Work Text:
“You’re staring again,” Jiang Cheng mumbled but the corners of his lips were curled up as he kept his eyes on his phone.
They were in the library because Lan Wangji had insisted on tutoring Jiang Cheng before he could join his shixiong and his nosy friends for lunch and a study free afternoon. They weren’t really getting any studying done, however, what with all the staring he was doing.
“I’m sorry,” he said and his breath made some strands of Jiang Cheng’s hair flutter. Only then did he finally look up from his phone. The older boy’s cheeks always flushed so prettily when he was caught.
“If you take a picture, it will last longer,” Jiang Cheng winked at his tutor and even offered his phone. Lan Wangji let out a small huff in return before going back to marking the test he had finished earlier.
~
Lan Wangji was a sheltered and aloof young master who his shixiong befriended in his first year of college. His shixiong and Nie Huaisang, the assholes, had told him that he was probably Lan Wangji’s first crush and then proceeded to show him a powerpoint in order to prove it. Full of one liners, photos of Lan Wangji caught making cow eyes at Jiang Cheng and excessive use of question marks and exclamation points, it all led to one conclusion....That Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang had too much time in their hands and that Wen Qing needed to come back from the medical retreat she was on to knock some sense into them.
‘It’s because of that huffy tone you use. People are naturally attracted to the whole tsundere act you got going on...,’ Jin Zixuan had said during a drunken rant once and Jiang Cheng came this close to strangling his sister's fiancee.
Jiang Cheng snorted at the memory before glancing back to his new friend. It was hard enough becoming Lan Wangji’s friend- to become his crush was something else entirely. He didn’t know if his new friend was even capable of such a thing. He was more likely to be infatuated with his music notes than Jiang Cheng.
“So, uh, hey,” he started, “are you doing anything on Valentine’s Day?” Jiang Cheng asked, fully expecting Lan Wangji to say that he would spend the day with Lan Huan, his number one person in the whole wide world.
“Indeed, I have a date,” Lan Wangji said in that monotonous voice he used on everyone. As if he wasn’t saying something that made Jiang Cheng’s world implode and his eyes bug out.
“With who?!” he managed to choke out through his surprise, just barely. As far as he knew, the older boy didn’t pay attention to any girls, or boys for that matter. Lan Wangji gave him a look that said he didn’t find him very impressive at the moment, and that if he gave his brain up for science, the scientists would return it. It was a look Jiang Cheng received often from his shixiong. Good to know he is rubbing off on Lan Wangji.
“With you, of course.”
Of course.
Stunned, Jiang Cheng looked around for any cameras because surely Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang were going to jump out any moment now to laugh at him. When no one immediately revealed themselves, he wondered if he had somehow entered another dimension. One where Lan Wangji was interested in dates and more importantly, dates with him on Valentine’s Day of all days.
“Look, Lan Wangji, I....“
“Wei Wuxian and Nei Huaisang have pointed out your feelings to me and I’m willing to give a relationship with you a trial run, now that you are done with National entrance test. I thought Valentine’s Day would be an appropriate first date and that you would be pleased. Are you not?” Lan Wangji said, complete with a slight tilt to his head as he watched Jiang Cheng with those eyes of his.
“My feelings?!” he said incredulously. “Wait, Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang? They told me that you have a crush on me and that’s why you’re always staring!”
Lan Wangji gave him a deadpanned look.
“They told me that you were in love with me and provided a very convincing powerpoint to support their argument,” he said dryly.
Jiang Cheng was sure that his jaw had dropped to the floor. The next time he saw his shixiong and his best friend, he was going to give it to them good. Or in case that failed, he would type a strongly worded email to Wen Qing and sit back and watch them grovel on their knees. Jiang Cheng might also have to reassess Lan Wangji's intelligence if he fell for whatever Wei Wuxian told him. Or at least be sure to never leave him unsupervised with the no-good pranksters and their damned powerpoints.
“Why would you ever think I watched you because I have a crush? I observe you because you have this lock of hair that constantly falls over your eyes and drives me to distraction.”
“I...” Jiang Cheng was thoroughly embarrassed now because of course Lan Wangji didn’t have a crush on him. He had known it but having it confirmed made his stomach roll. Now his whole face felt like it was on fire and the tables were turned, he probably looked like the red sweat shirt his shixiong loved to wear so much.
“Honestly, Jiang Cheng,” Lan Wangji said with a shake of his head, “you should have been able to discern my feelings from the way I remain in your presence despite your tanturms and crude words.”
His stomach flipped and Jiang Cheng tried to get words out but all he could do was gape at his friend and maybe boyfriend?
“Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang had also said that you were too slow to be able to realize my feelings on your own but I had faith in you.”
He pinched himself to make sure that he was hearing things right and that he wasn’t dreaming.
“Wait, so just to be clear, you like me?”Jiang Cheng said dumbly.
“And you like me,” Lan Wangji said slowly, as if he was speaking to a small child.
“Huh.”
“I shall prepare our itinerary for the 14th and let you know once it’s done. Now, I’ll need another fifteen minutes because you’ve distracted me from the test.”
Jiang Cheng sat back and shut up. His mind was still spinning but he thinks Lan Wangji might be his boyfriend now.
“Hold on, why is it only a trial run?”
Lan Wangji threw him a dirty look that Jiang Cheng never knew he was capable of, and he promptly closed his mouth.
Questions later, it was marking time now.