a hearth for the storm [snippet]

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Relationship(s): none
Warnings: not beta read, mild angst
Summary: The Yiling Patriarch looked decidedly less intimidating with a tiny child clinging onto his robes.

-/-/-

Wei Wuxian bounced a sniffling Wen Yuan on his arm. Honestly, as fond as he was of the little twerp, he was vaguely tempted to punt him across the room. Not that it was a serious consideration, but he was trying to be stealthy. A crying child was… not.

In most circumstances, Wen Yuan rarely cried or complained for no reason, like Wei Wuxian had seen many other children do in villages. He had few toys and no other children to play with, and yet he never seemed to tire of jumping through mud or of Wei Wuxian’s silly games. In the rare instances he threw tantrums, it was always because he was hurt or scared in some way. Like when Wei Wuxian lost him in town, but that was neither here nor there. He was a great babysitter.

Unfortunately, Wei Wuxian had forgotten how long the trip to the Lotus Pier was without the use of a sword to fly on. It was only lengthened by the fact that he had to be careful about the places he appeared and traveled through to avoid running into cultivators who’d recognize him, and sneaking into the pier without alerting the lower peons of the newly reborn Jiang Sect was no small matter. They had a charade to maintain, after all.

So, Wen Yuan was hungry, and Wei Wuxian hadn’t thought to bring any food to have on hand. The great Yiling Patriarch was going to meet his end because he’d forgotten snacks.

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