It was nice for Sehun to have a little break for himself, head back out to the countryside and spend a little time alone with his parents. Dance classes had begun to wear him down and he could finally find a few days off for a substitute to take his place. He hadn't been home in a while, and his mother had been absolutely thrilled when he called and said he'd come by. She made sure to feed him too well, remarking at how skinny he still is, invite all their old family friends to dinner to congratulate Sehun's return, and coddle him a little too much. That overbearing feeling is a little nostalgic now, especially when he gets annoyed when his mother tries to pinch his cheeks, when his dad slaps him on the back a little too hard, or when his older brother still thinks it's okay to throw him into a headlock and torture him until he begs for mercy (which, even after all these years, he still does embarrassingly after only a few seconds).

But a few days was all he needed. He was eager to head back home because though Zitao may not admit it, their four year old daughter Liyin had probably worn him out. She was a handful for the both of them together, and probably more than Zitao could handle if she ever got stubborn. Liyin is a sweet little girl, infinitely better than any child they could have possibly asked for, but she was stubborn and knew Zitao's weaknesses to get her way with him.

(Sehun wasn't much better at standing up to her charms, but he liked to think he was just a little impervious to her shining eyes and pouty lips and the adorable dimples that indented her round cheeks when she smiled.)

He drags his suitcase up the staircase, thumps echoing in the hallway as the wheels knock against the concrete stairs. His bag oddly seems a lot heavier than when he left. Maybe he really did buy one too many things for Liyin as a surprise.

When he opens the door to their apartment, the sound of small grunts and 'hiiiiiyaaaaahh!!!'s echo into the entry way. Their home smells like it always has, like peaches and vanilla, and it's something Sehun's come to miss when he spends hours at work. But it makes Sehun a little excited now. He can really surprise Liyin and Zitao since they didn't hear him come through the door.

He sets his suitcase by the door and slides off his shoes. He holds his breath and carefully tiptoes down the hallway to peek around the corner into the living room. Their living room is quite small, but Liyin seems to be having just as much fun in the tiny little space she has to play in. She's been showered and dressed in her pajamas, but has added a sparkly, pink tutu, her purple butterfly wings, and her princess crown (Zitao must've caved, he thinks to himself) to the set. Liyin is staring intently at Zitao's laptop propped up on the coffee table, palms curled into fists by her side and legs shoulder width in a stance. She then kicks her legs out, pulling out as many karate kicks and punches as she can and Sehun's heart melts right then because where is there ever another girl this cute in the entire world. She keeps kicking and shouting "hiyah!" at anything she can, arms flailing wildly, until Sehun fully walks around the corner and steps into the living room.

Her eyes widen for a moment, and then her lips upturn into a grin and her eyes crinkle behind her smile full of pearly baby teeth. "Daddy!" she shouts, running on her short little legs into Sehun's outstretched arms and he catches her, picking her up and twirling her around in his arms. It's warm like this, having his little girl in his arms again; it's something he always misses when he travels. He misses the smell of her freshly laundered clothes and the smell of baby powder that's come to cling to her, the feel of her tiny hands holding his shirt, the way she smiles against his neck and then plops a huge kiss on his cheek. "I missed you so much!" she says, throwing her arms out to quantify how much she missed him.

Sehun smiles, kissing Liyin's cheek repeatedly until she's a little grossed out and grips his chin with both hands and tries to forcefully pull his face away. "I think I missed you more," he gushes. He grins and places another kiss on her nose, ignoring her protests otherwise because as long as she lives, there will never not be kisses in his household.

"No way! I missed you more!" She's got her hands on her hips and her nose high in the air now, but there's a soft smile still tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Sehun sighs. He'd really missed his daughter more than he thought he had. Even though it was just a few days, even though his parents would have been glad to have Zitao and Liyin along because they spend endless days just gushing about how cute they are, even if he did have a break from her stubbornness and her occasional bad tantrums, he'd really missed her. He'd somehow missed everything about her, like the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way her eyes would flutter as she drifted off to sleep at night. It's like for the length that he'd been away, there was this warm piece of his heart that had gone missing and his chest was so empty without armfuls of his little girl and her smile. It was really hard trying to get over that, without seeing her off to sleep every night and without strapping on her butterfly wings at some point in the day.

"Where's papa?" he asks, bouncing her gently on his hip as he walks around the living room. He takes a glance at the open laptop screen to find Zitao's old wushu performances still playing. Sehun recognizes this one as one of the Happy Camp performances- the one in that blue stretchy tank top (that Sehun admittedly really loved on Zitao, even if none of the MCs did on the show). "Liyin, are you watching papa again?"

She nods enthusiastically, kicking her feet a bit until Sehun lets her down. "One day, I'm gonna be just as cool as papa was!" Was, Sehun thinks. Zitao would protest for days if he heard Liyin say that.

Sehun just smiles and pats her head. "Should I show you a secret about papa then?"

Her eyes immediately widen and she nods her head frantically. "What is it? What is it?" she pesters, bouncing on her feet and tugging Sehun's pant leg.

Zitao would be upset if he saw, but it's still one of Sehun's favorite memories. He searches through the laptop's files until he finds the one he's looking for, hidden away under the many old videos they'd downloaded. He'd saved it under a different name so Zitao could never find it or delete it, though Zitao probably wouldn't delete it anyway because he was still sentimental about their days as EXO. He opens up the file and pulls Liyin into his lap as they watch the haunted house segment of Showtime. Sehun still smiles as he watches it, nostalgia filling his chest. Liyin is full out laughing with tears pouring from her eyes by the time Zitao is bawling at the end of the haunted house. But it's an irreplaceable memory that he wouldn't trade for anything. He'd loved being in stardom, but his life as it was right now was just as amazing.

"Liyin, it's time for bed-" Zitao calls from the hallway until he steps into the living room to find Sehun waiting for him. He stops in his tracks, the towel that he'd had over his hair slipping from his fingers and plopping onto the ground. Then he smiles and it makes Sehun feel so warm, like the warmth of a fire pit in his chest and it's really like coming home again.

"Welcome home," Zitao says softly. Sehun pulls Liyin off his lap and stands up to have Zitao wrap him in his arms. Just where he belongs.

He sighs, hoping he can hold onto this moment just a little longer because he'd really missed Zitao more than anything, even if he was supposed to put his daughter first now. No shining smiles and high-pitched laughter for days and Sehun was just about ready to claw his heart out and give it to someone else to deal with the burden. But now he's home again, and his heart couldn't be any lighter.

"I'm home," he whispers, holding Zitao a little closer for just a little longer before they really do have to put Liyin to bed. It's long past her bedtime and it's always a challenge getting her up in the morning for school. (She loves to sleep just as much as they do.)

So Sehun offers to take Liyin to bed, with many protests and whines as he takes off her butterfly wings and slides the tiara from her head; he lets her keep the tutu on. After Zitao presses one too many kisses to her cheek, she eagerly scampers off into her room and clambers into her bed, immediately sinking under the covers she's pulled up to her chin.

Sehun turns off the light, turns on her night light, and takes his place beside her bed. He runs his large palm down the length of her back, his hands just inches smaller than her back, and he hums. She watches him with dazed eyes, like she used to do as a baby until the back rubs and lullabies would put her to sleep. And then Sehun suddenly thinks that one day she'll grow up, one day she won't need back rubs and hummed lullabies to go to sleep, so now's his chance to savor in every second he gets to baby her. She'll always be his little princess, even when she stops putting on her princess crown and tutu and slips into her wedding dress.

She falls asleep faster than usual, or maybe Sehun's been lost in thought for too long. But when her eyes finally flutter closed and her little pink lips part in her sleep, he tiptoes quietly out of the room and down the hall where Zitao is waiting for him in bed. He's on his laptop, glasses pushed up the bridge of his nose and the backlight of the computer reflecting in the lenses.

"How was your trip?" he asks, eyes never leaving the computer. Sehun's already stripping out of his shirt and jeans, rummaging through the drawers to find the first pajama set he can throw on because the tiredness is seeping into his bones fast. Maybe he really will start feeling his age soon enough.

"It was good- full of mom coddling and brother bullying," he replies. Zitao laughs from his spot, shutting away the computer and beckoning him to bed. Knowing him, he probably hid that file of him crying so Sehun wouldn't be able to find it again. But he's welcomed to bed with arms around his waist and lips on his as they both slip into the covers.

"I missed you," Zitao whispers shyly against his lips. And even though the light has been turned off, he can imagine the pretty blush on Zitao's cheeks. Zitao kisses him again and it's warm and sweet; his heart's a hot air balloon ready to take off for space.

"I missed you more," he whispers. He knows they'll banter for a bit on who missed who more (really, does Liyin take after them too much?) but he hopes just kissing will hold the silence for a bit longer. He wants a little more time for them.

Zitao's happy to comply, coming to kiss him again on the lips. He's a really good kisser, a fantastic one, and Sehun's getting really hot really fast but he doesn't want to rush anything because Zitao's probably tired. He'll probably fall asleep the second his head hits the pillow because Liyin's more than a handful and now he's got Sehun back in his arms.

"Hey!" comes the tiny whisper from the doorway and Sehun takes a moment to look up at Zitao next to him, confused, before they pull apart and sit up to find Liyin in the doorway. Her hair is tangled on one side, her Barbie princess doll is in her hand, and her tiara has made it back to it's rightful spot on her head. "It's bed time, and that means no more playing."

Sehun blushes a little because they did not just get caught making out by their four year old daughter, but he tries to usher her back to bed. "Alright we'll go to sleep, honey," he whispers.

But Liyin crosses her arms over her chest, doll cuddled in between her arms. "You won't go to sleep without me," she says with finality. And before Sehun and Zitao can say anything, she's already hopped up onto their bed with a squeak of the mattress and slotted herself in between them. She nimbly slips under the covers and snuggles into them both, eyes falling closed and a smile falling upon her lips.

Zitao just smiles sheepishly, but Sehun understands. Even though he'd missed Zitao a lot, one night with their little girl cuddled in between them won't kill him at all.

So he falls asleep within minutes, with Zitao's smiling image pressed against the backs of his eyelids and the warm heat of his daughter against his chest. And this, he thinks as sleep pulls him in and out of consciousness, is what home really feels like.

A/N: aaaah i could write domesti!au forever xD i may or may not add more to this verse but we'll have to see. maybe once this semester is done killing me and if i come out from school alive OTL