/casually updates 5 weeks later. Unedited because I already took too long. -_-

Yixing’s in the kitchen doing dishes while Zitao sits at his feet playing with a toy truck while his rainbow unicorn sits by his side. They’re listening to the radio blaring top 40 hits as their day together draws to a close. Yifan stepped out to buy milk after dinner and when he returns he snakes his arms around his husband’s waist. “I need to talk to you about something,” he murmurs in his ear.

“About?” Yixing finishes up washing the dishes and puts them in the drying rack. He turns to face Yifan and kisses him.

“Putting Tao in daycare.”

Yixing sighs. “I’ve told you for months that I don’t like the idea. I love being home with him, and he loves being here with me.”

“But he needs to learn to spend time away from both of us and play with kids his age. Besides our friends’ kids. We need to better prepare him for when he starts school.”

“We have over 2 years until he’s old enough for preschool. I don’t see a problem with him staying with me until then.”

“The longer we wait, the harder it’ll be for him to start school. He needs to get used to it now.”

Yixing shakes his head and pulls away from Yifan. “He’s not ready, and I’m not ready. I’m tired of having this conversation.” It’s in his nature to try to squash arguments as quickly as he can, especially with Yifan because without fail, he ends up crying. Even when he thought his argument was better, repairing the relationship seemed better than winning a fight.

“Well, I need both of you to be ready by Monday because I already registered to take Tao to the daycare Kyungsoo went to.”

Yixing frowns at Yifan. “You registered for daycare… without telling me first?”

“I knew it would take you forever to change your mind. I figured it’s easier to apologize than to ask your permission.”

Yixing is quiet as he stares down at the floor. In any other situation, he would probably go along with the plan –no matter how much he dislikes it- just to end the conversation before it became an argument. But he can’t help but feel upset that his husband would make a decision about their child without him. “I’m not okay with this,” he says quietly but firmly.

“I know it’s hard for you since you haven’t been away from him for longer than overnight, but I talk to Chanyeol about the daycare and he s-“

“I don’t care what Chanyeol thinks. Tao is our child, and you should have talked this over with me before you did this.” His eyes are already starting to well up with tears, but he’s very aware that Zitao is still sitting on the floor staring up at them.

“Well, sorry, I didn’t know you hated daycare that much,” Yifan mumbles.

“Yes, you did. I’ve said it about a thousand times.” Yixing picks up Zitao and sets him just on the other side of the baby gate in the doorway. “And even if I didn’t dislike the idea, this is more about you making decisions about our child without discussing it with me first.”

“Well, you never attempted to discuss it; you always just brushed me off!”

“That meant that I wasn’t ready for the conversation, not that you should go ahead and do whatever you wanted!” Both of their voices are steadily increasing.

“Well, by the time you would be ready, he would be old enough to go to college!”

“I told you this isn’t about that!” Yixing screams back.

“Bà ba?” Zitao is standing at the baby gate staring at Yixing with wide and scared eyes. He’s seen his parents upset with him when he disobeyed them, but he’s never seen them screaming at each other like this, and it scares him. “Bà ba be happy…”

Yixing sighs and picks Zitao up. He carefully steps over the baby gate and carries the worried toddler to his room. He wets him on the floor and gives him a few toys to play with. “Pa pa and I are fine. Stay here and play while we talk, okay?” He sets up another baby gate in the doorway and leaves the door open to make it easier to check up on him. “I don’t have anything more to say to you,” Yixing calmly states once he’s back in the kitchen.

“So you’re avoiding this conversation again.”

“No, I’m not avoiding any conversation. You obviously don’t get what my point is, and I really don’t have the energy to get it through your head.” He crosses his arms and leans back against the doorframe and gives Yifan a look that dares him to argue back.

Yifan rolls his eyes. “Whatever. You’re impossible to deal with.”

Yixing simply shakes his head at the weak retaliation and turns to go back to Zitao. “But you’re stuck with me,” he says, more as a comment than to fuel anymore arguing.

“Apparently, I didn’t learn my lesson after my first bad marriage,” Yifan spits back, and he says it loud enough where Yixing knows he was meant to hear it, and he’s absolutely devastated because of the words and because Yifan meant to hurt him.

Yifan doesn’t even have enough time to apologize when he sees the hurt on Yixing’s face because the latter quickly disappears and locks himself in the hall bathroom. Zitao is still standing at the baby gate staring curiously at the door that his bà ba slammed.

“Xing, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean it at all. Please come out,” he pleads at the door.

Yixing’s voice is thick with tears. “If you didn’t mean it, you wouldn’t have said it.”

“I was just being dumb and wanted to win the argument because I’m an idiot, and I know you’re usually right. I know that’s no excuse for what I said, but I truly don’t regret being with you. You know that.”

“I think you should leave…”

“Xing-“

“I can’t be around you right now. Just… give me some time and I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay… I love you.” There’s a long pause and he’s resigned to the fact that he won’t get a reply, but before he walks away he hears a low ‘I love you too’.

Zitao is visibly very confused when Yifan goes into the master bedroom and comes back out with his coat on. “Me and Pa pa go out?” he asks as Yifan steps over the gate into his room. Yifan shakes his head and crouches down to kiss his cheek.

“I’ll be back, alright?” He scoops Zitao into his arms and snuggles him. “Be good for Bà ba.” Yifan half expects for Zitao to throw a tantrum, as he’s accustomed to doing, but he just pouts and nods. “I love you, Taozi.”

“Love you, Pa pa.” Zitao pecks Yifan’s lips and hugs him.

Yixing emerges from the bathroom about 5 minutes after he hears the front door open and close. His face is red and swollen because of how much he cried, but he does his best to push through how he’s feeling and smile at his son who’s still positioned by the baby gate. But Zitao’s smart and knows that Yixing is sad. He gives Yixing several kisses and brings him multiple stuffed animals in an attempt to cheer him up, and he feels satisfied when Yixing’s face breaks out into a genuine smile at the toddler’s efforts.

That night, Yixing goes through Zitao’s bedtime routine by himself, and instead of leaving Zitao in his crib, he takes the toddler into the master bedroom and sleeps with him in arms.

//

Yixing doesn’t call Yifan for two days. After the first few hours, Yifan realized that he needed a place to sleep for the night. Junmyeon and Baekhyun’s is definitely out of the question, as their apartment is crowed enough and half of Kyungsoo’s bedroom had been converted into a nursery. Chanyeol’s apartment wasn’t much better as Jongin practically lived there. But luckily it was one of those rare nights that Jongin was working closer to his own apartment so Chanyeol told him the couch was free, although Yifan had a sneaky suspicion that Jongin was no longer sleeping on the couch.

Long ago, before he and Yixing had a guest bedroom, he discovered that no couch could really accommodate for his height, which made them highly uncomfortable to sleep on. After two nights of sleeping on the couch, his back is killing him, and he’s ecstatic to see Yixing’s name flash on his phone. He answers after the first ring, not trying to hide how much he anticipated the call. “Xing?”

“Hey.” With just a word, Yifan can hear that Yixing’s not feeling well.

“Are you okay? Are you sick?”

“It’s just a cold.” Yixing sniffs and coughs into the phone. “I’m still mad at you,” he clarifies.

“I don’t blame you… so I presume that you’re not calling me back home.”

“I just… need a few days more. We need to talk, but every time I think about what you said to me… I can’t see you right now.”

“I’m so sorry, Xing. I didn’t mean a word of it, and I’m the biggest jerk in the world to even think about upsetting you l-”

“I didn’t call for you to apologize,” he cuts Yifan off. “I’m taking Zitao to daycare Monday to sort of test the waters, and I need you to pick him up so I can go to the doctor.”

Yifan mentally groans at the thought of sleeping on Chanyeol’s couch for two more nights but doesn’t voice his thoughts. “Of course I can. I can bring him back home if you want, or if you’re not feeling well he can stay with me.”

Yixing hums and sniffs. “I’ll call you when I’m done at the doctor, and we’ll go from there.” There’s an awkward pause as Yixing tries to think of how to say goodbye. “Um, I l- um, I’ll call you later. Bye, Yifan.” He quickly hangs up before Yifan can reply.

As he sets his phone down he uses his other hand to cradle his forehead. Things have never been so tense with Yixing before, and he really has no idea how to act in this situation. He can’t even think of a time that Yixing was angry with him for more than a day. Yixing’s always been the calmest and most polite person he’s ever known, and while that annoyed him sometimes, the majority of the time it stopped them from pointless arguments. He stands up from the couch and groans from the pain in his back. Maybe a hotel would be better until he was welcome back home.

//

Yifan gets to the daycare right after he gets off work. The workers are just as bright and friendly as they were when Yifan first registered and they take him to stand at the window in front of the playroom. He’s told that Yixing showed up bright and early to drop Zitao off, and it took him a full hour to leave the toddler at the daycare and another hour for him to finally leave the parking lot. They say that all parents have the hardest time leaving their child, even when the child is okay with them leaving.

Zitao spots Yifan from where he’s playing and waves excitedly. He picks up coloring sheet from his cubby and runs to the window, jumping up and down and waving his picture in the air. When Yifan opens the door to the room, Zitao rushes into his arms and waves his picture again. “Pa pa, look!” Whatever the original picture was is hidden under Zitao’s scribbles, but Yifan still loves everything his son gives him. “Where Bà ba?” he asks, looking around.

“Bà ba is at the doctor, but you get to spend time with Pa pa for a while.”

“Bà ba sick?” Zitao asks, completely disregarding the prospect of spending time with Yifan.

Yifan sighs but nods. “Yes, but he’ll be okay, I promise. You can see him later, but right now we can play together, okay?” Zitao nods and runs back to his cubby. Yifan follows and helps Zitao put his jacket and shoes on. Deciding to baby him for a bit, he scoops Zitao up in his arms and carries him out to the car.

Figuring that a hotel wouldn’t be much fun for a two-year-old, he takes Zitao to a playground to burn all his extra energy. Even after playing all day, the toddler is still a ball of energy and demands that Yifan take him down the slide seven times in a row. They’re playing on the swings when Yifan receives a brief text from Yixing, telling him that he can bring Zitao back home.

“Bà ba sad,” Zitao speaks as Yifan buckles him into his booster seat.

“What do you mean?” He pauses his actions and looks down at the toddler.

“Um,” Zitao rubs his tired eyes with his tiny fists. “We sleep in Bà ba’s and Pa pa’s bed and Bà ba cry and sad Bà ba make Tao sad.”

“Oh…” Yifan forces out a smile and kisses Zitao’s forehead. “Don’t be sad. I’ll make Bà ba happy.” Zitao nods and puts his thumb in his mouth.

The drive back to their house is quiet as Zitao is fast asleep and the radio is turned off. In his head he rehearses how to talk to Yixing. His speech starts off with a whole bunch of apologizing and begging to come home. But the moment Yixing opens the door, he can’t help but kiss his husband after not seeing him four 4 days. “Yifan, no.” Yixing gently pushes Yifan away and shakes his head.

“I’m sorry…” he carefully hands Zitao over, as not to wake him, and awkwardly stands in the door. “Are… How was your doctor’s appointment?”

“I just have a cold; it’ll be over soon.” He fidgets slightly and glances down at the ground. “You can come in for a little bit if you’d like.” He turns away and heads to the nursery, not waiting for Yifan’s response. Yifan hates how he feels so much like a stranger in his own home and he feels too awkward to sit on his own couch. “Where are you staying?” Yifan jumps when Yixing is suddenly back behind him. “I called both Baek and Chanyeol and they said you weren’t staying with them.”

“I’ve been staying at a hotel. A couple of nights on Chanyeol’s couch messed up my back and I didn’t know how long I would be, you know, away from home, so… yeah,” he ends awkwardly. Yixing nods and folds his arms. “I’m so sorry,” Yifan blurts out after a few moments of silence. “I don’t even know why I said that to you because you’re the best thing in my life besides Zitao. And I always get so frustrated because you never really fight back, but that’s no excuse for what I said. And I knew that you were mad that I made a big decision without you and not specifically about the daycare thing, but I was being dumb and wanted to win the argument.”

“That’s the meanest thing you could have said to me,” Yixing starts. “I know I didn’t make a big deal about getting married, but after 4 years of dating I assumed you didn’t want to marry me, and then when you did propose, I felt that it was mostly because of Tao. And hearing you say that our marriage was a bad idea…” He’s unable to finish because he starts crying.

At first when Yifan attempts to hug his husband, he’s pushed away, but when he tries again, Yixing clings to him and cries into his shirt. Yifan moves both of them to the couch to sit and by the time Yixing stops crying, they’re lying down, Yixing on top of Yifan as his tears are kissed away.

“If you ever say something like that to me again, I’ll make Chanyeol beat you up,” Yixing weakly threatens as he accepts the kisses and, in turn, Yifan’s apologies.

“If I ever talk to you like that, I would expect for you to beat me up yourself.”

“I hate fighting with you,” Yixing sniffs. “But do you know what the best part about it is?”

Yifan raises an eyebrow. “Best part?”

“Mmhmm,” Yixing nods and stands up from the couch. “Come to bed with me,” he demands, pulling on Yifan’s hand. Yifan wastes no time and follows his husband to their room.

//

Yifan and Zitao spend a lazy day together at home while Yixing’s out with his band members. They wear matching grey pajamas and sit in front of the couch watching cartoons and coloring pictures.

When Yixing finally comes with his guitar slung over his shoulder, the two of them are eating sandwiches in the kitchen and dropping crumbs everywhere. Yixing frowns, but quickly smiles when he sees how cute his husband and son are.

“I have a surprise~” Yixing announces, setting his guitar down.

Yifan and Zitao both look at him curiously. “Surprise?”

“A new addition to our family!”

Yifan chokes on air while Zitao stares at him, still confused. Before Yifan can get over his coughing fit though, Yixing runs out the kitchen and the front door. When he comes back in, he’s holding a beagle puppy that’s even smaller that Zitao. The puppy lets out a bark but it’s so high-pitched that he sounds like a squeaking mouse.

“PUPPY!” Zitao screams and clambers down from his chair. “PUPPY PUPPY PUPPY!” He jumps up and down at Yixing’s feet and holds his arms up.

“Be careful with him, okay?” Yixing hands the puppy to Zitao and watches as Zitao hugs the new puppy and the dog his face.

“Our new addition… is a puppy?” Yifan asks for clarification.

“Mmhmm.” Yixing smiles at him. “I wanted to talk about getting one for Tao to play with before we had that fight. Now we’ve both made big decisions without consulting each other. So, we’re even.”

Fanxing fight: LuhansOrange & jinkiesa

Also, there's a lot of things I can't really find a place for in this story (like, detailed looks into ChanKai's relationship or past events), so I plan to make a drabble collection of those situations later on like I need more responsibilities.

Also, I have a tumblr, but I warn you that I'm terribly boring and frequently cry about 12 dumb boys.

Baekyeol babysitting next chapter, woot woot.