![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fic snippet: TGCF Modern AU kidfic
"I guess he doesn't want any brothers or sisters," Mu Qing said dryly. He tossed Feng Xin the ice pack and closed the bedroom door. Feng Xin's newly discovered four-year-old son was running around in the living room, singing some doggrel from a children's show.
"It was an accident," Xie Lian said hastily. He guided a limping Feng Xin to the bed.
Feng Xin flopped down and pressed the ice pack to his crotch. He pressed his arm over his eyes. "He looked me straight in the eye when I told him to call me 'Baba' and kicked me square in the balls!"
"Good aim, lots of power. You should get him into soccer," Mu Qing suggested. "Good scholarships in soccer."
"I can't do this," Feng Xin groaned.
"Jian Lan wouldn't have appointed you as his guardian if she didn't think you could take care of a child," Xie Lian said.
"If she thought I could take care of a child, she would have told me I had a son!" Anger helped. Feng Xin sucked in air, and let it out.
"You raised Bojing well," Xie Lian said.
"Bojing died," Feng Xin said miserably.
"Of old age!" Mu Qing said, exasperated.
Feng Xin glared at him. "Betta fish can live two to five years in captivity, and he was only-" he paused to count.
"Four years," Mu Qing said.
Feng Xin's eyes widened. "Hao'er is four!"
Mu Qing leaned across the bed and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Which is too soon for a human to die of old age," Feng Xin said sheepishly.
"Sh!" Xie Lian said. They all froze.
Feng Xin leapt to his feet. "Why is it quiet?"
The singing and footsteps had stopped.
Feng Xin flung the ice pack aside, nearly hitting Mu Qing, and ran into the living room. "What's wrong?" he demanded.
Hua Cheng looked up from his seat on the couch and carefully tucked a bookmark in his paperback. "Wrong?" he asked innocently.
Feng Xin looked around the room frantically, and spotted Hao'er sitting crosslegged in front of the recliner, staring intently at a clock he was holding in his hands. Feng Xin looked at Hua Cheng, looked at Hao'er again, then back to Hua Cheng. "What's he doing?"
"I said he could have a dollar for every minute he sat still and stayed quiet," Hua Cheng said. He opened his book again.
"You bribed my child?" Feng Xin demanded. He looked at Hao'er again. "And it worked?" Feng Xin naturally distrusted anything Xie Lian's terrible husband did, but Hao'er looked perfectly content and safe. "Hao'er, you don't have to do that," he said anyway. The boy shook his head without looking up.
Feng Xin dropped down on the couch as far from Hua Cheng as he could be while sharing a piece of furniture. He rubbed his hands over his eyes. He could do this. He could take care of a child. He was ready. Everything was safe - "Locks!" he exclaimed suddenly, jumping up.
"I checked them," Mu Qing said patiently. "They're all installed securely. Your closet is a disaster, by the way. We got a storage unit for a reason."
"I know," Feng Xin said. "I just wanted to get everything out of the way fast so Hao'er can have a real room."
"He does," Xie Lian said earnestly. "We'll let him pick out some decorations this weekend."
Feng Xin nodded. "We can look at bunk beds for Mu Qing's room, too. I don't want to share a bed any longer than we have to."
Hua Cheng snorted. Everyone looked at him. He lifted his head from his book and said, "I read something funny."
"The keys!" Feng Xin exclaimed. "Where are the keys, what if he gets the keys?"
"All the closet keys are in the lockbox in the pantry," Mu Qing said. "Combo is your birthday."
"You'll have to remind me, gege, I'll never remember that," Hua Cheng said to Xie Lian, and went back to his book.
Feng Xin chewed his lower lip. "What if he eats something?" He looked around for potential hazards.
"They stop putting things in their mouths at three," Mu Qing said.
"You were eighteen when you swallowed that roll of quarters," Feng Xin pointed out.
Hua Cheng had the slightly strained look that he got when he wanted to ask something but didn't want to look like he cared. He kept his eyes on his book.
"One at a time," Feng Xin said.
"Didn't ask," Hua Cheng said, and turned a page.
"You were the one that bet me, and you still owe me for that, by the way," Mu Qing said to Feng Xin.
"Doesn't count. You puked it up," Feng Xin said.
"Let's not get into that again," Xie Lian said hastily.
"Anyway, I didn't die," Mu Qing said.
"He will be fine," Xie Lian said gently. "We've locked the closets, child-proofed the kitchen, and put bumpers on all the corners. We prepared for this."
"I'm hungry!" Hao'er said, looking up from the clock. Hua Cheng checked the time on his watch.
"Fuck," Feng Xin said, looking panicked again.
"Fuck!" Hao'er said, waving the clock over his head.
"Shit," Feng Xin said through his teeth. "No, don't!" He waved his hands frantically.
Hao'er jumped up and waved the clock over his head. "Fuck! Shit!"
"Don't say that," Feng Xin pleaded.
"Fuck shit fuck shit!" Hao'er sang. "Fuck shit!" The clock slipped from his hand and landed on the floor with a crunch. He jumped up on the chair. Mu Qing grabbed the back of his pants and pulled him back just before the boy dove headfirst into a lamp. Hao'er twisted around and sank his teeth into Mu Qing's forearm. Mu Qing gritted his teeth and lowered the boy onto the carpet. He released his hold on the boy's pants, but Hao'er's teeth were still clamped around Mu Qing's arm.
"Fu-" Feng Xin rubbed his hand over his face. "Gosh darn monkey-fighting shirtballs!"
Hao'er let Mu Qing's arm go and whispered, "Shirtballs." Blood oozed from the teethmarks he left behind.
"I'll get the first aid kit," Xie Lian said, hopping up from the couch.
Hua Cheng turned a page. "Human bites can be extremely dangerous," he said calmly. "I hope he's had his shots."
"Um...," Feng Xin said, trying to remember what was in the sheaf of papers he'd gotten from Child Services.
"He's completely up on his vaccinations," Mu Qing said. He yanked a tissue from a box on the side table and pressed it against the wound. "And it's a minor injury. I just need to clean it."
"Oh, I nearly forgot," Hua Cheng said, setting aside his book and taking out his wallet. "Hao-er, I have money for you."
Feng Xin was pretty sure Hao'er shouldn't be rewarded right after tasting human flesh, but he didn't have the energy to argue with Hua Cheng. He'd learned to pick his battles.
"Cuocuo," Hao'er said, staying where he was.
"What's 'cuocuo'?" Feng Xin asked.
"I'm Cuocuo," Hao'er said.
"No, you're Hao'er," Feng Xin said. "That's your name."
Hao'er shook his head wildly. "I'm Cuocuo!"
"Come here, Cuocuo," Hua Cheng said. Hao'er dashed over to him and Hua Cheng handed Hao'er several bills. "That was good work today."
"Tell Hua shushu thank you." Xie Lian said, returning to the living room with the first aid kit.
Mu Qing and Feng Xin looked at each other and mouthed, Hua shushu? Feng Xin scowled. Mu Qing took the first aid kit from Xie Lian and started cleaning his wound.
"Thank you," Hao'er said obediently. He ran to Feng Xin, waving the cash in the air. It was probably about ten dollars. "Can I buy a car?"
"You're going to need more than that," Feng Xin said. Fuck, he was going to have to start a college fund, wasn't he? "Do you want me to put that in savings for you?" He reached for the bills, but Hao'er pulled them close to his chest.
"Mine!" he said. "Cuocuo's money. Fuck." He bounced in place. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
Mu Qing slapped a bandage on his wound and closed the first aid kit with a snap. He handed it back to Xie Lian.
"Shit shit shit shit shit," Hao'er sang as he spun around in a circle.
"I'm going to get dinner started," Xie Lian said. As he walked past Feng Xin, he touched the other man's shoulder and said quietly, "We'll make it work. I promise."
Feng Xin just nodded. He knelt down next to his son. "Hao'er, don't say that word anymore. It's a bad word."
"I'm Cuocuo!" Hao'er corrected. "Cuocuo! Cuocuo! Cuocuo's money!"
"Yeah, you can keep the money," Feng Xin said. "But don't say those words anymore, okay?"
"Fuck?" Hao'er asked.
"Yeah, don't say that," Feng Xin said.
"Shit?"
"That either," Feng Xin said.
"Fuck!" Hao'er sang. "Shit! Shirtballs! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"Just STOP!" Feng Xin snapped. Hao'er shrank back, pressing himself against Hua Cheng's legs.
"Watch yourself," Hua Cheng snarled at Feng Xin.
"I didn't mean-" Feng Xin said desperately. He was a terrible father. He'd had a son for one day and he'd already traumatized him for life. "I'm sorry, Hao'er."
Mu Qing knelt next to Feng Xin and held his hand out to Hao'er. "It's okay, Cuocuo. Your dad gets loud sometimes, but he's not mean. I promise."
"Shirtballs?" Hao'er asked. He clung to Hua Cheng's boot with one hand.
"Yeah, you can say 'shirtballs'," Feng Xin croaked. He held very, very still, not wanting to frighten the boy again.
"Shirtballs!" the boy snickered.
Feng Xin relaxed a little, and smiled. "Yeah, shirtballs. Come here, Cuocuo." He held out his hand, feeling as though he were coaxing a nervous cat to come out of its shelter. Maybe he should keep candy in his pockets.
"Shirtballs!" Hao'er - no, Cuocuo - dashed towards Feng Xin, lunged at his hand and bit down hard on Feng Xin's thumb.
"Fuck!" Feng Xin yelped.
Hua Cheng smirked.
Cuocuo giggled and flung himself against Mu Qing, who caught him and managed to balance himself before both of them fell over. "I'm hungry," Cuocuo said to Mu Qing.
"No biting people," Mu Qing said sternly. "Do you understand that? No biting."
Cuocuo nodded. "No biting," he echoed. He chomped his teeth, then clamped his hand over his mouth.
Mu Qing hugged him gently, and Cuocuo rested his head on Mu Qing's shoulder. Feng Xin tried very hard not to be jealous. "We'll have dinner soon," Mu Qing said and then his eyes widened. Feng Xin came to the same realization.
"I'll go, uh, help Xie Lian," Feng Xin said, jumping to his feet. There was a smear of blood on his thumb.
"Don't get in gege's way and ruin dinner," Hua Cheng said. He licked his thumb and turned the page of his book. Feng Xin gave him a disbelieving look.
"I'll stay here with the child," Mu Qing said.
Feng Xin managed to refrain from saying, Yeah, look after Cuocuo, too.
---
This was so good!
(Anonymous) 2021-11-09 04:39 am (UTC)(link)BAE
Re: This was so good!