"Books are a uniquely portable magic..." Stephen King

Dazed and in disbelief, Wei Ying lifted his fingers to his swollen lips. He stared up into golden pools filled with an intense passion, and a desire to do it all over again and he stepped back, unwittingly onto a soft, squeaky toy.

The high pitch sound it produced broke the silence of their pounding hearts and Wei Ying closed his eyes, fighting for control.

He tried to catch his breath, wondering how to say what was on his mind without hurting Lan Zhan...because that kiss was wild...and it was tearing him apart that he had to pick between Lan Zhan and A-Yuan...but it was something he knew he  had to face, sooner or later.

So he made his decision.

And opened his eyes.

Lan Zhan was trying to understand what Wei Ying was thinking about. When he closed his eyes, Lan Zhan thought maybe he had done something wrong and now he was trying to think fast on how to fix it...whatever it was. If it was the kissing, he didn't know if it had been good or not, never having kissed anyone else ever, but for himself, he could only think it was lovely...and he definitely wanted to try it again. His lips were still tingling and he felt as if he could float on the air.

And when Wei Ying opened his eyes, Lan Zhan was lost in the hidden colours.

Grey was never just grey.

Grey was magical because it allowed other colours to mix well with it's origin, so grey green, grey purple, grey blue...all were possible...and Lan Zhan was trying to memorise everything he witnessed within those kaleidoscopic shimmering eyes.

But what floored him, was the amount of trust Wei Ying was showing him now, as he steeled himself for something...

Wei Ying took his hand and led him back to the sitting room.

"Sit here. And stay, this time." He admonished, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.

Lan Zhan pouted...not wishing to comply.

"Don't look at me like that!" Wei Ying wailed, putting one hand over Lan Zhan's mouth, and one over his own eyes. "I don't think I can resist you anyway...but that...you're asking for too much!"

Lan Zhan remembered that time in the car...Wei Ying had....hot breath...so he decided to be brave...

His tongue came out and licked at those sun-kissed fingers, and he enjoyed the hot flash of molten desire sizzling in those silver depths as Wei Ying snatched his hand back in alarm.

"You naughty boy..." He exclaimed and fled into the kitchen.

Lan Zhan allowed himself a small smile.

Granted, this morning had not been normal, and this afternoon was diving into the unknown...but he had gotten his first kiss...and that was monumental. Was it like dating or driving, then? Did one get better with practice? Already, he had committed every touch that had induced a reaction from Wei Ying to his memory, anxious to test out his theory.

He was pretty sure he was on the right tracks...

Lan Zhan thought back to his notes.

His car had definitely pulled out and was on the road he wanted to travel upon. Now he had to go slow...just for now...as a beginner.

Wei Ying was desperately trying to calm himself down in the kitchen, and what better way to do that than sticking with his original plan of making hot chocolate with milk? Since Lan Zhan had liked it so much the last time he had visited, Wei Ying had been itching to make it for him again.

This time though, he added a bunch of mini marshmallows in both steaming mugs and brought them into the sitting room. He placed Lan Zhan's one on the coffee table in between them and made sure to sit farther away, just because he did not trust himself to keep his hands away from the living temptation right in front of him.

Lan Zhan didn't like Wei Ying sitting over there. He inched closer, unable to stop himself. But Wei Ying's voice managed to do that instead.

"Lan Zhan...I really like you," He began, searching for the right words. This was too important and the last thing he wanted was to hurt this beautiful man.

"Mn. Like Wei Ying. A lot." It wasn't that far from the truth, but Lan Zhan wasn't quite ready to check what his true feelings were...not yet. He knew it was more than "like" with Wei Ying though.

Wei Ying blushed and tooka sip of his drink, scalding his tongue in the process. Great....this was going great....

He tried to put his thoughts in order and began to explain.

"Alright...please...hear me out?"

Lan Zhan gave him a short, sharp nod. He wasn't at all sure of what Wei Ying wanted to talk about, but he was ready to listen.

"Why did you come here today?" Wei Ying asked him. It wasn't exactly what or how he wanted to ask...but it was in the mix of things he wanted to get out in the open, with Lan Zhan.

"Missed Wei Ying." Lan Zhan replied immediately. That was the truth.

"I...I missed seeing you too...but..." Wei Ying took a deep breath. "I've been doing a lot of thinking...and I think it's only fair that you know, for me...A-Yuan comes first. That is non-negotiable. I can't....I won't start something with you....if you...if you can't accept that." Gosh...this was harder than he thought it was going to be.

"I missed A-Yuan too." Lan Zhan was saying. "Was worried Wei Ying might fall asleep...want to help..." Lan Zhan realised what his words sounded like, and he hurried to correct himself. "Wei Ying works too hard..." That sounded worse. He stood up and sat down next to Wei Ying, taking his hands in his own, feeling them tremble. "Wei Ying is a good father. I want to help him."

Lan Zhan wasn't sure when he had come to this conclusion, but he was definitely sure of it. And what it would mean. In his mind, whenever he thought of Wei Ying, he thought of A-Yuan too, like they were together in his head.

"Lan Zhan...really? You think so?" Wei Ying blinked back tears, allowing himself to be comforted by him.

He felt Lan Zhan's thumb caress his knuckles gently, the touch soothing his frayed nerves.

No one had ever actually said the words to him, and now someone who was important to him, someone other than his Shijie, was supporting him like this, telling him he was a good father...it meant everything to Wei Ying. Especially after what had happened before.

"Mn. Wei Ying is a great dad. Naturally." Lan Zhan wanted to ask him more questions, but now he wasn't sure whether it was the right time or not.

"A-Yuan....A-Yuan....I adopted him." Wei Ying confessed.

Now that he wanted whatever this was between himself and Lan Zhan, he wanted Lan Zhan to know everything there was to know about himself and A-Yuan...if they were going to welcome a new member into their family unit, Wei Ying wanted no secrets between them. Then, if Lan Zhan decided he wanted to walk away from, well...that would be painful for sure...but Wei Ying was confident he and A-Yuan would be able to bounce back from that.

It would be okay...

Lan Zhan looked shocked.

Out of everything he thought Wei Ying was going to say, this was completely new and totally unexpected.

A-Yuan was adopted.

But Wei Ying treated him so wonderfully that for a second, Lan Zhan wondered if he was joking...but Wei Ying was utterly serious.

"I find that hard to believe." He admitted, finally. "Wei Ying is an excellent father, then."

Wei Ying blushed deeper, but a warm feeling enveloped him at the sudden praise.

"How?" Lan Zhan squeezed their joint hands together.

Wei Ying felt the warmth there too, comforting him further. He was glad and surprised that Lan Zhan wanted to know more.

"I was still at Uni...it was my final year." Wei Ying tried to make himself stronger...what he was going to have to tell Lan Zhan was hard.

Maybe Lan Zhan had already known this would be difficult for Wei Ying to do, whether by instinct, or perhaps he was already so in tune with Wei Ying...but he gathered the shaking man into his arms, holding him tight.

Wei Ying was surprised at how much better he already felt. This hug, this contact...it meant that Lan Zhan was ready to support him.

"I have a brother...sorry...I used to have a brother." Wei Ying continued.

"Brother?" Lan Zhan wondered how many times he was going to be surprised today.

"Alright, let me start at the beginning. Then hopefully, you'll understand. Um...it's kind of long...how much time have you got?"

Lan Zhan heard the worry in his voice, and he began rubbing Wei Ying's back, long, soothing strokes.

"For Wei Ying, all my time." He replied.

He shivered, feeling warm lips kiss the side of his neck.

"My parents died in a car crash when I was five."

"But Wei Ying's memory?" Lan Zhan was appalled.

With Wei Ying's eidetic memory, no, his super eidetic memory...that meant...

"Yeah...I can tell you exactly what happened." Wei Ying admitted, his sigh painful to hear. "It was a Sunday afternoon and my mother wanted to go on a picnic. We loaded up the car and put the cooler in the boot. My dad was driving..."

"Honey, did you lock the front door?" His mother asked again.

His dad laughed as they sped away from their home, their little red car humming efficiently as they joined the highway.

"That's gotta be the fourth time you asked me that, my love!"

Wei Ying watched them lean in together for another kiss. They looked so much in love...they always looked like that.

And then, the horrific BANG!

He could hear his mother screaming and all around him was the sound of breaking glass, shouts from his father as their tiny car was thrown into the air, and for a split second, there was only a deathly silence as they plummeted back to the ground, the impact of their fragile chassis exploding onto the tarmac, and Wei Ying's body catapulting through the air, sliding out of the confines of his seat belt, far away from the wreckage...but the mack truck that had first hit them was still coming...crashing into the now broken pile of metal and glass.

Pain...pain burst all over his little body and when he turned to look at his hands, he saw his mother's red ribbon clutched within his chubby fingers...how had he managed to hold on to this?

"The paramedics came. I was taken to hospital...and I....I never saw my parents again." Wei Ying started when a white handkerchief was pressed to his aching eyes. He let Lan Zhan wipe his face tenderly, keeping his eyes closed for now.

Lan Zhan was horrified. He had kept silent all throughout Wei Ying's descriptions but he could not imagine the trauma this young man had gone through. His arms tightened around Wei Ying's body, wanting to keep him safe, wanting to protect him from his past.

Lan Zhan grabbed his mug and put it to Wei Ying's lips, his mind a little more at ease when Wei Ying obediently drank a little. He returned to resting against Lan Zhan again, soothed by his sandalwood scent and his pulse steadily beating.

"Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu were friends of my parents. They came looking for me at the orphanage just outside Yunmeng. They....ah...they adopted me."

Something was wrong...Lan Zhan heard it in his tone...but Wei Ying was silent all of a sudden.

"What happened?" He asked, worried.

Wei Ying let out a heavy sigh.

"They already had two children, my Shijie who was four years older than me and Jiang Cheng....he had dogs...and I...and I don't like them too much." Wei Ying smiled when he felt soft lips resting on his forehead. Being like this...it helped.

"Lan Zhan...I've never told anyone about that time." The truth was, Wei Ying couldn't really tell anyone, and especially not Jiang YanLi...and there wasn't anyone else available.

"Does Wei Ying not want to? It is okay..." Lan Zhan told him, banking down in the rampant desire he felt to know everything there was to know about Wei Ying...and A-Yuan.

"It's okay, Lan Zhan...I w-want to...I should!" Wei Ying swallowed another mouthful of hot chocolate and then held the mug to Lan Zhan's mouth.

Lan Zhan was too concerned about Wei Ying to fully appreciate the party going on in his mouth, but he felt happier when Wei Ying returned to his original position.

"Um...Madam Yu didn't like me very much. I'm not sure how it started but I know that I was a kid...I had no idea about internal family politics...I just tried to do my best...my mama always told me that I should smile and everything would be better...but there...that wasn't true." Wei Ying tried to swallow past the huge lump in his throat.

Lan Zhan could feel a slow rage building. His protective instincts were kicking in and he knew that although Wei Ying was trying to tell him the truth, but maybe he might not be able to tell him the full extent of it.

He tried to imagine what this five year old had been going through...not only had his parents just died, right in front of him, but he was unable to forget it...and the details with which he had just drawn the pictures of that time...Lan Zhan was a hundred percent sure he was telling the truth about the accident. But now, because of the way Wei Ying was thinking before speaking, Lan Zhan knew he was choosing his memories carefully, aware of the kind of effect it could have.

"I didn't mean to be better than Jiang Cheng...really I didn't. We got along well after he was over losing his dogs...I mean, there was only maybe a week or two in between our ages...but his mother was always pushing him to study harder, to be more ambitious, you know the drill. And A-Cheng was bright but he had to study harder than me, and when the doctors told them about my condition, things got worse for both of us."

"How did it come to light?" Lan Zhan continued to rub his back, willing himself to relax, and telling himself that, that time had gone. There was no use being angry at faceless people now...

"My teachers at school. I swear...if I knew what was going to happen, I would have hidden it from everyone." He sighed again. "I was eight when it came out...about my brain. Course, Jiang Cheng was justified in defending his scholarly traits but Madam Yu decided to punish me for cheating. And she became worse with A-Cheng. Pushing, pushing, pushing...then we ran away together. We were older by then and we managed to enroll in LanLing University...Shijie was already there, and the Peacock wanted to help, so he convinced his father to bankroll A-Cheng."

"What about Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan was already incensed about Madam Yu "punishing" Wei Ying...he wanted to know what that meant exactly...but he did not wish any more pain upon Wei Ying that would surely come with remembering.

"I um...I....they made me take an exam and then they gave me a scholarship." He rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly blushing.

"But what about accommodation? Equipment? Food?" Lan Zhan had been to University, he knew how hard it was even if family paid for everything...the studying alone took more time than anything else.

A scholarship sometimes only meant access to the school and the education itself, but that was it.

"So we both got jobs at the local supermarket. One day...we were travelling by bus to town for our shift..." now it was going to get difficult. "Um...it was really cold, and there was black ice on the roads...our bus crashed into a car..." guilt bled out of his words.

Wei Ying tried a couple of times to clear his throat, unshed tears making his voice thicker. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm down.

Lan Zhan waited, feeling distraught on his behalf. In Wei Ying's short life already he had faced insurmountable situations, only to come out on top. But he had the feeling that this one...this one was the worst.

"In that car...there were three people...A-Yuan...and...and his mum and dad. They died on impact...I mean, there was hardly anything left of the car. And I...I heard everything, one by one, each sound that made me relive my parents' death all over again." In his mind, he heard the slamming of brakes, a rookie mistake when dealing with ice on the road, because as any seasoned driver will tell you, the driver of that bus should have gone into the skid rather than try to oppose it, unwittingly making the crash worse.

That screeching of rubber tyres on the asphalt, followed by the shattering of glass, and then when it shattered further upon impact with the ground, the screams of people in the bus as they were flung about, impaled by the broken windscreen of their vehicle. Wei Ying remembered that a shard of glass had cut through his hairline, and there were numerous cuts along his arm, but all of that was forgotten when he heard the cry of a child. Coming from outside.

That single wail from a distraught child, crying out for his mother, and Wei Ying was going through his own PTSD all over again.

He remembered sitting in the ambulance with Jiang Cheng, when another paramedic came from the wreckage holding A-Yuan. Wei Ying had made the mistake of looking at Jiang Cheng and seeing him shake his head, but Wei Ying was already walking towards the kid, drawn by a powerful attack of empathy. Jiang Cheng even told him not to go.

He remembered that part bitterly.

"When I saw A-Yuan...Lan Zhan, how could I let him go? He had no one...alone and afraid, and I don't know why there was a connection between us, but I held out my arms and he came to me. The paramedics asked if I was a relative and I lied...I told them he was my distant cousin, that he had never seen me before but I knew of his parents. They let me keep him until it became official but it was a fight. The authorities didn't want me to keep him because I was still in school and Jiang Cheng...we had the biggest fight when I left our dormitory. I haven't spoken to him since."

That was the worst part.

He wanted to think that he and Jiang Cheng were closer than that, but Jiang Cheng was pissed at him on two counts: for wanting to take on the responsibility of growing a child when he wasn't much of an adult himself, and of the inevitability of Wei Ying giving up school.

But weren't brothers supposed to love each other through thick and thin?

Wei Ying let his mind travel to the Institute and he remembered how XiChen looked after Lan Zhan, albeit intrusively. The two Jades were better brothers, had a better relationship as brothers than Wei Ying had ever had with Jiang Cheng.

"I wish...I wish it was not so." Wei Ying admitted. "I love how close you are with your brother, Lan Zhan. The way your Xiongzhang looks after you...it's nice."

"Mn." Lan Zhan wasn't exactly disagreeing. "What happened when you adopted A-Yuan?"

"Oh...um...Well, I didn't tell anyone the full story to begin with. A-Cheng and I were surrounded by potheads and party animals anyway, so it wasn't as if I could talk to them...and I think Jiang Cheng sort of knew what I was going to do, you know?" Wei Ying closed his eyes, loving this contact. He felt peaceful for the first time in weeks, relaxed and content. "So one day, A-Yuan is asleep on my bed, and Jiang Cheng really lays into me. I mean, that time, he really didn't hold back. He said that I was crazy for even thinking about adopting A-Yuan, that I was throwing my life away, that no girl would ever want an already made family..."

Lan Zhan stiffened at the mention of a female partner for Wei Ying.

Wei Ying didn't notice, completely sucked into that past.

"I told him that I didn't care, that me and A-Yuan, we were going to be our own family, and he was welcome to join us...but he stormed out, telling me that if I was going to throw my life away, I could do it by myself but he wasn't going to watch me do it. After he left, I turned around and I'm seeing little A-Yuan really scared, like terrified...just like when the accident happened the first time around...and Lan Zhan...I could see it in his eyes, he thought...he thought I was going to abandon him." Wei Ying was weeping openly now. "He had no one, Lan Zhan...NO ONE! And he was just a baby!"

Lan Zhan just held him close, letting him loosen the cogs in his head, get rid of these memories like releasing bats from a cave. Wei Ying had held on to these painful parts of his life for far too long now, and at least by cleaning out the cobwebs in his mind, perhaps he could be at peace for a while.

His hand had moved up and was absentmindedly stroking Wei Ying's hair. Somewhere down the line, his ponytail had gotten loose and now those beautiful dark brown strands of silky hair framed his face. There were red patches all over his face, the tracks of his tears drying on his beautiful cheeks and Lan Zhan thought he was the loveliest piece of art work he had ever laid eyes on. He let his lips linger on Wei Ying's forehead.

"Lan Zhan...what are we doing?" Wei Ying felt exhausted suddenly. Too tired to move.

"Mn?"

"I mean...I've told you everything I thought you would want to know about me..." He took another deep breath. "Please...please think about this carefully. You have to know, A-Yuan is my number one. Anything and everything I do revolves around him...and I...and I...can't be around you if you can't accept that. We're a joint package...A-Yuan and me." Wei Ying knew his eyes were red and puffy, but this was too important to not address.

Lan Zhan needed to know where he stood. For real.

"And me."

Two words...softly spoken.

"Huh?" Wei Ying thought he had imagined the sound. His eyes hurt and he could feel a headache blossoming behind them.

"Our family. A-Yuan, Wei Ying and me."

Wei Ying's eyes snapped open at that, staring deeply into golden ones. His hand came up and caressed Lan Zhan's cheek with his thumb.

He was smiling at least.

Lan Zhan leaned into his touch, feeling as if he could look at Wei Ying forever...would agree to anything as long as Wei Ying continued to look at him like that.

"Lan Zhan...my sweet Lan Zhan...I'm not saying no...I'm...I guess I'm just being cautious...is all." Wei Ying soothed, watching the happiness fade away slightly from those honeyed pools. "I'm going to give you more time...I'm going to give us more time. I want you to really think about it, I mean seriously think about being with us...as a proper family. I'm sorry to be so direct, but Lan Zhan...he's my kid. I can't mess around with that."

Lan Zhan pouted.

What else could he do? And while Wei Ying wasn't saying no...Well, he wasn't  saying yes, either.

Wei Ying giggled at that. He sat up properly, straddling Lan Zhan and holding his beautiful face gently. He leaned in to kiss those gorgeous lips, irresistible and soft, a taste that seemed made in heaven, especially for them. Warm, soothing, tender and carefully, Wei Ying traced the outer line of Lan Zhan’s mouth softly, in dedication and with his full attention. When the tight line of his lips opened, Wei Ying tasted the inside of his mouth, the warmth deepening into something scorching with want.

Their tongues duelled in a fight as old as time, yet both were evenly matched for this soul battle. Fireworks were exploding in his head as Wei Ying sought for purchase, his hands resting on Lan Zhan's shoulders while Lan Zhan let his fingers roam, waiting first at his hips, digging in as their kisses heated, intensifying with passion. And then they moved on to his behind, squeezing the peaches.

Wei Ying was so turned on, he didn't even register that Lan Zhan had flipped them over so he was now on his back with a hard body lying on top of him. Lan Zhan pressed him into the softness of the couch and Wei Ying wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan's waist, holding him closer now. They were still kissing when Wei Ying's alarm went off.

That noise...there was something trying to interrupt this heavenly feeling, and it was Lan Zhan who pulled away reluctantly to grab Wei Ying's phone and hold it in front of his face.

When he saw what the alarm was for, Wei Ying's eyes widened and he was scrambling to get up.

"A-Yuan." Was all he had to say for Lan Zhan to rise smoothly and hold a hand out to him.

But even when Wei Ying was standing up, still under the influence of those dizzying kisses, it was Lan Zhan who placed a firm hand on his shoulder and turned him around so his back was facing him, and carefully retied his silky long hair into a decent ponytail.

"I will take Wei Ying."

Wei Ying was pretty sure Lan Zhan meant to school, but a small part of him wanted to be claimed by him, wholly and unconditionally.

Lan Zhan looked at his watch and frowned. "It's early...?"

The past two days they had arrived late so there was a huge gap in the time.

"It takes longer by bus." Wei Ying explained, puzzled by the sudden sharp gleam in Lan Zhan's eyes.

"Then..." Lan Zhan lifted a single finger under Wei Ying's chin to raise his face, asking permission and finding it in the silver orbs before he swooped in for another kiss.

This time it was sweeter, longer and calmer, but no less passionate...like the gradual awakening of a dormant skill, Lan Zhan had discovered that he loved...kissing Wei Ying like this.

Wei Ying had never been kissed before and he was eager to taste more of Lan Zhan, to feel those hot lips against his own, lost in the shining, shimmering feelings swamping his heart.

"I guess there are advantages to travelling by car...." Wei Ying snickered, when they pulled apart.

"Mn." Lan Zhan took his hand and waited by the door.

Wei Ying went and stood with him...wondering why they had stopped.

"Um...should we go?" He asked tentatively.

"Wei Ying has a checklist." Lan Zhan told him proudly.

"Ah...ha..." Wei Ying smiled, terribly embarrassed. "I might have forgotten my keys on occasion...." He grinned and reached up to kiss Lan Zhan's cheek. "Thank you for reminding me."

"We can add one more thing." Lan Zhan was saying.

Wei Ying was patting the correct pockets for his keys and grabbing his wallet, when he was turned around.

"What do you want to add?" He asked, checking his shoes.

"This." Lan Zhan kissed him again, this time it was shorter because they had to go.

Wei Ying had to drape his arms around Lan Zhan's shoulders, stars in his eyes at the sweet and incredibly romantic gesture.

"Are you sure you want to add kissing to the list? We might never be able to leave home..." Wei Ying giggled.

Lan Zhan thought it was the most beautiful sound. And perhaps something else to add to the checklist...

Soon they were in his car and on their way to school.

"I feel like I can tell you anything, Lan Zhan." Wei Ying told him, looking out of his passenger window.

Lan Zhan had already put the car in drive so his hand was free; he reached over and intertwined their fingers together, startling Wei Ying. When they reached the first traffic light, Lan Zhan held his hand up and kissed the soft skin on the back of Wei Ying's hand, his nose skimming the surface like an ice skater, drinking in the warm sweet scent of lotus flowers.

It was worth it to see the pink blush on Wei Ying's face spread across his soft cheeks and Lan Zhan really wanted to kiss him again...but he had to park now because they had arrived.

A-Yuan was delighted to see them both, and ran to Wei Ying first, and after receiving a warm kiss on his pudgy cheek, he held his arms out to Lan Zhan, wanting to be carried.

Lan Zhan had not expected that at all and he took A-Yuan immediately. It was one thing to have an eager child when its parent was missing, and another thing entirely when both people were there, and the kid still chose him.

"Kith." A-Yuan told him confidently.

Lan Zhan looked at Wei Ying for an answer.

"Either you can kiss his cheek or you can let him do yours." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Don't worry Lan Zhan, I have wipes."

In the end, they did both.

Lan Zhan pressed the button on his keys and Wei Ying opened the passenger door behind the driver's seat.

"Lan Zhan! When did you get this?" He exclaimed loud enough for othed parents to turn and look at them.

Lan Zhan could feel his traitorous ears lighting up with heat.

He already knew what Wei Ying was referring to; the booster seat that had arrived last night. Lan Zhan had immediately installed it, before XiChen saw and made it an issue...

He shrugged and secured A-Yuan in safely, before getting in behind the wheel.

Wei Ying was still looking at him in wonder.

A-Yuan spent the drive home looking out of the window he could now see out of, singing to himself quietly, while Wei Ying reached over to join their hands while Lan Zhan drove them home.

Sometimes, words were not necessary.

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

They ordered pizza for dinner.

"I'm out of groceries so I'll try and squeeze time for shopping tomorrow." He explained, hanging up on pizza people. "I hope you like pizza?"

A-Yuan was already clapping his pudgy hands together happily, while Lan Zhan thought about what he was going to say.

Wei Ying poked his arm, secretly thrilled at the hard muscle under his shirt.

"That was a question..."

"Mn. Am thinking." He was told seriously.

"I'll give you a clue to the answer, it's a three letter word...beginning with a 'Y', ending in an 'S' with an 'E' in the middle..." Wei Ying nudged him with his elbow as they all entered the living room.

A-Yuan grabbed his favourite jigsaw puzzle and went and sat down in Lan Zhan's lap.

"Beautiful Gege, let's play."

"Lan Zhan...have you ever eaten pizza?" Wei Ying asked him.

He had not really believed it when the thought occurred to him, but now that it was out, he realised it could be true.

"No. I have not." Lan Zhan told him over A-Yuan's head.

Wei Ying was shocked. In a daze, he went to his desk and saved his earlier files, having been surprised by Lan Zhan's arrival before.

He returned to their side, and began helping A-Yuan find the pieces with the straight edges for the border.

"I wish to go with Wei Ying." Lan Zhan said, a little bit of excitement in his voice.

"Hmm? Where?" Wei Ying looked up into suddenly intense golden eyes.

His breath stuttered and stopped.

"Shopping. With Wei Ying."

"Wait...are you really...excited about that?" Wei Ying asked him, incredulous at the mere suggestion of it.

"Mn. Have never been. Would like to. With Wei Ying." That last part was said with some shyness.

"Well, aren't you the sweetest thing?" Wei Ying reached up and kissed his cheek.

Of course, this made A-Yuan think he had to kiss Lan Zhan's other cheek...and then both adults kissed his chubby cheeks and suddenly, no one knew who started it, but Wei Ying was being tickled mercilessly with loud enthusiastic laughter coming from a chortling A-Yuan who looked like he knew he was doing something naughty but if the other two were doing it as well...

The doorbell rang just then.

Wei Ying would have gotten up, but Lan Zhan put his warm palm on Wei Ying's stomach.

"May I?" He asked, getting up immediately upon a single nod from Wei Ying.

He answered the door while A-Yuan decided Wei Ying's body made the perfect pillow and lay across him, puzzle forgotten.

When Lan Zhan had gone for longer than Wei Ying would have thought, he shifted A-Yuan safely to the side and went to investigate.

Lan Zhan was setting the table carefully.

Wei Ying watched him for a second before deciding to put him out of his quandary. He went up behind Lan Zhan and wrapped his arms around his waist in a hug from behind.

Lan Zhan liked that. A lot.

"Um...Lan Zhan, my sweet, what are you doing?" His voice was muffled against Lan Zhan's sweater.

Lan Zhan covered Wei Ying's hands at his stomach, smiling softly.

"We need plates? Knives and forks?"

"No." Wei Ying went up on his tip toes to kiss the back of Lan Zhan’s neck, inducing a shiver in the other. He filed that away for future reference.

"No?"

"No." Wei Ying left him then, to call A-Yuan.

Lan Zhan missed him already.

"When it's pizza, we eat with our hands." Wei Ying grinned at the mildly distasteful look on his face. "But you're welcome to eat it any way you please." He grabbed the stool that A-Yuan climbed on so he could reach the sink.

Lan Zhan watched as both of them washed their hands carefully again, because they had done that once already upon their return from school. But then it turned into a game of who could splash each other the most and then Lan Zhan had to intervene with towels for both of the dripping recipients while they both laughed themselves silly. Wei Ying grabbed three plates and a tray for Lan Zhan and served one slice on A-Yuan's plate and two each on the other two.

"Come on. Bring your plate." Wei Ying told him and they returned to the couch in the living room.

A-Yuan ended up in between both of them again, and Lan Zhan watched both father and son take a slice each and just put it in their mouths...taking a bite.

He stared at his plate for a long while, until he was startled by the knife and fork presented to him. Wei Ying had washed his hands before grabbing those and a tray to make it easier for him.

Lan Zhan immediately felt better straight away.

He had not known this about himself; the fact that he needed a few rules for guidance, a structure to follow in order to deal with whatever came at him. Even something as simple as a dinner. He really had not known how to proceed when faced with an unknown food and no utensils to cope with it.

He put his first bite in his mouth.

Wei Ying watched the changing expressions on his face with delight, from uncertainty to slow happiness to bliss.

"Do you like it?" He whispered. "Me and A-Yuan usually pick up a margarita but I have to add chilli flakes on mine. He's too young for spices."

"Mn." Lan Zhan had no words for the party going on in his mouth.

This was fabulous! How had he never tasted this before? He was in heaven...

"You can add different toppings too. Usually it's vegetables and pepperoni, but it varies from place to place." Wei was telling him.

Lan Zhan was listening to him and trying to concentrate on eating...this was so good!

A-Yuan asked for a carrot stick after he was done, while Wei Ying brought the pizza box to the living room. They ate two more slices each.

"What would you like to drink, Lan Zhan? I don't have any beer and I'm trying to keep A-Yuan away from soda for now." Wei Ying was reaching for his plate, and Lan Zhan was torn in between giving it up or helping him with the box.

He opted for the latter, following Wei Ying into the kitchen.

"Hot chocolate." He replied to Wei Ying, watching him transfer the leftover pizza to plates, clingfilm them and store them in the fridge. He raised a brow.

"That's for breakfast tomorrow. It's the best thing!" Wei Ying replied enthusiastically.

"Breakfast pizza?" Lan Zhan asked, doubtfully.

"Sure! You can gave anything for breakfast if you put your mind to it." Wei Ying reassured him. "When money's tight, your brain goes into survival mode. Basically, you can eat anything if it fills your tummy." He efficiently rinsed off the dishes on the sink and put milk to boil. "You really like this, huh?" He was referring to the hot chocolate with a hand, smiling at Lan Zhan.

"Mn." Lan Zhan had wandered over to the art work displayed just outside the kitchen.

It was his and now he was in another dilemma.

"I know it's small...but it's nice to look at." Wei Ying whispered, standing right next to him.

Lan Zhan wrapped his arm around Wei Ying's shoulders, tucking him into his side. This position came naturally to both of them and neither questioned the sigh that left their lips at the contact.

The sizzling on the stove had Wei Ying hurrying over there and preparing their drinks. When they returned to the living room, A-Yuan had given up on trying to stay awake and settled into a heap on the couch.

"Sit and relax, Lan Zhan. I'll just put him to bed and come back." Wei Ying told him in a hushed voice.

Lan Zhan watched as Wei Ying picked up his son, kissing his forehead and whispering things like, "what a good boy my little Radish is...so sweet and lovely, Baba loves A-Yuan so much..."

His voice faded as Wei Ying climbed the steps to A-Yuan's bedroom.

Lan Zhan savoured his drink and thought hard about what he wanted to say to Wei Ying.

Wei Ying returned a few minutes later, wiping his hands on his black jeans. He plopped down on the couch next to Lan Zhan like a panda, arms splayed and head resting back, closing his eyes.

Lan Zhan had to smile.

"Wei Ying is tired?"

Wei Ying opened a single silver eye.

"Ah...shucks, I'm being a bad host, aren't I?" He sat up with a groan.

Lan Zhan handed him his hot chocolate.

Wei Ying eyed it dubiously.

"If you want me to hold any sort of conversation while you're here, you better keep that away from me." He grinned. "Warm milk, heck even warm water right now, is liable to knock me out, straight into tomorrow."

"I should go." Lan Zhan would have stood up, but Wei Ying was suddenly faster.

He climbed into Lan Zhan’s lap, his eyes looking for whether it was okay for him to do so.

Lan Zhan was already having a mini heart attack, since this was probably the third time today and he couldn't believe his luck. He nodded and Wei Ying blinded him with a beaming smile.

"I'm not tired, right now, Er-Gege...you can stay, if you want to."

Lan Zhan wanted to.

It was apparent all over his face, and Wei Ying gave him another knowing smile.

"Lan Zhan...Lan Zhan...my sweet, I would love it if you can stay for a bit longer."

"Mn...wish to talk." Lan Zhan said, quietly, steeling himself for having to speak more than ten words in a single conversation.

"Okay...I'm all ears." Wei Ying told him encouragingly. "What would you like to talk about?"

Lan Zhan took some deep breaths, thankful for Wei Ying's seemingly unlimited patience. Silver starlight eyes stared back at him and Lan Zhan wished he had an eidetic memory, for in this instance, he wanted to memorise every play of light dancing in those beautiful eyes, each nuance that made them lovelier, each emotion that created depth in the gunmetal flecks, the lighter Mercury shining brighter.

Wei Ying waited.

Having A-Yuan, living with his child, he had learned how not to rush, how to give the other space and openness, and then experiencing the most unexpected breakthroughs, being rewarded by the brilliant smile in A-Yuan's beautiful burgundy eyes.

Now Lan Zhan's eyes, so golden and resplendent with truth, his truth, shone back at him full of trust. This close, Wei Ying could see each glimmering amber fleck, each precious tint of gold, and he wanted to kiss him so badly...but he made himself wait.

Whatever Lan Zhan wanted to talk about, it was important.

Though he snickered internally at the thought, that even if Lan Zhan was going to go  through a dictionary, Wei Ying would have listened to him read it, entranced. Lan Zhan had a pull on him without even trying, and Wei Ying wasn't going to think about it just yet.

Lan Zhan picked up Wei Ying's hand and put it on his own heart. Wei Ying blushed at their intimate position, but he could now hear every single individual beating of his heart. It seemed like they were the only two in this world.

"I want to...tell Wei Ying...about myself."

Wei Ying smiled at him. Lan Zhan was trying to reciprocate Wei Ying's own candidness from before, when Wei Ying had told him all about himself.

Wei Ying lifted Lan Zhan's hand and placed it upon his own heart, shivering at the warmth of his big palm. Now they were equal. Then with his his forefinger, he placed it on Lan Zhan's lips for a second.

"Lan Zhan, Er-Gege...you know you don't have to. I know enough about you to know that you are a good man. That's enough for me. I only told you about myself and A-Yuan....because....because you should know what you're getting into. That's all. Anything else you want to tell me, it's purely up to you...don't feel like you have to...is all." He smiled kindly and removed his finger.

"I want to show Wei Ying and A-Yuan." Lan Zhan said, as soon as his mouth was free.

He was taken aback at how trusting Wei Ying was already, how much he was willing to put aside.

"So...you don't want to tell me...you want to show us?" Wei Ying clarified.

Lan Zhan nodded solemnly.

"Hard...for me...to talk."

"Aww....Lan Zhan...it's really okay. You don't have to worry about a single thing. Look at us! Haven't we done well so far? We've known each other almost a whole week and look at our progress! I really like you...like a whole lot. Whatever you're worried about, I'm sure we can solve it together. Okay?" With his free hand, Wei Ying cupped his face and leaned in for a quick kiss.

"One for Wei Ying, one for me..." Lan Zhan told him, kissing him hungrily.

"At this rate, we'll never be able to let each other go." Wei Ying laughed at the look of disappointment on Lan Zhan's face. "Relax, Lan Zhan...I'm not going anywhere."

Lan Zhan felt around his pockets for his phone. He unlocked it and handed it to Wei Ying.

"Missed Wei Ying today. Was worried."

Wei Ying took it from him, understanding that Lan Zhan wanted his number.

"Worried? Why?" He frowned, typing in his details and handing it back.

Lan Zhan dialed him straight away, and they both waited for Wei Ying's phone to ring, which it did seconds later.

"Wei Ying did not come to the Institute today. Like seeing Wei Ying. Miss Wei Ying." He thought for a moment. "And no book from Wei Ying."

"Aww! Lan Zhan! You say the sweetest things." Wei Ying hid his flaming face in the crook of Lan Zhan’s neck. "You know, you could always pick your next book by yourself." He chuckled, picturing the horrified look on Lan Zhan's face.

Then he leaned back and laughed out loud when he saw he was right.

"Lan Zhan...there's nothing to worry about. Every single book teaches us something...I mean, you could easily start at 'A' and work your way to 'Z' and you'd be fine."

Lan Zhan was already pouting stubbornly, shaking his head.

"It's better if Wei Ying picks." He insisted, obstinately.

"Fine, fine...I'll be there tomorrow morning first thing after dropping off A-Yuan at kindergarten. Okay?" Wei Ying grinned at this side of Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan was still pouting...and Wei Ying gave into that constant desire to kiss him, angling his face just so, so that again and again, their lips met in the sweetest of kisses.

It was interrupted only by Wei Ying's uncontrollable yawn, for which he apologised.

"No need. Wei Ying is tired. I should go." He smiled at the disappointed look in Wei Ying's face. "Thank you for dinner." He stood up, carrying Wei Ying and ignoring his yelp of surprise.

"You're so strong, Lan Zhan..." Wei Ying shyly touched his biceps.

"Handstands." Lan Zhan told him proudly.

"Since when?"

"Five years old."

"FIVE?" Wei Ying was aghast.

"Mn. Uncle said so. Daily training. Will Wei Ying and A-Yuan like to spend Saturday morning with me? At my home?" Lan Zhan held his breath, waiting nervously for Wei Ying to answer.

Wei Ying was already nodding.

"I have to submit my chapters this Friday and I'm mostly done. I'll finish by tomorrow and send it off, then we're free."

"When does Wei Ying want to go shopping?"

"As soon as I'm finished writing. But hang on...I said I'm coming to the Institute first thing tomorrow, didn't I?" Wei Ying tried to plan it out in his head.

"Mn." Lan Zhan waited, also making his own plans. Then he said, "if Wei Ying comes to the Institute and picks out a book, I'll drop him back. Wei Ying can write, I will read. Then we can go shopping." He looked far too excited for a mere grocery trip.

"Good plan..." Wei Ying replied, but he looked worried. "Lan Zhan? What about your job?" He sighed, cupping Lan Zhan's face with both of his hands now. "Won't you get in trouble if you keep leaving? I don't wanna cause problems for you."

Lan Zhan kissed his nose. His Wei Ying was so cute!

"Volunteer." He explained. "Look after Institute for fun."

"That's what you do for fun?" Wei Ying couldn't stop the disbelief from showing. "But then..." He stopped himself from saying anything else. "You know, if you ever need a place to stay, I'm here for you." He quickly calculated his budget. Once he submitted his chapters, the publication company would probably advance him another ten thousand dollars or so, and that meant he could easily afford to help Lan Zhan out.

Lan Zhan smiled enigmatically at him.

"It is appreciated...and welcomed." He reluctantly put Wei Ying down gently.

Wei Ying kept his arms around Lan Zhan's neck, leaning in for one last kiss.

"Good night, Lan Zhan. Sweet dreams." He whispered.

Lan Zhan looked down at his beautiful face and kissed his forehead. His lips stayed like that while he hugged Wei Ying one last time before leaving.

Wei Ying watched him pull out of his drive, his own heart full to the brim with happiness.