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Cale walked around his apartment carrying his 4-year-old. Raon was convinced he was a dragon, and thus he had to sleep whilst ‘flying’. Which meant for a solid twenty minutes, Cale had to pace around the apartment and wait for his little dragon to fall asleep. Not that the man minded, sure his arms got tired, but if anything, it made him feel so soft. He hadn’t been with Raon when he was a little baby, so to rock the boy back and forth made him feel like Raon was a tiny baby again.
Raon’s arms on his father’s neck loosened and the legs wrapped around Cale’s waist slowly fell. A tell-tale sign the boy had fallen asleep. Cale sighed as he manoeuvred Raon in his arms and headed to the boy’s room. The redhead placed his son down on his bed, with a headboard representing a black castle. Cale tucked the child into his red blanket, something a red-faced Raon had insisted on getting whilst looking away from Cale.
A soft kiss was placed on the toddler’s forehead. “Goodnight, Raon,” he murmured. He ruffled soft black hair before standing up straight and leaving the boy’s bedroom.
The man walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. Pulling out a couple of kiwis, carrots, and dressing, Cale started to prepare Ohn and Hong’s late-night snack. The two children had some medical conditions caused by their previous living situation. Thus, he made sure they were eating more and eating nutritional food.
The man carved the fruit out of the skin. Cale plated the fruits and then went to grab a bag of trail mix. He poured a decent amount of the mix into two bowls. Cale grabbed one of the bowls and plates and then went to the living room. He placed the dishes down on the desk holding the family-shared computer.
He then walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the remaining dishes. Cale knocked on Hong’s door and waited patiently for the boy to open it. “Snacks?” Hong whispered as he opened the door, well aware that he shouldn’t wake up the sleeping dragon by being loud.
Cale nodded, “Special delivery.” He handed the two dishes to the boy.
“Nya, thank you, Pa,” Hong smiled back.
Ignoring the urge to coo at the child, Cale waved his hand flippantly, “I already told you, stop thanking me.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started heading to Ohn’s room.
“Oh! Nya!” Hong suddenly exclaimed. Cale stopped walking and turned around. He stared at his son with a raised eyebrow. A light blush was on Hong’s face, “Do you think… you could tell me a story again tonight?” Hong loved stories, especially ones about heroes. Although the boy never vocally said anything, Cale knew that Hong idolised heroes, and wished to be one.
“Of course,” the older redhead couldn’t stop the softness from seeping into his voice.
“Meow!” Hong grinned, clearly excited. “I’ll come into the living room, nya, when I finish eating.”
His father nodded before going to Ohn’s room.
Ohn opened the door the minute Cale was standing at the door, most likely having heard him and Hong talking. The ten-year-old stared at him with a cheeky grin. Cale sighed, “Your snacks are by the computer, you have an hour.”
The girl nodded, “Meow! Alright, thanks, Cale.” With that, his eldest walked away.
Cale rolled his eyes and headed to his study. The redhead hummed a tune as he browsed his bookshelf. Grabbing two books, one for himself and the other to read to Ohn and Hong (Ohn will deny listening to bedtime stories, however, he’d seen her listening in), he walked over to his chair.
Cale let out a pleased sigh as he sat down. The chair was expensive, but it was worth every penny. It was so comfortable and he can recline it. He set the collection of short stories down on the end table and opened his book.
Forty minutes later, Cale had finished two novels and heard a knock on the door. “Dad?” a soft voice was heard. Cale huffed and shut his book. The man grabbed the other book from the end table and walked over to the door.
Opening the door, he used the book to lightly hit Hong’s head, making the child laugh. The boy took the book off his head and grabbed Cale’s hand. “Come on! I made tea for us too.”
Hong dragged Cale to the living room. Cale sat down and his eyes narrowed onto Ohn. Her headphones were off, and the computer wasn’t actually loading any games. She was totally planning on listening in on their stories.
Cale smirked as he picked up a teacup. He looked at the tag on the teabag, making sure Ron didn’t trick his gremlins into giving him sour tea. Hong had chosen a lovely tea, chamomile. He took a sip of the tea and looked toward his eldest son.
Gold eyes stared at him with want. Cale placed the tea down and held out a hand, silently asking for the book. Hong handed him the book with a slight pout.
Cale opened the book as Hong scooted closer to him. “What story do you want tonight?”
Hong was silent as he thought about his options. He grabbed the throw blanket and wrapped it around himself and his father. “The Writer’s Imagination,” Hong mumbled as he leaned onto his father. Ohn huffed in annoyance, clearly tired of listening to the same story three nights in a row yet refusing to say anything.
Cale nodded as he opened to the right page. He wrapped an arm around Hong’s shoulder and started reading.
“It was fun, creating stories, the girl thought. The girl grew up, and as she grew, so did her stories. Her stories became better, as did she.” Hong grinned at that message. “Her stories became wilder and more interesting, more well thought out. She created a story about two men and gave them a tragic life only…”
By the end of the story, Hong had fallen asleep. Ohn was also falling asleep, eyes fluttering as she tried to keep herself awake. Cale couldn’t stop the small smile from forming on his face. He closed the book and set it on the couch. Getting up, Cale wrapped the blanket around Hong and then picked him up.
He put Hong in bed and ruffled familiar red hair. A gentle kiss was placed on the boy’s forehead before Cale shut off the lights and closed the door. Cale walked up to Ohn and picked her up, causing her to yelp. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared at him with wide eyes.
“Meow!” she screeched. “What- Cale?” Despite her initial alarm, she had nuzzled into Cale’s chest and relaxed in her father’s hold.
Cale chuckled at her reaction. “If I’m going to be carrying your brothers to bed, I might as well carry you too. It’s only fair.”
Ohn hummed in agreement, and Cale watched his eldest, who always acted tough for her brothers, relax and melt into his hold. Brownish-red eyes softened as he carried her to her room. He tucked the girl in bed, a soft kiss was placed on her fluffy silver hair.
“Goodnight.”
Ohn grumbled as she got comfortable in bed. “Night, Pa,” she mumbled sleepily.
Cale couldn’t help but smile, Ohn rarely called him ‘dad’ or any variation of it. Feeling warm with love, Cale left the girl’s bedroom and headed to the kitchen. He grabbed a wine glass and rinsed it out before going back to his study.
The redhead grabbed a wine out from underneath his desk and sat down in his chair. He opened the wine bottle and poured himself a glass. Taking a sip of the drink, he turned on his computer. As the device loaded, he looked at the photo beside his computer. A picture of himself, his children, and close friends.
He scoffed, yet a smile formed on his face. His family was going to be just fine, they were all okay.