THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF THE FLASHBACK IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER

          After the parents had the talk with the principal, they were advised to take their kids home for the day seeing as how the children got tired from crying – well mostly Jaemin, Jeno was constantly tired – and since they were already there, they might as well take them home since there’s just an hour left for dismissal.

           “So uh, do you have a ride home or?” Jaehyun asked carefully, eyeing the male with a sleepy child on his arms. They were already outside the school and seeing as how the other male was not heading towards the parking lot, Jaehyun concluded that the seemingly Japanese male did not bring his car.

           “Oh, no. It’s my partner’s turn to bring the car today and they get off work late so me and this little munchkin will be taking the subway today, how about you?” Yuta said, squeezing his sleepy son as he spoke. The male wasn’t worried of riding the subway with his son knowing that it wasn’t rush hour but it doesn’t seem to be the same for the other male.

           “I brought my car today, I could give you a lift? It’s dangerous for you and your son to take the subway” Jaehyun said, pointing at the child whose head was rocking back and forth as he tried not to sleep, but was clearly failing miserably. He must have been so tired after crying that much Yuta thought, smiling softly at his son before going back to face the other male. “No really, it’s fine, there’s not much people at this hour anyway.” He said.

           “Please? Just think of it as an apology for what Jeno did to your son.” Jaehyun said still not budging. He still doesn’t know why he’s being persistent, but it’s probably because he just wanted somebody to talk with today. His wife, well ex-wife just sent in their divorce papers today after months of not communicating and Jaehyun just needed some sort of distraction from the recent happenings in his life.

           “Your son did nothing wrong, you know that right?” Yuta said, shaking his head. It was just a silly fight between children, he knows by now that Jeno is a sweet child and he feels at ease knowing Jaemin found a new friend in him after all the mess that happened.

           “I know, but still, please? I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly knowing I made someone with a sleepy child ride the subway.” Jaehyun continued, nudging his son and urging him to do the puppy eyes to the Japanese male just to make him agree. “Okay, Jaehyun. Just stop trying to make Jeno do the dirty work.” Yuta said, giggling at the cute kid. He pinched Jeno’s cheeks before facing the other male. “But if it’s the other way from yours, we’re taking the subway okay?” He added.

           “So, where’s your place anyway?” Jaehyun asked. They were walking towards the parking lot and Jaemin somehow woke up and was now walking side by side with Jeno as they talked animatedly about some cartoon they knew.

          Yuta sat in the front as told as he waited for the male who was assisting both children to ride the back. “127 Apartments, Jamsil, near the open field” He said after Jaehyun got comfortable in the driver’s seat. “What? Is there something wrong?” he asked when he noticed the younger male snorted at his reply. Jaehyun smiled and shook his head “No, it’s nothing. But one thing’s for sure, your place is definitely not the other way from ours.” He said reassuringly.

          The car ride wasn’t awkward, despite just knowing each other for the first time. They talked about things, what they do and stuff. Yuta boasting about his Takoyaki making skills because ‘They don’t call me Takoyaki prince for nothing.’ Not to mention the noise that is Jaemin telling Jeno about this toy his dad bought him and that they should play together some time. It wasn’t long until they arrived at the place.

          Yuta thought that Jaehyun would just drop them off at the front but the other male continued to drive towards the parking lot. “It’s fine Jae, you can just drop us off.” Yuta said. He didn’t want to burden the younger even more but the other male didn’t listen as he started to park his car.

           “What floor are you in?” Jaehyun asked after he turned off the engine. “7th” Yuta replied, giving up on trying to reason with the other male. It would be rude of him to make him go after what he did, and the younger seemed to be excited if the sparkle in his eyes said anything. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go! You’re gonna show me those Takoyaki making skills you boasted about.” Jaehyun said excitedly as he guided Jeno out of the car. Yuta could only smile at his new friend’s excitement. “Alright, Let me see if I have the ingredients.” He said, as they walked towards the elevator.

          After arriving at the 7th floor, Yuta told Jaehyun which door it was but the younger continued walking and stopped in front of his neighbor’s door. “No, Jaehyun. That’s not the one, it’s here you know? The one I’m standing right in front of?” Yuta said, trying to explain the situation to the younger not noticing the key in the other male’s hand.

          Jaehyun just smiled at the male. “I know. This is our house. You can come in if you like.” He said smiling to the older before he opened the door and went inside. Yuta soon followed “Oh my gosh! Is this why you were laughing earlier? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me right away.” He said, his true personality flowing out as he laughed together with the other male.

          The two kids followed as Jeno pulled Jaemin towards what seemed to be his room. “Dad! I’m gonna show Jaemin my toys!” Jeno exclaimed.

          Yuta was looking through the photos on the walls and noticed a family portrait. “Oh you have a daughter? Where is she?” he asked, noticing the little girl in the photo beside Jeno, carried by a beautiful woman who seemed to be Jaehyun’s wife.

           “She’s uh… she’s with her mom” Jaehyun said, scratching the back of his neck, a habit he does when he’s uncomfortable. Yuta didn’t seem to notice as he continued to ask. “Oh where are they? Is she fetching her in school?”

           “No uh, they…left.” Jaehyun said clearly growing uncomfortable and hoped the other male would notice. “Oh” was the only thing Yuta said before he finally noticed. “Oh my god. Jaehyun, I’m so sorry. That was insensitive of me.” He said, feeling bad that he didn’t notice sooner. “It’s alright, don’t worry. She just sent in the divorce papers today and yeah…”

           “I really am sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything, just know that we’ll be right next door if you need help okay? Just call me or my husband if you need help taking care of Jeno, hmm? I know how hard it is to raise a child.” Yuta said. He didn’t want his new friend and neighbor to hate him. People always called him dense for not noticing things easily and he didn’t want that to be the reason for a broken friendship.

           “Husband?” Jaehyun carefully asked. He didn’t want to jump into conclusion, but it literally is there. “Oh, I’m sorry, are you uncomfortable with that? I uh, I’m sorry. I can just leave” Yuta said, as he hurriedly stood up and walked towards the door, almost forgetting about his son.

          He and Taeyong agreed to address each other as partners whenever they mention the other to an acquaintance after all the things that happened to them in the past. They didn’t want a repeat of the reason why they moved. How their parents disowned them, how their so-called friends stopped contacting them and how the people in their area turned their backs on them. Yuta knew better than to trust people easily. Welp, I guess this is the reason for the broken friendship then. He thought, going back into the house to take Jaemin.

          Before he could get his son, Jaehyun blocked his way. “Jaehyun, please move so that I can take Jaemin and leave immediately.” Yuta said softly, he didn’t want to hear whatever judgments the other male might have about his orientation, he just wanted to leave with his son and probably rant and cry to Taeyong when he gets home.

           “No! Yuta, no. Listen.” Jaehyun said, reaching up to wipe the tears Yuta didn’t know fell. “I don’t care if you’re gay or not. Please don’t think I’m some homophobic , okay? I’m not. I support you 100%, so please stop crying.” Jaehyun continued. He held the Japanese male’s hand as he took a breath before he continued. “Do you know why my wife left me?” At the soft shake of the older man’s head he continued. “I told her I was gay.”

           “I loved her, I really did. She was the only woman I ever loved and it didn’t seem right that she didn’t know the real me. So I told her. And I guess it was dumb of me to think she’d accept me for who I am. I honestly thought things would get better once she knew, but look where it lead me? I don’t blame her though.” He couldn’t stop the tears that he was holding on for months. He tried to be strong for both him and his son, but in front of the Japanese male who he just met, he felt vulnerable.

           “Shh, it’s okay Jaehyun-ah. It’s okay. Thank you for telling me all this.” Yuta said as he rubbed soothing circles on the younger’s back as he cried in his arms, much like what his son was doing an hour ago. He held onto Jaehyun’s shoulder and looked at him in the eye. “The offer still stands okay? When you need help with Jeno or when you need a shoulder to cry on or somebody to rant to, you can just call me or my husband, okay? We’re just next door, our house will always be open for both of you.” He said, and smiled.

           “Thank you, Yuta” Jaehyun said, smiling back after seeing the healing smile the Japanese male gave. “Now, go call the kids and we’ll be having the best takoyaki you’ll ever taste!” Yuta said, pushing Jaehyun towards the Jeno’s room as he went to his house to get the ingredients for takoyaki.

          Taeyong arrived at an empty apartment, only to find out that his family was just staying next door. It didn’t take long for Taeyong and Jaehyun to be friends after finding that they had a lot of things in common and now the two were talking as if they’ve been friends since forever.

          After dinner, the three dads were sitting on the couch watching their sons play. “They seem to be getting along huh?” Taeyong pointed out when he saw the two boys playing. “Yeah, after fighting over highlighters” Jaehyun said, laughing as he remembered how sad his son looked a few hours ago. “I just hope those two will become the best of friends in the future” Yuta said as he smiled when he saw Jaemin kiss Jeno on the cheeks. “Yeah” The two males replied, mirroring his smile.

          Little do they know, years later, those two will never leave each other’s sides.

>> End of Flashback <<

          As soon as they stepped foot inside the house, they were immediately enveloped with a big bear hug. “God, you don’t know how much I missed both of you.” Yuta said as he swayed the three of them from left to right, still not letting go of the hug. “The house was so empty without my little s” he added, finally letting go of the hug only to kiss both male’s cheeks.

           “Daad! You’re embarrassing” Jaemin whined, wiping the area where his dad just kissed him. “But, I missed you too!” he added, smiling brightly at his dad before he hugged him again.

          While the two were having their moment, Jeno walked towards his dad who was sitting on the couch talking with Taeyong, Jaemin’s other dad. “Hey bud, how was uni?” Jaehyun asked as he patted the space between him and Taeyong, gesturing for his son to sit.

           “It was good. I guess? Nothing exciting happened, just classes so yeah.” Jeno said, sitting down on the couch. “Was Jaemin being a loud again?” Taeyong joked, Yuta would kill him if he heard this. “I mean, what else is new?” Jeno joined in as the three of them laughed.

          Their conversation was cut short when they heard Yuta call their attention. “OKAY EVERYONE! It’s getting late and it’s MY big day tomorrow, so let’s all get some sleep, yeah?” he said. The others knew they couldn’t win against the Japanese male, so they all followed his order and went to their rooms.

          And yes, they all live together. It had been 5 years since the three dads decided what was the point of having 2 separate houses when Jaehyun and Jeno were always in their house and adding the fact they were basically already family by then. Without any hesitation, they ended the lease of their apartments and decided to buy a residential house in the same area. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either. It just fit all 5 of them cozily.

          It was 4 in the morning when Jaemin woke Jeno up. “What?” Jeno said, rubbing the sleep off his eyes as he got his phone to look at the time. “Jaemin-aah, why do you think it was a good idea to wake me up at 4 in the morning, huh?” he asked crawling towards the younger male, wiggling his fingers as he threatened to tickle him.

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