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The door clicked open with a soft creak, and Lan Zhan stood there, expecting to hear the pitter patter of feet, the ones that had greeted him everyday since the past five years. He stood there for a moment, bag in hand, a gentle smile on his face, expecting to see his Wei Ying rushing toward him, arms wide, smile brighter than the sun.
But…nothing.
No footsteps. No “You’re home!”
Instead, the house was quiet — except for the soft clicking of a keyboard.
Lan Zhan frowned, this never happened. Wei Ying always greeted him on the door, no matter what he was doing- it was like a ritual of their own.He placed his bag gently on the hall tree and padded through the hallway toward the soft glow of the living room. There he was sitting on the dining table, hunched over his laptop, so intensely focused on whatever he was doing, that he hadn't even noticed when Lan Zhan had ambled towards him .
He waited. Maybe he hadn’t heard him. He was going to look up anytime now. But no.
"Wei Yi-" he started causing Wei Ying to jump out of his seat
"Lan Zhann. When did you get back? I didn't even see you"
"Mnn. I see Wei Ying is busy" Lan Zhan said with the slightest bit of hurt in his voice and bent down to kiss his husband's forehead. Before he could even ask what he was doing, Wei Ying announced "I’m looking at gyms" ,eyes turning back towards the screen.
Lan Zhan blinked.
Wei Ying let out a very dramatic sigh, flopping his head back like a tired old man. "I’ve been...in a crisis."
Lan Zhan frowned, waiting for an explanation. "A crisis?"
He nodded, pulling his knees up, lower lip trembling theatrically. "I couldn’t lift him, Lan Zhan. He fell asleep on the couch, and I tried — really, I tried — but I couldn’t lift him up. He’s only four, but it felt like lifting a mountain. And I just... I felt so weak."
He was referring to their 4 year old son A-yuan who surprisingly fell asleep on the couch while watching his favorite channel on the tv. His only son, his lifeline, who had joined in made his and Wei Ying's life a joy since the day he was born.
Lan Zhan's heart completely melted. He pulled out another chair of the dining table, turning Wei Ying to face him and said . "My love. You’ve been taking care of him and everything else, all by yourself for years. You are not weak."
"But you could lift both of us with one arm," he whispered.
He chuckled, pressing a kiss to his knee. "I can do that, yes."
He gave his husband a pouty look. "Exactly! So I’m joining a gym. I’m going to be one of those parents who can just scoop their kid up like a superhero. No more leaving him on the couch because he’s too heavy and I’m a delicate Victorian lady."
"You are a delicate Victorian lady," Lan Zhan teased, brushing his hair back.
"Rude!" he huffed — but the corners of his mouth twitched.
Lan Zhan stood, and with zero effort, scooped him right off the chair into his arms. He let out a shriek, wrapping his arms around his neck and then pulling one hand to close over his mouth. Hopefully he had not woken up A-yuan. "See? See? You make it look so easy!" He whisper shouted.
"Because it is," Lan Zhan said , spinning him gently once and Wei Ying almost shrieked again.
"Okay, but if you don’t put me down in three seconds, I might cry. I’m fragile."
He set him down slowly and kissed his forehead. "You are anything but fragile."
"Wait," he gasped suddenly "I didn't welcome you at the door today"
"You didn't."
Wei Ying wrapped his arms tightly against his husband and whispered into his chest "I missed you so much".
"I missed you more," Lan Zhan murmured, tilting his head up to kiss him again on the forehead before capturing his lips into a sweet kiss until he felt Wei Ying relax into his arms.
"And tomorrow," Wei Ying said dramatically, "you’re taking me to the gym."
"Deal," he chuckled, kissing the top of his head.