#subzero fluff

For the past two days, I had been waking up sick. It would fade away just to come back worse than before. I had an idea of what it could have been, but I wanted to be sure.

Unlike me, my husband, Bi Han, was somewhat worried and impatient to know the cause. It was rare for me to get sick, and to such intensity had him pacing back and forth:

"I am getting tired of waiting."

"Relax, Brother," Kuai sighed at him, only trying to help, "I am sure that Y/N will be fine."

"Don't tell me to relax," Bi Han growled at him, freezing and staring as the doctor stepped out of the room, whispering to Bi Han with a smile:

"She will be just fine, but she does have something to tell you. It's best if you hear it from her."

With the door open, I could see the confusion on his face. He marched into the room, shutting and locking the door.

"Don't look so stressed, Bi Han. I'm fine, I promise."

"Then why are you sick?" He groaned out of impatience, sitting at my side on our bed, growing serious as he asked, "The doctor told me that you had something to tell me. What is it?"

"I know why I've been dealing with this sickness," I smiled. My smile confused him till I took his hand, his eyes carefully following it as I placed his hand on top of my stomach.

His eyes shot over to mine quickly, knowing what was going on but needing to hear me say:

"You're going to be a father, Bi Han."

"I'm going to be a father," He repeated, smiling more with my nod:

"It's why my nausea was so strong, love."

"I'm going to be a father," He repeated again, his hand sliding under the blanket and under my shirt to feel my stomach.

I wasn't far along, but as his palm met my skin, there was this overwhelming happiness that washed over me; I sniffled as I nodded to him again:

"We're going to be parents, dear."

Seeing my swelled-up tears, he fixed me up a little so he could hug me, which only made that happiness stronger, squeezing him as he cooed to me:

"And we will be great parents."

"I'm so blessed to be your wife and the mother of your child," I sniffled, back to smiling as he wiped a tear from my cheek:

"There's no other in this world that I'd want to be that for me."

As our foreheads met and I stared into those brown eyes, I just knew our future was filled with even more joyful moments than this one, holding his face as he smiled at me softly, kissing him:

"You and our child are my whole world, Bi Han."

Kissing me back, he only turned away as there was a knock on the door, getting up to see Kuai and Tomas.

"I truly hate to interrupt brother-" Kuai began, just for Bi Han to immediately shut him down:

"Whatever it is, it can wait. I just learned that I'm going to be a father."

"But-" Tomas went to step in but stopped as he registered what Bi Han had said, "Wait a second. Y/N's pregnant?"

"Yes, she is," Bi Han clarified, shocked but smiles on their faces as they learned that they'd be uncles, Kuai congratulating us and making eye contact with me:

"That would explain why you've been sick. Congratulations. I'm happy for you two."

"As am I," Tomas bowed, saying quickly, "Sorry to disturb you, brother."

As they shut the door, Bi Han returned to me, his hand latched to my stomach again. I'd never get tired of that feeling, placing my hand on top of his, squeezing softly:

"I can't wait to meet our baby and be our own little family." 

“Move, I’m fine!”

“But Grandmaster, your wound!”

Bi Han was so stubborn sometimes, returning to the temple, blood dried on the side of his head, holding his ribs.

“Bi Han-“ Seeing him like this had tears swelling in my eyes. I’d never seen him in such a state.

He always worried me when he went out for missions and coming back like this, refusing help? I wouldn’t allow him to limp around.

“Bi Han, come with me,” Everyone moved away from us as I took his hand, Bi Han’s eyes beaming at me:

“I said I’m f-fine-“

Stuttering on his words and groaning in pain, I didn’t care how much he wanted to tell himself that he was okay when he clearly wasn’t.

“Stop being so stubborn and let me help you,” I sniffled but was firm; He still decided limped away with me following, we got away from everyone’s sight and he finally dropped his tough act, letting me help him as I placed his arm around my shoulder, leading him to our bedroom.

It was easy to see that his ribs were bothering him, so I made sure to be as gentle as possible, sitting him down on the bed and helping him get out of his clothes.

“Stay here while I go get something’s to patch you up, okay?”

“Fine,” He sighed, groaning in pain, but stayed still.

I returned with some wraps for his ribs, gazes and a bowl of warm, soapy water to clean his cut.

Beginning to wrap his ribs carefully, he was fighting louder groans of pain, kissing the top of his head as I finished with that toughest part.

“I’m all done with your ribs. Now, be careful laying back. You can try to relax while I finish up, okay?”

Nodding and holding his breath, I delicately guiding him to his back on the bed, making sure the pillow was holding his head upright; he kept huffing, taking deep breaths and hissing at his ribs and I tried to be as helpful as I could, cooing and kissing the top of his head:

“I’m going to take good care of you. I know it hurts, but I have you, love.”

“I know,” He inhaled, closing his eyes as I took the warm, soapy rag, cleaning away the blood, making sure his wound was cleaned so it could begin to heal.

“Please be more careful the next time you know you’re going to face danger. You worry me till I’m sick, sometimes,” I whispered as I covered the cut, kissing it softly, “I know you’re strong, but I can’t help but worry about you.”

“They got lucky,” He growled, holding his ribs; I didn’t know exactly what happened, but regardless, he came back injured.

“I love you, Bi Han,” Connecting a deep gaze, I needed him to know how much I cared for him, ”And I hate seeing you this way. I know it’s hard given your responsibilities and the many challenges you face, but I worry every second you’re gone. I don’t ever want to lose you or see you hurt.”

The tears that were built up began to leak out, cleaning my face, quickly looking as he took my hand.

“You won’t lose me, dear,” He was confident in his words, squeezing my handle softly as he whispered, “I love you too.”

Bi Han didn’t express his feelings with words so directly. He didn’t say, ‘I love you’, often. I knew that he did, but hearing him say it always filled me with joy.

My tears faded with a small smile as he pulled me close to him, kissing me softly. I wanted to hold onto his kiss for as long as I could, but knew he needed rest, kissing one last time before I picked myself up, “I love you so much, Bi Han. You’ll be feeling better soon. I’ll make sure of it.”

If someone were to ask Bi-Han which was harder, being a Grandmaster or having a young child, he'd say the latter without hesitation. 

It's not that he didn't like being a father. It's just that kids… well… they're special creatures. Special in the sense that things that made sense to them, made no sense to the adults around them. 

Here are just a few moments that made Bi-Han wanna face the wall and never be seen again. 

Bald People 

“Chew with your mouth closed 小天使” Bi-Han used his hand to push your jaw up then wipe juice from your mouth, earning a giggle from you. He had no idea what was funny, but he learned long ago to not ask many questions. Your brain would never make sense to him and vice versa. 

To say it was a nice day would be an understatement. For the first time in days there was no rain in the area, the cold didn't bite at anyone's exposed flesh (something he didn't mind, but your body didn't process the cold the same way his did. At least not yet), the clouds didn't cast the world into darkness, no. Nothing like that. It was clear. Not a cloud in sight. No rumbles of thunder. Just a clear day. Perfect for eating fruit with his little buddy outside. 

Bi-Han made a fatal error though. He allowed himself to get too comfortable. He stopped being on his guard. 

“爸爸!” You shouted. “爸爸 WHY IS THAT GUY BALD?!”. 

Please let that be a hallucination… 

He followed where your finger was pointing, and to his disappointment, he wasn't hallucinating. You were pointing to a Lin Kuei ninja who had taken his mask off to reveal his smooth and bald head. The man- well, not just him. Every ninja looked over at the two of you in shock. 

“Hey!” he pushed your hand down. “What'd I say about pointing?” he scolded. It was all he could think to say. What was he supposed to do in this situation? He had never been advised on what to do if his child suddenly became interested in bald people. 

“BUT HE IS BALD! WHY IS HE BALD?!”. Bi-Han said a silent prayer to the Elder Gods to give him the strength to not strangle you. 

“Stop yelling! Eat your fruit!”

“But why is he bald?” at least you weren't screaming anymore. Small wins. “I'm not bald. You're not bald. I've never seen a bald person in real life. What's the word for 'bald’ in Chinese? I can't remember-”

His hand covered your mouth. He sighed. If only he could stay like this forever. 

As the Grandmaster, he wasn't afraid of confrontation. That'd be ridiculous. Didn't mean he wanted you poking at some random bald guy though. 

Your small hands pulled his down from your mouth. He hated you were so cute, with your wide eyes and chubby cheeks. It made it a lot harder to be stern with you. 

Bi-Han having trouble with being stern? You definitely had changed him. 

“But he's bald” the last word came out your mouth in amazement. Had you really never seen a bald person before? He never felt the need to show you one. Why would he? “Come on, child of mine! Let's go watch bald people today!”. Kuai Liang had kids of his own, but he hadn't brought up kids could become fascinated with bald people. Was this normal? 

Parenting was so confusing. 

“爸爸!”

“Eat your fruit” he practically begged. 

“I'm gonna go ask him why he's bald!” You exclaimed. “Excuse me! Kind stranger! Hey-” with a sigh, Bi-Han threw you over his shoulder, grabbed the bowl of fruit, and walked towards the house. 

“Hey!” Your small hands hit his back and your legs kicked up in the air. “Hey I was talking to him! Hey! Hey! Kind stranger! Why are you bald?!”. 

You continued your shouts of curiosity, all while Bi-Han continued carrying you over his shoulder. And once you both got back inside, you still hadn't understood what you did wrong. 

“It was just a question” you defended as you bit at your nails and swung your legs from your seat. “Can I have ice cream?”. 

Bi-Han sighed. 

War was easier than this. 

Duckies

As soft as you had made him, he still pushed you when it came to training. 

And as silly as you were, you were still a fantastic fighter. 

It filled him with pride to watch you use your small size to your advantage. You'd dodge under the other ninjas legs, kick them in places like their shins, you'd even crawl up their bodies and startle them. 

His perfect little warrior. 

But before being a warrior, you were still a child. So it was to his disappointment, but not surprise, when you gasped and pointed behind him. Something had gotten your attention. 

“Look! Look!” You exclaimed as you ran past him. 

What he expected to see was something like a rainbow. Something that made sense to get excited over. What he didn't expect to see were two white ducks waddling next to each other. 

“They're ducks” 

“They're ducks!” You repeated after him. “They're so cute!” You ran at him and tugged on his arm. “Can I have them?! Please please please?! Can I have them both?!”. 

Would it be terrible to make a joke about cooking them?

More than likely. 

“No” he said sternly and grabbed your arm. “Go back to-”

“I wanna go draw them” you whined. You tried to pull away from him, even going so far as to try and pry his hand away, but you were a small child. 

By the Elder Gods… maybe if he screamed everytime he woke up, he'd have more patience. 

Bi-Han tried his hardest to say “go back to your training” as sternly as he could, in hopes it'd spark obedience in you. You weren't an obedient warrior though. You were a child. 

You did what he hated most. You fell to the floor, becoming dead weight in his hand. You mumbled whines he couldn't, and didn't care to hear. Everytime he tried to pick you up, you fought to stay back down. It didn't matter that he threatened to take away everything you loved. Even using the typical lines about Santa didn't work. You didn't care about Santa, or your toys, or getting an earlier bedtime, or no longer having candy, or anything else he could think of. You were in love with these stupid fucking birds now and all you wanted to do was draw them. 

“Fine!” he shouted. “Go draw your ducks!”. 

Of course, your sour mood was gone now. You ran away, leaving him behind to dismiss his men and debate on asking one of his brothers to babysit. 

Bi-Han hoped that this phase would only last a few days. 

But hope never really did anything. 

The phase lasted months. There were drawings of ducks everywhere. There were framed pictures, pictures on the fridge, pictures in between couch cushions, he even found some in the bathroom. Why the hell were you drawing in the bathroom? 

The sound of crayons scribbling on paper and you humming filled his ears when he entered your room. Ducks again he was sure. Duck this, duck that, duck every fucking thing. 

“Come on. We're visiting your uncles today”

“One more minute”. 

He sighed. He kept giving you “one more minute”. You were supposed to have left ten minutes ago. There wasn't a set time you both were supposed to be at Kuai Liangs home. He just wanted to be there by 2:30pm, but it was 2:25pm and you still hadn't left. 

“No more minutes” he didn't know why he kept trying to be stern with you. “We're going. Now.” 

He walked closer to you then, prepared to throw you over his shoulder and carry you off if he had to. Thankfully, you slammed your crayon down and showed off your drawing with a wide smile. 

“I drew us as ducks!”. 

It was true. Though the ducks weren't entirely anatomically correct, Bi-Han could still see the two ducks holding hands and smiling. You even added hair on both of you, and on the bottom in pink sat the words “我爱你!”. 

He pointed at the words and asked “who's saying that?”. 

“Both of us” you answered. “Cause I love you and you love me!”. Very true. Even if you made his head pound sometimes, he loved you more than life itself. “It's a gift for you”. 

Was it stupid to feel happy as he held the paper in his hands? It was just ducks after all. 

But in the same breath, you took two things you loved and put them together. Perhaps it was insecurity, but sometimes he worried that you weren't aware of how much he loved you. He was glad to know that although he pushed you, it didn't change how you felt for him. 

“Do you like it?”. 

Did he like it?

He left a kiss on top of your head and nodded. 

Maybe ducks weren't so bad. 

Party Time!

When Bi-Han felt himself being shook awake, he knew it could only be one person doing it. So, being the reasonable and mature adult he was, he decided to ignore the person. 

“爸爸. 爸爸. 爸爸” You whispered while shaking him. He kept his eyes closed and pretended to still be asleep. “Dad. Dad. Daddy. Dada. 爸爸”. He groaned and tried to shake you off while still pretending to be asleep. Unfortunately for him, you inherited his stubbornness. 

He felt your breath on his ear as you whispered “are you awake? Wake up”. 

Fuck. You weren't gonna stop. Maybe you'd tire eventually, but it wouldn't be anytime soon. 

He sighed, opened his eyes, then looked at you. “Why are you awake?” he grumbled, noticing the lack of light coming through his curtains. 

“I can't sleep” you complained. “I had a bad dream”. Well now he felt a little bad for ignoring you. 

“Come lay next to me-”

“I don't wanna go back to sleep” you whined. You fully collapsed on top of him, which he wished you didn't do because your head was now on his throat. “I wanna stay up. Let's have a party!”. 

“No” he answered simply. He pushed you off, much to your dismay. “I'll read you a story-”

“Nooooooooo” you whined from next to him. “Party time! Let's have a party! Dad and kid party!”. He rolled his eyes at your jazz hands. Parents needed a daily salary. 

“We're not having a party,” he said. He wasn't even sure what kind of party you were even talking about. Either way, it was far too late. “I will read you a bedtime story. You'll like the story. Then you'll go to sleep”. 

More whines. “Then the monster will come back”. 

That made him raise a brow. “The monster?” he questioned. 

Your frown deepened. “The monster” you repeated. “In my dream, there was a monster. You left me behind”. 

Oh his heart was so soft when it came to you. He could've told you to suck it up and that it was just a dream. Instead, his eyes softened and he rubbed your cheek. Your hand gripped his in response. 

“I wouldn't leave you behind”

“You wouldn't?”. 

You sweet child… 

“Never” he said firmly. That answer seemed to satisfy you. You burrowed yourself into his side and let out a sigh of relief. Poor thing. He wished he could prevent you from having bad dreams ever again. 

He stayed awake beside you, patiently waiting for you to fall back asleep. 

You frustrated Bi-Han. That much was true. You gave him headache after headache and confused him beyond belief. 

It didn't matter in the long run. It didn't matter how many times you said something inappropriate in public, or how many obsessive phases you went through. 

It wouldn't matter how many tantrums you had, or how many times you woke him up while the moon was still high in the sky. 

None of that would matter. 

He would always stand beside you. 

He would always love and adore you. 

His warrior. 

His little duck. 

His 小天使.

It’s very easy to paint Bi-Han as someone who would be a terrible and strict dad

We not for that over here tho

Is Bi-Han strict? Absolutely. But he’s strict because he wants his kids to be focused and become the best warrior they can

Bi-Han cuts his kids fruit and leaves it outside their rooms if they’re sleeping

He genuinely believes they can succeed at whatever they want to if they try hard enough

Do not ever let his kid get bullied. I swear to y’all this man does not care that hitting kids is frowned upon

Or the parent gotta run him the fair one

Either way, that shit is not sliding

Bi-Han has nicknames for his kids

I don’t see them being smth like “oh my little boo boo cake”, but smth like 小天使 (Little Angel) or 小战士 (Little Warrior)

I got those from google so I’m HOPING they’re not wrong-

Since he’s the oldest brother, he has experience caring for younger people when they’re ill or injured

He’s still Bi-Han though, so he’s talking shit the whole time

“You never listen to anything I say. I just speak and you don’t listen. I said wear a jacket”

He keeps mumbling things as he’s making soup. His irritation and need to parent is clashing

“爸爸 you don’t have to-“ “shut up”

If his kid is affected by the cold more than he is, he takes that into account and gets them actual winter gear

Bi-Han 🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Black parents - getting pissed off when they see kids without a coat

Kids get hyper fixated on stupid shit and while I don’t think he’d listen to every little thing, he’s definitely a pro at pretending he’s listening

“爸爸 is the moon following us?” “Yes and it’s going to eat you if you misbehave”

Okay maybe that’s not fluffy but it’s funny

Is it manipulation to use a child’s mind to get them to behave?

“爸爸 do you think the tooth fairy will come tonight?” “If you clean your room. The tooth fairy likes clean kids”

Mansplain, Manipulate, Murder

Murder is not towards the kids obviously

Imagine a kid just running back and forth and Bi-Han is watching

He’s not stopping them. Go ahead and tire yourself out

Gives his kids very blunt advise, which is dickhead-ish, but he has good intentions

“He broke up with me!” “Some relationships are not meant to be. No point on sulking”

Dad I get it but I’m hurt right now

Thankfully, he doesn’t raise those little monsters that tear up shit constantly and are assholes to everyone

Bi-Han 🫱🏻‍🫲🏾 Black parents - seeing a kid acting up in public and telling their kid “I would’ve beat your ass if you did some shit like that”

How is this situation circling back to me?

On the real though, Bi-Han is not a perfect father but he for sure tries his best. He has a lot of hiccups because he’s not used to being in tuned with his feelings and the feelings of others, but he’s trying. I don’t see his kids ever feeling genuinely hated by him or like he doesn’t like them

Preparing Lui Kang's 'champions' was indeed a task. Raiden showed promise in his fighting abilities, but Kung Lao? He ground my gears.

Bi Han and his brothers went to handle some things with Lui Kang, and while they were gone, Raiden and Kung Lao convinced me to spar with them.

Raiden was good, making me put in some effort, but arrogance started to anger me when it was time to face Kung Lao.

"Come on, Y/N. I'm taking it easy on you!"

"Is that so?!"

We were exchanging quick blows. He should've been grateful that I wasn't using my true abilities against him, his following slick comment making the vein in my temple throb as he blocked one of my kicks:

"I'd give up if I were you, girly, ha-ha-OH!"

As he was laughing, I showed my true strength, roaring as I smacked his hands down, hitting him with a nasty uppercut, and as he began to fall, I kicked him square in the chest, sending him into a tree.

"Crap-" He was groaning, holding his chest in pain, and I didn't show the slightest amount of sympathy, yelling at him:

"If I were you, I'd be humble and be grateful that I'm showing you mercy! I may be a woman, but I could easily snap you like a twig if I wanted!"

I always tried not to let my anger best me, but his consistent remarks got under my skin, going to the tree and towering over him:

"Your arrogance will be the death of you if you plan to be a 'champion,' Kung Lao," There was fear in his eyes as he stared at me, needing a breath, and scoffing at him as I turned away, "That's if you can even make it that far."

"I'm sorry-" He sighed, managing to stand and offering his hand to me; that only made my anger boil for some reason, but I took his hand and warned:

"Don't be sorry. Be careful."

"Y/N-"

Looking before me, Bi Han had returned with his brothers and Lui Kang, staring at me puzzled as they all had seen what had just occurred.

Locking eyes with Bi Han, considering he was my other half, he knew I was trying to stay calm and composed, but some steam still needed to be settled. I walked past them and murmured as I heard Kung Lao's groans:

"Make sure that I didn't break any of his ribs. I need a moment to myself."

There were many gardens at the Wu Shi; I found one further away, sitting next to a shrub of flowers and meditating, slow deep breaths helping my blood pressure decrease.

"Y/N." I knew that one of them would come to check on me, Bi Han's voice making me turn to look at him and self-reflecting:

"I apologize for my outburst. I could've handled that situation differently."

"What did he do that made you do that?"

They must not have heard what Kung Lao was saying to me, sighing as I explained:

"He kept making remarks about how he was 'taking it easy on me' and assumed that he was stronger because he's a man."

Facing away and taking a deep breath, the thoughts made me a bit angry again, expressing my frustrations:

"It angers me. I have spent my whole life perfecting my combat skills just to be belittled by that boy-urgh."

"Well, think of it this way," Sitting next to me, his thought process made me chuckle, "He'll never do it again given your response to his remarks."

"I'd hope so," I breathed in, calmed again, and truly felt guilty, "I am sorry, though. I shouldn't let little things like that bother me like they do."

"I'm not worried about the matter. Sometimes, people need to be put in their place," He mumbled, eyes fixed on the view of the garden but locking into my eyes as I took his hand:

"Thank you for understanding," I smiled softly, thumb caressing the vein in his hand, and even though he still had his mask on, I could see his little smirk.

No one could thaw his ice as I could, squeezing his hand the more I smiled, but paying great attention to his words:

"You are Lin Kuei, and that's all I need to say regarding your little doubts. Never forget that."

"I never will," I nodded, pulling down his mask to kiss his cheek, "I cherish you, Bi Han."

Taking off his mask, he started looking around to make sure we were alone, which I pretended to be upset at:

"So, what if someone were to see?"

"Hmph," His nose flaring almost made me laugh, freezing in place when his lips found me. His kisses always blew me away; it nearly felt like the first time. My eyes still closed as he pulled away, "Content now?"

Slowly opening my eyes just to get lost in his big, brown eyes, I got goosebumps like I did almost every time, smiling again as he gave a soft one back at my reaction.

He rarely smiled, and my heart was whole at the thought that I was the one who could make that happen, nodding and squeezing his hand again as there was a slight breeze, leaves dancing around us:

"Always when I'm with you, Bi Han."