Archive of Our Own

“Stripes,” Wei Wuxian calls after he breaks on the pool table as he chalks the cue tip once more.

“Solids for me then,” Wen Yuan replies with a tone just as confident as the trauma surgeon’s.

“A-Yuan, watch and learn.”

Wei Wuxian holds his cue parallel to the pool table for maximum control. He doesn’t immediately strike the white ball, but instead, he takes his time to gradually accelerate his strike as the cue tip approaches the ball. Reminding himself mentally to always keep his follow-through straight and relaxed, he takes the hit and pockets his first stripe.

“Whoa,” Lan Jingyi claps, almost spilling the can of soda in his hands as Wei Wuxian’s pager goes off..

“Abdominal GSW coming in trauma one”, is the call that gets the trauma team into action.

“Fun’s over,” Wei Wuxian gets up from his leaning position on the pool table. “Let’s get to work.”

So far it has been a quiet night but from the information that Wei Wuxian has received so far, things are about to get exciting and potentially messy. It always is in the night shift. The three make their way hastily to trauma one.

“Alright boys, give me all we have,” Wei Wuxian puts on his rubber gloves. “Jingyi, your turn.”

The medical student fumbles through the papers. “We have… We—”

Wen Yuan gently nudges the nervous Jingyi with his elbow, making the latter take a breath and start again.

“34-year old male with an abdominal gunshot wound. Paramedics arrived on site seventeen minutes post emergency call. Hemodynamically stable and conscious according to the latest info,” he says with a much more confident tone.

Wei Wuxian nods. That’s not much but he has seen enough to know that stable doesn’t need to be the case for long.

“Good. You know your tasks. Get into position. They’re set to arrive any second,” Wei Wuxian eyes on the clock.

Barely a minute after, the alarm goes off and the doors to Caiyi Hospital fling open. Jiang Cheng and his team push the gurney in.

“BP dropping,” Jiang Cheng says panting. “He was talking when we arrived on the scene but is mostly unresponsive now.”

“What happened?” Wei Wuxian asks while his team takes over.

“He was on the streets, carrying a bag of carrots when it happened,” Jiang Cheng informs.

“Anyone else hurt in this incident?” Wei Wuxian loves a night of hard work but he does not like having to split his attention because he would want to help everyone..

Jiang Cheng shakes his head, “Only him.”

That’s enough. Things turn out a lot more stressful when Lan Jingyi gasps, “That’s my uncle!”

Great.

He’s been in enough situations where the medical team themselves get too overwhelmed and emotional when it’s their loved ones that are being sent to the hospital.

“Jingyi, get out,” he orders and the nurse pulls the curtain.

“Doctor W—”

The boy’s too fresh out of med school for this. Wei Wuxian knows that some of his colleagues in the medical field would expect for the kid to keep a cool head but he prefers to give them time to develop one, especially in this situation.

And besides, Wei Wuxian isn’t about to split his focus on calming Lan Jingyi. The man on the gurney needs urgent attention. His light blue shirt is bloodstained but Wei Wuxian figures that most of the bleeding is internal.

“Hey there,” Wei Wuxian addresses the man loud and clear while the rest of the team start working. “Can you hear me?

Do we have a name?” he turns his attention to the resident.

“Lan Wangji,” Wen Yuan reads.

“Hey, Lan Wangji,” Wei Wuxian repeats louder this time to try and get the injured man’s attention. “You’re now in Caiyi Hospital. I’m Doctor Wei. We’re going to help you, understand? Will you try and look at me for a moment?”

He places a hand on Lan Wangji’s forearm which gives him a reaction. The man flinches and blinks.

“Very good. Now, keep it up,” he squeezes his forearm slightly, making Lan Wangji blink again.

Their eyes meet for the very first time.

Wei Wuxian stills for a moment. He has never seen such an eye color. A very light brown; in the bright light above them, they look almost almost golden. Only now they’re hazy from pain, the injured’s eyelids are starting to droop.

Wei Wuxian shakes his head to return to reality. “Hey, stay with us for a moment. You have a nasty gunshot wound but we’re here to help you, alright? We’ll have to do surgery to get the bullet out and repair the damage it’s done. Understand?”

Lan Wangji blinks over the edges of the oxygen mask, acknowledging Wei Wuxian’s words with an almost unnoticeable nod.

“Alright.” With a look at the monitors he adds, “We’ll have to get to work now. To your left is Doctor Wen. He’ll place a central IV line into your neck now so we can give you all the medication you need; like something to put you to sleep for the time being. We’ll insert a breathing tube into your lungs through your mouth, okay? Don’t worry you won’t feel anything and when you wake up, you’ll be much better. We have great painkillers,” he smiles his most radiant smile to reassure the man before him that he’s going to be fine.

Something he’s not yet sure about but he really, really hopes is true.

The X-Rays show a bullet that’s been split into at least two shards, far enough from each other to cause significant damage all over the man’s bowels. They seem to have miraculously missed the largest blood vessels because otherwise, he would have bled out already or be in much worse condition. The internal bleeding and leakage of the bowels show up on the ultrasound monitor that Wen Yuan is handling expertly.

Lan Wangji is not yet in critical danger after being put on a ventilator and receiving blood transfusions but Wei Wuxian knows there’s no time to lose. There’s not only the bleeding to be taken care of but the bowels need to be repaired.

“What do you think?” Wei Wuxian asks Wen Yuan as they both watch the monitor intently.

“I don’t think we can repair the damage via laparoscopy,” the young man says calmly. “It’s so widespread because of the shards.”

“Mhm,” he scratches his nose. “Sorry, Detective.” He turns to the man, now under general anesthesia and blissfully oblivious of what is to come. “That’s going to be a nasty scar you’ll have once we’re done.”

He places a hand on Wen Yuan’s and takes the ultrasound transducer to take a look himself, “Yeah, let’s get on with it. I’ve seen enough,” he quickly decides.

Wen Ning, who’s overlooking the vital signs, clears his throat, “He probably is not stable enough for extensive surgery though.”

“And he won’t become stable enough unless we stop the internal bleeding and patch up all the holes in his bowels,” Wei Wuxian answers curtly. “Is the OR ready?”

“Three minutes,” the head nurse says hurriedly.

“Good, we need to get him there ASAP.”

Jiang Cheng, who is still on duty after handing Lan Wangji over to the trauma team, is now walking next to Wei Wuxian. Both headed towards the prep-room.

“Wei Wuxian, you think he’ll make it?”

Wei Wuxian frowns, “Well he’s lucky to have me as his surgeon but his chances aren’t too bad anyways, as long as there aren’t any nasty surprises coming up.” He loves surprises but not in the OR.

Jiang Cheng huffs, “We’re very humble tonight, huh?”

“You get credit for bringing him here safely. Remember that dipshit who drove the ambulance in a ditch with a patient in it last year?”

“He wrecked my favourite ambulance car,” Jiang Cheng rages. That story will never not make him fume with anger. Thankfully, the exceedingly incompetent paramedic Su She was fired after that. Jiang Cheng breaks the short silence after a beat, “What’s up?”

“Huh?” Wei Wuxian mouths.

“You look troubled.”

Wei Wuxian humphs, “I’m concentrating on the task at hand.”

“You’re worried about the guy.”

“What? I don’t even know him.” But he wants to see these eyes again.

“Just saying,” Jiang Cheng holds up both hands. “Gotta go, I’m still on duty. Break a fuckin’ leg,” he says before he leaves.

Damn.

Wei Wuxian changes into surgical scrubs and sanitises his hands while Lan Wangji is being prepared for surgery in the OR. His eyes flicker back and forth between the harmless looking hole in the man’s skin, his vital signs on the screen and his still, icy pale face. Beautiful face.

He’s not sure what it is that’s bothering him. Yes, this Lan Wangji’s injuries are serious and he definitely has some months of recovery waiting for him and it’s not like he’s not in immediate danger and will likely live.

Wei Wuxian has even seen worse injuries in patients with less good health. Still, it’s been a while since he was nervous before a surgery. When was the last time his own heart raced this quickly? Not in the last three years, as far as he can remember.

At first, things seem to be going pretty well. Getting the bullet fragments out is not the hardest part actually; it’s finding all the damage they did and repairing the holes in the man’s bowel.

“Doctor Wei,” Wen Ning says apprehensively.

“I noticed,” he cuts him off. He has an eye on the vital signs and he notices the blood pressure dropping.

“We need to get to the bleeding first.”

“Didn’t you already remove the bullet, Doctor Wei?” Wen Yuan questions.

“I did remove the bullet and fragments but that’s just one step. It doesn't stop the bleeding. We need to control the bleeding, meaning finding its source and then get to the damage to his bowels,” he says.

“BP dropping further,” Wen Ning says urgently.

The head nurse takes a quick moment to leave the operating table as her pager is heard to go off.

“Anything we should know about?” Wei Wuxian asks, his eyes and hands still focused on the task at hand.

“Yes. There will be more injured rushed to the hospital, Doctor Wei, Doctor Wen. There has been a robbery,” she answers Wei Wuxian’s question.

“Oh,” Wen Yuan gasps.

“Looks like it’s going to be a long night for all of us,” Wei Wuxian says, trying to sound as lighthearted as he always does. But what he’s feeling now is the exact opposite.

You hang in there, Mister Lan.

After a long and exhausting surgery, Lan Wangji has finally been stable with no further detectable bleeding and transferred to the ICU, still sedated and on a ventilator.

Wei Wuxian sees the clock that ticks in the quiet, cold room of Ward 69. He places a cup of coffee on the table next to the bed where the man whose belly he stuck his own hands into three days earlier, still lies unconscious. His breathing is stable.

Maybe the strong scent of coffee will wake him up.

Lan Wangji should be awake by now. But he isn’t and Wei Wuxian is wondering if they’d done something wrong, or if he himself is just impatient. Why he’s impatient, he doesn’t know.

The surgeon feels a tap on his shoulder, giving him a fright.

“Holy sh—” clutching his chest where his heart lies, “You scared me to death, Wen Qing.”

“When did the notorious Doctor Wei ever become such a baby?”

“It is almost 3 A.M., chief of the ICU.”

“How’s he holding up?” Wen Qing pointedly asks with a tilt of her head.

“His vitals are stable but he hasn’t woken up.”

“It’s only been a few days,” Wen Qing takes the file that hangs at the edge of the hospital bed. “Why don’t you go and get some rest before the sun rises, you know, like a normal person?”

“Anyone working in the medical field can barely be considered a normal person,” Wei Wuxian says with a soft chuckle. “Or even a person.”

“Can’t say you’re wrong. It sometimes feels like we live in a parallel universe.”

“Yeah it does. Glad to have you guys around, though,” Wei Wuxian softly elbow’s Wen Qing’s arms.

“Instead of getting sappy, get some rest.”

“It’s fine. I think I’ll stay for a bit longer,” his eyes move from the woman next to him to the man lying down on the bed.

“Wei Wuxian, I can't have my top surgeon crashing when we need all the help we can fucking get.”

“I won’t. Trust me.”

“I don’t know why but I find it hard to believe,” Wen Qing retorts but Wei Wuxian doesn’t feel any animosity since this is how they bicker almost everyday.

“Wen Qing, do you think I somehow missed something?”

“You? Missed out something? Un-fucking-likely.”

“Wow, I appreciate the confidence.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“But honestly, why?” Wei Wuxian asks without detailing the question. But Wen Qing knows all the same that he’s referring to why is the man still unconscious.

“It’s not something I can answer,” she says first. “But off the record, sometimes, all we doctors can do is help them to give them a chance to live, but the rest is not in our hands.”

“You know, Wen Qing, sometimes I wonder why you’re not a psychiatrist.”

“You know, Wei Wuxian, sometimes I wonder how you’re so annoying.”

Silence ensues the two doctors with the sound only coming from the beeps of the monitor.

“Has his report come in? I’d like to have a look tomorrow.” “You do remember that the first thing they taught us in med school is to not get attached to anything, to anyone we see in the hospital, don’t you?”

“I’m not getting attached. I’m just curious, as a doctor.”

“Again, I don’t know why but I find it hard to believe.”

Wei Wuxian goes over the report and lets his eyes wander back to the monitors. It looks fine so far; no signs of infection or peritonitis. Lan Wangji has been extubated a day after the surgery and is breathing fine on his own with only little support through a nasal cannula.

He has not received any sedatives for the past two days but he still stubbornly refuses to wake up. Today is day four, and even the slowest patient should show some signs of consciousness by now, and from what Wei Wuxian can see Lan Wangji’s body is resilient; the injuries are recovering at a good rate. He should make a full recovery, though it will definitely take some months.

A gentle knock against the doorframe makes him look up. A man in a dark blue suit is standing there, looking worried and exhausted.

“Wangji!” he gasps, barely holding back from rushing in.

Wei Wuxian blinks in confusion. That man looks almost exactly like Lan Wangji, except for his eyes. This other man’s eyes are darker. “Good morning,” he greets and smiles. “Come right in.”

The man doesn’t need another invitation and strides straight towards Lan Wangji’s bed, where Wei Wuxian makes room for him. He’s obviously a relative. Both appearance and behaviour make it easy to guess.

“Wangji,” he whispers softly, raising a hand and putting it on the unconscious man’s forehead and retracting it again.

“Don’t worry, you can’t break anything by touching him,” Wei Wuxian reassures him, familiar with the insecurities many family members show when visiting relatives in the ICU. The many machines, IV lines and tubes scare them. What if they hurt the patient? Especially if said patientis unconscious and can’t say anything.

The man doesn’t answer and keeps staring at Lan Wangji’s face. Very carefully, he rests a hand on his shoulder and presses it gently.

“Oh, Wangji,” he sighs and takes his hand away again, rubbing his eyes before looking up at Wei Wuxian.

“Please excuse my rudeness. I’m Lan Xichen. Wangji is my younger brother,” he manages a smile.

“I figured something like that might be the case,” Wei Wuxian returns the smile and reaches his hand out for a handshake. “I’m Doctor Wei Wuxian, head surgeon of the trauma unit. Nice to meet you.”

Lan Xichen’s eyes light up almost instantaneously, “You’re the doctor who saved him, aren’t you? Jingyi mentioned your name when he called.”

Wei Wuxian ahs barely seen the kid in the past days as he was assigned to another department.

“I did perform the surgery, yes. But I’m hardly the only one who played a role in saving your brother’s life,” Wei Wuxian says humbly. “I’m actually just checking in on him before going home. My shift ended a while ago.”

What he doesn’t say is that in the past days, he spent a lot of time here instead of going home.

Lan Xichen looks surprised, “Oh, forgive me for my interruption. I don’t want to bother you with my questions then.”

Wei Wuxian sits down on another chair, “No, no. It’s fine, you can ask me anything and I’ll try to answer any questions to the best of my abilities. It’s a pleasure, actually. It’s always hard to spend time explaining certain things to relatives while on duty.” He doesn’t know who exactly is on duty but he’s the one most familiar with this case anyways. He knows the entire file by heart. He’s studied his patient more than he should.

Lan Xichen listens to his explanations with utmost attention, asking questions here and there that indicate that he knows some things about gunshot wounds. He relaxes a little when Wei Wuxian assures him that Lan Wangji is no longer in critical condition.

“But…” Lan Xichen sighs. “He still didn’t wake up. Jingyi told me on the phone that this is not normal.”

“That’s right. There’s actually no real reason for why he hasn’t woken up yet, at least physically. We did some brain scans but they show nothing of concern at all. He didn’t go into cardiac arrest or anything that could have caused brain damage.”

Lan Xichen rests his forehead in his hand, concerned, “Wangji, what are you doing…”

Wei Wuxian crosses his arms in front of his chest and taps his biceps with his finger. “Sorry for asking such a personal question but could there be other reasons for him not waking up? I’m not a psychiatrist so my knowledge is limited. But psychological factors could play a role in this situation.”

Lan Xichen frowns deeply, pondering the question. He takes a few moments before answering, “He was under tremendous stress in the past months, overworking himself to a point I started to worry. It was an investigation case that we were hired to do. Wangji was the main and later sole investigator on it.”

“An investigation?” “We are private investigators focusing on corporate crime, Doctor Wei,” Lan Xichen explains. “We were tracking the ins and outs of a tax fraud case. Wangji succeeded and the case has been closed a few days ago. Until...” Lan Xichen sighs.

“Until the other day I received a phone call saying that Wangji had been shot. I should’ve been here,” Lan Xichen’s eyes darken and Wei Wuxian sees them water.

“You’re here now and that’s all that matters. I’m sure your brother would understand,” the doctor comforts.

“He would. Wangji is too understanding sometimes. He took this case upon himself because he saw that I was busy with another case,” the older Lan heaves a sigh. “At least now, we’re out of danger.”

Hearing that makes Wei Wuxian’s mood lighten up a little. “So you mean the danger you’ve been in, it’s over?” Lan Xichen nods.

“Well, from what I’ve gathered,” the doctor taps his nose. “That could certainly be a reason. Have you ever heard of people working under stress for a long time and doing okay, and when they finally can rest they have a breakdown? Or people who tend to work themselves to the bone who unfortunately get sick with the flu the moment they’re on vacation?”

“I have.”

“You’d have to consult a specialist to be sure but I do think there might be a correlation.”

Lan Xichen looks extremely sad before he turns back to his brother, pale and still. “Oh, Wangji. If you’re this tired, just rest. They’ve all been caught. The danger is over. You take your time,” his lips quiver when he looks down. Wei Wuxian almost doesn’t believe that Lan Xichen means everything he’s said.

“You know, Doctor Wei, I don’t think there was a time Wangji slept more than three hours a night in the past few weeks, or even months. He was increasingly irritable and barely spoke to anyone, much less about his personal feelings. I was out of state dealing with another case that required my immediate attention these past few days, which is why I only came back now. I had trouble booking a plane on such a short notice,” guilt taints his calm voice.

“Hey, your brother’s fine, Detective Lan.”

“I have to thank you for taking such great care of Wangji, Doctor Wei.”

“It is my job, Detective.”

“Is it also your job to stay and look after my brother ever since he’s moved into the secondary ICU?” Lan Xichen smiles.

“Oh, I—”

Shit.

“Sorry, it was out of my place,” the Lan’s soft smile still plastered across his face.

He really does look like Lan Wangji. But not as beautiful, Wei Wuxian notices. Then again, he’s judgment is already, utterly biased.

Lan Xichen can’t stay for very long since he has to leave for the police station to give a statement. Wrapping up this case will take a lot of time and Lan Wangji can’t give an account yet, obviously.

Wei Wuxian has time off until the next evening but he stays again, lurking around the ICU, only leaving Lan Wangji’s room for the nurses to do their job.

“Doctor Wei, you really should get some rest. Do you not trust me enough to leave Mister Lan in my care?” Mian Mian says, hands crossed in front of her.

“You’re my favorite nurse! Of course I trust you!” Wei Wuxian recovers. “Don’t tell the others I said that too. Don’t want them to think Doctor Wei is biased now.”

“Hmm, if I didn’t know you well enough, I’d think that you’re here because you care about Mister Lan,” Mian Mian jokes with a smile on her face as she gestures a thinking pose.

“And there is absolutely nothing wrong with caring for a patient!”

“Sure, Doctor Wei.”

Fuck. Is it this obvious?

Wei Wuxian coughs, “I’ll leave you to your work then.”

“See you later, Doctor Wei!” Mian Mian says, emphasising on the word ‘later’.

He exits the room and heads to his office. He should really go home, otherwise Wen Qing would haul his ass into her car and drive him home herself.

It’s late afternoon when he returns to the hospital and things have quieted down; Lan Wangji has a single room and since he’s no longer in critical condition there’s not always someone in the room with him.

It’s then when Wei Wuxian notices something new. Lan Wangji seems to be frowning. His face is still but there is some tension in his features, as if he’s not sure what’s going on.

Wei Wuxian knows what this means. A look at the monitor shows a slightly elevated breathing rate, quickened pulse. Not enough to raise an alarm for someone to come looking.

Lan Wangji is starting to wake up.

“Detective Lan?” Wei Wuxian finds his own voice nervous. “Lan Wangji,” a little louder and clearer this time, like it’s supposed to be: reassuring to the patient.

He’s answered with a twitch of an eyebrow. Wei Wuxian feels himself smiling and his spirits lifted. There was no real reason to assume Lan Wangji wouldn’t wake up soon but it’s still a relief.

“Your brother will be disappointed that he missed this,” he says and goes to stand at Lan Wangji’s shoulder.

“Can you hear me, Lan Wangji? If you can hear me try and give me a sign. You can blink or tap your finger.”

Lan Wangji’s facial expression spells confusion. It’s fascinating to see how much he can express with so little movement, Wei Wuxian begins to realise. He places a hand on his patient’s shoulder, gripping it ever so slightly.

That gives him a prompt reaction in the form of a silent huff.

About damn time. Wei Wuxian smiles, “I’m sorry. You probably don’t like it much when I touch you, hm?” He moves his hand down to Lan Wangji’s, which leads to an almost clearly visible frown.

“Sorry, but that’s how it works. You do feel my hand, right?” the doctor asks. “Now try and bend your fingers. Try to return the pressure,” Wei Wuxian closes his hand and moves it.

The tension on Lan Wangji’s face intensifies but his fingers don’t so much as twitch.

“Okay, is it too early for that?” he asks the man who’s still not awake. “Then, I suppose I’ll leave you alone for now. Let’s try again later, Detective.”

If med school taught Wei Wuxian something, it’s that patients need their own time. If what Lan Wangji needs is time to wake up, he shall have it—this is not something that can be forced.

He sits down on the chair by the bed and pulls out his phone.

“It’s almost evening and the sun is setting outside the window. It’s beautiful,” he goes to draw the curtain so the sunset rays can seep through it.

But Wei Wuxian thinks Lan Wangji is more beautiful.

“Now what shall we do? Do you like music? When I was still in school I learned to play the dizi but I rarely do that nowadays. No time, you know? Hey, I could bring it here and play for you. How about that, Detective?”

Chuckling, he puts on a one-hour video of guqin and dizi music and plants the phone on the mattress.

“Wen Qing would kill me if I turned up with a flute,” he says softly as he pushes the phone a little further until it touches Lan Wangji’s fingers. “If you don’t like it, just turn it off!” he jokesl.

It’s odd. Lan Wangji seems to relax a little as soon as the music starts playing; Wei Wuxian notices that his heart rate has gone down on the monitor.

“So, you do like it huh? Good to know that my tastes are fine!”

Seems like the music is having the same effect on him. Wei Wuxian yawns as he stretches his arms. He hasn’t really slept more than an hour at a time for two days now. He really should have stayed home to get a full night of sleep. But then he would have missed this, and for some reason he thinks he would have regretted that. He’d rather come to the hospital to be exactly where he is now.

“I think you’re already settled for the night, hm? The nurses will come to get a look at you every now and then but since you have your own room you should get some peace at night.” Yawning again, he rubs his face.

“Ugh. Watching you makes me feel like getting myself a bed too. Can you believe that I can’t remember the last time I slept in my own bed? I always fall asleep on the couch because I’m too tired to get up.

“Do you know how that feels, since you’re a detective? You know, being so tired but you just can’t seem to fall asleep because it seems that there are a thousand and million things inside your head.” It’s a doctor’s life; with so very little free time and lots of thoughts to keep you awake at night. But for Doctor Wei, right now they’re just thoughts about a particular patient.

He has never been good at leaving the work at work and tends to take the patients home, after spending more time with them than he is paid for anyways.

But this time it’s definitely a new dimension. “What do you think of bedtime stories?” he asks. Though, as things stand right now, he’ll probably just talk himself to sleep.

Maybe it’s worth a try?

“Hey, Detective Lan, do you know Sleeping Beauty?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll just tell you the story; it’s one of my favorites. I like to collect fairy tales from all over the world. Eh, don’t judge me. I may be the youngest trauma surgeon in the whole of Gusu but that doesn’t mean I can’t love my fairytale endings okay!” Wei Wuxian clicks his tongue.

“Right, now that’s out of the way. You ready, Detective Lan? Or maybe I could call you Lan Zhan?” he taps his nose. “I think I could. I had my hand in your guts so I think that makes us pretty close eh, Lan Zhan. You can call me Wei Ying. Wei. Ying,” he enunciates his name clearly.

It’s silly, he thinks almost immediately. It’s not that Lan Wangji can actually hear it. But whatever.

Squaring his shoulders, he begins retelling his favorite fairy tale in its original form; of the princess that was cursed by the evil fairy after her birth and how she fell into a deep slumber after pricking her finger on a spindle. Along with her, the entire kingdom fell asleep, and it remained that way for one hundred years.

“You know, a giant thorn hedge grew around the castle the princess was sleeping in and no one could make their way through it!” He yawns again and rests his elbow on the mattress to support his head with his hand. He is really so tired.

“Mm, Lan Wangji, you...you won’t sleep for a hundred years, right? But it’s been almost a hundred hours by now…” Wei Wuxian’s voice trails off and he closes his eyes, exhaustion finally winning out over him.

He must have fallen asleep after all. The next thing he knows is that his back and arm hurt. He shifts his position and realises that he doesn’t seem to be lying in his bed or on his couch. It’s also not the narrow bed in the call room.

It’s a chair. Why is he sleeping in a chair? What is his head resting on? He seems to have been lying on his right arm which he can barely feel anymore. His shoulders are aching possibly from being in that position for way longer than they should be.

Wait. Why do I feel that there’s something on it? A hand?

Why is there a hand on his shoulder? It’s touching his hair that has fallen out of his ponytail.

He doesn’t open his eyes. He’s not even sure whether or not he’s actually awake but he feels strangely comfortable and he doesn’t want to disturb that feeling.

He stifles a moan at the pain in his arm but still refuses to move.

“... ing”

Fuck. He’s speaking.

“Wei Ying.”

“Yes, that’s my name,” he mumbles sleepily.

Wait. Did Detective Lan just—

Before Wei Wuxian can gather his thoughts properly, the hand retreats promptly.

Wei Wuxian groans and finally turns his head to relieve his shoulder.

After he has shifted his position, he sees no reason to move at all.

“...tor Wei?”

Why is there another voice in my head?

“Doctor Wei!”

“Whaaat?” He’s startled awake by a voice, followed by a hand shaking his shoulder. He blinks upwards and sees Nurse Luo look down on him with a frown.

“Mian Mian?” he asks, still confused as he rubs his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

She laughs at him. “I work here. It’s four in the morning. What are you doing here? I thought it was your night off?”

“I’m not working, am I? Technically still a night off,” he sits up and stretches his arms. He really spent almost the entire night here, sleeping on a patient’s bed. Well, not sleeping sleeping.

His eyes fall on Lan Wangji who lies still as ever. Mian Mian is doing the routine check of his central IV lines and exchanges an empty bag of fluids with a fresh one.

“He’s waking up,” Wei Wuxian tells her.

“Really?” Mian Mian looks at Wei Wuxian and then down on her patient. “That’s good to hear, Detective Lan. You know, in a hospital, especially in the ICU you’re always happy to see people leave.”

Wei Wuxian feels his brows twitch. Mian Mian is right. The goal of a hospital is to heal patients as fast as possible so they can go home. As for Lan Wangji, he will be discharged from the secondary ICU in a few days, given that he wakes up soon, and then he’ll be in a different hospital wing. Theoretically, Wei Wuxian won’t have anything to do with him then and it’s even possible that he will prefer to be transferred to another hospital. Lan Xichen may want him closer to wherever they live.

Wei Wuxian makes room for Mian Mian to do her work—he knows better than to stand in the way of a nurse. Mian Mian, especially. She is not shy to be straightforward with doctors being in the way, and Wei Wuxian is one of those she’ll even push out of the way if she has to. Wei Wuxian has always respected that and it reminds him of how he was like when he was just a resident.

She talks to Lan Wangji softly while working and changes his position a little so he won’t get sore.

It’s only a short control visit, part of the nightly routine in a hospital. A look at the bandages over the scars of the surgery and the bullet—all clean and dry—as it should be. Aside from taking his time with waking up, Lan Wangji is recovering splendidly.

Wei Wuxian goes to the bathroom to wash his face and gets a cup of coffee. Some younger nurses smile at him shyly as he walks by; he doesn’t know them well but he’s known as the eccentric doctor that sometimes will just ghost around in the hospital so they leave him be. Wen Qing isn’t on duty tonight and the doctor on call seems to be asleep. It looks like a quiet night.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe but these rare days, or nights, in fact do exist.

He makes himself comfortable on the chair once back in the room. He’s been here so long that he can just as well stay until the on-duty night shift goes home.

Currently there’s no sign of Lan Wangji waking up. Not unusual, but it makes Wei Wuxian impatient nonetheless.

“I dreamed you called me by my name,” he tells Lan Wangji while sipping on his coffee. “And you touched my shoulder.”

He feels groggy but the coffee does its job. It’s not very good coffee but it’s hot and strong, so that works for now. Just as he begins to feel a little more alert, he feels his eyes widen, all exhaustion blown away.

“Lan Zhan, you moved your hand!”

Surely it isn’t my coffee!

He puts the coffee cup on the side table and bends over the bed, placing his hand around Lan Wangji’s wrist, prompting him to close his hand almost into a fist.

“Good, good,” he says, grinning and lifts Lan Wangji’s arm and shakes it loosely.

Lan Wangji pulls his wrist out of his hand in a very clearly deliberate motion, making Wei Wuxian laugh.

“Haha, sorry, that was mean. But effective. I know you’re almost awake. No need to pretend, Lan Zhan.

Lan Wangji’s hand has fallen back on the blanket where Wei Wuxian takes it once more.

“Okay, again. I’d like to know if you actually understand what I say and can react accordingly. Please try and return the pressure.”

He squeezes Lan Wangji’s hand gently and remains like that to give him time to process what he’s supposed to do.

For a few seconds nothing changes. Then, Lan Wangji bends his fingers, closing them around Wei Wuxian’s hand.

“Very good. Very good!” Wei Wuxian finds himself smiling widely.

Lan Wangji moves his other hand, lying on his other side. Wei Wuxian reaches over and takes it with his own free hand.

“Now what?” Wei Wuxian asks himself, suddenly forgetting all the normal protocols that he should be doing.

Lan Wangji breathes a soft, but audible, sigh and holds Wei Wuxian’s hands tightly.

“Lan Zhan? Detective Lan? You can now let go.”

Lan Wangji does not let go. Instead, his grip becomes even tighter. It’s lacking strength, of course, but it seems...determined.

Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath. He feels his heart beat faster than normal before very gently laying down Lan Wangji’s hands and freeing his own to take a step back. He feels strange. Confused, even.

A beat passes.

“Why did you not finish your story?”

What?

“What?” Wei Wuxian mouths his thoughts.

“The fairy tale. You did not finish it.”

Wei Wuxian stares down wide-eyed as two golden orbs look back at him, blinking questioningly. Was Lan Wangji actually listening?

“O-Oh...I guess I fell asleep?” he responds before he remembers that he’s a doctor and this is his patient. He clears his throat. “Hey there. Good morning.”

“Wei Ying.”

A shiver runs down his spine. This sounds exactly as it did in his dream. Was it … not a dream after all? Unconsciously, he rubs his shoulder where he thought he felt a hand in his sleep.

“That is my name, correct. Can you give me yours?”

Lan Wangji frowns. “You know it. You frequently called me by it.”

Wei Wuxian laughs heartily, “Yeah, so then you certainly can tell me again, right?”

“Lan Wangji. Lan Zhan,” he says clearly.

“Do you know where you are?”

“In bed.” Lan Wangji looks at him with a frown. “Is that not obvious?”

“Oh, I really like you. Do you know how you got here?”

Lan Wangji’s eyes light up. “I like you too, Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian blinks, dumbfounded. “... t-that’s nice.” Smooth, Doctor Wei. Real smooth.

There almost seems something akin to a smile on Lan Wangji’s lips.

“Okay, serious talk now Detective Lan. Please answer my question. Do you remember what happened?”

“Lan Zhan,” the patient says.

“Detective Lan?”

“Lan Zhan. Call me Lan Zhan,” he says again, now with a...

Is he pouting?! A private investigator with a bullet wound, pouting?

Seems like it’s highly unlikely that they will be having a professional patient-doctor conversation now.

“Okay okay. Lan Zhan it is!” Wei Wuxian waves his white flag

Lan Wangji looks around. He blinks several times before lifting his arms to look at them. Then he touches his face and finds the feeding tube still in his nose and the nasal cannula.

“Hey hey! Please leave those alone,” Wei Wuxian gently holds his wrist to keep him from pulling at the tubes. “If you’re doing well, you’ll soon get rid of them.” He likely needs the extra oxygen no longer anyways.

“What are those? And what is…”

“No, please please don’t pull at that too. I don’t want to have to restrain you, Dete—Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian quickly stops Lan Wangji from touching the central IV line in his neck through which he receives his medications.

Wei Wuxian holds the patient’s hands, so they don’t roam around aimlessly. “Please don’t pull on any tubes and bandages you might feel. That’s really important, okay? Be a good boy.”

“A good… good boy,” Lan Wangji slurs slightly and he pouts, again.

“Yes, a good boy,” Wei Wuxian smiles. Lan Wangji’s hair falls ever so slightly to frame his face and it’s taking the doctor all his might to not reach out and tuck his stray hair behind his ears.

“Bunnies.”

“What?”

Bunnies? Wei Wuxian suddenly recalls Jiang Cheng saying that this detective was carrying a bag of carrots.

“You were buying carrots for your… for your bunnies, Lan Zhan?”

“Carrots? My bunnies love carrots,” Lan Wangji smiles and Wei Wuxian feels that his heart is about to jump out of his mouth.

At this point, Wei Wuxian is certain that Lan Wangji is not yet fully oriented. Hell. He feels that he himself is not fully oriented. That smile, would be the death of Doctor Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji’s behaviour is not unusual, especially since it’s the first time he’s properly woken up in four days.

“Alright, Lan Zhan. You’re in the hospital. Do you understand that?”

“Hospital?” Lan Wangji looks around again when his eyes land on the monitor where his heart rate is shown—everything is perfect. If not for the long incision on his abdomen and the small hole the bullet left, he would be in perfect health. He may be a little pale, but judging from his brother’s complexion it could be normal.

“Is that why I do not feel like I can get up?” Lan Wangji asks in a more stable, annoyed tone.

“Likely,” Wei Wuxian chuckles. “If all goes well we’ll have you get up in a few days. Lying still for longer periods of time isn’t healthy for your body but for now be patient, patient.”

He laughs at his own joke while Lan Wangji just looks at him. “ Right. So, do you feel any pain?” “No.” “None at all?” He checks the dosage of the pain meds and lifts his brows. It’s not that high. Considering Lan Wangji’s size and weight, it would be likely that he still feels a little bit of pain.

“No. I feel fine.”

Wei Wuxian acknowledges as some people don’t need a high dosage. “That’s good. Now, do you remember what happened to you? You can tell me the last thing you remember before waking up here.” Lan Wangji sighs, his hand on his forehead.

“I... I remember speaking to my brother on the phone,” a frown forms between his perfect brows. “He told me to be careful.”.

After a moment of silence he continues, “It seems like I failed him in that part.” “Now, that depends on how you see it. You’re still alive, after all,” Wei Wuxian offers.

“I need tto tell Brother that I am fine.” He makes a move towards his hip as if to pull out his phone from his non-existent pants.

“Relax,” Wei Wuxian says. “He was here yesterday. I told him you’ll be okay and he’ll come again later. It’s still early. I’m sure he’s asleep now.”

“What time is it?” Lan Wangji asks.

“It’s 5 A.M. right now, so very very early,” Wei Wuxian yawns.

“No.”

“No?” “Not early. Brother and I rise before 5 A.M.”

“You’re joking.”

“I do not joke.”

“Do you also wake up that early on your off days?”

“Everyday.”

“Wild.” Before he can continue Wei Wuxian realises that Lan Wangji has fallen right back to sleep again.

“Well, I suppose the meds knocked him right back to sleep though naturally he would be awake at this time,” he says softly and smiling at this fact. It’s cute.

He takes the blanket and lays it on his—the—patient, ensuring that he’s tucked in. As he pulls it to his chest, his fingers graze it.

He really is beautiful, Wei Wuxian concludes yet again. He’s always found women and men alike to be attractive and he doesn’t have a preference in gender. But this Lan Wangji makes him feel a type of way. It’s obvious that he is extremely good looking. But Wei Wuxian knows, feels that there is so much more to this man that meets the eye.

If this was a romantic movie, he would run his fingers softly through his obsidian hair. He would kiss Lan Wangji’s forehead and whispers in his ears, “See you tomorrow, Lan Zhan.”

But it isn’t. Wei Wuxian carries the chair which his ass has become acquainted with and moves it to the side. Grabbing his coat and his belongings, he takes one last look at the private investigator for the night, or morning. He doesn’t know what he’s feeling inside but it seems to lean towards not wanting to leave.

“Sweet dreams, Detective Lan.”

Dream of me? Please?

He’s Wei Wuxian, top medical student of all the schools he’s been to, top trauma surgeon in the whole city (his shameless self would even go as far to say country too). But why can’t he diagnose his own feelings?

Back in the comfort of his own home, he comes to realise that he’d rather be somewhere else. It’s silly, he thinks. Putting thoughts of someone to the back of his head, he hops into the shower and finally, properly, sleeps. His shoulders and back still hurt but it’s nothing compared to probably not seeing the detective.

He wakes up as soon as he falls asleep, as if time skipped itself. Surely he got at least five hours of sleep, the clock beside his bed says so. He doesn’t bother taking his breakfast as he can just grab something to eat at the hospital canteen. Hell, he doesn’t even bother making his own coffee. All he wants to do now is to get to the hospital. Yes, to work, of course.

He arrives at the hospital an hour early for his shift but he doesn’t even have time to reach his office before he hears his name being called. He turns to see some of the younger nurses giggle. “Oh hey, look who’s here!”

“Male Nurse Beautiful!”

“What? Am I missing something?” Wei Wuxian asks curiously as he taps his I.D. card on the clock-in system to update his attendance.

“Nothing, nothing,” the nurses continue giggling as they hide behind the counters. “Hey! Don’t nothing, nothing me!” he walks over to the counter and smacks their head playfully with the file in his hands. “I see all of you looking at me,” Wei Wuxian says softly as he squints and points to them.

“Not telling you, Doctor Wei!”

“Aiya, you two really—”

“Doctor Wei, are you bullying my nurses again?” Mian Mian appears at the back of him and he gets hit on the head instead.

“On the contrary, they’re bullying me!”

“Ah. I see. From today onwards, you’re known as Male Nurse Beautiful, Doctor Wei,” Mian Mian says, also giggling like the rest.

“And you say I was bullying them…” he clicks his tongue. “Are you not going to tell me what this is about, Mian Mian?” he huffs while rummaging for his keycard in his pocket to open up his office.

Mian Mian, bold as she is, slips in behind him. “You have a fan but apparently you didn’t look very competent in his eyes.”

“Huh?” He turns on his computer and vanishes behind the closet door to change into hospital pants. “What do you mean?”

“Detective Lan asked after you this morning, when Wen Qing was doing rounds. He’s doing good, by the way.”

Wei Wuxian peeks out from behind the door while brushing his hair to tie it up in a bun, ignoring the warm sensation spreading in his chest upon hearing that Lan Wangji asked for him.

“Was he now?” a tone of doubt taints his question.

“Mhmm. Apparently, he seems to have taken you for a nurse. When Doctor Wen Qing was talking to him, he asked about you. He was pretty out of it from the drugs and I guess he didn’t remember your name at the time. He asked for the ‘male nurse’.” “Male nurse?” Wei Wuxian feels realization dawn even before Mian Mian continues. “Male nurse. Beautiful.” She giggles. “That’s what he said. Two hours later he remembered your name again, though he’s still pretty out of it. I’ve never seen a patient that gets this high on so little painkillers.” Wei Wuxian laughs and at the same time feels the butterflies in his stomach flutter wildly. He checks his wrist watch. He might still have time to make a quick visit before his first scheduled appointment…

Sure enough, being a doctor means “time” is something one never has. The moment he’s finished changing, his pager beeps.

Mian Mian sighs and smiles. “Welcome back to work,” she says. “I’ll leave you be. See you tomorrow, Doctor Wei?” “Hmmm,” he groans while looking up the cause for the alarm on his computer. He feels his face fall. “What is it?” Mian Mian asks. “Accident on a construction site. Several injured, at least three in critical condition.” “Fuck.” “You could say that.”

Wei Wuxian knows what this means. It doesn’t matter that his shift technically hasn’t started yet. There’s no time for any visits or for coffee or anything of the like. He takes a protein bar from the drawer of his desk, rips open the packaging and stuffs it into his mouth while on his way to the emergency room, followed by Mian Mian who seems to have forgotten that she’s no longer on duty, offering her help during triage.

Putting his own emotions and thoughts behind, it’s time to get to work. Wei Wuxian is immediately sent to the worst case: a construction worker who, upon falling from a collapsing scaffold, was impaled on steel poles.

For the next several hours, he has not a minute of time to wonder about Lan Wangji.

It’s nearly midnight when Wei Wuxian collapses on the bed in the call room. Please, please, he thinks, no more emergencies tonight.

The only good thing about this day is that the appointment with Jin Guangshan, the hospital manager, had to be called off. It wouldn’t have led to anything than the usual arguing over funding and cutting staff, no matter how short-handed they already are. Wei Wuxian hates the guy and knows he’d love to fire him if he could.

But that’s truly the only thing about this day that didn’t suck.

The man who was impaled didn’t make it. He died during surgery, right under Wei Wuxian’s hands. It was to no one’s surprise. His chances were close to zero from the beginning but still, losing a patient is something he never wants to get used to, much less to be okay with. Though on the surface, he puts a stoic face and tells everyone that this is normal, that witnessing deaths in the medical field is normal and that they’d tried their best. But truth be told, he’s as freaked out as anyone else and often he thinks that he never tried hard enough.

Three patients are in critical condition. One probably won’t make it through the night but there’s nothing more that can be done for him. If he survives, he’ll never return to work on a construction site again, and only live an independent life after months and months of rehabilitation. While his colleagues will live and make a full recovery with time.

This was the worst work day Wei Wuxian had in months. Accidents like this one with several severely injured people at once are the nightmare of every doctor.

While working, time loses all meaning. You don’t do anything but examine a patient, stabilise him, perform emergency surgery until you forget who you are. Sleep and food become a foreign concept and themselves become the last priority of theirs.

Only a fleeting thought passes Wei Wuxian’s mind—he’ll have to postpone his visit to Lan Wangji to tomorrow. His body has kept working until now, never betraying him when a patient’s life depended on him but now, it’s over. He chugs a bottle of water and is asleep faster than he can count down from ten to one. For the past few weeks, he’s been having trouble sleeping but tonight, it’s entirely the opposite.

He wakes up with bright daylight seeping into the room through the tiny window. He feels as if he’s aged fifty years overnight. His entire body aches as he moves to look at the clock on the wall. It’s past 10 A.M. He’s been asleep for ten hours straight, not waking up even once. There doesn’t seem to have been an emergency during the night that required his assistance, and now his shift is over and he has the rest of the day off.

Wei Wuxian stretches his arms wide, realising how badly he needed that slumber.

His stomach growls and he’s ravenously hungry. In his head he makes a list of what he has to do: get a shower, eat, drink, look how the patients are doing (on duty or not, he can’t just go home or do anything without knowing their conditions).

And then, maybe he’ll check on Lan Wangji. He feels himself smiling at the thought.

Don’t worry, Detective. Male Nurse Beautiful is on his way.

Wei Wuxian still finds it surprising that the Detective was looking for him. Perhaps he wanted to clarify about a few things, since they did have a little chat. Lan Wangji probably just wanted to fill in some gaps.

An hour later he feels like a proper human being again. A hot shower, a change of fresh clothes and getting something to eat has worked wonders. There were no reports of any more deaths that night, which is always a good sign.

Eventually, he gets up and makes his way to the secondary ICU.

He stops when someone calls his name.

“Doctor Wei?” It’s a nurse he isn’t familiar with.

Yesterday, several staff members have been called in from their off-days to help with the injured. It’s quieter today, scheduled surgeries have been postponed to give doctors and nurses some time to rest.

“Yeah?”

“Doctor Wen Qing asked me to inform you that Detective Lan has been discharged from the ICU.” “Already?” Wei Wuxian asks, but his surprise quickly dissipates. With yesterday’s influx of new patients, the usual cycle of discharging and transferring patients from one ward to another has since started once more. Furthermore, Lan Wangji seemed to be in good enough condition to be transferred. “Can you tell me where he’s now?”

“The west wing. You’ll have to ask the room number there.” “Alright, thanks!” he turns on his heels.

He’s in high spirits when he closes in on Lan Wangji’s room ten minutes later. It won’t be too long before Lan Wangji will be discharged but, maybe, they can talk some more and hopefully exchange phone numbers. Hopefully.

He knocks on the door and opens it to peek in, heart beating in his chest and eardrums.

Lan Wangji is alone in the room, leaning into the cushions with the bed elevated. He looks much better now without the tubes and infusion. Only the central line is still peeking out from under the collar of the light blue pajama shirt he’s now wearing. Wei Wuxian suspects that his brother brought it to him. He looks very handsome.

He’s holding his phone but promptly places it on the nightstand to look at Wei Wuxian questioningly.

Something about the look in his eyes is different than the day before.

“Good morning, Detective Lan,” Wei Wuxian waves his hand and grins at him. “How are you doing today?” Lan Wangji answers him with a blank look, only betrayed by a slow, confused blink of his eyes. “Good morning,” he answers in a low, deep voice. “I am well.” “Good to know, good to know!” Wei Wuxian takes a chair from the table by the window and slumps down on it. He still feels a little stiff from yesterday’s ordeal. Sitting is better than standing.

“Congrats on getting discharged from the ICU.”

Lan Wangji doesn’t answer and his piercing gaze is making Wei Wuxian swallow hard.

“Is something wrong?” he asks, wondering what Lan Wangji might be thinking. “Are you still waiting for me to finish the story?” Confusion is now written clearly on Lan Wangji’s face. Only confusion.

Something’s clearly wrong.

Lan Wangji shifts a little and holds his stomach, frowning at the pain he certainly feels when moving. “Sorry, but I do not understand.”

Wei Wuxian has a suspicion but he doesn’t want to accept the implications yet, “Lan Zhan, are you sure you’re okay?” At hearing Wei Wuxian mouth those two words, Lan Wangji narrows his eyes, “Are we familiar?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

The doctor that saved Lan Wangji’s life forces a smile on his face despite the puncture in his heart.

“We... We talked yesterday night, when you were still in the ICU. Don't you remember, Lan Zhan?” He hates how high his voice suddenly sounds.

Lan Wangji looks at him with nothing in his eyes. The man lowers his gaze. “I apologise. I was told that I had woken up briefly yesterday.”

Lan Zhan does not remember.

“Though I only remember waking up this morning. I tend to react strongly to all kinds of medication. If I understand correctly, I did not wake up as quickly as I should have either.”

Wei Wuxian feels his skin burning. “Yes, you were unconscious for longer than expected.”

“I was not on my best during the past weeks.”

Wei Wuxian recalls the conversation that he had with Lan Xichen, about how his brother was under tremendous stress which could play a part in his slow gain of consciousness.

Despite the dread Wei Wuxian suddenly feels, he recognises deep exhaustion still lingering in Lan Wangji’s face. He looks like he’s in need of a lot of rest.

“So I’ve been told,” he’s still smiling though he increasingly feels like he could cry at any time. It must be all the built-up exhaustion and frustration with the higher ups, finally crumbling on the inside.

“It’s good to see you fully awake now,” Wei Wuxian manages.

“Mn. Did we become familiar?” Yeah, you kind of got mad when I didn’t call you Lan Zhan and today I came here, wanting to ask for your number.

He doesn’t say that out loud. With Lan Wangji looking at him like a complete stranger he suddenly feels as if he can’t breathe. Maybe that’s just it, isn’t it? Wei Wuxian may be the doctor that saved his life, but that is his job. Other than that fact, he’s a complete stranger.

“Not really, no,” he waves his hand dismissively. “I’m Wei Wuxian, head surgeon. I was the one that stitched you back together.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes widen as his hand unconsciously moves over his abdomen. He inclines his head, “Then I owe you my gratitude, Doctor Wei.”

Doctor Wei. Detective Lan.

That’s where they’re at.

That’s the real Lan Wangji, without the lingering influence of sedatives and heavy painkillers.

“Not at all, Detective. It’s my job,” At least you I was able to save. He pushes the memories of the construction worker crashing in the operating room and dying aside and Wei Wuxian couldn’t do anything about it. That man had his wife and three children waiting for him in the waiting room. Wei Wuxian had to be the one to break the news to them. It’s something he’s good at, people tell him. He’s empathetic and calm and takes his time, but he doesn’t feel there’s anything good about things like that, ever.

“As for the things I do not remember,” Lan Wangji continues, “was there anything important?” A part of Wei Wuxian wants to tell him the truth. The other part knows that it’s futile. Lan Wangji and him are strangers.

“No,” he says, putting an air of finality to his voice. “As your surgeon, I was just checking in to make sure you’re doing good.” A smile. Fake and painful on his face. “When I heard you were transferred here from the ICU, I wanted to say goodbye. You’ll get to go home soon I bet.” Lan Wangji hesitates. “A week from now, I hear,” he then says slowly, as if he’s not sure if it’s truly what he wants to say.

Suddenly, the walls of the room seem to be closing in on Wei Wuxian. It’s starting to get a little suffocating. The smile seems to be glued to his face and it burns through his skin.

“That’s great to hear!” He gets up, knowing there’s nothing for him to stay. “I’ll have to get back to work, so I’ll leave you alone now.”

Fucking liar.

He can’t take Lan Wangji’s politeness anymore; it's putting a distance between them that wasn’t even there when they first locked eyes in the trauma room five days ago. And that pout...

Wei Wuxian needs physical distance too, or he’ll start screaming over his own idiocy.

“Thank you for your visit,” Lan Wangji says softly, but loud enough to shatter Wei Wuxian’s world.

“You were my patient and it’s my job to come and see you.”

But it wasn’t my job to have stayed next to you for those many nights. They came and left too soon.

“Goodbye, Doctor Wei.”

“Goodbye, Detective Lan.”

Wei Wuxian leaves the room with a wave of his hand. With every step of his feet, his heart falls even lower. He feels tears burn in his eyes without even knowing why they’re there.

“Doctor Wei,” a familiar voice greets.

“Detective Lan,” Wei Wuxian tries his hardest to maintain a calm tone. “Lan Zh—your brother is awake now. He’ll be out of here in no time.”

Lan Xichen wears a smile and Wei Wuxian can’t help but want to smile too. He really is very different from his brother.

“Thank you, Doctor Wei.”

“As I said the other time, it’s my job.”

“And for me it is the life of my brother,” Lan Xichen answers. “He means the world to me.” Wei Wuxian swallows as he bids his farewell, once more using “work” as an excuse to leave. What the hell was he thinking? He had this coming, getting attached to a patient like this. He should have been smarter. He should have known this was a bad idea. Wen Qing was right and it’s a good thing she wasn’t there to witness this bullshit. Then again, all this was one-sided. Lan Wangji gave him absolutely no reason to feel this way at all. And this fact alone makes Wei Wuxian feel even shittier.

He walks past Jiang Cheng who’s just arrived at the hospital.

“Yo, Wei Wuxian,” he calls after and falls into step with his brother. “God. You look like shit. Did you not sleep for days?

“Busy saving lives, you know the drill,” Wei Wuxian says calmly, though what he’s feeling on the inside is the opposite. Inside, he’s confused, heartbroken and disappointed—disappointed at himself.

“Are you headed home now?”

“Yeah, nowhere else I’d rather be.” Now, that’s a lie.

“Don’t forget about dinner this weekend with A-Jie,” Jiang Cheng reminds.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he pats Jiang Cheng on the shoulder and heads to his office to pack his belongings.

At this point in time, he’d much rather hide in his bed forever, or bury himself in work. That always works. A dinner with his siblings would be a good distraction. Though Jiang Yanli’s ability to see through him...

She would know what’s up in a heartbeat.

While leaving the hospital and making his way home, not realising his surroundings, he finds himself wishing to be called back in to a set of emergencies.

He feels absolutely terrible about thinking that way but he knows that during times like these he doesn’t hurt, when he can just focus on the task at hand. In the operating room he never hurts. In it, he can easily forget about everything and anyone.

It’s ridiculous to feel like this over a man he doesn’t even know, because Lan Zhan, the Lan Zhan he was talking to yesterday wasn’t even the real Lan Wangji. He was under the influence of medication and probably acting completely contrary to his personality.

He shouldn’t be so shocked; it’s perfectly normal for someone not to remember the first hours or even days after waking up for the first time.

Still, it hurts, more than it should.

Goddamnit, Wen Qing.

Days and night come as they go. Wei Wuxian doesn’t go back to visit Lan Wangji. He doesn’t check in on him anymore. He hears from Wen Qing that he’s been discharged to recover at home not even a week after the last time they saw each other.

He receives a thank you card from the Lan family that he stuffs into a drawer without even really looking at it.

Wei Wuxian works, more than he has to, and it’s not like he doesn’t enjoy doing his job that sometimes feels more like a calling, like his right place in the world because he knows that he’s good at what he’s doing. He saves patients, some of which other doctors deemed to be lost causes, and he is praised like no doctor his age usually would.

Still, not a day goes by that Doctor Wei Wuxian’s heart doesn’t ache whenever he’s been called Male Nurse Beautiful by his colleagues at work. It’s been three months and he still remembers Lan Wangji. He still remembers his deep set golden eyes, stark black hair, the little ‘v’ that forms between his brows and that pout of his.

For all he knows, Lan Wangji has moved on with his life and does not remember a single thing about the hospital other than his recovery. Doctor Wei Wuxian… is just a passing memory.

It’s another rare quiet day at the hospital today. Wei Wuxian is about to clock off soon. He says his goodbyes to his nurses and colleagues, like he does every single day without fail, no matter how shitty his day is. Always, always, always be thankful for the people around you. That is the motto he lives by. Ever since he got into the medical field, it’s embedded in him that life is so fragile. One second you could be queuing up for a cup of boba, and the next, you’re lying flat on the ground because your brain has an aneurysm. It could happen to anyone at any time. Life is indeed so fragile and precious.

As he heads for the entrance of the hospital, he sees a familiar face at the corner of his eyes. A face that he so very often thinks of, dreams about.

There Lan Wangji sits, alone. He has his eyes closed and his arms folded in front of him. He looks just as beautiful and handsome as Wei Wuxian remembers. The doctor goes over to the counter and asks Mian Mian, “What’s Detective Lan doing here?”

“Oh hello, Male Nurse Beautiful!” she teases.

“Eh, keep it down!” Wei Wuxian shushes his colleague. “Is he waiting for someone?”

His girlfriend?

“For his uncle. He was admitted an hour ago because he was experiencing sudden chest pain and difficulty to breathe. They were worried that it was a heart attack.”

“What have the check ups shown?”

“Just acute bronchitis. But it’s good that they’re cautious about it. Some people would just ignore it,” Mian Mian shrugs.

“Yeah, you don’t say,” Wei Wuxian sighs.

“Aren’t you going to go over and say hi to your patient?” she chuckles.

“Don’t you have work to get to?”

“Excuse you, Doctor Wei. You came to me and asked me questions first,” Mian Mian slaps his arm with a file. “Now go and get him a cup of tea or something!”

Wei Wuxian sticks out his tongue but says, “Fine. Only because you told me to. See ya.”

“Yeah, yeah. I told you to,” her response dips in familiar and joking sarcasm.

He goes over to the doctor’s lounge and makes a cup of tea for the detective. The only flavored tea bags left are chrysanthemum, lavender and peppermint.

Wei Wuxian taps his nose and wonders what Lan Wangji would like. Not that he wants to impress him or anything like that, God no.

It takes him a few seconds for his hand to reach out for the peppermint sachets. He fills the styrofoam cup with hot water and seeps the tea bag into it. He considers putting sugar in it but decides not to, in case the man prefers it sugarless. He could always add sugar afterwards. Always a better and a more resourceful option than to make a new one without sugar.

Now, he approaches the detective. He’s already off work so technically, he isn’t a doctor. But that’s what he thinks, not Lan Wangji who called him Doctor Wei and only Doctor Wei when they last saw each other.

He walks slowly to him and is now standing in front of him. Lan Wangji opens his eyes and their eyes meet, the same way they did when Wei Wuxian first saw him—all covered in blood.

“Don’t worry, your uncle is going to be fine,” Wei Wuxian smiles and hands him the cup of tea. “For you to keep warm.”

“Thank you, Doctor Wei,” Lan Wangji takes what is offered and their fingers touch briefly. Wei Wuxian prays to the Heavens that the man in front of him doesn’t hear how his breath hitched.

“You remember my name, Detective.”

“You saved my life.”

“It is my job to do so, Detective. I was hardly the only one to do so. The team saved you,” Wei Wuxian says exactly what he did to Lan Xichen.

“Then I owe you and your team, my life.”

“And I, on behalf of them, say that it’s our absolute pleasure,” he smiles. “How have you been holding up? All healed?”

“Mn.”

They face each other in silence and at such distance. Wei Wuxian feels his face warming up at every millisecond. Lan Wangji doesn’t say anything and that makes it even more awkward—painful—for the doctor.

“You should be able to see your uncle soon,” Wei Wuxian says, knowing how long these check ups usually take. “Yes.”

Is that my cue to go? It sounds like it.

“Well then umm, I hope you like the tea! Good night, Lan Zh—” Wei Wuxian coughs. “Detective Lan.”

The way Lan Wangji’s other name almost came out of his mouth so easily scares him to the core. It feels just like yesterday how the still-sedated patient was adamant on Wei Wuxian to call him Lan Zhan. Good times never last, do they?

He smiles for one last time and turns around to walk away, leaving Lan Wangji who he also left his heart with.

With every step he takes further away, the more he wants to turn back around. But to what end? Ask for his number? Ridiculous.

Wei Wuxian clutches the lapels of his leather jacket, as if to keep his heart from beating out of his chest. He walks past his other colleagues, nodding his adieu as he heads for the exit of this place he calls home. It’s starting to rain outside and he realises he should’ve made a cup of tea for himself.

Just as the automatic door is about to slide open, he hears light footsteps behind him.

“Wei Ying.”