Wei Ying munched on a packet of vegetable crisps...the carrot ones weren't bad, but he would never, ever admit that to Lan Zhan, in fear of his "bonus" activities being cut short. Then again, Lan Zhan enjoyed those just as much, so it was most likely a baseless fear...

He was working on the twelfth design of their collection, a quirky number with pleats and stylized draping, an off the shoulder piece, and already imagining it on the model in question, Wei Ying felt a burst of pride.

Now that the awful threat of not being able to work in New York City as a designer in his own right was over, Wei Ying would get up in the morning with an extra jump in his step, the sparkle in his eyes only growing bigger by the second. Alright, his morning started way later than everyone else's, but then he worked very late into the early morning, so it all balanced out.

Their carefully designed outfits hung in plastic covers off a steel rail in the corridor, and the one Wei Ying was working on now would soon join them. Just the colours were to die for, with rich ruby reds, fiery oranges and sunshiny yellows. Yellow was a hard colour to use unless it was placed just so, a splash here, a dash there, ready to make other colours shine...but Wei Ying had taken it a step further by letting the other colours orbit the sun.

He rolled up the empty plastic bag and lobbed it into the recycling sack Wen Qing had hung under a basketball ring, just to get him to throw away his rubbish.

His headphones were currently working through a playlist on some app, trying to choose music for their show, while he sketched some other designs. But now, his thoughts were wandering...what if he tweaked this a little bit here, and cut out this part entirely...this could be a beautiful dress for a slightly bigger woman. In fact, it could dress someone with a taller frame, protruding hips and a strong shoulderline.

He ripped open another bag of beetroot chips, just as Lan Zhan walked in, who eyed the packet in his hands, gave him a longer look that started at his lips and travelled all the way down to his toes, and blazed with an intensity that burned by the time gold clashed with silver again. Lan Zhan held up his forefinger, and disappeared. He returned a few minutes later with more packets of the snacks...looking mighty pleased with himself.

Wei Ying grinned and pulled off his headphones, kissing him in greeting and accepting the snacks. Lan Zhan's ears were already a dark shade of pink.

"Did you go up there just to get me more snacks, my love?" He whispered against  plump lips.

"Mn."

"Liar! You totally went to check on the ice cream! I know you!"

Lan Zhan had been holding his upper arms; he yanked him forward and kissed him hard again, just for being right.

"Lan Zhan...don't kill me, but I just had another idea." Wei Ying stepped back and showed him his sketchbook.

Lan Zhan stared at it for just a second.

"Wei Ying wants to do another collection."

"Yes, ahuh, we want to do another collection...but it won't be separate, it'll be a part of this one, but we want to take our art to another level. We want to appeal to the LGBTQ community, we want larger models, shorter models, you name it, any wierd body shapes, and we want them...what do you say?"

"Can we complete on time?"

Wei Ying loved the fact that he didn't say no, not off the bat.

"It's gonna be tight, but I believe we can!"

"Alright."

"Alright? Not gonna try and talk me out of it?" He grinned, sidling up to Lan Zhan and winking.

Lan Zhan choked. Wei Ying was a walking grenade of temptation, and these past few weeks, it was a miracle they had gotten anything done at all. Lan Zhan had had to exercise superhuman control.

"Wei Ying is always right." He said, tightly, as Wei Ying stalked him.

"I love you." Wei Ying tested again, hoping this time Lan Zhan would reciprocate.

There was a panicked look in his eyes before Wen Qing chose that moment to interrupt.

"How's it going?" She beamed at Wei Ying, but realised immediately that she'd walked in on something, as Lan Zhan fled hastily up the back stairs. She saw the crushing disappointment on Wei Ying's face and understood what had happened.

"I'm sorry! We had a lull and I thought, let me just stick my head around the corner."

"It's not your fault...I thought for sure he was going to saying this time!" Wei Ying slumped into his chair, trying not to cry.

"Still no luck, huh champ?" She sympathised.

"Well...the thing is," Wei Ying beckoned her closer and lowered his voice. "I've been thinking really hard...I want to get married."

She squealed so loudly, Wei Ying had to clamp his hand around her mouth.

"Shhh! I don't want to say anything, in case I jinx it."

"Jinx what?"

"I want Lan Zhan to ask me."

"What for?"

"To marry him, if I'll do it." Wei Ying let go of her and his face in his arms, resting it on the table in front of him. "But if he can't even tell me he loves me...he's never going to propose..." His bottom lip trembled.

Wen Qing smacked the back of his head.

"Ow! You really gotta stop doing that!"

"Then don't be an idiot! What's wrong with your mouth? Why can't you ask him?"

"Huh?"

"Why. Does. He. Have. To. Ask. You?" She enunciated, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Because...b-because...it's traditional?" He ended lamely.

"No, dummy! You're both men, either of you can do it. And even that tradition has gone out of the window. I've seen plenty of women on YouTube proposing!"

She stared him down.

"I dunno...I mean...what if he says no.."

She smacked his head again.

Wei Ying rubbed the place and pointedly moved his chair out of reach.

"Do you love him?"

Wei Ying nodded, pouting.

"Does he love you?"

"I think so."

"Then what's the problem?" She demanded.

"Alright...you're right...you're absolutely right..." Wei Ying rubbed his sweaty and veggie chip hands on his jeans. "I should ask, right? Because I should ask for what I want, right?"

"That's right!" She came around the sewing machine and he cowered back, closing his eyes tightly, but she wrapped him in a fierce hug. "Congratulations, Didi...you're finally growing up." Her eyes were wet when she moved away. "So what are you going to do for rings, then?"

Wei Ying's eyes widened in a panic.

"Oh my God...what should I do about rings..."

"I can totally come with you to buy them."

"No...I want...I want to design my own." Wei Ying said, suddenly. This, he was sure of.

"Will you have time?" She asked him dubiously.

"Yeah..." Wei Ying pulled out a sheaf of blank papers and got to work. Within minutes, he had a workable design.

"I like it!" Wen Qing hummed her approval.

There was the noise of footsteps on the stairs and Wei Ying quickly shoved these papers under another pile.

Lan Zhan poked his head around the corner.

"Lunchtime!"

********

The days passed quickly, from the holidays to January to February. Now with only a week to go, Wei Ying had had a visitor come and deliver a very special order. Wei Ying had already taken it out of the packaging and the little velvet box was now burning a hole in his left pocket.

He thought about asking Lan Zhan whenever he saw him, but Wei Ying was the best at chickening out of things he was unsure about, and this one teensy weensy job was getting on his nerves.

It hadn't helped that Lan Zhan was being extra weird lately, either.

Every time they ate, Wei Ying thought to himself, this is the day, this is the day I'm going to ask him...and then invariably, he wouldn't and the box was getting hotter and heavier where it was snug and warm and not on the outside.

One evening after dinner, they were sitting on their couch watching a comedy show, when Lan Zhan turned to face him. Wei Ying had been leaning all over him, so this was quite rude in a way, and unsettling in another. He had a serious look on his face too, and for a moment, Wei Ying wondered if he'd done anything wrong.

And then he thought, oh my God, he's going to say it now...sweat broke out on his palms and he tried to smile but nerves made it look more like a grimace.

"Wei Ying?"

"Ah...ahuh...yes?" His mind was already tripping, the many vast scenarios that had plagued his thoughts running non-stop in a loop and he could see Lan Zhan's mouth working and the sounds that came out...were not what he expected.

"Could you...could you repeat that?" Wei Ying shook his head, trying to clear out the extra noise.

"Do you remember our first collection?"

That was odd...Wei Ying wasn't expecting shop talk.

"Don't you mean, your first collection? The one with your name in the title, right?"

"But it was really ours...Wei Ying helped so much, joint is better."

"Okay, okay...yes, what about it?" Wei Ying waved his hand trying to physically get rid of the semantics.

"We...celebrated."

Uh oh...he wasn't going to ask about... Wei Ying blushed a deep bright red, which Lan Zhan took note of.

"What happened?"

Oh dear Lord...he wanted to know...what could Wei Ying say? This was humiliating and embarrassing and God! Wei Ying wanted the couch to open up and swallow him whole...anything to avoid answering that question.

"Er...I need water-" he stood up but Lan Zhan had snagged his wrist and already was yanking him down into his lap.

Now both his wrists were trapped and Wei Ying was squirming under that intense golden gaze.

"Tell. Me."

"I don't want to." Wei Ying closed his eyes, trying to protect himself. He swallowed hard, still trying to twist away.

"Please?" Lan Zhan sighed sadly. "I have no memory of that night, except...except..."

Except going out to a karaoke bar and accidentally drinking Wei Ying's drink...and that was it.

"Did I...did I do something...something bad?"

Wei Ying's eyes snapped open at that.

"You...y-you could never..." He whispered vehemently.

"But then...why does...why does Wei Ying not want to say?" He looked so lost...and Wei Ying felt worse.

"It's not...it wasn't you, okay?" He rested his forehead against the strong chest, bowing his head.

"Then?"

Wei Ying felt Lan Zhan lean down and kiss his hair.

He made up his mind.

"Okay...showing you is better than saying...I can't...Lan Zhan...I can't!"

"Mn. Go ahead."

"Only if you close your eyes."

"Mn." Lan Zhan couldn't believe it. Finally, after three years, he was going to find out what happened between them. He shut his eyes.

"You passed out...and everyone started to leave one by one...and then we were alone." Wei Ying remembered that bar. Its dark purple and blue lighting barely lit the room, only the bright white words as they scrolled up providing a surreal look in the room, those buttoned couches so inviting, and he had drunk so much, not really in any state to go home...

And Lan Zhan had looked so hot, with that pout on his face, and that stubborn look in his eyes when he had woken up, and Wei Ying had been lost...lost in that ethereal beauty...

He leaned forward now and captured a single hot lip, exploring, tasting, feeling the softness cushioning his tongue as he lapped around it, pulling with his teeth until they opened and their tongues danced to a fiery song, all hotness and heat, need filling every pore. His lips had slid down to that ivory collar bone and he bit down, then as well as now, wanting to leave a mark, something of himself as a gift...

He didn't know who moaned but suddenly he was flat on his back with his shirt ripped off, and a wild Lan Zhan looking down at him.

"That's what happened?"

"That's what happened." Wei Ying confirmed.

"And we didn't do this?" Those long elegant fingers traced a path from his Adam's apple along his collar bone, infinitely slow and precise, and Wei Ying felt a trail of fire burning where his finger touched, from his chest, tracing the cage of his ribs until that single digit reached his waistline.

And stopped.

"Lan Zhaaan!" It was a breathy moan...

"Answer the question."

Wei Ying was almost past remembering what he had asked, this was so hot and he felt like he was burning up.

"No...no...I remember thinking I didn't..." what? What had he thought?

The finger slid inside....and waited.

"Didn't...couldn't take advantage of you...you were completely plastered." Wei Ying panted out, nearly dying from the effort.

Lan Zhan felt so much better then. All this time, he had been uselessly beating himself up...and all they had done was kiss....

He bent down so his lips were right next to Wei Ying's ear.

"You shouldn't have stopped." And then he bit down on his lobe.

Suffice to say, the next few hours were busy.

********

Monday the twelfth of February was D day.

It was a cold morning but the sun was out as they made their way to the New York Met. Theirs was going to be the first show and already the hype had started. Reporters were pretending to be customers at their shop, trying to get the lowdown on any gossip, and the fashion world was ablaze at the possible split between the second Jade and the House of Lan.

They were torn between wanting to report on the actual fashion and the buzz they were generating with their clothes, or the scandal regarding the fashion house.

Uncle Qiren had gone into seclusion, although Wei Ying called it hiding, privately to Wen Qing. Of course, and since Lan Zhan had already left them, this put House of Lan in a difficult position and they withdrew from that Runway show.

Any major house not taking part in the seasonal runways was talked about, and not in a good light, as reporters and critics alike began to speculate on what could have caused their low point.

Wei Ying was determined not to think about anything else but the show; he packed up the Singer machine in its case and everything he thought he could possibly need, saving one last look at his messy room.

Wen Qing had decided to close for the day, it being so important to all of them, and even Wen Ning had taken a day off to join them.

Lan Zhan was super focused on today's show. This one, their debut as WeiLan Creations was going to set the ball rolling for their brand, and they needed it to succeed. Today was going to be full of surprises, hopefully all good ones. Two interns had approached them from the House of Lan, Lan SiZhui and Lan JingYi, hoping to join their new company, and Wei Ying was already excited.

All their items and equipment, their collection and models were delivered through the back door, but both Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were told to come back through the front, so they could participate in the Red carpet event. Lan Zhan had forgotten how awful it felt to be the sole focus of the reporters and their flashing lights, the barrage of questions, many intrusive and misleading.

Yet Wei Ying handled it like a pro, efficiently and with a touch of humour, leading the attention back to their clothes. Lan Zhan could only look at him with awe, admiring how he had the paparazzi eating out of his palm.

Both were wearing sharp suits designed by themselves for each other. Wei Ying had dressed Lan Zhan in an immaculate white suit with a pale blue shirt and silver tie with a silver pocket square. On the lapels, a single row of rhinestones caught the light for added sparkle. His cufflinks were in the shape of blue lotus flowers, also hand made for this special occasion.

Lan Zhan went for the dramatic look; Wei Ying was dressed in a smart black suit with a scarlet silk shirt, piped in black edging. His tie was also black but his pocket square was half red and half black, and Lan Zhan couldn't wait to rip that shirt from him either...but Wei Ying liked that one, so he might have to exercise patience. Not like he hadn't already, because Wei Ying looked good enough to eat...

They were led into the gala and were made to mingle with other rich and famous people, and despite not many people knowing who exactly they were, the way they looked brought them plenty of attention.

And then it was time.

Surrounded by many priceless works of art, WeiLan Creations started their debut. Hot, pounding music blared from the speakers and lights changed colours, cameras flashed and the audience gasped. Tickets to this event had been highly sought after, and only prominent spectators were able to afford the front line seats.

Backstage, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were busy preparing the final touches of their outfits as each model underwent a change and strode out confidently. It was insane how many people were needed to make sure everything went off without a hitch. Make up artists and hair stylists, the interns they had hired, and then the models themselves, plus Lan Zhan had secured a famous trash magazine to come and cover the Behind the Scenes moments, so in between the camera flash here as well, Wei Ying was answering in depth questions about his inspiration, and without thinking or perhaps this was floating around in the back of his mind, but he answered, "Strawberry ice cream."

The reporter hadn't missed a beat, jotting it down before he could change his mind, but just then, a concealed dress zip broke and he'd had to fly in like superman to fix it.

Right at the end, all the models went on stage and it was their turn to take a bow. They were still backstage, and their names were being called, and Wei Ying blurted out, "I love you."

Golden fire erupted as Lan Zhan pulled him into a scorching kiss before they had to run onto the stage and take a bow. The audience roared their approval, giving them a standing ovation.

Wei Ying looked out across the sea of guests who had come to attend their first show, and he saw Lan XiChen sitting openly in the front row, tears in his eyes. Wei Ying broke away from the crowd and pulled Lan Zhan towards him, smiling with unshed tears as the brothers hugged.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning came and hugged Wei Ying next, offering their congratulations, when a big booming laugh caught their attention. They looked over to see Nie MingJue with Xue Yang, laughing at something the unstable one had said. Of course, eyebrows were raised.

The after party was wild with champagne overflowing and a chocolate fountain. They mingled, they charmed and had a blast. Lan Zhan was content to just watch Wei Ying be the spokesperson for their brand, and by the end of the evening, they had pre-orders in spades.

Wei Ying was exhausted by the end of the night, and one look at the revellers told him this party was far from finished.

"I'm getting old, Lan Zhan!" He wailed on their way out. "Any other time, I would have stayed later than this lot."

Lan Zhan gave him a tired laugh, pulling him closer to kiss his hair. They walked outside, letting the cold air chase away the high from the show, and found themselves in Times Square. The brightness of the adverts, one after another made it seem like daylight, and Lan Zhan pulled him over to sit on an empty bench.

"Lan Zhaaan! Please...can we go home? I'm so tired." Wei Ying pouted.

"Soon." Lan Zhan pulled him closer.

It was still cold in New York City, and their breath came out in little puffs of steam.

Suddenly, the bright lights on the LED screens went out, completely black, before they turned an inky blue and silver stars twinkled to life. Lan Zhan pointed at a shooting star.

"Make a wish, Wei Ying."

Wei Ying grabbed his hand and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Lan Zhan was smiling at him, holding a velvet box in his palm.

"Will Wei Ying honour me with marriage?"

Wei Ying stared at him, not quite sure if this was a dream...or if he was hallucinating...maybe because he had been thinking about it so much, his mind had conjured up these images...

But his eyes filled with tears and he threw himself at Lan Zhan, crying.

"What does Wei Ying say?" Lan Zhan held him tightly, too many emotions crowding in his mind, yet his ears were thirsty for one word.

"Are you really asking me? I mean...I'm not...this isn't a dream, right?" He sobbed.

"Not a dream." Lan Zhan leaned away from him so he could kiss him, kiss those tears away.

Then he took Wei Ying's hand in his and looked at him, waiting for permission. Wei Ying nodded, and a brilliant smile appeared on Lan Zhan's face, as he slid the ring on Wei Ying's third finger. He then raised his hand and kissed the ring, making Wei Ying shiver with delight.

Wei Ying remembered something then, and fished out his velvet box. Lan Zhan's eyes widened when he saw the design; it was a lotus flower on each made from brilliant blue sapphires. He looked into silver shining eyes and knew Wei Ying had designed them.

"Lan Zhan...Will you marry me?" Wei Ying whispered, earnestly staring into golden pools filled with nothing but love.

"Mn. Love Wei Ying. Will love him forever."

Wei Ying burst into happy tears at that.

                                                                The End.

A/N

And it's done!

Dear wonderful readers, thank you for going on another journey with me, thank you for your comments which have fuelled me to write more and more, and thank you for voting.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it and if you have any suggestions for the next story, please let me know in the comments, and I shall do my best, no promises.

Happy Christmas and a Happy New year!