[Fic] Rotation - 1/1
Title: Rotation
Author: Coley Merrin
Pairing: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun
Rating: R
Genre: AU
This follows Rundown and Relay in the baseball AU.
Prompt: Rundown/Relay verse - Miyun+boyfriend and jealous baba Zhou Mimi *___*? Kyuhyun loling at him
***
The most feared of all words of parents in possession of a teenage daughter: “There’s a boy in my class.”
Zhou Mi remembered that moment perfectly, because he was sitting in Kyuhyun’s office. Technically it was Kyuhyun’s office. In reality, it belonged to both of them since Zhou Mi had a desk in there as well. Even if Kyuhyun told him that he didn’t actually do any work, since he was busy snapping pictures of Kyuhyun’s profile, and answering questions that Kyuhyun shot out at him - usually something that Kyuhyun could easily Google himself. But he did answer emails, and look at the news, follow sports scores, and do some writing in that room. It wasn’t as though he was totally useless.
Kyuhyun just enjoyed teasing him for his reactions. Or that was the story he heard, anyway.
But Miyun knew where to find them, inevitably. And she had her own chair, for when she had something she needed to come in and discuss with them, or just to wander by and see what they were up to. And it was where she would find both of them together. And they were aware of that, and made sure the door had a very functional lock for the times that Zhou Mi edged onto his knees in front of Kyuhyun’s desk chair - or ended up sprawled on Kyuhyun’s desk. Or any other variety of things they got up to in that room. Life with a child had made them conscious of not wanting to mentally scar her, or themselves, especially as she got older.
Zhou Mi’s life flashed in front of his eyes, sort of. And he missed a sentence that Miyun was saying. Somewhere in between “There’s a boy in my class” and “he asked if he could join our group to go and sing.” He was certain that Miyun had called the boy “cute” and “nice,” but all Zhou Mi heard was “raging bag of hormones with 17 arms, 105 eyeballs, and in proximity to Miyun.”
And Kyuhyun, who was listening to this same conversation, seemed totally unaffected. Because Zhou Mi looked to him as the voice of reason, as though Kyuhyun was going to leap across his desk and find a nice tower to put Miyun in for the next five years. It didn’t matter that she was nearly old enough to drive, and had been on little mini-vacations with her friends and their families, and all-around had proven herself to be a sensible child. This was a boy.
“You think he wants to ask you for a date?” Kyuhyun asked.
And Zhou Mi got two pairs of eyes on him, at the high pitched sound he made without knowing it.
“Dates? But exams, and…?”
Miyun was waving him off, embarrassment in every feature. “I don’t even know if he likes me, maybe he likes one of my friends? And Baba, you know I study.”
Yes, they both knew she studied. She was more organized as a student than he ever had been making up plans for herself and sticking to them. Running the plans past both of them, and getting praised enough to make her dissolve into laughter. Kyuhyun regularly looked at him after those little meetings, as though to say “where did she come from?” Since he well knew that Kyuhyun had been a good student, even if he hadn’t really been an enthusiastic studier.
But whatever approval she was looking for from Kyuhyun, she got it.
And Zhou Mi had that conversation haunting him until Miyun left, as Kyuhyun closed his laptop, and waited to see if Zhou Mi was ready to migrate to their bedroom also.
“Are you seriously not worried about this kid sniffing around Miyun?” Zhou Mi asked, as he closed and locked the door behind them.
“They’re just teenagers. Even if he does like her, it’s probably not even puppy love. Just getting to know each other. “
“I was a teenage boy, too. We weren’t teenagers when we met, and look where it got us.”
“Yes, look,” Kyuhyun hummed, groping at Zhou Mi’s butt.
“Kyuhyun,” he grunted, knowing Kyuhyun was trying to distract him.
“Of course we weren’t teenagers. We knew what we were doing, and who we were getting involved with.”
“Excluding the part where I had no idea you had a child before you seduced me.”
“I assumed you knew, since I was the owner’s son, and I didn’t see how that actually applied to us at that point, but that’s totally off topic,” Kyuhyun laughed.
“Are you telling me that I’m worrying for nothing?” he asked, kissing Kyuhyun’s jaw as he slid under the sheets beside him.
“Probably, mostly for nothing. Should we meet him? Can I threaten his kneecaps if he touches her?”
“Can we tell her she can’t date until she’s thirty?”
Kyuhyun really laughed at that. “She’d move out immediately. But she’s a smart kid. I think she knows what’s getting in the way of her schoolwork. And there are entrance exams looming. We’ll probably be worrying that she’s actually eating in a month.”
He sighed, rubbing Kyuhyun’s back. “Kids are hard.”
“I know. Why didn’t our parents just find a corner and leave us there.”
“She knows she’s loved. That’s a big thing, right?”
“Huge. Gigantic. Enormous,” Kyuhyun assured him.
“I think we could threaten his knees.”
“Stop worrying, and kiss me,” Kyuhyun said, and prodded at his stomach. “Beanpole.”
“You got it, honeypot,” Zhou Mi said, rolling Kyuhyun onto his back.
“Zhou Mi,” Kyuhyun exploded, that particular endearment a point of rather serious contention between them. But Kyuhyun’s protests were lost to Zhou Mi’s kisses. Kyuhyun warmed to him, their hips taking lazy circles together. At least, until Kyuhyun got impatient, arousal never causing him to be particularly docile. They still had plenty of game left, and there was no arguing with that.
***
There were times when Kyuhyun was busy with his own career. Singing, helping young singers come up the ranks. He was well-known as a ballad singer, with concert tours in multiple countries, even outside of Asia. It kept him satisfied and fulfilled, but also busy. It hadn’t been so bad when Zhou Mi was also working, still active with the baseball team he’d ended up with after a mid-season injury had limited his playing ability. It had been a hard, lengthy, gut-wrenching decision to finally retire. Like he was cutting a hole out of himself, when he looked at the 20 year old rookies, all fresh-faced and able. And then there was him, with knees that ached, and a wrist surgery had only done so much for him. The standing ovation the team and crowd had given him on his last day had reduced him to tears in the locker room. Friends who had come and gone, players he respected and mentored. They told him he could easily find a job as a coach, but he needed time, really. To get used to not going to spring training, and regular batting practice.
Kyuhyun had done everything he could have, in the aftermath. There had been flowers, candy, a very sleek and lovely vintage bracelet. All of his favorite things to eat, and Kyuhyun sucking him until he was hard, and then offering his body for Zhou Mi to use. Mopping up Zhou Mi’s face when they’d cried a little bit together afterwards. He was probably lucky Kyuhyun hadn’t kicked him to the curb after that, since for the next week they’d been almost attached at the hip. And then, realizing he couldn’t substitute his career with gluing himself to Kyuhyun, for both their sakes, he’d instead moped around on the computer for a couple of weeks. It ended up with a less-potentially-murderous Kyuhyun, and a more-lazy him. It’d taken a while, but he’d found himself again.
Hobbies, driving Miyun around to her activities, working out. Ironically their sex life had improved in the best way, added to the fact that they saw more of each other. Just Zhou Mi feeling comfortable in his own skin had them snuggling and blissed, and the mood generously lighter. Kissing Kyuhyun, feeling not for the first time like he was the luckiest man on earth.
There had been a point in their relationship, years back, where things had been tense. Where they had slept in the same bed as virtual strangers for too many days before working out their differences. They did not hold hands and skip happily through the flowers at all hours. Kyuhyun got frustrated with him, argued with him. Sometimes over things like Kyuhyun’s career, or Zhou Mi retiring from baseball, or Miyun and her school. Sometimes over stupid things, like the toothpaste, or what restaurant to eat at. During one of their fights, when he was so frustrated he could have screamed, a friend had asked Zhou Mi if his days ended better because of Kyuhyun. It gave him something to think about on the way home, standing in their bedroom and facing Kyuhyun, and all the bitter words, and tense feelings they’d already been through. And it had not taken words, that time, to end the stalemate. Okay, there had been plenty of words. But they had come after they had nearly crushed each other’s ribs in a hug.
Those were not the times he relished remembering, when the little niggling wondering about whether leaving Kyuhyun was the best thing for all of them snuck in. A lifetime to love one person seemed so long. But Kyuhyun, and his smiles, the way he held Zhou Mi, challenged him, made him laugh. Maybe there were things about Kyuhyun that were as known to him as taking a breath, but they still learned things about each other, about how they worked together. New hobbies to share, new things that delighted them. Not entirely a new man for every year they were together, but he though he’d filed down some of Kyuhyun’s sharper edges, and molded them to fit his own. Kyuhyun had surely done the same to him.
And, of course, he’d been the one to comfort the semi-hysterical Kyuhyun upon the discovery that his precious, darling, impossibly grown up daughter was having her first period.
If they could get through that, they could get through anything.
That, and he got regular, private solo performances. And he wasn’t giving up any of those precious memories for anything.
***
One of the first pictures they had together had been a shot taken by the press, through the window of the owner’s box. Sitting beside each other, Zhou Mi talking, and Kyuhyun slouched. Someone had sent it to Zhou Mi after news that their relationship was official broke. It had probably been taken before they’d ever even kissed. But it was a picture he’d had framed. There were other pictures, too. Miyun in traditional dress, posing with them. Getting taller and taller, picture by picture. Her face refining. Anyone could see that she was Kyuhyun’s daughter. It was written so plainly over her face. Of course, while she got taller, they got older. He was certainly not admitting to any gray hairs, and he knew Kyuhyun’s stylist took care of his own. How did the years get away from them like that?
“What do we do when she gets married?” Zhou Mi asked, putting down the last picture they’d taken together.
Kyuhyun snorted out a laugh at his desk. “We get a dog? Of course, she’ll never forgive us, since she’s been wanting a dog for years.”
Of course there’d been a thousand excuses as to why they couldn’t get one. Both Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi’s schedules, Miyun’s school and activities. Of course, Miyun had pets. The very smallest lizard money could by, not that there was a purpose to that, of course. Zhou Mi still eyed the cage as he went by it, and drew the line at anything that would get bigger than him. And no snakes. And they had a large aquarium as well, though that was a lot less interactive.
“Maybe we can get a dog when she graduates from high school,” Zhou Mi offered, a little pleased by the thought of a cuddly animal to follow him around the house.
“Are we going to become old dog men?” Kyuhyun asked, laughing at him.
He threw a balled up piece of paper at Kyuhyun’s head. It wasn’t like they were 80, and they were hardly alone. A little dog to take on evening walks, walking with it around the gardens that Kyuhyun had kept up. A good way to get exercise and spend a little more time together.
“I suppose I could just put a leash on you,” he said, considering Kyuhyun.
“Ha. If you can catch me.”
They stared at each other. Ten years previous, that kind of challenge probably would’ve ended with a dunk in the pool. But challenging each other to laps was a decent substitution. There was never enough Kyuhyun wet and half naked.
And he’d bring up the dog idea again soon enough.
***
The last thing that Zhou Mi really had expected was to become a father. Not biologically, no, he’d been pretty certain early on that liking boys meant he was going to figure out a different way. And girls, they were a mystery in so many ways. No matter how Kyuhyun teased him about his love of shopping, or what he slathered on his face, they both knew what Kyuhyun meant. He was not a girl, had never been a girl, and Kyuhyun never told him so. So he was no more prepared for Miyun than Miyun had been prepared for two fathers. But somehow they learned how to get along, anyway.
And opinion online, with how to look after a teenage daughter dating went from “Never allow them to, lock them onto school and don’t let up until they’re 30” to “eh, let them, they’re only kids once.” But Miyun’s subtle hints that the boy was actually interested in her didn’t let up.
Kyuhyun’s opinion was that she was softening them up, for when she really did want to go on a date. Which they both agreed was clever, although Zhou Mi still wasn’t happy with the idea. At the very least he didn’t have to worry about her knowledge about sex. And the thought of it made him wince. It’d been a year, year and a half before, when Kyuhyun - who’d been agonizing about bringing it up - actually said something as two characters were on the screen kissing during a drama.
“You know what sex is?” Kyuhyun had asked, not looking at Miyun at all.
“Yes. Dad..”
“And you know, the book we gave you on pregnancy. How that happens, and-“
“Yes. Dad. Yes.”
“Don’t ever let a boy touch you, especially if you don’t want it. And that’s not how your prove love to someone. And just, do not ever without…”
“Dad. I know.”
Zhou Mi was sure they’d have regarded each other like creatures from a different planet, had they been willing to look at each other at all. Miyun was simmering, hiding in her hair and Kyuhyun seemed to want to disappear altogether.
But he had both sets of dark eyes on him, when the laugh escaped. Kyuhyun, betrayed, and Miyun surprised.
“You can come to us if you have any questions,” Zhou Mi said scooting over so he could cuddle Miyun close. Though she seemed to not know whether she wanted to stay or run.
“I read the book,” she muttered.
And the book did a good job, talking about diseases and pregnancy, and how to protect against them. Of course, there was the wheedling moral aspect, too, which he had no idea if Miyun accepted. But it was something, that she respected her father and knew his wishes on the subject.
“You’re a beautiful girl,” Zhou Mi said, as she made some kind of protesting sound. “No, you are. You need to have a lot of respect for yourself, and others will respect you, too. And we love you, so we’re not out to embarrass you. And it’s okay to wait as long as you want!”
“Can I go?” she asked, her voice small. “I know. I know.”
“Okay. Go.”
She fled like a deer, and he collapsed against Kyuhyun’s side. Kyuhyun’s mouth was trembling. “Wait as long as she wants. Zhou Mi. I love you.”
They laughed, easing some of the stress of the conversation.
“I forgot to buy a glass case for her when she was born,” Kyuhyun mused.
“She’d probably find it too confining. Too much like a glass coffin?”
“Ugh, bad thought. What would I do without you?”
“I don’t know,” Zhou Mi murmured, kissing him.
And it was a few minutes later, still exploring that kiss, that they heard a long-suffering sigh from behind the couch. “You guys are gross.”
Miyun stood there with her water glass, shaking her head like a demanding parent. And when she met their eyes, there was a little bargain in them. Forget the previous conversation ever happened? Heartily agreed.
***
“It’s just bubble tea before the others show up, Dad!”
Zhou Mi was gripping the handle of his desk very hard not to stand, to say something, to interfere.
He knew it was coming, but he’d let himself pretend that she was just going to flutter away and not need anything from a boy at all. Or that this boy in particular was going to lose interest. It was a lovely dream. But apparently the kid had gotten up the courage to ask her to do something with him. Maybe they should’ve sent her to an all girl’s school.
“I know you’ve been hanging out with him a while. Maybe we should meet him?” Kyuhyun said.
And Zhou Mi mentally cheered.
“I don’t think I’m going to marry him soon,” Miyun pointed out. “Oh, he knows some of your songs! His mom has your albums.”
“You think flattery is going to get you anywhere?” Kyuhyun asked, sounding amused.
“Perhaps you can organize a study group or having dinner here some weekend. You and your friends. That way he doesn’t feel awkward,” Zhou Mi offered. Though he’d like to put awkward in the kid. “But I agree that it might be nice to at least know who he is. Maybe a little peace of mind for us.”
Okay, so staying quiet hadn’t really worked out, but Kyuhyun was nodding. “Agreed.”
“But you’re not going to actually talk to him?” she pressed Kyuhyun.
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“Maybe Baba can talk to him.”
Kyuhyun’s smile was bemused. “Have you been listening to what your Baba has been saying? He hasn’t exactly been doing cheers, especially if it’s going to interfere with your school.”
Miyun seemed to be sending Zhou Mi little warning flags with her eyes. Ship going down, need help. He coughed into his fist, trying to mask the laugh, but it was hardly subtle.
“Or are you just afraid of what I might say, so much that your opponent is the better choice?” Kyuhyun asked, staring between them.
“Opponent is a little harsh,” Zhou Mi said, wincing.
What he was lucky about, was that Kyuhyun was not an overtly jealous person. And Kyuhyun knew that he was known for speaking his mind, sometimes in a joking manner. And maybe Zhou Mi had had to explain that to him, just a little. Just to make sure he’d gotten the gist of it and knew Miyun wasn’t questioning his daddy skills. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t have wanted to be embarrassed by a parent in their teens either.
And Kyuhyun promised, after all, to be on his best behavior. They’d let the kids do their thing, getting an eyeball on the boys as the kids sat down to dinner and he and Kyuhyun ate in their office. There were only two boys in the little group, and Miyun wasn’t sitting by either of them, but they’d seen a picture of him. At dessert, they agreed, actually going out to sit and chat with the girls, who they had met before. Engaging all of them in polite conversation without singling the kid out. He spoke to them respectfully, actually bringing up Kyuhyun’s music and Zhou Mi’s career. Interested in music and baseball, which could be worse. It was good enough, watching them interact in the group, to know that if she just went with him for a drink, or on group outings, that she wasn’t trying to date a psycho.
Though Zhou Mi laughed all night at the inquisition questions Kyuhyun came up with in the privacy of their locked office.
And if things got more serious, well. They’d see how it went. They weren’t counting out an inquisition after all.
***
Lovely, lazy afternoons were rare, and Zhou Mi liked to take the most of them. Cozed onto the couch with Kyuhyun, one socked foot teasing the back of Kyuhyun’s leg as they squabbled over parts of the newspaper. They’d had a bit of an afternoon romp in the bedroom, and he could still see the little red mark he’d made on Kyuhyun’s ear. He kind of wanted to bite it again.
But the idea was derailed, when he heard the door open, twisting to see Miyun walk in.
Things rapidly went downhill, when it was not just Miyun who walked through the door, but a boy as well, and no one else. Kyuhyun let out a tiny squeak of pain that should have rightly been a yelp, as Zhou Mi clamped down on his hand.
“Kyuhyun.”
“He’s not here to ask to marry her,” Kyuhyun hissed. “Keep breathing.”
“I almost wish he was so we had a reason kick him out,” Zhou Mi breathed.
“Shut up, they’re coming over.”
The whole exchange was done in the time it took for the two teens to take off their shoes, and for Miyun to spot them - not quite as close together as they had been - on the couch.
“Hey Dad! Baba. Is it okay if we study here today for a while?”
“Sure, but-“ Kyuhyun began.
“At the table,” Miyun cut in, clearly seeing where Kyuhyun’s statement was going. “He can’t stay too long. You remember, from before…?”
The boy had come up beside her, and didn’t hide behind her, which Zhou Mi gave him moderate credit for. Quick introductions were repeated, and Kyuhyun asked the kid how things were going. Very safe. Neutral. And then Miyun sort of looked at the kid, with a prodding expression. And Zhou Mi wondered if he could stop time and avoid the conversation entirely.
“I just wanted- I hoped it would be okay with you,” and the kid’s eyes darted from Kyuhyun to him, as though he weren’t sure who he was supposed to address, “if Miyun and I went out together sometime. I’d take good care of her!”
Zhou Mi envisioned standing up and snatching Miyun away, buying a deserted island and living like very fashionable castaways for the next twenty years. And then Kyuhyun opened his mouth, and Zhou Mi fell just a tiny bit in love. Again.
“We raised her to take care of herself,” Kyuhyun said, some amusement in his voice. Though, Miyun seemed to be telegraphing imminent starbursts of deathly embarrassment. And Zhou Mi really had nothing to say. She was all grown up, or nearly so, and Kyuhyun’s hand tightened on his under the newspaper that had fallen on them. “Miyun, you know the rules. I don’t have a problem with it, as long as you respect each other, and the time you both need to take care of your school work.
And Kyuhyun stood, inches taller than the kid, who probably hadn’t hit his last growth spurt. Zhou Mi sulked with a straight face as he listened to Kyuhyun talk to the kid about his family.
“And they’re okay with you dating?”
“Yes, sir. I’d like my parents to meet her, too,” the kid said, almost a bit shyly. And Zhou Mi was pretty sure the kid’s face was going to explode from heat any moment.
“Should probably let them get to studying,” Zhou Mi suggested finally, and Kyuhyun glanced back at him.
“Yeah. If you need to study here in the future, the table is always open,” Kyuhyun offered. And Zhou Mi gloated. It let them keep an eye on things that way, too.
Miyun smiled with no little sense of relief, from Kyuhyun to Zhou Mi. “Thanks Dad.”
She kissed Kyuhyun on the cheek, darting over to press a kiss to Zhou Mi’s as well. “Love you, Baba,” she whispered.
The table they were studying with was behind a wall, though very open and central in the house. But it gave them some privacy as Kyuhyun half flopped on top of Zhou Mi.
“Augh!” Kyuhyun said, hand over his face. And they silenced hysterical laughter into each other’s shoulders.
“That was so awkward. I thought he was going to run out the door,” Zhou Mi said. Or rather, hoped he would’ve.
“I know. Miyun was going to kill me if I said one more thing.”
“You were amazing,” Zhou Mi promised him. “It’s… It’s nice that he asked.”
“Yeah. Though you wish he hadn’t had to? I think Miyun kind of coached him on that, knowing we’d want to give our permission at the very least. He seems nice enough.”
“That’s because he was scared shitless of you.”
“Shh!” Kyuhyun hissed, and they collapsed into laughter again. “At least we don’t hate him - yet. No, shut up, I know what you’re thinking. But would you have gotten rid of me if your parents hadn’t liked me?”
Once his parents had resigned themselves, mostly, to the fact that their son was never going to “straighten up,” Zhou Mi thought they didn’t have much choice. The only way Kyuhyun could’ve been more than what they’d hoped for would’ve been if he’d been a woman. He’d fallen for a rather eligible bachelor, famous singer, who also had a daughter that they adored. In other words, he’d rung the jackpot bell quite early. And as for him, it was no secret what Kyuhyun’s father had thought of him. Gold digging, men-seducing interloper. But he’d come around on that eventually, too. And it wasn’t like Zhou Mi was penniless. He’d had his fair share of endorsements as well, so they were financially cozy one way or the other.
“No one from my gene pool would ever have rejected you,” Zhou Mi promised.
“I really wonder about his family, though they seem fine. Miyun might be able to tell us more. Should we meet them? Is that weird?”
“Maybe we will, at some school function. If they last together that long.”
“True,” Kyuhyun agreed.
And they fell asleep against each other for a very nice afternoon nap, while half trying to eavesdrop on their daughter on the far side of the wall.
***
“Hey Baba.”
Zhou Mi looked up, delighted to see Miyun edging into the seats he usually had reserved in the baseball stadium. His season tickets were a gift to the three of them when they could get away. He felt that surge of happiness as Miyun settled beside him, hugging him in greeting. He half wanted to ask if she’d come alone, like she was somehow 10 and not allowed out by herself yet. But she was nearly grown. That made him… Well. A little sad.
“Hi angel,” he said, and offered her some of the nuts he had bought. “Decided to stop by a while?”
“Mm,” she agreed. “Dad said you’d be here.”
Oh. He saw how it was. Maybe Miyun had thought to come on her own, but he could all too well see Kyuhyun urging her. Especially since he knew Zhou Mi had been stressing about the Boy Problems. Giving the two of them a little time alone. And, well. If she was with Zhou Mi, then she wasn’t with any boy, was she?
He could see Kyuhyun rolling his eyes at him already. He leaned into her, sighing.
“How are you almost all grown up? Yesterday you were three, and still calling me Zhou Mimi.”
She grinned at the memory. “I remember that birthday - remember getting Mimi bear. I remember being so happy to see you again. And how happy Dad was when you were with us again.”
“Sweetheart.”
“Dad loved me, I know he did. Those are some of my earliest memories, him giving me sweets and holding me. But you made us a family.”
“Miyun, don’t make me cry.”
And he was very much in danger of it, as he squeezed her hand, thinking back through all the years. The vacations the three of them had been on. Helping Miyun with her homework. Taking her out for bike rides, birthday parties, concerts. Baseball games. Seeing her in her little “Cho” uniform cheering for him. Coming home to tuck her in, after having a date night out with Kyuhyun. And he could feel Kyuhyun’s hand, tight in his opposite hand. They’d sat there more than once like that. His Kyuhyun. And she held the hand with the ring that Kyuhyun had given him.
“Would I have gotten to be so close with Grandpa if it hadn’t been for you?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said softly.
“Or would Dad and Grandpa be close?”
He sent her an amused look. “They still get at each other.”
“I know. But you can tell they love each other most of the time. And Dad loves you. And you still love Dad, which is different than some of my friends’ parents.”
He wondered if he would ever stop warming inside to hear her refer to him as her parent. Of course her calling him Baba had special meaning, and there was power in names, but she put him in a unit with Kyuhyun. Where they were both important to her. So close to what he felt when Kyuhyun made the same reference, but different. Special.
“I do still love him,” he agreed. “Though, I love him differently now. More.”
“So you want him for more than his body.”
“Miyun!”
“What!” she exclaimed, at his horror. “He was handsome. I’m proud of that.”
“You’re not supposed to… To think, to know… To be old enough to say those things!” And at her grin, he knew she knew how that was going on in his head. “You are your father’s daughter. I never looked at a man in my life, and neither will you.”
She was still laughing when she rested her head on his shoulder.
“And he still is handsome,” Zhou Mi said after a moment, finally remembering to vouch for Kyuhyun’s attractiveness.
Miyun just hummed. And then cheered with him as the team scored a run.
“I’m sorry you miss playing,” she said, leaning harder into him.
“It was a good career. And now I have more time to pester your father. You know how he gets when he goes on tour by himself.”
Yes, the late night phone calls - and phone bills - from other countries, would be a thing of the past.
“I’ll be here when you guys get back,” Miyun said, all grandiose about it.
And he tweaked her nose, just to remind her that she was still a kid. They hadn’t relinquished their parenting duties quite yet. She was his best girl, his only girl. And she allowed him to take her home, where Kyuhyun was waiting for them on the couch with a smile. He kissed Kyuhyun softly, arm around his shoulders as they walked in toward the dining room.
“I know this is going to be a surprise, but… I love you,” he said.
And they had barely enough time to exchange a look before their food was being brought out.
***
Kyuhyun rolled onto the mattress, staring at Zhou Mi. Still enviably thin, the bastard. And it wasn’t like they never said “I love you” to each other. It was pretty much a daily thing, a thing sometimes said without much thought behind it. Also, times when it was said when it was ridiculously true, and felt deeply.
“So what was up with you earlier? Did you and Miyun enjoy the game?”
“We did,” Zhou Mi said, and Kyuhyun heard some telltale pops as Zhou Mi stretched. “She’s the sweetest thing. Are you sure you’re related to her?”
Kyuhyun was honor bound to dig his knuckles into Zhou Mi’s side but he got a man wrapped around him for it. “So you had a good talk.”
“We didn’t talk about the boy. But yeah.” Zhou Mi sighed, kissing the side of Kyuhyun’s face. “I’m glad she’s taking it slow, and I’m glad she’s your daughter, and I’m glad… I’m glad.”
How much contentment could one person hold? That Zhou Mi was there, and with him, loving him. That his daughter was growing up and the light of his life. And eventually, another CD, more tours. With Zhou Mi beside him.
Or on top of him, he thought, grunting as Zhou Mi leveraged himself up and half over Kyuhyun.
“What is it you think you want?”
“Your voice,” Zhou Mi said.
“Well, I-“ Kyuhyun paused, flummoxed. “You want my voice? I’ve heard of a lot of kinky things, but that really… Unfortunately this isn’t plug and play, so I think you’re out of luck.”
Zhou Mi laughed softly. “Just you saying my name.”
“Zhou Mi,” he said obediently. “I love you.”
They’d tackle all the challenges together. Miyun’s college, and who knew what else. But it was time for them alone, right then. And smiling, he guided Zhou Mi down for a kiss.
***
Author: Coley Merrin
Pairing: Zhou Mi/Kyuhyun
Rating: R
Genre: AU
This follows Rundown and Relay in the baseball AU.
Prompt: Rundown/Relay verse - Miyun+boyfriend and jealous baba Zhou Mimi *___*? Kyuhyun loling at him
***
The most feared of all words of parents in possession of a teenage daughter: “There’s a boy in my class.”
Zhou Mi remembered that moment perfectly, because he was sitting in Kyuhyun’s office. Technically it was Kyuhyun’s office. In reality, it belonged to both of them since Zhou Mi had a desk in there as well. Even if Kyuhyun told him that he didn’t actually do any work, since he was busy snapping pictures of Kyuhyun’s profile, and answering questions that Kyuhyun shot out at him - usually something that Kyuhyun could easily Google himself. But he did answer emails, and look at the news, follow sports scores, and do some writing in that room. It wasn’t as though he was totally useless.
Kyuhyun just enjoyed teasing him for his reactions. Or that was the story he heard, anyway.
But Miyun knew where to find them, inevitably. And she had her own chair, for when she had something she needed to come in and discuss with them, or just to wander by and see what they were up to. And it was where she would find both of them together. And they were aware of that, and made sure the door had a very functional lock for the times that Zhou Mi edged onto his knees in front of Kyuhyun’s desk chair - or ended up sprawled on Kyuhyun’s desk. Or any other variety of things they got up to in that room. Life with a child had made them conscious of not wanting to mentally scar her, or themselves, especially as she got older.
Zhou Mi’s life flashed in front of his eyes, sort of. And he missed a sentence that Miyun was saying. Somewhere in between “There’s a boy in my class” and “he asked if he could join our group to go and sing.” He was certain that Miyun had called the boy “cute” and “nice,” but all Zhou Mi heard was “raging bag of hormones with 17 arms, 105 eyeballs, and in proximity to Miyun.”
And Kyuhyun, who was listening to this same conversation, seemed totally unaffected. Because Zhou Mi looked to him as the voice of reason, as though Kyuhyun was going to leap across his desk and find a nice tower to put Miyun in for the next five years. It didn’t matter that she was nearly old enough to drive, and had been on little mini-vacations with her friends and their families, and all-around had proven herself to be a sensible child. This was a boy.
“You think he wants to ask you for a date?” Kyuhyun asked.
And Zhou Mi got two pairs of eyes on him, at the high pitched sound he made without knowing it.
“Dates? But exams, and…?”
Miyun was waving him off, embarrassment in every feature. “I don’t even know if he likes me, maybe he likes one of my friends? And Baba, you know I study.”
Yes, they both knew she studied. She was more organized as a student than he ever had been making up plans for herself and sticking to them. Running the plans past both of them, and getting praised enough to make her dissolve into laughter. Kyuhyun regularly looked at him after those little meetings, as though to say “where did she come from?” Since he well knew that Kyuhyun had been a good student, even if he hadn’t really been an enthusiastic studier.
But whatever approval she was looking for from Kyuhyun, she got it.
And Zhou Mi had that conversation haunting him until Miyun left, as Kyuhyun closed his laptop, and waited to see if Zhou Mi was ready to migrate to their bedroom also.
“Are you seriously not worried about this kid sniffing around Miyun?” Zhou Mi asked, as he closed and locked the door behind them.
“They’re just teenagers. Even if he does like her, it’s probably not even puppy love. Just getting to know each other. “
“I was a teenage boy, too. We weren’t teenagers when we met, and look where it got us.”
“Yes, look,” Kyuhyun hummed, groping at Zhou Mi’s butt.
“Kyuhyun,” he grunted, knowing Kyuhyun was trying to distract him.
“Of course we weren’t teenagers. We knew what we were doing, and who we were getting involved with.”
“Excluding the part where I had no idea you had a child before you seduced me.”
“I assumed you knew, since I was the owner’s son, and I didn’t see how that actually applied to us at that point, but that’s totally off topic,” Kyuhyun laughed.
“Are you telling me that I’m worrying for nothing?” he asked, kissing Kyuhyun’s jaw as he slid under the sheets beside him.
“Probably, mostly for nothing. Should we meet him? Can I threaten his kneecaps if he touches her?”
“Can we tell her she can’t date until she’s thirty?”
Kyuhyun really laughed at that. “She’d move out immediately. But she’s a smart kid. I think she knows what’s getting in the way of her schoolwork. And there are entrance exams looming. We’ll probably be worrying that she’s actually eating in a month.”
He sighed, rubbing Kyuhyun’s back. “Kids are hard.”
“I know. Why didn’t our parents just find a corner and leave us there.”
“She knows she’s loved. That’s a big thing, right?”
“Huge. Gigantic. Enormous,” Kyuhyun assured him.
“I think we could threaten his knees.”
“Stop worrying, and kiss me,” Kyuhyun said, and prodded at his stomach. “Beanpole.”
“You got it, honeypot,” Zhou Mi said, rolling Kyuhyun onto his back.
“Zhou Mi,” Kyuhyun exploded, that particular endearment a point of rather serious contention between them. But Kyuhyun’s protests were lost to Zhou Mi’s kisses. Kyuhyun warmed to him, their hips taking lazy circles together. At least, until Kyuhyun got impatient, arousal never causing him to be particularly docile. They still had plenty of game left, and there was no arguing with that.
***
There were times when Kyuhyun was busy with his own career. Singing, helping young singers come up the ranks. He was well-known as a ballad singer, with concert tours in multiple countries, even outside of Asia. It kept him satisfied and fulfilled, but also busy. It hadn’t been so bad when Zhou Mi was also working, still active with the baseball team he’d ended up with after a mid-season injury had limited his playing ability. It had been a hard, lengthy, gut-wrenching decision to finally retire. Like he was cutting a hole out of himself, when he looked at the 20 year old rookies, all fresh-faced and able. And then there was him, with knees that ached, and a wrist surgery had only done so much for him. The standing ovation the team and crowd had given him on his last day had reduced him to tears in the locker room. Friends who had come and gone, players he respected and mentored. They told him he could easily find a job as a coach, but he needed time, really. To get used to not going to spring training, and regular batting practice.
Kyuhyun had done everything he could have, in the aftermath. There had been flowers, candy, a very sleek and lovely vintage bracelet. All of his favorite things to eat, and Kyuhyun sucking him until he was hard, and then offering his body for Zhou Mi to use. Mopping up Zhou Mi’s face when they’d cried a little bit together afterwards. He was probably lucky Kyuhyun hadn’t kicked him to the curb after that, since for the next week they’d been almost attached at the hip. And then, realizing he couldn’t substitute his career with gluing himself to Kyuhyun, for both their sakes, he’d instead moped around on the computer for a couple of weeks. It ended up with a less-potentially-murderous Kyuhyun, and a more-lazy him. It’d taken a while, but he’d found himself again.
Hobbies, driving Miyun around to her activities, working out. Ironically their sex life had improved in the best way, added to the fact that they saw more of each other. Just Zhou Mi feeling comfortable in his own skin had them snuggling and blissed, and the mood generously lighter. Kissing Kyuhyun, feeling not for the first time like he was the luckiest man on earth.
There had been a point in their relationship, years back, where things had been tense. Where they had slept in the same bed as virtual strangers for too many days before working out their differences. They did not hold hands and skip happily through the flowers at all hours. Kyuhyun got frustrated with him, argued with him. Sometimes over things like Kyuhyun’s career, or Zhou Mi retiring from baseball, or Miyun and her school. Sometimes over stupid things, like the toothpaste, or what restaurant to eat at. During one of their fights, when he was so frustrated he could have screamed, a friend had asked Zhou Mi if his days ended better because of Kyuhyun. It gave him something to think about on the way home, standing in their bedroom and facing Kyuhyun, and all the bitter words, and tense feelings they’d already been through. And it had not taken words, that time, to end the stalemate. Okay, there had been plenty of words. But they had come after they had nearly crushed each other’s ribs in a hug.
Those were not the times he relished remembering, when the little niggling wondering about whether leaving Kyuhyun was the best thing for all of them snuck in. A lifetime to love one person seemed so long. But Kyuhyun, and his smiles, the way he held Zhou Mi, challenged him, made him laugh. Maybe there were things about Kyuhyun that were as known to him as taking a breath, but they still learned things about each other, about how they worked together. New hobbies to share, new things that delighted them. Not entirely a new man for every year they were together, but he though he’d filed down some of Kyuhyun’s sharper edges, and molded them to fit his own. Kyuhyun had surely done the same to him.
And, of course, he’d been the one to comfort the semi-hysterical Kyuhyun upon the discovery that his precious, darling, impossibly grown up daughter was having her first period.
If they could get through that, they could get through anything.
That, and he got regular, private solo performances. And he wasn’t giving up any of those precious memories for anything.
***
One of the first pictures they had together had been a shot taken by the press, through the window of the owner’s box. Sitting beside each other, Zhou Mi talking, and Kyuhyun slouched. Someone had sent it to Zhou Mi after news that their relationship was official broke. It had probably been taken before they’d ever even kissed. But it was a picture he’d had framed. There were other pictures, too. Miyun in traditional dress, posing with them. Getting taller and taller, picture by picture. Her face refining. Anyone could see that she was Kyuhyun’s daughter. It was written so plainly over her face. Of course, while she got taller, they got older. He was certainly not admitting to any gray hairs, and he knew Kyuhyun’s stylist took care of his own. How did the years get away from them like that?
“What do we do when she gets married?” Zhou Mi asked, putting down the last picture they’d taken together.
Kyuhyun snorted out a laugh at his desk. “We get a dog? Of course, she’ll never forgive us, since she’s been wanting a dog for years.”
Of course there’d been a thousand excuses as to why they couldn’t get one. Both Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi’s schedules, Miyun’s school and activities. Of course, Miyun had pets. The very smallest lizard money could by, not that there was a purpose to that, of course. Zhou Mi still eyed the cage as he went by it, and drew the line at anything that would get bigger than him. And no snakes. And they had a large aquarium as well, though that was a lot less interactive.
“Maybe we can get a dog when she graduates from high school,” Zhou Mi offered, a little pleased by the thought of a cuddly animal to follow him around the house.
“Are we going to become old dog men?” Kyuhyun asked, laughing at him.
He threw a balled up piece of paper at Kyuhyun’s head. It wasn’t like they were 80, and they were hardly alone. A little dog to take on evening walks, walking with it around the gardens that Kyuhyun had kept up. A good way to get exercise and spend a little more time together.
“I suppose I could just put a leash on you,” he said, considering Kyuhyun.
“Ha. If you can catch me.”
They stared at each other. Ten years previous, that kind of challenge probably would’ve ended with a dunk in the pool. But challenging each other to laps was a decent substitution. There was never enough Kyuhyun wet and half naked.
And he’d bring up the dog idea again soon enough.
***
The last thing that Zhou Mi really had expected was to become a father. Not biologically, no, he’d been pretty certain early on that liking boys meant he was going to figure out a different way. And girls, they were a mystery in so many ways. No matter how Kyuhyun teased him about his love of shopping, or what he slathered on his face, they both knew what Kyuhyun meant. He was not a girl, had never been a girl, and Kyuhyun never told him so. So he was no more prepared for Miyun than Miyun had been prepared for two fathers. But somehow they learned how to get along, anyway.
And opinion online, with how to look after a teenage daughter dating went from “Never allow them to, lock them onto school and don’t let up until they’re 30” to “eh, let them, they’re only kids once.” But Miyun’s subtle hints that the boy was actually interested in her didn’t let up.
Kyuhyun’s opinion was that she was softening them up, for when she really did want to go on a date. Which they both agreed was clever, although Zhou Mi still wasn’t happy with the idea. At the very least he didn’t have to worry about her knowledge about sex. And the thought of it made him wince. It’d been a year, year and a half before, when Kyuhyun - who’d been agonizing about bringing it up - actually said something as two characters were on the screen kissing during a drama.
“You know what sex is?” Kyuhyun had asked, not looking at Miyun at all.
“Yes. Dad..”
“And you know, the book we gave you on pregnancy. How that happens, and-“
“Yes. Dad. Yes.”
“Don’t ever let a boy touch you, especially if you don’t want it. And that’s not how your prove love to someone. And just, do not ever without…”
“Dad. I know.”
Zhou Mi was sure they’d have regarded each other like creatures from a different planet, had they been willing to look at each other at all. Miyun was simmering, hiding in her hair and Kyuhyun seemed to want to disappear altogether.
But he had both sets of dark eyes on him, when the laugh escaped. Kyuhyun, betrayed, and Miyun surprised.
“You can come to us if you have any questions,” Zhou Mi said scooting over so he could cuddle Miyun close. Though she seemed to not know whether she wanted to stay or run.
“I read the book,” she muttered.
And the book did a good job, talking about diseases and pregnancy, and how to protect against them. Of course, there was the wheedling moral aspect, too, which he had no idea if Miyun accepted. But it was something, that she respected her father and knew his wishes on the subject.
“You’re a beautiful girl,” Zhou Mi said, as she made some kind of protesting sound. “No, you are. You need to have a lot of respect for yourself, and others will respect you, too. And we love you, so we’re not out to embarrass you. And it’s okay to wait as long as you want!”
“Can I go?” she asked, her voice small. “I know. I know.”
“Okay. Go.”
She fled like a deer, and he collapsed against Kyuhyun’s side. Kyuhyun’s mouth was trembling. “Wait as long as she wants. Zhou Mi. I love you.”
They laughed, easing some of the stress of the conversation.
“I forgot to buy a glass case for her when she was born,” Kyuhyun mused.
“She’d probably find it too confining. Too much like a glass coffin?”
“Ugh, bad thought. What would I do without you?”
“I don’t know,” Zhou Mi murmured, kissing him.
And it was a few minutes later, still exploring that kiss, that they heard a long-suffering sigh from behind the couch. “You guys are gross.”
Miyun stood there with her water glass, shaking her head like a demanding parent. And when she met their eyes, there was a little bargain in them. Forget the previous conversation ever happened? Heartily agreed.
***
“It’s just bubble tea before the others show up, Dad!”
Zhou Mi was gripping the handle of his desk very hard not to stand, to say something, to interfere.
He knew it was coming, but he’d let himself pretend that she was just going to flutter away and not need anything from a boy at all. Or that this boy in particular was going to lose interest. It was a lovely dream. But apparently the kid had gotten up the courage to ask her to do something with him. Maybe they should’ve sent her to an all girl’s school.
“I know you’ve been hanging out with him a while. Maybe we should meet him?” Kyuhyun said.
And Zhou Mi mentally cheered.
“I don’t think I’m going to marry him soon,” Miyun pointed out. “Oh, he knows some of your songs! His mom has your albums.”
“You think flattery is going to get you anywhere?” Kyuhyun asked, sounding amused.
“Perhaps you can organize a study group or having dinner here some weekend. You and your friends. That way he doesn’t feel awkward,” Zhou Mi offered. Though he’d like to put awkward in the kid. “But I agree that it might be nice to at least know who he is. Maybe a little peace of mind for us.”
Okay, so staying quiet hadn’t really worked out, but Kyuhyun was nodding. “Agreed.”
“But you’re not going to actually talk to him?” she pressed Kyuhyun.
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“Maybe Baba can talk to him.”
Kyuhyun’s smile was bemused. “Have you been listening to what your Baba has been saying? He hasn’t exactly been doing cheers, especially if it’s going to interfere with your school.”
Miyun seemed to be sending Zhou Mi little warning flags with her eyes. Ship going down, need help. He coughed into his fist, trying to mask the laugh, but it was hardly subtle.
“Or are you just afraid of what I might say, so much that your opponent is the better choice?” Kyuhyun asked, staring between them.
“Opponent is a little harsh,” Zhou Mi said, wincing.
What he was lucky about, was that Kyuhyun was not an overtly jealous person. And Kyuhyun knew that he was known for speaking his mind, sometimes in a joking manner. And maybe Zhou Mi had had to explain that to him, just a little. Just to make sure he’d gotten the gist of it and knew Miyun wasn’t questioning his daddy skills. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t have wanted to be embarrassed by a parent in their teens either.
And Kyuhyun promised, after all, to be on his best behavior. They’d let the kids do their thing, getting an eyeball on the boys as the kids sat down to dinner and he and Kyuhyun ate in their office. There were only two boys in the little group, and Miyun wasn’t sitting by either of them, but they’d seen a picture of him. At dessert, they agreed, actually going out to sit and chat with the girls, who they had met before. Engaging all of them in polite conversation without singling the kid out. He spoke to them respectfully, actually bringing up Kyuhyun’s music and Zhou Mi’s career. Interested in music and baseball, which could be worse. It was good enough, watching them interact in the group, to know that if she just went with him for a drink, or on group outings, that she wasn’t trying to date a psycho.
Though Zhou Mi laughed all night at the inquisition questions Kyuhyun came up with in the privacy of their locked office.
And if things got more serious, well. They’d see how it went. They weren’t counting out an inquisition after all.
***
Lovely, lazy afternoons were rare, and Zhou Mi liked to take the most of them. Cozed onto the couch with Kyuhyun, one socked foot teasing the back of Kyuhyun’s leg as they squabbled over parts of the newspaper. They’d had a bit of an afternoon romp in the bedroom, and he could still see the little red mark he’d made on Kyuhyun’s ear. He kind of wanted to bite it again.
But the idea was derailed, when he heard the door open, twisting to see Miyun walk in.
Things rapidly went downhill, when it was not just Miyun who walked through the door, but a boy as well, and no one else. Kyuhyun let out a tiny squeak of pain that should have rightly been a yelp, as Zhou Mi clamped down on his hand.
“Kyuhyun.”
“He’s not here to ask to marry her,” Kyuhyun hissed. “Keep breathing.”
“I almost wish he was so we had a reason kick him out,” Zhou Mi breathed.
“Shut up, they’re coming over.”
The whole exchange was done in the time it took for the two teens to take off their shoes, and for Miyun to spot them - not quite as close together as they had been - on the couch.
“Hey Dad! Baba. Is it okay if we study here today for a while?”
“Sure, but-“ Kyuhyun began.
“At the table,” Miyun cut in, clearly seeing where Kyuhyun’s statement was going. “He can’t stay too long. You remember, from before…?”
The boy had come up beside her, and didn’t hide behind her, which Zhou Mi gave him moderate credit for. Quick introductions were repeated, and Kyuhyun asked the kid how things were going. Very safe. Neutral. And then Miyun sort of looked at the kid, with a prodding expression. And Zhou Mi wondered if he could stop time and avoid the conversation entirely.
“I just wanted- I hoped it would be okay with you,” and the kid’s eyes darted from Kyuhyun to him, as though he weren’t sure who he was supposed to address, “if Miyun and I went out together sometime. I’d take good care of her!”
Zhou Mi envisioned standing up and snatching Miyun away, buying a deserted island and living like very fashionable castaways for the next twenty years. And then Kyuhyun opened his mouth, and Zhou Mi fell just a tiny bit in love. Again.
“We raised her to take care of herself,” Kyuhyun said, some amusement in his voice. Though, Miyun seemed to be telegraphing imminent starbursts of deathly embarrassment. And Zhou Mi really had nothing to say. She was all grown up, or nearly so, and Kyuhyun’s hand tightened on his under the newspaper that had fallen on them. “Miyun, you know the rules. I don’t have a problem with it, as long as you respect each other, and the time you both need to take care of your school work.
And Kyuhyun stood, inches taller than the kid, who probably hadn’t hit his last growth spurt. Zhou Mi sulked with a straight face as he listened to Kyuhyun talk to the kid about his family.
“And they’re okay with you dating?”
“Yes, sir. I’d like my parents to meet her, too,” the kid said, almost a bit shyly. And Zhou Mi was pretty sure the kid’s face was going to explode from heat any moment.
“Should probably let them get to studying,” Zhou Mi suggested finally, and Kyuhyun glanced back at him.
“Yeah. If you need to study here in the future, the table is always open,” Kyuhyun offered. And Zhou Mi gloated. It let them keep an eye on things that way, too.
Miyun smiled with no little sense of relief, from Kyuhyun to Zhou Mi. “Thanks Dad.”
She kissed Kyuhyun on the cheek, darting over to press a kiss to Zhou Mi’s as well. “Love you, Baba,” she whispered.
The table they were studying with was behind a wall, though very open and central in the house. But it gave them some privacy as Kyuhyun half flopped on top of Zhou Mi.
“Augh!” Kyuhyun said, hand over his face. And they silenced hysterical laughter into each other’s shoulders.
“That was so awkward. I thought he was going to run out the door,” Zhou Mi said. Or rather, hoped he would’ve.
“I know. Miyun was going to kill me if I said one more thing.”
“You were amazing,” Zhou Mi promised him. “It’s… It’s nice that he asked.”
“Yeah. Though you wish he hadn’t had to? I think Miyun kind of coached him on that, knowing we’d want to give our permission at the very least. He seems nice enough.”
“That’s because he was scared shitless of you.”
“Shh!” Kyuhyun hissed, and they collapsed into laughter again. “At least we don’t hate him - yet. No, shut up, I know what you’re thinking. But would you have gotten rid of me if your parents hadn’t liked me?”
Once his parents had resigned themselves, mostly, to the fact that their son was never going to “straighten up,” Zhou Mi thought they didn’t have much choice. The only way Kyuhyun could’ve been more than what they’d hoped for would’ve been if he’d been a woman. He’d fallen for a rather eligible bachelor, famous singer, who also had a daughter that they adored. In other words, he’d rung the jackpot bell quite early. And as for him, it was no secret what Kyuhyun’s father had thought of him. Gold digging, men-seducing interloper. But he’d come around on that eventually, too. And it wasn’t like Zhou Mi was penniless. He’d had his fair share of endorsements as well, so they were financially cozy one way or the other.
“No one from my gene pool would ever have rejected you,” Zhou Mi promised.
“I really wonder about his family, though they seem fine. Miyun might be able to tell us more. Should we meet them? Is that weird?”
“Maybe we will, at some school function. If they last together that long.”
“True,” Kyuhyun agreed.
And they fell asleep against each other for a very nice afternoon nap, while half trying to eavesdrop on their daughter on the far side of the wall.
***
“Hey Baba.”
Zhou Mi looked up, delighted to see Miyun edging into the seats he usually had reserved in the baseball stadium. His season tickets were a gift to the three of them when they could get away. He felt that surge of happiness as Miyun settled beside him, hugging him in greeting. He half wanted to ask if she’d come alone, like she was somehow 10 and not allowed out by herself yet. But she was nearly grown. That made him… Well. A little sad.
“Hi angel,” he said, and offered her some of the nuts he had bought. “Decided to stop by a while?”
“Mm,” she agreed. “Dad said you’d be here.”
Oh. He saw how it was. Maybe Miyun had thought to come on her own, but he could all too well see Kyuhyun urging her. Especially since he knew Zhou Mi had been stressing about the Boy Problems. Giving the two of them a little time alone. And, well. If she was with Zhou Mi, then she wasn’t with any boy, was she?
He could see Kyuhyun rolling his eyes at him already. He leaned into her, sighing.
“How are you almost all grown up? Yesterday you were three, and still calling me Zhou Mimi.”
She grinned at the memory. “I remember that birthday - remember getting Mimi bear. I remember being so happy to see you again. And how happy Dad was when you were with us again.”
“Sweetheart.”
“Dad loved me, I know he did. Those are some of my earliest memories, him giving me sweets and holding me. But you made us a family.”
“Miyun, don’t make me cry.”
And he was very much in danger of it, as he squeezed her hand, thinking back through all the years. The vacations the three of them had been on. Helping Miyun with her homework. Taking her out for bike rides, birthday parties, concerts. Baseball games. Seeing her in her little “Cho” uniform cheering for him. Coming home to tuck her in, after having a date night out with Kyuhyun. And he could feel Kyuhyun’s hand, tight in his opposite hand. They’d sat there more than once like that. His Kyuhyun. And she held the hand with the ring that Kyuhyun had given him.
“Would I have gotten to be so close with Grandpa if it hadn’t been for you?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said softly.
“Or would Dad and Grandpa be close?”
He sent her an amused look. “They still get at each other.”
“I know. But you can tell they love each other most of the time. And Dad loves you. And you still love Dad, which is different than some of my friends’ parents.”
He wondered if he would ever stop warming inside to hear her refer to him as her parent. Of course her calling him Baba had special meaning, and there was power in names, but she put him in a unit with Kyuhyun. Where they were both important to her. So close to what he felt when Kyuhyun made the same reference, but different. Special.
“I do still love him,” he agreed. “Though, I love him differently now. More.”
“So you want him for more than his body.”
“Miyun!”
“What!” she exclaimed, at his horror. “He was handsome. I’m proud of that.”
“You’re not supposed to… To think, to know… To be old enough to say those things!” And at her grin, he knew she knew how that was going on in his head. “You are your father’s daughter. I never looked at a man in my life, and neither will you.”
She was still laughing when she rested her head on his shoulder.
“And he still is handsome,” Zhou Mi said after a moment, finally remembering to vouch for Kyuhyun’s attractiveness.
Miyun just hummed. And then cheered with him as the team scored a run.
“I’m sorry you miss playing,” she said, leaning harder into him.
“It was a good career. And now I have more time to pester your father. You know how he gets when he goes on tour by himself.”
Yes, the late night phone calls - and phone bills - from other countries, would be a thing of the past.
“I’ll be here when you guys get back,” Miyun said, all grandiose about it.
And he tweaked her nose, just to remind her that she was still a kid. They hadn’t relinquished their parenting duties quite yet. She was his best girl, his only girl. And she allowed him to take her home, where Kyuhyun was waiting for them on the couch with a smile. He kissed Kyuhyun softly, arm around his shoulders as they walked in toward the dining room.
“I know this is going to be a surprise, but… I love you,” he said.
And they had barely enough time to exchange a look before their food was being brought out.
***
Kyuhyun rolled onto the mattress, staring at Zhou Mi. Still enviably thin, the bastard. And it wasn’t like they never said “I love you” to each other. It was pretty much a daily thing, a thing sometimes said without much thought behind it. Also, times when it was said when it was ridiculously true, and felt deeply.
“So what was up with you earlier? Did you and Miyun enjoy the game?”
“We did,” Zhou Mi said, and Kyuhyun heard some telltale pops as Zhou Mi stretched. “She’s the sweetest thing. Are you sure you’re related to her?”
Kyuhyun was honor bound to dig his knuckles into Zhou Mi’s side but he got a man wrapped around him for it. “So you had a good talk.”
“We didn’t talk about the boy. But yeah.” Zhou Mi sighed, kissing the side of Kyuhyun’s face. “I’m glad she’s taking it slow, and I’m glad she’s your daughter, and I’m glad… I’m glad.”
How much contentment could one person hold? That Zhou Mi was there, and with him, loving him. That his daughter was growing up and the light of his life. And eventually, another CD, more tours. With Zhou Mi beside him.
Or on top of him, he thought, grunting as Zhou Mi leveraged himself up and half over Kyuhyun.
“What is it you think you want?”
“Your voice,” Zhou Mi said.
“Well, I-“ Kyuhyun paused, flummoxed. “You want my voice? I’ve heard of a lot of kinky things, but that really… Unfortunately this isn’t plug and play, so I think you’re out of luck.”
Zhou Mi laughed softly. “Just you saying my name.”
“Zhou Mi,” he said obediently. “I love you.”
They’d tackle all the challenges together. Miyun’s college, and who knew what else. But it was time for them alone, right then. And smiling, he guided Zhou Mi down for a kiss.
***