“Daddy!” Jongin nearly blasts Yifan’s eardrum.

“Hey, buddy, how was school today?” He says picking the boy up.

“Appa was late and I thought he’d forgotten about us but Yixing hyung kept me company,” he explains.

“Oh, really?”

“Aren’t you a little rat,” Junmyeon tickles Jongin and he starts squirming in Yifan’s hold. ”Class ran late and there was traffic. Hungry? I’m making dinner.”

“Starving, actually. There was a huge pile up on the highway and we worked non-stop for hours,” Yifan tells his husband. He decides to leave his briefcase on the kitchen island and sit on one of the chairs to see Junmyeon move around the kitchen. He lets Jongin down and the little one runs to the family room back to his toys.

He only gets these short 6-hour shifts every once in a while and getting home early enough to have a dinner not warmed by the microwave is something he likes to enjoy, even if it means watching Junmyeon prepare it for 45 minutes.

“Oh, I talked to Jongdae and he’s available tomorrow afternoon to see Yixing.”

He tells his husband.

“Ah, that’s great. I’ll bring the boys over after school and we’ll pay you a short visit too,” Junmyeon smiles.

“That would be amazing. Where is he, by the way?” Yifan wonders getting up from the chair and going into the hallway.

Their house isn’t all that big, but it’s comfortable. He roams the hallway, expertly dodging Jongin’s toys, until he reaches Yixing’s door.

“Yixing? I got home a while ago why didn’t you go say hi?”

“Oh, hi Dad, I’m sorry I was doing homework,” Yixing says from the desk. He hides something underneath it but Yifan is no fool.

“What do you have there, pal?” Yifan gets close enough to look under the desk. There is a backpack, Yixing’s backpack to be more specific, clearly torn by the zipper, which made the actual zipper useless. “What happened to this?”

“I just– It got torn.”

“How, exactly, did it get torn? This wasn’t a cheap backpack, Yixing, you uncle Minseok gave this to you on your birthday.”

“I’m sorry.”

Yifan takes a deep breath. There’s no point on doing this now, when dinner’s almost ready and his stomach keeps on rumbling.

Apparently, Junmyeon notices something is off and goes to Yixing bedroom to see what’s going on. “Yifan dinner’s almost ready. Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about this later,” Yifan gets up and kisses Junmyeon lightly. “How about dinner then?”

“Ok, I’ll get Jongin.”

-

“You’re worried about him aren’t you,” Junmyeon says. They’re already in bed, watching the news and hoping Jongin doesn’t wake up with the noise. He has a habit of falling asleep on his parents’ bed whenever Yifan is home early.

“I just–“ He takes a deep breath, “I think there’s something going on that he’s not telling us about, something that’s causing all his stomach problems.”

“Jongdae can shed some light on that tomorrow, can’t he? I just need to know if this is something physical or if there’s anything going on that we should take care of,” Junmyeon sighs deeply. “He’s been losing weight, Yifan, that is not normal for a growing boy.”

“Yeah, I know. But let’s worry about that tomorrow. I’ll take Jongin to his bed.”

“Ok. Remember to put the railing on, I don’t him to fall off the bed again and have bump on his forehead.”

Yifan nods and lifts the small body to take him back to his room. Junmyeon throws the extra pillows on the floor and settles on the bed comfortably, though he knows he won’t be able to sleep a wink. He’s too worried to do so.

-

“Professor Kim?” He hears someone calling him from behind.

He’s getting ready to go after the longest morning he’d had in a while. He’s dead tired and anxiety is eating him whole. “Yes?”

“Uhm, I can comeback later if you’re busy, I don’t mean to hold you,” the boy Junmyeon recognizes from the day before speaks.

“Ah, Baekhyun right?”

“You remembered my name? Wow, I should have recorded this, my friends won’t believe me,” Baekhyun laughs and Junmyeon finds himself laughing along.

“Yes, I’m not very good with names, aren’t I?” He finishes getting his papers in order. ”Is there something you need? I have to go pick up my kids from school.”

“Oh, I saw you there yesterday.” He seems to have noticed Junmyeon’s surprise because he suddenly lifts his arms, “I wasn’t following you or anything, oh my God, no, I just teach in the after school arts program there.”

“Really? My son goes for guitar lessons.”

“I know, you’re Yixing’s Dad, right?”

“I am, yes, but right now I have to go, remember you have until midnight to send in the paper. Until later, Mr. Byun. Ah, yes, Yixing won’t be able to go today, you mind telling Chanyeol?”

“Sure, no problem. If you have extra time tomorrow I’d really like to talk to you, though. Bye, Professor Kim.”

“Sure, sure.” Junmyeon practically runs to his car and the minute he turns on the engine he notices he’s actually early.

-

“Are you here?” Yifan speaks into his cellphone.

“I’m right behind you,” Junmyeon answers before hanging up. Yifan suddenly feels a small weight on his legs.

“Daddy!” Jongin says and Yifan lifts him up to give him a hug.

“Aren’t you gonna give me a hug?” He asks Yixing. The boy smiles and throws himself on his Dad. “Any traffic?”

“Nothing, actually. Is Jongdae around?” He gets closer to Yifan give him a small peck on the lips. “I think I his not-boyfriend takes one of my classes.”

“Really? So, the Baekhyun he keeps not-talking about is still in college?”

“Yeah, he seems like a good kid. I’m happy Jongdae found someone nice.”

Yifan, still with Jongin in his arms, shows Junmyeon the way. Junmyeon grabs Yixing’s hand and follows his husband’s lead.

“Hey, buddy!” Jongdae greets Jongin who smiles and nestles in his dad’s embrace. “I got something fun for you,” He shows a small red toy car and Jongin attempts to grab it.

“Hi, sweetie,” a nurse from the floor suddenly arrives with more toys. “How about we let your Daddies talk with Dr. Jongdae here while we go to that room over there to play? We have lots and lots of toys for you.” The nurse smiles sweetly and Jongin, with a little nudge from Dad finally gives up and throws himself to the nurse.

“Can Yixing hyung come too?” Jongin asks, clutching the toy car Jongdae gave him.

“Yixing hyung will go with us, but I promise he’ll go to keep you company in no time, ok?” Jongdae offers and Jongin nods.

When the nurse is nowhere in sight Jongdae leads them to an empty exam room. “Shall we do this?”

“Uhm, yeah, I guess,” Yixing answers shyly.

“How about we let Dads here tell us why you’re here and then we can talk just you and me, huh?”

“Are you sure this is–“

Jongdae cuts Yifan before he can finish, “I’m the doctor and you are the parent, now let me make the calls for once.”

Yifan huffs, but agrees. He knows Jongdae is probably enjoying the hold he has on him right not, but he’ll make sure to give him a tough patient next time he can, for payback.

Junmyeon starts explaining Yixing reluctance to eat and how he gets stomachaches more often than not, which usually occur before school. He tells Jongdae about his weight loss and how he seems more secluded and shy lately. A normal person would blame pre-adolescence and hormones, but Yifan knows Junmyeon’s worries aren’t in vain.

After giving a detailed account on the events Jongdae kicks both Dads out and they join a happy looking Jongin in the playroom.

“Where’s hyung?” Jongin asks the minute he sees his parents.

“He’s talking to uncle Jongdae right now, but he’ll be here in no time,” Yifan says trying to sit down on a toddler sized chair while Junmyeon laughs at his attempt.

A few minutes pass and Yixing enters the playroom with a smile on his face.

“How did it go?” Junmyeon gets up and goes to hug his son.

“Good.”

-----------------

a/n: This will, of ocurse, be continued c:. As always, comments are appreciated, tho not mandatory ^^. If i made any mistakes, please point them out ;A; and if you have any questions regarding continuity or the universe this story sets in don't be afraid to ask!