Work Text:
Lan Xichen is cold. He should not be cold. He should be glommed onto his own personal space heater, one Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng, who should be deeply asleep, maybe snoring a little, especially, Xichen thinks as he shifts and winces at the familiar ache of his everywhere, after I worked so hard to tire him out.
Xichen turns gingerly to his other side and registers the sliver of light along the edge of the bedroom door. He sighs and stretches before working up the energy to leave his comfortable nest of blankets. But he wants his Jiang Cheng.
He finds him at the kitchen table and suppresses a groan when he notices the well-worn and too familiar course catalog for Shuitian University that Jiang Cheng has open before him. A pile of crumpled paper grows as he tears a page from his notebook, tossing it on the pile with a muttered curse. Xichen pads into the kitchen and makes two cups of peppermint tea. He sets one beside Jiang Cheng, kisses the top of his head, and sits down beside him.
“I was trying to be quiet,” Jiang Cheng says, looking up from the catalog to rub his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I got cold,” Xichen replies. He curls his hands around his mug.
“Sorry.”
Jiang Cheng picks up his pen and turns back to the catalog, but Xichen snatches it away and tosses it behind him.
“Hey! What the f-- why’d you do that?” Jiang Cheng moves to retrieve the catalog, but Xichen stays him with a hand on his arm.
“It’s, what, two thirty in the morning? A-Cheng. You’ve been making lists and flipping through that damn book for weeks now.”
“And?” Jiang Cheng leans back in his chair. “This is important. I can’t fuck this up. I don’t get a second chance.”
“Says who?” Xichen leans in and takes Jiang Cheng’s hand in his. “Tell me. If you make a wrong choice in this, who says you can’t start again?”
Jiang Cheng tries to pull away, but Xichen holds on.
“I’m serious. Say you pick the wrong course. Say it’s too hard. Say you simply don’t like it and have to change your major. What would happen?”
Jiang Cheng sighs. “Xichen, I can’t, I need to see this through and get back to work. I can’t let you support me indefinitely.”
“Okay, first of all, not the question I asked.” Xichen rubs his thumb along the back of Jiang Cheng’s hand. “What would happen if you had to change courses?”
“I’d have to start something else, which would set us back--”
“You’d have to start something else. Okay.”
“But--”
“But nothing. A-Cheng, I thought we had sorted this all out.” Xichen slides out of his chair and kneels at Jiang Cheng’s side. “Working for your parents’ firm made you miserable. It made you ill! Literally ill, with ulcers. No amount of money is worth your health and happiness.” He places a finger against Jiang Cheng’s lips when the latter tries to argue. “If you won’t be reasonable, let me guilt you a bit. I want you to be happy, and I have the means to take care of us so you can go back to college.”
“I’ll get a job, Xichen.”
“If you are truly adamant, if you can find a part time job that won’t interfere with your studies, then fine.” Xichen takes Jiang Cheng’s face between his hands and presses a soft kiss to his forehead. “Now,” he says, leaning against him, “what does your heart tell you?”
Jiang Cheng huffs a quiet laugh. “That I regret making you watch that Lord of the Rings marathon with me last weekend.” He wraps his arms around his husband and buries his face against Xichen’s neck, breathing in the familiar scents of almond shampoo and warm skin.
“I told you I’d get back at you,” Xichen murmured, cradling Jiang Cheng close. “But seriously. Without thinking, what fascinates you? What’s something you’re passionately curious about?”
Jiang Cheng takes a few deep breaths. “The Earth,” he says at last.
“My love, can you maybe narrow it down?”
“No, seriously. The Earth. Like, what it’s made of. Rocks and minerals.” He leans back so he can look at Xichen while he talks. “I had a fossil collection when I was a kid. Mother made me clear it out, clear everything out, when they sent me to boarding school.”
Xichen pulls him back to hug him again, trying, not for the first time, to squeeze the remnants of neglect and hurt from Jiang Cheng. He wants to tell him, again and again, how he loves him, how Jiang Cheng is worthy of love and of care and of every good thing Xichen can provide. Instead, he says, “so start with geology? Or were you thinking paleontology?”
“Geology, for now,” Jiang Cheng says, his voice more confident than Xichen has heard in weeks. “At least for the first year.”
“Geology makes a lot of sense,” Xichen replies.
“If you say it’s because I’m so hard headed, I swear --”
Xichen gasps in mock horror. “I would never. I was going to say it was because you have a heart of gold.”
“Pssh, gold?” Jiang Cheng scoffs. “Gold’s only, like, a two point five on the Mohs scale. I’m so much tougher than that. My heart’s at least feldspar or quartz.”
“I think geology is the right choice, you absolute nerd.” Xichen kisses away Jiang Cheng’s retort. He stands and pulls Jiang Cheng up along with him. “Come to bed. If you’re a very good boy,” he says, leaning in to plant a kiss along Jiang Cheng’s jaw, “I’ll let you tell me all about hard rocks--”
“Technically, those are minerals--”
“Minerals,” Xichen says with a joyful laugh, “gods above, I have married a complete geek!” He presses against Jiang Cheng, one arm snaking around behind to grab his ass. “I am trying to seduce you!”
“Aw, baby, that’s adorable!” Jiang Cheng schools his face into a serious expression. “Yes,” he says, pitching his voice low, “I’ll tell you all about those hard, hard ro--I can’t!” He falls against Xichen, helpless with laughter, and Xichen counts it a victory to have cheered his A-Cheng.
“Bed,” he says, taking Jiang Cheng’s hand and leading him from the kitchen.
“Bed,” Jiang Cheng agrees, and he does not leave Xichen cold.