“all i do is try, try, try”

Although I loved all of these fics, the ones with stars next to them are my absolute favourites! Happy reading! ♡

One million fires burning ☆

Dean Winchester teaches three classes a day, tutors after school, and chairs the English Department for Lawrence High School. He does enough.

Unfortunately, his boss doesn't feel the same and informs him that he has a new job: co-coaching the school's trivia team. His co-coach? None other than the school's golden boy, Castiel Milton. Who Dean can't stand, for various reasons, all of which are valid, thank you very much. And the fact that Dean can't stop talking about the stick up Cas's, sorry, Milton's ass?

Completely irrelevant.

Should have just asked ☆

Despite their age gap and differing social circles, Castiel has struck up a warm friendship with Mary Winchester, a wealthy widowed socialite. When Castiel needs a place to stay, Mary invites him into her house, where there’s loads of spare room. Castiel’s aware that they make an odd pair, but he doesn’t fully realize how things look to outsiders, especially to Mary’s eldest son. All Dean Winchester sees is that his mom has apparently hooked up with a hot young guy (who is totally Dean’s type) and that makes things… weird.

Living in agony ☆

Dean Winchester's life is... well, it's not great. He's a gym teacher, he's in his thirties, and he can't seem to keep any part of his life straight. When the aftermath of a one-night stand goes awry, Dean is dragged kicking and screaming out of his cozy little closet and into the harsh light of reality.

Enter: Castiel Novak, the new history teacher, who knows full well that life gets crappy when you don't allow yourself to live it in the way it needs to be lived.

The last great race

There is a race that takes place every year in Alaska called the Iditarod, a thousand mile journey across the Alaskan wilderness by dog sled team that has come to be known as "The Last Great Race on Earth”. It is a test of endurance, of the relationship between dogs and their people, traversing mountain ranges, frozen rivers, forest and tundra.

When writer Castiel Milton is forced to spend two and a half months in Alaska at Winchester Kennels to cover the race preparations and the Iditarod itself, the only person more dismayed than he is Dean Winchester, one of his hosts. Castiel views his assignment as a punishment and is less than impressed by his surly host, and Dean distrusts the sheltered city-born writer who has invaded their home and their lives. But soon, as the Winchesters prepare for their race and Castiel learns about sled dogs and what a musher’s lifestyle is all about, they forget to hate each other and their relationship evolves into something neither of them expected.

Starstruck ☆

From the outside Castiel Novak looks like a regular guy: a good job, two teenage kids, a nice house and a crappy car he’s way too attached to.

But there’s one thing no one knows about him: that, over twenty years ago, he used to live next to none other than Dean Winchester – back then a brash and loud-mouthed boy and nowadays a huge movie star and Hollywood’s sweetheart.

Castiel never bothered to tell anyone about his childhood friend because frankly, who would believe him? Probably even Dean himself already forgot about his former awkward and weird neighbor, so Castiel seriously doesn’t see any point in mentioning the whole thing ever.

But then an interview on national TV happens where Dean reveals way more about his past than ever before … and Castiel - as well as the rest of the world - suddenly realizes that he left a much bigger impact on Dean’s life than he originally thought.

Russian to the altar ☆

“I need you to marry Castiel.”

They weren’t the words Dean expected to hear from his business partner’s mouth before their bakery-slash-chocolate shop opened for the day. He’d been quite happy being single—and who the fuck was Castiel, anyway?

It turned out that Castiel was a Russian erotic novelist in need of a ticket to America, and Dean… well, Dean was a last resort.

I wanna get outside (of me) ☆

Dean is a novice in the dom/sub world asked by his employer as a desperate last resort to be a sub for his recluse of a brother, Castiel. Castiel is a diagnosed OCD suffering from PTSD and agoraphobia, mysophobia, and dystychiphobia. Needless to say—he’s a mess who hasn’t stepped out of his home in literally seven years. The only times Gabriel can see traces of the way his brother used to be is when he feels in control—specifically when he has control over a sub. However, due to his idiosyncrasies and paranoia, keeping a sub around has been impossible. Enter Dean, who’s not a very traditional submissive, to try his hand at subbing for the hermit.

Painted angels ☆

Author Castiel Novak has finally hit the big time, with a book based on his failed college relationship with a brilliant painter. He's put all his pain behind him, but at a book signing, he comes face to face with Dean Winchester for the first time in twelve years, and the reunion doesn't go like Cas hoped. Dean's a broken man, with a lot of scars and secrets, shoulders weighed down by his demons and self loathing.

Cas sees a second chance with the man he's never stopped loving, but Dean's moved on, and is about to get married. Sam launches a "brilliant" plan to reunite his brother and his best friend, but Cas is worried it will all blow up in their faces, and he'll go through the agony of losing Dean a second time.

Texas state of mind

Dean Winchester was once an award winning country music star, but fame came too early. Now, he’s fifteen years sober and owns a ranch in western Texas. He’s happy with his life. He has horses, a nice herd of cattle and so what, if he’s alone. He tells his friends that he’s happily single. Back when he was touring, men and women threw themselves at him – but he knew they only wanted him for his fame.

Cas Novak just won his fifth CMA award. He loves singing, but the touring was getting old. Living in a bus nine months out of the year was slowly destroying his creativity. He hasn’t written anything new in over a year. Then he hears an old song on the radio. He vaguely remembers the handsome singer and wondered whatever happened to him. Before he knew it, he'd written a new song. The only problem was…it was a duet. A duet that could only be sung with a voice like Winchester’s.

After locating the man’s ranch, Cas makes a surprise visit. Will he be able to talk Dean into joining him on stage after all these years? Will the two men find what they’ve been looking for all their lives – someone to share a future with?

If angels were men

Castiel Novak was raised by a hunting father, but he left that life behind for college and a flower shop. When his father is killed by a demon, Cas jumps back in the game and finds himself constantly running in the presence of the Winchester brothers, who are searching for their own father. They seem to be everywhere he turns, and at some point they become friends, then a team, then, maybe, in the case of Dean Winchester, something more.

Vagabonds ☆

Dean is a sheriff in a tiny town in Colorado, restless and unsatisfied with his life. It's not like what he's read about in the dime novels since he was little, capturing dangerous outlaws and being the last word of the law. More like tossing the town drunk in a cell to sober up when they get a little too rowdy.

But Dean's chance comes when a thief rolls through their town. He pursues the thief, which puts him right into the path of Emmanuel, a notorious outlaw. When he is captured by the outlaw and his gang to be held for ransom, Dean starts off on a journey he could have never envisioned, and learns that perhaps there's more to Emmanuel than meets the eye.

Four letter word for intercourse ☆

As a grease monkey turned college freshman, Dean's constantly three seconds away from being stressed out of his mind. It hardly helps that he's finally figuring out his sexuality in his thirties.

What might help with that stress is a little phone number (and a big credit card bill). If he can't figure out how to be bisexual in person, he can at least give it a go over the phone, right?

(It's probably a bad idea, but he really can't help himself.)

Any little heartbreak ☆

Dean Winchester knows everything there is to know about the human heart.

Well.

Anatomically speaking.

Get some

Very slowly, Dean turns. 'How'd you know I was here about a room?'

'Power of deduction,' says Castiel, leaning against the doorway. 'I mean, you're not after pot, and I'm pretty sure we haven't slept together.' He grins wolfishly, gaze sliding over Dean's body. 'You, I'd remember.'

Dean's been hit on by guys before, but never so blatantly, let alone by a semi-naked dude in a kimono. A hot blush warms his cheeks, and he covers his shock with cockiness, tilting his head and grinning. 'Sorry to disappoint you, Cas, but I don't swing that way.'

Castiel throws back his head and laughs. 'And you want to live here? What, did your friends put you up to this?'

'Actually, yeah.' Dean raises an eyebrow. 'Is that a problem for you?'

What i need

A joking phrase commonly heard between a surgeon and his tech is "Give me what I need, not what I ask for." Dr. Novak and his tech Dean will soon learn the impact this phrase has on life outside the operating room.

Mad at your dad? ☆

Dean wasn’t sure why he was even scrolling through Craigslist. Especially not the casual encounters section. It was four days before Thanksgiving. Not like he was gonna try and hook up with someone before that shitstorm. After, sure, but not before.

He kept scrolling, though, not clicking anything until a title caught his eye.

Alone on Thanksgiving? Mad at your dad? I am a 28 year old male felon who has no degree, but has studied enough theologies of the world, behavioral psychology, and philosophy to set your whole family’s teeth on edge—no matter which way they lean, politically, religiously or in terms of neuroses. I drive a van the same age as me that’s got a mural on the side of an angel holding an orgy. I can play between the ages of 20-30 depending on whether I shave. I live off an inheritance, and sell weed on the side. If you’d like to have me as your strictly platonic date for Thanksgiving, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship (monogamous or polyamorous, whichever sounds most like it would freak out su familia) with you (and/or others), to torment your family, I’m game...

(dis)affection ☆

When Dean and Castiel are tricked to go on a date, neither is happy about this. To get back at their deceitful friends, they hatch the perfect plan: pretend to be dating, and gross out their friends with their over-the-top, disgustingly cute romantic relationship – and then break up in the most despicable manner imaginable. As it turns out, you can learn a lot from someone just by pretending affection.

Ninety one whiskey ☆

In the spring of 1944, the 104th Medical Battalion of the United States Army is disbanded, and its men reassigned to various infantry companies in preparation for their invasion of occupied France. For First Lieutenant Novak, this is less than helpful, as he has so far met his platoon’s designated medic a grand total of twice, and has both times found Sergeant Winchester to be the optimum combination of reckless, arrogant, and downright insufferable so as to make cohesive platoon function near impossible. When the time comes to move out, however, Castiel has to reconcile himself to the fact that men are going to go down and trust that Dean Winchester may well be the only person who can put them back together again. WW2 ETO infantry AU.

The breath of all things

Dean Winchester was twenty-six years old when a car accident killed his father and left him paralysed from the waist down. A year and a half later, Dean is in a wheelchair and lives in a care home in Kansas, where he spends his days waiting to die. It's only when Castiel Novak starts volunteering at the care home that Dean starts to wonder if a changed life always equals a ruined one.

If you'd have been the one

A boy sits on the front steps, his dark hair a wild mess. A gingerbread boy, Dean thinks. Dressed in pressed slacks and a sweater-vest to match his father’s. He looks about Dean’s age; maybe they’ll be in the same class. That wouldn’t be too bad, unless he’s mean. He could be mean; a lot of kids are mean to him, so he has to be mean back.

He hopes this one is nice.

...

In the year 1986, at seven years old, Dean Winchester meets Castiel Novak.

Eleven years go by, then eight, then three.

Somewhere along the way, things start to change.

Spirit of the west ☆

Dean grew up on a horse farm and can't imagine any other life. There are drawbacks to working for his father, but they're worth it if it means remaining with his beloved horses. Besides, between his broken arm and his lack of prospects, he hasn't got much else.

Something of an outsider, Dean always feels like there's something he's missing. But this tense summer brings back a figure from his past: years ago, a teenaged Cas worked for a season at the Winchester ranch. His return could change everything.

If you ever wanted a 90s horse girl book, but starring a young Dean Winchester, this is your fic.

Guns and wings

Dean Winchester is the sheriff in the small town of Sioux Falls, along with his deputy (and brother) Sam. Life there is calm and normal, easy to manage with the occasional problems. That is until the Garrison gang sends an assassin to kill one of their beloved citizens. Dean is ready to hang the man for his crimes, when the outlaw gives him a deal he can't pass up. The whole Garrison gang. Dean and the criminal, Castiel, set off to find the gang; enemies working towards a common goal. Dean is determined to hate Castiel, but the longer they journey together and the more he finds out about the outlaw the harder it becomes to deny the feelings he begins to have for the man. But he's the sheriff and he has a job to do, he can't fall in love with a criminal... Right?

Life was a willow

When Dean’s favorite author becomes a regular at his bar, Dean knows he’s done for. He never could have anticipated the intense feelings that blossomed for the talented Castiel. There’s just one thing standing in his way of being with Castiel the way he truly wants: Castiel is waiting for his soulmate.

Dean has spent his entire life hating the concept of soulmates. He just wants to live his life without the universe intervening. If the only way he can keep Castiel in his life is by swallowing his feelings, then that’s what he’ll do.

300cc ☆

300 Complementary Characters: a forum on Kansas City University’s student website. You can write whatever you want, but it has to be 300 characters or less.

Dean is crushing hard on Sam’s TA, but it feels different than it has before; it feels like he needs to do it properly, to have a grand declaration and to prove that romance isn’t dead. What better way to profess his feelings than posting a poem on 300cc?

Castiel is torn. There’s no mistaking the poem is for him, but who could be posting them? Despite being very tempted by the very attractive new light and sound engineer that will be working on the play he has written, Castiel can’t ignore the feeling that he and the anonymous Poet are meant to be together.

A comedy of errors, mutual pining, and erotic poetry.

Satin and sawdust ☆

When Castiel moves out of Jimmy's house and into his own place for the first time, he saves money on buying a home by investing in a Fixer-Upper. He knows nothing about how to fix the many problems the house has, but he figures he's smart enough to figure it out. Unfortunately it's not too long before he learns that he's way in over his head.

Thankfully his new neighbor Dean is a handyman, and agrees to help him out. He knows Dean has a bit of a crush on him, but he's not taking advantage of it, really. Dean's a great guy, and quickly becomes a good friend.

But a flash of satin under Dean's toolbelt changes everything.

Stay with me, sweetheart ☆

“Alright Cas, here comes the hard part. We’re gonna get you out of here, but we’ve gotta take the roof off and while we do that, we’re gonna have to cover you with a sheet to protect you from the glass. I’ll be right here though. I’m not going anywhere.”

As he starts to drift away, he suddenly feels the press of Dean’s forehead against his own through the rough fabric and hears that warm, sunlit voice murmer quietly in his ear, too low to be overheard by the firefighters currently working to remove the SUV’s roof, “Stay with me, Sweetheart.”

A single moment's distraction ends with a serious car accident that leaves Castiel trapped in his vehicle. Fortunately for him, fire fighter Dean Winchester is there, never leaving Castiel's side as the rest of his company work to free him from the mangled remains of his SUV.

When the two meet again in the ICU, Castiel finds himself just as drawn to and comforted by the handsome fireman as he was during his accident. Dean is certainly attractive, but single father Castiel doesn't have time or space in his life for a romantic relationship.

Then again, there's no harm in making a new friend, is there?

And this, your living kiss

Only a very few people in the world know that the celebrated and reclusive poet Jack Allen is just Kansas mechanic Dean Winchester, a high school dropout with a few bucks to his name. Not that it matters anymore; life has left him so wrung out he never wants to pick up another pen.

Until, that is, a string of coincidences leads Dean to auditing a poetry course with one Dr. Castiel Novak. The professor is wildly intelligent, devastatingly handsome...and just so happens to be academia's foremost expert on the poetry of Jack Allen.

Sometimes you'll find that i'm out of my mind ☆

There’s a backlog of unanswered asks in our ask box and, since answering them privately takes a lot of time without any guarantee that the answer will actually be delivered, I decided to answer some asks that would benefit a wider audience here.

hi! I was wondering if you knew of any estranged Sam fics where for whatever reason Dean and Sam have a falling out, and when they decide to work things out, Dean is already in a relationship with Cas? I’ve read Shifter (thanks for the rec!) and New Heaven Over a Brand New Sky (vvv good, I finished it ~2hrs ago), but most blindsided Sam fics have him finding out they’ve been secretly hooking up. thank you in advance and thanks for the amazing work you guys do here!!

Fics mentioned in this ask -  All Things New Again series by sullymygoodname ( New Heaven Over a Brand New Sky is the second work in this series) and Shifter by LadyLini (submitted rec)

ok so i’m a slut for fics where dean and sam are estranged, especially where dean is the wronged party and sam has to make amends. i’ve read everything relevant in the reunion tag and i’m jonesing for more. i especially love the no monsters aus where sam storms out of john and dean’s lives only to realize later that dean was john’s victim too, and comes crawling back only to find dean free of john and living his best life with cas (and co). if y’all have any suggestions i would be so grateful!! love u guys and al u do <3

Soooo, you are gonna love our asks about jealous jerkass Sam!

ask about fics where Sam doesn’t understand Dean and Cas relationship and is being bitchy about it

Sam is unsupportive of Dean and Cas relationship

Sam and/or Gabriel’s actions harm Dean and Cas’ relationship 

And here is a short rec list with emphasis on Dean and Sam having a strained relationship or serious falling out, reuniting at the end of the fic; few recs are from Sam and Dean Reunion ask, ask about Dean figuring out his attraction to men by himself, and ask about solo hunter Dean. 

bloody, but unbowed (unofficially recced here) by shootingstarcas - Sam stayed at Stanford, Dean has a hunting buddy (SU AU)

The Dance of Inanna by peppermintwind - Sam has hard time to let Dean to be with Cas. (season 8)

Take Me Home Country Roads by saltyfeathers - well, not falling out really, just, when Sam realized that Dean is a demon, he bailed and returned only when Dean was human again. (SU, post season 9)

These Forsaken Lands by destielpasta - Mark of Cain!dean is avoiding Sam and solving a monster case with Cas. (SU, season 9)

Asunder by rageprufrock - estranged but the fic is about mending their relationship (AU)

Empty Spaces by schmerzerling - heed the tags! Dean is mistreated by everyone except for Cas, John is a POS and Sam left Dean to deal with him. (AU)

Fortunate Son by atheclena - Dean and Cas are engaged and Mary, John and Sam are total jerks about it. (AU)

it’s a lot like life by LoveIsNotAVictoryMarch - Sam messes up Dean and Cas’ secret affair. (Historical AU)

Master of Reality by peppermintwind - teens Dean and Sam are homeless, Dean does his best to provide while Sam sometimes is ungrateful (AU)

Moonshine Lullaby by akadougal & tiptoe39 - Sam is condescending and homophobic (Historical AU)

And not to be accused of hating on Sam too much, here’s an ask about destiel fics with more than usual focus on Sam ;)

After John’s journal came out, I’ve really been in the mood for fics where Castiel beats up John Winchester - like in the fic “In Lebanon” and surely plenty of others. I’ve browsed “John Finds Out” tags but are there any other recommendations out there? Dean deserved better and I want Cas to go avenging angel on John’s hide.

First fic that comes to mind is  a turn of the earth by microcomets, but that is really just one scene in a 95k long fic. And if I remember correctly, Cas rather  spectacularly punches John in Something Unexpected by cloudyjenn. [Link to #John Finds Out tag.]

Without Further Ado

Dean discovers a decade-old list in his pocket entitled “Reasons not to be with Cas”. Every single reason is irrelevant now. So what’s stopping them, exactly?

★ read on ao3 (5.8k)

If you’ve been toying around with the idea of finishing your own original work, you should definitely do it. I’ve been on slush pile work and 90% of the fanfiction I’ve read is better than what comes into our submission box. You’d be horrified at what some people think is publishable.

Finish your novel. Submit it. You’re way better than you think, and you have a higher chance of being published than you fear. Especially at a place like Riptide or Dreamspinner, where they WANT your lgbtq stories.

Seriously. Stop doubting yourself and finish up that nanowrimo project. Dust off your half finished drafts. Finish your work, polish it up, and send it in. Trust me. Publishers want to see it.

Sincerely,

Please feel free to send in all the different examples of lube you’ve seen in fanfiction that… really should not be used as lube.

Also check out the genitals list!

Just an idea that came and is written down for later.

Warring period before itama died. Itama never died.

Senju and Uchiha are made to have peace by exchanging Clan Heads’ second sons. Hashirama and Itama miss Tobi, but eventually became friends with Izuna.

Tajima and Madara have small problems living with genies Senju. It’s especially hard for Tajima - in the evenings he usually asks children whats new they discover for a day and sometimes he can’t understand what Tobi saying about, as he tells about theories he’s read or made himself or about sealing. He usually made a thoughtful face and nods and says that Tobirama is a bright child.

Tobirama miss his brothers too, but he is the senser and he can feel them. Tajima is astonished to discover how large Tobi’s sensor’s radius is. It’s very helpful with the safety of the clan.

Madara at the beginning wants Izuna back, after receiving Izuna’s letter he calm down. Then he sees Tobirama for the first time, all he can think about is that Senju is the most beautiful person he ever met, how Sharingan-like his eyes are. But than Tobirama opens his mouth. It’s hard for Madara to keep with Tobirama, as he was the prodigy of Clan and the Future Clan Head.

Uchihas live for love, then Tajima sees how hard Madara fell for Tobirama, he began to prepare clan and the clan council for Tobirama being Madara’s spouse. Tajima understands how hard for Madara to wait for Tobirama coming age ceremony. He see how his son struggles to be with the person he loves passionately and don’t have opportunity to touch him.

and if so could you tell us what was going to happen?

Good point. I’ll give you the (in-depth) spark notes version! I’m just gonna do the next 2 chapters and I’ll come back and reblog with more later since it’s kind of late. Enjoy chapter 11 & 12 lol.

piper teasing jason behind his back good-naturedly like “in terms of looks, he’s pretty boring” and percy just Doesn’t understand

“you can’t deny he looks like a basic white boy” and percy’s like all helplessly “but he’s…he IS handsome”

it’s just sort of important that everyone finds jason as attractive as he does, you know, aesthetically speaking

he’s not sure why but it probably has something to do with the fact that “i’m just observing objectively” is an excuse he likes to use to shield himself (A Lot) from the reality of his attraction 

it backfires fairly soon after this interaction

percy like, is he handsome? is it just my opinion? not willing to go too deep into that thought process (because what would that mean about himself??), paying extra close attention to jason the next time they’re hanging out

starts off like This Is An Experiment, and he winds up like clearly unable stop checking jason out because the more he looks the more he kinda wants to touch jason’s muscles and is actually, upon further inspection, pretty fascinated with the way his mouth scar curves around his lips when he smiles, because jason’s lips are In Fact really--

[percy voice] shit

he does the avoidance thing for a few days and feels kind of like a dick, but his thoughts are on a loop and he’s Struggling cause, like,

is he reading too far into this? how is it possible that he didn’t realize before? does this mean he’s gay??? how does he know? and what does he do

he has a sex dream that night and it’s with jason and he refuses to go back to sleep, he can’t handle it, just paces his cabin feeling guilty and confused and weirdly scared

and he can’t stop thinking of annabeth? because he loved her, he knows he did, romantically. and then he can’t stop thinking of that time, trying to analyze everything, remembering his quests, all the trials, all he’s done, how people view him now as some kind of hero 

(he isn’t quite able to name the feeling but he just–knows it’s somehow different to a lot of people, if he’s gay or sort of-gay)

and he tries to work all of this out on his own but mostly just works himself up to the point of exhaustion

hoo boy, the internalized homophobia is Real

he doesn’t really know who to go to at first 

like, he knows his mom would love him no matter what, and be supportive, and might actually make him feel better, but going to her feels more like he’s…announcing himself. and he’s not sure he’s ready for that. he’s not even sure what’s going on, exactly

he’d go to grover but grover’s both half-goat and has a tendency to read into everything he says and percy’s  sure he’s not ready for that

nico is gay, might even know exactly what percy is going through, but he is also for many reasons. Not an option

and he eventually ends up at rachel’s because they’re friends, and rachel’s been through something similar (ie, was at one point convinced she had feelings she didn’t have), and she’s not the type to pry or judge or beat around the bush

he doesn’t open up right away but rachel can tell Something’s Up because he keeps getting really quiet and pensive

and it’s actually perfect because percy can’t dive right into the subject, it’s too uncomfortable, but he does mention something about “having feelings he wasn’t sure about before” and references the time rachel told him she was mistaken about her feelings for him, ages ago

and rachel’s pretty much immediately like “yeah it’s ironic because it was almost the same experience, realizing i like girls later in life” because she has no problems dropping that kinda bomb whatsoever

and percy’s like…Yeah, So… let’s talk about that. rachel catches on pretty quick, eventually drops the pretense that they’re talking about her anymore, tries to explain some stuff like it’s okay to be bi, there’s a word for it, it’s a good thing, it’s okay to question, he doesn’t have to come out if he doesn’t want to,

and okay, at first…percy doesn’t want to. because it’s been a few days and can he really be sure (?? probably not, right?) and nothing’s going to come from it, anyway, right, like percy doesn’t need to act on it, because internalized homophobia is still Very Real, and he feels a little better, but he’s still struggling

but then jason’s knocking on his cabin door kind of awkwardly, his face pinched and concerned and worried. like, jason doesn’t mean to pry, and if percy wants space or if jason’s been overstepping some invisible boundaries or something, he’s sorry and he wants to make sure things are still good, if anything’s wrong, if he can maybe help? 

it’s somehow more awkward to turn jason away at this point, 

and they probably wind up staying in cabin 3 really late just talking and hanging out, with percy decidedly Not mentioning the huge burgeoning crush that is suddenly a HUGE burgeoning crush now that he knows it’s a crush. on jason

and now percy is not only bi, and still afraid, but he also wants to kiss a specific other dude, who happens to be a close friend, and who may or may not be very straight

so maybe he tries to ignore it, starts seeing jason again (not like that, and percy convinces himself it’s not disappointing for like a week), and it’s hard because jason’s certainly not a normal bro, because percy’s pretty sure most dudes aren’t as content with just sitting super close and talking, and jokingly feeding each other snacks and like, sleeping on each other sometimes because they’re both really active and get really tired and it’s just 

Fucking Difficult

and i mean obvs nobody is just magically cured of the socially instilled stigma against multiple gender attraction, and i don’t think percy’s struggling would just go away after only a few weeks (but in time), but i mean.

jason’s behavior is clearly not typical straight dude behavior

and percy’s not unobservant or dense enough to miss all the signals he’s sending here, even if he’s still on his own bi self-acceptance journey

these two dancing around each other for weeks, but neither of them talking about it, existing in this state of “i’m Pretty sure he’s into me…right?” which is pretty utterly unbearable

like jason and percy are sparring and instead of pulling punches they just ‘’’accidentally’’’ graze various parts of their body against each other, fingers touching and lingering when they’re passing stuff, 

leaning way too close, invading personal space and complementing each other with sarcasm that is negated by the fact that they’re always a little too specific and heartfelt,,,Unbearable 

something needs to happen so badly that percy actually comes out to a few of his closer friends, officially, cause he has to stop hiding from himself if he ever wants the chance to confront his own feelings at least, 

and maybe he just needs pioneer this shit or something so jason knows

it’s hard and a lot of people don’t get it right away, but everyone is generally accepting or on a path to acceptance, and it feels good, in a way, to have it laid out bluntly; this is a part of who he is

and then he invites jason over to talk, the conversation probably starts off like “i kind of learned something about myself” and then percy probably tells him he’s pretty sure he’s attracted to boys, and tries to tie it into a larger conversation like “kind of crazy i never realized before hahaha…wild”

and it probably happens that jason’s like terrifyingly pensive for a moment before he’s like shifting to get a better look at percy to make sure he’s okay, maybe, and saying “i know that feeling” –and actually was just twisting to get better access to percy’s mouth to kiss him like some suave fucking nerd

and definitely ruins it by breaking off too quickly and asking percy if this is okay cause he kind of just went for it, and

“Like the Lily” with @quietlyapocalyptic 🥰

Happy Birth, Stars! ❤️🎉

it would be extremely fucking funny if wei wuxian was lan xichen’s friend first

imagine if that’s how lan wangji meets him. that’s their introduction. the category wei wuxian is introduced to him as is “my brother’s friend” which puts him right there with nie mingjue.

in canon this is very good but slightly harder to finagle without being very au but you know where this is just very choice?

modern au.

how it happens is this

wei wuxian is a little genius and skips two grades when he’s young. on one hand, madame yu complains about jiang cheng not skipping any grades constantly, but on the other hand she can’t compare them so precisely because they’re talking different tests in different classes and for couple years at a time are even in different schools, which really cuts down on a lot of the tension between wei wuxian and jiang cheng.

this also means that wei wuxian is in the same class as jiang yanli

jiang yanli doesn’t have the energy to be jealous and is also much more gracious about accepting help. which means wei wuxian doesn’t let his sister get anything less than straight a’s in everything because he doesn’t want madame yu to yell at her for it.

when they’re all still young kids the jiangs move and the kids are enrolled in the same school as all our favorite people.

lan wangji is also a little genius but everyone’s very concerned about his social development and the potential damage skipping grades could do to it, so he stays right where he is. also in his class is jiang cheng, nie huaisang, mianmina, jin zixuan, wen ning, and meng yao who skipped one grade because he was worried skipping two would get him the wrong sort of attention.

but two years ahead of them is wei wuxian, jiang yanli, lan xichen, and nie mingjue. lan xichen initially befriended wei wuxian (to his best friend nie mingjue’s annoyance) because he was new and young and lan xichen didn’t want him to feel intimidated and alone. then someone talked shit to jiang yanli and wei wuxian cheerfully squared up and kicked their ass which horrified lan xichen while nie mingjue was delighted and decided maybe this kid isn’t too bad after all

this is also good because we still have wei wuxian struggling with his peer group. are his peers the kids his own age? or the kids he spends all day ever day with in class and has for years? cue an identity crisis, wash rinse repeat

anyway sort of on accident wei wuxian becomes best friends with lan xichen and nie mingjue. he’s friendly with the others but they are, well, his best friends’ little siblings, even if they’re the same age as him, so they don’t really hang out. nie huaisang comes over sometimes but wei wuxian tries to avoid him when he does because they’re actually decent friends but jiang cheng gets upset about not having one friend that doesn’t like wei wuxian better which is, you know, unfair but also a valid emotion so wei wuxian and nie huaisang just text constantly

the fun thing about lan xichen and nie mingjue is that they secretly love getting into shenanigans but have to be responsible older brothers about everything and good role models and whatever. wei wuxian can’t be bothered with any of that. so he’s constantly getting them into trouble that they’re delighted to be in and they all practice sparring at the nie studio and wei wuxian is friendly and fun and outgoing in a way that neither lan xichen and nie mingjue are. the three of them all balance each other out so well, softening the hard edges of the other two, and of course they’re all very beautiful and smart and kind in their own way, and well

the three of them are the popular kids, easily, which baffles all of them to varying degrees

(if jiang cheng is never asked “oh, are you wei wuxian’s brother?” again in his life it’ll be too soon)

so throughout all of this lan xichen goes over to the jiang’s and he and wei wuxian both spend a lot of time at the nie but because lan qiren is strict and not fun it’s not until the summer before their junior year that wei wuxian goes over to the lans

this is the first time lan wangji is meeting the boy who’s been his brother’s other best friend for years, since obviously he’s known nie mingjue since they were toddlers

and uh

holy shit

his brother never told him wei wuxian is hot

Jiang Cheng looks up from his books, hesitating. He loves swimming, but his last middle school exams are looming ever closer, and he’s taking it very seriously. Wei Wuxian doesn’t take end of year exams seriously, as a rule, and that he aces them anyway infuriates pretty much everyone in his class except for his friends, and even they get pretty exasperated with him.

“Wen Qing will be there,” he says, which he thinks is pretty compelling and will definitely get Jiang Cheng to agree.

Instead Jiang Cheng flushes and looks down. “No thanks. I have studying to do.”

His brother isn’t looking at him, so Wei Wuxian doesn’t bother to keep the disappointment off his face. “Okay, well call us if you change your mind, okay? We’ll come pick you up.”

The frown around his mouth softens but he just nods and Wei Wuxian sighs before retreating.

He goes outside and shakes his head at A-jie. She’s wearing the sundress that Wei Wuxian got her for her birthday last year over her bikini and giant sunglasses that cover most of her face. Her mouth twists into a frown but she gets into her car, a deep purple convertible that her parents had given her for her recent sixteenth birthday which had made her the envy of all their friends. Mingjue had gotten a jeep which was extremely useful for camping but less outright cool. Xichen, unfortunately, had gotten a very sensible and boring white sedan. It’s also a BMW, but that only makes up for so much.

Uncle Jiang had promised Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng they’d get cars for their birthday too, but Wei Wuxian knows Aunt Yu hadn’t been pleased about that, and really, it’s excessive for his best friends and his siblings and him to have a car. It’s not like there’s any lack of people he can bum rides off of.

A-jie pulls up outside of the Wen’s apartment building. They own the whole thing and their entire family lives there. She beeps the horn because they’ve learned the hard way not to bother going inside. The doorman is a creep, and also they have guard dogs, so. No.

Wen Qing must have been waiting for them because she comes out a moment later, some sort of complicated red gauzy dress on, and maybe it’s for the best that Jiang Cheng didn’t come. It might have killed him. She hops into the back seat without opening the door.

“No Wen Ning?” Wei Wuxian asks.

“Hello, Wei Wuxian, I’m doing great, thanks,” she says sarcastically, leaning forward to poke him in the side. He squirms away from her but there’s nowhere for him to go. “He’s helping Granny with something in the kitchen. I offered to help, but they said no.”

“A smart decision,” A-jie mutters, pulling back onto the road.

Wen Qing kicks the back of her seat then slumps back and does her seat belt.

They pull up to the Nie manor twenty minutes later and Wei Wuxian hasn’t knocked since he was ten. Instead he takes out his keys and unlocks the front door, letting all of them in. “Mingjue, we’re here!” he shouts, heading towards the kitchen.

Xichen grins at from where he’s in the middle of cubing watermelon. He nods at the girls, who wave back, but don’t pause in going out to the pool. Wei Wuxian boosts himself onto the counter then reaches out to steal some of the watermelon. Vodka bursts across his tongue and he nearly chokes. “Well, Wuxian?” Xichen asks innocently, “How is it?”

“This was not your idea,” he declares, popping another bite of the vodka soaked watermelon into his mouth.

“It was Nie Huaisang’s,” he admits. “Mingjue is worried about him starting high school and I’m starting to think he’s right.”

“Worried,” Wei Wuxian scoffs, deciding to actually be useful and getting down to pull a large bowl out of the cabinet to put the watermelon in. “He’s going to be ruling that place by the end of the year. He should be more worried about college. Nie Huaisang was made for college.”

Xichen pauses in cutting, a blank look on his face. “Don’t bring that up to Mingjue. You’re right, but for our own sanity let’s not introduce that idea to him just yet.”

Wei Wuxian laughs, and he’s still laughing when Mingjue comes downstairs in just his swim trunks. He’s already regretting having to see the looks A-jie is going to give Mingjue behind her too big sunglasses. He and Xichen are about the same height, and Mingjue is several inches shorter, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in wingspan. He can hold him and Xichen on each shoulder. They’d checked.

“Wuxian, finally, what too you so long?” he complains, punching him in the arm as he walks by.

Wei Wuxian gives an exaggerated wince and clutches his arm, but Mingjue just rolls his eyes and Xichen doesn’t look up from where he’s putting the last of the watermelon into the bowl. “Mingjue, please, I only have the one arm.”

“You have two arms, actually,” he says, unrepentant. He opens the fridge and starts taking out beers. Mingjue and Nie Huaisang’s parents are perpetually absent, always on some business trip, but for as long as Wei Wuxian has known them, they’ve given their sons the freedom to do pretty much whatever as long as no one gets hurt or arrested and the house is still standing when they get back.

It’s such a difference from the Jiang household and definitely from the Lan that it’s no wonder they spend all their time at Mingjue’s house rather than their own. Wei Wuxian has never even been inside Xichen’s house. Mingjue assures him he’s not missing much.

“We had to pick up Wen Qing,” he says instead of clarifying that he only has one left arm. “Her uncle took her car away again.”

Xichen had field trip to a planetarium today, but instead of going to pick him up at the school parking lot like they’d been planning, they’re on their way to the planetarium to get him because Xichen got in a fight.

Xichen. Got in a fight. With the other students.

Lan Wangji thinks that someone might be playing a prank on him.

They arrive, Uncle straight backed and furious, and find Xichen and Nie Mingjue standing outside with a chaperone. Xichen has a split lip and Nie Mingjue’s shirt is ripped and his knuckles bruised. Uncle exchanges quick greetings and apologies with the chaperone, then turns to them and demands, “What on earth were you thinking? What was that about? Did you fight each other?”

That seems almost as ridiculous as Xichen fighting at all. They’ve been best friends for longer than Lan Wangji can remember.

“It was with two other students, Wen Chao and Wen Xu,” the chaperone says. She seems more bored than upset about the whole thing. “Their father already came to pick them up.”

Uncle turns a concerning shade of red then snaps, “Well? What sort of explanation do you have for this? Why did this happen?”

Xichen and Nie Mingjue share an uncomfortable look, communicating something through several raised eyebrows and minute shakes of the head. Finally it’s Nie Mingjue who says, “We, um. Don’t. Know.”

“You don’t know why you started a fight with other students?” Uncle asks. Lan Wangji cringes and the tone’s not even being directed at him. “You just decided to act disgracefully for no reason at all?”

“No!” Xichen denies and Nie Mingjue elbows him in the side. “It wasn’t – um. We just. Well. There was a reason. We just don’t know what it was.”

Uncle pinches the bridge of his nose. Nie Mingjue brightens and Lan Wangji turns to see Nie Zonghui walking up the steps towards them. Nie Zonghui is a Nie cousin that’s only a handful of years older than Nie Mingjue, but he’s usually the one who shows up for things like this.

“Lan Qiren,” Nie Zonghui greets, then looks down at Nie Mingjue. “I had plans today, you know.”

“Sorry,” Nie Mingjue says, not sounding very sorry at all.

Nie Zonghui rolls his eyes then says to chaperone, “Sorry about the inconvenience. Can we take them home now?”

“Of course,” she says, “I believe the teacher will assign further punishments on Monday.”

He nods and she waves at both of them before going back inside.

“You’re really not going to tell me what all this is about?” Uncle asks.

Nie Mingjue and Xichen share another complicated look then Xichen says, “We don’t know why. We saw Wei Wuxian fighting with the Wen brothers so we, uh, jumped in. A little. Two against one isn’t a fair fight! Especially against Wei Wuxian, even if he is tall!”

Uncle goes nearly apoplectic in his rage while Nie Zonghui gives an approving nod, which seems to scandalize Uncle nearly as much as the fight. “Xichen! I taught you better than that! Have you no brain of your own? If this Wei Wuxian jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?”

The lack of immediate denial is definitely not the right answer.

Nie Mingjue shrugs and says, “Maybe? If the bridge was falling apart and there was a river underneath, or if there was a fire, or if someone was drowning? It would depend. It’s not like he came up to us and told us to punch them so we did. It was already happening! And we know the Wens are jerks.”

“Well, where is this boy?” Uncle asks.

“His aunt already picked him up,” Xichen says, and just for a moment a dark look comes over his face, and he almost looks like their mother.

Nie Mingjue crosses his arms and looks away from them, scowling.

Lan Wangji takes that to mean they don’t like this boy’s aunt.

“Fine,” Uncle huffs. “We’ll discuss this later. Let’s go.”

Nie Zonghui reaches out to ruffle Nie Mingjue’s hair and they all begin walking down the stairs.

“Wait! Hey! Stop!”

They stop and turn. A girl in bright red shoes with chin length hair comes running after them. They pause, but she doesn’t stop running until she’s in front of them, skidding to a stop in front of Lan Xichen and immediately bowing to him, then Nie Mingjue, and holding the bow as she says, “Thank you for helping my brother.”

“You’re Wei Wuxian’s sister?” Uncle asks.

She shakes her head at the same time as Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue. “No. I’m Wen Qing.”

Wen Qing. Like the Wen brothers that were also involved in the fight? It doesn’t sound like they were protecting them.

“What are you talking about?” Uncle asks, clearly at the end of his patience. “Do you know what this was all about?”

She hesitates, slowly standing straight. She bites her bottom lip but says, “My little brother really likes space, and I don’t like leaving him alone at home with Granny, so I got permission to bring him with me. Only Wen Chao and Wen Xu don’t – they’re always – my brother is sick,” she says, looking at the space next to Uncle rather than at him. “They’re always mean to him, but this time they went too far. They split off from the group and stole his inhaler and then locked him in a janitor’s closet. I was helping the teacher because he let A-Ning come, so I wasn’t pay attention, and I didn’t notice when he missing. Wei Wuxian did. That’s why they were fighting. Wei Wuxian found them and let out A-Ning, who went to go find me, but when they tried to stop him, Wei Wuxian fought back, and then Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue went looking for Wei Wuxian, and, well,” she shrugs. She bows again and says, “Thank you for helping.”

“They took his inhaler?” Nie Zonghui asks, scowling.

She nods. “It’s okay. He was panicking in there, but then Wei Wuxian let him out and gave him his inhaler, so he’s okay, and we have another at home. I’ll give it back to him on Monday. My brother is with Jiang Yanli now, but I wanted to make sure I thanked you before you left.”

“Wei Wuxian has an inhaler?” Uncle has a different look on his face than had before. Lan Wangji thinks that Xichen probably is only going to have to do a hundred push ups instead of a thousand.

“Sort of,” Nie Mingjue answers. “It’s not his.”

Uncle is back to looking like he has a headache.

“His sister uses one,” Xichen clarifies. “She’s in our class too. She has her own, but he always carries an extra, just in case.”

Wen Qing doesn’t smile at them, but she bow one last time, and then she’s running back up the steps to the planetarium.

“See,” Nie Mingjue says, “there was a good reason.”

Uncle glares at him, but it’s Nie Mingjue, so he doesn’t even look a little bit sorry.

“Alright, you’ve caused enough trouble for one day,” Nie Zonghui says wryly, “come on, let’s go, your parents are going to be – well, they’re going to hear about it, and they’ll have a reaction. Of some sort.”

Nie Mingjue shorts, but then they’re moving again, and he waves to them before walking in the opposite direction with his cousin.

Lan Xichen has known Mingjue for longer than he can remember. He’d been forced to play with a lot of his family friends’ children, but Mingjue is the only one who stuck.

He vividly remembers meeting Wuxian.

He’d been little kid standing next to his elder sister in a way that reminded him painfully of Wangji. Jiang Yanli hadn’t been in all their classes, and Lan Xichen had felt that it was his responsibility as a fellow elder sibling to keep an eye on Wuxian when Jiang Yanli couldn’t.

Mingjue hadn’t felt the same. Then it had turned out that they needed to less keep an eye on him than keep an eye on everyone who felt the need to piss him off.

The infamous planetarium fight was neither the first or the last time they ended up getting dragged into something by Wuxian. Once Mingjue had found out that Wuxian tended to solve his problems by being a sarcastic little shit with no sense of self preservation, he’d warmed up to him. Lan Xichen had despaired that now there were two of them.

Now he’s seventeen, smiling at the half dozen retreating boys with his mouth and nothing else, Wuxian and Mingjue at his side and blood on his knuckles.

Most of it isn’t his.

This fight has ended with the group of them ungracefully accepting their defeat by running away.

Lan Xichen is starting to have serious doubts about the intelligence of some of their classmates. He’s not sure how many times someone has to get their ass kicked before they figure out they’re not going to get away with being an asshole while they’re around. Some people still try and pick on Wen Ning, like Wuxian hasn’t spent the past half decade acting as his self appointed big brother.

(Lan Xichen is pretty sure this is why Jiang Cheng doesn’t get along with Wen Ning, but he’s never figured out how to say that without hurting someone’s feelings, so he just hasn’t said it at all.)

“Hey, are you okay?” Wuxian asks. “You’re the new transfer, right? Jin Zixuan’s brother. My condolences. He’s the worst.”

“Wuxian!” Mingjue sighs. “How can you say that? Jin Zixun is right there.”

A pause. “You know, that’s a good point. But consider this: Jin Zixun isn’t trying to date my sister.”

“What if he was though?” Mingjue muses, then a moment later yelps, “Ow!” when Wuxian punches him in the arm.  

“Sorry about them,” Xichen says. “Are you okay? It’s Meng Yao, right?”

“Yes,” he answers, looking between them carefully. “Thank you for your help.”

“Don’t mention it,” Wuxian says cheerfully. “I love punching those guys. It’s good for the immune system.”

Meng Yao smiles politely in a way that seems to imply that he thinks Wuxian is slightly unhinged. That’s oaky. Lots of people do that.

“You just moved here, right?” Lan Xichen asks.

“Yes,” Meng Yao answers, then wrinkles his nose. He reaches into his pocket and takes out a real actual handkerchief. He steps forward and grabs Lan Xichen’s wrist, delicately dabbing at he blood of his knuckles. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m Lan Xichen, actually,” he replies, voice too high, and immediately wants to die.

Meng Yao smiles instead of laughing at him. He has dimples. Death would probably be a mercy.

Lan Wangji doesn’t have that many emotions about starting high school. It’s all the same people he’s known his whole life and the classwork that he’s been doing. It’s a new building and it has more students but the basic formula of go to class, go home, rinse and repeat seems largely unchanged.

The only real upside is that he’s going to same school as Xichen for the next two years. This also means that he can stop taking the bus and just drive to school with his brother.

By the time they get there, the parking lot is nearly full, which is why Lan Wangji is confused by him driving by the empty spots and then past several full rows. There’s not going to be any more free spots this close to the entrance –

There are three empty spots right at the front.

Xichen pulls in to one like it’s exactly what he expected to find. He turns off the car, but doesn’t get out, instead reaching for his phone and leaning back in his seat.

“Should we go inside?” Lan Wangji prods after another moment of Xichen making no move to get out of the car.

“What?” he looks up from his phone. “Oh. But everyone’s not here yet.”

Before Lan Wangji can ask about what he’s talking about, there’s a familiar silver jeep tearing around the corner and slamming into the parking space next to Xichen’s with eerie precision.

“Da-ge!” Nie Huaisang wails, clearly heard through the open window. “My hair! It’s ruined! You’re the worst!”

Nie Mingjue is too busy laughing as his brother slaps his chest with one hand and uses the other to frantically attempt to smooth his hair back. Xichen’s lips are twitching as he steps out of the car, Lan Wangji following.

A moment later a purple convertible turns the corner and pulls into the final empty spot next to Nie Mingjue. Jiang Yanli has on very big heart shaped sunglasses and a silk scarf around her hair, which is something Nie Huaisang might want to invest in if Nie Mingjue is going to keep driving like that with the windows down. Jiang Cheng is scowling so fiercely that it can only be to cover up his nerves.

Xichen frowns and Lan Wangji is about to ask why when Nie Mingjue jumps out of the jeep and bellows, “Oi, A-Li! Where’s Wuxian?”

A hand appears from the backseat, giving the peace sign, before gripping the seat and pulling himself up.

Lying down in the backseat is another way to protect your hair, Lan Wangji thinks distantly.

There’s a perfect boy sitting in the back of Jiang Yanli’s car, his long hair held up in a ponytail and a huge grin across his face. Lan Wangji thinks he can hear his own heartbeat, which doesn’t seem anatomically possible, and also he’s possibly forgotten how to breath.

“Right here, Mingjue!” the perfect boy says cheerfully.  “Damn, Huaisang, what happened to your hair?”

Nie Huaisang screeches and then they’re all laughing, even Jiang Cheng pulled from his grumpiness into a snicker.

“Wuxian, be nice,” Xichen scolds, but he’s laughing too.

The perfect boy is Wei Wuxian.

His brother’s best friend.

Xichen’s brother is hot.

Wei Wuxian isn’t going to say that, because he’d be in violation of several important codes of friendship, but it doesn’t make it less true. Standing there scowling in his slacks and his crisp button up he kind of reminds him of Lan Qiren, which is very much not hot boy energy, but the sharpness of his cheekbones more than makes up for it.

“Do you want me to walk you to class?” he asks Jiang Cheng, all of them clustered around A-jie’s locker as usual. Wen Qing and Wen Ning are heading to them from down the call, coming from the biology labs where Wen Qing absolutely isn’t running secret experiments. Jiang Cheng now isn’t paying any attention him at all, far too busy with drooling over Wen Qing. It’d be embarrassing, except he’s been doing it since they were kids and Wen Qing is pretty drool worthy. He continues, “I can show you the shortcuts!”

“Do not show him the shortcuts,” A-jie says sternly, touching up her lip gloss in the mirror inside of her locker. He stands behind her shoulder to do the same. “Cutting through other classrooms and the kitchens is really going to get you in trouble one of these days.”

“It hasn’t yet,” Mingjue points out. “Besides, the lunch ladies love us.”

Xichen starts frantically slapping at his shoulder and Wei Wuxian is confused until he sees the object of his friend’s affections standing with Dumb and Dumber and Mianmian. Mingjue pretends like he doesn’t notice them because he’s dealing with his crush on Mianmian by pretending she doesn’t exist. It’s both ineffective and hilarious.

He absently puts Wen Ning in a quick headlock while Wen Qing uses A-jie’s mirror to wipe some sort of unidentifiable liquid off her face. He knows better than to ask any questions.

“Oi, A-Yao!” he shouts and Xichen punches him in the arm hard enough to bruise, although he’s all gentle smiles when Meng Yao looks in their direction. “Your company sucks! Come hang out with us instead.”

Meng Yao hesitates, but Jin Zixuan never misses an opportunity to awkwardly pant over his sister, so he makes a beeline towards them while the rest follow. “Hi, Jiang Yanli,” he says.

“Hello Zixuan,” she returns.

Before they can continue anything resembling a real conversation, Jiang Cheng steps forward until he’s shoulder and shoulder to Wei Wuxian. “We weren’t talking to you,” he says pointedly, then pauses to add, “Hi Mianmian.”

“Hey guys,” she says. “Do I need an invitation too?”

“No, you’re cool,” Wei Wuxian answers. “They’re not.”

“As if you’d know anything about being cool,” Jin Zixun scoffs.

Wei Wuxia knows calling himself cool is a deeply uncool thing to do, even if it’s true, so he ignores him completely to say to Meng Yao, “Everything going okay? If anyone gives you a hard time again, Xichen would be more than happy to beat them up for you!”

Mingjue starts coughing in a terrible attempt to hide his laughter and a flush slowly starts to creep up Xichen’s neck. This is fucking hysterical.  

“Would you?” Meng Yao asks, looking up at Xichen from under his lashes.

“I – if you, I mean, I could. If, um, you needed, I wouldn’t, you know, mind,” he says. Wen Qing rubs at her temples and even Jiang Cheng looks pitying.

Wei Wuxian is thriving. Meng Yao transferring here is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

“Thank you,” Meng Yao says, with what appears to be perfect sincerity.

Shen Twins and their beloved little maid Luo Binghe

From spring to winter, Shen Qingqiu (SY), She Meiqing, Shen Qingqiu (SJ) and Shang Qinghua!