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Crickets chirped outside the campground as Wei Wuxian lay awake, caressing his belly beneath his sleeping robes. When he had risen from the Burial Grounds some weeks ago, before he had been discovered as the unorthodox cultivator and unlikely alley, his stomach had been rather flat. There were no physical signs that he was pregnant, at least none that others could readily see without disrobing him, except for the smell he carried—his honeyed lotus scent, mellowed and rounded by milkiness.
After the Xuanwu of Slaughter, before Lotus Pier was taken over, before Jiang Chang's core was removed, before Wei Wuxian sacrificed his, before the Burial Mounds, he hadn't known of the baby. Perhaps if he had, he wouldn't have so easily given Jiang Chang his core. Even Wen Qing hadn't noticed as she performed surgery on him, but then, it might have been too early to tell. Omegas often do not know they are pregnant until a missed heat. And in the absence of a mating bite, Wen Qing hadn't asked if he'd shared his last heat with anyone. Not that he would have admitted to it. What a stain on Lan Wangji's reputation he'd be. The sentiment grew truer by the day.
It's not yours. He told Lan Wangji, letting him fill in the rest with his imagination.
The life within Wei Wuxian was strong, stirring now, keeping him awake. They had survived too much. Perhaps their child could survive without their father, too. He could maintain the ruse for the rest of the war. With enough luck, it'd end before the birth, and he could disappear from the cultivation world, child in tow. They would live in anonymity in a far-off land. Lan Wangji would be spared.
Shameless, he ached at the thought. The selfish part of Wei Wuxian, in those weeks before the Wens invaded Lotus Pier, had relished the idea of being Lan Wangji's omega. He'd already thought of ways to lure the alpha out of the stuffy Cloud Recessees.
Yet now all Lan Wangji knew to ask was for Wei Wuxian to return to Gusu with him. To punish him. To take the child he does not know is his.
In his thoughts, Wei Wuxian had not heard the door of his tent opening. A beat behind, he smelled sandalwood in the air. The sound of footsteps approaching came afterward. Unmated, it was improper for Lan Wangji to enter an omega's tent. Proper conduct dictated that Wei Wuxian should growl and protect his territory. He did not.
Instead, he sighed, lifting himself onto his elbow. He meant to ask: Why are you here now? "Lan Zhan..."
"My tent is behind yours. I can smell your distress."
Wei Wuxian had not invited Lan Wangji into his nest, yet Lan Wangji hovered at its border. To enter it meant risking his life. If nothing else, breaching into the nest would be shameful. Wei Wuxian could not imagine a world in which Lan Wangji conducted himself improperly.
Wei Wuxian cupped his belly, looking into Lan Wangji's eyes, unable to start another argument. "Go home." It was fewer words than get back to your tent. Felt less harsh.
"Mn."
Then Lan Wangji entered the nest, placing one hand down first, then the other, and slowly, meeting Wei Wuxian's gaze, crawled towards the omega. Wei Wuxian grumbled a few protests, not wanting to stir up a ruckus in their encampment. Lan Wangji would not retreat so easily.
Before he could forge a new strategy to expel Lan Wangji, the alpha lay down beside him, placing a hand on Wei Wuxian's belly, which seemed larger than its true size against his withered frame. How else could the child within him have survived if not by sucking every drop of fat from his bones as he'd starved in the Burial Mounds?
"Five months pregnant and I already look like a pheasant fattened up for slaughter."
"Five months," Lan Wangji repeated. His touch was tender against Wei Wuxian. Every second Lan Wangji remained in his nest could be twisted into proof of Wei Wuxian's lie.
He swatted the alpha's hand away. Lan Wangji rested it on the same spot once more. The traitorous child kicked at his palm. "We were on Mount Muxi five months ago."
"Did I say five? I meant four. Lan Zhan, it's so late, all the numbers are the same in my head. You know how bad I can be with little details like that."
The baby kicked harder against Lan Wangji's hand, seemingly protesting against Wei Wuxian's words. "A Lan does not lie."
"I told you to go home," Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head.
Lan Wangji remained in the nest. "Mn. Home."
His heart fluttered against his better judgment, yet his tongue was used to contradicting Lan Wangji. "If you don't go, they'll all talk in the morning about how you paid a visit to the unorthodox omega whore late in the night. They'll start imagining things, saying you sired this child. That I'd dragged you into some deep, dark cave, bewitched and had my way with you. The oh-so-noble Lan Wangji defiled."
"Wei Ying is not a--"
"Or maybe you've come to ask me to Gusu again. I won't go, Lan Zhan. And if you keep asking, you'll start giving off the wrong impression. You'll look so desperate to be this kid's father, they'll all start making up stories. I shouldn't have to tell someone as quiet as you to learn to shut up."
"I am," Lan Wangji said. "Five months. The cave. Bewitched. Desperate."
Wei Wuxian grew quiet. A heaviness settled in his chest. Lan Wangji was scenting him, and, losing his last bastion of control, he began to purr. Lan Wangji's eyes softened. He swore those often-frowning lips had quirked into a smile.
"Is it the truth?" Lan Wangji asked, suddenly sounding unsure of himself. "Our little Lan."
Wei Wuxian said nothing. Only Lan Wangji could render him silent. He buried his head in Lan Wangji's shoulder, inhaling sandalwood from the source, trying to still his mind. He realized that this action, too, was in its own way a confession.
Lan Wangji's nose hovered near Wei Wuxian's scent gland. The warmth of his breath tickled his neck. There was a pause. Lan Wangji stilled. "Did you plan to lie to me forever?"
"When he comes out looking like you, there'll be a lot of gossip. I was hoping to leave before that. Lately, it's been hard thinking about that. Leaving. For a fuddy-duddy like you, you have a presence. Big Lan alpha energy. I always thought it was kind of nice. But it's really so annoying now."
"Am I annoying?" Lan Wangji whispered, his voice hoarse.
"The baby misses you all the time. That's annoying too."
"And Wei Ying? Does Wei Ying miss me?"
"I thought I did, but you're being so forceful tonight, Lan-er-gege. Coming into a vulnerable pregnant omega's tent. Taking advantage of my weakened state to scent mark me."
Soft lips brushed against Wei Wuxian's, muffling his words. This was not the fumbling first kiss in the cave. Lan Wangji's hands, too, held more confidence as they roamed Wei Wuxian's body, parting his robes. Wetness dripped onto Lan Wangji's slender fingers, and only there, in the glisening slick, was proof beyond proof, the taste of himself infused with that of Wei Wuxian.
"Mine," Lan Wangji growled.