They're holding hands and slowly climbing up the stairs to the first floor. Wei Ying asked for a short tour of this level, before they have to get ready to leave.
It's past four o'clock and they have to leave in a couple of hours, so this tour is going to be the shortest in the history of tours, and yet Wei Ying feels it's necessary. To give Lan Zhan a non-emotional break between what he just had to go through, and the next thing they have to do.
In hindsight, perhaps they should have waited until tomorrow, or any other day when they were freer, to fully process what must be a tornado of feelings.
But Wei Ying knew better than anyone else how much the curiosity and yearning to find out what one's mother wanted to tell them was like. He cannot blame either of the Lan brothers for listening to the recordings as soon as possible.
And Wei Ying tries not to think about his own red book, lying on the table in his bedroom, back at their apartment.
He feels like he's rushing it, by reading each message quickly, and he wants to savour each one because he won't have that first-time-reading-it feeling again. Like reading a really great book, or watching the best film ever, and then wanting to erase the memory of it so that whatever you felt that first time around can be felt again, fresh and new.
There are four bedrooms on this floor.
"You say that, but each one is a suite," Wei Ying corrects Lan Zhan with a small smile.
"This is my bedroom. Our bedroom, now." Lan Zhan replies smiling, which for him is the slightest tilting of his lips, because Wei Ying blushes in the prettiest way.
They've glanced through three other similar looking rooms with the same adjacent bathroom; the size of which is closer to Wei Ying's living room than any ordinary bathroom could be. Even here, the quiet luxury echoed from the marble fittings and porcelain sink and bathtub. Even the fittings were either silver or gold, matching the shining flecks within the marble tiles.
Lan Zhan's bedroom was all neutral shades of cream, beige and the palest blue. His bedroom door opened into a luxurious living room with cream leather sofas and an armchair, cream fluffy cushions that were hiding two pink ears reminding Wei Ying of the bunnies they were supposed to be.
There was a white marble fireplace, sparklingly clean, suggesting that no one had lit a fire in its hearth for quite some time. One cream door with golden clouds around the frame led to another ostentatious bathroom, this one in the same pale colours and with an added jacuzzi, and a complicated showering section with multiple jets. The bedroom was another example of understated luxury, with two more fluffy white pillows, both with pink ears.
Lan Zhan's face was priceless as he waited for Wei Ying's reactions, but his boyfriend squealed with so much enthusiasm, saying Lan Zhan was the cutest person ever, before throwing himself onto the pale blue comforter.
Even in that starfish sprawl, his lean body extended in all directions still wasn't long enough to take up space, to reach the corners and their bag of clothing and Wei Ying's makeup still sat at the bottom of the bed, undisturbed.
Lan Zhan felt a frisson of excitement, a warmth steadily growing as he watched Wei Ying make himself more and more comfortable. It felt good in a possessive kind of way, to see Wei Ying in his space, and be able to think of sleeping there, wrapped up in each other. Lan Zhan did not sleep anymore, anyway, and besides, there was so much to be done in bed other than simply sleeping...
Wei Ying rolled onto his side with a coquettish grin, resting his head on the palm of his right hand, triangulating his arm so he was comfortably able to watch Lan Zhan through his lashes.
"So...Lan Er-Gege, tell me what to expect tonight." He fluttered his beautiful eyelashes and then snickered when Lan Zhan stubbed his toe on a footstool that hadn't changed its spot in twenty years.
"Shameless." Lan Zhan responds, more out of embarrassment than actual heat.
Wei Ying is giving him a much-needed diversion, and a welcome one at that.
"You should know what you're getting into," he agrees, coming to sit next to him on the edge of the wide bed.
Wei Ying curls his body around Lan Zhan's back like an oversized cat, spreading out with a comforting heat.
"I've never been to an award event. What's it like?"
The insecure part of Lan Zhan who has always hated these overpopulated circus shows, filled with too much noise, people, cameras and flashing lights, in that specific order, wondered if Wei Ying really and truly didn't know what it was like? But when he looked into beautiful silver eyes filled with nothing but genuine curiosity, he decided to be as honest as he could be, without letting his own derogatory opinion bleed through. If Wei Ying had never been to a shindig like that, then he should be allowed to experience it on his own terms, in his own way.
"There's a red carpet." (Road to Hell) was another apt name, and Lan Zhan thought about how to best describe that particular experience, when in his mind, nothing ever beat it for causing him that much stress.
"I've seen them on the telly, back when my ShiJie used to watch the Fashion Police." Wei Ying tells him, shuffling closer so he could rest his head in Lan Zhan's lap. He closes his eyes, murmuring in approval when Lan Zhan begins to card through his hair after untying it from the confines of his red ribbon.
This action seems to soothe both of them. It gives Lan Zhan's nervous fingers something to do, and it's satisfying to hear Wei Ying's moans of contentment as they share these moments of precious calm.
"If anything, there is more to do on the red carpet than before." Lan Zhan stifles a shudder, speaking after a while.
"What do you mean? I thought the photographers yelled out how to pose, you do your thing, strut your stuff, and bingo, you're on the other side."
Oh, what a lovely idea?! If only it was that simple, Lan Zhan laments, thinking back to last year.
"There is now a host," he says quietly.
"A host?"
"Or hostess, or someone. They ask questions. It is invariably, "who are you wearing, tonight?" And it feels like I have a top notch designer in my pocket, ready to leap out and bow at their praise." His tone says it all.
Wei Ying giggles at that.
"How do you answer?"
"I purposefully choose something off the rack from a high street store. It is worth it for the look on their faces." Lan Zhan tries not to sound smug about that.
Above all, he hates the pretentious views of anyone associated with the fashion world, presuming that only Designer Labels meant anything on the red carpet. He takes a perverse pleasure in proving them wrong, and if it didn't unnecessarily lengthen those conversations, Lan Zhan thinks he'll one day ask them to actually try guessing what he's wearing.
Just for bants.
"Lan Zhan! That's so evil!" Wei Ying cackles with amusement, understanding him so well.
It's the little things...
**********
They get dressed rather quickly after that.
Wei Ying makes a fuss over what his clothes look like still on their new hangers which Lan Zhan has folded ever so carefully along with his own suit. And he's even remembered to bring the children's pyjamas and a soft toy for each.
Wei Ying coos about that, and then the next ten minutes are spent in showing Lan Zhan how much he appreciated his thoughtfulness, and Lan Zhan cannot complain, not when he has the best, most considerate boyfriend in the world.
"I thought we would be back by nine, ten at the latest," Wei Ying calls out from the cavernous bathroom.
"The ceremony finishes nearer midnight, and then there's the after party." Lan Zhan tells him, as Wei Ying emerges, dressed in the darkest, deepest wine silk suit.
Black rhinestones decorate the lapels and the tops of his sleeves in an uneven pattern, and the top of his pockets.
Lan Zhan dives in for a kiss and is shocked when his lips meet Wei Ying's rough palm instead of his addictive soft lips.
"No way, mister! I've just done my face, and my lips especially look great! There's no way I'm letting your mouth spoil it!" Wei Ying is absolutely serious!
Lan Zhan's expression is aghast.
"But I am merely showing my appreciation, to my most beautiful fiance," he insists, trying a second time, which has Wei Ying jumping onto the bed in disbelief at what he has to resort to.
"Look who's being shameless now!" Wei Ying shouts, crossing his arms over his chest indignantly. "Number one, you haven't actually asked me, and I haven't said yes! And number two, we're getting so late! Go and get dressed, pronto! Stat!" He's biting his bottom lip, trying not to laugh out loud.
Lan Zhan looks wounded, but he dutifully grabs his clothes and retires to the bathroom to change.
These sorts of events are black tie, but in his opinion, that was such a boring concept. Who would want to wear plain old black when there were so many other options out there?
This time, because of his date, Lan Zhan has decided to mirror his clothes, so where Wei Ying is wearing a deep burgundy plum coloured suit, with a cream silk shirt and a frilly black tie that gives him just the right amount of debonair flair and charm, Lan Zhan's choice is a cream silk suit with a deep wine silk shirt like a second skin, with a skinny cream silk tie. A silver chain completes his look, and he walks out of the bathroom with his head held high, especially when he sees Wei Ying's naked hunger in his eyes, and his jaw practically grazing the floor.
Lan Zhan sweeps past him as if he's unaffected, when in truth, all he wants to do is tackle Wei Ying to the bed and ravish him senseless.
But they have got a job to do now, and Lan Zhan comforts himself with the knowledge that he can ravish Wei Ying later, when they come back from the horror fest.
He grabs the holdall and offers his arm to a petulant boyfriend, who takes it like he's doing Lan Zhan a favour, strutting by his side. And then he remembers something.
"Wait, wait!" Wei Ying pushes him down onto the bed and fetches his makeup bag. "I ordered a new palette just for you!" He pulls out a brand new set of brushes with a pale blue handle. "Hygiene is very important," he says, as he expertly gives Lan Zhan's eyes a shimmery silver fading to gold eyeshadow, with a deep grey eyeliner.
His own makeup is a deep red with black, making him feel like out of the two of them, he's the one that most resembles what a vampire should look like.
And they're both still wearing their bunny bracelets with the tracking devices.
One swipe of lip gloss and he deems Lan Zhan ready to face the hoards. Wei Ying stands back, pursing his lips and examining his work one final time, before hauling Lan Zhan up and into his arms. He's careful not to get any makeup on Lan Zhan's clothes, though the fixing spray he's used on both of them should help with that.
"Good luck for tonight. I know you're anxious about going out there, with all that it entails, but please know that I'm with you. I'll be right there, by your side," he says sincerely, wanting Lan Zhan to understand that part the most.
All the times Lan Zhan has talked about where they're going tonight, he's tensed up and that too familiar crease between his brows flares up, and Wei Ying would do anything to make him feel better about it, about going somewhere where he so obviously feels stressed about attending.
He knows without a doubt that if Lan Zhan had a choice, he would not go there.
But as he had explained before to Wei Ying, events such as this led to a spike in business and much needed extra revenue. Wei Ying knew Lan Zhan well enough to understand that his sacrifice came from wanting to support his brother and their business, and sometimes such events had to be endured.
So Wei Ying was going to make it as easy as he could for his beloved.
Lan Zhan's unconditional support every step of the way since they'd met only a few short weeks ago, steadfast and so fully present in every way, was something that Wei Ying wanted to reciprocate in the same way. Not by way of repayment, but because he wanted Lan Zhan to feel better immediately, and if there was anything he could do to facilitate that end, then Wei Ying was already there.
They can hear the laughter of the children, along with gruff undertones of amusement as the three people inside the study continue to discuss the merits of a long neck as opposed to wide, curvaceous horns, and then JingYi has to ask about narrow doorways and moving sideways.
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan share a joint, warm smile before going inside after knocking and gaining permission.
It turns out that they were playing a game, in which all three participants were completely engaged.
The first person, in this case Uncle Qiren, draws something while the other two cover their eyes, then he would fold the paper and pass it on to the next person, and so on, and this way, they would have created something terribly cool or horribly awful, and it could realistically go either way.
The uncanny triplets had gone through a lot of paper already.
"So what about the homework, then?" Wei Ying asked suspiciously, staring JingYi down with a knowing look.
"Baba, we finished it ages ago!" A-Yuan tells him with a giggle. "And you look very pretty!" His small bursts of laughter are amplified when he quickly tags on to the fact that Wei Ying has taken mock offence at the term.
Wei Ying advances with arms outstretched, ready to tickle him into an apology, insisting that he should be called handsome instead, and A-Yuan shrieks, clinging onto Uncle Qiren as if the elder will save him.
Wei Ying backs off, waggling his fingers in an I'll-get-you-later motion, beaming all the while.
"He's not wrong," JingYi chimes in, pointing at Lan Zhan with heart eyes, "He's the handsome one!" And then he dives behind Uncle Qiren for protection, blushing because the words escaped without his control.
"Children. Come here, please." Lan Zhan tells them in his deep voice, and to Wei Ying's utter astonishment, both children stop messing around and stand in front of him.
Lan Zhan crouches down and hugs each one separately and for more than a few minutes, holds them tightly.
"We will return and you will probably be asleep by then. Be good for Shifu, and do as he tells you. I love you." He says to both A-Yuan and A-Yi.
Wei Ying bites his bottom lip, finding himself overcome with emotion at that image, something which will forever stay in his mind, and he makes the mistake of catching Uncle Qiren's eyes, already so much softer looking at them.
Then it's Wei Ying's turn and how can he beat that?!
But he hugs both of them as well, kissing their round cheeks and wishing them sweet dreams when they do go to bed.
"Handsome," A-Yuan whispers in his ear, as he hugs Wei Ying back, kissing his cheek, too.
JingYi is suddenly too shy to actually speak, and settles for a death grip around Wei Ying's neck instead.
They wave bye to everyone and Uncle Qiren reassures them that they will go to sleep on time and not to worry. He wishes them a good night as they leave.
Just as they step outside, Wei Ying's phone rings and he picks it up, wondering why his grandmother would call him right now.
"A-Ying! Where are you?" She sounds breathless for some reason.
"We're just leaving the Lan Manor. Why?" Wei Ying cannot help it, his gaze shoots to Lan Zhan, who switches holding hands for wrapping them around him.
"Warm Sky gave us a heads up on the guest list. The Wens are going to be there, so watch your backs."
"Okay, I guess since Wen Chao likes to pretend he's an architect, that's to be expected. But don't worry Grandmother, we'll be careful," he reassures her. Wei Ying aims to sound far more convincing than he feels, because if he's honest, things have been far too quiet on the vampire front for his liking.
"It's just that, I wouldn't put it past them to cause a disruption soon, and I don't think they're stupid enough to try something at the gala event, but you never know," she replies, echoing his thoughts. "So I'm sending A-Chen and A-Qing there, just as backups. For me!" She adds before Wei Ying can protest that it's not necessary.
Truthfully, he feels better to have more people he can trust around him.
"I'm worried about both of you," she continues. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you...my daughter...-" she breaks off with a sob, and Wei Ying wishes he was next to her so he could hug it out of her.
"Grandmother, please don't worry, nothing is going to happen to us. I promise! I have Lan Zhan, he'll protect me!" He forces himself to sound confident.
Lan Zhan's arms tighten infinitely; he can hear everything in HD anyway, and his protective instincts were going into overdrive. Maybe tonight Wei Ying would finally be able to see him in action, if it came to that.
XiChen waves at them from his car. He's sitting in the passenger seat and MingJue tilts his head in greeting as they drive off, expecting Lan Zhan and Wei Ying to follow shortly after them.
"No, no, you don't understand. Warm Sky said he managed to hear two higher-ups discussing the gala specifically, saying that Wen Rouhan was going on purpose, just to make sure nothing interfered with his plans," she pauses, trying to catch her breath. And then she says, "They've found the person they were looking for. The extraction is taking place tonight."
*************
A/N
Dear wonderful Readers,
Don't hate me for the cliffhangers!!! Please? We're coming up to that one scene in my head which started this whole thing...
Anyway, I hope it helps after that cryfest from before, and have lots of chocolate 🍫 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫 to make you feel better!
Charlie