Chapter Text
The morning sun filtered gently through the kitchen curtains, warm and golden, illuminating the quiet, lived-in space. A pot of crab porridge simmered on the stove, soft bubbles rising and popping in a steady rhythm. Crab porridge was Hua Yong's signature dish for breakfast.
Hua Yong stirred it lazily, the familiar fragrance settling deep in his chest like peace. Arms slipped around him from behind. It was firm, warm and unmistakably Sheng Shaoyou's.
"Morning," Shaoyou murmured, voice still husky with sleep. "What are you cooking today?"
Hua Yong sighed, though a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Porridge."
Shaoyou dramatically deflated against his back, forehead touching Hua Yong's shoulder blade. "Why must you choose torture so early in the morning, Hua Yong? You know I hate porridge for breakfast."
"Mm." Hua Yong turned just enough to tap Shaoyou's cheek with his fingers gently. "Do you think you have a choice, Mr Sheng?" he asked with a smile. "Go bring your son down. He loves you more than me anyway," he added with a cute pout.
Shaoyou smirked, eyes gleaming. "Peanut loves you, too. He loves me slightly more." Hua Yong narrowed his eyes. "Out."
Shaoyou kissed him on the temple before retreating with a satisfied grin. A minute later, he returned carrying their almost three-year-old son, Huasheng.
Huasheng clung to Shaoyou's neck as if someone would steal his father away any second. His small face scrunched into a frown the moment he saw Hua Yong.
"Don't give me that look," Hua Yong said, deadpan. "Mr Sheng was mine first." Huasheng tightened his arms around Shaoyou. Shaoyou chuckled as he said, "He says he disagrees."
"A pair of traitors," Hua Yong muttered, but his eyes were warm. This peace, this quiet domestic warmth, was something he once believed he would never have.
Four years ago, Hua Yong did not accept when Shaoyou proposed to him. Shaoyou had to grovel at his feet for a few months. Shaoyou had to propose multiple times, using various methods, and after almost 8 months, got a yes from Hua Yong.
Everything after that was magic. Shaoyou loved and cared for Hua Yong like he meant the whole world to him. Shaoyou instinctively developed small habits, such as brushing his hand over Hua Yong's forehead as if checking for a fever. He would linger around when Hua Yong stretched or yawned, or smooth a lock of hair off his brow to make sure his little orchid was not pushing himself too hard.
Whenever that happened, Hua Yong would gently take his hand in his own, smiling softly. "I'm okay, Mr Sheng," he murmured. His voice was calm, but the warmth in it seemed to anchor them both. Hua Yong felt safe, completely safe with Shaoyou. Sometimes, he would lean a little closer, letting himself savour the quiet, grounding intimacy of their life together.
And when Hua Yong told him to mark him on their honeymoon, Shaoyou had a different plan. He had somewhat seduced Hua Yong into getting himself marked instead, becoming the exclusive Omega of the Enigma.
But, he doesn't regret anything that follows. Before this, Hua Yong was protective, but now he has become extremely protective and possessive.
Their married life settled naturally after that, a rhythm of affection, small arguments, and silent understandings.
Shaoyou's pregnancy with Huasheng had nearly killed him. His newly developed uterus wasn't strong enough to carry an Enigma's child to full term so soon, and the strain showed early with constant cramps, dizzy spells, and frightening symptoms he stubbornly pushed through. Shaoyou never once complained.
But at full term, disaster struck. A sudden, forceful movement from the baby ruptured the sac, and the bleeding nearly took his life. After delivering Peanut, Shaoyou remained unconscious for two days. Hua Yong stayed at his bedside the entire time, hands cold, mind blank with panic.
After that, Hua Yong said one near-death experience was already far too much. One child was perfect for them. He would not gamble Shaoyou's life again. Shaoyou agreed wholeheartedly. Their decision was mutual, firm, and final.
Till now, Shaoyou would sit beside him, eyes lingering on Hua Yong's relaxed face whenever they were alone at night. Some nights, Shaoyou watched him breathe, as if reassuring himself that Hua Yong was truly there. "Thank you for staying," he whispered almost to himself, in the quiet between nights. Hua Yong, half-asleep, always caught the words. A shiver went through him, not of fear, but of relief.
Hua Yong remembered the worst nights, the lab, the hospital, the uncertainty and compared them to this moment. Now it felt steady, gentle in the way that no longer frightened him. His chest swelled with warmth as he realised how far they had come, and how these tiny, careful gestures were proof of love earned over years of struggle.
Even today, in the morning light, Shaoyou lingered beside him, tucking the spoon under Hua Yong's arm when he stretched, brushing his hair away, a silent but steady devotion. Hua Yong couldn't help but smile, and for a moment, everything felt exactly right.
The morning settled into its familiar warmth, the kind that wrapped itself around their little family like a gentle promise. After breakfast as a family, Hua Yong got changed and prepared Baby Peanut, dressing him in a cute outfit. Shaoyou hovered for a moment, making sure everything was perfect. He then nodded with a smile as he left to shower, as Hua Yong started giving him a stare for being clingy. Right on time, the doorbell rang. Since Shaoyou was in the shower, Hua Yong went to open the door. Standing outside were Chang Yu, with a gift bag shaped like a cartoon panda, and Chen Penming holding a brightly wrapped box.
"We come bearing gifts," Chang Yu declared. "For little boss," with a bright smile.
Chen Penming sighed. "We also prepared gifts for Young master Lele. Also, hurry up. Today is Lele's fifth birthday. If we're late, your godson will start crying, and then we'll spend the rest of the party cleaning up the emotional damage."
"I'm sure Wenlang or Gao Tu wouldn't want that, boss," supported Chang Yu. "And President Sheng and Mr Shen would start bickering like kids again," complained Chen Pinming, with a long sigh.
From the living room, Shaoyou's shouting drifted up from the hallway outside, "I HEARD THAT, PENMING!"
Chen Penming whispered, "See? It's already starting." Hua Yong laughed with his genuine, soft kind of laugh. The laugh that Shaoyou once thought he might never hear again.
Shaoyou came up behind him with Huasheng perched on his hip. His hands brushed lightly against Hua Yong's as he passed, a habitual, protective gesture.
"Come inside and have something to drink first. And, please inform Gao Tu that we will be there soon and tell Wenlang I don't care about his opinion," Shaoyou commented.
Chang Yu scoffed at the comment while Pinming shook his head in disapproval. Everyone burst into laughter. The hallway rang with warmth, with noise and life.
Their past wasn't erased or excused; instead, it got carried together by them until it no longer threatened to break them.
Hua Yong glanced at Shaoyou, who pressed a kiss onto Huasheng's hair while balancing him carefully.
He had once wondered if healing was even possible for them, if the fractures in their hearts would ever stop aching. But they had stayed, learned, and grown. Forgiveness wasn't a single moment. It was waking up together, loving softly, choosing each other every day.
His family. His home. His miracle was born from a history of blood and missteps.
Hua Yong stepped to Shaoyou's side and slipped his fingers into his. As their hands closed around each other, their wedding bands brushed softly, a quiet reminder of the promises kept. Shaoyou squeezed back steadily and reassuringly, completely his.
"Come on," Hua Yong said softly. "Let's go before Lele cries. I don't want to make my godson cry on his birthday." Shaoyou laughed. "Whatever you say, my love."
Before they could step out, Huasheng suddenly twisted in Shaoyou's arms and made a dramatic dive toward Hua Yong. The movement was so sudden that Shaoyou almost dropped him.
Hua Yong blinked and caught the child against his chest.
"What now, Peanut?" he asked with a knowing smile.
Huasheng clung to him tightly, tiny arms wrapped around his neck as if guarding his territory. His little brows knitted together in a jealous pout, shooting a silent warning toward the very idea of Baby Lele.
Shaoyou snorted. "Ah? Weren't you the one who loved me more? Why are you sticking to Daddy now?"
It was Huasheng's habit. He would act like he adored Shaoyou to tease Hua Yong. But the moment Hua Yong showed extra affection to Baby Lele, his little enigma instincts flared, and he would immediately glue himself to Hua Yong like a jealous shadow.
Today was no exception.
Hua Yong exhaled a helpless laugh and kissed Huasheng's forehead.
"Fine, fine. I won't let Lele steal me. Happy?"
Huasheng nodded firmly, gripping him tighter, fully satisfied that his daddy had once again been claimed.
Together, hand in hand, with a child between them, the three of them stepped into the bright afternoon, toward a birthday, toward family, toward a future they built with patience and pain and love. Hua Yong's chest lifted slightly with quiet joy, a thought fluttering through his mind. This messy, imperfect life, with its scars and its small, tender moments, was precisely what he had always wanted.
It was imperfect, flawed, and healing, but theirs. And that was enough.
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THE END.
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