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When Song Lan comes home the first thing he notices is that their apartment smells. The next thing is that Xiao Xingchen is apparently in the kitchen, which spurs Song Lan into action like nothing else can.
He rushes forwards, almost slamming into the doorway when he turns the corner and his biggest horror comes true right in front of his eyes.
Xiao Xingchen is cooking. In the kitchen. Handling actual food.
“No,” Song Lan presses out and darts forwards, catching Xiao Xingchen’s wrist as he’s about to dump something into the pot on the stove.
“Zichen,” Xiao Xingchen says, surprise clear in his voice, but Song Lan barely hears him, too occupied by surveying the damage already done to his precious pot and the kitchen in general.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he wants to know as he slightly pushes Xiao Xingchen away from the stove, and puts himself between his husband and everything he holds dear in the kitchen.
“Cooking,” Xiao Xingchen gives back, a slight frown marring his face and Song Lan supresses the urge to wring his hands in front of his body.
He can still hear the sizzling behind his back.
“What did we say about you and cooking?” he wants to know and Xiao Xingchen pouts at him.
“To not,” he eventually mutters out. “But you didn’t even taste it!”
“Babe, no offense, but with how it smells, I don’t think anyone should taste it. Ever.”
“It’s not that bad,” Xiao Xingchen complains and leans around Song Lan to peer into the pot. “I bet it’s edible.”
“I bet it’s a biohazard and shouldn’t come into contact with human skin,” Song Lan shoots back but he also pulls Xiao Xingchen close to press a soothing kiss to his cheek. “You know I don’t like it when you use the kitchen.”
“I took the old pot. I didn’t ruin your way too expensive one,” Xiao Xingchen gives back, and he’s still pouting, Song Lan can tell.
“That’s not even it, and you know it,” Song Lan replies and catches Xiao Xingchen’s hands in his to check them over.
The last time he was alone in the kitchen he had cut himself so deep they had to go to the ER to get some stitches. Song Lan is not keen on a repeat performance of that. He prefers his husband unharmed and whole.
“I didn’t hurt myself,” Xiao Xingchen lowly gives back, clearly knowing where Song Lan’s thoughts have turned to, and Song Lan sighs.
“Good,” he says as he peppers Xiao Xingchen’s hands with kisses. “Now please leave this room, it’s making me nervous,” he then says and Xiao Xingchen slaps his shoulder.
“You’re the rudest husband ever,” he complains and Song Lan drags him close with a hand low on his back.
“Say that again after you moaned about how delicious my food is,” he whispers into Xiao Xingchen’s ear and can feel him shiver against him.
“And now you’re just playing unfair,” Xiao Xingchen says and pushes away from Song Lan to leave the room like he has requested.
Song Lan itches to follow after him, to pull him down on the couch and make out with him until they both forget about food, but the sizzling behind his back makes the hair on his neck stand up and he spins around.
It only takes him a few seconds to come to the conclusion that the pot is a lost cause and needs to be thrown out completely, but to his immense relieve nothing else in the kitchen is broken. It seems like he came home before Xiao Xingchen had the opportunity to do any real damage.
Song Lan quickly tidies up and then gets some real dinner started. When everything is slowly cooking he goes in search of his husband.
“What prompted you to disregard my every plea anyway?” he asks when he finds Xiao Xingchen on the couch in the living room, sitting up straight and his arms crossed in front of his body.
“No, you were mean to me, I’m not telling you,” he gives back, but Song Lan can tell that he’s almost vibrating out of his skin with excitement.
“Aw, come on, babe,” Song Lan mutters and sits down next to Xiao Xingchen.
“No,” he says with an insistent shake of his head.
“What if I apologize?” Song Lan wants to know and Xiao Xingchen narrows his eyes at him.
“It would have to be a damn good apology,” he muses and Song Lan grins.
“I think I can manage that,” he confidently says and then crowds Xiao Xingchen into the couch, covering him with his whole body as he catches his mouth in a slow and deep kiss.
They loose themselves to this, for longer than both of them intended to, but eventually it tapers off to soft kisses that turn into nothing more than sharing space.
“So, why did you do it?” Song Lan mutters against Xiao Xingchen’s lips and he is not at all prepared for the way Xiao Xingchen beams up at him.
“A surprise,” Xiao Xingchen tells him and Song Lan slightly pulls back.
“A surprise?”
“We have something to celebrate and I thought making you a special dinner would be a good idea.”
“What do we have to celebrate?” Song Lan asks, and frowns when Xiao Xingchen pushes him away completely, so Song Lan has to sit up.
Xiao Xingchen is almost vibrating with barely concealed happiness and Song Lan can only think of one thing that would do that to his husband. Still, he doesn’t dare to get his hopes up.
“Xingchen, what do we have to celebrate?” he asks again and Xiao Xingchen beams at him.
“The adoption papers came through,” he says. “We can bring A-Qing home tomorrow.”
“Really?” he breathlessly asks, too afraid for a moment to let himself be happy, because it had been such a fight so far.
That they could come through so easily almost seems too good to be true.
“Really,” Xiao Xingchen promises and springs up to grab a letter off the table. “Here,” he says and thrusts the paper into Song Lan’s face.
And there it is, in black and white, the information that they get to be parents.
“Xingchen,” Song Lan mutters, too awed to get out anything more, but of course Xiao Xingchen understands him just like he always does.
“I know,” he laughs out, and then bounces on the spot. “We get to bring our girl home!”
Song Lan laughs at that too, and he takes Xiao Xingchen in his arms, spins him around in their living-room, both of them laughing in joy and maybe even shedding a tear or two.
They finally get to be a whole family now.