They don’t have a lot. Most of the time it’s a struggle to make ends meet, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be happy. The three of them survived. Two dads and their adopted teenage son. The eldest went to work all day, his partner had once worked but was laid off when the shop he worked at was closed for health violations, and their son attended school (pleasantly oblivious of how unfortunate their situation actually was).

“Hyung?” Jongup sat down next to Himchan and waited for the elder to make a soft noise to permit him to speak further. “My meal card got turned down today.” He spoke quietly – feeling guilty for bringing it up when his hyung look stressed out, but the school had forced him – and stared down at the form from his teacher. “The school said you have to sign this paper since it’s happened three times this month…”

Himchan took the form from Jongup’s hand and read over it slowly. The school, apparently, had a policy in place for students that weren’t receiving enough nutrition. Himchan thought it was stupid because there was no way to prove that Jongup wasn’t obtaining food at home. Yongguk would never allow the youngest to go hungry. “I’ll tell Yongguk to put more money on it when he gets home.”  Himchan signed the form before pressing a kiss to Jongup’s forehead.

“I don’t know why the money goes away so fast Hyung…” Even if he was kept out of financial discussions he knew that money was tight. He’d seen the stress on his hyungs’ faces ever since Himchan had become unemployed. “I try to make it last, but then it’s gone…”

Himchan sighed and pulled the younger male into his arms. “That’s what happens Jonguppie. Things are expensive. You have to have them though. Yongguk and I want you to have them.”  Himchan and Yongguk had made a point to ensure that Jongup had everything he needed. Some times it was harder than others but they were determined. “You’re the most important thing to us.”

The younger of the two blushed slightly, curling closer to his hyung. He didn’t feel as important as Himchan was telling him he that he was, he didn’t think he was even close to that. “What about each other?”

“Jonguppie is first, and then we’re second.”

“But he’s your husband.”

“Partner.” Himchan corrected, shaking his head slightly. “Yonggukkie is my partner. And we both want to make sure you’re happy, if you’re happy then we’re happy.” Though no one ever brought it up they all knew that Jongup had gone long enough without happiness and the oldest two wanted to make up for it the best they could.

“What if I said that making you and Hyung happy was what made me happy?” Jongup smiled, thinking he had outwitted his Hyung.

“Then you should eat and take care of yourself. That’s what makes Yonggukkie and I happy.”

Jongup pouted and nodded slightly, earning himself another kiss to his forehead. Himchan thought it was cute that he had tried to win the argument, but in the end it hadn’t worked. It was hard for him to accept the unconditional love he got from his hyungs but that didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful for it. It felt nice. “My teacher wants to meet my parents.”

Himchan’s face dropped immediately. He knew that their family wasn’t exactly conventional, and he also knew that some people might not look too kindly upon it. “Does your teacher know?”

“I told her that my family is different than other families. I’m not sure what she took that to mean.”

Himchan ran his hand through his hair and tried to think of a reasonable excuse to not have to meet Jongup’s teacher. He knew that it wouldn’t be taken well that a seventeen-year-old boy was living with two gay twenty-two year olds. He was afraid that the teenager he considered to be his son would be taken away from him. “I’ll figure something out. That’s my job, right?”

“I won’t let them take me away Hyung. I want to stay here most.”

“I want you to stay here too. I know Yonggukkie wants you to stay here too.” Himchan smiled at the younger male and patted his cheek gently. “Now, off to bed with you. Yongguk says goodnight. He picked up some extra hours so he won’t be home until late.”

“When will he be home?”

“Past our bedtime.” Himchan helped the younger male up and then led him into the bedroom. He watched Jongup climb into the bed and then tucked him in. “Sleep well.” He kissed the teenager’s forehead a final time, flicked the lights off, and then walked back out to the living room.

Himchan sighed and pulled his sheets out of the closet before setting them out on the floor. He had convinced Yongguk that it would be better if Jongup was allowed to sleep in the bed. Yongguk only agreed because of the way Himchan had pouted. He didn’t sleep much anyway. He had to work late regularly. Himchan got lonely so he went to bed when Jongup did so he didn’t have to sit up alone.

The following afternoon Himchan walked in to Jongup’s classroom, much to his teacher’s surprise. “You, ah, Jonguppie said you wanted to meet with me?”

The teacher eyed Himchan up and down for a couple of seconds. “You don’t look old enough to be Jongup’s father.” Himchan wasn’t surprised when those were the first words to come out of . He obviously hadn’t lived long enough to have a seventeen year old.

“He lives with me. I take care of him.” Himchan noticed the teenager sitting in one of the desks and he waved slightly at the boy. “I’m in charge of him.” Jongup ran up to Himchan and wrapped his arms around the older male’s waist, smiling nervously at his teacher as he did. “I’m the person you need to talk to about whatever is wrong.”

Though she was still looking at Himchan apprehensively she nodded her head and indicated to a chair in front of her desk. She at behind the desk and Himchan took his seat. “We sent a form home because Jongup’s meal card ran out three times this month. I wanted to speak to his parent about that.”

“It’s not Hyung’s fault! I didn’t tell Hyung and Hyung that I was out of money!” Jongup immediately came to his hyung’s defence and threw his arms protectively around him. “I told them I had money! I wanted Hyungs to be able to have some money for a date!”

“You did what?” Himchan forgot about the teacher completely and turned to face the younger male. “We talked about this Jongup.”

Jongup pouted slightly and released a soft whine. “We talked about it last night. I was trying to save you money all month. I heard Yonggukkie hyung tell his mother that you two haven’t been on a date in a year. I want you two to be able to go on a date so you don’t stop loving each other and then start fighting all the time and then break up. You two would be so unhappy if you two weren’t together anymore. You told me that you would be depressed if Yonggukkie hyung ever left you so I just wanted to make sure it didn’t happen.”

“Yonggukkie isn’t going to break up with me. We’re happy and we love each other.” Himchan pressed his lips to Jongup’s forehead and ran his fingers through the boy’s hair. “We love you too. We want you to eat. Yongguk and I have been together a long time, after a while dates become obsolete.”

Jongup nodded his head and pulled his arms back to his body. Himchan returned his attentions to the teacher, who was watching them more intensely than Himchan thought she should have, and smiled at her. “I was unaware that this was happening. I will be keeping a closer eye on his meal card in the future though.”

The teacher nodded her head and motioned for Himchan to leave. He had expected it to be far more difficult to fix the situation. Especially after Jongup had mentioned that Himchan was in a relationship with a man. He had been terrified that the teacher would try to take Jongup away from him. Maybe she had realised it wouldn’t be worth the fight. It didn’t particularly matter to Himchan though. All that mattered was that Jongup was allowed to continue living with him.

“I didn’t meant for you to get in trouble Hyung…” Jongup mumbled the second they had walked out of the classroom. “I really meant well…”

“I know you did, Jonguppie.” Himchan moved in to get the boy a loving touch but pulled back at the last second. He didn’t want any of the other students to see and think it was a reason to tease Jongup. “Promise that you won’t try anything like this again?”

“Do you promise that you and Hyung are happy?”

“I promise.” Himchan smiled and reached out to adjust Jongup’s bag and jacket. “You did your tie wrong this morning. He sighed and fixed the younger male’s tie before he could fight back. “Why haven’t you learned how to do it yet?”

“Because you always do it for me. Why would I need to learn?” He stuck his tongue out and pushed Himchan’s hands away from his chest. “Yongguk hyung can’t do laundry or tie ties. He’s got a pretty boyfriend to do that for him. I intend to live the same way. I won’t ever have to cook, clean, or take care of myself ever.”

“Brat.”

“I’m cute and you know it.”

“You should be more like me.”

Jongup smiled and pulled Himchan in to a tight hug. “I love you Hyung.”

The older male chuckled, more than willing to return his dongsaeng’s hug. “I have an interview today so I’ll be home a little late. There’s some cookies in the pantry for you.

_____________

have the fluffs~ 
There's no Yongguk or Zelo in this chapter as you might have noticed. They'll show up later. 
So leave me comments and such~
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