“Papa!” a little girl shouted as she ran towards her father.

Her name was Junyi. The little girl had a beautiful smile gracing her lips as she ran towards the man sitting on the bench by the playground. Junyi had been playing with the other kids present at the playground. Since the few friends she made had gone their own way, she decided to go as well.

“Papa, can we go home?” Junyi asked as she sat beside her dad, who turned towards her and fixed the hook of the overalls that she was wearing.

“Of course princess, but can you wait a little longer for papa?” Yixing spoke as he pulled the little girl onto his lap.

“Okay, papa,” Junyi replied and immediately started to play with the ring resting on Yixing's left-hand ring finger. “Do you miss baba?” She asked after a moment of silence.

Junyi was just five years old, but she still understood things too well despite her age. She was indeed a smart kid. Yixing had already told her about his husband, his marriage. He had let her know everything. And just by letting the young child know about the male's past, Yixing had established a strong bond with Junyi.

Yixing had been married for six years to his boyfriend, who he dated for five years prior to their marriage. Technically his marriage lasted four years, but he had no intention of giving his heart to someone else.

Yifan, Yixing's husband, was a businessman. Due to work he had to go abroad and had to leave his lover back in China and since they had applied all the adoption papers for Junyi, who at the time was just a year old, Yifan had to leave her as well. The business was going well and Yifan always made sure to call his husband, but when he started to get busier, the calls started to become an every now and then thing until it became rare. But rare was not the right word since the calls had come to a stop.

Thinking that Yifan was busy with work, Yixing went on through every day. But there was no such day that he didn't wait for the other to call.

One day, after two years had passed since Yifan had gone abroad, Yixing received a call from an unknown number. The person identified themselves as Yifan's assistant and notified him that said male had passed away in a tremendous accident. The news broke the last remaining hope that Yixing had.

“Of course I miss him, princess. I loved him with all of my heart and I still love him just as much, even if he’s not here with us anymore…” he trailed off at the memory of his past lover as a tear slipped down his cheek.

“Papa, no crying!” Junyi said cutely as she wiped away the tear. “Let's go home, papa. I know you don't want to talk about baba right now and we don't have to,” she said smiling up at her father.

Just like the little girl had suggested the two walked back home with Yixing carrying Junyi in his arms for most of the way. The little one had fallen asleep in her parent's arms, which happened often whenever they'd go to the park.

Junyi was all that Yixing had left. Years ago his parents had refused to look at him as their son as he came out to them. His husband had passed away. Other than the few friends and coworkers, Junyi was really all he had. He'd do anything for the little girl's happiness.

Once Yixing could see their house, he saw the figure of a man sitting at the porch of the house, seemingly waiting for him. The closer he got to their house, the more recognizable the figure became.

He walked up to the porch hesitantly with tears welling up on his eyes. “Please tell me I'm not dreaming…” he mumbled.

The man was none other than Yifan, who he thought was dead for this whole time.

The man smiled and stood up, walking to his lover and daughter and embraced the two. “I missed you so much, my love… Forgive me for not informing you of my whereabouts for the past two years, but I'm back and I'm staying here for good…” Yifan said as he looked at the little girl who had just woken up.

Yixing was silently crying in the other's arms. He wasn't dreaming.

He wasn't dreaming.

Junyi looked up at both males before she started to wipe away the tears from her father's face. “Papa, please don't cry or I'll cry too…” she said and she wasn't lying.

“Listen to the little one, honey. There is no need to cry, I'm here now and that's what matters,” Yifan said trying to help out. He had been away for four years and he didn't know what to do.

After Yixing had calmed down and stopped crying they all went inside the house.

Yifan was sitting on the couch as Junyi stared at him, making the older one slightly uncomfortable under the younger's gaze. Yixing, on the other hand, was in the kitchen, still trying to comprehend what was going on.

“Are you really my baba or just someone who looks like him?” Junyi asked as she folded her arms, trying to look intimidating, but the action just made her look even cuter.

“Of course I'm your baba, Junyi. How can-” Yifan was cut off by the little one running up to him. She wrapped her arms around Yifan's neck as she jumped up to hug her baba. Just the fact that the older one knew her name was enough of a confirmation for Junyi.

“Papa said he misses you a lot. I missed you too. That mean man told us that you were gone and you would never come back after that accident…” Junyi trailed off as she looked up at Yifan who was holding her in his arms.

Yixing who had been watching the two from the doorway walked over and set beside Yifan. He explained the events from two years ago and so did Yifan until everything made sense.

The three then spent the evening by just talking and staying in each other's arms. It was a simple way to spend the evening together, but the family was apart from each other for four years, making even the smallest interaction very meaningful.