It didn't take long for Kang-Joon to find out about the wedding thanks to Sehun and Jongdae. Sehun had a tendency to take a bunch of pictures when he got drunk and to post said pictures on Instagram. And well, Jongdae got pretty drunk too and happened to text Kang-Joon the news without thinking about the consequences.

After Kang-Joon found out, he called Baekhyun to congratulate him. He told the older that he was still trying to get over their breakup but because his mother was so important, he had to focus his attention on her. Baekhyun said he understood and it was the end of their small conversation. It was as painless as could be.

His and Chanyeol's wedding night turned out to be the best night of their lives since nothing could be better than a spontaneous ceremony on New Year's Eve and a crazy party afterwards. At 1am, Mina had fallen asleep and Sung-Woo had taken her to bed and gone to bed himself. With them gone, no one had to hold back.

With a promise to keep the noise level reasonable, the reception/party continued. It was full of drunken toasts and great food.

To start off the toasts, Jongdae unsteadily stood on top of the coffee table with a glass of champagne in his hand.

"I have something important I need to ask my best friend. "

All eyes were on Jongdae as he directly addressed Baekhyun. "Baekhyun, how does it feel to be married and to know that you'll be with the same for the rest of your life? Seriously. You'll only get to have with Chanyeol's ."

Baekhyun covered his face with his hands in amusement and embarrassment. He laughed at his drunk friend's antics and was happy that Mina had long since left the party.

"Yeah, Baek. How does it feel?" Sehun piped up.

Baekhyun looked up at his friends and laughed some more. "Chanyeol's is more than enough for me and it feels ing amazing to be married!"

To that, Jongdae raised up his glass and everyone followed suit. Minseok was obviously the only one who wasn't drunk but that didn't stop him from laughing at his crazy friends and participating in the celebration.

"To Baekhyun and Chanyeol Park." They toasted. 

**

Baekhyun and Chanyeol soon realized that married life wasn't much different from the life they used to live. The biggest thing that changed was the closeness they felt by now sharing two important bonds, Mina and their marriage. 

Going to bed and waking up next to his husband instead of his boyfriend was another change that Baekhyun still hadn't gotten used to but found great enjoyment in.

As for Chanyeol, he smiled whenever he saw the two rings (Baekhyun had gotten his wedding band and engagement ring joined together so they were one) on Baekhyun's left hand, knowing that the rings symbolized their love and showed everyone else that he was completely off the market.

Other than that, things were fairly routine. Mina went to daycare every day, Baekhyun went to a high school in Boston to assistant teach everyday, and Chanyeol went to class and work at the law firm everyday.

Each day when Chanyeol got home, Baekhyun had dinner ready for him. Both of them always took a second to appreciate the fact that they didn't have to go to someone else's house for a meal or a shower and hopefully wouldn't have to worry about that ever again.

One night, after they sat down for dinner together, Chanyeol and Baekhyun exclusively talked about work and their days.

Mina looked back and forth from one parent to the other, waiting for them to say what they secretly knew she wanted to hear but they didn't say anything.

She let out a loud huff to get their attention and she crossed her arms angrily. 

"Eat your vegetables, baby." Baekhyun said.

She picked up her fork with an angry look on her face. She stabbed the carrot instead of eating it.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun shared a knowing glance, holding back their smiles.

"Is something wrong, Mi-Mi?" Chanyeol wondered. She stabbed another carrot in response and he and Baekhyun decided she had been teased enough. 

"Don't think we'd forgotten your birthday tomorrow." Baekhyun chuckled. 

Mina's demeanor changed instantly and her face lit up. They hadn't mentioned her birthday once all day and she really did think they'd forgotten. 

"We'd never forget your birthday." Chanyeol said as he pulled Mina into his lap.

"I'm gonna be 5, daddy! That's a whole hand!" She held her palm out for emphasis. 

Chanyeol laughed. "That's nothing. Mommy and I are each four whole hands plus three fingers." He kissed Mina, hugging her from behind. 

Baekhyun spoke up. "Are you excited about your party?"

Mina nodded her head. "Yep!"

"We'll make sure it's the best party ever." Baekhyun said happily. She had been asking for a party at the aquarium since she was 2 and finally, courtesy of the hard work from her parents, she was getting her wish. Tomorrow, it would be her day. It would be all about her for a whole 24 hours. What child didn't look forward to their birthday? 

Right after dinner, Mina went to bed early. She was convinced that the sooner she went to bed, the sooner her birthday would come.

Once she was all clean from her bath and tucked in to bed, Baekhyun read her a bedtime story. By the time he kissed her, her night light and turned off her bedroom light, it was barely 9pm.

At that time, Chanyeol was in the kitchen finishing up the dishes and Baekhyun was joining him. 

The older was lost in thought while he helped Chanyeol rinse off the dirty plates and load them into the dishwasher. 

"What's on your mind?" The younger finally asked when all the dishes were put in the dishwasher and he leaned down to turn it on.

Baekhyun shrugged and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Mina's gonna be 5 tomorrow. It seems like time goes by so quickly. I remember when she was just a little newborn baby, looking up at us for the first time."

"Yeah and she'll be starting school in a few months."

"She's growing up." Baekhyun said quietly. He didn't seem exactly thrilled about the idea of his only baby not being a baby anymore. 

"That happens, Baek. All kids have to grow up eventually."

"One day she'll get her period, start dating, graduate from high school, get married, have kids, and stop needing us so much." Baekhyun said, his voice thick with emotion.

Chanyeol chuckled. "Relax. She's just starting kindergarten, not high school."

"But she will be in high school one day and then she'll have weird mood swings and begin to hate us. Can't she stay four forever?"

Chanyeol smiled and pulled Baekhyun into a hug. "She's growing up and there's nothing we can do to stop it. We just have to accept it."

Baekhyun groaned but nodded. 

"Why don't we take a shower? It'll help get your mind off Mina."

Baekhyun agreed without hesitation. He and Chanyeol went to their bathroom and took a "shower" together. It was more like 20% of an actual shower and 80% of pure that most definitely kept Mina off their minds.

They got into bed soon after they were done, cuddling together to watch a television sitcom. Baekhyun found he had a hard time focusing on the show because his mind was elsewhere. 

He spent an entire episode gathering up the courage to ask Chanyeol a question about a specific topic. A topic that had been rather important to him as of late.

"Chanyeol?" He wondered once he had gathered his courage. When he received no response he looked up at the younger man to see he had fallen asleep. Baekhyun sighed and turned off the television. 

He would have to find another time to gather up his courage once again.

**

The next morning, both Chanyeol and Baekhyun were awoken by Mina climbing into their bed. 

"Guess what." She said excitedly to both of her sleepy parents. How was she so awake at such an early hour?

"What?" Chanyeol wondered with his eyes still closed. 

"It's my birthday!" 

"We know, sweetheart. Happy birthday." Baekhyun responded and held back a yawn. It wasn't even 7am.

"Is it time for my party?" She wondered excitedly. 

Baekhyun shook his head. "Why don't you sleep with mommy and daddy for a little while?" He wondered as he gestured to the space in between him and Chanyeol. The latter had fallen back asleep already. 

Mina climbed into the open space and snuggled into Baekhyun's arms. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. 

Sure, she was only 5 years old but before he knew it, she'd be 15. He would miss her snuggling into his arms. He would miss her needing him so much. He would miss her being a child.

Baekhyun realized he was truly beginning to miss the days when she was a baby, more so than he originally thought. 

Mina fell asleep in his arms shortly before he fell asleep. And when they woke up again, it was 9am. A much more reasonable time to awaken. However, Chanyeol was still asleep when they made their way to the kitchen. 

"Mi-Mi, it's your day. What do you want for breakfast?" The 23 year old wondered as he set Mina on the countertop.

"Chocolate chip pancakes!" She responded without hesitation. 

Baekhyun had a feeling she would say that and was already taking out the ingredients and mixing bowl. He gave Mina the honors of putting the ingredients into the bowl and mixing them. 

To help her mix the ingredients more efficiently, Baekhyun placed his hand over hers and mixed as well. Once that was done, Baekhyun the stove and put the pancake batter in a cooking pan.

Mina stood behind him, making sure he wasn't looking as she stuck her hand into the open chocolate chip bag and popped a whole handful into .

"I saw that, Mina." Baekhyun said as he turned around to catch her red handed. "Don't eat too many at once or you'll get a stomachache."

She responded with an adorable little pout and he let it go because it was her birthday after all.

He finished making the pancakes and piled two onto a plate for Mina. He handed them to her and her eyes widened in excitement as she took them to the table.

Baekhyun sat down with her and smiled as she devoured the pancakes. 

"Are they good?" He wondered as if he didn't already know.

"Mhm." She replied honestly, chocolate smeared on .

Once she was done eating, Baekhyun took a napkin and wiped , leaving a kiss on her nose when he was done.

She giggled and he tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. "You're mommy's baby. Aren't you, honey?"

"I'm a big girl, mommy! I'm not a baby anymore!"

Baekhyun's heart clenched painfully. Coming straight from , Mina wasn't his baby anymore. He didn't let on how upsetting that was for him.

As the day wore on, Mina received a bunch of happy birthday wishes from her uncles via her parents' text messages. As the day continued to wear on, she became excitedly anxious for her party.

Finally, by late afternoon, the three of them made their way to the aquarium to set up for her party. The whole time, Chanyeol could tell that Baekhyun was a little down. He wondered if it was still over the fact that Mina was growing up.

Once the party was in full swing and Mina was busy with her little friends from daycare, Chanyeol took that opportunity to speak to his spouse. 

"Are you okay?"

Baekhyun nodded while he watched Mina play with the other kids, touching starfish in the touching zone. 

Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Baekhyun's waist and placed a kiss on his temple. "The pizza's here. Let's go set up."

Baekhyun allowed himself to be led into the party room at the aquarium where, he, Chanyeol, and a few other parents set up the table for the kids. After the pizza was served and the kids had their fill, Chanyeol brought the cake out to Mina. 

It was a Little Mermaid themed cake, decorated perfectly for her aquarium party. Strategically placed in the aquamarine colored frostin