Work Text:
Zhou Zishu has no idea why he agreed to come to this party.
Han Ying had practically begged him to show up, saying something about their last hurrah. It had made Zhou Zishu roll his eyes at the time - it wasn’t like he was abandoning him, just finally changing his course of study from the political science major his cousin had pressured him into. If anything, he’ll be hanging around with Han Ying even longer now because it set him back a semester or two, but his friend won’t listen to reason about it. Especially now that he’s finally free to drink after being on several rounds of antibiotics for walking pneumonia. Hence, the party.
Of course, Han Ying has long since fucked off to play beer pong, leaving Zhou Zishu to mull around the edges of the gathering, still nursing the cup of cheap beer he’d picked up an hour ago. It’s long since gone flat, he doesn’t really want it, but at least it gives him something to do with his hands. He’s not exactly uncomfortable in situations like this, but he also has no interest in being here longer than is strictly socially acceptable (which is 10 o’clock at night, apparently, according to some people). So Zhou Zishu is content to lean against a wall and wait for that moment.
"A-Xu!"
Well, fuck.
Zhou Zishu rolls his eyes as a hand snakes around his shoulder and snatches his beer, seamlessly replacing it with a cup of dubious-looking red wine. He looks up to find Wen Kexing beaming one of his thousand-watt smiles from about six inches away from his face. For a moment Zhou Zishu feels the absurd urge to shield his eyes but shakes it off. It’s not like he should be surprised that his personal shadow has shown up here - Wen Kexing has never missed a party. Lectures, yes. Finals, once. And yet he not only somehow passes all his classes, but he’s already finished his undergrad and is in the first semester of his graduate Chinese literature program because he didn’t change his degree three times.
"Wen Kexing." He returns his attention to his drink, eyeing it suspiciously.
Wen Kexing sighs. "A-Xu, so cold! We've known each other for so long now and you won't even smile at me!" He smiles and leans in anyway. "Do I have to try even harder to get you to thaw out?"
Zhou Zishu shakes the cup that was shoved into his hand. “Did you actually get this from a bottle, or is it another one of those ‘mystery juice’ things that Da Pusa is so fond of mixing up?” Without waiting for an answer, he takes a gulp and then grimaces.
“Oh, that’s pure box wine. Only the best for A-Xu,” Wen Kexing replies with a wink.
Zhou Zishu tries not to look directly at him - this close, he’s devastating in a way that threatens to crumble the last two years of carefully constructed sarcasm that are keeping him at bay. It’s an unfortunate truth that Wen Kexing is… extremely handsome. But that's just the problem, isn't it? He's gorgeous and an absolute flirt, and everyone on campus knows it. If the gossip is true, he spent his freshman year stumbling out of a different dorm room every morning. It's all a game to him, so no matter how much Zhou Zishu may want it to be different, no matter how many moments of bone-deep understanding he thinks they've shared - nope, not going there. Zhou Zishu avoids his own thoughts by downing the entire cup of bitter wine in one continuous gulp. If he’s hyper aware of the fact that Wen Kexing is watching his adam’s apple like a starving man, that’s no one’s business except his.
"Don't you have an exam or something you should be studying for?" Zhou Zishu asks after he's finished choking back the wine.
" You have a romantic lit exam to be studying for," Wen Kexing replies with a smirk. Right. The class that the infuriating man actually TAs for. He’d been so delighted when he’d realized Zhou Zishu was actually stuck in a class with him due to it being the only section that would fulfill the last of his general education requirements. “Though I’d be more than willing to get out of here and help you go over the finer points of the study guide,” he offers, using his extra two inches of height to loom.
Zhou Zishu pushes off the wall he’s been leaning on to slide past him. “I’m sure there are plenty of individuals much more in need of Lao Wen’s personal attentions.”
Wen Kexing pretends like he’s been shot, clutching his heart. “A-Xu, always so cruel to me. For that you should at least drink with me.” He starts to follow Zhou Zishu, pulling a kicked puppy expression. “After all, ‘Let not a golden goblet be empty and face the moon. Friend, if heaven made me, I must have a use’.”
“Li Bai isn’t on the syllabus,” Zhou Zishu retorts as he leaves without glancing back. He’s honestly expecting Wen Kexing to follow him like he has at every single social gathering since they were third years, but when he looks over his shoulder after rejoining the main party he’s alone. Well, not alone given the crowded room around him, but…
Once again, Zhou Zishu refuses to think about it.
The next hour or so passes by in a blur. Zhou Zishu gets bullied into an impromptu game of circle of death, during which he manages to end up drinking far more often than the other players. He taps out after a while and looks for a quieter corner where he can sober up and sulk for a bit . Which honestly pisses him off a little at Wen Kexing for having the audacity to inspire any genuine emotion in him - but mostly at himself.
Eventually he finds himself perched on the arm of a couch watching an assorted group of their friends and acquaintances carry on: Gu Xiang and Cao Weining as besotted with each other as they usually are, Han Ying being generally snippy with anyone who isn’t Zhou Zishu, and even Ye Baiyi lounging on the couch (no one else knows if he's a grad student or a super senior or if he just lives nearby - only Zhou Zishu has figured out that he’s actually a tenured professor who spends most of his time on grant-funded research). Eventually Gu Xiang starts glancing around, then turns to Zhou Zishu to ask where her brother is.
"Why should I know?" he responds with a scoff.
Gu Xiang sticks out her tongue. "Because he's totally hung up on you and usually follows you around like dopey puppy if you're here."
Zhou Zishu rolls his eyes for what feels like the hundredth time that night. "Sure, same as he does with every slightly pretty face that catches his attention. Probably already found someone else after he gave up on me tonight."
She gives him such a venomous look that Zhou Zishu almost falls off the couch. "You have got to be kidding me!" she snaps. "Please tell me this is some kind of shitty joke."
Zhou Zishu has no idea what to say to that. He gapes at Gu Xiang like an especially brainless fish while she ramps up her verbal beating. "Have you actually been blind this entire time? Did the bronchitis get into your brain??" Zhou Zishu stops paying attention after a minute, a little in shock. Nothing A-Xiang is saying makes sense, but-
Her tirade only cuts off when her boyfriend returns with another drink for her.
"He really thinks that ge isn't 'sincere' or something. Like he's even looked at another person in months!"
Zhou Zishu waits for Cao Weining to tell her how wrong she is - so he's totally taken off guard by the gentle, pitying look the younger guy turns on him.
"You can't be serious," Zhou Zishu blurts out before he can think. But Cao Weining has never been anything but painfully sincere with him - or with anyone for that matter.
"Zishu- I think maybe you should talk to A-Xing? Soon?"
Zhou Zishu doesn't pause for a second before he gets up to look for Wen Kexing. Maybe he has already left the party, but Zhou Zishu suddenly feels a burning pit of guilt in his stomach.
After a few minutes of slightly wobbly searching, he finds Wen Kexing in the stairwell, curled up in a window seat that's just slightly too cramped for his lanky frame. He's staring out at the moon, a blunt tucked behind his ear. Out here, away from the bustle, his usual air of ridiculousness is gone. Zhou Zishu expects him to turn, but Wen Kexing seems absorbed with whatever thoughts are running through his mind.
"Lao Wen," Zhou Zishu calls out. Wen Kexing’s head snaps around to look at him, eyes wide and blank. He stares for just a moment.
"A-Xu?" His jaw snaps shut as Zhou Zishu steps into his space without warning.
Zhou Zishu tries to hide the way his heart is thundering with a disinterested frown and a firm hand on Wen Kexing’s thigh as he pushes it slightly to the side, making room for himself in the window.
"What are you-" Wen Kexing starts to ask, but Zhou Zishu cuts him off with a finger pressed against his lips. "Lao Wen, if you keep talking I may change my mind." Then he takes the joint from Wen Kexing and places it between his lips before muttering, "Got a light?"
Wen Kexing nods, dumbstruck, but makes no move to actually hand him anything. Taking matters into his own hands, Zhou Zishu slides his hand into Wen Kexing’s jacket pocket, then the other, until his fingers finally close around a disposable plastic lighter. Their eyes remain locked together the entire time, Wen Kexing holding his breath as Zhou Zishu lights the end of the joint.
And the thing is - well, Zhou Zishu knows this is a little dumb on several levels. He shouldn't really be seriously considering Wen Kexing (or anyone really) as a romantic prospect, but goddammit a man is only so strong. Also, if he is going to do this, perhaps they should have a conversation rather than Zhou Zishu barging ahead drunkenly. But he’s never been good at slowing down once he’s made up his mind, and honestly he’d rather die than talk about his feelings right now.
He’s also only really recovered recently so he probably shouldn't be smoking. But for once, Zhou Zishu isn’t overthinking every damn step he makes.
Which is why he does what he does next.
Without really considering what it is he's starting, he takes one drag off the joint. Then he reaches forward to grab Wen Kexing’s jaw and gently drags him forward until their mouths are a breath away from each other. Zhou Zishu leans the extra inch forward to press their lips together and then pushes the smoke into Wen Kexing’s mouth, who lets him with a wide-eyed kind of wonder.
After a few heartbeats, Zhou Zishu pulls back just enough so that they can both let the smoke out. He relates to the openly stunned expression Wen Kexing is wearing now, his mouth still hanging open and eyes beginning to water. Zhou Zishu already feels high and floaty, though if he's honest with himself it's not from the weed or the wine he’s had tonight.
"A-Xu...." Wen Kexing starts, alarmingly close to starting a Conversation. Zhou Zishu immediately decides that won't do.
He shakes his head. "Can't waste good weed, Lao Wen. This thing is still burning.” Then Zhou Zishu takes another quick drag and pulls Wen Kexing in for a scorching kiss, filling both their lungs with smoke.
When their lips part again, Wen Kexing looks a little less shell-shocked - and more than a little turned on. Before Zhou Zishu can move, one arm hooks around his waist to drag him even closer, while Wen Kexing’s elegant fingers pluck the joint from his own. He doesn't get the chance to protest before Wen Kexing takes another hit and crushes their mouths together again. They go on like this for a few more minutes, trading sloppy kisses that are barely an excuse for sharing the high at this point, letting the joint burn longer and longer between pulls as they kiss like they’re trying to consume each other. But then all too soon the joint is gone, Wen Kexing putting out the stub against the wall and flicking it behind himself carelessly.
“That could start a fire, you know,” Zhou Zishu mutters and tries to push himself closer to Wen Kexing, to get his tongue down his throat again, but Wen Kexing’s thighs lock around him in a surprisingly strong vice grip.
“Since when are you a boy scout?” Wen Kexing asks. Zhou Zishu can feel the way his hands are trembling against his waist, keeping him from getting any closer.
He tries to play dirty. "Lao Wen," he practically whines, "let go so I can come back over there." But Wen Kexing just stares at him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Finally, after several too long moments where Zhou Zishu becomes increasingly alarmed by the possibility of what he’s about to say-
"Are you just fucking with me?" Wen Kexing asks, eyes still locked with Zhou Zishu’s.
"I - what-" is all Zhou Zishu manages to get out before Wen Kexing covers his mouth with one large hand. Zhou Zishu thinks about licking it, but he heroically reigns in his drunker impulses.
Wen Kexing takes a deep breath before continuing. "A-Xu… you've spent the last two years actively avoiding this and now you're - um - coming on quite strong. Is this a joke? Or just a one time thing we'll never speak of again?” When Zhou Zishu doesn’t immediately respond - not that he can, with his mouth still covered - Wen Kexing hurriedly continues, “I'm still down for it if that's the case, but I just need to know so I don't get heartbroken when you're gone in the morning.” He laughs, and it sounds hollow.
Zhou Zishu suddenly regrets using the wine as an excuse to make a move, because his thoughts are moving like mud and this is an emergency. Wen Kexing’s big, liquid eyes seem to be one wrong word away from bursting into tears, even as he's seemingly fine with the idea of Zhou Zishu using him as a one time fuck buddy. Which he wouldn't, he couldn't . Because as he's quickly discovering (now that Cao Weining of all people made him have a light bulb moment), he really fucking likes Wen Kexing.
Zhou Zishu should tell him, he thinks with abrupt certainty. Actually, that's a wonderful idea and he's a genius for thinking of it. He can just tell Wen Kexing that he thinks he's hot and funny and infuriating and maybe he wants to have lots of sex with him and play house - wait, is Wen Kexing seeing anyone else right now? Even in a fuck buddy kind of way? Because Zhou Zishu wants to do this right, so they should clarify things.
But he’s also completely crossfaded at this point, the alcohol and weed catching up with each other and creating a cold pit of anxiety in his stomach. So instead of what he means to say, what comes out of his mouth is-
"What about the other guys, Lao Wen? Do you - do you like any of them?"
His hands are fisted in the lapels of Wen Kexing’s jacket as he asks, like Zhou Zishu could simply stop anyone more handsome or less prickly from stealing him away. He’d certainly try at least, Zhou Zishu thinks with venom. He's got stubborness in spades.
But then Wen Kexing’s hands are sliding up to cover his own again as he admits, "A-Xu, there hasn't been anyone besides you for at least a year."
There’s a too-long pause as Zhou Zishu tries to process that statement.
"Holy shit. Your sister was right??"
"What?" Wen Kexing’s voice takes on a slight edge as he narrows his eyes. “What exactly was A-Xiang saying to you?”
"Never mind never mind I'm not bringing up your sibling right now" he backtracks. "What I meant to say is.... no I'm not fucking with you, Lao Wen. I...." Zhou Zishu looks up, the words fading away as his mouth hangs open.
Wen Kexing takes pity on him and fills in the obvious blanks, nodding once before whispering, "Yeah, me too". After which he hauls Zhou Zishu fully onto his lap with a growl (Zhou Zishu had always thought this sounded dumb in romance novels but apparently Wen Kexing growling hits him right in the dick).
Then they're kissing again, Wen Kexing biting not-so-gently at his already swollen lips before licking desperately into Zhou Zishu’s mouth. And god, it's so good , the wet slide of tongues and teeth, and their hands everywhere. It's also hard not to notice Wen Kexing’s erection pushing against his ass; Zhou Zishu shifts experimentally to grind against that heat, only to pull a strangled moan from Wen Kexing. Not that he’s one to judge - Zhou Zishu has been hard and aching from the first touch of their hips.
Wen Kexing’s hands both come to his waist as he bucks up against Zhou Zishu, rocking them together as they continue to kiss. Even through both of their jeans, Zhou Zishu can feel how large he is - is already looking forward to whatever comes next when he can get Wen Kexing alone and naked in his bed. But for now, they're rutting against each other fully clothed like a couple of teenagers, and it might be the single hottest thing that's ever happened to him.
It's not long before Wen Kexing begins to lose his rhythm, and then without warning he's shuddering underneath Zhou Zishu. He pulls back with a quirked eyebrow.
"Did you really just...?" Zhou Zishu asks with what he thinks is a sneer. It’s entirely unconvincing given that his own voice is shaky with want.
Wen Kexing takes that as a personal challenge as soon as he catches his breath, unzipping Zhou Zishu’s pants. He only pauses for a moment as he realizes that Zhou Zishu isnt wearing anything under the jeans - "are you fucking kidding me" - then those beautiful fingers that Zhou Zishu has stared at every time he thought Wen Kexing wasn't looking are on his cock. It only takes one or two pumps of his hand before Zhou Zishu is spilling between them, his mouth open in a silent gasp. He collapses against Wen Kexing, letting the other man pull him into a tight hug. And - fuck - it feels so right.
In a minute, they'll attempt to deal with the mess and get halfway decent so they can escape from this party without causing a scene.
In an hour, they'll be back at Zhou Zishu’s apartment, both of them moaning their pleasure as Wen Kexing buries his face between his thighs so they can do better than a hurried hand job by a window.
In a month, Zhou Zishu will give him a key to his apartment and pretend it's not as big of a deal as it is.
In a year, two weeks, and eight hours, Zhou Zishu will stumble out of bed just to find Wen Kexing already making them pancakes for breakfast. He'll have been waiting for the perfect moment for ages already, and somehow it'll arrive when they're both disheveled, still smelling of sex from the night before, and Zhou Zishu hasn't even had his coffee. But when he turns Wen Kexing away from the counter and asks him to marry him, Zhou Zishu will have never been more sure about anything in his life.
But for now, he just looks up at Wen Kexing with a crooked grin and says, "Just for the record, I do actually like you, Lao Wen."