"I swear Donghae, I don't like the look on that kid, I mean, have you seen how he just clung to Jeno? The kid has no personal space to speak of—"
                "Hyukjae, it was Jeno who basically jumped Jisung the moment he got in. It was also your son who has no idea what personal space is—"

                "Huh. Guess who he got that from." Hyukjae responded snarkily, and Donghae had to roll his eyes at his husband. There was still ire in Hyukjae's eyes as he looked over the two little boys running around with garlands, decorating their home's Christmas tree (more like getting the whole living room in a huge mess, as Hyukjae can see it).

                "You've got to lighten up, Hyukjae," Donghae said as he set the bowl of ramen at the kitchen island. "And besides, he's such a good influence on Jeno. He's very neat with his stuff and all, and he even gets Jeno to pack away their toys after their playtime. And he's been nothing but polite." Donghae added. "You, on the other hand, have been a complete grouch about this."

                "Because Donghae, no personal space whatsoever!  Look at them!" Hyukjae gestured at the kids, with Jeno latched to Jisung with his arm thrown over the other kid's shoulders, their faces glowing in wonder at the lego Christmas village that was setup beside the Christmas tree.

                "Your son's all over Jisung; if anything, tell Jeno to stop hogging and hugging Jisung. Oh let me see you try please, Hyukkie," Donghae said with an evil glint in his eyes, knowing that Hyukjae won't have the heart (and the guts) to tell their son to cut down on playtimes with his third favorite person in the world.

                "You're pure evil."

                "And you're a sourpuss," Donghae retorted. "Come to think of it, he really reminds me of you, Hyuk."

                "Wh-what? I don't look anything like that kid!" Hyukjae exclaimed, his single-lidded eyes widening as much as they can.

                "Oh but you do!" Donghae insisted, a glint all of a sudden appearing in his eyes. "First, the gummy smile, and then little Jisung is just so neat! And Hyukjae, have you seen him arrange all of the toys after they play? He's also got that little OCD thing going on!"

                "Hae!"

                "If I wasn't sure about you, I'd be questioning you now if you ever strayed from me some four years ago."

                "You're not helping, Hae." Hyukjae whined resignedly. 

                Donghae smiled at his husband.  "Really, Hyukjae, what are you so worried about? They are 4 and 6, Hyuk. I'm pretty sure we still have about ten years before we actually have to worry about this stuff and before you have to lose all your hair due to fatherly stress." Donghae pushed one bowl in front of Hyukjae. "Eat before the noodles get all soggy. Jeno! Jisung! Wash your hands and have ramen, it's gonna get all soggy if you don't move fast boys!"

                And just then, they heard little pads of footsteps hurrying to the kitchen, with Jeno and Jisung running to the sink to wash their hands.

                "You can borrow my step stool, Ji! Appa made this for me because I'm not tall yet but when I am and you're not yet I can give it to you!" Jeno exclaimed as he let Jisung use the stool first. Jisung smiled that gummy smile at Jeno warmly.

                Hyukjae, on the other hand, almost seemed like he was having an aneurism, as he looked on at his son and the other kid.

                "He said that he'll use my step stool forever even if he gets taller than me and now he's giving it to that kid?" Hyukjae hissed to Donghae, making sure that he won't be heard by the other occupants of the room.

                Donghae can't help but laugh. "Goodness Hyukjae, you are serious about this, really? Jeno is just sweet, and he'll be forgetting about this thing before we all know it. Relax, you big baby."

                Hyukjae resignedly poked at his noodles as he listened to the two kids sing happy birthday together as they soaped their hands (Donghae was really insistent on having Jeno learn how to properly wash his hands, and they both almost regretted it when Donghae taught Jeno to sing the birthday song thrice before he's allowed to rinse his hand. Suffice it to say, Jeno belted to the birthday song every time and if not for his adorable face and singing, Hyukjae would've smashed his own head  every time he would also end up singing the birthday song some other time of the day for no reason at all).

                "Our boy got your face, and your smile, and I can't believe that your clinginess and sweetness just inevitably rubbed off on him too," Hyukjae pouted, and Donghae really wanted to kiss away the adorable pout on his husband's face if not for the little ones sharing the kitchen with them.

                And Donghae decided to settle for the next best thing: Teasing Hyukjae. "But Hyukkie," Donghae said as he leaned across the counter to whisper into his husband's ear. "You didn't mind one bit when all of those rubbed off  on you, right?" Donghae said huskily and was replied with Hyukjae choking on his noodles.

                "HAE!"

                Donghae chuckled, and just then he realized the Jeno and Jisung were already standing near his high stool, his son's eyes filled with wonder, his head tilted in that characteristic tilt whenever he's being curious about things. "Daddy, Appa likes you rubbing him?" Jeno asked and Hyukjae just about died as he choked again, this time on what seemed like his life itself. "But when you rub me when we bathe my skin gets red and I don't really like it sometimes because I don't like red skin..." Jeno added with a wrinkle in his nose.

                Donghae stood up from his chair as he picked up Jeno to place him in a chair, then picking up Jisung to seat him beside Jeno. He then moved to sit beside a still very red Hyukjae who was drinking water like his life depended on it. Donghae rubbed Hyukjae's back in comfort.

                 "You know how your Appa likes his baths, right?" Donghae said in response to his son's question, putting the chopsticks in Jeno's hand (the boy just learned using the real ones after the training ones, and he's been ecstatic about it and didn't stop talking about it for a whole week). He then put the training chopsticks in Jisung's hand, ruffling the boy's hair before telling the boys to start eating.

                But before the kids started, Jeno started speaking again. "You know, Ji, my Appa really likes taking baths and he always asks Daddy to rub him and when they do, I'm not really allowed to go to the bathroom, only if it's really a big emer..egemercy... you know, like fire or Choco getting poop on our shoes? That never happens though because Choco is really a great dog, she's the best!"

                Jisung just nodded at his friend, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "Choco is very pretty. And Choco no bite Jisungie too. I love Choco," Jisung said as he started digging in.

                "Oh, and I can ask Daddy how he rubs Appa so I can rub you like that too the next time we take a bath together!" Jeno exclaimed, and this time Donghae's face turned as red as Hyukjae's.

                Hyukjae was sure of it, if he thought that his husband would be the death of him, then his son would be the final nail on his coffin.

-----

Spring, two years later

                "Daddy! Appa! Look! It's a lion! ROOOOAR!!!" Hyukjae heard his son roar before seeing Jeno pulling at Donghae with his left hand, and to his dismay, Jisung with his right hand. Hyukjae, who has promised to bring Jeno to the zoo after missing out on his career day at school, was woken up very early in the morning by an already hyper Jeno (Hyukjae swears that their kid has gotten too much Donghae in him, and sometimes questions his fate as to why he deserves to be the carer of two kids, with one stuck to a very much grown body of a man).

                "Buddy, you gotta be careful dragging Jisung like that," Donghae then reminded Jeno once they stood outside the lion's den. "If you pull too hard then you guys are gonna trip, and you both will get oos and you will whine at us all day for it."

                "Oops! I'm sorry, Ji!" Jeno turned to Jisung with a smile, and the slightly shorter kid just shook his head at Jeno.

                "S'okay. We were just very excited to see the lions, Mr. Donghae," Jisung explained. "We watched Lion King many many many times before going here and we—"

                "—Oh! Oh! They have a Simba!" Jeno shrieked, bouncing on his spot. "Ji! Look! AHHHJEBENYA! BABABICHIBABA! Appa, look!" Jeno then turned at his Appa who was standing near his back, pulling at his hand.

                Hyukjae had to chuckle at the overflowing excitement in his son. "Jeno-yah, relax, they won't be going anywhere, and you have all day to stare at these lions if you want to." Hyukjae said as he ruffled his son's hair.

                "But Appaaaaa. There are many animals to see! We can't stay here, we have to go now!" The almost crazy look in his son's eyes reminded Hyukjae a lot of Donghae whenever they go to the aquarium when they were still kids. He shook his head as he looked on at the two boys who started running to the next enclosure.

                "Don't get too far from us, you two!" Donghae shrieked in reminder beside Hyukjae, before he felt his husband weave his fingers through his hand.

                "I told you that cotton candy isn't really a good idea, Hae." Hyukjae began as they walked to follow Jeno and Jisung.

                "I know. But it's a special day, and he'll burn all the sugar anyway, running around all day." Donghae answered before looking to Hyukjae. "Thanks for this, Hyukkie."

                "You don't have to thank me, Hae. I promised, didn't I? I still feel bad that I wasn't able to go to his career day and you had to step in for me all of a sudden. I have to make it up to you too, not only to Jeno."

                "Psssh. You don't have to mention it Hyuk, I understand. And Jeno just threw a little tantrum that day, but now I'm sure he's forgotten all about it," Donghae said as he pointed toward their kid, bouncing happily as he and Jisung swayed their entwined hands between them, singing Hakuna Matata.

                Hyukjae had to smile at the sight, pushing the quip about Jeno and Jisung and their lack of personal space to the back of his mind. "I'm kinda shocked that he wanted to come here instead of to the aquarium, actually. We've been here before too, but after going to the aquarium he's never chosen the zoo over it any day."

                "It's because Jisungie haven't been here yet, and Jeno really wanted to bring Jisung here after he learned of it." Donghae explained.

                "So it's because of the kid, that we went here?" Hyukjae asked, feigning disinterest as they walked on.

                Donghae had to roll his eyes at his husband. "Oh Hyukkie, you're still not over this?" Donghae chuckled.

                "What! I'm just asking!"

                Donghae shook his head at his husband. "Yes, we went here because Jeno wanted to bring Jisung along. And because they've been watching and rewatching Lion King and Jeno promised Jisung that they will see a real lion because he has the best Appa in the world who will bring them to the zoo."

                And that shut Hyukjae up from his whining. Donghae knew that he just had to butter Hyukjae up with words from their son to make green-eyed Hyukjae go away even for just a little while.

                They went around the zoo once and went back to the kids' favorite animals then and again —the lions were an obvious favorite, with the monkeys coming at a close second to Hyukjae's dismay. He just never heard the end of it after Donghae let it slip that Hyukjae had been called "monkey" during the better part of their school days, and that just had their son laugh his little lungs so hard that Hyukjae was torn if he wanted to torture the little traitor or if he never wanted him to stop because his laughter was just contagious and was just music to his ears.

                Until of course his son had to point at him while chanting a name that just had Hyukjae charge to his son.

                "Appa! Rafiki! Rafiki!"

                And Hyukjae pounced, with Donghae chortling at the background, carrying his son upside down as he shook the latter from his laughter.

                "Carry me like Simba, Appa! Then we can sing ~ACHEBEN-----ACCCCK! APPA! That ticklessss!" Jeno shrieked as Hyukjae resorted to tickling his son.

                "Who's Rafiki, Jeno-yah, hmmm?" Hyukjae asked as he continued his assault.

                "No one! No one! Appa~~~~"

                Hyukjae chuckled loudly as he put Jeno down and his son immediately went to stand beside the shorter Jisung who had a gummy smile threatening to burst in his face.

                "Appa is a meanie," Jeno whined, but the smile still plastered on his face says that he enjoyed the little roughhousing he had with his Appa.

                Jisung then chuckled shyly before pulling Jeno's shirt down to straighten it from being lifted.

                And then Jisung, after being attached to Jeno at the hip for most of his life, knew, even in all his innocence and youth, that the glint he saw in Jeno's eyes is anything but surrender in his new-found tactics to tease, this time, with his Appa as the victim.

                "Daddy, didn't we see baboons today? We did, right Daddy?" Jeno asked as he slightly moved to Jisung's back.

                "Yeah, I think we did," Donghae looked around for a second to try to remember where it was that they saw the baboons, but when he turned back to his son, he saw that the kid was already slightly pulling at Jisung, as if gearing to make a run for it, and then Donghae saw the look in his son's eyes. And then he got it. "Oh buddy, I think you are looking for mandrills. And I think they're somewhere here to our left..."

                By then Jeno was already whispering to Jisung, clutching the other kid's hand, before he looked up to his Appa and said, "Come on Appa, let's go see the other Rafikis!"

                "Why you—" But Donghae was already holding his waist, his husband's laughter ringing close to his ear as the latter kept him back from catching up to his son who was boisterously chanting "To the manderbillsssss!" as he held on to the hand of the shorter kid who also seemed equally amused.

                "Hae!" Hyukjae looked back to his husband who was still laughing but was now loosening his hold on his waist as he steered them to follow the two kids to the area that Donghae pointed to.

                "Oh come on, Rafiki, let's meet the fam!"

                And Hyukjae once again questioned the universe as to what he did to deserve having to raise a kid with another man who's more of a kid than an actual grown up at times.

                They were standing outside the enclosure that housed the mandrills, and Hyukjae can actually see the effort in his son's face as he held back from teasing his Appa further. Donghae, on the other hand, had totally different plans when he blurted,

                "I think I have an idea what to dress Appa as in this year's halloween..." Donghae whispered as if to himself, but they all heard him loud and clear.

                And then Jeno's head lifted so fast Hyukjae was reminded of those creepy dolls in horror movies.

                "I KNOW! I KNOW! I KNOW!" Jeno shrieked as he bounced on his spot. "Appa can paint his face blue and red and RAFIKIIII!"

                Hyukjae just then rolled his eyes as he smiled at his son and shook his head at his husband. "Okay, you bullies. Just wait until I get back at you two," Hyukjae said as he pulled at his son who then immediately hugged his waist.

                "He sure got your mischief though, Hyuk," Donghae then whispered to his side as the latter ruffled their son's hair.

                "Oh and Daddy can be Pumbaa!" Jeno added as he looked up to Donghae.

                "Pu-Pumbaa, what?" Donghae asked confused as he furrowed his brows at his son.

                "Jeno, no—" Hyukjae tried to foil his son's idea, but the kid just wouldn't stop.

                "—Because Appa sometimes calls you fatty, Daddy, so you're Pumbaa!" Jeno clapped his hands then, with Donghae bulging his eyes at his husband.

                "Fatty? Really, Hyukjae?"

                Hyukjae didn't have the guts to face the wrath of his husband so he turned to the little eight year old still looking up at them.

                "Jeno-yah, you promised you wouldn't tell!"

                Donghae harrumphed at the father and child as they tried to put the blame on each other, and Donghae reached out to the quietly giggling Jisung.

                "Let's go Jisungie, let's see how more handsome these other Rafiki's are than the Rafiki we have here with us," Donghae suggested and that just had the little kid chuckle, louder this time.

                "Hey!"

                Donghae didn't mind his husband then, and held the Jisung's hand as they walked to the other side of the cage, but not before he heard his mischievous son scream:

                "Oh oh! You can be Timon and Pumbaa, Daddy! Ji can be Timon and Daddy is Pumbaa! Ooooooh, I can't wait for Halloween!"

                That made little Jisung look back at his friend, a little frown on his face, and Donghae just laughed at Jisung's reaction as he still looked at his friend who was still bouncing on his spot.

                Donghae crouched down to be at the level of Jisung, before he poked the kid's cheek to get his attention.

                "But Jisungie, we'll be the cutest Timon and Pumbaa ever, right?" Donghae asked with a smile that almost took half of his face, and Jisung mirrored the grin in no time, his gummy smile making Donghae kiss the crown of the little boy's head.

                Donghae then stood up, reaching out again to hold Jisung's hand before they walked again.

                Donghae didn't see though that little Jisungie was really smiling so wide then, as he looked back to his bestest friend in the world still somehow teasing his Appa from somewhere behind them, and then up to Mr. Donghae who was busy pointing at the other mand...manderbrills that peaked from the rocks and trees in the cage. Little Jisungie thought then that really, it's always fun when he's with Jeno's family, and the gummy smile, although it was a bit of a shy smile already by then, just wouldn't leave his face.

                It was after a hearty meal at one of the food stalls in the zoo that they all found themselves walking leisurely, without aim to go to a certain animal's cage this time. That was basically because after almost a whole day at the zoo going round and round, the two boys are finally reaching the limits of their energy, and the meal they just had also added to the somewhat tamed mood.

                Donghae hugged Jeno's head close to him as they walked side by side, his son loosely holding onto Jisung's hand and Hyukjae fiddling with his phone beside him. "Tired, Jeno-yah?"

                At hearing that, Jeno, who looked like he was on the verge of falling asleep while walking, immediately snapped his head as if awoken from a trance. "Nope! I'm not yet tired, Daddy," And then he turned to his best friend. "How about you, Ji?"

                Jisung then just shook his head, although Donghae could see the kid trying to fight off the fatigue that was slowly creeping up on him. "I'm okay, Jeno-yah," Then he turned to Donghae. "I'm not yet tired, Mr. Donghae." He added as he rubbed at his eyes.

                Donghae chuckled at the two boys. "We can always come back, you know. The zoo's not going anywhere, and I'm sure that we can find time to come back here."

                At that, Jeno pouted at Donghae, nodding nonetheless. "But can we pick one more animal to see before we go?" Jeno added before looking to Jisung. "What do you want to see, Ji?"

                Jisung then looked at Jeno, then up to Donghae and Hyukjae who were now looking expectantly at the two little boys. "Giraffes... Can we see the giraffes again, please?"

                "To the giraffes!!!" Jeno then screamed before pulling at Jisung's hand as they both started walking to another direction which was totally not where the giraffes are, and Hyukjae then had to steer the two boys to wherever it was he remembered the giraffe cage was.

                And then he remembered that the giraffes were housed in a cage that was kind of far from where they are. Seeing the excited gleam on the eyes of the kids though, Hyukjae and Donghae didn't have it in them to ask them to pick another animal, and instead just followed the two kids stroll down the way.

                However, it only took them about five minutes when the husbands noticed the two little boys going slow with their pace, their voices that were filled with excitement just minutes ago now nowhere to be heard as they stood behind the little bodies that are struggling to put one step ahead of the other. Donghae chuckled, and just when he's about to go to the two kids, Jeno turned to face them, with both his hands raised to Donghae gesturing for his Daddy to pick him up. "Shoulders please, Daddy?"

                Donghae then smiled at his son before he crouched, bringing his son to sit on his shoulders as he slowly stood up, securing that Jeno wouldn't fall off from his shoulders. Donghae was thankful then that for an eight year old, Jeno's built was still a bit on the small side.

                 He then looked at Jisung who was then again rubbing at his eyes, and then he looked at Hyukjae who was confusedly looking at the little kid in front of him too. Sensing that there were eyes on him, Hyukjae then met Donghae's stare and smile, and then Hyukjae looked back again to Jisung.

                "H-hey, uh, Jisung, would you like to ride on my shoulders too?" Hyukjae asked timidly at the little kid who snapped his head at him, eyes widening at his offer.

                "B-but... It's okay, Mr. Hyukjae. Thank you," Jisung answered as he still looked at Hyukjae as if the sun rose and set on the man himself.

                "Oh Jisung, come on, it's really okay, believe me," Donghae then coaxed, smiling warmly at the little kid.

                "Come on, Ji!" Jeno added excitedly. "Im sure Appa won't let you fall, right, Appa?"

                "O-of course!" Hyukjae said to his son as he then looked at the still hesitating kid in front of him. "It's really okay, Jisung. You can do it like Jeno with his Dad, see?" Hyukjae then persuaded the (adorable) kid, giving the latter a small smile.

                "R-really?"

                Hyukjae then just crouched down to gently help the kid in position, awkwardly smiling at Jisung as he sat him on his shoulders with the help of Donghae. He held onto Jisung's hand as he stood up, and he felt the kid tighten his hold as Hyukjae settled on his feet.

                "You okay there buddy?" Donghae asked as he looked up to Jisung who looked as if he was concentrating hard on something.

                Jisung only nodded at Donghae, face still molded to a serious expression.

                They walked on, with Jeno slowly gathering his energy back as he made a commentary nonstop about the things that they passed by. Hyukjae, on the other hand, had a small smile on his face as he heard his husband humor their son on just about everything the eight year old sprouts.

                Hyukjae still held his arms up, holding Jisung's hand as the kid still held onto his quite tightly.

                "Hey, uh, Jisung? You can relax, I'm not gonna let you fall down, you know?" Donghae heard Hyukjae say in a very neutralized voice that Donghae had to chuckle, also garnering the attention of their son who then stop blabbering about something.

                "Appa's not gonna let you fall, Ji," Jeno encouraged.

                "Y-yeah, Jeno does this all the time, and look at him, he's still okay, right?" Hyukjae added as he tried to put a smile on his tone.

                "O-okay, Mr. Hyukjae. Thank you," Jisung replied before he gave Hyukjae's hand one big squeeze before he tried to let go, but Hyukjae held onto his hand and shook them in the air instead.

                "See? You can relax, kid. And you can still hold onto my hand if you want to, that's quite alright," Hyukjae added as he continued waving the kid's arms in the air.

                Hearing this, Donghae looked lovingly at his husband beside him, and then up to the kid who was smiling so bright as his arms were still waved in the air by the man carrying him. Donghae had to chuckle at the mirroring gummy smiles in the two beside him.

                Hyukjae looked to his side hearing Donghae's chuckle, but before he can even ask, his son was already speaking again.

                "Hey Ji, you can cross two out now," Jeno said smilingly, looking to his best friend.

                "Cross what out?" Donghae asked as he looked up to Jisung who was smiling so wide at Jeno.

                "Ji and I made a list last Christmas, Daddy," Jeno explained. "We wrote our wishes and things we want and wish for. And Ji wanted to go to the zoo, since he's never visited before, and he also wrote that he wanted to be carried on the shoulders like little kids."

                "Like this?" Donghae asked as he (stupidly, in Hyukjae's opinion) tried to look up to their son who was riding his shoulders, to no avail of course.

                "Yep," Jeno answered.

                Donghae then turned his head to the little kid on Hyukjae's shoulders, Jisung cheeks a little bit pinkish. "Why, Jisungie? Haven't you tried this before?" Donghae asked curiously, tilting his head a particular way that just reminded Hyukjae of Jeno's mannerisms that he got from Donghae.

                Jisung shook his head. "No, Mr. Donghae. My Pop gets backaches a lot so..."

                "Oh..." Was all the Donghae could say, recalling that Jisung's grandfather was kind of a bit too old to be carrying boys in his shoulders, before he smiled up at Jisung.

                Hyukjae wasn't even shocked to see Donghae's eyes get a tiny bit misty as he looked up at the kid.

                "Well, n-now you get to cross two out, yeah?" Hyukjae said as cheerfully as he could as he inched closer to Donghae and Jeno, and his husband smiled at him when they caught each other's eyes.

                "Y-yes. Thank you so much, Mr. Hyukjae," Jisung said shyly.

                "Uh, y-you're welcome, Jisung...ie."

                 Donghae chuckled as he heard Hyukjae say that, watching the adorably embarrassed look on his husband's face.

                "Well, I wonder what our Jeno wrote in the list, hmmm?" Donghae asked the boy on his shoulders as he tried to disperse the awkwardness oozing from Hyukjae.

                "But Daaad, I can't tell you or else it won't come true!" Jeno whined.

                "But you just told us Jisungie's!"

                "But I only told you the two that just came true today!"

                "Oh well then, tell us something that came true for you, or something that you are sure that will come true," Hyukjae cut in.

                Jeno then looked at his Appa, and Hyukjae could almost hear the gears work in Jeno's head as he thought through if he's ever gonna spill to his fathers. And then Hyukjae watched his son's face light up in pure unadulterated joy, before he saw and heard his son say excitedly:

                "Well... I wrote that I want to have a baby boy with Ji too, like Appa and Daddy and me, but we know we have to grow big first Daddy, Appa, so don't worry! I know that Ji and I are still babies!"

                Hyukjae's eyes felt like popping out of their sockets as he felt all the blood seem to rush to his head. And then he saw Donghae, his face in that characteristic shift between a huge chortle and what looked like sneezing, watching in great amusement as Hyukjae felt like a nerve just popped in his head.

                Hyukjae was sure of it, this was how people die. He saw his life flash in his very eyes, and the epitaph that will be left in his headstone would read: Beloved father and husband, outlived by his eight year old and that mouth of his.

A/N: It kind of got a life of its own somewhere there and I couldn't help it, I swear. I hope it's still okay though ^^ Anyway, happy last day of 2013, everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO! Here's to more Eunhae lovin' in 2014!

P.S. Am not marking this complete yet, since im still pretty much into the characters and there's a lot going on in my head right now in this verse. Im gonna try to sort it out and I'll see where that will take me :)

And Ulibelles, thank you so much for letting this spazzy commenter join in on your Eunhae spazzing and shipping :) Sure added to the joys of my 2013! <3 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!