Wuji: A Promise Kept

87

After everything that has been going on, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had decided to spend the day with Sizhui and Haishi. The little family went to New Xianle which was not too far from Baoshan's portal. They went to a nice restaurant for lunch and there was a small carnival within the city so they went to visit.

Sizhui played a couple games and won a few toys for Haishi. One toy specifically was a little plush bunny. It was black and white. She ended up naming it Wuji. Wuxian and Wangji could only coo at the gesture. It felt nice to see them act their age for once. Haishi was almost five years old and she was very talented and smart. She was already cultivating due to her family history.

Sizhui was all about helping her have a nice time. The group walked past a couple stalls but one of them caught Sizhui's attention. A stall with paper puppets. He noticed a paper butterfly, similar to the one he played with as a child, similar to the one Wangji bought him upon their first meeting.

"Reminiscing?" Wuxian asked.

"Yeah," Sizhui replied, "every time I see these, I go back to that day I met Hanguang Jun for the first time."

Wuxian laughed, "you snuck away from me and the one person you did find was him. Clinging to his leg, crying, and calling him Father," he said.

Sizhui blushed, "I remember."

"Lan Zhan was so confused," Wuxian said.

"You stood by and watched for like two minutes," Sizhui reminded.

"I did, and your father is still punishing me for that on occasion," Wuxian told him.

"I need a reason to punish you sometimes," Wangji said joining them with Haishi in his arms.

Wuxian laughed, "you always have a reason to punish me," he said, then turned back to Sizhui, "did you want it?"

"Can I?" He asked.

Wuxian took out a coin and handed it to the vendor, "of course," Wuxian said, "you don't ever ask for anything as it is."

"Because I no not need anything," Sizhui said, "I have amazing fathers, a beautiful little sister, an immortal great grandmother, and a wonderful home back in Gusu. I have a place I can sleep and eat and be with friends and family. I don't need anything else."

Wuxian smiled and pulled the boy into a hug, "don't ever be afraid to ask though," he said, "you are an amazing son. The best son. Lan Zhan did a great job with you while I was gone. I couldn't be more proud."

"Baba," Sizhui quietly mumbled shyly.

Wuxian laughed, "alright, alright, I'm done," he said and let him go, what would you both like to do next?"

"They are holding tours of the palace, maybe we could go check it out," Sizhui suggested.

"Sure," Wuxian said.Sizhui took Haishi from Wangji and led the way. Wuxian and Wangji trailed behind them not too far behind, "he has grown up to be a very smart young man."

"Mnn," Wangji hummed, "you started raising him first. You seem to forget that."

"I do not think I taught him much. I mostly just played with him. He was the only child in the burial mounds and it was no place for a kid. I always wished he had a better life. One where he had his real parent and he could grow up like a normal person. I then realized he wasn't that normal. I felt he was able to cultivate at that young of an age so I guess he would have faced hardships eventually," Wuxian explained.

"Even so, he is still the same happy kid," Wangji pointed out.

Wuxian smiled, "he is, and I am glad I still have that memory to go back to when he first met you...though I still owe you for that meal."

"It's not needed anymore, your debt has been paid," Wangji said.

"Were you hoping to see me when you passed through?" Wuxian asked.

"I told Shufu and Xiongzhang at the time that I was going on a night hunt, but I went to Yiling specifically for you. I hoped to see you. If not on the streets of Yiling then I would have gone straight to the mounds," Wangji explained.

"Back then, I thought so wrong of you. I felt you just wanted to take me back to Gusu for punishment and that you didn't like me. After we separated that day, I got extremely drunk that night...I still remember telling Wen Qing the truth about how I felt...I felt alone. I felt like a failure—" Wuxian explained.

"Wei Ying," Wangji cut him off, "that's enough now."

Wuxian looked into his eyes. Tears threatened to break free from Wuxian's eyes, "sorry," he said.

Wangji shook his head, "no need to apologize, I just feel like we should talk about this in a more private setting."

Wuxian looked around and saw that they were still in the busy streets of New Xianle. Sizhui and Haishi already made it to the palace. It was an exact replica of the palace Xie Lian once lived. Same layout and design. It was only occupied by staff to keep it maintained and allowed for visitors to tour the palace. It had different plaques with information about the palace and some others on residence that lived within.

"Let's go inside. We can talk about this later tonight if you want, or we can let Sizhui and Haishi go in and we can wait for them out here and we can talk," Wangji said.

"I did not mean to say that stuff," Wuxian said and turned away from Wangji.

"Wei Ying, you can talk to me about anything," Wangji said as he turned him back to face him, "I will always be here to listen. I just want to make sure you are in a good environment to let yourself feel comfortable being vulnerable."

Wuxian nodded, "I can talk to you more about it later, but not here."

"Mnn," Wangji nodded, "then we can talk tonight then."

"Alright," Wuxian agreed.