Life was good. Life was perfect.

                Everything was ideal and despite lacking a mother figure, Taemin would argue that they were the ideal family.

                Their life became so balance. Having a child was really the best thing he could have imagined. Raising a child was one of those things he didn’t know he needed until he had it.

                It was summer again and a lot of important dates were coming up. For one, it was his birthday soon. Not too long after, it was their anniversary. Seven years of being happily married. About a week after that was the one year anniversary of them adopting Yoogeun. Lots of important dates.

                The day before his birthday, he woke up, rolling over against his husband’s side. It was only then that he realized he was being watched. “Good morning…” The boy smiled.

                “Good morning, Kitten. Do you know what day it is tomorrow?”

                “I think so.” Taemin mused.

                “I asked Jongin to babysit for us… After seven, we’ll have the evening to ourselves. I made dinner reservations. Hopefully Yoogeun will be asleep by the time we get home so we can… you know.”

                “I don’t think we should… We almost got caught last time. It’s not good.”

                “But Tae…” The elder whined, rolling over to face him, modelling a pout, “We… I know raising a child is a huge responsibility but… We don’t have as much anymore. If I had forty fingers, I could probably count all the times we’ve had since adopting on them…”

                “Well obviously! He’s not stupid, you know? He probably thinks it’s weird that two guys sleep in the same bed. If we did anything to confirm some weird idea then we’d be in trouble!”

                “You always say no, though! Even on the weekends! Even when it’s really late and he’s sleeping for sure, o-or when Jongin’s babysitting him! You always say no! We only do it when I’m super persistent… It takes so much to convince you, you know?”

                “It’s not like it’s super necessary and it can get us in a lot of trouble…”

                “It’s special to me, Kitten. Spending time with you during the day, during dates, and in bed… it’s all special to me and I miss it a lot. I know being a parent means sacrificing some of it, but I didn’t think it would mean 90%... Do you hate having with me? Do you think it’s gotten boring?”

                “No! No, no, no! Of course not! I love having with you, it’s just…It can’t be helped.”

                “Yes it can be… Taemin, twice a week. Your birthday and our anniversary… is that okay? We used to do it almost every day, right? Twice a week should be doable, yeah?”

                The younger boy shrugged, leaving a trail of kisses along the elder’s arm. “I love our lives right now as they are but… it’s really hard pretending to be only friends with the person you’re married to from seven in the morning to nine at night. We can either be super in love and tired, or super in love and, well, tired, but a different kind of tired. Not an ‘I just woke up’ kind of tired. A ‘I want to go to sleep’ kind of tired.”

                “I guess the feels better on the rare occasion that it does happen, right?”

                “You know, it seems difficult enough for a normal couple to make a romantic schedule around their kid’s needs, but for us to have to make a schedule for that and a whole separate on to avoid him finding out that we’ve been married for seven years… it’s so exhausting…”

                Sighing, Minho couldn’t agree more. He looked over at the clock, noticing the numbers that were about to become an even seven a.m.

                Counting down a few seconds, he let out a “Mom!”, mimicking the one that came from downstairs at the exact same time as the clock struck seven.

                “Mom! Mom, I’m hungry!” Yoogeun called.

                “Well that’s my cue.” Taemin yawned, rolling out of bed. Minho found it adorable that Yoogeun called Taemin ‘mom’. He thought it suited him and in a sense it also meant Yoogeun acknowledged Taemin as his parent which meant a lot to both of them. Leaning over, the younger boy gave him one last kiss and with that, he left the room.

                When he got downstairs, Taemin was in the kitchen cooking something up while Jongin and Yoogeun waited anxiously.

                The younger boys seemed to be having fun bullying him as well, poking him each time he came within reach.

                “Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom!” They both chanted.

                “Guys, stop!” Taemin whined back, a pout on his lips as he hurried.

                “Mom!” Minho joined them with a smile. His arms naturally wrapped around the boy’s waist before he remembered Yoogeun was there, pulling back. Taemin didn’t seem to care though, twirling around, pulling the elder back into an embrace.

                “Minho, tell them to stop!”

                “Okay guys, enough is enough.” He laughed, rubbing the younger boy’s back. “We don’t want to make the chef cry.”

                “I’m too good to you guys…” Taemin mumbled, going back to the stove.

                He handed out full plates to each boy, pinching their noses right after. It was the usual routine and Taemin loved it.

                Well, most of it. The only thing missing was Yoogeun knowing they were together. Maybe they’d tell him one day. It might not be something they can hide forever, but it’s definitely something they can try to hide forever.

                The next day, he found himself surrounded by a huge group of people. Heechul was there, Ruki was there, Chansung was there. Jiyong came too. And as he tried to hide his blush, everyone began singing ‘happy birthday’.

                Once that was over, he opened each present. It didn’t matter what they were because they were all amazing and brought him to tears.

                Okay, so that was a lie. There was one he was a little biased towards. A half torn, messily wrapped box from a little kid that had been in his life a lot lately.

                “So I didn’t know what to get you… If you hate it, I totally get it…” Yoogeun blushed, thumbs fumbling with each other. Heart racing, mind overjoyed, Taemin unwrapped what was left of the paper, peeking in. The first thing he pulled out was a pair of socks. “I know it’s lame, socks and stuff, but like… they have all the constellations on them and the one that’s connected, that’s your sign, right? I thought that was neat…” The boy embarrassingly explained. It wasn’t just because they were from his son, but they were genuinely really cool and if he had saw them beforehand, he would have bought them himself.

                The next thing was a coffee cup. It seemed plain white at first until he turned it around and noticed a figure. “I drew that myself. It’s you in case you couldn’t tell. Jongin said you broke your cup recently and he said it would be cooler to make one for you than just but it…” Everyone’s cheeks turned red at the sight of the boy’s pout, all of the guests ‘awing’ in synchronicity. “There’s one more.” And he wasn’t lying. The last thing he pulled out was a handmade bracelet with his name sown into it. “I made that one too.”

                Wiping his eyes, Taemin nodded, pulling Yoogeun in for a tight hug. “Thanks baby… This means a lot to me. Help me put the bracelet on?”

                “Mom…” Yoogeun mumbled, embarrassed by all the attention he was getting.

                “Please?”

                He rolled his eyes, trying to look as annoyed as possible although he was really happy and relieved that his gift got a positive response as he spent four hours on the cup alone, and another six on the bracelet, not to mention sneaking around with Jongin, trying to find supplies. Puffing out his cheek, he tied the colourful thread around Taemin’s wrist. “Mom, if you didn’t look so innocent and lost all the time, I’d be a lot more rebellious.” He threatened, although he knew he was lying through his teeth.

                “Huh? Am I really like that?” Taemin asked, wide eyes, eyebrows lifted on his forehead, only confirming Yoogeun’s description. Deciding there was nothing that could make him more embarrassed than he was right now, he leaned in and stole a peck from Taemin’s, hugging him soon after. “Yeah. Happy birthday.” He felt arms around him in not time, reciprocating the hug. “Thanks Yoogeun.”

                Taemin could officially call it a day. He was beyond happy. As if that wasn’t enough, he felt the heat of a hand he hadn’t felt in a long time on his back, catching his attention as he gave out drinks.

                “Tae-chan, do you need help?”

                “No, no, no, it’s fine. You just flew in earlier today, take a rest.”

                “Japan isn’t far away. Besides I had to come for the birthday of one of my closest friends! You know, when I first came here, it was supposed to be and all out, exclusive vacation for a few weeks, curtesy of my dad’s overflowing bank account. But then I ended up staying here for a long time. More than I spent back in Japan. I’d go back for holidays and miss here, you know? I know it was kind of abrupt at the end of last summer when I just packed up and left within a day’s notice. I haven’t kept in contact much either, which because I really want to, I’ve just been so busy…” He sighed.

                “I understand Ruki. You’ve been here for what? Five years? It’s a really long time for a vacation. Like, insanely so. I think calling it a vacation is stretching it. You went back home for most holidays and summers though, so I guess it’s fine. Anyways, I’m really glad to see you again. It means the world to me that you came.”

                Ruki smacked his arm, huffing and puffing. “Aren’t you going to ask me what’s kept me so busy?” He whined.

                “Is it any of my business?” Taemin laughed, “You packed up really quickly, so it must have been important, right? I didn’t want to pry.”

                “Yeah,” The elder nodded, “Well we had a bit of a scare because my dad fell really sick really fast, so that . Oh, but he got better after a month. It was such an amazing recovery that they said they wouldn’t be surprised if he was still around and kicking in forty years. That’s like… his hundredth and something birthday.” He paused, catching himself rambling, “Anyways, that’s not my point. My point is I’ve been working really hard the past few months and guess what?”

                “What?” Taemin smiled, noticing the twinkle in Taemin’s eyes.

                “As of September, I’ll be a permanent resident of South Korea! My place is a twenty minute was from here! It’s a huge downgrade from the residential suit at the hotel, but you know what? Hanging out with you guys, I’ve learnt to like smaller, cozier living.”

                Taemin squealed, clapping his hands, jumping into the taller boy’s arms. “Oh my god, congratulations! Is this really what you want though? Living here? What about your friends and family?”

                “Most of my friends are here and my parents travel so much that Japan is really only one of my homes, if I can even call it that at all. I’m much happier here. The friends in Japan? I can visit them on holiday. If I’m not here, I don’t feel like I’m in the right place. Do you know how hard it was to be away from you, Tae-chan? Minho, Jongin, Heechul, all of you. I missed you guys so much over there.”

                “Have you told the others yet?”

                He shook his head. “No, only Heechul.”

                “Well then I guess we have an announcement to make.” Taemin nodded, dragging him into the living room and catching everyone’s attention. “Guys!” He yelled, “Ruki has something very important to say!”

                “I don’t know if I can do this…” He sighed.

                “Kitten… you promised…”

                “I know.” They met each other’s gazes through the mirror, Minho’s long fingers buttoning up Taemin’s shirt as he stood behind the smaller boy. “Hey, if I’m already tired now, I don’t think I can hold out for when he come back.”

                “But Kitten… Then you just relax, okay? I’ll do everything. These past few months we’ve been rushing it each time and I don’t want to rush it tonight so just… just relax okay? I’ll take care of everything. You can be on the bottom so you won’t have to move much and just- Just please try for me, alright? I’ve been looking forward to this for a while now.”

                “I understand, I’ll try my best…” Taemin sighed. He really was tired though. The party that was only supposed to be from noon to four lasted until seven, and then he had to clean up a mess much bigger than originally anticipated. Now he had to rush a shower and get dressed because they were a bit late.

                “Thanks so much for tonight Jongin.” Minho added as they stepped out, waving the two boys goodbye.

                “No problem. We’ll be in my room having a movie night.” Jongin replied.

                Despite it being a weekend, rush hour, and a late departure, they made it on time. The restaurant was really fancy and Minho definitely blew a few extra bucks to get them the table he did, right by the window, right where the best view was.

                “Order anything you want, baby. It’s on me tonight.”

                “Are you sure?”

                “Positive.”

                “Thank you.”

                “But, you know, if you feel guilty or anything, you can make up for it with something else. Like, not money. And, you know, it can be tonight. And-”

                “I get it.” Taemin chuckled, glancing over the selection of wine. “I’ll repay you graciously in a few hours.”

                “Good boy.”

                They enjoyed the meal, and Taemin had to admit, it was nice not being busy 24/7. Well, truthfully, he didn’t even know he was busy all the time until he got a chance to take a break. Then he appreciated every second. It wasn’t that he didn’t love what he did, it was just that he appreciated having an extra moment to breathe.

                “Okay, so I got you something else.” Minho interrupted their meal, pulling out an expensive looking box.

                “I told you not to!”

                “It’s different though. Like… I know it’s your birthday, but this gift goes beyond just you- it’s- look, just open it and see for yourself.”

                Sighing, he popped the top open. It was a teal wallet with yellow stitching which matched the yellow, leather interior. It was nice. Really nice. Just when he thought that was it, he gave it a second look over and noticed something printed onto one of the flaps.

                It was a family photo Minho had taken of the three of them during Christmas. It wasn’t just stuck on, it was printed into the leather itself.

                “This is amazing! How did you do this?”

                “I took a wallet making class three weeks ago while you were at your photoshoot. I stitched the wallet myself but they printed on the photo for me.”

                “What’s with all these handmade gifts this year?” He asked, fingers tracing each detail, “It’s overwhelming me, you know. They all make me… it’s so much better than a store bought gift, but at the same time, they’re also from the people I love the most, so I- my heart it going to explode. It’s not a good way to end the evening. Exploding? That’s gross.”

                Minho chuckled, interlocking fingers. “I didn’t think those would be the repercussions of my gift.” Watching as Taemin admired the physical outcome of his hard work, he tugged at his fingers, grabbing at his attention once more. “Hey, Kitten.”

                “Yes?”

                “Finish up your wine. Let’s go home.”

                It was dark when they got back. The only light came from upstairs, specifically from Jongin’s room. They could hear a children’s movie playing. Good distraction. Since it was around one in the morning, Yoogeun had probably fallen asleep anyways.

                Before Taemin could even say anything, he was lifted and carried down the hallway to the living room, dropped onto the couch and trapped between cushion and boy within a few seconds.

                “Minho, w-wait, they’re upstairs and- and this is the couch… we’re going to get caught-”

                “Jongin’s distracting him, remember?” He smiled, peeling layer after layer of Taemin’s clothing off. Buttoned shirts took longer than he liked.

                “W-wait, Minho, s-slowly, that’s what you wanted, right? S-so let’s take it slow…” He stopped the greedy hands which already got him down to his undershirt and briefs. “Besides, isn’t really for suits, right? Y-you might r-rip yours…”

                “Then I guess I’ll have to take it off.” He whispered, kicking off each leg until the pants were on the ground. It didn’t help at all. At this point, Taemin couldn’t peel his eyes off of the tight boxer briefs that graced the elder’s lower half, showing off each curve and crevice. Naturally, it only made it worst when Minho took the liberty of pressing their bulges together and grinding.

                Taemin moaned, tossing his head back onto the armrest. His fingers found the buttons of the older boy’s shirt, undoing each one until the top hung open, revealing each toned muscle, each inch of heavenly skin. He couldn’t stop himself. He massaged the flesh, getting into it. Minho was getting into it too.

                Tying tongues, their bodies rubbed, creating friction Taemin didn’t know he missed. Their eyes met in a passionate, animalistic stare as Minho pinned Taemin down by the wrists, stealing the boy’s breath. He looked intimidating, and superior, and in control, and oh my god did Taemin want to submit.

                They door upstairs creaked open and they heard footsteps coming down. Jongin know tonight was special, so he’d probably just quickly grab something from the kitchen and go back up to his room. Knowing that, they continued, just a little quieter.

                Legs wrapped around the elder’s waist, Taemin gave himself up, forgetting every excuse he had to stop, indulging in the fingers that d him, slowly sneaking into his briefs, groping something else entirely.

                His breath hitched, his back arched, his nails digs into Minho’s back and all of this was happening while Minho lightly traced his clothed shaft with his fingertip, his lips passionately devouring the younger boy’s neck.

                Then his eyes landed on something that scared him more than anything he ever saw before.

                “Um… are you two married?” A quiet voice asked.

                They separated faster than the speed of light, both of them instinctively shoving a pillow between their legs, sitting up, covering whatever they could of the disaster that was the living-room-turned--scene.

                “Sorry for interrupting.”

                “Wh-where’s Jongin?” Minho laughed, making a note of being pissed off at him later.

                “He fell asleep an hour ago. So are you married?”

                “What makes you think that?” Taemin asked, staring holes into the floor. They got found out. This could be it. This could be the moment they lose their child. Or they won’t, but they’ll be raising someone who hates them.

               Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.

                “Well you guys sometimes go out alone in the evenings without Jongin, and well, I mean, right now, it’s kind of hard to argue it… Also, guys usually don’t have matching friendship rings that are gold with diamonds on them and… I don’t know. At first I wasn’t sure, but I’ve been here for almost a year and you guys seem like you’re not just the close friends you told me you were… I might have bought it if I was younger but I’m turning twelve you know.”

                “Two guys being married… that’s disgusting, right?” Taemin asked, his chest tightening.

                There was a long moment of silence. Too long. They dreaded this moment to no end. Neither of them knew what to say. Neither of them knew what to do. Neither of them knew what to do to fix this.

                “Disgusting? Um… Well, I had a mom and dad and that didn’t really work out, so maybe having two dads is better. I don’t know. I don’t really care. If you two love each other, then that’s that. I just wanted to know.”

                “Yoogeun?”

                “Yeah?”

                “I’m sorry for lying to you. You know, we’ve been married for six years now. I just- two men can’t adopt a child a child legally in America. Gay marriage is very taboo… We’ve always wanted to have a kid of our own but in order for that to work out, I had to apply as a single, most importantly straight man… You could always leave us if you hate it. We’re so sorry.”

                “I never really thought two guys could be together. Well, not that it’s bad, but I just didn’t think about it. I didn’t really think about marriage in general, but, um… Well, I’m happy living here… happier than I’ve ever been, and if you guys are happy too, then that’s settled, right? I just wanted to know if you were actually married or not, but now that I know… well, I don’t know, that’s cool. I considered you both my parents anyways, so it’s not like anything has changed.” He looked up, registering their clothes and the mess around them. “W-well, I’m just glad to finally know. Anyways, I-I’m going to go back to bed now. Sorry for interrupting you-”

                “Yoogeun, come here!” Taemin desperately shouted, catching the boy mid-turn. He nodded, stepping forward until him and Taemin stood across from each other. Before he knew it, arms wrapped around him, trapping him in a tight hug. “Thank you so much Yoogeun… you don’t know how much it means to me.” He couldn’t see the elder’s face, but he could hear the cracking in his voice, the tears in his tone.

                “It’s okay. I love you, mom.”

                “I love you too, Yoogeun.” Taemin nodded. The boy kissed him on the forehead, giving Minho a kiss as well before wishing them good night, jogging back to Jongin’s room.

                Taemin wiped his eyes, sighing. It took less than a second for him to feel a hand down his briefs.

                “You’re not hard anymore?” Minho pouted.

                “How could I be hard after that?! I wanted to jump off a bridge, scream, and cry of happiness at the same time!”

               “Well now that that’s over and done with, we can continue.” Minho smiled, laying Taemin down, fighting retaliation.

                “Hey, do you not understand what just happened?! Our son acknowledged us as husbands!”

                “I know… which is why I’m so happy I want to make love to you right now. We can finally be in love like before. Isn’t that something to celebrate? We’ll have a proper talk with him tomorrow, okay? For tonight, let me openly love you.”

                Despite his gut feeling telling him otherwise, Taemin gave in.

                There it was. The perfect life.

                Taemin woke up.

                He made breakfast and fed everyone who slowly but surely gathered in the kitchen.

                While they ate, he made each boy lunch.

                Minho had morning classes in his current semester so Taemin drove all of them off at once. First stop was Jongin’s work. A classy building not too far away. He’d hop out and walk over to Taemin’s window, receiving his daily kiss on the forehead. It started off as a joke, mocking the other two boys, but it soon became a routine.

                Next, Taemin would drop Minho off at school. He’d take a kiss as well, but his was a lot more intimate, lips locking for a few seconds of put happiness.

                Yoogeun was last. Taemin would park by the elementary school and walk him into the yard. “Are you sure you’re not embarrassed by me?” He would ask every single day.

                “No one’s every really walked me to school so I haven’t had enough of it to be embarrassed yet.” Yoogeun would tell him.

                Taemin would sit with the boy’s friends, talking. He was happy they liked him. When he was their age, no one liked him at school, so it was refreshing. Five minutes before the bell would ring, he’d kiss Yoogeun on the cheek, bumping fists with the rest of the boys and leaving.

                “Man, why is your dad so cool?” They would complain, “My dad is, like, fifty…”

                Yoogeun laughed, nodding. “I think I might just have the coolest dads in the world.”

                Jongin was smiling.

                Minho was smiling.

                Taemin was smiling.

                Yoogeun was smiling.

                All of them were at different parts of their day, in completely different situations. Despite all of this, they were all happy.

                They liked the idea of life being like this forever.

                Maybe it could be.

                That would be perfect.

                So perfect.

                Their lives were perfect.

                They were definitely blessed.

                Taemin took a break from his photoshoot, sipping from a special cup he got for his birthday. He looked out the window and noticed a cloudless sky.

                Jongin finished coding a program. It was a lot of work, but after a week, he was done. Stretching, he rolled his chair back a few feet, stretching. He looked out the window and noticed a cloudless sky.

                Minho lifted his eyes from the camera manual. He tried adjusting the settings, happy when he got the perfect look for his image. Something blue in his peripherals caught his attention. He looked out the window and noticed a cloudless sky.

               Yoogeun ran through the halls, chased by his friend, knowing he’d get scolded by a teacher soon. But he was young, so it was okay to misbehave occasionally. Skipping steps as he made his way downstairs, he was blinded by sunlight. He looked out the window and noticed a cloudless sky.

                Everything was perfect today. If life could be like this forever, that would be nice. Thanking whatever force brought them to this point in time, they smiled.

                It was time to get back to work.

                Taemin laughed. Who knew a minor car accident could bring him so much joy?

                A/N: Okay, oh my god guys. Here it is. The end. Two years later and here I am. Time really does fly. This was the first story I ever wrote and now I’m tying up the loose ends. I know it was probably the worst thing ever written on here, but it was my first attempt at storytelling and I definitely grew through it. I know many people don’t read it anymore, but to those of you who stuck around, thank you. This story ended up exactly how I didn’t plan for it to. I had the whole plot laid out, perfect, polished, ready to go, but the longer I kept writing, the more off track I got. Thinking back, my idea would have been more suited for a shorter story, maybe 10-12 chapters long. If I get around to it, I’ll rewrite the story. I’d say I’d rewrite it the way it was “meant” to be, but at this point, that would just be like comparing fire and ice, so I’ll just compress what I’ve made here and touch it up a bit. Anyways, thanks again. I’ve poured so much time, energy, and passion into this story that finishing it, knowing I won’t have to spend my weekends writing it, checking comments, logging onto aff.com every Sunday; knowing I won’t have to do that makes me feel empty inside. This became such a big part of me that now I feel like there’ll just be a huge hole. What’ll I do now that a habit and schedule I’ve worked so hard to keep for two years is just going to disappear in a day? I don’t know… I don’t think I can write regularly like this again. I might switch over to how I’ve been doing my other stories. Writing them entirely beforehand and publishing them once everything is revised. Knowing that, I won’t be coming on here beside during those upload periods which’ll only be for a few days every month or two. That’s really saddening. Now I’m rambling, sorry. I just can’t convey how much this story and you guys meant to me and letting it all go is definitely a challenge, but I hope we’ll meet again the next time I write a (much shorter) SHINee fic. If any of you have any requests, leave them down in the comments and I’ll jump on them. Until then, please support SHINee in their new MV “View”, released recently (Yesterday as I am writing this).

                Until we meet again!

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