Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Please, gege, hold on for me just a bit longer.” Hua Cheng begged as he carried his bloody mate from the alleyway where he had found him. It had been obvious that Xie Lian had been stabbed with some sort of dagger, but no matter how much pressure Hua Cheng was applying, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. He could feel the bond between them fraying as his mate slipped away from consciousness. From life.  

The wound was deep and on the left side of his chest. Hua Cheng couldn’t even tell if the blade had hit the heart, and that was why it was bleeding so much. But Hua Cheng could still hear the loud, strong beats of his mate’s heart. Or maybe that was his own thrumming in his ears as he ran. Hua Cheng’s own breathing was becoming panicked as he ran through the backroads, avoiding any prying eyes, all while leaving a thick trail of blood behind them. 

‘Why was there so much? Could a human even bleed that much and survive?’ 

He ran into the home that he and his mate had fixed up over the last few months since Hua Cheng had been back in this village. He didn’t want to risk causing more damage by using magic to get them back to his manor he had built to hoard all his wealth. He layed the man in white down on the cot the two of them shared as he tried to imbue the wound with magic to at least stop the bleeding. But nothing was working as the blood kept flowing from the wound, staining the floor and Hua Cheng's hands. To see his hands stained with his beloved’s blood made him sick to his stomach, but he couldn’t look away. This wasn’t about his comfort; it was about preventing the other man from bleeding out/  

Xie Lian lifted his weak hand that was starting to go cold from the loss of blood, reaching out to Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng could tell that, despite the pain he was in, Xie Lian still tried to smile and be strong for the dragon above him. But soon those eyes fluttered closed as blood started to seep from his lips, and all Hua Cheng could do was hold him while whispering comforting words, because yet again he was helpless to do anything but watch as his mate suffered.      

Hua Cheng wouldn’t even get the release of dying with his mate, as because they had just met up again after years apart because of Hua Cheng’s trials, the dragon had yet to mark his mate, which to humans would’ve been the same as marriage. Xie Lian had wanted to wait until the two had gotten to know the new versions of each other before tying their lives together. And as much as that had gone against every instinct that Hua Cheng had as a dragon, he had agreed because that was what his mate had wanted. 

Now he wished he hadn’t, wished he had pushed a bit harder, as he felt the breath leave the other male’s body. Hua Cheng no longer hears the heartbeat that would lull him to sleep since he was young when the two had first met. The bond going back to the single, fragile thread that was barely felt unless Hua Cheng truly focused on it. 

Tears flowed down his cheeks as he held the body of the man he loved in his arms and roared. It was raw and painful, mourning the loss of his most important treasure. But it wasn’t a true loss. Because even without the bond binding the souls together and extending his mate’s life by tying it to Hua Cheng’s, the soul would just reincarnate. The only issue was that Hua Cheng didn’t know when that would be. So until then, he would hunt down the person who did this, then continue to grow stronger, just so when his mate returns, Hua Cheng could protect him properly this time.

~

Hua Cheng woke up from that dream to the sound of his alarm blaring into his ears. His face was sticky with tears as he shifted in his too-large bed. Millenniums. It had been millennia since his mate had been seen in this world. He knew it was going to take some time, but certainly not this long. 

He had spent that time creating a company that had expanded nationally and connecting with the underworld. All of it was to allow him to be able to find his mate, but it still hadn’t been good enough. The great Crimson Rain Sought Flower, CEO of a multi-million dollar company, Owner of the underground area named ‘Ghost City’, and one of the most feared and sought after men in the country, still wasn’t good enough to find one person. The only person on this god forsaken earth that mattered to Hua Cheng. 

But lying in this bed wouldn’t help his search, so he threw off the black fur blanket he had on his bed. He could hear the clicking of nails on the wooden floor outside his room as a large black dog walked into the room. His familiar that took the form of a wolf with blood red eyes when he had been with his mate, but now was a black German shepherd to ‘blend in’ with the rest of the world. He had started to follow Hua Cheng around like a stray when the dragon was going through his trial, and just refused to leave. 

His mate had adored him, leading to Hua Cheng to have to make up a name on the spot that had just stuck. It was a fond memory that helped ease the pain of the memory that liked to haunt his sleep every day since he had lost Xie Lian.

“Out E’ming, go eat your food.” Hua Cheng ordered. He was currently in his penthouse in the city because Yin Yu had passed out, apparently because Hua Cheng was demanding too much of him. So, while his normal assistant was on medical leave, he was going to have to hire another assistant and actually run his own company for a while. 

This happened every once in a while, either when an assistant needed to retire, or he needed to fake a new head of the company after a few decades, so as not to rouse suspicion. It was easier to deal with it in the underworld since no one had actually seen the boss who ran that particular mob, but with the legal things, it was a bit more difficult.

So he had this penthouse in the city set up for when he had to be in town. His main residence hadn’t changed location from the large manor in the middle of nowhere. Sure, he had expanded it to make it more modern, but the area never changed. Because what if Xie Lian ended up looking for him there when he reincarnated?

Not much was known about the concept of a dragon’s mate reincarnation, so most of what Hua Cheng was going on was pure instinct to keep himself from going insane. He knew the possibility that Xie Lian would even remember anything from their passed lives was slim to none, but that was fine. He would just need to start over. Anything would be better than not knowing where he was. Or if he was even safe. 

With that in mind, Hua Cheng went into his bathroom to take a hot shower before the day started. Everything in the bathroom was a monochromatic black and white; his residence outside of the city had more life to it, simply because his mate had added a few things to it back then. Those items were stored like relics, and even though he had staff that had been around since he first became an adult dragon that cleaned everything, only Hua Cheng was allowed to touch the items that once belonged to his beloved. Everything in this penthouse was either already there or picked out by an interior designer whom Hua Cheng threw money at. 

He brushed his long black hair out of his face, closing both eyes as he faced the boiling water raining down on his skin that bordered on painful. He had to use magic to change forms every couple of years to either look like he was aging or to look like a slightly different person. This time, though, he had decided to go back to his original form. A tall man with long black hair that he had shortened to about shoulder length. He had mismatched eyes, one a piercing black while the other a blood red. It was a trademark of a dragon to have one eye match their other form when in their original human form. The eye still had to be covered with an eye patch that he just told people was for a medical reason. 

Hua Cheng then turned off the water and walked back into his room while wrapping a dark red towel around his waist, and looked through his closet. His clothing was all designer, not that he cared, as he put on a black suit with a red tie and a white scarf that had been imbued with magic so it wouldn’t be subjected to the normal wear and tear of a thousand-year-old garment. 

The scarf had been given to him when he and his mate had first met, when Hua Cheng was but a hatchling. The dragon never went anywhere without it back then, and he wasn’t going to start now. It was still pure white and made of cloth that could no longer be obtained in this day and age, so the only way to keep it in this pristine shape was to cast meding spells and preserve it. It didn’t cost much mana; even if it did, it wouldn’t matter because Hua Cheng would willingly give everything he had just to keep even a part of his geg alive. 

After drying and styling his hair, he walked out of his room into the lifeless penthouse that looked like it was straight out of a catalog. Everything was expensive and dull, like nobody had lived here for years. E’ming was following behind him like the loyal companion he was as Hua Cheng changed the water and food in his bowl before getting himself a granola bar and a cup of black coffee. 

One thing he liked about the evolving world was how he could set up his coffee pot to start brewing at the same time his alarm would go off. It made things easier. That was until his phone started to ring with the default ringtone. Looking at the name, he almost didn’t answer.

Over the last 5 centuries, he had met another dragon and his mate, who was not doing so well in the business world because of his mate’s brother. Apparently, it had caused some issues between the two, though, based on what the blue dragon confessed while drunk, he regretted blaming his mate. Long story short, Hua Cheng got roped into helping the other dragon out of pity, and now the blue dragon was in massive debt to the red dragon. It was helpful when the other dragon could take care of certain things in the company, whether legal or illegal, so it kept law enforcement guessing who was even running things when investigating his relations to the underworld.

“What, He Xuan?” Hua Cheng barked into the phone as he looked out the floor-to-ceiling window while sipping his coffee, watching as the sun continued to rise over the tall buildings. Washing the whole city in a beautiful orange glow.   

“Well, good morning to you as well.” He Xuan's voice was heard from the other end of the phone. “I would ask if I was interrupting anything, but we both know if I were you wouldn’t have picked up.”

“I’m going to grill you over my own fire if you don’t hurry up.”

“Alright, just letting you know you have a meeting with the temp assistant this morning.”

“Yin Yu already found one?” Well, that certainly was fast. But when wasn’t Yin Yu fast when ordered to? The man deserved the break, and Hua Cheng was prepared to just do his own work for once, but now he probably only needed to be around for a week or two, training the new hire who would be working at his company for the next year or so.

He could hear the person on the other end scoff, “It still surprises me the dedication of that man.”

“You could learn a thing or two from him, fishbreath.” Hua Cheng could hear another softer voice in the background, which was probably from He Xuan’s mate, Shi Qingxuan. 

Honestly, Hua Cheng liked the loud and whimsical woman who was the brooding blue dragon’s mate. It was mainly because Hua Cheng knew Xie Lian would enjoy her company when the two would meet. Hua Cheng also got a kick out of watching He Xuan bend to said whimsical woman’s every whim, though he would be complaining the whole time. So he hung up the phone to let the two lovebirds get ready for work in He Xuan’s case, and tagging along wherever He Xuan went for Shi Qingxuan 

It definitely made him long for his own beloved, but that would come in due time. Hopefully. Until then, he needed to head over to his office building. “E’ming come on.”

The familiar came over with his harness in his mouth, which Hua Cheng quickly slipped on while grabbing his own coat and headed out of the door and into the elevator. A silent prayer that this time his ride down would be peaceful.

That prayer was not answered as the elevator dinged two floors down to some of the high-end apartments, and a woman who was maybe 22 stepped into the elevator. She had been on the elevator with him every morning. Since she moved into the building last year. She had introduced herself to Hua Cheng when this first happened last year, but Hua Cheng hadn’t bothered to remember it. The girl had dirty blond hair that was cut off around her shoulders and was always in the latest fashion of business attire. Recently, she’s been wearing a lot of red low-cut button-down shirts and tight pencil skirts. Though it never really mattered what this woman was wearing, because he was more focused on his phone than the peppy woman beside him.

E’ming was a bit different, though. The animal seemed dead set on growling whenever the woman got too close, and Hua Cheng was actually proud of the little menace.

“So, we meet again, Hua Cheng.” She says casually as she brushes a strand a hair behind her ear, despite her hair being in a bun today. 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Hua Cheng asked as he still refused to look up from the screen of his phone. He wasn’t looking at anything in particular, mostly just old emails, so that he would look busy, and this random woman would stop talking to him.

It did not work as she let out an awkward chuckle and lightly pushed his arm, leading to E’ming growling. “Oh, don’t kid around, it’s Shé Fāng”

“Right,” Hua Cheng muttered. He could feel this girl looking over his shoulder at his phone. He didn’t say anything and just waited for the elevator to open to release him from this annoyance. 

“Off to the office again?” 

“Mhm.” 

“You weren’t here last month. Did you go on vacation?”

“Work trip.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. Where did you go?”

Ding

Saved by the bell as the doors to the elevator slid open and Hua Cheng walked out, only to be yet again grabbed by this woman as she gave him her number. For the 12th time this year. She then smiled at him before walking passed and out the entrance of the building. 

Hua Cheng never understood that woman. She had repeatedly done this, as had other women, and the dragon couldn’t tell if the women were trying to become friends or trying to mate with him. Not that it mattered, since the only person worthy of his attention was his gege. But maybe he could get this particular woman off his back if he just texted her to stop.

“What do you think?” Hua Cheng asked E’ming as he exited the building and headed down the busy street. E’ming just growls before letting out a loud bark of disapproval. The familiar had been an excellent deterrent for other humans wishing to annoy Hua Cheng with their presence. “Eh, could be fun.” 

Hua Cheng chuckled as he took out his phone and put the number in, and while he did put ‘Shé Fāng’ as her name, mainly to remember said name, he put ‘pushy apartment woman’ in the notes of the contact before texting her one word.

Stop .

With that, he continued his journey to the large office building. The weather was pleasant for early November, but the signs of winter were coming, leaving the air brisk. It made wearing the scarf easier to explain to people than when he still wore it in the warmer months of the year.

Walking through the doors of the building, E’ming starts to pull on the harness in order to make his way towards the elevators as quickly as possible, like he was excited about something. The creature was normally quite calm unless someone got too close to Hua Cheng, but today, he seemed a bit more agitated than normal.

“Your dog seems more excited than you to be in the office today, Mr. Hua,” called one of the front desk workers. She was an older woman who, despite being a single mother of an infant, worked harder than anyone else in her position. It was one of the reasons she got promoted to a manager of the front desk as quickly as she did.

“Well, that’s not a hard task for him to beat, Ms. Jian.” Hua Cheng pulls back on the harness so he can better speak to Jian Lan. “How’s the baby? Still no word from the father?”

“ Cuo Cuo is fine, he’s getting along well with the daycare center. I still haven’t contacted the father; he was a one-night stand, so I’m not planning to either.”

“Sure, just let me know if you need time off again. You came back pretty quickly from your maternity leave.” 

“Alright, also that new temp assistant is already waiting in conference room four for you to meet.”

Hua Cheng nodded his head as he let E’ming pull the two of them into the busy elevator and push the button for the 5th floor. It was where all the general conferences and meetings were held, while the 38th floor was mainly office space for the executives. Which really meant it had places for Hua Cheng, Yin Yu, He Xuan, and a personal space for Shi Qingxuan because she was here more often than not. As well as a small extra space in Hua Cheng’s office for Xie Lian whenever the two would meet again. 

As the elevator door opened, E’ming ran out of the elevator, letting out excited yips as he sat in front of the conference room door and whined while looking between Hua Cheng, who was still standing at the door of the elevator, and the door of the conference room. 

While normally E’ming would never have had enough strength to yank himself free of Hua Cheng’s grip, since a red dragon’s strength was much higher than that of a familiar. No. Hua Cheng stopped because, for the first time in thousands of years, he felt the bond without having to search in his chest to prove to himself that it was still there. He felt it. It wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but that didn’t matter because it meant that his mate was close. And E’ming knew that too as he barked at Hua Cheng as if saying, ‘Hurry up.’ 

Every step that he took felt too slow as that familiar scent filled his lungs. Muscles that had been tensed for so long seemed to relax as he picked up the leash of the black dog at his feet. He took a deep breath in, put on a professional smile that wanted to grow into a full-blown grin, and opened the door.

E’ming bolted to the man standing by the table, looking nervous. He was in a wrinkled button-down shirt that looked too big for a man of his size, and a pair of khaki pants that seemed to be well-worn. His hair was a short mess of brown, but it was those honey colored eyes that drew him in. Those same eyes he saw when he was a merr hatchling at ten years old. The same eyes that looked at him with care even after nearly four years apart, millennia ago. 

Hua Cheng could have stared at him for hours, and he would’ve been perfectly happy as the beautiful sound of his laughter filled the room. It snapped Hua Cheng out of his daze as he was quick to speak up. “I’m sorry about him, he’s a bit excited to see new people.”

“No problem, I’m Xie Lian by the way. I got a call saying that I should come here to meet someone about the temp position.” That smile nearly made Hua Cheng forget his own name after so long of not being able to see it. But wait. If Xie Lian was introducing himself, doesn’t that mean he doesn’t remember? 

‘Then I can’t just introduce myself as the boss, it’ll make him feel uncomfortable.’ Hua Cheng panicked as he tried to think of how best to handle this. 

“Nice to meet you,” He said as he held out his hand for Xie Lian to shake. “I’m San Lang, and I’m going to be the one training you as the current assistant on staff after my coworker had a medical emergency.” 

The minute their hands meet, Hua Cheng feels the bond reignite, but he doesn’t let it show. He is going to have to start this relationship over from scratch, but this time, he’s going to make sure Xie Lian and he get to stay together this time.

Chapter Text

Xie Lian had been walking through the village to a tea shop that he and San Lang had visited a few times. Xie Lian had gone to a market to pick a few things up while San Lang was working on something at the manor he had built a couple of miles away from town. It was their main residence, but San Lang always said he preferred the small house the two of them had built on the outskirts of this village.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Xie Lian heard a voice calling out from an alleyway. He could never figure out what the voice was saying, but it was probably a call for help. What happened after that was always a blur as he felt a sharp pain in his chest, before it doubled as something was ripped out. 

Xie Lian tried to get a look at the man who attacked him as he pushed the cloaked figure away, but their face was covered, and they would always run away too quickly for Xie Lian to even be able to see their eyes. All Xie Lian could see was a flash of the white cloth they had used to cover themselves. 

The wound would then start to burn as blood leaked through Xie Lian’s fingers. It felt like acid was being pumped in as blood flowed out of the wound. He would then be on the ground. How did he end up on the ground? 

But then he would feel a different heat as he felt his body being picked up from the filth that coated that alleyway. It was nice as he noticed it was his San Lang who had come and got him. ‘But why did he look so sad? And why couldn’t I hear what he was saying?’ All he could hear was a sharp ringing in his ears, making all the sounds around him muffled and distant. 

He wanted to comfort his fiancée, or mate as San Lang would have called it. They had told everyone they were engaged because Xie Lian hadn’t been ready to be marked yet, not after not having seen the other man for four years. 

He reached up, but he could feel his strength deplete and his eyes close despite wanting to stay awake. Stay with his San Lang. His Xiǎo Lóng. But he couldn’t, as he felt it become harder to breathe. To see. Too feel. To even hear that ringing that had filled his ears. 

~

With a jolt, Xie Lian jerked up from his small Murphy bed only to feel it start to fold back into the wall. Leading to him needing to roll off the bed and onto the hardwood floor of his studio apartment. He landed with a harsh thud and a small groan as he pushed himself off the floor and looked at the still dark sky outside the one window in this place. It was foggy with stains that he could never get off, with one crack going from the top corner all the way to the center of the window. It always made Xie Lian worry that it would break in the colder months. 

That particular dream had been recurring since his car accident 9 years ago. During that time, he had regained memories from what was probably his past life and woke up searching for his fiancée. Which definitely confused his two friends, who had been called as Xie Lian’s emergency contacts after not hearing from the man since the three of them were 17, and Xie Lian had to dedicate his entire life to saving his family's company after the passing of his parents, which inevitably failed and went bankrupt with little to no explanation. 

Xie Lian had basically been living on the street for three years until a drunk driver hit him while he was walking out of his job at a gas station at 2 am on a Sunday, sending him to the hospital. After that, he reconnected with Feng Xin and Mu Qing as they basically forced Xie Lian to stay with them until he could get back on his feet.

He had finally been able to rent his own apartment in the city two years ago, right after he had turned 27 and could now also start searching for his Xiǎo Lóng. But he also needed to survive in the city, so with that in mind, he had to get ready for the first day of his second job.

Xie Lian had put in an application to this company a couple of months ago when the other person he was an assistant for decided to fire Xie Lian for ‘disorderly conduct,’ which directly translated to defending one of the other workers from a creepy manager. Xie Lian didn’t regret punching him, but that job was his higher-paying one when compared to his weekend job at the gas station.

The temporary assistant role for Crimson Corp. would have paid double what he used to make at the other company, meaning he may even be able to quit the other job and actually make some progress on his mission to reunite with Hua Cheng. 

So Xie Lian got off his old floor, which still smelled like mold even after cleaning it for the 100th time, and grabbed his clothes off the chair he had left them on the night before. They weren’t in the best condition since he had to sell a lot of his clothes to make rent the last two months while waiting to hear back, but they’ll work until he gets his first paycheck.

It was probably a good thing he had woken up before his alarm went off, so he could start making his way to the train station early. Crimson Corp. was on the upper side of the city, which was an almost an hour train ride from his flat. With that in mind, he threw on the button-down shirt he had gotten at a thrift store, his only good pair of pants, and ran out of his apartment, making sure to grab his phone before closing the door. He would lock the door if the lock actually worked, something had shattered the ancient thing when he had first moved in, and Xie Lian didn't have the money to get it fixed.

The city was still bustling even at this early hour. Car horns honking, people cussing each other out, and the distant sound of police sirens. Okay, so Xie Lian didn’t live in the best part of town. Probably the worst, actually, but it was what he could afford. 

The air was cold in the dark as Xie Lian walked down the dim streets, shivering as the sun peaked out as sunrise started. Some people may be scared of walking around this early in the morning in a place where crime is so high. But Xie Lian had lived on these same streets without a roof over his head from the age of 18 to 20. He knew what lurked in the shadows of those alleyways, knew the types of people you could run into. Drug dealers. Gang members. But most of the time, homeless people who life dealt a bad hand. The people who had been kicked down to rock bottom and couldn’t get themselves out of the hole they’ve been thrown into. 

Xie Lian felt another shiver rack his body as he made his way to the train station. Most people were in worn-out coats and scarves because of the lower temperatures, but Xie Lian barely had enough for food, let alone money for more clothes.

~

The train was a mess even this early in the morning. The train was delayed because of work being done on the tracks, and people were pushing because there were too many people on board, a fight broke out at one point, and Xie Lian was just tired. 

But he made it, somehow, in front of the large building that was thankfully heated. And he was on time, though he may have gotten lost because he passed the conference room where he was supposed to be meeting the person training him. But he still got in the room before that person showed up, so that is a win in Xie Lian’s book.

The room was pretty basic, with the walls being an off white and the table being a dark black wood table in the middle of the room with expensive-looking leather office chairs surrounding it. There were large windows on one side of the room that looked out at the neighboring buildings. A large flat-screen monitor could be seen mounted to the wall, and a black podium in front of it that was probably there for when there were presentations for the company. 

So with that in mind, he stood in the empty conference room and waited, only to nearly jump out of his own skin when he heard a dog whining outside the door. He just stared, confused, ‘because why is there a dog in an office building?’ Then the door opened, leading the dog to run in, followed by the same man that Xie Lian had been trying to find for the nine years since he remembered his past life. He looked almost identical to the form Xie Lian would see in his dream, except his hair was shorter, and that red dragon's eye was covered by a black patch.  

But the smile on his face wasn’t the same one he remembered from his dreams. It was stiff and almost professional as he looked to Xie Lian. “I’m sorry about him, he’s a bit excited to see new people.”

‘Did he forget? I mean, it’s been thousands of years, so maybe he moved on?’ Xie Lian thought as he stared at the man who had meant everything to him in his past life. Even after getting his memories back from back then, he still wasn’t confident in his knowledge of dragon culture. Especially what it meant to be a dragon’s mate, Hua Cheng never went too far into details since Xie Lian had stated he wasn’t ready. ‘So does this mean I need to get him to fall for me again?’

But that was fine, because if he could do it once without actually trying, surely doing it again can’t be that hard. It was just like before, learning about the new version of each other before becoming something more. He just needed to make sure he didn’t sound creepy for knowing so much, and then have to deal with HR again.

“No problem, I’m Xie Lian by the way. I got a call saying that I should come here to meet someone about the temp position.” Xie Lian cheerfully said back with a bright smile on his face. 

“Nice to meet you,” The taller man held out his hand for Xie Lian to shake, which he quickly took it and felt the same spark he remembered from his past life. “I’m San Lang, and I’m going to be the one training you as the current assistant on staff after my coworker had a medical emergency.”

‘Ah, he’s doing what he did back then, lying about the amount of power he had, so I wouldn't be uncomfortable.’ Xie Lian remembered that when the two first re-met in their past lives, Hua Cheng had introduced himself as ‘San Lang’ and had claimed he was a young man who had run away from home. Xie Lian, at the time, could tell he wasn’t being truthful, but allowed the rusie to continue until that night when he had called the dragon out on his little trick. It was a fond memory that he had gotten back after his car accident. 

“Then I guess I’m in your care.” Xie Lian quickly responded with a smile. “Though I do need to ask if this guy is normally with you.”

“Yes, his name is E’ming. I got permission to bring him in since he gets anxious when he’s alone.”

Xie Lian was glad E’ming had stayed with San Lang all this time; he would’ve hated it if this kind and loving man had to spend all that time alone. He gently petted the head of the German Shepherd, as the dog let out those same happy yips, and his tail wagged a mile a minute. 

“Well then, I guess I’ll need to befriend him as well.” He said with a soft yet playful tone. 

“Pretty sure he likes you more than me, gege.” 

“Gege? How do you know I’m older?” 

“Just guessing, I mean, I’m only 24.” San Lang said with a shrug as he started walking out of the room. “Come on, today is going to be easy since it’s your first day and we just need you to understand the basics.”

Xie Lian chuckled as he followed San Lang back to the elevators, “Then I guess gege is fitting since I’m 29.”

The door to the elevator opened, and the three of them entered. San Lang pressed an ID to a credential reader beside the main panel and then pressed the button for the top floor. 

“You’ll get one of these when we get up to the boss’s office. He’s not present much in the office, so the majority of the things that need to be done in person are done by us.”

“So is it just the two of us?” 

“No, there are two other people who will be working with us.” San Lang said as the elevator door opened to the top floor and gestured for Xie Lian to walk out first. 

It wasn’t much different from the rest of the building, with plain off-white walls and black doors. There were a few leather couches and an empty front desk. It led to a hallway with a bunch of doors that led into what were probably different offices.

The only difference is that it wasn’t as quiet as the 5th floor, as one of those doors slammed open to see a woman with long brown hair tied back in a French braid, wearing a teal blouse and a nice knee-length white pencil skirt. She waved with an almost blinding grin on her face as she bounced up and down, her jewelry sounding like a bell as she rushed up to the two.

“Oh, is this the new hire, Hua Cheng?” Xie Lian nearly burst out laughing at the wince that crossed San Lang’s face. 

“Yes, my name is Xie Lian.” Xie Lian jumped in, holding a hand out to shake the woman’s, only for it to be bypassed in favor of a tight hug from the woman.

“Shi Qingxuan,” She said as she pulled back, never once losing that bright smile.

“Qingxuan, leave the new kid alone and finish breakfast with me.” Came a deep but tired voice from the room that the woman had come out of. Out walked a man with dark blue eyes that almost looked black. His hair was in a half-up up half-down bun style, and he was in a simple black button-down and black pants. 

Shi Qingxuan just brushed him off and turned back to Xie Lian .“That’s He Xuan, my husband. He’s a bit moody when he's hungry.”

“And he’s always hungry.” San Lang mumbled. “Now, if you could excuse us, I need to finish showing Xie Lian to where he’s going to be working, then I’ll need to have a private talk with the two of you.”

“Oh god, what now?” That same voice could be heard from the other room as Xie Lian was led into another office at the end of the hall. There was a dark cherry-wood desk in the center of the room with a black leather chair behind the desk. A mess of papers covering the desk and probably a laptop. A plaque on the desk had his surname printed on it. There was a coffee table in the middle of the room with two black love-seats on either side of it. Honestly, the room felt more like a living room than an executive’s office.

E’ming was let off the leash and went to a large dog bed in front of the windows, but didn’t once take his eyes off the two men who now stood in the room. 

“So, about my name...” San Lang started as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“What about it?” 

“Aren’t you upset that I lied?”

“You are the one training me, right?”

San Lang quickly nodded his head.

“You’re also my coworker, so why should it matter that you wished to be called something else?”

San Lang chuckled with a shake of his head, “Alright then. So why don’t you get yourself settled at the coffee table for now while I go talk to our other coworkers?”

“Sure.” Xie Lian said with a smile as he sat down on one of the admittedly comfortable couches. Seriously, they're probably more comfortable than his bed and twice as expensive. San Lang placed his phone and leash down on the table before walking back out of the room, leaving Xie Lian alone with E’ming. 

Once that door closed, E’ming ran over and jumped up on Xie Lian’s lap, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Seems like you remember me, boy.”

Just as Xie Lian was starting to pet the large dog, he saw a message pop up on San Lang’s phone. It was simple, but it made Xie Lian’s stomach sink as he now realized this may be harder than he thought, as the message read;

Shé Fāng

Aw, come on, qīn ài de 😘

Chapter Text

Hua Cheng steps out of the room with a sigh as he rubs his temples. Just holding himself back from hugging his mate was a challenge. He doesn’t know how much he could hold himself back from just revealing everything and hoping everything works out. But what he could do was continue to glare at the other dragon that was hiding across the hall and stuffing his face. 

“He Xuan.” Hua Cheng gritted out as he walked into his office, which was much like his own except for a few pictures of modern wedding photos on the wall. The two had been married for hundreds of years, but Shi Qingxuan insisted on taking new 'couple photos' every year. The dragon complained, but you could tell he loved it as much as she did when you looked at the love in his eyes as he stared at her. What was also different was a table full of food that, to a normal person, would be enough to feed a family of 6, layed out on the coffee table. Shi Qingxuan was next to him on her phone, and didn’t even glance up from what was probably the company's social media platform. She may be loud and shift from one topic to the next at the drop of a hat, but that also made her perfect for running social media pages and marketing campaigns. And when the girl was focusing on work, very little could pull her out, though that didn't mean she wasn't also listening.  

He Xuan, meanwhile, was being less productive by stuffing as much food into his face and looking like a kid that just gotten caught doing something wrong. If Hua Cheng were in his dragon form, steam would’ve been coming out of his nostrils out of annoyance. 

“What? I didn’t do anything.” He Xuan defended getting up from his seat and putting the couch between the two. Like that would do anything to save him if Hua Cheng was actually mad. 

“You’re lucky my mate is so understanding.” Hua Cheng sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on. Though that may be because all he wanted to do was sit by his gege after finally finding him again. 

Shi Qingxuan gasped and jumped up from the couch with a squeal of excitement. “Oh my god, are you serious?!”

“Quiet, he’s in the other room.” 

“Right, sorry. But that’s awesome! Now I have someone else to talk to about the whole mate thing.” She whispered, yelled, and tried to run off, probably to ‘ignite the friendship’ as she would have put it. That train of thought was quickly stopped by Hua Cheng grabbing the back of her shirt, causing her to let out a small choking sound as he pulled he back in.

The sound of a growl was quick to fill the room after that as Hua Cheng felt the cold hand of the blue dragon grip onto his own. “Hands. Off.”

Hua Cheng released the grip on the woman as he walked back to the couch. Promptly ignoring He Xuan picking up his mate and taking her out of the room into her own office for the remainder of the conversation. Hua Cheng wasn’t surprised the fish brain reacted like that simply for the one fact that everything goes out the window if a threat is around a dragon’s mate. Doesn’t matter that He Xuan wouldn’t have stood a chance against Hua Cheng in a fight; all that mattered was the sound of distress Qingxuan had let out.

It was why he did what He Xuan asked and released the girl, that and Xie Lian would probably not like the fact that Hua Cheng had attacked his coworker. He Xuan came back into the room with a scowl on his face. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“I didn’t need your loud mouth of a mate blabbing about what we are to my mate.” Hua Cheng coolly responded while picking up a bagel from the spread with a napkin.

“Then use your words. How would you like it if I grabbed your mate?”

The growl that left Hua Cheng was deep and menacing as he glared at the other dragon, his uncovered eye flashing a bright red. “Try, and I’ll cut your hands off and shove them down your throat.”

“He doesn’t remember you, does he?” He Xuan asked his voice quiet and shocked.

“Not to my knowledge.” 

“I’ll talk to Qingxuan; I’ll make sure she won't say anything.”

“Good.” Hua Cheng gritted out before standing back up, having the bagel still in hand and uneaten. “I don’t want any more disturbances until my mate and I are at least dating. That means I won’t be meeting with anybody unless it’s an emergency. Got it.”

“Yes, gasoline breath.”

Hua Cheng then nodded, grabbed a few other things from the table, and placed them on a plate before walking out of the room. He took another deep breath to calm his racing heart and pushed the door open. He was confronted with a sight that had him wishing time would stop, but also made him a little jealous of his familiar. 

Xie Lian was staring at the large black dog and petting its head while E’ming was peacefully resting his head in his lap. The beast knew Xie Lian was too kind to kick him off, so he took advantage of Hua Cheng not being in the room.

Hua Cheng cleared his throat so as not to startle the other man, “I didn’t know if you had eaten, so I grabbed you something from the break room.” 

Xie Lian looked back with a soft smile that made Hua Cheng’s calm heart speed up once again. It took everything in him not to sit directly next to the shorter man as he placed the plate down and sat on the other couch. So he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out and hold the person he had been searching for for thousands of years. 

“Thanks, I skipped breakfast this morning to catch the train.” That laugh was going to send Hua Cheng to heaven with how breathless it made the dragon. 

“Gege takes the train?” Hua Cheng asked as he got up once again to open a fridge that was built into the wall to pull out two waters. 

“Yeah, takes an hour to get here from Puqi, but I can rest on the train.” Xie Lian responded as he took a small bite out of the plain bagel. The response, though, made Hua Cheng’s stomach drop. The area wasn’t exactly known for being a safe place to live, with high crime rates involving drugs, theft, and even murder. To hear one's most important person was living there, had been living there for who knows how long, wasn’t good for the ancient red dragon. 

That city was also out of his territory in regards to his mafia, meaning if anything went wrong, if something happened to his mate, he couldn’t do much unless he wanted to start another gang war. Which wouldn’t actually be that bad now that he thought about it. Maybe he could try to pay off the small mob that had taken residence in that area. It would be less messy, and he could make He Xuan do any of the actual work. 

“Uh, San Lang?”

“Oh, sorry, just didn’t know you lived that far from here.” Hua Cheng let out a slight laugh, a bit embarrassed that he got caught lost in planning either a deal or a genocide. But also because he noticed how E’ming had decided to move further on Xie Lian’s lap, like the thing wasn’t over 80 pounds and most likely crushing Xie Lian's legs.

“If he’s bothering you, you can just tell him to move.” 

“No, no, he’s fine. You just looked a bit out of it. But how about you?”

“I have a place a couple of blocks away, so I just take the time to walk E’ming.”

Xie Lian nodded as he finished off his bagel. “So, should we get started?”

“Right, just give me a second.” Hua Cheng then got up from the couch and walked over to his desk. He stacked the papers neatly before grabbing his laptop and heading back over to Xie Lian’s seat, setting up the workspace in front of him while sitting a respectable distance from him on the same couch this time. “Okay, so for the most part, your job is just going to be answering calls and emails regarding my schedule. There are a good number of companies that tend to want to talk about investments.”

Hua Cheng glanced over and saw how Xie Lian had this determined look on his face as Hua Cheng talked; it was absolutely adorable. His eyes were completely focused on the emails on the screen, with his brows furrowed and his lips pressed into a fine line. Hua Cheng then continued trying to keep his voice from showing just how much he was enjoying the proximity. He pulled up an Excel sheet with different companies, their emails, phone numbers, investments made, returns, and whether they were to be responded to. “This is going to be a good cheat sheet until you get more comfortable. Now, when emails come through, I need you to write a draft response on a Word doc and send it to me so I can review it for the first month. You okay with that?”

“Yeah, it makes sense to want to check to make sure I’m not saying anything that could hurt the company.”

Hua Cheng chuckled, “That’s the professional reason, if it were only up to me, I would trust gege to use his best judgment. But running a business isn’t a job for one person.”

“San Lang, shouldn’t you be more worried? I mean, I didn’t leave my last job on the best of terms.”

“I’m sure gege had his reasons.”

“So insincere.”

“I promise you won’t find someone more sincere than I. Now, regarding new clients, you’ll be using my work email. You can just star anyone you aren’t sure about, and I work with it personally.”

Hua Cheng then pulled a calendar that was mostly empty other than a few meetings with the note of ‘HX will deal with it’.  “This is my work calendar. After a meeting is made, put it in here, and I’ll edit the event as I see fit. You’ll also be in charge of keeping track of when those times are and either notifying me or He Xuan, the grumpy voice you heard before.”

“Got it, so will I get to meet him properly today?”

“I’ll set up a lunch at a small restaurant across the street so the four of us can get to know each other.”

“Wouldn’t it be my job to set up the reservation, though?”

“It’s your first day, so I’ll handle it. But that does bring me to my next point about phone calls.”

~

The next few hours were spent explaining how to respond to emails and phone calls, and also trying to convince Xie Lian that he could just hang up the phone if someone was being rude. But soon noon was approaching, and while Hua Cheng could normally keep going, he wasn’t about to let his mate go hungry. So he closed the laptop and stood up, stretched, and patted his leg so E’ming would get up from his place lying over Xie Lian’s lap.

“Come on, gege, let’s go get something to eat.” 

“Oh, is it time for lunch already?”

“Yeah, now let’s head out, my treat today to celebrate you joining the team.”

Hua Cheng then grabs the leash and his phone, which still hadn’t moved from its place on the table. He could see he had a message, but didn’t care enough to see from whom. He was with his mate; nothing else could be more important. 

Walking out of the room, though, came with the unfortunate prospect of running into the other two who worked on this floor. 

“Oh, are you guys heading to lunch?” The chipper voice came from the only woman on this floor.

“Yeah, we were just about to invite the two of you to join us so we can get to know each other.” Xie Lian said with that same beautiful smile that would always send Hua Cheng reeling, no matter how long it’s been.

“Are you sure Hua Cheng's okay with that?” He Xuan muttered as he leaned onto Shi Qingxuan with an arm around her waist. Seems like he’s still a bit on edge after this morning, and oh, how Hua Cheng wished to do the same with Xie Lian. But he couldn’t, he didn’t want to scare his mate away, but the fact that Xie Lian lived in such a bad area certainly didn’t help the dragon from trying to hold his mate like it would protect him from the dangers of the city he lived in.

“What’s so shocking that I want him to know who he’s working with?” Hua Cheng bit back.

He Xuan laughed, probably knowing Hua Cheng would be on his best behavior when Xie Lian was around. “Nothing, just shocking.”

“Also, I have something for you to start working on. I need you to put in an offer to one of the smaller businesses we work with.” It was code between them since Crimson Corp. mainly worked with high-end and large companies. If Hua Cheng ever talked about smaller ones, it tended to have something to do with the underworld. It wasn’t just to make sure Xie Lian didn’t find out about the mob, but also Shi Qingxuan as well. Despite everything the two had been through, this was the one secret He Xuan had to keep from his mate to keep her safe.   

“Sure, just send me an email with the details.” He Xuan replied as he turned and walked towards the elevator, hand never once leaving Qingxuan’s side. Something the woman had no issue with as she turned her head and piped back in. 

“So, how had your first day been, A-Lain?” 

“It’s been pretty calm since San Lang has been teaching me the ropes.”

“Oh, has he now?” The stupid smirk on her face made Hua Cheng want to kick her out of the building. 

“Yeah, so what do you do? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I manage the marketing team as well as all our social media sites. I find it fun whenever we do a new campaign to see the flow of ideas from so many sources. Plus, I’ve always enjoyed art, so it’s a nice use of my passion. What about your passion?” Shi Qingxuan asked as the group walked into the elevator.

“I’ve always enjoyed martial arts and literature, to be honest.” 

“Ooo, then you should definitely check out the gym we have in the building.”

As the two mates continued speaking and becoming closer in this short elevator ride than Hua Cheng was in the span of over four hours, Hua Cheng and He Xuan were having a more serious conversation. “Were there any particular businesses you need me to speak to?”

“The one who owns Puqi village, I want it added to my personal territory.” Hua Cheng said in a low voice, the other two were distracted, so it probably didn’t matter, but better safe than sorry.

“Why that dump?”

The elevator dinged, and the four, plus E’ming, walked out. “Bye, Ms. Jian, we're heading to Xinrongji for lunch and will be back within a few hours.”

“Got it.” Jian Lan replied not once, looking up from her computer at the front desk as the group walked out of the building led by Qingxuan, who somehow got out of He Xuan’s protective hold but had also grabbed onto Xie Lian and was now in front of the two dragons. 

‘Why could everyone touch my mate but me?’ Hua Cheng brooded as he walked beside He Xuan.

“It’s where my mate lives currently.”

“There it is. But I remember the gang that owns the place switches pretty often because of constant turf wars.”

“Keep it as peaceful as possible. I don’t need any blood spilled on our side.”

“And if things get messy?”

“Then let none of them remain.” 

And with that last chilling remark, he walked up to join the conversation with the two humans. “So what did I miss, gege?”

“Oh, Shi Qingxuan was just talking about one of the clubs the company is opening next month and was inviting me to join her for some bonding.”

“Sounds interesting, then I hope to see you there if you decide to go.” Hua Cheng said with a smile. While he didn’t necessarily like his beloved going to a club where people could possibly pose a threat, it could also be a good place to get closer to him. Plus, it’s not like Hua Cheng would let anyone get close enough to cause a problem Xie Lian couldn’t handle on his own.

“Since when were you going?” He Xuan asked with a small smirk on his face. 

“I mean, it’s a big event, so it’s not that surprising that the CEO would come, He-xiong.” And Shi Qingxuan was back in Hua Cheng’s good graces. 

“Qingxuan is correct, since this is our biggest club yet, I thought going to the opening would be good for business.”

“Then we can all go together.” Xie Lian beamed up at Hua Cheng as he bumped into his side, sending a jolt of electricity through him. 

“Perfect, then I’ll drive us all.”

“No!” both He Xuan and Hua Cheng said at the same time. The woman was good at a lot of things, but driving wasn’t one of them. She would go 30 over the speed limit, swerve in and out of traffic without signalling, and nearly give everyone in the car a heart attack when she got behind the wheel. 

“I will drive, not like I’ll be drinking anyway.” Hua Cheng claims as he makes sure he puts himself between the road and his mate.

“Fine, you're no fun.” She pouted as she returned to He Xuan’s side.

“Never get in the car with her behind the wheel, gege.”

With that, the group walked into the restaurant and spent the rest of the day talking about future plans for what other ‘bonding events’ they’ll have. All while Hua Cheng makes sure that he keeps himself beside his beloved’s side. He may not like going out often, but he would put up with it so he could continue being with Xie Lian.

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, you what?!” Xie Lian winced as he heard Mu Qing yell through the phone. The friend group had their monthly video call, which had started when Xie Lian had decided to move into his own apartment a few years ago. He had finally decided that now was the best time to tell his friends that he had gotten fired from his other job two months ago and had just started a new one. It was now Friday night, and it had been about a week since he had started the job, and it was nice to say the least. He’s had no issues with coworkers, though that may be because he spends all his time with the CEO, who just happened to be his lover from a past life. 

He was currently sitting on the one old, decrepit rug that he had bought for his house with his phone propped up against the card table he had found on the side of the road. The walls were paper-thin, so he could hear his neighbors arguing. Then stop. Only to then hit the wall and tell Xie Lian to keep it down. Then went back to screaming at each other about who knows what. 

“Mu Qing, not so loud.” Xie Lian chided with a wince. 

“I’m going to side with Mu Qing, as much as it pains m- Ow!” It could be seen as Mu Qing elbowed the other man in his stomach, though both let out a small chuckle. It seemed after the two had admitted that they actually liked each other, they’re fights became more playful than anything else. They were definitely holding back whenever they hit each other, and the insults became more like playful banter than actually meant to cause emotional damage. 

“Seriously, Xie Lian, you got fired for defending yourself? I could help you sue.”

“Mu Qing, don’t you normally prosecute for criminal law?”

“Hey, I can still practice for a civil suit case,” said man defended. 

“Well, either way, I already got another job at a different company.” 

“Really, what are you doing now?” Feng Xin butted in as he layed on top of Mu Qing, only to be thrown off of him, and probably onto the floor based on the loud thump that could be heard in the background of the call. 

Xie Lian had to suppress the laugh at that, “Mostly the same as before, but I’ve got a lot more freedom in the position.”

“And what company are you working at?” Because, of course, Mu Qing would ask the actual important question.

“Crimson Corp.” The call went silent.

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you…” Mu Qing said, shaking his head, “Did you say Crimson Corp.? The same company that has been under investigation for decades for possible ties to a crime syndicate.”

Xie Lian winced; he really hadn’t looked too far into the company because he really needed the job. And with his Xiǎo Lóng being the CEO, he didn’t really care about what possibly less-than-legal things the company was allegedly involved in. It’s not like it would’ve surprised him since San Lang didn’t really care for the law much in the past. Though Xie Lian did make sure everything he did was more humane after he found out about it. He couldn’t truly blame the dragon because most of the time, the individuals whom San Lang attacked had deserved it in some way or another, though maybe not as brutally as San Lang would serve that justice.  

“That’s the one.”

Mu Qing sighed as Feng Xin, who was still on the floor, spoke up, “I mean, as long as you stay away from the CEO, you should be fine.”

“Funny you should mention that…”

“Are you fucking serious right now?!”

“Mu Qing, languge.” 

“I’ll use whatever language I want; you’re working for a potential crime boss.”  

“Keyword potential, nothing’s been confirmed, and it pays more anyway.”

“That doesn’t make it better!”

“Look, it’s a good job, I like my coworkers, and in a few months I may even have enough to quit my job at the gas station.”

“And what happens when you get arrested for being involved with a crime ring?” Feng Xin asked as he sat back on the couch next to his boyfriend. 

“Why are you so sure he’s involved with something?” Xie Lian countered. 

“Because the company has been around longer than anything else, the CEO has been from the same family for decades, and oh yeah, people who had been convicted of crimes have blamed the company for getting them involved.”

“You of all people should know that wouldn’t hold up in a court of law, Mu Qing.”

“Still, you need to be careful; we really don’t want another scare like we had when the hospital called us at 4 am about you being in a car accident.”

“I get it, but seriously, I’m fine. I also need to go since I have my first double of the weekend tomorrow.” 

“Fair, pretty sure Mu Qing has to be at the courthouse early, and he gets grumpy without his full 8- Ow, why?!”

“Night, Xie Lian, call if you need anything.”

“Goodnight, you two.” The call then ended, leaving Xie Lian to look at his screen.

He changed it to his contact list, which had grown a bit more over the week. Now he had his two childhood friends, San Lang, Shi Qingxuan, and somehow, He Xuan. While they hadn’t really spoken individually, since at this point they were just coworkers, they had made a group chat to continue planning the whole club outing thing. 

He wasn’t lying when he told his friends that he had a good time working with San Lang. The company provided him with a work laptop that he kept at the office; he wasn’t expected to take home any work he didn’t finish during the day, and San Lang always made sure Xie Lian had both breakfast and lunch. Things would be going well if that message on San Lang’s phone weren’t haunting Xie Lian's every waking thought. 

‘Had he moved on over the years?’ The question made Xie Lian’s heart ache with the potential that there was another person in the dragon’s life, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. Did that make him a homewrecker? Maybe. But in his defense, San Lang was his first, so technically, she was the other woman in this situation.

Xie Lian groaned at his own jealousy, but didn’t have the strength to deal with it at the moment. So he just pulled down his bed from the wall and carefully got on it. The mattress squeaked, and the entire bed rattled. It wouldn’t have surprised him if he woke up in the walls again, so he lowered his body slowly and layed back. Using the white noise of cars and people screaming to lull him back into sleep. 

~ 

It’s too early to deal with annoying people. Xie Lian had gotten to the convenience store at the gas station at 7 this morning, and not even an hour into his shift, he had dealt with a bunch of kids knocking over things, old people complaining about prices, and teenagers trying to steal things for a road trip.

He just wanted to put his head down and not talk to anybody for a bit, but he couldn’t even do that because of the cameras. While he was the only person working today, his manager liked to watch and wasn’t above calling Xie Lian while on shift to scold him for being unprofessional. 

‘Maybe I can text San Lang or Shi Qingxuan.’ The two were always good at curing Xie Lian’s bad moods whenever something inevitably went wrong on his way to or from the office. Just as he was about to pull out his phone, he heard the store bells ring, meaning a new customer had entered the building.

“Good morning and welcome in.” Xie Lian said with his best customer service voice, though all he got back was an annoyed wave from the middle-aged man who had entered the store. He had a shaved head with what looked to be a tattoo that started from the base of his head and disappeared beneath his leather jacket. He seemed a bit familiar to Xie Lian, but it was probably because there were a lot of gangs in the area, so people who looked like this man came into the store pretty often.  

The man had an air about him that made Xie Lian know that the day was about to go from bad to worse, with a small possibility of getting shot…again. He kept his eye on the man, trying to make out if he had a weapon on him or if Xie Lian was just overreacting. He was so focused on it that he hadn’t heard another car pull up at the gas station that would’ve sounded too nice to be in this area. But his attention to detail definitely helped as he noticed the familiar glint of a gun poking out of the leather pants of the man.

The man in the store was moving through the aisles, picking up random snacks while carrying a case of beer under one arm. Eventually, he started moving towards the counter, to which Xie Lian made sure he wasn’t caught watching the man as he placed everything on the counter. 

“Find everything okay?” Xie Lian asked with that same practiced smile as he moved to start ringing up the food. The constant beep was the only sound that could be heard in the awkward silence as Xie Lian avoided eye contact.  

“Almost.”

“That’s good, I’m going to need some ID, though, for the beer.” The sound of a gun cocking could be heard overhead. Great.

“No, what you’re going to do is empty the register nice and slowly, boy.” The man remarked with a hint of a smirk in his voice. Xie Lian moved slowly as he looked down at the barrel of the 9 mm pistol. He could see sanding done where the identification number of the weapon would be, meaning this was probably not just some random robber.

“I don’t want any trouble, sir.” Xie Lian kept his hands raised in surrender as he checked which hand the man was holding the gun. Right, and it looked like the grip was loose. Probably from confidence that he wasn’t going to be questioned. That was good for Xie Lian in this situation, as long as he could catch the man by surprise. 

The man also wasn’t wearing a mask, though, in full view of the cameras. It showed some inexperience, or it meant that he didn’t care and was going to shoot Xie Lian after he got what he wanted.  

“Then just do what I ask.” Someone else entered the store, and Xie Lian was quick to grab the barrel of the gun with his left hand and move his head out of the line of fire. Placing his other hand on the man’s wrist, he gripped hard and maneuvered the gun so it was no longer facing him. A shot went off, leading to Xie Lian’s hearing being reduced to a loud ringing in his ears, and then the man who was pointing a gun at him was on the floor after the person who had entered the store tackled him to the ground. He could hear the muffled sounds of the struggle behind the counter, and then it was quiet. 

Xie Lian was quick to run around the counter and, with a napkin, picked up the gun and put the safety on. Only then did he look to see who had foolishly tackled someone with a loaded gun to the ground. He was a bit shocked at the scene in front of him, though.

The robber was on his stomach with a hand pressing his face into the ground; both of the man’s wrists were bound by a much larger one, as blood was leaking out from the robber's wrists. A knee was dug into the gunman’s back and was pressing down hard, and the face of Xie Lian’s Xiǎo Lóng, with bared teeth and his eye flashing with a raging fire beneath it, was the one looking down at the assailant. His black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and he was wearing a button-up shirt with about 4 buttons undone and black slacks. 

“Stay. Down.” San Lang growled, pushing the face of the man further into the ground. It was then that Xie Lian realized that the man was, in fact, awake, just silent because of the dragon on top of him. As well as another growling that could be heard further down, as E’ming seemed to also want a part of the fight. The dog was biting down hard on the robber’s leg and pulling as if to tear the limb off.

“San Lang?” Xie Lian called out as he put the gun on the counter. He could feel the trickle of blood start to flow slowly down his arm, but there wasn’t enough pain or blood to have been shot. Most likely, the bullet had grazed his outstretched arm when the shot went off.

E’ming stopped biting the man and ran over to him, letting out a distressed bark after sniffing the bleeding arm. Xie Lian placed his hand on the dog’s head gently and rubbed its ears, “Hello to you too, E’ming.”

San Lang stopped looking at the man under him to look at Xie Lian; his one visible eye was filled with concern as his gaze softened. “You alright, gege.”

“Yeah, just a scratch.” Xie Lian got some zip ties from one of the aisles and handed them to San Lang, who quickly used them to bind the man’s hands. 

“Right, He Xuan is here as well, so I’ll have him take this scum to the police station. Are there cameras around the store?”

“Yeah, just give me a second.” Xie Lian said as he went into the security office/ beak room and pulled up the footage before emailing it to San Lang’s work email. Then he walked back out of the room, “I just sent it to you.”

San Lang held out his phone, showing the email he had just received from Xie Lian with the attachment of the security footage in it. Then he sends a text and drags the man out of the door. The sound of the bell above the door was a striking contrast to the situation that had just happened. E’ming did not move from his spot at Xie Lian’s side, more interested in checking out the wound on Xie Lian’s arm. Licking gently at the blood while soft whines leaked out of this sweet animal.  

The dragon didn’t take long to return to the store, though his face was a bit calmer than it had been when he had first entered the store. He walked around, grabbed some medical supplies, and walked back up to the front. “Gege, could you ring these up for me?”

Xie Lian laughed but went back behind the counter and rang up the items. “It’ll be 215 Yuan, cash or card?”

“Cash, and keep the change.” San Lang said as he gave Xie Lian a roll of 40 yuan notes, which totaled about 400 yuan. Xie Lian looked at him, shocked, but put any change into the tip jar in front of him.

“Now, can I help you with the bullet wound?”

“It just grazed me.” Xie Lian huffed out as he rolled up his uniform sleeve. It wasn’t deep, but the blood certainly made it look worse than it was. Xie Lian was more upset that the blood was going to ruin one of his only uniform shirts.  

San Lang was gentle as he applied the rubbing alcohol to irrigate the wound, patting it dry, before placing a gauge and wrapping the wound. It wasn’t too tight, but it also put enough pressure to help stop the bleeding. 

“Thank you.”

“Does this happen often at your job?”

“Getting patched up by someone? No, this is the first time, actually.” Xie Lian joked, but one look from San Lang and he realized that it really didn’t help the tense situation. “It’s happened a few times since I’ve worked here. There are a lot of gangs in the area, and they see this place as an easy target.”

“Is that why you knew how to disarm him?” 

“I mean, that’s part of it, but I also just like learning new self-defense skills.”

“Do you have to keep working here?” His voice was soft, almost pleading, as he looked Xie Lian in the eyes.

“Just for a few more months, you’re company pays me a lot, so I won’t need to work this job on the weekend anymore.”

San Lang nods his head, “I’ll stick around then, and if you would like, I could drive you home.”

“San Lang, I don’t get off until 6.” 

“That doesn’t answer my question, gege.”

“Fine, but don’t feel like you have to.”

“Nonsense, I would much rather spend my time making sure you're safe.”

The rest of the day was nice. San Lang stayed for the rest of his shift, proceeded to buy something every hour just so he would be considered a paying customer and not just loitering around. While he did let Xie Lian work, he did get involved a few times when people were being rude. He claimed that because he was a customer, he could say whatever he wanted.

It was nice, especially as he didn’t have to walk 4 miles back to his apartment after work for once. Sure, the day didn’t start out great, but he had definitely made progress in regard to getting his lover back.

Chapter Text

Hua Cheng walked into the warehouse after dropping his mate off at that garbage pile that dared to claim itself to be an apartment building. It certainly didn’t help calm his rage after today’s incident, as the smell of mold and termites filled the air of that place. Memories of what had led up to the situation still filled his head as he pulled up his sleeves. He had been returning from a meeting with one of the leaders of the current gang who resided in Puqi, which had gone surprisingly well, when he needed to stop for some gas. 

So he texted He Xuan to change routes to one of the stations in that part of town before heading back through traffic to get back home. What he hadn’t expected was to see his mate with a gun pointed at him. Hua Cheng felt himself being taken back to that moment when he found his mate lying in the dirt of some alley back then. Slowly bleeding out through a wound in his chest, and Hua Cheng feeling helpless to stop it. 

Hua Cheng couldn’t do anything back then, but he most certainly would now. But it wasn’t just going to stop at taking the trash down with the few wounds he inflicted on him in the convenience store. The man had messed with Hua Cheng’s beloved; the alucide mob boss wasn’t going to let that slide with just a simple arrest.

“Is he ready?” Hua Cheng muttered to He Xuan as he pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and placed his phone on the table. 

“He’s bound to the table, stripped to his underwear, and gagged at the moment. All tools are currently layed out and cleaned. The file on him is on the table next to them,” He Xuan reported from where he was leaning against the door, almost as if he was hiding in the shadows like E’ming normally did. Though the beast could do more than just hide in the shadows, often he used them as a method of transportation for sneak attacks. 

Currently, E’ming was using that ability to hide in the shadows of Xie Lian’s apartment. It was the only way Hua Cheng had been able to leave his mate in such a dangerous area after everything that had happened today. E’ming was yet again proving how useful he could be when he wanted to, meaning that after his mate went to bed, Hua Cheng would give the mutt free rein with the new chew toy this gunman would become.  

“Good, I want the body to be dropped off shore somewhere when I’m done.”

“Is there even going to be much to throw out?”

“We’ll see.” It was the last thing Hua Cheng said before pushing open the door. The room was empty save for a table with an array of tools ranging from a rusty kitchen knife to hedge clippers. Hua Cheng ran his gloved hand over each tool individually before picking up a scalpel and the file on this bastard before walking over to the man who nearly shot Xie Lian as he layed on the table. Bound. Vulnerable. Shaking in terror. As he should with what Hua Cheng had planned for him.  

“Lin Zihao, age 26, was arrested for multiple accounts of armed robbery and attempted murder but got out on a ‘technicality’. My, it seems you didn’t learn anything from the last time you were caught.” Hua Cheng rattled off with a smirk plastered on his face as he read the file before dropping it onto the ground. The sound echoed through the room as he brought the scalpel to the man’s face. Pressing it in just enough to not only cut off the gag but leave a line of blood trickling down his face.

The man sputtered as he looked at Hua Cheng with a mix of fear and that same audacity he had this morning. “You don’t want to mess with me, man. I’ve got connections that’ll wipe you and your little boy toy off the face of this planet.”

Hua Cheng scoffs as he jams that scalpel into the man’s trigger finger, slicking through the tendon and skin and lodging it in the bone. “If you’re referring to your associates in the Báihǔ gang, then let me tell you now, I’ve already made a deal with them.”

The man tries to suppress a scream as Hua Cheng drags the knife up through the finger and hand, stopping just shy of the wrist, before yanking it out. “They give me Puqi as part of my territory, as well as you, so I won't start massacring their people for revenge because you foolishly attacked one of my people. Honestly, you saved me a bit of money because of your idiotic actions.”

“What?! They would never take such a deal!” The man yelled as Hua Cheng made his way back to the table to pick up a clever.

“Oh, but they did, because I run a mob myself. Have you ever heard of Ghost City?”

“No…” The man breathed as if he finally understood the situation he was in. Hua Cheng lightly brushed the clever against the man’s right wrist, coating it in the blood that was leaking from the gash in his hand. 

“Yes, Mr. Lin, you’ve pissed off some very powerful people today.” Hua Cheng raised the clever bring it down just a breath away from the man’s wrist. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” The man was whimpering like a small child now, that audacity leaking out like the red liquid pooling on the floor as it flowed from his hand. “I won’t do it again, please just let me go.”

“You’re right, you won’t be doing it again.” Hua Cheng lifted the cleaver again, and this time, he didn’t miss as the large blade dug into flesh. Not quite severing the hand from the body as he struck again. Screaming. Bones shattering. And the sound of muscle and skin splitting apart as Hua Cheng hacked at the limb filled the once quiet room. “Because your time on this earth is up. You signed your own death warrant today, hope it was worth it.”

As soon as the limb was removed, Hua Cheng summoned his own fire and cauterized the wound, relishing in the sounds of the screams coming from the man. He wasn’t about to make this short, not by a long shot.  

“You fucking asshole!” Lin Zihao cursed out as he continued to struggle to get out of the ropes binding his body to the steel table.

Hua Cheng scoffed as he held up the severed hand and placed it by Lin Zihao's head. The bone was still visible through the bright red of the blood, glinting in the bright light of the surgical light He Xuan had placed over his head when constructing this place. It had originally been used for integration, but really, it was perfect for this as well. It was near an abandoned shipyard that a ghost company owned. Far away from any witnesses that could hear what was going on behind closed doors. 

“I’m just doing what I said,” Hua Cheng mused as he moved around to the other side of the table and started to do the same with the other hand. Making sure to burn the wound closed as the skin started to bubble with the immense heat. Charred to a dark black, filling the room with the smell of cooking meat and the bastard's pleas.

“You’re psychotic!” Lin Zihao spat out as Hua Cheng gave him a bit of a break while he went to grab another tool. “If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve shot that little bedwarmer the first time I robbed him.”

Hua Cheng couldn’t stop himself, even if he tried, after that statement. He pulled the gun out of the holster at his hip and shot two bullets into his feet, one for each. The scream of pain didn’t calm him much as his thoughts raced. The fact that his mate could’ve been killed by this piece of filth before Hua Cheng had even had the chance to find him made the dragon’s blood feel like ice flowing through his veins.  

“Excuse me?!” Gone was the calm and almost playful tone of voice. Replaced by something raw, angry, and maybe even a little fear. Hua Cheng had never been able to get revenge on the person who had killed Xie Lian in the past, but he did get an idea of who had done it after someone tried to kill him with a cursed dagger. While Hua Cheng hadn’t been able to catch the person, he had been able to get the dagger away from him, allowing him to do more research on what the weapon was for. It took centuries, but he now knows that the reason someone had killed his mate was because if a person could kill both a dragon and their unmarked mate with the blade of Xianren, they would be gifted the immortality that the dragon possessed. But because they had only completed half the ritual, Hua Cheng didn’t know what that could mean for the person trying to carry it out. 

That was to say that the anger now being dealt out to this man wasn’t entirely because of what he had done. More accurately, Hua Cheng was now using it to help soothe the rage of not getting the revenge his inner beast craved in the past. 

“What exactly did you mean by that, Lin Zihao?” 

“Fuck. You.” He gritted out as if the man hadn’t just pissed himself because of a cocktail of fear and pain that the dragon was forcing upon him. 

Hua Cheng moved back over to the table to grab one of the older tools, an old dagger he had picked up back in the 1800s. It was old, rusty, and dull. Which was perfect for inflicting as much pain as possible while not doing too much damage. “Language. Is that any way to talk to the man holding your life in his hands?”

“You’re going to kill me anyway, so why should I be kind to you or you’re little sl-”

Hua Cheng slammed the dagger into the man’s shoulder with a scowl, “Because, if you don’t mind your tongue about my beloved, I can make this entire thing both longer and more Painful. ”

The scream echoed throughout the room as Hua Cheng twisted the blade further into the meat of the shoulder. Leaning down so his face was inches from this worm’s ear. “And believe me, you don’t want it to come to that.”  

~

Hua Cheng walked out of the now silent room covered in blood that wasn’t his own to see He Xuan looking at Hua Cheng’s phone. He had left the device out so that it wouldn’t get blood on it as he was ‘working.’ “What are you looking at, fish face?”

“Well, first a congratulations should be in order for your progress with your mate.” The fucker teased, waving the text conversation showing a single message from his mate saying that he enjoyed Hua Cheng’s company today. It made his heart, which had been full of rage a second ago, melt into a puddle of goo. “And some girl also texted you some revealing pictures.” 

“What?” Hua Cheng looked at He Xuan with a face that could only be described as confused, as he grabbed one of the black towels out of the duffel bag he kept in his car. Behind the door was no longer silent as he could hear E’ming playing with the corpse, or more accurately, the parts that were left of the corpse. Xie Lian must have sent the message right before falling asleep, so E’ming had felt like that was the time to go get its own version of revenge on the person who caused Xie Lian such stress. 

“I would tell you, but I’ve been happily married for over 500 years and have no idea what I’m looking at.” He Xuan laughed as he handed the device over to Hua Cheng. Who subsequently opened the text message, which he now can see was from Shé Fāng, and his face turned from confusion to disgust. 

There in front of him was this random woman sending him a topless photo with the caption of ‘there’s more where that came from, bǎo bèi.’ “What is this?”

“I don’t know, but the look on your face is priceless.”

“Don’t laugh, you idiot, how do I respond to this?” 

“Send her one back?” The tone in He Xuan’s voice was obviously teasing and not to be taken seriously as it was a joke, but in Hua Cheng’s shocked and disgusted state, he took it seriously. So without a second thought, he picked one from his gallery and sent it back with no caption. In his defense, nobody had been brave enough to send something like this to Hua Cheng. He could fight off advances he didn’t understand in person, but being thousands of years old, the dragon wasn’t the best with the newer ways of flirting. Or technology, for that matter. 

“Okay, now what?” 

The laughing stopped. He Xuan looked at him with a deadpan face that quickly changed in shock and actual fear. “Hua Cheng, I was joking. You didn’t?”

Silence. Hua Cheng looked at He Xuan with a dumbfounded look. “You told me to send something back.” 

“I was joking, you fucking moron!”

“Well, how do I unsend it?!”

“You can’t! Gods, how are you this powerful but also this dense?” He Xuan pinched the bridge of his nose, and then there was another ding from Hua Cheng’s phone with another message that Hua Cheng didn’t understand.

Shé Fāng 

[Photo]

There’s more where that came from, bǎo bèi.

Hua Cheng

[Photo]  

  ❤️‍🔥😍🍆🔥   

“WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS MEAN?!” Hua Cheng yelled as if there wasn’t a dismembered and charred corpse in the other room being eaten by his familiar.

“I think you should just not leave the house for a while…” He Xuan said, just staring at the weird emojis. “Pretend to be sick so your mate can take care of you, and you can fix this disaster by avoiding this woman.”

So with that, the two dragons decided that Monday morning would be a sick day, and He Xuan would fix the mess he technically created by having Shi Qingxuan tell Xie Lian to go drop off something at Hua Cheng’s apartment. It wouldn’t be completely a lie, as Hua Cheng was bent over in the corner, throwing up because of the anxiety this had just caused.

Chapter Text

The office was quiet the next day as he walked out of the elevator. Usually, he could hear Shi Qingxuan excitedly talking about something or the soft pads of paws running to greet him, but this place was dead. The lights were still off, and not a sound could be heard through the usually lively office. It had been two days since the incident at the convenience store, and with the fact that Xie Lian hadn’t been visited by the police, he was under the assumption that San Lang had done something to the man other than taking him to the police station. Not that it really bothered Xie Lian. Maybe it should’ve, but he was happier with the fact that he was making progress with San Lang. So what if the person who had held him at gunpoint was never seen again? It wasn’t really something Xie Lian could’ve controlled. 

“Is anybody here?” Xie Lian called out as he walked into San Lang’s office, only to find the place empty. The lights were off in here as well, and the blinds were still closed, which was strange because over the week that he had been working here, he had always been the last to arrive because of his commute. Not that anyone had made him feel bad about it, quite the opposite, as walking into the desolate office felt less inviting than when everyone was already here. 

Just as he was turning the lights on in the office, he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. Opening the phone, he saw it was a text from Shi Qingxuan.

Shi Qingxuan

So the guys got sick this weekend 😣

Xie Lian

Oh no! 

Is that why no one is here?

Yeah, I’m taking care of He-xiong

Could you check in with the boss

Sure, but why me

b/c he’ll listen if you tell him to take care of himself

Here’s the address and the code for the building

The woman then sent another message with the address of a very high-end apartment complex, and then a string of numbers Xie Lian could only assume was the code. Not wanting to come as a surprise to San Lang, he pulled up his contact and texted him. 

Gege

Hey, Qingxuan said you were sick?

San Lang 

Yeah, just a stomach bug I caught on Sunday

Should be fine soon

Do you mind if I come over

I can bring tea

That would be nice, but don’t push yourself

I’ll be there in an hour 🙂

With that, he headed back to the elevator to make his way over to the cafe across the street to get some tea before making his way over to the high-end apartment complex that his Xiǎo Lóng lived in. He exited the elevator to come face-to-face with the very busy lobby. He waved at Jian Lan as he walked past. She didn’t say anything, as she was busy doing her job, but gave him a small wave in response.

The air was getting colder as it got closer to December, and the clouds covered the sky, making him just want to hide under a blanket with a cup of hot tea. But it also makes him wish he could cuddle with his San Lang. He remembered how, when his Xiǎo Lóng was still young, Xie Lian would curl around him whenever the snow blanketed the small village they were a part of. After San Lang grew up, their positions were reversed as the winged beast would curl around Xie Lian both as a human and as a dragon as a form of protection from any threats, including the cold. 

Though that also made him think back to whether San Lang had ever been sick in the past. He had gotten weak for a few weeks when he was young, but never after he came back after his trials. So either San Lang had caught something strong enough to take down a dragon, or he was faking it to get out of work. Either way, Xie Lian wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to once again take care of his past lover. 

Xie Lian opened the door into the little cafe and was hit by another wave of heat and the smell of fresh pastries. There was a pretty long line, so Xie Lian took the time to look over the menu. San Lang never had too much of a preference for tea, but he did tend to favor black teas over green teas, so he went with a basic Keemun black tea. 

There wasn’t even a person taking his order, just a tablet in front of him that he chose what he wanted with whatever modifications he wanted to add. Then he could just tap his card, get a number, and wait. So he stood by the counter, out of the way of anyone who was getting their order, but close enough to hear his number called when it inevitably was in the crowded coffee shop. 

It took 30 minutes for his number to be called, and just as he was about to leave the store, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, there in front of him was a woman who looked to be less prepared than he was for the cold weather. Her red blouse had a plunge neckline that went to the end of her sternum, and she was wearing a short pencil skirt that cut off around her mid-thighs.

“Hey, sorry if this sounds weird, but I’m Shé Fāng, and I was wondering if you worked with Hua Cheng?” Her tone seemed worried as she pushed a strand of dirty blonde hair behind her ears. It showcased the huge diamond earring she was wearing that looked like they were worth more than Xie Lian’s apartment building. 

‘Shé Fāng? As in the woman texting San Lang and calling him pet names?’ Xie Lian couldn’t believe this was what San Lang was into after so long of being apart. But he had to respond to her, so he put on that same customer service smile as he yet again felt like a gun was being pointed at him, but this time, he couldn’t just disarm his assailant. “Yeah, we work pretty closely together.” 

“Oh, that’s great! I was wondering if he was in the office since I didn’t see him this morning.”

“No, he’s not. He told me this morning that he was sick, so I was going to bring him some tea. I’m sorry, but are you Hua Cheng's girlfriend?” Xie Lian decided not to use the nickname because if this woman was San Lang’s girlfriend, it would only make the situation more awkward because of how intimately he referred to the other man.

“Aw, did my qīn ài de mention me to his coworkers?” Her voice pitched up as a small blush crossed her face as she held her cheek. 

‘No, I just saw a message on his phone like a creep.’ Xie Lian definitely couldn’t say that, so he just lied. “He’s mentioned you a few times. How long have you two been together?”

“It’s been less than a year, though I’m pretty sure we’re soulmates. The minute our eyes met in the elevator when I moved into his building confirmed it for me.”  Shé Fāng said with a dramatic sigh as if she was swooning at the memory. 

“Right. So I need to go get this to him.” Xie Lian started to awkwardly back away from this woman. 

“You know he’s never mentioned you before, and now you’re bringing him tea.” 

‘Probably because he doesn’t remember his late lover from thousands of years ago.’  

“Oh, we were old friends in school, but only recently reconnected when he employed me.” Because that makes sense, right?

“He is such a sweet man, taking a chance on someone like you .” She says, gesturing to his thrifted and old clothes, and a hint of thinly concealed disdain in her voice.  

“Yeah, he’s a great guy.” Xie Lian gritted out; he really just wanted to leave this conversation. It was starting to make him feel less bad about becoming a home wrecker. If the woman was acting like this, she may have been taking advantage of his San Lang.

“Well, I gotta run, or I would take care of my boyfriend myself. Tell him I say hi and I love him for me, Mr. Assistant. And try not to flirt with him.” Her tone was so condescending, like Xie Lian should be grateful that this random woman was allowing him to interact with San Lang. Like she had any right to dictate who San Lang chose to spend his time with. Xie Lian wanted to see the look on her face if he told her that Xie Lian was actually a past lover that her beloved ‘qīn ài de’ thought died. Not that he had the chance to, as after she put in her last jab, she walked out of the cafe and into an expensive-looking sports car. 

Xie Lian doesn’t normally curse, but honestly, he might start because of this woman. She probably didn’t act like this in front of San Lang, but San Lang was usually good about seeing through people. So, how had he put up with this woman for almost a year? Well, it’ll make getting the dragon to fall back in love with Xie Lian easier if this is what San Lang has been dating for the last year. 

Plus, San Lang hasn’t even mentioned her once and is never with her. Back when Xie Lian was with him, he never left his side when he didn’t have to, and San Lang always found ways to talk about him. So either time has made his Xiǎo Lóng more subtle with his affections, or he wasn’t actually in love with this woman. 

Which means all hope was not lost. Xie Lian was going to show San Lang the best care he’s ever received today. Surely it’ll jog some type of memory.

~

Getting into the apartment building was a hassle, even with the code to the door. He had to tell the security guard he was a friend of Hua Cheng’s, and even then, the guard decided to call up to San Lang’s apartment and ask if he was expecting anybody. Based on the apologetic, and honestly a bit scared, look on the guard’s face, the dragon was not happy to be woken up over such a small thing. 

With that, Xie Lian was finally able to get into the elevator and onto San Lang’s floor. As the elevator dinged open, Xie Lian was confronted with a large black blur of excited energy barking and wagging his tail. “Hey E’ming, do you know where San Lang is?”

The apartment had an open floor plan so Xie Lian could see both the living room and the kitchen from where he was standing. Everything was expensive, new, and lifeless. Like, San Lang hadn’t even taken the time to decorate this place, despite living in this building for at least a year, based on what that woman said. 

The dog barked, snapping Xie Lian out of his thoughts, and caused him to look behind the dog at the man in question. His hair was down and still a mess from sleep, he was in sweatpants that left little to the imagination, and the most striking thing was the fact that he was shirtless. There was no chance Xie Lian’s face wasn’t red, and this time it wasn’t entirely the cold wind from outside’s fault. 

“Gege, you made it.” San Lang whined out as he made almost a grabbing motion. Like this man wasn’t a melenia old dragon and was just a small child wanting a hug. It made Xie Lian laugh at the sight. 

“San Lang, get back in bed. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

“Noooo, I don’t wanna go back to bed.” 

“San Lang.” Xie Lian narrowed his eyes in a stern look, though it was hard to keep up with the small huff of air that escaped San Lang. Said man turned around, walked out of the room, only to then returned to the front room with a shirt on and sat down on the couch instead of going back to his bed.

Xie Lian walked over to hand him the large cup of somehow still hot tea. San Lang took a small sip as Xie Lian sat beside him on the couch, though still keeping a respectable distance. He reached up a hand to feel San Lang’s forehead and compare it to his own, before realizing that the red dragon would run warmer than a normal human. So he pulled his hand back and went for a more direct approach. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay, I told you it’s just a small stomach bug.” 

“You say that, but you look exhausted,” and he did; he had dark bags under his eyes, and his face was a bit paler than normal. 

“The worst of it was last night. I’ll be fine by tomorrow, gege, don’t worry.”

“Is there anyone you want me to call?” ‘Like Shé Fāng’ 

“No, having gege hear is helpful enough.” There was a goofy smile painting San Lang’s face, one that Xie Lian missed after all this time. “So other than the guard, did you have any trouble getting here?”

And this in turn puts Xie Lian in a difficult situation. Because he has two options: either he can bring up that he ran into Shé Fāng and talk about her passive-aggressive comments, or he can lie and not risk causing issues in this ‘new’ friendship that is starting between the two of them. Yeah, Xie Lian’s not telling San Lang that he ran into the woman who is saying that she is his girlfriend of almost a year. 

“Nope, no other issues. So, what do you want to do since you’re still sick?” 

“We can watch a movie.” San Lang suggested pulling up an entire roster of different streaming services before handing the remote to Xie Lian. 

“Okay, how about this?” Xie Lian picked a romance movie that was described as being about soulmates finding each other even after years spent apart. Maybe it was a bit on the nose, but being subtle wasn’t going to work if San Lang was already in a relationship. 

“Looks like something very relaxing,” San Lang said, grabbing two blankets from a basket, handing Xie Lian one, then sitting back down on the couch. “Do you want to get something from the kitchen for yourself?”

“Uh, sure, if you wouldn’t mind.” 

“Go get what you want, gege. Make yourself at home.”

Xie Lian walked into the almost clinically clean kitchen and opened the large fridge to grab two waters out of the fridge. Then he went into the cabinet to see an array of snacks already set up, but what was interesting was the fact that none of them were open. So Xie Lian just decided to get a bag of premade popcore and pour it into a bowl for the two of them to share before returning to the couch, only to see that E’ming has stolen the space Xie Lian was sitting on. Leave the only spot left on the couch right next to San Lang. 

‘Good boy, E’ming.’ Xie Lian praised in his head as he walked back over and sat right next to San Lang on the black leather couch. Neither of them said a word as Xie Lian pushed play on the movie. 

The rest of the day was spent on that couch watching different movies, which turned into San Lang falling asleep on Xie Lian’s shoulder. The man looked so peaceful like this, and it felt so natural to run his hands down San Lang’s hair as he rested. 

He wondered if Shé Fāng got to see this side of him now, or if this calm and vulnerable look was still only reserved for Xie Lian. He hoped it still was; maybe that made him a bad person, but Shé Fāng wasn’t good enough for San Lang. She was rude, condescending, and didn’t even take time off to care for a person she supposedly loved. 

Xie Lian may have backed off if the woman texting San Lang was a good person, but just the one interaction he had with her proved she wasn’t. So today he was showing San Lang the care he deserved, and the club outing they were having next Friday was going to seal the deal.

Chapter Text

It was finally time for this stupid club opening, and right now, he was stuck at He Xuan’s place as Shi Qingxuan got ready with Xie Lian in the other room. Something about Xie Lian needing to look the part of a clubber more than he did. Hua Cheng already thought he looked beautiful in whatever he was wearing, or even if he was wearing nothing at all.

“So how did your sick day go?” He Xuan asked as he scrolled on his phone, keeping a very large distance from the volatile red dragon that was currently staring in the direction the blue dragon’s mate took Xie Lian. 

“We watched movies until he had to go home.” 

“That sounds like a nice date.” 

“He didn’t say anything when I didn’t have a shirt on.” Hua Cheng muttered as he put his face into his hands. 

“Okay…” He Xuan looked at the man who once inflicted fear into anybody who heard his name as he whined like a child. “You still spent the whole day together.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Look, maybe be a bit bolder tonight, and if something goes wrong, just say you were drunk.”

There was silence as Hua Cheng thought over the suggestion. Then nodded, agreeing to the plan. Then went back to trying to hear the muffled conversation in the bathroom. It didn’t last long as the one woman in the group burst through the once-closed door in a short teal dress. It was sleeveless and cut off around her mid-thigh, though part of it was looser and longer than the other side. Her hair was down and curled, with simple makeup that complemented the look. Hua Cheng didn’t even need to look to know that He Xuan was probably gawking like a fish while looking at his wife. 

Though Hua Cheng wasn’t much better when he saw his own mate come out. The smaller man was in a white, cropped sweater and black leather pants that left little to the imagination with his short brown hair styled slightly. It almost made Hua Cheng wish he had dressed similarly, rather than just going with a dark red button-up shirt that was only half buttoned and jean pants, and shoulder-length black hair in a loose bun. Xie Lian had this small blush painting his cheeks that just made Hua Cheng want to cancel tonight entirely, so he didn’t need to share this sculpture of a man with anyone else. 

“Uh, San Lang, you okay?” Xie Lian asked quietly, pulling Hua Cheng back to the present. 

“Yeah, gege just shocked me a bit.” Hua Cheng said with an awkward laugh as he walked up to the other man. He wanted to complement him further, but was still worried it would be too much too soon, so he held his tongue. 

“Oh, He-xiong, A-Lain was just asking about how we got together, and I told him that you told it better than I.” Shi Qingxuan butted in after He Xuan had basically run up to his wife and placed a jacket over the woman. Hua Cheng could hear him muttering under his breath about her going to catch a cold dressed like that. 

“We can discuss that when we get into the club, it’s not exactly a short story.” He Xuan muttered as he kissed the top of Shi Qingxuan’s hair. 

“Gege, do you want to grab a jacket? I can grab one from my car if you need.” Hua Cheng offered, because of course he had brought a spare jacket ‘just in case’ his mate needed it. In actuality, there were two reasons: one, Hua Cheng had noticed how few clothes his mate had and was worried about the cold weather approaching, and two, he wanted to see Xie Lian in his clothes.

“That would be nice.” 

Hua Cheng nodded before walking towards the door, “I’ll grab it from my car and meet you three in He Xuan’s car.”

~

The drive to the club took almost an hour with the rush hour traffic, plus the fact that it was a Friday, which made it so much worse. But since Hua Cheng had decided to come, they had to arrive well before the official opening time to make sure everything was set up and ready. As He Xuan drove past the building to get to the employee parking lot, the group could already tell tonight was going to be packed. 

The entire area was already decorated for Christmas despite being the beginning of the month, and Hua Cheng’s new club wasn’t an exception. The normally sleek black building that had taken six months to set up was covered in tinsel and white Christmas lights. The inside wasn’t much better, as the red and black interior was overrun by green to ‘celebrate the season.’ He was starting to regret deciding to open during December, but in his defense, he wasn’t supposed to be here, as he never went to the openings of his new buildings. The only difference was the man standing beside him, swallowed up in his jacket, looking in awe at the club's interior. His honey colored eyes were brighter than any of the other lights that shone in the admittedly dark club. 

“San Lang, this is amazing,” Xie Lian breathed out as the four of them sat down at the empty bar, claiming the seats for the night. The chairs were plush and comfortable, made with the same leather as the couches in the VIP section, which the group was going to use when the bar inevitably got packed. He could see the bar tenders still setting up, and the musicians were finishing up their practice set and were heading backstage to rest before show time. There was a different area for a DJ, but he wasn’t set to arrive until later that night since Hua Cheng had wanted a live performance for his gege. 

“Thank you, gege, though maybe wait to judge until after the trash starts to push their way in.” Hua Cheng scoffed, “Anyway, you wanted to know how those two got together. Well, probably should start the story before this place gets too loud to even think.” 

“Right, I guess the mic goes to you, He Xuan.”  

He Xuan cleared as he started to explain the story that Hua Cheng had heard many times before, and even lived through part of it, when He Xuan got drunk enough and started whining about it to Hua Cheng. “So we didn’t exactly have the most magical first meeting.”

“My brother basically inadvertently caused the death of a family he was saying with and his partner at the time.” Shi Qingxuan butted in, probably because she knew that He Xuan would beat around the bush the entire time. 

“Qingxuan, you didn’t need to say it like that.” He Xuan basically whisper-yelled to his wife before returning to the story. “Anyway, I was very pissed off and driven by the need for revenge, so I decided the best option was to date his sister. We dated for a while, and even got engaged, but after the first time we slept together, I ended things by leaving after she fell asleep and leaving a note basically saying that I never loved her and this was all for revenge.”

Xie Lian winced at that. “Wow, must have been horrible to wake up to.”

Shi Qingxuan chuckled at that. “Oh, trust me, it was, especially since my family was super conservative and sleeping with someone before marriage was a big no-no. But I didn’t blame He-xiong, I confronted my brother about it and then left my family home after they tried to defend his actions.”

“Which made finding you a few years later difficult as hell.” He Xuan muttered. 

“This was when I came into the story.” Hua Cheng announced. “I had met He Xuan at a bar, and the man was drunk out of his mind, complaining how he messed up with the love of his life over some petty revenge.”

That earned him a glare and a small slap on the arm from the blue dragon. “I was not that bad.”

“Yes, you were. And because I pitied you, I said, regrettably, that I would help you apologise to her.”

“Aw, that was so sweet of you, San Lang.”

“Yeah, yeah, Hua Cheng is great for helping me out. It still took another year after that to even find her. And even then, we both just ended up apologizing to each other. In the end, we just decided to resume our engagement and get married after we reunited.”

“We actually didn’t have a ceremony originally; we eloped and planned the actual wedding for later since neither of us was in the best situation. But Hua Cheng offered us both jobs at his family’s company, which was a big help,” the woman added. 

“That definitely sounds like a rollercoaster of a romance.” There was this soft look in Xie Lian’s eyes as he spoke about it, and something else that Hua Cheng couldn’t identify. And he didn’t get the time as the music started playing, and their private little hangout was now invaded by the trash that was waiting outside. 

Not that that was a deterrent for the social woman beside them, as she basically dragged He Xuan onto the dance floor. Hua Cheng would’ve laughed if he hadn't also seen Shi Qingxuan dragging Xie Lian with her as well. Xie Lian was laughing as he looked back at Hua Cheng, which was all the invitation he needed to go dance with his beloved. 

Though it was made very clear that neither of them knew how to dance in the club, as the two of them just jumped up and down with the rest of the crowd. Hua Cheng knew how to ballroom dance because of the years he’s spent going to different formal events, but he never bothered to learn how to dance in a club. Despite everything just starting, it was cramped, loud,  and already reeked of sweat. But when Xie Lian grabbed onto Hua Cheng’s hands so that they could dance together, there was no place he’d rather be.

The two laughed and got closer than what was probably appropriate for how long they’ve ‘known’ each other, but Xie Lian was the one who reached out. And how could he ever deny his sweet gege? Hua Cheng spun Xie Lian around in a small spin, and it made Hua Cheng think back to the next charity ball his company was hosting in late January. Maybe Hua Cheng will actually be able to enjoy dancing at one of those parties, as long as Xie Lian is his partner. 

But all good things have to come to an end when Shi Qingxuan decided to cut in, “Why don’t you and He-xiong go get some drinks from the bar and meet me and A-Lain by the VIP booth?”

“That actually sounds like a good idea. I’m getting a bit tired.” Xie Lian let out this adorable, awkward giggle as Hua Cheng realized how sweaty the two had become. It seemed like, despite it feeling like only a few seconds, the two had been dancing for quite some time; the live performance had even changed into the DJ he had scheduled. That meant it had been at least an hour and a half, maybe even longer. But who could blame the dragon for losing himself in the feeling of dancing with his mate? 

“Gege, is there anything in particular you want?” 

“Just something non-alcoholic.” That was something that was still the same from his past life; Xie Lian never really drank. Originally, it was because of cultivation, but Hua Cheng wasn’t about to push why he wasn’t drinking. It honestly worked in Hua Cheng’s favor since Hua Cheng was going to take fish for the brain’s advice and pretend to get drunk. Not for anything inappropriate, just to spend more time with Xie Lian without it being too awkward. 

“Right, I’ll get you a tea then.” Hua Cheng said before reluctantly leaving his mate in the hands of Shi Qingxuan. It wasn’t for the lack of trust in the woman, just that he didn’t want to leave his very attractive mate out of his sight, with people who could try and steal him away. The thought almost made him go back to his beloved and not leave his side as long as the group was in public. 

But he didn’t. It would be weird if he did. They were only coworkers. Friends, if he wanted to be bold. So he just made his way over to the bar where he could make out He Xuan talking to the bartender at the crowded bar. 

“Order a double of the Chivas on the rocks and green tea as well.” Hua Cheng butted in as he put a hand on He Xuan’s shoulder, a shit eating grin on his face. The bartender just nodded and walked away to start making their drinks; being the owner had some perks. One of which was getting their drinks faster. 

“Having fun, ash breath?” He Xuan asked as he kept his eye on the bartender. It was something that He Xuan had started doing after someone had put something in Shi Qingxuan’s drink a couple of decades ago. While the people working for Hua Cheng could be trusted, and the person who did it was a random patron, a dragon never forgets when harm is done to their beloved. The usually carefree woman had gotten violently sick from whatever drug was used, though her life wasn’t in danger; had He Xuan not been with her, she may have been hurt worse.

“Yeah, it’s been nice.” There was a softness to his tone as he spoke, something that had barely left his voice since Xie Lian started working for him. 

“Well, your night may not be all sunshine and rainbows.”

“What are you talk-”

“Hua Cheng, there you are!” Hua Cheng felt a weight jump onto his arm, and as he looked down, he was confronted with the woman who lived in his building and sent him a very revealing picture. The woman looked… disheveled to put it nicely. Her hair was a mess, her face flushed, her shiny mini dress was showing more skin than was intended, and she was basically rubbing her face into Hua Cheng’s sleeve.

“Maybe you should deal with that outside, put an end to it. I’ll keep the mates distracted.” He Xuan whispered in his ear before walking off with all four drinks. 

Hua Cheng pushed her off, politely, because his mate was around and he didn’t want to make a scene, and looked down at her. “Let’s talk outside, Ms. Shé.”

 Shé Fāng nodded as what looked like excitement entered her eyes as she practically dragged Hua Cheng out of the door and into a nearby alleyway to talk. In the city light, Hua Cheng could tell that while she may look drunk, the girl was completely sober. He couldn’t smell any alcohol on her under her thick perfume. Her boobs were practically popping out of her dress, which only went down to just below the curve of her ass. She was biting her lower lip as she basically undressed Hua Cheng with her eyes. “So, why did you want to get me alone?”

“Ms. Shé, I’ve told you multiple times to stop these rather pathetic attempts at flirting, yet you continue despite me being cordial with you.” Hua Cheng calmly stated as he yet again put distance between the two.            

The woman pouted her red lips at that, “Aw, come on, no need to be shy, I know you feel it too.”

Hua Cheng pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “No, there is nothing between us, nor will there ever be anything between us. All I 'feel' towards you at this point is annoyance at your inability to take no for an answer.”

She rolled her eyes, “Seriously? You sent back a shirtless pic to mine, and now you’re telling me no?”

“That. Was. A. Mistake. I'm sorry that it may have led you on, but I was pretty clear with you after that that I wasn’t interested.” Hua Cheng sneered. He was losing his cool with this woman, but she needed to understand before she caused an issue with his beloved.

“Is this because of your f*g of an assistant told you some lies about me to get into your pants?”

The loud sound of the back of Hua Cheng’s hand slapping the woman’s face so hard she fell, echoed through the alley. Hua Cheng had snapped, hearing this snake of a woman talk about his beloved like that, but there were too many people around to deal with her in the way Hua Cheng thought she deserved. So he would need to act more like a human, and less like a dragon whose reason for living was being threatened. 

“You will not speak of him like that.” 

She had the audacity to look betrayed at the hit; she should consider herself lucky Hua Cheng didn’t tear her throat out for such insolence. “I was just trying to look out for you; that assistant of yours is clearly trying to seduce you. Who knows what he fantasizes about doing to you?”

“Not that it’s any of your damn business, but I would be thrilled if my beloved returned my affections.”

“You’re not thinking straight, he’s clearly lied to you-”

Hua Cheng didn’t let her finish, “No, you’re not thinking straight. I have never once seen you or anyone besides Xie Lian in a romantic light, and if I ever catch wind of you so much as looking at him wrong again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do. Now get out of my sight and start looking for a new place to live, because I’m pretty sure you’re going to be getting an eviction notice soon.”

And with that, Hua Cheng walked away, leaving Shé Fāng to cry in that alleyway. What he didn’t hear was how that crying turned to laughter. Laughter that promised retribution from the one she believed had taken her ‘soulmate’ from her.

Bonus: Actual story of beef leaf in this universe 

First off, this is in the 1500s. Before He Xuan went through his challenge to not only become a full dragon and also to get his mate, Shi Wudu had screwed over a family He Xuan had gotten a bit attached to, as he thought that the daughter of that family may have even been his mate. So to get back at him, He Xuan decided to have an affair with Shi Wudu’s sister so she would ‘lose her value’ as a woman. He courted Shi Qingxuan and even started to fall for her, but revenge was at the forefront of his mind. So once the two were engaged and slept together, He Xuan revealed to her that everything had been a lie, and he was going to end the engagement because of her brother. He then went to complete his trials and found out that, surprise, Shi Qingxuan was his mate, and when the two had slept together, he had already marked her despite not having completed his trial, which in turn tied her life to He Xuan's and also made her immortal. So for years, he had to search for her, only to find out that she had left her family’s estate and revealed all that shit her brother did. It took about 30 years to find her again, and during that time, he had practically begged Hua Cheng to help him with his mate. The two had first met a month after the trial was completed, and after this, He Xuan was in debt to Hua Cheng forever. Shi Qingxuan actually took everything really well, and the two got married shortly after that. Some specifics are being left out since I don't have the time, but that is the gist of it. 

Chapter Text

Shi Qingxuan had led Xie Lian to a private booth in one of the corners of the rowdy club. He had been having fun dancing with his San Lang, but his feet were starting to hurt from standing so much, and the noise was getting to the point of being a bit too overwhelming, as he could feel his head thump with each drop of the bass. While the noise wasn’t entirely lessened, it did seem slightly quieter in this corner, and getting off his feet felt amazing as he was wearing an old pair of work shoes that were only marginally better than going barefoot.  

No sooner had he sat down was a cup of green tea was placed in front of him, though the person who gave him the tea wasn’t the man he was expecting. “He Xuan? Where did San Lang go?”

He could hear Shi Qingxuan giggle in the background at his comment. “Missing him already?”

A blush spread across Xie Lian’s face, though the darkness of the club helped him hide it. “No, just wondering where he was since he was supposed to meet up with He Xuan.”

“He just needed to set a person who was bothering him straight.” He Xuan huffed out as he sat down next to Shi Qingxuan, never taking his eyes off of her while she took a sip of her drink. It was only then that He Xuan took a drink from his own glass while also chowing down at the plate he had brought back with him. 

“Oh, what was going on?” Shi Qingxuan inquired as she looked back at her husband, as she asked the question that was on the tip of Xie Lian’s tongue. 

“Some broad that lives in his apartment building has been causing him an issue lately, and she just so happened to be here tonight, so he’s making his stance clear.”

“Wow, San Lang seems very popular with women.” Xie Lian was trying to hide the obvious jealousy in his tone as he took another sip of his tea. It's not that Xie Lian was surprised, as the dragon was very attractive and kind and just perfect, but that didn't mean Xie Lian wanted more competition for the dragon's attention.  

“Yeah, but this one has been persistent. He-xiong, didn’t you say she even sent him a topless pic a few weeks ago?” 

He Xuan rolled his eyes at that. “Don’t remind me of that disaster, the man actually threw up because he took my joke too seriously and sent something back.”

“Hold on, he sent something back to her? How does his girlfriend feel about that?” Xie Lian jumped in. 

Both of them looked at Xie Lian like he had grown a second head, before bursting out into laughter. “A-Lian, that’s a nice joke, but Hua Cheng has never been interested in women, let alone had a girlfriend.”

“But I met her the other day at the coffee shop.”

“Met who?” The smooth voice of San Lang could be heard over the blaring sounds of the DJ playing rave music throughout the club, though there was a bit of tension in the tone as he sat by Xie Lian. 

“Shé Fāng, she approached me when I was getting you tea from the coffee shop on the day you were sick. She said she didn’t see you that morning, so she went to the office to see if you were at work, I guess.”

The table went quiet at that before San Lang broke the tension with concern etched into his voice, “Gege, did she say anything to you?”

“She just said the two of you have been dating for a while. Is that not true?”

“It most certainly isn’t true!" San Lang sounded almost offended at the suggestion that he was dating her. "That woman has been very forward in her advances, but she seems not to understand when people tell her no. I've been trying to reject her politely for months, but things had been going too far lately, so I've had to be firmer in my rejection tonight.” 

‘Oh. Well, that makes things a bit easier.’ Relief flooded through Xie Lian as San Lang explained that the two of them were just neighbors who lived in the same building and that she had gotten the wrong idea after San Lang had helped her with a few boxes when she moved in. 

“That actually makes sense. She was a bit rude when we were talking, and San Lang deserves much better." 

San Lang let out a low chuckle as he took a big swig of his drink and wrapped an arm around Xie Lian. It caused the smaller man to blush a bit more. While he does remember his past with the dragon, he has spent the last 29 years of this life single, and the two never went further than kissing in their past lives. Needless to say, Xie Lian was just as inexperienced as when the two first met all those years ago.    

 ~

“Oh my god, dude, you really are wasted.” He Xuan huffed out as San Lang was basically passed out on Xie Lian’s shoulder. His face was completely flushed, and he had gone to the bathroom with the help of He Xuan a bit ago. Based on the fact that He Xuan looked like he was witnessing war flashbacks, it was an easy conclusion that San Lang had puked, and probably not in a toilet. 

“I hick am nooot.” San Lang proclaimed, though it was muffled by the fact that he was hiding his face in Xie Lian’s shoulder. Xie Lian brushes his dark hair out of his face as he moves to grab the jacket that Shi Qingxuan had remembered to retrieve from the bar chair Xie Lian had left it on before. He carefully maneuvered the coat over the clearly drunk dragon as some sort of blanket. 

“San Lang, maybe we should get you home.” It was getting close to 1 am, the group had gone back to the dance floor for a bit before deciding to just sit and enjoy the club with a few drinks when it got too crowded. His Xiǎo Lóng had drunk around a bottle and a half of top-shelf whiskey, and it had left the dragon a bit out of it, to say the least. ‘ I guess dragons can get drunk.’

“Noooo, don’t want my gege to leeeeave.” San Lang’s grip on Xie Lian’s arm tightened at the prospect of them leaving. 

“I’ll drive you guys to his place, then I've got to get Qingxuan to bed.” The brunette was resting on He Xuan’s shoulder, though not from being drunk. She had switched to water about halfway through the night, but all that dancing made her tired. 

“Right, come on, San Lang, let's get you home.” Xie Lian chided as he pushed him a bit so he would get up out of the seat. He did, but not once did his hand ever leave Xie Lian’s arm. Not that Xie Lian was complaining as the group maneuvered their way through the crowd. Xie Lian pretended to ignore how the dragon would let out quiet growls anytime someone got too close to them. 

He Xuan, meanwhile, was bridal carrying Shi Qingxuan through the club and was less subtle about his growling at people getting too close. ‘Seems like San Lang’s friend is also an overprotective dragon.’ Xie Lian chuckled at the thought as eventually the thick, hot air of the club turned into the cool, yet still polluted, air of the city. 

The group made their way back to the employee parking lot, and the entire time, Xie Lian felt shivers going down his spine. Not from the cold, though, but from the instinct that someone was watching the group. It felt like someone was glaring a hole through the back of Xie Lian’s head as he tried to help the drunken dragon into the back seat. Xie Lian didn’t have much time to even look around to try and spot whoever the person was, as San Lang was quick to drag Xie Lian into the car with him. 

~

The entire process of getting San Lang home and into bed was a challenge, to put it lightly. The group had to pull over at one point because the red dragon had gotten carsick from all the stop-and-go traffic. Needless to say, the man’s nice black shirt was no longer clean, and He Xuan would most likely need to get the lining of his car cleaned out later. 

But that then caused a different issue. Xie Lian couldn’t just let San Lang go to bed covered in sweat and vomit, which meant trying to help him with a shower. So once Xie Lian got the dragon into his room, he worked on setting up the bathtub for the dragon.

“Alright, San Lang, do you think- And you’re no longer clothed.” Xie Lian was quick to turn around after the drunk beast had stripped himself down to his boxers. Xie Lian’s face was on fire as he tried to get his wits about himself. “Okay, I can handle this. San Lang, do you think you can bathe yourself, or do you need help?”

“Hehe, does gege like what he sees?” San Lang giggled as he said this. The great Crimson dragon giggled. If Xie Lian was unsure if his Xiǎo Lóng was drunk before, he wasn’t anymore. 

“Yes, San Lang. But you need a bath, so go into the bathroom and clean yourself.” Xie Lian ordered while still trying to avert his eyes from the man with the figure of a marble statue. Luckily, San Lang still listened despite Xie Lian avoiding eye contact. I guess he was lucky the dragon still kept his boxers on, because despite everything, Xie Lian was not ready for that yet. 

Xie Lian spent the next half hour standing behind the closed door with E’ming listening to San Lang bathe himself. At one point, he had quietly slipped a set of pajamas into the bathroom that was just a black T-shirt, a new pair of boxers, and more gray sweatpants. After a while, things went quiet. “You okay in there, San Lang?”

“Yeeesh, all done and dressed. Now it’s gege turn.” The muffled sound from behind the door was a relief that the man hadn’t drowned himself. So Xie Lian ‘borrowed’ a hoodie from San Lang’s closet and a pair of athletic shorts that probably won’t fit him, but would do for now, and traded places as the dragon stumbled out with wet hair and a flushed face. He was also no longer wearing the eye patch, allowing Xie Lian to see that red draconic eye that he had always loved.  

Xie Lian was fast in his own shower, mainly because he didn’t want to leave the drunken man who could burn the entire city to ash alone for too long. When he walked out of the bathroom, he was confronted with a sight that just brought a smile to his face. There, sitting on the ground next to E’ming, was his Xiǎo Lóng, sitting on the floor with the dog and just staring at the bathroom door. Xie Lian could see the light enter his eyes as Xie Lian kneeled down and sat on the floor with him, throwing a towel over his damp hair and starting the process of drying it.

“You’re going to get sick again if you leave your hair like this.” Xie Lian let out a fond sigh. He could try to be mad at the reckless dragon, but the sound of the deep rumbling made Xie Lian smile. When San Lang was younger, he had explained that it was a dragon’s version of purring and that he would only do it when he felt completely content and safe. 

Needless to say, the dragon would often lull the human to sleep with that purring. Though falling asleep on the floor wasn’t going to be good for anybody, as the two, three, if you count E’ming, slowly migrated up to the large bed and under the blankets. There came a different issue, though: Xie Lian needed to put the now-damp towel up to dry and go onto the couch to sleep. But San Lang had gone back to clinging onto Xie Lian like it was the only thing keeping him in the present. Just tight enough not to be painful but allow no escape, and the purring soon turned into soft snoring as San Lang drifted off to sleep.

‘Oh well,’ Xie Lian thought as he continued to rub the dragon’s back, ‘it’s not like I would rather be anywhere else.’

~

Xie Lian woke up at 5 am on his own again, so used to getting up early for the commute to the office, plus he was supposed to be working another shift at the gas station. He would need to call his manager soon to tell him he couldn’t make it. He should also inform his manager that he was putting in his two-week notice. After a month of working for San Lang, he had enough money to both pay his bills and still have enough to buy food. He had been putting the small amount he was making from the gas station into a savings account that he was finally able to open again.

So, after 30 minutes of trying to pry himself out of the still-tight grip of the other man, while also trying not to wake the clingy dragon, he successfully got out of bed, replacing himself with the pillow he was sleeping on. Making his way into the kitchen, followed by E’ming, who was helpful in his own way by leading the way so Xie Lian wouldn’t crash into a wall in the dark.

He felt like a teenager trying to sneak out of the house without waking up his parents as he looked through the fridge to see what he could start making San Lang for breakfast. He decided to just try and make scrambled eggs and toast, which would be easy for someone with a hangover to handle, even with the headache and nausea. 

He may have burnt the eggs to the point that they looked like charcoal, but were still runny on the inside. On the bright side, nothing caught fire- and he spoke too soon, the toaster is on fire. Unplugging the toaster from the wall as E’ming was barking. The dog jumped up onto the counter and basically absorbed the flame that was basically shooting out of the expensive toaster. Somehow, the bread barely got toasted as it was released from the metal box.  

Luckily, the smoke alarm didn’t trigger, so there was a chance San Lang was still asleep. Xie Lian poked his head back into the room to check on his Xiǎo Lóng seemed to be clutching the pillow a bit tighter than before, but his eyes were still closed. Xie Lian breathed out a sigh of relief as he went back to the kitchen to decide if he should try again. He didn’t want to waste the food, but he also didn’t want to serve both undercooked and overcooked food, so he decided he would just eat it himself. And so he tried again, and it turned out slightly better. The toast was only partially burnt, and the eggs were mostly uncharred. 

Back into the bedroom where he left the plate of food, pain killers, a glass of water, and a note saying good morning. He then pressed a small kiss to the side of San Lang’s head before leaving once again to make his work call. It may be a bit too much, being that they were nothing more than friends at this point. But after being told that Shé Fāng wasn’t dating his past lover, Xie Lian decided to keep being bold in his affections. San Lang hasn’t voiced any opposition to them; he even seemed to reciprocate every once in a while. Though that may be just because that’s just how San Lang is.

It was now a little past six am, so he needed to make this call now or he would be reprimanded for a no-call no-show. Just as he was about to press the button to call his manager, the phone started ringing with an unknown number. It had the right area code, so maybe his other coworker at the gas station had gotten a new phone.

“Hello, this is Xie Lian. Can I ask who’s calling?” He decided to use that same customer service voice, just in case it may have been a wrong number; he didn’t want to be rude so early in the morning. But nothing was said on the other line, nothing but the sound of breathing that sent a chill down Xie Lian’s spine, much like last night. 

“Hello? Is anyone there? Do you need help?”

More breathing from the line, and then they spoke with a voice that was clearly using some sort of technology to disguise their voice. “You’ll return what you’ve stolen.”

And then the line went dead. “Okay? I guess wrong number.”

Xie Lian quickly blocked said number from his phone, just in case, and continued to make his work call. 

“Hey, Mr. Wong, just letting you know I won’t be coming in today because of an emergency with a friend.”

“No.” The voice was gruff and finite as he spoke through the phone. 

“What? What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, I don’t approve of you calling off, so either get your sorry ass down here or you’re fired, Mr. Xie.”

“Funny you should mention that, but I also am putting in my two-week notice.” 

“Excuse me?! After I took a chance on you, boy? Let you only work weekends and dictate your schedule, this is how you repay me?” 

The phone was removed from his hand by a much larger one, and with a much deeper voice still laced with sleep intervened. “And how are you handling the negligence about you’re employees’ safety? Because last time I checked, there have been multiple issues with security for your establishment that would have you shut down in a heartbeat.”

Xie Lian couldn’t hear what his boss said, but he could hear the low and almost deadly chuckle from San lang. “No, not a lawyer. Just a friend who wants to make sure Xie Lian is safe, so I hope you can understand that he won’t be returning to your cesspit of a convenience store.”

The call was then disconnected, and the phone was returned to Xie Lian’s hand. Then, with a softer tone and a smile that made the thousands-of-years-old dragon look like a child, San Lang said, “Thanks for the breakfast, gege. And sorry about that, I just can’t stand when people are rude for no reason.”

He was still wearing the PJs that Xie Lian had picked out, but hadn't put the eye patch back on. He seemed a bit unsure about whether he should even bring up the fact that he had dual colored eyes, so Xie Lian just decided to ignore it since there were no issues with the fact that his San Lang had a red eye. “You're welcome, San Lang. Now come on, we’re just going to relax until I need to head back home.” Xie Lian pulled San Lang back to the couch, and the two had part two of San Lang’s sick day. All while Xie Lian had to ignore the slight disappointment of being friend-zoned despite the fact that they were, in fact, just friends.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to the 80th annual winter charity ball meeting. I am so happy everyone could make it today as we go over the schedule for the next month of prep work for this event. I know this is a lot to come back to after taking the last few days off for the holidays, but this event is important to this company and its investors. So I expect everyone to give their full attention to Mrs. Shi as she gives her presentation.” Hua Cheng was getting tired of doing the same this over and over again, and it was starting to show in his voice. But it was good for the reputation of the company, so he had to put up with it in order to keep this place off of law enforcement’s radar and money for others. 

“Thank you for that lovely introduction, Mr. Hua.” Shi Qingxuan smiled as she moved up to take Hua Cheng’s space at the podium, allowing Hua Cheng to return to his seat at the head of the table on the other side of the room. Shi Qingxuan chose to where a dark blue sweater dress today for this presentation, which honestly made her the best dressed in the room with how she styled the belt and other accessories. He could feel the air dropping as some of the other male department heads stared at her, jeering and salivating at the woman. It was a normal reaction from the blue dragon and never failed to make Hua Cheng chuckle. Though the red dragon could also see how Jian Lan elbowed the one sitting directly next to her. Then proceeded to give a death glare that even made the two dragons in the room shiver. That woman wasn’t one to be messed with lightly, and most of the staff knew that and were very quiet when Jian Lan got the promotion she deserved. If they weren’t, Jian Lan proceeded to either show them up at their own game, or they would be fired because of a report of harassment. 

On one side of Hua Cheng was the quietly seething blue dragon that was acting like he was going to freeze everyone in the room who disrespected his mate. While on the other side was his attentive mate was with his laptop, prepared to take notes on whatever Shi Qingxuan said. It had been a couple of weeks since that night at the club, and the progress of their relationship had seemed to plateau at just friends. Sure, if he overthought certain actions that night, he may give himself the false hope that his gege was actually reciprocating his affections, but he was scared that if he was wrong, Xie Lian would run from him in fear or be disgusted with his actions. So he would just need to be fine with how things were for the moment. And he was, if things never got further than this until the next reincarnation, Hua Cheng was perfectly fine with waiting. Being around his beloved was enough, though if Xie Lian decided to date someone else… Hua Cheng didn’t want to even think about that. That line of spiraling was interrupted as Shi Qingxuan cleared her throat.       

She pulled up her slideshow, which at this point would be considered actual art if not for the dull information placed upon the slides. “I know we go through this every year, but this event was created to raise money for the multiple homeless shelters and soup kitchens that Crimson Corp. supports. On the more business side of things, this, much like every other company event, will be a networking event. While we encourage you all to enjoy this event, keep in mind that you are representing our company. Specifically, we had a few issues last year with our male staff harassing other female attendants. Should that happen again, you will be let go from your position and blacklisted from working with any of Crimson Corp. branches and associates.”

The rest of the presentation was more about stuff that Hua Cheng had heard 80 times already over the years. Shi Qingxuan brought up ballroom dance classes that could be taken next week, should anyone like to, the silent auction that would be taking place, and the code of conduct for the event, because it seemed that a few of these new project heads needed the extra warning. 

“And that concludes the main presentation. Everyone besides Mr. Hua, Mr. He, and Mr. Xie can all return to work for the rest of the day.” Now that was new; usually, that was the end of the presentation for everyone. Hua Cheng didn’t know if he should feel nervous for whatever this woman had in store or excited that Shi Qingxuan might yet again be trying to ‘help’ his relationship with Xie Lian. 

After everyone filed out of the room, she dropped that professional tone she had been using for the presentation, beaming at the three men in the room. “Okay, now since A-Lian doesn’t have too many formal outfits, I decided to make the executive decision to all go shopping together, and since it’s a company event, we could technically write it off as a business expense. That is, if Hua Cheng is okay with that.”

“Oh, I really wouldn’t want to take advantage of San Lang, I’m sure I can find something with what I have saved up.” Xie Lian was quick to interrupt before Hua Cheng could agree. 

Though the dragon wasn’t about to give up a chance to spoil his beloved, especially with how he was living at the moment. “Nonsense, gege. It wouldn’t be the first time the company paid for these two’s outfits since there were a couple of years we decided to try and match.”

So what if that was a complete lie? It made sense with how ‘close’ Hua Cheng was to the other two. It also seemed that Shi Qingxuan was completely on board with keeping up this little ruse since she added, “We should do partner outfits this year. I’ll obviously match with He-xiong, and A-Lian can match with Hua Cheng!”

“Qingxuan, no. We are not matching for this thing.” He Xuan grumbled as he ruffled her hair. He couldn’t hide the smile on his face, though, as she laughed and swatted his hands away.

“Come ooon, it’d be fun,” She pouted, “plus A-Lian seems into it too, right?”

“I mean, it could be fun.” 

And that sealed it for Hua Cheng that they were doing couples outfits for this year, “I’m making the executive decision that we’re doing Shi Qingxuan’s idea. You’re outnumbered, He Xuan.”

“Then I guess we’ll have a shopping trip this weekend. But until then, we probably should get back to our offices so we can get everything done for this event.” Shi Qingxuan interjected as she moved away from her husband to grab her bag from the podium.

~

Saturday took forever to come, though finally, Hua Cheng was once again outside of Xie Lian’s ‘apartment’ knocking on the door that seemed like it would crack if he applied too much pressure. 

“It’s unlocked!” A muffled but cheerful voice came from the other side of the door. Hua Cheng pushed the door open with a loud creak that sounded like it could be from a horror movie. He stepped into the entryway, only to feel something crunch under his designer shoe. Lifting his foot up, he could see the crushed body of a large cockroach on the floor, only to see another one out of the corner of his eye crawl into a hole in the wall that looked like it may have once been a bullet hole. 

“Gege, if you need an exterminator, I can call one for you.” Hua Cheng called out into the small apartment as he closed the door. It did little to muffle the sounds from the outside world, but also had the added sound of Xie Lian’s neighbors yelling next door. Hua Cheng really hated that his mate lived here.

“It’s fine, San Lang. It’s better than sleeping on the streets.”

“Has gege slept on the streets?”

“Yeah, a few years back, before my car accident, when a drunk driver hit me.” The way Xie Lian laughed at what he just said, like it was normal to be homeless and then hit by a car; it broke Hua Cheng’s heart. 

“Gege, please don’t laugh like that.” Even Hua Cheng could hear the concern in his own voice. 

The smile on Xie Lian’s face turned more sheepish after that as he moved towards the door to start heading down the stairs. “Sorry, but really, I’m okay now. So let's get going so we don’t keep Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan waiting.”

“Gege, wait up!” Hua Cheng called after as he followed behind Xie Lian, who was already walking down the rotting wood of the stairs, “and lock your door.”

“The lock is broken, so I can’t.” 

“Gege, that’s not safe.” Hua Cheng huffed out as he caught up to the other man, as they continued to carefully walk down the stairs that threatened to collapse with every step.

“Neither is parking your nice car in this part of town, but you still do it.” Xie Lian countered as the two made their way to the black sports car Hua Cheng had decided to use today.

“That is not the same. I can get a new car, I can’t get a new you.” Hua Cheng stated as he opened the passenger side door of his car for Xie Lian to get in. Then walked around to the driver's side and started their journey to the high-end mall that Shi Qingxuan insisted on going to, which was almost two hours from Xie Lian’s shack of an apartment.

“So, any idea what Qingxuan meant by matching?” Xie Lian asked, shifting the topic to something a little lighter as Hua Cheng drove. 

“Probably just matching suit jackets for us since we’re both men. She’s probably going all out with her own dress.”

“Which means He Xuan will have to match his suit?”

“Yup, he may complain about it, but the man loves his wife more than anything, so he’ll suck it up to make her happy.” 

“What about San Lang?”

“What about me?”

“If I wanted to go all out, would you just suck it up?”

“Does gege want to go all out? Because I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

Xie Lian laughed, “No, just asking if you actually wanted to do the matching outfits or if you just went along to tease your friend.”

“I do want to match with gege, but I also can’t lie and say I wasn’t trying to get back at He Xuan for a joke he pulled on me a while back.”

Eventually, the two of them arrived at the parking garage of the mall and got out of the car. Hua Cheng couldn’t deny the little disappointment at not being able to open the door for his mate, as well as the fact that now the two of them had to rejoin society instead of spending more time alone in the car. But they had decided to do this little trip as a group, which meant waiting for Shi Qingxuan to pick out a dress before the rest of them went into a suit shop and got their suits. 

After that, Hua Cheng would take them to his personal tailor next weekend for the four of them to get properly fitted. Xie Lian would probably need a bit of practice in ballroom dancing, so Hua Cheng had already scheduled the four of them for a private class the week after, so they could do it in their outfits.

“A-Lian, Hua Cheng, you made it!” There was the familiar voice of Shi Qingxuan coming towards them with fish breath trailing behind her, holding a bag with a saphared colored dress inside that could be seen through the clear dress bag it was placed in. 

“Did you already find a dress?” Hua Cheng chuckled out.

“I know I take a long time to pick something out, so I came to the store pretty early to get a head start.”

“Scared the crap out of me this morning.” He Xuan grumbled as he moved up next to his wife. 

“Wait, you didn’t come with He Xuan?” Xie Lian asked.

“Nope! I wanted to let him sleep for a bit, so I left him a text message on his phone. Next thing I know, he’s calling me in a panic, asking if I’m okay.”

“Well, sorry if my wife not being anywhere in our house is a bit concerning to me when we had plans today.”

Hua Cheng knew there was probably more to that, but not only was the group in public, but Xie Lian also wouldn’t know anything about He Xuan being a dragon and why it was so concerning to wake up without his mate by his side. Hua Cheng had been going through a similar panic every day for the last couple of weeks since he found his mate again. The nightmare had shifted from that moment all those years ago to something more modern. Seeing Xie Lian shot in the convenience store, or seeing on the news that he had been killed without Hua Cheng’s knowledge.  

“I didn’t want to wake you,” She pouted. “And I was fine, even found the dress I wanted.”

“Wait, He Xuan, did you also just get here?” Xie Lian asked.

“Yeah, that’s why we were out here and not inside. Out of this damn cold.”

“Aw, is the fish stick worried he’s going to freeze?” Hua Cheng teased, like he didn’t force his winter coat on his mate for that exact reason before they had gotten out of the car. It was furlined and basically dwarfed Xie Lian, which was adorable, but it kept the cold out. If Hua Cheng could get away with it, he’d be buying more than just one suit for his mate today. 

“Let's just get inside.” He Xuan muttered as he directed his mate back into the heated mall. The place was huge, to put it lightly. 8 different floors of high-end shops meant for high-class people to waste too much money in. Classical music was playing instead of whatever was popular on the radio at the moment. The place was calm, quiet, and had way too much security to feel relaxing in the slightest. The group walked over to the same store they always bought their suits from, and Hua Cheng nearly cringed as he heard the owner.

“Ah, my favorite customers. Back for the charity ball again?” 

“Yes, we have a new team member instead of my usual assistant this year, so we’re looking for a suite for him.” Hua Cheng muttered as he led Xie Lian over to the suit jackets so he could look for material. “Gege, anything you specifically want?”

“I think a dark maroon would be nice since Qingxuan is doing blue with He Xuan.”

“Okay then, how about a marron jacket and tie. Then we can do white for the shirt and black pants?” Hua Cheng inquired.

“You know better than I would, San Lang.”

“Is there any kind of material gege would want?”

“I’m not allergic to anything if that’s what you’re asking.”

Hua Cheng huffed as he walked over to talk with the owner so the two could get their suits ordered. ‘If gege doesn’t have a preference, then I’ll just make sure it’s the softest material so he’s comfortable.’ A lot still needs to be done regarding the event and their relationship, but at least they were making progress.

Chapter Text

Today was the day of the charity ball, and Xie Lian thought he was going to throw up with the nerves he had festering in his stomach on this new suit. Sure, he had been to a few of these types of events in this life with his parents, but that was over a decade ago, and he wasn’t going with the person he was in love with at the time. 

The group had arrived early Saturday afternoon to help with the setup and do the final checks of everything. Now it was nearly 6 pm, and Xie Lian was practically hiding in the bathroom on the top floor, fixing a non-existent issue on the burgundy jacket. Guests had already started to arrive, and San Lang was out greeting other important people, all while Xie Lian was trying to mentally prepare himself for he possibility of dancing with San Lang.

There was then a knock at the door as he saw the familiar brown hair of Shi Qingxuan poke her head into the bathroom. Since there were only four people on the floor, there wasn’t really a designated bathroom for each gender. Each office had an in-suite bathroom, should they need it, and then there were two in the lobby on the floor.

“Hey, everything okay, A-Lian?” She asked, her voice was its normal high energy with a hint of concern laced into the tone. Her make-up was professional with her hair curled and down. Her dress was a deep sapphire blue with a darker blue school of coy fish almost swimming around the dress, embroidered on the left side. It was a long-sleeved off-the-shoulder dress that was tight around her legs, but just enough to be tasteful as it went down to just below her knees.   

“Yeah, just nervous.”

She smiled as she walked into the bathroom fully and closed the door behind her. “This is your first charity event, so nobody expects you to be completely sure of yourself.”

“No, that's not it. It's just the first one without my parents. They used to have these events all the time before they passed years ago.” 

“Oh, then this must be pretty hard on you.” Xie Lian could see the guilt in the woman’s eyes for bringing up a topic like that. 

“No, no, it’s fine, it’s not even the reason I’m nervous.” Xie Lian rushed out. “It’s more than I’m nervous about making a fool out of myself in front of San- I mean everyone.”

Shi Qingxuan giggled at his little slip-up up but thankfully chose to ignore it. “It’s fine, most people are too drunk to remember anything. Now come on, we do an opening dance every year, and our boss is looking for you.” 

Xie Lian let himself be dragged in the elevator while laughing; he’d been doing that a lot lately. Just being happy and smiling so easily while surrounded by these people. Sure, he was happy when he hung out with Mu Qing and Feng Xin, but it wasn’t the same. ‘I guess I have San Lang to thank for that’ 

As the doors opened onto the first floor. The entire lobby looked more like a ballroom that a person might see in a movie. Xie Lian had asked why they decided to do it in the lobby instead of at a venue, and San Lang had explained that there had been a few times where pieces that were supposed to be in the auctions went missing in transit. It had been a huge mess and had lost a lot of money meant to support people. So, in order to remedy the risk of it happening again, San Lang had just cut the transportation to a different area and had He Xuan pick up the items instead. 

Despite the event only just starting, the entire room was packed with people whom Xie Lian didn’t recognize. He was sure that if Shi Qingxuan wasn’t grabbing onto him, he surely would’ve gotten lost in the sea of people.

“Found him!” Shi Qingxuan yelled out as the two of them approached San Lang and He Xuan, who were talking to a few women in various types of gowns. Well, talking is putting it nicely, as it was clear the two men were trying to hide their glares until they looked over to Xie Lain and Shi Qingxuan approaching. 

“If you’ll excuse us, my wife is my partner for the opening dance.” He Xuan said in a monotone voice as he went over and deeply kissed Shi Qingxuan and walked off without saying another word.

Not giving a second thought to the situation, Xie Lian walked up to San Lang, grabbed his arm, and proceeded to pull the dragon toward the dance floor. “I spent the last week practicing with San Lang, so I hope you wouldn’t mind being my first dance tonight.”

“Not at all, gege. Honestly, I’m happy you decided to ask.” San Lang chuckled as he pulled Xie Lian into his arms as they arrived on the cleared-out area that was designated as the dance floor for the night. Without all the desks and chairs meant for people waiting to sit on, one would never guess that normally this would be the entrance to one of the largest companies in the country. 

Xie Lian felt his face heat up as the familiar feeling of San Lang’s arm wrapped around Xie Lian’s waist, with the other resting on his shoulder. He knew that this was just the position the two needed to take when they were dancing, but it still made the close proximity feel very intimate. 

“Just like we practice, gege. Don’t be afraid to step on my toes if you get mixed up.” 

“San Lang, don’t jinx it!” Xie Lian whisper-yelled as he put his own hands in position. The violins started playing that same slow but beautiful piece that Xie Lian could never remember the name of. San Lang had allowed Xie Lian time to practice privately with just him over the last few weeks, so Xie Lian didn’t make a complete fool out of himself. 

Xie Lian stared up into the one visible eye of the man he loved as San Lang started the beginning of the dance by leading Xie Lian in a simple box step. There was a wide, wolfish grin on his lips as San Lang stared down at Xie Lian. His black hair was slicked back today and tucked away in a low ponytail. Though the scene was interrupted by a slight wince as Xie Lian felt himself step on San Lang’s shoe. “Sorry.”

“You’re fine, gege. Just follow my lead, you’re doing great.” San Lang comforted before spinning Xie Lian out and then back into San Lang’s arms. Now San Lang’s hands were firmly wrapped around Xie Lian’s waist as Xie Lian rested his own hands on San Lang’s much larger ones as he pressed his back into the dragon's broad chest. as the soft smell that reminded Xie Lian of a warm campfire filled his senses. To anyone who didn’t know them, it would seem like the two were a happy couple lost in the music of their own love. 

Xie Lian didn’t mind in the slightest, though, as he leaned further into the hold and swayed with the music. It was nice, it allowed him to forget about everything as he listened to the soft sounds of the orchestra playing in the background. He wasn’t a person who had just remembered his past life and was trying to reclaim the love that was so cruelly ripped from his grasp. He was just a man dancing with the person he had once again grown to love, feeling safe and cared for, even if nothing more was going to come from this relationship than friendship.

San Lang eventually spun Xie Lian around again as they shifted the positions of their hands so that Xie Lian’s were now both placed on San Lang’s shoulders, while San Lang’s had a firm grip around Xie Lian’s smaller waist. They both looked into each other's eyes as if nothing else in the world mattered but the two of them in that moment. The sounds of the other couple’s dancing, the music, it even felt as if the lights around them faded to just a single spotlight on the two of them. 

San Lang dipped Xie Lian as the music came to an end, and the two were so close. Xie Lian could feel San Lang’s breath tangle with his own, and he felt his mind wondering if it would be so wrong to just close the distance? To seal their lips in a kiss that he had wanted for the last 9 years since he had remembered his past with the dragon in front of him.

But the moment didn’t last. The sound of applause broke the bubble that had been created in the waltz; it all faded as San Lang pulled him back up and put distance between the two of them, making Xie Lian have to try and suppress the disappointment from showing on his face. “See nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, though I need to thank you for that.” Xie Lian breathed out as he smiled back at San Lang to try to hide the dismay at the distance that had been returned between them. 

“And I need to thank gege for making this opening dance so enjoyable.”

Just as Xie Lian was about to respond, he heard a deep chuckle that sent a chill down his spine. Turning around, he saw a man he had never met in person before, only seen on TV commercials for the company he used to work for. The man looked to be in his late 30s to early 40s with his dark black hair that matched his black tie. It stood out against his pure white suit as he approached the two of them. 
“Mr. Hua, a beautiful performance for the first dance, like every year.” The deep voice made Xie Lian feel like he should run. Which was a bit confusing because he had never had any interactions with the man before him, much less one that would cause such discomfort. 

“Jun Wu, I didn’t think you’d be attending this year.” San Lang replied as he turned to the man before placing his arm around Xie Lian’s shoulders and directing the three of them toward the sides of the dance floor where a makeshift bar was set up. “Let’s talk off the dance floor.”

The three made their way over there, and San Lang handed Xie Lian a glass of water before turning back to the CEO of Heavenly Enterprises. “So, what brings you here?”

“I wanted to check out the silent auction this year. I heard there were some pretty old antiques this year and wanted to expand my collection.”

San Lang hummed as he took a sip of his own water, “Right, before I forget, this is Xie Lian. Gege, this is Jun Wu. Our companies may be doing a collaboration soon if the meeting in a few weeks goes well.”

“Nice to meet you, sir.” Xie Lian greeted with a strained smile as he felt his heart rate spike when Jun Wu firmly shook Xie Lian’s hand. Something felt wrong, but Xie Lian couldn't place why, so he just pulled his hand back politely and stayed quiet.

“You as well, Xie Lian. Or I could call you Xianle, as that was the name of your parents’ company before it went bankrupt after their tragic deaths.” 

San Lang cleared his throat, “So was there anything in particular you were looking for at the auction?”

“The blade of Xianren, there was a rumor that your family had come into possession of that ancient weapon.”

“While we do have a few ancient daggers on the list this year, that one is a family heirloom, I’m afraid. I would be disrespecting my family by auctioning off.” San Lang countered smoothly with a chuckle. 

“Well, I’m disappointed to hear that, as it was an important piece to a collection of mine.” The look of irritation had flashed across Jun Wu’s face, and it made Xie Lian’s heart stop. He didn’t know why, but he needed to get out of there. He could feel his breathing start to pick up. Could hear each heartbeat in his ears. Everything was too loud as his gut told him that he needed to leave and get away from this man.

“San Lang, I’m just going to get some air.” Xie Lian whispered before walking off, not waiting for a response. If it were purely up to his own instincts, he would be running out into the streets. Into the polluted air of the city. Anywhere would be better than in the ballroom and near Jun Wu. 

Maybe it was a good thing he never ran into the man when he was working for Heavenly Enterprises. Because he wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to suppress the massive amount of fear that washed over Xie Lian the moment he had interacted with him. Though it may have also been amplified with the strange calls he had been getting since the night at the club. They ranged from just the other person breathing on the other end to threatening messages that seemed to disappear after Xie Lian opened them. He had started taking screenshots, but he still didn’t know what to do with them since he didn’t know the number.  

Xie Lian stopped as he found himself in the alley next to the building, standing while hyperventilating. Nothing like this had ever happened before, as he could feel tears starting to silently flow down his face. He just stared into the dark alleyway, listening to the sounds of cars honking and the muffled music from inside. He needed to calm himself, but he couldn’t. His heart was too loud; he was breathing too fast to focus on his breathing, which could be seen in a small cloud in front of him. It was an endless circle of pure panic, and he couldn’t make it stop.   

He was getting lightheaded when he felt someone harshly tap his shoulder, causing him to flinch and turn around, only to be confronted with a woman he had seen only once before. She looked almost deranged as her hair was a mess, and her makeup was running down her face like she had been crying. But he couldn't focus on it for long as the familiar force of a bullet ripping through flesh could be felt in his left shoulder.

He could feel the bones of his ribs shatter as the wound felt like it was burning him alive; it was enough to ground him back into reality as he fell against the cold concrete floor of the alley. He could hear her laughing, but couldn’t make out what she was saying because everything was too loud, and all he could focus on was the pain in his shoulder. 

That woman then left him alone in that cold alley, just like he had been left alone to bleed out all those years ago. Yet this time, he couldn’t even be held by his beloved as he slipped away again into death.

Except he heard a scream, and then he felt smaller hands pressing into the bullet wound that just caused more blood to gush from his back. ‘Guess it went all the way through.’

He was lucid enough to start to understand what was being said and even recognize that the voice above him was She Qingxuan. “He Xuan, go get Hua Cheng and call an ambulance.” 

“Got it.” Another voice, probably He Xuan’s, could be heard in the distance. The pressure on the bullet hole increased; he couldn’t stop the small whimper of pain that leaked out of his mouth. 

“Sorry, A-Lian, but I need to keep pressure on it. Keep your eyes open, okay?” Shi Qingxuan’s voice was shaking as he could feel her hot tears dip onto his face, which caused him to shiver from the cold air. Or maybe it was from the blood loss. 

“Where’s San Lang?” Xie Lian mumbled out as he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, as the effort to breathe was becoming too much. He felt his eyes start to droop closed as his senses started to fade.

“On his way, Xie Lian, please, you’ve gotta stay awake for him. Don’t close your eyes, please!” That plea was the last thing Xie Lian heard before he faded out into the empty void of nothingness.

Chapter Text

Hua Cheng stood there looking concerned as Xie Lian ran off without even waiting for Hua Cheng to respond. ‘Had I done something to upset him?’ 

“Seems like Xianle isn’t too fond of big gatherings like this.” Jun Wu chuckled as he patted Hua Cheng’s shoulder. Hua Cheng was quick to brush him off as he continued to watch where his beloved had run off, ignoring the slight prickling sensation that was left from where Jun Wu had touched him. It was cold outside, and even if they were in a relatively safe part of town, Hua Cheng was still prone to worry about his mate being outside alone in the city.

“Right, well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night, but I need to go and talk with a few of my associates.” Hua Cheng forced out as he walked off in the direction of the buffet table to find He Xuan. He didn’t entirely like Jun Wu, mainly just because he was a narcissistic prick who hated that Hua Cheng’s company was doing better than his had ever done. But the brief interaction with the man had with his mate had set off all of his instincts. It took a lot in him not to growl and break the wrist of that pompous CEO for daring to touch Xie Lian.

But at this point, it wasn’t what was at the forefront of his mind; he had gotten a bit bolder with the hand placement during the opening dance with Xie Lian and had almost kissed the man if not for how shocked he had looked after Hua Cheng had dipped him. He had gotten lost in the moment, and now he is terrified that Xie Lian may actually be running away from Hua Cheng because of it. 

So instead of risking making the situation worse by following Xie Lian himself, he was going to make Shi Qingxuan do it. He could see her talking with another person from Heavenly Enterprises that Hua Cheng actually tolerated, while He Xuan stuffed his face in the corner.

“The marking done for the last line of products was put together really well, though I would love to give you some pointers on the esthetic principles so when we work together, we can be on the same page, Ling Wen.”

“And I believe I could also give you some pointers on how to properly arrange and set up the numbers and statistics so they don’t seem like background information your ‘esthetic’ distracts from, Shi Qingxuan.” 

Both women gave those fake laughs you hear when two women are fighting in public by using passive-aggressive comments, so they don’t cause a scene. It truly was the sound of business taking place, and as much as Hua Cheng adored watching these two bicker back and forth, he would just need to wait until the actual meeting he was having with Ling Wen and Jun Wu in a few weeks. It was less of an actual business meeting and more just a yearly debate the two companies had at the insistence of Heavenly Enterprises. This year was about an art gallery that they wanted Crimson Corp to help fund, which piqued Hua Cheng’s interest, so while he probably won’t fund it, the topic won’t be as boring as usual.

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt your conversation, but can I steal my marking lead and her husband for a bit, Ling Wen?” Hua Cheng interrupted as he nearly dragged He Xuan out of the buffet table while not breaking eye contact with Ling Wen. The woman had her hair up in a neat bun and was wearing a basic black pantsuit, elegant in its simplicity.

“Not at Hua Cheng, we were just finishing up here.” She politely replied as she walked away from the table into the crowd of people.

“Well, that was productive.” Shi Qingxuan remarked as she watched the other woman leave.

“How so?” 

“I got to see one of their newer marketing strategies for that art event we’re supposed to be discussing at the next meeting, and all I had to show her was my own version with outdated data from like 40 years ago.”

Hua Cheng looked shocked for a minute before bursting out laughing at what the woman had just pulled. “I forget how sneaky you can be, but I don’t think you should trust the numbers you saw from Ling Wen either. We all know that the woman got to where she is today purely based on the fact that she’s outsmarted every person she’s worked with.”

Shi Qingxuan deflated a bit. “I know, but that brings me to my next point: where is A-Lian? I thought the two of you would be stuck together like glue based on how that dance went.”

“That’s what I needed you for. Gege ran out saying he needed some air, but now I’m worried that I may have pushed too far, so I need you to go check on him.”

“I’m sure that’s not the issue; he probably just got overwhelmed with all the people. But I’ll go and see if I can find him.” Shi Qingxuan declared as she walked off, which in turn led to He Xuan absent-mindedly following his wife as she walked out the door into the busy city. 

It took 5 minutes for that mild worry to turn into ice-cold fear as He Xuan rushed back into the ballroom. His face was pale, and he looked around, panicked as he talked to one of the security guards, who was quick to pull out his own phone to make a call. 

That feeling of panic only increased as he noticed how both his own mate and He Xuan’s mate weren’t coming in either. Hua Cheng rushed over to the blue dragon and grabbed his shoulder hard to force him to look him in the eye as he flipped him around. “What happened?!”

“I don’t know, we saw a woman running out of the alley after a loud shot went off. Qingxuan went to check it out and found Xie Lian bleeding-” Hua Cheng didn’t let He Xuan finish as he rushed out into the cold air of late January, as he sprinted to the mouth of the alleyway to see Shi Qingxuan kneeling on the filthy ground next to his mate. Pushing down on that same spot that his beloved had been stabbed all those years ago. 

The familiar scent of blood filled his nostrils as he staggered forward and helped apply more pressure on the gaping wound, but just like before, it wasn’t slowing down. The puddle of blood wasn’t getting any smaller as he felt his mate's blood soak into his pants, making them stick to his legs.

His vision clouded with tears. Sounds were muffled, other than the sound of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. Eventually, he felt hands pull him away. Hands taking his mate away from him. No. Hua Cheng won’t lose him again. He can’t. He tried to struggle. To fight. To scream. But nothing worked. Xie Lian was taken from his sight, and Hua Cheng felt his knees give out beneath him as the familiar feeling of defeat washed over him like a tidal wave.  

“Hua Cheng, come on, help me out here.” He Xuans’s voice broke through the fog as Hua Cheng felt himself being pulled along towards the parking lot. 

“I can’t.” The sound was soft and almost broken as Hua Cheng stared blankly into the city where he could see flashing lights and hear the sirens wailing like he wanted to at he moment. But he couldn’t. He didn’t deserve to mourn when he once again failed. ‘How have I yet again become so useless to him?’

“Hua Cheng, he’s not dead yet, so stop moping like he’s gone again and get in the car.” 

“He Xuan!”

“What?! It’s fucking true.” 

Hua Cheng felt himself being pushed into the back seat of a car. He could feel the warmth of the heated air and seats wash over him as he layed on the dark leather in the back of He Xuan’s car. ‘Why can’t I just protect him like I’m supposed to?’

“Hua Cheng, he called for you, so he’s gonna want to see you when he wakes up.” Shi Qingxuan comforted as she got into the passenger's seat. Hua Cheng could feel the quiet rumble of the engine starting up and the lurch of the car pulling out of the parking lot.

The ride to the hospital felt like an eternity, but it was enough time for Hua Cheng to at least get his mind focused enough to be able to get out of the car and walk into the cold hospital lobby. Everything was too loud. Smells too sharp. Lights too bright. He couldn’t even talk to the receptionist at the entrance when asked why he was here. Shi Qingxuan had to explain who they were here for. He couldn’t understand what they were saying as Shi Qingxuan led them to some hard plastic chairs where they had to wait.

He felt Shi Qingxuan rub his shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be okay. The doctors are doing everything they can to help him, and I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

He couldn’t say anything. His mind was racing with visions of his mate's blood staining his clothes and his skin. Memories overlapping with those that were millennium-old, of trying to stop his beloved from leaving this world. Leaving him. And yet again, he could do nothing but wait.

~

It took six hours for them to stabilize him. Took another six before he was even allowed to see him because it was apparently outside of visiting hours, and they weren’t family. He left for 30 minutes to go home and get cleaned up, so he wasn’t covered in Xie Lian’s blood, and that was only because He Xuan practically dragged him back into the car. It was surprising that security hadn’t needed to be called after the scene the dragon made when trying to stay. It took Shi Qingxuan promising to stay behind to monitor the situation before Hua Cheng let himself be led away.

Coming back to the hospital, he was confronted with two new people whom Hua Cheng recognized from photos that Xie Lian had shown him over the last few months while they had been working together. One of them was in a workout shirt and sweat pants, while the other was in a button-down white shirt and slacks. 

Getting closer, he could start to hear the conversation that was going on. “He’s in the ICU at the moment, but won’t be cleared for visitors for another hour. But you two can head up and wait with the other three people who have been here since last night.”

“What other people?” Mu Qing questioned, even from this distance, he could hear the worry that was thinly hidden with anger and sarcasm.

“That would be me.” Hua Cheng called out, trying to keep his voice steady, but exhaustion and fear still thickened his voice. He Xuan was waiting in the car for Hua Cheng to basically relieve the fish-breath’s wife from the waiting room so the two could go home and rest. 

“Mr. Hua, welcome back.” The woman at the desk said with that practice voice that was meant to sound welcoming but always sounded more condescending than anything else.  

The two morons whipped around at the address, “What the fuck are you doing here?!”

“Qing-er, we’re in a hospital.” The other brain cell whispered while rubbing Mu Qing’s shoulder, though he was immediately brushed off. 

“No, because why is he here when he’s probably the reason our best friend almost died? Hell, he flatlined twice already.”

“What?!” The doctors hadn’t said anything about that when Hua Cheng was here, something about medical privacy. Which Hua Cheng understood, but it didn’t mean that he was happy with the fact that all he was able to know was that Xie Lian was out of whatever surgery he had.

“Let’s just have this conversation somewhere else, please.” 

“Fine.” Mu Qing allowed Feng Xin to guide him towards the elevators while Hua Cheng followed silently as they entered the crowded space. He could feel the heat of the glare given by the two idiots beside him, but he didn’t have the energy to care.

When the elevator dinged on their floor, all three of them were quick to rush out and be confronted with Shi Qingxuan, who was still in her dress from last night. The dark blue was completely ruined by the dark patches that were made from Xie Lian’s blood, and her hands were still stained a bright red despite how much she had tried to wash them. Or maybe that was just Hua Cheng’s eyes playing tricks on him; he still thought his own hands were covered in that same liquid. Swares he could still smell the alley and the iron in the blood.

“Hey, glad you're back. And I’m guessing you two are A-Lian’s emergency contacts.” Her voice was soft. It was so strange to hear the usually lively and energetic woman sound so…defeated. Exhausted. Even when Hua Cheng had first met her all those years ago, she was still super optimistic about her situation. Not like this, and as much as Hua Cheng hates to admit it, he knows that Shi Qingxuan and He Xuan are the only people who could truly understand the fear and anguish he’s going through while his mate is fighting for his life.

“Yes, I’m Feng Xin, and this is Mu Qing. I’m guessing you’re another friend of Xie Lian?” 

“Yeah, I’m Shi Qingxuan. Sorry to cut this meeting short, but I’ve been here all night and need to shower before coming back. I’ll see you later, Hua Cheng. Don’t worry about coming in for anything, just focus on keeping A-Lian safe.” She patted Hua Cheng on the shoulder before walking into the elevator. Then it was just him and the ‘best friends’ of his beloved, who only seem to show up when it’s convenient.

“Was she the one who found him?” Mu Qing muttered as he walked over to the hard chairs in the waiting room. Visiting hours just started, and this hospital was a private one that Crimson Corp. built almost 30 years ago. Not many people end up in the trauma ICU around these parts, so it wasn’t surprising how quiet everything was.

“Yeah, I asked her and her husband to go check on Xie Lian after he went outside for some air after the opening dance with me.” Hua Cheng sat down about 3 seats away from Mu Qing and placed his head in his hands. Meanwhile, Feng Xin decided to sit directly next to Mu Qing on his other side.

“Ah, so this is your fault.”

“Mu Qing, you can’t just say that!”

“Why not?! It was his party; he was probably the reason Xie Lian was even outside, and it was probably someone related to him who was the shooter!” 

“Still, that isn’t-”

Hua Cheng cut Feng Xin off with a question of his own that came out more like a plea for an answer, “You said he flatlined. Please just tell me what the doctor told you guys.”

“The bullet went straight through his lung, and a part of his rib got lodged in his heart. When we got the call,” Feng Xin had to push Mu Qing away and stand up so he could continue, “They said that he crashed a few times in surgery and that though he’s stable, he needs to be on a ventilator for a while since he’s not able to breathe on his own. There’s no guarantee that he’ll even survive at the moment, and even if he does, the damage may have a lasting effect.”

The argument that ensued was muffled because of the shock at what Hua Cheng had just heard. “Couldn’t breathe on his own.” “No guarantee of survival.” And “lasting effects.”

He was going to lose him again, and not even because he couldn’t do anything. He wasn’t there. Yet again, he wasn’t there when the love of his life needed him; he was somewhere else. What would have happened if he had just followed Xie Lian instead of letting him go off on his own? What if he hadn’t been such a coward and checked on him himself? The what-ifs were going to be the end of him if he let himself keep spiraling. 

So he focused on something else. Who would’ve shot his mate? It couldn’t have been someone from a rival gang. The party was in the center of Ghost City’s above-ground territory. No gang, let alone a person, would be dumb enough to cause problems that close to him. And it’s not like many people even knew that Xie Lian was important to him. 

‘He Xuan said he saw a woman running out of the alleyway after the shot went off.’ That’s when it hit him. Shé Fāng. That delusional bitch would stoop this low to do this, and while normally he’d just have He Xuan investigate, he couldn’t. This wasn’t like that day at the convenience store. The woman was well known, and the entire event would probably be on the news within the next hour if it’s not already there. 

He was going to have to let the police deal with it this time. Have them find her with a little help from his own people, maybe have He Xuan and Shi Qingxuan describe in a bit more detail than necessary to make sure she was the one who was sought after. Because while Xie Lian may have seen her before she shot him, there wasn’t much that could be done about his statement until the moment he woke up and was no longer intubated. So, as the nurse called for the people visiting Xie Lian, Hua Cheng sent a quick encoded text to a burner phone telling He Xuan what the next steps are, before having all his attention on preparing himself to see his beloved.

But nothing could prepare the shock of seeing the state the man that meant more to Hua Cheng than anything was in. The number of machines that were packed into the room that were beeping caused Hua Cheng’s headache to hurt so much worse; the smell of disinfectant certainly didn’t help either. The number of tubes stuck into his mate’s chest made Hua Cheng start crying again, warm streaks painting his face as he stumbled forward. The worst was the tube that was connected to the ventilator, which looked so painful in Xie Lian’s throat. He kneeled down and gently took the cold hand, careful of the IVs stuck around his wrist, and just sobbed. 

The CEO of Crimson Corps., the leader of one of the most dangerous mobs, the gods damn Crimson dragon got on his knees in front of other mortals and sobbed like the heartbroken mess of a being he was as he begged for this world not to take his mate from him a second time.

Chapter Text

   The world was filled with the constant beeping of machines and muffled pain as he felt himself return to his body. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t even force himself to open his eyes. But he could feel. He could hear. He couldn’t breathe. ‘Why was it still so hard to breathe? ’  It was so painful just to take in a breath, to even just exist in his own body. But he couldn’t say anything to ask for help or beg for whatever torture was being done to him to stop.

Xie Lian could hear voices talking over him but couldn’t make out what was being said. It was all drowned out by the constant beeping that pierced his skull. Then it got harder to force himself to breathe—more pain. Muffled voices of panic surrounded him. The beeping was getting louder. The pain was starting to feel further away, and his senses faded away with it. 

No, he didn’t want to go. To be pulled away from his beloved once again. Couldn’t bear to be forgotten again. But it was so hard to keep a grasp on his thoughts as that fog drifted over his brain. And eventually, no amount of will could stop him from fading back into that dark abyss.

But that feeling didn’t last; he felt like his entire body was on fire as he was thrust back into his senses, and breathing was worse. Every inhale felt like glass was ripping through his lungs. It made him want to gag, to cough, to do anything to dislodge whatever was in his throat. But he couldn’t. His body felt paralyzed, but he could peel open his eyes this time. 

All Xie Lian could see was a bright white light and green hands that seemed to be digging into his chest. His eyes were rapidly scanning the room despite the pain the light was causing. Trying to figure out where he was, or even just what was happening around him. Other sounds were assaulting his ears. Voices, almost, but Xie Lian couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was gargled and felt like a completely different language. He wanted to tell them that something was wrong, that he needed help, that he was in agony.

The sound that was able to leave his mouth was gargled and sounded more like a strangled whimper than any actual words. But it was enough to get their attention, or maybe it was because the beeping was yet again getting louder. 

Too loud. Too many noises. Too bright. He could see the light even as he squeezed his eyes shut. This time, he didn’t fight as much when he faded into the void of numbness, and this time, he was able to fully immerse himself in the nothingness that he was beginning to become familiar with.  

~

The next time Xie Lian could hear things, he could actually understand what was being said, though there was static behind it. Almost like it wasn’t from a person in the room but from a television, or maybe a radio?

“Crimson Corps. The annual charity ball turned deadly as a shooting of one of its own employees happened outside its doors. Meanwhile, another guest, the CEO of Heavenly Enterprises, suffered a minor heart attack just an hour after the event concluded. While Mr. Jun has already made a full recovery, no news has been heard on the shooting victim.”

The noise stopped, so it must have been a TV. Then he could hear footsteps and the sound of a door opening. And then he heard a sound that broke his heart. It was raw and sounded so defeated as the person gripped his hand and sobbed. 

‘San Lang, please don’t cry. I’m okay.’ Xie Lian struggled to speak, to make any sound at all to tell San Lang that he could hear him. That he was alive and wasn’t going anywhere. But he couldn’t get anything out around the tube that was forced down his throat. 

“Sir, please get off the floor.” Xie Lian heard another voice pop in. It wasn’t one he recognized; it was older and more gruff as it spoke.

“No, I’m not going to leave him.” San Lang’s voice also sounded worse than it did back then. It sounded so exhausted and weak, like he had been screaming for hours and had just decided to give up. 

“I always thought I’d only see him like this when I sent his ass to jail—Ow, why are you hitting me?!”

“Because you’re being insensitive, and this isn’t about us right now; it’s about Xie Lian.”

‘Oh, Mu Qing and Feng Xin must have been called. Never thought this would happen twice.’ Xie Lian thought as he heard his two best friends start to bicker in the background. He wanted to laugh at their actions. Scold them for being so loud in a hospital. Or even just cry in their arms as he thanked them for being there for him yet again.

“Enough.” That unfamiliar voice ordered. “If you two can’t behave, then leave, and Mr. Hua, at least sit in a chair; no one is going to ‘take him’ from you.”

“Yes, nurse.” Mu Qing sounded like a scolded child

“Sorry, sir.” Feng Xin sounded more like an adult than Xie Lian had ever heard.

The feeling of San Lang holding his hand faded. It made his heart rate spike. ‘Is he going to leave me now?!’ But then the feeling returned to his other hand as he felt the familiar warmth of the dragon’s much larger hand wrapped around his. 

“I’m here, gege; I’m always going to be here.” The voice was so soft that Xie Lian wasn’t even sure if San Lang actually said it. 

“Can he hear us?” Mu Qing’s voice was a lot closer now but also quieter, as it seemed he was taking what the nurse said to heart about being quiet.

“I can’t be completely sure since he is on a few sedatives to help with the pain, but talking to patients who are intubated like this has been correlated with a better recovery.” 

“And how long will he need to be on that machine?” That was Feng Xin again, his voice still as loud as ever. 

“We try not to keep patients on the ventilator for too long because there are risks. The doctor will order us to have small breaks from the sedation so we can see if he’ll start to breathe on his own.”

“Risked?” San Lang was back to sounding panicked.

“He could become dependent on the ventilator if left on it too long, and there is always the risk for infection with both the surgical incision and also the possibility that he could get pneumonia from the ventilator. But everyone here is going to work together to make sure to prevent it from coming to that, Mr. Hua.”

It was quiet once again, with the only sounds being the loud beeping and other noises from the machines. The three of them must have been taking in the information just as Xie Lian was, as he was trapped in his own body. He could feel the unnatural way the machine would inflate his lungs, and then they wouldn’t even deflate all the way on their own. It was uncomfortable at its best and painful at its worst. 

He could feel the warm tracks of tears yet again flowing from his still-closed eyes. Xie Lian then felt a warm hand wiping those tears, and it made everything relax. San Lang always had that effect on Xie Lian; it never mattered what was going on in the world, the safest place was always in his Xiǎo Lóng’s hold.

“I need to administer his next dose of morphine.” Xie Lian felt another hand grab his, this one covered in a most likely latex glove. Within 10 minutes, he felt everything becoming fuzzy once more as his strength faded and he was once again pulled into a dreamless sleep.  

~

“Did they find anything?” The next thing Xie Lian heard was San Lang talking to someone in a harsh tone, though he was sure to keep his voice down. Even with his eyes closed, he could still tell there were no lights on in the hospital room. Everything was slightly clearer, but the pain in his chest was still muffled by whatever pain medication was flowing through his IV at the moment. He tried to force himself to breathe when the machine turned off for a moment, but it was still too hard, and it kicked back on before too much time passed. So Xie Lian decided to just focus on the conversation San Lang was having. 

“They found the firearm in her apartment that matched the shell casings that were fired, but that wasn’t the only thing that was found in her new apartment.” ‘Oh, He Xuan is visiting?’

“Is it important regarding finding that whore?”

“It’ll definitely help with getting her arrested. The woman had photoshopped pictures of the two of you hung up everywhere.” 

‘What?’ Xie Lian didn’t even know if what he had heard was just a hallucination or if what He Xuan just said was real. There was a brief silence after that, as He Xuan was probably showing San Lang pictures of what they had found in Shé Fāng’s apartment, which allowed Xie Lian to reflect on his own interaction with the woman. 

It didn’t really surprise him that she may have had a crush on San Lang since the dragon is one of the kindest and most attentive people that Xie Lian had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was also very attractive; a person would need to be blind not to see that. But Xie Lian remembered that Shé Fāng hadn’t just said she liked San Lang; she had told Xie Lian that they had been dating for almost a year. She also didn’t seem like she was lying; it was almost as if she had convinced herself that it was true despite how little San Lang had interacted with her. 

“She’s more insane than I thought. I mean, look at this; she must have hired someone for this.” San Lang murmured as Xie Lian felt the grip on his hand tighten.

“No shit, I mean, I would even believe these pictures if I didn’t know better. It’ll definitely make for an interesting court proceeding.”

“Anything else I should be aware of, or are you just here to further interrupt my time with gege?” 

Xie Lian could hear He Xuan chuckle and then the subsequent growl from his Xiǎo Lóng. “Not getting along with your mate’s friends?”

“They’ve been removed for the time being because they were being too loud, but it seems that one of them is going to be the lawyer for this case.” 

‘I guess Mu Qing wanted to be on the prosecution team again.’ When Xie Lian was hit by that driver all those years ago, Mu Qing had insisted on pressing charges. When Xie Lian brought up that he couldn’t afford both the medical fees and paying a lawyer, Mu Qing said he would cover it. By the end of everything, his medical fees were covered by the driver, and Mu Qing refused to take any payment for his contributions. Saying it was ‘good practice,’ as he was still in law school at the time of the case.

“You going to let him?”

“He’ll be more sensitive to what Xie Lian can handle on the stand, plus as much as I hate to admit it, the idiot has a good win rate.” San Lang gritted out, leading He Xuan to laugh again. 

“Don’t hurt yourself, ash for breath.” Then, with a more serious tone, he asked, “What are the doctors saying?”

He could feel San Lang’s warm lips kiss the top of his hand and sound more solemn as he spoke. “Not much change; they’ve been trying to get him to breathe more on his own as a way of weaning him off the machine, but it’s not going well. The wounds are healing well at least, but his lungs were the most damaged, so breathing is the main issue at the moment.”

“Sorry to ask. You know, marking him will—”

“I know that, but with how things are right now, that’s not an option.” San Lang was quick to cut He Xuan off. 

Xie Lian had thought he had misheard originally, but this was the second time that He Xuan had brought up the potential of Xie Lian being San Lang’s mate. ‘Was his plan actually working? But what if all this is a dream and just what I wish was said?’ Until he woke up and heard the confession from San Lang himself, he couldn’t be sure, but it was more motivation to continue to try to breathe on his own. For now, though, he felt the exhaustion once again wash over him as he was pulled back under to sleep.

~

The next time he was able to pull himself into consciousness, he could feel everything almost too clearly. Everything was uncomfortably painful as he peeled his eyes open and tried to take in a deep breath. This time, though, he was actually able to breathe for a bit on his own before he started coughing around the tube wedged into his throat. The constant beeping of the machines was louder and almost piercing as his head throbbed. 

“Mr. Xie, can you hear me alright?” It was another nurse talking to him. Throughout the last few times he had been able to wake up, he had heard a plethora of new voices from nurses to doctors. but recently, they have been running a few tests to see if he could breathe without the ventilator. As Xie Lian nodded his head in response and felt another squeeze on his hand. 

This time, he was able to turn his head a bit to see San Lang still sitting at his bedside; his smile looked exhausted, and he was paler than normal with dark circles around his one visible eye that was stained red from crying. His hair was down, and he was just in a T-shirt and jeans. 

“Good, we’ve gone through all the necessary checks and suctioned out the tube, so we’re going to try and get you off the ventilator today. I’m going to be walking you through the process, so just nod or shake your head if you understand.” This time it was a female nurse, and he could see that there was also a doctor in the room, probably just in case something went wrong.  

Xie Lian nodded his head. The nurse then moved the head of the bed so that Xie Lian was sitting upright and started to remove the straps around the tubes, talking both San Lang and Xie Lian through the entire process. Then he felt the nurse disconnect the tube from the ventilator, and one of the multiple beeping sounds stopped as the machine was turned off. It didn’t make too much of a difference, as he was already forcing himself to breathe on his own, but the look of concern that turned into relief on San Lang’s face showed that that feeling wasn’t a shared one.

“Okay, Mr. Xie, I’m going to pull out the tube. All I need you to do is cough or exhale as I do. It may be a bit uncomfortable, but at any point it becomes painful, just squeeze your friend's hand and he’ll let me know.” 

Xie Lian nodded again and braced himself for the feeling of the tube being removed. Uncomfortable was an understatement, but it wasn’t painful, and as the last of the tube was removed, he gasped and was immediately taken over by a coughing fit. A straw was then placed in front of his face, and he gratefully took a drink that helped soothe his raw throat. Though swallowing was another issue entirely, as it was a bit foreign after so long of having something shoved into his throat. 

“Slowly, geg, you’re okay.” San Lang comforted him as he rubbed his arm. The two medical professionals in the room watched him closely as he drank the water, making sure he didn’t start choking. 

“How’s the pain at the moment, Mr. Xie?” The nurse asked. 

“Hurts…chest…throat…” His voice was scratchy, and it took a lot of effort to just get those three words out. 

“Can you show me on your fingers how painful it is, from one being no pain at all to ten being the worst pain imaginable?” 

Xie Lian lifted the hand that San Lang wasn’t holding and put up a five before changing it to two, signifying that his pain was at a seven at the moment. Maybe it would’ve been easier to use both hands, but he was selfish and didn’t wish to let go of San Lang’s hand. 

“Alright, then I’ll make sure to get you your pain medication after a quick assessment.”

“Shouldn’t decreasing his pain be your first priority?” San Lang sneered. 

“I need to make sure he’s breathing properly before we add more medications that may affect his respiratory rate.” The nurse calmly replied as she continued to walk the two of them through the assessment, while the physician then explained that he would be moved from the ICU after a day of monitoring to a med-surg floor. It was a lot and a little hard to understand, but at least San Lang seemed to understand what was going on, so Xie Lian could ask later. At this point, he was just glad that he was getting better and wouldn’t need to yet again leave his Xiǎo Lóng.