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“Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying blinked sleepily as he opened the door to his apartment and wondered why his beautiful, monosyllabic neighbour of two years was staring intensely at him over the threshold.
“Wei Ying, you did not leave for work this morning...I was…”
“Were you worried about me Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying purred, well he tried to purr but it came out as more of a series of croaks. Stupid germs hindering his ability to flirt, not that it mattered too much. Wei Ying knew Lan Zhan found him as annoying as nails scratching down a chalkboard.
Lan Zhan frowned which probably shouldn’t have been adorable but to Wei Ying it was. “Are you unwell?”
Wei Ying pouted and nodded. “I am Lan Zhan. I had to call in sick today. I appear to have the plague.”
Lan Zhan’s eyebrow twitched. “The plague was eradicated many years ago, Wei Ying.”
“Well I suppose there is a chance it is just a bad cold. Nevertheless, I am sick and you better stay away from me Lan Zhan, I would never forgive myself if I gave it to you. Just draw a big red X on my door so everyone knows I am unclean and be gone! Save yourself!”
Lan Zhan gave Wei Ying one of his trademark expressionless and yet somehow extremely expression filled looks and barged past him.
“Hey!” Wei Ying complained.
“Lie down,” Lan Zhan ordered as he moved around the flat picking up tissues and empty packets and depositing them into the waste paper basket he now carried in one hand.
Wei Ying coughed. “Lan Zhan! Are you asking me to go to bed with you? So soon in our relationship! Usually I’m at least treated to dinner first!”
Lan Zhan didn’t respond. He put down the waste paper basket and came towards Wei Ying. Standing behind him, he guided him by the shoulders to the sofa and gently laid him down.
“Stay,” he said seriously as he returned to his tidying.
Wei Ying obeyed and watched Lan Zhan gracefully organise his apartment around him.
“It’s not usually like this,” he said weakly.
“Mn…”
Wei Ying thought that “Mn” meant Lan Zhan wasn’t buying it. “Okay it is usually like this,” he muttered as he reached for another tissue. “Lan Zhan, is my nose all red?”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan confirmed without looking up.
Wei Ying pouted. “My beautiful face is ruined!”
“Your face is still beautiful.”
They both stilled. Wei Ying’s eyes bore into Lan Zhan’s back. “What did you say?” he asked.
Lan Zhan began to move again. “Hot lemon,” he said as if that was a useful response to Wei Ying’s question and moved through to the small kitchenette.
Wei Ying pulled himself up and peeped over the top of the sofa.
“Lie down,” Lan Zhan commanded to the two little eyes that followed his every move. He moved around the kitchen with ease collecting what he needed. Wei Ying realised he must have collected his bearings during the many house parties Wei Ying had held and coerced Lan Zhan into attending. The quiet introvert would usually stay for thirty minutes and the majority of that time would be spent in the kitchen. Lan Zhan finished making the hot lemon and delivered it to Wei Ying.
“We could pop some whisky in this, I have a few miniatures somewhere,” Wei Ying offered.
Lan Zhan shook his head. “Alcohol is a hindrance, not a help.”
Wei Ying resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He sipped the whisky-less hot lemon, it did help a bit. “Thank you for looking after me, but you can go, I’ll be fine.”
Lan Zhan looked conflicted. “Can I...can I bring my laptop here to work? And then...I can also watch over you?”
Wei Ying’s mouth fell open. It was the most words Lan Zhan had ever spoken to him at one time. Lan Zhan wanted to watch over him? It was possibly the most adorable thing anyone had ever said to Wei Ying. But Lan Zhan hated him, didn’t he? What was going on? Wei Ying lost the ability to speak just as Lan Zhan apparently gained his. He nodded a few times and Lan Zhan’s lips quirked quickly in the essence of a smile then he disappeared. Wei Ying must have dozed off for a little while because when he awoke again a blanket had been placed over him and Lan Zhan was sitting in the armchair opposite him having created his own little mini office in Wei Ying’s living room. Wei Ying grinned widely as he watched Lan Zhan work. As soon as Lan Zhan saw he was awake he placed his laptop down and came to his side placing the back of his hand against Wei Ying’s head.
Wei Ying’s eyes looked up towards the cool hand on his forehead. “Am I hot?” he asked.
“Mn,” Lan Zhan confirmed.
“Temperature wise or looks wise?”
There was that little lip quirk again. Wei Ying decided he was going to make that quirk turn into a whole smile if it killed him.
“You need to take some medicine,” Lan Zhan said, removing his hand from Wei Ying and moving to the kitchen.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Wei Ying said once again, hanging over the back of the sofa to watch his house guest complete his task. Lan Zhan grabbed some pills and a glass of water and returned to Wei Ying’s side.
“Take these,” he ordered.
Wei Ying took the pills and the water and swallowed them down.
“Are you hungry?” Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying nodded.
“I am making chicken soup.”
Wei Ying frowned. “How? The only thing in my fridge is out of date hot sauce.”
Lan Zhan nodded. “Yes. I collected some groceries from home. I can replace them later.”
Wei Ying was still reeling from the fact that Lan Zhan had apparently stocked his kitchen up while he slept so it took his brain a moment to catch up with what was happening. Lan Zhan was back in his kitchen stirring a large pot.
“Lan Zhan! Go on with your work! You don’t have to go to so much trouble for me!”
Lan Zhan ignored him as he continued tending to his soup. Wei Ying had to admit that it smelled delicious. This was bad. Really bad. This was the longest amount of time he had spent alone with Lan Zhan. He had suspected for some time that he had a crush on the gorgeous, anti-social specimen located next door. He figured that had to be the reason why he was unable to leave him alone despite Lan Zhan’s many pleas for Wei Ying to stop trying to involve him in every aspect of his life. Now having the adjacent Adonis here, in his personal space, looking after him with such care, he realised that the crush was more of a deep, all consuming…
“The soup is ready,” Lan Zhan said, pulling Wei Ying from his thoughts.
Lan Zhan brought him a bowl and Wei Ying gulped it down and asked for another.
“Lan Zhan! You’re amazing! This is the most wonderful soup I’ve ever eaten! You must set up a cafe in your apartment but only allow me to be your customer because I don’t want to share this mouthwatering delight with anyone else!”
The lip quirk was the only indication that Lan Zhan was enjoying the none-stop praise Wei Ying was lavashing upon him.
“Will you teach me how to make this?”
Lan Zhan shook his head. “No need. I will make batches and share them with you. I can make you other meals too. You must eat well. I will make sure you eat well from now on.”
I love you.
The thought came to Wei Ying’s thoughts so suddenly that his spoon slipped out of his fingers and clashed down into his empty bowl.
He was in love? In love with Lan Zhan? At first the thought was frightening...but Wei Ying quickly realised it made perfect sense. Whenever he planned a party, who did he think of inviting first? Lan Zhan. Whenever he finished a good book or a film, who did he want to tell first? Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan the man who always made sure his bins went out on time, Lan Zhan the man who did his taxes for him, Lan Zhan the man who always emptied his mailbox for him and hand delivered it to his door. Lan Zhan the man who had come round to watch him while he was ill and handmade him delicious soup…
“Are you in pain?” Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying looked up at his handsome nursemaid who was staring down at him with an endearing look of concern etched across his perfect features. Wei Ying shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Just tired.”
Lan Zhan looked unconvinced as he took Wei Ying’s dishes away and cleaned up the kitchen to Gordon Ramsey standards. Wei Ying’s head felt heavy so he lay down once more and placed an arm over his eyes. What was he to do now? Usually when he had feelings for someone little more than a sexy grin and a well placed wink were needed to draw them in. But he had tried everything to get Lan Zhan’s attention over the years and nothing had worked...except… this had worked hadn’t it? Being ill had worked. Maybe it would work again?
“Lan Zhan, can you bring me more soup tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.
“Mn. If you are still ill, I will spend the day here.”
Wei Ying pressed his lips together with excitement. “Okay.”
Lan Zhan stayed until late in the night. When Wei Ying fell asleep on his shoulder while he read one of his vapid romance novels to him, Lan Zhan carried him to bed and tucked him in, leaving a glass of water on his bedside table. He couldn’t resist pushing a few of the stray hairs away from his adorable patient's head.
“Sleep well,” he whispered as he left the room. He returned to his apartment after making sure to lock up behind himself. Suddenly his much loved apartment seemed very...empty. He sighed as he got ready for bed, smiling to himself as he brushed his teeth and remembered Wei Ying’s devastated expression when he thought his cold had rendered him ugly. Lan Zhan doubted anything could render Wei Ying ugly in his eyes. His heart had spilled open at the sight of Wei Ying’s red rimmed eyes and pinkened nose. The urge to hug had been strong. Stronger than usual and his urge to hug Wei Ying was always pretty fierce. He had settled for caring for him and the action had gone a long way to satisfy his poor love sick heart. He rinsed out his mouth and looked at himself in the mirror. He remembered every second of the first time he had met Wei Ying as he had tried to open his apartment door with an arm full of un-bagged oranges and a box under one arm. Lan Zhan had idly thought that bad organisation had clearly led to this situation. For instance, Lan Zhan never visited the market without his reusable tote. One of the oranges escaped Wei Ying’s grasp and Lan Zhan reached out and caught it with one hand. Their eyes had met and Wei Ying had smiled down at him like the ball of sunshine Lan Zhan would soon find out he was and that had been it, the very moment his heart had permanently attached itself to his hopelessly lovable neighbour. He had never admitted his feelings to anyone but they were becoming increasingly...loud. He changed and settled down in bed. There would be at least one more day he would be able to watch over Wei Ying. Maybe that would be enough to settle his heart? He let out a long, doubting sigh as he turned and closed his eyes.
*********
Wei Ying awoke with a smile on his lips before his eyes even opened. He remembered parts of a perfect dream, Lan Zhan was there and there was a field full of fluffy white bunnies...and...wait how did he get into bed? He couldn’t remember leaving the couch…he put a hand over his heart as he realised Lan Zhan must have carried him. Oh how sorry he was to have missed that! Had he also tucked him in and kissed his forehead? He hoped he hadn’t kissed him. He would be sad to have missed their first kiss. Wei Ying jumped out of bed and made a joyful little noise before realising with a devastating blow that he was...all better. He shook his head and sniffed. The congestion was gone. Completely gone! He ran to the bathroom. His eyes were not even the tiniest bit red and his nose was back to its normal colour. Not a trace of pink. He was his normal gorgeous self much to his utter dismay. There was a knock at the door and Wei Ying looked in the mirror with wide eyes.
“Lan Zhan,” he whispered to his reflection.
Oh God…
What the heck was he going to do?
**********
Wei Ying came to the door wrapped in a blanket after rubbing his eyes a few times and pinching the end of his nose.
“Hello Lan Zhan,” he said in his best “sick” voice. He shuffled out of the way to allow Lan Zhan to enter with his laptop bag over his shoulder and the handles of a pot of freshly boiled chicken soup in both hands.
“Sit down,” he ordered and Wei Ying obeyed.
Lan Zhan looked at him intensely. “This is worrying, I had hoped you would show some improvement this morning. I need to observe your symptoms for longer. That will mean staying with you for a 24 hour period.”
Wei Ying’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean...stay…here...overnight?”
“Yes, if that is acceptable?”
“Yes! I mean...it’s fine. Sure.”
While Wei Ying was still trying to decide the logistics of Lan Zhan staying overnight when he only has one bed and one set of bedding, Lan Zhan hit him with another explosive revelation.
“I need to take your temperature,” Lan Zhan said as he placed down his things and pulled a thermometer out of his pocket.
Wei Ying panicked. Take his temperature? He wasn’t hot at all. He wasn’t even lukewarm!
Oh God...Oh God...Oh God…
Lan Zhan must have picked up on the horrified look on his face because he quickly added. “It has been fully sterilised.”
As if Wei Ying’s biggest concern at that moment was using a thermometer which had once been inside of Lan Zhan’s mouth! Considering his desired outcome was for them to be kissing like horny teenagers before the day was through, sharing the same medical equipment as the man he was in love with was the least of his worries!
Before he could say anything else Lan Zhan popped the thermometer into Wei Ying’s mouth and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with a mug of hot lemon which he placed beside Wei Ying. Wei Ying looked at the hot lemon. There was his salvation. He made sure that Lan Zhan was suitably distracted setting up his laptop and popped the thermometer into the hot liquid. Just as he saw Lan Zhan turn to him once more, he put the thermometer back in his mouth.
Lan Zhan pulled it out and checked it with a frown.
“Something wrong?” Wei Ying squeaked.
“According to this thermometer your temperature is impossibly high,” Lan Zhan said bluntly.
“Oh dear,” Wei Ying said with a nervous laugh. “Could it be broken?”
Lan Zhan eyed the hot lemon by Wei Ying’s side suspiciously. “Wei Ying did you…”
Wei Ying crumbled. “Oh God! Stop grilling me! Okay! I confess! I put the thermometer in my beverage! I’m sorry! I’m guilty!”
“Why?” Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying put his hands over his face and peeked out through the gaps in his fingers. “Because I’m not ill anymore.”
“You are not ill?” Lan Zhan repeated.
Wei Ying looked guilty and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry Lan Zhan, it’s just when you were here, looking after me, I loved it so much, I wanted you to keep doing it. So I pretended I was still sick and I’m so sorry. I was wrong. It just felt so nice having you here and I didn’t want it to end.”
Wei Ying looked at Lan Zhan nervously waiting for a reaction. The tall man looked at him pensively for a few moments then turned and left.
Wei Ying’s heart plummeted. He sat down on the sofa and sniffed. He had ruined it. He had ruined what was probably going to be the most meaningful relationship of his entire life before it had even begun. He put his head in his hands and sighed. A few minutes later he felt a weight press down on the sofa beside him and he looked up to see Lan Zhan sitting by his side.
“Why...why are you here?” he asked.
“I went to collect my nightwear.”
Wei Ying saw a neatly folded pair of light blue pajamas and a small bag of toiletries in Lan Zhan’s lap.
Wei Ying blinked up at him. “So...you’ll still stay?”
“Mn.”
“Even though I lied to you?”
“Mn.”
“But…”
Lan Zhan put a finger over Wei Ying’s lips. “It is fine. We are fine.”
Wei Ying decided if he was going to say anything, now was the time. He removed Lan Zhan’s finger from his mouth and held his hand within both of his on his lap. “I don’t want us to be fine. I want us to be more than fine. I want us to be amazing, wonderful, fantastic. I want to make your heart explode in your chest. I don’t want you to only come over to look after me when I’m sick, I want you to be here all the time to look after me and I want to look after you too because I…”
“I want that too.”
“Just let me get this all out before you turn me down Lan Zhan...wait...what?”
And that was when it hit him. A real smile. Not a lip quirk, not an accidental facial twitch, a full, purposeful smile. Meant for him. Lan Zhan was smiling at him and Wei Ying melted into a puddle on the floor before him.
“You’ve never smiled at me before,” he said, awed.
“And I am sorry for that. I can assure you, I smile many times when I think of you, but I have always been taught to be guarded with my feelings…”
“You think of me?” Wei Ying interrupted.
“Often.”
Now it was Wei Ying’s turn to smile. “And you’re going to stay, even though I lied to you?”
“I believe you lied to me for a reason that gives my heart...hope.”
Wei Ying smiled even wider then he pounced on Lan Zhan and hugged him. He hugged him tightly, pressing him down onto the sofa. “I give you full permission to feel hopeful Lan Zhan, because I love you. I love you so much.”
There was a gasped breath underneath him and Wei Ying pushed up on his hands to look down at Lan Zhan.
“The good news is now that I’m well I can do this without fear of making you ill.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to Lan Zhan’s. A thrill ran through him as Lan Zhan returned his kiss and tentatively wrapped his hands around his back, grasping his t-shirt firmly. He groaned into Wei Ying’s mouth. “We should have done this a long time ago,” he murmured.
“Mmm…” Wei Ying agreed. “If I had known all I needed to do was become sick to get your attention I would have compromised my immune system a lot sooner.”
Lan Zhan frowned. “I should have confessed to you from the start, I don’t want you to feel that you have to put yourself in harmful situations to get my attention…”
Wei Ying silenced him with a kiss. “I was joking Lan Zhan although I do find it a bit kinky that you seem to find me most attractive at my most vulnerable…”
Lan Zhan blushed and Wei Ying grinned wickedly. “We have much to learn about each other,” he said happily as he kissed Lan Zhan again. “And we have our whole lives to achieve it.”
**********