It was quiet that night, with only the crackling of the logs in the fireplace the only ones making a sound. Still, the atmosphere was warm and cheery for the two people sitting beside each other on the makeshift rug in front of the fireplace.

“Uncle, can’t you marry my dad and be my second mommy?”

Luhan felt the question strike like a sharp arrow straight to his heart.

The question was asked in all innocence by 5 year old Mihyun, only daughter to Luhan’s best friend, ER Doctor Oh Sehun.

It was Christmas Eve, and with the hospital staff taking turns to take on breaks, Sehun was stuck doing the unmanned shifts being the doctor who lived nearest to the clinic, but that left him no choice but to either leave his daughter alone in their house or bring her to work.

Enter Luhan, ER Nurse Specialist and Sehun’s childhood friend, and one who has been in love with said doctor since they were in their teens.

(Oh, and if you’re wondering, Luhan volunteered to watch over Mihyun during his off days, to which Sehun was completely thankful for and to which Baekhyun had rolled his eyes, muttering “Masochist,” under his breath. Luhan didn’t mind. He knew Baekhyun was just worried, and Mihyun was such an angel it’s impossible not to love her.)

If there was something Luhan was good at, it was keeping Sehun unaware of his not-so-platonic feelings. Though whether he should be proud of it or not was still up for debate between him and his best friend.

Feeling the tears well up in his eyes, Luhan cupped the little girl’s cheeks, kissed her forehead before gathering her in his arms and settling her on his lap.

“Oh sweetheart, let me tell you a secret okay? I love you and your dad and if that happens, it would be the best Christmas for me.”

-----------------------

Luhan thought there would never be something more painful than watching Sehun marry someone else. After the wedding, he made excuses not to make it to the reception, and instead went home and cried himself to sleep. The next day, Baekhyun was surprised to see a fresh-faced Luhan in his office at the clinic.

Scared that maybe his best friend had gone crazy, Baekhyun asked, “Lu? Are you okay?”

Luhan smiled a small smile before reaching for his best friend’s hand. “Baek, I will never be as okay as I was before but I’m trying my best. I’ll get over this.”

Two years after, Luhan proved himself wrong. Jia, Sehun’s wife, died at childbirth, leaving Sehun alone to care for their little girl. And if watching Sehun get married was painful, seeing Sehun mourn for his wife was heart-wrenching and that day, Luhan realized the fact that he’ll never get over his best friend.

-----------------------

Fast-forward to five years later. Luhan and Sehun still worked in their island’s local hospital as nurse and doctor, though Luhan just came back from a one-year training at a bigger hospital in the mainland for his ER Specialization.

Truthfully, Luhan was glad to be back and the people were glad to see him as well. Their little Xiao Lu was missed a lot by the townspeople.

Life continued on as usual except this time, Sehun seemed a bit different than Luhan remembered.

On point, Luhan heard a knock on his office door.

“Come in!”

Platinum locks peeked out from behind his now-open door.

“Lu, you done?” Sehun asked, eyes wandering over to Luhan’s still cluttered work table.

“Yeah, almost. Just need to finish putting away these consultation forms and then I’m done. You need me for something?” Luhan asked.

Sehun shook his head and smiled. “Yes. I need you to come eat lunch with me. I’m starving.”

He didn’t know if it was just him overthinking but Sehun seemed more caring? Like bringing him something to eat and stuff, always asking how his day has been.

Luhan had enough heartaches and bitter disappointments when it came to Sehun to last him his whole lifetime. He decided it was better to let things be.

Sehun was just being a friend, nothing unusual about that.

-----------------------

If ever there was an unexpected thing in Luhan’s life that gave him the most happiness, it would be Mihyun.

Truthfully, Luhan never expected the both of them to click so much, not when he thought everytime he looked at Mihyun it would only be hearteache because the child looked so much like both his parents combined.

When he started babysitting Mihyun though just after he came back from the Mainland, he found it impossible not to like her, not when she had Jia’s inherent kindness and Sehun’s quiet demeanor. Sure, Luhan might have loved Sehun since forever but he found out his heart was a little bigger with just enough space to give for one more person.

As both him and Mihyun spend a lot more time together in each other’s company, he found himself falling for Sehun more and more everytime he sees how wonderful Mihyun’s upbringing was.

The girl was never a bother, always acting older than her age. She also does well at school and was a friend to everyone.

One day however, Luhan found Mihyun quietly sobbing in the living room, perched atop the sofa in front of the fireplace. Luhan was actually a little early because usually, he would come home to change before going over at Sehun’s but today he brought a extra clothes and decided to just head over after work let out.

Hearing the girl’s quiet sniffles broke Luhan’s heart because with Mihyun’s tendency to act older than her age, the adults tend to forget that behind her smiles, she’s still a little kid with only a dad as her family.

“Mihyun-ah?” Luhan called out softly.

The girl’s head came up from where it was buried between her kneecaps, and Luhan saw her trying to wipe away her tears in vain before turning around to smile at him.

“Oppa?”

Luhan’s heart broke.

“Sweetheart, you never have to pretend with me ok?”Luhan said as he gathered the little girl in his arms and listened to her cry about her mom, about how lonely she was and how she feels sad for her dad.

After that, Mihyun practically treated Luhan as a second father (“More like second mother if you ask me,” Baekhyun quipped.”) Whenever together, they would stay attached at the hip, and all that came out of Mihyun’s mouth was “Uncle Luhan this, Uncle Luhan that.”

It even made Sehun all sulky, thinking his little girl liked Luhan more than his own father. It made Luhan laugh because without realizing it, their shared love and concern for Sehun also made Mihyun and him together.

-----------------------

Aside from Sehun’s apparent attentiveness to his health, this time it was Baekhyun who noticed that Sehun seemed a little bit more overprotective over Luhan than usual. Slash that, not the overprotective brotherly/best friend sort, more like possesive boyfriend feels.

Baekhyun first noticed it when the clinic staff went on a stress-debriefing activity to the beach. They call it that because it was apparently a way to let off some steam from work but really, it’s just a day to relax and get away from the stresses of their jobs.

Mostly all the guys wore shorts with their upper bodies bare (“Almost, because not everyone would like to have their skins toasted by the sun, thank you very much.” -Baekhyun) but he caught sight of Luhan wearing trunks but with his upper body covered in a much-too-large tshirt.

“Lu, did you lose a ton of weight that the shirt looks like it isn’t yours or...?” Baekhyun asked with eyebrows raised.

Luhan replied with a small laugh. “Oh, this isn’t mine. It’s Sehun’s. I was playing beach soccer with the rest of the guys when Jongdae accidentally tore of my shirt’s neckline. That kid plays too hard.”

“Couldn’t you just wear another shirt?”

“Well, I was about to go to the car and change but then Sehun suddenly threw his shirt at me telling me to wear it. It was weird actually.” Luhan looked genuinely confused but when Baekhyun saw a bunch of guys playing beach volley at the entrance of the parking lot his brain clicked.

Because Luhan had to pass by those guys, shirtless, in order to change his clothes.

The rest of the day, Baekhyun actually kept himself entertained by watching how Sehun took care of Luhan in the most unnoticeable of ways-- bringing him water, pulling him over to the shade, looking over at Luhan when the other swam at deeper waters.

It didn’t make any sense, because Sehun didn’t feel anything NOT PLATONIC for Luhan.

Or did he?

-----------------------

The days passed on with a blur and back to the present Christmas Eve.

Luhan just about talking to Mihyun when a voice - Sehun’s voice - suddenly sounded from behind them.

“Then if I ask you to marry me right here and now, would you?” was the first thing that came out of Sehun’s mouth.

Luhan stood shock-still, before he felt irritation and frustration bubbling from within.

He held Mihyun closer to him before replying with a, “Is this your idea of a joke? Because if it is, it isn’t funny, Oh Sehun.”

But Sehun didn’t flinch, looking like he totally meant what he just blurted out. “No, I’m not. This is me being 100% serious.”

Luhan was about to reply when he remembered they had a 5-year-old kid in hearing range. Sehun also seemed to realize the same thing at the same time.

“Mihyun, sweetheart, can you go upstairs please? Your Uncle and I need to talk for a bit okay? I’ll get you when it’s time for our Christmas Dinner,” Sehun called out to his daughter.

Mihyun seemed torn between following her dad and leaving Luhan alone but when the latter gave her a little push, she slowly walked towards the stairs, though she kept throwing furtive glances towards Luhan.

As soon as she was beyond hearing range, Luhan blew up.

“What was that for?! Don’t get your daughter’s hopes up!” Luhan said, voice a little higher than normal.

“Luhan, listen to me. I’m not doing that. I meant what I said,” Sehun said in a calm voice, like he didn’t just randomly say words Luhan had wanted to hear his whole life.

“No, you don’t. Because you don’t know anything about how I feel, you don’t even see me, you don’t know everything about me.” Luhan replied in a broken voice, the tears now falling freely.

He slowly fell on his knees over the carpeted floor, before he buried his face in his hands and cried.

It wasn’t even a minute when he felt arms enclose his trembling form. Hands gently rubbed circles on his back as soft lips placed kisses over his temple.

“The first time I realized how I felt for you was when you just came back from that pesky training from the mainland. You had no idea was messed up I was when I couldn’t see you after a few days. Remember that joke about me being “SeHulk”? That happened 2 months after you left. And when you came back, it was likes seeing you in a different light.

Why do you think I almost flipped tables when that one guy leered at you during our beach trip? Or why I always ask you how you were doing, if you had any plans of dating anyone? Why I was always so happy whenever I see you and Mihyun together?

I already wasted a lot of years before I realized how much your presence in my life meant to me. I regret not realizing it sooner, and so I had a lot of ‘what ifs’. But now, all I want is for you to be my ‘what is’.

So Luhan, will you be mine?”

Instead of answering, Luhan looked up and punched Sehun in the face.

“You idiot, why did it take so long for you to confess? I hate you!” He ranted before throwing his arms around Sehun’s neck.

Sehun could only laugh as he hugged Luhan’s trembling form pasted to his with one arm (the other was stuck rubbing his jaw because Luhan has a mean right hook).

“You hate me but I take it your answer is yes?”

This time, Luhan lifted his head from where it was buried in Sehun’s neck.

“You’re my ‘what is’. Let me be your ‘what will be’.”



-END-