Thread by @husbandlwj

teenager lwj approaches his crush at school, a boy in his class who seems to be going through a goth phase (if his darker choice of wardrobe is any indication) and panickes because he can't stop looking at wwx's fingers painting his nails black, and blurts out "paint mine too."

wwx stops, looks up, puts the nail polish away and raises an eyebrow at the boy clasping the straps of his backpack. lwj gulps when their eyes meet but doesn't look away so he'll be taken seriously but wwx has only ever seen him in white, pastel and blue. he asks, "are you sure?"

lwj apparently can't seem to find his voice now so he nods twice when wwx still seems skeptical. wwx hums, "mn, i can't say it wouldn't suit you because i've never seen you in black," he taps his nose then his eyes widen, "give me your hand!" he says, startling lwj, and laughs.

"i just want to see your fingers..." he frowns, deep in thought for a moment, "it's lan zhan, right? i'm wei ying!"

lwj nods, says, "i know," and curls a strand of his long hair around the tips of his fingers, nervously then extends his hand, heart fluttering when wwx grabs it.

wwx's thumb traces his knucles, the joints of his fingers, and taps at his nails, trimmed and clean. "you know what? i think it's worth a try, lan zhan, come here!" he sounds enthusiastic and lwj's hand feels cold when he lets go of it to pat the spot next to him on the bench.

lwj nods, puts his backpack down next to wwx's and hopes his expression doesn't give anything away when wwx shakes the nail polish before placing lwj's hand on his lap, gently holding it. "won't," lwj starts, "won't you finish yours first?"

wwx smiles, "nah, they're done, see?"

he shows one of his hands, urges lwj to take it and lwj does, careful not to touch his nails so he won't ruin wwx's hard work. "they look nice," he says when wwx seems to be waiting for an answer.

wwx's smile widens. it doesn't compare to the sun watching them from the distance.

"i know right? a-cheng," he cuts himself off and looks slightly abashed, "sorry, jiang cheng is my little brother. anyway, he thinks they look weird and never lets me paint his nails!" he pulls his hand back to his lap and grabs the nail polish again, "but don't worry, lan zhan,"

"i'll make yours look pretty," he flutters his eyelashes and lwj isn't ready for what comes next, "just like you."

lwj's eyes grow big, shiny and his ears turn red. he looks away and hopes his fingers don't tremble in wwx's hold, "shameless," he says, basking in wwx's laughter.

when wwx begins painting his nails, lwj finds himself entranced by his technique, each stroke gentle and smooth. he doesn't know wwx's brother but he's probably dumb for saying no to someone like wei ying. then again, maybe lwj is biased. he huffs just as the thought settles in.

wwx hears it and looks amused, it sounded strangely like a laughter. "what? does it look weird?" he asks, gesturing to lwj's hand but lwj shakes his head, feeling his lips curl up slightly when wwx resumes his task and engages in small talk, filling the silence with his chatter.

and lwj, who normally enjoys the quiet and prefers not to interact with other people, finds himself nodding along to whatever wwx babbles about — the song he heard at the cafeteria, the math lecture, how he looks forward to his sister's dinner — and answering his questions.

the only time when wwx stops talking is when he's done with lwj's nails, raising lwj's hands to blow on his fingers carefully. lwj's heart races, wwx's lips are so close — look so soft — that he starts to lean forward instinctively when a few strands escape from wwx's messy bun.

lwj reaches out and cups wwx's face and wwx lifts his head slowly, eyebrows furrowing, "lan zhan?"

lwj swallows, his gaze falls to wwx's mouth. wei ying is pouting now, seemingly confused and lwj's thoughts are spiraling from /pretty/ to /cute/ and /i want to kiss him/.

from up close, wwx is even more lovely and lwj suddenly understands why most people don't approach their platonic high school crushes: it either ends up in disappointment once you realize the person is nothing like you thought they'd be.

or they're /better/ and you fall harder.

wwx is not only handsome or funny, like lwj had noticed in class a long time ago. he's sweet, thoughtful, smart, creative. he has a big heart, a smile that lights up the whole room, eyes that shine brighter than anything lwj's ever seen. how can anyone not fall in love with him?

for the first time since lwj came up to him, wwx stutters, "l—lan zhan? what are you...?" oh. he's blushing now, and his rosy cheeks are even more noticeable through all the black he's wearing — except for the red ribbon in his hair.

lwj says, "wei ying," and their noses touch.

just as lwj is thinking about pulling away and apologizing, wwx closes his eyes and his breath tickles lwj's face. is he... is he really going to kiss his crush right at their high school's entrance where anyone can see? then again, it's not like there are many people around...

lwj tilts his head and nuzzles wwx's nose, sighing. his heart is beating so fast he's almost worried he might be going into cardiac arrest, but it doesn't matter. he's doing this, he's going to kiss—

"WEI WUXIAN!!!!!!"

they both move away like they've been burned, wide-eyed.

someone wearing a purple hoodie is walking to their bench, almost stomping the ground. lwj glares at the boy when he finally comes over and gets an unfriendly look in response before the stranger turns to wwx, "where have you been? didn't you say you'd pick me up at practice?"

wwx still seems a bit out of sorts but recognition flashes through his eyes and he clears his throat, smiling sheepishly, "lan zhan, this is my brother, i told you about him. jiang cheng this is my... classmate, lan zhan." he says, sounding apologetic, then gathers his stuff.

lwj gets up and takes his backpack as wwx explains he was supposed to pick his brother up at swim practice but whispers to lwj that he doesn't regret losing track of time and they can, totally, do this again sometime if lan zhan wants, before his brother drags him out of there.

lwj watches him and waves back when wwx does, not yet sure about what just happened until he feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to greet his older brother. lxc smiles and rubs his back, "ready to go home, wangji?" then he looks down at lwj's fingers and raises an eyebrow.

"black polish?" lxc asks, nodding when lwj's ears turn red and he ducks his head to hide from lxc's knowing gaze.

lwj asks, "do you think uncle will mind?" and realizes he'd done something impulsively for the first time since he knelt at the door of his mother's hospital room.

lxc pats his head, "maybe, but he'll get over it."

it looks like he wants to say more but when he opens his mouth to continue, someone yells, "lan zhan, wait!" and the two brothers turn to find a boy in black running over and stopping to catch his breath upon reaching them.

lwj blinks, "wei ying?" he didn't expect wwx to come back. had he forgotten something?

wwx was holding his knees, almost crouching but straightens up then, "i don't have much time but i didn't want to leave like that." he says and steps closer, ignoring lxc's presence entirely.

then, inexplicably, he leans in and presses his lips to lwj's cheek, softly, sweetly and though it's over just as fast as it started, his smile more than makes up for it, "see you tomorrow, lan zhan." he says.

lwj breathes, "see you, wei ying..." he feels dazed, frozen.

from behind lxc laughs, "i think uncle will get over this too."

lwj twists his head back, glaring at him, "brother!"

but his older brother only hums, wraps an arm around his shoulders and guides him to where he must have parked his car, "in my opinion black suits you, wangji."

lwj looks down at his fingers, the black nail polish contrasting with his milky skin and though he knows his brother is not talking about it, he nods along to the what he's implied to and agrees, "i think so too." his lips curling up as his cheek tingles from wwx's kiss.

he can't wait for tomorrow.

— THE END —

OMG finally! sorry for the many interruptions, i was on a road trip and now i'm hiding from my dad at a bday party so i could finish this for you guys LOL anyways, thank you for following along! i got this idea when mom painted my nails today and i hope you enjoyed 💙❤️

if you liked this thread and appreciates my work consider supporting me on ko-fi! i'm always bringing new content for you guys, the help is appreciated 🥺❤️ ko-fi.com/husbandlwj

GUYS LUMI DREW THE FIRST SCENE!!! I FEEL SO HONORED! please don't rt this tweet, rt his and check out his beautiful art, he's a sweetheart!! 🥺💙❤️

https://twitter.com/lumisarts/status/1396261375576526862?s=19