Chapter 39

Everyone was yet again gathered in the living room like the nights before. It was story time. Taehyung was sitting on Baekhyun's lap, who was sitting on the floor next to Jongdae, also with his son on his lap. Minki was sitting on the couch next to Amber, and Hayoung and Namjoo were sitting on their uncle Minseok's and uncle Lu Han's laps. Junhong was sitting between his appa and baba, and Taemin was sitting with Changjo. Byunghun, Aron, Chanhee, Sohee and Luna were sitting on either the couches or on the floor. Sandara was sitting in an armchair with her legs crouched to her chest and Yi Fan and Yixing were leaning against each other, their fingers intertwined and being unusual affectionate. Taeyeon and Joonmyun were also sitting next to each other, and Chanyeol, Kyungsoo and Jongin were sitting on the floor across from Jongdae and Baekhyun.

"But eomma?" Taehyung said to Baekhyun before they even began the story.

"Yes?" he replied with a smile.

"How did everyone find out that you and appa got married?" Taehyung asked and Baekhyun furrowed his eyebrows.

"We invited them to the wedding..." he said, but then realized what his son meant. "Oh, you mean when we became boyfriends?" Taehyung nodded. Baekhyun couldn't help but laugh slightly at how cute (and a little blank) his son was. "Taehyung, we didn't marry each other the moment we got together!" The other parents tried not to laugh, afraid they would hurt the boy's feelings.

"Taehyung, as I remember, we told everyone that we started dating after a week or so," Chanyeol said, sending a glare Baekhyun's direction which made him stop laughing immediately.

"But that's not when we found out..." Jongdae stated. Baekhyun and Chanyeol both turned to look at their friend with furrowed eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Baekhyun asked him.

"Well, as we've talked about before," Kyungsoo began and the two turned to him instead, "you and Chanyeol are not very good at expressing or realizing others' feelings. Also, you are not very good at hiding your feelings... It's quite hard to explain." Kyungsoo thought for a moment.

"I think what Kyungsoo is trying to say, is that we all knew you were dating, because you didn't really hide it as well as you thought you did," Joonmyun explained and Kyungsoo nodded appreciating at him, as that exactly was his point.

"What do you mean?" Chanyeol asked. "So how did you find out?"

"Well, I, for one, saw you being oddly cuddly before one of the concerts," Minseok told. "I think it was in the dressing room and everyone was getting ready, minding their own business, and at first I thought you were only practicing fan service or were just talking secretly or something like that. You were standing in the corner, hugging each other. But it was a bit too long for a friendly hug... At first I shook it off, because you two could possibly hug for that long... But then you sat down on one of the chairs and Baekhyun, you were sitting on Chanyeol's lap, and I think you were leaning your head on his shoulder and then he kissed your forehead... That's when I figured you were probably more than friends..."

Baekhyun and Chanyeol thought about Minseok's story, contemplating what he had said. They both nodded their heads absentmindedly and thoughtfully.

"But why didn't you ask us? I mean, you just figured we were more than friends, but you didn't ask us about it," Baekhyun said. Minseok shrugged.

"I thought it was kind of cute... I didn't want to ruin it..." he admitted. Lu Han smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"You probably would have been embarrassed if he said anything," Kyungsoo said to Baekhyun and Chanyeol. "It was as if you didn't realize we all could see you." Baekhyun narrowed his eyes and glared at him, while Chanyeol just looked dumbfounded at Kyungsoo.

"Anyways," Jongdae said. "I figured you were dating, one day when you said you couldn't hang out with me because you had plans with each other. Usually it wouldn't bother me, because you guys hung out with each other as much as I hung out with each of you. But this time you seemed oddly nervous telling me that you had plans alone, and I got curious." Jongdae shrugged. "So when you left, I looked out the window - at first I considered following you but I changed my mind - and I saw you holding hands. So I figured it was a date."

"We held hands other times as well!" Baekhyun argued. "You couldn't have known merely because of that!"

Jongdae stuck out his tongue at him. "I could see the way you walked together. I know both of you pretty well, Baek! And I know how you hold hands with someone you like, in contrast to one you don't like that way." Baekhyun just made a grimace at him, as he knew he was right. Jongdae smiled smugly, because he knew he had won.

"Usually you're not that smart, Jongdae," Baekhyun mumbled, but Jongdae ignored him.

"Can we hear the story now, appa?" Namjoo asked from Lu Han's lap.

"Sure, Namjoo, but it's not my turn to tell," Jongdae replied with a smile. "It's your papa's." He looked at Kyungsoo.

"Tell us the story, papa!" Namjoo demanded impatiently. Lu Han giggled at the girl and hugged her from behind, making her lean back into his embrace.

"Yeah, uncle Kyungsoo, tell us who you dated," Ji Yong said with a smirk, which made Kyungsoo glare at him, but Ji Yong and some of the parents just laughed.

"Who did he date?" Jonghyun turned his head to look at Jongdae whom he was sitting on. Jongdae tried not to laugh at the look on Kyungsoo's face, because he knew that Kyungsoo didn't feel comfortable revealing too much of his past to his children.

"Kyungsoo, it's okay, we all dated someone else before the one we ended up with," Yi Fan said to reassure Kyungsoo, but instead he made Yixing furrow his brows and move slightly away from him so he could look at his face properly.

"You make it sound like you 'ended up' with me because I was the only one left or something," he said.

"No no no, I didn't mean it like that!" Yi Fan hurried to try and clear it out. The other adults - including Sandara - laughed at his mistake. "I just meant that I ended up with you because I didn't want anyone else. And I want to live with you till the end of my life."

Yixing pursed his lips, hesitating at his husband's clarification. "Okay," he responded. "I accept your explanation." He leaned back into Yi Fan's embrace again, and Yi Fan sighed relieved and kissed his husband's head. Yixing knew that Yi Fan hadn't meant anything with it, it was just fun to watch him try and clear things out. And although his husband was romantic and stuff, he could often accidentally say something that could easily get misunderstood. But Yixing knew him and he knew that most of the time Yi Fan didn't mean anything harmful.

"You know you're the only one for me," Yi Fan whispered in his ear. Yixing smiled and turned his head slightly to be met by Yi Fan's lips on his.

"I don't want anyone else to be stuck with for the rest of my life, other than you, either," Yixing mumbled back against his skin. Yi Fan smiled and pulled Yixing closer.

"Can you please stop that? It's so weird seeing you guys like this," Baekhyun stated. Yixing and Yi Fan just glared at him. Like he'd never seen them being cuddly before!

"I agree with auntie Baekhyun. Uncle Kyungsoo, please begin your story, because I really don't need to see my parents like that," Aron said with scrunched nose at his parents. Yi Fan and Yixing didn't know whether to grin, snort or apologize.

"Jongin, just say it was you, okay? That'll make it much easier," Sehun said. The children all turned their gazes to Jongin, who cleared his throat, stunned at the sudden attention.

"What? But you're so..." Chanhee began, but stopped midsentence. Jongin furrowed his eyebrows.

"'So', what?" he asked the boy.

Chanhee hesitated. "Well, you're just so different..." Jongin scratched the back of his head.

"Just begin the story, will you, Jongin?" Kyungsoo said with a sigh.

"Hey, hold on! I was the first one to figure it out!" Baekhyun exclaimed suddenly. "Jongin wasn't even there. Kyungsoo, begin the story or I will!"

Kyungsoo sighed, but began his and Jongin's love story from the moment Baekhyun had confronted him.

The fans were waiting by the stage for EXO to come out. They were singing their songs and screamed for them to come, but it wasn't time yet. They had to make them wait and they had to get ready first. Backstage D.O. was walking around in circles, mumbling the lyrics to the songs. He was ready; had his clothes and everything set perfectly, and only waited for them to go on stage. Every time a fan would call his name or they would scream at the songs playing on the stereo, he smiled absentmindedly; couldn't help it. But he was a bit nervous - therefore walking around in small circles and reciting the lyrics on and on again - though he loved the feeling of being on stage.

Baekhyun came over to him, startling D.O. who'd been in his own mind. D.O. narrowed his eyes at him and looked as if he was ready to 'defend' himself.

"Calm down," Baekhyun said, arms in the air. "I just want to talk."

"Okay," D.O. said hesitantly and still looked suspicious.

Baekhyun sat down on the bench by the wall and patted the place next to him for D.O. to sit. D.O. sat down, still with narrowed eyes staring at Baekhyun.

"You like Kai, don't you?" Baekhyun asked straightforwardly, after a while of silence of waiting for D.O. to calm down and trust him.

"What?! Jongin? No!" D.O. exclaimed.

"I know you do. I've seen the way you look at him," Baekhyun said calmly, despite the outburst of D.O.

D.O. looked like he was about to oppose again, but decided otherwise and closed his mouth without saying anything.

"He likes you too," Baekhyun said when D.O. said nothing.

"No, he doesn't," D.O. replied quietly.

"Yes, he does. I've seen the way he looks at you too. Besides why else would he follow you around like that?" Baekhyun looked at D.O.. "I just want you to be careful." D.O. looked at him with raised eyebrows, but Baekhyun continued unaffected. "I'm not saying that he's a player or anything or a bad guy, I'm just saying that he's already been with two others and broke up with them. Okay, I actually think they might have broken up with him, but that's not a good sign either!"

D.O. still looked at him with raised eyebrows for a while, but then turned his head and looked ahead instead. "It doesn't matter either way. I'm not going to do anything."

"Why?! You should!"

D.O. looked at him again. "But you just said…!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you should give up or stop living! Take some chances!" Baekhyun encouraged.

D.O. huffed and shook his head. "You didn't say anything to your crush either, you were too scared."

"Yeah, and look where that got me."

"You're dating him!"

"Yeah, but what are the chances that you'll hang out in the same bed together?" Baekhyun said and D.O. blushed. "Besides, neither me nor Chanyeol said anything to each other, and now it's like people think that I can't make any decisions. And that it was just a coincidence or something like that; that me and Chanyeol got together, I mean. I don't know... Maybe it sounds weird..."

D.O. just looked at him. "You know we don't think that way about you, right?" Baekhyun shrugged. "None of us think that you and Chanyeol were just a random hookup-thing." D.O. felt uncomfortable saying those words, but nonetheless he kept Baekhyun's attention.

"Okay," Baekhyun said. "But still, the chances that you and Kai are going to be stuck together somewhere alone, are small. So just tell him, okay. I know he likes you too."

Jongdae laughed as the story ended. "You thought we thought that about you?"

Baekhyun looked kind of hurt and slapped his friend; although Jongdae of course didn't mean anything bad with it, it was just friendly teasing. "Hey, that's not funny. It was a serious and legitimate concern!"

"You were really sneaky back then, weren't you?" Zitao said with a smirk, while Jongin sent Baekhyun evil eyes.

"What?" Baekhyun pretended to be innocent and Jongdae slapped his arm from beside him. "Hey!" Baekhyun hit him back.

"Please don't hit near my son," Kyungsoo said and spread out his arms for Jonghyun to come towards him. Jonghyun climbed out of Jongdae's lap and crawled across the floor to sit in his papa's instead.

"Taehyung, come here, your eomma has some issues he needs to take care of right now, and I don't want you to get hurt - or affected," Chanyeol said and Taehyung hurried over to him.

"Is eomma going to get hurt?" Taehyung asked when he was sitting in Chanyeol's lap.

"No, he and your uncle Jongdae would never dream of hurting each other, don't you worry," his appa answered. "But they will pick on each other whenever they get the chance." Chanyeol watched as Baekhyun hit Jongdae's shoulder one more time, with Jongdae just rolling on the floor laughing. Baekhyun sat on top of Jongdae's chest so he couldn't move.

"They're like brothers, Taehyung, they would never fight in reality, they only joke around," Kyungsoo reassured him. Jongdae had stopped laughing and instead he had managed to push Baekhyun off of him, so that he was sitting on top of Baekhyun's chest instead. Baekhyun laughed as Jongdae tickled him, and he kicked his feet around, unable to lay still.

"Yeah, they're best friends," Lu Han said with a smile on his lips. Jongdae suddenly stopped tickling Baekhyun, and instead the two grinned at each other. Perhaps it was something the others had said, that had made them stop. Jongdae climbed down from Baekhyun and helped him to sit up, before he leaned his head on Baekhyun's shoulder, their hands joined.

A/N: Hey, guys, how are you doing? ^_^

First, I would like to apologize for not uploading this chapter last week, even though I said I was going to... I blame my exams. They've kept me busy, and I can't promise you when the next chapter will be uploaded either!..

Next, I have to say that I am not 100 percent happy about this chapter, but.... I hope you'll accept it as it is and that you liked it.

Then, I would like to say that reading your comments makes me really really happy and it encourages me and helps me to continue this story. So please please comment :3 I would really appreciate that, and you are welcome to write down constructive critisism, too, so I can become better ^_^

Anyways, thank you always for reading and subscribing!