Requested by MsParadox

 

 

Yifan's heart stopped the moment he saw Chanyeol falling and even though he leaped up from the couch to catch the boy, he was a second too late. His son hit the edge of the coffee table, bumping his forehead, immediately crying out at the impact. 

The deafening screams of the boy lured Kyungsoo out of the bathroom. Still dripping wet and only dressed in a bath robe he flew into the living room, eyes wide open. "What happened?"

Yifan turned to his husband, holding the bawling boy in his arms. "He hit his head on the coffee table."

Kyungsoo stepped forwards to husband and son and reached out for Chanyeol. "Yeol, baby," he cooed, his son over the head. "It's ok-oh my god."

Yifan flinched as Kyungsoo grabbed their son's head to make him look up. He leaned back when Kyungsoo gasped again, trying to catch a glimpse at what the younger had discovered. As his eyes then fell onto Chanyeol's forehead he froze.

There wasn't just a simple bruise blooming on the boy's forehead but a heavily bleeding laceration. The injury right above Chanyeol's eyebrow was a gaping wound with blood flowing down his face. 

Letting go of the boy's head, Kyungsoo looked around to find something he could press to Chanyeol's forehead. First in his reach was his the little boys colorful burp cloth and he quickly folded it, then pressing it to the wound. "Hold it, I'll go and get dressed."

Nodding Yifan took over, gently holding the cloth against the wound. Chanyeol was still bawling his lungs out. His face was red from screaming and his voice was slowly getting hoarse. Yifan began to panic when the cloth under his fingers got wet. "S-soo."

Kyungsoo came back to the living room, this time fully dressed in a pair of pants and a shirt that obviously was Yifan's. His hair was still dripping wet and wet the gray top. "What?"

"T-the cloth is already soaked."

"Give him to me and please get the car."

After handing Chanyeol over to his husband Yifan hurried to fetch the keys for his car. He almost stumbled over his own feet on his way to the garage to get the car. As he drove out onto the forecourt of the house Kyungsoo was already waiting for him. He had wrapped Chanyeol into a thin blanket and had a new cloth pressed to his forehead. 

Against a few traffic rules Yifan drove to the nearest hospital, parking the car in absolute ban. They rushed into the emergency room where their crying baby immediately drew attention. A passing by paramedic brought them into a treatment room and tried to take a look at Chanyeol. But the boy was having none of it; he screamed and twisted and turned, doing anything to not get touched. 

Yifan in a breath as the word anesthesia fell from the young paramedics mouth. "W-what? W-why?"

"Well, it has to be. The wound is still bleeding and we have to take a close look at it. And if it has to be stitched we have to put him under anesthesia anyways."

Kyungsoo only nodded as he gently rocked Chanyeol from side to side to calm him down. 

"Alright, I'll get a doctor then."

"This is all my fault."

"Don't be ridiculous," Soo said, looking at his husband. "It was an accident."

"I should've paid better attention."

Kyungsoo kept silent this time and focused back on Chanyeol. He knew that Yifan was in shock, so he was but his husband really shouldn't blame himself for what had happened. As a man in a white coat entered the room, he turned to the door.

"What happened?" The elderly man asked right away. "I was told the little man here has a gaping wound."

"He has," Soo nodded. "He hit his head on the coffee table."

"Oh, you won't believe how many kids come here every day because they had a not so nice meeting with the coffee table."

The comment had Kyungsoo smiling. "It's a bad wound, though. It's still bleeding."

The doctor stepped towards him and leaned close to Chanyeol. He gently grabbed him by the chin and turned his head so he could see the laceration. "Ah, this really looks bad. We have to clean and stitch it."

"So, that means you'll put him under anesthesia?"

"Yes, general anesthesia."

Yifan felt like fainting at the words. He breathed in and out loudly, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. 

Kyungsoo also gulped at the information. "That means we're not allowed to be there when the wound gets stitched, right?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, it falls under operation."

"How long will it take?"

"Around twenty minutes."

Yifan felt like sitting down. Rubbing his face he let out a breathy "Oh god."

"I know it's hard but there's no other way."

They had to hold Chanyeol down with two people and as a nurse pulled out the needle for the butterfly catheter the boy was about to get, Yifan had to turn away from the scene. Chanyeol cried out as the needle broke through his skin and his father cried out as well. 

Kyungsoo gifted his husband a smile and rubbed his arm in comfort. 

"Do you want to come with us?"

Both parents nodded and followed the doctor and the nurse. They came to halt in front of the large doors of the operation room and Kyungsoo kissed his son's cheek as a nurse slowly started to put him under general anesthesia. 

As the boy's big, glassy eyes closed and a last whiny cry left him, Yifan felt his heart breaking. His tiny baby looked even smaller as he laid there in the big bed, covered with a provisionally blanket. A wound dressing was pressed to his wound, yet Yifan could see blood flowing down his son's face. 

The blood stained not only parts of Chanyeol's face, neck and his cute light blue sweater but also the snow white sheet of the hospital bed. 

As the team of doctor and nurses pushed the little boys past the doors of the operation room, Kyungsoo and Yifan were escorted to the waiting area. "Don't worry," the nurse smiled. "He's in good hands and will be back soon."

Kyungsoo returned the smile and then sat down on one of the many chairs. Yifan on the other hand did not. Instead of taking the minutes to calm down, he ran up and down the open room. "Yifan, please," Soo sighed. "Sit down for a moment."

"I can't," the tall Chinese said. "I'm too worried."

"Everything's fine."

"It's not. He's here because I didn't take care of him the way I should."

"Oh please," standing up from his seat, Kyungsoo went over to his husband. "Do you want to put him in a bubble? It was an accident. It could've happened any other time, too."

"Still."

Smiling, Kyungsoo reached up to cup the man's face. "Yifan, it's not your fault," he said, looking into the man's eyes. "Yes, I admit it is quite a shock and he's never hurt him like this before but just think of all the other times. Think about the day he ran into the glass door because he was too excited to wait for us at the mall, or when he slipped in the bathroom because he didn't listen when I told him not to run. Or all the days he stumbles over his toys. Yifan, our boy is like a little overly excited and hyper puppy and on top of that he's also a little a clumsy. I guess he got that from you."

The comment was able to tickle a smile out of the Chinese. 

"So, calm down now, okay? He's fine and he'll be back with us in no time." Kyungsoo tiptoed and pressed a kiss to his husbands forehead as the man gave a nod.

For the remaining waiting time Yifan finally sat down and even drank a cup of coffee. But when a nurse called them, taking them to a room their son was waiting for them, he fell back into his nervous, anxious state.

Chanyeol looked much better with his wound covered by a wound dressing and his face cleaned, completely freed from the blood. Only alone the stain on his sweater reminded of how much he had bleed. 

He was still drowsy and half asleep when Kyungsoo leaned over the bed to him over the head. "Hey sunshine," he whispered and Yeol gave a faint sound, trying to lift his tiny arms.

"Did everything go well?" Yifan asked.

"Yes," the doctor nodded. "We cleaned the wound and stitched it up. Threads should be drawn in around a week."

"Can we take him home?"

The doctor let out a sigh. "Only if you feel comfortable enough with the side effects he might has to deal with."

Yifan immediately went pale. "S-side effects? W-what side effects?"

"Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that such an impact on the head comes along with a concussion. Due to the anesthesia and the painkiller we will give him later on, he'll probably sleep for the rest of the day. Nevertheless, I'm sure that from tomorrow on he'll suffer the typical side effects of a concussion. Means, he'll be a little dizzy and disoriented and he for sure will throw up."

Kyungsoo nodded at the words. "What about the night? I know you said that he'll probably sleep but what if he wakes up? How high is the chance that he might have to throw up?"

"I'd say less than 10%, he for sure will sleep but I see where you're coming from. If it's possible bring him to your bedroom or sleep in his room but let him sleep in his own bed."

"Alright," Soo said. 

"As for the days, it could be that the wound throbs a little or that he gets a little overwhelmed the dizziness and that he starts crying, maybe screaming. That's totally normal reaction, don't worry."

Kyungsoo nodded again. 

"Alright, then let's give the little man another ten minutes to come fully to senses and you're allowed to go home."

Chanyeol was as quiet as he had never been before. The usually happy and always babbling boy did not say a word as Kyungsoo and Yifan brought him out of the hospital. He had his tiny hands fisted in Kyungsoo's shirt and head rested against his chest as they drove home. 

"He's so quiet," Yifan stated, looking at his son as they stopped at a red light. 

"Don't worry," Soo smiled. "I'm sure he'll chew our ears off again, tomorrow."

They both hoped for it, but it didn't happen. Chanyeol did not talk at all, only cried most of the day. The side effects of his concussion took a full hit on him. Right after breakfast when Kyungsoo set him to the floor and Chanyeol waddled off in order to go to his toy blankie, he got dizzy and stumbled over his own feet. 

"Oh, honey," Soo cooed as he helped his son back up. "It's okay, You're just a li-ah," the father gasped as the boy in a loud breath, choking only a moment later. Kyungsoo called out for Yifan as Chanyeol vomited, spitting out what he had for breakfast. "Can you please get me some paper towels."

"Ah, yeah, sure."

Yifan hurried to grab some paper towels and wet cloth. As he came back to the living room, Chanyeol was sobbing into Kyungsoo's neck, tightly hugging his Papa. "Ah, let me do it," he said and sunk to the ground to clean up the the vomit. "Try to calm him down."

Kyungsoo gifted him a smile and then moved to sit down on the couch. Chanyeol was sobbing, hiccuping with his face still buried into Kyungsoo's neck. It was more than weird to hear his son crying like this. Chanyeol was in an age where he now was able to form full, short sentences and Yifan was used to his baby boy babbling about flying butterflies and bouncy balls. And with Yeol being either extremely quiet or just crying, the Chinese felt as if he had woken up in a wrong life in the morning. 

As Yifan had finished cleaning the floor and went to dispose the dirty paper towels, Chanyeol had calmed down. After washing his hands he went to husband and son to check up on the little one. "Yeol," he called out, his son over the head. "Are you okay?"

Kyungsoo let out a dry laugh as Chanyeol only let out a heavy sigh. "It's really weird to have him not talking."

Yifan nodded at the comment, humming a little. "It's quite nice and warm today, shall we take him outside to get some fresh air?"

"Yes, we should do that," Soo said, giving a nod. "That's a good idea."

The older rose up from the couch. "Alright, then let me get the stroller."

Ever since Chanyeol had learned to walk, the stroller his parents had bought never saw sunlight again. Once the little boy was able to walk longer distances on his own, he lost all interest in the stroller and refused to get in it every time Kyungsoo or Yifan tried to put him into it.  No matter how exhausted or tired he actually was, he refused to sit in it. 

But this time it was different. Without any sound of complain Chanyeol let Kyungsoo lift him into the buggy. "It's like having a completely different child."

A sigh left Yifan at the words but he nodded. "Yeah, it's a little frightening."

The parents chose to go to the park to cheer little Chanyeol up a little. The boy loved the park and usually loudly started babbling once he saw the entrance of the park but he kept completely quiet as they passed by the playground, the small lake and the area dog owners used to let their puppies play. 

 "Oh look, there are Min and Dae," Yifan voiced out, pointing down the path. 

"Oh yeah," Kyungsoo stretched a little and waved his hand as they walked closer to their friends. "Hey."

"Ah, hey," Jongdae greeted back with a smile. "Look Baek, Yeollie is here too."

Baekhyun, little sprout of Yifan's co-worker Minseok and his husband Jongdae, was a handful of months older than Chanyeol and Yeol's very first friend. The two boys got along very well and their parents were already sure that their young friendship was meant to be forever.

Baekhyun let go of his father's hand and hopped towards the buggy Chanyeol sat in. "Yeollie, Yeollie," he squeaked but the happy smile on his face quickly faded when Chanyeol didn't respond.

"Aw, I'm sorry Baek," Soo cooed and stepped forwards, crouching down to get on eye-level with the other toddler. "Yeollie is not in the mood to play."

"Seems like that," Minseok uttered, pointing at the boy then. "What happened to his forehead?"

Yifan let out a noise. "He hit his head on the coffee table."

"Quite bad, to be honest," Kyungsoo said, gazing at his son. Chanyeol had his eyes focused on something in the distance, not really reacting to what was happening right in front of him. "They had to stitch the wound and he's suffering a concussion."

"Ah, no," Jongdae voiced out. "That must've been a shock."

"Oh yeah, it was."

Yifan nodded. "I don't know what's worse, the moment it happened or what's happening right now."

"Why? What is happening right now?" Jongdae asked, frowning in confusion.

"He's abnormally quiet," Kyungsoo explained. "He had to throw up and is a little disoriented and dizzy and I'm also pretty sure the wound hurts him. He's like a different child. No talking at all."

"Why?" Little Baek chirped up. "Why Yeollie sad?"

"Oh honey," Jongdae said, giving his son a smile. "Yeol is not sad, he's hurt. He has a bad ouchie. You see, there where the band-aid is. There Yeol is hurt."

The boy let out a gasp and then pouted. "Poor Yeollie."

"How long will it take to heal?" 

Yifan hummed at Minseok's question. "Threads will be drawn in a week."

"And the concussion?”

“A couple of days, I guess,” Kyungsoo answered. 

“And that all happened because he hit his head on the table?”

Kyungsoo nodded. 

Minseok hummed, turning to his husband. “Maybe we should get some of those foam things you can stuck on the edges of tables. Baek lately has the tendency into the dining table.”

“I guess we should invest in those too,” Yifan said with a sigh while he gazed at his son.

“Yifan, it was an accident,” Kyungsoo said. “Stop feeling so guilty.”

Jongdae gifted his friend a smile. “Kyungsoo is right.”

“I know, I just can’t help it.”

After meeting the Kim’s in the park, Yifan completely fell back into his mopey state. The whole day he sulked and pouted whenever he laid eyes on either their son or the coffee table. Chanyeol was not doing any better by the end of the day, either. He had to vomit twice after eating his dinner and clung to Kyungsoo like a koala to a tree. 

Everytime he thought the boy was sleeping and he wanted to put him to bed, Chanyeol cried out for him, only calming back down when he was held close by his Papa. By the time the clock struck midnight Kyungsoo had given up. There was no point Chanyeol was going to sleep without him, so he took him to bed with him. 

The baby whined a little when Kyungsoo laid him down the mattress but quickly calmed down again when Kyungsoo started to rub his round tummy and he noticed his father wasn’t going anywhere.

Yifan watched as his love shifted into a more comfortable position, hand never stopping to caress the boy’s belly. “I’m sorry,” he quietly apologized. “I know it’s not my fault but I can’t help it. I just feel so anxious.”

Kyungsoo smiled at his husband. “It’s fine, you don’t need to apologize.”

“I envy you for being so calm.”

“I was not that calm the entire time,” the younger commented. “The moment I saw him and his wound, I was scared too. But I knew was in going to be treated good at the hospital. It won’t be the last time he hurts himself.”

A deep sigh escaped the Chinese. “I know. I just don’t want to think of that. The possibility that he could break his arm or could cut himself with a knife when he’s older has me shuddering.”

“Of course it’s not nice to know that such things could happen but we can’t wrap him up. All we can do is to teach him to be careful.”

“Yeah, we gotta do that! I can’t stand seeing him in pain and quiet like this!”

“Well, it honestly pains me too to see him like this,” Soo said, smiling at his sleeping baby. “But I’m sure tomorrow the world will look a lot more brighter again.”

 

♥

 

Yifan woke up to the birds singing their songs and to a noise he loved like nothing else; Chanyeol happily babbling. Literally jumping into a sitting position he got out of the bed and rushed to find his baby boy. 

He found his son with Kyungsoo in the laundry room, sitting next to a large blue basket full of freshly washed clothes. Chanyeol had both of his hands in the pile of clothes, laughing out whenever he pulled out piece of clothes that belonged to him. “My!”

“Oh yes,” Kyungsoo smiled at him. “That’s yours. And do you know what that is?”

“Ock!”

“Almost,” Soo snickered, crouching down to be on eye level with his baby. “It’s a sock. Can you say that, sock?”

“Ock,” Chanyeol brought out again, trying his best to pronounce the ‘S’. It was something he most certainly had gotten from Yifan as the Chinese also wasn’t able to pronounce the letter when he was his son’s age.

As Kyungsoo stood back up, he spotted his husband standing in the doorway. “Oh, good morning.”

“Morning,” Yifan smiled at his spouse, then looking down to his son. “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Baba,” Chanyeol squaked, dropping his colorful sock to push himself onto his little feet. He toddled towards his father and beamed at him.

Bending down, Yifan picked his son up. “You’re feeling better, huh?”

“Much better,” Kyungsoo commented. “No dizziness and no puking after breakfast. And he also doesn’t seem to have a headache anymore.”

“That’s good,” the older nodded his head, smiling at the baby that was busy inspecting his ear piercings. “Yeollie, shall Baba play with you? Shall we play with your blocks? Or your ball?”

“Ball!”

“Alright, then let’s go.”

With Chanyeol having back his energy Yifan sat and had to play ball with his son until it was time for lunch. And by that time little Chanyeol was worn out and almost fell asleep over his mashed potatoes. 

“Come on, hoey,” Soo cooed, holding the spoon in front to Chanyeol’s mouth. “A little more, than you can go and take a nap.”

Parting his rosy lips, the boy ate one more spoonful of his meal. His round eyes were falling shut while he munched on his potatoes and his body was close to going limp in his high chair. Putting his son’s spoon away, Kyungsoo lifted him out of his chair and brought him to his nursery. 

The boy was already asleep when Kyungsoo covered him up with his light blanket and pressed the button of his music toy. 

With their son taking his afternoon nap, Kyungsoo and Yifan spent some quality time together. With a random documentary running in the background they lay on the couch, cuddling and kissing.

They talked about where to head for the summer vacation and just decided on making a trip to China when their son’s loud cry caused both of them freeze in shock. Rushing to Chanyeol’s room they found the boy sitting in his bed with tears streaming down his cheeks. 

Kyungsoo lifted the boy out of his bed and handed him to Yifan so he could check up on him. “Yeollie, what’s wrong?” He asked while his eyes scanned every inch of the boy’s body. “What’s wrong?”

It took minutes for Chanyeol to calm down and when he finally did and pointed to what caused him to shed tears like that, his parents let out relieved sighs. Somehow his favorite plush toy had slipped through the cot of his bed and fell onto the floor, impossible for him to get it back. 

He probably had tried to get it on his own and grew impatient, crying out in frustration. Chanyeol was like that and the fact that he was tired additionally fueled it.

As Yifan put the boy back to bed, Kyungsoo picked up the fuzzy bunny plushie. “Here,” he said, chuckling when Chanyeol snatched it away from him to cuddle it. “And now you gonna sleep a little more, okay?”

Chanyeol hummed, already blinking his tired eyes back shut. With a hand holding onto the bunny’s ear he quickly fell back asleep. 

Yifan let out a breathy laugh when he and Kyungsoo were back in the living room, sitting down the couch. “I was close to having a heart attack. I thought he had hurt himself.”

“Me too,” Kyungsoo chuckled. “That was very unexpected.”

Huffing the older let himself fall back into the soft cushions of the sofa. “I think I now need a nap too, to calm my nerves.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Will you nap with me?”

“Of course,” Soo smiled. He laid down and snuggled close to his husband, humming when Yifan wrapped an arm around him to hold him close.

“How long do you think we have?” He asked, leaning down to kiss his spouses lips. 

“A little over an hour,” Kyungsoo answered. “Why?”

“Mh, maybe there’s something else that we’d do to calm my nerves.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” The younger chuckled when a naughty hand found its place on his behind.

“It’s some physical activity that includes me and you, but none of our clothes.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo said, tilting his head to meet the man for yet another kiss. “Tell me more about those clothes free, physical activities.”