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“What about this one?” Feng Xin waved the package in front of Mu Qing’s face. “It says it comes with twenty-four diapers, and it’s pretty cheap too. That should work, right?”
Mu Qing, who was scowling down at two other packages of diapers, turned his sour expression on Feng Xin and the suggested brand instead. His eyes quickly scanned the logo, the packaging, the information on the front.
“No,” he said, looking away. “Put them back.”
“What! Why? They look perfectly fine to me, and they’re way less expensive than the ones you keep grabbing!”
Mu Qing shoved the two diaper brands he’d been scrutinizing back onto the shelf where he’d gotten them, then whirled on Feng Xin. “They’re less expensive because they’re poorer quality,” he snapped, jabbing his finger at the package Feng Xin held, at Feng Xin himself, and then the package again. “The material is too rough, and will irritate the skin. You thought your son’s diaper rash was bad before? Using these diapers will make it ten times worse.”
Feng Xin frowned. The brand he’d chosen hadn’t seemed so bad to him, and it was at least five bucks less than the ones Mu Qing was studying.
“How do you know? You just want to waste all my money!”
“Trust me.” Mu Qing’s jaw tightened in the way Feng Xin had come to realize meant he wasn’t about to back down. “I’ve seen what the cheap brands do. If you care about your son at all, you’ll find something better.”
It was a low blow, and an effective one. Seething, Feng Xin shoved the package back onto whatever shelf space was available before he glanced over at said son. Cuo Cuo sat quietly in the harness Mu Qing wore on his chest, picking at Mu Qing’s shirt and chewing on the fabric from time to time. Cuo Cuo had a very strong desire to get his two small teeth into anything he could reach, and therefore both Feng Xin and Mu Qing had taken to wearing black shirts during the times Feng Xin had custody, so that the drool spots weren’t as visible. Or, more accurately, so they weren’t as visible on Mu Qing; whenever Feng Xin held Cuo Cuo for longer than a few minutes he would always end up with his son’s mouth latched around bare, vulnerable skin.
“Fine. Fine. ” He threw his hands out in defeat, before turning to the wall of packaged diapers. “You choose then, if you know so much better than I do!”
As if he’d been waiting for a cue, Mu Qing shoved a package of diapers into Feng Xin’s hands. He hadn’t even seen when Mu Qing picked the damn thing up. Feng Xin turned it over in his hands, thinking that it really didn’t look any different from the ten other brands on the shelves. There was a guarantee of being gentle enough for even the most sensitive of babies, which must have been what made it so suitable in Mu Qing’s eyes.
Or at least, that’s what he assumed, because he honestly had no idea.
Especially considering the price. Feng Xin grimaced when he saw it, but didn’t argue any further. When he dropped it into their shopping cart and glanced back at his companion, he could’ve sworn Mu Qing looked smug.
Damn him. Just because my kid likes him better. He reached out to touch Cuo Cuo, to tickle under his little boy’s chin. He was still figuring out how the fuck to deal with a baby but he was sure he was getting better at it; he’d been seeing Cuo Cuo on and off for months, ever since Jian Lan told him he had a son, and while it had been disasterous at first he was certain things were improving. Cuo Cuo didn’t even scream when Feng Xin came near him anymore.
Mu Qing, somehow, impossibly, had been incredible with Cuo Cuo from the beginning. So when Cuo Cuo didn’t start crying, didn’t get all red in the face or kick and thrash to try and get away from his father’s touch, Feng Xin smirked, triumphant.
And then Cuo Cuo’s two small, just-grown-in, horribly sharp teeth sank into his finger.
“ Son of a bitch!” Feng Xin yanked his hand out of Cuo Cuo’s mouth, finger bleeding from the two sharp pricks where he’d been bitten, and Cuo Cuo began to cry. He waved his little fists in the air and kicked his feet, mouth open on a howl and eyes squeezed tight.
“Wait, wait--fuck, sweetie, don’t cry, daddy’s here, daddy’s sorry--” Feng Xin’s hands hovered uncertainly, one still dripping blood. His satisfaction from a moment ago changed to panic as he tried to shush his screaming son, and he looked to Mu Qing, desperate. Mu Qing didn’t even spare him a glance; he was already beginning to gently bounce Cuo Cuo in the harness, shushing him in a gentle, soothing voice Feng Xin only heard when Mu Qing was around Cuo Cuo. First the baby’s thrashing ceased, and then his screaming, and over time he began to calm, sticking his thumb in his mouth and looking up at Mu Qing with wide eyes. At some point, Mu Qing began to mutter nonsense and Cuo Cuo even began to giggle, both hands reaching up toward Mu Qing’s face, the hair that fell into his eyes, slimy fingers batting Mu Qing’s cheeks.
They looked...good together. Feng Xin’s chest felt tight.
When Mu Qing finally returned his attention to Feng Xin, the narrowed eyes and scowl were back. “Bandaids are in the next aisle over,” he said. “Idiot.”
Feng Xin had completely forgotten his bite wound. A quick check showed that it had stopped bleeding, at least. “I’m not an idiot! I didn’t ask A-Cuo to bite me!”
“But you knew he would and put your fingers near his mouth anyway. Idiot. ”
“Fuck you! He was being good until then--”
“Didn’t think I’d see the two of you here.” A new voice interrupted their escalating argument, and both whipped around as one to see a familiar face standing at the end of the aisle. Pei Ming had his arms crossed over his chest, lips curved in a friendly grin. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Been way too long.” Feng Xin mirrored the grin, crossing the distance so that when he and Pei Ming were close enough they could fistbump in greeting. “What’re you doing here?”
“Shopping. It is a grocery store.” Pei Ming indicated the basket hanging off his arm, and Feng Xin snorted.
“Good point.”
“What about you two?” Pei Ming raised a brow, eyeballing Mu Qing an Cuo Cuo, the latter of which now had a binkie in his mouth that Mu Qing had brought and was determinedly trying to chew it into a nub. “Buying some supplies for the little tyke, eh? Those photos online don’t do him justice; he looks just like you!”
Pei Ming reached to touch Cuo Cuo’s nose, but both Mu Qing stepping backward and Feng Xin grabbing his arm stopped him. He gave them a quizzical look.
“Trust me,” Feng Xin said, brandishing his wounded finger. “You don’t want to do that.”
“O-kay.” Pei Ming eyed the baby warily, before his face broke on a wide grin. “Hey, he seems to like Mu Qing well enough.” He winked. “Looks like you found yourself a good wife, Feng Xin.”
Feng Xin laughed, even as his chest tightened further. He looked to Mu Qing, expecting him to be annoyed at the joke, and was startled at how Mu Qing almost seemed to be...blushing? No, it must’ve been a trick of the light. Mu Qing wasn’t the type to blush, especially not because of the implication that they were together like that , since Mu Qing would eat a hot poker before thinking of Feng Xin in any sort of romantic way.
Which was good, because Feng Xin definitely didn’t want him to, and he himself didn’t feel that way either. The quickening of his pulse was from anticipation as to how Mu Qing would react, that was all.
And he was right to be worried; Mu Qing’s low voice dripped with venom when he asked, “What did you call me?”
“Am I wrong? Feng Xin’s kid takes to you like his own blood.” Pei Ming chuckled. “I like the harness, by the way. It really suits you.”
Feng Xin had the foresight to take a step away by the time the first package of diapers smacked Pei Ming in the face. It fell to the floor, leaving Pei Ming blinking rapidly while Mu Qing calmly reached to take another projectile from the shelf.
“Maybe we should go.” Feng Xin’s eyes darted from one to the other. He felt a bit like he was having an out-of-body experience - he’d never seen Mu Qing get in a fight with anyone except himself. “We’ve got the diapers, and I still need to pick up some extra formula, since Jian Lan never packs enough--”
The next package hit Pei Ming in the side of his head, as he finally got his wits back enough to dodge with an indignant, “ Hey! ” Cuo Cuo twisted in his harness to watch, his binkie falling from his mouth as he clapped his hands and laughed at Pei Ming batting way the third attack with a strike of his palm.
Great. My son thinks fighting is funny. Feng Xin stepped between them, grabbing at Mu Qing’s wrist and saying, “Come on, we’re in the middle of a grocery store!” Of course, this put him in the crossfire, and before he could say anything else he felt the soft smack of something hitting the back of his head and bouncing off. Whirling, he jabbed an accusatory finger at Pei Ming, who was holding both hands up with palms out.
“What the fuck are you doing, throwing shit at Mu Qing?! You could’ve hit my kid!”
“I wouldn’t!” Pei Ming protested. “I have better aim than that! You just got in the way.”
“Is that right? We’ll see about that.” With a shit-eating grin, Feng Xin grabbed one of the jumbo-size packages of diapers and thwacked Pei Ming in the chest, crowing, “How’s that for getting in the way?”
“This means war, my friend. Prepare yourself!” Without a care for his groceries, Pei Ming dropped his shopping basket and took a package for himself; the two engaged in a ‘pillow fight’ with their squishy weapons, while Mu Qing chucked smaller packages from behind Feng Xin. The soft sounds of diapers wrapped in plastic hitting each other were undercut by Cuo Cuo’s continued clapping and squeals of glee.
Ten minutes later, the baby supplies aisle was a disaster and the three of them were being politely escorted out of the grocery store as the other customers stared. Not the worst thing Feng Xin had ever gotten kicked out of an establishment for, but it was certainly one of the strangest. When they reached the parking lot, the attendant who’d been walking with them to make sure they actually left retreated back inside, muttering under her breath about the immaturity of men as she went.
“So that was stupid,” Mu Qing drawled. Cuo Cuo, now that the excitement was over, had gone back to chewing on his shirt.
“But it was fun!” Pei Ming clapped Feng Xin on the back, a blow that would have been bruising to most. “I’ve gotta get going; I’ll see you around, Feng Xin. Your wife’s got one hell of a throwing arm.”
Mu Qing’s expression immediately turned murderous, and Pei Ming hurried off with a cheeky wave before anything else could be thrown in his direction. Even so, Feng Xin had a feeling that Pei Ming was walking from the frying pan into the fire; certainly the man’s housemates would be much more of a threat when Pei Ming returned home to tell them he didn’t have any groceries and why he didn’t have any groceries.
“Guess we’ll have to go to that other store, the one a few blocks down from the school.” Feng Xin rubbed at his face. He hated that store; so many other parents shopped there, and being stopped so a stranger could tell him how cute his baby was had switched quickly from flattering to annoying. He dug in his pocket for his keys as they started walking toward where he’d parked. “Nice going. We could’ve been done with the shopping by now!”
“Don’t act like that was my fault!” Mu Qing reproduced the binkie of earlier, popping it back into Cuo Cuo’s mouth; Feng Xin realized with a twinge of guilt that he’d forgotten all about it. “You were the one acting like a twelve-year-old at a slumber party!”
“I was defending your honor!” Feng Xin insisted, earning himself a pointed glare.
“Is that what you call it? I only remember you worrying over your son.” Mu Qing snorted. “I guess there’s a first for everything.”
“Fuck off!”
When they reached the car, Feng Xin opened the rear passenger’s side door so Mu Qing could put Cuo Cuo into his car seat. Of the difficult situations one found themself in concerning Cuo Cuo, this was one of the worst - Feng Xin had yet to accomplish the task without being bitten, shrieked at, and pummeled by tiny fists. It was why he always watched in awe when Mu Qing did it. Cuo Cuo fussed at being buckled in, yet his anger was nothing like what he’d show Feng Xin, and after a few soothing words and tickles from Mu Qing, the baby was settled in and sucking enthusiastically on his binkie.
It was kind of like watching the dog whisperer, but for babies.
“You know,” Feng Xin said, before common sense could tell him not to, “Pei Ming had a point. This really does suit you.”
Mu Qing stiffened, then straightened abruptly. He shut the car door with such careful slowness that it was almost worse than if he’d slammed it. “Excuse me?”
Oh shit. “I’m just saying! You’re good with Cuo Cuo, you know what baby shit to buy - you’re a natural. Maybe you could take a fucking compliment for once!”
“I am no one’s wife,” Mu Qing hissed. “The idea that knowing how to not be a moron around children makes you a ‘wife’ is so stupid I can’t even wrap my mind around it--”
“Fine!” Feng Xin threw his hands up. “Fine! You’re right, you make a good husband, then. Happy?!”
Mu Qing’s mouth snapped shut so fast it sounded like something cracked, and he stared in a way that made Feng Xin’s face heat. He frowned, wondering where the sharp retort was, what insult Mu Qing would throw at him now, but nothing came. Instead an awkward moment of silence passed between them before Mu Qing finally cleared his throat and turned to open the passenger’s side door.
Mu Qing shutting up without delivering a comeback? Feng Xin would usually count that as a victory, but now it felt off, and he was about to ask if Mu Qing was feeling okay. He didn’t get the chance as Mu Qing suddenly stepped back, punched him hard in the arm, and pivoted so he could slide into the car, all in one fluid motion.
“What was that for, asshole!” Feng Xin yelled as the door closed.
“Get in the car!” Mu Qing shouted back, somewhat muffled by the window.
Feng Xin flipped him off. Jackass, he thought to himself, rubbing where Mu Qing had hit him as he moved around the car to the driver’s side. His arm stung from the blow; Mu Qing had a wicked arm for someone so slim (something else Pei Ming had been right about) but Feng Xin still found himself in a surprisingly good mood as he got in and started the car. Goofing off with Pei Ming had brightened his spirits. He glanced at Mu Qing as he pulled out of their parking spot, knowing his roommate would find a way to ruin his happiness eventually.
After a minute or so, Mu Qing caught him looking. “What are you grinning at?”
“Nothing.” Feng Xin turned his attention to the road ahead, and it stayed there for the remainder of the drive. The smile never left his face.