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Dong'er ran through the yard, her upset face the first thing Sui Zhou saw when he got home. He stops, carefully catching her shoulders as she tilts her head back to look at him. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking behind her to see if there was any obvious danger or if this was just dramatics.
"I missed you," Dong'er said, as her expression turned into more of a pout. Dramatics then. She really did take after Tang Fan, no biological relation required. "Also I think Tang da-ge has tried to poison me."
Sui Zhou raised a brow. "He has?"
Dong'er nodded. "He insisted on cooking to welcome you home and has been practicing all week. It's terrible. He kept making me try it!"
Sui Zhou felt both charmed and concerned. "Is the kitchen okay?"
Dong'er shrugged under his hands. "I've tried to clean it. Not even the goat will eat some of it though."
Sui Zhou sighed. He had been looking forward to getting home after being out of town for a week, having a bath, and then setting about cooking, despite the late hour. As touched as he was by the thought of Tang Fan trying to cook for him, he was a bit more concerned with what could happen. Sui Zhou’s kitchen was where he felt safest, though he was more than happy to share... within reason.
"Dong'er! Get back here!" Tang Fan came hurrying out of the kitchen, his sleeves rolled and tied up. He had a smudge of soot on his cheek. "Don't lie to him!"
Sui Zhou watched as Tang Fan came to a stop in front of him. When Tang Fan looked his way, all the warmth rushed back. "Hello," Sui Zhou said, after clearing his throat. There were other words to be said, but they all piled up.
"Welcome home!" Tang Fan beamed back at him. "Dong'er move."
Dong'er pouted even more and lunged to hug Sui Zhou's waist. She then let go and sprinted away, back to the kitchen to Sui Zhou's relief. "I told you I'd win!" she called over her shoulder before vanishing.
Tang Fan stuck out his tongue in her direction.
"Win what?" Sui Zhou asked, wondering what new things he was going to have to worry about. They didn’t need to have another prank war.
"Who got to hug you first," Tang Fan said to Sui Zhou’s relief, and it was the only warning Sui Zhou got before his arms were full of the other man.
Sui Zhou was surprised at first, but after a moment, he wrapped his arms around Tang Fan in return. He rested his face against Tang Fan's shoulder, and just breathed for a long moment, grounding himself. It was odd still, to feel like he did have a home to come back to. He had lived alone for so long and he could never bring himself to think of this building as a home. It was too quiet and empty. But not anymore.
He held Tang Fan a little closer and wondered if Tang Fan could tell he was saying thank you. Could tell how grateful Sui Zhou was that Tang Fan had come and made this a home. Even if Sui Zhou was going to have to clean up his kitchen.
"Alright, do you both want dinner or not?" called a voice that Sui Zhou was not expecting. As Tang Fan turned in his arms, not letting go fully, Sui Zhou watched as Wang Zhi came out of the kitchen.
"I asked for help," Tang Fan murmured an explanation. "I decided I didn't want to feed you anything I was able to come up with."
"It's not going to be as good as your cooking," Wang Zhi came closer. His sleeves were also tied up, in more relaxed clothes than his unusual uniform. "But I think it's alright. Dong'er helped."
"I helped by cleaning up what I had tried to cook," Tang Fan reported brightly. "Though Dong'er also had a hand in that."
Sui Zhou smiled, pressing a quick kiss to Tang Fan's hair before letting him go. "Show me what you're working on," he said to Wang Zhi and walked towards the kitchen. The goat was standing nearby and gave a little bleat as if it wanted to give its own welcome.
Dong'er was watching over the food, which seemed to be mostly done, just staying warm on the oven. Wang Zhi followed close as Sui Zhou looked it over. Sui Zhou caught a bit of a hopeful look on his face and wondered if the feared commander wanted to be complimented on his cooking skills.
"Everything looks to be in order," Sui Zhou said, after taking a bite of the noodles. Wang Zhi was no expert, but he had managed to put together something decent. Simple but decent.
Wang Zhi ducked, probably hiding a smile. "I'll set the table, you should go sit."
"I'll help you!" Tang Fan said while Dong'er happily went off to sit and relax. Sui Zhou bet she earned it if she had been helping both Tang Fan and Wang Zhi.
"I'll change and wash really quickly, feel free to start without me," Sui Zhou said. He walked to the door, listening for a moment as Tang Fan declared that they should get out the fancy dishes. He turned to watch them before deciding that he should try to say his thoughts. He'd been working on that. "Thank you both. I’m glad to be home." He got two pleased looks before he turned away, hiding his own smile and savoring the feeling of contentment.