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When Wei Wuxian finally wakes up, the late morning sun illuminates the Jingshi. He sits up with a yawn, stretching out his sore, abused muscles. A smile tugs at his lips at the faint sound of someone plucking at qin strings on the other side of the wall.
Wei Wuxian stands with another stretch, pausing midway with a frown. It… feels like he’s forgetting something… With a shrug, he pulls on his robes and slides open the door. Little Apple raises their head, chewing a mouthful of grass with unimpressed eyes. He sticks his tongue out at the ungrateful donkey before he skips down the porch to the open set of doors in front of the stairs.
“Good morning, Lan Zhan!” he calls out cheerfully, throwing open his arms to launch himself into an embrace—but the person sitting at the zither is far too small, young, and wrong gender for his husband.
Ah. That’s what he’d forgotten.
A young, nameless girl he and Lan Wangji had stumbled across on a recent night hunt. Nobody seemed to know who she was, so they had brought her back to the Cloud Recesses with them.
She glances at him then wordlessly turns back to the zither and plucks another string.
Wei Wuxian sighs. She’s so adorable, but in the past week, she hasn’t spoken a single word. On top of that, she’s completely avoiding him! She’ll cling to Lan Wangji’s leg so easily, but if he reaches for her, she turns her nose up at him. He needs to figure out Lan Wangji’s secret. Is it his beautiful, stone face?
He plops down on the other side of her. Even though he tells himself to remain aloof, he ends up staring at her with eyes pleading for her to notice him.
His dreams of raising a child with Lan Wangji are quickly going up in smoke.
She continues to play the guqin, notes slowly following along a familiar pattern. A blush floods Wei Wuxian’s cheeks.
“Ah! Not that song!” he yelps, reaching for her hands. The girl pulls her hands back with a gasp, her eyes widening in terror. Wei Wuxian halts; his hands hover in the air above the guqin.
Cautiously he retrieves his hands. She watches him warily for a moment. He can’t even muster up the energy to conjure a smile. His mind races for an explanation.
Though she’d been dirty and malnourished when they’d stumbled onto her, there hadn’t been any signs of abuse.
Wei Wuxian sighs again. He’d heard that daughters turn their fathers’ hairs gray, but to think he’d experience it before he even officially adopted one.
“Senior Wei!” several voices shout outside the Jingshi. “Are you here? Come play with us! Senior Wei!”
His eye twitches. Those rascals! Why are they yelling in the Cloud Recesses? Why are they interrupting his very important bonding time with the girl!
He jumps to his feet and stomps over to the door, flinging it open to familiar faces. Lan Jingyi’s at the front with a large grin on his face. Lan Sizhui, Ouyang Zizhen, and Jing Ling flank him, trying to shush him. Behind the quartet, there’s a crowd of nervous-looking little Lans.
“Hello, mama,” Lan Sizhui says cheerfully. That ungrateful brat! He just wouldn’t let Wei Wuxian forget that he’d made a joke about birthing him.
Ouyang Zizhen waves, having the decency to at least try to look ashamed. “Hello, Senior Wei.”
Jin Ling huffs and crosses his arms. “Are you coming out to play or not?”
“Sorry, children—”
“Please, Senior Wei!” Lan Jingyi exclaims. “Hanguang-jun said you were the best archer around. Please teach us!” He bows and the little Lans follow suit immediately. Wow, this kid was good; he knew exactly what to say to stroke Wei Wuxian’s ego. Wei Wuxian’s resolve easily crumbles.
“Alright,” he says. “Let’s head to the fields.” He twists back to the girl. Her eyes are full of wariness. “Let’s go, little one. You’ll have to tag along until Lan Zhan returns!”
“Little one?” Lan Sizhui blurts out.
“Yep! Your little sister! Hanguang-jun is certainly virile!”
“…Meimei?” the brat repeats. The flabbergasted look on his face is worth another joke about birthing another child with his body.
Jin Ling’s eyes practically bulge. “Biao mei? Wei Wuxian, that’s a poor jo—” His words cut off in a strangled noise. He raises a hand and points at the space next to Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian glances down. The girl meets his gaze briefly before looking away.
“Well, now that we’re all ready, let’s go!” Wei Wuxian declares. When he starts walking towards the grounds, the girl falls into step next to him. After a moment, all the children run after them, demanding explanations and their chatter fills up the time it takes for them to arrive.
“What do you mean you don’t know her name?” Jin Ling snaps. He crosses his arms. The other kids are also wearing matching expressions of disappointment.
“She hasn’t said anything,” Wei Wuxian protests. “How would I know her name if she didn’t say!” He glances down at the girl in question, pleading for her to back him up. Though she remains half-tucked behind him, she offers no support.
“If she can’t talk, I suppose—” Lan Sizhui starts.
“Wait! What if she writes out her name!” Lan Jingyi suggests enthusiastically. He smirks in triumph.
Wei Wuxian levels a flat, unimpressed stare in his direction. “How many girls—” A hand tugs at his robe. He abruptly stops talking and glances down at the child. She flinches away from meeting his eyes, then she crouches down the ground and pokes her finger into the dirt.
“What are you—doing…” Wei Wuxian trails off as her fingers very clearly trail through the dirt and form characters.
“Xiao…dan…” Ouyang Zizhen reads off slowly. “Xiaodan,” he repeats more confidently. “Is that your name, meimei?”
“Who’s your meimei?” Lan Sizhui grumbles.
Wei Wuxian hears them, but nothing processes past his shock. It had never occurred to him to ask that she write out her name because he’d just assumed she couldn’t write. He’s such a fool.
He reaches out to help her stand, but she quickly evades his grasp.
Her avoidance hurts.
Instead, he forces his lips to curve into a smile, and he turns towards the gushing Lan and Lan adjacents.
“Well, now that that mystery is solved, let’s focus on some archery!” he says cheerfully. “Go along to your stations now, and I’ll come through and make corrections.”
“Demonstration first!” Lan Jingyi begs. “Just a quick one!”
The full force of their combined pleading gazes proves too much for this body’s weak heart.
“Fine, fine,” Wei Wuxian caves. “A-Yuan, keep an eye on your meimei.” Lan Sizhui nods seriously, and his eyes soften when he glances over at the girl. She refuses to look at Wei Wuxian as she skips over to Lan Sizhui and hides behind him.
Wei Wuxian mentally collapses in a flood of tears. Xiaodan clings to Lan Wangji and Lan Sizhui easily, yet she shies away from him. She must really hate him.
He trudges over to the first archery lane and picks up the bow. It’s lighter than he’s used to, and the balance is slightly off, but it’ll do. Last time he’d shown off at an archery tournament would have been… the Phoenix Mountain hunt.
His heart aches at the memories. Everything had been so different then.
But his life now isn’t meaningless. He still has people who love him.
Wei Wuxian knocks arrow after arrow, and each strikes the target. In the end, there’s a circle of arrows around the target’s bullseye. He turns to the group and starts to bow, feeling a little proud of himself.
Absolutely no one is paying attention to him. His eye twitches a little.
No, no, he shouldn’t be so vain.
“Hey!” he calls out. “Are you here to practice your archery or should I go fetch the old man?”
They jump away from where they’re crowding Xiaodan. She seems unaffected by their attention, which makes him a little happy, and then immediately guilt swamps him.
The children set themselves up at the various stations and begin to practice. Wei Wuxian walks up to each of them and gives them tips and corrections. Small eyes burn into his back throughout the entire afternoon, but whenever he tries to catch her watching, Xiaodan is focused on the ground.
Maybe she’s just shy.
The next time he turns around, she’s not alone. A familiar figure sits in the dirt next to her.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian exclaims. He runs over and throws his arms around his husband. “You’re so cruel, abandoning me this morning without a word.”
“You were asleep,” Lan Wangji replies. His hands lock underneath Wei Wuxian’s ass and he stands in one smooth motion. Wei Wuxian lets out a small, dignified shriek and clings to Lan Wangji for life.
“Class dismissed,” he says coolly. “Let’s go, tian niao.” Sweet bird? Is that Lan Wangji’s attempt at a nickname—Xiaodan stands and trails after them. Wei Wuxian rests his elbow on Lan Wangji’s back and his head on his hand. Oh. A nickname for the girl.
Is it wrong to be jealous that she receives a nickname and he doesn’t?
Oh! Maybe Lan Wangji doesn’t know her name yet!
“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian exclaims, squirming until Lan Wangji shifts his grip. Suddenly one arm is supporting Wei Wuxian’s back and the other is hooked around his knees, holding him close to his chest now. “Did you know that we figured out her name today?” He latches his arms around Lan Wangji’s neck. “It’s—”
“Xiaodan,” Lan Wangji finishes.
Wei Wuxian sulks for the rest of the walk back to the Jingshi and immediately forgets his dissatisfaction at the sight of pots of Emperor’s Smile—and bowls of food—waiting for him on the little stone table. Lan Wangji diligently sets him down on the stone bench. He sneaks a kiss before Lan Wangji can pull away. The fire in his husband’s eyes makes a shiver crawl down his spine, heat pooling in his gut.
He averts his gaze, cheeks stained red, and uncaps a bottle of the Emperor’s Smile. Just as he’s about to take a drink, someone crawls onto the bench next to him. Wei Wuxian pauses, glancing down. Xiaodan is sitting with her hands on her lap.
“Ah, eat up, eat up!” he quickly says, using his free hand to push a bowl of rice her way. “It’s a little bland, but it’s still healthy!”
His heart is light, close to bursting, that she chose to sit next to him. Maybe she’s finally warming up to him!
After the midday meal, they head into the Jingshi. Lan Wangji sits at the zither and begins to practice. Xiaodan sits kneels in front of him, staring down at the instrument with a look of concentration on her face. A smile tugs at Wei Wuxian’s lips. If he could, he’d have a whole flock of children with Lan Wangji.
While his food digests, he closes his eyes and listens to Lan Wangji’s music. There used to be a hint of melancholy in the notes, but now all Wei Wuxian can detect is happiness.
Afterwards, he grabs some parchment and ink and gets to work. He’d thought of an idea while they were out night-hunting and now he needed to work out the theory and application. When he hits a wall, he starts refilling his and Lan Wangji's talisman supply.
A shadow covers his work. He glances up; Xiaodan stands above him, eyes lingering curiously on the talismans. He practically throws a handful of empty talismans in her face in his eagerness to share.
She lays down across from him and picks up the brush. Wei Wuxian is pretty sure he’s wearing a grin—the stretch is starting to make his cheeks ache—but he can’t contain how thrilled he is that she’s interested in something he’s doing. She even abandoned the music to seek him out!
He looks over at Lan Wangji excitedly. His husband’s lips twitch in a smile as his fingers continue to move over the zither’s strings without a hitch.
The air in the Jingshi is light and peaceful. Then—
“Wei-xiong!” Lan Sizhui calls out, in a tone between yelling and talking. “Can I take meimei to attend to the bunnies?” At the mention of bunnies, Xiaodan perks up. She drops the brush and looks at Wei Wuxian with pleading eyes.
“Y—” his voice cracks. “Er, yes. That’s fine, A-Yuan. Be careful!”
“Come along, A-Dan,” Lan Sizhui cajoles her. She hesitates, then runs off at Wei Wuxian’s encouraging nod. Lan Sizhui picks her up and they head off. Wei Wuxian watches until he can’t see them anymore. A pang of anxiety strikes his heart.
“They’ll be fine, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says. “Nothing can harm them here.”
“Ah, I know!” Wei Wuxian quickly says. “I just… already think of her as my own.”
“If she agrees, we will take her as our child,” Lan Wangji says. He stands and walks over to Wei Wuxian, who holds out his arms with an innocent look. Lan Wangji obliges—picking up Wei Wuxian effortlessly. Their lips meet in a slow kiss. Suddenly they start to move. Wei Wuxian starts to pull back, confused, but Lan Wangji pulls him in. This kiss is fierce, consuming.
“Lan—Zhan—you!” Wei Wuxian tries to protest. It’s the middle of the day! But as the door to their bedroom slides shut behind them, Wei Wuxian gives into the passion igniting his blood. Gives in to the inevitable.
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian step out of the bedroom when the sun is nearing the horizon. Wei Wuxian purses his lips and tilts his head away. Lan Wangji had gotten too carried away! He stomps away, emphasizing his footfalls to make his displeasure known, and heads to the other room to clean up his mess from earlier. He collects his talismans and starts sweeping Xiaodan’s into the mix when suddenly his eye catches on the patterns she’d inked onto the paper. It isn’t the same as his talismans at all.
He doesn’t recognize the pattern. His first thought is that it’s gibberish—a child’s nonsensical drawing—but it prickles at his mind. These symbols mean something.
A frown settles on his face as he begins to study and dissect the symbols.
Wei Wuxian practically jumps out of his skin when a hand touches his shoulder. He glares up at the owner of the hand.
“Lan Zhan, don’t scare me like that,” he complains.
“It is suppertime—A-Yuan and Xiaodan will be returning soon,” Lan Wangji says. Wei Wuxian glances between the door and the talismans before letting out a groan. The strange symbols aren’t going anywhere—he should spend time with his family.
His family.
A soft warmth fills his chest. The corner of Lan Wangji’s eyes soften, like his thoughts mirror Wei Wuxian’s. The low murmur of two voices comes from outside the door merely seconds later. Lan Wangji pulls Wei Wuxian to his feet and wraps an arm around his waist, holding him close.
Lan Sizhui and Xiaodan cross the threshold, and Wei Wuxian lunges for his children.
“We’re home,” Lan Sizhui laughs, and Xiaodan doesn’t pull away, though she still remains silent. Lan Wangji’s arms engulf them all a moment later.
There are a thousand questions left, a thousand uncertainties, but in this moment, everything is perfect.