Chapter Text
It takes some time, but eventually the last person unaffiliated with the bar stumbles their way out. Other than the bar staff and a handful of performers, the only people that remain are Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan, Jingyi, and Lan Wangji. Wen Qing turns off the neon signs in the windows and claps her hands.
“Okay, let’s get this done and get out of here.”
The bar staff enters a flurry of activity, wiping down surfaces and putting chairs on top of tables and gathering scattered glasses. Jiang Cheng keeps trying to offer help, but he is repeatedly told to sit down and wait.
It doesn’t take the crew too long to close up shop; according to everyone he’s spoken to, most of the staff has been working together for years now, and it shows in their swift efficiency. Wen Qing walks through doing perfunctory final checks to make sure everything is done correctly, and then announces that they’re good to go. Everyone cheers and gathers up their personal effects and says their farewells.
Looking at the remaining group, Wen Qing says, “So who here is good to drive?”
Jin Zixuan gestures with his empty glass. “Me.”
“I haven’t had anything to drink tonight,” Wei Wuxian says, melancholy. “So I, sadly, am.”
“Okay, me too,” Wen Qing says. “Wen Ning, Jingyi, Sizhui, I can drive you.”
“Jiang Cheng, do you want to come with me and Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian asks.
“Absolutely not,” Jiang Cheng answers immediately. “A-Jie, I’m going with you.”
“Do you have room for me, too?” Nie Huaisang asks Jiang Yanli, who answers in the affirmative.
Wei Wuxian looks at his husband, pulling an exaggerated frown. “No one wants to drive with us.”
“Mn.”
“No one wants to drive with you because you’re insufferable,” Jiang Cheng says, and Wei Wuxian’s mock frown vanishes as a laugh pushes its way past his lips..
The group splits to make for the various spots they’ve parked their cars. Most of them head towards the alley where Nie Huaisang had been smoking, but Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan, Nie Huaisang, and Jiang Cheng head out the front door to the street. Jin Zixuan parked a few blocks down, and the night air is cool and refreshing after the closeness of the bar. They pile into the car and hit the road.
The diner is in a low-slung building with a sagging roof and a filthy round awning. Faded painted lettering proclaims the place to be Mo’s , and the windows light up the night around them with bright white fluorescence.
“They have the best bacon here,” Nie Huaisang says when he notices Jiang Cheng’s skeptical look.
The interior is cluttered, but clean. Shelves of knicknacks line the walls and photographs fill up the spaces the shelves don’t. A large, cartoonish cat clock hangs from one of the walls, its long tail swinging back and forth with every tick. A tired but chipper woman in her 40s calls out a friendly greeting to the group as they make their way in, and she tells them to take a seat wherever they like.
The diner is largely empty, so they have their choice of seating. The party makes their way to a massive booth near the windows, all of them squeezing in and chattering as they pile onto the cracked red vinyl.
“You have to get the one-eyed pig,” Wei Wuxian calls over to Jiang Cheng from where he’s practically sitting in Lan Wangji’s lap.
“No, no,” Wen Ning says. “The waffles here are the best.”
“I stand by the farmer’s scramble,” Jin Zixuan says, and Wei Wuxian boos him. He’s laughing when he says, “It’s good!”
“Just get something with bacon,” Nie Huaisang says in a low voice to Jiang Cheng, “because I’m not letting you have any of mine.”
Jiang Cheng looks over the menu. He hasn’t had diner food in… well, he can’t quite remember. It doesn’t fit into his diet regimen, but he can make an exception for one night. He searches out the suggestions people had shouted out, but then spies their burger options and wonders why everyone was so insistent on breakfast foods.
“How are their burgers?” he asks Nie Huaisang.
“To die for,” Nie Huaisang says. “Shit, why’d you remind me about their burgers?” He flips open his menu and looks at the list of burger options. “I thought I knew what I wanted, but now…”
“I can give you some of mine. In exchange for bacon.”
Nie Huaisang taps his chin thoughtfully, then looks at Jiang Cheng from the corner of his eye. “Alright. You’ve got a deal.”
The waitress comes by their table, and the chaos of placing a massive order begins. The waitress is unfazed by the raucous group, and even seems to know some of them. Before Wei Wuxian can say a thing, she asks if he wants the one-eyed pig, to which he gleefully crows that, yes, he would love the one-eyed pig. Lan Wangji only orders coffee, but everyone else gets food. Honestly, Lan Wangji looks exhausted . Unsurprising. It’s past midnight.
With their order placed, the waitress walks off to the kitchen. The party splits into three different conversations as she leaves, and Jiang Cheng tries to catch what everyone is talking about.
Across from him:
Jin Zixuan, “I know he wanted to come, and that Wen Qing said that she would make an exception for him as long as he promised not to drink, but I don’t want him to get special treatment just because we know the owner.”
Jiang Yanli, “But all of his friends go to the shows, and now with A-Cheng, it’s become a family event. A-Ling feels left out.”
At the other end of the table:
Wei Wuxian, “You’ve been overworking yourself! You have two time-consuming jobs. How do you have any time to relax?”
Wen Qing, “Nightless City is how I relax.”
Wei Wuxian, “You can’t use work to relax! Lan Zhan, tell her that working isn’t relaxing.”
Lan Wangji, “Mn.”
Between the two:
Wen Ning, “If you need time off, you should talk to Wen Qing. She’s always willing to work with people and give them the schedules they need.”
Sizhui, “I know, I just don’t want to cause any inconvenience.”
Jingyi, “I don’t think you’ve ever caused an inconvenience in your life.”
Wen Ning, “I see they have you fooled, too. That sweet face convinces everyone that they’re totally mischief-free.”
Sizhui, “I only cause mischief when it’s called for.”
Next to him:
Nie Huaisang stretches and arches his back against the booth. With his arms still held above him, he flops backwards and looks over at Jiang Cheng, sleepily content and loose-limbed.
“What’s up?” he asks.
Jiang Cheng makes a noncommittal motion with his hands. “Nothing. This is just… kind of fun.”
Nie Huaisang gasps. He shoots upright and drops his arms, turning to the table and motioning for silence, urgently saying, “ Everyone , hold on a second! Jiang Cheng just said that this was—this is so good, guys— kind of fun !”
Wei Wuxian dramatically faints into Lan Wangji’s waiting arms, Wen Qing smiles fondly, Lan Sizhui and their boytoy whisper something to each other, Wen Ning claps very seriously, Jin Zixuan laughs, and Jiang Yanli gives Jiang Cheng a disgustingly proud and watery smile. Jiang Cheng hates all of them. (Except for his sister, because he is incapable of that.)
They banter and jeer about Jiang Cheng’s qualifier (“ Kind of fun?” Wei Wuxian complains when he revives from Lan Wangji’s arms.) for a while until the topic grows stale, and the conversation diverges and converges at random as they wait for their food.
When the food arrives, Wei Wuxian whoops with relief and Nie Huaisang almost cries when he has a bite of his bacon. He gives Jiang Cheng the agreed-upon bacon in exchange for half of a burger, and Jiang Cheng can understand why Nie Huaisang nearly shed tears for this meat: it’s damn perfect . The burger, too, is excellent. The right amount of greasy to soak up the alcohol in him.
They eat ravenously, conversation falling by the wayside as they get their fill. Lan Wangji starts to doze, leaning against his husband’s arm so that Wei Wuxian has to eat with his left hand so as not to disturb him. Wen Ning and Wen Qing freely share their food, cutting off portions of waffle or egg and transferring it to the other’s plate. Jingyi and Sizhui sit with their shoulders and legs pressed into each other, smiling and chatting happily. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan share a milkshake and keep grinning at each other as they sip from it.
And then Jiang Cheng turns to Nie Huaisang, who is already watching him.
He isn’t exactly smiling, but there’s something soft and sweet in his gaze that makes Jiang Cheng suddenly very aware of the heat crawling up his neck. Nie Huaisang knocks his knee against Jiang Cheng’s, grins, and then snatches the burger off of Jiang Cheng’s plate and takes a bite.
Jiang Cheng says nothing and steals another piece of bacon in retaliation, sticking his tongue out before shoving the strip of meat into his mouth. Nie Huaisang laughs with his mouth full and fights to keep bits of ground meat and bun from spilling out.
As they finish their food, discussions of the bill begin. Chaos takes over as everyone starts to talk over each other, mainly because no one wants to be such a pain to the waitress as to demand splitting the bill too many ways. Eventually, Jiang Cheng, who is on the outermost edge of the booth, gets up and proclaims that he will pay for the meal, brushing off everyone’s protests with a dismissive wave of his hand.
He makes his way to the counter where the till sits, waiting quietly for the only person he’s seen in here all night to reemerge from the kitchen. Behind him, Wei Wuxian and company continue to chatter and laugh, filling the otherwise quiet diner with the sounds of merriment. Despite himself, Jiang Cheng smiles.
Then, a hand lands on his shoulder and he wipes the smile from his face before turning. Wei Wuxian grins at him, back to a normal height now that he’s out of those ridiculous heels.
“Thanks for buying,” he says.
Jiang Cheng shrugs. “Most of you are broke artists. And Lan Wangji was trapped in the booth and Jin Zixuan has enough opportunities to flaunt his wealth.”
“Right, because covering a meal at a diner is a great way to flaunt wealth,” Wei Wuxian laughs. But then, his expression grows serious, eyes watching Jiang Cheng’s face searchingly. “So you liked it? The show?”
“Yes. I already told you I did.”
Wei Wuxian bites his lower lip and grins. “Good. Good.”
“Yup. Sure is.”
“Do you think, maybe... “ Wei Wuxian speaks with an uncommon tone of uncertainty. He’s usually so confident, and the wavering doubt in his voice unsettles Jiang Cheng. “Maybe you'd like to come to another one? I’m sure A-Jie would come with you, if you didn’t want to go alone.”
The hope despite his uncertainty is almost painful to hear. Jiang Cheng looks over at the gathered group, many of them gesticulating with utensils or laughing or just smiling quietly. Even Lan Wangji looks like he’s about to break out into a grin (which is honestly super weird). Something inside of Jiang Cheng softens at the sight.
“Yeah,” he says, turning back to Wei Wuxian. “I guess I could come to another show.”
Relief breaks over Wei Wuxian’s face, cracking open like eggs into a hot pan and solidifying into a bright, sunny-side up smile.
“Great,” he says. “I’ll be sure to tell everyone to up their games! We’ve got a real discerning audience member now.”
“ Don’t do that,” Jiang Cheng groans. “I don’t want everyone to think I’m an asshole.”
“Oh, they’ll figure it out soon enough. Might as well get them prepped for it.”
“Dick.”
Wei Wuxian flashes him another smile and pushes gently on his shoulder.
“Aww, come on, be nicer to me. We’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other if you’re going to be coming to the shows, especially because A-Jie invited me to join you for your weekly brunch.”
“She what.”
“She said it was silly that she was getting brunch twice a week when she could just do it once with both brothers at the same time. We’re just making her life easier, Jiang Cheng.”
Jiang Cheng grumbles wordlesslesly, but says no more. He can't argue with making his sister's life easier.
Finally, the waitress emerges from the kitchen, looking a little caught-out when she sees the two of them waiting by the register. She apologizes for keeping them waiting, which they brush off. Jiang Cheng pays for their meal, and they return to the table. Wei Wuxian makes everyone on his side of the booth get up so that he can sit next to his tired husband, and they do so without complaint. Jiang Cheng plops down next to Nie Huaisang, and they all sit around for a little while longer, enjoying the company and camaraderie.
Eventually, Wei Wuxian says, “I should get Lan Zhan home. It’s way too late for him to still be awake.”
Looking at Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng isn’t certain that he is awake. His eyes are open, but he looks almost drunk from tiredness, his gaze unfocused and listing. Everyone agrees that it’s late, and that they should be getting home, so they all extricate themselves from the booth.
Jiang Cheng left his car at the bar, so Jiang Yanli offers him a ride home. Sizhui and Jingyi are getting a ride once again from Wen Qing, and Nie Huaisang lives only a couple blocks from the diner, so he’s walking home. As they make their way out of the diner and head for their cars, Nie Huaisang catches Jiang Cheng’s eyes and they slow their pace to walk alongside one another, stretching out the time until they part ways.
“I’m shocked you had fun tonight,” Nie Husaing says, teasing.
“Me, too,” Jiang Cheng says, making Nie Huaisang chuckle lightly. “It was… good. Catching up, I mean. With you.”
Nie Huaisang’s eyes roam over Jiang Cheng’s face, soft and mild. “It was,” he agrees.
They pause as Jin Zixuan’s car comes into sight just ahead. Nie Huaisang points off down another street.
“I’m this way.”
“Ah. Okay. Well. Goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight.” Nie Huaisang turns, walks two steps, then turns back around, pulling out his phone. “Actually, let me get your number.”
“Oh, okay.” Jiang Cheng takes the proffered phone and enters his number under a new contact. He hands it back over, and Nie Huaisang immediately sends him a text. It reads:
“ let’s get coffee soon ”
Jiang Cheng smiles despite himself and answers it with a short but heartfelt, “ ok ”.
Nie Huaisang grins up at him and puts his phone back in his pocket. “Well. I’ll see you soon, then.”
“Definitely.”
Nie Huaisang waves, then walks away. Jiang Cheng watches him until he turns at the next intersection. When he turns back to Jin Zixuan’s car, he and Jiang Yanli are both watching him. Jiang Cheng coughs into his hand and hurries to join them, sliding into the back seat without a word.
As the car rolls into motion, Jiang Cheng leans his forehead against the window, looking out into the quiet street, thinking. He still found it so strange how, despite his anxiety about not fitting in, he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself. He wonders at it, mystified. He presses a hand to his chest. It feels like something within it has begun to loosen.
Maybe it’s something to think about more.