Work Text:
Xie Lian carefully balances the tray of food with one hand and opens the door silently with the other. He peeks inside - good, Hua Cheng is still asleep. He enters, closing the door behind him with just as much care.
The tray makes a slight clattering noise when he sets it on the nightstand. Beside him, Hua Cheng stirs.
Xie Lian stares doubtfully at the food he’s arranged on the prettiest dishes he could find. His cooking skills are… not great. Besides the fact that he’s too short still to reach most things without climbing on the counters, he also seems to have a unique talent to mess up any dish. There’s an ominous smell rising from the congee, and it’s an alarming purple color. He didn’t even add anything purple.
But Hua Cheng always says he loves the food Xie Lian makes. His adoptive father has always been supportive of anything he tries - Xie Lian can’t remember a single time Hua Cheng spoke to him harshly or made him feel unloved. He believes with all his heart that Hua Cheng really, truly means it when he praises him.
He climbs up onto the bed. "Good morning, Baba," he whispers, and presses a soft kiss to Hua Cheng’s cheek. "Happy Father’s Day."
Hua Cheng groans, blindly reaching out and grabbing Xie Lian. Xie Lian giggles as he’s tugged under the covers for cuddles. His dad is so affectionate, especially when he’s half-asleep. He loves it.
"I made you breakfast," Xie Lian says, snuggling up to Hua Cheng’s warm, solid chest. "You don’t have to eat it yet, though. You can go back to sleep."
"Breakfast?" Hua Cheng says, immediately sounding more awake. "You cooked for me, Lianlian?"
"M-hm!" Xie Lian says excitedly, bouncing up to check his dad’s expression. "All by myself. I made a little bit of a mess in the kitchen."
"We’ll clean it up later," Hua Cheng says, smiling up at him. "Breakfast in bed? How did I get so lucky, to have such a filial son?"
Xie Lian beams back at his beloved father. "I love you, Baba," he says, feeling like he has to express the overwhelming affection he feels.
"I love you too, Lianlian," Hua Cheng tells him, and Xie Lian basks in the absolute knowledge that he’s telling the truth. There’s a reason he worked so hard this morning to show Hua Cheng that he appreciates him. He feels like he could do anything with Hua Cheng standing behind him, whispering encouragement, ready to do anything for him - and he knows he’ll always be there.
Xie Lian is the lucky one.