Roommates

chapter three

It was almost 8 PM and Wang Ji had still not returned home. Wei Wuxian was starting to get worried. Wang Ji would never be outside after 8. Wuxian called the younger but his call was not accepted.

Today Wuxian came home early. He wanted to cook dinner today. It was always Wang Ji cooking for both of them but today, Wuxian wanted to surprise Wang Ji.

He came home early and cooked a very simple (almost bland) meal for them, which was actually one of Wang Ji's favorites. Wang Ji never told him this, but Wuxian could tell this from his non-existent expressions.

He kept waiting but Wang Ji didn't show up. Wei Wuxian was pacing around the house, brain storming about how he could rescue a kidnapped Wang Ji.

Suddenly the door opened and a rain-soaked Wang Ji stepped in. It had been raining outside but the boy always had his umbrella.

There was no way he could get this soaked, the only explanation was that he purposely didn't use it. Wei Wuxian understood that something was off but he didn't ask Wang Ji anything. He knew Wang Ji wouldn't answer anyway.

Wuxian grabbed their extra white towel (which was kept by Wang Ji specially for miscellaneous purposes) and rushed towards the younger. He ruffled Wang Ji's hair with the dry towel, and surprisingly, the boy did not take away the towel from Wuxian like usual.

He let Wei Wuxian dry his hair. This much was enough for Wuxian to confirm that something had happened.

To a stranger, Wang Ji's present facial expression would like look his usual self. But Wuxian had grown to understand his subtle, almost invisible emotions.

Unlike the usual righteousness in Wang Ji's face and actions, today Wang Ji looked different.. almost sad. Something had to be terribly wrong for Wang Ji to look like this. Wuxian said softly, "I am waiting for you at dinner." Wang Ji nodded softly and went to his room.

They had dinner in silence and Wang Ji left the table without waiting for Wuxian to complete his dinner.

It was like an unsaid rule, the one who finished first (usually Wang Ji) would wait for the latter (Wei Wuxian). But something was clearly wrong with Wang Ji today. Wuxian waited for a while in the hall, but then quietly left to his own room. Wei Wuxian fell asleep and woke up from a bitter dream. He saw a rabbit being torn open by a wolf, and the disturbing scene caused him to abruptly wake up.

If it was 6 months back, Wuxian would have roasted the same rabbit and enjoyed the buffet in his dream, but things were different now.

Living with Wang Ji had unknowingly given birth to compassion in his heart. He realised that pain was an emotion commonly shared between animals and humans. It might seem unreasonable to others, but seeing Wang Ji rush back home everyday to feed his rabbits on time always made Wuxian's heart fuzzy. The fact that in a world where people didn't care about family, this young boy cared about his rabbits so much. No matter what, Wang Ji would never buy anything which was animal derived.

He depended on a plant-based diet strictly. Wuxian liked to think of him as a rabbit himself.

Wei Wuxian had never seen Wang Ji's rabbit/rabbits, except for in his dreams. He often dreamt of Wang Ji feeding a rabbit, and for some reason, Wuxian particularly liked this dream. Once he even saw himself as a rabbit and Wang Ji feeding him lettuce.

But today's dream of a rabbit being torn open was quite scary. Wuxian got up and decided to go out for a walk on the terrace. He very carefully opened the door, trying to make the least possible noise. But what he saw on the terrace totally blew his mind away.

Wang Ji was sitting on the roof, his back facing Wuxian, and the boy was smoking.

'Rule. 1- DRINKING AND SMOKING ARE FORBIDDEN IN THE HOUSE OF LAN WANG JI.'

As soon as he sensed Wuxian's presence, he immediately discarded the cigarette.

"Its alright, you can do it." Wuxian said as he walked closer to the younger.

It was quite chilly in the middle of the night, cold wind was blowing and there wasn't a soul on the streets. Wuxian carefully sat next to Wang Ji and looked up at the stars.

"It's such a pretty night. Why be alone under the stars?" Wang Ji would usually stare sarcastically in response to Wuxian's poems, but today he just silently looked away. "Can I have one too?" Wuxian asked and Wang Ji referring to the cigarette.

Wang Ji looked at him, as if deep in thought, contemplating every right and wrong in the world and after a tedious second of weighing consequences, Wang Ji gave in.

He turned to his other side, and plucked out two cigarettes from the packet. He placed one between his own lips and gave the other to Wuxian who willingly accepted it.

Wang Ji picked up his lighter and lit it close to his face. Wuxian brought his own face closer to the same blue light coming out of the lighter.

Their faces were in close proximity, Wang Ji was looking at his cigarette and Wuxian looking at Wang Ji. He had never seen the boy so closely. His face lit by the light from lighter, looked delicate. His features were soft and his skin was paler than usual.

Wang Ji put back his lighter and Wuxian withdrew his body back. Both boys smoked for a while and then Wuxian lied down on the slanting roof. Smoking as he looked up at the stars. Wang Ji lied down next to Wuxian, and slowly, very gently, almost invisibly, Wang Ji rested his head against Wuxian's shoulder. If it wasn't for the 6 month training that Wuxian had received of living with Lan Wang Ji, Wuxian wouldn't have noticed this tender vulnerability at all.