Past 

"Don't stop. Keep doing what you are doing. It feels nice."

YiJun buries his face in Xian's neck and breathes him in, before bringing their lips together just like Xian had moments before. It's just a touch of lips and nothing more. He breaks the kiss in less than a second, "Xian, I love you. I want to be with you always."

"Mine," Xian says once again. There is no fear or hesitation in his voice. With force more than he has ever displayed, Xian pushes YiJun into the bed. He intertwines their fingers and settles on top of him. 

It's not something new; they have done this a million times. But then, at those times, their hearts were pure. Now things had changed; things had become more complicated. Now, their feelings were guiding their actions.

For Xian, the feeling is new, alien. He is young. YiJun, however, is older and has been feeling this way for almost a year. It was this feeling that had made him distance himself from Xian.

It was the night YiJun had turned fourteen. The boys had played around the whole day. As the day had come to an end, Xian had fallen asleep next to YiJun. No one had given it any thought. After all, it was common knowledge that the two boys were close, and Xian spending the night in the prince's chamber was a common thing. Initially, both of them had fallen asleep, but YiJun had woken up in the middle of the night and felt restless. He had looked at Xian next to him and held him in his arms. It was what YiJun always did, since the queen's passing, sometimes YiJun had had bad nights; he had felt scared and alone. During those times, he had held the younger boy and had instantly felt safe and calm. But on this particular night, as YiJun had held Xian in his arms, the feeling of restlessness had only intensified. His eyes had fallen on Xian's sleeping angelic face, and his heart had felt awkward. And without thinking, he had leaned in and kissed his friend's lips.

YiJun had instantly known that what he had done was neither moral nor ethical. He had immediately distanced himself from the sleeping boy. The thought that he may hurt the younger boy with his actions had scared the young prince. So after giving this situation a lot of thought, he had concluded that he would remove himself from Xian's life; and he had done just that. But the more he had distanced himself, the worse he had felt. The feeling of remorse and discontent had increased to such an extent that he had lost his desire to live; this was also why YiJun had started putting himself in dangerous situations. 

But now, things had changed again. Now the prince knew that Xian too wanted him the same way.

YiJun's breaths become heavy, and blood starts pooling below his stomach. He pulls Xian close and takes his lips between his own. The kiss is slow, but it's longer, more intimate. It's not just a touch of lips anymore. 

Xian lifts his head and starts kissing YiJun's neck. He removes the sash holding YiJun's garments in place and starts kissing his shoulders and chest.

'He is too young. He doesn't know any better.' YiJun's mind supplies. "Xian, stop." YiJun requests. 

Xian stops and looks at YiJun's flushed face, "Why Jun, don't you like it? I like it. I like kissing you."

YiJun sits up and once again pulls Xian in his arms, "Xian, you are too young. I want your kisses too, but I don't think Aunty Xi Xi would approve."

Hurting Xi Xi by taking advantage of Xian's innocence was another thing that had made YiJun distance himself from Xian a year ago. He knew how much his mother and Xi Xi loved and respected each other, and he couldn't bring himself to hurt her in any way.

Xian frowns, "Mother loves you. She will let me kiss you."

YiJun smiles, 'He is indeed too young and naive.'

 "Xian, you don't understand many things..."

Xian's frown deepens, "Does Jun think that Xian is stupid?"

YiJun hugs the young boy, "You are smart. Very smart. Ah!... Xian!"

Xian giggles.

"You bit me! Why?" YiJun enquires, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"Jun is mine. I can do what I want."

YiJun shakes his head, "Hmmm. True. But then, Xian is Jun's too, am I right? So, Xian has to listen to Jun too."

Xian blinks as if realizing something, "My Jun is right." He pauses and cups YiJun's face again, "Alright. No kisses. Only hugs." Xian giggles again and gets off YiJun's lap. He fixes YiJun's garments, pushes him into bed, and holds him, "Sleep, my Jun."

YiJun feels more calm and content than he has felt in a long time. He holds Xian securely in his arms and falls asleep.

Present 

 "Don't stop. Keep doing what you are doing. It feels nice."

'What!?' Wangji thinks cocking his head to aside.

Xian pouts, "Dawn, will you only kiss me when my eyes are closed?"

Wangji looks at himself, 'When did I shift????'

Dawn jumps off the bed.

"Awwwww, don't go... don't leave me... come back." Xian cribs opening his arms wide, "I promise I won't move."

Dawn doesn't move. It sits cross-legged on the floor and puts it's head down.

Xian looks at the animal with an amused look on his face; he chuckles. "Oh, so you are going to be like this now, hm? Fine then."

Xian gets off the bed and goes to the washroom, "Dawn, I think I am feeling better now. You know, your hugs are the best. I am jealous of your master."

The animal whines.

"You do have a master, right?"

Dawn ignores Xian.

"Why do I keep talking to you?" Xian wonders.

Dawn continues to ignore the talkative human.

Xian looks at Dawn one last time, "Still ignoring me, hm?" Then he closes the bathroom door.

Dawn stands up and shifts back to Wangji, 'What the hell is happening? Why is it so hard to control my shifts with him around? Is he even human? No, he is definitely human. I would have tasted it in his blood if he was different, and yet his blood... '

The bathroom door clicks; Wangji transforms into the dog, Dawn.

"I was wondering if you would like to get to know me better. Would you?"

Dawn stands up and wags its tail.

"I will take that as a yes."

Xian opens various drawers and shows it around his room. It's mostly his drawings of the Jiang family members against different backgrounds.

'Trips with his adopted family.' Wangji tells himself.

Xian shows him his medals and certificates from school and college. It's almost like Xian is trying to impress Dawn with his various talents and accomplishments. 

"Dawn, want to know a secret? Last night something happened, and I found a strange locket." Xian tells the animal.

'He remembers that he found the locket... Does he remember how?'

Xian pauses and sits on the bed, "You know... I should have known that today was going to be a bad day. In the morning, I cut myself when I tried to open it. Then something happened..."

 Xian's mind recalls the phantom touch, and his heart starts racing. Once again, the words 'Come back to your Jun.' echo in his mind. 

Wangji waits for Xian to continue, but the younger man doesn't continue. His hand comes to rest on the animal's chest. Dawn looks at Xian. Xian's face is flushed, and the now-familiar scent of Xian's arousal hits him once again.

'Damn it!!!! What is he thinking!?? If I am to keep my promise to Uncle, then I must leave right now!' Wangji thinks, before running out of Xian's room.

Xian follows the animal, "Dawn, what's wrong. Are you hungry?"

'You have no clue how hungry I am, you beautiful human!!!!.. Did I call him Beautiful!?... I need to get out of here before I do something stupid.' Wangji thinks, making his way to the door.

"Ohhhh. So you want to go out. I am so stupid. You must want to take care of your business, hm?"

'Stop smiling like that and open the fucking door!' Wangji starts scratching the door with his paws.

"Alright. Okay. Chill." Xian opens the door, and Dawn runs out, "Are you sick of me already? I thought we had something special- Hey! Come back!" Xian shouts at the animals back as it disappears from his sight.

Sighing, Xian closes the door and walks back to his room; his phone buzzes.

"A Xian, did you not go to school today?" Shijie's voice comes from the other end.

"Shijie, I was not feeling well, so I decided to skip school. But I am feeling better now. I was about to leave before you called." Xian lies, but now that he had told his sister that he would go to school, he decides to do it. He gathers his books and goes to school.

*Lan Mansion*

Dawn jumps over the gate and enters the mansion. It walks over to the main door and barks. 

Shen opens the door and tilts his head to a side, "What are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to come pick you up in the evening."

Dawn barks once, and Shen lets it in, closing the door behind him.

*Some distance away from the Lan mansion, hidden behind a bunch of thick bushes*

Officer Bai Zhau pockets the binoculars and sits back down on the small camping stool, "There is a dog???... or is it a wolf? It's too big to qualify as a dog, yet it's behaving like a dog. Shen, oh my dear Shen, since when does Lan family own a large white Dog?"

He takes out his phone and dials a number, "It's me. Something is definitely going on, but I can't be sure if it's something to do with our case or not."

Zhau listens to the speaker on the other end of the line, and his eyes widen, "I will be right there." He shakes his head and cuts the call.

"Mr. Lan, something tells me that there is more to you than what meets the eye."

 Zhau sighs and leaves.

*Inside Lan Mansion*

"Uncle, I couldn't stay. I will have to meet him somewhere, where there are more people, more scents." Wangji says, pacing back and forth in the drawing-room.

Shen looks up from the documents in front of him, "But you said he was not safe."

"I know, but I think...I feel that he will be fine for the next few hours, at least."

Shen's eyebrows knit together, "You feel?"

Wangji sits down finally. Wei Xian's words come to his mind, 'You know, dawn is my favorite time of the day...Don't stop. Keep doing what you are doing. It feels nice.'

Wangji closes his eyes, 'The first time we kissed, Xian had said those exact words to me.' 

"Uncle, the more time I spend with him, the more I feel drawn to him. Uncle, I am beginning to believe that he might just be, my Xian."

{Note:- Word count 1865

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 Have a most beautiful year.}