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Zhou Zishu has never been much of an animal person. It’s mostly due to lack of experience; he never had any in his childhood, and the only animals his friends had in school usually hated him specifically or just the world in general.
One time, when he was twelve, a tiny chihuahua found him sitting on a sidewalk and trotted up to him. Zhou Zishu had never met such a small dog, and handed it a miniscule piece of jerky that he was gnawing on. The dog immediately snatched it from his hand, biting his fingers in the process, and ran off. So.
Not much of an animal person.
Then, life happens, and it hands him a tiny, fluffy thing. A papillon, the shelter tells him. Zhou Zishu finds it on the street one evening as he’s walking home with Wen Kexing. The dog immediately takes to Zhou Zishu, but is adamant about not being touched by the other man.
Wen Kexing tries to hide how it hurts his ego, but doesn’t do it well.
So, Zhou Zishu takes the small trembling creature to the shelter to be scanned for microchips, and there are none. They offer to neuter and get him vaccines for a small fee, if Zhou Zishu wants to keep him. He agrees without thinking much about it. For some strange reason, he really wants this dog. He texts Wen Kexing that he’s keeping the dog, and gets a series of crying emojis in response.
[5:43 PM]
A-Xu ♡
do you want to buy a bunch of stuff for him with me
[5:45 PM]
Lao Wen
YES
[5:48 PM]
A-Xu ♡
are you going to complain about him the entire time
[5:50 PM]
Lao Wen
YES
[5:54 PM]
A-Xu ♡
they have to keep him for surgery so he wont be home until tomorrow
[5:55 PM]
Lao Wen
good. i can set traps now
gun emoji
[5:58 PM]
A-Xu ♡
he only tried to bite you once. stop being dramatic
ill stop by home and we can go to the pet store together
Most of the stuff Wen Kexing chooses consist of outfits, designer food bowls, and fancy toys. Zhou Zishu pulls up a checklist of “Twenty things first time dog owners MUST have!” and goes through it all.
“A-Xu, A-Xu, look at this! Isn’t it cute? Should we get it?” Wen Kexing calls from the other side of the aisle.
Raising his head, Zhou Zishu is faced with a toy in the shape of a small rainbow. It’s actually kind of cute. He nods his head and Wen Kexing grins while tossing it in the cart.
Zhou Zishu hasn’t said no to anything yet, despite his grumbling.
“What food should we get him? A-Xu?”
Squinting, Zhou Zishu stares at his boyfriend.
“Are we getting a dog, Lao Wen? I thought you said you didn’t want him?” Zhou Zishu cocks his head, fighting a smile back.
Wen Kexing giggles, the type of giggle he does when he knows he let something slip. “Well, the demon is going to live with both of us, isn’t he? I guess I’ll claim partial responsibility,” he says with a dramatic sigh. It’s the closest they’re going to get to admitting that they’re about to co-parent together, which is a big deal.
A big deal that they’re just going to do, and not talk about. As they do with most things involving each other.
They get food, treats, more treats, things to chew on, somehow more treats, and eventually fill the entire cart. The total price is terrifying, and it’s the first moment of “what the fuck am I doing” that Zhou Zishu has, but all that happens is Wen Kexing stepping up to the register and asking to split it on two cards.
They don’t talk about it, but Zhou Zishu kisses the back of Wen Kexing’s hand as they exit the store.
They attempt to dog-proof the apartment, and spend the rest of the night getting everything set up. A few beds, a basket full of toys, his own drawer filled with treats and bones, and another drawer for brushes and grooming tools.
Wen Kexing smiles as he pulls the few jackets and shirts they bought out of the bags, and it’s enough for Zhou Zishu to know he’s doing a good thing.
When Zhou Zishu goes back to the shelter, giving the nice lady at the front desk his name and the animal ID he was given previously, he feels the excitement rush back. He had missed the little shithead.
“He woke up from surgery a couple hours ago, so he might be a little sleepy!” the woman warns him, and sends him back to the clinic.
A staff member walks out, holding a tiny leash with an even tinier dog attached to it. He’s trotting in front of her when he sees Zhou Zishu, and immediately starts some major butt wiggles. When he’s close enough, he activates the apparent springs he has in his legs and jumps up at Zhou Zishu. Years of honed reflexes have obviously prepared him for this exact moment, and he holds his arms out just as the dog starts to fall back down, catching him against his chest.
The dog immediately starts an onslaught of attacks, licking all across Zhou Zishu’s face and shoving his tongue up his nose. He hears the staff member laughing in front of him.
“Alright, alright, okay! Hey! Not so sleepy, huh?” he says between kisses, trying to prevent the dog from clawing his entire neck.
Zhou Zishu positions the dog on his arm, being mindful of the sutures on his belly. He calms down after a few moments, and leans against Zhou Zishu’s chest. The staff member reaches forward to give his head some scritches, and the dog immediately barks at her before wiggling his butt further into the arm that’s holding him.
What a funny little thing.
They send him home with a bunch of instructions, some pain meds, a cone that he may or may not need after surgery, and a bunch of well wishes. They even give him a phone number to a behaviorist, should he need it, based on the fact that the dog has pretty much tried to bite anyone that isn’t Zhou Zishu.
[3:04 PM]
A-Xu ♡
picked up Baozi
on our way home
[3:10 PM]
Lao Wen
he didnt revert back to his original form yet? no wings? or horns?
[3:12 PM]
A-Xu ♡
nope. just a lot of hair. you’re stuck with him, lao wen
[3:14 PM]
Lao Wen
how do we know little baobao isn’t going to kill me in my sleep?
ever think of that?
Zhou Zishu scoffs and tucks his phone away. Baozi is still tucked in his arm, slightly dozing off. They walk home together, and he sets the dog down for the last half of the trip to walk alongside him. He’s surprisingly good on a leash, and stays next to him the entire time. He pees on a bush right outside their apartment, and Zhou Zishu gives him a treat.
Dog parenting: Mastered.
“We’re home!” Zhou Zishu calls, and kicks off his shoes. There’s already a towel laid out next to the shoes, and he takes a moment to wipe off Baozi’s little paws before setting him loose.
The dog hesitates for a second before running in a circle and then sprinting off into the living room. Zhou Zishu follows him quickly, rounding a corner to see the dog sitting on the ground in front of the couch, staring at Wen Kexing. The grown man currently has his feet tucked up on the couch, arms wrapped around his knees.
“Are you gonna kill me, demon? I’m your dad too, you know! Why won’t you let me touch you? I like dogs more than A-Xu!”
Zhou Zishu laughs at the scene in front of him, and at the noise, Baozi barks once at Wen Kexing and then runs over to him. He once again shows off his genuinely impressive legs to jump up, and Zhou Zishu catches him.
That leaves Wen Kexing pouting on the couch. “Is this walking hairball going to steal you from me, A-Xu?” He whines.
Holding the dog, he sits on their couch next to Wen Kexing. Baozi doesn’t protest being within a few inches of the other man, so he’ll count that as a win.
“Just give him some time to get used to you, idiot. He’ll like you eventually.”
“Just like you liked me eventually?” Wen Kexing retorts with a glint in his eyes.
Zhou Zishu scoffs. “Yeah, just like that,” he says with an eye roll.
Baozi grumbles and turns in a circle before settling on Zhou Zishu’s lap. He coos, and leans down to press a little kiss to the top of his head. His huge ears twitch before Baozi licks his hand once. Wen Kexing tries to be subtle about pulling his phone out and taking a picture, but ultimately fails.
They end up spending a lot of time like this, just the three of them on the couch. In the following days Wen Kexing only gets nipped at once, but it doesn’t draw blood. He complains about the bruise on his hand for a minimum of four days.
Their apartment turns into a disaster of toys and bones, with Baozi’s favorite hobby being grabbing every toy out of his basket just for the fun of it. He rarely actually plays with them unless Zhou Zishu is readily available to play fetch.
Just as he said, it does take time. Wen Kexing doesn’t really help his own case, yelping every time the dog comes near him without warning.
He’s pretty sure Baozi continues being a terror just to get a reaction out of Wen Kexing.
One day, Zhou Zishu is lounging on the couch, afternoon sun streaming in through the windows, a breeze rustling their plants. Wen Kexing flows into the room, draping himself across Zhou Zishu, giving light kisses wherever he can reach. They laugh together, enjoying the rare downtime they have.
Baozi bounds over just a moment later, jumping on top of Wen Kexing’s head, and burrows his way between their two bodies. He growls at Wen Kexing, making the other man startle and roll off the couch, thudding onto the ground.
Zhou Zishu laughs harder, and doesn’t stop.
He can hear Wen Kexing whining on the ground, complaining about his head or something. He’s pretty sure he has tears in his eyes, but the noise he made when he fell was so fucking funny.
“A-Xuuuu! It hurts! Stop laughing at me!”
Zhou Zishu does not stop laughing. Something about the entire situation reminds him of an incident they had in college, before they got together. Zhou Zishu was talking to a classmate who, according to Wen Kexing, was “obviously” flirting with him. Zhou Zishu still doesn’t think that was the case, but, okay. Wen Kexing had ran up to him, slung an arm around his shoulder, and “A-Xu”ed his way into the conversation, all while glaring daggers at the poor boy in front of them. The boy made a pathetic excuse and ran off within minutes.
He realizes that the universe has given him not one, but two jealous bastards.
It keeps going on like that, for a while. Wen Kexing doesn’t insult the poor dog anymore, but Baozi hasn’t warmed up to him much either. Zhou Zishu is called to a week-long work trip, about two months after bringing the dog home. He’s nervous about it, but oddly enough, Wen Kexing assures him that he’ll be fine. He doesn’t even whine or complain, which raises a few alarms.
Of course, Wen Kexing’s only excuse is that it’ll give him time to actually bond with the little demon. He assures Zhou Zishu that he won’t give his dog away to a stranger on the street or let him starve, and sends him off to the train station with a kiss and a promise to send him pictures.
~
Wen Kexing does not know what to do with Baozi. At first, he was determined to bond with the creature. Now? That's an entirely different conversation.
Zhou Zishu, the human buffer between Wen Kexing and the demon, is gone. It’s just them. He’s just walked out the door, and Baozi is sitting in the front hallway, staring. He usually does this when Zhou Zishu leaves for work, but neither of them are prepared for when the dog realizes that Zhou Zishu isn’t coming back in just a couple of hours.
He takes a quick picture and texts it to Zhou Zishu.
[1:24 PM]
Lao Wen
[image attached]
do you think he’ll do this for the entire week
[1:37 PM]
A-Xu ♡
oh no, that’s cute
distract him or something
[1:39 PM]
Lao Wen
what if he gets sad? what am i supposed to do
im already missing my a-xu
i dont know how to handle another creature also missing my a-xu
[1:44 PM]
A-Xu ♡
you’ll be fine, it’s only a week
i’ll be home soon
[1:49 PM]
Lao Wen
a week with a HELLSPAWN
On the first night, Baozi paces in front of the door for two hours. He whines for three more hours. Wen Kexing doesn’t tell Zhou Zishu, because he knows he’ll feel bad and want to come back early. He tries shutting Baozi in their bedroom, but the little rat only scratches at the door and whines louder. With a final groan, Wen Kexing gets out of bed and rummages through their laundry. He pulls out a few shirts of A-Xu’s, and lays them across his side of the bed.
He drags Baozi’s bed over and plops it where Zhou Zishu’s pillow usually goes, and calls the dog over. It takes four tries for him to respond at all, and even then the dog only begrudgingly leaves the door. When he hops on the bed, Baozi takes several moments to sniff everywhere, and scratches a bit at the shirts laid out.
“He’s coming back, okay? Our A-Xu will be gone for a little while, but he’s coming back. He didn’t leave you, promise.” Wen Kexing feels extremely silly for comforting a dog, but he supposes it’s not the most absurd thing he’s ever done.
It seems to work. Baozi huffs, takes another look at Wen Kexing, then at the door, and lays down on his bed.
Wen Kexing sighs. Little demon. That doesn’t stop him from grabbing his phone and angling it towards the bed, with a thumbs up in front of the camera.
[12:28 AM]
Lao Wen
[image attached]
all good here!
your boys are finally going to bed
[12:30 AM]
A-Xu ♡
love you
Wen Kexing laughs, and shows the phone to Baozi. He doesn’t even open his eyes. “See? He said it to me. Not both of us.”
The rest of the week goes smoother, with Wen Kexing being able to actually physically handle Baozi. The tiny terror is seemingly mopey, and doesn’t even put up a fight when he’s leashed up by Wen Kexing to go outside. Baozi starts to curl up next to Wen Kexing’s head at night, and even makes the active decision to sprawl out on his lap a few times. Wen Kexing definitely does not whisper-scream and take several photos at this.
By the final day without Zhou Zishu at home approaches, Baozi has taken to wagging his tail as Wen Kexing wakes up and looks at him from the other side of the bed. He will deny the happiness in his heart until the day he days, thank you very much.
They have a silent agreement, the two of them. Man and beast, bonding over their shared longing for the same silly man.
It’s insane, and it’s stupid, and Wen Kexing will still tell A-Xu that he hates the dog, but if he sneaks him a few pieces of meat from breakfast, who will know?
Zhou Zishu comes home on time, catching Baozi as he launches himself into his arms. Then, he catches Wen Kexing, hugging him around the waist with one arm and kissing him on the temple.
“Did both of you miss me that much, hm?” Zhou Zishu laughs, silently noticing that Baozi doesn’t seem as angry as before at the mere thought of having to share space with Lao Wen.
“He tried to eat me, A-Xu. It was horrific. You’re never allowed to do that again,” comes the reply, muffled into his neck.
The lie is evident, but he lets it slide.
“Well I guess I can never leave again, how sad. I’ll make sure to tell them next time I’m in the office. I can’t have our Lao Wen being mauled, can I?” The head shoved against his shoulder nods a few times, and Baozi attempts to climb up his chest to get attention.
Zhou Zishu laughs, leading both of his boys away from the door.
That same night, Baozi curls up on Wen Kexing’s lap, instead of Zhou Zishu’s. He acts very offended, while the other man sputters and flails. Zhou Zishu laughs, and kisses both of them.
Their little family will be just fine.