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"Aiya, someone's feeling clingy today," Wei Wuxian laughed, delighted as Lan Wangji wrapped a hand around his waist, keeping him firmly in place where they lay in bed.
Usually he'd be the one holding onto his husband and making a fuss about getting up in the morning, but Lan Wangji had had a very late night, which led to this occasion where they'd both woken up at the same time. Wei Wuxian had no complaints, far from that. It was nice to spend some time together where the only goal was to enjoy one another's company, nothing else, so he gladly let himself be pulled toward Lan Wangji, resting his head where he could hear his heartbeat – a song transformed from the erratic pulse it used to be at the mere sight of his presence into a steady comfort.
"Who knew you'd be such a cuddler after all that 'don't touch me' business when we were kids?" He teased, kissing Lan Wangji's bare chest. "Whatever would you do without me, huh?"
"Suffer,'' was the deadpan reply.
He couldn't help but snort. By Lan Wangji's dry tone alone, he could tell how much it displeased him to even consider the option, an emotion that amused him precisely because he could understand it completely.
"I can't disagree with that," he confessed, as though it were a secret. "You ruined me, husband, I can't sleep without you at all anymore." He pulled himself up to look him in the eyes, all exaggerated pouts and fake sternness. "You're not allowed to go on extended trips without me, you hear? I'd never sleep then."
"Mn, adjusting to sleeping alone is hard," Lan Wangji agreed, running a hand through his hair in comfort even though his dramatics were all fake. "I would not ask that of Wei Ying."
"You talk as though you've had experience," he laughed, poking Lan Wangji on the side. "Could it be that you shared your bed with someone while I wasn't here?"
He said it with confidence in the knowledge that it was a ridiculous idea, expecting Lan Wangji to brush it off, or say something far too sweet to reaffirm his love. Instead, in a contemplative tone, he said: "There was another."
"What?"
"Before you came back, I shared my bed with another person for a few years."
Given the amusement in his tone, Wei Wuxian knew he was being teased, so he didn't feel any worry. His only problem was that he could also hear honesty in it as well, and his mind could not understand where his husband could be bending the truth in this instance. There had been no lovers before him, so who would have gotten so close to Lan Wangji? "Er-gege, you're not allowed to tell me something like this and not explain! So cruel to your Wei Ying."
Lan Wangji did not relent. "Can you not figure it out?"
Knowing that he should be able to guess at who would've been this person was a clue by itself, and although Wei Wuxian glared at him in reproach, his mind was already running through possibilities, enjoying this mystery he'd been given.
"Before you came back" is pretty vague… is he perhaps referring to a time even earlier?
"Are you trying to mislead me by referring to a time far back before I met you?" he theorized. "Perhaps when you slept with your brother as a child or something of the like?"
He was treated to the sound of Lan Wangji's laughter, a soft and brief thing, precious no matter how many times he got to hear it. "I was not, but that is not a wrong assumption."
For a moment, he let himself get lost in the image of a young Lan Wangji, with his serious expressions and puffed up little cheeks, climbing on Lan Xichen's bed and clinging to his big brother. It was just too sweet. "Hmm, if that's not it, then I suppose it won't be anyone else from your childhood like your mother, right?"
He hummed in assent. "I am referring to more recent years."
No matter how hard he tried, his mind could not come up with a person whom Lan Wangji would've become that close. His husband was a loving, but reserved person, keeping his affections to only a few. It was hard to imagine him opening up like that to anyone at all, especially in the close past.
"Ahh, I can't!" He whined. "Tell me? I can't figure it out."
Wei Wuxian put on his best pout, widening his eyes and puffing his cheeks, "Don't make me think about these things, husband. I'll get sad."
They both knew he was lying, but Lan Wangji indulged him all the same, hand finding his back and tracing soothing patterns. He was silent for just a beat too long, and he wondered if he'd need to plead more for an answer, but then he said the one name that Wei Wuxian could not believe he’d forgotten to consider:
“Sizhui.”
The second he heard it, Wei Wuxian felt silly for not making the connection. Who else would have held such a close position in Lan Wangji’s life besides their son? Because of the context of their conversation, the teenager had slipped his thoughts, but now the conclusion felt obvious.
“And here I was ready to accept that you had an affair," he joked. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of our little radish!”
“There would never have been anyone for me but Wei Ying.” And there was the answer he’d expected before.
“I know, beloved,” He held himself up again, letting go only enough to lean in and kiss him. “My Hanguang-jun is a very honorable man.”
Content with the answer, Wei Wuxian took a moment to picture it, a time not that long ago in which Lan Wangji and little A-Yuan would have shared this same bed. He could see it clearly, A-Yuan would crawl into Lan Wangji’s arms, and quickly worm his way into his heart like he had into Wei Wuxian’s – faster even, considering how much of a softie his husband could be.
He was full of memories just like these, made in the brief period he’d been allowed to be part of A-Yuan’s childhood. It’d been a practical thing back then, to sleep close together. They’d had little else to offer for comfort and warmth for a child so young. Sizhui had been in the care of his grandmother most often, but there had been times, especially near the end, where he’d been left alone in Wei Wuxian’s care.
Their bond had been growing steadily, as was his relationship with the Wens. Even if he’d yet to put a name on it, he’d loved A-Yuan with all his heart. So it filled him with a bittersweet sort of longing to think of these times he’d missed.
“Tell me about it? How it was for the two of you.”
“Mn.”
Lan Wangji promptly told him an array of Lan Yuan's childhood stories. From the good moments, where they'd been happy and A-Yuan had been up to sweet and funny toddler shenanigans, to the sad ones, where they'd both still been healing and grieving and becoming the family they were today. He did his best to give Wei Wuxian the full picture, and while it did not make up for the time lost, it helped.
"Hahaha I can't believe our rule-abiding Sizhui-er promised he would stop sleeping at haishi!"
"He laid on the floor and told me he would rather write lines doing handstands."
"Pff could he even do those yet?"
"No. He was five."
“How did you get him to sleep?”
“I said that if he was willing to shoulder the consequences, I would let him stay up.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened, and he laughed even harder, leaning into Lan Wangji for support. Although he knew his husband could be an indulgent father and teacher, hearing that still surprised him, being so different from what he would have done himself. Lan Wangji continued without fail. “I asked if he would still like to hear a story, he said yes. Fifteen minutes later, he was asleep.”
“How cute, and did he actually write lines the next day?”
“Yes.”
Once his snickers subsided, his lips stayed curled up into a fond smile. “Ah, thanks for this, Lan Zhan. You gave me quite a scare there, but now I have many new stories of our little radish to cherish.”
Lan Wangji buried his face in Wei Wuxian's hair. "I will tell you more whenever you'd like to hear them."
“I’ll take you up on that," he promised. "For now we might want to get up for lunch."
As Lan Wangji let out the softest groan, arms squeezing him tightly, Wei Wuxian couldn't help but light up with mirth again.