WHO Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng (and Fairy!) WHERE Lotus Pier WHEN Feb 5th, afternoon WHAT Helping Wei Wuxian to get over his dog fear & some heartfelt conversations. STATUS Complete! WARNINGS WWX has some pretty deep fears when it comes to dogs, and has a traumatic past that’s delved into here and might be a tough subject. (There’s no dog injuries or anything like that, promise.)
Fairy was incredibly well-behaved when he wanted to be. And when Jiang Cheng wanted him to be. Part of that was simply that Jiang Cheng quietly and effectively spoiled him when no one was looking. But part of it was also just that he was a very good dog. Loyal. Hard-working. Protective. He didn't seem all that bothered by Wei Wuxian's dislike. If anything, he had quickly shifted into patiently waiting for Wei Wuxian to trust him and move onto the spoiling.
It wasn't that easy, of course. They'd had some small attempts to work on Wei Wuxian's fear before now, but this was a more involved try, in a wide open clearing near Lotus Pier. Now that things had quieted down again, Jiang Cheng wanted to work on something that would show his brother he cared. That he wanted Wei Wuxian to feel safe.
"Are you ready?" Jiang Cheng had Fairy on a leash but he was holding it very loosely. The dog sat comfortably at his side. "I was thinking we could work up to you two playing fetch."
Was he ready? No.
But would he ever be ready? Also no.
Wei Wuxian stood there, hands wringing themselves raw as he fidgeted from one foot to another. He was sensible enough that he knew Fairy wouldn’t hurt him - unless he attacked Jiang Cheng or Jin Ling, of course - but sense wasn’t something that traveled well around his brain.
Everytime he looked at a dog, he had flashes of his childhood, of living on the streets and of dogs fighting him for food. That wordless terror of the unknown seeped in and took over that so-called sensible part of his brain instead and everything began to melt down. But Jiang Cheng wanted to help him with this, and they had a nephew and a future-niece he owed it to. So Wei Wuxian only fidgeted slightly and finally nodded. “Yes. Wait! If- If I throw it, won’t he want to bring it back?”
Jiang Cheng sighed. He had to remind himself that patience was key for this. Even if it would always shock him that his fearless brother was afraid of the soft and loving animal at Jiang Cheng's side. He stroked Fairy's head and scratched behind his ears.
"That's kind of the idea, yes." He smirked, hoping it would soften the statement, and pulled a flexible dog toy out of his robes. It was shaped like a squid. "He'll want you to throw it again and again. I was hoping this might help you connect something harmless to a dog. I know…" Frowning, Jiang Cheng turned his gaze back to Wei Wuxian, staring a little gentler now. "I know you don't have good memories with dogs but they are not all the dogs from the street. You are family to Fairy, if you let it be so."
Wei Wuxian made a face back at Jiang Cheng’s smirk, but he let it fall away as he looked down at the dog at his brother’s side. It was difficult to dislike that face, Fairy had come through for them when they needed it most, helping at the end of Jin Guangyao’s reign with coming to their aid. He supposed he owed it to Fairy just as much as he did Yanli’s children.
With a petulant little frown he took one step forward and held his hand out to Jiang Cheng. He watched Fairy’s happy face tilt up at the sight of the toy and the dog started wiggling impatiently. “Is there a way to get him to bring it back to me slowly so he isn’t running straight at me?” He would do it even if Jiang Cheng said no, but it didn’t hurt to ask. He had been right that the memories that flashed in his brain were not good, but Wei Wuxian would have to steel his flight or flight response to dogs if the running was the only option.
Jiang Cheng handed over the toy with a pleased little smile. Fairy's tail thumped rhythmically against the back of his shoe. "You can give him instructions and I can try to encourage him to follow them."
He stepped away. Fairy's eyes followed, as if he wasn't sure if he should come along or if it was allowed for him to stay focused on the toy. Jiang Cheng made a little hand gesture that eased the dog's uncertainty and he turned back to the toy, tongue lolling.
"Throw it and as he goes to fetch it, tell him to go slowly. Fairy, be calm," he instructed. Fairy barked, just once, quietly.
Wei Wuxian jumped slightly with the bark, and then stilled himself again. He’d always been bad in the situations where he had to be calm, and that was even without some looming threat of-- okay, looming dog, threat felt like a bit much while Fairy was now looking at him adoringly as Wei Wuxian clutched the squid in his hand.
He turned to the side and looked down at the dog while the dog looked up at him, and Wei Wuxian got serious for a second. “It would figure you would decide you like me because of bribery.” Fairy barked again, as if agreeing, and bounded off happily as Wei Wuxian closed his eyes and threw. Another second passed before he remembered he was supposed to be giving instruction and he opened his eyes with a startled gasp. “Oh! Uh- Fairy, Slow!”
Wei Wuxian looked at his brother with pleading eyes. “How are you supposed to tell him to go slow, Jiang Cheng?”
There may not have been anything funny about Wei Wuxian's fear, but there was some amusement to be had watching him throw blind. Jiang Cheng shook his head, snorting quietly, and watched the well-trained dog fetch the toy and happily carry it back. Jiang Cheng rolled eyes a little and held up a hand in a gesture Fairy knew well.
"Slowly, Fairy." The dog was trotting like a show horse, grin stretched wide around the toy. He did as he was told though and slowed his pace. He even lowered his head to drop the toy at Wei Wuxian's feet before sitting back on his haunches and panting cheerfully.
"Do you see?" He asked his brother. "He can do it and so can you. Again."
Wei Wuxian had taken a small step back and his fists clenched at his side as everything tensed up when Fairy came towards them. He missed having Lan Zhan around to hide behind, even if he knew now that Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have let anything happen to him. A year ago or more? Maybe it would have been debatable, but actions in Vallo had well-established that now.
Still, he wasn’t against pulling a face in his brother’s direction. “I’m beginning to wonder which of us is the dog taking orders here.”
This was the more difficult part for him, reaching his hand into something that was near Fairy, with most of his least favorite memories coming from possessive and hungry dogs. Once again he closed his eyes as he reached down quickly for the squid, and had to feel around a little blindly before his hand grasped it. Fairy, to his credit, was patiently waiting with a grin on his face, and when Wei Wuxian opened his eyes they were level with each other. Close enough that it made him stumble and almost fall backwards.
Jiang Cheng recognized how things were going to progress. Or at least, he had a solid theory that proved correct. It helped him get close before Wei Wuxian opened his eyes. Crouched down with him and pressed a hand to his back to keep him upright.
"It's all right," he said quietly. Calmly. "He won't hurt you. I wouldn't let him. But he also won't hurt you because he knows hurting you would hurt Jin Ling. And me." Fairy seemed to understand the moment was fraught. He dropped down to rest his head on the tops of his paws so he was looking up at them. Jiang Cheng kept his hand on his brother's back and gave Fairy a scratch between the ears with the other. It was probably asking too much too fast, but he tried anyway. "Can you give him a little pet, Wei Wuxian?"
Wei Wuxian didn’t doubt Jiang Cheng’s words, which was a rarity in itself. But in this case, it was a comfort, to have that hand on him, and the protection at his side. He’d never had this on the streets, not until Jiang Fengmian had come to his aid and taken him from there. But to everyone else he had been nothing more than a nuisance.
It had taken him a long time to shake that feeling, and even then it never truly went away at Lotus Pier unless he was with Yanli and Jiang Cheng alone. He felt that comfort now, of the days when they were good and young and nothing had been broken apart.
With that feeling bolstered behind him, Wei Wuxian reached out tentatively, just enough that his fingers could brush the top of fairy’s head and give a light scritch.
Fairy grinned again, panting a few times. Jiang Cheng smoothed his hand down the dog's back, to keep him calm and to give Wei Wuxian room to tentatively scratch his head. He was watching his brother out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want to rush this. It was nice, them just sitting here petting a dog. It was something they'd never had.
"I brought treats. Just in case you needed to bribe him," he joked. Fairy's ears perked at the word treats, but Jiang Cheng didn't cave just yet. He finally looked at Wei Wuxian. "You're never this quiet. What are you thinking?"
“For him or for me?” Wei Wuxian replied instantly, broken from his silent spell with the word treats. He was probably just as easy to bribe as Fairy was, maybe even easier, if one were to dangle a dumpling or Emperor’s Smile in front of him.
He continued petting Fairy’s fuzzy head, almost afraid at this point to pull away, when he had been afraid to start. He shrugged, even with a protest forming on his lips. “I am quiet sometimes!” Not often, and usually it meant something bad. “It is just-- I was thinking of when we were young and things were still good. It had taken a long time for me to feel like I belonged and was wanted, and even then it was only with you and shijie. I felt that now.”
“I am not setting the precedent of bribing you. You’d demand it always after that,” Jiang Cheng snorted. Fairy closed his eyes, enjoying their attention and not yet in a hurry to do something else. His energy would spike again soon and Wei Wuxian would likely startle when he demanded to play. But maybe not. Maybe he would be distracted. Jiang Cheng certainly was. He couldn’t help the way his brother’s words made the tension in his shoulders vanish.
“But I’m glad you feel like you belong. I know…” He huffed and rolled his eyes. “I am not Yanli. And I won’t promise to behave like her.” Picking up the squid toy, he brushed dirt off it as he spoke. “I will probably always be sharper than you would prefer. But where we are is where you will belong, for as long as you wish.” He held out the toy. “And I will try to make sure you never doubt it again.”
Oh, so they were doing this. Wei Wuxian had let himself be a little more honest than he usually did, so he shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was still unexpected for Jiang Cheng to continue with it. Though his brother was always the more serious of them, so maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise.
“I would think you were sick if you started behaving like Yanli,” Wei Wuxian agreed with a solemn nod. It was something he never would have expected of his brother, and frankly would have scared him. But the conversation was keeping his mind off of the fact that he was still consistently petting the dog right in front of him, and hadn’t been scared off yet. “Sometimes-- you are soft with George Weasley and I know why, he’s your person, but I’m just not used to you being forgiving of the things I say so I get a little jealous. It’s dumb, Jiang Cheng, you can ignore me when I get like that.”
Jiang Cheng scowled. “I don’t want to ignore it. I…guess I just don’t know how to tease you without it coming across as disapproval. Because I haven’t meant to be truly unforgiving of anything you say in many months. And George—”
Fairy didn’t approve of their distraction but he was too well-trained to be aggressive about it. He merely bumped the toy in Jiang Cheng’s hand with his nose and then panted up at Wei Wuxian. His grin was unrelenting. Jiang Cheng sighed. “George doesn’t have your experience with the worst of me. So I suppose I make a special effort to keep it that way. I can’t spare you the past. I can only keep trying to be better now.”
Wei Wuxian could almost be thankful for this conversation, because it was almost effortless as he took the toy from Jiang Cheng’s hand and threw it so Fairy could go running off. It gave him an opportunity to stand up without a dog in his face, and he could brace himself for when the dog came happily trotting back.
“George deserves it.” There was no mistaking that, Wei Wuxian was glad his brother hadn’t scared off his ginger boyfriend, since he was a welcome addition. He pulled a talisman out of his robes quickly, as Fairy was on his way back. When he tossed it up in the air, it turned into a flurry of bubbles that spread across the sky, over the dog and giving him something to chase and try to catch. Wei Wuxian smirked and for once, kept his attention on the dog instead of his brother. “I know I have a lot to make up for, Jiang Cheng. I just like to pretend none of it happened, it’s easier that way. But not better.”
Jiang Cheng watched Fairy for a moment, a ghost of a smile on his face. The dog had been a little listless at times, before Jin Ling arrived. Now he was happier than ever. It didn't make this conversation comfortable by any means, but it did soften it. Jiang Cheng stood and nudged his shoulder against Wei Wuxian's.
"I haven't thought about it like that in a long time. We were all pawns. Slaves to a corrupted system. Why don't we just…start fresh? No balance owed." He sounded faintly unnerved, like it was too much to ask. But he was risking it anyway. He turned and put his hands together to bow. "You deserve better too, brother. Even on the days when you get on my nerves." He paused, tipping his head to the side. "Maybe especially on those days."
“A fresh start?” Wei Wuxian hummed and rocked back onto his heels to act like he was strongly debating Jiang Cheng’s words, taking it in very seriously. His finger went to his chin and then up to tap his nose. “I don’t know, Jiang Cheng--” He was full of shit, and the grin that slipped out a moment later gave that away. “Of course we can. We’ll start now.”
It was making him itchy at how serious they were being, and Wei Wuxian flicked his finger against his nose once more, channeling a little cultivation through it as he glanced over Jiang Cheng’s robes. As if on cue, the treats Jiang Cheng had said he had stashed away for Fairy started spilling out onto the ground all around his brother’s feet, and Wei Wuxian grinned. “Fairy! Treats!”
He knew full well he was in for it as soon as Jiang Cheng didn’t have a dog running head-first towards him, so Wei Wuxian took off running with a glorious laugh.
Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes at his brother's telltale I'm about to do something mischievous quirks. But thankfully, he was feeling lighter after their chat, and Wei Wuxian's agreement, so he only smirked and rolled his eyes at the dramatics.
That was until the treats spilled out and Fairy lept for them, tumbling them both to the ground. Jiang Cheng made an undignified squawk.
He shouted after Wei Wuxian's departing back, embarrassed laughter in his voice. "You better run! Vengeance will be swift!"