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hongjoong sits near the library section with his favorite book in his lap. on wednesday's, a few of his friends don't come to school, so it's a rather quiet day. as much as hongjoong likes to be loud and run around, he's also a big fan of sitting with a book and winding down.
he looks contently around the classroom for a moment; his friends are playing with toys or coloring at the table. his teacher is seen cutting out hearts and hanging them around the classroom with string.
he remembers his teacher introducing them to a special holiday coming up; valentine's day.
the holiday where you show your family or friends how much you love and appreciate them...hongjoong thinks of it as a special occasion. he gets to celebrate how much he loves his mama everyday, but 2 WHOLE days?! (he's gotten it confused with mother's day).
he loves to be affectionate with his mama, but also his hyungs and grandparents. he's affectionate with his teacher and friends in the class, and he can't wait to celebrate it with everyone!
"joongie! what are you looking at?"
the kitten looks up from his book and sees one of his friends, mei, sitting next to him on the carpet.
hongjoong moves the book closer so she can look at the pictures, too. he tries his best to explain what's happening in the book, but his vocabulary makes it sound a little choppy.
the bunny hybrid smiles at him "you always find the best books, joongie!"
hongjoong was going to answer, but the sound of the classroom door opening made her turn and look. suddenly she's squealing with her bunny ears flopping as she runs up to her dad who arrived to pick her up.
he doesn't even focus on the way she was saying goodbye to him the longest. the kitten was going to ask if she's feeling okay when he noticed her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink.
--------
once more, while hongjoong is coloring a picture for his mama (a special valentine's day one from a new coloring book), mei comes and sits next to him asking if she can join him.
"hiii, joongie!" her brown bunny ears twitch as she walks over to the kitten. "can I sit next to you and color?!"
hongjoong just smiles and pushes out the chair for her and passes the crayon basket in the middle of them. he's to absorbed in coloring a picture for his mama that he doesn't really pay attention to the bunny.
"who is that picture for?"
"my mama!" he exclaims, smiling at the mere mention of seonghwa. "I y'ove my mama a y'ot!"
"that is very sweet of you!" she responds, smile adorned on her face "I bet your mama will love it! I'm coloring this for my mommy and daddy!"
however mei gives up on the conversation as she sees hongjoong is nose deep in the picture, too absorbed in the purple crayon. she sighs softly and continues to color.
this time, it's hongjoong that gets picked up first.
------
there's another day where coincidentally, mei's parents and seonghwa arrive at the same time.
hongjoong is in his favorite spot in the library corner, looking at the same book that he always is seen holding. his teacher once informed seonghwa that the repetition of him looking at the same book is a good way for him to pick up words and their pronunciation.
mei is sitting next to him, however not looking at the same book, but just sitting next to him while holding her stuffed toy from home. she's the one who got hongjoong's attention by exclaiming at who's here to pick her up. the kitten looks up and sees none other than seonghwa and chants "mama!" over and over again as he does his best to put the book away and runs to him.
his teacher is briefly talking with seonghwa and while he waits, he grabs his own jacket and little backpack. he overhears them mentioning a party for valentine's day in the classroom and if they're allowed to bring anything in.
mei comes over to stand next to hongjoong, her hair is in a curly ponytail and it sways back and forth with her bright pink bow that matches her sweater. (hongjoong guesses her favorite color is pink, like mingi's).
"honey, say bye to your friend, hongjoong."
"byeeee joongie!!" she waves enthusiastically as she slips on her backpack. she talks loudly as she mentions more about the kitten hybrid; following a small "I like joongie!".
seonghwa smiles as he opens his arm for his baby, immediately feeling warm after hugging him from the last time this morning. "I missed my baby so much, I hope you had a great day!"
hongjoong nuzzles silently, it always feels like forever whenever mama drops him off at school. once he has his belongings, he bids farewell to his teacher and the other friends in the room.
normally at the end of the day, hongjoong tends to be more on the quiet side; knowing that with all the energy he burned during the day is now winding down and he sluggishly follows behind his mama.
while walking into the parking lot, they run into the bunny hybrid and her parents. once again, she smiles wide and gets excited when she sees joong.
"mommy! there's hongjoong! I like him!"
hongjoong smiles sleepily as he waves at her with his thumb tucked into his palm. seonghwa walks over to greet them both, feeling when hongjoong grabs onto his hand. automatically, seonghwa rubs his thumb against his hand to soothe him.
"all mei talks about is hongjoong at home!" her mother smiles, voice like honey. "she always says how sweet and quiet he is and how she always includes him in games and offers to sit with him."
the elder smiles at the bunny hybrid then at her mother "I appreciate her being so kind and gentle with hongjoong, i'm grateful he has classmates who are understanding and patient with him."
her father joins in, the trio having a small conversation with the exchange of phone numbers taking place between seonghwa and her mother. hongjoong begins to grow a little fussy and softly whimpers as he tugs on his mama's jacket.
"well, it looks like that's my cue" seonghwa announces, biding farewell to mei and her parents wishing them a goodnight. hongjoong, always raised on manners, wishes them goodnight as well and waves at mei.
on the car ride home, hongjoong is silent as his occasional yawns fill the silent car. seonghwa can't help but think about how mei seems to take a liking to hongjoong.
--------
due to seonghwa working the late shift, it's mingi and yunho who pick hongjoong up from school a little early.
normally, hongjoong would be seen in the library or by the art center, but today, he's seen in the dramatic play area holding one of the stuffed toys like an infant child.
yunho grabs hongjoong's belongings as mingi watches from the sidelines, a small smile appearing as they never got to see hongjoong interact with his friends from school.
"I'll be the mommy!" mei smiles happily with her hand raised proudly in the air.
"who will be the daddy?" another classmate, named chiko, asks. her striped orange tail let's mingi assume she's a tiger hybrid.
"hongjoong will!" mei exclaims once more.
said kitten peaks up at the mention of his name, smiling and waving as a greeting to the friend who joined them in this center. "I be 'addy?"
"uh huh! yes you will!"
hongjoong pauses, eyebrows furrowed. "no' 'addy, I mama bi' boy!"
mei coos at his answer, and if hongjoong stared, he'd see her cheeks grow into a warm pink.
"joongie, you are so cute!" chiko smiles as she pats him on the back.
"I like you, joongie!"
suddenly mei leans over and hugs hongjoong, nuzzling into his arm. her whiskers tickle the younger, which makes him giggle and cover his mouth with his hand.
what does she mean by she likes him?
he's never heard anyone say that before...he only says "I love you" to his mama and family...but to like? he's not sure what that means.
"joongie...I think your hyungie is here."
hongjoong turns around and almost squeals with joy when he sees his minnie and yunnie standing in his classroom. yunho is holding his backpack but minnie stands with his arms open and a smile as wide as the ocean.
"my minnie! my yunnie!" the kitten exclaims, running into mingi's arms. the smile never leaves his face, even when minnie spins him around.
"hey there, little buggie~" yunho coos, as he makes his way over to the other taller one in the room. as he snuggles in mingi's arms, yunho pets his head softly. "are you ready to go home now, bubs?"
suddenly when hongjoong gets put down, his smile simmers into a frown when he looks at the two hybrids he was playing with- now sporting a visible pout.
mei crosses her arms "I don't want joongie to go! I want him to stay!"
their teacher comes to help diffuse any problems, explaining that it's always fun having joong with them but now he has to go home to his family and tell them about his day.
hongjoong shyly walks up to mei and, rather awkwardly, leans over with his arms open and gives her a hug. "I see you, y'ater! go see my mama now!"
she doesn't answer, too absorbed in the hug joong gave her. the sudden pout is gone from her lips and now curved into a smile.
the trio depart from his classroom, hongjoong too absorbed in his hwahwa that yunnie brought to notice the raised eyebrows between his hyungs.
-
"hyung, she really likes him!"
seonghwa playfully rolls his eyes at what mingi is announcing, in faux alarm. he's too busy cutting the thorns off the flowers that hongjoong got for him (read; yunho had to pay for) as the younger plays with said hyung in the living room.
"min, you're being a little dramatic...she just likes to play with him at school is all." once he's finished, he cleans up the cut thorns and wrapping and wipes the counter down.
"b-but...but...hyung! think about it!" mingi twists in his spot on the couch, leaning his chin on the back of the couch rest. "she gets sad whenever joong has to leave, she gets all giggly when joong sits next to her...like how yeosang gets whenever jongho is near him!"
seonghwa only playfully roles his eyes as he carefully carries the flower vase into the living room and sets it down on the coffee table. "min...I swear, you've been watching too many romance movies..."
mingi huffs in slight frustration. "just think about it! what if they grow up together and start dating, then joong will leave and get married and have his own chi-"
"-don't even say that..." seonghwa sits up more alert at the sudden change of conversation. "my baby isn't going anywhere! he's...he's staying here with...with me! I-I don't know what'll happen in the future, but..."
his voice became more shaky the way he suddenly grew defensive and sensitive at the mere thought of hongjoong leaving. he's so attached to his baby that yes of course, he'd want him to branch out if he feels like he's ready to; but at the same time, he doesn't want his baby to go anywhere.
seonghwa is not overbearing by any means, but when you take a look at the bigger picture, hongjoong still relies on structure and having the constant same people in his life or he'll grow overwhelmed due to any change; and that includes seonghwa's nurturing tendencies.
"he's not leaving me...my baby isn't leaving-"
"-hyung, let's pause for a moment and just take a breath." mingi instructs, holding out his hand for the eldest to grab onto for balance. "I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry..."
seonghwa sniffles before subtly wiping away "it's okay min...I just wasn't expecting to take a sharp turn with that conversation."
mingi suddenly feels guilty at the way he made his hyung cry, that's the last thing on his mind. for a moment it's silent in the house, with hongjoong away at school.
"do you think he likes her?"
"I don't think so...he never really talks about her. even when I ask him about his day whenever I pick him up, he doesn't mention her." seonghwa answers.
"well....valentine's day is on tuesday,, maybe she'll get him something?" mingi asks.
the eldest shrugs his shoulders "I don't know, she's most likely getting everyone in the class a little something...oh shoot! you just reminded me, I need to go buy some things for goody bags for his classmates. do you wanna come with me?"
mingi sighs as he nods, reaching over to slip on his shoes. he figures that's the end of that conversation and won't push further.
--------
" 'appy b'yal'tine' day, mama!"
to his surprise, hongjoong carefully placed a little tray of breakfast in front of a sleepy seonghwa. immediately he sat up more alert to help the younger; the last thing he'd want is for him to get hurt or injured.
"baby, you made this for mama?!" he smiles as he looks at the tray and then back up at the kitten- a small bowl of dry cereal and an unopened bottle of juice. he recalls the last time joong made him breakfast, the same items were on the tray as the ones on it now.
"uh huh! I ta'e my ti'e an'...an' ma'e my mama b'ea'fas'" hongjoong eyebrows were furrowed as he was focusing on what to say. quite frankly, hongjoong doesn't really speak in long full sentences, normally just short or even a few words, except now.
"you did a very good job, my little baby, I am always grateful for you." seonghwa slightly moves the tray so he can wrap his baby in a tight hug.
at first hongjoong yelps with the sudden movement, but once he's in hwa's arms, he purrs rather loudly and nuzzles into his neck.
seonghwa let's hongjoong get comfortable in-between his lap and shares his little mini breakfast made from his baby. he doesn't even care if hongjoong is the one who practically ate his breakfast and gulped the juice almost in one go.
-
"oh look how handsome you look!"
hongjoong giggles as seonghwa places the handheld mirror in front of him. he managed to style his hair his hair a little different with his bangs parted on the side. he was not surprised when he told him to stay still; whenever it comes to his mama, he's always a great listener.
after eating their little mini breakfast, seonghwa helped hongjoong get ready to go to school. he already has his outfit planned but in order for them to not be late, he styled his hair first.
"what do you think? do you like your hair like this?"
"uh huh! y'ove it mama! than' you!" he turned around to plant a big smooch on his cheek, nuzzling into him but being careful with his hair that mama took so long to do.
"oh, that makes me so happy to hear, baby! now, we have to get dressed and then you'll be on your way!"
-
the minute hongjoong walks into his class, he gets bombarded by his classmates; seonghwa smiles that he's loved in his class by all his friends. while hongjoong shows off his new hair style proudly done by his mama, seonghwa helps his teacher with any supplies that he brought in to help them celebrate.
while talking to his teacher, he can't help but smile as he overhears hongjoong laughing with his friends. he keeps it brief and short until he feels a tap on his arm.
it's mei who approached him with a reddness growing on her cheeks and a hidden smile behind her sleeve. "are you joongie's mama?"
"why, yes I am his mama."
"I like joongie a lot! he's fun to be around and he's very nice!"
but before seonghwa can respond back, she giggles as she runs away to go back with her friends. in that moment, seonghwa smiled but deep down he's thinking about what mingi had told him.
surely he can't start freaking out right in the middle of the classroom so he bids farewell to his baby and leaves the building quietly.
once he sits in the car, seonghwa leans on the steering wheel and let's out a shaky sigh. he's letting mingi's words spiral in his head, which is pretty silly if you look at it from the outside.
hongjoong has a younger mindset, surely he isn't thinking about falling in love and getting married and leaving seonghwa...oh god...but what if he is? what if he's been thinking about it ever since mei started hanging out with him more? what if he feels like he's ready to leave?
seonghwa shakes his head as if that'll get the thoughts out of his racing mind. shall that moment ever come, he would never force hongjoong to stay with him. he would never hold his baby back from wanting to expand his horizons.
he takes a shaky breath and starts the car, driving his way back home. it's supposed to be a special day to shower your loved ones with attention and create more memories...not to wallow in the what ifs and dwell into a future you're not even sure about yourself.
--------
"min, I'm having a little trouble..."
"uh oh, is it code pink again?"
seonghwa's face grows warm at the mention of code pink, eyes growing wide. "n-no! it's not that...it's just-"
"-sorry to interrupt you, hyung, but yunho and I have plans today, we're actually on our way to visit his parents now..."
"o-oh...that's right...cause it's valentine's day." he deflates at the turndown "don't let me stop you! I'll just call another time."
mingi is silent for second before answering "I'll call on you later to check up. is everything okay though? are you hurt? is joong hurt?"
"no, he's fine and at school and I'm good, thank you minnie."
as seonghwa hangs up the call, he's met with silence in the house. he picks up his phone to try another friend but he's met with the same responses.
"sorry, hyung, sangie and I have plans with our little furry babies!"
or
"hyung, sorry to interrupt but woo and I are going out of town for the day. if anything, you'll call us, okay?"
once again seonghwa huffs as he throws his phone on the couch. of course it's valentine's day and his friends would be out with their respected partners...and then there's seonghwa- who's all alone.
he sighs as he stares at his phone until he gets an idea. he unlocks the screen and smiles at his wallpaper- it's a picture of hongjoong hugging seonghwa with all his might as he holds a paper in his hand. but seonghwa knows that's not just some piece of paper, it's the adoption certificate the day that it arrived in the mail and they all celebrated together.
he'll never forget that day and how much it meant to the both of them- but mainly hongjoong. all this reminiscing makes his eyes slightly water as he grows to missing his baby right now.
he shakes his head once more and presses the call button on the contact. "hey, are you busy today? I can call back later if you are?"
"nonsense! I'll be right over!"
-
"thanks for coming over."
"it's no problem at all, my dear." his mother takes off her jacket and slips off her shoes "is there something on your mind? you definitely didn't sound the greatest over the phone."
seonghwa let's her into the living room as they get comfortable on the couch. while she sits, he looks over to see a small strand of fur from hongjoong's tail on the cushion.
"it's just...at school there's a classmate who says that she likes joong and he's funny and nice and quiet. one of my friends was jokingly saying that they'll get married and have their own family and hongjoong will leave me and it really got me thinking..."
"-was it your friend, wooyoung? I hear he's a lovely boy but has the energy of a toddler."
seonghwa smiles at the comparison "no, it wasn't wooyoung...it was mingi."
"mingi!? sweet tall boy mingi?! I never would have guessed!"
"he didn't do anything bad, mom. I know he was just trying to keep the mood light but it caught me off guard when he said it, I was practically in tears when thinking about it."
she moved to the cushion next to her son to hold his hand, stroking her thumb to soothe him. "what did it make you feel upset about?"
"well..." seonghwa starts "a lot of things...it made me realize that without joong, what's my purpose? he's the reason that I get up out of bed and work hard to become a better version of myself. I want my son to have a good role model."
"oh but dear he already does...it's been you since the day you rescued him. It hurts to think about those days where you struggled to go to work, to even get up." she grips onto his hand tighter for reassurance. "but that's all in the past now, you're in a good place mentally and physically."
her son sighs but nonetheless nods his head "it's just let's say that joong does feel like he's ready to leave, I won't have anyone...I'll be alone."
"are you thinking about dating?"
seonghwa's eyebrows raise "oh! no I'm not so sure, you know I'm always busy with hongjoong and work-"
"but theoretically, if hongjoong were to leave on his own terms...would you?"
seonghwa paused. "I-i mean...yes? I'm not so sure?"
his mother looks over at him fondly. the sun is shining in the living room creating a warm glow through the curtains. seonghwa is sitting in front of the curtains; that warm glow is almost giving him an angelic effect.
"I trust your choices and will support you in whatever you choose to do. I understand how you feel when thinking of hongjoong possibly leaving. and you know what, that may end up happening or it may not. I'm not saying you need to prepare for it but just keep an open mind, it's all up to him and what he thinks. I know you'll support your baby no matter what."
hwa flashes a small smile, feeling her thumb swipe at his cheek. huh, he didn't even realize he was crying until she touched his face. "it's pretty scary to think about the future and all, but just know that hongjoong now is being raised with so much love and kindness that one day he'll pass it onto someone else. maybe he'll find a stray hybrid in the street and care for them like how you did."
seonghwa hugs his mom with an optimistic mindset as he leans on her shoulder. he does feel weird talking about hongjoong finding someone he would love with his young mindset, but it gets him thinking that maybe one day hongjoong will come out of his regression?
"I think it's time to go pick up my little baby, I've been missing him all day." he wipes at any stray tears as he pats his mother on the shoulder reassuringly.
"oooh, I'll join you! I haven't seen the baby in a while either!"
--------
"joongie, my love, the movie is starting!"
"wai' mama! p'ease wai'! wai' for joon'ie!"
he hears small footsteps pad down the staircase followed by a small thump. just as seonghwa was going to get up and check, the kitten comes from the staircase although buried by multiple blankets that he couldn't even see him; his tail slightly peaking out.
"joon'ie here!"
seonghwa's eyes twinkle when he sees hongjoong somewhat manage to throw the blankets on the floor. he jumps into the spot practically right on seonghwa's lap as he snuggles further into his arms.
the younger begins to purr loudly when he feels seonghwa cover him with his blanket follow by the other blankets. he loves the moments where it's just him and his mama snuggled together during a cold winter day.
while it's warm inside, outside the temperature drops drastically. it's silent to the point where you could hear a pin drop. when he picked up hongjoong early with his mother, the younger squealed with joy as he saw his mama and grandma together- excitedly trying his best to explain how his day was and to show how his hair is still the same as when the elder did it this morning.
but thinking about when he picked him up made him ponder about another topic heavy on his mind.
"joongie?"
"uh huh, mama?"
"your friend, mei? do you like her?"
hongjoong immediately shook his head "I y'ove my mama an' my fam'ly!"
he doesn't stress too much, snuggling further into his baby's arms. in this moment, he's only focused on the movie playing and the warmth emitting from his child as he holds him closer. he won't dwell too much on the future and right now will focus on the present; with hongjoong securely safe in his arms.
outside, giant snowflakes begin to fall.
"happy valentine's day, my little star."
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