Fault [Yizhan/Zhanyi]

~7~

"Are you hungry? Mr Xiao said that if master is hungry buy some food." Zhan's ears perked up hearing that foreign news. The old man had always been paranoid and had never let Zhan eat from outside but suddenly he was letting him. But Zhan acted as if he was deaf and didn't hear what he said because his motive was to annoy this new satellite and drive him away. After all no matter how thick skinned anyone could be, there's a point where everyone breaks.

It's been a month now since the last time Zhan had the chance to visit that cafe. It was cowardly of him that he didn't even try to bring up that conversation with Xue Yang. He feared that if he were to anger that old man he wouldn't hesitate to do something to him as well. After all Zhan wasn't ready to let someone get hurt due to his own selfish reasons ever again.

With a sigh he stared out the window of his lecture hall. The words of the professor passed from his ears without registering them inside his brain. As he was only staring outside aimlessly without any focus when he suddenly paid attention to the outside, he spotted Xue Yang. He was sitting on a bench under a tree near his lecture hall and glancing at Zhan as well. Zhan who was startled looked back at his professor realizing he had been staring at Xue Yang when he wasn't focusing.

He wondered how Xie Yun might be now. He must be serving people at this hour or maybe he can be at home to a holiday as well. If only I could see him...

Even though his nameless desire to see the other confused Zhan, he had long decided to push aside these intruding thoughts. He suddenly recalled how hard it was to get even the latter's name.

It was a Monday, Zhan's third visit at the cafe. He sat by his usual window seat waiting patiently for the brunette to emerge besides his table asking for his order. Zhan's eyes lit up after spotting the person he had anticipated, walking towards him with a grin on his face.

"You're here again! Let me guess the same order?" He asked with a hint of teasing. Zhan nodded his head as the other turned around to leave. But as if he had just remembered something, Zhan grabbed the other's hands preventing him from leaving.

"Y- you didn't tell me your name." Zhan cursed for his stuttering inside his mind. The other stared at the hold in his hand and back at Zhan who immediately retrieved his hand, almost embarrassed. Zhan failed to notice the shocked reaction of the other and hesitation that etched on his face before disappearing into a grin.

"And why should I say it to you?" With that he went away leaving a dumbfounded Zhan.

Zhan even contemplated whether to ask from the cashier about the name but decided not to. He' was determined it out from the other himself. As if to avoid Zhan, his order was given to him by another worker but not the one he was expecting. For the next few minutes Zhan dejectedly drank his drink while his eyes followed the brunette like they always did. At the counter when Zhan was about to pay, he heard the cashier calling out to someone at the kitchen.

"Xie Yun! Xie Yun!" Unexpectedly, the one who emerged from behind was the one who'se name Zhan desperately wanted to know. A smile made its way to his lips after realizing that he finally knows the name of this man.

"Xie Yun! Can you look over that table?"  Xie Yun glared at Zhan who was smiling at him and walked over to the table as if he was unhappy by the sudden revealing of his name. But it only made keep grinning.

"Master..master!"

"Zhan!"

"Ah?" Startled, Zhan asked as Xue Yang forcedly suppressed the laugh seeing the startled other.
"We're home master." Zhan looked outside the window too see that they have indeed reached the house. A house was what Zhan had desperately desired back as a child but now it the place he had become to dread the most.

<~>

Yibo waited the whole day waiting for his Zhan ge to be released. But it never happened. He wanted to ask from them when he could see Zhan ge again but he feared it might make them angered again and imprison Zhan for much longer.

As much as he feared, the night came while his gege was still locked up in that dark room downstairs. Yibo had tried to sneak there during day time only to be caught. Even though he was let go with a warning, Yibo decided to sneak in during the night.

As much as it scared him, with shaky steps he walked through the dark hallways until he was standing on top of the stairs that led to the basement.

"G-ge ge? A-are y-you there?" Yibo stuttered from fear as he saw nothing informs of him than pitch black darkness.

"Yibo! What are you doing here?" Zhan's immediate reply brought a sense of relief to the frightened child.

"Go back didi, Gege will come out tomorrow." Zhan said as Yibo shook his head in denial even though Zhan couldn't see it, he knew from instincts that the younger would not go back as instructed.

"Yibo I know you're still there. Are you scared to go back now?" Zhan asked as Yibo slowly mumbled a yes. Zhan couldn't help but smile despite the raw pain of yesterday's beatings for the cuteness of Yibo. If only he could leave here. Normally it would only be for one day where he would be held captive if he were to anger them but this time it had lengthened.

"Should I tell you a story? But you have to go back to the dorm after that okay?" Zhan asked as Yibo agreed halfheartedly.

"Well there was two brothers. They were still kids who liked to play like us. They lived inside a house near woods. But one day while they were playing near the woods the ball they had been playing with suddenly went inside the forest. Since they were little they decided to go inside and take the ball back."

"How stupid. Why would they wander inside a forest alone?" Yibo interrupted just as Zhan anticipated. This smarty pants never lets anything slide.
"It's called a story for a reason didi and listen without interrupting." Zhan replied with fake strictness.

"So, they walked for hours and hours without being able to find the ball. And they realized they had forgotten their way back. Now the small child decided to cry because he was afraid of the dark. There was even scary sounds of animals outside.
They kept walking back as they remember even if they felt as if they're no where near their house, And just when they both thought they would be stuck their forever they saw their house from afar."

"What kind of stupid story is that?" Yibo asked now his fear long forgotten.
"Don't you think we both are like them? We are lost at the moment but we'll find our way out someday just like them. And maybe we both can live in the same house." Zhan replied enthusiastically not knowing it was only his dream that gets fulfilled.

"I don't want us to be brothers though-" Yibo mumbled inaudibly.

"Okay now I said the story now go back and sleep. And I'll sleep too." Zhan said. Yibo despite being told didn't leave and sat where he was. He'd rather stay here than going back and sleep in the bed alone. So when Zhan again called out for Yibo to check if he had gone or not, Yibo holding back his laugh stayed silent throughout the night on the floor.

<<~>>

To whoever reads this, Sorry for being late.