“Daddy, why are you dressed up like that? Are we going on a date?” Sehun inquires, standing in the doorway of the door he’d just pushed in imperiously. Chanyeol had never had to make a thing, where doors were knocked before entering and privacy in general. They were two guys, and what more Sehun was his son; he’d never really had a problem with Sehun walking in on him pulling on his briefs after showering.

Now that he thought about it, though, perhaps the knocking thing might be a good thing.

“Sehun, you scared me!” Chanyeol exclaims, though he really hadn’t been surprised, “You should knock before you come in.” He quickly buttons up his jacket, sneaking a look at himself in the mirror. Not bad.

“Why?”

Chanyeol sighs. “Sehunnie, your dad is getting old,” he explains, not wanting to get into the privacy thing right now. “Scaring me isn’t good for my heart.”

“Oh…” Sehun’s eyes go wide as he considers this. “Then daddy, you shouldn’t watch so many horror movies!” he cautions.

Despite everything, Chanyeol smiles wryly. Clever little twerp, he thinks to himself. Too clever.

Just then, the doorbell rings, and Chanyeol remembers the task at hand. “Sehun, let’s go get the door, okay? Uncle Kris is really excited to see you!”

“Yay!” Sehun chirps excitedly, “Uncle Kris!” He takes Chanyeol’s outstretched and pulls him to the front door eagerly. Fortunately for Chanyeol, Sehun hasn’t figured out that Kris was more or less a glorified baby sitter and that Kris’ presence usually meant that Chanyeol was going to be away for extended periods of time.

“Uncle Kris!” Sehun says again, later, as they’re opening the door to reveal the only person that’s ever made Chanyeol not feel like a monster over his height. Kris, to his credit, doesn’t look scary at all with the dumb gummy smile on his face and a bag of toys in one hand. (Sehun doesn’t really play with toys all that much anymore, but he pretends for Kris’ sake).

“Heya, kiddo,” Kris says happily, always glad to see Sehun. It makes Chanyeol’s heart warm, that his best friend actually likes his kid so much. It helps that Sehun’s only a little every other visit. “You look decent,” he adds, giving Chanyeol a once-over and winking.

Chanyeol flushes with pleasure. “Thanks,” he says, recognizing the high praise. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this sort of thing…”

Kris shakes his head dismissively, kicking off his shoes at the entranceway as he enters the house. “You look fine.”

It only helps settle Chanyeol’s nerves a little. It really has been a long time since he’s gone on a date – a real one, and not the blind dates that his friends set him up with and neglect to tell him about. Ever since Sehun’s mother had left, Chanyeol had thrown his all into work, his friends, and most importantly Sehun himself. And truthfully, it hasn’t even been all that bad. He has great friends that don’t make him feel excluded, and Sehun’s the greatest company he can imagine.

But maybe it would be a good idea to try and meet new people.

“Alright, Sehunnie,” Chanyeol says once Sehun has led Kris into the living room and begun unloading the toys Kris had brought. “I’m going to go out for a while and Uncle Kris is going to look after you while I’m gone, okay?”

Sehun looks up, eyebrows furrowed. “Where are you going?” he asks, zeroing on his father’s attire once again.

“I’m going to go meet up with a friend of mine,” Chanyeol replies, only fibbing a little. He likes Kyungsoo a lot; he would love to become friends with him – and maybe even more. “We’re going to go eat dinner.”

“Why can’t I come?” Sehun’s voice now has a hint of stubbornness in it. Chanyeol sighs; Sehun is always especially difficult during times like these. It doesn’t help that Chanyeol usually brings Sehun with him everywhere.

“I’m hurt, Sehun,” Kris says hastily, plopping down on the carpet beside Sehun. “I just got here and you want to leave me? Even though I brought you a yummy dessert?”

Distracted, Sehun turns to console him. “I want to play with you, Uncle Kris,” he assures, “But daddy…” he trails off, unsure.

Kris wrinkles his nose. “You spend all day with him!” he complains, pouting. “I want to spend some time with you, too!”

Chanyeol hides a grin. As goofy as Kris is, he’s always got his back. He can Sehun visibly cracking under Kris’ guilt trip.

It only takes five more minutes of Kris’ whining until Chanyeol’s putting on his shoes to leave, Sehun’s permission acquired.

“Thanks again, man,” he tells Kris, grateful smile on his face. “I owe you one.”

“You owe more than just one,” Kris warns playfully. “You’re lucky I like him so much.”

Sehun waves Chanyeol down for a goodbye hug, to which Chanyeol obediently bends down. Sehun gives him a peck on the cheek as well, for good measure. “You have to come home before ten,” he instructs, frown on his face to reinforce his seriousness, “because you have to read me my bedtime story.”

Kris huffs. “I could do that, Sehun,” he says.

Sehun looks up at Kris and considers him. “I don’t like the voices you make,” he declares. “They’re weird.” And with that he turns around and leaves, going back to sorting through the toys.

“Sorry, Kris,” Chanyeol says, grinning, a tinge of pride in his voice. “You can’t have everything, I guess.”

Kris shakes his head, ego clearly wounded, and trails after Sehun. Chanyeol leaves, chuckling to himself. Sehun is the best.