Past 

"Such a nice name, Fengmian, Look into my eyes... " YiJun requests, and the child looks into YiJun's eyes. 

"Take me to your home," YiJun whispers in the child's ears. The child nods. He holds YiJun's sleeve tighter and pulls the immortal towards his home. 

YiJun's heart grows heavy. He recalls Xian doing the same thing: pulling his sleeves and dragging him here and there, when they were kids.

The eyes follow YiJun and the little boy to a village nearby, where YiJun drops the child off and leaves.

*One hundred and fifty years after YiJun and Shen parted ways with Xian's parents*

Shen and YiJun had heard about a mysterious flu that had broken out in a small village next to the one they were currently residing in: people had started dying of unknown causes. People had started calling it the Yèjiān liúgǎn: The Night Flu. No one knew from where or when the flu had originated.

"Uncle, I think we should go there. Maybe we can help." Wangji suggests, hopefully.

Shen and YiJun arrive in the village and are at once, hit by the smell of infected blood. 

 "Night creatures." Both realize, simultaneously. They roam the village; they see nothing but burnt up corpses all around. They decide to leave but just then, a familiar scent calls to YiJun. 

"Uncle, let's check there." He says, pointing to a small hut and walking towards it.

On entering it, YiJun's eyes fall on a middle-aged man, crouching next to an empty cradle; the man is crying. His tears are red.

YiJun goes to the man, "What happened here?" he asks, turning the man to face him.

"He took him. He took him. He took him." The man mumbles. He keeps repeating the sentence over and over again. 

YiJun's breath hitches, "No!" he softly exclaims. He can't believe his eyes. He cups the man's face, "Jiang Fengmian, what happened here? Tell me."

The past fifty years had not been kind to the small boy YiJun had helped almost fifty years ago. Jiang Fengmian looks at YiJun. His eyes become clear, "The night flu took everything from us. My family was the last to get infected." He looks at the cradle and continues, "My grandson was the only one who was left unaffected. But before I could take him to safety, he came and took him away."

YiJun strokes Fengmian's shoulder gently, "How did the infection spread?"

"I don't know," Fengmian says, shaking his head.

"Can you tell me who took your grandson away?"

"No, he came before dawn. His face was covered; all I could see was a triskelion mark on his wrist."

"Where is your family?" YiJun asks.

Fengmian shakes his head, "Everyone is dead."

"What about in the village, any survivors?"

"I am the only one," Fengmian says before he starts coughing. Blood oozes out of his mouth. He holds YiJun's sleeve and tugs, "Young master, please help me!"

YiJun nods and smiles. Tears make their way down his face, "You will feel no pain, Fengmian." He whispers and unsheathes his sword; with one clean-cut, he ends Fengmian's suffering.

YiJun walks towards the cradle. He lifts a sheet that must have belonged to the baby and smells it, 'It's similar to Xian, but not the same. But it is closer to Xian's scent than Fengmian's.'

YiJun looks at Shen and says in a small, dejected voice, "It was not my Xian, uncle."

After making sure that there were no survivors, Shen and YiJun decide to burn the village to the ground, to stop the infection from spreading, and leave. 

Present

 *Ever Night club*

XiChen knocks on the door and enters the room; Jin Gayo is waiting for him.

"XiChen, you said that you have some information for me. What is it?"

XiChen falls to his knees, "Master, I made a mistake in my assessment, Mr. Lan is not human, I was going through the security camera today, and noticed that Mr. Lan persuaded Xian, and drank from him."

"What!?" Jin Gayo's eyes widen.

XiChen elaborates, "Master, I think Mr. Lan drinks from him regularly and makes him forget. I spoke to Xian today. He said that he has someone in his life. Mr. Lan, however, repeatedly interrupted me from getting close to the boy. As if the boy belongs to him."

"Maybe Lan is like Shin, like she fell first for that damn wolf and then for that arrogant Prince." Gayo reasons. Then something occurs to him, "Did you enquire about Shen and that persistent Police officer?"

XiChen nods, "From what I can tell, Shen and Zhau are in a relationship. They are not exactly hiding it." XiChen clears his throat and looks away.

Gayo sighs, "Do you think that Shen is the wolf taking care of Lan's daily chores?"

"That is a possibility, Master." XiChen nods.

"But, I don't remember turning Lan." Gayo thinks aloud.

"Master, maybe Princess Shin did it. She did turn a few and let them live." XiChen reminds Gayo.

"True, she was always impulsive." Gayo smiles affectionately. Then he looks at XiChen and continues, "And Lan is a beautiful man. What if we bring him to Shin? Maybe Shin will stop asking for Xian, and take an interest in Lan instead."

XiChen nods, "Master, what do you want me to do next?"

Jin Gayo opens his mouth to speak but stops when there is a knock on the door, and two men enter. Their clothes are bloodstained, "Master, princess Shin is out of control. She has already killed two men."

"What triggered her?" Gayo asks casually.

"She got restless all of a sudden and started mumbling something about YiJun betraying her." The man says, without looking at Gayo.

Gayo doesn't understand the meaning behind the words but rushes to Shin, nonetheless.

*Jiang Residence*

Wangji drops off Xian and drives away, but not before promising the young man that he will surely attend the party that evening.

Yanli is waiting for Xian when he enters the house, "A Xian!" She exclaims, startling Xian, who yelps, "Aww. Shijie, it's you."

Yanli hugs Xian, "Happy birthday!"

Xian looks at the time; it's past twelve, "Thanks, Shijie." he says, hugging the young girl tight.

When they break the embrace, Yanli is smiling, but she is in tears, "I wish you never lose your smile, A Xian."

Xian hugs his sister again, "I hope so too, Shijie."

Yanli looks at Xian like she wants to ask him something, but then shakes her head, "Go. Sleep."

Xian runs upstairs, changes, and goes to sleep.

That night, Xian dreams once again. He dreams of Xi Xi and a small boy with a beautiful smile. He dreams of Cong being rude to someone. He catches a glimpse of a familiar Jade knife. Xian sees himself getting pierced by the jade knife; he dreams of moaning in pleasure. Pleasure that Jun is giving him. He dreams of cumming hard and calling Jun's name.

Xian sits up feeling like he was made love to repeatedly, all night long. He looks to the window and tries to walk to it. He feels a little sour, but he can't help but smile. He looks at the rising sun and closes his eyes. Words spoken to him repeatedly in the dream echo in his mind, "I love you, Xian, I will always love you." And his smile widens. He walks to the washroom and looks in the mirror. His brows knit together when he sees a bloodstain on his shirt. 

He removes his shirt and caresses the white lotus mark on his chest. He inspects it, and he sees dried blood right in the middle of the symbol. He splashes water on the blood and sees a very tiny prick mark on it. Xian cleans the blood and puts a band-aid on the small wound. 

He leans in closer, 'Has it darkened?' he asks himself. 

Wei Xian has always had the mark on his chest. He was born with it. Of course, the mark was much lighter when he was younger. As the years had gone by, the mark had gotten clearer; more defined.

Not many had seen the mark, though. And no one had seen it in recent years. Xian had always wanted to blend in. So, he had always made sure to hide the mark; he had never given it much thought though. It was just there, marking his otherwise blemish-free body.

He caresses the mark on his chest, "Why did I dream of this mark?" he asks himself, before stepping into the shower.

When Xian walks out, his eyes widen, and he smiles brightly, "Dawn!" he exclaims, hugging the wolf-dog and buries his face in its fur, "I have missed you so much, Dawn."

Dawn wags its tail; Xian kisses its nose, "Why didn't you visit sooner? Well, I am super happy that you are here."

'I am super happy that you came to visit me, Jun.' Xian thinks happily.

Dawn licks Xian's neck. 

 Xian giggles, "I just took a bath. At least let me stay clean for a few seconds!"

Dawn whines and licks Xian's lips.

Xian pulls Dawn on his lap and runs his hand through his fur, "Dawn, I had a dream last night..." Xian's heart starts beating faster at the thought of how Jun had made him feel.' I shouldn't say it. Jun will worry.'

Xian pats his heart, "Dawn, let's take a small nap, ok?" He says, climbing into bed with Dawn by his side.

Dawn doesn't follow. It notices the limp in Xian's walk.

"What are you waiting for, Dawn? Come." Xian urges, patting the space next to him; the wolf-dog joins him; Xian holds Dawn and falls asleep. 

 *

 *

 *

Xian stirs in his sleep when he feels warm lips on his cheeks. Keeping his eyes closed, he feels the cloth wrapped around his eyes with his fingertips, "Jun, when will you let me look at you?" He whispers, turning his head to a side.

'Soon... Very soon. I love you.' Wangji thinks but doesn't speak.

Xian lifts his hand, and Wangji puts it on his cheek before kissing his palm."I love you too, Jun."

Wangji gasps, 'You can hear my thoughts?'

Xian smiles, "Yes, I told you before that I can hear you. It seems like I am not important enough for you- Ah!" Xian gasps when he feels Wangji's hands on his waist tighten.

'You are important.' Wangji thinks, placing kisses on Xian's cheek and jaw. Then he stops, 'Are you hurt somewhere?'

Xian freezes. His heart starts hammering in his chest. Wangji hears Xian's heart thumping faster and feels his body get warmer, 'Xian, what happened?' Wangji panics.

Xian pulls Wangji towards himself and buries his face in Wangji's neck, "It's nothing. I had a dream." Xian admits feeling embarrassed. How can he tell Jun about his dream? How can he tell where he is hurt!?

'What kind of dream? Did you bleed again?' Wangji asks.

'You slipped up, my Jun.', Xian smiles mischievously, "Again? Jun, how did you know I was hurt before?"

Wangji gulps, 'Damn it.'

"Jun, how did... Mmmmm!" Xian moans when Wangji's hand travels under Xian's shirt and strokes his already hard nipple. He captures Xian's lips between his and starts sucking and nipping. 

Xian pulls Wangji closer. Wangji moves on top of Xian: his hardness pressing between Xian's legs. 

Xian pants and his hands travel all over Wangji's naked back. 'He is only wearing shorts; probably my shorts!' Xian realizes.

He deepens the kiss and puts his hands inside Wangji's shorts, and cups Wangji's behind. 

Wangji growls and breaks the kiss. He looks at Xian's smirking face, 'Shameless!'

Wangji notices that Xian had not answered him. 'Aren't you going to tell me where it is that you are hurt?'

Xian shakes his head, 'Thank fuck he can't read my mind.' The young man thinks, pulling himself closer to the immortal.

Wangji bites his lips and kisses Xian.

'Blood!' Xian realizes. 'Since I didn't tell him where I am hurt, he decided to heal me with his blood.'

Xian takes Wangji's bleeding lower lip between his and sucks hard. 

Wangji moans. But before the voice becomes loud enough to attract attention, Xian thrusts his tongue into Wangji's mouth, deepening the kiss once again. The sourness he had been feeling disappears.

Wangji breaks the kiss reluctantly. 'Happy birthday, Xian. I love you. I will see you tonight.' He promises.

"Jun? Jun?" Xian whispers and sits up. He removes the blindfold, and a second later, Jiang Cheng enters.

"Jiang Cheng!" Xian exclaims. "Why don't you ever knock?"

"If you wanted privacy, why the fuck did you not close the door!?" Jiang Cheng asks before throwing himself on Xian's bed and hugging him. "Happy Birthday, Big Bro!"

Xian hugs back. A growl comes from the back of the bed. Both boys turn to see the wolf-dog growling at Jiang Cheng.

"Seriously! What's it doing here so early in the morning?" Jiang Cheng asks, subtly moving away from Xian. The younger boy knows in his heart that the dog doesn't like him being close to his brother.

Xian smiles and lightly pinches Jiang Cheng's cheek, "Just like you, he came to wish me."

"Fine. A Jie asked you to come downstairs once you are ready." Jiang Cheng informs and leaves the room.

'He must have heard Jiang Cheng.' Xian thinks. He gets off the bed and gestures Dawn to follow, "Dawn, I have things to do now. There is a party here tonight. I hope your boss can make it. There is someone I would like him to meet." 

Dawn accompanies Xian downstairs and leaves when Xian opens the door.

{Note:- Word count 2300

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