Chapter 183 - 182 – The Babies Decide

Fang stared at the babies in disbelief. What kind of a situation was this?!

Ren saw the funny expression on Fang's face and he couldn't help his laughter.

"Daddy!" cried all five babies at the same time – of course, only select people could hear Snow, Smoke and Shadow – but the dismayed voices of Sylvia in her human baby form and of Rudy, who had somehow gotten into Pax's phone were heard by everyone.

Ren chuckled softly and then patted the babies who were clinging desperately to him in a reassuring manner. "No one is taking Daddy away from you all," he said in a gentle voice.

"Daddy, I will protect you instead of Papa if Papa doesn't do his work properly!" Rudy spoke up in a self righteous manner. And since he sounded like a younger version of Fang, Ren's face softened immediately and his golden eyes filled with affection – and, of course, this didn't escape Fang's notice!

"You little brat!" Fang murmured, gritting his teeth in frustration. Was he going to have to compete with his own kids for Ren's affection now?! What was with Rudy's blaming tone?! How was Fang responsible for other people wanting to be Ren's children?!

Fang looked up and glared at the grown up humans who had started this entire mess.

"Ooh, scary!" Prince Uno said, grabbing Pax's arm playfully. "Cousin Fang, you shouldn't glare so fiercely at us, what if you end up scaring your own babies like this?" he teased.

Pax shook off the other man's arm. "Stop causing trouble," he said coldly to Prince Uno.

"No one is taking Ren away and we are not taking any uncle or aunt as our family's child!" Fang announced, pulling Ren closer. "Isn't that right, Ren?" he asked, eyeing Ren pitifully and silently signalling for help.

Ren chuckled again and caressed Fang's perfect face. "Yes, of course, my big darling," he said. "How am I supposed to live without you and our dear little babies? I know you won't let anyone take me away, no matter what happens."

Fang preened. "See that, Rudy? You should have some faith in your Papa, just like your Daddy does!" he said in a crowing voice.

Ren didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He settled for shooting Fang a 'why are you quarrelling with a little baby' look, which made Fang pout childishly.

Ren sighed. It looked like things around the house would get a lot more lively with the addition of Rudy, perhaps quite a bit more than what he had originally anticipated. But then, he thought, looking at Fang's childish pout with a fond expression, it was probably not a bad thing. Fang had always been a rather strange combination of mature and immature – in some things, he was frighteningly mature, and for some others, he was just too innocent, and Ren knew better than anyone else that Fang always tried to appear to be a full and proper grown up and hide away his immature side. But it looked like he wouldn't be able to do that with Rudy around, and that was a good thing. Fang shouldn't have to hide away any part of himself from Ren and his family, and it was only when Fang would express himself openly that he would be able to affirm that Ren and the others loved him as he was and he didn't need to hide away any part of himself.

Ren smiled slightly and rubbed Fang's pouting lips with a gentle finger. "I can't help but want to kiss your pouting lips to cheer you up," he murmured. "But it would be inappropriate to do that again here, wouldn't it?"

Fang blushed. "You owe me one kiss, then," he said righteously. "I will claim it later!"

Ren laughed. "Yes, my big darling," he agreed without a single word of protest.

Fang beamed at him.

"Ugh, dog food," Wolf murmured. "I'm going to find Claw and attempt to bring some progress to my own romance now. See you all later!" He got up and ran away before anyone could stop him.

Ren and Fang eyed Pax curiously.

"Is it working out well with Wolf and Claw?" Fang asked Pax. "I know Claw has had a massive crush on Wolf from back when I was still in high school."

Pax nodded. "Claw has liked my brother for a long time," he murmured. "It's just that Wolf has been rather slow on the uptake. Still, now that he has finally been enlightened, I think we can expect a wedding invitation soon enough."

Ren and Fang were surprised.

"Wow, that's quite fast, isn't it?" Ren asked Pax.

"From Claw's perspective, I'd say that it's probably not fast enough," Fang pointed out. "She has been waiting for Wolf to notice her for a long time now."

"And Wolf his head over heels in love with her, even I can see that," Ren said with a big smile. "I think every tenth word that comes out of his mouth these days on an average is 'Claw' – well, it's good that they have finally found each other!"

"They will get married before us," Fang murmured, pouting at Ren again.

Ren shook his head helplessly. "Didn't we decide to wait until you turned twenty two?" he asked, caressing Fang's face again.

"Yes, you two must finish your education before getting married," the Dragon Queen said.

"We can finish next year," Fang said. "We are more than halfway through. Ren is already better than most doctors with even ten or twenty years of experience."

The Dragon Queen, Princess Una, Prince Uno and Zeus all stared at Ren in shock.

"Is that so?" Prince Uno asked, his eyes clearly showing his disbelief. "How is that possible? He didn't even go to college, right? Didn't he start working at fifteen when he was thrown out by his parents? Did he even finish high school?"

Fang glared at Prince Uno. "Go read up on Ren. He is the most brilliant doctor ever! He can perform miracles in neurosurgery!" he exclaimed.

Prince Uno whistled. "Wow," he said. "Cousin Fang, you have gotten yourself quite a catch, it seems!"

Ren shook his head. "It is my good fortune to have Fang in my life," he said softly. "And Fang is far more talented than I am."

"In terms of IQ, yes, Fang is at a higher level than Ren," Pax said. "But in terms of medicine, Ren is far superior. I don't think that there is anyone in the world, even amongst the most veteran doctors and surgeons, who could do what Ren is able to do."

"All the ground breaking research that is happening at SIMS – all of that has come from Ren, and he actively participates in quite a lot of them himself," Fang boasted.

"Indeed," Pax agreed.

Ren blushed. It felt a little like cheating, because all his medical skills came from his previous life in the other world – but then again, these were the skills that he had acquired with hard work and his natural aptitude. Even in his previous world, Ren had been considered to be a prodigy since he was a small child. And he had been an exceptional neurosurgeon in his previous world, and he often got awarded prizes for his contribution to the field where the other recipients were usually twice or even thrice his age. And since the medical field in this world was lagging behind the other one, it was natural that Ren was an even better in the field of medicine in this world!

"My Ren is the best," Fang said happily, his purple eyes full of pride. "If I can be half as good as he is the field of medicine, I will consider myself successful."

Pax rolled his eyes. "You two are well matched and both of you are extraordinary," he said. 

"We are extraordinary, too, like Daddy!" Rudy chirped happily. "And Papa, too," he added as an after thought.

"Our new brother seems to be a little too clingy when it comes to Daddy," Sylvia said silently to her three furry siblings mentally.

The two pups and the kitten agreed immediately – they had noticed this as well! Of course, all of them adored their Daddy, but Rudy was a little over the top, and he also seemed to be provoking their Papa at every opportunity he got.

The four babies narrowed their eyes and exchanged meaningful glances with each other.. They would have to keep an eye on their new sibling, and make sure that he doesn't end up causing a fight between their Papa and their Daddy! Daddy was finally looking a bit better and had just started eating more – and the last thing they wanted was for their beloved Daddy to get sad again, because the babies knew better than anyone else that when their Daddy got sad, he would also get sick, and they knew that Daddy was not fully healthy yet, and that Papa was worried about him.