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"joongie, come hold my hand, baby!" seonghwa's voice is faintly heard over the ocean waves crashing against each other, but nonetheless he sees a pair of kitten ears over the roof of the car making his way towards the older.
"hwa!" joong exclaims, eyes wide with curiosity "at peach! at peach!"
seonghwa smiles, booping the younger's nose affectionalty. "we're at the beach, joongie bear...are you ready?"
hongjoong nods, smile showing off his teeth. he grips onto hwa's hand. this is his first time going to the beach- his first time seeing the ocean up close and he definitely can't wait to watch him build sand castles with the sand molds he bought at the store the other day.
albeit hongjoong is not a fan of the hot weather, he remains in good spirits. seonghwa, however, is somehow surprised he's not dealing with a semi cranky kitten due to his nap time being cut short.
he mentally prepared himself for the tantrum he would have to soothe down, but when he woke up joong with the promise of going to the beach, he practically shot up out of bed; growing fussy as he tried to change into his swim clothes.
and much to seonghwa's advantage, mingi and yunho decided to tag along; the whole car ride hongjoong wouldn't stop babbling to his hyungs about how excited he was going to the "peach".
not a moment later, mingi joins the duo, trying to catch his breath from almost dragging the beach bag on his shoulders to the floor. he hasn't even been out in the sun for 5 minutes and already he's sweaty. "what...do you have...in here?"
seonghwa playfully rolls his eyes "it's just joong's stuff...remember it's his first time coming here, I want him to have fun-"
"-so you bought the whole toy store?" yunho joins the conversation with not a moment to spare. seonghwa just playfully hits him on the shoulder. yunho doesn't say anything else, that will be taken as a slight scolding.
hongjoong grips onto seonghwa's hand as the pair make their way from the parking lot onto the warm sand. seonghwa figured they would wait until the late afternoon to go, normally in the mornings it'll be busy and the sand would have been too hot to walk on.
but luckily when they find a nice spot to set their stuff down, the beach isn't packed at all. hongjoong is giggling at the way the sand feels on his toes, lowly purring with how warm it is as well.
"come here, lovebug" seonghwa asks, face almost buried in his bag in the search of sunscreen. "hwa has to put sunscreen on you so the sun doesn't hurt your skin"
hongjoong gasps, clutching his arms in a crossed manner. "s'yun hur' me?"
he sprays a good amount on his arms, then proceeds to rub it in his skin. "that's why I'm putting on your sunscreen. the sun is very bright and if you're not careful, it could hurt your skin." he rubs some on his legs then the back of his neck; using whatever was leftover on his hand to apply onto his cheeks and forehead.
"joong, let's go build some sand castles!" mingi exclaims, shovel and bucket already prepared in his hand.
but before joong could express his worry of not knowing how, yunho appears behind him. "minnie is very good at making sand castles, he'll help you the whole time, don't worry."
hongjoong happily agrees, before grabbing mingi's hand, he waddles over to where the eldest set up his beach chair. "mama...i p'ay wi' minnie..."
seonghwa smiles, kissing his forehead. he inwardly cringes at the sunscreen his has on his lips now. "go ahead, my baby. mama will join you in a little bit, okay?"
hongjoong waddles back to where his hyung is, hand motioning out for mingi to grab it.
"alright! let's make some sand castles!"
-
yunho smiles, standing up from his chair as the two eldest make their way towards the two youngest. the pair in the sand sit next to each other, passing seashells and the shovel back and forth if needed.
he watches the way seonghwa interacts with hongjoong- the way he's so gentle and patient. the way hongjoong lights up when he sees his mama sit next to him and nuzzle against him. seonghwa is the embodiment of comfort and nurturing.
"what are you making, bub?" asks seonghwa, sitting next to the kitten in the warm sand.
hongjoong is staring intently at what his hyung is doing with the shovel and bucket. "minnie ma'e san' caddles..."
mingi demonstrates the tools in front of him. "okay....now hongie, it's your turn! take your bucket and grab your shovel...then just scoop the sand into the bucket."
before the pair started mingi scooped some water into another bucket to wet the sand. he'd do anything to make hongjoong's first sand castle experience a good one.
seonghwa inwardly cooed, take multiple pictures and videos to send to the hyungs that weren't with them today. he doesn't want to run out of storage on his phone, maybe one day he'll get the pics he took printed out...
"joongie what are you making?" seonghwa asks, lowering his phone slightly so he doesn't have it shoved in his face.
hongjoong looks up, small smile forming as he goes to tap mingi on the arm gently "minnie...mama ta'e sn'yaps"
mingi looks up momentarily shaking his head softly. "mama is always taking snaps, huh?"
seonghwa finds it cute to see the two taller hyungs in their own world and hongjoong focusing on scooping the sand in the bucket.
he was just about to stop recording and hit the red button, when joong stands up, sand covering his fluffy white tail and waddles over to the eldest.
it warms his heart when joong bends down slightly and places a kiss onto his cheek. "y'ove my mama..."
"awe, baby, mama loves you too, so much."
that's when he presses stop.
-
"hey, I have an idea" seonghwa starts "why don't we go swimming for a little bit before we go home?"
his hyungs are playing and splashing in the water while the younger chose to sit with his hwa on the towel under the umbrella. after a little snack break, joong felt a little sleepy.
he was so excited about the beach that he didn't take his full 2 hour nap- now ultimately feeling the aftermath of it. he curls into a ball as he lays his head on seonghwa's lap.
he runs his fingers through his curly hair as he sits and enjoys the sound of the waves crashing against each other.
"it's getting a little late, bubba, let's go play in the water with your hyungies..."
the pair go at the kitten's pace at first. hongjoong loves playing in the water- loves playing during bath time, in the backyard with the hose, and even in the plugged up kitchen sink- but one obstacle is hongjoong doesn't know how to swim.
(on his shopping spree for the beach, he found the cutest little floaties for his arms and just had to buy them.)
"mama, s'yay..." the younger mumbles, watching as seonghwa goes back to dig something out in the beach bag they brought.
he showed him the blown up floatiesand slipped them on both arms "mama's here, baby...these are going to help you when you're swimming, but joongie?"
the kitten looks up at the older with a small smile. "yeah, mama?"
"if you feel nervous or uncomfortable, who do you go to?"
hongjoong pretends to ponder for a moment "go my 'yungies...an' mama!" he's praised with little kisses on his pudgy cheeks.
as they grow closer to the wet sand, the younger giggles smushing his toes into it. he lets out the loudest squeal when the water reaches his ankles. "so col'!" he exclaims.
"joongie, come over here with us!" mingi cups his hands over his mouth to overpower the sound of the ocean.
seonghwa ends up carrying the younger to where his hyungs are. he gently places the kitten down, yunho coming over and offering his hand. "come joongie, yunnie will help you!"
the kitten tries his best to ignore the way the water reaches almost to his shoulders- it doesn't reach his yunnie or minnie hyungs shoulders neither hwa's.
he grows a little nervous due to the rising waves and almost gets splashed in the face from it. his eyes begin to grow watery, and seconds later so does his voice. "h-hwa..."
"awe, baby, what happened, lovebug?" seonghwa approaches, appearing concerned. he sees the younger is too scared to move, so he opts to pick him up and walk a little more towards the shoreline.
hongjoong doesn't respond right away, nuzzles into hwa's neck for a few minutes. "let's try one more time, lovie, hwa will hold you until you're ready"
mingi swims over, yunho following right after. hongjoong watches his hyungs intently until suddenly yunho dissappears.
the younger lifts his head up in alert. "minnie...where my yunnie?"
the taller tries his best to hide his growing smile. he looks around confused, scratching his head in disbelief. "he was just here, too! yunnie, where are you?!"
seonghwa watches with warmth blooming in his chest. he feels so grateful to have friends that will help in need; 'anything to see hongjoong smile' is mainly the motto this family lives by.
with utmost gentleness, hongjoong is placed down on the water. the way he's walking trying to look around almost looks like a penguin with the way he's waddling.
suddenly, yunho appears from under the water and surprise attacks the pair searching for him. "there's yunnie!" shouts mingi.
seonghwa is just grateful there was laughter instead of tears. while the kitten is still squealing with joy, yunho places his hands under his belly and holds him in place. "are you ready, joongs? what you're going to do first is kick your legs."
hongjoong listens to what yunho instructs him to do, albeit a little too much splashing involved. his mingi hyung appears next to him, holding his legs up if needed.
"we're going to swim over to hwa, let's do it together" hongjoong tries his best to kick his legs, but begins to grow a little frustrated when instead of moving the water splashes in his eyes.
the salt from the ocean hurts his eyes a little and before they could prepare themselves, hongjoong starts whimpering and reaches his arms out. "wan' mama..."
said hyung joins not a moment later, struggling to take the arm floaties off. "looks like someone is getting a little cranky." seonghwa lifts him up onto his hip. "I'm gonna go get him all ready, you guys let me know when you're ready, too."
seonghwa walks back to where their stuff was placed and reaches out to grab their change of clothes.
"you're such a big boy learning how to swim!" seonghwa exclaims softly. his only response is a mere whimper, small sniffles accompanying.
"we're going to get changed and then we're going home, my love, no tears."
-
getting a cranky kitten rinsed and changed definitely does not sound easier said than done. by the time they left the beach, the sun was setting; creating a hue of yellows and pinks and purples.
seonghwa felt utterly bad mainly because poor hongjoong was overly exhausted from not napping this afternoon and being in the sun all day; one of the worst combinations for parents.
"hongjoongie, my dear, did you have fun at the beach with your hyungs today?" seonghwa keeps his voice low, practically whispering it in the younger's ear.
said kitten merely nods, curling up against his hwa. mingi and yunho sit in the driver and passenger seat, yunho taking reign of driving.
seonghwa gave them a little warning but the taller pair knew the moment hongjoong clung onto seonghwa with his pacifier in his mouth.
"I'll take that noise as a yes..." seonghwa smiles to himself. "well, I'm glad you have fun, oh I just love you so much."
hongjoong stays silent, curling into seonghwa's chest and places his hand on the window. he's enamored by the ocean view over the bridge.
and seonghwa is totally enamored with everything hongjoong does. he would say this was a pretty successful beach trip- minus a few tears and a grumpy kitten towards the end.
"hwa is here, baby." he pressed a kiss onto his forehead. "you can rest your eyes for a little bit, we have a long car ride ahead of us."
maybe next time he'll teach hongjoong how to swim in a smaller pool, that would be cute to have one of those in the backyard.
he hears the soft snores and sounds of the younger using his pacifier, it's quiet enough to hear faint purrs.
'yeah' seonghwa thinks 'this was a pretty good beach day'.