Fluffy WangXian Oneshots

The Hand of the Giver Part 5

Lan Zhan wakes up with a sense of foreboding.

Tomorrow he must marry the Kitsune.

That means today is his last day with Wei Ying.

A fissure tears his heart in half and the pain is indescribable.

This is worse than leaving his home, his brother, his family.

He feels the weight of every single muscle in his body as he reluctantly rises for the day, a heaviness that settles in his limbs, and now his mind feels just as weighed down because he has not managed to find the answer.

What is the greatest thing about love?

The question mocks him, and his intelligence.

Lan Zhan has thought about all the possibilities. He knows that he hit upon something important that first day, an epiphany which should have resulted in the answer, because Wei Ying also had thought of the same thing.

But that blinding realisation of knowing that whatever the answer was, that it was undoubtedly applicable to all types of love, unfortunately fizzled out into nothing.

The answer was frustratingly right there!

Lan Zhan could feel it in his blood, the thing he needed to solve this riddle. Like standing on the edge of a precarious cliff edge, the precipice yawning in front of his feet, and Bichen only inches away, just out of reach.

Right on the tip of his tongue, like the name of a song conveniently forgotten at the wrong time.

His tension at not understanding what it could be was giving him a headache, the worst one yet.

He wanted to give himself a break, to stop thinking about what it would mean, were he to find the right answer.

But he had run out of time.

He had exhausted every avenue of thought regarding the exploration of love. Going into in depth self discussions on the different types of love and coming up empty.

Friendship was another kind of love, applying to both platonic and romantic ones.

To know that one was understood and accepted, to not be judged in any way for the feelings exposed, unburdened to eager ears wishing only to listen.

Lan Zhan had never experienced that for himself.

His brotherly bond with XiChen was born out of love, yes, but also wasn't it an obligation? Didn't you have to love your family? Wasn't that a prerequisite of the ones you lived with, ate with, spent time with?

But then, didn't that happen automatically?

Lan Zhan hadn't ever heard of anyone hating their Siblings, even if that was off topic. Hatred was the other side of love, and should be understood just as well, in his opinion.

Even the Nie brothers loved each other, despite having different mothers, and then, could he find the answer there?

If any pair of Siblings were not expected to love each other, it could be them, and yet their affection was apparent even to a blind person. They were apart from the familial obligation and yet they traversed it to love each other as true brothers.

Lan Zhan felt he was closer than ever to the answer. Just a little more thinking, and he would be there!

He performed his usual duties to his mind and body and once he finished with his meditation, he opened his bedroom door, and his gaze fell upon the keeper of his heart.

Wei Ying.

Curled up like Lan Zhan imagined his Master would be, fast asleep and lightly snoring, cute little puffs of air escaping from his pouting lips, warm against Lan Zhan’s neck as he lifts him up into his arms.