(A year later)

“Daddy… Appa?” A soft voice whispered. Despite being mostly asleep, Seokjin knew it was Hoseok’s voice and as soon as his mind caught up, he knew exactly why he was waking them up.

Seokjin felt the mattress shift as Namjoon moved around, immediately responding to Hoseok’s voice. That was the only thing that could really wake Namjoon up the first time. Seokjin could fall off of the bed- which he’s done so many times before- causing a loud thump and a few things from their bedside tables to come crashing down and Namjoon wouldn’t move an inch. But if Yoongi or Hoseok came into their room and even uttered the word “Daddy,” Namjoon was up in just a second.

As Seokjin and Namjoon moved to sit up out of their sleep, a hopeful smile spread across Hoseok’s face as he made a few failed attempts to climb onto the bed.

“What’s up, Sunshine?” Namjoon yawned, his eyes still closed as he leaned his back against the headboard.

“Guess what today is,” Hoseok giggled. He finally found success as he climbed onto Seokjin’s lap who was still a bit discombobulated and not fully awake.

“It’s the 18th,” Seokjin grumbled, pulling Hoseok to his chest.

“Mhm,” Namjoon agreed. That hopeful smile of Hoseok’s face melted into a deep frown.

“No, it not…” Hoseok whimpered, rubbing at his eyes already.

Of course, Seokjin and Namjoon knew what today was. The youngest of the household was turning five today. There was no way they could possibly forget because Hoseok had told them about one hundred times that today was his special day. But even without the constant reminders, there was no way Namjoon or Seokjin could forget.

“Appa… You really don’t r-remember?”

Oh, Seokjin would never get tired of hearing Hoseok call him Appa. After that day at the zoo, sleepovers at Namjoon’s house became more and more frequent. Seokjin had been cooking breakfast every morning and even was there on Hoseok’s first day of preschool when he turned four. Of course there were tears and pleads to not leave him, but when Hoseok was calm enough, Seokjin would never forget when Hoseok whispered in his ear, “Please come back, Appa” while giving him the tightest hug he could muster before the little boy was reluctantly taken in with the teacher.

During the drive to drop Seokjin off at work that day, Namjoon finally suggested that Seokjin and Yoongi just move in permanently seeing how both him and Hoseok had gotten so attached to their presence. On the rare days that Seokjin and Yoongi did sleep at their apartment, Namjoon and Hoseok felt that the house was empty. Missing its pleasant aura.

It wasn’t until Seokjin told Yoongi that they were moving in with Hoseok and Namjoon that Yoongi called Namjoon his dad. “We’re gonna live with you now, Daddy?” Namjoon almost cried from happiness when Yoongi said that. Despite his usual tone of nonchalance, Namjoon liked to believe that Yoongi was as excited as he was about calling him one of his fathers. He felt established.

“Of course we remember, Hobi. It’s your birthday. You’re five just like Yoongi now,” Seokjin chuckled, his desire for sleep so clear. Hoseok had completely forgotten about being sad as he wrapped his arms around Jin’s neck tightly. “I knew you would remember! I love you, Appa!”

“Hey, I remembered too,” Namjoon feigned a pout. Unlike Seokjin, Namjoon didn’t look the least bit tired anymore as he flung his arms in exaggeration.

“Me too,” Yoongi’s voice grumbled from by the doorway of their room. Yoongi rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand as he held on tightly to a piece of paper in his other hand.

“What’s that, buddy?” Namjoon questioned, waving Yoongi over from the door. He was a bit hesitant but obliged anyway, slowly making his way from the door and over to Namjoon’s side of the bed. He climbed onto Namjoon’s lap- the task being a lot easier for Yoongi than it was for Hoseok- holding the piece of paper to his chest. Seokjin smiled as he watched Yoongi snuggle up to Namjoon, noticing Namjoon’s confusion in whether to snuggle the boy back or not. Usually, in the mornings, Yoongi didn’t like to be touched and wanted to stay a considerable distance from everyone. While it was easy for Seokjin to recognize those specific mornings when Yoongi wanted affection, Namjoon still found it hard to read the boy.

“I drew a picture for Hoseok while I was in class,” he mumbled. Hoseok’s eyes lit up as he clapped him little hands together.

“Can I see it?”

“Here.” Yoongi slowly handed the paper to Hoseok. Namjoon kissed the crown of Yoongi’s head. “He’s going to love it,” he whispered to Yoongi.

Hoseok was holding the paper upside down so Seokjin helped him out. Fixing the paper for him, Seokjin read the words out loud. “Happy Birthday, Hobi! I love you. From Yoongi.”

Upon reading it, Yoongi hid in Namjoon’s chest. “I didn’t say it like that,” Yoongi murmured. “I said it like a whisper. Appa is doing it wrong.” His words muffled in Namjoon’s shirt. Namjoon and Seokjin laughed.

“Thank you, Gi! Now we are both five!” Hoseok held up five fingers with a proud smile, showing off his skills that he learned from preschool.

“Yeah, but only for a month. I’m gonna be six next month. Right, Daddy and Appa?” Yoongi questioned, looking over at Seokjin for confirmation.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” Seokjin agreed, reaching over to pinch at his cheek. Yoongi, as expected, whined at the affection, cuddling up to Namjoon more to get away from Jin’s hand, but he still beamed at the praise.

“We should get up and make the birthday boy some breakfast, Joonie. We have so much planned for you today,” Seokjin exclaimed. It wasn’t just an over exaggeration either. Seokjin took a day off from the restaurant and Namjoon already had a day off anyway.

“What if I make you some pancakes?” Namjoon said dramatically. Hoseok, Yoongi, and even Seokjin gasped in excitement at the mentioning of Joonie’s famous pancakes.

Namjoon was originally from America and only came to Korea to go to college, but after meeting Seokjin, he chose to delay his trip back to the U.S for a little longer. So to cure his home sickness, he’d usually make American food. Despite Seokjin’s confidence in his own cooking skills, he quickly admitted that no one made pancakes like his beloved partner did.

“I love Daddy’s pancakes! Let’s go!” Hoseok beckoned, pulling Seokjin by his arms to get out of bed. Yoongi stayed sitting on Namjoon’s lap, not making a move at all.

“You okay, love?” Namjoon asked Yoongi, petting his hair the way he knew Yoongi liked while Seokjin and Hoseok continued to make a huge hassle.

“I want sleep.”

“How about you go sleep on the couch while Daddy makes the pancakes. I’m sure Hoseok would love to join you in the living room.”

“But I want pancakes too…”

“You’re gonna get some, I promise. As soon as Daddy finishes, I’m gonna wake you up so we can all eat pancakes, alright.”

“Okay.” With that, Yoongi manuerved off of Namjoon’s lap and followed Seokjin and Hoseok out of the room. While watching Yoongi leave, Namjoon noticed Seokjin’s worries. Yoongi was considerably small for a five year old about to be six in just a month. He’d told Jin several times that he’d have a growth spurt in no time and told him not to worry. Bt now he was worrying. He made a mental note to pull Seokjin to the side and talk about making an appointment for Yoongi to go to a doctor.

But for now, Namjoon dismissed the thought. He untangled his legs from the covers and was just a few steps behind his three favorite boys in the world as they made their way to the kitchen.

“Baby, let them have some more. It’s Hoseok’s birthday, after all. Just for today,” Namjoon chuckled, prying the syrup bottle from Seokjin stubborn grip and pouring more on top of Hoseok’s and Yoongi’s pancakes.

“They don’t need so much sugar in the morning,” Seokjin fumed, throwing himself back into his own chair. “That syrup is very unhealthy.”

“That’s why it’s so good.”

Seokjin only rolled his eyes causing both kids to giggle at their fathers’ bickering. Seokjin and Namjoon didn’t agree on a lot of things when it came to the children but always came to some sort of conclusion that they both could agree on. “Jinnie, sweetie. Please let it slide just this once,” Namjoon genuinely pouted. He held the syrup over Jin’s pancakes with an expectant smile, begging him to not be angry and accept some syrup.

“Fine. But only because it’s someone’s special day.”

Hoseok giggled while Yoongi only grumbled, still trying to wake up from his short nap on the living room floor.

“What are we doing today, Appa?” Yoongi asked.

“Well, Uncle Junmyeon and Kris are going to come over. They’re bringing your cousins, Minseok and Luhan, so we can all play and watch Hobi’s favorite superhero movies and play video games.”

“We’ll even have popcorn and lots of snacks. But most importantly,” Namjoon said. “They’ll have cake. All for Hoseok’s birthday!”

Hoseok carelessly dropped his fork on his glass plate, springing drops of syrup onto the table that Jin quickly moved to clean up, and clapped for himself. “Yay, me!”

After breakfast, the doorbell rang in unison with soft taps on the lower half of the door. “They’re here, boys!” Seokjin called, drying his hands off on a dish towel. He’d just finished cleaning up the kitchen while Namjoon took on the task of helping Yoongi and Hoseok clean up their sticky hands and faces from the syrup. The mess was mostly because the two decided they wanted to use their hands to up the excess syrup from their plates which earned Namjoon a flick to his forehead and a quick scolding.

“Hey! Hoseok and Yoongi are just getting clean up, they should be out in a second,” Seokjin said, beckoning his brother and his own family into the house. “Hey, Jin.” Junmyeon wrapped Jin in a hug that was followed by Kris embracing him shortly after. Seokjin considered himself a good height, but when he was next to Kris- let alone being hugged by him- Seokjin felt as small as his children. Seokjin was able to nose at the man’s shoulder while they hugged.

Closing the door behind them, Minseok and Luhan launched themselves at Seokjin, clinging to their uncle’s leg. “Happy birthday, Uncle Jinnie!” Luhan, the younger of the two, said, kissing at Jin’s knee.

“No. It’s not Jinnie’s birthday, it’s Hoseok’s birthday,” Minseok reminded, pulling Luhan off of Seokjin. With a cute giggle, Seokjin pat Luhan’s head a few times.

“Where’s the actual birthday boy!” Seokjin called. When the word ‘birthday’ slipped past Seokjin’s lips, there was immediate pitter patters coming from the hallway.

“Right here, right here!” Hoseok was running so quickly that Jin was a bit paranoid that he would trip over his own foot. It happened more times than anyone would predict. “I’m the birthday boy!” He exclaimed, sprinting into Junmyeon’s open arms.

“That’s the birthday boy. Turning five years old. Such a big boy!” Junmyeon said, peppering kisses all over his face, extracting a high pitched giggles from Hobi. Even without him saying so, Kris seemed to know that Yoongi also wanted some attention. In just a few seconds, he had Yoongi cradled in his arms as he tickled him and told him just how much he missed him.

Yoongi wasn’t as accepting of affection as Hoseok and attempted to push Kris away and cover the lips that kept trying to press against his cheeks. Despite that, Yoongi still giggled and giggled.

Namjoon greeted Minseok and Luhan by crushing them both between his long arms.

Seokjin smiled brightly at his family. Jin never thought he would experience something like this. Being gay in Korea wasn’t the easiest thing and he’d, long ago, accepted the fact that he probably would never have a family.

But this was perfect.

Yeah, he couldn’t be a legal guardian of Hoseok because two men couldn’t be the guardian of a child in Korea. He would never be able to legally marry Namjoon. He wouldn’t be able to tell his parents about his family. He was denied so much by just being who he was.

But, yet again, this was perfect and he wouldn’t ask for anything more than this. His brothers, nephews, children, and husband.

Seokjin smiled and led everyone to the living room to start their day.