“I have cookie dough or mint chocolate chip. Which one do you want?” Jiyong called out from the kitchen.

“Do you really even have to ask?” Seunghyun shot back as he adjusted his position on the couch.

“Mint chocolate chip it is,” Jiyong affirmed to himself and pulled the carton out of the freezer. He stopped and pulled two spoons out of the drawer before he made his way back into the living room and sat back down beside his boyfriend. Silently, he handed one of the spoons to Seunghyun. The older man took it and immediately started digging into his favorite flavor.

“You got my favorite brand again,” he said after swallowing his giant spoonful.

“Well, you remind me enough times to buy it so you have some when you come over,” Jiyong retorted, shoving his equally giant spoonful into his mouth.

“You’re the best.”

“Damn right I am, and don’t you forget it.”

Seunghyun smirked and shook his head. He took another spoonful and mindlessly watched the commercials that flashed across the television.

“Hey, Hyun?” Jiyong said softly as he stared into the carton of half eaten ice cream.

“Mmm,” Seunghyun replied, suddenly interested in a movie trailer that was playing.

“I’m not working this weekend, remember?”

Still enamored with the TV, Seunghyun hummed in response again.

“Well, I was thinking… Since you’ve been so busy these past couple weekends, why don’t I come over tomorrow and we just spend the weekend together? How does that sound?” When he didn’t get a response, he lightly hit the man beside him to grab his attention. “I asked you a question.”

“What was it?”

“Let’s spend this weekend together, okay?” When the words left his mouth, he already knew the answer because it was written all over Seunghyun’s face.

“I’m sorry, Ji, but I can’t do it this weekend.”

“Seriously?” Jiyong huffed out. “What the hell are you doing anyway? It’s been like what two- maybe three weekends in a row now.”

His anger swelled up and he lifted himself off the couch to shove the ice cream back into the freezer.

“I’m sorry, Ji. I really am, but it should be over soon.” Seunghyun tried to apologize, but he was frozen on the edge of his seat.

“But what are you doing exactly? You haven’t even let me into your house for like the past month!”

When Seunghyun kept opening his mouth and closing it, Jiyong figured that he wasn’t going to get a real answer.

“You know what? Never mind.” He slammed the freezer door shut and then turned to hold onto the edge of the counter. “I think- Seunghyun, I think I just want to go to bed.”

“Ji, don’t be like this. I promise you it’s nothing.”

“Seunghyun,” the younger man threatened. “Just leave… please.” His grip tightened and he could feel his fingers were about to give out.

The older man reluctantly stood up and walked over to him and removed his hands from the counter.

“This is the last time, I promise,” he said, pulling Jiyong into a hug. He felt like he had his arms wrapped around a statue because of how still Jiyong was being.

“I’ll come over Monday night,” he assured.

“Yeah, whatever,” Jiyong shook him off and then walked to the door to open it for him.

Seunghyun knew he had completely ruined their small night in. He felt how pissed Jiyong was and he didn’t want to upset him even more, so he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

~

The ringing of the doorbell woke Seunghyun up from his slumber. But if he was honest with himself, it wasn’t much of a slumber due to the fact that he kept tossing and turning all night, thinking about the fight he had had with Jiyong. He looked at the clock on his bedside table and when he saw the time he jumped out of his bed.

“!” he yelled, as he fumbled out of bed and heard yet another ringing of the doorbell.

“She is going to murder me.”

He quickly tossed on a pair of sweat pants, ruffled his hair into something presentable and then ran to the door.

“Are you just now waking up?” Hyeyoon questioned, her eyebrows rising up as she took in his disheveled appearance.

“I am so sorry.” He paused and straightened his wrinkled shirt. “I had a rough night, but here let me help you,” he offered, holding out his hands.

His sister looked him up and down, but the bundle of cloth she was holding started wiggling.

“Here, I just fed him so maybe in about forty five minutes he’ll need changing.”

Seunghyun took his nephew into his arms and looked down to his small smiling face.

“Hello, little man,” he said sweet voice. “Are you ready for to have fun with uncle Seunghyun?”

The baby wiggled in his arms, flailing his small hands about. Hyeyoon walked past them and into the house to drop off one of the two bags she was holding.

“I packed the extra wipes you asked for. Do you need more formula too?”

Being too enamored with Seomin, Seunghyun answered in a childish voice, “No, I don’t-” the baby giggled- “That’s right, I don’t, because uncle Seunghyun went out and bought some yesterday after work. Oh yes, I did, yes, I did.”

Hyeyoon watched as her younger brother leaned down to rub noses with her baby. She smiled at the sweet gesture and then looked to her watch.

“Alright, well, Dohyuk and I have to have to catch the flight to Kyoto in about an hour and a half. So I’ll just leave you be.”

She walked over and placed a kiss on her son’s head and then one on her brother’s cheek.

“You two behave now and I’ll see you Sunday night,” she said, as she walked back to the door but before she left she turned to face them one last time. “And Seunghyun?”

“Hm?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Thanks again, for this month. I know it’s been extremely taxing on you but we are so grateful to you for taking care of him.”

He shook his head and smiled.

“I told you not to worry about it. I love taking care of this little guy. I just hope that you get everything taken care of, because I can’t wait to see your new place.”

“Well, we haven’t finalized it yet, but I think this trip we will.”

“Alright, well, have a safe trip and see you soon. I’ll call if anything happens.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and then shut the door, leaving Seunghyun and the wiggling Seomin alone in his house.

“Okay, little buddy, what are we going to do first?”

He walked over to the couch, dodging miscellaneous baby toys that were scattered across the living room from taking care of him for the past month. He held the boy in one arm while he pulled over the baby bouncer seat in front of him. Supporting his head, Seunghyun laid the baby down in the seat and strapped him in. Seomin writhed around, not liking the change but Seunghyun was quick to distract him by moving his finger against his cheek, jiggling the soft fatty skin.

“It’s ok, little man. Uncle Seunghyun just has to make a cup of coffee for himself and then he’ll be all yours, okay?”

He pressed the first button on the seat and it started gently vibrating, calming the baby down a bit. He walked to the kitchen and started preparing his much needed pot of coffee and clearing his head from last night. He needed to focus on Seomin for now, and then he could deal with his own problems later.

Almost on queue, Seomin needed changing about the time that Hyeyoon had predicted. Seunghyun performed his uncle duties and cleaned him up while he made more goofy faces. He loved hearing the baby giggle and make small sounds. When he was finished, he wrapped him back up in his blanket and walked around the house with him in his arms, tenderly bouncing him up and down. After about five minutes of that, Seunghyun noticed that Seomin’s eyes were slowly shutting.

He walked to the corner of his living room and laid him down in his crib. The baby fidgeted around for a bit and was starting to fuss, but Seunghyun quietly hushed him.

“Shh shh shh, it’s okay.” He rubbed his belly in small circles. “Don’t fight it. Just go to sleep.”

The blinds in his house were already closed, creating a nice quiet dark spot for the baby to fall asleep, but when he didn’t seem to calm down, Seunghyun flipped the switch on the mobile hanging over the crib. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star filled the room and Seunghyun hummed along with it, hoping that the sound of his voice would help Seomin, as it usually did. Within a minute, the baby had completely fallen asleep, letting Seunghyun release a silent sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted to do right now was try and deal with a fussy baby after only having one cup of coffee this morning.

While the baby slept, Seunghyun worked on some of his paper work that he brought home yesterday from the office. He hated being the lowest man on the totem pole at work because everyone stuck him with all the menial jobs. But he was happy to finally have found a job after months of looking.

The afternoon passed by the way it had done the past few Fridays. He worked, while Seomin rested. When it was around 3 p.m., Seunghyun fixed up a bottle of formula and fed the baby while he indulged in an afternoon lunch. He watched as the little boy’s lips moved around relentlessly, trying to all the liquid from the bottle as fast as he could.

“Hey, little man, it’s not a race to see who finishes first, alright?”

He pulled the bottle away to let him digest all that he had eaten already, but as soon as it was gone, Seomin started to cry out.

“Okay, okay! You win-” he gave the bottle back- “You’re a greedy little thing, aren’t you?”

Seunghyun knew Seomin couldn’t understand him, but still he chuckled when the baby blinked back at him and then smiled.

“Uh huh, I see how it is… .”

After both their stomachs were full, Seunghyun quickly cleaned up. He needed a break from the papers that were spread across his table so he picked up Seomin and the cloth next to him and started burping him. The baby let out a few and Seunghyun was there to wipe the spit up from his mouth.

When it seemed like nothing more would come out Seunghyun asked, “What do you say we rest for a bit, buddy?”

He walked over and curled up on the couch, setting Seomin sit in his lap. He pulled a random book from the pile on the coffee table and started to read.

The first day he had agreed to watch his nephew, he found out rather fast how much the baby liked to hear his voice. And the perfect way to end the afternoon snack was to have a bedtime story before nap time. But if he was honest with himself,  he used this as an excuse to sleep himself as well.

Cracking open the book, he started to read the story. He kept a calm, soothing voice as he repeated the words on the page and soon enough the baby was fast asleep in his arms. Carefully, he put him into his bouncy seat, turn on the vibration, and then let him have his peaceful nap. A few minutes later, Seunghyun followed right after him.

For the second time that day, Seunghyun was awoken by a ringing sound. Except this time instead of the doorbell, it was his phone. Not wanting to wake Seomin up, he quickly reached over and answered the call.

“H-hello,” he grumbled, not even bothering to check who was calling him.

“Seunghyun?”

“Oh god, Ji!” Seunghyun said loudly and shot up, suddenly fully awake. “Hey! What’s up?”

“Look I just wanted to apologize about last night.”

“No, I was stupid. I should just tell you what’s going on.”

As he spoke on the phone, he noticed that Seomin was rustling around a little too much. Not wanting the little one to suddenly start crying he reached out and tried soothing him.

“No no no. Shh, it’s ok.”

“What?”

“Hmm?”

Seunghyun internally sighed in relief as the baby calmed back down and fell back to sleep.

“What did you just say? What’s going on?”

“Oh no, I wasn’t talking to you,” Seunghyun reassured Jiyong.

“Then who else are you talking too? Jiyong questioned, starting to get agitated at his boyfriend’s secrecy.

“Look, why don’t you just come over like you wanted to, and I’ll explain everything.”

“Fine, I’ll be there in an hour.”

Seunghyun could tell that despite the fact that Jiyong had called to apologize, he was still angry or even more angry now.

“Okay, I’ll order chinese for dinner. How does that sound?” He figured that if he offered to buy Jiyong food it would help to butter him up.

“Yeah, sounds good. See you in a few.”

Seunghyun hung up and looked around the living room. It was covered in baby stuff and he knew Jiyong would freak out if he saw how messy his place was. Before he started cleaning though, he woke up Seomin and changed his diaper and onesie because it was starting to smell. After that he put him back in his seat and his stereo. Soft classical music played throughout the house, much to his dislike, but as his sister liked to remind him over and over again, it was good for babies. Personally, he thought there was no problem with his music, but he knew the wrath of his sister if he tried to argue.

Running about, he picked up toys and blankets, tossing them into an empty clothes hamper and then piled the books next to Seomin’s crib. Not wanting his house to smell of baby poo, he gathered up the growing bag of dirty diapers and quickly ran outside to put them in the trash. When he got back inside, he checked to make sure Seomin was doing well, which he was, and then he picked up his phone to call the restaurant for his and Jiyong’s dinner.

Luckily, the meal arrived before Jiyong did, which gave Seunghyun enough time to set it all up and get it ready for when his boyfriend came. No sooner did he start putting the first container of food into a bowl, did the doorbell ring.

“Just a minute!” he called out as he spooned the last remains of the food into the dish and then went to the door.

“Hey,” he said, smiling at the man standing before him.

“Hey yourself.” Jiyong threw back and took a step into the house.

Seunghyun held up his arms to stop him. “Um wait. I need to tell you something before you go in.”

Jiyong crooked one eyebrow up. “Yes…”

“Okay, look, Hyeyoon and her husband have to move to Japan for Dohyuk’s job. So for the past couple of weekends they have been going over there trying to find a place to live.”

“But didn’t she just have a baby a few months ago?”

Seunghyun winced, “Well, I’m kinda getting to that. See, Hyeyoon couldn’t do all this traveling with Seomin. And my mom is visiting her sister down in Jeju so she couldn’t take care of him, so… I’ve… been… doing it.”

The confession left his mouth and he was trying to smile as Jiyong’s face fell.

“You’ve been taking care of him!”

As if he heard that they were talking about him, Seomin started crying from the other room and Jiyong’s jaw dropped.

“I know, it was stupid that I didn’t tell you,” Seunghyun started as he walked to go pick his nephew up. “But I know how much you don’t like kids and there was no way that I could tell my sister no when she knows that I don’t work on the weekends. She really needed my help, but I swear this is the last weekend. They found a place last week and went to go finalize everything.”

Jiyong was clearly still in shock, so Seunghyun took care of Seomin while he let his boyfriend process everything.

“Wait. So you weren’t dating anyone else?”

“What?” Seunghyun shouted and almost dropped the baby in his hands. “No! Where the hell did you get that idea from?”

“Well you kept blowing me off and you didn’t want me to come over and you weren’t answering your phone on the weekend, so I thought you were secretly dating some other guy!”

Seunghyun gently put Seomin into his seat and stood back up. He pulled Jiyong into a tight hug and said, “I would never do that to you.”

He pulled back and kissed Jiyong to show how much he meant to him. The younger man pressed into the kissd, relieved that this was all that was going on. They heard a soft sneeze coming from below them, causing them to pull apart. Seunghyun offered a wary smile to Jiyong, double checking that everything was okay between them before he bent down to make sure Seomin was alright. Jiyong smiled back and Seunghyun picked up the baby while saying, “Well dinner got here just before you came, are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Jiyong unconsciously rubbed his stomach.

“Come on, it’s in the kitchen.”

All three of them walked into the kitchen. Seunghyun set his nephew down in the high chair and strapped him in as Jiyong went to the counter where the food was.

“Want me to finish?”

“Please. I think Seomin is getting hungry again. Unless you want to feed him?” Seunghyun suggested.

“Um…” Jiyong hesitated. “I love you and all but the idea of having baby throw up all over me is just-“ a shiver ran up his spine- “No, I think I’ll pass.”

Seunghyun shrugged his shoulders.

“Suit yourself.” He moved around Jiyong and started making another bottle.

When he finished putting their meals into proper dishes, Jiyong brought them over to the table. Seunghyun had already started to feed his nephew and Jiyong laughed as he watched his boyfriend mimic the baby while he ate; opening and closing his mouth with wide eyes.

“You look absolutely ridiculous.”

Seunghyun looked up, embarrassed that he had been caught. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Honestly, it’s kind of cute.”

Shaking his head, Seunghyun turned his attention back to the baby. He brought a cloth, wiped some of the dribble away and then continued to feed him.

“He’s almost done. You go ahead and start eating,” Seunghyun said.

Jiyong nodded, picking up a pair of chopsticks and dug in.

Seunghyun watched as the last of the formula disappeared from the bottle and speaking in a baby voice, he congratulated Seomin.

“There you go. All done.”

The baby giggled and stared wide-eyed up at Seunghyun but then his face contorted and he let out a sneeze.

“That’s the second time he’s done that. Is he coming down with something?” Jiyong innocently asked but the looked Seunghyun threw him made him freeze. “What? What did I say?”

“You did not…”

“Did what? What did I say?”

“You just cursed us; you do know that, right?”

“What?” Jiyong was so confused.

“You suggested that he might be getting sick. And now, since the laws of nature hate me, he’s probably going to.”

“Sorry,” Jiyong mumbled into his noodles.

“Don’t worry about it,” Seunghyun said. “He was feeling hot earlier.” He looked back to the baby and continued, “Now uncle Seunghyun is going to eat his dinner.”

Jiyong stifled a laugh and continued to eat his food, not saying a word.

After dinner, Jiyong offered to take care of the dishes while Seunghyun and his nephew went to go have bath time. The younger man made sure he scrubbed every inch of the bowls because he did not feel like helping Seunghyun. Like he told him before, he loved the man, but babies weren’t his thing. He just didn’t know how to handle a wiggly ball of skin that cried and pooped all over you. He thought about how Seunghyun kept this a secret from him and it made him laugh. He was dumb for thinking too much into it, but he was secretly glad that Seunghyun didn’t ask him for help the first time.

By the time he finished, Jiyong heard Seunghyun call for him and he reluctantly went into the bathroom, praying that it wasn’t something major.

“Yeah?”

“Could you wrap him up in his blanket and put him in his bouncy seat? I need to take a bath time myself,” Seunghyun asked as he finished putting on Seomin’s onesie. Jiyong nodded and cautiously took the baby from him.

“And don’t forget to turn the vibration on the seat. He likes it and it will help him sleep.”

Jiyong nodded again and padded out to the living room. He found the blanket and wrapped it around the boy then set him down in the seat like Seunghyun told him too.

The baby stared up at him and he too stared at the baby.

“What are you looking at?” he asked in a playfully mean way. But his tone seemed to have the opposite effect on Seomin, because the baby grinned a toothless grin and giggled.

“Okay, fine. I’ll admit you are a little cute,” he confessed nonchalantly. “Oh right-” Jiyong reached down and flipped the vibration on the seat- “Almost forgot that part.”

Seomin flailed his legs about and let out small sounds. Jiyong watched as his eyes kept closing and opening. He didn’t want to move and risk distracting the baby from falling asleep, so he sat still and continued to stare at him. As he watched him, he took notice of the baby’s features and he could tell that he was part of the Choi family. There’s no denying those eyebrows, he thought.

When the baby finally fell asleep, Jiyong took out his phone and started playing around with it. Checking all of his different SNS. Eventually, Seunghyun finished his shower and quietly made it out to the living room and snuggled up to Jiyong.

“God, I’m so glad you’re here. It was nice being able to take a long shower and not have to worry about him for a few min-minutes,” he said, the last part being yawned out of his mouth. “But it’s getting late, you should head on home.”

“I’ll stay if you want me to?” Jiyong suddenly said.

“Really?” Seunghyun couldn’t believe his own ears.

“Yeah, it looks like you need a good night’s rest.” Jiyong replied and swiped his thumb underneath Seunghyun’s eye, wishing he could actually remove the dark circles from them.

The older man leaned into the touch. “Are you sure?”

“I think I can handle it. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, I’ll take care of him.”

Seunghyun didn’t reply. Instead he leaned over and kissed the younger man, showing his appreciation.

“You’re the best,” he said.

“Damn right. And don’t you forget it,” Jiyong answered automatically.

Seunghyun smiled and then stretched out on the couch, using Jiyong’s lap as a pillow.

Jiyong chuckled. “Your bed is in the next room. Why don’t you go lay down in there?”

“Because you won’t be there,” Seunghyun answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shaking his head, Jiyong played with Seunghyun’s bangs for a bit and then suggested that they all just move into the bedroom.

The older man yawned and nodded in agreement, rolling off the couch. He stood and gently picked Seomin up to walk him to his crib. When he placed him down and the mobile, he said, “I’ll let him sleep out here and leave the baby monitor next to him.”

Jiyong shrugged. He was indifferent as long as the baby wasn’t going to be in the same bed as him. The men then made their way into Seunghyun’s bedroom, Jiyong went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of his sleep clothes that he kept he for nights like these while Seunghyun crawled into bed. The younger man changed quickly and joined him under the covers.

A few hours into the night was when Jiyong first heard the crying coming from the other room. He tossed and turned at the unfamiliar disturbance until somewhere his subconscious told him that he need to go take care of it. When he sleepily sat up, Seunghyun was already getting out of bed to go to Seomin.

“Hey, wait,” Jiyong called out, rubbing his eyes. “I said I would do it. Go back to sleep babe.”

Seunghyun didn’t have to be told twice. He climbed back under the covers and went straight back to sleep. Jiyong, on the other hand, went out and found Seomin wailing in his crib. He picked him up and tried to soothe him, but that didn’t work. He checked to make sure he didn’t soil his diaper, but nothing. He sat him in his seat and the vibration. Zilch. He tried a handful of other tactics but nothing seemed to work. He finally felt the baby’s head and he felt pretty warm.

“Do you have a fever?” he asked. He could tell the baby was uncomfortable, but he was at a complete loss with how to help. Feeling horrible for what he was about to do, Jiyong walked back into Seunghyun’s room and tenderly shook Seunghyun awake.

“Hyun? I am so sorry, but nothing I do will seem to work. I think he has a fever or something.”

Seunghyun reached over and turned his bedside light on and rubbed his eyes at the brightness. He lifted his hand up towards him and Jiyong knew that he wanted to feel Seomin. The younger man leaned down and saw Seunghyun take in a deep breath.

“Yeah, he’s too warm-” He threw the covers off himself and got up from the bed- “Hand him over, I’ll take care of it. You can go back to bed.”

Jiyong handed over the crying baby and kissed Seunghyun’s cheek in apology. “Sorry.”

“‘S not your fault,” Seunghyun mumbled and then retreated to the living room, shutting the door behind him so as not to disturb Jiyong further.

The younger man laid in bed for a long time listening to the faint sounds of Seunghyun taking care of the baby. He felt horrible that he was so useless. Despite his aversion to babies, he still wanted to ease the trouble Seunghyun was going through right now. However, after a while he heard that it had become silent out in the living room. Being curious, he slipped out from under the covers and cracked open the door. What he saw made his heart almost stop and jump into his throat.

Seunghyun, wearing his tank top and sweatpants, was stretched out on the couch sleeping, with Seomin also asleep on top of him. He had his hand gently resting on top of the baby’s’ back while his other one along his side, as if to prevent him from falling off. It was the most precious sight Jiyong had ever seen and oddly y too. Seunghyun looked so good in his sleeping outfit, with his arms bare and the fabric clinging to his chest. But as he looked at the sight before him, Jiyong couldn’t help but see how gentle Seunghyun really looked, his true personality showing through. He looked so calm and serene. Both his eyes and Seomin’s were closed, and they had the same peaceful look about them. If he didn’t even know any better, it truly looked like they were father and son.

An unexpected set of images passed through his mind at that moment. Him and Seunghyun taking care of their own little one in their own house, together. They played together. Ate together. And even slept together, side by side with their baby in between them. His heart swelled at the sudden possibility of it all.

Quietly, he walked over to the two. He felt Seomin and noticed that his fever had gone down, so he cautiously picked him up and put him back in the crib. When he settled in,

Jiyong walked back over to his boyfriend and again woke him up.

“He’s asleep again, come back to bed.”

Seunghyun followed, walking like a zombie back to bed and immediately latched onto Jiyong. The younger man laughed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend as well while he whispered into his ear, “So when can we have one?”

Seunghyun smirked and buried his face into Jiyong’s neck, mumbling, “I wondered how long it would take you to come around.” And when he finished, he tightened his grip around him and fell back asleep.

In all honesty I need this for my own sanity, but I knew that you guys would like it too.

Also feel free to follow me on twitter: @tabidreamer. I post stuff about what i'm working on, random spoilers, and just over all gtop.