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Wei Wuxian knew to keep out of the way when there was a gathering of sect leaders in the Cloud Recesses. There hadn't been one since he had returned to Gusu (and more importantly, returned to Lan Wangji and the Jingshi) until now. The mountains of Cloud Recesses were not where he expected to settle years ago but with Lotus Pier barred to him and the Burial Mounds in ruins, it was a welcome change. And home to Wei Wuxian had always been where the people he loved were and between his (now) husband, as well as Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, Wen Ning, and frequent visits from Jin Ling, the Cloud Recesses certainly counted as home.
That didn't mean other people liked that very much, so Wei Wuxian kept himself busy and out of the way by taking care of the baby Lans. Each morning they'd come not quite running to the gate outside the Jingshi at 6 am exactly, a schedule Wei Wuxian was able to keep only by enforcing a nap time in the afternoon.
"Your ducklings are here," Lan Wangji said, looking towards the window.
"Don't move! I've almost finished your hair." Wei Wuxian scolded. "We can't have the Chief Cultivator showing up with even a hair out of place."
"Mn," Lan Wangji settled once more, and Wei Wuxian chuckled.
"So impatient to get back to the meetings you hate so much." He finished fiddling with the complicated hairpiece and came around to make sure the forehead ribbon hadn't been knocked out of place. It hadn't but Wei Wuxian touched it anyway.
Lan Wangji leaned into the touch, humor and love matching Wei Wuxian's own. "It is the final day. The sooner we finish, the sooner everyone goes home."
Wei Wuxian laughed out loud now, filling the Jingshi with the sound. "Very wise, Lan Zhan," he said once he quieted, pressing a quick kiss to his husband's cheek. "I say that tomorrow we sleep in to recover."
Lan Wangji nodded and stood. "We had best get to work."
Wei Wuxian sighed but smiled when Lan Wangji kissed the corner of his mouth. "I think my 6-year-olds are better behaved than your adult cultivators."
"I know that your six-years-olds are better behaved," Lan Wangji murmured as he put on his shoes and picked up Bichen.
Wei Wuxian's responding laughter followed them as they left the Jingshi behind and entered their gardens. The baby Lans spotted them right away and got excited, trying to keep it contained but almost bouncing anyway. Wei Wuxian skipped ahead, opened the gate so that they could all pour in. Crouching to their level he asked, "Alright who brought me cool bugs this morning?"
Several little ones crowded forward, carefully holding leaves with snails on them or letting a caterpillar crawl around on their hand. Lan Wangji smiled once more at him over their heads before turning to head to a day Wei Wuxian was rather more than glad to stay out of.
Later that afternoon, after a field trip to see the bunnies with a picnic lunch, and nap time, Wei Wuxian had settled the kids into the library. No one was using it, given how busy the rest of the sect was taking care of guests and overseeing politics, so Wei Wuxian felt fine taking over the place with excited kids. After reading them a story, he set them practicing a basic protection talisman.
As he sat in the doorway, watching over them all as they helped each other and listening to their soft conversations, he couldn't help but smile fondly. It made the sharp snap of his name so much more jarring.
Wei Wuxian turned and looked up to find Jiang Cheng storming his way. He quickly stood and bowed. "Sect Leader Jiang."
"Oh don't be smart with me, asshole," Jiang Cheng snapped, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.
"Don't swear in front of the children!" Wei Wuxian hushed. A few little heads turned their way, but he gave them a reassuring smile.
"What? Is cursing against the rules?" Jiang Cheng asked though he did lower his voice even as he rolled his eyes.
"Why yes, it is." Wei Wuxian was pleased to tell him.
"How do you stand it here?" Jiang Cheng then asked.
Wei Wuxian found anger creeping up, past the surprise, hope, and curiosity as to why Jiang Cheng had sought him out. "Because it's my home and my family is here."
From the way Jiang Cheng reacted to his words, Wei Wuxian might have slapped him. It surprised Wei Wuxian a little that after everything, he could still read his brother so easily. "It's not the only place you have family," Jiang Cheng’s voice was harsh if still quiet and his brows furrowed.
"I know, but Jin Ling is here often enough," Wei Wuxian said, surprised Jiang Cheng would mention that. He assumed Jiang Cheng didn't want the reminder that Jin Ling was his nephew as well.
Jiang Cheng growled, indicating that apparently, Wei Wuxian had still managed to say something wrong.
Wei Wuxian felt his shoulders slump; he was too tired for this. Bowing properly, he said, "It was nice to see you, Sect Leader Jiang." And turned back to his students. He flinched when Jiang Cheng reached out and roughly grabbed his forearm, but shot the little ones another reassuring smile. They kept glancing over curiously.
"Stop looking at them, look at me," Jiang Cheng hissed. At least he still wasn't talking loud enough for the kids to hear.
Wei Wuxian looked at him, gently trying to tug his arm away. But Jiang Cheng seemed to have no plans to release him. "Please sect leader," he said, looking down once more. He knew how this went and tried not to eye Zidian where it crackled slightly.
"Stop calling me that!" Jiang Cheng said, anger sparking along with his words. He pulled back though, letting Wei Wuxian go. He glanced towards their little audience for a long moment before surprising Wei Wuxian by bowing.
Wei Wuxian reached to stop him but didn't dare touch him, so his hands just fluttered uselessly beside Jiang Cheng's arms.
"Teacher Wei," Jiang Cheng started, voice too serious to be a joke. "I request you visit Lotus Pier and share your knowledge of talisman craft with my disciples."
Wei Wuxian rarely found himself at a loss for words, but he was now. "Wh-what?"
Jiang Cheng slowly straightened. His voice is gruff as if it held old anger. "You were once our first disciple. Now you’ve given the Lan all your teachings, but you won't come home to share?"
"You made it clear to me that I wasn't welcome in Yunmeng," Wei Wuxian said, confused even as he ached for Jiang Cheng to be sincere.
"No, I didn't." Jiang Cheng looked confused, which would have been funny if it didn't hurt so much.
"When I left with the Wens?" Wei Wuxian prompted. "I know my memory is bad, but... that was a pretty definitive statement. And then after-" Wei Wuxian stopped talking. He didn't want to remember that.
Jiang Cheng shifted from one foot to the other. "Do you want to come back?"
"Of course," Wei Wuxian couldn't stop the way his own voice cracked.
Jiang Cheng nodded, frown clearing. "It’s decided then. You’ll come this winter because it’s too cold for you here in Gusu and I need something to keep the disciples sharp and learning even when it is too cold to spar."
"What?" Wei Wuxian tried to follow Jiang Cheng's logic.
"You can bring him I guess," Jiang Cheng continued, seeming to have relaxed fully since Wei Wuxian said he wanted to go back to Lotus Pier. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble for correspondence to the Chief Cultivator to come to Yunmeng instead of Gusu."
"Where would we stay?" Wei Wuxian asked. He didn't think he or Lan Wangji would like to spend a full season at an inn.
"Your rooms, of course." Jiang Cheng said this with the tone that meant he thought Wei Wuxian was being particularly dense.
"My rooms?" Wei Wuxian asked, heart in his throat. "I... I assumed they would have long gone to someone else."
"Why would I give your rooms to someone else?" Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. "Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi are always welcome as well. I’m planning to have Jin Ling spend much of the winter and it’d be good if his friends were there." Jiang Cheng looked away and gave a little cough. "I would also like to get to know my nephew better. I fear I’ve been neglectful in my duties towards him."
Wei Wuxian puzzled at that, trying to figure out what Jiang Cheng could mean. As far as Wei Wuxian could see, Jiang Cheng had been a very dutiful uncle to Jin Ling. Unless... "A-Yuan? Sizhui?"
Jiang Cheng nodded. "I was... It was my fault I was not... I'd like to make it up to him," he settled for.
Wei Wuxian blinked quickly, trying to control his emotions. He wasn't fairing very well. This was everything he wanted but never expected to be given. "Sect Lead Jia- ow!"
Jiang Cheng was scowling again. "I said don't call me that."
"A-Cheng," Wei Wuxian whined. "How can you hit your brother! You’re setting a very bad example for the children."
Jiang Cheng huffed, but Wei Wuxian saw a smile trying to peek through. "I’ll send you more details in the next month about your stay."
"I haven't agreed," Wei Wuxian said, and then wished he hadn't the way Jiang Cheng's face fell. He was quick to reassure, "I will, I will come, but a-Cheng, but I'm on to you." He shook a finger in Jiang Cheng's face. He couldn't believe the emotions he had gone through in this conversation. It made him feel a little dizzy.
"On to me? What do you think I’m doing?" Jiang Cheng huffed, shaking his head and gently pushing the finger out of his face.
"You only want me to come during the winter so I can't throw you off the docks."
Wei Wuxian got his little brother to let out a laugh and for a moment it felt like the last 17 years had never happened.
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji's tone was worried. He hadn't been worried about Wei Wuxian in a while and Wei Wuxian was quite happily getting used to only hearing his name in warm, content tones (or breathless ones). He pouted now but Lan Wangji just leveled his steady gaze. "Do you think this is a good idea?"
It was a valid question, which made Wei Wuxian only want to pout more. Instead, he thought over his words carefully before answering. "I don't know. But I also know I have to find out."
Lan Wangji nodded. They were seated in their garden, enjoying some of the last moments of summer now that the rest of the cultivation world had left. The little pool of lotuses were doing well, ready for harvest soon. Wei Wuxian had found them planted when he came back and had happily taken over their care from Lan Wangji.
He also understood why his shijie had married Jin Zixuan after he’d given her a similar gift.
"I will go with you," Lan Wangji said, as they sat together hidden with the plants. He moved so he was once more resting against Wei Wuxian's chest, hair down, recovering from his day of meetings. Only Wei Wuxian got to see him like this and he savored every moment.
"Are you sure?" Wei Wuxian asked, trying to focus back on the conversation and not the way Lan Wangji's hair looked in the golden summer light.
"Mn," Lan Wangji said, lifting up one of his hands to entwine their fingers and press Wei Wuxian's knuckles to his lips. "It won't be difficult to plan an absence from the sect, between Uncle and Brother. And my other duties I can accomplish there as easily as here."
"Lan Xichen did seem to be looking for a way out of seclusion," Wei Wuxiang nodded. He had, in fact, sneaked his brother-in-law out a few times to go on little adventures.
"Yes, he would be pleased," Lan Wangji said. "And Sizhui and Jingyi would enjoy the adventure too."
"You'll put up with Jiang Cheng?" Wei Wuxian said, not sure what he wanted to hear.
"Yes, I have handled myself so far," Lan Wangji said, and it is almost a sigh.
"By just not talking to him?" Wei Wuxian felt a bubble of laughter now, thinking back on when he first woke up and saw his brother and Lan Wangji interact.
"It is a tactic that works," Lan Wangji offered, and nothing more.
They sit in that silence for a while. "You won't ever forgive him, will you," Wei Wuxian said, because the thought made him sad but he also understood. It also didn't need to be said that Wei Wuxian had already forgiven Jiang Cheng. That Wei Wuxian probably never blamed him, even if he should have.
"For you? I will try," Lan Wangji said and held Wei Wuxian's arms where they wrapped around him a little tighter.
"I don't want to make you do anything not in your nature," Wei Wuxian said. This was what grounded their relationship. They didn't want the other to change, not on their behalf.
"No, but I will try to forgive him." Lan Wangji turned so he was facing Wei Wuxian. "It makes me happy that you get along so well with my brother. I would like to do the same for you."
"But the history there is way different," Wei Wuxian acknowledged. Lan Wangji hummed in agreement. The quiet settled back around them until Wei Wuxian said, "Come on, let's go make dinner." He tugged Lan Wangji up and kept a hand in his as they made their way into their home.
Wei Wuxian's conversation with Jiang Cheng didn't truly feel real until he got the letter. It was detailed and too neat as if it had gone through several drafts. But it was real. He read it twice through, before passing it to Lan Wangji and leaning over his shoulder to read it again with him.
"That should be enough time to put everything in order," Lan Wangji said when he finished it. "I have already been talking with Xichen. He and I will go over everything with Uncle tomorrow."
"I’ll need to find someone to cover my teaching for me!" Wei Wuxian realized.
"Your ducklings will miss you," Lan Wangji said, handing the letter back to Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian stayed leaning on his side.
"My own husband, teasing me!" Wei Wuxian said, nudging Lan Wangji. “They won’t notice.”
"It is not teasing, because it is the truth," Lan Wangji said. "I have been informed that you are by far their favorite teacher."
Wei Wuxian didn't know what to think of this. He just taught them in ways that they would think it was playing. All the ways he wished he had been taught when he was their age.
Lan Wangji reached an arm out, putting it around Wei Wuxian and pulling him closer. "I was not surprised. It is clear you are good with children and at teaching."
"I’ll have to find a way to make it up to them!" Wei Wuxian's mind began running. "I can bring them back some lotus seeds, but maybe I can find them little toys too? I wish I could bring some frogs, they are so different from the little river ones here."
Lan Wangji pressed a kiss to Wei Wuxian's hair. "I am sure you will think of something."
The trip to Lotus Pier didn't take long. It was just Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, and the two younger Lans, so they were able to take their swords. Wei Wuxian was much more comfortable riding with Lan Wangji now, but he still longed for a sword of his own. Mo Xuanyu's core had been neglected for so long, it would take Wei Wuxian a long while yet before it was even close to half as strong as the one that was now Jiang Cheng's. But he was alright clinging to Lan Wangji and knowing their son and Lan Jingyi were there as well if Lan Wangji grew tired and needed a break.
Wei Wuxian didn't know what he expected for a greeting when they landed. He assumed that, because Lan Wangji was there, Jiang Cheng would need to put on all the diplomatic airs. But when they landed just Jiang Cheng himself was there, flanked by a few disciples and Jin Ling, who must have beaten them to Lotus Pier. Jiang Cheng turned to bow first to Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian hurriedly bowed back, trying to cover his surprise.
"Thank you for coming," he said to Wei Wuxian when they both straightened. "You and your guests are most welcome."
This was deliberately being rude to Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian tried to keep a straight face but he could hear Lan Jingyi was not so successful as the kid tried to cover a laugh. "Thank you for inviting us," Wei Wuxian said with sincerity.
"You’re always welcome," Jiang Cheng said, looking just at Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian beamed at those words. Only after this did Jiang Cheng turn to Lan Wangji. He gave the bare minimum in his bow. "Chief Cultivator. I was unsure if you would be able to make it."
"I wished to stay with Wei Ying," Lan Wangji said, and did not bow in return. "I wanted to make sure he would not be hurt."
Jiang Cheng visibly ruffled at this, but before Wei Wuxian needed to get in the middle, Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling moved forward. Lan Sizhui put on his sweetest smile and Jin Ling had his brattiest pout to direct them at the adults.
"I’d like to thank Sect Leader Jiang for including myself and Lan Jingyi in his invitation," Lan Sizhui said. "It’s nice to meet you again."
Jiang Cheng seemed pleased and almost smiled. "I hope myself and some of my disciples can teach you cultivation techniques that have been perfected here on Lotus Pier."
Jin Ling then gave a little cough and probably greeted Lan Wangji as a sect leader should to the chief cultivator. "I hope I may ask for your opinions on certain matters."
"Of course," Lan Wangji assured, his expression was much more pleasant when he bowed back. Jin Ling had taken meals with them several times and Wei Wuxian knew that Lan Wangji was quite fond of his new nephew.
"Alright, I'm cold, can we go in now?" Wei Wuxian spoke up and could see Lan Jingyi nodding in agreement in his peripheral vision.
"Yes, let me show you all to your rooms," Jiang Cheng said and turned back.
"Uncle, can I show Sizhui and Jingyi their rooms?" Jin Ling asked. "I know it's not proper as I'm not-"
"Of course you can," Jiang Cheng snapped at him. "Go play."
Jin Ling smiled and hurried away, calling a quick "Follow me!" over his shoulder. Both Lans ran after him.
"Ah, I remember being that age," Wei Wuxian said with a dramatic sigh. "I hope the boys have fun. Jingyi is going to take advantage of not having all the Gusu rules."
"Mn," Lan Wangji said, walking at his side as Jiang Cheng led them. The other disciples had seen it fit to go back to their other duties, leaving the three of them alone. "It is good for children to get to express themselves how they wish."
"Exactly!" Wei Wuxian beamed, taking Lan Wangji's arm and walking a little closer. "Lan Zhan you’re really the best dad."
"Can you please not flirt in front of me," Jiang Cheng's voice was sharp again and Wei Wuxian could just picture him rolling his eyes.
"We are behind you," Lan Wangji deadpanned back, and Wei Wuxian covered his own mouth with a hand to stop himself from laughing.
"You know what I mean!" Jiang Cheng turned around, arms folded.
"Now we are in front of you," Lan Wangji explained as if talking to a young child.
Oh, this was going to be a long but entertaining winter. Wei Wuxian wasn't sure he was ever going to stop smiling.