“Wake up.”

“No.”

“You have to wake up.”

“Go. Away.”

“No.” He had a few seconds of peace before someone shook his shoulder. “If you don’t wake up, we’ll leave without you.”Jiyong groaned as he rolled over, his brain still foggy till he shot up in bed, looking around him frantically.

“Where-“

“Getting ready.” Jiyong glanced at the man sitting next to him before scrubbing at his face with his hands.

“What time is it?”

“Early still,” the reply came accompanied by a small smile. “I’ve already started on the picnic, so come help once you’re ready, okay?” He just nodded as he tried to keep in a yawn. His thigh received a small pat before the black haired man stood to leave.

Jiyong just stared at him as he felt his heart break a tiny bit. He deserved more, he really did. Jiyong didn’t deserve to have him. Of course, there was a lot in his life he felt he didn’t deserve, and sometimes- but no. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. That was the type of thinking that had brought the other man here in the first place. And truly, he was grateful.

He loved Seungri, that was a fact. He loved Seungri almost as much as Seungri loved him, but after Seunghyun, Jiyong just wasn’t able to bring himself to love anyone like that again. Except-

“APPA!” His head shot up and a grin instantly formed as his face as a bright pink figure burst through the door and launched itself at him. “Good morning!” He smiled down at the little girl currently hugging him as she smiled back. “Seungri-appa said to hurry up and come help or you won’t get any breakfast.”

“Oh he did, did he?” Jiyong asked as he glanced up to see the younger man standing in the doorway, apron on, smiling. “Well that’s not very nice, now is it Minhee?”

“But Jiyong-appa,” she said with a frown on her face as she sat back and shook her finger at him. “If you don’t help, you can’t have a reward, remember?”

“That is very true.” He tried to keep a serious look on his face as the youngster scolded him.

“So if you don’t get up, I’ll eat all of it myself!” She said as she jumped off the bed with a laugh. “And I’ll make Seungri-appa gives me ice cream too!”

“Hey!” He started to give up to give chase as the little girl ran out the door, laughing as she headed towards the kitchen. “You wouldn’t actually give her ice cream for breakfast, would you?”

“Of course not,” Seungri scoffed. “She might have you and the others wrapped around her little finger, but not me.”

“Seungri-appa! I can’t reach the orange juice!” A shout came from the kitchen that had Seungri quickly turning and hurrying away.

“Hold on, love, I’m coming.”

Jiyong let out a snort. “Talk about whipped.”

He started picking out the clothes he wanted to wear to the meeting when a voice rang out. “Appa! Hurry or we’ll be late!”

“Alright, Minhee, alright, I’m hurrying,” he laughed as he grabbed his outfit and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

---

As he changed, he couldn't keep his thoughts from racing. But he had expected this, especially today.

A year ago that day, his life and the life of Minhee had changed forever. Why? Because Seunghyun had left them. Yes, he knew why the other man had left, and he knew hating him wasn't healthy, but some days were harder than others. And thinking about how happy he and Minhee had been just a year ago? Well, that made today one of the hardest in a long time.

Jiyong took a second to brush away the tears that were forming. He hated that it still hurt, even a year later, but he couldn't let it run his life anymore. Seungri had come to his rescue before, looking after Minhee while Jiyong spent day after day wallowing in self pity and depression in his room, but he promised himself he wouldn't do it anymore. He had Minhee to look after, someone who loved him with all of her heart and depended on him. And he was making sure to be the best father to her that he could be. Which was why they were making this trip. He honestly didn't know if going to see him would bring any more closure than it already had, but Minhee had insisted. She hadn't seen Seunghyun since Christmas, and since today was her day, she was allowed to choose what to do, right? Not to metion everyone had insisted they go. So that was why his little family, Minhee, Seungri, and himself, were getting up and getting ready at the crack of dawn- to go visit his good-for-nothing  ex-boyfriend, lover, and partner.

---

“Now, have we got everything?” Seungri put the last of the bags by the door as Jiyong helped his – no, their daughter put on her coat.

“Yup!” She chirped up as she concentrated on putting Jiyong’s hat on.

“Plates?”

“Yes.”

“Cups?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Drinks?”

“Yes yes yes.”

“Food?”

“Appa, you’re holding it!” The little girl sighed as she shook her head and struggled slightly to pull the door open before Jiyong finally helped her. “Please can we go now?” She gave both men a look as she stood outside the doorway, hands on her hips.

The two looked at each other and grinned at the look the little girl was giving them. A mixture of patience, annoyance, and impatience all rolled into one. As they headed out the door and piled into Seungri’s car, Jiyong couldn’t help but think of how much of a Choi Seunghyun look that had been.

Oh, how he missed Seunghyun. On one hand he still hated him for leaving them both, but on the other hand? He would always love him. But on a day like today, it was difficult. Jiyong glanced into the backseat to see Minhee concentrating on whatever game she was playing on the device Seungri had given her for Christmas, and he just couldn't help but smile sadly. His eyes caught the eyes of his friend, now his lover, who gave him a small smile before turning back to the road. He couldn't help but sigh as he turned to stare at the scenery, his thoughts roaming as he tried not to remember exactly why they were having to make this trip in the first place.

---  

FLASHBACK

He could say it had all started when they debuted as a group, but in all honesty? It started in 2013. May to be precise. He was certain the others remembered the day just as well as he did.

"We're what?!" Jiyong jumped out of his seat, not caring how impolite he was being at the moment.

"I'm sorry Jiyong, but I didn't stutter. We have talked it over" the president said as he gestured to the other staff members and artists between him and BigBang, "and we think this is best."

"But we just finished the world tour. And I wanted to do more in Japan," Seungri's face had completely fallen and his voice wavered. Jiyong sat down and laid a hand on his before he spoke.

"You didn't talk it over with us. Don't we have a say?" He tried not to glare at the others, his elders, people he had trusted to help him and s make the best decisions since their debut.

"The fact that you just had the world tour is what makes this best. And we're giving you the option to say no, but-"

"We don't think it's a good idea to wait," this time it was Teddy who spoke up. The fact that Teddy agreed? It had Jiyong stop and think for a moment. He had always trusted his hyung's opinion, but this time he just didn't know.

"Maybe the rest of us, but what about Seungri?" He glanced at the maknae who was now looking at the table, his face clouded. "His career is just starting and he is so young."

"Not too young to serve his time," the president spoke up again. "If all five of you serve at the same time, you can choose to resume activities together when you get back. Plus-"

Well, the list went on. It would look good for their image, people would be anticipating their return since they were leaving on a high note, Se7en would be going as well so they wouldn't be that alone, and there was a chance they could very well be placed together. Not to mention it would give YG time to promote more acts. And after much debating, it was decided. It took awhile to convince the rest of the members that Seungri was ready. Actually, the main thing that convinced Jiyong was when Seungri himself started saying he should go. That boy had such conviction... Well once he decided he wanted to do something, it was impossible to change his mind. So a month later the announcement was made and the final concerts were scheduled. That year became known as the year YG sent his artists to the military. To the boys? It was known as the year Big Bang joined the military together and their friendship- no, their brotherhood- grew even stronger. But to Jiyong, that year became known as the year that his feelings started to change forever.

---

Present Day

Jiyong was roused from his thoughts by Minhee yelling "Appas!" He turned his focus to the train station and smiled as he saw two men walking towards the car. He had gotten out and opened the back door, expecting to have to unbuckle his daughter but no, she had once again figured out her new car seat. Even as she jumped out and raced the few feet to the men approaching, Jiyong turned to Seungri. "I think we need  a new seat, she can already unbuckle this one."

"Already?" Seungri shook his head and he headed towards the trunk to unpack all of their goods. "Maybe we should just leave this one. She didn't unbuckle during the drive, so she should be fine, right?"

"Youngbae-appa!" Jiyong turned to see his friend spin around, Minhee in his arms as the girl squealed with happiness. "I missed you, appa!"

"Not as much as I missed you, pretty girl," he said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Aw, what about me?" The man next to him pouted until Minhee squirmed out of his arms and launched herself at the taller man.

"Daesung-appa," she said after he had finished catching her and spinning as well, "of course I missed you." She mimicked his 1000 watt smile before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey now, thats not fair," Youngbae spoke up as he pouted as well, causing Minhee to giggle.

"If you two are done showering my daughter with love, wanna give us a hand?" Jiyong held up one of the bags he had just unloaded as the other two chuckled and headed towards them.

"Sorry, sorry," Daesung said even as he held Minhee and made no effort to put her down and help them. "But you know how it is."

"Yeah, yeah," came the muffled reply as Seungri finally pulled out the last item- the picnic basket. "By the way, where are the girls?"

"Well my girl decided she didn't want to intrude, especially since she has only met you guys two times."

"Hyung, if you're serious about her, we really should spend more time together. Are you sure she isn't afraid of falling for one of us or something?" Seungri teased Daesung as the older man blushed.

"Ri, leave him be," Youngbae spoke up as he grabbed a bag. "My wife decided to stay home. Even though she knows all of us... You know how much Seunghyun hates strangers." The mood seemed to darken for a moment as all of the members nodded in agreement.

Finally, Minhee spoke up. "Appas, are we going to go see Seunghyun-appa now?"

Daesung brightened as he turned to the girl in his arms. "Of course, we are."

"That's everything," Seungri quickly spoke up, a smile once again on his face. "We should probably hurry so we don't miss the train."

"Daesung, can I please hold Minhee now?"

"But hyung, I never get to hold her," the younger man whined as the girl in his arms giggled. "And you should just have a kid of your own already. You've been married for almost a year and a half."

"D-dae! That's not something you just... you know, rush or whatever." The other members laughed as Youngbae stuttered, his face turning red as they all headed towards the train station, both dreading and anticipating the upcoming reunion.

---

Flashback

As much as they had expected the time to drag on, it actually flew by. The 21 months seemed to pass at the speed of light, but perhaps that was because of who Jiyong was spending it with. He missed music, he missed performing, and he missed producing, but without all of those- he hated to call them this but- distractions, he was finally coming to realize a few things.

Like why he had always wanted to work with Seunghyun. By the end of their military career, Jiyong had come to the realization that his feelings for Seunghyun went beyond brotherly. Whether it was the butterfly feeling he felt whenever the older man smiled at him, or the way his breath caught anytime their skin met, he didn't know what finally led him to the conclusion. But it was there, and it wasn't going away. And of course he couldn't say anything about it.

As an idol, Jiyong would have been able to get away with hugging and holding hands by saying it was fanservice, but he couldn't do that in the military. It actually wasn't until they had left, two days after to be exact, that he was finally able to buck up enough courage to approach the older man and confront him.

"Hyung, why did you do that?"

"Hm?" His piercing eyes met Jiyong's and the younger boy had to work hard to keep himself in check. "Do what?"

"After the press conference." When he continued to just stare, Jiyong let out an exasperated sigh. "You came up behind me and hugged me. For now reason." Still silence, so finally Jiyong threw up his hands. "Really?! You've been doing little things since last year! Leaning over me to get something when you could have moved around, getting close when we were getting ready in the morning, brushing your hand against mine all the time! Do you know how frustrated-" He stopped as he realized what he was about to say and scrubbed his hands over his face as he let out a growl.

"Yes." Jiyong froze before looking at Seunghyun. The smile on his face almost made him want to punch him, especially after what he said next. "I know exactly how frustrated it made you. That was the point."

"That- that was the point?! Why?!" His voice rose as he got angrier, wondering why his hyung had decided to play such as stupid game like that.

"Because I wanted to make sure you liked me."

"You wanted to- what?"

Jiyong stayed frozen as the taller man approached him. "To make sure you liked me. Like I like you." When he didn't reply, Seunghyun laughed, finally standing toe to toe with him. "I realized it during the Alive tour. Do you remember that girl I was dating?" He waited until the other nodded before he continued. "And remember how she broke up with me right around Christmas?" Another nod. "Truthfully, I was going to break up with her."

"Why?" Came the faint reply.

"Because I realized I liked someone else. Someone closer to me. But I had to make sure of their feeling before-"

"Before what?"

"Before I did something stupid like this." Jiyong's eyes grew wide as Seunghyun lowered his face, but the instant their lips touched, his eyes fluttered closed. Out of all the kisses he had over the years, this one was the first one that felt... right.

"Hey!" The two men jumped apart from each other, their faces burning red as they glanced to see who had interrupted them.

"Psh, finally." Seungri pushed past Youngbae as he entered the room. "I thought I could cut the tension between you two with a knife yesterday."

"What tension?" Daesung spoke up as he followed the other into the room.

"Oh, um..." Jiyong tried to find the right words as the other members just stared at the two of them before Seunghyun finally spoke up.

"Jiyong and  I are dating now."

"What?!"  Jiyong turned to look at him, not certain whether he was actually okay with this or not. However, the other member's reactions soothed him.

"Oh, cool," from Daesung.

"Like I said, finally," smirked Seungri.

"Like, dating dating?" Youngbae asked, his face confused.

And with that, the GTOP couple was formed. With the blessing of the other members and the realization that they absolutely would have to keep it a secret for now, of course.