Just as expected I recovered before Himchan did. By the time I had gotten over my pneumonia and I was ready to teach my classes again Himchan was still limping around so even though he really, really wanted to go back to work, the school said it would be better if he stayed home and got some rest to make sure his foot would heal properly. They had already hired a temporary replacement for him anyway.

My days went by the way they did before I had gotten sick. I woke up before Himchan did, left the apartment while he was still sleeping, went to work, taught my classes and went back home to spend time with my boyfriend. Nothing had really changed except for the fact that my mother was around a lot more now than she used to be. She would be there when I got home from work, cooking dinner or helping with cleaning or just talking to Himchan. Her sudden change of behavior made me suspicious, but I didn't say anything about it. It was a welcomed change and to be honest I really liked that her and Himchan were finally able to get along. They had grown incredibly close incredibly fast.

When I entered the apartment one day and saw my mother and my boyfriend huddled together on the couch I couldn't help but smile to myself. My smile faded and was replaced with an expression of worry as soon as I saw what was placed on the coffee table in front of them, though. "What are you doing?" I asked a bit nervously and Himchan raised his head to look at me with a wide smile.

"I never knew you were a fan of plushies." He grinned as he held up a picture of me that must have been at least ten years old. I blanched and quickly took the photograph from his hand to shove it into my pocket as if it wasn't already too late to hide it from him.

My mother guffawed. "Please. Yongguk probably still has his Tigger lying around somewhere, he refused to let me throw it out when he moved into this apartment."

"You've been hiding that from me for seven years?" He sounded both displeased and surprised. I ran a hand over my face, letting out a harsh sigh. "Do you have an army of stuffed animals hidden somewhere that I don't know about?" Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep my gaze from flickering anxiously. Himchan laughed out loud.

"Oh, Himchannie, look at this one." I watched in horror as my mother pulled another photograph out from the photo album that was lying on the coffee table.

"That is so cute!" Himchan exclaimed and I was actually kind of surprised that he didn't flail at the same time. "Yongguk, look at your cute little , you were adorable!"

"Hey mom, when's dinner?" I asked in a desperate attempt to change the topic of conversation by drawing their attention away from my baby pictures - baby pictures, at that. Fortunately that comment was enough to remind my mother that it was about time to start cooking, so she left the living room to go to the kitchen instead. With a huff I plopped down at the end of the couch that was opposite from where Himchan was sitting and I crossed my arms, glaring at my boyfriend who looked like he was having a hard time trying to contain his laughter. "It's not funny."

"I actually think it's cute."

"What, me being humiliated? I fail to see how that can possibly be cute." He rolled his eyes at my dramatic tone. I continued to scowl. There was a grin on his face as he approached me and he ignored the way I halfheartedly tried to push him away when he came close. He pressed up against my side and his hand reached out to pinch my cheek. I swatted at it. "It's not funny!" I repeated and I knew I was sounding a lot more whiney than I would ever be willing to admit.

"Bang Yongguk!" I heard my mother yell from the kitchen just as I had opened my mouth to tell Himchan to stop laughing at me. "I can feel you being unreasonable from all the way out here, stop this at once." I let out an indignant huff, but I didn't say anything in response to her accusations. Himchan chuckled and pinched my cheek once more.

"I liked it better when you two didn't get along," I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

Himchan leaned up to kiss me. "No you didn't."

"I don't like you."

"Yes you do. You love me." When I opened my mouth to retort he kissed me again to make me shut up.
 

After dinner my mother cleaned up the kitchen - the only reason why Himchan actually allowed her to do that was because of his foot - and then she announced that she was going to go home. "Do you want me to give you a ride?" I offered while I watched her shrug on her coat.

She shook her head. "You stay here and take care of your boyfriend, I'll be fine by myself."

"Thank you for everything, Mrs. Bang," Himchan said and he sounded genuinely grateful. He was standing by my side, leaning against me for support. I was more than a little surprised when my mother stepped forward and hugged Himchan, awkwardly because my arm was wrapped around his waist so he wouldn't have to lean on his injured foot. He seemed surprised by the gesture as well, although not as much as I was.

"Take care of yourself, Himchannie." She smiled and patted his face gently and then leaned up to give me a peck on the cheek before she turned around and left the apartment.

None of us spoke until a few seconds after the front door had closed behind my mother. "Well," Himchan uttered. He cleared his throat. "That was... unexpected." I just hummed, not really sure what to say. I helped him sit down on the couch and almost as soon as I had sat down next to him he had straddled my lap and was kissing me. It took a moment for me to respond, but when I did my hands slid down his back to grip at his waist. "I'm sorry we ganged up on you earlier. I didn't mean to make you upset." He nibbled on my bottom lip and rolled his hips at the same time and I gasped into his mouth. "Let me make it up to you."

"Wh-what about your foot?" I asked, because his actions as well as the familiar warmth forming in my gut made it pretty clear what was about to happen.

He rolled his eyes. "I don't need my foot for that, do I?" he said with a smirk. I just kissed him again.

*****

A/N: hmm, I guess this tells us whether mrs. bang was genuine or not, huh? she's actually being nice for the first time, well... ever in this fic. :D she just needed to see how much hime loves her son and how well he takes care of him too. now her and himchan are close. so close that yongguk is being bothered by it. but I guess this is better than them not getting along, right? \o/
the idea of yongguk and the army of plushies comes from those childhood pictures of him with his tigger plushy, of course. god, he's such a big ball of fluffiness, I cannn'ttt. T^T
I would also just like to say (since I've seen comments about it) that, no, there will not be any daejae in this story. daehyun is with jaehyo and youngjae is with zico so... the chances of there being daejae aren't really that big, you see? if you're feeling deprived you can always subscribe to this. :D /shameless self-promoting