Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wei Ying yawned as he walked out of the class, covering his mouth with a hand. It said a lot about how boring the class was that Wei Ying almost fell asleep—when he didn’t even need to sleep. It was fortunate that this was the last class of the day.

A few feet away, Lan Zhan was moving towards the school doors. He had been paying attention to every single one of the teacher’s words as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever listened to, which, with his upbringing, might be. Wei Ying, as per usual, had been bothering him much to the displeasure of Jiang Cheng, who had been sitting next to him.

“Lan Zhaaaannnn,” he called out, waving a hand as he ran to catch up with him. Behind him, Jiang Cheng probably rolled his eyes in annoyance. Wei Ying almost felt the displeased glare he was receiving from his brother.

Ignoring Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying caught up with Lan Zhan, who had stopped after hearing Wei Ying.

“Wei Ying,” he said with a nod.

“What are you being so formal for, Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying asked, smiling. “Are we not friends after all?”

Lan Zhan did not respond to the comment and continued to walk towards the door again, although his gaze lingered on Wei Ying for a moment, with a look which Wei Ying might have thought of as affectionate if it were anyone else. But just as quickly, the expression was gone, leaving Wei Ying wondering whether he had imagined it after all.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying shouted as he followed him, mentally shaking his head at himself. “Where are you going?”

“Home,” Lan Zhan said. His face remained neutral, but from his tone it was obvious that he was wondering why Wei Ying would ask such a stupid question.

“What do you do at home?” Wei Ying asked, pretending not to notice the questioning look in Lan Zhan’s eyes. “Wait, no, let me guess. You probably study”

Lan Zhan did not answer, which was all the confirmation that Wei Ying needed. Laughing, Wei Ying asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you study too much?”

“No,” Lan Zhan answered simply.

“Figures,” Wei Ying said, still laughing. By now, they had reached the school entrance. The sun was bright, which might be a small problem with Wei Ying’s… condition, but it was nothing too bad. Although he still squinted slightly at the brightness of the sun, which was amplified with his heightened senses, “Anyway, Lan Zhan, see you tomorrow,” Wei Ying said, waving a hand goodbye.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan said, locking eyes with him for a moment before leaving. And perhaps it was Wei Ying’s imagination again, but he could’ve sworn that Lan Zhan’s eyes softened when they met Wei Ying’s. Wei Ying didn’t know what to do, so he just smiled as Lan Zhan left.

Wei Ying watched Lan Zhan’s retreating figure until Jiang Cheng caught up. To Wei Ying’s surprise, Lan Xichen was accompanying him. Wei Ying smiled at him in greeting.

“Lan Xichen, I’m afraid you just missed Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying said.

Lan Xichen smiled, “That’s fine, Wei Ying. I have to go to the library while Lan Zhan will be returning home,”

“Ah! Well, in that case, goodbye Lan Xichen.”

“Good-bye Wei Wuxian,” he nodded at Jiang Cheng. “See you tomorrow, Jiang Cheng,”

Jiang Cheng paused for a moment before replying, “See you tomorrow.” Since when were they such good friends? Wei Ying idly wondered.

Wei Ying opened his mouth to ask, but Jiang Cheng beat him to it. “What was that?” he hissed

“What was what?”

“What’s with you following Lan Wanji around and bothering him?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“What of it? We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Does he know that you’re friends?” Jiang Cheng asked, raising an eyebrow before his expression sobered. Looking around to make sure no one was listening, he asked, “You know who you are, and you know what the Lan family is most famous for doing. Do you have a death wish?”

“He doesn’t know,” Wei Ying said almost defensively, making his way to the car. Jiang Cheng sounded concerned. And maybe it was because he was protective of Wei Ying. But Wei Ying had the feeling that it was maybe because the Jiangs were probably scared for themselves in case a prestigious family found out that they were harbouring a vampire.

The sun burnt a little where it touched the exposed skin on his hands and neck, but it was a familiar kind of pain, helping to keep Wei Ying grounded.

“Do you think he’s as stupid as you?” Jiang Cheng asked, rolling his eyes again. “He will figure it out eventually, and then what? Do you think he would be gracious enough to let you go alive? You and I both know that he is bound to family rules, and he would rather die before going against them.”

Wei Ying winced as Jiang Cheng got in the car. “What if I just told him the truth?” he asked, following Jiang Cheng into the car.

Jiang Cheng shot him a look that clearly asked whether Wei Ying had lost his mind. “Did the sun finally manage to fry your brain or something?” he asked.

“Lan Zhan is not instinctive enough to just murder me on sight,” Wei Ying said, lowering his voice so that the driver would not hear. “He might listen to me, and then both of us would be able to be friends without any secrets in between,”

“While you’re at it, why don’t you send an announcement on TV?” Jiang Cheng asked, rolling his eyes. Again. It truly was a wonder that his eyes were not permanently lodged in the back of his head with how much he rolled his eyes when Wei Ying was around. “Fine, whatever. Do what you want. But if you get in trouble, I’m not getting you out of it.”

“If I get in trouble, I doubt I will have time to ask you for help before Lan Zhan kills me,” Wei Ying pointed out with a smile, to which Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes again. “What’s with you and Lan Xichen anyway?” Wei Ying asked, not being able to keep quiet for long.

“What’s up with me and him?” Jiang Cheng asked, looking away. Although a faint blush seemed to have spread on his neck.

“He said that he will see you tomorrow.” Wei Ying said.

“We do go to the same school,” Jiang Cheng said. “It would be a wonder if we don’t see each other after all,”

“Yes, but you don’t act so friendly with every single person who goes to the school,” Wei Ying pointed out. Jiang Cheng barely spoke with anyone at school, let alone make promises to see them the next day.

“You’re not the only one who is allowed to have friends,” Jiang Cheng said sharply.

“Fine,” Wei Ying said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “It’s just good to see my baby brother finally making friends,”

“Oy!” Jiang Cheng said, pushing him away playfully. And then, as if to change the subject, he asked, “Why don’t you stop concerning yourself with friends I have or don’t have and tell me why you want to tell Lan Zhan about your identity. Don’t you always say that he is a goody two-shoes who doesn’t do anything other than studying, and that he was so boring that even looking at him makes you sleepy?”

“Who knows?” Wei Ying said with a shrug. “I just want to,”

Jiang Cheng stared at him for a moment, open-mouthed as if he couldn’t believe his ears, before rolling his eyes once again and saying, “Fine, dig your own grave if you must. But don’t drag me into your mess,”

Wei Ying shook his head with a smile. Usually, with his brother, you have to read the subtext instead of taking every word he said to heart. In this case, what Jiang Cheng probably meant was, ‘don’t get in trouble I can’t help you with,’

“I care about you, too.” Wei Ying said happily. “Don’t worry, you’re still my best friend,”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes again, but this time he had a faint smile on his face. “You’re an idiot,” he said, looking out of the window as if signaling that the conversation was over.

Wei Ying laughed. Looking at his pale face in the rolled-up window, he also wondered why he wanted to tell Lan Zhan, essentially putting his life at risk.

Jiang Cheng was right. He shouldn’t put his life at risk. But for some reason, he didn’t want to keep any secrets from Lan Zhan.

Tomorrow, he would tell Lan Zhan the truth about who he was, and whether he comes out of it alive depends on how willing Lan Zhan is to hurt him. But he knew that Lan Zhan would not irrationally murder him just for the sake of him being a vampire. Correction, half-vampire.

If Lan Zhan is to murder him, then it would be because he deserved to die. And Wei Ying knew that if Lan Zhan thought that he deserved to die, then he would be able to die in peace, knowing that it was Lan Zhan who killed him.

Chapter Text

The next day, Wei Ying went to school early, dragging Jiang Cheng with him, despite his grumblings and threats. As he had expected, Lan Zhan was already in school, sitting alone in the garden with a book. Which he definitely was not spying upon from behind a pillar.

“This is a bad idea,” Jiang Cheng hissed at him.

“It’s going to be fine,” Wei Ying said, pushing away the nausea. Why was he even nauseous? It’s not like he ate anything. When Jiang Cheng sighed, Wei Ying tore his eyes away from Lan Zhan and said, “If Lan Zhan is here, then Lan Xichen should also be around.”

“So what?”

“Since both of you are friends, why don’t you stay with him for a while?”

Jiang Cheng huffed out a breath in annoyance, “I’m not going in search of him,” but he still turned towards the hall, announcing, “I’m going to the library to try and get some more sleep. Just because someone doesn’t have to sleep doesn’t mean others don’t too,” and with that, he walked away mumbling something to himself, of which the only thing Wei Ying caught was ‘heart eyes’ and ‘stupid idiot.

Vaguely, Wei Ying wondered what he meant by ‘heart eyes’, but put it to the back of his mind to think about later. That's it if Lan Zhan didn’t brutally murder him in a few minutes. That turn of thought brought Wei Ying back to earth, and he peeked out again to check on him, before taking a deep (very unnecessary) breath and running out.

“Lan Zhaaannn,” Wei Ying called out with a smile, waving his hand despite the nerves. Lan Zhan looked up from his book once he heard Wei Ying’s voice, and perhaps it was just Wei Ying’s imagination, but he thought he saw the faintest smile playing on Lan Zhan’s lips when he saw him. But the next moment, that smile was gone, leaving Wei Ying wondering whether he had imagined it.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said with a nod when he reached him. “You’re here early,”

“So are you, Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying said. That was a stupid thing to say since almost everyone who knew Lan Zhan, even in passing, knew that he came to school at least an hour early.

“I always come to school early,” Lan Zhan still said as if he was amusing him with a slight tilt of his head, which Wei Ying would have missed had he not been noticing every single movement Lan Zhan made. Which was also probably because he was nervous.

“Well, I came here early today so that you don’t have to be lonely!” Wei Ying declared.

Lan Zhan silently shook his head instead of answering. Taking a seat next to him, Wei Ying asked, “What are you reading anyway?” There wasn’t anyone around them, and Wei Ying almost wished that there were some people there, if only to lift the tension a little. Being so close to Lan Zhan alone was extremely nerve-racking for some reason.

Wei Ying filed that away as another sign of his nerves about finally confronting who he really was to one of his closest… friends? Are they even that close?

“A novel,” Lan Zhan replied simply, and then, noticing the way Wei Ying’s legs were shaking, asked with a touch of concern in his voice, “Are you OK?”

At the back of his mind, he remembered that he didn’t tell anyone other than Jiang Cheng about his plans, and he wondered whether he should’ve at least told his shiejie in case he was not to make it out alive.

“Who? Me? Why wouldn’t I be OK?”  Wei Ying asked awkwardly, laughing. He was really regretting wanting to talk, but he didn’t want to back away either. He knew that if he didn’t confront this about his identity now, he would never be able to get another chance.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said softly, laying a careful hand on Wei Ying’s shaking legs, almost hesitantly as if he didn’t want to make any sudden movements which might startle Wei Ying. And for a moment Wei Ying forgot to breathe. Not that he had to breathe, but he usually pretended to breathe to keep up with the human façade. “You seem nervous,” he continued.

Wei Ying resumed breathing, a little shakily, hoping that Lan Zhan didn’t notice the slip, although the slightest frown could be seen in Lan Zhan’s usually neutral face. “Lan Zhan,” he said softly, “can I ask you a question?”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying thought for a moment. He really should have thought about this for more than a minute.  “What is your family most famous for?” he asked. Lan Zhan seemed taken aback by the sudden question.

“Guqin music,” he replied. Wei Ying almost expected him not to answer the question. But then again, if Wei Ying thought about it, Lan Zhan had always answered every single one of his questions, no matter how ridiculous. “And eliminating fierce spirits and various monsters. Why?”

“Various monsters like?” Wei Ying asked, ignoring the question. He felt as if this was a horrible way to talk about who he really was, but he continued anyway. By now, he had been in the sun for a while, and despite the long arms of the clothes he wore, his exposed hands were starting to look slightly red.

Wei Ying moved to hide his hands behind his back, but Lan Zhan caught the movement. His eyes widened slightly before meeting Wei Ying’s. “Wei Ying, why the sudden questions?” he asked. His voice was calm, but Wei Ying looked away, unable to bear to see disgust or loathing in those golden eyes, which always seemed to convey every thought and emotion Lan Zhan never said out loud. If he were to have a heartbeat, it would definitely be going wild right now.

“I think you know, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying said, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said, his voice a bit sharper. Some people have already come to school and were walking around talking with their friends. The sounds of laughter filled the air, but Wei Ying felt as if he were in a bubble alone with Lan Zhan. Slowly, he lifted his eyes to look at Lan Zhan’s golden ones, but to his surprise was not met with anything negative. In fact, they look as they always do, perhaps a little surprised. Lan Zhan’s hand was still on his leg, and Wei Ying felt slightly hopeful at the fact that he had not removed his hand.

Lan Zhan leaned in slightly, lowering his voice so that the other student won’t hear, “Wei Ying, who are you?”

Who. Not what. And Wei Ying felt his mood lifting slightly.

“A vampire,” Wei Ying muttered, but then said again, slightly louder, “not exactly a vampire, but more like a half-vampire, you get what I mean?”

Lan Zhan’s breathing had increased slightly, but his voice remained calm as he asked, “What do you mean half-vampire?”

Wei Ying brightened slightly at the fact that Lan Zhan had not shied away or taken out a weapon to behead him. “When a vampire bites a human, they don’t immediately turn into a vampire until the victim bites another human. Then that human turns into a half-vampire, and the half-vampire turns into a vampire. I have not killed anyone, so I still age and don’t get bloodlust as often as vampire-vampires. Got it?”

Lan Zhan slowly nodded, “Since when?”. Wei Ying would have thought it was almost discriminatory, but there was no malice in his voice. He sounded almost curious, and perhaps even concerned. Probably concerned that I will kill him, Wei Ying thought almost bitterly.

“Since I was six. My parents were killed, but the Jiangs adopted me.” It has been years since the incident happened. But by now, Wei Ying didn’t feel that overwhelming sadness; instead, his parents' memories are now associated with happiness. Happiness for the memories he got to make with them, no matter how short the period.

And yet, he almost broke down when Lan Zhan’s hand tightened almost comfortingly on his legs. He didn’t meet Lan Zhan’s eyes, unwilling to see the pity in them, or for Lan Zhan to see tears in his own eyes.

“So, why tell me now?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Wei Ying admitted, relieved that the conversation shifted to safer ground. “I felt like it, so I just told you.”

Lan Zhan slowly blinked at him, “You told me purely based on instinct?”

“When you put it that way, I kind of understand why Jiang Cheng looked like he was going to personally murder me,” Wei Ying said, laughing. “But I trusted you.” At that, Lan Zhan’s eyes softened, and the smallest smile played on his lips, before he withdrew the hand that was resting on Wei Ying’s leg with a quiet sigh.

Lan Zhan stood up from the bench, and Wei Ying panicked slightly, wondering whether Lan Zhan was going to murder him after all. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“Class,” Lan Zhan replied. “The first bell rang,”

“Already?” Wei Ying also asked while standing up.

“Mn,”

“Then, um, see you later?”

Lan Zhan nodded and turned away to leave, but hadn’t gone far before Wei Ying called him again.  “Can we meet after school?”

Lan Zhan turned towards him. “Where?” he asked.

Not having actually expected Lan Zhan to agree, Wei Ying was at a loss for a moment before he spoke again.

“How about the park?”

Lan Zhan nodded once before making his way to class. Wei Ying quietly sighed to himself, sitting back down. He hadn’t actually expected Lan Zhan to act so calmly after finding out that Wei Ying was a vampire. He had perhaps imagined him to get mad and throw something at Wei Ying’s head, and maybe scream.

Which Wei Ying now realized was stupid, since he had never once seen Lan Zhan lose his temper that badly since the first time he had seen him.

For a while, he walked around school aimlessly, not wanting to go to class, but once the bell rang, he made it to the second class of the day, taking his seat next to Jiang Cheng.

“You’re still alive,” were the first words out of Jiang Cheng’s mouth.

“No need to sound so surprised,” Wei Ying replied with a grin, to which Jiang Cheng merely shook his head with a scowl. “And I’m not going to be going home with you today,”

“What? Got yourself a date?”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Does Lan Zhan look like someone who will go on a date with me? We’re just going to talk things out.”

“Did I even mention Lan Zhan?” Jiang Cheng asked, raising an eyebrow.

 If Wei Ying could, he would have blushed. “You’re twisting my words,” he accused playfully instead.

“Whatever you say,” Jiang Cheng muttered as the teacher came in. And perhaps it was Wei Ying’s imagination, but he thought that Jiang Cheng seemed more withdrawn. Perhaps he was still mad that Wei Ying woke him up early in the morning? He filed that away to be asked later as the teacher started the class.

After yet another extremely boring day learning about completely useless things, Wei Ying finally managed to get out of the last class of the day and immediately started to search for Lan Zhan.

“Lan Zhaaan,” he called out before making his way towards him.

“Wei Ying,” came Lan Zhan’s reply as usual. It almost unnerved Wei Ying how easily Lan Zhan had accepted that Wei Ying was a vampire.

“I decided to accompany you to the park instead of waiting for you there,” Wei Ying said happily, following as Lan Zhan made his way to the door.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan said.

Wei Ying managed to stay silent until they had made their way out of the school before speaking once again. “How was class? I could barely stay awake…” Wei Ying continued to talk all the way to the park, with Lan Zhan nodding his head and replying at appropriate moments.

It was almost nice. And for some time, Wei Ying could almost forget about everything going on, as he talked and kept a close eye on Lan Zhan’s face to notice every minuscule change of expression to the nonsense Wei Ying spoke of.

Once they arrived in the park, Wei Ying immediately spotted a stall selling ice cream, “Come on!” he said, dragging Lan Zhan by his wrist to the stall. “I’ll treat you to some ice cream.” However, once they had the ice cream, it was Lan Zhan who paid for it before Wei Ying could even take his purse out.

“Lan Zhan, I was going to treat you,” Wei Ying said as they made their way to a bench. “It is always like this with you. Whenever I intend on buying you something, you always pay for it,” Wei Ying lightly scolded, remembering the times when Lan Zhan paid for small souvenirs and food when they went on field trips.

“There is no need for you to pay,” Lan Zhan said simply.

“Well, thank you anyway,” Wei Ying said.

They were silent for a while as they finished their ice creams. Wei Ying finished it almost immediately, while Lan Zhan took his time. His hand burned a little, but he ignored it, using it to ground himself to the moment instead of spiraling.

“Are you mad at me?” Wei Ying asked once Lan Zhan had finished his ice cream and was neatly folding the napkin it was wrapped in.

“What for?” Lan Zhan asked, frowning slightly.

“For not telling you before, or telling you, I guess,” Wei Ying watched him closely for any expression that might hint that Lan Zhan would want him far away. He got none of that. Instead, Lan Zhan leaned forward slightly.

“Wei Ying,” he said, taking Wei Ying’s hand in his. “You do not have to apologize for existing. It was not your fault what happened to you, and I do not intend on being mad at you for things out of your control.”

Wei Ying smiled at that, feeling slightly at ease. “Thank you”

“There is no need for you to thank me,” Lan Zhan said softly, leaning back. He tried retracting his hand, but Wei Ying had it captured between his own. After a moment of contemplation, he lifted Lan Zhan’s hand to his heart. He had just opened his mouth, however, when Lan Zhan’s eyes grew slightly wider and he said in a slightly panicked tone, “Wei Ying, why is your hand red?”

“Huh?” Wei Ying asked, looking down to see red blisters dotting his hand. “Oh, it’s just the sun,” he said with a nervous chuckle, letting go of Lan Zhan’s hand, instinctively, attempting to hide his own behind his back. “It will be fine,”

Lan Zhan had already stood up, reaching around to grab Wei Ying’s hand and gently leading him towards the small pavilion. At this time of the day, the park was nearly empty due to the scorching heat of the midday sun.

“Sorry,” Lan Zhan said, as he got some aloe vera lotion from his bag and gently applied it to Wei Ying’s hand. Of course, he had aloe vera lotion in case of emergencies. “I forgot that you can’t stay out in the sun too long,”

“It’s fine,” Wei Ying said after a moment of quietly staring at Lan Zhan, gently caring for his wounds with far too much focus than it required. “I get burned all the time when I forget myself,”

Lan Zhan only glanced at him reproachingly before continuing to apply the lotion. “Thank you,” Wei Ying said once Lan Zhan was done.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan said with a nod, and for a moment they stayed like that, Wei Ying’s hand still held between Lan Zhan’s, and for some reason Wei Ying felt at peace. Wei Ying looked away first, unable to hold eye contact for some reason. He turned his head away, but to his surprise, Lan Zhan reached out, gently turning his head so that Wei Ying would be looking at him.

Wei Ying was surprised for a moment before smiling softly. Not the usual smile full of mischief and a promise of trouble, but something softer and more genuine. He took Lan Zhan’s hand between his own and lifted it to his lips slowly, giving Lan Zhan time to move away if he wanted. He pressed his lips to Lan Zhan’s fingers, dropping little kisses on his hand, moving down to his wrist. He heard Lan Zhan’s breath hitching slightly as he pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand.

When he straightened up. Lan Zhan’s face was neutral as it always was. Pale white and smooth, almost as if it were carved out of jade. There was no blush to be seen on his face, but when Wei Ying laid a hand on it, he realised that it was warm. Only the tips of his ears were slightly red.

“Did you like it?” Wei Ying asked with a sly smile

In response, Lan Zhan wrapped his arms around Wei Ying’s waist, tugging him closer so that they were chest to chest. Tilting his head up slightly, Wei Ying met Lan Zhan’s lips. Both their eyes widened with the sudden contact before they relaxed. Wei Ying has never actually been kissed before. Although he was assumed to have been in many relationships in his life, he has barely even held hands with another person romantically. So, he had no idea whether this was a good kiss or not, but he felt as if it couldn’t really get any better.

When they pulled apart, the feel of Lan Zhan’s lips still lingered. And Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan’s eyes before reality came crashing down.

He didn’t regret kissing Lan Zhan. How could he, when Lan Zhan was the embodiment of perfection? But still, what if Lan Zhan didn’t want it? What if it was because he was too polite that he actually let Wei Ying kiss him? What if he was already regretting it? Even if he did like Wei Ying, would he really put him before his family duties?

Wei Ying’s thoughts were spiralling; however, he didn’t pull away. And to his surprise, neither did Lan Zhan.

“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asked, tentatively.

“Does this mean we’re dating now?” Wei Ying asked with a nervous chuckle, wanting to clear the air.

Beneath Wei Ying’s hand, Lan Zhan’s heart was beating wildly, the only sign Wei Ying had of Lan Zhan’s nerves.

“If you want to,” Lan Zhan said after a moment. His voice of calm as always, but his ears were tinged red, and his eyes betrayed every emotion he tried to hide.

And with that, Wei Ying’s heart soared. “I would absolutely love to,” he said, pressing his lips against Lan Zhan’s again, and smiling into the kiss when Lan Zhan kissed him back.