Fluffy WangXian Oneshots

A Stitch in Time Part 5

Wen Qing normally opened the shop at nine in the morning. Today she was a little early, twenty minutes to be precise, and on an ordinary day, Wei Ying would have already opened up, at least the shutters, even if he was hidden away in the back.

Immediately on edge, she opened the shop as normal, listening for the low hum their sewing machine made, or the clickety clack of the oil heater whose timer has stopped working ages ago, or any sign of life...but there was nothing.

So she kept the front door locked, making sure the closed sign was facing the right way, and stuck her head into the room that Wei Ying had made his own. She even did the lights, just to be certain. Her eyes caught on his tailoring shears, hefty in her petite hand, but she raised them like a knife and climbed up the stairs as silently as she could.

One of them creaked loudly and she cursed herself for not avoiding it. There was no noise coming from up there...which was more worrying. What had happened last night? Was she wrong to have left Wei Ying to the other's mercy? But she could have sworn Lan Zhan looked like the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her little brother. That's how she thought of him, ever since he'd followed A-Ning home. Po Po had taken a liking to him and the rest was just history.

She fished out her spare key and unlocked the door, jumping into the living room with a screech that died on her lips as she faced Lan Zhan in a t-shirt and pyjamas, wielding a saucepan...

He eyed the scissors in her hand, and she mirrored that same look, and then they both put their weapons down quietly.

"Where is he?" She asked, tersely.

"Wei Ying is still sleeping." Lan Zhan answered, politely.

"Still? Is he alright?" The anxiety in her voice alerted him that this was not a usual occurrence.

He put a hand on her arm to stop her charging into Wei Ying's bedroom, quickly removing it when she glared first at it, and then at him.

"What were you doing?" She asked, not bothering to keep the accusationary tone out of her words.

He pointed to takeaway menus on the counter.

"Wei Ying has no food in fridge. Was going to order breakfast." He stepped back as she made herself comfortable on a stool at the breakfast bar.

"No need, Mo XuanYu's does great breakfast fair. I'll pop over and get us something. But first, let's talk." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mn. I have some questions about Wei Ying." Lan Zhan knew there was nothing he could do about his face, however he injected as much sincerity into his tone as possible, wishing everyone could read him as well as that precious man still asleep in another room.

"Why are you still here? What exactly do you want with Wei Ying now?" She got right to the point.

"I only want him. Nothing else."

"That remains to be seen. He may be a trusting fool, but I am not."

"I'm not leaving." Lan Zhan told her, equally stubborn.

"Do you know how fucked up he was when I found him? Your family did that to him!" She hissed, furiously. "What right do you have to come back now, when he's just about managed to pull himself together? It is beyond cruel to lead him on if you don't intend to stay!"

"I. Am. Not. Leaving." He enunciated, firmly, maintaining eye contact.

She appraised him for a good few minutes before she spoke again.

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Why is there no food in fridge?"

This must have been bothering him very much, for him to have mentioned it twice now.