Wild Creatures

Chapter 21

Wei Ying looked across at both brothers, and knew that despite the tension in the room, he and Lan Zhan had an ally now.

"I'm glad Lan Zhan has you as well, XiChen-Ge." He says, smiling brightly at the older man. "I mean…Lan Zhan has us too…but it's nice that you're okay with…" he glances nervously back at Lan Zhan.

"I'm glad he has both you and A-Yuan, too." XiChen replies, warmly.

"And speaking of that, we'd better go get ready for school. We can go to… that place…when I return." Wei Ying promises, smiling at both of them.

The brothers look almost identical, with the exception of two things: XiChen's eyes are slightly darker, like honey from wildflowers, not acacia. And Wei Ying feels absolutely nothing when they're standing side by side.

His attraction is one hundred percent directed at Lan Zhan.

He can feel it whenever he gets closer to the beautiful man, his heart seems to want to fly out from the restrictions of his ribcage, as though that's the only obstruction in its path.

And where would it go, if it was free?

Why, straight to Lan Zhan, of course!

There's no easy way to explain this strange feeling, except that it feels very wholesome. And right…somehow.

Wei Ying doesn't need it explained. It's enough for him to go with the flow; and Lan Zhan feels the same. That's a big deal, and goes a long way to making Wei Ying feel so much better about entering into a relationship with Lan Zhan.

He can't believe they slept together, either.

It feels as if that might be something someone else would do!

And yet…taking that step felt so right, and Wei Ying feels great about it. Lan Zhan is an attentive partner and made him feel so, so good, especially as it was his first time. He likes to think that it was good for Lan Zhan too, and it must have been, because they came together more than once.

"Is Baba alright?" A-Yuan, beautiful sweet kid that he is, checks Wei Ying’s forehead because his face is flushed, thinking about his boyfriend, and not being able to say anything about it.

His soft, pudgy fingers are cool against Wei Ying’s warm skin, and Wei Ying laughs awkwardly about it, taking A-Yuan's hand and planting a kiss in his palm.

"Are you worried about me, my lovely little Radish?" He's laughing, but it vanishes when A-Yuan nods.

His grey eyes fill with tears and Wei Ying gathers him up in a tight hug.

"Oh my! You've been worrying about your Baba all this time? I'm so sorry, my darling A-Yuan!" Wei Ying smiles as A-Yuan hugs him back, his short soft arms going around Wei Ying’s neck like a vice.

A cute vice, because A-Yuan isn't that strong…yet.

It feels good…better than just good, and it's just what they both need right now.

"I'm alright, my beautiful bun." Wei Ying whispers, next to his little ear, giving it a tiny kiss.

This too, feels monumental.

Every time A-Yuan hugs him on his own, without any prompting these days, it just feels so special. Hugs are so important and every time they do it, Wei Ying does not feel so alone any more.

It feels nourishing.

And it warms the cockles of his heart every time he thinks about this: for a long time, there was no one to care if he lived or died…and now suddenly, there were more people joining their little family, almost daily, and it was the best feeling in the world.