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As soon as Jaeyun unlocks the door of their apartment, the two kids sprint inside, won holding grocery bags because, as he said, I should help dada!
“Kids! You know the rules, no running inside the house.”
Jaeyun told them as he went inside and took off his shoes, picking up the ones his two mischievous sons dropped by the door and placing them inside the cabinet. He heads to the kitchen and drops the bags on the counter as he checks the wall clock. They have just enough time before Heeseung comes back from work.
“Where is daddy deung?”
Riki, their youngest child, stomps his way inside of the kitchen, looking at his dada with a pout on his adorable little face. Jaeyun smiles at him and bents down to pick him up, holding him on his hip as he starts putting away the groceries.
“Daddy will be home soon, but first we have to make his birthday cake, remember?” Jaeyun asks, and Riki immediately smiles and nods his head with excitement. “Why don’t you go and call Wonie so we can start preparing everything together?” Riki nods once again and the older puts him down so he can go call his older brother.
Heeseung’s birthday finally came around and they were so excited because him and the kids decided to make something special for the man they loved the most. When Jaeyun asked what they would like to do for their dad, Won suggested making a cake, saying it would be fun and Heeseung would love it, especially since his babies and husband were the ones making it.
Jaeyun immediately found the idea adorable, even if that meant a lot of work and cleaning. Baking with a three and five year old is no easy task, especially if flour is included. They planned on doing something easy though, vanilla cake with little drawings made of chocolate on top of it.
“Dada! I got me and Iki our aprons, figured we’d be dirty soon.” Won says as he and Riki walk together and get close to Jaeyun, who smiles and resists the urge to take a picture of them in their colorful aprons.
“What a good boy, dada appreciates this.” Jaeyun says, ruffling Won’s hair and bending to plant a kiss on his cheek, to which the younger smiles at. “Shall we start?” They both nod.
Jaeyun decides to move things to the dining table so all of them can sit down and actually help each other, given the kitchen counter is too high for Won or Riki to reach it. He grabs all the ingredients they need and places them on the table.
Everything seems to go smoothly. Jaeyun does the most difficult things like weighting ingredients and opening packages and leaves the funny parts like mixing the dough to the two babies. When it’s time to crack the eggs, Won says he’s big enough to do it and Jaeyun lets him try. Needless to say, more eggs than planned get lost during the process.
Riki sat on Jaeyun’s lap when he started mixing everything together with his little clumsy hands, dipping his chubby fingers inside the pot every once in a while to taste the dough.
They eventually make it, and while the cake is sitting in the oven and Jaeyun starts cleaning the mess inside the kitchen, Won and Riki play a couple rounds of hide and seek, screaming and laughing together. Their dada can’t help but smile at the sight.
After half an hour, when the cake is ready and the kitchen is at least half-decent looking, it’s decoration time. Jaeyun calls for the kids and they immediately sit at the table next to each other and wait for the chocolate to melt.
“Who wants to go first? Iki? Okay, come here baby.”
Jaeyun picks him up once again and gives him the chocolate pen. “What do you want to draw?” He asks, gently caressing his son’s sides. “Want to do what daddy likes.” He says, licking his lips with a funny expression while thinking about his drawing. “And what does daddy like?” The older asks, not foreseeing the answer he gets.
“Iki and Won!” He says, a bright smile on his face as he seems to know what to do. “And he likes dada too.”
Jaeyun almost tears up, a genuine smile on his lips. “You are right, daddy likes us a lot.” He answers, leaving a kiss on Riki’s forehead. He’s always amazed by how pure-hearted his kids are, they value their family a lot. This is exactly what gets both Jaeyun and Heeseung through the hardships in their lives, their children.
Riki draws two half hearts with smiley faces that are holding hands, saying it’s him and Won. Then he draws something that looks really close to a butterfly, saying it’s Jaeyun, because dada is pretty like a butterfly! And the older absolutely melts.
When it’s Won’s turn he asks Jaeyun to help him write a simple message since he still doesn’t fully know how to write by himself. Together they write “world’s best daddy” and even though the writing is smudged and messy Jaeyun thinks Heeseung will absolutely adore it.
Now everything is done: the cake is ready and all that’s left is starting to cook dinner. Jaeyun turns around to put the dessert in a place Heeseung won’t look in, and apparently being distracted for less than one minute is enough for chaos to ensue. As soon as the cake is secured, he hears something falling on the ground with a thump and loud gasps.
When he turns around, white covers his vision. The box of flour that was still on the table is now on the floor, its content scattered all over the kitchen. Both Riki and Won are covered in flour from head to toe and Jaeyun would laugh, if only the front door didn’t unlock. He sighs.
“Daddy’s home!” Heeseung’s voice rings from the entrance.
The kids are still looking at Jaeyun, guilt in their eyes. “It was an accident, sorry dada.” Won says, and Riki looks like he’s a second away from tearing up. Jaeyun smiles at them, and wipes their dusty white faces with his hands. “It’s okay, go say hi to daddy.” He says, patting their backs.
Permission given, they rush to Heeseung, jumping in his arms and giving him a hard time catching them both. “Happy birthday daddy!” They say, arms clutching around the older’s neck. Heeseung smiles and hugs them tighter as he walks to the kitchen. “Hey, thank you little snuggle buds.”
Jaeyun is still contemplating the situation when they enter the room, and when he gives Heeseung a look he finds a mix of curiosity and amusement on his face.
“What in the world happened here.”
When he puts the kids down Jaeyun tells them to go wash their faces and hands. Heeseung reaches Jaeyun and sweeps him between his arms, holding his waist and kissing his cheek.
“Hi my love.”
“Hello baby.” Jaeyun replies, a gentle smile on his lips. “Happy birthday.” Heeseung thanks him and they share a chaste kiss. Eventually, he asks for an explanation for the messy kitchen again.
“Me and the kids did something,” He starts, “something you can’t know yet. Everything was fine until seconds before you arrived, then let’s say that an inconvenience happened.” He doesn’t know how better to explain it without spoiling too much of his surprise.
“Mmh.” Heeseung is looking at him with a puzzled expression, but he knows he won’t get any other information out of him. “Let me help you clean up?” He asks, knowing that Jaeyun had a long day as well.
“Nope, not at all.” The younger replies, already pushing him out of the kitchen. “It’s your birthday, so no chores for you today. Go play with the kids and I’ll be there in a bit.” Jaeyun says. Heeseung finally agrees and tells him he’ll change clothes in the meantime.
“We’ll be waiting for you, mommy.”
Jaeyun all but blushes, shoving him away once again as he closes the kitchen door and gives himself a moment to recover from the intimate pet name only the two of them usually share.
It doesn’t take long before the kitchen is clean again, Jaeyun is skilled thanks to his daily life with two messy baby boys. They all gather in the living room to play a bit and after that dinner goes by smoothly as well.
Finally, after the kids try their best to keep their secret and Jaeyun is excited too, the time for their present comes. “Daddy, close your eyes!” Won says, rushing to where Heeseung is sitting and urging him to cover his eyes.
The older seems perplexed but then realizes this might have to do with the secret thing Jaeyun was talking about. He does as told and hears some shuffling and whispering around him before someone is placing his hands on his shoulders. Jaeyun.
“You can look now.”
After opening his eyes, emotions struck him all at once. He had imagined everything but something like this. The cake is far from perfect or professional, but all it takes is a look for him to love it. He looks at the drawings and reads the writing and he has to hold back tears after realizing Won, Riki and Jaeyun did this. For him.
He looks up and finds the two children looking at him with their wide eyes filled with curiosity and thrill. “You two, come here.” He says, sliding his chair back and opening his arms. Won and Riki don’t need to be told twice and immediately climb up their daddy’s lap and hug him.
Jaeyun is standing right by Heeseung’s side and looks at them with so much fondness and adoration, the love he feels for those three people filling his heart so much it could explode anytime. As he cards his finger’s through the older’s hair he feels him slip a hand around his waist and tug him into the hug as well.
“Daddy, do you like it? We made it together with dada!” Riki says as he untangles from the hug and looks at him. “I love it, sweetie. I love it so much, thank you. This was the best present I could ever get.” He answers, planting a kiss on both Riki’s and Won’s cheeks. They look so happy as they climb down Heeseung’s lap and start jumping and laughing.
The hand still on Jaeyun’s hip brings him even closer and it is him now sitting on Heeseung’s lap.
“I should thank you too.” He says. “For making my birthday special like you always do, and for giving me the privilege to be by your side still, after all of those years.”
Now, it is Jaeyun who is trying to hold back his tears. “I love you, and I couldn’t ask for more.” He says, leaning in and kissing his husband’s soft lips. They’re both smiling, their foreheads touching as the sound of Won and Riki’s laughs fill the room.
“I love you too, all three of you.”
And Jaeyun will never stop thanking the universe and the stars for blessing him with an amazing husband and two lovely children.
His family
.