happier than ever

you'd do the opposite of what you said you'd do, and I'd end up more afraid v.2.

Wei Ying. There? The text woke Wei Wuxian, making him jolt up. By now, the engine had stopped thrumming, growing dead. Just a sign of how long it'd been, how long he'd been stuck in the godforsaken car of his, the smell of oily takeout in the back. Lan Zhan would nat at him for it, that he knew. Yeah, I'm here. He rubbed his eyes furiously. Suddenly, they seemed unbearably itchy, almost twitchy. Lopsidedly, he texted back.

Is Wei Ying okay? Warmth spread across his stomach, and he fought the tears that threatened to fall, even as his heart started beating faster. Shakily, he drew a breath, composing himself enough to type out a wobbly yeah, I'm okay.

Are you sure?

No. His fingers hovered over the words, the brilliance of the screen oddly bright to his moist eyes. 'Gods, Lan Zhan hasn't even given me the evidence and I've already started crying. I must be crazy.'

But his soulmate must have taken his silence as a quiet no since the phone started ringing just seconds later. A bright blue button popped up on the screen, along with the image of a familiar motif entwined with a crimson ribbon. The corner of Wei Ying's lips turned up slightly, looking at the call button. But...did he really want Lan Zhan to see him in this state? 'What if he thinks I'm being spoiled? That I'm overreacting? What if-'

'Breath. You can do this. No secrets, remember?' Silently, he composed himself, though he could still feel his heart weakly pounding against his ribcage, a feeling of dread crawling and gripping its way up his stomach. He raised his hand slowly, his hand trembling and oddly weak as he went to press on the call button. "Wei Ying?"

A familiar baritone rang out, low with worry. A sigh of relief escaped his lips and the voice flooded him with odd joy and comfort. "Lan Zhan?" His voice was soft and unsure, just like the rocks that lay in the middle of a current, waiting and waiting for something to wash it away， for it to be worn down and whittled down into nothing but a tiny speck of dust in a massive river.

"I'm here." The other boy answered with softness, with a love that one would not have expected from someone named the 'Ice Prince'. But Wei Ying was something else to him. Over time, he realised that however hard to pull away from him, the closer he felt to him. Like they were bound by a red thread, by a red ribbon. Worry frayed the edges of his voice, and Lan Zhan wanted nothing more than to rush over to where his car was idling now, outside Jiang Cooperation. Waiting for that angry purple bastard he called his 'brother'.

Damn this stupid meeting. I just want to be next to him. Dread filled his stomach at the thought of the upcoming meeting, a feeling of foreboding looming over him, unsettling him. This can't be good, he thought, still staring at the screen, waiting for a reply from Wei Ying. It was almost never good, not when the factions of clans met together under the guise of a business meeting, and he didn't trust a single person in the room, safe for his brother and Nie Mingjue. The image of the red-faced, ashen Jiang Wanyin filled his vision. He resisted the urge to acquaint his face with his clenched fist, but there was next to no way he was getting his hands dirty. Shuddering at the thought of him taking over Jiang Cooperation, he turned his attention back to the call.

"Wei Ying?"

Silence.

"I'm here, Lan Zhan. What did you call me for?" His voice was oddly strained, almost as if he had been crying.

"Wanted to talk to Wei Ying."

Once again, the corners of his lips curved up, warmth blooming in his heart at the same time it was cold, empty, like a wet tavern. "You can text me..." his voice trailed off but reluctance was evident in his voice.

The words weren't truly his, Lan Zhan knew. But an all-too-familiar script that had been ingrained into his head in the years the Jiang family 'took' him in. Even Wei Wuxian's demeanour was a disguise. A flamboyant, confident mask that had long since become his face. But a mask was a thin slip of cardboard. When you peeled away the edges, all that was left was a bruised and broken face, stained in crimson. A face that Lan Wangji knew all too well. A face that he wanted to protect, to heal. But he didn't want just a face. He wanted a soul. He wanted a soulmate, someone who could make him feel, make him feel loved in the ways he knew no one else could, or ever would. And the way the younger boy encaptured him, soothed him- was unlike any other. You're my soulmate, he wanted to say. You mean more to me than a text does.

"Wanted to listen to Wei Ying."

The tips of Lan Zhan's ears turned a flaming red, though that was nothing compared to the vibrant flush that dusted the other's cheeks. A brilliant red that rivalled the ribbon that had once circled Wei Ying's hair, tucked into the pocket Lan Zhan had embroidered onto every one of his suits, and tailored shirts, with a little black rabbit on it. Wei Ying felt his heart stuttering. For a moment, it was almost as if time had slowed to a tortoise's crawl. Nothing mattered other than the line between them, tethering them to one another.

"Aish, Lan Zhan! You've got to warn me before you say such sweet things! Otherwise, I'll faint from overloading-"

A familiar grin made its way over Wangji's face. Not the frozen, dead smile he usually gave, but a genuine one. One that only surfaced when he was around, as elusive as the ocean and its waves. Waves that could never be contained or controlled, at least not by anyone or anything other than the moon.

And if Wei Ying was the moon, that Lan Wangji was the waves, inexplicably drawn to him.

"Then," he drawled slyly, "what are Wei Ying's teases?"

For the first few times in his life, Wei Wuxian was truly rendered speechless. Listening to the familiar staccato of the other's voice, his fears dissipated, the phone growing warm in his hands. He ignored the nudge and collapsed into a familiar conversation with Lan Wangji, and the world was perfect.

But reality had a way of knocking down every fourth wall. And reality has a way of making one realise, even in a blissful dream.

In a sudden daze, Wei Wuxian chuckled, interrupting mid-conversation "Wait, what did you call me for, anyway? Like, truly."

Lan Zhan halted halfway, a sudden urge to twitch his neck. He resisted the urge, but it was futile, like an unscratchable itch he loathed.

"I-I...Wanted to tell you about the evidence." Wangji stuttered, his voice full of apprehension and worry, nothing like what it was just moments before.

Silence fell between them for a few moments, interrupted by restless fidgeting on the younger's end.

"Jiang Wanyin sent me a proposition," Wangji's voice seemed to die in his throat, which promptly turned dry. "He wanted ..."

Wei Wuxian's stomach dropped out of his body.