Work Text:
The first time
Jimin had always enjoyed the holiday season just like most people, but he had a bigger reason now for being as excited as he was: it was going to be their first Christmas together. He, Yoongi and Hyejin.
They had adopted Hyejin earlier that year and it had been a long and tiring process but so, so worth it. She made them so happy; it was as if there had always been a place shaped just like her in their hearts and she filled it perfectly, making them complete when they weren't even aware that there was a piece missing to begin with.
She had just turned five years old when she moved into their house and was slightly wary of them, of their environment, despite all the times they had visited her before the adoption was complete. But gradually - and rather naturally, Jimin was happy to say - she learned to trust them, felt more comfortable with them, more at home. She started to smile more, to play around more with them.
Yoongi was the one who spent time with her the most, his job as a writer allowing him to work from home, and it didn't surprise Jimin how close she was to him. She opened up to Yoongi a bit quicker than she did to Jimin, who was just so happy and relieved she was opening up at all, having been so very worried about it.
They were carving their pumpkin for Halloween when she called Yoongi "dad" for the first time.
It was a weekend, meaning Jimin didn't have to leave to meet any of his clients, which his job as an architect asked of him very often, and was there to decorate for Halloween with them.
Hyejin was watching intently as Jimin carved the pumpkin, taking all its pulp and seeds out. She let out a happy noise when Jimin pushed the pumpkin in her direction, leaving some for her to pull of, making sure it was loose and would come off with her strength.
Yoongi walked inside the kitchen then, carrying candles and knives for him to cut the eyes and mouth in the pumpkin.
"Are you guys finished yet?"
"No," Hyejin answered before Jimin could, tongue sticking at the corner of his mouth in what Jimin noticed endearingly was a habit he took after Yoongi. "There's still some, some..." she stopped a couple of seconds to think and finally finished: "Stuff. Some stuff here."
Jimin peeked inside to see what she was talking about and smiled.
"Seeds, sweety," Jimin said after lowering his body so he'd be at her eye level. "This ‘stuff’ is called seeds."
Hyejin's eyes widened slightly in understanding and she muttered the word to herself. It was such an adorable sight, something she did whenever they taught her a new word, and Jimin held back his desire to coo.
She pulled off the last bit of filling before pulling her spoon out of the pumpkin with a triumphant smile, looking expectantly - first at Yoongi, and then at Jimin.
Jimin patted her head with a proud beam while Yoongi talked from across the counter, a smile on his lips.
"Amazing job, Hyejin!"
"Thank you, dad."
It came out of her mouth so naturally, maybe without her even noticing, that it took a while for Jimin's brain to process it. When it did, he looked up at Yoongi with wide eyes. His heart slowly filled with so many emotions, he had a hard time telling them apart. He watched as the same realization dawned on Yoongi's face, who looked at Hyejin with eyes so full of love, Jimin couldn't help but think about how much he loved them. He loved them so, so much. His family. Jimin's family.
The insecurities
The end of the year was approaching and it was bringing along a big workload that was piling up on Jimin’s shoulders. It was something that happened every year as Jimin and his coworkers did their best to finish their projects before the due date and tried to appease stressed clients without showing their own stress.
Jimin left early but arrived later than usual. It was still early enough for Hyejin to be awake and Jimin was grateful for being able to spend some time with her but he couldn’t wait for his holiday break to start and have all the time for his family. He had organized his schedule just right to be left alone for two weeks and Jimin honestly believed he did deserve it. He and Yoongi had been planning a small trip after Christmas and Jimin was happy to see that everything was coming along just according to his plans.
He just had to hang on tight during the stressful workload of the end of the year.
During the few dull times he had at his job - which were getting shorter by the day - Jimin had started to plan Hyejin's Christmas present. He was designing a dollhouse and already knew an amazing woodworker who would bring it to life just as beautiful as Jimin was imagining it.
After a week working on it Jimin had the basic design, the structure of the house. He was sitting on his bed with his laptop on his lap, waiting for the program to load and open the design. He had put Hyejin to sleep over an hour ago and Yoongi was beside him, leaning on Jimin and obviously curious to know what his husband wanted to show him.
Jimin smiled when the dollhouse model appeared on the screen and clicked some keys to make it rotate, showing Yoongi all sides.
“I thought about giving this to Hyejin. As a Christmas present.” he started, glancing from his laptop screen to Yoongi’s face. “It’s a dollhouse. It’ll have three floors and all the rooms a real house has. Bathroom, bedrooms, kitchen,” he continued, excited. Jimin let go of the laptop and pushed his glasses up his nose before giving all his attention to Yoongi. “What do you think?”
Yoongi hummed, looking at the dollhouse for a couple of seconds before looking at Jimin and giving him a smile.
Jimin frowned, worried. He knew this smile. It was the one Yoongi gave him whenever he was about to say something Jimin wouldn’t like; he did it to soften the blow.
Was there something wrong with the dollhouse?
“It’s beautiful, Jiminie.” Jimin arched an eyebrow and Yoongi’s eyes widened, just slightly. He was aware that his smile hadn’t fooled Jimin. “It really is! If anyone can make a perfect dollhouse, that person’s you! But babe,” Jimin braced himself for what Yoongi was about to say. “Hyejin doesn’t really like dolls, remember?”
Jimin blinked and stared at Yoongi for a while. Hyejin didn’t like dolls? Jimin tried to remember all of her favorite toys, the ones she played with daily and the ones she kept close to herself, in her bed.
He couldn’t remember a single doll.
In fact, now he recalled that Hyejin’s favorite toys were plushies. She kept every single stuffed animal she was gifted on her bed. Soon there wouldn’t even be space for her to lie down.
Jimin sighed and closed the lid of his laptop without turning it off before putting it away. He took his glasses off and covered his eyes with his free hand, rubbing his eyes with his index finger and thumb. Yoongi - already so used to read Jimin’s body language - knew he was stressed and shifted closer, rubbing a hand up and down Jimin’s back.
When he spoke, his voice sounded close to Jimin’s ear.
“Don’t worry, baby. There’s still time until Christmas to find the perfect present.”
Jimin shook his head without looking at Yoongi or lowering his arm. He couldn’t believe he forgot Hyejin didn’t even like dolls.
Jimin wouldn’t have made this mistake if his mind wasn’t as tired as he had been. He knew it wasn’t something big, just a fluke of his memory. But he was stressed and tired, the amount of work he had been doing on the daily weighing down on him. His neck was stiff from looking down at his laptop screen for hours on end and his eyes were sore. He was spending more time away from his husband and daughter than he would have liked to.
Jimin always tended to overthink when his mind was too tired to think clearly.
He put his glasses on the bed beside him and bit his lower lip, still not looking in Yoongi’s direction.
“Yoongi,”
“Uhm?”
“Am I absent?”
Yoongi’s hand froze on the middle of Jimin’s back.
“What?”
Jimin closed his eyes tightly, trying to push away all the invasive, bad thoughts. The insecurity he had felt ever since they adopted Hyejin. It had been hidden, Yoongi had helped him control it, helped Jimin not let it overtake him. But now it was starting to creep back, slowly sneaking its way to the front of Jimin’s mind.
He finally turned to Yoongi, moving until they were sitting face to face.
“I was about to give my daughter a present for something she doesn't even like. And I knew she didn’t like to play with dolls all that much.” Jimin looked down at his hands on his lap. He had never felt as incapable of being a father as he did at the moment. “I don’t want to be one of those parents who use presents to make up for their shitty parenting. I wanna be present, but I couldn’t even remember something as simple as that?” he lifted his eyes to Yoongi’s face and he could feel the back of it aching with the tears that were starting to form. “I’ve forgotten it for days! ”
“Jimin.” Yoongi’s voice was soft but it carried an urgency that Jimin just couldn’t ignore. He took a deep breath and attended to his husband's silent request, looking up at Yoongi without saying anything. “You’ve been working later, yes, but you are not absent in any way.” Jimin started to lower his face but Yoongi’s gently touched his chin, lifting it back up and not letting him break the eye contact. “You’re always present. You always make sure to let her know how much you love her. Hyejin knows she can count on you.” Yoongi’s serious expression finally broke into a soft smile. “She loves you, Jimin. She talks about you every day.”
Jimin’s shoulders had slowly been relaxing the more Yoongi spoke and a tear finally ran down his cheek.
“Does she?”
Yoongi nodded, getting on his knees to move closer to Jimin, grabbing his hands and holding them tight.
“She told me today about the story you read to her yesterday night.” Yoongi’s smiled again, and his eyes were shining - with tears of his own or just plain emotion, Jimin wasn’t sure. “Hyejin said you’re the best at it. You tell bedtime stories better than me, did you know that?”
Jimin chuckled and it sounded wet because he was still crying, but his chest was feeling a little bit lighter.
“You read to her almost every night. You’re the one to take her out of bed too, you always make her breakfast before leaving for work because I can’t function all that well when it’s too early.” Yoongi pulled Jimin closer by his hands and he just went willingly, shifting so he was comfortably leaning against Yoongi’s chest, who brushed Jimin’s hair back and started to talk against his hair. “It’s okay to feel insecure, Jiminie. I feel so scared too sometimes.” He made a pause before chuckling. “Maybe all the time. I love her so much and it’s scary sometimes. I know you love her, too.” Yoongi dropped a kiss on the top of Jimin’s head, just because he could and Jimin liked it. “You have loved her ever since you first saw her. And you show it. She knows it and loves you, too.”
Jimin breathed in deeply and let it out through his parted lips, hiding his face in Yoongi’s sweater and letting his words and his comforting scent calm him down.
“You were tired and made a mistake, a small mistake. It happens, love. You didn’t do anything wrong, not really.”
“I just…” Jimin finally spoke and despite how weak his voice sounded, Yoongi hummed to let him know he was listening. “I felt like it was a sign I was being…” He stopped and looked for the right word. “...negligent?” he worded it as a question, unsure of it. But then continued with more certainty. “I felt like I was neglecting her. Like I was starting to forget about what she liked.”
Yoongi didn’t talk anything for a while and they just enjoyed the quietness and closeness of each other. Jimin closed his eyes and sighed at the feeling of Yoongi’s caress on his hair. When Yoongi spoke again, it startled Jimin.
“What’s Hyejin’s favorite color?”
Jimin blinked and answered, confused:
“Yellow.”
She liked the color so much, when Yoongi had bought her a floral yellow dress and it was the only thing she wanted to wear for days.
“What about her favorite food?”
Jimin didn’t miss a single heartbeat before answering.
“Ice-cream.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I told her it’s not real food but she was very insistent about it.”
Yoongi chuckled before asking another question.
“Her favorite fairytale?”
“Peter Pan.” Jimin’s smile never vanished from his face, retelling what she had previously said. “She hates the ugly duckling, though. Feels so bad for the duck, thinks everyone was so unfair.”
“See, baby?” Yoongi pushed Jimin to look at his face. “You know her. Mistaking something happens and it doesn’t mean anything in the long run.” He kissed Jimin’s lips, soft and reassuring, before whispering. “You’re a great dad, Jimin.”
Jimin closed his eyes and nodded. He was feeling emotionally exhausted but the bad feeling that had been lurking in his heart was gone.
“Thank you, Yoongi. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” Yoongi said right back, as easy as breathing. “You have time to think of a present, alright? We’ll think together.”
Jimin nodded, feeling more grateful than ever for the family he had.
The Christmas Present
Sometimes, the dark feelings that made Jimin doubt himself crept back on and his insecurities made themselves known. It was when he felt unadulterated fear that he wasn’t good enough. That he would never get that promotion he had his eyes on because there were so much more creative and competent architects working in his office; that Yoongi deserved better, deserved someone stronger and more confident than him, who he’d be able to rely on better; and mostly, that he was failing at his attempt of being a good father.
God, he wanted nothing more than being the father Hyejin deserved and even though he knew that he was doing a good job - and that he loved every second of it - he still worried that he was doing something wrong.
While talking to Yoongi about it, he found out it was a fear that Yoongi also shared and they came to the conclusion that it would maybe never completely leave them because they loved Hyejin and so they automatically worried about anything and everything regarding her.
But it got easier. Yoongi made it easier with the way he offered total support. He was always ready to offer Jimin a listening ear and Jimin had found out early into their relationship that a shared burden wasn't as heavy.
And Hyejin also made it easier. Whenever Jimin came home and she welcomed him with a happy smile; whenever she asked for a hug because she was feeling sleepy and according to her Jimin’s hugs were the best hugs; whenever she showed her affection and he observed the way she was doing well in school; when someone complimented how polite she was; he felt like he was doing something right.
As Christmas got closer, Yoongi suggested that Jimin could adapt his dollhouse to receive Hyejin’s stuffed bears but Jimin decided to completely let go of that idea and think about something else.
They eventually bought a big soft brown stuffed bear that Hyejin asked from Santa Claus. It was a classic and something that Hyejin didn’t have yet, ironically. Just by looking at the bear, Jimin knew she’d love it.
However, it wasn’t the only present they bought.
The day before Christmas Eve, Jimin had been driving back home from his last day of work before his - well deserved, may he say - break, when he stopped at a red light. Jimin was humming a song to himself as he waited for the light to turn green again when something colorful to his right caught his attention. Jimin looked on instinct and saw the glass window of an antique shop. There were some old wall clocks and beautiful jewelry but Jimin’s eyes were glued on a merry-go-round toy.
Somehow, ignoring it and driving straight home had never been an option. Jimin wasted almost half an hour just to find a place to park at least at walking distance to the shop but as soon as he walked inside and took a closer look at the toy, he didn’t regret it.
The merry-go-round’s roof was dark blue and dotted with white little stars but the edges of it were light pink. Before Jimin could take a good look at the horses, a voice startled him.
“Would you like to see it up close?” Jimin turned with wide eyes and the polite smile in the man’s face took a sheepish turn. “Did I scare you? I did, didn’t I?” He was a young man who shouldn't have been older than Jimin. He truly looked ashamed for having caught Jimin off guard and scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to stop sneaking onto people.” He suddenly froze and said “I shouldn’t have said that…” before looking around and whispering an ‘I hope Namjoon didn’t see this...’‘
Jimin stared for a couple of seconds before giving him a smile.
“Yes, I’d like to have a look at the carousel, please.”
The man smiled big and grateful, moving to the glass window.
Jimin used this moment to shoot Yoongi a text, saying he was buying another present for Hyejin.
“It’s a wind-up toy.” Jimin looked up at the sound of the vendor’s voice, locking his phone and watching as he turned the key at the bottom.
The merry-go-round came to life with a soft yet pleasant song to which the small horses moved up and down. The man -whose tag Jimin just noticed said Jungkook - offered the toy and Jimin took it carefully. It was heavier than he had expected but nothing Hyejin wouldn’t be able to handle it. Jimin lifted the toy to his eye level and finally was able to have a clear view of the horses.
Turned out, they were different animals. There was, of course, a horse but also a swan, an elephant, a lion, and a bear.
Jimin smiled, happy he had trusted his gut feeling and entered the shop. This was perfect. He had a very strong feeling Hyejin would love it.
He lowered the toy just as it stopped moving. The shop didn’t fall into silence, however, for Jimin smiled at Jungkook.
“I’ll take it.”
The Christmas Eve
Jimin had woken up that morning with Hyejin jumping on him. He was too sleepy and startled at first to understand what was happening or what she was saying but he eventually remembered that the night before he had promised they’d bake cookies on Christmas Eve.
He groaned with the back of his throat and hid his face in his pillows. He should have guessed Hyejin wouldn’t have waited until evening.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Jimin slurred out and received his daughter’s triumphant yell in response. Jimin heard Yoongi’s sleepy chuckle from the place next to him on the bed, followed by his equally sleepy voice.
“Have you washed your face yet? Brushed your teeth?”
Hyejin went quiet for a couple of seconds. “No…”
“Go on, then.” Jimin felt the rustle of the covers as Yoongi moved. “I’ll make sure Jimin fully wakes up .”
“Okay!”
Jimin tilted his head to the side and saw the way Hyejin crawled to the edge of the bed before jumping to the ground and running for the door. He sighed and stretched on the bed, not minding the way his limbs hit Yoongi.
“So hyper.” Jimin mumbled into his pillow, which earned him the sound of Yoongi’s chuckles.
“You better wake up before she comes to check on you again.”
“I know, I know.” Jimin peeled himself away from the bed, already missing its comfort and warmth, and glances at the alarm clock at their bedside table, groaning at the time. “God, it’s so early.”
“Go,” Yoongi encouraged him with a smile. “Wash your face and wake up.” Jimin only nodded, pushing the covers away from his body. Yoongi lay down again and made a show of shifting around to get comfortable. Jimin gave him the stink eye. “I’ll sleep a bit more,” he added with a smirk.
“You menace.” Jimin complained in a low voice that wasn’t void of amusement. He leaned down to drop a kiss on the corner of Yoongi’s mouth, who tilted his own head up to accept it.
Baking was a messy affair. Jimin was never the most organized cook and having Hyejin as his assistant only made things worse.
There was flour absolutely everywhere. On the floor, on their apron, on their cheeks, and on Hyejin’s hair. Jimin had tried to clean it by brushing his fingers through her hair but it was useless. He was only grateful they had cut her hair in a cute bob a couple of weeks ago because it would have been hell to clean all that flour out of a long hair.
When he gave up and lowered his hand with a ruff, she giggled.
“It’s okay. Your hair is white too so we match.”
Jimin blinked and automatically ran a hand through his hair, probably making it worse.
“Is it, really?”
Hyejin laughed again and nodded her head.
“Uhum. It looks like white hair.”
Jimin chuckled before finishing the batch of cookies. He guessed there wasn't any harm in a little bit of flour. Nothing a shower couldn’t take care of, anyway.
They had just finished cutting all the dough in the shape of Christmas trees, stars, and angels when Yoongi walked into the kitchen, now looking completely awake and ready for the day. He stopped at the entrance of the kitchen and just stared, taking in the sight.
“Wow.” he finally said. “You guys sure had fun here.”
“It’s okay.” Jimin said, sending Yoongi a mischievous look that made him arch an eyebrow. “We’re cooking, so you’ll clean it, right babe?”
Yoongi’s eyes went comically wide and Hyejin let out a burst of happy laughter.
“You’re on clean-up duty, dad!”
Jimin saw the way Yoongi all but melted at the word. It had been less than two months since she had first used it, and they still had to get completely used to it. Jimin smiled at his husband before getting back to the cookies and putting the batch in the oven.
He tried not to dwell too much on it but he knew he’d probably cry happy tears when Hyejin called him father for the first time. He just wanted her to feel comfortable with him too, wanted her to see him as her father just like he saw her as his daughter.
Jimin discreetly shook his head to push away the thoughts. She’d do it whenever the right time came.
He didn’t have any problem distracting himself because Hyejin latched onto the sleeve of his sweater as soon as he walked away from the oven.
“How long until the cookies are ready?”
Hyejin was bouncing on her feet, looking up at him excitedly, and Jimin couldn’t help but pat her head.
“In twenty minutes. Enough time for us to take a shower while Yoongi cleans up the kitchen.” He smiled up at Yoongi. “Right, babe?”
Yoongi sighed in defeat before smiling.
“Sure.”
“You can’t eat them, Jiminie! You need to decorate them!” Hyejin exclaimed, pointing at the cookies that were already full of colorful glaze and sparkly glitter. “Like this!”
She had taken to calling him ‘Jiminie’ a couple of days after moving in with them, probably imitating the way Yoongi like to call Jimin. It was far from being the appropriate way for a child to call an adult - let alone their father - but Jimin had been too endeared and too weak to scold her then and he still couldn’t do it now.
“I know! I was just checking if they tasted right!”
Jimin answered between chuckles, pushing the uneaten half of the cookie in Yoongi’s direction, who shoved it all in his mouth. Hyejin gasped.
“We need to decorate them first, dad!”
Yoongi shrugged, eyes shining in amusement.
“This one was ready half eaten, sweetie. We were not gonna decorate it.”
Hyejin pouted but eventually accepted his excuse with a nod of her head. Jimin smiled at Yoongi before focusing on the angel-shaped cookie he had in front of him, ready to be decorated.
“I’ll pick the prettiest ones for Santa!”
Jimin pouted, which made Hyejin giggle.
“What about us?”
“You can have the rest!”
Jimin smiled.
“Everything?”
She gasped and shook her head.
“Your tummy will hurt!” She turned to be face to face with Jimin, who indulged her as he tried to hide a smile. “So you have to share it, okay?”
Jimin nodded with a serious expression.
“Alright.”
“Good.” Hyejin said with a smile. She turned back to the Christmas tree cookie she was in the middle of decorating. “Jiminie should never have toothaches.”
Jimin blinked at the last bit and looked at Yoongi, who was watching them with a soft smile on his face.
There was a warm feeling in Jimin’s chest that was spreading to his whole body, leaving him cozy and happy.
What a nice Christmas this was turning out to be.
Hyejin had tried really, really hard to stay awake because she wanted to see Santa. But it wasn’t even 10 p.m. when she fell asleep cuddled up against Yoongi. Jimin’s smile never left his face as he carefully picked her up in his arms and took her to bed. Yoongi followed him and prepared her bed before Jimin laid her on it and covered her with her light blue blanket.
“Sleep well, sweetie,” he whispered before kissing her temple, “and Merry Christmas.”
He watched as Yoongi did the same, kissing the other side of her head and saying something similar to what Jimin had said in a quiet whisper to not disturb her sleep.
They left the room and quietly closed the door behind them before going back to the living room. They sat on the couch and Jimin immediately moved closer, being welcomed by Yoongi’s open arms.
The television was turned off, and the only lights were the ones provided by the Christmas tree.
Yoongi poured more of the wine they had been drinking and gave his cup to Jimin, who accepted it with a smile.
“Merry Christmas, Jiminie.”
Jimin smiled and cocked his head up in a silent request for a kiss that Yoongi quickly attended. Jimin grinned against Yoongi’s mouth.
“Merry Christmas,” Jimin said back, “and I love you. Thank you for the wonderful family.”
Yoongi rubbed their noses together and dropped another kiss on Jimin’s lips.
“I love you, too. Thank you for being part of my life.”
The Christmas Morning
Just like the previous day, Jimin was woken up by Hyejin jumping on his bed and all but yelling for them to wake up and go downstairs because-
“It’s Christmas!” her voice sounded loud and clear. Too loud for so early in the morning. Jimin heard Yoongi groaning and Lord, could he relate to that. “It’s Christmas and Santa came! Santa Claus came!”
Jimin rolled onto his back and felt as if all the air left his lungs when Hyejin all but tackled his chest.
“It’s Christmas, daddy! Wake up!”
Jimin hummed, his sleepy hazed brain taken a little too long to understand what she had just said.
But when he did, he was suddenly wide awake.
Jimin snapped his eyes open and Hyejin cheered.
“You’re awake! Let’s go, daddy! We still have to wake dad up!”
That word again. Jimin blinked and slowly sat up, watching with wide eyes as Hyejin focused on Yoongi now that Jimin was finally obviously awake.
She had just called him daddy , hadn’t she? It was meant for him?
Jimin blinked quick as his eyes filled up with tears, his chest so full with love and so many other wonderful emotions that it felt as if it was going to burst any time.
He watched as Yoongi finally gave up on his sleep and finally sat up on the bed, brushing the crust off his eyes and smiling dazedly at Hyejin, who was now climbing off the bed while telling them to hurry up.
When she ran out the door, Yoongi sighed.
“Well, let’s go before she comes back and-” he stopped short when he looked at Jimin and saw him with a parted mouth and eyes shining with tears. “Baby? What happened?” The sleep left Yoongi’s voice and he moved closer. Jimin reached out to him and tightened a fist around the cloth of Yoongi’s pajamas sleeve.
“She called me ‘daddy’,” Jimin said, almost in a daze.
Yoongi’s eyes widened and soon he had a huge smile on his face. He didn’t say anything, just pulled Jimin into an embrace, holding him tightly against his body. Jimin hugged Yoongi’s waist and hid his face on his neck, letting the tears fall.
He was so, so happy.
There wasn't any word needed at the moment. Yoongi not only knew Jimin like no one else in the world did, but he also knew what he was feeling. The rush of emotions from having your child calling you dad for the first time.
They only parted when Hyejin yelled from downstairs, asking why they were taking so long. They laughed together, wetly and through tears, feeling so incredibly blissful.
“Let’s go,” Yoongi said for the second time in the day as he gently wiped Jimin’s tears away with his sleeves. “Before she gets too impatient.”
Jimin nodded and sniffed one last time before smiling and getting off the bed.
When they finally entered the living room hand in hand, Hyejin was shuffling in place, looking at the presents under the tree - that Jimin had out there before going to sleep - obviously eager to open them but not acting on it until her dads arrived. As soon as they gave her the green light, she let out a happy yelp and grabbed the bear, tearing up the carefully packed wrapping.
“My bear!” she exclaimed happily, a little bit surprised. “Santa really brought the bear, just like I wanted!”
When Christmas season started, Hyejin had told Jimin she didn’t know if Santa liked her because he had never given her what she wanted, if anything at all. And Jimin had done his best to restore the magic of this fantasy for her. She was only five and deserved to experience it. He was so happy it worked and that they - he and Yoongi, with a little bit of Christmas magic - managed to make her this happy.
Jimin tightened his hold on Yoongi’s hand before letting it go to walk behind the tree, getting from the floor the other present he had for her, one he had hidden there on purpose, that would be from Santa, but from him and Yoongi.
“Hyejin,” She turned to him, still hugging the stuffed bear, and walked closer when Jimin asked her to come with a gesture of his hand. “This is something me and your dad got for you.”
Her eye widened and she looked at the package in Jimin’s hand.
“Another present for me?” Jimin nodded and gave the box to her, who carefully put the bear on the couch before sitting down beside it and accepting the present. “Merry Christmas, sweetie.”
Yoongi sat beside Hyejin and kissed the top of her head.
“Merry Christmas, Hyejin.”
She undid the bow and opened the lid, pulling the wind-up toy as carefully as a five-year-old could manage. She watched the merry-go-round with sparkling eyes.
“Turn the key under it.” She glanced at Jimin before doing as he told her and turning the key.
Once,
Twice,
Thrice.
And Jimin watched for the second time as the toy came to life.
They all watched in silence as the music played and the animals went up and down, up and down. When it finally stopped, Hyejin turned the key again. And again once it was over. And one more time.
Only then did she look at Jimin with a huge smile on her face, one that Jimin mirrored. Jimin took a glimpse at Yoongi’s expression before looking back at his daughter, seeing his husband also had a smile on his face.
“Do you like it?”
Hyejin nodded enthusiastically, her smile never faltering. She put the toy beside the bear, making sure it wouldn’t fall, before throwing herself on Jimin, who hugged her with a happy smile.
“I loved it, daddy! Thank you so much!”
After letting go of Jimin, she hugged Yoongi and thanked him too. Yoongi hugged her tightly and offered a hand to Jimin, who accepted it and let himself be pulled into the hug.
What a merry Christmas this was, indeed.