Ewon

Wooyoung was over the moon excited to go to the zoo. He insisted on wearing his favorite Princess shirt, which Narsha had bought him on their shopping trip. Nichkhun wasn't so sure he should wear it.

"What if the other kids make fun of him?" Nichkhun was chewing his bottom lip.

Ewon had been worried about the same thing. He'd been up since 5am thinking about how he'd react or how he'd console their son if some said something awful to him. 

He and Nichkhun had reached out to everyone yesterday to coordinate their schedule for this trip. Thankfully everyone was free today. Before Wooyoung had gotten into bed for story time last night, he'd insisted on picking out his clothes for the day. He'd chosen his favorite denim shorts and a pink shirt with Ariel, Belle and Jasmine on it.

"I don't think we should confront anyone. We'll just get Wooyoung away from the situation and explain it to him later." Ewon looked over at the boy who was sitting on the living room floor dressing a Barbie doll.

"Caravan's here." Nichkhun called, pulling back from the window. He walked over to Ewon, pulling him in for a tight hug "I agree with you, but let's hope no one says anything to him." he kissed Ewon's cheek and pulled away when the doorbell rang.

"Is everyone ready to hit the road?" Narsha called out cheerfully.

"I am!" Wooyoung ran to greet her "Will you drive in our car, Grams?"

"I sure will, honey. Pop-Pop is gonna drive with Jun and the rest of the gang in his new SUV."

It had been a bit of an ordeal for Minjun to buy a new car after his accident back in May. He'd only had the cast off his leg for a few weeks now and the SUV still had that new car smell "One last trip to the bathroom and then we're off to the zoo!" 

It had taken forty minutes to get to the zoo. During the ride, Wooyoung had chatted happily with Narsha about the cookout they'd had last night.

He and Nichkhun had grilled hotdogs for Wooyoung and burgers for themselves and served them with a homemade potato salad. Wooyoung spoke like they'd eaten lobster and filet mignon. He guessed Wooyoung didn't have a lot of cookouts with Aunt Rania.

"Are we here, Daddy Won-Won?" Wooyoung asked excitedly as Nichkhun was parking the truck.

"We sure are!" Ewon turned around to look at Wooyoung. Every time the little boy called either him or Nichkhun Daddy, his heart soared. This was the family he'd always dreamed of having. Now that things with Nichkhun were back on track, Ewon felt like he was closer than ever to having it all.

"Hi Woo!" Jay shouted from one parking spot over.

Wooyoung waved back to Jay.

Ewon hoped this second time meeting Jay and Gain would help Wooyoung to get over his shyness.

Gain ran around the SUV and gave Wooyoung a big hug "Are you excited to see the kitties, Woo?" Gain was practically bursting with excitement.

"What kitties?" Wooyoung looked up at Nichkhun. 

Nichkhun knelt down next to Wooyoung "They have some special cats at the zoo. Me and Daddy Won-Won didn't want to show pictures and spoil the surprise."

Wooyoung nodded and turned back to Gain "If you're excited to see the kitties, I am too." Wooyoung held out his hand to Gain.

"You can hold my other hand, Jay!"

Ewon could hear the clicking shutter of a camera behind him. He had no doubt that it was Narsha snapping pictures of her grandbabies.

"So we all agree our first stop is the cat exhibits, right?" Junho asked over the top of the zoo map.

"Yes!" all three kids chorused.

Ewon startled when Nichkhun joined their hands "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"I know." Nichkhun grinned "You were watching the kids."

"It's good to see Wooyoungie having fun with the other kids. I worry about how shy he is now."

"Does he remind you of yourself at that age?" Nichkhun kissed him gently. 

"A little bit. Which is why I'm thrilled that he's enjoying being with Gain and Jay." Ewon would have loved to have been placed in a family like the one he was building. He knew the three kids were going to grow up together, like cousins and that Wooyoung would always be able to count on Gain and Jay.

"I feel the same way, babe." Nichkhun kissed him again.

"You're awfully romantic today." Nichkhun had invited Ewon to spend the night in his bed again last night. They'd cuddled and talked a bit before falling asleep together, but they hadn't done anything ual. Ewon couldn't help wondering if this was a sign of Nichkhun being interested in getting intimate again.

"I'm enjoying being with my husband." Nichkhun raised their joined hands and pressed a kiss to Ewon's wedding ring.

Ewon laughed "Well what do you know? I'm enjoying being with my husband too!" Ewon leaned in to return Nichkhun's kiss when Wooyoung's yelling startled them apart.

"Daddies! Come see the kitties!" he was waving an arm frantically at them.

Ewon had never been more excited to see a cat in his entire life.

Nichkhun

"Daddy, can I have a snow leopard?" Gain asked almost breathlessly. Her face was practically pressed to the glass.

"Me too!" Jay and Wooyoung seconded.

Nichkhun laughed "These are very special cats. We can't have one as a pet. These are wild animals."

"I could get a cat like Blackie, right?" Wooyoung smiled sweetly at Nichkhun.

Ewon burst out laughing "He's got you there, Khun."

"We can talk about it, okay?" Nichkhun rolled his eyes at Ewon. He had no doubt that they'd be adding a new, furry member to their family sooner rather than later. Nichkhun had to put his last cat, Fluffy, down a few months back. It might not be a bad time to get a new one for Wooyoung.

"I see that look in your eyes." Ewon whispered in his ear.

"What look is that?"

"The look that says we're about to be cat parents." Ewon giggled.

"We'll go to the pound in the morning." Nichkhun whispered back.

"We've got a litter of kittens that are looking for good homes." Taecyeon whispered. 

"I didn't know you were still volunteering at the shelter."

"I had to cut my hours back after Jun's accident, but now that he's good as new, I'm back to my twenty hours a week there."

"Gain must love that." Nichkhun remember how excited the little girl had been when she'd gone to the shelter for the first time with Jun. She'd found Blackie that day, but had wanted to take all of her littermates too.

"Gain wants to adopt every single cat that comes into the shelter." Taecyeon laughed.

"What would you do if your Daddy let you have a snow leopard?" Gain asked Wooyoung.

Woyoung pulled his face away from the glass to smile at Gain "I'd take my leopard to school. She'd be my bestest friend and would sleep in my bed and keep me and my Daddies safe."

"Mom, why is that little boy wearing a pink princess shirt?" a nearby teenage girl asked in a voice that was louder than it needed to be for her mother to hear.

The question grabbed Nichkhun's attention. It was his worst fear come to life. He looked over at Ewon to see if his husband had caught the question too. Nichkhun could tell by the frost in Ewon's eyes that he'd heard. He strained to hear the answer above the shouts of the other kids nearby. 

"He has gay fathers, why else?" the mother answered, the disdain obvious in her voice.

Nichkhun growled low in his throat, taking a step toward the ignorant mother, before he felt a hand grab his elbow.

"Don't do it, son." Hwang Kwanghee whispered to him "It's not worth it."

Nichkhun turned to Kwanghee "She shouldn't be allowed to make assumptions like that." as far as Nichkhun was concerned, that woman wasn't fit to raise a child if all she was going to do was pass down her own prejudices.

"No she shouldn't, but look at your son." Kwanghee pointed to the glass.

Nichkhun could see Wooyoung laughing and waving to one of the big cats who had come over to the window and seemed to be checking the kids out. In the time that Wooyoung had been living with him and Ewon, he'd never seen the little boy look so happy.

"He's having the time of his life. Go enjoy it with him. Don't let that woman and her awful child ruin your day with yours." Kwanghee gave Nichkhun's elbow a squeeze before letting him go and sticking himself between Nichkhun and the mother.

Nichkhun knew Kwanghee was right, but it didn't stop him from wanting to give that woman a piece of his mind right in front of her equally ignorant 

daughter. He nodded and made his way through the crowd toward Wooyoung "Wow, look at that, buddy. She came right over to see you."

"She wants to come home with us, Daddy Khun!" Wooyoung giggled before pressing kisses to the glass.

"More like she wants to eat you." Taecyeon said loud enough for only Nichkhun to hear.

Nichkhun shot Taec a dirty look over his shoulder. He watched with wonder as the big cat came closer to the glass. She leaped up in front of Wooyoung and put her paws on the glass. Some of the kids around them screamed and ran, but Wooyoung looked awestruck.

"She's beautiful, Daddy. I think she likes me." Wooyoung laughed when the big cat the glass on the other side of his lips.

"I think so too, buddy." Nichkhun could see Ewon standing off to the side snapping pictures of the two of them with the snow leopard. He turned to the camera and smiled. Kwanghee had been right. These moments with Wooyoung were so much more important than telling that ignorant mother off.

Nichkhun exchanged a look with Ewon who'd stopped shooting pictures and was looking back and forth between him and Wooyoung. Nichkhun waved him over to join Wooyoung. He'd switch places with his husband so he could play photographer.  Nichkhun knew how much Ewon would love to be in a picture with Wooyoung and the big cat, so long as Ewon knew there was no way the leopard could get through the glass to eat him. 

He made a mental note to stop by the gift shop and grab the two men in his life a stuffed snow leopard to remember the trip.