There was a secret healing hidden in the domesticity of normal life, the routine that is necessary as much as soothing, when it came to the dealing of coping with trauma.
Saturday morning woke Wei Ying with howling winds and torrential rain battering the glass windows of the manor, but he felt safe within Lan Zhan's arms. It was still dark outside and he knew he had woken up too early because of Lan Zhan's care yesterday, which had resulted in him sleeping during the day.
To be fair to himself, it wasn't everyday one was attacked by a volatile vampire eager to feast on him, and if there was one thing Wei Ying should be feeling, it was proudness that he had dealt with Vladimir, all by himself.
The truth was, he wasn't sure how he was feeling.
And if he wanted to be okay in his head, he had to start tackling his thoughts, which resembled a basket of knitting wool after a litter of kittens had finished playing with it.
"Why is Wei Ying awake?" Lan Zhan asks him gently.
"I probably slept too much," Wei Ying yawns, stretching.
Lan Zhan was so accommodating, releasing his body only to allow that action, before tightening his hold once more.
If Wei Ying was honest, it was what he needed right now.
"The problem isn't with my body," he tries to explain. "It's up here." He taps the side of his head.
"Wei Ying has a very nice body," Lan Zhan agrees, kissing his forehead. "Tell me?" His attempt to make Wei Ying smile works, if briefly.
Wei Ying thinks back to yesterday, when his grandmother told him to be honest with Lan Zhan, to let him worry, to let him have free reign over his feelings. After all, part of being in a relationship meant being able to talk about themselves, what they were going through, and he didn't have to presume what or how Lan Zhan was going to feel; they could deal with the entirety of this together.
"I was really scared yesterday," he admits. It's really hard for him to say that, and he hopes his grandmother is proud of him for doing this.
Lan Zhan rolls onto his back, taking Wei Ying with him, his one hand cradling the back of Wei Ying's head, while the other one is wrapped tightly around his waist. Thick blankets cocoon them from the rest of the world, keeping them warm and safe.
"Wei Ying was very brave," Lan Zhan murmurs, keeping his anger towards Vladimir in check for now. Wei Ying doesn't need that part of him.
"I didn't feel very brave. I knew I had to stop him, and there was no way I was gonna let him take me."
"Your quick thinking helped, otherwise..." No. He wasn't going to go there. He refused.
"But my love, it was kind of cathartic. Not while it was happening for sure, but now? Looking back on it, like, it makes me feel so much more confident, you know what I mean?" Wei Ying kisses the soft skin just above Lan Zhan's neckline. "Okay, it was slightly more realistic than I'd want a training exercise to be, but it worked. I feel like, even if a hundred feral vampires were to attack us right now, I'd be able to take them, no sweat."
Lan Zhan isn't sure what to say about that.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." That at least, is his sincere wish.
He's still feeling raw about yesterday, and he knows that were Baoshan Sanren to lock him inside a room alone with Vladimir, it might still not be enough to quench his blood lust. Simply ripping that waste of space limb from limb would not be satisfying enough.
"Sweetheart, you're growling." Wei Ying whispers, resting his palms on Lan Zhan's chest only enough so he can look into Lan Zhan's eyes.
Golden orbs like melted amber shine back at him, a mix of residual anger and relief, tinged with contrition.
And then they both laugh, a huff from Lan Zhan that fits perfectly with Wei Ying's giggles.
The way Wei Ying had used his endearment with what should be a frightening prospect, it was unexpected and ironic, hence their amusement which diffused their simmering tension.
Wei Ying settles himself back comfortably on his Lan Zhan pillow, sighing softly.
"What do you think Grandmother is going to do with Vladimir?"
"Grandmother is thorough. She'll want to find out where Vladimir found the samples to begin with, and then she'll threaten Wen Qing. From what you said yesterday, I think Xiao XingChen sent A-Qing to collect the ones Vladimir had already taken."
"Is it bad if I don't want to know? About any of it?" Wei Ying gestures vaguely in the air.
"Not at all. In fact, I have a question for Wei Ying." Lan Zhan would prefer if Wei Ying could indulge himself: if he doesn't want to talk about yesterday, then talking about anything else would be a good distraction.
Wei Ying is getting frisky and restless apparently, as his mouth begins to kiss a warm path from Lan Zhan's jaw to his ear. It's becoming difficult for Lan Zhan to remember his words, let alone saying them out loud.
"Where... would Wei Ying like to.... get married?" His breathing is erratic, as little explosions of joy burst into life wherever Wei Ying's mouth lands, his sweet kisses becoming insistent and demanding.
"My love," Wei Ying tells him in between kisses, "as you know, I'm an organic kind of guy." Kiss, kiss, kiss. "We'll know when we see it," he smiles upon the blooming hickey he's managed to plant on Lan Zhan's neck.
"But, ah, I would like to, ah, plan something," Lan Zhan struggles to put together any kind of a sentence, because it's not only Wei Ying's mouth getting bolder; his hands have joined the party and are sliding under the hem of his pyjamas.
"Later," Wei Ying promised him, going to town.
No more thoughts existed in either of them after that.
***********
Saturdays were reserved for homework with the children, and Wei Ying sat down to tackle arithmetic with JingYi and A-Yuan, while Uncle Qiren put in his two cents here and there, and between the two of them, they managed to instil the basic principle of it.
Lan Zhan caught up with extraneous work on the architectural front, securing meetings for next week, between XiChen and possible new clients.
Lunchtime came faster than anyone expected, and then in the afternoon, they played educational games designed to make children think beyond obvious strategies for winning. Wei Ying had thought the games were a little too advanced for six year olds, but they soon proved him wrong, challenging him outright to try and win against them.
***************
Sunday morning came with an attack of cuteness brutally stealing their hearts as the children had remembered Wei Ying's promise of being allowed to go and help them with painting in their new home, so they were up and excited before anyone else was, in the manor.
Two strong black coffees later, and Wei Ying possessed about half of their enthusiasm as they finished breakfast together.
And then they were off.
Wei Ying had been thinking about JingYi's idea of having space bunnies on the walls and how to make it easy for the kids to help. Lan Zhan already told him that he could paint large surfaces, but anything artistic was beyond his capability, and he would be leaving that part of the decorating up to Wei Ying's expertise, thank you very much.
Luckily, Wei Ying had a burst of inspiration.
While he and Lan Zhan moved all the furniture out of the room and into the spare one, he made the children make masking tape stars to stick around the room, including the ceiling, which Lan Zhan helped them with later.
They spread old bedsheets on the floor to protect it from certain splashes, and Wei Ying began sketching out the bunnies, complete with oxygen helmets and cute tanks, and fluffy tails protected with spacesuits.
They go out for a quick lunch but everyone is eager to get back home to continue working.
It's even more fun finding and peeling off the stars from the walls once they've been painted a dark blue.
Evening falls fast and they go home to share dinnertime with Uncle.
*****************
Monday is the usual rush to get to school with the boys, and then Wei Ying returns to their new apartment with Lan Zhan.
Today they're going to assemble the bunk beds that the children chose, and Wei Ying wanted to coat the white stars with luminescent paint so they'd shine after the lights were switched off.
At three thirty, his alarm goes off to collect the children from school, and unconsciously he gravitates towards Lan Zhan for a desperate kiss, laughing when they break apart.
"I'm never changing my phone," he promises, still smiling with kiss-bitten lips.
***************
In the days following the attack by Vladimir, Wei Ying notices that Lan Zhan is always close by, especially when they go out anywhere. He was always close to Wei Ying before, but now it's almost laced with a hidden fear, and his presence feels desperate.
Wei Ying doesn't say anything, because a part of him is extremely gladdened by it.
Healing came in many shapes and forms, and if this was how they were gonna cope, he didn't particularly care too much, instead revelling in it himself and thereby healing himself, too.
Lan Zhan often asked him about when they were going to marry and where Wei Ying's preference lay, but he had no ready answers for that question. He knew he was waiting for something, but what exactly, he had no idea, and he hated seeing the hurt in Lan Zhan's eyes, quickly masked and hidden away.
So the days passed and suddenly, November swooped on by and it was Friday the twenty-fourth already.
They had obtained permission of absence from the boys' school already, and the children were smartly dressed and ready to go, straight after breakfast.
They set off earlier than they needed to, all of them anxiously excited, and restless.
But it quickly became apparent that traffic was going to hold them up, and so Lan Zhan decided to take matters into his own hands by using a shortcut that ventured into the outskirts of the city, but would bring them closer to the courthouse faster.
They're driving down a winding country lane when suddenly, Wei Ying plasters himself against his window, and Lan Zhan can feel the waves of excitement rolling off him, spiking in a tidal wave of ...? It wasn't panic, but a weird mix of exhilaration and shock.
"STOP THE CAR!" He suddenly shouts, and Lan Zhan brakes sharply, scared out of his mind.
All of this has taken place in just seconds, and he's bewildered, watching Wei Ying fighting with his seat belt as he struggles to undo it, and then he's racing away down a side trail, obscured by trees.
Lan Zhan would have missed it if he hadn't just seen Wei Ying running down that path.
He can't leave the children here with the car, so he closes the door that Wei Ying left open in his haste, and reverses the car to follow wherever Wei Ying went.
Part of him is terrified because why would Wei Ying rush off like that? Without saying anything?
The children are also scared; they're too frightened to say anything, but Lan Zhan saw them holding hands as they watched him drive, going down this uncertain way, wherever Wei Ying was.
*************
A/N
Dear Beautiful Readers,
I just wanted to thank you all for your support along the writing of this story. To say it has spiralled wildly out of control would be an understatement, but I can definitely admit that without your comments, I wouldn't have got this far so fast.
We are past 88K in readership, and 412K words, both of which I find so hard to believe.
I started writing this story on the 26th of November last year, and it's taken almost a whole year to get to this point. I don't know how many parts are left, but I can definitely tell you that there will be a wedding at the end for sure.
Lots of chocolate and ice cream to come your way I hope, as over here in London, we are entering another late heatwave, hopefully the last of the year!
🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍧🍧🍧🍧🍧🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨
Charlie.