Chapter Text
His stomach was in knots as the car pulled up to the curb in front of your apartment. He pulled his mask over his face, tugging his hat down over his blonde hair. He took a breath, pushing the door open and exiting the car. He kept his head down as he approached the front door buzzer. He pressed the button with your name on it, shifting impatiently on his feet.
His nerves were getting to him now as he waited for you to answer. It had been months since he was last allowed to see her. Would she even recognize him?
“ Hello? ” Your voice came through the speaker, a little fuzzy because of the old hardware, but he could tell it was you.
“Hey, uhh… hey, it’s me,” he muttered quietly. “I’m here, sorry I’m a little late.”
“ Oh! No no, it’s okay! I’m glad you came. I’ll buzz you up, ” your voice said quickly before cutting off with a loud buzz.
He took another breath, trying to steady his hands as he yanked the building door open. He nodded at the older woman who sat at the front desk. She was always there when he visited you, and though she never saw his face properly, she knew it was him. She gave him a gentle smile, which he returned, though it was obstructed by his black cotton face mask.
The building was somewhat old, so there was no elevator. Your apartment was only on the second floor, so he didn’t mind the small climb up the stairs. He walked down the hallway slowly, approaching your door. He breathed deeply one last time before lifting a hand to knock. He heard feet pattering lightly to the door, and the sound of the knob turning made his hands shake again.
You opened the door with a wide grin, and he finally pulled his mask down, revealing his own bright grin. As you pulled him into a tight embrace, his shaking hands steadied, his heart bursting with happiness. You sniffled into his shoulder, inhaling his scent between choked sobs.
“God, I missed you,” he hummed, placing a prolonged kiss to the top of your head.
It wasn’t like the two of you didn’t talk, but you didn’t get to see each other in person that often. The last time he laid eyes on you properly was three months ago.
“Mommy?” A small sleepy voice said from behind you.
You quickly wiped your eyes and turned around to face your little girl, who had just woken up from her nap and stumbled into the living room. She wasn’t quite fully aware of the scene yet.
“Hey, baby, did you have a good nap?” You asked the three year old with an adoring smile. She looks just like her daddy.
Chan couldn’t ignore the grin that spread his cheeks apart and the slight sting at his eyes. Shit , he’s so fucking happy to see her.
You scooped your daughter up into your arms, and she rested her head on your shoulder, eyes closing immediately. “Baby girl, someone special came to see you today,” you cooed, smiling over at Chan.
He was still frozen in the hall, the door standing wide open. He was somewhat afraid to come inside. He didn’t know what he was afraid of, but he was.
“Come inside,” you laughed a little. “I don’t care if you don’t live here, this is still your home.”
Home… he liked the sound of that.
He let a tear fall down his cheek before quickly wiping it away. He stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him. He approached the two of you slowly, wiping his shaking, sweaty palms over his jeans. He held his hands out to the toddler in you arms.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said quietly, just barely above a whisper.
Her little lashes fluttered open to see who was addressing her. “Daddy?” She yawned, sleepily rubbing her eye with the back of her fist.
He nodded, biting his lips together for a second to try and fight the tears back. He was so fucking happy. “Yeah, it’s me.”
She reached out to him, “hold me.”
His walls were broken by that. He grabbed her from your arms gently with no hesitation, holding her close to his chest while she hugged his neck. Tears were spilling from his eyes, and he could no longer hold them back, not that he was trying anymore.
“I missed you, daddy,” she mumbled, still a little groggy from her nap.
He let out an obnoxious sob, feeling his heart break at her words. “I missed you, too. I missed you and mommy so much.” He kissed the top of her head repeatedly, giving her all the kisses he wished he was able to give her every single day that he has to be away from her.
You ushered him over to the couch to sit with your daughter. You left the two alone to make lunch and when you returned, she had fully woken up, smiling excitedly as she told her father about what he missed the last three months.
“And I got a new bunny!” She announced excitedly, bouncing on Chan’s knee.
“Really?” He pretended to be astonished by the news.
“Oh yeah,” you chuckled, placing their lunch on the table. “She’s become really obsessed with stuffed bunnies lately.”
Chan smiled up at you, “oh yeah? I’d love to see them after lunch.”
The little girl in his lap squealed with excitement. “Yeah, and they all have names! I love them!”
“Oh, I can’t wait to meet them,” he said, trying to match her enthusiasm.
“But first, eat lunch,” you told them, waving them over to the table.
Chan stood from the couch, carrying his little girl over to her booster chair at the table. You pushed her plate of nuggets over to her, which she started eating happily, wiggling in her seat.
“Are you dancing?” Chan asked her with a small giggle and a little wiggle of his own.
She laughed happily, “you’re silly, daddy!”
He crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, making her giggle harder. He missed her beautiful laugh; it made his heart swell.
“She watches you all the time on tv,” you told him, resting your chin in the palm of your hand.
He felt pride bloom in his chest as he looked at you. “Yeah?” A bright grin spread over his face slowly.
“Well, we both do,” you shrug. “Every chance we get. Isn’t that right, girly?” You turned and asked your daughter, who nodded vigorously.
“Wanna be just like daddy and his friends!” She yelled, throwing her hands in the air excitedly.
Chan smiled proudly, laughing at her mannerisms. “Well, you have to work hard and grow up big and strong to be like daddy’s friends, okay?”
She nodded again.
“And eat your veggies,” he added at the end.
She frowned a little at that one, which made him chuckle. “Even the green ones?” She asked hopefully.
He laughed again, giving a little nod. “Yep, even the green ones.”
She pursed her lips in thought, “okay! I’ll eat the green ones, too!” She clenched her little fists in determination.
After lunch, Chan followed her to her bedroom, sitting cross-legged on the floor as she handed him each of her rabbit toys.
“This one is Innie because he’s the smallest,” she told him, placing a small pink rabbit in his lap.
Chan chuckled at the soft rabbit. Jeongin would love this, he thought to himself as he looked down at the fluffy bunny.
“And this one is Hannie because he has big cheeks!” She told her dad, handing him a bunny that did have particularly puffy cheeks.
Are they all named after the members? He thought silently, smiling at the idea.
She brought him three rabbits at once, “the black one is Binnie, the blue one is Felix, and the yellow one is MinMin.”
Chan was being covered in rabbits but still smiled adoringly at the tot. How cute. “Are all your rabbits named after daddy’s friends?”
She shook her head, grabbing the biggest and fluffiest of the nine rabbits. It was almost as big as she was. She crawled into Chan’s lap with the white rabbit.
“This one is Channie,” she told him, petting the rabbit’s ears softly.
“That’s my big name!” He told her happily, pointing at his chest.
She nodded with a smile, scrunching her nose. “I know that!”
“Is this bunny named after me?” He said, petting the plush’s head.
She nodded again. “He’s my favorite because he’s the daddy of all~ the other bunnies. He’s really nice and smart.”
Chan wanted to cry again, pulling her in for another hug. His breath became uneven as he tried to hold back the tears again.
But he failed.
“What’s wrong, daddy?” The toddler tugged on his shirt.
He kissed her forehead, “nothing, baby. I just missed you a lot.”
She hummed, snuggling into his chest. “I missed you a lot, too.” She sighed and looked up at him with sad eyes. “When do you have to go away again?”
“Later, not for a while, though.” He smiled sadly.
“When will you come back?” She asked him with a frown.
He frowned back at her, shaking his head. “I don’t know yet, baby girl.”
She nodded, “oh... I wish you could stay with me forever.”
He hugged her to his chest again. “Me too, love.”
That night, after dinner, the little girl refused to leave her daddy’s side. The three of you all cuddled together on the couch and watched Disney movies for a few hours. You had curled into Chan’s side with your head on his shoulder, while your daughter laid on his chest, bunching and unbunching his shirt sweetly in her tiny hand. One of his arms was around your waist, while the other stroked your daughter’s back.
Soon she was drifting off to sleep, listening to the sound of his heart thumping softly in his chest. He hummed happily, stroking her soft yet slightly tangled hair. He wished the night didn’t have to end, but to his dismay, his phone began to ring on the coffee table.
You reached over, answering his cell phone once you saw the caller ID. “Hey Woojin… yeah, he’s right here… can’t I keep him for the night?” You smiled mischievously at Chan, who kissed your forehead in response. “Yeah, I understand… I guess I’ll send him home… yeah, okay. Bye Woojin.” You chuckled a bit before hanging up, “sorry, Jeongin, she’s asleep. I’ll have her call her daddy tomorrow so you can talk to her, okay?”
Chan chuckled. He knew Jeongin adored children, and he also knew Jeongin was one of her favorite people. “Looks like Jeongin is coming with me next time for a play date.”
“Aww,” you teased him as you hung up his cell phone. “Your two babies are gonna be able to play together! That’s so sweet!” You pinched his cheek as he grinned.
“Yeah, my two babies,” he agreed happily.
When he was finally able to convince himself to get off the couch, he insisted on putting his daughter to bed himself. He carried her sleeping form into her room, placing her gently in her little bed. He tucked the blanket around her, kissing her forehead before standing to leave the room.
“Mm, daddy?” Her sweet little voice called out to him again.
He turned around toward her bed again, petting her hair down gently. “Hey, sweetheart. Daddy has to go away now.”
“Okay…” she said, a hint of a pout in her voice. She knew he couldn’t stay, as much as she wanted him to. “Bye, daddy.”
He sighed sadly, “see you later, baby girl. I’ll come home soon. I promise.”
She nodded sleepily, a yawn escaping her lips. “Can I have Channie?” She pointed at the white rabbit laying on the floor.
He nodded, a small smile on his lips. “Yeah, of course.” He scooped up the toy and placed it on the mattress.
She immediately wrapped her small arms around it, nuzzling into the soft fur. “Goodnight, daddy. I love you.”
He inhaled sharply, feeling his heart swell. “I love you, too… so much.”