OVERFLOW / OPEN

[rekd]

TFLN / OPEN RP / THREADTRACKER

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[rekd]

[ reki's whining too, and honestly, he's selling this whole baby thing way better than either of the twins. for a second, it looks like he might even throw a tantrum for the ages... but fine, he's getting up. curry bowl, you win again. ]

If only I hadn't had all these kids—oh wait.

[ his voice is dripping with sarcasm, but scooping a still-sleepy chihiro into his arms and watching the way her tiny face breaks out into the brightest smile when her eyes focus on him is too sweet a thing to stay mad at.

that is, at least, until his sense of smell kicks in. ]

Ugh. Dude.

[tongxue]

[ like a gunshot, qi fang's hands go up. ]

Not it.

[ look, he's still earning his training wheels here. he figures with babies, baby steps are even more important, and he's definitely still in the "learning how to hold them right" stage. it'll be a while yet till he graduates to diaper-changing!!

instead, he points towards the kitchen. ]

How about I clean up in there instead? Sounds good? Okay.

[rekd]

[ reki eyes the apocalyptic wasteland that the kitchen has become and, honestly? ]

Deal. Thanks, honeyyy.

[ adorable how he wasn't going to ask qi fang to help with any of it. the most he ever thinks to request is a temporary set of arms, but this is an arrangement he could get behind.

besides, diaper time is fun in its own way. gross, yeah, but it's one-on-one time spent with kids who don't get much of that and both the twins love the dumb songs he makes up for them and laugh at all his jokes. a guy couldn't ask for a better crowd. not that he's abandoning qi fang to the wreckage he created; soon there are two gurgling, fresh-smelling babies shoved in front of the first cocomelon video he can pull off youtube, and reki's joining him in the kitchen, hip-checking him away from the sink so he can wash his hands. ]

Hey, look alive.

[ coz reki's splashing him once his hands are clean. ]

[tongxue]

[ qi fang's doing pretty well for himself by the time reki joins him. nearly all of the dishes are done and food waste put away. leftovers have been put in tupperware awaiting their covers (RIP), so all that really needs to happen now is drying off the dishes and putting them back in the cupboards.

he flinches at the water, expression twisting into a frown. ]

Aww, hey I just dried the counter...

[ reki, you bully. after he's so meticulously scrubbed it clean of stains, too! that kind of behavior gets a hand towel twisted up and snapped to the butt, total locker room style. ]

You here to take credit for my work? It's not gonna happen, I need these brownie points.

[rekd]

You did what to the counter?

[ once reki's put his hands up in surrender, said counter gets a scrutinizing look over. at least, he thinks it's their counter. he's learning all kinds of things about it right now that he never knew. turns out it's not permanently parti-colored with generations upon generations of stains.

and then there's the mystifying sight of qi fang putting the dishes in the cupboards instead of just leaving them on the rack, to be used once again in a few hours anyway. his ma is going to have a fucking heart attack. ]

You didn't have to do all this, man.

[tongxue]

[ look, you saw qi fang's house, reki. you know the kind of spotlessness he's used to. this stuff is just second nature by now, but reki's befuddlement definitely has qi fang pausing, glancing around uncertainly. ]

Why, is something wrong?

[ maybe there's a system here he doesn't know about... ]

[rekd]

I don't think I've ever seen it this clean in here before.

[ where is this asshole? reki hooks him by the loop of his belt and reels him in close. he has to rock up on his toes to brush their noses together, but it's worth it. this is so much work he doesn't have to do. ]

You're fucking amazing.

[tongxue]

[ pink colors qi fang's cheeks at the praise and attention, feeling himself preen before he can even help it. with the distance closed between them, he helps himself to slipping his arms around reki once more, only this time he slides his hands into the back pockets of his pants. an innocent palming, as it were. ]

Heh, if I knew this kinda stuff impressed you, I would've done it sooner. [ he leans down, pressing their foreheads together to fix reki with a sultry stare, matched by the seductive lowering of his voice... which does absolutely nothing fkr what he says next. ] You should see me do the bathroom.

[rekd]

[ considering the kyan family bathroom, honestly, reki's both in awe and harboring doubts about whether or not qi fang would make it out of there alive. ]

Dude. Careful or I might wife you on the spot.

[ another tug to that belt loop and he nips at qi fang's lower lip playfully. it's a sweet moment of bliss, broken only by his eyes focusing on something over qi fang's shoulder. reki's ducking under his arms and off like a fiery little dart in an instant, off to try his hand at carefully prying nanaka off the tv she's trying to climb. ]

Hey! Help me here? Can you take whatever Chihiro's trying to eat in that corner over there?

[tongxue]

[ ah... the life of the babysitter is never a quiet one. qi fang hasn't yet mastered reki's ability to switch from gooey lovey dovey to high alert child protector, so it takes him a couple of seconds to figure out what's going on. fortunately, he's quick enough that he manages to zip across the room and pluck out the object chihiro had just been about to stuff in her mouth. ]

Where did you even find this?

[ he looks at the pink flipphone in his hand and surmises it must be one of koyomi's friend's phones. he absently tucks it into his back pocket, reaching for the whining baby who is all kinds of upset her afternoon snack had been taken from her. he settles her on his hip and tries to shush her while spinning around to check out reki's progress. ]

Is it too soon for second naptime?

[rekd]

They never come soon enough.

[ Reki laments, bouncing his own wailing toddler on his hip as he meanders back into the kitchen. He retrieves a box of cereal—pausing only to admire how neat it is in the cupboard—and zooms nanaka over to the table. ]

Here.

[ he scatters a handful of the stuff across the table, prompting nanaka to try desperately to grab as many pieces as she can, squealing when they pop through her chubby little fingers. that's half the battle, at least. ]

[tongxue]

Ooh, good idea.

[ considering food — well, "good" — was chihiro's problem, it only makes sense to distract her with more. he sets the little girl next to her squealing sister, marveling how quickly the mood shifts to one of delight, and then soon enough competition. looks like actual hunger can be ignored to see who can grab the most fruit loops in their tiny little hands.

sighing, qi fang meanders his way over to reki, resting an elbow on his shoulder. ]

Remember when it was just the two of us? And then you wanted kids...

[rekd]

The art of redirection, my friend.

[ peace at last. it's almost quiet, even, with just the soft sounds of the twins gurgling at each other in their own nonsense language and an occasional giggling uproar from koyomi's room.

instinctively, reki wraps an arm around qi fang's waist when he comes near. he gets a squeeze to the side and a long look for the comment, though. ]

Shut up. You sure seemed to like makin' them.

[tongxue]

[ well. reki's got him there. there's some light coloring to his cheeks as he hums in agreement, shifting his arm so that it's now wrapped around both shoulders instead of just leaning on one. easier to tug reki close enough to drop a messy kiss to the side of his head. ]

It's the curse of that fat ass, y'know? How's a guy supposed to resist?

[rekd]

[ reki tries to juke that messy kiss without finesse, giving in too soon with a grumpy little huff. whatever face he's making, it's pretty obvious he's living his best life—especially when he's snaring qi fang around the waist and pressing raspberries to his throat in revenge, prompting a chorus of giggles from the table.

and then he's pushing qi fang away, as politely as he can considering the urgency of the situation, tipping him off with a hiss: ]

Keys.

[ as in, he hears them turning in the door. just like that, the house is loud again, the twins squealing when they see their mother step through the door, shuffling bags that reki immediately steps in to retrieve for her. grandma's the first one to notice company, greeting qi fang with a wink and a wave. ]

[tongxue]

[ there's exactly one second for qi fang to shoot reki a comically wounded expression over being shoved away before he slips on a cordial smile, turning towards the door just in time to greet both women. grandma gets a cheerier wave, of course, because even if it's weird he's still determined to grease whatever wheels he can get. he moves after reki, gathering up whatever bags are leftover and walks them over to the counter. he peers into the bags, eyes lighting up slightly when he sees ingredients for what promises to be a very hearty dinner. ]

Good haul, Mrs. Kyan?

[ turns out qi fang is just as much a fatty as reki. ]

[rekd]

[ how qi fang manages to smile on cue like that, reki will never know. he's stuck looking just as sour as ever as the den erupts into loud chatter about the state of the market today, but it doesn't last long. ma and grandma make their way into the kitchen and then there's a stunned silence, prompting reki to recall exactly what it is that's thrown them. ]

Oh yeah. Qi Fang cleaned the kitchen.

[ trust this poor boy is getting only the heartiest of embraces from his mother and promised all the dinner he can eat if he'll stay, oh, won't he? reki takes advantage of the distraction to covertly slip that bottle into the bag of chips concealing it and start backing away towards his room.

"told you he's a keeper," grandma says, and reki almost blows his spot with the disgusted noise he makes. luckily, he manages to make the pass before he's seen, leaning in the doorway of his room. ]

Hurry, dude, before they make you one of us.

[tongxue]

[ it's taken him years to perfect this smile, this very same charming one that he flashes both matrons before politely taking his leave. needless to say there's a certain bounce to his step as he follows reki out, the proud puff in his chest only increasing once the door to his bedroom's been shut. ]

Your mom's totally gonna make me food to take home, [ he announces triumphantly, walking over to plop himself down on reki's bed. ] I'll be eating like a king for days.

[rekd]

[ reki throws the shoddy lock and flops down beside qi fang, toying with the hem of his shirt, then tugging. he looks adorable all puffed up like that, but he's too far away for reki's tastes. ]

Worth it, then? To get tricked into comin' over here?

[ his own smile is nowhere near apologetic. ]

[tongxue]

[ the reminder of the initial reason he'd come over is a sobering one, but qi fang doesn't allow it to dampen the mood just yet. he scooches closer, throwing an arm around reki's shoulders so he can pillow the other boy's head as they tuck into each other in the small space. ]

It always is. But it was already worth it just so see you all drunk and giggly. Who said you could be even cuter, huh?

[rekd]

[ reki does his part, tangling up their legs until they're an inextricable knot of limbs. he'll be sorry for it in a moment, when his face runs red and he has nowhere left to hide. he playfully tips qi fang's jaw to get those eyes off him, but he can't bring himself to add much of any force to it. ]

Stop. I don't even know what you're talking about.

[tongxue]

Ahh, he's shy too, I can't take it. What'm I supposed to do?

[ yep, nowhere to run, nowhere to go, nowhere but qi fang's breathy little chuckles, teasing still even as he acquiesces and tilts his head far back till he's left staring at the ceiling. it allows him the perfect opportunity to swoon, after all, placing a delicate hand over his brow. ]

Guess I gotta get him drunk more.

[rekd]

[ also the perfect opportunity to shove qi fang down on the bed and lean over him, fishing for that bag of chips. ]

That's the best idea you've had all night.

[ so good it deserves a toast once reki's pulled the bottle loose and uncapped it. ever the gentleman, he doesn't forget to grumble a sulky little kanpai before he takes a brave swig off the bottle and passes it along. ]

[tongxue]

Ah, don't get ahead of yourself... [ qi fang takes the bottle, holding it close to his chest while a hand comes out to press against reki's. ] You had a whole head start without me and you're still ahead.

[ he does lift the bottle to his lips, but admittedly the drink he takes is much more measured. ]

We still gotta get through dinner, and I just got your mom to adore me. I gotta be on my best behavior, yeah?

[rekd]

[ is it? because reki's reaching out to tip the bottom of the bottle like the brat he is, ensuring that first sip has some sting in it. not like it's his fault; qi fang did say he wanted to catch up. kinda. ]

Cut it out. You're making the rest of us look bad.

[ it is cute, how much qi fang actually tries with his family. and he's too fresh off that last sip to even attempt to conceal that soft look in his eyes as he snuggles back into qi fang's space. ]