Letting go of self-restraint 6 - Can we keep him... pretty please?

Chapter 5

Just as he had decided the day before, when Wei Wuxian got up, he immediately prepared a letter for his sister and stacked it in the sleeve of his robes, he would send it from the Caiyi Town. Once finished, he braced himself and went to the central room. He was well aware that A-Yuan would probably want to spend the most time possible with the puppy and would have brought it with him to breakfast which they were having in a few moments.

He had been quite fine yesterday, that is, after the dog had fell asleep and he was sure it was not about to bite A-Yuan or anything like that. It looked friendly enough but old habits died slowly. Although he could tolerate being in the same room, touching the puppy or being touched by it was another matter entirely. He stilled in front of the door, taking a deep breath and hoping that the creature was not left roaming free inside and would not run towards him to greet him as soon as he opened the door.

As if his husband had heard his thoughts, a reassurance came from him the next moment: "Wei Ying, it is alright, the puppy is still sleeping in A-Yuan's room. Behind a closed door."

Upon receiving that information, a big weight was lifted from Wei Wuxian's shoulders and he opened the door immediately, smiling at his husband and son who were already sitting at the table and waiting for him to join them for breakfast.

After they have finished eating, A-Yuan immediately remembered their promise from yesterday and asked, all eager: "Can we go to the Caiyi Town now, daddy? To look for Prince's owner, I mean. Someone must be very unhappy right now... Father said his leg is already all healed up."

Wei Wuxian was at first completely taken aback: "Lan Zhan, what do we do? A-Yuan already gave the puppy a name! Now he will for sure not want to let go of it at all. He will get attached to it; if he already did not. What now? How do we explain that it cannot stay in the Cloud Recesses?" He was completely beside himself, worried that their child will be very disappointed later.

Lan Zhan looked at him reassuringly: "It will be alright, Wei Ying. I am sure A-Yuan will understand if we explain properly, he is a smart child."

Wei Wuxian was not yet fully convinced, but he would have to take his husband's word for now, their son was still waiting for his reply. He nodded and smiled at A-Yuan's eagerness and readiness to help others. It was very admirable. "Of course we will. We promised, did we not? Go fetch the puppy and we can depart immediately." Since it was a rest day for both him and Lan Wangji, they had no duties for the day, it was just perfect to go for a walk as a family. Well, plus a dog.

A-Yuan jumped up from his seat and hurried back to his room. Wei Wuxian only had a moment to mentally prepare himself to meet the feared creature again. He was surprised when A-yuan returned not with a puppy in his arms but holding a closed off basket instead. Wei Wuxian must have looked baffled because their child explained proudly: "Father prepared the basket for Prince. Now he will not get frightened by all the noises in the Caiyi Town. And he will not be tired from walking either."

Wei Wuxian shot a single glance at his husband who was looking like nothing happened. He knew that the reasons given were only to sooth their child but in reality, Lan Zhan must have been thinking about him. If he could not see the dog, then he would be able to act normally, or at least mostly. He was eternally grateful to his ever considerate and sweet Alpha.

Soon they were all on their way to the Caiyi town, Wei Wuxian carrying A-Yuan in his arms while Lan Zhan got to take care of the basket with the puppy. They descended from their swords just outside of the small town and were immediately assaulted by all the noises and smells coming from the main market street.

After the almost complete silence of the Cloud Recesses, this was a welcomed change for Wei Wuxian. And for A-Yuan as well. Even though the child had been here only the day before, he was excitedly running from one stall to the next one, dragging his daddy with him and pointing at things which picked his interest. It seemed like he had forgotten all about searching for the puppy's owner entirely.

However only until he dragged Wei Wuxian to the entryway of an old and apparently abandoned building and showed him one spot near the gate: "Here, I have found Prince laying here. How are we going to look for his owner?"

Wei Wuxian could not help but smile at their son, he was so thoughtful. "Let us start by asking around if anyone had seen the puppy in the past and if yes, then if they remember who was with it. Hopefully, we will be able to find the owner this way." Then his expression became serious when he reminded: "But A-Yuan, you have to promise me that if we find the owner, you will give the puppy back. No begging to keep it."

A-Yuan looked at him as is he had said something which was completely obvious: "I know, daddy."

"Lan Zhan, look at him," Wei Wuxian was drowning in his feelings of pride and fondness directed at his son, "A-Yuan is so mature. I think you were right this morning. If we explain, he will surely understand."

"Mn," responded his husband, seemingly both to A-Yuan and him.

With the matter settled, they started looking for the puppy's owner. They asked all the stall keepers on the main street if they have ever seen a black puppy. Some outright told them they did not pay attention to such trivial things, they had a business to run after all. Some were more helpful and after they were shown the content of the basket, they confirmed that they had seen the dog roaming around and stealing food several times. No one however had even seen the puppy with anyone who could have been considered as its owner.

It was clear to Wei Wuxian now. After the whole day of searching and asking around, they have confirmed what he and Lan Zhan already guessed, the puppy was a street dog and it had nowhere to return to aside for that abandoned building where A-Yuan and his friends had found it. It was already weak enough and Wei Wuxian did not believe it would survive long without someone to look after it.

He wanted to explain to A-Yuan the result of their search. Their son had been looking more and more sad as the day proceeded and he seemed outright aggrieved by now. Wei Wuxian thought that their baby had probably already understood the puppy's situation and he was preparing himself for more begging. They had to take the small animal back anyway; even he was not so heartless to let it fend for itself, he still remembered how hard it had been for him. He would not have wished such hardships to anyone, not even to a dog.

If Jiang Yanli's response would be positive, they could bring the puppy to Koi Tower next week for the celebration of Jin Ling's sixth birthday. If she said they have already got a dog, well, they would just have to look for an owner elsewhere.

He opened his mouth to coax A-Yuan into agreeing to stop looking for the day and go back to the Cloud Recesses. His smart child was however way ahead of him: "Daddy, it seems Prince does not belong to anyone. Can we now take him back with us? We cannot just leave him here on his own..."

He sounded so sad that Wei Wuxian's chest was tightening as he lifted him up into his arms and patted his head: "Do not be sad, A-Yuan. We will of course take him back with us today and care for him until we can find a nice owner for him. Do you want to get some sweets before going back? I am sure that it would help you to cheer up, would it not?"

A-Yuan looked pensive for a moment and Wei Wuxian would have given everything to know what their child was thinking so hard about. Then their baby grinned at him and asked excitedly: "Can we also get some for father and uncle Xichen? And something for Prince as well."

Wei Wuxian's heart was overflowing now, he was so proud of his little radish for being so considerate. He loved how his eyes sparkled when he was happy and how his round baby cheeks stretched in a wide grin. He could not help himself but to pinch them as he replied: "Of course, let us go choose the best ones!" And he was already carrying A-Yuan to the nearest stall where sweets were sold.