Two weeks passed without incident, yet Himchan could not bring himself to forget the feeling of those soft lips pressing against his cheek. He’d find himself daydreaming everyday about the kiss while at the playground with Youngjae, shopping for groceries, and even right in Jongup’s office. However, he seemed to be good at hiding it, as no one appeared to notice.

The two kept a normal, doctor-nurse relationship, making small talk in between patients and supporting each other like they were expected to do, but there was nothing more.

Or, so Himchan thought.

That evening, just as the brunette was packing his things and getting ready to leave, he was stopped by an uncertain hand curling around his wrist. He turned to find an uncharacteristically nervous Jongup looking at him with the beautiful, dark brown eyes that had been (along with a lot of other Jongup-related things) plaguing the elder’s mind.

“Uh, Himchan-hyung, I was wondering, would you like to go out for coffee sometime during our lunch break tomorrow?” Honestly, the nurse couldn’t remember when the younger had started to call him “hyung”, but he liked the sound of the world rolling off the plump pink lips, especially when it was directed at him.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then,” he agreed, mentally applauding himself for answering to the question so calmly. He left to a soft “bye, hyung,” and hurried to catch the bus that would take him to Youngjae’s daycare center. He didn’t have the money for a car.

He glanced at his watch, perking up even after the long day of work after realizing that he’d gotten out of there earlier than the past few days. For the first week or two, he’d had the chance to leave before closing time, as there weren’t many patients willing to go with a brand new doctor, but now that Jongup’s third week was coming to an end, the regular flow of people began, and Himchan couldn’t leave before six p.m.

It was currently quarter past five, so he would have an extra forty-five minutes to spend time with his son at home.

He’d barely stepped through the threshold when an ecstatic Youngjae crashed into his legs, clinging to the fabric of his pants as he gurgled happily. Himchan chuckled delightedly, picking the boy up and swinging him around before pulling him into a warm embrace. No one could bring a smile to his face like Youngjae. “Why, hello there, sweetie. How’s your day been?” he asked, hitching the blonde bundle a little higher on his side.

“We drew pikchurs! Wanna see?” The child didn’t even wait for an answer and started squirming in his father’s grip, eager to show his drawings. The brunette set the boy on the ground and followed after him as he plodded to a table, sorting through a mess of papers with random scribbles on them, before finding his picture and holding it up high for the elder to see.

“Is that you?” The man inquired, pointing to a bunch of strange-looking ovals overlapping each other with a yellow rectangle-type thing on the top, probably meant to resemble the boy’s hair.

“Uh-huh!”

“What a pretty picture!” (In all honesty, the ovals looked more like a teddy bear than a human, but he wasn’t about to tell his son that. It was cute, anyway.) “But who’s that?” Himchan moved his finger to a similar group of egg-like shapes, though this one had purple hair.

“That’s Gukkie-hyung!”

“Why is his hair purple?”

“’Cause he spilled purple paint on his head. See?” Youngjae pointed at a grouchy Yongguk sitting in the corner by himself. Indeed, his hair was purple, and a little bit of the paint had dripped onto his cheeks. He had evidently rubbed at his face, as now the color was all over his nose, mouth, and forehead as well.

“Oh my. Mrs. Bang won’t be too pleased,” he murmured to himself before scooping up the wriggling body in front of him and grabbing the drawing. “Do you want to go home now, JaeJae?”

“Yup! I wanna watch TV!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll turn the TV on for you. Say bye to Gukkie!”

“Bye Gukkie!” Youngjae waved hyperactively, sticking out his tongue when Yongguk huffed and ignored him in favor of pressing his paint-stained hand on the wall, leaving behind a violet handprint. “Uh oh! Gukkie’s gonna get in trouble,” the boy said, dragging out the word “trouble.”

“Why’s that?”

“’Cause he got paint onna wall. Junnie once drew onna wall and Miss K got really mad.”

“You should tell Gukkie not to do that anymore, then.”

“Okay! I’ll tell him tomorrow!”

“Iced Americano, please.”

“Is that all you’re going to get? No cakes, cookies, nothing?” Jongup questioned, looking at the elder quizzically.

Himchan nodded, but couldn’t keep his gaze from straying to the large slice of chocolate mousse cake sitting pompously on a clear glass dish.

“How come?”

“I… don’t like sweets. I’m not a sweets kind of person.” It was a complete and utter lie. There were three things the brunette liked: children, sleeping, and sweets. Unfortunately, being a nurse in a pediatrician’s office did not pay much, and he didn’t have the extra money to get something more luxurious than just a cup of coffee.

Providing and supporting a rapidly growing five-year old was not a simple matter. Although he’d never say a word, he was struggling to pay for all of the necessities; food, rent, clothing, and Youngjae’s daycare. He saved every penny he could, because he knew that one day, he’d have to send his son to college, and as of right now, he had no idea how he’d manage to pay for it.

Jongup shrugged at Himchan’s answer, ordering a hot cup of green tea for himself, the same mousse cake the nurse had been eyeing, and a blueberry muffin. They sat down at a two-person table in the far corner, right next to a large window.

“Here.” The younger slid his cake across the table to the other.

“But I said-”

“I know.”

The elder was more than slightly bewildered, but the warm feeling spreading in his chest was undeniable. Without him even saying a word on the topic, Jongup had understood the situation he was in. It was a small act of kindness, really, but to Himchan, it meant the world. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had actually bothered to think about him enough to buy him something without any ulterior motives or flamboyant presentations.

He’d noticed this about the young brunette a lot recently. He was an incredibly kind person, almost to the extent that it was surreal. He was well educated and smart, but would never look down on another person, even if he had all the reason to; instead, he used his knowledge to be as helpful as possible to the people that needed his input. The male was a happy virus, always smiling cheerfully and greeting his nurse with a hug that left him feeling unusually flustered in the mornings. The elder found it hard to find even the slightest flaw in the pediatrician.

Jongup liked children just as much as Himchan did, and though the realization hadn’t properly formed in the elder’s mind just yet, he knew they fit like two puzzle pieces.

“Thank you,” he murmured softly. He’d been saying that very often as of late.

Going out to eat somewhere together during lunch break had become a routine for the team of two by the second week. The children’s doctor would always make sure to buy his assistant something sweet to eat with his coffee, though the brunette had protested insistently on many occasions. At first, there was little to no conversation between the males, as neither knew how to break the thin ice between them. Jongup had started to feel as if he were walking on glass around the other, and after a particularly uncomfortable silence four days into their lunch break meetings, he’d blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re very pretty, Himchan-hyung.”

Himchan turned a bright red at the compliment, but shook his head in denial, looking down so that the tips of his hair covered his eyes. “Not really. There are a lot of nicer-looking people out there than me.”

Jongup had been on the verge of choking on the food in his mouth. “You can’t be serious, right? You’re the prettiest, cutest, iest, most beautiful person I’ve ever met. I mean it, Himchan.”

The lack of an honorific attached to his name and the overwhelming compliment left the man at a loss of how to reply, and he could only duck his head again and take rapid sips of his Iced Americano. He was mostly focused on the word “y” because he really thought the younger was a hell of a lot ier than him. However, he didn’t remark on it.

Jongup had made sure to compliment him at least once every day since then.

From there on out, the flow of words between the two seemed to never stop. Himchan did most of the talking, going on and on about the smallest things and swerving to completely different subjects before backtracking to whatever story he’d been telling earlier. The younger believed this was because the father didn’t have anyone else to turn to when he wanted to say something, and five-year old kids weren’t very good at listening. He didn’t mind, however, given that Himchan had a lovely voice, deep, but not to an abnormal degree, and raspy. Sometimes, he’d just sit with his elbows on the table and head leaning on his hands, watching as the soft lips he’d been craving to feel against his own moved to the perfectly punctuated words. He didn’t doubt that he looked like a complete fool, grinning stupidly as the only voice that could make his heart flutter sailed into one ear and out the other.

One of Himchan’s favorite topics to discuss was Youngjae. It didn’t take long for the topic to become Jongup’s favorite as well. He’d always make sure he was truly listening when the conversation took a turn to the blonde boy, and by now, he was positive he knew all of Youngjae’s life, from the day he was born to the present day.

Today, however, the young man was more focused on building up the courage to ask a question that had been weighing on his mind since the day he was introduced to Himchan.

“…it was the most adorable picture ever! Did I tell you about that time when his friend, Yongguk, dumped purple paint over his hair? He drew a picture that time too. He really likes drawing, don’t you think? Maybe he’ll become an artist one day? I should definitely sign him up for some professional art classes when he gets a bit older. I’ve been saving to buy a car, but I’d rather use the money for him, if art is something he wants to do. I should start looking for a sport he could take part in, but I just don’t know how I’ll pay for it right now. I’ll figure out something. I’ve got only a year left until I’m done paying off my college loans, so-”

“Himchan?” Jongup interrupted, twiddling with his fingers under the table, where the elder couldn’t see.

“Yes?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me? I-I mean, you don’t have to, I know you’re busy and all, and you’ll have to leave Youngjae with somebody, so if it’s too much trouble…” he was starting to ramble out of nervousness.

Himchan couldn’t really figure out which emotion he was feeling; anxiety, happiness, embarrassment, surprise, or excitement. The emotions had all been dumped carelessly into a giant pot in the pit of his stomach and set to boil, causing him to feel like he was going to throw up.

Crazy, how a simple question could have such an effect.

“I-I’d l-love to, Jongup-ah. Whenever you’re free is as good a time as any for me. I can leave Youngjae at the Bang’s place for as long as necessary, there’s no need to worry about that.” It was odd, how similar they were when they were feeling nervous.

Jongup felt like a huge wave of relief had just drenched him, leaving him cold, wet, and shivering, but with a light heart and beaming. His smile may or may not have been just the slightest bit wider, happier, showing more teeth than usual. He was the biggest, luckiest idiot on the planet.

“How does this Saturday sound? I’ll pick you up at noon so that you’ll be able to get back to Youngjae in the evening,” the younger suggested, tapping his feat in rhythmic tattoo in unconcealed excitement.

A blush rose on Himchan’s cheeks and he nodded his consent quietly, training his eyes to the tile flooring beneath his white nurse shoes.

Himchan couldn’t recall the last time he had been on a date, but he was two hundred percent sure that his first date with Jongup was the best date he’d ever had. They didn’t go anywhere special, just to the younger’s house, yet Himchan had no desire to complain. Jongup was a fantastic cook, and he also had the splendid opportunity to meet the pediatrician’s new charge: Daehyun.

“You have a son?” Himchan had blurted, blinking and trying to focus his gaze on the dark brown mop of hair peeking out from behind a large potted plant.

“He’s…he’s not my son. He’s my little brother. I’ll tell you a bit more on that after I get him in bed, alright?” Just from that, Himchan knew the situation wasn’t exactly a comfortable one to discuss around the child, and he could connect to this feeling easily.

He smiled and strode over to the plant, kneeling down on the floor. “Hi there,” he said sweetly, trying to lock gazes with the shy boy. The kid practically jumped out of his red, car-patterned socks, eyes wide and fingers curling into the thick trunk of the mini-tree protectively. He stared silently at the strange man for a lengthy minute, before his eyes shifted to his older brother in a wordless plea for help. Jongup squeezed in between the tree and the wall, right next to Daehyun, nudging him further out into the open. The boy clung to the poor plant stubbornly, sticking his fat bottom lip out in protest and shaking his head frantically.

“Daehyun-ah, come on, no need to be scared. This is Himchan, and he’s very nice. He just wants to play with you. Look, isn’t he pretty?” Jongup urged, knowing he phrased the encouragement just the right way when Daehyun perked up at the word “pretty”. If there was one thing the boy loved, it was pretty things.

“Pretty?” Daehyun mumbled, turning back to Himchan, who was now sitting cross-legged, the pleasant grin still plastered on his face. Jongup nodded eagerly, placing a hand at the small of his brother’s back, pushing him forward gently. The youngest brunette studied the eldest for a considerable amount of time, eyes wide, trying to take everything in all at once. Eventually, he nodded, and scooted out from the corner. “Mommy is pretty.”

Jongup burst out laughing, his rich voice resonating and bouncing off the walls, putting the now-deemed “mommy” in a daze. “Well, at least it’s clear he likes you!”

Himchan blinked in bewilderment, wrapping his arms carefully around the six-year old now squirming in his lap. “Daehyunnie, sweetie, as much as I like you… I’m not actually your mother,” the elder said softly, rocking the boy from side to side.

Daehyun frowned. “Silly mommy, of course you’re my mommy,” he stated. The way he said it made it seem as plain as day, and perhaps for him, it was. Still, Himchan hesitated, looking to Jongup imploringly.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll tell him to stop,” the doctor said grudgingly, rather liking the sound of Daehyun saying “mommy” to Himchan.

“I don’t mind at all, I’m kind of used to it with Youngjae, but I thought you wouldn’t approve,” he murmured shyly, averting his eyes and instead choosing to play with his new son’s hair.

“I kind of like how it sounds. It makes it feel like we’re a family. Now I just need to get Youngjae to call me “daddy”.” Jongup chuckled gleefully.

Neither remarked on the tentative invitation to take their relationship to a more mature, familial level, but both trained their gazes on the wall, willing the embarrassing flushes on their faces to die down.

“Daehyun is my step-brother. My father is a workaholic. It’s the reason my mother left him ten years ago. He cares more about his work than his family. Mom leaving gave him a huge reality check though, and he got better while taking care of me when I was a teenager. When I was seventeen, he remarried to a younger woman, and the year after that she had Daehyun. Unfortunately, with a woman around, my father regressed back into his old working state, and she left less than a year after Daehyun was born. Dad didn’t show any interest in raising him, so I took the task onto myself. I couldn’t get official guardianship over him until I got a job, though, so I only got him in my care this Tuesday,” Jongup explained as soon as Daehyun had been tucked into bed. They were sitting at a large, round, four-person wooden table, finished the last of an expertly prepared apple pie. Baking was more Himchan’s forte, all thanks to his and Youngjae’s love of sweets, so while Jongup had been preparing a delicious steak dinner, the elder had taken over the oven.

The pediatrician had dimmed the light and lit a candle as they sat down, throwing a soft amber glow around the room. Even with something so simple, Himchan was left speechless. Truth be told, he’d been wooed as soon as Jongup had pulled up in his sleek white car to pick him up, and as he took in the cozy, small, two-story home, the points were adding up rapidly. For a doting father such as himself, nothing was better than playing with a child (the loud laughter as he built blocks and toppled them over with both Jongup and Daehyun still echoed in his head, not letting his wide grin falter) cooking with the object of his affections, feeding the child, tucking the boy in, and then settling down for his own meal.

Himchan had well and truly been charmed.

The elder nodded in understanding, smiling as he set down his spoon. “I think it’s amazing that you made such an effort to take care of Daehyun, even though it must have been hard with medical school and all of that. You make a good father.”

Jongup sighed. “You say that, but I’m probably botching everything right now, what with leaving Dae with the neighbors every day. I haven’t had much time to look up a daycare, I’ve been more focused on buying him clothes and toys and furniture for his room. I don’t suppose you know of a good one?”

“Oh yes, definitely! Youngjae looks forward to his daycare everyday, so I would think it’s good. Daehyun would surely get along with Youngjae and his friends, don’t you think?” Himchan suggested, feeling elated at even the slightest chance of seeing Jongup more often.

“Really? That’s great, thank you so much, Himchan!”

They smiled at each other, eyes meeting and staring deep into each other’s depths, hungry for more of the person their hearts knew they belonged with.

Jongup dropped Himchan off in front of the nurse’s apartment building, jumping out and opening the door to the complex. Pleasantries were exchanged in hushed voices, the moon and the stars being the only witnesses to the whispers that were uttered, and the parting, passionate kisses that followed. Both men left thinking of second halves and the possibility of settling down with the man they had taken such a liking to.

In a matter of a month and a half, it had already gone deep enough to deserve the term “love.” Now, it was only a matter of action.

Time seemed to fly by them. Life had steadied into a routine once more. It was, however, everything but monotonous.

“Himchan, hurry up! I’m not going to wait all day for you!”

“I’m here, I’m here!” the brunette panted, sliding into the passenger seat of Jongup’s car, pulling his messenger bag in with him before shutting the door. It was needless to say, they were both eager to get to their children.

Himchan had never been more correct. As soon as Daehyun had shuffled reluctantly into the daycare center, Youngjae was on him. The six-year old, too, had instantly been fascinated by Youngjae’s chubby cheeks, and he’d barely managed to squeal “pretty!” before he was dragged off into the playroom. They’d been inseparable since then. In the months that followed, they had formed a lasting bond with each other and two other boys, Yongguk and Junhong, creating a “club” over their common interest in bunnies. They gave it the clever name of B.A.P: Bunnies are Pretty. (Pretty being Daehyun’s loving contribution.)

The two parental figures walked into the one-story building together, smiling and bowing to the kind women fussing around the children. They waited patiently as one of the women called for the two boys, who came bounding out of the playroom throwing “mommy!” and “daddy!” left and right. Sometime in the past five months, Youngjae and Daehyun had taken to calling Jongup “daddy”, and that left Himchan as the mother, not that he minded.

Himchan and Jongup’s relationship had moved just as quickly as Youngjae and Daehyun’s had. In fact, in less than three weeks, Himchan and his son were to be moving into Jongup’s house permanently. It was hard to tell which of the four males was the most excited over this development. Love had worked in their favor, just this once, and now that the ball had started rolling, there was no way to stop it.

 “I’m home!” Himchan called, stepping into the small house he now shared with the love of his life.

He could hear the television blaring out cartoons in the living room, along with peals of laughter from the children, and the occasional squeals as they chased each other around the couch. The joyful sounds ceased as soon as his announcement had left his lips, before two loud, delighted shouts of “Mommy!” disrupted the split second of silence. The man put his shopping bags on the kitchen counter quickly, turning around just as the pattering of bare feet on a wooden floor got louder. Youngjae and Daehyun rounded the corner, grinning and looking behind them before shrieking and hurrying to hide behind their mother. Jongup ran in after them, laughing at the small boys clutching onto each of Himchan’s legs.

“Safe!” they yelled in unison, and Youngjae stuck his tongue out at his father figure.

“Aw, no fair, you’re too fast. You gotta give an old man like me a head start, or else I’ll never tag you,” the brunette protested, pouting childishly.

“Nope! Too bad!” Daehyun giggled, yanking on Himchan’s pants. “Mommy, up, up, I wanna go up!”

“Me too!” Youngjae chimed, nodding furiously. His father chuckled, bending down to wrap one arm around each of the boys’ waists, lifting them with a little difficulty and seating them on the counter.

“You boys are getting too big and heavy for me,” he complained, keeping a watchful eye so that the children wouldn’t fall off as they rummaged through the groceries, curiosity on high.

He felt a pair of arms surrounding his hips as he was pulled into a warm, fleshy wall, Jongup’s breath cascading down the back of his neck. He smiled, lolling his head back onto the male’s shoulder and turning a little bit so that he could press a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek.

“Welcome home, Himchannie. How was your day?”

“Just as good as yours was,” he replied, sighing blissfully at the comfortable embrace. “I love you, you know that?” Sometimes, there was still that little inkling of doubt that came after years without any sort of affection directed at him. Luckily, for the past eleven months, Jongup, Youngjae, and Daehyun had been there to reassure him that he most certainly was loved.

“I love you too, Himchan. I always will.”

“And you boys, you know that I love you both very much, right?” Himchan directed his gaze to the two children, who were holding onto a colorful lollipop each.

They both nodded furiously, a loud “I love you too, mommy!” spurting from their lips almost at the same time. The fiddled with the clear, plastic lollipop wrapper, trying to open the candy and stuff it into their mouths before their parents could say no. Jongup chuckled and plucked the sweet from Youngjae’s clumsy fingers, Himchan doing the same to the almost unwrapped treat in Daehyun’s hand.

“Not until after dinner, sweetheart,” the elder warned, enveloping his sons in a tight hug when they whined in protest.

“Hey, hey wait a minute! I want in on the hug too!” Jongup pouted, trying to stretch his arms enough to encompass all three of the people he loved.

Himchan couldn’t hold back the laugh that bubbled from the recesses of his chest, his lips spreading into an impossibly wide smile that nothing could smother. There were only four puzzle pieces to their family, but it was all he needed. Youngjae, Daehyun, Jongup, and him.

No one could bring a smile to his face like the family he loved so much.

a/n: Is this too rushed? OTL
You all deserve a huge apology. There is no reason that this took so long. >< I'm really sorry. I've been busy for the past three weeks, but I definitely should have done something before then. D:

Anyway, I worked really hard to get this out for you guys today. I haven't left my room except for breakfast since the minute I woke up, because I was doing homework and I'm yawning every five minutes because I'm so exhausted, but now this is finished and I can rest in peace. I kind of neglected a research project in order to write this, but whatever. XD;;

Lots of love~ (RtD readers: my hiatus is almost over! Just one more week! c:)
-Jess