requested on tumblr! lapslock because i'm lazy.

“dad, can bobby come over for dinner tomorrow?”

junhoe’s about to open his mouth to sigh loudly and grumble “i mean i guess,” but then he remembers what day tomorrow is.

christmas day.

“WHAT????”

to his credit, jinhwan doesn’t flinch. then again, he’s been living with this for the past seventeen years, so.

“and his dad,” jinhwan tacks on, as if that will make things any better.

(it does, although very very marginally.)

“why?” junhoe asks, although he pretty much already knows the answer, and it doesn’t really matter what reason jinhwan gives, because he’s probably going to say yes anyways. he just doesn’t want jinhwan to think he’s getting away with this easily.

jinhwan clears his throat, and junhoe swears he sees the white edge of notecards peeking out the top of his pocket. “well, bobby and i have been dating for a while, and i thought it would be nice to have a... gathering, or something like that.”

“you mean you want to make out with bobby in the bathroom while me and donghyuk make fun of each other.”

jinhwan turns bright red. junhoe’s still got his touch.

junhoe sighs. “so... you’re cleaning the house for this, right?”

jinhwan grins, running up and hugging his dad around the stomach. junhoe pats jinhwan’s hair fondly as jinhwan lets out a muffled “love you, dad” into junhoe’s shoulder. even at seventeen, jinhwan still barely clears junhoe’s chin. neither of them are holding out for a last-minute growth spurt (and it doesn’t help that junhoe’s six feet tall).

“go make a list of things for dinner so we can go to the store later,” junhoe says once jinhwan releases his hold. “i make no promises that i won’t spike bobby’s drink with sleeping meds.”

“dad!”

“i hope donghyuk knows that he’s responsible for bringing something!”

after braving dirty looks from middle-aged ladies when junhoe takes the last good vegetables without a care in the world, long grocery store lines, and a miniature crisis when the oven decides to stop working with the chicken still inside, the koo family has finally made a respectable christmas dinner.

junhoe sighs, brushing the hair out of his face as he looks at his and jinhwan’s handiwork. neither of them have much experience with special-occasion food, but he doesn’t think donghyuk or bobby have particularly high standards anyways. for four guys, this is perfectly acceptable.

“jinhwan, for the last time, i am not wearing a santa hat,” junhoe groans.

“how did you know?” jinhwan protests from behind junhoe, who turns around to see jinhwan with said offending hat in hand. “i was being really quiet!”

“because i know everything,” junhoe says simply, “now go and sit by the door like i know you want to.”

jinhwan doesn’t need to be told twice, running off with the santa hat still in hand. junhoe looks off in the direction he’s left to, a wistful smile on his lips. ah, to be young and in love.

the doorbell rings a few minutes later. junhoe hears bobby before he sees him, the kid yelling “MERRY CHRISTMAS, JINANI!” followed by what sounds like someone being tackled.

donghyuk slips into the living room, a plastic bag containing a box in hand.

“hey,” he says, “i brought that cake you like.”

“good,” junhoe replies, taking it to go put it in the fridge, “god knows i need it so i don’t strangle your kid.”

“how do you think i do it?” donghyk chuckles.

“i’ve been meaning to ask you that for years,” junhoe yells from the kitchen, “jinhwan, too.”

junhoe can’t see him, but he knows donghyuk’s rolling his eyes at him. “you know you love him too, june.”

junhoe grunts noncommittally as jinhwan and bobby stumble into the room, arms linked around each other. bobby’s wearing the santa hat that junhoe supposes was originally supposed to go on his own head, the pom-pom on the end covering one of his eyes. junhoe raises an eyebrow, and jinhwan extricates his arms sheepishly while bobby just grins.

“merry christmas, mister k!” he says, “thanks for having us over.”

“thank me later if i don’t kick you out.”

bobby just laughs as jinhwan leads him to the living room table. it’s a weird mix of a western-style chicken and mostly korean side dishes, but as the young kids say, yolo.

junhoe cuts up the chicken as the rest of them start on the other dishes. he tries very hard to ignore the fact that bobby and jinhwan are feeding each other at the other end of the table. donghyuk seems like he’s just inclined to humor them, passing junhoe plates so he can put some of the chicken on them.

the first ten or so minutes of the dinner pass in an awkward silence.

“so,” bobby says, defaulting to his usual role as silence-breaker, “how’s everyone’s christmas been so far?”

jinhwan follows suit, replying with “pretty good, me and dad were preparing for most of the day, though.”

“didja get anything good?”

jinhwan turns bright red, and junhoe laugh-coughs into his hand. donghyuk opens his mouth to ask, but junhoe waves him off, a silent promise to tell him later.

“wh-what about you?” jinhwan sputters, eager to turn the conversation away from himself.

“dad got me a new pair of jordans.” bobby shoots donghyuk a grin. “i’m saving them for a special occasion.”

bobby raises his eyebrows at jinhwan twice in quick succession - an expression not missed by junhoe.

“defile my son and i’ll defile you,” junhoe drawls, punctuating his statement with a particularly vicious stab to a piece of kimchi.

bobby blanches, and jinhwan drops his head onto the table with a hollow thud. donghyuk just laughs. junhoe really wishes he decided to make that alcoholic eggnog after all, even though he’s not really sure what a nog is and why one would do that to an egg.

“you do realize that jinhwan’s older than me, right?” bobby asks, voice quivering just a touch, just how junhoe likes it.

“of course. but he’s my baby. you are not.”

“dad,” jinhwan groans, “i am seventeen.”

“and you aren’t an adult yet, so for you, kid.”

“i’m sixteen,” bobby supplies unhelpfully.

“we know,” donghyuk says, “now eat your chicken before junhoe pops a vein in his forehead. he’s not as young as he used to be.”

“that’s low, donghyuk. you’re older than me.”

“yeah, by like two months!”

“still older!”

junhoe rolls his eyes, but his gaze is quickly diverted to the side at the sound of two teenagers trying to sneak away.

“kim jiwon take your hand out of my son’s back pocket or so help me god--”

bobby does so sheepishly, raising both his hands in the air in surrender.

“at least put your plate in the sink,” donghyuk says. bobby and jinhwan escape to the kitchen, grateful to have been given an out.

“i swear, your son is going to be the death of me,” junhoe sighs, staring at his glass of water.

“live a little, junhoe,” donghyuk laughs. “they’re just kids.”

“your kid is the kid who almost got suspended for climbing on the roof of the school in his boxers. my kid is the student body president.”

donghyuk coughs. “well i mean when you put it that way--hey, your kid helped him get away with it!”

“he’s loyal?” junhoe shrugs. “i don’t know. why did i ever let jinhwan be friends with him.”

donghyuk gets up and pats junhoe on the shoulder. “because like it or not, bobby has a way of worming his way into your heart and staying there. you still got some beer in the fridge?”

“but i don’t want him there,” junhoe almost-whines, “donghyuk, control your son!”

donghyuk returns with two bottles of beer and passes one to junhoe. “nothing i can do about him. he was like that before i ever got to him.”

junhoe says nothing, popping open the cap with his knife and taking a long drink. the two of them sit in silence, just drinking.

“they’re probably making out in jinhwan’s room, aren’t they,” donghyuk says.

“probably.”

“are we going to stop them?”

junhoe laughs. “nah. my christmas gift to jinhwan, or something.”

suddenly, bobby’s hysterical laughter can be heard throughout the house: “he got you WHAT?”

“i vote we take the cake and go back to your place,” junhoe says.

“agreed.”

the is this ending honestly it’s 3am i give up on life!! junhoe wins best dad award??? maybe???

lmao the christmas dinner is honestly kind of how my (chinese-american) dinners usually go. it’s a weird fusion if you just look at it, but everything tastes good so no one really cares. now that i think about it, i’ve never actually figured out where this fic is actually set... whatever LOL

merry christmas, if y’all celebrate that!