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fandomweekly2022-07-02 12:42 pm
curiosity) wrote in fandomweekly2022-07-02 12:42 pm
Entry tags:
[#141] Icing on the Skateboard (MDZS)
.
Theme Prompt: #141 - Inspiration
Title: Icing on the Skateboard
Fandom: MDZS
Rating/Warnings: Gen, N/A
Bonus: Yup.
Word Count: 1,000 words.
Summary: Jiang Cheng just wants to read his skateboarding magazine in between selling his boss's cupcakes. The Nie brothers have questions that need answers. Sigh.
Notes: This was obviously partially inspired by SK8 the Infinity.
“Jiang-xiong!” Nie Huaisang blew through the cafe door, sending the bell overhead tinkling madly.
“Huaisang!” Nie Mingjue emerged from the kitchen, muscular arms folded over his impressive chest, scowling. “What have I told you about slamming through the door?”
“But Da-ge!” Nie Huaisang’s voice was a whine. “Wei-xiong is going to get himself and Jiang-xiong killed! This is an emergency!”
Jiang Cheng ignored them, flipping through the new issue of SK8MAG he’d laid on the freshly cleaned countertop. This was the only time he had to read and he wasn’t going to let his best friend and his boss’s hysterics distract him.
“Jiang Cheng.”
“Whatever it is, he’ll get away with it,” Jiang Cheng replied, without looking up.
“Wei-xiong wants to skate off the orchestra building’s roof and jump the faculty parking lot.” Nie Huaisang shrieked. “He’s going to kill himself!”
Jiang Cheng turned the page, drooling over vibrantly colored, graffiti-style vinyl stickers. “Yup. That’s a terrible plan.”
Nie Huaisang stomped across the stone grey and fern green linoleum tiles of the cafe floor. He snatched away the magazine.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Hey,” Jiang Cheng glared.
He removed his apron and swung himself over the counter in one graceful glide. His magazine retrieved, he rolled it up and smacked Nie Huaisang on the head with it, ignoring the shorter boy’s whining.
“Jiang Cheng.” Nie Mingjue was watching him with a raised eyebrow.
Jiang Cheng realized what he’d just done. “Sorry boss.”
Nie Mingjue shrugged. “Huaisang had it coming.”
“Hey!”
“The important question is what are you going to do about your brother?” Nie Mingjue opened the case under the countertop, pulling out one of Huaisang’s favorite cupcakes, passing it to the boy without another word.
His baby brother took the cupcake and claimed one of the booths, licking sour plum icing as he went.
“It’s hard to believe he’s the same age as you,” Nie Mingjue muttered. “He acts ten, not twenty-four.”
Jiang Cheng shrugged, then turned the full force of pleading eyes and a pout on his boss. The beleaguered baker responded by clutching his chest and staggering back a step, before he rolled his own eyes and pulled out another cupcake. Sweet lotus paste filling, with sugared violets nestled on a powder sugar-covered crown.
He could only roll his eyes again as his employee tucked the skating magazine in the waistband of worn jeans and then pounced on the treat.
“What are you going to do about your brother?”
Jiang Cheng scowled, powdered sugar on his lips. “Why is it my job? He’s older. He’s supposed to be the responsible one. It doesn’t matter. Dad’s going to blame me. Mom’s going to blame him. He’ll laugh it off and forget about it ten seconds later, while I’ll be angry for weeks.”
“Jiang Cheng.” Nie Mingjue looked concerned
“It’s fine,” Jiang Cheng snapped, then blushed. “Sorry. There’s nothing to be done about it. Wei Wuxian doesn’t listen to me. He’s the better skater anyway. If he thinks he can do it, he probably can. If not, it’s only because I’m dragging him down.”
Nie Mingjue hummed. “Is that why you’ve been picking up more hours here instead of hanging out at the skate shop?”
“He hangs with Lan Wangji now,” Jiang Cheng said, sitting across from Nie Huaisang.
“That’s shitty, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said, licking the last crumbs from the paper cupcake wrapper.
“It is,” Nie Mingjue joined them, with two bottles of Lan Xichen’s artisanal rhubarb, mint, anise soda. “Drink up. Did you quit skating?”
“No,” Jiang Cheng said, popping the top off his soda and taking a swallow. His nose wrinkled as his teeth tried to crawl away from his gums. “Too much carbonation in this batch.”
“I’ll let Xichen know,” Nie Mingjue replied blandly, sliding into the booth beside his little brother. “I’m glad you haven’t quit.”
Jiang Cheng shrugged without looking at either Nie. He focused on peeling away the label of the soda bottle instead.
“I’m playing the erhu again, since he only plays his stupid dizi with Lan Wangji’s guqin these days. And I took up swimming again, too, since all he does is skate with Lan Wangji.”
“You sound like a boyfriend that got ghosted, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang observed, sipping his own bottle of soda and making the same expression.
“Yeah, well. Jiejie’s gone. Wei Wuxian is always gone. It’s just me in the house with my parents, these days.”
The Nie brothers exchanged another glance. Having a silent conversation with their eyebrows and twitches of the elder Nie’s mustache.
Nie Mingjue spoke slowly, watching Jiang Cheng carefully. “Do you want the apartment over the cafe?”
Jiang Cheng looked up from his soda bottle. “What?”
“There’s an apartment over the cafe. Bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom,” Nie Mingjue explained. “I was using it for an office before the kitchen remodel was done. Now I just go up there once a week to clean.”
Jiang Cheng looked at Nie Huaisang, as if expecting him to say this was a joke. “And you’d let me have it? How? I can’t afford rent. I’m paying for my own tuition with what I make here.”
“What?” The Nie brothers spoke in tandem.
“I failed one chemistry lab. Mom cut my tuition,” Jiang Cheng looked down. “I sold my sneaker collection to pay for last semester. The financial aid office is letting me do a payment plan.”
Nie Huaisang slapped both his hands on the fern green formica table. “Why didn’t you SAY something, Jiang-xiong?”
Jiang Cheng wore a derisive smirk. “I felt like a failure." He paused. "I feel like a failure. I just couldn’t handle being asked what I’m going to do about Wei Wuxian one more time.”
“You should have come to us,” Nie Huaisang declared. “But we’ll help now.”
Jiang Cheng looked back and forth between them.
Wei Wuxian blew into the cafe. "Jiang Cheng! So this is where you've been hiding! I have a great idea!"
Theme Prompt: #141 - Inspiration
Title: Icing on the Skateboard
Fandom: MDZS
Rating/Warnings: Gen, N/A
Bonus: Yup.
Word Count: 1,000 words.
Summary: Jiang Cheng just wants to read his skateboarding magazine in between selling his boss's cupcakes. The Nie brothers have questions that need answers. Sigh.
Notes: This was obviously partially inspired by SK8 the Infinity.
“Jiang-xiong!” Nie Huaisang blew through the cafe door, sending the bell overhead tinkling madly.
“Huaisang!” Nie Mingjue emerged from the kitchen, muscular arms folded over his impressive chest, scowling. “What have I told you about slamming through the door?”
“But Da-ge!” Nie Huaisang’s voice was a whine. “Wei-xiong is going to get himself and Jiang-xiong killed! This is an emergency!”
Jiang Cheng ignored them, flipping through the new issue of SK8MAG he’d laid on the freshly cleaned countertop. This was the only time he had to read and he wasn’t going to let his best friend and his boss’s hysterics distract him.
“Jiang Cheng.”
“Whatever it is, he’ll get away with it,” Jiang Cheng replied, without looking up.
“Wei-xiong wants to skate off the orchestra building’s roof and jump the faculty parking lot.” Nie Huaisang shrieked. “He’s going to kill himself!”
Jiang Cheng turned the page, drooling over vibrantly colored, graffiti-style vinyl stickers. “Yup. That’s a terrible plan.”
Nie Huaisang stomped across the stone grey and fern green linoleum tiles of the cafe floor. He snatched away the magazine.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Hey,” Jiang Cheng glared.
He removed his apron and swung himself over the counter in one graceful glide. His magazine retrieved, he rolled it up and smacked Nie Huaisang on the head with it, ignoring the shorter boy’s whining.
“Jiang Cheng.” Nie Mingjue was watching him with a raised eyebrow.
Jiang Cheng realized what he’d just done. “Sorry boss.”
Nie Mingjue shrugged. “Huaisang had it coming.”
“Hey!”
“The important question is what are you going to do about your brother?” Nie Mingjue opened the case under the countertop, pulling out one of Huaisang’s favorite cupcakes, passing it to the boy without another word.
His baby brother took the cupcake and claimed one of the booths, licking sour plum icing as he went.
“It’s hard to believe he’s the same age as you,” Nie Mingjue muttered. “He acts ten, not twenty-four.”
Jiang Cheng shrugged, then turned the full force of pleading eyes and a pout on his boss. The beleaguered baker responded by clutching his chest and staggering back a step, before he rolled his own eyes and pulled out another cupcake. Sweet lotus paste filling, with sugared violets nestled on a powder sugar-covered crown.
He could only roll his eyes again as his employee tucked the skating magazine in the waistband of worn jeans and then pounced on the treat.
“What are you going to do about your brother?”
Jiang Cheng scowled, powdered sugar on his lips. “Why is it my job? He’s older. He’s supposed to be the responsible one. It doesn’t matter. Dad’s going to blame me. Mom’s going to blame him. He’ll laugh it off and forget about it ten seconds later, while I’ll be angry for weeks.”
“Jiang Cheng.” Nie Mingjue looked concerned
“It’s fine,” Jiang Cheng snapped, then blushed. “Sorry. There’s nothing to be done about it. Wei Wuxian doesn’t listen to me. He’s the better skater anyway. If he thinks he can do it, he probably can. If not, it’s only because I’m dragging him down.”
Nie Mingjue hummed. “Is that why you’ve been picking up more hours here instead of hanging out at the skate shop?”
“He hangs with Lan Wangji now,” Jiang Cheng said, sitting across from Nie Huaisang.
“That’s shitty, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said, licking the last crumbs from the paper cupcake wrapper.
“It is,” Nie Mingjue joined them, with two bottles of Lan Xichen’s artisanal rhubarb, mint, anise soda. “Drink up. Did you quit skating?”
“No,” Jiang Cheng said, popping the top off his soda and taking a swallow. His nose wrinkled as his teeth tried to crawl away from his gums. “Too much carbonation in this batch.”
“I’ll let Xichen know,” Nie Mingjue replied blandly, sliding into the booth beside his little brother. “I’m glad you haven’t quit.”
Jiang Cheng shrugged without looking at either Nie. He focused on peeling away the label of the soda bottle instead.
“I’m playing the erhu again, since he only plays his stupid dizi with Lan Wangji’s guqin these days. And I took up swimming again, too, since all he does is skate with Lan Wangji.”
“You sound like a boyfriend that got ghosted, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang observed, sipping his own bottle of soda and making the same expression.
“Yeah, well. Jiejie’s gone. Wei Wuxian is always gone. It’s just me in the house with my parents, these days.”
The Nie brothers exchanged another glance. Having a silent conversation with their eyebrows and twitches of the elder Nie’s mustache.
Nie Mingjue spoke slowly, watching Jiang Cheng carefully. “Do you want the apartment over the cafe?”
Jiang Cheng looked up from his soda bottle. “What?”
“There’s an apartment over the cafe. Bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom,” Nie Mingjue explained. “I was using it for an office before the kitchen remodel was done. Now I just go up there once a week to clean.”
Jiang Cheng looked at Nie Huaisang, as if expecting him to say this was a joke. “And you’d let me have it? How? I can’t afford rent. I’m paying for my own tuition with what I make here.”
“What?” The Nie brothers spoke in tandem.
“I failed one chemistry lab. Mom cut my tuition,” Jiang Cheng looked down. “I sold my sneaker collection to pay for last semester. The financial aid office is letting me do a payment plan.”
Nie Huaisang slapped both his hands on the fern green formica table. “Why didn’t you SAY something, Jiang-xiong?”
Jiang Cheng wore a derisive smirk. “I felt like a failure." He paused. "I feel like a failure. I just couldn’t handle being asked what I’m going to do about Wei Wuxian one more time.”
“You should have come to us,” Nie Huaisang declared. “But we’ll help now.”
Jiang Cheng looked back and forth between them.
Wei Wuxian blew into the cafe. "Jiang Cheng! So this is where you've been hiding! I have a great idea!"
no subject
And now I want a cupcake... And that rhubarb drink. *grins*
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Also I want treats now too. lotus flavored cream cupcakes....
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