Ten years later.

Minseok wasn’t one for big weddings. He’d been to a couple in his lifetime, and he found the over-theatrics to be suffocating of the actual significance of the ceremony. Some time many years ago he had decided that, when he got married, it would be a small thing, with a few friends and of course his parents and close family – he thought he would cap his invitee list at ten people – and whoever else his future spouse wanted to invite.

Of course, at the age of eighteen, he found himself engaged to Luhan, and he somehow knew that dream was going to die out. Luhan would want a huge celebration. The whole world would need to know the moment they tied the knot, the moment they vowed to be stuck with one another for the rest of their lives. Minseok anticipated cameras, a live broadcasting, a parade proceeding to a gigantic cathedral, which would be packed with anyone and everyone Luhan could get his hands on.

Okay, so maybe Minseok’s ideas exaggerated a little. But his thoughts of a small wedding were still shelved when Luhan came into the picture.

The plan had been that, upon graduating from university, the pair would live together for a year and then get married. However, during their final year in school, before any actual wedding plans had begun to form, something incredible happened that hugely impacted their whole engagement. Their long-standing conservative country opened up to the debate of legalizing gay marriage – which came as a shock to many countries of the world, but fell on joyous ears of the anticipating fiancés. If it went through successfully, then rather than going outside the country to receive a marriage certificate, they could get married right at home. So, they held off their original plan, and vowed to wait until the law was passed or not to decide what would happen next.

It took seven years of intense fighting before a national decision was made. Minseok and Luhan waited (sometimes less than) patiently, moving in together and keeping up with the news regularly. At last, the law was passed, just a week after Minseok’s twenty-ninth birthday. Four extremely busy months later, on a warm day in an air-conditioned church in August, the wedding was held.

Less than forty people attended. Minseok’s parents, of course, though Luhan’s remained against his marriage and refused to come and witness the event. It had been a long time since Luhan spoke to his parents, and he had long since stopped caring. His sister showed up, however, and a couple of his cousins. Otherwise, about thirty of their friends (and their friends’ partners) showed up to fill the first three rows of pews, and Minseok was okay with that. He felt nervous enough as it was.

He didn’t look anything special, standing up at the altar in his well-fitted black suit, hair carefully organized. However, he was allowed to forget all his imperfections when Luhan entered the room, looking exceptionally perfect. Wow, Minseok was so lucky. He was about to marry the most beautiful person in the world.

The ceremony both dragged on and flew by, and before he knew it he was kissing Luhan for the millionth time, but the first time as his husband. It sort of made him feel like crying, but he held back. He also refrained from kissing Luhan too much, because there were a lot of eyes on them and it could wait until later.

The moment the wedding ended and they moved into the reception, Minseok felt a different kind of excitement. He had been waiting to get married for years, but now he got to speak with all his friends – some of who had known him before he’d even been engaged – with his husband, and that was just such a surreal and awesome feeling. They saw his parents first, who had accepted Luhan as part of the family ages ago, and who were happy-crying (which didn’t help Minseok, because he was really trying to not do that, thank you mom) and congratulated them profusely.

After his parents, they were bombarded by friends. Joonmyun, his eternal best friend (aka, the guy he had to be stuck with for the rest of his darn life that wasn’t his husband) as well as best man, and his girlfriend – or, rather, fiancée, judging by the shining ring on her finger – reached them first. They exchanged some excited yelling (about Minseok being married and Joonmyun being engaged – when had that happened?!) and then were passed on, making their way through slightly newer (anyone was newer than Joonmyun) friends. Luhan spotted his cousin and hurried to go hug her, and just as Minseok went to follow, he was cut off by a very tiny person, whom he almost didn’t notice.

“Jieun!”

Minseok laughed at the sight of the toddler waddling by speedily in a frilly yellow dress and a matching sunny flower crown. She was shrieking with laughter of her own, scurrying between people’s legs. Who had even brought a kid with them, anyway?

His question was answered seconds later, when someone else went by, chasing after the girl and calling her name. The subject in question caught up with her and scooped her up, and she continued giggling as he carried her back, red-faced. His eyes glanced around, and he caught sight of Minseok, grinning and offering a wave.

“Minseok-hyung!”

Minseok put the pieces together; the sight of his friend, Byun Baekhyun, and the little girl. Baekhyun had been very busy the past year or so, and Minseok hadn’t been able to see him at all. Now Minseok was pretty sure he knew why. It didn’t quite add up though, because the girl had to be two years old, maybe more, and last he’d known, Baekhyun hadn’t been dating anyone.

“Baekhyunnie!” Minseok replied cheerfully. Baekhyun opted out of hugging him, his hands full already, but he gave a slight bow, coming up grinning wide as ever. He hadn’t changed much since they’d last seen one another; still small, though his hair was its natural colour, and he looked a bit tired but as bubbly as he always did. “Who’s this?” Minseok nodded at the child.

“This is Jieunnie,” Baekhyun said happily. “She’s a pain.”

“Appa’s a pain!” the girl squeaked, and Baekhyun laughed.

“Is she yours?” Minseok asked, feeling a bit forward, but his curiousity had gotten the better of him. He looked the girl over, trying to see features of Baekhyun in her, but the only way they seemed similar was that they were both flowing energy and excitement.

Baekhyun just nodded. “Unfortunately,” he teased, and Jieun smacked his forehead. “Ouch! Don’t be mean to your appa” She just stuck her tongue out.

Minseok was admittedly surprised by this. The fact that Baekhyun had a child – it was certainly news. He couldn’t help asking about who the mother was, and where she was, and when Baekhyun had had a kid. And, amusingly, Jieun pointed at Baekhyun.

“No, I’m not your mom,” Baekhyun told her. Then to Minseok, he added, “Who knows.”

That was not an answer. You couldn’t not know the mother of a child; maybe the father, but the mother was very much obvious, always. Minseok opened his mouth, about to voice his confusion at that statement when a loud voice boomed over his, cutting through the crowd.

“Byun Baekhyun, where have you run off with my child?”

Minseok’s head spun around at the familiar voice – that he also hadn’t heard in over a year – and caught sight of the crowd parting for a man who stood a head above most of them. Everything caught up with Minseok then. Of course.

“Baek – Jieunnie – oh, there you guys are! Oh, Minseok-hyung. Congrats man!”

Minseok found himself being clapped on the back by Park Chanyeol, who was still as loud and enthusiastic as ever, and his eyes only stayed on Minseok for a moment before they found Baekhyun and Jieun. Immediately, there was a change in his features, a softening, and Minseok wasn’t sure if it was just for Baekhyun or for the man and the child. Their daughter.

The three gave off such a strong vibe as a family that it was almost cheesy, and so brutally obvious. At a glance, you wouldn’t be able to tell that Jieun was adopted. (Alright, the two-dads part being excluded, you would never guess.) The fact that Minseok had thought there was a mom in the picture seemed comical in hindsight. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were all smiles and teasing and warm-eyes and underlying melted gooey feelings and it was all gross and totally perfect. Jieun was probably the luckiest kid ever.

“Daddy!” At the sight of Chanyeol, she started squirming and reaching out her hands for the other. Baekhyun passed her on to her “daddy” with an amused smile.

“I’m her favourite,” Chanyeol told Minseok mock-seriously. Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “It’s alright Baek, you’re my favourite.”

“Ew,” Minseok laughed. “You two haven’t changed, have you?”

“Other than being exhausted like, two-hundred percent of the time,” Baekhyun said, and even though it was a joke, it was clear on both of their faces. “No, we haven’t changed much. Lives are a bit different now, having a kid in tow, but I think we’ve adjusted.”

“She’s in her terrible twos,” Chanyeol noted. “Right Jieun-ah?” The girl held up two fingers in a peace sign, giving a cute smile. Minseok felt like Baekhyun had taught her that.

At that moment, Luhan found them all, and there was another round of congratulations, and then an introduction to Jieun, and then lots of questions about what Baekhyun and Chanyeol had been doing the past year, besides taking care of their daughter. Apparently, that was why they’d been so busy and out of touch over the year. The two still weren’t married, or engaged, or even dating, as they had promised one another half their lives ago (which Minseok admired a lot). Meanwhile, Luhan had lots to ask about what it was like taking care of the girl, and Minseok couldn’t hold back a smile at Luhan’s bright-eyed curiosity. They – well, Luhan – had talked about adopting a child for a while, and now seeing his friends had done it was only encouraging him. Not that Minseok didn’t want a kid, too, maybe, one day… But he kind of wanted to wait a while, and do things one at a time. Maybe when they were thirty (which was only a year away, but that gave him more time to think about it, anyway).

After a while of talking to Baekhyun and Chanyeol, Baekhyun seemed to notice that Minseok was sort of distracted, greeting people when they would pass and glancing away now and again. Baekhyun said they would go and stop hogging them, and that they would all have to get together sometime and talk more, when Minseok and Luhan weren’t wanted by absolutely everyone in the room at the time. Luhan gave a sad goodbye to Jieun, who he seemed to have quickly grown attached to, and promised to call as soon as they weren’t busy. At that, Chanyeol winked, and Minseok felt himself blushing just a little, waving the little family goodbye and turning around, knowing many others would be queued up to talk to him.

He was right, and found himself thanking person after person – people from work, from school, from their neighbourhood; he and Luhan’s mutual friends, and the odd person he didn’t know as well but was Luhan’s friend or work buddy. Surely, he would get to know these strangers one day; he had a lifetime to get together with Luhan’s friends, and they had no excuse not to know him now.

Minseok had expected most of the people who came to show up. Not all of their invitees had been able to make it, but the ones that couldn’t weren’t really surprising to Minseok. However, there were a couple someones he hadn’t really believed would come – though he’d invited them anyway because they were old friends and Minseok wanted to see them. Though he got together with them reasonably often enough, all the wedding work had made it so he hardly saw either of them in recent months. The last time he’d seen one had been in a coffee shop, and the other time had been when he’d seen both at a soccer field while he’d been playing with some friends and Luhan. Anyway, he was temporarily stunned at the sight of both Do Kyungsoo and Kim Jongin approaching him and Luhan, trading hugs with the newlyweds.

Of all the friends he had that he expected to maintain a relationship, these two weren’t even in his top ten, honestly. Baekhyun and Chanyeol, certainly. That seemed unavoidable, the stars continuously bending to make way for them. But Jongin and Kyungsoo… In their beginning stages they had seemed doubtful. They had had a long-lasting breakup after a short dating period, if Minseok recalled right, and he was surprised they had gone beyond that. A couple years of friendship and they had opted to date again, and had lasted ever since. The two were a pretty complicated pair, and Minseok wasn’t all too sure what even held them together, because their lives were running down very different paths – Kyungsoo had been studying to be a lawyer, having joined a firm just last year; meanwhile, Jongin was a dance teacher at the studio he had grown up dancing in – but somehow, they were doing well together. A lot had happened over the course of their relationship, and they had even been apart over a couple years, but as far as Minseok knew, things were more up than down right now.

“So when are you two getting married?” Luhan teased once hellos were out of the way.

Kyungsoo elbowed Jongin playfully. “Yeah, Jongin, when’s that gonna happen?” Jongin flushed, ducking his head. “If you keep making me wait, I’m just gonna have to ask you myself.”

One of the nice things about their relationship was how much Kyungsoo had changed since they’d gotten together. When they first met, Minseok remembered being worried about Kyungsoo, thinking he suffered from depression. However, that was just the way he was, apparently, and Minseok had found that very sad. Since Jongin had entered the picture, it seemed Kyungsoo had lightened up a lot. Sure, he could be his stern, serious, and sometimes apathetic self, but that was a self that had morphed into something that was far often warmer than it was harsh, and Minseok thought it was good for him, as well as enjoyable for everyone around him.

They all laughed on Jongin’s behalf as he grew redder, and he quickly tried to turn the focus back on Minseok and Luhan.

“What are you guys gonna do now?” he asked them, trying to fan subtly at himself with his hands. “I mean, your lives are all kinda sorted out now. That seems so crazy.”

Minseok nodded, trying to make his features look serious and wise. “Now we get to sit back in our rocking chairs and enjoy the simple things. Because we’re old and boring now. That’s what happens when you get married,” he explained gravely. “Don’t do it.”

“No, don’t tell them that!” Luhan exclaimed, hurrying to cover Jongin’s ears. They broke into laughter again. “Jongin doesn’t know it’s a trap yet, Kyungsoo still has a chance to get him!”

“Yeah hyung,” Kyungsoo bantered. “Just because it’s too late for you doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t have hope.”

The joking continued, and somewhere along the lines the conversation took an unlikely turn, because suddenly Luhan was asking about Oh Sehun, and Minseok felt something he thought to be long buried in him stirring. A mix between guilt and jealousy. They had gotten over the whole situation ages ago – through Kyungsoo, Luhan had come to be on speaking terms with Sehun, though Minseok had lost touch with Jongdae some time ago – but sometimes it was still hard to think about the mistakes made when they were teenagers. Forgive and forget had already happened, but it would never really let itself go, Minseok knew.

“Sehun is engaged, too,” Kyungsoo told them, side-eyeing Jongin. “My best friend – my younger best friend is engaged before I am. Sebrat, of all people-”

“Hey, it’s not supposed to be a race!” Jongin pleaded weakly.

“Yes, but it’s Sehun.”

“Would you like me to go out and buy you a ring right now, Do Kyungsoo?”

“Maybe I would.”

Luhan snorted. “Are we witnessing this moment? Oh man, get moving Kim Jongin, or someone else is gonna steal him up.”

Jongin’s arm went around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, squeezing him protectively. “No, I won’t let anyone else have him.”

They kept teasing Jongin until finally he said that he had to leave before he got guilted into anything or got in any trouble with his boyfriend. He congratulated the couple once more, calling them brats before hurrying off, Kyungsoo giving a smirk and following after him.

“What do you think?” Minseok asked Luhan softly as he watched them disappear out of sight. “Another wedding soon? I give them a year.”

“If Jongin’s smart, it won’t take that long,” Luhan noted, eyes shining mischievously. “You know Soo better than I do; he loses interest pretty fast in things. I think Jongin’s long overdue for trying to secure the guy.”

“Yeah, but the fact that Kyungsoo stays anyway says it all,” Minseok pointed out. “Whether Jongin likes it or not, and whether he ever ties himself to Soo, he’s stuck with him for good. If Kyungsoo wants him… well, he really has no chance of getting out.”

“Kinda like me?” Luhan prodded, the corners of his mouth upturning. He took Minseok’s hand, holding it up and admiring the band on his ring finger. “Look – with that, it means you’re trapped for good. You know that right? I won’t accept any divorce papers.”

Minseok twined their fingers, sighing dramatically. “I know,” he heaved. And when they had first been engaged, he wouldn’t have been able to joke around like this without making Luhan feel so vulnerable, uncertain of himself. He was glad they had grown to trust one another entirely, and believe in their love instead of doubting and letting insecurities get through to them. He would get to love Luhan forever, and he knew he would be loved in return. “I’ll just have to live in misery.”

And when Luhan leaned down to kiss his cheek, he knew that neither of them minded one bit.

Feel free to check out my other fics Miscalc Spinoffs, Miscalc Rewrite (Jongin's POV), Category 9 (Kaisoo sequel upcoming) - dystopian!au, Meretrix de Menses XI - ion!au, and various others (including a parenting!au, Hannah Montana!au, asylum!au) HERE. Or join the RP I run and message me daily to update faster! c: