D&B5

Chinese New Year

"So preeettyyy!" Anda’s little voice cried out. Nick and Neil had just bought red shirts for the upcoming Lunar New Year for their two little nephews, as well as for Day and Brick. They were essentially matching family outfits.

The shirts Nick and Neil had chosen were long-sleeved, red, with a Mandarin collar and a small dragon embroidered on the left side of the chest. It was clear that Anda adored it.

"See? He loves it!" Nick said with a proud smile, happy that Anda was so pleased.

"Anda always loves bright colors," Brick remarked with a laugh, as Anda toddled over to show the shirt to Day, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Daddy, shirt," Anda said, holding it out for Day to put on him.

"Come on, then. Daddy will help you," Day said, gently dressing Anda in the new shirt.

"P," Anda said once it was on, running over to show Ob, who was busy building with his toys. Ob had already given his own shirt to Brick to hold for him. He looked up from his toys, saw his little brother, and gave him a smile. Anda then ran around showing off his new shirt to Brick, then to Neil, then back to Nick.

"Thanks a lot, you guys," Day said, knowing his friends had bought the gifts with genuine thought, even if they would only wear them for the Lunar New Year festivities.

"Don’t worry about it. You guys are going to Grandma's house this year like always, right?" Neil asked.

"Yeah. I heard that this year, some of Grandma's relatives from the north are coming down, too. They’re coming to pay their respects at her house," Brick chimed in.

"You say that like you don’t really know them or aren’t very close," Nick pointed out.

"Well, I think I’ve met them before, but it was a long time ago. We don’t really keep in touch. I’m not sure why they decided to come visit Grandma this year, of all years," Brick said dismissively.

"I hope no one says anything nasty to my nephews. If they do, you call me immediately. I’ll come over and help you curse them out myself," Nick declared.

"Acting so tough, shorty," Neil teased, giving his lover’s head a light shove.

"Mmph!" An indignant sound came from Anda, making everyone turn to look. They saw the little boy standing there, pouting with his eyebrows furrowed at Neil.

"What is it, sweetie?" Brick asked.

"Nini... hurt," Anda said, walking over to Nick, who was now sitting on the floor. He gently patted Nick’s head right where Neil had pushed him.

"Aww, my dear nephew! How can you be so adorable?" Nick exclaimed, pulling Anda into a tight hug. Everyone understood now that Anda was upset with Neil for pushing Nick, not realizing it was just a playful tap.

"Oh, Uncle’s sorry, okay? Uncle was just playing with Uncle Nick," Neil quickly explained.

"Heh, you two can sort that out yourselves," Day said with a low chuckle.

"And this one over here, he’s so absorbed in his toys he doesn’t notice a thing," Brick said, turning to look at Ob, who was completely focused on assembling his wooden blocks. Brick moved over and planted a kiss on his eldest son’s cheek, causing the boy to look up, momentarily confused as to why his dad was suddenly kissing him.

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"Anda! Obbb!" a voice called out. It was Ploy, who came running in to hug both of her nephews.