Jinyoung had always been told if he was ever to be wed, it would never be for his cooking skills. He was good at taking care of people and putting others ahead of himself. While he was still easily annoyed and too serious sometimes, with the right person, he’d make a great husband.

 

But definitely not because of his cooking.

 

Looking down at the charred pancake on the stove Jinyoung realized just how true that was.

 

Jaebum had come over with the boys late last night and Jinyoung wanted to surprise them with their favorites, Bambam and Yugyeom liked pancakes, Youngjae and Jackson liked oatmeal and Mark didn’t seem to have a preference for one thing over another. The oatmeal was simple enough, just add water and stir but somehow Jinyoung left the fire up too high and the bottom ended up burnt while the top didn’t cook at all. He moved onto pancakes hoping for a different result but the batter came out so chunky it cooked unevenly and one half was completely blackened.

 

“Dad,” Jackson whined. He stomped in holding his shirt up over his nose with one hand and using the other to take the pan over to the sink and run cold water over it so a wall of steam rose. “You’re supposed to add flour before you put it in the pan.”

 

“I try to do something nice and you scold me?”

 

Jackson rolled his eyes squeezing out a healthy amount of dish soap, “I was really excited for pancakes.”

 

“Since when did you like sweet things?”

 

“Since they started tasting so good.”

 

Jinyoung couldn’t help but laugh and give Jackson’s hair a ruffle. He scraped the oatmeal into the trash and bought out the cereal, fruity pebbles, cheerios and frosted flakes.

 

While Jackson got out bowls Youngjae came running in and Jinyoung had to snatch him up before he could crash into Jackson’s knees and send all the dishes flying, “Good morning.” He settled Youngjae on his hip. Though he was already nine, Youngjae still couldn’t seem to put on the proper weight and even Yugyeom was passing him in size. But Jinyoung didn’t mind, he got to keep one baby just a little longer.

 

“I had dream about power rangers.” Youngjae said excitedly pulling on the neckline of Jinyoung’s shirt for attention.

 

“You had a dream about power rangers?”

 

Jackson got out the gallon of two percent milk and a quart of lactose free. “I bet I was the red ranger.”

 

“No my dad was red ranger.”

 

“Is that so?” Jinyoung asked setting Youngjae down so he could go grab Bambam stumbling all over the living room in his tired state.

 

Bambam whined but let Jinyoung pick him up regardless. He’d grown out of being carried rather quickly and at first Jinyoung was glad his back would have a rest but he missed having his arms full of fussy kids, he knew times likes this were coming to an end and he did his best not to think about it as he settled Bambam next to where he planned on having Yugyeom sit.

 

“And I was yellow ranger.” Youngjae dug into his frosted flakes talking with his mouth full, “Yellow ranger cool.”

 

“Yellow ranger is cool.” Jackson said pouring Bambam fruity pebbles, he tried to pour his milk too but Bambam just pushed him away and began eating it dry.

 

Jinyoung went to the fridge to get out the fruit bowl, if he couldn’t make something satisfactory for the kids he could at least make sure they had something healthy along with their bowls of sugar.

 

He almost ran straight into Mark when the preteen suddenly appeared at the seat directly behind him. “Four down two more to go.” He mumbled handing Jackson the bowl so he could start passing it around.

 

Jinyoung leaned against the stove watching the boys interact.

 

Youngjae was still talking about power rangers, Jackson listened intently correcting him every time he forgot a word, Mark sopping up the milk that kept sloshing out of Youngjae’s bowl with the sleeve of his pajama shirt. Bambam was in his own world, humming to himself while he munched cereal from his hands.

 

Jinyoung decided to go get Yugyeom before all the other boys finished so he wouldn’t be eating alone.

 

He took the stairs two at a time and seeing the door to Bambam’s room was still open from when it’s owner left earlier Jinyoung assumed it was safe to walk in.

 

He was met with Yugyeom sat on the floor next to the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. He plucked at the carpet, having created a nice pile of threads at feet. Before he could do anymore damage Jinyoung cleared his throat and Yugyeom’s head whipped around so fast Jinyoung was taken aback.

 

“I’m not hungry.” He mumbled, crawling further away.

 

Right on time his stomach grumbled and Jinyoung stifled a laugh as he stepped into the room, sitting down next to the small body, “Really?”

 

He nodded picking at the hole at the top of his sock.

 

“Because I know someone who likes fruity pebbles that needs a friend.”

 

“Bambam said I’m annoying.”

 

Jinyoung felt his brows pinching, “When did he say that?”

 

“After bedtime. He doesn’t like my nightlight.”

 

“That wasn’t very nice of Bambam.” Jinyoung knew Bambam had a diva side when he was tired but he never thought he’d be so blatantly rude to Yugyeom. They usually bounced off each other well, whatever Bambam did Yugyeom followed right behind him. It was a rare occurrence that Jinyoung saw one without the other.

 

“No.”

 

“How about this, I talk to Bambam later and right now you go eat something so your dad won’t be mad at me.”

 

Yugyeom shook his head quickly, standing up arrow straight, “You can’t tell Bambam. I’ll eat I promise.” He walked swiftly out the door leaving Jinyoung more confused than ever.

 

Jinyoung swiped imaginary dust off his jeans following after the dark-haired boy.

 

Yugyeom had done just as he said, waiting patiently for Jackson to finish pouring his milk. Jinyoung admired the five of them. Even in the morning, when everyone was cranky and needed their breakfast, they were still so unbelievably familiar with each other. Jackson loud as ever talking with Youngjae, Bambam and Yugyeom mixing their cereal together to create a mashup that had them both giggling and Mark jumped between the two pairs cleaning up spills and nodding along.

 

It was almost complete except…

 

“Daddy,” Youngjae pushed out from the table running to Jaebum who was still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

 

Jaebum caught him instanty, his parent reflexes kicking in quickly. He shifted Youngjae onto his shoulders, saying ‘mhm’ as Youngjae’s mouth went a mile a minute about his power ranger dream. Jaebum stopped beside Jinyoung to give him a kiss on the cheek (keeping it PG) then off to the stove to gawk at the burned remnants of pancake.

 

“I smelled something burning.”

 

“So you decided to stay in bed?”

 

Jaebum nodded shamelessly.

 

Jinyoung caught himself staring at the way Jaebum so easily nodded along with Youngjae and gave Yugyeom a tickle behind the ear.

 

Jackson casually knocked his bowl to the floor so it made a loud clattering sound and the entire room collectively jumped, “Sorry.”

 

“Don’t worry I’ll clean it, wouldn’t want you to cut yourself.” Jaebum passed Youngjae off to Jinyoung getting the broom and dustpan from where they were wedged between the fridge and the counter.

 

Jinyoung gave Youngjae a few more bounces before letting him down to finish eating. “So, the plan for today is to just clean. I want to make sure everything’s straightened up before you guys go back to school tomorrow. Jackson and Bambam I want you to clean your rooms.”

 

“I just did for when Hoseok came over.“

 

“If I go down there and that same sock is sitting in that same place Jackson I swear to god-“

 

Before he could finish the sentence Jackson had darted off to the basement, taking the vacuum along with him.

 

“Any complaints from you Bam?”

 

“Can Gyeomie help?” He asked, gripping the younger boy’s hand.

 

Jinyoung still had a few things he wanted to talk about with Bambam before he let him off alone with Yugyeom but the six-year-old seemed to have no issue and held Bambam’s hand just as tight, “If that’s what Gyeomie wants?”

 

When he nodded, Bambam wasted no time yanking him along as he bounded up the stairs.

 

“If you could clean out the linen closet and the bathroom that’d be awesome.” Jinyoung said to Mark who just nodded and grabbed some cleaning supplies from under the kitchen sink before heading off.

 

Youngjae came over attaching himself to Jinyoung’s knees, “What can I do?”

 

Jinyoung smiled down at him before picking him up to rest on his hip, “You get the most important job, you get to help me make brownies.”

 

“I love brownies.”

 

“I know you do.” Jinyoung gave him a kiss on the nose looking up to see Jaebum with the goofiest grin on his face watching them both instead of clearing the table. “What?”

 

“I’m just looking.”

 

Jinyoung rolled his eyes, “Go clean the living room, we got this. Don’t we Youngjae?”

 

“Ah so bossy, you give them a ring and all of sudden…”Jaebum mumbled just loud enough for Jinyoung to hear as he passed by, earning himself a smack to the behind.

 

“Brat.”

 

---

 

Cooking had always been Jinyoung’s favorite pastime when it came to Youngjae.

 

He loved all the kids equally but, they had their specialties. Jackson and Mark liked sports or anything physical, Bambam liked shopping and Yugyeom was at his best when he was outside whether it was the cramped backyard or the wide expanse of the beach he didn’t seem to mind, as long as there was space for him to run wild.

 

But Youngjae was his cooking mate for life.

 

All Jinyoung had to do was pass him something, say where it went and he was off, then back again to repeat the process. Jinyoung had him whisking oil, water and brownie mix in a large bowl he got some splattered over the table that had just been wiped down but Jinyoung found the concentration on his face while he stirred so cute he couldn’t bring himself to tell Youngjae to slow down. Before they added the eggs Jinyoung scooped out a nice amount for Youngjae to taste.

 

“Chocolately.” He smiled.

 

Jinyoung wound up rubbing some off his cheeks as well because Youngjae couldn’t seem to ever keep them clean.

 

Yugyeom and Bambam had finished their task early and were sat on the floor watching a movie with Jaebum dividing his attention between them and organizing the photo albums.

 

The clock had just barely slipped past one but Jinyoung felt his energy draining by the second looking at the laid out casually on the floor, completely absorbed in the television.

 

“Now once I add the eggs you can’t have anymore until they’re done okay?”

 

“One more?” he asked with that voice Jinyoung struggled to deny but if he broke down this time he’d start himself on a habit.

 

“Just a little longer.”

 

“Do the pictures of the kids go before or after your graduation?” Jaebum called.

 

“Jackson’s go before, Bambam’s go after.”

 

Jinyoung gave the mixture one last stir then poured it in the pan Youngjae had expertly buttered then it was in the oven for forty minutes. As soon as the oven door closed Youngjae started the timer, he bought his hands together under his chin staring at the dial tick.

 

“I’m gonna check on Jackson he’s probably called the police for child abuse again.”

 

“That’s not even funny I almost got arrested.” Jaebum said, though he couldn’t completely hide his smile.

 

Downstairs Jackson was spread out on his bed tapping out the beat to a song coming through his headphones.

 

Jinyoung gazed around the room, checking for signs of improvement.

 

His clothes were still haphazardly thrown on hangers, shoes kicked into the bottom of the closet in no order whatsoever, his desk covered in a splattering of papers. But the floor was vacuumed and that god forsaken sock was off the window sill.

 

“You’re too young to be angsting in here.”

 

Jackson sighed dramatically, he tossed his headphones into the pillows and sat up, “My back hurts.”

 

“Should have thought about that before you let this place get so messy.” Jinyoung pointed to pile of laundry peaking out from underneath the bed. “And don’t think you’re even close to getting off the hook yet.”

 

“You’re cruel.” He flopped back down with an ‘oof’

 

“Oh I’m the cruel one, how do you think Mark feels sleeping in this pig sty.”

 

“I don’t know. He’s been so weird today.”

 

Jinyoung moved to sit on the edge of the bed, “How so?”

 

“Well last night he didn’t want to play games and he didn’t argue for the bed then at the table he kept avoiding me and when I wanted to help clean he was like,” Jackson raised his voice an octave, “Leave me alone.”

 

“Did you have a fight?”

 

Arguments had become regular between the two of them for a while. As the oldest Mark was always in charge and Jackson complained about it no end.

 

But when he shook his head Jinyoung was left confused once again, “I think everybody might be a little off today.”

 

“You’re still getting married?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“What if he starts to be like that all the time…would that still make him my…my brother?”

 

Jinyoung nodded moving to pull Jackson closer so his head rested on Jinyoung’s thigh. “You guys fought when you were friends, you’ll probably still fight when you’re family.”

 

“But I like Mark, I don’t want to fight with him.”

 

“Don’t worry about it too much kid, you’ll make up. You always do.”

 

Jackson turned to look up at Jinyoung before asking timidly, “Does that make my mom his too?”

 

“Nope,” Jinyoung gave him a kiss on the forehead that he didn’t wipe off for the first time in years, “Mom is just for you and Bam.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Now come on, clean this closet up. I want everything on one side.”

 

Jackson groaned, “But I just worked so hard.”

 

“Since when did I teach you to be so lazy? You’re insulting my parenting skills.”

 

“This is cruel and unusual punishment.” Jackson whined, turning to bury his face in the mattress.

 

“Oh I’ll show you cruel and unusual.” Jinyoung went straight for the almighty kiss attack ignoring all of Jackson’s protests in favor of ruffling his hair and laying wet ones on his cheeks.

---

 

The day seemed to pass slowly after that.

 

Jinyoung left the brownies out to cool while he went to check on Mark who’d been even more quiet than usual and found him very carefully folding sheets and replacing them in the linen closet. Jinyoung would’ve bought up what happened last night while he had him alone but sometimes kids just had to figure out their own problems and Jinyoung had learned while Jackson opened up with a simple question, Mark just seemed to shrink into himself.

 

When he went back down to cut the brownies into squares there was a nice finger sized dent and a six year old with crumbs on his lip claiming he had no idea what happened but Jinyoung just shook his head and gave him a piece to snack on regardless.

 

He stretched out over the couch half paying attention to the movie playing half listening to Jackson grumble and complain downstairs.

 

Jaebum was still doing a bit of dusting but mostly he seemed to be interested in the pictures Jinyoung had sitting on the coffee table. It was a nice mixture of school photos and cast pictures but there were a few that Jinyoung had held onto from when he and Jaebum were semi dating in college and Jaebum gave him a nicely sized stack of photos he had taken for a class.

 

Most of them ended up being burned to a crisp when they broke up but the few that remained were yellowed around the edges and Jinyoung never seemed to be able to throw them away, so there they sat proudly among a picture of Bambam’s pre-k graduation and Jackson’s first fencing lesson.

 

Jinyoung gave Jaebum a flick to the back of his head, “Stop staring.”

 

“I just can’t believe you kept these.”

 

“Did you not say I could have them.”

 

“I just thought…” he looked down then shook his head quickly.

 

“You know I didn’t get a kiss this morning.”

 

“Liar.”

 

“Okay how about I didn’t get a proper kiss this morning.”

 

Youngjae somehow managed to wedge his way between the two of them looking up to Jaebum with his lips puckered.

 

Jaebum wasted no time in obliging him with a kiss to his forehead.

 

“Hey where’s mine.” Yugyeom got to his feet hanging off Jaebum’s shoulder.

 

Jaebum just groaned falling back on to the floor, “Look what you started.”

 

Jinyoung reached over him and grab Bambam ignoring the complaint, “Why don’t you want a kiss?”

 

“That’s for babies.” Bambam said without looking back, moving closer to the tv screen and out of Jinyoung’s touch.

 

Yugyeom jumped up suddenly, detaching himself from his victim, “Yeah babies.” He walked back over to his spot on the floor sitting with his arms crossed.

 

Youngjae went next mumbling something about how he was definitely not a baby and going to play with the timer that had captured his interest for the last half hour.

 

Jinyoung and Jaebum shared a look that left them both pressing their lips together to hold back giggles.

 >>>

 

Over the years Mark had spent so many nights over Jinyoung’s house that he began to consider it his second home.

 

He had his winter clothes stuffed in a storage bin at the bottom of Jackson’s closet and his own box of cereal on top of the fridge that had his name written on it in black sharpie. He even had his skateboard in the garage along with his snowboard and a few other things he could reliably count on being there when he got around to using them.

 

There was a roll of blankets and pillows Jackson had in a vacuum sealed bag under his bed that Mark used whenever the younger was being extra difficult and decided to take up the whole bed. They traded clothes and grabbed socks from the giant tub full Jinyoung had sitting in the living room and ran off to the bus stop together.

 

But for some reason Mark found himself with his arms around his ankles pressed up against the wall while Jackson snored and mumbled gibberish in his sleep.

 

Jackson had made every effort to share the bed or sleep on the floor himself but Mark just wanted to go home. Yeah Jackson had a drawer full of clothes in his room and baby pictures all over the walls but it was still his house.

 

The bed was still his and it didn’t smell like axe. There were boxes and boxes full of things he had been supposedly unpacking since he moved out of his grandmother’s house years ago. There were his pictures on the coffee table and all his favorite shows on the DVR.

 

It wasn’t that Jinyoung’s house was foreign, it just wasn’t his.

 

Mark found himself getting off the floor and walking out into the hall where the washer was still going, a load of school clothes that Jinyoung had put in and asked Mark to please look after if he was awake long enough.

 

Mark didn’t think he had much of a choice being that he had school tomorrow and if he didn’t wear his uniform he’d be getting a call home and not one but two angry dads on his tail.

 

He noted the cycle had a few more minutes left then went upstairs to find Jaebum sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop and a brownie. Jaebum looked over his glasses then behind himself at the stove clock and back over to Mark.

 

“Couldn’t sleep?”

 

He shook his head.

 

“Did you want to help me work on this script?”

 

He nodded going over to sit right next to his dad, there was just something about his scent that made Mark feel better. He breathed in deeply.

 

“Did Jackson kick you off the bed again?”

 

“No.”

 

“Hm.”

 

Mark took a piece of brownie taking a few bites while he read over the script.

 

The scene was about a group of friends arguing over who should pay for karaoke and Jaebum seemed stuck on who should be the winner of a deciding game of rock paper scissors.

 

“Is Jinyoung nice to you?”

 

Jaebum gave him a little smile, “Yep.”

 

“Then why aren’t you sleeping?”

 

“I couldn’t fall asleep, who do you think you got it from?”

 

Mark shrugged. “But it’s not because Jinyoung is mean to you?”

 

“No, he’s very nice to me.”

 

“But what if he’s not?”

 

Jaebum rubbed his eyes over his glasses letting out a long sigh, “We had this conversation already.”

 

“…I know.”

 

“But?”

 

“But what if it’s different now? What if he was nice before because he had to be but now he’s not and everything will get bad again.”

 

“Should I make an appointment with Doctor Kim?”

 

“No.” Mark said, a little too quickly. Doctor Kim was nice and all but he had a son Mark’s age that always looked at Mark like he knew something he shouldn’t.

 

“Okay.” Jaebum said slowly, “Have you been doing your breathing exercises.”

 

“Yes. I just…I was just asking it’s not that big of a deal.” He crossed his arms turning away slightly.

 

“Mhm.”

 

“It was. Why do you have to take things so seriously all the time.” Mark ate the last of his brownie standing up to lift his chair then set it back down under the table, careful to leave no streaks on the floor. He stomped off toward the stairs, huffing.

 

Before he got far though Jaebum was clearing his throat and tapping his foot. “You forgot something.”

 

Mark grumbled but went back to give him a kiss on the cheek, “Goodnight.”

 

---

 

The next morning was business as usual.

 

Fight with Jackson over who got to shower first.

 

Mark winning because he was older.

 

Calling out bye and waking up the rest of the house when he slammed the door.

 

Then on the bus all the way in the back seat.

 

Mark wasted no time in making himself seem as unapproachable as possible though Jackson sat next to him regardless, which wasn’t out of the ordinary but with Hoseok sitting in front of them without his brother, Mark fully expected Jackson to abandon him.

 

Hoseok peered over the top of his seat smiling so bright Mark wished he had sunglasses, “I found the best game of all time.”

 

“Okay elaborate.” Jackson said giving Mark a nudge just to see if he was paying attention.

 

“It’s called…grand theft auto.” He ducked behind the seat but popped up a second later with the case that he passed over to Jackson. “It’s so fun.”

 

“No way my dad would never let me play this, it’s rated M.” he passed the box over to Mark.

 

“Jin said no, but my other dad said I could.”

 

There was a picture of bikini clad woman, big muscled guys with guns and fancy cars. Mark bit his lip wondering if it was worth bringing it up to his own father. “Maybe my dad will let us play it?”

 

Jackson shook his head, “Even if he does, if mine catches us we’re dead.”

 

“So then don’t let him catch us.”

 

“Right like that’s so easy.”

 

Hoseok returned the game to his backpack, “Just come over my house, I got Joon’s schedule memorized. Plus he took Yoongi somewhere so he’ll be extra late.”

 

It was Mark’s turn to shake his head then, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

 

“Why?” Jackson asked as the bus stopped and there was a halt in conversation as they all unloaded.

 

Hoseok seemed to have even more energy once the sun hit his face and he was practically vibrating with excitement, “You really don’t want to miss this.” He bought his voice down to a whisper, “There’s strippers in it.”

 

Jackson grabbed him by the shoulders, “You’re kidding.”

 

“Nope, tops only though.”

 

“Come on Mark, we’ve been over there a bunch of times we won’t get in trouble?”

 

“Just drop it.” He walked up a few feet ahead feeling his face heat up.

 

Jackson caught up to him quickly, doing his best to keep up with Mark’s brisk pace, “What’s up with you?”

 

“Nothing. Leave me alone.”

 

“Who are you trying to fool you’ve been weird since yesterday.”

 

“I said it was nothing.”

 

“It’s clearly not nothing.” Jackson stopped planting his hands firmly on Mark’s shoulders to keep him in place, “Is it about-“

 

“It’s nothing like I just said so leave me alone.” Mark could tell his anger was rising but felt himself losing the fight to keep it down.

 

“You don’t mean that.”

 

“Yes. I do. So get the hell away from me.” He shoved Jackson so hard the younger ended up falling into the lockers behind him and drawing a few sets of eyes. “Don’t follow me.” He stormed off leaving a trail of stunned faces in his wake.

>>>

 

As soon as the house shook with Mark’s departure Youngjae started screaming and Jinyoung groaned snaking out from underneath Jaebum to go check on him.

 

Youngjae held his hands over his ears squeezing his eyes shut so tight Jinyoung thought they might rip, he gave Youngjae a kiss on the forehead sitting at the end of his bed. “It’s okay, it was just a noise.”

 

Youngjae slowly bought his hands down listening to be sure and only when he was absolutely certain there would be no more slamming doors he went to sit in Jinyoung’s lap wrapping his arms around his middle. “I hate loud.”

 

“You hate loud what?”

 

He squinted trying to think of the word. “Things?”

 

“No, c’mon Youngjae you know this one. It starts with an S.”

 

Youngjae jumped up, the hint being all he needed, “Sounds. I hate loud sounds.”

 

“That’s right you do, but it helps me get you out of bed.”

 

He whined going back under the covers, “Sleep more.”

 

Jinyoung decided fighting with a nine year old was not his top priority that morning so instead he went to check on the younger two. When he went to wake them though they were both already up playing with action figures.

 

“Oh no we have to save the lady.” Yugyeom said with a policeman that had all the paint wiped off his face, leaving a yellow shell of pupil-less eyes.

 

“I can do it. I’m super strong.” Bambam dropped his voice as low as possible. He bought out a figure with bulging muscles and oversized hands.

 

Jinyoung wanted to let himself get caught up in the pair but he had to get everyone ready before Jaebum got up so all he’d have to do is drive them all to school. “Wanna know who’s stronger?”

 

Bambam shook his head, “I’m the strongest person ever.” He attempted flexing his muscles but his face crinkled up in such a cute expression Jinyoung just had to scoop him up and give him a quick kiss attack.

 

“You. Are. So. Cute.”

 

Yugyeom ran over to tug on his pant leg, “I want kisses too.”

 

Jinyoung let Bambam down to give Yugyeom a few pecks to his forehead, “Happy?”

 

He shook his head, “One here too.” He pointed to his lips.

 

Jinyoung gave in easily, “Want to do something really exciting?”

 

“No. I just want to play.” Bambam said.

 

“You can play later, now is bath time.”

 

Yugyeom clapped feverishly, “That means I can go to school and be with my friends.”

 

Bambam grumbled, “Can I take a bath by myself. Only babies have bath time.”

 

Jinyoung sighed. Of course Bambam was well within his right to grow up and stop wanting to share his baths with two other people but it’d be so much easier to get it out of the way in one go rather than two…or three if Yugyeom said what Jinyoung dreaded he would say next.

 

“Yeah. I’m not a baby either.” Yugyeom wiggled until he was put down mirroring Bambam’s crossed arm pose.

 

“Why do you two want to fight with me today?”

 

Once Jinyoung had the boys eating microwave pancakes and sliced apples that he may or may not have cut his finger making. He went back upstairs to wake Jaebum but found him already up watching the news with his glasses on but still puffy faced.

 

“When did I get a sixth kid?”

 

“I didn’t wake up to be sassed thank you.”

 

Jinyoung rolled his eyes going sit on Jaebum’s lap, blocking out the view of the tv. “I didn’t get a kiss.”

 

“I have morning breath.”

 

“Like that ever stopped you before.” He poked out his lip leaning forward to rest his chin on his fiancé’s chest. “Please?”

 

Jaebum groaned but gave him a gentle touch, nothing more than pressure and breath. “Happy?”

 

“No I definitely need another.”Jaebum sighed in a way that said he was more annoyed at Jinyoung’s shameless attempt at pulling out his softer side so early in the morning rather than the actual kissing part. It left Jinyoung smiling up at him, flooded with fondness.  “We’re really getting married?”

 

“It seems we are.” He held up his left hand to show off the gold band on his ring finger.

 

Jinyoung looked down at his own matching band though his had a section of little white diamonds, “I can’t get over it yet. New rule, remind me every morning I’m marrying the same guy that cheated on me at least thirty times-“

 

“That was in high school-“

 

“And college.”

 

“Fair.”

 

“Crashed my parents car in a Domino’s.”

 

“That was not my fault it was dark.”

 

“Headlights.”

 

“Fair.”

 

“Stole my first kiss.”

 

“You said-“

 

“Jaebum.”

 

“Okay fair, what are you getting at? I know I’ve been kind of awful to you in the past.”

 

“Kind of?”

 

“You know what.” He leaned forward to pin Jinyoung against the mattress, he bought Jinyoung’s wrists together above his head in a hold just loose enough so that he could still slip out if he wanted to. Jaebum ducked down to give him a real kiss. One where Jinyoung’s lips were between his and he could taste the apple left on his tongue from the few bites he had taken earlier.

 

When they broke apart Jinyoung let out a little grumble at the loss of contact, “No, come back.” He pulled his wrist free, yanking Jaebum back down for another kiss. That one lasting a second shorter than the one previous when Jaebum broke apart to say,

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the stupid things I did before. I forgot to appreciate you then but…” he gave Jinyoung yet another kiss between the eyebrows, “I won’t make that mistake again.”

 

“You better not.” Two quick kisses to his bottom lip, “Pabo.”

 

They separated grudgingly when the boys started getting louder downstairs and Jinyoung heard the dishes clattering. “Why do we have to be dads today?”

 

Jaebum tugged him along in response. All the way down the stairs where Yugyeom and Bambam were hitting the table to see how loud a sound they could make and Youngjae was poking holes in his pancake with the handle of his fork.

 

While Jaebum went to give his good mornings, Jinyoung gathered backpacks and checked to make sure notebooks and pencils were in order then hook the straps around shoulders when one by one the kids filed out.

 

Bambam got the Captain America themed one, Yugyeom got Mark’s old spiderman backpack and Youngjae’s was a bright green hulk design that nearly dwarfed him with its size. Jaebum got a smile and,

 

“Drive like you have someone to come home to.”

 

“Don’t I always.”

>>>

As a child Jaebum had always assumed he would be a singer.

 

Someone that captivated audiences with a smooth voice and over the top visuals. His face would be on magazines and the walls of teenage girls everywhere and he’d travel the world like all the cool celebrities he saw on tv.

 

That dream died tragically around the same time his parents gave him his first camera for Christmas one year.

 

It was a hand-me-down from his grandfather and chipped in so many places Jaebum thought it wouldn’t be good for anything other than collecting dust. For the first month he had the hunk of plastic, it sat untouched in the hastily torn cardboard box it came in. But then Jinyoung got a hold of the thing when he was going through his vintage phase and while Jinyoung got tired of it after a week, Jaebum kind of just started taking pictures of everything.

 

Of his room when it was dark so the laces on his sneakers would glow, of the backyard in the winter covered in a thick layer of snow, of his friends trying to sneakily eat tater tots in class.

 

Of Jinyoung.

 

He wished he hadn’t chucked the old thing in the lake not far from his house in a fit of rage. There were pictures of his then best friend eating one of those giant carnival lollipops, next to the monkey exhibit from the class field trip they took to the zoo in third grade, trying and failing to straighten his hair with hot pink flat irons he borrowed from his sister.

 

Though Jaebum realized he couldn’t have a full career of his hobby alone he took a few classes in college and wound up doing wedding photography for easy money, photography turned into videography that turned into filming university plays that turned into directing them and eventually writing. Jaebum was still working his way up that ladder but,

 

“Okay everybody from the top.”

 

He was enjoying the ride.

 

The lead was a broad-shouldered man with bright pink hair and long limbs named Jin, he stepped out onto the stage that had remained dark save for a lone spotlight following him across the expanse. He held something tight to his chest, running quickly across the area, checking over his shoulder.

 

An imposing figure appeared before him out of the darkness in a baseball cap that obscured his face. “Do you want to know who you are?”

 

Jin’s eyes went wide as dish bowls, “Wh-who I am?”

 

“Follow me.” The man walked off stage left.

 

Jin seemed to be in a struggle between going back the way he came and going after the mysterious man. He inched backward but something off in the wings made him sprint off after the unknown.

 

Jaebum nodded waiting for the set to change over, they switched to a suburban setting. It was supposed to be outside but they hadn’t finished painting anything other than a simple grass shade in the background.

 

Jin walked out once again, before he got far Jaebum was calling out cut and the cast collectively groaned from behind the curtains.

 

“What is it now?” he complained.

 

Jaebum hopped up onto the stage pointing to one of the red x’s marked on the floor, “You come out, stop here, say your line then Seungcheol does his piece.” He beckoned the latter over, “And I don’t know if it’s just this hat or if the actual prop hat is gonna do this, but I could see the bill sticking out when you walked off so,” he flipped the cap backwards, “Be mindful of that.”

 

“Sir yes sir.”

 

“Cool, run it again.”

 

“Can we do lunch first? I’m starving.” Jin questioned.

 

“You were eating nature valley’s the entire time backstage are you kidding me?” Ken walked out carrying an empty box of the aforementioned snack, “These were supposed to last a week.”

 

Jin shamelessly went down to the auditorium to grab his backpack from one of the seats, “I’m stress eating okay, you know today’s the day Yoongi is getting his tonsils removed.”

 

“Tough.” Seongcheol dropped down to sit beside him, “I remember when Soonyoung got his taken out.”

 

As the conversation continued Jaebum just sighed, “Okay I guess we’re on lunch.”

 

A few others grumbled but it was mostly cheers as lunch bags were ped and a small group departed to pick up McDonald’s.

 

Jaebum couldn’t help his eyes from flickering over to the dark-haired man that had joined Seongcheol and Jin eating cold ramen.

 

Jinyoung nodded along with the conversation though Jaebum could tell he knew someone was watching by the lift in his ear and the way he rolled his ring around his finger. Almost like a warning sign.

 

Jaebum had his own container of cold noodles waiting for him but he decided it was a good time to talk to Sungjae about whether he’d be needing an understudy since he had a few other shows he was working on simultaneously.

 

Plus, there was only so long he could be so close to Jinyoung without wanting to be right up next to him and making everyone uncomfortable. If they couldn’t have cuddle time with their significant others during work hours, it was only fair he shouldn’t either.

 

“Hey director.” Seongcheol called abandoning his lunch. “Can I talk to you about something.”

 

Jaebum sat on the stage apron patting the spot beside him.

 

“Not…not here, it’s kinda private.”

 

Jinyoung looked up abruptly but shook his head just as fast and went back to chattering with Jin.

 

“Okay…what’s it about though?”

 

“It’s really private.”

 

Jaebum caught Jinyoung’s twitch, “You can’t tell me anything general about it?”

 

“Uh well…you know Jeonghan hasn’t been feeling well recently.”

 

“Mhm, made you miss two rehearsals.”

 

“Right, but we recently found out why and he’s been a bit worried about that reason.”

 

“I’m so confused.”

 

Jin huffed loudly, “You guys are pregnant again?”

 

“Dammit.” Seongcheol darkened noticeably.

 

“No way is this number eight?” Ken asked.

 

“Eight? Pfft, I bet it’s twins.” Jin said.

 

Seongcheol just sighed, “Yeah he’s pregnant, and he’s worried I’ll be so busy with the play I won’t be able to help him with the kids and the…twins.”

 

“I knew it.”

 

Jaebum tried not to smile. He had a bet going on with Jinyoung that Seongcheol would end up with another kid by the end of the play and Jinyoung had been adamant that he wouldn’t be so careless during crunch time.

 

Someone owed him a backrub.

 

“We can talk about this later, I don’t know if I can find anyone to cover for you if you don’t know when you’ll be in or out.”

 

Seongcheol nodded slowly, “Yeah, sorry to just spring it on you like this.”

 

“Oh don’t worry.” Jaebum got to his feet, “I think we all saw it coming.”

>>>

Youngjae usually liked school lunch.

 

Everything was all plastic and styrofoam and the portion sizes were always a bit larger than Youngjae could finish, but it was nice to sit with his brother and sometimes Bambam if the first graders stuck around long enough. They would eat what Youngjae couldn’t finish and sneak in those cool little race cars that zoomed across the table if you rolled them back far enough.

 

That day in particular neither the kindergarteners nor the first graders had been around for the later lunch periods so it was just Youngjae’s class and the fifth graders.

 

Their chaperone had stepped out to have her own lunch and left the small group in the care of the lunch attendant but even he was too busy stopping a potential fight and checking bathroom passes. While the rest of the room chattered happily, Youngjae chewed his bottom lip and hummed so he wouldn’t have to hear the flurry of words being thrown at him by his classmate.

 

“That’s not how you hold a fork you’re so dumb.” The girl took his utensil and tossed it to the floor crushing it with her sandal, “Now you can just use your hands.”

 

Youngjae hummed louder, he hadn’t planned on eating much with her around. She said he ate so much like a pig he might as well turn into one so her parents could chop him up and turn him to bacon. Youngjae couldn’t figure out why hearing those things made him feel like pushing his food away, why it made his chest feel tight and his eyes water.

 

Jaebum had constantly told Youngjae it wasn’t his fault his body didn’t listen to him and that he shouldn’t be so hard on himself but every time he tried to take a bite of something it was like invisible strings yanking his hands and mouth in opposite directions. Like no matter how hard he concentrated, things wouldn’t go where they were supposed to.

 

He tried telling Hana that, he tried explaining to her all the things Jaebum had explained to him even though he didn’t fully understand he knew some things just weren’t his fault and he’d have to work hard to correct them.

 

Only, Hana hadn’t changed one bit. She still told Youngjae he was stupid for forgetting so many words when he spoke, that he talked to much about things nobody cared about and all the moles splattered over his skin looked like dead ants. 

 

Jaebum had told him his moles were just little bits of sugar god forgot to mix in but when Youngjae told Hana that she just laughed in his face because, ‘You’re such a loser, you believe everything your dad says’

 

He drank his milk quietly even avoiding Taehyung when they caught each other’s eyes across the table.

 

Once he finished, Youngjae collected his leftovers getting up to dump them in the trashcan but just before he took his first step he went crashing to the ground and all the macaroni and cheese he hadn’t eaten was splattered over his bright red t-shirt.

 

Youngjae had thought it was just his body being useless again but when he looked up there was Hana pointing and laughing saying ‘oops’ and tucking her shoe under the bench.

 

“That was mean.” He said.

 

“What’re you gonna do? Tell your daddy?” She casually opened the spout of her apple juice and poured it all over the lap of Youngjae’s shorts, “If you tell, I’ll make my dad beat your dad up then you won’t be able to tell anybody.”

 

Youngjae quieted. He thought for a long time, Jaebum was the best and no one could hurt him. He let Youngjae sit on his shoulders and gave the best tickles. He was big and strong and Youngjae could depend on him.

 

He thought that for so long…but it wasn’t true.

 

Not entirely.

 

So, Youngjae wiped off as much as he could with the little napkin that came with his fork, gathered his fallen tray and walked it over to the garbage.

>>>

Jackson had planned on going home with Mark to see if he’d cooled down from his outburst earlier. The prospect of running down virtual pedestrians and eating Doritos with Hoseok was attractive. But Jackson couldn’t seem to concentrate all day in his classes, he even zoned out completely in math and would probably be stuck to his textbook all night. There was no way he’d be able to keep up with Hoseok.

 

Jackson ended up walking down to the theatre to see if Jinyoung hadn’t left yet and maybe they could pick up the little ones and have some alone time to talk.

 

He expected most of the other actors to be gone when he got in, rehearsals ended an hour or so before school let out. Jackson had always assumed it was because Jinyoung just needed extra help or something like tutoring. He didn’t fully understand why until he dropped the engagement bomb. It made Jackson have seconds thoughts about going over since he really couldn’t stomach it if he saw his dad kissing Jb.

 

But when he walked in, there was still a full house and they were all sat in a circle on stage playing some kind of hand game. When Jackson noticed Jinyoung absent among the group he sighed and went to sit next to Jaebum completely absorbed in a stack of papers that might have been the script or the cure to cancer for all Jackson cared.

 

He threw himself in the fold up chair sighing loudly.

 

Jaebum remained focused on his work, mumbling something about dinner plans to himself.

 

Jackson breathed in deeply then sighed even louder his breath causing a few papers to blow across the table.

 

“He’s not here. He went to pick up the boys.” Jaebum said reaching out to return order to his controlled chaos. “Or did you want something else?”

 

“I had a bad day at school.”

 

“Why is that?” he looked down at Jackson curiously, his previous work forgotten.

 

Jackson squirmed under the look. He talked to Jaebum often enough, it was almost tradition for Jackson to roll out of bed late at night in search of the bathroom and find Jaebum deep in his work. Jackson would abandon his previous mission entirely, sitting next to the director and talking about anything and everything until he fell asleep on his shoulder and woke up the next morning tucked snuggly into bed.

 

Sometimes Jackson helped Jb write songs or drew on his arm with the cool multicolor pen he stole from someone in his geometry class. Sometimes Mark would be there and they’d make up rap songs or shake the kitchen trying out some of the martial arts moves they were learning. Meanwhile, Jb would look up and smile or tell them to be a little quieter.

 

He couldn’t figure out why talking to Jb then was any different. But he looked down at his hands and tugged at one of the little earrings he had recently began wearing.

 

“I think I’m being bullied.”

 

“By who?”

 

“…will you get mad?”

 

Jaebum furrowed his brows, “Why would I be mad if someone was bullying you?”

 

“Because you like them better than me.”

 

“It’s Mark isn’t it.” He sighed.

 

Jackson continued destroying his jeans.

 

“I do not like Mark more than you, I don’t know where you got that from.”

 

“But he’s your son and I’m…not.”

 

“Not yet.”

 

Jackson stole a glance up at him. The corner of his mouth was pulled upward and his eyes were soft around the edges instead of their usual sharp borders. “Do you want me to be your son? Or do you just have to because you like my dad.”

 

Jaebum chuckled, “Yeah I like your dad. But you and Bambam are another bonus, in fact I don’t think I’d be marrying him if it wasn’t for you two.”

 

“Really?” Jackson scooted closer until he was right up under Jaebum’s nose.

 

“Mhm. He’s too naggy.”

 

“And serious.” Jackson set his lips in a line, “Did you do your homework?”

 

To his surprise Jaebum joined in with him, “Did you clean the dishes?”

 

“Did you turn off the fan before you went to bed?”

 

“Did you eat the last of the ramen.”

 

“And for the love of god-“

 

“Would you please-“

 

“Cover your mouth.” They said together, erupting in a fit of laughter so loud the cast halted their game to fix the pair with a curious look.

 

Jin jumped down to the hardwood, tapping his foot to get their attention.

 

Jackson wasted no time in throwing his arms around the man squeezing so tight Jin looked to Jaebum for help detaching the preteen from him. “Hello to you too.”

 

“Is Joon here?” Jackson bounced on his heels, peaking over Jin’s shoulder.

 

Jin shook his head with a smile, “Not for a while. What you don’t miss your Uncle Jinnie?”

 

“I do but I miss Joon more.”

 

“I’ll let him know you were looking out for him okay?”

 

Jackson nodded, forgetting about what he had been discussing with Jb to accompany Jin on stage. He joined in on the ice breaker game sat between Seongcheol and Ken basking in the attention they smothered him in.

 

All in all the day had been pretty great.

>>>

 

Jinyoung watched Youngjae quietly slurp ramen from his bowl, a pair of Mickey Mouse Ears on each handle of his chopsticks.

 

Jinyoung left rehearsal early to pick the kids up from school after Youngjae had an accident at lunch and the spare pants in his backpack were too large. Instead of leaving Jaebum to pick up the younger two Jinyoung decided it was their lucky day and let them off early in the backyard to run themselves into exhaustion. Maybe just end the day with homework and dinner if Jackson got back in time.

 

When the drama king of the house was absent upon Jinyoung’s arrival he thought the preteen was visiting Hoseok from what Mark told him before he disappeared in the basement and awful rap music started vibrating through the floorboards. But then Jaebum texted him that they were stopping for groceries and Jinyoung wiped imaginary sweat off his forehead because Jackson and Hoseok alone in a house was a recipe for trouble.

 

That left Jinyoung one less thing to worry about and as Youngjae pushed his still half full bowl away he was ever thankful for the little breaks he was provided.

 

“Are you ready to talk now?” Jinyoung dabbed at the drops of broth that didn’t make it into Younjae’s mouth with one of the wet wipes he kept stashed in his pocket for that exact cause.

 

“It was an accident. I’m sorry.” He swung his legs back and forth avoiding eye contact completely, save for a peak out the corner of his eye when he thought Jinyoung wasn’t looking.

 

“If you have to go to the bathroom and there’s nobody around for you to ask, just get up and go. We talked about this Youngjae.”

 

“I know.”

 

When the four of them got home Yugyeom and Bambam tossed their backpacks on the couch and ran straight for the minivac while the usually exuberant Youngjae dragged himself to the kitchen table. Jinyoung thought he might have needed a little snack before he was ready to open up, and while he wasn’t Jaebum who could probably make something decent with the limited amount of time before the house was full again. He was still a dad and ramen was still ready in four minutes or less in the microwave.

 

“Then why didn’t you go?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“If I can’t get off work early, no one can come bring you clean clothes and then you’ll be sticky for the rest of the day. Is that what you want?”

 

“No.”

 

“No what?”

 

“No, not what I want.”

 

There was more to the story, Jinyoung could tell. Youngjae never lied, Jinyoung wasn’t sure he even understood the concept of lying. But Youngjae had always been one to answer a question bluntly and if Jinyoung didn’t know what to ask he would never get down to the bottom of things.

 

He heard the car door slam outside and decided to let Jaebum handle the rest, they both had a habit of not being very upfront about their emotions.

 

All the Im boys did actually.

 

“I want you to go to your room and wait for your dad to come talk to you okay?”

 

“In trouble.” His grew two sizes and the tip of his nose was reddening.

 

Jinyoung had to physically restrain himself from giving it a kiss and saying all was forgiven, “You’re not in trouble, I just think you should have some to think. Do you understand Youngjae? I’m not angry with you.”

 

He slid out of his chair going to give Jinyoung a kiss on the cheek before heading to the stairs.

 

Just as one door closed another one opened and there was Jackson carrying so many grocery bags he could barely walk, he would’ve knocked right into Jinyoung’s lamp if it wasn’t for Jaebum behind him holding him steady.

 

“We got lunchables.” He cheered, shuffling in with two bags full of the little packages. “And chocolate.”

 

“That’s what he wanted.” Jaebum held his hands up in defense ducking out of Jinyoung’s reach before he could get a well deserved pluck to the back of the neck.

 

“And you just bought it. Did you seriously get talked into stocking my refrigerator full of lunchables, by and eleven year old?”

 

“Um…yes?”

 

Jinyoung breathed in deeply, there were more pressing matters to attend to than his fiancé’s inability to discipline his son.

 

He helped Jackson put away all the groceries save for the only real food that managed to make it in. Chicken and vegetables that Jaebum thought he would use for stir fry.

 

As he got the cutting board out and a suitable pan, Bambam ran in with Yugyeom close behind. They slammed the door shut and ran straight up the stairs tracking dirt all over the carpet. It reminded Jinyoung there was another little one patiently waiting for his talking to and Jinyoung thought it was best to get it over with before homework time.

 

“Hyung.” he sang knowing the phrase would gather Jaebum's attention quickly, “Do you think you could go talk to Youngjae?”

 

“Oooh what’d he do?” Jackson came up behind him already chowing down on a snickers bar and spoiling his dinner.

 

“None of your business rascal.”

 

“Yeah I think I know what this is about, finish chopping for me?”

 

“You’re gonna let him chop? He might burn it.”

 

“Jackson Wang Park you have three seconds to get out of my sight before I send you to live with the dogs.”

 

“That’s not fair.” He whined.

 

“1.”

 

“But I didn’t-“

 

“2.”

 

“It was just a-“

 

“3.”

 

And he was gone.

---

 

 

The day ended the same way it started, except instead of sending kids off with backpacks it was with kisses.

 

Youngjae especially.

 

Jinyoung could tell he was still feeling guilty after being reprimanded but being a dad wasn’t all about the fun things and as much as Jinyoung hated it sometimes he just had to be the bad guy.

 

After everyone was safely in bed, (or quietly playing videos games and sneaking lunchables to their room) Jinyoung crumbled under his blankets snuggling into the warm body beside him.

 

“Long day?” Jaebum was still scrolling through emails on his phone, but by the way he kept rubbing his eyes Jinyoung was sure he’d be out for the count soon enough.

 

“The longest. Did you know there was this guy trying to get my fiancé alone to ‘talk’,” he held up his fingers in a bunny ear positions, causing Jaebum’s lips to quirk upward. “Can you believe the nerve?”

 

“Maybe he just didn’t want to be teased for being fond of-“

 

“Not using condoms.”

 

“Jinyoung.”

 

“Did I say that out loud?” he bat his eyelashes when Jaebum trained him with a death stare.

 

It was no secret Jinyoung wasn’t completely over the past he shared with Jaebum. He didn’t think he ever would be, underneath all the jokes and teasing there was still hurt and Jaebum did his best to quell Jinyoung’s fear in whatever way he could.

 

Jinyoung was thankful he wasn’t being told to simply get over it and keep going, that Jaebum was finally listening to him. It cushioned the blow a little more every time he thought of all those people Jaebum had been with that weren’t him.

 

He seemed to sense the shift in mood and laid his phone on the bedside table to lean over and wrap Jinyoung up in his arms, “You know I love you right?”

 

“Nah, I don’t think so.”

 

“I do.”

 

“You’re not supposed to be saying that for another…three weeks is it?”

 

“Why do you do this to me.”

 

He chuckled giving the final kiss of the night to the same person who took the first one he ever gave, “Love you too.”

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTES:

These will be some longer end notes so feel free to skip, see you in the next chapter.

Otherwise, THANKS FOR READING I really don't think I can say this enough. Kudos and comments mean ALOT, like reading the comments is always uplifting because I get to see who's actually behind the numbers and it's a real kick in the to edit. But it still feels good to know people at least gave my story a shot even if they didn't like it.
I know I said the next chapter wouldn't be for a while but I got a particular comment on this story specifically that really made me want to try harder to finish this out a little quicker, I'm not 100% happy with it but I don't think I ever will be and if I kept staring at it I'd get too scared to post and end up deleting the whole thing.
I legit have no life so there definitely will not be months between uploads but it won't be every other day as I originally planned.

Sometimes I wish the internet hadn't ruined the innocence of the word 'daddy' I think it's so cute when kids say that but it felt weird when Youngjae did it.
I know there's a lot of kisses being given around this chapter but I'm sorry I couldn't help it.
As for Jeonghan being able to get pregnant he is still male through and through but I know people might take issue with that because Jeonghan is feminized a lot and I'm not trying to do that by any stretch I just didn't feel like having them use a surrogate because I feel like that would need to much explanation.
Maybe?
I don't know.
This is not an mpreg fic. Jeonghan just has the right equipment for the job, we'll say that. The rest of the kids were born the old fashioned way, just wanted to mix it up a bit. 

I wanted to keep this mostly pg because at its heart it's a family story but I slipped up a little this chapter so for anyone bothered by it, I'm really sorry but that's just what ended up happening.
And I know I mentioned it in one of the other parts (which are not very kid friendly if you catch my drift) that this is an american setting but the dads grew up in korean households so they have picked up quite a few words that they use from time to time.

Anyway I know this was a complete mess so I’m sorry I just couldn’t figure out how to organize what I wanted to say. I'm still working hard on edits and rewrites so please be patient with me. And don't forget to leave me some comments, they're really nice to wake up to.