Let it be known and proven that there is no other restaurant as fancy and classy as Kim’s Bistro. Located in the heart of Seoul, near the Gangnam district, Kim’s Bistro is a favourite hangout spot for celebrities and upper-class clientele. Jackson the waiter has been working at the bistro for a couple of years and knows most of his regulars. One day, a young man that he has never seen before strolled in.

                “Welcome to Kim’s Bistro how may I help you?” he bowed politely.

                “I’d like a cup of coffee please. Regular with less sugar.”

                “Certainly sir.” Jackson jotted down and was about to turn away when the young customer called him back. “Yes sir?”

                “Who is that fine man sitting over there by the window? The one with blonde hair?”

                “His name Is Huang Zitao or better known as Tao. He owns several fashion boutiques here in Gangnam.”

                “And his friend?”

                “His name is Baekhyun, and that’s all I know.”

                “Would you mind serving them a little something for me?” the young man asked, beckoning the waiter to come closer.

                “Certainly sir.”

                “And so when Kris said that we should just pack up and head to the Maldives I jumped up on my feet and kissed the man.” Tao chuckled. “You have no idea how much I needed this. Kris and I haven’t been on a vacation since the twins were born.”

                “I know, and you look like you aged 10 years since the twins were born.”

                “I do not!” Tao pulled a face as Baekhyun teased. “I’ll have you know that I still turn heads no matter where I go.”

                “That’s probably because they are trying to figure out which dog ripped up your shirt and who chewed your sneakers.”

                “You are one lousy best friend Byun Baekhyun.” Tao rolled his eyes.

                “You only have one best friend, so deal with it.” Baekhyun cackled, wiggling his eyebrows. A plate of cheesecake (the restaurant’s finest New York raspberry cheesecake with fresh raspberry compote) appeared before them. Baekhyun looked up at the waiter in surprise. “I’m sorry we didn’t order this.”

                “This order is from the nice gentleman at the bar.” Jackson smiled, gesturing to the handsome man sitting at the bar, smiling and nodding politely. Tao and Baekhyun gave each other a look before Tao looked up at Jackson, smiling a little. “Tell him thank you but we really can’t accept this.”

                “Are you sure? Because his friend just came in and he’s pretty cute too.” Jackson looked back again over his shoulder and sure enough, his friend just joined him and he wasn’t bad either. Tao just laughed lightly and insisted for the dessert to be returned.

                “As you can see, I’m still turning heads.” Tao fake-flipped his hair and the duo laughed.

                “If Kris knew about this he would chew the head off of those two men.” Baekhyun sipped his tea.

                “Uh huh and because he’s a doctor maybe he can sew it back on.” They laughed some more but stopped when they felt a looming presence coming towards them. Tao and Baekhyun looked up to find the two gentlemen from the bar, smiling back.

                “Hello there.” One of them said.

                “Hello.” Baekhyun waved back.

                “Are you sure we can’t buy you anything? A drink from the bar perhaps?”

                “That’s lovely but my mama said to never accept anything from strangers.”

                “My name is Minho and this is my friend Jinki. Well, now we know each other’s names.” Tao and Baekhyun giggled, sharing an inconspicuous glance between them.

                “Come on now, my friend and I just want to treat two of the most beautiful looking specimens in the restaurant.” Jinki flashed a smile.

                “I bet you say that to all the other beautiful looking creatures in other restaurants.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

                “Perhaps so but not many of them are as attractive as you two.” Minho smoothed over.

                “Well thank you.” Tao ran a hand through his hair. “It’s nice to know that someone else besides my husband finds me attractive. Don’t you agree Baekhyun?”

                “Absolutely! I know my boyfriend tells me that every day but it’s nice to get a second opinion.” Baekhyun fluttered his eyelashes and crossed his fingers delicately.

                “Well…um…”

                “Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to reject your gracious offer. Please do join us! I know this restaurant has a wonderful lunch set.” Tao raised an eyebrow.

                “Oh yes! I think it’s called Fat Chance.” Baekhyun nodded, his sweet smile still pastered on his face.

                “Or was it Married With Kids?” Tao laughed, watching the two men’s faces turn paler and paler with every word.

                “Why don’t you just serve us the dessert and walk away with whatever dignity you may have left in you?” Baekhyun smiled so widely, the tips of his mouth almost reaching his eyes.

                “Enjoy the dessert.” Minho tipped his head politely as they walked away. Tao and Baekhyun immediately burst out into a quiet fit of laughter, while high-fiving each other.

                “Baek, only you can turn down a man and still get something from him at the same time.” Tao chuckled, holding onto the dessert fork, ready to attack the gorgeous plate of cheesecake that was making its way over.

                “By the way, you said you had something you wanted to ask me? And you don’t have to attack the cake like it’s the last piece of food you will ever see.” Baekhyun asked, moving himself forward.

                “When I was having the twins, I couldn’t even touch a cheesecake. It was so strange, I could eat cheese on pasta, cheese on pizza, drink a whole carton of milk, but I couldn’t even stand the sight of a cheesecake.”

                “Must be your hormones. They are usually all whacked up when you’re pregnant.”

                “Which is exactly why I want to eat it while I still can.” Tao recollected himself. “Kris said he wanted to leave for Maldives in two weeks’ time because after that he has a convention to attend, and our regular babysitter decided to move back to Busan so I was wondering if you and Chanyeol would mind babysitting the twins for while I’m gone.”

                “For how long?”

                “About 3 days. I know Jongdae and Jongin can be a bit of handful but you are their favourite uncle and I wouldn’t want to leave them in the hands of someone I don’t know.”

                “Well I personally wouldn’t mind but I want to talk to Chanyeol about it and make sure he’s okay with it.”

                “He’ll be fine. The man’s a giant kid himself and the twins adore him. Remember how they loved playing with him in the sandbox when you guys came over last time?” Tao teased.

                “That’s the whole point, it’ll be like taking care of 3 kids.” Baekhyun laughed. “But he has always adored children. You know, just yesterday when we were at the park, and there was a woman strolling with a toddler in her hand. Chanyeol spent the rest of the day talking about how cute that kid was, how he envisioned our kids to look like and which school they were gonna go to.”

                “Sounds like he’s getting serious.”

                “That’s exactly the thing.” Baekhyun sighed. “I’m not sure if now is the time I want to settle down.”

                “You’re not sure if you want to settle down with him or you’re not sure when to settle down?”

                “When to settle down. You know I can’t live without my Yeollie-bear.” Tao gagged at the nicknamed. Baekhyun knew how much he hated that name but he just said it anyway to make his friend suffer. “We’ve been talking about marriage for a while now but I’m just wondering if now is the right time. I still feel really young deep inside. I don’t wanna just wake up one day and find that I have to stay at home and cook the meals while reading books on prenatal care.”

                “Will you stop that?” Tao slapped his hand lightly. “It does not happen like that okay? No one is asking you to have a baby the minute you walk out of that church. Do you want a baby to just plop out of you while the best man is delivering his wedding speech?”

                “Oh God Tao…”

                “All I’m saying is, marriage and kids are two separate things. Some people get married but never have kids. Some people have kids but never get married. You have all the time in the world after you get married to decide if you want to start a family. And besides you have a solid teaching job at school and Chanyeol’s music store is doing very well.”

                “I know. Financially we’re in a good state but I just know that once I walk down the aisle, my parents and his parents are going to want to keep pressuring about having kids. Even Chanyeol himself! He has always wanted a big family and god I don’t know if I can give him that! Did you know that he once said he wanted to have enough kids to make a football team?”

                “It doesn’t have to be you who gets pregnant though.” Tao laughed.

                “Are you kidding me? I’m a bottom and you know that.” Baekhyun sighed and Tao laughed louder. “And you shouldn’t be laughing. You’re a bottom too.”

                “Have you talked to Chanyeol about it?”

                “No.”

                “Good, then when you babysit the kids you can finally talk to him about it. Think of it as a test to see if you guys are ready to take the next step.”

                “I just hope I don’t destroy your kids when you come back.”

                “I hope my kids don’t destroy you.”

********************

                “Chanyeol, I love the fact that you agreed to babysit the kids with me, but did you really have to get them all these new toys?” Baekhyun sighed as he watched Chanyeol set up a brand new Hot Wheels Rollercoaster which includes a 360 degree turn and two 90 degree dips. It took up a lot of space and Chanyeol has been at it since breakfast.

                “Trust me Baek, the kids are gonna love this.” Chanyeol grinned, arranging the cars together. “And look! I got them a Pororo toy, some Avengers action figures including the infamous Ironman!” Chanyeol held up the Ironman action figure and made laser sounds with it. “Pew pew! Pew pew!”

                “Stop that, I don’t need another baby. I need a mature and responsible adult to take care of them.” Baekhyun straightened his shirt, trying to sound serious.

                “But you gotta know how to talk to kids! And the only way to do that is to be a kid.” Chanyeol crawled over to where his boyfriend was sitting on the couch and grabbed his chin. He kissed him softly on the lips. “I know you’re nervous but just relax okay? You’re not doing this alone.”

                “Chanyeol, there’s something…” Ding Dong.

                “Looks like we have guests.” Chanyeol got up to his feet to answer the door. A pitter-patter of feet entered the apartment and Baekhyun’s smile immediately lifted up as he fell to his knees.

                “Jongdae, Jongin, say hello to Uncle Baekhyun!”

                “Uncle Bacon!!!” the twins rushed into Baekhyun’s arms. Baekhyun laughed out heartily and hugged them tight.

                “Awwww hello there Jongdae and Jongin! Look at the two of you, getting bigger and bigger every day!”

                “The kids don’t really know how to pronounce his name yet.” Kris smiled. “What’s up Chanyeol?”

                “All’s good.” The two men exchanged fist bumps. “I heard you guys are finally going on a holiday.”

                “Yep, it’s the second honeymoon.” Kris wrapped an arm around Tao. “Just some time away from the kids, you know.”

                “Just make sure you don’t come back with another one.” They laughed and high-fived each other as Tao elbowed his husband.

                “Thank you so much for doing this, we really appreciate it.”

                “No problem. There’s a fair in the park a couple of blocks away, so we’ll just take the kids there and we’ll feed and play with them. They’ll have a good time.” Baekhyun said, taking both boys in his arms.

                “Here’s a list of things so that you guys can take note of. If anything you call me right away okay, no matter the distance. I’ll pay for the overseas call.” Kris said, handing them a notebook.

                “Gotcha, you two should get going to the airport.”

                “Alright kids, say goodbye to daddy and appa!” Tao bent down to kiss his children one last time. Kris picked up the twins one by one to kiss and hug them. “Be good and listen to Uncle Baek and Uncle Yeol okay? If you cause any trouble for them there won’t be any more Pororo for a week.”

                “Okay appa!” the twins chorused, nodding adorably. “Will you bring something back appa?” Jongin asked, holding onto his Pororo plush toy.

                “Of course! We’ll see you guys in 3 days!”

                “Bye!” they waved as Chanyeol sent them off. Baekhyun was sorting out their luggage and moving them into their room. The twins didn’t need a big bed to sleep in so Baekhyun had laid out a smaller mattress next to his bed for the twins to sleep in. Chanyeol sat down on the couch and the twins climbed up next to him.

                “Well how have my two favourite twins been doing?”

                “Good.” Jongdae smiled, standing up on the couch so that he could see eye to eye with Chanyeol. Chanyeol wrapped an arm around the small boy and patted his back gently.

                “How old are you guys this year?”

                “1…2…3!” Jongin held up three fingers in the air proudly. Chanyeol opened his eyes wide in mock shock.

                “3 years old! You guys are so old!”

                “No!” they shook their heads unanimously.

                “Yes you are! Next thing you know you guys will get married!” the twins giggled as Chanyeol tickled their bellies. Baekhyun had just come out of their bedroom and head straight to the kitchen.

                “I think it’s time for lunch.” He said, taking some ingredients out from the kitchen.

                “Baek why don’t you play with the kids and I’ll cook up something?”

                “You will?”

                “Yeah of course. Plus you are hopeless in the kitchen.”

                “I am not that bad!”

                “Just let me do what I do best.”

                “Annoy me?” Baekhyun teased, feeling Chanyeol’s long arms around his waist, trying to tickle his sides. He kissed the taller man’s nose when he finally let him go.

                “EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! COOTIES!!!!!!!” The twins sang, spinning around in the living room.

                “Just let me do what I do second best then.” Chanyeol kissed the top of his head. “Go.”

                “Fine.” Baekhyun went straight to the living room, where the twins were already trying out the Hot Wheels Rollercoaster that was set up earlier. “Hey kids!”

                “Ewwwww Uncle Bacon has cooties!” Jongin teased, stomping his little feet up and down.

                “Well if I have cooties then I should give you some!” he tried to kiss the twins as they squealed and screamed, trying to run away from cooties.

****************

                “Going to Maldives duh duh duh duh…” Kris sang as he carried a tray of coffee and some snacks. Their flight was not for a couple more hours so they wanted to have something to eat before going on, except Tao has done nothing but stare at his phone since they arrived at the airport.

                “Tao baby, what are you looking at?” Kris asked, setting himself down on a seat inside the café.

                “I’m just worried about the twins that’s all.”

                “Awww shucks don’t be worried. The twins are in good hands, you said so yourself.”

                “I guess.”

                “Now, do you want cream in your coffee?”

                “Whatever.”

                “Would you like the banana puff or the chocolate chip cookie?”

                “Anything.”

                “Would you like me to buy a Ferrari or another Mercedes?”

                “Up to you.”

                “Should we stay at a cheap hotel or a fancy hotel suite once we get to Maldives?”

                “Whatever’s fine.”

                “Should I wear a or not tonight?”

                “Up to…oh no…” Tao snapped his head back up and wagged his finger. “Hell no you’re not getting me with that one.”

                “Sweetie will you just relax? This isn’t the first time we’ve left the twins alone for a night. Don’t you remember? We left the twins at your mom’s place while we were on that business trip in Shanghai.”

                “But this is the first time we’ve left them alone for two nights, and your mother raised you and your sister, my mom raised my brother and I but Baekhyun and Chanyeol have no experience whatsoever with childcare!”

                “Honey, you were the one who said it would be better to find someone the twins love to take care of them.”

                “I know, and it sounded like a good idea at the time.” He didn’t notice Kris rolling his eyes. “But now I’m worried. What if something happens, like one of the twins falls down or something?”

                “Then Baekhyun and Chanyeol will tend to his wounds and take care of him.”

                “What if they go to the fair together and get kidnapped?”

                “Then Baekhyun and Chanyeol will call the police immediately.”

                “What if Chanyeol makes a mistake in cooking and Jongin gets this weird allergic reaction to pepper and blows up like a blowfish?”

                “Then Baekhyun and Chanyeol will take him to a hospital.”

                “What if the apartment building burns down?”

                “Then they will all die!”

                Tao deadpanned as he looked at his husband, casually eating a scone. “You’re not taking me seriously are you? God I must be insane…”

                “You see honey? Even you said you were insane. And you’ve been talking about getting away from the twins for as long as possible. The minute the twins started to walk you started talking about dumping them with our parents and taking a week off to go to Paris!”

                “That was a joke. Sort of.” Tao defended himself.

                “Well now we finally have some time to ourselves so let’s make the most of it okay? Jongin and Jongdae love their new babysitters and that’s all that matters. They are old enough to talk too so if they need anything they can just ask for it. It’s going to be fine.” Kris took Tao’s hands in his and rubbed it softly, kissing the back of his palm.

                “You’re right. I’m being paranoid.” Tao sighed, trying to readjust himself. “The kids will be fine.”

                “Of course they will be. And we’ll finally have some time to ourselves. We can take a moonlight stroll around the beach, just laze around all day under the sunlight, go for massages and spa treatments and we can even go to the local markets. Then you can buy all those little handcrafted soap bars you like so much.”

                Tao giggled. “That sounds like a plan.”

                “It’ll be just like travelling back in time.”

                “To when?”

                “To the time when we didn’t have any children.”

                “God Kris you devil…” Tao let him kiss him softly, feeling his anxieties drift away. The airport PA system was calling for departures to Mexico, and the travellers and jetsetters were all around them, but for the most part, Tao and Kris felt like they were the only two people in this world.

******************

                “Here you go Jongin, say ah…”

                “Ah….” Jongin opened his little mouth as wide as possible as Baekhyun sent in a spoonful of noodles inside his mouth. He chewed the pasta with great delight and tried to pick some up using his own training chopsticks.

                “What’s this?” Jongin asked, pointing at the noodle.

                “It’s pasta, it’s an Italian noodle. This dish is called pasta with cream sauce.”

                “What’s this?” Jongdae asked, picking something up in his spoon.

                “It’s a mushroom and it’s good for you.” Chanyeol answered.

                “I don’t wanna eat it.”

                “How can you say that when you’ve never tried it?”

                “Don’t wanna.” Jongdae dropped the mushroom outside the bowl and picked at the other mushroom.

                “Chanyeol you better try to feed him that.” Baekhyun said, taking another mouthful of spaghetti before concentrating on Jongin.

                “I got it.” He picked up the mushroom and disguised it in some mushroom sauce. Topped it off with some pasta and he put it all on his spoon. “Open up Jongdae! Here comes the choo-choo train! Choo choo choo choo!” Jongdae opened his mouth automatically and the mushroom goes effortlessly.

                “Wow.” Now Baekhyun was impressed.

                “I saw my sister feed my niece this way before.” Chanyeo grinned, spooning up some more hidden-mushroom pasta. To his dismay, Jongdae was continuously spooning and pushing mushrooms out of his bowl, despite just having eaten one! “Jongdae, stop!”

                “Don’t wanna!”

                “Jongdae, if you behave I’ll give you candy.” He bribed.

                “Hmmphf!”

                “Jongdae, do you want candy?” Chanyeol picked up the mushroom bits. “If you do then you eat your mushrooms okay?”

                Jongdae ate the mushrooms as per the agreement, and Chanyeol gave him some candy in return. Unfortunately Jongin saw the candy and wanted some. Then Jongdae wanted some more. And before you know it…

                “Jongin!!! Jongdae!!!! Stop doing that!!!!” Chanyeol chased after the twins that were playing jet fighter and racing through the halls, screaming at the top of their lungs.

                “BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!!”

                “AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!”

                “Jongin get off the couch you’ll fall!!!!!”

                “SUPERMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

                “Jongdae no!!!!!!!!”

                “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

                “Stop it you two!!!!” Chanyeol tried to dive for both twins as they bounced on his bed (his bed, his temple, his special place) but he missed them completely and rolled on the floor instead. “I might have given them a little too much sugar.”

                “Ya think?” Baekhyun rolled his eyes as he grabbed Jongin’s arms and scooped him down. No sooner had he scooped Jongdae off the bed did Jongin ran out of the room with his Ironman action figure going “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

                “What are we going to do?” Baekhyun groaned as he rushed out into the living room.

                “There’s only one thing we can do. Wait for them to come down off the sugar rush.” Chanyeol panted, reaching forward to stop Jongdae from climbing up the cabinets. Baekhyun heard a ringing in the distance and half-dived for his phone on the counter.

                “It’s Tao!!!” Baekhyun gasped. He took 3 deep breaths and answered the phone. “Hello?”

                “Hey Baekkie! How’s everything going?”

                “It’s great! The kids are uh…” he turned to watch Chanyeol pulling Jongdae away from the cabinets while Jongin ran up and down the hallway making airplane noises with his mouth. He nearly crashed into the walls but Baekhyun lifted him up with one arm before he could break his little nose. “The kids are great! They are playing hide and seek with Chanyeol!”

                “Really? Have they eaten?”

                “Yeah of course!”

                “Well Kris and I will be boarding any minute now so can I talk to them?”

                “Ehm well…” Jongin was squirming in his arms, making fighting noises. “They are kind of busy but I got one kid for you right now. Say hello to appa, Jongin!!”

                “Pew pew pew pew!!!!” Jongin pursed his lips and squirmed again. “Appa!!”

                “Jongin! Have you been good?”

                “Yes!! Pew pew pew!!”

                “Uncle Baek poop.” Jongdae waddled over to Baekhyun.

                “What?” he pushed his phone receiver away to put Jongin down and talk to Jongdae.

“Poop.”

                “Poop? You need to poop?” Jongdae nodded his head fervently. “Tao, your kid wants to take a dump I gotta go. And whatever you do, don’t come back with another one!”

                “Okay Baek…take…”there was no time to even answer. Baekhyun put his phone in his pocket and carried Jongdae off to the bathroom. He could picture Tao in the airport turning to Kris saying “Why does everyone tell me that?” Meanwhile Chanyeol lifted Jongin in his arms and swung him around as if he was flying.

                “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!” A grown man and a child flying around the room pretending to be a superhero. What a sight indeed.

                After 10 minutes, poor little Jongin was all tuckered out. He curled up in Chanyeol’s arms and stuck his thumb in his mouth. His pretty eyes were coming to a close as he on his thumb gently. Chanyeol laid him out on the bed (not the twin’s bed, but his own) and tucked a Mickey Mouse pillow under his head. The little darling had worked all the sugar out of his system and now all he wanted was to sleep.

                “Hey,” Baekhyun whispered as he kicked the door open gently, his arms carrying Jongdae, who had also fallen asleep. “Is Jongin asleep too?”

                “You bet. Jongdae too?”

                “He fell asleep on the toilet.” Baekhyun laughed silently. “Was right in the middle of dumping his stuff out, when all of a sudden he started rubbing his eyes and yawning. He almost tipped over and fell into the bathtub.” He laid Jongdae next to his twin and tucked him in too. The couple looked over the children for a couple of seconds before taking a big, long sigh together.

                “Finally.” Baekhyun fell back on the cold wooden floor, feeling every ache in his body. He hasn’t run this much in a while and it’s only 3pm. 2 hours into childcare and his whole body felt like he just finished the Boston Marathon. Chanyeol slumped down next to him, panting away as well.

                “God that was exhausting.”

                “I just wanna lie here and not move.”

                “I don’t think I can move at all.”

                A comfortable silence passed through the room. They could hear the twin’s quiet breathing and the sounds of the air-conditioner motor, lightly humming away. “It’s only been two hours.” Baekhyun stated.

                “I know.”

                “If we have kids it would be exactly the same.”

                “I know.” Chanyeol stifled a yawn and his side.

                “Does that not bother you?”

                “No. I know that I’ll be ready when the time comes.” He scooted closer and kissed Baekhyun gingerly. “Maybe we should take a nap too.”

                “We can’t. The kitchen is empty and I think we should go get groceries for tonight’s dinner.”

                “Well then I’ll go and…”

                “No Chanyeol, you stay here with the kids.” Baekhyun sat up, gently pushing Chanyeol back down on his back. He placed a hand on his torso and patted him. “You did a lot more running around than I did. I’ll just pick up something from the store.”

                “Really? Do you know what you’ll get?”

                “I’ll just get some fruits, vegetables and some meat. Can’t go wrong with that.”

                “I guess not.” Baekhyun bent down to kiss Chanyeol once more, their noses nuzzling against each other. “I’ll be back.”

                “Drive safe.” Chanyeol sighed, feeling Baekhyun’s body detach away from his. He climbed back up on the bed and watched the twin’s in their slumber. He brushed the hair out of Jongin’s eye and pulled up Jongdae’s blanket, and it wasn’t long before the big baby fell asleep, just like the other two babies.

****************

                “Wow.” Was the first thing Tao said when he opened the door to their private villa in Naladhu Resort. Open French doors leading out to a beautiful sapphire pool that extends out to their own private section of the beach. Crisp white furniture and a huge four-poster bed overlooking the gorgeous view was definitely worth the price Kris paid for this getaway.

                “I did good, huh?” Kris beamed, clearly proud of himself for arranging such a treat. “And look,” he pointed to a champagne bottle that was sitting in the ice tub, chilled and ready to pop. “A bottle of your favourite champagne, a classic Dom Perignon.”

                “You know my tastes indeed.” Tao took a look at the bottle and kissed his husband. “This is such a treat! Thank you!”

                “No problem, nothing but the best for my gorgeous, young and fabulous husband who has been working so hard for the couple of years.” Kris teased, wrapping his arms around Tao and kissing him gently, letting his lips trace Tao’s jawline and down his long neck.

                “Whose kids did not call ever since we got here.”

                “Oh god.” Mood killed.

                “The kids must be almost asleep by now, and did they bother to call? Oh no, looks like they are having too much fun with Uncle Bacon and Uncle Yeol. When I get my hands on…”

                “Tao, you’re doing it again.” Kris sighed, dragging him over to the bed. “Now what did I say about the kids?”

                “That they will be fine.” Tao sighed as well, his hands still in Kris’s as his husband sat down on the bed.

                “And?”

                “This trip is about us.”

                “Exactly. Don’t worry about the twins, they are in good hands.” Kris placed his hands on Tao’s hips, bringing him closer as he nuzzled into Tao’s abdomen, placing soft kisses on his shirt. Tao could feel them through his shirt and shuddered in his place. “Just like you are in mine.” He smirked, his hands bringing up the flimsy T-shirt to caress the skin below it.

                “I know. Daddy has always done a good job taking care of his babies.” Tao teased, running a hand through his husband’s dark locks. “Will I get a good treat for dinner tonight?”

                “Absolutely. It will be a meal fit for a king.” Kris grinned, placing kisses on the abdomen skin before him.

                “Being a king is cool but you know how I want to be treated in the bedroom.”

                “Of course, like a princess. Your Highness.”

                “Stop it Kris!” Tao laughed and pulled his husband’s hair for teasing him. “I need to go take a shower.”

                “What, why?”

                “Because I smell like the airport. Stuffy air mixed with snot, sweat and that smelly perfume the air stewardesses insist on spraying copious amounts of.” Tao complained, opening up his luggage and getting some of his toiletries out.

                “Sounds like a good idea. I bet I smell pretty funky too.” Kris got up from the bed to follow his husband into the bathroom when Tao turned around to stop him.

                “You are not coming in here.”

                “Why not?”

                “Remember what you said about going back to the time before we had the twins?”

                “Yeah?”

                “You didn’t follow me into the bathroom to take a shower until the twins were born. So, get out and wait. Like you usually do.” He tickled the bottom of Kris’s chin and cackled like a mad witch as he shut the doors behind him. It’s been a while since he teased Kris like this and the pout he had on his face was just adorable.

                “Tao?” Kris seemed to be knocking on the bathroom doors.

                “Yes.”

                “You do realize the shower is outdoors right?”

                “You paid a fortune for this suite and the shower is outdoors?” Tao furrowed his brows.

                “That’s why I paid the fortune.”

*****************

                Mushrooms, carrots, some chicken thighs and mustard sauce. Baekhyun mentally went through his shopping list as he strolled down the canned foods aisle, trying to find some canned pineapples. He wasn’t really watching where he was going and he knocked into someone’s shopping cart. The lady whose shopping cart it belongs to dropped all her cans of tuna and it rolled everywhere.

                “I’m so sorry!” Baekhyun bent down to pick up the cans and apologized to her. The lady simply smiled and put a hand on her belly. “It’s alright, it was just an accident.”

                “Mommy mommy!!! We gonna go buy candy!!” a toddler runs up to her mother, tugging onto her dress.

                “Not now sweetie, just wait a little bit and then we’ll go together.”

                “I wanna go now!!!” the kid started stomping up and down and her elder sister took her hand and whisked her away.

                “I’m sorry about that, perhaps you better go after your kids.”

                “Its fine, let them run off. I need a break anyways.” The lady sighed, laughing softly.

                “You have two kids and another one on the way?”

                “And one more at home.” She chuckled, putting the cans in her cart.

                “Wow, you certainly are…productive.” Baekhyun scrunched his nose, not in disgust but more of in awe and confusion perhaps. “Doesn’t it get tiring?”

                “Of course it does, let me tell you something I was a dancer before this and I had to do 2 hours of yoga and 4 hours of ballet every day, but nothing compares to childcare. But my husband has always wanted children so I was just happy to comply.” She sighed, pulling her cart away. She wheeled it away, her tummy just touching the handle and Baekhyun couldn’t imagine how she did it. Is this what marriage was like?

                He picked out the rest of his groceries and was getting ready to go home. The poor lady was a couple of aisles away at the counter, trying to stop her two girls from fighting while handling cash to pay for the groceries. Baekhyun wanted to reach out to help her, but a man soon stepped forward to help her, taking her daughters in his hands and talking to them. He must be her husband.

                Baekhyun watched the family walk away, both daughters quiet and at peace with each other. He couldn’t seem to stop wondering how it would be like if it was him, his heart pounding in his chest and his mind clouded over. It’s hard to tell what he was thinking, but one thing was for sure, it just made the poor boy even more confused than before.

                He went home and the twins were already up, watching Pororo on the sofa quietly. With no more sugar in their system it looked like all they wanted to do was just laze around.

                They managed to have a rather peaceful dinner, then it was bath time, and the twins were very excited for bath time.

                Chanyeol filled up the bath tub as Baekhyun stripped them off their clothes. The twins squealed and giggled as they got into the tub, playing with the yellow rubber ducky they bought from home and splashing everything in sight.

                “Hey now!” Chanyeol tried to stop Jongin from wanting to snatch the toy boat from his brother. “You have your own toy boat now, you can play with this.”

                “They look really cute don’t they?” Baekhyun grinned, setting out the towels at the side. “Are you guys having fun?” he cooed, rubbing his hands with soap so that he could lather them up.

                “Weeeeeee hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!” the twins giggled when Baekhyun ran his hands all over their little bodies. Jongdae grabbed onto Baekhyun’s hands and reached for Baekhyun’s shirt.

                “Come pway wif us!!”

                “No no Jongdae don’t pull me!”

                “Baek be careful!” Chanyeol tried to grab his legs but too late, Baekhyun had slid off the edge of the tub and into the tub with the twins. The twins cheered and patted Baekhyun’s arms and belly, trying to get him up.

                “Stop it now! Stop it you two!” Chanyeol tried to pull them apart but Jongin just gave him a big soapy hug and got his shirt all wet and soapy. Baekhyun managed to pull himself up and out, his hair a wet mess and his upper body soaked. He gave the twins a naughty tickle. “That’s what you get for dragging Uncle Baek down with you!” he was supposed to sound mad, but obviously that didn’t work.

                After an hour of playing in the tub and drying them off, there came another challenge, which was putting on clothes.

                “Guys come on! You can’t just run around ! Come put your clothes on!” Jongdae had already refused to put his top on and Jongin was rubbing his tiny hands all over his body. Chanyeol grabbed one of their pajama tops and tried to put it on them.

                “Oh come on now! There’s nothing wrong with clothes!”

                “No clothes no clothes no clothes!!” the twins chanted, trying to escape from being caught.

                “Why do you two sound like two drunk men in a club?” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. He racked his brain for ideas when suddenly, an idea came to him. He clutched his chest, opened his eyes wide in shock and let out a twisted cough. “Ack!! Erk!!”

                “Uncle Yeol!” Jongdae ran to his side.

                “The evil monster has got me! Ack!! Erk!!! Uhg!!! I! Can’t! Breathe!!”

                “Go away monster!! Pew pew pew pew!!!”

                “If you want to save me, you must wear this armour!!” He held out the pajamas like they were white flags and waved them in the air. “Put this on before the monster attacks you!!” the twins actually jumped for their clothing and Chanyeol quickly dressed him, just in time for Baekhyun to come out of the shower, dressed only in flannel lounge pants that hung off his hips.

                “Quick! Attack the monster!!!!”

                “Wait what?! Hey omphf!!” the two kids grabbed Baekhyun’s legs and started hitting him with their tiny fists while the big ‘kid’ wrapped his arms around him tightly. “Hey!! Let me go!!!”

                “Evil monster! Evil monster!” the twins chanted like a mantra.

                “I am not an evil monster, but I am coming to get you! ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!” Baekhyun slipped out of Chanyeol’s grip and chased after the twins. The twins screamed and ran across the room, but they were no match for the Evil Lounge Pants Monster as they were scooped up in his arms and tackled down on the bed. “I’m going to eat you ROAAAAAAAR!!!” he growled and attacked the twins with kisses, nuzzling his face in their bodies with his damp hair tickling their faces.

                “No! Let the children go!!” Chanyeol pulled his boyfriend off the twins, wrapping him in his strong arms and attacking his face with kisses.

                “No! You cannot do this to me! I’m DYING!!!” Baekhyun laughed out, tears running down his face as he fell down to the ground. Chanyeol kissed him repeatedly, pinning him down before sitting up.

                “The monster has been defeated!!”

                “YAY!!!!!!! UNCLE YEOL IS THE BEST!!!!” The twins jumped up and down the bed, before climbing down to look at the ‘dead monster.’ Baekhyun laid there on the floor, his eyes shut, mouth open and tongue sticking out. Jongdae patted his face and kissed his cheek. Baekhyun’s eyes fluttered open and he rose.

                “Oh Prince Jongdae! You have saved me! Thank you!” he grabbed the boy in his arms and kissed him on the nose. “My turn!! Me me me!!!” Jongin fought to get a kiss and when he did he leaned forward and clung to his favourite uncle (besides Uncle Yeol).

                “I want one too! I want a kiss too!” Uncle Yeol stomped his feet childishly as Baekhyun rose to give him a soft peck on his cheek, but the childish 24 year old just pouted. “What kind of kiss is that? I want a big kid kiss!”

                “Fine you big baby.” He leaned forward and gave him a proper one, right on the lips. Chanyeol smiled into the kiss and placed a hand on Baekhyun’s lower back. He pinched his left buttock and Baekhyun squeaked in surprise.

                “Gotcha.” He winked.

                “Get out of here.” Baekhyun pushed him away playfully, watching his boyfriend walk away to go and take a shower himself. Baekhyun spent a few more minutes trying to get them in bed. He read them a story and sang them a lullaby, and pretty soon the twins had fallen asleep, thumbs in their mouths and eyes closed, looking like two beautiful angels in peace.

                Baekhyun climbed back up onto his own bed and turned off the lights, leaving only one bed side lamp on. Chanyeol was curled up on his side, his back facing Baekhyun.

                “Chanyeol, are you asleep?”

                “Hmmm…” came a low hum.

                “Chanyeol I just wanna say thank you for willing to babysit the twins with me. I don’t think I could have handled it on my own. I always knew taking care of kids was hard, but I had no idea how hard it was. Or maybe that’s because they are twins.”

                “Hmmmmmm…”

                “To be honest, I’ve been thinking about us for a while now.” Baekhyun rubbed his hands together anxiously before pulling the covers on top of him. “I’m a little apprehensive about wanting to settle down and start a family you know. I mean, I know you have always wanted to but…aren’t we still young? There’s a lot of stuff we can still do before we have kids right?”

                “Hmmmmm….snrzzzzzzzz…..”

                “Oh boy.” Baekhyun muttered, heaving a big sigh and leaning over to plant a soft kiss on Chanyeol’s head. Why did he even bother?

                He turned off the lights and closed his eyes. Might as well get some sleep, the next day was another full day with the kids.

*****************

                Speaking of mornings (not in Seoul, but in Maldives instead), Tao woke up to the sunlight shining on his skin, warming it up nicely so that it wasn’t too hot. It was rather cold the night before and now it’s getting warm. Tao shrugged off the covers and turned in his spot. The wind blew and Tao opened his eyes.

                If he was expecting Kris then he would be deftly disappointed, which he was. However his disappointments were lifted when he heard Kris call him from outside. He sat up and saw his husband waving him over, dressed in a bathrobe and sitting by the pool with breakfast laid out.

                “Good morning.” Tao rubbed his eyes and yawned as he slipped on a bathrobe to join him. The breakfast laid out was pretty simple, it was coffee and tea, a bowl of fruit, French toast, scrambled eggs, baked beans and sausages. “When did you order in?”

                “About half an hour ago. Did you sleep well?”

                “Yes I did.” Tao chuckled, helping himself to some coffee. “I haven’t slept this well in a long time I must admit.”

                “Looks like I wore you out last night.” Kris shamelessly kissed him, running his hands on the inside of Tao’s thigh.

                “Daddy sure knows how to treat his baby.” Tao smirked.

                “What can I say? I have three baby boys so I’ve gotten all the practice.” He swiftly avoided a slap by Tao and continued with his breakfast. “Say Tao?”

                “Yeah?”

                “What would you say,” he pushed himself closer. “If I said I wanted another baby?”

                “You do?”

                “Oh yeah. Since we have two boys, I think it would be nice to have a girl.” Kris helped himself to some yogurt, putting in some of the fruits as topping.

                “I suppose we could. The boys are old enough. We’ll see.”

                “We’ll see as in we can make one or….”

                “We’ll see as in I’m not in a rush to get pregnant again.” Tao smiled, wiping off some yogurt off Kris’s lips. “We’ll let God decide if we should have another baby.”

                “How are we going to do that?”

                “I don’t know.” Tao shrugged. “I don’t oppose the idea but at the same time I want it to just happen naturally. You know that if I stress myself about making babies we won’t actually make any.”

                “That’s true. The doctor said you are easily tipped off by stress.”

                “So we’ll just take it easy and see what happens.”

                “What if it’s another boy? Should we just keep trying until we get a girl?”

                “Hey now.” Tao stopped, giving Kris a look. “I gotta draw the line somewhere. How about you be pregnant the next time?”

                “Oh no…” Kris scoffed.

                “Then shut up and eat.”

                “Okay.” Kris lowered his head and continued with his yoghurt. After a couple of minutes, he asked what Tao would like to do for the day.

                “How about,” he wiped his lips. “We just chill by the beach, go swimming and maybe stay in bed? Take it easy like how you wanted?”

                “If it were me, you know I’ll just make us stay in bed all day.” Tao laughed as he moved over to place himself in Kris’s lap. They kissed each other and stayed that way, in each other’s arms for a little longer.

                “Tao?”

                “Yeah?”

                “You know I love you right?”

                “Yeah.”

                “You’re still as beautiful as the day I first met you. And I’m lucky to be your husband.”

                “Oh Kris.” Tao cuddled up closer and smiled into his chest. “I love you too.” As he kissed him while Kris lifted him up, carrying him in his arms back to the bed, Tao thought that no matter how many times he has been kissed by the same man, he is always looking forward to each and every kiss.

*******************

                That particular morning in Seoul was a little chilly compared to Maldives bright and sunny one, so Baekhyun naturally found himself curling up to Chanyeol, trying to warm himself up. Chanyeol instinctively wrapped his limbs around his smaller boyfriend, kissing the top of his head for effect.

                “Good morning.” Chanyeol’s voice in the morning is raw and deep, like a chain smoker for 10 years. If Baekhyun wasn’t so sleepy, he would have found it a major turn on.

                “Morning.” Baekhyun whimpered out, snuggling in deeper into Chanyeol’s chest. “What time is it?”

                “I don’t know. But it’s morning.”

                “Shouldn’t we get up?”

                ‘We should.”

                “Then why aren’t you moving?”

                “Too comfy. You?”

                “Too lazy.” Chanyeol bent down to kiss Baekhyun, feeling the sleep on his lips as he combed the smaller boy’s messy locks. “You were amazing yesterday.”

                “You mean with the kids?”

                “Uh huh.”

                “So did you.” Baekhyun chuckled. “They love you so much. You might even beat me for favourite uncle.”

                “No way…it’s still Uncle Bacon. Uncle Yeol can’t even touch it with a ten foot pole.” He joked, his deep voice rumbling through the room like soft thunder. Baekhyun planted his lips on Chanyeol’s once more, feeling the taller man’s fingers in his hair as their lips moulded in a passionate dance.

                “Chan, move your foot it’s poking me.”

                “That’s not my foot.”

                “Oh . I mean damn.” Baekhyun laughed softly. He wasn’t supposed to curse now that there are kids in the house but when Chanyeol’s lips travelled down his neck he found it impossible to think of anything but obscene words. “Chanyeol…” he moaned instinctively.

                “God this feels good…don’t stop Channie…don’t stop…why are you stop-oh.” Baekhyun felt Chanyeol being pushed away from him and he felt someone’s foot on his face. It was a tiny foot. Jongin’s.

                “Morning Uncle Bacon!”

                “Why are you two up here?” he asked, clearly annoyed by the interruption.

                “We’re trying to save you from the monster!” Jongdae said, clapping his hands at his own achievement.

                “Did it ever occur to you that I don’t wanna be saved?” the twins just stared at him blankly, trying to process what Uncle Bacon said. Baekhyun could literally hear the gears turning in their little heads and sighed, shifting the covers away. “Forget about it. I know when I’m . I’m gonna go get breakfast ready.”

                “Come here you two.” Chanyeol helped the twins off the bed and ushered them into the bathroom.

                After breakfast, it was time to go to the summer fair as promised. Chanyeol had packed some sandwiches, fruits and rolled eggs to pack as a picnic lunch. Baekhyun dressed the twins up in adorable blue overalls and a matching Pororo cap. The sun was out and a gentle breeze was blowing. It was a perfect day to go to the fair.

                The Summer Fair was located in a nearby park just a few blocks away. There were rides, games, lots of food and even a petting zoo. Jongin and Jongdae could hardly contain their excitement at the sights and smells of the fair, wanting to go on everything, even rides that they weren’t old enough for.

                The couple took the twins on the Teacup Ride and on the bumper cars. They went through the petting zoo (or rather almost chased out of because Jongdae insisted on taking one of the bunnies home), the carousel (they sat on it 6 times) and Baekhyun even won the twins a stuffed teddy bear at one of the fair games (it was the one where you had to knock down 6 milk bottles with a baseball. Chanyeol tried 11 times and failed. Baekhyun only took 2 tries.)

                They were having such a wonderful time. Baekhyun was aware of the smiles and stares people gave them but he could care less. If this was how having a family was like then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, except for riding the carousel 6 times. He was finally feeling a little bit more optimistic about his future but he still wished he could muster up the courage to talk to Chanyeol about it. What if he didn’t feel the same way?

                Chanyeol found them a nice spot in the park outside the fair for lunch. He was laying out the mat when he bumped into an old friend and nearly rolled down on the grass with him.

                “Sehun!!!”

                “Park Chanyeol ma man!” Sehun, Chanyeol’s ex-roommate when they were in college, greeted him with a big hug. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

                “Sehun? Is that you?” Baekhyun rushed over in surprise to give Sehun a hug as well. “I haven’t seen you since you guys came to visit us during Christmas! Where’s Luhan and the kids?”

                “Making their way over here. Hey Luhan!!! Look who almost knocked me over with his fat !” he dodged a punch from Chanyeol as Luhan dropped his jaw and ran forward.

                “Baekhyun! Chanyeol!” he gave them all a big hug. “You came to the fair as well?”

                “That’s right. We’re here with the twins.” Baekhyun stepped backwards to push Jongin and Jongdae forward.

                “Woah woah woah did we miss the wedding?” Sehun asked, confused.

                “No, they are Kris and Tao’s twins, Jongin and Jongdae. Say hello to Uncle Luhan and Uncle Sehun!” Chanyeol said.

                “Hello Uncle Luhan! Hello Uncle Sehun!” the twins greeted politely, bowing a little.

                “We’re babysitting them while they are away on their second honeymoon.” Baekhyun explained.

                “I hope they don’t come back with another one.” Sehun laughed. Chanyeol high-fived him and nearly bowled over. “That’s what I told him!”

                “You remember Kyungsoo right?” Luhan pulled his son’s arm and the child bowed, smiling at his parent’s friends and the twins in front of him. “This is Minseok, Kyungsoo’s cousin. He’s staying with us while his parents are away on a business trip.” Minseok was standing next to Kyungsoo, eating a bun. He had chubby cheeks, longer hair than his cousin and looked about a year or two older than him as well.

                “This is a fantastic coincidence, meeting together like this. Why don’t we have lunch together?” Chanyeol suggested.

                “Sounds great!” the two families sat down on their joint mats. Kyungsoo was taking particular interest in one of the twins. When Jongin nearly fell down, Kyungsoo went to grab his hand.

                “Hey Kyungie, since you bought your new airplane toys to share, why don’t you play with Minseok and the twins? We’ll call you when it’s time to eat.” Luhan asked, pulling out a purprle airplane from his bag.

                “Okay! Come on Minseok!” Kyungsoo grabbed his toys and pulled his cousin. The 4 year-old boy asked the twins politely if they wanted to play with him and all 4 children walked over to a big empty patch of field to play.

                “Be careful there!” Luhan warned.

                “Yeah and no more rocks!” Sehun yelled. “Kyungsoo likes collecting rocks. He says that he wants to be an archaeologist when he grows up and discover dinosaur bones.”

                “That’s cute. How old is he?” Baekhyun asked, setting out the food.

                “He’s 4 years old, Minseok is a year older.”

“Time flies eh? To think this noodle used to spend his days playing Starcraft in our dorm. They used to say he wouldn’t amount to anything and now he’s a father.” Chanyeol teased, hinting at Sehun.

                “We were all surprised when you guys decided to get married first.” Baekhyun admitted. He thought about their college days, when Baekhyun and Tao were the studious kids and Chanyeol and Sehun were the rebellious ones. Chanyeol was hardly in class, always out with the drama kids and even busking in the streets. Music was his passion, and now he owns a music store and teaches piano and guitar. Sehun was a lazy bum who played more than he studied but still manage to score with a B- average, and now he’s a successful photographer for a huge fashion magazine. Tao is a businessman and Baekhyun is an elementary school teacher.

                Kris and Luhan were transfer students from China who came during their final year in college. Luhan used to stay in the dorm opposite Sehun’s, and he used to claim that Sehun did ‘evil things’ in his room because he had never seen the boy leave his dorm except during meal times. Once, when Luhan was throwing out the trash late at night, he saw Sehun leave his dorm. He followed the younger boy because he was afraid of the ‘evil things’ he might conjure if he left so late at night, but it turns out all Sehun was doing was feeding the stray cats outside the dorm. A year after that incident, they were married.

                “Even Kris waited until he had a solid job at the hospital before he proposed to Tao.” Chanyeol said, pouring out some milk in paper cups.

                “I know you guys didn’t think we’d make it but we do have a 4 year old son now. And every year spent together is the best one yet.” Sehun smiled, kissing Luhan on the cheek.

                “What about you guys? You’ve been dating since freshman year, no plans on getting married?” Luhan asked.

                “We’ve been talking about it for a while.” Chanyeol smiled. Baekhyun diverted his eyes, trying not to look at anyone and instead turned to watch the children.

                “Kyungsoo is playing really well with the twins.” Baekhyun pointed to two little wobbly figures, holding hands and walking. “Look! They’re holding hands! Awwwww!”

                “Let’s take a picture to show Tao when he comes back!” Chanyeol whipped out his phone instantly.

                “You know how Tao is going to be when he sees the pictures. My baby! My baby is growing up!” Luhan hit his chest with his fist and flipped his head in mock drama fashion. “My baby is going to leave me to rot in this big ol’ empty house!”

                “He was voted best actor of our college for 3 years for a reason you know.” Sehun laughed.

                “And the drama king married the cold king. I remember when Kris first came to the dorm, I only saw him with 2 expressions, his I-Will-Kill-Everything-You-Love expression and his Where-Is-The-Food expression.” Chanyeol laughed, clinking paper cups with his friends.

                “Awwww look! Minseok is giving Jongdae a piggy back ride!” Luhan pointed, smiling widely. “Minseok is much quieter than Kyungsoo. He’s the youngest of three kids so he doesn’t have much to say. He prefers to just sit in the corner and draw.”

                “He draws everything,” Sehun continued. “He drew the food, the couch, the bed, the downstairs parking lot, and yesterday he drew a portrait of us.”

                “Really? Was it nice?” Baekhyun asked, helping himself to a sandwich.

                “Well if you consider stick figures, skinny trees, square houses and a golden sun in a corner as nice then sure.” Luhan joked, laughing so much his eyes crinkled in the corner.

                “Hey hey, I bet Da Vinci and Picasso drew stick figures when they were kids.” Chanyeol shrugged. “Jongdae! Pull up your pants! You can’t just take them off in public!!” he yelled at the toddler who was pulling his pants down.

                “What is it with kids and clothes?” Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

                “It’s a phase. They’re too young to understand why they need to wear clothes. When Kyungsoo was two, he absolutely refused to put clothes on. He cried and threw fits and tantrums every time I tried to dress him.”

                “Then what did you do?”

                “I the TV. I think it’s fair enough when I speak on behalf of all parents that the Teletubbies are a lifesaver.” Luhan smiled fondly, thinking of Kyungsoo’s younger years.

                “I think I’ll go take a picture of the kids. They are just too adorable!!” Chanyeol squealed, getting up to his feet and running to the kids.

                “He’s good.” Sehun nodded in approval.

                “He’s just trying to extort Kris when he comes back. He figured he’ll make a good profit with pictures like this.” Baekhyun stated, calmly eating a strawberry.

                “I meant with the kids.”

                “Oh yeah, that he is.” Baekhyun blushed in embarrassment. “He’s been a big help ever since the twins came over yesterday. I couldn’t have done it without him, it would have been a lot of work.”

                “He’ll make a good father.” Luhan smiled, patting Baekhyun’s hand.

                “Yeah.” Baekhyun’s eyes dropped down again. He crumpled his shirt in his hands and looked back up. “Guys, can I ask you a question?”

                “Sure.”

                “How did you know you guys wanted to settle down and start a family? You did get married the earliest out of all of us. How did you know?”

                “Well we wanted to get married because the thought of spending our lives together was tempting, but we weren’t going to start a family so soon.” Sehun tucked his legs in.

                “That’s right. The plan was to move out of Seoul, find a nice little country house so that Sehun could work on his nature photography and I could have a little garden for myself. We wanted to travel the world and maybe after 4 years, then we’ll start to have a family. And it did not work out at all.”

                “Really?” Baekhyun widened his eyes.

                “Yeah. Don’t you remember that after shortly after we got married, Sehun was offered a job at the fashion magazine? We never moved out of Seoul as we planned, we just moved to a different apartment in Hongdae. And 6 months after that, boom, I was pregnant with Kyungsoo.” Luhan said.

                “Yeah I remember, but I thought you guys wanted it that way.”

                “Hell no.” Luhan laughed, shaking his head.

                “Weren’t you freaked out at all? Weren’t you scared that nothing went according to plan?” Baekhyun asked.

                “Of course I was. I cried for days when I found out I was pregnant. I even came close to running away.”

                “You did?!” Baekhyun dropped his jaw and a grape almost rolled out. “What made you change your mind?”

                “You know those scenes in books and movies where you run away to try and find yourself and all your problems are solved when you return? There is a reason why they only stay in books and movies. In reality if you run away your problems don’t get solved. If I ran I would lose Sehun and the baby, so what good would that do me?”

                “Our family has been very supportive and I tried my best to be around more often while Luhan was pregnant. The baby was our number one priority.” Sehun looked at Luhan softly, holding him close.

                “But weren’t you afraid of not being able to be good parents?”

                “That is every beginner parents’ worry.” Sehun admitted. “You can read a thousand books on childcare, but ultimately the best way is to actually do it. We’re still learning, every single day how to deal with our child.”

                “What about travelling the world and moving into that little country home you guys planned?”

                “We did travel actually. We left Kyungsoo at my mother’s place while we went off for a few days. We’ve been to most of Europe now and even Australia. When Kyungsoo gets older, we can start taking him with us. And maybe in a couple of years, when we have the money we can move to the little country house we have always dreamt of.”

                “Having a child is no excuse to stop you from doing what you want. You want to climb mountains, go skydiving             or even start a painting career? You can go ahead and do it. If you really want something, nothing should stand in your way.” Sehun said.

                “That’s right, it’s all about planning. I have no regrets about it. Kyungsoo is my baby.” Luhan agreed.

                “You guys make it sound easy.” Baekhyun shook his head. “Chanyeol and I have been talking marriage but I don’t know if I want to start a family so soon. He has been going off about having kids for the past couple of weeks now and the pressure is really getting to me.”

                “Have you talked to him about it?” Luhan asked.

                “No,” Baekhyun could feel eyes boring into his soul when he said that. “It’s awkward! He hasn’t even proposed to me or anything!”

                “If he’s talking about kids that’s kinda like putting up a sign on a billboard on Times Square that says I WANNA MARRY YOU, DIMWIT.” Sehun made a motion across his forehead and Luhan elbowed him. “Just talk to him. If you guys do wanna take that step forward then it’s best to be honest about a few things before you walk down that aisle.”

                “Maybe you’re right. I have to talk to him.” Baekhyun sighed. He heard a crying in a distance and his head shot up. Chanyeol rushed back to the group, carrying a crying Jongin.

                “He fell down by accident. Can you see if he’s hurt?” Chanyeol set Jongin down, wiping his tear-stained face with his large hands. “It’s okay Jongin. Let Uncle Baek fix you okay?”

                “It’s nothing, he just has a small scratch.” Baekhyun reached into one of the picnic baskets, looking for a bandage. Kyungsoo came running to his parents with a teary eyes.

                “I’m sorry I let him fall down! But he wanted to run and his hands slipped from mine!”

                “It’s okay baby it’s not your fault.” Sehun cradled his son, whose eyes were trained on the slightly injured toddler.

                “Will Jongin be okay?”

                “He’s got a small scratch he’ll be fine.” Baekhyun smiled, reassuring the 4 year old. He put on the yellow striped bandage and kissed the wound. “Now it won’t hurt anymore.” He cooed, kissing Jongin’s chubby cheeks.

                “I think it’s time for lunch.” Luhan decided, opening up the food containers. “Minseok, bring Jongdae back for lunch! And hold his hand!!”

                Lunch was served and Jongin stopped crying. He was sitting next to his twin, chomping down on little sausages. Luhan patted Baekhyun’s hand and bought him close enough for a whisper.

                “If it makes you feel better, no matter what happens, you have Chanyeol.”

**********************

                “And the princess married the prince and lived happily ever after. There, story is finished.” Chanyeol closed the book on the fairy tale.

                “One more pwease?” Jongin pleaded.

                “Yes pwease?” Jongdae put on his cutest pout and sad eyes.

                “No more that’s enough for today. You two should get some sleep. Tomorrow your parents are coming back to take you home.” Chanyeol kissed the twins as he pulled the covers on top of them. “Goodnight.”

                “Goodnight.” They yawned out before closing their eyes. Chanyeol shut the lights and went out into the living room. Baekhyun was curled up on the couch, waiting for him to join him.

                “Are they asleep?”

                “Yep, finally. I read 2 fairy tales in order to get them to sleep.” Chanyeol snickered.

                “Great, because we need to talk about something.”

                “Sure, what is it?”

                “Listen, uhm…” Baekhyun took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I know we’ve been talking about marriage and having kids but I’m going to be honest with you, I feel a little apprehensive about having kids.”

                “Why?”

                “Well, you know, I just feel like we’re a bit too young. I know Sehun and Luhan and all our other friends have kids but I kinda want to wait a little bit. I don’t wanna be tied down too soon, you get what I mean?”

                “I understand.” Chanyeol nodded.

                “Wait, so…you’re okay with it?”

                “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”

                “Because you’ve been talking about kids so much these days! I thought you always wanted them!”

                “I do, but I don’t wanna start having any without your consent.” Chanyeol chuckled softly, rubbing Baekhyun’s cheek. “You know I won’t do anything unless you’re with me 100%.”

                “What about our parents? How do we talk to them about waiting to have kids?”

                “We’ll just tell them to sock off.”

                “But your mom…”

                “Oh please, you know my mom. She’s been nagging me to have kids ever since she found my Playboy collection, when my sister got married, when I started dating you and even when I graduated, so as long as the woman has a mouth she is not going to stop.” Chanyeol waved a hand carelessly. “And your mother isn’t so sane either.”

                “That’s true.” Baekhyun pouted. “I just don’t want to disappoint them.”

                “This isn’t about them anymore. When we get married it will be about us. What we do with our lives, it will be for us and about us.” Chanyeol pulled Baekhyun closer for a cuddle. “I don’t mind waiting to have kids. I just want to have them with you.”

                “What if I said I don’t want kids until we’re 30?”

                “No problem.”

                “What if I said I don’t want a lot of kids enough to make a football team?”

                “I understand completely.”

                “What if I said I don’t want kids at all?”

                Chanyeol had to pause at that one.

                “Now you see?! You can’t even…” Baekhyun pointed an accusing finger before it was taken down by Chanyeol.

                “Then I’ll just seduce you into having kids. I won’t wear a and make it look like an accident.” He smirked.

                “Chanyeol!!!”

                “Oh come on even you have to agree that’s not possible. You love kids and kids love you. Look at Jongin and Jongdae.”

                “That’s because I’m their uncle.” Baekhyun made a face, trying to hide his growing smile.

                “No, it’s because they feel your love. The same way I feel yours.” Chanyeol grinned, kissing his beloved boyfriend. “And our future kids will be so lucky to be loved by you.”

                “Why do you always know the right thing to say?” Baekhyun teased.

                “Because I love you.”

                Baekhyun could feel himself getting choked up, but he tried to stop the little tears that are forming. “I love you too Chanyeol.”

                “Just to be clear, we’re good on the idea of marriage?”

                “Absolutely.” Baekhyun nodded.

                “If that’s the case,” Chanyeol got up and went to the kitchen. He pulled out an empty cookie jar and stuck his hand inside. When he returned, Baekhyun saw that it was a small velvet box. Chanyeol got down on one knee in front of Baekhyun and opened the box, revealing a silver ring. “Byun Baekhyun, will you marry me?”

                Baekhyun made no effort to stop his tears this time. He let them roll out of his eyes and down his cheeks. He nodded his head like a maniac and just pounced on Chanyeol, holding him tightly. Chanyeol slipped the ring on him and kissed him like he did many times before, but this was their first kiss as an engaged couple.

                A couple of hours later, Chanyeol and Baekhyun laid there on the rug, and cuddled in each other’s arms. Chanyeol kissed the top of his head and suddenly, Baekhyun knew he had nothing to fear.

                No matter what, he had Chanyeol.

*******************

A Month Later

                “So after much discussion and arguing with his mother, we finally decided on an outdoor wedding. We finally don’t have to do it in a stuffy old church!” Baekhyun threw his hands in glee.

                “Hey, I had a church wedding!” Tao crossed his arms defensively.

                “Tao, your wedding was in Venice. You had gondolas to transport your guests to the church with ceilings tall enough to hang vines from and have monkeys swing from them. Your wedding was anything but stuffy.”

                “So sue me. I had a lot of people to invite.” Tao shrugged carelessly, crossing his legs on the clinic’s waiting room chair.

                “How you managed to invite Smokey Robinson to your wedding still amazes me.” Baekhyun shook his head.

                “Kris’s father knows someone who is a friend of someone whose cousin’s wife’s ex-husband’s 2 daughter was his stylist. Or was it ex-husband’s third daughter? Or…”

                “Never mind.” Baekhyun waved the topic away. “I just want to get out of here. We were supposed to go shopping for decorations.”

                “I know I know.” Tao groaned, rubbing his belly. “I shouldn’t have had that rancid seafood soup yesterday. Made me feel weak and sick. You know, I threw up twice today.”

                Baekhyun nodded, his mind clearly on something else. After a couple of minutes, he looked at Tao with a strange expression. “Tao, have you been able to eat cheesecake?”

                “What? I…”

                “Ah Mr. Huang,” the doctor called as he came out of his waiting room. “I checked your vitals and everything is as expected.”

                “Great then could you just prescribe me something so that we can go off? I’ve had this before so it’s no big deal.” Tao groaned, standing up.

                “Good to see you so prepared. Congratulations sir. You’re pregnant.”

 

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it!! Leave comments and subscribe if you do like it! Upvotes are of course always welcomed too!