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fandomweekly2022-02-13 04:16 pm
curiosity) wrote in fandomweekly2022-02-13 04:16 pm
Entry tags:
[#125] Love Let Go (MDZS)
Theme Prompt: #125 - Come In From The Cold
Title: Love Let Go
Fandom: MDZS
Rating/Warnings: G / Angst!
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Lan Qiren must make a choice. He can't keep a relationship going with the man he loves, who cheats constantly, and raise his brother's children. Something has to give.
Note: This story also uses the prompt "Let Go Of Your Past" from the latestallbingo fest. It also uses the "Lost and Found", "Jade", "Eyes on Me", and Wen prompts from Day 5 of the MDZS Rarepair Week list on Twitter.
“Qiren, be reasonable,” Wen Ruohan sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “Come back. Come in from the cold. I’ll start a fire in the fireplace. We’ll make s’mores for the kids and talk. Don’t leave angry.”
Lan Qiren squeezed the small hands, one in each of his, and didn’t look back as he led his nephews through the falling snow. He’d known, and thought he’d accepted, Wen Ruohan’s tendency to flirt with anything owning a pulse. If he wasn’t responsible for the well-being of his brother’s children, maybe he’d have the energy to fight it out with the man he loved.
Maybe they could work it out. Talk things through.
But Lan Qiren was exhausted. Between A-Zhan’s therapy and A-Huan’s schooling, with keeping both boys fed and happy, there just wasn’t the energy. There weren’t enough hours in the day to deal with his own heart and the man who kept breaking it.
“Is this really how you want to end things?” Wen Ruohan called, sounding, for the first time, as if he really believed Lan Qiren would walk away from him.
“I didn’t want to end things at all,” Lan Qiren called back, keeping his voice calm and his spine perfectly straight. He did lot look back. “That was your choice. There are more important things in life than your games, Wen Ruohan. I no longer have the time or energy for them. I suggest you find someone who does.”
He unlocked his car, letting A-Huan in first so he could settle A-Zhan into the baby car seat. A-Huan was big enough now to buckle himself in. They were growing so fast. Lan Qiren secured A-Zhan and checked A-Huan’s work. Perfect.
“Well done, A-Huan,” he said, nodding in approval.
The young boy beamed at him and Lan Qiren’s breaking heart healed, just a bit. This was the right choice. These boys were his future. Not the fickle fool he was leaving behind.
He closed the door and looked back before he could catch himself. Wen Ruohan was halfway to him, barefoot in the lawn. The man had to be freezing in his torn jeans and thin thermal shirt. But he gave no sign as he stared at Lan Qiren, flames flickering in his eyes. Wen Ruohan was handsome, tragic in his dawning grief as he stood there in the snow, barefoot and bereft. All of his cocky self-assurance had blown away on the winter wind.
“Renren. Please.”
Lan Qiren got into the car. He started it up and put on the music the boys liked. Some horrible song about a small shark. The car pulled into traffic. Lan Qiren did not use the mirrors to look back. He could only go forward now. Buoyed by the sound of A-Huan’s enthusiastic singing and A-Zhan’s little baby mumble, he drove.
Twelve Years Later:
Lan Qiren stood as A-Huan accepted the diploma, applauding with all due decorum. Beside him, fifteen-year-old A-Zhan and his carefree boyfriend, Wei Ying, were clapping with enthusiasm. All of A-Huan's friends surrounded them, whistling and making a ruckus. Lan Qiren was annoyed by the impropriety, but he let it slide. A-Huan had earned this moment. They took their seats to wait out the rest of the ceremony.
He held himself steady and calm when Wen Xu's name was called. As with many of the others, a segment of the audience cheered wildly. Lan Qiren's heart beat as the sound of Wen Ruohan's voice, after so long, filled the air. He did not look, but oh, he wanted to. Wen Xu, of an age with A-Huan, was the spitting image of his father. All smoldering eyes and cock-sure grin. Lan Qiren was aware of the boy, certainly. A number of youthful altercations between the Wen boys and the Lans had been inevitable.
More so once the aggravating and irrepressible Wei Ying brought Wen Ning and Wen Qing into A-Zhan's circle of friends. All those moments had been darts finding the target of Lan Qiren's heart and striking true. But this? Hearing Wen Ruohan's voice? That was an arrow through and through, a choking gasp of a fading fancy.
That had never really faded at all. The rest of the matriculation ceremony passed in a blur. Lan Qiren went through the motions; the congratulations, the photos, the cheers, the words of praise from many professors. He kept a pleasant expression on his face and sent the children off to celebrate as they would.
There was no place for an old man among youthful revels.
Lan Qiren made it to his car, one of the last left in the lot, the children going off in A-Huan's own reliable vehicle since he'd had to arrive so early. Then he made the mistake of breathing a sigh of relief.
"Renren."
Heart clenching painfully, Lan Qiren didn't dare turn around. His mind was painting a vivid picture of the last time he'd seen Wen Ruohan. Barefoot in the snow, his own two sons sleeping peacefully in the room they shared with Lan Qiren's nephews when the two families visited each other. Smelling of a strange woman's perfume, lipstick on the collar of his thermal shirt, fresh from a bar.
"You aren't even going to look at me, Renren? I never figured you for a coward."
"You never understood me at all," Lan Qiren heard himself say. "Thus, I am not surprised you would ascribe cowardice, of all things, to my actions."
"Articulate as ever," Wen Ruohan said, closer now. Lan Qiren could almost feel the furnace-like heat of the man, as if he were the embodiment of a volcano's heart. "My sweet Renren, the years have treated you well."
There was nothing to say to that. Lan Qiren unlocked his car. Got in. Drove away. If Wen Ruohan thought the years had treated him well then he was blind and his heart was truly fickle and shallow. There was nothing left of the firebird that had lit up Lan Qiren's world, once upon a time.
Title: Love Let Go
Fandom: MDZS
Rating/Warnings: G / Angst!
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Lan Qiren must make a choice. He can't keep a relationship going with the man he loves, who cheats constantly, and raise his brother's children. Something has to give.
Note: This story also uses the prompt "Let Go Of Your Past" from the latest
allbingo fest. It also uses the "Lost and Found", "Jade", "Eyes on Me", and Wen prompts from Day 5 of the MDZS Rarepair Week list on Twitter.“Qiren, be reasonable,” Wen Ruohan sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “Come back. Come in from the cold. I’ll start a fire in the fireplace. We’ll make s’mores for the kids and talk. Don’t leave angry.”
Lan Qiren squeezed the small hands, one in each of his, and didn’t look back as he led his nephews through the falling snow. He’d known, and thought he’d accepted, Wen Ruohan’s tendency to flirt with anything owning a pulse. If he wasn’t responsible for the well-being of his brother’s children, maybe he’d have the energy to fight it out with the man he loved.
Maybe they could work it out. Talk things through.
But Lan Qiren was exhausted. Between A-Zhan’s therapy and A-Huan’s schooling, with keeping both boys fed and happy, there just wasn’t the energy. There weren’t enough hours in the day to deal with his own heart and the man who kept breaking it.
“Is this really how you want to end things?” Wen Ruohan called, sounding, for the first time, as if he really believed Lan Qiren would walk away from him.
“I didn’t want to end things at all,” Lan Qiren called back, keeping his voice calm and his spine perfectly straight. He did lot look back. “That was your choice. There are more important things in life than your games, Wen Ruohan. I no longer have the time or energy for them. I suggest you find someone who does.”
He unlocked his car, letting A-Huan in first so he could settle A-Zhan into the baby car seat. A-Huan was big enough now to buckle himself in. They were growing so fast. Lan Qiren secured A-Zhan and checked A-Huan’s work. Perfect.
“Well done, A-Huan,” he said, nodding in approval.
The young boy beamed at him and Lan Qiren’s breaking heart healed, just a bit. This was the right choice. These boys were his future. Not the fickle fool he was leaving behind.
He closed the door and looked back before he could catch himself. Wen Ruohan was halfway to him, barefoot in the lawn. The man had to be freezing in his torn jeans and thin thermal shirt. But he gave no sign as he stared at Lan Qiren, flames flickering in his eyes. Wen Ruohan was handsome, tragic in his dawning grief as he stood there in the snow, barefoot and bereft. All of his cocky self-assurance had blown away on the winter wind.
“Renren. Please.”
Lan Qiren got into the car. He started it up and put on the music the boys liked. Some horrible song about a small shark. The car pulled into traffic. Lan Qiren did not use the mirrors to look back. He could only go forward now. Buoyed by the sound of A-Huan’s enthusiastic singing and A-Zhan’s little baby mumble, he drove.
Twelve Years Later:
Lan Qiren stood as A-Huan accepted the diploma, applauding with all due decorum. Beside him, fifteen-year-old A-Zhan and his carefree boyfriend, Wei Ying, were clapping with enthusiasm. All of A-Huan's friends surrounded them, whistling and making a ruckus. Lan Qiren was annoyed by the impropriety, but he let it slide. A-Huan had earned this moment. They took their seats to wait out the rest of the ceremony.
He held himself steady and calm when Wen Xu's name was called. As with many of the others, a segment of the audience cheered wildly. Lan Qiren's heart beat as the sound of Wen Ruohan's voice, after so long, filled the air. He did not look, but oh, he wanted to. Wen Xu, of an age with A-Huan, was the spitting image of his father. All smoldering eyes and cock-sure grin. Lan Qiren was aware of the boy, certainly. A number of youthful altercations between the Wen boys and the Lans had been inevitable.
More so once the aggravating and irrepressible Wei Ying brought Wen Ning and Wen Qing into A-Zhan's circle of friends. All those moments had been darts finding the target of Lan Qiren's heart and striking true. But this? Hearing Wen Ruohan's voice? That was an arrow through and through, a choking gasp of a fading fancy.
That had never really faded at all. The rest of the matriculation ceremony passed in a blur. Lan Qiren went through the motions; the congratulations, the photos, the cheers, the words of praise from many professors. He kept a pleasant expression on his face and sent the children off to celebrate as they would.
There was no place for an old man among youthful revels.
Lan Qiren made it to his car, one of the last left in the lot, the children going off in A-Huan's own reliable vehicle since he'd had to arrive so early. Then he made the mistake of breathing a sigh of relief.
"Renren."
Heart clenching painfully, Lan Qiren didn't dare turn around. His mind was painting a vivid picture of the last time he'd seen Wen Ruohan. Barefoot in the snow, his own two sons sleeping peacefully in the room they shared with Lan Qiren's nephews when the two families visited each other. Smelling of a strange woman's perfume, lipstick on the collar of his thermal shirt, fresh from a bar.
"You aren't even going to look at me, Renren? I never figured you for a coward."
"You never understood me at all," Lan Qiren heard himself say. "Thus, I am not surprised you would ascribe cowardice, of all things, to my actions."
"Articulate as ever," Wen Ruohan said, closer now. Lan Qiren could almost feel the furnace-like heat of the man, as if he were the embodiment of a volcano's heart. "My sweet Renren, the years have treated you well."
There was nothing to say to that. Lan Qiren unlocked his car. Got in. Drove away. If Wen Ruohan thought the years had treated him well then he was blind and his heart was truly fickle and shallow. There was nothing left of the firebird that had lit up Lan Qiren's world, once upon a time.
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