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“You know what’s the most exciting part of holidays?” Mingyu asks from the doorway of their bedroom, eyes shining with excitement.
Minghao glances up from where he was packing their stuff to look at his husband. He is positively glowing in his Christmas sweater, which cutely matches with the one their daughter is wearing as well. He’s carrying Haneul, who’s been growing too fast for Minghao’s liking, but he can’t wait until she’s able to go to galleries and talk art with him.
He can’t help but smile and play along, “What’s that Gyu?”
“Well, the best part is that it’ll start snowing soon. But the most important thing is that it will be Haneul’s first snow with us!”
“Of course,” Minghao hums and looks at Mingyu with fondness. The first snow holds an important meaning for the both of them. It was during the first snow that Mingyu asked him to be his boyfriend and also when the big man proposed to him that one winter night. They’ve been treating the first now as some sort of event to be celebrated since then, planning things around the day the first snow was predicted to fall.
This time, instead of spending the day within their little family, they planned to have a gathering with friends for the weekend. They’ve been bugging Mingyu and Minghao to bring the little one and spend time with her—everyone is wrapped around Haneul’s finger. He would prefer staying in, near a fireplace and under some blankets to seek refuge and warmth. It is a well-known fact that his extremities become poor victims in such weather. Mingyu, on the other hand, was a human furnace, his body heat remains constant even through some of the lowest temperatures South Korea has witnessed.
Speaking of which, Mingyu is looking at him with a gaze so fond and full of love that Minghao shyly turns away with cheeks flushed. Whenever his husband looks at him, Minghao can’t help but be swallowed by those brown depths—Mingyu has always looked at him with such intensity that he’s still not used to, even after being together for a little over six years.
Mingyu smiles wider after seeing his husband’s reddened cheeks—he hasn’t changed at all, he muses. Between the two of them, people often thought it’s Minghao whose gaze would be intense or something of the sort; only their close friends know about Hao’s adorable tendencies—how the man buys so many frog-related objects and how his giggles seem to give birth to fairies.
“Da!” He snaps out of his daily Minghao musings when he hears Haneul. His daughter starts making grabby hands at Minghao and kicking at him, “Da, da!”
“Come here, sweetheart.” Minghao bends down as Mingyu sets Haneul on her feet, holding her hands for support. They’ve been encouraging her walking these past few weeks—most times it’s just her plopping on the ground, looking at Mingyu with her big eyes. The man has spoiled her so much that she expects to be picked up, rather than be made to walk.
She takes her first wobbly step, face determined. The second one is definitely wobblier than the first, but Minghao continues to smile and encourage her. “Haneul, come.”
Instead of walking more, she stomps her little feet given that Mingyu is still supporting her with his hand. “Da!”
“Haneul, no.” He shakes his head, amused at how his daughter already knows how smitten they are with her and would likely come to her rescue. “Come here, let’s practice our surprise for your grandparents.”
Of course, she’s nothing but stubborn, sitting her tiny butt down and refusing to get up. She really took after their traits of being stubborn; Minghao recalls his and Mingyu’s fight about starting the fire at one of their retreats with their friends. He can’t help but release a small sigh.
Laughing, Mingyu picks her up and presses a kiss on her forehead. He then walks toward Minghao and kisses him on the lips. “Hao, we still have time before we see them.”
“I know.” He sighs against Mingyu’s lips and drops his head on his husband’s shoulder. From there, he stares at his daughter. “Kim Haneul, who do you think you are? You’re becoming your own kind of menace.” Rather than be intimidated, she has the audacity to giggle at her father. Minghao breaks, sighing fondly. “You’re becoming to resemble your dear papa, Haneul.”
Minghao places a soft kiss on Mingyu’s neck and leaves with, “As punishment for spoiling her too much, you are in charge of dressing her for the drive. I’m going to prepare Pot and Lid’s stuff.”
Mingyu shakes his head, as he watches Minghao’s retreating back. “Your dad acts like he doesn’t succumb easily.” Looking down at his daughter, he asks, “Right, sweetheart?”
“Pa!” Haneul smiles at him with her two tiny bottom teeth on full display.
“Mmm-hmm. Your dad’s saying you’re starting to take after me, huh? Luckily for you, your grandmother said I was a good baby.” He walks toward her bedroom and sees that Minghao has laid out her outfit already. He grabs it and laughs when he sees the beanie.
“Let’s try to be good then when I change you, okay?” Haneul is ecstatic, kicking her legs out and smiling so much. Hopefully, she keeps up this attitude during the whole trip or passes out from having her energy depleted; it’s a four-hour drive to their friend’s cabin, so Mingyu hopes there’ll be no busted eardrums for the entirety of the trip.
Haneul is surprisingly less fussy that he manages to dress her in just a few minutes. The final piece is the beanie Mingyu knows that his husband got for a reason—most likely to incite jealousy from him. Laughing, he picks up his daughter and takes a picture of them in a nearby mirror. “Don’t you look dandy, sweetheart.”
“Like it?” Minghao asks from the doorway.
“Did you get one resembling me as well?” Their daughter had on a frog beanie—courtesy of Minghao’s infatuation with frogs. It suited her; well, anything would when you’re as cute as her.
“Of course. I can’t have you sulking, now can I?” Hao’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Oh now, you’re just being mean.” Mingyu whines as Pot and Lid entered their daughter’s bedroom, sporting sweaters with frogs on it. “You’re indoctrinating not only our daughter with your fascination of frogs, but also our dogs!”
“Please, they’re adorable.” Minghao comes closer to his ear and whispers, “And you’re next.”
“In your dreams Hao,” laughing Mingyu captures the other’s lips. At the back of his mind, he already knows he’ll do whatever Minghao asks of him. He’s beyond in love with this man.
---
The drive up to the cabin was uneventful, which the parents counted as a blessing. Haneul passed out 30-minutes into the drive and only woke up once to have her diaper changed. Otherwise, she was completely infatuated by the changing scenery, quietly babbling to Pot and Lid—both keeping her distracted.
Arriving at the lodge, they see there’s already several cars parked, indicating that they’re probably the last ones to arrive. Both Mingyu and Minghao already know that they have to cover Haneul’s ears when they enter the cabin.
“Gyu, I got the dogs. Take Haneul and make sure her ears are covered.” Minghao sighs, already hearing the screams that would transpire in a couple of minutes.
They haven’t even taken a single step toward the cabin, when they see the door open and hear, “HANEUL!”
Two men came bounding down the stairs, one headed for Haneul and the other straight toward Pot and Lid. “Well, hello to you too Seungkwan and Seokmin.”
“Is this her? Oh, look how she’s grown!” Seungkwan reaches for Haneul. He’s always been infatuated with children, Mingyu thinks and passes his daughter to the man. “Minghao-hyung! You even bought her a frog beanie!”
“Of course, I did. I had to see Mingyu sulk because of it.” Minghao gives Seungkwan a side hug, as the man plays with Haneul. It’s great to see their friends again. “And Seokmin, where’s my hug? I can’t believe you hugged the dogs first.” Minghao pouted.
Mingyu laughs at his husband’s attempt at grabbing Seokmin’s attention—he’s always been babied by the latter. In their group of 13 people, Seokmin was the one everyone was smitten with; one could say he’s the “baby” of the group, but when it’s between him and Minghao, Seokmin babies Hao to no end, constantly patting his head and taking care of the other. He was the only person Hao acted like a kid to.
“I wouldn’t forget my dearest friend!” Seokmin finally let up and hugged Minghao tightly, patting his head while at it. “Come inside, we know how you easily freeze in cold weather.”
The three walked toward the house, while Mingyu grabs their luggage from the trunk. As he locks the car, Mingyu looks at the cabin. It was definitely big, with enough rooms to cater to more than thirteen people and their barrage of dogs.
Once inside, he sees everyone fawning over Haneul. His daughter is surprisingly handling the situation well, given the amount of people around her. She’s familiar with their faces, often visiting her uncles in the city, but she sometimes gets overwhelmed with the attention. So far, she’s doing great.
Pot and Lid are happy as well, playing with Bookkeu and Kkuma. He searches for a familiar mop of dark hair and finds him sneaking bites of… of ramen? Mingyu walks toward him, shaking his head. Hao talks a lot about eating healthy, but the man has no resolve when it comes to ramen.
He kisses Minghao’s hair and whispers, “You enjoying yourself there?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He swallows his last bite and looks up at Mingyu, seeing that the man is looking at him with amusement. “Don’t look at me like that. This is one of the few times I can eat ramen since we decided to ban it from our home.”
“We? My dear husband, it is only you who said that.” He leans his head on top of Hao’s. “I promise to turn a blind eye if you bring home some ramen.”
Minghao hits his stomach in response. “Oof.”
“Get our daughter before she starts crying. I’m pretty sure she’s hungry after the long drive.” Minghao glares at him as he takes another bite of ramen, daring Mingyu to say something. Mingyu wisely followed his husband’s order before the other starts threatening him.
He sees Wonwoo and Jun accompanying his daughter in the living room. He watches Haneul’s interaction with the two, quietly laughing as he sees Haneul studying them with so much seriousness. The married couple are still a bit awkward with her, but they have to bond given that they’re both her godparents. Choosing them was a no-brainer for both Minghao and him—they trust these two with their life.
“Pa… pa!” Haneul starts to squirm in Jun’s arms when she sees her dad come closer, only quieting down once she’s in his arms.
“Hey sweetheart, meeting too many people is exhausting huh?” Mingyu coos at his daughter after seeing her tightly grasp his sweater. He excuses himself from the two and comes back to Minghao, who’s already preparing her milk bottle. The two went to the bedroom assigned to them. Once Minghao settles himself on the bed, he began to feed her.
“Gyu, the first snow is expected to fall tomorrow morning, what should we do since it’s our first with her?” Minghao caresses Haneul’s cheeks and looks up at Mingyu, eyes beaming with excitement.
“We’ll take a big family picture and many with friends. It’s only right she spends it with the people who love her the most.” Mingyu drops a soft kiss on his husband’s forehead and lays his head on the other’s shoulder, watching Haneul feed. He’s getting sleepy, the drive must’ve taken a toll on him. Last thing he remembers before passing out is Minghao pressing a kiss on his lips.
---
When he came to, Mingyu realizes that the sky is brighter than he remembered; he must’ve slept through the night. Looking down, he sees Hao deeply buried in his chest with arms wrapped tight around his waist. It’s a well-known fact that Minghao gets clingy during winter since he continuously searches for warmth.
Happy to have a clinging husband, Mingyu wraps himself around Hao as well, placing the other’s head under his chin. He lets time pass by, simply content with listening to the quiet breathing of Minghao and the little puffs of breath coming from the nearby crib. He plays with Minghao’s hair; the strands are getting longer that Mingyu’s pretty sure that it’ll be in a ponytail in less than a few weeks.
The quiet atmosphere was broken when he hears barking coming from outside. Before leaving the bed, he ensures that Minghao is bundled up. He then checks on Haneul who’s quietly babbling to herself. Smiling, he picks her up, “Hey, sweetheart. Thank you for being quiet.” He rocks her gently in his arms and walks out of the bedroom. “Should we now get you some milk, hmm?”
Mingyu settles her in a high-chair first before working on her milk. He just finished placing everything together and was about to shake the bottle when he looked outside. There was snow falling. Mingyu immediately ran to the back door to see if there was snow already on the ground. He pleads, Please… please let this be the first snow fall.
He breathes a sigh of relief when the ground was barely dusted white. He hurriedly picks up Haneul and knocks on everyone’s door. “It’s the first snowfall!”
Haneul, seeing that her dad is not giving her bottle anytime soon, starts to whimper and tug at Mingyu’s shirt. “Pa! Pa!”
“Oops, sorry sweetheart.” He enters the bedroom and sees Minghao awake, eyes still bleary. “Hao! It’s snowing!”
“I know, I heard you screaming down the hallway.” Though he was woken up, he can’t help but smile at Mingyu’s excitement. “Give her to me. I’ll feed her, while you get the stuff ready.”
Mingyu picks out Haneul’s outfit first and proceeds to fix his camera—making sure the settings are perfect. There was a knock on the door. Wonwoo and Jun are already dressed to go outside.
“I could take her, while you get ready Hao.” Jun smiles warmly at him. Minghao is forever grateful to have met Jun. Though the other acts like the younger one between the two, he always takes good care of the people around him. He passes Haneul to him and leaves Mingyu and Wonwoo talking about shots and films. By the time he finished getting ready, Mingyu is already set up and Jun has Haneul in her outfit. “Shall we film the princess?”
---
Everyone held still as Minghao plopped Haneul on the snow-covered ground. They all had their bets on how she would react. Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Hoshi, Woozi, Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Dino all bet that if she’s anything like Mingyu, she would cry within a minute. The angels of the group—Joshua, Jun, and Vernon—gave her the benefit of doubt, trusting that Minghao’s influence is stronger than Mingyu’s.
After being placed on the snow, everyone cooed as Haneul smiles up at them—her two teeth proudly on display. Mingyu takes a flurry of shots, memorializing her first snow experience. Her happiness, however, was short-lived since the poor thing fell face first on the snow when she tried to stand up. Mingyu quickly runs to Haneul, soothing her, while the others couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable her fall was.
“Shh, it’s just snow sweetheart.” He moves the camera into her vision, distracting her with the small clicks. “Look here. It’s a camera, baby.”
Mingyu sits on the snow and leans Haneul against him since it'll take a while for her to calm down. He figured he’ll just relax with his daughter and take the occasional picture, while his friends play to their hearts’ content. Minghao looks at him questioningly, but Mingyu shakes his head in response and pats the ground instead. Minghao takes the hint, leaning against Mingyu in search of warmth.
Shouts of happiness blanketed their ears—their friends are having the time of their lives as they pummel each other with snow. As Mingyu watched the antics happening in front of them, he looks forward to their daughter having her own group of friends built on unconditional love. One day, she’ll be running around on her own, finding her place in the world. He can't wait to grow old with his family. The two fall in a comfortable silence, taking in the presence of each other.
Sitting on the ground as the first snow fell around them, it feels surreal holding Minghao’s hand that’s adorned with their wedding ring, while their daughter gnaws on his jacket. He thinks about their first snow fall together, where the two spontaneously went out to take pictures at night. The pictures Minghao posted had his fans crying about how pocket-sized he looks with his snow-covered hair and reddened nose. He couldn’t blame them since it was during that time when he confessed. When he looked through the viewfinder, Mingyu saw the other half of his soul—the one person he’d bicker with for as long as time lets him. He still has the video of him filming Hao sleeping, while their song played in the background. One way or another, it was their way of “indirectly” announcing their relationship to the public.
“Gyu? What are you thinking about?” Minghao peers into his vision and raises an eyebrow. “Your eyes are glazed over, and you have a sappy smile. You also haven’t said anything about your daughter wetting your jacket with her drool.”
Without pause, Mingyu answers. “You.” He smiles wide when Hao’s cheeks reddened.
“Don’t just say things like that out of the blue, Gyu.” Minghao whines, but his flushed cheeks tell another story.
“You know… after all these years together, I would’ve thought you’ll be used to my sappiness already.” Mingyu exhales then looks at Minghao—he’s always been fond of his husband’s eyes; those eyes have seen him in his lowest of times, yet they stayed without an ounce of judgement present in them. He thanks whoever is listening—be it fate, destiny, or a deity—for letting him meet Minghao, to be able to hold and cherish him like this. Mingyu knows he would do anything to keep those eyes on him. As he closes the distance between their lips, he whispers, “I hope you never lose that butterfly-like feeling.”
As their lips met, Minghao thinks to himself, “How could I, when all my heart searches for… is you?”