First Time For Everything [WangXian FF]

26

 
"So..." Lan Wangji put his arms on his hip, face serious but his eyes were twinkling, " is this how you nerds have been spending your time all this while?"
They had gone to an arcade near Yanli's cafe after a short stroll through the weekly farmer's market. Jiang Yanli had to buy some stuff for a new menu she was developing so while she and Wen Qing stopped to buy the ingredients, the boys had taken the opportunity to visit the arcade. It was situated at one of the side alleys of the main road so not a lot of people frequented it. However, apparently this motley group of boys had been there so many times that they were on a first name basis with the doorman. The smell of old Chinatown still lingered in the air, reminiscent of the old times. The arcade itself was inconspicuous with a Neon sign displaying near the front. The boys loved this space since it was convenient and more importantly, it was usually not crowded; only a few regular patrons.
"We're not nerds. And well...sometimes when we just need to release some stress... we end up here." Wei Wuxian took a hold on Lan Wangji's arm and dragged him inside the old building. They each bought a handful of coins, and took a walk around to pick the ones they loved. 
Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang, although clearly still not talking, walked a bit far off with Wen Ning between them acting as a buffer. choosing their all time favorite game, Street Fighter. They settled down, side by side, playing without uttering any words while Ning finally got to breathe easy and ran for his dear life to the bowling alley part of the arcade..
Wei Wuxian looked at them from afar and sighed, before he dragged Lan Wangji to his favorite game, Donkey Kong.
"Let's see if you can beat me in this game..." Wei Wuxian pulled a bunch of coins and put it on top of the machine.
"Is that a challenge, Wei Ying?" Lan Wangji stood closer to him, to observe at first.
The closeness of Lan Wangji, did not help Wei Wuxian's cause at all, more likely he was getting distracted by the other's scent. It was a unique blend of the fresh air of the sea, leather and something purely Lan Wangji. A sinful combination which made him salivate.
After showing Lan Wangji how to play, they got on with the game. He realized that this bad boy was exceptionally competitive. When Wuxian lost for the third time at the beginner's level, he just threw his hands up in the air, frustrated, sticking his tongue out at Wangji. It was not helping that the latter only watched once and was already mastering the game so flawlessly, making the former groan.
"You suck!" Wuxian pouted.
Wangji laughed at his antics and quipped, "Why? Because I am winning?"
"It's not fair at all!" Wuxian whined and then smacked Wangji playfully. The other continued laughing, his eyes crinkling at the ends. He then poked Wuxian's arm.
"I saw a claw machine back there with plushies inside. Wanna play?" Lan Wangji tilted his head in question, the laughter still very evident in his eyes.
"I'm in, but I'm not really good at it..."
"Thankfully, I'm really good at it, and I mean really really good." 
"Must everything be a competition to you?" Wei Wuxian laughed while he was dragged to the claw machine.
"Well, it ain't fun when you're not the winner. Guess I just like to see everything from the top?" Lan Wangji shrugged and put a coin into the machine.
"Stop gloating!" Wuxian laughed. "Shameless!"
Wangji grinned. "Watch me take that cute little bunny plushie for you, my bunny."
Wuxian narrowed his eyes, "I have never seen anyone so over-confident in my life."
"Let's place bets then, shall we? If I get that bunny in 3 tries, you keep the plushie and I get a reward."
"Reward for what? Gloating?" Wuxian rolled his eyes but then he smirked. "Fine! But if you lose, then what do I get?"
"Me" Wangji winked, his intentions clearly visible in his naughty eyes. When Wuxian gasped in response, he grinned and then he placed his hand on the joystick and maneuvered it. "So deal?"
Wuxian nodded in agreement.
And true to his words, he just needed two tries to get the bunny plushie. Once he had it, he presented it to Wei Wuxian in the most exaggerated way possible; kneeling down on one knee, making Wei Wuxian blush all over.
"Oh my God! Will you stop!! You're embarrassing me!" He covered his face shyly, but he still accepted the bunny.
"Now that I win, do I get my reward?" Lan Wangji smirked as he got closer to Wei Wuxian.
"What reward?"
Lan Wangji pointed at his own cheek, tapping it while puckering his lips.
"Kiss? Are you nuts Lan Zhan?"  Wei Wuxian hissed and looked around, in case someone heard them.
"Last time I checked, I'm perfectly healthy. Especially at 4 a.m." he winked and grinned wildly, "c'mon, just one kiss won't hurt anybody, no one's here anyway." He moved closer still, until Wei Wuxian relented. He shyly moved his face closer to Lan Wangji's cheek and prepared to land a peck on it, when Lan Wangji turned his head at that precise time. So instead of his cheek. the kiss landed on his lips.
The kiss lasted no more than 3 seconds, but it was enough to turn Wei Wuxian completely red.
"I knew you were gonna do that!" He slapped Lan Wangji's arm, while the other laughed and gathered Wei Wuxian in his arms and put a kiss on top of his head.
"Now, we're even. Let's find the others before they call the cops on us."
 
Ning quickly made his way to the bowling alley. After trying to play referee between his friends, he needed to do something physical. Bowling seemed like the best option.
He wore the bowling shoes provided by the guy at the counter and then walked to one of the free lanes. He grabbed a bowling ball, took the pose to let go when he heard a commotion at one of the other lanes. He tried to ignore it since it was none of his business anyway.
 Then he heard a girl's angry tone, and his curiosity got the best of him. He replaced the ball in its place and then walked over. He was trying to take a peek when he caught the girl's eyes, and his breath caught.
She was a pretty girl, but not in a conventional way, more like... way out of his level of normal. She was slim built, with long dark hair tied in a high bun, and she wore a red plaid shirt, tied on her toned abs, with low riding cut off shorts and cowboy boots. But the most distinguished feature of hers was not the face or the body or the clothes. It was her tattoos. She had a ton of designs snaking around her body.
Ning was slack-jawed, in awe of the girl in front of him. She walked over to where he was standing and pulled him close by his collar.
 Ning found out right then and there, that he actually had a kink for being manhandled. By a girl nonetheless.
"Sorry," she said, "but I have to decline your offer. You see, I already have a boyfriend." She put her arm around him and gave him a side hug, and then moved closer to give him a peck on the cheek. "Hi, baby." She winked.
He was taken aback by her action, but he saw her eyes literally begging him to play along. Judging by the situation, he got it right away that she was being harassed by the man.
"You mean this... is your boyfriend?" The man scoffed and looked at Ning as if he was some kind of pest. "C'mon, you can do better, baby. Look at me, I'm rich, handsome and I can give you everything you'll ever want."
Ning looked at the girl, then at the man, and then back to the girl again.
"I'm sorry, but she's taken. I suggest you back off." He circled his hand around the girl's waist and pulled her closer, making the girl squeak softly.
"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? Do you know who I am?" The man moved threateningly towards them.
"I don't know who you are, but I know that I'm the one who's gonna kick your ass if you don't back up like.. right now." Ning was trying to act how he thought Lan Wangji would act in a situation like this, hoping that it was intimidating enough.
"Oh yeah? How are you gonna kick my ass? I could beat you up and throw you away like a rag doll."
"You see as much as I would like to beat you up, we are in an arcade and I do not think they would appreciate violence in their premises. So, let's settle it with a round of bowling." Ning pointed at the bowling ball in his hand.
The man looked at him as if he grew a second head on his shoulder. "You want to bowl instead of fight?"
Ning didn't say anything, just looked at the man while rolling his eyes. "Didn't it register in your stupid head, the first time I said it?" That made the girl beside him snicker.
"You think you can kick my ass in bowling, boy? I was a champion in the bowling league for three years!" He grabbed the nearest bowling ball, and walked to one of the lanes.
"Hey..." the girl grabbed Ning's arm when they were out of the other's hearing. "I... I'm sorry I caused you trouble, but you can leave now if you want... I don't want to put you into trouble anymore than this..." she bit her lip as she considered her options.
"What's your name?"
"What..?" She looked confused by Ning's question.
"My name is Wen Ning, you can call me Ning. I guess if we're going to pretend to be a couple, the least I should know is your name... right?"
"I.. uh..right... my name is Luo Qingyang, but you can call me Mianmian."
"Hi, Mianmian, nice to meet you. So, let's kick some ass!" He grabbed a bowling ball, and his heart soared when he heard Mianmian's laugh. He offered his hand to her, and she took it before they both walked to where the man was waiting impatiently.
"I thought you were already running away with your tail between your legs, but here you are, like some kind of knight in shining armor." He scoffed.
"I'm not going anywhere before we kick some ass." He looked at Qingyang again then looked back at the arrogant man. "So, how are we gonna do this? Two out of three?"
"Bet your ass I can beat you in all three."
"We'll see about that, won't we?"
The match was over in precisely 30 minutes with Ning winning all the rounds. He heard Luo Qingyang cheer for him. He walked back to where she was the man following him as if to attack. Qingyang was so delighted with Wen Ning that she kissed him full in the mouth. The sudden kiss made him dizzy with unidentified feelings, which in turn made him drop his ball which he was holding. It was the cursing that took him out of his stupor. 
The almost 2 kilograms of bowling ball which he had dropped a while ago in surprise had landed on the man's foot. The man screamed murder and was about to hit Ning, when they heard the familiar voice behind them.
"What's going on here?"
The man spun his head towards the sound so fast that Wen NIng thought he would get whiplash.
"Lan Wangji. Of all the places..." he sounded nervous.
"Jin Zixun, what a coincidence." Wangji walked closer and looked at Ning, the girl, and Zixun, and quickly assessed the situation. "I take it you've met my friends here? Wen Ning and.." he signaled to the girl.
"Luo Qingyang" Ning provided.
"Call me Mian Mian." The girl greeted him.
"Mian Mian." He put his arm around Ning. "Wen Ning here is Qing's little brother. I take it you know Qing? She's out there somewhere, shopping, and in a good mood. Imagine what will happen if she finds out that you're... harassing her brother? Mm? I wouldn't want to be in your shoes." He looked horrified.
Jin Zixun paled. Besides Lan Wangji, he was very afraid of Qing's temperament. She had once hit his car's windshield with her helmet, cracking it beyond repair, but he could do nothing about it since she was Lan Wangji's best friend. Lan Wangji was not one to be messed with, plus his uncle, Jin Guangshan, had very specifically told him never to mess with the Lans. And not to mention it was his fault that Wen Qing lost her cool like that, by groping her then-girlfriend without consent.
He looked around, as if afraid of Qing's sudden appearance, then half-ran, half-limped outside.
"One day, I'll get back to you, Lan Wangji! Just remember that!"
"Tch, always a drama queen." Lan Wangji tutted and pulled Wei Wuxian closer, inhaling his fresh scent. "Mm, I need this after the smell of shit just now."
Wei Wuxian pushed him away, slapping his arm, "Shameless!" he admonished. Wuxian looked at Ning, then at the girl.
"Hi there, I'm Wei Wuxian, and this is Lan Wangji, we're Ning's friends. And you are...? He tilted his head in question.
"Hi, I'm Luo Qingyang. My friends call me Mian Mian. Thanks to your friend here, I could teach a lesson to that jerk. He just couldn't take no for an answer!" She looked disgusted.
"Oh that scum of the earth has been a bully forever. He bullies me from time to time." Wuxian shrugged.
"Not anymore," Wangji supplied.
"Not anymore," Wuxian agreed, smiling up at the man beside him. "Lan Zhan here just needs to exist and all the bullies quake in fear. Isn't he awesome?" Wuxian said proudly.
"Indeed!" Qingyang smiled. "Hey, let me do something for you guys. I feel really bad for bothering you guys like that." She bowed her head deeply to express her gratitude.
"It's really not needed. We did what anyone else would have done in our place."
"Seriously guys. Actually,  I recently opened a tattoo shop. If you guys want to get a tattoo ever, I will do it for you, free of charge!" She smiled. "That's the least I can do after all the trouble."
"It's alright, Mian Mian. We do not mind helping a pretty lady like you." Wuxian smiled at her, making Wangji narrow his eyes slightly. Just then Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang walked towards them.
"Oh look my other friends are here as well." Wen Ning said.
While the others were busy making introductions, Wangji quietly pulled Wuxian towards him again and whispered in his ears, "You better not flirt with anyone, Wei Ying."
Wuxian looked confused for a second and then his eyes widened as he whispered back, "Uh, do you like Mian Mian, Lan Zhan?"
Lan Wangji looked at him incredulously and then as a punishment he nipped his earlobe. The sting, sharp but not too painful.
"Ouch!" Wuxian exclaimed and rubbed his ears, blushing.
The sudden sound made everyone look at them so to take the attention away from his blushing bunny, Wangji walked over to Ning and play-punched Ning's shoulder. "So, Ning, you sly dog, you keep a girl this pretty only to yourself, huh?"
Wen Ning stuttered for a moment before he responded, "Uh, we just met, literally 30 minutes ago..."
"Telling lies now, are we?" Wuxian tut-tutted at him.
Luo Qingyang laughed and said, "Actually he's telling the truth. We actually met half-an-hour ago. Ning beat that horrendous man in 3 rounds of bowling matches."
Everyone looked at him proudly. "I didn't know you bowled, Ning." Nie Huaisang said excitedly.
"Umm, i just practiced a lot, I suppose..."
Wuxian looked at him and then looked at Lan Wangji. "Look at you Ning! You beat Jin Zixun in a game which he has always won and then you say, it's because you just practiced? Wow, very nice." He moved a little closer to Ning's ear and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Hey, could you teach this man here," he pointed towards Wangji, "how to be a little humble and not brag about his wins? He's so competitive all the time. It would do him good to learn humility."
Wangji looked at him, an eyebrow raised in quiet challenge. Wuxian knew that the little comment had earned him some sort of punishment but he would think about that later. He just couldn't help take a jibe at the bad boy. He smiled sweetly trying to feign innocence and moved back to Lan Wangji's side. Wangji immediately pulled him closer, pinching his waist slightly, making Wuxian jump but he suppressed the yelp that had almost slipped out of his mouth.
"Regretting it already?" Wangji whispered.
"Maybe..." Wuxian laughed nervously, eyes lowered in submission.
"By the way, please do come by my tattoo studio. As I said, it would be free of charge for you all."
"Oh I want a tattoo!!" Huaisang exclaimed.
Everyone laughed.
"Wait a minute!" Luo Qingyang uttered. "I suddenly realised that Lan Wangji said you're Wen Qing's younger brother?"
Wen Ning looked at her then, "Do you know my sister?"
"Of course! I did her first tattoo." She grinned.
"Small world..." Wen Ning said.
"In fact we're going to meet Wen Qing and my sister now." Wuxian said. "You should come with us..."
"Maybe next time. I need to get back to my shop." Luo Qingyang said. "You'll come to my shop sometime, right?" She asked everyone but her eyes lingered on Wen Ning.
"Of course!" He replied quietly.