Work Text:
Wei Wuxian finds Wen Qing sleeping in her textbook in the library. Her iced coffee melted hours before so it is more water than coffee. It’s left a ring of water on the table which he wipes up. Wuxian shakes her shoulder and she wakes with a start. When she sees him she grabs her chest and lets out a sigh of relief.
“I was having the worst nightmare,” she says, “I was taking a test, but when I answered all the questions right. They were wrong.”
“You’re such a nerd,” Wuxian says pulling a chair up and scooting her iced coffee out of the way.
Qing hits his shoulder at the insult. “What do you want?”
“You know how my sister had a baby,” Wuxian says.
“Yes. What about him?”
Wuxian smiles sheepishly. “Do you think you could get your little cousin to have a playdate with him?”
“A-Yuan?”
“Do you have another little cousin?”
Qing glares at him. “Sure, but only because he needs to make more friends.” Wuxian cheers and a lot of tired students shoot him dirty looks. Qing rolls her eyes.
Qing holds Yuan’s hand and rings the doorbell. She is tired and has more studying to do. Having someone else watch Yuan for a while would be a nice break, she thinks. Yanli opens the door looking over her shoulder at the shouting toddler running across the floor. Her hair is mussed up and she has flour on her face. Qing thinks her heart may beat out of her chest.
“Oh, you must be Wen Qing! A-Xian has told me so much about you!” Yanli says taking her wrist and dragging her inside before Qing can loosen her tongue. Yanli bends down and smiles at Yuan. “You must be a-Yuan.”
Yuan smiles at her sheepishly.
“I’m just finishing some cookies for you and a-Ling,” Yanli says, “If Qing would like to stay she can have some too.”
Qing forgets all her previous engagements, her studying, and any thought of free time. All she can think about at that moment is how much she wants to try the cookies Yanli made with love. “Yeah, I can stay.”
Yanli smiles and picks up her son. Qing’s chest tightens as she sees Yanli’s arms flex. This is going to be a long playdate , she thinks.
The day draws to an end and it begins to get dark outside. Qing curses to herself as she realizes that she is going to have to bring her little cousin back home in the dark.
“Oh no,” Yanli says looking out the window as if she could hear what Qing was thinking, “Let me walk you two home.”
“No, that’ll be alright. I can manage,” Qing says, reaching for her medical bag for something to mask her and Yuan’s presence.
“It’s really no bother! Wanyin let me borrow Zidian for a few days,” Yanli says, gesturing to the ring on her hand.
“Why?” Qing asks, and the question comes out in a harsher tone than expected, but as long as she has known Jiang Wanyin she has never seen him without Zidian.
“I had some midnight errands, and he worries for me,” Yanli replies ignoring the tone and lifting Jin Ling into her arms.
Qing takes Yuan’s hand and they walk together to Qing’s apartment. The walk is not so far that it’s horrible, and the corpses are mild and few tonight. Qing hangs at the door for longer than she would normally. Her stomach flutters like she is a schoolgirl waiting for a kiss goodnight, which of course never comes. Yanli offers to get lunch with her the next day.
They get lunch at a small cafe off-campus. Yanli insists they have the best breakfast food and Qing lets her order for her. The whole time she has trouble tearing her eyes off Yanli. Her smile is magnetic, and she smiles a lot.
“Is a-Qing dating anyone?” Yanli asks.
Qing sputters on her iced coffee. “No, of course not,” she says shaking her head.
“That’s a shame. You’re so pretty,” Yanli says, and she bites her lip for a moment.
Qing blushes. “Thanks,” she says looking down at her hands. “What does a-Ling’s father do?”
Yanli’s face falls. “He died in a car accident,” she says, “a few months after a-Ling was born.”
Qing looks down at her lap, and for a moment she kicks herself. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t…”
“It’s okay,” Yanli says, smiling softly, “It was years ago.”
“I’m sure it’s still painful though,” Qing says.
Yanli nods her head. “It is, but my brothers rallied around me and I have Jin Ling,” she says, chuckling softly at a thought, “A-Xian says it's time for me to start dating again.”
Qing rolls her eyes. “Of course he does, but do you want to start dating again?”
Yanli blushes. “Maybe. If it was with the right person, but honestly, I forgot what it was like…” she’s mumbling, “It’s been such a long time.”
“A date’s just like this, but with feelings involved,” Qing says, shrugging. She hasn’t been on a date for a while either. Med school keeps her busy, but she is bold today.
Yanli smiles and looks down at her hands. “Then perhaps this is just a date,” she says, before looking up and into Qing’s eyes.
A blush covers Qing’s face. She spends a few seconds too long staring as her mind goes blank. “What?” she finally sputters out.
Yanli covers her face. “I shouldn’t have said that,” she mumbles as a pink tint covers her own face.
“If… If you want this to be a date… It could be,” Qing says, slowly, hopefully.
Yanli looks up, the pink becoming red. “I’d like that.”
Qing reaches across the table and takes Yanli’s hand. “I want to walk you home,” she says.
Yanli nods and hurries to pay the bill. The sun shines brightly on them as they walk back to Yanli’s apartment holding hands. Qing thinks that Yanli’s hand was made to hold hers. They fit so perfectly. They reach Yanli’s apartment too soon.
This time instead of waiting for a kiss, Qing surges forward and gives Yanli a chaste first kiss. Yanli gives her another before asking if she’d like to come in. Qing can’t think of any reason to say no.