[Carefully, Jiang Cheng sets up A-yuan on his sit, making sure the boy is situated on the bike correctly while he holds the underside of the seat.] Get ready, A-yuan. If you're scared, you'll never learn to ride it. [He waits until A-yuan is ready, though.
And then he lets A-yuan start pedaling. For a few steps, he follows along to keep the balance, but then lets go and......let's A-yuan have at it! HE WON'T LEARN TO RIDE A BIKE IF THEY BABY HIM.
[LOOK even if Jiang Cheng is right, that's not what you're supposed to say to a kid?? He's supposed to tell him that it's alright if he's scared, that they'll be there to help him and protect him and teach him to overcome his fear. But of course Jiang Cheng would never say anything so soft and caring. This is why he doesn't get a Jin Ling.
Despite his disapproval, though, Lan Wangji doesn't want to coddle A-yuan either, and he has no idea how long they've been out here working on this. So he takes a couple of steps forward, just so that A-yuan doesn't have to go too far, and holds his hands out, prepared to catch him, or move forward, or basically react however A-yuan needs him to.]
[A-yuan is getting fairly good at the whole bike thing. He's still unsteady, and he wobbles all over the place on his way to Lan Wangji. Right near the end, having to slow down and therefore sacrifice balance, the bike tips to fall. Jiang Cheng takes a half-step forward even though Lan Wangji is there to catch.]
A-yuan! Put your feet down, I told you! You'll fall on your face if you don't catch yourself!
[He's not sure whether to be thankful or not Lan Wangji is there. Well, he is for A-yuan's sake, but he hates feeling grateful to someone who... Well, look at their relationship. Sheesh. Can't Wei Wuxian find someone better to make googly eyes at?]
[Lan Wangji is, in fact, right there, moving quickly to catch him before he actually does fall. He glances as Jiang Cheng again, face impassive.]
There is no need to yell.
[HE CAN'T HELP HIMSELF... at least he's not glaring! But look, A-yuan is working hard, and it takes practice to learn a new skill. EVER HEARD OF PATIENCE, JIANG CHENG
Still, he'll help A-yuan turn the bike around back towards his shushu, reaching up to help adjust his grip and his seat on the bike just slightly.]
Try this.
[And he'll do much the same as Jiang Cheng did before, accompanying him until he seems comfortable enough for Lan Wangji to let go and let him try on his own.]
[Jiang Cheng waits on Lan Wangji's delicate sensibilities to situate A-yuan to come back. He's only slightly impatient, but it turns out better for A-yuan in the end. The kid is really getting the hang of the balance of the bike.
There's a faint smirk curling the edge of Jiang Cheng's lips up. Slowly, he starts backing up, trying to keep A-yuan on a roll.] Come on. [This thing should really have been a tricycle, but since when does Jiang Cheng ever not do things a very Madam Jiang way?
For the most part, A-yuan's got it, and he sort of laughs at the thrill of being able to keep going.] Come on! Keep peddling! [But kids don't have tons of stamina, so he starts wobbling when they have curve to get more room. Turning bad. Jiang Cheng pushes it like the ass he is until A-yuan starts toppling, and then he darts to catch A-yuan before the fall.
It's just, he's not sure if he'll make it.] A-yuan!
[WHEN WILL JIANG CHENG BE A RESPONSIBLE PARENT says Lan Wangji, teaching his son how to shoot his custom gun
That is, as soon as Jiang Cheng starts backing up, Lan Wangji's "Impending Disaster" senses start tingling... he remembers the chaos that was Jiang Cheng, Baren, Wei Wuxian, and Okuni as kids, okay. He couldn't glower at them hard enough to stop them from joyriding BUT DAMN IT HE CAN PREVENT A-YUAN FROM GOING DOWN THAT ROAD.
So he moves forward, too, trying to catch up without running after A-yuan like an overprotective parent, except that Jiang Cheng won't stop and, well. Then Lan Wangji is darting forward, too, exactly the same way Jiang Cheng is, and--]
A-yuan--!
[welp looks like his disaster senses weren't wrong]
[The two of them are both so focused on A-yuan, they don't see the impending doom. "Picture taken moments before disaster," honestly. At the last second, Jiang Cheng's head snaps up, eyes wide.
Oh no.
He barrels straight into Lan Wangji, body and head and all, and the impact knocks him right down because he tries in vain to catch himself so he doesn't fall on A-yuan. The boy, of course, gives a resounding cheer as the two of them make a very nice landing pad.
[A-yuan is the best, cutest maraschino cherry in the world.]
Watch where you're going!
[A-yuan gives, at first, a hiccuping laugh. And then he starts laughing uncontrollably, falling over on top of them like a potato and holding his sides. Jiang Cheng glares gently at him.] What do you think is so funny?! [How is this brat adopted, but acts so much like Wei Wuxian?!] Stop laughing!
[He lifts his head to glance at Lan Wangji like ??? when A-yuan just continues to laugh, but at a moment, the laughter very faintly starts to break his irritation. He turns his head away and coughs into his shoulder to hide the laugh that tries to come out.]
[Oh no. Oh no. Lan Wangji's so conflicted. On the one hand, he loves seeing A-yuan laugh like this--it warms him up like nothing else, and he catches the boy with the hand that isn't covering his own dang forehead, making sure A-yuan doesn't tumble off and join them in the Injured Heads Group. He can't stop himself from smiling faintly down at him, and honestly, it's tempting to laugh with him, too.
But Jiang Cheng is right here, staring directly at him with a befuddled look on his face. Lan Wangji has no desire whatsoever to direct a smile at him, and as soon as he glances up, he can feel it starting to slip.
But then Jiang Cheng is the one to turn away--and not fast enough to hide the flash of... something not soft, perhaps, but a little less than biting. It's not a look Lan Wangji's seen on him in a very long time, if ever, and he can't help but stare, surprised. He hadn't thought Jiang Cheng was even capable of softness anymore.
After a moment, though, he turns away, looking back at A-yuan and feeling warmth settle naturally over all of them. He can't imagine he's ever going to actually like Jiang Cheng, but--well. He's always seemed profoundly unhappy. If he can find a little snatch of it here, Lan Wangji won't be the one to begrudge him that.]
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And then he lets A-yuan start pedaling. For a few steps, he follows along to keep the balance, but then lets go and......let's A-yuan have at it! HE WON'T LEARN TO RIDE A BIKE IF THEY BABY HIM.
Jiang Cheng thinks.]
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Despite his disapproval, though, Lan Wangji doesn't want to coddle A-yuan either, and he has no idea how long they've been out here working on this. So he takes a couple of steps forward, just so that A-yuan doesn't have to go too far, and holds his hands out, prepared to catch him, or move forward, or basically react however A-yuan needs him to.]
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A-yuan! Put your feet down, I told you! You'll fall on your face if you don't catch yourself!
[He's not sure whether to be thankful or not Lan Wangji is there. Well, he is for A-yuan's sake, but he hates feeling grateful to someone who... Well, look at their relationship. Sheesh. Can't Wei Wuxian find someone better to make googly eyes at?]
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There is no need to yell.
[HE CAN'T HELP HIMSELF... at least he's not glaring! But look, A-yuan is working hard, and it takes practice to learn a new skill. EVER HEARD OF PATIENCE, JIANG CHENG
Still, he'll help A-yuan turn the bike around back towards his shushu, reaching up to help adjust his grip and his seat on the bike just slightly.]
Try this.
[And he'll do much the same as Jiang Cheng did before, accompanying him until he seems comfortable enough for Lan Wangji to let go and let him try on his own.]
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There's a faint smirk curling the edge of Jiang Cheng's lips up. Slowly, he starts backing up, trying to keep A-yuan on a roll.] Come on. [This thing should really have been a tricycle, but since when does Jiang Cheng ever not do things a very Madam Jiang way?
For the most part, A-yuan's got it, and he sort of laughs at the thrill of being able to keep going.] Come on! Keep peddling! [But kids don't have tons of stamina, so he starts wobbling when they have curve to get more room. Turning bad. Jiang Cheng pushes it like the ass he is until A-yuan starts toppling, and then he darts to catch A-yuan before the fall.
It's just, he's not sure if he'll make it.] A-yuan!
no subject
That is, as soon as Jiang Cheng starts backing up, Lan Wangji's "Impending Disaster" senses start tingling... he remembers the chaos that was Jiang Cheng, Baren, Wei Wuxian, and Okuni as kids, okay. He couldn't glower at them hard enough to stop them from joyriding BUT DAMN IT HE CAN PREVENT A-YUAN FROM GOING DOWN THAT ROAD.
So he moves forward, too, trying to catch up without running after A-yuan like an overprotective parent, except that Jiang Cheng won't stop and, well. Then Lan Wangji is darting forward, too, exactly the same way Jiang Cheng is, and--]
A-yuan--!
[welp looks like his disaster senses weren't wrong]
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Oh no.
He barrels straight into Lan Wangji, body and head and all, and the impact knocks him right down because he tries in vain to catch himself so he doesn't fall on A-yuan. The boy, of course, gives a resounding cheer as the two of them make a very nice landing pad.
Well, this is just great.]
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And A-yuan, the cherry on top of this dumbass cake.]
Be more careful. [DON'T BE A FUCKING HYPOCRITE LAN WANGJI]
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Watch where you're going!
[A-yuan gives, at first, a hiccuping laugh. And then he starts laughing uncontrollably, falling over on top of them like a potato and holding his sides. Jiang Cheng glares gently at him.] What do you think is so funny?! [How is this brat adopted, but acts so much like Wei Wuxian?!] Stop laughing!
[He lifts his head to glance at Lan Wangji like ??? when A-yuan just continues to laugh, but at a moment, the laughter very faintly starts to break his irritation. He turns his head away and coughs into his shoulder to hide the laugh that tries to come out.]
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But Jiang Cheng is right here, staring directly at him with a befuddled look on his face. Lan Wangji has no desire whatsoever to direct a smile at him, and as soon as he glances up, he can feel it starting to slip.
But then Jiang Cheng is the one to turn away--and not fast enough to hide the flash of... something not soft, perhaps, but a little less than biting. It's not a look Lan Wangji's seen on him in a very long time, if ever, and he can't help but stare, surprised. He hadn't thought Jiang Cheng was even capable of softness anymore.
After a moment, though, he turns away, looking back at A-yuan and feeling warmth settle naturally over all of them. He can't imagine he's ever going to actually like Jiang Cheng, but--well. He's always seemed profoundly unhappy. If he can find a little snatch of it here, Lan Wangji won't be the one to begrudge him that.]