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ten likes to think that marrying his best friend was the best decision he ever made, but looking at it now, there’s one decision that he and his husband made that is an extremely close second.
“breakfast time!”
from ten’s seat at the table, he can hear the small patter of feet running across the house. the footsteps stop, and a small head pops out from behind the kitchen doorway, smile bright and eyes shining.
ten grins, opening his arms as an invitation. the five-year-old runs towards ten, jumping into his arms and squealing happily when ten crushes him in a hug. “good morning, lele!” ten says, setting chenle on his lap and tickling his sides.
“morning bà!” chenle gets out through giggles. “i had the awesomest dream last night, it was me, you, and bàba, and we were flying on a dragon!”
ten ruffles chenle’s hair, bouncing him a bit in his lap. “what color was the dragon?”
“blue! like bàba’s hair!”
ten looks over at kun, who’s watching them with a fond smile. his hair is, in fact, dark blue, mainly because ten talked him into it and ten knows kun can’t say no to him. chenle was very amused that day, constantly asking to see and touch kun’s hair.
kun and ten adopted chenle two years ago, which was around two years into their marriage. chenle is renjun’s sister’s baby, renjun was looking after him a lot since his sister was struggling and eventually he came to kun and ten about it since he knew they were discussing having a kid. both of them fell in love right away, and adopted him when he was three, with full consent and support from renjun’s sister.
“alright, kiddo, time for breakfast.” kun says, walking over and scooping chenle out of ten’s lap. he sets him in his designated chair, which is slightly higher than the others. chenle grins, kicking his feet against his chair and reaching out for his food.
after setting chenle down, kun comes around the table and presses a kiss to the top of ten’s head. “i’m leaving now for an early meeting. doyoung should come pick chenle up in around twenty minutes to bring him to school with sungchan.” kun says, and ten hums, already knowing about the school arrangements.
“do you think chenle will be okay, since it’s his first day of school?”
“he’ll be fine. that kid adapts fast. it’s natural to worry, though.”
ten hums, turning so he’s facing kun. “when are you coming home?”
“probably around noon. i’ll bring lunch.” kun says, brushing ten’s hair away from his eyes. ten is growing his hair longer, it’s currently jet black and is tied back more often than not. this morning he decided against it, though.
ten leans up and presses a short kiss to kun’s lips. “bye, darling.”
kun rolls his eyes at the nickname, but he smiles anyway, kissing ten’s forehead. “bye, baby.”
ten watches him leave, sighing and leaning back against his chair. both of them work mainly from home, able to deal with a lot of their career work online, but once in a while they will have to attend a meeting. kun’s working towards a promotion so occasionally he stops by his workplace to do extra hours, and ten sometimes stays back at the fashion studio to go over things in person.
it’s a schedule that took a year to perfect--being able to balance work and their son, while also having time for each other. they pretty much have all the details worked out now, and it will be easier now that chenle is starting school, but there’s occasional bumps in the road. it’s normal to make mistakes, though, and kun had to drill that into ten’s head when he was feeling worried about everything.
“bà, i’m done!” chenle says, picking up his empty paper plate and showing it to ten.
ten smiles, reaching over and pinching one of chenle’s cheeks. “do you remember where the trash goes when you’re done eating?”
“in the trash can!” chenle exclaims, carefully hopping off of his chair and walking over to the trash, where he disposes of his dirty plate. “done!”
“good job, lele. let’s go brush your teeth, then we can wait for uncle doie.”
“is channie coming?”
“yes, you’ll be going to school with him all year.”
chenle beams, spinning around excitedly before skipping off to the bathroom. ten chuckles, following him. god, he loves that kid.
-
“good morning, uncle ten!”
ten smiles, letting sungchan run over and hug his legs tightly. “hey, sungchan, you excited for school?”
sungchan looks up at ten, grinning widely. “yes! appa picked my outfit, look!” sungchan says, pulling away from ten and spinning slowly to show his outfit. it’s just a simple shirt with a pokémon print paired with jeans, but sungchan seems really excited about it.
“it’s an amazing outfit, channie, tell your appa that he did great.”
sungchan nods excitedly, before running over to chenle to talk to his friend.
doyoung walks over, standing next to ten to observe chenle and sungchan. “despite his excitement, i practically had to rip the kid off of jungwoo this morning. he’s strong for a five year old.”
ten laughs, watching sungchan. “he’s gotten taller since the last time i saw him.”
“yeah, and that was two weeks ago. i can only imagine he’ll be towering over us by the time he’s graduated high school.”
doyoung and jungwoo have been married for roughly three years, and they adopted sungchan around a year ago. he’s the same age as chenle, which both sets of parents were very excited about, seeing as it was an easy opportunity for both of them to have a close friend from a young age.
“how’s jungwoo?” ten questions, looking at doyoung.
doyoung smiles softly. “he’s great. says he wants to catch up with you and kun soon, if you have the time. speaking of which, how’s kun?”
“he’s been a bit busier from work, but he’s doing really well.” ten says, looking back over at chenle. “we should definitely schedule to hang out together, maybe without the kids. i’m sure yuta would be happy to babysit.”
doyoung nods, but then he sighs, glancing at his watch. “i should probably get going. it was nice seeing you, ten, i’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“bye, doyoung.”
before doyoung can leave, chenle runs up to ten, hugging his legs tightly. “bye bye, bà! love you!” chenle says.
ten smiles brightly, kneeling down and pressing a kiss to chenle’s hair. “i love you too, lele.”
chenle reaches out with his small hands and presses them on ten’s face, squeezing his cheeks the way ten does to chenle. ten laughs, taking chenle’s pudgy hands and pressing a kiss to both of his palms.
chenle runs back to doyoung and ten stands up, watching chenle turn around and wave. ten waves back, and then chenle is gone.
it’s odd, saying goodbye to chenle, but it’s something he knows he will have to get used to, so instead of overthinking it, he heads off to his home office to work.
-
“it feels weird coming home and not hearing chenle yelling.”
ten nods at kun’s statement, opening up the takeout box that kun brought with him. he picked up some chicken on his way home, as well as a couple donuts for chenle. “it’s cool to work in a quiet environment, but apparently living with a toddler has changed how i work. i can’t even focus without background noise now.” ten says.
when ten looks up at kun, he’s smiling, the familiar fond look in his eyes that only comes out when chenle is brought up.
they eat in silence for a few minutes, letting the new quiet wash over them. it’s unfamiliar, but not entirely unwelcome. moments like this used to be few and far between.
“how was your meeting?” ten asks after a while, breaking the silence.
“it went really well, actually.” kun responds, unable to contain a smile. “my boss talked to me after and said i’ve been doing great, and that he’s considering moving me up to a higher position.”
ten beams. “kun, that’s amazing! you’ve been working really hard lately, i’m glad he recognized that. do you know what position he’s considering moving you to?” ten asks.
“i’m not sure yet, but i’d be happy with anything.”
“i’m proud of you, kunnie.” ten says, reaching over the table to gently cup kun’s face with his hand. “you’re doing well, i hope you know that.”
kun leans into ten’s touch, humming and closing his eyes. “thank you, yongqin.”
ten runs his thumb along kun’s cheekbone, feeling his lover relax. ten thinks to himself how lucky he is, to have kun here in the palm of his hand, to have a family with him, to be able to love him openly, freely. ten remembers the reasons they got married in the first place, and he laughs softly, swirling with memories.
“what are you laughing at, hm?” kun asks, opening one eye to peek at ten.
“just thinking about why we got married.”
kun breathes out a laugh, and ten feels it under his palm. “it’s funny to think i didn’t even realize how much i loved you until we made out in the kitchen at some ungodly hour.”
“typical qian kun, never realizing what you feel until a pisces forces you to confront it.”
kun huffs. “you and jungwoo are a force to be reckoned with.”
ten doesn’t respond to the statement, just smiling cheekily as he pulls his hand back. “we should finish eating. we’ve got a couple hours of cuddling before we need to go pick chenle up.” ten says, returning to his food.
-
kun and ten wait patiently outside of chenle’s classroom, watching a stream of kids pour out to meet their parents. the two of them already know the teacher, jaemin, one of renjun’s friends.
“kun hyung, ten hyung! good to see you two.” jaemin greets, looking energetic despite having to deal with a load of toddlers for the last few hours.
“hey, jaemin. how was chenle?” kun asks.
jaemin smiles, glancing inside the classroom. “he’s really good, actually. he behaved well, and he’s good with the other kids, but i think he may have attached himself to one of his classmates.” jaemin says.
before ten can ask for an explanation, chenle runs out of the classroom, holding on tightly to another kid’s hand. the boy he’s holding looks to be slightly younger than chenle, and a little less energetic, his eyes wide with wonder as he looks around the room.
“bàba, bà, this is my new best friend! his name is park jisung!” chenle yells excitedly.
ten’s heart swells with fondness, and he kneels down to chenle’s height, looking between his kid and his kid’s best friend. “hi, jisung.” ten greets.
jisung smiles a bit, using his free hand to wave slightly at ten. chenle bounces up and down, giggling. “sungie doesn’t talk much, but that’s okay! we’re still best friends.”
jisung nods in agreement, his smile growing. ten thinks his heart might explode from the display of friendship.
kun also kneels down, introducing himself to jisung, and both of the kids look pretty excited. when they’re done talking, chenle and jisung interact some more (which is mainly chenle rambling about his dads) and jaemin pulls kun and ten to the side.
“chenle’s a great kid,” jaemin says, “everyone wanted to talk to him but he immediately went to jisung, who was by himself. sung is on the autism spectrum so he doesn’t really communicate as well as the other kids, but chenle doesn’t seem to mind at all.”
ten looks over at chenle, who is attempting to teach jisung how to play rock paper scissors. it isn’t really working, but chenle looks happy, and ten takes kun’s hand in his and squeezes.
“i’m really glad.” kun says, squeezing ten’s hand back. “is anyone here yet to get him?”
jaemin smiles and points to someone standing across the room, who is also watching the interaction between chenle and jisung. “that’s jeno, jisung’s older brother, but he’s jisung’s legal guardian. he’s my age, which is odd with the whole age difference thing, but his parents were just teens when they had him. they planned jisung later, but when they realized they couldn’t take care of him, jeno offered to take him.”
ten quirks an eyebrow. “you seem to know a lot.”
jaemin blushes slightly. “yeah, jeno’s my boyfriend. we live together.” he explains.
“ah. makes sense.”
it’s a bit difficult getting chenle to say bye to jisung, but after a while they succeed. kun and ten exchange numbers with jeno so they can keep in touch about the kids, and then they head out, chenle babbling excitedly about jisung the whole way home.
when they arrive, kun unbuckles chenle from his car seat, lifting him out of the car. ten takes chenle’s bag from the other seat, slinging it across his shoulder easily. ten leads them to their front door, unlocking it with his free hand and pushing it open.
around a year into their marriage, kun and ten moved, buying a house in the nicer part of town, where a lot of families settle down. they weren’t originally planning on moving, but when they started talking about the possibility of kids, they started casually looking for larger places. doyoung eventually contacted kun about this part of the city, and the rest is history.
it’s a lot more spacious, and it feels homey. there’s two floors, the second floor having three bedrooms. they reserved one room for chenle, one for guests or storage, and the largest for kun and ten to share.
not only is it big enough for their family, but it’s also big enough for their pets--two cats, louis and leon, that ten talked kun into adopting a little before they welcomed chenle into the family.
ten absolutely adores coming home to it, seeing small traces of chenle wherever he looks. there’s toys scattered on the living room floor, messy drawings attached to the refrigerator, childproof locks on lower cabinets, just small things that remind ten how beautiful it is to have this type of life with his soulmate and his kid.
“tell us more about jisung.” kun prompts, bouncing chenle a bit in his arms as he kicks his shoes off by the door. “what do you like about him?”
chenle hugs kun’s neck and his eyes light up. “sungie is great, bàba. he can draw really good, and he has a cool pair of shoes that light up when he walks. he only talks a little bit ‘cus it’s hard for him, so i told him to clap when i name something he likes. i found out he likes cats, and i told him all about our cats, and he looked super duper happy! the other kids wanted to play with me too, but they didn’t wanna play with sung, so i said ‘no thank you’ and stayed with him. jisung’s super cool.” chenle rants, tugging on kun’s collar.
kun and ten make eye contact and ten sees that the fond look is back, and ten knows he probably has a similar expression on his own face. ten loves chenle to pieces, wanting to protect him from all of the bad things in life. his kid is only five and he’s already too good for this world.
“i’m glad you had fun today, kiddo.” ten says, sliding over to where they’re standing and pressing a kiss to chenle’s forehead. “i can send jisung’s brother some pictures of louis and leon, so he can show them to jisung.”
chenle makes an excited noise, reaching out to be held by ten. ten carefully takes chenle from kun, settling the boy on his hip. “yes!” chenle exclaims. “then we can talk even more about them! who’s jisung’s brother?” chenle asks curiously.
“his name’s jeno, he’s the one who picked jisung up today.” kun answers, grabbing the remote and switching the television on. ten watches him switch to a cartoon channel, bright colors playing on the screen.
ten sets chenle down on the couch, helping him out of his shoes. leon jumps onto the couch from somewhere random, slinking over to chenle where he curls up next to his leg. chenle giggles, petting leon gently and showing amusement when he purrs.
while chenle becomes engrossed in his cartoon, ten walks over to the kitchen, where kun is organizing chenle’s bag. he takes out the lunchbox but leaves everything else, placing the bag over the back of a chair.
ten hums, draping himself onto kun’s side, relaxing as he buries his nose under kun’s jaw. “i love chenle so much. he’s an angel.” ten says softly, sighing contently when kun’s hand comes up and massages the back of his neck.
“so now he’s an angel? what about the time you called him the ‘spawn of the devil’ when he was four because he got marker all over your new shirt?” kun teases.
ten weakly jabs at kun’s side, not caring that he misses. “you know i was kidding back then. lele’s always been an angel, he even looks like one.”
“that kid has you wrapped around his finger.”
“i know, and i can’t even be mad about it. he’s so sweet. you’d be lying if you said he didn’t have you wrapped around his finger, too.”
kun doesn’t answer, but he hums in acknowledgement, neither confirming nor denying ten’s statement. his hand works at ten’s neck and shoulders, massaging away the stiffness from sitting in the home office for so long.
“i love you, kun.” ten whispers, pressing a soft kiss to kun’s neck.
kun smiles. “i love you too, ten.”
-
ten loves chenle, but he would be lying if he said parenting isn’t hard.
most days are good days, waking up to a kiss on the forehead from kun and chenle remaining sound asleep in his own room. some days are harder, and ten knows it’s one of those days the moment he wakes up to chenle’s loud crying from a room over, kun’s soft whispering being barely heard.
ten’s head pounds and he glances at the clock. it’s about five in the morning, two hours before they all usually wake up. he sighs, rubbing his eyes and sliding out of bed, shivering when he tosses the blanket to the side. he slips into one of kun’s hoodies and stretches, waiting for his vision to unblur before he pads out of the room.
upon entering chenle’s room, kun looks at him, breathing a sigh of relief. “i was just about to wake you up. he had a bad dream, apparently. said he lost you. he won’t calm down.” kun explains, gesturing to the crying chenle nuzzled into his chest.
ten’s heart constricts painfully, and he sits down next to kun on chenle’s bed. kun has difficulty getting chenle off of his lap, but the moment chenle sees ten, he immediately lets kun transfer him into ten’s arms. chenle hugs ten tightly, and ten hugs him back, gently stroking the back of chenle’s head.
chenle cries out an incoherent mix of mandarin, korean, and english, which means he must be absolutely exhausted. normally they speak korean or english at home, especially english, but chenle has also been picking up really fast on mandarin. his brain must be jumbled from the nightmare and the early hour, unable to voice his thoughts properly.
ten doesn’t blame him. he gets the same way sometimes. instead of speaking, he holds his son close, nonverbally assuring him that he’s not going anywhere.
“sorry if this woke you. i know you have sleeping troubles.” kun says, and it takes ten a moment to realize he’s speaking thai.
kun has picked up a lot of thai in the four years since their wedding, and he’s to the point where he can speak to ten about most things. chenle doesn’t know any, so sometimes if kun and ten want to have a private chat while their kid is around, they switch to thai.
“it’s okay.” ten responds, also speaking in thai. “i knew what i was getting into when we got chenle. even if this happened every day, i wouldn’t trade him for the world.”
kun smiles, shifting a bit so he can rub chenle’s back. his crying is reduced to small hiccups, and ten sways back and forth slowly, hoping to sooth him back to sleep for another couple of hours. it works, and chenle’s out like a light in a matter of minutes, cheek smushed against ten’s shoulder.
“wanna go back to bed?” kun asks quietly. “i’m already awake, so i’ll probably just chill on the couch until i have to make breakfast.”
ten shakes his head. “i’ll come with you. i’m gonna tuck him back in, i’ll meet you in the living room.” ten says, already moving to lay chenle back down.
kun presses a kiss to ten’s temple before standing and heading off to the living room.
-
ten curls up to kun’s side, a blanket draped over both of their laps. it’s just chilly enough outside now that they can use heavier blankets, but it isn’t quite winter. either way, ten runs cold in the mornings, and kun is like his personal heater, somehow always naturally warm.
“i love this.” ten says, practically melting when kun wraps an arm around him and pulls him in closer. his eyes are heavy but he isn’t quite tired enough to sleep, so he rests his eyes and lets kun’s warmth drip into his skin like honey.
“be more specific.” kun responds. “what do you mean?”
ten sighs in content, opening his eyes to look at his husband. “this. being here with you, in love, as our beautiful child sleeps not too far away. knowing that this is how we’ll spend our lives together, knowing that i’ll come home to my amazing family, knowing that i’ll go to sleep with you beside me. everything.” after the sudden confession, ten blushes, burying his face in kun’s shoulder. “i love you.” he whispers shyly.
he can feel kun hug him tighter, and it’s silent for a few moments before kun replies. “are you trying to make me cry this early in the morning?” kun jokes, but his voice is thick with emotion, and ten can tell he’s trying not to actually cry. “goodness, ten, i’m so lucky to have you. i love you too.”
louis appears out of nowhere, climbing over ten’s legs and settling himself right between kun and ten. ten laughs softly, scratching behind the cat’s ears. louis has always been very picky with affection, but once in a while he’ll curl up between his owners if he’s feeling cuddly.
“i know what you mean, though.” kun says, lazily petting louis with the hand that isn’t around ten. “this feeling. i didn’t think you were the type to like domesticity, though, always pulling me around on little adventures when we were younger.”
ten huffs, playfully bumping kun’s cheek with his nose. “this is an adventure, darling. settling down was probably the best decision i ever made, too. it’s good for me. for both of us.” ten retorts.
kun’s lips quirk up in a small smile. “guess you’re right.”
-
the rest of the day passes in somewhat of a blur, and before ten knows it, he’s waiting for chenle outside of the classroom again. kun isn’t here this time, he had to swing by his workplace to talk to his boss about his possible promotion.
unlike last time, chenle is one of the first kids out of the classroom. he has a piece of paper clutched in both hands when he runs towards ten, jisung following close behind.
“bà, look! sungie drew lou and leo!” chenle says, referring to the cats by the nicknames chenle gave them when he couldn’t pronounce their names right yet. he extends the paper towards ten, waving it until ten takes it.
it’s better than ten would expect for someone jisung’s age, honestly. it’s clearly drawn by a child, but it isn’t full of scribbles or random colors like chenle’s drawings are. the colors are accurate for the most part, and you can tell that they’re cats. above each cat is their name, written in both korean and english. jisung’s name is signed neatly at the bottom in blue crayon.
ten hands the drawing back to chenle before facing jisung, kneeling down to their levels. “you’re a really good artist, sung. i love it.” ten says.
jisung beams, flapping his hands excitedly. “thank you.” he giggles, offering a hand out.
ten is confused for a second before jaemin walks over, smiling. “he wants a high five. chenle taught him what it is, and jisung is pretty adamant on receiving high fives from everyone now.”
ten chuckles, giving jisung a high five. chenle runs around jisung in a circle for a moment before tugging his friend close, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “bye bye, jisungie! jeno is here to get you!” chenle says, pointing to where jeno is waiting. jisung grins, returning the gesture by kissing chenle’s cheek, and then he runs off to be scooped up by his older brother.
amused, ten stands up and looks at jaemin, raising an eyebrow. jaemin laughs. “i don’t know where that came from either, don’t look at me.”
chenle tugs on ten’s hand. “cmon, bà! we gotta get home!”
“alright kiddo, let’s get going.” ten says, reaching down to hold chenle’s free hand, the drawing still clutched in his other. “have a good day, jaemin.”
“you too, ten. i’ll see you tomorrow, lele!”
“bye, mister na!”
-
on the way home, chenle is as talkative as ever, relaying all of the day’s events.
“me and jisungie got gold stars today for good behavior!” chenle says happily, his feet swinging as he talks. “i let him have mine though. he put them on his cheeks, but they were itchy so he took them off and put them on his folder.”
chenle stops talking for a moment, and ten is about to ask him to tell him more, but chenle speaks before he can.
“me and jisungie are gonna get married!”
ten chokes out a laugh. he’s definitely gonna have fun telling this to kun later.
“why do you say that, lele?” ten asks, glancing in the car mirror to take a look at chenle when they stop at a stop sign.
chenle giggles. “well, you and bàba got married, and you were best friends first! i wanna marry my best friend too, and my best friend is sungie, so i’m gonna marry him.”
“you’ve only known him for two days, pumpkin. plus, you’re a bit too young to be thinking about getting married.”
“nuh uh! i talked to mister na and he said how long you love someone doesn’t matter. it’s how much you love them. i love jisung lots!”
ten shakes his head, smiling to himself. “okay baby, whatever you say.”
-
after dinner and chenle’s bathtime, kun and ten settle down together on the couch as chenle sits on the floor, drawing something for jisung. jisung’s drawing of the cats is displayed on the wall of chenle’s bedroom, and it’s the only picture hanging up there.
“wanna know what lele told me today?” ten asks in thai, watching a pout form on chenle’s lips when he realizes he can’t understand what his dad is saying.
kun hums. “what did he tell you?”
“he wants to marry jisung.”
kun snorts, turning to look at ten with an incredulous expression. “oh really?”
ten grins. “yup. said he wants to marry his best friend just like we did. he kissed jisung on the cheek today, too, and jisung did it back. my heart hurts, kun, they’re adorable.”
“it’s really sweet.” kun says, sighing fondly. “i can tell they’re gonna be friends for a long time. i’ve never seen chenle so attached before, not even to sungchan, who he’s known for almost a year.”
ten hums in agreement. kun seems to remember something, sitting up straighter and getting ten’s full attention. “right, ten, i forgot to tell you. jeno texted me earlier and said he wants to set up a possible playdate for chenle and jisung.”
“sounds like a good idea,” ten replies, “any specific time?”
kun nods, reaching for his phone and heading to his thread with jeno. “he wants to schedule a date with jaemin on friday night, and he was gonna get a babysitter, but he decided to ask if we were busy before he contacted anyone else. both of our schedules are free, and we could probably pick jisung up from school with chenle.” kun explains, screenshotting the messages with the details. ten’s phone pings, indicating that kun sent him the photos. the texts also contain any important information about jisung, like the food he likes and the things that calm him down if needed.
“it’s a plan, then. tell jeno that we can watch jisung for the night. wanna tell chenle now?” ten asks, glancing over at chenle, who is humming happily and scribbling on his paper.
kun doesn’t look up from his phone, sending a text message to jeno. “we probably shouldn’t, he’ll be bouncing off the walls and never be able to settle down for bed. we can tell him friday morning.”
-
friday comes quickly for kun and ten, and kun was right about chenle. as soon as they tell him about the plans for the afternoon, he starts jumping and running around with uncontained excitement. “chenji day!” chenle squeals, not caring that kun is chasing after him trying to get his shoes on.
“chenji?” ten questions, quirking an eyebrow.
chenle nods happily, finally slowing down and letting kun put his shoes on. “yes! since me and jisungie are always together, mister na calls us chenji instead of saying both of our names! he even printed special gold stars for us and he calls them friendship stars. sungie and i have a paper we share that we put the stars on.” chenle explains.
“you’ll have to show us the sheet sometime, baby.” kun says, getting chenle’s last shoe on. “don’t get too excited, though. doyoung is picking you up soon.”
“chenle and jisung day~” chenle sings happily, skipping around the couch with his bookbag slung over his shoulders. “chenle, jisung, chenji, c-h-e-n-j-i!”
ten discreetly takes his phone out to take a video, and when chenle finishes singing, he sends it to jeno. he quickly receives a message back, and it puts a smile on his face.
jeno: jisung’s been doing the same thing all morning. he’s never been loud in the morning but i guess today is an exception lol
-
chenle seems to be trembling with excitement when kun and ten pick him up.
he’s the first out of the classroom, jisung’s hand tightly in his as he runs over to his parents. “bà, bàba! let’s go, let’s go, let’s go! sungie needs to meet lou and leo!” chenle says excitedly, bouncing up and down. jisung looks a bit frazzled, but excited nonetheless.
jaemin comes up to them, his permanent smile showing brightly. “thanks for taking sung for the evening. he’s an amazing kid, but sometimes it’s a little hard. jeno and i might send you something to thank you for the favor.” jaemin says.
kun waves his hand dismissively. “no need for anything like that. seeing chenle happy is thanks enough. if anything, thank you.”
“i’ll still send you something, maybe a gift for chenle.” jaemin says, looking down at the kids. “if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me or jeno. jisung’s comfort is more important than our date.”
ten watches jisung walk over to kun, attaching himself to the older’s legs and looking up expectantly. jaemin looks somewhat surprised, but his smile never falters. “well, that’s interesting. he wants you to pick him up, kun.” jaemin says, laughing a bit.
kun gently picks jisung up and places him on his hip. he seems happy, but chenle starts whining, tugging on ten’s pants. “bà, pick me up!”
ten picks chenle up easily, settling him on his hip the way kun did with jisung. chenle squirms around a bit before relaxing, hugging ten’s neck. “bye bye mister na~” chenle sings, freeing one hand to wave at his teacher.
“bye, lele. have fun with sung.”
“i will!” chenle exclaims.
jisung waves at jaemin, smiling. “bye nana!”
jaemin grins, ruffling jisung’s hair. “bye, sungie. i’ll see you later, okay?”
jisung nods, reaching out and squishing jaemin’s cheek. “bye nana.” he repeats.
“jeno will probably come to pick him up at around nine.” jaemin says. “jisung’s bedtime is around eight, but it’s alright if he doesn’t get to sleep at that time. normally he falls asleep on his own, though, just make sure his teeth are brushed and everything. i packed some extra stuff in his bag.” jaemin says, gesturing towards jisung’s bookbag.
“thank you, jaemin.” kun says. “i’ll keep you updated.”
“okay. goodbye kun, goodbye ten.”
-
when they get home, chenle immediately takes jisung’s hand. “cmon, sungie, we can see lou and leo!” chenle says, running to kun and ten’s room where the cats normally stay.
ten breathes out a laugh, heading to the kitchen to put chenle’s bag down. “lele’s practically on the verge of exploding.” ten jokes.
kun snorts, putting jisung’s bag next to chenle’s. “i’ve never seen that kid more excited in my entire life, and he’s known jisung for barely a week.”
while kun unpacks the kids’ things, ten heads upstairs to his bedroom, peeking in to see what jisung and chenle are up to. surprisingly, louis is laying on jisung’s lap, purring as jisung pets him carefully. louis is notorious for being picky with who he shows affection to, so it’s an adorable sight to see him cuddled up to someone who’s practically a stranger.
“lele, can you help me bring louis and leon downstairs? it’s better to play in the living room where bàba and i can see you.” ten says.
chenle looks up at ten, looking like he’s about to agree, but then he jumps up. “can i show sungie my room first? i put all his drawings on the wall and i want him to see.”
by ‘all his drawings’ chenle means the three pictures that jisung has drawn for chenle over the past couple of days. there’s the original cat photo, and then there’s two pictures of chenle and jisung together, one of which chenle helped jisung work on.
“sure, go ahead. i’ll bring louis downstairs, you can take leon when you come down. remember to hold him with two hands, okay?”
“i know!”
-
kun and ten watch in amusement as chenle brings jisung around the house, giving him an unnecessarily detailed house tour. after every room, chenle asks jisung if he liked it, and jisung always responds with an enthusiastic nod.
despite the fact that he doesn’t talk much, jisung isn’t quiet, and ten is pretty sure it has something to do with chenle. after every sentence chenle says, he looks to jisung, waiting for him to respond with a noise or a gesture. he doesn’t move on until jisung adds his input. it doesn’t matter if it takes him one second or one minute to respond, chenle remains patient, just waiting without putting any pressure on him.
“chenle’s a smart kid.” kun comments in thai, watching chenle introduce all of his toys to jisung one by one. “he never saw jisung’s issue with communication as any sort of obstacle. he easily found a way to work around it while keeping jisung comfortable.”
ten hums, agreeing. “if he ever has kids, he’s gonna be fantastic with them.”
“don’t say that, it makes me feel old.”
“you are old.”
“ten, we’re the same age.”
“i never said i wasn’t old too!”
kun rolls his eyes, bumping ten’s shoulder playfully.
-
the rest of the night passes without a hitch, both chenle and jisung falling asleep on the couch together while watching a show about cats. honestly, ten himself also finds himself engrossed in the cat show, seeing as it’s about actual cats and isn’t a cartoon.
jeno comes and picks jisung up at nine, thanking kun and ten and giving them a bag that’s labeled ‘for: chenle.’ the two kids are both out like a light, so neither of them notice when jeno silently takes jisung. when they open the bag later, it’s a few bags of snacks that both jisung and chenle like.
“you seemed more interested in that cat show than the kids did.” kun teases, carefully lifting chenle off of the couch and trying not to wake him up.
“can you blame me? cats are adorable.”
“valid point.”
when kun is done tucking chenle in for bed, kun joins ten on the couch for their nightly television binge. “what are we watching tonight?” kun asks, settling next to ten.
“i don’t really care,” ten says, “maybe we can keep watching that cat channel.”
“seriously, ten?”
“what! there’s a cat in the show that looks just like louis.”
“fine, whatever. this is the last time i let you pick, though.”
ten raises a fist in victory, watching as kun sets up the cat show.
-
it’s three weeks later, and ten has finally found some time in his schedule to meet up with jungwoo.
before, ten and jungwoo weren’t really close, only choosing to meet up if kun was coming along. however, they’ve gotten a lot closer, hanging out on their own once in a while. so, here they are now, hanging out on jungwoo’s couch while doyoung and kun take the kids to a playground.
“kun told me about chenle’s new friend.” jungwoo says, leaning back against one of the decorative couch pillows. “his name’s jisung, right?”
ten nods, taking out his phone to scroll through his gallery for some photos. “yeah, they’re great with each other. jisung just follows him around everywhere, even without chenle telling him to. it’s cute.” ten says, showing jungwoo his phone’s photo album of chenle and jisung together.
“aw, that’s so adorable.” jungwoo coos, swiping through the pictures. “kind of reminds me of a friend i had when i was little. his name’s mark.” jungwoo says, a small smile on his face.
ten takes his phone back. “are you still close?”
“we were best friends up until high school.” jungwoo says. “he ended up moving to canada for university, and then he moved to new york to work as an editor, but he’s also working on his own novels. he travels quite a bit, though, so we meet up sometimes. we still talk through messages.”
“oh, that sounds interesting. a writer, huh?”
“he hasn’t published anything yet, but he’s in the process of editing his first novel. he hasn’t said what it’s about, he’s keeping it a surprise.”
“well, when he publishes it, let me know. i’ll check it out.”
jungwoo smiles warmly. “of course. what about you? any childhood friends?”
“not really. i had strict parents.” ten says, picking at a loose thread in his shirt. “i spent a lot of time with my sister, though. we call sometimes, but she’s still in thailand. i was never really big on family until i made one of my own.” ten says, smiling. his eyes catch sight of the two rings he wears. he lifts his hand up to the light, facing them towards jungwoo. “can i tell you about these?”
“go for it.” jungwoo says, taking a closer look at the shining bands.
ten points to the thin silver band adorning his ring finger. “this is mine and kun’s wedding ring. do you recognize the symbol?” ten asks, pointing to the intricate design engraved on the side of the ring.
“i’m afraid i don’t,” jungwoo answers, “what is it?”
ten hums. “it’s a mixture of the zodiac symbols for capricorn and pisces, since they’re our signs.” ten twists the ring a bit, showing jungwoo the other side. “on the other side is the chinese word yuánfèn, which is like, destined or fated partnership. kun had it designed.”
jungwoo studies the ring in awe, eyes shining. “woah. there’s a lot of meaning in that. what about the other ring?” jungwoo asks, gesturing to the slightly thicker band on ten’s middle finger.
“i designed this one after we got chenle, kun has one too.” ten explains. “it says ‘family’ in mandarin, and the center gem is topaz, lele’s birthstone. you can’t see it, but on the inside it has mine, kun’s and chenle’s names engraved. we’re planning on having a third one made for chenle that he’ll get for his 18th birthday.”
“that’s seriously so cool, wow. you’ve got a really special family, ten, i hope you know that.”
ten’s cheeks warm up and he can’t help but smile brightly. “thank you, jungwoo. you do too.”
jungwoo grins, leaning back to his previous sitting position. “i appreciate the compliment, but i’m serious when i say your family is one of a kind. think about it.”
“i’m thinking, and i don’t see your point.” ten says.
jungwoo sighs, rolling his eyes jokingly. “listen. you and kun are only together because you planned a marriage based on the fact that you’re best friends. you were basically platonic fiancés with benefits until kun returned your love confession the literal night before you two got married. here you are, four years later, on your husband’s best friend’s couch showing off photos of your angelic kid and his best friend playing with your two cats. that’s not a story you hear every day, ten.” jungwoo says, huffing out a small laugh.
ten blinks a few times, thinking it over. “well when you put it like that…”
jungwoo reaches over and slaps ten’s knee. “admit it. you’ve got a unique family, and i mean that in the literal best way possible.”
ten puts his hands up in mock surrender, laughing. “fine, fine, you’re right. kun wasn’t lying when he said you can make anyone realize the truth. it’s definitely a useful talent.” ten says.
“it comes in handy with sungchan. that kid knows he can’t get away with lying in this household. doyoung has the same ability.”
“is sungchan good with other kids besides chenle?” ten questions, curious.
jungwoo practically lights up at the question. “you wouldn’t believe how great he is. i was worried since he’s only ever known chenle and they’re not in the same class, but sungchan has pretty much befriended his entire class already.”
“chenle had the opportunity to make friends with his whole class but he stuck with jisung instead. my heart nearly combusted when lele told me about it.”
“when you get home, tell chenle i said hello. i haven’t seen him in ages.”
“will do.”
-
later next month, shortly after chenle gets picked up from school, ten receives a text from jeno in a groupchat consisting of him, ten, kun, and jaemin.
jeno: kun, ten, your child is a miracle worker. are you sure he’s not actually some sort of angel?
kun: i’m aware that chenle acts like an angel, but what miracles is he working?
ten: does he have magic powers now
jaemin: no magic powers that i’m aware of, just an insane level of social intelligence for a five year old. jeno, tell them what happened today after you picked jisung up
jeno: i bring jisung home from school. i ask, ‘hey buddy, how was school?’ like i usually do, right? i don’t ask him for an answer, i just ask him that daily to gauge his reaction, and i never expect more than maybe a few words.
jeno: he answered my question using three full sentences about what he did today, two of which were related to chenle. he didn’t wait for a response, he just went and got one of his coloring books out from his room
jeno: i don’t know if you’ve realized this, but your child is teaching jisung how to communicate and socialize, which is something jaemin and i have tried but failed to do many times in a way that jisung’s comfortable with
kun: oh wow. i didn’t expect that
kun: i mean, i knew he was doing well with jisung but i didn’t really think it was to that extent? honestly, that’s incredible
ten: somewhat related to the conversation, i’m pretty sure jisung has also unknowingly helped chenle learn patience and sharing?
ten: he’s a lot more polite with not only us but also his other friend, sungchan
jaemin: i’m really glad that they work so well together.
jaemin: even the other kindergarten teachers have noticed it
jaemin: it’s a kind of natural friendship that’s extremely hard to find
-
chenle sits in kun’s lap, playing with his rings. he seems pretty entertained, and ten watches, feeling warmth bloom in his chest at his family.
“bàba, what does this say?” chenle asks, poking at the mandarin on kun’s wedding ring.
ten smiles, making momentary eye contact with kun. “it says yuánfèn, baby.” kun says, giving chenle a closer look at his ring. “it’s a word that bà and i use to describe our relationship.”
chenle cocks his head to the side. “what’s it mean?”
“it means we were meant to meet each other and be together in some way, not just limited to love or marriage.” ten cuts in, trying to explain it in a way that his child will understand. “it’s like, the universe made us connected.”
“so, like me and jisungie?” chenle asks, eyes shining when he looks up at ten.
ten reaches over and squeezes chenle’s small hand. “if you feel that way, then yes, like you and jisungie.”
chenle giggles, flopping onto kun’s chest. ten’s hand finds it’s way to kun’s, and he links them together.
“i love both of you, so, so much.” ten says quietly, leaning onto kun’s shoulder.
chenle bounces up to give ten a quick kiss on the cheek. “love you too!” chenle exclaims happily, squishing ten’s cheek between his tiny palms.
kun presses a kiss to ten’s temple. “i love you too, ten.”
ten sighs contentedly, and he thinks to himself that there’s nowhere he’d rather be than right here, with his family.