Get this though; neither of the Lan brothers are dating him.
Lan Xichen is happily in love with Nie Mingjue (who is very..... curt at the best of times) . And Lan Wangji is dating Wei Wuxian who is...Wei Wuxian.
He meets Jiang Cheng purely by accident. Well, mostly. It's a family function to celebrate wangxian's engagement. Lan Qiren, who has barely had to suffer through three minutes of Wei Wuxian, has already had enough and wants to go home and watch Real Housewives of New Jersey for some much needed relaxation. He walks into the kitchen and bumps into Jiang Cheng who apologizes profusely and properly!
Somehow they get to talking about one thing and the other and SOMEHOW end up on the topic of tea cups. They have a very heated discussion on the type of tea cups and what type of image they present to your guests and what situations to use them in .
By the end of the night Jiang Cheng is invited to play mahjong with him next Saturday.
Summary: It's Lance's birthday and no one seems to remember that little fact. What is shaping up to be his worst day every gets an unexpected twist when a message is left for him by the Blade of Marmora that only he is allowed to see.
Rating: K+
Pairings: Background Klance
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1,344
A/N: I know this is a little late, but better late than never right? I hope you appreciate this short little thing I wrote for Lance's birthday. This was just a little idea I had while working on my next chapter for my Youtube AU. Hopefully my next chapter for that will be out by the end of the month.
Tag List: @annikathesith
Lance groaned as he hit the floor for the fifth time during his training session. As the training sequence ended, he gace a sigh as he stood up. Today had just not been Lance’s day. He knew that time moved a little differently where they were than on Earth - he had gotten Pidge to explain it to him - and if her math was correct then this was shaping up to be his worst birthday to date.
He understood that there was a lot going on and they were all trying to save the universe and make the coalition bigger, but it would be nice if at least one person would remember it was his birthday. Hunk hadn’t even come and given him a crushing bear hug like he always did. At least when he was around Lance that is.
Lance shook his head as he tried to knock his thoughts loose. This was just him overthinking things again.
He had almost made it to the showers when he ran into Pidge in the corridor.
“Lance! Glad I found you. A comm came in a few minutes ago,” she said.
“Was it anything important? I was in the training room so I didn’t hear it.”
“I have no idea. Allura said it was held on a portable recording device that some of The Blades dropped off earlier today. Apparently they very explicitly said that the only one that was allowed to view it was you, Lance.”
“The Marmorites were here? Was Kei - wait. They said only I could look at it?” Lance’s head was reeling. What could the Marmorites possibley have to say to just him? He tried not to get his hopes up too much that a certain someone with the Blades had come to help deliver it.
“Yeah, I just put it in your room while I was trying to find you. I mean I could go and listen to it for myself. Or just make sure I’m there to overhear it.” Pidge gave Lance her mischievous grin. Lance knew her well enough now to be able to tell that she was only (mostly) joking.
“Well I suppose I better go check this out. Though I have no idea whhy they would send a message for only me.”
Pidge smirked, “Maybe it’s a reprimand for the last mission we had with them?”
“Why would they do that?! They haven’t had problems with it in the past!”
Pidge simply shrugged, a smirk firmly plastered on her face, as she started heading back towards the hangar with the lions. Lance waited until Pidge had rounded the corner before rushing the opposite way down the hall toward his room. The shower would have to wait.
As soon as Lance had gotten into his room, he locked the door behind him before searching the room for the comm device. Lance double-checke dthat the door was locked before settling down onto his bed. His heart hammered. It was so loud he was afraid the others would be able to hear it in the hall. Lance’s fingers shook as they hovered over the play button. He wasn’t sure why he hesitated, but he did. Lance stayed that way for several minutes before he finally got the nerve to start it.
A holographic screen popped up and Lance almost threw the device across the room. He thought it was just going to be audio. Not some kind of video. Lance stared intently at the projection trying to see if he had pressed the right button. There was some muttering in the background of the feed for several minutes. In the background he could make out some of the details of one of the Marmorites’ ships. At least those were signs that the video was playing.
His thoughts had just begun to drift when they were interrupted by the sound of a ship door closing and footsteps shuffling back toward the camera. Lance could feel the blood rush to his face as he saw who it was.
It was Keith.
He was wearing the same suit that the rest of the Blades wore, but how did he look so much better than all the rest of them? The suit hugged his body in all the right places. And the hood he was wearing made him look so adorable that it should have been illegal. The only thing that Lance didn’t about it was that he wasn’t able to see Keith’s mullet very well. Okay, so yes he liked Keith’s mullet. Though that thought was never going to come out of his mouth. Especially to Keith. Lance tried to hide his blush behind his own hood even though he knew Keith couldn’t see him. Keith shuffled awkwardly in front of the camera before clearing his throat and finally starting.
“Um, hi Lance. I’m sorry about all that. Kolivan wasn’t sure about letting me do this but I managed to talk him around with some stipulations. But, um, you don’t need to worry about all that.” Keith was refusing to look at the camera. Which was a shame since Lance loved looking into his purple-grey eyes. He had never seen any other eyes quite like Keith’s.
“Anyways,” Keith continued. His eyes shifted to look at the other side of the camera, he still refused to look at where Lance was. “Um Pidge and Hunk told me before I actually left to come join the Blades that your birthday was coming up. If this calendar thing that Pidge made is correct and I timed this right, then that should be today.”
Keith paused for another minute looking down toward the ground. He seemed to be steeling his nerves for something. Lance felt his face continue to heat up. At this point Lance was sure he was as red as the red lion. Keith knew it was his birthday. Not only that, but he had done his best to make sure Lance got this on his actual birthday. That was more than enough of a birthday present for Lance.
“Anyway, I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but I wish I could be there to celebrate with you.” Keith finally looked straight at the camera. Lance gasped . Keith’s eyes were so vibrant and he had a beautiful half smirk. But what really made this the most beautiful look Lance had seen on Keith, was the light blush dotting his cheeks. It took Lance’s breath away. So much so that he almost missed what Keith said next.
“Happy birthday Lance. I hope you have a great day even if I can’t be there. I lo-” Keith’s face went bright red and he cut himself off. Lance couldn’t stop grinning and couldn’t help but hope about what Keith had been about to say.
The video ended shortly after that and Lance just leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He didn’t want anything to ruin this moment.
“Lance open up! You need to come with me!”
Lance sighed. The moment was gone.
He pushed himself off his bed and opened the door. “What do you want Pidge?”
“I need you to come with me.”
“Why would I do that? I have this top secret video that you told me I need to watch.”
“Oh that birthday message for you from Keith?” Pidge smirked. “You’ve finished that by now judging by that look on your face. Now you need to come with me to the party we planned for you.”
“You guys planned a party for me?!?”
Pidge groaned. “Yes. We did. It was supposed to be a surprise party. So when we get in there you need to act surprised or Hunk will never let me live it down.”
Lance grinned down at Pidge. Ever since her gender reveal, they had decided to not keep secrets unless absolutely necessary. There were more than a few slipped secrets bewtween the two of them.
“I think I can manage that Pidge,” Lance said as the two of them made their way toward the lounge room.
Sometimes Wei Ying misses Yiling like a part of his soul rests in it (he supposes in a way it does). He walks through Gusu and pretends that for a moment, he's back in Yiling, his friends are right around the corner, the aunties that scolded him to not run so fast and then slipped a plum or two in his hand ( "-you look so pale, wei gongzi!" ) nevermind the amount of times he refuses them.
But then he opens his eyes and the only thing that remains for him is the gaping ache in his heart that he pretends doesn't exist. He pretends he doesn't cry himself to sleep some days, pretends that he doesn't see how pale he actually is now, pretends that every time he eats the bland food at Gusu he doesn't feel the aching sharpness in his ribs that reminds him of how much he misses his shijie. He pretends that every time it's winter his back doesn't hurt a lot too but Lan Zhan always manages to trick him into getting a warm massage.
Lan Zhan helps in the way he can. He buys Wei Ying whatever spices he could want and holds him through the really bad days when Wei Ying cries so hard that he tries to claw the pain out. He tries really hard to make Gusu easier for Wei Ying to live in.
But sometimes.
Sometimes Wei Ying dreams of rivers and lakes and the warm sun on his arms. He dreams of holding Jiang Cheng the way he used to Before. He dreams of how his hair used to be slightly wavy at the end due to the how humid Yunmeng used to get, how his muscles used to be when he was younger, when he used to swim.
Gods, the water. Lan Zhan can only take him to the lake so many times with the amount of responsibilities he had. He misses swimming. Mo Xuanyu's body couldn't hold breaths for long periods of time. He misses the small lake near Yunmeng Jiang that Madam Yu insisted both Jiang Cheng and him learn to swim when they were younger. He wonders if it's still there, wonders if Jin Ling had ever swam in it.
He thinks absent-mindedly whether Shijie ever felt so homesick when she got married.
Love the fact that Lan Xichen goes "you're the worst thing that happened to my brother" while his bfs actively hate and try to kill each other. He's indirectly responsible for Mingjue's death and by the end of the whole revenge arc, he's AWARE of it too. Which is why ig NHS leaves him mostly alone. Knowing he caused the death of both of his bfs, directly and indirectly, are punishment enough for the guiltiest man in the world.
Need to write/read a fic called My brother and his boyfriend where we go through the many troubles of Meng Yao suffering through, you guessed it, his brother and his boyfriend!
Just a few words of A-Yao debating whether murder is a valid option or not when it comes to a 15 year old Mo Xuanyu and his insufferable, way too old for him (16. He's 16), boyfriend (Xue Yang probably).
Honorary chapter for Xuanli where A-Yao vows to kill for Jiang Yanli, wonders how on earth his brother who tried eating washing powder on a dare last week, managed to make her go out with him (to which Zixuan replies, "I don't make her do anything. What A-Li wishes, she does".)
Some of the most tragic relationships in MDZS are not the ones bound by blood but by choice.
Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, Meng Yao and Nie Mingjie, Meng Yao and Lan Xichen and, the most tragic of all, Nie Huisang and his San-ge.
I did not have to love you, yet I chose to. We are not bound by blood but I still chose to stay. You have repaid this love by betraying me.
P.S. Wen Qing betrays Wei Ying when she gives up herself for death. Ironic as how WWX betrays JC by giving up his golden core. Both done for the other's good without their consent.
I need to read fics in which Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan are awkward brother in laws the same Jiang Cheng is an awkward brother in law to Jin Zixuan.
Modern au version of Jiang Cheng just being awkward because he doesn't know how to react to people who aren't his siblings or complete strangers. Jiang Cheng is actually his best self socializing when it comes to complete strangers compared to Wei Ying who accidentally
a. makes terrible first impressions or
b. ignore them for someone he knows.
But to both Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan he's like *nods* And he gets a return nod too ig.
Thinking of 25 year old Jin Zixuan who's terrified to meet his in-laws and Yanli's protective younger brothers and the meeting just goes like ???
Wei Wuxian makes a few quips about Zixuan not being deserving of Yanli but he's shut down by Jiang Cheng of all people??? Meanwhile Jiang Cheng on his new meds and sensing a disturbance in the force : Must shut WWX up. Jiang Cheng gets his grudging respect. (Grudging because when they were younger he bit Zixuan in the shoulder. Wei Wuxian started it by punching him in the face but 12 year old Jiang Cheng's bite left a scar that even his $900 cream wouldn't fix. Yanli finds the scar adorable though, the same way she finds *shudders* Wei Wuxian adorable he guesses).
Lan Wangji, on the other hand-
Well, it's awkward. Wangji used to harbour a small platonic crush on Jiang Cheng's handwriting and work ethic (it's just so neat!!! ) . But that was before he figured out that the Jiang Cheng in his company was the same Jiang Cheng that Wei Ying talked about.
After the Jiang's had disowned Wei Ying, both Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli had pooled money together and bought a small apartment for him (right opposite of Lan Wangji, but that was surely a coincidence). If they hadn't done that, he wouldn't have met Wei Ying again after so long. He wouldn't have had the chance to fall in love (again) with the most beautiful man in the world.
So yes, both the in laws respect Jiang Cheng but don't really know what to say to him. They're both protective of him and insist on sitting with Wei Ying and Yanli to vet his future partner.
