Chapter Text
Hansol met Seunkwan at the bus stop.
Before, he used to get driven to school everyday. Now that he was in kindergarten, his parents decided he and his brothers were big enough for the bus.
Unlike his brothers, Hansol didn’t seem to be the slightest bit nervous. If anything, he was excited! He was finally going to big boy school, just like Wonwoo and Jihoon!
Wonwoo was still trying to convince Jeonghan to drive them to school at the bus stop while Jihoon sat on the ground near his feet. Which meant neither of them wanted to play with Hansol while they waited.
But that was fine, because a few feet behind Jeonghan was a very appealing tree to climb, and Wonwoo was acting as a perfect distraction.
People tended to underestimate Hansol quite a lot, especially due to the fact that he was visibly disabled. He wore AFO’s, which were braces that went from his feet to just below his knee. Sure, it limited his mobility- but he had been wearing them for almost as long as he could walk. They were his normal.
Hansol dropped his backpack at the base of the tree, grabbing onto the lowest branch for support before hoisting himself up. In a matter of no time, he had found a nice sturdy branch to sit on about five feet off the ground.
“Mommy, look!” he heard an unfamiliar voice call. Looking over, he saw another boy about his age coming to the bus stop. The boy was pointing at him with a smile on his face “I wanna sit there too!”
That’s when Jeonghan turned around “Hansol! How did you even get up there?” his father questioned, immediately moving to pick Hansol up off the branch and setting him back on the ground. Hansol should’ve climbed higher, then Jeonghan wouldn’t have been able to reach him.
“Boys will be boys” the mother of the other boy said to Jeonghan. However, Hansol wasn’t focused on that. No, he was more interested in the other little boy.
“Woah, what are those?” the boy asked, pointing down at Hansol’s legs.
Hansol smiled, lifting his leg to show the other boy “they’re my braces!” he said happily “they have turtles on them, look!” he continued. And sure enough, his braces were patterned with little cartoon turtles as per his request. “And my socks have dinosaurs!”
The other little boy seemed to be in awe “Mommy, I want those too!” he said, pulling at his mother’s shirt.
His mother laughed “You don’t need those, Seungkwan. Those are just for him” she said before turning back towards Jeonghan to continue their conversation.
So his name was Seungkwan. That was easy, it was almost like his Dad’s name but a little different.
“My shoes have zippers on them too! Watch!” Hansol continued to brag, showing how his sneakers would unzip all the way around. All in all, he thought his AFO’s were pretty cool. Apparently Seungkwan did too.
He learned throughout that day that he and Seungkwan had a lot more than just that in common. For one, they were in the same class! Their names were right after each other in alphabetical order so they sat next to each other too. They were opposites in all the right ways too. At lunch, Hansol traded his orange for Seungkwan’s apple. Where Hansol was fearlessly climbing on the playground, Seungkwan was a little more apprehensive. Without realizing, Hansol encouraged Seungkwan to face his fears while Seungkwan held Hansol back just enough to stay safe. They balanced each other out.
They sat together on the bus ride home, rambling on and on as if they had known each other for years. The moment the two of them ran off the bus to their parents, they were both asking the same question.
“Can Seungkwan come over!? Please Appa!?”
“Mommy, Mommy! Can I go to Hansol’s house!?”
Needless to say, there was an ungodly amount of joyful cheering the moment both parents agreed.
Jeonghan exchanged information with Seungkwan’s mother, more than happy to see his son making friends already. He had been quite worried now that Hansol was in elementary school. Kids were getting older, and part of getting older was getting meaner. The last thing he wanted was for the other kids to start othering Hansol.
The plan was for Seungkwan to come over for a few hours and leave before dinner. Jihoon seemed annoyed at all the noise they were making on the walk from the bus stop to their house, but neither boy cared. They were having fun!
Hansol immediately dragged Seungkwan to his bedroom to show off all his toys. He was a rather spoiled kid when it came to toys- he got all of his brothers hand-me-downs, and he was always allowed to pick a new toy from the store after every doctor appointment.
The room was an absolute mess within the hour. They had played everything Hansol could think of. Pirates, dinosaurs, spaceships, legos, and more.
He hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until his door was being opened by Seungcheol. “Daddy!” he shouted, dropping his toys as he ran to give his father a hug.
Normally, Seungcheol coming home was the highlight of his day. He’d wait by the front door for him for what felt like an eternity every day. Now that Seungkwan was here to keep him distracted, the wait didn’t feel so long after all.
“Hey, buddy!” Seungcheol said as he hugged his son, crouching down to Hansol’s level. “Appa told me you have a new friend”
“You have two daddies?” Seungkwan cut in, jaw dropped out of shock.
“Yeah! How many do you have?” Hansol asked back.
Before Seungcheol could intervene, Seungkwan was answering “Not even one!”
“You don’t have any daddies?!”
“Nuh uh!” Seungkwan said, although he didn’t seem upset about it. If anything, he acted like it was all he ever knew. “How many mommies do you have?”
“I don’t have any mommies” Hansol answered, looking back to Seungcheol “Why don’t I have any mommies?” he questioned- Hansol knew he was adopted already. However, he was still only five years old. He didn’t really understand everything that went with it.
“That’s a question for another time, baby” Seungcheol was quick to put an end to the conversation. “Why don’t you go back to playing? I bet there’s some buried treasure waiting for your pirates to dig up.” he suggested
Hansol only answered with “Okay, Daddy!” before returning to playing with Seungkwan. Seungcheol watched for a minute to make sure they were behaving before leaving Hansol’s room to go greet his other two sons in their rooms.
“I only have one mommy” Seungkwan said once they were alone again. “And no brothers, I only live with my Mommy”
“I have two brothers!” Hansol replied happily, holding up two fingers as if Seungkwan hadn’t already met both his brothers. “I have an Uncle Joshua too! He comes over a lot. How many Uncles do you have?”
Seungkwan paused for a moment before he answered “I only have Mommy” and after that, the conversation dropped.
When it came time for Seungkwan to leave, they tried hiding under Hansol’s bed so he could stay longer. They only lasted a few seconds before Jeonghan had found them (the giggles gave it away) and took Seungkwan home.
The next day, Hansol couldn’t wait to go to the bus stop to see Seungkwan. He ran as far ahead of his father as he was allowed, unable to contain his excitement.
“Seungkwan!” he cheered happily the moment he saw the other boy. Seungkwan ran right up to him too, chests colliding in a hug. “My Mommy said I’m not allowed to go to your house anymore, but you can come to mine after school!” he said happily.
Hansol didn’t question it. He was too busy playing with Seungkwan to notice that Seungkwan’s mother was standing a noticeable distance from Jeonghan, refusing to spare even a glance in the man’s direction.