Perhaps Instead Of A Homeless Teen I Shoulda Been A 19th Century Newsboy, Given All These Headlines

[summerdude]

It's been a big few days in general, and this day, specifically, has also been pretty big, and so Magnus does the number two thing that reliably lets him reach a place where he feels more grounded: he goes to Hanguang-jun's parlor at a time when Hanguang-jun is also there playing music. (Number one, of course, is burying his face against Alex's belly and groaning. Number three, embarrassingly, is still finding a summery spot outside and praying to his dad.)

This time, he has a stack of comic books to go through -- he wants to start making tailored recommendation lists, for Tally and Lancelot (who he's made general recommendations to), but also for Galahad and Sagramore and Sunny and Hanguang-jun and Gideon and Shen Yuan and Gu Xiang and Tress and Nina. So he lays on the ground for a while, paging through issues while Hanguang-jun quietly picks out a tune on his qin and Danding nibbles his hair.

But after about half an hour, he's still got excitement and overstimulation brimming through his veins, so he sets Sensational She-Hulk #39 to one side (it's definitely going on Lancelot's list, probably also Tally's, possibly also Gideon's), twists his head, and waits for a lull in the music. When it comes, he says, "Hanguang-jun? I have... stuff. Not crisisy stuff. Mostly good stuff, and also... some questionsy stuff."

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji has been glad for the quiet. He likes it when Magnus talks; he likes it generally when he can sit with someone he loves and listen to them speak on whatever they like. But the quiet is welcome, too, after the mild but still distinct humiliation of his behavior as a child, the tumult of that day.

He looks up from the qin, which he has been contemplating in silence while considering his options regarding his current composition. He doesn't say anything, but he is confident enough that Magnus will understand the go on, then in the way he meets his gaze and awaits the aforementioned stuff.

[summerdude]

"So I was talking to P-- to Sagramore this morning," Magnus says. "About some stuff me and Sunny have been talking about, you know, questions she has, worries and stuff like that. And after all that I figured I should tell him how happy she is with her new dads, you know? Because she can let them know, but I, like, get what she's saying better than most people here. And then he, um, like. He asked me if I wanted a new dad."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji does hesitate, but he doesn't do so for very long. None of this, ultimately, is very surprising. He remembers making tamales with Sagramore and Magnus and the short discussion he and Sagramore had about Magnus while Magnus was, ostensibly, looking for ingredients. "You do," he says quietly. "Frey is not adequate."

[summerdude]

"See, the thing is," Magnus says, twisting his head so he can watch Hanguang-jun, "being a kid again the other day kinda made me realize... like, Frey is my dad and I love him, even if he is a total Jerome, but he's never been my parent. Wanting another dad doesn't actually have anything to do with him and what he has or hasn't done."

[lightbearinglord]

The phrase a total Jerome means nothing to him, but Lan Wangji is an adult again; he can accept missing some of Magnus' meaning without letting the uncertainty overwhelm him. He has his own uncharitable opinions about Frey, in any case. "Understood." He has some questions, but he wants not to divert Magnus, so he waits. Those questions may be answered shortly anyway.

[summerdude]

Magnus isn't sure that he does understand. "Like," he says. "It's not because I want someone to come along and do better than Frey. Like, I do want a dad, and that's what I told Sagramore, but it's not about, like, 'father,' it's about 'parent.' When I say you are, or he is, like, a father figure, it's that you remind me of my mom, and I want to, like, honor that or whatever. Not in a replacey way, in a bonus way."

[lightbearinglord]

"It would not be possible to replace your mother," Lan Wangji agrees. He studies Magnus' face for a moment. He thinks he does understand, inasmuch as one person can understand another person's heart. His own father hated to acknowledge him or even look at him. He never wanted a replacement. He wanted to forget that he had a father at all. A little quieter, then, he adds, "I imagine at times that I am continuing her work -- caring for you because she no longer can."

[summerdude]

A reflexive smile crests over Magnus's face. "Yeah?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Yes." He won't say this part aloud, but he hopes that Natalie would approve. He will never meet her, but he admires her.

[summerdude]

"That's really cool, Hanguang-jun."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji's eyes are slightly soft, that characteristically minute but distinct display of affection. "Is this what you told Sagramore?"

[summerdude]

"Huh? Oh. I said I did want a dad, and he asked if I'd have him, since I've been calling him Pops and since me and Sunny already adopted each other. And I said yes, with the caveat that it has to be okay that I kind of see you guys equally as father figures." Magnus still desperately wants Hanguang-jun to call him son! He won't be belaboring the point anymore, but ideally he would like to be adopted twice, eventually. He gets that Hanguang-jun has, like, both personal and cultural reasons for not wanting a more specific relationship than 'family,' but he's going to hold out hope anyway for a long long time.

[lightbearinglord]

Attentive, Lan Wangji nods. He is obscurely glad for the weight of his qin across his lap, the familiarity of its strings under his hands. "Are there duties Sagramore will be taking on that you would like me to take on as well?"

[summerdude]

"We didn't really talk duties. Just about, like, doing family stuff together."

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji hesitates. He doesn't quite have what Sagramore has to offer, and that is intentional; he doesn't have the fullness of an entire house, at least not anymore, or a newly-adopted younger sister. He is content for himself with what he has, but he wants neither to demand more of Magnus' time nor to imply that he cannot offer it if he likes. "If you wish to join Wei Ying and me more often, we would be pleased."

[summerdude]

Magnus blinks and his heart pounds, then soars. He pulls himself up into more of a seated position so that he can scoot closer to Hanguang-jun. It sounds almost as if he's going to try to match Sagramore...?! Magnus can definitely be patient, then; actions are more important than labels, anyway.

"Maybe," he says, "me and Alex could come over for dinner? Like once a week?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Of course." The look he is giving Magnus is unmistakably fond again, warm around the eyes. He does like to feed the people he loves. And he misses the rare but precious evenings when Sizhui would come by and eat with the two of them, when all three of them happened to be at the Cloud Recesses at the same time, or the night-hunts wherein the three of them would dine at the local inn all together. "We usually dine in our quarters."

[summerdude]

"That sounds nice," says Magnus, now grinning big enough to match the fondness radiating from Hanguang-jun. "Maybe every so often you guys could come to camp. If you wanted. I'm getting pretty not-terrible at kabobs."

[lightbearinglord]

"Wei Ying will eat anything," Lan Wangji says primly, as if he could possibly pretend that he will not be delighted to try whatever Magnus cooks.

[summerdude]

"I know," Magnus says, grin widening. "He gave me my first-ever cooking lesson, remember?"

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji remembers. His mouth twitches. "It is fortunate that I intervened."

[summerdude]

"Hanguang-jun!" says Magnus, faux-scandalized and all the way delighted. "So snarky."

[lightbearinglord]

"Snarky?" He doesn't always stop Magnus and ask for definitions, but in this case, he is curious enough to do so.

[summerdude]

"Funny-sarcastic and kinda..." Magnus hesitates. He doesn't love to say this word, because he drinks his respect women juice every morning. In fact, it will be only the third time he's used any version of it in his entire time in the mansion. But there's not really a better word to use in this context, so: "...bitchy. In a fun way."

[lightbearinglord]

The very corner of Lan Wangji's mouth quirks up again before it settles. "Mn." He doesn't argue with the assessment. In any case: "Congratulations. I will say the same to Sagramore when next I see him."