Title: The Right Reasons
Pairings: 2U, father!son HoSu, bff!JaeSu
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Yunho is a single father and happy with his stable life together with his four year old son.
Yoochun's life is a mess. But he is good with kids.
Warmth spread through Yunho’s chest. Was Yoochun agreeing to go out with him?
“I’d buy you dinner at a five star restaurant.”
Yoochun laughed and the sound lightened Yunho’s heart. “Ramen is fine.”
Yunho’s eyes moved over the time displayed on the radio of his car. They’d searched longer than he’d thought. If Junsu had really been missing he would have been for hours already. The worry would have killed him.
But that stress was disappearing now. As it drained from his body, Yunho noticed that it had worn him out. Yoochun suppressed a yawn next to him.
“I’m going to pick up Junsu,” Yunho said, “I told Jaejoong’s mother I would. Do you have somewhere you need to go?”
Yoochun shook his head. “I work evenings in a restaurant, but I was supposed to be there a long time ago, so I called in sick.”
Yunho frowned. “Why didn’t you just go? I don’t want you to lose your job because of me.”
Yoochun shook his head again and smiled. “It’s okay even if I do, I don’t like it anyway. The owner discovered that foreign businessmen give high tips if I show some skin and he isn’t above that.”
Yunho didn’t like the image he got of Yoochun waiting on a bunch of men while wearing tight jeans and with his shoulders and collar bones showing.
“Why don’t you quit?”
Yoochun shrugged. “I will when I find another way to make money during evenings and nights. I don’t want to give up my job at the school, but it doesn’t pay that well. Don’t worry though, I’ve had jobs far worse than this one.”
That information didn’t reassure Yunho at all.
Yoochun unbuckled his seatbelt. “Go pick up Junsu. It’s getting late.”
Yunho said “Wait.” as Yoochun moved to open his door. “What about you? Where do you live? I’ll take you home.” His eyes lingered on the dimples in Yoochun’s cheeks and the full lips between them as Yoochun smiled at him.
“Thank you for the offer, but you should go to Junsu. I’ll get my things from the school and take the bus.”
Yunho wanted to protest, but Yoochun had already stepped out of the car.
“I’m looking forward to the ramen though.” Yoochun smiled again and closed the door behind him.
Yunho watched him walk away and then stared at the steering wheel. He still felt bad. He wanted to make it up to Yoochun as soon as possible.
They should have talked longer, they should have planned their date already, he at least should have brought Yoochun home. Who knew how long he would have to travel by bus.
Where did Yoochun even live? Yunho had wanted to bring him home before, but he still didn’t know.
What if Yoochun was trying to hide that on purpose? Did he feel ashamed? He was poor, right?
And then Yunho felt bad for suspecting that. It had to be just a coincidence.
He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on one of the car’s windows. As he looked up and to the right, Yoochun opened the door and leaned down to meet his eyes.
“Why are you still here?”
Yunho hadn’t realised that he hadn’t even started the car yet.
“You looked pretty zoned out, ...are you okay?”
Yunho barely managed to hide how happy he was to see Yoochun again and he really wanted him to stay for a little longer.
He considered offering to take him home for the second time, but then Yoochun could just as easily say no again.
“Actually..,” Yunho rubbed his face with his hands, “I’m pretty tired.”
That wasn’t a complete lie.
“Can you maybe.. talk to me, to keep me awake as I drive?”
Yoochun frowned and stepped into the car. “How tired are you? It’s dangerous to-”
“It’s not that bad,” Yunho quickly said. Now he regretted making Yoochun worry about nothing, again. “I’m sorry, you’re probably tired yourself. You should go home and-”
Yoochun pulled the door shut and fastened his seatbelt. “No, I’m coming with you.”
Yunho just couldn’t say no to that.
After he’d pulled up there was an almost-awkward silence for maybe a minute, during which Yunho saw or imagined that Yoochun began to say something but changed his mind several times. And then he realised that he didn’t know where to go.
“Where do you live?”
“You should pick Junsu up first, I imagine you can’t wait to see him.”
Yunho kept his eyes on the road and nodded. He liked that he would have Yoochun in his car for a little longer, and he was right too. He’d been so worried. Part of him would not calm down until he was absolutely sure that Junsu was safe.
He sighed. “I can’t believe that none of the people I called saw him leave with Jaejoong.”
“Maybe it didn’t seem important enough to them to pay attention to,” Yoochun offered.
Yunho glanced at him. “I bet those mothers were all over you again, as usual.”
From the corner of his eyes he saw Yoochun turn his head. “.. are you jealous?” His voice was teasing.
Yunho shrugged. “Not really. I’m confident that I’m the most handsome mother out there.”
Yoochun’s laugh was addictive.
When Yunho had parked the car Yoochun said: “I’ll wait here. We won’t have explain why we’re together at this hour.”
Yunho nodded and said he’d be back soon.
Jaejoong’s mother smiled as she opened the door and asked him to come in. She was a nice woman, very patient. It probably came with having that many children. Yunho was glad that she was kind of a mother to Junsu, the female kind.
“Long day at work?” she asked.
“Ah, um.. yes. I’m sorry I’m a bit late.”
She waved his apology away. “It’s fine. We had a lot of fun today. It’s nice to hang out with boys for a change.” She laughed. “Although they preferred small cute animals over big scary ones just like my daughters always did. I guess it’s the age.”
Yunho laughed with her but looked around, searching. She noticed.
“Ah, they were dead tired after running around all afternoon, so as soon as they sat down in front of the TV they were fast asleep. We were just about to carry them to bed. We assumed you had to work late.”
Yunho apologised again for being late and followed the woman to the living room.
A weight he hadn’t noticed was still there left his chest as soon as he saw his son. His lips automatically formed a little smile.
Jaejoong was curled up on his side on the couch and Junsu was half on top of him. They looked as if they’d been sitting next to each other and had just fallen to one side, Junsu’s head against Jaejoong’s shoulder and his arms loosely around his waist.
It didn’t look like a particularly comfortable position to sleep in, but Yunho had once found Junsu sleeping in the laundry basket he’d been playing with, so nothing surprised him anymore.
“I’ll get his school bag,” Jaejoong’s mother whispered. Yunho nodded and walked to the couch.
He very carefully unwrapped Junsu’s arms from Jaejoong’s waist and lifted him. Junsu half opened his eyes and made a little sound, but as soon as his cheek touched Yunho’s shoulder, he settled against it and slept on.
Yunho smiled widely when the little boy instinctively wrapped his arms around his father’s neck and he hugged his warm body closer in return.
Jaejoong shifted on the couch, probably missing his human blanket. His mother handed Yunho Junsu’s bag and he thanked her and said good bye. She held the door for him.
Back at his car the first thing Yunho noticed was that Yoochun had fallen asleep, his head resting against the door frame.
He had to be exhausted, juggling two jobs and dealing with whatever problems he had. Yunho very slowly, as quietly as he could, opened the back door and lowered Junsu into his seat. Yoochun didn’t seem to wake up.
Junsu whimpered when his father’s warmth was suddenly gone, but Yunho took off his coat to cover him with, and the boy didn’t wake up either.
When Yunho was back in his own seat he contemplated what to do. Meanwhile he felt creepy for watching Yoochun sleep and creepier for hoping he would get to do it more often. But he didn’t want to wake him up.
He sighed and started the car, because that had to be done either way. Surprisingly Yoochun didn’t even stir.
If he was sleeping so deeply after just a few minutes he really needed it, Yunho decided. So he drove home.
Looking next to him and in his rear-view mirror Yunho noticed that Yoochun and Junsu were sleeping in the same position, their heads leaning to the right. It was an endearing sight.
Junsu looked very cute. Yoochun too, amongst other things. Yunho didn’t want to let the word ‘desirable’ enter his thoughts, but by thinking that he already had.
The strange feeling filled him that, to an outsider, they might look a bit.. a lot, like a family right now.
His eyes moved over Yoochun’s sleeping form a little bit too often for someone who was supposed to mind the road.
Sometimes Yoochun seemed very mature. He’d forgiven him so easily this afternoon and being in the kind of trouble he’d said he was, he had to put a lot of effort into keeping up the attitude that seemed to say that everything was fine. Especially in front of children, who can be very perceptive.
And then at times like this Yunho felt a bit like he had two children to look after. There was an urge to protect Yoochun inside of him that he had only ever felt for Junsu before.
Yoochun didn’t wake up when he stopped the car, or when he got out, or when he got Junsu out. Yunho didn’t disturb him further, and then, when he was done putting Junsu to bed, he realised that he should probably have woken him up way earlier.
He should have taken Yoochun home first. Now that Junsu was in his bed he wasn’t going to leave the house again, and he didn’t want to send Yoochun away to take a bus at this hour, tired as he was.
Yunho still hadn’t come up with a solution when he got back to his car. Luckily Yoochun hadn’t woken up all alone in a strange parking lot.
Yunho carefully opened the door, making sure Yoochun wouldn’t slip and end up awkwardly suspended in the air by his seatbelt. He touched his shoulder.
“Yoochun?”
Yoochun groaned a bit when Yunho squeezed his shoulder harder and he furrowed his brow when Yunho lightly shook him and called his name again, but he turned out to be quite a heavy sleeper and he wasn’t faking it. Yunho found it cute.
He’d feel bad about sending him home and there was no reason he couldn’t stay for a night. Yunho made up his mind.
He pulled Yoochun’s arm around his neck and lifted him from the car. Yoochun muttered something unintelligent and leaned into him heavily. Yunho put an arm around his waist and dragged more than led him to the house.
After helping him search for so long, Yoochun definitely deserved to sleep in a bed, and Yunho almost took him there, but then what would Yoochun think if he woke up in Yunho’s bed? That he wanted to take advantage of him?
And Junsu liked to wake him up in the morning, mostly by jumping on top of him. It’d be a huge shock to find someone other than his father under the covers.
Yunho lowered Yoochun to the couch and got him a blanket. He took off his shoes but didn’t dare to touch his other clothes. And still Yoochun slept on. Again Yunho thought that he had to be really exhausted. The newfound protective part in him didn’t like that.
He got Yoochun’s bag from his car and put it next to the couch. Then he looked at him one more time, once again feeling like a creep, and went to his bedroom.
He only noticed how tired he was himself when he hit the mattress.
His last coherent thought was that he’d skipped dinner and should make up for that with an extensive Saturday morning breakfast. And that he wouldn’t mind sharing that with Yoochun.
“Appa.”
Yunho groaned and rolled over, but when Junsu’s jumping-on-top-of-the-lump-under-the-blanket method hadn’t worked, he started poking, and nothing could escape his small fingers.
“Appa, appa, wake up, appa.”
Yunho was alerted by the way Junsu hissed the words and didn’t just yell them in his ear as usual. He opened his eyes and rolled back.
“What’s wrong?”
Junsu was looking down at him with wide eyes.
“Park-sonsaengnim is on the couch!” he whispered, sounding shocked and excited at the same time.
A/N: This is going to end soon -sadface- but it will very very likely have a JaeSu sequel. Is that okay?
Oh, and YES, I'll reveal everything about Yoochun before that.
Part 8: Dating Teachers Part 6: Driving and SearchingPart 5: An Answer in TrustPart 4: Drunk DenialPart 3: Emptiness and ReplacementPart 2: Tulips in FebruaryPart 1: Valentine's Flowers