Work Text:
Wei Wuxian, the previously-feared Yiling Patriarch, had faced many adversaries in his time.
Yet nothing compared to this damned heat wave.
“Lan Zhan, I didn’t want to leave you this soon.” He moaned, reaching out to pat at the back of his husband’s hand.
“Mn.” Lan Wangji grunted, pulling his hand away. “We’ll be reunited soon.” Despite the scorching heat, Wei Wuxian burst into laughter. Shame on all of the people that said his husband didn’t have a sense of humor.
“Ugh, it’s hot in here too. Why did we decide to have this pseudo-family reunion in the fucking Unclean Realm again?” Jiang Cheng bitched as he entered the large room that Wei Wuxian had hoped would be cooler than the rest. Afterall, it had the most windows, it was right off of the shores of a lake, which was supposed to be windy, and it was facing north, which meant the sun would be facing the side of the room instead of straight on.
“Because I needed to spend time with my cute niece and nephews.” Nie Huaisang reminded him as he walked into the room. On his hip was a toddler girl with her black hair in twin buns, fanning herself with a tiny version of the fan Huaisang was fanning himself with.
“Where are A’Ling, Jingyi and A’Yuan?” Wei Wuxian asked, sitting up slightly to smile at his daughter. She returned it, even if she didn’t move to leave Huaisang’s arms.
“Out at the lake with Da-ge, Er-ge, and Xiao Ming. A-Dan is still sleeping, or I would have brought him out too.” Huaisang explained. He pressed a kiss to Xiuying’s cheek before putting her on the ground.
“Come to Mama, baby.” Wei Wuxian cooed, reaching for his daughter. She sent him a skeptical look before walking over to sit between her parents. When Wei Wuxian tried to pull her into his arms, she sent him her father’s glare and climbed over Lan Wangji to sit on his other side, effectively using him as a barrier.
“Hot.” She grumbled. Wei Wuxian tried to send her a betrayed looked, but the fond smile tugging at the corners of his lips gave him away.
“Mn, hot.” Lan Wangji agreed. Then he patted the top of their daughter’s head. When his daughter smiled up at her father, Wei Wuxian gasped dramatically and pressed a hand to his chest.
“Ugh! A’Cheng, you’re going to have to take me back to Lotus Pier! My daughter and husband hate me!” He whined, turning towards his brother. Jiang Cheng jerked away from Nie Huaisang, face bright red with embarrassment at having been caught kissing. Wei Wuxian smirked at the sight, shaking his head.
They had only recently started to become intimate again. Huaisang had some body issues following the birth of Xiaodan, and it had taken 8 months for he and Jiang Cheng to work through them. But now that they were back in the sack, his baby brother had reverted to his true “blushing virgin at public displays of affection” form.
“Wei Ying. Be nice.” Lan Wangji chided. Wei Wuxian turned around, all but shrieking at the sight of his daughter now cuddling against Lan Wangji.
“Betrayed in my own house!” He dramatically cried, throwing himself forward onto the floor and burying his face in his hands. He didn’t see the twin golden glares that his husband and daughter sent him, or he would have been jumping towards them to hug them both.
He loved that he managed to produce his husband’s female mini-me, and he really loved it when they sent him the same look at the same time.
“Hmmm, you know, A’Huan, I could have sworn someone mispronounced “thank you for letting us use the Unclean Realm for this gathering, esteemed Chifeng-zun.”” Wei Wuxian squawked a bit as Mingjue stepped on his back. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt him of course, but that didn’t mean Wei Wuxian approved.
Yuming’s giggle was the only warning Wei Wuxian got before his hair was ripped gently lifted out of his face. The wide grin and chubby cheeks that was Nie Yuming greeted him, and the toddler patted his cheek.
“Don’t be sad, Wei-shushu!” He exclaimed.
“Inside voice, Ming-er.” Xichen’s soothing voice seemed to calm the chaos of the room with just that simple command.
“Yes, Mama.” Yuming responded in a decidedly quieter voice. The pout on his face greatly amused Wei Wuxian, as he looked so much like Xichen, from his nose to his cheeks to his hair, but he had hints of Mingjue as well, like his eyes. When he pouted, it was truly a fusion of his parents.
“I still love you, Mama.” Lan Sizhui, his (sorta) first born, said as he joined his cousin on the floor. Wei Wuxian turned his head, shooting a teary gaze at his son.
“A’Yuan, my precious son.” He sniffled, reaching forward to pat his knee.
“Here, we got these from A’Sang’s storage rooms.” Sizhui said, passing Wei Wuxian a fan. He then handed one to his father. Yuming got up from the floor and ran over to “Jiang-shushu,” handing him a fan as well.
“Man, now I see why you love these things, A’Sang.” Wei Wuxian commented as he sat up. Huaisang smirked, fluttering his fan dramatically.
“I’m usually right about things, A’Xian!” He laughed.
The night brought a rapid drop in temperature. Wei Wuxian was very grateful for it, as it allowed him to cuddle on Lan Wangji’s lap, his daughter in their arms, as everyone reminiscence about their experiences in Gusu.
Sizhui and Jingyi were sitting on his other side, excited to finally be able to share their own stories for once.
Huaisang was splayed over Jiang Cheng’s lap, shamelessly braiding his hair. In between them dozed Xiaodan, who snored just like his father. Wei Wuxian had found this hilarious because he was the spitting image of Huaisang, just with his brother’s attitude.
Xichen was sitting under Mingjue’s arm, leaning against his husband’s side. Yuming was dozing off in Mingjue’s other arm.
“I’m glad that we never had this kind of heat in Gusu. Lan Qiren would never have allowed us to all use Huaisang’s fans.” Jiang Cheng pointed out, which caused the group to laugh.
“Shufu has his moments. I think that he and the elders would have turned a blind eye if we offered them fans as well.” Xichen, ever the peacemaker, protested softly.
“Mn. Agreed.” Lan Wangji murmured. Wei Wuxian’s heart skipped a beat when his husband buried his face in the back of his head, yawning softly.
No matter how long they had been together, Lan Wangji’s touch never failed to have an effect on him.
“I think it’s the time-conditioned Lan bedtime.” Mingjue said a few minutes later. Sure enough, Sizhui slumped against his parents, with Jingyi following soon after.
“I agree. Here, A’Ling and I can take the babies if everyone else wants to help the others.” Huaisang offered, rising to his feet. He shuffled Xiaodan over his shoulder before taking Yuming from his brother. Jin Ling took Xiuying from Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around his husband, helping him to his feet. Jiang Cheng shook Jingyi and Sizhui awake as Nie Mingjue picked up Xichen.
After everyone was tucked in bed, with Jin Ling going with them, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng joined the Nie brothers as Mingjue pulled out the heavy liquor.
“Poor Xiaodan, he’s never going to have friends that like to stay up late with him.” Wei Wuxian sighed. Huaisang giggled, leaning against his husband.
“Oh he’ll eventually have another sibling to play with. Besides, he’ll make other friends when we inevitably send him off to Gusu for training.” He pointed out.
“Wow, already planning for baby number 2?” Wei Wuxian teased. Jiang Cheng cut in before Huaisang could answer that question.
“I’m glad we’re all here to have this discussion. All of our hardships were worth it for us to end up here.” Jiang Cheng finished this by pressing a kiss to Huaisang’s forehead.
“Oh A’Cheng.” Huaisang cooed. Nie Mingjue’s expression softened as Wei Wuxian laughed.
“I’ll drink to that, baby brother!” He said before knocking back the rest of his drink.
“I’m not your baby brother, Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng glared. Wei Wuxian shook his head, rising to his feet.
“Nighty night, Cheng-didi!” Wei Wuxian sang as he left the room. He chuckled as he heard Jiang Cheng choke out a protest as the door closed behind him.
He made his way to the guest room he and Lan Zhan usually stayed in. He found his husband asleep, and to his amusement, their daughter was curled up next to him. He smiled at the sight. Unlike his husband, his daughter didn’t inherit the “proper sleeping form” Lan gene and was sprawled over his husband’s side.
He quietly changed into his sleeping robes before climbing into bed and doing the exact same thing. Lan Zhang’s arm wrapped around him, pulling him even closer, causing him to release a content sigh.
All of their hardships were definitely worth it for moments like this.