For translation:
bàba = dad
jiān jiǎo = fried dumpling
jiānbǐng = egg pancakes
xièxiè = thank you
Zuò gè hǎo mèng = sweet dreams
Wǒ ài nǐ = I love you

- - - 

Sometimes Junmyeon thought of tying down his husband to the bed, and no, not in that way, but to let him know that sleeping in during the weekends was more than fine, it was great! At least Yixing had more hours of sleep now compared to the times Jongdae was a baby, and they were both nervous, first-time parents.

No matter how many times they had discussed it, Yixing would say that laying in bed after the clock had hit seven made him feel lazy, as if he was wasting time when he could be taking care of the garden, making breakfast for the kids, so they won’t be hungry for too long, clean the house, anything because there was always something to do. Yixing was an early riser, he wanted things to be done at a particular time in a certain way. After spending time in Changsha with his in-laws, Junmyeon knew his husband had gotten that habit from his mother-in-law. She had also been like that. Many times, when Junmyeon had woken up, he had seen her and Yixing already doing something. His father-in-law had one time looked at him with a smile and said, ‘You’ll get used to it eventually.’ Junmyeon had been married to Yixing for ten years now, and he still wasn’t used to it, no matter how many times Yixing reassured him it was okay because his work at the broadcasting network wasn’t as demanding as Junmyeon’s. That didn’t mean it was okay. And Junmyeon did help as much as he could whenever he woke up early. But this Sunday hadn’t been one of those days. The office had been swamped with work due to the big case they were currently working on. The late hours had taken a toll on him and pulling all-nighters hadn’t been well received by his body. Funny how he was only thirty-six and already felt like this. The nickname ‘uncle Jun’ his friend had given him back in college seemed pretty fitting now.

So, Junmyeon wasn’t surprised to find his husband already awake with breakfast ready on the table or that he had even prepared their lunch for today. Yixing stood on the kitchen counter, packaging their food in containers. Just like every morning Junmyeon woke up and saw Yixing, he smiled for himself. The days he didn’t see Yixing in the mornings indirectly tended to affect his mood, even his secretary had come to realize it. Every time Junmyeon complained his Cappuccino had too much cream, his Subway sandwich had too many onions, or any other trivial issue, she gave her a look and said ‘Yixing’s back in Changsha?’ and he would embarrassedly nod yes. Those were the only times they were away from each other, when Yixing had to visit Changsha, and because of too much work, Junmyeon couldn’t tag along (although he did take a quick fly over there on the weekend). Luckily, that wasn’t quite as common now than during their early married years. Instead, the whole family would visit together.

He walked to stand behind Yixing, surrounding his arms along his husband waist. Yixing chuckled, greeting him a good morning Junmyeon reciprocated along with a kiss on the cheek. When Yixing was done storing the fried tofu rice balls, he swung around to meet Junmyeon face to face. Yixing put an arm around Junmyeon’s neck and drew closer until their lips met in a soothing touch. Junmyeon also liked good morning kisses.

“I told you I could help you with the food,” Junmyeon reprimanded his stubborn husband once the kiss ended. He admitted he wasn’t the best cook when it came to complicated recipes, but with Yixing’s guidance he could help.

“It’s nothing, Jun. You know I can’t sleep after waking up.”

That he knew, which was why whenever Junmyeon saw Yixing napping on the couch or on the porch swing with a book in his hand, he’ll take Jongdae and Jongin for a quick trip somewhere or to their playroom to do something like help them build LEGOS (their recent project was building Luke’s land speeder).

“I still would have wanted you to wake me up. You look tired, Xing.” There was a faint trace of tiredness in Yixing’s face. To have all this food ready by nine o’clock, he must have woken up even earlier than usual.

Yixing smiled before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

“You needed the rest more than me,” Yixing said. He moved his fingers to caress underneath Junmyeon’s visible dark eyes. “Would it make you feel better if I let you take care of dinner tonight?”

He was still bothered with himself for being such a heavy sleeper, but he could accept that deal. Junmyeon stopped his pouting and nodded. Then, he rested his chin on Yixing’s shoulder and continued hugging him. This was another thing Junmyeon liked to do in the mornings, he and his husband holding each other like this. Of course, due to how busy it could get in the mornings with two children attending school, they couldn’t do this a lot. So, Junmyeon would take every opportunity he’ll get to cuddle with Yixing like this.

“I love you,” Junmyeon said.

“I love you too,” Yixing replied, running his fingers through Junmyeon’s hair.

Some people were surprised that after thirteen years of being together, he and Yixing still had their moments like this, cloying moments mostly new partners tended to show. But he was just as in love with his husband as Yixing was with him. That didn’t mean there hadn’t been any fights and issues, of course, there had been, sometimes ugly ones as well that had them both feeling miserable for days, but eventually, everything got solved. Their love would always be there, it would always prevail.

The moment got interrupted when they heard stomping feet running down the stairs. They let go of each other while smiling knowingly.

“Good morning dads!” Jongdae shouted while entering the kitchen. He was still wearing his green pajamas with the dinosaurs patterns. Both Junmyeon and Yixing agreed that sleeping clothes was for sleeping, but Jongdae seemed to forget that every time he was excited for the upcoming day. After all, today was Sunday, the family’s designated fun day. It was the day Yixing, and Junmyeon took the kids to do something together: eating out, going to the park, going shopping, visiting places, anything as long they spent time together. This Sunday they would be going to the beach for a picnic with Minseok, whose sister had moved back to town and had asked him to babysit her son for the day. They had also invited Jongdae’s best friend from school, Chanyeol.

“Oh, bàba you made jiān jiǎo and jiānbǐng!” Jongdae said once he looked at the dining table. Recently their son had begun learning Chinese. When the children had been babies, Yixing had always sung them Chinese lullabies while Junmyeon sang in Korean. Jongdae and Jongin grew up hearing both languages, Chinese mainly when they had visited Yixing’s family. Although being bilingual certainly had its advantages, and Junmyeon had said he didn’t mind if they spoke to them only in Chinese at home (luckily Junmyeon had learned it years ago), Yixing hadn’t wanted to pressure them into learning the language. That had caused some debate with Yixing’s mother because although the kids did know some spoken words, it wasn’t enough. Yixing still did what he deemed best like he always did. But this year, Jongdae had requested he wanted to learn the language. It had come out of nowhere, which took Yixing and Junmyeon by surprise, but also made them happy. Therefore, Jongdae took every chance he could to practice his new language skills. Seeing his older brother so excited, even little Jongin had said he wanted to learn, but they agreed that once he knew how to read and write hangul, he would join Jongdae as well.

“Dae,” Junmyeon said when he saw his son sitting at the table, ready to dig into the dumplings and egg pancakes. “What did we say about the pajamas? Have you washed your face, young man?”

Jongdae formed an ‘o’ with his lips before bolting out towards his room upstairs, which had both Junmyeon and Yixing laughing.

“I’ll go see if Nini is awake,” Junmyeon said, “You sit down, we’ll be right back.”

“Thank you,” Yixing replied.

Jongin was indeed awake when Junmyeon opened the door to his room. Unlike Jongdae, Jongin kept everything in his room tidy and organized. Jongin was laying in bed, holding Mr. Bear in his arms while staring at a book.

“Daddy Jun,” Jongin said with a grin, looking up.

“Hello, my Nini panini,” Junmyeon greeted him with a smile, “Ready to get up?” Jongin put aside his book and Mr. Bear, he raised his arms and hugged Junmyeon, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Usually, he and Yixing took turns helping the children to get ready in the mornings, cooking meals, driving them to and from school and such. But whenever a big case was taking place, Junmyeon had to leave early for work and sometimes got home when the children were already in bed. So, during the weekends he would also take each chance he got to recover the time he had lost with his sons while also easing Yixing from carrying everything. Thank heavens this goddamn trial would be over soon and then he could go back to his normal routine with his family.

As soon as they went down to the kitchen, Jongin ran to greet Yixing the same way he had done with Junmyeon moments ago. It was crazy how time passed, Junmyeon felt it was only the other day their little Nini was learning how to crawl while it was Jongdae who ran to greet them with hugs and kisses (he didn’t do that anymore because he was nine and a ‘big boy’).

The family began eating their delicious breakfast while hearing antics from the children. Jongdae continued telling Junmyeon of what had happened at school and how the new kid with the doe eyes, Kyungsoo, had impressed everyone with his singing voice in music class. He was thinking of asking him to join his and Chanyeol’s upcoming music band, they were still recruiting members. While Jongin didn’t have much to say. Their youngest son was outspoken and lively at home but could be very shy and quiet at new places with new people. So, the transition to kindergarten hadn’t been smooth, but at least the teachers had said he was speaking more and even playing with his classmates.

Junmyeon stayed behind to clean up the table while Yixing went to help the kids pack a bag for the day. He had just finished putting the dishes on the dishwasher when the doorbell rang.

“Good morning, uncle Jun!” said the curly haired boy standing outside.

“Hey Chanyeol,” Junmyeon said, ruffling Chanyeol’s hair and then greeting Mrs. Park.

Junmyeon stepped aside to let Chanyeol in, who quickly took off his shoes and ran off to Jongdae’s room.

“Chanyeol, your bag!” Mrs. Park called.

But the boy was already upstairs he didn’t even hear her. Kids, Junmyeon thought. He took the Iron Man bag from her. They talked briefly about today, what time they’ll be back and so on. Although she shouldn’t have bothered, Mrs. Park gave him a food container with her homemade tonkatsu for their picnic as a thank you for inviting Chanyeol.

An hour later, everyone was ready on their seats in the silver minivan. Junmyeon looked at the kids from the rearview mirror, Jongdae and Chanyeol were sitting next to each other playing with their Nintendo Switches, while Jongin sat looking out the windows with Mr. Bear on his lap. The teddy bear had been a gift from Junmyeon’s mother, and Jongin brought it with him almost everywhere except to school now. It still broke Junmyeon’s heart to remember that night Jongin had cried because his classmate had said he was ‘too old’ to carry around a teddy bear with him. There wasn’t much they could regarding the other children’s lack of sensibility, but at least he and Yixing could give Jongin cuddles while telling him there was nothing wrong with carrying something they liked. Yixing even mentioned the story of how he used to walk around with his favorite sheep plushie until he was eight.

Junmyeon looked at Yixing, took his hand gave it a kiss before letting go and starting the drive. This was like his lucky habit before driving, and Yixing always smiled from ear to ear when he did that.

The sun was high the sky when they arrived at the beach, pleasantly warm, a typical August day. Junmyeon looked around the seashore. Some people were already here, families playing with their kids, others swimming, a group of teenagers was playing volleyball, but it wasn’t as crowded as it tended to be. Neither of the family members wanted to have any sand on their shoes, so they all changed to their flip-flops. Yixing was putting on more sunscreen on Jongin’s face when Junmyeon noticed their friend walking towards them.

“The Kim-Zhang’s,” Minseok said. A black-haired boy, the same height as Jongin, stood next to him, holding the leash of a Bichon Frise.

“Hey Minseok,” Junmyeon said, followed by Yixing.

“A dog!” Chanyeol and Jongdae shouted in unison as they kneeled down to pet the dog standing next to the boy.

“Boys, don’t forget to say hi to uncle Minseok,” Yixing reminded them. The two older boys listened to Yixing, but Junmyeon saw that Jongin went to hold Yixing’s leg and hid his face.

“Everyone, this is Sehun, my sister’s son,” Minseok said.

Sehun walked around while holding out his hand and introducing himself to them. But when he had come to Jongin, Jongin buried his face even more on Yixing’s leg.

“Oh, don’t take it the wrong way, Sehun,” Junmyeon said when he noticed the little boy’s frown, “Jongin is just a little shy.”

Sehun nodded but still looked suspiciously at Jongin.

“What’s his name?” Chanyeol pointed at the dog.

“Vivi.”

“Can he do any tricks?” Jongdae asked this time.

Sehun squatted down and told the dog, “Vivi, paw. Give me your paw.”

The dog stared at its owner while waggling its tail but didn’t do anything, neither the next time Sehun commanded it. In the end, he picked up the dog and said, “It’s okay. Vivi is still a baby.”

That had made everyone laugh, and Junmyeon thought he had seen Jongin hiding a smile where he stood next to Yixing.

The group walked until they found a good spot on the sand, not quite far from the water because they wanted to keep an eye on the children. Chanyeol and Jongdae had quickly run towards the changing rooms to put on their bathing suits while Junmyeon and Minseok accompanied the younger boys. Yixing stayed behind to put their blankets and other stuff in order, he wasn’t in the mood for a swim.

“Don’t go too far away!” Yixing warned Chanyeol and Jongdae when he had finished applying sunscreen on their backs, and the children had bolted towards the water. Both of them already knew how to swim, but Yixing and Junmyeon were of course still worried something happened.

Yixing went to sit next to Junmyeon, leaning his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“I like your shirt,” Yixing said to him, grinning.

Although it was warm, Junmyeon didn’t want to be in his red swim trunks without wearing a shirt. Besides, he only wanted Yixing’s eyes to stare at him. So, he was using one of his favorite Hawaiian shirts, the brown one which had been a gift from Yixing himself.

“It was from someone very special,” Junmyeon said, kissing Yixing on the cheek again.

They had a conversation with Minseok while the kids were playing on the beach. Chanyeol and Jongdae had found some friends to swim with, Sehun stood nearby surrounded by other kids with their dogs, and Jongin sat on the sand beside them making sandcastles. Since they were the same age, five-years-old, Minseok had thought Jongin would get along with Sehun, and they would be playing together. But Junmyeon knew that it would take more than introducing themselves because Jongin was just who he was. Neither Yixing nor Junmyeon wanted to push him into social situations that could stress him. Although that was something both, his and Yixing’s parents had criticized, believing they were sheltering him way too much. He and his husband just continued doing what they thought was best, after all, there wasn’t a strict method to parenting.

“So, eleven years married next week, huh?” Minseok asked them, “What’s the big plan?”

Both Yixing and Junmyeon smiled at each other. Eleven years, that was quite the amount of time. They had often planned surprises for each other on their wedding anniversary. For instance, one-time Junmyeon had gifted Yixing two dozen flowers along with a card for each month they had been together. Or that time Yixing planned for them to have a date in a drive-in theater where they watched Return of the Jedi. Although last year the kid’s nanny got sick at the last minute, so she couldn’t take care of them that night. Instead, they had celebrated it at home together with the kids. Jongdae had sung for them a love ballad while Jongin had made a cute bear drawing of them. It had been a good anniversary, nonetheless. This year, they decided to visit the hot springs for one weekend. It wasn’t often that they left the kids alone for two days, but Junmyeon’s parents had been adamant on taking care of them and giving Yixing and Junmyeon some private time.

“We’ll visit the hot springs,” Yixing said.

Minseok whistled. “That’s nice!”

“What about you and Baekhyun? How’s that going?”

Baekhyun was the man Minseok had been seen for almost six months now. Both were divorcées that somehow found each other and gave another shot at love. Minseok had been very excited when they had first met, which had both Junmyeon and Yixing relieved after seeing their friend quite miserable for some time.

“It’s going great,” Minseok said and couldn’t help the grin on his face. “We’ll be meeting his parents next week.”

“That’s good to hear,” Junmyeon said.

The conversation continued, but Junmyeon eventually stood up, took his camera and began taking pictures of them. He always liked taking pictures of moments like these, there was something nostalgic about looking back at the photos later. Junmyeon had even gone to a photography class to learn how to take great snapshots.  Most of the pictures in their albums at home had been taken by him.

He and Jongin walked together to the shore to get some photos of Jongdae and Chanyeol. The water was washing right over their feet, feeling cold and refreshing. Then, Minseok and Sehun had come because Sehun wanted to take a dip in the ocean. Just like Jongin, Sehun was still learning to how to swim, so they were wearing their orange water wings. Junmyeon asked Jongin if he wanted to get into the water as well, but he had said not yet.

Junmyeon had turned around to see Yixing waving at them while he was patting Vivi on the head. Just as Junmyeon was waving back, he heard Jongin shout, “Mister Bear!”

Luckily, Junmyeon had a firm grip on Jongin’s hand otherwise his son would have run into the water because Mr. Bear had been washed away by the waves. Junmyeon was about to tell Jongin he’ll get the bear when he saw Sehun moving quickly to grab the Mr. Bear and then made their way towards them, followed behind by Minseok.

“Here, Jongin. I got Mister Bear for you,” Sehun said, holding up the wet bear for Jongin.

Junmyeon noticed how Jongin’s face turned a little red, but instead of hiding behind him, Jongin looked at Sehun, took Mr. Bear and said, “Thank you, Sehun… And you can call me, Nini.”

Well, that had progressed favorably. Jongin only let the people he really liked to call him Nini. Junmyeon smiled proudly at Jongin. To add even more, after Sehun asked if Jongin wanted to play with him on the water, Jongin said yes.

By lunchtime Jongin and Sehun continued bonding, something that had Yixing, Junmyeon and Minseok thrilled. Apparently, Sehun didn’t have a lot of friends either had Minseok told them.

Everyone had sat down to munch on all the food Yixing had prepared, and the tonkatsu Chanyeol’s mom had gifted them. Even Vivi got to eat the treats Sehun had packed in his bag. Junmyeon, Minseok, and the children all made sure to compliment Yixing on the food because well, he was just that good at cooking. Junmyeon especially loved the black bean noodles. It was cute how even after years, his husband still got shy at all the attention.

Then, Jongdae asked if they could get ice-cream for dessert from the truck at the parking lot. Yixing and Junmyeon took the children with them while Minseok stayed to guard their stuff and Vivi. They walked holding hands watching and chuckling at how Sehun and Jongin were in front of them, eagerly discussing nap time in kindergarten.

Junmyeon ordered and then handed out the ice-cream the children had picked.

“And for my husband a cantaloupe melon ice-cream,” he said, loving the way Yixing showed his dimples to him when he took the ice-cream cone from his hand. Junmyeon didn’t even have to ask what Yixing wanted. When they had just begun dating, they had gone out to eat ice-cream. On this particular date they were finally brave enough to kiss, their first kiss ever, and Junmyeon fondly remembered it being sweet and tasted liked cantaloupe melon. Of course, he’ll never forget what ice-cream flavor Yixing loved. Every time Junmyeon kissed Yixing after he had eaten that ice-cream, Junmyeon would reminiscence that old memory.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. The kids continued having fun, Yixing and Junmyeon took them to play at the park nearby, Minseok had even played football with them later, and when the clock showed four in the afternoon, it was time to say goodbye. Tomorrow was a school day, and the kids would need to sleep good tonight. Jongin had been a bit sad to part from Sehun, and Sehun seemed that as well. But Junmyeon and Yixing promised that they would ask Sehun’s mother if he could visit them next week. Jongin was pleased with it and even said goodbye to Sehun with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

During the ride back home, Jongdae and Chanyeol had been so tired they had napped the whole trip. Meanwhile, Jongin had been wide awake, holding Mr. Bear close to him, telling them all about his new friend Sehunie.

“Thanks for inviting me today, Nini and Mr. Bear! I’ll see you tomorrow, uncles. Bye-bye Dae!” A drowsy and confused Chanyeol said before getting out of the minivan, making Yixing, Junmyeon and Jongin chuckle. Yixing and Junmyeon waved goodbye to Chanyeol’s mother before driving to their own home.

Back at home, the evening passed by even quicker. As promised Junmyeon took care of making dinner, his mother’s special bibimbap recipe, with some help from Jongdae. Many times, Junmyeon had helped his mother cook it, so he was quite the ‘master’ at it. The first time he had invited Yixing over for dinner in his apartment, he had cooked that dish for him. Yixing had been impressed and even praised Junmyeon lots for it. Too bad that the next day, when Junmyeon had tried to cook breakfast for Yixing, he ended up with a burnt omelet and tried to salvage it with ketchup. But of course, he wouldn’t feed Yixing that! Embarrassedly, Junmyeon had been found out about to throw away the failed omelet. But Yixing had smiled, given him a kiss on the lips, and reassured him that he didn’t mind if he could cook or not, he would like him no matter what. Yixing even ate that burnt damn thing! It was because of moments like those that Junmyeon knew he and Yixing would be together, loving each other for a long time, heck even forever. And look how right he had been, thirteen years later they had been happily married for ten years and had adopted and were raising two beautiful children.

After the children had taken their baths, they laid in their bed accompanied by one of their dads to read books. Junmyeon listened to Jongdae read out loud Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone while Yixing read Winnie the Pooh for Jongin. When it was time for bedtime, Yixing and Junmyeon said goodnight together.

Junmyeon was wrapping in Jongin and Mr. Bear with the blankets when his son asked, “Daddies?”

“Yes, Nini-Panini?” Junmyeon said.

“Can I also learn to play football with Sehun? I-I think it’s fun. And his mom takes him to play in the afternoons, I want to go too.”

Yixing and Junmyeon looked at each other. While Jongdae was learning Chinese and attended a music club (along with Chanyeol), they still hadn’t found any extracurricular activity for Jongin. So, hearing that Jongin was finally interested in doing something and even asked for it, had both of them relieved. Of course, Sehun had been an influence, but maybe a friend was what Jongin needed to unwind a little more. Both Junmyeon and Yixing nodded.

“Of course, Nini,” Yixing said, leaning in to give Jongin a kiss on the forehead. Junmyeon followed suit and added, “Sleep well, our Nini-Panini.”

They the bunny night light before closing the door. Then, they proceeded to say goodnight to Jongdae. There were no kisses on the forehead for him (because he had said he was a ‘big boy’ now), but they still ruffled his hair while they wished him goodnight.

“Oh, dads?” Jongdae said, making Yixing and Junmyeon turn around. “I had a lot of fun today!" he grinned, "Thank you. Xièxiè.”

Again, Junmyeon and Yixing smiled at each other.

“We did too, Dae,” Junmyeon replied.

“Zuò gè hǎo mèng,” Yixing said.

A while later, Junmyeon and Yixing were finally laying on their own bed, ready to go to sleep. Junmyeon put his head underneath Yixing’s arm, cuddling closer to his husband’s body. They talked for a bit about today and the upcoming week until all Junmyeon could hear was Yixing humming in response, a sign he had learned meant Yixing was getting sleepy. To not hinder his husband from getting a well-needed rest, Junmyeon leaned his head up to give him a kiss on the lips.

“Wǒ ài nǐ, my Jun,” Yixing said with his eyes closed.

“I love you too, my Xing.”

And then Junmyeon laid next to Yixing again. He closed his eyes and smiled, already thinking of what they’ll do next week, for their family fun day on Sunday.

- - - 

A/N

Hi guys!

Boy, it's been quite a few months since I put something up here. I've just been super busy, I actually haven't been able to write anything since December (when I submitted these stories for the sulay fest). And with how difficult each new class gets, I don't think I'm gonna be able to write for now :/ 

And well, the stories I posted today aren't new. I just didn't put them here back in January when they were revealed (but if you follow me on ao3 then you may have already seen it :3) Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this! After years, I finally wrote some fluff without my dramatic ruining it hahaha. Although it feels the storyline turned kinda boring, it was fun to imagine nonetheless!