Luhan was never one to believe in ‘loving someone until your chest feels like it’s about to burst.’

 

To him, the feeling of his chest on the verge of bursting is when he scores a goal during a practice match, or an actual game. It’s also the feeling he gets when his parents tell him they’ll be having his favorite menu for dinner.

 

But now, whenever Sehun is around, he can feel the thump thump thump in his heart, and he doesn’t know why. He would always make sure he’s holding the younger one’s hands, making sure he does not fall.

 

“I think Luhan ge is in love, mommy.”

 

Luhan nearly chocked on his spinach casserole. He gave his little brother, Kyungsoo, the evil look but Kyungsoo did not seem to notice.

 

Zitao looked up from the dishes he was doing and eyed his sons. “What? Is that true, Luhan?”

 

“No!” In return, Luhan quickly denied, cheeks turning pink.

 

“But you said your chest goes dum dum dum whenever Sehunnie is around.”

 

“It’s thump thump thump, Soo.” The older replied with a puff of breath. “And it doesn’t mean I’m in love! Right, mama?”

 

The mother of two wiped his hands on the kitchen towel and came back to the dining table to join his sons. He smiled at Luhan, then at Kyungsoo.

 

“Well, thump thump thump in your chest can mean many things. Love is one of them.”

 

“What else can you feel, mama?”

 

“Excitement, anxiety… Many things. Is your thump thump thump in a good way or does it make you want to cry?”

 

At this point, Luhan had finishe his food. He took a quick trip to the sink to dump his dirty plates before returning to drink his glass of water.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“He’s in love.”

 

“I’m not, Soo!”

 

“Okay, okay. Why don’t we start on homework, hm?” Zitao decided it was time to change the subject. “We’ll talk about it some other time.”

 

“Okay, mama.”

 

“Okay.”

 

The kids grabbed their backpacks and took out their books. Luhan had mathematics homework; which, in his language, would mean ‘Nightmare.’ So Zitao sat next to him and helped answer some of the problems his son is not familiar with.

 

The day was uneventful, and Zitao decided not to bring up the issue about Luhan being ‘in love’ with Sehun. He was going to ask for advice from a few people though…

 

***

Just before Zitao managed to voice out his thoughts, Baekhyun had already spat out questions after questions at him.

 

“I seriously think Jongin is in love with Kyungsoo.” He had started off. “What do I do!? He’s too young to be in love! He’s my baby!”

 

Well.

 

“What makes yo—“

 

“What am I going to do!? Once he gets married he’s going to leave me and run off with his wife or something! I have failed as a parent!”

 

“Baekhyun!”

 

This calmed Baekhyun down; calm enough to make him look at Zitao.

 

“Oh, sorry, were you saying something?”

 

Zitao tried his best not to facepalm.

 

“Yeah, um…” He began. “I think Luhan has a crush on Sehun.”

 

“What.”

 

Oh boy, here it comes.

 

“Sehun is a baby! I will not allow him to be in any kind of relationship until he is thirty years old!”

 

“Baek, wouldn’t thirty years old be too old?”

 

“He’s my baby!”

 

Zitao figured that talking to Baekhyun about his kids’ puppy love was a bad idea. Sure he loves his kids but Baekhyun can be considered possessive. It is cute, but sometimes Baekhyun overreacts.

 

“It’s just puppy love. That’s probably why Jongin likes Kyungsoo too.”

 

Baekhyun gripped his baby blue shirt. “He told me he wanted to marry Kyungsoo. But what about mommy, Jonginnie!?”

 

Zitao could not help but laugh. This is why he and Baekhyun are good friends. Baekhyun can always humor him, even if he does it unintentionally sometimes (most of the times).

 

“They’re going to grow up sooner or later.” He decided to tease the older man. Watching Baekhyun panicking is like a breath of fresh air.

 

“Oh my god. Was this how my mother felt when I decided to marry Chanyeol and move out? Oh god, I need to call her now.”

 

Baekhyun excused himself from the table to actually call his mother. Zitao could hear words like “Sorry” and “…Miss me” from where he was sitting. He smiled and decided to take out his phone.

 

To: Kris

With Baek right now. Apparently Jongin wants to marry our baby Soo.

 

A reply came in a few minutes later.

 

From: Kris

I asked Yeol about it, apparently it’s true that Jongin really likes him! Our kids are so cute.

 

Zitao smiled at the reply. The children really are cute; especially when they have ‘adult’ crisis. How he missed his childhood when the worse thing he could worry about was falling off a bike and hurting his knee.

 

Baekhyun returned not long after, eyes clearly teary. Zitao didn’t really want to ask him what happened but he told him anyway.

 

“So I called my mommy.”

 

Zitao snickered at the way Baekhyun used the word mommy instead of mother, like he usually does.

 

“She told me she was devastated when I told her I wanted to get married and move out. But that’s just life; parents need to let their children soar and start new families.”

 

“That’s true.” Commented the younger of the two.

 

“But I—I’m not ready to let my kids go yet.” Baekhyun confessed shyly. “Do you think Jongin would mind if I told him to postpone the wedding?”

 

At this, Zitao laughed. To him Baekhyun looked genuinely worried.

 

“Of course he won’t mind. I’m not letting my baby marry someone who doesn’t have a job yet, you know. Jongin needs to prove himself worthy of Kyungsoo’s hand in marriage; just like Chanyeol had to prove himself to your parents back then, remember?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

And the two shared a laugh.

 

***

“Daddy, I think Luhan ge is in love with Sehunnie.”

 

“Soo!”

 

Kris tilted his head to the side. As soon as he arrived home, the first thing Kyungsoo did was approach him with such a statement. Luhan followed behind his brother, his face obviously not amused.

 

“Is that true, Lu?”

 

Luhan shifted in his spot nervously. “N—No… I don’t know, okay!?”

 

He have Kyungsoo the angriest expression he could muster and ran back to his room.

 

“Is Luhan ge angry at me?” Kyungsoo asked Kris, who, in return, picked him up in his arms.

 

“No, baby. He’s probably just a little shy. Come on, let’s have dinner. Where’s mommy?”

 

“Mommy is in the kitchen.”

 

***

Luhan ate dinner in his own room; his reason being he was upset at Kyungsoo and refuses to see his face. Kyungsoo, of course, did not really understand what that meant, so he just sat in the dining table casually, enjoying his plate of Macaroni and Cheese.

 

“Baby,” Zitao cooed. “You shouldn’t say things like that about your brother, okay? It’s not very nice.”

 

“But it’s true, mama. I think he’s in love with Sehunnie.”

 

The innocent response was so cute that Kris pinched his second born’s cheek.

 

“Even if it’s true, or you think it’s true, you shouldn’t say it. He’s upset now. Go say sorry once you’ve finished your dinner.”

 

Kyungsoo nodded. He still looked confused, but at least it’ll clear out the misunderstanding a little bit. Once he finished his meal, he dunked his plate in the sink, muttered a soft ‘thank you for the meal’ and headed straight for his brother’s room. Kris and Zitao exchanged looks.

 

“Do you think Luhan is in love with Sehun?” Kris asked his wife.

 

“Well, if by love you mean puppy love then yes.” Zitao responded. “He told me his heart goes thump thump thump whenever he’s with Sehun.”

 

“Aw, how cute. Kinda reminds me of high school memories.”

 

“Oh, you silly goose.”

 

They teased each other the way they used to back in their school days and washed the dishes together before disappearing into their shared bedroom.

 

***

Luhan is sure he isn’t ‘in love.’

 

But that morning, when he received a phone call from Baekhyun asking him to come over to watch Sehun while he’s out shopping, Luhan thought he might change his mind.

 

His heart goes thump thump thump as he asked for Zitao’s permission. Then he packed his tiny backpack with his water bottle and sandwiches for lunch.

 

“Have fun, darling!” He remembered his mother waving from the car as he walked into Sehun’s house. Baekhyun patted his head and said thank you before joining his mother in the car. Sehun’s brothers, Joonmyun, Jongin and Jongdae tagged along.

 

And so the house is empty with the exception of Sehun, happily playing with his toy cars.

 

“Sehunnie.” Luhan called.

 

Sehun immediately looked up and ran for a hug.

 

“Luhan ge! Play wif Hun!”

 

The older boy nodded. Four-year-old Sehun bounced in happiness and handed Luhan a toy car.

 

“This is Hun’s favorite.”

 

Luhan had to stop the urge to kiss him.

 

Thump thump thump.

 

Sehun made car noises with his mouth and pushed the car around, sometimes hitting the sofa or the leg of the table in the living room. he then laughed. Luhan couldn’t help but smile.

 

They played like that for a while, with Luhan mainly just watching and Sehun running around the room. When lunch time came he took out his sandwich and shared it with the younger boy.

 

“Is it yummy?”

 

“Yes!”

 

He then took a glass of orange juice from the fridge and gave it to Sehun.

 

After lunch, the two boys continued playing.

 

Luhan felt another rush of thump thump thump.

 

“Sehunnie, do you love me?”

 

Sehun clapped his hands. “Yes! Hun loves Luhan ge!”

 

Thump thump thump.

 

Glomp.

 

Smooch.

 

Luhan didn’t even get to process that, mainly because shortly after his answer, Sehun ran to him and kissed him on the mouth.

 

“S—Sehunnie!”

 

Luhan was blushing furiously and Sehun’s toothy grin made him forget about his anger. Instead, he took deep breaths and grabbed the toy car Sehun gave him.

 

Maybe, just maybe, he believes in ‘loving someone until your chest feels like it’s about to burst.’

 

Even if it’s just, as his mother would call it, puppy love.

 

Even if Sehun was probably still considered a baby.

 

“Luhan ge wants to play?”

 

“Yes, Sehun. Let’s play!”

 

***

As they were about to reach Baekhyun’s house, he looked at his friend on the wheels.

 

“Do you think it was a good idea to leave those two together? Do you think Luhan will finally find answers to his confusion?”

 

Zitao grinned. “Maybe. I just like watching kids flail over their insecurities. In a good way, of course.”

 

“You’re evil.”

 

“You love me anyway.”

 

They were about to make a turn when Baekhyun’s phone buzzed. It was a text message from Chanyeol.

 

“Yeol texted me,” He told Zitao. “He must have gotten home earlier than expected.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

Baekhyun opened the message.

 

From: Chanyeol

Just got home. Sehun and Luhan are curled together asleep in the living room. I kinda feel bad waking them, can I just leave them there?

 

Below the message was a picture attached.

 

Zitao’s smile grew wide.

 

He needed to tell Kyungsoo as soon as possible.

 

A/N: hi im back! today is 'baby sehun!'s second birthday, happy birthday <33333 sorry for the short update btw ;w;

ps. follow me on instagram!