Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Birthday Boy

Wei Ying checks himself out in the hallway mirror of the house he still shares with his parents, making sure he looks good. Today is an important day, and he wants to make a good impression; after all, it's not every day that the most handsome man in the world agrees to go on a date with him!

Wei Ying has been looking forward to today all week, and when he woke up this morning, there were so many nerves twisting and bubbling in his tummy. He felt nauseous with anticipation. What if he does something silly tonight, like tripping up in front of Lan Zhan? Or after dinner, what if there's something stuck in between his teeth? What if that makes Lan Zhan not want to kiss him good night? Will there even be kisses??

He tells himself that he's being silly; this is Lan Zhan. His best friend. Now, potentially, his boyfriend. There's no reason to be nervous because they know each other, and shouldn't that fact take out the trepidation from tonight? He knows he likes Lan Zhan a lot, enough to reconsider his feelings about him. Enough to wonder if what he feels is crossing the platonic line into romantic territory and to know without a doubt that the answer is a resounding yes.

Wei Ying swallows down the nerves and wipes his clammy hands on his thighs, evaluating his outfit one last time.

He's wearing a deeply scarlet turtleneck, a present from his parents, and a snug fit across his chest over a pair of black skinny jeans with only one rip over his right knee. It's a cold day, so he reaches for his calf-length puffy coat and puts it on, grabbing the matching black scarf and looping it around his neck. He runs a hand through his unruly hair - he's growing out his bangs, and it's in that too-short-to-tie-up stage right now. But so far, it's behaving, falling back into place and settling into the time-consuming hairstyle he spent hours on earlier, soft waves that hang over his ears. He tucks an errant silky lock behind his ear and smiles at the ensemble staring back at himself. He gives himself a wink for good luck and grabs his keys from the ugliest piece of pottery his stubborn mother has created yet.

It's a pastime and his parents’ latest hobby, originally a gift Wei Ying had given them: a beginner's class of creative pottery. That one hour has become a weekly pursuit with both his mom and dad taking to it like thirsty fish tossed back into the sea. Every week, they return from their class with another monstrosity painted with garish colours and uneven edges which his dad swears should be that way, and they're so innocently craving his praise, Wei Ying has to keep inventing new places to display their artwork. They're always like proud children whenever they want to show him something new, making Wei Ying close his eyes until they both present their latest eyesore, cradling the thing in their collective four hands while staring at it and him with a loving gaze, and Wei Ying thinks it's so cute that his real opinion is reformed into searching for any positive words he can find to keep their genuine enthusiastic smiles alive.

Suffice to say, they now have a new umbrella rack in bold green and orange, this multicoloured key bowl, (that his mother wanted to keep as a salad bowl but since the Wei family doesn't really eat salad, Wei Ying won that argument hands down), new matching tea mugs, if Wei Ying can be fancy free with THAT description. He's running out of ideas, but if this thing with Lan Zhan goes well, maybe Wei Ying can gift him their next creation? Maybe Wei Ying can make his parents lean towards whites and pale blues, and then whatever it is will fit right in with the whole Lan aesthetic…

He snickers at the thought of Lan Qiren's face upon being presented with a piece of his parents’ latest work of art. Maybe the situation might even earn him one of Lan Zhan’s secret little smiles, the barely there, blink-and-you-miss-it tiny treats that Wei Ying lives for these days, ever since Lan Zhan gave him one when Wei Ying presented him with a new bunny tamagotchi. His parents had gotten it from their latest trip abroad to Japan and Wei Ying knows, given his busy schedule and scatterbrained life, that the bunny would never have survived a week, let alone a whole day. Giving it to Lan Zhan was a streak of genius, making three people dear to his heart very happy beans.