Chapter Text
Mark let out a sigh as he slumped down on the small bench outside of Jaehyun's office.
Another call and another incident between his daughter and the girl in her class. Donghyuck's daughter.. Donghyuck.
He ran his hands over his face, letting out another breath into his palms. Mark couldn't quite understand how all of this came to be. His daughter was not a troublemaker, never caused any troubles for anyone, she didn't curse nor did she raise her voice when she wasn't extremely upset. But whenever Flora would be in contact with this Cherrie - he got told that she did things that he never could've ever thought she'd do. And now that they lived in the same building, he also got to see it first hand.
And Cherrie. Cherrie.. Lee? He guessed, considering that Donghyuck's also a single father, and the redhead also was named Lee. Cherrie looked like a cute girl, she was shorter than Flora but had the attitude of a 6-foot man. A true personality-replica of her father. Her father. Donghyuck.
Mark let out a small groan at the name of the male living right underneath his apartment- and even a deeper groan at the reminder of his soft and beautiful skin.. the memory of the slender fingers in his hair, the feeling of his small waist in his hands and the sugary alcohol on the way too plump lips were mental pictures that the blonde simply couldn't get out of his head - not even when the he'd walk into the apartment complex as Donghyuck was leaving, the younger only glancing at him with a slight scowl on his face.
"What did your daughter do to mine this time?"
Mark flinched at the sudden question, dropping his hands to look up at the man standing in front him. Donghyuck was leaning on his hip, arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. The blonde sighed, adjusting to rest against the back of the bench as he held eye contact with the redhead.
"What makes you think that my daughter is the one to blame? They seem to be equally at fault each time," Mark spoke, eyeing the younger up and down. "Although, my daughter didn't behave like this before your daug-"
"I'd stop talking if I were you," Donghyuck snapped, fixing his hair - eyes staring daggers at the older. "Don't bad mouth a four year old, jerkfa-"
"Well, didn't you start it-"
The boiling feud was interrupted by the door opening, an already annoyed Jaehyun peaking his head out.
"Are the two of you mentally ill or something?" the teacher asked deadpanned, tilting his head. The two young fathers blinked at him in contemplation.
"Get in here, now."
Without any further bicker, the two young adults followed their daughters teacher into his office, taking the seats in front of the desk - feeling all too familiar at the situation they had been called in for this time as well.
Jaehyun cleared his throat, a tightlipped smile on his face as he sat down in his swivel-chair. He blinked at the two, Mark and Donghyuck both blinking back. They sat there in a heavy silence, Jaehyun watching the two with fixated eyes - lips puckering together as if he was in deep thought.
"So," the teacher begun, straightening his posture. "Flora and Cherrie started a food fight today. Mashed potato everywhere, gravy spilled into my shoes, students throwing ketchup on walls like paint on a canvas," Jaehyun cleared his throat, shaking his head to himself as Mark closed his eyes in embarrassment.
"Jaehyun, man, I'm sorry- I don't know why she would participate in anything like that," Mark apologised, ignoring the scoff that fell from Donghyuck's lips. He leaned forward to the frustrated teacher. "Is there anything I can do? I don't want her to be suspended o-or get in trouble- or-"
Jaehyun held up a hand, signalling for the blonde to sip it. "There is something the two of you could do, and it's something I suggested before - but now it isn't a suggestion anymore, it's something you'll have to do or I'll have to pull in the school- and family psychiatrist, because," he gestured with his hands dramatically, "This is getting too much."
Donghyuck, seemingly understanding the seriousness of the situation, sat up straight. "Jaehyun, I'm sorry as well, please- if there's anything I," he paused, licking his lips, "We, can do.. they aren't causing any trouble besides when they get in these strange situations."
Mark nodded in agreement, the two sharing a look before looking back at Jaehyun. The teacher's frustration started to settle, his knitted eyebrows and tense shoulders relaxing as he let out a soft exhale. He smiled lightly, before pulling out one of the drawers by his desk. With a light thud, he placed down two notebooks along with a colourful papersheet that looked like a checklist of sorts.
"This is my resolution to this problem we all are having," Jaehyun gestured to the checklist and the two notebooks.
The two fathers looked at the supplies, not getting what they were supposed to get.
The teacher sighed, "I have made a schedule and a checklist of things for Cherrie and Flora to do together outside of school - to get to know each other, ease the tension and hopefully build up a better relationship. I'm not saying that they need to become best friends, but it is now a requirement that they are civil. Kids fight and argue, but this is getting out of hand, especially considering that they are so smart and their academic futures are bright."
Mark licked his lips, the weight of the words and situation settling onto him. He carefully reached for the checklist, eyes scanning over it. He tilted his head, the sudden lingering scent of Donghyuck's flowery perfume getting more prominent. Then he noticed the redhead reading over his shoulder, the two locking eyes for a quick moment before Mark adjusted the paper for the younger to see better.
"Playday in the park, Ice cream in the sun, Baking a cake, Going to the movies, Follow dads to work," Donghyuck mumbled underneath his breath, looking from the paper to the teacher. "And all of this.. together? Like, 'ice cream in the sun' means that the four of us go out and order ice cream and eat it together?"
Jaehyun nodded, "Yes, and the sole focus is for them to spend time together. Not just you two hanging out with your daughters and simultaneously being in the same area. You two have to work together, show that you're doing this as an activity for all four of you."
Mark nodded, placing down the checklist, his eyes trailing to the notebooks. "And the notebooks?" he asked, nudging his head towards the two.
"Yes, the notebooks," Jaehyun smiled, pushing the pastel pink one towards Mark and the pastel purple one towards Donghyuck. "The girls' favourite colours, right?"
Both fathers nodded.
"Great, the notebooks are for you and your own daughter, you'll be writing about the activity and ask your daughter what she thought - not only focusing on the other girl, but also on the activity itself. For example, if Cherrie finds it easier to bake together with Flora rather than have a play-date, that's something to keep in mind, and vice-versa," Jaehyun explained, tapping the notebooks with his hands. "Does that make sense? And then I'll read through it once in a while, so stay on schedule because you'll never know when I'll ask for a look!"
Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows. "But, what if we don't have the time-"
"I know you both," Jaehyun spoke, "I know that you do have the time, the resources, the money and so on, please - just work with me."
Donghyuck nodded, taken aback just the slightest. "Y-yeah, of course."
Jaehyun let out a deep sigh, before smiling softly. "I'm sorry for being so brisk, but this truly is for the best - I know that you love your daughters, and I know that the two of you are good people. This isn't usually how we handle things, but I have faith in that if any parents could fix this within their own circle and not pull outside people in, it's the two of you."
Mark smiled lightly, leaning against the back of his chair. He looked at Donghyuck, the younger had his shoulders tense and a gloomy look in his face, and Mark could practically feel what the other male was looking like he felt.
The redhead seemed to notice the lingering look, the two locking eyes and holding the contact for a mere moment. They then gave each other an acknowledging look, sharing the agreement of making sure that their daughters would at least be civil.
"Is there.. something, like- wait," Jaehyun pointed his finger between the two younger fathers. "You seem like you have some odd thing going on.."
Both stared at Jaehyun in a mix of startle and hesitance, along with a sprinkle of bashfulness. Neither of them spoke as the teacher squinted and continued to flick his gaze from one to the other. A moment passed of complete silence, before Jaehyun shook his head.
"I don't know, nor do I care at this moment," he chuckled, shrugging lightly - the previous tension completely gone at the easiness this conversation turned to. "I'm so happy that you two are on the same page as me, and this will truly benefit your wonderful daughters!"
Jaehyun pushed the notebooks closer to the two of them. Mark cleared his throat again, pointing at the checklist. "Do you have a suggestion to what we should start with? From top to bottom, or..?"
The teacher hummed, then snapped his fingers. "How about going to the cinema? There's this new Disney Princess movie that a lot of the kids have been talking about, and that might be a common interest for the girls!" Jaehyun suggested, "They can show each other their go-to cinema snacks, and sit next to each other.. you know."
Donghyuck nodded, glancing at the clock on the wall. "The girls should be finished with school, right? Cherrie told me she would get to play football in the afternoon with the gym teacher from some other elementary school," he wondered, obviously wanting to get out of the room with still a slight stiff energy filling it.
"Yeah, they should be done! I have been told that Cherrie is doing very well in the physical education- and activities classes," Jaehyun spoke, earning a proud smile from Donghyuck. "Yeah, she keeps Yangyang busy whenever he's babysitting.."
Jaehyun's polite persona dropped at the name of Donghyuck's best friend, causing the redhead to snort, while Mark tilted his head in confusion. "You know Yangyang?" he asked the older, making Donghyuck snap his head back. "You know Yang?" the younger asked in an even more confused state.
Mark blinked. "Yeah.. I had the, uh- pleasure.. to meet him when he came rushing up to give me and Jaemin an earful while we were renovating the apartment.."
Donghyuck puckered his lips into an 'O', fluttering his eyelashes as he nodded, "Right.. well- Jaehyun met Yangyang because he was his tutor along with my cousin Jeno," the redhead explained, Jaehyun nodding with a comedic sigh.
The blonde nodded, also looking at the clock. "And Flora mentioned arts.."
Jaehyun nodded, "Super gifted artist, truly has an eye for colours," he smiled, and with a cough stood up. The younger ones followed, holding their assigned notebooks, Mark grabbing the checklist.
"Well," Jaehyun opened his door, "Thank you, yet again, for meeting with me. And for going along with this- and who knows, maybe the two of you will find a friendship within this as well? Considering that none of you have friends who are also parents at such a young age!"
Mark let out a small cackle, looking at Donghyuck - who's ears were tinted in pink. Mark's were probably a little heated too, but he would like to pretend that they weren't. Donghyuck nodded, throwing a glance at the older. "Yeah, we're going to be besties," he spoke honeyed, before looking back at Jaehyun.
"Thank you for speaking to me before dragging other people into this, I'll make sure Cherrie and her potentials are going to blossom," Donghyuck said earnestly, before heading out of the office.
The blonde followed the slender body, before it disappeared around the corner.
"Dude, friend to friend, what's going on?"
Jaehyun's sudden question snapped Mark out of his thoughts, and he blushed as he looked at the teacher. "Huh? What- I mean, nothing-"
"The gazes and the energy, and the fact that the two of you seem to have something going on except your daughters' feud," Jaehyun listed up, cocking his head to the side as Mark just blinked at him. "And I've seen you crushing befo-"
Mark rolled his eyes, "No, it is not a crush," he reassured, "But.. I don't know, he's not ugly exactly."
The teacher chuckled, "No, he isn't," he agreed, "And neither are you, so that's why I'm wondering-"
"It's fine, Jae," Mark laughed lightly, "Flora is my priority, I just want her to thrive and not have anything or anyone to put limits around her."
Jaehyun nodded understandingly, broishly hitting the blonde's shoulder with his fist before the two bid their goodbyes. Mark wrapped his thick scarf around his neck a bit tighter as he walked down the hall towards the art and crafts classroom his daughter most likely would be. He glanced around at the brightly coloured walls, noticing the new drawings and decorations that the kids must've fixed for the winter season. It resembled his and Flora's apartment, their rooms filled with different drawings and plants - making it more livelier and homely, even though Flora missed their old apartment that had been in the same building as her uncle Johnny's. He was happy that the four year old had at least warmed up to their new home, even though she would get pouty whenever they accidentally arrive home at the same time as Donghyuck and Cherrie. But Mark had brushed it over when they had gotten inside their apartment, telling her that sometimes life worked in different ways.
As Mark neared the classroom, he was met by Donghyuck standing against the wall - arms crossed over his chest and eyes staring off into space. He almost looked as if he was having an internal crisis, the usual forward demeanour nowhere in sight. The blonde eyed him, and his presences seemingly snapped the redhead out of his dazed state.
"Lets exchange numbers," Donghyuck spoke, voice low as he walked towards Mark, his hand outreached and eyes staring blankly at the other. Mark blinked, reaching for his phone in perplex, which caught the younger's attention. He clicked his tongue, "So we can set a date for the movies," Donghyuck explained, pulling out his own phone to give to Mark.
The older let out an oh! and a small nod, before switching phones with the redhead after he had opened the correct app. He watched as Donghyuck pressed in his number and name, then furrowed his eyebrows as the younger angled his phone and made a pose into the camera.
"What are you doing?" Mark asked, snapping his eyes to the younger's phone as Donghyuck looked at him.
"I'm taking a picture for your contacts..?" Donghyuck's tone was almost bewildered, as if Mark's question had been the weirdest question a human had ever asked. Mark looked at him with a blank expression, handing the younger's phone back to him. "I don't have pictures for my contacts," the blonde said as his own phone was placed back into his hand.
Donghyuck hummed, then shrugged. "Then see me as an exception," he said casually, before looking at Mark's contact information on his phone. The older furrowed his eyebrows. Then see me as an exception, he mimicked to himself. Donghyuck didn't seem to notice the confusion, and pointed his phone towards the older. But Mark quickly placed his hand in front of the camera.
"Hey, I use pictures for all my contacts-"
"Then, see me as an exception," Mark repeated, in response making Donghyuck squint and pucker his lips. The older's lips tugged into a involuntary grin, which bemused the redhead.
"Are you some kind of fugitive or something?" Donghyuck snapped, pulling back his phone and placing it in his coat pocket.
Mark raised his eyebrows, "Yeah.. I in fact am, my daughter and I rob toy- and candy stores," he spoke monotonously, also placing his phone back in the safety of his pocket. Donghyuck smiled mockingly, before rolling his eyes. And Mark found himself internally groaning for thinking that the younger was attractive while doing it.
"Well, Mark," Donghyuck sighed, "Robbing stores are not on the checklist, so please do not invite me and my daughter for that."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Mark played along, earning another eyeroll and huff from the sun kissed.
The two stood still in silence for a while, before the loud laughters of children broke them out of the bubble. Donghyuck cleared his throat, fixing his brown scarf. "Me and Cherrie are free on Saturday, so I could buy tickets to the cinema for the Saturday afternoon, if you and Flora are up for it.." he suggested, pressing his lips together as he tilted his head. Mark gazed at him, before nodding slowly. "Yeah.. we should be free, I can rearrange my schedule."
Donghyuck nodded, "Great, I'll text you the details.. I think Jaehyun was referring to the new Moana movie when he mentioned a new Disney Princess movie, but I'll ask Cherrie to be sure."
"Yeah, I've heard Flora mention it," Mark nodded, crossing his arms over his chest in a slight awkwardness. "Uh.. if you take the tickets, I can take the snacks? Does that sound fair?"
The younger chuckled, "Sounds great, my daughter is a snacker so you're just doing me a favour," Mark rolled his eyes at that, but nonetheless nodded softly.
"Lets also be honest with them, that they will meet up - I don't think they'll like it if we surprise them with this," Donghyuck continued. "I'll tell Cherrie that she gets to pick whatever snack if she stays calm, maybe you can do the same with Flora?"
Mark wanted to make a slight jab that his daughter in fact didn't have to be 'bought' to be nice, but that would both be unnecessary and a lie, so he nodded at the suggestion. "Yeah, she'll probably try to prove herself to you as well."
Donghyuck chuckled, nodding slowly.
The two fell into silence yet again, before the younger stretched his neck. "Uhm, I'll text you.. but Saturday? That's settled at least?" he asked as he started taking a few steps further down the hallway, body still facing Mark. The blonde nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, absolutely."
A final nod came from the sun kissed, before he turned around and walked towards the Kindergarten's gym. Leaving Mark looking after him.
𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒𓂃 ࣪˖
"Daddy," Flora tugged on Mark's hand. "Are they late?"
Mark had his lip bit between his front teeth, eyes wandering across the slightly crowded entrance hall of the cinema Donghyuck had texted him that they would meet at. The father sighed quietly, reaching down to run a gentle hand through his daughter's soft hair. "They will be here soon, Lora, we won't miss the movie!" Mark spoke optimistically, poking the blonde's cheek, earning a small giggle from her.
The two were there earlier than planned, both due to Flora's eagerness to finally go to the cinema after a long time and to Mark's concern to get there too late and make Donghyuck feel smug over waiting.
He continued to glance around, double-checking the time, before the redhead and his daughter in his arms made their way through the crowd. The father-daughter duo were dressed kind of matchy, both wearing blue jeans and black t-shirts under their open winter coats.
"Hey, sorry," Donghyuck sighed, placing down Cherrie on the floor - the girl instantly clinging onto him as she looked at Mark and Flora. "We woke up with uncle Yangie stealing our car, and then bus got delayed due to the snow so we walked here," Donghyuck spoke in a soft voice as he caressed his daughter's head in an equally soft motion.
"Daddy said that uncle Yangie is a whacka-" Donghyuck gently covered his daughter's mouth, a smile plastered on his lips as Mark raised an amused eyebrow. "Some words should simply not be repeated," Donghyuck reminded Cherrie, the girl nodding slowly. The redhead chuckled as he took away his hand, giving his daughter a knowing look.
Cherrie looked from her father to the two blondes. "Hello, it is very nice to meet you this pretty Saturday, we will have very fun and eat snacks," she spoke in a robot-like way, almost as if she had cards in her hands to read from. Very obviously practiced, but Mark found it quite endearing. He smiled at Cherrie, "It is very nice to officially meet you, Cherrie, we've only seen each other as neighbours."
The girl nodded, eyes seemingly trying to figure out and gather information about Mark solely from the older's appearance and words. She nodded slowly, eyebrows drawn together and Mark almost snorted out loud at how much she resembled Donghyuck when the male would frown.
Flora, however, stayed quiet - eyes lingering on Donghyuck with her head tilted. Donghyuck seemed to notice, a soft smile forming on his face. "Hey, you must be Flora, I am Cherrie's dad Donghyuck," he introduced, leaning down to be closer to her height. Flora blinked before looking at the floor, making Mark squeeze her shoulder in a silent reminder to be polite. Donghyuck smiled again, "What a pretty dress, it really fits your hair," he continued, pointing at her baby-blue dress.
Mark chuckled at Flora's shyness, the girl hiding her face against his leg. "What do we say, Flora?"
Flora puckered her lips as she looked back at Donghyuck, "Thank you, and thank you for letting me see Moana," she said, and then looked at Cherrie. The two girls looked at each other for a moment, almost as if seeing if the other one would say something.
Donghyuck tilted his head, before glancing back up at Mark, the older already looking at him. "Should we get going? The movie is about to start and we still have to buy snacks."
That caught the attention of the two girls, both of them jumping in excitement.
"Yes! Popcorn with butter!"
"Pick and mix candy!"
Cherrie and Flora stared at each other in silence after the exclamations. Mark and Donghyuck both tensed at the weird exchange between the four year olds.
"You like popcorn with butter?" Flora asked with a slight frown, "My daddy said that kids shouldn't eat that because it can hurt your teeth."
Mark gaped, trying to quickly come up with something to explain himself before an argument could occur.
Cherrie's face turned into a scowl, looking at her classmate and then at her own father. "Is Flora's dad wrong?" she asked, tugging at Donghyuck's hand.
Donghyuck blinked, "Yes," he spoke, earning a click of Mark's tongue, but he held up a finger before the older could speak. "But I am sure Mark, Flora's dad, mean that your teeth is precious and that the popcorn can be hard sometimes - so you have to be careful when eating it."
Mark parted his lips, nodding in agreement as Donghyuck raised a questioning eyebrow at him. He swallowed as the sun kissed tugged a few strands of his red hair behind his ear, the motion so innocent yet oddly notable. "R-right, yes, exactly," he rambled, clearing his throat.
Flora frowned, looking at her father and then to Donghyuck. "So, I can also have popcorn?"
Donghyuck noticed the male's absence of the conversation, and held back a teasing jab and instead looked down at Flora with a smile, "How about the two of you get to share your snacks? At least get to taste?"
None of the girls agreed, but they didn't disagree either - instead they made their way towards the aisles filled with kids picking their movie-feast.
Mark snapped out of his slight haze, ears red as he ran a hand over his face. Donghyuck watched in amusement.
"Uhm, we-"
Donghyuck leaned forward to be close enough to whisper. "We can't make out in the bathroom this time, sorry," he mused, before walking after the two girls. Mark flared his arms in bewilderment as he stared after the younger. "I wasn't even- that wasn't my- UGH!"
What is wrong with me today? he asked himself as he followed the three.