It is a truth universally known that when battle lines are drawn between family members there can be no winner.

Upon returning from the weekend away, Mei and KO found a note posted to their front door. Mei yanked it off, scanning quickly before crumpling it in his hand.

"What was it?"

"Eviction notice."

"They can't evict you though." KO followed Mei inside and dumped their bags on the coffee table in the lounge.

"They obviously don't know that yet." The fake notice was tossed into the bin before Mei opened the fridge. "Beer?"

"Tell Laoda first," the older, much more domesticated, man started unpacking their clothes, separating them into piles of light, dark, and underwear. "And you might need to rescue that note. Xiao Nai might need it."

Mei scowled at the logic- it was much more satisfying to throw it away- but pulled the notice out of the trash. He smoothed it flat on the table before taking a picture and sending it to Xiao Nai. Once his phone dinged that the picture had sent, he tossed it and the notice on the table.

"It didn't take them long." He flopped on to the couch behind KO as his partner continued unpacking and sorting. Lying down was the only way to stop himself from pacing with frustration: it wasn't his fault if it also gave him the perfect view of KO's rear every time the man leaned over to pull something else out of their bags.

"When was the notice left?" Bags empty, KO carried the pile of light coloured clothes into the tiny laundry.

"Yesterday."

"So we've got at least one more day before they find out they can't touch this place," KO's voice carried through the apartment even as beeping sounds told Mei the first load of laundry was being put on to wash. Sometimes he thought the sound of the washing machine beeping was the most comforting sound in the apartment. Not because it meant he didn't have to do laundry (not that he would have done it anyway- isn't that what dry cleaners are for?), but because it meant someone was in his home, caring for him. Every mechanical beep, be it the washing machine or the dryer, was like a pat on the shoulder reminding him that he wasn't alone.

"Pa will probably self-combust and take a day to calm down enough to think logically. Ma will coo at him until he stops raging and then it will be her turn for hysterics when they access the family registry." Mei rubbed his eyes, a headache forming behind them. "Hopefully taking myself off their registry will be enough of a point."

"Is that likely?" A knee nudged Mei's shoulder and he sat up enough for KO to sit on the couch, then leaned back with his head on the hacker's lap. Cool fingers stroked gently over his brow and he sighed with relief.

"With Pa's temper and pride? And Ma's "what will people think?" dramatics?" He snorted. "Not a chance. No war worth winning is over that quickly anyway."

Opening his eyes, Mei looked up at KO then reached a hand up to cup his cheek.

"They just don't know that I already have my prize."

The soft words and pink atmosphere startled KO and a blush crept over his cheeks.

"So corny."

"So true." Mei smiled up at his lover. KO's head lowered as Mei lifted his and their lips met in a kiss even softer than Mei's words. "I love you, Oppa."

"I love you, E-Mei."

The following days played out according to Mei's predication. Two days later he received a phone call from his father; with the phone on speaker and KO's phone recording the tirade that Mei's father levelled at his son, the pair drank beer and ate salted peanuts as they listened.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"What?" Mei finished chewing the nuts before continuing to speak. "Sorry, I tuned you out when you started insulting my ancestors. I am interested to know which ancestors you were insulting? The ones from your side of the family or Ma's?"

The explosion of anger was more than worth forcing levity into his voice.

"Pa. I'm your son. Did you honestly expect me not to learn from last time? To assume that you wouldn't try and do the same thing again?" Mei tsked then finished the last of his bottle. "You can't touch my house. Can't force me back by leaving me homeless. Try something else. Jiayo." (A/N; good luck/fighting.)

The call ended in the middle of Mei's father drawing in breath to yell. Shaking his head, KO saved the recording and emailed it though to Xiao Nai.

"I didn't think he'd be quite so vicious."

"Oh, that was nothing. Wait until they check the registry and Ma rings."

"You don't have to answer."

"Yes I do. You know I do. If I don't answer then they won't spin enough rope to hang themselves with. We need these recordings." Mei collected their empty bottles and tossed them into the recycling box with a clatter. "What another drink?"

"We have work in the morning." KO frowned at his partner, not liking the sight of his love using alcohol to dull the emotional pain. He understood though, and knew it wouldn't be a long, drawn out war. For the short term, if it helped Mei cope, then he'd make sure he never drank alone. And he stocked up on the ingredients for his clear broth in the morning. He'd reached the limit for the night of what he was happy seeing Mei drink, so when the younger man walked past him towards the fridge, KO stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "Don't drink more."

"It helps me sleep," biting his lower lip, Mei scuffed at the floor with a bare foot. It was embarrassing to admit that the stress of the situation was making a grown man wake through the night with tears on his cheeks. Each night he would scrub them away, turning his back to KO in case his lover woke and worried.

KO's lips curled and his eyes darkened. "If you need something to help you sleep, I've got a better idea."

He lifted Mei's shirt and buried his face against the soft skin. Goose bumps raised under his breath and Mei's hands settled in KO's hair. The hacker had forgone his buzz cut when he realised how frequently Mei tried to tug on his hair and both of them were enjoying the extra centimetre of growth.

"I'll give you all the comfort you can take before exhaustion sends us both to sleep." KO nipped lightly at Mei's belly and the hands in his hair tightened, all the agreement he needed. The things he did to avoid having his lover wake up with a hangover in the morning.

When Mei's Ma rang, the pair were at work and took the call in Xiao Nai's office. With the phone once more on speaker, Mei sat on KO's lap on the black leather lounge. With his face tucked against the hacker's neck, Mei couldn't see the audience that had gathered outside the office, listening to the shrill hysterics that carried beyond the closed door. When his mother's cries about an unfilial son turned cruel, citing an enduring disappointment and wishing he'd been born after the one child policy was adapted, allowing her to try again after her first mistake, KO stood, carrying Mei out of the office and away from words he younger man did not need to hear. He sat them on the keyboard couch, rocking Mei gently as the younger tried not to let everyone see how upset he was. By unspoken agreement, everyone kept their attention focussed on the office, now occupied by Ban Shan and Yong Hou.

When there was a brief pause in the tirade, Ban Shan spoke up and his words took everyone by surprise.

"You bitch."

Wei Wei covered her mouth with a gasp. Xiao Nai covered her ears. Wang Wei and Li Qiang exchanged high fives.

"How someone as horrible as you managed to give birth to someone as sweet as Mei-ge, I will never know."

"Not once did you visit while he was studying." Yong Hou joined the fray. "Not once did you allow him home for his breaks. For the last five years, he's been little better than an orphan. Worse, because an orphan can at least imagine having loving parents, whereas Mei has daily been faced with the knowledge that his parents don't care."

"You have both worried more about your own pride, about making him fall in to line, than about whether or not he was happy, studying well, eating well." Ban Shan raised his voice over the shrieking that was happening on the other end of the phone. "You have nothing to find fault with."

Mei's mother's response was indistinguishable through the walls but Yong Hou's reaction was clear.

"So what if he's gay? Better that than being married to someone who cares for him as little as his parents do." Whatever Mei's mother said made both Ban Shan and Yong Hou laugh, albeit rather bitterly.

"It's not the bloody flu- you can't catch it. Being friends with a homosexual doesn't make me one... but listening to you rant is definitely turning me off the idea of marriage. Don't contact my friend again unless you're going to be civil."

Silence enveloped the office when Ban Shan abruptly disconnected the call. There was a brief pause and then loud cheering broke out. When Ban Shan and Yong Hou exited Xiao Nai's office their peers feted them like heroes. The pair sat on the couch, on either side of the couple and Ban Shan put his hand on Mei's shoulder.

"Hey, Plato- 'take no account of the tears and lamentations... let (y)our inward conduct be even more untainted and pure and sensible."

The seriousness of Ban Shan's words, and the fact that he'd remembered them from an essay they'd studied in class, made Mei smile.

"I see your Plato and raise you a Ou-Yang Hsiu: 'whenever one encounters dangerous circumstances the advice is always: 'cross the river'." The pair smiled at each other while KO furrowed his brow, struggling to work out what code had just been spoken. Normally he didn't worry about his lack of education compared to the others- he was better at coding than the rest and that was what he was employed to do after all- but for someone who hadn't studied philosophy, the conversation may as well have been in tongues. By the time he decided to stop trying to work it out, Mei was off his lap and back at the desk, returning to work as if the phone call hadn't happened.

It was on the seventh day after the eviction notice was posted, that Xiao Nai called everyone into the conference room for a meeting. Hearing the summons, Mei's throat ran dry. All had been quiet on the parental front and it was due for a shake up. He just hoped they hadn't gone too far.

When everyone was sitting at the table or leaning against the walls, Xiao Nai addressed the room.

"There has been an attempt to purchase Zhi Yi shares." Before the outrage could build, Xiao Nai raised a hand and silenced everyone. "Obviously they can't purchase shares that aren't on the market. However, I had a phone call from Feng Teng this morning, letting me know that there have been moves to discredit the company and jeopardise our collaboration. He was ringing to discuss several, disturbing rumours and when I explained the circumstances, he was able to confirm the origin of his concerns."

Mei paled. "No. They can't touch the company. You've worked too hard for it... you all have..."

His hands fisted tight enough that his nails drew blood on his palms. "I'll go home before I let them destroy what we all worked so hard for."

Xiao Nai simply looked at him until he sat in silence, looking down at his hands fisted in his lap.

"We have steps we can take; but I can't make that decision on my own. We can fend off Mei's father one attack at a time. He can't do anything to the company at the moment- our collaboration with Feng Teng is secure, but the longer rumours fester, the harder it will be to make new connections when we finish Dreams of Jiangshu 2."

Disgruntled murmurs rolled around the conference room. No one liked the idea of staying on the defensive for an indefinite period of time.

"There is one other option," Xiao Nai cleared his throat. "Hear me out before reacting."

When everyone nodded their agreement, Xiao Nai continued.

"We have a more aggressive option. One that I think we'd all agree to except for one thing..." he looked over at Mei and KO, waiting for the pair to give him their permission to share the details they had discussed before everything started. When they nodded at him, Xiao Nai closed his eyes briefly, hating what he was about to do. "But this options relies on Hao Mei and KO leaving. Not just Zhi Yi, but Beijing."