Chapter Text
hongjoong woke up in a rather not so good mood. he was tossing and turning but not matter what, he couldn't keep warm. it was just too cold in the house, even with the windows shut tightly.
he grumbled as he tried his best to stay warm but to no avail, the slightest bit of movement almost made the comforter shift from his upper body.
however due to his impatience, he let out a loud whine. he just wants to stay warm!
"joongs, what's going on?" seonghwa appears from the connected bathroom, toothbrush in one hand. the corner of his mouth has the slightest bit of toothpaste foam.
seeing his hwa, or just simple being near him, always made him feel better. he sat up in bed, which immediately made him jolt with a chill. "mama, too col'!" he exclaims for emphasis.
seonghwa holds up his finger before exiting towards the bathroom. hongjoong watches with curiosity as to where he disappeared to. his cat ears twitch at the slightest movement and absent-mindedly paws at them.
the elder reappears not a second later, readjusting the chain on his necklace as he walks towards his grumpy kitten.
"it's starting to get a little colder outside now, dear" he pushes his hair back to place a small kiss on his forehead "we're in the season of fall, meaning it's going to be cold all day long." he wraps his blanket around the shivering kitten before lifting him up onto his hip.
"fall?"
seonghwa smiles from the clear pronunciation "yes, very good job! we are in the season of fall now."
as he holds onto his kitten, he rummages through his dresser to find something for hongjoong to wear. the kitten just sleepily watches what his hwa is doing, finding it rather soothing to see seonghwa do something so skillfully and peacefully.
"but I have some great news!" seonghwa smiles "since it's fall, there's so much fun stuff we can do! fall is hwa's favorite season and I can't wait to show you what we do!"
hongjoong looked up at his hwa with stars in his eyes, he loves seeing his hwa become overly excited; any grumpy feelings from earlier definitely were shaken off.
"where we go, mama?"
"we're going to go pumpkin picking! and then later, we're going to do some pumpkin carving!"
he places the younger down as he brings him in the bathroom, guiding him on how to wash his face followed by brushing his teeth.
"see pun'kin?" hongjoong asks after he places his toothbrush in his case on the wall.
seonghwa wipes any excess toothpaste from the corner of his mouth. "yes, darling, we're going to see so many pumpkins and we're gonna take some home as well!"
the way the sun is shining warmly through the white curtains, hongjoong can see seonghwa's necklace shining from the sun's rays. he smiles up at his mama. sometimes he'll just watch what he does with a warm glowing look on his face. he's enamored by everything seonghwa does.
"let's finish getting ready so we can get some pumpkins!"
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"hwa~"
"I know honey, but you have to keep it on. this is so the workers here know we are getting pumpkins, look hwa has one on as well."
seonghwa shows him his wrist to reveal an orange wristband. "look, joongie! look at all these pumpkins!"
hongjoong looks over to where he's pointing and ultimately gasps. "hwa! wan' all pun'kins!"
seonghwa laughs before ruffling the younger's hair "darling, we can't have all the pumpkins! we are getting a pumpkin for you and me, so take your time to look around and find one that you like."
immediately the kitten goes on a hunt to find the pumpkin he wants to bring home. he's too absorbed by his mission, he doesn't notice seonghwa taking pictures and recording little videos of him trying to lift up the big pumpkins.
"hwa! hwa! bi' pun'kin!"
"I see baby, that is a big pumpkin!"
"wan' carry it!"
that's when seonghwa pulled his phone out, watching the younger attempt to even grasp at the pumpkin. he's also surprised when hongjoong doesn't grow frustrated, instead sits on the ground and hugs the big pumpkin instead.
he immediately pockets his phone and catches up with a giggling kitten as he tries to climb on top of some big pumpkins stacked up for display.
"joongie! w-wait!"
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after their eventful visit to the pumpkin farm, hongjoong was so wired up with energy that he ended up taking a late nap; waking up near dinner time.
seonghwa decided to wait until the younger woke up from his nap on the couch to set up the pumpkin carving area in the kitchen.
he tried his best to keep quiet- with lighting up the fireplace and cleaning up after the mess the energetic kitten made before crashing on the sofa snuggled with his blanket.
with the fireplace on, he decided to keep the lights off for now and light a candle before getting comfortable near the younger on the couch.
seonghwa grabs the remote and flicks the t.v on, changing it to his favorite holiday movie channel. he looks down at the sleeping baby next to him and just pauses for a moment.
he loves to see how relaxed and comfortable hongjoong looks while sleeping, the fire crackling lighting up the living room with a soft orange glow.
he notices the younger tossing around a bit, lazily opens his eyes for a moment before going back to sleep. he forgot his pacifier upstairs so he uses the corner of his blanket as a makeshift paci for now.
hongjoong sleepily rubs at his eyes before lazily reaching out for hwa's hand. he blinks his eyes open a little more and purrs softly at how warm and comfortable he feels.
it also smells like pumpkin and sweet stuff in the room, looking over to the coffee table to confirm the smell is coming from a lit candle.
"hey, my sleepy baby." seonghwa smiles as he maneuvers the younger onto his lap. it's pretty rare when the elder gets to just sit and watch his movies, but in this moment having a drowsy kitten clung onto him with the warmth from the fireplace is the perfect time to do so.
the younger falls in and out of sleep, but ultimately wakes up when he looks over to the kitchen and sees two pumpkins on the counter.
"mama...my pun'kin" he lazily points to where he thinks is the kitchen.
the elder nods, smoothing his hair down. "mama was waiting for you to wake up, so we can carve our pumpkins out." he continues to stroke his hair as he leans on one side of his cheek. "do you want to do it now or do you need another minute?"
"nee' min'..." he gets interrupted by a small yawn before sinking back into his spot in his mama's arms.
"take your time, my sleepy lil baby bear~" seonghwa maneuvers the younger onto his hip as he holds his baby while walking around the room.
he rocks him softly in his arms while simultaneously watching his movie. he inhales deeply, taking in the scent of the pumpkin scented candle but also getting a faint scent of hongjoong's shampoo.
he feels the said kitten start to squirm as he points toward the kitchen "mama, wan' my pun'kin, p'ease"
"alright my darling, we'll go carve our pumpkins now."
he carries him into the kitchen, placing him on the wooden floor as he grabs the utensils and tools they'll need for their activity.
"okay, now this part mama has to do because I have to use a knife to cut the pumpkin and carve out any faces on it. I want you to stay where you're sitting just in case."
"why, mama?"
"because I don't want my little pumpkin to get hurt" he leans over on his hind legs to boop the younger's nose.
hongjoong sits patiently as he watches seonghwa use a big knife to cut open the pumpkin and scoops out the inside into a bowl.
"do you want to play with this?" seonghwa asks, leaning the bowl over. "it's just very squishy!"
cautiously, the younger places his hand into the bowl before playing with the insides scooped out from the pumpkin. he's quietly giggling to himself, content with what he's doing.
seonghwa keeps an eye on him before grabbing the stencil from the counter, all while keeping an eye on the fireplace and the lit candle in the next room. (he may or may not have gotten distracted with his movie playing).
the two sit in comfortable silence (minus the t.v on in the living room) as seonghwa places the stencil onto his pumpkin while hongjoong still continues to play in the bowl of pumpkin guts.
"you know what we should do next time? we should go look for a halloween costume" seonghwa says, focusing on cutting any last details. "do you have an idea on what you want to be?"
the kitten shrugs "wan' be mama 'aby!"
the elder smiles before leaning over and placing a kiss to his cheek "of course, dear, you'll always be mama's baby."
just as he finishes his pumpkin, hongjoong stands up and goes over to the sink to wash his hands, which he proudly knows how to do on his own.
"joongie, come darling, mama is carving your pumpkin next!"
the kitten sprints to where hwa is sitting on the floor before gasping and pointing at the first pumpkin on the side. "mama! y'ove pun'kin!"
"how sweet of you to compliment my artwork, thank you my dear." he smiles up at the kitten "I'm working on yours next!"
hongjoong sits closely, but backs away and keeps distance when seonghwa uses the big knife to start carving. he looks at the pumpkin and over at his mama, before smiling brightly to himself.
he loves the way the kitchen lights shine on his necklace. also how he's humming along to some song playing on the t.v. everything about seonghwa and about this moment makes hongjoong feel loved and safe.
"okay, dearie, I'm all finished~" seonghwa calls out placing the utensils used into the sink.
when the kitten makes his way over, he gasps so loudly seonghwa worries he'll end up getting hiccups. "mama ma'e ki'y pun'kin! than' you mama!"
hongjoong practically throws himself into the elder's arms, kissing his cheek repeatedly. "you're very welcome, my baby...now. I would want to put them outside but I don't want them to get ruined. so we'll put them by the windows, okay?"
hongjoong nods enthusiastically as he lifts the small pumpkin in his arms. he nuzzles into the object as he follows behind seonghwa. leaning by the window ledge, he watches the elder place the pumpkins onto the window ledge.
"so...what do you think joongie?"
the kitten claps excitedly as he runs over to seonghwa with open arms. "my pun'kin an' mama pun'kin!"
the elder returns the hug and goes to lift him up onto hiss hip. he rocks him back and forth for a moment before the sound of someone's stomach growling fills the room.
it is way past his time to eat dinner and definitely way past his bedtime, but he decides to let it slide just for this one day.
"I think I heard someone's tummy rumblingggg~" seonghwa gently teases, poking his stomach which earns him a soft giggle. "let's go see what we can make for my little pumpkin."
while being carried back into the kitchen, hongjoong continues to watch over the pumpkins that his mama carved.
the fireplace is still crackling and the candle is half-way melted from the wax- but in this moment, hongjoong understands why seonghwa said this is his favorite season.
it makes him feel safe.