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Lan Zhan's morning sours with an article.
To be very honest, he doesn't know how he ended up so deep into the internet that he landed on this particular article, but he very much wishes he had just gotten out of bed once his alarm had gone off and moved on with his day.
On his phone screen are the words: 5 Signs Your Relationship Has Lost Its Spark.
Lan Zhan usually wouldn't even entertain such articles, but the caption of the article had drawn him in: "Statistics say couples lose their touch five years into the relationship. Click to find out more!"
Lan Zhan and Wei Ying have been married for roughly five years. So, Lan Zhan clicks to find out more.
The article itself is written simply, no extravagant fonts or gifs. Just five reasons, and some short descriptions underneath.
1. You opt for sleep over sex.
Only sometimes, Lan Zhan acquiesces. They are raising a three-year-old. Even for someone with as much stamina as himself, it is not easy work.
Wei Wuxian makes a noise in his sleep, shuffling closer to smush his face against Lan Zhan's cheek in a way that must not be quite comfortable for either of them. Lan Zhan kisses his forehead without looking up from his phone.
2. You go to bed at different times.
This has been true even before they got together. Lan Zhan has half a mind to write a rudely worded email to the author of this article.
3. You've stopped growing together.
What does this even mean? Lan Zhan stopped growing when he was seventeen. Can that really be counted as a reason?
4. You don't cuddle up on the sofa.
Usually it's on their bed. A-Yuan doesn't like to share the sofa when they are watching Doraemon reruns together. Rather, he likes it when Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are sitting right in front of him, so that he can play with their hair and put colorful hair clips on them while they watch.
Of course, Lan Zhan has bought A-Yuan too many of them to count, much to Wei Ying's dismay.
5. You don't try as hard to look good for a night out.
Lan Zhan thinks Wei Ying will look good even when there is dried up drool on his face, which, Lan Zhan processes the feeling of wetness on his pillowcase, there will be.
He finishes the article with a strange feeling in his chest that he doesn’t quite know how to place.
It’s not like he and Wei Ying fit all of those categories. But, there are... some parallels to the way that they live their lives.
Lan Zhan isn’t insecure about his place by Wei Ying’s side. They have been married much too long for that to be the case. But, is he loving Wei Ying right?
Does he know how to love Wei Ying in a way that will keep their “spark” alive?
He thinks, after several years of pining during high school, and then thirteen months more of it after Wei Ying drops off the face off the earth, he can confidently say he knows how to miss Wei Ying.
But this? Living in a penthouse, waking up every morning with Wei Ying’s hair in his mouth and a three-year-old in the next room over?
Lan Zhan has not a clue what to do.
Does that mean that they’ve lost their touch?
Lan Zhan mentally shakes his head. Not physically, or else Wei Ying might wake up.
They can’t have lost their spark. They love each other, of this Lan Zhan is very certain, so how could they have lost anything?
Lan Zhan comes to a decision. He will just find out what he can do to prove to whoever wrote that article that they have not lost their spark.
They both have a day off today. He checks the time. He has several hours before Wei Ying will wake up. That should be enough time, he thinks.
Lan Zhan watches Bunnies Flopping Over When They Feel Completely Safe Montage, and then gets up to start his day.
-
Lan Zhan calls his brother first.
Lan Huan answers the phone on the first ring, slightly out of breath. “A-Zhan?”
“Brother. Are you busy?”
“I was cooking, although I don’t think what I’ve made is quite edible,” he says sheepishly. “Is everything alright?”
Lan Zhan hears something sizzling a little too loudly from the other end. He chooses not to ask about it. “Everything is fine,” he reassures. “I have a question.”
“Ask away.”
“How do you know if your relationship has lost its spark?”
Something clatters on the other end. “I think,” Lan Huan says, “that you need to have a conversation with Wei Ying immediately.”
“He’s sleeping.”
“Once he’s awake.”
Lan Zhan hums. “We talk every day.”
Lan Huan sighs. “Yes, I understand that. I’m talking about... losing your spark. You should talk about that with him.”
“How do I not lose it?”
Lan Huan sighs. “I don’t think I can imagine either of you losing it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Nothing is certain, of course. But as long as you love him, I don’t think you will split anytime soon,” Lan Huan says completely unhelpfully.
Lan Zhan thanks his brother anyways.
“Of course,” Lan Huan replies, just as the sound of the fire alarm goes off on his end.
“Brother?”
Lan Huan curses softly. “Sorry! Everything’s fine! Just forgot to turn the stove off. Haha. I’ll call you later. Goodbye!”
The line cuts off.
Lan Zhan sighs. His older brother should really just leave the cooking to his roommates.
-
Lan Zhan has just finished making scrambled eggs when A-Yuan finally wakes up, stumbling in to give him a hug. Lan Zhan crouches down to receive it.
“Father?”
“A-Yuan,” he says, running his fingers through A-Yuan’s hair. Just like Wei Ying’s, it’s tangled nearly beyond help. He makes a mental note to brush it with oil later. “Are you up now?”
“Mm.” A-Yuan rubs his head onto Lan Zhan’s neck. “I’m hungry.”
“Go brush your teeth.” Lan Zhan says, getting up. “I will make breakfast for you.”
Lan Zhan starts to plate the eggs.
“Pancakes?”
Lan Zhan puts the eggs away, and pulls out the pancake mix instead. “Yes.”
-
Breakfast is quiet, as Lan Zhan formulates what he should do next.
That is, asking A-Yuan for advice.
“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says seriously, once A-Yuan has finished stuffing the last bits of pancake into his mouth.
“Father,” A-Yuan responds, just as gravely.
“Do you think your baba and I are losing our spark?”
“Yes,” A-Yuan says.
“Did you understand the question?”
A-Yuan shakes his head.
Lan Zhan sighs. “Do not lie.”
A-Yuan raises a chubby fist, sticky with syrup, up to his mouth. Lan Zhan pulls it out.
“If we did lose it, though, what do you think we should do to get it back?”
A-Yuan ‘hm’s loudly for a moment. “Play with A-Yuan,” he decides with a note of finality.
“I see,” Lan Zhan says. He pulls out a wet wipe pack from his pocket, a necessity when the people he loves are such messy eaters, and cleans A-Yuan’s hand. He realizes, now, that maybe consulting his toddler for advice may not have been the smartest move on his part.
“What else?” Lan Zhan asks anyways, because he needs all the help that he can get.
A-Yuan looks confused by the question. “Baba doesn’t want to play with me?”
“He does,” Lan Zhan responds quickly. “Baba will play with you.”
“Father too?”
Lan Zhan nods. “Father too,” he agrees, and quietly resigns himself to an hour of making puzzles with his son.
-
Lan Zhan stares at his phone again, what seems like a common occurence this morning.
Jiang Cheng’s contact page stares back at him.
He will not call Jiang Cheng for advice on how to get spark back in a relationship. He will not resort to calling Wei Ying’s brother. He won’t.
He won’t.
(He does, and Jiang Cheng doesn’t pick up.
Typical, Lan Zhan thinks with disdain.)
-
By the time Wei Ying wakes up, Lan Zhan is back at the kitchen table, helping A-Yuan tidy up his puzzles and then leaving him to his devices.
He’s already put his and A-Yuan’s dishes into the sink, but neglects to wash them in favor of searching up ideas on how to love your lover on the internet.
He has not thought of a single thing.
Wei Ying looks more awake than he does on most days, hair already tied up into a ponytail and a smile on his face. “There you are,” he says, and smiles wider.
At this point, Lan Zhan despairs, perhaps he has no other choice than to take Lan Huan’s advice and just-- ask Wei Ying about it. He steels himself with a deep breath.
“Wei Ying.”
“Lan Zhan.”
Lan Zhan gestures to where A-Yuan was sitting in the morning. “Have a seat.”
“Is this an interrogation?” Wei Ying teases. “What have I done this time?”
“Nothing.”
Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. “But?”
“We are married,” Lan Zhan says to initiate the topic, because he apparently has a foot in his mouth at all hours of the day.
Wei Ying nods. “That we are. Is this news to you?”
Lan Zhan shakes his head. “You love me.”
“Apparently so. Are you drunk? It’s not even noon yet, Lan Zhan!”
“I’m not drunk.”
Wei Ying eyes him suspiciously. “If you say so.”
“I love you.”
Wei Ying looks at him strangely. “Okay, really. Did I miss something? Am I supposed to list a bunch of facts for you too? Are we playing a game?” He reaches up and gently puts the back of his hand on Lan Zhan’s forehead. “No fever,” he mutters, biting his lips gently.
Lan Zhan does not think about how soft those lips feel against his own.
“Are we,” Lan Zhan starts.
“Are we?”
“Losing our spark?”
Wei Ying chokes on nothing. “What?”
Lan Zhan takes out his phone. The offending article is still in his recent search history. He opens it up and passes it to Wei Ying.
“Lan Zhan, honey. Do you think we fit any of these?” Wei Ying scrolls through the page.
“We sleep instead of having sex.”
“I don’t know anyone with a higher sex drive than the two of us,” Wei Ying says.
“You know about other peoples’ sex drives?”
Wei Ying waves a hand. “That’s not the point! Okay, what about the one that says growing together. We grow together!”
Lan Zhan frowns. “Wei Ying,” he says carefully, “Most men have reached their maximum height by the time they’re eighteen."
Wei Ying bursts out laughing. A lovely, happy sound that Lan Zhan will appreciate even though he does not quite think this is the place for it. “I think they meant it more as... personal growth. Not literal.”
Lan Zhan feels his face grow hot. “Oh.”
“Sweetheart,” Wei Ying says, fondness mixed with exasperation, Lan Zhan can tell. He drapes his arms over Lan Zhan’s shoulders. “My sweet husband. We have grown so, so much together. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Lan Zhan nods.
Wei Ying sighs. “How did I end up with such a ridiculous man?”
“Wei Ying is the most ridiculous.”
“Compared to you? I doubt it.” Wei Ying laughs again. “Don’t read these articles anymore,” he says.
“I won’t.”
“And besides,” Wei Ying starts, voice taking up a teasing tone. “If you do think we’ve, as you said, lost our spark, I think I know the perfect way to get it back.” He gets up from his chair and leans in close enough that their noses are almost touching.
“A-Yuan is playing in his room,” Lan Zhan warns.
Wei Ying giggles and pulls back. “I was going to suggest cuddling on the couch so we can prove the author of the article wrong. What exactly were you thinking about?”
Lan Zhan looks away.
Wei Ying takes his hand and starts leading him backwards towards the living room. “Come on, come on, before A-Yuan notices and wants to join us.”
Lan Zhan, helpless, follows.