Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

At last, Mu Yuze broke the news about the newborn kittens when He Juan woke up almost twelve hours later, and not surprisingly, the man was so happy that he almost shed happy tears, it was as if he was the father of the kittens themselves.

"Xiao Ze, look at them!" Both of them were crouching down in front of Kitty’s bed, careful to keep their distance so as to not invade the new mother’s private territory. He Juan had not stopped gushing about them for the last fifteen minutes. "They’re so small and so adorable! Oh, look at their tiny noses and their tiny toe beans, they are pink in color!! How could there be such perfect kittens in the world? Of course, it’s because their mother is the best Kitty in the world!"

Kitty, who was hungrily chomping down on food, raised her head to give a soft meow before burying her face into the bowl again.

He Juan laughed fondly, his silver eyes curving into crescents. "Do you agree, Kitty? Are you the best Kitty in the whole world?" he cooed softly and reached out to stroke Kitty’s head, but this time the aforementioned cat ignored him in lieu of wolfing down her food. Sighing, He Juan returned his gaze to the sleeping kittens again. "So small... so cute..." he let out a groan. "Ah, I want to squeeze them so bad!"

Mu Yuze shot a brief glance at He Juan’s large hand that looked powerful enough to break steel and commented dryly, "If you squeeze them, they will die."

He Juan was taken aback for a split second before he burst out into a peal of hearty laughter. The rumble of his low and velvety voice echoed along the empty corridor, making Mu Yuze’s ears feel warm and ticklish. "Xiao Ze, you... oh my God, why haven’t I realized how funny you are?" he gasped, mirth and joy spilling out of his silver eyes. "Of course, I won’t squeeze them to death, silly boy!"

Sullen at being laughed at but also proud for making the other person laugh, Mu Yuze could only huff and fixed his gaze on the sleeping kittens. Only then could he keep his thunderous heartbeat under control. "I know..." he murmured under his breath. Of course, he knew. He Juan’s hands were so warm and gentle, and they always offered him a sense of comfort and reassurance like nothing he had ever felt before. So how could this same pair of beautiful hands hurt another?

Just as he was recalling the instances where those hands had gently held his before, the said hand landed on his head gently and tousled his hair. "Alright, let’s leave them alone for now, shall we? Are you hungry yet? What do you want to eat?"

Mu Yuze pondered for a while, then quietly said, "...Wonton noodle soup."

He Juan flashed a brilliant beam at him, "Okay!"

***

The snow continued to fall in a gentle stream for the next three weeks, blanketing the outside world in a pristine layer of sparkling white akin to a scene straight out of a mystical fairytale. Long nights stretched on endlessly, with darkness falling early and staying late, as if the world itself was too frozen to summon the energy to spin.

For as long as he could remember, Mu Yuze had always hated winter for how harsh and unforgiving it was. This year, he hated it too, though for a different reason altogether — it was because time flashed by too quickly.

He had no idea that having something to look forward to each day made the passage of time seem to turn quicker. Each morning, he would make a cup of coffee for He Juan, saw him off to work, play with Kitty and her kittens, read the books He Juan had bought for him – Doctor Zhang had recommended them, saying how they would help to train Mu Yuze’s reading ability. Sometimes, when He Juan was not busy, he would go out of his way to accompany Mu Yuze, helping him to familiarize himself with the more difficult words. He was still apprehensive at first, but then He Juan easily won him over with kindness and patience. It got to the point where Mu Yuze started to look forward to their reading session together.

But oftentimes when He Juan was occupied with work, he would sit on the couch and face the window, watching how the snow gathered in delicate drifts on windowsills, how the soft glow from the streetlamps outside spilled in through the frosty panes, all the while being cocooned in thick clothing with a cup of hot water in reach. He felt a rare peace of mind.

Just like that, the end of the year approached in a blink of an eye.

During these three weeks, they met up with Marius and his little brother for dinner four times.

Mu Yuze had no idea why, but the blue-eyed boy named Sirius seemed to have taken him as an eyesore, always wanting to provoke him at any waking moment. Who could trudge through the snowy ground faster, whose exhale was whiter, who could make rounder snowballs, who could finish their food first... he always sent Mu Yuze all of these nonsense challenges!

Those competitions were nothing but childish, yet at the same time, Mu Yuze couldn’t help but rise himself to the challenge. He could not bear seeing Sirius’ smug face every time he declared his one-sided victory, it was so annoying that Mu Yuze wanted to shove him into a pile of snow! And before he knew it, he was dragged into the other person’s rhythm.

No matter what, he must not lose. He had to defeat Sirius and make him unable to show that smug expression in front of him again!

"What?" he asked snappishly after yet another dinner session with the two Morningstar brothers. This time, they had met in a sushi restaurant and Sirius had challenged him on who could wipe out ten plates of sushi the fastest. Mu Yuze won, of course. But as a result, he felt so bloated that he had to take a walk around the indoor garden to calm his nausea.

"No, nothing," He Juan replied from where he was strolling beside Mu Yuze. Alas, the way his lips kept twitching once in a while clearly said that it was not nothing at all.

"Go on, just laugh at me," Mu Yuze remarked with a dark face. "I also know how ridiculous I am."

If it was him from six months ago, let alone wiping ten plates of sushi, he did not even dare to take a step into this elegant and high-class restaurant! It was both horrible and fascinating how quickly a person could change. Where was Mu Yuze who lived frugally and liked to save his snacks for later? Where was Mu Yuze who could only dream of eating three warm meals each day? He felt like he could no longer recognize himself. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt like this was all due to He Juan’s indulgence!

He unreasonably dumped the blame on He Juan with a petulant look. "Why didn’t you stop me?" If only He Juan had told him to stop, or given him a look of warning, Mu Yuze was certain that he would not have gotten carried away!

"Why should I stop you?" He Juan asked, surprised. But upon noticing how Mu Yuze’s face was steadily getting darker, he cleared his throat and tried to explain himself, "Okay, okay, don’t put on such a look. What I mean is... I am perfectly happy to see you like this, so why should I stop you?"

Mu Yuze asked pettily, "Bloated and nauseous?"

"No, not that," He Juan let out a low laugh and reached out to flick his forehead gently. "Silly boy. Don’t you realize that you have become childish since you met Sirius?"

"Childish," Mu Yuze echoed in a flat voice. He pursed his lips, not feeling happy at all.

He Juan laughed again when he saw the surly expression on his face. But then, his laughter morphed into something softer, mellower, with a hint of melancholy. "It actually makes me a little sad to see you grow up so quickly," he started. "And what I mean by growing up is, you are composed and level-headed. You act more maturely than your peers, and you seldom lose control of your emotions."

"Isn’t it a good thing?" he asked, frowning.

"Yes, it’s good. But I don’t really like that... because it keeps reminding me of the things you have gone through to become who you are today," he said softly with a sad smile. "If I could, I would like to start over again and give you a perfect childhood, Xiao Ze. I want to see you play around to your heart’s content, I want to see you laugh, cry, and rebel. I want to fill each of your days with nothing but happiness..." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Mu Yuze blinked at him in surprise, his nose quickly turning sour. What was up with He Juan? It was so unfair. Just as Mu Yuze thought that he had already received the best, here this man was again with his kind, heartrending and thoughtful words.

Didn’t he get tired of always giving without receiving anything in return?

If Mu Yuze could choose, he did not actually want a perfect childhood. If not for the bitterness of the first decade of his life, how was he supposed to learn how sweet happiness was when he finally met He Juan in his life?

He Juan swiftly masked the emotions in his eyes with laughter, it was as if the melancholy he had shown earlier was nothing but a curtain of illusory. "That’s why I am happy to see you get along so well with Sirius," he said with fond laughter in his tone. "It’s like I can glimpse upon the perfect childhood I want to give you. Do you understand what I mean?"

Not wanting He Juan to notice how red his eyes had become, Mu Yuze ducked his head and pretended to sniffle from the cold. "How cheesy."

"Chee—" A sputter of disbelieving laughter escaped He Juan’s lips. "How dare you, Mu Yuze! It’s called sentimental, okay?! Gege is a very romantic and sentimental man— hey, why are you walking so fast?!"

Mu Yuze quickened his pace to leave the man behind, only because he knew that He Juan could catch up with him right away. And sure enough, He Juan appeared by his side in the next moment, still laughing. The path around them was decorated with well-groomed plants and string lights, casting a dreamy glow on the man’s gorgeous face as he laughed. "Okay, okay, Gege will stop joking around now. Let’s talk about a serious thing."

Mu Yuze slowed down his steps into a leisurely pace, "Mn."

"So, you know how Christmas is less than a week away?"

Mu Yuze made a questioning noise, not understanding where He Juan was going with this conversation. He raised his head to see He Juan scratching his cheek with an awkward look, "Let’s celebrate Christmas and New Year earlier, okay? How does the 23rd sound?"

Mu Yuze put two and two together, then took a guess, "You got a plan?"

"As expected of Xiao Ze," he chuckled. "That’s right. I have an appointment with a very important person."

Mu Yuze’s heart gave a heavy thud and he subconsciously halted in his tracks, turning toward He Juan with a surprised look. A very important person? Who? Could it be... the omega last time who—

He Juan told him sheepishly, putting a stop to his wild thoughts. "I have to meet my little brother."