hello everyone ^^

well, I finally came up with a new chapter - I finally took the exams and I think I'm fine, so thanks everyone who wished me good things <3 - and I hope you like this chapter, which isn't about Arrow's birthday yet, because I exceeded my word limit (I like to write up to 4k words per chapter, but this one has more than 6k words). but there is a cute moment, although there is also a sad moment. I wanted to say that unfortunately, as hyukjae and donghae are not yet together in this story, I will write arrow getting sad when he sees his appa leave. some inevitable things are going to happen here and I really want to ask you not to abandon this fic, since it will be my last story posted on this site and I’m working hard on it so you guys like each chapter ^^

but I really hope you enjoy this chapter and I’ll see you in two weeks - I’m going to write the Could You Stay chapters because I haven’t posted anything so far *hides*

see you <3

A week later...

Donghae didn’t expect to open the door that morning and find Hyukjae there smiling as if he hadn’t been out of town for almost a month. He smiled at his ex-boyfriend and looked at Arrow who was sitting on the rug while watching TV with Ghost by his side.

And he knew that his son would be very happy.

- Good morning. – Hyukjae said and laughed when Arrow heard and looked at him, smiling widely – Can I come in? – Donghae nodded and let his ex-boyfriend go to the service area to wash his hands. And when he came back, he carried Arrow and hugged him very tight – I said appa would be back, didn't I?

- Papa! – Arrow chuckled and closed his eyes when Hyukjae kissed the tip of his nose – Itty, papa.

- Itty?

- It's the cat we adopted last week. – Donghae said and sat on the couch as soon as Hyukjae did the same while carrying Arrow – Tell your appa what is the kitty's name, Arrow.

- Itty?

- Yes. The kitty.

Arrow looked at Ghost that meowed when he looked at the baby, and said to Hyukjae:

- Ost, papa!

Hyukjae looked at Donghae who laughed and said:

- Ghost. I chose this name because it appeared in the bushes when I came home with Arrow.

- So Arrow has now learned two more new words? That's really good. And is he already walking?

- Not yet. Sungmin said that we should encourage Arrow. But if he doesn't walk, we're going to have to take him to an appointment with a Sungmin’s colleague.

Hyukjae sighed and kissed Arrow's forehead while his son played with his wavy hair.

- What about the fever?

- Arrow didn't have a fever. We will never know if it happened because you weren't here or if it was because of the tooth.

- I am very happy that he is well. I was so worried when you told me that Arrow had a fever. – he lifted Arrow and smiled at his son – But now you're okay, right?

Arrow giggled, tried to grab Hyukjae's face and laid his head on his shoulder and smiled at Donghae who was happy to see that moment. Arrow's joy was visible.

- Do you intend to take Arrow to the park today?

- Oh, no. If I'm not going to bother you, I'd rather stay with him here. I'm too tired to go anywhere today.

Donghae nodded.

- And how was the competition?

- Ah... It was cool. I made it to the final three, but I left when the challenge was lobster.

- Lobster? You don't like seafood.

- Yeah... I managed to do everything right, but the lobster was rubbery and without seasoning. The judges kind of detonated me for it and I left. – Hyukjae shrugged and let Arrow play with his fingers – I don't think I want to join in these competitions anymore.

- I know the feeling. Do you remember when I joined in that competition?

- Yes. I remember you calling me and saying you were about to give up, but it was good that you didn't give up. You won.

Donghae blushed, as there was a touch of admiration in Hyukjae's voice.

- Honestly, I thought I wasn't going to win and after that I decided to never do anything like that again. But I'm looking forward to seeing this season that you joined. Arrow and I will see every Thursday.

- Thanks for the support. – they smiled and Hyukjae looked at Arrow who just wanted a little affection because he missed his appa – I thought he wouldn't recognize me because of his beard and different colored hair.

- I also thought he wasn't going to recognize you, but I think Arrow just needed to make sure it was you.

- Like my smell or something?

- Yes. It's a very strong bond.

Hyukjae looked at Arrow, who really kept smiling, and hugged him.

- So what are we going to do today? – he asked when he let Arrow stand on his thighs – Appa has all day for you.

- Papa, dada. Itty, papa.

- Do you want to play? – Arrow shook his head while smiling and made his parents laugh – I want to see the day when he will start nodding instead of shaking his head.

- I don't know if that will happen, Hyukjae. Arrow has been rebellious lately and I think I scolded him too much.

- What did he do?

- Well... For a start, Arrow is biting. – and it was only him closing his mouth that Arrow bit Hyukjae's hand – See?

- Ouch! Why did you bite the appa's hand? You can't do that.

- No?

- No. – Hyukjae waved his hand because it really hurt and looked at Donghae – Why is he biting?

- I think he wants to play and ends up biting hard, but I don't know if that is it. His teeth are growing, so maybe that’s it too. – the brown-haired man sighed – Ah, but he is also challenging me more. Sometimes I say no and Arrow just ignores me and does what I told him not to do. He learned to take off his socks, so he is almost always barefoot around. And he likes to play with the water I put in the bottle, so we have to keep an eye on that.

Hyukjae's eyes widened when he looked at Arrow.

- Was that mess in the room you made at four months was just a sample of what you are going to do in the future? – Arrow chuckled and laid his head on Hyukjae's shoulder – Will you find it weird if I say I'm looking forward to him scribbling the walls of my house?

Donghae laughed.

- No. You always looked like you would be that kind of father who doesn't care about scribbled walls.

Hyukjae laughed, lifted Arrow, who loved it when his appa did it, and said:

- Appa will buy the pens and you will scribble the walls, won't you? – and rubbed his nose on Arrow's nose – You're going to make an endless mess in your house, aren't you?

Arrow chuckled and grabbed Hyukjae's hair, looking at Donghae who pecked his cheek and said:

- I will take the opportunity that you arrived and I will clean the house. You can stay the will.

Hyukjae nodded and continued playing with Arrow who at that moment was delighted with the bracelets on his appa's wrist. Donghae took advantage of the moment and cleaned the rooms and took the dirty clothes that should have been washed the day before. He also cleaned the room, put water and food for Ghost and went to talk to Ryeowook who was going to take the flight back home in a few hours.

Hyukjae, who was watching TV with Arrow, asked if Donghae wanted any help, but the brown-haired man just told his ex-boyfriend to spend that time with their son because the boy missed him all those days. But when Arrow slept, Hyukjae helped Donghae to clean the kitchen, which was the only thing missing.

- Can you really handle doing this every day?

- I don't do it every day. I like to clean the house once a week and, as Arrow sleeps more now, I have this opportunity. – Donghae sighed and placed some bowls with food on the counter – But it’s very good to have help. You don’t have to do this.

- I know, but I want to help. – Hyukjae smiled at Donghae who blushed slightly – I like to be able to help you, even if this is no longer a typical situation in our life.

Donghae nodded and thanked him while cleaning the fridge and trying to ignore the way his heart beat when Hyukjae was around. One thing that happened in the past week was that Donghae really followed Heechul's advice and went out with the guy at the veterinary clinic. They had a nice night and even kissed during the movie they were watching.

However, what Donghae didn’t expect, was that the vet guy was a tremendous idiot who made a very cruel comment about the fact that he had a child. Now, Donghae didn't care that much if someone talked about his body. The big problem was the comment that the man made about Arrow and laughed when the brown-haired man defended his son as any parent in that situation would have done.

Donghae regretted going out with that guy and said he never wanted to see him again, as he wouldn’t accept someone saying bad things about a baby who couldn’t defend himself – in fact, he wouldn’t accept bad things being said about absolutely no one.

But now that Hyukjae was so close, Donghae started to wonder what was happening to his heart. He really thought he was ready to move on, though... Why was it so hard?

- I think I'm going to take a shower now. – Donghae said after they finally finished cleaning the kitchen – Thanks for the help.

- No problems. – they heard something falling on the floor and already knew that Arrow had woken up – I'm going to see our baby. Do you want something to eat?

- Yes, but you don't need to cook anything.

- Then let's eat pizza. I know of a place that...

- Dada!

They laughed and Donghae said:

- Okay. I'm going to shower and you can order pizza.

Hyukjae nodded and went to the bedroom to pick Arrow who was standing in the crib and rubbing his eye while yawning.

- You didn't sleep much, huh? – Hyukjae carried Arrow – Shall we change the diaper?

- Dada?

- Dada is taking a shower now and then we will eat pizza. – he took the baby bag and went to the living room with his son – You still can't eat pizza, but appa will make a delicious pizza when you get older. Now let's change that diaper.

Hyukjae laid Arrow on the couch and laughed when the boy tried to escape, but he caught him by the legs and laid him down again.

- Runaway baby. – Hyukjae murmured and changed Arrow's diaper. After putting the clothes on him, he let the baby play with Ghost – I'll be right back and you help me choose the pizza.

Hyukjae threw the diaper in the trash, washed his hands and looked at Arrow who pointed at the TV and clapped his hands. He then the television and so the two started to see the cartoon that Arrow liked – and he would have forgotten to order the pizza if it weren't for Donghae asking for the food as soon as he left the bathroom.

And when the pizza finally arrived, Arrow was in his baby seat and his parents sat at the table so they could finally have lunch.

- What a messy baby. – Donghae smiled as he watched Hyukjae feeding Arrow who was happy – He only makes this mess when you come here.

Hyukjae laughed.

- It was worse at my house. I thought Arrow could eat alone, but suddenly the bowl flew and I was left without a reaction. – and Donghae laughed at that – But I think we should let him eat alone from a certain point.

- I agree with you, but Arrow is very messy. If he didn't shake the bottle from side to side like he is doing now, I would encourage him to eat alone.

Hyukjae nodded and took the bottle. Arrow looked at his appa and frowned, pouting and then whimpering because he wanted the bottle back.

- Papa... Want.

- No. You are wetting your clothes.

- Want!

- No. And you won't drink water until after lunch.

Arrow looked at Donghae, who said absolutely nothing, and looked at Hyukjae again. He rubbed his eyes and started to cry as he pointed at the bottle.

- You won't get anything if you keep crying like that, you know?

Arrow cried louder because he was just being a stubborn baby. He didn't cry for five minutes, for he ended up distracting himself with something else and went back to eating. Donghae shook his head and said while taking another slice of pizza:

- And he's not even a year old yet...

Hyukjae chuckled and said:

- This part of raising your child seems a lot easier when you're just watching someone else do it.

- Yes... When it comes to us, the whole thing gains a new perspective.

Hyukjae nodded and continued to feed Arrow who cleaned the plate and then drank water – miraculously, he didn't make a mess and his parents were relieved. And after everyone finished eating, Hyukjae and Donghae cleaned the table while Arrow watched TV. It seemed like a very tiring routine.

- I wish we had gone to the park. – Hyukjae said while Arrow's back, as the boy sat on his lap to watch TV.

- You can always go to the park.

- Yes, but I meant the three of us.

Donghae was surprised.

- Me too?

- Yes. Arrow has a lot of fun when he's at my house, but sometimes he stops and waits for you to show up.

Donghae sighed.

- But wouldn't we be giving the wrong idea?

- What wrong idea?

- The idea that you and I will be together physically. He still doesn't understand why he needs to stay at your house on the weekends. Arrow doesn't understand why you come here to see him and then you leave. I don't even know how we're going to explain it one day, but things are as they have been.

Hyukjae sighed and decided not to return to this subject. Donghae didn't even understand what he really meant, so he had better do what he was supposed to do: spend the next few hours with Arrow who clapped his hand on his shoulder and started chattering.

Donghae raised an eyebrow and stood, giving the excuse that he had to put food and water for Ghost and then search for properties. Hyukjae said nothing, just nodded and focused his attention on Arrow who was still chattering.

If this was how things were, then they would stay that way.

...O...
Da