Work Text:
"I can't believe you'd suggest such a thing!" Wei Wuxian had tears streaming down his face.
Lan Wangji, as most people who's partners were pregnant, was truly baffled. Wei Wuxian had been so happy just a few moments ago. He'd been nothing but pure excitement about going and picking out his 'cellmate' as he'd taken to calling the pet they were picking out. Lan Wangji had even stopped to get him a strawberry banana milkshake and jalapeno poppers. He'd been devouring them, dunking the poppers into the milkshake with a veracity that made Lan Wangji fear for safety of his car's interior. A fear he did not voice to avoid a situation like this.
"We're picking out a pet," Lan Wangji replied. "I assumed the pet store would be the best option?"
It was clearly the wrong thing to say as it made Wei Wuxian cry even harder.
"I said I wanted to adopt!"
"And we can do that here."
"No we can't!" Wei Wuxian glared through his eyes. "We have to buy them here! Are you suggesting we can just buy a member of our household?!"
"No, of course not."
"Maybe you should go buy yourself another mate!"
"Wei Ying, you are the only person for me."
"Well I'm having a hard time thinking my mate would have the audacity to suggest this." He waved to the pet store.
Lan Wangji's brain scrambled for something to remedy the situation.
"I was planning on hitting everything in town," Lan Wangji's brain came up with. "To make sure we find the perfect fit."
"Well, maybe I don't want a perfect fit!" Wei Wuxian snapped. "I want to go to the shelter." He added with a huff, crossing his arms. Still, the sniffling had stopped. A sign the situation was equalizing.
"Of course," Lan Wangji slowly started releasing his scent in apology. He'd learned not to do it before the tears stopped or he was an 'alpha asshole who just wants his omega to shut up'. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you where you wanted to go. Do you want to stop anywhere for snacks on the way to the shelter?"
"Lunch," Wei Wuxian decided. "At the spicy noodle shop."
"Perfect." Lan Wangji hummed. He held his hand out for Wei Wuxian to take as he backed out of the parking spot.
He googled the nearest animal shelter while Wei Wuxian was in the bathroom. He knew all the detailed research he'd done into acquiring a pet, including statistics on the health, life spans and behavioral trends for each location in town, was now mute. It was a growing trend between them during Wei Wuxian's pregnancy, but Lan Wangji didn't mind. Wei Wuxian was growing their child.
But it was one of the reasons why they were getting a pet in the first place. Wei Wuxian had wants, and now that he was pregnant Lan Wangji saw no reason to not grant them. While money was no issue, Lan Wangji's work was piling up with the number of vacation days he'd been taking. In his defense, how was he supposed to deny WWX's pleading eyes and grabby hands to keep him in their nest?
It was their doctor who suggested a pet. Apparently it was quite common for omega pregnancies, especially in later stages when their need for companionship is greatest. There was also theories that pets could help reduce the chance of post partum depression, which with how wild Wei Wuxian's emotion had been was a concern. Not to mention there was good research on the impact of pets on early childhood. The doctor didn't provide that, but rather a much younger Lan Wangji.
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji let out a low breath as they parked at the animal shelter. "Would you like me to go in first?"
"Why?" Wei Wuxian blinked.
"There are dogs here."
The souring of Wei Wuxian's scent was immediate. The excitement that returned dimmed for a moment as he chewed over his lip. His hands went to the swollen curve of his belly as he turned his gaze on the building.
"They'll be locked up right?" He asked.
"You'll still hear them barking."
"I think as long as your next to me it'll be fine." Wei Wuxian exhaled. "If not, I can just step out right?"
"Of course," Lan Wangji nodded. "I can ask if they have a room which is quieter for them to explain the process to us."
"Hear that? Your dad is already looking out for you and your mama." Wei Wuxian beamed down at his stomach. "Gonna protect us from those mean doggies." He rubbed his stomach.
"Always," Lan Wangji leaned in to press a kiss to Wei Wuxian's lips.
Wei Wuxian's arms were wrapped around one of Lan Wangji's the moment they got out. Already they could hear the muffled barking of the dogs inside. Once they were standing in the lobby, Wei Wuxian was full on flinching at each bark. Which, due to the constant barking, was hard for the workers to miss. Lan Wangji just put his arm around Wei Wuxian, letting his mate burrow into his side.
"What can we do for you today?" A worker stepped up to smile at them.
"We're looking to adopt a pet." Lan Wangji replied. His hand began moving on autopilot, rubbing soothing circles on Wei Wuxian's back. The scent he was leaking was less than polite, but people overlooked worse offenses when it came to pregnancy.
"Any thing specific in mind?"
"No dogs!" Wei Wuxian squeaked from Lan Wangji's chest.
"Well, we have plenty of other options besides dogs." The worker gestured. "Why don't we go into the cat room to discuss your options?"
"Please," Lan Wangji nodded. He gently guided Wei Wuxian to follow the worker, his mate relaxing the moment the door to the cat room closed and muffled most of the barking.
"That's better, isn't it?" The worker smiled at him. "Now, we have a wide variety of pets to choose from. Cats are our biggest population," She gestured to the cages in the room. "But we also have some rabbits, birds, reptiles and amphibians looking to be rehomed."
"Rabbits?" Lan Wangji attention was captured. "What breed?"
"A small clutch of chinchillas and a few English lops." The worker smiled. "I can show them to you. Though it will mean we need to go back outside, but I assure you the rabbit room is also soundproofed as well as our funding can afford."
"I want to see everything," Wei Wuxian's eyes were already roving over the cages.
"Of course," Lan Wangji hummed. "But maybe we could start with the rabbits?"
"Sure," Wei Wuxian hummed. His eyes lingered on a cage for a moment before turning away.
The rabbits were everything Lan Wangji could have dreamed of. Unfortunately for him, they didn't seem to be the same for Wei Wuxian. He tried grabbing a few, but they quickly kicked out of his hold. Lan Wangji demonstrated the correct way to hold it, but by then the rabbits had lost all interest in Wei Wuxian and were piling onto Lan Wangji.
"Can we see something else?" Wei Wuxian asked after fifteen minutes. "You can stay if you want." He added to Lan Wangji.
"No, I'll come." Lan Wangji hummed. Still it was easier said than done to separate himself from the rabbits.
At least the birds were a fast no. Nie Huaisang would be heartbroken, but at least Lan Wangji's furniture would be safe. The reptiles were vetoed almost as quickly, though Wei Wuxian did spend a long time playing with a turtle. The shelter worker did warn them it had a habit of biting, which was confirmed less then four minutes later when he latched onto Lan Wangji's leg.
"But he's so cute!" Wei Wuxian pouted.
"And when he bites our babies fingers off?"
"Maybe we could train him out of it?" Wei Wuxian winced.
"The rabbits did not bite."
"We still have cats to look at!" The shelter worker broke in with a sunny smile. "They're the most popular when it comes to nest pets."
"Let's go see them," Lan Wangji nodded.
"Now, we have a few rooms of cats." The shelter worker explained. "We've separated our kittens, adults and seniors. We do have a few FIV+ separated, and we don't advise them if your planning more cats in the future. We'll start with the kittens. Just let me know if you want to hold anyone."
They followed her into a room, a wave of squeaky mews greeting them as tiny little paws pressed against their cage doors. They began moving through the space, but Wei Wuxian looked less than enthused.
"What was that room we were in the first time?" Wei Wuxian questioned after a few minutes.
"That was our adult room."
"Can we go there next?" Wei Wuxian questioned.
"Of course, now we request only one cat out at a time with our adults." The shelter worker explained as they directed them to the next room. "Our kittens are usually a happy bunch together, but we've got a number of cats from a wide variety of situations. So to keep accidents to a minimum, just ask us which one you'd like to get out."
Lan Wangji watched Wei Wuxian as they moved through the room. Wei Wuxian was moving at a speed that seemed less like perusing and more like searching. Until he came to a stop in front of a cage in the back.
"Can you let this one out?" Wei Wuxian pointed.
"Are you sure?" The shelter worker hesitated.
"What's wrong with it?" Lan Wangji's brow furrowed. He moved closer peering into the cage.
Only to see exactly why the shelter worker had paused. A massive cat sat in the cage looking as if it was casting a curse at them. It's lower teeth protruded out from it's lower lip, which only added to it's angry expression. It's eyes would have been too far apart, if it had both of them. Where one of the bright yellow eyes would be, there was nothing but fur. Once Lan Wangji could only find one ear in the poof of fur, he could see it had chunks missing from it. The fur itself was a patchwork of different colors, to the point Lan Wangji would hesitate to call it one singular color.
"Penny has just, been here a while."
"Penny?" Wei Wuxian blinked. "His name tag says Sir Puff-n-Floof."
"Ah well, that is his official name." The worker winced.
"So Penny is?"
"Our nickname for him," The shelter worker flushed. "Cause he keeps showing up like a lost penny."
"Showing up?" Lan Wangji questioned. "He's been adopted before?"
"A few times," The worker slowly stated. "It's been almost a year since the last attempt."
"Did they give a reason why they returned him?"
"We generally didn't have them return him," The worker sighed. "Just picked him up on the streets. He actually started here as a kitten."
"Can we let him out?"
"Sure," The worker moved forward.
"Wei Ying, if the cat is dangerous-"
"Oh he's not dangerous!" The worker assured them as she opened the cage. She reached in, pulling out the mass of floof out of the cage.
"Can I hold him?" Wei Wuxian was stepping forward.
"He has his claws, which as you can see have served him well during his few stints on the street." She was transferring him to Wei Wuxian's arms. "But other than that he's a sweetheart."
"I bet you are," Wei Wuxian hummed to the cat as it settled. He absentmindedly started bouncing him.
To Lan Wangji's surprise the cat started to growl.
"Wei Ying-"
"It's okay!" The worker interjected. "That's his purr. He's perfectly happy!"
Lan Wangji looked at the cat, finding that it's eye was closed. Weather it was in premeditation or supposed happiness he wasn't sure. He wasn't fond of such uncertainty being around his pregnant mate.
"Aw, your just a big cuddle bug aren't you." Wei Wuxian began rubbing his face against Sr. Puff-n-Fluff's fur. To Lan Wangji's surprise, the cat shifted, rubbing his face against Wei Wuxian's arm.
"Wei Ying-"
"I want him," Wei Wuxian's eyes turned on him.
"He's," Lan Wangji faltered. "Do you know if he ran away or let out?" He turned to the worker.
"We aren't sure," The worker sighed. "But he's never tried to run away from here so we have a hard time thinking he ran away, unless it was a bad situation."
"He's the one Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian pressed.
"If he runs away, with your state-"
"He's not going to run away," Wei Wuxian huffed.
"You don't know that."
"I've been called a lost penny too," Wei Wuxian shot back. "All he needs is a good home, and we're going to give it to him."
A lost penny, Lan Wangji's caved as he stepped forward. He reached up a hand, which Sir. Puff-n-Floof immediately nuzzled his face into. They'd spent long hours talking when they decided they were ready for kids. Wei Wuxian had been torn between wanting to adopt and wanting to get pregnant. When he was late, it made the decision for them. Still, he'd told Lan Wangji about the guilt he harbored. How there were kids out there who needed good homes, just like he had.
"Okay," Lan Wangji hummed. "But he can't keep Sir Puff-n-Floof as a name."
"Please, he already has one." Wei Wuxian hummed. "Penny."
The next week, when Lan Wangji came home to the sight of Wei Wuxian and Penny curled up in their nest both of their rough purrs filling the space. He had to admit Wei Wuxian had been completely right. Penny was perfect for them.