Sejun looked across the table at his best friend and his mate. They were staring at the door. It was 3:15 and their fathers were late.

He stifled a laugh. He’d never seen Sunny so...out of character before. Min Soo was just a neurotic as she’d always been but seeing his mate cry at the drop of a dime? That was hilarious. Good for her. After centuries of being alive, she’d become world weary and hard. He often thought back on their decision not to have kids and regretted it a little. Maybe the joy of a little one may have broken the everlasting melancholy that Sunny carried around with her. The sadness she tried to hide from everyone.

Maybe having her fathers back in her life, regardless of their memories of them, would do her the same. Or...maybe they thought the three of them were bat crazy after the brilliant display they put on the night before and would never speak to them again.

That would explain the twins’ nervousness.

“Maybe we should try calling them?” Min Soo tried. “A text message is a tad bit informal to reschedule a meeting.”

“How can we be informal with our fathers?”

“They don’t kno–”

“I know that, Soo,” Sunny stressed. “I just...where are they?”

The door flew open. “Right here, children.”

Sejun did a spit take with his coffee, barely missing the conference room table. Minho and Jinki strode in like entering the conference room was a declaration of war and they were all too pleased to declare it.

“Uh, Mr. Choi. Mr. Lee...welcome…? We didn’t know you’d be coming together.”

Jinki snickered at that and Minho shot him a look. They walked to the head of the conference room table. Minho leaned over to Jinki and whispered, albeit loudly. “Good cop or bad cop?”

Jinki frowned. “I’m...a bodyguard.”

Minho rolled his eyes. “Okay, you’re the good cop.” He followed that up by slamming his palms on the surface of the conference table. He glared, his forehead scrunched as he stared the twins down. “You two want to explain?”

Sunny started sputtering and, oh, ho, was Sejun enjoying Minho and Jinki coming back into their lives. Sunny never sputtered! “We–we...and then you and you, um, said, evid–”

“Evidag su kærlighedu,” Minho corrected easily.

“Yes! Evi...dag su...cartilage!” Sunny exclaimed. Sejun outright laughed at that, and his mate shot him a very dirty look. Giving up, she threw her hands in the air. “It was Min Soo!”

Her sister glared at her, shaking her head in disgust. “Snitch.”

 “You’re 67 years old. Stop saying things like that!”

“Well, you two have a lot to think about!” Minho lectured. “Manipulating people like that!”

“Manipu–who manipulated anyone?” Min Soo asked, parted.

“And hiding the truth from people!”

Sunny squeaked. “We didn’t want to spring it on you! It’s fragile.”

“Nonetheless! You think about what you did!” Minho admonished. “Come on, Jinki.”

Jinki looked more confused than filled with the same righteous fury Minho was. “Maybe I should have been the bad cop,” he said.

“Too late,” Minho admitted, scratching the back of his head as he and Jinki walked out of the conference room.

Silence stretched ugly between the two sisters and Sejun hid his laughter behind his hand.

“What just happened?” Min Soo said quietly, looking at her sister. Sunny’s mouth flopped open like a fish.

Seconds later, Minho and Jinki burst back in the room laughing. “Sorry! Sorry!” Minho could barely keep himself upright. “You two made that easier than it should have been!”

“We don’t really know how to be Dads,” Jinki explained. “Not that you two need Dads, it’s just that–”

“Dads,” Min Soo parroted. “Dads?” She looked between the two of them. “Wait. Is that what that was? You...you actually remember us?”

“Yes, my sunflower,” Jinki said with a small smile. “We do.”

Min Soo looked at Sunny and Sunny looked at Min Soo, their faces splitting into two. They both exploded from their chairs and ran across the board room. Sejun looked on with smile, his chin perched on his palm as Soo and Sunny transformed into Lee Min Soo and Lee Min Sun, two teenage girls who had lost their fathers way too soon and had missed them terribly.

He stood quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to himself, rounded the boardroom table and made his way towards the door. He wanted to let them have their moment.

“Oi, Sejun.”

He turned around, his brows raised.

“We know where your parents are. They are a little young, too young to have discovered each other yet but one day…”

“My parents lived a long life, sir. Take your time. Your daughters have been waiting forever.” He closed the door behind him, chuckling to himself.

“Things are about to get so interesting around here.” Cloud glanced at him with a raised row after he caught the older shifter talking to himself. Sejun hmphed. “I get to do that, young man. I’m old.”

“So, yeah. That’s the news.  We kind of gathered you all here before Min Soo and Min Sun leaked it to the papers that–”

“You’re getting MARRIED?” Iseul screeched. Areum, who sat next to her patted her hand, trying to console her. “You just met! It’s been what...two months? I didn’t even know you were dating!”

“It’s kind of hard to explain, Mom but–”

“Did you knock him up?” Sanghyun said, leaning on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide and his grin wolfish and anticipating.

“No, you idiot,” Jinki said, throwing a notebook at him. The same notebook that had his notes to get through this very trying conversation. He groaned.

“Minho,” Minjung said behind her hand, like everyone couldn’t still hear her, like her hand had some kind of mystical noise cancelling technology. “You said that they were weird. Why are the two of you claiming them as your godkin?”

Taemin frowned. “Aren’t you two a little too old to be–”

Min Soo, who sat behind Jinki and Minho in a corner, stood up and began rolling her sleeves up. “What did you say to me, you little brat?”

“Soo!” Sunny hissed. “That’s your uncle!”

“I’m–what?”

Minho turned to Jinki. “This is a disaster.”

A moment later, Xiah and Yunkyum walked through the door, laughing so hard at each other that tears were falling down their faces.

“Have they met?” Jinki murmured.

Minho shook his head. “Not aware that they had.” Minho squinted at his father. “They are drunk,” he groaned. “How? How!”

“Um,” Sunny said behind them. “We…” she paused to clear . “We may have...told your fathers a few weeks ago? They’ve been kind of ...buddy buddy ever since. If the random text messages are anything to go by.”

“It was by accident!” Min Soo exclaimed.

“How do you tell two strangers something on accident?” Jinki yelled.

Sunny yelped and pushed herself back in her seat.

“Cheers everyone!” Xiah exclaimed.

Iseul stood up and slapped Xiah on the shoulder. “You knew!”

“I knew,” Taeyeon said from the lap of her boyfriend, Jackson. “Did you know he talks in his sleep? I walked in on him taking a nap. Found out everything. He said something about reincarnation?”

Minho turned to Min Soo and Min Sun. “You told them that too?”

The twins took a look at each other and began scrambling to grab their things. “Well, it looks like you’ve got everything handled, Dad. Papa! We are just going to–”

“Dad?” Danye screeched. “Papa?!”

Yunkyum popped the cork on a bottle of champagne. “Surprise!”

Areum frowned. Eunsook frowned. Jieun frowned. Yongi frowned. Onew snorted. Caleo cackled.

Minho looked at Jinki. Jinki looked at Minho.

“Want to elope?” Minho asked.

Jinki pecked him on the lips then nodded. “Think we can make it to the Justice of the Peace before they figure it out?”

Minho shrugged. “They are going to kill us one way or another. Might as well!”

They slipped out the door while their families were arguing with one another in the midst of confusion. It was quiet outside. Prae was peaceful and winter had ebbed and the Earth welcomed spring.

Jinki took Minho’s hand as they walked down the street in companionable silence. A few that recognized them waved–Eunji and Mark who ran the bakery, Bi-So sat on a bench in front of a Starbucks and plucked at the strings of her guitar. They passed by a graffiti covered roll down gate. On the other side was Kyung who ran a boxing training center for the youth. He wondered when others would make their entrance. When he would see Yifan and Yixing’s faces again. Chanyeol and Nichkhun and Victoria and Changmin and Boa. Brea or Yejin and Kahi. Toghon and Gi Jao. Sehun and Tao. Maybe even Yoon and Toggo.

Jinki thought about all of the people who had followed them into their next life.

He looked over to the man who had followed him into his next life.

Jinki loved this man. He loved him more than life itself.

And he could say, with absolute certainty, that Minho loved him too. That their love was eternal, even if they weren’t.

Minho Jinki’s ring before he began sliding them against one another. Wooden, from the earth. Infinite like nature. As Jinki hoped they would always be.

He glanced down at the rings, at the words carved in them.

Ama’il etandula, ama’il etudala

I am yours. You are mine.

___________________________________________

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

Done! Done done done done done done! 

It's crazy this story started out from a suggestion. I have no idea how it turned into this but I'm glad I wrote it! Thank you SO much for your patientce! I know it's been YEAAARS and took YEAAAARS to get this all written but thank you for sticking with me.

I love you I love you I love you I love you all! 

Jade