Zhou Jian walked into his office and paused for a moment. There on the couch lay Wang Tao asleep. His body was still and the only signs of breathing were the slight rises of his chest.
The baby boy asleep on his chest was held by the slender hand, protecting him from falling. Zhou Shuang had his thumb in his mouth, sucking on it in his sleep.
The two created a harmonious picture, invoking warmth in those who witnessed it. Zhou Jian's eyes softened as he stooped down beside them.
His hand ran through the silver hair lightly as his eyes wandered over to his son. The boy was much older now and grew cuter each day.
Zhou Jian smiled when his son opened his eyes. Zhou Shuang noticed his father and sat up. Giggling he stretched out his arms.
"Did you sleep well?"
Granting his wish, the father lifted his son up. Showering him in kisses as he straightened up.
"Shh. Uncle Tao is still sleeping. You'll wake him up."
Zhou Shuang looked up at him and stared for a few moments. The Zion stared back in silence.
"D-d…"
The man's eyes widened a bit as he listened. He had a hunch about what was happening and hoped he was right.
"Da…dada!"
The boy giggled and clapped his chubby hands happily at his accomplishment. A bright smile spread across Zhou Jian's face when he heard this.
His son's first words were for him. This filled the father with joy.
Just then, he observed that Zhou Shuang had more to say. Pointing at the Celestial, he exclaimed,
"Papa!"
"..."
Zhou Jian was speechless. He didn't know what to say about that. Normally one would say that the child was mistaken but the Zion knew of Zhou Shuang's intelligence.
Zhou Jian's heart felt weird but for some reason he didn't say anything. The older man couldn't explain why the term seemed right.
Wang Tao had been very much like a father figure to his son. Not that the mum wasn't there. It was just that Chen Xiang's presence seemed a bit lacking.
Frowning slightly, he admitted something else in his heart. Raising his son up, he smiled at the cute face in front of him.
"My son is such a genius."
He was very proud. His infant son spoke his first words. This was a very special occasion. Holding his son close, he left the room to go and feed him.
A while later, he changed the boy's diaper and put him back in the crib. Walking back to his office, he picked up the Celestial, carrying the Celestial, him back to his room.
When he placed the other in the bed, Zhou Jian couldn't help but go into a trance. Hesitating, his hand reached out before pausing. Retracting it, the Zion sighed as he turned around and left.
Entering the hallway, he noticed Chen Xiang outside his room door and after staring for a moment, he nodded and turned to leave.
A scowl crossed the youth's face for a second before a slightly sadistic smile. The small blue system shivered when it heard its hosts thoughts again. How could it have been so unlucky?
.
.
.
A few days later, Wang Tao sat on the couch with the three years old Zhou Shuang on his lap. The two were watching a superhero film that night.
Chen Xiang was away for a publicity event while Zhou Jian had gone to HQ. As the credits rolled, Zhou Jian had arrived back home.
Entering through the door, he walked into the living room and realizing that the two were absorbed in an end credit, a smirk rose on his face as he silently drew near.
His long arms wrapped around them and he tapped their shoulders as soon as it ended.
"Boo."
"Aaaahh!"
The two jumped in fright. Zhou Shuang had scurried into the Celestial's embrace after letting out a cry. Wang Tao blinked after a few seconds, getting out of his shock.
Turning his head, his heart sped up. His face was barely inches away from the other and he could even see some of the smallest details he never noticed before. The man's hot breath blew onto his face and his faced flushed red.
Jerking back, he almost fell off the couch if it wasn't for the arm which caught him. Wang Tao's ears were as red as cherries as he looked down at the toddler, u Willi g to meet the piercing purple eyes.
Zhou Shuang peeked out and smiled widely, catching sight of his father. Climbing out of the Celestial's arms, he ran around the couch to the handsome man.
"Daddy!"
"Good night, my Xiao Shuang."
Picking up the boy, he kissed his cheek. Smiling he held the boy with his left arm as his right rubbed his friend's hair.
His long fingers combed through the soft silky hair as the Celestial narrowed his eyes in contentment.
[ Such a cat. ]
The Zion's eyes softened as he retracted his hand. Wang Tao smiled at him and greeted the older man.
"Hungry!"
"Xiao Shuang is hungry?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Just you?"
"No, Papa too."
The room went silent. Zhou Shuang had pointed at the Celestial so Wang Tao knew who he was talking about. The silver phoenix eyes had widened in shock.
Zhou Jian cried inwardly. It seemed like their previous talk was in vain…
"Xiao Shuang, listen carefully. You can't call him Papa. It's Uncle Tao."
"No! Papa!"
"Uncle Tao."
"Papa!"
"Uncle Tao."
"Hmph…Uncle Tao."
His son finally listened and mumbled the last part. Zhou Jian could clearly tell he did not agree though.
The man stayed resolute though. He couldn't have his son calling Wang Tao Papa all the time. What if it just reminds the other that Zhou Shuang isn't actually his child but one the man he loved had with someone else? Of course Wang Tao knew but it would still be a painful reminder.
___
Thinking back to this, the Zion laughed a bit. How could he have thought that it worked?
Looking at Wang Tao, he got a bit nervous. Observing the other, relief filled him. Joy was visible in the silver eyes and a smile rested on his lips.
"So you're fine with it?"
"Yeah."
The younger man leaned forward and gave the boy a light kiss. Zhou Jian smiled at that. A weird feeling followed when he, after so long, finally realized something. His son had gotten the man's first kiss. Not just the first, all of them.
[ Why not m- ]
Zhou Jian cut the thought off. He couldn't believe what he was about to say. Before he could think further, he was distracted by Wang Tao's next words.
"I consider him as my son too you know…I mean I…I care deeply for him and it's not like I could ever have one of my own anyway. No one my Xiao Lan[1] has to be jealous of, right?"
The Celestial laughed awkwardly. Zhou Jian's heart twisted seeing the sad smile on the other's face. Reaching out, he attempted to comfort the man.
Instead of rubbing his head, the Zion did something different. The warm hand nudged Wang Tao's cheek a bit before pinching it lightly. It seemed like Zhou Jian was simply trying to distract his friend.
Wang Tao flinched slightly when the long finger brushed against his lip like a feather. The hand patted the golden hair of the boy as Zhou Shuang reminded them of his hunger.
Chuckling, Zhou Jian handed his son over to his friend and went cook the food. When he returned, he carried Zhou Shuang to his little table.
Placing him down, he asked Wang Tao to put on his son's bib as he served the food. Minutes later, the three were all seated, eating their meal and he atmosphere surrounding them was quite warm.
Unfortunately, it didn't last.
As the Celestial helped the toddler finish eating, Chen Xiang returned home. The transmigrator frowned upon hearing the term Zhou Shuang addressed the silver haired male by.
"Hubby, Zhou Shuang, I'm home!"
Placing down his bag, Chen Xiang sat beside his husband. The man quickly brought over the food set aside for him and placed it on the table.
Smiling, he thanked the man and began eating. In moments, the room was filled with his chatter as he spoke about his day.
The recent movie he had been filming called 'The Alliance' had wrapped up the production. That night, he had left to go help with the publicity. As an A-List actor, he had many opportunities so he was quite experienced and this event went off without a hitch.
"It was a bit noisy but it wasn't too bad. There was this reporter that tried to trick some thing out if me but of course I handled it easily. There were so many fans and they are so excited for the premiere..."
Wang Tao noticed that Zhou Shuang was getting sleepy but Chen Xiang seemed nowhere near finishing so he decided to put the little one to bed.
"Xiao Lan's tired. I'll put him to bed ok?"
Zhou Jian nodded as he patted the tiny head. Chen Xiang scowled inwardly at the other.
[ Who was he to call to call that brat so endearingly. ]
"Oh, it's ok. I'll do it. I'm his mother after all."
Wang Tao wasn't sure what that had to do with it but still handed the child over. Zhou Shuang flinched a bit at his mum's tight grip but ignored it as it loosened afterwards.
Chen Xiang smiled before heading upstairs, making a show of talking sweetly to the boy as he ascended the stairs.
The two men downstairs exchanged a confused look. Shaking his head, Zhou Jian smiled at the other.
"A Tao, I bought some ice-cream earlier. Do you want any?"
Wang Tao immediately forgot the recent situation. Nodding hastily, he watched as the man brought out some vanilla ice-cream. The two spent some time chatting as they finished their serving.
_____________
"Daddy catch!"
Zhou Jian turned around and instinctively caught the boy. Holding him properly, he smiled at his son. The boy was fully dressed for his first day of school.
[ Now that I think about it, I don't think A Tao's ever gone before. Maybe I should bring him there next time. He'll look so handsome in a school uniform...Wait no...After this A Tao should leave. He's been hurt enough. ]
Zhou Jian quickly snapped out of his thoughts and looked back at his son. His heart softened when he saw how cute the boy looked dressed up.
"Morning Xiao Shuang."
"He he...morning."
The boy giggled a bit as his father gave him a kiss. His eyes stared hungrily at the food next to them and his eyes sparkled.
"Look, I made pancakes. Hurry up and eat so we can go, ok?"
"Ay!"
Zhou Jian rested his son on the chair. As he straightened up, he noticed his friend coming down.
Wang Tao rubbed his eyes as he walked down the stairs. Seeing the two he smiled.
"A Jian, Xiao Lan, morning "
"Morning A Tao."
"Morning Papa!"
Kissing Zhou Shuang on his cheek, the Celestial sat down at the table. His mouth watered as he took a whiff of their breakfast. Chen Xiang came down a few moments after.
"Morning, your food looks good as always, hubby."
Zhou Jian thanked the other as he sat down beside his son. The boy looked around him and noticed that his two parents were on each side of him with Wang Tao opposite him.
Glancing at Chen Xiang, he fidgeted a little in his seat before climbing into his father's lap. The bewildered Zhou Jian stayed quiet when his son looked up at him with his puppy dog eyes.
[ Ah! My son's so cute! ]
His heart warmed as he fixed the boy's position before picking up the fork. The four started eating with Zhou Jian feeding Zhou Shuang.
Half an hour later, Zhou Jian stepped out of the car and his son followed. Picking up the four year old boy, he walked to the school gate.
Chen Xiang followed and Wang Tao stayed next to the car. Reaching the gate, the Zion placed the child down. Kissing the golden hair, he spoke.
"Have a good day. Try and make some friends. Eat your lunch like a good boy okay. If there's any problem, ask the teacher to call me, I'll come right away."
Zhou Shuang smiled as he listened to the nagging. His small arms hugged the talk man.
"Okay!"
The Zion smiled back. He was trying to control his worry. It was just school, he shouldn't react like this. Even then, the father was nervous.
[ What if Xiao Shuang didn't like it? What if he was bullied? What if he can't make any friends? What if he spends his whole school life lonely? ]
And the what ifs went on and on and on. Before he could dive into another series of them, his adorable son briefly said some farewells to his mother before running over to Wang Tao.
"Pa- Uncle Tao!"
[ Uncle? Didn't he just call me Papa earlier? ]
The boy pounced onto the Celestial who caught him. The man's silver eyes softened as he hugged the boy tight, quickly forgetting his confusion. Silver eyes met blue ones as he said farewell.
"Have a good day Xiao Lan. When you reach home you'll tell me all about it right?"
"Mm-hmm."
The boy cutely bobbed his head. Zhou Shuang looked at Wang Tao expectantly and the man smiled helplessly. Planting a kiss on the chubby cheek, the Celestial put the child down.
Content, Zhou Shuang giggled and hurried back over to the gate. Waving his little hands, his blue eyes shined like stars as he entered the school excitedly.