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“Paapaaa!!”
Wei Wuxian groaned as he turned around, careful of the little body climbing on top of him, his hair tussled and all over his face and pillows. “Yes, baobei?” He mumbled, eyes still closed as he rubbed the sleep away from his face. There's no point in attempting another five minutes anymore now that A-Yuan has decided it's his time to ‘riiisse and shhhiiinee!!!’.
“Wake up, papa!!! We'll miss school if you keep sleeping!!”A-Yuan admonished, settling on top of Wei Wuxian’s stomach, his little hands patting at his chest impatiently.
“We won't, baby. Don't worry.” He sighed as he pulled A-Yuan down, his head flushed against Wei Ying's chest and wrapping his arms around his little frame. “Diedie has everything prepared already. Now, how about you let papa lay for a few more minutes before we go?” He attempted fruitlessly, knowing damn well that A-Yuan would not let him do so, but it's worth trying. Maybe his little heart would have a little mercy on his poor papa and stop uselessly enforcing Lan Zhan's crazy sleeping schedule on him. If his father didn't succeed in fixing Wei Yingʼs sleep schedule despite all his very fruitful efforts, then little A-Yuan will undoubtedly fail as well.
A-Yuan, as expected, wiggled his way out of Wei Yingʼs arms and pulled the covers off him. “Nope!! You always miss breakfast when you do!! Diedie said that's bad!!” He said, like the evil child he was.
“You're taking off after Lan Zhan waay too much, you know.” Wei Ying grumbled at him before he forced himself to get up, stretching his arms above his head and feeling his bones pop,the knots in his muscles relaxing from the stiff position they stayed in for hours in his sleep.
A-Yuan made his way out of the room before him as Wei Ying headed to the bathroom to wash his face.
Today was the first day of school. Or, in A-Yuan's case, back to school. A-Yuan had already gotten himself acquainted with the new atmosphere, and even made a few friends there. But it was Jingyi's first time. He was not fully aware of the fact that he was going to a whole new, foreign place for the first time, and was completely oblivious that he would be left alone in said place with the other kids, without his parents there.
Which, to A-Yuan, was thankfully no longer a problem, but to Jingyi…. Oh boy.
The very first time they had left him—well, not entirely alone, he still had his brother with him, and he was still in the safety of their home—but he was to stay with Mo Xuanyu, a young college student who worked as a babysitter as a part-time job. They were already familiar with him, mostly Wei Ying, but familiar nonetheless. They knew him well enough to know the kids would be safe with him for the few hours they'd be away, unable to take care of them, and when Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren weren't available either to take on the duty.
At first, A-Yuan was very skeptical of him, very silent and wary. But he warmed up to him rather quickly after that, Mo Xuanyu using his charming cards that worked on kids to make him feel comfortable.
The same, unfortunately, couldn't be said of Jingyi.
He had hit it off with Mo Xuanyu rather fast after he arrived at their home and they were discussing with him the new arrangements. He had observed Mo Xuanyu curiously from where he sat on the floor with A-Yuan, playing abandoned as he watched the new stranger in their house.
When Mo Xuanyu came to greet him and A-Yuan, Jingyi had already decided he liked him and made it his mission to play with Mo Xuanyu with every single toy he had.
All was good until Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had to leave, and realization dawned on Jingyi.
His parents were leaving him. All alone (not really, with A-yuan still present), with a complete stranger (who he had been playing with for the past hour.).
Jingyi, the poor boy, assumed they're leaving him forever, just like his biological parents did. Jingyi had hit notes so high, Wei Ying was not sure how he was even capable of that when even professionally trained singers failed them sometimes (alright, he's exaggerating a little, but Jingyi did hit such a high, crying scream, they had to take him to the doctor to check on his vocal cords out of fear he had damaged them after he had finally calmed down). Although he no longer cries as hard, he still seems a little uneasy being left without them for such a long period. Thankfully, having his brother with him and Mo Xuanyu's attempts at helping him relax do help him a little to at least not cling to Wei Yingʼs legs and hit another round of screeching high notes.
He didn't have a deep, rational explanation for why his parents suddenly disappeared forever, but it did leave a deep sense of abandonment issues and trauma in the boy’s little tiny heart.
He was under the care of one Lan Zhan’s very distant relative after his parents’ passing until they, too, unfortunately passed away. Lan Qiren had been very troubled figuring out what to do with the now orphaned little boy when Wei Ying and Lan Zhan stepped in under a moment of weakness upon seeing the sweet, energetic and chaotic baby looking so lost, scared and utterly confused. A-Yuan could use a little brother as well, yeah?
And if having A-Yuan was already a lot, then having Jingyi was tenfold much more.
While A-Yuan was always a bright,and cheerfully loud boy, he still listened and obeyed when told. He has tried his best to obey both Wei Ying and the Wen siblings —back when he lived with them and his parents— as best as he can, still disobeying every now and then just like all little kids do. But after meeting Lan Zhan, he never ever disobeyed a word he said. Something about wanting to please his ever gentle voice and soft eyes that even Wei Ying falls weak for, probably.
On the other side, there was Jingyi. A-Yuan's now adopted younger brother, four years old and a menace to everything on God's green earth.
It had taken A-Y some time to adapt to living with them, despite already knowing and having grown familiar with them back then. The whole idea of leaving the place he grew up in was quite disorienting to the little boy, not to mention how deeply scarred he was after losing his parents and the fact he was to never see them again. It had taken them so much therapy and patience to get him to open up and be more comfortable, untangle all his traumas and start anew with him.
But to their surprise, Jingyi had grown very attached to both of them in a short time.
He had become very, very attached to Wei Ying especially in record time, sticking to his side the whole time he was awake, and even used to sleep nuzzled in his arms the first few months he was adopted. He sleeps with his brother very comfortably now, with his toys and cozy, soft blue blankets tucked around him. But the clinginess still followed.
He was loud, chaotic, and always ready and in need to play. While both Wei Ying and Lan Zhan adored him, it still got overwhelming sometimes, especially on long days.
He did obey their orders, but not without asking a million questions on why, how, when, what, where, and so on until his growing bundle of nerves of a brain was temporarily satisfied. And as much as it was endearing at times, it tested Wei Ying’s patience at most times. It probably tested Lan Zhan’s, too, but he was always better at hiding it than Wei Ying.
Wei Ying got dressed up and made his way down to the kitchen, where Lan Zhan was taking the frontlines of entertaining the two boys' battle until Wei Ying woke up.
Wei Ying made his way inside to the dining table where Lan Zhan had served breakfast. “Good morning, love.” Wei Ying kissed Lan Zhan's cheek before he made his way to A-Yuan and Jingyi. “Good morning, A-Yuan. Good morning A-Yi.” He kissed each of their heads before he sat down to have his breakfast.
“Good morning, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan greeted back as he took the rest of the empty mugs and plates from the table.
Wei Ying smiled at him before he turned to Jingyi, “did you sleep well?”
“No.” Jingyi shook his head solemnly, “Yuan-ge was snoring all night.” He fake-yawned.
“I was not!!” A-Yuan defended, though a smile was already forming on his face. “You were snoring all night and too loud!! I couldn't sleep at all.”
“Nuh Huh.” Jingyi shook his head, “I didn't. Lying is bad,” he said in a very serious manner, probably trying to mimic Lan Zhan's seriousness when he admonishes them for something bad.
Wei Ying's smile grew as he watched their bantering go back and forth before he got up and made his way to the sink, where Lan Zhan was drying his hands, a soft smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “They seem very energetic today,” Wei Ying noted with a chuckle.
“A-Yuan is very excited.” Lan Zhan nodded.
“Of course he is. He has every single teacher there wrapped around his little fingers.” Wei Ying rolled his eyes as he washed his dish.
Lan Zhan huffed, “it is hard not to grow fond of him. He is a good boy.”
Wei Ying chuckled, “even you are wrapped around his little fingers.” He shook his head fondly.
“Diedie!! Do I really snore?” A-Yuan wailed in distress, having fallen for Jingyi's prank on him, who was muffling his laugh behind the head of his bunny plushie in victory.
“Sometimes” Lan Zhan inclined his head, his smile growing wider as Jingyi shouted in triumph while A-Yuan sputtered in betrayal, his cheeks growing hot as he fruitlessly tried to shut Jingyi up but to no avail.
Wei Ying sighed, laughing quietly at both poor A-Yuan's stress and Jingyi's little victory dance.
This will surely be a long day.
After they had dropped A-Yuan to his class, made sure he was comfortable and had met up with his best friend, Ouyang Zizhen and the rest, they headed to drop Jingyi to his own class.
At first, Jingyi was fascinated by the whole thing. Looking at the different classrooms they passed through with rapid curiosity, absolutely amazed by the whole concept. A class with so many children his age, toys and laughter everywhere (and cries, too, but he seemed too distracted to focus on that.). The concept was very novel to him, despite A-Yuan occasionally speaking about it through summer break, but perhaps he didn't quite grasp it then.
When they arrived at his class and dropped him free to roam around, he immediately walked inside to explore, mindless of all the little heads that turned to him in confusion or curiosity.
“Ah, would you look at him. So cute and full of curiosity.” The teacher, Miss Mu, a kind and patient middle-aged woman, smiled at Jingyi warmly before clapping her hands to get the attention of the class. “Everyone, please welcome Jingyi!! He's your new friend today, be nice to him and let him play with you.”
“Yeah!!!” Jingyi nodded at her before he turned to the rest of the kids, “hi!!!”
Some of the kids greeted him back from their respective seats while the others made their way over, checking him out and introducing themselves.
“I didn't expect to see you two with another child so soon.” The teacher giggled when they approached her, her voice low enough for only Lan Zhan and Wei Ying to hear her.
Wei Ying chuckled, “Yeah, neither did we. But isn't he just so adorable?” He sighed wistfully.
The teacher nodded, “Absolutely. Reminds me a little of when A-Yuan first came here. Although, Jingyi seems to have no trouble making friends right away.” She laughed as they watched Jingyi wander inside the class, striking conversations with every kid he found interesting or had an interesting toy on them. Not a single drop of hesitation in his body, unlike how his older brother had been on his first day.
A-Yuan was very shy at first, and he kept glancing back at Wei Ying and Lan Zhan every minute, making sure they're still there. That they didn't leave yet nor are upset with him in any way. After he got used to the idea of being all alone outside the safety of his home and away from Mo Xuanyu's company or without his parents, A-Yuan had become friends with the whole class. At some point, befriending some of the teachers, too. Wei Ying expected no less from Jingyi, if not more with the way he was already treading through the room like he owned the place.
After they were done with handing the teacher Jingyi's belongings and lunch, they turned to wave their boy goodbye, knowing by experience now that trying to walk away— like they had done with A-Yuan on the second day, foolishly thinking that this would make it easier for the boy, but only ended up causing the teacher to call them not even 15 minutes after to come back and pick him up because he wouldn't stop crying— will only cause him even greater stress than just watching them leave.
A-Yuan's first day was hell, all with him standing in the middle of class looking at Lan Zhan and Wei Ying with big, teary doe eyes, silently sobbing as he clutched his bunny toy tight to his little heaving chest. A-Yuan was scared of making too much noise, afraid of taking up too much space because of his awful father who always got irritated when the boy, very normal for his age, cried loudly. But they were working on that. Unfortunately, though, at that time he hadn't fully grasped that it was okay to express his emotions, and just cried quietly while he stared at them. Safe to stay it was the worst day for the three of them.
Fast forward to a year later, A-Yuan has grown more comfortable and relaxed since then. It was no longer an issue to leave him alone in either Lan Xichen’s care for the night (he loves going there, Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren spoil him so much) or go over to the Wen siblings’ place to spend the weekend with them.
But now, there's Jingyi.
He didn't register this realization until after he was all settled in with the kids and was attempting to make friends when it dawned on him that his parents were waving goodbye and were going to leave him. Alone. (Not really but he is a baby, okay? He doesn't quite get it yet.)
“A-Yi,” Wei Ying called him with a small smile, “we'll go to work now, okay? Your brother is in class 023 if you want to go play with him later. If you need anything, ask Miss Mu right away, okay?” Wei Ying crouched down, extending his arms out for Jingyi to throw himself in them like he loves to do.
Except Jingyi stared at them with wide, alarmed eyes before he asked in a small, trembling voice, “you are… leaving…?”
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan exchanged alarmed looks before Lan Zhan crouched down next to Wei Ying. “We won't be gone for long,” he assured, extending a hand for Jingyi to come hold.
Wei Ying nodded, “yeah. We will be back before you know it, okay? Now come give papa a hug?” He tried again.
Jingyi stared at them for a split second before, to their horror, he hit his high notes again, wailing and running to latch onto their legs, snot and tears running down all over his face as he made the biggest scene and distressed all the other kids, some of them starting to cry, too, joining the wailing party.
Lan Zhan and Wei Ying stood utterly distressed and helpless as they watched the horrors unfold in front of them, eyes wide and frantic as they witnessed the chaos their son ensued.
Safe to say, it was a very exhausting day.
They try again, the next day.
“Don't forget to eat all your food, okay?” Wei Ying reminded both of them, especially Jingyi, who would often (try to) leave his food unfinished in favor of playing or watching his favorite cartoon.
A-Yuan nodded politely while Jingyi gave a half-hearted nod, staring at the moving scenery outside the car quietly.
Jingyi had stayed in a sour mood the whole ride back the other day, and when they reached home he asked in a tiny, shaky voice if they were mad at him. They, of course, assured him that they're not mad, and that it's okay he felt scared being left alone in a completely new place. It wouldn't be wise to lecture on him crying (so loud) each time he felt displeased, so they noted that for a later conversation.
Wei Ying sighed, “and finish all your vegetables, alright?” He ordered, staring pointedly at Jingyi through the front rear mirror.
Jingyi side-eyed him before he returned back to watching the view outside the car. “Mhmmm.”
Wei Ying raised an eyebrow, “A-Yi. Eat all your vegetables.” He bidded sternly.
“You are not one to talk, you barely eat yours!!” Jingyi huffed, “Why should I!!”
Wei Ying's jaw fell open. This damn kid!!!!
A-Yuan giggled at him but stayed silent, choosing to stay neutral as Wei Ying sputtered in shock.
“You should finish your vegetables, A-Yi. It's important for your growth and health.” Lan Zhan, god bless him, the angel that he is, chimed in gently, saving Wei Ying from fruitlessly denying the not–so–false–accusation.
Jingyi pouted, “Yes, diedie,” he said obediently.
Wei Ying huffed, “why do you always listen to him immediately, but never do the same with me? What spell has he casted on you to get you so obedient with him like that?” He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“You listen to him, too, papa.” A-Yuan smiled at him, because he's an evil being in the body of the sweetest, cutest, most perfect child ever.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Wei Ying rolled his eyes and stared pointedly out the window, his cheeks growing hot as Lan Zhan laughed softly from the driver's seat.
The teacher was a little wary when they arrived, rightfully so. After all, she had to calm down the army of children crying after Jingyi's wailing triggered theirs for the rest of the other day.
“Is he feeling better today?” She asked kindly.
“Hopefully,” Wei Ying smiled sheepishly. “He didn't cry at all the whole way here, so that's progress.”
Miss Mu chuckled before she offered, “would you like to stay with him until he's settled?”
Before they could think about it and give her an answer, a loud gasp from across the room caught their attention.
“You!!” A boy yelled, pointing his finger at Jingyi accusingly, a big frown on his small, chubby face. “It's you again!! The annoying crybaby!!”
Wei Ying blinked. Oh, that's Jin Ling!! Shijie's son! He didn't get the chance to introduce him to Jingyi after they brought him in, although he was already a little familiar with A-Yuan. He probably didn't realize that was Wei Ying's son, yet.
Lan Zhan frowned, about to admonish him for such a comment when Jingyi, with all the anger a child could muster and hold in their tiny body, shouted back very loudly, “fuck you!!”
And everyone. Dropped silent.
Wei Ying and Lan Zhan looked utterly horrified as Miss Mu raised a very shocked and judgmental eyebrow at them.
“Jingyi????” Wei Ying exclaimed in shock before he turned to Miss Mu. “We never curse in front of the kids!! Lan Zhan doesn't even swear!!” Wei Ying hurried to explain.
Miss Mu's brow went even higher. “I'm aware.”
“No, really!! I have no clue how he even knows this word. We monitor what they watch, too.” Wei Ying defended, just as baffled as Lan Zhan was.
They really never curse in the kids’ presence and he genuinely can't figure out where Jingyi could have heard that word. The Lans don't even curse, so Jingyi couldn't have possibly learnt it through his parents, and the Wen siblings –in the few times he had visited them– used alternative words to convey what they wanted to exactly say, like “fork” and the like. So how did he know it….
Wei Ying’s eyes widened when he realized it could be Mo Xuanyu accidentally swearing in front of them. But then again, A-Yuan never cursed the whole time he stayed with him…
Jin Ling’s face turned a deep shade of red and he shouted even louder, “you can't say that!!! That's a bad word!!”
Which prompted Jingyi to shout back as he stomped his little feet hard, “No, I can!!! Fuck you!!!!” while sticking his tongue out.
Lan Zhan frowned deeply in displeasure, “Jingyi, apologize to Jin Ling, now.” he ordered sternly.
“But he—!” Jingyi started protesting, but Lan Zhan cut him off, “Both of you will apologize.”
Jin Ling's eyes widened before he shook his head. “No!! He's the one who said a bad word!!”
The teacher turned to him, “and you were bullying him. Both of you are in the wrong.”
Jin Ling's eyes widened. He was about to protest again before he quivered under both Miss Mu's and Lan Zhan's stern gazes. “...I'm… sorry…” he mumbled instead, a high flush spreading across his cheeks.
Jingyi raised an eyebrow, “What? I can't hear you.” He crossed his arms over his chest smugly.
“Jingyi,” Lan Zhan admonished.
Jingyi pouted, “Okay, Okay! Sorry, I won't say it again.”
Wei Ying sighed. That was indeed another crazy day.
By the end of the day, Jingyi was swarmed by most of his classmates, calling him cool and brave while he very proudly drank all the praise in. Jin Ling has already cried and tried to hit him, almost starting a fight again, but the adults quickly disputed it and got them to apologize. Jin Ling sat with his cheeks red in anger, a frowning pout on his face as he watched the kids glaze Jingyi, before he yelled (again. Why does he yell so much when neither of his parents do so? Shijie is the most soft spoken person in the whole world, how come her son is so loud??) “he is not cool for saying bad words!!! That means he's a bad person.” He huffed, crossing his arms.
Jingyi, very offended, yelled back. “No, I'm not!! I'm a good person!! You are bad!!” But before they could fight again for the nth time this day, Wei Ying came and scooped Jingyi up in his arms, fixing his sweater as he chided him softly. “Swearing is bad, A-Yi. Don't swear again, okay? And stop picking fights with A-Ling.”
Jin Ling sticked his tongue out at Jingyi triumphantly, celebrating that his jiujiu finally took his side this time.
Jingyi pouted, his lower lip quivering. “But he keeps starting it!! Am I a bad person now, papa?”
Wei Ying cooed at him and shook his head. “No, You apologized for what you said. You are not a bad person, A-Yi. You're the best, goodest boy I've ever seen, sweetie.” He kissed his chubby cheeks wetly. Jingyi triumphantly stuck his tongue back at Jin Ling this time at his own win as Wei Ying chuckled at them. Jin Ling huffed and pouted, stomping his feet and storming away in anger as Wei Ying giggled and waved him goodbye.
They headed back home, the ride full of A-Yuan's giggles as Wei Ying and Lan Zhan recounted to him what his didi did while Jingyi fruitlessly tried to defend himself before sulking in embarrassment from his gege's continued laughter at his shenanigans.
After they returned home, got changed and had dinner where they got to find out how Jingyi knew that word in the first place (he heard a random angry man shout it at another person on the streets once and it stuck with him ever since), Wei Ying and Lan Zhan settled on the couch in each other's arms, cuddling as the boys played together with their toys a little before going to bed.
Wei Ying sighed comfortably into Lan Zhan’s arms, sinking deeper with his back flushed against his chest, and turned his head to the side to plant a soft kiss on Lan Zhan's neck, “What a long day, hm?” Lan Zhan hummed, kissing Wei Ying's forehead and nuzzling his nose into his hair.
Jingyi leaned in closer to A-Yuan and spoke in what he thought was a hushed voice, “this is gross.”
A-Yuan giggled and he shook his head. “No, A-Yi. Don't say that. That's love”
Jingyi tilted his head and thought about it for a few seconds before he said decidedly, “but it is gross.”
Wei Ying bursted out laughing, “oh my god! This boy is a menace!!” He turned to Lan Zhan while A-Yuan also laughed again in shock, chiding his brother in between giggles. Lan Zhan huffed out an amused laugh as he shook his head fondly.
They go to sleep not too long after, Jingyi completely tired and exhausted from the whole day and its roller-coaster of emotions, that he passed out immediately the second his head touched the pillows. A-Yuan kissed both their cheeks before he climbed on his bed, waving them goodbye and turning on his blue bunny–shaped lamp on the nightstand as they shut off the lights.
Back in the privacy of their room, Wei Ying whined as he got on the bed. “I can't believe he called us gross, Lan Zhan!! I'd say it's Jiang Cheng's horrible influence on him, but they haven't even met yet!! He's just a natural hater!!”
Lan Zhan smiled at him and hummed. “He'll regret saying this when his turn comes.”
Wei Ying giggled, “Lan Zhan!! You can't be that petty to your son!!”
Lan Zhan shrugged as he pulled Wei Ying closer under the covers, “he reaps what he sows.”
Wei Ying chuckled as he cuddled closer in Lan Zhan's arms. “Yeah, I'd know best about that.” Earning him a soft giggle from Lan Zhan and a squeeze to his waist.
“Good night, Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan kissed his hair.
Wei Ying hummed contently and buried his face into Lan Zhan's shoulder, inhaling his comforting sandalwood scent and planting a soft kiss there on top of the fabric of his sweater. “Good night, Lan Zhan. See you tomorrow.”
“Mn. See you tomorrow.”