Thursday

Lan Zhan couldn't believe it.

"WEI YING! WEI YING!!" He howled into the hole, his hand suddenly free.

Cold fear gripped his body and he shivered, scared that they were too late. His fingers already bloody began to tear away at the rock and stones, desperation in his actions.

He hardly felt the strong arms band around him, pulling him away from his position on the ground as a crane with a cinch began lifting the top layers of the concrete, while another man pointed a strange looking infra red camera at the place Lan Zhan had been standing just moments ago.

"DIDI! YOU CAN STOP NOW!"

These words jolted Lan Zhan out of his stupor and he turned around and cried.

XiChen was shocked.

He had hurried out of the hospital on his way to the roof to catch a ride with their emergency helicopter, and called his friend, Nie MingJue who owned a construction company, to send some of his best men and equipment to the ground zero area, and as they had a contract nearby, they were on the scene before the ambulance.

XiChen wasn't prepared for the state of that wreckage, and worse, for the state of his baby brother. He had never seen Lan Zhan this upset before.

His arms tightened around his brother, as he tried to soothe the distraught man.

"He'll be fine, Didi. Have some faith." He stroked his back, hoping to calm him down.

"Xiongzhang..."

"Didi...what have you done to your hands?" XiChen took his bloody fingers in, horrified. "Were you trying to dig him out yourself?" But he understood when he looked into golden eyes filled with pain.

A shout from behind them had both brothers rushing forward. Lan Zhan heard the ambulance behind them, but all of his attention was on the crumpled frame of Wei Ying's body, lying in a pool of blood.

Lan Zhan could only watch as XiChen directed his colleagues and they started a blood transfusion immediately upon locating the external injury, and then they wrapped him in foil and lifted him into the helicopter.

There was no way Lan Zhan was going to leave him now. He tossed his keys to one of the paramedics and jumped into the helicopter with his brother.

********

Wei Ying was taken straight into the operating theatre. XiChen pulled Lan Zhan inside too, where he could watch everything from behind a glass gallery.

The procedure lasted a few hours but they managed to get him stable.

After they transferred Wei Ying to the ICU department, XiChen came to find Lan Zhan. He was sitting next to Wei Ying, holding his hand.

He started, when XiChen put his warm hand on his shoulder.

"Didi...we have to inform his family."

That was all he had to say, for Lan Zhan to stand up, dashing away his tears.

"Lan Zhan...I need you to do something for me..."

"Can you go and see my boy?"

"Lan Zhan...go see A-Yuan, tell him...tell my boy I love him."

"I'll do it."

XiChen nodded and handed him Wei Ying's ID, his shattered phone, and his wallet and keys.

"What's his condition?" Lan Zhan asked.

"Three broken ribs, a contusion in his back that we managed to fix...but you saw...he went into shock two times on the table. Right now, he's slipped into a coma, but we think that's just his way of dealing with everything. He'll wake up as good as new, once he gets through the first forty eight hours."

Lan Zhan could feel his eyes filling again, and he willed himself to blink back those tears.

"He has a kid."

"Oh...Didi..." XiChen's voice was filled with sympathy.

"Will Xiongzhang stay here...just until I get back?"

"I'll try. If I have to leave, I'll make sure that someone is here with him."

Lan Zhan nodded and left.

He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, too aware that he did not want to scare Wei Ying's family unnecessarily with evidence of his grief. Even now, he was unsure why he was so unsettled, why he had such a strong connection to this stranger.

Maybe it was the level of understanding they had reached together, maybe it was the sharing of their troubles, but Lan Zhan was determined to be there for Wei Ying.

He wondered who A-Yuan's mother was, and who A-Qing was. What kind of a reaction was he going to get when he reached Wei Ying's home?

Telling loved ones anything distressing was always hard, and once his partners had discovered how bad he was at it, they had taken over in an unspoken agreement.

And now he was going to have to go talk to more strangers...possibly a kid too. He shuddered, allowing himself that small fraction of uncertainty, before standing tall.

He squared his shoulders and took deep breaths, and then he left.

His friend had messaged where his car was, and Lan Zhan picked up his keys from the main reception, his mind full of swirling thoughts.

Interspersed with what he was going to have to tell these people, his thoughts were racing back to Wei Ying and how soon he could return.

The drive to Wei Ying's apartment was a blur, and only after he had parked, did Lan Zhan think it was a miracle that he hadn't crashed or hurt someone. He was filled with the grief of having saved Wei Ying but him not being awake, and the simultaneous feeling of unease at what he had to do now.

He opted for the stairs rather the elevator...trying to choose the correct words.

But before he could pick any of the thoughts racing inside his head, the choice was taken out of his hands as a frazzled woman shouted, "A-Yuan! Hold my hand."

Lan Zhan saw the woman who had her long hair piled in a precarious bun which was already teetering, held together with a single jade hairpin, struggling to juggle shopping bags and open the door too, while trying to make the child come to her.

A-Yuan...Wei Ying's little kid.

The five year old boy was humming to himself as he went back to the woman, who must be A-Qing. He was wearing a hoodie with two rabbits on it, one white, and one black. The little boy paused and looked up at him.

Lan Zhan's eyes were blurry already. He didn't think he could do this.

How could he tell them what Wei Ying had said?

Every instinct inside of him was screaming to protect these people from the truth...but if he didn't tell them...they would be wondering where Wei Ying was, when he failed to come home that evening.

The tears fell from his eyes and he was vaguely aware of being led somewhere. He was pushed onto a couch and a tissue pressed into his hands.

After he wiped his face, Lan Zhan looked up to see A-Qing and A-Yuan staring back at him, both with frightened looks on their faces, though A-Yuan was more curious than scared.

"Why do you have A-Ying's things in you hands?" Wen Qing demanded. But the look in her eyes showed that she knew something was wrong.

She was clutching A-Yuan close to her body as if trying to protect him from whatever
Lan Zhan was going to say.

"So...this morning, Wei Ying...Wei Ying..." Lan Zhan was thinking about that morning, about discovering that beautiful man in the rubble, about his frustration at not being able to pull him out of that dark place.

As those thoughts chased each other one after another, his tears began falling rapidly, because only now was he allowing his mind to accept and deal with his own trauma of what had occurred.

Finding Wei Ying by accident, talking to him until the emergency services arrived...XiChen had already told him that if he hadn't reached there when he did, there was a good chance that Wei Ying would have been found dead.

Lan Zhan's hands were shaking now and he felt Wen Qing take Wei Ying's personal items and put them on the coffee table. He wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself down, when something soft and fluffy was put into his lap.

It was a stuffed white furry rabbit, and Wei Ying's little boy was looking at him silently, just inches away. He had big brown eyes, serious and thoughtful now, while he looked at Lan Zhan.

"Baba says you can cry if you want to. It's okay." The child told him earnestly. "Would you like a hug?"

Lan Zhan found himself nodding.

The little boy came closer and hugged his neck, patting his back fondly, even though they had just met.

"Dare, dare..."

Lan Zhan wasn't sure what he was saying, or even why such a simple contact made him feel so much better. He patted the boy on his back and thanked him. A-Yuan smelled clean like baby powder and something else.

Wen Qing smiled sadly as she returned with a glass of water.

"Here, drink this, and then speak." She settled back opposite him and Lan Zhan thought the little boy would return to her side, but instead, he sat down next to Lan Zhan and pointed at the soft toy, cautiously.

"Baba says, you can tell Bunny anything. Bunny is a good listener."

Lan Zhan smiled for the first time that day. He sipped the water, and discovered that it did make him feel much better.

In a clear voice, he told them exactly what had happened that morning, leaving nothing out. A-Yuan was distracted and not really listening, choosing to play with his rabbit instead, but Wen Qing was becoming paler and paler.

She stood up immediately.

"Take me to him."

"I can't. He's in the ICU...no visitors." Lan Zhan felt terrible saying that too.

"Then? What if we want to see him?" She insisted, looking as if she was going to burst through the doors of the ER right now and demand entry.

"Please wait. He has tubes hooked up..." Lan Zhan looked pointedly at A-Yuan and luckily Wen Qing understood. "And they won't allow anyone inside."

"So now what? We have to wait? For how long?"

"Forty eight hours. If he remains stable, they will move him into a ward, and you can visit then. My brother is the surgeon who mended him. He says Wei Ying will wake up when he's ready. But...but I do not want him to be alone when he does. I will stay there with him." Lan Zhan promised.

He held out his phone.

"So I can contact you."

Wen Qing nodded, and punched in her numbers.

Lan Zhan stood up to go.

"Wait." She bowed. "Thank you for coming out here, for coming to tell us what happened to A-Ying. Otherwise A-Yuan would have waited and waited."

Lan Zhan looked confused.

"A-Ying usually reads him a bedtime story before he goes to sleep. Heck, all he has to do, is open the book and this one's asleep. Tonight is going to be a long night." She sighed. "As soon as we can come in to see him, please let us know."

"Mn."

"Thank you for finding him too." She blinked back tears. "I will pray for him tonight."

Lan Zhan wasn't sure he could take her crying too, and so he walked on towards the door, but ... found that he couldn't. He looked down to see little A-Yuan clinging onto his thigh.

"Are you gonna let go, little man?" Lan Zhan asked him, a reluctant smile on his own face.

A-Yuan shook his head. He waved at Lan Zhan to come down.

Lan Zhan bent at his waist, wondering what the child was going to say. And then he felt the softest lips press on his cheek.

"For Baba. Is a goodnight kiss. Give it to him?" A-Yuan asked him, looking up at him sincerely.

"It's part of their ritual. A-Ying says it helps to settle him, that's why he wants you to pass it along. Of course, you don't have to." She muttered the last bit under her breath, making sure the baby did not overhear her.

Lan Zhan had a feeling that he would not be allowed to leave, if he did not promise to do what the kid wanted. So he nodded.

A-Yuan stepped back, releasing him.

Wen Qing made the "call me" sign with her thumb and pinkie extended like a phone receiver, and Lan Zhan nodded again, before leaving. This time, when the door closed behind him, he felt lighter, as if his shoulders had been unburdened now.

He drove back to the hospital in silence, hoping Wei Ying had woken up.

***********

XiChen had fallen asleep right next to Wei Ying's bed, leaning back with his mouth open, a little bit of drool escaping from the side of his mouth.

Lan Zhan's gaze drifted over to the prone man, still unconscious and lying down, too quiet for his liking. Wei Ying was still sleeping.

So no change, yet.

And XiChen being asleep before four pm, that told Lan Zhan how tired he was. It was easy to forget that Lan XiChen's role in this hospital was two-fold; not only was he a kickass surgeon saving lives everyday, but he also shared in the responsibility of running the place with their Uncle, and hospital politics was not something to be taken lightly.

Lan Zhan preferred to be out and about, going to wherever he was needed instead, and more often than not, he and his brother's jobs overlapped in the care given to a single patient.

Right now, he felt so exhausted that lying down next to Wei Ying seemed like the best idea, but he knew in reality, he could not do that. He let XiChen sleep and went to stand next to Wei Ying, looking down onto his lovely face.

His decision to wear his hard hat had saved his life, otherwise he would have been flatter than a pancake. As it was, his face was saved from any hurts.

Flawless creamy skin, slightly rosy with the exposure to the sun, long eyelashes resting, curled upon soft cheeks, and the cutest little button nose, that reminded Lan Zhan of a bunny, that's what Wei Ying looked like.

Lan Zhan desperately wanted him to wake up now. Wake up and show me your eyes...he thought, turning it into a prayer.

He bent and kissed Wei Ying's hair.

"A-Yuan says goodnight." He whispered.

Wei Ying remained asleep.

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

Friday

Lan Zhan woke up blearily, looking around him. He sat up and stretched, trying to work through the kinks in his back, and for a second he had forgotten why he was here. But as his glance fell on the man lying so still in front of him, everything came back in a flash.

Wei Ying was still sleeping, nothing on his face to indicate that anything had changed.

Lan Zhan remembered XiChen leaving him almost as soon as he had gotten up, flustered because Lan Zhan had let him sleep some more. But in their profession, rest was hard to come by, and should be taken advantage of whenever the opportunity arose.

XiChen had checked Wei Ying's vitals before leaving, throwing Lan Zhan a concerned look.

"He's stable, Didi. He may stay asleep until the morning...you should go home and get some rest."

Lan Zhan nodded, not wishing to get into it now. Besides, XiChen was just leaving and it wouldn't affect him whether or not Lan Zhan stayed.

"Just for a while." He had said.

Once XiChen left, it was a different story. Lan Zhan could not imagine being away from Wei Ying now, at least not when he was in this condition. He pulled out his mobile and rang his boss, requesting indefinite leave. Given his record and proclivity for working past his shifts on numerous occasions, his boss readily agreed, and Lan Zhan hung up, relieved. One less thing to worry about.

He pulled his chair closer to Wei Ying's face and took of hold of his slender hand, examining his fingers.

This hand had held his in the worst moments of Wei Ying's life. It had been their connection, a lifeline to stem the tide of overwhelming despair, something to bring hope...to both of them.

Lan Zhan had never felt this way about anybody, not even his brother, and he had known XiChen for nearly thirty years. Wei Ying looked near his own age, but even that...Lan Zhan couldn't really care about that.

What mattered to him was that link he felt with Wei Ying, a bonding of familiarity that shouldn't be possible, that was there, tangible and real like a physical thing. The feeling that he knew Wei Ying even if he didn't know him. It didn't even make sense to Lan Zhan but he began to hope that Wei Ying had felt it too.

Kindred Spirit.

He settled back as those words washed over him. The thought made him feel warm inside...and he found himself thinking of his mother. With his free hand, he rubbed a hand over his face, remembering her soft voice. Her face was fading from his memory now and he knew he would find her picture on his phone once more to refresh it.

He had only ever felt like this with his mother...but even then...not as strong as it was with Wei Ying, and what he was feeling for this young man....Well, it wasn't maternal at all.

He smiled to himself at that thought.

He wished Wei Ying would wake up...and soon.

That was the last thing he remembered and he must have fallen asleep himself, because here he was, wearing yesterday's clothes and feeling grubby.

He looked over hopefully at Wei Ying...but sighed to himself because Wei Ying was still looking beautiful but also, was still asleep. Lan Zhan leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead, hoping he would wake up soon.

He stayed for the doctors on their rounds, waiting and hoping they might be able to provide some insight on Wei Ying's condition but they were vague with their report, and this is what Lan Zhan told Wen Qing when he called her later.

"So no change?"

He could hear the disappointment in her voice.

"No. Not yet." He had to add that last part.

"Have you been there since yesterday?" She suddenly asked, suddenly sharper.

"Yes." Lan Zhan admitted reluctantly.

"You need to go home and rest." She told him. "You'll be no good to anyone if you make yourself ill too."

"Mn." The problem was, he lived over an hour away from the hospital...and Wei Ying. Even if he went, that would be two hours both ways...and two hours too much time away.

But there was a hotel just next door.

An idea formed in his head as he hung up on Wen Qing.

He stood up and bent to kiss Wei Ying's hair again, inhaling deeply. There was something floral and sweet about this man, something of the same scent he had caught a whiff of, when A-Yuan had hugged him.

It reminded him of when Lan Zhan was younger and his mother had taken him and his brother to a Buddhist temple. On that day, it was the Lotus flower Festival and the temple had been adorned with garlands made from these beautiful flowers, even the inside, all the deities were wearing them. All around him, their perfume lifted his spirits and Lan Zhan had felt a peaceful serenity.

"I'll be back soon, Wei Ying." He promised.

**********

Lan Zhan checked into the hotel and showered, after purchasing a new set of clothes from the small outlet on the ground floor. He bought a second set too and left it in his room just in case.

He was back in Wei Ying's room in record time, fresh and fully awake by the time XiChen returned.

And he was glad for his genius idea from the way XiChen was checking him out suspiciously. Apparently, the change of clothes signified that Lan Zhan had gone home, and no further questions were asked.

XiChen checked over Wei Ying’s vitals again, and though nothing had changed on his face, Lan Zhan could tell that he was slightly disappointed. He checked the wound on his back and rebandaged it.

"Tomorrow's Saturday...they'll probably move him to a room." XiChen told him.

"I want to stay with him." Lan replied, firmly.

"Didi...I know you've gotten attached to him...but-"

"Xiongzhang....please...don't try and stop me." Lan Zhan took Wei Ying's hand again, unwilling to let go.

XiChen was surprised.

Lan Zhan hardly ever voiced a preference or did something against what either his brother or their Uncle wanted...but here, not only had he done both, but he had interrupted his brother when speaking.

Lan Zhan had never done that before.

In fact, XiChen couldn't remember Lan Zhan ever being like this. Even now, the look on his baby brother's face...it was so soft as he watched Wei Ying sleeping.

"Alright." He said, at last. "I'll put in a request. But...Didi...what about your job?"

"On leave." Lan Zhan said, not taking his eyes off Wei Ying.

"WangJi....are you alright?"

Lan Zhan looked into honey coloured eyes then. "No. I am not alright. I haven't been alright since yesterday. I know...I know...I won't be alright until Wei Ying wakes up. Xiongzhang...I have to try..." His voice cracked just then. The lump in his throat was too big for him to swallow.

"Oh...Didi..." Lan XiChen came around the bed and enveloped him in a warm hug.

Lan Zhan let his free hand come around XiChen's shoulder, hugging him back. Whenever his brother did this, it made him feel as if he didn't have to be the strong one, for just a little while. He could let himself just be, and he was accepted as he was. He took a few calming breaths before letting go.

"I'm going to stay with him."

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

Saturday

Today was a repeat of yesterday.

Lan Zhan returned from the hotel like the day before, the doctors made their rounds and then they moved Wei Ying into a ward. He had his own room, and Lan Zhan smiled when he saw the second bed. There was an adjoining shower here too...

He pulled out his phone and called Wen Qing with the details, telling her exactly how to get there.

XiChen came to see them again, once more scrutinising Lan Zhan before checking Wei Ying and his wound.

"Healing nicely." He commented.

Lan Zhan was back to sitting next to Wei Ying, holding his hand.

Wei Ying had long, slender fingers...the hand of a writer. Lan Zhan wasn't sure where that thought had come from, but it seemed fitting. And holding this warm hand, it gave him the strength to believe that Wei Ying was going to be alright. His mind began repeating their conversations in his mind, and Lan Zhan remembered the feeling of Wei Ying's cheek in his own hand.

He didn't even notice his brother leaving.

***********

Wen Qing hadn't woken A-Yuan from his sleep. The poor boy wasn't sleeping well anyway, missing his father, and Wen Qing had taken to sleeping on their couch in their flat as opposed to making A-Yuan sleep in hers, just to give him some sense of normal, some kind of reassurance that everything was going to be okay.

And while she wasn't a fan of taking children to hospitals, in this case, she thought it was necessary even. A-Yuan needed to see his father and understand why he wasn't able to come home right now.

She had already crouched down in front of the child and explained as patiently as she could, what a hospital was, and why they were going. A-Yuan had thought about everything she said, and then with his serious brown eyes staring into hers, he'd asked if he could bring his stuffed bunny with him.

Of course, she had agreed immediately.

They got off the bus and walked to the massive building, with A-Yuan looking all around him. He had never seen such a place and his curiosity was growing by the second.

Was there really that many people sick? Was that even possible? And who was looking after them? He thought about his own doctor...did all these people have their own doctors? Or was there only one?

A-Yuan made a careful list of all his questions in his mind as they walked past all the rooms to the elevator. There was interesting coloured tape on the floor and the different colours led off to different sections, like following a maze. He quietly observed everything, from the people in wheelchairs, others barely able to move, beds being moved by porters, a group of doctors running towards locked doors, and the visitors carrying gifts for their loved ones.

And then there was the smell, a mix of bleach and chemicals fighting it out with the strong smell of whatever passed for lunch here.

It was not a quiet place either.

People shouted orders and greetings, while the steady hum of constant chatter provided background noise, the ding of the elevator and then the sudden, blissful quiet.

It only lasted for a few minutes before again, the doors opened to a cacophony of sound as they walked to the right ward.

They went to the nurse's station first and provided ID before one of the nurses escorted them to the right room. Wen Qing knocked on the white door before opening it.

She saw Lan Zhan first, his serious and intense golden eyes lifting to take them in. He stood up immediately and came towards them.

"Hello, A-Yuan, hello Bunny." He said, as serious as A-Yuan felt. He patted the child's head and did the same to his little furry friend.

"Hello, Gege." He even smiled a little.

Lan Zhan was taken aback at his greeting, but was pleased by it.

"He asked what to call you. I hope it's okay?" Wen Qing smiled, but the lines around it and her eyes were tight with tension.

"Mn."

Lan Zhan watched A-Yuan as he took in the large bed, clutching Bunny tighter.

"Would you like to see your Baba?" He asked, gently.

A-Yuan nodded slowly.

"May I pick you up?" Lan Zhan asked him, and then looked at Wen Qing for confirmation.

Wen Qing nodded, the sharpness usually present fading away at the sight of Wei Ying, lying in the bed and not moving.

A-Yuan held his arms up to be lifted.

Lan Zhan picked him up carefully and came closer to Wei Ying's head, where A-Yuan could see him properly.

"Baba..?" He asked cautiously.

In the past, he remembered climbing into his father's bed and poking his cheeks to see if he was really asleep, and inevitably as that would wake Wei Ying up anyway, it sort of worked. But sometimes, Wei Ying would pretend to be sleeping and then scare A-Yuan suddenly until lots of tickling later, when they were both out of breath, they would lie next to each other just smiling.

A-Yuan turned to Lan Zhan.

"Gege, can I sit?"

Lan Zhan made sure there was enough space and then nodded. He put A-Yuan down and the boy folded his legs under himself, taking up as less space as he could. He leaned forward and rubbed noses with his father, and Lan Zhan was reminded of bunny rabbits greeting each other.

"Baba?" A-Yuan said again, a bit louder, and softly poked his squishy cheeks.

But Wei Ying didn't move.

There was sniffing behind them, but other than that, Wen Qing remained quiet.

"Baba sleeping?" A-Yuan asked, and somehow Lan Zhan knew it was directed at him.

"Mn. Deep sleep. Baba very tired." Lan Zhan explained.

"Deep sleep." A-Yuan echoed softly. He watched Wei Ying for a bit longer.

The room was silent all except for the sound of quiet breathing, and the ticking of the hospital clock hanging on the wall.

"When will Baba wake up?" A-Yuan wanted to know.

Wen Qing let out a strangled cry and left, to compose herself at that.

Lan Zhan remained where he was, thinking about that question. In the end, he went with the truth.

"We don't know. He will wake up when he's ready."

"Okay." A-Yuan simply accepted that and lay down next to his father. "Bunny wants to tell you a story, Baba, so you can sleep well." He said. "One day, Bunny was hungry and he planted some carrots. Then he waited for the sun to come out and make the carrots grow big and juicy. Then dare was sunshine and rain and the carrots grow bigger and bigger and then Bunny ate them! The end!" He had made wide gestures with his arm and his still pudgy fingers, and now he wriggled closer, tucking his face into Wei Ying's neck. "Baba, wake up soon, K? Cos I miss you."

A-Yuan fell asleep just like that.

Lan Zhan pulled up a chair and sat watching both of them. It was so sweet, to see their connection, even if it was one sided right now.

He remembered that Wei Ying was feeling bad about leaving his son so much these days.

The door opened again and Wen Qing entered.

Lan Zhan took in her puffy red eyes and pale face, and he tried to smile for her. She came and hopped onto the bed, just behind him.

Lan Zhan angled his chair so that she could talk to him if she wished, and yet he could still keep an eye on the sleeping child and make sure that nothing happened to A-Yuan.

"They've always been like that." Wen Qing said, softly. "It's like they don't even need anyone else, they're in their own little bubble, living happily together." She let out a tired breath. "Like for example, last night, he just wouldn't settle. Didn't want to sleep at all, didn't want me to read to him. I left him in his own bed and I must have fallen asleep on the couch, and then in the morning, I found him in A-Ying's bed, fast asleep. That's why we were late today."

Lan Zhan smiled back.

"What happened to his mother?" He kept his voice low.

"Distant cousin of mine. They died in a car crash, and A-Yuan came to live with me. That first day, A-Ying offered to babysit, we were still under lock down, and to be perfectly honest, I really couldn't cope. I didn't know the first thing about looking after a baby, and he was only two years old. I went next door to find them colouring in books with pencils scattered everywhere and both of them munching on cake." She threw her hands up in the air with disbelief. "Do you know that he didn't even eat a bite with me? Not even ice cream, but with A-Ying, it was like he had put a spell on the boy!"

Lan Zhan smiled properly now.

A quiet place deep inside his heart felt happy to know that Wei Ying wasn't married, had never been, either.

"Then what happened?" He asked. Maybe it was a shameless ploy for information but Lan Zhan found it fascinating, everything she was telling him about these two. Like shining a light on something unknown, and discovering new things.

Wen Qing shrugged.

"You tell me! Somehow, A-Yuan started spending more and more time with him, even sleeping over. I think that's when he decided. To adopt him officially." She explained. "And to be honest, I didn't mind, because they were right next door. I have a key to their apartment too, and so does A-Ying for mine. It just makes sense."

Lan Zhan thought about what a wonderful father Wei Ying was. Even when he went to work, he was itching to return home to his son, worrying about being a bad parent. And of course he would miss little A-Yuan - if they had been inseparable before and during the lock down, then having to tear each other away from themselves must have been so painful.

"You should bring him every day." Lan Zhan found himself saying.

Wen Qing looked thoughtful.

"He normally has school in the mornings between nine and twelve. I could bring him here after lunch, if that's okay?"

"Mn. Might help Wei Ying come back to us."

"Do you have any idea how long that will take?" She whispered, her gaze shifting to Wei Ying.

Lan Zhan shook his head.

"It can vary. Xiongzhang said he will wake up when he's ready."

A-Yuan slept on through lunch time, all the way to four in the afternoon.

"What do you do for dinner?" Wen Qing asked Lan Zhan, eyeing the duffel bag that looked too new, stashed on the other side of the bed.

Lan Zhan could feel his ears getting hot.

He refused to look at her.

"Don't tell me you haven't been eating?" Her voice went up a few notches.

She sighed out of frustration.

"Look after him. I'm just coming." She stalked off.

Lan Zhan was at a bit of a loss, because what did he know about kids? And where had she gone? Twenty minutes passed and then A-Yuan woke up, stretching and rubbing his eyes.

Lan Zhan watched him, noticing the tiny dimples in his knuckles as he yawned.

"Gege, thirsty." He said, sitting up.

"Okay." Lan Zhan looked around for the pitcher and a glass. He turned back to the kid. "Don't move, okay? Falling down is bad. A-Yuan will get hurt, okay?"

"K." A-Yuan watched him unblinking.

Lan Zhan had never gotten water for anyone that fast before. He held the glass to A-Yuan's lips, helping him drink slowly.

Wen Qing came back then, with bags of take out. Lan Zhan recognised the containers from the place just around the corner of the hospital. His stomach gurgled with the scent of the food, and A-Yuan was already beaming. The three of them sat around the low table and began to eat, with Lan Zhan and Wen Qing taking turns to help the little one.

"This is something different, that's why he's behaving himself." Wen Qing said, side eyeing little A-Yuan. She sighed. "Every time I say something like that, I'm half expecting A-Ying to defend him."

"He will wake up." Lan Zhan replied firmly.

"Until he does, are you going to be staying here?" She finally asked, dying of curiosity. There was a knowing smile on her face.

"I feel responsible." He answered instead.

"Why? If anything, you saved his life."

"It's like I haven't finished my duty. Until Wei Ying is back to normal...I cannot leave him."

Wen Qing took in his red ears, and smirked.

"Duty...? Are you sure that's all this is?"

Lan Zhan was silent for a few minutes.

Then he said, "I care for Wei Ying."

Wen Qing nodded. "I guessed as much." She looked at Wei Ying for a long while, before turning back to Lan Zhan. "I see him as my younger brother, much like A-Ning. But a word of advice?"

Lan Zhan nodded, curious.

"With A-Ying, you're going to have to be direct, completely open with him. He doesn't really get suggestions, or beating around the bush. It's just going to waste both of your's time. That's all." She stood up, collecting their rubbish and threw it away. "But if you hurt him, I'll find you and make you regret you ever messed with us. Do I make myself clear?"

Lan Zhan's eyes had widened with the threat, expecting anything but that to come out from her mouth. But then he thought, Wei Ying had that speciality of his that made everyone who came into contact with him, like him immediately. A strange sort of loyalty was forged, inexplicable and deep.

She went to pick up A-Yuan and he pointed to Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan took him, a small smile on his face.

A-Yuan took him completely by surprise when he kissed his cheek shyly. "Goodnight Gege. Baba?"

Lan Zhan was still reeling from that, but he obediently took him to Wei Ying, where A-Yuan kissed his cheek too. And then he put his stuffed rabbit in the gap between Wei Ying's body and arm.

"Bunny, look after Baba." He told it seriously.

"A-Yuan...are you sure?" Lan Zhan asked the boy.

"Mn. Baba needs Bunny more than me." He held out his arms to Wen Qing, who was already blinking back tears.

"Good night, Lan WangJi." Wen Qing told him, before leaving.

Lan Zhan raised his hand in a wave.

Once they had gone, and even when they had been so quiet, Lan Zhan really missed them both, especially little A-Yuan. This hospital room seemed too large and empty despite the two people living in it at the moment.

********

Sunday

Lan Zhan thought the addition of the bed was actually a waste, but he refrained from telling his brother that, when XiChen made an impromptu visit in the morning.

Again, he had woken up sitting next to Wei Ying, holding his hand all night. He stretched and used the facilities, changing his clothes just in time to greet his brother.

"Xiongzhang...it's been three days already." He couldn't resist asking.

XiChen looked a little concerned.

"I'd like to tell you that it's normal, but Didi, what is normal in a case like this?" He asked openly, his dark amber eyes shadowed with worry.

Lan Zhan sat slumped down in his seat, resigned.

"Why don't you go take a walk or something? Freshen up, give yourself a break?" He suggested.

He had seen too many people suffer needlessly, looking after patients like this. Too often, staying next to an unmoving, silent and unresponsive person took more of a toll on the people waiting for that person to wake up, than the comatose one.

Lan Zhan shook his head stubbornly.

Just then, the door opened behind his brother, and little A-Yuan came running in. He ran straight past XiChen and climbed into Lan Zhan’s lap, giving him a boisterous kiss on his cheek.

"Hello, Gege, good morning." A-Yuan greeted him enthusiastically and looked expectantly at his father.

Lan Zhan took him to Wei Ying where the little boy kissed his cheek too, and lay down to sleep right there, with Lan Zhan stroking his silky hair.

All that happened in the space of a minute, right in front of XiChen, who was in open-mouthed shock.

Wen Qing closed the door behind herself.

"Listen, I wanted to ask you, is it okay if I do some grocery shopping, while he's out for the count?" She put a couple of bags on the low table.

"Mn." Lan Zhan told her, not particularly worried that A-Yuan was going to wake up."

Wen Qing pointed to the bags she had left.

"If he wakes up, there are some reading books in there, and you can let him read to you. If there is small writing, then you're the reader. There's a couple of colouring books too. Got it?"

"Mn."

XiChen stood in her way before she got to the door, and raised a brow at his brother.

Lan Zhan sighed internally.

"Xiongzhang, this is Wei Ying's neighbour. A-Qing, meet Xiongzhang."

When she turned to face Lan Zhan, XiChen mouthed "A-Qing?" at him, his topaz eyes full of questions.

Lan Zhan frowned and avoided his gaze.

"Pleased to meet you." Wen Qing hurriedly shook his hand and muttered an apology about not being able to stay, before leaving quickly.

"A-Qing?" XiChen asked, smirking at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan sat down sulking and ignored his brother.

"And A-Yuan? This is Wei Ying's son?" His voice was softer now.

Lan Zhan nodded, watching his expressions.

"It seems kind of sudden." XiChen replied, after a while.

But Lan Zhan didn't know how to explain how he was feeling.

So he shrugged instead and refused to say anything else.

"Do you want me to stay here? If you need to go and get a change of clothes or anything else?" XiChen offered after a while.

Lan Zhan shook his head.

Up till now, he had been stuffing his dirty clothes in carrier bags and throwing them in the boot of his car, to be dealt with later. And all of his clothes up until today were brand new. But his Xiongzhang didn't need to know that. He could fumigate his car later too...

Again A-Yuan slept long into the afternoon. Wen Qing had texted Lan Zhan and told him that she would pick up pizza on the way back to them. And like yesterday, when A-Yuan woke up, he was thirsty. This time he asked to use the bathroom, and Lan Zhan showed him where it was.

Then they both did some colouring in until Wen Qing arrived with dinner for all three.

Once more, they took turns feeding A-Yuan but he definitely loved pizza more than the previous night's affair, so they were all able to enjoy hot food together.

When it was time to go, A-Yuan went through his nightly routine and then they left.

Lan Zhan settled on the chair to wait.

He held Wei Ying’s hand, feeling his own eyes closing, when the warm fingers in his grasp, twitched.

*******

A/N

Happy Good Friday to everyone celebrating. I hope you guys like this update...and no more crying, right? I have discovered that I don't like doing that to you, so I'll be careful from now on.

I wish lots of chocolate for you all, and lots of happiness.