"Reading is dreaming with open eyes." Anonymous

There was a horrible sound, persistent like a woodpecker drilling into his skull. Lan Zhan wanted it to go away. When it stopped, the pain went away and Lan Zhan could think about opening his eyes...but oh no...it started again!

He burrowed into the pillows and covered his ears. Why was everything so loud? It hurt...

He heard a voice when the noise stopped again. And it carried on speaking in a low voice...soothing and lulling him back to sleep.

Wei Ying grinned at the state of Lan Zhan. He looked so adorable it was funny, but not because he was in pain. All Wei Ying had to do now, was getting him to open his mouth and swallow a couple of painkillers.

Lan Zhan was heavy, and he wasn't fat; this was all muscle.

And, he did not want to be moved.

It was past midday, and Lan Zhan still had not recovered from their night before. If Wei Ying had known Lan Zhan would have such a strong reaction to the drink, he would have been more careful.

And Lan Zhan had to wake up soon, because they were going to host an impromptu party, since his Shijie had correctly guessed what their good news was, and said everyone was coming. And then Wei Ying thought about Lan Zhan's side of the family, and knew he wanted to invite his XiChen-Ge...and it was only lucky that Lan Zhan did not put a lock on his phone, and Wei Ying was able to answer for his sleeping partner.

XiChen had asked him where Lan Zhan was, and okay, it was only a little lie, when he had covered for him and said he was in the bathroom, but he was pretty sure that after yesterday's almost threat, he didn't want to be the one telling XiChen that Lan Zhan had a hangover.

It just seemed to be the right thing to do, to invite XiChen to the party too. And now, everyone was going to start arriving in exactly two hours...

Which brought him back to his current problem...this sack of potatoes...

Wei Ying pushed, because that was far more effective than pulling a dead weight, and when he was satisfied that he could raise Lan Zhan's head - why the heck was it so heavy? - enough to drink, he made him take the pills. But when he tried to move away, stronger than normal arms wrapped around him, holding him close with a sigh of relief.

"Sweetheart, please....we have guests coming..." Wei Ying said, trying to extricate himself from clingy Lan Zhan.

"Don't feel good. Wei Ying makes it better." He insisted, pouting.

"But Lan Zhan..." He yelped as Lan Zhan flipped them over and fused their lips together, his eyes still closed.

Kissing Lan Zhan was always blissful, beautiful and leaving Wei Ying feeling like he was floating on fluffy pink clouds somewhere away from reality, but today, Lan Zhan was extra focused, as if he needed to concentrate more.

These weren't just fluffy white clouds, these were pink and white marshmallows floating on silky hot chocolate, with a dash of chocolate powder, for good measure. Lan Zhan made him feel as if he was the only person on the planet, worthy of such single-minded devotion, because that's what he was doing. Each slide of their lips reinforced their connection until Wei Ying was a puddle at his feet, loving every single second.

The electric tingles spread all along his nerve-endings right down to his toes and Wei Ying wanted to stay like this forever.

He must have fallen asleep because his phone woke him up.

"We're outside. Open. The. Door." Jiang Cheng.

Wei Ying felt his scowl from there, and grinned.

"Coming."

Jiang Cheng hung up, and Wei Ying would have jumped out of bed...but he was pinned into place by an immovable weight.

After struggling for a fruitless five minutes, he called his Shijie, figuring he would get a better response from her.

"Um...hi Shijie...I'm kind of trapped." He blushed. He had not thought this through. Thank God they were still dressed.

"Are you decent?"

He could hear her trying to control her laughter.

"Yesss!" He hissed, beyond mortified.

"They're saying they can climb in through the bathroom window, is that alright with you?"

"Who's they?" Wei Ying wanted to know.

"It's not like you can be fussy about who it's gonna be!" Jiang Cheng had taken her phone.

"It's cool!" Wei Ying soothed, trying not to laugh either.

Given a certain somebody's proclivity for anger, maybe it'd be better if he tried not to rile his brother up too much...just until he was free.

There was muffled swearing and a crash, before their door was burst open, and both the Peacock and Jiang Cheng dashed into the room.

They both covered their eyes immediately, red-faced and Jiang Cheng let out a string of profanities that made even Wei Ying blush.

He was never gonna live this down....

"Oh, come on guys, we were just sleeping...and then he kind of fell on me." Wei Ying defended himself.

"And you couldn't push him off?" Jiang Cheng glared at Lan Zhan's back.

"No! Why d'you think I called Shijie? If I could get out of here myself?" Wei Ying replied with disbelief. "So are you two gonna help, or are you gonna keep gassing all day?"

After a bit more swearing, Jiang Cheng came over to push Lan Zhan. When the first few attempts didn't work and beads of sweat hung on his forehead, he roped in the Peacock to push from the other side.

"What the hell does he eat? He's heavier than an elephant!" Jiang Cheng grumbled.

"It's all muscle, Cheng Cheng." Wei Ying proudly conversed, with the naughtiest look on his face. "Don't you know, muscle weighs more than fat? And my Lan Zhan is ripped."

Jiang Cheng tried to smother him with a pillow...

"He's a vegetarian." Wei Ying added, when he'd tossed the pillow away.

Wei Ying's phone rang again, and this time it was his XiChen-Ge.

Well, now he'd have to tell him the truth...silently he apologised to Lan Zhan and spilled his guts. It felt great to tell him the truth, and he promised to come and help if someone could please open the door when he arrived.

They sent the Peacock downstairs,  and he didn't bother returning, but at this point, no one cared enough to ask why.

XiChen took one look at the sweating Jiang Cheng, the blushing brother-in-law and his own brother, happily passed out in the land of dreams, and he grinned.

Just seeing that smile, made Wei Ying feel as if everything would be okay. Maybe some people were born with that quality, as if it was a part of them like a super power.

XiChen lifted Lan Zhan off him in a second, beaming at the looks of disbelief on everyone's faces.

Jiang Cheng stomped off in a huff, and XiChen was left staring at the back of his purple shirt.

Wei Ying stood up shakily and then hugged him.

"Thank you! I was worried we'd have to call the emergency services."

XiChen laughed because he thought Wei Ying was joking...

But when Wei Ying would have left, XiChen placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Who was the gentleman just here?"

A knowing look passed over Wei Ying's face.

"That's my brother...and yes, as far as I know, he's single." Wei Ying beamed at XiChen's red ears, and left him to it, hurrying downstairs to tell his sister.

Shijie had a hangover cure that she swore by, not literally because she was far too polite for that, but it was good, and she made it as soon as she got into Wei Ying's kitchen. Jiang Cheng played with the kids, trying to entertain the little ones, while XiChen helped his Shijie with her cooking.

The Peacock stood in the corner unhelpfully until Wei Ying roped him into blowing up the balloons for the party later on, and he smiled gratefullyat being given a job to do.

By now, Shijie had already cooked, and they were setting everything up in the garden outside, having moved tables onto Wei Ying's lawn.

And that's when it happened.

The Peacock had grabbed two jars of pickles, intending to carry them outside, but one of them slid out of his hand and crashed onto the floor with an explosive sound, shattering upon impact.

It was bad luck that Wei Ying was standing right next to him then, and just like that, he was catapulted into a car, as it bounced multiple times like a rubber ball, careening off the tarmac onto the hard shoulder. He closed his eyes against the images but they were right there with him, and no amount of screaming would make it go away.

The colour of fresh blood splattering the insides of their sweet little car, his mother's voice, telling him that everything would be fine, his little hands as they clutched her red ribbon, and then the motions of the car flinging his tiny body out of the vehicle onto the grassy land. His body shook with the effort of holding it all in, and his mind gave up.

************

Lan Zhan jolted awake, aware that something had broken, but it was the screaming that followed, which had him jumping out of bed and racing downstairs.

That was Wei Ying!

When he got to the kitchen, Jiang Cheng was trying to shake him out of it, while those beloved beautiful silver eyes, usually so bright and animated, were dull and glazed over like an icy pool...and those screams...quieter now, but not lessening in hurting, both him and the people around Wei Ying.

Lan Zhan shoved Jiang Cheng out of the way and picked Wei Ying up, holding him close and whisking him out of there. It did the trick, because it made Wei Ying shiver and stop. His body was going into shock, and he was shaking all over, teeth chattering before his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Lan Zhan took him upstairs and placed him carefully in his bed, covering him with extra blankets, and made XiChen keep a watch on him, while Lan Zhan fished out the doctor's card, the one who had recommended her hospital for Wei Ying to seek treatment.

He called her and she picked up immediately. Lan Zhan explained to her what had happened and she asked for their address. Minutes later, there was a knocking on the door downstairs and XiChen led her up to their room.

Lan Zhan stood up, moving out of the way so Doctor Wen Qing could check his vitals.

She sighed, visibly relaxing with the results. She turned to Lan Zhan.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Her voice was laced with sadness.

Lan Zhan nodded, just a second before he was pushed up against the wall.

"What do you mean, it's getting worse? This has happened before?" Jiang Cheng shouted.

XiChen pulled him off his baby brother, and then pushed him away, and standing in front of Lan Zhan in case the purple grape tried anything else.

Shijie entered the room and went up to the doctor then.

"Please, can you tell us what happened to my brother?"

"Classic PTSD. He's been through a traumatic experience, maybe more than one, and now when faced with a trigger, I'm guessing it's the sound of breaking glass, it launches him right back where all of it started." Wen Qing started putting away her equipment.

"But Doctor...you said it's getting worse? How do we stop that?" Shijie started crying.

Jiang Cheng went to stand next to her, with an arm across her shoulders.

"He has to face his demons, learn how to control his responses and bypass his gut reactions. It takes time, and effort, and it's not a miracle cure. It will help though..." Wen Qing looked at Lan Zhan. "He's alright for now. No seizure so that's lucky, I guess." She walked to the door, her bag slung over her shoulder. "I want to help him...but he has to make the choice. Otherwise, there's nothing I can do."

***********

Neither Shijie nor Lan Zhan wanted to leave Wei Ying as he was, anxious to be there when he woke up.

Jiang Cheng and XiChen went downstairs to help with the children, because they'd left the Peacock to look after two scared kids, and it was slightly unfair; Jin ZiXuan was already feeling guilty for breaking the glass jar anyway, and now that it had caused another episode in Wei Ying, was making him feel so much worse now.

"My brother has suffered more than anyone should." Jiang YanLi said, quietly.

Lan Zhan looked up to her face. He was sitting cross-legged next to Wei Ying's sleeping form, holding his hand and hoping he would wake up soon.

Jiang YanLi was sitting on a chair on his other side, also holding his hand, her thumb caressing his knuckles slowly. Worry lines painted on her face, and her tissue was wet with all the tears she had shed.

"He was still a baby when my dad found him, and when they brought him home, no one knew about...about the dogs. A-Cheng had puppies and even those sweet things scared him so much, and A-Cheng had to give them up for adoption. I know it hurt him, but A-Cheng would rather have his brother, than the dogs, if that's what it took. I'm sorry for what my brother did to you...he meant it out of concern rather than any ill will towards you." She sighed.

Lan Zhan did not particularly care about anyone else right now. He had even forgotten about Jiang Cheng pushing him up against the wall...but Wei Ying's Shijie had not.

The door opened and A-Yuan came in. He climbed onto the bed and sat down in Lan Zhan's lap all by himself, arranging Lan Zhan's arm around his body as he had done before with Wei Ying.

Lan Zhan was thrilled, and had it not been for the circumstances as to why, he would have actually smiled.

"A-Die...Baba?" A-Yuan looked at Wei Ying and then at him.

"Baba is fine. Sleeping."

A-Yuan nodded and hugged him, for a good few seconds before crawling under the blanket and curling his body next to Wei Ying. He fell asleep within minutes.

"You know...watching them, it's like they have this past life connection." Jiang YanLi whispered.

She was already surprised but in a good way, that when A-Yuan had entered, he would come to her, having known her for longer than Lan Zhan....and yet, he had gone straight to his other father. She had swiped away the tears that had fallen upon hearing what the child called Lan Zhan now...it was so sweet.

"What was Wei Ying like...before?" Lan Zhan asked, keeping his voice low.

Jiang YanLi smiled softly. She liked this tall, silent man. Perhaps he did not talk as much as she would have liked, but whatever he did say, was important. Her brother had made a good choice.

"Wei Ying made life fun." She said at last. "He worked hard to make it appear easy, and mostly that was for A-Cheng's sake but I knew. My mother...she did not like him, and whenever he tried to make A-Cheng feel better, she was ready to punish him. They ended up running away...I'm not sure if he's told you everything."

"Mn. Some parts."

Jiang YanLi smiled kindly at him.

"He liked parties, but they both had to work so there wasn't much chance of that. After...after he adopted A-Yuan, the change was sudden and drastic. He grew up overnight and accepted his mantle of being a parent to this stranger's child. I have never been so proud of him as I was then." She stood up. "Maybe you should also rest, you look tired." She patted his head and left.

Lan Zhan felt the top of his head where her hand had just been. He yawned and curled around the other two, holding hands with Wei Ying over the sleeping baby.

************

When Wei Ying woke up, he could feel the remnants of a headache leaving his body. He was curled into a hard chest and he had to smile, feeling warm, strong arms around his body. So he kissed the soft skin closest to his lips, smiling at the whole body shudder it created in the one who received it.

"Wei Ying?"

So close to where the sound was produced, he felt Lan Zhan's voice rumble through his chest and leave his lips, and Wei Ying felt a wave of love towards him. He snuggled closer to Lan Zhan, feeling content.

"What time is it?" He mumbled, opening his eyes.

"Nearly six."

Wei Ying shot up and then clutched his head.

Lan Zhan was ready with a glass of cool water and a couple of painkillers.

"What happened? The party?" He lay back down, still feeling a little weak.

"It is waiting for Wei Ying...if Wei Ying feels up to it. Otherwise he should rest."

"A-Yuan?"

"Came and slept with Wei Ying a while ago. Now playing with his cousin." Lan Zhan took his hand. What he was going to say would upset Wei Ying. "Wei Ying had another episode. In the kitchen."

"I did....didn't I..." He sounded lost.

"Does Wei Ying remember?"

"Not really. I...I have the headache...that's why I guessed."

"Mn. Where?"

Wei Ying pointed to where his head hurt and Lan Zhan began massaging, just pressing lightly to the afflicted place, smiling when Wei Ying moaned in delight.

"Your fingers are magic...ah...that feels so good, my love..."

Minutes later, he was able to sit up properly and then he rose out of bed.

"I guess it's time to face the music. Hold my hand?" He looked up just seconds before Lan Zhan enveloped him in a warm hug.

"My love...I am okay..." He tried to say.

"This time." Lan Zhan replied.

Wei Ying could feel him shaking.

That's when it hit him that whatever happened to Wei Ying, it was hurting Lan Zhan too, and it wasn't fair to either of them.

"Just before I woke up...I was thinking...I kind of knew something was wrong but I didn't want to face it...you know?" Wei Ying stood straighter, hugging Lan Zhan back fiercely. "Tomorrow morning...after we drop A-Yuan off to Kindergarten...let's make the call. Okay?" He could feel a trickle of something wet travel down his neck. "My love...please don’t cry. If you cry...I'll cry...and then I'll look ugly."

Lan Zhan bit his neck.

"I'm sorry...I tend to make jokes when I'm stressed." He gave a small laugh.

"Wei Ying could never be ugly." Lan Zhan muttered. He stepped away from Wei Ying and held his hand, bringing it to his lips.

"Alright, alright, fuddy duddy...I won't say that."

They went downstairs to find a subdued crowd. Jiang Cheng was inching away from Lan XiChen on the two seater, and he was going to run out of space pretty soon, while Shijie was trying to make the Peacock feel better about the dropped jar of pickles, and the two children were playing snakes and ladders on the floor in front of them.

"What kind of a lame party is this? No wonder I passed out from boredom!" The moment Wei Ying said that, the noise levels went out of control.

He was pulled into hug after hug, and made to sit down on the couch next to his Shijie on one side and Lan Zhan on the other. Jiang Cheng...hovered.

"How do you feel now, A-Xian?" XiChen asked.

"Much better, XiChen-Ge...actually, Lan Zhan and I have an announcement." Wei Ying covered their joint hands with his other one.

"Two things." Lan Zhan insisted.

"We're your family, A-Xian. We will support you no matter what. We're here for you." His Shijie said, patting his back.

Wei Ying blinked back tears and tried to smile through them.

"Together." Lan Zhan kissed his temple.

"Okay." Wei Ying took a deep breath. "Two things. Number one, we're going to call Doctor Wen Qing tomorrow...and make an appointment..." He brightened considerably now, "and Lan Zhan and I are getting married."

There were whoops of joy and more hugs, and Shijie getting all teary-eyed.

"I knew it was coming...but it's different when you say it out loud, like that! It's really happening?" She smiled now, openly crying and hugging him again.

Wei Ying nodded, hugging her back.

And then, she hugged Lan Zhan.

For a second, the whole room went silent...until Lan Zhan patted her back awkwardly. And then it was as if nothing had happened.

Plates of food were handed around, soda poured, and music played.

"So when are you thinking of having it?" Shijie asked.

"Hold on." Wei Ying turned to Lan Zhan. "Do you have a preference?"

Lan Zhan shook his head.

"Only care about Wei Ying. Date doesn't matter."

Shijie clutched her heart.

"So romantic!"

Wei Ying beamed at both of them, seeing that Lan Zhan was pleased at the compliment even though his ears were looking hot.

He scrolled through his phone and checked something. Lan Zhan only saw the flash of his calender.

"Eighteenth of June...this year. How's that?"

"This year?" Shijie counted on her fingers. "That's only three months away."

"Just coming." Lan Zhan hauled Wei Ying out of the room into the corridor.

"What is it, my love?" Wei Ying asked him, when they were alone.

Golden eyes searched silver ones, looking...looking...

"Is Wei Ying sure? Really sure?" He asked.

Wei Ying beamed, and it was like the sun coming out from behind clouds. He nodded enthusiastically. "I know we said a year...but I don't think I can wait that long. I want to be married to you as soon as possible. I want to belong to you forever, and I want you to belong to me...forever."

Lan Zhan captured his lips, not even letting him take in an extra breath. Stealing every thought, every word in his head, and blasting him into the outer space filled with stars and lights and everything in between, this euphoria was contagious. Hot lips pressed, caressed, and bruised, need outweighing any and everything else, as Lan Zhan pressed their bodies together.

Wei Ying pressed into his body, stretching like a cat and loving the way Lan Zhan's body molded to his. Each sliding of their lips was a new dance, a new rhythm just for the two of them, and then Lan Zhan moved onto his neck, sucking and biting.

Wei Ying had to bite his own lips to stop himself from moaning out loud. His Lan Zhan was the epitome of tinder, and Wei Ying was the dry fodder, already burning with desire at every scorching kiss.

When they finally returned to the living room, Shijie was blushing and no one would look at them.

Wei Ying sat back down next to his sister, pulling Lan Zhan next to him.

"So yeah, June eighteenth, twenty twenty two. This year."

A-Yuan climbed into his lap, yawning.

"Is my little Radish tired?" Wei Ying kissed his forehead.

A-Yuan nodded.

"Storwy, Baba."

A-Ling stood at his and Lan Zhan's knees.

"I want a storwy too." He said, grinning mischievously at A-Yuan.

A-Yuan smiled back.

"Storwy! Storwy! Storwy!" They chanted.

"Wait. Let's change clothes first. Into your pyjamas, boys." She took them both upstairs, saying to Wei Ying, "Come up in five minutes. We'll go home as soon as he falls asleep."

"I better go home too." XiChen looked longingly at Jiang Cheng before hugging both Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. "I'm proud of both of you."

"I better leave as well." Jiang Cheng gloomily stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Aww! Cheng Cheng! C'mere!" Wei Ying grabbed his reluctant brother and hugged him.

"Get. Off. Me." But he hugged him too.

Rather than stay downstairs with an awkward Peacock, Lan Zhan took Wei Ying's hand and they picked a book to read to the children.

A-Yuan and A-Ling were tucked up in bed, patiently waiting.

Wei Ying sat on the edge of their bed, half lying, half sitting next to them.

And then he began.

His story telling skills were out of this world. Both kids listened with rapturous attention, drinking in his words with delight. Wei Ying had different voices for all the characters, and made them care, in equal parts funny, scared and curious.

Both children were half asleep by now, when Wei Ying finally closed the book.

"Baba's storwy...now A-Die's ..." A-Yuan clutched for his hand.

Luckily they had brought along two books, and now Lan Zhan found himself reading to them. He didn't think he was that great at it, and the fact that both children were fast asleep now, tended to prove the opposite...but he was happy.

Jiang YanLi came up then and took her son, whispering byebyes as they too left.

Wei Ying clung to Lan Zhan's arm as they conducted a last minute check for all doors and windows were locked. Then they switched off all the lights and returned to their bedroom.

Wei Ying belly flopped onto the bed and then turned around, spread-eagled with his limbs in a star shape.

Lan Zhan disappeared to change his clothes. When he came back, Wei Ying was sitting up, pale-faced, clutching his phone.

"Oh...my...God..." He mumbled, scrolling fast.

"What is it?" He came and sat by Wei Ying.

Wei Ying showed him an unfamiliar picture of yellow graffiti...with their names on it.

"Um...it's gone viral..." Wei Ying looked fearfully at Lan Zhan, as his long fingers took the phone from him.

Lan Zhan made the image bigger and stared at it, his ears redder than ever.

"I'll clean it off for you, it was kind of my fault and I-mfph"

Wei Ying was pushed down and his mouth taken over by hot, urgent lips, and there was no waiting as Lan Zhan took control. Biting and sucking and licking his way into Wei Ying's mouth, there was nothing sweet about this kiss. Pure fiery need blazed through the both of them as desire erupted, molten wanting.

Clothes were shed and flung away until both were panting and satisfied.

"What...was...that!???" Wei Ying lay spent, half on the bed and half off, with no energy at all.

"Love Wei Ying." Lan Zhan told him, sounding smug.

"But Lan Zhan, aren't you upset?" Wei Ying raised himself up on one elbow to look ar him.

"No. It is the truth." He held the back of Wei Ying's head for another searing kiss.

"All I can say, is that I'll buy you all the spray cans you want, if this is what I get!"