Shall we?

He’s in his office uploading the final grades when there’s a knock on his door. Without waiting for an answer, a tall, gangly looking man enters his office wearing a big smile.

“I’ve found the best sandwich place in all of the city!” Chanyeol boasts. “It’s fairly important to know where one can eat a properly made sandwich. It’s on of life’s laws.”

“Is it Joe’s down by the supermarket?” Minseok asks him. He quite approves of Chanyeol’s made up law.

“That’s the one! Mother would probably die if she saw me eating there but what Mother doesn’t know can’t hurt her,” the British man adds as he takes a seat in front of Minseok’s desk. He’s carrying a bag that looks to have about half a dozen sandwiches and he offers Minseok one before diving into on himself. “These are heavenly!”

Minseok laughs before warning Chanyeol about crumbs on his carpeted floor.

“How’s your head, by the way?” Chanyeol asks.

“It’s alright. Stitches come out this afternoon.”

“Brilliant. Do you need a ride?”

“No, it’s ok. I have to pick up my daughter from a friend’s house afterward.” He thanks the heavens it’s finally Friday and winter holidays are upon him. He has graded so many papers this past week his eyes are about to pop out of his sockets.

“Well, then I guess I’ll see you after the holidays,” Chanyeol says and Minseok would have to be blind to not pick up on the disappointment on his face.

He doesn’t really know where it came from and doesn’t realize he’s saying it before it’s too late but the words that leave his mouth are not “See you then” but instead “Want to come over sometime?”

The smile on Chanyeol’s face could split his head in two.

--

“All done,” Luhan tells him as he places a cautionary band-aid on his forehead.

“Thanks,” Minseok tells his husband with a smile.

Luhan takes advantage of the moment and places a soft kiss on his lips. “Lunch?”

“Sure.”

They exit the exam room– Minseok’s hand on Luhan’s shoulders– and head to the entrance. When they’re about to step outside the hospital, someone calls for Dr. Lu from behind. Minseok hears Luhan groan at the interruption.

“Sorry, babe. Can you wait a few minutes?” the doctor asks him.

“Go ahead, I’ll wait.”

As he makes his way to the doctor’s lounge to spend the time sitting in comfort (those waiting room chairs should be illegal) he encounters Junmyeon, the hospital’s Social Worker and one of his friend’s from college. They even shared a room for a few months until Junmyeon’s perpetual mess forced him to move out to conserve their friendship.

“Minseok! How’s the head?” Junmyeon asks as he balances some five files in his hands.

“Great, actually. All free of non-organic material.”

“Good, good. Hey, I was actually about to call you,” he tells him as they enter the lounge. Junmyeon dumps the thick files on the coffee table and pulls the one from the bottom. “I have a proposal for you.”

“A–a proposal?”

“Yeah, I have a kid that desperately needs placement. He’s a special little guy, has had a tough short life but I think you guys would be perfect for him.”

Minseok is saved from answering when Luhan enters the room. The doctor smiles at Junmyeon as he says hello and then proceeds to sit in one of the comfortable chairs in the room. “What’s up Junmyeon? Wanna join us for lunch?”

“Hey, I can’t really, I have so much paperwork to finish before the weekend. I was just telling Minseok about this kid I think you guys would be perfect for.”

Luhan suddenly sits up from his crouched position and stares wide eyed at Junmyeon. “A kid?”

The social worker looks a bit taken aback by the reaction. “You did say you guys were available, right? I know what happened last time was terrible but this case is different.”

“No, I know what I said but I thought it would take a bit more time.” Luhan, after the shock from the news fades, starts smiling unabashedly.

Minseok still doesn’t know what to think. The last time was pretty painful for everyone involved. Jinri had taken weeks to stop asking questions and feeling sad. And though Minseok can tell himself the wariness is for Jinri’s sake, deep down he’s also very scared for himself.

“Here’s the boy’s file,” Junmyeon tells them as he hands the file to Luhan.

“I know this boy. He was here last week, the same day Minseok was here,” Luhan voices with a small frown.

“Let me see,” Minseok says.

He opens the file to see a face that has been showing up in his head at least every few hours since the last time he set eyes on him. The little boy he saw when Chanyeol decided to use his body as a deadly weapon. Maybe this is a sign, he thinks. He has wondered time and time again what became of this boy and those big brown eyes that seemed to stare into his very soul.

“His name is Jongin and he’s four. He was taken from his primary caregivers last Monday. The couple was negligent and borderline abusive. He’s fine physically; he’s been here for the past seven days, but now he needs a loving home,” Junmyeon explains and Minseok can see he cares about the boy.

Luhan looks at Minseok expectantly. “What do you say?”

The professor sighs before looking at the boy’s– Jongin’s– picture one last time. He can’t even trick himself into saying no. He thinks Jongin’s eyes just wouldn’t really let him. He looks at his husband one last time before smiling and saying, “let’s do this.”

---

a/n: Short, I know :( But next chapter we'll see the big meeting! Thanks for subscribing!! Feel free to drop a comment if you wish :)