Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian is on the couch with his agent and friend, Wen Qing, scrolling through tweets, when she hands him a pile of papers.
He glances at it. “A script?”
“Mm-hm. A lead role.”
“Oh?”
“A co-lead, in fact.”
He places his phone down and glances over the pages. “Co-lead with..?”
“Lan Wangji.” He smiles and flips through the pages. Lan Wangji is a familiar name. They’ve been on several sets together before. “Workplace comedy?”
She eyes him steadily. “BL drama.”
He falls off his chair.
He giggles, rising back up to his feet and steadying himself. “This would be huge.” He swallows. “Exciting.” He looks at Wen Qing. “The fans will be thrilled.” “Chemistry test tonight,” Wen Qing says. “You think you could be ready by then?”
He laughs again and nudges her. “Of course! Wen Qing, I do all my own stunts. You think I can’t take a chemistry test with my old pal?” That night, Wei Wuxian learns the dangers of hubris.
"You've got the lines memorized?" Wen Qing asks when they're driving to the chemistry test that evening. Wei Wuxian skims the sides once more. "Just about." Wen Qing is in full agent mode. "So you're auditioning for Jieyang, the succubus. Lan Wangji will be in the role of the angel, Guangxi."
"Yeah, I did my research--and apparently this novel is--1 million words long??" Wei Wuxian stares up as they pass over the water on a bridge. He's always loved bridges. "Mmhm by a CangCang, an online BL writer. Did you look at the summary?" Wen Qing asks. "Honestly, I was confused."
They get off the bridge and reach a beautiful corridor of the city. Moonlight streams through the cracks between skyscrapers. "Mm," Wen Qing says, a little less impatient now. "It's all the tropes mashed together. Reincarnation soulmates, enemies to lovers, philosophical shit."
"What's the order of the reincarnations again?" Wen Qing blows her hair out of her face. Her new haircut--an undercut on one side, a short and styled bob--she's not used to yet. She's just come out as gay and told Wei Wuxian this was her coming-out haircut.
And then she riffs off the top of her head, "The original lives are the angel and succubus. They are forced into a war by the heavens, realize they love each other, and before they can fuck, they have to escape the destructive hands of the Gods' King.
So they teleport to another life, another world. And they're reborn as--" "Oh! I remember this one. The warring commanders?" "Yes and then they find out that the war is a corrupt cause, realize they love each other, and before they can fuck, they...?" she waits.
"Hear a knock at the door." "Yeah." She pulls up to the parking space. "Long story short, they keep getting blue-balled until the last reincarnation." "The prince and the thief." "Gotcha." They enter the film production building.
Lan Wangji's agent and manager, Luo Qingyang, is already there in the waiting room. She stands to greet them. She and Wen Qing kiss each other's cheeks. By now, they're very familiar with each other. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have been on the same projects six times. This is their seventh.
"This is exciting," Mianmian says to Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing. "I can't believe this project was greenlit. We're finally getting a big BL around here!" "The gays win again," Wen Qing says, brushing her fingers through her (very gay hair.) "Oh, you're...?" Mianmian gives her a knowing look. "Mmhm."
"Welcome!" Mianmian says, her smile broad and her dimples showing. "We should have a drink later. " "That sounds great," Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian say. Speaking of dimples, a man with the two largest dimples Wei Wuxian has ever seen opens the door to the screentest room. "Hi."
Wei Wuxian shakes his offered hand. "Director Meng Yao, I'm Wei Wuxian." Meng Yao smiles, his eyes upside-down u's. "You don't need an introduction!" "I'm a fan of your latest work," Wei Wuxian says. "Oh, that small independent film? Really?" Meng Yao blushes and grins. "Please, come in."
Wei Wuxian is a trained singer. He knows how to take a deep, diaphragm breath. He's done auditions so many times before. He puffs up his chest in confidence--the confidence of a succubus--and walks in, thinking he looks pretty dashing in his black pants, combat boots, and tee.
He's even chosen his signature red ribbon for his hair today. The one that brings him confidence and luck. But when he sees Lan Wangji with those curtain bangs, undercut, in an all-white outfit, the outline of his pecs showing thru his gossamer shirt--Wei Wuxian's boot catches on the floor.
Emitting a loud squeak. He feels a heat creep up his neck but he keeps walking. He waves to Lan Wangji. "And this is our author," A-Yao says, "here to consult on the project." Wei Wuxian turns around and sees--"Nie Huaisang?? You're CangCang?"
He wants to go in for a hug with his childhood friend, but he goes for a more professional handshake instead. Nie Huaisang looks bashful. "Yes!" Meng Yao sits down beside Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji take their places a few steps back.
Meng Yao beams, "It was actually the author here who suggested you audition for the role." "Me?" Wei Wuxian asks, blinking. "Both of us," Lan Wangji says, his deep, quiet voice rolling through Wei Wuxian like a gentle but forceful tide.
"But let's see how we fare in these roles, shall we?" Meng Yao says, smiling on and crossing his arms over his chest. Wei Wuxian is mesmerized by this energy, a little confused by it too. It is with this energy that one can get far--and somehow get a BL greenlit in this stuffy town!
We'll give you a few minutes to prepare together?" the director asks Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian meets Lan Wangji's eyes, the smooth and steady ones he's known. Something passes between them, a wave of light, and Wei Wuxian says confidently, "We can just dive in. Lan Zhan and I can feel each other out."
"Ah, right, you've been in six movies together," Meng Yao says, crossing his arms over his chest, his scrutinizing Director hat on now. "Please, whenever you're ready." Wei Wuxian takes that meditative breath and holds Lan Wangji's eyes. They sink into the scene.
It's the one in which Jieyang, the succubus, and the angel, Guangxi, encounter each other as young immortals. And begin to fall in love. But--ah, the problem. Lan Wangji melts into a softness, Wei Wuxian into a brooding demonic self. He slouches a little, and Lan Wangji nods to him. The scene begins.
Wei Wuxian feels the tension building up in him, the gritting of teeth, the desire inside that Jieyang feels, the anguish. "We can't touch." Lan Wangji steps towards him, his eyes wide. "Why not?" "Don't you know what I am, Guangxi?" Wei Wuxian knits his brows together, stares at the ground.
“You're my friend," Guangxi answers, his voice light, and serious, and low. Wei Wuxian--settling into Jieyang--meets the angel's eyes. "If I touch you, I'll devour you. If I touch you, you'll be nothing." Guangxi steps forward, looking ethereal, strong as steel.
"The law of the Gods' King is that succubi suck out people's lifeforce through sex." Jieyang grows angry. "I said that." He grows pained. "But," Guangxi says, stepping forward and cradling Wei Wuxian's cheek in his warm hand. His pain melts away. "What if that person isn't human?"
These words land on Wei Wuxian, and suddenly he cannot move or speak. It is as if his entire now lies between Lan Wangji's hand and his cheek. He imagines he feels Lan Wangji's thumb moving gently, a caress. Lan Wangji's face nears his. It's so close. He can see the curl of his lashes.
His breath hitches. Has Lan Wangji's lips always been this bow-shaped? He reaches out to touch Lan Wangji too, forgetting his next line--is there a next line?--and his fingers tremble. And he is interrupted by the sound of slow, hearty applause.
They look over. Wei Wuxian feels Lan Wangji's hand lift from his cheek. Everything happens too quickly and slowly at once. Meng Yao is nodding and clapping, and Nie Huaisang claps with his palms held together and his fingers tapping lightly. His smile is so broad, it looks painful.
He squeals, "That was amazing!" Meng Yao rubs his chin, his dimples showing even though he's not smiling. He's deep in thought. The applause fades and the actors look to the director. Finally he says, "Try that again? No need to do the full scene. Just this."
Now they were getting down to business.
Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji do it again, Wei Wuxian really leaning into the brooding, angsty aspects of Jieyang, Lan Wangji being soft, pleading, the heavenly angel he is. The scene goes smoothly.
But when they're done this time, even Nie Huaisang is deep in thought. Not disappointed, but contemplating.
He and Meng Yao whisper to each other for a while.
And then Meng Yao says, "Can we try something different? Can you two switch roles?"
Wei Wuxian blinks. Glances at Lan Wangji.
He doesn't know how he could pull of the angel's seriousness, purity. He himself is so chaotic, so full of darkness sometimes, so sad--he feels he'll tarnish Guangxi. But Lan Wangji looks at him and says, "Wei Ying."
Wei Wuxian nearly shudders at this, the sound of his old nickname on this man's tongue.
And somehow this makes him bolder. He says, "We can."
So they do.
Perhaps an angel need not be stoic & elegant. Perhaps he'll play it as he will. He's an angel who's in love with this sad, touch-starved succubus.
A succubus who has recently chosen not to kill. A quiet, angst-ridden, lonely succubus.
A beautiful succubus.
He looks at Lan Wangji--who, elegant and tall, has a gravity to Jieyang that Wei Wuxian didn't have. "We can't touch," Jieyang says, his face turned away. Wei Wuxian can see his jaw clench.
"Why not?" he says, approaching Jieyang, trying to meet his gaze.
Jieyang averts his eyes, turning to face the other way as Guangxi makes his way to him.
They do this twice before
Wei Wuxian hears a low, sonorous, "Don't you know what I am, Guangxi?"
Lan Wangji has hit the perfect cadence--pain, steadiness, sadness. More sadness than anger.
"You're my friend," Wei Wuxian says, the words ringing out true and faithful.
Lan Wangji's fists clench. "If I touch you, I'll devour you. If I touch you," and here Lan Wangji pauses, still not meeting his eyes, "you'll be nothing."
Guangxi runs around, finally catches Lan Wangji, palms at his chest. "The law of the Gods' King is that succubi suck out people's lifeforce through sex."
Lan Wangji's eyes slowly rise to his own. His words are quiet, defeated. "I said that."
"But," and here Wei Wuxian inexplicably feels it's /right/ not to touch Lan Wangji's cheek but perhaps...his bottom lip with his thumb. Or--and he decides on this--a tender sweeping away of his bangs. "What if that person isn't human?"
And here he finds himself, again, inexplicably, moving his fingers, feather-light, across Jieyang's smooth cheek, and to his earlobe. Which is burning. Or is that his own skin that's hot?
And he lightly, lightly pinches Lan Wangji's earlobe. This is met with applause.
There's a clearing of the throat as they pull away from each other--Wei Wuxian isn't sure if it's his throat or Lan Wangji's, probably his own, and he feels that adrenaline rush from the end of the audition.
"We'll call you when we know," Meng Yao says. After saying their thank-yous and goodbyes, they see Mianmian and Wen Qing in the waiting room, sitting very close to each other. The agents stand up, say their greetings, and when they're out on the street away from prying ears, Mianmian says, "So how did it go?"
Wei Wuxian can barely believe it. "They asked us to switch!"
Wen Qing guffaws. "You? An angel?"
Wei Wuxian nudges his agent--who was an old friend long before they worked together. "I can be good!"
Lan Wangji explains, "It made a lot of sense. Wei Ying brought a light to the character, appropriate to its name."
Wei Wuxian's boot catches on the sidewalk. "Crap! I keep doing that today." He giggles & recovers, uncertain as to why he's so clumsy lately. "Lan Zhan here brought a loveliness to Jieyang that I don't have."
He glances at Lan Wangji's earlobe. "It's so red! Did I pinch it hard, Lan Zhan?"