Finding a cab in New York City after midnight was actually easier than Lan Zhan thought, but he could not stop worrying about Wei Ying. He felt terrible that he had not been able to get in touch with him all day, despite the fact that Wei Ying had already sent him gifs and emojis to cheer him on.

But the truth was, there was no signal in the basement, and Lan Zhan wasn't sure when he would get the chance again to go looking for Wei Ying's laptop. His own was lying in his lap, and now he was thinking up other excuses to be able to search for it tomorrow...which was technically today.

He tried ringing Wei Ying's cell phone again but it was no use; either he was asleep or he was upset. Lan Zhan desperately hoped it was the former.

The cab pulled up outside Wing Fabrics, and the shutters were all the way down.

Now what?

Lan Zhan hadn't thought this far ahead. He did not have a key, something which would have to be rectified later today, and after trying the buzzer several times without success, he sat down on the step, dejected.

Wei Ying was definitely mad at him. And Wen Qing...Lan Zhan did not want to face her at all...

*******

Wen Qing had an early start. The bride from the previous day was coming to pick up her now fixed wedding dress at six am, and Wen Qing wanted to make sure everything was ready. She was running to the shop, trying not to slip on the ice that had formed from the melting snow, and also trying not to curse because of this, when she nearly had a heart attack.

There was someone sitting on their doorstep. All she could see was a shadowy person with black hair, hunched in on himself.

She looked around, hoping to ask someone for help, but the street was deserted and who was she kidding anyway? This was New York...people would sooner mind their own business than interfere with something that could backfire.

But as she got closer, she recognised the white coat and expensive shoes, neither practical for surviving the winter in New York City.

Why was Lan Zhan outside?

Where was Wei Ying?

Why were they both so stupid?

She marched up to him, fulling intending to kick him awake, when something inside her stopped herself.

This man had probably reached here too late, and Wei Ying was probably asleep, unless they had a fight. Which seemed highly unlikely...but stranger things had happened in these last few days. And if he had fallen asleep here, waiting, that at least said something about his commitment to Wei Ying, because he could have turned around and gone home. His home...not this one.

So she crouched down and gently shook him awake.

"Wei Ying!" He cried out, startled from his sleep, and then he rubbed his eyes, and then shrank back because this was Wen Qing.

"Relax, I won't bite." She told him, helping him up. "Did you two fight? And just know, if the answer is yes, I will throw those scissors at you."

Lan Zhan didn't answer her though, looking more and more miserable. She stared at him for a moment and shook her head. Raising the shutters because she was running out of time now; her client was going to be here soon and she had to get a move on, she turned the key and opened the door.

"Here, I'll let you in, and then do my stuff." She told him as they ran up the stairs.

Wen Qing unlocked that door as well, following Lan Zhan in. The whole apartment was dark, and Lan Zhan could feel that Wei Ying wasn't there, but he three quick strides later and he was returning from the bedroom.

"He's not there!" He tried to keep the worry out of his voice.

"Alright, when's the last time you spoke to him?" Wen Qing asked as they made their way back downstairs.

"In the morning, after you left." Lan Zhan looked ashamed when she glared at him.

"You didn't call him the whole day?" She gave him a hard shove. "Idiot. Do you know how much he was watching his phone?"

"I am sorry. No signal in basement."

"You were there all this time?" She was now incredulous.

But both of them lost their train of thought when they opened the door to Wei Ying's room. The light was on, and Wei Ying was slumped over his sewing machine table, fast asleep. His phone was right next to him.

Lan Zhan sighed with relief, still feeling bad. Wei Ying had waited up for him after all. But he stopped Wen Qing when she went to wake him up.

"He sleeps badly, did you not say?"

When she nodded, he gently pushed her out of the way and picked Wei Ying up, after depositing his phone in Lan Zhan's pocket.

"Wei Ying may not work until the afternoon. It is a possibility." He told her.

She was shocked that Lan Zhan had managed to pick up her little brother that easily, and could only nod in agreement.

Lan Zhan carried a still fast asleep Wei Ying all the way to his bedroom. He carefully took off his shoes and considered whether he should change his clothes for him or not, and then decided he was not ready for something like that...yet. He changed his own clothes and then got into bed with Wei Ying, pulling him close to his warmth. Sleep came easily to the exhausted man who accepted the restful oblivion with a smile on his face.

*******

Soft kisses on his face woke Lan Zhan up, and he smiled without opening his eyes. An inquisitive finger prodded his cheek, testing to see if he would react.

"I know you're awake, Lan Zhan." Wei Ying sing songed.

And then when Wei Ying was least expecting it, Lan Zhan grabbed hold of him and flipped them over.

He yelped, and then sighed into their first kiss of the morning. His arms held on to Lan Zhan as his mouth was ravaged, innocence replaced by a wanton desire for more. More taste, more love, more everything.

"Good morning, my Lan Zhan!" Wei Ying spoke against his lips, smiling all the while.

"Mn, it is a good morning." Lan Zhan kissed him again. "I'm sorry for not messaging you yesterday. No signal in basement."

Those beautiful silver eyes widened.

"You were there all day? How did you manage to avoid raising suspicion?"

"I spoke to Xiongzhang. He agreed to let me find my laptop. Meng Yao is head of security now." His golden eyes hardened. "I do not like that man. Slimy."

Wei Ying giggled.

"I never thought you'd say that! Say it again! Go on!"

"Slimy?"

"Yes, that one!" He giggled again, and the sound was so pleasant to Lan Zhan, he kissed him again and again.

"I was so worried, though, Lan Zhan. I didn't know what had happened to you." And then Wei Ying looked at his clothes.

And then at his own.

"How come I'm still in my work clothes? You changed yours!" He pouted.

Oh! Lan Zhan loved him so much!

"I was worried..."

Wei Ying waited for him to elaborate...but it seemed he was done.

"About what?" Wei Ying prodded.

"Seeing Wei Ying...no clothes...I would not have been able to stop myself." He hid his face in Wei Ying's neck, ashamed.

Wei Ying wrapped his arms around those broad shoulders, trying to make him feel better. He kissed his hair, stroking down the long locks gently.

"It's okay, Lan Zhan. I'm only messing with you." And then he gasped.

Lan Zhan sat up in surprise and worry.

"Mn?"

"I...um..where was I when you came back? And when did you come back? I waited for you..."

"It was late when I got here."

"How late is late?"

"Past two." Lan Zhan stared at a particularly interesting crease in the bedsheet.

"Past two?"

"Mn."

"Lan Zhan...tell me you went back to our apartment?"

"Wei Ying left that one. This is our apartment." He replied, stubbornly.

"Do you mean to tell me that you spent all of last night outside, in the cold?" His voice was getting dangerously higher.

Lan Zhan pursed his lips, not wanting anything to come out, not even a squeak. If he told Wei Ying the truth, he wax going to get into a lot of trouble. If it wasn't one, it was the other....he sighed, thinking of how annoyed Wen Qing had been with him that morning.

Wei Ying stared at him, quite pissed off.

The seconds passed into minutes and Lan Zhan wouldn't look at him.

"I am not happy with you." He said, finally.

Lan Zhan looked up from those thick lashes, wanting to make it better.

"Stay here. Do not follow me, am I clear?" Wei Ying got out of bed, looking upset.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan couldn't help himself; his voice was full of anguish.

Wei Ying paused, and turned only half of his face.

"I'm coming back. I'm just going to get something from downstairs." He spoke softly, reluctantly. "Wait for me."

"Mn." Lan Zhan would do anything for him.

Wei Ying walked out of the apartment and Lan Zhan wondered how he was going to make it up to him.

Minutes later, Wei Ying came back with a parcel wrapped in a red brocade, tied with gold ribbon and an elaborate bow. He stared at the gift for a few minutes, searching for the correct words.

"I...I am not happy...but I know why you did it." He said, his voice low.

Lan Zhan looked up hopefully.

"So I'm only going to give you this if you promise never, ever to do something so dangerous again."

"Mn. I promise." Lan Zhan said, vehemently.

"I mean it, Lan Zhan. This is a dangerous area at night. There are gangs. People who like knives and fighting for no reason. And look at how cold it was last night!" Wei Ying came and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was worried Wei Ying might be upset with me." He admitted, forlornly.

Wei Ying shuffled closer, tipping his face up with a single finger under his chin.

"Why? Is it because you couldn't call me yesterday?" He asked, softly now.

"Mn. Hurts." Lan Zhan rubbed his chest where he felt the pain.

Wei Ying angled his lips over Lan Zhan's, kissing him softly.

He rested their foreheads together, keeping his hand around Lan Zhan's nape.

"Let's put it behind us, okay?"

"Mn. Okay." Lan Zhan gave him a small smile.

"That's better. Now, this is for you." Wei Ying handed him the brocade parcel.

Lan Zhan could not remember the last time someone had gotten him a gift, much less wrap it so carefully. His long elegant fingers traced the golden thread and the colourful pattern, so intricately woven. Chinese silk brocade was both the most beautiful fabric he had ever seen, and of the highest quality. No other country in the world including India, famous for its Banarasi brocade, had managed to perfect making this material, and this was while Indian silk brocade was worn by royalty.

Both hands undid the delicate bow, and the outer red layer fell away to reveal a cloud of pale blue silk satin. Wei Ying had made him a set of pyjamas out of a luxurious silky material, and it was in his favourite colour too. He lifted the top and stared at it, before wanting to look at Wei Ying but his eyes were filling with tears and now everything was blurry, and he started to panic ...but the Wei Ying was in his arms and suddenly, everything was alright.

"You fuddy duddy! Why are you crying?" Wei Ying wiped under his eyes tenderly, kissing his eyelids softly. "Do you know, Wen Qing yelled at me when I went down there to collect these? I mean, she was busy too, yet she took the time away from her customers, just to come and yell at me?" He sighed. "The thing is, she's right. We have to start taking better care of each other, okay?"

Lan Zhan nodded.

"And she gave me the rest of the day off, and she said Wen Ning was coming by this evening, so we have to be ready. We can all eat together and then he's going to show us something, is that alright with you?"

Lan Zhan nodded again.

He was distracted by the softness both in Wei Ying's eyes, and then the fabric under his fingertips. Smooth, silky and gorgeous to touch...and he loved the colour.

"Where did Wei Ying get this from?"

"I made them for you...as for the material...we had a whole lot of it and that was the last piece...even I don't know why I kept it...but it must have been waiting for you. Like me..." His eyes were misty too. "Anyway, do you want to try them on? Wen Qing has told me to take a day off, so it's not like I'm going anywhere..."

"Mn."

"Here, raise your arms." Wei Ying tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt and lifted the well-worn soft garment over Lan Zhan's head, revealing his bare chest.

But now, all of a sudden, he couldn't breathe because there was all that lovely skin begging to be tasted...and Lan Zhan looking at him, his eyes all dark and dangerous and then suddenly, he pounced.

Clothes were forgotten as hot lips chased soft ones eager to taste more and more, having waited too long to do this. Lan Zhan's hands were everywhere and Wei Ying felt like he was going to burst if he couldn't feel every part of him right now.

"Take it off, take it off!" He cried, desperately clawing at his own shirt, and Lan Zhan was looking at him for permission when Wei Ying didn't want to wait at all.

Lan Zhan watched the writhing mess of a beautiful man pout the longer his fingers took, but those buttons were impossibly tight and each one was taking longer and longer until he couldn't take it either and ripped apart the shirt eagerly.

For one whole second, he wondered if he had made a mistake, because those silver eyes were almost black with desire, but then Wei Ying cried out, "that was so hot!"

And then he forgot everything else as Wei Ying kissed him back, their hands touching, touching, a scorching fire of need building up until neither could wait any longer.

Afterwards, lying in each other's arms, they drifted off to sleep.

*******

They showered some time later, and when it came to dressing, Wei Ying insisted on him wearing his gift. When Lan Zhan wore them, Wei Ying reached for his hand while covering his own eyes with his other.

"If I look at you, I'm going to jump you and then Wen Qing is gonna be mad at us. Come on, we better order the food, they'll be here soon."

By six o'clock, Wen Qing was helping her brother lug computers and a monitor into the apartment. They pushed the little table to the side and set up the equipment and the food so everyone could help themselves while Wen Ning organised wires and connections, making sure all three of his devices were working.

"Were you able to get his laptop?" He inquired, looking at Lan Zhan.

"No. It wasn't in the basement. I can ask again tomorrow, maybe uncle has it somewhere else."

"It will be better if you don't." Wen Ning advised. "We might be able to unravel the mystery without needing it, and you don't want to alert them that we're doing this." He gestured at his own setup.

"Can you do it? Find out what you need without it?" Wei Ying asked, leaning forward.

"Let's see." Wen Ning took a large bite of noodles and put down his chopsticks in the carton, and got to work.

Wei Ying watched him for a few seconds but then decided it was far more productive to slowly feed his boyfriend one bite of a dumpling at a time, watching how those plump lips folded over the doughy bite...how his pink tongue came out to lick around the outer edges, chasing after the dwindling taste...how those golden eyes darkened...

"Jeez! Will you two stop that!" Wen Qing gave him a light shove and put a carton of noodles in his hand instead.

"We can share this too!" Wei Ying claimed, defiantly. "It will be like Lady and the Tramp, our eyes will meet, and then it will be that last noodle the only thing between us-"

"Which one's which?" Wen Qing asked instead, completely straight-faced. "Are you the bitch or the dog?"

Wei Ying looked at her for a full minute before dissolving into chuckles...even Lan Zhan was smiling.

For a while, there was only the sound of people eating, rustling of brown paper bags as they foraged for particular food, and the clicking of keys under Wen Ning's fingertips as he concentrated.

"What exactly are you doing?" Wei Ying asked him, looking at the biggest screen.

Wen Ning had set up his main computer, but connected two laptop to it, one on either side of him as he sat cross-legged in front of the monitor.

"This would be easier if we had your old laptop, but right now, I'm hacking into their communications." He jerked a head towards his friend. "You might want to look away right now, for future reference. If they ask you, you can deny all knowledge." He grinned.

"Wait, you're actually inside their company? Like, right inside their mainframe?" Wei Ying gave a low whistle.

"Yeah..." Wen Ning looked at his huge eyes, round with wonder at the implications of what they were doing occurred to him. "See, the thing is, every company has a record of every single email sent back and forth. All we have to do is find it. I have a search engine with relative words scanning all sent emails right now, here." He pointed to the main computer. "Then this one is checking the service provider's records, so even if someone deleted it, they won't have been this thorough."

"Omg, you're a genius." Wei Ying breathed out, food forgotten.

"Mn." Lan Zhan agreed, a newfound respect for his old friend.

"Hehe, it's no biggie. I haven't even shown you the Dark Web yet...but we may not even need that."

Suddenly, two of his computers pinged.

"See?" Wen Ning pointed proudly at the screen. "It's found the first of five emails. Actually...." He put his chopsticks sideways in his mouth for a second as his fingers flew all over his keyboard like lightening. "All five of these were sent from another account, to your laptop. Look, see, that's your original email, and then there's this bogus account. I'm guessing they couldn't hack into your one, so they created this secondary email just to implicate you. And then, they forwarded these to the main server so that everyone could see."

"That's so clever." Wei Ying was saying, but then he noticed that Lan Zhan was no longer eating.

Instead both his fists were clenched...and he was angry.

Wei Ying put down his noodles and took his hand, leading him into his bedroom. He closed the door and turned to him.

"What is it, Lan Zhan?" He whispered.

But Lan Zhan just wrapped his arms around Wei Ying's body, his own still trembling from the shock of it all.

"They set you up." He whispered back, his voice shaking with rage. "My family did that to Wei Ying."

Wei Ying held him just as tightly.

"We don't know who it is yet." He reminded him. "That's what Wen Ning is going to find out." He sighed. "I hope it's not your Uncle or your brother. I always liked XiChen-ge."

"Mn." Lan Zhan didn't sound convinced.

"Listen to me. Whatever it is, whoever it is, we have to be strong. Right?" Wei Ying hugged him one last time before leaning back to look into bloodshot eyes. "Let's keep an open mind, alright? The truth will come out. That's all we want."

"Mn."

"You okay now?"

Lan Zhan gave him a small smile finally.

"There's my brave man. Come on, let's go see what else A-Ning has found."

Together, they exited the bedroom holding hands and returned to the couch. Wen Qing gave him a questioning look, and Wei Ying smiled back shrugging and then shaking his head for her not to ask.

"Found anything?" He asked Wen Ning instead.

"They tried to be clever. Look, it's pinging all over the world, Singapore, Ireland, Australia...bingo!" He suddenly said, leaning forward like a hawk seeing its prey.

"What?" Wei Ying couldn't contain his nervous excitement.

His knee kept bouncing until Lan Zhan covered it with one warm palm. Wei Ying smiled at him gratefully before returning his attention to what was going on.

"It's, surprise surprise, an internal email. All of this was generated by someone at SuMinShan dot House of Lan dot com."

"Su She? That conniving toe rag!" Wei Ying flung himself into the back of the couch. "He's the one who "discovered" the emails. Asshole."

Wen Ning was already printing out his findings.

"I will tell uncle immediately." Lan Zhan said.

"You'll do no such thing!" Wen Qing told them. "The only way to approach this is from the outside, because you don't know how far the rabbit hole goes. I hate to say this, but how much do you trust him?" Her sharp eyes watched him carefully.

Lan Zhan stared back, but he wasn't really looking at her. He was thinking back to all those times in the past when he himself had questioned whatever decisions his uncle had made.

"What then?" He asked finally, his golden eyes clearing.

Wei Ying covered his hand with his own, squeezing it for comfort.

Whatever happened now, Lan Zhan was going to have to face some ugly truths. After everything, this was still his family. Even if his Uncle wasn't behind this whole scheme, he would still be guilty of looking the other way, of not investigating this mess thoroughly enough.

And they had yet to discuss the implications of Lan Zhan's announcement yesterday, when he said he wanted to create a new collection. WeiLan Creations...he had called it...and if Wei Ying was honest, the idea was thrilling to him. To create something new and exciting out of practically nothing...now that he had let the idea take root, he was rip roaring and ready to go.

But there was no way Lan Zhan could devote himself to two designer Houses...which meant he had already been thinking of leaving his family...

"I have a family friend, who's also a lawyer. Nie MingJue...he'll help us for sure. Once we explain everything, he'll tell us what to do." Wen Qing looked at her watch. "It's too late to call him now, but first thing in the morning, I'll do it."

That started everyone hastily packing everything up. Wen Ning printed out a bunch of papers and handed them to Wei Ying before dismantling his setup. Wen Qing had already separated the leftovers from the rubbish and had picked up the recycling waste for the bins outside. Together they left, leaving Wei Ying and Lan Zhan alone in the apartment.

They sat down on the couch next to each other. Wei Ying took his hand, marvelling at the contrast of both their fingers together. Finally, he spoke.

"Are you going to be okay?" He lifted his eyes to see Lan Zhan watching him.

Lan Zhan lifted him up into his arms so Wei Ying was straddling him.

"Mn. As long as Wei Ying is here, with me. I am okay." He replied firmly.

"Really and truly?"

"Mn. Really and truly." He smirked.

That face too beautiful to look at like the sun, was doing things to his insides. But Wei Ying still  had something to say. His hands cradled his precious face, looking deep into golden eyes.

"Lan Zhan...I want you to know...I'm not doing this out of some petty revenge...I just...I just want to clear my name...that's all. I want to be able to do what I love, with you, and I want to be able to do it without a threat hanging over my head. Nothing else."

"What is Wei Ying saying?"

"I mean...I don't want to come between you and your family...I couldn't bear it if they stopped talking to you because of me..." He struggled to calm himself, trying to control his breathing.

Lan Zhan kissed his forehead and then his wet eyes, chasing the tears away.

"We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Let us wait for Wen Qing and her friend."

"Okay." Wei Ying smiled and then yawned as exhaustion took over. This day had been full of surprises and highs and lows, and now he was tired.

Lan Zhan stood up still carrying him.

"You have amazing strength." Wei Ying winked at him.

"Practice. Hand stands when we were kids." Lan Zhan pushed the door of the bedroom open.

"Fascinating...makes me wonder how strong you really are..." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, stretching so that his pyjama top rode dangerously high...on purpose.

Lan Zhan threw him onto the bed and pounced.

After all, self control was overrated.