Chapter Text
"Papa, why is mama always so busy?" A bright-eyed child stood at the height up to Qiaozhi's knees.
Qiaozhi looked at the child and put down the kitchen knife, halting from preparing lunch. "Well, mama has lots of work, Yuzi." The B-Boy picked up the child easily with one hand and placed Yuzi on his hip.
Yuzi rested their head on Qiaozhi's shoulder and wrapped their small arms around his neck. "Yuzi wants to see mama. Mama keeps going to work."
Qiaozhi patted their back and rocked them like one would a baby. Yuzi was only three-years-old. "Mama will be here tonight, but he will leave early in the morning."
Yuzi pouted. "Mama…" they mumbled, unable to say anything more.
The B-Boy caressed Yuzi's head gently and said, "Hey, why dont we leave a drawing for mama to see when he leaves for work in the morning?"
Yuzi bounced excited and bounced their little fists on their father's shoulders. "Yes, yes!"
Qiaozhi laughed and walked to the living room where all of Yuzi's toys were gathered. "Okay," he placed his child on the play table and prepared a piece of paper and some crayons. "Draw something for mama while I cook lunch. When mama is asleep, I will put it on the fridge."
"Okay, papa!" Yuzi said perkily. Green and red were the first colors they grabbed to start off their drawing.
Qiaozhi left Yuzi with the crayons and went on with preparing lunch.
---
It was late at night when Huangxiao stepped into the apartment, exhausted from work. He removed his shoes, dropped his big tote bag, and headed straight for the bedrooms.
He arrived to a door that had a little sign that said "Yuzi" scribbled with crayons, and opened it carefully. The jazz dancer peeked inside and saw his child sleeping soundly under the covers of their small bed.
"Ah, my soul is healed." Huangxiao whispered to himself, a hand clutched right above his heart.
When he was done, he opened the door right down the hall that lead to the bedroom he shared with his husband. Qiaozhi was already in bed.
Before heading to sleep, Huangxiao had a quick shower, dried his hair, put on his pajamas, and then cheerfully climbed under the covers.
"Qiao-laoshi!" Huangxiao whispered with a giggle. He hugged Qiaozhi's waist and nuzzled into the man's broad back.
Qiaozhi hummed in his sleep and then rolled around to pull Huangxiao into his arms. "Welcome home…" he mumbled, sleep still laced into his deep voice.
"I'm home!" Huangxiao put a peck on Qiaozhi's nose and then prepared to fall into a deep sleep. Didn't matter how packed his schedule was for the day if he got to return to his family like this.
Ah, it's too bad that he had to leave again early in the morning. This time for a long trip to Shanghai.
---
Huangxiao woke up at the crack of dawn. Sure, he only had five hours of sleep, but he could catch up in the car.
After dressing up nicely and packing what he needed for the day into his tote bag, he went to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast before leaving. He stopped when he noticed something new.
On the fridge was a little drawing made with only the colors green and red. A picture with two stick figures scribbled. One small, one big. The bigger, red figure was leaving for the door, and the smaller, green one was throwing hearts to their direction. At the bottom of the drawing were Chinese characters in Qiaozhi's handwriting.
Yuzi says "I love you, mama. Good luck at work"
Huangxiao felt a heart arrow stab through his chest. Instantly, he fell on his knees. "Ah, my babies are just so cute I can't!"
He wiped away a dramatic tear and then tiptoed into Yuzi's room. He found his child still sleeping soundly. Unable to resist, he knelt down and gave Yuzi a bunch of kisses.
"Mama loves you too, Yuzi!" Huangxiao whispered.
Yuzi stirred from their sleep, recognizing their mama's affection, and smiled, small hands coming to grip at Huangxiao's long hair. "Mama…"
Huangxiao gently pried Yuzi's hands out of his hair and gave them a soft smile. After making sure that the child was back to sleeping, he closed the door and went back to his room. There, he saw Qiaozhi already sitting on his side of the bed, eyes closed as he willed himself awake.
"Qiao-laoshi, I'm going now." Huangxiao said quietly, coming to give his husband a kiss on the lips.
Qiaozhi returned the kiss and then drowsily opened his eyes. "Xiao-shifu, did you see Yuzi's drawing?"
"I did huhuhu! It was so cute!" Huangxiao gave Qiaozhi one more kiss on his cheek before saying, "I really have to go now or I'll miss my flight. I love you both."
"We love you too." Qiaozhi gave Huangxiao the back of Huangxiao's hand a kiss. "Have a safe flight. Come back soon." He said with a smile.
Huangxiao then left for the door, but, before he left, he had an idea. He quickly went back into the kitchen, grabbed a red pen and a sticky note, then started scribbling.
---
Yuzi stepped out of their room, their right hand holding a stuffed panda bear. "Papa!" They yelled.
Qiaozhi yelled from the kitchen, "I'm right here!"
Yuzi quickly pattered their way to their father. "Mama gave Yuzi kiss!" They yelled excitedly pulling down the sides of Qiaozhi's shirt.
"That sounds nice! Mama gave you something else too." Qiaozhi said as he picked up Yuzi to give them his own morning kiss on the cheek.
"What?" Yuzi asked, tilting their head.
Qiaozhi pointed at the fridge and Yuzi turned their head. There, right next to the drawing, was a yellow sticky note with stick-figure drawings. A big figure was giving a little figure kisses on the cheek.
"Mama said 'I love you too, my Yuzi'."
Instantly, one of the brightest smiles took over Yuzi's face. "Papa, papa!" They yelled, "Give it!"
Qiaozhi took the drawings from the top of the fridge and handed it to Yuzi. Quickly, Yuzi ran back into their room. There, they placed the drawings into a box. A box where they put all their favourite things.
Seems like Yuzi inherited their mother's tendency to hold sentimental value over even the most simplest items. However, to Yuzi, these drawings were more than just that. It was their mama's "I love you", and mama's "I love you" is like treasure.
---
"Say 'safe trip, mama'. Come on, Yuzi."
From the phone's screen, Qiaozhi directed the camera to Yuzi who was holding their panda bear tightly in their arms. "Safe trip, mama!"
Huangxiao sobbed from the other end of the line, holding the phone close to him. "Oh, my baby!" He cried dramatically. "I love youuu!"
GaiGai took a peek away from her phone and saw the facetime. "Oh! Baby Yuzi! Hello, hello!"
Yuzi saw her from the screen. "Auntie!"
GaiGai choked. "Not Auntie, Yuzi. JieJie! Call me JieJie!"
Then, the airport announcement sounded.
Now boarding Shanghai.
Huangxiao sobbed and said, "Mama has to go now, Yuzi! Bye bye, my baby! Bye bye, Qiao-laoshi!"
"Bye bye, mama!" Yuzi waved. Then, they made their panda bear wave goodbye too.
"Bye bye, Xiao-shifu." Qiaozhi said with a smile.
With that, the call ended and Huangxiao boarded the flight for his next schedule. He'll come back home soon to his family.
CANDIES FROM THE CHAPTER:
1. Green and red crayons - green and red are Huangxiao's favorite colors. You often see him wearing the colors, and even Hello Dance company is modelled after the color scheme.
2. Panda stuffed toy - panda represents Huangxiao who owns Hello Dance, the company represented by a Panda.