Work Text:
Wei Wuxian had said a lot of dumb things when he was younger, but perhaps the worst thing he’d ever said is that he does not want a mate. At the time, he’d really believed it. He did not have any desire to settle down, to have children, to be the demure omega housewife everyone expected him to be.
Then there had been Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, with his fair, white jade face. His quiet voice, so deep Wei Wuxian could drown in it (and would happily do so!). The way the tips of his ears would go scarlet as he yelled “Shameless!”. For the first time in his life, Wei Wuxian wanted, with a force that knocked him flat on his back, with his knees in the air.
Lan Zhan is his equal – in swordsmanship, in academics, in cultivation, but not in life. Lan Zhan is the pure, untouchable Second Jade of Lan. Wei Wuxian is a troublemaker, the son of a servant, little better than the filth that Jiang Fengmian, bless his heart, pulled him out from. One can dress a pauper in fine clothes, but at the end of the end of the day, he’s still a pauper.
So, Wei Wuxian continues to tell anyone who asks that he does not want an alpha, when what he really means is “I do not want any alpha, but that one”. He doesn’t allow himself to be Attempted by slimy, greasy alphas like Wen Chao, or even kind, gentle ones like Lan Xichen. (That would be too weird, anyway, like sleeping with some bootleg version of Lan Zhan.)
It’s a surprise when he learns that Lan Zhan is looking for a mate, the way he’s surprised when Jiang Cheng shoves him into one of the lakes surrounding Lotus Pier. It’s a well documented fact that the illustrious Second Jade has no interest in mating. Not because he’s selfish and wild and untamable like Wei Ying, but simply because he’s above such things. He’s too pure, too good. If anyone were to put their hands on Hanguang-Jun, they would only dirty him. Wei Ying would only dirty him.
And anyway, everyone knows that the Lan’s don’t have urges like the rest of them. They definitely procreate, but they don’t fuck. They probably have a half a dozen rules about the proper way to mate, or something. (Later, Wei Wuxian will realize that he’s very, very wrong about that.) Lan Zhan isn’t looking for a partner, or even just a warm hole to stick it in, he’s doing his duty. Wei Wuxian would pity the omegas who have to lie with him, if he weren’t so jealous of them.
He could never put his name forth as a candidate. Uncle Jiang might go for it – attempt the impossible, and all that – but Madam Yu is a different story. She might be glad to have an excuse to get rid of him, once she got over his sheer audacity. Which could be anywhere from a day to a month. The real problem is Lan Qiren, who’s never liked him, and would disapprove, even on the off chance Lan Zhan’s knot does pop for him. To say nothing of Lan Zhan himself.
He tries not to be too upset, then, when they arrange for Shijie to be Attempted instead. It only makes sense. She’s the daughter of a sect leader, and their mating would create a strong political alliance. More to the point, she’s quiet, pretty, a skilled cook. She’s everything an omega should be – in other words, everything Wei Wuxian isn’t.
It’s not like he can complain. Lan Zhan is a perfect gentleman. He’s calm and collected and disciplined, everything Wei Wuxian could want, for his sister. Nothing like that intolerable peacock. It would be a good match.
The real surprise is that Shijie and Madam Yu are going along with it. Maybe this is part of some ploy to make Jin Zixuan jealous. He doesn’t pretend to understand how normal omegas get attention from alphas. All he knows how to do is annoy them away, and piss off their family. If he’d known talking back would interfere with the course of true love, he might have paid more attention in Lan Qiren’s classes.
He doesn’t understand the depths of Shijie’s deception, not until his arms are full of ceremonial red robes that are too long and broad-shouldered for her petite frame. It’s crazy, it’s foolish, it’s the worst idea either of them have ever had, and he goes along with it, because he’s the biggest fool of them all. How can he pass up the only chance he might ever have, to be with Lan Zhan? How hard can it be, to seduce an alpha who’s already on the prowl for a mate?
Besides, it’s not like his knot is really gonna pop, not for Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan’s mate must be some nice, quiet omega. Someone of noble birth, with good cultivation, who will thrive under all three thousand of the Lan Sect’s rules. His equal in every way.
So he wears the robes, just long enough to take them off in front of Lan Zhan. He lays down, and lets Lan Zhan touch him, and lick him and bite him. Wei Wuxian doesn’t have words to describe everything he feels. He’s penetrated himself before, with his fingers and phalluses made of stone, but it’s never been like this. Lan Zhan is hot and thick inside of him, his veins throbbing as his heavy balls smack against Wei Wuxian’s ass.
Lan Zhan’s comes undone, his forehead strangely bare and skin damp with sweat. His face screws up, and he makes little grunts and groans that might be breathless “Wei Ying”s, or might be his imagination. It’s great. It’s perfect. It’s all Wei Wuxian has ever wanted, and then it all goes to shit.
Lan Zhan knots him. Actually knots him. It’s so good, so thick and hot and just the right amount of painful, that Wei Wuxian whines through a second orgasm before he realizes what’s happened. It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. He pulls away, before Lan Zhan can shove him. Before Lan Zhan can reject him. Even a knot shredding his sensitive skin must be less painful than that.
“It’s not supposed to be like this,” he says.
Lan Zhan doesn’t argue with him. He picks up his clothes and leaves, and maybe it’s not fair of Wei Wuxian to blame him for that, but it fucking hurts. More than the ache between his legs, his heart hurts. His hair’s a mess, the sheets are destroyed, and his robes crumpled. All the pieces of his life that need to be put back together, and he just can’t.
In a perfect world, he’d be able to lounge here in this bed. He’d be tucked against Lan Zhan’s side, or sprawled across his chest. They’d trade lazy kisses and sweet promises as they waited until Lan Zhan’s knot to go down. Then, Lan Zhan would roll over, pin him to the bed, and fuck him again.
They’d be able to go out, and tell their families the good news. Jiang Cheng would threaten to break Lan Zhan’s legs. Shijie would welcome him to the family the only way she knows how, with a bowl of her should-be-world-famous soup. Uncle Jiang would be pleased, as long as Wei Wuxian is happy, and even Madam Yu would have nothing to complain about.
They don’t live in a perfect world. Wei Wuxian lays there, frozen in a pool of his own bodily fluids (and some that aren’t his), until there is a knock on the door. It’s too soft to be Lan Zhan, even if Wei Wuxian could bring himself to hope.
“A-Xian? Young Master Lan?” How presumptuous of Shijie, to think that Lan Zhan would still be here.
Wei Wuxian has just enough time to throw a robe around his shoulders before she slides the door open. He should, perhaps, be embarrassed about it, but they’re both omegas here. She takes one look at him, and smothers a gasp with her hand.
“A-Xian, you’re bleeding!”
“It’s nothing, don’t-“ He starts to say, but she as already dragging him down the hall, barely clothed as he is.
She does not stop, does not listen to any of his protests, until they reach Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing’s room. Naturally, they aren’t pleased by being woken up at this hour, but all it takes is one look at Wei Wuxian’s barely covered legs to shut them up. Wen Qing cleans him up and puts him back together, while Jiang Cheng curses Lan Wangji’s existence.
“It’s my fault,” Wei Wuxian says. “I’m the one who pulled the knot out.”
It doesn’t calm Jiang Cheng, but it keeps him from storming Cloud Recesses. Good enough.
It should be hard to go back to his normal life after that. In some ways, it is. He’s sore for days. More than once, he catches himself drafting a letter to Lan Zhan, though it will do no good. The words are never right, and Lan Zhan will not want to hear them, beside. Obviously, the mating bond did not create any sense of obligation, which is fine. Wei Wuxian would not want him to feel obligated. Anyway, if Lan Zhan wants to talk, he knows where to find him.
In many ways, though, things are much the same. He does anything but train. He spends his days out on the lake, listening to the waves as the sun warms his skin. He spends his evening with his family, laughing over bowls of soup while Jiang Cheng yells at anything and everything.
After all, he was never going to be Lan Zhan’s mate. A biological function isn’t going to change that. No one but the five of them know what happened that night, and no one needs to know. Nothing needs to change.
Until it does.
Wei Wuxian may be utterly shameless, according to a certain alpha who shall not be named, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys keeping his legs spread while his sister in-law inspects his labia. He stares at the ceiling and traces imaginary patterns. After this, he’s gonna see if Jiang Cheng wants to go fishing, or maybe he’ll see if Shijie is busy. Maybe he’ll convince Wen Ning to go into town with him, and he’ll finally teach that poor boy how to haggle.
Finally, Wen Qing withdraws, and Wei Wuxian pretends not to notice her wiping her hands with a cloth.
“I told you, all healed up.”
She nods, though the serious frown hasn’t left her face. “There doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage. I don’t anticipate any complications during the birth.”
Wei Wuxian freezes with his pants dangling off one ankle. “The what now?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
“But- That’s- I mean, I wasn’t in heat, when… you know. It happened.”
Wen Qing flips through some papers on her desk. Upon closer inspection, it’s a calendar. “You should have been. Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you…”
Her voice is carried away on the wind of Wei Wuxian’s panic. He clutches at fabric over his chest, as though that will still his racing heart. This is fine. This is… happening. He’s having a baby. No big deal. Sure, he’s unmated, unwanted and not at all prepared for this, but it’s fine. Totally fine.
“Wei Wuxian!” Wen Qing’s voice cuts through the fog around his brain. “Listen to me. You don’t have to do this. There are ways to… I mean, no one would have to know that you didn’t suffer a miscarriage.”
This is why she’s his second-favorite family member. Even without him saying anything, she’s offering a solution to the problem. It should be an easy enough choice. He meant it when he said he doesn’t want children. Everyone said he’d change his mind, but when he thinks of the little parasite living inside of him, he doesn’t feel anything. Neither joy nor hatred comes to the surface.
Is he supposed to love this child, solely because it exists? Even if they are inside his body, they are a stranger to him. Less than a stranger. When he rubs a hand over his stomach, it is flat. There is nothing to indicate that anything is going on in there. There is nothing for him to love.
It isn’t just his baby, though. It’s Lan Zhan’s too. Lan Zhan, with his stoic face and noncommittal grunts. His ears burning with embarrassment and eyes blazing with righteous fury. The graceful way he’d wield Bichen in one hand and Wangji in the other.
If their child inherits even half of Lan Zhan’s traits, then maybe there would be something to love, after all.
“Can I think about it?”
“Certainly, but remember, the further the pregnancy progresses, the more difficult this will be.”
While the real disciples spend their days training and night-hunting, their omega wives and husbands care for the children. There’s a gaggle of them, in their pastel pink and purple robes, out on the shore. Soft giggles bubble from their painted lips as their kids splash in the water.
No one in the group bats an eye as Wei Wuxian squats next to them. It’s as though he’s finally taking his rightful place, as though he were always meant to be here. They talk amongst themselves, their voices soft and gentle. Their scents mingle in a perfume so sweet his eyes water.
“Mo-om!” A whine grates at Wei Wuxian’s ears. “He threw a rock at me!”
“Rong-er is too little to know better. Be patient with him,” A woman who must be the mother says
Wei Wuxian grits his teeth. If the kid doesn’t know better, isn’t it her job to teach him? Is this what mothers are supposed to do, to sit back and take abuse? If it were his kid, he would have given them a bigger rock. That would teach the brat to bully his little tumor.
“Mom! He’s still doing it!”
“Am not!”
“Am so! Mom, you saw that, right?”
“Mommy’s busy, honey. If you can’t get along with your cousin, then find someone else to play with.”
Every word is like a sword to the brain. An old, rusty one. How do these people live like this, day after day? Is this what his life is going to be like, after the baby is born? Is he supposed to give up cultivation, to spend his days listening to a nonstop string of complaints?
He’d thought that, maybe, by coming here, he’d feel… something. Some long lost maternal instinct. Some sense that this is what he’s meant to do. Some shred of affection for the parasite growing inside of him. Instead, there’s only bile rising in his throat.
He’s not like these other omegas. He doesn’t want to look at them, doesn’t want to hear them, doesn’t want to deal with them. He doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want it!
He just manages to turn away from the others before he heaves his breakfast up onto the white sand. Whispers swirl around him, bits of “Master Wei” and “Is he alright?” and “Poor thing. I remember when I had my eldest…”. His stomach lurches again, harder this time.
“What’s wrong with him?” The little brat from before asks.
“Nothing, dear,” his mother says. “It’s just the baby in his tummy making him sick.”
Funny, he hadn’t had a problem with morning sickness before. How do they know, anyway? How does everyone but him seem to instinctually know what’s going on with his body?
“A-Xian?”
He doesn’t look up. Doesn’t dare look her in the eyes. Naturally, she is undeterred. She kneels on the sand next to him, not caring that her dress will get dirty, or that Wei Wuxian will be blamed when Madam Yu discovers this fact.
“A-Xian,” she says again. “Come inside. I’ll make some soup. The broth will be good for your stomach.”
Does she know, too? He jerks his head up, but all he sees is her smiling face. So serene is she, that hie heart and stomach can’t help but follow suit.
“Shijie,” he starts, but she’s having none of it.
She pulls him gently to his feet, and allows him to lean on her. It must be a comical sight considering how much taller he is, but no one laughs. They walk back to the complex proper, straight to the kitchens. Shijie deposits him on a low bench, and, without being asked or asking for permission, she grabs a pot and fills it with water. Madam Yu might die of qi deviation, if she were here to see her daughter, so eager to cook for the son of a servant.
“Shijie, it’s okay, you really don’t have to.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Huh? Uh, not since breakfast.”
Shijie shakes her head. “Then you need to have lunch. You’re eating for two now.”
Like he needs the reminder. “Say, how did you know, anyway?”
“I wasn’t sure at first,” she says, laying out some vegetables to chop. “But your scent is different, and I overheard the others. I know you went to see Wen Qing today, so I thought she must have confirmed it. Was I wrong?”
“No…” He sighs, and collapses on the bench, one arm clung around his stomach. “Shijie, I… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.”
“I can’t tell you what to do, but if you want my opinion, I think that no one really knows what they’re supposed to do. It’s like… shooting an arrow.”
“How so?”
“Well, you can line up your shot perfectly, but in the end, you just have to have faith that it will hit.”
Have faith, huh? He’s never been very good at that, preferring to take matters into his own hands. After all, the odds are rarely in his favor. He can’t expect that things will just come to him. Still, maybe he can do that. Maybe he can just trust that it will all work out.
“And you know, you don’t have to do this alone. We could-“
“No!” He says, shooting up. “Lan Zhan can’t know about this. Promise me, Shijie, that you won’t tell him.”
He doesn’t need Lan Zhan, to come down here and save him. He doesn’t need a mate who will feel burdened by him, or compelled to stay for the baby’s sake. He doesn’t need Lan Zhan’s pity, and would never ask for it.
Shijie pauses with a knife hovering over a carrot. There’s a frown that doesn’t belong on her pretty face. “Okay, okay. I won’t say anything. But you should. I’m sure whatever happened between you and Young Master Lan can be fixed, if you just talk to him.”
“Not this.”
For a moment, Shijie doesn’t say anything. She focuses on preparing her soup, pouring the vegetables into the pot and moving onto the meat.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help but feel responsible, since switching was my idea. I just… I didn’t think it would turn out like this.”
“Shijie, no. It’s… It’s not your fault. I’m the one who was stupid enough to go along with it.” He’s the one who was stupid enough to hope for something else.
“Well, I just want you to know that, no matter what, I’m here for you. A-Cheng, and Wen Qing and A-Ning, too. And, for what it’s worth, I think a little A-Xian would be adorable.”
He’s still not sold on this whole motherhood thing, but he can at least think about the little parasite without vomiting. So that’s something. If he’s being honest, he thinks about it sometimes – a baby with Lan Zhan’s pretty eyes, but his smile. It’s mildly horrifying, but mostly cute. Could he maybe get one of those without pushing it out of his own body?
He’s walking past the training grounds, when he sees it – that kid again, the one who kept bitching at his mom. He’s got a wooden practice sword, and is going through forms. Despite his age, he’s obviously talented, handling the fake sword with grace. His stance is good, and any mistakes can easily be attributed to inexperience rather than a lack of ability. He won’t be slaying any monsters any time soon, but one day, for sure.
“Here,” Wei Wuxian says, drawing Suibian. “Like this.”
The motions come easily to him, as natural as breathing. If Shijie or Wen Qing were here, they might scold him for exerting himself in his condition. They aren’t, so he can do whatever the hell he wants, even if it means showing off in front of this little snot.
“Whoa! How’d you get so good at that, Master Wei?”
“Practice,” he lies, because there’s no point bragging about his natural talent to a child. “Keep at it, and you might be better than me one day!”
“A-Lian?” His mother comes running over, until she can kneel by his side.“Of course this is where you ran off to. Look at you, you’ve gotten your clothes dirty again. I thought you were practicing your calligraphy…”
“I was, but then I got bored.”
The mother gives a long-suffering sigh, as she tries to dust off the boy’s robes. “I’m sorry about my A-Lian. I hope he didn’t disturb you.”
“Not at all. We were just practicing, right kid?”
A-Lian nods. “I’m gonna be stronger than Master Wei one day.”
That’s… not exactly what Wei Wuxian said, but he can’t bring himself to shatter the kid’s dreams. “Yep, you heard it here first.”
“A-Lian,” the mother sighs. “Well, thank you for indulging him. He’s always been like this, saying that he’s going to get stronger and protect people who can’t help themselves. It doesn’t matter that he was born an omega. If Master Wei can do it, so can he. I think he idolizes you a little bit for that.”
That’s not exactly a new concept. Despite the fact that he is an all-around terrible role model, many of the younger disciples look up to him. Something about this particular adoration hits him hard, though. It has his throat clogging up and his eyes burning.
“Mom,“ A-Lian whines.
“What? It’s true. In fact, he was so happy that Master Wei came to play with us the other day. I know that your little one will be much younger than my A-Lian, but I hope you’ll bring them by. I’m sure he’d love to meet them.”
“I’ll think about it.”
It’s not a yes, but the woman nods as if it were. “Great. For now, A-Lian is supposed to be practicing his calligraphy.”
The kid huffs, but puts his sword away, and allows himself to be led inside. The little bastard doesn’t know how good he’s got it. Wei Wuxian longs for the days when he actually had to worry about things like writing and sneaking out for sword practice. Still, the brat isn’t half bad, when he’s not running his mouth. Maybe there’s some merit to kids, after all.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, if he had his own to teach, to practice sword forms with. To be looked up to. Maybe even loved.
The worst thing about deciding to keep the baby is that now he has to tell Jiang Cheng. (Actually the worst would be telling Madam Yu, which is why he’s not going to. He’s going to continue going about his life, and let his growing stomach speak for itself.) It’s not that his brother is going to take the news poorly, exactly. He’s just not going to take it well.
“I’m going to break that fucker’s legs!” Jiang Cheng’s hands are already on Sandu. It’s more of a stabby weapon, than a breaking bones one, but Wei Wuxian doesn’t bother pointing that out.
“Sit down,” Wen Qing says, and drags back down to his seat. Gods bless her. She really has all the brains in the family, despite being mated into it.
“Honestly, I would pay to watch you try.” Not to brag, but the father of his child is one of the strongest cultivators of their generation. Jiang Cheng, bless his heart, isn’t even close.
“What? You don’t think I can do it? I’ll march up that damn mountain right now, and-“
Wen Qing pulls on his sleeve, dragging him back to earth again. “Enough. If Wei Wuxian does not want us to tell Lan Wangji, we must respect his wishes.”
“Thank you.”
“No matter how stupid they are.”
Wei Wuxian ignores her, and turns up his cup of ginger tea. It’s supposed to be good for nausea, because of-fucking-course he has that now. No more wine for him, either. If he’d known his last cup would be his last for the next nine months, he would have savored it more. As soon as he’s done pushing the brat out of him, he’s gonna drink until he’s sick.
“Fine,” Jiang Cheng huffs, because it’s all he knows how to do. How does Wen Qing put up with him? She’s really too good for his insufferable brother. “Just know that I think you’re making a huge mistake.”
“Your opinion is noted.”
“Have you told Father and Mother yet?”
“I’m getting there. Baby steps.”
“How can you be so blasé about something like this?”
Wei Wuxian snorts into his cup. He’s anything but blasé. Every day, he second guesses himself, if this is really the right thing to do. Wen Qing has assured him it’s not too late to change his mind, but he’s not sure that’s what he wants, either. He’s trying to have faith, but mostly, all he has is a puddle of nerves that won’t go away.
“Whatever. Speaking of, when are you gonna finally give Madam Yu grandkids, huh?” It’s an old tactic, but one that never fails – turn the conversation around on Jiang Cheng and his failings. It’s a little dirty, but really, he brought it upon himself.
A week later, when he learns that Jiang Cheng went to Cloud Recesses anyway, he’s pissed. Mostly, he’s angry that Lan Zhan couldn’t even be bothered to see him, though Jiang Cheng promises he gave Lan Xichen an earful. Wei Wuxian almost feels bad for the poor First Jade. Almost.
In the end, he drops the news on Uncle Jiang as casually as possible.
“I’m pregnant. Please don’t tell Madam Yu.”
He can almost see the mechanisms of Uncle Jiang’s brain processing what he’s said, trying to make sense of how this could have happened. Sometimes, Wei Wuxian thinks that Uncle Jiang doesn’t see the man he’s become, and only sees the child he picked up off the streets. Or worse, some shadow of his old friends.
“What? But- You- Who?”
“Don’t worry about that. They’re not in the picture,” he says, and that’s that. Uncle Jiang doesn’t ask again.
Madam Yu does find out eventually. Maybe she caught whiff of his scent, though he does his best to avoid her, and she does the same to him. Maybe Uncle Jiang ran his mouth after all, or Jiang Cheng, the perpetual mama’s boy that he is. Maybe she’s spying on him. That’s the sort of thing she would do.
He’s barely showing at this point. His pants are just this side of snug, and his belt is ever-so-slightly looser, but her servants are carrying armfuls of colorful robes that they unceremoniously dump on his bed.
“I know purple isn’t your color,” she says, and there’s some unspoken insult in there. Something about him not taking pride in the clan who took him in, maybe. “But these are the clothes I wore when I was pregnant with A-Li and A-Cheng. I’m sure they can be altered to fit you.”
Then, just as suddenly as she came, she leaves. Huh. That was almost nice of her. He looks out the window, just to make sure the world isn’t ending. Jiang Cheng always said he could sleep through anything, and the pregnancy isn’t helping matters.
The months fly by, until he’s so round he can barely walk. Wen Ning and Shijie dote on him, while Jiang Cheng calls him an idiot daily. So, nothing new there. He has regular appointments with Wen Qing, and while Madam Yu hasn’t had any more fits of random kindness, she hasn’t whipped him senseless, either. It’s the little things.
He’s kind of mentoring A-Lian now. Neither him, nor his poor mother could tell you how it happened. It just kind of did, but it’s okay. He kind of likes the kid, and wants to see him succeed. Even not being able to see his feet won’t stop him. Mostly, he sits on the sidelines and corrects his posture these days.
Then, the kid has to go and make him question if this was such a good idea, after all.
“Where do babies come from?”
“What?” Wei Wuxian drops the practice sword. Damn, this pregnancy is bad for his reflexes.
“You’re having a baby, right? So, like, where did it come from?”
“Uh… From a seed.” That’s sort of right, isn’t it?
A-Lian scrunches up his little face. “Like a vegetable?”
“Yeah, like… like a radish.”
“Really? That’s not what Hong-er said.”
“Who are you gonna believe, some snot-nosed brat, or your Wei-gege? If I say my baby is like a radish, then it’s like a radish. Now, question and answer time is over. Back to work!”
Wei Wuxian goes into labor at just about the worst possible moment. Of course the stupid Jins are the traditional sort that insist on a formal mating ceremony. He can’t be too angry about it, when his Shijie looks so happy. Zixuan Is just lucky he’s too fat to beat anyone up right now. Otherwise, he’d knock that smug grin right off his pretty face. He’s get Wen Ning to do it for him, but the man wouldn’t hurt a fly.
The ceremony had to be held at Lotus Pier, since Wei Wuxian is too pregnant to travel to Koi Tower, a fact that pleases exactly no one. Shijie had insisted that he be there, so here they all are. Blessedly, they’ve already made their vows by the time it happens. He’s gritting his teeth and staring longingly at the bottle of wine on Wen Ning’s table, when the man in question looks over.
“Master Wei, did…your water just break?”
“What?” Wei Wuxian looks down, and there’s some sort of puddle at his feet. “Uh, Wen Ning? Be a dear and get your sister for me, would you?”
He’s on his feet in an instant. He runs down the banquet hall, yelling “Jie! Jie!” Well, there goes any hope of not making a scene.
The next few moments are a blur. There’s Win Qing looking him over, Jiang Cheng shuffling him out of the hall and into his bedroom. Shijie excuses herself, saying that she needs to be with her brother, before he has time to tell her not to worry about him. Madam Yu and Uncle Jiang are left to pick up the pieces.
He’s in labor all night and much of the morning, too. Jiang Cheng kneels at his bedside, holding his hand and cursing Lan Wangji’s existence along with him. If only they could have these sorts of brotherly bonding moments without the equivalent of a small watermelon forcing its way out of his body. By the end of it, he’s almost glad Lan Zhan isn’t around. At least he’ll never have to go through this again.
When all is said and done, he has a healthy baby boy, wrapped up in the blanket Shijie embroidered with clouds and lotuses. It’s not subtle, but nothing about Wei Wuxian is. His eyes are silver, but if Wei Wuxian squints, he can see traces of Lan Zhan in the baby’s nose and his jaw.
“He’s beautiful,” Shijie says, though she looks a little green. Hopefully, the reality of childbirth hasn’t put her off too much, considering her own is due in a few months.
“Thankfully, he got all your looks, and none from that prick,” Jiang Cheng says. His hand is a little bruised, but he’s none the worse for the wear. “Have you decided on a name?”
“Yuan.” Wei Wuxian doesn’t look up from the bundle in his arms. “His name is Wei Yuan, courtesy name Sizhui.”
He’s not going to give A-Yuan Lan Zhan’s name. Not when the alpha only stayed around long enough to put the baby inside of him. Lan Zhan wasn’t there for his mood swings, his cravings, his nausea. He wasn’t there for the birth, and he won’t be there to raise him. A-Yuan doesn’t need Lan Zhan, anymore than Wei Wuxian does. They’re going to be fine. They have everything they need right here.