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Lan Wangji leads a fairly normal life. His job is interesting and not too tiring. He only needs to be at his company office building twice a week; the rest of the time he works from home. His flat is quiet and tidy, with a decently sized balcony and a nice view over the park. It’s not the biggest flat out there – all the flats in the apartment buildings on this street are on the smaller side, but he lives alone with his rabbits. Lan Wangji doesn’t need much space. His office doubles as a guest room, the couch in the living room doubles as extra sleeping space should his uncle and his brother decide to visit at the same time and wish to stay the night.
To an outsider, Lan Wangji’s life might seem boring. To him, it is perfectly balanced, the calm oasis he has created for himself to retreat into whenever life gets just a bit too much.
This does change the day when a small rubber ball lands in one of Lan Wangji’s flower pots on his balcony while he is out reading his book, and a tiny voice from his neighbour’s balcony goes “Uh-oh.”
Lan Wangji gets up from his chair, spots the ball, fishes it out of the flower pot and looks over to the balcony one flat over, where a young boy stands, one hand on the glass railing, too small yet to peek over it. The balcony door is open; whoever is with the boy must be watching them from inside.
The boy eyes Lan Wangji with wary eyes. “Baba…?” he calls in a tiny voice.
Lan Wangji is about to reply that, no, he is not his baba, when a man appears on the balcony behind the boy.
See, Lan Wangji is usually not someone to judge other people by appearance, but he nearly drops this innocent child’s rubber ball upon seeing who must be his father, because…
Well. Lan Wangji is only human, and the boy’s father is drop-dead gorgeous.
Get a grip, he scolds himself. You are not a teenager anymore. You don’t even know the man.
“What is it, baobao?” the man addresses his child, and oh, the way he smiles at his kid does things to Lan Wangji. He clears his throat.
“I believe this belongs to your son,” Lan Wangji says, presenting the ball.
“Baobao, what did I tell you about playing with your ball on the balcony, hm?” the man chides, crouching down to be on eye level with his son.
The child looks stricken. “Only where Baba can see me, and no tossing.”
“And what did you do?”
“Toss the ball. I am sorry.”
The man rises again, looking over to Lan Wangji. “Sorry about that,” he says. “I hope he didn’t flatten your flowers too much?”
Lan Wangji shakes his head. “He didn’t do any damage.”
The man motions for Lan Wangji to toss the ball over to their balcony. It’s only a short distance, and the man catches the ball with ease.
The child pouts. “But Baba, you said no tossing!”
“Aiyah baobao, that’s for little radishes like you! We grown-ups can toss because we can see better where we’re aiming at, but even we need to be careful as to where we are tossing it.”
Lan Wangji nods. “Tossing a ball over a balcony can be dangerous.”
The child inclines his head and seems to consider Lan Wangji’s words.
“I’m Wei Wuxian, by the way,” Handsome Dad introduces himself, “and this is my son, A-Yuan. We’ve only moved in recently. It’s nice to finally meet our neighbours!”
“Mn. I am Lan Wangji,“ Lan Wangji says and inclines his head in greeting.
This is only one of many balcony conversations, as it turns out. Lan Wangji learns while Wei Wuxian is hanging his laundry one morning, that A-Yuan likes to watch the butterflies that come to feast on Lan Wangji’s flowers. That A-Yuan is Wei Wuxian’s adopted son, the child of family friends who saw themselves unable to care for the kid after a tragedy had befallen them. He learns that Wei Wuxian was born in Yiling but grew up in Yunmeng, and that he really likes spicy food.
He learns that A-Yuan likes space and dinosaurs and rabbits. Lan Wangji tells him that he owns a pair, and the boy begs to see them.
“Baobao, I’m sure Lan Wangji has other things to do,” Wei Wuxian says. A-Yuan pouts.
“I do have time,” Lan Wangji clarifies. “You could come over to see the rabbits. It is no bother.”
And that’s the story of how Lan Wangji ends up with a handsome man on his couch and a child on his living room floor. It seems almost surreal to him, how easily someone who appears so different from himself and diverges so much from everything that brings him comfort, fits in his life so seamlessly.
“You know, you can call me Wei Ying,” Wei Wuxian says, a sparkle in his eyes. “That’s what my birth parents used to call me. My adoptive mother changed my name to Wei Wuxian, but I like the idea of people I care about calling me Wei Ying.”
Lan Wangji blinks. “You…care about me?”
“Yeah!” Wei Wuxian replies. “You’re super nice and you’re good with my kid. Of course, I care about you; we’re friends!”
Friends, Lan Wangji thinks. He can do friends. Friends is okay, although he still wants to invite Wei Wuxian out for a coffee, one of these days.
Maybe, if he gets lucky, then… Lan Wangji swallows down the thought. No, friends is enough. For now.
“Alright, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says. “You can call me Lan Zhan. It’s what my mother used to call me when I was a small child.”
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian repeats, and Lan Wangji’s heart sings. “I like that!”
So. Not only is Lan Wangji’s neighbour stupidly handsome, no, he’s also intelligent and witty and funny and clever and very talkative…which should put Lan Wangji off, since he really likes his peace and quiet. But Wei Wuxian? He could listen to him talk for hours. Which is…wild, to Lan Wangji, if he’s being honest.
Still not as wild as coming home from work one afternoon to find his balcony ransacked, the door opened, and a fox sitting on his armchair.
Lan Wangji does not own a pet fox.
The first question Lan Wangji asks himself is how on earth a fox landed on his balcony since they are on the second floor. He knows however that some foxes, like the grey fox, can climb trees, and that red foxes can jump high enough to reach low branches and jump up from there, so he reasons that, with proximity to the park, it’s possible for a fox to reach his balcony.
At first glance, this fox looks like a typical red fox, only with darker ears and a snout that sports more black fur. He isn’t sure what kind of fox species this is.
The second question is: how did the fox open the balcony door? Lan Wangji knows for a fact that he closed it before he left for work. He checks the door and finds a few scratch marks on the outside where the fox must have worried at it to get it open. He tries the handle and sees that it doesn’t lock properly.
Ah yes. So that was the thing he wanted to mention to his landlord. Lan Wangji sighs. He’s usually not as forgetful, but this had completely slipped his mind.
Some of his flower pots are broken, and dirt is strewn about his balcony tiles, but he finds no traces of blood, so he assumes the fox is unharmed.
Lan Wangji looks back at the fox, who still sits primly on his armchair, wags his tail, and emits a sharp “Yip!”
He has no idea what to do. Should he call pest control? Wildlife rehab? The dog shelters? Lan Wangji never had a fox emergency before. He knows wild adult foxes aren't supposed to be docile unless they are either tamed or rabid, so he's cautious.
He turns around to take in the mess on his balcony when he spots A-Yuan watching him from his own flat’s balcony. Lan Wangji assumes that Wei Wuxian must be inside.
"Hello, A-Yuan,” he calls out. “Are you alright?"
A-Yuan nods.
"Where is your baba?"
A-Yuan points at Lan Wangji’s armchair, which he can see from his vantage point.
The fox yips.
Lan Wangji blinks, then shakes his head in concern. He knows that A-Yuan has a wild imagination, but this seems to be a bit too wild, even for him. Maybe there was a break-in, and the boy suffered a concussion and something actually happened to his father, and the fox just got caught up in the ruckus.
He couldn’t possibly know that A-Yuan is telling the truth. “My baba is a shapeshifter and can transform into a fox” is a piece of information that doesn’t seem too palatable to most adults.
Wei Wuxian is not sure what triggered him to shift into his fox form - he's been living as a human for so long now! But it happened, and now he seems to be stuck as a fox. A-Yuan has seen him shift before, but this time it happened so suddenly that it startled A-Yuan.
But his baobao needs him, and his own family lives too far away...but Lan Wangji might be able to help! He’s very intelligent and polite and likes animals, so Wei Wuxian thinks that he would readily help any stray animal that would happen to saunter into his flat.
So Wei Wuxian made the executive decision to break into Lan Wangji’s flat. He messes up the balcony by pure accident, but if that attracts LWJ's attention even more, then it's for the better! He will pay for the mess once he shifts back and apologise for everything.
If Lan Wangji still wants to talk to him, that is. Being a shapeshifter is…more than unusual these days. There are still many animal spirit shifters out there, but they mostly decide to keep to themselves. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be surprised if Lan Wangji would be put off by all of this.
He hopes he’s wrong. Lan Wangji is the best thing that has happened to him since moving here. He doesn’t want to lose whatever thing they have going on between them.
Right now, ensuring A-Yuan’s safety is his main priority, so he yips again in the direction of his own balcony to direct Lan Wangji’s attention back to the child.
Lan Wangji lets his gaze wander between the fox and A-Yuan. If the child is telling the truth, he really is alone at home, and while A-Yuan is a clever four-year-old, Lan Wangji does fear for his safety.
"I am coming over to get you" he calls over to A-Yuan, "we are going to wait in my flat. Is that alright?"
A-Yuan only nods. He knows Lan Wangji, knows his baba likes him, and that it's safe to open the door for him.
The fox makes no move as Lan Wangji goes to leave his flat. He wonders what the animal will be up to in the moments while he’s gone.
It takes A-Yuan a bit to open the front door for him. Lan Wangji can hear him drag a stool to the door, probably to allow him to reach the lock. Upon entering, Lan Wangji takes a closer look at Wei Wuxian's flat. It's as messy as it might get with an energetic kid in tow, but there don't seem to be any signs of a break-in.
No sign of Wei Wuxian either. Lan Wangji frowns; it’s unlike him to leave his child alone like that. He scoops A-Yuan up into his arms and brings him over to his own flat.
As soon as they’re back inside, the fox yips excitedly and zooms over to Lan Wangji and A-Yuan. He sniffs at the child, licks his cheeks, and lets out delightful gremlin fox "ehehehehehe"s as A-Yuan buries his face into his fur.
"Baba!" he exclaims, and the fox yips again.
Lan Wangji grows even more confused. Either A-Yuan really is convinced that his father and that animal are one and the same - which still points towards head trauma - or someone honest to god called their pet fox "Baba".
He blinks, produces his phone, and researches "rabid fox behaviour", then concludes that the fox acts far more than a tamed one, a pet, rather than a rabid one. One worry less.
But if this fox is domesticated, he probably belongs to someone. Lan Wangji should take him to a vet to check for a chip, but it's late; most vets will have closed by now.
Tomorrow, then.
He glances over at his rabbit hutch. The bunnies are indoors. He decides he will still lock the living room door when he retires to bed, just to be safe.
"Looks like you two are going to spend the night here", Lan Wangji says.
"Sleepover with Zhan-gege!" A-Yuan exclaims. "But my toothbrush is home..."
"I will get it for you," Lan Wangji says and thanks the heavens that he didn't completely close the door to Wei Wuxian's apartment earlier, otherwise he’d have to enter via the balcony. Lan Wangji might be a fit person, but he’s unsure if his climbing skills would be up to par. Not to mention that he would probably have the police called on him by passersby thinking he was trying to break into Wei Wuxian’s flat.
He enters, packs A-Yuan's toothbrush and pyjamas, a book, and a plush, and writes a note for Wei Wuxian that he pastes onto the front door to let him know where his son is should he return.
A-Yuan and the fox are still playing on the living room carpet when he returns. A-Yuan's laughter almost matches the fox's loud "ehehehehe."
Just for a moment, Lan Wangji lets himself lean against the frame of his living room door. The child and his fox friend are a joy to observe, and he watches them with fondness in his heart.
A-Yuan is a great kid. Lan Wangji hopes that his father is alright. For his sake...
And for his own heart's sake.
Lan Wangji is painfully aware of his crush on Wei Wuxian. He has been for a while, in fact, but now that the man in question seems to be missing - the pain and concern do feel like a fresh bleeding wound.
Lan Wangji shakes himself out of it and tries to distract himself by making dinner.
Preparing food for A-Yuan is easy. There are only a few things that he doesn’t like to eat, like Brussels sprouts, so Lan Wangji doesn’t have too much difficulty with coming up with a meal they’d both like.
Making dinner for the fox, however...foxes eat raw meat.
Lan Wangji happens to be a vegetarian.
He sighs. He does have eggs, though, which he sometimes eats, especially when his brother comes over.
The fox eyes him curiously.
"I know raw eggs are a treat for foxes, but I also know that it's safe for you to eat them. Would that be okay?"
Pull yourself together, Lan Wangji thinks. You're talking to a fox. It’s not as if he can reply.
(Yes, Lan Wangji has indeed spotted, while the fox has been playing with A-Yuan, that it is a male fox. He has filed this information away for later, should any behavioural issues with the animal come up.)
The fox, for his part, considers the egg and yips.
Lan Wangji considers the mess if the fox was to crack the egg on his own and cracks it into a bowl.
The fox seems very enthusiastic about dinner and gobbles up the egg as soon as the bowl is sat down on the floor. Lan Wangji goes to add a bowl of water and, after some consideration, fills a box with hay and sets it up in his bathroom.
The fox inclines his head, as if in question.
"I am not sure if you're litter trained," Lan Wangji tells him. "but just in case you are, this will have to make do."
The fox huffs. Lan Wangji raises an eyebrow.
After dinner, A-Yuan gets tired very fast. He's allowed to sleep in Lan Wangji's office, where a couch folds out into a guest bed.
Lan Wangji helps the boy with bathing, brushing his teeth, and getting into his pyjamas, then reads to him. He has no experience with children, but something unfurls in his chest as he watches the boy clutching his plush, eyes heavy.
He could do this, he thinks. Being a parent. It would be nice.
The fox has settled down next to A-Yuan, listening with pricked ears as Lan Wangji reads to the child. He has to admit that it's an utterly adorable sight.
The fox is a little charmer, with his vivid silver eyes, and -
Do foxes normally have silver eyes?
It must have been a trick of the light.
As soon as A-Yuan is asleep, Lan Wangji retreats to the living room to read.
The fox follows him, jumping on the couch beside him. He does it so nonchalantly that Lan Wangji supposes his owners allow him to do it.
"You want company?" he asks, and the fox yips.
It's almost as if this fox can understand him.
Lan Wangji shakes his head and grabs his book. He can't concentrate. His thoughts run back to Wei Wuxian
"Please be safe," he thinks.
The fox headbutts him. Did he say that out loud?
"A-Yuan's baba is missing" he explains, "and I worry for him. Not only because of A-Yuan...".
The fox has gone silent next to him.
"I...really like him," Lan Wangji confesses. "His presence warms me in a way that not many people manage to do. It would break my heart if something happened to him. I don't even know if he likes me the same way, but I didn't even get the chance to ask him out for a coffee..."
Lan Wangji can feel his eyes sting. What is he doing? Wei Wuxian isn't dead?
He inhales loudly.
"I should go to bed," he sighs. "You can stay with A-Yuan."
Two hours later, Lan Wangji is still awake. He's more worried for Wei Wuxian than he realised. Sighing, he decides to get up to fix himself some tea when he hears paws scamper over the hardwood floor.
With a swift motion, the fox jumps onto his bed and sits down, watching him with keen eyes.
"Can't sleep?", Lan Wangji asks. The fox replies with a tiny yip.
"Then there's two of us," Lan Wangji admits.
The fox gets up and slowly makes his way up to Lan Wangji. He doesn't move, curious to see what the animal might be up to.
The fox lies down next to Lan Wangji, props his head onto his shoulder, and sighs.
Lan Wangji huffs a tiny laugh.
"Maybe we both need company," he says and starts stroking the fox's fur.
The fox emits a purr-like sound and leans into the touch, his mouth stretched into a smile.
Lan Wangji finds himself smiling back.
Soon enough, the fox falls asleep, and Lan Wangji follows soon after, soothed by the fox's soft breathing.
He wakes up with pins and needles in his arm. He flexes his hand before he even opens his eyes and remembers his nightly visitor.
Either the fox has done some acrobatics on his arm, or he has ransacked Lan Wangji's fridge and gained a metric ton of weight overnight.
Lan Wangji opens his eyes and looks over to where the fox was sleeping -
only to find a human there instead of a fox.
His missing neighbour, to be exact. Stark naked.
Lan Wangji blinks. Is he still dreaming...?
He pinches himself in the thigh with his free hand. He's definitely awake.
While the general thought of Wei Wuxian naked in his bed is not an unpleasant one, he wonders what possessed his neighbour to come home, strip, and climb under the sheets with Lan Wangji .
Also where is the fox?
Lan Wangji looks at Wei Wuxian, sound asleep in his arms.
"Wei Ying," he calls, softly.
"Hmrpfmmmm", Wei Wuxian replies.
Lan Wangji smiles, and before he can think twice, runs his hand through Wei Wuxians hair.
"Wei Ying," he calls again.
This time, Wei Wuxian blinks himself awake.
"Lan Zhan...?" he mumbles sleepily and smiles up at Lan Wangji, who can feel his heart doing somersaults in his chest.
Lan Wangji wants to kiss him. He does not move.
Wei Wuxian stretches and seems to notice his lack of clothes, for his eyes grow wide, and he scrambles to grab the blanket to cover himself.
"A aha ahahaha, good morning, Lan Zhan," he says, his voice a little too high-pitched.
"Good morning, " Lan Wangji replies and decides that explanations can wait until after breakfast.
"You can borrow some of my clothes" he says, pointing at his dresser before he climbs out of bed, quickly showers, and gets breakfast started.
By the time the food is ready, Wei Wuxian is showered and dressed and has woken A-Yuan too. The boy doesn't seem too agitated by the lack of fox and the reappearance of his baba.
Lan Wangji eats in silence, listening to Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan laugh and chatter. While they have been over for tea at each other’s flats before, it’s the first time they’re having breakfast together.
There it is again. The warm feeling in Lan Wangji’s chest. He could get used to mornings like this, with Wei Wuxian and A-Yuan by his side. He blinks and sips his tea, content with observing the two people who are so dear to him.
After breakfast, Wei Wuxian insists on helping with the dishes while A-Yuan busies himself with his board book.
"Sorry for all the commotion," Wei Wuxian says.
"It is no trouble," Lan Wangji replies. "I am always ready to help."
"You're so good with A-Yuan," Wei Wuxian tells him. "He really likes you."
Lan Wangji can feel his lips curve into a smile. "I really like him too," he confirms.
And I really like you, he does not say.
They reach for the same plate at the same time. Their fingers brush.
"You know you can ask me anytime," Wei Wuxian says quietly.
Lan Wangji blinks at him. His ears feel hot. "Ask you what?"
"If I wanna go out for coffee with you."
At a loss for words, Lan Wangji stares back at Wei Wuxian, who just looks at him with his beautiful inquisitive silver eyes.
…That's not possible, Lan Wangji thinks.
But the fox is gone, and Wei Wuxian is here, and he appeared where he last saw the fox, and A-Yuan called the fox 'Baba', and Lan Wangji never told Wei Wuxian that he wanted to go have coffee with him, he only told that to the fox...
"Because I really would love to have coffee with you, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian says.
"You're the fox," Lan Wangji says dumbly.
Wei Wuxian blinks, then looks away.
"Ah. Yes. That. You see, most people don't believe in fox spirits or carp spirits or animal spirits in general anymore, so we keep mostly our human form. Sometimes when we're too stressed, we shift involuntarily, and it confuses us so much because we aren't really used to it anymore, that we can't shift back immediately. That's what happened yesterday, but I couldn't look after A-Yuan in fox form, so I decided to get your attention. Sorry about the balcony, I'll repay whatever is broken."
Lan Wangji feels as if his head is spinning. Wei Wuxian is a fox spirit?
But more importantly: Wei Wuxian wants to go out with him?
...no. That won't do.
"I don't think I want to go for coffee with you anymore," he says.
Wei Wuxian’s face falls, and he hangs his head as if he had been expecting it.
"I get it," he says. "Going out with a fox is weird, I -"
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji says and takes Wei Wuxian's hand. "That's not what I meant."
Wei Wuxian looks at him with big eyes. Lan Wangji clears his throat.
"I - we can still go for coffee,” he says, “but... what I really want is...have breakfast with you and A-Yuan every morning. Read to him with you every night. Do dishes with you. Let you borrow my clothes.
Watch you sleep in my arms."
Wei Wuxian's eyes get misty, but he smiles, so bright and radiant that it almost blinds Lan Wangji.
"You know what I really wanna do?" Wei Wuxian asks him. He still hasn't let go of Lan Wangji’s hand.
"Tell me," Lan Wangji says, as Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and leans in to kiss him.
Lan Wangji meets him in the middle.
Eventually, they do go out for coffee.
Eventually they move out of their respective flats into a small house with a garden.
Eventually, A-Yuan stops calling Lan Wangji "Zhan-ge" and starts calling him "A-Die."
"You should pay attention to your rabbits, there's a fox visiting your garden on the regular" the neighbours tell him.
"He's docile," Lan Wangji tells them, "unless he has not had his morning coffee yet."