Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day Sicheng turned up at his door with a toddler, a suitcase, and an anxious expression on his face, Taeyong froze. He didn’t know where his friend had gotten the child from or why he had a suitcase, but this was not going to end well. Taeyong could feel it. After all, it had been over six months since he last saw his friend in person. The Chinese man had all but disappeared besides a few texts here and there since Christmas.

“Hey, remember when you said I could rely on you, no matter what?” Sicheng’s voice was shaking, but then again so was the rest of his body.His hair was oily, eyes hollow, and skin blotchy. The man looked like he hadn’t slept for weeks.

“Come in,” Taeyong didn’t acknowledge the question, but stepped aside for the two to enter his apartment. As they did, he took a good look at the child in his friend’s arms. The tiny kid looked to be maybe two or three years old with small, chocolate brown eyes, a mop of unruly black hair atop his head, and tiny hands that clung onto Sicheng’s shirt. Somehow, despite being a small child, Taeyong couldn’t help but think that he looked extra tiny. “Did you guys want anything to drink?”

“I can’t really stay long,” Sicheng took a deep breath and looked at Taeyong with wide, scared eyes before he started to ramble, “But I messed up. I’m not entirely sure how I messed up this badly, but I did. And I don’t know what to do. But-but I can’t stay here like this, but I can’t leave with him like this. I don’t really have-I mean I do bu-wait, what I’m trying to-but I-”

“Sicheng,” Taeyong cut him off by placing a soft hand on his arm. “Take a deep breath. Let’s start at the beginning. Who’s this?”

But the sudden look of surprise on his face, it almost looked like Sicheng forgot that he was holding someone in his arms. “Oh. Well, it started before that act-”

“Sicheng, breathe.” Taeyong interrupted again and helped ease his friend onto the couch before sitting down on the coffee table in front of him. “It may not be the beginning, but you can’t show up at my house at 2am with a toddler and not talk about it.”

“I think he’s grown out of being a toddler, actually,” Sicheng smiled fondly at the child. “His name’s Renjun, he’s four. I don’t know if that counts as being a toddler. But, well, he is mine. I only found out recently-Christmas actually.”

Taeyong turned his attention to the sleepy child, “Hi Renjun, my name is Taeyong. Did you want a snack?”

The small child looked between Taeyong and his dad before burrying his face in the latter’s chest with a small squeak.

“That’s a no thank you, sorry he’s a bit shy.” Sicheng answered for him before sighing. “But, well, he’s actually the reason I’m here right now. I didn’t know where else to go or what else to do. But I can’t stay in Korea anymore, I need to move.”

“What do you mean you can’t stay in Korea anymore?” Taeyong’s voice trembled. He and Sicheng had known each other for years, ever since the younger moved to the country from China. They had met at a dance class and then spent the next few years together in different dance studios throughout college and even into their adult lives. Taeyong had gotten a job at an entertainment company and frequently would call his friend over to help him get through creativity blocks.

“I”m in trouble, I have been for years.” Sicheng admitted quietly, shifting Renjun to a more comfortable position on his lap instead of still sitting on his hip. The boy didn’t seem to notice, but he was probably exhausted due to the time of night it was. “And it’s finally falling to pieces. But I-I can’t drag him into this. He needs to go to school, hopefully make some friends. And, well I need your help.”

“My help?” A cold feeling swept over Taeyong. Not only was one of his closest friends telling him he was in such deep trouble that he had to leave the country, but it sounded like he wanted to leave a small child behind-and with Taeyong.

The younger nodded, “I know it’s a lot to ask for, more than I’d ever ask anyone else in my life. But, I don’t know what else to do. I understand if you say no, I really will. I mean, I’m being ridiculous, right?” He barked out a depressed laugh. “I am, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here. I can’t believe what I’m trying to ask you. I mean I haven’t seen you all year and this is what I try to do? I’m a terrible friend. I think maybe I should go-”

“Why me?” Taeyong managed to squeak out. He wasn’t necessarily irresponsible, but he definitely wasn’t someone who was great at commitment. Sure he worked at the same entertainment company that he started at in college, but during the 6 years he worked there he had his hand in backup dancing, choreography, styling, producing, ghost singing, lyrics, and anything else they’d let him get his hands into. He had never had a relationship that lasted over four months. Also, he hadn’t stayed in a single apartment for more than a year. It’s not like he ever moved far between apartments, but after a year when his lease was up it just felt right to get away and try something new.

Sicheng looked at Taeyong with what the older assumed was supposed to be smile, but with the situation they were in and the time of night it was, it came out as more of a grimace. “Because I trust you with my life, and he’s my life now.”

Taeyong shifted his attention back to the four year old who had dozed off on his father’s lap. “But what about the rest of his family? Like his mom? Who even is she?”

“You wouldn’t know her, a one night stand that went horribly wrong. Well-not horribly wrong. Just not right, I guess?” Sicheng stumbled over his words, probably not meaning to make his son sound like a mistake. “Originally I guess her parents were taking care of him, but they got too old and then she took a swing at it, and well, it wasn’t her thing either. She left the country at the end of last year and that’s how he ended up with me. I mean, it wasn’t like she told me about him before, but now I-I don’t know what to do. But I can’t stay here and I feel so bad, but I really don’t know how else to get away besides leaving him here.”

Taeyong wanted to ask what Sicheng had gotten himself into that was so bad he had to leave the country, but the Chinese man did have many struggles while growing up both in China and in Korea. There may have been some drugs and loan sharks when they had just started college, but Taeyong was sure that all of that mess was left in the past. Though, maybe it had come back to haunt him?

The older man stood up from the coffee table he was sitting on and started looking around. This place was not baby-proofed at all. Sure it was clean so there were no little objects on the floor that a child could put in their mouth-though was that even a problem for four year olds? Probably not, but Taeyong wasn’t entirely sure.

“I don’t really have anything for a child,” Taeyong informed his friend as he walked over to his book case to move all small trinkets to the top shelf where Renjun wouldn’t be able to get ahold of them. “I don’t even have a second room here. I turned it into my studio not too long ago. But my lease is up soon, maybe I'll be able to find a place with three bedrooms."

Sicheng’s eyes lit up, “You mean, you’ll do it?”

“What choice do I have?” Taeyong sighed, “I don’t know what’s happened to you, and for some reason I think it may be safer if I don’t know. But I can’t imagine this decision came easily to you, and I love you Sicheng. So if this is what you need me to do, I’ll do it for you. Just please,” Taeyong turned back towards his friend to look him in the eyes, “Please come back Sicheng. For both of us.”

“I will.”

"So of course I'll take care of him." Taeyong went back to fiddling with things on the shelves around him. He didn't really think he was helping, but he had no clue what else to do. "Does he know what's happening?"

"A bit." Sicheng sighed, looking back down at his son. "I told him that I had to go, but I couldn't tell him how long I was going to be gone because I didn't even know that." He then reached into the front of the suitcase to pull out some papers. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd have done if you said no so I went ahead and got some paperwork for temporary guardianship and I'm sorry, I really don't have that much money right now but here's a check of everything I have after I buy my plane ticket out of here. Please, take all of it. I know it won't cover a fraction of what you're doing for me, but it's all I have."

Taeyong didn't need to turn around to see the tears rolling down his friend's cheeks. He could hear it in his voice and by the way he was breathing.

"And I've made some lists about things he likes and things he doesn't like, but since I haven't really known him that long I don't have everything down. But he really loves Moomin and banana milk and he's really quiet. He's a real good kid, just kind of quiet and shy until he warms up to you." Sicheng gently shook Renjun awake, "Renjun? Junnie baby, Baba has to go."

"Go?" The child didn't seem to fully grasp what his father was telling him, probably still halfway in dreamland. "Go where?"

"Baba has to leave now Renjunnie," Sicheng placed a delicate kiss on his son's forehead, "But you’re gonna stay with Taeyong and he’s going to take real good care of you.”

Renjun’s eyes widened and hands clasped hard onto Sicheng’s shirt, “No, Baba no leave.”

“I have to baby,” Sicheng looked calm, but Taeyong knew that tone of voice. His dear friend was about ready to start crying. “I have to go, but I’ll come back for you, I promise. Please, be a good boy for Taeyong, okay?”

Taeyong walked closer to the child slowly, almost expecting him to lash out and maybe try and send Taeyong away so he could stay with his father. However, the little boy seemed to just deflate in his father’s arms and nod. Taeyong took this opportunity to hold his arms out to see if the boy would come to him.

And he did. Renjun, who after Sicheng’s brief explanation must have been used to being dropped off between different caretakers, slowly brought his arms up in Taeyong’s direction and let the man lift him out of his father’s arms.

The first thing Taeyong noticed was that this boy was light as a feather. Second thing he noticed were that there were no tears, no anger, just resignation in the child’s eyes. That probably made the biggest impact on the Korean man. He may have a lot to learn about child care and this child in particular, but Taeyong vowed mentally that he was going to do his best to make sure that look never appeared in this innocent child’s eyes ever again.

Chapter Text

Taeyong groaned. His back felt like he had slept on rocks-which actually wasn’t far off from the lumps in his couch- and he definitely didn’t get to sleep early enough. And there was a weird pressure stretching across his body from his chest to his thighs. It wasn’t heavy, nor was it uncomfortable, but it was odd. And what was a feather doing on his face?

The man lightly blew at the feather, still too sleepy to open his eyes. But it just floated back.

After taking a deep breath, Taeyong tried blowing at it again. The feather returned.

Taeyong whined before finally opening his eyes, only to come face to face with a tiny face whose eyes were just starting to open up.

In a flash, the previous day’s events sprang into his mind. Sicheng knocking on his door, Renjun looking resigned as he was yet again passed from one adult to another, and finally, putting the child to sleep in his own bed before retiring to the couch for the night. He hadn’t wanted to make the kid uncomfortable in any way by staying in the same room, and there was only one bed in the entire apartment. At some point the small child must have come out and for some reason decided cuddling on the couch with a stranger seemed like a good idea.

“Hey Renjun,” Taeyong wasn’t quite sure what to do or say. Renjun so far was a very quiet kid, only speaking a few words in the Korean man’s presence. “Are you okay? Did you get scared?”

The Chinese child didn’t seem to hear him as he slowly brought a fist to rub the sleep from his eyes. However, as he pulled his hand down, he seemed to notice exactly where he was and nearly fell off the couch in shock.

Luckily, despite being half asleep until his first cup of coffee, Taeyong caught the child before he could fall. “Hey, you’re okay, be careful.” He cooed, bringing his hand that was not wrapped around the child’s back up to softly run his fingers through Renjun’s unruly hair, “You’re okay. Did you get scared last night?”

Looking sheepish, Renjun just shook his head.

“Was it cold?” Taeyong tried. He did like to keep his bedroom window open and didn’t even think about closing it last night. But he did have a few warm blankets on his bed that would have been within arm’s reach of the kid.

Once again, Renjun just shook his head.

“Okay,” Taeyong slowly sat up while keeping Renjun on his lap. “That’s okay, I guess you just didn’t want to be alone, huh?”

This time, Renjun didn’t shake his head. He just looked away. It broke a little piece of Taeyong’s heart.

“That’s okay,” Taeyong stood up, settling Renjun on his hip before heading to the bathroom. “You can always come to me if it happens again, I’m always going to be here for you until your dad gets back. I promise. But now, how about we brush our teeth and then I’ll make some breakfast. Does that sound good?”

Renjun didn’t respond and Taeyong sighed. He didn’t know how long his friend was going to be gone, but if Renjun didn’t start opening up to him, even just a little, it was going to feel like an eternity.

Once he got the child’s teeth brushed - semi awkwardly since he only had adult sized tooth brushes - he gave Renjun a bowl of cereal to distract him while he got his phone out. He wasn’t sure who to text first. How would someone go about telling the important people in their lives that a child was dropped off by a friend and he had no clue when the child would be picked up again? Maybe his mother? His best friend? His boss?

”Work!” Taeyong groaned, startling the child at the counter. “Oh sorry Renjun, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just remembered I have to go to work today. And, well, I’m not sure exactly what to do.”

Renjun didn’t respond verbally, but seemed to tilt his head in a way that seemed curious. Kind of like a puppy.

“Do you go to school?” Taeyong asked, suddenly very aware that he didn’t know anything about this child. Sure he had glanced over the papers Sicheng gave him, but was he supposed to have a uniform? Was he supposed to be in school? Would he have to learn how to read?

Renjun shrugged.

“Well, if you do I don’t think we have time to figure that all out today,” Taeyong turned his attention to the coffee maker before checking the time. He had about thirty minutes before he had to be out the door to walk to work. Luckily he worked a few blocks away from his work, however unluckily he wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the small child. “Maybe I’ll call Johnny and he’ll be able to watch you for the day.”

Renjun’s movements froze. Despite having the spoon half way between the bowl and his mouth, the four year old’s arm froze and his wide eyes looked up at Taeyong. It wasn’t quite as resigned as the look from last night when Taeyong took Renjun in his arms, but it looked like the small child was disappointed.

But what choice did Taeyong have? He had to go to work. There was no way he could afford to watch a child without some sort of income. Besides, he loved his job. Sure there were some days that were just filled with boring meetings, but most days he had free reign to do whatever his creative soul desired. If he wanted to help design clothes, he was able to hang out with Ten in the design studio on the sixth floor of the EXO Entertainment building.Or if he wanted to let out some pent up energy on the dance floor, he’d be able to disappear into the basements where they had a handful of dance studios and train some of the new hires. And while he wasn’t one of the people in the direct spotlight, a lot of his work was heavily scrutinized by the public so Taeyong had to be on top of his game every day.

But before Taeyong could say anything, Renjun let out a deep sigh and continued eating.

Taeyong took his now filled coffee mug into his hands and headed into his room to pick out clothes. While he didn’t quite know what he was going to do with Renjun, he knew he had to go to work so he decided he’d start with getting dressed. He could think about the situation while also debating what to wear.

However, his thoughts were interrupted when the pitter patter of little feet followed him down the hall and into his room.

”Renjun?” Taeyong turned around to look at the child. “Did you need something?”

Renjun shook his head while seemingly chewing the rest of the cereal in his mouth.

Taeyong stared at the kid while taking another drink from his coffee cup. The child just finished chewing his food and stayed standing in the doorway.

The two just looked at each other for a little longer before Taeyong smiled and set his coffee cup down. “Did you want to help me choose out an outfit for work? Come on, sit on my bed and I’ll show you what I have.”

Renjun quickly ran up to the king sized bed and jumped up. The bed was almost a little too tall for the kid, but he managed to grab onto the blanket and swing his legs over the side. He then sat up and turned to Taeyong expectantly.

Taeyong took a few steps into his walk in closet before coming out with a few shirts. Despite them all being button ups in light colors and looking pretty similar to each other, Renjun seemed to study them carefully before settling on a white button up with black chain accents.

The process was then repeated with some blazers and finally a handful of black pants that, in any other circumstance, Taeyong would have just grabbed any one and gone. But Renjun seemed excited to be able to help Taeyong.

“You’ve got good style,” Taeyong ruffled the small boy’s hair as he looked at the outfit that was chosen for him. “Now I’ve got to go shower real quick. You can go finish your cereal or something, okay?”

Renjun didn’t move from the bed. Instead, the small child looked down at the ground by Taeyong’s feet.

The Korean man almost sighed, but stopped himself when he realized he had been doing a lot of that this morning already. But he was starting to get the feeling that Renjun didn’t like being left alone. First he had come to the too small, uncomfortable couch in middle of the night instead of spending the entire time on the giant mattress Taeyong had spent months looking for to ensure absolute comfort. Then, instead of eating his breakfast, he followed Taeyong into his bedroom to pick up clothes. While it could have just been that the child happened to have gotten full from his cereal, the way he seemed to follow Taeyong around quietly seemed a bit lonely.

“Renjun,” Taeyong sat on the bed next to the small child, “You can nod again or shake your head if you don’t feel like talking, but if you could answer my next question absolutely honestly, I’d really appreciate it. Are you following me so you’re not alone anywhere?”

Renjun didn't look at Taeyong, instead his attention seemed to be focused on his hands that were fidgeting with the comforter below him. However, a small nod was detectable if one was watching as closely as Taeyong was.

“That’s okay,” Taeyong ruffled the child’s hair. “I hope one day you don’t feel that way, but for now, how about I turn on something on the tv in here so you can watch so I can take a shower? I won’t close the door so I’ll just be right in the bathroom here and you’ll be here too. Does that sound good?”

Renjun looked up with a small smile on his face and nodded softly.

----

“So funny story,” Taeyong chuckled as he stood in front of his boss, a handsome man by the name of Kim Joonmyeon. “I know this isn’t going to sound quite believable, but you remember my friend Sicheng? Well he turned up last night and asked me to take care of Renjun and, well, here we are?”

Joonmyeon’s eyes traveled from a nervous Taeyong to the adorable child next to him. The small Chinese boy was looking around the office in wonder, nearly wandering off to look at everything closer if it wasn’t for the grip Taeyong had on his hand. Joonmyeon turned his attention back to Taeyong, “Is there a way you and I can talk without him in the room?”

Taeyong laughed nervously, “Not really? I don’t really have anywhere to bring him and he is scared, you know? He’s surrounded by a bunch of strangers and so he doesn’t really seem to want to go places where I’m not. Just use big words?”

Joonmyeon rubbed the heel of his palms in his eyes and tried his best to contain his annoyance. “Not to sound crass, but this is a place of business Taeyong. You can’t just just bring a child here and expect to bring him around with you wherever you go. We hav-”

“I actually don’t have any meetings today.” Taeyong interrupted. While his boss seemed annoyed with the situation presented to him first thing in the morning, they actually had a good working rapport and, sometimes, even resembled friends. “Ten was going to have me help him out in the studio so I was thinking, I could just get some pencils and paper and he’d be set. I mean, he’s really quiet, and he is probably a little too afraid to wander off by himself.”

Joonmyeon looked unimpressed, but the soft spot Taeyong had made for himself over the years in the young CEO’s heart seemed to win in this situation. “Fine. But if I hear one complaint or one thing that goes wrong, he’s out.”

“I knew you were a sweetheart, Joonie!” Taeyong cooed as he dropped the child’s hand to run over and lightly hug his boss. “I really appreciate it and I promise we’ll both be good. Isn’t that right, Renjun?”

The small child, who had stayed alarmingly still once Taeyong dropped his hand, just stared back at the two.

“I guess you’re right. He is real quiet.”

By the time Taeyong made it to the sixth floor to Ten, word had already spread that he was walking around with an adorable child in a bright yellow sweater. Maybe Taeyong should have pushed something a little more covert, but Renjun had picked the sweater for himself and who was Taeyong to deny him?

“So the rumors are true?” Ten’s catlike eyes zeroed in on the young child as soon as they entered the door. “Did you knock someone up at a club or something last night? Or like, five years ago?”

Taeyong stared at his colleague and friend with a scowl on his face. “Really? That is something you’d say in front of a four year old? Maybe I won’t help you out with stage outfit ideas.”

Ten pouted and turned his attention to his friend, clinging onto the taller man’s arm. “Sorry Taeyong! I didn’t mean it. I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour as long as you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Ten! Seriously?” Taeyong lightly pushed his friend away and picked up the small child to settle him on his hip. “That’s strike two. One more and I swear I’m going downstairs to the basement and you won’t see me until this comeback is over.”

“You’re no fun.” Ten jokingly stuck his tongue out at his friend before turning back to the inspiration board in front of him. “I guess if you’re not going to tell me what happened we can get to work.”

“Well, before you do that, do you think you have any old crayons or markers or colored pencils around here?” Taeyong looked around the studio for a place to set Renjun.

The whole room was made up of work benches covered in spools of fabric and what looked like tool boxes full of assorted buttons. It was honestly a chaotic mess that no one could find anything in, but Ten had made it his home and complained that his creativity was being stifled any time someone tried to clean up.

“Crayons? What do you think I am? Five?” Ten rolled his eyes.

“Actually, four,” Taeyong corrected, “And they’d be for Renjun you idiot. Not for you.”

Ten turned his attention to Renjun momentarily before walking to a work table covered in different shimmering fabrics. Somehow, after sticking his hand under the sparkling mess, he managed to pull out a small pencil pouch, “Lucky for you I left these here years ago and have already replaced them. He can use them to his heart’s content.”

“You’re a good friend.” Taeyong snatched the pencil pouch from the shorter man before finding a small area of free space on a nearby work table to set out the pencils as well as some of the printer paper he stole from the copy room on his way through the sixth floor. “Now Renjun, I have to work right now. I’m not going to leave this room, but I do need you to stay here and stay quiet while we try and get some work done. If you need anything, please just let me know. Let me know if you’re hungry or thirsty, or if you need to go to the bathroom. Does that sound like something you can do?”

Renjun nodded, but his attention seemed to be on all the colors in front of him. As an artist, Ten liked to buy sets of pencils that had an array of colors, and multiple shades in every color. So instead of the basic eight pack most children got, Renjun had nearly a hundred colors scattered in front of him to color whatever he wanted.

“Good kid,” Taeyong fluffed the boy’s hair before swooping down and placing a quick peck on top of his head. He then turned back to Ten, “So, where are we starting today?”

The two worked for hours with minimal interruptions from Renjun. The child did indeed love Moomin, as Sicheng had mentioned the night before. Despite all the colors given to him, the child continued to draw his favorite characters in different scenes. On one page, they’d be eating what Taeyong suspects to be hamburgers, while in the next they were playing in the park.

The first big distraction of the day came around noon when the door to the studio flew open to reveal a tall, handsome man with a bright smile on his face. “Holy shit it is true! There’s a kid here!”

Renjun’s eyes widened as he stared at the person in the doorway momentarily before bolting off the chair and hiding behind Taeyong’s long legs.

“Seriously Johnny?” Taeyong groaned as he managed to unlatch Renjun’s arms from his leg before lifting him into his arms. “You scared him.”

“I wasn’t even expecting there to be a him.” Johnny laughed as he ventured further into the studio to give Ten a peck on the cheek. The two of them had an on again-off again relationship since they had started working for the same company, and it seemed like it was once again on. “Who is he? Did you pick him up from the pound of something?”

While Ten couldn’t help but giggle, Taeyong glared at his friend. “You’re being a jerk what are you even doing here?”

“Just came to visit my handsome boyfriend,” Johnny wrapped an arm around Ten’s shoulder. “That way I’d have a plausible excuse to see if the rumors are true.”

Ten lightly elbowed his boyfriend in the stomach before turning his attention back to the materials in front of him, “Oh, and here I thought you were feeling romantic and wanted to take me out to lunch.”

“Not particularly,” Johnny shrugged with a mischievous grin on his face. Despite saying he was there for his boyfriend, he hadn’t really taken his attention off the boy who was currently hiding his face in Taeyong’s chest. “Though if you guys are buying I’d be glad to listen to whatever crazy shenanigans you got into last night that ended up with you having a kid? Did you steal him from someone?”

“Johnny you’re ridiculous,” Ten rolled his eyes with either fondness or annoyance, Taeyong couldn’t really tell but knowing the two of them, it was a mixture of both. “And you really need to work on your sucking up skills. Why would he want to torture the kid by having him spend more time with you? You’re being a menace to society.”

Johnny seemed to think about this for a moment before plastering a sweet smile on his face, “You’re right, honey. How about I treat all of you to lunch as I’m sure with you two workaholics, the poor boy hasn’t had lunch yet. This way all three of you can take a nice, relaxing break.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, some days his friend was too much. However, the man was reliable, someone who was always there for Taeyong since before they graduated college only to end up at the same company when Johnny got a job managing public relations.

“That’s a yes!” Johnny yelped excitedly, making Renjun jump against Taeyong’s chest.

“Only if you promise to stop scaring the kid. You’re gonna scar him for life.” Taeyong chuckled and turned his attention back to Renjun, “I’m sorry about him, he’s loud. He can’t help it. But he’s really nice, I promise. His name is Johnny, he knew your dad, too.”

Renjun brought his head up to look at Johnny for a second before just shaking his head and burrying it once again in Taeyong’s chest. Ten couldn’t help but laugh at the dejected look on his boyfriend’s face.

However the dejected look didn’t last long as Taeyong started telling both Ten and Johnny about what had gone down the night before. They had made their way down to the cafeteria on the second floor of their building.

Once they arrived, Taeyong had set Renjun down in front of the hand washing station while he looked around to see if there was any food that seemed child appropriate. “Wash your hands.”

He heard the water start up as he looked at the options. There was a traditional Korean food section, but all the bowls seemed way too large for a child. There was also an American stand, a Chinese one, and a Japanese stand, but once again they all seemed to have the same problem. They could probably feed Renjun for a day.

When the water turned off, Taeyong looked down at the child to ask him what he felt like, but noticed there was still dirt on his hands. He sighed, “When were you even playing in the dirt? Don’t you know how to wash your hands?”

Renjun looked down at his hands before his eyes widened in apparent surprise. He then quickly grabbed the back of his right hand with his left before saying something too quietly for Taeyong to hear.

Taeyong kneeled in front of the child, “What was that Renjun?”

“It’s not dirty,” The child pouted before holding up his hand. “I’m not dirty.”

“Oh Junnie, I’m so sorry,” Taeyong took the small hand in his two much larger ones to run his fingers over the birthmark on back of the boy’s hand. From where he had been standing, it definitely looked like a smudge of some sort. However, up close it was obviously a birthmark. “I didn’t realize you had a beauty mark here. No wonder you’re so handsome.”

A small, shy smile lit up the boy’s eyes as he threw his arms around Taeyong’s neck to hug him. It felt like he was more trying to hide his face in Taeyong’s chest.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Johnny chuckled from Taeyong’s side. The man had been standing there during the whole interaction waiting for his friend to choose what he wanted to eat. “You know, I thought you were crazy, but I think you may just be able to pull this off. And if you need it, I’ll be around to help. I’m great with kids. My nephew loves me.”

“Thanks Johnny. You’re a pretty okay guy.”

“I think you mean pretty guy and by that I think you mean devilishly handsome.”

“I take it back.”

Chapter Text

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite customer who just abandoned me for the past two weeks,” The bright barista behind the counter pouted as Taeyong walked up to him.

“Sorry, things have been kind of crazy,” Taeyong shrugged. The word crazy was probably putting it mildly, but the barista was cute and probably didn’t want to hear in detail about the last two weeks or so of suddenly having a four year old to watch after. Not that Renjun was too much of a handful, things were actually going surprisingly smooth all things considered.

Over the past two weeks, Taeyong had been adjusting his life to fit a kid. Luckily, Joonmyeon had been either too busy or too easy going to say anything about Renjun coming in every morning to work. But Renjun was really good about just sitting in the background when Taeyong needed to work, and politely asking for snacks or to go to the bathroom only during breaks. They had also gone shopping the first weekend Renjun was there for some additional clothes - no one could survive out of a single suitcase - as well as some lifestyle essentials like a toothbrush that wasn’t half the size of the child’s mouth.

“You do look a little tired,” The barista teased. “But I guess that’s why you finally came back to see me, for the coffee.”

“Am I that obvious?” Taeyong joked before checking his watch. He had left Johnny’s office only two minutes and forty five seconds ago, but he was already ready to head back. Currently, Renjun was upstairs on the ninth floor with Johnny and Ten in the former’s office. A few days prior Johnny had mentioned that the obsession Renjun had with always being in the same room as Taeyong could be a problem. How was the kid supposed to go to school or make friends with other kids if he wanted to be attached at the hip with the Korean man?

And that was how Taeyong ended up at the cafe on the first floor of their offices. He had promised Renjun that he’d be back in ten minutes, but after two minutes and forty five seconds, he was ready to go upstairs again. He could still hear the child’s whimpering in the back of his mind.

“I’m just going downstairs, okay?” Taeyong was sitting in front of Renjun on the floor of Johnny’s office. The room was large with posters of all of EXO’s artists adorning the walls, and sleek white furniture, but had quickly accumulated a desk drawer full of crayons and markers for when Taeyong and Renjun came to hang out.

“Let’s go.” Renjun stood up. Over the past few weeks, Renjun had started to talk to Taeyong in short sentences. They had gotten really comfortable together since they spent nearly every moment together. The only room Renjun didn’t follow him into was the bathroom, but even then he was close by.

Taeyong sighed and hugged the child, “No, I’m going downstairs. I’ll be back in ten minutes, I promise. I’m coming back to you, I always will, okay?”

“No,” Renjun didn’t full on cry, but he let out a series of whimpers as he held tightly onto Taeyong’s neck. “No!”

“Come on Renjun, we’ll have fun while we wait for him,” Johnny had come up behind the kid to try and untangle his arms from Taeyong, but it was difficult to find the right amount of pressure to make him let go without hurting him. “We can draw him a picture of Moomin.”

“No!” Renjun raised his voice to the loudest Taeyong had heard yet.

“Renjun,” Taeyong used the sternest voice he could muster and managed to pull back so he could look the child in the eyes. “You know I want to spend every moment with you too, but soon you’re going to be going to school and I can’t go with you. I still need to go to work. So we’re going to practice, okay? You’re going to stay here and I’m going to leave for ten minutes. But i’m going to come back to you, I promise.”

Renjun looked utterly betrayed, but before he could say anything, Johnny used the opportunity to pull him away from Taeyong.

“I’ll be back,” Taeyong promised before walking out of the office.

“Did you want the usual,” The cute barista in front of him broke him from his thoughts. “Maybe something stronger?”

“Definitely something stronger. Let’s try the usual with three extra shots.” Taeyong sighed. Three minutes and twenty four seconds. “And an americano for Johnny, and one for Ten, and do you guys have hot chocolate?”

“Of course,” The barista couldn’t help but chuckle. “What kind of cafe doesn’t have hot chocolate?”

“Taeil, stop bullying me, I haven’t had my coffee yet.” Taeyong sighed sadly before checking his watch again. Three minutes and fifty two seconds. “Add a small hot chocolate to my order please.”

“Sounds good.” Taeil smiled brightly before typing everything into the computer to get the orders started. “So, I’m actually glad you came down here today. I actually just put in my two week notice.”

“What?” Taeyong was shocked. He didn’t know much about Taeil, just a few things that fit into the five minutes it took to make a coffee every day. He lived nearby, was cute, loved to sing when he thought no one was in the cafe, and had gone to school for music but wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to pursue a singing career or if he wanted to open up a cafe.

“Yep, I actually got a job at a cafe across town as assistant manager.” Taeil was fiddling with the machines behind the counter, but Taeyong kept his full attention. “I finally decided to take a step closer to my own cafe.”

“That’s great Taeil!” Taeyong was genuinely happy for the older man. “But now who’s going to lighten my day when I don’t leave the studio all night and come down here smelling awful and looking like I just got run over.”

Taeil giggled, “I’m sure you’ll find someone. I don’t know if you noticed, but they only ever seem to hire attractive people here. I’m sure the next barista will be cuter and more bubbly than me.”

Taeyong chuckled, “Impossible. I’m not sure if there’s anyone cuter than you.”

A blush rose in Taeil’s cheeks as he muttered a small thank you and kept working on the drinks in front of him.

Taeyong watched as the older’s thin fingers danced over the coffee machines behind the counter. Taeil was nimble and swift, never seeming to pay attention to one thing for too long but somehow able to get everything done in a swift manner. It was like a graceful dance.

Taeyong’s eyes then glanced back to his phone to check the time - seven minutes and forty two seconds. “Oh shit, I need to get back upstairs.”

“I’m almost done,” Taeil chastised lightly as he finished the last of Taeyong’s four drinks.

Taeyong almost felt bad for rushing the older man, but he knew with Renjun upstairs that he had to hurry. Even though Taeil wouldn’t be around much longer, Taeyong had to keep his his promise to Renjun. Though maybe the four year old wouldn’t notice since he couldn’t even read a clock.

“Here you go,” Taeil’s light voice disrupted Taeyong’s train of thought. “Don’t be such a stranger for the next two weeks. You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.”

Taeyong smiled sadly. The two of them had been dancing around each other for years, it was nearly a part of his daily routine. Of course he had thought about asking the other out on a date, but if things didn’t work out then he’d either have to face the awkwardness every time he wanted coffee, or he’d have to go to a different cafe. Both options sounded unnecessary.

“Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?” Taeil’s flirtatious smile turned to confusion when Taeyong didn’t seem to move.

Though, his voice definitely snapped the younger out of his trance, “Oh shit yeah, I’ve got to go-but yes. I’ll visit again. Soon. Bye Taeil.”

“Bye handsome,” Taeil waved him off before turning his attention to something behind the counter.

Too worried about the drinks to run, Taeyong briskly walked towards the elevators that would take him back upstairs. Once inside the elevator - eight minutes and thirty nine seconds- Taeyong let himself think about the conversation he just had with Taeil. Should he possibly ask the other man for his number? Would they click as well in a date like setting? Or were the limited interactions in the cafe why they seemed to work when they flirted? It had been a while since he went on a date with anyone.

The opening of the doors sprung Taeyong out of his thoughts. He realized he didn’t have time to think about the barista, he had bigger things to worry about. He had no clue what he was coming back to. Would Renjun be crying? Would he think that Taeyong wasn’t really coming back?

“That wasn’t ten minutes,” Ten announced with an annoying smirk on his face as Taeyong entered the room.

“Thirty seconds early, I think its fine.” Taeyong placed the drinks on his desk before looking around the room. “Guys, where is Renjun?”

At the sound of his name, the small child’s face suddenly appeared out from under the coffee table that sat in the small meeting space Johnny had in his office. Despite not looking like he had been crying, his eyes were red.

“Oh Renjunnie, why are you hiding under the coffee table?” Taeyong marched over and swept the small boy out from under the coffee table and into his arms. “Were Johnny and Ten not being good friends?”

Renjun didn’t reply, but at the sound of his sniffles, Taeyong’s heart nearly shattered. “Oh Renjunnie, I promised I’d be back, didn’t I? I’ll always come back. And hey, this time I came back with hot chocolate for you. Do you like hot chocolate?”

The small Chinese boy nodded, but didn’t lift his head from Taeyong’s shoulder. And if he was being completely honest, Taeyong would be content to let the child stay there for as long as he needed. He was actually getting good at doing most everyday tasks with one hand so that his other could be supporting Renjun.

“So I’m guessing Taeil was working downstairs?” Even though Ten wasn’t in his direct line of sight, Taeyong could hear the smirk in his voice. “Unless there’s some other barista who wants you to call them?”

A blush rose over Taeyong’s cheeks as he scurried over to Johnny’s desk to swipe his drink. He hadn’t realized Taeil had wrote something on his cup, followed by a phone number.

Don’t be a stranger, call me?

“Finally!” Johnny delivered a harsh pat on Taeyong’s back that rustled Renjun. The child sent a small, adorable glare at the man. “You’ve been pining over him forever."

“I haven't been pining, it's just called flirting. Besides, he’s taking a new job at a cafe somewhere else so he won’t be around,” Taeyong responded quickly before quickly deciding to change the subject, he didn't need his friends to make fun of him for being a blushing, bumbling idiot. “So how was he while I was gone though? Did he cry or anything?”

Johnny let out a small hiss at the abrupt change of subject, but answered anyways. “No, no tears. There was no crying, no tantrum, no nothing. He stared at the door for a good two minutes in complete silence. It was only when Ten tried to talk to him that he hid under the table, and well it was only ten minutes. Didn’t really seem worth it to try and pull him out.”

“I guess that’s a good sign?” Taeyong shrugged as he finally got Renjun to sit up enough to take his hot chocolate. “Right?”

“I guess it’s not bad?” Ten shrugged, “But I wouldn’t say good. He’s not going to learn much at school if he’s under his desk.”

“Life may be easier if you just become a teacher and teach all his classes forever.”

“Shut up Johnny!”

---

Later that day on the walk home, Taeyong decided to make a detour. Ten had been bugging him about school and Renjun would be in school and learning and Taeyong realized he had no clue how much Renjun knew. He didn’t know if the child could read or if he knew how to count. When did kids learn such things?

So, he decided to bring the four year old to the nearby bookstore. It was a large book store, spanning three stories tall and felt like it had every book Taeyong could imagine. They even had half a floor dedicated to children’s books.

“Do you like to read?” Taeyong asked the boy who held on tightly to his hand as they walked through the aisles of the children's books section. “I think they have a lot of picture books here. Do you like pictures?”

Renjun didn't seem to be listening though because he suddenly exclaimed something that Taeyong couldn’t understand as he pointed to a book.

To say Taeyong was confused would have been an understatement. Despite being very quiet, Renjun seemed to be good at speaking and using words. Never before had he muttered any sort of gibberish or baby talk, but he seemed to keep repeating the same syllables as he pointed at a nearby book.

So Taeyong turned his attention to the book and froze. The book had unknown Chinese characters on it as well as a picture of a dog. “Renjun, do you speak Chinese?”

The boy smiled brightly and started talking to him excitedly in what Taeyong now realized was Chinese. How had he been living with the child for over three weeks and not known that he could speak another language? Though it made sense, Sicheng was Chinese and had come from China. It made sense that he'd want to pass down his mother tongue to his son. It had just never crossed Taeyong's mind as a possibility before.

“Renjunnie,” Taeyong knelt with an apologetic face, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re saying because I don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese, or any kind of Chinese language. But do you want to grab some of these books and then we can go look for some books in Korean? I can help with the Korean books, and Ten can help you with the Chinese ones. Does that sound good?”

“Yes!” Renjun cheered and reached for the book with a puppy on this one. “This is Puppy Goes to the Park.”

“Woah, Rejun is so smart!” Taeyong felt a burst of pride as he ruffled the boy's hair. So while he wasn’t sure if Renjun could read in Korean, he could definitely read some Chinese characters. And even though he wasn’t the one who taught Renjun, he felt extremely proud. Almost like a parent would of their child for achieving something.

Renjun’s smile was bright as he hugged Taeyong’s legs real quick before turning back to the book shelf to grab some more books. As he grabbed more and more, handing them to the adult behind him, Taeyong knew this was not going to be a cheap trip. But it was worth it for the smile that stayed on Renjun’s face all night until he fell asleep trying to teach Taeyong how to read Puppy Goes to the Park.

Chapter Text

Taeyong looked at the elementary school in front of him, completely intimidated. He knew he had time before he had to sign Renjun up for school, and he knew if he needed to there was a pretty good public school nearby his house he could get Renjun into no problem. But the school in front of him was one of those high class, international schools that taught the kids multiple languages as they progressed through their regular lesson plans.

After discovering that Renjun could speak Mandarin and even read a little bit, Taeyong decided that he wanted to send the four year old to a school where he’d be able to learn his mother tongue. However, after hours of searching the internet for the best school for the child, he realized just how cut throat the world of private elementary schools was. Apparently kids had to take aptitude tests and interview to just be considered for a spot. That didn’t even begin to cover the costs associated with these types of schools.

“Renjun,” Taeyong knelt next to the four year old next to him who looked just as nervous as Taeyong felt. “I know we’ve talked about this school and how you’d be able to learn more Mandarin here, but if you don’t like anything just let me know and we’ll try looking for something else. Don’t feel like you absolutely have to go here. And also, if you don’t get in here it’s not a big deal. It’s just a school, I’ll be proud of you no matter which school you go to. This one just happens to be close to home. So just relax and be yourself. Sound good?”

Renjun nodded, but kept a firm hold on Taeyong’s hand. Normally just being in the man’s presence seemed to calm the boy, but every so often he’d cling to any part of Taeyong he could get a hold of when he was nervous. Usually it was just when they went to a brand new place with a lot of people, or when Ten tried speaking to him in Mandarin the first few times, but overall Renjun was a very brave kid. He just preferred to have Taeyong in his line of sight.

”Good. Let’s go and see what we’ve got going on here.” Taeyong stood up again and led the boy into the school.

Overall, to Taeyong at least, it looked like a normal school with kids’ art work on the walls and desks neatly lined up in classrooms. But most of the writing on the walls of the wing they were in was Mandarin, so it was anyone’s guess what they said.

“You look like you’re ready to vomit at any moment,” A deep voice accompanied by a chuckle greeted them as they waited in line to check in with one of the teachers.

Taeyong turned and was momentarily stunned. The man who stood next to him did not look like he belonged in an elementary school. He was dressed in a well fitted peacoat, turtle neck, and black jeans that made his legs look like they went on for miles.With his perfectly styled hair and the smirk on his lips, this man looked like he belonged on a runway.

“Sorry, did I scare you?” He asked quietly. “Didn’t mean to, you just look like the first person under thirty I’ve seen at one of these things.”

“Sorry, no you didn’t scare me, it was just unexpected.” Taeyong rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. “But this is actually my first orientation for something like this so I haven't actually seen what kind of people turn up.”

“Ah, that explains the scared, doe eyed look you have on your face.” The handsome man held a hand out, “I’m filling in for my brother for kindergarten duty for my nephew. What brings you here? Nephew as well?”

“Something like that?” Taeyong may have had no problem explaining his situation to his friends or the people he knew at work, but he still wasn’t sure how to tell strangers. “Are there always this many people?”

“Depends on the place,” The stranger shrugged. “But these multilingual ones seem to be all the rage these days, no matter how much the kids say they don’t want to go.”

Taeyong felt two small arms wrap around his left thigh as Renjun gripped on tightly to him. When they first were stuck together, the action may have startled the man, however now he was so used to it that he didn’t as much as blink. Instead, he just lowered a hand to the boy’s hair in an attempt to comfort him. “I guess these kinds of schools may not be for everyone, but I’m sure there’s some kids that want to go to them.”

“I guess,” The man didn’t seemed concerned as he looked around. “To be honest though, I don’t think my nephew really cares what school he goes to, just as long as he makes as many friends as he can.”

“Oh? Where is he? I think Renjun would like to meet him, huh?” Taeyong encouraged the small boy next to him. “Do you want to meet his nephew?”

Renjun shrugged against Taeyong’s leg. The boy hadn’t had much contact with any children who weren’t trainees at EXO since Taeyong didn’t know anyone with children. But even then all those kids were at least twelve years old. Taeyong and Johnny had discussed getting him together with the latter’s nephew, but he wouldn’t be back in Korea for at least another month.

“Jaemin!” The stranger called out down the hallway. “Can you come here for a second?”

At first there was no movement, but then a small boy jumped out from one of the open classrooms and ran towards them. Taeyong almost cooed at how bright and adorable the boy’s smile was.

“Did you call me, Uncle Jaehyun?” The boy asked as he skidded to a stop in front of the handsome stranger.

“Who else would be calling you?” The man, Jaehyun, ruffled the kid’s hair affectionately. “I have a new friend who wants to meet you.”

Jaemin spun around until his gaze landed on Renjun. If at all possible, the boy’s smile brightened. “Hi! I’m Jaemin. What’s your name?”

Renjun’s eyes widened at being addressed, but he didn’t say anything. He just stood there, staring at the boy in front of him and tightening his hold on Taeyong’s leg.

Taeyong managed to pry the boy’s arms off his leg long enough to kneel down next to him. As expected, Renjun’s arms then tightened around his neck as the child tried to climb into his arms. “Renjun, it’s okay. Jaemin is thinking about coming to this school too. Maybe you guys can be friends?”

“We can be friends.” Jaemin declared happily, not caring about the reaction the other boy was giving him. “I don't know if I’ll go to school here, but we can hang out anyways! My mom takes me to the park near our house every Tuesday and on Wednesdays we go to the market and on Thursda-”

“I think he gets the idea Jaemin,” Jaehyun cut the boy off before he could tell them all about his weekly schedule. “I think he may just be shy.”

Jaemin nodded with a small sound of acknowledgement. “That’s okay. My appa says that he used to be really shy but now he’s not so maybe one day you’ll stop being shy too. He also says that I need to eat all my vegetables so I grow big and strong and as tall as a tree and-”

“Jaemin, breathe.” Jaehyun put a hand on the kid’s shoulders when the kid didn’t look like he was going to take a break from speaking. It was impressive how much he could talk without oxygen.

“Hi.” Renjun waved quietly from his spot secure in Taeyong’s arms.

It wasn’t much, but Taeyong felt his heart soar. Renjun was trying.

“Hi!” Jaemin waved, still smiling.

“Next!” the voice of a nearby teacher caught Taeyong’s attention. They were now at the front of the line.

Taeyong knew it was probably pushing it, but decided to try anyways, “Renjun, do you want to stay here with Jaemin while I check us in?”

“No.” Renjun clung tighter to the Korean man without a moment’s hesitation.

There was a moment that Jaemin’s smile faltered and it nearly shattered Taeyong’s heart. But the small child just shook his head, “That’s okay. I can help you check in.”

Jaemin then proceeded to walk up to the table and looked the teacher straight in the eye. “I’m here to check in my best friend Renjun.”

“Best friend?” Renjun’s voice was quiet, but the look on his face screamed shock.

The small boy in front of the table just nodded, “You look like you need a best friend.”

After checking in there wasn’t much time for chatter as they had been assigned a tour guide who took a small group of families around the school. Luckily, Renjun and Jaemin had been placed in the same group so Taeyong didn’t feel like such an odd man out. In their group of about ten families, it looked like mostly mothers brought their children to the orientation. Throughout the entire tour, Taeyong was sure he only spotted three dads in total.

Jaehyun had stayed close, though, making small jokes and answering all of Taeyong’s confused looks with small explanations of whatever their tour guide had been trying to say. It was like he was a pro at all of this elementary school stuff.

As for Jaemin, he never stopped wearing down at Renjun’s defenses. Every so often he’d catch up to another child to introduce himself to or make a joke, but he always returned to Taeyong’s side to fill in Renjun on whatever he had missed. Sometimes it was a smudge he saw on a window, once it was to let him know that a small girl named Yerim hated the pigtails she was wearing, and he definitely made sure to let Renjun know how he felt about every room. He didn’t seem to be a fan of classrooms, but he did like the gym, the music room, and the grass field outside.

At one point Taeyong had to put Renjun down so he could collect some of the information pamphlets that were laid out on a table in front of the classroom that was reserved for one of the kindergarten classes. Renjun refused to move more than half a step away from Taeyong, but when Jaemin bounced up to tell him about how he liked the pink flyer and not the bright orange one, Renjun didn’t jump. He didn’t cling onto Taeyong either. Instead, the small Chinese boy just nodded, his full attention on the child next to him.

Taeyong wanted to squeal, maybe snap a few pictures as well, but he settled for lightly patting the boy’s hair. It also seemed as if Jaemin realized how much he wore the other boy down too, since he smiled brightly and repeated Taeyong’s action of lightly patting Renjun’s hair.

“I like the white one.” Renjun informed Jaemin quietly.

Jaemin nodded and ran over to the nearest pile of white flyers to grab one for Renjun.

----

That night, after Taeyong put Renjun to bed, he sat on his couch looking at all the information he had gathered at the school. While he was still worried about he’d be able to afford such a school, he couldn’t help but feel like it would be the right place for Renjun. Part of it may have been Jaemin, who after trying to hard seemed to have won Renjun’s friendship as the child didn’t ask to be picked up again once he started interacting with Jaemin. But also, he did seem more at ease when the teachers asked him some questions in Mandarin. It was now just a matter of seeing if they could beat the competition. Though was it even right to call other small children competition?

As he let his eyes lose focus from the papers in front of him, it finally hit Taeyong just how tired he was. Not only had he had a long day after working then heading over to the school for orientation, but in general he started to feel like he was running himself ragged. At work he was busy throwing all of his energy into their latest group’s comeback, and when he wasn’t at work his mind was all about Renjun. Even if the boy was quietly coloring, he was always there. Sure Taeyong got some alone time once Renjun went to sleep, but for the past two months every thought had revolved around Renjun. Even now when he was asleep, Taeyong was sure to keep the bedroom door open in case Renjun woke up from a bad dream. He also had the television on low to make sure no noise woke him up. On the coffee table next to the school pamphlets was a lease for a three bedroom apartment in the same building where he lived in so he could look it over and see if he'd be able to afford getting a room for Renjun to call his own. He even refused to grab himself a drink despite still having some wine in his pantry just in case something happened to Renjun and he needed to keep a straight head.

He would definitely go as far as saying he loved the boy in the other room, but he wished that he could have a moment’s break. Maybe just an hour where he could have some wine in the bath with the door locked for privacy.

“Honey, I’m home!” A familiar voice dragged him from his thoughts as the front door slammed closed.

Taeyong jumped, he hadn’t even heard the door open. Though he wasn’t worried, he only had one obnoxious friend who knew his door code.

But that didn’t mean he was pissed at the man for making such a ruckus this late at night. At that thought Taeyong momentarily debated smacking his head into a wall - since when was 9 pm late?

“You do know there’s a four year old sleeping here, don’t you?” He hissed as he walked to his entry way to see Johnny struggling to get his shoes off. “Are you drunk?”

“Nope, pleasantly tipsy,” Johnny smiled as he settled himself on the floor for better leverage for taking his shoes off. “And I missed you.”

“You mean you and Ten are off again?” Taeyong rolled his eyes. This wasn’t the first time Johnny showed up in a drunken state while littering Taeyong with affection. Usually his mood varied based off of whoever decided to end it, so it was easy for Taeyong to know exactly what happened. “What did you do this time?”

“Apparently I’m too worried about other people and not concentrated on him enough,” Johnny sighed before squealing in victory when he finally got both shoes off. “Now we can go inside!”

“Stop yelling.” Taeyong scolded quietly, wishing he could close the door to his room to muffle the sounds. However, the one time he had tried that, his television show was interrupted by a very worried, hysterical child. It did make him wonder about Renjun’s life before him, but he never had the heart to ask him.

Johnny looked at Taeyong with confusion in his eyes, “Why? It’s still normal hours?”

“Renjun is asleep you idiot,” Taeyong grabbed his friend’s arm and dragged him over to the couch. “I’ll get you some water.”

“Or you could grab us some beer?” Johnny shrugged with a mischievous smile on his face.

“I don’t have beer.” Taeyong ignored the request and got his friend a glass of water. “Besides, I’m not in the mood for this.”

“Not in the mood?” Johnny sat up, more alert than he was before. “Are you okay?”

Taeyong sighed. He wanted to be honest and tell his friend that no, he wasn’t okay, he was exhausted. But in the state Johnny was in, and with him just breaking up with Ten - even if it was the second time this year - he didn’t want to pile on top. “I’m fine. But I think you need to sleep.”

“No,” Johnny pouted and patted the spot next to him on the couch, “I know you’re lying.” He then seemed to notice all the papers in front of him, “Oh, how was the school?”

“Great.” Taeyong sat down next to his friend. “But I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do besides bribery to insure he gets a spot in the school. At least I got the number of one of the guys I met there who has a nephew so he can meet up with someone his age a few times before the school year starts.”

“He made a friend?” Johnny practically had hearts in his eyes. “That’s adorable.”

“It really was,” the giddiness Taeyong felt in his chest really had him wishing that he had taken some pictures of Renjun and Jaemin. Who knew if both kids would actually end up at the school together. “And, to be honest, his uncle wasn’t hard on the eyes either.”

Johnny nearly fell over in a fit of laughter. “Is that so? You should give me his number, it’s not like you’re going to do anything about it.”

“Not everyone is into guys,” Taeyong rolled his eyes. His friend seemed to think they had a chance with every good looking person they met regardless of other people’s orientation.

“So? You got that barista’s number like two months ago and didn’t even text him. I bet he’s at home all sad because you ignored him.” Johnny sighed dramatically before chugging the water that was given to him. “You should give me his number too.”

“You’re hopeless,” Taeyong shoved his friend to the other end of the couch, not caring that he ended up spilling some of the water. “Besides, what am I supposed to do if I go on a date with him? Take him to the nearest park so Renjun can play on the swings? Or take him to see the newest cartoon movie? I don’t think you remember, but I permanently have a four year old attached to me.”

Johnny went silent as his inebriated mind ran over the problem presented to him. Sure they had slowly separated the child from Taeyong every so often to prepare him for school, but it was normally in ten minute attempts. That was surely not enough time for a date. Though, they were working on that. They still had 7 months until school started in March, so they were hoping that would be enough time to get Renjun used to the idea of going to school without Taeyong by his side.

Taeyong was almost sure his friend had fallen asleep when he suddenly sat up with a bright smile on his face. “Coffee date!”

“Stop yelling.” Taeyong threw a throw pillow at the man’s face.

Johnny looked annoyed as he batted the pillow away, but didn’t give up on his idea. “Why don't you invite Taeil to a coffee shop?”

“Because he spends all day every day in a coffee shop?” Taeyong rolled his eyes. “Besides, am I supposed to just let Renjun hang off me all date long?”

“No, that’s why I was saying a cafe.” Johnny explained slowly, as if explaining a complicated theory to a child. “That way I can sit with him a few tables away and Taeil would be none the wiser.”

Taeyong was about to tell his friend how ridiculous the idea was when he realized it wasn’t that crazy. Plenty of people had coffee dates as first dates. And it wouldn’t be super weird to have a man and a child a few tables away. Most likely, Taeil wouldn’t even notice. But after months of being ignored, would Taeil even want to have coffee with him?

He shook his head, he didn't have time to go on dates. His first priority was working on helping Renjun, and running off with some man for a frivolous date seemed unnecessary. "Just forget about it Johnny, it wouldn't work. If somehow it proceeds to a second date I can't ask for coffee again. He's going to think I have some sort of caffeine problem."

"Too late." Somehow Johnny had gotten a hold of the other man's phone and had already sent off a text. "Though I did totally ignore the part where you didn't send a text for two months. You can have fun explaining that."

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe you actually talked me into this,” Taeyong was fussing with his hair in the mirror. He had newly dyed it a shocking shade of purple that he felt looked really cool, but now that he had a date lined up, he wasn’t so sure. What if Taeil was more conservative and thought he looked like a ridiculous grape?

And that wasn’t even the biggest problem he had to face today. He still wasn’t sure how Renjun was going to take all of this. They had tested out the idea a bit with taking Renjun to cafes and having him and Johnny sit down while Taeyong ordered - each time taking a little more time at the counter. On their latest excursion, they had even managed to get Taeyong across the cafe and in the bathroom for ten minutes while Renjun and Johnny sat with their drinks. Johnny did mention that Renjun’s complete attention was on the bathroom door the whole time, but he didn’t cry nor spend the whole time whimpering.

“It’s going to be fine,” Johnny rolled his eyes, “Some days you really are a drama queen.”

“I haven’t been on a date in months and I can’t even focus on that entirely,” Taeyong whined, adjusting his bangs once again.

“You’re beautiful, stop it.” Johnny slapped at his hands before leaving the bathroom. Taeyong had spent the last twenty minutes on his hair and it pretty much looked the same as when he started.

Taeyong adjusted it one more time before following his friend. After Johnny had gotten drunk and texted Taeil, Taeyong actually had a good time talking to the older man. Sure there were some bad jokes he had to pretend to laugh at as opposed to sending the rolling eyes emoji, but they had yet to find the same time available to go on a date. And Taeil didn’t actually know that out of the six times they tried to meet up, Johnny was too busy to make four of them and that’s why he couldn’t go. As much as Ten had tried to befriend Renjun, the boy was not comfortable around him. And unfortunately he absolutely refused to stay at Jaemin’s house unless Taeyong was constantly in the same room as him. Taeyong once had went to answer the door for the delivery man, and Renjun spent the rest of the day clinging to his leg.

Taeyong wished he could blame the kid and tell him to stop being so clingy all the time, but he knew what was going through the boy’s mind. His dad had showed up at a friend’s apartment and dropped him off, he was probably worried that Taeyong would do the same thing.

“I really do like the new place,” Johnny commented as they walked down the hallway to the living room. “It feels more luxurious.”

“Oh yeah, the picture books and crayons everywhere screams luxury.” Taeyong laughed as he looked at the mess in the living room. Renjun had yet to manage the art of cleaning up after himself and Taeyong didn’t have the heart to scold him in the morning knowing what was going to happen later in the day.

But he did really love his new place. They had stayed in the same building but moved to a higher floor with a three bedroom apartment that had been available. He now had a wall of windows with a glorious view of the Han River, a bigger kitchen, and Renjun had his own room. The child only really used it to house his stuff since he still preferred to sleep in Taeyong’s bed with him so he wouldn’t be alone, but they had got him a bed for the day he felt comfortable enough to be on his own. Sometimes the two did sleep in Renjun’s room just to make it feel more familiar.

“Well crayons aside, this place is beautiful,” Johnny then turned his attention to the boy on the couch, “Do you think we should wake him up?”

“How else do you plan on getting him to the cafe?” Taeyong rolled his eyes before swooping Renjun into his arms. Luckily the boy was already dressed. “Renjunnie, time to wake up!”

“No.” Renjun yawned into Taeyong’s chest. “I sleep.”

“No drooling on my shirt,” Taeyong had spent a long time picking out his outfit. He had settled on an outfit at least three times already since Renjun fell asleep. Taeyong thought he did well in choosing an outfit, but then he’d see his reflection and decide it wasn’t good enough.

“Come on, we’d better leave or else you’ll be late.”

----

The moment his eyes laid on Taeil, Taeyong felt nervous energy blossom in his stomach. He hadn’t been on a date in months, even before Renjun came along. And once the kid appeared in his life, it hadn’t been an option.

But now that he was on a date, what if he messed up? What if he said the wrong thing? Or heaven forbid what if he said the wrong name?

Fortunately, he didn’t have too much time to worry since Taeil made a beeline for him once he spotted him.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite customer who has absolutely no time for me.” Taeil joked as he sat down in the seat across from Taeyong. “I’m happy you managed to pull yourself away from work.”

“Yeah, it’s been kind of hectic.” Taeyong shrugged. He actually still hadn’t told Taeil about Renjun and that whole conundrum. It seemed kind of heavy and Taeyong wasn’t sure what he’d say if he told Taeil and the older wanted to meet the child. Renjun was just getting used to Jaemin’s father after three play dates, so Taeyong didn’t want to overload him with adults that may not be around too long.

“Well I did see Kai’s comeback, it was quite the spectacle.” Taeil didn’t even have a moment’s hesitation. He believed Taeyong had been really busy at work - which was true. Taeyong had actually produced two of Kai’s songs from his first full length album. But that wasn’t what kept him away for so long.

“It was a lot of long nights with no cute barista to greet me at three in the morning,” Taeyong joked, he really did miss coming down in middle of the night to find Taeil humming to himself while he swept the floor in the cafe. Instead, Taeyong used the coffee machine in the break room just in case Renjun woke up from his spot sleeping on the couch in Taeyong’s office.

Taeil blushed before turning his attention to the counter behind him, “Did you already order?”

“No, I actually realized that while you may know my regular, I have no clue what you drink.” Taeyong admitted.

“I’ve got this,” Taeil winked before walking over to the counter.

Taeyong watched as Taeil brightly smiled at the barista behind the counter before placing his order. The older man was truly a breath of fresh air.

But then his gaze drifted to the child across the cafe. Johnny had purposely chosen a seat where Taeyong could quickly glance over Taeil’s shoulder to check in on them. Renjun had a few books, coloring pages, and markers scattered around the table in front of him, but the boy was just looking down at the drink in front of him while Johnny whispered something to him.

Before Taeyong could follow his instinct to get up and check on the four year old, Taeil had returned with two drinks. “Your regular, just the way you like it.”

“Thank you,” Taeyong graciously accepted the drink before asking Taeil how his new job was going.

Luckily, the older man loved the new cafe he was in. Less attractive customers (his words, not Taeyong’s), but he was learning everything from the best way to schedule everyone to how to place orders to anticipate the trends. While it was something Taeyong wasn’t really interested in, he very much enjoyed watching the way Taeil’s eyes lit up while he talked about it.

Before he could thank any higher beings for drunk Johnny stealing his phone to text Taeil, sober Johnny interrupted their date by nearly throwing a crying Renjun into his arms.

“Johnny?” Taeil had recognized the man from his previous job but was very confused why he was ruining their date, especially with a small child.

“Hey Taeil, hope the new job is going well,” Johnny mentioned casually as he manually wrapped a confused Taeyong’s arms around Renjun. “You two really need to talk, so I’m going to take Taeil for a moment for you to talk.”

Taeyong was speechless as he watched his best friend run off with his date in tow, but wasn’t able to focus on that when Renjun was crying into his shirt. “Renjunnie?”

“No.” Renjun’s hands were clinging to Taeyong’s shirt, tighter than he had ever done before. And for the first time since he met him, tears were streaming down the boy’s face.

“No what?” Taeyong tried looking around for Johnny, the other man had to know what was going on. But the man seemed to be in front of the cafe continually shrugging at a very confused Taeil.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Where would you be going?” Taeyong asked, bringing his full attention back to the boy in his arms. “What did Johnny say to you?”

Renjun shook his head firmly against Taeyong’s chest as he took some deep breaths. Taeyong was sure the boy was going to tire himself out, but Renjun seemed to get a hold of his breath long enough to say, “I don’t want you to leave with him.”

“What?” Taeyong was now extra confused. He really needed Johnny to explain what led the boy to this point. “I wasn’t going to leave with him. I was just talking to a friend and then afterwards, you, me, and Johnny were going to get dinner.”

“No.” Renjun stated firmly, as if he knew Taeyong was lying. Only, it wasn’t a lie. That had been the plan all along. But before Taeyong could remind him, Renjun continued, “Mama had dates with a man before she left me.”

Taeyong froze. He never knew what happened to Renjun’s mom, heck, he barely knew what happened to Sicheng. But it sounded like his mother had left him behind to start a life with a new man, and Taeyong never wanted to make the young boy feel like he was going to be left behind.

Somehow, he had managed to position Renjun on his lap so the two were face to face. He then softly took the young boy’s face in his hands and wiped his tears away, “Renjun, I am never going to leave you. No matter how many dates I go on, or how long I stay at work, or if you go to school and we have to be apart for hours, I will always be here for you. Even when your Baba comes back and you two live happily ever after, I will be here for you. You-you’re my number one person in this world and don’t you ever forget it. I’m not going to lie to you, I do want to go on dates. You may not understand now, but you will when you’re older. But no matter how many dates I go on, even if I get married one day and have another kid, you will be my number one person. I promise you. I am never going to leave you behind.”

Taeyong had never had a conversation like this before, but it felt right. Telling the small boy that he was the most important person in his life felt right. Despite only knowing him for three months or the fact that they weren’t blood related, Taeyong had spent nearly every waking minute with this boy. He was there when Renjun woke up from a bad dream. He was there when Renjun wanted to talk about the cute dog he spotted outside Taeyong’s window. He was even there when Renjun slowly tried to mimic the dances the trainees were attempting in the studios. And while Taeyong liked to blame their closeness on the child, he knew he could be trying harder to get Rnejun comfortable with the idea of him not being around for a few hours.

“But Mama-”

“I know, baby,” Taeyong pulled Renjun close into a tight embrace. “I know what she did, but I’m not your Mama-”

“But Baba-”

“Baba had to go for reasons outside his control,” Taeyong cut him off again. “But even if that happens to me, I will be here for you. I’ll write you a letter every day, I’ll buy you a phone that you can use to call me whenever and I’ll always answer. I love you, Renjunnie. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

“Really?” Renjun looked up with big, tear filled eyes. He was probably tired of being passed from adult to adult, and scared as all hell that it would happen again. But in the past three months, Taeyong felt he was just as attached to the four year old as the four year old was to him. It was the fastest he had ever fallen in love with someone, but there was something so endearing about the boy in his arms. He was just a scared, lonely boy and it broke Taeyong’s heart to think about his mother leaving him to start a new family.

“I promise you, Renjun, you’re my number one.” Taeyong held up his pointer finger to the boy.

Renjun slowly brought his own pointer finger to touch Taeyong’s. He didn’t say any words, but Taeyong was so sure the other understood his feelings.

“So not to completely interrupt,” Taeil’s voice broke the quiet trance between the two.

Renjun hid his face in Taeyong’s chest.

“Do you think you can explain to me what’s going on?” Taeil didn’t sit back down. Instead, he opted to pick up his drink and look at Taeyong with a confused expression. “Johnny refuses to tell me what’s going on and you have a crying child on your lap. I can’t tell if you’re straight or-”

“Definitely not straight,” Taeyong cut him off with a soft chuckle. He looked up at the older man with an apologetic expression, “I’m sorry, there are some things I’ve been keeping from you. Mainly, the fact that about three months ago my friend left his son with me in middle of the night, and my life has revolved around him ever since.”

“So essentially you have a kid,” Taeil looked like he could have collapsed, but instead settled for falling back into his chair.

“Essentially, yes.” Taeyong admitted. He knew it wasn’t fair to keep such a secret. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, honestly I would say I didn’t know how to tell you, but I was more afraid of how you’d take it.”

Taeil sighed, “I understand, but I'm not sure I'm looking to start something with someone with kids. That makes everything so much more serious, so much more quicker. I just wanted to maybe see where this went, but I don’t know if i’m ready for fatherhood or anything close to it.”

Taeyong was torn. On one hand, he could completely understand Taeil’s feelings. taking on a child wasn’t an easy decision, and Taeyong hadn’t even been honest about it. But also, he wasn’t asking Taeil to become a second dad to Renjun, heck he didn't even feel like a real dad to Renjun. He just wanted something casual, which is why he had agreed to Johnny’s proposal of Renjun and him hanging around the cafe until the date was over. That way, Taeil didn’t need to know anything.

But somehow Renjun had told Johnny about his dad. And with the situation in front of him at the moment, Taeyong was doing his best not to feel incredibly jealous that Renjun felt more comfortable to share something like that with Johnny before himself.

“Well?” Taeil cut off his thought process. “Do you have any sort of explanation for this?”

“Honestly? Not really,” Taeyong sighed. So much for a great first date. “I can’t change the situation I’m in, but I completely respect your decision not to involve yourself with someone with a kid. I just don’t know what you want me to say.”

Taeil’s eyes scanned Taeyong’s face for any sort of disappointment or regret, but Taeyong’s attention was all on the boy on his lap. Sure his eyes flickered up to see what Taeil was doing, but they also kept fluttering down to Renjun.

Taeil sat back down with a heavy sigh. “So this date is pretty much a bust, huh? I mean, there’s a crying child. Maybe it’ll be better to end this here?”

“That's probably better for everyone,” Taeyong couldn’t help but send the older man a smile. “Though I am sorry for keeping it a secret. But that’s why it took me so long to get back to you. I’ve been trying to figure out schools and play dates all while working full time and staying at the studio far too many times than is healthy. And the worst part is i don’t have a babysitter so he stays there too.”

“He is pretty adorable,” Taeil had to admit.

“So is everything cool?” Johnny apparently had no shame as he grabbed a nearby chair to pull up to tehe table. “No coffee being thrown into anyone’s faces? No eloping?”

“Shut up,” Taeyong rolled his eyes at his best friend, “And you should probably go grab all those books off that table before i make you replace them all when someone steals them.”

“Yes, mother,” Johnny rolled his eyes but diligently walked to his original table to pick up everything he had left behind.

“You know something, I don't know what is more shocking. The fact you thought you cold get away with sneaking a child onto a date, or the fact that you managed to convince Johnny to do all of this for you.”

“It was actually his idea,” Taeyong felt more relaxed now with Renjun on his lap than he did when the kid was across the cafe. He leaned back in his chair and took a long drink of his coffee, “He was actually the first one to text you from my phone. He’s obviously known about my crush on you for the past few years, I just wasn’t sure how to handle all of this.”

“That’s a really good friend you have there.” Taeil looked back at the tall man who was attempting to shove dozens of markers into a tiny kid’s backpack. He remained quiet for a few minutes, deep in his own thoughts. “On second thought, maybe next time he’ll be able to take the kid?”

“Next time?” Taeyong was astounded. Hadn’t he just completely ruined all chances he had with the elder? Taeil had said he wasn't really interested in someone with a kid.

Taeil’s cheeks lit up red “Unless you don’t want to? I know what I said, but it really has been years, hasn't it? And maybe next time, we can do this without any crying at all?”

“It may take some time, he really doesn’t like to be out of my sight, but I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“Why aren’t you coloring?” Johnny was trying anything to distract Renjun as the four year old’s attention that was stuck on the couple across the cafe. “Are you hungry? Do you want cake?”

“Is it happening again?” Renjun’s eyes shifted over to the adult at the table with him. They were wider than Johnny had ever seen and shining with tears.

“Is what happening again?”

Renjun sighed heavily, much too heavily for a four year old, “Do I have to move again? I really like Taeyong.”

“Why would you have to move again?” Johnny was clueless.

“Mama started going out with a man and then she dropped me off at Baba’s and I never saw her again.” Tears were now falling from the child’s eyes, “But I really like Taeyong. He cuddles with me and watches Moomin with me and cuts the crust of my sandwich and he’s always there and I don’t want to move again. I-I-I wish Taeyong could be my Appa forever.”

Without a second thought, Johnny picked the child up before running him over to Taeyong.

Chapter Text

“No lie, this is the weirdest double date I’ve ever been on-or is it technically a triple date?” Taeil whispered quietly as he and Taeyong walked down the street, the latter with Renjun in his arms. The small boy had a glare fixed on Taeil since the man met him and Taeyong in the lobby of their apartment building.

The three of them were on their way to a nearby amusement park to meet Johnny, Ten (apparently they were on again?), and Johnny’s nephew Mark whose family had moved back to Korea from Canada. Johnny and Taeyong already had plans to get the two children together once Mark was back in Korea, and since Taeyong couldn’t go on a date without somehow bringing Renjun along, this seemed like the best idea.

"Let’s go with double, I don’t even want to think of the day Renjun starts dating,” Taeyong chuckled and placed a kiss on the top of the small boy’s head. A little voice in his head couldn’t help but wonder if he’d even be around when Renjun started dating or if Sicheng would be back. “Besides, I don’t know if he’ll be into boys too. I doubt he even knows that.”

“It’s always an option,” Taeil shrugged. “So tell me about Johnny and Ten again?”

Taeyong sighed, “So they’ve been on again and off again for at least the last year. They were off again until a few days ago, but hopefully they’re already passed the arguing about them being apart phase and back to being all cute and gross. Usually when they get back together there’s a few days of them blaming each other for any and all annoying habits, but right after that they start finding those habits cute. Well, until the next time they split.”

“Do you think-” Taeil’s words cut off, but he sent a meaningful glance towards Renjun. “Do you think that maybe there’s a chance-if possible-that maybe-”

“I’m not sure,” Taeyong answered honestly. He wasn’t sure if they’d have a moment alone together. Since their coffee date, they were able to meet up once at a restaurant near Taeil’s work, but they hadn’t been alone. Renjun seemed to be extra cautious around Taeil and Taeyong couldn’t blame him. He had tried multiple times to explain to Renjun that Taeil wasn’t going to come between them, but the four year old was not hearing it.

Just like right now, he hadn’t said a single word since Taeil arrived. It wasn’t unusual for Renjun not to talk to strangers, however he had gotten more talkative with Taeyong by the day. Even just this morning Renjun was going on about all the rides he wanted to go on at Lotte World after the two looked at a map online. Mostly they looked at the roller coasters and kids rides, but Taeyong was hoping they’d have a chance to go ice skating as well. Renjun would look so adorable all bundled up on skates with reddened cheeks from the cold.

“Well, maybe we can give it a shot.” Taeil encouraged. The man obviously wanted to spend some alone time with Taeyong, but so far that was a bust. Despite Taeil asking him about possibly it being the two of them alone at the restaurant, Taeyong lied and said Johnny was busy. The man wasn’t, but Taeyong didn’t want to leave Renjun alone and give him the wrong impression again.

“Maybe,” Taeyong smiled back at him, hoping his face didn’t give away the lie he was telling. “Oh look! There’s Johnny and Ten.”

The distraction seemed to have worked as Taeil’s attention turned to the couple waiting nearby. Johnny and Ten looked like they were arguing - apparently they were still in the bickering stage of getting back together - and the child with them was just looking longingly at the gates to the amusement park.

Taeyong had met Mark once when the boy was about two years old. He was very talkative, even if he wasn’t forming words, with large eyes that seemed to stare right into your consciousness. He also spoke a mixture of Korean and English and Taeyong was worried him and Renjun weren’t going to be able to understand each other. But at least it was another kid to hang out with.

“Finally,” Ten sounded annoyed as he watched the couple walk up to them.

Taeyong was already dreading this date. They weren't even late - actually a quick glance at his phone showed that they were five minutes earlier than the agreed upon time. Well, unless Johnny lied about what time they were meeting since Ten was notoriously late for many things.

“Don’t be mad at them, we’ve only been here two minutes,” Johnny rolled his eyes before turning towards Taeyong. With a much softer voice than a moment before, he smiled, “Hey Renjunnie. Remember when I told you about my nephew?”

Renjun didn’t respond to Johnny, nor give any indication he had heard the question. But he was looking down at Mark with a curious expression on his face.

That seemed to be enough for Mark, as he took a step towards them and smiled softly, “Hello.”

“Hi,” Renjun gave a small wave, but made no indication to wanting to be let down.

“How about you two go look at the map while we get tickets?” Taeil suggested as they walked over to the ticket booths. Right next to them was a large map with lots of pictures of the park.

But instead of going with the idea, Renjun sent Taeil a glare and tightened his grip on Taeyong.

“We can all go get tickets together and then look at the map,” Taeyong smiled happily at Renjun before sending an apologetic look to Taeil. He had told the elder a short summary of what had happened between Renjun’s mom and a man who seemed to take her away, so he thought Taeil would understand the uneasiness Renjun had in regards to them dating. But it seemed as if Taeil really liked him and wanted to date like a normal, child free couple.

After getting the tickets and finding the Kidzone on the map, the six of them set off into the park. Luckily, a majority of the rides designed for kids were located in the inside section of the park. The weather in early October had gotten quite chilly and it looked like it could start raining at any time.

The moment they stepped into the brightly colored area, Mark reached up to tug on Renjun’s foot. “What do you wanna go on first?”

Renjun looked at the different rides around them, all decorated with cute forest creatures. There weren’t too many in the small section they were at, but one seemed to catch Renjun’s eyes. “That one.”

Both Mark and Taeyong followed the boy’s outstretched hand to a large tree ride. It wasn’t too tall, but it was a dropping ride that already had Taeyong’s stomach plummeting. Wouldn’t that be too scary for Renjun?

“Let’s go!” Mark excitedly pulled on Renjun’s foot until Taeyong set the four year old on the ground.

Once placed on the ground, Renjun turned his attention back to Taeyong to watch what the man would do. Taeyong was still just looking at the ride as if it was ten stories tall instead of just a few meters. While the tree was cute and looked like it belonged in a fantasy book, there was a bench that rose up and would drop in small increments that was making him worry. He didn’t want Renjun to get scared one ride in and then be too afraid to try anything else.

“Taeyong,” Johnny calling his name distracted the man from his thoughts.

When he came back down to earth, Taeyong looked at Renjun who was still staring right back at him. The four year old also had his pointer finger out stretched in Taeyong’s direction. It was something Renjun started doing after Taeyong’s and Taeil’s first date whenever he felt uneasy.

Taeyong smiled, reaching out his own finger to meet Renjun’s, “I’ll be here when you get back, I promise.”

Renjun flashed a bright smile before grabbing Mark’s hand and pulling him towards the tree.

The other three adults were talking about something behind him, but Taeyong wasn’t paying them any attention. There was a small voice in back of his mind reminding him that he was on a date with Taeil and should probably be paying him more attention, but he was too distracted watching Renjun to care.

He watched as Mark and Renjun ran up to the line hand in hand. Since there was only a few children in front of them, they were able to essentially walk straight up to the front of the line. The two proudly showed off their unlimited ride bracelets that, adorably enough, were both on the hands they were using to hold onto each other. Even the ride worker seemed to find it adorable as they lifted their joined hands above their heads to make sure she could see both of the bracelets.

“Taeyong?” This time, it was Ten who interrupted his thoughts. “What do you think?”

“Sorry, what?” Taeyong felt his cheeks redden at being caught spacing out. But he still kept most of his attention on the two boys who were figuring out the seat belts. Luckily, the woman running the ride was there to help them out.

Ten sighed, he knew his friend’s date was off to a rocky start. “We were talking about taking the boys so you two could go on the French Revolution.”

Taeyong loved the French Revolution ever since he was tall enough to ride it. It was an indoor roller coaster with loops and curves that nearly ran into walls and slipped under archways throughout the park. It was one of the most thrilling rides Taeyong had ever been on. It was always worth the wait no matter if the wait was thirty minutes or two hours. However, he couldn’t be waiting in line with Taeil for two hours straight. Renjun would get worried.

“What’s the line look like today?” Taeyong asked instead of instantly shutting down the idea. When he looked around, the park didn’t look packed. Maybe it could be walk on today?

“About half an hour,” Taeil answered after checking his phone.

“Hey, guys look!” Johnny interrupted, tapping on Taeyong’s shoulder until the other looked over to the ride.

Despite Taeyong’s reservations that Renjun would be afraid, the boy waved at the four adults with a big smile on his face with one hand, and had the other still clasped tightly in Mark’s trembling hand. The slightly older child had his eyes scrunched closed in terror.

“Wow Renjunnie!” Taeyong exclaimed as he got closer to the ride to make sure the child could hear him. “You’re so brave!”

Renjun giggled as the ride kept going up before suddenly dropping. Taeyong watched his face closely, but the look of glee never left his eyes. Renjun was having a great time on that ride.

The adults watched as the ride went up and down a few more times. Right before the last drop, it seemed like the four year old managed to convince Mark to look up. And as the ride dropped suddenly for the last time, Mark actually let off a small smile.

Once they reached the ground and undid their seat belts, Renjun happily dragged mark through the exit and to the adults. He dropped his new friend’s hand and practically jumped into Taeyong’s arms, “Did you see that?”

”Of course I did!” Taeyong lifted the boy above his head and lightly tossed him in the air. “Renjunnie is so brave!”

“It was so much fun. Can we go on it again?” Renjun could have literally asked for anything right then and Taeyong would have said yes. The boy was so happy, maybe even the happiest Taeyong had seen him since they met over three months prior. Taeyong would let him do anything that wouldn't get either of them arrested if that smile stayed on that boy’s face.

“You can, but I'm not sure if Mark wants to go again,” Taeyong set the four year old on the ground so he could ask the older if he’d ride again.

As Renjun went ran over to Mark, who was saying something quietly to Johnny, Taeyong turned his attention back to Taeil. The older man didn’t look annoyed, but he for sure wasn’t happy either. “Sorry about that. He still has some separation anxiety, but this is his first time at a park like this that I know of.”

“You make it so hard to be mad at you,” Taeil chuckled with a heavy sigh. “I want to be annoyed that you’re spending our date with all your attention on a kid that’s not even yours, but the way you two look at each other is really something else. Eventually, you’d be the kind of guy I’d want to have kids with.”

“You want to have kids?” Taeyong was surprised. After their failed first date attempt, he thought Taeil didn’t really want kids in his future.

“I have things I want to do before I get to that stage of my life,” Taeil admitted as he watched Taeyong’s gaze flash over to Renjun and Mark, once again running hand in hand to the line for the ride. “I never thought I’d have to worry about kids until I was in a stable relationship, probably in my early thirties at least.”

Taeyong turned back to Taeil when he saw that the kids were in the capable hands of the ride attendant. “Somethings you can’t plan for. Honestly, I never saw myself for the type for kids. I spent all day in a studio of some sort. Some days its recording, some days its choreographing, some days I’m creating outfits, and there was never a way of knowing what I’d be doing the next day. If I had to admit one of my biggest flaws, it was I couldn’t keep a commitment to save my life. I nearly quit my job at least five times because I wanted to try something new. If Junmyeon hadn’t been so accommodating of my whimsy, I would have probably been at EXO for four months. But, things changed. I didn’t necessarily want them to, I mean I turned twenty five the week before Renjun came into my life. I wasn’t ready for any kind of long term commitment, but then Sicheng turned up at my door and I couldn’t say no. And I don't regret a single second of it?”

“Not even when a crying child interrupted our date?” Taeil chucked. He didn’t sound upset, more like amused.

“Honestly, i really like you Taeil, I’ve liked you longer than I’ve known Renjun for sure. But even when I’m tired, I don't regret a second of-Renjun! Don’t mess with that!” Taeyong called out when he noticed the four year old messing with the seat belt that had just been buckled by the ride attendant.

The four year old just waved adorably.

Taeyong shook his head and then changed his attention back to his date, “Sorry, but I really don’t regret a second of it. Was it unfortunate? Yes. Do I wish our date went smoother? Of course I do, I’d like to see you again and again. But I learned so much about Renjun that day. I hadn’t known what happened to his mom and the fact he felt comfortable enough to share that information with me was a moment I’ll never take back.”

The two sat in silence while Taeil digested the information. Taeyong had to look away because if Taeil just walked off, he couldn’t blame him. So instead, he watched as Renjun went up and down again on the ride, smiling as bright as the stars in the skies. Luckily, Mark looked like he was having a much better ride the second time around.

“You know,” Taeil’s soft voice broke through Taeyong’s silence. “You look at him like he’s the stars that light up the night.”

“Sometimes, I feel like that’s how he looks at me,” Taeyong admitted honestly. “But I feel like he’s more like my sun. He lights up my world. I didn’t realize how much I was just going through the motions before he came along.”

The two fell into silence once again until Renjun came running up, once again letting go of Mark’s hand in order to jump into Taeyong’s arms. “Did you see me? I was so high up!”

“You were! You were taller than me!” Taeyong indulged the child happily, picking him up and lightly tossing him in the air.

“Hey Renjun,” Taeil softly interrupted their conversation, “Do you and Mark want to go get cotton candy?”

Renjun looked at Taeil with shock in his eyes. Taeyong couldn’t blame him, Taeil usually looked at the small boy with a small bit of contempt in his eyes and was constantly trying to separate them. But it seemed like Taeil was starting to accept that dating Taeyong meant indulging Renjun.

“Well?” Taeyong set the boy on the ground before taking one of his hands. In his free hand, he intertwined his fingers with Taeil, “Does cotton candy sound good?”

“Mark!” Renjun momentarily let go of Taeyong’s friend to grab his friend's. He then pulled the other closer so that he could grab Taeyong’s hand again. “We’re gonna get candy!”

“It’s like ten in the morning, isn’t it a little early for cotton candy?” Ten murmured to his boyfriend as the couple followed behind the rest.

Johnny just laughed and shrugged, cotton candy did sound delicious.

After cotton candy and a ride on the merry go round, Taeyong looked over at the French Revolution. He still really wanted to ride it, it was his favorite ride after all. Plus, Taeil wanted to ride it.

But as much as he wanted to bring the kid along, Renjun still had some growing to do. So even if Taeyong decided it would be fine to bring a child on a roller coaster, the park begged to differ and needed Renjun to grow 20 more centimeters before they allowed him on it.

“What are you thinking about?” Johnny seemed to notice Taeyong’s debate based off of the look on his face. “You look constipated.”

“Thanks, that’s exactly what someone on a date wants to hear,” Taeyong rolled his eyes, happy that Taeil was currently using the rest room and didn’t have to listen to his idiot best friend. “I’m just thinking of the French Revolution.”

“Planning on overthrowing a government?” Johnny was the only one who laughed at his stupid joke. Ten just smacked him in the arm.

“I want to ride it” Taeyong pouted. The kids were currently on a car ride that rode them around in figure eights. “And I know Taeil wants to ride it. I’m just not sure how.”

“Have you tried just asking Renjun?” Johnny suggested. “Maybe we shouldn’t have been trying to trick him for so long. He seems like a smart kid. Why not let him make the decision?”

Taeyong started biting on one of his nails, a nervous hbbit he picked up in high school that he knew he needed to stop. But it made him feel better. “I’m afraid if he says no.”

“Just try asking.”

Which is how, once the two boys came off of the ride, Taeyong brought Renjun over to a bench and sat the boy down on it. with a deep sigh, he knelt in front of the four year old so they could be eye to eye.

“Renjun,” Taeyong started off slowly. “You know I love you, right?”

The small boy nodded, but his face scrunched up into a confused expression.

“Good. Because I do.” Taeyong started biting on his nail again before he realized he couldn’t talk with it in his mouth. So he pulled his hand away and, after wiping his hands on his pants, held Renjun’s tiny hands in his own. “I want to try to go on a ride with Taeil, but you’re too small to ride it. Once you’re older, I promise you I’ll take you on it, but would it be okay if Taeil and I went on the ride? You can go on a ride with Mark and Johnny and Ten if you want, or you can ask them to stay by the ride I’ll be going on. I’m sure Johnny will wait if you ask him to. But it is a long line too so I may be gone for about an hour. Not because I want to be gone, but because there’s a line before the ride. Is that okay?”

Renjun was quietly staring at Taeyong. To an outsider, it may have seemed like a too long, awkward silence. But Taeyong just kept looking at Renjun, waiting for an answer.

In his peripheral vision, Taeyong saw Taeil try to approach the two upon his return. But Johnny held him back, wanting to give the two some peace as Renjun thought everything over.

To Taeyong, it felt like the two were staring at each other for hours. To an outsider, it was just a quiet minute. But slowly, Renjun brought up his pointer finger and outstretched it in Taeyong’s direction.

Taeyong smiled, connecting his own finger with the child’s. He then gave Renjun a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead, “I promise you I’ll come back to you as fast as I can.”

Whlie waiting in line for the coaster, Taeil happily chatted about anything that came to his mind. He talked about the new cafe he was working at, the weird plant his mom bought him for his apartment, and anything else he thought of. Taeyong did a surprisingly well job of keeping up in the conversation while also keeping his eyes on the small four year old sitting on a bench just outside the ride. For the first five minutes it looked like Ten was trying to convince him to go anywhere, if the over exaggerated pointing was any indication. But Renjun just kept shaking his head and staring at the adults in line.

Taeil seemed quite content with the conversation. Even if he didn’t have Taeyong’s complete attention, the younger was trying hard. He didn’t miss a question and inserted the right exclamations the whole time.

The ride itself was a thrill that was so intense Taeyong momentarily let himself think about everything else besides Renjun. He still got the weightless feeling when the ride went upside down and got dizzy as it took sharp corners to avoid slamming into the walls. Even with the chaos of people screaming around him, the moment Taeil reached over and took his hand, he just felt warm and fuzzy inside. This was nice.

Once off the ride, the two held hands as they got off the platform and headed to the exit. It was amazing how nice their hands felt with their fingers intertwined.

But the feeling was broken the moment Taeyong stepped out of the exit and Renjun made a run straight for him.

Taeyong dropped Taeil’s hand in favor of scooping Renjun into his arms and spinning him around. That had been the longest he had been away from Renjun and he was so proud of how the young boy handled it.

“Was it fun?” Renjun’s voice broke through Taeyong’s chuckles as the two spun around.

“Lots of fun,” Taeyong assured him as the spinning came to a stop, but he didn’t put Renjun down. “When you get tall enough, we’re going to come back and ride on this together. Now how about all of us go ride the pirate ride?”

Taeil walked up to Taeyong’s side and sent Renjun what he hoped was a comforting smile, “It’s a lot of fun and you can sit in between Taeyong and me.”

Renjun seemed to look at Taeil skeptically for a moment before nodding.

Taeyong smiled so hard he thought his cheeks would get tired. It seemed the two of them were starting to warm up to each other.

Chapter Text

The moment Taeyong stepped inside the cafe, Taeil was looking the man up and down. Taeyong was fashionably dressed in tight black pants, a leather jacket, and a white shirt so light it would probably be sheer in the right lighting. Probably not the most practical outfit for late October, but it did make him look fiercely attractive. However, that wasn’t what the older man was focused on.

“Honestly, I didn’t think it would happen,” Taeil admitted as he grabbed his jacket from behind the counter and walked up to Taeyong, “I was honestly expecting you to have Renjun stuffed in a backpack.”

“He’s not that bad,” Taeyong pouted. Renjun was making a lot of progress these days.

Once again, Johnny and Taeyong had worked together to try and get Renjun more comfortable with the idea of Taeyong going off on a date. It was similar to when they tried preparing the four year old with the cafe. First they went to the park in middle of the apartment complex Taeyong lived in and had Taeyong leave the two behind to go grab something from the apartment. That evolved into Taeyong going to the store while Mark and Renjun watched a movie-but they found this only didn’t result in tears when Taeyong face timed them from the produce section.

It was two days prior that Taeyong felt that it wouldn’t be traumatic to leave the four year old behind. It took a lot of distracting, but if he had both Mark and Jaemin with him in a new, exciting environment, his mind seemed to get distracted from the thought of Taeyong leaving forever.

“No need to pout, I was just teasing you,” Taeil reached out and took the younger man’s hand in his own. “We won’t be out long.”

“Thanks for being so understanding,” Taeyong squeezed the smaller man’s hand. “I know it’s not easy, but it’s not really easy on this end, either.”

“So where is Renjun today?” Taeil couldn’t help but be curious.

“He’s probably still clinging to Johnny like a koala at the zoo,” Taeyong chuckled at the memory of leaving Renjun with his friend at the front gate of the zoo. Johnny, Mark, and Renjun were set to meet up with Jaemin and his father, an easily excitable man by the name of Jungwoo. Taeyong had spent the whole morning letting Renjun cling extra hard to him since he had informed the boy the night before about his plans to go on a date with Taeil. And once they reached the zoo, Taeyong passed the child off, placed a kiss on his head, and promised he’d be back. He then spent the whole walk to the cafe worrying about how Jungwoo and Johnny were handling Renjun as opposed to being nervous about his date.

“Well, I’m sure he’s in capable hands. Where are we going to lunch?”

“I was thinking the Italian place up the road by the mall. Then we can either go to the botanical gardens at the next station or there’s also an arcade nearby if you’re into that sort of thing or there’s the movie theaters at the mall” Despite already hanging out with Taeil a few times, Taeyong wasn’t entirely sure what the older liked. They usually talked about music and life when they got together with Renjun, and Taeyong’s focus was always more focused on doing something that wouldn’t be boring for the four year old. But now that there was no four year old, he didn’t know what Taeil would want to do.

Taeil just laughed at his enthusiasm, “How about after Italian we go to the music shop in the mall? There’s some new stuff I want to look into and I think it could be fun.”

“Sounds prefect.”

Throughout lunch Taeyong did his best to pay attention to everything Taeil did. He watched as the man constantly licked his lips - most likely from dryness as opposed to wanting a kiss in middle of scarfing down a plate of chicken alfredo pasta - and how he looked down with a blush on his cheeks whenever Taeyong complimented him. It turns out Taeil was a bit shy, and it made Taeyong’s heart flutter.

But any time someone’s phone went off, he reached out for his own that was sitting in his pocket on vibrate just in case Johnny happened to call. Or if someone new came into the restaurant, his eyes shot to the door - he had told Johnny where he was going to take Taeil to lunch just in case something happened. It was almost as hard for Tayeong to be away from Renjun as it was for the four year old to be away from Taeyong.

“And of course on his first day he spilled an entire five kilogram bad of roasted coffee beans. They went everywhere!” Taeil exclaimed, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes as he told Taeyong about their new hire who, despite trying so hard, was a massive clutz.

Taeyong laughed with him he followed enough of the story to know what Taeil was talking about. He really was doing his best to listen, but both Johnny and Jungwoo said they’d text him with updates. And neither had sent anything yet.

“Poor boy, that sounds like a rough start to a new job,” Taeyong chuckled. “But is he doing better?”

“Much,” Taeil nodded happily, “Which is a relief because he probably wouldn’t last very long if he didn’t get everything together.”

“Some things just take time,” Taeyong shrugged before flagging the waiter down to get the check.

Once they finished up with the bill - Taeyong paid while Taeil pouted that he was older and therefore should be the one who’d pay - the two began walking to the mall so they could find the music shop Taeil mentioned before. It was luckily they had something in common that both of them were passionate about.

But, with the break in activity, Taeyong found himself asking, “So I won’t judge you if you say no, and I understand if you’re judging me terribly for asking because I do feel a little bad for asking but i know i’d continue to feel worse if I didn't ask and-”

“Taeyong, just spit it out,” Taeil laughed with what the younger hoped was endearment in his voice. “I’m assuming this has something to do with calling Johnny?”

“I was thinking of facetime,” Taeyong admitted with reddened cheeks. He almost felt embarrassed for asking, but since Jungwoo and Johnny hadn’t texted, he had no clue what was going on.

“Go for it,”

“Thank you, you are really the sweetest,” Taeyong reached out to wrap his arms around the smaller man in a tight hug. “Seriously, thank you.”

The younger of the two then got his phone out and, after being irritated at the lack of notifications, found his best friend’s contact information and hit the call button. He wasn’t sure really what to expect. Would Renjun be crying? Or just quietly clinging to Johnny?

“Taeyong? Aren’t you still on your date?” Johnny asked when he picked up the phone. “Did you mess it up?”

“You said you’d text updates,” Taeyong ignored all the questions, but so far in the screen it was just Johnny, so Renjun wasn’t clinging to the man anymore.

“We’ve been having a great time, must have slipped our minds,” Johnny shrugged before kneeling. Right next to him with one hand clinging to Johnny and one holding an ice cream cone was Renjun. There were no tears and no redness in his eyes. “Renjun say hi.”

“HI!” A smile broke out on the child’s face when he realized who was on the other end of the phone.

”Hey Junnie, how’s the zoo?” Taeyong asked, paying full attention to the boy on the phone. He would have tripped over a tiny dog if Taeil hadn’t pulled on his arm to tug him out of the way.

“It’s good,” The boy didn’t sound excited, but he had that twinkle in his eyes that told Taeyong he’d be hearing a lot about the zoo once they were together in person again.

“I’m glad. Me and Taeil are going to the store,” Taeyong leaned over to get Taeil in the shot. “Say hi!”

“Hey Renjun,” Taeil gave the camera a small wave.

“Hi.” Renjun responded quietly. Seeing as the four year old was convinced that Taeil was going to take Taeyong away, Taeyong was happy the kid even said hello.

“Well I’m going to go now, but make sure you don’t eat too much ice cream because we’re ordering pizza later okay? Bye! Be good for Johnny,” Taeyong waved cutely at the boy on the screen before hanging up. He then turned to Taeil with a relieved smile, “Thank you for being so understanding. This is my first time really away from him even if we’ve been having some trials. And, well, I think I spent so much time worried about his reaction, I didn't think about my own.”

Taeil nodded, seemingly understanding the unique situation the younger man was put in. It wasn’t common to get a four year old overnight when you were completely unprepared. “It seems really difficult. Have you heard from his dad?”

Taeyong sighed sadly, “No. I’ve set up an alert on the internet in case his name pops up, and I email him weekly updates, but I haven’t heard anything back. Most of his family is in China and they didn’t really talk so I wouldn’t even know who to reach out to.”

“It’s a shame he doesn’t have any family nearby,” Taeil quietly murmured before opening the door to the mall, “Now let’s get back to our date.”

“Lead the way.”

When they got to the music shop, Taeyong happily followed behind the smaller man. Taeil had a taste for soundtrack music and emotional ballads. It was a far stretch from the normal rap and hip hop Taeyong normally listened to, but he was happy to follow Taeil around and comment on all the cds the older was looking at. He was having a good time just watching Taeil as he talked on and on about the different songs and artists.

But then, Taeil pulled a CD off the shelf and seemed to go quiet. He stared at the front of the CD for a big too long before turning towards Taeyong with a sigh, “I’m sorry, I don't want to do this.”

Taeyong’s face scrunched up in confusion, “What? You don’t want to be here anymore or-”

“No,” Taeil was quick to interrupt. “I mean you and me. I want to like you Taeyong, you were always so fun and adventurous and you looked like someone who’d do something a little crazy like stay out all night clubbing or taking an impromptu road tip to Busan. But you’re not that person anymore. And that’s okay, you’re charming this way too. I just-I’ve already been in a relationship where I wasn’t a priority and it didn’t make me happy. I don’t want to have to go through that again.”

Taeyong didn’t know what to say. He wanted to defend himself, he was working on making Taeil a priority. It was taking a bit more time, sure, since he had to take Renjun into consideration, but he was trying. Couldn’t Taeil see how he was trying?

“I know we’re not serious yet, but I don’t want to get that far if I feel like this,” Taeil turned to face Taeyong so he could look him in the eyes. “I thought I’d try, but the more I think about it, I don't want to have to try. I do like you Taeyong, I really do. We seem to get along so easily, but this isn’t what I want for myself. Maybe one day when you have things a bit more together you should hit me up.”

“But I don't know how long that will take.” Taeyong should have been embarrassed how his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence, but he barely even noticed. He didn’t even know if he could get things together. Would that be when Sicheng came back and took Renjun away? Would that be in ten years when Renjun was old enough to be more self sufficient? Would that ever happen?

“Which is why I can’t just sit here waiting.” Taeil took a step closer to give him a hug.

Taeyong quickly wrapped his arms around Taeil. It wasn’t like they had been dating long, it actually was probably too short for him to feel like the sky was starting to fall. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Taeil pulled back with a sad smile, “This really wan’t the type of circumstance you could really control or expect. But I’m serious, hit me up if it changes."

Taeyong watched in silence as Taeil walked out of the store.

After that, he didn’t really know what to do. People had started to give him weird looks since he was just standing in middle of an aisle, staring at the door.

“Well, he’s not wrong,” Taeyong muttered to himself before leaving the store and heading off towards the zoo. Taeil was right, it wasn’t fair since everything would have to revolve around Renjun. Taeyong couldn’t ask his friends to take Renjun every time he wanted to go on a date. Plus, he was still learning how to juggle work and a kid. His social life had pretty much stopped when he met Renjun.

Just a year ago, he was the kind of guy Taeil said he was. There were days he’d go to work, go out to dinner, hit up a club, and then only go home to change into new clothes for the next workday. It wouldn’t be shocking to find him making out with a guy in a club or drinking all weekend long. Now, he had to really think back to remember the last time he had an ice cold beer.

But he didn’t blame Renjun-he couldn't. Sure Taeyong’s life was suddenly more complicated than it had been, but it hadn’t been completely flipped upside down.

But maybe, maybe one day he’d get a hang of all this parenting stuff. After all, there were plenty of single parents who dated. If they could figure it out, he could too. He just needed a bit of time to work out the logistics.

Once he got to the zoo and paid for his ticket, he thought about calling Johnny to see where they were, but decided he’d rather surprise them. So quickly, he went started off in a random direction to find them.

Luckily, he managed to choose the right direction because it took him less than five minutes to find the group in front of the polar bear exhibit. Mark and Jaemin had their faces nearly smashed against the glass as they excitedly pointed out something to Jungwoo. Johnny stood a little behind them with an exhausted looking Renjun perched on his hip.

Slowly, Taeyong crept up behind Johnny and poked the four year old in the arm.

Renjun startled as if someone had just set off an air horn next to his ear, but when he turned and saw Taeyong standing there, he nearly jumped out of Johnny’s arms, “Appa!”

Taeyong froze at the word, Renjun had never called him that before. But he didn’t have time to think it over as he suddenly had arms full of the four year old.

“So I take it that it didn’t go well?” Johnny didn’t seem as surprised to see Taeyong back early from his date.

“No,” Taeyong sighed, “No more Taeil.”

“Well, at least you gave it a shot,” Johnny patted his friend on the back, “It’s not like there’s not other men out there for you.”

“Yeah, because I have all the time in the world to date,” Taeyong snapped back before turning his attention to Renjun who was trying to point at something in the exhibit in front of them. Now that Taeyong was here, the boy didn’t look as exhausted. He must’ve been worried.

“School starts soon, things will start to change into a more normal pattern,” Johnny tried to ease his mind.

But Taeyong wasn’t having it, “Maybe. Who knows? I have other things to worry about right now.”

"Whatever you say," Johnny brushed him off and took a few steps closer to Mark and Jaemin.

Taeyong was ready to go home, but he didn't want to take Renjun away from his friends as it seemed that the kid was ready to be put back down so he could look at the polar bears up close. So he carefully set Renjun on the ground and followed him over to the glass.

He stood back and watched as a much more animated Renjun squeezed himself between his two friends to take a look at the polar bears, squealing happily as one of them jumped into the water in front of them.

As he sat back to watch the kids, Taeyong decided maybe it was a good thing Taeil pushed him away. The older man had inadvertently pushed him to try and help Renjun overcome his separation anxiety, which was a great thing. But he shouldn't have been doing it for some guy he barely knew. He should have started doing it because it was what was best for Renjun. That way, if he did ever end up meeting someone wanting to give him a try, it wouldn't be such a burden for everyone involved.

"Appa!" Renjun called out, pulling Taeyong out of his head. Taeyong knew he needed to talk to the four year old about it since he wasn't there to try and replace Sicheng, but he couldn't deny that it kind of made his heart beat a little faster. It wasn't something he had expected, but it made him feel a spark of delight in his veins.

"What is it Junnie?" Taeyong took a couple steps forward to kneel behind him. "Did you see something?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you I'm happy you're here."

Chapter Text

Taeyong wasn’t ready. Despite constantly preparing for this day for the past few months, he wasn’t ready. Thoughts of Renjun being scared and alone at school haunted Taeyong’s dreams, and when he was awake he feared that Renjun would try and hide under a desk once he got there and wouldn’t come out until Taeyong came to pick him up after school.

But the Renjun who was going off to school was completely different from the Renjun who was dropped off in the dead of a warm summer’s night. The old Renjun was afraid to speak, afraid of strangers, and wouldn’t let Taeyong out of his sight. But the new Renjun was like a supernova. Once he was comfortable, Renjun was a ball of energy who loved the world around him. He was curious and liked to ask a lot of questions when only Taeyong was around since he was still a little weary of strangers, and he loved to dance around on his toes as he practiced singing nursery rhymes.

While Taeyong didn’t think he was ready for this, Renjun seemed ready.

“Appa!” Renjun came running out of his bedroom with a bright smile on his face. He was dressed in his school uniform that consisted of maroon shorts and a grey jacket with maroon designs. He looked so charming.

Another development over the past few months was Renjun exclusively referring to Taeyong as his Appa. After that first time at the zoo, Taeyong had sat Renjun down and told him that he wasn’t there trying to replace Sicheng. But Renjun just looked at him confused and said, “Appa isn’t Baba. Baba is Baba and Appa is Appa. Is that okay?”

"Of course," Taeyong had smiled, hugged him, and said “Of course that’s okay.”

Ever since then, Taeyong felt things settle down for the two of them. He still brought Renjun to work most days, but in preparation for school there was one day a week he’d drop Renjun off at Jaemin’s house, and one day a week he’d drop him off at Mark’s house. Renjun had also been enrolled in dance classes for two hours a day on Mondays and Thursdays and so while Renjun was learning ballet, Taeyong went off grocery shopping.

But the one thing that remained the same was every time Taeyong had to leave, Renjun would run up to him and extend one finger towards his Appa. Without a doubt, every time Taeyong extended his finger to meet the child’s as he told him, “Don’t worry, you’re my number one. I’ll be back.”

“Appa have you seen my shoes?” Renjun’s question brought Taeyong out of the thoughts that kept Taeyong up the entire night before.

Taeyong couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s in the shoe cabinet by the door, silly.”

“Oh yeah,” Renjun giggled before running for the door, “Can I put them on now?”

“Yeah, we have to get going, we don’t want to be late.” Taeyong grabbed his bag with his work laptop in it and his jacket before walking over to the door. “Did you put everything in your backpack that you wanted to?”

Renjun nodded and sent a bright smile Taeyong’s way, snaggletooth and all. “I put my color pencils inside and some paper and an eraser and a pencil and-”

“Good.” Taeyong cut the four year old off, knowing he could list everything that was in the backpack. Luckily, he didn’t try and name each colored pencil that was inside. “I’m gong to grab your lunch and then we can go.”

“My lunch?” Renjun cocked his head to the side adorably, “You made me lunch?”

“Of course I did, how else are you going to eat?” Taeyong laughed and grabbed the lunch box he found online from the fridge. “Look, it’s your favorite.”

Stars glimmered in Renjun’s eyes as he looked at the light blue lunchbox with Moomin patches on it. “It’s the best lunchbox I’ve ever seen!”

“Now come on cutie, we don’t want to be late.” Taeyong ruffled Renjun’s hair and handed the lunchbox over to him.

Renjun happily led Taeyong to the front door before they both put their shoes on and took a quick picture since it was his first day. Then, only after he grabbed Tayeong’s hand, Renjun led the way down the hall.

Unlike their walk to Taeyong’s work that took about five to ten minutes by foot, they had to take the subway two stops and then walk about five minutes to reach Renjun’s school. It was still relatively close to Taeyong’s apartment, but it was the opposite direction of Taeyong’s work. Once Taeyong went to work, it would take him maybe twenty minutes to half an hour to reach Renjun’s school - something he mapped out during the night just in case he had to come to the young boy’s rescue.

The conversation remained lively until the moment they saw the school when Taeyong felt Renjun’s hold on his hand tighten. His steps didn’t falter, but the brightness in Renjun’s eyes started to dim.

“Are you okay, Junnie?” Taeyong pulled Renjun off to the side so they wouldn’t block the pathway to the school once they were through the front gate.

“I wish Jaemin and Mark were here,” Renjun admitted quietly as he kicked at the ground. “I wish you could stay with me.”

“Renjunnie,” Taeyong cooed as he pulled Renjun tightly into his arms. “I wish I could stay with you, too. But you won’t have fun if I stay all day. There’s a bunch of kids in your class who’d be lucky to have a friend like you. You’re so funny and so great and practically like an angel that fell from heaven. Don’t you worry, everything will be fine.”

“And you’ll be here when I get out?” Renjun sounded like he could cry at any moment, which in turn sprung tears to Taeyong’s eyes.

“Of course I’ll be here.” Teayong held on to the four year old tighter to reassure him of his presence. “Never doubt that. I’ll always be here for you. You’re my number one, Renjunnie.”

The four year old pulled away first, taking a deep breath and plastering a hopeful smile on his face. “Okay, let’s go.”

Taeyong once again took Renjun’s hand so he could bring him into the classroom where the four year old proceeded to cling to his leg as Taeyong checked him in. Some of the other kids in the class looked as worried as Renjun, but there were a few that were happily going around talking to the other kids who looked less skittish. Hopefully everyone was nice and Renjun would be able to make new friends.

“Okay, that’s everything I needed to do,” Taeyong managed to free himself from Renjun’s arms so he could kneel next to him and hug him once more. “I’ll be back when school is over. Don’t be afraid, I’m sure all the other kids are just as shy as you. You can do this, Renjun.”

The four year old pulled back with a determined smile on his face, the stars once again in his eyes. He quickly brought up his hand, sticking his pointer finger in Taeyong’s direction.

Just like always, Taeyong brought his finger to meet Renjun’s, “Don’t worry, you’re my number one, Junnie. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Once Taeyong made it to the street, he took a deep breath to try and compose himself. He wasn’t sure why he felt like crying, but here he was, standing outside an elementary school wiping at his eyes to make sure the tears wouldn’t fall. He was sure they were tears of happiness at how far Renjun had become and how brave the four year old was being today, but those thoughts just made him want to cry more.

It took him a few minutes, but he managed to calm himself down enough to take out his phone, call his boss, and say that he was working from home today. He couldn’t go into the offices today when he felt like a wreck because the absence of Renjun would be noticed and people would ask questions. And while he should be proud that Renjun was bravely facing his first day of school, Taeyong knew answering those question may lead him to tears once more.

So instead of the offices, Taeyong looked up and down the street before noticing a bakery a few buildings away, back in the direction he had originally come from. Perfect, he could get a lot of work done there.

Without another thought, Teyong walked to the bakery, determined to get some work done. Though first, he’d order a coffee as staying up the whole day before physically drained him.

The small bakery was very cute, it looked french inspired with dainty pastries in the display case and soft pastel accents on the walls. The furniture was a light maple wood grain making it feel a bit rustic and homey, but the fancy looking coffee machine behind the counter made it feel a bit more modern. It also seemed like a very popular place as there was a line of at least ten people waiting to order.

Taeyong took his place in line, ignoring the sounds around him to check his phone. Of course the school had his emergency contact information on file in case something happened to Renjun, but he also managed to slip his number to the teacher and let her know to call him if Renjun got overwhelmed. The poor boy was surrounded by only strangers for the first time and there was a possibility it wouldn’t go well.

“First day of school?” A soft voice cut through his thoughts.

Taeyong nearly jumped out of his skin at how close the voice was, he hadn’t realized someone had come into the bakery after him and was now behind him in line. “Is it that obvious?”

“A bit,” The man behind him chuckled. “It always happens around this time of year. Parents always seem to wander in here in a daze for the first half of March. But from what I’ve seen, it gets better.”

“Does it?” Taeyong found himself genuinely asking. At the moment, the ball of panic that was sitting heavy on his chest felt like it was going to be there forever.

There was a twinkle in the man’s eyes as he shrugged, “I think so? I don’t actually have any children so I couldn’t tell you that. Though I’m sure your wife is freaking out just as much as you are if that makes you feel any better.”

“I don’t have a wife,” Taeyong shrugged somewhat awkwardly, “Technically I’m not a father, either. It’s complicated.”

“Sounds like it,” The stranger took a step forward as the line moved up, but suddenly he just felt really close to Taeyong.

So Taeyong took a quick step back. He had too many other things to worry about besides the handsome guy beside him. “But I feel like one. Or at least, I’m freaking out like a father.”

“It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“I just called off work so I could stay here all day just down the road.” Taeyong admitted quietly as the line moved up again. This time, the other man kept a respectful distance as he moved forward as well.

“That may just be the craziest thing I ever heard on a kid’s first day, but seems very fatherly to me,” The man shrugged.

Taeyong was about to respond, but the peppy voice of the barista pulled him away from the conversation.

Once his drink order was placed for the largest coffee they had, Taeyong made his way to a table by the window that was also near an outlet so he could get some work done. Though before he even thought about work Taeyong checked his phone to make sure there were no messages from the school. Of course, there were none, but just to be safe he set his phone face up on the table so if it did go off, he’d notice it right away.

A few minutes later, once his laptop was open and the nice waitress delivered his coffee to his table for him, a movement to his right caught his attention. There was a warm presence next to him as a piece of red velvet cake was placed on the table next to him.

Taeyong looked up to see the man from line, smiling down from him. “You’re gonna be here a while, I thought you may enjoy some cake to hopefully make your day a little less worrisome.”

”Thank you,” Taeyong managed to stutter.

The lean man just shook his head endearingly, “It’s really nothing. Good luck with your complicated technically not a father thing.” And with a small wave, he was gone.

Taeyong didn’t let his thoughts linger on the attractive man for too long as he let himself get lost in his work. Sure it was a shame he didn’t catch his name, but this was Seoul and the chances of seeing him again were slim to none.

He let himself get lost in his work running over projections for one of Exo’s newly released albums. Normally he didn't like the business side of his work, but recently he found himself interested in producing an idol group of his own. He had done so much work in the music, dancing, styling, and marketing of many of their idols that he figured he wanted to try and have a group of his own. Luckily his boss seemed to be on board and was willing to let Taeyong get a feel of the business side of things.

His eyes started to strain after staring at his laptop so long, even with a twenty minute break from the screen to eat lunch. He also felt a bit sore from sitting in the same position for too long. But the moment his alarm went off signifying five minutes until Renjun got out of school, Taeyong felt refreshed.

In his burst of energy, he saved the budgeting spreadsheet he was working on, slammed the laptop closed, and stuffed everything into his bag. He may have also shoved a dirty napkin in there as well, but he didn’t care. Renjun was about to come out and nothing was going to delay Taeyong in getting there.

With a quick wave to the barista behind the counter, Taeyong ran down the street towards the school. There were other parents walking up as well, some looking just as worn out as Taeyong felt. They were all probably also worried about their kids and whether or not they’d make friends and have a good day.

But Taeyong didn’t have time to think of them. He charged forward to Renjun’s class so right as one o’clock hit and the door opened, he was right there waiting for Renjun to run into his arms.

Only, Renjun didn’t come running into his arms. There was a flood of kindergartners running out of the classroom, squealing as they saw their parents. There weren’t too many kids in the class though, so it didn’t take long for Renjun to slowly and quietly leave the classroom.

“Junnie?” Taeyong asked, obviously concerned.

The four year old looked up, and a smile broke out on his face. He ran forward and jumped into Taeyong’s arms. “Appa, I missed you!”

“I missed you, too,” Taeyong placed a kiss on top of his head as he began to leave the school, Renjun securely in his arms and sitting on the man’s hip. “How was school?”

“It was okay,” Renjun answered quietly, resting his cheek on Taeyong’s shoulder. “It was long.”

“It really was,” Taeyong felt the same. Despite it not being a full school day since kindergartners only stayed for half a day, it still felt like forever. “Did you make any friends?”

Renjun shook his head, “Not today.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Taeyong couldn’t help but place another kiss atop Renjun’s head. “Maybe tomorrow it’ll get better?”

“I hope so,” Renjun then let out a big yawn, “Can I take a nap?”

“Of course,” Taeyong adjusted him into a more comfortable position across his chest, “Just nap, I’ll carry you home.”

As Taeyong carried him home, he imagined terrible scenarios in his head of Renjun sitting in the corner at recess while all the other kids played. It was better than the images of Renjun being bullied for not having biological parents or for being Chinese in a predominantly Korean school, but it still broke Taeyong's heart. Maybe he should have enrolled Renjun into the same school as Jaemin, that way he'd already have a friend. With Jaemin at his side, Taeyong was sure Renjun would be able to make as many friends as his four year old heart desired. Jaemin was extroverted and cheerful, and that always seemed to rub off on Renjun when the two were hanging out together. That could definitely help.

But then he remembered the way Renjun lit up in that bookstore when he found the book about the puppy written in Mandarin. Renjun really loved speaking his mother tongue, even if Taeyong couldn't understand him most of the time.

As he walked towards the subway station, he passed the bakery he was just in and had a great idea. So carefully, without waking Renjun, he went back to the bakery to pick up a slice of red velvet cake. Hopefully, once Renjun woke up, it would make his day less worrisome.

Chapter Text

Taeyong laughed as he looked in the mirror. He looked utterly ridiculous - pancake batter splattered across his shirt, flour on his cheek, and his hair tied into a tiny ponytail on top of his head to keep his bangs out of his face. Despite looking like a mess, he was having the time of his life.

He had stayed up late the night before decorating the apartment in balloons and streamers in bright yellow and sky blue. Then, once he woke up, he snuck off to the kitchen to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

But somewhere between singing happy birthday to Renjun and deciding what they’d do first, a small food fight broke out in the kitchen. Renjun had decided he wanted to make cookies, and that evolved to him finding the remaining pancake batter and flinging it happily at Taeyong in revenge for the older man poking his nose and leaving a flour finger print on the tip.

“Appa, the doorbell rang.” Renjun called out from his room. Taeyong had finished cleaning up the four-now five year old and was about to take a shower himself, but that would have to wait a few more minutes.

“I’ve got it.” Taeyong called back as he headed for the door. It was either going to be Johnny dropping off Mark, or Jungwoo dropping off Jaemin. Per Renjun’s birthday wish, he wanted to just spend the day playing with his friends and Appa. Taeyong had suggested going to a theme park or aquarium, but Renjun shook his head and said he just wanted to color and watch movies and maybe go down to the park in middle of their apartment complex.

And there was no way Taeyong could deny such a sweet wish. So he got plenty of art supplies, rented some movies on the tv, bought some cool toys they could use in the sandbox at the playground, and then grabbed some more things for activities the four of them could do together such as bake cookies or play a board game. He hadn’t told Renjun the surprise that Jaemin and Mark were spending the night.

So, without a second thought regarding his appearance, Taeyong headed to the door and swung it open without checking who was on the other side.

Of course it wasn’t Johnny, and it wasn’t Jungwoo. Instead, Jaemin stood beaming in front of his uncle - the very attractive uncle Taeyong met at the school orientation and hadn’t really spoken to since. The same attractive model-like man who looked like a movie star as he stood in the hallway in tight black pants, a tight black shirt, and a well fitted black trench coat that seemed to elongate his body, making him seem taller than he probably was.

“Rough morning?” Jaehyun chuckled, eyes running up and down Taeyong’s figure. If the hair in a tiny ponytail and food on his clothes wasn’t enough, he was also sporting a pair of Moomin pajama bottoms he found online. Renjun had the same pair, just much smaller.

“Not really,” Taeyong chuckled as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Just made some cookies.”

“Cookies?” Jaemin nearly screamed as he squeezed passed Taeyong and ran into the apartment calling out for his friend.

“That kid loves sweets, sometimes I think a little too much,” Jaehyun’s eyes softened as he watched the small boy disappear into the apartment. He then held up the bag in his hand, “Here’s all his clothes and stuff. Jungwoo thanks you for spontaneously granting them a date night.”

Taeyong laughed as he took the bag, he was sure the four year old’s parents were thrilled to have a grownup night for a change. Heck, even Taeyong found himself wishing some nights he could take a small break to hit up a bar or just relax. But those thoughts never stayed for long, not when Renjun would creep into his room in middle of the night to snuggle just because he missed his appa.

“Though,” Jaehyun continued before Taeyong had a chance to speak, “If this is what you look like by 11am, maybe we should have packed more changes of clothes.”

“There was a lot of sugar at breakfast,” Taeyong defended with a bit of laughter, “We had chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and powdered sugar. I’m starting to regret not thinking though my choice of breakfast. He’s either going to be hyper all day or he’s gonna crash in about an hour and be grumpy once he wakes up from his nap.”

“Probably a bit of both,” Jaehyun’s eyes lingered on Taeyong a beat too long before he cleared his throat, “Though, you know, you seem to be handling all of this extremely well.”

“I don’t think extremely well, but thank you.” Taeyong felt pride well up in his heart. It felt nice to be complimented on his ability to take care of Renjun. “Honestly, a lot of it still freaks me out, and there’s a lot of times I feel like I’m doing something wrong, but it’s so rewarding.”

Before Jaehyun could respond, his phone cut him off. So, with an apologetic smile, Jaehyun said his goodbye and disappeared into the hall.

“Well, that wasn’t embarrassing,” Taeyong muttered to himself as he closed the door. He placed Jaemin’s bag on the table by the door before heading deeper into the apartment. He found the two boys jumping up and down on the couch. “Hey guys, what did I say about jumping on the couch?”

Renjun deflated, jumping up one more time to land on his butt, “No jumping on the couch. But it’s my birthday, Appa.”

“That doesn’t mean you get to break the rules,” Taeyong did his best to not laugh, he didn’t want to encourage such behaviors. But Renjun was just too cute.

“What else is there to do?” Jaemin jumped to the ground, a pout of his own on his face. “Are the cookies ready?”

“A few more minutes, just calm down,” Taeyong ruffled the four year old’s hair. “Besides, I have some more things we can do. Do you guys want to color or watch a movie or-”

He was cut off by a knock on the door.

“Appa, someone’s at the door,” Renjun informed him, despite the fact that they were in the same room and both heard it. Of course one rule he didn’t feel like breaking was not answering the door.

After Taeyong answered the door to let Mark in, it seemed the three boys didn’t stop running around all day. The four of them decorated the cookies with frosting, went down to the park to play in the sandbox, ate pizza at the Italian place down the road, went back to the apartment to make birthday crowns, and then worked together to decorate the cake Taeyong go that the store the day before. No matter how many activities Taeyong had planned, the boys never slowed down. Maybe part of it was all the sugar they were eating, but they also just seemed to fuel each other on.

“Appa, how do you spell birthday?” Renjun scratched his head as he stared down at the top of the cake.

Taeyong couldn’t resist placing a kiss on top of Renjun’s head. Since the majority of his classes were taught in Mandarin, the five year old had trouble reading and writing in Korean. His spelling was atrocious, but it just made Taeyong want to squeeze his cheeks and coo.

Before he could do that Mark, who was a grade older than the other two, happily spelled out the word for his friend.

“All done!” Renjun declared with a flourish, nearly throwing the tube of frosting across the kitchen if it wasn’t for Taeyong’s fast hands.

“You still spelled it wrong,” Jaemin pointed out, one of the vowels having one too many lines.

Taeyong happily scooped up the extra line and licked the frosting off his finger. “There, fixed! Now we can leave this here while we eat dinner and we can have this for dessert.”

“Wait, Appa!” Renjun grabbed Taeyong’s sleeve before the Korean man could walk away. “Take a picture so you can send it to Baba.”

“Of course,” Taeyong grabbed his phone so he could take a picture of Renjun, his two best friends, and the cake. He’d email it to Sicheng after the boys went to sleep, just as he did with other important events that seemed too important to wait until his normal Monday morning email that he went weekly. He wasn't sure if Sicheng had access to his email, but Taeyong dutifully sent the emails, just in case.

“Good!” Renjun seemed to be yelling everything today due to the excitement. “Now let’s go eat chicken!”

Eating chicken with three young, elementary aged kids turned out to be a messy affair. Taeyong was sure that he spent more time wiping chins than eating, but the smiles made it all worth it.

The three boys began to talk about their schools and the things they were learning. Every time after Jaemin mentioned anything, Mark would proudly state that he had learned that the year before. And anytime Renjun mentioned something from his school, the other two boys would look at him in confusion since Renjun only knew the Mandarin words for what he was learning. But the three rarely had a moment of silence unless all three were digging into the chicken at the same time.

And sometimes, even that didn’t guarantee silence.

“I’m going to be a doctor when I grow up,” Jaemin declared around a mouth full of chicken. It was amazing that the boy was so understandable when pieces of chicken were sticking out of his full mouth.

“Swallow your food before you talk,” Taeyong chastised for the third time during dinner, but none of the boys paid him any attention.

“I’m gonna fly a plane!” Mark happily declared, and made a small show of spreading his arms out and making plane sounds.

“I’m gonna be an idol!” Renjun at least had waited until he swallowed his food to shout.

“An idol?” Taeyong was taken aback. He and Renjun had never had a conversation about what his hopes and dreams, but he had never expected his sweet, shy Renjun to want to join the cut throat world of idols. If anything, Taeyoung would have loved to keep him away from that kind of life. After 7 years of working at an idol agency, Taeyong had seen things that made his skin crawl.

“I’m going to be an idol.” Renjun repeated firmly before taking a bit bite of his chicken. But when he noticed Taeyong’s eyes still on him, he quickly chewed and swallowed so he could keep talking, “That way I get to go to work with Appa everyday.”

Mark and Jaemin made sounds of outrage, asking why Renjun would want to see Taeyong every day even if he was an adult. But Taeyong sat speechless. Renjun really wanted to go to work with him everyday? Even as an adult?

“My Appa is cooler than your appas,” Renjun informed his friends smugly. “I want to spend every day with Appa.”

“Gross.” Mark laughed, seemingly taking no offense to Renjun’s comments. “But idols are really cool.”

“We should make a band!” Jaemin happily declared before he jumped out of his chair, disregarding the chicken left on his plate. “Come on! Let’s go dance!”

The other two boys happily abandoned their plates to follow Jaemin to the living room. Between the three of them, they managed to connect Taeyong’s ipad to the stereo system and blast the latest hit by Exo’s most popular idol group, CBX.

Taeyong happily cleaned up the food while listening to the three boys attempt to sign and rap in the living room. He couldn’t help, at one point, recording the three secretly from the doorway so he could send the video to Jungwoo and Johnny. It was utterly adorable to listen to them sing lyrics that were almost right, but slightly off beat.

As Taeyong watched the three boys try to rotate in a triangle formation like their idols, he found himself tearing up a little bit. Not from sadness, but from a joy so pure, he was sure he hadn’t felt this way since he was a young child. Despite not even knowing the kid for a year, Taeyong loved Renjun. Renjun was innocent and naive, but so strong and so brave. Taeyong couldn’t imagine the things the five year old went through.

Renjun had been declared too much by his grandparents, not necessary by his mother, and his father had to leave due to some unforeseen circumstances. How the five year old still had it in his heart to trust Taeyong was a complete mystery. But the more time they spent together, the more Taeyong was thankful for the strength Renjun possessed. He couldn’t imagine his life right now without the child.

“Appa!” Renjun’s shout interrupted Taeyong’s thoughts. “Come dance with us!”

"Of course, babe," Taeyong pushed off the doorway so he could jump in middle of the triangle of children and wave his arms crazily above his head, not caring about the beat.

Instead of commenting on how ridiculous Taeyong looked, the three boys excitedly waved their arms around as well. There were a couple of close calls when an arm would get a little close to another kid's face, but overall the four of them spent the last next hour dancing around until the kids decided they were too tired to continue on.

"Appa," Renjun was fighting a yawn after Taeyong managed to tuck all three kids into his bed. He'd be banished to the couch tonight.

"Yes Renjunnie?" Taeyong answered quietly, not wanting to wake the two sleeping kids.

"Thank you, Appa. This is the best day ever." Renjun yawned again, his eyes remaining closed even if he kept talking, "I love you, Appa."

"I love you too, Junnie," Taeyong placed another kiss on the crown of Renjun's head. He had repeated that action at least twenty times over the course of the day, but he couldn't help himself. It felt like an easy way to express the affection he felt for the child. "You're my number one, Renjun. Now go to sleep so we can eat your cake for breakfast."

Chapter Text

Taeyong was falling into, what he called a routine, but Johnny referred to as a slump. It had almost been a year since Renjun was thrust into his life, and the man hadn’t kissed anyone besides the top of Renjun’s head. Even when he tried dating Taeil, there hadn’t been a moment free where the two could kiss. Nope, Taeyong’s lips were only destined for the crown of Renjun’s head.

But Taeyong was okay with his routine. Every morning started with waking Renjun up. Most days, the five year old was in his own bed after becoming used to sleeping on his own - which was good for Taeyong since the small boy loved to starfish out in his sleep with limbs everywhere. Some days, though, Taeyong would wake up to find Renjun in his bed, limbs stretched as far as they could go.

Once awake and showered, the two ate breakfast, and then left for Renjun’s school. They’d walk to the nearest train station, hand in hand. As soon as they reached the stairs, Taeyong would scoop Renjun into his arms so the small five year old wouldn’t get lost.

They would stand usually since the subway car was packed with people on their way to work or school. Sometimes, if there were less people, Taeyong would allow Renjun to stand on his own since the five year old said he loved the vibrations under his feet. But when they were more packed, like it was today, Taeyong kept Renjun in his arms so he wouldn’t get lost in the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

Two stops later, they’d get off the train and walk over to the school. If they were running early, they’d stop by the cafe for a cookie and to say hi to baristas there. By now, the two knew everyone who worked the morning and afternoon shifts.

Then, Taeyong’s least favorite part of his day would come. He’d have to say goodbye to Renjun. The five year old seemed to look forward to school, he liked learning, but he didn’t seem to have any close friends. Renjun would happily run around with the kids during recess, and he had high praise for a girl named Yerim who would color with him. But he didn’t ever ask to invite anyone over, and no one seemed to be inviting him over.

“Appa,” Renjun turning towards Taeyong in front of the door to his classroom brought Taeyong out of his thoughts regarding their routine, “I’ll see you later?”

“Of course, Renjunnie,” Taeyong thought it was ridiculous Renjun felt the need to ask that question every day, but if that made the five year old feel better, he’ll answer it every day for the rest of his life. “I’ll be here when you get out later.”

Renjun reached his finger up to say goodbye.

Taeyong happily brought his own finger up to tap Renjun’s. “Have a good day, babe.”

He then watched as Renjun practically skipped into the classroom.

Just like their routine for every day, Taeyong then headed off to the subway station so he could go to work. That was the one place his routine would differ as some days he was working with Ten, some days he was in the recording studio with the talent, and other days he was in the basement with the trainees ready to pull his hair out.

Luckily, today was a day he got to work with Ten. So while he was saved from kids slacking off or the talent stressing out over their song not wanting to sound the way they wanted it to, he did have to spend a majority of the day listening to Ten complain about Johnny.

Apparently they were off again because Johnny wasn’t as attentive as Ten thought he should be. Something about not always being in the moment and getting too easily distracted. It was always a variant of the same thing when they broke up - Johnny didn’t show enough attention for Ten while Ten showed too much for Johnny. At the beginning of their relationship Taeyong had pointed this out to Johnny, but the taller man didn’t want to hear it. So, ever since then, Taeyong would just roll his eyes.

Lunch came and went in a flash, the two barely taking twenty minutes to shovel food down their throats. Then it was back to trying to plan the perfect stage outfits for the talent.

Promptly at twelve forty five, Taeyong cleaned up the pencils he was sketching with and headed back to Renjun’s school to pick the five year old up.

“Appa!” Renjun sounded more excited than usual to see Taeyong in the hallway. The five year old jumped into Taeyong’s arms with a bright smile, “Appa I colored you a picture?”

“A picture?” Taeyong finally noticed the paper in the small child’s hands. Once he settled Renjun on his hip, he took a look at the paper and saw a picture of two stick figures in front of what looked like a cage with some sort of four legged animal inside. “Is this us at the zoo?”

“Yes!” Renjun answered happily. “Ms Wong told us to draw our family.”

Taeyong used his free arm to wrap Renjun in a tight hug as he fought down the happy tears, he would happily stick to the routine if he had moments like this every day. “You are the sweetest. Where do you think we should hang it up?”

They spent the whole ride back to Taeyong’s office discussing the different places they could hang it up including in the entryway of the apartment, Taeyong’s office, and the fridge. It was as they were ascending the stairs that they decided the fridge seemed like the best place.

“Shocker finding you here.” Johnny easily fell into step with them and handed Taeyong an americano. “Right on schedule.”

“I have to get back to work, I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” Taeyong rolled his eyes, but happily accepted the drink before pretending not to see Johnny sneak Renjun a cookie. Taeyong didn’t actually care if Renjun got extra sweets from Johnny, but the first time Johnny did it the five year old giggled so adorably that Taeyong liked to play along just to hear it over and over again.

“I guess right now it’s not a problem, but when was the last time you went out after work-and don’t you count going to that pizza place every other week.” Johnny retorted, not letting Taeyong count the biweekly dinners he hosted for Mark, Jaemin, and Renjun. “When was the last time you went out like a grown up?”

“What does it even matter?” Taeyong felt himself close to pouting. His friend had been complaining about his lack of a social life for at least a month. But Taeyong didn’t see any problems with it. He was happy. Renjun was happy. Why would he need to shake that up?

“Because you’re lo- I mean you’re l-o-n-e-l-y,” Johnny spelled out, knowing that spelling wasn’t Renjun’s strong suit. Or at least spelling in Korean, he got great grades for his Mandarin. “I know you’re not unhappy persay, but you haven’t been on a date in forever. When was the last time you even kissed someone.”

Taeyong was about to fire back that it hadn’t been that long since Taeil, but then he remembered that the two of them actually hadn’t gotten to the point of sharing a kiss. The more he thought about it, the only person he kissed in the last year was Renjun, he just loved placing kisses on top of the boy’s head.

“See,” Johnny raised his eyebrows as he opened the door to let them into the company’s offices. “You can’t even name anyone, can you?”

“Does Junnie count?” Taeyong chuckled, knowing that he didn’t. But then he couldn’t resist placing a kiss on the five year old’s head. The small boy seemed to be drifting off to sleep which was to be expected. He normally took his nap after they got back from school.

“You know he doesn’t.” Johnny went ahead to press the button to call the elevator, “We should go out soon. I’m thinking a club.”

“A club?” Taeyong laughed quietly, he would have been louder but he didn’t want to startle Renjun. It was best for everyone if Renjun got his nap or else he was prone to tantrums. As much as he saw Renjun as an angel, the boy was five years old and sometimes got overtired or irritated. And sometimes, especially with the rate he was learning Mandarin as opposed to Korean, he couldn’t find the words to express himself in a way Taeyong could understand and that would frustrate him to no end.

“Yes, a club,” Johnny rolled his eyes, “Your birthday is coming up soon. Let’s go out.”

Taeyong shook his head immediately, “I have plans that day. I’m spending the day with Renjun. We’re going to-”

“No need to tell me know, I’m sure I’ll see the pictures the next day,” Johnny cut him off, following Taeyong to his office. He watched in silence as Taeyong set the sleeping child down on the couch. Once Taeyong turned back towards him, Johnny continued, “We don’t need to do out on your birthday. But let’s go out for your birthday.”

“I’ll think about it.” Taeyong was pretty sure he’d still say no since he couldn’t leave Renjun at night. The small boy had become a lot more comfortable with going to work or being dropped off at his friends’ houses, but they hadn’t broached the subject of him going to a sleepover. And, if he was being completely honest, Taeyong knew he’d spend any night away from Renjun constantly checking up on the boy and wondering how he was handling everything.

“You’d better actually think about it.” Johnny shot him a look before leaving the office.

Taeyong sighed and gave himself a moment to bury his face in his hands. He was happy to be at home with Renjun every night. And he was happy spending his weekends being lazy with Renjun in the apartment or going down to the playground to play on the swings.

But sometimes, it did cross his mind. The thought of having someone to wake up early with Renjun on Sundays so Taeyong could sleep in sounded great. Or maybe having someone else pick Renjun up from school so Taeyong didn’t have to cram all his meetings first thing in the morning to guarantee he’d be out in time to pick him up.

How did one go about dating with kids though? He didn’t want a repeat of Taeil, that was for sure. So he was going to be upfront about having a kid. After much thought, however, he didn’t want to immediately bring someone into Renjun’s life. Not if it was just going to be a few dates.

Taeyogn shook his head, now wasn’t the time to think about that. He needed to focus on work.

For an hour, Taeyong was able to complete his work in silence. He managed to get most of his work done before Renjun woke up from his nap.

Then, continuing their normal routine, Renjun read for a while, did a little bit of coloring, and just kept himself occupied until Taeyong was ready to leave for the day.

“Appa,” Renjun asked quietly as he walked hand in hand with Taeyong towards the apartment. “Do Ommas have to be girls?”

Taeyong looked down at the boy curiously, not knowing where the question came from. “Normally yeah, ommas are mamas, they’re the girl version of appa and baba. Why?”

“We talked about families at school today. Yerim says everyone else in class has an omma,” Renjun answered, but there was no distress in his voice, just curiosity. “I was wondering if you could be my omma too.”

“It may not be technically right, but I’ll be anything you want me to be, babe,” Taeyong swept down to pick Renjun up in his arms. He knew the boy could walk, and probably was in that stage of life that he wanted to be more independent, but he loved having Renjun close. “Not everyone has an omma, and not everyone has an appa. But I’m sure everyone in your class has a loving family just like you do. That’s what matters the most.”

“That’s good.” Renjun smiled happily, “I don’t think I want an omma, just Appa.”

“Don’t worry, Appa will always be here for you no matter what.”

Chapter Text

Taeyong checked the backpack again, making sure anything and everything was inside. He was nervous. So nervous he barely slept the last two nights. He was definitely more nervous than Renjun.

“Appa you already checked the bag, can we go now?” Renjun pouted, “Can we go now?”

“Let me just make sure I packed your toothbrush.” Taeyong said, but then began to pull everything out to make sure everything Renjun would need for the night was safely packed in the bag.

How he agreed to letting Renjun spend the night at Jaemin’s house, Taeyong will never know. He was running on a lack of sleep from working on a new song when the five year old first suggested it. That had to have been the only way Taeyong would have said sure without giving it a second thought. Usually Jaemin came over for sleepovers. Maybe sleepy Taeyong just thought that’s what Renjun was asking.

But now, Taeyong was regretting not paying more attention. What if Renjun got scared in the middle of the night? He couldn’t just climb into Jungwoo’s bed.

Even worse was Jaemin also invited Mark, which meant Johnny found out, which meant the lanky man kept going on and on about how fun it would be to have a grownup’s night out.

“Appa we’re gonna be late,” Renjun pouted as he watched the man take everything out of his backpack just to put it all back in. Claiming he was doing it to make sure everything was there.

“I just want to make sure you have everything.” Taeyong tried to justify himself, but he could sense the five year old getting restless. If he let it go on too long, a restless Renjun turned into a frustrated Renjun, and that was no way to go into your first sleepover.

“I have everything Appa,” Renjun would have rolled his eyes if he was older, Taeyong was sure of it. But then, the five year old’s facial expression changed, “Appa, are you sad?”

Taeyong dropped the hair brush that was in his hands and turned his complete attention to Renjun, “What? Do I look sad?”

Renjun shrugged, “You seem really worried.” His eyes then widened if something just hit him, “Appa are you sad I’m going to Jaemin’s? I won’t go if it makes you sad. Do you want me to stay and we can wat-”

The Korean man wrapped his arms tightly around Renjun. He was the sweetest five year old there ever was. “Renjunnie, you are too sweet. I’m not sad you’re going, I was just worried. This is the first time we won’t be sleeping in the same house so I was worried about you.”

“You don’t need to worry about me, Appa,” Renjun chuckled, his hold on Taeyong was just as tight as the man’s hold on him, “I’ll come back, I promise.”

If they didn’t have places to be, and if Renjun wasn’t in the room, Taeyong was sure he’d start bawling. Renjun was so cute and had come so far from where they were a year ago when they first met. Renjun was so brave now, and Taeyong loved him with every bit of his heart. “I know you’ll come back, babe. How about I pack all this up and then we go over to Jaemin’s?”

“Let’s go!” Renjun happily bounced away from Taeyong so he could run to his room put on a sweatshirt. It was probably a bit too warm outside for a sweatshirt, but Renjun seemed to like to wear them year round.

Once Taeyong put everything back into the backpack, Renjun was standing in front of him with a bright smile on his face and practically vibrating with excitement.

The two walked to the subway hand in hand and stayed close while they rode the 4 stations to Jaemin’s house. The whole time Renjun talked about all the things he wanted to do including eating dino nuggets, coloring, and dancing.

Taeyong listened patiently as he lead Renjun through the streets until they reached Jaemin’s apartment building. The trail was familiar as he used to drop Renjun off when they were preparing the child for school, but even the worry he used to feel back then wasn’t the same as the worry he felt now. Renjun pretty much assured him he’d be fine, but Taeyong was still worried.

“Renjun!” Jungwoo happily greeted as they got to the house. The five year old was so excited he ran into the apartment with his shoes on, yelling hi over his shoulder.

“Sorry about that,” Taeyong tried not to laugh, it was adorable but not the behavior he wanted to encourage. “They’re new shoes though, hopefully they’re not too dirty.”

“It’s fine, Jaemin is the same way,” Jungwoo smiled softy. The man always seemed to be smiling, something that seemed to have passed down to his son. “Please come in, I’m sure you’ll want to say a proper goodbye. Seungwan is out right now, but she’ll be back soon.”

Taeyong followed the man into the apartment, taking off his shoes properly. After quickly locating Renjun and scolding the five year old to take his shoes off, he followed Jungwoo into the living room.

“So, I’m taking it that you’re a nervous wreck?” Jungwoo asked with a knowing smile on his face. “I remember the first night we had away from Jaemin, I was a nervous wreck. We were going to a wedding and Jaehyun came over to watch him and I think I called him thirty times that night. I also got so jumpy any time my phone buzzed thinking it was him telling us that something was wrong. Someone tagging me in an instagram post about the wedding made me jump so high I spilt my champagne on the maid of honor.”

That was one of the best things about Jungwoo, his ability to make anyone and everyone comfortable. He was so relatable and big hearted.

“I unpacked his backpack three times checking to make sure he had everything even though after the first time I unpacked it, he had everything he’d need.” Taeyong admitted, making Jungwoo chuckle.

“That’s pretty adorable,” Jungwoo’s smile got even fonder. “I promise you I’ll keep you updated. I’ll let you know everything he eats, everything we do, and if he has any anxiety. He’ll be okay. Johnny tells me you guys are going out tonight, just focus on that. You can trust me, Taeyong.”

Before Taeyong could say anything, the doorbell rang again.

Jaemin and Renjun ran out of the younger boy’s room and up to Jungwoo, “Mark hyung is here!”

Jungwoo got up to answer the door and Taeyong knew this would be his last chance to say goodbye. He knew Johnny would be bringing Mark and when he saw Taeyong there, he’d drag him out to the nearest bar.

“Junnie, I’m gonna leave, okay.” Taeyong lightly grabbed the boy’s arm to get his full attention. “I’ll be back tomorrow to pick you up around noon. Sound good?”

Despite his earlier excitement, Taeyong knew that look of trepidation on Renjun’s face. The small boy was nervous now that the time had come.

“Uncle Jungwoo has my phone number and it’s also written on the green paper in the front pocket of your backpack. Call me for anything. Even just to say hi, okay? And please be good for Uncle Jungwoo and Auntie Seungwan. I know you’re good a lot of the time, but if something happens and you get frustrated just ask them to call me, okay?”

Renjun nodded, “I’ll try my best, Appa.”

“Now give me a hug and a kiss before Uncle Johnny gets in here and drags me out.” Taeyong chuckled and pulled the boy in close.

Renjun happily kissed Taeyong on the cheek and hugged him back.

And just as predicted, Johnny came into the room like a hurricane, “There you are. Let’s go! I have big plans for you. I take it you already said your goodbyes. Bye Renjun, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, Johnny tugged on Taeyong’s arm, trying to get him to leave.

“Appa,” Renjun calling out took Taeyong’s attention off his friend. He turned and saw the five year old extending his finger, “You can call me too if you need. Uncle Jungwoo said it’s okay.”

“I will,” Taeyong promised and tapped his finger on Renjun’s. He then couldn’t resist pulling away from Johnny to pull Renjun into one last hug before leaving the apartment.

“You guys are so adorable.” Johnny commented, before declaring they had to go back to Taeyong’s apartment for more suitable clothes.

---

Taeyong was torn. On one hand, it was nostalgic to smell booze and sweat in the air of the club. He always loved the feeling of the bass pounding through his body. However, a part of him wanted to be at home, in his boxers, just eating ice cream and watching tv. It would be nice to have his own version of a spa day, without any responsibilities.

But with Johnny as a best friend, the second option wasn’t happening anytime soon. Not that Taeyong was really complaining. He got great reception in the club so he was able to get every notification from Jungwoo regarding what Renjun ate, what they were getting up to, and anything else Jungwoo thought he’d want to know.

Taeyong was also having a great time with his friend. It had been so long since he drank that he was feeling a bit like a lightweight, but it was still a great time. They had gone out for some Korean barbeque and then went down to Gangnam for the clubs.

Around eight thirty, a call from Jungwoo’s phone had him scurrying off the dance floor and out the doors without telling Johnny. He knew the taller man would get annoyed with him running off, but he didn’t care. Why was Jungwoo calling?

“Jungwoo?” Taeyong tried to make his voice stead, not letting the other man know he was tipsy.

“Appa?” It was Renjun’s voice on the other end of the phone.

“Renjunnie, is everything okay?” Taeyong’s heart was pounding. Why was Renjun calling him?

“I wanted to say goodnight. We’re about to go to bed.” Renjun responded quietly.

Taeyong could tell the boy was barely holding onto consciousness, the sleepiness was obvious in his voice. “Aw babe, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Renjun yawned, “I just wanted to say goodnight and I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Taeyong’s heart was about to burst. His Renjun was so sweet. “Good night, babe, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Bye Appa,” Renjun then hung up the phone.

Taeyong was sure he looked like a crazy smiling man in middle of the alley in front of the club, but his heart felt so light.

“Sounds like you’ve got a sweetheart at home,” A slightly familiar voice broke through Taeyong’s thoughts.

Taeyong spun around quickly, his head only slightly spinning at the gesture. “It was just Renjun. He’s at his first sleepover today.”

“Jungwoo told me,” Jaehyun chuckled. Like always, the man looked amazing. Tight jeans clung to his legs like a second skin, and the loose shirt with the low neckline showed off his great collarbones. “You must be a nervous wreck.”

“I think your brother has taken care of most of my nerves, so just a wreck.” Taeyong admitted happily, “I have received a total of twenty seven texts tonight. It’s been great.” Just then, his phone buzzed again. This time, Jungwoo sent him a picture of the three boys asleep in the living room. He turned his phone to show Jaehyun, “Make that twenty eight.”

“Adorable,” Jaehyun cooed at the picture. “But now that they’re asleep, does that mean it’s time to let loose?”

“Yes!” Taeyong happily agreed and dragged Jaehyun back into the club he had just come out of.

The two of them met up with Johnny once inside for a few rounds of shots. After shots, the three of them headed back out to the dance floor. Taeyong had to admit that Jaehyun was a great dancer. The slightly taller man was smooth and had great rhythm, and his hands felt hot when they were tracing Taeyong’s body as the two danced together - Taeyong’s back pressed up against Jaehyun’s chest.

In a moment driven by lust and tequila shots, Taeyong turned in Jaehyun’s arms, reached up to grab the back of his neck, and pulled him into a kiss.

It had been so long since he kissed anyone that Taeyong was slightly afraid that he forgot how to kiss. But with Jaehyun, it came naturally.

The slightly taller man bright his hands up to the sides of Taeyong’s face as the two fought for dominance in the kiss that tasted like tequila and salt.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jaehyun muttered against Taeyong’s lips as they pulled away for air. “My place isn’t far.”

Taeyong took the offered hand and followed Jaehyun through the mass of bodies on the dancefloor to the front of the club. Taeyong shot Johnny a quick text saying he was leaving for the night right before they stepped outside.

The moment the crisp June air hit his face, the realization of what he was doing hit him. Though, he wasn’t really sure what was happening. Would this be a one night stand? Was this going to progress to something more? Was he really going to follow Jaehyun home?

“Taeyong?” Jaehyun’s voice broke through all the thoughts running through his head, “You okay?”

“I don’t know.” Taeyong stumbled his way to a nearby wall to lean against. “What are we doing?”

“I thought we were going back to my place, but I feel like that’s not happening,” Jaehyun stood next to Taeyong and leaned up against the wall. “What’s going on in your mind?”

“I-I-” Taeyong was stuttering over his words. What was he even thinking right now? “I want to see Renjun.”

Jaehyun’s perfectly shaped eyebrows shot up, hiding under his bangs. “Okay, not what I was expecting.”

“Sorry, I know it doesn’t make any sense. I just don’t know what we’re doing here,” Taeyong admitted quietly. “And it may sound ridiculous, but I just feel better when I can see him, when I know he’s okay.”

“He’s okay, my brother isn’t going to let anything happen to him,” Jaehyun pushed off against the wall and then turned to Taeyong, hand outstretched, “But let’s go. I’ll let him know we’re on our way over. Just promise you’ll be quiet, I’m sure the boys are all still sleeping.”

“Thanks.” Taeyong smiled, taking Jaehyun’s hand.

“So tell me about all of this,” Jaehyun encouraged as they got onto the subway. “My brother has told me the basics of the whole friend showing up with a kid at your doorstep, but that’s about all I know. Why you? And why do you keep it up?”

“I love his father,” Taeyong answered immediately, “His father was there for me during a lot when we grew up. We met when I was in high school and he was there during everything. He came to my graduation, he was there in the dance studio with me at two am when one of us couldn’t get a move right, and he was there when I came out to my parents, who let’s just say were not very supportive. So the night he came to me with Renjun and asked if I remembered telling him I’d do anything for him, I barely gave it a second thought. I had no clue what I got myself into.

“And I won’t lie, at first he was kind of annoying.” Taeyong admitted out loud for the first time. He blamed the tequila shots, “But don’t tell him I said that because he’s the world’s greatest kid and I love him. And I’m so proud of him. He’s so brave. He’s at a sleepover today because he knows I’ll pick him up in the morning, he trusts me, and that’s the greatest thing ever. I love him so much, even when he was my shadow for like, five months.”

And the man kept rambling about what a great kid Renjun was the whole subway ride over to Jungwoo’s stop. While on the subway, Jaehyun texted his brother to let him know the plan. A quick, and silent, checkup on Renjun.

So once they arrived outside Jungwoo’s door, the man opened it quietly, “Hey Jae, Taeyong. How’d you guys find each other tonight?”

“Ended up at the same club by chance,” Jaehyun answered in a whisper as they entered the apartment. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“I was up anyways,” Jungwoo happily waved him off as they walked to the living rooms. “The boys have been out since I sent that picture.”

“That’s good.” Taeyong did his best to whisper as he took in the scene in front of him. The three boys were surrounded by a multitude of blankets and pillows and there were some stuffed animals thrown in as well. Mark and Jaemin were both had their heads closest to the couch that was up against the far wall while Renjun lay in between them, feet up by their heads.

It took everything in Taeyong to prevent him from cooing out loud. The three best friends were so adorable.

So instead, he carefully crept over to place a soft kiss on Renjun’s forehead before retreating back to Jungwoo and Jaehyun.

“Thank you Jungwoo,” Taeyong happily hugged the man, still feeling the shots. “I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” Jungwoo threw his brother a concerned look, “Maybe you should stay here for the night. You don’t quite seem sober.”

“I’ve got him, don’t worry,” Jaehyun tugged lightly on Taeyong’s arm. “I’ll take him back to his place.”

Jungwoo threw a suspicious glance between the two but nodded, “Okay, just text me when you get home.”

And with that, Jaehyun and Taeyong were back outside, this time heading towards Taeyong’s apartment.

Chapter Text

Taeyong brushed the snow off of Renjun’s shoulders as they entered the supermarket before shaking it off his own head. They had already bought enough groceries to last them through the snowstorm, but forgot to stock up on hot chocolate. Renjun said he was fine without it, but Taeyong loved sitting on their small balcony cuddled up in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate, just watching the snow fall.

“Appa, can we get ice cream?” Renjun asked as they headed down the aisles.

“Ice cream? Isn’t it too cold for ice cream?” Taeyong asked but his attention stayed focused on the vegetables in front of him. Sweet potatoes were on sale, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some actual groceries while they were there. Roasted sweet potatoes sounded delicious.

“It’s never too cold for ice cream,” Renjun pouted, but quietly kept following the Korean man.

Taeyong ruffled the boy’s hair, “Maybe later. I’m going to go grab a cart, do you want to pick out some potatoes for us to eat?”

“Yes!” Renjun happily bounced up to the display to look at the different potatoes.

The only reason Taeyong felt comfortable leaving him to pick up a cart is because the vegetables were in front of the store and he’d be able to keep his eyes on the five year old the whole time. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry, in the thirty seconds it took him to grab a cart, Renjun stayed exactly where he was, just staring at the potatoes.

“Find anything good?” Taeyong picked up one of the bags to fill. “Just put them in here.”

Renjun seemed to have no requirement for what looked like a good potato as he each one he picked up looked completely different from each other. But he kept muttering things like “This one for Appa” and “This one will be mine” and Taeyong knew each one would be delicious.

“Taeyong?” A voice he hadn’t heard in months called out.

Taeyong turned so fast he nearly fell over, “Jaehyun?”

“Hey,” The taller man smiled. “Long time no see.”

The last time he saw Jaehyun had been the night that Renjun had his first sleepover away from home. After they visited the small chinese boy, they had gone back to Taeyong’s apartment. Jaehyun hadn’t left until it was time to pick Renjun up, spending the whole morning fooling around. They both knew it was a one night stand and made the most of it, but then there hadn’t even been a text between them.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Taeyong nodded awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

Luckily he didn’t have to say anything because Renjun, who finished filling his bag, turned around and spotted the older man, “Uncle Jaehyun!”

“Hey cutie,” Jaehyun reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “How’s school?”

“It’s alright,” Renjun shrugged and looked around, “Is Jaemin here?”

“Nope, sorry, he’s with his parents. I’m actually just here to pick up some stuff for a party.” Jaehyun shrugged and shifted the basket in his arms to be a little higher in a poor attempt to hide the bottles of liquor from the child.

“Looks like it’s going to be a rager,” Taeyong couldn’t help but comment.

Jaehyung shrugged, but the smirk he sent Taeyong had the shorter man concluding that his guess was true. “Possibly, or no one is going to show up because of all this snow.”

“Appa, can we get cookies?” Renjun pulling on Taeyong’s sleeve interrupted the conversation.

“Sure Junnie, we’ll get some cookies too,” Taeyong rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to Jaehyun, “It’s not like we didn’t pick up cookies last time we were here.”

“You really are rocking this whole parenting thing, you know that?” Jaehyun commented as the two of them moved deeper into the store with Renjun following behind them. “I know I didn’t really know you before, but I can’t imagine it was as domestic as this.”

“Definitely not,” Taeyong laughed to himself. He had changed a lot in nearly a year and a half. “Was actually probably more like you back then, just enjoying the bachelor life.”

“Yeah, it’s good times,” Jaehyun sent the shorter man a wink as they approached the meat section. He needed some sort of platter for people to snack on and figured they’d have something with a nice array of meat and cheese. “If you ever find yourself free for a night, you should let me know.”

“Huh?” Taeyong’s eyes widened.

Jaehyun chuckled, “I said if you find yourself free for a night, let me know. Maybe we can have some more fun.”

“That sounds...fun,” Taeyong found he was at a loss for words. He was really rusty at flirting. “But you know it’s hard to come across a free night, especially during the school year. Though I guess a holiday break is coming up next month.”

“Just something to think about,” Jaehyun hadn’t dropped the very attractive smirk from his face, “Besides, I’m sure Jaemin would jump at the chance for another sleepover with Renjun. And Ren-”

When the taller man stopped talking, Taeyong looked behind him and froze. He could have sworn he just felt Renjun holding onto the back of his jacket just seconds ago. But the small boy was nowhere to be found.

---

Renjun stared at the wall of cookies in front of him. There were so many choices and since they were cookies, they all had to be delicious, right? Or at least that’s what he told himself when he realized the box of cookies he really wanted was completely out of reach. Maybe he should have waited for Taeyong to wander down the cookie aisle with him, he’d definitely be able to reach. But he said they could have cookies, so Renjun wanted to get the cookies so they didn’t have to be out in the snow for much longer. Taeyong had been complaining about the snow the whole walk to the grocery store.

“You should get these ones.” a voice combined with a box of choco pies being shoved into Renjun’s face had the small five year old squealing in surprise.

He looked next to him and saw a boy who looked roughly his age. The boy was a little chubbier than Renjun with tanner skin and a bright smile on his face.

“These are good.”

Renjun turned his attention back to the wall, “I want those ones. But I can’t reach them.”

The boy followed Renjun’s outstretched finger and saw a blue box of Moomin cookies on the top shelf. “I can get those.”

“Can you?” Renjun’s eyes widened in surprise. How was the little boy his own height going to reach those cookies?

“Of course. Come here.” The boy grabbed Renjun’s hand and pulled him so he was standing right next to the shelves, just below the cookies. “Okay, now kneel down.”

Renjun scoffed, “No, you’re bigger than me. You kneel down.”

The boy raised his eyebrows at him, “I’m not that big!”

“I didn’t say you were big! You’re just bigger than me.” Renjun argued right back. And it was true. In all fairness, Renjun found he was smaller than most people his age.

“But it was my idea,” The strange boy retorted. “Do you want your cookies or not?”

Renjun sighed and did what the boy said, getting on his hands and knees. He felt the other stand on his back and, luckily, Renjun was able to hold him up.

He felt the boy shift his weight around, probably in an attempt to reach the cookies.

But when the boy jumped off, he didn’t have the cookies in hand. “That didn’t work.”

“Why not?” Renjun pouted and looked up at the cookies again.

“Still too short.” The other boy sighed before his face lit up, “New plan. Stay where you are but spread your legs.”

Renjun didn’t question it, instead did as he was told. He wasn’t sure if the other boy was going to try and climb up him, but figured any plan was better than no plan.

Once again he let out a very high pitched squeak as the boy surprised him again by putting his head between Renjun’s legs. Once Renjun was pretty much sitting on his shoulders, the other boy slowly stood up. He seemed to have a little trouble staying balanced, but held onto the shelf in front of him to steady them out. “Can you grab it?”

Renjun looked up and saw the box much closer than before. He reached up, stretching his arm and fingers as far as they would go. And luckily, the tips of his fingers were able to knock the box off the shelf. Sure a few of the yellow boxes next to it felt down, but he got the blue box! That was what mattered.

“Don’t fall,” The other kid warned before quickly lowering his body. Luckily, while Renjun did end up falling off his shoulders, the small boy had managed to grab a shelf on his way down. So while his legs banged a few more boxes off the shelves, he was able to just lower himself until his feet reached the ground.

“Thank you,” Renjun picked up the blue box with a bright smile on his face. “Moomin is my favorite.”

“Why?” The boy gave a curious look at the tubby cartoon character on the box.

“He’s cute.” Renjun stated, it was the most obvious thing ever. Why the other boy couldn’t see that, he wouldn’t know.

“I guess,” The boy shrugged before looking around, “Are you here alone?”

“No, my Appa is getting potatoes,” Renjun then looked around as well, “Are you here by yourself?”

“No, my Appa and my brother are here, but they were being boring.” The boy then looked Renjun up and down before shrugging, “I just moved here, we should be friends.”

Renjun shrugged right back. “Okay. I’m Renjun.”

“I’m Donghyuck,” The boy smiled brightly. “I’m from Jeju.”

Before Renjun could respond, he heard his name being shouted. He must have taken longer to get cookies than he originally planned. “I think that’s my Appa. I’ve gotta go.”

“I’ll come too.” Donghyuck took Renjun’s free hand in his own.

Renjun was confused a lot by this kid. He seemed very nice and kind of standoffish all at the same time. But he made a new friend, Taeyong would be proud of him. So he happily led the other down the aisle to find the voice that was still calling out his name.

Luckily they didn’t have to go too far as right when they left the snack aisle, Renjun was being swept into the arms of his Appa.

“Renjun where did you go?” Taeyong held the boy close to his chest, squeezing him tightly. He thought his heart had stopped the moment Renjun wasn’t behind him.

“To get cookies.” Renjun smiled happily, unaware of the turmoil going on in Taeyong’s mind. “Look! Moomin!”

Taeyong looked at the box and was tempted to tell Renjun he couldn’t have them since he had not been a very good boy when he ran off. But then, would Renjun really be able to tell the difference between him running off in the grocery store and Taeyong doing the same thing just minutes earlier when he was grabbing a cart.

“Oh yeah!” Renjun exclaimed happily. “I made a friend too!”

Taeyong knew he had lost any kind of internal battle about punishing the boy when he spotted the other child in front of him. Since Renjun didn’t seem comfortable calling any of the kids at his school friends, he wanted to encourage the kid to make as many friends as he could outside of school. But they were definitely going to have a talk about wandering off when they got home!

“I’m Donghyuck,” The tan boy waved awkwardly. “I helped.”

“Well thank you, Donghyuck. I’m Taeyong,” he set Renjun back on the ground and looked the boy over. He looked to be the same age as Renjun, but seemed bored with the display in front of him.

The boy seemed to look Taeyong over head to toe before shrugging, “Okay Ajusshi.”

Before Taeyong could figure out how to respond to that, a tall man came out of one of the aisles with a bright smile on his face, “There you are, Hyuckie. Did you find the choco pies?”

“Oh yeah,” Donghyuck gasped before running back down the cookie aisle.

“Sorry if he made any trouble,” The tall man bowed slightly, but the smile remained bright on his face. He was pushing a cart with a smaller child in it, looking to be maybe two years old.

“Oh, definitely not,” Taeyong shoved the thought of being called an ajusshi to the back of his mind. Sure he didn’t feel like an ajusshi at twenty six, but to a five year old he probably did seem super old. “I think he was helping Renjun get some cookies.”

The man looked down the cookie aisle and let out a laugh, “Random boxes of cookies just laying on the floor, that was definitely Donghyuck’s handiwork.”

Taeyong looked down the aisle and saw five or six random boxes just laying out on the floor in front of the area where the Moomin cookies were. “Renjun, did you guys make a mess and not clean it up?”

Renjun looked down at his feet in guilt, but Donghyuck spoke up, “We didn’t have time. You called Renjun over.”

“Well now you have time to pick them up,” Donghyuck’s father chided.

“Go help him,” Taeyong lightly pushed the child towards the boxes.

Renjun happily bounced over to his new friend to help.

“I’m Yunho,” The man reached a hand out for Taeyong to shake, “This is Jisung. We just moved here a few days ago, quite the temperature change going from Jeju to a snow storm.”

“I’m Taeyong,” Taeyong reached out and shook his hand. “And that’s Runjun. We live down the street from here I decided to brave the storm for hot chocolate.”

“Oh we just moved in down the street. Into that gray apartment building with that huge playground in the middle.”

Taeyong perked up at that, “I think we may live in the same apartments actually. We live there on the fourteen floor.”

“Seriously?” Yunho’s jaw dropped, “We just moved into the fourteenth floor. I guess we’re neighbors.”

“I didn’t even realize anyone moved in,” Taeyong was excited, while he really did wish Renjun had more friends at school, it would be really nice for the kid to have a friend so close. They’d be able to see each other after school and any day really without it being a burden to either parent. Jaemin and Mark were great friends, but some weeks it was hard to find a day that worked great for all of their schedules.

“Taeyong!” Jaehyun came running over, slightly out of breath. “Did you find him?”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” Taeyong felt bad for forgetting about the man who said he’d check out front to make sure Renjun didn’t wander out into the cold on his own. “He was getting cookies. But look, we made friends. They just moved into our building.”

“Jaemin’s going to be so jealous,” Jaehyun laughed before introducing himself to Yunho.

While the two got to know each other a little, Taeyong decided to check in on the two boys cleaning up the cookies. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw Renjun perched on Donghyuck’s shoulders while the boy on the ground tried to lean over and pick up the fallen boxes.

“Freeze!” Taeyong stopped them, running over to pick Renjun off of Donghyuck’s shoulders and set him off the ground. “You can’t be doing that, it’s not safe.”

“It’s fine, he didn’t fall when we did it earlier.” Donghyuck waved off his concern. “Besides, we can’t reach the top shelf.”

Taeyong sighed, he already wasn’t sure what to think of Renjun’s new friend. The small kid seemed to have an answer for everything. But he wasn’t wrong, there was no way the two kids could reach the top shelf. So instead, Taeyong had them pick the boxes up and hand them to him to put in their proper place.

Once that was done, he walked the two kids to the front of the aisle. Donghyuck threw his box of choco pies into the cart, “There you go, Appa.”

After exchanging numbers, Yunho went back to his grocery shopping while Taeyong, Renjun, and Jaehyun went to the drink aisle to look for hot chocolate.

“So he was cute,” Jaehyun started once the other man was out of hearing range.

Taeyong raised an eyebrow, “He’s got two small kids, he’s probably got a wife at home. If not, I’ll be sure to pass him your number.”

“I was thinking you thought he was cute,” Jaehyun responded quietly.

“He is cute, but not someone I’m interested in,” Taeyong answered honestly. “But you’re confusing me, who cares if I think he’s cute.”

Jaehyun shrugged, “I don’t know, just making conversation.”

“Well you’ve got your party to get to soon, I’m sure.” Taeyong wasn’t sure where Jaehyun was going with this conversation, but he had found the hot chocolate he was looking for. “And we need to get back home before it starts snowing harder.

“I meant what I said earlier about hitting me up if you have a free night. I had fun that night.” Jaehyun sounded confident, but his eyes were looking everywhere but at Taeyong.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

Chapter Text

Taeyong stared at the two boys in front of him, torn between scolding them, laughing at how ridiculous they looked, or getting his phone out to capture just how adorable they were.

"Hi Appa, we thought you were working." Renjun's gaze was cast down at the floor, the five year old was expecting a scolding for sure.

"And I thought you two were at Donghyuck's apartment?" Taeyong did his best to keep a stern face, but his determination was faltering. He was so ready to break out his phone and take as many pictures as possible.

"Well you see-" Donghyuck started with a shrug. Ever since they met the mischievous neighbor, the two boys hung out nearly every day. Sometimes they'd watch movies at Donghyuck's apartment with his little brother, while other times they ran around Taeyong's apartment playing transformers. Donghyuck even got along with Jaemin and Mark when the other two came over.

"We wanted to help out." Renjun cut his friend off. "For the party. "

"Exactly!" Donghyuck turned his attention from Renjun to Taeyong resulting in a cloud of flour to fly from his hair. "But we may have spilled. "

"May have?" This time, Taeyong could not repress his chuckle. Not only was there flour all over the kitchen floor and counter, the two boys were covered head to toe in white, dusty flour.

"It was a big bag." Renjun justified. "A really big bag. We wanted to make a lot of cookies."

Taeyong finally gave in and took his phone out of his pocket to get a picture of the complete mess in front of him. Unfortunately the boys' adorable matching Christmas sweaters would be unwearable for the party Jungwoo and his wife were throwing tonight, but right now they were the most adorable things on the planet. It looked more like they got in a snowball fight than a simple bag of flour being dropped. And if he was being honest with himself, he knew the two probably did get into a little tussle.

The first time he walked in on Donghyuck wrapping his arms sound Renjun's stomach and pulling him down to the floor, Taeyong nearly had a heart attack. He ran over, pulled the two apart, and was ready to send Donghyuck home when Renjun laughed, and then tried to tackle Donghyuck. The two never wrestled for long, and were about the same size so one wasn't inherently stronger than the other, so Taeyong just let it happened. Plus, it was pretty adorable that most times the tussles ended in a quick hug.

"Does this mean we're not in trouble?" Donghyuck attempted to whisper to Renjun, but wasn't actually quiet about it. He had yet to realize that the point of whispering was so that not everyone in the room could hear you.

"You're not in trouble for spilling flour, accidents happen." Taeyong put his phone away so he could reach a hand out towards each boy so he could ruffle their hair. "But it would be nice if you guys helped me clean up."

"I'll grab the broom!" Donghyuck called out before running to the hallway closet.

"Appa," Renjun's voice was still a bit hesitant. "I'm really sorry. We just wanted to make cookies for everyone."

Taeyong lifted the small boy in his arms, not caring about the fact his side was now coated in flour. "It's okay, accidents happen. And that was a really nice thing you guys were trying to do. Just remember, you can always ask me for help. Even if I'm working, I can help you out."

"Are you sure you're not Renjun's real dad? " Donghyuck's question had Taeyong turning his attention away from the boy in his arms. About a week prior, while at dinner with Donghyuck's family, the subject of Renjun's parentage came up. Ever since then, Donghyuck has seemed to have been watching Taeyong with a skeptical look on his face. Like he had been lying when he said he and Renjun weren’t biologically related.

Renjun tried to bury his face in Taeyong's neck, but that resulted in the Korean man getting a mouth full of flour.

After coughing up some of it up, Taeyong felt he had to ask, "What makes you ask that?"

"You're really nice, like my dad," Donghyuck shrugged, "And you tuck us in at night and you give Junnie lots of hugs. Isn't that what a dad does?"

"That's because he's my Appa." Renjun's voice was a small whine, but his face looked determined.

"But what about your other Appa?"

"He's not my Appa," If Renjun was older, he'd probably be rolling his eyes. "He's my Baba."

"What's the difference?"

Taeyong decided to step in before both boys got more frustrated than they already were. "There's not really a difference. We both love Renjunnie a lot and want all the best for him."

"What's his Baba like?" Donghyuck asked, completely forgetting about the messy kitchen.

But Taeyong didn't forget. He set Renjun down on the ground and promised them he'd tell them more about Sicheng when they were finished.

It seemed to be a great motivational tool because forty five minutes later, the two had helped him clean the kitchen as well as took a quick bath.

"So, what do you want to know?" Taeyong asked after they made themselves comfortable on the couch with some hot cocoa.

“Was he nice?” Renjun asked quietly, almost like he was afraid of the answer. Compared to the year and a half Renjun and Taeyong spent together and the over three years the child spent with his mom, Renjun only spent a few months with his father. And if Sicheng was already knee deep in whatever mess made him leave the country, he was probably really distracted that whole time.

“He’s the nicest person you’ll ever meet.” Taeyong answered with full confidence, “He was my one of my best friends, always helping everyone when they needed it, and he always remembered special days like birthdays and anniversaries. He helped old ladies cross the street and he was the type of person who’d always return something if he found it, even if it was a wallet full of money. He was a really nice person.”

“Is he good at games?” This time, it was Donghyuck asking. He seemed just as interested as Renjun was.

“Super good.” Taeyong chuckled, proceeding to tell them the story of the most intense game of pictionary he had ever been a part of that ended up with a shoe being thrown and breaking a vase.

From there, he talked about everything he could think of. The time Sicheng wanted to rent bikes in the park and ended up breaking his wrist. The day he met Sicheng in the dance studio. The time Sicheng made them drive five hours out of the city to see a meteor shower, only to find out they were a week too late. And he even told them about the time Sicheng threw up on his shoes, though he did leave out that it was due to alcohol, not the flu like he told the boys.

Up until they had to get ready for the party, Taeyong reminisced about his best friend and it felt really nice surprisingly. He missed his friend and thought that talking about Sicheng would make him feel sad. It had been so long since he even said Sicheng’s name out loud, but talking about him again felt really good. Taeyong decided that he was going to have more days like this, Renjun really needed to know what a great person his father was.

Unfortunately, their trip down memory lane was cut short when he saw the time. They had an hour until the Christmas party started, but they still had to stop by the bakery to pick up some cookies. He originally wasn’t going to bring anything at Jungoo’s insistence, but while cleaning up the flour in the kitchen, the three decided it would still be nice to pick up some cookies if they couldn’t bake them. Taeyong was sure that the party would have enough desserts, but saying no to the hopeful expressions on the boys’ faces was something Taeyong found impossible to do.

----

A few hours later, the party at Jungwoo’s apartment was winding down. Taeyong spent most of the party teamed up with Johnny going from group to group meeting new people. The whole party was a mix of Seungwan’s friends, Jungwoo’s coworker, some family, and -well- Johnny and Taeyong. While the two were friends with Jungwoo and Seungwan, they didn’t know too many of the people at the party. Everyone else didn’t have kids, so whenever Johnny and Taeyong got together with Jungwoo and Seungwan, they weren’t around.

However, the four children seemed to be having the time of their lives. Every so often Jaemin introduced them to one of the adults, but for the most part the four stuck to themselves. They were running everywhere, scurrying around the adults in some sort of race. At one point they tried to sneak a whole plate of cookies into Jaemin’s room, but Jungwoo was quick to swoop in and bring the plate back to the kitchen.

“How are they still running around?” Johnny collapsed onto the couch with a heavy sigh as he watched Mark and Donghyuck run through the hallway and out to the balcony. A part of Taeyong felt like he should have followed them, after all Donghyuck was his responsibility for the night, but there were so many adults around that someone would be sure to watch out for them. Plus they were both smart enough to know not to try and climb up the railing out there.

“They’re kids, they’re practically made of sugar,” Taeyong laughed before taking another sip of his beer as he watched some of the other people around them. A majority of the people had left, but there were still some people just arriving as well.

“I miss those days, I get tired just going to the bar after nine,” Johnny seemed to relax more into the couch as he rested his head on Taeyong’s shoulder. “How are you still awake? You practically have two kids now.”

“I don’t practically have two kids,” Taeyong laughed. “Besides, if anything, it’s like I just got divorced because they run off to Donghyuck’s house nearly half the time, so it’s like partial custody. Renjun was stoked to find that Donghyuck’s little brother is smaller than him, I think that’s why they spend so much time there.”

Johnny laughed, it’d been so long since he didn’t have anyone around who was smaller than him. “You must be going crazy taking pictures of them. I’m sure you spend half the day cooing at them.”

“Well, speaking of how adorable my Junnie is,” Taeyong couldn’t help but pull his phone out to show Johnny the scene that had greeted him earlier in the day. With the whole rush of new people at the party, he hadn’t gotten the chance to show Johnny what the boys looked like covered in flour.

"Let me guess. Renjun fighting a crocodile?" A familiar voice interrupted their conversation.

Both Johnny and Taeyong turned their heads in surprise. Ten was standing in front of them with a big smile on his face and ridiculous reindeer antlers on his head.

"Pretty close," Taeyong stood up so he could give his friend a quick hug and then show him the picture. "Jun and Hyuck attempting to make cookies for tonight."

"Adorable," Ten cooed, taking a quick look at the picture. His attention then turned to the man awkwardly standing behind him. "Guys, meet Yuta. Taeyong, he’s the guy I was telling you about."

Taeyong turned to Yuta with a bright smile. Last time he spoke with Ten, the shorter was going on and on about the great guy he met recently at a coffee shop. Yuta was some sort of real estate guy who liked to text Ten greasy pickup lines followed by an obscene amount of emojis.

But then he realized who was on the couch behind him and froze. Sure Johnny and Ten had been off again for a few months now, but aside from a few drunk texts, Johnny didn't talk much about Ten. They were cordial when they ran into each other at work, but other than that, there was no contact between the two.

“Hello,” Johnny stood up off the couch, towering over both Ten and Yuta. He then awkwardly stuck his hand out, “I’m Johnny.”

“Oh,” The smile that was on Yuta’s face slid right off, but he still reached out and shook the Korean man’s hand. “Yuta.”

Instead of looking smug that he was much taller or cocky like he normally was around guys who were deemed competition, Johnny looked a little sheepish. He was scratching at the back of his neck and shifting his weight around like he did when he was nervous.

“So, how do you guys know Jungwoo and Seungwan?” Ten broke the tension. He looked plenty fine being in Johnny’s presence.

“Their son, actually,” Taeyong chuckled. “Jaemin is the boy from that time we took a tour of Renjun’s school. They’ve been friends ever since.”

“That’s oddly adorable,” Ten chuckled as well. “Yuta here works at the same office as Seungwan.”

“Small world.” Taeyong responded, then realized how strange it felt to have Johnny so quiet. The tall man was such a bundle of energy all the time that when he wasn’t, it was almost as if he sucked the energy out of the air around him.

“Uncle,” Mark’s voice broke through the awkwardness that surrounded the four adults. “UNcle Johnny, I’m sleepy. Can I go home?”

Johnny looked at the small boy with sympathy. Mark was rubbing at his eyes as he yawned. “Of course, kid. You’ve been up all day, you must be exhausted. Did you say goodbye to your friends?”

Mark let out a groan as he stomped off in the direction of Jaemin’s room.

Meanwhile, Johnny looked like Christmas came a bit early. He was glad that he could get away without making up some sort of awkward excuse. The tall man gave Taeyong a hug before turning his attention to the couple in front of him, “Yuta, it was a pleasure meeting you. Ten,” Johnny let out a small sigh, “I’m sorry, again.”

Ten’s smile held no malice towards the man in front of him, “I told you, it was both of us. Stop apologizing.”

Taeyong looked between the two in confusion, but at a Christmas party in front of Ten’s new romantic interest wasn’t the place to try and find out. Instead, he watched with a fond smile as Ten gave Johnny a quick hug before the taller went off in search of his nephew.

Before Taeyong could say anything, Seungwan had wandered over to say hello to her coworker. Taeyong normally would have stayed for the conversation, but when he spotted a familiar head of hair sneak into the kitchen, Taeyong couldn’t help but follow.

Quietly, he made his way through the living room, checked his surroundings, and then quickly entered the kitchen. Just as he suspected, Jaehyun was inside pouring himself a drink.

“You’re here for only a few minutes and already got into the alcohol?” Taeyong joked.

Jaehyun jumped. He hadn’t heard the other come in. “It’s been longer than a few minutes, but I didn’t want to interrupt whatever awkwardness that was over by the couches.”

Taeyong chuckled, “The smaller one was Johnny’s ex, my friend Ten. And he’s here with a new guy. But honestly, they both handled it better than I would have expected.”

“Sounds messy,” Jaehyun scrunched up his nose before looking around, “But look, we’re all alone in here. And,” He quickly pulled something out of his pocket. “Mistletoe.”

“That was pretty cheesy,” Taeyong couldn’t help but make fun of the attempt to be smooth. Ever since that day in the grocery store, the two had sent flirty texts back and forth. They hadn’t met up, though they both talked about it. Every time Renjun spent the night at Donghyuck’s apartment, Taeyong played with the idea of asking Jaehyun to come over. Or for the two of them to go do something. But something stopped him. Once it was Renjun coming back home to grab something from his room right before Taeyong could hit send, so instead he deleted the text. Just little things that seemed to be signs.

“At least it got your attention,” Jaehyun shrugged and took a step closer. “You keep deflecting all my best pickup lines, maybe it’s time to go for something more straight forward.”

“I don’t deflect,” Taeyong was torn between pouting and rolling his eyes. Instead, he just gave a little whine, “It’s just hard.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Jaehyun closed the space between them and brought his lips to Taeyong’s.

Just like the last time they kissed, this kiss felt natural. It felt right. Jaehyun had plush, yet slightly chapped lips, but the way he moved them felt so electrifying, Taeyong felt his heart start to race.

And then it stopped when he heard a familiar voice call out, “Appa?”

Taeyong lightly pushed Jaehyun away. “Sorry, I’ve got to see what he needs.”

“I know,” Jaehyun hadn’t opened his eyes, he just let out a small sigh and took a step back. “But promise me next time you have the apartment to yourself, you’ll hit me up.”

“I will,” Taeyong nodded, feeling a lot more sure of himself that the next time Renjun was at Donghyuck’s apartment, he’d actually hit send.

“Appa! Jaemin fell asleep and we’re bored!”

Chapter Text

“Fancy seeing you here,” Johnny’s cheery smile greeted Taeyong in the hallway, just outside the shorter man’s apartment.

Taeyong raised a suspicious eyebrow at his best friend. The taller hadn’t rang the doorbell or knocked on the door or even sent a text, what was he doing just loitering in the hallway? “Weird seeing you here. Did we have plans?”

“Uncle Johnny?” Renjun had followed Taeyong out of the apartment with his backpack on. They were heading over to Jaemin’s apartment for the night for a sleepover. “Uncle Johnny why are you here?”

“My sister asked me to drop Mark off at Donghyuck’s place,” Johnny knelt so he was down on the five year old’s level, “I hear you’re going over to Jaemin’s house today.”

“Yep,” Renjun nodded excitedly, “We’re going to make up a dance!”

“A dance?” Johnny’s face lit up, mirroring his excitement. “Have you guys picked out a song yet?”

Renjun shook his head, “Nope. After dinner.”

“You’re so good.” Johnny stood up to ruffle the boy’s hair and then turned towards Taeyong, “I’ll walk with you guys.”

“I know that look.” Taeyong couldn’t help but laugh, “You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

“I had a feeling.” Johnny shrugged and pressed the button for the elevator, “I only had to awkwardly stand in the hallway for like, ten minutes. Just had to make it seem casual, you know?”

“You waited in the hallway for ten minutes?” Renjun, who had been trying to listen in on their conversation, looked up at Johnny with his head adorably tilted to the side.

Johnny couldn’t help but scoop the small boy into his arms. With the holidays, they hadn’t had the chance to see each other due to other commitments. So Renjun went on and on about everything Johnny had missed. He told Johnny all about the cookies he made, the presents he got, and the picture book he made for Taeyong.

It was only after they dropped Renjun off at Jaemin’s apartment that Johnny turned to his best friend with a knowing smile, “You cried when he gave you that book, huh?”

Taeyong nodded, how could he have not? Renjun had strung together different pages he had colored, along with a story that was written in both Mandarin and Korean. The Korean was riddled with spelling mistakes that had been crossed out and rewritten in different places. Renjun had drawn pictures of things that he liked, memories he loved, and the last few pages were all of his favorite things about Taeyong. It was riddled with things like Taeyong’s cuddles and going to the park together and breakfast on Sunday mornings and every time Taeyong opened it up, his eyes teared.

“It was the sweetest thing ever,” Taeyong finally managed to find the words to describe his gift. “I don’t know how he thought of it, but it was amazingly sweet. I’m going to keep it forever.”

“He’s learned a lot from you,” Johnny reached over and ruffled Taeyong’s hair as they waited for the elevator. “It’s like he’s got all of yours and Sicheng’s best qualities.”

“And unfortunately he may have also gotten a bit of your sass,” Taeyong made a face before stepping into the elevator, “But I figured you didn’t wait outside my door for ten minutes to talk about how adorable and great Junnie is? Are we going somewhere?”

“I vote we go to that new hot pot place that just opened up.” Johnny was practically bouncing, “And you can buy since it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”

“How about I buy if you tell me what happened with Ten?” Taeyong stepped out of the elevator with Johnny on his heels.

Johnny tensed up, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Taeyong pushed his bottom lip out into a pout, “But you always want to talk about it. And any time I ask Ten, he tells me I should ask you. It might be good to get it off your chest. I mean, I always knew it was going to end, but I’ve always expected it would just start back up again. For this to be the truly final time is crazy.”

Johnny let out a light chuckle, looking a lot more relaxed, “So more for your curiosity than my well being?”

“It’s been killing me.” Taeyong groaned and grabbed Johnny’s shoulder to playfully shake him, “Once Renjun goes to sleep it’s all I think about! You don’t just apologize to Ten like that, and I’ve never seen Ten so level headed and calm after a break up. I know it wasn’t Yuta’s doing in regards to this. Can I just get a hint?”

Johnny nodded with a sigh, pushing his friend off as they crossed the street, “I don’t think I want to talk about everything, but we just realized that we weren’t compatible. He wanted me to be someone I wasn’t going to ever be and I was hoping he was someone else entirely. It was like we both wanted to be in a relationship so badly that we didn’t care who we were in one with.”

Taeyong ran what he hoped was a comforting hand up and down his best friend’s arm. “I’m sorry. That sounds awful.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I did like Ten. He’s really a great guy. And we agreed to stay friends, but he’s not what I’m looking for in a long term relationship,” Johnny shrugged. “I’ve just got to keep on looking.”

“You and me both, buddy.”

----

After a quiet dinner that consisted of hot pot and probably one too many beers, Taeyong found himself wandering around Gangnam not wanting to go home. Dinner was fun, but ended too early for him. With Renjun far away at Jaemin’s-well not very far away, but unable to show back up randomly- Taeyong’s mind wandered to Jaehyun.

The two hadn’t talked much over the holiday, but Jaehyun’s offer from the Christmas party still rang through his mind every so often.

Jaehyun was fun, there was no doubt about it. But after talking to Johnny, Taeyong couldn’t help but wonder if what happened between Johnny and Ten would be the same way between Taeyong and Jaehyun. But then again, Taeyong hadn’t really given the other man a fair chance. They never really hung out just the two of them besides that one night in the club. Maybe it was about time for him to Jaehyun on a proper date.

“Taeyong?” Jaehyun’s voice was confused over the phone once he answered. “Did you mean to call me?”

Taeyong chuckled, “Of course I did. Why else would I be calling you?”

Jaehyun’s chuckle was like a soft melody through the phone. “Butt dial?”

“I guess,” Taeyong rolled his eyes, “What are you doing now? Want to go to a bar?”

“You’re finally hitting me up at ten at night on a Saturday? That sounds like a booty call to me.” Jaehyun retorted, but from the rustling on the other side of the phone, Taeyong knew the other man was cleaning up.

“Were you asleep at ten at night on a Saturday?” Taeyong couldn’t resist teasing the other, “Here I thought you’d be at a nightclub hitting on a hottie. I’m actually surprised you answered your phone so quickly.”

Jaehyun released a laugh that made it easy to picture him also rolling his eyes, “Do you know how much money it’d cost to go out every weekend?”

“Well I never go out on the weekends. So I’ll pay.” Taeyong knew he had the other coming out, even without a positive response, “Meet me at the piano bar in twenty?”

“Sounds good.”

Despite agreeing on twenty minutes, Taeyong found himself outside the bar about five minutes early, but that didn’t matter because Jaehyun was already outside.

“You’re early!” Jaehyun smiled sweetly. Today he was in dark wash jeans and a simple gray crew neck tee underneath a long, tan trench coat. As always he looked like a model, and Taeyong felt completely under dressed in his sweats and hoodie. In fairness, he had only expected to drop Renjun off at Jaemin’s place and head back home for the evening.

“And you’re even earlier,” Taeyong couldn’t help but run his eyes over the taller man’s long legs before bringing his attention back to his face, “And miraculously dressed. How do you always do it?”

“I just have nice clothes,” Jaehyun chuckled and held the door open, “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Taeyong happily walked through the door, enjoying the warm feeling that was running through his veins. He definitely did not have the same problem Johnny did. He was happy that he was there with Jaehyun.

“So how’d you end up getting the night off? I mean, even when he’s at Donghyuck’s you don’t invite me out.” Jaehyun was being quite the gentleman and pulled out a barstool for Taeyong to sit on.

“That’s because you never know when him and Donghyuck are gonna come over.” Taeyong defended himself while taking a look at the different beers the bar had on tap. “The last thing I need is to be hanging out with some dude, possibly doing more, and having both of them come running into my room. It’s one thing to scar your own kid for life, but you don’t want to scar the neighbor’s kid, too.”

“Your own kid?” Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at that.

Taeyong felt his cheeks head up, but there was no way to tone down his obvious blush. Over the past few weeks he had caught himself calling Renjun some variation of that, luckily never around the boy. He wasn’t sure what the five year old would think, as if Taeyong was trying to replace Sicheng or something.

“No need to be shy, he has been with you for so long now, he’s at least partially kind of yours.” Jaehyun shrugged it off before placing his order with the bartender. He then looked back at Taeyong, “Or at least that’s how I see it. It’s not like you’re trying to be his dad, but you just kind of are his dad.”

“I guess,” Taeyong placed his own order before shaking those thoughts out of his head, “I feel like nine out of ten of my conversations come back to Renjun. Why don’t we talk about you? How life? What are you up to? Have you ever considered learning how to quilt?”

Jaehyun laughed, looking so good while doing so he attracted the attention of a pair of women at the end of the bar. He didn’t notice, but Taeyong sure did, “Actually no, I have not considered learning to quilt. But, I recently started a new project at work that’s been eating all of my time. It’s been exhausting. Today was actually my first stress free day in a while, so it was mostly spent cleaning my apartment.”

“Oh good, my place is a mess,” Taeyong sent the man a wink.

Before Jaehyun could say anything, the two women who noticed him before seemed to magically appear next to him with predatory smiles. One was petite, but dressed in a tight leather dress with dark eyes that made her look almost deadly. The other was taller, but still on the smaller side in some sort of print dress that was cut too high for Taeyong’s taste. Though, in all fairness, both of these girls being here were against his taste.

“Hi there,” The taller one ran a finger up Jaehyun’s arm, “I couldn’t help but notice that there’s two of you, and there’s two of us.”

“And?” Taeyong raised an eyebrow at her.

She didn’t seem phased though, instead she let out a high pitched laugh and rested her bony hand on Jaehyun’s shoulder, “And I think that we should make these two twosomes a foursome.”

“Does that actually work on guys?” Taeyong muttered under his breath as he took a sip of his beer. Normally he wouldn’t be so upfront, but with the alcohol already pulsing through his veins, his filter had been turned off for the night.

“Taeyong, play nice.” Jaehyun shot him a look before turning to the women, “Ladies, we are truly flattered. However, I think we’re good on company for tonight.”

“Good on company?” The shorter of the two scoffed and stared at him offended, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That if anyone is getting his dick tonight, it’s me.” Taeyong flashed her a bright smile and took another sip of his drink while the two women stomped away.

Jaehyun threw his head back in laughter, his hands coming up to block his handsome face in embarrassment, “I can’t believe you just said that.”

Taeyong couldn’t help but laugh too, “Why not? Those girls couldn’t take a hint, I just wanted to get straight to the point.”

“I was trying to be nice,” Jaehyun rolled his eyes.

Taeyong sent him a bright smile before finishing his beer, “You said we didn’t want their company and they still kept trying, I needed them to go away so we could go back to our own conversation. And it worked, didn’t it?”

“Who knew you were so feisty.”

“It depends on the day,” Taeyong shrugged, “Hard to be feisty when trying to get a five year old to eat their vegetables.”

“It’s nice to see,” Jaehyun had that small smile on his lips that made Taeyong’s heart speed up again. However, it seemed Jaehyun didn’t quite know the effect his smile had on Taeyong as he kept talking, “Though, does that mean the feistiness will continue to my bedroom?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

Chapter Text

Taking four semi-well behaved kids to a theme park sounded like such a good idea in Taeyong's mind. They'd each have a buddy when paired off so no one had to sit alone or with him, and they'd have each other top keep company in some of the longer lines. He had watched the four of them on his own at his apartment, so it's not like they were anything he couldn't handle. But he didn't take into account that at the apartment, they only had a select amount of things to focus on.

But in Lotte World, it was like a hundred distractions at once. When Renjun wanted to eat popcorn, Donghyuck wanted to ride the pirate ship. When Mark started to feel sick from spinning too much, Jaemin was begging Taeyong to buy him a cute hat with bunny ears. And all Taeyong could do was curse himself for turning down Johnny's offer to come with them.

"Appa!" The birthday boy called out once he spotted a candy shop nearby. "Appa can we get lollipops?"

"Can't we go outside?" Donghyuck pouted. Since it had been a bit chilly outside, Taeyong decided they should enjoy the inside portion of the park until it warmed up. Three of the four had accepted this, but Donghyuck kept insisting he was gonna die if he didn't get enough sunlight.

Mark, who apparently hung out with Johnny a little too much, rolled his eyes. "We'll go out there later. Right now we're looking for lunch."

"But I'm not hungry." Jaemin pouted. "Can we go on another ride?"

"Let's go on the hot air balloons!" Donghyuck pointed up at the suspended gondola type ride that circled the park. "Then we can see everything!"

Mark looked a little bit queasy at the suggestion, "But it's so high. What if we fall?"

Before Donghyuck could open his mouth and say something that may potentially scar Mark for life, Taeyong covered his mouth with his hand. "You're not gonna fall out Mark, hundreds of people ride them everyday and they're tested every day for safety. But if you don't feel like riding them I'm sure we can find another ride."

Mark didn't look entirely convinced, but just like the last time they had come here, Renjun took the older boy's hand. "It's okay if you don't wanna. We can go somewhere else."

Mark looked between Renjun and the air balloon floating above before sighing, "Fine. Let's go."

"Everytime." Donghyuck shook his head at the two before heading off in a random direction, "Let's go!"

"It's this way, Hyuck." Taeyong grabbed the boy's hood to tug him lightly in the correct direction.

The team of five and six year olds scurried ahead in the direction Taeyong pointed them towards. He debated texting Johnny to see if his offer still stood since he was a little sure that Donghyuck was going to make Mark cry by the end of the day, but he quickly dismissed that idea when he got his phone out and saw a text from Jaehyun.

He had to repress his chuckle. Ever since that night they met up a couple of months earlier, the two were taking even more and had even met up a few times. They mostly met up at a nearby bar to talk, which led back to one of their apartments. It was fun. Sometimes it felt like a fling, but Jaehyun had these mannerisms that were just so sweet, Taeyong wasn’t quite sure how to feel. And he especially made sure to keep everything that happened between the two away from the boys. Jaemin and Renjun were best friends - Jaemin was Renjun’s first friend - and sometimes Taeyong couldn’t help but think what would happen if things between him and Jaehyun turned sour.

But one thing was for sure - Jaehyun was attractive. And Taeyong was interested in getting to know him better.

"Where'd Renjun go?" Jaemin's sudden question had Taeyong looking up from his phone.

"Renjun?" Taeyong looked around. Lucky, the park wasn't too packed today, but the small six year old wasn't in the cluster of children in front of him.

“I think he went that way?” Mark pointed in the direction they just came from, but looked really unsure of himself.

Taeyong spun in a circle, hoping for any indication of where the birthday boy could have been, but found none. It was strange, Renjun was normally such a tentative kid who didn’t stray too far from Taeyong. Sure he’d come a long way from always clinging to Taeyong’s leg, but he normally didn’t go far.

“Uncle Taeyong?” Jaemin lightly pulled on his sleeve, “Maybe we can ask a worker if they’ve seen him?”

“Renjun!” Donghyuck shouted. He looked more distressed than Taeyong had seen before, which was saying something since the two often skittered off together.

“Come on Hyuckie, let’s go ask someone if they’ve seen him.” Taeyong realized Jaemin was right. They couldn’t just stand around looking in circles, they had to go looking for him. And since this theme park had a lot of little kid rides, they probably were used to situations like this.

Taeyong made his way to the nearest store, the candy store Renjun had spotted earlier, and began talking to the employee inside. He had his phone out and was showing the employee a picture of what Renjun was wearing that day. “I’m not sure where he went, I swear I was only looking down at my phone for a second and I’m so sorry to be such an inconvenience but-”

“It’s okay,” The teenager behind the counter had a soft smile on her face, “In a theme park, this is bound to happen. Let me contact security. In most cases, they’ll already have your son found.”

“Thank you,” Taeyong was so frazzled that he didn’t even think to correct her. Instead he took a moment to check around the store to make sure he had the three other boys. And of course he did, they all seemed to have calmed down in their worry for their friend.

“Good news, it looks like they have him with the person who found him on a bench down the way. Just take a right out the door and head straight, he’s on a bench on the left side of the walkway.”

“Thank you so much!” Taeyong bowed so low he nearly hit his head on the counter. “Come on boys, let’s go get Junnie.”

Sure enough, less than thirty seconds later Taeyong could see Renjun sitting on a bench with a man, sharing some sort of pastry.

“Renjun!” Mark shouted and ran for his best friend. Donghyuck and Jaemin were quick to follow.

Renjun, mouth full of pastry, jumped off the bench and ran towards them. But he managed to duck his three friends and wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s waist, “Appa I’m sorry! I’m so so sorry! I just wanted to look at the ice rink but then you were gone!”

Taeyong lifted Renjun into his arms - momentarily fretting that he wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer since Renjun was getting so big now - and held him tightly, “It’s okay Junnie, it’s okay. We found you, that’s what matters.”

“Hey! We were worried too!” Donghyuck tugged on Renjun’s leg until Taeyong put him down so the four children could form a group hug.

While the three other boys told Renjun how happy they were to have found him, Taeyong looked towards the man who had been with Renjun on the bench. The man looked to be a little taller than Taeyong, lean with sharp cheekbones and a soft smile on his face as he watched the four boys.

He must have then felt Taeyong’s gaze on him, as the man looked up and his face broke into a brighter smile, “I’m glad you guys found us. I only just got him to stop crying by bribing him with part of my cheese danish. I hope that’s okay?”

“Yes, of course, just thank you for finding him.” Taeyong smiled back, his heart was still racing, but now for a totally different reason. “I swear I looked down for one second then he was gone.”

“I hear that happens all the time with kids, and it looks like you have a lot on your hands.” The man indicated to the four kids who were chatting excitedly talking about what they were going to do next.

“It does, it’s crazy how quickly they can do anything.” Taeyong awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head, feeling a little bit of an idiot. He was only partially sure of what he just said, but thought that it didn’t quite make sense. “But really, thank you for finding Renjun. I’m not sure what I would have done if I couldn’t find him.”

“You’re welcome. He seems like a really good kid, even when he was crying he was polite.” the man’s chuckle was light and musical. “He just seemed to get stuck looking down at the ice rink below. You guys may want to check that out at some point today.”

“Can I buy you dinner?” Taeyong found himself saying, before gasping in surprise at his own words, “I mean-Sorry-I mean, can I thank you by taking you out to dinner some day? For finding Renjun I mean. I want to thank you for finding him for me. Can I-I mean, can Renjun and I take you out to dinner sometime?”

The man’s smile got even brighter, and Taeyong didn’t know that was possible. But it did, and he responded, “I’d like that. You don’t need to, don’t feel obligated in any way, but I would like to go to dinner with you two. If you don’t mind.”

“I’m Taeyong.” He held his hand out, finally getting around to introducing himself.

“I’m Doyoung,” The man responded, taking Taeyong’s hand in his soft grasp.

“Thank you, Doyoung, I really mean it.” Taeyong was still awkwardly shaking the other man’s hand, but he didn’t care. It felt nice and warm.

“You’re welcome, I really mean it.” Doyoung replied playfully before kneeling down to turn his attention to Renjun, “Well Renjun, I’m happy we found your dad and your friends. Now, be careful and make sure to pay attention to your surroundings, okay?”

“I will.” Renjun beamed at the adult.

“You’ve got a great smile, so no more crying.” Doyoung reached up and ruffled Renjun’s hair. He then stood up and sighed, “Well, I’ve got to get back to the world’s most awkward double date. But here’s my card, give me a call sometime and we can get that dinner.”

“Sounds great.”

----

Eventually, after riding on the hot air balloons and eating lunch and finally making their way outside so Donghyuck could apparently use the sunlight to grow like a plant, the five of them made their way back to Taeyong’s apartment for pizza. The four boys crowded around the coffee table talking about all of their favorite rides from the day.

Meanwhile, Taeyong was looking at the card that had been handed to him by Doyoung. It was a business card for a bakery that didn’t seem too far from Renjun’s school. Per the card, Doyoung was the owner of the newly opened bakery.

“Where’s the birthday boy?” Johnny’s familiar voice rang through the apartment as he let himself in using the code. “Renjunnie?”

“Uncle Johnny!” Both Mark and Renjun cooed as they got up to go hug the man, Jaemin and Donghyuck were quick to follow.

“You guys are all so big!” Johnny had tried to pick up Renjun and Mark in one arm each. But they were much bigger than when he used to do that when they were four, plus with Jaemin and Donghyuck coming at him for a hug as well, he ended up on his back with all four boys on top of him.

“We rode a pirate ship!” Jaemin announced happily once Taeyong came over and lifted the boys off the poor man trapped on the floor.

“And air balloons!” Mark added, much happier talking about the ride than he was when he was actually on it clinging to Taeyong.

“That sounds awesome,” Johnny tugged the boys over to the coffee table again so they could resume eating their pizza while they told Johnny all about the day they had.

And of course, Donghyuck had to bring up the most terrifying part of the day, “And Renjun got lost but we found him again, so it’s okay.”

“Renjun got lost?” Johnny turned his attention to Taeyong, knowing the other would be the best person to explain the story.

“I looked down at my phone for one second and he was gone when I looked up,” Taeyong passed the card he was given to his best friend, “But we found him within five minutes, a nice man had let security know he was lost and then gave him some danish before we got there. And he gave me his card.”

“So he was cute?” Johnny asked, nudging his best friend with his elbow.

Taeyong felt the heat rise in his cheeks, but did his best to ignore it, “There’s a definite possibility of that. I’m gonna give him a call tomorrow to see about taking him out for a meal in thanks.”

“Well look at-” Johnny stopped when the doorbell rang.

“Jaemin, grab your bag, that’s probably your dad,” Taeyong knew it wouldn’t be Donghyuck’s parents since they live just across the hall and expected Donghyuck to wander in around bedtime, and Johnny was here for Mark. That just left the talkative youngest.

And, as expected, a huge pout overcame Jaemin’s face, “Do I have to leave?”

“You have school in the morning,” Taeyong ruffled his hair before moving to the door. He had expected to see Jungwoo, who dropped off the five year old, but instead Jaehyun was at his door. “Oh, wow, didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Last minute change of plans,” Jaehyun smiled and took a step into the apartment, “Where are the boys?”

“Living room with Johnny,” Taeyong led the taller into the living room where Jaemin looked like he was trying to squeeze his best friends like a stress ball.

“Jaemin, you ready to go?" Jaehyun attempted to pull Jaemin off of his friends, but the five year old's grip was tight enough on his friends that the man worried about hurting one of the other kids.

"Just five more minutes, Uncle Jaehyun? Please!" He held onto the vowel until the moment Jaehyun seemed to deflate.

"Five minutes." Jaehyun collapsed on the couch in defeat. He and Johnny exchanged brief pleasantries before turning his attention back to Taeyong. "You didn't text me back."

Taeyong's cheeks warmed up with a slight pink hue at the looks he was getting from the two men on the couch. He had made himself comfortable on the loveseat that sat to the side of the coffee table to give them all space, but now it felt like he was directly in the line of fire. Johnny had a mischievous eyebrow raised while Jaehyun had an adorable pout on his lips. "I got distracted by Renjun disappearing. After that, it was hard to look away from the boys."

"Oh, I bet you got real distracted." Johnny had an amused smile on his face.

Taeyong wanted to throw a pillow at the smirk that spread across his best friend's lips, but had to hold back. The kids were in the room and that would be a very bad example. But once he had Johnny alone, he was definitely going to get his revenge.

Jaehyun looked between the two friends, knowing he was missing some sort of inside joke. But before he could ask, Jaemin dramatically threw himself across his uncle's lap, "Okay, I'm sleepy."

“Already?” Jaehyun was just as surprised as Taeyong. Normally, Jaemin was the clingiest of the kids. But looking at him yawning on his uncle’s lap, Taeyong knew the five year old wasn’t going to be awake by the time he got home. “That was a lot faster than expected.”

“I had a lot of fun today.” Jaemin smiled and yawned again. “Can you carry me home?”

“You know, you’re getting too big for this.” Jaehyun complained, but swept the boy into his arms. “We’ll be out. Have a good night, you guys.”

Taeyong and Johnny waved him off, but before the man could leave the apartment, Taeyong noticed that Jaemin left his bag of stuff behind. There were a few snacks, a picture of all four of them on a ride, and that ridiculously cute bunny hat the five year old wanted.

So, he grabbed the bag and ran to the front door, “Jaehyun! You forgot this.”

“Wow, you got them souvenirs?” Jaehyun looked surprised, but accepted the bag after maneuvering Jaemin into one arm.

“Couldn’t help it.” Taeyong shrugged, “Though, I did want to say that I’m sorry for not texting you back. I looked at my phone for what felt like a second, and then they were calling out for Renjun and my heart just stopped.”

“No worries. Just text me later?”

“Definitely,” Taeyong nodded enthusiastically - possibly a little too enthusiastically. “Get home safely.”

“We will,” Jaehyun waved a small goodbye and then left.

Taeyong returned to the living room where the three remaining boys looked just as tired as their friend had, but seemed to be feeding off of each other’s energy. Meanwhile, Johnny was staring at him with a bright grin on his face, “You guys totally hooked up.”

“Johnny!” Taeyong hissed before reaching over and smacking his friend on the arm. “Not in front of the kids.”

“They don’t know what it means,” Johnny rolled his eyes, “Heck, they aren’t even paying attention to us. They’re ready to go to bed.”

“Still,” Taeyong couldn’t help but reach over and shove at the taller man again, “Not in front of the kids.”

“If you say so, but they’re smarter than we think. They probably know something is going on.” He then stood up and walked behind Mark so that he could pull the six year old into his arms. “Come on Mark, you’re gonna fall asleep soon and I’m sure your mom would prefer it to be in your own bed.” He then ruffled Renjun and Donghyuck’s hair, “You two be good for Taeyong now, okay?”

“We will!”

“And you,” Johnny turned his attention back to Taeyong, “I don’t know quite what you’re doing, but be careful. He seems like a good guy, but you never know about these things.”

“He is a good guy,” Taeyong quickly defended. He had met up enough times with Jaehyun to be sure of that. “But I will be careful, I promise.”

Chapter Text

“Appa!” Renjun’s shout woke Taeyong from his deep sleep.

Identifying the yell as a nonemergency, Taeyong attempted to stretch his arms above his head, but couldn’t. One of his arms was trapped under something soft and warm.

Opening his eyes, Taeyong saw Jaehyun’s familiar brown hair sprawled across his chest. For a moment, it was nice. Waking up with someone in bed on a warm spring morning had a bubbly feeling brewing in Taeyong’s chest.

But hearing the pitter-patter of Renjun’s footsteps getting closer to his room had Taeyong shoving Jaehyun off of him, jumping out of his bed, and locking the door, “Hey Junnie, I’m almost up. I’ll be out in a minute, okay?”

Luckily, the pitter-patter turned into a thump as Renjun, in an attempt to stop himself, slid across the floor and into what sounded like the wall. Taeyong would have been more concerned if it wasn’t a daily occurrence. “I’m okay!”

“Good,” Taeyong turned towards the man on the bed and let out a heavy sigh, “That was close.”

Jaehyun sat up, blankets slipping off his bare shoulders, “Sorry, I must have slept through my alarm.”

“That’s okay, I did too,” Taeyong sat down at the edge of his bed and rubbed at his face. It had been a couple of months of spending the night at Jaehyun’s place when Renjun was at a friend’s house. Normally Taeyong waited until Renjun was at Jaemin or Mark’s place when to meet up to avoid the possibility of Renjun walking in on them, but last night had been a sleepover for Donghyuck’s birthday so Taeyong thought he’d be too distracted to come home before noon. Which is why, the night before, Jaehyun set an alarm for 8 am.

“Do you think maybe we should tell him about us?” Jaehyun asked, searching around the room for his clothes.

“Tell him what exactly?” Taeyong raised an eyebrow at the other, “Jaemin’s Uncle and Appa like to drink and bang but aren’t actually dating?”

Jaehyun made a face. They hadn’t really talked about what they were, it was something that they tended to avoid. Taeyong had tried to start the conversation once, late at night, but Jaehyun had cutely whined that they were adults, so didn’t need to use labels like high schoolers. And, well, after that Jaehyun distracted him for the rest of the night.

“Exactly, so what do you propose I tell him?” Taeyong sighed before standing up again, stretching out, and then proceeding to find clothes to wear for the day.

“So then, how do I get out of here?” Jaehyung was now fully dressed. And despite only waking up minutes before, Jaehyun looked as good as he did the night before. His hair had that sexy bedhead that made Taeyong want to reach out and mess it up even more.

But, of course, that wouldn’t be possible. He had to go see what Renjun was doing back so early. “Give me a few minutes, I’ll come get you when the coast is clear.”

Taeyong ruffled his hair and headed out into the living room. Normally Renjun was the last person to leave Donghyuk’s sleepovers since he could just wait until the other two were picked up before walking down the hall to get to their apartment. But, looking at the clock, it was barely 9 am. “Renjunnie?”

“Appa!” Renjun bounced off the couch where he had been watching television and wrapped his arms around Taeyong.

“Hey buddy, what are you doing home?” Taeyong lifted the small boy in his arms, once again realizing Renjun was soon going to be too big to pick up. But that just made Taeyong want to keep picking him up while he still could.

A pout spread across the six year old’s face, “Donghyuck kept saying a bad word over and over and over and over, so we had to go home.”

“That’s sad he had to end his sleepover early, but that’s why you have to listen to the rules.” Taeyong carried him into the kitchen, “Have you eaten yet?”

Renjun shook his head, and then rested it on Taeyong’s shoulder. “No, Uncle Yunho was going to make pancakes, but Donghyuck said the word again so he called Mark and Jaemin’s parents to pick them up. I’m hungry.”

“How about you go change into some outside clothes and we’ll go get pancakes at the diner down the street?” Taeyong suggested, then nearly dropped Renjun in the six year old’s haste to get to his room to change.

Taeyong quickly made his way to his own room, “Hey, it’s go time. He’s changing, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he just threw a sweatshirt on and counted that as changing.”

Jaehyun laughed as he followed Taeyong out of the bedroom and towards the door. Luckily, Renjun was actually changing his whole outfit so the two adults didn’t get caught tip toeing across the living room.

“This was fun.” Jaehyun gave Taeyong a quick peck on the lips, “Well, up until the whole hiding from a six year old like he was your homophobic parents or something.”

“Yeah, nothing screams sexy like hiding from a child who we both thought would be gone for another few hours.” Taeyong couldn’t help but agree. “Though last night was fun. Let’s do it again sometime?”

“Let’s.” Jaehyun smiled back before they heard the sound of tiny feet once more, indicating his need to disappear.

“Appa?” Renjun called out, heading for the door. “Did you leave already?”

“Nope, right here waiting for you, Junnie,” Taeyong said as he slipped into his shoes. “You ready to go to breakfast?”

“Yes!” Renjun slid into his own shoes.

“Good, and don’t forget, later we’re going out to dinner with the nice man from Lotte World that you met on your birthday,” Taeyong ruffled Renjun’s fluffy hair. It stuck up adorably in all directions since he hadn't brushed it since he woke up, but Taeyong thought it was too adorable to correct.

Renjun pouted at this news, which was unusual since the boy loved to go out to eat.

“What’s with that face?” Taeyong stood still once they reached the elevator so Renjun could call it. Despite the fact that they rode the elevator every day, Renjun still loved to run over and press the buttons, full of excitement. “We’re going to barbeque. You love barbeque.”

“Barbeque is better when it’s just Appa and me.” Renjun didn’t look at Taeyong as he entered the elevator.

“Renjun, don’t be like that,” Taeyong scooped the six year old into his arms and lightly swayed back and forth. “Doyoung is really nice and he did a really nice thing when he found you. I know it’s been a while since your birthday so you may not remember him, but we want to thank him for finding you and bringing you back to me.”

Renjun pulled back a little so he could look at Taeyong, nearly face to face since he was in the man’s arms, “But Appa and Renjun time is the best time.”

“It is, that’s why we’re getting breakfast, cutiepie.” Taeyong began to walk out of the elevator once they arrived on the correct floor.

---

“Appa, where are we going?” Renjun was swinging their connect hands back and forth as they made their way through the crowded Seoul streets.

“I told you earlier sweetheart, we’re going to barbeque with Doyoung, the nice man from your birthday.” Taeyong rolled his eyes. Sure they hadn’t really talked about it since before breakfast, but that was only a few hours ago. Renjun was a smart kid, he still remembered the conversation. “I know it’s been a few months, but he is almost as busy as I am. It was hard to find a night that worked.”

“Oh,” Renjun seemed uninterested as he looked at the park across the street.

Taeyong followed his gaze and couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He had been spending a lot of time at work lately, leaving very little time for them to explore new places. Maybe after dinner they’d grab some ice cream and hit up a new park.

The two remained in silence for a few minutes more as they walked to the restaurant. It was located closer to Renjun’s school so they had already rode the subway a few stops, and decided walking to the restaurant made more sense than getting a taxi. It was a further walk than Renjun’s school, but in the warming spring weather, it was oddly peaceful for the heart of Seoul.

As they got closer to the barbeque, Taeyong started to rack his brain for an image of Doyoung. He’s pretty sure the other had a gummy smile and warm eyes, but other than that, he had forgotten. Well, he forgot the exact features, but remembered thinking that the man was very attractive.

With that thought in mind, Taeyong had probably overdressed. His newly bleached blond hair was gelled back, revealing all his perfectly matching black and silver earrings decorating his ears. His black pants were nearly skin tight, and his white button up nearly see through.

So when he spotted a lean man, probably slightly taller than himself, with dark wine colored hair standing in front of the restaurant in an oversized sweater and regular jeans, Taeyong felt overdressed.

“Taeyong!” The man, obviously Doyoung, walked over with a bright smile on his face, “Hey, glad we could finally make time.”

“Me too,” Taeyong rubbed at the back of his neck, already feeling a bit embarrassed at his attire. Doyoung looked like he was ready to cuddle on a couch while Taeyong’s outfit screamed clubbing.

But Doyoung didn’t seem to notice his inner turmoil. He had looked down to see Renjun, who had hid himself behind Taeyong’s legs, something the six year old hadn’t done in a while.

“Hey Renjun, did you get taller since I last saw you?” Doyoung kneeled so he was about Renjun’s height.

The small boy got embarrassed, Taeyong knew it by the slight pink tint on his cheeks and the way he hid his face into Taeyong’s side.

“That’s a yes,” Taeyong ruffled the boy’s hair. “Renjun, be nice, at least say hi to him.”

“Hello,” Renjun turned his head to face Doyoung, but was still cuddled up to Taeyong’s side.

“I brought you something,” Doyoung playfully covered his mouth so it looked like he was trying to tell Renjun a secret, but Taeyong could still hear him. He then reached into the bag he brought with him and pulled out a small, clear bag of cookies, “I brought these from my bakery for you.”

Renjun’s eyes lit up in delight, but he quickly shifted his attention up to Taeyong’s face, wordlessly asking for permission.

“Go ahead,” Taeyong nodded, “You can have one after dinner.”

“We can share,” Renjun happily informed them before taking the small bag from Doyoung, “Thank you.”

“You’re too adorable,” Doyoung stood up and faced Taeyong, “Shall we go inside?”

“Of course.”

Once they were seated with Taeyong and Renjun on one side of the table with the barbeque top in the middle, and Doyoung on the other, Taeyong opened up his menu. “So, feel free to order anything on the menu. Everything if you want.”

Doyoung’s chuckle was light, “Doesn’t that seem like a little much? I know this is a thank you dinner, but I really didn’t do that much.”

“It may not have seemed like much to you, but Renjun’s my whole world. For those five or so minutes, you literally had my whole world with you,” Taeyong felt really sentimental as he admitted that, he couldn’t resist leaning over and placing a soft kiss on top of Renjun’s head.

“You two are too cute,” Doyoung was practically cooing, “You and his mom must be just as cute.”

Taeyong felt his cheeks redden, he knew he was probably going to be awkwardly blushing all night. “Actually, it’s just me and Renjun. And, well, it’s complicated. He’s actually my friend’s son, but things happened and now it’s been two years since we started living together-actually three years in about two months.”

Doyoung’s face was a cute mixture of impressed and surprised, Taeyong could tell by the cute way his mouth was half open. After a few attempts, Doyoung managed to say, “That’s really amazing of you. I-I can’t even imagine what that’s been like.”

“Honestly, it’s a lot of hard work. Some days are harder than others.” Taeyong didn’t know why he was being so honest with essentially a stranger, but Doyoung’s face was so warm and inviting that he just found the words flowing out. “I never really pictured myself with a kid at this age, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Appa,” Renjun poked at Taeyong, “I’m hungry.”

“Let’s see what there is,” Taeyong brought his menu down so Renjun and him could look at it together. “This is like the barbeque place we went to with Johnny and Mark. You order meat and they’ll bring all the yummy side dishes.”

Taeyong sat back as Renjun slowly read through the different types of meats offered. His Korean reading skills still weren’t as good as his Mandarin skills, but they were improving day by day.

“You sure he’s not your kid?” Doyoung commented quietly as he watched the scene between the two of them.

“I’m sure,” Taeyong turned his attention back to the man on the other side of the table, “But a lot of days, it really feels like it.”

From there, the conversation flowed freely. Doyoung talked about his newly opened bakery. Despite only being open seven months, they apparently had quite the following that kept Doyoung busy now that wedding season started. They had at least four weddings every weekend from now until September, which meant on top of their normal orders and daily baking, they had to constantly bake and decorate elaborate wedding cakes.

Taeyong, meanwhile, talked about his work as well. He told Doyoung about how he’s in the process of trying to convince his boss to let him manage his own debut group. He also had been spending a lot of time in the recording studio since he had written some new songs that would be coming out during the summer.

“And Renjun,” Doyoung brought his attention to the child curled up against Taeyong’s side, watching the man tend to the meat on the barbeque. “What do you do for work?”

Renjun’s eyes widened, not expecting to be spoken to. But then he processed the question and laughed, “I don’t work, I’m a kid.”

“What?” Doyoung sounded genuinely shocked, though Taeyong knew he was joking. “If you don’t work, what do you do all day?”

“I go to school,” Renjun giggled again. “I’m a first grader.”

“A first grader? Are you sure?” Doyoung had a smile on his face as he indulged the child, “You look too tall to be in first grade.”

Taeyong watched quietly as Doyoung kept asking Renjun simple questions that had the boy responding more and more. His short answers turned to longer ones as he told Doyoung about his friends, how he liked when they had music time every Thursday, and how he didn’t like science because the mix of Mandarin and Korean was hardest to understand then.

“You’re really good with kids,” Taeyong commented when Renjun was too distracted by food to respond to any more of Doyoung’s questions.

“Thanks,” Doyoung answered after finishing the bite of food in his mouth, “My sister has a couple of her own, so I spend a good amount of time with them.”

“It’s nice to see,” Taeyong found himself admitting, once again Doyoung’s honest face made Taeyong comfortable enough to voice his thoughts, “When we first started living together, most people I knew didn’t know how to handle a kid. Heck, I really didn’t either. Even now, a lot of people can’t get him to talk this much. He’s a shy kid.”

“Also a happy kid,” Doyoung was looking at Renjun fondly, and Taeyong felt a fluttering in his stomach. “A very happy kid.”

“Hey, I was thinking about getting some ice cream and going to the park after this. Did you want to come with us?”

Chapter Text

Taeyong wandered slowly down the street, kicking at the random rocks that he came across on his walk from the studio to Renjun’s school. Today was supposed to be a busy day for him in the office, so busy he had already asked Johnny the day before to pick Renjun up from the summer camp that was being held at his school. However, some things fell through after an idol had yet another scandal and now the rest of his day was free. So he called up Johnny, told him not to worry about Renjun, and proceeded to take a leisurely walk under the summer sun.

However, Taeyong definitely overestimated how long it would take to get to Renjun’s school. He arrived over half an hour early. Luckily, he knew just the place to go.

Not much longer after passing Renjun’s school, he came across a small, rustic bakery with ivy growing on the outside walls. Inside, the furniture was all mismatched wooden chairs and tables. There was also a large display case full of cupcakes, cookies, and cakes on the top shelf.

But the most noticeable thing was the charming man behind the display, back turned to the front of the store. He was slightly hunched over so Taeyong couldn’t see his face, but it was obvious by the careful fingers decorating a tray of cookies who the man was.

The quick jingle of the bell above the door had Doyoung twisting around so quickly he almost fell over.

Taeyong couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as he approached the counter, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What are you doing here?” Doyoung rounded around the counter to give Taeyong a quick hug. “I thought you were working late today?”

“Not sure if you heard about that scandal, but the PR department is so busy that the rest of us have the day off.” Taeyong shrugged, taking in the adorable look of Doyoung in an apron with flour dusting his face.

“I had actually, but I thought you’d be stuck at work because of it.” Doyoung went back to behind the counter to continue decorating the cookies.

Taeyong leaned against the counter to watch the other man work. The two of them had been hanging out recently, not too often since Doyoung was busy with his wedding season orders while Taeyong had long hours in the studio as well as taking care of Renjun.

“So,” Doyoung didn’t seem to care about the eyes watching his every move, he went back to decorating like normal. “What brings you to my neck of the woods with your new freedom?”

“I got off earlier than expected, now I’m just waiting for Renjun to be done with school.” Taeyong moved his gaze to the display of delicious confections, “And thought I’d stop by for something sweet.”

“Oh my gosh, you did not just say that,” Doyoung exclaimed as he turned back around to face Taeyong, “You better be talking about the cookies.”

“What else would I be talking about?” Taeyong flashed his most innocent eyes at the other. “Why else would I come to a bakery for something sweet? What is as sweet as a sugar cookie?”

Doyoung eyed him with a suspicious raised eyebrow, but didn’t say anything more on the topic. Instead, he went back to decorating the cookies on the back counter.

Taeyong smirked, “Well, I do have to say that the view is pretty sweet. So how’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in what, over a week?”

“Something like that,” Doyoung shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the cookies. “I’m not the busy one here. Well, maybe a little bit, but you’ve been working late a lot. You must be tired.”

“A bit,” Taeyong admitted honestly. He had spent the last six nights staying late at work, working towards another idol group’s comeback. Normally he didn’t have this much work even when there were comebacks, but he was working hard to show his boss that he was responsible enough and creative enough to produce his own team of idols. He wanted to do everything from picking the members, naming the group, selecting their songs-just everything from the ground up. It took a lot of time and a bit of stress, but he was hoping that it’d all be worth it in the end.

“Coffee?” Doyoung asked, but was pouring it before Taeyong could respond.

“Thank you,” Taeyong smiled gratefully. “It’s been an exhausting few days, but I think by this time next year Joonmyun may let me get closer to having my own group. Could you believe it? This is everything I’ve wanted since I was like, ten and tried to write my own song.”

“You wrote a song when you were ten?” Doyoung turned back towards Taeyong, “Please tell me you remember it. What was it about?”

Taeyong took a long sip of coffee, hoping that the mug was hiding the blush on his cheeks. “It was about the neighbor girl. I wanted to impress her since I heard chicks dig musicians, but I wish someone would have told me chicks dig musicians who aren’t eight years younger than them.”

“That sounds adorable,” Doyoung cooed, trying to imagine a tiny ten year old version of Taeyong serenading an eighteen year old. “Did she at least let you down easy?”

“Very much so, she was super sweet about the whole thing. She also told me she liked the song, which led me into wanting to make more,” Taeyong recalled, “Which was the sweetest part of all because the song was terrible. I didn’t actually know how to play piano so I just kept hitting the same notes over and over again in some weird rhythm while I sang about how her brown eyes made me think about chocopies and her smile made me warm and fuzzy inside.”

He then looked up to see Doyoung nearly hunched over in silent laughter with one hand covering his mouth.

“Go ahead, you can laugh. Lord knows everyone else did.”

Doyoung’s face shifted into a ridiculous smile that most people used while looking at puppies and babies, “That may be the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard in my life. She was a really lucky girl.”

Doyoung was cut off when the bell above the door jingled, alerting the two men to a customer entering the bakery. Taeyong moved away from the counter to give the woman who just came in space to go up and order.

While he waited, Taeyong messed around a bit on his phone, checking some work emails that had filtered in before responding to one of Johnny’s texts to say yes, they were still on for dinner that night.

After a few minutes, right as the woman began to walk away from the counter, there was another jingle.

Taeyong turned to see who just entered the shop and smiled when he saw a cute little girl, dragging her mom into the bakery by her hand. It was adorable how excited she was, almost like when Renjun-

“I’ve got to go,” Taeyong’s heart dropped. He was supposed to pick up Renjun after his camp ended.

After quickly checking his watch and seeing that Renjun’s camp got out over half an hour ago, Taeyong bolted for the door, not even bothering to say goodbye to Doyoung. He didn’t even have the time to turn around and see Doyoung staring after him in confusion.

As fast as he could, Taeyong ran towards Renjun’s school. He did his best to duck in and out of the crowds, only running into one tiny old lady and two muscular guys who looked like they wanted to kick his ass, but that didn’t matter. He didn’t have time for them.

By the time he reached the school, he was sweating and panting. And while his heart was probably racing from the cardiac effort that went into running, Taeyong was more upset by the feeling of his heart dropping into his stomach at the sight of Renjun sitting on the steps that led to the front doors of the school. The six year old looked tinier than ever.

“Junnie!” Taeyong called out as he crossed through the gates, “Junnie!”

Renjun’s eyes widened as he scurried up to his feet. “Appa?”

“I am so sorry!” Taeyong dropped to his knees in front of the boy to wrap his arms around the boy. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to forget, I’m so sorry.”

“Appa?” Renjun pulled back a little to look at Taeyong, “Did Uncle Johnny forget me?”

“No,” Taeyong brushed Renjun’s hair away from his face. “I’m sorry, I got caught up at the bakery. I got off work early and told Uncle Johnny I’d come get you. I’m so sorry, Junnie.”

“Oh,” Renjun took a step back, frown still prominent on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but then dropped his gaze down to his feet.

“Junnie?” Taeyong was still kneeling at eye level with the boy, “I’m sorry Junnie, I really am. I know I’ve been really busy lately, but I’m here now, and we can do whatever you want. Do you want to go get some cookies from Doyoung’s bakery? Or we can go eat fried chicken? Maybe we can-”

“It’s okay.” Renjun adjusted his backpack and took a step back from Taeyong, “I just want to go home.”

---

“Honey, I’m home!” Johnny’s familiar voice echoed through the apartment later that night.

Taeyong, who was half asleep on the couch with a wide awake Renjun tucked into his side, nearly jumped off the couch. After they got home, Renjun seemed to be in a slightly more receptive mood and the two of them baked cookies before heating up some hot chocolate and resting on the couch with a movie on. They had finished off half of the cookies-Taeyong had to put his foot down so they didn’t eat all that sugar- and were now watching a cartoon superhero series that Renjun seemed really into. Taeyong didn’t quite care about the tv show, but it was nice being able to spend time with Renjun like this.

“Uncle Johnny?” Renjun bounced off the couch and ran over to the door.

“Hey Junnie!” Taeyong could hear Johnny’s response before seeing him enter the living room seconds later, holding Renjun upside down by his legs, making the six year old giggle.

“You’re gonna make him throw up all the cookies we just ate,” Taeyong laughed as he watched Johnny swing the child back and forth.

“Well I hope you guys saved space for dinner, I’m getting a pizza delivered here.” Johnny lightly tossed Renjun on the empty side of the couch. “Pizza sound good Junnie?”

“Pizza’s always good.” Renjun smiled brightly as he crawled back over to Taeyong’s side of the couch and cuddled up to the man.

“Pizza is always good. So how was camp? Did you guys get to go to the park today?” The taller man asked, causing Renjun’s content smile to drop to a frown.

“Appa was late.”

“I said I was sorry,” Taeyong placed a soft kiss on the top of Renjun’s head. “I got caught up at the bakery.”

Johnny gave him a look, but didn’t say anything. Instead, they sat in silence for a few minutes until all of Renjun’s attention was back on the television.

“So, you’re still seeing Jaehyun, right?”

Taeyong turned his head to look at his best friend, “Jaehyun? Yeah, a bit. I guess you could call it that. Why?”

Johnny looked down at Renjun, checking to make sure he wasn’t paying any attention to the adults in the room. “Well, I saw him with some girl today. It could be nothing, but it seemed like it was more than nothing.”

“Oh,” Taeyong felt a little bit guilty. He knew things weren’t exclusive between him and Jaehyun, after all he was kind of also seeing Doyoung, but Johnny didn’t know any of that. To Johnny, Doyoung was a new friend and Jaehyun was a guy he was seeing.

“Yeah,” Johnny scratched at the back of his head, a nervous habit that he had. “I know this is probably not the best time to tell you, but I felt like I had to tell you.”

Taeyong took a deep breath, looking down at Renjun real quick. This wasn’t really the conversation he wanted to be having with the small child curled up next to him, but after forgetting him at school, he didn’t want to send him away.

Luckily, the doorbell ringing had Renjun jumping to his feet. Johnny gave him a wad of cash, telling the six year old to just give it all to the delivery man.

Once he was out of the room, Taeyong took a deep breath, “It’s alright Johnny, we’re not serious. I’m seeing someone else too.”

“What?” Johnny’s jaw dropped. “You’re seei-Doyoung?”

“Yeah, it’s just casual.” Taeyong shrugged. It was true-or, at least half true. It was casual with Jaehyun, that had been established. But with Doyoung, they hadn’t had that conversation yet. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? You were late picking Renjun up today because you were with Doyoung?” Johnny pointed out. “And, I’m sorry, you’re dating two guys at once? Do they know about each other?”

Before Taeyong could respond, Renjun came back in the room, doing his best to hold the extra large pizza in his little arms. “I got dinner!”

“This isn’t over.” Johnny said quietly to Taeyong before the taller man got up and helped Renjun carry the pizza over to the coffee table.

“Of course it isn’t,” Taeyong sighed to himself.

Chapter Text

“Come on Taeyong, just one more episode.” Jaehyun whined as he pulled on the other’s elbow to pull him back into the pile of blankets on the couch. 

“I have to get Renjun,” Taeyong whined, but made no move to get off the couch. It was hard to leave the warmth of three fluffy blankets and a cute guy. But he had already been late picking up Renjun five times since the start of the month - once at Mark’s house, once at Jaemin’s house, and three times at school. It was never for long, but with work really picking up, he just ended up running a little late.

“He’s at Mark’s, there’s no for sure time to pick him up,” Jaehyun justified. “Around ten doesn’t mean ten on the dot. He’ll be fine waiting another thirty minutes. If anything, he’ll probably prefer it since he gets to play with Mark.”

Taeyong couldn’t help but agree, Renjun loved hanging out with Mark. He wasn’t going to notice if Taeyong arrived at six fifteen as opposed to right at six. “Fine, one more episode.”

“I knew you’d give in,” Jaehyun smirked and picked up the remote to hit play. 

Taeyong didn’t think he needed to respond. Instead, he cuddled up against Jaehyun’s chest and relaxed. It was hard not to with Jaehyun’s slim fingers running through his hair.

Over the past few weeks, Jaehyun and him had fallen into a more domestic routine than just meeting up at bars and heading back to one of their apartments for the night. It was kind of nice to see a softer side of the younger man, especially when he got flustered and his ears turned red.

“I don’t even know why we’re watching this,” Taeyong laughed as he watched some poor confused guy get slapped by a geeky woman who took his comment the wrong way. It was a random drama that Jaehyun’s friends suggested for him to watch. So, instead of watching the cheesy drama alone, Jaehyun used his puppy pout to convince Taeyong to watch with him.

“Because it’s ridiculous,” Jaehyun stated as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet, “I mean what’s better for a lazy weekend than to cuddle and watch terrible tv?”

“But we did this last weekend too,” Taeyong pointed out. Last week Renjun went to Jaemin’s for a sleepover, so Jaehyun and Taeyong spent most of the time lazing around the apartment. They watched a trilogy of romantic comedy movies about a tough girl and a soft boy falling in love.

Jaehyun lifted his head to give Taeyong an unamused look before sticking his tongue out childishly, “What would you rather watch? Some gorey horror movie?”

“Maybe,” Taeyong teased, “That way you’d be holding onto me as hard as you’re holding on to that pillow.”

“Jerk,” Jaehyun laughed before lightly smacking Taeyong with said pillow. “Just this last episode and then you won’t have to watch this until next time. But really, are the cartoons you’re going to be watching later so much better?”

“Hey, don’t be ragging on Moomin,”Taeyong laughed. Jaehyun had a point, this was better to watch than children’s cartoons.

The two remained quiet as the drama continued. Luckily it was only a half hour episode so Taeyong didn’t have to put up with too much ridiculousness. But he was kind of sad to see Jaehyun go. It would be nice to spend more time with Jaehyun that wasn’t cloaked in the dark of the night when Renjun wasn’t around, but Jaehyun felt like that was best. Until they decided if they wanted to become something more, they didn’t want to confuse Renjun.

But for now, hanging out with Jaehyun was fun.

Once Jaehyun left, Taeyong stretched out and headed for the shower. He still had about fifteen minutes until he had to leave to go get Renjun. Maybe today they’d get to go to the park since the weather wasn’t too warm.

Before he began to undress, he heard the doorbell ring.

Quickly turning off the shower, he headed to the front door. He didn’t know who it could be since the only person who seemed to show up unexpectedly was Donghyuck, and he knew the code.

“Surprise!” Doyoung’s happy voice echoed in the hall as the man stood there with a basket of sweets.”I brought cookies.” 

Taeyong froze. How close had Jaehyun and Doyoung were to meeting each other just now? Despite confirming with Jaehyun that they were indeed not in any sort of relationship, Taeyong and Doyoung never broached the subject. They hadn’t said they were exclusive, but neither mentioned seeing other people to each other.

“Where’s Renjun?” Doyoung made himself comfortable on the couch, placing the cookies on the coffee table in front of him.

“At Mark’s, I was going to go pick him up, but I’m sure he’d enjoy spending some more time there,” Taeyong followed Doyoung to the couch while texting Mark’s mom, asking if it would be okay if he picked up the kid in a few hours. 

Luckily, the darling woman responded nearly instantly that coming around noon would be fine. She had plans for the afternoon, but the boys were having so much fun it would have broken their little hearts if Taeyong were to pick Renjun up now.

“Oh look, it seems like it’s a little alone time for the adults?” Taeyong raised a fun eyebrow at the slightly taller man.

“It seems that way.” Doyoung laughed, sounding every bit as carefree as he looked sitting on the couch and munching on one of the cookies he brought. “Damn, I’m really good at my job.”

For the next few hours, the two cuddled on the couch watching some baking competition show that Doyoung was really into. It was extra fun to watch with Doyoung at his side commenting on the terrible flavor combinations and how he could make a much better fondant rose than all those people on tv.

“Then why don’t you go on one of these?” Taeyong suggested for the third time during the episode they were watching. This episode was a cookie specific episode and Doyoung liked to consider his cookies the best in all of Seoul. So no matter what the contestants did, they were wrong in the eyes of the baker.

“I wish,” Doyoung sighed wistfully, “But for a lot of these you have to give up days, if not weeks, and the bakery is too new for me to leave it for a few days. Heck, leaving it today has been pretty difficult, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Maybe watching a baking show isn’t something to take your mind off a bakery.”

Taeyong’s laugh got cut off by the sound of the keypad beeping before a voice called out.

“Tae? Are you alright?”

“Johnny?” Taeyong got off the couch and headed towards the front door. He didn’t remember making plans with his best friend, but after Jaehyun in the morning and Doyoung stopping by unexpectedly, it was no surprise that he forgot something. 

“Appa?” Renjun’s familiar voice made Taeyong’s blood run cold. Renjun had been with Mark and his parents, Taeyong was supposed to pick the six year old up around noon. But after checking his watch, it was already after two.

Johnny came further into the apartment carrying Renjun’s backpack over one shoulder, and the small child being held up by his other arm. Renjun had a heartbreaking frown on his face, but that was nothing compared to the angry look on Johnny’s.

The taller man’s eyes then caught sight of the man on the couch, causing him to sigh, “You must be Doyoung.”

“Hello,” Doyoung waved awkwardly from the couch as he stood up, clearly reading the room. “I’m assuming you’re Johnny. I’d say nice to meet you, but-well-I think I’m going to go.”

“You don’t have to,” Taeyong turned back towards Doyoung, but the other man shook his head. 

“No, I think I do.”

“Yeah, I think that would be best.” Johnny nearly growled as he set Renjun’s backpack on the coffee table before placing the child on the ground. “Hey Junnie, I need to talk with Taeyong for a moment, do you want to go put your stuff back in your room?”

Renjun looked between all the adults in the room before nodding and scurrying off to his room.

By the time Johnny turned his attention back to Taeyong, Doyoung was pulling back from a quick hug with the latter before leaving the apartment. 

“Why did you tell him to leave?” Taeyong felt bad for forgetting to pick Renjun up, but Johnny had no right to treat his guest in such a way.

Johnny looked towards Renjun’s room to make sure the child was out of hearing range before sighing, “Do you not realize you have a problem? You can’t just leave Renjun at other people’s houses because you want to spend time with your latest flavor of the month. My sister had plans, she called you-heck, I called you at least ten times. You don’t get to fall off the face of the earth anymore, Taeyong!”

“I didn’t fall off the face of the earth, I just got distracted. My phone is in my bedroom charging, I guess I left it on silent.” Taeyong defended himself, Johnny was overreacting.

“You don’t get to do that Taeyong.” Johnny’s voice started to rise, “You have a child to look after! And don’t act like this was a one time thing, you’ve been so into these guys you’re seeing, you have no time for Renjun.”

“Don’t you dare accuse me of that!” Taeyong felt rage bubbling up, “I care about Renjun more than you will ever know-”

“Oh, like when you forgot him at school because you were too busy flirting with Doyoung in his cafe?” Johnny shot back, “You’ve been constantly at it with these guys and working late and you don’t have any time for the six year old who thinks you’re the most amazing person on this planet.”

“Shut up.” Taeyong’s words were much quieter, but he was just as angry as the man in front of him, “How dare you accuse me of neglecting him, I’ve taken him in, I feed him, I take him to school, I tuck him in-”

“And when was the last time you guys went anywhere? When was the last time you had a conversation that was more than the basic how was school?” Johnny cut him off, his voice lowering in volume as well. “You think I’m just guessing about this? I talk to him every time I see him, and he talks about you less and less.”

“What?” This was new to Taeyong.

“He spends a lot of time at Donghyuck’s these days, he says you’re working really hard.” Johnny didn’t sound as mad anymore, now he just sounded sad, “He says you’re either on your phone constantly or working on your laptop with headphones in. He also mentioned about all the times you sent him away to either Jaemin’s or Donghyuck’s so you could hang out with Jaehyun or Doyoung.”

“That’s not true,” Taeyong did spend a lot of time lately with the two other men, but it wasn’t something as drastic as what Johnny was describing. “You’re just upset because Ten has moved on and I’m seeing two guys while you can’t get anyone to date you because you’re just an angry asshole. No wonder you’ve never managed to keep a guy-or a girl for that matter.”

Johnny’s face dropped from angry to hurt in an instant, and Taeyong knew he went too far. But he didn’t like what Johnny was accusing him of doing. The rage was definitely winning over the small voice in his mind telling him to stop talking.

“When was the last time you even were in a serious relationship?” Taeyong just kept going. He just wanted to make Johnny feel as terrible as he did in that moment because maybe-just maybe- everything Johnny was saying was true. The time he forgot Renjun in favor of being with Doyoung hadn’t happened just once, he had also worked through a few pickups as well. But since school had started, Renjun always had something to do while waiting and never looked as down as he had the first time. And maybe he did lean a little bit too much on the fact that Donghyuck was just down the hall-but he and Renjun were best friends! Why wouldn’t they want to spend more time together?

“That’s not what we’re talking about Taeyong,” Johnny took a deep breath to control his emotions. “I know I have my problems, but my problems aren’t inconveniencing my sister and making one of the world’s sweetest six year olds think that he’s some type of burden-”

“I don’t get what your problem is!” Taeyong cut him off, raising his voice to yell. “I have not been neglecting him, I have a life of my own that I deserve to live! I wasn’t the one who knocked up some chick! I’m not the one who had a kid! I did not ask for any of this! So what if I want to live my life like the average, single guy in his twenties? Just leave me the fuck alone!”

“Oh, is that what you want?” Johnny was back to yelling, too. “You want me to leave you alone? Well fine, I’ll do just that. No more calling me when you need someone to pick him up, no more dropping him off at my sister’s so you can fuck whatever guy you can’t commit to, and no more me in your life. I can sit by and watch you make stupid little mistakes, but Renjun doesn’t deserve any of this! I know you didn’t ask for this, but this isn’t about you. Just remember that.”

And with that, Johnny left.

Taeyong collapsed onto the couch, face in his hands. This was too much-this all was too much. He didn’t know what was the worst part, saying that to Johnny or realizing that most of what Johnny said was true. He had forgotten Renjun at school, and at friend’s houses. It wasn’t always just to hang out with Jaehyun or Doyoung-mostly it was for work. But that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to Renjun to have him be pushed on the backburner.

And saying that he didn’t ask for any of this was true, but it was an experience he would never regret. He loved having Renjun in his life. The boy was so positive and loving and brought a purpose to Taeyong’s life that he hadn’t had before.

But it would be a lie to say he wasn't a bit tired. It wasn’t Renjun’s fault, but sometimes Taeyong would find himself just wishing the kid would stay at Donghyuck’s for a week straight so Taeyong could do the simple little things he used to love. Some days he just wished he could walk around in his boxers, start drinking mimosas at 8am, and play any movie he wanted on the living room tv. Maybe an action movie with a lot of cursing or a racy sex scene, just the simple things he used to take for granted.

“Appa?” Renjun’s soft voice had Taeyong pulling out of his thoughts so he could look at the boy who was now standing in front of him. “Is Uncle Johnny mad he had to bring me home?”

“Of course not baby,” Taeyong quickly pulled Renjun into a tight hug. “Uncle Johnny and Appa just had a little fight, but it’s really nothing, it’s just a misunderstanding.”

“Oh, like Jisung and Chenle?” Renjun asked as he pulled back to look the man in the eyes.

“Chenle?” Taeyong furrowed his brow, “Who’s Chenle?”

“I told you about Chenle last week, Appa.” Renjun pouted. “He’s Jisung’s new friend who speaks Mandarin like me.”

“You have a friend who speaks Mandarin now?” Taeyong found himself momentarily excited for the young boy. Renjun still didn’t have too many close friends at school, but it would be nice if he had a friend who he could practice his first language with. “That’s so exciting! You’ll have to tell me all about him.”

Renjun pursed his lips in a scowl, “I told you last week Appa.”

Chapter Text

Taeyong felt tired, so tired he could probably fall asleep sitting up in his uncomfortable office chair even though it was barely past noon. But with all the work a comeback required, plus having a six year old at home, he was starting to run himself thin. And unfortunately he still hadn’t talked to Johnny since their argument months prior, so he couldn’t rely on his best friend nor Mark’s mother to help out with Renjun.

“You look like shit,” Ten, ever the sweet talker, scolded as he placed a large, iced americano in front of his friend, “When was the last time you slept?”

“Last night,” Taeyong yawned before taking a sip of his drink. 

“Okay let me rephrase that. When was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?” Ten made himself comfortable on one of the chairs in front of his friend.

Taeyong thought about it. Last night he was in the studio until maybe one or two before he returned to the apartment with a sleeping Renjun in his arms. The small child had been good lately with staying in Taeyong’s office from after school until he fell asleep on the couch. Taeyong felt bad that he had to use a lot of his things only available in the office at work and couldn’t just work from his home studio. If he was trying to just write songs he could do that from the comfort of their apartment, but it wasn’t always possible in post production. Especially not when they got closer to release and the managers and producers had daily meetings to go over every aspect of the comeback.

“That’s what I thought,” Ten sighed at his friend, “Why are you doing this to yourself? It can’t be healthy.”

“There’s only a few days before this is released, then I can go back to sleeping normally.” Taeyong justified. It wasn’t like he was trying to run himself ragged, but he needed to show Joonmyun that he was able to do this - he needed to be able to do this if he ever wanted to produce his own idol group. It was just a few more days and he could relax.

Ten sat back in his chair and just watched for a few minutes as Taeyong continued clicking away at his computer. Since the songs were already submitted and cds printed, the other was most likely working on the schedule for the artist’s comeback. It sounded simple enough, but there were so many tiny details and debates on what shows would fit each artist’s fanbase that sometimes scheduling one morning could take hours.

“Would you just shut up?” Taeyong didn’t mean for it to come out as a growl, but he was short on sleep and feeling agitated at the way Ten was judging him. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Ten put on his best innocent face and did his best to sound offended.

The taller of the two rolled his eyes, “We both know you don’t need to talk to say something. You have the loudest face I’ve ever met.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Ten couldn’t help but laugh. But then the smile slipped off his lips when he asked his next question, “Have you talked to Johnny lately?”

“You know the answer to that,” Taeyong tried to hide himself behind his computer screens, not wanting to see Ten’s reaction to his answer. He knew that despite everything that happened between the two, Ten and Johnny were still talking. They seemed to move past most of their awkward feelings quite easily with some time - never having a problem moving past them before after they had broken up. 

“You guys should really talk,” Ten leaned across the desk to look Taeyong in the eyes. “You both probably need it.”

“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to talk to me, so drop it.” Taeyong said with a finality to his voice. He knew his best friend - if Johnny had wanted to talk to him, he’d talk to him. But two months had passed and not a single word from the taller man. That was unlike Johnny in so many ways that Taeyong knew the other hadn’t calmed down yet after the fight. They had been in complete radio silence, and it looked like nothing was going to break that.

“You haven’t even tried.” Ten pointed out. “Neither of you have, but it’s obvious you both want to talk to each other.”

“I don’t have anything to say to him right now.” Taeyong took a deep breath, the last thing he needed was to start a fight with Ten as well. “Seriously, just drop it. I’m fine without him right now, he’d just be a distraction.”

“Since when is friendship a distraction?” Ten shook his head as he stood up to leave, “I think you’re both stupid, but you’re definitely the bigger idiot out of you two. I mean, you’re running yourself ragged and you’re going to make a mistake because of it.”

Taeyong watched his friend leave the office and waited until the door shut behind him before sagging in his office chair with a sigh. It wasn’t the first time Ten bothered him to talk to Johnny, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last, but he really with Ten would just drop it. It wasn’t like Johnny hadn’t said some hurtful things back to him as well, but every time they talked, it seemed Ten was pushing Taeyong to apologize. But why would he apologize when Johnny could have civilly discussed everything like an adult? 

After the problem being pointed out, Taeyong adjusted his schedule to fit more Renjun time in every day. Despite staying late at the office with the six year old sleeping on his couch, Taeyong made sure to spend at least an hour between him working to ask about classes and Renjun’s day. It turned out to be really reassuring as Renjun, one day a few weeks ago, told him about the new transfer student who was his new best friend at school. 

Taeyong had actually been a bit worried before that since, about a week after the fight, Renjun got quieter when he realized he wouldn’t be seeing Johnny nor Mark for a while. Taeyong had been worried that Renjun was going to fall back into the quiet, scared boy he was when he first came into Taeyong’s life. But it seemed over the past nearly two years that Renjun had really grown and wasn’t going to let the strained relationship bring him down. And by the way Renjun’s smile lit up as he talked about his new friend, Yangyang, the six year old seemed very happy.

However, while he knew he was pretty much raising Renjun alone before, he really felt alone now. Taeyong hadn’t realized how much he relied on Johnny. It used to be so easy to send Renjun over to Johnny’s office when Taeyong needed to run to the store to grab something for work. Or when he was able to contact Johnny’s sister to pick Renjun up after school and let Mark and Renjun spend some time together while Taeyong stayed in the studio. But after everything that happened, Taeyong was too afraid to reach out to Mark’s mother, though she hadn’t reached out either.

He did have some help though. Luckily, Doyoung’s bakery wasn’t too far from Renjun’s school. And while Taeyong tried to avoid it, some days he just couldn’t make it there right when the school let out so he’d ask the baker to pick Renjun up from school and Taeyong would meet them at the bakery when he could. Though Doyoung was always sweet enough to offer to bring Renjun to Taeyong’s office so the producer wouldn’t have to leave his work for at least an hour. 

Which is actually how Renjun was going to get back today since Taeyong wasn’t going to be able to leave the office for a long period of time until at least after 5. 

“Taeyong?” a familiar voice pulled Taeyong out of his thoughts.

“Jae?” Taeyong was confused when he looked up and saw Jaehyun standing in the doorway of his office. 

“Hey,” Jaehyun’s face broke out into a charming smile as he came into the room with a bag of take out in hand. “I know you said you were too busy to grab lunch these days, but I was hoping if I brought it to you that maybe you could find a few minutes to eat.”

Taeyong felt his face break out into a smile. Despite being too busy to meet up during the week, the last time they hung out over the weekend while Renjun was at Donghyuck’s, Taeyong had mentioned that he’d been living off of snacks. He could have always ordered delivery, but the delivery time was never exact and he didn’t want to be in the middle of an important conversation when it arrived.

“It’s alright if you’re too busy to eat it with me, but I was thinking that at least you could have something decent for a change.” Jaehyun put the bag on Taeyong’s desk, and the other could immediately smell the dumplings from the nearby corner shop.

“You are amazing.” Taeyong got up to give the other a hug, “You really are my hero. Eat lunch with me?”

“You sure?” Jaehyun asked, but was sitting down and opening the bag excitedly. 

“Of course.” Taeyong sat back down and quickly checked his calendar, “I need to go with some people in about fifteen minutes, so we have some time.”

---

“Junnie! Are you going home now?” Yangyang grabbed his backpack off his chair and scurried over to the back of the class where Renjun was gathering his colored pencils.

Renjun shook his head, “I’m going to Appa’s work again.”

“You go to work a lot,” Yangyang was practically bouncing as he rolled from his heels to his toes as he waited for his friend. “Do you get paid?”

The older of the two giggled, “No, I don’t work. I hang out with my Appa and I do my homework and I color and I sleep and sometimes I get to watch tv.”

“Baba,” Yangyang corrected. Coming from a Mandarin speaking home, Yangyang did his best to help Renjun out with words that he didn’t know in Mandarin, but knew in Korea.

But no matter how many times Renjun dismissed his correction of Appa and Baba, Yangyang never listened.

“No, Appa. Appa is Appa and Baba is Baba. They’re different people.” Renjun rolled his eyes - something he had seen his Appa’s friend, Ten, do when he got annoyed. “I told you that. Appa speaks Korean, Appa is Appa. Baba is, well, I don’t know but he’s gone.”

Yangyang gave Renjun a skeptical look, but just shrugged the other’s explanation off, “That’s just confusing.”

“Come on, let’s go.” Renjun tugged on his friend’s arm as he led him out the door. He made sure his scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck since the December winds made everything feel colder than the winter before.

“I don’t want to go,” Yangyang pouted, as he always did after class since his parents had enrolled him in an English class for after school. “Let’s just go play on the playground!”

Renjun laughed, sometimes his friend was just really silly. “We can’t, last time your mom yelled at us.”

“Maybe this time she won’t?” Yangyang looked longingly towards the playground.

Before Renjun could call his friend’s plan terrible, he spotted a familiar face in the crowd of parents waiting to pick up their kids. And like always, the man had a treat in his hands. “Maybe. But Uncle Doyoung has a snack!”

Before Yangyang could whine how unfair it was that Renjun got a snack while he had to go to another school, Renjun ran over to the man waiting for him and grabbed at the snack in his hands, immediately changing from Mandarin to Korean, “Is that mine?”

“Wow you have terrible manners.” Doyoung laughed and pulled the snack away from the six year old. “Aren’t you even going to attempt to say hi?”

“Hi Uncle Doyoung, is that for me?” Renjun didn’t take his eyes off the snack wrapped in clear plastic. It had a bow sealing the bag closed that Renjun now recognized as the ribbon used to tie off all bags of treats from Doyoung’s bakery. 

“Not anymore,” Doyoung opened the bag and popped a piece of the rice crispy and marshmallow treat into his mouth - much to Renjun’s horror.

From behind him, he heard Yangyang burst into laughter, “That’s what you get, Junnie!”

Renjun turned to glare playfully at his friend, switching back to Mandarin, “Have fun in class.”

Yangyang gasped as if offended. But before he could say anything, his mom called after him.

“Bye, Yangyang,” Renjun smiled and waved as his friend walked back towards his mom. He then turned his attention to the man in front of him, his smile turning sweet as he switched back to Korean, “Hi Uncle Doyoung, how are you today?”

“Better now that you’ve actually greeted me,” Doyoung smiled and handed the bag to the six year old, “I brought this for you.”

“I know,” Renjun smiled brightly and accepted the bag, only to look up with wide eyes, “I mean, thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Doyoung reached down and ruffled the boy’s hair, “You brat.”

After a few weeks of occasionally picking the six year old up, Doyoung was becoming more used to dealing with a comfortable Renjun. When he had first met Renjun, the small child was more timid and seemed to watch what he said. However, when he got more comfortable he seemed to speak and only think about the words afterwards. It was also worse right after school when he switched languages since he wasn’t using any honorifics or the same type of formal language that he normally used when talking to adults in Korean.

But, they seemed to both open up to each other so while Renjun felt more comfortable talking around Doyoung, Doyoung no longer felt like he had to win over the child. He now felt he could respond more naturally to Renjun without worrying the kid would take it the wrong way. 

“Are we going to the bakery?” Renjun popped a piece of rice crispy treat into his mouth before wiping his hand off on his uniform before reaching up to Doyoung's hand. “Can I decorate more cupcakes?”

“Not today, little man.  We have a shipment coming into the bakery today so I’m going to take you to the studio.” Doyoung swung their arms as they started walking down the street. “So how was school?”

“It was okay,” Renjun shrugged the best he could. “Yangyang says his mom’s gonna get a cat. Do you think Appa wants a cat?” 

Doyoung thought about it for a second, not wanting to crush the small child’s dream. Though he was pretty sure that Taeyong would say no. He was too busy at work and never constantly home, so the cat could get lonely and possibly starve.

“Maybe you should start smaller, maybe ask for a fish." Doyoung concluded. “You and your Appa aren’t home a lot so a cat may get lonely. But if you get a fish tank, maybe you can get two fish and they can be friends.”

Renjun made a noise of agreement, almost looking like he was impressed by Doyoung’s suggestion of fish. But then he scrunched up his nose, “A fish doesn’t seem cuddly. Are fishies soft?”

Doyoung did his best not to coo out loud, but the kid was just so adorable, “You can’t cuddle with a fish, they need to be in the water to live. But they can swim around and you can watch them.”

As they descended down the steps to the subway, Renjun seemed to contemplate this whole idea of fish not being able to cuddle with him. He had let go of Doyoung’s hand to pop another piece of treat into his mouth.

The two waited patiently on the platform until the next subway came with Renjun moving on from the idea of a pet and moving on to what he did the rest of the day. He also told Doyoung about the day before and the day before that as well since they hadn’t seen each other since then. He liked talking to Doyoung, talking to the man was like talking to a friend his own age. 

The small six year old talked for most of the subway ride as well as the time it took to walk to Taeyong’s office.

“Should we get some chocolate milk before we go upstairs?” Doyoung lightly steered Renjun towards the cafe on the first floor.

“Yes!” Renjun cheered happily and bounced over to the nice barista at the counter. “One chocolate milk please!”

“Sounds good," The young barista had grown familiar with Renjun coming into the shop with Doyoung every time the man dropped the child off. “And same for you, Doyoung?”

“Make it two, we’ll bring some up to Taeyong as well.” Doyoung smiled softly as he got out his card. 

As he waited for the man to pay, Renjun twirled around, laughing as he felt his backpack fly off his back when he turned faster. He did this a few times before he noticed a familiar face walking into the cafe. “Uncle Jaehyun!”

“Hey Junnie,” Jaehyun crossed the cafe to ruffle the boy’s hair, “What are you doing down here?”

“We’re getting chocolate milk,” Renjun smiled brightly. “Do you work here too?”

“No, I just came to visit your Appa for a little bit,” Jaehyun then turned to Doyoung, who was watching the interaction with a careful eye. “Hi, I’m Taeyong’s friend, Jaehyun. And you are?”

“Taeyong’s friend, Doyoung,” Doyoung reached out to shake Jaehyun’s outstretched hand. “Is Taeyong busy today?”

“A bit, actually,” Jaehyun kept the smile on his face, “I think he actually has a meeting to go to in a few minutes.”

“Thanks, I’ll see if I can drop Renjun off with Ten, instead.” Doyoung’s voice was a little bit colder than Renjun was used to hearing. It reminded Renjun of how his Appa’s voice was when his work called late at night.

“Doyoung?” The barista called out, “Here are your drinks.”

“Thanks,” Doyoung sent the woman a much warmer smile before turning back to Jaehyun, “Well, I guess we’ll leave you to your coffee.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Jaehyun gave him a quick nod as he made his way to the counter.

“Bye uncle!”

“Bye Junnie.”

Doyoung handed one of the drinks to Renjun before grabbing the other two and leading the child out of the cafe. 

Once out the door, he couldn’t help but ask the small child some questions. “So who’s that?”

“Uncle Jaehyun?” Renjun asked as he bounced over to the elevator to press the up button. “He’s Jaemin’s uncle.”

“Oh? Your friend Jaemin’s uncle?” Doyoung parroted, feeling a bit of relief from the confirmation.

“Yeah.” Renjun innocently took a sip of his chocolate milk, “He and Appa like to have sleepovers.”

“What?”

“I think they like to have sleepovers so Appa doesn’t get lonely.” Renjun softly grabbed Doyoung’s wrist to pull him forward once the elevator doors opened. “He only comes over when I’m at a sleepover.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, me and Hyuckie see him a lot when I’m at Hyuckie’s for the night.” Renjun explained. “But in the morning. But Hyuckie saw him with Appa at the store too when Hyuckie was there with his Appa and Jisungie.”

Doyoung hummed in response, his mind running a mile a minute. 

“We’re here!” Renjun happily bounced out of the elevator once the doors opened.

In his distracted state, he forgot that they were supposed to choose the button for Ten’s floor, not Taeyong’s office. But they seemed to have perfect timing because once they stepped off the elevator, they found Taeyong headed right for them.

“Junnie!” Taeyoung called out as he put the stack of papers he was carrying onto a nearby desk so he could pick up the small child in a tight hug. “You guys got here earlier than I was expecting.”

“We saw Uncle Jaehyun,” Renjun smiled brightly. “And I think Yangyang is getting a cat.”

The smile that was on Taeyong’s face instantly slipped as he looked over to Doyoung.

“Yeah,” Doyoung took a deep breath, hoping to control his emotions, “He was really nice, said he was here to visit you.”

“He brought lunch.” Taeyong slowly put Renjun on the ground, but all his attention was focused on Doyoung. “I didn’t know he was coming.”

“What a nice surprise.” Doyoung really didn’t know what to say. “I was a bit surprised by him as well.”

“Doyoung, look I can explain-”

“No need Taeyong,” Doyoung and Taeyong were pretty much ignoring Renjun at the moment, but the six year old just made himself comfortable leaning against the latter’s legs. 

“But Doyoung-”

“I said no need, Tae,” Doyoung flashed him a small smile. “I mean, it’s not like we really talked about any of this. We don’t even really know what this is, do we?” 

“Can we?” Taeyong checked his watch, he had to be upstairs in a minute, “Not now, I can’t now, but please Doyoung, can we talk about this?”

“Sure.” Doyoung took a step back, only to realize he still had two drinks in his hand, “Here, we stopped by the cafe to get you some chocolate milk.”

“Doyou-”

“Stop,” Doyoung cut him off and held out the cup for him, “Please, just take this Taeyong. I have to go right now. But we’ll talk, I promise. We’ll talk.”

Chapter Text

Taeyong stared at the boy sitting directly across from him with furrowed eyebrows. He knew by the smirk on the boy’s face that he had something up his sleeve - and knowing the boy, there was definitely a chance he literally had a card up his sleeve. Taeyong just wanted to get this right and wipe that smug look off the six year old’s face.

“Do you have any twos?”

“Go fish,” Donghyuck laughed brightly as he watched Taeyong’s face fall into a pout. JIsung and Chenle joined in with the laughter while Renjun’s face fell into a sympathetic frown.

“Are you sure?” Taeyong reached out to grab another card from the diminishing stack in the center of the coffee table. “There aren’t that many cards left.”

“I know my numbers!” Donghyuck sounded absolutely offended by the idea - not like the last game they played where he claimed he didn’t know the difference between a king and a queen.

“Alright then,” Taeyong watched him skeptically. But Donghyuck’s face didn’t have that mischievous edge that it normally did when he was messing with Taeyong. And Taeyong liked to think he was quite familiar with Donghyuck messing with him. So, the man turned his attention to the other six year old at the table. “Your turn, Junnie.”

Renjun took a deep breath as he looked at the four cards in his hand. He drew his little bottom lip between his teeth as he stared at his cards. Unlike Donghyuck who’d fire what he wanted as soon as his turn began - and sometimes before - Renjun was more cautious. However, this turn he seemed to be extra cautious as his eyes flickered from his hand, up to Taeyong, over to Donghyuck, and then back to his hand to repeat the cycle.

Renjun did this four or five times before Donghyuck broke out into laughter. “Just do it Junnie.”

“But I don’t want to.” Renjun put his hand face down on the table. “Can’t we play a different game?”

“All games are like this.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes, but to Taeyong, he sounded more endeared than annoyed. “You’re too nice.”

Renjun pouted and tried to defend himself. However, the same thing happened during his last turn and it took Taeyong at least five minutes to convince the sweet six year old to ask Donghyuck for his card. It was adorable, but kind of strange. For someone as sweet as him who didn’t want other people to lose, Renjun really liked to win.

“Junnie, it’s just a game,” Taeyong reached out to ruffle his hair, “Just ask for it.”

“But I’m cheating.” Renjun’s lips jutted out into an adorable pout. Though Taeyong was biased, he found most of Renjun’s faces adorable.

“It’s not cheating, it’s how the game is played.” Taeyong took the two of hearts out of his hand, “We’d do the same thing if you asked the wrong person for a card. Just say it.”

“Appa,” Renjun’s eyes flickered to his hand for a moment, “Do you have a two?”

“Here you go.” Taeyong handed over the card and quickly followed it with a kiss atop his head to make sure the child knew it was okay.

Though, while Renjun smiled, the two younger children scrunched their noses and made sounds of disgust. Apparently they were too cool for kisses.

“Aw Jisungie, do you want a kiss too?” Donghyuck dropped his hand to lean over and grab his brother and attack the four year old’s chubby cheeks with kisses while Chenle sat back and laughed at a pitch Taeyong didn’t know humans could reach until he met the five year old.

The two siblings squabbled for a bit while Renjun carefully lined up his new pair face down next to the other three sets he had lined up in front of him. It was cute how nice and neat he was with things like his school work and these cards. Yet their bathroom always looked like a typhoon blew through when he took a bath.

“Go again Junnie,” Taeyong decided to save Jisung by pulling his older brother off of him by the back of his shirt. Though a little part of him was willing to let Donghyuck keep bothering Jisung since that meant the six year old’s full attention wasn’t on him. Donghyuck was truly a sweet kid, so full of love and passion, but sometimes he was passionate about finding ways to push all of Taeyong’s buttons.

“Hyuckie, do you have any threes?” Renjun asked, ignoring the way Chenle and Jisung now tried to lean over and look at his cards. The two younger kids had played the first round of Go Fish with them, but decided two games in a row was too much work. Instead, they had turned on the tv, found a cartoon, and then promptly decided to ignore it as they watched the older boys and Taeyong play another round.

Donghyuck looked at his hand, back up and Renjun, back at his hand, and sighed before handing the card requested.

Renjun released a soft giggle that was immediately drowned out by Jisung and Chenle laughing at the dejected look on Donghyuck’s face. But Renjun didn’t pay them any mind, he just accepted the card and placed his newest pair face down on the table next to the others that were meticulously lined up in front of him.

As Taeyong watched the six year old carefully look at the cards in his hand to decide his next move, the Korean man couldn’t believe there were times just a month ago that he was sending Renjun off to Donghyuck’s apartment constantly so he could meet with men. He missed out on so many chill days like today, where he offered to watch Jisung and his friend as well as Donghyuck so the siblings’ parents could have some time to relax and maybe get some chores done they normally couldn’t. And what had he passed up these moments for? To juggle two non relationships that he was too afraid to progress? They hadn’t even called what they had a relationship, though that was probably his own fault. It was easy to use not wanting to upset or confuse Renjun as an excuse as to keeping Doyoung and Jaehyun as long term hookups. Though, he hadn't even physically hooked up with Doyoung. Maybe it could have been an emotional hookup?

It had been about three weeks since the run-in with Doyoung at his office when the other discovered the existence of Jaehyun. Taeyong had tried to reach out a few times to the baker, but Doyoung always texted back with the excuse that he was busy.

However, during the unfortunate meeting, it seemed that Doyoung wasn’t the only one who connected the dots. Later that same day, Taeyong received a text from Jaehyun asking who exactly Doyoung was.

So, for the first time in a while, Taeyong was completely honest and said Doyoung was a man he was interested in dating. He could see himself dating the baker long term. And when Jaehyun had asked if they should end whatever it was that they had, Taeyong was honest in saying he didn’t know. Some days more than others he could see possibly dating Jaehyun. As in actually dating, not just hooking up when he could get Renjun out of the house.

And now, three weeks later, Taeyong was feeling oddly relaxed. With all the kids out of school for winter break, Taeyong found himself spending more and more time with Renjun. Every time his mind drifted to his romantic problems, Johnny’s voice rang in his ears and guilt bubbled up in his chest.

Instead, he tried his best to prove Johnny wrong. He now spent as much time as possible asking about everything Renjun did and all the people he saw. Taeyong learned all about Chenle, the Chinese boy Jisung befriended at school despite the slightly older boy’s limited Korean. Taeyong also learned all about Yangyang’s new cat, Louis, who seemed to just ignore the poor boy’s existence.

And while spending time just relaxing at home with Renjun, Taeyong started to realize what he really wanted in life. Well, maybe not his whole life, but he knew what he wanted right now. And he knew the kind of relationship he wanted to have. And he knew who he could have that kind of relationship with.

“Appa,” Renjun’s whine pulled him out of his thoughts. “Do you have any jakes?”

“Jacks.” Taeyong corrected, “But no, go fish.”

“My turn!” Donghyuck happily shouted as he looked at his cards.

For once, he seemed to take his time deciding on what to ask. So while he was waiting, Taeyong checked his phone to see if he had any new texts. But with Ten on vacation and Jaehyun and Doyoung not really talking to him, most of the texts he now received were from work.

As he put his phone away, he could hear Chenle muttering something in Mandarin. The boy seemed to be pretty fluent enough in Korean to get by most every day conversations and to ask for the basics whenever he slept over - well, the two times he did so far - but for his thoughts about things, he seemed to default to Mandarin before attempting to translate himself into Korean. He didn’t always do a great job, but Jisung seemed to understand enough that it kept them both happy.

While this time Jisung didn’t immediately pick up on Chenle’s thoughts, Renjun definitely did. The six year old looked quickly at Taeyong before shaking his head at Chenle and whispering something back to the five year old in Mandarin.

“But cookies.” Chenle whined in Korean.

Renjun’s tone remained stern as he responded with something in Mandarin that had Taeyong checking for Chenle’s reaction. It would have been nice to find out the topic of their conversation, but the two weren’t always keen on exposing what they were talking about.

Jisung seemed to have the same worries about the topic of Chenle’s whines as Renjun did, as his eyes widened and flickered back and forth between his best friend and Taeyong. Though, it seemed like Jisung was checking for Taeyong’s reaction. But then, his eyes flickered to Renjun, “Injunnie hyung, you okay?”

“Of course, Jisungie,” Renjun’s face instantly warmed into a smile. “Hyuckie, it’s still your turn.”

For once, it seemed like Donghyuck actually understood the conversation between Renjun and Chenle since his focus was completely on those two and not on the cards in front of him. Instead of looking at them in confusion, his worried gaze seemed to land on Renjun.

“Guys, what’s going on?” Taeyong couldn’t help but ask. He wished he paid more attention to Sicheng way back when he was trying to teach Taeyong basic Mandarin.

“Nothing,” All but the youngest chorused together.

Donghyuck looked at his hand again before asking, “Hyung, do you have any sevens?”

“Don’t you think I’m too old to be your hyung?” Taeyong scoffed, but handed the six year old the card.

“I guess you are really old.” Donghyuck scrunched his nose. “Maybe I should call you gramps?”

“Hyung is fine.” Taeyong sighed. Donghyuck was always good at pushing his buttons.

Taeyong then turned his attention back to the two Chinese boys at the table, who were still squabbling under their breaths in Mandarin. It wasn’t until Taeyong caught the name they were saying that he realized why Renjun was trying to get Chenle to stop talking.

“Junnie, it’s okay.” Taeyong cut into their conversation. He then turned his attention to Chenle, “Do you miss Doyoung too?”

Chenle nodded his head, “He made good cookies. And he was really nice.”

“He was really nice, huh,” Taeyong reached over and ruffled Chenle’s hair. “I miss him too. But there are some things I need to take care of first.”

And that was true. After three weeks of silence between him and the men he was interested in, he did a lot of thinking. A lot of thinking. And he knew what kind of direction he wanted his life to go in. He knew the kind of person he wanted to seriously bring into Renjun’s life. He just had someone he needed to speak with first.

He actually even had plans to talk to that person just as soon as the three kids who weren’t his own left.

Though, as if called upon by some higher power, there was a knock on the front door.

“Appa!” Jisung happily called out as he ran to the front door with Taeyong hot on his heels, trying to stop him from opening the door just in case it wasn’t actually his dad on the other side.

But before Taeyong could catch him, Jisung flung the door open and froze. “Uncle Jaehyun?”

“Jaehyun?” Taeyong echoed as he saw the man on the other side of the door.

“Hey Jisungie,” Jaehyun reached out and ruffled the four year old’s hair, “I didn’t know you were here.”

“We spend the night.” Jisung peaked out in the hallway, passed Jaehyun, to look around for his parents. “Are you here to play?”

“Not really, I just need to talk to Uncle Taeyong,” Jaehyun managed to squeeze by the four year old and into the apartment. “Can you go hang out with your hyung for a little bit?”

“Where’s Jaemin hyung?” Jisung’s eyes were wide as he looked up at Jaehyun.

“Jaemin’s at home with his parents.” Jaehyun looked more and more uncomfortable as he tried to send the four year old back into the apartment.

So, Taeyong took matters into his own hands and scooped the four year old into his arms before setting him back on the ground deeper in the apartment “Hey, go play for me. You and Chenle can have my cards.”

“Okay!” Jisung squirmed out of Taeyong’s arms and ran for the coffee table, “My turn! My turn!”

“Sorry about that,” Taeyong turned his attention back to the man standing in his entry way. He hadn’t expected to see Jaehyun until later in the day. “Do you need some water or something?”

“No, I don’t actually plan to be here long.” Jaehyun took a deep breath. He then sent a soft smile towards Taeyong, “We both know why you wanted to talk, and I was just sitting in my apartment just waiting and it suddenly felt ridiculous to just sit around waiting for you to end it.”

“Jaehy-”

“No, we both know I’m right, Taeyong.” Jaehyun cut him off.

Taeyogn was sure his heart froze. This may have been the closest thing to a deeply emotional conversation the two were going to ever have, and he suddenly felt remorseful that they hadn’t done this before. Jaehyun’s face was always so honest, so expressive. And right now, Jaehyun’s face was expressing something close to heart break.

“It’s fine, Taeyong,” Though it clearly wasn’t. “Honestly, I should have said something sooner. I should have acted when the feelings started bubbling up, but it’s too late. If I could go back in time and go about things differently, I would. I wouldn’t have been so afraid of starting something with someone with a kid. Saying it out loud right now sounds so stupid, but it’s true. With Renjun around all the time, I automatically decided this wasn’t the kind of relationship I wanted to be in. I’m young, I wanted to be carefree. But the kid’s grown on me, he’s really such a good kid. But I missed my chance. Seeing Renjun and him in the cafe together that day, I realized I wasn’t that guy. I’m not the one you were relying on to take care of the most important person in your life, but that’s not your fault. That’s completely on me. I am the one who decided early on I didn’t want to be that guy, and I’m the one who let you continue to believe that.”

“Jae, I’m sorry,” Taeyong felt the tears starting to trickle down his cheeks. Despite the fact he had decided this was exactly what he wanted, it was different seeing it play out in front of his eyes. Secretly, he had been hoping that Jaehyun would just shrug it off, say that’s cool, and they’d continue being friends. But he knew Jaehyun better than to think it would be that easy.

“I’m sorry too, Tae,” Jaehyun took a step closer and pulled Taeyong into his arms. “No one is more sorry than I am.”

“I really do wish I had tried harder,” Taeyong admitted. If he hadn't met Doyoung, he could see himself being closer to Jaehyun. Possibly even starting a deeper relationship with the other. But that wasn’t the life they were living, and there was nothing they could do to change the past.

“Me too, I wish I did, too.” Jaehyun pulled back and looked at Taeyong through red eyes. The younger was crying, but didn’t give his tears any attention. “But if this is how things were meant to be, then who am I to complain?”

“Maybe one day we can be friends again?” Taeyong asked quietly. A part of him felt like a bit of a jerk for asking while he was sort of breaking up with the other, but he also really enjoyed Jaehyun’s company.

“I’d hope so.” Jaehyun responded hopefully.

“Does this mean I can’t see Jaemin again?” Renjun’s gentle voice had the two men in the doorway breaking eye contact to turn and look at the small child.

Jaehyun quickly wiped at his own eyes and knelt in front of Renjun, “Of course you’re still gonna see Jaemin. Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“Appa stopped being friends with Uncle Johnny. Now I don’t see Mark.” Renjun shifted his wide eyes to look up at Taeyong’s face, “I don’t want Jaemin to go.”

“Well that’s not going to happen here,” Jaehyun gave Renjun a tight hug, “I promise. This is just something between me and your Appa. Don’t you worry, you can hang out with Jaemin just like you guys normally do. I’ll be sure to make Uncle Jungwoo promise.”

Renjun seemed to relax as he finally hugged Jaehyun back. “If you don’t wanna have sleepovers with Appa, you can have sleepovers with me and Jaemin.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jaehyun couldn’t resist reaching out to ruffle Renjun’s hair as he stood back up. “But I guess with that, I’m gonna go. I didn’t want to interrupt your morning, I just wanted to get it over with. See you guys around.”

“I’ll see you around, Jae.” Taeyong watched as the other man took a deep breath before leaving the apartment.

He found himself just staring at the door long after it closed. Jaehyun wasn’t wrong. When Taeyong imagined the direction he wanted his life to go, this made sense. When comparing Doyoung to Jaehyun, Doyoung was someone who took Taeyong and Renjun as a pair, he had since the beginning. Jaehyun had never said anything against the situation, but Taeyong and Jaehyun had always existed outside of Taeyong and Renjun. If Taeyong had been on his own, he would have gone about his relationship with Jaehyun in a completely different way. But he wasn’t on his own, and he and Jaehyun hadn’t gone about it a different way.

“Appa?” Renjun wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s waist. “I’m sorry your friends keep leaving. But I’ll be your friend. Always.”

“Promise?” Taeyong grabbed Renjun under his arms to pull him into a tight embrace in his arms as he stood up, “Always is a really long time.”

“That’s okay.” Renjun smiled brightly as he ruffled Taeyong’s hair, much in the same way adults always did to him. “I’ll always be your friend.”

The sweet moment was interrupted by a knock on the door, nearly startling Taeyong into dropping Renjun. Luckily, his grip was just tight enough to prevent Renjun from falling. Though, the little jump had the six year old giggling.

It ended up being Donghyuck and Jisung’s father there to collect his sons and Chenle. He spent at least five minutes convincing Donghyuck that it was time to go and that he could hang out with Renjun another time - it wasn’t like the two didn’t see each other daily.

Once they were gone, Renjun and Taeyong took a few minutes to clean up the card game before making themselves comfortable on the couch. The two cuddled under a blanket, doing their best to keep warm on the cold, January day, as they turned on the newest cartoon that captured Renjun’s attention.

Taeyong waited until the six year old was completely entranced by the show before he took his phone out. Now that he and Jaehyun finally had their talk, he wanted to talk to Doyoung. It had been so long since he talked to the baker and he missed him.

He almost texted the other that Jaehyun had come over and they mutually decided that they were over, but Taeyong didn’t want Doyoung to feel like a consolation prize. It wasn’t like he was going to choose Jaehyun, but then the other rejected him so he was settling for Doyoung. But texting him right now sort of felt like that.

But he wanted Doyoung to know that he missed him. He wanted Doyoung to know that he had been thinking of him this whole time, and that Taeyong wanted them to be together. So he decided to send the other a text.

It’s always been you. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, but I’ve thought about it, and I’ve talked to him, and I just want you to know that when you’re ready, I’m here. Please, just let me show you. I miss you.

Chapter Text

Taeyong looked at the bakery in front of him and smiled. When he had this idea a week ago, he wasn’t sure if Doyoung would go for it. Ever since January, the two began to talk more, but it was mostly through texts or instagram comments. They had met up twice for coffee, and it was so adorable seeing Doyoung all bundled up in puffy jackets and scarves to hide away from the snowy winter. But now it was spring and not only was the weather warming up, so was Doyoung.

It was actually just after catching up with the baker over coffee that Taeyong had his brilliant idea. And while skeptical, he had a good feeling that Doyoung would go for it since it was going to be a present for Renjun. The six-almost seven-year old had been excited to learn that Doyoung would start coming around again, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual. Not even three minutes passed between Taeyong texting his idea and Doyoung replying about what a great idea it was and how he’d be happy to help.

And that’s how Taeyong found himself walking inside of Doyoung’s bakery on a Thursday morning after he dropped Renjun off at school.

“Good morning!” The young cashier behind the counter greeted as soon as he stepped through the door. “Oh, Taeyong! Doyoung oppa said you’d be coming by this morning. He’s in the back, you can just go through those doors.” 

“Thanks,” Taeyong followed her outstretched finger in the direction of the doors leading to the kitchen as he flashed her his sweetest smile, hoping that on some level it made up for the fact that he didn’t remember her name. He knew all about the art courses she was taking at the nearby college and the countless arguments she seemed to get into with her new boyfriend that she’d tell Doyoung, who in turn would tell Taeyong through text - but for the life of him, Taeyong could not remember her name.

Once he made his way through the double doors leading to the kitchen, he quietly let himself watch the man who was going over the ingredients laid out on the counter. Doyoung looked great - like he always did - as he mumbled to himself, pointing at each of the ingredients as he counted them on his fingers. He then let out a small squeak, “Oh! What flavor? We should do chocolate maybe - though he really likes marshmallows too. Maybe a marshmallow frosting? Though he may like something fruity more now. Maybe he’s still on that pineapple kick-”

“He’s over the pineapple kick for the time being,” Taeyong’s voice had Doyoung jumping in the air, grabbing a nearby wooden spoon and wielding it in Taeyong’s general direction. Though when he noticed who it was, he dropped the spoon back on the counter and pouted.

“That was mean,” Despite Doyoung’s initial pout, the smile that bloomed on his face let Taeyong know that the other wasn’t actually upset. “I figured you’d take a bit longer to drop him off. I was just getting everything together.”

“Normally he’s harder to shake, but since he’s not going to school tomorrow I think he’s trying to make up for some lost time or something like that.” Taeyong explained as he took off his jacket and hung it up on the hook that normally held Doyoung’s coffee colored apron. “But I think you were onto something with that chocolate and marshmallow mix.”

“Chocolate it is!” Doyoung seemed giddy as he bounced over to his walk in pantry to grab the last of the ingredients. “You know, you probably shouldn’t have worn something so nice to bake in. Especially since it’s chocolate.”

“This is fine,” Taeyong rolled up the sleeves of his white button-up shirt. He hadn’t thought of the actual baking when he got dressed a few hours prior, he was more thinking that he wanted to look good for Doyoung. This was only the third time they were meeting up since the new year so Taeyong only thought about looking good in hopes of weaseling himself back into Doyoung’s heart.

“At least put on an apron,” Doyoung seemed to make one appear in his hands out of nowhere before throwing it at Taeyong’s face, “I am not responsible for any drycleaning bills.”

Taeyong did as told and put on the brown apron while smiling to himself. The apron he was wearing matched Doyoung’s. A part of him wanted to take a photo of their adorable couple look and post it on his instagram, but he knew Doyoung was still skittish. Taeyong wasn’t going to risk overstepping the boundaries Doyoung was still putting up for their growing relationship. 

“So,” Doyoung put his hands on his hips, “You ready to make the best birthday cake that Renjun’s ever had?”

“Let’s do this!” Taeyong clapped happily as he pretty much bounced over to Doyoung’s side. “So, where do we start?”

Doyoung was patient. Taeyong thought himself a decent cook, afterall he had kept Renjun alive and healthy for the last two and a half years. But apparently baking was a completely different beast.  Well, baking from scratch was. Taeyong was great at baking premade cookie dough - and even better at eating it when it hadn’t been baked yet.

“What?” Doyoung gasped, staring at Taeyong in disbelief. “You eat raw cookie dough?”

Taeyong felt his cheeks redden. They had finally finished mixing the cake batter and were pouring it in the pans when Taeyong managed to get the mixture on his sleeve. Just as predicted, wearing a white shirt while making a chocolate batter was a disaster waiting to happen. So Taeyong had taken off his button-up shirt and was running it under the faucet while muttering to himself about how much better eating raw cookie dough was than baking it.

“Of course,” Taeyong chuckled, “You can go to the store and buy it premade.”

“You know that batter has eggs in it, right?” Doyoung’s eyes were still wide as he looked at the other. “As in you can get salmonella from eating raw eggs. And let me guess, you let Renjun eat unbaked cookie dough too?”

“No?” Taeyong answered back, though they both knew it was a lie. “Well, not anymore. Now we know better.”

“So cute but so stupid,” Doyoung muttered under his breath as he poured the batter into three separate cake pans.

“I’m going to pretend you only said the cute part,” Taeyong smiled as he hung his shirt on the hook that was normally for aprons. “Besides, how was I supposed to know that? They always do that in the movies.”

Doyoung continued to laugh at him as Taeyong tried and failed to defend himself, but Taeyong didn’t mind. This was the longest time that he had spent with Doyoung in months and he’d let Doyoung make fun of him as long as the baker kept smiling. Despite at one point Doyoung saying he wasn’t the biggest fan of his own smile, it always made Taeyong’s heart skip a beat. Doyoung just looked so happy every time he smiled. 

The next two hours were spent in a similar manner with Taeyong showing just how inexperienced he was at baking and Doyoung amazed that not only had Taeyong managed to keep himself alive with his cooking skills, but he also managed to keep Renjun alive. And when Doyoung muttered that under his breath, Taeyong couldn’t help but think that great minds think alike. 

Once the buttercream was done,  the two of them spent the next twenty minutes bickering over how long to wait before they could ice the cake. Taeyong insisted as soon as they came out they could since they had the buttercream ready to go, but Doyoung insisted, as the baker, that he had to calm down.

Luckily, Doyoung managed to keep Taeyong calm enough to not put the soft, cold buttercream directly onto the hot cake where it would melt. He distracted him by inviting him to lunch where Taeyong felt his cheeks hurting from smiling so much. Doyoung updated him on the crazy women coming in for their summer wedding cakes while Taeyong updated him on the latest music he was working on and Renjun going back to school.

After lunch, the two went back to working on Renjun’s birthday cake. They had debated decorating it with one of Renjun’s favorite cartoon characters, but Taeyong thought that might be a little too much to take on for his first time seriously baking. Though he did try his hand at piping a happy birthday message on top of the cake in Mandarin. Despite the fact neither could read it, Doyoung insisted that it looked great.

“Well, thank you again.” Taeyong had his cake boxed up in his hands as Doyoung followed out of the kitchen and into the bakery. “You really didn’t have to do this, but I do think this makes it a bit more special than me just buying a cake.”

“It is, and once again you’re welcome.” Doyoung had a faint blush on his cheeks, “Renjun is a good kid, and he deserves the best.”

“Oh, so now you’re saying you’re the best?” Taeyong couldn’t help but joke.

Doyoung rolled his eyes, “It’s about time you realize. Yes, I am.” He then took a step closer, so close that Taeyong was worried he’d bump into the cake box, “This was fun though, even if you’re a bit overdressed. Maybe next time we go somewhere where your outfit is a bit less out of place?”

Taeyong felt his heart pick up, “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?” Taeyong knew it was a stupid thing to say, but he was shocked. He knew Doyoung had been cautious, Doyoung had explicitly said he wanted to be cautious. But now he was asking Taeyong out?

Even though it had been a stupid thing to say, Doyoung smiled as if Taeyong just said something super sweet. Then, he did something even more surprising. He leaned around the cake box and placed a soft kiss on Taeyong’s cheek, “Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow though?”

“Yeah,” Taeyong nearly forgot he had invited Doyoung over for dinner the next day since a group of people were coming over to celebrate. Afterall, Doyoung deserved to eat some of the cake he worked so hard on. 

“Bye Taeyong,” Doyoung chuckled and then walked back to the kitchen.

Taeyong gave a little wave to the girl behind the counter before taking off.

-----

“Appa!” Renjun ran out of the front gates of the school and into Taeyong’s waiting arms. "Yangyang is coming over!"

Taeyong laughed as he set Renjun back on the ground so they could begin the trek back home. "Yes,  he's coming over tomorrow for dinner. A lot of people are."

"Really?" Renjun's eyes lit up in excitement.  "Who?"

"We've been over this, cutie," Taeyong ruffled the six year old's hair.  "Donghyuck,  Jisung, probably Chenle, Jaemin, Yangyang, Uncle Ten, Uncle Jungwoo, Uncle Doyo-"

"Uncle Doyoung?" Renjun froze. He hadn't seen the baker in months- not since that day at Taeyong's work. "Is he really coming?"

"Of course," Taeyong swept Renjun into his arms to carry him across the street since it looked like the child wasn't going to move on his own. "Why would I lie to you?"

Renjun stared at Taeyong's face in some sort of attempt to detect a lie while Taeyong did his best to look Renjun in the eye and navigate the sidewalk. 

For almost six city blocks Renjun kept staring at Taeyong's face,  and for the life of him the Korean man couldn't figure out why. He tried to point out a fluffy dog they passed and he suggested they get ice cream,  but Renjun kept staring at him with skepticism until he finally asked, "Is he really coming back?"

"Yes,  I spoke with him this morning and he said he was coming to dinner tomorrow. He's coming-oh-" Taeyong froze, his mind finally coming to realize why Renjun was so skeptical. Renjun wasn't used to people coming back. His mom had left him to her parents before they got tired, then she left him with Sicheng to run off with that man, and Sicheng left him with Taeyong only to never be heard from since. 

Taeyong placed a soft kiss atop Renjun's head, "Yes baby, he's coming back. I promise, people do come back. Not everyone, unfortunately sometimes things happen to prevent it. But you and I are both lucky because Uncle Doyoung is coming back. Do you want to go to the bakery and ask him?"

Renjun shook his head, "I trust you, Appa."

"And I love you, Junnie." The man responded before asking the child about his day. 

Renjun apparently had a great day judging by the child’s chatter. He was talking about what they were learning in class, but since everything he was learning was in Mandarin, Taeyong just nodded along like he understood it all. However, that then drifted off into how excited he was for the next day.

The six-almost seven-year old had been excited for his birthday ever since the beginning of the month. When Taeyong asked what he wanted to do for his birthday, Renjun said what he always said - he wanted to spend the day with Taeyong and his friends. So, Taeyong planned to give him exactly that. His school was told he had a doctor’s appointment so he wouldn’t be in all day, but in reality Taeyong planned for them to sleep in, go see a movie in the theater, then they’d go to one of those paint your own plate sort of places, and then finally once dinner time came around, a big group of friends were coming over to celebrate.

So once they got home, Taeyong sent Renjun to finish up his homework while he began to clean. That was the one pain when inviting people over, the cleaning that went with it.

-----

After hours of cleaning with Renjun’s help after he had finished his homework, and then an uneventful trip to the grocery store, it was time for Renjun to get to bed and Taeyong to get to work. Unfortunately taking a four day weekend wasn’t easy in his line of work, so he had promised his boss he’d get some work done after he put Renjun to bed each day. 

“But it’s bedtime, Appa.” Renjun pouted as he snuggled up against Taeyong’s side in the man’s bed. Renjun had just finished taking a bath after all that cleaning but didn’t seem to care that his hair was soaking through Taeyong’s shirt.

“It’s your bedtime, not mine,” Taeyong tried to push Renjun’s head away, but the child wasn’t having it. “Remember what I told you before? Once you hit double digits your bedtime gets pushed back. But it’s still Thursday so school night rules apply.”

Renjun looked like he was about to try and complain, but a yawn cut him off. 

“Told you so,” Taeyong tweaked the boy’s nose softly, “Come on, I’ll take you to your own bed. You can’t stay in here tonight.”

“But it’s comfy,” Renjun yawned again as he tried to burrow himself into Taeyong’s stomach.

“Nope, not happening,” Taeyong picked Renjun up and threw him over his shoulder to carry him to his own room. “I love you, babe, but I need to work.”

Luckily, it didn’t end up being a problem because by the time he reached Renjun’s room and softly took him off his shoulder, Renjun was asleep. The poor boy had actually done a great job helping Taeyong navigate the grocery store as well as sweep all the difficult places like under the coffee table and behind the television stand. 

On his way back to his room, Taeyong slipped off his now wet shirt and threw it into his hamper before grabbing his laptop to go to his studio. They were working on yet another comeback - this one with Taeyong acting as the main producer for the entire cd. He had spent the first half of the week in the recording studio with the idols, but now had to splice their vocals until it was exactly what he wanted. He believed this was one of the last tests before he could convince his boss to let him have an idol group of his very own.

However, he underestimated how tired cleaning made him. He seemed to be constantly closing his eyes for what felt like a moment before jerking his head up and seeing that minutes had passed, not just seconds like it felt.

Taeyong was drifting off again when a sudden loud crash startled him awake.  For a moment he thought that maybe he hit a button on his computer. However when a small whimper followed, he pretty much dropped his laptop on the ground as he jumped up.

“Junnie?” Taeyong checked his phone quickly to see the time. What was he doing up at nearly midnight?

The moment he walked into the kitchen, he froze. Renjun was curled up in a small ball on the ground with one hand curled against his chest and one hand over his mouth as if to keep quiet. What caught Taeyong’s eye the most however, was the blossoming red blood pooling underneath the child.

“Junnie?” Taeyong scurried over to the boy and fell to his knees next to him. The blood kept pooling and Taeyong found himself struggling to breath. What was he supposed to do? Sure over the past few years Renjun had fallen and had bumps and bruises and scrapes, but nothing like this. 

The moment Renjun looked up and saw Taeyong through his watery eyes, the six-minutes away from being seven- year old burst out into loud sobs, no longer trying to stay quiet. 

“It’s okay, baby,” Taeyong carefully tried to pull Renjun onto his lap, but when his finger brushed the boy’s arm, Renjun cried harder. “It’s okay, sorry Junnie. It’ll be okay. We just-we-I need-” He froze. Was this this sort of situation where he should call the ambulance? Maybe? Renjun did seem to be losing a lot of blood. But was this life threatening? Would he get fined if it was determined not life threatening? No, he should really call an ambulance, he’d pay any fine to make sure that Renjun was okay.

As the phone dialed out, he managed to softly bring Renjun into his lap so he could place a soft kiss on the top of his head. He was trying his best not to touch the obviously injured arm. But by the way the wails increased their intensity, he did a poor job.

“Tae?” The groggy yet familiar voice on the other end of the phone groaned out. He hadn’t ended up calling the emergency services, he hadn't even realized it,  but he found himself being able to take a deep breath instead of his chest feeling too tight to breathe normally. “Is that Junnie?”

“He’s bleeding.” Taeyong was surprised at how high and frazzled his own voice sounded. “There’s so much blood. And I think his arm is broken."

“Take him to urgent care,” The previously hoarse voice was now deeper and much more awake, “Grab Sicheng’s paperwork and go to the urgent care right now. There’s one that’s always open down the road from you, you know, across from that Chinese place you like.”

“But-”

“Grab the papers and take him now, Taeyong.” The voice sternly cut him off before the line disconnected.

Taeyong carefully maneuvered himself with Renjun still in his arms back to his room to grab the paperwork Sicheng had left behind that granted him guardianship over Renjun. He didn’t know if he’d need them, but it was better to be safe than sorry. It was actually a good idea to bring them.

Once he had the paperwork, he looked at the crying boy in his arms and decided to grab one of his sweatshirts to wrap around the child. Despite it being less harsh than the cold winter months now,  spring seemed to be coming late this year and he didn’t want Renjun to get sick from the cold. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Taeyong muttered to the child as he carried him out of the apartment. 

As soon as they stepped outside into the night, Taeyong felt a chill go up his spine. In his rush to take care of Renjun and make sure the six year old was warm, he hadn’t remembered to put a shirt on. He had been working comfortably in his studio with the heater on, it had been warm. But now he had no time to go back. He would just put the sweatshirt on once Renjun was inside.

Taeyong was doing his best to run but not move his upper body. Overall Renjun’s cries were starting to calm down, but he’d let out a whimper any time he was jostled. The poor boy sounded so hurt that it felt like it was physically breaking Taeyong’s heart.

It took them just under ten minutes before coming across the urgent care. As they got closer, Taeyong realized he probably should have taken a taxi-until he realized that wouldn’t have worked because he was shirtless and that would have been weird. Also because he didn’t have his wallet on him. Would he need his wallet?

As soon as they stepped through the doors of the urgent care, Taeyong froze. Despite calling the other just ten minutes before, he hadn’t expected to see him there in the middle of the night - especially since he hadn’t seen the other in so long.

“Taeyong, you made it."

Chapter Text

Johnny smiled tiredly as he stood up with a clipboard in his hands. “I’ve got nearly all the paperwork filled out for you, you just need to double check it and sign.”

Taeyong still didn’t move. He felt like an idiot standing there frozen, but a part of him was convinced he was seeing things.

It wasn’t until he heard another sob from Renjun that he snapped into action and crossed the room. “Sorry I called you so late, I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Clearly,” Johnny’s deep chuckle sounded so familiar but distant at the same time. The taller, very carefully, grabbed Renjun by his waist and pulled him out of Taeyong’s arms. He tucked the small boy tightly against his chest and handed over the hoodie, “At least put this on, you’re giving the nurses quite a show.”

Taeyong looked down and blushed. Somehow he had forgotten that he didn’t have a shirt on. He then looked up at the desk as he put the hoodie on and saw all three women turn away at the same time, clearly trying to make themselves look busy. But it was pretty obvious they had been staring at his shirtless chest. Though, once he looked down again, he was surprised that he wasn’t covered in blood. In the moment at the apartment, it felt like there was blood everywhere. But now that Renjun was in a place where he’d be taken care of - and probably a bit due to Johnny’s calming presence - the injury didn’t seem as terrible as before. 

“Junnie,” Johnny lightly called as he softly swayed the boy back and forth, “The really nice doctor is going to have a look at your arm now, is that okay?”

“No,” Renjun used his good arm to wipe at his eyes. It seemed his tears had run dry, but that didn’t stop small sobs from shaking his body. He then rested his head on the crook of Johnny’s neck, “I-I missed you.”

“I’m sorry,” Johnny placed a delicate kiss atop the boy’s head, “I missed you too. Though I am excited to say happy birthday to you! So happy birthday! You already look taller at seven.”

Taeyong heard the two whisper to each other, mostly Johnny asking Renjun questions such as what the child’s plans were for his big day. And with Renjun distracted and no longer crying, Taeyong was able to double check all the forms to make sure it looked good before signing them, and then handing them to the nurse.

“I believe that’s for me.” A doctor smiled softly as she came out of the backroom and took the forms from the nurse, “How about we get you three into an exam room and take a look at that arm?”

“No!” Renjun squeaked against Johnny’s chest, either not noticing or not caring that Johnny was following the doctor with Taeyong behind him.

“Why not?” the doctor’s voice sounded sad, however she sent Johnny and Taeyong a playful wink.

“It hurts.”

“Well good thing your dads brought you to me, I went to school for a very long time to learn how to make people feel better.” The doctor, Dr. Joy Park based on the name tag on her white coat, led them to an exam room and signaled for Johnny to sit down on the exam table so she could take a look at Renjun’s arm.

“Oh we’re not-he’s not-”Johnny stumbled over his words as he carefully got himself situated on the table, which was much harder than he initially expected since he couldn’t use either of his hands to stabilize himself yet had to try to be extra careful so he didn’t jostle Renjun’s arm.

“What my friend here is trying, and failing, to say is actually neither of us are his dads. Nor are we involved that way. He’s single while I’m hoping to be taken.” Taeyong chuckled at his friend’s embarrassment. Johnny must have thought the doctor was really pretty as he normally didn’t stumble like this around women. Or, at least he didn’t before. It had been a while since the two talked to each other but Johnny had been a big flirt for most of the time that Taeyong knew him. And during that time, Johnny probably only stumbled over his words with 5 or 6 people.

But the doctor didn’t seem to care about that, her attention was on the other part of Taeyong’s statement, “Neither of you are his father?”

Renjun brought his face out of Johnny’s chest so he could send a teary glare at the doctor, “Appa is Appa. Uncle Johnny is Uncle Johnny.”

“I’m his guardian,”Taeyong brought a hand up to run his fingers through the child’s hair, “I can show you all the paperwork after, but I think he’s already been waiting long enough to get his arm looked at. He’s going to be nicer, right Renjun? I know you’re probably sleepy, but you’re going to have to let the doctor check it.”

Renjun flashed Taeyong a skeptical look, but allowed Johnny to turn him so he was facing the young woman. 

Taeyong watched silently as Doctor Joy examined the seven year old’s arm. Now that he could see the cut, it didn’t look terrible. It was the largest cut Renjun had had since being in Taeyong’s care and would probably need stitches. However it wasn't terrible. But the more worrisome injury was his wrist. It had swelled up to nearly twice its normal size.

Doctor Joy gave Renjun some sort of pain killer that made the small boy sleepy and with the combination of that and the fact it was past midnight had Renjun drifting off to sleep - much to the amusement of the adults in the room. The doctor would ask him to lift his arms up as far as he could, but he’d lift them up to his shoulder before drifting off and his arms would drop. Whilst adorable, Renjun would then be startled awake by the pain and release a small whimper with watery eyes.

Finally after a few minutes of trying to see if it was broken, the doctor decided it would be easier to let him sleep and send him straight to the x-ray machine as soon as it became available.

Once she left the room, the three people inside fell into an uncomfortable silence. Renjun had ended up curled up on Taeyong’s lap and therefore wasn’t exposed to the awkward tension, but Taeyong refused to take his eyes off the top of the child’s head while Johnny seemed extra interested in the jars of cotton swabs and tongue depressors on the counter.

They sat like that for a few minutes until Taeyong realized he needed to say something. Afterall, this was his fault. He was the one making poor decisions.He was the one who lashed out at his best friend.He was the one who never apologized. And he was the one who called in the middle of the night, completely freaking out.

“I’m sorry.” Taeyong’s voice was barely a whisper but was loud enough to have Johnny’s head snap in his direction. “Right now, I’m sorry for a lot of things. Too many things.” He had to stop for a moment to push back the tears developing in his eyes, “I should never have said what I said.I was mad at what you were saying, but that didn’t make it any less true. I’m really sorry Johnny.”

Johnny sent the shorter a sleepy smile, "You know something? I was so prepared for you to be drunk when I answered the phone."

Taeyong chuckled, that sounded like something he would have done a few years ago. It was always easy to bare his soul and then blame it on the alcohol the next morning. But that was a destructive habit and Taeyong had already destroyed enough good things in his life to want to go back down that path. 

"No lie, I thought about doing that on New Years.  If Ten didn't stop me from being an idiot, you definitely would have had your night ruined by a sniveling mess."

"It would have been nice hearing from you though." Johnny's voice was quiet and honest. "We've never gone this long without talking and I really did want to talk to you,  but I just couldn't bring myself to call. I didn't feel like it should have been on me to speak up first.  I don't regret what I said-"

"And you shouldn't." Taeyong cut him off. "I mean it when I say you were right.  And I truly mean it when I say I'm sorry.  I-I was missing being a grown, single man.  Jaehyun was fun and Doyoung was so stunning and I wanted what I felt like I was missing out on. Renjun is-I really do mean it when I say I love him with all of my heart. But-" he looked down to make sure the boy was still asleep. "But sometimes I'm lonely. I know I have you and Ten and Jungwoo and even Yunho, but it's different. I miss that rush of adrenaline from a kiss or the warmth from skin on skin. And sometimes I wonder where my life-I mean how different it could- damn it sounds terrible no matter how I phrase it."

"Tae, I'm not going to judge you." Johnny's voice was soft as he crossed the room to sit on the exam table with Taeyong so he was close enough to lay a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just say it."

"Is it possible I'd be happily in a serious relationship if Renjun never came until my life?"

"Of course it is." Johnny didn't miss a beat. "You could have gone out to the cafe the day after if Sicheng didn't stop by in the middle of the night and met a tall, dark  handsome foreigner who whisked you off to France. Or maybe later that week at the grocery store you meet a cute little thing who likes long walks on the beach and now two years later you guys are ready to move in together."

"I don't think you're really helping." Taeyong interrupted, "There's no guarantee either of those things would have happened."

"Exactly. You could be single and damaging your liver every weekend from getting drunk at a club and trying to find a warm body for the night. Either way, drunk and horny or romantic in Paris, would you give this up? Honestly?"

Taeyong wanted to answer no immediately since that seemed like it should be his default answer, but stopped to give it actual thought. The right answer should have been no, afterall he was the closest thing to Renjun’s father figure for the last two and a half years which meant he wasn't supposed to have those kinds of thoughts. But he was human and even dads could have second thoughts regarding their kids, right? 

But then he thought about that first morning with Renjun asleep on his chest because he was uncomfortable on his own. Or the first time Renjun called him Appa after his failed date with Taeil. Or that morning Renjun and Donghyuck tried to bake cookies for a Christmas party and they were finding flour in the cracks and crevices of the kitchen for at least a month. Would he give those up? 

"No." His answer was honest. "Sometimes it's hard, but I don't think it really compares overall. It's just hard to always remember that."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, but it was no longer awkward. Now it was comforting having Johnny by his side - like it should be.

“We’re having a bunch of people over.” Taeyong broke the silence once again. “The plan for today was a movie, some painting, and then people are coming over. Mostly the kids but there will be a few adults. Doyoung will be there.”

“Not Jaehyun?”

That was right, Johnny hadn’t been around when that blew up in his face.

“No, the only time I see Jaehyun these days is either when he’s dropping Jaemin off or I’m dropping Renjun off.” Taeyong admitted. “It blew up in my face. I wasn’t being completely honest with anybody and they ran into each other at the cafe at work. Me and Jaehyun knew it wasn’t going to work out, but Doyoung is giving me a second chance. I spent this morning with him baking a cake for Junnie’s birthday.”

"How domestic of you two," Johnny chuckled.  "But I'm glad it sounds like you're doing well."

"How've you been though?" Taeyong turned his attention to the man next to him.  His hair was darker than the normal caramel color he had been fond of the past few years. It also looked more edgy with a sharp undercut slightly hidden by the long hair that was pulled back into a messy bun. "Your hair is different."

"Ten's doing actually. We went out for drinks a few weeks ago and he convinced me it would look good." He reached up and pulled out the bun, letting his bangs fall over his eyes,  "Usually it looks a bit better than this, but I didn't have time to restyle it before running over here."

"Thank you for that, by the way. I was freaking out and thought I was calling an ambulance at first. You didn't have to answer, and you certainly didn't have to come here-"

"I had to make sure that you both were okay." Johnny cut him off. "Even if we're fighting, which I'm hoping tonight and your apology means this fight is over, I still care about you. I need to be sure you're okay."

"We are done fighting, we both admit I was being an idiot." Taeyong laughed, "But wait, you and Ten got drinks?"

"Not just us, Yuta was there too. He's a really fun guy."

As Taeyong listened to Johnny tell him about his night out with the couple, he couldn't help but be a bit amazed. Johnny had never been the greatest with exes, and even less so the men Ten would date when the couple was off again. This man in front of him was almost a completely different person. But then, he'd laugh his goofy laugh and Taeyong felt like he was back in college.

Their conversation was interrupted by a nurse stopping in to bring Renjun to get his arm x-rayed.

-----

"Just take a nap, I can entertain him for a few hours." Johnny laughed as he followed Taeyong into the apartment with Renjun on his back. "You're gonna fall asleep in the middle of cooking and that's just dangerous."

Taeyong looked like a zombie after getting no sleep the entire night. Meanwhile Johnny slept a bit when Renjun and Taeyong were with the x-ray technician, and then again when Taeyong was talking to the doctors.  But it was Renjun's birthday and they had plans. Though maybe painting would have to wait until Renjun became more familiar with his cast. 

"I'm fine," Taeyong so his head, "I promise. We can still go to a movie and maybe go to the park instead of painting and-" he was cut off by his own yawn.

"You're gonna fall asleep if you go to the movies," Johnny walked over to the couch to carefully set Renjun down. "Doesn't Appa look tired, Junnie?"

Renjun looked the man up and down for a moment before shooting him a disapproving look, "You're not even wearing a shirt, Appa. You should just change to pajamas. "

Taeyong almost felt offended as Johnny laughed. Weren't kids supposed to be teenagers before they got sassy with adults? 

"See, he agrees with me." Johnny started pushing Taeyong in the direction of his bedroom.  "Go to sleep."

"Can I at least get something to drink first? All I can taste is that stale hospital coffee." Taeyong managed to break free from Johnny's grip and head towards the kitchen. However, once he got to the doorway, he froze. A flash of Renjun on the ground and the puddle beneath him burned itself into his eyes. He didn't want to see that right now.

"Appa?" Renjun, who had gotten off the couch to follow Taeyong, stopped before he ran into the man's legs. 

Taeyong did his best to send Renjun a comforting smile, but he looked down and his heart broke a little. Renjun looked tired despite sleeping through his x-ray, afterall it was only 8am. His hair was a mess and he was still in his pajamas.  But mostly, Taeyong couldn't take his eyes off the small, light blue cast wrapped around his arm. It went from his hand, in between his thumb and forefinger, up his wrist and just passed his elbow, keeping his arm at a right angle for the next few months until it fully healed. Luckily, he hadn't needed stitches for the cut that was now hidden underneath the cast. They just used some glue to close it and Taeyong was told that it most likely would only leave a faint scar if any. 

Despite knowing that the cast was there to help, Taeyong hated that cast. When he looked at it, he felt like he failed. He wasn't there to help Renjun, he wasn't there to protect him.  He just let him get hurt.

"You okay?" Johnny noticed the tense posture of his friend immediately. 

"I think I just changed my mind," Taeyong tried his best to smile as he ran his fingers through Renjun's hair. "I'm not thirsty anymore."

"Oh!" Renjun suddenly had a guilty look spread across his face. "I forgot, I think I left my mess in the kitchen."

"What mess?" Johnny sidestepped around Taeyong into the kitchen before laughing, "Junnie, no one expected you to have time to clean up your juice last night. But I'm sure Appa would like it if you helped clean this up now."

"Juice?"

"I was thirsty." Renjun followed Johnny into the kitchen. "But then I saw Appa's light on so I came back to get Appa juice too. But then I dropped my juice and when I went to catch it I fell off the counter."

"Taeyong, come in here. I think you'll want to see this." Johnny's voice was light, so light that once again it had Taeyong calming down. 

Taeyong took small steps, almost as if to prolong having to see the mess in the kitchen. But once he finally looked up, he couldn't help but laugh. The floor was covered with juice. Renjun's current favorite juice to be exact - fruity Hawaiian punch. In the daylight, it was obviously punch, too thin and too light to be anything except punch. Sure there were a few drops of a darker substance, but it was so much smaller than the large puddle of punch.

“I almost had a heart attack over punch.” Taeyong started laughing. He was probably a bit delusional in his tired state, but it just seemed so funny compared to how afraid he was hours before. “It was awful.”

“See, everything is fine. So go to sleep. We’ll make sure the apartment is ready to go for tonight, right Junnie?”

“Right!”

-----

That evening, Taeyong found himself having a great time. He had slept most of the day away, only to wake up at 4 in the afternoon with a napping Renjun tucked into his side. There was also a note from Johnny saying the taller man had to go home for a bit, but he did what he could to prepare the apartment for the small party. 

Now there were five kids running around - Jaemin and Donghyuck trying to get away from Chenle and Jisung who wanted to play with them even though Renjun was in turn following them around because he didn't want them to be sad that Jaemin and Donghyuck didn't want to play with them. Meanwhile Jungwoo, Ten, Yuta, Doyoung, and Taeyong were all sitting in the living room catching up. 

The adults were in the middle of talking about Doyoung's bakery when there came a knock on the door. 

Renjun stopped chasing after the younger kids and looked at Taeyong, "Who's that?"

"I don't know, why don't you go check?" Taeyong did his best not to break out into a ridiculous smile and alert the birthday boy. 

Timidly, Renjun walked towards the front door, only to let out an excited scream when he saw who was behind the door. "Hyung!"

"Junnie!" Mark's soft voice hadn't changed a bit over the last few months. 

"Oh sh- don't cry," that was Johnny's voice sounding distressed.

Taeyong bounced up to his feet immediately to see who was crying. It turns out while he wasn't actually crying, Renjun had tears in his eyes as he held onto his friend- his first friend who he hadn't seen in months. 

A bubble of guilt blossomed in Taeyong's stomach, knowing it was his fault that the two were separated. But that bubble seemed to become weightless as Renjun took Mark's hand and pulled him into the apartment, muttering something about signing his cast. 

"Don't give them that look," Johnny's knowing voice pulled Taeyong out of his thoughts. "Things happened, we can't change that. But you've taken the steps to fix things. We can only move forward."

"How do you always know what I'm thinking?" Taeyong gave his friend a quick hug before letting him into the apartment. 

"Years of practice," Johnny chuckled. 

"Oh and thank you for cleaning up. And for cutting up all the fruit. And for-"

"For being amazing, I get it," Johnny cut him off before entering deeper into the apartment, “Now where’s the party at?”

“Johnny?” In seconds, Ten bounced off the couch and into his friend’s arms. “Did Taeyong finally get his head out of his ass-”

“Ten!” Both Yuta and Taeyong scolded him at the same time, making Ten laugh.

“It’s a body part, not a bad word,” Ten rolled his eyes, “But wait, when did this happen?”

“Last night when this loser called me after I was already sleeping to tell me Renjun spilled punch.” Johnny laughed and said hi to Jungwoo and Yuta before turning to Doyoung, “Ah Doyoung, I’m not sure if you remember-”

“Oh I definitely remember you,” Doyoung smiled a little bit too forced. “The situation wasn’t exactly hard to remember. I haven’t been scolded like that since I tried to sneak my boyfriend in through my window when I was sixteen.”

Johnny awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck, “Sorry I snapped at you, but not about anything else in that situation. It was justified.”

“Taeyong’s filled me in since then,” Doyoung’s smile seemed to soften. “Let’s start over and even introduce ourselves this time. Hi, I’m Doyoung.”

“Hey Doyoung, I’m Johnny. Nice to meet you.” Johnny politely shook the man’s outstretched hand. 

After that moment of awkwardness, Johnny and Doyoung seemed to click. The two had a similar sense of humor and witty comebacks, and both had way too much fun picking on Taeyong. They kept bickering and laughing until a very small, familiar voice sighed heavily before exclaiming, "Fuck."

All the adults in the room froze as Taeyong slowly stood up, "Huang Renjun you get your butt in here right now."

He heard Donghyuck giggle and Chenle mutter something in Mandarin, but neither of them followed Renjun when the seven year old slowly walked into the living room with his head hanging low. If he were a puppy, his ears would be drooping and his tail would be between his legs.

"Renjun, do you know what you just said?" Taeyong had never heard Renjun say such a word, and since Korean wasn't his first language the man wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

The seven year old looked up at him with teary eyes, but then let out a deep sigh,  "Yes. It's the bad word Appa uses when you run into the coffee table."

Snickers were heard around the room as Taeyong felt his ears redden. He thought he had been really good about cursing around the child, but apparently not.  "If you knew it was a bad word then why did you use it just now?"

"I hit my arm." Renjun raised his wrist up as if Taeyong would be able to see a bruise, but all he saw was the boy's new cast.

Taeyong felt sympathy flow through his veins as he took in Renjun's pout and broken arm.  And it's not like the boy was cursing at one of his friends, he was just emulating Taeyong.

"Appa?" Renjun's eyes got a bit more teary, "Am I in trouble?"

"No baby, of course not," Taeyong leaned down to place a soft kiss on the crown of the boy's head,  "But please don't use that word anymore. It's a really bad word that Appa shouldn't be using either. It can hurt the feelings of a lot of people, so how about neither of us use it from now on. Sound good?"

"Yeah!" Renjun wrapped his good arm around Taeyong's waist in a quick hug before running back to his room and his friends.

"Dang," Johnny let out a low whistle. "That kid's gotten good since I've been gone."

"What?" 

"He just played you like a fiddle," Johnny laughed, "I mean did you see those puppy dog eyes? He's got that trembling lip pout thing going on and I think the newly broken arm really is what sells it. He’s got you so tightly wrapped around his finger-I knew he did before, but now it's an art."

It was now Taeyong’s turn to put. "He wasn't playing me. He just was repeating what he heard and didn't understand, he's seven."

"I might believe that, but he went from you nearly yelling to a kiss and a hug." Doyoung pointed out as he pulled Taeyong down to sit next to him on the couch again, "That kid totally is gonna get carried away with murder."

"No he's not-"

"As long as he's not dating I'm sure he can get away with anything." Ten interrupted with his signature cackling, somewhat evil sounding laugh.

"Dating?" Taeyong froze,  Renjun was much too young to date.

"See. More hung up on dating than murdering." Ten could barely be understood through his laughter.

"I am not-but dating?" Taeyong wished he had a drink right about now.

"I think it's time for cake," Doyoung announced loudly as he stood up.

As expected, a stampede of children ran into the living room, effectively ending the conversation.

Chapter Text

"When do I get to take this thing off?" Renjun pouted as he scratched under his cast with his pencil. Luckily his arm was healing relatively quickly, but it had only been about six weeks since he got the cast and had another two weeks until the doctor said he'd be comfortable taking the cast off.

"Two weeks still," Taeyong did his best to not laugh, but he just told Renjun the same timeframe about ten minutes earlier. Anytime the boy's arm started to itch, he’d grumble and ask how much longer he had.

Renjun sighed overdramatically and practically flopped his upper body on Taeyong’s desk. "I don't want it."

"I know bud, believe me, I know. But if you take it off too early there's a chance you can get hurt again and then it will need to stay on even longer. You don't want that, do you?”

Renjun's eyes widened in horror as he shook his head, "No, I'll keep it two more weeks."

Taeyong laughed at the kid before turning his attention back to his cell phone and furrowing his brow at the lack of notifications. Right now they were in Taeyong's office waiting for Johnny to come pick up Renjun. The taller Korean man was supposed to take Renjun for the night so Taeyong could go on his date with Doyoung.

Maybe the word date was pushing it, but to Taeyong, anytime he spent with Doyoung was a date. When they went walking along the Han River to see the cherry blossoms, that was obviously a date. When they spent last Sunday deep, deep cleaning the front area of the bakery, Taeyong felt like that was a date, too. Sure most dates didn't end with him taking an hour long shower to get the grime off of his skin from cleaning under tables, but he had fun, so date it was.

Tonight was going to be something in between an actual date and Doyoung working. The two were going to attend a small business event for a group that Doyoung was a part of. They were going to be enjoying cocktails with other small business owners in some hotel ballroom, so definitely more of a date than cleaning.

But Taeyong wouldn’t be able to go if he didn't have somewhere to take Rejun for the night. It wasn't like Taeyong and Doyoung were going to stay at the hotel after, but the event was supposed to go until late in the night. It would be easier to not have to worry about picking Renjun up at midnight. But with it being a Wednesday night, Renjun wouldn't be able to stay the night at a friend's house.

However, that would not be happening if Johnny didn't respond to any of his texts.

"Can we go home yet?" Renjun was starting to get restless, but Taeyong couldn't blame him. It was almost time for the child to eat dinner.

"I told you, Uncle Johnny is going to come pick you up and you're gonna spend the night at his apartment." Taeyong reached out to run his fingers through Renjun's hair to hopefully calm him down. "Remember, that's why we packed some clothes last night."

"Oh yeah." Renjun turned to look at the door as if that would make Johnny magically appear. "Where is he?"

"Not sure." Taeyong tried checking his email to see if something popped up. "I had lunch with him earlier and he was really excited for you two to have a sleepover. He got popcorn and everything."

"Popcorn?" Renjun's eyes lit up with excitement. " Can I go see if he's in his office?"

Taeyong checked the time and thought about it. He knew that Johnny had a big meeting for a new idol group and how promotions were going to go, but that should have been over at least an hour ago. Sure it wasn't uncommon for them to go over the allotted time, but not an hour.

Before Taeyong could try texting him again, the door to his office flew open and a very flustered Johnny practically fell through,"Sorry I'm late! I promise it was for a good reason- look what I got!" 

Taeyong didn't quite know how to react when he saw the fabric that Johnny was holding, "Are those matching pajamas?" 

Johnny’s face lit up like the sun, “Yes! Aren’t they adorable?” He unfurled them to show Taeyong and Renjun the cute plaid pattern on the two sets of pajamas. “I was googling things we could do today and saw a picture of kids in matching pajamas and I just had to run to the store to get them and I forgot my phone in the office and I’m so sorry for being late but just think how cute we’ll look!”

“I-I don’t even know what to say,” Taeyong couldn’t hold back his laughter. It was ridiculous how much smaller Renjun’s pajama set was compared to Johnny’s. It almost reminded Taeyong of people who wore matching outfits with their tiny lap dogs.

“I like it.” Renjun had quietly gotten up to inspect the clothing. “Is it really for me? It’s not my birthday.”

“Of course it’s for you, I could never fit into these pants.” Johnny lifted the pants up to his waist to show how they barely made it to his knees. “It doesn’t need to be anyone’s birthday to give them gifts, sometimes people just give gifts because they like to make other people happy.”

Renjun had a look of amazement as he nodded along with Johnny’s statement. “Thank you Uncle Johnny, I can’t wait to wear them tonight!”

“You are very welcome,” Johnny ruffled his hair and handed the pajamas over to him before looking up at Taeyong, “I’m sure you’re ready to leave, but is there anything I need to know?”

Taeyong always felt a little nervous when leaving Renjun for the night, but when it was Johnny taking him, he felt a bit lighter. Johnny had been there from day one - actually before day one with Renjun but that was beside the point. Johnny was the one who helped him when Renjun was too afraid to be separated, and therefore Taeyong just shook his head, “Nothing you don’t already know. Just please try not to be late for school.”

“We’ll do our best, right Junnie?” Johnny scooped up the seven year old and pretty much tossed him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. 

“Right!” Renjun managed to get out between giggles as Johnny grabbed the boy’s backpack and overnight bag off of Taeyong’s desk.

“Good. Say bye to your Appa,” Johnny started for the door.

However, he didn’t get far before Renjun practically screamed for him to stop.

“Renjun?” Taeyong jumped to his feet to try and calm him down as Johnny set him on the ground.

“I need to say good night,” Renjun pouted at Johnny before he turned towards Taeyong, “Have fun with Uncle Doyoung tonight, but don’t stay out too late. You have work tomorrow.”

Taeyong wrapped his arms around Renjun in a tight hug, “Same to you. Have fun with Uncle Johnny but don’t let him keep you up late. You have to make sure he gets to sleep early because he has work in the morning.”

Renjun giggled at the idea of being the one responsible for the adult, “I will!”

“Good.” Taeyong pulled out and placed a kiss on Renjun’s forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”

“Bye Appa,” Renjun quickly held his finger up to Taeyong, something that used to comfort the younger when he was smaller - but also something they hadn’t done for a while. Now that he spent a lot of time at Donghyuck’s apartment down the hall, Renjun seemed to not feel as insecure about Taeyong being there when he got back. However, there were some nights when Taeyong was going to see Doyoung that Renjun seemed to unconsciously revert back to that little kid who was afraid to be left behind.

Without a hesitation, Taeyong tapped his finger against Renjun’s, “I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise.”

“Okay!” Renjun spun on his heels to face Johnny before lifting his arms, “Now we can go!”

Johnny laughed, but swept Renjun back over his shoulder, “Let’s go change into our awesome pajamas!”

-----

Taeyong was practically breathless as he ran up to the hotel where Doyoung’s event was being held. After Johnny came late, he had to run back to his apartment to change before running to the subway to get to the hotel. He was already twenty minutes late, but was hoping that Doyoung understood that it was out of his hands.

Once he made it to the doors, he checked his appearance to make sure he didn’t look as frazzled as he felt. There were a few bleached white hairs out of place, but he just used his fingers and a little bit of spit to try and pat them down.

Only after he had his breath under control as well, Taeyong made his way into the hotel, following the signs to the cocktail party. It seemed quite packed with at least a hundred people all broken into groups and mingling together. However, somehow as soon as he walked through the doors, Taeyong was able to spot Doyoung nearby standing around a tall table with a few other men.

“Oh I’ve been to that cafe!” Taeyong heard one of the other men as he approached the table, “And you run it all by yourself? That’s amazing.”

“I have a lot of help,” Doyoung assured the man softly. “And on days where it seems too stressful, I just convince my boyfriend to take me out to a fancy dinner and give me a massage. Well, on days I’m not making him clean the front room.”

Taeyong froze. “Boyfriend?”

Doyoung turned around with a smile on his face, “Speaking of, here’s the boyfriend only-” He checked his watch, “Twenty minutes late.”

The other men around the table giggled at the joke, but Taeyong was just staring at Doyoung in amazement, “Boyfriend?”

The baker raised an eyebrow at Taeyong, as if he didn’t understand what Taeyong was questioning. But they hadn’t talked about calling each other by any title despite the fact that they were exclusive. Taeyong felt like he had to make up for the time before with Jaehyun and Doyoung had been a bit more skittish when they restarted everything - the thought of being able to call Doyoung his boyfriend crossed his mind constantly, but it was always a distant future thing.

“Of course you’re my boyfriend,” Doyoung rolled his eyes affectionately as he pulled Taeyong closer. “And come here and meet these guys. Taeil here runs a cafe in Hongdae and said he might be interested in selling some of my stuff.”

Taeyong had been so enamored with seeing Doyoung and the sudden announcement that they were boyfriend and boyfriend that he hadn’t even looked at the faces of the other men around the table. But sure enough, there was Taeil, looking nearly exactly the same as he did a few years ago except now his hair was bright orange. How Taeyong had missed him was amazing. It was really bright.

“Taeyong, long time no see.”

“Good to see you, Taeil,” Taeyong responded, and it was true. It was nice to hear that Taeil was able to have his own cafe now, and in a great area. There were a lot of colleges in that area which meant a lot of students who needed somewhere quiet to study. “How’ve you been?”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Doyoung looked in between the two. “When did this happen?”

“A few years ago,” Taeyong answered honestly. Nowadays, he was always as honest as possible with Doyoung. “He worked in the cafe in the same building as my work until he left to help run another cafe. And we also went out twice.”

“You guys went out?” Doyoung’s gaze switched back to Taeil before going back to Taeyong. “What?”

“Not successfully, don’t worry,” Taeil chuckled light heartedly. “He was going through some stuff back then that made it a little difficult.”

“Still going through it, but now with a lot more experience and a lot more help.” Taeyong admitted before turning to Doyoung and his adorably confused expression, “I told you about back when Renjun first started staying with me and wouldn’t let me out of his sight? Well, Taeil was the guy I was trying to date at the time.”

“Oh,” Doyoung’s confused expression seemed to sag into relief. “What a small world.”

“Agreed, now what’s this I hear about Doyoung selling some of your snacks?” Taeyong did his best to turn his attention back to the reason for this cocktail party, for Doyoung to make connections in the business world. Taeyong was just there for moral support.

“Have you had his muffins?” Taeil asked before giggling and answering his own question, “What am I talking about, of course you have. Well right now I’m using this company that is alright, well since the cafe hasn’t been open a full year it’s actually really nice because it’s really cheap and I’m broke, but now that finals are coming up for all the universities, I’m making more money and can afford more quality baked goods. We should talk sometime soon and see if this is something we could do.”

“Oh definitely,” Doyoung was nodding his head. It was obvious to Taeyong that his boyfriend - yay! - was trying to act calm but was actually really excited. The younger was practically bouncing in place. “I think it could be nice to branch out to the other side of Seoul, but we’d have to talk about the logistics of getting everything there. I have so many unpaid loans right now I’m not sure I could afford to rent a truck that often.”

Taeil and Doyoung suddenly seemed to be in their own world as they talked about all the things they could do together. Doyoung was suggesting Taeil’s coffee be used in his bakery while Taeil was debating the cost of marketing and possibly trying to get business for each other. It was like, despite meeting only twenty minutes before, they were already business partners looking to take on the world.

There was nothing much for Taeyong to do but sit back and watch. Even though the other business owners at the table had migrated away to other conversations, Doyoung and Taeil just kept going. When one stopped talking, even just to take a breath, the other would cut in and somehow be on the same exact page, continuing the first idea into something new. 

After maybe an hour of the two talking and Taeyong wandering off to grab a drink and mingle with a few other people, Taeyong made his way back to find the two talking about him.

“So he’s still got the kid?” Taeil asked quietly before taking a sip of his drink.

Taeyong stopped where he was, just a few meters away, to listen in. He knew eavesdropping was bad, he told Renjun that all the time, but Doyoung seemed to always be so great with the kids that Taeyong just assumed he didn’t have a problem. But he honestly was a little too afraid to ask.

“Yeah, Renjun is still around.” Doyoung answered with a shrug, “He’s a cute kid.”

“I definitely agree with that.” Taeil had a smile on his face, “Taeyong’s been a great guy, I knew him a couple of years before I had the courage to give him my number. But nothing screams trouble more than a first date being crashed by a crying kid.”

“What?” Doyoung barked out a laugh, “What are you talking about?”

“Our first date was just getting coffee, and not that long into it Johnny comes running over with Renjun, carrying him across the place before he tossed him into Taeyong’s lap before he dragged me away and asked about the weather.” Taeil sounded more fond than Taeyong would have thought. “It was too much for me back then. Probably would have been too much for me now.”

“Well lucky for me,” Doyoung smiled. “They’ve both grown a lot since then I think. Renjun seems like a good child, and Taeyong may have his faults, but he’s also one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met.”

“That’s good. He really is a great guy.”

Just before Taeyong could walk up and interrupt, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Once he saw Johnny’s name on the display, he quickly left the ballroom, “Johnny?”

“Appa!” He heard Renjun’s happy voice call out. “It’s video! Hit the video button!”

The fear that had started to bubble in his chest immediately dissipated, completely disappearing once he hit the video call button and saw Johnny and Renjun, smiling brightly in their matching pajamas. “Woah! You guys look great!”

“Thanks, I’m thinking of taking up modeling.” Johnny joked, flipping his hair like the overdramatic women in dramas. “And I’m going to take Junnie with me, we’re gonna go walk the runways in Paris, right Junnie?”

“Right!” Renjun giggled happily. 

“What?” Taeyong pretended to pout, but by the look Johnny was giving him through the phone he knew it looked ridiculous. “You’re going to fly away to Paris without me.”

“Never!” Renjun yelled at the same time Johnny nodded, “Of course!”

The seven year old turned to Johnny and shook his head, “I’m bringing Appa and you’re bringing Mark hyung. We talk about this.”

Johnny’s mischievous grin melted into a soft smile, “Fine. We’ll bring Appa and Mark.”

“Good.” Renjun looked like he was about to add something but cut himself off with a yawn.

Taeyong checked the time, sure enough it was nearly Renjun’s bedtime. “You two are going to bed now, right? You have school in the morning.”

“Soon,” Johnny assured him. “We just needed to say good night first.”

“Yeah, Uncle Johnny said we could say good night. But where’s Uncle Doyoung?” Renjun moved his head around as if he could see past Taeyong through the phone.

“He’s inside working, but I’ll be sure to say good night to him once I go back inside.” 

“Good.” Renjun yawned again. “Good night Appa, I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”

“Good night, bud. I love you.” Taeyong gave a little wave before the call disconnected.

“Somehow I guessed we’d find you out here,” Taeil’s voice was light as he and Doyoung left the ballroom and walked over to Taeyong. 

Taeyong shrugged, “He wanted to say good night.”

“You’re too cute.” Doyoung placed a soft kiss on Taeyong’s cheek. “I think we’ll be saying good night as well. I got Taeil’s number and we’re going to talk business when we’re both more awake during bakery hours.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Taeyong wrapped his arm around Doyoung’s waist, but his attention was on Taeil, “It was good to see you again, really. I’m happy you finally got your cafe.”

“And I’m happy you seem to have gotten everything together.” Taeil seemed honest in his response, making Taeyong smile. Tail was a really sweet guy, it’s good to know he looked back on their very, very, very short time fondly.

Once he walked away, Doyoung turned to Taeyong with a slightly mischievous smirk on his face, “So, if we’re going to be honest here, I told you this was going to go slightly longer than I expected to be here.”

Taeyong did his best to put on his most scandalized face, “What? Are you telling me you lied so we could spend more time together? What an evil boyfriend you are.”

Doyoung’s smirk seemed to brighten into a full on smile as the two started to leave the hotel, “I know, I’m evil. But now that I’ve made some contacts and possibly even a cafe deal, do you want to go grab a drink?”

“Grab a drink with my boyfriend?” Taeyong wasn’t sure if he would ever get over hearing that word, “Of course I want to go get a drink with my boyfriend. And maybe a late dinner too, your boyfriend hasn't eaten dinner yet.”

“You’re being kind of weird,” Doyoung was laughing at him, but with a fond smile on his face.

“I’m just so happy,” Taeyong stopped walking to pull Doyoung close to him by his waist, “You’ve never called me boyfriend before. I nearly fainted when I first heard you.”

Doyoung softly kissed Taeyong, “Of course you’re my boyfriend. After everything we’ve been through and how happy you make me, there’s no better title for you.”

“That may be the best thing I’ve heard all month. Now let’s go and grab drinks, boyfriend.”

Chapter Text

Hello everyone who reads this story,

Sorry for taking so long to upload. This past year has been crazier than I could have ever imagined (though I'm sure a lot of the world is thinking that). And after a lot of attempts and a lot of frustration trying to continue this story, I think I may have to finally admit defeat.

I really do love this story. Family/Kid fics are my all time favorites. However, the format in which I attempted to tell the story in led to more frustration on my end that I didn't expect. Trying to catch up on a few months and progress the story at the same time in a single chapter was a lot more difficult than I had hoped. So as of right now, I think this story will unfortunately not progress any further.

I do want to try starting another family fic soon, I'm just juggling around with some ideas. If there are any pairings people would like to see let me know!

However, I always get sad when I come across incomplete fics with no more chapters that just sit forever with no conclusion so I figure I can at least give short summaries so fans can know what was supposed to happen. Please note this was all planned before Resonance so there is no Shotaro nor Sungchan, but they definitely would have been written in!

Chapter 24:
Taeyong and Doyoung are getting more serious and Renjun feels a little left out because he feels like any time he wants to cuddle with Taeyong, Doyoung'g already there. Doyoung feels bad for upsetting the balance they have going on and adorable Doyoung/Renjun cuddles happen

Chapter 25:
Taeyong realizes how often Doyoung has been around and takes a great leap of faith to ask Doyoung to move in with him. Doyoung says yes! Renjun gets excited as he and Doyoung had grown a lot closer since the last chapter.

Chapter 26:
Doyoung has moved in and he and Renjun start spending even more quality time together as Taeyong starts becoming a bit more busy at work. This leads to some disagreements and arguments for DoTae, but they do their best to keep them behind closed doors.

Chapter 27:
Family fluff! Taeyong has tried to cut back on working hours (or he says he has, instead he stays in his studio in the apartment for longer hours and has decided since he's at home it's not as bad as him being at actual work). But the 3 of them have a great night in until Taeyong checks his email and goes back to working.

Chapter 28:
DoTae break up :( Unfortunately Doyoung starts feeling like a babysitter more than a beloved boyfriend. A very sad goodbye from Doyoung to Renjun as he packs the last of his things.

Chapter 29:
Taeyong tries to throw himself into work even more as he tries to move on from Doyoung. However, in his effort to push aside his own feelings, Renjun is left trying to deal with not having Doyoung around any longer as well as Taeyong working longer hours still. Renjun feels lonely, but he also feels like the breakup was his fault as if it wasn't for him (who's not even Taeyong's real son), Doyoung wouldn't have felt like a babysitter. But since Taeyong isn't emotionally around, Renjun attempts to keep his negative thoughts to himself. However, Johnny comes over to check on his friend and literally slaps some sense into him after having a heart to heart with Renjun.

Chapter 30:
Taeyong hasn't fully moved on from Doyoung, even months later, but he has realized what he put Renjun through and is doing everything in his power not to. Loads and loads of fluff. Now every time he works in his home studio, the door is always open and Renjun takes to joining him constantly. They even have the conversation that yes Renjun coming into his life was unexpected, but there is no way Taeyong would have been happier without Renjun by his side.

Chapter 31:
More fluff. It's Christmas time so Johnny and Taeyong decide to take the whole group of kids to a theme park to let off some steam and go ice skating. While eating lunch, Taeyong can't help but remember the first time he brought Renjun to the same theme park. The boy had grown so much, even acting as a translator when necessary for Henderey and Yangyang who are trying to get on with Donghyuck and Mark.

Chapter 32:
Johnny confesses and Taeyong is stunned. Taeyong really had no clue, but then little things start reflecting in his mind of times Johnny would go above and beyond what everyone else would do. Even at times when it would hurt Johnny, the taller only ever thought of Taeyong (and Renjun's) happiness. Taeyong asks for some time to think about it.

Chapter 33:
Renjun's 11th birthday. The party is in full swing as all his friends are over at the apartment on a very rainy day. All the kids are running around having a blast. When Johnny shows up with Mark, something in Taeyong's mind clicks. he had tried to just not think about the confession since he wasn't sure what to do, but seeing Johnny again was like seeing him in a whole new light. Everything about the taller just suddenly felt right. So, Taeyong drags Johnny down to the street for some privacy and tells him he'd like to try out the whole dating thing, Johnny is ecstatic. The two kiss, only to be interrupted by the return of Sicheng!!!!!

Chapter 34:
Taeyong is excited that his best friend is finally back, but immediately heartbroken when Sicheng relays his plans to take Renjun back to China to live with him and his new boyfriend, Kun, and Kun's son Dejun. However, he knows that Renjun's stay with him was only temporary so he does his best to get Renjun excited for moving to China and to be with his dad. Renjun is confused. He feels guilty for wanting to stay with Taeyong since Sicheng is his biological father, but Taeyong is all he really knows. Renjun doesn't remember his mother or his grandparents and only remembers Sicheng from Taeyong's stories. But with Taeyong being fully supportive, Renjun starts to warm up with Sicheng before they leave. And once their taxi takes off for the airport, Taeyong breaks down crying in Johnny's arms.

Epilogue:
(This was entirely the reason I wrote this fic so I'm extra sad I'm not going to be able to do it justice)
We're now about 8 years later. Taeyong has his label under EXO, calling it Neo Cultural Technology - or NCT for short. In the years since Sicheng and Renjun moved back to China with Kun and Dejun, Taeyong and Johnny were thriving in their relationship with Johnny moving into Taeyong's apartment. The same apartment he had when Renjun lived with him. Renjun still has his room for when he and Sicheng came to visit Korea, but that was only for a few weeks at most. And with Renjun studying for college and Sicheng being busy helping Kun's new store in China, they hadn't visited for a couple of years. Everyone is still in constant contact, but no in person visits had been made for a while.
Now with him running his own sub label, Taeyong is in the midst of auditioning young talent - including Donghyuck who remains a constant in Taeyong's apartment, even when Renjun is out of the country. Taeyong actually has Donghyuck at the top of his list for members of his first boy band. There's also a very talented dancer by the name of Lee Jeno who Taeyong has shortlisted. So one day while auditioning, Jeno is nowhere to be found and Donghyuck seems to be doing everything he can to get on Taeyong's nerves. Taeyong is trying to check out the dancing skills of many trainees, but Donghyuck really seems to want to push every button he's ever learnt that Taeyong had.
In middle of just flat out ignoring Donghyuck, Jeno comes into the room with a great big smile on his face and Taeyong is annoyed. Jeno showed up late, why isn't he apologizing at least? Maybe he shouldn't have been short listed because no one likes people with bad attitudes.
However, with him being so annoyed, it takes Taeyong a second to realize that someone had followed Jeno into the practice room. The boy is around the same age as most of the trainees - 18 - with silver hair, sparkling eyes, and a great big smile on his face as he lifts a single finger out towards Taeyong. Of course it's Renjun, letting his Appa know he's still Renjun's number one.