Chapter 143 - 143 – The Warmth Of A Family

When Dr. Gordon and Fang came out of the room, they found that Ren was pacing in the corridor outside the room nervously like a worried husband.

Dr. Gordon raised an eyebrow and remarked, "If you wearing down your expensive carpet with your nervous pacing would have been good for Fang's psyche, don't you think I'd have prescribed it for you a year ago, Master Ren?"

Ren scratched his head with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry, I was just…" he murmured.

"Just what?" Dr. Gordon asked archly. "Worrying yourself to death and causing Fang even more distress?"

"Ren is not causing me any distress," Fang said loyally, walking up to Ren and sliding an arm around Ren's waist in a possessive manner.

Dr. Gordon rolled his eyes. "Remember that I have assigned you some homework, young man," he pointed out. "Get to work. I'll drop in tomorrow morning to check."

Ren blinked. "Homework?" he asked.

"Yes, it is important," Dr. Gordon said. "It is up to young Fang whether he wants to share it with you or not – I won't meddle with that. However, it needs to be ready by tomorrow morning, or else…"

Fang shook his head and made a surrendering gesture with his free hand. "I will, I will, Dr. Gordon," he promised. "I'll have it ready tonight itself."

"Good," Dr. Gordon said.

"Why don't you stay back for lunch with us, Dr. Gordon?" Ren suggested. "We're running a bit late for lunch anyway, and you had to come over for our sake, so…"

Dr. Gordon agreed immediately. After all, Chef Jules's cooking was supremely delicious compared to whatever else he would have had for lunch!

So, the three of them made their way to the dining hall, where Chef Jules had laid out a feast already, and Pax was feeding the babies with the help of Steward Paul.

"Papa! Daddy!" human baby Sylvia called out sweetly as soon as she saw them.

Fang went over and picked her up. She gurgled happily at him and patted his face with her chubby hands.

"Papa all wight?" she asked in her cute baby voice.

"Yes, little one," Fang said softly.

"Papa good," Sylvia said, and pressed a sloppy kiss to Fang's cheek.

With a soft smile, Fang nodded and kissed the baby's brow, and then put her back in her baby chair.

Snow jumped into Fang's arms next and nuzzled his face with her furry head.

Fang stroked her soft fur with gentle fingers.

Smoke and Shadow also leaped up from their seats and tried to cuddle up with Fang.

Seeing the babies fussing over Fang, Ren felt a warm surge in his heart. Sure enough, their babies were the absolute best!

"Wolf is on his way," Pax informed Ren.

Ren nodded and sat down at the table. Then he started piling food on to a plate – all Fang's favourites, he noticed with satisfaction, and decided that it was time to give a raise to both Chef Jules and Steward Paul.

"Fang, come on, you need to eat," Ren called.

"Yes, he's still a growing boy," Dr. Gordon said, not evening looking up from his own plate.

Fang put the furballs down and went to sit next to Ren, who passed him a plate silently.

Fang, too, noticed that all his favourites were on the plate, and realised that more people truly cared for him than he had initially thought. For a moment, Fang thought it would be nice to pay a visit to his fifteen year old self and tell him not to give up hope, because better things were to come, and that the light of his life, the love of his life, would just come by and change his whole world, and bring him the happiness he could never have imagined he would ever be able to hold in his hands.

Seeing Fang in a daze, Ren peered worriedly at his face.

"All right?" he asked gently, reaching out and caressing Fang's beautiful face with tender movements of his fingers.

Fang smiled at Ren, and the shadows in his purple eyes faded. "Yes," he said softly. "Almost."

Ren heaved a sigh of relief, and kept piling food on Fang's plate until the younger man could eat no more. Then Ren considerately rubbed Fang's tummy to help him digest.

"Are you trying to make him grow horizontally as well as vertically?" Dr. Gordon asked Ren, narrowing his eyes at the young couple.

Ren shrugged. "Fang can grow however he wants," he said. "If he grows bigger, there will just be more of him to love."

Dr. Gordon and Pax – both of them rolled their eyes at the cheesy response, while Fang merely stared at Ren as if he was the man who hung the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky.

Looking at Fang's shining eyes, Ren chuckled and leaned in to press a protective kiss to the younger man's brow.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Fang," Ren said quietly. "You grow however you want to. I am always going to stand next to you, no matter what."

Tears pooled in Fang's eyes, and Ren panicked immediately. But then, he knew that it would be good for Fang to find a release, so he quickly pulled Fang into his arms and rubbed his back.

Dr. Gordon and Pax collected the four babies and left the room considerately, closing the door behind them. Pax also instructed Steward Paul not to let other people into the room until Ren and Fang came out.

Ren was very grateful for the thoughtful gesture on their part. He hugged Fang tighter and stroked his back with soothing, gentle movements.

Fang realised that the room had been cleared out and there were only Ren and him in the room now. He couldn't stop his tears any more. He clung to Ren and cried his heart out – and if anyone asked him exactly what he was crying for, Fang would probably not even be able to answer the question.

Ren simply held Fang close and let his little darling cry. He didn't say a single word. He simply held on to Fang, his embrace protective, and continued to rub soothing circles on Fang's back until he stopped crying.

Fang was all cried out after some time, but he didn't move, afraid to show his unsightly face to the man he cared about the most.

Ren realised this and gently pulled away (although he didn't let go of Fang completely) and peered at Fang's face.

"Sorry," Fang mumbled.

Ren sighed. "You have absolutely nothing to apologise for, my little darling," he said. "None of this is your fault."

Fang remained silent.

Ren sighed again, and then he pulled out his own pristine handkerchief and wiped away the tears on Fang's face with gentle movements.

Fang closed his eyes and let Ren clean up his face.

Ren pressed a feather light kiss to each of Fang's closed eyelids when he was done and stroked his face tenderly until Fang opened his purple eyes again.

"I feel much better now," Fang whispered. "Thank you for lending me your shoulder to cry on, Ren."

Ren sighed yet again and pressed another kiss to Fang's brow. "My shoulder belongs to you, my little darling," he said softly. "There is no need to thank me for it."

A small smile appeared on Fang's face. "You are too good to me," he murmured.

"Nothing less than the best for the best," Ren said in a teasing voice.

Fang chuckled and rested his forehead on Ren's shoulder again. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he muttered.

"You don't need to know that, my dear," Ren said, stroking Fang's dark hair. "You'll never be without me. I can only apologise that I didn't get to you sooner – but for the future, I will always be with you, and I will not let anyone lay a finger on you ever again. This much, I can promise you, my little darling. I'll stick annoyingly close to you and ward off all the birds and bees that are attracted to you – even if you think that I'm being an overbearing tyrant!"

Fang laughed softly. "I told you before, didn't I?" he murmured, poking Ren's chest with a slim finger. "I like this overbearing tyrant very, very much."

"Good," Ren said, nodding his head in satisfaction.

Fang took Ren's hand in his own and played with his fingers silently for a while. Then, he asked in a soft voice, "Ren – would you – would you be angry if I asked you to take the day off for your birthday and let me plan everything?"

Delight bubbled up in Ren's golden eyes. "Why would I be angry?" he asked, pinching Fang's cheeks playfully. "My little darling wants to make plans for my birthday – don't you think I'd be the happiest man in the world to hear that?"

Fang peered at Ren's face. "Really?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course," Ren said. "Let's fill out our leave form tomorrow itself when we go to SIMS.. We'll also tell Pax."