Staying with a rich japanese family was… interesting, as Chaeyoung would put it, grandma and grandpa Yamaguchi were obviously influential people and held a lot of power, but they were both surprisingly doting and enjoyed spoiling their grandson rotten, now Chaeyoung too, by extension. They were supposed to have gone to visit Mina and Nayeon, but the younger japanese had called and asked to change plans a little, and now they would be meeting once the squirrel and the cub went to the Minatozaki household.

After the first couple of days where Chaeyoung was getting over his extreme shyness, things got easier. It was the first time our little one was sleeping in the same bed as his boyfriend, and to spend so much time together, going on dates or simple walks through the gardens, it was all too heartwarming. Grandma Yamaguchi would make them eat until they had to pop open their pants because she claimed the boys were too skinny and that Chaeyoung needed to eat more so he could grow tall and strong, didn’t matter that the boy had shown them photos of his family and explained he could really grow that much because his parents were short and he was already taller than his older brother.

Grandpa Yamaguchi said he was going to teach the boys how to be real men, since they were together now and show the boys how to treat their lovers right. The old man would disappear with the boys for hours on end, everyone was very curious about what they did together, but none of them would budge. In truth, the old man would take them to dance lessons, get some proper suits for both of them, then he would teach them about flowers and what they represent, how to conduct a proper tea ceremony, about traditional sweets and how to harmonize them with each tea. You know, how old traditional japanese men showed their skills to impress their partners, and then teach them about how he would take grandma Yamaguchi on dates and what he did to woo her.

Sana was more familiar with the reasons why his grandfather was teaching them all that, and Chaeyoung just had an old soul that loved these traditional and showy things, he called it vintage, Sana says it was just because his boyfriend was a hipster wannabe. All in all, they were proper japanese gentlemen when the time came to go visit the other grandparents. Grandpa and grandma Yamaguchi absolutely refused to let the boys go, they had to promise they would come back on the next holidays, but the old man said he would be going to Korea with his wife before that, there was no way he was getting separated from his boys for that long, grandma agreed and then they were off.

Mama Minatozaki complained the entire time about how she was their daughter and they had blown her off to play with the boys, papa Minatozaki just laughed and did his best to appease his wife, trying to explain that it was normal and his parents were about to do the same when they got there. The Minatozakis lived in a suburban area, a big house with a large porch and larger backyard, sure, it wasn’t a palace like the Yamaguchi, but it was a big house. The neighborhood was very peaceful, most of the residents were retired and sought out the place for it’s tranquility. What was particular about the Minatozaki place was the herbal smell that would always linger around the property.

It seems like the love for natural self care products was a Minatozaki family thing after all, grandma Minatozaki made her own soap and hair products, all in her mini laboratory in the backyard. Grandpa Minatozaki had built her a small shed in a corner of the property so he could have his garage back and she could keep doing her experiments to her heart’s content. It was fine during summer, but he really wanted to avoid having to scrape his windows during the snow months, so he really just wanted to park under a roof. They worked well together, and it was clear that papa Minatozaki grew up as a mama’s boy, not to mention he was the woman’s male version, just her with thick glasses and a goatee.

When they did arrive, mama and papa Minatozaki looked like the perfect children for the old couple, all of them were wearing loose overalls with big hats and flip flops, the picture perfect hippie family. The boys, however, looked like they just stepped out of an old japanese romance movie, in their vintage suits and hats and shiny shoes. Don’t laugh too much, grandpa Yamaguchi was an aficionado and wasn’t allowing anyone to leave if the boys weren’t dressed like that. He said good gentlemen should present themselves accordingly. 

“Yamaguchi still won’t let go of his ways, huh?!” Grandpa Minatozaki observed. “Get out of those coats and come give me a hug!”

Sana was the first one to move, he helped Chaeyoung take off his coat and then the younger boy did the same for him, they folded them and placed it in their forearms like they were taught, it only led the old couple to laugh harder. They had been friends with the Yamaguchi for years, even before their children were born, and this was exactly the type of thing that old weirdo would teach their grandkids, since their kids had been ‘corrupted’ by the free way of life of the Minatozakis. It was great, now they could corrupt the grandkids too and start a new ‘war’ about how old man Yamaguchi was just an inveterate romantic and should stop trying to get everyone to be one as well.

“Now, let’s get you kids into some comfortable clothing and get something to eat, it’s past lunch time already.” Grandma Minatozaki ushered them inside.

“Thank you for having me, sir, ma’am.” Chaeyoung bows once he gets his shoes off and steps into the entryway.

“Now, stop being so uptight!” Grandpa Minatozaki laughs. “Call me grandpa, and this is grandma! Now, come give us a hug and then Sacchan will take you to your bedroom to get out of those things!”

With a little nudge from his boyfriend, Chaeyoung does just that, he shyly hugs the old couple, who chuckles at the awkwardness, then steps aside with his luggage waiting for Sana to guide him. Much like with the Yamaguchis, the boys will be sharing the same bedroom, Sana told Chaeyoung to take a quick shower first, both got sweaty in the three piece suits, and he would start getting them settled. Getting out, the smaller boy was met with the semi- glory of Minatozaki Sana, and made it awkward again. The japanese just chuckled and headed in to take his own shower after a kiss on top of his boyfriend’s head.

Nayeon and Mina would be coming over in a couple of days, so grandma and grandpa Minatozaki milked each second they had with just the two boys. Grandpa Minatozaki loved tinkering, he taught the boys the basics of how to fix a car and minor house problems, like unclogging a sink or fixing the roof. Grandma Minatozaki had a large garden in the back, with a small greenhouse, she had all sorts of plants and herbs and made sure she passed on some of her knowledge to the kids. After busy mornings fixing things around the house, or just tearing them apart to build them back again, they would spend afternoons tending to the plants. It was very nice.

During the time together, grandma and grandpa Minatozaki questioned Chaeyoung about his entire life, not that the boy ever noticed it, and decided he was their grandchild now and they were going to take good care of him and help him be more confident in himself. Their conversations with Sana told them he was getting frustrated too, not that he wasn’t fully willing to wait until his boyfriend was comfortable, but he had his needs too and taking care of himself was getting less and less effective. Chaeyoung was getting less reserved about a lot of things and, maybe, they were closer then they thought.

Now, if there was one thing that took them all by surprise was how well the korean boy had taken to mechanics, he learned well from grandpa Minatozaki and found himself enjoying being with the machines very much. It wasn’t until one morning when grandma Minatozaki woke up to make breakfast and found the boy closing up her blender, that had been broken for weeks already, that everyone knew beyond a shadow of doubt that Son Chaeyoung was born to build a career with the machines. Sana was happy that one of Chaeyoung’s biggest worries had been solved.

“Well, now. I would be very disappointed if you said you don’t intend on pursuing a career in mechanics.” Grandma Minatozaki says after observing the boy for a while.

“To be honest, I didn’t know I liked it so much.” The boy answers shyly. “I thought a lot about what I wanted to do, and this is the first time I’m interested in something.”

“I’m happy you came over, then. Sana took after me and loves the plants and what we can do with them, but you certainly share my husband’s passion for getting greasy.”

“I really do like it.” Chaeyoung smiles as he turns on the blender and it works perfectly. “Guess I just needed someone to show me the way.”

“Your father doesn’t fix things himself?” The woman got curious, she knew a little about mr Son but this was just the basics.

“Oh, no. He knows anything you can think of about wine and harmonization, and it’s history, but he can’t fix a faucet to save his life. Grandpa never did anything like that too, both were raised to be the perfect high society gentlemen, but that made them very dependent about anything else.”

“You are a very honest young man, aren’t you?” The woman chuckles, moving to get the ingredients for breakfast. 

“I try to be. Mom always said she wouldn’t be angry if I was honest, and she never was. Sometimes she was disappointed, but never angry, so I just kept telling the truth.”

“She’s a very good mom indeed.” Grandma Minatozaki chuckles fondly. “Now go and clean yourself up, breakfast will be ready soon. And wake Sacchan up when you come back.”

“Yes ma’am!”

The boy salutes and skips out to get the grease out of his hands. There was this paste grandpa Minatozaki used that made cleaning up rather easy, so off to the garage he went. Waking Sana was another challenge, the boy enjoyed being woken up by his lover very much and was a very sneaky man when fishing for affection. Chaeyoung fell for it willingly each time, but still got shy about it. Today Nayeon and Mina would arrive, so he decided he wanted to be brave, mostly because it would be hard to do that after their friends got there. 

So, in an effort to break out of his shell, Chaeyoung started peppering kisses all over Sana’s face, usually he would kiss him once and leave quickly, but today was a special day. The japanese boy was surprised but very pleased, welcoming the kisses and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, pulling Chaeyoung to lay on top of him. For the first time in a while, their playful kisses turned into something more intimate, more passionate, last time Chaeyoung had been so willing was a few days before they travelled when the boys had been alone at the Minatozakis for the afternoon. To have the younger boy do this with other people in the house was already a win in Sana’s book.

“What’s gotten into you today?” Sana giggled when they separated. “I’m loving it, don’t stop. But what happened?”

“Well, I really wanted to kiss you, and Nayeonnie and Minnie are coming today, and we won’t have that much alone time, and you know I like you a lot and I always want to kiss you-”

“Always?” The shine in the older boy’s eyes got the other melting.

“Of course! Do you even know how wonderful you are?” Chaeyoung was honestly a little frustrated. “You are the more than I could have ever hoped for, Minatozaki Sana.”

“I should warn you, don’t start things you don’t intend to finish.”

“Well, then I should definitely finish what I just started, shouldn’t I?!” The cub smiled slyly.

“You are going to be the death of me, Son Chaeyoung.” And, with that, Sana pounces his boyfriend once more.

The boys get into a much more passionate make out session, at some point, Chaeyoung gets brave and guides Sana’s hands to his , which squeeze immediately, this was a first. Then Chaeyoung shyly tries to give Sana a hickey, it tickled and the japanese tried to hold his giggles. He failed. They fool around a little longer until grandma Minatozaki calls for them, the boys knew she would definitely follow through with her threat to go up herself and drag them both down by their ears. It was a really good morning for Sana, and he would definitely want more mornings like this, the clumsy hickey he got was a good bonus.