Hojoon's mornings started at 5:30. They didn't have to. But that's when Sangdo's mornings started, and those half an hour before the kids started to wake up were often the most time he got to spend with his husband. 

"Five more minutes." He snuggled into Sangdo's warmth. Getting up at 5:35 wasn't going to hurt anyone. He didn't want to let go of Sangdo just yet. 

"If you get up now we'll have time for an extra-long shower." Sangdo whispered in the blonde's ear, Hojoon's eyes snapping open. 

Sangdo chuckled to himself, he wasn't sure he had ever seen Hojoon move so fast, springing out of bed and legging it to their en suite. Hojoon let out a whine as he walked into the door handle, shirt half pulled over his head, obscuring his view. 

"Hurry up!" He whisper-shouted as Sangdo sauntered over to the bathroom, pulling at the youngers t-shirt as soon as he was within grabbing distance. He wanted him . Like, now. 

"God, you're so impatient." Sangdo chuckled, nipping at his husband's earlobe as he reached to turn the shower on. Nothing killed the mood more than freezing cold water that hadn't quite adjusted bucketing down on them. 

"Well we don't have much time and I want this," Hojoon less than subtly stuck his hand down Sangdo’s boxers to grab the youngers , making him stifle a yelp, "in me as soon as possible."

Sangdo’s eyes met Hojoon’s, his dark irises drenched with hunger as he lunged forward to catch Hojoon’s bottom lip between his own in a greedy kiss. 

Hojoon tugged at the elastic of Sangdo’s underwear, urging the brunette to get rid of them as he shimmied out of his own, into his husband's mouth as they kissed.

He bit down on his bottom lip as they pulled apart, breathing heavily as Sangdo’s eyes raked over his body. He was pretty proud of himself for managing to keep his twenty-year-old figure despite having eleven kids. 

Before he knew it Sangdo’s lips were back on his, hands firmly on his hips, pushing Hojoon back into the shower and up against the tiled wall.  

This was by far his favourite way to start the day. 

Sangdo’s hands trailing all over his skin as the water pelted down on them. His lips and tongue running up the column of his neck, teeth grazing against sensitive skin. Fingers tangled in hair and teeth clashing together in open mouthed kisses. His leg hooking around Sangdo’s thicker ones to give the younger more room to move. The hushed moans and gasps and cries for more. The overwhelming sensation of having the man he loved moving inside of him. That one of a kind connection that only they had. The intimacy. The seeing stars. The love. 

"! Sangdo!"

His back arched against the tiled wall as he came, fingernails digging into his husband's shoulders. It didn't take long until Sangdo caught up, a second wave of pleasure hitting Hojoon as the brunette filled him. 

He let his forehead fall against Sangdo's, wet strands of blonde obstructing his view as he kissed the other, deeply, languidly. He giggled to himself as Sangdo lathered up his hair between fleeting kisses, making sure to use the shampoo Hojoon liked best. He always felt truly spoiled with Sangdo. Like he was the only person that mattered. The only adult person, anyway. 

Hojoon's eyes fluttered shut as Sangdo towelled off his platinum hair. He missed this. He missed being able to spend hours just doing menial things with his husband. He wouldn't change his family for the world, but he was dying for the two of them to get away just for a couple of days and spend some quality time together. It had been way too long. But finding someone to look after eleven boys was easier said than done. 

Sangdo nuzzled into Hojoon's cheek, arms wrapping around his husband. 

"I love you so much." Sangdo whispered into Hojoon's ear, breath hot on the elder's skin. Even after ten years of marriage, sixteen years of being together, Hojoon still got butterflies when those three words fell from Sangdo's lips. He knew the brunette still said them with as much conviction, if not more, as the first time. 

"I love you t-"

"Daddy! I'm hungry!"

Hojoon sighed, head falling forward against Sangdo's chest. "Guess it's time for breakfast."

Hojoon wrangled the boys around the dining table, pouring out eleven bowls of five different types cereal. He wished they would agree on one type of cereal, but he knew that was asking for way too much considering how picky his kids could be. 

"Okay. Hyosang," he started, trying to convince Sanggyun that eating cereal with a spoon was more effective than using his hands, "you have stage school at six so please try not to get covered in mud or anything cause I won't have time to clean you up before you go. Dongsung, Hyunho, you have both have football tonight after school, so your Appa will pick you up later. Tae-"

"Ugh, I don't even like football it's a dumb sport." Hyunho huffed, spoon clattering against his overly milky bowl. 

"Well, tough, you're going." He really didn't have time for Hyunho changing his favourite sport on a weekly basis. "Tae, you have your guitar lesson today so don't forget to take it with you. Jiho, Byungjoo, you're having dinner at your friend Eli's tonight so please, please be on your best behaviour, I don't need a repeat of last time." Hojoon physically shuddered as he remembered the last time his twins had went to someone's house and they had decided the kid's room would look better if it were red instead of blue and proceeded to smear paint all over the walls. 

"Daddy I don't wanna eat this anymore." Hansol whined, pushing his bowl away. 

"What? Why not, you love Coco Pops, baby."

"But they're in milk!"

Hojoon cocked his head. "And?"

"And milk comes from cows!"

"Ew!" Dongsung exclaimed, milk dribbling down his chin as he stared at his brother in disbelief. "Milk comes from cows?! That's gross!"

Hojoon rolled his eyes. He couldn't decide if he was rolling them because he couldn't deal with his kids being put off yet another type of food or because somehow they didn't already know milk came from cows. 

Sehyuk mimicked his father's response. "Where did you think milk came from?"

"I dunno." Dongsung shrugged. "I've never really thought about it."

"Well, I think it's nasty and I'm not drinking milk anymore." Hansol folded his arms across his chest, turning his nose up at his bowl of cereal in front of him. "In fact, I'm not eating any animal stuff anymore!"

"Hansol, you can't be serio-"

"Babe, can you sort my tie out for me?"

Hojoon sighed as his husband entered the kitchen-dining room. "Your son has decided he's a vegan." He hissed, reaching up to adjust the brunettes tie. He had no idea how Sangdo still managed to be so terrible at Windsor knots considering he wore a tie five days a week. 

Sangdo suppressed a chuckle. Every time one of the kids did someone wrong Hojoon would always refer to him as 'your son' as opposed to 'our son'. 

"I'm gonna take a guess at...Hansol or Jiho." 

"Right first time."

Sangdo sighed, glancing across at his five-year-old who was still refusing to eat his breakfast. 

"Hansol, sweetie, what's this about you not wanting to drink milk?"

"It's from cows, Appa! That's so gross why would I wanna drink something from cows?"

"Yeah, me either. It's gross." Dongsung echoed, mirroring his brother in pushing his bowl away. 

Sangdo quirked an eyebrow. "You realise beef comes from cows, right boys?" 

The two of them tilted their heads. 

"So that means no spaghetti bolognese, or lasagne-"

"Or burgers." Hojoon chirped in, hoping that would help sway them. 

"What?!" Dongsung’s jaw dropped. "Burgers come from cows too? But they're so tasty." The six-year-old pouted, reconsidering his bowl of cereal. "Okay, there's no way I'm not eating burgers." Hojoon smiled to himself as Dongsung went back to eating his breakfast. 

Hansol, however, wasn't quite so easy to persuade, and Hojoon really couldn't be dealing with making a separate meal for one of his kids. Cooking for thirteen was hard enough already. 

"You know, Hansollie, milk is in a lot of the things you love."

Hansol’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Like what?"

"Ice cream."

"Cheese." Sangdo joined back in, sensing how much his husband wanted to change their son's mind. 

"Cake."

"Cookies."

"Chocolate."

Hansol eyes widened. He couldn't have chocolate if he didn't drink milk? 

"No chocolate!?"

Hojoon shook his head. "All chocolate has milk in, sweetie." A tiny white lie, he knew fine well there were vegan alternatives out there, but he would at least rather Hansol wait until he was in high school before he changed his dietary requirements. It was just too much while he had eleven kids under the age of eight. 

Hansol gaped. Maybe milk wasn't so gross after all. It made chocolate. Chocolate. 

"Fine." He huffed, pulling the bowl back towards him. He couldn't cope with not having chocolate. He'd get over the fact milk came from cows even though it was really gross. 

"Oh, thank God." Hojoon breathed, head falling against Sangdo’s chest. That was one crisis averted. 

Sangdo laughed gently, wrapping an arm around Hojoon’s shoulders. Their kids really were something else. "I have to go now, babe. Think you'll cope?" 

Hojoon sighed, glancing over to the table where the kids had pretty much finished their breakfast. There wasn't too much of it on the table, he guessed. 

"I'll cope." He smiled back, rising up on his toes to press a soft kiss to Sangdo’s lips. "Kids! Say bye to your Appa, he has to go to work."

Sangdo grabbed the files he needed for the day, blowing kisses to the kids as he left, knowing from past experience going around the table to try and kiss them all on the forehead took way too much time and usually ended up in him covered in food somehow. 

"Bye kids, love you!" He gave them one last wave before turning to Hojoon. "You too, baby."

Hojoon inwardly cursed himself for blushing. He was way too old to be blushing. "Have a good day, love you."

"Awww." Hyosang mused, head resting on his hands as he watched the scene unfold. "You two are so cute!"

Hojoon cleared his throat as he flushed deeper. "Okay everyone upstairs, time to get ready."

He plucked the smaller kids from their booster seats as the rest of them ran upstairs. He would deal with the dishes later... or maybe leave them for the cleaner. Yeah, probably that. 

He was glad that most of the kids were old enough to dress themselves now. Whether they did it right or not, however, was another matter. 

"Jiho, take that sweater off, turtlenecks aren’t school uniform." 

"Sanggyun! That shirt is covered in ketchup; did you get that out of the laundry?"

"No, you can't wear shorts, Taeyang, it's February. You'll freeze."

"Hyunho, sweetie, don't forget to pack your gym kit. You're not getting out of football practice that easily."

"Byungjoo, hurry up, we don't have time to watch cartoons."

"Hyosang what are you wear- It's not a fancy dress day."

Sometimes he wondered how they managed to pull this off with barely any accidents. By sometimes he meant every single day. Ten kids getting ready for school at once should probably descend into chaos on the regular, but it usually went pretty smoothly with minimal arguments. 

He smiled to himself as he buttoned up Sangwon's cardigan. He loved that he still got to dress his youngest up in whatever he wanted every day. School uniforms were boring. His kids all had so many cute clothes that he had spent hours shopping for and he hated that they could only wear them at the weekends. Non-uniform days were his favourite part of the school year. His kids were always by far the best dressed. 

"Daddy...I'm stuck."

Stuck?

He turned to the doorway of Sangwon's room where Yoonchul was standing, school jumper over his head, arms stuck straight up in the air. What the...

"Honey, what have you done?" He laughed gently to himself as the five-year-old struggled. How had he managed to get in this state?

He tried to pull the jumper back off, but it was well and truly stuck. How...? He checked the size label, sighing. 

"Chullie, this is Byungjoo's jumper." There was only about a year between them but Yoonchul towered over the smaller of the twins. Byungjoo still wore an age 3 whereas Yoonchul was already in an age 7. No wonder he was stuck. 

His son was starting to get anxious; Hojoon knew he was slightly claustrophobic. 

"Baby, stop struggling. Try to stay still so I can get this off for you." Yoonchul had managed to get himself wedged into the jumper; Hojoon was sure with just a little more tugging he'd be able to worm Yoonchul out of the royal blue sweater. Just a bit more...

Finally. 

He managed to pull the jumper off, Yoonchul whimpering softly now he was free, being able to lower his arms. His eyes were watery as his breathing intensified. 

Hojoon pulled the five-year-old to his chest, shushing into his dark hair as he tried to calm his son down. "It's okay baby, you're okay." He rocked the boy slightly, knowing it was something that made him feel at ease since Hojoon had first met him. 

Yoonchul sniffled softly against his father's t-shirt. He wasn't as touchy or affectionate as his brothers, but hugs off Hojoon always made him feel better. 

"Thanks, Daddy."

"It's okay, precious. Let's go find your real jumper, hm?"

Hojoon managed to get all of the boys back downstairs to get their jackets on. Seeing them all in their little school uniforms made his heart flutter every single morning. Sure, they weren't the most exciting of outfits, but they looked adorable. It wouldn't be long until Sangwon was joining them. The idea of all eleven of his kids in matching jumpers and polo shirts almost made him well up. But he didn't have time to be soppy and emotional; they really needed to get to school. 

"Everyone wrap up warm, it's still cold out and I don't want anyone getting sick!" He shouted down the hallway as the kids grabbed their coats and scarves from the cloak room. 

"Daddy this hat doesn't even go with my outfit." Jiho pouted as Hojoon popped a Fair Isle bobble hat on his glossy black hair. 

"You look fine, Jiji, go get your shoes on."

Winter was actually his favourite season. He loved seeing them all in puffy coats and numerous layers. It made them look extra cute and squishy. 

"I don't wanna wear gloves, Daddy, they're for girls!"

Hojoon sighed. This seemed to be a daily argument he had with Byungjoo lately. Yesterday he didn't want to go to dance class because it was for girls. Now it was the gloves. He had to hold himself back from launching into a whole 'gender stereotypes are bull' rant in front of a group of small children. He made a mental note to think up a child friendly way to explain it later on, because if they didn't leave in the next five minutes they were definitely going to be late. 

"Unless you want your fingers to freeze and fall off, you're wearing them. And hurry up because we have to go."

He double checked that all the boys had their coats zipped up, backpacks on and lunches packed before they left. 

He scooped Sangwon up in his arms, his youngest was only a few months younger than Sanggyun, but he was way more clingy and seemed to hate walking anywhere unless necessary. He knew he had to try and get the three-year-old used to walking on his own, but now wasn't the time. 

"Okay, everyone pair up and hold hands." They walked to school almost every morning considering it was just a couple of streets away, the only exceptions being the rare days Sangdo had off or started later so they could take both cars. Or if it was pouring and Hojoon would up his pride and take the ugly minivan he hated with a passion. Getting ten kids to walk alongside him without wandering off or dawdling was difficult to say the least, and after losing Hyosang for fifteen of the worst minutes of his life one time, he made them buddy up whenever they were walking. That seemed to stop the more adventurous ones from straying away, and it seemed to keep them all together. It made his life a hell of a lot easier. 

He was used to the stares they would get in the streets. A tiny blonde with a toddler in his arms, obsessively checking behind him as five pairs of kids walking in line followed. Most people in their neighbourhood knew they were all his babies, but he often wondered if people thought he was a nanny or something. Because honestly, who would be crazy enough to have eleven boys? 

"!"

Hojoon halted. Was that one of his...?

"Daddy, I forgot my guitar!"

"Tae! What have I told you about swearing?" He hissed at his eldest, trying to ignore the looks he got from the other parents as they approached the school. 

"But I left it at home!" The seven-year-old pouted, swinging his arms, and in turn Hansol's arm due to their hands being clasped so tightly together. 

Hojoon sighed. He had totally forgotten about it too. "I'll drop it off before your lesson, okay. Now apologise for using bad words."

"Sorry, Daddy." The brunette muttered, pushing his wire rimmed glasses further up his nose. Not swearing was hard. 

Hojoon would never admit it aloud but this was by far the least stressful part of his day; dropping the kids off on the school yard. He loved his kids with all his heart but he looked forward to the couple of hours of peace and quiet he would get while they were at school. They were someone else's problem just for a little while. 

One thing he hated about dropping them off, however, was the small talk he was expected to make with the other parents. There was this one group of particularly y moms who, no matter how hard he tried, he could never seem to avoid. 

"Hojoon!"

He inwardly whined, telling his kids to run along and talk to their friends before they were called to line up as said group of y moms approached him. 

"We just can't wait for the twins' birthday! No doubt it'll be a...spectacle." 

A spectacle? The is that supposed to mean? 

"Have you never considered getting a nanny?"

No. I'm more than capable of looking after my own children, unlike some people, sweetie. 

"Have you ever thought about cutting Jiho's hair? He's starting to look like a little girl."

He likes it like that and he looks adorable. Shut the up. 

"Looking after eleven kids must take a toll, how much Botox have you had? You must tell me who you go to!"

None. My skin is naturally tight and glowy. Sorry you can't relate, you leathery . 

"It's truly amazing how you manage to look after so many kids, but what about your husband? Do you have any time left for him? You don't want him going elsewhere like Marsha's did."

"We ed this morning, but thanks for being so interested in our life." 

Oh . I said that one out loud, didn't I?

Thankfully the bell rang so he had an excuse to make a quick exit and say one last goodbye and 'I love you' to his kids. 

He smiled to himself as the boys turned back to wave at the father as they went into the building line by line. Okay so maybe he missed them a little while they were at school. 

"It's just you and me now then, Sangwonnie. Wanna go to work?"

The three-year-old giggled, clapping his gloved hands together as Hojoon carried him off down the street. 

Hojoon loved that he had the privilege of working from home, and working for himself for that matter. It made looking after the kids so much easier, and he could go at his own pace, which usually came in helpful when Sangwon was whining for attention. 

"Daddy!"

"One second, sweetie, I just need to send this email!"

Hojoon was a self-titled property developer. Only because it sounded way better than landlord. He liked interior designer too, actually. That sounded pretty fancy. 

He and Sangdo owned a few houses which they rented out, usually to groups of students. But in the past couple of years as more and more of the kids started school Hojoon felt like he needed to do something else. Going from looking after eleven kids to just having Sanggyun and Sangwon left on the weekdays left him feeling a little empty. Sangdo suggested that maybe he should use the peace and quiet to relax and unwind, but that just wasn't Hojoon. That sounded really boring. 

That's when he convinced Sangdo to bid on a house at auction for him to do up and sell on. It became his twelfth baby. His twelfth and most problematic baby as he soon realised why they managed to get it for so cheap. Pretty much all of the plumbing and electrical had to be ripped out and redone. The windows weren't double glazed. The garden was a state. The entire place needed replastered. And the ceiling in the kitchen was about ready to fall through. It was a pain in the , but it kept him occupied. 

"But Daddy! I wanna watch this!" Sangwon whined, trying to clamber up on the sofa next to his father, DVD in hand. 

Hojoon sighed, putting his laptop to one side as he helped the toddler up onto the seat, taking the DVD from his tiny hands and popping it on. Hopefully that would keep him entertained for a bit while Hojoon tried to haggle with this particularly dickish contractor. 

"Daddy!" Sangwon whined again. "You have to watch too!"

"Baby, Daddy's busy working."

Sangwon huffed, round cheeks puffing out. He didn't want to watch it alone. 

Hojoon's heart practically melted. It was a wonder he managed to get any work done considering he was physically unable to say no to Sangwon's pouty face

"Just give me five minutes, okay. Then we can watch whatever you want." The emails could wait, and if worst came to worst he could just send them from his phone when Sangwon wasn't paying attention. 

Sangwon squealed with delight, legs kicking against the sofa, seemingly pleased with the deal. He watched his father intently, with wide eyes as he finished off his work. He didn't really know what five minutes was, he couldn't tell the time, but he knew it wasn't long. 

Hojoon could almost feel himself sweating as Sangwon stared at him. Jesus, he could be really intense when he wanted to be. He couldn't really concentrate with those dark eyes boring into his skull. 

He gave up, tossing his laptop aside in favour of scooping up a giggling Sangwon in his arms and lying back against the arm of the sofa. His heart swelled as his youngest snuggled into his chest, thumb finding its way into his mouth as he laughed softly at the movie he had forced Hojoon to put on. 

Hojoon did love the peace and quiet of having most of the kids at school, to some extent. It was nice to have a little break from eleven hyperactive kids running around causing all sorts of trouble. 

But he honestly had no idea how he was going to cope come September when Sangwon would start school. Then he'd be all alone. Completely alone. No hyperactive kids running around and causing any trouble for six whole hours. 

He was absolutely dreading it. Sangwon was his baby. Well, they were all his babies, but Sangwon was the youngest, his proper baby. The idea of him growing up, even just to go to school made him feel a little bit sick. He couldn't believe it had come to this already. 

He closed his eyes, willing the thoughts away before he went into full on existential crisis mode thinking about how before he knew it they'd be teenagers or married with kids of their own. He wasn't old enough to be a grandparent. 

He snapped back to reality as Sangwon stirred in his arms, stubby fingers gripping around Hojoon's. It made him smile. Sangwon reminded him of Sangdo so much. He was so soft spoken and kind, and despite being the youngest he always seemed to want to look after his brothers. 

He pressed a soft kiss to the small boy's head, nose nuzzling into his dark hair. 

"I love you, Daddy." Sangwon whispered out, barely awake as his fingers tightened around Hojoon’s, not wanting to let go of his father. 

Nothing mattered more to Hojoon than those four words. 

"I love you too, Sangwonnie."