Chapter Text
Nobody could have prepared Wei Wuxian for the feeling of disorientation and confusion, when the day came and his punishment was suspended.
Even after he and Lan Wangji were bonded officially, the mating-bite having been placed and the fulfillment of the bond being confirmed and registered, despite the elders’ ire, the punishment itself continued.
Lan Wangji exerted every last bit of his power and authority to have the severity lessened, but it couldn’t be stopped entirely.
“Wei Wuxian may be an omega, but he has proven himself to be dangerous! He has cause unspeakable harm to the cultivation world, such a thing cannot go unpunished!” they said. The only reason Lan Wangji didn’t immediately take out Bichen and protest, was the fact that doing so would only further endanger Wei Ying.
As it stands, he was the only thing preventing further unjust harm being caused to Wei Ying, and if he lost his favorable position in the Gusu Lan sect, it would have an immediate, negative effect on Wei Ying’s safety.
“Don’t sweat it, I’m already doing so much better!” Wei Ying insisted when he told him of this. At the time he had still been bedridden, unable to even lift his arms to hold their daughter.
The sight haunted Lan Wangji.
Five years had gone by since, and for the first time since Wei Lian’s conception did he experience a heat.
It was a weak heat, stifled by stress, but it was definitely present.
Wei Ying had insisted on spending it with Lan Zhan. Despite his near-constant pain he insisted on being held.
“I haven’t been touched in years, and outside of heats I just can’t get into it anymore. Please, Lan-Er-Gege, please let me have pleasure for these hours at least,” he had begged, writhing on his bed.
It was true, even now that they lived together in the Jingshi they slept in separate beds. This was due to Wei Ying’s injuries and pain. Sleeping next to another person just posed too much danger of causing further pain.
Lan Wangji was reluctant. He never wanted to risk causing Wei Ying additional pain or even injure him, but his plea cut right through him.
In his years of caring for Wei Ying, he put together most of what may have happened to him, leading up to the conception of A-Yuan.
Ironically this had been in part thanks to a gift presented to them by Lan Xichen, who clearly hated his role in Wei Wuxian’s prolonged torture.
He resented the man for his crimes, for putting Lan Wangji through immense emotional turmoil, but he wasn’t blind. He could see Lan Wangji’s utter and complete adoration of Wei Wuxian, and he could see that Wei Wuxian wasn’t evil at heart.
Shortly after he and Lan Wangji bonded and Wei Wuxian was moved from the Gentian house to the Jingshi, he presented them with a gift.
A wheelchair, which could either be pushed by someone or be operated with the use of spiritual energy.
As he had explained this to Wei Wuxian, he had seen the man’s smile fade suddenly.
“What is wrong?” he had asked. Lan Wangji looked to have had a suspicion, but he also seemed to be wondering.
So Wei Wuxian answered.
“I can’t use spiritual energy,” he said with a weary grin. “That’s why I did that whole… demonic cultivation thing…” he added after a moment.
Lan Wangji had been able to hold back a gasp, but his eyes betrayed his shock. Whenever he had channeled his spiritual energy into Wei Ying, he had noticed that his meridians weren’t responding. They were able to circulate his energy, which is why he kept going, but there was no energy responding to him from within Wei Ying himself.
Lan Xichen looked stricken and he put a hand over his chest despite himself. To think that for all these years the cultivation world had condemned Wei Wuxian for something he had no choice over – at least in part – was upsetting even to him.
“May I ask… how…?” he heard himself asking.
Wei Wuxian’s expression became… strangely tender for a moment before turning to pain and anger.
“I was… uhm, assaulted… by Wen Chao, Wang Lingjiao and Wen Zhuliu,” he admitted.
The mention of Wen Zhuliu sent a chill down either Lan brother’s spine.
Wei Wuxian had still graciously accepted Lan Xichen’s gift and even managed to joke that he’d have a good excuse why Lan Wangji would always have to go with him.
Lan Xichen had laughed softly to comfort Wei Wuxian, but they all knew the joke fell flat.
Lan Wangji didn’t say that he had long since calculated the estimated date of A-Yuan’s birth and conception out of a need to know. After first hearing Wei Ying’s desperate claim of being A-Yuan’s mother, he just needed to know.
And now… his calculation brought him to roughly the time at which Wei Ying had disappeared for some time only to return changed; brutally torturing Wen Chao to death.
Now Lan Wangji could imagine why he had gone so far.
Knowing this he could never bring himself to initiate or even suggest attempting anything more intimate than kissing or hugging.
He knew he had no right to offer it, if Wei Ying didn’t indicate his desire or interest.
And in all these years… Wei Ying had never mentioned it.
… Until now, as he lay on his bed, writhing with need.
At last their bond was consummated.
After years upon years of arguing with the elders, who passive aggressively pointed out that Wei Ying was practically a ‘useless’ omega – though they didn’t word it like this – Lan Wangji could finally tell them shut up – likewise, not worded like this.
He hated these kinds of discussions but he was aware that there was a system to Wei Ying’s oppression and that the only way to help him, was to use this system shamelessly to his advantage.
That is what he did when, after Wei Ying’s heat finally passed, he sought out the elders and informed them of this.
With Wei Ying’s heat having passed after sharing it with an alpha who had gotten him pregnant before and was thus clearly capable of doing so – not that anyone doubted Hanguang-Jun’s prowess – meant that he might actually be pregnant again.
Therefore, continuing the punishment could endanger the newly formed pregnancy, which was of course a terrible taboo. (Hindering an Omega’s pregnancy, by whatever means or for whatever reasons was of course highly frowned upon. The only exception to this being a tangible risk to the Omega’s own life, but even then there were often arguments about the validity of this risk.)
Neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian truly anticipated a pregnancy, but they would play pretend, if only to allow Wei Wuxian to heal a bit more until his pregnancy – or lack thereof – was medically confirmed.
Until then he was free from his punishment.
For months and years he hadn’t left the Jingshi, unless it was to receive his punishment. Today, for the first time, he felt well enough to be out of bed and even spend some time outside the Jingshi.
He could walk, having received physical therapy from the healer Lan Zhan brought to take care of him, but he still experienced chronic pain from his healing injuries.
Not wanting to cause him unnecessary pain Lan Zhan easily scooped him up from the bed and placed him in his wheelchair, pushing him around.
He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he liked doing this. It was a way of helping Wei Ying, and thus he enjoyed it, even if he absolutely loathed the fact that it was necessary in the first place.
Wei Wuxian smiled serenely as he reclined in the chair, reaching behind himself to touch Lan Zhan’s hand.
“Can we go to see the children?” he asked, tilting his head back to glance at Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan nodded.
“Of course,” he said, pushing Wei Ying carefully across the path from the Jingshi.
Since her parents’ bonding, Wei Lian was taken into the clan’s education program, which – starting at the age of four – taught the children about Gusu Lan’s rules and basic forms of cultivation.
Attempts were made to re-name her Lan Lian, but Lan Wangji refused.
Wei Wuxian had been rather torn on the matter when he was first presented with the option of handing Wei Lian over to the Lan sect’s education program, but having seen how well Lan Yuan was doing, and hearing Lan Zhan recount his memories from that time convinced him of the benefits.
He did agree that teaching the children from a young age helped them form strong and healthy cores with fully developed meridians that would be able to support great levels of spiritual energy. Of course early teaching wasn’t everything.
Wei Wuxian’s cultivation hadn’t been developed until he was taken in by Jiang Fengmian and his cultivation base turned out amazing… until he lost his core.
On the other hand Nie Huaisang had been similarly taught from an early age how to cultivate and his golden core was pitiful even now that he was an adult.
There was little doubt though, that a child born from the Yiling Laozu and Hanguang-Jun would develop a powerful core.
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian soon made it to the hall where the young children had their classes. At this age they were all kept together. Older, more experienced children were encouraged to help their juniors, which was thought to improve team spirit in later years.
Lan Yuan and Wei Lian made use of this to stick together as much as they could. They took great pride in each other’s progress.
The teacher, an omega who had long passed his years of fertility, sometimes worried that these two would just stick together and never befriend any other children, but there was at least one boy who had also attached himself to Lan Yuan, so maybe there was hope.
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had come near the end of their learning time, so they didn’t have to wait long before the children were allowed to leave. Most children would either find their way back to their parents’ home on their own, with the younger ones being accompanied by their older friends.
Lan Yuan knew Wei Lian would find her way back to the Jingshi just fine, but he still held her hand because he liked it.
Upon seeing their parents waiting for them, the two promptly abandoned any and all Gusu etiquette and ran up to to the pair, squealing for joy.
Lan Wangji did nothing to reprimand them as they clambered into Wei Wuxian’s lap to be hugged and kissed.
Wei Wuxian laughed at their eagerness, happily bundling them both into his lap.
“How are my babies, hm?” he asked and kissed each one’s cheek, “My bunny,” he said to Lian-er, “my radish,” he said to A-Yuan.
Lian-er snuggled into Wei Wuxian, pressing her face into the crook of his neck while A-Yuan was happy to regale him with all manner of stories of what they had learned today.
Wei Wuxian listened attentively while Lan Wangji pushed them somewhere. Wei Wuxian didn’t pay attention to where they were going, trusting that Lan Zhan wouldn’t take them anywhere they shouldn’t be.
It wasn’t hard to ignore their whereabouts while he was listening to his children anyway, so he wasn’t bothered at all.
“Lan Xiansheng taught me about golden cores today,” A-Yuan recounted, to which Lian-er perked up, nodding. “And Ge taught me,” she added.
Wei Wuxian nodded, interested.
“What did he teach you, hm?”
A-Yuan started counting on his fingers.
“The golden core is in your belly, it is where spiritual energy comes from, it can be damaged from doing bad things and it takes many years to fully form,” he recounted dutifully, before looking up at Wei Wuxian hopefully.
Wei Wuxian cheered.
“Good! You memorized it so well already!” he praised.
Lian-er made a noise, not wanting to be left out.
“He also said a person’s spiritual energy can show in different shapes and colors, is that true?”
Wei Wuxian nodded.
“That’s true. It usually doesn’t differ greatly within one sect, because they all learn the same techniques, but if you come from different backgrounds, you can have different colors,” he explained. “Mine used to be a warm red, but it took shape according to Yunmeng Jiang’s teachings. Your baba’s is pretty, like blue clouds,” he added.
A-Yuan frowned.
“Yours used to be red? Is it not anymore? Can it change?” he wondered.
Lan Wangji tensed slightly, ready to steer the conversation in a different direction, but Wei Wuxian simply chuckled.
“Yeah. A very bad man came and he went like ‘Pah!’ and my core went ‘Tsss!’ and then it went ‘Poof!’ and then it was gone!” he explained, gesturing animatedly to underline his words. “Don’t worry, your Xian-Gege is really strong, so I caught the man and beat him up like ‘Dadadadada!’ and made sure he wouldn’t hurt anyone else again.”
Lan Wangji wisely kept to himself that his memory of Wen Zhuliu’s demise was quite different.
The children looked at Wei Wuxian in awe.
“Really?!” Lian-er asked. Wei Wuxian nodded. “Of course! Mama wouldn’t lie to you! Actually, your baba was there when I did it, you can ask him.”
On cue Lian-er and A-Yuan looked at Lan Wangji.
“BABA IS THAT TRUE?!” crowed Lian-er, once again throwing her Lan sect teachings out the window.
“It is true,” Lan Wangji agreed with a soft smile. “Your mama is a hero,” he added.
A-Yuan’s eyes sparkled and he looked at Wei Wuxian with unbridled pride.
Lian-er however seemed skeptical.
“But why do they hurt mama then?” she asked, wiping her parents’ casual ease out entirely.
Wei Wuxian forced himself to smile.
“Mama did bad things in the past,” he said softly, taking Lian-er’s hands into his own. “Mama was careless and hurt a lot of people without wanting to. They are punishing me because of this. They aren’t just hurting me because they want to,” he explained.
Lan Wangji grit his teeth and clenched his fists to hold back from arguing with this.
A-Yuan looked stricken as he glanced up at Lan Wangji.
“But you still love Xian-Gege, right? Even if he did bad things?” he asked in a fearful, broken voice.
Hearing this Lan Wangji walked up next to Wei Wuxian’s wheelchair and knelt down to look at the children.
“Of course I do. I love him, no matter what he does, because I love him, not his actions,” he explained. “Even so, I don’t think what he did was wrong. Wei Ying was hurting a lot at the time, and he was trying to do everything right, but sometimes it is not easy to do everything right. He tried his best and he may have chosen wrong, but there was no way to know at the time,” he continued.
He had a feeling this would go over the children’s heads, but at least for Wei Ying’s sake he wanted to say it anyway.
Wei Wuxian smiled.
“Maybe one day you will have to decide something important, and you won’t know what to do. You won’t know the outcome, but you will have to choose,” he said, wrapping an arm around either child. “When this happens, the important thing is that here-” he placed his hands over the children’s hearts, “it feels right.”
Lian-er and A-Yuan seemed a bit overwhelmed with the information, but the important thing was, that they understood the sentiment in their parents’ words.
They understood that Wei Wuxian wasn’t a bad person despite his actions, that morality wasn’t easy all the time and that love wasn’t conditional.
Wei Wuxian leaned in and kissed the children’s cheeks, then pulled them close to himself.
“Let’s visit the bunnies,” he decided.
He hadn’t been able to visit them himself, but he had heard about them from the children. Many times they had gone to play with Lan Zhan’s unofficial pets – under supervision of course – and always happily recounted their adventures upon returning to the Jingshi.
Lan Zhan rose again and nodded. He leaned down to kiss Wei Ying’s temple before going back to pushing the wheelchair.
Wei Ying hid his face in Lian-er’s hair after being kissed.
A few days later this had turned into a ritual of sorts. Fetching the children from their classes, then going to visit the bunnies.
Wei Wuxian wasn’t always able to let the children ride in his lap, as the pain was sometimes too strong to tolerate their excited wiggling, but even so he was happy to hold their hands as they walked on either side of the wheelchair.
Wei Wuxian happily played with the bunnies the children deposited in his lap while talking about their day of learning.
On good days Lan Wangji would gently lift Wei Wuxian out of the chair and lower him on the grass where he would play with the children, letting them sit in his lap.
Lan Wangji had brought vegetables today so the children could feed the bunnies. Not that they weren’t being fed otherwise, but he wanted them to be able to do it themselves, figuring it would bring them joy.
Which it did, immensely so.
Wei Wuxian nudged Lan Zhan with his elbow.
“Careful, don’t feed all the vegetables to the bunnies or none will be left for your bland and tasteless food,” he teased.
Being in convalescence meant that Wei Wuxian’s diet was being monitored carefully, especially now that there was a chance that he might even be pregnant.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan chided fondly.
A disciple appeared suddenly and bowed.
“Wei Niangzi,” he said, though he didn’t seem happy to refer to him as such, “There is a youth at the gates of the Cloud Recesses, asking to meet you.”
Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow at this information.
“A youth? Did he mention his name?”
“He called himself Mo Xuanyu. He says he came here from Lanling,” the disciple said.
Wei Wuxian’s confusion grew. He looked at Lan Wangji. “Do you know anyone by such a name?” he asked, but Lan Wangji only shook his head.
“Did he say why he wanted to meet me?” Wei Wuxian wondered, growing apprehensive. He feared that this person might be someone whom he wronged directly or indirectly in the past, who now wished to take revenge on him.
The disciple made a face then shook his head.
“He only said he would do as you tell him, if you told him to leave. Otherwise he would refuse to go away. Though I think he was merely playing tough,” he added after a moment.
Wei Wuxian huffed.
Well that was… something. He looked to Lan Zhan.
“I guess I’ll go and meet this kid then?” he said and raised his arms so Lan Zhan would help him to his feet so he could sit in the wheelchair.
He could attempt to walk down to the gate, but after getting overly confident once and falling, he wanted to be on the safe side. He still felt bad for scaring Lan Zhan so badly.
Once he was safely settled in the wheelchair Wei Wuxian looked at the children. He felt bad for interrupting their play time with the bunnies, but he wouldn’t want to leave them alone. He also wouldn’t want them to possibly witness an ugly confrontation between himself and this stranger.
Lan Wangji, understanding Wei Wuxian’s concerns turned to the disciple.
“Stay with them. If they get tired, accompany them to the Jingshi,” he told him, to which the disciple bowed.
Lan Wangji began pushing Wei Wuxian towards the gate. Both were rather quiet on the way, neither knowing what to expect from the oncoming encounter.
Once they came within sight of the gate, they kept watch for any signs of hostility or violent aggression, but saw none.
The person at the gate – clearly the stranger as his clothes were dark unlike the guards – looked thin and meek, no older than 16.
Once the youth saw the pair approaching he folded himself into a deep bow.
“This lowly one greets the Yiling Laozu and Hanguang-Jun!” he proclaimed.
The guards exchanged a few looks.
It was unusual to greet a married omega before their husband, especially if that husband was an alpha.
Lan Wangji took no offense to this though.
Wei Wuxian looked awkward if not pained.
“Lift your head. There is no need to call me by this title. It is no longer appropriate to use anyway as I am not in Yiling anymore,” he said. “Young master Mo, was it?” he continued after a moment, “What brings you here?”
Mo Xuanyu straightened his back and nodded.
“This one is called Mo Yue, courtesy Xuanyu,” he introduced himself, “I was recently expelled from the Lanling Jin sect for failing to meet my father’s standards of cultivation. I… I…” he ran out of steam. He had clearly practiced his introduction, but as his nerves got the better of him, he began to falter.
Wei Wuxian smiled.
“Take it slow,” he said.
Mo Xuanyu took a breath to compose himself. He began to cower under Wei Wuxian’s gaze.
“This lowly one is an omega,” he muttered finally. “I have heard many things about the Yiling- I mean… a-about … senior Wei, who is also an omega, and… and I thought maybe… he could teach me to be… useful,”
When he finished speaking he looked like he wanted to bury himself on the spot.
Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but pity him.
“Mo Xuanyu,” he called out softly, “You said you came from Lanling? Who is your father?”
Mo Xuanyu squirmed awkwardly.
“M-my father… is sect leader Jin…”
Wei Wuxian sighed. He had guessed as much.
“Well…” he hummed and looked up at Lan Wangji. “I don’t know if I can teach you anything useful, but maybe you can become a disciple here?” he said, raising an eyebrow at Lan Wangji who in turn gave a faint shrug.
“Even if you don’t become a disciple, how about becoming a babysitter for us?” Wei Wuxian continued after a moment.
Mo Xuanyu’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Wei Wuxian to be so willing to take someone as useless as him in, let alone allowing him near his children!?
He was so surprised that he completely forgot to even give an answer until Wei Wuxian prompted him.
“This lowly one would be honored! I occasionally looked after my nephew, so I think I would be able to look after senior Wei’s children!” he sputtered excitedly.
Hearing this made Wei Wuxian’s heart ache for a moment.
“You have spent time with Jin Ling?” he asked, to which Mo Xuanyu nodded hesitantly. “You will have to tell me about him. Is he well?”
Mo Xuanyu nodded again.
Wei Wuxian smiled and sighed.
“Lan Zhan, do you agree?” he asked, knowing that his decision was meaningless if Lan Zhan didn’t agree, but knowing his mate, there was no way he’d deny him.
Predictably the alpha nodded.
And thus Mo Xuanyu was taken in as Wei Wuxian’s and Lan Wangji’s babysitter.
He was promptly introduced to the pair’s children, who quickly took a liking to him, though it would soon become apparent that this was due to his reluctance to reprimand them for anything; which they didn’t do anything bad, but since they were children, they sometimes acted carelessly.
When asked about this Mo Xuanyu admitted that was never allowed to reprimand Jin Ling for anything he did, even when he acted out.
Wei Wuxian was able to rest now with the children being occupied by Mo Xuanyu – under his supervision of course, he didn’t want to spend less time with his children, he just wanted to be able to rest and recover, especially as she was starting to feel a bit sick.
When the children were put down for their nap at midday, Wei Wuxian had Mo Xuanyu tell him about their nephew, Jin Ling.
Mo Xuanyu told him all that he knew, about how Jin Ling showed promise of presenting as an alpha, just like his father, about how he was already being taught the basics of cultivation, but also about how he was being treated by the people around him.
Many pitied him for being an orphan, spoiling him, while others thought that he needed to reprimanded even more strictly, as he had no parents to do so. There was a definitive bias towards spoiling him though, as it was the attitude generally adopted by Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao.
Wei Wuxian listened to these things, but was generally uninterested in them. He urged Mo Xuanyu to tell him about Jin Ling himself, wanting to know what he enjoyed doing, how he behaved and how he felt about this or that.
Mo Xuanyu did his best to satisfy Wei Wuxian’s curiosity, though he often ended up having him cry by the end of his recounting.
At first he feared punishment from Lan Wangji for making Wei Wuxian cry, but he never even got chastised for it.
Lan Wangji only ever asked about Wei Wuxian’s well being, whenever he had to leave Wei Wuxian’s side to attend his duties in the sect. Mo Xuanyu, understanding that Wei Wuxian had a tendency to downplay his pain and discomfort around Lan Wangji, dutifully reported on any concerning or worrying things he witnessed.
This ended in Lan Wangji returning to the Jingshi one day, only to find both Wei Wuxian and Mo Xuanyu absent, or so it seemed.
Upon further investigation he found them in the bathroom, where Wei Wuxian was throwing up.
Lan Wangji hurriedly tried to help, sending Mo Xuanyu to check on the children – who were thankfully still peacefully napping.
He had seen Wei Ying throw up from pain a bunch of times, so his immediate fear was that something with his healing injuries was wrong – maybe an infection, or something of the sort, but Wei Ying was quick to assure him that he was not in pain.
Lan Wangji wasn’t convinced at first, but Wei Ying swore up and down that he was not hurting more than normal.
At which point Lan Wangji felt the first inkling of a suspicion rise within him.
He dismissed it though, just as Wei Ying did. There was no way he could be pregnant again, the healer had said so himself!
The chances of conceiving so soon after being beaten were just too slim. He had probably just eaten wrong.
A month later the sickness persisted, and after sending Mo Xuanyu and the children out to play – go see the bunnies, Xuanyu will love playing with the bunnies! – Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji summoned the healer.
The healer praised Wei Wuxian’s recovery, though he cautioned against being too hasty in wanting to make progress, then took his pulse.
After taking his pulse, he examined Wei Wuxian’s stomach and frowned.
“Wei Niangzi, be honest with me,” he said, “Have you taken any medication without my knowledge?”
Wei Wuxian shook his head.
“No? Who would I have gotten it from if not you?” he asked, confused.
The healer shook his head as well and rubbed his chin.
“Well… then it must be a sign from the heavens, because even a pair’s great fertility has its limits!” he proclaimed after a moment.
Wei Wuxian squinted and furrowed his brows.
“Hold on you said…?”
Lan Wangji likewise turned towards the healer in disbelief.
“Wei Niangzi is with child,” the healer confirmed.
Upon hearing this, Wei Wuxian fainted.