Wei Ying felt his consciousness return and for a while, he revelled in the feeling of peacefulness that surrounded him. The Jingshi, ever a place of comfort and refuge, not only because of whose house it was, but the strongest feelings came from scent of the fragrant sandalwood.

It permeated everything, from the pillow he was hugging, and he had to smile at that, because he knew even in his sleep, he would not have let go of his husband easily, and in the sheets and the blankets that now covered him.

Wei Ying heard the notes being played upon WangJi and for for a few minutes, he let them speak to his soul. Music had that special magic only it possessed, to be able to communicate without words.

It was uplifting and nourishing, more so because his husband was imbibing each plucking of the strings with his spiritual energy and so it affected Wei Ying more powerfully.

He stretched, and then smiled, his sharp ears catching the music suddenly stopping and soft footsteps come towards their bed where he lay.

There was a giddy satisfaction in this; to see what would the great Hanguang-Jun do now?

The suspense was unbelievable and Wei Ying couldn’t take it at all.

His silver eyes snapped open when the bed dipped and Lan Zhan sat down next to him. Golden eyes filled with concern looked back into his, and for a moment, Wei Ying felt bad.

He hated being a source of worry for this long suffering man. He knew it was a slow agony for his endless patience, and he wished for the hundredth time that he knew what was wrong with himself.

"How are you feeling?" Lan Zhan asked him.

Wei Ying shivered. That deep voice never failed to arouse him.

"Like I could sleep forever. How long was it this time?" Wei Ying asked him, hating the flash of hurt in those golden orbs.

"Seventeen hours. It is late afternoon now."

Wei Ying closed his eyes playfully, knowing what his husband would do. He smiled when soft kisses happened on his eyes first, followed by his cheeks and his nose. But when the one he wanted on his lips didn't happen at all, he pouted in disappointment.

"Will Wei Ying not open his eyes?" Lan Zhan sounded closer.

Wei Ying tried not to smile and ended up biting his lip to stop himself. If Lan Zhan was close, that was something he could work with to further his own agenda, which was to get kisses.

"Why should I?" He asked, petulantly.

"What would Wei Ying like in return for opening his beautiful eyes?" Lan Zhan sighed but Wei Ying could detect his amusement.

He pretended to think about it, even tapping his nose.

"I want kisses..." He announced.

"Wei Ying has already had a few kisses. Greediness is prohibited in Cloud Recesses." Lan Zhan quoted.

"But not the right kithes." Wei Ying wailed. "I haven't had any of those kithes. And I'm not going to open my eyes until I do."

He held his breath as a finger stroked the side of his face, from his temple and down his cheek, tracing the soft skin.

Lan Zhan could easily swear that he had never seen anyone so beautiful ever before, and nor would he. Wei Ying possessed a beauty that shone through his soul outwards where everyone could see it, even their stern uncle.

Such a rare openess, an ability to love endlessly and melt the most frigid of icy exteriors.

"I have missed Wei Ying. I have missed his beautiful eyes." Lan Zhan admitted, so absorbed in tracing the shape of Wei Ying's lips with his finger, that he completely missed their opening to look at him.

"I'm sorry." Wei Ying didn’t want to cry. There were many times he wished he was stronger than that, but it seemed when it came to Lan Zhan, he was just as weak for him as the first time he had ever laid eyes on him. "I hate making you worry, my love." His voice cracked as tears spilled over the sides of his face to fall onto their pillow.

Lan Zhan gently wiped them away.

"Let me worry. Are you ready?"

Wei Ying took a few deep breaths before nodding.

Lan Zhan kissed his eyes again, ignoring a frustrated whining, and took his sweet time. But this time, when he slanted his lips over warm, too-eager ones, they both sighed with relief.

As if this soft touching was something neither could live without, a kiss and yet for them never something so ordinary. The gentle sliding of their mouths created a magic that was extraordinary, one that awoke something deeply buried in their souls, something that reached out to touch the other.

White light full of their energy, fingers of love reaching towards each other, enveloping them with the power of this adoration and surrounding them in a cocoon of warm love. This feeling healed their separation, and brought forth the singular joy, a high unattainable elsewhere until they were both flying with exhilaration.

Wei Ying wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck, holding him closer until no space remained between them. He smiled into this everlasting kiss as hot hands held him tightly too, as if Lan Zhan couldn't bear any distance however small. His lips traced Wei Ying’s mouth, seeking entry, and joy exploded as their tongues met again and again. A thrill of scorching excitement ran down his spine as he reciprocated every caress, every slide of wet skin.

Lan Zhan was insatiable and he supposed, so was he.

When they finally parted, Wei Ying smiled in a dazed way, happier than he had ever been.

"So my love...I missed you too."

"Wei Ying should rise." Lan Zhan replied, kissing his cheek.

"But...what will I get for getting out of bed?"

Lan Zhan snorted.

"Why does everything have a price attached?"

"Incentives! They're very important." Wei Ying declared righteously.

"And Wei Ying isn't hungry?"

That's all he had to say for Wei Ying’s stomach to start making noises.

"That's not fair! It's on your side." Wei Ying whined, trying to scowl. But he was in too good a mood to feel anything but happy.

"Mn. And because Wei Ying is a good boy, he shall get more kisses after lunch."

Wei Ying clung onto him.

"Then you have to carry me. It's my husband's duty."

"Mn."

He still yelped when Lan Zhan picked him up and took him towards the bathtub.

Wei Ying wrapped himself around Lan Zhan’s body at the sight of the hot water.

"I thought we were going to eat!" He protested.

"We will. First bath then food. Then we can collect the others and go to the villages for investigation." Lan Zhan explained.

That caught Wei Ying’s imagination and he began chattering excitedly as Lan Zhan washed and rinsed out his hair, handing him the soap.

"What do you think we'll find? I bet we can crack the case, huh? My love, you must have some thoughts to what it could be? Why don't you share?"

Lan Zhan listened to him talking and not answering, because he knew Wei Ying didn’t really expect any answers, not yet anyway. Wei Ying knew that he preferred listening to evidence and waiting until all possibilities had been explored before he would even attempt at guessing, but just hearing Wei Ying’s voice in the Jingshi which had been so quiet for so long, it mended the cracks in his heart.

So while Wei Ying chatted with him about all the things it might be, and all the things it could not possibly be, Lan Zhan felt better and better while he dried off his husband and dressed him in warm robes, eventually leading him to their little table to eat.

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

A/N

Dear lovely patient readers,

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and good wishes while I was ill. And now I'm back! Hopefully like before, but as I'm experiencing waves of fatigue much like our Wei Ying, I'm making no promises yet.

Today was a wonderful day because I really wanted to write, and these chapters are easy for the moment. Fingers crossed that I'm over the worst of it. Ice cream really helped, and that was thanks to my Bestie edzooc8r

Have a wonderful day too, and be happy for the small things. Don't forget about the chocolate either, hehe.

Charlie