Heechul waited in the school parking lot, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song that was playing. Next to him in the passenger seat there was a package of cupcakes that he’d picked up from the bakery. They were supposed to be for the boys as a treat for their first day back to school, but they looked so delicious that he couldn’t help but steal one of them. They were the really good kind too, with whipped frosting instead of disgusting butter cream.

He watched the minutes on the radio clock tick by, drawing closer and closer until 2:30PM finally arrived. He watched the school impatiently as hundreds of students began to burst out the doors, searching the crowds for the familiar faces of his children. When he finally spotted them, his eyes lit up and he smiled happily.

“Umma! I had the greatest day ever!” Mir exclaimed excitedly as he pulled open the door. He absentmindedly grabbed the package of treats, shoving them in the backseat. “Taemin and I have every class together! Can you believe that? Oh! Plus I have lunch and P.E with Key and Kibum!”

“That’s great, honey,” Heechul told him, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Just make sure you two don’t whisper and pass notes during classes. I don’t want you getting distracted, especially in history class.”

“History is so boring though,” Mir complained, buckling his seat belt.

“Don’t even complain!” Key scolded him as he got into the backseat with Kibum. “You’re taking world history this year. All you’ll learn about are the two world wars! Kibum and I are stuck in Korean history which is the most boring part of history in the world.”

Kibum hummed in agreement but didn’t speak; he was much too exhausted for that. Instead he lost the battle with himself as he struggled to keep his eyes opened, and slowly drifted off into a light sleep.

“Donghae took that class last semester and he did extraordinarily well,” Heechul informed Key, glancing in the rearview mirror. He smiled sympathetically at Kibum; the poor kid was probably so worn out. “You should ask him for help every now and then; it would really boost his ego.”

Key didn’t answer, biting back the comment that he would pay Donghae to do all his homework for the year whether it boosted his ego or not. Instead he let Heechul and Mir talk to each other while they drove. They were taking Mir back to his father’s house now; he’d only come home this weekend for Henry’s concert. He and Heechul would have all night to gossip.

When they arrived home about twenty minutes later, Heechul frowned when he saw that Donghae was home. He’d been pushing it off long enough; he would have to confront Donghae about everything he’d done over the summer.

“Since Mir isn’t here, can I have his cupcake too?” Key asked as he grabbed his backpack and the package of treats and hopped out of the car. “I deserve two cupcakes, since I had to deal with Kibum all day.”

Heechul smiled as he shook Kibum awake. “Well, I suppose that sounds reasonable. You’ll have to tell me all about it. Let me just get him to bed first, alright?”

Key grinned widely, high-tailing it into the house.

Kibum groaned, sliding out of the car as he handed Heechul his bags. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, silently following Heechul towards the front porch. When they got inside he kicked his shoes off, feeling quite relieved to be rid of them. His feet hurt from walking around all day. Once he was in his room, he instantly began to remove his clothing and pulled on his favorite pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before collapsing on the bed. He crawled under the covers, pulling them around him tightly, struggling to keep his eyes open long enough to talk with Heechul for a couple minutes.

Heechul sat on the edge of the bed, smiling softly at Kibum. “Was it absolutely horrible and are you traumatized?”

Kibum shrugged his shoulders, inching over so that he could lay his head on Heechul’s leg. He closed his eyes tiredly, deciding that he could talk without looking at him. “I don’t know…but I missed you.”

“I missed you too, sweetie,” Heechul said, feeling a little sad. “It wasn’t the same without you today.”

“Then don’t make me go back,” Kibum whispered softly. Once again he lost the battle to stay awake and seconds later he was fast asleep, only this time he wouldn’t wake up for the rest of the night.

Heechul stayed by his side for quite awhile, just back his hair. He’d grown so used to him being by his side that it hadn’t felt right without him today. All day he’d been checking his phone all day waiting for Kibum message him, begging to be brought home; he would have done it too. Once he’d been alone for an hour, he’d started to think about how ridiculous this whole idea really was. He’d only been worried about Kibum searching for his drug dealer because something had been bothering him, but now that he knew it was Donghae he should have just let Kibum stay home today and called the school to let them know that he’d changed his mind about sending Kibum there.

It was too late now, though, and if Kibum wasn’t throwing a tantrum already then there was a chance that he might actually enjoy being in school. He’d just have to push aside his feelings; this was about Kibum, not himself.

With a sigh, Heechul gently moved Kibum’s head onto the pillow and tucked the blankets around him tight and snug. He bent over to give him a kiss goodnight before turning the lights off and leaving the room.

Once downstairs he could hear Donghae talking on the phone in his bedroom, no doubt with Eunhyuk on the other line. He let them talk for awhile longer before sitting Donghae down for their talk. In the mean time, he headed into the living room where Key had the TV and was absentmindedly watching it while texting on his phone.

Heechul plopped down next to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. Key looked up at him, smiling lightly.

“How was your day, babe?” Heechul asked him, wanting to know everything. “Did you end up sharing any classes with Minho?”

“Only a couple, but we have lunch together too,” Key informed him with a shrug. “Other than that, it wasn’t really interesting.”

Heechul nodded slowly, his expression turning softer. “How was Kibum? He was so exhausted that he passed out for the night. We didn’t get