good father!jfm, modern au | all of your flaws

the thing is, fengmian never saw himself as a father, nor a husband. he would be the next in line to his father's business but it never occured to him how he would be doing the same.

so here he was, married.

it was an arrangement, one to build closer ties to another business they had been allies with for years now but there was still the wedding, there was still the kiss.

so, marriage.

there's a reason why fengmian never dated and it wasn't because he pined for his friend's lover.

no, fengmian was just utterly useless at romance and had always been awkward with relationships, the only one who'd ever stuck by him, who put up with his 'fake-but-actually-just-trying' smiles was wei changze.

forgive him when he doesn't believe that a woman like yu ziyuan, —

sharp, cunning and with the needing no man attitude yu ziyuan apparently liked him.

he was literally the most plain one in his generation, he means no offense but did the violet spider have no taste? is she perhaps okay?

he'll never know, he doesn't even know how to ask that.

but maybe it has some truth because she stays and so, fengmian tries to be a good husband.

he thinks maybe he does something wrong when his lady gets mad at him when he gifted her those earrings.

of course, only he could somehow do something like that.

it takes their grandmothers teaming up for them to solve out their issues and honestly? he'd like to thank them even if it would have those old women hitting him in the face with their heels - though seriously, how are they still wearing heels - for his 'tomfoolery.'

it would also mean his lady would get tugged on her ear so he thought it was fair.

so he was a husband now, he has a wife and things were rocky because his lady spilled out her problems and flaws and he never bothered to show his, which was a personal insult.

but now they were trying and maybe they are getting somewhere because they actually take the time to do their honeymoon because fengmian was a fool and didn't take his lady during their wedding night all because he thought the other was unwilling.

now, a baby was on the way. fengmiam was going to be a father.

a father! he was not ready in the slightest, his wife was growing – yes, my lady, you're growing not fat, didn't say that at all, please stop pinching me – these past few months and this didn't feel real.

but it is because soon, the baby comes and maybe the heavens have mercy after all because jiang yanli was the best daughter, sweet and soft and fengmian loves her so much he feels high as he shows the still pink, squiggling daughter of his to his tired wife with a stupid grin.

he gets shooed away for his efforts, being scolded as to let his lady rest but he holds yanli close when they try to bring her away.

maybe, just maybe he caused a scene of how they were taking away his daughter, getting pushed back in his wife's room and told to stay quiet.

worth it, utterly worth it because it meant he could stare in awe and wonder at the young sleeping baby that he had a hand in making.

his lady finds him like that, opening and closing his mouth with yanli like an utter buffoon.

he doesn't see her smile in exasperation.

what he does see, is her glaring at him and seething with a tired voice to let herr hold little yanli and fengmian realizes he has to share and gasps in horror.

"what's with that look?!"

"my lady, you're still tired and need rest and-"

"you just don't want me to hold her!""

"but my lady, this is my child, i made her, let me hold her-"

"i am LITERALLY HER MOTHER YOU IMBECILE, LET ME HOLD A-LI!"

"you could drop her!"

"i will not! what do you take me for?!"

"but my lady-"

"fengmian, i swear i'm going to-"

that's what the doctor walked into, the two of them whispering heatedly over who gets to hold the baby while the baby is smiling and giggling in her sleep.

it makes the nurse walking in a moment later shake their head in disbelief, muttering how the man did the same to them.

so being a father isn't so bad now that he's actually raising a child. it's tiring and has petty arguments with his lady in between but seeing this chubby little thing that babble and looks up at him with wide eyes makes his heart melt and his gallery is filled with that image.

he gets nagged at for accidentally sending his father pictures of yanli instead of the files he'd asked for but his mother, who was once again, working in his father's office, sent a text of how his father laughed and cooed at the images before barraging his phone with texts.

so he knows he's not in any actual trouble and like this, fengmian's life as a father is good and wonderful, yanli is the best daughter, merciful in giving the both of them an easy time in raising her and he is so so grateful because this responsibility is huge and he wants to—

be good for his little family.

or his growing family.

because there's another baby on the way.

and he deserves getting that slap when his reaction to that is looking at his lady and her stomach back and forth a few times before going, "do you need bigger clothes?"

it was a very valid question out of concern but he admits that could have been phrased better, especially his, "my lady, please don't be embarrassed you still look lovely, you look really stunning when carrying our child."

he gets pinched and called a pervert for that one.

he doesn't get the pervert part, really. he was telling the truth, he thought pregnant women get insecure about getting fat after giving birth but his lady is always beautiful and wanted to reassure her of that fact.

he'll ask his mother about it...

after he's done panic planning for another baby and is able to wipe the 'dopey grin' on his face so that he can surprise her with the news of another grandkid.

he starts by going to a-li's room and picking her up and twirling her around, letting her giggle as he tell her.

"you're going to be a jiejie, a-li!" he gets bombarded with soft excited questions by his daughter and he spends his timeout like this.

his lady said he has three hours of timeout so once that's done he'll apologize and maybe if he's good enough he can do that thing again.

he is good enough because he's learned from his mistakes and fengmian spends his night softly pressing his head against his lady's stomach, giddy and excited for the new child that's to come.

he gets pinched when he starts baby talking to her stomach but that's okay.

the moment jiang cheng was born, fengmian falls, because his son greets the world with a scrunched up face, high pitched grumbles and maybe a few ear ringing sobs and only calms down when his family holds him.

"whipped," he heard his lady whisper but why wouldn't he be?

his son reaches out blindly, chubby arms and chubby cheeks, gurgling and still scrunched up – "he looks like you, my lady- ow!" – before fengmian lets the hand touch his finger and—

fengmian can't breath as a-cheng makes a happy noise, tiny fingers curling around his large one.

"a-die?" yanli tilts her head and is surprised when her father sobs right there, in front of all of them and the nurses.

"a-li he's holding my finger!"

"he is, a-die."

"my lady, my lady! he's! holding! my! finger!!"

"i can see that, you idiot husband."

"my lady!!"

jiang cheng was not like jiang yanli but that's okay because fengmian loves his son who looks at the world with a glare, so serious and determined that he both wants to coo but also fears because his son! so serious! why so serious, please smile for your a-die?

yanli always giggles when he does that, tugging at his sleeve to try and wave away his pout by saying, "a-cheng is still young, a-die. he doesn't know what you're saying yet, he'll smile at us when he wants to."

his lady cuffs his head gently in exasperation when he pouts more.

"look at you! even yanli knows better! now give a-cheng here i want to hold him too!"

"but my lady!!"

"you've had him for five hours!!" she actually whines back and he's too stunned looking at her pouting face to realize she took a babbling a-cheng away, "let me carry him!!"

fengmian blinks before rushing after her, "my lady did you just pout?!"

"no i did not!! a-li, come quickly and distract your father!!!"

yanli watches them run around the house, albeit silently and carefully to not jostle a-cheng too much.

she smiles and does nothing.

she gets called traitor for that but she knows a-niang doesn't mean it because she still teaches her how to cook the new recipe for bonding time and a-die gives her sweets much to a-niang's chagrin.

besides, all the ruckus had made a-cheng laugh so it was all fine and well.

jiang cheng is five and fengmian gets yelled at for giving him three puppies when he was still a child but how could he not?! my lady, a-cheng looked so happy when i brought him to the shelter and these three followed him!! they are a package!!

his lady relents soon anyways.

nobody could resist the sight of a happy tumbling child with his three chubby malamutes, yanli looks so happy too, saying how she wants to help with taking care of them and fengmian knows his lady melts once one of them stumbles to her and uses her foot as a pillow.

"what are you naming them, a-cheng?"

"princess! jasmine! and little love!!"

silence. his lady turns to him in horror and honestly, fengmian does the same.

"so it IS inherited." fengmian splutters at that and whines an indignant 'my lady' while yuu ziyuan tries to hold it in.

yanli smiles at her didi and sidles up beside him, "those are lovely names, a-cheng!"

"mm!! princess likes to be clean, jasmine likes a-niang so she can have her fa-fa—" "favorite." "favorite! flower and little love is little love because i love him."

they ignore the sobs in the background, their parents liked to cry sometimes so it's okay.

"my lady, did you-" "i HEARD, oh my god-" "it's so sweet-" "fengmian, get me the tissues-" "you get the tissues i need to calture this moment-" "no YOU-" "no YOU-" "fengmian!!" "my lady!!"

//end of part 1!

-TBC-

this thread got long so i'm making another one as a part 2, i'll link the thread once i post, part 2 contains baby wei ying! conflicted dad/uncle fengmian!! light drama but jiangs are always causing drama now with fiery yu flare, it'll be resolved tho dw