Work Text:
“Fuck,” Jiang Cheng grumbled as he stubbed his toe on the entry way to his apartment. The doorway was slightly raised and whenever Jiang Cheng was a little tipsy, he usually tripped his way over the threshold. Making his way into the front entryway he slipped off his shoes and headed straight to the bedroom, happy to do anything that involved him lying sedentary on a horizontal surface.
Jiang Cheng pulled his phone out of his pocket before he went to toss it on his bed. He unlocked the screen to check the messages, seeing that he had a notification from his brother in the chat with him, Lan Wangji, and Nie Huiasang.
Thanks for the drinks tonight Wangji! I’ll Venmo you 😘
Ugh, gross. Wei Wuxian had assumed that Lan Wangji had paid. It didn’t matter too much to Jiang Cheng except now he had to be a dick and Venmo request Lan Wangji and his brother for the money. If it was anyone else he’d just leave it, but he had standards when it came to his brother and his boyfriend. And those standards were that he wasn’t about to pay for anything those men wanted… He had some pride left after all.
It was honestly ridiculous, though, Lan Wangji had ordered drinks throughout the night but all of them had gone to Wei Wuxian since the Lans didn't drink.
He quickly opened the Venmo app and requested Wei Wuxian easily enough and then searched through Wei Wuxian’s friends to find Lan Wangji. His handle was pretty simple: Lan1. The profile photo was a blurry shot of him and everything. Pulling up the account, he charged him with the caption “Drinks for your idiot boyfriend” and then tossed his phone on the bed the way he had initially wanted to.
A few minutes later he heard the tell-tale ‘ka-ching’ from his bedroom while he was brushing his teeth in the ensuite bathroom. But then he was surprised as he heard another one and then a third chime from his phone. Rinsing his mouth, Jiang Cheng returned to his room to check his phone. There were three notifications from Venmo. Odd.
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
Wanyin! You must be confused, I don’t have a boyfriend 😉 but here’s the money, get yourself something nice
What. The. Fuck.
What the hell was Lan Wangji on about?? He quickly scrolled to the next notification.
-Hanguangjun paid Wanyin-
You requested the wrong Lan. That was my brother. Don’t call Wei Ying stupid.
Jiang Cheng snorted at this one. Obviously Lan Wangji had paid Jiang Cheng back but couldn’t leave Wei Wuxian’s honor alone. Typical.
But this meant… This meant Lan Xichen had sent that message to him. Jiang Cheng never thought Lan Xichen would be capable of saying something like that so shamelessly over a highly visible platform. He couldn’t imagine how many Venmo friends the other man had, especially co-workers, considering both Lans worked at a prestigious art gallery.
Nope! Nope. He was not dealing with this right now. It was too late in the day. Jiang Cheng hadn’t had many encounters with the older Lan since they were in university together, but like many of his companions in class, Lan Xichen had been sort of a heartthrob for all the younger students. He was tall and nice and capable and… and nope, yeah nope. Jiang Cheng was shutting this door before it opened too far, he couldn’t handle it right now.
-Wanyin paid Lan1-
Sorry. Here’s the money back
Putting his phone in his pocket, Jiang Cheng walked into the kitchen and put on the kettle to make some tea. As he settled the kettle onto the stove his phone pinged again. He groaned audibly and pulled it out again.
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
Keep it! It’s a gift
-Wanyin paid Lan1-
I don’t like owing people, Xichen. Hop off
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
Not owing anyone, it’s a gift!
-Wanyin paid Lan1-
Screw you.
He clicked off the screen and slipped his phone back into his pocket as the kettle started to scream. If Xichen was gonna be a little shit, then Jiang Cheng could return in kind. He knew how to be an asshat, it ran in the family.
He set up his teacup with some loose leaf green tea and poured the steaming water into the cup. Tea very rarely actually calmed him, but maybe he could placebo himself into feeling more tranquil…
Ka-ching
Fuck that. Tea was not working. Being petty it is, then.
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
#?
Jiang Cheng grinned to himself as he charged Lan Xichen instead.
-Wanyin charged Lan1-
9-1-1
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
your phone number?
-Wanyin charged Lan1-
In ur dreams lan
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
Exactly 😍
Jiang Cheng groaned aloud and slammed his phone down on the counter. This was ridiculous. At this point, if Lan Xichen wanted his phone number he could just ask his brother, or Jiang Cheng’s own brother for that matter. Why was this happening to him? He started to feel a pressure behind his eyes. It was time to go to bed. Xichen’s Venmo conquests were a problem for tomorrow.
A few minutes later as he settled himself into bed, Jiang Cheng very carefully put his phone on silent and plugged it in to charge. He was determined to get a good night’s sleep and that was that.
As the next day dawned, and the day after that, and the day after that, Jiang Cheng found no end in sight of this little Venmo interaction. Everyday Lan Xichen sent him more messages on Venmo. Every time Jiang Cheng would respond with a charge and a quippy remark or similar emoji. Without fail, Lan Xichen would respond to his charges with more money, always little sums of a dollar or two, but it was ridiculous. Every once and awhile Jiang Cheng would switch it up and pay Lan Xichen back the money he’d been given, but in return Lan Xichen would pay it back with cheeky messages about taking some time for himself or getting a coffee or whatever.
He knew he was feeding into it, if he were to just accept the money then that would be it, but he had his pride to think about. And there was some little secret part of him that liked the attention. He hadn’t had someone act this dedicated to getting him to interact before. As weird as it was coming from the subject of his college fantasies, he kind of liked it.
But he knew as soon as they actually saw each other next, the spell would break. Whatever Lan Xichen thought about Jiang Cheng now must be some sort of farce. People that really knew him knew that he was surly and abrasive, not really the kind of guy you buy nice things for and go out for coffee with… So! He was going to take the attention while he could get it.
The days continued on with the little payments, just a few a day as Jiang Cheng went about his week. Besides a one off text from Lan Wangji, no one seemed inclined to reference the very public interaction the two of them were having online. Almost oddly silent if he was being honest with himself…
But things changed about two weeks after the first payment.
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
This isn’t real money so i might as well send you a bunch
Lan Xichen had paid him over $100. Was he being serious or what? Jiang Cheng scoffed and paid him back the money adding:
-Wanyin paid Lan1-
Xichen that’s not true this is connected to your bank account
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
Wait what
Rolling his eyes, Jiang Cheng paid him back again.
-Wanyin paid Lan1-
Oh my god i’m texting you now
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
You have my phone number?
-Wanyin paid Lan1-
Shut up
Jiang Cheng switched to WhatsApp, putting in the contact Lan Wangji had sent to him last week along with the message please text him and put us all out of this venmo misery.
Jiang Cheng had saved the contact but ignored Lan Wangji’s text. He wasn’t about to take any sort of order from his brother’s boyfriend, even if it was the most emotion he’d ever seen Lan Wangji express through a message before-the man was usually limited to yes/no in their mobile phone interchanges.
JC: Lan Xichen, it’s Jiang Wanyin
Quit sending me money
LXC: Ah, Wanyin!
I can send money to whomever I’d like 🥺
JC: You’re impossible
How did you not know your venmo was connected to your bank account?
You literally have to set it up in the app???
LXC:...
I have no respectable answer for that 🥰
JC:jesus fucking christ
LXC:No, it’s just me
ah-Huan is fine
JC:I am not calling you that
LXC: Huan-gege?
JC:Xichen-ge
But you’re on thin ice, buddy
LXC: I’ll take what I can get!
JC: hmm
LXC: you sound like wangji 😊
JC: ew no don’t compare me to him jesus
LXC: once again it’s just me!
JC: come on you know what i mean
LXC: maybe
But this is more fun
JC: whatever you say xichen-ge
LXC: Why don’t we talk sometime?
In real life, I mean
Not that this hasn’t been lovely ❤️
JC: you are a ridiculous human
I’m not sure you want to do that
LXC: what do you mean?
Are you sick or something?
Of course I want to see you!
JC: are you sure about that
If you don’t remember I’m a bit of a POS
LXC: i can’t possibly imagine what you mean by that
You’re a human with human qualities?
And i said i want to see you
That’s all that matters
JC: as long as you know the risks
LXC: the risks are that i’ll see you and then smile!
Very risky
JC: exceptionally
Okay then
If you’re serious
LXC: deadly
Are you free this friday? Meet at the coffee stand at the park?
JC: Sure, 6:00
I’ll see you there
LXC: I can’t wait 😉
As Friday approached, Jiang Cheng tried not to freak out. It seemed as though Lan Xichen was well aware of his prickly personality. Probably best heard from Wei Wuxian, he thought. For all they fought, he knew that his brother loved him, so he was probably the most patient when it came to Jiang Cheng’s overall demeanor. So maybe Lan Xichen would have a sort of forewarning.
Jiang Cheng showed up to the park 15 minutes early, hoping that maybe the little niceties would outweigh his all too non-nice qualities. All it proved to do was give him 15 more minutes to regret all of his life choices and wardrobe for the day, but whatever. He’d decided on his classic dark boots, dark jeans, dark jacket combination, with a deep purple turtleneck to add a semblance of color. If Jiang Cheng was anything, then he was predictable. He knew purple looked good on him, so he was gonna wear it.
He looked around, eyes catching on people walking their dogs. He loved dogs. No, focus, where’s Xichen? After seeing the third weiner dog in as many minutes he spotted a tall long haired figure coming towards him.
Lan Xichen looked amazing, as always. He looked like he was wearing dark boots and trousers with a lighter colored shirt(blue? white? who knew) underneath a tan trench coat. Jiang Cheng’s gaze focused on what he was wearing around his neck, though. It seemed to be a pale purple scarf with a darker paisley pattern on it. It wasn’t exactly cold enough to warrant a scarf, but Xichen had always been a fashion forward kind of guy, so Jiang Cheng wasn’t surprised. The taller man waved so Jiang Cheng nodded back and started walking towards him.
Xichen was about 10 feet away now, and Jiang Cheng was staring like an idiot. He straightened up in his stride, hoping that Lan Xichen would elect to ignore his shameless staring.
“Hi,” Jiang Cheng huffed. This was awkward. He didn’t know if he should shake his hand or hug him or- Lan Xichen made the choice for him and brought him into a hug. He smelled nice, Jiang Cheng wanted to melt.
As they pulled back Lan Xichen grinned and said a cheeky, “hi.” His smile was blinding. He was right, there was a risk in seeing him. Lan Xichen gave him a proper once over and said, “You look good.”
Jiang Cheng cleared his throat and tried not to look like he was eyeing up Lan Xichen like a four course meal himself and responded all too eloquently, “Um thanks, you do too.”
Xichen brightened, if that was at all possible and put a hand on his scarf, “Thank you, I picked this scarf especially for you.”
“You what? Why would you...” Jiang Cheng was a little confused, because he did like the scarf.
“Your brother says you like purple so I thought it fitting.”
“Well he’s right about that, I do like purple,” he nodded and then froze, “What else did my brother say?”
Lan Xichen chuckled, it was gorgeous, “Nothing too bad honestly! Or too nice, I guess... You two are interesting to say the least!” Obviously Lan Xichen would think that he and Wangji were some of the weirdest siblings he’d ever met.
“Of course, Wei Wuxian was talking about me,” Jiang Cheng shook his head to free it of those thoughts, but it didn’t really work… “So, what are we doing?”
“Right now? Going on a walk in the park?” Lan Xichen said, adjusting his scarf unnecessarily.
Jiang Cheng groaned and leveled him with a look, “No, I mean like what are we doing? Why are we going on a walk in the park?” Lan Xichen tilted his head in confusion, “If you’ve been talking to Wei Wuxian than I can only really guess what kind of things he’s said about me and I don’t know why you’d ever-”
“Okay,” Lan Xichen cut him off, putting a hand on Jiang Cheng’s arm. “Before you dig yourself too far in this hole, let’s talk. I like you! And not in a facetious ‘my brother’s boyfriend’s brother’ kind of way.”Jiang Cheng tried to say something at this, but Lan Xichen’s grip on his arm tightened once, so he closed his mouth and the taller man continued, “So whatever you’re thinking is going on, then I want to clear the air. I’ve been interested in you for a while-whether you believe me or not, it’s the truth. So, if you’re not comfortable at any time, let me know, and I will back off. Okay? But, I’m going to try my best to convince you that it’s true.”
“I- I don’t…” Jiang Cheng mumbled but then huffed out a “fine,” when Xichen raised his eyebrows at his inability to form a full sentence. He then turned to find someplace to sit. He gestured at a nearby bench, “Here?”
The other man nodded and they made their way over.
“After we talk, let's go get some food. There’s a good noodle place I know you’ll love about a block from here,” Xichen said as they sat down on the nearby park bench.
Jiang Cheng hummed ascent, the metal seat cold on his back, “Sounds good. I love noodles.” Lan Xichen nodded and moved a little closer to him on the bench. Jiang Cheng tried to ignore the way they were touching from shoulder to ankle and cleared his throat, “And for all that's good and holy, I’m paying. Give you back some of that money you sent me, you absolute idiot,” Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes but it only proved to make Lan Xichen scoot closer to him, if it was even possible.
“Whatever you say. I’m at your command!” Lan Xichen’s eyes were wide and playful. The original seriousness of the conversation melted away in his amber eyes.
“You need to grow some shame, Xichen, this is getting sad.” He poked the taller man in the side.
“Ah, but Wanyin, I’ll grow some shame when you grow some self esteem.” Jiang Cheng turned to look in alarm, Lan Xichen looked pleased with himself.
“That was harsh…” Jiang Cheng let out, suspiciously, leaning away slightly.
“Maybe, but I’m going to prove to you that you’re worth it, worth the money, worth the effort. More so than you think, my dear.” That was oddly sweet after the original comment so Jiang Cheng leaned back into his side.
“I- Well, I guess I don’t have much to say to that.” If it were anyone else he’d say something sarcastic and quippy, but it just didn’t seem like the time or place.
“Just say okay! I’m not about to pretend I have the whole world figured out, but I can at least accept my role in it. I know I’m here to do something good and give back to those around me. With the way you are, I think maybe you need someone to remind you of that every once and awhile. There’s no shame in it, it’s just the truth.”
Jiang Cheng hummed but allowed the comment. Lan Xichen was right, it was kind of shitty of him to enter a relationship with someone that was so sure of their self worth while he was still drowning in self loathing. But whatever, to dwell was to stew and he needed to pick himself up if he was going to show Lan Xichen that he could change.
“Okay. Okay, then. But I don’t want this to be a pity thing, though. I’m not some charity case that needs help…” Jiang Cheng wanted to make it clear where he stood, and he wouldn’t stand to be tiptoed around.
“Of course not, I like you because I like you. I just want you to like you as much as I do.” Jiang Cheng hitched in a breath as Lan Xichen brushed his bangs behind his ear.
“It’s too early in the day for you to be this sweet. Dial it back…”
“It’s like half past 6, you’ll be okay.” It was Lan Xichen’s turn to roll his eyes.
Jiang Cheng hummed, acquiescing. “Fine, you get a pass today.”
The taller man nodded and then stood up, grabbing both of Jiang Cheng’s hands in his own. “Let’s go get food. I’m hungry and you said you’re paying!”
True to his word, when they went to eat, Jiang Cheng paid for dinner. And the next dinner, and the dinner after that, until Lan Xichen had enough of it and they decided to switch off each date night.
-----
And years later, when they really had settled down, Jiang Cheng was surprised to get a Venmo notification from his boyfriend. Across the dinner table from him, Xichen looked very cheeky, phone in hand.
Rolling his eyes, Jiang Cheng pulled out his own phone to make sure his boyfriend hadn’t said anything embarrassing. Over the years he’d become more and more shameless when it came to his public declarations of affection.
-Lan1 paid Wanyin-
Wanyin, will you marry me?
“Xichen! You did not just propose over Venmo!”