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“Jaebum, can you come grab Mark, please?” Jinyoung’s voice rang out, the little boy clinging to his leg. He shot a grateful smile to Jaebum as he walked into the kitchen and crouched down to pick up Mark. He detached the little boy’s fingers from Jinyoung’s pants and lifted him into his arms.
“Hi buddy,” he greeted, letting the three year old squirm a bit before he settled into his Appa’s arms, “let’s go play with Jackson, yeah?” At this, Mark smiled, excited to go see his baby brother.
He continued his walk to the living room and set Mark down on the little play mat, next to Jackson. Jaebum himself settled onto the floor, watching his two boys play with a smile on his face. Jackson was probably one of the most energetic babies he’s seen, but maybe it seemed like a lot more because he only had Mark’s relative quietness to go off of.
Both boys were pretty loud, but Jaebum had a feeling Mark was more like Jinyoung, and that he would be more reserved when he got older. If not reserved, then quieter.
He watched as Mark grabbed two toy cars from the mat and gave one to Jackson, making little “vroom” noises as he drove it around the ground. Jackson babbled happily and dropped his car to clap his hands in excitement, like he was cheering Mark on.
Jinyoung eventually came out to tell them breakfast was done. He scooped up Jackson while Jaebum picked up Mark and they both headed to the kitchen to get the kids into their chairs.
They sat down and Jaebum cut up the pancakes Jinyoung had made for their kids before finally eating his own. It was mostly silent, which was a nice surprise, save for the happy laughed and messy eating noises of the boys. When they finished eating, Jaebum went to clean the dishes and the kitchen while Jinyoung took both of the boys to have a bath.
Jinyoung picked Mark up and set him on the ground, then picked a syrup-covered Jackson from his seat and settled him on his hip with one arm.
“C’mon, Markie,” Jinyoung instructed, grabbing his son's hand to lead him up the stairs. They made their way to the bathroom where Jinyoung set the two boys on the floor and left for only a minute to grab them clothes. He returned and began the bath, making sure it was a moderate temperature before plugging in the bath stopper.
He helped the boys out of their clothes and, once the tub was full enough, set his kids into the bath. He hummed a song and washed their hair, unable to resisted a smile when Mark started piling bubbles from his hair onto Jackson’s head and shoulder. Eventually, when the bath water began to cool, Jinyoung rinsed off the boys and pulled them back out.
He dried Jackson off first, giving his forehead a kiss as he finished. He pulled on his diaper and was about to dry off Mark when Jaebum opened the door. His eyes flicked over the scene and he smiled, coming to crouch down beside Jinyoung.
“Hey, Markie, why don’t we go get changed together, big boy?” Jaebum hummed, wrapping a towel around his eldest and lifting him up, getting a soft laugh.
Jinyoung returned his focus to Jackson when Jaebum left the room with Mark. He shimmied the boy into a shirt and a pair of pants loose enough to get around the diaper. He lifted him up and cooed when the boy laughed, content to just stare at his son.
Jackson, on the other hand, was not content to have his dad staring at him, and wiggled around, hands flailing to point out of the bathroom. Jinyoung got the hint and went to find Jaebum, who had gotten Mark and himself dressed for a day in public. They were only going to go get some coffee from a cafe nearby, another test run for bringing Jackson out in public. They’d only done it once before with both kids, and the day had ended early when it had been Mark who had gotten overwhelmed by the noises of the other people outside.
They made their way to the car, tucking their kids into their seats for the ride and backing out of the driveway to head to the cafe.
The car ride stays uneventful, glady, and when Jaebum pulls into the parking lot of the coffee shop only a few minutes later, Jinyoung feels relieved they’ve already made it this far. They each grab a kid, Jinyoung lifting baby Jackson while Jaebum gets Mark, and they head inside to order coffee and maybe a kids smoothie or something for Mark and maybe Jackson to drink.
They order once the person in front of them has gone, and Jinyoung doesn’t miss the way the cashiers eyes soften when they fall onto the baby in his arms.
“Thank you,” Jaebum said when he finishes the order, and the guy taking their order just smiles and nods, turning around to help the girl he’s working with make the drinks.
A few minutes later, and still thankfully incident free, their order gets called out and Jaebum, being the one with the more responsible of the two children, goes to grab it. He takes a hold of the carrier and they walk out of the coffee shop. They return to the car, each sipping on their coffee. Jinyoung hands Mark his drink once they’re settled, making sure to monitor him while he drinks it.
The coffee wasn’t the only reason they needed to leave the house. Jaebum made a quick stop at an ATM at the bank, the main reason they’d left the house in the first place, and then the family was finally on their way back home.
Jinyoung felt proud of the little outing, even if it had been short. They hadn’t had much of a chance to get out as a whole family as of recently, only having done it a few times before, so he was happy that they had made it through even such a small trip without incident.
Jinyoung picked up Jackson from the back of the car, staring at him fondly as he babbled on about watching a cartoon, and who was Jinyoung to disagree with his youngest son?
They all settled down on the couch in the living room, Jinyoung and Jaebum snuggled up next to each other, one kid in each of their laps, and they watched Jackson’s mumbled cartoon request.
Overall, Jinyoung took the day so far as a success.