Lu Han

“What time do you usually sleep?”

Ianthe woke him from his catnap on the bus. Lu Han raised sleepy eyes to meet her disapproving ones, which puzzled him.

“Um, depends….” He started.

“But forever later than three in the morning.” She finished matter-of-factly. Lu Han said nothing, he had the I’m-being-scolded feeling. “And you hardly eat your breakfast.”

“No time…” He reasoned lamely, leaving out the fact that he was also loathe to eat the nearest bakery’s year-old bread and pastries. He once bit into a tart full of tiny, white disgusting worms or sort, and never dared to buy another thing from there again.

Ianthe didn’t fully believe him. Her eyebrows indicated and? to the unfinished statement of his earlier. He shrugged dismissively.

“Does the food there at the shop nearby taste bad?” She guessed, and hit the target accurately. Lu Han marveled silently at her special ‘skills’. Always the one to notice things first, to guess things correctly. “I’ll buy it for you elsewhere. You’ll have a bit more time to sleep than to cook for yourself in the mornings. Breakfasts are a must, aren’t they for humans?” Ianthe volunteered swiftly.

Honestly, she didn’t mind, if only it could cure his dark circles and give him more time to rest. Sooner or later, the lack of sleep and his studies and job will take a toll on his already seemingly quite frail body, and she just didn’t want that.

“You don’t have to-” Lu Han protested. Ianthe held a finger to her lips.

“Just leave the money and your orders on the table before you sleep each night. Maybe I can learn a thing from you and boil you a cup of coffee or something, too.” Ianthe added. Lu Han frowned. Why the sudden obvious worry and care? He wasn’t going to collapse or something halfway while walking.

“You might, if you continue this no-sleep-and-meals routine of yours.” Ianthe smirked.

His eyes widened. How did she know what he was thinking?

“I guess? I don’t have mind-reading powers, so relax.”

Lu Han smiled. “Thank you, then. But you really don’t have to wake up at five in the morning just for my breakfast.”

Ianthe pressed her lips into a tight line. Such casualties with oneself’s body. He should put his health in front of others. But then, it was what made her like him more. “I am a lady of my word. I shall do as what I have promised.”

They ride the rest of the trip home in silence, Lu Han taking naps between frequent glances at the each stop point. Ianthe watched, observed, and added another duty to her list.

 

“You go up first. I’ll just roam about for a bit.” Ianthe pushed him lightly towards the lobby.

Lu Han knitted his brows. “What? Where are you going? It’s late.” The sky was a dark sequin. There could be dangers about. And, she was a girl, Angel or not.

“I’ll be fine.” Ianthe smiled, reassuringly, and skipped with light steps off.

 

Lu Han fretted. She’s been gone for quite a while. Lu Han blew into his icy hands. Gloves would be necessary; the temperature had already started dropping dramatically. He shivered; the winds carried an ominous warning. Where the heck did she go? Lu Han rose from the steps of the building and wandered off, searching for a girl in white.

Nothing will happen to her, nothing will…

“Don’t touch me,” a voice hissed vehemently. Fear shot up his spine, rooting him to his spot. Ianthe!

“Ianthe,” he repeated, turning slowly towards the source. His eyes widened in horror. Ianthe was pressed against the wall, two drunkards surrounding her, laughing giddily, taking swigs from their damned bottles. They didn’t look much younger than him. One had captured a strand of her dark hair between his thumb and forefinger and was running them down the long length of it. The other moved in closer, causing the angel to press her back harder into the wall. No one was about, no one saw.

“Before I rage, I warn you, leave me alone.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but they heard her alright. The one toying with her hair laughed in glee.

“Oh, commme onnnn, girlieee,” he took another drink, slurring his words “you know how much fun we can have tonight…” There was on one to witness the scene; it was very late. Only Lu Han, now in a blur of motion.

Lu Han didn’t know he could move that fast, but he did, much to his surprise later. His fists connected with their faces square on their jaws and noses. Adrenaline coursed through his veins in a fury as he pulled a stock-still Ianthe behind him and held his fists up, prepared to fight. “Like she said, leave. Her. Effing. Alone,” Lu Han spat poisonously. Neither victim nor savior remembered when he had treated someone like this, ever.

“What’s with you, dude? Just chilling out.” The drunks raised their bottles defensively, wiping their sleeves across their noses and mouths. It came away bloodstained.

“Not with my girlfriend. And I bet you shouldn’t be drinking. Under aged, aren’t you?” Lu Han snapped. They muttered something incoherent, and ran off like a dog with their tail between thier legs. The fire faded away, and he inhaled deeply.

“Girlfriend.” Ianthe tested the word out behind him. It was the only word she heard all along, and well, it had some effects on her, even if she knew not what it really meant.

“It was just a…I don’t know, I just…” Lu Han stumbled over his words to explain. Ianthe giggled and took his arm.

“I don’t mind. In fact, it sounds cool. Let’s go, Deer.” She tugged, and Lu Han followed willingly.

“Are you okay?” He asked, sweeping a careful eye over her entire being. She seemed okay. Not hurt physically. Ianthe grinned.

“I didn’t know you loved saving people. I didn’t know, either, that you could curse,” Ianthe replied, winking, her mirth evident in her twinkling eyes. Lu Han ran a hand through his curls sheepishly.

“I only do that when I’m seriously pissed off,” he muttered, more to himself.

Ianthe shot him a look, but chose not to make comment about it. Instead, she looped her arm around his. “Thank you, by the way, for saving me, despite the fact that I think I could have handled them nicely.” There was a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. Lu Han tried to stable his heart rate and ignore how her eyes had caught him under their enchantment.

“I’ll take it that you don’t really mean to do what I’m thinking you’re implying.” Lu Han’s lips lifted in an amused smile.

“It would have been interesting.”

 

It was the strong awakening aroma of newly-brewed coffee, not the usual shrill of the alarm, that woke him, his mouth watering. Lu Han squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, rubbing. The Angel prowled about the kitchen on silent feet, her finger while holding a steaming mug. She’d scalded herself. He'd told her not to bother!

“Ianthe,” he said, rising from the sofa and pattering towards her. Clear, blue eyes met his, and they turned apologetic.

“Deer, you’re up. Sorry, did I wake you?” She placed the mug of coffee on the small dining table in the kitchen and gestured to the toast on the table. “Well, since it’s almost time, you can start washing up and eating.”

“Is your hand okay?”

“Hand?”

Pause.

“Oh, it’s fine. No need to worry.”

Pause.

“Okay. The first aid’s in the cupboard in the bathroom, just in case.” Just in case, Lu Han thought.

Ianthe nodded and inclined her head at the bread. “Eat.”

 She accompanied him to his car later, but did not get in. Figured. “Goodbye, Deer. Don’t overwork yourself.” Ianthe seemed like a typical mother-or, girlfriend should one be amused to say, but what really stunned him was the peck she placed on his cheek.

“Bye...” Lu Han nodded numbly and drove off, but his mind was fuzzy from the intimate contact.

A touch of her hand on his arm could send tingles down his spine, much less a kiss of her addictive cherry lips once again for the second time.

It left an imprint, however small the peck was, burning passionately on his flesh in contrast to the chilling pre-winter air.