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"Jiyeon-ah,” Jongin calls after their daughter, wiping his hands on the apron, “go on and bring this to your Appa.”
The girl nods excitedly, climbing up her stool to grasp the mug with both hands. Jongin gently lifts her by the armpits to set her back down, reminding her to be careful as she carries the insulated mug with absolute focus. A silent laugh bubbles up his throat at the sight of her big, circular eyes, so similar to those of her father who watches attentively from the living room.
Her father; his husband; the love of his life, Park Chanyeol.
“Wow,” Chanyeol exclaims in genuine wonder as he takes the mug from Jiyeon, “you’re such a big girl now, bringing me my drink. Did you make this?” Chanyeol pretends to take a sip, licking his lips dramatically while looking around the room. “My Jiyeon-ah, this is so delicious!”
Jiyeon watches with her tongue sticking out, her small hands balled up in fists as her father continues to act positively attacked by her drink. Chanyeol safely places the mug on the coffee table and pulls her into his arms.
“You’re growing too fast.” Chanyeol clicks his tongue and places a large hand atop her head while the other pats at her feet, sending their daughter into a giggling fit. “Must - shrink - you!”
“Wanna play!” Jaeyoung says almost breathlessly, throwing his toy soldier away but not letting go of his teddy bear. Their son runs into Chanyeol’s chest so fast Jongin can practically see the wind being knocked out of him, though not before he’s expertly swerved Jiyeon to the side with practised ease, saving her from the blow.
“Jaeyoungie -” Chanyeol coughs before dropping sideways onto the wooden floors, bringing both children down with him. They laugh and scream, struggling to get out of his hold.
“Appa, let go!”
“Appa, up! Up!”
Jongin takes his own mug of hot chocolate and calmly walks over to the chaotic mass that is his family.
“Papa!” the children yell out in unison, seeking help from their other father.
“Help us, Papa,” Jiyeon pleads. Chanyeol’s right eye opens for a split second, and Jongin knows he’s just making sure that she isn’t actually hurt, his smile already growing wider.
“Papa,” Jaeyoung whines, his pout no doubt inherited from Jongin himself, “hep.”
Jongin sighs and pretends to assess the situation, looking at the three of them from all angles, suppressing a smile as he tries to figure out the best way to free his children. Jongin makes a show of getting an idea, his expression determined as he gets close to Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol smells like spearmint, a result of gurgling mouthwash after their earlier dinner, and Jongin’s heart flutters as he briefly considers resuming their mini make-out session from this morning.
Instead, Jongin settles for a chaste kiss on his husband’s cheek.
Chanyeol grunts and sits up, a dazed look plastered on his face as the two tiny humans celebrate their freedom. Jongin laughs loudly at the sight, his hand easily finding Chanyeol’s as it always does between waves of laughter. Their fingers interlock almost automatically, a muscle memory that never fails to put Jongin’s heart at ease. Chanyeol looks at him now, chest heaving, and Jongin knows he feels the same way.
His husband softly returns the kiss, this time on Jongin’s lips, and almost immediately the celebration comes to an end as Jiyeon makes a disgusted noise. Jaeyoung follows suit, his four-year-old mind not quite processing the reason behind his sister’s disgust but wanting to make the same sound.
“Don’t kiss,” Jiyeon grumbles, covering her eyes with her palms. Jaeyoung studies his sister and quickly does the same, the teddy bear now abandoned at his feet. “Why kiss?”
“Why?” Jaeyoung echoes, peering through his fingers.
“Well,” Chanyeol says, dragging the ottoman across the coffee table. Jongin collects the children, settling onto the couch comfortably as they observe Chanyeol get into his storytelling mode. Jaeyoung hugs the teddy bear so tightly as if to apologize for dropping it earlier. “Because I love Papa, and he loves me.”
“Appa love Jaeyoung?”
“Yes, Jaeyoungie,” Chanyeol laughs, and Jongin kisses the top of the boy’s head. “But it’s different for Papa and me. Did you know that Papa and I loved you before you were even born?” he asks, to which both kids shake their heads. “Well, I wasn’t so lucky. I had to wait a long time before Papa told me he loved me.”
Jiyeon turns around to face Jongin, her mouth agape, tone almost accusatory. “Bad Papa!”
“N-no, Jiyeon-ah,” Chanyeol quickly defends him, and Jiyeon pats Jongin’s knee comfortingly. “It takes time when you’re not family, and especially when you’re older. Sometimes, you don’t want to say it unless the other person says it first.”
“It’s nobody’s fault,” Jongin assures her, running a hand through her thin, light brown hair. “It’s a very big thing, Jiyeon-ah; it takes a while to know for sure.”
“How do you know?” Jiyeon asks, intrigued. Jaeyoung has the bear’s paw between his little teeth, and Jongin gently pats at his hand to get him to stop.
“Well, it happened on a summer trip many years ago,” Chanyeol begins, and Jongin finds himself momentarily lost in memories.
<<
It’s the buzzing that bothers him the most, and Jongin slaps the back of his neck to give himself a false sense of achievement as the mosquito—or mosquitoes—continue to hover around him.
“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol says again, wiping a small towel across his forehead as they continue trudging up the hill, backpacks getting heavier by the minute. “I thought I packed the repellent.”
Jongin shakes his head in reply, his annoyance directed to the insects rather than the man beside him. He knows Chanyeol makes lists and double, triple checks his bags before any activity, and something as essential as insect repellent would not have been easily missed. He knows what might have caused Chanyeol to forget the very thing Jongin had asked him to bring; it’s the very reason Jongin had struggled to fall asleep last night, too giddy from their phone call.
He had only himself to blame, really, for casually mentioning that this would be the first time they would be left alone, away from their friends, for an entire night. He hadn’t thought much about it until the words came out of his mouth, and there was a fumbling and tumbling sound on the other end of the call, followed by Chanyeol profusely apologizing for dropping his phone.
Despite his friends’ constant teasing, Jongin isn’t oblivious to Chanyeol’s recently odd behaviour. Chanyeol seems extra careful when Jongin’s around, with his words, with his volume, and his movements. Jongin’s tried a few times on this trip alone, to hide and watch how Chanyeol interacts with their mutual friends before Jongin finally comes into view, and it's always the same result. Chanyeol either thinks very little of him, or too much.
And Jongin desperately wants it to be the latter.
So, he had asked Baekhyun for advice (“just jump his bones, already”) and when that didn’t work, Jongdae had pulled him aside and offered to help.
“Look, you want to find out for sure, right?” Jongdae had affirmed, eyes gentle. “Why don’t we give you an opportunity to spend some time alone with just him?”
“How?” Jongin had wondered, knowing full well that Chanyeol has a new habit of cancelling plans if it’s just going to be the two of them. “He used to ask me to go hiking together, but that was before it got weird.”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Jongdae reminded him. “Baekhyun and I will say we have another activity planned in the village and they’ve run out of available spots. But you tell him that you really want to go and that it has to be tomorrow. He can’t say no to you.”
Jongin had been sceptical, but it was surprisingly easy to get Chanyeol to agree. Perhaps it really is because they’re in the middle of nowhere and Chanyeol’s out of excuses, but he’s glad to have his friend to himself again. Chanyeol’s presence comforts him like no other, and he’s honestly just a bit bitter to have to share that all the time.
“Jongin? Jonginnie?”
Jongin feels the blood rush to his cheeks and turns in his step to hide his face. The leaves crunch under him and in an instant Jongin loses his footing, his leg straightening as he’s about to slip down the way they came.
Chanyeol promptly catches him, groaning as the weight of Jongin and both their backpacks start to take a toll. With Chanyeol’s help, Jongin regains his balance and takes a few more steps forwards, resting where the ground is level. He can still feel Chanyeol’s hands on him, warm and steady, even though he’s several inches away.
“You okay?” Chanyeol asks him now, still catching his breath, his back resting against a rock.
Jongin nods quietly, deciding not to mention that it’s been a while since Chanyeol’s used that nickname on him. He chooses this time to take the bottle out of his bag, drinking a bit before offering it to Chanyeol, who accepts.
Their fingers brush during the exchange and Jongin feels it with his whole body, his grip on the bottle loosening before Chanyeol can get a proper hold. The water spills onto the ground, and Jongin watches in horror as the bottle purges its contents, darkening the stones, the soil and leaves.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry,” Jongin croaks, grabbing the bottle and setting it upright. There are only about three mouthfuls left out of the entire two litres. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Chanyeollie hyung, that was -”
“Jonginnie,” Chanyeol says again, and Jongin is still whispering his apologies. Jongin barely registers Chanyeol’s big hands on his; how close they are to each other. “Jonginnie, stop, it’s okay.”
“I—” They’re so close. “I’ve missed you.”
Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not the same,” Jongin huffs. “I haven’t heard you call me ‘Jonginnie’ in so long.”
There’s a distant rumbling and at first, Jongin thinks that Baekhyun’s found them and has started splashing water their way. But the shower gets heavier and Chanyeol is softly dragging him to the nearest trees, rummaging through his bag until he finds the tent. They struggle to set it up, the wind now seemingly blowing in every direction, and eventually, they manage to assemble the first half.
Jongin listens to the relentless drumming of the raindrops against their shelter, gladly stuffing his legs into the large sleeping bag Chanyeol had brought. “Thanks,” Jongin yells, the rain too loud for his normal volume. “I’m sorry, I didn’t check the weather forecast.”
“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, matching Jongin’s loudness. “Bad move.”
“It’s summer.”
“It’s August.” Chanyeol presses against him, bunching up his side of the sleeping bag for more warmth. “Feels like everything that could go wrong is going wrong.”
“You think this is wrong?”
“No. I’m enjoying myself.” Chanyeol lightly nudges him by the shoulder, and Jongin returns his grin. “I’m sorry.”
“We have to stop apologizing,” Jongin yells, getting him another chuckle.
Chanyeol nods. “I’ve missed you, too, you know. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“Why?” Jongin asks, but all he gets is a shrug. Jongin decides, then, to learn from Baekhyun’s brash boldness and make the most out of Jongdae’s gift of time. “Is it because I’m in— because I like you?”
“Y-y-you like me?” Chanyeol loudly stammers, and something about his reaction tells Jongin that he hadn’t done it because of the weather. Jongin feels Chanyeol rolling to his side suddenly, roaring with laughter, holding Jongin’s hand for leverage.
“You’re laughing at me!”
Chanyeol sits up and shakes his head, speaking again once he regains composure. “No, I would never laugh at you, Jonginnie,” he vows, and Jongin believes him. “I just can’t believe that you liked me all this time, and I fell so hard—”
Chanyeol stops talking, his lips pursing as he realizes what he had said.
He exhales and Jongin feels the cold air against his forehead, trying but failing to move his matted fringe. “I’ve liked you for a long time, Jonginnie. But then I started falling, and I kept falling. And I was so afraid I would mess it up somehow; ruin our friendship. I didn’t want to lose you.”
Jongin runs his thumb along Chanyeol’s palm, and he’s not entirely sure if the shiver is due to the weather or this simple touch. “I love you, too.”
>>
“And it was perfect,” Chanyeol says, concluding their little trip down memory lane and bringing Jongin back to the present. Their mugs sit on the coffee table, empty and cold. Jaeyoung is sprawled across Jongin’s lap, pudgy feet sticking out of his blanket and dangling off the couch. Jiyeon pushes against Jongin’s arm as another yawn takes over. “Kids, am I that boring?”
Jiyeon nods as she rubs an eye with her fingers, giggling. Jaeyoung is too far gone to respond.
“I won’t tell any more stories, then,” Chanyeol tuts, pouting.
“Nooo,” Jiyeon quickly protests, extending her arms for Chanyeol to carry. He obliges, and she yawns once again in his hold. “More stories.”
“Okay,” Chanyeol chuckles into her hair, planting a peck on her temple. “Just for you.”
Jongin carefully scoops Jaeyoung up and walks behind, following the other two into the kids’ room. They take turns to say their hushed good nights, wishing the both of them only the sweetest of dreams. They take one last look at their children after turning off the main light, Chanyeol’s arms wrapped around Jongin’s waist.
“I love you,” Chanyeol breathes into Jongin’s neck later in bed, kissing along his jawline. “Love you so much.”
“Ticklish,” Jongin says, squirming but not letting go of his husband’s hand. He’s still slightly sore, Chanyeol’s other hand massaging his inner thigh with care, soothing him. “I love you too.”
Chanyeol hums against his shoulder. “I loved talking about you. About us.”
“That’s because we’re cute, and we made two very cute babies. You should tell them what happened at that same spot a year later.”
Chanyeol laughs, and Jongin feels teeth and hot air against his skin. “You mean when I proposed?”
“When you were about to propose,” Jongin corrects him, cheeks stinging as the memory comes back to him, “and dropped the ring in your clumsiness.”
“I was nervous!”
Jongin turns around to face him, looking into his eyes before leaning in. Chanyeol tastes like mint chocolate now, his lips readily taking Jongin’s, tongue swirling in languid motions. Jongin inhales luxuriously, feeling like the world is exclusively theirs again.
Jongin lightly breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against Chanyeol’s. A giggle escapes his lips when Chanyeol steals another peck, his heart soaring. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”