Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Better The Devil You Know Part 6

A-Yuan age 12:

"Mama, we have to do a science project! It's a show and tell!" A-Yuan comes running into the kitchen and straight into Wei Ying's arms.

He's so tall now that he comes up to Wei Ying's chest. Wei Ying ruffles his hair and grins mischievously. "We?"

A-Yuan pouts and huffs in dismay. "Please?"

"Alright, what shall we do? Anything on your mind?" Wei Ying pretends to dance with him as they shuffle around the breakfast bar and the centre unit.

"We could do something with magnets? Or a volcano but like a miniature one?" A-Yuan giggles as Wei Ying dips him, pulling him up fast and twirling him around.

"What about a rocket?" A deep voice says from the doorway where Lan Zhan is leaning against the frame.

A-Yuan's face lights up, and Wei Ying pulls Lan Zhan closer so that it's three people dancing with house slippers in the middle of their kitchen.

"I think we have a winner," Wei Ying laughs, looking at the delighted excitement on their son's face.

"But Mama, we have to do it properly. No magic," A-Yuan insists sternly, and this time, Wei Ying tries his best not to laugh openly.

His little Bean is so cute!

They have dinner and then the three of them crowd around Lan Zhan's laptop and watch YouTube videos with tips on how to make rockets and the best way to go about it. A-Yuan tells them that he doesn't have to bring the project into school; just a video of all the important parts will suffice. Once they've filmed the complete project, all his parents have to do is email the school and his teacher will deal with it.

The evening devolves into watching spoof moments of when things go wrong in an experiment, and some of the other people's accidents make A-Yuan and Wei Ying laugh until tears come out of their eyes. The bloopers start within the world of science but quickly drift towards social events, covering parties and weddings set in questionable places where the participants and guests are just asking for something to go wrong.

A-Yuan ends up falling asleep between his dads, and it's a joint effort to put him to bed. Wei Ying carries him to his bedroom and tucks him in with the bunny plushie that Lan Zhan won for him four years ago when the circus came to town, and then Lan Zhan joins them after tidying up the living room and putting away things. They both kiss his still soft chubby cheeks and he smiles, even in the land of slumber.

A-Yuan age 15:

Lan Zhan finds Wei Ying outside of their child's bedroom, listening intently.

"Wei Ying." His tone is enough to convey his disapproval.

"What?" Wei Ying sounds way too innocent.

"Eavesdropping is not good."

"But as a parent? What if I promise it's really important?" Wei Ying pulls him closer, and before Lan Zhan can argue further, he hears A-Yuan say, "how do you know if you like someone?"

Jin Ling is with him because they're having a sleepover. Wei Ying was right all those years ago when he'd confidently told everyone that A-Yuan could keep their secret identities and their world a secret.

"Dunno...never thought about it much." Jin Ling sounds thoughtful. "My parents have an arranged marriage. But I guess they love each other."

"So...they might not have? Like, in the beginning?"

"I can ask them," Jin Ling replies.

"NO!" A-Yuan shouts back, and then in a much lower voice, he adds, "it's not important. I was just wondering. In the books, of course it's not real, but it would be nice, isn't it? If we could find someone who loved us?"