Fluffy WangXian Oneshots

A Stitch in Time Part 3

"I love you."

The words sat upon the heavy air between them. Lan Zhan stood up, ready to catch hold of the wily man, so fast on his feet. He had just found Wei Ying and wasn't about to let him go. He remembered his promise to himself, three years ago, that if he found Wei Ying again, he would tell him exactly how he felt.

But something was wrong...because Wei Ying didn't look at all happy about it. And then, Lan Zhan had another thought: what if Wei Ying was no longer single? What if he already had met someone? That thought produced more tears. Was he too late?

He tried to blink them away because now his vision was blurry and he couldn't see if Wei Ying was still standing there or not. This was terrible...

"Lan Zhan...Lan Zhan...First, you have to stop. I'm right here." Wei Ying used his long sweater sleeves to wipe at his face for him. "Come on, let's sit down first." He made his voice calmer, trying to soothe the other.

Things had changed, that was for sure. In the past, it was always Lan Zhan who was the more level-headed of the two, always ready to calm Wei Ying who wore his emotions on his sleeves, always overly dramatic with how he was feeling. Wei Ying had never seen Lan Zhan cry...ever.

So just what had happened to make him like this?

Wei Ying had shut himself away from the fashion world as a whole; why look at something that was the equivalent of the forbidden fruit now? If he was not allowed to design for any major houses, there was no point in keeping track of trends, or rumours to do with what they may be going for. Plus the House of Lan was far too prominent in social media, and there was no way Wei Ying could avoid seeing anything to do with them or Lan Zhan. It had been too painful walking away in the first place, and daily reminders would have killed him. He didn't have a phone anyway; they had seized his laptop and his cell phone, both being their property, when he had left. But he had managed to make that one last message, sending it to Lan Zhan's voicemail.

Wei Ying made Lan Zhan finish the rest of his hot chocolate, hoping the sweet hot treat would restore some balance to wildly out-of-control emotions. He drank some of his own too, deep in thought.

"Why did Wei Ying leave me?"

Another difficult question...but this one, Lan Zhan should know the answer to...shouldn't he?

"You know why." Wei Ying did not want to clarify.

But Lan Zhan was shaking his head.

"Lan Zhan...don't make me bring it all up...please..." Wei Ying grabbed his mug, trying to stop his fingers from trembling.

This wasn't fair at all. He had just about put everything behind him...Well, nearly everything. But evidently, some things did not want to stay there.

"I heard rumours, but I did not believe it." Lan Zhan pulled out his phone and searched for something. Then he laid it on the table in front of Wei Ying, on speakerphone.

"I didn't do it."

The voice of Wei Ying, from three years ago, spoke loud and clear.

"I didn't...I didn't do it. You have to believe me, Lan Zhan. If anyone knows how important it is to keep the new stuff under wraps, it's me. Is that...is that why you came to find me?" He couldn't keep the tremor from his voice.

"I believe you. I believe Wei Ying."

The sincerity in those words stung.

"Then why...why did you come looking for me? Can't you people leave me alone?" Tears clogged his throat, spilling from his eyes now.