ateez family au

o60

"Ah? It's so late, why are you calling?" Seonghwa asked concerned as he picked up the phone. It was little past 1 am, and he was actually sleepy but his habits didn't let him rest. So, he kept himself up with cleaning and rearranging the house.

"You don't sleep alone and I don't know when I will be done, so I want you to stop tidying up the living room for the third time and go to sleep" he said through the phone, Seonghwa could imagine him smiling sadly.

"That's not true... I'm not tidying up the living room no..." Seonghwa let the couch pillow fall onto the soft surface. "Why would you think that?" he giggled nervously.

"I don't know... Dare to say we're married and I know your habits more than mine but I'm not sure" he chuckled softly. "Come on, let me talk you to sleep. I don't want to keep you waiting for so long. Maybe I will even stay over here and crash on the couch"

Seonghwa sighed as he slowly made his way up to the bedroom. He checked into the rooms of his kids, covering Jongho with his blanket again and rolling Yeosang back into his bed. They definitely are just as messy sleepers as their parents. "Are you excited?" he asked as he entered his own bedroom.

"excited? I'm more than just excited. One week is left to the comeback" Hongjoong chuckles dryly.

"You should take care of yourself, if you overwork yourself now it's going to end bad in the end" Seonghwa marked by and got between his covers. "You're doing well, it's okay to take time for your body's health. Your voice sounds sore even through the phone" he added and laid down. He but Hongjoong on speaker and put his phone under the pillow he was hugging.

"Ah... That's because I'm sleepy. I'm fine, just fine" he gave back and leaned back into his office chair. The lights around him was dimmed, he was taking a short break. After he put his husband to sleep he was going to go through the dance routine again. He felt like he was still lacking, it had to be perfect. "Ah... How was today?"

"Mhm... Yunho and the twins were studying the whole day. Of course I want them to be good at school but... I tried to tell them it's not worth it. I'm fearing that Yunho feels pressured"

"Ah... He always does. I will talk to him tomorrow. For once I am the favorite dad" he joked, making a face as if Seonghwa could see it. "Hm... I will take him to go grocery shopping and then talk to him, he opens up easier when he's not at home"

"Did we ever give him the feeling he has to be the best at first try?" Seonghwa asked carefully. That was exactly something he didn't want to project onto his kids. Oh he loved his own parents and how they had raised him, but there were things he didn't want to do too.

"No, Hwa don't think that. I think it's 'natural'. I felt like I had to be the best at every and be the strongest because I was the only boy between my siblings. Don't stress yourself over that now, we will solve this, okay?"

"mhm..." Seonghwa yawned into the pillow, shifting a little. He pulled the blanket between his knees, pulled the pillow he was hugging closer to his chest and rested his head on the upper half. "we need to find a solution for the cold bed" he mumbled, nesting between the many pillows and the thick blanket.

"Ah? Maybe if you put these warmers under the pillow?"

"Hm, should definitely try that out some time"
"what am I going to do when you're at the military, ah?"

"Force the boys to sleep in out bed with you..."
"... We have been separated so many times, we got this"

"You're talking like you won't miss home at all"

"I do?..."
"No, I won't miss waking up in my warm bed and seeing your puffed red face first thing. I will definitely not miss Wooyoung and Yeosang fighting over dinosaur nuggets. I won't miss how we watch a movie together every Friday night, how the kids and I cook dinner on the weekends together. I won't miss coming home late again, but see you up preparing my meal because you always think about everyone else. I won't. I won't miss going to bed next to you, seeing you as the last before closing my eyes... No, i won't... "

"... Are you crying?"

" nO"

"Hongjoong I swear to god-"

"You're crying too shut up-"

~

"Okay baby, remember, no matter how well you do on this test, Dad and I love you unconditionally" Seonghwa repeated and stroked his son's hair before sending him off with his brothers.

The morning had been stressful for them, Seonghwa had overslept for the fist time. He was cursing himself for staying up that late. So, they were a little late for school and kindergarten. Not that much that they would miss a little of class but enough that San, Yeosang and Yunho had to run to their classes.

As the others were visiting kindergarten it wasn't that important to be punctual, Seonghwa preferred to be though.

Aftet dropping off Mingi and Wooyoung too, he and Jongho made their way home too. "Daddy home, baba?" the littlest one asked from the backseat, looking at his father through the mirror. "Daddy not home yesterday"

Seonghwa gave him a glance back as he drove. "Oh I don't know, bunny. Daddy slept at work yesterday. I don't think he's going to be that early" he replied sighing. The drove them back home, attempted to park in the garage. His face lit up when he saw Hongjoong's car parked in there instead. He quickly stopped the car at the outside park next to their garage.Jongho too saw the familiar car of his father. "Ah! Daddy home!" he cheered, ran to the door as soon as Seonghwa unbuckled him.

"Ah Jongie, wait for Baba!" the father chuckled and followed the youngest to the door, locking it open. Jongho took off as fast as he could with his short legs, found his father in the kitchen brewing coffee. "You're home earlier than I had expected" Seonghwa grinned as he entered the kitchen to see Jongho letting Hongjoong kiss his cheek.

"Couldn't miss breakfast with you two, could I?" he replied, pressing another aggressively affectionate kiss on Jongho's chubby cheek. Then another and another.

"Wah! Too much- ihg- no- noo-"

-

The worst part at being an empathetic person is that when someone is treating you bad, you understand why. And you forgive them for that. And I can't even hate them-

No-one is worth your empathy at a point. Don't let them use it against yourself. If they are treating you like trash that's because they are trash-

Don't be my dumb ass.
Be a smarter ass.

- that should be my new ending signature tho-

Ah I hate it here sometimes. So I have one day left yall. I'm taking my math exam tomorrow too. At least 6th class is canceled and I can be at home earlier. I don't have the strength for six hours of school tomorrow.

Don't be my dumb ass.
Be a smarter ass.

-gulkurusubb