Your Shining Light - YiZhan

Your Shining Light

Yibo had planned the perfect trip. It was to be the first anniversary of the day they had finally admitted to each other that there was more between them than friendship, so he had wanted to celebrate by doing something special. Since they had never travelled together, a short overseas escapade had seemed like the best idea. Although their schedules were packed, they'd managed to carve out a four-day weekend for a small getaway around their special date. Hoping to wow Xiao Zhan, Yibo had poured his heart and soul into this project. Unfortunately, his perfectly laid plans had almost immediately derailed.

Although their separate flights from China had landed in Tokyo on schedule, their plane to Toyama had been cancelled due to heavy rain showers brought on by the rainy season, and they'd had to resign themselves to flying to Matsumoto and then take a train to Toyama. This would have been fine, but their new flight had also been delayed, which meant that when they'd finally arrived, the last bullet train to Toyama had long departed, and they had been forced to find last-minute accommodation near the city's main train station.

Although Xiao Zhan had taken this in strides with a smile, Yibo had still felt quite frustrated and disappointed because he had booked an amazing ryokan for them and had been looking forward to soaking in the hot springs and sharing a fancy meal with Xiao Zhan. Instead, they had ended up eating convenience store food in their tiny business hotel room while watching tv shows they didn't understand, all of which was a far cry from what he had envisaged. Had this been the sum of their misfortunes, Yibo would have accepted it and moved on, but as it turned out, the gods of mischief hadn't been done with them, and Xiao Zhan had spent the night dealing with painful stomach cramps caused by mild food poisoning. Yibo had watched, helpless, as he'd spent the night making round trips between the bathroom and the bedroom. The only silver lining had been the size of their room; it was so tiny that Xiao Zhan had barely needed to take more than four steps each time.

They were now on the last leg of their journey to their final destination, Shirakawa-go , a historical village deep in the Japanese countryside, and although nothing bad had happened so far to upset his plans, Yibo still couldn't relax. After so much bad luck, he couldn't believe that something wasn't about to go wrong again. He sighed and turned to Xiao Zhan, who was fast asleep in the window seat. His eventful night had left him exhausted, and he'd dozed off as soon as they boarded the first train. It had pained Yibo to wake him up every time they'd needed to transfer, but the man hadn't complained. In fact, he'd given him the same soft smile he gave him every morning they were fortunate enough to wake up next to one another. It had taken all of Yibo's strength to resist the urge to hug him tightly.

He watched Xiao Zhan sleep for a little while. His arms were crossed on his chest, and his head, tilted back, rolled against the headrest whenever the bus hit a bump or pothole. Sometimes the angle was just right, and the sunlight hit his eyelashes, coating them with a gossamer sheen of gold. The pink, soft skin of his slightly parted lips was nothing short of an invitation to a kiss. Yibo's chest filled with warmth. He loved him. He loved him so much, words couldn't even begin to describe his feelings. He reached out a hand and, very softly, cupped the side of Xiao Zhan's head to draw him in so he would lean on his shoulder. The man's brow furrowed, and he let out a cute discontented moan before settling and falling back into a deep sleep once again. Yibo turned his head and discretely pressed his lips to the man's forehead.

The look of awe on Xiao Zhan's face when they got off the bus and he first caught sight of the rows of thatched-roofed houses surrounded by the bucolic greenery of the Japanese countryside was like a balm on Yibo's heart. Because Xiao Zhan had been much busier than him, he'd given him carte blanche for the planning of the trip. Although he'd had a vague idea of their destination, he didn't know the specifics, and it was a relief for Yibo to see that he'd made the right decision in choosing this place. And so, for the first time since their departure, he finally felt like things were going this way and that they would cherish the memories they would make here for a lifetime. He walked up to Xiao Zhan, who, having shifted all his bags to one shoulder, was already consulting a pamphlet detailing the main attractions and checking them against a map of the village posted on the side of a small souvenir shop.