“You know what this is, Sehun? What it really is underneath it all?”

The sheer tone of Chanyeol’s voice, the frustration and irritation, and actual anger, forced Sehun to look away from the stream of code displayed on his computer. Coding had definitely never been Sehun’s strong point, but he had a basic knowledge of it, and he was currently picking away the groundwork of what he was creating, so he could move onto the more interesting, artistic aspects of the presentation he needed to give.

But Chanyeol’s voice caught his attention right away.

All in all, especially as the years had passed, Chanyeol had started to settle into a pattern of being calmer and more consistent. Chanyeol had always been more happy than not, and he was a positive guy in general, but now more than ever his maturity was showing. So the sharp spike in Chanyeol’s tone was like a warning siren to Sehun, and pulled at him him immediately.

“What?”

Chanyeol was currently stretched out on the sofa at the other end of Sehun’s office. He was practically buried under a mountain of papers and reference files, and had his laptop balanced on a knee that was bumping visibly. No doubt through the link their computers were sharing Chanyeol could see the lines of code laid out on the screen, but that didn’t seem to be where his attention was at all.

“Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol practically dumped his laptop to the side, and Sehun winced.

“This,” Chanyeol stated, “is utter and complete bull.”

Sehun leaned back in his seat, then rubbed a hand over his face. “Chanyeol, that’s not helping.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Then tell me I’m wrong. Tell me our client isn’t full of , and I’ll shut up and get back to work.”

The thing was, Chanyeol knew Sehun couldn’t, because it was true. Their client, some big shot real estate developer currently based out of Hong Kong was asking the most impossible things from them, and that impossibility was doing more than just stressing them out. It was the kind of impossibility that was threatening their position at the company.

And Sehun felt nothing but guilty for it. He was the one who’d gotten the promotion months ago to a senior position, and he was the one who’d assured his boss that he had the time and the energy to devote to the company.

At the time, Sehun had thought he was doing the right thing, bringing Chanyeol up in the ranks with him. They worked in different advertising departments, with Sehun handling more web design and Chanyeol focusing more predominantly at market appeal, but they often collaborated. And Sehun wanted that partnership to continue. So he’d gotten his promotion, and then he’d pulled Chanyeol up with him, to collaborate more frequently.

They’d done it so often in the past few years that they were practically an established team, and Sehun’s boss was starting to think of them as one unit. That might have been utterly fine if they hadn’t gotten stuck on a project that demanded an outcome that wasn’t feasible in the least.

Sehun wasn’t sure what was going to happen when their deadline came and went and they had little to show for it, or something that the client didn’t want.

Sehun was terrified of what came after.

What kind of husband and father would he be if he couldn’t keep his family living well? He’d sworn to Luhan, sworn to him even before they loved each other, and before Youri was born, that he would always take care of his family financially. He couldn’t go breaking his word, so he had to find some kind of fix.

There had to be something.

“Just look at this ,” Chanyeol said, holding up one of the latest emails they’d gotten from the client’s secretary. It was a printout of the same email that Sehun had in his own inbox. “How are we supposed to target both an international and domestic market? How are we supposed to build a promotional plan that features both western and eastern appeal? What the is this line right here, where we’re supposed to draw in whale-type clients, while still proposing to the average citizen that one day they might too, own one of these properties. What the hell?”

“It’s not possible,” Sehun admitted to Chanyeol. “But you were in the room that last time we tried to talk to the client about narrowing down his focus market. You and I were both berated, and had our skills called into question, because we told the client that he was being to broad in his demands. Do you want a repeat of that?”

“No.” Chanyeol flopped back on the sofa. “I just want something I can deliver on. I can’t market to everyone. You can’t create something that has mass economic appeal. And saying that we have to, is just so messed up.”

Sehn’s eyes drifted across his desk. There, right next to the monitor to his computer, was the picture that had been taken at Youri’s third birthday party. She’d insisted on having a birthday party centered around her favorite television show. So there’d been a safari theme in their house for a full day, and Youri wore an adventurer costume, and the kids had gone on treasure hunts and encountered adults done up like animals, and there’d been a tiger shaped cake.

But the picture in general had Youri up on Sehun’s shoulders, her body practically leaning over his head as she waved at Sehun’s eldest sister who’d been taking the picture. And Sehun had his arm around Luhan’s narrow shoulders, a look of such happiness and pride in his eyes that it practically radiated off the photo. They’d just barely known Luhan was pregnant then, only a few weeks along, and Sehun had never wanted to stop touching him at that point.

This was his family. Luhan, and Youri and the baby, they were his family. They were more than just precious to him. They were the only thing that mattered in the world. And there wasn’t anything he wasn’t willing to do for them, including working himself in to the ground.

He’d taken the promotion because there was a new baby, and because Sehun wanted to give them all the best possible life he could. He wouldn’t fail them, and he didn’t matter what it cost him.

“I’ll try talking to our boss again,” Sehun said, scrubbing his hands over his face. “I’ll explain to him that this just isn’t possible.”

Chanyeol cut in, “We should have been done with this a week ago. We’ve shown the client three different proposals. We’ve changed and changed and changed, and now we’re here. Staring at lines of code. Wanting to throw ourselves off the roof.” Chanyeol gave his laptop a disgusted look.

They just had to get the online webpage up. They just had to get that right, as far as Sehun was concerned. If they could get the online right, then they could build a magnificent marketing campaign around it.

Again, Sehun stated, “I’ll talk to the boss.”

Of course that was certainly the last thing he wanted to do. And it was easier to let his mind drift to earlier that morning. He’d gotten in so late the night before, and he’d missed all the important things. He hadn’t been able to eat dinner with his family. He hadn’t been able to bathe Youri, or read to her before bed, or hold Luhan in his arms as they drifted off. He hadn’t been a good father or husband the night before.

But in the morning Sehun had done his best to make up for it all. Youri didn’t have her preschool classes on Sunday, so the three of them had trekked their way into the kitchen and had a fun time making breakfast together. Wei, Luhan’s oldest friend, had been completely jetlagged and slept through it all.

Maybe it was a little selfish, but Sehun was glad for it. It was nice to just have Luhan and Youri in the kitchen, and then just the three of them clustered around the breakfast table, talking and laughing and just being with each other.

And for just a moment Sehun had been able to let the world fall away. He’d been able to give his daughter his full and undivided attention as they sat together and she talked about the things she’d been doing in her early start classes.

Then Sehun had been able to take Luhan in his arms and fret over him, and kiss him and touch the swell of his stomach so reverently.

There were days when Sehun couldn’t believe that his life was unfolding the way it was. He’d once thought he’d be lucky enough to have a moment or two with someone as wonderful with Youri. And now he had her with Luhan, and they had another baby on the way—a son.

“I’ll do it,” Chanyeol stated.

“Do what?” Sehun asked, shaking himself from his thoughts. He didn’t want to dwell on Luhan and Youri too much. He had to focus on his work now, especially since he’d made a promise that he’d be home for dinner, and he’d be able to read Youri to sleep that night. He wasn’t going to be the kind of father who broke promises.

“I’ll talk to the boss,” Chanyeol said, giving Sehun a sympathetic look. “The last time you went, and I could hear him yelling at you from down the hall. It’s my turn to take on for the team.”

“Literally,” Sehun snuck out.

“Something has to change,” Chanyeol decided, lifting his laptop once more. “Especially since you and Luhan have that big baby party planned for the end of next week.”

At the mention of the baby, Sehun’s face split in a smile, but he was quick to say, “It’s not a baby party. It’s not the shower that I’m sure my mother and sisters are going to foist on Luhan and I by the end of the next couple of months. It’s just a get together between friends, that’s all.”

Chanyeol scoffed loudly and threw a balled up piece of paper at Sehun’s head. “You think you could get Suho from America, Chen from Taiwan, D.O from England, and Tao and Lay from China all in one place for anything but your little bundle of joy? Please, we’re all coming for the baby pool.”

Sehun’s head cocked a little. “The baby pool?”

Chanyeol clarified, “The betting pool.” He held up two fingers. “There’s double the fun this time. We’re all still pretty irritated you spilled the beans on the gender, but there’s a betting pool on who’ll get closest to the name, and who gets to be godfather. We’re all assuming that your sisters are going to vie again for the role of godmother.”

Sehun let himself laugh. “It’s kind of a pain I’ve got three of them. Mom’s saying it’s only fair Luhan and I have three babies because of it.” He pointed out, “But you make sure to tell Suho he can take his horse out of the race for godfather right now. He got Youri. He doesn’t get to be godfather for the new baby, too.”

Sehun wasn’t even really sure who was going to get the designation at all. He and Luhan had had so precious little time to talk about things over the past months, but when they had, they hadn’t been able to agree at all. Sehun also didn’t think it was a complete coincidence that Luhan’s friend Wei was in town for the birth of their son.

Long ago Sehun had put his issues with Wei to rest. There was still certainly a bad taste in his mouth instinctively, when he thought about the man who’d been a part of trying to wreck their family. But ultimately, Wei’s actions over the past three years had spoken loudly. He’d been nothing but a supportive pillar of strength for Luhan. He’d never overstepped boundaries, he’d developed a wonderful relationship with Youri, and he’d truly become a family friend.

Sehun wouldn’t be surprised if Luhan wanted to name Wei godfather of their baby. But Sehun was kind of hoping the job might go to Chen. If Chen wanted it at all. Babies were an extremely sensitive subject for Chen, and for Eunji, at this point. Trying to appoint Chen godfather might actually do more harm than good, Sehun reasoned.

But Sehun and Luhan certainly had time to figure it all out. Luhan was only five months in. there was definitely time.

Chanyeol made a sound. “No one was actually considering Suho could do a repeat. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter what the get together is for, I guess. It’ll just be nice to be in the same place as everyone again. I know it’s normal, right? Life happens and people sometimes drift away from each other. But it’s been a long time since we were all together. Lay’s really coming, right?”

On a happier note, Sehun have a certain nod. “He confirmed officially a couple days ago. I know he wasn’t really sure if he was going to be able to get away, he just took a senior position in his mother’s company. But he told Luhan yes, so he’ll be there.”

Chanyeol flashed a thumbs up. “Tell him to bring that wife of his. She makes him less boring.”

“Lay’s not boring,” Sehun chided. “He’s an adult. And you’re pretty boring yourself these days, so I wouldn’t talk, if I were you.”

Chanyeol put his chin in his palm playfully. “I’m an adult now too, Sehun.”

“You’ve been an adult for a while now, Chanyeol.”

Sehun was just teasing, but there was a truth to how Chanyeol had spent the past few years growing up. He’d stopped chasing beautiful women and handsome men around, looking for a good time and no commitment. He’d gotten serious about setting down roots, and had been browsing for a house for some time. He went out less, partied only on the weekends, and had had a couple of stable, longer than normal relationships.

Chanyeol was the type who liked to deflect his own insecurities with more carnal urges, but things were changing. Maybe they were going slowly, but in time, Sehun could see Chanyeol completely settled down, maybe with a family one day.

“Okay, I guess we should get back to work,” Chanyeol said with a sigh. “I do actually want to get to go home tonight, instead of sleeping on your sofa or the floor of my own office.”

“I am going home tonight,” Sehun said pointedly. “I promised Youri a bed time story.”

Again Sehun reiterated to himself, he wasn’t going to be the father who broke his word to his daughter. He wasn’t.

So they went back to work, but they made progress slowly. The sun dipped in the horizon, Chanyeol left twice to clear his head and get coffee, and all the while Sehun tried to keep himself focused. He’d had difficult clients before. He could handle demanding. He could find a way.

“It’s seven,” Chanyeol announced before Sehun knew it. He was slipping into the office after a bathroom break with several message paper sheets in his hand. He passed them to Sehun and said, “Luhan’s been leaving messages for forty-five minutes with the secretary. He says dinner’s at eight, and he wants to know if you’re going to make it.”

Startled, Sehun reached for his cell. He’d put it on silent so he wouldn’t be distracted, but when the screen lit up he could see Luhan had also sent a couple of text messages.

Giving Chanyeol an apologetic look, he dialed home quickly, and gave a sigh of relief when he heard Luhan’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” he said right away. “I swear, I’m on my way out of the office now. Wait for me, okay?”

Luhan’s voice sounded a little rough when he replied, “I was wondering when you’d realize how late it was.”

“I swear,” Sehun said again, standing up and starting to put his things together. “I’m five minutes from walking out of the office. I will be there for dinner.”

Softly, Luhan said, “We’ll wait for you.”

“Go, go,” Chanyeol coached once the call was ended and it was clear that work was done for the night. Chanyeol wasn’t making much of an effort to pick his own things up, but Sehun wasn’t worried. Chanyeol always seemed to go at his own pace. He might spend five more minutes in Sehun’s office, or five more hours. In any case, Sehun was perfectly fine. “Tell Luhan I said hi. We’ll all get lunch soon.”

“He’ll be happy if he can keep a full meal down,” Sehun said, folding his own laptop into his bag.

“Still?” Chanyeol asked with a wince. “He’s practically in his third trimester at this point.”

“He got a proper diagnosis a couple weeks ago,” Sehun said, hating that he even had to say the words. It wasn’t fair in the least bit that Luhan’s pregnancy had been miserable thusfar. They’d planned for their son. They’d deliberately tried for him and were at a good point in their life to have a second child. It should have been an amazing, smooth event. But instead there’d just been one obstacle after another. “But there isn’t exactly a cure for what he’d dealing with. He just has to drink a lot of fluids and rest as often as possible.”

“,” Chanyeol eased out. “Tell me if you guys need anything from me. You know I’m here for you.”

Fondly, Sehun replied, “We know. Thanks.”

The drive from Sehun’s office to his work, at least on a Sunday night, typically took around a half hour. The house was further from the main epicenter of Seoul, but not so far that Sehun’s commute was terrible. But as he raced home, he made the drive in twenty minutes.

“I’m home!” Sehun announced, coming through the door so fast he nearly skidded on the hardwood floor. He dumped his keys into the basket by the door, and shed his coat as he waited for a response of any kind.

There was a thunder of tiny, socked feet pattering on the ground, and then Youri was launching herself up into his arms, hugging him tightly, rushing out, “Daddy, you’re home. Daddy, I missed you.”

“Oh, I missed you too.” Sehun hugged her tightly, soaking in the warmth of her body. She smelled like crayons, so Sehun hoped that meant she’d spent the day with Luhan being creative, and balancing out all of the math and structure they were heaping on her other days.

Youri leaned back a little in his arms with a scrunched up face and said, “Daddy, baba is sick again. Why’s the baby making him sick?”

Sehuns heart lurched. Couldn’t Luhan go just a little without being sick? But there was the odd contradiction of good smelling food in the air.

“Sehun?”

From the foyer Sehun could just see Wei’s head as it poked around the corner. He had an apron tired around his waist and a concerned look on his face.

Sehun hefted Youri up a little in his arms and asked, “Where’s Luhan? What’s going on?”

Wei pointed up. “He’s laying down. Youri and I were making dinner together so he could rest, and then hopefully he’ll feel up to eating a little later.”

Youri made a soft sound against Sehun’s shoulder and he put a hand against her back. Then he asked Wei, “Nausea?”

“And some dizziness,” Wei confirmed. “It was hard for him to just stand up. He’s been feeling bad since this afternoon, but he didn’t want to say anything to you because he didn’t want to distract you at work.” There was a hint of something accusatory in Wei’s words, but mostly there was just concern, so Sehun let it slide.

“Okay,” Sehun said to Youri putting her down on her feet. “You go help your Uncle Wei finish dinner. I’m going upstairs to check on your baba, and change.”

“Nooo.” She whinned the word out and clung to his legs.

“Youri.” Sehun put a hand down on top of her head, feeling the silky strands of her hair slip through his fingers. “Be a good girl and do as I say.” Now definitely wasn’t the time for a toddler tantrum blowout.

And mercifully, Youri seemed to understand that. She had a sulk to her behavior as she stormed off towards Wei, but she went.

“He’s wearing himself out,” Wei said finally, scooping Youri up when she came to him and demanded it with a grunt. “Luhan is wearing himself out. This pregnancy is hard on him. he’s struggling.”

Sehun frowned, feeling a brace of defensiveness. “I know that. I’ve been with him every step of the way.” If he could take any of the discomfort, or the pain, or any of it at all, Sehun would have months ago. But he couldn’t, so he stood at Luhan’s side, and helped where he could. “What are you trying to say?”

Wei sighed loudly, and then managed, “Luhan’s always been someone who takes on a lot all at once. He’s great at that sort of thing. He’s the strongest person I know. But he’s not so great at admitting when he needs help. And today just proved that.” Wei turned then, going back to the kitchen.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Pushing Wei completely from his mind, Sehun took the steps up to the second floor two at a time, and then he practically threw himself into the master bedroom.

“Luhan?” he asked gently, looking into the dark room. The curtains had been pulled in the room, and the only light was coming from the digital clock on the opposite side of the bed that Luhan slept on. “You awake?” He almost hoped that Luhan had managed to get some sleep. It wasn’t unheard of for Luhan to wake in the middle of the night feeling nauseous, or overly thirsty, or just uncomfortable.

“You’re home.”

Sehun could have walked the floorplan of the bedroom in his sleep. He certainly didn’t need to turn on the light to make it to Luhan’s side of the bed.

And once he was there, he knelt down on the carpet and reached out for him. His hand found the bump that was their son first, and he pressed down just slightly enough to feel a kick. Then he heaved himself up on the bed, kicked his shoes off, and tucked in close.

He said, nudging his nose into Luhan’s, “You should have called me. You should have told me you were having a rough day. I would have come right home no matter what.”

He could feel Luhan fumbling for a little, and then their hands met, and their fingers slid together. And Luhan said, “I know you would have. That’s why I didn’t.”

“Luhan,” Sehun breathed out.

“You can’t do anything about this,” Luhan insisted. “And while it’s nice to have you here with me, you’re better served at work, getting progress done on your project. You came home to me. You made it home for dinner, and you’re going to read Youri to sleep tonight, and that’s all that matters.”

“I hate this,” Sehun said after a second, landing a somewhat sloppy kiss on the corner of Luhan’s mouth. “I hate that you feel this way.”

He heard a rumble of laughter from Luhan who admitted, “It doesn’t feel to great, let me tell you. But it’s worth it. He’s worth it.”

At that, Sehun squeezed Luhan’s hand. “We can’t just keep calling him by his gender, you realize. Our friends have been suspiciously quiet about a name, but they know we have one picked out. We’re really only bidding our time here.”

The room was warm and the bed was comfortable, and Luhan was the greatest comfort of all, so it was too easy for Sehun to just cuddle next to him and block out the rest of the world.

“It’s because they have a pool going on,” Luhan revealed. “And if anyone gets caught trying to cheat by getting the answer out early, the whole thing gets invalidated. There’s a lot of money on the line, so no one is willing to risk it.”

“Apparently,” Sehun said with a chuckle. “How long have you know about this? I just found out today.”

This time it was Luhan who was leaning over, and they had a much more proper kiss.

“Luhan.” Sehun brushed his fingers along the curve of his husband’s jaw. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you today. I’m sorry you have to go through this alone, some days.”

“You’re sorry for being a provider?” Luhan chided. He rolled slightly to the side and tapped the lamp next to the bed. Soft light lit the room, and he added, “You’re telling me you’re sorry that you go to work, and work hard so that we can be safe and secure in our lives?”

Sehun started to protest.

But Luhan continue quickly, “These bills don’t pay themselves. Sehun, do you know how lucky I consider myself? I have a father to my child who sacrifices everything for his daughter, so she can have whatever she needs. And I have a husband who works impossibly hard so that I can indulge in a hobby, and spend my days painting, and not have to worry about if we can afford to go visit Suho in America, or buy that second car. I have that, and I won’t let you take anything away from how much you give, simply because you weren’t here today to hold my hold my hand while I spent a couple hours in the bathroom.”

This, above all else, was why Sehun loved Luhan.

“Do you have any idea how much I’m the lucky one?” Sehun argued back. “I have a partner who’s willing to sacrifice his free time, and his wants, for a little girl who is more than a little bit demanding, and a complete handful.”

“Who I love very much,” Luhan interjected.

“One,” Sehun said, “who dominates my partner’s life completely, and wears him down sometimes, and still keeps him coming back for more. So stop thinking you’re the lucky one. I’m the lucky one. My daughter has the greatest provider in the world. And because of that, she’s going to grow up to do amazing things.”

Luhan gave Sehun’s side a pinch. “How about we just agree that our daughter hit the genetic jackpot.”

“I can do that,” Sehun laughed out as he kissed Luhan’s mouth. He preened against Luhan for just a second more, then asked, “Do you think you’ll be up to eating dinner tonight?”

Luhan’s answer was on his face, but he said anyway, “Probably not. I’ve tried a couple of times now to get down to the kitchen. I’d like to be at the meal, even if I can’t eat any of it. But I’ve gotten about as far as the stairs, before I figured out that wasn’t going to happen.”

Worriedly, Sehun reminded, “Your doctor is afraid you aren’t gaining enough weight. You’re definitely underweight at this point your pregnancy.”

“Oh no,” Luhan said with mock worry, “I won’t get super fat after all? How will I ever manage?”

“You laugh now,” Sehun said, righting himself on the bed and tucking his legs under himself, “but you know underweight can be just as bad as overweight.” He helped Luhan sit up as well, and when that didn’t induce a round of vomit, Sehun suggested, “Let’s try one of those electrolyte drinks. I’ll go get one for you, and then maybe you’ll feel better by the time Youri needs her bath, and is ready for bed.”

Sehun was turning to slide off the bed when Luhan’s fingers caught the sleeve of his shirt.

“Wait,” Luhan requested.

Sehun had scarcely craned back to him before Luhan’s hands were framing his face and they were kissing deeply. Sehun braced a hand down on the sheets to give himself better support, and then he kissed back with fervor, drinking in the taste that was Luhan.

“I love you,” Luhan said, punctuating every word. “And we’re going to get through this.”

Before Sehun could return the sentiment, the distinct sound of clambering up the stairs could be heard, and then Youri was lurking in the doorway. It was quite obvious how she held back in the threshold, watching the two of them carefully, apprehension on her face.

“Baba?” she asked tentatively. Her Chinese was flawless as she asked Luhan, “Are you okay?”

Luhan beckoned her over. He replied in Chinese, “Come here, Daiyu. And how about we take pity on your father? You know he gets confused when we speak Chinese.”

With a mischievous glint to her eyes, Youri stated, “Daddy should learn Chinese.”

“You better not be talking about me,” Sehun teased, reaching out to tickle Youri.

“No, we’re not, daddy!” Youri said, slipping easily back into Korean.

“Your baba is okay,” Sehun assured, settling her into his lap. “He’ll be better soon enough. And then you’ll have a little brother.”

Petulantly, Youri crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t wanna brother!”

“I’m sure my sisters all said that at some point,” Sehun joked to Luhan. Then he wrapped his arms around Youri and said, “It’s an amazing, important thing to be a big sister, Youri.”

Youri’s head craned up at him and she said, “I’m a little sister!”

Tapping his fingers against his stomach, Luhan promised, “Becoming a big sister doesn’t mean you can’t be a little sister anymore, Youri. It just means you have a new responsibly, and your job just got very, very important.”

Youri’s eyes got big. “Important?”

“Important,” Sehun agreed. “This baby is going to depend on you for a lot, Youri. Your little brother is going to need you to show him how everything works. You’re going to be his role model. You’re going to be so important to him.”

Sehun could practically feel himself holding his breath as Youri sized Luhan’s stomach up.

“Okay,” she seemed to finally decide. “Okay. He’s okay.” She leveled a finger up at Luhan’s stomach and ordered, “Stop making baba sick.”

“You’re going to be a great big sister,” Sehun said confidently, kissing the top of her head. “Now, how about we get some dinner.”

As it turned out, Luhan was certainly feeling better by the time food was on the table, but not well enough to join them downstairs. He did, however, hover in the doorway afterwards while Sehun gave Youri a bath with extra bubbles.

“You’ll spoil her,” Luhan warned goodnaturedly.

“My princess gets spoiled,” Sehun defended.

Reading Youri a bedtime story was a pleasure that Sehun reveled in, and then he was happy enough to climb in bed with Luhan afterwards, and pull the blankets up over their legs.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be entertaining Wei right now?” Sehun asked after Luhan made it clear their bed was where he expected them to spend the rest of the night.

Bumping their feet under the blankets, Luhan said, “Actually, he’s getting some work done right now. His lease might not kick in until the first of the month, but he’s on the clock right now with his job. Plus, if I feel well enough tomorrow, I promised him that I’d take him to met Xiumin finally. He wants to have words with my best friend, as my oldest friend, over who apparently gets bragging rights, for a while now.”

That, Sehun thought, was actually something worth seeing. He almost felt left out. “I imagine that’ll be quite the meeting of minds.”

Luhan nodded in agreement. “Absolutely.”

“Don’t push yourself tomorrow,” Sehun said, unable to ever fully shake worry when it came to Luhan. He’d certainly come a long way from Youri’s pregnancy when he’d hardly been able to function when Luhan was out of sight, but he was equally as sure that he was always going to be a worrier. His therapist claimed that was completely normal and utterly human of him. Go figure. “If you don’t feel good, don’t go. Youri’s going to be at her prep school for four hours. Just rest during that time, and stay home with her afterwards.”

Luhan gave Sehun’s leg a pat. “I do know my own limits, Sehun. I’ll be fine. You worry about overworking yourself, okay?”

“Work is fine,” Sehun lied. He wasn’t going to drop his problems on Luhan any more than he could help. “We’re working a little harder than normal, but it’s fine.”

“You,” Luhan said with a smile to the kiss he delivered to Sehun’s cheek, “are a liar.”

Sehun sputtered.

“Chanyeol has a big mouth,” Luhan provided. “And while he’s smart enough not to say anything to me about it, all it took was one beer with Baekhyun, and Chanyeol was spilling it all out.”

“And you,” Sehun inferred, “are besties with Baekhyun now, so he told you right away. Hey, maybe Wei should be locked in gladiatorial combat with Baekhyun, and not Xiumin.”

Luhan bumped his shoulder against Sehun’s. “Baekhyun and I just … we just understand each other. We understand the way the world works for damaged people. We just get it. It’s hard to explain. It’s not an easy friendship, you know that. It just works.”

“I’m glad it works,” Sehun assured. “I only care that it works. Now, explain in great detail how it works, don’t leave anything out until you’re super sleepy, and completely forget that you know anything about what’s going on with my job right now.”

That seemed to earn Sehun another kiss.

Luhan said, “How about I just leave the subject alone by saying you are a brilliant artist. You’re a creator and engineer of fantastical things brought to life. You bridge the way between what people think in their head, and what they can see with their eyes. And I know you’re overworked right now. I know you’re stressed out. I know that things are hard and you’re struggling. But you can always confide in me. You can always talk to me, and you won’t be stressing me out or putting pressure on me. I’m your partner, aren’t I?”

“I know I can,” Sehun said with passion. “It’s that I don’t want to. I don’t want to put that on you. I always know I can. I trust you with everything, Luhan. I just … there’s so much you’re dealing with right now. I love you so much, just don’t want to put that on you, regardless if I can or not.”

“I don’t want you to keep it bottled up inside,” Luhan warned.

Sighing deeply, Sehun sunk a little into the mattress.

Luhan didn’t speak for some time, the both of them enjoying the comfort of each other and the peaceful silence of the house.

Then Luhan did finally say, “We should have taken Suho up on his offer to go on vacation for the better part of a year in America. We could be eating pizza in New York city right now.”

Sehun chuckled, “You can’t even smell pizza without feeling sick. How were we going to eat it?”

“Then I guess,” Luhan concluded, “we’ll just have to settle for getting all our friends together in one place for a good party. And trust me, I’ll plug my nose with cotton if I have to, to make it through that. I’ll take Dramamine if it comes to it.”

“I’m excited too,” Sehun said. “Some of our friends have been away for too long. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how fast time passes until we look around and take the time to realize we’re getting older.”

Luhan joked, “Too bad it took having a new baby to pull everyone back together.”

Sehun wiggled his eyebrows at Luhan. “We might have to do this every couple of years just to make sure we all come back to each other in the end.”

There was a coy smugness pulling at Luhan’s expression that said he probably wouldn’t be against considering that in the future, and it was all Sehun could hope to ask for. He wasn’t so crazy as to want a dozen little miniature versions of himself and Luhan running around, but maybe just a couple more? He and Luhan were young. A couple more were a nice consideration.

With a slight giggle, Luhan said, “I hope that wouldn’t be the only reason.”

“Definitely,” Sehun assured, “definitely not.”

They turned in early that night, Luhan managing to eat a bit of plain white rice, and Sehun far too exhausted to do much but burrow into his side and doze.

But the morning brought a return to routine and form.

While Luhan slept in, seeming more at peace than Sehun had seen him in weeks, he and Wei treated Youri to a special breakfast at a nearby café, and then had just enough time to walk her to her school.

“I still think it’s a little crazy she’s already getting math lessons,” Wei pointed out as Youri waved furiously to them before ducking into her classroom.

Sehun pointed out, “You’ve spent the past three years working predominantly out of America. You took assignments overseas, but you called that country home for the most part. So I think you can back me up when I say America is much more laid back when it comes to their educational system. I think they really focus on the individuals. It’s different here in Korea. Youri’s going to get swallowed up into a pack of competitive students before she’s six. And no matter what she chooses to do, Luhan and I want her to have the best advantage out there.”

Wei glanced back at the school a final time and said, “I did an editorial piece on the Japanese cram school system. I hear it’s not that different here. I don’t know if it’s that healthy for Youri.”

“I think you should remember that Luhan and I are her parents, and we make the choices about her education.”

Wei put his hands up diplomatically.

And to that, Sehun nodded an apology. “We’re not going to hurt her by pushing her in any way. We just want her to have all the tools she needs to be amazing, regardless of what that amazing is. Got it?”

Wei gave him an understanding look. “Actually, I do. I’ve got it.”

Wei headed off on a nearby bus line to do what he called groundwork research, though he still wasn’t saying which topic he was in the country writing about, and Sehun headed to work.

And today, going to work didn’t seem such a burden, not like it typically did.

Chanyeol was already there, in the office’s small kitchen, stirring sugar into his coffee.

A little joyfully, Sehun pointed out, “We actually have an assistant now, remember? He can bring you a cup of coffee if that’s what you want.”

“Bah,” Chanyeol said, waving him off. “That’s something can’t get used to. I’m a grown man, and the coffee pot is about thirty feet from my office—less from yours. What do I need another person to bring me coffee for?”

“It’s the job perk,” Sehun laughed out. “Now come on. Ready to get some work done?”

Chanyeol followed after him easily. He commented, “You seem to be in a good mood. That’s a first. You don’t usually become a recognizable human being until at least an hour or two before lunch.”

“I am in a good mood,” Sehun agreed. “I had a good night. I got to spend time with my daughter, I got to eat good food, and I got to relax with my husband who I love more than life itself.”

Chanyeol made a horrified face and put his arms up defensively. “No. Stop. The happiness. The domesticity. It’s horrible. I can’t handle it.”

“And one day,” Sehun ribbed, “you’ll go home to your partner, and your kid, and you’ll delight at the idea of paying your mortgage and going to bed at nine.”

Chanyeol looked at him with a deathly serious look. “You are a despicable human being, Sehun. I can’t even believe how much I hate you right now in this instance.”

“Hurry up,” Sehun urged, “I’ve got a new idea I want to try and work with. I feel like we’ve been looking at all this from the wrong angle. Our ideas aren’t wrong, our perspective is. I want to show you what I mean.”

Practically infused with new energy, he and Chanyeol were able to work out a basic presentation of what direction Sehun wanted to take the project in, and by the end of the day, they were handing it over to their supervisor.

A little despondent, Chanyeol said, “I know what we did today is our best yet. I know it’s amazing. So why do I feel like we’re still going to get yelled at tomorrow when the client hates it?”

Defiantly, Sehun said, “I don’t care if the client hates it. I don’t care about the client anymore at all. I know this is amazing, Chanyeol. I know it’s the best we’ve ever done. I’m proud of us, and that’s all that matters. That’s all that should matter to you, too.”

Giving him a long look, Chanyeol gave a nod. “Fair point. Okay. Let’s go get a beer to celebrate.”

“A beer?” Sehun asked with uncertainty.

“You’re right,” Chanyeol said decisively, grabbing Sehun by the arm. “Screw beer. We need soju. Let’s go.”