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Hyunjin is busy cleaning his art tools in the kitchen, he decided to pause working on his personal art piece for the day as it was nearing sundown and he would prepare dinner soon. He heard the loud giggles of his husband and son from the living area making his lips curl into a smile. Jongsoo, their one-and-a-half-year-old, is a curious little bundle. The moment he's able to grasp more of the world- an example is Hyunjin painting, he would like to mimic as well. Amused and endeared, Hyunjin humored his son by giving him his own art tools set fit for toddlers, of course. Whenever Hyunjin would paint, Jongsoo would like to do the same as well.
'You'll be an amazing artist like appa in no time aegi!' Changbin, his husband, would always coo whenever Jongsoo would play with his own art set and Hyunjin would roll his eyes fondly all the time as Changbin would shower them with praises- years passed and Changbin is consistent like that since they were in high school. He'd always like to pretend he doesn't like it or be sassy about it but everyone knows he's a huge sucker for it.
Another round of loud laughter and some loud whining from Changbin broke him out of his reverie making him chuckle, he should check what his rascals are up to. Once he finished washing majority of his tools, he went to his studio to leave them there to dry and soak the brushes in solvent overnight. When he stepped into the living area, he halted his steps at the sight that greeted him and immediately fell on the floor laughing his whole soul out.
"Oh-my- look at you two!" Hyunjin clutched his stomach as he rolled around laughing, ignoring the whine from Changbin. There in the middle of the living room were their son and Changbin, a white washable sheet laid underneath them and the art supplies to protect the floor and for cleaning convenience. Jongsoo is covered with blue and green paint streaks all over himself. Few papers with squiggly and abstract figures laid nearby- Jongsoo decided that his father's face would make a better painting canvas as Changbin sat nearby, his whole face down to his neck covered in bright blue paint. Their son do not see the distress and conflict his father is going through as the child happily continues prodding him with the brush he's holding. Hyunjin wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes before whipping out his phone. "They have- they have to s-see this!" Giggles won't stop escaping his mouth as he recorded them. Jongsoo still prods his dad with a brush and Changbin kept on whining but makes no move to stop him at all. Hyunjin sent the clip to the group chat with their friends and his phone immediately buzzed with notifications, their friends having a wild reaction and poking fun at Changbin.
The moment the video finished sending, Hyunjin was still wheezing into the couch cushion as more messages from their group chat blew up his phone like fireworks.
“Changbin hyung, your son turned you into a Smurf???” from Jeongin. “ART IS AN EXPLOSION AND YOU’RE THE CANVAS,” from Jisung, complete with a sketch of stickman Changbin with a literal blue head. Seungmin, ever the deadpan menace, simply sent, “Modern art, I see.”
Still shaking with mirth, Hyunjin wiped the last tear from his eyes and finally went to collect their paint-drenched son. Jongsoo, still babbling happily, had no regrets. If anything, he looked proud, like a tiny toddler Picasso with no concept of mercy.
“Come on, little menace,” Hyunjin cooed as he lifted Jongsoo into his arms, careful not to smear more paint on himself. “Appa’s going to make sure you’re squeaky clean, unlike your poor daddy over there.”
“I’m fine,” Changbin groaned dramatically from the floor, clearly not fine. He looked up, still blue from the nose down, and sighed. “I swear he ambushed me, Jinnie.”
“Oh, you looked like you were enjoying yourself.” Hyunjin smirked, bouncing their giggling son as he walked toward the bathroom. “You didn’t even try to stop him.”
“That’s because he was laughing like a gremlin and it was kinda cute!”
“You’re whipped,” Hyunjin teased, voice fond.
“Only for you two,” Changbin muttered as he sat up, already reaching for the cleaning supplies to wipe the sheet and floor. “But mostly for you,” he added quietly, which Hyunjin heard, and smiled to himself like a schoolboy in love all over again.
In the bathroom, Jongsoo was happily plopped into a warm bubble bath, playing with his rubber duck and splashing just enough to make Hyunjin mildly damp but not annoyed. Hyunjin gently scrubbed the paint off his baby’s skin, making sure to be careful behind his ears and between his toes. All the while, Jongsoo babbled about “Appa funny face blue!” and giggled to himself like he just witnessed the greatest comedy on earth.
By the time Changbin entered, wiping a towel over his now-clean face (though still with a hint of smurf-blue on his jawline), Jongsoo was bundled up in a fluffy towel burrito and pouting like a tiny emperor.
“Kiss Daddy!” Hyunjin prompted, holding their son with a proud grin. “Give daddy a big, flying kiss for being a very patient canvas today.”
Jongsoo obediently puckered up and blew a flying kiss at Changbin, who—being the chaos incarnate he is—lunged forward, lips dramatically smacking the air as he hollered.
“Give me kiss back, my little Da Vinci!” He made a beeline for his son, face still slightly damp with paint, making Jongsoo squeal in mock horror and Hyunjin immediately go into Mom Mode.
“YAH—SEO CHANGBIN, IF YOU GET PAINT ON OUR BABY AGAIN—!”
“I’M GIVING HIM LOVE!!” he screamed mid-dash, laughing as he made a dramatic retreat when Hyunjin raised a hand like he was about to hex him.
“Don’t tempt me!” Hyunjin warned, still laughing as he handed Jongsoo over to the nursery elf and sent him off to bed, squeaky clean and already half-asleep with the blanket tucked under his chin.
When he returned to the bathroom, he found Changbin already soaking in the tub, eyes closed, arms lazily resting on either side, and the sound of jets gently humming under the water. The scent of eucalyptus and vanilla lingered from the bath salts he'd added earlier. The bathroom was lit dimly by the glow of the vanity lights, and Changbin looked so relaxed that Hyunjin felt his heart clench just a little at the sight.
But of course, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked over, lighting up a couple of their favorite candles around the room, setting down a soft playlist that drifted through the speakers. Satisfied with the ambiance, he peeled off his sweater—slowly, deliberately—and then shimmied out of his pants, the sound of his belt unlooping catching Changbin’s attention.
“Jinnie?” Changbin cracked one eye open.
“Jongsoo already had his fun,” Hyunjin said, stepping into the tub without a care, settling himself in between Changbin’s legs, back to his chest as he leaned his head against the firm shoulder behind him. “He’s knocked out cold.”
A soft, appreciative groan escaped Changbin’s lips. “Thank God. I love that gremlin, but damn, I’ve been painted, whined at, and tickled all in the span of one hour.”
Hyunjin chuckled lowly, reaching back to lightly cup Changbin’s face and tilt it toward him. His thumb brushed over a faint smudge of blue just under Changbin’s jaw, and he smirked. “Missed a spot.”
“Yeah?” Changbin rumbled, eyes flickering as Hyunjin straddled him without breaking eye contact.
“Oh, definitely,” Hyunjin purred, brushing their noses together. “Might need a thorough scrub.”
Changbin raised an eyebrow. “Is that so, chief?”
“Yes,” Hyunjin whispered, their mouths now inches apart. “Consider this... an intimate cross-examination.”
Changbin groaned, half in amusement, half in desperate affection. “You’re the worst.”
“And yet…” Hyunjin leaned in until their lips met, slow and sultry, the kind of kiss that said ‘thank you for always being patient,’ and also ‘I’ve missed you and I’m about to ruin your night in the best way.’ The water sloshed gently as hands roamed, tangled fingers and lazy nips along collarbones turned the bathroom into a sanctuary for two very tired, very in-love husbands.
Between the soft murmurs, stolen kisses, and teasing whispers, the chaos of the day faded into background noise—just laughter, bubbles, and warmth. They had their own little world in that tub, and in that world, everything was safe, silly, and sacred.
Outside the bathroom, the group chat buzzed again—Seungmin had taken a screenshot from the video of paint-covered Changbin, captioning it: “The Art. The Tragedy. The Man.”
Hyunjin didn’t see it. He was too busy leaning into his husband’s arms, melting into their little domestic bubble, letting love and water carry the rest of the night away.
After a long soak filled with laughter, kisses, and a few not-so-innocent brushstrokes under the water, Hyunjin and Changbin finally emerged from the tub. Their skin was flushed from the heat, limbs languid, and hearts soft as putty. Hyunjin towel-dried his hair with sleepy swipes while Changbin patted down his arms, smirking at the rosy marks Hyunjin had accidentally left on his collarbone.
“Worth it,” Changbin whispered with a dumb grin, earning an elbow to the ribs and a fond eye-roll from his husband.
They both slipped into their comfiest pajamas—Hyunjin stealing Changbin’s oversized hoodie as usual—and padded barefoot into their shared bedroom. The soft hum of a lullaby instrumental played through the baby monitor, Jongsoo’s gentle breathing steady in the next room. Hyunjin peeked at the monitor screen to see their son curled up with his stuffed alpaca, thumb tucked by his cheek. His heart fluttered.
“You okay?” Changbin asked, already curled up on the bed, arms open and waiting. His eyes followed Hyunjin with the look of a man who had seen galaxies and still thought Hyunjin was the most beautiful sight on Earth.
“Yeah,” Hyunjin murmured, crawling into bed and immediately burrowing into his husband’s chest like he belonged there. “Just...happy. Tired. But really happy.”
Changbin kissed the crown of his head, fingers lazily combing through damp, honey-brown strands. “Me too.”
They lay there in silence for a while, just listening to the soft hum of the fan and each other’s breathing. The kind of silence that didn’t need to be filled—warm and familiar, like their favorite old hoodie or the smell of morning coffee.
“You know,” Hyunjin said softly, tracing circles over Changbin’s shirt with the tips of his fingers. “There are days where I think I might explode from how much I love you both. Like I’m physically not big enough to hold all of it.”
Changbin chuckled, voice low and a little croaky. “You saying you’re full of love or full of drama, babe?”
“Both,” Hyunjin deadpanned, before his voice dipped into something quieter. “But mostly love. I see you with him—how you look at him like he painted the stars just for you. And I remember being sixteen and stupidly in love with you, thinking, God, I hope he chooses me. And now we have a whole tiny human and a whole stupid amount of paint on your face, and I just… yeah. Feels like everything.”
Changbin blinked slowly, then gently tilted Hyunjin’s chin up to kiss him—soft, slow, like a promise made over and over again.
“I choose you, I will still choose you,” he whispered against his lips. “Every version of you. Always.”
Hyunjin’s eyes fluttered closed as he melted into the kiss, fingers clutching the fabric of Changbin’s shirt. “You always say the right thing.”
“That’s ‘cause I got a PhD in Loving You,” Changbin replied smugly, earning a snort and a smack to the chest.
“Cheesy loser.”
“Your cheesy loser,” Changbin grinned, pulling him even closer.
Eventually, their giggles quieted, and the weight of the day settled in their bones. Hyunjin nestled his face into Changbin’s neck, letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lull him into sleep. One arm curled protectively around his waist, the other resting over his hip. Warmth, skin, breath, love. Everything they’d ever needed was here.
As they drifted off, the baby monitor softly crackled in the background—Jongsoo mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, probably dreaming of brushes and blue paint. Hyunjin smiled.
“Let’s never forget this day,” he whispered, half-asleep. "Even if you got turned into a Smurf."
Changbin snorted before pressing a kiss to his temple. “Never. I love you, Jinnie.”
“I love you more,” Hyunjin murmured, already slipping into dreams.
And in the safety of their shared bed, with the scent of bubble baths lingering and their hearts impossibly full, two artists found peace in the greatest masterpiece they’d ever made: their family.