summary:
Wei Ying, his brain said as the man with the blue scrunchie started walking out the store.
Wei Ying. His Wei Ying. Lan Zhan quickly jumped the very low door separating his workspace and the café area, much to the protest of the lady who was waiting at the counter. But Lan Zhan didn't care. Because this man was Wei Ying. His Wei Ying.
tags: wangxian, modern au, fluff, cute, celebrity au, baristas, memories, mementos, missing person, it's not angsty I promise
1722 words
hope you enjoy...
........................
Today was supposed to be normal.
Lan Wangji had woken up with the same heavy feeling of longing for Wei Ying in his chest. Yes, he was still pining after the man who had disappeared a year and a half ago, who was presumed dead by the public, and classified as an unsolved missing case by the police department.
He went through his morning routine with the heavy feeling, fed and dressed his little Ah-Yuan with the heavy feeling, took the bus with the heavy feeling, dropped Ah-Yuan off at school and then walked to the coffee shop that was only a few blocks away, still with the heavy feeling of desperate longing.
A perfectly normal day filled with thoughts of groceries and Wei Ying. With tasks that reminded him constantly of Wei Ying. Applications to jobs, that constantly reminded him of Wei Ying. Worried texts from his brother, that reminded him of Wei Ying.
Today was supposed to be normal. Note here, the use of the phrase "supposed to". It was supposed to be normal. But about an hour into Lan Zhan's shift, it was clear that that was not meant to be.
Because about an hour into his shift, Wei Ying, his Wei Ying, showed up.
Wei Ying, the man who had left the agency he worked for without a reason or a note goodbye. The man who had stopped making music, without explicitly explaining why, the man who'd disappeared sixteen months ago, leaving Lan Zhan's life a complete fucking mess.
The man who'd cost Lan Zhan his job. The man who was constantly filling Lan Zhan's thoughts with this sense of longing that he could never quite get rid of, not even when he tried really hard not to think about it. The man that... Lan Zhan loved.
"Hello," Lan Zhan said, trying to hold his voice steady, gripping tightly on the cash register to try to remain balanced. Why was Wei Ying HERE?! HERE!! AT HIS JOB!! IT WAS A CAFE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC BUT STILL, WHY HERE?! "How may I help you?"
"I'd like an iced caramel latte please," the man who was definitely Wei Ying said calmly, holding his bunny-themed face mask off his face. The man then began rifling through the tote bag he had over his shoulder, as if he hadn't been reported missing by his family and his agency for the past sixteen months.
After a few moments the man who was definitely totally the legitimate and actual real Wei Ying, produced a red coffee flask with a small cry of triumph. "Here, I have my own cup."
"Mn," said Lan Zhan, trying to breathe steadily and relax as he shakily placed the order and took the cup from the man who was totally his Wei Ying and definitely not anybody else's somebody. "...name?"
"Oh, right," the man said, smiling widely. "Mo Xuanyu."
Lan Zhan felt his breath catch in his throat. So... this man was not Wei Ying? Lan Zhan shook his head lightly, shaking him from his stupor. If it wasn't Wei Ying (which Lan Zhan was hoping it was, even though the man had just stated that his name was "Mo Xuanyu" and not "Wei Ying") then surely Lan Zhan didn't need to be completely starstruck.
