Archive of Our Own

It’s cold.

The first thing Jungwoo notices upon getting out of his car is that it’s cold. It’s strange since it’s the middle of the summer but it’s not unheard of. He can see the sky darkening in the east so maybe the rain is coming. He shivers and puts on his jacket. Locks the car with numb fingers and makes his feet move to the entrance.

He’s not scared, he’s trying to convince himself. Yukhei and he have known each other since middle school. They’ve met hundreds of times after graduating college, and they’ve been best friends whom the long distance never bothered. He can meet his best friend and smile today. He can make the nagging feeling in his soul shut up. Yukhei is finally moving to London, and they’re going to be living in one city — hell, in one apartment — for the first time in forever. He can make it. He will watch Yukhei date people in real life, not just hear stories through the speaker. It will be harder but he’ll make it. He’s been silently in love with the guy for years. It’s going to be a bitch to see him every day and keep silent but come on, he survived years in college, and yeah, he may have forgotten how touchy and energetic Yukhei is, and how hard it is to stay away, but he’ll have to make do. It’s better to have Yukhei as a friend than not have him at all. He smiles at his reflection in the glass doors. The bottom line is that he’s going to see and hug his favorite idiot. He steps into the airport and breathes out.

The table is showing that Yukhei’s flight arrives in half an hour, and Jungwoo scolds himself for being so early. He’ll have to lie and say that he arrived right as the plane was taking down as to not show Yukhei how eager he was to see him. He frowns. He’s already contemplating deceiving him, and he hates it. Fuck it, he thinks as he moves to the waiting hall, he’ll figure it out as he goes.

The hall is relatively empty if he doesn’t count a few people here and there. Heathrow isn’t as busy today as it usually is, and some part of him is relieved. He doesn’t need some strangers witnessing his jittering.

He sits down at one of the empty rows and takes out his phone. The only notification there is a message from Yukhei he never opened, indicating that he’s boarding the plane. He swipes up and opens the message, looking at Lucas’ picture for a long time. He’ll probably have to change his contact name to something friendly and not a soppy ‘Lukkie <33’ like it is now. Shit. He’s already overthinking it. He sighs and locks his phone just as a little girl runs up and plops on the chair two seats away from him. It takes her a grunt and an impressive pull up, but she settles on the chair and puts her small hands on top of her jeans. Jungwoo finds her extremely adorable but the fact that she’s barely five and is alone makes him worry his lip.

‘Cheonsa!’ Sounds just as Jungwoo is about to ask her where her parents are. The girl perks up from where she was picking at the glitter on her Batman t-shirt and smiles brightly, little dimples showing.

Jungwoo looks up and sees a flustered looking man going their way, his hands clutching his messenger bag. His pink hair is stuffed under his beanie.

‘I’m here, Dada Tae,’ the girl says, giggling.

‘I can see that,’ the man breathes out as he kneels down before her and takes her hands in his. The contrast in size is so striking it makes something in Jungwoo clench. She’s tiny. ‘What did we say about running away?’

The girls clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes adorably.

‘Never to do that, and always stay where you can see me,’ she recites obediently. ‘And you could see me, I checked, so technically, I never ran away.’

She shrugs with her little shoulders and Jungwoo suddenly wants to laugh.

‘Very smart,’ her father rolls his eyes and kisses her on the forehead. ‘I’ll have to tell your Papa that you’re being his small version again.’

‘He’ll be glad,’ Cheonsa nods confidently, and her dad chuckles.

He stands up and sits on her other side. Jungwoo realizes that he’s staring but he can’t look away — there is something so soothing and comforting about the sight of the man and his daughter that it makes his own nerves subside. He hopes the man doesn’t think that he’s some kind of creep.

‘When is Papa coming here?’ The girl asks, tilting her head to look up at her father.

‘You’re a smart girl,’ he says, checking something on the phone. ‘And you can read, so don’t be lazy and look at the table.’

Cheonsa sighs over-dramatically and looks up at the table that announces the nearest flights.

‘Twenty two minutes?’ She asks with adorable authority.

‘Yep,’ The man says and gives her a kiss on the hair. ‘See, I knew you’re smart.’

‘Papa says it’s his genes,’ she shrugs.

‘Yeah, keep listening to that,’ Tae rolls his eyes. ‘You don’t have our genes, but I have to admit you’re taking after all of his annoying habits.’

The girl laughs, and Jungwoo frowns. She’s only five but already knows about her parentage? His parents only told his sister she was adopted when she was sixteen. Perhaps, Cheonsa was smart enough to ask all the right questions? He smiles to himself. He already wants to know more about these interesting people. He thinks about Yukhei. Yukhei adores kids. Maybe, they’d find some common ground to bond. Yukhei tends to have an intellectual span of a five year old, so perhaps they’ll be the best of friends. He shakes his head.

‘You still love Papa, even if he’s annoying,’ Cheonsa shrugs meanwhile. Her legs are too short to reach the floor so she’s dangling them in the air, being careful as to not hit her father’s legs.

‘Yeah, that’s my curse,’ the man snorts.

‘Papa says to call you out on your glitter when you say stuff like that,’ Cheonsa smiles innocently. Tae squints his eyes at her.

‘Why do I think that you know the word your dad covered with ‘glitter’?’

Cheonsa ducks her head and her golden hair covers her red face. The man purses his lips.

‘I need to talk to Johnny about his babysitting habits,’ he murmurs.

‘No,’ the girl whines, looking up immediately. ‘Uncle Johnny is the best babysitter! And who are you going to leave me with if not with him?! He lives so close! Think about it.’

‘You’re too smart for you age,’ Tae rolls his eyes and hugs her close, playing with her hair.

‘Papa’s genes,’ she answers nonchalantly.

‘Sure,’ the man laughs.

Jungwoo worries his lip. Something in him wants to introduce himself and talk to these people who seem to have their dynamic all figured out. He wishes he could do the same with Yukhei. It feels like he’s walking on he edge and there’s only a thin thread holding him back. A thread that’s about to break.

‘Dada?’ The girl asks after some silence. Tae looks down at her, brow arched in question. She kneads her small hands. The man covers them with his and strokes her skin in soothing motions.

‘What’s wrong, angel?’

‘What’s a—‘ she starts, but stutters and sighs. Closes her eyes as if bracing for something. ‘What’s a divorce?’

The man freezes, and Jungwoo feels surprise. He’s talked freely with her about her being adopted but never talked about divorce?

‘Why do you ask?’ He wonders quietly, his gaze distant.

She shrugs and mumbles something.

‘Baby, we’ve talked about it,’ man presses but without anger, just a comforting tone of a concerned parent. ‘I’ll answer everything I can as long as you ask.’

She purses her lips.

‘Timmy said his parents are getting a divorce,’ she confesses, frowning. She reaches out to pull at her golden locks, and Jungwoo sees the man look at it worryingly. It is her nervous habit? Yukhei does the same — pulls at his hair. ‘At first, I thought it’s something like a pony, but Timmy wouldn’t be so sad then, right?’

Tae sighs and rubs his eyes. Looks at the clock. Probably figuring out if he has time to have this talk before his partner arrives. Nods to himself and takes the girl in his arms, positioning her on his lap so that they’re eye to eye.

‘Remember, we’ve talked about falling in love?’ He starts quietly.

‘Yeah,’ the girl says as softly. Her eyes are focused on her father’s, her gaze attentive. ‘It’s when people meet someone who fits them so much they feel like they’re more whole with them. It’s why people usually get married.’

‘Yes,’ the man nods and sighs. ‘Well, sometimes, and it’s nothing people can control— but sometimes people realize that all the perks aren’t enough of a reason to stay with that person. Sometimes, it gets too hard to love someone.’

‘But why?’ She frowns.

‘Practically? It can be a lot of things, and I’m not going to get into it right now,’ he rushes to say when she opens his mouth to ask. She frowns but nods. Jungwoo doesn’t think he’s ever seen such a behaved five year old. ‘But sometimes, it happens even when everything is perfect. People just— they just fall out of love.’

She nods and picks at the pattern on his shirt for a minute. Jungwoo admires the time her father is giving her to think it over. It’s obvious she’s not done with questions, and, judging by the man’s face, he anticipates certain ones, yet he waits patiently. Finally, she takes a breath and blurts out a question that makes even Jungwoo hold his breath.

‘Are you and Papa ever going to fall out of love?’

She immediately blushes and hides her face in her hair, but Tae smiles softly and kisses her forehead. He puts his fingers on her chin and raises her face to look at him. Now, Jungwoo already knows they’re not blood relatives, but he still thinks he can see some traces of the man in the small face. The same kindness, and some part of the innocence. Nature versus nurture, it seems, has its role even when it comes to appearances.

‘I don’t think so,’ the man answers. It’s strange to hear an adult be so honest with the kids. ‘You see, your Papa and I are a special case. He’s my soulmate.’

‘That sounds pretty.’ The girl opens her lips in awe as she looks up at her father, her little hands on his neck.

‘It is,’ Tae nods and smiles. ‘It’s when two people fit together so well that it feels like they share one soul. And being away from your soulmate feels like you’re not exactly complete.’

‘Do you miss Papa so much you’re not complete?’ The girls asks, frowning a little.

‘Yep,’ The man pops the ‘p’. ‘But I’m managing. Just knowing that he will always come back to me is enough to stay sane. And well, I have you, so it’s not as sad as it used to be.’

He smiles, and the girl smiles back, and Jungwoo is honestly ready to disintegrate right here from how adorable they look. He wants something like that too — someone who looks at him for all the answers and who is his salvation when he misses his partner. He’s never wanted kids as bad as his mother wanted grandchildren but he isn’t opposed to the idea, either. He just wishes he had the right person by his side. He just wishes he person he thinks is perfect for him would see him just as he sees them. He sighs. Cheonsa continues to talk.

‘Will I know that someone is my soulmate when I meet them?’ She wonders quietly, her fingers back at picking on her father’s t-shirt.

‘Maybe,’ Tae shrugs. ‘But don’t count on it. To be honest, the first time I saw your father, I wanted to kick him.’

The girls emits a bright giggle, her dimples an adorable addition to her cherub face.

‘Why?’ She draws out, still smiling. Jungwoo notices a missing tooth.

‘He was so annoying,’ Tae rolls his eyes while he speaks dramatically. ‘Arrogant as you wouldn’t believe! Thought he’s the best at everything, and never failed to mention that.’

‘But Papa is the best,’ Cheonsa contradicts, the smile still wide on her lips.

‘Well, you think so now because he’s changed since the academy,’ Tae answers, shrugging. ‘He’s very caring and kind now, and he always was this way, he just tried to hide it all and pretend he was all cool and detached.’

He raises his hand and shows her a silver band on his ring finger. The girl grabs it — Tae’s finger fits into her entire fist.

‘It didn’t work on me, as you can see,’ Tae smiles, a distant look in his eyes as he looks upon his wedding ring. ‘I mean, at first, I was set on ignoring him.’

‘Ohh,’ Cheonsa gasps. ‘Papa hates it when you ignore him.’

‘Precisely,’ Tae nods and smiles devilishly. ‘But back then I didn’t know it. I couldn’t figure out why he hates me so much, you know. Not that I cared, of course, but still. I tried very hard to avoid him, yet he always managed to turn up right beside me, or sit behind me in class, or drink at my table at parties. It was a nightmare.’

‘And what happened then?’ Cheonsa smiles widely, already anticipating, just as Jungwoo does, the culmination of the story that led two boys who hated each other to get married and have a kid.

‘And then,’ Tae sighs dramatically. ‘Papa confessed that he actually liked me so much he couldn’t utter a good word whenever he was near me.’

‘Just like that?’ Cheonsa frowns.

‘Well, he was extremely drunk at the time,’ Tae snickers. ‘You remember how all people are allergic to alcohol until they’re twenty one?’

‘Yes,’ Cheonsa nods seriously, and Jungwoo barely holds in a laugh.

‘Well, your Papa was twenty two at the time, so his allergies had barely passed, and so the alcohol made him spill all his secrets,’ the man purses his lips but smiles immediately. ‘Can’t say I was upset about that. I had a little secret of my own.’

‘What secret?’ Cheonsa whispers, mesmerized.

‘That I liked your Papa, too,’ Tae whispers back, his face overtly serious. ‘And his confession actually helped us get together faster.’

‘Wow,’ the girl breathes out, her gaze fixed on her father’s eyes. ‘And then you realized Papa is your soulmate?’

‘Well, it took me about a year,’ Tae says, lost in thought. ‘It wasn’t easy, because I still had to claw your Papa out of the cage in his head. We even broke up for about a month.’

‘What?’ Cheonsa gasped, her look scared.

‘Life isn’t as easy as we’d wish it to be, angel,’ Tae says carefully. ‘There was some things that I thought I couldn’t overcome. But don’t worry, your Papa came to me and made me see that together we were better off than by ourselves.’

‘I’m happy he did,’ the girl nods, extremely serious. It looks so cute on her small features that Jungwoo mentally cooes.

‘Me too,’ Tae nods and kisses the crown of her head.

They’re silent after that, and Jungwoo looks at his hands. What was the reason for their break up? Was it weak enough for their love to work it out, or did they deal with it precisely because they got back together? Can he manage being a mess of a man, being in love with his friend, and deal with his problems on his own? He wishes for love, and for touch, and for someone to care for. Someone to wake up to every morning. Someone to have a child with that, years later, he can tell their story to. He looks at Yukhei’s picture on his lockscreen. Closes his eyes.

‘Dada,’ comes a soft voice and Jungwoo listens intently.

‘Yes, angel?’

‘It says that Papa’s plane is delayed.’

Jungwoo opens his eyes and looks up at the table. The girl is right. He frowns.

‘Oh,’ Tae says, his eyes plastered to the screen. ‘It must be because of the storm.’

‘Is it dangerous?’ Cheonsa says, her voice too even to not realize that she’s hiding her fear.

‘It can be,’ Tae says, pursing his lips. ‘But your Papa is the most skilled pilot I know. And he’s with uncle Johnny. They’ll be alright.’

Jungwoo frowns. Somehow in the midst of listening in to someone else’s story, he missed the part where Tae never specified that his husband is a passenger. It suddenly explains Cheonsa’s comfort at running around the airport.

‘Did you ever work on a plane during a storm?’ The girls wonders, clutching her father’s shirt. So Tae is a pilot too? Or a flight attendant? Them studying at one place now makes sense.

‘Yeah, a couple of times,’ Tae answers absentmindedly, focused on his phone. From where he’s sitting, it’s hard for Jungwoo to see what he’s looking at, but he guesses the weather forecast.

‘It’s worse that I thought,’ he frowns, whispering to himself, but then he hears a scared gasp from his daughter and catches himself. ‘No, don’t worry, it’s okay, they’ll be okay.’

He presses the girl close and breathes in the smell of her hair. His brow is creased in worry as he gets lost in thought.

‘Will the sky hurt them?’

Jungwoo looks at the girl. Her gaze is lost somewhere between the chairs, and she’s tugging at her hair, nervous.

‘The sky loves Ten and Johnny,’ Taeyong responds, swallowing. ‘And it loves you. It will never take your Papa away from you.’

Cheonsa looks up, her eyes lighting up.

‘Really?’ She bites her lip, small teeth poking out.

‘Yeah.’ Tae looks down. ‘You were born in the sky, angel.’

Only now does Jungwoo realizes the meaning of her name — it’s ‘angel’ from Korean, and it makes him smile. Truly, a beautiful and fitting name for the daughter of two men in love with the sky.

‘You never told me this,’ the girl notes, tilting her head.

Tae frowns and sighs. Something is off about him — Jungwoo can see it in the darkness of his eyes.

‘Your daddy never... It’s not the best memory of ours.’ He says, but rushes to continue when he sees her smile falter. ‘No, don’t worry, we love you more than anything, but...’

He cuts off, unsure as to whether he should continue. Jungwoo can’t help it — he leans closer against his will, so immersed in the little bubble of their family that he wishes to hear the story of Cheonsa’s birth.

Taeyong sighs and grips his daughter’s tiny hands harder.

‘Once upon a time, I got a call in the middle of the night,’ he starts, his voice taking on that gentle tone every parent doesn’t notice they have when they’re telling a story to their child. ‘I was home then, waiting for your Papa to come back. We had that rare week ahead of us where we didn’t have any flights and could finally spend some time together not crammed in the cabin. It was about a year after we got married.’ His lips curve into a soft smile. Jungwoo envies this — content feeling of love the man is experiencing just by remembering. ‘It was three in the morning, and my phone rang. Ten was on the line, and I’ve never hear him so distressed. He told me that his flight had an accident — a woman went into labor on the plane while they were in the middle of the storm. Women expecting babies aren’t supposed to fly, but she was only seven months in, and the doctor allowed it.’ Jungwoo notices how he keeps stroking his daughter’s hair as if it calms him down. Perhaps, it does. ‘She gave birth to a little girl, but didn’t survive herself. They didn’t make it to the land in time, so the little girl became an orphan even before she was given a name. When they arrived to the hospital, it turned out that the woman didn’t have anyone — not a single relative. The doctors wanted to send the girl into the system. You know, the place where lonely kids go to wait for someone to become their parents?’ The girl nods seriously, and Jungwoo wonders again how smart she is, and how her parents are unusually honest with her. ‘So your Papa called me and asked me something. I still remember it so clearly... He asked me to become that girl’s father along with him. She was so small and beautiful, and absolutely alone in the world, and he couldn’t bare leaving her alone in that hospital. So I took some documents, got into the cab, and came to the hospital — and we left a day later with a little angel.’

There are tears in his eyes, and Cheonsa reaches out to wipe them from his cheeks. She’s crying herself, but not like most kids — it’s silent and content, as if she’s sharing this moment with her father. He smiles and kisses her forehead, lingering there for a moment with his eyes closed.

‘I never regretted it,’ he whispers, and it doesn’t feel like he’s talking to her, but she’s still listening closely. ‘And I never will. You’re the best thing in my life, angel, next to your Papa.’

‘You’re the best thing in my life, too,’ she says in a tiny voice. ‘Next to Papa and my unicorn plushie.’

Taeyong emits a wet laugh, holding her closer. It seems like in this moment it’s hard for him to even the entertain the thought of letting her go.

‘You should’ve seen your uncles Mark and Johnny when we brought you home,’ he says, leaning back to look into her eyes. ‘We told them everything when I came to the hospital, and by the time we came home, there was so many child things and toys it seemed like they bought half the shop. They couldn’t let you out of their hands. Everybody fell in love with you the second they saw you.’

Cheonsa laughs — because her father laughs. Jungwoo thinks that if he was one of her uncles, he’d be smitten with her too. She’s probably the smartest five-year-old he’s ever seen.

They stay silent for a while, and Jungwoo focuses on the table. The arrival time keeps getting pushed back, and he gets more nervous by the second. The rain is hitting the airport windows, and it’s so dark it seems like it’s evening already, and he can’t even imagine how it’s like up in the skies.

The news come on, and he watches in dread how the reporter shows the forecast. The storm is raging in the skies, the visibility so poor most planes are using the old-fashioned systems to alert each other of their presence. He runs his hands through his hair nervously. Lucas is fine. He’ll be fine.

‘Mark.’

Jungwoo turns to his not-companions and sees Taeyong talk to someone on the phone, his voice stern and his face grim. Cheonsa is worrying her lip, now sitting on the chair and not on her father’s lap.

Taeyong closes his eyes in frustration.

‘I’m not calling about that,’ he spits out. ‘Have you seen the news? There’s a major storm, and the flights are delayed, and guess who’s piloting one of them.’

Whoever he’s talking to starts saying something, but Taeyong interrupts him with a frustrated sigh. He turns to Cheonsa.

‘Darling, would you mind closing your ears? I need to talk to your uncle Mark in an adult way.’

The girl obediently puts her fingers to her ears, closing them. Jungwoo notes that she’s doing it honestly and not like kids pretend to when they want to listen in to the adults talking. Fascinating.

‘Alright, you dipshit, listen up.’ Taeyong’s voice takes on a serious tone that leaves no place for arguing. ‘I don’t give a fuck about what you do or don’t feel. They’re up there fighting a storm, trying to keep themselves and dozens of people alive, and you know how it will be when the flight ends. I will be there for Ten, but you have to be here for Johnny. He’s already worn thin by your dumbass break, and not seeing you here when he gets down will break him.’

There’s silence on the other end, and Jungwoo worries his lip, suddenly invested in this little family’s lives. He’s probably a creep. He looks down to see, to his shock, that the girl is staring right at him, her eyes suspicious. He wiggles his fingers at her shyly, smiling softly and hoping she won’t tell her dad that he’s been watching them. Damn, Yukhei will have to bust him out of jail.

‘Mark,’ Taeyong says quietly after a muffled response. ‘I get that it’s hard for you, too. But it’s a whole idiotic situation, and I told you a hundred times that you’re a dumbass. He loves you, and has always loved only you. He’s trying his best, and you’re making it so fucking hard it’s taking its toll on all of us. I know you’re my best friend, but it’s time for me to slap you.’

He rubs his eyes tiredly and looks up at the table.

‘It’s still in the air,’ he murmurs. ‘The man you love is up there, and I don’t know if he will get down. But you need to be here, waiting for him. Otherwise, this might as well be the end of everything.’

He hangs up, pressing his trembling fingers to his lips and closing his eyes. Cheonsa sees it and scoots closer to him, putting her head on his knees.

‘Is uncle Mark still mad at uncle Johnny?’ She asks in a tiny voice, sniffing a little.

Her father sighs and strokes her hair.

‘More like guilty.’ He takes a gulp of air. ‘You’re smart, right? Tell me why is it so hard with your idiot uncles.’

Cheonsa raises her head and strokes her chin seriously as Taeyong watches her, amused.

‘Maybe, they fell out of love?’ She says, her nose scrunched up as if she’s smelling something she doesn’t like.

Taeyong actually pounders on it, but then shakes his head.

‘Nah. I’ve known them half our lives. They’re as in love as the day they started dating.’ He says slowly, but then chuckles. ‘It was a nightmare before that.’

‘Why?’ Cheonsa asks eagerly, wiggling in her seat as she’s getting ready to listen to another one of her Dada’s stories.

‘Remember how I told you that me and Ten broke up for some time?’ He asks and waits for her to nod grimly to continue. ‘Back then, I was living in a dorm with your uncle Mark. He was studying to be a flight attendant, too. And every time, and I mean it when I say it — every time Ten came over to my room, Johnny was with him. It was so confusing, because even when I specifically asked Ten to come alone, they were still attached by the hip. It annoyed the hell out of me.’ He frowns, as if reliving it makes him feel the same anger. ‘And Mark, to his name, also tried to get rid of him. After some time, Johnny caved and they started going out together to have fun while me and Ten...’ He pauses and looks away, clearing his throat. Ah, so they haven’t passed that part of Cheonsa’s education yet. Jungwoo suppresses a smirk. ‘Well, had our fun. Anyway, I didn’t really realize what was going on between them until I came over to Ten’s room early in the morning and saw Johnny with Ten in his bed. It was a dumb thought, you know, the one I had, but it made such a perfect sense in my head.’

‘What thought?’ Cheonsa leans closer as her father lowers his face in shame.

‘Let’s just say it was a wrong one.’ He smiles sadly. He obviously still feels guilty. ‘Anyway, I came back to my room, and waited for Mark to come and told him about what I saw, and he looked at me all weird but stayed silent when I started making all the wrong conclusions.’

He looks up at the table to see the flight status unchanged. The storm is raging still.

‘Only weeks later did I find out what was really happening,’ he murmurs. It seems now that he’s recounting this story not only to his daughter but to himself, too. ‘You know how my parents really love you and your Papa, but his aren’t so supportive of us?’

‘Because you’re both men.’ Cheonsa nods angrily as if even the thought of someone not liking her parents is offensive to her.

‘Yeah.’ He strokes her hair. Jungwoo swallows. His parents aren’t homophobes, but he knows a few people who can’t even talk to their families after coming out. ‘Mark’s parents are like that, too. And Mark... Well, he never labeled himself, but he did fall in love with Johnny, and it was mutual. That’s why Johnny was always tagging along when Ten came to me. And one time they were in Johnny’s room together when Mark’s parents payed an unexpected visit, and so Johnny had to pretend to be Ten’s boyfriend, not Mark’s. Somehow, they fell asleep in one bed, and well, that’s how I found them. And Mark didn’t want to tell me because he was scared of my reaction to... To everything.’

‘And you thought that it was true?’ Cheonsa asks incredulously. ‘That Papa was in love with uncle Johnny? Dada, that’s glitter.’

Taeyong gasps offended and slaps her lightly on the arm.

‘Don’t talk to your father like that!’ He pouts. ‘I was young and not very bright and had a low self-esteem.’

She smacks her lips and rolls her eyes.

‘Don’t do that, you look like your father,’ he chastises her but there’s a fond smile on his lips. ‘Anyway, I pretty much avoided Ten for weeks after because I was too afraid of how much I was hurt by that. Like, we weren’t even properly dating, but I already caught myself thinking about a future with him.’

‘Papa always gives you presents when you’re ignoring him,’ Cheonsa supplies knowingly as if predicting how the story will go. Taeyong chuckles.

‘That he does.’ He nods and rubs his lips. ‘He convinced Mark to help him and put like a hundred of stuffed planes in my room. Which was, by the way, cheating, since we always had those laying around and he just went around the dorm and stole a bunch of them. I remember opening the door and seeing that idiot there, holding up the biggest one and looking at me like a puppy.’

‘What did you to?’ Cheonsa asks, her smile so wide that her missing tooth is showing again.

‘I panicked.’ He snickers. ‘Saw him there and blurted out that I’m in love with him.’

‘You didn’t,’ Jungwoo gasps but immediately realizes his mistake when Taeyong snaps his head to look at him incredulously. Jungwoo slaps a hand over his lips and tries to look as guilty as he feels. ‘I’m so sorry!’

He worries his lips and takes a deep breath. God, he’s an idiot.

‘I just couldn’t help but listen in, sorry.’ He frowns and forces himself to smile. ‘You have a fascinating life story.’

Taeyong stays still for a while, blinking and unsure as how to proceed.

‘Papa, he’s okay,’ Cheonsa supplies, authority in her tone. ‘I’ve been watching him for some time, he has soft eyes.’

Taeyong snickers and nods, stroking her hair.

‘My daughter thinks that all people with soft eyes are good by default,’ he explains, looking at Jungwoo kindly. He exhales in relief. ‘Ten, my husband, has really kind eyes, and she thinks it’s a given for all nice people. I’m dreading the day she falls in love.’

Jungwoo giggles and lowers his head.

‘I’m really sorry about listening in.’ He swallows and scoots closer. ‘But please, continue with your story. What did Ten do when you confessed?’

‘Yeah?’ Cheonsa jumps up and puts her palms on her knees like a good girl.

Taeyong sputters at such interest and frowns, remembering.

‘Well, he froze,’ he recounts, licking his lips. ‘Honestly? I thought he’d run away there and then, and I’ll never see him again.’

Jungwoo kneads his palms. He knows the feeling — the one he gets every time he looks at Yukhei’s face on screen and opens his mouth to tell him the truth. Uneasiness, doubt, fear.

‘But he always had a way of surprising me,’ Taeyong continues, the softest smile on his lips. ‘He... He thanked me. And told me he’s about in the same place, but still needs some time to get there. And he would like to use that time to hang out with me.’

Jungwoo blinks. That easy?

‘Wow.’ He breathes out shakily. ‘That sounds... Nice. And mature.’

Taeyong looks at his phone screen. From where he’s sitting, Jungwoo can see a picture of a dark-haired beautiful man with Cheonsa in his arms. The man is smiling into the camera, the pure emotion of love in his eyes.

‘Yeah.’ Taeyong swallows. ‘I was surprised, too. And well, after that, it was mostly smooth sailing. Of course, we also had to deal with the whole Johnny and Mark mess, because Mark’s family situation made him really scared of his feelings. But.’ He looks down on his daughter, booping her nose. ‘We managed to knock some sense into him. Loving someone who’s as stubborn and loyal as your uncle Johnny means that you get forced to love yourself, too. And Mark had a little issue with that.’

Cheonsa reaches with her fingers to her mouth, lost in thought, and Taeyong gently puts her hand away. She sniffs and looks at her palms.

‘What’s wrong now, then?’ She asks shakily, tears in her eyes. ‘Why is uncle Johnny living with us?’

Jungwoo lowers his head, feeling that this is definitely not his business.

‘Mister Blue?’

He looks up, surprised. She’s looking at him, little fingers pointing to his blue hair. He blinks few times and emits a soft ‘Yeah?’.

‘Are you in love?’ She demands, her little fists clenched.

‘Cheonsa,’ her father warns, gripping her waist, trying to comfort an obviously distressed child.

‘No, it’s okay.’ Jungwoo smiles at him. He’s listened to his love story, might as well share his own. ‘Yeah, I am. I’m not with that person, though.’

‘Why?’ She asks, frowning. ‘Why are people so glitter? If you’re in love with someone, and they are in love with you, why don’t just be together and make happiness?’

Jungwoo opens his mouth to respond but there’s nothing on his mind. It’s easier for a child. She sees it all in one color, and could never fathom the complications of adult life.

Or is she right? Is it truly that easy? And they’re making their own lives hard with their stubborness and fear?

‘I don’t know if he loves me back,’ is all he manages to choke out.

‘Then ask him,’ she orders, and Jungwoo chuckles. The girl keeps looking at him demandingly, and he sputters.

‘What, now?’ He asks and witnesses her nodding. ‘I can’t. He’s on that plane your dad is piloting.’

She sniffs and jumps off to the floor and crosses her hands on her chest.

‘Then ask him when they land.’ Her voice is as strict and serious as a five year old can master, and Jungwoo nods to make her happy. She’s adorable. She nods contently and turns to her father. ‘I’m going to get candy, Dada.’

‘Okay, baby,’ he says with a soft smile. ‘Don’t leave my sight.’

She runs off, her fair hair flying behind her, and Jungwoo watches as she swims through the air like an angel.

‘I’m sorry about Cheonsa,’ Taeyong says, and Jungwoo turns to him. ‘She can be a bit intrusive.’

‘She’s right, though.’ Jungwoo clears his throat. Chuckles. ‘I should just ask him. Stop being afraid of rejection. It’s just... We’ve been friends for years. He’s the first person I came out to. I love him to pieces, and I don’t want to lose it.’

He frowns, suddenly anxious about telling this to a random person, but Taeyong doesn’t look uncomfortable. He’s thoughtful.

‘You know why Johnny is living on our couch?’ He swallows and looks at Jungwoo. It seems they have formed somewhat of a bond. Jungwoo doesn’t mind. Taeyong seems like a good person, and it’s evident from how he talks to his daughter. Parents always reveal their true self when speaking to their children when they don’t think anyone can hear them. Jungwoo tilts his head, signaling for him to continue. ‘Johnny proposed to Mark.’

Jungwoo raises his eyebrows, taken aback. It definitely isn’t what he was expecting when he heard bits and pieces of Taeyong’s friends’ story. Taeyong chuckles.

‘Yeah. I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t it supposed to be a good thing?’ He shrugs his shoulders sarcastically. ‘We’ve been anticipating it for months. They were so happy it made perfect sense. And when the day comes, we’re sitting at home while Johnny is off proposing, and then he comes in, face broken, and says that Mark isn’t sure he’s what Johnny needs.’

‘That’s kinda shitty of him to decide.’ Jungwoo frowns.

‘That’s what I said.’ Taeyong snorts and shakes his head. ‘Mark always had confidence issues but I thought that stayed in college along with his blonde curly hair phase.’

He looks at the table again. The storm isn’t getting any weaker.

‘Johnny was a mess. Still is.’ He continues with a heartbroken voice. ‘And you know, Mark never gave him an answer. He still carries the ring around. Ten told me he even has it with himself in the cabin. I’m trying to get through to Mark every time we talk, and it seems he’s ready to drop everything and run to Johnny’s arms but something stops him. Fuck, I hope he comes here.’

Jungwoo swallows, tilting his head. There’s supposed to be a point here somewhere. Taeyong seems like he started his story trying to show a lesson. Finally, he takes a shaky breath and looks up.

‘They’ll get back together, I know that,’ he says confidently. ‘But by that time they’ll have lost a lot of time they could spend together. Don’t make the same mistake. It’s better to know for sure and live with the truth than it is to wander around in the dark, wondering.’

Jungwoo blinks, biting his lip. It makes sense. And it’s tiring — to hide it and smile, especially when Lucas is telling him about the people he’s dating. Now that they’re going to be living together, it’s going to be even harder. What if one evening he asks for Jungwoo to hang around while he’s hosting some boy or girl? It will break him. And he’s not masochistic.

‘I’ll tell him when he lands.’ He nods to himself and smiles at Taeyong. ‘Your daughter should be a therapist.’

Taeyong snorts and looks at where she’s smiling her way into the desk manager giving her candy. She’s clutching money in her hands but she’s obviously set on trying the ‘I’m cute and small so give it to me for free’ approach first.

‘She’s a future rebel, I can feel it,’ Taeyong says gently. ‘She takes after Ten more than she does after me. I honestly don’t mind. It’s nice to have his small version around when he’s away.’

He looks at the table again and then at the news screen. They’re showing the forecast again. He sighs in frustration.

‘Fuck it.’ He unlocks his phone and scrolls through his contacts until he finds what he’s been looking for and presses dial. After a beat, there’s a curt response. ‘Jaehyun. Yeah, I know, I’m at Heathrow. Listen, I know it’s against the rules but—‘

He doesn’t get to finish because Jaehyun starts talking rapidly, and with each word of his Taeyong’s face gets paler. When he finishes, it takes him a few seconds to lick his dry lips and cough. ‘He’s going to land it. Jaehyun, listen to me, tell them he’s going to try and land the plane. He won’t stay in the air, he won’t risk it. Not again.’

Jaehyun goes to say something, but Taeyong growls and clutches his phone.

‘Yes, I’m sure. I know my fucking husband better than any of those idiots at control. And you know I’m right. Please, tell them and make them help him.’

Jaehyun says something else and Taeyong nods to himself, hanging up. His face is ashen, his eyes staring at the pristine floor yet not seeing it.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jungwoo asks, his heart beating wildly. ‘Why won’t he wait for he storm to pass?’

Taeyong blinks a few times and looks up, his eyes glossy.

‘There’s a woman giving birth on board.’

Jungwoo takes a deep breath, remembering what happened the last time Ten was in this situation. He can’t even imagine what Taeyong is feeling right now, let alone the pilots on the plane.

Sudden noise distracts him and he looks on his left, where outside, among the rain and wind, the workers are running toward the landing strip. Taeyong looks the same way and nods grimly to himself.

‘They listened to me.’

Jungwoo can guess what’s happening — they’re setting up the extra lights and signals to help the pilots lend the plane in such weather. He swallows. Turns to Taeyong, who keeps staring at the street.

‘How are their chances?’ He asks, his lips shaking. He can’t even entertain the thought of something happening to the plane, to Yukhei, to the father of that little girl who’s running towards them, happiness all over her face as she’s clutching the candy in her hand.

‘I’d say slim, but it’s Ten and Johnny. They have skill, experience, and motivation.’ Taeyong’s voice is hard and focused. He’s probably going through the standard procedure in his head to keep calm.

Cheonsa notices that something is wrong the second she stops before her dad. She drops the candy on the seat and takes his face in her tiny hands.

‘Dada?’ Her voice is small and scared but it’s visible in the lines of her face how brave she is. And how used she is to comforting her father when his husband isn’t there.

‘I’m fine,’ he whispers, lifting her to sit on his lap. He buries his face in her hair and takes a deep breath. ‘Your father is just making me nervous again.’

‘Bad Papa,’ she placates, mumbling into his shirt.

‘Very bad,’ Taeyong agrees, sniffing. ‘Can’t wait to tell it to his face.’

They sit in silence for what must be twenty minutes. People keep gathering around, their worried gazes fixed on the screens. The arrival time isn’t moving anymore, meaning that they’re getting closer, but there’s still no sign of any plane being in the air above the airport. The rain is hitting the windows like nails, drumming up the rhythm of despair on Jungwoo’s soul. He keeps checking his phone for any sign of Lucas, even though he knows he won’t be able to text. Seeing his face on the lockscreen still makes him calmer.

‘Just fucking arrive already, I swear I’ll tell you the truth,’ he murmurs to the smiling mug of a boy he loves so much. He can’t believe he’s been wasting all this time because he was afraid of rejection. This is a real fear. This is a real threat. This is a real possibility of Lucas never crushing him in his bear hug. He wants to cry suddenly, but he makes himself hold on.

‘Mister Blue?’

He looks up to see Cheonsa look at him with a pitiful look. Great.

‘I’m Jungwoo,’ he corrects her, realizing that he never introduced himself.

‘Jungwoo.’ She nods to herself. She’s leaning against her father’s chest, her eyelids sleepy. ‘What is the name of the person you’re waiting for?’

‘Yukhei,’ he answers, smiling softly. ‘But he often goes by Lucas. Something of a stage name.’

‘He’s a singer?’ She raises her head, her eyes widening. Taeyong looks down at her, his lips stretching.

‘He’s a rapper.’ Jungwoo chuckles. ‘And a dancer. He’s moving to London because their band in Paris got signed. They’re gonna make an album and everything.’

Her mouth is wide in a funny ‘o’ as she’s absorbing the information.

‘I have some of their songs on my phone?’ He offers, looking at Taeyong for permission. The man smiles and nods at his daughter to climb off his lap. She complies, eagerly positioning herself on the seat between Jungwoo and her dad.

Jungwoo unlocks his phone and shows her the picture.

‘That’s him.’ He’s unable to hide fondness from his voice as he looks at his smiling dork.

‘He’s pretty,’ Cheonsa states, nodding to herself as if she just confirmed what she already suspected.

He scrolls through this gallery to open the NCT folder and search for the video he wants to show. He presses play, and Yestoday starts playing on screen, Dongyoung’s face filling up the space. Cheonsa stays still throughout the whole video, her fingers playing with her lips as she’s focused on the voices from the speakers. She squeals when Lucas comes on screen, his deep voice rapping the lyrics, and she reaches out to boop his nose when he’s shown on the whole screen. Jungwoo giggles, understanding her urge.

When it cuts to black, she raises her head, her eyes large and awed.

‘They’re so cool,’ she whispers and turns to Taeyong, little feet flying impatiently in the air. ‘Daddy, can we go to their concert? And listen to them at home?’

‘Of course.’ Taeyong nods and smiles. ‘I’ll buy you everything they release as soon as they do it, okay?’

Cheonsa squeals in excitement and jumps off to the floor, dancing around and singing the tune she just heard under her nose. Taeyong watches her fondly, his lips pressed together.

‘I wish I could be as unbothered and hopeful as she is,’ he murmurs, seemingly even unaware he’s talking.

Jungwoo looks at him and sighs shakily. He gets it.

‘Yeah,’ he whispers.

They turn their gazes to the window, where the grey sky is still raging. Suddenly, there’s a flash of lighting, and right after it — the crushing sound of thunder. Jungwoo shudders, thinking about the people in the sky. They must be terrified. He looks at Taeyong to ask him something, but the man isn’t moving, his pale face stone-like, his focused gaze fixed on a point in the clouds. Jungwoo follows his gaze and strains his eyes, trying to see what he’s seeing. At first, there’s nothing but the raging rain and the black desperation of the storm, but then he sees it — a little moving dot, approaching slowly but steadily.

‘Hey, baby,’ Taeyong whispers from beside him, reaching out with his hand, Cheonsa immediately noticing and grabbing his palm.

Taeyong stands up and walks to the window, Jungwoo going after him. He presses his hand to the cold glass, breathing shakily. His heart is beating wildly, all of his mind screaming to the gods he doesn’t believe in to help them land safely.

The plane is more visible now, but it’s still buried in the clouds.

‘Do they even see when they’re going?’ He asks Taeyong, his eyes not leaving the ink stain that is the metal bird in the embrace of the air.

‘They should,’ Taeyong answers, his voice hard. ‘There’s more than enough light, and they already passes the storm. They should’ve landed a long time ago. There’s something wrong with the plane.’

He says it quietly, just so that only Jungwoo can hear it, seeing as other people are around them, waiting for their loved ones, and it sends shivers down his spine. Taeyong dials someone without looking and presses the phone to his ear.

‘Jaehyun.’

Jaehyun speaks for a solid minute, Taeyong’s white lips not uttering a sound.

‘Thank you,’ he says finally and hangs up. He turns his head slightly toward Jungwoo, still looking at the sky. ‘I don’t have enough clearance now that I’m not working, but my friend from control still helps me out. He said he can’t tell me the details, but I was right — one of the nacelles got damaged by the storm. The woman in labor is still having contractions. I can’t even imagine the stress Ten and Johnny are under right now.’

Cheonsa is pressing herself to her father’s leg, her tiny palms on the glass as if she’s trying to reach out to her other dad and help him out. Her eyes are glossy, but she’s holding on, and Jungwoo doesn’t think he’s ever respected a five year old so much.

‘Come back home to me, you idiot,’ Taeyong whispers to the sky, his hand gripping Cheonsa’s shoulder. ‘You promised me a fucking vacation.’

He doesn’t even seem to notice that he’s swearing in front of his child, and Jungwoo doesn’t judge him. He can’t imagine how it is. How often Taeyong wakes up in the middle of the night, wondering if his husband will come back or if someone will call him and inform him that there’s been an accident. How much should you love someone to always let them go? To let them do what they love even if it brings you pain and worry sometimes? Jungwoo swallows. Yukhei may never step out of that plane, and he’ll have spent years denying himself the truth, not telling the person he loves about his feelings, and it will be Jungwoo’s fault, and his fault only. He closes his eyes. This is it.

There’s movement behind them and he sees medics rushing to the terminal, ready to treat people who need it.

Suddenly, there’s a whooshing sound, and he whips his head back to look at the sky. The plane is rapidly lowering, too fast to be the usual procedure. It’s moving towards the landing strip, following the illumination through the fog, and finally lands with landing gear hitting the ground with the sound so loud it’s audible even to them, even though the landing looks extremely smooth, considering the circumstances. The plane flies forward on the ground, its wings flailing unevenly.

‘Shit,’ Taeyong hisses. ‘There’s something wrong with the spoilers.’

Jungwoo vaguely remembers flying a plane and seeing the wings through the illuminator. The parts that Taeyong’s talking about — the moveable trailing edge, and more specifically, the spoilers — are supposed to emerge and reduce the speed so that the plane slows down faster without the disadvantage of the momentum. But now, one of them isn’t working, causing the plane almost spiral. Jungwoo sees the working spoiler lower down and guesses one of the pilot’s quick thinking. If it stayed the way it was, it could’ve derail the fuselage altogether and cause it to leave the landing strip.

‘You smart boys,’ Taeyong chuckles, his voice full of adrenalin.

There is another problem, though — the momentum is working, and the plane isn’t losing speed, oh the irony, fast enough. With this scenario, they can simply run out of the landing strip and keep moving in the field that’s behind the aerodrome.

‘Do planes have breaks?’ Jungwoo asks in panic, unable to tear his gaze away from the aircraft.

‘Yes, this one has air brakes in the landing gear, but they already did their work,’ Taeyong answers, voice cold and collected. ‘And of course, there are spoilers. Those things that aren’t working properly — they’re supposed to ease the landing and allow the plane to lose speed at a proper rate for the engines not to cool down too quickly.’

So Jungwoo had it all wrong — the spoilers protect the engines. Shit.

‘The spoilers deploy automatically upon landing.’ Taeyong keeps talking as if it helps him stay calm. It probably does. ‘And they did, but something happened and Ten had to turn them off, and—‘

He cuts himself off, gasping. Jungwoo sees it too — the spoilers deploy again, this time working properly and both at the same time. They both exhale in relief.

‘He always fixes problems like this, you know.’ Taeyong laughs hysterically. ‘Just tries to turn it on and off again.’

They watch as the plane loses speed like it’s supposed to, and fucking finally — it stops right at the edge of the landing strips. All the people gathered in the hall release a collective breath and start clapping.

‘That’s my boys,’ Taeyong whispers, closing his eyes and finally letting his tears fall.

The rest twenty minutes pass as in a dream. They watch as the medics speed to the plane and the flight attendants help the pregnant woman off the plane, two men in uniforms climbing into the ambulance with her. As soon as the car rides off toward the airport, the rest of the passengers start filling out, and Jungwoo knows he won’t recognize him from this distance — but he still looks for a sand colored head among the dozens.

It takes the medics five minutes to reach the building, and Jungwoo notices when they enter he lobby to transfer the woman to the emergency room because people erupt in cheers and Cheonsa runs off with a scream, disappearing in the crowd, Taeyong on her heels.

Jungwoo goes after them, pushing through the crowd and following the clear high voice from the center.

‘She’s been having contractions every three minutes for the past forty seven minutes.’ The man talking is serious and collected and something in the way he enunciates his vowels rings familiar to Jungwoo.

He breaks through the crowd earlier that Cheonsa and Taeyong, apparently, because, just as he steps out to witness medics wheeling the screaming woman away, the man who was talking buries his face in his hands, exhaling.

‘Papa!’ Comes a loud high-pitched squeal, and the man Jungwoo recognizes as Ten looks up, his eyes wide.

Like a flash of light, a little blonde creature jumps on him, and his hands fly up to hold her close, and he shuts his eyes, burying his face in her hair.

‘Hello, my petal,’ he murmurs softly, and Jungwoo watches as Taeyong emerges from the crowd, his chest heaving.

‘Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul.’ His voice is loud and strict as he stomps towards his husband.

‘Oh glitter, your father is mad.’ Ten leans back to leave a soft smooch on Cheonsa’s nose. ‘Let’s move you to uncle Johnny for protection.’

For the first time since he got here, Jungwoo notices a man behind Ten. He’s taller than him, his pale face scanning the crowd, and it’s obvious how he’s trying to hide his disappointment at not finding someone. When he sees that Cheonsa is reaching out for him, he immediately focuses his attention on her as she climbs to his hands.

‘’Sup, little one?’ His voice is tired yet gentle, and his eyes radiate love and happiness. She is so small yet brings light to so many people in her life. Jungwoo swallows, feeling full of warmth for the little creature he barely knows.

Meanwhile, Taeyong reaches Ten who meets him halfway, their bodies crushing into each other in the beautiful picture of grey waves in a storming sea. They fit into each other’s embrace like a puzzle, and watching them feels like witnessing something so pure and true that it hurts.

‘I’m sorry I’m late for our date, angel,’ Ten murmurs, his face pressed into Taeyong’s neck. ‘Had a little issue with the botched engine.’

Taeyong doesn’t answer, leaning back and shutting him up with a firm kiss, his hands gripping Ten’s shoulders so hard his knuckles whiten. When they part, he presses their foreheads together and takes a shaky breath.

‘I swear, if you ever scare me like that again, I’m gonna slap you so hard,’ he whines angrily, his lips shaking from emotions.

‘Oh, you and your slapping kink,’ Johnny snorts from beside them, Cheonsa now on the floor, one hand clutching Johnny’s pants leg, and the other — Ten’s. She seems set on not letting them wander away. Smart girl. Smart and determined.

‘Johnny.’ Taeyong breathes out and goes to hug him too, standing on his tiptoes as he tries to reach the man’s shoulders. ‘Amazing landing. You did so well.’

‘Yeah, there’s a reason we always fly together.’ Johnny shrugs with one shoulder, his look somewhat lost, a corner of his lips tagging upwards. ‘We work better in tandem. Hey, is it only you and the little one?’

Jungwoo feels how the mood changes, freezing cold coming over the whole party as Taeyong gets lost for words. Johnny smiles bitterly and nods to himself, taking a deep breath. His face looks so tired it’s a wonder that he’s still standing straight, but it looks like his exhaustion goes deeper into the lines of his body than a hard flight. There is something fundamentally sad about the man, and Jungwoo thinks about the man named Mark.

‘It’s not your fault,’ Johnny says quietly with a little smile when Taeyong fails to find any words. ‘I guess, he made his choice, after all.’

Ten sighs and comes closer to put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder, but he doesn’t have time to say something — there’s movement in the crowd, and after some scuffle people part, and Jungwoo sees a disheveled small man appear, his leather jacket flying around him and a bike helmet clutched in his hand by the strap. The whole group freezes, looking at him, yet his eyes are fixed on Johnny.

They just — keep looking at each other for a solid minute, until Johnny makes a step forward, and man lunges to him, dropping his helmet on the ground and making an impressive leap that crushes him into Johnny. The pilot catches him by the waist, his other hand going to his face, and there’s so much confusion and hurt and hope in both of their faces that Jungwoo feels his breath hitch.

‘Yes.’ The man’s voice is firm and strong, and his hands are gripping the lapels of Johnny’s uniform jacket.

‘What?’ Johnny chuckles, his throat dry.

‘Yes,’ Mark repeats, swallowing and licking his lips. ‘I will marry you. But you have to promise me to never fucking die on the job. You’re going to pass away from being so old you can’t even hold my hand, and you bet your fucking ass I will be there to sass you to afterlife.’

Johnny laughs — loud, happy, joyful sound, and it’s echoed by a gentler one, Cheonsa giggling excitedly, clapping her little hands together.

Mark leans forward, pressing his lips to the corner of Johnny’s mouth, his hands hugging his face, and his eyes are so incredibly soft it’s painful to watch — like an eclipse.

‘I’m so sorry for being an idiot,’ he whispers, but Johnny shakes his head, kissing his eyelids.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small blue velvet box, Mark giggling not unlike Cheonsa, his nervousness in the lines of his body.

‘You’re my idiot,’ Johnny says, opening the box and getting the ring. ‘And I will spend the rest of my life proving to you how worthy and right we are for each other.’

Jungwoo can’t help it — he feels his eyes water as he presses a hand to his lips, his shaking fingers beating in sync with his heart. This is so amazing — to watch the ring fit Mark’s finger so perfectly, and he’s known them for barely minutes and only through someone else’s stories yet here he is — looking at them and their love, his soul brimming with excitement.

‘Can you imagine they let me pass the border control?’

He whips around, shocked at hearing the familiar voice as if he wasn’t waiting to do it for the past few hours. Yukhei looks — as usual. Wild hair, dorky t-shirt and ripped jeans, his dirty sneakers contrasting against the pristine white floor. His bag is lying near him as he’s freed his hands to extend them into an invitation to hug. His blinding smile — the one Jungwoo missed so much and the one he fell in love with — painting his already pretty face with beatific beauty.

‘Hi,’ Jungwoo says softly, unable to hold back his own wide smile and stepping forward to drown in Yukhei’s strong embrace.

He feels like home. He’s the one coming back yet it feels like Jungwoo is the one who went through a long journey only to realize that what he’s been looking for was beside him all along. He holds on to his body as if it’s his lighthouse, leading him to salvation through the dark storm. He doesn’t want to let go yet he has to — to look at Yukhei’s face and take it all in.

‘Hey,’ Jungwoo whispers, his nervousness suddenly back. ‘I need to tell you something.’

This is it. He’ll do it. He’ll make it.

He chances a glance at Cheonsa and sees the little girl watch him intently, a reassuring smile on her lips as she’s standing near her hugging parents and uncles. She supports him. Jungwoo takes a deep breath. He can do anything with a support of such an extraordinary little angel.

‘Yeah?’ Lucas smiles, frowning, and bops his nose. ‘Can I go first? I kinda realized something out there in the storm, and I don’t think I can stand here any longer without saying it.’

‘Of course you can’t, darling, it’s you.’ Jungwoo chuckles and strokes his chin. ‘Say it, then.’

Yukhei looks deep into his eyes, and Jungwoo feels like he’s flying, his best friend giving him wings that cannot be broken nor burned, and he is like Icarus — flying so close to his personal sun he can feel its scolding heat on the nape of his neck. It’s smiling, beckoning him close, and he is strong, full of love for the sun, and so it can never hurt him.

‘I’m kinda in love with you,’ Yukhei blurts out, blinking rapidly. ‘Not kinda. I am. I do. Love you, I mean.’

Jungwoo feels that he can’t breathe, his rushing mind suddenly coming to a halt. What? This wasn’t in the plan. He never actually thought about what Lucas’ feelings might be, even though they directly influenced the results of Jungwoo’s potential confession. And even more so, he never anticipated Lucas confessing himself, beating Jungwoo to it.

‘How dare you,’ he huffs, suddenly offended. ‘Coming here, all pretty and shit, telling me all this with such a confident face, not allowing me to do it first. That’s impolite, at the very least!’

He knows he’s being illogical and not making any sense but he can’t help it — his mind is a mess of thoughts and feelings, all of his schemes fried up by Yukhei’s mischievous eyes looking deep into his soul. They’re warm and inviting, and they love him just as much as he loves them.

‘Do it first?’ Lucas asks, giggling smugly as Jungwoo stands there, pouting.

‘Yeah.’ He breathes out and leans closer, pressing his nose to Yukhei’s cheek. ‘I’ve been in love with your dumb ass for years. And it’d be nice to finally kiss you.’

He feels Yukhei’s skin warm up as he starts to blush, and it makes him so giddy, because for all the unbotherness Lucas always radiates, he can be the shiest baby. Jungwoo feels so much soft love for him that it’s hard to breathe. He feels a hand on his waist gripping tighter, and fingers in his hair tag gently.

‘Then kiss me,’ Lucas whispers, and Jungwoo doesn’t need telling twice.

It feels like their long late night calls, and cups of coffee they chugged together back in college, and the forest they once traveled to, and the waterfall they saw that gave Jungwoo a fever for days, and the birds they released together after stealing them away from captivity in their university’s lab, and Lucas laughing loudly at four in the morning when Jungwoo climbed his window despite his parents putting him on house arrest, and Jungwoo chastising Lucas when he spent the weekend making hundreds of paper airplanes for Jungwoo’s birthday instead of preparing for their chem test, and the first time Jungwoo held his hand and felt the overpowering warmth of being in love with him, and the first song Lucas ever performed, dedicating it to him — to his best friend, little Jungwoo, who smiled shyly at him from the corner of the room, because of course he came to see their first gig live, and their embrace after the show on Yukhei’s small couch, and then whispering to each other that they will be okay as long as they stick together, and going away to work in London but never losing touch with each other, and coming back to each other no matter the time and distance. It feels like them.

‘Good job, mister Jungwoo,’ comes a bright voice, and Jungwoo opens his eyes to look at Cheonsa.

She’s smiling brightly, her gaping hole from the missing tooth contrasting adorably against her otherwise intact teeth. Her little hands are clasped together, and her blonde hair is tangled around her head after her caretakers muffling it so much. She looks like a disheveled angel.

‘Thank you, Cheonsa,’ Jungwoo giggles shakily, his brain still a mush after — wow, after kissing Lucas. He looks at his best friend and can’t keep off a huge smile.

‘Hey, don’t mean to interrupt, but this is too much of a coincidence.’ Taeyong comes closer, one of his hands never letting go of his husband’s palm. ‘Ten just told me you were a huge help on the plane?’

Jungwoo looks at Lucas, his brows arched. If there is an opportunity to get in trouble and/or save the day, Lucas will jump on it. Yukhei’s pupils are still blown and his face flushed (which is Jungwoo’s doing, thank you very much), but he collects himself and licks his lips.

‘Yeah?’ He asks, unsure.

‘Yes,’ both Ten and Johnny say in unison.

Johnny is still wrapped around Mark, but he’s looking at Lucas with respect.

‘He managed to calm the entire crew down and support the woman in labor,’ he clarifies for those who weren’t in the middle of that mess. ‘Usually, flight attendants are supposed to do that, but well. I guess, the best ones stayed on land.’

He looks down on Mark who’s shyly hiding his face in Johnny’s clothes. He’s a flight attendant, too? Wow, that’s an interesting family.

‘Yeah, thanks a lot, man.’ Ten shakes his hand and nods. ‘It was a bitch of a flight.’

Cheonsa starts jumping up and clapping her palms, her hair bouncing in a funny way.

‘Papa, you owe a dollar into a swear jar! And you promised me pizza when you land!’ She tags on his sleeve until he crouches next to her. ‘Let’s take them with us! Lucas will sing to me.’

Yukhei chuckles and looks at Jungwoo.

‘Did you tell the entire airport about my career?’ His voice is teasing and fuck — Jungwoo missed this idiot so much.

‘No, just this little angel and her dad.’ Jungwoo puts his head on Yukhei’s shoulder, enjoying the closeness and the ability to finally relax in his presence. God, he’s so whipped.

‘I don’t see why we can’t have a big celebratory dinner,’ Mark says, his warm gaze on Cheonsa. ‘I’ve missed this little demon.’

Cheonsa huffs and crosses her hands on her chest, looking down with an offended face.

‘You never came over to see me,’ she blames him, her voice quiet. It’s obvious she’s trying to hide how hurt she is, but her shaking lips betray her.

Mark makes a soft sound and kneels before her, sitting down on the floor to be on one eye level with her, even lower. He takes her hands in his, her little fingers of both hands fitting into one of his palms.

‘I’m sorry, my little devil,’ he murmurs, stroking her cheeks. ‘Uncle Mark is a bit of an idiot. He’s been going through something, but I promise you — I kept thinking about you and always asked your daddies how you’re doing.’

She sniffs and looks up, her eyes glossy.

‘Uncle Johnny was sad, too, you know,’ she whispers. She seems too mature for a kid, and Jungwoo doesn’t think years would be enough for him to grasp how unique she is. ‘I came to cuddle him at night, but he still cried sometimes.’

Johnny looks away, self-conscious at being sold out by a child, and Jungwoo presses closer to Yukhei, feeling like he’s prying again. Jesus, how did he manage to get himself into this?

‘I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure that he is always smiling, angel, okay?’ Mark kisses her forehead and waits for her to step forward to envelop her in a tight hug. ‘You’re too smart for you age.’

‘I know, Dada always says that.’ She’s calmer now, her head on Mark’s shoulder, her eyelids drooping.

‘It’s way past your nap-time,’ Ten says, stroking her hair softly. ‘All the adrenaline must have you exhausted.’

‘I’m fi-i-ine,’ she yawns and closes her eyes. Ten smiles softly while Mark hugs her closer to keep her from falling.

‘Let’s go home,’ Taeyong says softly, taking his husband’s hand. He turns to Jungwoo and Yukhei and points his finger at them. ‘You’re coming with us, sorry, child’s orders.’

Yukhei laughs but slaps a hand over his mouth as to not wake Cheonsa up, and looks at Jungwoo with his eyebrow raised. Jungwoo nods and gives him a soft kiss on the cheek.

‘It seems like we have five new friends.’ He shrugs, not really minding it. ‘Let’s go.’

He grabs Yukhei’s bag before the guy can protest and nods for Taeyong to lead the way. His car will fit them all, he thinks, and Mark seemed to have ridden in on a bike, and seeing how Johnny is clutching his helmet, they’re both taking it to get back.

Jungwoo looks at Cheonsa’s sleeping face, Mark carrying her carefully through the groups of people scattered about in the hall, and smiles.

So tiny and young, yet so wise, and so captivatingly bright that the men of her life seem to gravitate toward her, protecting and keeping watch. He squeezes Yukhei’s hand, smiling at his boy, love filling his soul to the brim and threatening to overspill but it’s okay — he knows Yukhei will be there to scoop it up and place it in his own heart.

Jungwoo smiles wider.

He’s fine.

The storm is still raging, but he feels warm.