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It's hot, and Wen Ning keeps opening the fridge every few minutes, hoping some sort of sweet treat will have magically appeared since the last time he peeked in. Like some grapes, or some watermelon. Instead, all he has are leftovers and rice.
He sighs before opening it again anyway, partially because he can't help the habit, partially because it’s extremely hot and the fridge provides welcome relief, but also because it's better than just waiting by himself:
Waiting like he always does, for his erstwhile roomie to come home all sex-glowy and talking about "how perfect Lan Zhan is"—which is true, of course, because perfect people deserve each other and it's only fair and just for Wen Ning's best friend to have found someone who is his equal.
Waiting for their few minutes of excited chatter with Wei Ying, before Wei Ying squirrels himself in his room to call his jiejie and didi, who are always thrilled to hear directly from him.
Waiting for Wei Ying to come back out later, if Wei Ying just needs someone to talk to him or to hold him when the rest of the world is sleeping. To sit in silence together and know that he isn’t alone.
And it's okay for Wen Ning to wait, worth every second of it just to see how safe and content Wei Ying is these days, especially since he'd suffered so much to make sure that Wen Ning and Wen Qing were safe, that their family could afford enough food in the months following their disaster. Though, maybe he should think about getting a houseplant; it'd be nice to have a companion while he waits.
So Wen Ning is just closing the fridge, the light blinking off just before the door squishes shut, when Wei Ying is bounding in today, toeing off his shoes haphazardly as always, and... he's not alone? Lan Zhan is with him, and apparently they've got ice cream.
While Wei Ying gives Wen Ning a hug, and then breezes past him to the freezer to unload his grocery bags, Lan Zhan carefully bends to take off his shoes, then lines up Wei Ying’s next to his. Their welcome mat looks nice like that. Wen Ning’s grey and black boots with Wei Ying’s red and black sneakers with Lan Zhan’s white and blue loafers.
The splashes of their favorite colors make a purposefully mismatched set, yet coexist in the same space. It sure beats being by himself.
Wen Ning is startled out of his thoughts when Wei Ying guides him towards the couch. "I couldn't bear to think of you all by yourself at home in this heat,” Wei Ying says, “So I talked Lan Zhan into joining us!"
And just like that, Wen Ning finds himself holding an ice cream cone, Wei Ying ensconced happily on the couch between him and Lan Zhan and beaming at them both.
"It's been so long since we all hung out!" Wei Ying chirps, sighing in satisfaction as he wiggles his fingers and toes.
This is, of course, very literally true—the three of them rarely "hang out;” it's more accurate to say that Lan Zhan and Wen Ning wordlessly pass Wei Ying between them with the mutual assurance that the other will cherish him —but Lan Zhan nods even as he lets Wei Ying feed him a bit of melty ice cream.
The motion draws Wen Ning’s eyes, and when he turns to look, he accidentally makes eye contact as Lan Zhan licks the cone with a flexible pink tongue.
Oh, it really is quite too hot. Wen Ning feels himself blush down the entirety of his chest, and he uses his free hand to drag his collar away from his neck, trying to circulate some air around his shirt.
Looking down at his own cone, he frantically tries to get himself under control. It’s not polite to think naughty thoughts about his best friend’s boyfriend, and Wen Ning prides himself on being polite.
At any rate, they steadily make progress on their cones, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan sharing one, with the hum of the television going on in the background. Wen Ning alternates between staring intently at the tv and staring intently at his cone, grateful he's been included and hesitant to barge in as a third wheel. The cold of the ice cream is a blessing, a distinct contrast to the heat of Wei Ying’s body right next to him, his friend’s tactile nature overpowering even the humid, sticky summer.
He's so focused that he barely feels it when Wei Ying tosses his legs over Wen Ning's (probably so Wei Ying can better kiss Lan Zhan?), but he definitely does feel Wei Ying's lips a few seconds afterwards, pressed to his cheek, and the chill from the ice cream radiates down his neck as his eyes pop open.
Wei Ying shoots off the couch as if nothing has happened, using both Lan Zhan and Wen Ning's shoulders as supports in his haste to escape.
"Be right back," Wei Ying shouts, his whole face red, "going to get more ice cream!"
A tiny sigh escapes from Lan Zhan's side of the couch, though he hasn't moved. "This is not actually how he—we— wanted to ask you out," Lan Zhan says, sounding fond.
Wen Ning’s jaw drops.
Is he being asked out? Perhaps he's feeling the heat overmuch, and this is a sensory hallucination brought on by wishful dreaming; his hand comes up to where Wei Ying's lips brushed his face, and he can still feel the chilly imprint on his cheek.
Lan Zhan is still watching him, and Wen Ning drops his hand when he realizes he’s been caught, blushing.
"You—he?—could try again," Wen Ning offers, completely at a loss for what else to say. Does that sound presumptuous? "But... wait, are you asking me out?"
Lan Zhan tilts his head slightly. He's so cute. "Wei Ying misses you when you're not with us. He talks about you often, and we could see the three of us together. If you wanted."
"Me? Really?" Wen Ning asks, looking around, as if some other person might have appeared in his living room.
"Yes, you, if you want," Lan Zhan confirms. His eyes widen a bit, and if it were anyone else, Wen Ning would claim that they were giving him puppy eyes. Oh no, he's too cute.
"Y-yes, I want," Wen Ning says, watching Lan Zhan's lips curve up in a faint smile. 'Want' doesn't begin to cover his feelings; he's felt lucky just being able to see them together. Joining them? Being with them, on their side, watching the world through their eyes? It’d be bliss.
Lan Zhan looks radiant, and it’s because of what Wen Ning said. Wen Ning made Lan Zhan happy. It gives him the courage to speak as an impulsive thought pops into his head.
"On one condition," Wen Ning adds, feeling like a different, more confident, person as Lan Zhan straightens up.
"Tell me," Lan Zhan says seriously, "I will do my best to make it happen."
They only have moments to confer before Wei Ying comes back, but when he returns, brandishing a tub of ice cream and three spoons, they're both at separate ends of the couch, snapping their gazes up from the tv as if they’d never spoken.
Wei Ying stumbles as he comes back into the room. "O-oh," he mumbles, "you guys didn't talk or anything?"
Wen Ning looks up at him as he returns to his space on the couch, Wen Ning's face carefully schooled into innocent curiosity. "Talk about what?"
Wei Ying looks helplessly at him, then at Lan Zhan. "I thought, we, you'd?" he tries, while Lan Zhan takes the tub out of his hands and carefully slices the plastic packaging off with his thumbnail.
When no verbal help seems to come from that quarter, Wei Ying hands the spoons to Wen Ning, looking adorably confused.
(Adorable! Wen Ning is allowed to use words like 'adorable' now! It's a little weird to call friends 'adorable,' and Wen Ning is nothing but respectful and polite, but now!!)
Wen Ning accepts all three spoons with deep amusement, watching as Wei Ying's hands flutter in the air.
"I!" Wei Ying starts. "We! You!"
Wen Ning nods. "Yes, we're enjoying this show," Wen Ning says earnestly. "Thank you both for coming over."
Wei Ying's discomfort radiates from him as he twists his fingers; Wen Ning takes pity and gives him a spoon back to fidget with. Wei Ying takes it as if it's a lifeline.
They get ten minutes into the next episode before Wei Ying pauses the show and wretchedly looks up at Wen Ning.
"It's just that," Wei Ying says, "I kissed you, because I missed you, and Lan Zhan is wonderful and perfect but he's not you ," his words picking up speed.
He leans into Wen Ning’s space, eyes earnest.
"We'd talked—when we first started to date—about how he was allowed to get jealous of me spending time with anyone but you!"
Wen Ning gulps. He had no idea he was the subject of any of their conversations. Guiltily, he puts an arm on Wei Ying's arm to cut him off, but Wei Ying presses on with determination.
"I like you, too, okay?” Wei Ying says, “I want to spend forever with you both, I want you to get along and love each other; I'll do anything! you can do anything to me! As long as it's you!"
Wen Ning's eyes are wide. He feels completely blindsided by such a serious declaration. He blinks.
Wei Ying blinks back, eyes wide and hopeful and lovely. Then, there's silence while they blink at each other.
Eventually, Lan Zhan laughs. The deepness of his chuckle startles both Wen Ning and Wei Ying out of their stupors.
"He already said yes," Lan Zhan says serenely, passing the tub back to Wei Ying and nudging his spoon towards it, "But that was your best attempt yet."
Wei Ying collapses with relief against Lan Zhan, then pouts at Wen Ning.
"I see how it is!" he says, mock-offended. "I gave you blanket permission to do whatever you want-- and the first thing you do is to gang up on your poor Wei Ying!"
Wen Ning giggles a bit, then nudges him with his shoulder. "Let's have some ice cream," he says, unwilling to disagree with that assessment. He’s polite, not a liar.
And when Wei Ying pouts a tiny bit longer, Wen Ning smiles at him and brushes his bangs away from his sweaty forehead. Can he kiss Wei Ying’s forehead? Hmm.
He leans forward, brushing his lips whisper-soft against Wei Ying’s hairline. Wei Ying beams in response, and his eyes are so bright with happiness that Wen Ning can’t look away for several moments.
When Wen Ning finally looks up, Lan Zhan is smiling softly at him. His arm is wrapped around Wei Ying, but he reaches his hand out to caress Wen Ning’s shoulder, the backs of his fingers lingering on Wen Ning’s bicep. There’s so much affection in that gesture.
"This is the best night of my life," Wen Ning says, looking first at Wei Ying and then at Lan Zhan. "Thank you, really, for coming over."
Appeased, Wei Ying sinks back in between Wen Ning and Lan Zhan and cuddles them both. "I guess I can forgive you," he says magnanimously, slipping deeper into the couch cushions and pulling them both down towards him.
Lan Zhan shoots a smile at Wen Ning over Wei Ying's head, and when Wen Ning hands him his spoon, he lets their fingers tangle together briefly.
It's still hot as they finish up their ice cream, divvying up the pint between them, but it's much more bearable now.
Sooner than Wen Ning would like, he notices Lan Zhan nodding himself off to sleep, first with big, slow blinks, and then with tiny headbobs. He manages to rouse himself after the first few, shaking his head grumpily and pretending he was awake the whole time, but ultimately succumbs to his sleepiness.
"Lan sleep schedule," Wei Ying whispers gleefully, "but he didn't want to miss our first date!"
Wen Ning scrounges up an extra pair of pajamas for Lan Zhan, and between him and Wei Ying, they carefully wake him up and herd him towards Wen Ning’s bedroom. They brush their teeth and change in shifts, and it seems like no time has passed at all before they’re all cuddled together under the covers, the ceiling fan whirring overhead, and their breathing slowly synchronizing.
Wen Ning smiles as he lets himself relax into sleep. It looks like his fridge managed to conjure up a sweet treat for him after all.