Ewon

The few days that followed the trip to the zoo went by in a flash. Ewon and Nichkhun had gone to the beach again and they'd also taken Wooyoung to the animal shelter to get a kitten. He'd picked out a grey and white animal that he said reminded him of his snow leopard. Predictably, he'd named the tiny cat Snowy.

Ewon had been hoping the days would pass a little slower with Nichkhun nearing the end of his two week vacation. They'd both worried over how Wooyoung would take Nichkhun leaving for work on Monday morning, but hadn't been prepared for the reality of it.

Last night they'd both explained that Nichkhun had to go back to work in the morning so that he could help other kids be healthy. Wooyoung seemed like he understood what they'd been telling him and had been happy enough when he'd fallen asleep after story time with Snowy sleeping on the pillow next to him.

Nichkhun and Ewon had thought all would be well with their son until 3am rolled around and Wooyoung was screaming for Nichkhun. They'd ended up bringing Snowy, Wooyoung and his menagerie of stuffed animals, which had grown to include a stuffed snow leopard, courtesy of Narsha and Kwanghee, into bed with them. 

Ewon was grateful Wooyoung hadn't been able to bring one of the real snowy leopards home with him like he'd asked, otherwise there wouldn't have been room in the bed for Nichkhun. The little boy had managed to fall back to sleep when he cuddled up with Nichkhun, but Ewon hadn't been able to fall back to sleep quite so easily.

The drama had started all over again when it was time for Nichkhun to leave for work. Ewon had tried to put a brave face on it, making plans for dinner that night and telling Wooyoung he could help cook the meal for Daddy Khun. When it was time for Nichkhun to leave, Wooyoung clung to his leg like a barnacle on a boat hull. Ewon had to pull the screaming little boy off of Nichkhun.

By the time Nichkhun's truck turned out of the driveway, both he and Wooyoung were in tears. Ewon had done everything in his power to cheer Wooyoung up after that. He'd put on Frozen and had sung all of the songs with Elsa and Anna. He'd dressed Wooyoung in his favorite princess shirt and brought all of his dolls downstairs. Not even playing with Snowy brought a smile to his son's face.

By lunchtime, Ewon was ready to throw in the towel and had almost texted Nichkhun to beg him to come home. Instead, he'd called Narsha. Thankfully, she'd agreed to come right over and had brought a Happy Meal for Wooyoung and cat toys for Snowy.

"You look like you've been through a war." Narsha grinned at Ewon over her Chicken McNuggets. 

"It feels that way today. Nothing I did all morning could soothe Wooyoung." Ewon looked over at the little boy who was lying on the couch with his stuffed animals surrounding him. Snowy was sleeping on the floor in the middle of a pile of abandoned princess Barbie dolls.

"Some days are going to be like that. Wooyoungie was just getting used to you all being a family and now Nichkhun is gone. You can tell him all you want that Nichkhun will be home later, but until Wooyoung sees that for himself, there isn't much you can do to soothe him."

Ewon understood that Woyoung would have some trust issues, but didn't realize it would take so much out of the little boy. Usually Wooyoung was active and would talk Narsha's ear off. Today, he was lying on the couch like a slug, almost lifeless.

"How are things going between you and Nichkhun? You seemed pretty close when we were at the zoo."

"We're good. We talk every night now before bed, like Minjun suggested and we're..." Ewon trailed off, not sure how much more he wanted to tell Narsha about his relationship with Nichkhun.

"And you're what? Don't keep an old gal in suspense! Dish!" Narsha shook Ewon's shoulder.

Ewon burst out laughing "We're sleeping in the same bed."

"Is that all you're doing?" Narsha raised an eyebrow at him. 

Ewon could feel himself blushing "We, um, consummated the marriage a while back, but then we had that fight and we've just been reconnecting since then."

"Consummated the marriage? Christ, you sound like you're my age. You made whoopee. Did the horizontal mambo. Played hide the sausage, right?"

Ewon wished a big hole would open up in the floor so he could jump into it.

"Having with your husband is nothing to be ashamed of."

"No, but telling you about it is making my ears burn."

"Well it's not like I walked in on it..." Narsha shrugged "So, do I take it you'd like to work the intimacy back into your relationship?"

Ewon nodded. He'd been wracking his brain for days on the best way to bring the topic up to Nichkhun, but short of just grabbing his , Ewon had no idea how to ease into that kind of conversation.

"Kwanghee gets friskier than a cat in heat when I-"

Ewon covered his ears with his hands "La, la, la, la. I can't hear you!"

Narsha grabbed his hands and pulled them down "Grow up, Ewon. I was just gonna say that Kwanghee likes it when I rub his back." 

Ewon didn't think that was a bad suggestion. It was an especially good idea tonight with it being Nichkhun's first day back at work.

"What did you think I was gonna say? That he likes it when I get out my spurs and lasso?"

"I wouldn't put it past you." Ewon breathed a sigh of relief. At least he'd be able to look Kwanghee in the eye the next time he saw him.

Nichkhun

Nichkhun felt like . He'd been getting periodic updates and pictures from Ewon throughout the day. The only good news, so far as he could tell was that Wooyoung had taken a nap.  Nichkhun sure as wished he had that luxury too.

He counseled new mothers all the time about separation anxiety. Usually it was harder on the mother returning to work than it was for the infant. In Wooyoung's case though, the little boy had been terrified that once Nichkhun left, he wasn't coming back.

Not only had he spent the day worrying about how Wooyoung was managing, he'd also been worried about Ewon. He knew that the little boy was upset about Nichkhun leaving. His upset had nothing to do with being left with Ewon, but Nichkhun was afraid his sensitive husband would take Wooyoung's attitude personally. 

The last picture he'd gotten from Ewon was of Wooyoung putting lettuce in a large bowl. At least Ewon had been able to get Wooyoung engaged in making dinner. After he'd left the office, he'd swung by the grocery store and grabbed mint chocolate chip ice cream and hot fudge. It was Wooyoung's favorite flavor and he had such a sweet tooth that he'd been known to eat the hot fudge out of the jar with a spoon.

Before Nichkhun left the store, he'd grabbed a bouquet of cut flowers for Ewon. It wasn't much, but he wanted his husband to know how much Nichkhun appreciated what he was doing at home.

His gut spun with nerves as he pulled into his driveway. He sent up a silent prayer that all would be well when he walked through the door. Grabbing the flowers and ice cream, Nichkhun headed toward the front door "Honey? I'm home!" Nichkhun called.

"Daddy Khun?" Wooyoung shouted.

Nichkhun could hear the patter of Wooyoung's feet as he ran toward the front door.

"You came back! You're really here." Wooyoung flew around the corner into Nichkhun's arms. He held Wooyoung tight not realizing until this moment how much their day spent apart had affected him. All he wanted to do was hold his little boy until his arms ached.

"Hey, there." Ewon grinned at them. 

"Hi!" Nichkhun smiled at his husband. He'd really missed Ewon today too "I brought dessert and flowers for my favorite husband."

Ewon snorted "I'm your only husband." he bent to pick up the bags Nichkhun left on the floor.

"True, but you're also my favorite." Nichkhun pressed a kiss to Ewon's cheek. It looked like Ewon hadn't had a minute to himself all day.

"Dinner is just about ready. We made steak, baked potatoes and a salad." Ewon headed back toward the kitchen.

"And how is Snowy today?" Nichkhun grinned when he saw the tiny cat sleeping curled up in a ball on the leather sectional.

"She was good. We played with her new toys and cuddled."

"They also took a nap together." Ewon added.

"We did not, Daddy Won-Won. I'm too big to take a nap."

"Oh, so that was Snowy I heard snoring?" Ewon laughed.

Nichkhun couldn't help laughing at the exchange between Wooyoung and Ewon. He wished that he could have been here to spend the day with them.  He pulled out his usual chair at the dinner table and watched as Ewon took the steak off the grill pan and got the potatoes out of the oven. 

Wooyoung climbed up into his seat next to Nichkhun "How was your day at work, Daddy Khun? Did you help kids?"

Nichkhun was thrilled that Wooyoung remembered the reason he had to go to work in the first place "I saw one little boy who had a summer cold and another who had poison ivy."

"And you made them all better?"

"I gave them medicine that will help them feel better."

Wooyoung studied Nichkhun for a minute "Can I be a doctor and help kids when I get big?"

Nichkhun felt tears prick the back of his eyes. His father had been such a stern task-master and disciplinarian that the last thing he wanted to do was to grow up to be just like him. Nichkhun knew that Wooyoung was likely to change his mind about what he wanted to be when he grew up a hundred times between now and when he graduated from high school and went to college. In this moment, though, it was an amazing feeling that Wooyoung wanted to be just like him.