hadpassed.

Lan Luo was now one.

Spring was approaching, the snow had thawed, and the fishermen were back on their boats.

Back in Cloud Recesses, Lan Luo had just celebrated his first birthday. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji did not know when Lan Luo's actual birthdate was, and so Lan Luo's birthday became the day that Wei Wuxian found the baby floating along in the river. That was a few weeks after the winter solstice.

Little Lan Luo had himself a grand little birthday party in the Jingshi, the rare instance where Lan Wangji's residence was lively and animated with people coming in and out.

This year with Lan Luo had been one of Wei Wuxian's best. And there would be many more.

Maybe it was always something Wei Wuxian wanted, to be able to raise a child with Lan Zhan and to find such a pretty little baby to call as their own, Wei Wuxian was so happy that he could nearly die.

But of course, there was not only joy when it comes to parenting.

This specific incident started when Lan Luo was about six months old:

Lan Wangji hurried into the Jingshi after he heard a scream.

It seems to be Wei Ying who screamed and god knows if Wei Ying's in trouble!

Lan Wangji entered the Jingshi and saw Wei Wuxian sitting on the bed. Lan Luo who was next to him saw Lan Wangji and he sat up, and stretched out his arms, in a want-a-hug position.

Wei Wuxian spun his head toward Lan Wangji. He shouted, "Lan Zhan! Lan Luo, he- he bit me-!" Wei Wuxian shows him his finger.

Lan Wangji: "..."

There was a tiny teeth mark on Wei Wuxian's finger. Wei Wuxian continued, "Lan Luo has some teeth now!"

Lan Wangji: "..."

Yes, Lan Wangji knew.

Lan Luo had started teething two months ago.

Lan Luo made a noise. The two men turned their heads and looked down at the baby. Lan Luo still had his hands up in the want-a-hug stance and his little arms were getting tired. Lan Luo scrunched up his face.

Lan Wangji picks up Lan Luo. He sat down next to Wei Wuxian. "Wei Ying, your hand." Lan Wangji held out his hand.

Wei Wuxian gave Lan Wangji his hand. As Lan Wangji examined it, Wei Wuxian chattered, "It's nothing, Lan Zhan! I'm just surprised that Lan Luo started growing teeth. I hope he doesn't start gnawing on stuff-!"

"..."

Wei Wuxian surely had jinxed it.

For the next few weeks, Lan Luo bit and gnawed on anything he could get his little grabby hands on.

Lan Luo loves to bite.

Teething was an uncomfortable process and Lan Luo's gums always feel swollen and tender. Instead of fussing or crying, however, Lan Luo... chew.

"Lan Zhan, it's happening again," Wei Wuxian muttered faintly.

The two men stand there, watching Lan Luo happily chewing and drooling on a black flute on the floor. This was the poor, unfortunate Chenqing. At its prime, Chenqing was both an instrument and a weapon, feared by all, demonic and significant, used to call up armies of corpses from the dead.

Now it is a baby's toy.

Again.

"..."

"Is my flute that delicious huh??" Wei Wuxian squatted down and took the sticky flute from Lan Luo's grasp. "How did you even find it?"

"Wah-!" Lan Luo cried and held out his hands.

"Nope, not gonna give it to you," Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head and handing the saliva-covered flute to Lan Wangji.

"Wuu..." Lan Luo gave Wei Wuxian the most pitiable expression a baby could make.

Wei Wuxian closed his eyes and shook his head, saying, "Nope, it ain't gonna work, I'm not seeing anything."

"Baba-!"

Wei Wuxian's eyes flew open. He gasped.

Lan Wangji: "..."

Wei Wuxian: "Lan Zhan! Does that count as his first words?! Aw, he said baba-! That counts right??"

Lan Wangji: "..."

Wei Wuxian: "Aw, say it again, Lan Luo-! Say baba again!"

Lan Luo: "..."

Lan Luo sat there with his mouth pressed tightly closed and his little hands balled up.

。。。

。。。

。。。

Now we go back to the present.

Lan Luo is now one.

Remember that.

"Say ba ba-!"

"Ba baa."

"Who's such a good boy? Lan Luo's a good boy-!" Wei Wuxian cooed to the baby sitting in his arms.

"Let's see what your papa's doing," Wei Wuxian exclaimed, gently bouncing Lan Lou in his arms. Wei Wuxian walked into Cloud Recesses' main kitchen.

Lan Wangji was in the kitchen, his back facing the door, chopping on a cutting board at a counter.

"Lan Zhan-! What are you cooking?" Wei Wuxian held Lan Luo firmly as he moved closer to Lan Wangji and peered through his shoulder. "You should make more, I think Jingyi and Sizhui's friends are coming for dinner today," he said. "So, what are we having?"

Lan Wangji replied, "Potatoes."

Wei Wuxian froze. He frowned. "Is it just me or do you also just feel yucky?"

Lan Wangji: "...? No, Wei Ying."

"Oh. Huh." Wei Wuxian shrugged. "Potatoes, eh? Potatoes..."

"Mn."

"Okay."

Wei Wuxian walked around the kitchen with Lan Luo in his arms.

(Note: Please keep babies away from the kitchen for safety precautions.)

"Hey... Lan Zhan-!"

"Yes, Wei Ying."

"Hey, do you think Lan Luo can walk now? He's already one year old!"

Lan Wangji thinks. He nodded. "Lan Luo can try," he said.

And thus, Wei Wuxian plopped an unsuspecting Lan Luo onto the ground.

Lan Luo "...?"

Wei Wuxian walked a couple of steps away from Lan Luo. Then he turned around and squatted down to Lan Luo's height and said, "Lan Luo! Come here." he clapped his hands and held out his arms.

Lan Luo stared at Wei Wuxian. Then Lan Luo got onto his feet, teetering a bit. Then he turns around to Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian: "..."

Wei Wuxian: "Nono, Lan Luo! Face me! Come to baba."

Lan Luo shuffled back around. He stared at Wei Wuxian with those pure wide eyes and Wei Wuxian could almost die. Maybe it was the miniature Gusu Sect uniform or the flushed baby cheeks but Wei Wuxian only wanted to rush over and pinched those chubby cheeks. Ah, his Lan Luo is a cute little bun bun!

(Behold the denial ⬆️)

"Come here, Lan Luo, come on, you can do it-!" Wei Wuxian kept his hands out.

Lan Luo's mouth turned into an o shape. He lifted a foot. He took a step.

Then he stumbled and fell on his face.

Wei Wuxian: "..."

Lan Luo: "..."

Lan Luo: "Wahh-!!"

Wei Wuxian: "Oh no! Lan Luo! Lan Zhan-!!"

Lan Wangji: "..."

Now there was a red mark on Lan Luo's forehead. And no, this is not Lan Luo's villain origin story.

。。。

。。。 (Vote, vote, vote-! ;D)

。。。

Wei Wuxian comforted Lan Luo by holding him. And massaging the baby on the back of its head. It wasn't the part where it hit the floor but Lan Luo doesn't seem to know the difference.

Lan Luo stopped crying and just sat in Wei Wuxian's arms in a muddled state. He clung to Wei Wuxian's robes, grabbing them in his small fists and turning his head around to stare at every person that walked past. They were outside.

"Wei-Qianbei!" a voice called to them.

Lan Sizhui walked over. "Oh, hello there, Lan Luo," Lan Sizhui greeted the baby in Wei Wuxian's arms.

"Oh, since you are here, Sizhui-!" Wei Wuxian plopped Lan Luo into Lan Sizhui's arms, "You watch Lan Luo, I'm gonna go check on what Lan Zhan is doing."

"Huh-? Oh, okay..." Lan Sizhui and Lan Luo watched as Wei Wuxian disappeared over the horizon.

Lan Luo: "..."

Lan Sizhui: "Lan Luo, let's go put you down for a nap, shall we?"

...

Lan Sizhui enters the room. He walked over and sat Lan Luo on the bed. Then he moved to open a window to let in clean air.

"Ay, Sizhui!" a voice called from outside.

Lan Sizhui's eyes lit up. "Jin Ling?" he hurried to the entrance.

"Hey," Jin Rulan said, leaning against the doorway. The young man was wearing soft embroidered yellow robes patterned with white peonies. His hair was tied up in a ponytail and there was a small vermillion dot between his eyebrows. A quiver containing arrows was strung over his shoulder.

"Aren't we going night-hunting? Everyone's waiting for you." Jin Rulan told Lan Sizhui.

"Oh, there's no rush, it's not even nighttime yet," Lan Sizhui replied.

Jin Rulan said, "Well, yeah, but I left Fairy at the entrance because of Wei Wuxian." Jin Rulan rolled his eyes. He turned around and said, "Let's go now."

"Ah, okay." Lan Sizhui followed Jin Rulan out of the room.

They left.

It seemed that Lan Sizhui had forgotten someone.

Lan Luo sat there with a dumbfounded expression.

A gust of wind blew into the room from the open window.

Lan Luo: "..."

Did they just leave him?

But, still, remember, this is not Lan Luo's villain origin story.

。。。

。。。

。。。

Wei Wuxian hummed to himself as he walked through Cloud Recesses. He stopped two disciples walking by.

"Hello, Wei-qianbei," the two disciples said, bowing respectfully. While bowing, one of them let out a parched cough, quickly covering his mouth with his sleeve.

"Good day, have you two seen Sizhui? I can't find him," Wei Wuxian asked, nodding back.

The two disciples looked at each other. They turned to Wei Wuxian. "Sizhui-ge? I saw him going down the mountain with Young Master Jin and Young Master Ouyang and Jingyi-ge. I think they were going night hunting," one of the disciples responded. The other coughed before nodding in agreement.

Wei Wuxian: "What? How could they bring Lan Luo to a night hunt? He's only one!"

The two disciples look at each other again. "I don't think Lan Luo was with them, was he?" the boy asked his friend.

"I don't think so..." the other replied, turning around to cough again. They turned back to Wei Wuxian. "Wei-qianbei, Lan Luo wasn't with them," the disciple said.

"Oh... By any chance, you guys know where Lan Luo is?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"Sorry, Wei-qianbei, we don't," the first disciple said.

Wei Wuxian looked at the second disciple strangely. "Are you okay?" he asked.

The second disciple smiled at Wei Wuxian. "I'm okay, Wei-Qianbei. I just got a small cold. Wei-Qianbei should check Sizhui-ge and Jingyi-ge's sleeping quarters," the boy suggested. "Lan Luo could be there," he said before letting out another hacking cough.

Wei Wuxian's concerned face lit up. "Oh, yeah! Lan Luo's probably in there." Wei Wuxian turned around and hurried off. He turned back and yelled, "Thanks, you two! I'll make sure to say a few good words about you guys to Hanguang Jun-!"

"...but, Wei-qianbei, you don't even know our names..." the disciple muttered. He covered his mouth and turned around, letting out yet another rough cough.

The other disciple patted his friend on the back. "It's okay, let's just go, A-jian..."

His friend smiled. "Okay, Yunru."

The two disciples continued their walk.

"But are you alright, A-jian? You're coughing quite terribly today."

"Ah, I'll be fine, Yunru. You know me, just a bit weak and sick as usual."

"Don't worry, A-jian, we'll find something. Here, drink some water."

"Okay..."

The coughing continues.

。。。

。。。

。。。

Wei Wuxian walked to the Cloud Recesses' Sleeping Quarters. He reached Lan Sizhui's dorm and slowly opened the door.

Wei Wuxian: "..."

Lan Luo was there all right.

There was Lan Luo, toddling across the room.

"..."

Lan Luo shuffled around and saw Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian: "..."

Lan Luo: "..."

Lan Luo fell on his butt. "Wahh-!!" Lan Luo reached out his little hands for Wei Wuxian to pick him up. He gives Wei Wuxian his most pitiable expression.

"Baba!" he said.

Wei Wuxian: "..."

Wei Wuxian squatted down. He poked Lan Luo on the forehead.

Lan Luo: "!"

The baby covered his forehead with his hands. Lan Luo made a noise with his throat and looked at Wei Wuxian with a wronged expression.

"Ha... Lan Luo, don't give me that wronged face! Be honest, you always knew how to walk, didn't you!" Wei Wuxian poked Lan Luo again.

Lan Luo: "..."

Lan Luo began to cry.

And, so, this might be Lan Luo's villain origin story.

Just kidding.

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✨✨

...

⭐️ ⭐️

⬇️

Disciple 1:

Disciple 2:

Thank you for reading!

('▽')/✨

Comments and votes will be highly appreciated as usual!

Word Count: 2404