Work Text:
For as long as Jaehyun has lived time has always been his number one enemy.
He argues that time is just an illusion, Doyoung would counter that he just lacks time management, but he firmly believes that time is just an artificial construct of human mentality. It’s only made to make people believe that life has a direction and flow, and it’s just a reflection of change.
According to that article he read last night, change is real—time is not and due to change, our brain constructs a sense of time as if it were flowing.
That same article was the sole reason he stayed up late, engrossed and intrigued by their compelling arguments and discussions that he forgot that sleep and waking up early was a thing, and thus creating a chain of events where he didn’t wake up on his first alarm.
So here he is, furiously scrubbing his upper torso with a loofah in the shower as he curses whoever invented time. He’s gonna be late for work and any second from now his husband will demand--
“JUNG JAEHYUN!”
Speak of the devil and he doth appear, he thought as he hurriedly rinses himself and after patting himself dry, he wraps the towel around his waist.
The moment he stepped out of the bathroom, the sight of his husband arranging his work clothes on their bed welcomes him. He feels warmth growing inside him, a warmth he’s grown accustomed to after spending years full of bliss and, sometimes, challenges with the love of his life.
He stops in his tracks to observe his husband who is pointedly looking at Jaehyun’s silk baby blue tie and his navy suit, probably debating if it’s an okay match. His heart lurches in joy at the sight, the domesticity of the scene unfolding before him is something a much younger Jaehyun hoped and wished for.
It’s a simple act but it means so much for Jaehyun. Doyoung has always been someone he could depend on, someone who has a knack in saving Jaehyun’s ass.
He recalls a fond memory years ago when he was still a freshman in college, still unfamiliar with the campus, he couldn’t find the building for his morning lecture but luckily a heaven-sent, who then introduced himself as Doyoung, gave him the right direction.
And that folks, is how he met his husband. It wasn’t special, rather, it was embarrassing on Jaehyun’s part. The lecture hall was just right behind him, so yes, you could say Jaehyun has always been and always will be a human disaster. And thank heavens for Doyoung, for coming into his life with all his 180cm stature.
Overwhelmed with love and gratefulness for his husband, he crossed the distance between them and enveloped him in a tight embrace.
“Good morning, babe.” Jaehyun greets and kisses his husband’s forehead, he chuckles at the disapproving glare sent his way.
“Get dressed,” Doyoung breaks out of the embrace, tapping Jaehyun’s cheeks in the process, “the kids are already downstairs eating.”
“No good morning kiss?” Jaehyun removes the towel that wraps around his waist and slips on a fresh pair of underwear, he doesn’t shy away from getting naked and dressing in front of his husband and he takes pleasure in the way Doyoung’s eyes always go down there and the way his eyes roam all over Jaehyun’s naked form.
“Nope, that’s what you get for waking up late. Now, hurry up, I have a feeling Jaemin’s playing with his food again.”
Doyoung sends Jaehyun a pointed look, indicating he really should hurry up or else, but Jaehyun is a man on a mission. He pulls Doyoung towards his scantily clad form and snakes his arm around his husband’s waist, preventing him from escaping, and leaning in for a kiss he's been demanding ever since he got out of the showers.
It was a quick peck, that was the plan until Jaehyun presses his lips on Doyoung's pair for far too long, thumb on his husband's chin and urging the other to part his mouth. Unfortunately, Doyoung smacks his chest and makes him stop, "The kids are gonna be late for school, Jaehyun."
Doyoung says this with furrowed brows but he isn't moving away. Jaehyun couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, his husband is a year older than him but between the two of them, he still looks as young and as adorable the first time they met. Without warning, he leans in and gives his husband's plush lips another quick peck.
This time around, Doyoung's had enough and breaks away from Jaehyun, "If you won't be down within 5 minutes, I swear Jung, I will cut your head off."
"As brutal as ever, don't let the kids hear you say that, hon."
"Five minutes, Jung." And with that, Doyoung stormed out of the room and left Jaehyun to his own devices.
---
"Daddy!"
Jaehyun's face instantly lit up with delight the moment he entered the dining room, Jaemin and Jeno excitedly getting out of their seats, to the dismay of Doyoung, and rushes towards their other dad. Jaehyun crouches down, arms as wide as his smile for the twins to launch themselves forward into their dad's embrace.
"My big boys!" Jaehyun exclaims, peppering Jaemin's face with kisses and doing the same to Jeno, "Did you already have breakfast?"
"Yes!" The twins shrieked, matching smiles on their faces, Jaehyun couldn't help but give them another round of kisses making the twins squeal with laughter. Moments like these makes Doyoung question if he has two sons or three.
Not once did Doyoung ever regret their decision to have kids, it was a blessing and a challenge at the same time that they immediately received twins but thanks to Jaehyun, it was bearable.
Jaehyun is so good with the twins, he's a natural at child care, he always spares some time of his day to play with the boys and Doyoung couldn't be even more prouder to have a husband like him. He wouldn't have survived raising two babies at once if it weren't for Jaehyun, Jaehyun who always jump out of the bed the moment he hears the twins crying from the baby monitor, and Jaehyun who doesn't hesitate to change dirty diapers. Doyoung is extremely lucky to have a very hands-on husband like Jaehyun.
"Okay boys, that's enough. Daddy still needs to eat breakfast, okay?"
At Doyoung's command, Jaehyun lets go of the boys and stood up, "You heard dad, boys. C'mon now, accompany me in eating so daddy won't be lonely," he winks, this earned him a giggle from the boys, and he ushers the boys back to their seats before taking a seat himself.
Doyoung watches the sight fondly from the kitchen counter, his two boys animatedly talking to their daddy, and Jaehyun responding to them with much enthusiasm. He listens to their enthusiastic laughter and the boy’s chatters as he prepares Jaehyun’s cup of coffee.
---
They were running late, Jaemin kept whining that his shoes were too tight. They had to change into 3 different pairs of shoes before he was finally satisfied. Jeno, on the other hand, wanted to match with his twin, unluckily for them, the other pair was nowhere in sight. It took Jaehyun 6 minutes to find the other pair behind the stockroom’s door, how it got there? Doyoung doesn't wanna know.
With the boys finally strapped in their car seat, Doyoung could finally breathe out a sigh of relief as he leans back on the passenger seat. Jaehyun upon seeing this lets out a chuckle, he uses his free hand to squeeze Doyoung’s knee, an assurance of some sort, “It’ll get better once they’re older.”
“Don’t even get started, as what I’ve seen, it only gets worse.” Doyoung groans, eyes shifting to the rearview mirror, watches as his boys are playfully poking each other’s sides, letting out giggles once in a while.
“Not on my watch, no Jung-Kim will be raised a brat.”
“That’s funny coming from you, brat.” Doyoung remarks, snorting at the way Jaehyun’s face scrunches up. Jaehyun bites back his retort, wanting to focus on driving instead.
Doyoung disappointed at the lack of response, turns back to call for the twins, “Nana, Nono, do you guys wanna grab ice cream after I come pick you up?”
At his words, the twin’s face brightens up, heads nodding furiously and excitedly chanting the words ‘ice cream’. The smile on Doyoung’s face was instant, he has such adorable boys, including the one who is sneaking glances at the rearview mirror, not wanting to miss the look of delight on their twin's faces.
They finally dropped off the twins, they were enrolled in a preschool not far from both of their workplaces. Lucky for them, the boys left without a fuss, both were excited to play with the new set of legos their teacher promised them the other day.
“So you’ll cook dinner later?”
“Yes, you’ll be home late, right?” Doyoung unfastens his seatbelt and grabs his bag from the back seat.
“Yep,” Jaehyun replies, glancing at his watch and heaves a sigh of relief knowing he still has 20 minutes till he will really be deemed late for work.
“See you later, hon. Love you,” before Jaehyun could even respond, Doyoung was quick to shut him up by leaning in and capturing Jaehyun’s lips with his. It was quick but it left Jaehyun a bit dazed.
“I love you too.” Jaehyun smiles shyly at his husband, 7 years and he still can’t believe they’re married. But as he glances at his ring finger and sees a matching silver band on Doyoung’s own, he knows that this is it, this is his life now, his routine and he’d never trade this for the world.
He watches as Doyoung walks inside the building, he starts his car and swiftly drove towards his office.
Who cares about being late, as long as he gets to spend these little moments with his family. It’s all worth it.