"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan croaks out, leaning down to kiss his cheek, not daring to touch him with his bloodied hands. "Lan Zhan will never leave you. Lan Zhan loves you. Be brave a little longer and I will hold you," he promises.

He wants to hold him now, to pull him close and stop him shivering. The confusion is worse even than the pain. But he must finish.

He pulls back and moves down the bed again, exposing the wound and readying his needle. "Will hurt. But will be fast," he warns as he pierces the skin, not letting himself look at Wei Ying's face again.