Work Text:
a change in routine
A couple of years ago, Yu Hao would wake up in the morning to either his horrid iPhone alarm ringtone or his husband gently shaking him awake for a five-star breakfast and a morning kiss. Recently, though the alarm and his husband are still there to wake him up, there have been changes to this routine of his.
Yu Hao vaguely senses movement on the mattress and the next thing he feels is a small body leaning its entire weight onto his torso and elbows on his shoulder as a small voice whispers into his ear, “A-Die, Huihui is hungry.”
In response, Yu Hao naturally opens up his arms to snatch his daughter into his embrace and nuzzles his face into her hair, and instinctively moves his feet around the bed until he finds a muscular leg to poke at. “Zhou Sheng, your daughter is hungry,” Yu Hao mumbles, eyes still closed, half of his soul still suspended in the depths of his dreamland.
Zhou Sheng only pauses his snoring for one second before he continues, unresponsive to Yu Hao’s call. Yu Hao is about to doze off again until Huihui’s stomach rumbles louder than her father’s snoring. “Baba, Huihui is hungry,” she says, lightly pressing Zhou Sheng’s bicep with her little palms. “Ba.”
“Hubby.”
Zhou Sheng finally yawns and squints his eyes open, reaching out his arm to hug his wife and squish his daughter between them. “Wifey, she’s your daughter on weekends.” He says, closing his eyes once more.
“Your cooking is better than mine.”
“That’s what practice is for, baobei.”
“Gege, please,” says Yu Hao, in a tone he knows Zhou Sheng cannot say no to. To reinforce his plan, he pats Huihui, who immediately understands what he’s thinking. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all, Yu Hao thinks as he hears his Huihui say, “Babaaa, please.”
Zhou Sheng sees both Yu Hao and Huihui giving him their irresistible puppy eyes and groans. “Ugh, fine. Your husband will make Huihui her Michelin grade breakfast. What would our family’s little princess like to eat on this fine Saturday morning?” Zhou Sheng sits up, ruffling Huihui’s hair as she hugs his waist gratefully.
“Anything Baba makes is good!” Her short arms can’t completely wrap around Zhou Sheng’s waist, but her little hands pat him with enthusiasm. “Don’t forget to feed A-Die too.”
“Mhm, how could I forget to feed my little prince. Huihui can go outside first. Baba will shake your sleepyhead of an A-Die awake.” Zhou Sheng replies. He lifts Huihui from the bed to the floor carefully and reaches to the other side of the bed to hold Yu Hao’s face and peck his forehead gently. “Wake up, Yu Hao.”
Just as Zhou Sheng is about to kiss Yu Hao on the lips, Yu Hao reaches up to his face and caresses his lips with his thumbs. “‘Mkay, brush your teeth first.”
Even so, he brings Zhou Sheng’s face closer to his for a deep kiss, morning breath and all. It’s not fierce, but it is soft and warm. “I like you so much,” Yu Hao says in the gaps between their fervent kissing.
“What a coincidence, I like you too. I liked you so much I married you, hm,” says Zhou Sheng, gasping slightly.
When their kiss ends, they spend a few minutes with their foreheads touching, gazing sweetly into each other’s eyes like they can’t get enough.
It only ends thanks to the sound of a plate clattering on the floor and Huihui's exasperated sigh. Yu Hao can only helplessly sigh as he pats Zhou Sheng’s butt, “Go make us breakfast, Zhou Sheng. C’mon, off you go now.”
Zhou Sheng sneaks one more chaste kiss to Yu Hao’s nose before he gets up and strides out of the bedroom, moving towards the kitchen. “Huihui, make way for Masterchef Zhou!” Zhou Sheng announces dramatically. Without having to look, Yu Hao can already see him comically swing his monkey-patterned apron before putting it on and handsomely preparing food for their little family.
As Yu Hao walks to greet his family a good morning, he figures he doesn’t mind this little addition to his old routine one bit.
golden crow wheel
This morning, Huihui had been listening to her fathers recounting the times when they were still active. Baba was first a general, then The Monkey King himself, among his many other roles. A-Die was a fox and an archangel, too. They also told her about how Uncle Fu, Uncle Chen, Uncle Ou, and even Uncle Huang had joined in on the fun as well.
“Not fair!” Huihui had cried in Yu Hao’s embrace as she wet his shirt with tears and snot. “Why didn’t Baba and A-Die invite Huihui too… Do Baba and A-Die not want Huihui…”
It was but a simple misunderstanding. Even so, Huihui crying because she assumed she might not be wanted absolutely broke Yu Hao’s heart. “Oh, no, baobei… Of course, we love you. But Baba and A-Die don’t have the tool we used to enter dreams anymore, and it was long gone before you were born.”
Zhou Sheng had nodded vigorously as he tenderly wiped his daughter’s tears with his thumbs and tucked her loose soft hair behind her ear. “Mhm, A-Die is right. If we had it now we would definitely take Huihui with us, because we chose you and we love you.”
Huihui sniffled as she looked back and forth between her fathers’ kind eyes. “Baba and A-Die aren’t lying?”
Yu Hao hugged her closer, ignoring the soaked patch on his shirt. “Not lying. Promise. I can promise you that Baba isn’t lying, either.” Zhou Sheng made a sound of agreement and pat Huihui’s little face.
“...” Huihui had said, “Huihui still wants to explore dreams though…”
Zhou Sheng had stolen Huihui away from Yu Hao’s clutches and swiftly carried her as he stood up. She made an excited giggling sound before Zhou Sheng looked into her eyes and triumphantly said, “Not to worry! Baba and A-Die can make any dream come true. Tell you what, we can play pretend dreamscape at night before bed, but Huihui has to be a good girl and sleep on time, promise?”
Huihui had nodded seriously. “Huihui dreamscape!!”
“Huihui dreamscape!!!” Yu Hao repeated, ruffling Huihui’s hair and giving his husband a quick kiss on the cheek while he was at it. “But before that, Huihui has to help us tidy up her building blocks. Can you do it?”
Huihui: “Wuuu… Fine, I’ll do it. A-Die has to be the angel tonight though.”
Yu Hao laughed and lightly pinched her cheeks. “Our Huihui already knows how to bargain. Ah, you’re all grown up. We’ll see, but for now, you clean up your toys.”
And that is how Zhou Sheng revisits his image as The Great Sage Heaven's Equal and Yu Hao becomes an archangel once more.
Sun Wukong Baba dons a shining golden headband (a glitter-coated yellow strip of cardstock for extra sturdiness, two ends attached together via clear packing tape), resilient armor (cardboard with surprisingly neatly cut edges tied to his body with a little red ribbon), and his trusty jingu bang (Huihui's Cardcaptor Sakura Sealing Wand). Meanwhile, Archangel A-Die is wearing mundane clothes with the addition of majestic angel wings (also from Huihui's closet).
Huihui, on the other hand, is a little princess, wearing what looks like XXXXS hanfu and holding a suspiciously cardboard-looking sword with her father’s names written on the blade.
"Is Huihui a princess or a warrior?" Zhou Sheng asks.
Huihui scratches her head in contemplation before something in her brightens as she says: "I wanna be both!"
Yu Hao's eyebrow perks up. "Oh? Any reason?"
Huihui nods seriously and unsheaths her blade clumsily. "Because it's cool."
Zhou Sheng: "Good answer! But are you as cool as your Baba?"
Huihui seems to think for a bit, but she then firmly says, "No… Baba is the coolest!!"
Yu Hao strokes his chin as he nods. "True, your Baba is the coolest after all."
"Gah, so corny!" Zhou Sheng spins his jingu bang above his head. "Let's get on with it, Little General Zhou."
"Where's the beast!" Yu Hao whisper-shouts, surveying the living room.
Huihui points to the kitchen and says, "There! Monkey King Baba, Archangel A-Die, we need to beat it now! Attack!"
Two hours later—beast slain, the world at peace—Zhou Sheng sets a sleepy Huihui onto the bed with a warm gentleness and tucks her under the blankets with care. Pinching her cheeks lightly enough not to rouse her, he greets her a good night before he walks out of their bedroom to another sleepy little friend.
"Yu Hao, are you asleep?" He caresses his wife's pretty face and gives him a sweet kiss on the forehead. "Mhm, do you want me to carry you to the bed like that time?"
Yu Hao tugs on Zhou Sheng's sleeve half-asleep, an invitation for him to join Yu Hao on the soft wide couch. "C'mere…"
Zhou Sheng obliges and pulls Yu Hao into an embrace, carelessly settling his legs over Yu Hao's as they cuddle. Yu Hao instinctively finds his place, arms folded between the two of them and head tucked under Zhou Sheng's chin. "Love you, my General."
Zhou Sheng pushes Yu Hao away for a bit to grab his chin and kiss the life out of him until he thinks about forgoing the need to breathe for the need to keep Zhou Sheng close. "I love you so fucking much."
"Zhou Sheng."
"En?"
"Do you want the Golden Crow Wheel back?" Yu Hao asks, holding Zhou Sheng's handsome and defined face.
"Maybe just for Huihui,” Zhou Sheng answers without hesitation. “But even though I miss it, I don't really need it anymore."
Yu Hao hums in understanding and nods. "I agree. I don't need it anymore, either. It was fun doing all of," Yu Hao makes a vague gesture, "that."
Yu Hao only continues after Zhou Sheng laughs fondly. "But thankfully, a certain someone turned my reality into a sweet dream come true "
"When did you learn to say these things, ah!" Zhou Sheng says, exasperated. Even so, he pulls Yu Hao in for the nth kiss. "Know that he would do it a thousand times over, just for you."
babysitters
"Why are Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao still like… that? Don't they have a kid to take care of?" laments Fu Liqun, Huihui sitting on his right thigh and his own son on the other. He whispers to Chen Yekai next to him, making sure the kids don't hear, "Do they really need, what, four babysitters?"
Ou Qihang pipes up from the sofa, "We're taking care of two kids in shifts."
"Mn." Chen Yekai adds, "Correction: Huang Ting's coming soon, too."
Fu Liqun sets his own son next to Ou Qihang who's making a crown for the kids from copy paper and takes Huihui flying around the spacious living room. "Are you sure this is a babysitting session and not one of our usual gatherings?"
"Whatever it is, it's mainly an opportunity for Huihui's parents to go on a date." Cen Shan snorts before she takes Huihui and her son into her arms and towards the kitchen. "Snack time!!"
"Fuck, that's it." Fu Liqun groans, sitting back down beside Chen Yekai. "Kaikai, what now."
"Babysit."
"When I get my hands on Zhou Sheng…"
Somewhere downtown, Zhou Sheng sneezes. It's evident he's become a dad, because his sneeze is deafening, not unlike the sound of thunder as it comes crashing down. "Someone just talked behind Laozi's back."
Yu Hao hums, swinging his and Zhou Sheng's intertwined hands back and forth as he continues walking. "Don't think about it too much. Our free time now."
Zhou Sheng looks at Yu Hao's pretty face, smiling as the sunlight hits his eyes just right. Eyeing the decently empty street, he gives Yu Hao a quick kiss. "My wife is right. How can someone who can only talk shit behind Laozi's back compare to you?"
"Stop," Yu Hao complains, but he only inches closer to Zhou Sheng. "Hubby, what do you wanna eat? My treat!"
Back at Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao's house, the person who can only talk shit behind Zhou Sheng's back and can't compare to Yu Hao sneezes three times, not much different than Zhou Sheng’s in terms of fatherliness. "Is the air conditioning cold here or is it just me?"
"Just you," replies Chen Yekai.
"Do you need me to fetch your jacket?" Cen Shan asks, pressing the back of her hand against her husband's forehead. "You seem fine though."
"Huh, weird." Fu Liqun sniffles before he responds to his son who's been tugging at his sleeve for a few seconds. "Yes, Xiao Chen?"
“Huihui says she wants to play pretend,” Xiao Chen says, pulling Huihui to his side.
“Pretend what, Princess?” asks Cen Shan, fixing the skewed tiara on the crown of Huihui’s head.
Huihui scratches her nose and says softly, “Dreams…”
Chen Yekai picks her up. “Did your Baba and A-Die tell you stories about fighting monsters in dreams?”
Huihui is a little shyer in front of her uncles, so there’s a short delay between Chen-shushu’s question and her answer. “Mhm… I wish I got to go.”
“Got it,” says Ou Qihang as he lifts Fu Liqun’s son. “What are you guys waiting for?”
Come morning, as the remnants of last night’s rain drip from clusters of branches to clear puddles that mirror the sky’s rainbow, a car tire splits through the puddle briefly as it passes by.
“The weather’s nice…” Yu Hao says in awe, holding back a yawn.
“Which is exactly why we should stay out for one more day,” argues Zhou Sheng as he pulls up in the parking lot of their apartment building.
“I miss Huihui though.”
The two of them spend the next twenty minutes in front of their apartment unit debating whether they should go in or go back to the hotel, but ultimately, Zhou Sheng is not one to say no to Yu Hao’s wishes, so he grumpily punches in their pin and walks into a far too quiet home. “We’re home!”
Hearing no response, Zhou Sheng takes quick strides to the living room only to see a mess of pillows and cardboard and toys scattered across what looks like every inch of the room, from the floor, to the couch where Huang Ting is sleeping, to the mattress on the floor where Chen Yekai, Fu Liqun, Ou Qihang, and Cen Shan are sprawled across with the two kids.
“Looks like they had fun.” Yu Hao comments, crouching next to a lightly snoring Huihui. Zhou Sheng hums from the kitchen, already preparing to make dinner for nine.
“Yeah, yeah,” Zhou Sheng says, “Wake up, you guys! Chef Zhou is cooking breakfast that usually only his wife and daughter have the privilege to eat!”
a snowy night
“Huihui, are you ready to go?”
“Coming, Baba!” Huihui shouts from the bedroom. There’s faint rustling and the sound of a door closing before Huihui shows up, running into Zhou Sheng’s arms. Zhou Sheng lifts her up easily with one hand and uses his other hand to hold Yu Hao’s hand.
“Ah, wait, wait,” Yu Hao says, prying Zhou Sheng’s hand off of his, ignoring Zhou Sheng’s pout. He runs towards the bedroom and returns to Zhou Sheng’s side a few seconds later, little yellow mittens in hand. He takes Huihui’s little hands into his and swiftly slips the mittens over her hands, patting them twice once the fabric hugs her wrist. “Okay, now we’re good to go.”
He manages to hold Zhou Sheng’s hand again, smiling sheepishly at Zhou Sheng’s unimpressed expression. “Ai, come on! We have snowmen to build, baobei.”
The winter dims the color in the world, the fresh greenery replaced by layers of white snow marked with footprints and animals hibernating in their homes. Despite it, there’s still beauty in the scenery of a snow-blanketed city. The snowflakes fly from the sky, going where the winds take them, the Christmas lights illuminate the streets, and everything that is warm feels cozier than any other time of the year. Besides, even as the biting winter air brushes against Yu Hao’s face, all he can feel is the warmth in his heart and oozing from the hands clutching his own.
The three of them find their way to a nearby park with plenty of snow to work with.
“Baba, you make your own snowmen elsewhere or something… I wanna make snowmen with A-Die first!” Huihui says, already crouching as she rolls a ball of snow.
Zhou Sheng grumbles, nuzzling into Yu Hao’s neck. “You two are leaving me out.”
Yu Hao smiles, holding Zhou Sheng’s face to his own and pressing a kiss against his faintly reddened nose. “Just for a little bit. Can you buy us warm drinks first? Hm?”
Zhou Sheng reluctantly walks over to the nearest cafe, not without giving his wife and daughter a peck first.
When Zhou Sheng is out of sight, Huihui jumps up and claps with enthusiasm. “A-Die! A-Die! We can surprise Baba now!”
Yu Hao crouches so he’s eye-level with her and grins, raising his fist for a fistbump. “We’re gonna have to work together well. What do you think, Comrade Zhou Hui? Are you ready?”
Huihui smashes her little clenched fist against Yu Hao’s and declares earnestly. “I’m ready, Sir!”
In a cafe a few meters away, Zhou Sheng is calmly sitting down as he waits for his name to be called for. Left with nothing to do, he opens his camera roll. Scrolling through it, he finds that he can’t seem to go five pictures without a single photo unrelated to Yu Hao and Zhou Hui. When it’s not a picture of either of them, it’s pictures of things that remind him of them. Photos of sceneries that Yu Hao might like, screenshots of articles that Yu Hao could find inspiration from, cartoon art that Huihui might want to see, little dog videos from the internet that Huihui could fawn over—those kinds of things.
Smiling, Zhou Sheng slips his phone into his pocket and gazes out the frost-decorated window in thought. He thinks about the kind of family he used to have (if he could even say it ever felt like family), the one he gained in his days in college, and the one he has today. He thinks, Ah, every day I struggled with my biological family was to save up enough luck to be able to have my family today.
“Order for Zhou Sheng!” The barista calls out, bringing his attention away from his wandering thoughts to the warm drinks he promised to his family, still waiting for him.
The walk to the park is a little rushed. He jogs a bit and suddenly thinks about a familiar scene from many years ago as he approaches closer. “I miss them,” he thinks. “I miss them already.”
When he gets there, what greets him is a park with all its lights turned off, silent and seemingly desolate. If he didn’t know any better, he would think he stepped into a horror movie.
But despite feeling like he knows what comes next, his heart can’t help but race. No, maybe it's because he knows exactly what comes next.
In the blink of an eye, the lights in the park flash on, illuminating the stretch of white space. In the middle of that white space sit several Angry Bird-shaped snowmen and the two people he loves the most in this world.
Zhou Sheng feels the corners of his mouth stretching up, his smile speaking of his happiness so passionately it hurts his cheek muscles. He walks over to the figure of his family beneath the falling snow and stands there, looking at the silly snowmen.
“What do you think, Baba?” Huihui asks, hugging his leg.
Zhou Sheng absentmindedly pats her head, his chin tilting towards Yu Hao as he says softly. “Can I guess what you two made?”
“En, go take a guess.” Yu Hao says.
“This one is me,” Zhou Sheng points to a round Angry Bird snowman. “The triangular one is you.”
His smile grows impossibly fonder. “You made them kiss this time, en.”
Yu Hao laughs shyly. “Huihui helped this time.”
“Huihui did a good job,” Zhou Sheng says genuinely. “Speaking of Huihui, the little ones on the ground are her and her future siblings.”
“You want more?” Yu Hao asks.
“The more the merrier.”
“Huihui wants a little sister!!” Huihui replies excitedly, stomping her foot on the ground.
“We’ll think about it,” replies Zhou Sheng. He gestures to another figure on the ground with his chin as he pulls Yu Hao and Huihui closer. “There’s a dog here. We don’t have one yet, though.”
“Maybe soon,” Yu Hao says. “Do you wanna dance, Zhou Sheng?”
“Yeah,” Zhou Sheng answers.
Yu Hao pulls out his phone and taps on it for a bit before the music starts playing and he sets it down somewhere relatively safe. “I’ll hold Huihui,” he says.
They slow dance to the music, careful not to do too much so Huihui doesn’t get dizzy in Yu Hao’s embrace.
“Your eyes are red. Is there something wrong? Asks Yu Hao.
Zhou Sheng, “No, I’m just happy to tears.”
Yu Hao smiles, quietly grabbing Zhou Sheng’s face close to his so their noses almost touch as they dance. He wipes an almost invisible tear from Zhou Sheng;s cheeks. “Good.”
“Baba is crying because of happiness, right?” Huihui asks nervously.
Zhou Sheng chuckles and gives her a little kiss on her nose. “Yeah, Baba is just really, really happy.”
“Oh, I’m happy too then,” Huihui says.
Yu Hao, “Same here, Huihui.”
Zhou Sheng ends up pulling both of them into his tight and warm (as always) embrace, holding them so close it’s almost suffocating. But Zhou Sheng’s love can never be too much, and can never be uncomfortable.
Yu Hao lets Zhou Sheng pull futile attempts to get him closer and laughs quietly. “Do you enjoy the path you had decided to walk on?”
“I do. Yu Hao, thank you.”
“For what?”
“The happiness you gave me now, this warm family that I never imagined I could have,” Zhou Sheng says, burying his head into the crook of Yu Hao’s neck. “Thank you for being in my life.”
Yu Hao only responds with a quiet, “I love you.”
In return, Zhou Sheng whispers, “I love you, too.”
Huihui follows, also softly, “I love Baba and A-Die, too.”
But in this silent snowy night, the fervent love they have becomes an amplifier that turns their hushed “i love you”s into confident declarations of love that the winds will carry to the rest of the world.