Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan, panic in his beautiful eyes.
"Please, don't do that." Lan Zhan says, wrinkling up his nose.
Wei Ying tried to calm down, but it was really hard for him to do. He understood that it made his blood smell differently to Lan Zhan, but he was really scared.
"What if they're looking for you?" He said, fearfully. "Lan Zhan...what if-"
"Wait!" Lan Zhan told him firmly, hugging him close. He wasn't used to talking much, only the odd meeting with a client, and most of the time, XiChen would be his usual charming self and Lan Zhan attended in case a question arose regarding his design.
So it took a while for him to gather his thoughts, and this also helped because he could tell exactly when Wei Ying began to relax.
"I know, I can feel how worried you are for me. For us." Lan Zhan took hold of his hand and brought it to his lips. "But I want you to know that I can protect myself, and I can protect you and our family. If it comes down to it, I want to reassure you that in a fight, I can win. I'll be able to take everyone out, especially if the choice was between keeping my family safe and them. And what if it's not me?"
"But Lan Zhan, how?" Wei Ying's eyes filled with tears. "It's not that I'm doubting you."
Lan Zhan begins to protest, because that's exactly what he was doing. But Wei Ying interrupts him, trying to clarify what he meant.
"It's just that, well, what are you going to do, say if they did attack you? It's not like you've ever had to kill anyone before, right? And maybe this is going to be hard to think about, but I don't think you'll be able to just injure them. And if you bite them, aren't you just doing what those people have done already? I just don't see how any of this can be good. That's all." His bright, beautiful silver eyes are all at once apologetic and anxious.
"We don't even know how many of them there are."
"True." Lan Zhan huffs out a laugh. "Every single point Wei Ying is making is perfectly valid," he admitted.
"Then? Why are you laughing?" Wei Ying harrows his eyes at him.
"Not at Wei Ying." Lan Zhan clarifies. "It's hard for me to explain."
"Try." Wei Ying crosses his arms over his chest, scowling now.
"I don't want to frighten Wei Ying."
His honesty was refreshing.
"What do you mean? And for the record, I'm already terrified."
"When the children are at school, I will show you then. And preferably not indoors. We do not want to scare civilians, either." Lan Zhan promises him.
Just his casual, amused attitude is enough by itself, to make Wei Ying feel a whole lot better, and Lan Zhan can tell as his nose takes a good long whiff of Wei Ying's unique scent. He could want to smell this fragrance forever.
"Can't we ask F4keSt0ries for more information? While we have him online?" Wei Ying turns to face the screen, but there's nothing extra from their source, except the chilling previous message.
What can you tell us about that? Who are they looking for?
Wei Ying types his questions in, hoping F4keSt0ries is still there.
They're in luck and Wei Ying is smiling at the screen in anticipation, as the three dots pulse repetitively.
NO IDEA? THEY REFER TO THE PERSON AS 'N', AND BEFORE YOU ASK, NO, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. I'M THINKING IT'S HIS NAME.
Lan Zhan single-finger types his next question.
What can you tell us about specific results? As in, does venom kill off dangerous diseases?
WOW, I GUESS WE'RE GOING OFF TANGENT, THEN? I'VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT, TBH.
"What does TBH mean?" Lan Zhan scowls at the screen.
"To be honest." Wei Ying explains, giggling. "You're supposed to be an influencer...hehe."
"I do not interact with strangers." Lan Zhan defends himself. "And not many minors follow me. The ones that do reach out, text properly."
"That's a good thing." Wei Ying says, quickly. "I mean, I know your stuff, from what I saw, is really on the clean side. Did you ever think about doing anything ... not so clean?" Wei Ying swallows hard, thinking about what he has already seen.
"No. I do not wish to. I have nothing against that, it's just my own personal thing." Lan Zhan tells him.
F4keSt0ries replies, distracting them.
VENOM IS DANGEROUS STUFF. IF YOU'RE ASKING ME WHETHER IT COULD OBLITERATE GENERAL AILMENTS, THE TRUTH IS, I DON'T KNOW. I'M NOT A DOCTOR.
"Oh. Damn." Wei Ying laughs softly.
But there's more.
THE THING IS, VENOM WORKS IN A STRANGE WAY. ALMOST LIKE A LIVING ORGANISM. IT SURVIVES. IT GETS RID OF ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T BELONG IN A BODY, AND DEFINITELY ANYTHING IT CAN'T USE. LIKE I SAID, I'M NOT A DOCTOR.
"Well, at least he's being honest." Wei Ying says, thanking him for that.
IF THIS HELPS, I'VE NEVER SEEN A VAMP WITH A COLD!🤣
Wei Ying snickers at that.
They keep staring at the screen but it looks like F4keSt0ries has called it a night. Lan Zhan keeps the tab open and opens another, this time on Google docs.
Wei Ying groans, because he knows what Lan Zhan wants him to do. He can't believe that Lan Zhan thinks this will work, to write down his experiences as a single father, and that it will help others.
"Will it be easier if I ask you questions instead?" Lan Zhan says, in what he hopes is an ordinary voice. An encouraging one.
The truth is, he's hungry to know everything there is to know about Wei Ying, including how he coped with raising A-Yuan. He wasn't looking for textbook answers, he wanted to know about the things that Wei Ying found out on his own, that proved to be priceless.
"Yes, please." Wei Ying sounds relieved.
"How did you get A-Yuan to trust you?"
Wei Ying thinks back, over the past years.
"That was more a long term thing," he says, scrunching up his nose.
Lan Zhan leans in to kiss it. His Wei Ying could be so cute!
"Meaning?" He asks, his fingers ready to type.
"Well, it didn't happen overnight. Ah, I know!" Wei Ying settles back into Lan Zhan's chest, playing with his collar. "One day, we were walking past a toy shop. I always tried to walk past quickly, no sense in getting the kid's hopes up," he laughed, awkwardly. "And A-Yuan happened to see something there. He was barely three and just beginning to form sentences. His development was disrupted on account of being shipped from people to people, and his stability was nonexistent. He didn't even trust that he was going to stay with me forever.
"And I guess it was Easter time, and the toy shop window was decorated with bunnies and chicks and coloured eggs, you know, that sort of thing. And A-Yuan wouldn't budge. Lan Zhan, I'm not even kidding, he had his little face pressed up against the window, and he may have drooled, but take me to court cos I'll deny it.
"Anyway, we both figured out what we wanted. The little kid wanted the bunny, the white one, to be specific, and I thought, you know what? Every kid deserves something silly to comfort them, and if this little kid wanted a bunny, then who was I to try and stop him?
"Something changed between us that day. It was like he knew I was his person. He figured out that he could come and tell me anything, and together, we would figure it out. Whatever he needed, he said as best as he could. And I'm not saying it was easy. There were times when he would be crying, and I had no fucking clue what he needed, or wanted. Those were some nights, let me tell you." Wei Ying shakes his head fondly, remembering that time.
"I am sorry you had to go through that alone." Lan Zhan kisses the top of his head. "I wish I had been there with you. For you."
Wei Ying holds his face, one hand cupped around his cheek.
"I truly believe that sometimes, the Universe is testing us, to find out if we're worthy. I still don't know for what, in my case, but I hope my acceptance of whatever happened to me, goes a long way to making A-Yuan and now JingYi, and you, much happier." The sweetest kiss follows that statement.
"Then," Lan Zhan tells him with a wicked smile, "since my happiness is taken care of, I shall endeavour to make sure Wei Ying is just as happy, if not more, than myself."
In a single move, fluid and graceful as ever, Lan Zhan saves and closes the laptop, rising with Wei Ying still in his arms.
"Sweetheart?"
"We are going to bed, and I am going to satisfy my boyfriend so he gets a good night's sleep." Lan Zhan insists.
"That's the most shallowest way to describe Papapa." Wei Ying giggles, kicking his feet as he is flung onto their bed. "It's so innocuous! Misleading..."
Lan Zhan follows him down.
"Let me remind you, nothing about me is shallow..."
*****************
Saturday passes by like in a blink of the eye, and the little family is ready and waiting to watch the masterpiece which is called The Princess Bride.
A-Yuan and JingYi are sitting in between Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, the adults holding bowls of popcorn while they watch, the children captivated by what is going on, on the screen in front of them.
Wei Ying glances frequently at the three people he is sharing the couch with and has come to love even more than himself, and one of those times, he catches Lan Zhan's eyes.
The room is dark and the only light comes from the movie, and yet Wei Ying can see the raw love in Lan Zhan's mesmerising golden eyes, really a reflection of the words they can hear on screen.
As you wish.
*************
The good little children, as wonderful as they are, fall asleep quickly. They didn't even make it past the first page of their chosen story, and after good night kisses from their parents, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan return to the living room to clean up after movie night.
"Did you enjoy the film, my love?"
"Mn."
"But?" Wei Ying can feel that Lan Zhan has an opinion, and he wants to know what it is.
In fact, he would pay good money, money that he can now afford, but even when he couldn't, to know.
"But I do not agree with Princess Buttercup's decision to ditch Wesley outside the swamp. She was too trusting of that rotten, putrid, vile Humperdink."
Wei Ying does not even make it past the twenty second mark before he has convulsed into loud laughter, even when he's put gently onto their bed. Tears leak out of the corners of his eyes, even as Lan Zhan kisses them away.
"Do you ever swear, my love?" Wei Ying asks him, as Lan Zhan slides in after him.
"No. Uncle said only lazy people make use of those words; learned humans had better choices."
"I would like to meet your Uncle one day," Wei Ying replies, falling into sleep as soon as Lan Zhan's arms come around him.
Lan Zhan freezes, because he has not thought about Uncle Qiren once, in these past two weeks.
After his brother, Uncle Qiren is the last remaining person in his own family by way of blood, and it is remiss of Lan Zhan to not have thought this through, before.
What will Uncle say?
Lan Zhan has no second thoughts about this; Uncle Qiren must meet Wei Ying and their children - is it too early to think of them like that? Lan Zhan doesn't think so, not at all. A-Yuan stole his heart from their first hug, and JingYi stole his protection and Lan Zhan doesn't regret it one bit.
And Wei Ying.
Wei Ying is the other third of the crime triplets, all three members of his family now.
What will Uncle think about him?
It is too late to call his brother now, but Lan Zhan thinks he should, just to give him a heads up of the situation...because like it or not, sparks were going to fly when they met.