16^th March 2018

“Hurry up Baekhyun! We need to be at my parents’ house in half an hour!” shouted Jongdae, annoyed and slightly frantic.

“I know just hold on! I’m getting dressed now!” he shouted back in return, voice muffled by the bedroom door.

They were running late for dinner and were already supposed to be out of the door and on their way. Jongdae was annoyed, seriously annoyed. He knew it wasn’t Baekhyun’s fault – peak hour traffic was a – but he still reserved the right to feel annoyed. He also knew that his husband was moving as fast as he could but at the moment he didn’t really care. He hadn’t seen his parents in a while so he was excited to have dinner with them.

His parents had learnt that Ryeowook was back in town and they were anxious to catch up with him. They had absolutely adored Ryeowook and lets be real here, who wouldn’t? Jongdae was trying to forget the lashing that he got from his mother when she found out that he had known and failed to inform her.

Junmyeon, who was cocked on Jongdae’s hip whined at the shouting, tapping his hand on Jongdae’s chest. Jongdae apologised but he couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. At that moment Junmyeon looked a lot like himself when he tells Minseok and Luhan to stop yelling and use their inside voices while talking.

Thundering footsteps could be heard and Baekhyun comes running down the stairs, buttoning up his shirt on the way down and hair still damp from the shower he had taken.

“Come on we need to be quick. You grab Minnie and Lulu and don’t worry about the bags, I’ve already put them in the car.” Jongdae tells Baekhyun once he had finished buttoning his shirt.

Baekhyun nods, easily picking up Minseok and Luhan form where they were sitting on the lounge. He hoists them up, with each situated on a hip.

“Ready to go and see grandma and grandpa?” he asks and both boys nod. Jongdae had said that they had been babbling about it all day. They loved their grandparents, though at this age he’s pretty sure the presents that they were gifted every time they met also had something to do with it. Mama Kim loved to spoil her grandchildren.

“No!” Minseok suddenly shouts, startling Baekhyun. “Kitty! Want kitty!”

“You want your kitty plushie?” Baekhyun asks again to be sure but it’s pretty obvious that that’s what he wants.

“Lulu want deer to!” says Luhan and Baekhyun sighs, leaving the house with everyone could never go smoothly could it.

“You go put them in the car and I’ll get their plushies.” Says Jongdae from off to the side. He disappears upstairs, still holding Junmyeon while Baekhyun makes his way outside and out to the car. Strapping them in a little bit of a struggle, both of them whining for their beloved plushies.

“Mama’s getting them, don’t worry.” He says, but as he does so he can see Luhan’s bottom lip beginning to tremble and he can already see the tears forming. But like and angel sent from heaven, Jongdae appears on the other side, plushie clutched in his free hand and Luhan goes from sad to happy in the drop of a hat.

“Here you go babies~” Jongdae sings, handing Minseok and Luhan their respective plushies. Now that that little hiccup had been sorted Jongdae buckles Junmyeon into his seat but not before handing Baekhyun the car keys. Looking at the time Jongdae sees that they have 15 minutes left, just enough time to get there…hopefully.

Not wasting a moment Baekhyun jumps into the front seat and starts the engine just as Jongdae takes his place in the passenger’s seat. The drive is spent watching the lights as they pass with light conversation between Jongdae and Baekhyun, Minseok and Luhan trying to join in occasionally.

They soon pull into a familiar driveway and see an unfamiliar car.

“Looks like Ryeowook’s already here.” Comments Jongdae as he analyses the red Hyundai Getz. It’s small but Jongdae thought it suited the man in question quite well.

Unpacking the car of the bags and the children, they march up to the door. Like real family should, Jongdae doesn’t even bother knocking. Instead, he walks right in giving a quick “We’re here mama!” to announce their presence.

Quick footsteps are heard and Liyin comes around the corner and down the hallway, a massive smile on her face and arms out ready to take Junmyeon out of his arms. Jongdae doesn’t even think about denying and hands him over as soon as she gets close enough, pecking her on the cheek in the process.

“Look at you Myeonnie! You’ve gotten so big~” Liyin coos at her youngest grandson as she rubs their noses together making Junmyeon giggle in delight.

Jongdae smiles at the sight, dropping the bags off in the lounge room and going off to find his father and Ryeowook. Baekhyun greets Liyin, giving her a peck on the cheek as well, seeing as both of his arms were occupied. They both turn and follow Jongdae who has found the two missing persons sitting and chatting together at the dining table.

Seeing Jongdae and his little entourage entre the living room Jonghyun and Ryeowook halt their conversation and get up. Jonghyun goes over and hugs his son, Ryeowook doing the same when the father and son duo had separated.

“Hey babies!” says Ryeowook. “You want to come to uncle?” he claps his hands and held them out towards Baekhyun and the twins. Minseok, being the shy one burrows his face into Baekhyun’s neck hiding it from view. However after a moment Luhan holds his arms out, accepting Ryeowook’s offer.

They had both met Ryeowook on multiple occasions and while Luhan had warmed up to him quickly, Minseok was still getting there. Out of the twins, Minseok was more timid than Luhan. He was shy and warmed up to people slower than the more outgoing Luhan.

“Hey son.” Jonghyun says as he claps Baekhyun on the shoulder and pinches Minseok’s cheek. He tries to push his grandpa’s hand away but in reality it looks like he’s pawing at his face like a cat would. The sight is just adorable.

“Liyin had just finished cooking when you guys arrive so I can say that your timing is pretty spot on.” Jonghyun praises.

“Haha yeah.” Baekhyun rubs his neck in relief. Thank god they got there in time.

“Come on boys. It’s time to eat. Me and Jongdae are going to set the table.” Liyin says from the kitchen, Baekhyun, Jonghyun and Ryeowook calling out in affirmation.

“You go and sit down and I’ll grab the highchairs.” Jonghyun says, disappearing for a moment before returning with three highchairs. He sits them around the table and Baekhyun puts Minseok into one. Liyin deposits Junmyeon into the other while Ryeowook places Luhan in the remaining one.

Jongdae and Liyin swiftly set the table and there is a brief silence while they all fill their plates with the delicious food. Nothing’s better than a mothers cooking.

Ryeowook takes his first bite and moans. “Oh my god. It’s been so long since I’ve had your cooking.” He says as he takes another bite.

Liyin preens at the compliment. “You’re welcome to come over anytime. I always make more than enough to go around.”

“You can definitely count on that.” He promises. How could he refuse an offer like that?

As dinner progresses, they all find themselves enjoying the chance to catch up and tell stories of event that had happened both years ago and more recently. Jongdae sipped on the wine, loving the opportunity to have a drink while Baekhyun stuck with water. He was the designated driver and being the law abiding citizen that he is didn’t like driving when he had alcohol in his system.

“You were telling us before that you recently got a new worker.” Says Jonghyun and Baekhyun and Jongdae pipe up in interest.

“Ah do you finally filled the free position did you?” Jongdae asks. The last time they had been to the café he was still looking.

“Mmh yeah. Around 5 or 6 weeks ago I think.” Ryeowook answers. “I’m also renting the apartment out to him.”

“That’s great!” exclaims Liyin. “What’s he like?” she says, curious about the boy her second son had hired.

“He’s a good kid. Quiet but hard working.” He says, but a rueful smile makes its way onto his face. “He’s a little bit…damaged.” He pauses and everyone is sitting in attention. “He’s had a hard life.” He explains.

“The poor thing.” Comments Liyin, felling sympathy for the boy she didn’t even know.

“What’s his name?” Jongdae asks wanting to know if he had seen him on his visits to the café.

“Do Kyungsoo.” Ryeowook says and Baekhyun chokes on his water which he was drinking and Jongdae has to pat his back while his eyes were wide in surprise. The others look at the pair, wondering why the boys name had caused such a reaction.

“Did you say Do Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun said after he had recovered from nearly choking to death.

“Ah yeah. Why, do you know him?”

“Kind of.” Baekhyun says. “He was assaulted and I took his statement.”

Realisation took over Ryeowook. “So that’s why he came home with bruises.” He ponders over this information for a moment. “He wouldn’t really tell me about what had happened and I was worried but he assured me that he and they baby were okay.”

“That’s good then.”

Wait, what?

Baby?

“Did you just say baby.” Jongdae asks for Baekhyun. “You didn’t tell me he was pregnant.” He says, turning towards Baekhyun who is just as surprised and Jongdae.

“You didn’t know?” says Ryeowook, a frown adoring his face.

“No. I had no idea. It wasn’t even mentioned on the medical repot I was given.”

‘Why would that be included?’ he thought. It’s an important bit of information. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t have been in there.

“Strange.” Comments Liyin and it really was.

“How is he anyway?” Jongdae inquires.

“He- yeah he’s good. Well as good as he can be. He’s doing a lot better than he was when I first met him anyway so I’ll take that as a positive sign.” Ryeowook says but he doesn’t give any details about it and everyone respects that, even though they’re sure he knows more than what he’s telling. They may be curious but they didn’t want to pry into someone else’s privacy.

Noticing that the mood has turned sombre Jonghyun changed the subject and soon they were all chatting away again. The boys had finished their food with Minseok and Luhan being cleaner than Junmyeon who had half of his food covering some part of his little body.

Jongdae went over to Minseok and Luhan, wiping their faces with a cloth but the same could be done for Junmyeon. He needed a complete wardrobe change, luckily Jongdae was always prepared. Junmyeon was soon wearing nice, clean clothes. Dinner came to an end and with that everyone moved over to the lounge room where they could sit comfortably and keep and eyes on the boys while they played.

Once given free range of the floor in the lounge room, Minseok and Luhan headed straight towards the basket of kids toys that Liyin and Jonghyun had bought for them to play with when they came over while Junmyeon was content to just sit in his grandpa’s lap. By the drooping of his eyes, Jongdae was sure that he would be sound asleep in a matter of minutes.

“Oh, I forgot to mention this earlier but my cousin’s going to be coming down in a couple of weeks.” Says Ryeowook suddenly, as if he had just remembered it.

“Jonginnie?” says Jongdae, a smile beginning to form on his face. “I haven’t seen that kid in years. How’s he going?”

“He’s great. He’s transferring Universities to one not too far away from the café so he’s going to be living with me.”

“Ahh, it’ll be good to see him. What’s he studying?” Baekhyun asks.

“Dance.” Ryeowook says with a proud smile.

“Of course.” Says Jongdae. Jongin had always loved dance. He literally lived and breathed it with his entire body.

“I’m a little bit worried though.” Ryeowook confessed. “Kyungsoo doesn’t do to well with strangers and I don’t want him to be uncomfortable.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Reassures Liyin. “From what I remember Jongin was a kind boy.”

“Yeah you’re right.” He agrees. “But I just can’t help but feel protective over Kyungsoo.”

Suddenly Luhan comes waddling over and tugs on Ryeowook’s hand and points over of the toys they he and Minseok had scattered over the floor.

“Play.” He says simply.

“You want me to play with you?”

“Uh huh.” Luhan nods in reply and pulls Ryeowook off of the lounge and over to Minseok. Minseok looks at the new comer and shuffles a short distance away, becoming shy again. Seeing this, Ryeowook picks up the kitty plushie that he knows belongs to Minseok and offers it to him.

Minseok just stares at it for a while before slowly reaching out and grabbing it. Once he has it he hugs it to his chest and Ryeowook smiles, amused at Minseok’s mannerisms.

Ryeowook continues to play with them as the night goes on and everyone can see Minseok slowly warming up to him. Multiple times Minseok was seen approaching Ryeowook instead of waiting for Ryeowook to approach him.

In the meantime, Junmyeon was peacefully snoozing away in the strong and comforting arms of his grandpa, drool staining his shirt but Jonghyun didn’t mind one bit. Instead, he found it quite endearing. It reminded him of when Jongdae was a baby and would fall asleep in his arms. While there’s no denying that Jongdae is a mummy’s boy, Jongdae had often found comfort in the arms of his father. He had felt safe and protected.

Over the other side of the room, Luhan began to whine and looking at the clock Baekhyun saw that it was late.

“Babe. I think it’s about time we head home. They boys are looking pretty tired.” Baekhyun said to Jongdae and after seeing the state of his children he agreed.

“We’ll walk you guys out.” Said Liyin, standing up as the others did the same.

Baekhyun and Jongdae walked over to the boys, Baekhyun picking up Luhan while Jongdae got Minseok. After picking up their bag, the family made their way outside and to the car.

“Say goodbye to grandma, grandpa and uncle Ryeowook.” Jongdae says.

“Bye…” they sleepily mumble as Liyin and Jonghyun give them little kisses on the cheek. Ryeowook waves at them and Luhan waves back. After a moment Minseok does so as well, a shy smile on his face. By the looks of it Minseok had finally accepted Ryeowook.

Jongdae buckles the twins in while Jonghyun straps the still sleeping Junmyeon into his own seat. The family is soon piled into their car and with their last farewells and promises catch up again soon, they pull out of the driveway.

 None of the children make it home before they fall asleep and Jongdae can feel himself being pulled into the nice depths of sleep. He must have drifted off for a seconds because the nest thing he knows he’s being shook awake, the familiar sight of the driveway greeting him.

Sleepily, Jongdae carries the dead weight of Junmyeon up the stairs and into bed, Baekhyun following him with the twins but breaking off to put them in their own rooms. With the kids put to bed, Jongdae goes into their bedroom and collapses onto the bed, not bothering to take anything off.

He can hear the sounds of Baekhyun padding into the bedroom and the ruffling of clothing as their taken off. He feels Baekhyun taking off his shoes and sock, as well as his pants and shirt, leaving his underwear on. Baekhyun pulls him into a sitting position and slips a loose shirt over his head before laying him back down and pulling the covers over him.

There’s a pause in movement until the light switch is flicked off and the bed dips and Baekhyun slides in next to him. In seconds Jongdae is long gone, mind drifting off to sweet dreams and body kept warm by the one of his husband who is wrapped protectively around him.

Chapter 18! It's getting long now. I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter. I think I'm suffering a bit of writers block. Like I know what I want to write but when I go to write it it just doesn't turn out the way I want it to. But thank the heavens I finally got this chapter finished.

Guys, I'm absolutely freaking out though. I've been watching videos of their concert and I am absolutely blown away. And the choreography for Artificial Love...WHAT THE IS THAT!! I'm never going to be able to listen to this song the same way ever again. Those body rolls and hip s will be the death of me. I can now die happy to the image of Jongdae's y af body rolls. And it's official guys, Park Chanyeol has abs and they're beautiful. He's jacked af though. Those flannel shirts and jumpers have been hiding so much from our eyes. Now all we're waiting for is Baekhyun and Kyungsoo and Jongdae. While the mesh shirt was a step up, I need an unobstructed view of them. Funny thing though, Jongdae had to dance Artificial love in front of Lee Sooman XD He was totally fanboying over them It's hilarious.

I feel sorry for Jongin and Yixing though. They get hurt so much :'( And you could tell how hard Jongin was trying not to cry and Yixing saying that he was heading back stage to change as he limped off stage. I hope they rest and recover well.