My sincere apologies to anyone waiting on my other fic. This served as a nice outlet for the difficulty with that one and happily it resulted in a decent finished story! I hope you enjoy~

Thanks to those who subscibed already. And those who voted already, you have too much faith in me, but I appreciate it!

PS. This is a boarding school setting and their ages are altered which is why they’re all in high school at the same time. 

 

---

 

It sounds like a relatively fun assignment at first. Daehyun imagines carrying around a little egg and giving it a name, crying when he inevitably dropped it, and crying even harder that he hadn’t conveniently dropped it into a frying pan. But then Ms. Lee had walked in with a cart full of dolls, complete with temperature sensitivity, motion sensors, and “the ability to cry at all hours of the day and the added joy of trying to figure out what caused it”. He thinks she looks a little too gleeful at that last part and inwardly groans at what is sure to be a failing grade.

 

“You’ll be partnered up for this project since we don’t have enough dolls to go around. And I’m picking!”

 

He perks up slightly at this, turning his head when he hears a scoff beside him.

 

“Don’t look too happy at the prospect of not doing anything,” Himchan says from his side, sharing a grin with Yongguk next to him.

 

Daehyun huffs and crosses his arms, “Well, not my first choice, but I’d even marry you if it’s best for my baby.”

 

Himchan’s interrupted just as he’s about to retort, Ms. Lee sidling up to them with a doll and a bag in hand.

 

“Good to hear, because you three are our last happy little family!”

 

She hands the baby to Yongguk who looks down at it then at her with a confused expression. The bag is set on Himchan’s desk, containing another set of clothes, the bottle, a manual and some other items.

 

“Three?” Himchan questions, sifting through the bag.

 

“Mhmm. We’re left with odd numbers this year and only one more doll, so you’ll all be raising this beautiful baby girl together! Make sure you name her before tomorrow and complete everything on the checklist on the assignment sheet inside.”

 

She walks away with a bounce in her step as the entire class stares at the bundles in their arms, some with excitement and most with barely concealed horror.

 

Daehyun looks between them and then sighs at the life-like plastic in Yongguk’s arms.

 

“How are we ever gonna explain this to your parents?”

 

*          *          *

 

“So,” Youngjae asks as they all sit around the lunch table, examining the doll curiously, “Which one of you isn’t the father?”

 

They all look up at once, eyeing each other before shrugging. Daehyun winks at Youngjae and leans forward.

 

“I guess things got a little too messy for us to tell one night,” he says.

 

Yongguk groans and Himchan snatches the doll from Daehyun’s arms, glaring, “Don’t be gross when you’re holding our baby.”

 

Yongguk takes the doll just as it’s about to be smashed into by a rowdy group of first years as Himchan holds it out and away from the youngest “father” in their group.

 

He sighs, shaking his head at the miraculously still sleeping baby girl. Baby girl doll, he reminds himself. He was getting attached already and he couldn’t afford to, not when they were obviously going to injure –break, he corrects himself again- her soon enough.

 

“Oh, she needs a name!” Himchan says suddenly.

 

Daehyun snaps his fingers, “Daeyounghi. Daehyun, Yongguk, Himchan.”

 

“Why are you first? Why can’t she be ‘Himyongdae’.”

 

“Because that sounds stupid, hyung.”

 

“Let’s call her Toki,” Yongguk says, voice contemplative as he rocks the doll back and forth.

 

Himchan wrinkles his nose, “You want to name our kid after a glorified rodent?”

 

He sputters as Daehyun leans over him towards Yongguk, getting a face full of the younger’s hair.

 

“Toki. It’s cute, hyung!”

 

Himchan rolls his eyes as he knocks the other boy’s head out of the way. Leave it to Daehyun to follow anything Yongguk said like a love-starved puppy. It would be sweet if it wasn’t so vomit inducing.

 

Daehyun smiles, resting his chin against Himchan’s shoulder, "She’s going to be the greatest soccer player ever. World records. Endorsements galore. Cereal boxes!”

 

"No way I’m letting my baby run around kicking a ball for a living! She’ll be the CEO of a multi-national venture. A tycoon," Himchan counters.

 

Yongguk frowns, adjusting the white blanket around the doll, “She’ll be an influential writer and an ambassador and give speeches to the UN and spearhead development programs.”

 

A nonchalant voice cuts in, “What if she doesn’t want to be any of those things?”

 

They all stare at Junhong, who doesn’t even spare them a glance as he plays with his phone while stuffing rice cakes in his mouth. They sit there, properly sheepish, until Yongguk clears his throat.

 

“Well. She’ll be smart, and strong, and kind. She can be whatever she wants to be,” Yongguk says peaceably.

 

Daehyun grins at this, leaning over once again to make funny faces at the doll in Yongguk’s arms, eyes blinking open now.

 

Himchan scoffs, hoping the doll isn’t equipped with a camera and therefore a wholly unflattering and probably terrifying view of Daehyun’s face.

 

“Of course. But forget the ball kicking.”

 

They’re all just glad Yongguk’s the one holding the baby when Daehyun flies out of his seat.

 

 

*          *          *

 

They head down to the senior dorms on the west end of campus after lunch, where Himchan and Yongguk’s suite is. Being prefects, they were afforded a slightly larger room with a small sitting and study area with space for a pullout couch. They’d gotten Daehyun a sleep away pass for the duration of the project and the younger was more than happy to leave behind his cramped quarters for a bit, eager to crash in the room Himchan’s parents had fully furnished for him. Youngjae, his roommate, hadn’t protested nearly as much as Daehyun thought he should have.

 

“At least we don’t have any tests to study for this month. It would to have an 8am exam after being up all night with the baby. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say,” he mumbles.

 

Himchan nods his agreement before lifting the doll up and examining its predictably pink outfit, wrinkling his nose, “First thing’s first, this kid’s duds are lame. We should get her something less uninspired. Maybe in an apricot, or sea foam? You know gunmetal is really in this season-”

 

“Himchan, we are not buying new clothes for the kid.”

 

“I’m just saying, does it have to be this horrid polyester blend?”

 

“She’s a doll, she can’t feel it,” Daehyun adds.

 

“That,” Himchan says, shoving Daehyun’s head down as they walk, “Is a failing attitude.”

 

 

*          *          *

 

“And that,” Himchan says much later in their suite as they prepare for dinner, “is not how you swaddle a baby.”

 

Daehyun lifts their doll, examining the way he’d rolled her up like tightly wound sushi, “It’s not?”

 

She starts crying on cue then and Yongguk sighs while Himchan rolls his eyes and takes the doll, unwinding her from the cocoon and laying the blanket down on the bed along with the doll.

 

“Didn’t you listen in class?”

 

Daehyun shrugs. Just when it looks like Himchan is going to launch into another lecture, Yongguk shakes his head and he huffs.

 

“Pay attention now, then.”

 

Daehyun obediently watches over Himchan’s shoulder, making a little humming noise when Himchan tucks the last corner of the blanket in and lifts the now silent baby up.

 

“Ah, more like a burrito then. Hey, are they serving those today?”

 

 

*          *          *

 

The wailing begins at about two am.

 

Daehyun blinks awake immediately from his spot on the pullout, staring at the baby crying on the makeshift crib they’d set up on the coffee table.

 

Sitting up, he reaches over and picks the doll up, rocking it gently as he winces at the loud noise. He walks over to the two beds at the other end of the room and blinks at the lumps there, snoozing away.

 

“Are you kidding me?”

 

Leaning over Himchan’s bed, he holds Toki by the elder’s ear, laughing as he jumps awake. The older boy groans as the sound finally registers, throwing a pillow at Yongguk’s form to wake him too.

 

“Gosh, some help you hyungs are,” Daehyun mumbles, setting the doll on the table to change her diaper.

 

Yongguk rubs his face, yawning behind a hand, “Sorry, Dae.”

 

Daehyun hums happily at the job he’s done, holding the doll up to show off.

 

“I’m way better at this than you guys are.”

 

“I hear mothers have an easier time hearing babies cry, something about the frequency…” Himchan trails off, smirking at the youngest of them, “I’ve always said your hips were-”

 

The wailing begins again and Daehyun gleefully hands the doll to Himchan.

 

“Must have been your nurturing voice, hyung~”

 

When they walk into the cafeteria before first period that day, all three of them drop into their chairs silently, Toki resting in Yogguk’s hold.

 

“Wow,” Youngjae says, shaking his head with an amused grin, “That baby did a job on you three in a day. You look like .”

 

“Yeah? What’s your excuse?” Daehyun sneers, ducking when the fellow second year’s hand swipes at the bun in his hand.

 

He munches on the snack hiding behind Junhong’s shoulder, the tall first year daring to pat his head as he leans against a bony shoulder, half asleep again. Himchan’s cheek is squished against his palm as he dozes at the table, something he would normally never do, at least not in public. Yongguk always looked vaguely sleepy.

 

The notice bell rings soon after, all of them sluggishly picking up their things with a promise to meet at Himchan’s centrally located locker to pass the doll in between classes.

 

Yongguk walks into his homeroom with the thankfully quiet doll, setting it in his lap as he rummages through his bag.

 

“It’s cute,” his seat mate says, “Cuter since it has an off button.”

 

“Not that we can use it,” Yongguk mumbles as the teacher walks in.

 

He mind wanders in class, bouncing between thoughts of college and the uncertainty that over flows when he thinks of it. Himchan already had it all figured out. Yongguk wouldn’t be surprised if Himchan already had plans drawn out for his retirement home. He’d never been so sure of himself, despite being such a successful student. And maybe that was the hardest part; that everyone assumed he had it all sorted, that he knew exactly where he was going.

 

He’s jolted out of his head and the mindless process of taking notes soon enough. For the first half of class nothing much is out of the ordinary save for the light weight balanced on Yongguk’s legs. Eventually, Toki becomes restless, crying before Yongguk pulls out the bottle to feed her until a little electronic beep sounds and the doll makes a happy gurgling sound. He inclines his head apologetically, the students eyeing the situation with amusement, some of them smiling softly at him.

 

He glances down at the doll, dozing away now according to the little blue light blinking by its palm, envious.

 

He speeds to the locker where Himchan waits for the handover once class lets out.

 

“Hey, handsome,” Himchan greets him, leaning against the metal.

 

Yongguk quirks a brow at him and Himchan shrugs taking the doll and bag of supplies from him.

 

“Got my biological clock ticking. What can I say, you make a hot daddy.”

 

Yongguk rolls his eyes, “Don’t let Daehyun hear you say that.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Himchan replies with a smirk, “You’d just hate that.”

 

He’s about to turn back to his class when Himchan calls out his name again.

 

“We have that exam prep class tonight, I figured we could still go, leave Daehyun with Toki. Good with you?”

 

Yongguk nods with a sigh, shuffling back to his class and wondering why leaving Daehyun alone with the doll was a more frightening prospect than exams.

 

*          *          *

 

“Don’t be mad!”

 

It’s the first thing Daehyun says to them that evening when Yongguk and Himchan get back from their session.

 

Yongguk tries to look around the smaller boy but Daehyun keeps his arms on each side of the door, standing on his tiptoes and giving them both giant puppy eyes. Yongguk glances at Himchan in exasperation only to find that maybe the eyes were working a little when the elder’s gaze stays on Daehyun’s face.

 

“Alright, move over, Dae,” Yongguk nudges him aside, walking in to the room and looking around. Toki is wrapped up on his bed, quiet and seemingly intact.

 

“What did you do?” Himchan questions, glancing around the room and looking for anything out of place.

 

“Well-”

 

“Daehyun! What did you to do her face?”

 

Yongguk stares at the baby, now complete with Angry Bird-esque eyebrows drawn on above her eyes.

 

“It wasn’t me!” Daehyun sidles up to him and presses a cheek against Yongguk’s shoulder as he peers down at their baby, “Look, some of the guys from the soccer team were here for a bit and I don’t know when it happened but when they left she had…those!”

 

“We can get it out with rubbing alcohol…” Yongguk murmurs unsurely.

 

“No way!” Himchan cuts in, “What if it seeps into her high tech skin and it looks like we gave our baby beer! Child services will take her away, our family will be broken, you’ll be driven to drink and I’ll become a workaholic, who knows what Daehyunnie will get up to when neither of us is paying attention, and next thing you know, we’re in divorce court-”

 

“Himchan. Fake baby, remember? And not military grade tech, so I doubt it can do that.”

 

“…Right. Well, you take care of that and,” he turns to wave a finger at Daehyun, “I don’t want those guys around my baby.”

 

“What? Hyung, they’re my friends!”

 

“Well, things are different now! We have responsibilities! We have to work and look after Toki, you can’t just expect to hang out with your friends whenever you want! You’re a father now!” the lines on Himchan face smooth out slowly, “Well. For the next month at least.”

 

Daehyun pouts, flopping onto a chair, “You were way more fun when we first got married.”

 

*          *          *

 

Near the end of the first week Yongguk thinks he may have gotten a hang of this whole raising a baby thing.

 

Toki is sleeping soundly on the bed while Yongguk bags their recycling, compost, and garbage. There was a chute at the end of every floor and Yongguk picks Toki up, balancing her on a hip as he picks the bags up and heads out of the room.

 

Humming a tune as he goes he places the bags on the floor and tugs on the handles of each chute, dropping each bag in. When he gets to the last one, the recycling, a hand claps him harshly on the back and both bundles fall down the long, dark passage.

 

“Yongguk! Hey, man, how’s it going?”

 

“My baby…”

 

He stares open mouthed down the chute, before turning to the fellow senior who was responsible.

 

“That was my baby!”

 

“You have a baby?”

 

“The doll! Is it pick-up day?”

 

“Um,” the senior stutters in the face of Yongguk’s rage, “Not…unless it’s Thursday?”

 

Yongguk curses and dashes down the stairs to the basement where the chutes empty. Three large dumpster-style bins sit there and Yongguk laments his life. He’s just about to reach up when a voice sounds behind him.

 

“Hyung? What are you doing?”

 

Yongguk winces as he turns around. Daehyun stands there, still in his soccer gear.

 

“What…are you doing here?” Yongguk asks instead, casually leaning against the bin and willing Tokki not to cry.

 

 Daehyun shrugs, “It’s easier to cut through the building to get back from the pitch.”

 

Daehyun eyes the blue bin before his gaze slowly falls back on Yongguk’s awkward stance.

 

“Drop something down the chute? I did that once. My new phone. What was it?” Daehyun’s easy grin begins to slowly melt away at the look on Yongguk’s face, “No…way…”

 

“Dae-”

 

“You dropped our baby in there?!”

 

“I….Maybe....”

 

Daehyun looks at him stunned before he bursts into laughter.

 

“Oh my God, hyung” he cackles, “I can’t believe this! This totally beats the eyebrow thing!”

 

Yongguk allows himself to smile at the younger’s glee before he waves his hands to silence the younger boy.

 

“Still have to get her out of there.”

 

He turns to the bin again, gripping the edges before pulling himself up. He manages to get half way before he slides back down with a groan, feet dangling uselessly.

 

He hears snickers and shuffling behind him and then Daehyun is at his side, his own hand gripping the edge. He pulls himself up easily, powerful calves walking him up the side of the metal bin, cleats keeping his grip. He sits on the ledge, head turning this way and that before he stops.

 

“Found her!”

 

Daehyun shuffles over on his bottom to another side, one of his hands and a leg visible as he reaches out into the bin to pull something out. He reappears with the doll and holds it out for Yongguk to take before nimbly hopping down.

 

Yongguk sighs with relief, ruffling bits of grass out of Daehyun’s hair as they walk out of the basement. Toki isn’t damaged from what he can tell but he worries about the impact. Daehyun takes her and examines the plastic.

 

“She landed on some Styrofoam. I think she’ll be fine.”

 

At least the bin of recyclables was less messy that the others. He shudders to think of their baby sitting in compost.

 

“Himchan-hyung’s gonna-”

 

“You can’t tell Himchan.”

 

“Oh?” Daehyun says, mischief dancing in his eyes, “But what will hyung do for me?”

 

Yongguk stares him down until his turns with a pout.

 

“Fine, I won’t tell Himchan.”

 

Yongguk’s stomach grumbles then and he sighs.

 

“Crap, I missed dinner call. I think we have some crackers somewhere…”

 

“It’s okay, hyung! I can get you some food, I sneak down all the time after lights out-”

 

Daehyun cuts himself off abruptly, mouth snapping shut at Yongguk’s face and the prefect badge pinned to his lapel.

 

“You’ve been sneaking past after lights out? For how long?”

 

Daehyun remains silent, clutching Toki in front of him.

 

“Okay, one, I’m not going to discipline you retroactively, and two, your instincts should not be to use our baby as a shield.”

 

“Just…when I get hungry.”

 

Yongguk takes pity on the younger boy, his head resting against the doll’s and looking at him pitifully. Daehyun knows exactly what he’s doing, but then so does Yongguk and he still can’t help but soften when it comes to the resident trouble maker of their group.

 

“Don’t do it again, okay? I won’t stop Himchan from giving you detention and you know he’d love that.”

 

The growling of his stomach somewhat lessons the sternness of this demand and Daehyun’s lips quirk up slightly.

 

“After tonight?”

 

Growl.

 

“…After tonight.”

 

*          *          *

 

There is another night of torture and this time they don’t drop off to sleep until after four am. Daehyun wakes them at eight before he dashes off to the showers with his towel. He returns in five minutes, still wet under his clothes and immediately heading for the small set of cupboards.

 

“,” Yongguk curses, frantically adjusting his clothes, “Himchan we missed our morning meeting, we were supposed to present our budget for spirit week.”

 

“It’s fine,” Himchan says, holding the bottle to Toki’s mouth, “We’re prefects. I’ll talk, you put on that somber my-heart-bleeds-about-everything-and-everyone face and as a bonus we’ll have Daehyun bat his eyelashes or something.”

 

“You can’t pimp me out,” the youngest boy’s voice sounds from the living area, rounded cheeks full of food.

 

Himchan makes a face, “Don’t think you’d fetch much at the moment…”

 

Daehyun swallows down the food, smiling sweetly as he hops off his chair, grabbing his bag before brushing past them.

 

“You sure, hyung? That was three buns.”

 

He leaves with a wink, backpack thrown over one shoulder. Himchan scoffs, his disgusted face morphing into something more thoughtful the next second.

 

Yongguk shakes his head just as the other boy turns to him, covering Toki’s plastic ears.

 

“If it’s anything along the lines of what I think it is, don’t.”

 

 

*          *          *

 

Yongguk eyes the pamphlet Ms. Kim has slipped him earlier, tapping his fingers on the table as he considers. It might be an unconventional choice here but then he and his siblings had always been a little rebellious that way. He flips the brochure closed as Himchan walks into the classroom.

 

“What are you up to?”

 

“Just…thinking about what to apply for.”

 

Himchan eyes the papers as he stuffs them in his bag before handing over Toki.

 

“You don’t know yet?”

 

“I’m leaning towards something. I just…need to sleep on it. Not that we’re getting much of that now.”

 

Himchan regards him for a moment before tugging him up by an elbow and proceeding to pull him down the hallway. Yongguk adjusts his hold around the baby, waiting for an explanation.

 

“Let’s go out tonight. You, me, Daehyunnie, the baby. There’s that amusement park a bus ride away, we’ll take pictures, it’ll be a laugh.”

 

If there’s anyone Yongguk would agree to walk around with a fake baby with, it’s Himchan, and if there is anyone that can make it fun, it’s Daehyun. They find Daehyun talking to his other friends and catch the tail end of his co-captain’s question.

 

“We were going to head down to the city, catch a movie and maybe hit a game room, wanna come?”

 

Himchan’s arm comes around the smallest boy, Yongguk appearing at his elbow with Toki.

 

“Sorry, guys,” Himchan says, his prefect smile perfectly in place, “We’re gonna be stealing Daehyun away for the next few weekends. Family time, you know?”

 

Daehyun’s head swings between them, frowning and widening his eyes, “But Himchan-hyung, Yongguk-hyung, I’ll be back before ten to help with the baby, I promise!”

 

Himchan pinches one of Daehyun’s cheeks as the boy squawks, “Aw, Guk, he’s using all his little tricks, isn’t that cute.”

 

Daehyun’s friends snicker, ruffling his hair and patting his back as they walk away.

 

Daehyun lets out a breath, a tuft of his hair flying up, “Hyungs are so embarrassing.”

 

The park they go to is a poor man’s Lotte World but it has small rides, the kind of junk you can only justify eating at a fair, and is pretty light on their wallets to boot. They take pictures with Toki by the park’s attractions and splurge on vendor food.

 

Dusk is nearing when they take a break at a table. Himchan sends a few pictures to his sister and she sends him a flurry of emojis in response. Toki had gotten restless and Daehyun rocks her in his arms, softly singing a nursery rhyme. It’s hardly necessary and that’s what makes it so endearing. Himchan shares a smile with Yongguk when they lock eyes, something locking into place. The park is painted bright, the sun adding its own touch and Himchan snaps a few more pictures. It feels as comfortable as it does strange, the three of them and their mechanical child.

 

 

*          *          *

 

Himchan’s still talking to the caterer for the spirit week event when Yongguk’s cell buzzes in his pocket and he excuses himself. Looking at the name on the screen, he quickly answers.

 

“Dae?”

 

“Are you with Himchan?”

 

Daehyun sounds panicked and there’s a tell-tale wailing audible in the background.

 

“Yes, but he’s busy at the moment.”

 

“Good! Great, um, so everything’s cool here. I would just really, really like it if you’d come home. Right now.”

 

The wailing continues, louder this time and Yongguk figures Daehyun is carrying the doll around with him now.  He laughs a little at the way Daehyun is trying to simultaneously sing to the kid and talk to him.

 

“Please, hyung, Come back home, I need you here, I’ve tried everything! Just…don’t tell Himchan-hyung anything.”

 

Hearing the echo of his own words, he grins.

 

“Alright. Sit tight.”

 

Hanging up, he catches Himchan’s eyes and gestures his departure before catching the next bus back to campus. It’s fifteen minutes before he opens the door to his room and he can hear the muffled crying through the door. It was a good thing the buildings had thick walls.

 

Daehyun is twirling around the room with the baby, singing as he goes and Yongguk smiles at the sight as he drops his bag and toes off his shoes.

 

“Hey,” he takes the bundle from the younger boy as he sighs in relief.

 

“I changed her diaper and her clothes, made sure the temperature in the room was perfect, fed her, burped her, and nothing’s working! She stopped for about five minutes earlier but that didn’t last.”

 

“Well, this is supposed to be realistic, right? Sometimes babies just cry.”

 

It takes another ten minutes of soothing before Toki quiets down and falls asleep.

 

“Why didn’t you call Himchan?”

 

Daehyun was still a little reserved with him, they didn’t have the bantering relationship he and Himchan had and the other prefect was usually the one Daehyun would call first for anything.

 

“You owe me for the garbage chute,” is the younger’s first response, playful.

 

“I just,” he continues, lips scrunching up as he forces the words out, “I just figured he’d be all ‘I told you so’ about it. I mean, I’m not good at a lot, I know that. I thought…I should at least be able to do this.”

 

Daehyun looks at him then, something serious lingering behind his gaze.

 

“You’re supposed to be able to do this, right? It’s…natural or whatever.”

 

Yongguk doesn’t know much about Daehyun’s home life. He knows he’s never seen the younger boy’s parents, not even on move in and parent’s days, and that Daehyun rarely has much to say when he returns from breaks. He’d asked Himchan about it once and the other had been in the dark as well.

 

“No one’s…born knowing how to do this perfectly. But you’re going to be a great father, Dae.”

 

When Daehyun looks at him again, hopeful, he knows his target was spot on.

 

“You think so?”

 

“Of course. “

 

“I know Himchan jokes about the ‘kicking a ball around’ stuff but maybe that’s all I can do. Maybe that’s all I can teach them, you know?”

 

Yongguk grins to himself, remembering his own family, “As long as you’re there for them. You can always learn with them. Besides, I know that’s not all you can do. Taught me a lot.”

 

Daehyun turns his head then and his lips quirk into a tiny smile.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. Had no idea someone could fit three cafeteria buns in their mouth before you did it,” he teases.

 

Daehyun laughs, expression smoothing into something more relaxed when he quiets.

 

“Thanks, hyung.”

 

Daehyun drops off to sleep soon after that, face free of stress lines now that Toki lay quiet beside him. Yongguk lays an extra blanket over his body, tucking the stuffed bear Daehyun had brought with him beside his form.

 

He heads to the desk, pulling out the brochure he’d tucked into a textbook. Powering up his laptop, he pulls up the school’s site and heads to the application page.

 

 

*          *          *

 

Daehyun’s soccer match falls on a sunny day, perfectly acceptable weather for Yongguk and Himchan to bring Toki out to watch. It’s a little less awkward when they see a few other dolls in the crowd, one of them crying already.

 

Himchan sets Toki on his knee, scanning the field as the team runs their warm-ups.

 

“There’s your Dae-daddy, running around with a ball. He wants to do this forever and refuses to listen to his hyung. You’ll never be so stubborn right, Toki? No you won’t! No you won’t~”

 

Yongguk stares at this one-way exchange in mild horror before he shakes his head and rounds on Himchan.

 

“Wait, you’re worried about him.”

 

“Hmm?” Himchan pays little attention as he fixes the tiny beanie on Toki’s head.

 

“All this time you said you had a low tolerance for ‘knuckleheaded jocks’-”

 

“I do have a low tolerance for knuckleheaded jocks-

 

“-but you’re really just worried about Daehyunnie. Why don’t ever you say that instead of calling him an idiot all the time?”

 

“Because he is an idiot!” Himchan sighs, frowning at the direction of Daehyun’s jersey, neatly dribbling a ball down the field, “You think I like telling him that the one thing he loves, something he’s amazing at, might not last? Might not get him anywhere to begin with?”

 

The tell-tale sounds of a cry begin to sound then, Toki wailing her little electronic lungs out as the other students around them begin to stare in either amusement or sympathy.

 

Himchan coos at the bundle, rocking her back and forth while Yongguk hunts for her bottle. The crying is getting louder when a figure bounds up the bleachers and stops in front of them, slowly pulling Toki from Himchan’s arms.

 

“Who upset my baby, huh?”

 

Yongguk hands over the bottle and Daehyun feeds Toki, smiling when her cries quiet and the little electronic ‘beep’ and giggle sound as her hunger is satisfied.

 

“Yah, Jung Daehyun! Get back here!”

 

The youngest waves at the coach before hurriedly turning back to them, “Gotta run!”

 

Daehyun hands the doll back to Himchan. He leans in and presses an obnoxious kiss on Himchan’s cheek, hesitating slightly before he smiles leaves a softer one on Yongguk’s. He bounds down the bleachers with a flushed face. Himchan shakes his head with a sigh, a helpless grin on his face as Yongguk’s lips settle into a serene smile, his hand still against the point of contact on his cheek.

 

Daehyun plays even better than he normally does, leading their team to victory with two goals. Yongguk heads back to the dorms first after congratulating him while Himchan keeps him back.

 

“Let’s go out,” the prefect says, “I’ll buy you dinner.”

 

Daehyun raises a brow, “Date night without Yongguk-hyung?”

 

“Someone has to babysit.”

 

“Sure, let me shower first.”

 

“Please,” Himchan adds, side-stepping as Daehyun moves to smack his arm in retaliation.

 

He lets Daehyun pick and they end up sitting down at a barbeque house nearby, the sound of meat sizzling on the grill interrupted only by Daehyun’s happy with each mouthful until Himchan speaks up.

 

“I’m sorry I’m a .”

 

Daehyun looks up at this sudden statement.

 

“I just don’t want you to regret anything. I want you to have plan.”

 

The younger sets down his utensils, tilting his head as he regards Himchan gently.

 

“I know. And you’ve been too focused on the stuff you disapprove of that you don’t realize I’ve thought about all this already,” Daehyun says, munching on his fries, “You can relax, you know? I can already tell you’re gonna be one of those parents that plays Mozart all day around their baby and stuff. Signs them up for like, ten classes.”

 

Himchan considers this. He feels stiff in his perfectly fitted clothes, their buttons holding everything inside him still. There was no such thing as being too prepared in his books but maybe they could learn from each other.

 

“Just because the things I work hard at are different that you, doesn’t mean I’m wasting my time,” the younger adds.

 

He feels properly ashamed at that and he nods, “You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I can be a little…narrow minded about some things.”

 

“You’re not the only one who knows what they’re doing,” Daehyun blinks innocently at Himchan before speaking again, “It’s okay, I know hyung is like this because he loves me~”

 

“Ugh, I think I feel my lunch coming back up.”

 

 

*          *          *

 

They split once they get to campus, Himchan heading to help with last minute preparations for their spirit week while Daehyun returns to the dorm. Yongguk is sitting by the desk, reading a text while Toki rests in his arms.

 

“She’s sleeping,” he whispers, grinning down at the bundle swaddled in the soft blanket. He rises to set her down on the couch, secure, before he ruffles Daehyun’s hair. The younger boy leans against his shoulder with a sigh.

 

“Thanks, hubby.”

 

Yongguk laughs as they relax against the seat. They stay on the couch until they find themselves nodding off and then carefully put Toki in her makeshift cradle before changing and sliding into Yongguk’s bed. He isn’t sure when Daehyun started sleeping with either him or Himchan instead of on the couch but neither of them had complained and it had become routine.

 

It’s warm and though they start off with space between them, they wake curled together as loud grumbling pulls them out of dreamland.

 

“Oh, hell no.”

 

Eyes blink open at the sound and the bouncing of the bed as Himchan crawls over them, stepping on limbs as he goes.

 

“No way are my husbands having a cuddle without me. Do you realize how exhausted I am after that spirit week set-up? ing freshman can’t do right and here you two are having a god damn love-in.”

 

Daehyun kicks his leg back, knocking Himchan in the thigh as the elder settles behind him, pushing him further into Yongguk’s warm chest.

 

“We’ve been here, raising our child, thank you very much,” the youngest mumbles, “She’ll grow up to be wonderful, no thanks to your potty mouth.”

 

Daehyun squeals and squirms around when Himchan sinks teeth into his clothed shoulder in admonishment. Yongguk sighs tiredly, his chest now to Daehyun’s back as he wraps an arm around the younger, hand absentmindedly resting against his belly, “No hanky-panky in front of the baby.”

 

“Ugh, not everything is about , Bbang,” Himchan replies.

 

“Don’t say in front of the baby!” Daehyun chimes, hitting his shoulder.

 

“We can’t censor life for her, she’ll learn the word eventually!”

 

“Well she doesn’t need to learn it now!”

 

“She doesn’t need to see it now either,” the eldest of them adds, “so stop with the .”

 

“What are you talking about, Bbang?”

 

“You mean that’s not what your bickering is? Well, everyone’s in for a surprise.”

 

It’s nearly four am when the sounds of crying wake them again. Himchan tugs a miraculously still sleeping Daehyun closer, nudging Yongguk with his foot as he does so.

 

“It’s your turn, Bbang.”

 

He reluctantly leaves the warmth of the bed, reaching over to the next one to pick up the doll. He quickly changes the diaper, picking the doll up to rock her when that doesn’t work. He paces the room, feet padding softly against the floor, until her eyes drop shut and her cries fade once more. Carefully placing her on the little cushion fort they’d made on the second bed, he begins to walk back to his own before he pauses.

 

He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Himchan and Daehyun so peaceful together and he’d feel bad for disturbing them if they didn’t make room for him as he crawls back in, coming back to settle against him as he does.

 

 

*          *          *

 

The day they return Toki carries a strange sort of sadness with it. They aren’t the only students looking a little wistfully at the bundles being powered down and taken away. Ms. Lee smiles at Yongguk just as he’s about to leave class.

 

“So you decided to apply after all.”

 

He nods, ducking his head slightly, “Yeah.”

 

“I think you’ll do great in social services.”

 

He leaves class feeling satisfied and confident in his decision, face bright as he greets his partners back at the dorm. Daehyun is whining about having to return to his cramped room, half-heartedly joking that Youngjae has probably turned his half into a storeroom for his books.

 

Yongguk shares a look with Himchan before turning back to the youngest.

 

“So stay with us tonight, too,” Himchan suggests.

 

“Yeah, your sleep away pass is good until tomorrow anyway.”

 

“Besides, it’ll be weird to sleep without someone crying in the middle of the night.”

 

Daehyun kicks lightly at Himchan’s shin but he’s already biting down a grin as he sets his duffle down. They shift to give him space on his preferred spot on the couch, nestled between them.

 

The silence settles around them like a comfortable blanket, before it is broken.

 

“I think I want another baby.”

 

---

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