Chapter Text
Bangchan had never been a heavy sleeper. If that was due to his insomnia or the overall unhealthy work-life-sleep balance he had developed throughout high-school and college, he couldn’t tell you. What he could tell you with absolute certainty was that when he woke to the sounds of gagging and choking sounding from down the hall and an empty bed with still warm sheets, his husband was going to be up for a little while. And because Bangchan himself was not even going to try and go back to sleep at this hour, he might as well look after his kids and see how they were dealing with the early morning disturbance.
Since Jeongin’s and Changbin’s room was closest to their master bedroom, Chan decided to head there first. What he had not expected was that his oldest and his youngest were sitting up in their beds, both with incredible cases of bed hair and pillow imprints on their cheeks.
“Dad?”, Changbin’s voice was rough from sleep, “Who the fuck is puking their guts out in the bathroom?” A snort came from Jeongin’s bed, accompanied by a grunt from Chan, who was taking a seat at the edge of his sons’ bed and pinching his ear. “Bang Changbin, you’re not supposed to use swearwords. Tone it down,” the squeak and the mumbled apology was enough to satisfy the older for the time being. “I’m pretty sure it’s Hyunjin, though. His stomach must have not agreed with last night’s dinner.”
“Dad?”, came a soft inquiry from his left. Jeongin had shifted in his bed and had swung his legs off the mattress in an attempt to get up, but he had paused there and was looking at his dad with a questioning look in his eyes. Chan smiled and nodded, showing him that he was listening and motioning for him to continue.
“Can I sleep with you guys tonight? I can’t fall asleep and Binnie snores so much…”
“Hey! I don’t snore you mutt!” before the 18-year-old had the opportunity to grab his pillow and fling it at his brother, Chan had grabbed his wrist and shushed him, pinning him into position with his certified Dad Look. “Calm down Bin, I don’t think he meant it like that. Right, Innie?”
The youngest had turned to look down at his feet and shook his head. “Not really… I just..” he lifted his head once again, a timid expression on his face. “I know I’m sixteen now and I shouldn’t... want to still sleep in my parents’ bed but… just for tonight?”
Okay, something was definitely more than a little wrong here. Jeongin was right, most 16-year-olds didn’t ask to sleep in their parent’s bed anymore. But their family had always been a little different, bodily closeness was something that they all indulged in and cuddling with their siblings or one of their dads had never been weird to any of the boys. However, Jeongin was in general not a very tactile person and when he was thirteen, he had gone through a brief phase of fighting all forms of physical contact from his family. After a lot of gentle coaxing from his parents and promises to tone down the hugging and touching from his brothers, he had slowly gone back to their regular amount of physical touch.
Still, he preferred to sleep alone at night, Changbin being his perfect roomie since he, too, liked to starfish while sleeping and take up any and all space in his own bed. What peaked Chan’s interest in Jeongin’s request, however, was the fact that Jeongin, and really, any of the boys, had been sleeping in their respective rooms for years. Even Hyunjin, who liked to have a cuddle buddy sometimes, had taken to clinging to Seungmin like an octopus instead of going to his dad’s.
Now, Jeongin would only ever request something big like this when he was feeling upset or frustrated, and he needed comfort. It was clear to Chan that Minho and he had missed something crucial, with the way that the youngest was curling into himself and playing with his fingers while anxiously waiting for an answer.
Instantly, Chan got up from Changbin’s bed and walked over to Jeongin, sitting down next to him, and pulling him into an embrace. “Oh honey, of course you can come sleep in our bed. We don’t mind, it’s big enough as it is. And don’t worry about it being weird, we all need a good cuddle session sometimes.”
Jeongin nodded into his shoulder and when Chan pulled away to get a look at his son’s face, he was shocked to find unshed tears glistening in his eyes. Before he could get out more than a stunned “Innie, what-“, the youngest had already buried his face back into Chan’s shoulder, a wave of fresh tears hitting his shirt. Chan pulled his son closer to him, holding him tight and swaying from side to side.
“Shhh, it’s okay, baby. It’s okay. Let it all out.” His gaze was locking onto Changbin, who was avoiding his eyes and was instead busying himself with plucking at the seam of his blanket. This was another red flag – Changbin was the oldest and most responsible of all the boys. If he was acting like this, he had something to hide; something about Jeongin that he thought he couldn’t tell his parents.
Seemingly an odd pairing because of their age difference, the two boys harmonized well together, Changbin taking the younger under his wing as often as he could. They bonded over being exact opposites on the age spectrum, but still sharing more similarities than any of their other siblings. Changbin liked to refer to Jeongin as his ‘mini-me’ from time to time and although Jeongin made it a point to vehemently deny their alikeness at every single instance, he couldn’t keep from feeling proud of being recognized by his oldest brother.
Bangchan was facing a dilemma. He knew that there was something big that had hurt Jeongin, something that needed to be addressed as soon as possible. However, judging from Changbin’s behavior, Jeongin had confided in his brother but had been too scared to let his parents know about whatever bothered him. Of course, this upset Chan, but before he could resolve this issue, he needed to hear what was wrong from his son himself.
After a few minutes of crying, during which at some point Changbin had gotten up and sat down on the other side of Jeongin, the younger’s sobs slowly started to fade away, leaving him with streaks of tears and snot all over his face. With an endeared smile, Chan offered him his shirt sleeve to wipe away the residue of his small breakdown.
“Hey, darling. Feeling better?” Jeongin nodded and took a deep breath. As if to ask for permission, he turned over his shoulder to look at Changbin, who sent him a small, almost sad smile and a curt nod. “I… T-There is something I-I have to tell you, d-dad.” Immediately, Chan sat up a little straighter.
“I don’t… I don’t like girls.”
Silence.
Jeongin was looking at his father, big, round eyes shining up at him with a vulnerable but hopeful expression. Changbin had his arms wrapped around his brother as if to protect him and give him strength. Chan was stunned. And then, a big smile spread on his lips. He pulled his son into his chest and squeezed him tight, pressing a few frantic kisses to his temple. Laughter bubbled out of his own chest and when he pulled back the next time, Jeongin’s lips had settled into a relieved smile as well.
“I’m so proud of you, Jeonginnie. Thank you for telling me this and being so open.” He caught Changbin’s eyes over Innie’s shoulder and recognized the same relief and happiness in his eyes. Turning back to his youngest, he continued, “You know that this changes nothing for us, right? Your dad and I are so, so proud of you, you’re so valid. Come here, my little Innie.” And even though Jeongin pretended to gasp for air in the bone-crushing hold Chan had on him, he wrapped his own arms around Chan’s middle and squeezes back just as tight.
“Can we go back to sleep now? I’m loving this rainbow party and all, but dad promised me to go shopping for kitchen utensils tomorrow,” came Changbin’s complaint after a few more minutes of hugging and cheek kisses.
Chan pulled back chuckling, and got up, taking Jeongin’s hand. “Come on then, let’s go to bed. Did you want to come with us as well, Binnie?” Changbin grinned and hopped off the bed, walking over to his own bed a retrieving his beloved Dwaekkie plush that he liked to hold during the night. “I may be the oldest in this family but ain’t nothing better than some good cuddles from my dads. Let’s go Innie, we deserve these hugs for sleeping alone so much.”
He reached out to grasp at his brother’s wrist, pulling him out the door and into the room next to theirs. “But I like sleeping alo-“, “I know man, I do too but sometimes you have to remind the others what they’re missing out on.”
Chan was left alone in the boy’s bedroom for a few seconds, standing by Jeongin’s bed. He let the emotions wash over him, his brain trying to catch up with what had just happened. A warm, happy buzz settled in his chest, proud tears welling up in his eyes. He wiped them away with a sniff before he made his way over into the master bedroom.
As he stepped into the hallway, however, he almost collided with someone else. On instinct, his arms shot out to steady the person, pulling them into his body and balancing them to stay upright. He didn’t have to check to know who he was holding in his arms – call him a sap, a romantic, a pervert – but he had committed Minho’s scent to his memory a long time ago. As if on cue, his husband snuggled closer to him, releasing a soft, relaxed sigh.
“Hi, baby,” Chan greeted him, burying his nose in Minho’s hair and taking a deep breath to ground himself. Minho hummed in response and lifted his head slightly, pouting his lips and demanding a kiss. Chan delivered swiftly, pressing one, two, three pecks to Minho’s petal-like lips. “How is Jinnie?”
Minho sighed, pulling back just a bit to look into his husband’s eyes. “Not feeling too hot. He managed to not puke all over himself or me, which I consider a huge win considering how out of it he was. I gave him a painkiller just now and told Minnie to give him another when he wakes up next, but… I think we should still get that checked if his fever doesn’t break by morning.”
Chan nodded, pressing a kiss to Minho’s forehead. “Thank you for dealing with this, honey. You took great care of him and I’m sure he will feel better soon. What about the twins?” Another sigh, a little heavier this time.
“Lix was going through another episode, but Jisung was with him already and they were dealing with it just fine. I allowed them to be on their phones until they fall asleep.” Humming in understanding, Chan nodded. He smiled and leaned down to rub their noses together, whispering, “You’re such a good dad, Minho-yah.” Suppressing a full-on chuckle, Minho grinned and captured Chan’s lips in a warm kiss. “Takes one to know one, huh?” Growling low in his chest, Chan went in again, catching Minho’s upper lip between his teeth and nibbled on it gently, coaxing him into a deeper kiss.
Before the two could get too carried away with their small make-out session, a scream erupted from their bedroom. They pulled apart hastily and rushed over into their room, only to find Changbin and Jeongin cuddled up smack in the middle of the bed, the older trying to wrestle the comforter from Jeongin who was hogging most of it. A smile pulled at Chan’s lips, and he walked over, unceremoniously letting himself flop over the two teenagers. Complaints and screeches were immediate, which Chan ignored in favor of wriggling himself right in between the two.
Minho was watching fondly from the doorway, arms crossed and leaned against the doorframe. He knew his husband was a kid at heart and enjoyed playing with his sons like this, but since they had hit puberty, these opportunities had been getting much rarer. Letting him have his moment, he decided to just wait and watch from afar.
“Calm down and give me some of the blanket before I kick you both out during the night.” The threat of another sleep interruption seemed to intimidate Jeongin and Changbin enough to actually listen and wriggle into position. As soon as the three were settled, Chan felt arms snake around his middle from his sides, two heads burying into his chest. He chuckled and wrapped his sons up in his arms, pressing a kiss to each boy’s head.
His gaze found that of his husband, who was now standing at the foot of the bed, cocking his head to the side. “And where am I supposed to sleep?” Jeongin began to wiggle around again, “There is still space, dad, don’t pretend like you didn’t get a custom-made bed for this exact reason.” Chan laughed and patted the space behind his youngest to invite Minho into bed with them.
Letting out a petulant huff, Minho crawled up right behind Jeongin and pinched him in the side, “Stop imitating your brother, Jeongin, one Changbin is already enough in this house.” Now it was Changbin’s turn to gasp in offense, but Chan intersected the argument that was about to break loose with a simple, “Isn’t there something that you wanted to tell dad, Jeongin?”
This made the youngest shift a little and Minho sat up with a raised eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What happened, Innie?” This time, Jeongin sought out Chan’s gaze, who gave him a reassuring smile and a nod to continue. Still laying down, Jeongin turned around and found Minho’s eyes. He took a deep breath and said, “I’m gay, dad.”
Instantly, Minho broke out into a grateful smile, diving down to worm his way into his sons’ arm and hold him tight. “Oh Innie… I can’t believe you were making me loose my wits over there just a second ago because you fancy boys! I thought you were hurt, I was ready to call the cops!” Laughter exploded from the youngest chest, making him giggle into his dads’ shoulder. In a much calmer and more serious tone, Minho added, “I’m so proud of you for telling me. Thank you, darling. I can’t believe that my little baby is growing up so fast… soon there will be another boy sweeping him off his feet and making him move out and-“
“Ooookay, that’s enough spiraling for today, don’t you think, babe?”, interrupted Chan, who was reaching out his hand to card them through his husband’s hair, snickering all the way. “We’ve kept these youngins up long enough, they need their sleep. Otherwise, we won’t be able to put them down for their nap tomorrow…”
“More like you need your sleep so YOU can take your nap tomorrow, dad” came the dry reply from Chan’s left. Simply agreeing and nodding without raising to the bait, Chan answered, “You’re right Changbin, I’m the youngin. Now sleep before I kick you out.” To intensify his threat, Chan squeezed the arm he had wrapped around Changbin’s middle and jostled him around a little.
Getting the hint, Minho reached out with his right hand to pat around for the light switch on the wall. Once he found it, the room was doused in darkness, everyone shuffling around to find a comfortable sleeping position. A small hand found his way into Chan’s hair, and he closed his eyes, falling asleep to his husband’s caresses, with two of his sons in his arms and the other four safe in his home.