Saturday 12 days for the Full Moon Festival

Lan Zhan loved waking up before Wei Ying.

There was a special peacefulness in the mornings anyway which was going to last only for another twelve days, but the weekends were lovelier because they as a little family had established a sort of routine among themselves.

Saturdays was movie day and so they could laze about in bed until the children woke them up. These days, A-Yuan would see whether he would take his plushie to Mo XuanYu or to Uncle Qiren, depending on his mood and sometimes if they had all four of them slept together like last night, they would find the children absent.

Today was one such morning.

Wei Ying was an active sleeper and he normally curled protectively around whichever child happened to be sleeping next to him, or if Lan Zhan was there, then he would drape himself across Lan Zhan and snuggle into the curve of his body for warmth.

This morning, Wei Ying was resting his beautiful face on his palm while his other arm was thrown casually across Lan Zhan’s chest.

He looked calm and peaceful and ... Happy.

Lan Zhan loved seeing him this relaxed, and more so lately because it seemed as if Wei Ying really was stressed about something but Lan Zhan had no idea what it could be.

He had thought and thought about all the possibilities and come up with nothing that made sense.

Wei Ying’s face was flushed with sleep, cheeks a cherry blossom hue and his naturally long lashes curled against soft skin. Usually so animated, so to see him resting was an unusual sight.

Again, Lan Zhan had that warm feeling bursting open in his chest as if mini people had let off silent fireworks in the cavities of his heart and his life was filled with starbursts of vivid purples, dangerous reds and luminescent yellows now.

Waking up next to this incredible man was a blessing and a miracle courtesy of the Universe.

"I can feel you looking at me..." Wei Ying mumbled, sleepily. "Close your eyes, Gege..."

"Mn." Lan Zhan used this as an opportunity to gather him closer, letting Wei Ying rest upon his body.

With this familiar weight on him, Lan Zhan closed his eyes with contentment.

********

Hours later, it was Wei Ying who woke up first, needing to stretch his tired muscles. When he opened his eyes, Lan Zhan’s face was closer and he was still asleep.

There was something unguarded about his expression; Lan Zhan looked more relaxed and satisfied than usual, and it was nice.

Wei Ying had been thinking about taking out a loan to buy the partner of his ring, but when he talked to A-Qing about it, she had told him that the banks would be unlikely to say yes if his account was mostly empty. She had added that there wasn't much money to spare because Wen Ning was working on something and needed extra funds, though Wei Ying insisted that that wasn't the reason he had called her.

It was, but she didn't need to know that.

So now, the only thing he could think of was asking Lan Zhan for an advance on the payment due for the house and their original contract.

The problem with that was he didn't want Lan Zhan to know what he was going to do with that much money. In fact, there were lots of reasons why he didn't want Lan Zhan to know and just gathering that much courage to actually ask in the first place was taxing.

He thought about asking Uncle Qiren...but then what would Lan Zhan’s only remaining living relative think of Wei Ying then? He would be giving a bad impression even before he started.

He couldn’t ask his Shijie because they had just gotten together after such a long separation. And Wei Ying thought that anyone who was driving a five year old car definitely didn't have money lying around to loan out. Either that, or the Peacock had an unhealthy obsession with nearly vintage models. Plus they had a kid and no one knew better than Wei Ying how expensive things could be.

What about XiChen-Ge?

Now...that was a thought.

Would he understand? Or was it really better to just ask Lan Zhan and keep everything between themselves?

A part of him felt as if Lan Zhan wouldn't want Wei Ying to tell his brother, or rather, he would prefer Wei Ying came to Lan Zhan above all others and Wei Ying could understand that perfectly.

So after going round and round in circles, he was back to his original idea: he would have to talk to Lan Zhan.

All this time, he had been lost in his thoughts and when he raised his eyes, he was startled to see Lan Zhan was awake, his golden eyes watching him carefully.

"Good morning." He said softly.

"Good morning, my love!" Wei Ying brightened immediately and leaned forward to kiss his handsome nose.

Lan Zhan was in two minds now.

Should he give Wei Ying time to tell him in his own way? Or would a good boyfriend ask first? He wasn't at all sure and this was something new for him.

He did know that kisses were the best way to start any day, so without any warning, he turned them over and captured Wei Ying’s lips.

That soft plump mouth was too eager, kissing him back with a matching hunger. Wei Ying’s hands wandered until they paused at Lan Zhan’s waist, his t-shirt having ridden up so Wei Ying was holding onto pure muscle.

Toned and smooth skin under his calloused fingers made Wei Ying moan into his mouth, but Lan Zhan was on fire with each stroke of his rough thumb, so close to the other spot that his skin hummed for.

His blood sang in his ears, a song of desperation and a need for release.

The kisses became urgent, hungrier, mean even as their need rose higher. When Lan Zhan bit down finally, his tongue soothing the stoked fires as they parted.

"I can't decide if I like Big Lan Zhan more or Little Lan Zhan more..." Wei Ying said out of the blue and earning himself a pinch.

"There's nothing little about him either." Lan Zhan began kissing his way down hot skin, Wei Ying’s neck always a temptation. His teeth grazed the knot of his Adam's apple making Wei Ying shiver, and then his teeth bit down gently at his collarbone.

"I can't believe I've fallen in love with a biter..." Wei Ying moaned as Lan Zhan sucked a bruising kiss where his neck met his shoulder.

"I cannot stop..." Lan Zhan sounded desperate. "Need to mark Wei Ying...you are mine."

That clever mouth was delving deeper and discovering more soft skin, sensitive to his teeth as Lan Zhan tasted more until Wei Ying could stand it no longer.

"Yours...yours...yours..." it became a litany, a prayer as Lan Zhan took him to new heights of pleasure.

Lucky they still had to shower...

*********

After breakfast, the children were waiting with excitement for their weekly excursion into town to watch a movie.

It was the latest Spongebob movie and while Lan Zhan found it mildly annoying, it was just as entertaining as the other films Wei Ying had made them watch. Popcorn and soda were the usual fair and then Lan Zhan took them to a restaurant that specialised in noodles.

They all took turns to help A-Yuan eat and a great time ensued.

"Are you excited about Monday?" Wei Ying asked Mo XuanYu.

Mo XuanYu grinned but Wei Ying immediately noticed the tightness behind his eyes.

"It'll be fine." The teenager said with fake bravado.

"It will be fine...but it's okay to be scared too." Wei Ying said softly. "New kids, new teachers...new place. But you're a smart kid. Just be yourself and they'll love you." He promised.

Wei Ying could tell that Mo XuanYu didn't want to think about Monday, not yet and probably not until it was unavoidable but this reminded him of his own school days. And then he was wondering what Lan Zhan was like, when he went to school.

He asked Lan Zhan as a distraction and from the corner of his eye, he could see Mo XuanYu listening carefully.

"We were home schooled until High school. I did not have many friends." Lan Zhan admitted.

"No? Why not?" Wei Ying found this unbelievable.

And a travesty.

The children were sitting in between them, otherwise he would have reached across and held Lan Zhan’s hand. But he rested his face in his hands and watched, hoping it wasn't a sad story.

"I was boring to them." Lan Zhan replied. "And many of the other children did not take the rules seriously. I found it hard to be with them and not adhere to the correct form of behaviour while studying. So as a result, I found the educational experience to be barely tolerable."

All of that was said rather quickly and matter-of-factly, as though it was normal.

"What was Wei Ying’s experience?" Lan Zhan snuck that in before they had finished processing what he had divulged.

"Oh...er..." Wei Ying blinked back to the present. "I actually really enjoyed school. It was a break from home." His silver eyes widened and then he laughed awkwardly because he knew he had said something that he hadn't wanted to admit to. "I had lots of friends and I joined all the after-school clubs I could. But then, because I joined, Madam Yu made Jiang Cheng join too and he wasn't that happy about it."

His eyes had a faraway look, remembering the times gone by.

Mo XuanYu was sitting closest to him and he did reach under the table to hold his hand.

Unfortunately, he knew exactly what Wei Ying meant about school being a holiday from home.

"I used to leave home early. And come back as late as I could...but then that meant my mother was alone with him. When she...she passed...it was easier to avoid him during the week...but the weekends were harder. Saturdays I could go to the library...but the Sunday? Parks were great if it was sunny...otherwise I would have to find a friend. But people began noticing. My teacher called home." Mo XuanYu's eyes filled with tears. "My dad was great at lying at to people...that's how he kept his job for that long."

"We don't have to talk about it...if you don't want to." Wei Ying said, his own eyes also wet. His arms had come around Mo XuanYu's shoulders, holding him tightly.

A-Yuan knew they were talking about something serious but he did not like people crying, especially not his Baba or A-Yu. He looked up to Lan Zhan and decided that was his safe haven and climbed into his lap. He pulled Lan Zhan’s arms around him and concentrated on the lines in his palm, tracing them with his pudgy fingers.

"If I tell you now...then...then I can put it away and never think about it again." Mo XuanYu said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Okay, Sweetheart. You can tell us anything." Wei Ying comforted him. His hand was stroking his soft hair, wanting to be strong for him too.

"The teacher called him in for a meeting on Monday. But when I got home that Friday night, I thought my dad would be asleep like normal...but he was waiting for me. That was the worst beating I've ever had. I couldn't get out of bed the next day but I knew by then that he hated me. And if I didn't leave then...I wouldn't be walking out of there if I waited. He didn't let me go out on Sunday either but Monday...he knew it would look suspicious if I didn't attend school as normal. So I pretended to put all my books in my backpack and switched them for everything that was more important to me. Everything that belonged to my mother that he hadn't sold yet."

It felt so good to finally be able to talk about this...his life before meeting his new family. The weight on his shoulders was already lighter and Mo XuanYu felt as if he could take anything now.

"How did you find us?" Lan Zhan asked him.

"I followed the white rabbits." Mo XuanYu laughed too, and Wei Ying wiped his tears away.

"Like Alice in Wonderland?" Lan Zhan was smiling.

"Yeah...like Alice." Mo XuanYu smiled at Wei Ying now. "Thank you for listening to me. I feel so much better now."

"A-Yu...." Wei Ying said, taking a big deep breath. "I'm so glad you found us first. I need you to know that no matter what happens, your place in this family is unconditional. You belong with us, and so what if it took a while? For you to come to us, I mean. You're here now and that's all that matters."

When he said that, Mo XuanYu threw himself into Wei Ying's arms.

To know that he had a place, people who were his home now...it meant everything.

**********

In the car on the way back, Wei Ying thought he should at least mention to Mo XuanYu that he had met with his half brother. Not to ask him about anything, but not to hide anything either.

Wei Ying was a firm believer in transparency within a family; a family that was honest with each other was more likely to stay together in his opinion.

"A-Yu...what do you know about Jin Guanshan?" He asked.

Mo XuanYu seemed to be perfectly alright about talking of him.

"My mother loved him...but then, so does half the population of women in the world." He grinned.

"Oh." Wei Ying caught Lan Zhan’s eyes in rear view mirror.

He was right and there wasn't much Wei Ying could say that was a positive takeaway from that.

"I don't know much, but I'd rather keep it that way...if you don't mind." Mo XuanYu was saying.

Wei Ying nodded.

"It's just that I... we met the Peac- I mean, we met Jin ZiXuan yesterday. I thought you should know." He clarified.

Jin ZiXuan was Mo XuanYu's half brother, and if ever Mo XuanYu felt as if he wanted to keep a contact with that side of his family, then Wei Ying thought he and Lan Zhan should facilitate that.

"What did you think of him?" Mo XuanYu inquired, his tone polite.

"Nobody's good enough for my Shijie," laughed Wei Ying. "But honestly? I don't know him that well. It's just that we're patching things up between us, my Shijie and I. She's important to me, and if she comes to visit, then the chances are that the Peac-Jin ZiXuan will also come with her. I didn’t want you to feel as if you didn't have a say in that. If you don't want to meet him, we can go and hang out elsewhere, it's no problem." Wei Ying continued.

The last thing they wanted to do was make anyone uncomfortable.

"I actually don't mind." Mo XuanYu said, in a surprised way. "If it happens, it happens. Can we just go along with that for now?"

Wei Ying patted his hand.

"Whatever you want. As long as you're happy... then so am I."

They reached home then, and the children were anxious about finding Uncle Qiren and telling him all about their morning.

Lan Zhan asked JingYi to swap out cars, parking the white sports car in the garage and getting the SUV ready.

Then he took Wei Ying’s hand and they went to their bedroom.

Wei Ying stopped when he saw the cardboard boxes and the white plastic sacks on their bed.

"Um...Lan Zhan?" He whispered.

"Mn?" Lan Zhan had gone on ahead and opened the floor to ceiling wardrobe doors.

Whatever was on Wei Ying’s face made him come back and stand in front of him.

"Remember? We decided to start packing clothes for our new home." Lan Zhan said, taking both of his hands in his.

Wei Ying swallowed hard, looking up into swirls of confusion, his golden eyes worried now.

"Has Wei Ying changed his mind?" It was hard for Lan Zhan to say the words, but he wanted Wei Ying to have an out.

Wei Ying shook his head.

He didn't blink once, owlishly staring back at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan stepped closer to him, and with one hand, he lifted it to cup Wei Ying’s face, smiling when Wei Ying leaned into like a cat. He came even closer and kissed Wei Ying’s forehead.

"Then?"

"Are... are you sure?" Wei Ying's voice cracked, but he said those words properly.

"Mn. I am sure." His deep voice made shivers break out in Wei Ying's body.

"I ... okay." Wei Ying smiled suddenly, so brightly, that Lan Zhan thought the sun had come out from behind a multitude of clouds.

"I remember Wei Ying saying something to the effect of not liking to be tied down to a house with four walls... but I am hoping Wei Ying will make an exception for me...and our family." His fingers were open as he gently reached under Wei Ying’s chin to tilt his face upwards, placing a soft kiss on his warm lips. "I love Wei Ying. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. If he is willing."

Wei Ying was nodding already with steady silver tears falling one after another.

"I am willing." He replied, smiling as Lan Zhan wiped his face for him.

"Then, let's get started. Those clothes won't pack themselves." With a rakish smile, Lan Zhan smacked his bottom. It made more noise than actually hurting.

"Um...ow? I'm gonna make you pay for that!" Wei Ying said, rubbing his backside. "And two can play at that game!" He smacked Lan Zhan’s bottom too and then backed away as the fire erupted in those golden eyes.

He squealed and jumped onto the bed, grabbing pillows and throwing them as ammunition to ward off the advancing Lan Zhan, stalking him like prey.

But he only had four pillows to throw, and Lan Zhan had already grabbed his legs and pulled, and suddenly, Wei Ying was underneath a heavy muscular body, pinning him down on their bed.

"If Wei Ying wants to play with fire, he must prepare to get burned." Lan Zhan said before swooping down.

His lips fused to Wei Ying, whose body had melted into the mattress and he couldn’t kiss Lan Zhan back because Lan Zhan was brutal in his kisses, possessing some kind of superhuman skill where he did not need to breathe.

And how could he when Wei Ying tasted so good?

Wei Ying was whimpering and feeling every bite, every nip, as Lan Zhan kissed him senseless.

When he thought he had taught this naughty little bunny a good lesson, Lan Zhan sat back and watched him through hooded golden eyes.

"Wei Ying has two options." He declared.

Wei Ying opened his eyes sulkily.

"What are they?" He asked suspiciously.

"We can either pack these clothes in an orderly manner, or I can buy new ones. Wei Ying must choose."

"What? Wait...what do you mean, buy new ones??" Wei Ying almost screeched.

"Exactly that!" Claimed the Victor, jubilant that he had won.

Lan Zhan hauled him up out of the bed, so they were both standing.

"I pick packing these!" Wei Ying quickly said and began grabbing armloads of clothes and throwing them into the bags.

"Uh, uh,uh... they must be folded." Lan Zhan insisted.

"Lan Zhaaan!"