Work Text:
The first time that Wei Ying lost his glasses was an accident. He had fallen asleep in the school’s library during his study period and took his glasses off as they were preventing him from laying his head down comfortably. When he awoke to the chiming bell indicating the end of lunch, he gathered his belongings in a panic and rushed out of the library, a pool of drool left on the table and his glasses abandoned.
He knew the layout of the school too well that he didn’t realize his glasses were even gone until he settled into his desk and couldn’t even see the board in front of his eyes. He spent the hour trying to note down everything in his head, writing to look productive though he was sure he wouldn’t be able to read his notes later.
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Another student during their break tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
“Do you need the notes for the first half of class?” A deep voice rang so clearly in his ears. A voice he wasn’t as familiar with because this kid was weird and rarely spoke with more words than the bare minimum.
Was it so obvious he couldn’t see? Whoever this kid was, he was taking pity on poor Wei Ying. It didn’t really matter to him, in the end, and Wei Ying shrugged. He squinted at the figure in front of him. “You’re… Lan Zhan, aren’t you?”
Lan Zhan nodded with a little “Mn.” He held in front of him a vague white square which must have been his own notes in one hand and another object in his other. Wei Ying reached out to feel it, hands brushing over Lan Zhan’s almost hesitantly. He felt Lan Zhan tense, but also a cold metal object.
His glasses.
Lan Zhan found his glasses?
As if reading his mind, Lan Zhan spoke again. “You left them in the library after lunch,” he said. It didn’t take much else for Wei Ying to infer that Lan Zhan had been studying in the library too and picked them up after Wei Ying left in a rush.
Wei Ying felt his face beginning to heat up, fixing his collar before sliding his glasses back on his face. “Thanks for picking them up for me! I don’t think I’ll need your notes tho—“
All of Wei Ying’s cognitive functions seemed to cease as he looked up. Before him was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and part of him wondered why he had never realized it sooner. The kid—no—this man (oh, and how manly he was! With those broad shoulders and that sharp jaw, framed so delicately by long fringes of silken black hair!) was looking at him . Looking at him with those furrowed eyebrows, golden honey eyes bearing a sweetness to them that Wei Ying just wanted to eat right up.
On impulse, Wei Ying flung his glasses across the room. “Oh! Actually? I think I might need the notes after all. Can I have you—it. I mean, it, I can—can I have it? The notes?” Wei Ying masterfully articulated, pressing his palm to a warm flushed cheek as he flashed a cheeky smile.
Wei Ying had gotten into the habit of leaving his glasses around the school.
He had grown adamant about not wearing them, especially not in his classes. He asked to be moved to the front due to his poor eyesight, which usually landed him a seat right next to Lan Zhan. The same Lan Zhan who miraculously found his glasses the first time, and every time thereafter. Even when Lan Zhan would sometimes discreetly leave his glasses on his desk right before the lesson began, Wei Ying almost always refused to put them on.
Part of him found it endearing that Lan Zhan would find his glasses every time and wanted a reason for Lan Zhan to keep approaching him, so he kept conveniently forgetting his glasses everywhere. Another reason he didn’t want to put his glasses on was…
He glanced over to Lan Zhan as their teacher rambled on about something Wei Ying would probably just read again in the textbook later. Lan Zhan, even slightly blurry on the edges, was so beautiful . He pushed his hair back, and wrote notes on the lesson adeptly, quickly but neatly, still making sure to look up once in a while at the teacher. Seeing that in…. in high definition…. with his glasses on….. seeing him clearly…
Wei Ying quickly turned his head away, burying his warm face in his hands and letting out a soft squeal. He almost didn’t notice when the whole class halted. He peeked up from his hands to see everyone staring at him, so he quickly faked a yawn and gave an apology for the disruption.
On their break, the gorgeous Lan Zhan approached him again, his eyebrows crinkled together in what must have been irritation or annoyance. However, Lan Zhan just slid his notes onto Wei Ying’s desk.
“Wei Ying, are you feeling unwell?” Lan Zhan asked softly. “You were not taking notes and I found your glasses in the copy room.”
Wei Ying snorted. “I’m fine! Thanks for finding my glasses, again. At this point, you really don’t have to return them every ti…”
The end of Wei Ying’s sentence trailed off as Lan Zhan lifted his chin with a gentle finger. Lan Zhan slid his glasses on his face, tucking some of Wei Ying’s hair behind his ear and brushing his bangs aside. Wei Ying couldn’t avoid it now—his eyes sparkled as he stared directly into the face of that handsome man before him, helpless and only able to absorb every little detail of Lan Zhan’s face. How sharp his nose was and how long his eyelashes were and how kissable his lips looked—
“You look good with your glasses on,” Lan Zhan said quietly, averting his eyes down and away. Wei Ying wasn’t sure if he’d have noticed it if he wasn’t wearing his glasses, but the tips of Lan Zhan’s ears were a brilliant red color.
If Wei Ying was barely able to hold on to any semblance of rational thought before, he officially lost it then.
He looks good? To Lan Zhan ?
Wei Ying felt his heart, stupid as it was, soaring.
“Wei Ying,” a familiar deep voice greeted. Wei Ying bumbled with delight as he turned around.
“Lan Zhan, is that you? Ahaha, looks like you found them again!” Wei Ying hummed joyfully, pointing his face up at Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan seemed to hesitate for a bit, his ears burning that adorable red color.
Sometimes, if Wei Ying made it obvious that his hands were busy doing something, he could magically convince Lan Zhan to put his glasses on his face. That is to say, Wei Ying made sure to busy his hands with something—anything—to get Lan Zhan to do such a gesture again and again. Without fail, Lan Zhan indulged him. Wei Ying swore that Lan Zhan’s fingers lingered a bit longer every time they brushed against his cheeks.
Unabashedly, Wei Ying stared up at Lan Zhan after the latter gingerly slid the glasses on his face, drinking in the sight. It took him a moment to register that Lan Zhan was staring back at him. He crooked a smile at his classmate, unable to stop himself from giving the other a cheeky expression.
“What is it?” Wei Ying said, a grin from spreading onto his face. “Am I so pretty? Do you like looking at my face, Lan Zhan?”
Lan Zhan’s eyes flicked away for just a moment, his ears growing redder. He huffed out a sigh before he looked back at Wei Ying. “I…”
“What? You what?” Wei Ying asked, feeling delight bubbling in him. “Hahaha, Lan Zhan, it’s like you’re all over my face. I don’t think anyone else has touched my face as much as you have.”
Lan Zhan withdrew his hands, resting them awkwardly at his sides. “I can stop if it bothers you.”
“No,” Wei Ying said quickly. “It doesn’t bother me. I like when you touch my face.” Wei Ying didn’t notice how Lan Zhan seemed to tense up as he closed his eyes, humming happily as he rambled on. “It’s like you’re all I see these days, but I’m certain that if you were the only one I ever saw from now on, I’d die happy. Lan Zhan, I think you’re pretty, too, it’s hard to not stare at you every time. Haha, wait, you didn’t answer me. You do think I look good, right?”
When Wei Ying opened his eyes again, Lan Zhan was gone. Wei Ying let out a huff of disappointment, looking around to see if there was any trace of him still around. Quietly, he murmured to himself, “Did I go too far?” He shook his head, certain that wasn’t the case. “That’s a shame. I wanted to see him closer…” He sighed and shifted, getting up from his chair and dashing over to bother Jiang Cheng instead.
Just outside of the classroom, still listening with the door slightly ajar, Lan Zhan covered his mouth with his hand. Squeezing his eyes shut, he covered his ears, but still couldn’t block out the sound of Wei Ying’s brilliant laughter ringing through the air.
“For the last time, Wei Ying,” Jiang Cheng’s exasperation was clear in his voice, “Those things cost money. Money that you do not have .” He jabbed a finger harshly between the cretin’s eyes, earning a yelp from him. “You cannot just keep leaving your glasses everywhere!”
“I mean, I always find them again.” Wei Ying pouted, defensively covering the bridge of his nose with his hand. “What’s the big deal?”
Jiang Cheng scoffed. “You never find them, you just wait until Lan Zhan finds them.”
“What’s your point? They get back to me eventually.”
“Do you plan on relying on Lan Zhan for the rest of your life?”
“I think I can! I think I’d like that so much.”
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m going to go get something to eat.”
“Can you get me something spicy while you’re at it? I’ll pay you.” Wei Ying batted his eyelashes.
“With what money?” Jiang Cheng shook his head, got up and left.
It was just a moment later that Wei Ying heard footsteps again. He laughed. “Back already? I really can’t go and get it myself, I can’t read the menu properly without my glasses, you know.”
There’s a moment of hesitation, and the crass voice of his brother never came, so Wei Ying looked up to see if the person was still there. He was quite used to people greeting him first that he could flawlessly pull off a conversation without needing to look at who he was talking to, but the person who approached him didn’t speak up at all. He squinted at them to try to make out any details of their face.
“Hi,” Wei Ying said after a bit. “Sorry, I can’t see you without my glasses. Can you come closer?”
The person did so, taking a few steps closer and leaning down. Wei Ying was about to open his mouth to greet them, but he was cut short.
Warm, soft lips were on his. Wei Ying’s eyes widened slightly, only able to see the person’s long dark eyelashes in front of him. Lips on his. His lips.
Wait, was this a kiss?
Wei Ying felt his face heating up, partially infuriated and partially embarrassed that he didn’t know who it was who so deviously stole the kiss he’d been saving for Lan Zhan. To only sting more, being kissed in the middle of the cafeteria had to be the least romantic place to be kissed!
It was only a second later that the other person pulled away. They lingered for a moment before trying to back away quickly and flee, but Wei Ying reacted faster. His hand darted forward to catch the culprit’s hand.
He felt glasses in that hand he held. It struck him as a dawning realization: who else would come up to him? Who else would return his glasses? Those must be his. The mystery kisser froze as Wei Ying slowly took his glasses back with his other hand and shoved them messily on his face.
As expected, it was Lan Zhan standing in front of him, his ears all flushed and red in the ears. Wei Ying felt a grin spread across his face, a giddiness bubbling in his stomach. His hand squeezed just a bit tighter. It was as if the world around him stopped moving, stopped talking, stopped everything—just so that the subtle shift of Lan Zhan’s gaze to the floor and his adorable nervous fidgeting was all he could see.
“I… I’m sorry, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said quickly, averting his eyes. “I thought… that you…”
“Want you!” Wei Ying yelled in delight and leaped from his seat to wrap his arms around Lan Zhan affectionately. “Lan Zhan, how daring! I never would have thought of you so bold, but I like that! I want that! I need that! I need to kiss you back, hold on—can I kiss you back? Please?”
Lan Zhan’s tenseness melted away and he wrapped his arms around Wei Ying’s waist. “Mn.”
The sound of a plastic container hitting the floor drew Wei Ying’s attention away, accompanied by a “What the fuck .” Jiang Cheng stood a few feet away in front of the carnage of dropped lunch foods. “What happened here?”
Wei Ying grinned that terrible grin of his as he tightened his hold around Lan Zhan’s neck. “You can say I was caught blindsided!” He laughed as he saw Jiang Cheng’s soul leave his body.
Wei Ying turned to Lan Zhan who seemed to be leaning forward slightly in anticipation. With a small chuckle, Wei Ying took off his glasses so they wouldn’t get in the way, and dove in for a kiss.