Work Text:
It was a quiet morning. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, where the young couple laid, enjoying their morning. Birds chirped outside, waking the smaller of the two.
Venti’s nose scrunched up, and he turned closer into his alpha, trying to soak up his scent before he left for work.
“Xiao,” he murmured, moving his nose into his husband’s neck. The man in question responded with a sleepy hum. “The birds are too loud,” Venti complained.
“What am I going to do about it?” Xiao gruffly answered, ruffled from being awakened.
Venti shrugged and snuggled closer, causing Xiao to sigh. “What time is it?”
As soon as he asked, Venti tensed. “Baby is crying.” His eyes blinked open, and he pushed himself up from the warmth of the bed.
Xiao threw his arm over his eyes. “I know.”
Venti crawled out of bed and slipped on a pair of mint slippers. “You have work soon.”
“I know.”
“I’ll be right back.” He smiled warmly.
“Okay.” Xiao sighed, and when he heard the door to the bedroom close, pushed himself up to get dressed.
Once he opened the door, he heard Venti singing softly. He sighed again, and continued to the kitchen, shuffling around in the fridge before his husband entered, holding the blanketed baby in his arms, now content and quiet. He continued to rock it as the two moved about the room, in practiced synchronization.
Xiao finished the food he had prepared, kissing Venti’s cheek, casting a worried glance to the small bundle being rocked in his grasp.
Venti smiled in a knowing fashion. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”
Xiao wrapped his arms around his husband, careful not to crush the baby, and muttered, “It’s not him I’m worried about.”
Venti was quickly released, and Xiao left to finish preparing for work. Venti walked to the living room, carefully sitting down to interact with the baby while he waited for Xiao to leave.
After bidding farewell to his husband, Venti got to cleaning the home. He wasn’t a stay at home parent who just sat around.
The small omega started with washing dishes and other menial tasks, before moving to laundry, while the baby was placed carefully back in his crib. He religiously doused the home in scented air freshener, because for some reason no matter how much he cleaned, there always seemed to be an underlying stench of rotten eggs and mold.
Nonetheless, the house was already relatively spotless, so it only took a few hours.
Venti quietly sat down at the kitchen table while he waited for the wash.
He must have spaced out for some time, because by the time he glanced at the clock, it was already lunch time. There still hadn’t been a peep from the baby, so Venti assumed he was napping.
He went on to make himself a sandwich, cutting tomatoes and cheese, before a wail arose from the room over.
Venti jumped, slicing his finger with the knife, and yelped in surprise. The crying continued, so he quickly turned on the faucet and shoved his hand under the stream of water, before frantically drying it on a towel on the counter before running to the nursery.
“Shh, I’m here honey.” Venti soothed and picked up the whining bundle. He carefully sped to the kitchen, to prepare a bottle of milk.
He poured it and began warming it before addressing his hand. At this point, he noticed that it was bleeding badly. There was a large bloody patch on the blanket around the baby, and he cursed.
The black haired male then shoved his hand back under the still-running sink, continuing to rock the child.
Only when the milk beeped did he remove his hand from the stream, grabbing the bottle and screwing on the cap, then holding it to his son’s lips. Though, the baby refused to drink.
“Not hungry then, huh.” He smiled lightly. “Alright, we’ll just cuddle then.” A drop of blood rolled down the side of the bottle before plopping onto the onesie on the little one, and his mother frowned. “After I clean this up.” He waved his hand in the air.
Once cleaned and bandaged, he sat down to interact with his baby. He cooed and grabbed at his dam’s fingers, blowing spit bubbles and smiling, but with dull eyes.
Venti didn’t seem to mind, however, and blew raspberries and sang to his son.
Eventually, the baby grew tired once more, falling back into a soft slumber. Venti smiled at his soft face. He continued to carry the boy as he moved to another room and checked the time. Almost two in the afternoon.
A small frown graced his face as he realized he’d need to go shopping for dinner. He tried his best to always have a home cooked meal ready for when Xiao returns, but they had been running low on ingredients for the past few days.
He changed into something a little more presentable, instead of the large sweater and shorts he had been wearing, while the baby laid in his crib.
He sighed and pulled the grocery list off of the fridge where it had been pinned and placed it in his pocket.
Putting the baby in his carrier without a fuss, he slipped on some shoes and slipped out the door.
It was mid-spring, and the weather was perfect. Venti hitched the carrier higher on his hip to help bear the weight as he walked down the front steps.
He looked around and realized how active the neighborhood was. There were a few ladies working in their gardens, whom he had frequently interacted with when his son was first born and he needed advice. While he wouldn’t exactly go as far as to say they were friends, they were on good terms and helped each other out often.
“Good afternoon, girls!” He called and waved at them, and when they looked up, the both looked relatively shocked. He smiled brightly, tugging the baby carrier closer.
“H-hi, Venti.” Barbara said quietly, flicking her eyes down to the baby seat, quickly leaning over to Noelle, whispering something in her ear. Noelle’s eyebrows furrowed, and she whispered something back.
“Are you...donating that?” Noelle tentatively questioned, obviously uncomfortable with the topic she was broaching.
Now it was Venti’s turn to be confused. He did a quick onceover of himself to check if he was wearing something wrong. “Donate what?” His head tilted to the side.
Noelle pursed her lips, contemplating her next words, before Barbara whispered to her again. After a moment of thought, she replied. “Nothing, I just saw something incorrectly.” She said quietly and respectfully, quickly going back to focussing on the flower she was unpotting.
Barbara turned back to her work as well, and they both began to vehemently whisper together.
Venti pursed his lips in concern. Normally they were much more friendly. Being that they lived in a rather small close-knit community, and all three of them were omegas, they easily held long conversations with one another and weren’t so cold towards him.
Venti pursed his lips in concern, before continuing down the sidewalk towards the corner store.
As he walked, he noticed others quieting down and whispering to each other, trying to conceal glaces in his direction, while others blatantly stared.
He started to get self conscious., imagining there was something about the way he looked that was causing them to stare. He’d have to ask Xiao when he came home.
He was quick with shopping, finishing in a mere forty-five minutes, making it home at about five, giving him just enough time to cook dinner.
He received just as many stares coming back as he did going out. He shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. That wasn’t something he needed to think about right now.
He took a deep breath and put the carrier and groceries on the counter. He then pulled the baby out of his carrier, and took him to the living room, where a mobile was propped above a blanket and some cushions, along with some other small baby toys. Venti placed the little one underneath the toy, safely comfortable on a cushion.
Once set down, the baby began to squirm and play with the toys around itself. Satisfied, Venti made his way back to the kitchen to put away the foodstuffs and start dinner.
He hummed quietly while he worked, happy he was able to provide so well for his family. Venti began to space out as he cooked, the daily activity putting him in a state of calm.
That is, until the baby started crying.
“Oh boy,” He sighed, before wiping his hands on a towel and moving to the other room. “What’s wrong, sweet one?” He asked, before he took a whiff of the air around the baby. “Ah,” He cringed. “You need a diaper change.” He chuckled.
Venti picked up his son, and moved to the nursery.
The front door opened silently, and Xiao stepped in softly.
Taking off his shoes, he called out into the empty space. “Venti?” No response. Xiao’s brow furrowed. Usually venti was in the kitchen cooking at this time. Xiao always said he didn’t have to, but Venti always insisted on cooking for them both.
He continued forward into the house, looking around quietly. “Venti?” He called once more.
Xiao could smell food in the oven, but there was still no sight of his mate. Once he actually entered the kitchen, the first thing he noticed was the blood.
There was blood on the counter, covering a knife and part of the counter.
His heart seized in fear. No...Not you too Venti... His thoughts began to run wild as adrenaline started to flow into his body.
“Venti!” He yelled louder, hoping for some response. When there was none, his breathing began to speed up.
Immediately Xiao dashed out of the kitchen and started checking rooms, calling for him the whole time.
When he reached the doorway of the nursery, the first thing that hit him was the stench. He suppressed a gag, He was never able to adjust to the scent of rotting flesh.
He breathed out and raised his hand to push the door open.
Venti sat in the middle of the room on the floor, cradling the baby and mumbling.
Xiao breathed a sigh of relief at seeing his husband in one piece, and tried to ignore the visceral image of the baby.
It’s skin was decaying, pieces of flesh barely attached, rotting away at a quick pace lately. There was no nose, just the exposed nostrils of the skull, and squishy gelatin like sacs in the sockets where the eyes should be. The onesie it was wearing was covered in dirt and blood, a gaping hole in the chest, long past having a beating heart.
Xiao suppressed a shudder, still disturbed by the sight of their dead son, laying in his mother’s arms.
“Venti?” He called, but was never acknowledged. Xiao cautiously walked towards the raven-haired male, careful not to surprise his distracted self.
It was only when he got closer and knelt down next to his love when he was able to make out his words.
Baby don’t you cry
It’s gonna be alright
Because in the middle of the night
I’ll stab you with a knife
He swallowed and turned out the words, not hearing what was to be said next. He took a shaky breath, and put a hand on Venti’s shoulder, preparing for whatever Venti would do.
But he wasn’t prepared enough, because he still jumped when his husband screamed.