Wei Ying squirmed and stretched languidly, catching the golden eyes of his beloved. He was pulled into a long kiss, and when they paused to take a breath, Wei Ying smiled against his lips.

"I love waking up next to you."

"Mn."

Wei Ying kissed his eyes, his nose and his cheeks, finalling settling on his lips again, but Lan Zhan wasn't done with him. He kissed Wei Ying until he reached his throat and bit down unexpectedly.

"Ow! Hey, no biting..." but he lost his train of thought through the myriad of sensations firing on his nerves.

They were so occupied that neither noticed the walls of the Jingshi shake, or the tumultuous wind that suddenly blew outside, coming to an abrupt silence.

The knocking on their door became louder until the person accidentally fell in.

"You have a guest!" The person shouted and left.

Reluctantly, they broke apart.

Wei Ying yawned and stumbled to open the door again, smiling when his husband quickly threw a robe on his body. The image of Lan Zhan covering him in a potato sack with holes cut out for the eyes had him grinning.

"Thank you." There were definite perks to having an overprotective husband.

The 'guest' stood in all his magnificent glory, golden scales reflecting the light, horn ribbons floating on a gentle breeze.

"Shen Ling!" Wei Ying was confused, seeing the dragon. Then he threw a questioning gaze to his husband and whispered, "you didn't...you know...lick me there...did you?"

Lan Zhan blushed, his adorable pink ears heated as he shook his head.

So he turned to the dragon, scratching his head and said, "we didn't accidentally call you, did we?"

The dragon bowed. "No Young Master, but I need your help." But then he sniffed the air and came closer to Wei Ying, his cold nose bumping into his chest.

"Is the Young Master well? Is there something wrong?"

Lan Zhan stared at him sharply, and Wei Ying gulped.

"Indigestion!" He recovered quickly, hoping not to talk about this further.

But Lan Zhan grabbed his wrist, brow furrowed as he checked his pulse.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he protested, gently extricating his wrist from the firm grip. Then he turned and bowed to their guest.

"I am at your service. How can I help?"

The dragon paced back and forth, but due to the lack of space, the magnolia tree bore the brunt of his agitation. Leaves and petals swirled as his emotions escalated.

"My mate has been taken."

"Shen Qing? What happened to her?" Wei Ying walked forward and placed his hand on the dragon's face. "Calm down and talk to me."

Shen Ling took a deep breath and continued to speak into their minds.

"I was hunting for the little ones. When I returned with food, the nest contained only our children and my mate was gone."

"How do you know she was taken?" Wei Ying stroked his cheek, an attempt to offer comfort.

"My mate would never leave our babies, but she had silenced them and covered their bodies with pieces of the nest, as if...as if to hide them from someone. And there were signs of a struggle....and blood." His scales rippled in tune with his spiralling emotions.

"Let me get dressed, then can you take us there?" Wei Ying asked, earnestly. He turned to go but the dragon stopped him.

"I have one more favour to ask."

"Anything."

Shen Ling lifted his wing to reveal three tiny red faces.

"Oh, my!" Wei Ying breathed out. "They're so cute!!"

"They are frightened. They miss their mother."

"They can stay here. That's what you're asking, right?"

"Yes, Young Master. I fear for their safety and thought of you."

Wei Ying bowed. "I am honoured." And then louder, to his left, "JingYi, get over here, I know you're there!"

A trembling JingYi ran and stood behind him.

"You need to find somewhere they can stay," he pointed to the frightened babies. "NOT with the bunnies!" Correctly guessing what the boy was about to suggest.

"Then where? Everything is food to them," he whispered anxiously, staring at their father, who bristled with annoyance.

"Check with Lan XiChen first, but maybe the stables? And put extra wards around." And then to Shen Ling, "we're just coming."

*****

"You may ride on me, Young Master," Shen Ling said, lowering his back to accommodate.

Wei Ying glanced at Lan Zhan excitedly, and then blowing him a kiss when his lover sighed. As if he would pass up an opportunity like this!

But a problem was discovered upon sitting down, his legs braced tightly against the strong lithe body.

"Um...what do I hold onto?"

"Worry not, Young Master, I will not let you fall." It looked like he was laughing at him.

He flew up, taking off from the ground like an arrow, as if testing Wei Ying's endurance. As for the passenger himself, his breath stole away, leaving his heart pounding erratically in his ears. What a feeling! The wind raced through his body and he felt exhilarated.

Lan Zhan followed behind on Bichen, staying close because, dragon. Wei Ying had never ridden one before, nor for that matter, anyone from Cloud Recesses, much less seen one.

He was not above admiring beauty when he saw it though, and what a sight to behold. Golden glittering scales, much like the ones on his husband's back, shimmered in the strong sunlight, glowing with a magical hue to outshine everything else.

Today was turning out to be very interesting indeed.

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

A/N

This fabulous piece of artwork was generously created by MushroomManz and I think it's brilliant.

Thank you so much for spending the time and your wonderful skill in drawing what I think Wei Ying's back looks like. Imagine the scales changing colours as he moves!