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“We’ll come to pick them up in a week.” DBK had to resist the urge to snarl when the Little Thief turned an accusatory finger to him. “One. Week. If it takes longer we’ll send Pigsy and Tang to pick them up, okay?”
“I am well aware of the rules, Little Thief.”
DBK had only meant well when he suggested he and his princess babysit Xiaobo the most. His son and son-in-law were clearly caught off-guard by the little one’s slow aging. (Honestly, he was more concerned with Peter, but Iron Fan had explained that it was just how he aged. There was no curse on him like she or Sun Wukong feared.) But his attempt to keep his grandson had led to proving that Qi Xiaotian was willing to attack anyone to keep his children safe. He would be more proud of that if, first, that attack hadn’t been aimed at him, and second, Xiaobo and Peter were perfectly safe with him and his wife.
Like during this week. He and Iron Fan were taking the boys both to give Red Son and the little thief a break… also because it was their wedding anniversary. DBK was not aware of their plans, besides the fact that his son intended to whisk his husband away to his old territory at Fiery Cloud Cave. All he cared about was his grandsons.
Xiaotian relaxed now at the assurance that he knew the rules. “Good.” He glanced over to where Red Son stood, quietly talking to Peter. His son’s glamor was down while his grandson’s glamor was up. “Can you guys keep an eye on Peter?” the thief said suddenly. “He’s recently learned how to glamor and I think it’s taking a bit from him.”
DBK nodded. Both were in agreement, because Peter looked ready for a nap even though it was still ten, and to be honest, he was a bit touched that he was trusting him with this. He hadn’t forgotten about the scene Xiaotian had made at the twins’ man yue. (He claimed it was just a coincidence with Xiaobo crying at the exact moment he didn’t want to hand the baby over.) With their history, DBK couldn’t blame his son-in-law. “I will.”
A coo made them look down. Xiaobo had toddled up to his Bàba and now gripped his pants, his little red and orange tail swishing back and forth. “Hey, sweetheart.” the man cooed, scooping up his grandson, one of those sunshine bright smiles DBK rarely caught on his face. “Are you excited to spend time with Bull King Yéyé and Zǔmǔ Iron Fan?”
“Yes!” the three-year-old said excitedly. He couldn’t help a fond chuckle at that before Xiaotian held up Xiaobo, worry briefly flashing across his face. “Hi, Bull King Yéyé!” the monkey child said excitedly, holding up his arms in the gesture for “up.” DBK allowed himself a fond chuckle before gently taking the child, smiling as Xiaobo hugged his finger, both for stability in his hands and a sweet gesture of affection. He was so small…
He remembered when Red Son was this small.
The older Red Son’s voice, saying “Be good.”, snapping him out of his memory. His son was there, holding Peter’s hand, gently rubbing Xiaobo’s cheek. Then his eyes turned to him. “Thank you for doing this, father.” his son said, his tail wagging a little bit.
“It is an honor.” DBK could only say. He eyed Peter, who stepped back a bit behind his Bàmā. Ah. Seems his childhood fear of him hadn’t completely waned, even though he was fourteen now.
They would work on that.
The sound of crying awoke DBK.
He sat up in bed, hearing Iron Fan sit up as well. His ears, trained from years of parenthood, could tell it was from Xiaobo’s bedroom in his grandchildren’s chambers. Red Son had warned them about this- his poor grandson suffered from night terrors and apparently, the Noodle Boy was concerned that he suffered from something called ‘sleep paralysis.’ Which didn’t matter at the moment.
“I have him,” he said to his wife after a glance at the clock revealed it was three in the morning. Iron Fan nodded before lying back down, just like she did back when Red Son was nothing but a babe and he called checking on him. Soon enough, she was fast asleep. DBK couldn’t help a chuckle, gently brushing his claw against her cheek. Another sob made him stop and get out of bed.
The halls were dark as he hurried through, focused on the door down the hall that led to Red Son’s old chambers that had been given to Peter and Xiaobo for the week. The door opened with a creak, revealing the sitting room full of toys and a lit nightlight, and he didn’t pause.
What did make him pause was the scene that he entered when he opened Xiaobo’s door.
“It’s okay, Xiaobo…” Peter sat on his brother’s bed. His glamor was off, allowing Xiaobo to cling to his red fur with his tail curled tight around the wrist of the hand that held him. The older twin didn’t seem to mind at all, gently running his fingers through his younger twin’s hair. “It was just a bad dream…” It almost appeared that he was grooming him. (For a moment, phantom fingers worked their way through DBK’s fur.) “You’re okay. I’m here, and Bàmā and Bàba are okay…”
“Is everyone alright?”
Peter jerked in surprise, looking up at DBK. “...we’re okay.” he finally said. His fingers stopped for a moment before his brother whined and the motions started back up again. “Xiaobo just had a bad dream.” Finally, the little cub’s tail relaxed and slid off the calf’s wrist, making him hum. “I think he’s ready to go back to bed. Right Xiaobo?”
“Okay,” Xiaobo said, without protest. That lack of protest continued as Peter gently moved him off his lap and settled him into bed. “Night, night, Gēge.” he sighed, already half-asleep as his brother pulled the covers up to his chin
“Night,” Peter said softly. DBK couldn’t help but watch the soft scene, feeling fondness form in his chest. Then his elder grandson was right before him, looking suddenly nervous. “Excuse me,” he quietly whispered.
And then he was past him and gone.
By the time Friday came, it had felt like this week was both too long and too short.
Xiaobo was just like his Bàmā at his age. He was an energetic little one who just wanted to play via using DBK as his living playground. He had long accepted this role and it was no issue. What was an issue was Peter hovering instead of joining them.
He seemed to have no issues with Princess Iron Fan at all. She had been pleased to tell him that Peter was happy to chill in the library with her, reading Red Son’s old mechanic books while she poured over reports. (Or read those romance novels she and DBK both loved.) But there was no explanation for why he didn’t seem to feel the same towards him.
“Peter!” Xiaobo called now. He was perched on DBK’s shoulder, tail wagging happily. “Peter, catch me!”
The teenager stiffened. “Wait-” Then Xiaobo was actually falling back… DBK yelped and grabbed him. Peter was there, eyes wide and horrified. They both let out a sigh of relief as Xiaobo let out an unhappy noise. “Don’t do that!” the elder grandson finally said after his heart calmed down. “You really worried me!”
Xiaobo pouted. “Sorry, Peter…” He leaned back into his hands to look up at him with those big soulful eyes that reminded him so much of his little Red Boy. “Sorry, Bull King Yéyé.”
“It’s okay.” DBK sighed, unable to be a bit upset with the small child. “Don’t do that again, okay?”
Xiaobo let out a little noise. That wasn't an agreement, but he would take it. Then he noticed red out of the corner of his eye. Peter had relaxed in his relief and with it, his glamor. Should he say something? Saying something might cause the boy to hide his true form, which was something he should be proud about-
“Yay!” Xiaobo had decided for him it seemed. The little one was staring at his brother with happy wide eyes, reaching for the little bull with eager hands. “Gēge’s soft!” And that implied how much Peter had been using his glamor since he had learned how to do it.
“Soft? Wait-” Peter looked down. His eyes widened when instead of human hands, soft red fur met his eyes. “I- uh-! Sorry, I-”
“Don’t apologize.” The words came out harsher than he intended. Peter flinched back. “You-”
And he was gone, leaving them standing there.
DBK sighed, feeling a headache pound at his temples. That could’ve gone better.
“How about we take a nap, Xiaobo?”
Peter, human glamor reapplied, didn’t reappear until lunchtime.
When it came for the afternoon meal, DBK had dared to step into the chambers to pick up Xiaobo from his nap. The bedroom, however, was empty, suggesting that Peter had taken the liberty of taking his brother out himself. The silence was thick and awkward as the three of them settled down. And embarrassingly, it took him a moment to realize what was off about that statement. The empty high chair between Peter and Iron Fan more than highlighted it.
“Where is your brother?”
DBK’s question broke the silence. Peter glanced at the high chair, his brow raising. “I checked in his room and he wasn’t in there. I heard you come in and thought you got him for lunch.”
“No, I didn’t. I thought you did.” Well, that scratched his guess. DBK turned his eyes to his wife. His hopes were dashed when she shook her head.
“Don’t look at me.”
...right. So none of them knew where Xiaobo was. He stood up, his chair slightly screeching. “I will go look for him.” His mind started to work, trying to figure out if there were any possible security breaches. Call him overcautious, but he would prefer to be worrying over nothing other than Xiaobo being in the hands of the Spider Queen or worse . The better option in kidnapping would be the Gold and Silver twins which presented their own issues.
“I'll go too!” Peter sounded just as worried as he felt, his voice filled with determination, as he hopped up. “Xiaobo might come to me if he’s just slipped out.” DBK nodded in agreement. It made sense, considering what he remembered of his childhood with his own brother. Peter brightened with his approval before he was heading out of the room with a “Let’s go!”
He glanced at his princess, who smiled softly. “Go with him. I’ll wait here.”
He had to speed-walk to follow his grandson.
The tense silence returned once they were wandering the hallways
DBK wasn’t sure if it was because of the missing boy or the glamor incident. Peter broke the silence occasionally with yells of “Xiaobo!” DBK pulled out his mental map. If they could get to the security center, they could check the cameras.
“Wait.” Peter suddenly stopped, holding up an arm. DBK followed the request, watching his grandson crane his head. What was he hearing? “I can hear him!” he finally said brightly. “He’s laughing!”
“Laughing?”
Peter lowered his arm, a mixture of both annoyance and relief crossing his face. “He probably snuck out and got lost.” Ah. That made sense. Back when Red Boy was very little and somehow ended up alone, he got lost often. “He thinks someone will always find him so he doesn’t really care.”
“He has confidence,” DBK noted. “Unlike you.” It came out unintentionally. But he couldn’t regret it as Peter stiffened. It was something that had to be said, especially considering what the Little Thief had said about Peter and glamours.
“...I have confidence.” The words were said in a weak protest against what he knew was the truth.
“Do you?”
“Yes!” And there were tears in his eyes. Peter continued as he wiped at his eyes, sounding like he was trying to keep from sobbing. DBK resisted a snort of annoyance. “I know- I know people aren’t happy that I’m not like Xiaobo but I’m doing my best!”
Why he immediately turned to that comparison, he didn’t know, but it was annoying. “You could be doing better.”
“I can’t! I’m trying but I can’t!”
“Maybe-!”
“DON’T!” The two turned at the yell. Xiaobo was poking his head out of a vent. DBK would’ve asked how he somehow climbed up there if Xiaobo didn’t look so upset at him. He hopped down from the vent and marched up to him, glaring at him with all the anger his toddler body could hold. “Leave Peter alone!”
“I am just-”
“You’re being mean!” Xiaobo yelled, grabbing Peter’s hand and gripping it tightly. The older boy didn’t look embarrassed at being defended by a little one. Instead, he looked both touched and worried. “Gēge’s doing his best and you’re being mean about it!”
“I am just concerned-” DBK immediately retorted before pausing and shutting his mouth. He wasn’t going to get in an argument with a toddler, much less his grandson. “I am…”
“Be nice!”
And then Xiaobo was dragging Peter away, leaving him standing there.
DBK was hovering.
He knew he was. If his wife was around to point that out, he would not deny it like he usually did. This was too important after his evening of consideration over it. His focus was more laid on his grandson, who seemed to not notice him, busy reading a book. Not until he cleared his throat.
Peter looked up and yipped when he saw him there. He held his book close to his chest, like a shield, before he found his words. “Bull King Yéyé.” he almost mumbled out, giving a quick bow to his head. “...hello.”
“Hello.” DBK entered the room fully and settled onto the couch, making sure to leave some room between them. There was dead silence. “...what is it that you are reading?” he said finally. He didn’t recognize the cover of the book.
“...just a study of magic book,” Peter admitted, sounding ashamed by his words. “I just wanted to see…” DBK resisted a snort of displeasure at the idea that someone from his lineage had to consult magic books. That would just make his grandson cower further from him. “Uh…did you want to talk to me about something?”
Right.
Yes.
DBK cleared his throat. “...I’m sorry for yesterday afternoon.” Unfortunately, it came out more of a squeak than anything else and Peter just looked confused. He cleared his throat again, hoping that his pride wouldn’t stop him from this one important thing. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you that afternoon.” Thankfully, his voice remained strong. “I should not have said those things to you.” His words were sincere and he hoped Peter understood.
He was very much not sure how to handle this. He knew Red Son and his son-in-law weren’t sure either, but that was a part of parenthood. Even with slow magic and too fast aging. But they could figure it out. DBK himself just needed patience.
There was a considering quiet before Peter smiled. It was warm, sunshine bright, like those smiles he rarely caught from the Noodle Boy.
“I forgive you.”