A Little Too Late

Chapter Five

A/N: Hello my wonderful readers! I'm so sorry for the wait (especially on a cliffhanger...)! School and work started up and all motivation for writing went out the window. But! I am back and writing again and the chapter is finally here! I hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy! <3

Wei Wuxian's gaze immediately fell to the small form curled in Lan Xichen's arms, his heart struggling to believe what his mind was trying to convince him of. It couldn't possibly be...

He lifted his eyes to look questioningly at Lan Xichen from his position at Lan Zhan's side as the older man stepped inside and closed the door quietly behind him. Once he was inside, Lan Xichen moved to light a candle that rested on the edge of the table nearest Wei Wuxian before carefully turning the child in his arms so that Wei Wuxian could see its face; a face he had thought he would never see again except for in his dreams.

"A-Yuan?" he asked shakily, taking a halting step forward before stopping again as if by getting too close, the little boy would vanish.

When Wei Wuxian could finally bring himself to tear his gaze away, he found Lan Xichen's kind smile aimed in his direction, sympathy in his gaze that made Wei Wuxian both grateful for the concern and uncomfortable enough with the attention to turn away. He opened and shut his mouth multiple times, each attempt to speak resulting in nothing but a gasp of disbelief as he took in the sight of the little boy sleeping soundly in Lan Xichen's arms.

Regardless, Lan Xichen seemed to understand. He stepped closer, moving slowly as he transferred Wen Yuan into the arms of a stranger who loved him more than he could put into words. For a moment, all was quiet, Wei Wuxian unable to do anything but stare down at the toddler while Lan Xichen watched.

"From your words this morning," Lan Xichen began finally, "I realized that you didn't know."

The words seemed to bring Wei Wuxian out of a trance, his head giving a small shake almost of its own accord as he looked up as if a habit of its previous soul had been left behind.

"Know what?" he asked, his voice small and shaky even to his own ears. "What is this, Zewu Jun? This can't be my a-Yuan."

Lan Xichen waited for the younger man to finish speaking before he nodded slowly.

"But it is," he replied gently. He paused, glancing around for a moment before gesturing to Wei Wuxian's pallet beside Lan Zhan's bed. "Why don't we sit, and I will explain? Your arms will quickly grow tired if you attempt to hold him for too long."

Before Wei Wuxian could argue that that would never happen, the little boy in his arms began to stir, bringing all of the young man's attention to his son. He quickly sat, moving so that a-Yuan was settled in his lap as Wei Wuxian's hand lifted to stroke his hair, his small cheeks, before finally finding a hand and wrapping his fingers around it.

"What is this, Lan Xichen?" he asked again, no longer bothering to keep the words from breaking as he spoke.

No matter what Lan Xichen said, no matter what was before his very eyes - no matter that he himself had come back from the dead - Wei Wuxian couldn't quite convince his mind that the little boy he had once buried in a turnip patch was alive and sleeping in his arms. The Wens had died - all of them; he had been so sure. So how was it that one had survived? Before his thoughts could run any darker, Lan Xichen began to speak.

"After that night..." he began, voice hesitant as if afraid to bring up the past so soon. "Our uncle sent everyone back to the Cloud Recesses. Wangji, however... he did not come home - not right away. He left without telling a soul, not even me, and for days we did not know where he had gone.

I was a day away from going out in search of him myself when he returned. It was the middle of the night when there was a knock on my door. I opened it, and there he was, exhausted, with a child in his arms."