Thread by @cerbykerby

I keep seeing these tik/toks where two friends pretend to get engaged at various locations for free drinks and food.

now I can't stop thinking about lwj, desperately in love with his best friend wwx, agreeing to help him scam a bunch of restaurants owned by the jins and wens.

just

lwj drafting up unique proposals every time, each word spoken truthfully as he holds wwx's hand in front of dozens of onlookers and tells him that he wants to live out the rest of their lives together.

then lwj sitting in silence on the car ride back as wwx chatters on.

at first it seemed like a good idea. wwx gets to have petty revenge on bad people, and lwj gets to tell wwx everything he'd been wanting to say ever since he plucked the first notes of wangxian on his guqin. wwx gets his engagement goodies, lwj gets to speak without rejection.

the first few times are fun. wwx cackles loudly afterwards in his car as he plays with the crystal glasses they'd received as free gifts, then he teases lwj for his overly sappy proposal. lwj's ears turn red but he doesn't object, because wwx is laughing, and he looks beautiful.

then it starts feeling a little too real. lwj talks about moments when he realized or reaffirmed that he was in love with wwx, and wwx's omg-i'm-getting-proposed-to expression slips ever so briefly into shock or disbelief.

wwx gets quieter on the car rides back, unable and unwilling to find anything to tease lwj about, because it feels so cruel to tease about something that sounded so geniune. lwj is so good at acting, and he's such a good friend to wwx to fake all this with him, wow.

wwx finally cracks during one proposal when lwj says he wants to give wwx a home, raise kids together, and wake up next to him every morning for the rest of forever.

wwx is silent through that meal, and once they get in the car, he tells lwj that maybe they should stop.

lwj doesn't ask questions. he just stays quiet for a while, then answers, "Alright."

it feels awful, so wwx tries to lighten the mood with, "Ahaha, wait until they find out that all of this was an act. You're a great actor, Lan Zhan. You should audition somewhere."

when lwj drops him off, wwx tries to return the ring to him.

lwj shakes his head. "It's yours."

"It's not," wwx protests, holding the ring out in his palm. "You bought it."

"For you," lwj says, before reaching out and closing wwx's fingers around the ring. "Keep it."

wwx avoids lwj from then on. he needs time and space to collect his thoughts and know where he stands. half of him wants to run away and change his name, the other half wants to beg lwj's forgiveness and ask if they can still be friends.

he wears the ring when he feels lonely.

the next time he runs into lwj is purely by accident; it's at a hole in the wall restaurant that wwx decided to try on a whim. if he'd known that lwj would be in there, dining with his brother, nmj, and nhs, he wouldn't have gone.

wwx cringes when he sees them.

nhs spots him immediately and waves at him. "Wei-xiong!"

both lxc and nmj swivel their heads around to stare at him. only lwj remains with his back turned as he places another chopstick-full of vegetables into his bowl.

for wwx, it stings a little, for lwj to not look at him.

"Hi. Sorry." wwx ducks his head as he picks up his to-go order from the counter. "I'm a little busy—"

he's cut off with a loud shriek from nhs. "OH MY GOD. ARE YOU ENGAGED??"

too late, wwx slaps a hand over his left ring finger.

fuck. he'd forgotten to take the ring off.

he hears the screech of a chair against linoleum floor. he doesn't have to look up to know that lwj is walking towards him.

nhs is out of his seat. "Wei-xiong, come back! We need to celebrate!"

wwx doesn't want to celebrate anything. he backs up more. "I have to go, sorry."

just before he reaches the door, someone takes his left hand and brings it up, knuckles exposed.

wwx can't bring himself to look at lwj and see what kind of expression he has when he inevitably recognizes his ring on wwx's finger.

"Wei Ying," lwj says.

wwx flinches.

"Wei Ying," lwj repeats, softer, running his thumb across wwx's knuckles. "May we speak?"

that's the last thing wwx wants at the moment, but nhs is still sobbing about their supposed engagement, and it's drawing a lot of attention. he nods.

they leave the restaurant and go to the nearby park. the entire time, wwx nervously twists his ring around his finger.

"You still have it," lwj breaks the silence.

"Why wouldn't I?" wwx responds. "It's an expensive gift."

lwj turns his head away a little. "If you wear it like that, people will make assumptions."

"That I'm engaged?" wwx raises an eyebrow. "So what? I can wear it however I want."

lwj nods once, curtly. "Of course. It's your choice."

they sit down at a park bench with a respectable distance between them. wwx remembers draping himself all over lwj, laughing against his cheek and neck as lwj pushes their ring onto wwx's finger while waitresses cheer.

it seems so pathetic in hindsight.

"I don't want any other ring," he hears himself say as he continues to twist his ring around his finger. "I just want this one."

lwj doesn't look at him, but he nods. "I am glad you like it."

"Yeah." wwx spins the ring more. "Thanks for giving it to me."

"No thanks are needed." lwj's voice is quiet. "It is for you."

"For me, huh." wwx stares at the delicately-cut diamonds on the ring. "You really have a generous heart."

"I do not," lwj surprises him by saying. "I am incredibly selfish."

wwx has never heard lwj say that he was selfish. ever. he isn't quite sure how to respond, so he sits there in silence.

"I was selfish," lwj finally says, "and I made you uncomfortable. I apologize."

wwx makes himself laugh. "For what, for being such a great actor?"

lwj doesn't laugh with him. he never does, but this time, it feels more deliberate. "Wei Ying, I am not a good actor."

wwx's laugh fades. "Huh?"

"I am not a good actor," lwj repeats, slower. "I cannot lie, especially not to you."

wwx takes the sentence. files it through his brain. and then once more. "You're not a good actor."

"Mn."

"And you cannot lie to me."

"Mn."

"So," wwx's voice cracks and he tries to clear his throat, "each of those proposals…"

lwj still won't look at him. "I'm sorry."

wwx doesn't know what to do. lwj looks miserable, but wwx isn't sure that he should hug him. lwj might not be receptive to such contact.

"Well," wwx says, a little louder than he'd intended. "This is embarrassing. And to think, I'd thought I was making you uncomfortable."

lwj, who was in the middle of shrinking away, freezes.

"You have such a way with words, Lan Zhan." wwx sighs. "So many times, I wished you truly meant them."

"I did," lwj protests weakly. "I still do."

"But I didn't know that." wwx rubs his thumb over his ring. "And so many times, I thought about stopping, because I almost couldn't stand hearing your words."

lwj finally looks at him, golden eyes dulled by caution. "And what do you think now?" he asks.

wwx considers this. he's had a long time to think about what he wants. all that was missing were lwj's thoughts and desires. now he knows.

"I think," he says, a smile on his lips, "that I am going to keep this ring. But first, I should take you out to dinner."

-- THE END --

when they get officially engaged, it's wwx who proposes to lwj with a very long speech and everyone is there recording on their phones and they all catch the same moment.

wwx: "I fancy you! I love you! I whatever you! I want to sleep with you everyda—"

jc, off-camera: [SCREAMS]