Fluffy WangXian Oneshots

The Hand of the Giver Part 3

They step out of the portal onto a different mountain, this one full of old trees. The smell of pine and wood, golden leaves swirling on the breeze, and the faintest floral scent simmers in the air, and Lan Zhan has to blink a few times.

He's both excited and sad, to close one chapter of his life and open another, a new one.

He has no idea what to expect, or what is going to happen.

"Um, Gege, it's this way." Wei Ying takes his hand and they walk through the trees to a clearing.

Lan Zhan is still getting used to being touched at random intervals, and so suddenly, yet so naturally as if it's the most ordinary thing in the world.

One day, a long time ago, Uncle Qiren had taken both him and XiChen to the carnival in Caiyi Town. There was a manual ferris wheel which XiChen insisted they should ride on, and Lan Zhan remembered the feeling of his stomach swooping without warning.

Wei Ying touches him like this, and the side glances and shy smiles are giving him the same feelings, but amplified by a hundred. Added to that, he feels too warm, his heart drumming in his chest as if it needs to be somewhere else, and why can't he breathe properly?

He feels like he hasn't been able to take a full, long breath since that morning, when Wei Ying introduced himself to Lan Zhan for the first time.

Does Wei Ying feel the same way?

Is this normal?

Part of Lan Zhan feels bad that he's being deceitful by thinking of Wei Ying in any capacity other than his friend. He cannot, he should not feel any of these inappropriate emotions, because he has already promised to marry the Kitsune.

Lan Zhan has so many questions about the arrangements, about everything he has to do, and the fact that he's in the same position as he was that morning, when he did not know anything further than the promise he made to the Great Deity. In his mind, he hasn't made any progress on that front.

His head starts to hurt and he really wants to lie down, and he's just about to say something when they walk into a clearing and a good sized house is sitting right in front of them.

Butterflies begin swirling and fluttering in his stomach as his nerves grow; will he meet the Fox Spirit now? Is he already waiting inside?

The house is kind of odd.

It's definitely old and comfortable looking, made from locally sourced tree logs forming the outer shell. It must have been built a long time ago, because he can see the auspicious green and orange coloured lichen growing in the curves of the wood, making the whole house glow a deep ochre colour in the last rays of the golden sun. The curved roof adds character and Lan Zhan wonders what it will sound like, when it rains?

There are quite a few windows, too, some curved into round shapes and others the traditional square, oblong and a few a curious mix of curved at the top and square at the bottom, as if the creator couldn't decide and was experimenting.

The front door is painted a brilliant red, reminding Lan Zhan of the Kitsune's eyes, when they had briefly flashed so vibrantly, in his dream.

There are steps leading to the door, and they are home to plant pots of varying shapes and colour. There's even an old boot with soil filled up to the top and sprouting leaves that look suspiciously like potatoes growing from it.

A watering can hangs from a holder right next to the bright door, and on its other side, there's a birdhouse from which the call of baby birds can be heard. Wind chimes made from bamboo with tiny bells jingle in the wind.