Fluffy WangXian Oneshots

Who Am I To You? Part 2

Lan Zhan is already walking away when Wei Ying chases after him.

"Wait! Lan Zhan, wait!" He says quickly.

Lan Zhan turns around slowly, and even though he has not done anything overly exerting, his chest is heaving. Tears fall from his eyes.

Wei Ying knows he cannot let him go, not when it means certain death.

"Please…I have finished painting for today. But…what if I promise to paint for you soon?"

It is a lie.

And Wei Ying hates himself for doing this, but it's all he can come up with on the fly.

Hope blooms in those gorgeous golden eyes Wei Ying has come to, first admire, and now love.

"You will paint?"

"On one condition." Wei Ying says slowly, trying to think of something that will work.

"Mn?"

"Stay with me. I do not know what happened, back there. But I'm working on it, okay?" Wei Ying takes a deep breath. "At the end of each night, I will ask you a question. You must do your best to answer it. When I am satisfied, I will paint for you."

Lan Zhan considers this.

He already likes Wei Ying.

Now that he's had a little bit of time to get over the idea of not having a painting handed to him today, it is hope which grows like a weed in his chest.

The stress, unconsciously and on purpose, has led up to this moment.

Has he been putting too much pressure on himself without realising it? And building it up in his mind, that today, this very hour, his worries were going to cease? Today, he was going to find the solution to a years-old problem?

Wasn't that a little too naive of him?

Maybe he should take Wei Ying up on his offer… since the alternative was to go back to Cloud Recesses, to go back to his ever-hopeful and optimistic brother, and pressurising uncle with the bad news that he had failed yet again.

Lan Zhan only had to imagine their faces when he told them…

No.

He had nothing else to lose now, except that little bit of dignity.

And perhaps it wouldn't be so bad…living with Wei Ying.

So he nods, agreeing to his offer.

***********

Wei Ying packs up all of his things and Lan Zhan helps him carry it back to his home.

He wasn't sure what he expected when he saw where Wei Ying lived, for the first time.

The house had a face, of sorts.

Not much of the original structure was visible, with so many additions tacked on as afterthoughts, that it wasn't even a square shape any more. The windows looked like eyes, albeit friendly ones, the door round and stubby like a cute nose. There was a chimney haphazardly built and tilting already precarious in the wind.

His garden was…chaos.

Plants of all sorts of varieties grew where they liked with no order, and definitely would be a case for cross pollination. There was an apple tree in the corner next to a stable, more of a shack, housing a black donkey.

"Hi Lil' Apple!" Wei Ying waved at it when he went to change its water and lay out fresh hay.

Lan Zhan saw him slip a few apples in the mix covertly, as if Lan Zhan was going to disagree with anything Wei Ying did.