Best Friend Date (Xichen) [COMPLETED]

Xichen was happy today was Thursday because he was desperately curious to find out more about this friend Mingjue had made. He'd never heard about Mingjue making friends. He thought about barraging Mingjue with texts, but by the time he looked at his phone, it was already morning and he would be seeing his friend soon enough anyway.

He had gotten the message that Mingjue was going to be early, but he had been studying in the library and lost track of time until there was only about ten minutes before their meeting time. He rushed to pack up and headed to the cafe. He ordered some tea and a sandwich before looking around for where Mingjue had sat, finding him easily and dropping his stuff off at the table across from the other man. "Hello." Xichen said simply, giving him a smile. He held up a finger as if to say 'hold that thought' as his ordered was called, and returned a minute later with food and drink in tow.

He set it down on the table and sat down, giving Mingjue a sly smile, "I hope you're well." He began, not giving Mingjue time to answer before adding, "I'd like to know all about this new friend."

Xichen gave his friend a knowing smile, "Oh really? It seems like you found another person who enjoys spending time with you. But you know," he wiggled a finger teasingly at Mingjue, "making friends really isn't supposed to be confusing." He leaned back, letting out a sigh as he thought over his week. "Oh, you know, the usual, don't seem to have time to think outside of school work. I was working on it before coming here and almost ended up late, so sorry about that." He said, adding the apology as an afterthought.

"I suppose so." Xichen replied lightheartedly.

"Those people just weren't worthy of being your friends." He said matter-of-factly. He was trying to keep the conversation light, but he knew what Mingjue meant. His friend had been through a lot over the years, and it was only natural to become suspicious of someone after being betrayed over and over by people you thought were friends.

He smiled and nodded, "Yes, I'd like to meet him if he ends up being close with you. Maybe we can all hang out together."

He looked off into the distance as he tried to think of the last time he had seen his little brother. "I think it's actually been a little over... two-ish weeks since we last saw each other in person. He seems to be doing alright. He got a new roommate in his dorm recently, but I think that's going to go just fine for him." He said, smiling a bit at the memory of that conversation. "Seems like he's been keeping busy, too. I should probably try to find time to meet up with him again at some point..." He said, rambling by the end.

"Oh?" Xichen chirped, raising an eyebrow, "You just met and already have plans to meet again? That sounds like friendship to me." He said approvingly. "It also sounds like you two hit it off and have at least one thing in common, which is good." He added. He had little interest in cars, and so he was happy Mingjue found someone else to talk with about them.

He frowned slightly as the conversation was directed toward him, and let out a small sigh. "I have two teachers that suddenly decided to make massive projects count for over half our grade, and although I did not slack on doing them, they are due soon and I feel like I was not given enough time. I feel bad for the people that have procrastinated until now. But no, I've been grabbing food and eating in my room, which does not make Uncle happy, but he understood when I started that graduate school would demand my time and I would have to make some sacrifices. I'm hoping once these projects are over with I will have more time again, but based on these teacher's track records, I'm going to have very a study intensive semester..." He explained, punctuating his conversation with another, more tired sigh. He added as an afterthought, "I will probably message him after I leave you to set up a day to meet up on campus. I understand why he wanted to live in the dorms, but I miss my didi because of it."

"The joys of grad school, I suppose." Xichen said, forced cheerfulness obvious enough to show he was being sarcastic.

He liked talking about Mingjue making a new friend much more than talking about school, because when he thought about school, he became stressed. His smile faltered at Mingjue mentioning this new friend losing interest in a few weeks. "Since it's happened before, it's hard to trust the part of you that says it won't happen this time. That's understandable, and you should tackle those feelings head on." He knew talking about feelings was never Mingjue's strong point, but he figured he'd give the advice anyway. He only hoped this new friend wouldn't prove him right and get bored and leave him after a few weeks. Nothing better to harden a heart than to prove anxieties true, after all.

His smile returned at the offer to eat dinner together. "I would really love that." He said softly. He always loved spending time with Mingjue, and for as much as Huaisang was a strange kid, he was still cute, and at this point almost felt like a second little brother. "Once I make plans with Wangji, I'll let you know when a few good days will be, and see if it fits your schedule."

Xichen let out a soft laugh and nodded, "Alright, that's fair." He agreed.

He smiled at Mingjue and nodded in agreement, "I am also relieved to get to spend more time with you. It's always nice."

"Hmm, in that case, I think it would be nice to stop by at least a few nights if it's alright. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I have classes until about 6pm, which would be the perfect time to then have dinner at a friends' house, don't you think?"

He sometimes wondered if it would inconvenience Mingjue to let him move in with him, but of everyone currently living in the Lan household, besides his uncle, he was probably the most used to the rules of the house, though he could stand to argue Uncle could have handled his parent's death, and especially Wangji's reaction, in more than one lifetime. Besides, he had already stayed at home for his entire college career, now that he was in grad school, shouldn't he be like the others and branch out of his comfort zone? Not that Mingjue's house was necessarily out of his comfort zone, but it was definitely something he had never tried before. But to ask to move in was just plain rude.

Xichen felt flustered at the offer, as despite it not being an invitation to flat out move in, being offered the extra key sure felt like an offer to move in. "Well, if I wouldn't be imposing on you or Huaisang, I definitely wouldn't mind taking you up on the offer. Even though Uncle lives close, you live closer, and sometimes I end up studying until ridiculous o'clock and then still have to drive home. Which, Uncle does not appreciate because no matter how quiet I am when I get home, it is apparently still too loud." He laughed lightly, "I cannot win, I suppose."