Thread by @cerbykerby

I always appreciate a good wangxian time travel, and it's still #omegaLWJseason, so…

35 y/o omega!lwj accidentally time travels back to his 15 y/o days. typically, presentations don't emerge until someone is around 16-18 years of age, so wangxian are unpresented at this time.

because they wear many layers to mask scent and it's rude to sniff others, the lan clan use different forehead ribbon designs to distinguish between different presentations. omegas get a jeweled bead hanging down from the center. alphas get a metal cloud engraving in the middle.

(for distinction purposes, bby unpresented lwj is lwj and 35 y/o omega!lwj is hgj))

hgj's arrival at the cloud recesses causes a bit of a panic, esp since the first thing hgj does is go directly to his uncle and tell him about the time travel oopsie.

lqr nearly suffers a heart attack twice; once because a-zhan is somehow suddenly taller than he is, then another one when he realizes that a small, blue jeweled bead is hanging from the middle of hgj's forehead ribbon, marking his dear, dear, nephew as an omega.

of course, demeanor doesn't necessarily predispose anyone of one presentation or the other, but the lan clan have more or less sort of… been anticipating their twin jades presenting as alphas.

lqr *immediately* starts panicking over potential suitors for lwj.

hgj: shufu, there is no need to worry. I'm already bonded.

lqr: to who

hgj:

lqr: TO WHO??

hgj: it is getting late, shufu. i would like to retire for the night

lqr: WANGJI

the elders hold an emergency meeting about this. okay, so apparently their beloved second jade eventually will present as an omega. that's fine. omegas are good too. it's all good. but. BUT. the world cannot know about this yet. it is too early. hgj must be kept in seclusion.

wen ruohan has just announced that his sons have both presented as alphas. if word reaches them that lwj will be an omega and wrh decides to arrange a marriage, the lans will have a difficult time saying no. hgj needs to keep low and quiet for the time being.

by the time they reach this conclusion, wwx has already gotten curious enough about lwj's odd behavior that he followed him and—oop, there's apparently another lan zhan in the cloud recesses. and he's so tall! and pretty! and so ~mature~

wwx: wow, older lan zhan! you're so tall!

hgj, fond: mn

wwx: and you're smiling!

hgj, even fonder: mn

wwx: and your forehead ribbon changed! :0

hgj, pausing:

lwj, in the middle of an existential crisis: Don't You Dare Say A Word

see, lwj's Goin Thru It. he has no qualms about knowing that he's going to be an omega, but he definitely knows that hgj is bonded, and he's far too scared to ask hgj who he bonded with. because if the answer is not wwx, then lwj would be crushed. and if the answer IS wwx…

… then lwj would simply fade out of existence because his 15 y/o brain Cannot handle the notion of even holding hands with wwx.

of course wwx, being the blabbermouth he is, asks hgj what his presentation is.

lwj nearly scolds him for it. how rude! and they clearly studied the topic of forehead ribbons in class yesterday! how can wwx—

"I'm an omega," hgj answers without hesitation.

wwx's face lights up with open curiosity. then, out of nowhere, he asks, "So have you taken a knot yet?"

lwj's hand flies to bichen's handle, but hgj answers quicker than lwj can draw his blade: "I have."

wwx's face flushes red. lwj CHOKES.

"Wow," wwx coughs. "You really have changed. Lan Zhan would rather die than answer any questions like that. So, um, what does it feel like?"

"Wei Ying!" lwj hisses.

"I'm just curious!" wwx argues. "I don't know what I'm going to present as! I might as well learn what I can."

wwx ends up regretting it cos hgj has zero qualms about giving a graphic play-by-play description of how knotting works, when it occurs, what it feels like, and the aftermath of it.

wwx is scarred. lwj is scarred. hgj very seriously tells them that it's important to be informed.

wwx is nothing but persistent, however, and he's back the next day.

"Sooo… Lan Zhan." he stretches out like a cat across the tea table in hgj's guest bedroom. "What will I present as?"

"I cannot tell you that," hgj says, his gazes soft.

wwx pouts and drums his knuckles on the tea table for a long while. "If we, um," he coughs, "if I present as an alpha, does… anything change between us?"

"Hm." hgj settles down with his guqin and starts tending to it. "Elaborate."

"Do we remain friends?" wwx asks.

before hgj can answer, wwx hurries to clarify, "Because if I end up as an alpha, then people might get the wrong idea if we hang out a lot around each other! haha. ah." he falls silent for a bit. "I just think it would be disappointing if we end up growing apart because of that."

hgj's gaze softens—he does that so often now, wwx thinks. "We still see each other often in the future," he says.

wwx lights up, then dims a little. "Oh… but aren't you bonded? Doesn't your bondmate mind? Especially if I'm an alpha?"

hgj blinks. very slowly.

"My bondmate does not mind," hgj says.

wwx scratches his head, confused. what a weird bondmate.

wwx unexpectedly presents as an alpha a few days later. the first thing he immediately notices is how *strong* some odors have suddenly become. those who are unpresented cannot detect presentation scents and have no scents themselves. now, to wwx, everything REEKS.

naturally the only remedy for this is for wwx to bury his face in hgj's boobs

I can't believe this thread devolved into wwx and milflwj

what if hgj was lactating because he'd recently given yllz yet another little one 🤔🤔🤔

what if wwx got incredibly confused because why does hgj suddenly smell like milk? 'tis not typical of him to spill milk, much less over his chest.

wwx, walking over to lwj, burying his face in lwj's chest and sniffing so hard that he practically snorts:

lwj, screeching and slapping him away: WEI YING WHAT ARE YO—

wwx: huh 🤔🤔 you don't smell like milk. I wonder why that is.

lwj: INSOLENT

lwj: why does wei ying say you smell of milk

hgj: because I'm producing milk

lwj: why would you be—

lwj:

lwj: ᵒʰ

lwj starts visiting hgj more often with questions on parenthood and having kids. wwx tags along, often draping himself all over lwj.

lwj: wei ying, you're an alpha. this behavior is inappropriate

wwx: but hanguang-jun says his bondmate doesn't mind 🥺 and you're unpresented

lwj wavers at that; what does 'hgj's bondmate won't mind' mean? that lwj won't grow up to bond with wwx? the disappointment threatens to choke him.

"All the more reason you shouldn't be so familiar with me," lwj forces himself to say. "Especially if we both bond with others."

hgj: I was not dumb when I was younger—only misguided

lwj: *misunderstands from wwx's misunderstanding*

hgj: