Archive of Our Own

The sun hits his eyes, causing the Abyssinian cat to turn his head abruptly from the window and towards the wall with his parents' favourite abstract painting on it. Iye frowns, scrunching his face and slightly annoyed at the situation. Normally, he can doze peacefully in front of this window in the afternoons, always left alone due to his parents being busy with work or worse, each other, and always by his sister, no doubt injuring herself by playing with a toy.  

Apparently, today he can’t. The sun seems to be lower than normal, suggesting that he’s having his personal time later than normal. Frustrated with the sun, the Abyssinian cat moves across to another bay window where the sun just misses his eyes and sighs a breath of relief. He closes them, welcoming the familiar darkness like an old friend, and rests his head on his paws. He wanders around the darkness, thinking of his dinner and his evening plans of clothes and cuddles, before finding himself dozing off, his body melted against the wooden floor.  

He doesn’t dream or, at least, he doesn’t remember doing so. He awakens to the sound of crashing coming from the living room, and Iye’s half-asleep mind instantly wonders what his sister’s broken now. Hopefully not another one of her paws. Regardless, his mind’s left the darkness for today, with no aim to return.  

Dosing time now over, Iye continues lying on the floor, stretches out further and purrs. Despite the annoyance he had with it earlier, he does love the sun. He loves the warmth it gives and the sensation you feel when it shines on you. It beams positivity and hope. He honestly doesn’t understand the rest of his family’s obsession with the moon. He doesn’t understand what’s so great about it? It’s white, looks cold and full of uncertainties, while the sun gleams in the sky, heating everything in its path and glistens everything in its path.   

He would love to spend a day in the sun. A long proper day, not just moments here and there. Mumma always said the four of them would go to the beach someday, but he hasn’t managed to yet. Iye knows the reality. He doubts he’ll get to the beach anytime soon. His parents will be too busy to take them. At least in their apartment, he has the sun here.  

He stretches his paws out again with a yawn, before wondering whether he should find something a bit more productive to do. He would play with his toys, a guaranteed fun way to pass the time, but ever since Zoa jumped off the tower and injured her paw, Dada’s been on high alert for either one of them climbing it. Iye was on the top level the other day, merely resting in the sunlight, eyes closed and body loose and flimsy, before he found himself being dragged off and placed on the floor rather abruptly. When he poked his eyes to see who dared ruin his afternoon, he was met with the worried face of his dada. Iye’s own annoyance got quickly replaced with understanding.  He licked his dada’s hand to reassure him; he was ok. While he understands the protectiveness and concern from his elder parent, he’s not the terror child; Zoa is. She’s the one who needs to be watched and dragged off high objects. Perhaps he could try again. Maybe this time, his dada would be better if he knew Iye had no intention of doing anything else aside from sleeping.  

‘Hey, my sweet baby boy.’ 

Speak of the devil. 

The deep voice of his eldest parent disrupts his planning. Iye, storing his plan for another day, opens one eye to see said dada kneeling on the balls of his feet, looking at him with a soft smile. 

‘Can I show you something?’ 

He sounds…nervous. Not the dada he’s used to hearing. His dada always sounds loving, caring and full of laughter. He’s someone Iye goes to when he feels sad, as a hug and soft whispers from his dada make him feel reassured and loved, even though deep down, it’s nothing compared to how happy he feels when he’s hugging his mumma.  

Iye debates between pitying him and ignoring him, but curiosity about why he’s so nervous wins out. He opens his other eye before standing up from his relaxed position. He lets himself get picked up by his dada and carried away from his favourite spot. The Abyssinian snuggles in deep against his parent, who’s wearing both their favourite pink jumper today. Not only is it warm and soft, but it’s cuddly.  

Ever so cuddly.  

Iye strokes his head against the material, gaining a soft chuckle from his owner and a long, gentle stroke along his body.  

They walk into one of three closets situated in the apartment, each one containing various items of his mumma’s clothes, despite this particular one being for his dada. He finds it sweet that the elder is willing to share with his younger parent. He wouldn’t share his wardrobe space with Zoa, unless forced.  

Iye gets placed on his dada’s favourite antique chair, as opposed to his cushioned bed located under the stack of blazers hanging up. He frowns in confusion. He doesn’t mind the chair; he’s grown to sitting and lying on all the weird chairs around the villa, but it’s not nearly as comfy as his bed. Honestly, he would much rather be chilling in there, watching his dada do...whatever he needs to do.  

He gets as comfy as he can, his body lax against the velvet material, as he watches his Dada grab the foldaway steps, only used when he or mumma need to reach something at the top of the wardrobe, and stands on them apprehensively. His dada wobbles slightly, causing Iye’s heart rate goes ever so slightly up at the sight. The last thing he wants is for his dada to injure himself trying to reach the top shelf of his wardrobe. His mumma would kill him if it let it happen on his watch.  

‘As eomma’s been away for the last few days and my work has calmed down, I can finally show you this.’ He explains, his voice dripping half with concentration, half with nerves.  

Safely, and without injury, Seunghyun reaches into the depths of the top, his arm moving around wilding trying to find something. The sound of boxes being moved or knocked over fills the room as Iye watches, engrossed yet confused. Seunghyun stretches again, the already tall man standing on his tiptoes to reach what he needs, before a sound of triumph escapes his lips and he hops down off the steps and towards the Abyssinian cat. Iye stands to attention as Seunghyun makes his way over to the chair and kneels down in front of it. He opens his left hand and lets the object roll onto the pink fabric chair, landing right in front of Iye, who tilts his head at it, confused.  

It’s a black box. 

A small black box.  

Iye paws at it confused and rather disappointed. He hopes it’s not a new toy for him. It’s very hard and uninspiring, and quite frankly, not great at being pushed around on a surface if it is. He knocks on it again, hoping that it makes some form of noise to at least make the object exciting, but nothing happens.  

There’s gentle laughter from above him. Seunghyun grabs the box, a wide smile on his face, and opens it, revealing a sparkling silver ring with a green diamond on top and smaller white diamonds surrounding the outside of the larger one.   

Iye blinks at the object as his mind goes blank.  

‘I’m going to ask eomma to marry me.’ Seunghyun states, certainty and excitement lacing his voice, yet an underlying tone of nervousness entwines with it.  

Iye stares at the ring as the words hit him. They bounce off his body and jump around the room. His dada and mumma actually getting married? His parents making one of the biggest commitments to each other. Iye stares at the ring, as if he’s been asked the question himself. He can’t comprehend it. His dada was always against getting married. He knows that. Zoa knows that. Everyone in their circle knows that. But here he is, wanting to propose to his mumma, wanting to make that commitment.  

Iye looks up at his dada, who’s blushing ferociously and has a doting smile on his face. It leaves a warm tingling feeling inside him.  

‘Do you think he will like it?’ Seunghyun asks, twisting the box so the ring faces him. Iye glances down at it again and takes a step forward to get a better look. He places his paws onto his dada’s thighs and stretches his neck. The ring glimmers against the wardrobe lights, the diamonds twinkle against the walls and the green stands out as the brightest gem.  

It’s very pretty, very elaborate, very mumma.  

He tilts his head to the side and starts licking his dada’s hand to confirm his thoughts. Seunghyun laughs, in relief but also joy and strokes his head lovingly, before closing the box and putting the ring down onto the chair.   

‘Don’t tell your sister.’ He states, scratching the top of Iye’s head, ‘Or show her. She’ll ruin the surprise, won’t she?’ 

Iye purrs at the scratches he’s receiving, but also agrees with the comments about his sister. Zoa loves their dada, adores him but adores showing off more. She shows both their parents everything; mumma’s brought a new tutu, it’ll be in her mouth to show dada when he gets home. Dada brought her a new grooming product, she’ll knock it with her nose at their mumma when he’s cooking. Nope, his sister cannot keep anything to herself.  

‘Our little secret, yes?’ Dada asks, eyes focused on him.  

Iye meows sharply and rubs his head against the muscly torso. He won’t let his dada down.  

Mumma returns from his work commitments the following morning. His arrival is announced through the crashing of suitcases against the door, low muttering and a groan of annoyance. Iye runs up to him the second he opens the front door and receives an assault of cuddles along with an assortment of kisses for his welcome.  

The luggage gets left by the door as he makes his way towards the kitchen, Iye following after, to find Seunghyun in there, preparing some food and pouring two glasses of exquisitely expensive wine. Iye watches from the doorway, a fond feeling in his chest, as his mumma essentially falls into his dada’s arms and collapses against his chest. His dada, always the softie, instantly wraps his arms around him and pulls him in tight. No words are exchanged between them, only familiar comfort and a safe presence. Both of their eyes are shut, as if holding each other is merely a dream and not a reality, and Iye notices how his mumma is even clutching at his lover’s shirt, as if the future of his career depended on it. 

They stay like that for a minute more, and Iye wonders where he should leave them to it and go play with Zoa. His parents’ comfort with one another knows no bounds. They could be here for the next half an hour or so, or the next thirty seconds. He’s studied their patterns during his hours of boredom and has found no definite circumstance or correlation to what causes them to hug for elongated periods of time. It is merely down to how much comfort either parent is seeking that day. 

His parents' comfort levels seem to have been met as Seunghyun opens his eyes, loosens his hold on the younger and tilts his head up, where two pairs of brown velvety eyes meet.  

‘Hey, baby.’ Seunghyun finally greets with a slow, chaste kiss to the lips. Jiyong moans lowly and meets his lover's lips with equal eagerness, ‘Missed you.’ 

When his mumma pulls away, Iye spots the blush spreading on his cheeks.  

‘Missed you too.’ He replies and places another small but delicate kiss on his cheek, before looking down at the food with a curious look, ‘How’s everything been? You doing ok? Have the kids been ok?’ 

His dada chuckles at the rapid-fire questions and merely shakes his head with fondness.  

‘We’re all ok.’ He replies and wraps his arms around his mumma’s waist and pulls him in, making them flush against one another. Both their cheeks blush, and his dada has a sickeningly sweet expression on his face that makes the Abyssinian cat want to hurl, ‘No broken paws, no hurt limbs. No other injuries. Everyone is exactly how you left us.’ 

Jiyong rolls his eyes and gently slaps his lover's chest at the jest, ‘Good, that's what I like to hear. Now where’s breakfast?’ 

Seunghyun smirks, eyes twinkling with mischief. He leans in, as if to whisper something into his lover's ear, but instead places his lips at the bottom of his neck and kisses the skin delicately. The lips move up millimetre by millimetre, kissing, biting and suck along the neck slowly. A low moan escapes from Jiyong’s mouth, and he closes his eyes as a soft, warm and tingling sensation overruns his body, causing him to melt against the body holding him up.  

His hands fall from his waist and start massaging his bottom cheeks, squeezing and kneading them thoroughly as the lips move from his neck to his chin. Small pecks flutter along the sharp jawline as if the perpetrator were tracing the owner’s face. More quiet moans of pleasure escape the younger's lips, and his head tilts sideways to allow easier access for the offending mouth, before reaching the ear, where a light whisper is exchanged. 

Iye frowns as Jiyong bursts out laughing at the unknown comment, dampening the romantic mood cast in the kitchen. He leans his head forward against his lover’s shoulder, laughing while doing so. Seunghyun chuckles away with him, hands moved from his bottom and back up to his waist, where they rest as they own it.  

The tabby-like cat scrunches his face up at the pair. As much as he loves seeing his parents together, God knows how much he hated it when they were separate; he does not miss this exchange between them. He doesn’t understand why his dada is obsessed with eating and biting his mumma’s face. It can’t taste nice, especially with all the creams he puts on every morning. Then again, his dada has always been a little strange.  

‘Later.’ Jiyong smirks in response to the whisper and tilts his head up to meet his lover’s eye, ‘I am seriously hungry. I need feeding, not affection. You better be making me something tasty, Hyunnie.’  

Seunghyun only hums and looks down at the chicken broth ingredients beside him, ‘I was in the middle of making your much-needed breakfast. You can always help if you need it that desperately.’ 

Jiyong playfully sighs before he leaves the embrace of his soulmate. Seunghyun lets him go reluctantly playful frown plastered on his face. His lover shakes his head fondly at the antics before picking up the chopping knife for the vegetables.  

Iye takes the opportunity to jump onto the kitchen counter, once the threat of any more kisses becomes non-existent. He struts along the worktop, towards his parents, reaching his mumma first, who throws him a small smile along with a quick stroke, before turning his attention back to the preparation. Iye frowns. He was expecting a little more cuddle than that, especially since he hadn’t had any Mumma cuddles for over a day. Unsatisfied, he heads towards his dada instead, but quickly pauses. There on his dada’s face is the nervous expression he held yesterday. There’s an unconfident aura about him, something he’s not seen in his dada since he first came back after his time away.  

His nervousness becomes more evident in the distracted way he’s cutting the chicken. The knife seems to be cutting through the raw meat as if it were a piece of wood that requires a saw.  Over half of the chicken breast remains uncut, and Seunghyun only cuts one more piece off before he puts the knife down and turns his attention to Jiyong.  

‘I’ve planned a date night for us.’ He announces, voice sounding incredibly calm despite his demeanour. His focus is still on the chicken in front of him as he speaks further, ‘It’s this Thursday.’ 

Iye watches as his mumma picks up a slice of carrot from the chopping board to munch on it with a hum. His attention is, luckily, on the vegetables in front, meaning he doesn’t pick up on his lover’s nervousness. ‘Sounds good, where have you booked?’ 

His dada takes a deep breath as Iye frowns, concerned at the unusual behaviour. Seunghyun still can’t meet his lover’s eye as he confirms the location.  

‘The museum.’ 

Jiyong simply nods and turns his gaze to his partner. He flashes him a quick gummy smile before continuing, ‘Ok, what time? I’ll add it to my diary now.’ 

He puts down the knife and grabs his phone from his back pocket. Seunghyun picks up the knife again and cuts the last piece of chicken before throwing it into a pan, a clear distraction to aid the conversation.  

‘Seven.’ 

Jiyong smiles and types away before locking his phone, ‘Done. Now, how long does the chicken need?’ 

Not expecting an answer, his mumma moves over to the stove and starts the pan. Iye edges further to Seunghyun and nudges his hand, concerned. Iye’s heard his parents discuss date details before. It’s either spoken excitedly or casually. Never nervously.  

Suenghyun responds to his concerned nudge by offering him scratches under the chin and a wink. As the Abyssinian closes his eyes to enjoy the moment of pleasure, the memory of the ring flashes through his brain, and his mind suddenly clicks.  

That date is proposal day.  

The day. 

How could he not realise?  

Iye purrs in response, confirmation of understanding the plan, and his dada smirks. He gets one final scratch before being left in favour of Seunghyun, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist once more.  

An unofficial countdown starts in his head. Iye wakes up the next morning, instantly thinks about the ring hidden at the top of the wardrobe, as excitement fills his stomach. He leaves his room, excitement now replaced with hunger and an eagerness to play with his parents and sister.  

He expects his parents to be in the living room, all love-stricken and touchy, like they are every morning. When he enters, Iye pauses. He doesn’t find them at the stove, giggling with each other and sharing gross, disgusting kisses. Instead, his mama is sitting on the sofa alone, with a box of tissues next to him and a blanket thrown over his body. The Abyssinian steps closer and winces as he notes the red and blotchy nose, along with the flushed cheeks. A loud cough fills the room, followed by a small groan as Iye steps a cautious step closer, confirming that his parent is indeed sick.   

Footsteps echo behind him, and Iye turns his head slightly to see his dada pacing down the corridor, blanket in one hand, pillow in another. When he spots Iye on the floor, he gives a small smile and crouches down to greet him, ‘Hey, sweet one. Did you sleep well? I’m just going to sort out eomma, and then I’ll feed you, ok?’ 

He gains a rub to the cheeks, causing an involuntary satisfied meow. Seunghyun throws him a smile filled with gratitude before walking over to the sofa, with a sorry look on his face. Iye watches as his dadas re-settle his mumma on the sofa. He lifts him up ever so gently, placing cushions behind him before forcing him to lie down horizontally. The pillow is placed under his head and the blanket thrown over and tucked in underneath him. To finish off, Seunghyun presses a soft kiss to his head and whispers something into his ear, causing his mumma to faintly smile but nod.  

Jiyong doesn’t move for the rest of the day. Iye checks in on him once an hour, making sure he hasn’t gotten worse. He knows what his mumma is like when sick. He never listens to anyone, and he never rests. Friends and family would come round, take him to bed or tell him to sit, but he never did, or even if he did, it was never for long. Quite frankly, Iye is surprised to find his mumma still on the sofa hours after being tucked in. It might be down to the fact dada is with them again. Jiyong did always listen to him better than everyone else.  

The next day, Iye wakes to find Jiyong in the kitchen preparing a light breakfast for himself and Seunghyun. The eldest cat notes instantly how much better he looks; the flushed cheeks are gone, and so is the blotchiness. There are small sniffles here and there, but he looks better, and the status quo resumes.  

Unsurprisingly, a few days later, his Dada gets sick.  

Mumma’s away when it happens, a quick visit to Hong Kong for a special appearance on a TV show. It’s not normally a big deal. He used to having just his dada looking after them, it’s no different from when it’s both of his parents. Except this time, Iye worries. 

Seunghyun looks worse than his mumma did. Far worse. His skin is sickly pale and gleaming in sweat, with deep dark bags under his eyes, and his voice is deeper, more nasally than normal. Loud coughing is heard from every room of the house, and his dada seems to have more layers on than normal when he last saw him; he fed them this morning, but hasn’t been back since.  

After pacing around the living room endlessly for what seemed forever, the concern grows unbearable and the Abyssinian heads towards the master bedroom. The door is open a factor, just enough for him to squeeze through. The first thing he notes is the duvet heap on the bed. Iye takes a tentative step forward and frowns. Nasally breathing fills the room, followed by the springs of the bed moving under some weight. Iye jumps onto the bed and trends towards the lump. He paws at it, feeling the outline of a human underneath, for all of ten seconds before the room is filled with groaning. The duvet gets pulled back and his dada’s face appears, still as sickly as earlier.  

‘Oh, hey Iye.’ Seunghyun greets and throws out his hand aimlessly to give him a stroke, ‘You ok, kid?’ 

Iye gives his hand a quick lick before simply lying down next to him. He tucks his head against his chest and hears his dada chuckle, which incidentally starts a coughing fit.  

The pair sit there in silence, as time passes, neither one moving. Zoa joins them a while later. She jumps onto the bed with no hesitation and toddles towards their dada. She gets welcomed with a soft cuddle before resting next to him. She rubs her head against the duvet-covered bodies and closes her eyes, ready for her afternoon nap. Iye looks between her and their dada, before closing his own. It’s premature for him to take his nap this early, but seeing as he’ll only be wandering the rooms of the apartment by himself, he might as well join in.  

Iye slips in and out of his nap, rather like his dada, both choosing to stay in the room with Zoa, as opposed to stretching their limbs and getting some fresh air. It isn’t until the sound of the passcode being entered faintly echoes into the bedroom that Iye perks up at the familiar noise and jumps off the bed.  

Finally, his mumma is back.  

He pads along the floor and walks up to the hallway, just as Jiyong enters, suitcases in hand and sunglasses still on his face. He turns around and spots his eldest child with a grin on his face.  

‘Hey, my sweet baby.’ Mumma coos and kneels down to stroke him, causing the Abyssinian to feel guilty. His mumma probably thinks this is a loving welcome back greeting when, it actual fact, it’s a medical emergency. No one’s fed his dada all day, nor given him water or blankets. How is he supposed to get better, like mumma, if no one does that for him?  

He ignores the hand flying towards him and instead, bites at his youngest parent’s jeans in an attempt to try and drag him towards the bedroom. Mumma laughs, confused and amused by his antics and scrubs his right cheek instead. Iye bites down deeper on the stiff material and tugs his head harder, but it only raises concern for his own well-being.  

‘Iye, calm down.’ Mumma orders. He gets picked up and huddled close to his chest. Jiyong strokes along his back and hums to himself softly, ‘What’s gotten into you?’ 

He doesn’t have time for his mumma’s questions. They need to act now. His dada needs them.  

‘Meow.’  

It’s his call to be put down, demand even. Jiyong frowns at him but obeys, nonetheless. Iye skittles out of the room, his call changing to one of concern. It echoes through the room and into the next.  

‘Iye? What’s the matter?’ His mumma asks, but Iye still ignores his words. He does look back, ensuring that Jiyong is following, and it relieved when he sees he is, albeit with a confused look.  

He brings his owner to the master bedroom, the door still partly open from earlier. He hastily slips on through to find Zoa still on the bed, resting next to the duvet lump that is his dada. He doesn’t pause before heading straight for it, ready to show his mumma. The bedroom door creaks further open behind him, as he jumps onto the bed in front of said mound. He watches as Jiyong looks at the scene in front of him, a frown painted on his face and his shoulders sagging with realisation.  

‘Oh.’ 

He pauses in the doorway; his eyes solely focused on his napping partner, whose breathing has become more laboured throughout the day and his bedshirt is soaked in sweat. Jiyong takes a few hesitant steps, ridding himself of his jacket by throwing it on the nearby chair and kneels on the bed, avoiding Zoa.   

‘Hyunnie.’ He coos, shaking him gently. He gets a groan in return, but the K-pop king simply tries again, with a little more force. Seunghyun groans again, pulling the covers tighter around his body.  

‘Not now, Zoa.’ He mumbles. A hand escapes the duvet barrier around him and flaps around the bed, trying to find his daughter. He ends up patting the duvet next to Jiyong instead, before knocking against Jiyong’s knee. Their mumma looks at the hand as his eyes blink in surprise. Iye watches the scene with concern and disbelief.  

Their dada has lost it. 

‘Seunghyun, it’s me.’ Jiyong responds and gently shakes his partner again. He removes the duvet covering his lover's head and strokes the side of his flushed, sweaty face softly. Seunghyun’s eyes open at the touch to reveal a glassy, unfocused look. He squints for a few seconds before realisation shows on his face.  

‘Oh, you’re back.’ 

He throws the younger a weak smile before attempting to sit up. Their mumma places his hand on his torso to aid. Seunghyun throws him a small smile as he successfully sits up, for all of a second, before collapsing back onto the bed, the springs below creaking in annoyance.  

‘And you’re sick.’ Jiyong responds in a matter-of-fact tone. He picks up Zoa from her resting spot, the Scottish fold meowing softly in annoyance as her feet touch the floor. Jiyong throws her a sorry smile before he shuffles his body fully onto the bed. He then rests the back of his hand against his lover's forehead and frowns deeply, ‘Very sick.’ 

‘Hmmm, fine.’ Their dada responds, but no one in the room believes him; his eyes are shut, and his skin looks paler than earlier, ‘Just need more sleep.’ 

He hears his mumma hum in agreement and watches as he places his pillow onto his lap. He guides Dada down and rests his head on the pillow. A content sigh escapes Seunghyun’s mouth as Jiyong starts threading his fingers through his lover’s hair. Silence falls between the family as Iye sits at the end of the bed with Zoa next to him.  

Seunghyun’s sickness doesn’t last for only twenty-four hours. It lasts for the remainder of the week, with each day showing little progress in getting better. The only bright side is that his mumma works from home that entire time, ensuring that their dada is looked after properly. Each day Jiyong starts with breakfast: hot chicken broth, followed by chamille tea during mid-morning, spicy noodle soup for lunch, more tea in the afternoon, glabitang for dinner, followed by more tea in the evening and before bed. Iye had never seen his mumma cook so much before.  

Soon, the days mash into one, which is how Iye forgets about the impending date to the museum. He’s only reminded when, one early evening, footsteps echo down the hallway. Both he and his mumma’s head turn confused, until the shaky figure of Seunghyun hovers in the doorway, still looking exhausted but with a little more colour to his face.  

‘Baby.’ Jiyong chides, getting up from the sofa and striding over to his lover, ‘Get back to bed.’ 

Seunghyun simply shakes his head as he clutches his boyfriend for stability.  

‘We have a museum date.’ He musters, voice still nasally, ‘I need to dress the kids.’ 

Jiyong pauses and bites his lips with a smile. He gives the elder a once-over before he shakes his fondly, ‘We’re not going out with you in this state.’ 

The statement is met with more resistance.  

‘But I made special…’ Seunghyun explains, resting against the doorframe now, as his words fail him. Iye watches on, concerned. His dada can’t even finish a sentence, let alone stand. Jiyong takes him by the arms and lowers him down gently onto the nearby chair, ‘It’ll be unfair to cancel.’ 

His head falls against his lover's chest, and his eyes close instantly. Jiyong’s fingers instantly start combing through his hair, smoothing the tangled mess caused by lying on a pillow hour on end.  

‘It’s fine.’ Jiyong states and presses a soft lingering kiss to Seunghyun’s glistening forehead, ‘I’ll call to explain and pay any costs.’ 

Seunghyun doesn’t even respond. He just groans loudly as he holds Jiyong’s waist. His head then lifts, their eyes meeting, as the elder takes a shaky inhale. Slowly, as he grips Jiyong a little harder, he starts to stand, legs trembling as he does so. Jiyong reaches out to grab under his arms for support, and soon the pair are standing face to face, but with most of their combined weight falling on the younger.  

‘No, we’ll go. It’s fine.’ Seunghyun announces, back straight and legs only slightly trembling now. Jiyong just looks at him with worry. Iye looks on with his own concern. His dada may have stood up on his own, but that does not constitute as fine.  

Jiyong can only look up. He scans his lover’s face, mouth twisting as he does do before he shakes his head, decision made.  

‘Baby, admit defeat.’ He says, and Iye knows that tone. Seunghyun will be admitting defeat whether he wants to or not.  

Seunghyun closes his eyes and lets his body weaken. He nods at his partner's words before announcing ‘I want to go back to bed.’ 

‘Ok.’ It comes out as a whisper as Jiyong moves the elder's hands away from his waist and into his own. Iye watches with relief that his dada has given in and will be resting for the evening. However, part of him feels disappointed that his mumma won’t be walking through that front door later, with the green diamond engagement ring sitting on his finger.  

The thought of the ‘what could have been’ lingers with him for the rest of the evening, when he and Zoa spend time with their mumma. He can tell Mumma is upset about the cancelled date as well, as it’s only after an hour of playing around with their toys that they get carried into one of the wardrobes for their fashion shows. It’s something that always cheers their mumma up, regardless of their day.  

Iye doesn’t mind the sudden change in activity. He enjoys wearing the outfits. When they first started, back when he was a tiny, adorable kitten, who got cuddled by his mumma hourly and received chin scratches from his dada frequently, he always found them restricting and itchy. Now, he loves the colours and how much mumma beams whenever he puts him in them. He finds it a shame the hatred-to-love story hasn’t been the same for Zoa. She’s always hated being dressed up and no doubt always will, hence the balcony cuddles with their dada. Unfortunately for his sister today, there’s no one here to rescue her. 

‘Zoa, sweetie,’ Jiyong chastens, looking down at his fluff ball, messing about with her outfit, with a sigh, ‘You’re going to ruin that tutu.’ 

His sister doesn’t stop nipping the telle material placed around her body. Iye gets it, and it's empathic, to some extent. The material doesn’t look fun, but rather itchy, and Zoa always ends up in a tutu, of some kind, despite the countless outfits in her wardrobe. He recalls that their mumma did try to put some of those others on the Scottish Fold, but she never stayed still enough for him to try and put a more complex outfit on.  

Jiyong sighs once more at his daughter’s defiance and turns his attention to Iye’s side of the wardrobe. He flicks through the items hanging up, mouth pouting at the options, before his eye catches on something, and he pulls out a sparky blue-collar piece.  

‘This?’ He asks and holds it out for Iye to examine. The Abyssinian looks at it but lowers his head with no enthusiasm. He doesn't want sparkles today. He wants something simpler. Iye struts into his wardrobe and nudges around the baskets. His eyes widen at the item of clothing towards the bottom of one of his baskets. He digs his head in deep and pulls out the purple bow tie, presenting it to his mumma, who smiles on proudly.  

‘Good choice, my favourite boy.’ 

The bowtie gets fastened around his neck, but Jiyong tilts his head to the side with a hum. Iye gazes; he knows that look. He’s very familiar with that look. The tilted head, the slight pout in the mouth, the crossed arms with fingers tapping against the forearm. It means his mumma isn’t completely satisfied, that something is missing, but he hasn’t figured it out yet.  

He continues staring at Iye, head tilted and a thoughtful look on his face, before his eyes brighten and his expression changes to one of remembrance. He strides to the side of the room and picks up the foldaway steps, placing them in front of that wardrobe.  

‘I have just the hat to watch with that bowtie.’ He explains as he unfolds the steps and starts to climb. Iye’s eyes widened at the scene unfolding in front of him. His mumma is going to find the ring and ruin the surprise. This is his worst nightmare. It’s his dada’s worst nightmare, and he doesn’t even know it’s happening. 

Panic starts to flow through his veins. He looks around the room, hoping he can see something to distract Jiyong with, but nothing stands out. Even Zoa's stopped messing with her tutu in favour of laying down bored, meaning he can’t use the destruction of her clothes as a distraction.  

He looks back up where his mumma has just put back the first box and taken his second to look through. His heart beats heavily in his chest as a quick and brash idea floods through his mind. If he can’t find a distraction, then he’ll be the distraction.  

‘Meow.’ He screeches, voice strained and throat hurting at the unfamiliar power used, ‘Meow!’ 

Jiyong’s head snaps back, ‘Iye?’ 

‘Meow!’ 

It comes out sharper than he intended, but Mumma jumps off the stairs and heads straight for him, scooping the Abyssinian up in his arms.  

‘Iye baby, what's the matter?’ He asks fear lacing his voice, making Iye feel guilty. Even Zoa peeps her head up, concerned at his behaviour. Unsure of where to go next in his elaborate plan, he rubs his head against his chest as if he’s seeking comfort. He meows again, a little less sharp but still just as hurt.  

Mumma starts spreading apart his fur and checking his paws, looking for anything amiss. Iye tucks his head under his armpit as if he’s afraid to face the world. It’s over dramatic, and the feline does feel awful, but he didn’t know what else to do.  

He feels his fur being moved around again before he hears a dissatisfied him leave his mumma’s lips. He feels himself being moved with haste, with soft patters behind him suggesting that Zoa is toddling behind with them. The fast movement causes the elder feline to lose his barings, not helped by the fact that Iye keeps his head tucked in, to keep up his distressed appearance. It isn’t until he hears the sound of a door creaking open that they come to a stop.  

When he peers his head out, he’s back in the master bedroom, standing next to his dada’s side of the bed. Jiyong rearranged his grip on the elder cat as he bends down slightly to shake his partner.  

‘Seunghyun.’ 

A low moan comes from the heap underneath the duvet, followed by some movement. Iye watched as the end of the duvet gets thrown and folded over, before Seunghyun’s head appears out of it, looking flushed, dazed, and tired.  

‘Hey.’ He says sleepily, rubbing his left eye with his hand, ‘You ok?’ 

The sick artist sits up slowly and rests his head against the bedboard. He manages a soft smile at his family before wiping his face weakly with his left hand in order to focus himself a little more. His sister jumps onto the bed and instantly crawls her way towards their dada tutu ,still intact, looking for affection and cuddles.  

‘Ahh, you look cute, little fluff ball.’ Seunghyun states, weakly stroking Zoa, who’s lapping up the attentio,n eyes closed and purring deeply. Their dada looks at her fondly before gazing over to him, with a slightly stronger smile, ’You too, Iye. Very cute bow tie.’ 

Iye would respond with an affectionate meow if it weren’t for the fact that his mumma is holding him tight against his chest, squishing him to the point that his organs threaten to pop out.  

‘He kept meowing loudly,’ Jiyong states, worry lacing his voice. He walks over to his sick partner and places the Abyssinian in the elder's lap, ‘When I was trying to find that cute sparkly hat of his. It was really sharp and high-pitched. He’s never made a noise like that before.’  

Iye turns his head and sees his mumma’s scared gaze. He then snuggles against his dada instantly, not out of hurt or pain, but out of the guilt that floods his body. He didn’t mean to make him worry this much; he just wanted to ensure that the ring was kept hidden.  

‘Did you see if something hurt him?’ Seunghyun asks, as he looks down at Iye, concern evident in his eyes too, while giving him a reassuring scratch to the ears.  

‘I was trying to get to the top of the wardrobe at the time,’ His mumma explains, sitting on the bed. His hand reaches out and comforts him as well by stroking his body. His dada’s hums, and both his and Iye’s eyes met, a gentle understanding passing through them, as the worried singer continues, ‘He just cried out in pain or something. I don’t know.’ 

He plays his part by meowing loudly again, a repeat of his performance in the walk-in wardrobe. He goes a step further this time and moves up his dada’s body to snuggle against his shoulder, hiding his head in the crease of his elbow, as if he needs to be protected from something. He feels awful still, but he knows it’s for the greater good, and that his dada will fix this somehow.  

The sick rapper hums softly again. He shifts Iye from out his hiding spot and tilts his son’s head towards his own, as if he’s examining his symptoms. His dada pauses, caressing his cheek gently before humming again.  

‘Did you get scared, little one?’ Seunghyun asks, stroking his thumb over his head, ‘Were you worried Eomma would hurt himself?’ 

Iye pauses as his brain drives into gear. Worried about his mumma? Of course! It’s a perfect cover-up. He knew his dada would fix this. He bumps his head against his dada’s hand, a false confirmation that his assumptions are correct.  

‘Ohhh Iye!’ Jiyong exclaims and grabs the feline from out of Seunghyun’s arms without any prior warning, ’My precious little baby, were you scared for me?’ 

Despite his heart skipping a beat at the sudden movement from his dada to mumma, he manages an affirmative meow. After all, there is some truth to the question. He was scared. Scared for mumma, scared for Dada, scared for the ring. Just not himself.  

He hears his dada chuckle, albeit weakly, at the development.  

‘Let him rest here. See how he is in an hour.’ Seunghyun compromises, lying back down onto the bed and opening the duvet up so he has a space to rest in too. His dada then gazes over to his left and hums, ‘That way you can give Zoa her balcony cuddles. I think she’s feeling left out ,judging by how she’s chewing my pink jumper.’ 

Zoa, who long abandoned the bed, looks up from her new spot on the floor, the jumper hanging in her mouth, sleeves draping the floor.  

‘Zoa!’ Jiyong exclaims with a sigh. He places Iye on the bed before stamping over to the Scottish fold, ‘Sweetheart, don’t chew that!’ 

His sister yelps as she’s pulled away from the offending jumper and placed into their mumma’s arms. Jiyong sighs as he softly strokes the top of her head, to which the grey cat closes her eyes in bliss.  

‘She’s so spoilt.’ He states, with a fond shake of the head.  

Iye would roll his eyes if he could at the obvious sentence.  

They depart the room swiftly, no doubt before Zoa could attack another piece of clothing. A soft, sharp exhale leaves their dada’s mouth before his hand comes up to stroke the Abyssinian’s body. He receives weak, yet loving, cuddles from Seunghyun, who turns and looks at him with a thankful but proud smile. He licks Dada’s hand in response, warmth filling his chest at his performance.  

‘Thank you ,little one.’ 

True to Seunghyun’s word, Iye spends the remainder of the afternoon resting with his dada. He manages to find the energy to keep cuddling him, and he laps up every second of it. Truth be told, he can’t remember the last time he and Dada spent this much time together one-on-one. It would have been in the pre-Zoa days. Her immediate attachment to Seunghyun meant a change for them all, thus the majority of his timewas  spent with his mumma for attention. He doesn’t mind it. Not really. He just didn’t realise how much he missed this. He forgot how gentle his dada could be, how he made sure Iye was always comfy and how he would leave little kisses on his forehead here and there, reminding him of how much he was loved.  

‘Hey.’ 

Iye blinks his eyes open at the intrusion, his mind so deep in thought that he didn’t even hear the bedroom door opening and his mumma wandering in,  

‘You both ok?’ He asks, giving Iye a quick stroke and Seunghyun a gentle smile.  

His dada nods and looks down at him with a soft smile of his own, ‘Yeah, whatever it was has passed now.’ 

‘Hmmm,’ Jiyong starts and places the back of his hand on his lover’s forehead, ‘Yours hasn’t. I think you’re warmer than earlier.’ 

His dada only hums and shuts his eyes. Iye gazes up and pauses at the worried look that his mumma throws him. Tutting to himself, Jiyong slides into the bed next to him and pulls the elder against his side and drapes his arm around his lover’s shoulder. Seunghyun’s head falls, resting on Jiyong’s shoulder.  

Heavy breathing fills the silent room. Jiyong strokes the back of the elder’s head, eyes focused on the flushed and sweaty face below him. Iye sits at the bottom of the bed and simply watches. He likes it when his parents get like this. Yes, he gives them a hard time for all their excessive PDA, but the soft, gentle moments like these, he really missed when his family was split.  

Seunghyun groans slightly, interrupting his thoughts. Iye takes a step forward, worried, but his mumma instantly shushes him softly and starts soothing him by tracing the side of his face. The elder mutters something unintelligible to his ears, but Jiyong bites his lower lip and simply nods.  

‘Don’t worry, I called the museum.’ Jiyong replie,s rubbing Seunghyun’s shoulder now, ‘They wouldn’t talk to me about your plans.’ 

He says it with a huff of annoyance, as if he couldn’t believe they wouldn’t tell the infamous G-Dragon his partners' elaborate date plans.  

‘But they said it would have to be six months before you can do what you planned to do again.’ He explains before pausing. The K-pop star bites the inside of his mouth and burrows his head further into the pillow, ‘What did you plan for it to be that extravagant?’ 

The tone is a mix of intrigue and suspicion. His dada simply sighs sadly at the question and snuggles against his partner. Jiyong gazes down at him with a concerned look on his face as he starts threading his fingers through Seunghyun’s damp, sweaty hair.  

‘Doesn’t matter now,’ He responds, the words sounding heavy and tired on his tongue ‘I’ll have to do it another time.’ 

Iye’s chest aches at the words. He pads forwards and rubs his cheek against Seunghyun’s free hand, not seeking attention but trying to show comfort. The eldest cat doesn’t want his dada’s proposal plans to be delayed; he was very much looking forward to it. He wanted to see his parents' gleaming faces, especially his mumma’s, at realising his dreams of marriage are very much becoming real.  

‘Hmmm, I am sad though.’ Seunghyun comments weakl,y and Iye thinks about the engagement ring high up in the wardrobe. He thinks about how long it’ll be waiting there, how much more risk there is of his mumma finding it and ruining the surprise. He thinks about all the wasted effort Seunghyun put into tonight, only to be defeated by a common cold.  

‘Why are you sad?’ Their mumma asks with concern and a little bit of fear lacing his voice, ‘Hyunnie?’ 

His dada shifts about on the spot, hiding his face against his lover’s neck. His lips touch the skin as he speaks.  

‘Ruined tonight. Wanted it to be special.’ He comments, his voice laced with hurt, ‘Didn’t mean to get sick.’ 

The King of K-pop just tuts, repositioning himself so he’s lying alongside his lover.  

‘It’s just a date.’ Jiyong responds and threads his fingers through the damp hair, ‘We’ll have another one when you get better. I’ll make room in my diary for it.’ 

Seunghyun opens his mouth to argue but closes promptly, a twisted, almost painful expression flickers onto his face for a second, before his eyes shut and his body slumps further into the mattress.  

‘I guess.’ He mumbles, ‘Just...don’t leave.’ 

Jiyong looks at him, confused, eyebrows furrowe,d and lips pointed downwards. He stops threading his fingers through his lover's hair and tilts his head to the right before Seunghyun continues, ‘Before the date. Don’t leave.’ 

Jiyong blinks, surprised at the ask. He pauses for a second, maybe two, letting the words absorb into him, before shifting his position again. This time, he curls around Seunghyun, knees up high, level with the elder’s stomach and head resting on his shoulder. His arm remains in the same place, lying under Seunghyun’s head and hand curled, his fingers embedded in his hair.  

‘I won’t.’ Jiyong whispers back once comfy and kisses his sweaty forehead for good measure. Iye watches as his dada softly smiles, before his breathing evens out.  

He abandons his parents in favour of some playtime. Part of him feels obliged to stay with his sick dada ,but the rest of him knows that his mumma has it covered. If anything happens to Seunghyun, Jiyong will be first on the scen,e sorting it out.  

The Abyssinian stumbles into the living room, aiming to play with his tower now that Dada’s not here to witness it, only to find Zoa lying on the floor looking abandoned. He frowns at her, unimpressed. It’s a little dramatic as their mumma has only been in the bedroom ten minutes or so, but part of him does feel sorry for his sister. In his pit,y he pads over, nudging her with his nose, offering to play.  

They end up chasing each other around the room, jumping on furniture and pushing toys against walls. It’s the most time they’ve had unsupervised for a while. When mumma does come out of the room, aiming straight for the kitchen, he and Zoa freeze on the tower and watch as he glances their way and pauses. There are a few seconds of eye contact between them before Jiyong sighs and shakes his head, slightly exasperated. Iye expects a telling off with that sigh, records show that he and Zoa should be getting told off, but instead their mumma simply vanishes into the kitchen, followed by the sound of the kettle being turned on. The siblings look at one another before they continue jumping between platforms, shocked but happy.  

In the two days it takes Seunghyun to recover from his sickness, Iye and Zoa watch amused as their mumma forces him to stay bedridden for the whole time, only letting him leave after proof that he can stand on his own for over five minutes or so.  

Everything goes back to normal after that. Jiyong returns to working in the studio as opposed to home, while Seunghyun flitters between finishing his album and working on his new art pieces. He and Zoa play and relax around the penthouse. Status quo resumes.  

The only issue is that his dada still looks sad. Although he smiles down at Zoa when she’s begging for attention and he welcomes Jiyong home with a gentle kiss to the forehead and a tight hug with his arm around his waist, the sadness in the elder’s eyes still lingers, and Iye doesn’t know what to do about it.  

He knows that his mumma has seen it too. The elder cat catches him looking over during quiet moments, a frown prominent on his face and eyes filled with concern. Jiyong tries to fix it with affection and physical touch. He hugs Dada a lot more, holds his hand and rests his head on his shoulders when sitting down. It’s unknown whether Seunghyun has picked up on the changes; if he has, he’s not said anything, only throws his lover a gentle smile and a few extra forehead kisses.

It lasts the whole week, to the point Iye wanders into the kitchen one evening, stomach rumbling for his dinner, when he spots his mumma making dinner, phone on the counter faced up.  

‘I don’t know why he’s so down about it.’ Jiyong explains seemingly to the air, as he cuts the spring onion up into small cubic chunks, and only when he turns to look down at the phone, Iye realises he’s speaking to someone, ‘We’ve had to reschedule dates before. It's not a new thing for us.’ 

Iye looks down at the ground guiltily. He wishes he could show Mumma the ring and make him understand the importance of that night and the next one, but he remembers his dada’s face. He wants it to be a surprise, to witness the shock and happy reaction of his partner. It’ll be his mumma’s and his dada’s only proposal. They deserve to get it right. His dada deserves the nerves, and his mumma deserves the surprise factor. Iye can’t say anything. He won’t say anything.  

‘Well, he did put a lot of effort and time into it; plus the gallery had to shut, and it’s your first elaborate date in years.’ Iye recognises the voice of his uncle Youngbae instantly.  

Jiyong only sighs, ‘I guess, but I don’t know. There’s something different about this one. He’s reacting differently.’ 

Iye moves towards his food bowl and starts chewing his food slowly. If he’s busy eating, there’s less chance that he’ll run into his dada’s wardrobe and grab the ring.  

‘Maybe he had a private viewing of an exhibition by someone he or you love?’ Youngbae suggests,  ‘And it won’t be on when you go again? Or maybe he feels like you haven’t had some romantic alone time latel,y and he wanted to spend time with you?’ 

His mumma seems to consider this with a tilt to the head. He places down the knife and gathers up his chopped onion, placing it into a large metal bowl.  

‘Maybe.’ He states and moves on to the green beans to prep. He then looks across at the chicken and the kimchi and hums thoughtfully, ‘Perhaps I should do a surprise date night? I was the one who got him ill anyway.’  

The plans get discussed and finalised by the time Youngbae hangs up to take his son to bed. Jiyong picks Friday for his surprise date. His mumma is not the best secret keeper, never has been. He remains giggly and hyper throughout the time, causing Seunghyun to look at him with a raised eyebrow and chuckle. Iye knows his dada knows something is happening, but out of respect for his lover, is not asking questions.  

When Seunghyn arrives home from his studio session on Friday, Jiyong approaches him, biting his bottom from nerves, wearing black slacks, his favourite date night red shirt anda  silk grey neck scarf.  

‘I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight?’ He asks, grabbing his lover's hands and squeezing them tight, ‘Like a formal date? I know it couldn’t replicate whatever idea you had planned, but I thought we could still have one anyway?’ 

The idea is met with a wide, glistening smil,e and Iye watches with his nose scrunched up as his dada leans forward to press his lips heavily against Jiyongs. 

‘Yes.’ He confirms, giggling himself, ‘Yes, I would love to have a date here with you.’   

They kiss again, only briefly before his dada rushes off to put something nice for the occasion. Jiyong makes his way to the kitchen and starts pulling ingredients out from the fridge. Iye slowly creeps in and recalls his younger parents saying that he’ll cook from scratch, that it’s more romantic that way. Yet, the only emotion Iye can see is confusion. His mumma keeps glancing at his phone every few seconds or so, reading something and muttering the words under his breathe. Whatever he reads, it causes him to grab the beef from in front of him and chop it up into small chunks.  

The Abyssinian watches with intrigue. He can’t remember the last time his mumma cooked something like this. Recently, they’ve been buying food in due to their busy schedules. Not takeout per se, but meals prepped and ready to go into the oven. The rhythmic sound of the knife against the chopping board brings a warm tingling sensation to Iye’s chest, and it’s only then that he remembers how his parents used to cook dinners like these together before everything went wrong. 

Before he can reminisce further, the sound of footsteps approaching interrupts his thoughts. The feline turns his head to see his dada, wearing his grey cordial jeans and baby pink shirt, sleeves rolled up. It’s his classic date night outfit- no big labels, just cosy, comfortable clothing.  

His dada makes a beeline for his date and immediately circles his mumma’s waist, pulling him in tight and kissing the side of his neck slowly. Small marks appear when his lips finally move away, and Iye tilts his head ,wondering if his dada knows he’s doing that. His mumma doesn’t seem to notice or perhaps care, as all he does is laugh as Seunghyun’s lips attack his skin.  

‘Stop.’ Jiyong giggles as his head falls back against his lover’s chest, ‘I need to make dinner.’ 

Seunghyun only holds him tighter and peppers the younger’s face in kisses, causing giggle further, before wiggling out of his hold. Seunghyun doesn’t let him go that easily. He holds onto one of his lover’s wrists and spins him around, so they’re face to face. Jiyong only laughs and plants his face softly against the elder's chest, who hugs him tight.  

‘Why can’t I have you for dinner?’ Seunghyun asks huskily and with a kiss to the forehead.  

Iye frowns at the question. Why would his dada want his mumma for dinner? Surely, he couldn’t eat him even if he wanted to?  

His mumma doesn’t seem confused by the question. He only laughs loudly and softly hits Seunghyun on the chest.  

‘Maybe for dessert.’ 

Iye frowns further but decides to put it down under the large category of his parents being weird. He continues watching from the door as Seunghyun presses a soft kiss to the hand currently entwined in his. His parents stare at each other for a few seconds, before his dada leans in and kisses his mumma sweetly on the lips, lingering for a second or so.  

‘Get cooking then.’ Seunghyun comments, moving his lips away, with a smirk, ‘I want my dessert soon.’ 

Jiyong laughs and shakes his head fondly. Iye decides to take his leave and head for his toys. He passes Zoa in one of the hallways, lying by the window, gazing up at the moon. He looks at her oddly as he passes, unsure of why she’s already there waiting. Their parents' and me time always happens after dinner, never before.

He decides to leave her to her own thing and walks into one of the rooms with his toys. He sees his favourite box, the one he loves to climb and jump into, and heads towards it. He only got this box the other day, mumma ordered some new statues and gave this to him to replace his old, battered one. The fact that it’s taller and wider than him means he has space to move around inside it if he so wishes.  

When his energy levels drop, and the box starts to become less exciting to play with, the Abyssinian decides to return to see his parents, check on their date to see what’s going on. He struts towards the kitchen, following the laughter and giggles. It’s a familiar sound around the villa nowadays. His parents are always giggling at each other over something.  

The first thing he spots when he enters the dining room is how mumma and dada look happy, really happy. Seunghyun won’t stop pressing kisses to the side of Jiyong’s face ,whilst the latter won’t let go of the elder’s hand, ensuring some part of them is constantly connected. He feels like he’s a kitten again, who’s just been brought home; the constant laughter, the permanent touching, the intermittent kissing. It’s as if he’s been transported back to 2015 again, and it’s his first night at his new home with his new parents.  

Iye tilts his head at the scene, something warm and wholesome overtaking his body, and before he can even register what he’s doing, he’s heading towards the walk-in wardrobe. He enters with a flurry and jumps onto the wardrobe. He grabs the black box with his teeth, careful not to dent the box in any way. He jumps down, landing on all fours, and hurriedly makes his way back towards the kitchen.  

He’s not sure why he’s doing this, what’s made him grab the ring. There was just something about seeing his parents happy, in their own bubble, that made it seem like the perfect moment. To him, that was the moment his dada wanted at the museum; he and Jiyong along, surrounded by things they love. His dada went hard to impress that maybe he forgot he could do it here.  

He pads into the dining room to find both of his parents still at the table, looking annoyingly loved up at one another. Their hands are still entwined, and the feline swears their eyes are sparkling at one another. Iye takes a tentative step forward towards Seunghyun, who’s laughing away at something his partner has said. He approaches slowly and cautiously to avoid being spotted. The last thing he wants is for the surprise to be ruined.  

‘Meow.’ 

He stands next to his dada and nudges his leg with his nose and the box. He waits patiently for his parent to stop giggling and talking and to look down at him, but frowns when Seunghyun doesn’t, instead opting to appease him by stroking his head instead.  

Iye sighs and headbutts his calf harder this time, to the point his nose gets a little squished in the process. Iye looks up at him again and internally cheers as his dada looks down at hi,m concerned. He gets given a quick once over, and it’s then Seunghyun spots the black box in his mouth. The concern changes to panic as his dada’s eyes widen and body stiffens.  

‘Seunghyun, you ok?’ He hears mumma ask in the background, concern lacing his voice. His dada doesn’t move. His eyes are glued to the black box.  

‘Meow.’ 

Jiyong’s gaze flickers down to hi,m and his eyes widen at the pair and the box. Iye looks between both his shocked parents and shakes his head. Neither one of his parents appears to be doing anything. He would have thought that his dada would take the box out of his mouth by now.  

Iye drops the box onto the floor, letting it roll twice before hitting his dada’s feet. No one moves.  

Seunghyun coughs awkwardly before bending down to pick it up off the floor.  

‘Thanks, my cuddle ball.’ His dada whispers and strokes his head for good measure. Iye shuts his eyes, accepting the thanks, before the sound of a chair moving across the wooden floor fills the room. Seunghyun stands up and makes his way around the table. He holds his hand out to Jiyong, who takes his hand hesitantly. Between them, the King of K-pop gets pulled to his feet, and the pair move away from the table and into the open space. Once there, Seunghyun takes both of his lover’s hands and clears his throat.  

‘Jiyong.’ He start,s and he’s met with glistening chocolate eyes. Eyes that he’s been in love with since the late noughties, ‘My Jiyongie.’ 

Jiyong looks at him with a trembling lip and tears escaping down his cheek. He swallows hard, and Iye swears he can hear his heart thumping in his chest from here. Expectance fills the air, circling the two lovers standing in the middle and choking the room with its thick tension. Seunghyun goes to smile heartily at his lover and opens his mouth to continue, before being sharply cut off.  

‘Wait!’ He exclaims, squeezing their joined hands as the tension falls and a sudden expression of realisation forms on his face, ‘Wait just a second. 

Iye frowns as his mumma turns his head towards the doorway and leans towards it ever so slightly, whilst his dada wears a confused and slightly worried expression on his face.  

‘Zoa!’ He calls his voice sweet but shaky, ‘Zoa baby, come here.’ 

Iye's heart beats sharply as guilt floods his chest.

Oops, his forget about his sister.  

How awkward.  

Zoa comes running into the room, meowing loudly and expression hopeful. She stops at their mumma’s feet, waiting patiently, oblivious to the situation she has just entered. Iye can tell from her look that the Sottish Fold is either expecting treats or cuddles, unaware that she’ll be getting neither. Instead, she gets picked up from the floor and bundled into Jiyong’s arms. Her expression changes from hopeful to distraught, and she even looks up at Jiyong, betrayed. He just smiles at her, eyes almost reminiscing of love hearts.  

‘Appa’s proposing.’ He tells her voice choked and places her next to him. Zoa blinks at him and then to Iye as Jiyong turns his attention back to his partner, who’s watching the scene unfold with an amused expression. Their mumma looks sheepishly at the floor and commences their former positions, ‘I didn’t want her to miss out.’ 

Seunghyun laughs and holds out his hands again, caressing his thumb over his lover's soft skin, as Jiyong closes his eyes and takes a deep breath,  

‘Ok. Now I need a second to embrace this moment.’ 

Iye watches as their mumma giggles to himself softly, tears continuing to fall from his face. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply to compose himself. Their dada just watches him softly, a smitten expression written on his face. He doesn’t rush his lover, Seunghyun never has. He’s always let Jiyong set the pace and has no intention of changing that.  

‘Ok. Continue, please.’ Jiyong announces with a sniff, followed by a nervous laugh.  

He squeezes their hands together again; a wide smile plastered on both of their faces. Both their bodies are trembling now, building with anticipation and nerves. Seunghyun clears his throat and looks him straight in the eye once more.  

‘I was actually going to do this at our museum date last week, before I got sick. I had this whole extravagant and frankly outrageous plan, where it would just be you and me in the museum surrounded by paintings meaningful to both of us.’  

A small heartfelt sigh leaves Jiyong’s lips while his eyes turn to hearts.  

‘I wanted to wait to do it again,’ Seunghyun continues, the nerves leaving his voice, ‘Spend more stupid amounts of money on it, but I guess Iye thought today would be good enough.’ 

The Abyssinian’s heart drops as panic runs through him. Maybe he overstepped. Maybe he’s ruined the moment, but when he looks over, both of his parents are grinning over at him. Dada even gives him a small wink, and any drop of fear or anxiety he was feeling a second ago evaporates.  

Seunghyun clears his throat again, and Jiyong whips his head back, attention solely on him. ‘He’s right. I’ve realised that all I need for this to be perfect is our family here.’ 

His dada brings their joined hands up towards his mouth and kisses both knuckles softly. A small giggle escapes the younger’s lips, as they get lowered back down and held between them.  

‘Jiyong, you are my world. My universe, even. I love you. I love you so much. I want to continue spending every waking moment with you. I want to support you every way I can. I want to be there for you and with you in all your highs and especially your lows. I know many people won’t accept our love or even acknowledge it, but I don’t care. I really don’t. All I care about is that with this ring, I hope you will never have to doubt my love for you ever again and that one day, you will be able to call me husband because of it.’ 

Tears start to cascade down Seunghyun’s cheeks as he lets go of their hands and kneels down on the white rug. He pulls the box back from out of his trouser pocket and opens it. The ring glimmers against the light above, sparkling around the room and green getting reflected against the white wall beside them. Iye smiles, it’s always been their colour.  

‘Jiyong.’ Seunghyun states, voice choked and heavy, but a heartfelt smile plastered onto his face regardless and eyes sparking despite the tears, ‘Will you marry me?’ 

Jiyong stands there, hand covering his mouth and nose. Tears stream down his own cheeks and hit the rug like small specks of rain on a gloomy day. He doesn’t move. He can’t move. Iye watches as his mumma opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes is a sob followed by an estranged laugh. Instead, he takes a step forward and throws himself onto Seunghyun, whose eyes widen unexpectedly.  

‘Omphf.’ 

Somehow, he manages to wrap his arms around his lover's frame, ring still in hand and hold him tight against his body. He doesn’t push for an answer. He lets Jiyong tuck his head against his neck and sobs for a few seconds, and smiles when he leans back out and looks at him with glistening eyes. 

‘Yes.’ His mumma announces with a joyous smile. He quickly wipes the tears away from his cheeks and under his eyes, before placing both hands on Seunghyun’s own, ‘Yes ,I will. I will marry you.’ 

Seunghyun laughs, one filled with relief and takes the ring out of the box. Still kneeling, he takes Jiyong’s left hand, kissing the back of it gently as he does so, and softly places the green diamond ring on his finger. The elder kisses the hand again, before Jiyong leans down and captures his lover’s lips with his own.  

Stuck between feeling a mix of joy and disgust, Iye watches as his parents continue to softly kiss each other, moaning in between each one. He glances over at Zoa, who’s beaming with excitement at her parents' proposal, not even slightly put off by their kissing.  

Much to his relief, his parents do stop, both giggling as they do so. Jiyong grabs Seunghyun’s cheeks again, slowly caressing them with his thumb as the pair stare into each other’s eyes.  

‘I love you.’ He declares, the words come out low, almost a mutter, ’I love you so much.’ 

Seunghyun simply nods and covers Jiyong’s hands with his own, ‘I know. I love you too.’ 

His parents tenderly smile at one another, and before they can start kissing again, Iye runs over, Zoa following swiftly behind. Both of them meow loudly at their parents' feet. Iye watches as they both giggle before Jiyong kneels down and strokes their heads thoroughly.  

‘Appa and Eomma are getting married.’ He laughs, before moving his hands to stroke their bodies instead. Iye closes his eyes and lets the warm sensation from the event fill his body. He’s happy that his dada finally asked after everything. He opens his eyes again and focuses on his mumma. As much as the elder cat knew he would have loved the museum date, Iye knows his mumma would not change a thing about this evening. In his eyes, this was perfect.  

Just as he and Zoa start having the side of their stomachs caressed, Seunghyun kneels down and delicately strokes the top of their head. Jiyong rests his forehead against his fiancée's as Zoa purrs deeply, enjoying the attention overload from both of her parents ,while Iye just laps it all in, before his parents disappear for the evening amongst themselves.  

‘I need to get you a ring.’ Jiyong announces, although it sounds like an internal thought gone external. His eyes flickering over to his lover anyway, ‘We’ll go shopping tomorrow.’  

Seunghyun smiles softly but shakes his head, ‘I don’t need one right away. We can wait a few weeks until our diaries calm down.  

Iye watches, amused as their mumma rolls his eyes and shakes his head, as if their dada is missing a key piece of information.  

‘No, you need a ring, doesn’t he Zoa?’ The Scottish fold gets assaulted with cheek scratches, ‘So people know he’s not theirs for the taking but ours.’ 

His sister purrs in response and licks the inside of Jiyong’s hand for good measure. Iye glances up at Seunghyun, unimpressed. His mamma and Zoa are just as possessive as each other when it comes to him. His dada simply shakes his head, a larger smile plastered onto his face. He then kneels down and turns his attention towards Iye.  

‘Thanks for your help, buddy.’  

He receives a stroke to the head, before the Abyssinian decides to climb into his elder parent's arms and snuggle up there. He closes his eyes and lets his body relax after all the days of stressing about the ring. Nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing could beat this moment.  

‘You’re going to look so cute in a little flower girl dress, Zoa! And you can wear a little suit, Iye.’ Mumma exclaims, and the realisation hits that he and his sister would have to dress up. Excitement fills his stomach because a wedding means a whole new outfit for him. None of his clothes are wedding worthy, especially a wedding for his parents. Plus, it would have to match the decor, Zoa’s outfits. There are too many possibilities. He and mumma are going to have to discuss this thoroughly.  

He opens his eyes and looks over at his mumma and Zoa, whose face has now dropped at the realisation. She looks to their dada for help, but he simply reaches out and strokes her comfortingly with a smile. His sister simply sighs in defeat before jumping out of their mumma’s arms and landing onto the carpet. Iye turns to look at their mumma, who’s gazing lovingly at their dada in that gross, adult way. Iye jumps out of his elder parents' arms and joins his sister on the floor, just as Jiyong takes a step forward and holds Seunghyun’s hands in his own.  

‘You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.’ He states, voice and expression serious. He pulls his fiancée in tighter, so their bodies are flush against one another. Seunghyun laughs and shakes his head, as he covers his lover's hand with his own once again.  

‘I doubt tha,t but thank you.’ 

His mumma frowns and lets go of their hands in favour of wrapping his arms around his fiancée's neck, ‘No, you are.’ 

‘Over the awards? Your partnerships, the ambassador role? I’m the best thing that’s ever happened?’ Their dada laughs in disbelief and wraps his own arms around his fiancée. Iye looks on, heart falling slightly. He’s heard his dada self-deprecate himself before, multiple times even and each time it caused a sharp ache in Iye’s chest. His dada doesn’t seem to believe how worthy or important he is in their family. He thought Mumma would have told him how much he, along with Zoa and Iye, missed him when he was gone, but maybe his Dada has forgotten. Anyway, once he and Mumma are married, perhaps Seunghyun will see it and realise how much his Jiyongie does love him.  

Jiyong nods, frown still prominent on his face. Seunghyun hums and caresses his lover’s cheek with his thumb, ‘If you say so, fiancée.’  

He emphasises the last word, and Iye watches Mumma’s face turn from concerned to beaming. His eyes sparkle at the word, matching Seunghyun’s loving gaze.  

‘I do, fiancée.’ Jiyong giggles and stands on his tiptoes yet again to place a soft, delicate kiss on the elder’s lips. Seunghyun presses his own back, and Iye groans as one of his parents lets out a low moan.  

The kiss seems to escalate from ther,e and neither he nor his sister has any intention of witnessing the show in front of them. Zoa frowns and lies down on the floor, impatiently waiting for their parents to finish their kiss. Iye follows suit and looks at the ground, exasperated, as his parents' need for affection. He doesn’t understand how his parents can’t go a single moment in the villa without their lips touching either a forehead, hand, cheek or lip. It’s been a lot worse since they got back together again.  

Still, he thinks, he wouldn’t change any of it for the world.