Monday. Jongin’s ecstatic with the idea that he’s going to see Kyungsoo and his son again. Though no one said they’d be staying in his apartment, he spent the whole weekend stocking his little pantry and fridge with groceries and vacuumed his place for hours. He also made sure to change his sheets.

 

All these just in case they would stay there.

 

Finally, Kyungsoo comes to the day-care to drop Taeoh with an extra bag of clothes and snacks.

 

Of course, Jongin warmly welcomes them, the boy jumping into his arms. Taeoh finally recognizes him as a father, he thinks, and he can’t ask for more but maybe, he can ask for another chance to be with the man he loved.

 

“I brought him extra clothes,” Kyungsoo told him, placing the bag in the locker. “I'm not sure when I’d be able to pick him up but I will, as soon as I can.”

 

The whole time the shorter didn’t look at him straight in the eye unlike Baekhyun who was watching from afar with a malicious grin on his face.

 

“Take your time. I live nearby anyway. Taeoh can take a nap comfortably there.”

 

The shorter only nods and looks around before giving the boy a kiss on the forehead. “Papa will pick you up later, okay? Behave well.”

 

The farewell is acknowledged with a cute nod and a wave. “Papa. Bye!”

 

“Naww, no goodbye kiss for the daddies?” Baekhyun butts in but gets dragged by Kyungsoo away instead. “What? I’m just asking!”

 

It’s already past 5 when Jongin decides he should head back to his place since Kyungsoo hasn’t contacted him yet. With Taeoh in his arms and the bag on his shoulder, he heads home.

 

“Where we go?” The boy asks.

 

“To Daddy’s place. We can wait for Papa there.”

 

When they arrive, he checks his phone again for messages but not a single one received. He watch his son curiously looking around, checking out his stuff. There isn’t much to see in his apartment. He barely even watch TV.

 

“Baby shark!” Taeoh exclaims, pointing at the TV.

 

“You want to watch baby shark?” He turns the TV on and browse through the streaming site for the specific request. “You really like this song, huh?”

 

His son nods and climbs up his bed. “Snacks!”

 

“Snacks? Daddy has a lot of them!” He excitedly presents his fridge open and he sees his son’s eyes sparkle at the sight? “You want these?” He shows a banana milk and a cake to which the boy eagerly reaches out for them from the bed.

 

There’s no problem looking after the boy. He’s quiet and enjoys being alone.

 

He starts cooking dinner  just in case they happen to wait the whole night when the rain starts pouring. Hard. 

 

All of a sudden?

 

Kyungsoo still hasn’t contacted him. Just then his phone rings, also earning the boy’s attention. “Papa?”

 

“Yes, it’s Papa,” he confirms. “Hey, it’s almost 7.”

 

“I lost track of time, I’m sorry. I was at the library so I didn’t notice it was getting dark until it started raining. I’ll come over.”

 

“We’re already in my place. It’s just two blocks away from the day-care. Just turn right on the first block. OO apartments, third floor. 305.”

 

“Okay.”

 

The call ends and he assures his son that his Papa is coming to pick him up.

 

He prepares tofu stew and fried chicken. He usually eats one dish only but his son might not like the stew and fried chicken is something children can’t say no to.

 

Though Kyungsoo clearly said his terms over the phone, he takes every chance he gets to get closer to him. He’ll make sure the shorter wouldn’t reject the dinner he prepared.

 

It’s almost 8 and he’s expecting the shorter will be arriving by now. Taeoh is asleep on the bed already and the rain still hasn’t stopped.

 

A knock comes and he’s quick on his feet, not wasting any second to open the door. “Just in timeㅡ.” He’s cut off by the sight of the man, drenched. “Whatㅡ come in! I’ll get you a towel.”

 

He rushes to get an unused towel from his closet, sparing a few more seconds to get a shirt and a pair of pants. Also a pack of underwear he was saving for future trips.

 

Kyungsoo quietly accepts everything he gives and heads to the bathroom to change. “Where’s Taeoh?”

 

“He’s sleeping.”

 

While the shorter is changing his clothes, he lays out all the bag’s contents on the table in hopes of saving them. The notes and books are wet and even the phone.

 

It’s clear that Kyungsoo didn’t have an umbrella but there was no need to get wet.

 

Enough , he thinks. What matters right now is the high chance of having them stay the night over because of the weather. He likes that.

 

When Kyungsoo comes out of the bathroom, dinner is served and Taeoh has woken up.

 

“I didn’t wake him up,” he explains when the shorter his head to the side upon seeing their son awake, munching on a piece of fried chicken on the bed.

 

“Papa is here!” The boy exclaims at the sight of his father.

 

“You shouldn’t be eating on the bed,” the shorter says and the boy whines in disagreement.

 

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind,” he defends.

 

Kyungsoo gives him a disapproving look and walks over to the bed to put the boy down on the floor instead. “Don’t spoil him. His tantrums will get worse if you tolerate his actions. You’re a teacher, you should know better.”

 

Ouch. That hurts his pride but the man has a point.

 

“Anyway, dinner’s served. Let’s eat.”

 

--

 

Everything went well until the rain started. Kyungsoo’s last class was dismissed earlier than usual so he and his groupmates decided to use the time to work on their project. The sudden rainfall snapped him and his mates from working, realizing that time passed by.

 

He quickly called Jongin to say he’s coming and as misfortunes would have it, heavy rain means shortage of public transportation. He has no umbrella and his phone ran out of battery right after the call.

 

Good thing he didn’t bring his laptop so he could just run for it. It’s not far but it would take a while to reach the destination on foot, moreover during a rainfall.

 

He just finds it weird that Jongin hasn’t asked him why he was drenched when he arrived and he even had his stuff laid out to dry without saying anything. He appreciates it.

 

At this point, there’s more reasons to stay over than go home. The rain doesn’t show any sign of stopping anytime soon and Taeoh is passed out on the taller’s lap while Jongin is browsing on his phone on the bed. It’s almost 11 too.

 

Good thing he brought extra clothes for Taeoh.

 

Him? He doesn’t want to admit but Jongin’s clothes are comfy except for the pants. It’s too big on his waist. He could just take it off but he can’t. He isn’t at home and he isn’t alone.

 

There wasn’t much to talk about though he expected the taller would have a lot to ask and say.

 

He opens the closet, earning a hum from Jongin. “Do you have an extra futon I can use?”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” The taller carefully takes the boy off his lap to lay him down the bed. “You can sleep on the bed.”

 

“It’s okay, I can sleep on the floor. It’s not every night you can cuddle him to sleep.”

 

“You too.”

 

He almost didn’t catch that. “What?”

 

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” the taller quickly replies and gets off the bed. “You’re my guest.”

 

Too tired to argue, he moves over to the bed next to his son. “I’m sorry for crashing without any notice. I didn’t plan to stay over.”

 

“It’s fine. It’s no one’s fault.”

 

Lights off and he can hear Jongin softly snoring, deep in sleep.

 

This isn’t so bad , he notes. In the future, if ever the boy wants to sleep over, it wouldn’t be awkward.

 

There’s something comfortable about it despite the events that happened the past few weeks. Is it because it’s so warm in here? Cozy? Or is it just the mutual and unspoken understanding that all of this is happening not for them but for their little boy.

 

This isn’t about him and Jongin, who had something in the past. What happened has happened. The only thing they can do now is not make it worse, leave behind everything that doesn’t have anything to do with the boy.

 

This is about Taeoh’s relationship with them as parents, as the boy’s family.

 

--

 

Last night was uneventful. Jongin thought he was excited for nothing. No progress has been made.

 

He didn’t have the courage to start a conversation just by looking at how exhausted Kyungsoo looked, nor did he want to sound annoying by asking too many questions. The only thing he’s sure of is the fact that the man needs to rest.

 

So he wakes up earlier than usual to prepare breakfast. It’s not much but a simple meal would do, right?

 

Just when he’s done rolling the futon, Kyungsoo stirs awake, immediately sitting up on the bed.

 

“Uh, it’s too early for you to be up,” he whispers, still kneeling on the floor.

 

“Body clock.” The shorter sniffles and covers the boy with a blanket. “It’s freezing.”

 

“It’s…” he trails, unsure. “...not.” He suspects Kyungsoo is sick. “Are you okay?” He moves closer and when the shorter doesn’t respond, he pressed the back of his hand on the man’s forehead to confirm his suspicion. “Hey, you’re burning!”

 

Kyungsoo remains quiet, head hung low.

 

“Kyungsoo, you can’t go to school like this.”

 

“I’m fine. It’s just a fever.”

 

“No, you’re not fine.” He stands up and heads to the bathroom to look through his medicine cabinet behind the mirror. He comes back with a pill and a glass of water. “Here. You need to rest.”

 

No fuss, Kyungsoo lies down again after taking the medicine. He’s sure the pill will make the shorter fall asleep again.

 

He sends Baekhyun a text, saying that he’ll be missing today’s class with Taeoh because Kyungsoo is sick.

 

What did you do to my friend?
Did you go at it all night?
Don’t make lame excuses!
Just tell me you fcked him!

 

I am not making excuses!
Look at him!
[attachment]

 

Oh.
Alright.

 

He can’t believe this is the type of guy his best friend likes. He also can’t believe Kyungsoo is friends with this man when they’re total opposites.

 

--

 

Kyungsoo wakes up with the thought that he fell asleep again and is probably running late for his class. He bolts up, hands on his throbbing head. He winces in pain and regret as the surroundings slowly dawn on him.

 

Taeoh isn’t on the bed next to him anymore but on the futon next to Jongin. Both are asleep.

 

In the midst of fatigue and headaches, he can’t help but find it amusing how these two are so similar even in their sleep. They’re sleeping in the same position, lips parted. “Copy and paste.”

 

He finds a phone, surely Jongin’s, on the night stand and he checks the time. He’s also met with an unfamiliar lockscreen photo of him and Taeoh. He takes a second look to make sure it is him . It is him.

 

It was some time during their aquarium visit but unsure where and when exactly it was taken when that day, he barely had the boy in his arms except when Jongin had to use the restroom. The photo was a close shot of him carrying the boy and looking ahead with smiles on their faces.

 

He never noticed they were  getting their pictures taken and it didn’t even look like it was shot on a phone. How?

 

It’s almost lunch now. He’s sure the two had their breakfast by the sight of a cereal box on the table. Jongin didn’t even bother waking him up.

 

For some reason, Jongin stirs awake, immediately turning to look at him then the boy and back at him. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Better but not well,” he answers, slowly getting up to head to the bathroom.

 

He comes out of the bathroom to Jongin cooking some soup and Taeoh dazed on the bed with a messy bed hair and a piece of bread hanging on his lips.

 

Accidentally, he bumps his hip against the dining table, making a loud squeak that even got himself surprised. “I’m sorry.”

 

Jongin quietly follows him with his eyes until he’s settled on the bed.

 

“Taeoh, no food on the bed.”

 

“But Teacher Dada do not say that,” the boy reasons out with a whine.

 

He sighs in defeat, not in his son’s victory but he simply doesn’t have the energy to repeat himself. Then Jongin walks over and holds the boy instead. “You should listen to Papa, okay? If you do that, I’ll make you fried chicken again.”

 

“Okay!”

 

This kid listens well to him. Is it because they're so alike? It runs in the blood? Or Jongin is just spoiling him a lot without my knowledge?

 

It's great that the two are bonding well, getting to know each other but something worries him when he shouldn't feel that way. What if Taeoh starts liking Jongin more than him? The two see each other at school while he's busy with his own studies and barely making it home on time, especially now that it's a very hectic school year throughout university. There's just projects and thesis everywhere.

 

He really can't deny that the taller's really good with handling kids and is so reliable to be given the task to look after Taeoh. The apartment is so clean, abundant stock of foodㅡ actual healthy food, not just instant noodlesㅡ and he can cook too.

 

If Jonging can do what he can, he feels like he can be replaced anytime. It's not like his son is going to choose one of them but still, he already feels out of place.

 

And all he does lately is nag at Taeoh, telling him not to do this and that.

 

Where are these thoughts coming from? Is it the medicine?

 

"Papa." The boy snaps him out from his thoughts, cutely grinning at him, hands on his knees. "Morning kiss?" 

 

"Of course." He can't help but smile at his little bundle of sunshine. He leans down to place a kiss on the boy's forehead. "Papa's not feeling well so that's all I can give for now, okay?" 

 

"Okay! Dada too!" 

 

"Huh?" What does that mean? 

 

As if on cue, his gaze locks with Jongin's for a second before he looks away, shaking it off with an awkward laugh.

 

"Do you want a morning kiss from Daddy too?" The taller asks the boy and Taeoh shakes his head.

 

They'll be damned.

 

The boy looks at him, a finger pointed towards his other father. "Kiss!"

 

"Papa has given enough kisses today," he excuses. "Later."

 

Instead of giving up, Taeoh pulls Jongin's hand closer. "Kiss Papa."

 

This time he groans to himself. As if it's not bad enough that he feels like , he also have to put up with this. He hopes Jongin makes up an excuse too.

 

"If Daddy gives Papa a kiss like Taeoh wants, you will listen to what Papa tells you too. Okay? Is it a deal?" 

 

"Okay!"

 

So Jongin does as told, placing a kiss on his forehead like it was a normal thing to do.

 

This is for Taeoh, he reminds himself.

 

That odd request isn't the first and last time. In a span of three hours, five more kisses were given.

 

"What are you doing?" He asks in a hushed voice when the taller attempts for another one, knowing that the boy is looking at them. "You don't have to do everything he asks for."

 

"Well, he told me to give you more so you will feel better quickly. He said you told him kisses make someone feel better so that's on you." Jongin is just giving him kisses without questioning it.

 

He doesn't like it but he doesn't dislike it either. It only feels strange to be doing things like this, looking like fools on their son's fingertips.

 

"I feel a lot better now," he says not just an excuse to stop receiving that meaningless affection. He does feel a lot better.

 

"Dada kiss work!" Taeoh rejoices, hands clapping. So innocent.

 

He just nods. "We're going home later."

 

"Sure."

 

--

 

Kyungsoo can tell Jongin’s doing everything on purpose. It’s been two hours since the taller left with his son ‘to buy tea’ that he didn’t even ask for.

 

“Would you like some tea?” Jongin offered him earlier and he nonchalantly just nods. “Okay, I’ll buy one on the grocery store nearby. I’ll take Taeoh with me so he can have ice cream.”

 

He didn’t get to react and even say it’s unnecessary since they’re going home. He’s done packing the little stuff they had and even finished washing the taller’s clothes he used.

 

His phone, fortunately, still works. He would lose his mind if it’s broken. His important school stuff is in there and Taeoh’s photos.

 

Jongin doesn’t answer his calls too. He sends a message instead, on the edge of insanity.

Jongin, if you don’t come back
right now I’m going to report
you to the police for kidnapping
Come back
RIGHT NOW

 

We’re on our way. Kkk~

 

Soon the door opens and Taeoh is asleep on the taller’s arms. He could care less. “You think you’re funny?”

 

“No,” Jongin softly answers, evident of guilt.

 

“Give me my son. We’re going home.” He grabs their bags and carefully takes the boy into his hold.

 

“So tomorrow?”

 

“I’ll send someone to pick him up. Leave him with Baekhyun if you can’t wait.” With that, he leaves the apartment without a single glance.