloom crimson.
So when Lan Wangji first says it, no one can blame Wei Wuxian’s surprise.
Sunshine spills onto the wooden floor as cars outside their apartment drive by and it’s a rare day off for the both of them. Wei Wuxian’s lazing on the couch, humming to himself contentedly when Lan Wangji comes out of the kitchen from where he was preparing their lunch for the day.
Noticing his presence, Wei Wuxian sits up to look at his boyfriend, calling out a happy, “Lan Zhan! Is lunch almost ready?” to which the other responds with an affectionate, “Mn.”
“Can you help me set up the table?” he asks and Wei Wuxian gives him a blinding smile and an, “Of course!” before proceeding to get up off the couch and make his way to the kitchen.
Then it happens. Lan Wangji nods and turns back to walk back to the kitchen to finish up the food, and it’s quiet but Wei Wuxian hears loud and clear, after all these years of having his ears finely tuned to his boyfriend's voice.
It’s a small, “Thank you...babe,” and the pet name seems to be tacked on, almost like an afterthought, especially with how quietly Lan Wangji says it and how his ears glow red but it’s there all the same.
And Wei Wuxian promptly trips over his own feet after hearing it, letting out a small, “Ah!” as he falls.
With his ever present sixth sense of always knowing whenever his boyfriend needs help, Lan Wangji turns around and makes quick steps across the living room to catch Wei Wuxian before he face plants onto the ground, all in one smooth, graceful motion. Feeling strong arms wrapped around him safely, Wei Wuxian slowly opens his eyes to face his boyfriend, who has a look of concern on his beautiful, beautiful face.
“Wei Ying. Are you alright?” Lan Wangji asks, but all Wei Wuxian’s traitorous mind can do is replay the sound of Lan Wangji’s deep voice calling him “babe” over and over again. The more he thinks about it, the more he feels his face flush red. Words don’t seem to be able to come out, lodged in his throat as he swallows, heart racing.
He feels the familiar feeling of affection bursting in Wei Wuxian’s chest whenever the other calls him a pet name but the feeling of heat searing through him, not unlike the feeling he feels when Lan Wangji brushes fingers over his waist and presses hot kisses to his skin as he makes it his life's mission to make Wei Wuxian fall apart, that accompanies it is definitely not familiar, at least not in this context. There’s no way, he thinks, slightly panicked, there’s absolutely no way I’m getting turned on by Lan Zhan calling me “babe” of all things, right?
However, the feeling of strong arms around him as well as the clear view he has of Lan Wangji’s chest as the taut muscles shift whenever his boyfriend moves makes his mouth run dry and all the denials he has in his head flies straight out. His eyes quickly snap up to focus on his boyfriend’s face instead, and he notices with the look of worry the other still has on and Wei Wuxian remembers he still hasn’t responded to the question.
“Wei Ying. Are you alright?” Lan Wangji repeats his question, face still slightly pinched in concern as his golden eyes scan Wei Wuxian face, “Your face is red. Are you sick?”
With that, Wei Wuxian finally steadies himself and stands up properly, moving away from Lan Wangji’s hold, “I’m fine, Lan Zhan! Just a little surprised,” voice pitched a little high and he sees the taller look at him in confusion, “By you calling me 'babe!' It was, uh, really unexpected!”
“Does Wei Ying not like it?” Lan Wangji asks and his face falls minisculely, barely noticeable, but Wei Wuxian has spent enough time learning Lan Zhan’s expressions to know it’s sadness that his boyfriend feels, probably from the idea that Wei Ying might not like being called that. Even though it’s very much the opposite. He likes it. Maybe a little too much.
Wei Wuxian makes that much known, “No! Not at all!” and Lan Wangji’s face falls even more, before the shorter hastily explains himself, “I’m meant I don’t mind! You know, being called 'babe!' In fact, I really like it!” he lets out a strained laugh and god is Wei Wuxian is an idiot because yes, he likes it but now that he’s said that, there’s no doubt Lan Wangji will say it again because Wei Wuxian's just said he likes it and damn that perfect man and how he always tries to make Wei Wuxian happy. And if he calls him "babe" again Wei Wuxian can’t guarantee that that searing feeling of desire won’t flare up again.
But he chooses not to think about it too much, at least not right not because his stomach growls right when Lan Wangji responds with a “Mn,” and he sees his boyfriend’s usual frosty expression thaw into something softer and warmer before he takes his hand and leads them to the lunch waiting for them in the kitchen.
The incident gets swept under the rug for a couple of weeks, long enough for Wei Wuxian to almost forget it ever even happened. But, of course, the world has always been against him because on a Thursday night, and when Lan Wangji finally comes home from his work and back to a waiting Wei Wuxian who got off work himself a few hours ago, it happens, again.
It all starts off innocently with Wei Wuxian running up to his boyfriend, happily calling out a, “Lan Zhan!” before jumping and wrapping his arms around his sturdy boyfriends neck and breathing in his familiar sandalwood scent that reminds him of home. Lan Wangji’s arms instinctively come up to wrap around Wei Wuxian’s waist to steady him as well as pull him closer, chest against chest, and he presses his face into his shorter boyfriend’s neck.
“Welcome back, Lan Zhan! I missed you!” he exclaims, even though they saw each other in the morning as they were both getting ready for work.
Lan Wangji doesn’t seem bothered by the fact as he replies earnestly, “Mn. Missed you, too,” in a quiet voice. Wei Wuxian feels his smile grow bigger, snuggling closer, content with being in his love’s arms before everything gets shattered when he hears a quiet, “Babe,” just two seconds after.
Just like that, the warm, innocent feeling in Wei Ying is replaced with fiery hot desire, and really, he shouldn’t be this affected just by being called a pet name, but, god, he is.
At least this time he can lean back from the hug before tightening the arms he has around the other’s neck to drag him into a heated kiss, licking into Lan Wangji’s mouth with enthusiasm, without much suspicion.
And by the way Lan Wangji responds with the same amount of enthusiasm, if not more, Wei Wuxian can safely say he still hasn’t been caught. Any thought of the pet name quickly flies out his head when Lan Wangji moves his hands down his sides to Wei Wuxian’s thighs, caressing them before hauling the smaller boy up and carrying him to their bedroom.
It becomes a thing after that, much to Wei Wuxian’s dismay. Not a frequent thing but enough to bother him. It’s not that he doesn’t like it, that’s not the problem. The problem lies in the way his body reacts every time he gets called it, arousal always stirring up within him.
He really shouldn’t be this affected but he is because it’s just so unexpected for Lan Wangji to use it. He doesn’t use pet names much in general and that added to the fact that out of every pet name he could’ve gotten fond of using, he chose to get attached to the one that's so unlike him and makes Wei Wuxian react like that is just. Not working well with Wei Wuxian. More specifically, his body.
Being called the other pet names Lan Wangji seldom uses like “love” or “my dear” would be much better in Wei Wuxian opinion. At least all it does is make him sappy and mushy and want to pinch his boyfriend’s cheeks and press kisses all over his face and not make him want to jump his boyfriend like how “babe” makes him want to do. There's just something about it that turns him on.
Lan Wangji seems oblivious to the effects of him using “babe” too, always a little confused as to why Wei Wuxian’s face flares bright red and goes a little breathless whenever he uses it. Or, that’s what it seemed like for maybe the first few months of it’s usage.
But right now, it doesn’t seem like the case anymore. Especially at this moment, with Wei Wuxian’s back pressed against their front door, the two back from a little date, and with Lan Wangji nosing at his neck and pressing soft kisses every once in a while. The hands clutching the lapels of Lan Wangji’s jacket tighten and the fingers pressed to Wei Wuxian’s hips seem to burn his skin.
The smaller gasps as his boyfriend lightly bites the skin on his neck before soothing it over with a lick, repeating the action before muttering out, in a husky voice, “Babe,” and Wei Wuxian feels the burn at his hips erupt and flood his entire body and he lets out a sound that’s something in between a whimper and a moan.
Lan Wangji hums in appreciation at the sound and says it again and Wei Wuxian squirms, white hot arousal scorching through him. He feels lightheaded. But, somewhere in the back of his mind, through all the arousal, he realizes that there’s no way Lan Wangji would just say it like that, especially not that often if he didn’t know. The thought quickly makes Wei Wuxian push his boyfriend back, not harshly, just enough so he can properly face him, and then he blurts out, “You knew didn’t you?”
Face carefully blank, Lan Wangji is silent for a few seconds before his golden eyes seem to sparkle with amusement and his mouth twitches up into a barely there smile, hands skimming under Wei Wuxian's shirt, and he responds, “Know what?”
Holy fuck, Wei Wuxian thinks because that look alone is already enough to confirm his suspicions that his boyfriend knew. Like, knew that the pet name “babe” did things to him. For how long he knew, Wei Wuxian has no clue.
“How long,” Wei Wuxian starts before he takes a deep breath because he’s still a little dizzy from arousal and the very obvious erection pressed against his hip is not helping, “How long have you known?” he asks bluntly.
The look of amusement does not leave Lan Wangji’s eyes as he tilts his head just the slightest, feigning confusion, “Know what?” he repeats and when the fuck did Lan Wangji learn how to tease like this. Wei Wuxian must be rubbing off on him, just like how Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen, and literally all their friends say.
He’s never cursed his own teasing, playful personality this much until this very moment. He bites his lip, not sure if he should respond truthfully but by the looks of it, Lan Wangji isn’t going to let up the act unless he says it outright. So he swallows his pride, which is a lot, mind you, and bites it out, “Th-that- You know,” and Lan Wangji still isn’t saying anything so he hisses out, “ That having you call me 'babe' turns me on. ” Wei Wuxian has never been more embarrassed in his life.
Seeming to catch on to how close to imploding Wei Wuxian is, Lan Wangji’s face starts to soften and he seems to have mercy on his boyfriend when he responds honestly, “Two weeks.”
Suddenly several scenarios flash through Wei Wuxian’s mind all from the past few weeks, where Lan Wangji called him “babe” and Wei Wuxian brushed off the sudden increase of usage as just his boyfriend liking it and being unaware to his boyfriend's suffering. But now he sees them in a whole new light, because, god, how could he be so oblivious (the Jiang Cheng in his head sneers, You always are.) to the fact that Lan Wangji used it deliberately. It was glaringly obvious now.
Like how when Wei Wuxian was pestering the other to drink, as per usual, he was given a refusal worded in a “No, babe,” and Wei Wuxian shut up about the issue a lot faster than he usually did, a satisfied look on Lan Wangji's face that went unnoticed. Or how when he was getting a little too chatty with the new young samples girl at the supermarket Lan Wangji came up to wrap a hand around his wrist with a quiet, tense, “Babe,” and Wei Wuxian’s brain effectively shut down and just let himself be dragged away.
Groaning, Wei Wuxian leans his head back, knocking into the door and one of Lan Wangji’s hand quickly comes up to place it on the back of his head, making sure he’s not hurt. And Wei Wuxian can’t even be mad at his boyfriend, not when he hasn’t used the knowledge with malicious intent. Especially with the fact that he's the exact opposite, so loving and kind, just like right now, looking so worried about if Wei Wuxian hurt his head on the door from a little knock when they were in the middle of a heated make out session and a very important discussion. Fondness for his boyfriend blooms in Wei Wuxian's chest.
So instead, he uses a different approach to deal with it as Wei Wuxian reaches a hand up and places it over the hand already there to reassure Lan Wangji he’s not hurt before curling his lips into a smirk. “Well, if you already know,” he uses the hand still grasped onto Lan Zhan’s jacket lapel to pull his boyfriend forward, moving his hips to brush against Lan Wangji’s erection, hearing a sharp intake of breath, before purring low into his ear, “Why don’t you put that knowledge to good use, Lan Er-gege?”
He lightly pushes Lan Wangji away again so he can take a good look at his face, seeing the golden eyes darken with want and contentment and arousal fills him again as he feels his boyfriend’s strong hands move to pick him up. Wei Wuxian lets himself be picked up and wraps his legs around the other’s waist to steady himself before Lan Wangji leads them to their bedroom, where he carefully places his smaller boyfriend down onto the bed.
The gentleness of the gesture causes the smirk Wei Wuxian is wearing to soften into a more genuine, fond smile before Lan Wangji climbs onto the bed and situates himself over Wei Wuxian, arms caging the latter in.
Golden eyes rake over his body before they come closer, Lan Wangji leaning in kiss him, but not before a soft, low, “Babe,” leaves his lips again and, just like that, Wei Wuxian is filled with white hot arousal again, letting out a soft moan.
Hands move to raise Wei Wuxian’s shirt, taking it off, before starting to explore his skin, heat from his boyfriend's hands searing trails of arousal into him. Finger's brush over a nipple and Wei Wuxian lets out a gasp before Lan Wangji moves to kiss him, deep and loving.
Lan Wangji continues, switching between mouthing at Wei Wuxian’s neck and moving up to pull him into a heated kiss as well as having wandering hands, fluttering down over the skin of his waist and brushing over his boyfriend’s growing hardness. All of this, accompanied by the small occasional murmur of a husky, “Babe,” in Wei Wuxian’s ear, he can do nothing but gasp and moan as he all but falls apart in Lan Wangji’s hands.
Humming fills the silence in their bedroom, as Wei Wuxian is laying on his stomach, legs swinging in the air and head resting in the palm of his hand as he watches boyfriend, whose resting with his eyes closed, lay next to him, one of Lan Wangji’s arms settled on the other’s waist. It’s a comfortable atmosphere, both basking in the afterglow after they had gone a few rounds (where Wei Wuxian came embarrassingly quick every time because of the new addition of the new pet name, not that he’ll ever admit it) and Wei Wuxian decides to ask the question that’s been going through his head ever since this whole “babe” thing even started.
“Why’d you start?” he questions and he sees his boyfriend open his eyes, gold meeting steel gray, and he holds the eye contact before continuing, “Why’d you start calling me 'babe?' I mean, it’s not like I don’t like it, as you can tell. But, Lan Zhan, you’re not exactly the type to use pet names much so why did you decide to start calling me 'babe?'"
Lan Wangji is silent for several moments, seemingly deciding how to word his response and Wei Wuxian watches in amusement as he sees his boyfriend’s ears grow a deep shade of red.
“You said,” and it startles Wei Wuxian out of his staring at Lan Wangji’s ears and instead forces him to focus on his boyfriend's face, “You said you liked it,” he responds and confusion fills Wei Wuxian’s head.
Did he? Wei Wuxian doesn’t remember any instance where he’s said he liked being called “babe” because well, he didn’t even know he liked it until Lan Wangji started to call him the pet name. He contemplates for a minute, cursing his notoriously bad memory, before it all comes back to him.
Several months ago, Wei Wuxian was watching a drama that was currently broadcasting that he knew his Jiejie (and probably Jiang Cheng too, because he knew his little brother was secretly a softie, under the thousands of layers of snarkiness and saltiness. God, he wondered how Lan Xichen put up with it enough to date him) was watching.
He was only watching because it was a particularly quiet evening, both Lan Wangji and him tired from work and just wanting to just bask in each other’s presence. But Wei Wuxian being Wei Wuxian got bored very quickly and he decided to turn on the television as Lan Wangji read a book next to him. The drama was sappy and overly dramatic and not really Wei Wuxian cup of tea but there wasn’t really anything else on T.V. he could watch.
He watched as the main couple went on a date at some amusement park, riding rides, trying on cutesy headbands, and sharing a drink. At one point, the male lead smiled and called his girlfriend “babe” and Wei Wuxian snorted, saying, “Wonder how it’d feel to be called 'babe,'" and really it was an offhand comment at the time, made purely out of fleeting curiosity and he didn’t think much of it, focusing back on the drama. Wei Wuxian never noticed the way Lan Wangji’s eyes flickered from his book to look at his boyfriend’s face, contemplating for a few moments, before going back to his book.
A smile grows on Wei Wuxian’s face as he thinks about the memory, and he moves his hand so he can duck down and press his head into the pillow below him as he starts laughing uncontrollably, shoulders shaking.
He hears an offended, “Wei Ying!” and that makes him raise his head, turning to face his boyfriend whose usually cold face looks slightly ruffled, ears bright red.
“Oh! Don’t worry, Lan Zhan,” he wipes a tear from his eyes, “I wasn’t laughing at you, I swear! I was just thinking about how cute it was you took that insignificant comment so seriously.”
Lan Wangji’s gaze seems to turn serious and then he moves closer to Wei Wuxian, the arm around his waist tightening, “Not insignificant. Nothing about Wei Ying is insignificant,” he says sincerely.
At that, Wei Wuxian sobers up a bit, his smile turning gentle, full of affection. He moves closer, too, placing a hand tenderly on his boyfriend's cheek, "I know. Thank you.”
Lan Wangji seems satisfied that his feelings get across because he nods and lets out a low, “Mn,” a miniscule smile playing on his lips.
Affection fills Wei Wuxian seeing that, and he thinks about the fact that, really as funny as it is that Lan Zhan took that comment so seriously, it also shows Wei Wuxian just how much his boyfriend is willing to do if it makes him happy. Love fills him and Wei Wuxian feels like it might overflow, so he sits up and moves, climbing onto Lan Wangji with his legs on either side of him, straddling him. His boyfriend’s hands immediately find home at Wei Wuxian’s waist, steadying him, like he always is.
Leaning forward, Wei Wuxian takes Lan Wangji’s face in his hands, squishing his cheeks, before pressing kisses all over his stoic face. Lan Wangji does nothing to stop him, letting him press sloppy, wet kisses all over his face. Wei Wuxian only lets up when he’s sure he’s kissed every inch of Lan Wangji’s face he possibly can before he giggles, giddy with affection and warmth, and says softly, lovingly, “I love you, babe.”
Lan Wangji’s eyes widen slightly, surprised at Wei Wuxian's sudden usage of the pet name, before he responds with, “Love you, too.”
Wei Wuxian’s face spreads into a megawatt smiling and Lan Wangji’s face thaws into his own small smile. And the reddening of his ears tell Wei Wuxian that he’s not the only one who gets affected over the pet name. He coos, endeared by how adorable his boyfriend is, and feels giddy once more over this new information. He wants to tease him, call Lan Wangji pet names until his ears burn, but that can be saved for a later time.
Right now, lightheaded from affection, Wei Wuxian decides to lean in and kiss his boyfriend. Lan Wangji happily reciprocates.