Sit Softly On Your Shoulder

Chapter 7: Panic Station

A/N

Content warning: Brief mentions of homophobia (not too strongly but it's there), so please look after yourself. Starts at "It's my wedding day today..." and then it's a background to events leading up to WangXian closing up a bit early.

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A week has passed since opening day, and with a start, Lan Zhan realises that a whole month has gone by since he came to the UK. With organising the shop and tending to the never-ending list of things that need to be done.

They're in the shop now, tidying up after another busy day and taking turns to help anyone who wanders in. Lan Zhan is sorting out the cotton fabrics while Wei Ying has assigned himself to the plain satin colours, all of which need to be tidied. Wei Ying is chatting away merrily, and Lan Zhan is quietly listening, adding his thoughts when there's a direct question. Otherwise, he's content to be a sounding board for now.

"Honestly, I wish all of you would develop a sentience," Wei Ying says, throwing his hands up at the rolls in front of him on the shelf. He's reached the messiest part of it, and it's easy to see why he's annoyed. "If anyone yanked my ear like this, you can bet they'd get their money's worth back. Look at the state of these!" He shakes his head. "I am telling you now, don't feel guilty about falling on the criminal's foot, teach them a lesson for not being gentle with you," he says, stroking the roll before putting it back nicely.

"Mn. We have insurance," Lan Zhan adds.

Wei Ying snickers. "As I was saying, if anyone comes in and says they're a beginner to sewing, then point them towards the cottons. It's less likely to move around, and they can manage it better while they're sewing it."

"Is that how Wei Ying started sewing?"

"Nah, I just dove right in. Jiang Cheng and I loved to go clubbing, and the shops never had what I wanted to wear. Or if they did, it was half-arsed at best and a bit of glam never hurt anybody, so I would go to the thrift shops and pick out anything I could work with, you know, zhuzh it up a bit with diamonds and a glue gun, or sew a border around the neckline or something."

"Jiang Cheng?"

Wei Ying freezes.

Lan Zhan wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't looking at him right then, but Wei Ying's whole body has gone tense. It is an effort for him to make himself relax, and Lan Zhan regrets asking him about this person, if that is Wei Ying's reaction. He breathes in deeply and smiles, but it's definitely forced.

"Just someone I used to know. Do you think we'll be busy today?" He deflects, and it's such an obvious change of subject that Lan Zhan goes along with it.

"It's a nice day. Passing trade should be good." Lan Zhan returns to the printed cottons and tries not to think about who Jiang Cheng is.

He's just about to colour coordinate the whole shelf when a young woman rushes in, looking about her wildly.

"Do you have a tailor?" She demands, staring at Lan Zhan.

"No, sorry-"

No one is prepared for her reaction. Her whole face goes red, and she bursts into tears, and not the quiet ones, either, but huge wracking sobs as she bends over herself, trying to contain the pain she's in.

Lan Zhan panics, catching Wei Ying's eyes, and then it's a joint decision to try to help her. Wei Ying fetches the chair he had used to reach the top shelf properly and makes her sit down, while Lan Zhan fetches her a bottle of cold water from the off-licence next door. He finds a box of tissues and shoves them at Wei Ying, hoping he has a plan because the noise isn't stopping anytime soon.