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Wei Wuxian sits on the counter next to the bathroom sink, the cold of the marble sinking through the thin material of his shorts and raising goosebumps across his legs. He kicks them back and forwards, both to warm them up and to release some of the jittering energy inside of him.
Lan Wangji stands next to him, arranging little bottles and pots and tubes in a neat row. Some of them are new, others are taken from his extensive skincare routine. Extensive being the key word.
His skincare routine takes at least fifteen minutes – Wei Wuxian has timed it, impatiently waiting for Lan Wangji to be ready for their weekly film night. It includes expensive serums and toners and emulsions (isn’t that a type of paint???), so many layers that his skin must be fat with absorbed liquid but no. He comes out of the bathroom looking fresh and dewy and Wei Wuxian hates him and his handsome perfect face.
Wei Wuxian uses a sensitive cleanser because anything else make his skin burn, a moisturiser and suncream in the morning (thanks for the heads up, jiejie). He wouldn’t know where to start with anything more. What order do things go in? Is there even an order? Should he always use the same products or switch them up? What can he do to help that dry patch that he gets under his bottom lip in the winter? As with every other thought he’s ever had, it does not stay in his head. He complains to his jiejie who buys him a little tester kit of her favourite skincare brand. He complains to Jiang Cheng who scowls at him when he says, “I don’t know why I’m bothering to tell you this, you probably just use a two in one hair and body wash in your scalding hot showers. You’re going to get wrinkles, Chengcheng.” He complains to Lan Wangji, the skincare master, who offers to help handcraft him a new skincare routine.
So a few days later, Wei Wuxian sits on the bathroom counter and watches Lan Wangji line up the products of his personalised skincare routine. Lan Wangji passes Wei Wuxian a headband with bunny ears on it to get his long hair out of the way. The desire to tease Lan Wangji is so strong that Wei Wuxian has to bite his lip against the smile that threatens to spread across his face. A fluffy bunny headband? Lan Zhan is the cutest. Lan Zhan is doing you a favour, he reminds himself, be on your best behaviour. He swallows the mirth and puts the headband on. When Lan Wangji looks up, his lips part before he quickly ducks his head back down and straightens the already perfectly straight line of products.
“You should wash your face first,” Lan Wangji says, the first thing said since they entered the bathroom. Wei Wuxian wants to talk his head off – feels agitated with holding it in – but there’s something quiet and delicate about the atmosphere in their little bathroom that he doesn’t want to break.
“Ok,” Wei Wuxian says softly and slips off the counter to run the tap.
Lan Wangji passes him a tube. “This cleanser is one of my favourites. It’s really good for sensitive skin and will remove make up or suncream without being too harsh or drying to your skin. Just use a small amount.”
Wei Wuxian splashes warm water on his face, slicks up a small amount of the gel until it foams in his fingertips and then rubs it across his face. He pauses, face covered in soap suds and water dripping down his neck and forearms, when Lan Wangji grabs his wrist. “Gently,” he chastises. “You don’t want wrinkles.”
“Ahh Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian says, grinning even when a stray drop of water lands in his open mouth, “Of course, of course.” He massages the cleanser into his face carefully, turns on the tap and washes the suds away. He blinks water out his eyes and looks back up to catch Lan Wangji watching the way rivulets of water run down his jaw.
Wei Wuxian beams.
“Lan Zhan! Stop looking at me and pass me a towel!”
Lan Wangji reaches for a towel but does not move his gaze away from where Wei Wuxian’s wet baby hairs are stuck to his cheeks and forehead. “Pat, don’t rub.”
“Yes, sir,” Wei Wuxian teases, patting his face dry with the towel. He hands the towel back, face feeling fresh and clean, but not tight or dry like with some other cleansers. “What’s next, maestro?”
Lan Wangji ignores the title, which makes Wei Wuxian smile wider. Teasing Lan Wangji is like an extreme sport for Wei Wuxian. The thrill of breaking down Lan Wangji’s walls until he looks at him, until his ears burn red, until he says something adorable in his deep, serious voice like Shameless! or Ridiculous!. When they first met, Wei Wuxian saw this unbelievably handsome quiet man and he made it his mission to make him react, to make his perfect, still face move, to make his eyes light up with something. Anger at first, because Wei Wuxian really was shameless, but then the fire melted into fond exasperation, soft eyes and red ears.
“Serums,” Lan Wangji says. “This one will help with blemishes and redness, and make your skin look healthier.”
“Oh good!” Wei Wuxian says. “My skin is pretty good but I do still have some like... What’s the word? Acne scars I guess?” He twists in the mirror to see where a small constellation of dark spots litter his jaw.
“It’s hyperpigmentation,” Lan Wangji explains. “This will help with that.”
“Really? Great! Ah Lan Zhan, you’re so lucky. I wish my skin was flawless like yours.” Wei Wuxian strokes his knuckles down Lan Wangji’s cheek. “So soft too!”
Wei Wuxian feels as Lan Wangji’s skin heats up in a blush. He wants to push, wants to take the next step in this elaborate dance they’ve been performing since they first became roommates, since they went from being friends, close but separated, to being something more, since they saw those secret parts of each other – tired and sick and drunk and sad – and thought I want all of this and more. Wei Wuxian loves Lan Wangji in every state. He loves him when he’s sleepy and soft in the evening. He loves him when he’s had a bad day, fists clenched and pacing or sat in the middle of the living room meditating. He loves him happy, he loves him sad, he loves him in every moment in between. And after a whole lot of denial, a smattering of self-doubt and a stern talking to from Wen Qing, he’s accepted that Lan Wangji feels the same. Lan Wangji doesn’t care for anyone else the way he cares for him. Lan Wangji may be an unmoveable object but he is willingly moved by Wei Wuxian. It’s a fact he can deny no longer.
Their trajectory is decided, two planets being pulled together by gravity, inevitable. All that is left is that final step, final tug, final moment where they crash into one another.
“It is genetic,” Lan Wangji says.
“Good genes, then,” Wei Wuxian says. “So the serum?”
Lan Wangji lifts a small bottle with a dropper lid but instead of handing it to Wei Wuxian, he unscrews it and squeezes two viscous drops onto his fingertips. Then he gently holds Wei Wuxian’s chin still in one hand and uses the other to carefully swipe the product onto Wei Wuxian’s face.
It’s intimate. It’s so intimate. They’re face to face as Lan Wangji focuses on massaging the product into Wei Wuxian’s skin and Wei Wuxian is unable to do anything but watch. Up close Lan Wangji really is as flawless as he thought. There’s not a pimple or a scar in sight. This close Wei Wuxian can count each of his eyelashes and see the fine hair that dusts his cheeks.
He wants to kiss him. He’s never wanted to kiss someone as much as he does now.
“Lan Zhan,” he whispers. “I could’ve done it myself.” Lan Wangji gets another product, squeezes a glob of it onto his hand before beginning to spread it across Wei Wuxian’s cheek. It’s cold and thick and smells nice.
“I know,” Lan Wangji says. “I want to do it.”
Wei Wuxian closes his eyes for a moment, willing the blush away, willing that sappy happy look in his eyes away. He opens them again. “What’s this?”
“Moisturiser. This is a good one for overnight as it is very thick. I have a different one for you to try in the day,” Lan Wangji says quietly. They’re talking in hushed tones, so close that speaking any louder would fracture the perfect warm bubble they’ve created in the bathroom. A liminal space where there is nothing but the four walls, the drippy hot tap and the inches between their bodies.
“Thank you, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says, soaking in everything he can from this moment, the warmth of Lan Wangji’s fingers on his face, the smell of sandalwood on his skin, the soothing rise and fall of his chest. “You really didn’t have to do this for me but I’m really grateful that you did.”
“I would do anything for you, Wei Ying.”
And oh
oh
You can’t pretend you’re not in love with someone when they say something like that.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says, chest feeling tight like he can’t suck in enough breath. A beautiful panic squeezing him from the inside out. “I’ve heard of something that’s really good for your lips. It’ll keep them smooth.”
Lan Wangji looks up from finishing massaging the moisturiser into the soft underside of Wei Wuxian’s jaw. “What’s that?” he asks.
Wei Wuxian wraps a hand around the back of Lan Wangji’s neck and pulls him into a kiss.
It’s everything he’s ever wanted, Lan Wangji’s soft lips against his, his moisturiser-sticky hand against his cheek and everything clicking into place. Wei Wuxian pulls away to whisper, “I’d do anything for you too.”
And then Lan Wangji is pulling him back in, diving his tongue into his mouth and quickly devouring the shocked little noise Wei Wuxian makes.
Wei Wuxian breaks the kiss, smiles wide and wild and says, “Lan Zhan, be careful. I don’t wanna mess up my skincare!”
Lan Wangji huffs fondly, pulls the headband off Wei Wuxian's head to card his fingers in the thickness at the base of his skull and kisses him hard, skincare be damned.