.
Lan Ran thought that finding Hweiru and taking her in was going to be simple. After all, Lan children are very obedient and Hweiru was an exceptionally smart young girl. Her attachment to Wei Wuxian was a curveball that none of them saw coming. They only met once before this mess happened. But the glee in her newly orphaned niece as she looks at a silently sobbing and begging with his eyes Wuxian made her agree to this temporary arrangement.
Lan Ran tried to soothe her disheveled hair and robes: "If you will excuse me, I will go clean up and make arrangements for her new accommodation."
All the men present nodded and she bowed, dragging the finder with her on her way out. They have unfinished business that cannot wait.
Wuxian crouches and looks at the little girl: "We're about to have lunch. Would you like to join us?"
Hweiru nods enthusiastically. When Wuxian puts his hands out to carry her, Wangji voiced his protest: "No."
Wuxian looks up at his approaching soul-bond and his lips quiver begging him not to protest her company. His aching heart is barely holding it together: "Lan Zhan, she called me 'mama'.."
Wangji kneels next to them and smiles reassuringly at him before addressing the little girl: "Hello, Lan Hweiru."
Hweiru puts her hands together and bows perfectly to Wangji: "Your Excellency."
Wangji nods his approval before taking Wuxian's right hand and bringing it up between them: "Treasure Wei broke his hand a few weeks back. It's still on the mend and the healer advised us not to allow him to carry heavy objects or use it excessively."
Wangji gently bends and places a soft kiss on Wuxian's hand. Hweiru nods and steps closer to kiss the hand just like Wangji did: "I understand."
She turns to an amused Wuxian and says: "Mama, I'm old enough to walk on my own. Would you mind holding my hand with your left one?"
Wuxian lets out a strangled sound and nods, thinking to himself: 'She's a mini Lan Wangji!'
Zewu Jun sighs and says: "I will go see what Liwei has brought with him and what Lan Ran is doing to the poor man."
Grandmaster Qiren moves towards his son and whispers to him: "Are you sure you want to get involved with this child? She might get attached."
Wuxian looks at the smiling girl and smiles back before whispering to his father: "She called me 'mama'.."
Qiren nods and leaves, following his nephew to see what the finder has for them.
Wangji, Wuxian and Hweiru made their way back to the bond-mates room and sat at the table to eat their food. The little girl knew the Lan Clan rules and ate in silence but kept giving Wuxian side-looks filled with concern. After a few moments, she got up and stood next to him and when he turned to look at her in confusion she slid into his lap and took the chopsticks from his hand. She gave Wangji a nod as if she's accomplishing some type of silent command and proceeded to feed Wuxian and herself.
Wangji smiled when Wuxian gave him an amused look. The little girl took the taller man's warning about his broken hand to heart and thought he wasn't supposed to use it at all. None of the men at the table wanted to correct her and silently let her have her way. Well.. almost silently. Wuxian kept poking the girl's sides, earning giggles and laughter while she fed him almost everything on the table. Wangji found himself unable to finish his meal. The childish laughter coming from the little girl and the happiness radiating from his soul-bond was more than fulfilling. He found himself wishing that this moment of pure bliss never ends.
Wuxian took the little girl with him everywhere that day; to the training grounds to watch his disciples train, to healer Shi so she can check his hand and even to Little Sanctuary to feed the bunnies. Wuxian sat and watched the girl run around and play with the little balls of fur. She settled next to him when she ran out of breath and reflexively grabbed his sleeve. Da Ziran slithered from his chest to tap her hand and she looked at the snake for a few seconds before smiling and petting its head. Wuxian was amazed by her courage: "Aren't you afraid of snakes?"
Hweiru shook her head: "Father told me that this snake is a part of you. As long as you like me then it will not harm me."
Wuxian strokes her hair: "You are very smart."
Hweiru beams at his approval, so he asks her: "What's your favorite animal?"
She thinks for a second then says: "I like cats!"
Da Ziran glows and turns into a white cat with soft long hair. Hweiru gasps in wonder and moves closer to pet the animal: "This is so amazing!"
Wuxian smiles at her: "Her name is Da Ziran. She can turn into any animal as long as I know what it looks like."
Time flew by as Wuxian felt himself get attached to the little girl. Even though she was just three years old, she was intelligent and wise beyond her age. She grew up accompanying her parents from one hunt to another. They didn't send her to school and opted to teach her themselves. She already knows how to read and write essential characters and how to fight and defend herself. She was well mannered and memorized the 4,500 rules carved on the wall in Cloud Recesses. Lan kids are truly well trained.
After enjoying an almost-silent dinner, where she insisted on feeding Wuxian once more, Lan Ran knocked on the door to retrieve her niece. Wuxian bit his lip trying to suppress his emotions when the little girl looked at him with sadness while following her aunt outside. Wuxian turned and placed his head on Wangji's chest, letting out the sob he's been holding in all day: "Lan Zhan.. She.. She called me 'mama'.."
Wangji rubs his soul-bond's back in comfort: "It will be fine. She will learn that you're not her mother soon enough."
Wuxian grabs a fist full of Wangji's robes: "Am I a monster for not wanting her to stop?"
Wangji was surprised by his soul-bond's comment: "What do you mean?"
Wuxian pulls back and wipes his face in frustration: "I know.. We know what it feels like to lose a mother at a young age. I don't want that type of misery on anyone else, least of all that wonderful little girl."
Wangji places his hands on Wuxian's cheeks and tilts his head up to look into his eyes: "It's out of our control. All you can do is comfort her to the best of your ability and hope that she finds the error in her judgment as she grows."
Wuxian's eyes water again: "But.. she called me 'mama'."
Wangji sighs and embraces his soul-bond again: "She did. We all heard it."
Wuxian found himself awake in the middle of the night. He rarely wakes up from his deep sleep especially when Wangji is around. But something must have alerted him so he opened his eyes and flinched when he saw someone standing at his bed. From the arm circling his waist and the heat seeping into his back, he knew that it wasn't his soul-bond. He heard a soft young voice whisper desperately: "Mama."
Wuxian sighs in realization and sits up to take a better look at the girl before him: "Princess, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
He senses his soul-bond shift behind him as he wakes up too.
The little girl lets out a strangled sound before saying: "I can't lose you too. If I'm not around, how can I protect you?"
Wuxian covers his face with his hands in frustration. What was he supposed to say to that?
It was too late for such an emotional confrontation so he settled for opening his blanket in silent invitation and the girl didn't waste time by snuggling close to his chest and sighing happily. Wuxian strokes her loose hair and calls out: "Wen Ning?"
The pale man opens a close by window to peek in. Wuxian: "Can you please let Lan Ran know that Hweiru is spending the night with us?" Wen Ning nods and closes the window.
Wuxian looks down and sees that the girl is already asleep so he settles back and cuddles her close. He feels his soul-bond extend the arm that was around his waist to pat the little girl in a silent attempt to comfort and protect them both. Wuxian never felt so complete.
Needless to say, a pissed off Lan Ran showed up early the next morning. After bowing in greeting and apologetically to both men, she looked down at the silent girl: "Hweiru! You cannot just run away in the middle of the night! What were you thinking?"
The girl bit her lips and hung her head in shame. Lan Ran sighs and kneels to speak to the girl at her eye level: "Sweet little girl, I know that this is hard for you. It is hard for me too. We need to understand each other so we can get along."
Wuxian opened his mouth to protest on the girl's behalf but stopped when Wangji grabbed his arm. He saw him shake his head, asking him not to interfere.
Hweiru took a deep breath then said: "My father and mother were killed by a group of angry spirits. I know that they will not come back. Father told me since I was two that this could happen and I have accepted it."
Wuxian covers his mouth when a sob threatens to escape. Lan Ran sadly nods at the girl: "I'm sorry you had to go through that, but you have me. I will be your mother and father until you grow up enough to take care of yourself."
Hweiru kneels in front of her aunt, shocking everyone present: "Please, Aunt Ran. Don't make me choose between you and mama. I know how to take care of myself and my heart is telling me that mama needs me now. May I stay here with him?"
Her desperate pleading eyes and shaking hands are what unraveled Wuxian. He pulled out of Wangji's grasp and landed next to the kneeling girl, gathering her into his arms. Lan Ran sighs and sits next to them: "I don't know what to do anymore."
Wangji watches his sobbing soul-bond who's clutching the little girl in desperation and joins them on the ground. He waits until Wuxian calms down a little then places his hand at the back of his neck, rubbing it in comfort: "Wei Ying, what do you want to do?"
Wuxian looks sadly at Lan Ran: "She calls me 'mama'."
Lan Ran lets out a long breath and whispers: "I know."
Wuxian continues: "She wants to protect me."
Lan Ran nods: "I know."
Wuxian chokes out: "She needs me and I don't want to let her go."
Lan Ran sits back as she starts to comprehend what's about to happen: ".. clearly."
Wangji put his arms around his soul-bond, enveloping both of them in his warmth: "Wei Ying, would you like us to adopt Lan Hweiru?"
Wuxian closes his eyes and without a shadow of a doubt answers his soul-bond: "Yes. She can call me whatever she wants as long as we can be together."
.