Lan WangJi liked order.

There was value to having things listed or categorised into clear and concise groups, making it easier to find what you were looking for. This was the prime reason why he was so good at his job.

Many people thought being a librarian was a boring job; the conversation pretty much fizzled out at social gatherings, but this was because nobody his age saw the attraction of doing what he did, not when Google was readily available on their phones.

And E-Books.

Don't let him even get started on that!

Why was it necessary to digitalise everything? How could text on an electronic device possibly compare to the earthy smell of pages that were once part of trees? That intrinsic connection to nature? What about the smell of the ink? And the coarse yet strangely smooth texture of each page as he turned them?

All of that was lost when one tried to read on their phone or on a tablet, or a computer screen.

Lan WangJi knew this.

He knew, because he tried it.

He had found the whole concept vaguely disturbing.

When Lan XiChen had come home one day waving a Kindle in his face, Lan Wangji had been interested in the way someone follows a trail of ants back to their nest and suddenly their feet are covered in the wretched things...

No.

He knew immediately that his love of books would stick to the original ones, the real books that he could hold in his hands and feel.

There was a connection between the reader and the writer, clear as day in the care and precision of the words used to create every sentence. In the love that every writer chose to bare to the world in exposing their craft. Whether a book was fictional or factual, that inherent love was visible through each letter written on every page, and that was magic.

Every morning and every evening, Lan Wangji had a routine. At nine o'clock every morning, he would unlock and open the doors of the Lan Institute of Wisdom and greet the line of people waiting to come inside. Greeting did not mean a cheery smile and a happy wave...no, rather it was a deep frown and an urge to tie their hands up so they would not mess up his carefully organised shelves. Still, the frown would have to do because the latter would wind him up in jail, but the temptation was real.

He hoped the frown would let the general public be aware of the constant attention to detail it took to maintain a place of such scholarly regard that experts on all fields across every curriculum came here to study.

The Lan Institute of Wisdom was exactly that.

It had once, long ago in the history of his ancestors, been a modest little shop in the middle of a village, and as the village grew, he could see in a time-lapse film running in his head, how the Institute grew alongside the area. Each heir to the legacy had built extentions to the original building until ripping up the old foundations and starting anew could no longer be avoided.

But in the basement, they had managed to keep the original wall intact, as part of a secret nook where he could go down and have some time to himself. All his favourite books were down there, everything from musical theory to practice, the historical accounts of the first practitioners of the guqin, every melody and song the institute could find on the instrument, preserved and intact.

Lan WangJi had a guqin down there too, in case of emergencies.

Emergencies were getting to be much more frequent nowadays, and Lan WangJi was at a loss to understand it.

Every morning, he would drive to work and park in his usual spot right next to the reserved places for staff in the carpark. Then he would let himself in, locking the door behind himself.

He would pause, closing his eyes and taking in the rich, intense smell of aged paper and ink, before going to the staff room and brewing himself a cup of green tea. While the tea steeped, Lan Wangji would go and check the shelves from A to B, and that was enough time until his tea was ready. Then, cup in hand, he would go through the rest of the shelves until it was time to open.

Some days were excellent; he could get through the entire alphabet in a single morning, or at least from A to M before the savages were let in, though if a school group had visited the day before, it could take longer.

Children, especially teenagers were the bane of his life. Most of his "emergencies" stemmed from this one unit of society and he hated them.

His encounters with the rebellious youth, their natural disregard of authority and adherence to rules rubbed him up the wrong way, and he could not wait to see them leave. Sometimes these rowdy groups were accompanied by their teachers, though a fat lot of a good it did. The terrible mini adults always found a way to escape.

One time, he had even found one in the basement like a cockroach, just about to touch his guqin. After that, Lan Zhan kept the door of his sanctuary locked at all times. It had taken him a good hour to get over the shock of it.

Right now, he was looking at a book, Abacus, and how to correctly use one, that someone had dumped in the 'B' section.

He could feel a twitch in his right eye coming along.

He quickly grabbed it and put it back, only to find that someone had left a book on crustaceans there. Obviously, he could not leave it there, but putting it back in its right place, took away seconds from his personal schedule.

Now the tea was going to taste slightly bitter.

Nevermind, he could deal with an infringement on his taste buds if it meant a few shelves were organised properly.

But then, some little shit had left the 'D' section in turmoil!

Half the books were on the floor and some were jammed in sideways! It was in utter chaos...they had tried to put some back and ended up mixing the 'D's with the 'E's and now, Lan Wangji was sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor, quickly and efficiently organising the whole shelf.

It took so long, he was sure he would have to throw away the ready tea and brew another cup.

That was a bad sign.

He wasn't particularly superstitious about many things, but his morning ritual, especially pertaining to his first cup of green tea of the day...it was sacred. And having it disturbed for any reason signified something happening today, something that would justify the bitterness in his cup.

Lan WangJi was not looking forward to today.

***********

Wei WuXian was already having a bad day.

A-Yuan, the wonder joy of his toddler, was feeling sick and clingy as a result, and anyway, Wei WuXian would not have liked to leave him at daycare because of this. But A-Yuan had clung to his leg and begged with his eyes, adding a pout of trembly lips and how could Wei WuXian say no to that pudgy face?

A-Yuan was such a delight everyday, so happy and brimful of laughter, and as they adapted themselves around each other, Wei WuXian was learning to let the days go, bringing its own kind of joy.

While he was teaching A-Yuan everything about being a human, A-Yuan was teaching him right back.

Thankfully, he was self-employed and in a great position to take days off; his editor had sent back a glowing review of his latest book, ready to publish in a few months time.

Letting go of every book he had published was painful, every single time, but once he threw himself into writing a new one, that pain fell away like a man on a bungee jump.

Today, he was planning on doing some research. At first, he had wondered if staying at home would be better than going out, because Google was really the best...but A-Yuan was becoming stir crazy and cranky at having to stay indoors. That was how Wei WuXian knew there was something wrong with him; normally he could hand the boy a book and he would while away the hours. Today, he was complaining that he had read all of them.

"All of them?" Wei WuXian had raised a brow.

"Ahuh....all of dem..." He was looking so innocently earnest, all two and a half feet of him, that Wei WuXian just had to grab him up and kiss those those soft doughy cheeks, blowing raspberries noisily to a giggling little boy.

"Alright then, since you are the bestest boy in the whole world, we can go out today!" Wei WuXian kissed his lovely round cheeks again.

A-Yuan grabbed his cheeks and squished them. "I love Baba!"

Just those three words had him blinking back tears.

"Baba sad? Baba crying?" He was immediately worried, and his smile vanished.

"No, no, not at all my little radish!! They are happy tears because I love you so much too! We are our family, isn't that right?" He wiped his face on his own shoulder. "Come now, let's go through our checklist, alright?"

"Ahuh." He waited for Wei WuXian to begin.

"So what's number one?"

"Bweakfast."

"What a clever boy!" Wei WuXian put him down and patted his head, as if they did not do this every morning.

It was a great activity to do with his son, because not only did it install stability within the little boy, it also helped Wei WuXian to remember important things like keys and his wallet. Gone were the days of having to call a locksmith just because he had walked past his bowl with keys in it like it didn't matter.

"We've both done that. And then?"

"Coat and shoes."

They both dutifully donned them.

"Next?"

"Keys and money." He pointed to the bowl that he could only see the sides of yet.

"Good boy!"

"I think we're done." Wei WuXian grabbed his backpack stuffing a bunch of pens inside and a note pad, a colouring book for his little prodigy, and a pack of colouring pencils. And crayons as an after thought, because you never know...

"Where are we going, Baba?"

"To the library. As far as I remember, they have a kiddies corner and someone reads stories to more little boys and girls like you."

A-Yuan looked excited. "Can I play with them?"

"Of course you can. We can ask them."

Now he was almost back to looking normal, with a wide grin on his face.

"But A-Yuan, you must promise to hold my hand until we get there, okay? I'm scared of getting lost and you have to look after me, alright?"

A-Yuan looked into those silver eyes that held only sincerity and love.

"Mn. Will look after Baba. Pwomise."

Wei WuXian had to stop himself from clutching his own heart. His little radish was sooo cute!

It was a lovely day to visit the library. Wei WuXian had just moved to Gusu because it was close to LanLing where his sister lived with the Peacock, and his little nephew, Jin Ling. They often had playdates together, though those were nicer when the Peacock wasn't around.

It was his Shijie who had mentioned the library to him, and Wei WuXian had been itching to go, and he would have come by himself today but he had to admit, it was nice having company.

Little A-Yuan swung their arms together as they walked, making little incoherent noises and listening to himself. According to Google, the library was just around this corner-

Both of them stopped to look at the massive building.

It was huge and sort of circular, with tall glass windows making up the outer walls. Round towers were joined with a middle section, also made out of glass and rounded, and it looked quite serious.

A-Yuan squeezed his hand with his soft pudgy fingers and yelled, "Let's go!"

He pulled Wei WuXian forward and they came to a list of rules outside on a massive board.

It read, "The Lan Institute of Wisdom. Kindly follow the rules:" And then it went on about respecting the quietness, not making noise, putting books back in their places, and so on and on and on...

Wei WuXian was beginning to get a bad feeling about this. If they had so many rules even before going inside, what would happen when they actually entered? And a place like this, might not even have a kid's corner like the one back home. Wei WuXian used to volunteer there twice a week just to read to the little ones.

He swallowed hard, past the lump in his throat at the nostalgic memories. But there was nothing he could say about the situation in Yunmeng. At least his sister was still talking to him, and that was more than he had hoped for.

A-Yuan was tugging on his hand.

"Come on Baba, I wanna pway with da other kids."

Wei WuXian was hoping his instincts were wrong and there was a place for children inside.

But first, they had to get through security.

At a library...

He sighed inwardly, because this place was something else.

***********

Lan WangJi finished checking all the shelves from A to Z in the non-fiction area, and now he was making his way, a little distastefully towards the fiction section. Thankfully it was a little smaller than the non-fiction one, but its inhabitants left a lot to be desired.

There was always a steady hum of excited whispering here, like a soft breeze through a bamboo forest, in spite of the clearly written rules, not only on the board outside, but in numerous places all around the interior lest anyone forget. Lan WangJi had learned them since they also applied to their library at home, so from a young age, he had been taught to respect books and take care of them.

He had even added a few of his own, because just like you couldn't have enough books, you couldn't have enough rules, in his opinion.

Today, the place was unusually quiet.

He started with the 'A's and was just beginning to find his groove, when he heard it.

There was a loud chortle.

Sudden and startling, breaking the peace.

Lan WangJi frowned.

Noise was forbidden in the Institute.

And then, there was hushed whispering. And another loud laugh.

Lan WangJi stood still, hoping that was the end of it, that there would be no more noise forthcoming from that area.

It sounded like it was coming from a few shelves away.

And it was definitely a child.

Who would bring a child here? Of all places? Why wasn't it somewhere else...like school, maybe? Why was it here?

When silence greeted him for the next few minutes, Lan WangJi relaxed and continued to sort out the shelves. He got to 'D' and then laughter exploded around the other side of the shelf, and this time, it did not stop and there was a grown-up's voice added to it.

Lan Zhan shot up immediately.

Hadn't they read the rules? What were they thinking?

He marched around the corner, his long legs making short work of the distance, fully intending to give the culprits a piece of his mind, even throw them out... wasn't that a comforting thought?

But as he rounded the corner, all words fled from his mind.

There on the blue carpet, lay a wildly beautiful man with the most expressive silver eyes looking up at him, upside down.

He was wearing black trousers and a red shirt, almost the same colour as his face was right now, as he tried and failed to suppress his laughter.

A little kid with the same matching expression was holding his chubby fingers across his own mouth, trying really hard not to make a sound.

"Uh oh... A-Yuan!" He giggled. "I think we're in trouble, little radish..."

Lan Zhan had never seen someone so beautiful before. The man on the floor was a work of art. His cheeks were shining with a healthy glow, and...he looked so damn good. Lan Zhan wanted to hear that laugh once more.

What was wrong with him?

Lan Zhan turned around and fled.

*********

Wei WuXian was surprised when he opened his eyes and looked up. A-Yuan had said something funny and both of them were laughing out loud before he could stop either himself or his son.

He stopped breathing.

There was a handsome man frowning at both of them.

No... handsome was too lame a word for who Wei WuXian was looking up at.

Even upside down, Wei WuXian knew he had never, ever seen someone so good-looking before. His golden eyes were sharply intense, taking in the whole seen with serious attention, and Wei WuXian was thinking whether or not the stranger would look better the right way up.

Too conscious of A-Yuan sitting on his stomach, desperately trying not to make any more noise, and that's why he thought they were both in trouble.

But the stranger ran away.

Why?

"Baba...was it cos we were laughing?" A-Yuan said, becoming way too serious for a three year old.

"I don't know." Wei WuXian replied. He sat up.

"We should go say sowwy." A-Yuan had already made his mind up and stood, taking his father's hand and trying to pull him up.

"A-Yuan... you're already so strong!" Wei WuXian pretended to rise purely out of the child's efforts, making the little toddler break out into giggles again.

"At this rate, we'll just have to stand next to him and keep apologizing." Wei WuXian murmured.

He dusted off his clothes and picked up his son, slinging his back pack over one shoulder.

"Let's go find him."

The stranger was actually hard to find.

Wei WuXian didn't know if he was just visiting or whether he worked at the institute. After a fruitless search, A-Yuan had a brainwave.

"Baba, can I draw a picture for him? For the beautiful Gege?"

"Sure, little Radish, of course you can." They settled at a table and Wei WuXian pulled out everything his baby needed to draw his picture.

A-Yuan went with crayons as a first choice today, and it was lucky that Wei WuXian had brought them.

While his little Picasso drew and coloured in, Wei WuXian pulled out his own notebook and began making headings.

His next book concerned a man with a tattoo, and general crime of the Mafia type, so he was going to research all of that plus signature weapons. He liked the idea of swords but if he could find a way to maybe fold them? They were a tad too conspicuous as a handy weapon, for example, if a potential hitman were to target someone, that someone would get the idea pretty quickly for why the hitman was there. There was no secrecy about swords at all.

He might have to visit this library's non-fiction department for more information.

"Baba, I'm hungry." A-Yuan pouted.

"Alright. Shall we go find a cafe? There must be somewhere around here that does fun food for kids." Wei WuXian efficiently packed away all their things, convincing the little guy that his crazy good drawing was safer inside the backpack than out.

"But Baba, what if we meet beautiful Gege again and it's not weady? We won't be able to give it to him." His bottom lip trembled, a sign of impending tears.

"We can finish the picture after lunch, how about that?" Wei WuXian coaxed, picking him up. "And we can always come back another day to give it to him, isn't it? We have to make sure it's perfect."

"Pwerfect!" A-Yuan sniffed.

His tummy rumbled and he clutched it dramatically.

"Come on, let's feed those lions and tigers and bears."

A-Yuan looked adorably confused.

"The ones growling in your tummy." Wei WuXian grinned and threw him up into the air once and twice before tucking him on his hip and slinging the backpack over his shoulder.

A-Yuan had tried not to shriek but it was so hard when he felt as if his stomach was falling away, with the thrills of free-falling.

"Beautiful Gege will come back and yell." He whispered, conspiratorially.

That was a win-win in Wei WuXian's book, but he grinned anyway.

He was right in his guess that there was a coffee shop down next to the security guards, and he and A-Yuan had a pleasant lunch.

They returned upstairs and A-Yuan leaned on Wei WuXian while he jotted down ideas, and when he looked up next, A-Yuan had fallen asleep.

Wei WuXian made him more comfortable and continued to write, and then, remembering the rules of putting books back in their correct place, he stood up to return his treasures.

But when he returned, A-Yuan had gone.

*******

A/N

This was a special request from edzooc8r

What do you guys think?

Also I wanted to do a shout out for RovenaNatasha who has written a beautiful series of oneshots, called WangXian Thoughts.

I was reading hers yesterday and she reminded me what A-Yuan's nickname was.

If you guys haven't checked out her work yet, please do so, she has incredible talent.