ateez family au

134

It was late at night when the family could finally arrive back home. Tired whining ringed though the house as they entered their loved home.

"I can't no more~" Jongho while and clung to his father's leg. "Papa~ can you carry me up~? I'm so~ tired," he poured and yawned, hugging Seonghwa's leg dearly.

"Bunny..." The elder sighed and bent down to pick his youngest up. Jongho had clearly become heavier by now, his littlest boy wasn't that little anymore. But that didn't stop him from treating him like it though. "We'll make a quick snack and then we will all go to sleep, mhm? We don't want to go to sleep hungry, hm?" he said and sat the sleepy boy down on the couch. Soon all his children piled up in the living room, barely awake. Sleeping in the car hadn't been an option; being quiet for a moment unfortunately wasn't a gene the Kim siblings could have inherited.

Swiftly, Hongjoong made the easiest and fastest dinner substitute: sandwiches. His limps hurt from sitting in the driver's seat for too long, he felt it in his upper thighs.

Two hands reached next to him for the bread, he flinched back slightly. "Just me, just me," Seonghwa said chuckling a little amused. The elder was way faster with preparing food, it even looked better than the two little cripply ones the younger had made. "I guess that's it with winter adventures," Seonghwa commented into silence and closed the swiftly prepared chicken sandwich.

"Looks like the back yard's the only winter wonderland this year," Hongjoong gave back and welcomed a series of memories that made him smile oh so warmly. "you remember when Jongho was a toddler?"

"And you lost him in the knee-high snow in the back yard? Yeah, quite vividly," Seonghwa replied and went back to memories. That year it also had snowed a lot, their back yard had been filled with large loads, it had reached his knees. He also remembered preparing little Baby Jongho in a thick snow suit with mittens and a wooly hat in witch he couldn't but only roll around. "I was gone for how long? Half an hour? And I came back to my baby missing-"

"Please it was hilarious too," Hongjoong replied and stifled a laugh. The picture of Jongho helplessly trying to climb out of the 'hole' he was stuck in. The to his hat attached bunny ears had had been the first to peak out of the high snow.

"I'll bury you in that same spot I swear to you."

~

"Papa, I'm going to take a shower, ah?" Yunho yelled through the corridor of the second floor. "I still smell like the hot chocolate Mingi spilled over me."

"Mhm, okay," Seonghwa gave back from downstairs, currently busy with putting the last plates in the dishwasher. "Don't take too long, sleep early today."

Complete silence laid over the Kim house, the clicking of the clock seemed to echo through the empty floors. Nearly as loud as Seonghwa's ache for rest. The day had been quite the ride for him, considering the slight discomfort the 'locked in the car in one and a half meter snow' gave him.

Quietly he climbed the stairs, the closer he got to the second floor, the louder the noise of the shower down the corridor got. Usually, he started with Mingi and Yunho's room, but this time he decided to start a new routine.

Softly he knocked at the thick wooden door, entered after a quiet 'yes?'
Wooyoung and Jongho sat up in their bed and looked at their father with sleepy eyes. Seonghwa's face softened completely, cooing at the two internally. "I came to say goodnight," he said and sat on the edge of Wooyoung's bed first.

The boy turned to his side and cuddled his father's waist dearly. "Goodnight, Papa~," he mumbled, still holding him tight. "I love you~"

"I love you too, Wooyoungie," Seonghwa gave back and left a little kiss on his son's forehead before detangling from his grip. Next, he seated himself on Jongho's bed, the youngest already awaiting him with big round eyes.