Lan Zhan offers Wei Ying the keys, but this time, he shakes his head and goes to sit in the passenger seat.

Lan Zhan tries to find out what he's feeling, but he's not clear on the specifics of Wei Ying's emotions. It feels intrusive right now, so he decides to wait, and trusts in the hope that Wei Ying will tell him when he's ready.

Lan Zhan's music library mostly consists of classical music but today, he selects a song that inspired complicated emotions in himself, when he first heard it. It was so deeply meaningful to him, that he ended up finding the lyrics and listening to it again and again.

The piano begins, a soft melody like gentle rain, and then the lead singer's voice rises from the speakers, and then he's joined by another. The cello is exactly what speaks to Lan Zhan, and he's grateful that even if his heart is no longer a functioning organ, it still feels the same as the first time he heard this beautiful song.

When I came to the world from a certain star in the distant past

I heard a small voice telling me to give love

A million flowers that bloom only when we are in love

The rose of love that only blooms when you truly love

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate,

When you just give love unreservedly

Millions of millions of millions of flowers bloom

I can go to my longing and beautiful planet

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate

When you just give love unreservedly

Millions of millions of millions of flowers bloom

I can go to my longing and beautiful planet

True love shed painful tears,

Because it was such a sad world where there were many people who broke up

After so many years, he gave up his life

A love that suddenly appeared like rain embraced me

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate

When you just give love unreservedly

Millions of millions of millions of flowers bloom

I can go to my longing and beautiful planet

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate

When you just give love unreservedly

Millions of millions of millions of flowers bloom

I can go to my longing and beautiful planet

Even if everyone leaves now, but love will continue

I'm the one who came to me from that star and waited so long

If you and I are together, more and more flowers will bloom

We who have become one will return to that eternal star

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate

When you just give love unreservedly

Millions, millions, millions of flowers bloom

I can go to my longing and beautiful planet

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate

When you just give love unreservedly

Millions of millions of millions of flowers bloom

I can go to my longing and beautiful planet,

Without a heart to hate, to hate, to hate,

When you just give love unreservedly.* ( One Million Roses by Hoppipolla)

To Lan Zhan's surprise, when the song ends, Wei Ying's hand shoots up to replay the same song again.

At the traffic lights, when he stops the car for pedestrians, Lan Zhan looks over to see him crying, the tears rolling down his beautiful cheeks, one after another... but Wei Ying is smiling.

When it looks like Lan Zhan is about to pull over at the first chance he gets, Wei Ying shakes his head.

"It's just...so beautiful."

Lan Zhan agrees with a tilt of his head.

To speak, to disturb the air after listening to it, seems like a crime.

Wei Ying turns up the volume so it feels like they're having their own private concert. He closes his eyes and absorbs the music, letting it wash over him.

They listen to it six more times until Lan Zhan parks outside Wei Ying's apartment building. He lets Wei Ying take the lead, and smiles as they wait for the song to end.

It's early evening now and sunset happens around five. Already, the skies are streaked with dusky colours, oranges sweeping across magnificent pinks, over a purple horizon, and as they leave the car, the first stars begin to twinkle high up in the sky.

They walk slowly up to the doors, each step feeling monumental.

A part of Wei Ying's consciousness has already accepted that his time here is limited, and he knows that he can count on one hand, how often he will be coming back here after this. It has been his home for the past three years, a sanctuary against the outside world when he needed it the most.

It is bittersweet, and for a second, he's glad that A-Yuan isn't here with him. And that he's not alone.

Lan Zhan can read him perfectly, letting him deal with his thoughts privately, and yet he never lets go of his hand.

The weight in his hand, the cool skin next to his warm palm is grounding, a tether to his kite.

Slowly, they climb up the stairs, one flight after another, until they reach the fourth floor.

There's a surprise waiting for Wei Ying when they reach his door.

Someone had hung an old curtain over the door, so its broken state was not immediately visible to whoever walked past it.

Wei Ying liked to think he had a good relationship with his neighbours on both sides, even if he was hardly at home when they were. Working two jobs didn't allow for much downtime, but it was obvious from this small act of caring, that they liked him enough to do this much.

The pattern is of faded red roses on a green background, and since everyone on this floor are barely making ends meet, Wei Ying also knows that whoever has donated this makeshift disguise for his busted door was surely missing it in their home.

"Maybe we can give this back soon," he murmurs, his fingers rising up to touch the thick, hard wearing cotton, softened by age and multiple washings.

"Mn."

Wei Ying takes a deep breath as if he's steeling his mind against whatever he will find behind this door, and then he sweeps aside the curtain and surveys the damage.

The lock is well and truly broken; the new deadbolt Lan Zhan had fixed only a couple of weeks ago is bent out of shape, and wooden splinters are hanging off the edges, and littering the floor.

So much for security.

But then, Wei Ying supposes, an old wooden door would not, could not provide sufficient resistance to a couple of determined vampires with orders to enter.

And kidnap.

Wei Ying hadn't allowed himself to think too much when he and XiChen had arrived with MingJue to collect PoPo, too distraught about Lan Zhan going missing to think about his home.

But stepping inside his living room, Wei Ying looks at it with new eyes.

He can see the threadbare carpet just barely covering the musty wooden floor supporting it, the floral pattern couch comfortably seating two, and three was a squeeze, but for nearly three years, it had hosted A-Yuan and himself so nicely. There was even a dip in the lumpy stuffing where he usually sat.

His hand traces the top of the backrest as he walks past it. It is a bittersweet melancholy which grips him, his feet padding slowly towards the children's bedroom.

Lan Zhan follows him there, silent but a reassuring presence.

"When we first moved in, A-Yuan was too scared of the dark to sleep by himself," Wei Ying says, looking around for a plastic bag to pick up the disturbed Lego pieces scattered on the floor.

The half assembled car was broken and Wei Ying remembers PoPo saying the intruders had accidentally stepped on the hard plastic pieces, hurting themselves and making them leave.

He shivers then, glad that she was wise enough to know when to remain quietly still to avoid detection. He wouldn't put it past those vampires not to have taken her as a hostage, or worse, done something terrible instead, to her.

Wei Ying forces himself to pack some clothes for both of the boys, and Lan Zhan finds a box for all the Lego pieces. He's bought so many sets that some boxes aren't even opened yet, and he's glad Wei Ying is distracted enough not to notice it just yet.

The problem was, Lan Zhan also loved playing with Lego, and he could understand why to the children, it was more important to bring all these back than say, extra clothes. So he managed to fit everything inside his container.

When he turns around, Wei Ying is sitting on the children's bed, holding a stuffed orange starfish.

"I won this for him when Qing-Jie took us to the fair. A-Yuan had such a great time that day."

Lan Zhan goes to sit next to him.

"When I left the Jiangs, after being told that there was no place left for me, I thought to myself, it's okay. In such a big world, surely there was a little bit of space for me and my little Radish. I believed in that so strongly, that this became our little space. For the longest time, it was A-Yuan and I, against the world." He smiles sadly, letting his head rest on Lan Zhan's shoulder.

Lan Zhan's arm wraps around Wei Ying's shoulders, holding him close.

There's nothing he can say about this, nothing to make Wei Ying feel better, and in a way, this is going to be therapeutic for him, a cleansing of his emotions. Coming back here will be easier next time, when it becomes the last time, because Wei Ying will have faced himself here already, dealing with his memories.

"You must think I'm being silly," Wei Ying says, after a while.

"Not at all." Lan Zhan has a tone, and it makes Wei Ying laugh.

It means that Wei Ying shouldn't be thinking along those lines, and if he is, then Lan Zhan is about to divest him of that opinion.

"That's alright, then," Wei Ying says lightly.

He stands up and looks around once more, before leading Lan Zhan out of there.

Their bedroom is next and Wei Ying quickly fills Lan Zhan's holdall with underwear and a couple of new shirts, part of the new clothes that Lan Zhan had bought for him. Trousers go in next and then Lan Zhan is holding out his mother's book for him.

It feels too much to look inside it now, not when they're pushed for time, so Wei Ying wraps his favourite t-shirt around it, the softest one he has, and places it inside their bag.

They're just about to leave when Wei Ying has an idea.

"Hang on," he says quickly, jumping over the couch to go into the kitchen.

Lan Zhan is so very glad to be able to witness him, every time he does that.

It's still hot, and it still makes him want to push Wei Ying against the nearest hard surface to kiss him senseless.

Thinking of kisses, Lan Zhan's eyes landed on the couch, where Wei Ying hopped into his lap and they shared their first ever kiss. That was a golden, memorable moment, and he wonders if he can buy the couch from the building super at one point.

There are rustling noises coming from the kitchen and before Lan Zhan can go there to help, Wei Ying comes out of there with two bags of food.

"I cleaned out our fridge," he says cheerfully, coming towards Lan Zhan. "It's a thank you to both of our neighbours."

They close the ruined door behind them and make sure the curtain covers the broken part better. Then they knock on both sides of Wei Ying's apartment and thank the neighbours by giving them a bag of food each, and asking if the curtain can stay a bit longer, just until they can come back here to collect their things.

Both neighbours are sad to see them go and Wei Ying is hugged by the lady on the left, and gets a hearty, hand-numbing handshake from the guy on the right.

Wei Ying giggles at Lan Zhan, because he's easily holding three bags in one hand and slung the holdall over his shoulder, leaving one hand free to hold out for Wei Ying to take.

"You're so strong, my love, that I think you would be able to carry me as well." He laughs even more when Lan Zhan raises a brow.

"Is that a challenge?" He asks, in his most dangerous voice.

Wei Ying takes his hand and grins back at him.

"Not at all. Let's go home, Sweetheart."