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A muddy, 5-year old Lan Wangji was standing in front of his uncle, eyes teary and lips drawn in a tight line. He was holding a formerly white bunny plush in his hands, stained with the murky brown of mud water. His clothes and some parts of his face had also been stained by the mud and he looked very uncomfortable about it.
Lan Qiren took out the packet of wet wipes from his baby bag and immediately knelt down to his nephew’s level to wipe the mud off his face, worry etched on his face. He had seen the way his nephew suddenly fell down as he was running after a pretty butterfly that had caught his interest and Lan Zhan immediately made his way towards him, sniffling and clutching his toy bunny close to his chest. It didn't matter if Lan Qiren was going to get mud on his own clothes too as he was going to do the laundry later anyway.
“Uncle…” Lan Zhan mumbled, voice soft and shaky as if he was holding back from crying. “Mr. Bunny is all dirty now.”
He looked down at the worn out bunny plush his nephew loved the most. It was his last memento from his parents before their sudden deaths so Lan Qiren understood his attachment to it. Smiling at Lan Zhan and rubbing his head, he said, “Don’t worry about that. Uncle will do his best to make Mr. Bunny all clean again, okay?”
With Lan Zhan’s small nod, Lan Qiren stood up and called out to his eldest nephew still playing around with his group of friends. Lan Huan saw his younger brother’s condition and immediately said goodbye to his friends before running towards his younger brother.
“A-Zhan!” Lan Huan cried out when he got to his brother. “Oh no, Mr. Bunny too.” he added when he saw the bunny plush in his brother’s arms.
“What do you mean by that, A-Huan?” Lan Qiren asked, smiling. “You’re also very dirty, you know.” he added, gesturing to his eldest nephew’s clothes. “Let’s go home so you two can get cleaned up, okay?”
The two boys nodded their heads, with Lan Huan looking excited for a bath while his younger brother seemed to have some reservations still. Lan Qiren slung the baby bag around his body then reached out to hold his nephews' hands.
“Uncle, will Mr. Bunny go back to the way he looked like after a bath?” Lan Zhan meekly asked as they walked back home.
Lan Qiren smiled at him. “Of course!” he said. “I’ve dealt with worse stains, you know. Mr. Bunny is going to look as good as new just in time for you to go to bed.”
“Promise?”
“Of course.” Lan Qiren nodded. “It is against the rules of our family to break promises, you know.”
Lan Zhan looked at him for a few good moments before he nodded, “Okay. I trust Uncle.” he said, looking down at his plush bunny. “Mr. Bunny, Uncle is going to give you a bath, okay?”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Bunny!” Lan Huan added. “Uncle is very gentle so you don’t have to be scared.”
Lan Qiren huffed, pride evident on his face. “Of course! Mr. Bunny will be in very good hands. Uncle will even use his magic to make Mr. Bunny all better.” he said, making the young boys cry out in excitement.
Although he had said all that earlier, all he really needed was just warm water with a little bit of laundry detergent.
From the laundry room, he could hear his nephews playing around in the bathroom with Lan Huan's infectious giggles echoing inside as his brother seemed to be splashing him with water. Although he would never admit it himself, Lan Zhan was quite the playful child. He also liked to hog all the blankets and steal pillows when he thinks no one is looking. Lan Qiren also knew that his nephew really didn't talk much, but his actions usually spoke most of what he wanted to convey. Since his youngest nephew would be starting middle school soon, he was quite worried about him being unsociable to the other kids.
But his main concern for the moment is making sure that Mr. Bunny is good as new before 9 pm!
After getting rid of most of the mud on Mr. Bunny, he gently places the toy plush inside the laundry machine to get rid of the stains he likely hasn't removed through handwashing. The laundry machine was already set to its drying function when he heard the bathroom door opening.
"Uncle, we're done!" Lan Huan called out as he and his brother came out of the bathroom with towels around their waists. They hadn't dried themselves yet and were both leaving water behind with each step.
"Ah, why did you two come out without drying yourselves properly?" Lan Qiren scolded as he picked up two towels from a shelf in the laundry room. He sat down on the floor and let the two boys sit down on his lap as he dried their hair off. "You're leaving behind water everywhere, what if the two of you slipped?"
Lan Huan giggled. "Sorry, Uncle, but A-Zhan wanted to check up on Mr. Bunny so we got out of the bathroom." he said, chubby fingers reaching up to grab the ends of the towel drying his hair as he wanted to do it himself. “I told him to wait for you first but he looked at me with his puppy eyes, Uncle. How can I say no to that?” he added.
Sure enough, Lan Zhan’s eyes were looking at Mr. Bunny who was rolling around inside the laundry machine. His bright eyes were following each wave silently while his hands on the towel on his head stilled for a moment, hair dripping down the sides of his face.
Lan Qiren sighed at his nephew, smiling softly. His hands moved towards the towel on his head, drying his nephew's hair with it. "The two of you should have dried your hair before coming here." he scolded them gently, alternating between the two towels. "More importantly, the two of you should change into your clothes. You're going to get cold if the two of you sit here wearing nothing. Go change into your clothes before the tickle monster catches you!"
After he said that sentence, he suddenly tickled Lan Huan's side, causing the two boys to get up and immediately run to their bedrooms, giggling and crying out to the tickle monster to not catch them. Lan Qiren couldn't help but laugh to himself, shaking his head as he checked up on Mr. Bunny through the laundry machine's window.
About half an hour later, Lan Huan and his brother returned to the laundry room where their uncle was preparing the next batch of laundry that will go in the machine once Mr. Bunny is already done with his turn. The two boys sat down in front of the laundry machine, watching Mr. Bunny roll around back and forth inside the machine. Seeing his nephews sitting down on the floor, Lan Qiren then headed to the living room to get them some pillows to sit on while they wait. Maybe he could get some apple slices and some juice for them to snack on too.
As he was peeling some apples, he suddenly heard his nephews calling out to him from the laundry room as the machine inside loudly beeped. When he got there, he could see their excited expressions. Lan Zhan was practically buzzing in his seat.
Mr. Bunny was slightly warm as he came out of the machine and immediately into Lan Zhan's arms. His fingers were trembling as he buried his head in the plush toy.
Lan Huan patted his younger brother on the back. “Isn’t that great, A-Zhan?” he said, smiling widely. “Uncle cleaned up Mr. Bunny well, didn’t he?”
Lan Zhan hid his face behind Mr. Bunny and shook the plush toy’s arms around. “Mr. Bunny thanks Uncle.” he voiced out. His ears were bright red too. How cute.
“Uncle is very honoured, Mr. Bunny.” Lan Qiren replied, indulging his youngest nephew. “I was just making some snacks for the two boys. Would you like to have some carrot sticks too, Mr. Bunny?”
“Yes, please.” Mr. Bunny replied, voiced by his youngest nephew.
Lan Qiren nodded. “Alright, let’s go to the kitchen so I can prepare some snacks for everybody.” he said, reaching out to hold his nephews hands, which they immediately latched on to as they walked to the kitchen.