Friday 6 days for the Full Moon Festival

Lunch was pizza in their new and fully functioning kitchen. When they had cleaned up, Wei Ying pushed Lan Zhan down on the chair he had just vacated, and immediately plonked himself down in his lap.

This was such an intimate position with their bodies aligned perfectly...but Wei Ying was not here to seduce.

Today, Lan Zhan was in a terrific mood. He'd woken up humming a song he had heard...and he really should ask Wei Ying the name of that artist, because Lan Zhan was going to buy out all of his albums.

They had fallen asleep in each other's arms after an intense session of proving to each other how much they loved one another and he always felt happier waking up next to his beloved. Morning kisses with Wei Ying were his favourite, he thought now looking up at the beautiful man.

Although, as an amendment to that thought, the kisses didn't have to be just in the morning. His hungry eyes fell on that luscious mouth and he licked his own lips in anticipation.

Wei saw that and honed in.

Lan Zhan rested his hands on Wei Ying’s hips, his little fingers brushing the curve of his backside gently. Wei Ying wanted something, judging by the shrewd look in his eyes.

And Lan Zhan loved playing games...especially with him.

So he pretended to become quite serious.

Wei Ying noticed right away and leaned closer.

These silent conversations were simply a delight!

"My love...I have a question to ask you." Wei Ying said, in full I'm-going-to-get-what-I-want mode.

"Mn?" Lan Zhan paid attention.

"What do you like to eat?"

"Wei Ying." He said straight away.

Wei Ying covered his red face and wailed. "Lan Zhaaan!! That's not what I meant!"

"Lans do not lie." He said, even more smugly.

"Other than me....I meant, what's your favourite food, and be serious this time!"

"My mother made vegetable dumplings." Lan Zhan looked so surprised at that.

"She did?" Wei Ying asked, his face full of soft love.

Lan Zhan nodded.

"It was just before she became ill. We never asked her for anything after that."

"Do you remember what they tasted like?" Wei Ying asked him, gently.

His eyes were already too wet.

"I can never forget." Lan Zhan told him.

"Okay...so here's what I was thinking..." Wei Ying wiped away at his face, smiling. "How about we make some? I want to do it for you."

"No need." Lan Zhan inched forward and kissed his nose, thinking about how much chilli sauce would be added to the dish. He suppressed a shudder. "We can buy ready made. Steam at home."

"But Lan Zhan, you don't get it. I want to make sure that this kitchen is up and running by the time Sunday is here...and I thought...I thought I could make the first thing we ever cook together to be something special...something that was meaningful for us." He looked a bit sad now and his bottom lip came out.

"Let's go shopping." The words were out of his mouth faster than Lan Zhan had time to think.

"That's a great idea!" Wei Ying grabbed his face and smacked their lips together.

Before he could jump off, Lan Zhan held him closer, this time wrapping his arms around his precious Wei Ying. This kiss was slower, the very definition of love. Languid and slow, soft and deep, Lan Zhan kissed him like it was the only thing that mattered.

Wei Ying melted against him, sinking into his lap again and his arms came around Lan Zhan’s neck as he kissed him right back. Lan Zhan’s lips tasted amazing, he thought as all of his thoughts turned into butterflies and flew away without a care.

What else could be as important as this, the taste of rich, melted chocolate intoxicating and forbidden, his lips promised salvation. Smooth and soft, Wei Ying moaned as Lan Zhan nipped at his bottom lip, all the more fuller than his top one. He had been telling the truth when he said Wei Ying was his favourite taste.

When it finished, Wei Ying felt dizzy, clinging to him.

But now they had a mission and Lan Zhan was going to make sure they did what Wei Ying wanted. It was actually a very thoughtful idea...and only Wei Ying would come up with something like that.

So Lan Zhan stood up and walked through their hallway to the cupboard that held their outerwear. Wei Ying was still giving him that dreamy look and Lan Zhan smiled at him, whilst adding an extra black hoodie onto him. Mid October was chilly sometimes.

For himself, he preferred jackets but today, he was going to wear a white hoodie.

Wei Ying snuggled closer as they walked hand in hand towards JingYi already seated in the car and bopping away.

When they opened the door, the music blasted at them.

And JingYi was singing.

Just what Lan Zhan needed.

"Sugar! Yes, please!
Won't you come and put it down on me?
I'm right here, 'Cause I need,
Little love, a little sympathy,
Yeah, you show me good loving, make it alright,
Need a little sweetness in my life,
Your sugar, yes please!
Won't you come and put it down on me?"

He started patting down his pockets for the lifesavers, his trusty earplugs but...oh please God, no! His pockets were empty...

"Oh! I love this song!" Wei Ying joined in.

Lan Zhan pulled out his phone and emergency ordered a hundred pack of earplugs before researching the fastest route to the supermarket.

Five minutes later, he was out of the car before the song ended because JingYi had it on repeat....Wei Ying was still humming it as Lan Zhan grabbed a trolley.

He hadn’t been shopping in so long...and he felt excited about it. There was something so domestic about it...Lan Zhan reached over and took Wei Ying’s hand, needing the contact.

"The last time I was here...my mother was still alive." He said.

Swamped by memories, Lan Zhan strove for control. Wei Ying had moved into his arms and was hugging him, one hand on the shopping cart.

"We can make new memories, my love." Wei Ying smiled at him, full of everything he needed to see right now.

Wei Ying leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Come on...let's have some fun."

Lan Zhan believed him.

The vegetable aisles came first and Lan Zhan asked Google what they would need. He put ginger and cloves of garlic into their cart and moved on to the carrots, which Wei Ying was familiar with because of A-Yuan's preference on these as a snack at any time of the day.

Lan Zhan had even seen the odd orange flake on the whiskers of his uncle and thought maybe A-Yuan was sharing, although that conjured up an amusing image.

Next came shallots and onions, dried shitake mushrooms, cabbage, tomatoes and as extra thing, aubergines, courgettes and green beans. That's when he saw Wei Ying had been adding to their cart too.

There was bird's eye chillies, capsicum, red chillies and bullet chillies.

He caught Wei Ying’s eye and smiled dangerously.

Guess who was going to be in charge of seasoning their food?

Lan Zhan grabbed a bunch of cilantro whilst maintaining eye contact. Wei Ying reached for another packet of green chillies. He too, did not look away. This had become somewhat of a stalemate.

Lan Zhan knew if he looked away for even a second, no, if he blinked, ten more packets were going in...because the hand was quicker than the eye...

"Lan Zhan! Look!" Wei Ying gasped so dramatically and when Lan Zhan heard the telltale sound of plastic dropping into their cart, he knew he had been duped.

Wei Ying was a sly fox...and when he went past Lan Zhan, the latter smacked his bottom like he had seen baseball players do. It was a thing.

Wei Ying’s silver eyes darkened with desire...so he liked that then...even while he complained outwardly.

Lan Zhan made a note of that.

This is what was so wonderful about their dynamic: the finding out together of what the other liked. The little nuances and tics that made up a human being to be discovered little by little, like unwrapping a precious gift.

Next was the dairy aisle and Lan Zhan was busy putting the usual essential milk and cheese, butter and yoghurt into their cart when Wei Ying skipped away, far too happily and giggling as he went.

Lan Zhan narrowed his eyes at the insides of the cart, looking for the source...and his sharp eyes found it immediately.

Wei Ying had found chilli cheese....

And chilli oil Greek yogurt dip, chilli and lime yogurt dip and a recipe book for spicy dishes...

"Do you know, Lan Zhan? When you eat chillies it gives off some kind of happy hormone in your body and your mouth might be on fire but your brain is saying it likes it..." Wei Ying was saying.

"Since when does Wei Ying listen to his brain?" Lan Zhan deadpanned.

"Ooooh....burrrnnn!" Wei Ying giggled. "Geddit? I'm here all week!"

Lan Zhan grabbed him and kissed him then, not at all caring who saw them.

Someone cleared their throat rather noisily next to them and Lan Zhan came face to face with a burly security guard.

No one said anything.

Wei Ying beamed at him and grabbed their cart, wheeling it into the next aisle. Luckily, this was an Asian supermarket and they had ready made dumpling wraps which Wei Ying threw into their cart, as well as loads of snacks and crisps, crackers and popcorn. Lan Zhan was feeling particularly indulgent after that kiss and was content on letting him take charge.

They bought fruit juices and chocolate, noodles because Lan Zhan said he was going to teach him how to make his favourite recipe, one his Xiongzhang had taught him, just before Lan Zhan left home for college. XiChen had said that everyone should know how to cook a little bit, since it was so easy to get sick of takeaway foods.

Wei Ying put a host of bakery products into their cart, telling Lan Zhan that he could make the meanest open grilled sandwich on the planet, and the way he described it had Lan Zhan’s mouth watering.

Not for the food...

And then Wei Ying discovered the condiments aisle.

Lan Zhan had no say and no control over Wei Ying, who whooped loudly and became faster than the Tansmanian devil at adding to their shopping. Bottles of chilli sauce, dip and oil were thrown in like hail on a windy day.

Lan Zhan simply watched. Their shopping cart was almost full when they went past the alcohol shelves.

Wei Ying threw him a naughty look as he picked up four bottles of Emperor's Smile, and because now they really had run out of space, he cradled them in his arms like a baby.

Then it was check out time and together, they organised themselves so that Lan Zhan was efficiently packing items into bags together with others that would go in the same place such as cold stuff, dried goods etc, while Wei Ying was throwing everything onto the slide of rubber towards the cashier. And then he looked panicked, all of a sudden.

Lan Zhan threw him a questioning glance but he refused to meet Lan Zhan’s eyes, looking anywhere but at him, so Lan Zhan waited until they got to the car and had stored everything in the boot. But he understood why people opted for bigger cars after they married.

"Um...Lan Zhan? I've forgotten to buy something...do you mind waiting here for me?" Wei Ying shifted from one foot to the other.

"I'll come with you." Lan Zhan took his arm, but Wei Ying twisted out of his grip.

"No! I'll take JingYi! Come on!" Wei Ying grabbed JingYi who got immediately flustered at the glare he received on being picked.

So Lan Zhan got in the car, wondering what it could be that Wei Ying had forgotten and why he was being so secretive about it.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear them arrive back until a bunch of flowers were thrust in his face.

"Surprise!" Wei Ying giggled, happy that he had succeeded in doing that.

Lan Zhan breathed in the floral scent of the gentian flowers, bluer than a summer sky.

Who had told Wei Ying about these?

It must have been his Xiongzhang.

His eyes watered as Wei Ying fastened his seat belt, settling in next to him.

"Oh...Sweetheart..." He cuddled closer.

"Wei Ying is too good." Lan Zhan smiled through his tears.

"Correction: Wei Ying is rich now." He joked. "But actually...I wanted the first thing I bought to be something really special...for you." He added softly.

Lan Zhan clutched the flowers to his chest. Wei Ying had reminded him of his mother no less than three times today...and the day wasn't even over.

*********

A/N

Dear Beautiful Readers,

A short one today...because of work and I gotta leave in about five minutes. But can you guess the name of the song?

And get ready to make the vegetable dumplings because I found a lovely recipe on YouTube and hopefully I'll learn how to post the link, because that's all in the next chapter full of bare arms and vegetable chopping...hehe...and do you guys have any food related love songs?

I'm going to use Cake by the Ocean if I can't find anything else...

Have a fabulous day, lovelies and hopefully I'll see you all later on.

Charlie.