Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"What do you mean you still can't come back yet?" Wonpil asks over the phone. Jaehyung can feel his pout through the phone.

"My flight got cancelled because of the storm. Sorry Wonpil. I'll book the next flight possible," Jaehyung replies.

"When will that be?"

"I'm not sure. The storm is supposed to die down in an hour or so though," Jaehyung answers. Jaehyung hears Wonpil make some kind of sound through the receiver. It's a suppressed yawn, and frankly Jaehyung isn't very surprised. It's one in the morning and Wonpil should be sleeping. He's an elementary school teacher and now has five hours of sleep max. "Pillie, baby, maybe you should go to bed now. It's late and you have work tomorrow."

"I don't wanna sleep until you get back," Wonpil replies. "I miss you, Jae. And you were supposed to be back earlier tonight," Wonpil continues without giving Jaehyung time to respond. "I even made your favorite for dinner..." Jaehyung can still feel Wonpil's pout, but now it's a sad one rather than a bratty one.

"Wonpil," Jaehyung starts when Wonpil trails off, because now is his chance to reply. But he doesn't know what to say. Sorry, he thinks but he isn't sure why he would be. He wants to be home more than anything. He misses Wonpil too. He misses him so, so much, even though they've only been apart for a week. If it weren't for this damn thunder storm that of course had to roll in right as he was about to leave, Jaehyung would be home cuddling his husband to sleep. And he's tired too, but he has to stay up to hear when they continue flying the planes.

"What?" Wonpil says quietly, sadly when Jaehyung goes silent.

"Go to sleep. You have work in six hours. I promise I'll be home when you wake up," Jaehyung answers. He doesn't know if he'll really be home by then, but he hopes to be.

"What if you aren't?"

Jaehyung can't help rolling his eyes. He loves Wonpil, with all his heart. But does he have to be so stubborn? "I'll never go on another business trip again," Jaehyung responds, though he knows that this is probably not possible. He's on a business trip in Beijing at the moment. His boss wanted to make a deal with a business in Beijing, and he wanted Jaehyung's help. The meeting went really well, and while this is good for Jaehyung, it is also bad. His boss will surely call on him again, and while Jaehyung likes his job, he doesn't like being away from his family for so long. Even if it's just Wonpil for now.

Wonpil must be lonlier than Jaehyung thought, because the younger immediately says, "Deal." Jaehyung raises an eyebrow. Wonpil sure doesn't sound tired anymore. The younger hurriedly says, "Okay, good night Jae, I'll see you when I wake up. I love you." He sounds very happy and Jaehyung is half convinced that Wonpil is just going to stay up and pretend to have woken up before Jaehyung's arrival.

"Oh, uh, okay? Good night, Wonpil. I love you too." The younger waits a moment before hanging up, and Jaehyung pulls his phone away from his ear.

True to his word, Wonpil went to sleep shortly after he got off the phone with Jaehyung. He wakes up at 5:30 am, like he always does. He had been hoping to wake up to Jaehyung laying beside him, but when he sat up and looked at the other side of the bed, it was just the same as it had been last night. Wonpil lets out a sigh, but gets up anyway.

He goes through his morning routine. And once he's done with it, he checks for Jaehyung. Jaehyung is not in their room, so he checks the living room and the the kitchen. Both are empty. He walks from the kitchen, back to the living room. Jaehyung still wasn't home yet. Wonpil checked the time. 6:06 am. Wonpil had to start leaving soon.

Wonpil walked back to his bedroom and grabbed his car keys. As he was heading out of the room, he heard the sound of the front door opening. At first he was a little scared. Who could that be and why did they have a house key? But then he heard the unmistakable voice of his husband.

"Wonpil?" Jaehyung called from the living room. This prompted Wonpil to run down the stairs to meet Jaehyung. He almost trips on the way down but catches himself. He practically throws himself at Jaehyung, who is evidently still tired, when he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

"Jaehyung!" the younger exclaims, wrapping his arms tightly around the taller. Jae stumbles back a bit but catches Wonpil and quickly steadies the two of them. He lets out a yelp but this doesn't stop Wonpil from trying to hug Jaehyung closer and tighter. "Welcome home," the younger says once he pulls away because feels like he's nuzzled into Jaehyung for long enough.

"It's good to finally be home," Jaehyung replies, finally wrapping his arms around Wonpil. Wonpil smiles at him and pecks his lips.

"But you're late. You know what that means."

Jaehyung has to take a moment to think about it. He's really tired, despite having fallen asleep on the plane. It doesn't take him long to remember. "Right, right. No more business trips," he says. Wonpil nods. Jaehyung can't help the smile that crosses his lips when he sees Wonpil smile because God did he miss his smile. But he tries to hide it by pressing another kiss onto Wonpil's lips. It's not a very good attempt but Wonpil isn't complaining because he definitely misses Jaehyung's lips against his.

Too soon for Wonpil's liking, Jaehyung pulls away. He gently removes Wonpil's arms from around him. "Wonpil, you need to go to work. It's already 6:15," Jaehyung says. Wonpil turns to look at the clock on the living room wall. Sure enough, it's 6:15 and then 6:16.

"But-"

"No buts. You can't be late for work." Jaehyung gives Wonpil one last kiss. It's his forehead this time but it makes Wonpil just as giddy. "I'll be here when you get back, I promise."

"You swear? No storm is holding you back?" Jaehyung rolls his eyes at that last bit.

He grabs the bag of luggage by his side and walks past Wonpil to the stairs. He pats Wonpil's butt as he walks by, which makes Wonpil move forward a step. He turns and looks at Jaehyung. "Just go to work already," the older mumbles, but Wonpil hears it.

"Bye Jae!" He blows the older a kiss as Jaehyung walks up the stairs. Jaehyumg pretends to catch it before he starts walking up again, bidding his own farewell before entering his and Wonpil's room.

Wonpil finally leaves after that and when he returns, just as promised, Jaehyung is there waiting for him.

Chapter Text

Wonpil opens the front door to his and Jaehyung's house. He has just gotten off of work and is back from his quick run to the grocery store. As he walks to the kitchen to put the groceries he bought away, he hears Jaehyung's voice coming from their bedroom upstairs. "No excuses, you're grounded. Go to your room," Wonpil hears his husband say. Wonpil raises an eyebrow. He and Jaehyung are the only ones that live in their home at the moment.

Wonpil sets the grocery bags down before walking up the stairs. In no time at all, he's opening the bedroom door. As he opens it, he sees his husband walking out. In his arms is a Kermit doll. With glasses. Jaehyung doesn't see him, he's looking at the doll. "I am tired of the F's on your report card. Me and your other father taught you better. There are no slackers in this fam-" Before Jaehyung can finish his sentence, he hears muffled giggling.

Jaehyung knows that muffled giggling better than he knows himself. His cheeks flush and he quickly hides the doll behind his back. He clears his throat and hesitantly looks up at Wonpil. "Wonpil. Welcome home. How was uh, how was work?" Jaehyung asked awkwardly.

"It was good," Wonpil replied, unable to stop his amused smile. "More importantly, what were you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Jaehyung asks. He hopes Wonpil will forget what he saw, but the younger laughs again. This time it's not being muffled by anything, and normally Jaehyung adores his laugh. But right now it only serves to embarrass him. He can't be very mad though, knowing Wonpil doesn't mean to make him feel bad.

"I mean... Kermit. Why are you scolding him?" Wonpil asks.

"Well... I am... practicing parenthood," Jaehyung answers.

"Oh?"

"I mean, we're adopting soon, right?" Jaehyung starts. Wonpil nods. They've been talking about adopting for a while, or other means of having kids. They've recently come to an agreement that they're both ready to adopt a kid. Sungjin had jokingly told them that they're both children themselves, adding another kid to the mix sounds like chaos. But Wonpil and Jaehyung are absolutely sure that they're ready. Or, Wonpil is. Jaehyung is still a bit nervous about it. Wonpil has tons of experience with kids. Jaehyung doesn't have a whole lot. "Do you think I'll be a good dad?"

"Yeah, I think so. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have agreed to adopting a child with you. Why?" Wonpil asks. By now Jae's taking the glasses off the Kermit doll and is starting to put both items in their respective places. Wonpil's eyes follow Jaehyung's movement.

"I'm worried, that's all. I don't know anything about kids. I mean, I don't know how to take care of one, and I don't know what babies like. What if it starts to cry? What if I make it cry? What if it doesn't like m-"

"Jaehyung." It's not very loud, but it's enough to grab the other's attention. Jaehyung looks from the bedside table that his glasses rest on to the man in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"You'll be fine. I promise." Jaehyung still looks skeptical.

"How do you know that?" Jaehyung asks.

"Because I'm a prophet," Wonpil answers. Jaehyung rolls his eyes and throws Kermit at Wonpil. Wonpil proceeds to laugh again. It's probably Jaehyung's most favorite sound ever. Wonpil picks up the fallen frog toy. "It's because we have each other."

"Well yeah, but..."

"I know we're both lacking in experience, but we'll be fine. We'll learn how to be good parents together." Wonpil walks over to the bed, he can see Jaehyung watching him curiously. Kermit actually goes on their bookshelf, so he isn't sure what Wonpil is doing. Wonpil tucks the frog into their bed, Jaehyung raises an eyebrow. Wonpil looks up at Jaehyung. "For starters, it wasn't very nice of you to throw our child at me, Jae," Wonpil says. He's teasing Jaehyung, who can feel his cheeks heat up again.

"Whatever," Jaehyung mumbles.

"Shouldn't you set a good example for our baby? Say sorry."

"I- Sorry." It sounds more like a question, but it's definitely not a question.

"More sincerely."

"Wonpil."

"Okay, okay," Wonpil says between laughs. He spares the Kermit doll one last glance and then looks at Jaehyung again. "Let's go start dinner while he's asleep." Jaehyung wants to be mad at Wonpil. But he really can't find it in himself when Wonpil walks over, grabs his hands, and kisses his worries away. Because Wonpil is right, they'll figure parenting out together and everything will be fine.

Chapter Text

"Um, Jae?" Wonpil says quietly, hesitantly. Jaehyung can't see him very well since it's dark and his only source of light is the moonlight from the window. And even with that, thanks to the curtains on the window, Jaehyung can't see much. But he knows where Wonpil is anyways. Aside from the fact that they're sleeping in the same bed and Jaehyung has his arms around the younger, they've been married for 10 years. Jaehyung knows that Wonpil likes to sleep on the left side of the bed towards the center with the blanket tucked all around him.

"Yeah, Pil?" Jaehyung asks. He sounds sleepy, and he is. It's a little past midnight and Jaehyung and Wonpil are both usually asleep by then. But Wonpil's been restless and tossing and turning and it keeps Jaehyung up too.

"I just... I mean... It's kind of silly but..." Wonpil keeps trailing off. Jaehyung doesn't know how Wonpil's managing to stay wide awake, but he doesn't ask.

"But what? You can tell me anything."

"Uh... No, it's okay. You're tired and you need to wake up early and-"

"Pil, I won't be able to sleep knowing there's something keeping you up. It seems important so just tell me already."

"Okay. Jae, I... Am I still attractive?"

A moment of silence passes between the two, and it's a moment too long for Wonpil. But then he hears Jaehyung laugh, and he laughs loud. Wonpil doesn't even think he was tired anymore.

"Seriously? That was it?"

"Yes, shut up, stop laughing! It's a serious question! Really, stop, you're going to wake the kids up," Wonpil whines. He smacks Jaehyung's chest one second, and the next he's hiding his face into it. He feels his cheeks heat up, maybe it was a silly question after all.

Wonpil feels Jaehyung's arms pull away from him. He pulls away from Jaehyung's chest to try to look at his face, see what he's thinking. But he doesn't get to. Because the next thing he knows, Jaehyung is cupping his cheeks and pulling him into a kiss. And it's short but it's full of Jaehyung's love and Wonpil feels like he's melting.

"You're beautiful, Wonpil. So, so, so beautiful."

Wonpil buries his face into Jaehyung's chest again, but less from embarrassment and more from how flustered and happy he is. "I love you, Jaehyung."

"I love you too, Wonpil."

This time when silence passes by them, it's comfortable. But once again, it doesn't last long.

"What made you feel the need to ask that though?"

"Oh." Wonpil pulls himself away from Jaehyung's chest once again. "Well, I heard one of my coworkers talking about how she's been married for 10 years too and her husband hasn't been paying much attention to her anymore since they've gotten older," Wonpil explains.

"Have I not been paying enough attention to you?" Jaehyung asks. Wonpil quickly shakes his head, Jaehyung barely sees the gesture.

"No, it's not that! It's just... It's also been 10 years for us and I didn't want that to happen to us too," Wonpil says.

"Well, don't worry because that won't happen to us ever."

"Are you sure? Not even... when we're old and wrinkly and gray?"

"Not even then."

It is these last words of assurance and one last peck on the lips that finally, finally put Wonpil's worries to rest and allow him to fall asleep, with Jaehyung following after.

Chapter Text

Jaehyung and Wonpil have decided to take their children to the fair. They're both old enough, Byeongho being 6 years old and Hyejin at 4. They walk with Byeongho and Hyejin in between them, Byeongho holding Wonpil's hand and Hyejin holding Jaehyung's.

They've been through about half off the fair, it was a pretty big one. And since it's more for their two children than themselves, Jaehyung and Wonpil tell Byeonho and Hyejin to stop them if they see a ride or game they want to play. The two are interested in almost everything, Jaehyung is glad he bought a lot of tickets. They can't ride everything though (they're not tall enough), and there are some attractions that they're just not interested in (the haunted house, for example, but then Jaehyung is glad they didn't want to go there). They're definitely going to have some left over tickets.

"Dad! I want one of those!" Hyejin exclaims. Jaehyung and Wonpil both look in the direction she's pointing in. She's pointing at a claw machine. It's full of stuffed animals, and Jaehyung knows that the chances of actually getting one are very slim. He looks at Wonpil, questioning whether or not they should spend tickets on the machine. Wonpil looks at Jaehyung, equally unsure. But Hyejin looks at the toys so wantingly, Jaehyung and Wonpil agree that it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

"Okay, we can try to get one for you," Jaehyung says, making sure to remind her that they won't get a toy for sure. It's not that he wants to dissuade her in any way, he just doesn't want to disappoint her too much.

They make their way to the machines, Hyejin looking excitedly at all the toys. Her eyes lock onto a smiling panda plushie. "That one!" she says enthusiastically, pointing at the black and white bear in the very back.

"Right, okay," Jaehyung says. He inserts the required amount of tickets, two, into the machine. He works earnestly on adjusting the claw. Even if his hopes aren't high, he's still going to try his best.

When he's sure the claw is positioned fairly well over the bear, he presses the only button on the machine that causes the claw to drop down. To his surprise, the claw grabs onto the bear's head securely. It pulls the bear up quickly and harshly so they're all a little surprised when the bear stays in it's place. It stays in place the whole trip, up until the claw drops it into the retrieval slot.

Hyejin runs to the spot from around Jaehyung's legs and pulls out the stuffed bear, immediately giving it a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, dad!" she exclaims, removing one of her arms to hug one of Jaehyung's legs before running over to Wonpil to show off the plush.

"I want one too," Jaehyung hears Byeongho say from next to him.

Jaehyung looks down at their older child. He is quite surprised, Byeongho was never really interested in stuffed animals. But he isn't going to say no because this trip isn't about him at all. "Which one?" Jaehyung asks, although he still isn't very confident in getting anymore. Surely Hyejin's panda was just a fluke.

"I want that tiger," Byeongho replies, pointing at a tiger that's placed in a reasonable spot. The tiger is one of the toys on top, in the center of the machine, a little closer to the prize slot. It's not as cute as the panda that had a smile, but it's still cute despite that it tries to look menacing. Once more, Jaehyung sacrifices two tickets to the machine in exchange for a chance to win a toy. He positions the claw a few times, unsure of where to grab. The head, or the body?

The claw decides that it wants to grab at the body, lowering before Jaehyung even pushes the button because his time as run out. The claw closes around the tiger's lower half and Jaehyung is afraid it will fall. It's so loose, and it doesn't help that it wobbles when the claw pulls it up. The tiger is barely hanging on and Jaehyung is just lucky that the tail is shaped in such a way that it catches it from falling, leaning against one of the fingers of the claw.

When the claw drops the tiger, it's head hits the plastic around the prize slot that stops toys from falling in, but it falls down nonetheless. Jaehyung realizes only then that Wonpil and Hyejin have stopped gushing over her new toy. Byeongho goes to retrieve his toy, seeming very pleased. He beams up at Jaehyung. He gives his own thanks and then starts to bicker with his sister.

"My toy is better than yours!"

"No, mine is better!"

"Mine came out first."

"Yours looks like a wimp."

"It's not a wimp, it's cute!"

Jaehyung isn't sure where this sudden bout of luck came from, but Byeongho and Hyejin are happy and that's all that matters. He's not done yet though, Wonpil grabs his hand to catch his attention. "Me too, Jae!"

"What?"

"Get one for me too!"

Jaehyung watches his husband for a moment, the younger gushing over a stuffed rabbit in the machine. Jaehyung laughs. "I thought this trip was for Byeongho and Hyejin," Jaehyung says. He's inserting two tickets as he says this though.

"Yes, but I'm your loving husband and I deserved to be spoiled too," Wonpil answers.

"I spoil you everyday. That's practically my life now," Jaehyung responds.

"You get lots of hugs and kisses in return, I think it's a fair trade off."

Jaehyung just hums while Wonpil leans on him, watching him move the claw. Sure enough, he gets the claw to fall onto the rabbit, whose face can only be described as "XD". The claw pulls it up and it slips a little bit but it isn't as bad as Byeongho's tiger had been. The rabbit is laying flat, so he's a little nervous about it falling, but lady luck is still on his side, thankfully. He manages to get the rabbit, pulling it out for Wonpil since his husband is not quite as fast as their children.

Wonpil smiles at him and kisses his cheek. "Thank you, Jaehyungie! I love it!" Wonpil exclaims.

"Not more than me though, right?"

"Hm, well... We'll see," Wonpil says. Jaehyung means to respond, but doesn't get to.

"Dad! Can we go to the bumper cars?" Byeongho asks, pointing at the ride across from them.

"No! I'm not tall enough, that's not fair!" Hyejin protests.

"That's okay, Hyejin. We'll just go to the carousel, okay?" Wonpil suggests. Hyejin's face brightens up at the suggestion and she nods eagerly. She grabs one of Wonpil's hands while Jaehyung hands him a sheet of tickets. "Don't miss me too much, Jaehyungie," Wonpil says as he takes the tickets. Jaehyung rolls his eyes.

"Please, you'll miss me way before I miss you," Jaehyung replies as Byeongho starts to pull him away.

"Daaaaad, let's goooooo!" Hyejin whines, and Wonpil nods. They start to go their separate ways. When they come back together again, only fifteen minutes later, they're both equally happy to have the other half of their family in their presence again. Though, of course, neither of them says it. And all in all, it was a good day.

Chapter Text

Wonpil wakes up first, skinny arms that warm his entire body wrapped around his waist, holding him close. He flutters his eyes open and the first thing he thinks is that it's way too early. He never wakes up this early for school. But he feels better about it when he tiredly looks up at Jaehyung. He nuzzles into his chest and hums contentedly. He suddenly feels the need to pee, so he removes the arms around him.

It's only five in the morning, and Wonpil climbs back onto the bed when he's done. He looks back down at Jaehyung. His face, his neck that's littered with barely visible love bites, his bare shoulders, and finally down his arm to his hands and then his fingers. He smiles wide when he sees the wedding ring. They're married now, and Wonpil feels his heart well up with pride and joy at the thought.

Memories of the day prior flood into his mind as he crawls back under the blankets and back into Jaehyung's arms. He lifts Jaehyung's right arm and lets it down gently over him. He cuddles up into Jaehyung again before remembering everything. Remembering Younghyun teasing Jaehyung. Remembering screaming with Dowoon. Remembering Sungjin reminding them to treat each other right. He remembers Jaehyung's sister cooing over how good they look together. He recalls the way Jaehyung's mother had cried because her baby was all grown up and how Jaehyung's father had jokingly (he thinks) asked them when they were going to have kids. He remembers how his own sister had shown up and told him how proud she was, giving him a big hug.

He also remembers crying a bit. Just a little bit. His own parents hadn't shown up. He hadn't expected them to, but it didn't make it hurt any less. He had hoped at least a little bit that they would show up. Even if they weren't smiling, even if they didn't really support his marriage deep down. At least they would have been there. But they hadn't gone at all.

Suddenly he feels Jaehyung shift as he tightens his hold around Wonpil. And the next thing he knows, he is being pulled up on top of Jaehyung. "Wonpil," Jaehyung calls out tiredly. Wonpil looks at him and hums. It's only 5:20 so it's still a little dark out, but at least he can see Jaehyung. "What are you thinking about?" Jaehyung asks, running his fingers through Wonpil's hair. In the back of his mind, he thinks that Jaehyung's voice is always so nice to listen to, even when he's just waking up.

"Our wedding," Wonpil replies simply, looping his arms around Jaehyung's neck. He gives it a kiss, starting a trail. Up his neck, up his jaw and then down his jaw, down his neck, to his shoulder.

"Then why do you look so sad?" Jaehyung asked. His fingers don't stop combing through Wonpil's hair, and the younger would probably find it nice if his parents hadn't been on his mind. Wonpil paused his movement, using Jaehyung's shoulder as a pillow. "You're not regretting it, are you?" Jaehyung asked.

Wonpil looked back at Jaehyung's face and smiled before shaking his head. "No, of course not, Jaehyung. I love you. Getting married to you is probably going to be the best thing I'll ever do," Wonpil says.

"Then... Did you not sleep well?"

"I always sleep well with you."

"Such a flatterer," Jaehyung says. He sounds skeptical but Wonpil knows he's just playing around. Wonpil lets out a laugh that's barely there, and Jaehyung grins. He loves Wonpil's laugh more than anything else.

"But it's the truth," Wonpil insists.

"Is it about your parents then?" Jaehyung asks softly. Wonpil's smile falls the slightest bit but Jaehyung still catches it. His one arm that is still around Wonpil's waist tightens the slightest bit.

"Hm. Maybe," Wonpil says into Jaehyung's shoulder.

"I'm sorry they didn't come, Pil," Jaehyung answers. Wonpil doesn't really know what to say to that. It wasn't Jaehyung's fault, not in the slightest bit so he can't imagine why Jaehyung is apologizing.

"Don't be sorry," Wonpil says after a moment. "It's okay, really. I mean, we both already knew they weren't coming."

"It still sucks. I know they're not really all for it-" Jaehyung starts.

"They're not for it the slightest bit," Wonpil mumbles.

"-but you're their son. And it's not like they hate you, they didn't disown you and they still ask your sister about you now and then so they can't hate you. I'm sure they care, even if it's just a little bit," Jaehyung says.

"It's okay."

"They'll come around someday, Pil."

"I hope so."

It falls silent for a moment.

"I know it's not the same... I know it won't make anything better but... Well, for what it's worth, I'll love you. Always, unconditionally." Jaehyung stops for a moment, but he doesn't look like he's done. Wonpil watches him with his big, beautiful eyes. He waits patiently. Jaehyung's lips part, but no words come out. And he's done. Wonpil doesn't know what he was going to say, but he isn't going to press him. Not yet, anyways. He just smiles and gets on his hands and knees. He moves up Jaehyung's body and leans down to press his lips against Jae's.

Wonpil pulls away only a second later. His lips gravitate back towards his husband, pressing kisses against the marks on his neck. "Thank you, Jaehyungie. That means the world to me," he says, smiling against the other. "I'll love you forever too, hyungie."

"Unconditionally?"

Wonpil sits back on Jaehyung's torso, his legs on either side of him. He hums and looks up, a finger on his chin as though he is thinking about it. Jaehyung rolls his eyes and lightly smacks one of his thighs. Wonpil yelps, and then he giggles. "Okay, yes. Unconditionally," Wonpil says.

"You mean it?"

"Of course I mean it."

"Good." And Wonpil is being pulled back down again. "Now go back to sleep," Jaehyung says, pulling him close.

"But we'll wake up late," Wonpil says as he cuddles into Jae.

"We don't have to wake up at any specific time."

"But there's a lot I want to do with you!"

"We'll do it all, I promise," Jaehyung says. "Now stop being a brat and go to sleep."

"Only if you wake me up on time."

"Why did I marry you again?"

"Because you love me unconditionally forever. And I love you even more than that."

"Ugh, you're such a sap. It's too early for this."

"You like it, you know you do."

And if they spend the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon cuddling, bickering, and then making up with kisses, that is for them to know.

Chapter Text

"Seriously? Your surprise was a bubble bath?" Jaehyung asks when he arrives at the bathroom in his and Wonpil's apartment. He raises an eyebrow at the younger male who is already undressed and in the tub.

"Yes," Wonpil says, wondering why Jaehyung is not undressing and getting into the bathtub with him. He sticks out his lower lip a bit as he pouts. "Do you... not like it?" Wonpil asks.

"Uh, bathing in warm, fruity scented water with my husband? What's not to like?" Jaehyung says.

"Then why aren't you in the tub with me?" Wonpil asks, lightly splashing the water with his feet. "If you don't hurry, the bubbles are going to disappear," Wonpil adds.

"Well... Aren't we too old for bubble baths?" Jaehyung asks. Wonpil shakes his head.

"You're never too old for bubble baths, hyung!" the younger insists. "And besides, this bath bomb was expensive. You're not really going to let our fifteen dollars go to waste, are you?" Wonpil asks. Jaehyung chokes on air at that.

"pIL- fIFTEEN DOLLARS?" Wonpil looks at him blankly and nods. "We've talked about overpriced bath bombs!"

"This is the last one, I swear!" Jaehyung opens his mouth to say something, but it never leaves his lips. "Just come in already!" Wonpil whines, and he splashes water at Jaehyung. To say the older is surprised would be an understatement. It's not a lot of water and it's not as though he's wearing a light colored suit. But now he's uncomfortably wet.

"Wonpil, I swear to God-"

"Hyuuuuuuung. I want to take a bath with you!"

"You're way too spoiled, you know that?" Jaehyung says, a bit annoyed that Wonpil had splashed water on him. Just how old are they again? "You owe me a new suit," he adds, finally starting to undress.

"Well, my bank account is your bank account too now," Wonpil says as Jaehyung gets into the tub. He shifts his position so Jaehyung could get in next to him.

Once Jaehyung was actually in, Wonpil scooted to be right next to him. Thankfully, Wonpil had not been in for very long. The water was still hot. Jaehyung wrapped his arms around the younger who leaned into him. "So? Do you like it? Are you relaxed?" Wonpil asked.

"Somehow I feel like this is more for you than it is for me. I think you just want to justify buying expensive bath bombs that you don't need," Jaehyung replies.

"It's for both of us," Wonpil admits. "I get to smell nice and spend time with my husband. You get to relax and spend time with yours. You're always working really hard, Jae, especially after you got hired by that JYP guy. You deserve a rest and I miss you and deserve to spend time with you. I think we're both winning."

"...Okay, that's fair. I think. No more bath bombs though."

Wonpil looks at Jaehyung and pouts. "But, hyung! It's so nice, isn't it? It's pretty and fruity and bubbly!"

Jaehyung leans down to kiss the pout off of Wonpil's lips. "Yeah, it is pretty nice... I guess we can buy them once in a while. But only once in a while. And, maybe definitely for less than fifteen dollars."

"But we're definitely doing this again, right?"

"Yes, Pil, we'll definitely do it again."

Chapter Text

Jaehyung is glad the day is almost over, this being confirmed by him inserting his house key into the front door of the house he shares with his husband and his two children. The day had not been a good one. Jaehyung had managed to get lost at work twice since they've moved buildings, something about the old one being too small now. This didn't fare well for multiple reasons, the most pressing one being that he was late for a meeting. He had made a fool of himself, walking into the wrong meeting room. He supposed that the absence of Younghyun should have been a dead giveaway, but it really wasn't because in the end, he found Sungjin in the correct meeting room and not Younghyun. Jaehyung's usual partner had taken an emergency sick day, and he had to walk Sungjin through their presentation last minute (although he was already late as it was). The only good outcome of that situation was that he found out that Sungjin is an excellent presenter, having been able to elaborate and add on ideas that Jaehyung and Younghyun hadn't even thought of but that were brilliant nonetheless. Jaehyung had half a mind to make Sungjin his new partner.

His troubles hadn't ended there, sadly. The following incidents were all minor inconveniences, luckily. Momo not yet having paperwork he needed signed, he ran out of staples, a pen broke on him, he forwarded the wrong email to his boss and needed to search through his emails for the correct one, Mark accidentally ate his lunch thinking it was the food that Felix had brought and given up in favor of getting lunch with his childhood friend. Minor inconveniences but annoying all the same, and Jaehyung hoped that the rest of his day would be a good one. Sure, maybe he had had a bit of a lucky streak at work, but he didn't think he deserved whatever this was.

The first thing Jaehyung noticed when he walked into his house was that it smelt a lot like chicken and oil. Therefore, it was easy to assume that Wonpil was cooking something, or had already cooked something. But it was too early for dinner. It was only about 4 PM. The second thing Jaehyung noticed was that it was loud... but also really quiet. Byeongho and Hyejin were not in the living room, although Hyejin's favorite cartoon, some old Hello Kitty show, was playing on the television. The Nintendo Switch was out and Jaehyung could see the very familiar inkling that Byeongho was so proud of standing idly on the screen. However, neither of his children were in the living room and he couldn't hear their voices. Weird.

Before Jaehyung could overthink this predicament, he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him. And they were coming pretty fast. Jaehyung turned around, but not quick enough to see just who had deemed it appropriate to launch themselves at him. He could take a guess, with the height and the brown hair and the nuzzling and the overall familiarity with the figure. "Hi, Jae! Welcome back!" Wonpil exclaimed, pulling away a little bit but not letting go of Jaehyung just yet.

"Hey, Pil. Where are Byeongho and Hyejin?" Jaehyung asked.

"They're cooking."

"Byeongho and Hyejin?"

"Yes! We're making chicken nuggets!" Wonpil exclaimed. "Hyejin is cutting out the shapes with cookie cutters and Byeongho is putting the flour and egg on them. I'm frying them, of course," Wonpil added. He was in a good mood, it made Jaehyung feel significantly better than he was only minutes ago. "Oh yeah! And after that we're going to watch Finding Dory, because Hyejin wants to. But she said we should wait for you, so we started to make snacks for when you come home!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Anyways, Jae, you look really tired. Hard day today?"

"Mm. Just a little bit."

"Well... It'll be okay! We'll stay in and have a good night together, okay? We'll eat and watch a movie and then maybe eat again and play some games. And then Byeongho and Hyejin will go to sleep and we'll have lots of time for just us! Good?"

Jaehyung didn't have very many bad days at work. Usually they were average, not good and not bad. He would probably find himself disliking it a lot more if it weren't for Younghyun and Sungjin, but even still they sometimes tended to be a source of the problems that occurred at work. And he wasn't perfect himself, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel bad about the less than ideal situations he sometimes found himself in. But he always came home and Wonpil and Byeongho and Hyejin always made him feel better. They always managed to cheer him up, even when they weren't doing anything. So, good night? Yes, it sounded like a great night.

"It sounds fantastic." Wonpil beamed at him now and Jaehyung wonders if he'll ever get tired of it.

"Okay! First you need to wash up though, and by then we should be done," Wonpil said. He started to remove his arms from around Jaehyung's torso. Jaehyung held them there though, not quite ready to part yet.

"Are you seriously going to leave without giving me a kiss first?"

"Oh!" And Wonpil went from :) to :0 and back to :). He leaned up, he brought his hands to Jaehyung's cheeks to pull him down, and he kissed him. It was meant to be a peck, but Jaehyung didn't seem satisfied with that and Wonpil found that he didn't really mind.

Until he was reminded of his current task, that is.

"Dad! The chicken nuggets are burning!" Byeongho's voice could be heard calling from the direction of the kitchen. This was followed by Hyejin declaring that she was going to go fan the smoke alarm, although both Jaehyung and Wonpil knew she was too short to. Still, after Jaehyung and Wonpil separated so that Wonpil could take care of the now burnt chicken nuggets, Hyejin came running over. Her eyes lit up seeing Jaehyung and she ran over, also tossing herself at Jaehyung. He didn't even have to wonder who she learned that one from.

"Hello, Dad! Welcome back!" she greeted him. Jaehyung pat her head and then she was running off to fetch her fan that Jaehyung and Wonpil had bought her at the fair they had gone to a year ago. She ran into the hallway again once she had retrieved the item.

"Aaaaa, I have to go take care of that now, Jae. But welcome back, I love you," and Wonpil gave a quick peck to Jaehyung's cheek before running back to the kitchen.

As Jaehyung walked up the stairs to his bedroom, the smoke alarm started to go off and the previous smell of chicken and oil was replaced with a bitter, unpleasant scent. He had to wonder what he had to done to displease Lady Luck, why she hated him today. He wondered if the rest of the night was really going to be as swell as he wanted it to. But he figures that as long as he has his family, it'll be alright.

In the end, he found that he couldn't have asked for a better night.

Chapter Text

The right side of the bed was cold and empty. There was too much blanket without Jae sleeping beside him, almost as if it was a thin, second mattress. It was too hot, and Wonpil felt almost weird without the feeling of Jae's arms around him. He could only hear his own breathing, and not the sound of Jae's. Wonpil found himself naturally facing to the right side of their room, but he wasn't used to actually being able to see the wall across from him. He had tried turning to the left side of the room, facing the cieling, and lying face down. None of the positions felt natural, and Wonpil wasn't sure what to do.

Of course the answer was go to the living room, where Jae was sleeping. But Wonpil still felt bad from their fight earlier today. He wanted to take back what he said, but he couldn't. Now that he was thinking about it, being tired was not a good enough excuse for what he did. He replayed the argument in his mind, though he didn't really want to. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. What if he had done this, what if he had done that? Could he have stopped this situation from happening?

The reason they were upset at each other was such a bad one. Wonpil and Jae had just adopted their son at about the same time Jae's boss had inconveniently given him an important task. Everything had to be perfect. So naturally, Jae spent a lot of time on it. Wonpil was the only one taking care of their son, and though he knew it wasn't Jae's fault, he didn't know where else to direct his frustration. Especially since the event that finally made everything too much for Wonpil was something as small as Jae not changing the laundry while Wonpil took Byeongho to shower and then to sleep.

Jae had apologized but not looked up from his phone, his eyebrows furrowed. And in most cases Wonpil tried to be understanding but this had been going on for 2 weeks now. "Don't apologize if you don't mean it," Wonpil had snapped. Jae looked up then, confused and a little upset.

"I did mean it. I was going to do it, I really was but then Bria-"

"So you don't have 5 minutes to spare to help your husband and your son, but you have all the time in the world for Younghyun?" Wonpil said. "All I wanted was for you to change the laundry but you couldn't even do that. Are we even a little important to you, Jae? If Younghyun is so much more important than us them maybe you should have married h-" His tone was getting increasingly louder without him noticing, his eyes spiked with tears of frustration. His lack of ability to control his voice woke their baby, the sound of crying filling the house. Ultimately it was the sound of Byeongho's crying that stopped Wonpil from finishing his sentence, but the damage had already been done. Jae already was hurt that Wonpil thought he didn't care about them, Byeongho was already awake, and Wonpil was already crying.

"Pil, I love you and Byeongho both, a lot. Okay? I think you're just tired so," Jae started, standing up. He put his phone in his pocket. "So go to bed. I'll take care of Byeongho and finish the laundry," Jae finished. He gave Wonpil a tentative kiss on the forehead (those always did cheer Wonpil up, but they hadn't actually fought in a while). "Good night. I'll give you time to cool down," he added before walking past Wonpil, up the stairs towards Byeongho's bedroom.

Wonpil had, as advised, gone to bed. And that is how he finds himself where he is now. Sad, guilty, tired, but very awake. He can't sleep well without Jae, he's too used to having the older there. Jae had gone into their room earlier, but he hadn't laid down with Wonpil and Wonpil pretended to be asleep. He just grabbed his pillow and left.

Wonpil finds himself struggling. He doesn't know what he should do. So he takes it as a blessing in disguise when he suddenly hears Byeongho crying. It's 2 in the morning, but Wonpil is more than happy to occupy his mind by taking care of Byeongho. He's up quickly, he makes his way to Byeongho's room quickly.

But somehow Jae still beats him there, the taller man reaching into the crib to pick up their baby. He's still a little clumsy when it comes to holding babies, but it's nothing to worry about. To Wonpil's surprise, Jae already had a bottle prepared, and he's rocking the baby while singing to it softly. It's like something out of a movie, but Byeongho is quick to fall asleep again anyways. Jae holds him still a little while longer to make sure Byeongho is able to really fall back asleep and Wonpil feels terrible again for making Jae feel like everything he was doing was not enough.

Jae finally notices him when Wonpil sniffles and he sets Byeongho back in the crib. He walks over to Wonpil in the doorway with a quiet laugh (he's being mindful of Byeongho, Wonpil realizes). Once he reaches Wonpil, he's brushing his curly hair back and kissing his forehead for the second time that night. "Not you too," he whispers. He pulls away, meaning to step back.

But this close to Jae, Wonpil can't help throwing his arms around Jae in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, hyung," he says, but Jae shushes him.

"You're going to wake him again," Jae says, but he hugs Wonpil anyways. The two make their way out of the room as best they can, and Jae gently shuts the door when they're out.

Wonpil won't let go of him, and he won't stop crying. Jae's shirt is getting soaked in Wonpil's tears, but he can't find it in him to pull the younger away from him. So he lets him cry until he's satisfied. Wonpil won't stop apologizing and Jae just assures him that it's okay, that he's sorry too, and that he'll do better. But Wonpil doesn't need better when Jae's already everything he needs and more. So he pairs his apologies with shakes of his head, and Jae just lets him go until he can't anymore.

When he's finally done and it's just Wonpil catching his breath, Jae pulls away. Wonpil's glad it's kind of dark in the hallway. Jae has seen him cry before, and Wonpil isn't ashamed of crying. But he's pretty sure that if he sees the tender gaze that he feels from his husband, he'll just start back up again.

"Do you feel better?" Jae whispers. Wonpil shakes his head. Jae hums. "What can I do for you then Pillie?" Jae asks.

"Just come sleep with me please," Wonpil says quietly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, please. I can't sleep without you," Wonpil replies.

"Okay. You go first then. I'm going to get my pillow from the couch and then I'll be right there," Jae assures Wonpil. Wonpil bites his lip and stills for a second. He doesn't want to let go of Jae, but he does. He nods and then removes his arm from around Jae's torso. He turns on his heel and goes back to their room, Jae's steps just behind him to get to their living room.

True to his word, it doesn't take him long to get the pillow and return to the room. Wonpil feels the bed dip, and he's quick to throw himself into Jae, cuddling into him before he even has time to properly get situated. "I love you, Jae hyung. I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said about me and Byeongho not being important to you."

"I know, it's okay. I love you too."

"And I'm sorry for what I said about Younghyun, I'm glad you married me and not him."

"I know, Pillie. I'm glad too. Please, get some rest now. Go to sleep."

And with Jae next to him again, everything felt much better, so much more right.

Chapter Text

It is family bonding night in the Kim-Park household. That is, a night of the week, typically a weekend, dedicated to spending time with the family and just that. It starts at around 7 o'clock after dinner and goes on until 10 PM for Byeongho and whenever Wonpil passes out for Jae and Wonpil. Every so often Jae will fall asleep before Wonpil, but Wonpil tends to fall asleep first, lacking sleep in general during the week as he stays up grading papers and setting up class activities. Even with his husband's help, it's a lot of work.

This is the fifth Family Bonding Night, and it's almost 8 PM. They're playing Scrabble, it was Jae's turn to pick the night's activity. Jae and Byeongho have formed a team against Wonpil. Wonpil pretended to be hurt that their baby had sided with Jae, but the one year old hadn't really thought of it like that. Rather, Jae had done a better job of coaxing Byeongho to his side this week. And besides, the most help Byeongho offered was fiddling with an E tile. Sometimes the boy would reach over and grab another one of Jae's tiles, which Jae would either have to wrestle back from him or use it as an excuse to draw a new letter. Wonpil didn't mind either way. He was winning anyways.

Wonpil lands a 'heartstring' adding H, E, A, R, and T above a STRING placed by Jae on the older's last turn. Actually, Jae's last turn had been the first turn for this game (it's their second game), and his placement of the word had allowed Wonpil to get the triple word score box at the end of the board and a double letter score box. Wonpil smiles, quite proud of himself.

"Okay, Pil, okay. Starting out with 48 whole points," Jae says. Wonpil hums as his smile grows. Jae looks down at his tiles. Byeongho is once more fiddling with an E, but is eyeing the F tile Jae has. "What do you think we should spell out to beat your dad, Byeongie?" Jae asks the baby.

To his and Wonpil's surprise, the baby makes a sound in response to hearing his name. "Sh," he says. It sounds a bit like he's saying "shoe". But he doesn't quite seem done yet, so the two men let him continue. He takes a moment to prepare before continuing. "Sh... it... Shit!" he says, seeming quite pleased with himself. He even puts down the tile for a moment to clap his hands, looking at his father across the coffee table from him expectantly. Wonpil always claps for Byeongho and praises him when he's done a good job. And Byeongho looks extremely pleased, but Wonpil is mortified. Jae is shocked one moment, and the next he's stifling a laugh.

Wonpil's gaze moves from the baby in his lap, to his husband, who now has a hand clasped over his mouth. Wonpil's mouth is agape in shock and horror and it makes it harder for Jae to contain his giggles. "Holy sh-"

"JAEHYUNG!"

"Sorry, it was habit!"

"Your habit just became our child's first word!" Wonpil shrieks. "Watch your language when you're with him!" Byeongho doesn't seem to realize he's done any wrong. He just picks up one of Jae's A tiles and bites on it. Jae pries the block out of his son's mouth with a mumbled "No." Now the child looks offended as he grabs for a new block. Jae pushes the tiles out of Byeongho's reach.

"Jae!" Wonpil whines when Jae's attention is diverted. He crosses his arms and huffs. "What are we going to do if he says that someone?" Wonpil asks, furrowing his eyebrows. They do like to take Byeongho to the park on Sundays (it's partially an excuse for them to have a cute park date, with their son tagging along). Some days he makes a new friend, and Wonpil doesn't want him to be that kid. The kid that has other kids pulled away from them by their parents for inappropriate behavior. And besides, that would reflect poorly on them as parents, and Wonpil likes to think they're good parents. Because, they are. Right?

"Well... I'm sure he won't," Jae responds, but he sounds unsure.

"It's the only word he knows," Wonpil points out. As if to emphasize this point, the child repeats the offensive word. "Byeongho, no! That's bad!" Wonpil scolds the child, who looks at him and tears up a bit. Byeongho is generally a good kid, so he isn't used to being scolded. But he knows when he is being scolded still.

Byeongho lets out a whimper before turning to cry into Jae's shirt, who gently pats the baby's back in consolation. "Shh, you're not in trouble, baby," he says to the still crying boy in his lap. "I guess we can just avoid taking him to the park until he adds a little more to his vocabulary," Jae said, to Wonpil now. "Shouldn't be too long, right?"

"Hm... I guess. I just wish he hadn't learned the word at all," Wonpil replies.

"Well he can't unlearn it, I guess we should teach him some new words then," Jae answers. Wonpil nods, and he opens his mouth to speak. But Jae is just a bit faster than him. "Byeongie~ I love you, Byeongie. Dad Jae and Dad Wonpil love you so much, Byeongie," Jae coos to the baby sweetly. Whatever words Wonpil had intended to say were long forgotten, as was their game of Scrabble. But he's more than content with this anyways.

When Byeongho stops crying, they go back to playing the game. Every time either one of them puts down a word, Jae reads the word to Byeongho and even defines it for him. Byeongho isn't actually listening, he's gone back to trying to chew on the Scrabble tiles. But at least now he pays attention to the game, placing a slobbery E at the end of a 'SCRAP' (although it's Wonpil's turn so the "SCRAPE" isn't really worth anything).

He has no idea what he's done, but Jae and Wonpil cheer for him anyways, Wonpil watching fondly as Jae tries to teach him the word 'scrape'. Happy for the praise, the baby starts placing random tiles around the board, but they can't really find themselves being angry by it.

Byeongho doesn't say much after that, he just babbles to himself. But it's only a few days later when Jae is in the kitchen washing the dishes from dinner and Wonpil is watching some Power Rangers show with Byeongho that he says a new word, "love". It wasn't to Wonpil, it was to the show, the child expressing his love for the transformation scenes. But Wonpil's heart felt full all the same.