RanWan Aviation AU Long Fic
Summary: “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, man. I wasn’t looking, that’s my fault.” Mo Ran apologized, looking down at exactly who he ran into and from that moment on, his heart was stolen.
Standing only a few inches below him was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Long dark brown hair tied into a high ponytail, phoenix eyes settled into a glare and pink lips pursed into a tight line. The stranger’s face was sharp, but alluring all the same. A light shade of pink had brushed itself across his cheeks and in the corners of his eyes. Mo Ran opened his mouth to speak, but words just refused to come out.
“Excuse me.” The man said, rather curtly before stepping to the side and walking past Mo Ran — In the wrong direction.
Or! Mo Ran an Aircraft Dispatcher who longs for change runs into the new Captain at work and his life is forever changed.
Tags: Modern Era, Alternate Universe - Aviation, Pilot Chu Wanning, Dispatcher Mo Ran, POV Mo Ran, Depression, Isolation, Borderline Personality Disorder, Mo Ran has BPD, Mental Health Issues, Love at First Sight, Mo Ran is Whipped, Chu Wanning Is Whipped, but Chu Wanning is Bad at Expressing his Feelings
If you didn’t come from my One-Shot then here’s some definitions! If you came from the One-Shot, there’s a new one in here! (HIGH-MIN), so you can scroll down to those if you need/want to!
TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) — a type of weather forecast specifically made for an airport and its immediate surroundings.
METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) — a real time weather report of an airport and its immediate surroundings.
NOTAM (Notice To Air Missions/Notice To Airmen) — critical and/or essential information to flight personnel that is not known far enough in advance to be published by other means. These include statues on runways, potential hazards, airspace restrictions etc.
HIGH-MIN (High Minimum(s)) - A captain or Pilot In Command who is required to use Increased Landing Minimums due to limited experience in an aircraft type or due to operational rules.
More Notes: In the US, for Part 121 Operations, dispatchers can only get their physical dispatch license card when they turn 23, but can be certified as early as 21!
There are also going to be some MDZS and TGCF characters scattered throughout (I needed to make up numbers.) They are basically just cameos. This is NOT a true crossover. This is still an ERHA / RanWan centric AU and fic!
Please understand that i’m being as accurate as my own personal experience and knowledge allows. I work in aviation, but I don’t work for every airline ever (unfortunately). I may take some liberties and bend some rules. Each airline has their own rules and regulations on top of federal regs.
One must know the saying ‘Being early is on time, on time is late and late is fired.’. Well, sure as the sun rises, Mo Ran found himself late on his first day as a fully fledged and certified dispatcher. Sure, he had been with the airline for quite some time since getting his license at 22. That was a horrid few months, $4,000 dollars, and a grueling test later, he got signed off as a one whole and wholly trained Dispatcher. The downside of that being, until he was 23, he really had nothing to show for it.
So, first impressions were important and he was already failing. Mo Ran wondered, though, if anyone would truly notice? He had been with the airline as a licensed Dispatcher for one entire year at this point. His Uncle, Xue Zhengyong, was the Chief Pilot and his cousin, Xue Meng, worked only ten feet away as a Load Planner. All in all, Mo Ran was quite established in his little corner of the airport. So, what was it about that teal card that meant so much to him? Mo Ran felt that it finally showed the world that he was competent. That now, there was no reason for anyone to look down on him anymore; Mo Ran was no longer ‘too young’.
Unfortunately, here Mo Ran was, still ten minutes late and counting. Thank God for overlaps.
“Where is it?” Mo Ran groaned, sifting through the pile of mail on his coffee table. Mo Ran was a clean and tidy person, but for the past week he had certainly slacked in the mail sorting department. According to the postal service, his dispatch license card should’ve shown up yesterday. Scratch that! He knows it showed up yesterday because he remembers excitedly picking up said envelope, squealing as he clutched it to his chest (garnering the attention of all his neighbors). He then remembered he opened the envelope and put it in— oh.
“What an idiot.” He mumbled to himself, walking to his key hook and taking his lanyard off. Mo Ran flipped the badge cover over, only to reveal the bright teal of his dispatch certification. The man sighed, letting his body lean until his forehead made a sound thunk as it hit the wall, Good going. Uncle is really gonna have my ass now. Mo Ran resigned himself to just get out the door, not caring that he had two different colored socks on or that his shoelace was borderline untied. These were problems that could be remedied sometime in the near future. It wasn’t like anyone was going to notice. Mo Ran grabbed his lunch bag and backpack, swinging them on his shoulder, and walked out the door.
The drive to work was extremely uneventful. Same route, different day. Mo Ran past by the old Douglas DC-3, courtesy of Guyuyue Airways, of course. The sun’s rays bouncing off the worn yet still shiny metal managed to blind Mo Ran like it did every day. He passed all the other airline’s buildings. Mo Ran glanced outside his window, each building blending into each-other into a muddled mess of beige, blues, greens, and blacks. Now, to Mo Ran it seemed more like an ombre of colors rather than separate buildings. Mo Ran wasn’t bored, per se, but even a slight change of scenery wouldn’t hurt him.
The Dispatcher soon parked his car, threw his keys in his bag and hopped out of his red 2016 Toyota Camry. Her name? Jiangui — because that’s what Mo Ran thought when he saw the price of the thing. Mo Ran huffed, pressing the lock button and promptly shutting the door before gunning it into the building; almost forgetting to scan his badge at some of the doors. That’s the last thing Mo Ran needed was a door to the face on this already horrid day. Though, he did take a second to stop by a mirror. Mo Ran was an extremely handsome man, with his tan skin, strong build and wavy black hair tied up into a ponytail that brushed against the top of his shoulders. He smiled softly at his reflection, pushing his glasses higher up on his nose, dusting off his black quarter zip and turning on his heel to head up into the office.
“Morning!” The receptionist, Song Qiutong, greeted. Her perfectly manicured hand waving at Mo Ran.
Mo Ran waved back. He decided it wouldn’t hurt too much if he exchanged a few words with Song Qiutong, “Morning, Qiu-mei! Did I miss out on anything over the weekend?” He asked, propping an elbow on her desk, the hard material of the counter digging in right next to his elbow. Mo Ran winced before flashing her his best ‘award-winning’ smile. This is usually how Mo Ran got his information about people and happenings in the company.
Song Qiutong nodded, “Mn, mn. I heard that we got a new captain and today is his first day.” She whispered, “An old friend of your Uncle’s. That’s how he made captain, and let me tell you, Jiang Xi wasn’t too happy to hear it.”
Mo Ran grimaced. Sounds about right, Jiang Xi was as senior as they come, second to Xue Zhengyong. It wasn’t like he got booted out of his position, but Jiang Xi saw almost everyone as competition at one point or another. He was so laser focused on his career that no one and nothing else mattered.
“Gotcha, gotcha. Well, I’m late already so, see you around, Qiu-mei.” Mo Ran bid his farewell before heading towards the stairs where, just as his luck would have it, he ran into something, or rather, someone. Mo Ran felt the air knocked out of his lungs.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, man. I wasn’t looking, that’s my fault.” Mo Ran apologized, looking down at exactly who he ran into and from that moment on, his heart was stolen.
Standing only a few inches below him was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Long dark brown hair tied into a high ponytail, phoenix eyes settled into a glare and pink lips pursed into a tight line. The stranger’s face was sharp, but alluring all the same. A light shade of pink had brushed itself across his cheeks and in the corners of his eyes. Mo Ran opened his mouth to speak, but words just refused to come out.
“Excuse me.” The man said, rather curtly before stepping to the side and walking past Mo Ran — In the wrong direction. Mo Ran could then see his bright-green and black crew jacket. This must be the new pilot and by God, was he gorgeous. Broad shoulders, long legs and a slender waist to boot. Mo Ran was in heaven. Gay heaven, that is.
Mo Ran cleared his throat, “Hey, man, I- uh think you’re going the wrong way. Ops is upstairs.” He said, pointing up.
The other man huffed, came back towards Mo Ran and bounded up the stairs. He acted like Mo Ran wasn’t even there! He only briefly turned back to say, “Oh, and by the way, your shoelace is coming undone.”
Mo Ran chuckled, starting his own journey up the stairs. There wasn’t many, but they never got easier. Once the Dispatcher made it up the stairs, he quickly unlocked the door with his badge and speed walked to his office. Mo Ran waved to and said simple greetings to who he could, but he was on a serious mission and that was desperately trying to avoid his Uncle. Xue Zhengyong was a forgiving man, but Mo Ran had heard last week that he may have an FAA observer sometime this week so it was imperative that he show up on time every day.
“Ran-er, not so fast.” Xue Zhengyong said, his tall frame leaning against the door frame of his office.
Mo Ran mentally smacked himself on the forehead, “Uncle, I’m really sorry. I couldn’t find my cert this morning…” He said sheepishly, his hands fiddling with the soft sleeve of his sweater.
Xue Zhengyong sipped his coffee before slowly putting the mug down on the side table next to his door, “Ran-er, you remember what I told you, yes? I can forgive it any other time, but not when the FAA is lurking around trying to do their observations. It makes you look shady or something.”
“I second that.” A colder, more calculated voice sounded from beside Mo Ran. Oh, shit and also oh fuck. The hairs on Mo Ran’s neck stood straight up, and he could feel goosebumps raise on his arms. “Mo Ran, you are one of my best, don’t let your inability to read a clock get you in hot water.” Mei Hanxue said.
Mo Ran nodded, “Of course, won’t happen again.” He replied, his head hanging low and walking off to his office.
The office was nothing special, just a large dark green room with screens in almost every corner. Flat screen TVs at the front: one with weather, one with the cameras pointing at the planes so they could see in and out times, one with a flight tracker. The desks were lined up throughout the room. And, of course, Mo Ran’s least favorite part— those fucking windows that lined half the room. The number of fights that have happened since Mo Ran started over when and how the shades were gonna be. On each desk, there were laptops and two long monitors, it was surely enough screen to last Mo Ran his entire life. Oh! And he certainly couldn’t forget the tablets, either. The Dispatcher let out a sigh just thinking about it.
“A-Ran, why are you just standing there?” Shi Mei asked, turning his chair so he was facing Mo Ran. Shi Mei was a year or so older than Mo Ran, but looked like he wasn’t a day over 20. Shi Mei is what Mo Ran would describe as a true, peerless beauty, but eh, wasn’t really Mo Ran’s type no matter how hard the other tried.
The younger man shrugged before heading to his desk, placing his backpack and lunch bag on the surface. “Got lost in a daydream, I guess.” He replied, all but throwing the contents of his lunch bag in the office fridge. Today’s lunch consisted of leftover Dan Dan noodles, an assortment of pickled and un-pickled vegetables, and a few wontons that Mo Ran had haphazardly thrown together.
“Oh, Mo Ran will you hand me my smoothie?” Shi Mei asked.
“Yeah.” He said, grabbing the smoothie from the fridge, it was purple in color and actually looked pretty good. “Which one is this?” Mo Ran asked, handing the smoothie to Shi Mei before plopping down on his chair.
“Blueberries, greens, like a quarter of a banana, two jujubes, and blackberries.” He replied, taking a sip.
Mo Ran hummed, doesn’t sound too bad. He had wanted to get into smoothie making, but it was hard when he had no time to do anything except for chores on his off days. He finished taking out his supplies and set them neatly on his desk, “What’s our morning looking like?” Mo Ran questioned, clicking his pen up on his memo pad.
“Super boring. We have an LAX and a PDX this morning.” Shi Mei replied, “Both look great, though you probably want to double-check PDX. You got a high min captain. Sorry.” He finished, closing his notebook, “Nightshift had nothing to say.”
“Um, I’m right here.” Lan Xichen spoke up, “But he is right, I don’t really have anything to say. No flights went out last night. I prelim-ed LAX, but not PDX because of crew change and new high-min captain. I’ll let you deal with that, Mo Ran.”
“High min? Since when?” Mo Ran groaned, leaning down and resting his forehead against the surface of the desk. It was cool against his burning temple. Mo Ran had always run a little warmer than the average person.
Lan Xichen shrugged, “Since 0131 exactly when Jiang Fengmian sent out an email, in bold, saying ‘New Captain starts tomorrow. He is High-Mins and is going to PDX’.”
Mo Ran groaned even louder, “That’s something you say, like, days in advance. What the fuck does that guy even do?”
A chorus of “Beats me.” rang through the office. Two voices stuck out that he previously hadn’t noticed. He must look like such an asshole.
“Oh shit, good morning Meng-er, A-Qing.” Mo Ran said, slowly sitting back up. The Dispatcher tried his best to always remember to say a greeting to Load Planning, as to help the two departments become more friendly with each-other. Plus, Mo Ran’s annoying (lovingly) younger cousin, Xue Meng.
Xue Meng scoffed, “Good morning to you too, dipshit. Got your cert, and now you think you’re all that.” Mo Ran couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he logged into his computer. The sudden assault on his retinas from the bright startup screen made him grimace.
“Morning.” Mu Qing added, sleep was heavy in his voice. Mo Ran knew how he felt. If Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang weren’t so hellbent on staying on the night shift, Mo Ran would probably be in that same position. Even now, his voice was thick with sleep, and he was slow as he spoke.
Mo Ran took to gathering his weather as soon as possible, what with this high-min captain. He had an inkling of who that captain was— it must be the beauty he bumped into downstairs. This whole high-min thing makes perfect since he’s new to the airline. Every captain of theirs was once high-mins; doesn’t make it any easier dealing with it.
The next few hours went by in a flash. Mo Ran planned his flight with ease, it was a route he had done a million times at this point. The Portland run was an easy one, usually transporting things like seafood back and forth between his home state and Oregon. Mo Ran was elated to find that the weather was perfect for his lovely (presumably) high-min captain. Hell, even the briefing went well.
He probably seemed like such an idiot infront of, who he now knows is Captain Chu Wanning. Which, if he was honest, wasn’t his fault!
(“No MELs or CDLs. Let’s call it—”
“Are you sure?” Chu Wanning questioned, his eyebrow raised.
Mo Ran nodded, “Super sure, got an e-mail saying it’s good to go.” When he looked over he was met with a face full of flight release and highlighted in soft lilac highlighter was an MEL for one of the landing lights, restricting night flying.
“Oh! Sorry A-Ran, I forgot to take it out of our software…” Shi Mei sighed, pouting at Mo Ran.)
In the end, Mo Ran had to re-do his paperwork (not from scratch, thank god). Continuing Mo Ran’s lucky streak— nothing he did messed with his numbers which, in turn, didn’t mess with Xue Meng’s numbers. Because, as Xue Meng put it ‘She’s been loaded. Don’t make me make them crack ‘er open, or else I’ll send many angry rampers up here, and they’ll have your ass.’ Mo Ran did not want to deal with that.
Other than that minor slip up, everything went well. Mo Ran couldn’t help but want to stare at Chu Wanning as much as humanly possible. His slicked back ponytail was pristine and held together by probably so much hairspray, Mo Ran wanted to cough thinking about it. Chu Wanning’s knuckles were tinted a soft shade of pink, which made his gentle looking hands all the more cute. His voice was like music to Mo Ran’s ears, he could listen to that voice all day. He imagined how lucky Chu Wanning’s partner must be to have that as their lullaby every night.
Mo Ran glanced at his computer clock, 1445, it was almost time for him to make the monotonous drive back home. Jiang Yanli had shown up just on time. She was a year older than Mo Ran and so fashionable. Jiang Yanli never looked anything less than perfect, Mo Ran wishes he could branch out more, but he was currently stuck in his quarter zips and slacks.
Shi Mei was the one to do the turnover because Mo Ran was so busy putting all his stuff away; it was his Friday, after all. His flight had landed a few minutes earlier, the plane was good, and everything was finished so harm no foul, right?
Mo Ran got his bags together, slinging them over his shoulder and bidding everyone a goodnight. Shi Mei was quick to follow him. Mo Ran noticed that Shi Mei had been acting strange these days, he clung to Mo Ran more.
“A-Ran, do you wanna maybe go get…”
Mo Ran wanted to hear Shi Mei out, he really did, but as they walked out of the office, Mo Ran catch a glimpse of Chu Wanning. He sat in the pilot’s lounge, his long hair cascading down a straight back. His posture was much better than Mo Ran’s shrimp posture.
“Ah! Captain Chu! How was she?” Mo Ran called out to the pilot, who was ingrained in putting his flight documents together.
Chu Wanning looked up from his documents, his phoenix eyes slightly widened like he thought Mo Ran didn’t want to talk to him, or he was being forced to. Of course Mo Ran wanted to talk to him. Besides, he liked to build rapport with all the pilots at work; it made his life a hell of a lot easier.
“Good.” Chu Wanning answered, setting his documents in the filing cabinet, “She’s a bit cramped, though.”
Mo Ran chuckled, “I know, I’d much rather sit in the supernumerary. The cockpit feels like a can, and we’re the sardines.” Shi Mei let out a soft giggle at that. Mo Ran didn’t even really remember that the other man was there. Oh, well. He didn’t want to make such an… awkward exit, but Mo Ran felt the itch to just go home.
Thank God Shi Mei was the first to go walk away, “Well, A-Ran I hope we can grab that coffee sometime.” He said, adjusting his bag strap on his shoulder and walking away.
Mo Ran was stumped, he didn’t remember agreeing to go get coffee with Shi Mei. Had he agreed under the stupor of sleep? Mo Ran shook his head, turning his attentions back to Chu Wanning, who sat with his brows furrowed, like he was concentrating really hard on something.
“Well, it was nice meeting you, Captain Chu. I gotta head home, though. I didn’t see if you had any more flights, so… If you do, fly safe and if you don’t, well, um have a good rest of your day.” Mo Ran said. Chu Wanning gave him a curt nod and a quiet, ‘Likewise.’.
When Mo Ran finally made it home, it was almost 1600, about an hour before dinner. The Dispatcher had to find something to do to make the time pass, but these days, nothing came easy to him. Mo Ran recalled his early days as a Dispatcher; he was so full of energy, constantly bouncing off the walls. Mei Hanxue had complained that Mo Ran was like a small child at times, or an eager puppy.
Mo Ran sauntered over to his kitchen, leaning over the cold marble of the countertop, his cheek pressed up against it. It took some pressure off him and cooled him down a bit. Sometimes the AC wasn’t enough, and heating and cooling wasn’t cheap either. The man groaned with sheer boredom. That was, until his mind started to wander to the thoughts of Chu Wanning. Mo Ran had only met the man that day, but he was so alluring. Chu Wanning had a cold, distant air about him, but it wasn’t necessarily uninviting.
Mo Ran decided that night to make it his mission to get invited into Chu Wanning’s world.
Thank you for flying with me!
This AU means the whole world to me. I hope we have a good time! Please look forward for more!
