"Alright class, this is a reminder that your permission slips are due tomorrow, I'm still waiting on a few," Professor Ouyang said, giving Wei Wuxian a pointed look.
"Sorry, teach, Uncle Jiang's not back from his business trip till tonight! You'll have it in the morning I promise!" Wei Wuxian saluted at Professor Ouyang, who shook his head.
"Your brother turned his in three days ago."
Wei Wuxian winced. Jiang Cheng had been able to turn his in three days ago because Madam Yu didn't hate him, but he could hardly say that out loud. Already Jiang Cheng was looking rather uncomfortable, pretending to be very interested in his binder. The last thing Wei Wuxian wanted was to make A-Cheng feel worse, so he just smiled carelessly.
"Yeah, but Uncle Jiang's signature is so much cooler than Madam Yu's, I'd much rather him sign it, you know?" He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands, giggling at Professor Ouyang's eye roll as he turned toward the board, already fed up with Wei Wuxian's antics.
"Ridiculous," he heard Lan Wangji mutter.
In a fit of temper, Wei Wuxian kicked the back of Lan Wangji's chair, throwing him forward in his seat. "What business is it of yours?" He snapped, glaring at him when Lan Wangji shot him a sharp look.
Professor Ouyang saw none of this, but Jiang Cheng slapped him on the shoulder, giving him a harsh look. Wei Wuxian scoffed and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.
"Alright, so in preparation for our trip to the museum I'm going to put you in groups and assign each of you an artifact of Ancient Egypt to research and write your own brief history of."
"Excuse me, Professor, but will we be getting into groups or will you be assigning groups?" Nie Huaisang asked, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind.
"I will be assigning groups, Huaisang." The classroom groaned almost as one.
Wei Wuxian couldn't help but notice Lan Wangji looking around the room, no doubt wondering what the fuss was about, not that his face showed anything. But given the context, it was obvious he'd never been forced to suffer the indignity of being forced to do group work with people you hate by an uncaring teacher.
"Now to make things easier the students in the first and third rows will be paired with the students directly behind them."
Wei Wuxian had a moment to think not him before Lan Wanjgi turned slowly and gave him a look that said he was thinking much the same thing. Beside Wangji, however, Huaisang had sagged with relief.
"How lucky, I got Jiang Cheng."
"How unlucky," Wei Wuxian growled, "I got the fuddy-duddy."
Wangji turned back around in his seat and clenched his fist under the desk, trying to force out the sound of Wei Wuxian's voice. How unlucky, he'd said. I got the fuddy-duddy. Was the idea of working with him that bad? Well, that was fine, he didn't want to work with that irreverent rule-breaker either.
"I expect all of you to spend your study halls researching the objects I'm assigning you," Professor Ouyang said, handing out papers with names and photos of artifacts on them.
Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng stood in almost perfect sync and leaned over their desks to get a good look at the paper their partners had been handed. Lan Wangji was carefully looking over the picture of some sort of scepter.
"How lame, this isn't going to be fun at all," Wei Wuxian grumbled none too quietly, not noticing the way Lan Wangji's shoulders tensed slightly.
"School isn't meant to be fun, it is for learning," Lan Wangji said over his shoulder.
Nie Huaisang, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian all exchanged a horrified look, but were unable to voice their disdain because Professor Ouyang chose that exact moment to begin their lesson.
The bell rang and all the students in class 2B got to their feet and began collecting their things, on their way to various hangout spots for their hour-long study hall before science.
"So, Lan Wangji, where do you want to go to work on our project?"
"The library," he said simply, flipping his spiral-bound notebook shut.
Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth, ready to snap something back at him, then stopped himself. They would be spending a lot of time together for this project, and they had gotten off on the wrong foot, what with Wei Wuxian kicking his chair this morning. It wasn't Lan Wangji's fault that Wei Wuxian didn't get along with his aunt. Besides, he hadn't been at school very long, and was probably unsure about how to make friends. Wei Wuxian should really do the heavy lifting and help him out.
"Do you like bunnies?" He asked brightly, looking down at the cute little bunnies drawn on the cover sheet of his binder. Lan Wangji shot him another annoyed look and slid his binder back into his light blue messenger bag. "What? There's nothing wrong with that! I like bunnies too, bunnies are great! A-Cheng, opinion on bunnies?"
"Somft," Jiang Cheng said, without looking up from where he was trying to shove his history book into his crumpled paper and chip bag stuffed backpack.
"Somft," Wei Wuxian and Huaisang parroted at the same time.
Lan Wangji swept out the door without a word, long hair flowing behind him.
"At least he's cute?" Nie Huaisang offered. Wei Wuxian shrugged.
"If only those looks weren't wasted on someone too uptight to be any fun," he said.
When he stepped out the door he found Lan Wangji waiting for him, looking more annoyed than before. Wei Wuxian winced, about to ask if he'd heard him and apologize, but he was distracted when he caught sight of Yanli over Lan Wangji's shoulder. She stood on the other side of the second floor landing, talking with Lan Xichen. It wasn't an unusual sight, Yanli was her class president, but Wei Wuxian still felt the need to make a little mischief. He bounded past Lan Wangji, climbing on the safety railing so he could lean over the courtyard below them.
"Yanli, hey Yanli!" He called, waving his entire arm. He grinned broadly as the two of them turned to look at him, both wearing similar tolerant smiles. "Is that guy bothering you?" He called, indicating Headmaster Lan. Headmaster Lan shook his head and made a gesture that Wei Wuxian took to mean get to class, and he swung back to the ground, laughing maniacally before strutting along to the library. He glanced over his shoulder in time to catch the nod of acknowledgement the two brothers exchanged before Lan Wangji followed Wei Wuxian.
"I'll find us a good table!" Wei Wuxian said as they entered.
Lan Wangji made a small sound of acknowledgement, heading straight to the section where he might find what they needed. Wei Wuxian speed-walked to his favorite table in the back near the fireplace. It wasn't lit of course, it was still too warm for that, but the bookshelves were arranged in such a way that the lighting was perfect for studying (and nap taking). He happily sat his bags down and was about to plop into his favorite chair before he hesitated.
He'd gotten off on the wrong foot with Lan Wangji, and he had insulted him, maybe within his earshot, so he really should leave the best seat for him, as an apology of sorts. His mind made up he shuffled to the second best seat and pulled out his sketchbook, thinking he'd work on his newest drawing while Lan Wangji looked for books. He had to plan his pieces for that dumb art show Headmaster Lan had somehow blackmailed him into. Getting books was a job for one, anyway.
"Wei Wuxian?" he heard Lan Wangji call, voice appropriately hushed.
"Over here," he replied, not looking up from his sketch.
A few more seconds and Lan Wangji stepped in between the bookcases and halted. Wei Wuxian looked up and grinned at him, pushing out Lan Wangji's chair with his foot.
"I saved you the best seat!" He leaned back and flicked his nose, charcoal still tucked between his fingers. His initial excitement at sharing one of his favorite places on campus with Lan Wangji fade a bit when the other boy didn't react at all. He started to feel silly, of course his older brother had already shown him everything, so he wouldn't be surprised by Wei Wuxian's favorite magical study slash nap spot. He kept his smile stubbornly in place, however, until Lan Wangji nodded his head and approached the table.
"Thank you," he said quietly, sitting down and handing over a few of the books he'd picked out. "You should wipe the charcoal off your hands before you handle the library books."
"Oh yeah, I didn't think about-" he paused halfway to wiping his hands on his skinny jeans, eyes fixed on the pure white (silk, maybe?) handkerchief that Lan Wangji was attempting to hand him. "Oh, no-no-no-no I couldn't, I'd ruin it! Here-" he wiped his hands on his pants, "my jeans are black anyway so it won't show up!"
"Won't it rub off against your other clothes?"
"Probably, but everything I own is covered in charcoal anyway, it's no big deal."
"So you draw with charcoal often?"
"Oh, yeah, even though it gets everywhere I love it! Madam Yu is always complaining I get the dust all over the house, but Uncle Jaing doesn't mind! He always encourages me, he even hung up one of my pieces in his office at the Lotus Security headquarters!" He declared, puffing his chest out proudly. He may have been imagining it, but he thought Lan Wangji might have softened a bit at the declaration.
"We should get to work," Lan Wangji said, averting his gaze to the books he'd gathered.
Wei Wuxian flipped his sketchbook shut obediently, but kept it within arms reach instead of stowing it away.
"So, King Tut's scepter, what's so special about it?"
"The assignment is for us to discover that, I believe."
"Right," Wei Wuxian said, nodding and pulling a random book closer to him. He's so literal.
Wei Wuxian flipped directly to the back of the book and looked for the word scepter in the index, then flipped back and forth to the different mentions looking for information. Lan Wangji shot him an annoyed look that went unnoticed at all the flipping and flopping, but he didn't comment.
Wei Wuxian still had a smudge of charcoal on his nose. Lan Wangji had noticed because he was unable to keep himself from looking up at him every few minutes. He tried to tell himself this was because of all the noise, but his eyes kept straying away from the text in front of him even when Wei Wuxian was quiet. He kept trying to force himself to focus but his brain was still soupy from earlier, walking into the study area to see Wei Wuxian grinning like that in the soft light of the library had temporarily frozen him. I saved you the best seat! His chest had tightened and it had been a struggle to keep his face neutral.
He remembered Wei Wuxian's words from earlier and the warmth that had suffused the atmosphere leeched away in a heartbeat. What bad luck, I got the fuddy-duddy, and what a shame his looks were wasted on someone so uptight. Lan Wangji returned to his research with renewed vigor, determined to give no more of his thoughts to Wei Wuxian.
"GROSS!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed, startling Wangji and shattering his newfound resolve almost as soon as he had formed it.
"Wei Wuxian, keep your voice down," he scolded.
"Sorry, but did you know this guy married his half-sister? That's so nasty!"
"That is gross, but not terribly uncommon for the time period I believe."
"Still though. I don't like this guy."
"He's been dead for centuries, I don't think the two of you will run in to one another."
"Lan Wangji, was that a joke?"
"Focus."
Wei Wuxian pouted, which Lan Wangji did not think was adorable, he just reminded himself of the unkind things Wei Wuxian had said for good measure. Lan Wangji sincerely hoped that the notes he was jotting down furiously were related to the topic and not a scathing essay about the immorality of marrying one's sister.
Time passed rather quickly after that, Wei Wuxian occasionally losing interest and doodling something in the margins of his pages before returning to his research, Lan Wangji occasionally stealing glances of him, resisting the urge to reach out and wipe away the charcoal smudge. The bell rang eventually and the two of them took a few moments to pack their bags before heading to science class.
They walked together since they were going to the same place but once they entered the room Wei Wuxian peeled off to his usual haunt in the back of the classroom with his brother while Wangi took up his normal seat at the front. The class passed quickly and soon the bell was ringing for lunch. Wangji followed his classmates out of the room, thinking to see if Xichen wanted to eat with him when his brother's voice caught his attention.
"Wangji!" He turned in that direction, not quite smiling but also not not smiling as his brother made his way through the crowd of milling high schoolers. "Uncle asked us to return home for lunch today. You don't have any plans to eat with any of the other students, do you?" Xichen glanced not-so-subtlely at the place where Wei Wuxian was busy letting his sister wipe away his charcoal smudge. Wangji ignored the way his stomach twisted unpleasantly at the sight.
"No, I would be glad to eat with you and Uncle." Xichen smiled and led the way downstairs, other students parting to make way for their headmaster.
"So how did your morning go?" He asked as they reached the courtyard.
"We were assigned to work on a project in pairs."
"I suppose that's why you were going to the library with Wei Wuxian."
Wangji nodded, then remembered that Xichen wasn't facing him. "Yes." The two of them climbed into Xichen's car and buckled their seatbelts.
"How did it go? What did you think of Wei Wuxian once you spent some more time with him?" Xichen asked, double checked all his mirrors and turned on the engine.
Wangji stared resolutely forward, trying not to show anything on his face as Wei Wuxian's words from earlier replayed in his mind. What bad luck. Xichen turned to back the car up but froze, staring at Wangji's ear, and all of a sudden Wangji was biting back another bad feeling, this one nothing to do with Wei Wuxian. A twinge of panic thrummed in his chest.
"Wangji- did- did you pierce your ears?" Wangji swallowed and pretended to be very interested in his seat belt to buy some time. "Wangji"
"I did," he said quietly.
Xichen's eyebrows shot up, his lips parting in shock like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "When? Why? How? You're not eighteen? Who did it for you?"
Wangji thought carefully about which question to answer and how to answer it.
"A week and a half ago, it was a, um, spur of the moment decision."
"You've never been impulsive in your life." Wangji said nothing. Xichen sighed. "You're not eighteen, where did you get it done?"
"In my room," he said, still quieter, not looking away from his hands.
They were still in the school parking lot, Xichen with his foot still on the brake, staring at his younger brother like he was a new person. Wangji had never lied to his brother before, never even come this close to lying before, and he hated it.
"You did it yourself?" Wangji said nothing. "If you wanted it done that badly you should have asked and I would have made sure it was done safely."
Wangji continued to stare at his hands where they were clenched around one another in his lap. He had known this moment was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. "I'm sorry, Xichen."
"I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to tell me before you do something reckless! I- you didn't even ask! You should have talked to me if you were nervous about asking Uncle before going nuclear and stabbing a hole in your own ears!"
Wangji winced, taking a shaky breath. Xichen softened, unable to bear Wangji's obvious distress for long.
"It's alright I'm not angry, I just-" he sighed, "I wish you would have said something. How are they? Have they been hurting? Are you sure they're not infected?"
Wangji relaxed at his brother's return to his usual comforting tone. "They're fine, brother. I've been careful with them."
Xichen laughed dryly. "Yes, because piercing your own ears alone in your room is so careful."
"I've made sure to keep them clean," Wangji amended.
Xichen shook his head, sighing as he finally realized he was sitting with his foot on the break and began pulling out of the parking lot.
"Uncle will be angry, won't he?" Wangji asked.
Xichen winced. "I'll tell Uncle and run interference, okay? But I want you to promise me something. No more body modifications without telling us, especially do not do them to yourself. Talk to me next time, if you're nervous about asking Uncle."
"I promise," Wangji agreed readily. He certainly had no intentions of doing anymore piercings, anyway.
"Can you at least tell me why? I promise I'm not angry, I just want to understand."
He couldn't. He thought carefully, grateful, once again, for his habit of thinking over questions carefully.
"I think earrings are nice," he said simply.
Xichen frowned, obviously unsatisfied with this answer, but knowing his brother well enough to know he wasn't going to get anything else out of him.
Wangji sat at the dinner table, impassive, while Xichen fulfilled his promise of breaking the news of Wangji's piercings to Lan Qiren. He sat completely still, keeping careful control of his breathing and refusing to flinch.
"Those other students are corrupting him!" Lan Qiren snapped.
"The students in his class are good kids, Uncle. Besides, he said he did it about a week and a half ago. Do you really think him so impressionable to have been influenced to such drastic measures after one or two days? He's probably wanted them for a while." he hadn't.
"He's never mentioned it before!"
"You're quite strict on him, maybe he thought you'd have a bad reaction," Xichen said pointedly. Lan Qiren didn't reply at first, which made Wangji think Xichen was winning.
"I'm looking out for his best interests," Lan Qiren said eventually.
"I know, but I just don't see the point of being hard on him now. What's done is done. Even if you make him take them out, he'll still have the visible piercing even if it grows over." Lan Qiren sighed heavily.
Wangji's front pocket shifted and Wangji looked carefully down at Tikki, who was giving him a sympathetic look. He let out a small breath, taking what reassurance he could from her presence.
"Alright, I won't make him take them out, but he will be punished for recklessness and impulsivity," Xichen said nothing, which Wangji took to mean Xichen thought this was the best he could get.
He closed his eyes and released another long breath, folding his hands tightly over one another to mask their faint trembling. He'd never done anything like this before and had no idea what sort of punishment to expect.
"Maybe it won't be so bad," Tikki whispered. "I'll be with you for whatever it is."
"Thank you, Tikki," he whispered, turning his eyes back to the front as his brother and uncle entered the dining room where he was waiting. He got to his feet and nodded respectfully when they reached him.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" Uncle asked sharply.
Wangji swallowed one more time, taking solace from the warm little lump in his pocket. "I'm sorry, Uncle, I have no excuse. I will accept whatever punishment you see fit." Xichen gave him a pitying look but didn't speak.
"I'm disappointed in you, Wangji, I expected better from you." The words stung, even though he knew he had broken the rules for the greater good of Paris, of course Uncle couldn't know that. "What would you have done if something had gone wrong? To make sure you understand what you've done, you will write me a ten-page essay on the dangers of performing such procedures on yourself."
"Yes, Uncle."
"You will have it on my desk by the end of the week."
"Yes, Uncle."
"And you will not let your studies suffer."
"Yes, Uncle."
"Why don't we start eating? Wangji and I still have to get back to school, Xichen said, breaking the tension.
"Very well."
Mercifully, no speaking was permitted during meals at the Lan house, so Lan Qiren could scold Wangji no further, and Wangji was not expected to answer questions about his first-ever fit of impulsivity. The tension was still thick, but Xichen was dedicated to his promise of running interference, so when the meal was finished he went on like nothing had happened.
"What is your project about?" He asked when it looked like Lan Qiren was going to say more words.
"Tutankhamun, each group was given one artifact from his exhibit at the Louvre to research, Wei Wuxian and I are researching his staff."
"Wei Wuxian-" Lan Qiren mused, stroking his beard, "why do I recognize that name?"
"He's a bit of a troublemaker," Lan Xochen said fondly.
"Wait, is he the one who released the chickens in the school last year?"
Wangji looked up in surprise, speaking without meaning to. "He what?"
Both his brother and Uncle looked at him, Xichen wearing an amused smile, Lan Qiren looking angry. Wangji wasn't sure if the anger was directed at him or Wei Wuxian.
"Last year on April Fools day Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang got together and released a bunch of chickens in the school."
"That boy is no good," Lan Qiren grumbled.
Xichen's eyes fell lightly on Wangji's face, and though he was relatively certain that he'd displayed no reaction to these words, one of Xichen's eyebrows quirked up and left Wangji wondering what he'd seen.
"Have you discovered anything interesting about his scepter?" Xichen asked, like they hadn't taken a Wei Wuxian interlude just now.
"It doesn't appear to have any practical purpose, he was buried with many canes due to his club food, I suspect it's intended use to be ritualistic in nature."
"Did Wei Wuxian find anything interesting?"
"I believe he spent most of our study period enraged that Tutenkamen married his half sister."
Xichen chuckled. "That sounds like him."
The rest of lunch was surprisingly calm, though Wangji still physically relaxed once they were in his brother's car. Xichen patted him once on the knee before driving back to school.
"That went as well as we could have hoped, I think," he said. His eyes landed on Wangji's fingers, gripped tightly around the seatbelt across his chest. "Are you alright?"
Wangji nodded tightly. He'd never been in so much trouble before; he'd probably be feeling anxious and jittery for the rest of the day. "Thank you for helping, Xichen."
"Of course, Wangji," Xichen said softly. He wondered if there was anything he could do to make Wangji feel better, but offering to help him with his essay would probably only upset him further.
When they got out of Xichen's care the two of them were greeted by the sounds of raucous laughter and indignant screaming. They exchanged a look before stepping into the open courtyard where Wei Wuxian was being chased around by his brother to the chorus of laughter of the rest of the students.
"Get back here! I'm going to kill you!"
"Soft-spoken! Beautiful! Not too capable!" Wei Wuxian dodged around Nie Huaisang, holding him by the shoulders and using him as a human shield as he called out word that, for whatever reason, had incensed Jiang Cheng.
"Intelligent but not headstrong!"
Jiang Cheng made a swipe for Wei Wuxian that came within an inch of making contact and Wei Wuxian squealed and ducked away, abandoning Nie Huaisang in lieu of sprinting towards a pair of boys sitting on a nearby bench, holding hands; one dressed in black, one dressed in white, neither of them in Wangji's class. Wangji glanced over at his brother to see if he would intervene in the fight, but he was watching with amusement, making no move to stop them.
"Xingchen save me!" Wei Wuxian dove behind the boys, nearly forcing them off the bench as he fled from his brother. "Remember we're family!"
"Barely," the boy in black said, looking amused as the one in white laughed.
"You only call me family when you need something, like a meat shield," he said, hopping to his feet as Jiang Cheng dove after his brother, heedless of the two boys already seated on the bench. The boy in black hopped to his feet as well, scooting closer to his companion and snaking an arm around his waist as Jiang Cheng wrapped his fingers around Wei Wuxian's throat. It was at this point that Xichen saw fit to intervene.
"Alright, alright, boys that's enough!" He advanced on them at the same time their sister did, and together each of them grabbed one sibling and pulled in opposite directions. Wei Wuxian collapsed dramatically into his sister's arms, though he was breathing perfectly.
Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, was breathing hard, face still red.
"No fighting on the premises," Xichen said sternly, dropping Jiang Cheng like a sack of rocks. "That's detention for the both of you." Both of them huffed, but made no protest. "I expect you to start behaving better or I'll be forced to call Madam Yu-"
"WE'RE SORRY!" They cried together, earning another round of laughter from the assembled students. "Please don't! We'll be good!"
Xichen chuckled. "Remember, if you get into too much trouble you'll be banned from the fencing team, it'd be a shame to lose two of our best right before the season starts."
"Yes sir! We'll behave!" Jiang Cheng said.
"Please don't call Madam Yu! I won't tease my brother anymore!" Wei Wuxian added.
"That's one hour after school for the both of you," the bell rang. "Alright, now everyone get back to class."
Yanli sighed but didn't look surprised.
As it turned out it was Xichen's day to babysit the after school detention, which meant Wangji also had to stay after because their house was too far to walk and he was not taking the subway. He'd tried it once and a man that stank of alcohol and vomit in the middle of the day told him he was very pretty. Never again.
Detention that day consisted of Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and one other student who Wangji didn't recognize. It seemed that Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian had chosen their seats specifically to be as far away from this boy as humanly possible.
"Xue Changmei," Xichen said, nodding as he sat down. Changmei saluted sarcastically and didn't sit up from where he was somehow managing to make Wei Wuxian's slouch look like good posture. "Wuxian, Wanyin," he greeted. Both boys nodded back to him, looking supremely bored.
"Wangji, do you want to use my laptop for your essay?" Wangji nodded, approaching the desk and accepting the offered computer with a quiet word of thanks.
"Essay? What essay? Did we have an essay?" Wei Wuxian asked, sounding slightly panicked. "Jiang Cheng, did we have an essay? Did I fall asleep in class again?"
"Not unless I did too."
"It's for my uncle," Wangji replied, glancing up at Wei Wuxian, who looked horrified.
"Your uncle makes you write essays?"
"It's a punishment for piercing my own ears," he replied, surprising himself and his brother.
"Aiya, really? That's so cool! We both did ours too!" He said enthusiastically, gesturing between himself and his brother.
"He made me hold his hand the whole time," Jiang Wanyin informed the room, "and he almost didn't go through with the helix piercings."
"It hurt a lot! I don't care what Huaisang says, he is not a good piercer! I bled so much!"
"Alcohol thins your blood," Xichen said dryly, "and I happen to know the three of you drank half the bottle of Fireball that I bought Mingue for his birthday."
"Okay, that's hilarious," Xue Changmei put in, "Please tell me you filmed it."
All four sets of eyes landed on him and Wei Wuxian nervously scooted closer to his brother. "Of course we did, but our cameraman was wasted, so the video is no good."
"You're the one who demanded to hold my other hand."
"I've never seen Mingue in such a state," Xichen supplied.
"I thought he was going to kill me and throw my body in the river," Wei Wuxian shuddered.
"You three gave him a fright, he came home from a rough day at work to find the three of you passed out next to a half empty bottle of Fireball and covered in blood, he thought you were dead. He called me in tears; I had to go out in the middle of the night to keep him from doing something all four of you would regret."
Wangji started, he remembered that. It wasn't often that Xichen left the house after nine, in fact, it had only happened once in recent memory. The only thing he'd said was that his friend's younger brother had gotten into some trouble and needed help.
"Yeah, thanks for the save," Jiang Wanyin said, looking ill. "I did feel bad afterwards, not just because of the Fireball."
Xichen sighed heavily. "Enough reminiscing, do your homework or something."
Wei Wuxian had woken up this morning in the mood to cause problems on purpose, which is why, during today's study hall he was refusing to allow Lan Wangji a moment's peace.
"Lan Wangji."
"..."
"Lan WANgji."
"..."
"~Lan Wangji~"
Wei Wuxian sighed heavily, leaning his entire torso over their table in the library, looking up at Wangji through his eyelashes.
"Lan Zhan!" he whined. Wangji froze and looked slowly up at Wei Wuxian, nostrils flared. "Sorry, it's just you were ignoring me! Look, you can call me Wei Ying if you want! That way it will be equal!" Wangji said nothing. "Look, I just wanted to show you, I drew this for you!"
Lan Zhan looked down at the paper that Wei Ying was trying to hand him. His eyes widened perceptibly as Wei Wing waited with baited breath and a dazzling smile.
For a long moment, Lan Zhan stared at the drawing of him that Wei Wuxian had done, face unreadable. Wei Wuxian was worried for a moment that he would be offended by the flower he had added in his hair, but he was a pretty boy! He should have a pretty flower!
Lan Wangji sat the paper down primly beside his books, not looking at Wei Wuxian until finally he couldn't take it anymore.
"So? What do you think?"
"You are very skilled at art. You need to focus, though."
Wei Wuxian sighed. He supposed that was the best he could expect from Lan Zhan.
"The scroll your brother got is over here," Lan Zhan said, not bothering to look over his shoulder to check if Wei Wuxian was following him, he could tell by his running commentary on literally everything he could see that he was close. There was, however, no sign of Jiang Wanyin or Nie Huaisang at their scroll.
"So you think this ritual that the scepter was supposed to be used in is depicted in this scroll?"
"Yes, it depicts a ritual to bring back his wife from the dead."
"Hmm." Lan Zhan glanced up in amusement. He'd only known him for a short while but already it struck him that it was rare that Wei Ying was speechless. If his expression was any indicator, he was still grossed out that King Tut had married his sister. "Human sacrifice," he said idly, "classy."
He pulled out his notebook and scribbled down some more illegible notes.
"I finally managed to translate the scroll! I know how to perform Tutenkamun's magic spell!" Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji turned together to see a young man with a sloppy appearance and arms stacked haphazardly with books and loose papers dragging a much more put together man in their direction.
"Jalill, what are you talking about?" The older man sounded tired.
"Tutenkamun actually figured out how to raise the dead!" The young man exclaimed. He brushed past Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, ramming into Wei Wuxian and moving on without a second glance. "And since I've figured out how to do it, we could bring people back to life!"
Wei Wuxian rubbed his shoulder indignantly, stepping back up to Lan Wangji's side.
"So, like, is he for real?" He whispered.
"Mn."
"Jalill, are you chasing your fairy tales again?" The older man asked, rather unnecessarily, in Wei Wuxian's opinion.
"It's not a fairy tale, and I can prove it! All I need to do is get my hands on Tutankhamun's staff to perform the ritual!"
Wei Wuxian looked from the boy to the scepter enclosed in a glass box. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.
"Are you kidding me? Don't even think about it, you and I would both lose our jobs on the spot! Stop chasing these stupid daydreams and get your head in reality. These kinds of scrolls are depictions of legends not facts. Grow up." The older man threw Jalil off his arm, throwing him to the ground before storming off.
"Wow, harsh," Wei Ying said, wincing in Lan Wangji's direction. Lan Wangji remained impassive as ever. Wei Wuxian knelt down and grabbed the man by the shoulder to help him up, flinching when he realized he was crying. "Oh, hey, whoa, there's no need to cry nab, bad bosses are nothing to get out of shape about!"
"No one ever listens to me! No one respects me!" Wei Wuxian thought it would be the right move to argue with him, but after listening to him blather on about magic spells and ritualistic sacrifice, Wei Wuxian also kinda didn't respect him.
"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan snapped, his hand landed on Wei Ying's shoulder and yanked him back without warning, just in time for Wei Wuxian to see an akuma flap by and land on the boy's amulet and dissolve into black light. With horror, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian watched the glowing purple butterfly outline appear before Jalil's face.
"Lan Zhan, run!" Wei Wuxian cried, scrambling to his feet and grabbing Lan Zhan's hand, dragging him away. "Akuma!" he shouted to other patrons, who all startled and began rushing for the exits.
"Wei Ying, where are we going?"
"Uh, to hide!" To find a safe place to transform. "Here! Barricade the door! It's safer if we split up!" He invented wildly.
"This is the ladies-" Wei Ying slammed the door in his face and sprinted into the broom closet down the hall.
"Maybe we could sit this one out-" Plagg started once the door was shut, but Wei Wuxian cut across him.
"Plagg, claws out!"
Chat Noir bounded out of the broom closet and rounded the corner into the body of the museum, stumbling in surprise when he saw Mister Bug heading in that same direction.
"Mister Bug, you're here fast!"
"Mn."
"I bet if I'd gotten here any later that akuma would have been ancient history!"
Mister Bug criminally did not respond to his hilarious joke, but he let it slide because he looked cute when he wore his pre-akuma determined face.
The two of them skidded together into the Ancient Egypt exhibit and caught their first sight of the fully transformed akuma.
"Hey, you!" Shouted either a very brave or very stupid security guard. He ran straight toward the eight foot tall akuma with the face of a sarcophagus. Chat Noir shuddered.
"Tut, give me time!" The akuma called. He held his hands out in front of him and gathered a ball of golden light in the air in front of him before casting it out at the security guard. The guard was caught in a large gelatinous sphere, moving as if in slow motion.
Chat Noir had half a second to be impressed that this akuma could throw out time bubbles before he had to leap and roll out of the way of one.
The akuma threw several more, engulfing several patrons who hadn't heard their initial warning and wandered, clueless, into the Ancient Egypt exhibit. They could really use an akuma alert system in here, Chat Noir thought as he watched civilian after civilian become trapped when they weren't fast enough to flee. As he flipped over another time bubble he caught sight of Mianmian crouched behind a pillar, filming the akuma with an enthusiastic look on her face.
"Here you have it, ladies and gentlemen, a live broadcast of a brand new akuma!" She hissed, catching Mister Bug's attention as the akuma reached out and called his scepter and the spell scroll to his side with magic.
Mister Bug frowned as the removal of the artifacts triggered the museum's security protocols and barred doors lowered from the ceiling and locked them in with the akuma, cutting off all of Luo Qingyang's escape routes. Not that she seemed eager to escape, she looked more than happy to stay and capture all of this on film, but Mister Bug wanted her gone so that he could focus on fighting.
"It's improper to steal." Mister Bug said, earning a fond eye roll from Chat Noir and the attention of the akuma.
"I'm only taking back what rightfully belongs to me."
"And who are you that you think these artifacts rightfully belong to you?"
"I am Pharaoh, and I will take back what is rightfully mine!"
Mister Bug saw no further need for conversation and threw his yoyo at Pharaoh, but was caught off guard when Pharoah caught it midair. He yanked hard, slinging Mister bug into an ancient stone carving of real pharaohs like he weighed nothing.
"Hey, it's my turn now!" Chat Noir charged at Pharaoh, wielding his stick like a saber, but he too was batted away like paper, crashing down on top of the now half standing Mister Bug.
"Oh shit, I bet that hurt," Mianmian said, flinching in sympathy even as she live streamed the rather embarrassing struggle to stand the superheroes were facing.
A shadow fell over her and she looked up, sucking in a fearful breath when she saw that Pharaoh was looming over her, his face considering.
"Hey, hey, don't look at her, look at me!: Chat Noir cried, trying to disentangle his right leg and tail from Mister Bug's yoyo. How had they even gotten tangled in the first place? Mister Bug was glaring at him, trying to free himself from beneath his partner and looking like he was considering taking a few swings at Chat Noir instead.
"Hiya," Mianmian said nervously, arm mechanically lifting the camera to the akuma's face.
"Your face… quite beautiful," Pharaoh said, reaching down and cupping Mianmian's cheek. "Fate has placed you on my path, come with me." And with that he hefted Mianmian over his shoulder and walked out of the room.
"Hey, get your hands off me!" She shouted, kicking and squirming. When she found herself unable to escape she huffed a deep breath and lifted her phone again, looking towards Mister Bug and Chat Noir with a wink, "and don't forget, all the latest behind the scenes are on my blog!"
Chat Noir found himself grinning even as Pharaoh bent the bars out of shape to exit the room, then bent them back in shape to keep Mister Bug and Chat Noir inside.
"That girl's got backbone," he said as he finally disentangled himself from the yoyo wire and extended a hand (which was ignored) to Mister Bug.
"Get us out of here, Chat Noir," Mister Bug said, still sounding annoyed.
"Your wish is my command! Cataclysm!"
Chat Noir ran down the length of the entryway, dragging his claws against the bars. Ruin spread from his fingertips, expanding until all the bars were blackened and crumbling. One kick with his superstrength and the entire barricade crumbled to dust.
They ran out into the atrium and stopped behind a pillar, sharing the cover as Mister Bug pulled out his yoyo and tuned into Mianmian's live stream.
"For the new viewers this is Luo Qingyang, liveblogging from the shoulder of a terrifying villain outside the Louvre pyramid! Huge scoop to come, stay tuned!"
"I love her," Chat Noir said. Mister Bug glanced up at him but didn't comment. Chat Noir's Ring chimed out a warning, drawing their eyes toward it. "You okay if I go recharge before the fight?"
"Mn, but hurry."
"I will."
Chat Noir scampered off and Mister Bug looked back to his yoyo, eyes on the live stream. Luo Qingyang was questioning Pharoah on his motives, and the information could be useful for the fight, so he didn't look up until he felt the odd sensation of walking through gelatin and found himself caught in one of the time bubbles.
Mister Bug didn't swear because it was against one of the many rules of the great house of Lan, but it was a close thing. He threw himself against the wall of the bubble and found it impossible to break out himself. Perhaps Chat Noir would have been able to pop it from the inside using his stick, but Mister Bug's yoyo was not suited to this sort of endeavor.
"Whoa, who is that chick with the spotted dress?" Luo Qingyang asked suddenly, drawing Mister Bug's attention again.
He looked down just as she directed the camera at the papyrus scroll as it floated past her. The camera shook with her movement as she struggled to keep the papyrus in her camera's view.
"Ladybug, my nemesis."
"Ladybug," Mister Bug repeated, holding the screen closer to his face to scrutinize the image.
There on the papyrus was a woman wearing a spotted dress, spinning what had to be his yoyo. And there, Luo Qingyang shifted and suddenly an inscription of what was obviously Tikki came into view. Not that Luo Qingyang noticed, she didn't know to look, her eyes were only on Mister Bug's predecessor.
"Your nemesis?" She asked.
"Yes, she stopped me from completing my ritual five thousand years ago."
"And what ritual would that be?" She climbed to her feet and stuck the camera in Pharoah's face. Pharoah was apparently unfazed by the intrusion into his personal space, he kept his eyes on something off camera.
"The ritual to bring back my precious princess."
"How are you going to manage that one?"
"By sacrificing a pure soul to the sun god Ra in exchange for her."
"Hm, a pure soul, huh? That's gonna be pretty hard to come by," she murmured thoughtfully.
"But I've already found one," Pharaoh said, turning finally to look at Luo Qingyang. "You are so beautiful, a perfect exchange."
"Wait, what?" She started, jerking back from Pharoah's reaching hand. The picture flickered while she switched to her front facing camera. "Mister Bug, Chat Noir, I just found out that I'm the human sacrifice! Please come and save me!"
"Can you hurry up, please?" Wei Wuxian snapped, glaring at Plagg where he reclined carelessly on the bench beside him.
"You don't seriously think that crazy ritual with the sun god and the mummies is going to work do you?"
"You're a tiny flying cat that gives me superpowers, Plagg, I don't know what to believe anymore."
"I'm not a cat I'm a Kwami!"
"Exactly! Mianmian is in danger! You're batteries are charged up enough! Plagg, claws out!"
Plagg's noises of protest were swallowed up by Wei Wuxian's transformation.
Chat Noir had the presence of mind to throw away Plagg's half finished wedge of Camembert before he went sprinting out into the atrium, only to find Mister Bug mere inches from where he'd left him, obviously attempting a sprint, but moving at a snail's pace.
"How interesting," Chat Noir murmured to himself, watching Mister Bug struggle to move for half a second more before popping the bubble with his stick.
Unbalanced by his sudden ability to move in real time, Mister Bug went careening forward into Chat Noir's chest.
"Looks like you weren't watching where you were going," Chat Noir teased, clawed hands wrapping around Mister Bug's upper arms as he helped to steady him.
Mister Bug pulled away, glaring. "I was watching Luo Qingyang's livestream, attempting to find out more about our enemy."
"Me too! It's crazy how much we have in common!" Chat Noir grinned, running after Mister Bug up the stairs to the ground floor. "Sacrificing her to the sun god, though, how scary."
"Indeed, we must stop this from happening."
"I wonder if it would work, though. Bringing someone back from the dead, I mean." Mister Bug gave him a sharp look. "Don't worry, I'm not thinking about letting it happen or anything, geeze, who do you think I am?"
"...Apologies."
"It's just that, necromancy, as a concept, is very sexy if you ask me."
Mister Bug gave him a look so baffled that Chat Noir crashed into a nearby wall from laughing. "Focus, Chat Noir, we need to save Luo Qingyang."
"Right!" he said, joining Mister Bug in peering over the top of the stairs, frowning in confusion when he saw what appeared to be an army of mummies blocking their veiw. "When did he get tha ability to make mummies as well? That hardly seems fair."
"Mn. This will be difficult."
"Come on, let's try the roof."
Together they ducked back down into the museum and made their way up to the roof using the schematics that Mister Bug pulled up on his yoyo. As soon as they stepped onto the roof they stopped in their tracks, catching sight of what they hadn't been able to see before.
Mummies surrounded the glass pyramid on all sides, hands held up in prayer, somehow powering the shaft of pure light beaming up from the tip of the pyramid into a great black rift in the sky. Chat Noir swore.
Together they hurried to the edge of the roof and peered over the low stone wall, scanning the courtyard for Pharoah and Mianmian. They stood together in the center, surrounded by an honor guard of mummies. Mister Bug slid open his yoyo's interface to tune into the live stream again.
"Oh sacred Ra, god of the sun, I, Pharaoh, offer to thee a pure soul, a sacrifice, for the return of my princess. I bow to you and present this gift with my mummies, in return for her. In company we pray to you for her safe return. Awaken! Awaken Ankesenamun! Awaken! Awaken Ankhesenamun, awaken!"
Several mummies reached out an grabbed Luo Qingyang, hefting her over their heads and holding her tightly. She struggled and fought, trying to no avail to fight off the mummies who had grabbed her.
"Mister Bug!" She shouted when she found herself unable to escape.
"We have to save her before he completes the ritual!"
"What do you want to do?"
"You hold back the mummies while I take on Pharaoh."
"Got it," Chat Noir confirmed, bounding away. Mister Bug took off in the opposite direction.
Chat Noir leapt off the roof and landed gracefully on a nearby lamp post. "Hey there you bunch of bandages," he said, tilting his head to the side, "what do you say we wrap this up?"
He took a moment to laugh at his own joke before jumping into the fray, since none of the mummies were going to do it before jumping into the fray and beginning to fight his way towards Mianmian.
"Chat Noir!" She said, sounding relieved.
"Seize him!" Pharaoh shouted, pointing at Chat Noir.
Mister Bug took the opportunity of his distraction to swing down and snatch Luo Qingyang out of the arms of the mummies.
"Horus, give me wings!" Pharaoh shouted.
Mister Bug paid the call no mind as he swept across the courtyard and deposited Luo Qingyang on a rooftop across from where he'd been.
"You've all just witnessed anothing daring rescue by Mister Bug!" She said excitedly, tapping the phone screen to switch cameras again before shoving the phone in his face. "Thanks for saving my butt!"
"Uh, no problem," he said, taking a step away from her. "But take care, it's not over yet."
"Not until Mister Bug destroys the pendant where the akuma is and captures it." Mister Bug blinked in surprise. "I pay attention," she said smugly.
"Indeed. Good eye."
Pharaoh rose up from the ground beside them and flew at the two of them, catching Mister Bug off guard and grabbing him by the shoulders, throwing him off the roof. Mister Bug gasped and threw out his yoyo, pulling the string taut and stopping his descent a foot before he hit the ground.
"Way to go, Mister Bug!" Luo Qingyang called, peering over the ledge, phone still in hand.
What a tenacious woman, Mister Bug thought. None of this has phazed her.
Pharaoh touched down behind her and she laughed nervously, lifting her phone up between them like a shield. Pharaoh snatched it and threw it off the building. Mister Bug heard her cry out in protest and leaped to his feet, sprinting across the courtyard to catch it. Meanwhile, Pharaoh grabbed Luo Qingyang by the back of her shirt and carried her to the column of light. He deposited her in it without ceremony and dropped back to the ground as she was slowly carried up towards the rift in the sky.
Mister Bug looked from her to where Chat Noir was still struggling to fight dozens of mummies single handedly before he flicked out his yoyo and dragged Chat Noir to his side by the ankle.
"Chat Noir, over here!" Mister Bug called. He ran to a nearby bus and opened the doors on the front half. Chat Noir, intuiting his plan, slid beneath to the other side of the bus and waited.
When the mummies pursued Mister Bug onto the bus he darted out the doors at the other end, slamming them shut. "Now!" Chat Noir leveraged his stick into the undercarriage and flipped the bus on it's side, sealing the mummies inside an impromptu cage.
"Now help me with Pharoah, we have to stop him before Luo Qingyang is sacrificed."
They ran together to the base of the glass pyramid, Pharaoh lowering himself down between them and his sacrifice.
"You won't stop me from bringing back my princess! Anubis, bring me mummies!" Pharaoh threw his arms wide, his face glowing golden, and when the light faded he wore the dog head of the Egyption god Anubis. Beside him, Chat Noir shuddered briefly, but he kept pace with Mister Bug.
Pharaoh shot laser beams at the two of them so they were forced to seperate and dance around the square while trying to make their advance. Finally, when Pharoah shot a beam at Chat Noir, Mister Bug got an opening and he threw his yoyo out, wrapping it around Pharaoh and pinning his arms to his sides.
"Horus, give me your wings!"
Pharaoh shot into the air, dragging Mister Bug along with him. Chat noir took a running leap and began bounding up the side of the pyramid, eyes fixed on Luo Qingyang.
Mister Bug pulled his way along his yoyo string until he was straddling Pharaoh's back and ripped at the pendant string, sending it plummeting to the earth.
"Chat Noir, the pendant!" He shouted, releasing Pharaoh and following the pendant.
Chat Noir changed directions at once, peeling backwards off the pyramid and sprinting toward the fallen pendant. Mister Bug hit the ground in a roll and followed suit, awar that Pharoah was diving for his akuma as well.
"Sigmund, give me your strength!" Pharaoh shouted, touching down several yards away from them. His face changed into the likeness of a golden lion and he clapped his hands together, creating a wave of force so strong the two superheroes were thrown off their feet just before they reached the pendant.
They skidded backward, allowing Pharoah to walk leisurely up to the pendant and scoop it up. He tied off the string where it was broken and slipped it onto his wrist, the necklace no longer long enough to fit around his thick neck.
"Mister Bug! Time's running out!" Luo Qingyang called, looking more and more nervous as she continued her slow climb into the sky.
"Lucky Charm!" Mister Bug shouted, throwing his yoyo into the air. There was a bright flash of light and a red and black spotted box materialized in the air above them. Mister Bug reached up and caught it, gaping when he realized what he'd been given.
"A Mister Bug costume?" Chat Noir said indignantly. "That's our last hope?"
Mister Bug ignored him and looked around, mind carefully catalogging everything he had at his disposal. It didn't click, however, until he saw the light up Ladybug earrings in the box with the cheap spandex suit.
He tore the box open and reached inside, fishing out the earrings and casting the rest of it away. He took a deep breath.
Deception was never going to be his strong suit.
"This offering isn't good enough for your princess!" Mister Bug declared boldly, earrings concealed in his clenched fist.
"Hey!" Luo Qingyang snapped, crossing her arms.
"Set Luo Qingyang free and sacrifice me, instead! Wouldn't that be better? After all these years, wasn't it my predecessor that kept your princess from you the first time?"
"It's true that you would make a much more precious offering than this mortal…" Pharaoh said, considering. He thought for only a moment more before gesturing to his mummies to bring Mister Bug forward. Mister Bug was careful not to let his eyes stray to Pharaoh's akuma, still dangling around his wrist.
The mummies frog marched Mister Bug forward. When they reached the base of the pyramid Mister Bug reached out and took Pharaoh's extended hand without glancing back at Chat Noir, who stood stone still, watching all of this through narrowed eyes, no doubt waiting for a cue.
"Horus, give me wings!"
Pharaoh's face changed again and Mister Bug was lifted off his feet, carried by Pharaoh's magic up to the column of light to where Luo Qingyang was waiting, looking annoyed. Pharaoh cast her aside without a second thought and placed Mister Bug onto the light colomn instead.
Chat Noir bounded forward and snatched Luo Qingyang out of the air, setting her gently to the side.
The purple butterfly outline appeared once again before Pharaoh's face. No doubt Hawkmoth was reminding him to take the Miraculous before Mister Bug was consumed by the rift in the sky. Mister Bug studied it intently, he'd never had the chance to see it this close before.
"Your Miraculous," Pharaoh said, right on cue.
"You win, Pharaoh," Mister Bug sighed.
He mimed taking out his earrings and reaching out to drop something into Pharaoh's hand. Pharaoh reached out to accept it and quick as lightning Mister Bug snatched the akuma off his wrist.
"You want my miraculous? Go and get it!"
Mister Bug flung the light up earrings away from himself and Pharaoh chased after them while Mister Bug threw the pendant directly to Chat Noir.
"Chat Noir!"
"Catacysm!"
Pharaoh had just enough time to realize that he'd been tricked before the pendant landed neatly in Chat Noir's hand and turned to dust. The pillar of light disappeared and Mister Bug started to fall. He swiped the akuma out of the air and flipped in the air, landing on his feet at the top of the glass pyramid and sliding gracefully down into the courtyard.
"Bye bye, little butterfly," he murmured, opening his yoyo and releasing the purified akuma into the world.
Smiling, Chat Noir passed him the discarded Lucky Charm.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" He cried, throwing the torn box into the air.
The magical ladybugs erupted from the box and swarmed the area, righting everything that had been destroyed during the fight.
"Pound it?" Chat Noir asked, once again holding out a fist hopefully. Mister Bug ignored him, not bothering to hide his smile at Chat Noir's complaints about being 'left hanging' as he swung away.
It had started raining rather suddenly once the students returned to school from their trip to the Louvre. Wangji stood under the school's entryway, waiting while Xichen jogged out to unlock the car and open the doors. Since it had been sunny this morning neither of them had thought to take their umbrella out of the car, so Xichen had offered to pull the car around so that Wangji's silk shirt would stand a better chance.
"Ah, Lan Zhan, I hope you're not considering starting a wet t-shirt contest!"
Wangji glared at him before turning back to face the front.
"Ah, sorry, I was just joking," Wei Wuxian said awkwardly, hovering nearby. Wangji reminded himself of the hateful words he'd said earlier this week and forced himself to remain impassive. Wei Wuxian fiddled with the strap of his own umbrella briefly before opening it and stepping out into the rain.
"I know you heard what I said about you the other day and I'm really sorry, it was pretty shitty of me to say that stuff when I don't even know you." Wangji blinked in shock. "But, I actually had a really nice time at the museum with you today. I was wrong, you're actually a pretty cool guy, and if you'd let me, I'd like to be your friend."
He paused for a moment, then reached out and held his umbrella over Wangji's head. Wangji didn't move, stunned speechless, as Wei Wuxian flashed him a dazzling grin as the rain started to soak him through.
"Here, my sister has a lot of silk shirts, I know you can't get it wet."
Mechanically, Wangji reached out and took it, starting when their fingers brushed. Thunder roared above them, masking the sound of Wangji's minute intake of breath.
"But what about you?" He heard himself ask.
"Ah that's okay. My house isn't far, and my clothes aren't as nice as yours. It's better for you to use this."
He grinned again, shoulders shaking in laughter like the two of them were sharing in some secret joke as his hair became plastered to his forehead and his shirt clung to his chest. Throwing up a three finger salute, he turned and walked into the rain, strolling along leisurely like nothing was wrong.
Wangji was left in his wake, gaping, as a feeling of warmth spread through his chest.
"Oh, Wangji, did you know your ears turn red when you blush?" Tikki asked suddenly, startling him out of his trance. He tore his gaze away from Wei Wuxian's retreating back to look down at Tikki. Color started to rise up his neck when he caught sight of her sly grin.
Frowning, he resolutely looked away from her, only to see Xichen sitting in the drivers seat of his car, somehow wearing the exact same expression Tikki was.
Wangji stubbornly looked away from him as well, feeling the color rise, humiliatingly, all the way up to his hairline. Setting his jaw, he stepped out into the rain, under the protection of Wei Ying's black umbrella, and climbed into the passenger seat of Xichen's car. He stubbornly refused to meet Xichen's eyes as he tucked the umbrella into the floorboard.
Xichen huffed out a single, amused laugh, then pulled out of the school parking lot, lips still turned up in a smile.