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Chapter Text

A-Yuan’s newest obsession is the sort of show that Wei Wuxian would probably have enjoyed as a child, even if he won’t admit it. Wei Wuxian had dropped off a son who had been humming the xiao ding dang theme song for a sleepover with Jin Ling and picked up a son who would not stop talking about mystery-solving rabbits. It’s a web series where in each episode (“Jin Ling says it’s called a webisode”), the host of the show solves mysteries with the clues his rabbit points out. “No, baba,” A-Yuan says very seriously, “Lan-xiong has to figure out what Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang want to do, and they can’t talk so they have to leave clues for him. And after Lan-xiong finds all the clues, he sits in his thinking chair and solves the puzzle!”

Thinking chair , Wei Wuxian mouths to himself as A-Yuan, wiggling animatedly in the car seat, continues giving him the rundown of episodes (webisodes) 1 through 7, which is where they had got up to last evening before Jiang Yanli had stopped them for dinner. “But don’t worry,” A-Yuan rushes to assure him after explaining how ‘Lan-xiong’ had figured out that the rabbits had wanted to go for a picnic in the park and to the butterfly garden and then to try some fresh soy milk at the wet market (can rabbits even have soy milk?), “there are still a lot more webisodes we can watch together!”  

Wei Wuxian laughs and gives his son a thumbs-up, catching his eyes in the rear view mirror. He’s faithfully sat through three episodes a week of xiao ding dang for almost a year, so he can certainly deal with however many episodes (webisodes) of Tu ’s Clues A-Yuan wants to watch. Making A-Yuan happy makes him happy.  

~~~~~~~

As is probably quite common amongst parents, Wei Wuxian finds that his life is neatly partitioned into ‘before A-Yuan’ and ‘after A-Yuan’. 

Before A-Yuan: take-out (several times a week), microwavable meals and sometimes just plain white rice for dinner when all he could manage was to get the rice cooker going. After A-Yuan: less take-out (once a week, and only as a treat), more vegetables (because all the parenting books had been very clear about a balanced diet), and significantly more use of the previously untouched pressure cooker Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng had given him as a housewarming present. 

Before A-Yuan: piles of unopened mail, stray pieces of paper that Wei Wuxian would scribble on and then keep (just in case) for the next ten years, and maybe some half-hearted tidying up if he was going to have people over. After A-Yuan: piles of childrens’ books, toy bins stuffed to the brim, and regular picking up because Wei Wuxian had realised that while he did not mind his mess, dealing with someone else’s mess (even his son’s) drives him crazy.

Before A-Yuan: keeping busy all the time, mostly through work, otherwise through video games, because keeping his mind occupied with things he could control kept him going. After A-Yuan: still busy, in fact, probably more so; and although having a 4-year-old son significantly increases the number of unforeseen events in his life, he feels more settled than he has in a long time. 

Being a single parent is not easy, even if Wei Wuxian lucked out with how sweet and well-mannered his son is. He can’t stay in bed for two days just because he feels like it, or stay up til three in the morning coding because he’s on a roll. There are so many things he has to keep track of now and Wei Wuxian is unashamed to admit how much he had leaned on his siblings for help when he had first brought A-Yuan home. But somehow all the things he can’t be bothered to do for himself are suddenly so much easier when he has to take care of his son. 

~~~~~~~

He’s in the middle of preparing dinner when A-Yuan insists on watching an episode of Tu’s Clues with him. “Each webisode is only twenty minutes, and we still have to wait for the zongzi to steam,” he reasons, then tugs on Wei Wuxian’s shirt with pleading eyes. Wei Wuxian caves like a piece of wet paper. “Okay, okay! Help me clear this away and we can watch it, is that alright?” 

After both of them have washed their hands, he settles down on the couch with A-Yuan on his lap, and his laptop on the table. A-Yuan pulls up the show’s webpage suspiciously quickly, and starts episode (webisode) 8. 

The theme music is set to a montage of two rabbits, one black and one white, hopping between different scenes. While A-Yuan cheerfully bops and hums along to the song, Wei Wuxian quietly resolves to never tell his son any rabbit meat jokes. The screen cuts to a pastel blue room where a man is kneeling in front of an enclosure with the two rabbits from the opening sequence. 

Most childrens’ show hosts are cheerful, energetic people who wear eye-catching clothing. The man on-screen is none of those things. This man (“that’s Lan-xiong!” A-Yuan says helpfully) is eye-catching for completely different reasons. When A-Yuan had started talking about 'Lan-xiong' and rabbits, Wei Wuxian had briefly recalled 18-year-old Lan Zhan sitting back on his heels with two baby rabbits in his lap, but the idea of his high school crush hosting a childrens' show had been so ludicrous that Wei Wuxian had chalked it up to coincidence. 

So either Wei Wuxian is hallucinating or that is indeed Lan Wangji on-screen, talking to two rabbits. As the host of a childrens' show. 

(It's been over ten years since he had last seen Lan Zhan, and he doesn't know how long rabbits live, but there is one white rabbit and one black rabbit and maybe-)

‘Lan-xiong’ begins by offering his hand to the rabbits to sniff, before petting them gently on the head. “Hello, everyone.” His voice is as sonorous as Wei Wuxian remembers, and he speaks in the same soothing manner that Wei Wuxian imagines a meditation teacher would speak. “Shall we find out what Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang want to do today?” 

The show is well thought out- the clues are interspersed in such a way that a child could easily connect them, and Lan Zhan throws in little tidbits of information that are clearly meant to be educational. Wei Wuxian can see why the show would appeal to children. Wei Wuxian is also having distinctly un-childlike thoughts about the show's host. 

When Lan Zhan goes to the thinking chair to put all the clues together, his pants stretch a little to show the line of his thighs and Wei Wuxian chokes a bit. He feels a bit winded. He'd apparently forgotten how muscular Lan 'probably-only-shops-at-Muji' Wangji was. 

“So did you like it, baba?” A-Yuan asks after the episode (webisode) is over. He’s smiling so brightly and he looks so earnest that Wei Wuxian feels bad that he’s essentially spent the last twenty minutes ogling the host of a children’s show. 

“It’s great, A-Yuan.” He says weakly. He has absolutely zero idea what the rabbits actually wanted to do. “Really great.”  

~~~~~~~

Jiang Cheng had been highly sceptical about the adoption, worried about Wei Wuxian’s job and apartment and ability to handle responsibility. “It’s not that I don’t think you can’t handle responsibility,” his brother had said when Wei Wuxian frowned at the criticism, “it’s only that when it’s just you, the consequences of messing up fall on just you, but with a son everything you do or don’t do has an impact on him too. It’s just… a lot.” 

Jin Zixuan, who had been slowly creeping up in Wei Wuxian’s estimation, lost a significant number of ‘I-guess-you’re-okay-if-you-make-Dajie-happy’ points when he pointed out that it was a lot of work. “We were barely holding it together with Jin Ling, and there are two of us,” he had said, “are you sure you can handle it?”

Jiang Yanli had just given him a long look when he had nervously brought it up to her. “If this is what you want, we will always support you,” she had said firmly, clasping his hands in hers. She had lent him a small library of parenting books that she and Jin Zixuan had bought when she was pregnant with Jin Ling, and bullied Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan into helping to re-organise his apartment to prepare for A-Yuan. 

Yu-furen’s reaction had been the most surprising. “How are you going to get married with a son?” She berated, “you’re over thirty already, and now you want to adopt. You’re going to be left on the shelf! Why can’t you be more like Yanli and find someone while you’re still young. And you!” she pointed at Jiang Cheng, who had dutifully accompanied Wei Wuxian for moral support, and who had been steadily inching his way behind an increasingly amused Jiang-shu. “When are you going to bring home someone for the new year!” 

Wei Wuxian doesn’t know how to tell her that not everyone can fall in love with their mother’s best friend’s son as a child, have a tumultuous relationship as young adults before getting blissfully married, all before thirty. Instead, he tells her that he hasn’t found anyone who would put up with him day-in-day-out and at least this way he’s still providing them with a grandchild. To which Yu-furen had huffed before giving Jiang Cheng a pointed look. 

Wei Wuxian enjoys harmless flirting- it’s nice to be wanted! But he’s never been much for relationships. He has many friends, even more acquaintances, but he's never met someone he could envision spending his life with. Never found someone who could understand him, not the itch beneath his skin, nor the conflicting desires to never be forgotten but also to take up as little space as possible. 

(That's not entirely true. There had been someone, a long time ago, but- well, that had been as one-sided as it possibly could have been.)

Even so, he's never felt lonely. He has his siblings, his adoptive parents, his friends, his co-workers. And when he needs it, he has his own apartment, his own space that he can retreat to. 

Now that he has A-Yuan, dating is even further from his mind. Besides, he works full time and he’s a single parent, where would he even meet someone?

~~~~~~~

A-Yuan isn’t at all a demanding child. He’s not always thrilled about Wei Wuxian’s culinary choices, and even if he doesn’t particularly like gailan , he’ll still eat whatever Wei Wuxian cooks. He sometimes wants to play when Wei Wuxian has to work, but he’ll entertain himself until his father is free. In turn, Wei Wuxian tries to be as indulgent as he can without spoiling A-Yuan the way his sister and brother-in-law spoil Jin Ling. He and A-Yuan make deals- if A-Yuan eats the gailan , they can have cereal for breakfast the following morning; if A-Yuan can keep himself occupied for the next hour, Wei Wuxian will take him to the playground. He likes to think that this give-and-take will teach his son to be aware of what other people need. It helps that A-Yuan is naturally easy-going. 

Even at the height of the xiao ding dang craze, A-Yuan had only asked for a xiao ding dang plushie. Wei Wuxian had splurged for a giant one, almost the size of his son, and A-Yuan had loved it until the stuffing started to come out and Jiang Yanli had to come over to ‘operate’ under A-Yuan’s watchful eyes. 

But since he began watching Tu ’s Clues, A-Yuan asks daily about having pet bunnies. He breaks out the sad eyes and the mournful shirt-tugging. He hasn’t quite started the crying yet, but Wei Wuxian thinks it must be a matter of days. 

“I don’t know anything about taking care of rabbits,” Wei Wuxian says in exasperation. “Pets are a lot of work, A-Yuan.” He wonders if this is how Jiang Cheng had felt when Wei Wuxian had told him about A-Yuan, and sends his brother a silent apology. 

“But baba, we can always learn. Lan-xiong says that rabbits are usually very calm, like Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang!” A-Yuan has taken to starting his rabbit-related sentences with “Lan-xiong says”, and Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and briefly imagines shaking Lan Zhan by his shoulders and shouting ‘whhhhyyyyy????’. 

“Well, your baba says that he has to think about it more, okay?” His tone is a bit more snappish than he intended and A-Yuan’s lower lip wobbles dangerously. Wei Wuxian sighs and kneels down to place a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. I’m not saying we can never get bunnies, but we need to be sure we know what we’re doing, alright?” 

A-Yuan nods, wiping his eyes and leaning forward to hug his father. “Okay.” He mumbles into Wei Wuxian’s t-shirt. And because he’s too smart for his own good- “baba can we please get french fries?”

Laughing, Wei Wuxian pats A-Yuan’s head. “Okay. Do you want curly fries or normal fries?” A-Yuan gives him a ‘are-you-really asking’ look. Wei Wuxian mimes smacking himself on the forehead. “What was I thinking? Curly fries, of course.”   

~~~~~~~

The post office is already one of Wei Wuxian’s least favourite places. In a misguided attempt to be fair to the surrounding housing estates it serves, the post office is approximately equidistant to each of them and therefore on the busiest, most inconvenient, intersection ever. Parking is non-existent and A-Yuan isn’t old enough to ride his bicycle on the road, so Wei Wuxian has to take the bus to the interchange and then walk the rest of the way with the unwieldy box of external hard drives one of his co-workers wants shipped to him. 

A-Yuan sticks close to him, clutching onto the fold of his trouser pockets since Wei Wuxian doesn’t have any free hands. The public library is nearby, and Wei Wuxian had told A-Yuan that they could look for rabbit care books, so the plan is to head there after a brief detour to post the box. 

Wei Wuxian lets A-Yuan wander around the post office while he’s busy at the counter. His son likes looking at the wall showing all the stamps that have been issued over the years and stamps from other countries and has been told numerous times not to wander off without letting his father know. This is a mistake, however, as once Wei Wuxian is done with his errand, he turns to discover that A-Yuan isn’t where he expected- isn’t in the post office at all.

He panics and runs out of the building, shouting A-Yuan’s name. The street is busy and he doesn’t immediately spot A-Yuan. Wei Wuxian looks left and then right, and he doesn’t know which way to go- 

"A-Yuan!" He shouts again. People are starting to look at him. “A-Yuan!” 

"Baba! Look who I found!" He hears his son call out behind him. Wei Wuxian whips his head around and sure enough it's A-Yuan. He's smiling and doing the thing where he rocks back and forth on his feet that means that A-Yuan is feeling especially excited. 

Wei Wuxian rushes to his son and crouches down in front of him, checking to see if he’s alright. He’s so relieved that he gives A-Yuan a too-tight hug. “A-Yuan! You scared me so much!” 

A-Yuan must realise from his tone of voice that he really is upset, because his face falls. “Sorry baba. I saw Lan-xiong so I went to say hello!” 

Wei Wuxian looks up at the man who has been silently hovering behind A-Yuan and between the short but gut-wrenching panic of losing track of his son and the person in front of him, he’s stunned speechless and can only gape. 

A-Yuan tugs on the pants of the host of Tu’s Clues (aka the most beautiful man alive) to get his attention. “Lan-xiong, this is my baba! We watch your show together!” A-Yuan does a ‘ta-da!’ motion at Wei Wuxian. 

“Hello.” Lan Zhan says awkwardly, meeting Wei Wuxian’s eyes. He has a ‘deer in the headlights’ look about him.

Wei Wuxian picks his jaw off the ground, trying to act like a normal human being. “Ah- Lan Zhan! It's been so long.” He grins.

Lan Wangji doesn’t look annoyed that his day has been interrupted, but his facial expression also doesn’t change. “Wei…Ying,” he says.

Wei Wuxian’s smile falters, but he rallies himself. “You know, you’re the reason why A-Yuan here wants to get rabbits. You should buy us lunch as punishment!” He cringes internally once the words are out of his mouth. Shamelessness works well when you’re eighteen and in high school, not so much when you’re pushing thirty-five and have a son. Wei Wuxian can already see Jiang Cheng’s facepalm. His brother always said his mouth worked faster than his brain. 

“Lunch.” Lan Wangji echos. He looks a bit dazed. “I- someone is waiting for me back home. I have to go.” He gives Wei Wuxian a nod and A-Yuan a pat on the head before speed-walking away. “Bye Lan-xiong!” A-Yuan calls after him, waving enthusiastically.   

Ouch. Wei Wuxian isn't sure what to think of that. His heart is still beating a mile a minute from seeing Lan Zhan. He had thought that he and Lan Zhan had been friends in high school but his memory is famously bad and now he's wondering if maybe..they weren't as close as he had thought. After all, Lan Zhan had basically run away from him. 

And- he had said something about someone waiting for him at home. Wei Wuxian feels as though he's been punched in the stomach. It figures that Lan Wangji, who is really one of the best people Wei Wuxian has ever known, would be attached. Which is great! Lan Zhan deserves to be happy, he tells himself.

“Baba, baba!” A-Yuan says excitedly, thankfully completely oblivious to his father’s crisis. “We have to get rabbits now since we saw Lan-xiong! It’s fate!” 

Wei Wuxian turns back to give his son an amused look. “Fate? Who’s teaching you about fate?” 

“Jin Ling-” of course, he should have realised. “-said that shushu said that gugu and gufu were fated to be together because gufu fell into a lotus pond in front of gugu.” Wei Wuxian laughs. He’s pretty sure that’s not what Jiang Cheng said, but it’s good that he’s teaching Jin Ling the family tradition of making fun of Jin Zixuan. 

~~~~~~~

Wei Wuxian doesn't really believe in fate. When you're orphaned before you turn five and have heard over and over that 'when it's your time to go, it's your time to go', it's easy to be resentful about it. He doesn't want to believe his parents were 'fated' to die young, or that he was 'fated' to linger in the underfunded, understaffed orphanage for several years after.

But if he were to believe in it, it would have been because of meeting Lan Zhan; of how he had seen Lan Zhan for the first time and immediately felt something he had never realised had been missing in him fall into place. In his joy he had not considered that Lan Zhan had not had the same revelation.

Lan Zhan had never approved of him. He had gotten annoyed when Wei Wuxian would debate their teachers, which to be fair, Wei Wuxian had been an arrogant little snot. But Lan Zhan was also the only one who ever listened. Wei Wuxian knew his classmates tended to tune him out whenever he spoke in class. But Lan Zhan listened, and Wei Wuxian knew this because Lan Zhan would wait until school was over to hand him a written critique of everything he had disagreed with Wei Wuxian about. 

And Wei Wuxian would be irritated at Lan Zhan for being a teacher's pet for ten minutes before oscillating back to wanting Lan Zhan's attention. For Wei Wuxian, whose attention span had frequently been compared to that of a magpie's, it's something of an anomaly. 

He still doesn't understand why other people hadn't found Lan Zhan as fascinating as he had. He knows most people thought Lan Zhan nerdy or boring or intimidating, and even Wei Wuxian will admit that his whole goody-two-shoes thing in school had been kind of annoying, but if prodded enough, Lan Zhan had had so much fire in him that Wei Wuxian had been helplessly drawn as a moth to a flame. He had seen it in the gaze that Lan Zhan would turn upon him and the way he gritted out "Wei Ying" when pushed too far. 

Wei Wuxian especially enjoyed it when Lan Zhan’s snarky side emerged. “Wei YIng- that’s not right, that’s not even wrong ,” Lan Zhan had said to him once in complete exasperation, and Wei Wuxian had burst out laughing so hard that their disagreement/argument/debate had been forgotten.

But Lan Zhan had always kept the boundaries of their friendship drawn- after school, when Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng and their classmates would go goof off for a bit before returning home, Lan Zhan would disappear almost immediately. Wei Wuxian always invited him, and Lan Zhan always turned him down.

"He's such a jerk to you, I don't know why you keep trying to be friends with him," Jiang Cheng had said to him once. 

Feeling unaccountably defensive, Wei Wuxian had said, "We are friends, and Lan Zhan isn't rude to me! He pulled me out of the pool that one time." 

Jiang Cheng had simply scoffed. "Lan Wangji would have helped save a drowning raccoon. I said he was a jerk, not that he didn't have manners." And then he had banned Wei Wuxian from talking about Lan Zhan more than three times a day. At the time, Wei Wuxian had chalked it up to sibling jealousy. But then the Great Garden Party Debacle of 2010 had happened and all of Jiang Cheng's anger had turned toward Jin Zixuan and Wei Wuxian could talk about Lan Zhan as much as he wanted again.

~~~~~~~

Wei Wuxian sometimes idly wonders if A-Yuan has this visual of a ‘health bar’ above his father’s head, and it would be depleted every time A-Yuan says ‘rabbit’ or ‘bunny’ and eventually Wei Wuxian would be worn down and surrender and get rabbits. 

As part of A-Yuan’s Campaign For Rabbit Ownership, he insists on having Wei Wuxian watch an episode of Tu ’s Clues with him every evening. And okay, Wei Wuxian will admit that Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang are growing on him because bunnies are actually pretty cute (and infinitely better than dogs) and watching them clean their tiny faces and hop onto Lan Zhan’s lap is objectively adorable. And even though he can't be certain that they're the same rabbits, Wei Wuxian starts calling them "our babies" in his head. 

The fact that it’s Lan Zhan is also an issue. 

"Hypothetically speaking- have you ever had a band you really loved when you were a teenager but then they disbanded so you gradually stopped listening to their music but once in a while still think about them with fond nostalgia? And then one day over a decade later, the band is having a revival tour and suddenly you're thinking about buying 500 dollar plane tickets and VIP concert tickets and booking hotels?" Wei Wuxian says over the phone. 

"...No?" His brother-in-law (ugh) replies unhelpfully. 

Wei Wuxian huffs. "You're useless. Give jiejie the phone!" 

"Wait. You're in love with Lan Wangji?" Jin Zixuan says in disbelief, still obviously stuck two steps behind. His sister married an idiot.

"I am not in love with him! I just really liked spending time with him!" Wei Wuxian protests weakly. 

"Jiang Cheng told me you followed him around for years and mooned over his…everything." Jin Zixuan says dubiously. Jiang Cheng is a traitor. 

"Oh I'm sorry, who was the one who thought insulting his crush was a suitable way to win her heart?" Wei Wuxian replies snidely. He will never let Jin Zixuan live down the Great Garden Party Debacle of 2010. He and Jiang Cheng had promised each other. 

"Oh look! Yanli is here." Jin Zixuan says loudly, ignoring Wei Wuxian. "I'll pass her the phone." 

"Jie, why did you marry that moron?" He wails over the phone. 

Jiang Yanli laughs, because she's several years past the stage where she worried about her brothers and husband getting along. She'd be worried if they didn't have this 'argument' at least once a week. 

"So I'm guessing that A-Yuan made you watch Tu 's Clues with him? Or is there another reason we're talking about Lan Wangji?" She asks.

"I can't believe you didn't warn me," Wei Wuxian replies sulkily. "And now A-Yuan wants rabbits and likes Lan Zhan more than me. What am I supposed to do?" 

"Ask him on a date?" Jiang Yanli says, showing her husband's awful influence. In the background, Wei Wuxian hears Jin Zixuan yell "Insult him to his face. It worked for me!" 

Wei Wuxian doesn't bother to dignify that with a reply. "I did! Ask him on a date, that is. Sort of. But then he said he was seeing someone and basically power walked away." Wei Wuxian's stomach twists at the memory. Apparently ten years hasn't made him any more tolerable to Lan Zhan. 

Some of his unhappiness must leak into his voice, because Jiang Yanli makes an apologetic sound over the phone and takes pity on him by changing the subject, telling him about Jin Ling's swimming lessons. She even throws in an old story of Jin Ling re-enacting his father falling into a lotus pond. 

When he finally hangs up, he feels a little better. Nothing is different now, he tells himself. He can sit through twenty minutes a day of watching Lan Zhan playing with rabbits, and eventually the rabbits will run out of things they want to do and he can finally move on. 

Wei Wuxian takes a moment to remember the blissful days when the xiao ding dang theme song was the worst part of his evening.  

~~~~~~~

Lan Zhan had always intended to go to university after graduating. He had not ever raised the topic with Wei Wuxian, but it was expected of him, and the way his ears turned pink when Wei Wuxian had jokingly asked "doctor, lawyer, or engineer?" made it plain enough. 

Wei Wuxian had wanted to leave for university. He wasn't so much bothered by the prestige of the university as the location, and he had told Lan Zhan as much. Whenever they ate lunch together (which was all the time), Wei Wuxian would ramble on about the relative merits of this university versus that university while Lan Zhan listened silently. 

One day, when he had paused to have a drink of water, Lan Zhan had quietly said. "Wei Ying- I am staying here for university."

Wei Wuxian remembers being surprised and somewhat panicked when he realised that his plans and Lan Zhan's plans did not intersect. "Lan Zhan, that's so boring! Haven't you lived here your whole life? I personally can't imagine staying here." He had said a whole bunch of meaningless things, as he did when he was worried. It seemed so obvious when Lan Zhan brought it up, but it had been so natural to include Lan Zhan when he had vague images of his future.

Lan Zhan did not say more on the topic, and Wei Wuxian stopped talking about going to university during their lunch breaks. It was a very head-in-the-ground approach to dealing with their paths diverging, but it was the easiest. 

The last day they had seen each other, Wei Wuxian had cornered Lan Zhan after school and said, "Lan Zhan! Come with me, I have something for you!" He proceeded to drag Lan Zhan to the school field, where he had handed over a cardboard box containing two tiny rabbits.

"I know you weren't allowed pets when you were growing up, but you're going to university now, so you can make your own rules! Right, xiaotutu-men ?" 

Lan Zhan had looked at him then, eyes large. Eventually he smiled, just a tiny curve of his lips, and said, "thank you, Wei Ying," in that gentle way of his. 

In retrospect, Wei Wuxian realises two things. First- he had apparently spent a lot of time looking at Lan Zhan's lips, which probably should have been a Clue. And secondly- he had unwittingly sown the seeds for Tu 's Clues back then. 

He groans. He had done this to himself. 

~~~~~~~

When he and Jiang Cheng had been eleven, they had their minds blown by Nie Huaisang casually mentioning that the word 'bed' looked like a bed and then neither of them could ever unsee it again. Wei Wuxian wonders if that's why he sees Lan Zhan all the time now. He's seen Lan Zhan, thinks more about Lan Zhan over the course of the day than in the previous year. Lan Zhan is suddenly everywhere. 

Wei Wuxian has three hours free every Saturday morning when Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan take A-Yuan and Jin Ling for their swim lessons and then brunch. He goes to his usual coffee shop, gets a drink with a hideous amount of sugar and one of their amazing coffee buns, and then reads the same trashy romance novels he used to make fun of Nie Huaisang for (the kind that wouldn’t even make it to airport bookstore shelves). 

This week, when he arrives, he immediately notices Lan Zhan sitting in his usual spot. Lan Zhan's eyes widen briefly before he raises a hand awkwardly in greeting. Wei Wuxian is both perplexed and just a little pleased.

"Lan Zhan! What are you doing here?" He asks. There is an empty chair opposite Lan Zhan, but he isn't sure if he's welcome to take it so he remains standing. 

"Wei Ying," he replies, tilting his head a fraction to indicate the empty seat, "I got you a drink and coffee bun." 

Wei Wuxian sinks into the chair, a bit baffled. On the table is his usual order, the drink is still steaming and the bun has the characteristic "fresh out the oven" aroma. "Ah- Lan Zhan, thank you! How did you know what I usually get here?" 

Lan Zhan purses his lips, which is Lan Zhan for 'I don't want to answer this question', but his eyes flicker almost imperceptibly to the counter. Wei Wuxian turns and sees A'Qing unsubtly waving at him, a cheeky smile on her face. 

"I was rude the other day," Lan Zhan says haltingly. "I wanted to apologise." 

Wei Wuxian blinks at him for a few moments before laughing. "Hahaha, no need to apologise, please. You were in a hurry when A-Yuan attached himself to you. You're not obliged to make time for an old high school classmate!"

Lan Zhan's lips briefly dip into a frown (and Wei Wuxian forces himself to tear his eyes away from Lan Zhan's lips). "In truth I was surprised to see you so suddenly after so long." 

This time it's Wei Wuxian's turn to frown. For as long as he's known Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan had never been hesitant with him. It's a little discomfiting. "Aiya Lan Zhan, I'm still me! Nothing surprising there." 

From there, they easily fall back into their old behaviour. Wei Wuxian tells Lan Zhan increasingly ridiculous stories about what he's been up to the past decade or so, and Lan Zhan listens to him indulgently. Every so often he asks a question or makes a remark, and Wei Wuxian is reminded of how Lan Zhan had always paid attention to anything he said. He can't help but smile. 

Halfway through telling Lan Zhan about the time he had ended up in Sydney, Canada in the middle of winter instead of Sydney, Australia in the middle of summer, Wei Wuxian's mobile phone pings. A quick glance at it tells him that he's about to be late picking A-Yuan up from his sister's place. 

"Ack! Sorry Lan Zhan, I have to go get A-Yuan. You shouldn't have let me take up so much of your time." He chugs the rest of his now-cold drink, unable to leave food lying around, and stuffs the remaining half of the coffee bun into his mouth. 

"Always have time for Wei Ying," Lan Zhan says firmly. Wei Wuxian is momentarily stunned, and then he flushes. If he didn't have to pick his son up and if he hadn't known that Lan Zhan was attached, he would probably be cartwheeling internally, or hugging Lan Zhan (or both). But he's snapped out of it by his phone pinging again; this time Jiang Yanli is texting him that A-Yuan is threatening to take away 'one bunny point for every minute baba is late', followed by three cry-laughing emojis.

He gives Lan Zhan an apologetic grin and a wave before dragging himself away. He turns once- when he's at the cafe door, and when he looks up, eyes inevitably finding Lan Zhan, he sees Lan Zhan looking right back.

It starts getting strange after that. He runs into Lan Zhan all over the place- leaving the supermarket, at the park with A-Yuan, and even once on the bus. Wei Wuxian wonders if Lan Zhan moved into the area recently or if he somehow had just never noticed Lan Zhan before (improbably to the point of impossibility). When asked, Lan Zhan had just said, “no, I’ve been living in this area for a few years now” before inviting Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan to lunch. 

He has no reprieve at home either. Probably because of their high encounter rate with Lan Zhan, A-Yuan is still holding strong in the Rabbit Campaign, and still starts half his sentences with 'Lan-xiong says' even though Wei Wuxian is sure that Lan Zhan has never once said "ten books is not too many" during any episode (webisode) of Tu 's Clues. 

Wei Wuxian is truly glad that Lan Zhan is part of his life again. He’s just also a bit (a lot) bewildered. When they had been in school together, Wei Wuxian had almost always been the one to seek Lan Zhan out. But now it seems that every time he leaves his apartment, Lan Zhan pops out from behind a door or a tree. He doesn’t dare question it too much- part of him wonders if Lan Zhan is running some long con, but mostly he’s happy.

It’s quite sweet, he thinks wistfully, that Lan Zhan wants to be friends with him again.

Chapter Text

Lan Wangji lives alone, is very responsible, and very bad at saying no to his family, which has somehow resulted in him being the de facto babysitter in their extended family. 

The first time he babysits for one of his cousins is because Lan Xichen gets called away for a work emergency at the last moment and there’s zero chance that Lan Zeshi will find a babysitter in their city on a saturday afternoon. Lan Wangji agrees because he knows Lan Zeshi and her husband had bought those matinee concert tickets the very day they had become available, and it would have been a shame for them to miss out on it.

He hadn't been too worried… he's okay with children. His youngest cousins had never shied away from asking him for piggyback rides, and he had thus far in his life managed to avoid making any of them cry. But his youngest cousins, and then his older cousins’ children later, had always preferred Lan Xichen, who told cute stories with all the appropriate sound effects that kids love, and who had occasionally been known to allow extra sweets. 

When his incredibly thankful and harried-looking cousin had dropped Lan Jingyi off at his door with a bag of games and some books, he and the kid had sort of stared at each other for a moment. And then Lan Jingyi had spotted Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang behind him and immediately yelled “bunnies!”. Startled by the loud noise, the rabbits had hopped into one of their many hiding places. “Uh oh" Lan Jingyi had looked at Lan Wangji with wide eyes. "No more bunnies." 

Lan Wangji had put a finger to his lips “indoor voice, Jingyi. They’re nervous around new people. If we’re quiet they will come out again.” Jingyi had covered his mouth and nodded his head. They sat on the rug in Lan Wangji’s living room and Lan Wangji proceeded to tell Lan Jingyi in a low voice about his two rabbits and what to do if they approached him. The child nodded seriously and kept his hands clapped over his mouth. Lan Wangji found it kind of endearing.

Eventually, Xiao Yin, who had always been the braver of his two rabbits, hopped out from behind the tv stand, sniffing around cautiously. Lan Jingyi perked up and looked at Lan Wangji, who offered him a cabbage leaf for Xiao Yin. Lan Jingyi had sat holding the leaf out for Xiao Yin, who slowly moved closer. When the rabbit started nibbling on the leaf, Lan Jingyi had let out a giggle and loudly whispered, “so cute!” Lan Wangji winced- they would have to work a bit on Lan Jingyi’s whispering skills. 

But once the ice broke, they had spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the rabbits, Lan Jingyi asking question after question about rabbits (such as “why are their ears like that?”, “how come one is black and one is white?”, “why don’t rabbits come from eggs”, and Lan Wangji’s personal favourite, “do we have to feed them cabbage? That seems so boring. Maybe they like ice cream? I like ice cream. We could all have ice cream!”). Eventually both the rabbits and Lan Jingyi had tired themselves out. Lan Wangji carried the rabbits carefully back to their hutch, and settled a sleepy Lan Jingyi on the couch wrapped in a comfy blanket. He pulled out one of the books Lan Zeshi had brought and read his nephew the story until Lan Jingyi had nodded off next to him. He left the child napping on the sofa and pulled out his laptop to do some work while he waited for his cousin to pick his nephew up. 

At half past seven, Lan Zeshi knocked gently on his door. Lan Wangji opened the door and said, “he’s asleep on the couch,” moving aside so his cousin could enter. She smiled and mouthed “thank you” and crept past hom to collect her son. Her husband waved at Lan Wangji from the car. “Thank you so much,” she whispered,  carrying a sleepy Lan Jingyi to the car. The boy woke briefly and gave Lan Wangji a small wave. “Bye dage , bye bunnies!” 

Overall, Lan Wangji thought he had done an okay job. He didn’t mind doing favours for his family and his cousin had sent him a nice thank you note. It was only later, when cousins he hadn’t spoken to in years started coming out of the woodwork to ask him to babysit, that he found out from his brother that news had made it around the Lan grapevine that Lan Wangji had some ‘black magic kid skills’. 

“It turns out that Jingyi is notoriously difficult to watch. Tangjie said that she can only ask family because Jingyi is so energetic he makes his babysitters cry and has been put on some sort of city-wide babysitting blacklist,” Lan Xichen had told a baffled Lan Wangji, not bothering to hide his grin.

The next time Lan Wangji had watched Lan Jingyi (after having babysat for four different Lan children in the meantime), the kid had returned prepared with backstories for both his rabbits. He had decided, he told Lan Wangji, that Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang were actually people cursed into rabbit form and that they (pointing at himself and Lan Wangji) had to help the rabbits turn back into humans. “And then when they’re back to being humans, they’ll give us the immortality ice cream as a reward,” Lan Jingyi declared very seriously. Lan Wangji had begun to sense a theme.

Over time, Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang became Lan family celebrities, and almost all his nieces and nephews constantly wanted to know what the two rabbits had gotten up to. The Lan family chat group at this point was more or less 90% rabbit pictures. Lan Wangji, who had previously only used his phone for its intended purpose, had started deleting old photos of his rabbits to make space for more photos of his rabbits. And so Lan Wangji, pleased and quite flattered that his rabbits were so well-liked, had come up with Tu ’s Clues. It had originally been just for his family, but his brother had said that with a bit more thought it would make a good childrens’ webshow. 

It still mildly embarrasses Lan Wangji, because he doesn’t enjoy seeing his face on camera, but he’s glad that the shows actually seem well-liked. And if the idea of stolid, laconic Lan Wangji hosting a children's show seemed extremely incongruous… it wasn’t like anyone Lan Wangji knew outside of his family would see it.

~~~~~~~

The spring winds arrive a little later than usual, but they come nevertheless and Lan Wangji enjoys the changing mood that sweeps the city. He does his dusting and cleaning methodically, though Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang proceed to then shed all over the clean floor. He remembers that he owes his brother a lunch so he invites Lan Xichen to a new hotpot place down the street from where he lives. They end up having to eat elsewhere because it turns out that the hotpot place is a mala hotpot place, and both of them start sneezing even before they can get in the front door. 

On the first day of the new year he turns his work mobile phone off and goes visiting. Lan Qiren, as the current elder of the family, has a houseful of Lans when he arrives and, in spite of their family rules against waste, a kitchen full of enough food and new year's sweets to feed a small army. Lan Wangji greets his various relatives and dutifully receives his hongbao even though he's just turned thirty-one. He alternately gets told that he’s grown taller or more handsome by his aunts and uncles and then exactly as he expects, someone asks if he’s seeing anyone. 

Before he had left his home in the morning, he had debated the relative merits of (a) telling the truth and then having to endure hours of his well-meaning relatives mentioning their co-worker/neighbour/hairdresser/dentist as possible candidates for his marital bliss, or (b) lying through his teeth and then being pestered for details about his hitherto unspoken of boyfriend. In the end he decides on option c, which is tasking Lan Jingyi with saving him when he gives the signal.  

Lan Jingyi goes far and beyond his assigned mission and recruits every Lan under the age of twelve to swarm Lan Wangji when he coughs and (politely) ask for more stories about his rabbits. The adults in the room chuckle indulgently and tell Lan Wangji to go entertain the children, unsubtly throwing in a line or two about how he would be a great parent. Lan Wangji gratefully makes his escape and later solemnly sneaks Lan Jingyi a high-five.  

The rest of the new year’s holiday passes without incident. He only gets two days off for chuyi and chuer but he and his brother celebrate yuanxiaojie together as they do every year by going to the local lantern festival. It's silly but he finds himself especially looking forward to this year's lanterns because it's the year of the rabbit. He buys a simple paper lantern with two rabbits on it, alike the one from so many years ago. His brother gives him a knowing look that he ignores. 

Lan Wangji settles back into his normal routine- he still has a day job at a school, and he spends evenings making his Tu ’s Clues videos. He goes to the small market that is slightly further away rather than the chain store that’s close by to get his groceries. Once a week he has dinner with his brother and uncle. He’s still somehow the babysitter of choice for his extended family, and he still spoils his rabbits. It’s nice.

~~~~~~~

Lan Wangji’s peaceful and orderly life had been upended when he began high school and met Wei Ying. It’s quite likely that every teacher at their school thought the same. It’s possible that everyone who has ever met Wei Ying has felt the same. 

They had clashed right from the get-go. Lan Wangji, like a normal considerate student, had waited until after the school day had been over to ask his teachers his questions. Wei Ying, on the other hand, had constantly disrupted class to pepper their teachers with questions, his mind jumping all over the place, sometimes beginning another question without even having finished the original one. Lan Wangji had politely suggested to Wei Ying after a week of this that perhaps he should wait until after classes to ask his questions. Wei Ying had given him what seemed like a genuinely puzzled look and said, “but Lan Zhan, I’ll have forgotten my questions by then.” 

Eventually Lan Wanji had given up trying to ask Wei Ying to stop asking so many questions during class time and instead started pettily writing down everything that Wei Ying said that he hadn’t agreed with, methodically criticising his reasoning. He had hoped that this would annoy Wei Ying into compliance, but instead his plan had backfired on him since Wei Ying had taken this to mean that Lan Wangji was willing to argue with him instead. 

One day, Wei Ying had marched over to Lan Wangji where he sat by himself in the cafeteria, plopped himself down in the seat cross from him, pulled out his lunch and began, “Lan Zhan, I thought about what you said yesterday about the differences between ‘assassination’ and ‘murder’, and I think-” Wei Ying had talked at him in between spoonfuls of rice while Lan Wangji had listened. He didn't seem to be offended by Lan Wangji's silence or glare.

"Ah Lan Zhan, don't disagree so quickly," Wei Ying would say, easily deciphering whatever facial expression Lan Wangji had on display without Lan Wangji having to say a word, "just hear me out."

It had been quite jarring at first, being around Wei Ying. Lan Wangji had been used to being by himself, and comfortable going through his school day without talking to anyone outside of classes. Wei Ying had simply laughed and told him, "you can always change your ways." 

Lan Wangji had never really considered himself as having a 'way' until Wei Ying had come along and all but shoved him off it. 

~~~~~~~

Uncharacteristically, Lan Wangji finds himself with a free afternoon. He would normally be practising on the guqin, except that his downstairs neighbours have decided that it is the perfect time to do some power drilling. The rabbits are predictably Not Thrilled by all the noise so he builds a makeshift pillow and blanket enclosure that mostly blocks out the sound for them to hide in. Since the rabbits are holed up anyway, Lan Wangji decides that it is as good a time as any to do some renovations to his rabbits’ hutch. 

He’s on his way to the hardware store, mentally going over a list of the things he needs, when he’s suddenly tackled around the shins. He startles and looks down, where there’s an unfamiliar child clinging to his legs looking back at him with awe. The boy looks quite young, perhaps around the same age as Lan Jingyi. He also seems to be without adult supervision. 

Before he can even open his mouth to ask, the child lets go of his legs and gives him a wide smile. “Lan-xiong! Lan-xiong! I can’t believe you’re here!” 

Ah. Lan Wangji colours. He's vaguely aware that Tu 's Clues has more of an audience than just members of his own family but it's not so popular that he's ever been recognised because of it. 

"Hello," he says gently, trying not to look too severe, "are you lost?" 

The boy shakes his head. "My baba is in the post office, but I saw you! Are Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang here?" He peers around Lan Wangji's legs like he expects the rabbits to be following behind him. 

"Ah, they are at home. What is your name? Where is your father?" 

The boy gives him another wide, toothy, grin. "I am A-Yuan! I want rabbits just like you!" He tugs on Lan Wangji's hand and gives him a pleading look. "You have to come with me and tell baba that I can have bunnies." 

Despite himself, Lan Wangji smiles. More than a few of his cousins have jokingly scolded him for making their children want pets. Lan Wangji tells them that even his uncle has relented on the 'no pets' rule, having been won over by his rabbits. 

He allows himself to be led down the street toward the post office. They're just several metres away from the door when it flies open and a man comes rushing out, looking around frantically, shouting A-Yuan's name. 

A-Yuan speeds up. "Baba! Look who I found!" The man spots them and rushes over, making a beeline for the two of them. 

His heart pounding, Lan Wangji thinks the term 'tunnel vision' sounds deceptively mild, if tunnel vision is the way his world narrows down to Wei Ying. 

Wei Ying- whom he hasn't seen in ten years, even more beautiful than he had been.

Wei Ying- as animated and expressive as Lan Wangji remembered. 

Wei Ying- the source of Lan Wangji's biggest regrets. 

"Hello" is all he manages to choke out when A-Yuan (Wei Ying's son, Wei Ying has a son?) prompts him. He wonders if he's in an alternate reality, if this is a doppelganger of Wei Ying.

But then Wei Ying looks at him and blinks at him in that slow way of his when he grins, his eyelashes brushing his cheeks, and says "Ah- Lan Zhan! It's been so long." 

"Wei… Ying," Lan Wangji says, helpless but to follow their old call and response. 

He's not entirely sure what happens after. It's almost as if he's in a fugue state, and he emerges only as he's walking as quickly as possible toward his house. He had mumbled something about having to go and then ran off? Lan Wangji covers his face with his palms in mortification. 

The noise from downstairs has stopped and his rabbits are snoozing happily on the rug by the time he makes it home. He's glad they're relaxed because he most certainly is not. 

Wei Ying has a son. Does that mean he's married? 

Lan Wangji paces back and forth in his living room, winding himself up with ‘what ifs’, until Xiao Yin catches his attention by bumping his head against his ankles. 

Picking the black rabbit up gently, he gives the bunny a few pets before raising him to eye level. Xiao Yin looks back at him guilelessly, his tiny nose twitching every so often. 

"What do you think," Lan Wangji asks his rabbits morosely. "Do you want to go look for my dignity?" 

~~~~~~

Lan Wangji had missed Wei Ying like a phantom limb when they had graduated and gone off to university. He missed spending time with him, missed his golden smile and kind heart. Lan Wangji had never enjoyed interacting with people, but also hadn’t lived under a rock. He had known what he had felt towards Wei Ying. How could he not, growing up listening to his uncle’s records of Teresa Teng? But they had been so young, only eighteen. It will pass, he had told himself. Everyone said high school relationships wouldn’t last. So Lan Wangji had said nothing to Wei Ying, had kept his feelings to himself and let them go their separate ways. 

It will pass, Lan Wangji had told himself in university. He would be busy with his courses, and he would meet new people, and after some time apart from Wei Ying, the yearning would go away. Then he would return to his apartment, see the rabbits Wei Ying had given to him, and the ache would only grow deeper.

He had asked his brother, once, if he had any great regrets. Lan Xichen had hummed thoughtfully, “I’m not sure, I will have to think about it.” Then a week later, his brother texted him: ‘Regarding the question that you asked me- I guess one thing I regret is not questioning why we could not visit mother more often. Uncle said once a month and I simply accepted that that was the way things were.’ 

Lan Qiren used to lament to him that the Lans were cursed in their love lives and at the time Lan Wangji had been too young to understand what he had meant. But now that he does, Lan Wangji thinks that perhaps the real Lan curse is their inability to speak aloud what they truly wish to say. 

This does not have to pass, Lan Wangji told himself a decade after they had graduated. He could hoard his memories of Wei Ying, both mourn and savour them. He could cherish the feeling of happiness and contentment Wei Ying had given him, while also hurting from the sadness of their parting. 

They had lit a lantern together once, during their school’s yuanxiaojie celebration. Wei Ying had proudly presented him with a handmade lantern, painted with a rabbit enjoying the moon. They had hung it up outside their classroom and then Wei Ying had persuaded him to clamber up onto the roof to enjoy the night sky. 

As they leant on the sturdy railings, Wei Ying had nudged him and pointed at the moon, peeking out from behind a cloud. “Isn’t it beautiful when the moon is full like this? Almost like you can reach out and touch it,” Wei Ying had said with a smile on his face. Lan Wangji, who had been looking only at Wei Ying, could only nod and agree. 

~~~~~~~

“I saw Wei Ying today, I’m still in love with him.” Lan Wangji blurts over the phone to his brother, and then panics because that was not what he had meant to say.  

The other side of the line remains silent for a while, before Nie Mingjue replies, “...and?” 

“You’re not xiongzhang ,” Lan Wangji says flatly. 

“Did you finally ask him out or are you planning on waiting another twelve years?” Nie Mingjue barrels on, “Because otherwise this is getting kind of pathetic.” Lan Wangji has forgotten how little Nie Mingjue cares about social niceties, and is abruptly reminded of the time Nie Mingjue said, in complete seriousness and point-blank to Lan Qiren’s face, “bros before hos”. 

“May I speak to my brother, please?” Lan Wangji grinds out. 

He hears Nie Mingjue sigh and the phone must change hands because his brother says, “that’s great! I know you have missed him.” He gives credit where credit is due- Lan Xichen manages to sound only a little teasing. 

“He has a son,” Lan Wangji says tersely. Lan Xichen knows how to put two and two together, because he’s been interpreting Lan Wangji’s unspoken words for most of his life. (A real conversation Lan Xichen has had: “You know how in French a bunch of the letters at the end are silent? That’s how he talks, except he leaves out most of the words.”)

“He’s not married, I believe his son is adopted.” Lan Xichen says. 

“How do you know?” Lan Wangji cannot help the accusatory tone in his voice. 

“Oh didi ,” Lan Xichen sighs. “Huaisang told me a while ago, but I didn’t tell you because I thought it would make you sad.” 

It does make him sad. He’s missed such a monumental event in Wei Ying’s life and he can’t help but imagine that, maybe if he had been a bit braver, the boy would have been their son. Now that he’s found Wei Ying again, he doesn’t want to be silent or afraid. 

“Thanks, xiongzhang . I will speak to you later.” Lan Wangji says abruptly, and ends their call, because he’s not taking relationship advice from his brother or Nie Mingjue. Considering that they’re still deluding themselves about being “platonic roommates” or whatever it is they’re telling people at the moment, Lan Wangji thinks they’re not exactly qualified to comment. 

First, he has to apologise to Wei Ying for running off. He texts Jin Zixuan, because Jin Zixuan loves the sound of his voice but loathes texting, which means he’ll just text Lan Wangji what he wants to know instead of going on about how wonderful his wife is. 

(Not that Lan Wangji disagrees. Lan Wangji knows that he could try asking Jiang Yanli, because Wei Ying’s sister definitely knows how he feels about her brother, but feels as though he shouldn’t impose. He doesn’t even consider asking Jiang Wanyin. Jin Zixuan on the other hand- Lan Wangji had had a front row seat to Wei Ying complaining about how Jin Zixuan was The Worst and absolutely did not deserve his sister. As someone who also struggled to express how he felt, Lan Wangji had quietly sympathised with Jin Zixuan [not that he had ever told Wei Ying that]. After the Great Garden Party Debacle of 2010, he had slipped Jin Zixuan a book on healthy emotional communication from his psych elective, so Jin Zixuan owes him.)

Lan Wangji has actually been to the cafe that Jin Zixuan points him to and he wonders how many times he and Wei Ying might have just missed each other. He only has to briefly describe Wei Ying to the barista before she recognises who he’s talking about and tells him what Wei Ying usually orders and where he usually sits. And because Lan Wangji is practising healthy emotional communication, he impulsively tells the barista, “I’m going to ask him out.” His mind is playing the ‘this is fine’ meme on repeat and he wants to turn around and walk out, but the girl only grins widely and wishes him luck. 

Wei Ying walks in only a few minutes later and Lan Wangji allows himself to look his fill. Wei Ying looks very much like he used to. A little taller, maybe, and his hair is longer. He even moves the same way. Lan Wangji has missed him so much.

When Wei Ying calls him “an old classmate”, Lan Wangji frowns. Is that the way Wei Ying thinks of him? “In truth I was surprised to see you so suddenly after so long,” Lan Wangji explains, but before he can speak further, Wei Ying cuts in.

“Aiya Lan Zhan, I'm still me! Nothing surprising there.” Lan Wangji begs to differ. Wei Ying is always full of surprises- it’s one of the things he loves about him.

Lan Wangji has to suppress a smile. “How have you been?” He asks, eager to find out what Wei Ying has been up to over the years. Wei Ying laughs and begins telling Lan Wangji stories about his life. As expected, he keeps to no order, starting with a story about A-Yuan and Jin Rulan and their swimming lessons, before diving into his fortuitous discovery of a chicken wing restaurant with a spicy wing challenge several years prior, pulling his phone out to show Lan Wangji of a picture of a polaroid of Wei Ying pinned to a ‘Wall of Flame’. 

He listens hungrily, filling in pieces of Wei Ying’s life that he has missed. He wants to learn everything about Wei Ying. In the end he’s so caught up in listening that he loses track of time and Wei Ying is alerted by his phone that he has to leave. 

"Ack! Sorry Lan Zhan, I have to go get A-Yuan. You shouldn't have let me take up so much of your time." Wei Ying drains his cup and tries to eat the remaining portion of his bun in one go. He still has the same disgusting table manners, Lan Wangji thinks fondly. 

Because he wants Wei Ying to know that he is important to Lan Wangji, he says, "Always have time for Wei Ying." To his surprise, Wei Ying’s cheeks redden and he stares at Lan Wangji, frozen. Then another ping from his phone pulls Wei Ying’s attention away and Wei Ying gives him a quick wave and makes his way to the exit of the cafe. Lan Wangji watches him unashamedly, and Wei Ying catches him looking. Lan Wangji meets his eyes evenly. He doesn’t want any more regrets. 

~~~~~~~

Lan Wangji wants to think that some higher power is helping him out. The market he usually goes to is shut for a few days as the family has gone on holiday, so he forces himself to go to the chain supermarket instead. Coincidentally, as he’s about to walk in, he sees Wei Ying and A-Yuan about to leave. He postpones his shopping and instead insists on treating Wei Ying and his son to dinner. 

Then the scheduled public utility repairs close off the route that Lan Wangji usually takes to the school, and he decides he’ll take the bus to work instead. He doesn’t mind public transport so much- his stop is early in the route so he manages to snag a seat, and puts on an audiobook to listen to. He’s resting his eyes when he feels someone tap his shoulder, and he looks up to see A-Yuan’s face. “Lan-xiong!” A-Yuan greets him cheerily. And if A-Yuan is around, it surely means Wei Ying is here too. 

“Lan Zhan! What a coincidence!” Wei Ying looks frazzled. It’s not quite 7 am in the morning yet, so it’s about as close to operational as Wei Ying is going to be at this time. 

“Wei Ying,” he says, “and A-Yuan too, good morning.” A-Yuan responds by scrambling up onto Lan Wangji’s lap before saying “Lan-xiong, can I sit here?” Wei Ying sputters something about teaching his kid manners.

Lan Wangji simply nods and adjusts A-Yuan so that he’s settled comfortably on his lap. When he looks back at Wei Ying, he has an odd look on his face. Lan Wangji tilts his head questioningly, but Wei Ying snaps out of whatever train of thought he’s caught in and starts bemoaning his lack of coffee. Wordlessly, Lan Wangji hands his thermos over.

And once more- there is a park not far from where he lives that Lan Wangji enjoys going to when the weather starts to warm up again. It’s out of the way enough that it doesn’t get too crowded even on the weekends. Normally he goes early in the morning, picking up breakfast along the way. The usual Taiji crowd would call out greetings as he passes by. But today he gets absorbed in the book that he’s reading and goes through ‘just one last chapter’ four times before he finally makes himself put it down. The clock tells him that it’s several hours later than he normally goes to the park, but he decides on a whim to go anyway. 

The Taiji crowd has been replaced by a group of kids playing a game of football, parents lining the field watching. Lan Wangji stops to watch for a bit- it’s honestly adorable. Some of the children are too young to really grasp the rules so they all run in a clump from one net to the other kicking the ball along with no regard for which goal they’re supposed to be aiming for. Lan Wangji guesses that this must be the norm since none of the parents are yelling instructions. He supposes that it doesn’t matter what actually happens, the running is just meant to tire them out. He wishes he had known about this during the many times he’s had to babysit Lan Jingyi. 

Lan Wangji is about to move on when one of the people along the sidelines peels away from the group and heads towards him. “Lan Zhan!” The man shouts, waving enthusiastically. It’s Wei Ying, he realises. Wei Ying is the only person who says his name that way.  

As they meet somewhere in the middle, Wei Ying punches him in the shoulder. “Ah Lan Zhan, how is it that we keep running into each other,” he says, grinning. 

“Is that a bad thing?” Lan Wangji asks, following along when Wei Ying hooks his arm around Lan Wangji’s elbow and starts walking back to the pitch.

Wei Ying scoffs. “Of course not. I’m always happy to see Lan Zhan!” Lan Wangji swears his heart does a little skip. 

“Jiejie! Look who I found!” Wei Ying shouts, pulling Lan Wangji towards a woman that he recognises as Jiang Yanli. 

“Wangji,” she says warmly, giving him a kind smile. Jin Zixuan waves at him from the other side of Jiang Yanli before jerking his head towards Wei Ying in a manner that he probably thinks is surreptitious. It just looks like he’s glitching. Lan Wangji ignores him.

“Jiang Cheng is on lunch duty because he’s too competitive and can’t stand disorder,” Wei Ying tells him cheerfully, which is perfectly fine with Lan Wangji. “He gets too angry when the kids score in the wrong net.” Lan Wangji is not surprised- this tracks perfectly with everything he knows about Jiang Wanyin. 

The four of them chat on the sidelines, the parents pausing once in a while to shout encouragement at A-Yuan and Jin Rulan, who is also playing. Wei Ying keeps his arm looped around Lan Wangji’s, which gives him a small thrill of happiness. Jiang Yanli gives Lan Wangji a meaningful look. 

“How are your brother and Mingjue- xuezhang ?” Jin Zixuan asks. Lan Wangji can’t stop himself from sighing. Jiang Yanli starts giggling, covering her mouth with both hands. 

“The same as always,” Lan Wangji says. He’s not big on gossip so he doesn’t say any more, but sometimes he honestly does want to share his exasperation regarding the on-going saga. 

Wei Ying takes one look at his face and bursts out laughing. “Lan Zhan, still that bad? The last I heard from Huaisang was that they’re calling themselves ‘platonic roommates’. Honestly, it’s so obvious they like each other, I don’t know how they can be so slow!” 

Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan are a pair of unimpressed faces. Lan Wangji feels a blush creeping up his face. 

Wei Ying looks between his sister and his brother-in-law with confusion. “What?” Wei Ying says. Lan Wangji resists the urge to facepalm. 

Jin Zixuan rolls his eyes and actually facepalms. Jiang Yanli has too much self-control to roll her eyes, but she nevertheless manages to convey the same sentiment as her husband. She takes pity on her brother and says, “It’s nothing A-xian.” 

~~~~~~~

Lan Wangji is trying, he really is. But it’s been two months, a week, and four days since Wei Ying has come back into his life and Lan Wangji has not managed to confess. He’s taken Wei Ying out on not-dates, accompanied him and A-Yuan on various outings, he has them over for dinner twice a week.

(A-Yuan is over the moon about getting to meet Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang. Lan Wangji has been upgraded from ‘Lan-xiong’ to ‘Bunny- dage ’. Truthfully, Lan Wangji is extremely pleased that he and A-Yuan get along well. The boy is easy to love, as is to be expected for Wei Ying’s son.) 

But for some reason unknown to him, he still hasn’t told Wei Ying how he feels. He wants to believe that Wei Ying feels the same way, at least that's what the evidence points to. He had asked a very confused Lan Wangji where his spouse was, the first time he and A-Yuan had come over. 

“You said you had someone waiting for you at home.” Wei Ying had said almost accusingly. 

Lan Wangji, not recalling at all that he had said this, had just pointed at his rabbits. Wei Ying’s tone had been full of relief when he said “I thought you were married!” 

Marry me , Lan Wangji had thought in his head. 

“I am not,” Lan Wangji had said aloud.

On some days, Lan Wangji can almost feel it at the tip of his tongue. But then he allows his worries to get the better of him, and ends up swallowing his words. He is certain that if his rabbits could judge him, they would, given the not insignificant amount of time he spends telling them about his feelings. 

“Nineteenth time’s the charm,” he says to himself as he walks to the cafe where he and Wei Ying now meet while Jiang Yanli has the kids for swim lessons. 

Lan Wangji orders the usual- black tea for himself, a mocha for Wei Ying, and two coffee buns because he’s become hooked on them too. He’s just setting the tray down on their table when Wei Ying walks in the door. 

Wei Ying looks somewhat worse for wear, and he doesn’t even say hello before he plonks himself down on a chair and slumps over the table. 

“Lan Zhan, you won’t believe the day I had yesterday,” Wei Ying mumbles into his sleeve. “Do you think if I pour my coffee into my eyeballs that it would wake me up faster?” 

“Do not pour hot coffee into your eyeballs,” Lan Wangji chides. 

Wei Ying lets out a disgruntled 'mrrraah' sound and turns his head so that his cheek is lying on his sprawled arm. He opens one eye (the other is still smooshed into his arm) and looks pathetically at Lan Wangji. 

Lan Wangji tears off a piece of a coffee bun and wordlessly offers it to Wei Ying, who obediently opens his mouth. 

“Foooooooooood,” he says when he’s done chewing. Lan Wangji tears off another piece and feeds it to him. 

“Wei Ying should take care of himself better,” Lan Wangji tells him. 

Wei Ying raises his head and grins at Lan Wangji, plucking the coffee bun from his hand “Ah Lan Zhan, you’re too good to me. Can you marry me?” 

Lan Wangji blinks at him several times. “Yes.” 

“Huh?” Wei Ying says around a bite of the bun. 

“Yes, I can marry you.” Lan Wangji repeats. 

Wei Ying gapes at him. “Lan Zhan, are you being serious?” He knows Wei Ying had meant it as a joke, but Lan Wangji is being entirely serious. His heart is pounding as he and Wei Ying stare at each other. 

“Do you-” Lan Wangji hesitates, “do you not want to marry me?” 

“What?” Wei Ying says incredulously. “Lan Zhan, I didn’t even know that was an option! Wait, have you been taking me on dates? Have you been stealth wooing me this whole time without telling me?!”

“Eighteen dates,” Lan Wangji mumbles. “And it wouldn’t be very stealthy if I told you,” he adds a bit defensively.

Wei Ying shoots him a dirty look. “So not the point!” He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. “Lan Zhan, do you know that A-Yuan and I have been trying to orchestrate some sort of ploy with your bunnies to, I don’t know, keep you?"

Wei Ying suddenly shoots up straight in his seat, crosses his arms, and looks right at Lan Wangji. “Alright Lan Zhan, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go pick A-Yuan up from swimming, and then you’re going to ask me on a proper date.” He taps his phone so that the screen lights up, showing the time. His phone lock picture is a selfie of the three of them with the bunnies. “We have two hours until then, so you have that much time to google how to ask someone out on a date.” 

“Wei Ying-” Lan Wangji starts to say, but the other man just taps his wrist even though there’s no watch there and gives him a disapproving sniff. He can tell though, by the colour of Wei Ying’s cheeks and the gentle curve of his lips, that Wei Ying is happy about the situation and is just pretending to ignore him. 

Lan Wangji smiles as he gazes at Wei Ying, who is sneaking a look at him from the corner of his eye before he looks away again when he realises he’s been caught. Lan Wangji pulls his phone out of his pocket, and starts drinking his tea. Eventually Wei Ying relents and uncrosses his arms. Without looking up, Lan Wangji reaches across the table for one of Wei Ying’s hands, and laces their fingers together. 

They sit together in comfortable silence, Wei Ying reading a cheesy romance novel on his kindle and Lan Wangji dutifully scrolling through wikipedia on his phone, having been distracted by an article on the historical Saint Valentine. Every so often they sneak glances at each other. Lan Wangji is sure he looks like an idiot, beaming the way he is, but Wei Ying looks equally pleased. 

Behind them, there’s suddenly a loud whoop, and they both look up to find A’Qing giving them finger guns. “Hecking finally!”