Oh, Child (2/2)
Previous
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Joonmyun had a plan. Minseok did not approve of this plan.
"You want me to what now?"
"The guy, Chul or whatever, said I can't adopt if I'm single. Please Minseok! You know I hardly ask favors of you," Joonmyun pleaded throwing on his best impersonation of a kicked puppy.
"I love you, Joonmyun. I really do but I don't think I'd be able to fake being in love with you." Joonmyun frowned. Minseok frowned. Baekhyun just felt really confused.
"Why can't you pretend to be in a fake relationship with Joonmyun? I do it all the time with Jongdae."
“Yes exa- wait, who is Jongdae?”
“My best friend.” Baekhyun offered no other explanation, simply going back to polishing the tables now that work was done for the day. They were reminded again of just how little they knew about the youngest member of their little trio. Minseok turned back to Joonmyun’s plan.
“Baekhyun may be ok with doing that for his best friend but I just...I can’t. I can’t lie like that with a good conscious. Not to mention we’d have to act like a couple and I can’t act to save my life.” Joonmyun pouted. He was really counting on his best friend to help him.
“Who else am I supposed to ask?” Joonmyun couldn’t help but whine.
“What about that guy you went to school with, what was his name..”
“Kyungsoo?”
“Yea him! Ask around you have other friends who I’m sure would be more than happy to help,” Minseok exclaimed. Joonmyun bit back the but you’re my BEST friend at the tip of his tongue and huffed his way back into the kitchen.
~
While he waited for the first batch of éclairs to finish baking, he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts. He hadn’t anticipated for Minseok to say no. No matter what, though, he had to find someone else someone willing to play the role of his significant other. He had to. There was no way he was going to let Jongin slip away over a reason as silly as this. So Joonmyun clicked call.
The first rejection stung.
“Oh Joonmyun, I’m sorry. I’m already in a relationship with someone else.”
However, after that, the string of rejections left him stressed out and agitated. He burned through three different batters of cake before Baekhyun finally dragged him out of the kitchen for an early lunch break and a much needed breath of fresh air.
Baekhyun led him to a small sandwich shop nearby the café. They stepped into line and it was then that Joonmyun noticed Baekhyun’s warm hand rubbing at his back in slow circular motion. It helped ease the tension and he felt his shoulders drooping.
Baekhyun.
Joonmyun whirled to face him, his expression aglow. “Baekhyun can you be my significant other?”
“Joonmyun, is this really the best place to ask me out?” Baekhyun’s smirked his eyes had a mischievous shine to them. It was that gleam that calmed Joonmyun’s heart. He was joking.
“Well, I would have brought flowers but they wouldn’t compare to your beauty.” It was Joonmyun’s turn to smirk.
“Ooooh a charmer. Consider me sold.” Joonmyun beamed and tackled Baekhyun into a hug. Baekhyun laughed and returned the hug, Joonmyun’s joy infectious.
“Come on. Let’s eat quickly so we can go visit Jongin.” Joonmyun didn't need to be told twice. He let go of Baekhyun pointedly ignoring the weird looks from the other customers.
~
Joonmyun felt his heart swell up at the sight of Jongin waiting for him. His eyes perused what skin he could see but couldn’t find any bruises. Not that he had noticed any before. Joonmyun felt Baekhyun pulling at his sleeve.
“Who’s the tall kid?” It was then that Joonmyun noticed Sehun leaning against the building his perpetually bored expression in place.
“Oh, that’s Sehun. He stays in the same foster care as Jongin. I wonder why he’s here.” Jongin leaped up when he spotted Joonmyun coming towards him. Sehun also straightened up and turned around, eyes sliding from Joonmyun to Baekhyun.
“Jongin you remember Baekhyun, right?” Jongin nodded and whispered a soft hello in greeting before latching on to Joonmyun’s hand. After introducing Baekhyun and Sehun, Joonmyun turned to Sehun gathering Jongin in his arms. After the foster care visit, he felt more overprotective towards Jongin and just wanted to hold him in his arms and shield him from all harm.
“So what brings you here, Sehun?”
“Jonginnie wouldn’t shut up about you so I decided to visit tiny hyung myself. Plus, I wanted to visit your bakery and get some free goodies.”
“Tiny hyung?” Baekhyun inquired.
“Don’t ask,” Joonmyun huffed. He led the way back to the bakery eager to introduce Minseok to Sehun and to tell him the good news.
~
“So, you and Baekhyun are an item now?” Joonmyun beamed. Jongin and Sehun were off to the side sitting at a table as the last of the customers left the café.
“I’ve been curious. Why didn’t you just ask a girl to be your fake-girlfriend? Not like you don’t have a mini fanclub here,” Baekhyun peered over at Joonmyun, curious. Joonmyun and Minseok both looked back at him baffled.
“Does he not know?”
“I don’t think he does.”
“Know what?!”
“Baekhyun, I’m gay.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yup. He came out last year over the summer. Come to think of it you were off on some road trip that summer.”
“Oh, no wonder he doesn’t know.” Minseok nodded sagely.
“I still don’t get it though. Why does he have a fanclub of nothing but girls then?” Minseok shrugged.
“Who knows. Could be in admiration of him coming out.” Joonmyun coughed awkwardly not liking the topic and attention it brought on him. He gestured at the kitchen mumbling something about ‘cleaning’ and ‘baking something for Jongin and Sehun’ before leaving. Minseok sighed at his retreating back.
“He went through a lot that summer. It’s a small town and word gets around fast.” Minseok’s voice was grim. Baekhyun didn’t like where this was headed. “Most people were accepting, like our customers, others weren’t...as accepting.” Baekhyun frowned.
“But that was last summer. Things are better now,” Minseok reassured Baekhyun, patting his head for good measure.
“I’m not a child to pet,” Baekhyun grumpled shoving Minseok’s hand away. Minseok just chuckled.
“By the way, why did you agree to be Joonmyun’s boyfriend? You letting your admiration for him get the best of you?” Minseok asked in a teasing voice.
“Don’t be silly, I admire the both of you. I would’ve said yes if you asked me to be your pretend boyfriend too.” Baekhyun fluttered his eyelashes at Minseok cracking up at the elder’s expression. “That and, well, you’ve seen the way he looks at Jongin and how Jongin clings to him. It’d be a crime not to lend a helping hand when I had no reason not to.”
“You do realize you’ll probably have to move in together, right? Before every adoption they profile the person adopting to make sure they’re not some sociopath.” Baekhyun blinked.
“Meh, I wouldn’t mind. It was getting lonely in my apartment, anyways.”
“If you say so.” Joonmyun came out of the kitchen two small cheesecake cupcakes in hand. Jongin and Sehun immediately started cheering at the sight, ending whatever little game they were playing in favor of eating up the sweet dessert.
“I made some for you two as well so please eat up. I’m going to take these two home.” Joonmyun flashed them his bright smile ushering the two out the door as they exclaimed over how delicious tiny hyung’s snacks were.
“No I don’t think I’d mind at all.”
ღ
They decided to move in together after work later that week. Of course, they had to drag Minseok and Sehun for help.
"You need something to do other than laze around and eat all our food."
Sehun humphed - distinctly annoyed. Joonmyun only ruffled his head, clearly amused by the annoyed expression on Sehun’s face.
However, the big surprise came in a car, after half an hour of moving boxes into Joonmyun’s apartment. A man walked out with a cheshire like smile spread across, his face his auburn hair styled down and curled at the tips.
“This is Jongdae. My best friend,” Baekhyun introduced. “He also works in an adoption agency and offered to help us.” He said, watching Joonmyun. Joonmyun blinked in surprise. He had forgotten about that particular step in the adoption process.
“What do you do in an adoption agency?” Minseok curiously asked.
“All sorts of things. We help parents find a child that best matches them and do family profiles. We also answer any questions they may have about teh adoption process and offer services to help the family before and after the adoption process is done,” Jongdae explained, his voice smooth as silk.
“This whole adoption thing is a lot more work than I thought,” Minseok commented.
"It's not that bad but that's not why I'm here today. Baekhyun said he was moving and might need some help unpacking boxes?"
"Yes! The boxes are this way," Minseok led Jongdae to the boxes piled inside Baekhyun's car.
"So after two years you're finally introducing us to your best friend. I feel so honoured. Thank you for granting us this privilege, Byun Baekhyun." Joonmyun said teasingly and Baekhyun shoved at him the best he could with two boxes in hand.
"Just shut up and help me unpack so I can finally be done, boyfriend." Joonmyun laughed.
"Anything for you, boyfriend." Baekhyun grumbled about lame fake boyfriends and back pains the rest of the way to Joonmyun's apartment.
~
They chose to move into Joonmyun’s apartment, it being the bigger of the two. It had a large, spacious living room with a beige couch facing a large HD TV built into the wall. The kitchen was small in comparison - a fridge, stove, and oven all meshed in the small space. The rooms, however, were what sold Baekhyun. Joonmyun obviously had the master bedroom with its full length mirror propped against the far wall of the gorgeous, spacious room. A king sized bed was placed directly in the center of the wall, across from the mirror. Not only was it nice, it also had a built in closet that Baekhyun couldn’t wait to help fill with his clothes. Joonmyun had only one guest bedroom in his apartment and, if all went well, it would soon be Jongin’s room.
“Won’t you two feel weird sharing a room?” Jongdae inquired, the last of the boxes piled in one corner in the living room.
“It’ll be like one very long sleepover!” Baekhyun beamed.
“If you say so.” Jongdae turned to the stack of boxes. “ We should probably start unpacking these.” Everyone started groaning and dragging their feet over to sort through the pile. Everyone except Joonmyun and Sehun. Sehun quirked his head to the side motioning for Joonmyun to follow him before slipping into the kitchen.
“I just thought you should know that Chul came home drunk yesterday.” Sehun told him gravely and Joonmyun’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Did he hurt Jongin?” Every painful mental image of a hurt Jongin started flashing in his head.
“Of course not! I made a promise, didn’t I?” Joonmyun was instantly flooded with guilt at Sehun’s indignant expression.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need to go see a doctor?” Sehun seemed thrown off by the sudden concern in Joonmyun’s voice.
“I-I’m fine. It’s just few bruises. He didn’t even hit that hard-” Sehun was interrupted by Joonmyun’s wandering hands. He hissed when Joonmyun poked at his ribs.
“He hit you there? Hold on I’ll get you some ice. I know I have gel for these things somewhere.” He rambled as he rummaged around the kitchen looking for an ice pack.
“I don’t … I’m ok,” Sehun mumbled helplessly but Joonmyun was completely ignoring him now that he found an ice pack.
“Lift up your shirt so I can put this on,” Joonmyun demanded.
“I’d rather not.”
“Well fine you can put it on yourself but I don’t want to see you work anymore. Go lie down on the couch. We’ll finish up here.”
“You worry too much, tiny hyung.”
“Of course I do. Who else is going to worry about you and Jongin?” Joonmyun pinched his cheeks, flashing Sehun his brilliant smile. Sehun felt his insides warm up at the concern in Joonmyun’s eyes.
“I wish...”
“Huh?”
“Jongin’s lucky to find someone like you, tiny hyung.” Sehun patted Joonmyun’s head before slinking off to the couch, taking the ice pack and placing it carefully on his ribs. Joonmyun made sure there was nothing else he needed as he passed by to help unpack the last of the boxes.
They decided to stop unpacking once the sun had set. Sehun was long gone - not wanting to get in the way and also, he had to pick Jongin up from daycare. Minseok had bid them goodbye and trudged out the door soon after. It left Joonmyun alone with Jongdae and Baekhyun.
“I’ll go make us something to eat since baker boy over here can’t cook.” Baekhyun teased and Joonmyun childishly stuck his tongue out as he was unable to come up with a witty remark. Once they heard the sound of pots and pans cluttering in the kitchen, Jongdae turned to Joonmyun.
“I’m surprised he said yes to you.”
"What do you mean?" Joonmyun blinked in surprise and Jongdae chewed on his bottom lip in thought.
“When we were in college, and even in high school, Baekhyun’s always been looking for the one. It’s kind of why he’s so closed off. After all that heartbreak after heartbreak, he just kinda gave up. On people. On himself. But you...you must be someone special for him to willingly agree to be fake in love with.” Oh. “I’m telling you this because I just don’t want him to get hurt. He’s dumb and thinks he’s in love too soon. I don’t care if this is all a ruse to get Jongin; just don’t hurt him. He’s had enough pain thrown at him.”
“I would never.” Joonmyun’s tone was firm.
“Good. That’s all a best friend could ask for.” Jongdae’s cheshire grin was back and Joonmyun couldn’t stop himself from grinning back. It was then that the smell of something burning reached their nostrils. Baekhyun popped back into the living room.
“How about we order take out instead?” Jongdae groaned.
“You’re both hopeless.”
ღ
It took another two days to finish unpacking Baekhyun’s things - what with being caught between work and visiting Jongin. Baekhyun started tagging along with Joonmyun on his visits and, gradually, Jongin got over his shyness even going as far as to greet him without Joonmyun’s encouragement. However, he still clung to Joonmyun’s legs and refused to let go until it the hour was up.
Jongdae had called after one particular visit when Sehun had promptly shown up at the bakery with Jongin in tow.
“Don’t worry. It’s a school holiday,” Sehun explained after receiving a glare from Joonmyun. Minseok laughed and made the two boys hot chocolates with Baekhyun sneaking them small pieces of pastry whenever Joonmyun wasn’t fretting over them.
~
“What’s up?” Baekhyun answered, silently fighting with Joonmyun over the remote control. There was this one drama Minseok had recommended that he really wanted to watch.
“...profile. Is that ok?”
“Sorry can you repeat that? Couldn’t hear you,” Baekhyun huffed as he stretched his body alongside Joonmyun’s in a failed attempt to pry the remote out of his outstretched hand.
“I was saying if it was alright if I came over tomorrow to compl-” the rest of Jongdae’s sentence was lost to Baekhyun as he squawked - Joonmyun having flipped them over in the middle of their tussle. Joonmyun was now sitting on his abdomen with a triumphant smirk on his face the remote held above his head mocking him.
“Baekhyun!”
“I’m listening! I’m listening!” Baekhyun did his best imitation of a kicked puppy but Joonmyun easily ignored him, choosing instead to settle himself comfortably on Baekhyun’s lap to watch whatever program was on.
“Sigh. I just wanted to let you and Joonmyun know that I would come over tomorrow to fill out the family profile.” Jongdae sounded tired but Baekhyun only felt slightly guilty.
“Sure that’s fine.” Baekhyun squirmed in an attempt to dislodge Joonmyun from his lap. Joonmyun only laughed, tangling his and Baekhyun’s legs so there was no way either man could move.
“Fine I’ll see you tomorrow at 4 p.m on the dot. And Baekhyun, please be careful.”
“Jongdae you have nothing to worry about. Joonmyun is the most boring person on the planet.” Joonmyun pouted at Baekhyun causing him to snort and roll his eyes. Joonmyun was not cute.
“If you say so.” With that the line went dead. Baekhyun made himself as comfortable as he could with Joonmyun lying half on top of him, resigned to watching the lame variety program-that-was-not-his-drama. Thirty minutes into the show and Baekhyun was fast asleep.
He woke up the next morning body too warm, muscles aching, too much drool on his shirt courtesy of Joonmyun, and a sticky note plastered on his forehead. He peeled it off and smiled sleepily at the note.
I am not boring!! I just have cautious taste. Felt bad so recorded your stupid drama. Remote is on the table.
You owe me dinner ;))
- Joonmyun
ღ
Later that day, Joonmyun slipped off by himself to visit Jongin. They had a heavy stream of customers coming in and neither Baekhyun nor Minseok could leave. Jongin ran up to him instantly, his stuffed unicorn bouncing with every step.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long,” Joonmyun blurted out. Jongin looked up at him with those brown brown eyes and Joonmyun thinks he’ll never get used to the swelling feeling in his heart.
“What’s taking so long?”
“Adopting you.” Jongin went to curl his tiny, tiny hands on Joonmyun’s fingers. It’s starting to become a habit, he noted.
“It’s ok. Good things come if we wait, right?” Jongin beamed up at him, clutching tightly to his three fingers.
“Right.” Joonmyun moved to cup Jongin’s face watching, as Jongin nuzzled into the palm of his hand.
Wait for me.
~
As soon as Baekhyun and Joonmyun arrived from work, they began to tidy up the house. Baekhyun had told Joonmyun that despite being best friends, Jongdae took his job very seriously and wasn’t going to go any easier on them than on any other family he has to profile.
“Good. I want to know that Jongin gets nothing but the best.” Baekhyun snorted.
“Brat loves you as much as you love him.” Joonmyun only hummed but for the remainder of the time he had a small smile on his face.
At four p.m a knock resounded through the apartment. Jongdae was as punctual as ever. Joonmyun at the sound, his nerves getting the best of him. Baekhyun chuckled at the sight and without thinking, he reached out and to squeeze his hand in reassurance. Joonmyun’s look of surprise made Baekhyun want to pull his hand back, however, Joonmyun gripped his hand once before letting go. He flashed Baekhyun a tight lipped smile and went to answer the door. Baekhyun felt rooted to the spot. Had his heart just really skipped a beat?
Baekhyun heard the door opening and closing and the sound of their voices reached him. Baekhyun swallowed and shoved the feelings of apprehension to the far, far recesses of his mind and beamed at Jongdae as the other man entered the living room with a legal pad in hand.
“I see you guys have cleaned up nicely since the last time I was here.” Jongdae commented sarcastically and Baekhyun scoffed.
“Can we just get this family profiling thing over with?”
“How does this family profile thing work?”
“Oh it’s nothing big. We just ask a few personal questions. See what the living conditions are. You know, the usual stuff to make sure you’re not some sociopath who hides kids in basements.” Joonmyun sputtered at the end, unsure if it was a joke or not. Baekhyun and Jongdae burst into laughter at his expression.
“Seriously though Joonmyun, you have little to worry about. From what Baekhyun’s told me I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors.” Jongdae comfortingly. “I’m not here to judge you on your wealth or what music you listen to. I’m here to make sure that Jongin gets the love and nurturing he needs. That you’ll be supportive and accommodating to any special needs he may have. No parent is perfect. So why would we expect our potential parents to be?” Joonmyun felt heartened by the end of Jongdae’s little speech. He felt a hand squeeze his and turned to find Baekhyun smiling at him. We got this.
Joonmyun took a deep breath.
“So let’s get started shall we?”
~
After Jongdae was done with the whole family profiling procedure, Joonmyun asked what happen next.
“Well, with your autobiographical statement, references, background, and personal information all that’s left is for the agency to process the application and approve it. Once the agency approves, one of our social workers will arrange some meetings between you two and Jongin to observe your interactions with each other. Then the final adoption documents and Jongin is yours!”
“That just sounds lovely.”
“It does. It really does sound lovely,” Joonmyun uttered sincerely. They both thanked Jongdae and wished him a safe drive before softly closing the door behind him. Baekhyun was suddenly all too aware of Joonmyun’s presence.
“Baekhyun?” Baekhyun flinched quickly and tried to hide it behind a forced smile. He really didn’t understand why he was reacting like this. “I just...I wanted to say thank you.” Joonmyun’s eyes were round and earnest, his face glowing with a soft pink hue, and all Baekhyun could think of was how dry his throat was.
“You didn’t have to do this...any of this but you did,” Joonmyun continued as he looked Baekhyun in the eyes, “So thank you. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. I could never repay you or thank you enough.” Then Joonmyun’s voice suddenly cracked at the end, his eyes brimming with tears. Baekhyun’s heart was aching and he really didn’t want to think of the whys - he just needed Joonmyun to stop. Stop before he couldn’t help himself and lean forward and-
“Don’t be silly! I’m the one who owes you dinner after all,” Baekhyun stopped himself from thinking further and made himself lean forward to wipe at Joonmyun’s eyes instead. If Baekhyun wanted to, he could spread his fingers and cup Joonmyun’s face in the palms of his hands. He quickly snatched his hands back turning them into fists at his side.
“It’s been a long day and we still have to work tomorrow so let’s just stay in, watch a movie and eat some takeout. We can go out on that dinner date once this whole thing is done. How does that sound, babe?” Joonmyun burst out in laughter at the term of endearment and the atrocious wink Baekhyun had sent him.
“Movie and take out sound perfect.” They headed towards the living room discussing what movie to watch. Baekhyun spent the rest of the evening stuffing every non platonic feeling towards his friend of two years down every crevice and into the shadows at the back of his mind.
ღ
Three meetings were scheduled in total. Unfortunately, Jongdae wouldn’t be the one supervising the meetings. Instead, they were sending someone called Luhan.
“No need to worry. Luhan’s a nice guy. Just do what you always do and I’m sure you’ll both do fine. Just don’t forget to act like a couple too.”
“We won’t,” Baekhyun responded. Yet, he worried at his bottom lip. Joonmyun never pushed Baekhyun into doing things with him - only holding hands or leaning in close when Baekhyun initiated things. What bothered Baekhyun the most was how often he found himself subconsciously initiating contact. Without thinking, his hand would reach out for Joonmyun’s and by the time he realized what he’d done, their fingers were intertwined and Joonmyun would have his stupid dorky smile on his face, the one that turned his eyes into little crescents, and Baekhyun’s heart would accelerate and stutter at intervals preening for Joonmyun’s attention.
Part of Baekhyun wanted to stop acting like a couple. He wanted to squash the yearning festering inside of him. A part of Baekhyun wanted them to stop acting like a couple and be an actual couple and it scared him just how big that part of him was.
“So what did Jongdae say?” Joonmyun’s voice interrupted his thoughts and Baekhyun jumped, having forgotten where he was. Oh, rite. Work.
“Not much. He won’t be the one supervising our meetings with Jongin but that’s not important.”
“What do you mean it’s not important?”
“All he needs is one meeting to see the glitter and rainbows and hearts that shoot out of your eyes whenever you two see each other.” Baekhyun snorted and Joonmyun blushed, clearly pleased.
“Well that’s one less thing to worry about then isn’t it?” Joonmyun flashed him a smile and practically skipped all the way to the kitchen.
“No grown man should skip around a bakery no matter how happy he is,” Minseok grumbled behind Baekhyun.
“I think it’s cute,” Baekhyun huffed, slightly defensive on Joonmyun’s behalf. Or that’s what he told himself, at least.
“Tiny hyung is cute.” Baekhyun yelled out in shock. He whirled around to come face to face with Sehun.
“You! Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“Skipping,” Sehun shrugged.
“Oh, Joonmyun won’t like that,” Minseok stage whispered from behind the counter. Sehun frowned.
“Please don’t tell tiny hyung,” Sehun muttered.
“Tell me what?” Baekhyun hissed at the new voice. He really wished people would stop appearing out of nowhere. Joonmyun smiled apologetically before turning back to Sehun a fresh batch of muffins in his hands.
“That I, ah, don’t, um don’t like your strawberry shortcakes! Yes, you should work on those strawberry shortcakes. They’re a bit lacking. Now if you’ll excuse me lunch break is almost over and I must return to class.” Sehun bowed slightly, turning on his heel and walking briskly towards the exit.
“The effect you have on kids,” Minseok tsked taking the muffins from Joonmyun. “You should be the president and inspire young children to do good.”
“President? Did I ever tell you guys I used to be the president of the student council four years in a row,” Joonmyun launched into a heroic tale of his days as the student council president. Cute. How cute. Baekhyun mentally berated himself choosing instead to busy himself with customers.
~
Baekhyun waited for Joonmyun to finish locking up after work. They were going to go to Gi Chul’s foster care where the meeting was to take place. Joonmyun wanted nothing more than to blurt to Luhan, a social worker, the beatings that went on under that roof but then he would hear Sehun’s voice in his head and knew he never could. Soon.
Joonmyun quietly led Baekhyun to the small house. Despite all their earlier confidence, both felt their nerves get the better of them the closer they reached the house. Everything rode on the final decision made by Luhan.
They trudged up the pathway to the door. This time, Joonmyun made sure to knock loudly and firmly. The sound of little feet running to the door confused Joonmyun until it was thrown wide open and Joonmyun felt something familiar and small latch onto his legs. Jongin. Jongin untangled himself from Joonmyun’s legs beaming up at him as he made a grab at Joonmyun’s hand.
“Come on come on! Everyone’s waiting!!” Jongin babbled, pulling on Joonmyun’s hand incessantly. Joonmyun outstretched his other hand to Baekhyun meaning only to motion for the other man to follow, however, Baekhyun’s hand automatically wrapped around Joonmyun’s and the three of them walked inside.
“Oooh how cute,” a man with narrow face and ebony black hair cooed. He was smiling in their direction, doe eyes bright and focused. Beside the man stood Gi Chul. Joonmyun noticed that Chul’s face was clean and shaven today but his beady eyes still held the same judgement. Joonmyun squeezed Baekhyun’s hand. That’s right. He was here to prove his worth.
“You must be Luhan. It’s nice to meet you.” Baekhyun reluctantly let go of Joonmyun’s hand so he could properly shake hands with the social worker. Once introductions were finished, Luhan turned to Joonmyun and Baekhyun.
“Feel free to act as if I’m not here and just interact normally.” Fat chance, Baekhyun thought. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt something wrap around his index finger. He looked down to see an uncertain Jongin looking up at him. He smiled and squeezed the tiny hand holding onto his finger.
“Come on I’ll show you guys my room and then after that we can go to Hun hyung’s room!”
Luhan quietly followed the trio with his eyes from time to time - other times shifting from room to room with them, but always careful not to attract their attention. He knew his presence couldn’t be ignored completely but the endgame was the interaction between the parent and the child.
Luhan was about to call for their attention when Joonmyun bent down to Jongin’s eye level. Joonmyun seemed to whisper something to Jongin, something that made his eyes widen in surprise? A little bit of fear? But he’s nodding his head and spreading his arms. In the blink of an eye Joonmyun is back up on his feet, this time with Jongin in his arms. The boy had his arms tightly wrapped around Joonmyun’s neck his face burrowing into his shoulder. It was obvious the boy wasn’t used to this kind of physical affection. Luhan mentally took a note of this. The other man, Baekhyun, was stroking the boy’s head muttering soothing words and the boy, little by little, seemed to loosen his grip. After a few more words he lifted his head and looked up at Joonmyun the other man’s gaze following suit. Unknowingly, they both had the same lovestruck look on their faces. Luhan smiled. It was time to call it a day.
~
“What do you think he meant when he said the other two meetings wouldn’t be necessary?” Joonmyun asked voice laced with worry.
“He meant that we are the most amazing fathers this country has ever been graced with so two extra meetings are totally unnecessary.” Baekhyun didn’t see the point in worrying. He thought they did a wonderful job, Jongin had even gone up and talked to him of his own free will! He was on top of the world and nothing could bring him down! He felt a hand petting his head and turned around ready to tell off whoever it was, only to have Joonmyun’s face much much much too close. He laughed breathlessly and Baekhyun could feel his breath fan against his cheek. If he leaned even a little bit further than his lips would-
“You’re really cute, Baekhyun.” Joonmyun’s voice interrupted his daydream. Right. Not reality.
“As if I didn’t already know,” Baekhyun grunted, fighting down the blush threatening to overtake his cheeks.
“I have the cutest boyfriend,” Joonmyun hummed. Fake boyfriend. Not reality.
ღ
As they waited to hear back from Jongdae, the two men got more and more anxious. Joonmyun was once again burning batches and batches of pastries and Baekhyun was mixing orders from different tables. After smelling the aroma of burned products for the nth time Minseok had finally had enough. He barged into the kitchen and dragged Baekhyun with him. He stomped over to where Joonmyun was dozing off and shut down the oven, grabbing the oven mittens and chucking whatever was inside in the oven to the trash. The noise seemed to snap Joonmyun out of it.
“Minseok...”
“No. Enough is enough! You’re both doing more harm than good. I’m closing the café for today. You two need to go and figure out what went on with the meeting or whatever from Jongdae. You two are stressed out enough and I don’t want work to add on more.” Minseok shot them both meaningful glances. Baekhyun was once again reminded why he admired Minseok.
“Thank you, Minseok,” Joonmyun uttered quietly. The two exchanged a certain glance before Minseok ushered them out of the bakery.
“So what now?” Baekhyun asked unable to look Joonmyun in the face. What was that look supposed to mean?
“There’s a park nearby. Want to go there and call Jongdae?”
“Yea. Sure.” They walked briskly to the park sitting down on the first bench they spotted. Joonmyun fidgeted nervously beside him as he marked Jongdae’s number. The dial tone seemed to ring for too long. Every second dragged on for a minute and Baekhyun felt ready to get up and bolt straight to Jongdae’s apartment on the other side of the city.
“Hello?”
“Took you long enough, Kim Jongdae!” He felt Joonmyun lay his hand atop of his, squeezing, comforting.
“Jesus fucking Christ Baekhyun. I’m at work.”
“Sorry. Just .. Joonmyun and I’ve been wondering … Luhan said the other two meetings weren’t necessary … but no calls ...” Baekhyun wet his lips, suddenly feeling really parched. Joonmyun was rubbing his thumb over the knuckles on Baekhyun’s hands and he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate.
“Ooooh, oh no! I’m sorry about that - things have been hectic here. We had a separate foster care under investigation for child abuse, but that’s neither here nor there.” Baekhyun felt a stab of guilt for hassling his best friend. “You didn’t hear it from me but...” Jongdae left the sentence hanging the tease obvious in his voice.
“But?!”
“But Luhan said you guys passed with flying colors! Hahaha! Congrats you two! You can come in any day to fill in the papers and Jongin is yours!” Baekhyun let out a loud whoop startling Joonmyun and the few people passing by on the trail. Baekhyun quickly thanked Jongdae before delivering the good news to Joonmyun. To see the joy slowly spread on his face, Baekhyun’s heart ached in a good way and instinctively, he got on his feet and kissed Joonmyun square on the lips.
Baekhyun bolted back once his mind caught up with his heart, and all he could see was the shock on Joonmyun’s face.
“Baekhyun...”
Baekhyun twisted around and ran as far as his feet could take him.
~
Turned out his feet didn’t have to take him very far. Baekhyun had just past Jongin and Joonmyun’s meeting spot when he bumped into Jongdae. Baekhyun felt even more confused.
“I just got off the phone with you. How? Wha?” Jongdae smirked holding up a manila envelope that Baekhyun had failed to notice.
“What’s that?” Baekhyun asked stupidly mind still reeling.
“The official documents that you and Joonmyun have to sign and then the adoption will be complete,” Jongdae waved the envelope excitedly. He slowly stopped and dropped his hand to his side. He took one look at Baekhyun’s face and sighed.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“I kissed him.”
“And how was that?”
“You’re not surprised?” Baekhyun asked.
“No, not really. I mean the guy is totally your type-”
“I do not have a type!”
“You totally have a type and he’s your type except shorter. And not a douche.”
“I only ever dated one douche-”
“And we all learned our lesson there. My point is why are you here when you kissed him?“ Baekhyun gaped at his best friend. “Baekhyun, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been going on and on about romance and meeting that one guy. You were always the one throwing yourself at the first guy who showed interest in you.”
“Exactly and look at where that got me!”
“Yes look. It got you to now. With this guy who cares a lot about someone other than himself. A guy who doesn’t compliment you just to get into your pants.” Baekhyun’s memory is abruptly on replay flashing back to Joonmyun sitting on his lap mocking him; Joonmyun playing with Jongin but always trying to include him as well; Joonmyun’s hand soft and warm in his own; Joonmyun calling him cute hand stroking his head.
Jongdae looked like he had something more to say but Baekhyun quickly interrupted him.
“I - I have to go. I’ll take the papers to Joonmyun.” Jongdae smirked as handed the envelope to Baekhyun. “I hope you get your happy ever after, Baekhyun.” Baekhyun choked out a thanks, caught up in a whirlwind of emotions. He backtracked, hoping Joonmyun had had the sense to go back to the apartments.
Baekhyun had wanted a lot of things over the years. At fifteen he wanted to be swept off his feet and carried off on a white stallion by his prince charming. At the age of seventeen, Baekhyun just wanted to be accepted for his sexuality instead of being shunned by his peers. And at twenty-one, Baekhyun wanted to be with The One, live in a nice cozy house with a front yard and have a puppy or two. All Baekhyun’d ever done was want and now he found himself in want all over again with Joonmyun’s lips, his smile, the streak of flour that always finds its way to Joonmyun’s face, the way his red wine hair shined in the sun, the roundness of his cheeks, the warmth of his hands. Baekhyun is in want but what he really wanted to know is if, this time, it’s love.
He leapt up the steps one, two, three at a time, panting by the time he reached the door. He fumbled with the lock, tumbling in through the doorway once he got it to work and looked up to find Joonmyun exiting the kitchen. He seemed relieved to see him again and he flashed his brilliant bright smile and Baekhyun threw all caution to the winds. He took two firm steps forward and his hand gingerly grabbed Joonmyun’s nape pulling, giving him time to push or pull away. Joonmyun, however, leaned forward letting Baekhyun lead every step of the way, every slide of their lips together. Baekhyun’s fingers tangle themselves amidst the strands of Joonmyun’s hair while his other hand wrapped around Joonmyun’s waist pulling them closer, closer, closer.
Baekhyun wanted. He wanted and craved all in one breath and oh.Oh, was this the feeling he’d been looking for all this time. He looked at Joonmyun’s eyes, half lidded, lips red and slick with spit, cheeks dusted pink from the blush that spread to his ears. This was that feeling and he finally found it in all that is his Kim Joonmyun. The next time they leaned in to kiss, Baekhyun made sure the epiphany he just had was heard loud and clear.
I love you.
~
Time had passed and Joonmyun and Baekhyun had moved on to cuddling on the couch.
“About that dinner I owe you,” Baekhyun whispered into Joonmyun’s jaw. He laughed at the ticklish sensation.
“But you haven’t even asked me to be your actual boyfriend yet,” Joonmyun pouted.
“Joonmyun, can you be my significant other?”
“Baekhyun, is this really the best place to ask me out?” The sense of déjà vu kicked Baekhyun hard in the gut and he couldn’t help the giggles that escaped him.
“Well, I would have brought flowers but they wouldn’t compare to your beauty.” This time they both burst out into laughter.
“One last surprise,” Baekhyun stated. He whipped out the manila envelope that had been carelessly thrown on the floor earlier.
“What is it?” Joonmyun asked, hesitant to take the envelope.
“Official adoption papers. Once we sign them, Jongin will legally be our child,” Baekhyun beamed. Joonmyun gripped the manila envelope tightly to his chest and peppered Baekhyun’s face with kisses, muttering thank you in between each one.
“Let’s sign these papers and get it over with, shall we?”
ღ Epilogue
Jongin had been told a long, long time ago, at his first foster care, that good parents come to the children who wait. So he waited because who doesn’t want good parents who will love him and hug him and tuck him and his stuffed unicorn, Lay, into bed at night and give them a goodnight kiss on the forehead like they do in movies.
Jongin waited and waited. But it was ok because good parents come to children who waited. On Jongin’s fourth birthday he was moved to a different foster care. He didn’t really understand why, he just knew that it had to do with the bruises. It was there that he met Hun hyung. Well, his real name was Sehun but Jongin couldn’t say it right, so he just called him Hun hyung. Hun hyung was his favorite hyung. He made Jongin feel safe and warm and Jongin thought that he had finally found his parent. But Hun hyung had shaken his head and told him that he was his brother. Jongin was ok with that too.
Jongin waited and waited some more. He was starting to get tired of waiting and even Lay seemed sad lately. That was when Jongin met his first daddy. He smelled a lot like cakes and sweet things and Jongin liked that. He also brought Jongin a lot of breads to share with Hun hyung and Jongin really liked that.
His first daddy was sweet and warm and Jongin thought maybe he needed to wait a little more just to be sure. One day, daddy brought second daddy with him. He smelled sweet too but not sugar sweet like first daddy. But they were both nice and brought him food and bread and Jongin thought maybe he won’t have to wait anymore.
Now, Jongin lived with both his daddies. They loved him very very much and told him almost every day. So Jongin made sure to draw them lots and lots of pictures to show he loved them too. They always carried him when he felt too tired and hugged him whenever he hurt or was sad. Daddies tucked him and Lay into bed and always kissed them both on the forehead goodnight.
Jongin’s family became complete when Daddies switched Jongin’s bed into a bunk bed. Jongin let Hun hyung take the top bunk he didn’t really like heights and neither did Lay. Jongin was really really happy and safe and warm and there was no hitting or yelling, just laughing and hugs.
Jongin’s family didn’t have a mommy like all the other kids at daycare but that was ok. Jongin had two daddies and that’s more than all the other kids. This was Jongin’s family tree.