Chapter Text
Lan Qiren leans back on one hand, watching with a soft smile as A-Yuan splashes in the river. Xichen hovers like a nervous mother hen. The pressure of minding his four-year-old nephew in such a high-risk setting—the shallows of a slow-moving river—appears to be getting to him. Wangji finishes laying out the picnic blanket and checking that he brought everything he needs for A-Yuan, then joins his brother and son in the water. Xichen visibly relaxes once he’s no longer solely responsible for A-Yuan’s safety.
It amazes Lan Qiren sometimes, how well Wangji has handled parenthood at such a young age. Of course he was always going to be a devoted father—he’s a good boy with a big heart. But even so, raising a child is such a daunting responsibility, and Wangji has always faced it with calm confidence.
And he’s done it alone, Lan Qiren thinks with the usual pang of guilt. Lan Qiren supports them, of course, so Wangji hasn’t been entirely on his own. But surely there are times when he wishes he had A-Yuan’s other parent to lean on.
Lan Qiren has spent a lot of time thinking about the way everything unfolded back then, his own part in what happened to Wei Wuxian. He thinks often of what he could have done differently. If only he had kept his cool, approached the situation with a more level head.
He can’t be blamed entirely, he thinks, for being shocked and distressed upon walking in on his sweet, responsible, rule-abiding Wangji in bed with that horrible boy. But leaping straight to accusations about Wei Wuxian’s corrupting influence… Well. It wasn’t fair of him. And calling the Jiangs had only made matters worse. He couldn’t have foreseen the unconscionable decision they would make—he’d wanted to see the boy grounded until the day he left for college, not tossed out of his home. But Lan Qiren’s actions led to that outcome, and for that he will always be sorry.
He can’t help but wonder how things might have played out if he’d been a little less vitriolic toward Wei Wuxian. He can’t help but dwell from time to time on what he should have done, and whether a more measured response from him might have changed all their lives.
***
“Downstairs,” Lan Qiren said, his voice like a thunderclap. “Both of you.”
Wangji and Wei Wuxian stared at him in silent, wide-eyed panic.
Lan Qiren turned and stalked down the hall, feeling a bit of panic himself. Wangji was just a baby! (A baby who was going to be leaving for college in a few months, but that was neither here nor there.) Lan Qiren wasn’t prepared for this!
But ten minutes later, he had the red-faced pair sitting on the couch in front of him while he gave them a stern talking to about safety and responsibility and exercising caution and restraint when making adult decisions.
“Yes, Lan-laoshi,” Wei Wuxian murmured when the lecture wound down.
Wangji looked a little mutinous, but still muttered a quiet, “Yes, Shufu.”
“Wei Wuxian is going home now,” Lan Qiren said.
Wangji’s eyes flashed, and Lan Qiren thought he was going to argue. He wasn’t sure how he would handle that. But Wei Wuxian was already on his feet.
“Right! I’ll just…go.”
Wei Wuxian leaned down as if to kiss Wangji goodbye, but jerked back when Lan Qiren cleared his throat pointedly. He shot Lan Qiren a nervous glance, then turned back to Wangji with a wobbly smile. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?”
Wangji had never been one for backtalk. He did not disrespect his elders. He did not shout or slam doors. But after Wei Wuxian left… Well, suffice it to say that it was an interesting night in the Lan household.
Lan Qiren grounded Wangji for two weeks, and Wangji passed the entirety of it in frosty silence. He considered barring Wei Wuxian from the house even after the grounding was over, but in the end he opted for the route that would allow him to keep an eye on the boys at least some of the time. His compromise was this: Wangji was free to have his boyfriend over to the house, but only when Lan Qiren was home, and Wei Wuxian was never to go upstairs. Wangji accepted these new rules with minimal argument.
It seemed, for a few weeks, that that was the end of it. Wangji was respectfully following the rules once more. Wei Wuxian was around even more frequently than before the Incident, but he stayed where Lan Qiren could see him. The household returned to a peaceful equilibrium.
It was Xichen who delivered the news that turned it all upside down.
Wangji had stayed after school for orchestra practice. Lan Qiren made himself some tea and was just getting settled in the living room with a mystery novel when he heard the front door open. He set his book aside when Xichen appeared in the living room doorway. Xichen’s school was close enough that he visited home often, but it was highly irregular for him to turn up without warning.
“Shufu,” he said, his smile just a shade too placid.
Something was wrong.
“Xichen. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I stopped by to discuss some news. Perhaps I can make us some— Ah, you already have tea.”
“There’s more in the pot.”
Xichen went to fetch himself a cup. When he returned, he took his time pouring his tea and settling in the chair across from Lan Qiren. Stalling. It wasn’t like him. Lan Qiren’s jaw clenched, and he waited.
Xichen cleared his throat. “Shufu. Wangji asked me to speak with you about something.”
Lan Qiren blinked. This was about Wangji?
Xichen took a slow sip of his tea, and then sighed. “Wangji is pregnant.”
Lan Qiren cannot say he took the news calmly. He was quite grateful that Xichen had been the one to deliver it, that Wangji wasn’t home to witness his initial reaction. He did a great deal of shouting, mostly about That Horrible Boy.
When he ran through all the accusations and empty threats he could think of, he turned his thoughts back to Wangji and calmed himself enough to discuss the matter peaceably. (Mostly.)
Xichen told Lan Qiren about his conversation with his brother (or as much of it as he’d been authorized to share). Wangji was scared and uncertain but thought he might want to keep the baby. That revelation drove Lan Qiren to some more frantic shouting.
Xichen had to talk Lan Qiren back to a state of calm two or three more times over the course of the afternoon, but by the time they heard the front door open, Lan Qiren was feeling more composed.
Wangji shuffled into the living room, tension apparent in every line of his body, his eyes fixed on the floor.
Lan Qiren stood and went to him in two long strides, then pulled him into his arms. “Wangji. My boy. I love you, and I will support you whatever you choose.”
Wangji leaned into Lan Qiren’s hold and sniffled quietly. Lan Qiren hadn’t seen him cry since his mother died. He knew he hadn’t always been the best at comforting his nephews through emotional turmoil. He could only hope that holding Wangji close and letting him get his feelings out was enough.
By the time Wangji pulled himself together, Xichen had made a fresh pot of tea. The three of them sat and talked about Wangji’s options and what he wanted. Since first speaking with Xichen, he had apparently settled more firmly on keeping the baby. A balloon of anxiety inflated in Lan Qiren’s chest at the thought, but his own worries he could set aside to process later.
Their tea had gone cold by the time Lan Qiren asked the one question they’d all been dancing around so far. “Have you spoken with Wei Wuxian about all this?”
Wangji lifted his chin, a stubborn glint in his eye. “Mn. He wants to get married.”
“Absolutely not!” Lan Qiren snapped, more vehement than he’d been through the whole conversation.
Wangji gaped at him.
“You’re both far too young to make that kind of commitment.”
“We’re having a baby,” Wangji grumbled, his ears going slightly pink.
“And many unmarried people have children. If you still wish to get married after you have both finished college, I won’t object. But I will not allow you to shackle yourself to that boy only to regret it later.”
Wangji glared down at his tea. “Could never regret it.”
“If you’re so certain neither of your feelings will change, there’s no harm in waiting.”
Xichen deftly steered the conversation away from Wei Wuxian after that.
A week later, Wei Wuxian showed up on their doorstep well after Wangji’s curfew, eyes puffy and red-rimmed. A part of Lan Qiren wanted to tell him to come back at a decent hour. But there was a haunted look about him that made Lan Qiren pull the door open wider and usher him inside.
Wei Wuxian had told Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan that Wangji was pregnant, and they had tossed him out on the street. (Or more specifically, Yu Ziyuan had tossed him out, and Jiang Fengmian hadn’t lifted a finger to stop it.) They hadn’t even given him time to pack a bag.
Lan Qiren kept a firm grasp on his rage—he couldn’t risk Wei Wuxian thinking it was directed at him. He made up Xichen’s room for Wei Wuxian. They would have to figure something out once the semester ended and Xichen was back home for the summer, but this would do for the time being.
…And maybe it wouldn’t be that hard to figure something out, Lan Qiren reflected when he heard Wei Wuxian sneak into Wangji’s room after he’d gone to bed that night.
The next morning, Wangji and Wei Wuxian announced that they were officially engaged, though they were willing to wait until they finished school to plan the wedding, as Lan Qiren had requested.
Lan Qiren drove Wei Wuxian to the Jiang house and stonily forced their way in so Wei Wuxian could collect his things.
Wei Wuxian and Wangji graduated. Xichen came home from school for the summer. Their little family settled into a routine (mostly centered around pampering Wangji, who bore it with minimal frustration).
And when A-Yuan was born, he was the object of all their love and affection. With a doting uncle and great-uncle and two devoted fathers, he never wanted for anything.
***
Lan Qiren shakes himself out of his daydream and focuses his attention back on his nephews and grandnephew splashing in the river.
A-Yuan is happy. A-Yuan has always been happy. But would he be happier if he had Wei Wuxian in his life? Lan Qiren tries not to dwell on it, but sometimes the thoughts do creep in. It’s his fault, at least partially, that Wei Wuxian isn’t here.
He can’t know how it all would have played out if he really had sat the boys down for a calm but firm lecture. He can’t know if Wei Wuxian would be here with them today. Maybe he still would have disappeared. Maybe his life would have carried him in a different direction, and his presence in A-Yuan’s would be relegated to birthday cards and occasional visits.
It would be easier if Lan Qiren had any idea what had become of him. If he could be sure that Wei Wuxian is safe and well. If he didn’t have to lie awake at night wondering if some harm had befallen the boy because Lan Qiren declared him unwelcome in the Lan home and then got him kicked out of his own.
“Shufu!” Xichen calls from the water. “Don’t you want to join us?”
This is not the time or place for dwelling on the past. Lan Qiren should be focusing on the present, enjoying this afternoon with his little family. He goes to join his boys, and lets the river wash away his regrets, at least for today.
(A year later, the Lan family goes back to that same river for another picnic. This time they’re joined by Wei Wuxian, fresh from the end of his tour. A-Yuan is over the moon to show his diedie his favorite picnic spot. Lan Qiren’s heart warms to see Wangji, A-Yuan, and Wei Wuxian so happy together.)