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Everything started with a dare.
And to Wei Wuxian’s great fortune (or terrible luck), Lan Zhan was there.
With alcohol buzzing through his veins, Wei Wuxian’s shame had become nonexistent. He pulled Lan Zhan to an empty room, backed him up against the wall, and pressed his lips over Lan Zhan’s.
It was clumsy, off-centre. Their noses were uncomfortably squished between their faces.
Wei Wuxian expected Lan Zhan to shove him away, glare at him, and storm off.
But he didn’t. (Not immediately anyways)
Instead, a low sound escaped Lan Zhan’s throat that sent sparks down Wei Wuxian’s spine.
Gods, Wei Wuxian wanted to hear that sound again.
Lan Zhan tangled his hand into the base of Wei Wuxian’s ponytail and roughly tilted his head to slot their lips better. Wei Wuxian gasped at the rough treatment.
And that was enough invitation for Lan Zhan to slip his tongue into Wei Wuxian’s mouth.
Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck, and Lan Zhan placed his other hand on Wei Wuxian’s hip. In a sharp tug, Lan Zhan reversed their position and pinned Wei Wuxian against the wall.
Wei Wuxian shamelessly moaned.
Lan Zhan swallowed them all, replying with soft grunts of his own.
The kiss went deeper, sloppier, louder. Their hands slid over each other’s clothes, eager to map every inch of the torso they could reach.
It felt like forever but at the same time too fast for the moment to escalate even more.
But Lan Zhan’s eyes caught the camera.
For a second, he looked as though dumped with ice cold water.
Then his face twisted into freezing anger.
He shoved off Wei Wuxian—the force sending the latter to his butt on the floor—and stormed off, leaving the party entirely.
Wei Wuxian’s memories of that night were hazy.
All he had were phantoms of hands searing through his shirt and the arousing thrill of being devoured.
But it was all recorded in a video.
That someone leaked.
“WEI WUXIAN! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!”
Wei Wuxian flinched. “I'm sorry, Madame Yu. I was drunk”
“That does not excuse you from this obscenity you committed!”
“A-Niang—”
“No. Do not defend this disgrace! THIS CUTSLEEVE! YOU EVEN ROPED IN ONE OF THE LANS!”
“I don't want any member of the Jiang to be associated with a cutsleeve like you. Leave! And do not show your face ever again!”
+ + +
Lan Wangji glanced at the empty seat beside him and softly sighed.
Almost a week has passed since he last saw Wei Ying—since that night he kissed Wei Ying.
Lan Wangji gripped his pen tightly.
He was angry.
But more so towards himself.
Wei Ying was drunk.
While Lan Wangji was completely sober.
He lost control and took advantage of Wei Ying.
And the look of utter hurt on Wei Ying’s face when he pushed him away—
It was no surprise that Wei Ying was avoiding him.
Lan Wangji wasn't even going to think about “the video” which spread throughout the campus like wildfire.
He sighed for the nth time that day.
After the whirlwind named Wei Ying disrupted his routine, now his sudden absence left a deafening silence.
Of all the places and scenarios he could've met Wei Ying again…
He never expected it to be in the hospital.
+ + +
“You have visitors today,” the nurse said. “They will arrive shortly.”
And was gone before Wei Wuxian could say a single word.
Wei Wuxian was in the hospital.
For how long exactly…he didn't know.
He didn't know why or how he was there either.
Everyone he met thus far were all too quick and efficient—coming into Wei Wuxian’s room to do what was necessary and leaving immediately after. Wei Wuxian never had the chance to ask about his situation.
The threads of thoughts were cut when the door opened again.
His mind went blank when he saw who it was that stepped inside.
“Lan-xiansheng?!” Wei Wuxian gaped. “Why are you here??”
Lan Qiren scowled. “Isn't it natural to visit the patient I brought to the hospital?”
“You… brought me here?...”
Wei Wuxian brain was slow to start working again.
“During his morning walk, Shufu found you on the verge of death due to hypothermia.” Lan Xichen explained.
Wei Wuxian didn't even notice he came in.
And…
Oh.
Lan Zhan was there too.
Wei Wuxian squirmed until he was sitting on his bed more properly, leaning against the headboard for support.
Lan Qiren’s scowl deepened.
“Why on earth were you sleeping on a park bench during a late-autumn night?”
“I fell asleep there?…” Wei Wuxian racked his brain for the still fuzzy fragments of what he last remembered before he was hospitalised.
“Ah… right… it must've been that night when Madame Yu kicked me out of the Jiang household because of that leaked video.”
The words tumbled out of Wei Wuxian’s mouth without thinking, and he instantly regretted it.
He cautiously looked at their reactions.
Lan Zhan’s glare was three times more freezing than usual.
Even Lan Xichen’s perpetual smile vanished.
Wei Wuxian gulped and braced himself for the tongue-lashing from Lan Qiren for bringing up something he dragged his precious nephew into.
The older man crossed his arms and huffed. “I see now.”
Lan Xichen looked at him, and as if reading his uncle's mind, a realisation came to him as well.
Lan Xichen glanced at his wrist watch and then flashed Wei Wuxian a small smile. “I think we have to end our visit here for today. Shufu and I have somewhere else to go—we just stopped by to see how you are fairing. I am glad you seem to be recovering well.”
“I—” Wei Wuxian still had so many questions, and perhaps also wanted some more words to say.
But in the end, all he could do was nod as they left.
“Wei Ying.”
Wei Wuxian almost jumped when he realised Lan Zhan was still there.
“Lan Zhan! You… stayed?”
“Mn.”
Something churned in Wei Wuxian’s stomach.
Guilt.
Most likely.
Shame.
Wei Wuxian didn't know shame could be this painful.
He wanted to vomit.
Lan Zhan sat on the edge of the bed and placed a warm large hand over his clenched fist.
Wei Wuxian’s gaze snapped up and met Lan Zhan’s. His hand relaxed, letting go the now creased sheets he didn't know he was gripping.
There was alway this… something… in Lan Zhan’s eyes that never failed to mesmerise Wei Wuxian. But at the moment, it was too much to bear.
Wei Wuxian looked away and sighed. Suddenly, he had lost all the fight to act his cheery self like usual.
More to himself, Wei Wuxian softly said, “Aren't you disgusted with me?”
Wei Wuxian shifted his trapped hand, but Lan Zhan’s hold tightened as he replied, “No.”
No?
A tempest of emotions raged in Wei Wuxian’s gut.
As usual, he shrugged off his feelings with a playful laugh.
“Ah! I haven't even thanked Lan-xiansheng properly! You know~ I'm really surprised he didn't just let me freeze to death!”
“Shufu would not let that happen.”
“But doesn't he want to? I mean like… after I dragged you into such a scandal—”
“Wei Ying.”
Wei Wuxian clamped his mouth shut as Lan Zhan leaned closer.
“The video leaking. It's not Wei Ying’s fault.”
“B-but! Because I kissed you! And without your permission! I think…”
“You think?”
“I was drunk! I barely remember anything! Just—” It felt good. “Just that I kissed you!”
“Wei Ying wouldn't have been able to do so if I hadn't let you.”
“But—”
“And I kissed you back.”
Wei Wuxian’s thoughts screeched to a halt.
“You… kissed me back…”
“Mn.”
“Oh…”
That affirmation was more than enough to melt away all of the heaviness weighing in his heart. Heck, Wei Wuxian's heart might’ve even grown wings!
The sudden surge of giddiness escaped Wei Wuxian as fits of giggles. “Lan Zhan!! You kissed me and I can't even remember most of it!!”
Lan Zhan cupped his cheek, eyes glinting with fondness. “Mn. That must be rectified.”
Lan Zhan’s eyes fell shut as he leaned in. Wei Wuxian closed his in turn, abruptly overwhelmed by the gentle brush of Lan Zhan’s nose against his cheek, the warm huff of his breath. He tilted his head blindly, seeking, lips ghosting across Lan Zhan’s jaw.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian whispered, and Lan Zhan’s lips finally found his.
It was a press of mouths that stayed chaste for all of a second before Lan Zhan deepened it, groaning as Wei Wuxian pressed back with equal fervour.
Lan Zhan’s hand on his cheek slid to the back of his head, long fingers tangling into his hair. Wei Wuxian whimpered, and Lan Zhan swallowed the sound with a low grunt.
Heat licked through him, urgent and shameless.
Wei Wuxian’s entire body turned to jelly, completely melting into the kiss. He slowly slid down the headboard, Lan Zhan’s hand behind his head and back easing him to lay down on the mattress in an easy display of strength.
Lan Zhan shifted, climbing to the bed and hovering over Wei Wuxian. Then he leaned down and trailed open-mouthed kisses up Wei Wuxian’s neck and jaw, teeth lightly dragging along the sensitive skin.
Wei Wuxian keened. And that was enough to persuade Lan Zhan’s tongue back into his mouth, rolling and flicking against Wei Wuxian’s palate.
Wei Wuxian was being devoured. His whole body felt electrified, the sensations entirely different from the phantom touches of his muddled memories.
The reality of the moment made Wei Wuxian suddenly hyper-aware of the small details.
Blunt nails on his scalp.
An assertive tongue exploring his mouth.
Teeth that nip his tongue and bottom lip.
The glide of a palm on his torso searing through his clothes.
Soft huffs and hitches of breath.
The trickle of drool spilling from their lips.
Wei Wuxian was determined to commit every minute detail to memory this time.
Wei Wuxian met Lan Zhan’s kisses with as much frenzied fervour. He sucked on Lan Zhan’s tongue, lightly nipping the muscle or Lan Zhan’s lips.
The kiss went deeper, sloppier, louder. Their hands slid over each other’s clothes, eager to map every inch of the torso they could reach.
Wei Wuxian shamelessly moaned.
Lan Zhan swallowed them all, replying with soft grunts of his own.
Over the sounds of their make-out session, they heard someone else clear their throat.
The two froze. Then they tilted their head towards the nurse standing near the bedside.
“I'm sorry for the disturbance,” she said, a perfect customer service smile plastered on her face. “But it is time for the patient to have a more proper meal.”
+ + +
They were walking down the empty parking space when Lan Qiren spoke. “The short exchange with that boy had confirmed my suspicions.”
“What suspicions, Shufu?”
Lan Xichen looked at him with a frown. His uncle was wearing a forcibly blank countenance, hiding away any thought and emotion.
“When the doctors were treating the boy from severe hypothermia, they found traces of—” Lan Qiren paused, face crumpling to spit out the word, “abuse. Which was surmised to have started when he was a small child, and persists to the present.”
Lan Xichen’s feet stilled, letting those words sink in.
“The Jiangs are influential people. It is best for you not to cross them.” Lan Qiren evenly said, now several paces too far for Lan Xichen to see his face. “I shall handle things myself.”
× end ×