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Lan Jingyi knew from a young age that he was different from his family. Even from a young age, most of his family were smart and overachievers. They’re also very strict, even though he’s 4, then 5, then 6, and then 7. They constrict everything , and it’s different than at A-Yuan’s cause at least their rules make sense.
Every rule in his house feels like it’s meant to purposefully stop him from having fun, exploring, being a person. He’s a kid but he's smart.
When he’s five years old, his newest sister is gone . When he asks his parents what they mean, they don’t elaborate. He asks again, but they refuse. He asks one more time, not caring if he annoys them because he has to know where his sister is, and then-
Then they explain to him the intricacies of death, loss, and pain.
It hurts. He brought it upon himself by asking, being greedy, questioning authority, but it hurts. He’s four years old and he’s well acquainted with the fact that he’s never going to see his baby sister again. It angers his parents, makes them sad and more snappy. He understands it now. They’re hurting, they lost a kid, he’s annoying.
So he just… stops talking to them. He tries to follow the rules and when he fails, his parents punish him or his siblings agree not to tell on him. He’s glad, at least, that his siblings don’t resent him for not being like them. They don’t indulge him too much, not when they’re busy, but they’re nice when they do.
A-Zhen he trusts. Same with A-Yuan and A-Ling. He promises himself, at the ripe age of 5, to protect them forever. He also likes their families. Well, not A-Zhen’s since he’s never met them, but A-Ling’s and A-Yuan’s. All of them let him refer to them like family, like they're happy to be his family.
But he’s not A-Yuan’s sibling, or A-Ling’s. A-Yuan is the most important person ever, they’re not siblings, but they’re close and he adores the other.
When he’s seven, A-Ling and A-Yuan’s cousin dies. Yao-ge’s son dies. He had been just as excited to meet the baby, Yao-ge had promised that A-Song would also love A-Zhen and him just like all the others. He had been ecstatic. The adults were trying to explain it nicely, but A-Zhen knew death as intimately as him and spoke up, so he had to help because A-Yuan and A-Ling looked so sad and he couldn’t have that. Not with them.
The adults, his aunties and uncles, look so concerned but then A-Yuan and A-Ling are crying, and he probably should’ve have stated it so bluntly but it’s all he knew and then he starts crying, which sets A-Zhen off and it’s all a mess.
-
Yao-ge recovers slowly. He’s not perfect, just like how A-Yi’s parents were never perfect after losing his sister, but he’s better. He smiles more, can spend more time alone, and doesn't seem as sad. He doesn’t get sad around children anymore and it makes Jingyi so happy because Yao-ge deserves the world and more just as the rest of them, Ayi, Wei-ge, Xichen-ge, Zhan-ge, Yu-ge, Cheng-ge, Xuan-ge, Da-ge, all of them. They deserved only the best and Jingyi would work every day to make them smile and happy.
-
When Jingyi is 10, he proposes to A-Yuan. He’s known since he met him that he's wanted to spend the rest of his life with him and it just… feels right to share it in the moment. Especially when A-Yuan smiles that lovely smile of his, agreeing readily, looking happy to spend the rest of his life with Jingyi. It turns him into mush, and he's ten but he loves this boy more than he can understand.
They haven't presented yet, but looking at all the role models in his life, he doesn't think it matters. Wei-ge was mated to an omega and an alpha, despite not presenting as an omega yet still being one (he didn't know how that worked but he knew it was perfectly okay), and Sang-ge and Cheng-ge were a beta and alpha pair despite people saying alphas should only mate an omega. Jingyi didn't care how he presented (despite how his parents did), as long as he got to be with his A-Yuan, his friends and family, he'd be okay.
-
When Jingyi's 14, he presents as an omega. He only attends 2 dinners a week with his birth family, not because of his siblings (mostly) but because of his parents. They get too sharp with him, nagging him for the littlest things, comparing him to his siblings, so he worked out a schedule where he’s only really there 2 or 3 days a week. He's in the middle of one of those dinners when he goes into heat.
There's a sharp and hot pain that erupts in his stomach. He thinks he’s eaten something wrong at first, and then it gets worse . The unbearable heat starts to spread throughout his body and he can hear a voice in his head, one that's not completely his own. The voice is searching, begging for A-Yuan, A-Zhen or A-Ling. He feels so wrong without them right now, like he might just combust from heat if he doesn't get to hold them, feed them, groom them, something .
A whine slips past his lips, surprising everyone at the table including himself, and he can smell his own scent start to sharpen. The dull smell of water shifts to fresh rain and wine, before it turns sour as his emotions take over.
He doesn't remember much after that. He knows one of his sisters moves to his side, trying to help him, while his parents start screaming. He doesn't understand, and he whines when there's a rough hand grabbing his arm, pulling him. He fights, and he can hear a few of his siblings yelling, but he can't process that. Suddenly he's thrown out and he feels cold wet pavement below him. There's a loud slamming and even with his clouded senses, he can make out what happened.
He's been thrown out, literally, like a pest. He's been left with nothing, on the street, in the middle of his first heat. He can't do anything but pathetically lay there. The pain is too great, and despite feeling so hot inside, he's so fucking cold. He can't stop shivering, and even if the rain that pelts him feels like slight relief to how warm he is, it hurts.
He doesn't understand. Especially the new voice in his head (his inner omega, he realizes). They were his family , why wasn't he being taken care of??? Yes , his parents were strict and didn't act too loving with him, but this was too far… wasn't it?
He's so cold…
-
“Is this A-Yuan?” Is the first thing Wei Ying hears when he answers the phone. The voice sounds panicked, which makes him frown.
“This is his mom, how can I help you?” He replies politely, fiddling with a pen.
He had been editing their grocery list when the home phone had started ringing. Ever since A-Yi and A-Yuan got their own phones (presents from their rich ass uncles), they'd stop using the home phone, so he was intrigued.
“Fuck,” the girl murmurs and Wei Ying can hear shouting in the background. “I don't have a lot of time, but Jingyi presented as an omega and our parents threw him out and won't let us go help him, he's outside our house, please help,” she rushes out, a few words blending together.
As soon as Wei Ying hears the words ‘threw him out' he's on the move.
“We'll get him,” is all he can manage to say before hanging up and throwing the phone onto the couch.
“Lan Zhan! A-Yuan! A-Yu! Get your coats and shoes on!” He calls urgently, already racing through putting his own on.
“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asks as he steps out of their room, coat on, reaching for his shoes. A-Yu is at his side, just as confused but doing the same.
A-Yuan rushes out of his room, dressed in his pajamas and his raincoat, knowing to listen to his parents without question during emergencies. He's quickly shoving his sneakers on, doing hops to try and stay upright.
“I'll explain in the car-!” He calls in reply, keys in hand as he rushes to the car.
By the time the other three get in, he's started the car, cranked up the heat, and is halfway out the driveway.
“A-Ying, what's wrong?” Mo Xuanyu asks once they're more settled in the car, despite how crazy he’s driving.
“A-Yi presented, he’s in heat, and his parents kicked him out,” he explains the basics.
All the scents in the car turn sour and distressed.
“What!?” A-Yuan growls out. He had presented as an omega earlier that year and during that, A-Yi, A-Zhen and A-Ling spent his whole heat with him, letting him dote and care for. He was now well aware of that first pain, how it felt to be alone while in heat and how it hurt.
“His sister called, said his parents weren't letting them help,” Wei Ying adds, hands tightening around his steering wheel.
Blood and ash fills the car, mixing with the sour smell of peonies, the roaring anger of an ocean and rotten radishes. Yeah, Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan didn’t start out as great parents, but they never would've thrown them out for their presentation. They didn't even throw him out when he admitted to be trans, and that he had an inner omega and not an alpha like his body claimed. They helped him be more aligned with what he truly was and he loved them every day for it. Especially after Meng Shi, who refused to let him call her anything but mama, helped them work things out.
“Bring him home,” Lan Zhan states, no room for argument.
“Yes. We're gonna bring him home, A-Yuan please call Qing-jie to the house, who knows how long he's been outside. A-Yu, contact jiejie so that A-Ling and A-Zhen will also be there. Lan Zhan, I'll need you to pick him up and hold him in the backseat, okay?” He keeps his eyes on the road as he speaks, teeth grinding with his anger.
He hears as A-Yu and A-Yuan dial those numbers, Lan Zhan clearly adjusting himself. He just keeps driving, slamming on his breaks when he notices someone in the middle of the road… right in front of Jingyi's house.
Lan Zhan is leaving the car without prompting while A-Yuan reaches into the back, pulling out the emergency blankets. A-Yu slips into the front seat, his phone call over but frantically texting someone. Lan Zhan slides into the back and the sight of Jingyi makes him equal parts angry and sad. His inner omega whines, screaming for him to gather the pup up into his arms and soothe him until he's asleep. He can't though, he's the driver, so he leaves Jingyi to his son and his alpha.
When they get home, Lan Zhan brings him inside. Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Jiang Yanli, A-Ling, and A-Zhen are already waiting. Despite how much his inner omega is still screaming at him to take Jingyi, wrap him up tight and hide him away, he lets Lan Zhan lay him down on the couch. Wen Qing takes that as her cue and starts to check over him, being quick but efficient.
“He's okay, maybe a mild cold on top of his heat. If he doesn't get in a nest soon with someone his inner omega sees as family, he'll drop,” Wen Qing states once she’s done, taking a step back.
“A-Yuan, take A-Ling and A-Zhen to the nest and do whatever you need, Lan Zhan prepare us some food and drinks please, and Jiejie come help me get A-Yi out of these clothes,” Wei Ying takes charge, already moving to scoop up Jingyi as he speaks.
Everyone's moving without a second thought, Wen Qing and Wen Ning making themselves scarce and A-Yu moving to help Lan Zhan in the kitchen. He brings Jingyi to the bathroom, Yanli following after her son shoves clothes into her hands.
“What happened, A-Ying?” She asks gently as they work to undress Jingyi. He’s not completely passed out but he's not lucid enough to process anything, let alone move.
“His sister called and begged us to help him, saying their parents kicked him out once he presented as an omega,” he explains solemnly, pausing for a second.
Yanli's face pales. “I know A-Yi complains about them, but…?” She trails off, the silent question in the air.
Wei Ying sighs, starting to dress Jingyi up in A-Yuan's clothes. “His dad is an alpha and his mom is an omega, which isn't out of the norm, but… all 3 daughters are omegas and he has an alpha brother and a beta brother. There would be no other reason aside-” he cuts himself off, pulling Jingyi close to just hold him for a second. He's fully dressed now and Wei Ying just needs to give his inner omega a moment of what she wants.
Yanli lets him do as he pleases, her own hand coming up to stroke the boy's hair gently.
“Oh, how much have you suffered, A-Yi?” She murmurs gently.
After they’ve made sure he’s not wet or cold anymore, they bring him to A-Yuan’s room. Said boy is putting the finishing touches on the nest while A-Ling and A-Zhen are removing their outer layer of clothes, all of them intently focused on making it perfect. As soon as they see them, A-Ling walks over, the alpha taking him off of their hands and bringing him over to the nest.
“Call us if you need anything, and I mean anything . I’m going to call A-Yi’s parents,” Wei Ying instructs before they head out. He leaves A-Yi in their care, knowing he’ll be safe and protected.
“Food done,” Lan Zhan states once the door is closed.
“Put it in containers, we can wait til A-Yi wakes up,” he replies, moving over to the couch. The home phone is still there and he picks it up. It’s not hard to find the one contact on it that’s called more than a billion times, and he moves over to the counter to grab his notepad. “I’m gonna call A-Yi’s parents, can someone inform the school that the four of them will be absent Monday through Wednesday?” He asks anyone left in the room.
“I got it,” A-Yu replies, heading to their room to grab their laptop to send the email. The school had permission for any family to call them out, and since A-Zhen and A-Yi spent more time with them, they had gotten special rights to call them out from school. A-Zhen had convinced his father to approve it and since he and his partners did A-Yi’s parent teacher conferences (since his parents never showed), they looked the other way a bit when it came to them calling him out of school.
He dials the number, fiddling with his pen as it rings. It only takes a few seconds before someone can answer.
“I need to speak to Jingyi’s parents,” he states bluntly before anyone on the other side can say anything.
“This is his mother,” a woman's voice floats through the phone, sounding flat and agitated.
“Great!” Wei Ying replies, faking cheer. “This is Wei Ying, courtesy Wuxian! Just calling to inform you that tomorrow me and my husbands will be coming to pick up his stuff, as he’ll be staying with us indefinitely. If you have any problems, I will get a lawyer involved and inform them about how you’ve been neglecting your kid and then threw him out on the streets when he presented. Am I understood?” He keeps his cheerful tone, but it’s more stern, commanding.
There’s complete silence on the other side, before he hears a sigh. “Whatever. It’ll be out on the curb at 10,” she states, and as she (seemingly) pulls her phone away from her face, he can hear her murmur “Waste of space anyways.”
He hangs up before she can, hand tightening around the phone. Lan Zhan gently pries his fingers off of it and then sits beside him, silently asking the question on everyone’s mind.
“It’ll be on the curb at 10,” he informs, twirling his pen in his hand, trying to let out some pent up energy.
“We’ll be there,” his alpha reassure, rubbing his shoulder gently. His sister sits on his free side, taking his free hand and rubbing it against her neck glands, a calming gesture.
He takes in a few breaths, trying to calm his anger down. Once that succeeds, all that's left is… sadness .
“Why didn't he tell us it was this bad?” Wei Ying murmurs, looking down at the floor. He's upset, never at A-Yi, but at his parents.
“I don't think he thinks it's that bad, A-Ying,” A-Yu says as he exits their room. He sits down in front of Wei Ying's legs, leaning back against them and looking up at his mate. “You know how I was with my family,” he adds after a moment, eyes slipping closed as his face screws. “Maybe A-Yi's parent's weren't abusive, but we already knew they neglected him, and… confined him, enough so he spent nearly 5 days of the week here.”
“I don't understand how people can still be against female alphas and male omegas,” Yanli speaks up, lips pursed. “No matter how A-Ling presented, whether alpha, beta or omega, I would've loved him. That's your kid . Why does it matter that he's an omega?” She's frustrated, Wei Ying can tell by how her face is scrunched.
“A-Yi is A-Yi,” Lan Zhan speaks up. “Nothing else matters.”
“You're right, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying shoots his mate an appreciative smile. “No matter what, A-Yi is still our pup, and the one who's going to marry A-Yuan, that's all that matters at the end of the day.”
And, well, if he got another baby omega to dote on out of it? That didn't matter either.
-
When Jingyi awakes, he's still uncomfortably warm but it's not painful. He groans, confused. He'd been at dinner, right? And then he had started his heat and-
He sits up abruptly, a whine slipping past his throat. Before he can think about anything else at all though, there's arms around his waist and a hand on his shoulder. He panics for the smallest of seconds before he smells them.
Radishes and snow. Peonies and fresh dirt. Muted flowers.
“A-Yuan? A-Ling? A-Zhen?” He croaks, twisting his torso to look behind him. The one holding him is A-Yuan and, once the older is sure he's more aware, he buries his face in the back of his neck.
He turns and notices A-Zhen and A-Ling in front of him, the former being the one with a hand on his shoulder.
“A-Yi,” A-Ling murmurs, smiling softly before scowling. “Don't ever scare us like that again.”
Jingyi whimpers, his inner omega whining. Instantly A-Ling softens and scents him apologetically.
“Sorry, sorry, just-” the alpha cuts himself off, frowning. “We-” he huffs. “ I was worried, A-Yi,” he admits, cheeks puffed out slightly while his face starts to turn red.
A-Zhen nods, reaching a hand out to cup his face. He's not presented yet so he can't really scent, but he knows how close they all like to be together. They're pack afterall.
“Next time something's happening, please tell us,” he requests. “I know- I know you couldn't have predicted this , but we are here to listen about your family, your problems, everything.”
Jingyi nuzzles into the hand, feeling safer than he has in a while. He probably should've told them more about the neglect and the pain, but he was trying to ignore it overall. He didn't want to feel it since it wouldn't fix it.
He should've told them his parents were sexist, just in case this happened…
“Mine,” is all A-Yuan says behind him.
He can feel a purr build up in his chest, something new to him but he rolls with it. Now that he's more aware, he realizes he's starving and- he has the inexplicable urge to feed these three.
“Food?” He asks, hands flexing, wanting to care for his pack right this second .
“I'll get someone,” A-Zhen stands, leaving the nest.
Jingyi goes to follow, but A-Yuan holds him back. He whines softly, sad, and A-Yuan nuzzles his neck to calm him down.
“He'll be back,” he reassures. “Just getting us food, then you can feed us.”
His inner omega purrs at that, satisfied, and everything is okay for right now. After his heat ends he'll have to worry about his family, school, etc, but it's fine.
-
A-Zhen presents as an alpha at 16, a bit late but not too bad. Soon thereafter, he moves in with Cheng-ge and Sang-ge (alongside Da-ge, Xichen-ge and Yao-ge). A week later, he tells them this;
“I'm not an alpha. I'm a beta.”
And that's that.
-
Wei-ge, Zhan-ge and Yu-ge let them elope at 19.
Neither of them wanted a big wedding. Only family was invited, the ones they grew up with and around. They both dressed up to the nines and got married in front of the most important people in their life.
And later that night, they mate each other finally. They wanted to wait, to make it special, and sure was that day special. Their scents are now officially intermingled, snowy radishes mixed with rain and wine. They get a place to share with A-Zhen and A-Ling (who are mated, but waiting to get married) as they prepare for work and college. It's not easy, but Jingyi's willing to forge through with his true family, the ones who stuck by his side through thick and thin.
And life goes on.