Work Text:
Today was the day.
Valentine’s Day.
Today, Lan Zhan would finally confess his feelings to Wei Ying.
They’d met four years ago when they both started working for the same company. Lan Zhan had been immediately annoyed by and attracted to the rambunctious Wei Ying, whose bright smile and lovely eyes proved distracting in every meeting they had.
Wei Ying, for some reason, had made it his life’s goal to befriend Lan Zhan, despite his standoffishness and refusal to respond to Wei Ying’s friendly overtures. With time, Lan Zhan had grown more comfortable with his feelings for Wei Ying, even though he knew the energetic man could never return his affection.
But today, Lan Zhan would finally extend a hopeful hand to Wei Ying, his best friend and the love of his life. He could only hope that they would stay friends after Wei Ying rejected him.
9am
Lan Zhan walked into the office with a bouquet of flowers gripped tightly in his hands. Mianmian, the office manager and one of Lan Zhan’s few friends, had decorated the walls with paper hearts and roses. It was a proper setting for Lan Zhan’s confession.
He walked purposefully toward Wei Ying’s desk, holding his shoulders straight and his head high. He avoided the gaze of his other coworkers, most of whom were aware of his crush on Wei Ying. It was probably visible from space, after all.
To his surprise, he heard Wei Ying’s voice as he approached. Wei Ying was almost always late, and Lan Zhan felt his heart pound with nerves. His bright tone and happy laugh reached Lan Zhan’s ears and made his love crash into his heart like the tide.
He braced himself, about to turn the corner, and then he heard Wei Ying speak.
“Flowers are so depressing though!” Wei Ying complained, and Lan Zhan jerked to a stop.
“No, they’re pretty,” Nie Huaisang’s voice replied.
“Nooo, they’re corpses. Why would I want a bundle of corpses!”
Lan Zhan looked at the flowers— the corpses —in his hands.
“But it’s romantic!” Nie Huaisang insisted, and Wei Ying laughed.
“It’s really not, Huaisang. I get the sentiment, I guess, but it’s a little fucked up.”
Lan Zhan’s throat felt thick as he turned away. Confession bouquet still in his grip, he made his way toward Mianmian’s desk, where she was furiously stuffing chocolates into her mouth.
She looked up when Lan Zhan got closer, and swallowed a mouthful of chocolates.
“What’s up, Lan Zhan? You look like someone sat on your cat,” she observed.
“Here,” he said, holding the flowers out to her. She took them with a look of surprise.
“Uh, thanks?” She leaned in and sniffed the flowers. “Damn, these smell great.”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan hummed sadly, and turned to walk away.
“Lan Zhan! Wait!” Mianmian called after him. He kept going however, and she called out again, “These must have cost a fortune! What the fuck?!”
Lan Zhan would have to come up with a different way to confess his feelings for Wei Ying.
11am
After putting in some very lackluster work, Lan Zhan slipped out of the office and returned after thirty minutes. This time, he was holding a large heart-shaped box of chocolates. He’d combed the holiday aisle at the store, wanting to find something that he was sure Wei Ying would like. Eventually he found these: chili chocolates. Surely Wei Ying would love these.
He was once again around the corner from Wei Ying’s desk when he overheard him speaking.
“They’re such a waste!” Wei Ying complained, and Lan Zhan froze. What was he talking about this time?
“But Wei Ying, you love chocolate,” Nie Huaisang replied with obvious confusion, which was exactly what Lan Zhan was feeling as he looked down at the box in his hands.
“I mean yeah, but Valentines chocolates are overpriced, they put them in silly boxes that are a waste of cardboard, and they’re all about commercialization! This whole holiday is just an excuse to charge money for silly shit!”
Lan Zhan closed his eyes and forced himself to take deep breaths.
“You’re hopeless,” Nie Huaisang said sadly, and Lan Zhan turned around once again.
This time he headed toward the legal office, where he found Jiang Cheng tapping angrily at his keyboard.
“Here,” Lan Zhan said as he thrust the chocolates toward the other man.
“Ew why the fuck are you giving me this?” Jiang Cheng eyed the heart box with much distaste.
“They’re spicy chocolates. I know you enjoy spice, and I didn’t want to throw them away.”
Lan Zhan turned to go, and Jiang Cheng said, “But why’d you buy them in the first place?!”
Strike two, he thought as he moped his way back to his desk. He was running out of ways to share his feelings with Wei Ying.
1pm
During lunch, Lan Zhan avoided Wei Ying. They often ate together, but Lan Zhan couldn’t bear to sit in his friend’s company while listening to him complain about this commercialized holiday that he evidently disliked so much.
Instead, he went back to the store and wandered the aisles, feeling hopelessness creep up on him. It wasn’t that he had to give Wei Ying something to express his feelings, it would just be easier. Lan Zhan had never been good at speaking his emotions, and having something else do it for him sounded so handy.
Eventually, he landed on a card. It wasn’t very expensive, it didn’t have flowers on it. It was sweet, and heartfelt, and Lan Zhan hoped that this would be something Wei Ying could accept, because after this, Lan Zhan was out of ideas.
Back at the office, he made his way toward Wei Ying’s desk. He felt a little like a convicted man walking to the gallows. He was miserable, and there was a tightness to his shoulders that hadn’t been there this morning.
But he was determined to confess to Wei Ying, and this was his last resort. If this failed, he’d just…wait until another day came where he could gather his courage to speak his mind.
He heard Nie Huaisang’s voice first this time, and Lan Zhan stopped at the corner. He braced himself, because surely Wei Ying wouldn’t complain about a card?? They were simple, and harmless, and completely unobjectionable in Lan Zhan’s opinion.
“You’re absolutely ridiculous, Wei Ying,” Nie Huaisang was saying, and Wei Ying chuckled.
“No, I just don’t like holding onto things that I don’t need,” Wei Ying replied.
“I’ve seen your apartment,” Nie Huaisang said bluntly. “That is so untrue.”
“Hey, I need each and every one of those birdhouses,” Wei Ying insisted.
“For what?!”
“Well, what if a bunch of birds show up? They’ll need somewhere to live!”
“Wei Ying, you do not need 15 bird houses.”
“I only have 11, and yes I do. What I don’t need is a silly card with an unoriginal message that I’m going to want to throw away once the day’s over.”
Lan Zhan closed his eyes and slumped against the wall.
He had tried…everything. Everything . Short of going completely over the top and spending outrageous sums of money like Jin Zixuan did when he was courting Jiang Yanli, there was nothing more that Lan Zhan could do.
Today just…wasn’t his day.
Heart crushed, Lan Zhan walked toward Wen Ning’s desk. He was one of the sweetest people Lan Zhan had ever met, and he certainly deserved a Valentines card.
Wen Ning looked up happily when Lan Zhan approached, though it changed to confusion when he saw the card Lan Zhan was holding out to him.
“What’s this?” he asked as he took it.
“Valentines card,” Lan Zhan said dully and immediately turned away.
“Th-thank you, but I thought that you and—“ Wen Ning was saying, but Lan Zhan kept walking.
He was so tired. Exhausted from picking up his heart and preparing to hand it to Wei Ying, only to have it stabbed right before his eyes.
Some other day would have to do.
5pm
Lan Zhan spent the rest of the work day behind his desk, forcing himself to do anything but cry, which is what he wanted to do. He’d spent so long trying to work up his courage for today, and it had all fallen apart.
When 5pm finally rolled around, Lan Zhan was immediately ready to clear out. He was going to go home, put on his comfiest clothes, and then cuddle his cat all evening. His cat had loved the Valentines themed toys he’d given her this morning, so at least some of his gifts had gone over well.
But before he could leave, he heard a familiar, and for once unwelcome, voice behind him.
“Lan Zhan, wait!” Wei Ying called out.
Helpless to disobey, Lan Zhan stopped in his tracks and waited for Wei Ying. What did he want? Why couldn’t he just let Lan Zhan go home and be miserable in peace?
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying said as he reached Lan Zhan. He smiled up at his friend, guileless and perfect as always.
“I haven’t seen you all day, where were you at lunch?” Wei Ying asked with a mock pout. It was adorable.
It made Lan Zhan want to cry again.
“Out,” he replied shortly, and Wei Ying sighed.
“So cruel,” Wei Ying complained, but playfully shoved Lan Zhan’s arm. “You can make it up by going to dinner with me.”
Wei Ying was the cruel one. “I cannot,” Lan Zhan said, and tried to move past Wei Ying, but the man scrambled to cut him off.
“Wait! Damn, I was—I mean, fine, that’s fine, but um, could you wait here for a second?” Wei Ying asked, glancing at his watch. “Two minutes?”
Wei Ying turned his big eyes onto Lan Zhan, who caved immediately. “Fine.”
“Yay! Stay right there, Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying called as he turned and jogged back to his desk.
Lan Zhan nodded miserably at the few people who were left in the office as they filed out, including Nie Huaisang.
“Have a good Valentine’s Day, Lan Zhan,” the man said with a wink, and Lan Zhan only wanted to punch him a little bit.
Finally, Wei Ying turned the corner and began making his way to Lan Zhan, who felt his mouth fall open.
Wei Ying’s arms were full, and he was holding—flowers. Chocolates. A card .
He came to a stop in front of Lan Zhan, who was frozen in place.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying said softly with a shy smile Lan Zhan couldn’t remember ever seeing before. “Will you be my valentine?”
Lan Zhan’s brain imploded.
“What,” was all he managed to say.
Wei Ying beamed. “I got you these flowers, because you always smell so lovely, and I wanted you to smell something good too.”
He held the bouquet out to Lan Zhan, who took it with numb hands.
“These chocolates are because you’re the sweetest person I know, and because everything you cook for me is always delicious.”
Lan Zhan took the offered heart-shaped box, his own heart pounding.
“And this,” Wei Ying said, opening the card and blushing. “Is to say what I would totally mess up if I tried to say it myself:
I learned about love from your perfection.
I learned about poetry and song from your beauty.
Through the curtain of my heart, I saw you dancing.
I learned how to dance from thinking about you.
Wei Ying looked up at him and smiled so beautifully that Lan Zhan thought his heart might stop.
“But you hate these things,” was the first thing Lan Zhan managed to say, and Wei Ying’s eyes widened.
“What?”
Lan Zhan held up the flowers. “Bundle of corpses.” The chocolates. “Commercialized.” He nodded to the card. “Something to throw away.”
“Lan Zhan, what are you talking about?” Wei Ying looked baffled, and Lan Zhan was so confused.
“I heard you today,” Lan Zhan explained helplessly. “I tried to bring you flowers and you said they were depressing. I tried to bring you chocolate and you said they were commercialized and overpriced. I tried to bring you a card and you said they were unoriginal.”
Wei Ying looked shocked, and Lan Zhan quite understood that feeling.
“You bought me flowers? Chocolates? A card?” Wei Ying whispered, staring at Lan Zhan with…hope?
“Yes,” Lan Zhan said. He took a slow step forward, drawn in by the expression on Wei Ying’s face. “But when I heard you say those things, I gave them away.”
“Why?” Wei Ying asked. “Why did you buy them for me?”
“Because I—Wei Ying, because I love you.”
Wei Ying’s eyes filled with tears and before he could prepare himself, Wei Ying flung his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck.
“Lan Zhan! I love you too!” Wei Ying wailed, and Lan Zhan dropped the bouquet and chocolates to the floor so he could pull Wei Ying into a tight hug.
Lan Zhan buried his nose in Wei Ying’s hair and squeezed. “Why did you say those things, then?”
“Well they’re true,” Wei Ying admitted tearfully. “But none of it applies to you. Anything Lan Zhan would give me is nothing less than perfect.”
Lan Zhan tightened his hold on Wei Ying, who held him just as tight in return.
“You are ridiculous,” Lan Zhan said lovingly, and Wei Ying snuffled a laugh into Lan Zhan’s neck.
“Even Lan Zhan’s words are perfect,” Wei Ying replied.
Lan Zhan pulled back so he could meet Wei Ying’s shiny eyes.
“Be my valentine?” Lan Zhan asked, and Wei Ying pouted again.
“I asked you first.”
“Mn. Always,” Lan Zhan said, meaning it with every fiber of his being.
Wei Ying’s smile was wide and beautiful.
“Me too. Yours, always.”