Monday morning, Lan Zhan was putting away their combined laundry of washed and dried clothes, having retrieved them from the machines in this building's basement, when a little jewellery box fell out.

For a second, he was gripped with ecstacy, thinking Wei Ying had bought them rings, and remembering yesterday and his impromptu, spontaneous marriage proposal.

But then the box made a jingling sound, not at all like two rings would. It was lighter both in sound and weight, and because Wei Ying entered their bedroom just then, Lan Zhan handed it to him.

"This fell out," he said, in the most neutral voice he could manage.

A look of surprise passed over Wei Ying's face. He took the box and sat down on the edge of their bed, his slender fingers tracing over its edges.

"I'd forgotten about this," he murmured.

Lan Zhan comes to sit beside him. His nose flares, trying to smell how Wei Ying is feeling, but everything seems normal; there's just a tinge of sadness.

It's a cheap box made out of strong card, but the way he's holding on to it, with reverence and respect, makes Lan Zhan think it contains something precious.

Wei Ying lifts the flap up and turns it upside down so the contents spill out into the centre of his palm.

It's a silver heart shaped pendant, no, a locket.

The outside of it is tarnished, so the silver is much darker than it must have been when newly crafted. It is engraved on both sides, with a coat of arms on one side, and a crest on the other. And now, because Lan Zhan's sight is so much better than before, he can see that the crest has a tiny jagged pattern on the top.

Wei Ying's fingers caress both sides of the locket, and he sighs before pressing on one edge. It releases a catch and the locket opens.

There are two pictures on either side.

A man's face is on the left side, and there is just enough of him in Wei Ying's features for Lan Zhan to guess that this is his father. The similarities are in the shape of Wei Ying's jaw, and the curve of his cheeks, the slender arch of his brow. But he has his mother's eyes.

She stares back at them, a smile enhancing her beauty and lighting up her face. Wei Ying has inherited her gorgeous smile, and added something of himself in it to make it all of his own. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail and tied back with a vivid red ribbon.

Wei Ying leans towards Lan Zhan and smiles sadly. He angles the locket so Lan Zhan can look at their pictures more fully.

"Mom, Dad, this is Lan Zhan. I..I love him." His voice becomes thick with emotion, and the tragic truth that they will never be able to meet.

Lan Zhan's finger traces the outer shape of the heart.

He smiles at the pictures.

"I would wish that I could have met you in this life." He says, softly. "And I want you to know. I will do my best to look after Wei Ying from now on. You must be so proud of him; he is an exceptional young man, with precious values. He is a spectacular father, and an excellent brother. I can only hope to match that by being the best husband for him."

Wei Ying ducks his head, leaning his forehead against Lan Zhan's shoulder.

"I haven't said yes, yet," he protested.

"Wei Ying ate the ring. That counts." Lan Zhan said, with a straight face.

"I was hungry. And it doesn't count!" Wei Ying giggled at his justification.

Lan Zhan stares back at him, and then at his phone; sure enough, Wei Ying's work alarm goes off.

"I wish I could stay home with you and the boys," Wei Ying says, wistfully. He switches off the alarm and pockets his phone. "Here, put it on me." He sweeps back his hair and turns his back towards Lan Zhan, closing the locket and handing it to him.

Lan Zhan opens the catch and fastens the tiny silver hook at the nape of Wei Ying's neck. And then because he simply couldn't resist, he pressed his lips against the soft skin, inhaling the lotus flower and vanilla fragrance deeply.

Wei Ying shivered, a full body one that made him gasp. He tucked the cold metal locket into his shirt and stood up.

"I wish Wei Ying could stay home, too." Lan Zhan pouted.

"You're going to drop me off, Sweetheart. I'll only be gone for six hours." Wei Ying plants a quick, chaste kiss against his full lips, smiling when Lan Zhan chases his for another sweet kiss.

"Six hours too long. When Wei Ying comes back, we can write another chapter for your book. And cook together again, with A-Yuan and A-Yi."

"A-Yi?" Wei Ying smiles broader at that.

"Mn. He's a good boy, if a little too honest. Speaks without a filter." Lan Zhan stood up too, to call the children, because they could all go and drop Wei Ying off to work.

"When do you think we should tell him about..." Wei Ying doesn't want to elaborate, just in case JingYi overhears him.

"Not yet. Let's try and save him from that kind of pain as long as possible." Lan Zhan says, turning at the door to face Wei Ying.

"What if he asks?" Wei Ying can't let this go.

It's been preying on his peace of mind ever since yesterday, when Officer Todd confirmed that it was Mrs Lan who had passed away.

"Then we can try and explain in the kindest way. But honestly." Lan Zhan tells him firmly.

"Okay. Okay, you're right. We should wait for him to ask. I hope he understands...when the time comes."

Since Wei Ying still looks worried about it, Lan Zhan wraps his arms around his narrow waist and pulls him in for a hug.

"Children can be far more resilient than we give them credit for. I wish someone had told me the truth when it happened to me. I would have preferred that over vague lies."

Now it's Wei Ying patting his back to comfort Lan Zhan.

They have both had a rocky start to their lives, and neither want the same for the two children under their care. But only time will tell if they have made the right decision.

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

It's a friendly kiss on the cheek when Lan Zhan pulls up outside the Coffee Carousel. Wei Ying is mindful of the two kids in the back, owlishly watching the two adults in the front, so it's only his eyes that promise far more love later on, when they are alone.

He waves once more just as he reaches the double doors of the coffee shop, and the kids giggle and wave back, before Lan Zhan drives away.

Wei Ying goes in, feet dragging a bit. He wasn't lying when he'd told Lan Zhan that he wished he could stay home.

The smell of coffee lifts his spirits and soon, he's back to his normal, cheerful self.

It's just past one, when Wei Ying feels a little funny, as if someone is watching him. It's a prickling feeling, like ants crawling up his spine, and only a superhuman willpower stops him from outright shivering. He looks up, and pauses.

There's a man standing at the counter, dressed in all white. White shirt, white jacket, and white pants. He has a small face, but beautiful nonetheless. There's something about him...Wei Ying cannot place him, nor could he say with any amount of certainty, that he doesn't know him. But this nagging feeling will not cease.

He raises his dark sunglasses up to sit on his head, holding back his shoulder length dark hair, and his brown eyes are intense as they watch Wei Ying back.

"One caramel latte please, almond milk, no sugar," he says politely.

Wei Ying nods, forcing a smile to decorate his face, but not able to inject it with any kind of sincerity. He hopes it will do, because this guy is giving Wei Ying vibes. He's not sure what kind of vibes, but they're strong, and right now, Wei Ying wants him to leave.

His coffee is made in record time.

The stranger swipes his black blank card against the card machine, and waits for Wei Ying to put the lid on. When Wei Ying looks up, the man is staring at his chest, so he looks down and sees his locket has slipped out of his neckline and is fully visible.

He gasps and tucks it back in, but when he looks up, the man and his coffee have disappeared.

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

The children were excited to open and continue playing with their newest lego collections, so Lan Zhan left them to it.

He cleaned the kitchen and got snacks ready if the kids were hungry in between mealtimes, and got started on lunch. He was in a rush today, because he wanted to complete a number of tasks, and there was little time before Wei Ying had to be collected from work.

He fired up his laptop and bought a nice suit for himself to wear at the Award ceremony to be held in less than two weeks. And then a thought occurred to him, and he bought a second one, this one in Wei Ying's colours. It was a black tie event and Lan Zhan always felt uncomfortable wearing a black suit, only this time he was filled with satisfaction that he and Wei Ying were going to match.

Sort of.

And then he opened up the tab for F4keSt0ries.

We have some more questions, he typed out. What is SUP10 and SUP11? What is it used for, and what does it prevent? Please answer as soon as possible.

Lan Zhan stared at the screen, lost in thought.

Ever since this whole mess had started, from him being bitten and his consequent changes, he was aware of time ticking past and running out. It wasn't fair, because up until his complete change, he had thought it was referring to his physical situation.

But it was playing on his nerves because it hadn't gone away, or lessened. In fact, it seemed to be getting stronger, or worse depending on how he looked at it, and he was at a loss to explain it even to himself.

He was on edge all of the time, especially when Wei Ying wasn't around, and he could identify the subtleties of his affections enough to recognise that this worry was a separate thing.

Whenever Wei Ying was close by, in his arms was even better, he was pushing away Lan Zhan's panic automatically, and Lan Zhan didn't have to explain his weird feelings, didn't have to put into words his escalating worries.

But this sense of impending doom wasn't going away, and Lan Zhan picked up his phone in frustration. First, he sent off a text to Wei Ying, telling him how much Lan Zhan missed him, before dialling the doctor they had visited on Thursday evening, for an update. The doctor reminded him that labs often did not work on the weekends so while it seemed like this was the fourth day he had been waiting, in actual fact, it was only the second.

Lan Zhan had to concede his point but still ended up telling the doctor to put a rush on Wei Ying's results.

Even after putting the phone down, he felt restless and distracted.

He made himself concentrate on editing Wei Ying's first chapter on how to be a single dad.

This was an enjoyable task and the time flew by.

F4keSt0ries still hadn't replied, and when Lan Zhan's alarm went off, signalling the need to go and pick Wei Ying up, Lan Zhan closed his laptop in a huff.

Today was becoming very frustrating, indeed.

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

Wei Ying was telling Lan Zhan about the white-clad stranger even before he finished putting his seat belt on. He pulled on the black string that held his locket and showed Lan Zhan.

"I swear he was looking at this!" He kept his voice low, not wanting the children to know what he was talking about.

"Did Wei Ying feel unsafe at all?" Lan Zhan paused at a traffic light to look at him fully.

Wei Ying pondered his question. "No. I don't think so. Just...I felt incredibly uncomfortable though, and I really wanted to get rid of him as soon as I could."

Lan Zhan begins to drive, thinking about this mysterious person.

"Too much is happening around us to put it down to a coincidence," he says, finally.

"I don't think anyone would try and do something in a packed place with lots of witnesses." Wei Ying says, confidently.

"Mn." It's as non-committal as he can manage.

Lan Zhan feels as if this latest experience is just adding to the list of things to worry about. But there's no point in making Wei Ying concerned over something which may turn out to be simply an inquisitive man. So for now, he doesn't say anything more.

When they get home, everyone is hungry and Wei Ying ends up eating with the children. Lan Zhan goes to check on his laptop, in case F4keSt0ries has replied.

From the kitchen, he hears JingYi asking why Lan Zhan hasn't eaten anything, and Wei Ying giving them the usual explanation of Lan Zhan's having eaten earlier. Being kids, they accept what he says easily.

And much to his disappointment, there's nothing from F4keSt0ries, either.

He can hear Wei Ying asking the boys about their day as they clean up the kitchen and the kids help him with wiping dishes. The children run off to their room as soon as they can, and then Wei Ying joins him on the couch.

Lan Zhan lifts him up to sit Wei Ying on his lap.

Wei Ying is looking down at him with a combination of love and need. His glittering silver eyes look like sparklers lighting up the night, the flash of a magician's magical dust.

"Did Wei Ying get my text?" Lan Zhan asks, knowing full well that he did. Those little ticks were blue a long time ago.

"Ahuh..." there's no use lying, and Wei Ying grins.

Lan Zhan is in a naughty mood right now.

"And Wei Ying did not reply?" The words sound calm and yet, Lan Zhan's eyes are anything but. Like a raging sandstorm, those glimmering golden flecks are swirling with his emotions.

"That's because I wanted to answer you in person." Wei Ying bends to kiss the corner of his mouth.

He's testing the waters.

Lan Zhan lets him play this game.

Wei Ying bends and kisses the other corner of his mouth. And then after checking to see if Lan Zhan is still okay, this time he presses more firmly, soft lips against even softer ones.

A secret thrill of longing goes through both of them and just as suddenly, Wei Ying finds himself flat on his back, while Lan Zhan's hands are everywhere, all at once.

Again and again, his lips attack until Wei Ying opens his mouth out of desperation, a moan that seems to never end. Lan Zhan is plundering his mouth like a pirate after hidden treasure. And he's relentless, like a starving man.

Wei Ying's hands have fisted in that glorious hair, and he thinks again, has it grown longer? But there's no time to dwell on that, not when he's burning up from the inside, and Lan Zhan releases his mouth to bite down on his collarbone.

The sound that Wei Ying makes goes straight down to below their belts.

Lan Zhan is just about to rip his shirt in half, when there's a knock on their door.

It comes again, this second time a little louder.

Lan Zhan growls.

It takes all of his self control to actually stand up, and then he's by the door, looking back at Wei Ying to make sure he's ready.

Wei Ying slams the laptop close, and gives him one single nod, while straightening his clothes into something a little more respectable.

"Who is it?" He whispers, urgently.

Lan Zhan looks through the peephole.

"It's the cops."