Christmas went better than Baekhyun could have expected. 

The Seo parents weren't happy to hear about Kang-Joon and Baekhyun's break up but at least they understood the importance of Baekhyun's relationship with Chanyeol and knew they weren't getting any grandchildren out of Baekhyun.

More importantly, Baekhyun and Chanyeol both understood the severity of Mrs. Seo's condition and only wished her the best.

She believed that Baekhyun and Chanyeol were great people and was more than happy to have her son at least be friends with them. That gave Baekhyun peace of mind.

The presents underneath the tree had all been unwrapped that morning and the tree was completely empty underneath. Baekhyun wasn't exactly expecting a gift from Chanyeol but was still upset to find that there wasn't one waiting for him under the tree.

To get his mind off of that, he watched Mina play with her new toys, happily dressing up in her new princess outfit and eagerly placing a tiara on Mrs. Seo's head. Mrs. Seo smiled longingly as she watched Mina play. One day she hoped to have a grandchild as amazing as the child in front of her.

Per Kang-Joon's request, Baekhyun found himself sitting still while a necklace that the younger had gotten him for Christmas was clasped around his neck.

Baekhyun touched the necklace gently. It was a beautiful necklace with a silver circular pendant that had a symbol of good fortune engraved on it. Although he and Kang-Joon were no longer together, the necklace still meant a lot.

To Baekhyun's utter dismay, after Kang-Joon fastened the necklace, Mr. Seo looked around the Christmas tree to officially confirm there were no more presents left.

Baekhyun hid his disappointment from everyone even though Chanyeol wasn't fooled. The man knew he had to do something to cheer his boyfriend up. While everyone was occupied with their own presents, Chanyeol stood up to make an announcement. 

"I have a present for Baekhyun."

He saw the older's face light up. Chanyeol smiled knowingly as he continued. "I'll be right back." He left to retrieve the present he had taken the time to wrap late at night.

He returned moments later and handed a small wrapped box to Baekhyun. The older stared at it for a long moment before looking back to Chanyeol. 

"What is this?"

"Open it and find out."

Baekhyun nodded as he slowly ripped apart the wrapping paper. Everyone crowded around him, anxiously awaiting to see what lie underneath the paper.

Chanyeol stood back nervously, feeling like each second lasted an eternity. Finally, Baekhyun had removed all the paper and held a small black box in his hand.

He looked to Chanyeol for permission. 

"Open it." The younger urged.

Baekhyun took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside laid the black/white diamond ring made of 10 karat gold. It was designed as a silver band with a large black diamond in the center and white and black diamonds along the sides. The ring was breathtaking.

Chanyeol then knew it was his cue to speak. He got down on one knee in front of Baekhyun and took the ring out of the box.

Holding the ring in his hand, he said, "Here we are, Baek, 17 years after first meeting one another. We already have a child so I thought, why not get married?"

Baekhyun chuckled as his eyes filled with tears. 

"We've been through a lot, you know? And yet, through it all, we've made it together. I'm not one for long sappy speeches so I'll just cut to the chase. I love you, Baekhyun. We're a family. So can we make it official? Will you marry me?"

Baekhyun laughed some more and hugged Chanyeol tightly, crying into his shoulder. 

"Is that a yes?" Chanyeol wondered. 

"Yes, you idiot!" Baekhyun exclaimed and pulled away. Chanyeol smiled and slid the ring onto Baekhyun's finger. It fit perfectly.

Lost in their own world, they had almost forgotten they had an audience. Mina made her presence known when she went over to Chanyeol, wanting him to pick her up. He did so happily.

"You're gonna marry mommy?" She wondered.

"I sure am."

"Can I be the flower girl?" 

"Of course you'll be the flower girl." Chanyeol responded and tickled her.

Baekhyun laughed at Mina and Chanyeol and wiped his eyes, accepting sincere congratulations from Mr. and Mrs. Seo in the process.

In the midst of all the excitement and Mina's happy laughing, everyone had failed to see Kang-Joon disappear from the room. Only when Mina was putting a princess tiara on Chanyeol's head did Baekhyun notice the 21 year old's absence. 

Amidst the chaos, Baekhyun left the room to look for Kang-Joon. It didn't take him too long to find him. The younger was sitting on the big front porch, enjoying the morning breeze.

"Hey." Baekhyun sat down on the outdoor porch swing next to him.

"Hey." Kang-Joon responded. 

"Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "My mom's dying of cancer and I just broke up with my boyfriend whose ex boyfriend became his fiance. No, I'm not okay."

Baekhyun sighed and looked across the lawn. The house was in such a beautiful location. Baekhyun sure would miss it when he, Mina, and Chanyeol returned home in a couple days.

"I can't pretend like I know what to say. And because I don't, I'll just keep you company. I care so much about you that I can't let you be alone."

Baekhyun and Kang-Joon sat in silence for a while. The younger didn't know what to say or what to do. Baekhyun didn't know either.

"Baekhyun, you're lucky. You have a beautiful daughter and a great fiance." He finally broke the silence.

Baekhyun smiled and gently rested his head on Kang-Joon's shoulder. "You're lucky too."

"How?" Kang-Joon asked like he didn't quite believe it.

"You have parents who love and accept you. Chanyeol and I don't have that."

Kang-Joon smiled slowly. Baekhyun was right. Regardless of what his mother had been through and was going through, she was always there for him. It was something he wouldn't trade for anything. 

"You're a great guy, Kang-Joon. One day you'll make someone very happy and lucky to have you. You'll start a family and have beautiful kids of your own. I promise."

"How do you know?" Kang-Joon teased.

Baekhyun grinned. "Because I'm older and wiser than you."

They fell into comfortable silence, both of them enjoying the fresh air and the other's company. 

"Do you wanna go back in now?" Baekhyun eventually asked and Kang-Joon nodded.

"Lead the way."

When they returned inside, they saw that not only was Chanyeol wearing a tiara, he had a wand as well. According to Mina, he was a fairy princess. 

"Kangie!" She squealed when she saw him. Taking the tiara off her own head, she placed it on his head. "You're a princess too!" She exclaimed. 

Baekhyun sat back along with Mrs. Seo and watched Kang-Joon and Chanyeol play princess imagination games with Mina. 

If only for that day, Baekhyun was thankful they were able to make Kang-Joon, Mrs. Seo, and Mr. Seo smile.

Who knew what would happen in the future? Who knew what would happen to Kang-Joon and his parents? As Baekhyun played with his engagement ring, he at least knew his future would be with Chanyeol and Mina. 

**

As promised, once Chanyeol returned from Las Vegas, he had put a ring on Baekhyun's finger. He was more than happy about his accomplishment.

When the small family arrived back in Boston, they went to Chanyeol and Yifan's apartment first because it was more spacious than Baekhyun's. Also, it was late at night and it was the closest apartment from the airport. 

Yifan was up when the tired family arrived home to see Mina riding on Chanyeol's back, piggyback style, and sleeping. Yifan could see that Chanyeol had his hands full making sure she didn't fall as well as carrying his luggage. 

Baekhyun was behind them, equally as tired as Mina. 

Yifan stood up when they arrived. He already knew Chanyeol had proposed and was ready to congratulate them and give them some news of his own.

"Obviously you guys are gonna move in together again so I thought I'd move in with Zitao. If you want it, I'd like to give this apartment to you. I hope you say yes because I've already moved my stuff out."

Baekhyun's eyes widened. Yifan's apartment was beautiful but somewhat expensive. Could he and Chanyeol really afford it?

"Yes. We'll get rid of the old apartment. It's about time for an upgrade. Right, Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun nodded but looked questionably at Chanyeol. "Can we afford it?"

"I know we can. I'm making almost twice as much money than when we first started out and you are as well. If we kept working hard, we knew things would eventually get easier for us and now they finally are. We've come a long way."

Baekhyun nodded to Chanyeol and to Yifan. "We'll move our things over tomorrow. Thanks Yifan."

"No problem, soon to be newlyweds." He smiled and hugged both his friends before announcing he was going back to his and Zitao's place.

Once he left, Chanyeol carried Mina to his old room which would soon be hers. He put her to bed and left her with a small kiss. When he returned, Baekhyun was looking around the apartment, marveling at all it had to offer.

He ran his hands over the sleek countertops and wandered over to the breakfast nook.

"Can you see ourselves living here until you graduate in a couple years?" Baekhyun wondered as he sat in the breakfast nook.

"It doesn't matter where we live. As long as we're together."

Baekhyun smiled. "You can't say things like that and not expect me to kiss you."

As promised, Baekhyun leaned up and kissed Chanyeol who eagerly kissed back. When they pulled away, they held each other in their arms.

Baekhyun rested his head on Chanyeol's shoulder and Chanyeol wrapped his arms protectively around Baekhyun. Both of them were silent for a long time, enjoying the other's presence before Chanyeol spoke.

"Let's get married."

Baekhyun chuckled. "We are. You already proposed."

"I mean as soon as possible. Preferably now."

Baekhyun pulled away. "Weddings need months of preparation and tons of money. We can't get married now."

"Baekhyun, there's no point in having a big extravagant wedding. I love you and you love me, we can get married at city hall. We can have all of the guys as witnesses and invite Sung-Woo. That's all we need, right?"

Baekhyun paused and Chanyeol waited patiently for a response. The older scanned Chanyeol's face to see that he really was serious. Baekhyun nodded slowly in consideration.

"Why wait? You're right. We don't need a huge wedding. Let's just get married."

A huge smile spread across his face. "Let's get married on New Year's. Is that okay?"

Baekhyun smiled in response. "We've been together for so long. We always knew we would end up together forever. Let's do it. Let's get married on New Year's."

Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun in relief and happiness. By the end of the week he'd be able to call Baekhyun his husband. How amazing would that be?

But until then they had a lot to do and no time to waste.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol went to bed soon after, Baekhyun rather excited at the fact that they had their own en-suite bathroom. And as promised, Yifan had moved all of his stuff out of the room, handing it over to his friends.

The next day, the first thing Baekhyun did was take Mina over to their old apartment to pack up their things.

While they were away, Chanyeol made a few phone calls and was able to give their old apartment back to the university and to add Baekhyun's name to the occupant list of their new apartment and to take Yifan's name off. 

When all of the technical things were taken care of, Chanyeol wandered into Mina's new room where she and Baekhyun were putting away her things. 

"Mommy, the room isn't pink enough." She whined and Baekhyun chuckled at his stereotypically girly daughter. 

"We can paint it light pink." He responded as he changed the sheets on the bed to personalize it for Mina. 

"Anything I can help with?" Chanyeol wondered. 

"Put up my toys!" Mina exclaimed and pointed to a pile of toys scattered on the floor. Chanyeol raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, unhappy with her lack of courtesy.

"Please." She added quickly and he obliged. He set about helping her organize her toys and put her clothes away in the closet.

When Baekhyun had finished with the bed, he got a text from Jongdae asking that he allow the