Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It would be disingenuous to claim that A-Yuan's presence in their lives had some truly distinct role in causing the current circumstances. It would be inaccurate to say that there was no relation, of course, but there were complications and misunderstandings at work which, if Lan Zhan had wished, he could have cleared up well before A-Yuan's entry into Lan family life. Before the toddler's birth, even. However, as much as the current awkward situation is centered around A-Yuan, it is his relationship with Wei Ying which has resulted in the topic of this family meal.

Which is to say, that he is intending on adopting a child with his closest friend, and his brother and uncle are wholly convinced they have been romantically involved for years at this point. Years back, A-Huan had decided, with whatever context he possessed, that such a change had happened, and Lan Zhan had been so desperate to rid himself of his brother's well-meaning relationship and courtship advice that he had simply...not corrected him. Whether for hope, or embarrassment, or annoyance, he could no longer say - but the belief has clearly persisted.

Lan Huan was the most demonstrative and openly affectionate person in their family, and never seemed to find it strange that the affection Lan Zhan exhibited as a partner seemed barely to change from when he was a best friend with a terrible crush. It has been three years since then, since shortly after they'd moved to a slightly larger apartment than the first one they'd been in after graduation. They had been living together for years at that point, even, and friends since high school at that. The thread of desire had lived underneath the surface for most of their friendship, and Lan Zhan had contented himself with that as well as he could. They had each other's hearts in ways no one else ever did - that could be enough.

He supposed he could not blame his brother, let alone Uncle Qiren, for their view of them from the outside: they lived together, had adopted pets together, spent a potentially absurd amount of time together, and were present in each other's lives, even more so than their siblings. They were openly fond of each other, a classification Wei Ying shared with virtually no one else in Lan Zhan's life. Even on the couple occasions he had deigned to date, public physical contact had been uncomfortable for him. Hugs and kisses in private were uncomfortable most of the time, at that - and then there was Wei Ying, pulling him around by his hand or his arm, braiding parts of his hair, lounging across him on the couch, sharing a bed when one of them woke of a nightmare, all without summoning Lan Zhan's nigh-universal urge to run away and wash himself clean of social interaction.

However, understanding that the assumption is reasonable does not change that his uncle's expectations feel misplaced in context - that they ought to marry, and move to a house, somewhere with spare rooms and a backyard, a proper place for a couple to raise a child (or multiple). He wants to be in contact with Wei Ying's siblings, and has such a way about him that reminds Lan Zhan that he has dug his own grave in letting this belief persist. There is no real way to refuse his uncle on such matters, least of all when a child's well-being is, in fact, concerned.

Lan Huan is smiling softly, eyebrows raised when Lan Zhan clarifies that they have not discussed marriage in specifics. Not a lie, at least, not quite. Uncle is frustrated with him - surely they did not intend to be unwed romantic partners for all time. Lan Zhan is careful not to say that such a descriptor would be quite preferable to incomparably intimate best friends.

The aunties will talk, of course, just like the gossips their own age. He hasn't even finished putting boxes in his car, of childhood items Uncle insisted he take home to A-Yuan - who is not officially theirs yet, but no matter, Uncle has decided he has a grandchild now, and at some point that will ease stress - before Nie Mingjue has sent him information for the store where his and Lan Huan's rings were purchased a couple years back. He would be grateful for the suggestion, if his brother's husband did not have a horribly nosy younger brother, who will surely be counting on an absurd amount of information, most of which he will also surely pass on to Wei Ying's younger brother, and who will be angry that he was not first in line when it came to wedding planning, as though he had anything to do with the matter.

Jiang Yanli will be of help, though, Lan Zhan is sure, even if Jiang Cheng is not, and perhaps when A-Yuan is a cousin to her son, they will become friends. A-Yuan is too much like Lan Zhan was at his age, sweet, quiet, and more comfortable with adults than other children. Lan Zhan would hate for him to have similar troubles with human interaction.

He is friendly, though, and usually excited to meet people. He'd been disappointed not to be tagging along to family lunch, though he'd accepted it when Wei Ying explained that the Lans had all sorts of meals they did together - sometimes it was just Uncle and the two brothers, sometimes extended family was present, and sometimes Nie Mingjue and Wei Ying were invited. There would be meals for A-Yuan in the future - today, though, he settled for reheated tofu and vegetable soup at the apartment with Wei Ying, as Lan Zhan pushed through discussion of their private lives and the legal proceedings that were poised to affect them.

Uncle is charmed, unsurprisingly, that Wen Qing had come to them, that when one of her (asshole) cousins decided to involve their uncle and the law in trying to wrest her darling baby cousin from her care, she had come to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, who had already been helping to care for him. She and A-Ning are caring for Wen Popo, as well, and their apartment is small, and their schedules are wild, and she hoped - she hoped. They were attached enough to each other, certainly, already on his daycare pick-up list and familiar with his routines. They were friends to Wen Qing and Wen Ning, were people who would care for him without separating him from his biological family.

And, when push came to shove, Lan Zhan was in a family of indisputably successful legal professionals. Lan Huan and Lan Qiren alone had laundry lists of contacts, some of whom were indeed in family law. Lan Zhan had not gone to law school, had switched out of pre-law after weeks of nightmares, but he was not unfamiliar with the legal process, nor with the family firm. Some of its eldest partners had seen him grow up, parked in a conference room, homework on the table, cell phone turned off and tucked in his uniform pocket until he finished and could smile at his best friend's almost indecipherable texts.

It had taken Lan Qiren quite some time to believe he truly wanted to pursue music, to accept that such a thing was feasible, sustainable. Even with an old family name and riches to boot, he wanted them to become self-supporting men. The slivers of joy that had wormed their way into his life, with performances, with teaching, had been critical points. Uncle Qiren had argued with Wei Ying about it, convinced the other young man had convinced him to stray from a just and profitable path, but they had eventually settled, both wanting happiness and stability for Lan Zhan. The truce has remained intact, Uncle's restrained, chilly demeanor warming slightly the longer time has gone on.

Wei Ying insists on sharing as many of the pleasant stories as he can remember - children Lan Zhan comes home proud of, classes and performances that have gone well, all excitedly rattled off in far more detail than Lan Zhan would independently share at a family dinner. The Lans have always been quieter than the Jiangs - stuffier, depending on who you ask - but it has rarely been a deterrent to Wei Ying. Uncle has scoffed at it, sometimes, has compared to him to the gruffer and more purposely respectful Nie Mingjue, who successfully won over Uncle with obvious and amusing help from A-Huan, culminating in the ever-coveted approval to marry into the family. An approval Lan Zhan is, frankly, quite surprised to hear granted to Wei Ying. Although, when he thinks about it, it's been a long time since Uncle explicitly stated his disapproval. He's begrudgingly tolerated Wei Ying's presence, even sought him out for information when Lan Zhan was sparse on details about issues at work. Perhaps the monster of this situation has been slowly crawling in, unbeknownst to Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying has been made aware of Uncle's expectations by the time Lan Zhan is home, even though it's only about a twenty-minute drive from the Lan family home. Lan Zhan confuses him by knocking - kicking - the door, boxes in hand, and is greeted with a stage whisper.

"The little radish is down for the count for now," he says, grabbing the topmost box from Lan Zhan's arms and setting it down against a bare wall. "Please be Lan-quiet, he cried about it before the tiredness won."

Lan Zhan whispers back, standing in place as Wei Ying moves the boxes. "Some of my old things, from Uncle's."

Wei Ying grins, but only slightly. "He really has agreed to help, hasn't he?"

"Mm."

"Was it terribly odd? Sometimes I'm still sure he doesn't want me around at all, certainly not as part of the family."

Lan Zhan purses his lips, biting down the urge to say something romantic and only tangentially related to the real topic. Whatever their relationship is or is not, they are both dedicated to A-Yuan, and must be sure he comes first in family matters.

"You know already," he pries.

"A-Jue and A-Sang have both texted me their congratulations, on impending nuptials as well as the adoption."

He says it with a pleasant smile, but Lan Zhan can't help a grumble at the statement. Gossip travelled far too quickly for his tastes, even if Wei Ying didn't seem put off by the thought. He's too busy, perhaps, focused on getting the kettle started for Lan Zhan's customary afternoon cup of tea.

"They seem to believe it was your uncle's suggestion, in fact."

"Mmm," Lan Zhan confirms, sitting down on the couch and setting his arm out towards the kitchen as he leans back. Wei Ying grants him a chuckle and moves in, stretching himself across Lan Zhan's lap in a catlike fashion.

"You're sure you're okay with that? I mean, I know you agreed to raising A-Yuan and everything, but you know, husbands - you're never getting rid of me, then."

He's pointedly not looking towards Lan Zhan, and if Lan Zhan were bolder, he'd turn him around and make everything known, but he isn't. He's coy and sorry and selfish, and he can only temper the doubt in his friend's unusually soft voice. He lowers his arm, letting it rest atop Wei Ying's side.

"I have no desire to get rid of you. Are you unsure of that?"

"No, no, not - not as friends, Lan Zhan. It's just...this is different, okay? This is like, lifelong commitment we're talking about, and I don't want you to be unhappy with this, okay? I'm...I'm very glad you agreed to do this with me, don't get me wrong. But I don't ever want to hold you back. What if you meet somebody you like, and you have a husband already?"

Lan Zhan can't help a scoff at that. It's a bit mean of him, when Wei Ying seems genuinely concerned about his prospects, but really.

"Lan Zhan!" he whines. "Don't scoff!"

"Incredibly unlikely. And it would not matter, regardless. I would be pleased with my family life, as Uncle has presented it. The three of us, together."

There is quiet in the room as Wei Ying considers that, curling more tightly into Lan Zhan's lap. The kettle's whistle interrupts him, and he scurries off to the kitchen, insisting Lan Zhan stay put as he prepares two cups of tea to their respective likings and returns with them. The topic seems to become moot.

"Do you think he'll let us pick the house? I think between him and A-Li we won't have much say in the wedding, but the house, we'll at least get a list of choices or something, right?"

Lan Zhan takes his cup of tea, holding it for warmth.

"He wants us to have a long-term family home. I do not think he would choose without our input."

"No such claim about the wedding?"

"No, of course not."

Wei Ying laughs, a little brighter than earlier, and takes Lan Zhan's free hand.

Chapter Text

The reaction to the engagement - and adoption, though to a lesser degree - was, frankly, quite strange.

This was not to say that people's reactions were entirely unexpected, but rather that no one seemed to be surprised - at least, not at the immediate facts. Among the close family and friends privy to being personally informed of such events, surprise was mostly in response to the lack of romantic proposal involved. Lan Huan and Nie Huaisang, in particular, were disappointed not to have a dramatic story to retell, though it did stifle the displeasure about not being among the first informed. Jiang Yanli, conversely, was unperturbed about the matter, commenting more knowingly, something about people needing to be spurred into large changes when they are comfortable with their lives as they are, a surprisingly philosophical take on the situation.

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying both fielded offers of assistance, along with suggestions for proper 'post-betrothal proposals', as Nie Huaisang deemed his list of ideas. Jiang Yanli - and her mother, in some twist of decision-making to be something akin to supportive for Wei Ying, for once - sent texts with childrearing recommendations, some well-meaning and some more condescending. Lan Qiren took a slightly more tactful approach, continuing to drop off his nephew's childhood belongings and reminisce on his own development as a guardian.

A-Yuan, for his part, took the changes in stride. He did miss his Wen cousins and grandmother, having formerly seen them daily, but relished the attention from his beloved Wei-gege and Zhan-gege. He was just extroverted enough to enjoy meeting a long stream of new people, especially if they could play or read with him, and everyone was excited to do just so.

He seemed to thrive under the attention, even with some strangers. On one Saturday on which Wei Ying is glued to his computer with work matters, Lan Zhan takes A-Yuan along for the shopping errands. He already enjoys regaling their grocery store cashiers with stories, and on this trip he also recounts the past few weeks of his life to the jeweler along with his hopes for the wedding. His desires were admittedly more understandable than some: he wanted mochi, and tanghulu, and sweet and sour tofu, and bunnies with ribbons, and flowers to carry all by himself. Jiang Yanli's Jin in-laws and the Lan extended family had far loftier concepts of weddings and their accoutrements - things like alcohol fountains (no matter that the Lan family historically drank little, if at all), far-away locales (beautiful but unrealistic), and expensive dinner courses (thoroughly unnecessary). At the counter, watching the jeweler nod kindly at A-Yuan's ramblings, Lan Zhan takes a moment to be grateful that their siblings and his uncle are at the helm, and more understanding of their actual wishes and likes - even if both A-Huan and Jiang Yanli apparently came into the process with Pinterest boards at the ready, which is simultaneously terrifying and lovely.

Lan Zhan deeply dislikes, though, that he can predict opinions on his ultimate ring choices with perhaps startling accuracy. An engagement set with their birthstones is classy enough and a bit personalized, and the jeweler promises they'll sit well against most choices of wedding bands, should they decide to continue wearing both in the future. They may well, given that January's bright red garnet and October's milk-white opal, respectively, match their usual clothing color choices, and that realization comes with a startling warmth spreading through his body from his quickly beating heart.

A-Yuan gives the shiny items an excited little "oooh, pretty", which counts as an affirmation for Lan Zhan, more valid than the auntie voices in the back of his head demanding he fork out more money for the set. A set which, he keeps having to remind himself, does not represent a real, true marriage, despite what their families believe.

(Though, was it less real for a lack of romance, if everlasting commitment was there? Jury metaphorically out on that one, he thinks, as Wei Ying would remark.)

Regardless of the precise nature of the marriage, it hasn't affected A-Yuan's vision of the situation - he happily chatters away at the jeweler as he humors his ramblings and odd questions, and he remarks that they love each other, and love him, and they are going to be his babas. He follows that with a ramble about the various terms a Chinese-American child could possibly use for their guardians, and Lan Zhan cuts him off when the jeweler starts to look a bit lost, a soft smile at the boy's willingness to speak so openly to a random adult in their workplace.

He's similarly comfortable in the Asian market, chattering away as Lan Zhan finds and purchases ingredients for mapo tofu, scallion pancakes, and red bean sesame balls, along with a heaping basket of other vegetables. It could almost be argued that A-Yuan is following Wei Ying's example, but he's only a toddler, and wasn't primarily with them until recently, so Lan Zhan doubts he's absorbed the man's loud personality so quickly. Lan Zhan and his brother weren't so talkative, but perhaps more children are, when they're raised in homes where children are free to be both seen and heard. That is, surprisingly, the kind of home Lan Zhan wants A-Yuan to grow up in, despite how unfamiliar such an environment sounds.

A-Yuan charms the cashier - and an elderly couple in the parking lot - before they make their way back to the apartment to cook. He insists on holding hands all the way from the car up the elevator, though he is well-mannered enough to only pout and not complain verbally when Lan Zhan has to free his right hand to open the door. He even manages to make a decent helper, though his help is mostly as entertainment, like a child-led podcast as he watches Lan Zhan work.

Eventually, Wei Ying emerges from the master bedroom - now theirs, rather than mostly Lan Zhan's, with A-Yuan naturally taking over the second bedroom. He shakes off his focus like a wet dog - a comparison Lan Zhan won't make aloud, but that doesn't mean he can't think it - and immediately directs a beaming smile towards the kitchen, somehow seeming to fill the living room between them with light.

"Aiya, what's this? My dearest loves, returned to save poor little me from a day of hard work?" he exclaims. A-Yuan giggles on cue and pushes himself down from the dining chair he's been sitting on while vegetables get washed and chopped. Wei Ying scoops him up with ease, pressing kisses to his cheeks as he walks them over to the couch and plops down, A-Yuan happily falling down onto his chest and leaning in so deeply he seems to burrow.

By the time Wei Ying looks back up at Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan knows he has a visible smile on his face, just from watching them.

"How was work?" he asks, opening the new packages of tofu and grabbing plates to set them on to press.

"Finally over," Wei Ying grumbles. "And after they kept me from family errands!"

"Mn," Lan Zhan agrees, taking the cue to let him complain about the unexpected additional tasks. A-Yuan doesn't get the same hint, because he jumps in immediately.

"We had extra special shopping today! We went to the jewel-y store!"

"Oh?" Well-timed or not, it snaps Wei Ying out of his complaints and into a sitting position on the couch. "Lan Zhan, did you get us rings already?"

"I chose a pair of engagement rings with A-Yuan's assistance, yes. They were unavailable in the proper sizes, however, so we have not brought them home yet."

Wei Ying attempts a pout, but his smile is taking over his face, so it is not his most effective pout.

"Aiya, so responsible, gege! We've only had our little radish to ourselves for a few weeks! We're moving so quickly, I can't keep up!"

"But, but-" A-Yuan starts, and the stricken look on his face makes Lan Zhan wonder if today has been too long of a day. "But you have to get married! You promised! You have to be married and be my babas! You said!"

Wei Ying scrambles to pull A-Yuan off his legs and back into his arms. He's ensconced in strong arms by the time his tears become audible, sobbing inexplicably into Wei Ying's t-shirt. Lan Zhan sets his knife by the sink - a wild aberration in behavior - and rushes to the ottoman next to the couch, desperately needing to be present physically.

"Oh, baobei, baobei, our most precious little radish boy," Wei Ying coos, and moves his arms slightly to give Lan Zhan space to stroke A-Yuan's hair. After a couple moments, he pops his head back out to look over at Lan Zhan, tear-stained and reddened. Lan Zhan's heart aches at the sight of him.

"You are not going to be taken from us," Lan Zhan says softly, eventually, when he seems to stop crying. He's still holding onto Wei Ying with all the strength in his little body, though, and Lan Zhan's sense memory is recalling long-past distress. "We are here to care for you, whether we are married or not. You are safe here, and we love you."

Wei Ying hoists A-Yuan forward then, and kisses his little nose, which scrunches cutely before he dives back into a deep, tight hug. Wei Ying continues pressing kisses on what skin he can reach, and Lan Zhan continues petting his hair.

"Always and forever, no matter what?" comes a small, muffled voice after a moment. The corner of Wei Ying's mouth quirks up, like the voice tickled against his chest.

"Always and forever, baobei," Wei Ying affirms. "No matter if you're as much of a menace as I am or as sweet and dutiful as your Zhan-gege, hmm?"

Lan Zhan almost wants to correct him - his uncle certainly had more trouble with him than with A-Huan, so it's a bit disingenuous to imply he was easy to raise, but then again, Wei Ying already knows this - but A-Yuan perks up the tiniest bit, so he keeps that to himself for the moment. Wei Ying manages, in the span of a couple minutes, to wheedle A-Yuan into taking a nap while dinner gets cooked, which Lan Zhan agrees is a good idea.

He gives A-Yuan a kiss on his forehead - and receives one back in turn - and returns to the kitchen to continue his process, as Wei Ying scoops the toddler up again and carries him to the second bedroom. He expects Wei Ying to emerge after a few minutes, with A-Yuan having exhausted so much energy, but instead is alone the entire time he cooks, quietly humming songs to himself all the while. He finds Wei Ying sleeping as well, wrapped protectively around A-Yuan's little body, and leaves them to their peace for a short while longer.