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Waking up the Friday after Thanksgiving is hard.
Namjoon is exhausted. His eyes feel like they are permanently glued together. Seokjin had done the bulk of the work: cooking enough to feed their five kids and Seokjin’s parents. However, Namjoon had been busy too. He had been in charge of keeping all their toddlers out of the kitchen and washing the dishes after dinner.
It had been a lot of work, and Namjoon had been looking forward to his Friday off. He had so many plans. He wanted to sleep in, lie around, play with his kids, eat leftovers, maybe make out with Jin for a while...
But his husband had other ideas.
“Oh, good, you’re up! Let’s talk about Christmas!” Seokjin said the second Namjoon opened his eyes.
“What?” Namjoon asked, or at least, he tried too. It was still too early in the morning for talking. He searched his bedside table blindly for his alarm clock. He nearly pulled it from the wall, trying to see the time. “Jin. Jin. Babe, it’s 6:30 in the morning.”
“Tell that to Jimin,” Seokjin said.
Jimin hummed. Namjoon rolled over and tried to open his eyes enough to see Jimin tucked into the covers between him and Seokjin. The TV on the dresser was turned on, and Jimin was completely absorbed in the children’s program playing. Namjoon mustered up enough strength to lean over and kiss his chubby cheek.
“Hey, focus, we have things to discuss,” Seokjin said, a notepad on his lap and glasses poised on the tip of his nose.
Namjoon closed his eyes again. “Mhm.”
“You have to be awake for it.”
Namjoon grunted but didn’t open his eyes.
“Joonie, wake up!” Jimin said, pulling his eyes from Team Umizoomi long enough to crawl on top of Namjoon. He bounced on him a couple times. “Up, up, up!”
Namjoon groaned. There was no way he was getting any more sleep this morning, so he might as well dive into the day. He sprung up from the mattress and tackled Jimin, flipping him onto his back. Jimin squealed as Namjoon pressed kisses all over his face. “Got you,” Namjoon said proudly.
“Let go!” Jimin giggled. Namjoon didn’t let go, but he did stop attacking him with kisses. He pulled Jimin into his lap.
“Okay, what do we need to talk about?” Namjoon asked. He looped his arm around Jimin’s little shoulders. Jimin’s eyes found the TV screen again as his parents talked over his head.
“Christmas,” Seokjin repeated.
Namjoon arched an eyebrow. “Babe, Thanksgiving was yesterday,” he said, ducking his head down to press a couple extra kisses to the crown of Jimin’s head.
“Christmas is bigger than Thanksgiving, Namjoon,” Seokjin said drily.
“Oh, right, silly me.”
“No, really,” Seokjin said, scratching behind his ear with his pencil. “We didn’t get Taehyung until January, and Hoseok is brand new to this household.”
Namjoon’s smirk fell from his face as he realized what Seokjin was telling him. He put one hand over his heart. His eyes widened. “It’s both of their first Christmas with us,” he realized, his heart swelling at the thought.
“Maybe their first Christmas ever,” Seokjin corrected.
“When is Christmas?” Jimin asked, seemingly tuning into the conversation.
“December 25th. That’s one month away,” Namjoon answered. Jimin nodded, but Namjoon wasn’t sure he had a strong enough concept of time to understand. Jimin grabbed onto one of Namjoon’s arms, forcing him to hug onto him again.
“I love Christmas,” Jimin said happily.
“Do you remember much about it?” Namjoon asked.
Jimin nodded, blinking at the TV screen. “I met Santa, and we had socks and cookies,” he answered. “And I got a little kitchen.” Namjoon blinked, admittedly surprised by his son’s memory.
Seokjin, meanwhile, looked determined. “See? Jimin loves Christmas. All of our kids should love Christmas. This year it has to be perfect.”
“Perfect, huh?” Namjoon asked, suddenly feeling tired again. When Seokjin said ‘perfect,’ he meant really, utterly and truly perfect. He was going to wear Namjoon out, trying to make all the necessary preparations. Namjoon was exhausted already.
“Perfect,” Seokjin repeated. Before Namjoon could sigh, Seokjin ducked in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Also good morning. I love you.”
Namjoon smiled at that. “I love you, too,” Namjoon promised. If Seokjin wanted a perfect Christmas, then that is what he was going to get.
Namjoon’s lap was filled with kids as he tried to read the Christmas story. Seokjin had bought a picture book telling the story of Mary and Joseph back when Yoongi was new to the house. It had been helpful then, but it was hard to read to five kids at the same time, especially when they all wanted to see the pictures.
“Who’s that?” Hoseok asked, pointing at the page.
“That’s a wise man,” Namjoon answered. They had finally reached the nativity scene, and Hoseok had all kinds of questions.
“Who’s that?” Hoseok asked. This time he pointed to Mary.
“It’s Jesus’s mom,” Yoongi said. He pointed to Joseph. “And that’s his dad, and then that’s Jesus when he was a baby. He grows up.”
Namjoon ruffled Yoongi’s hair. “Good job, Yoongi! I guess they really do teach you guys in Sunday school, huh?” It was always a struggle to get all the boys to go into their classrooms on Sunday mornings (they were all so attached), but it was worth it to sit alone in the sermon with Jin. It was hard to be a dad all of the time.
“Who are them?” Hoseok asked again, prodding at the shepherds.
“That’s the shepherds,” Namjoon answered, unable to stop the smile from creeping up his face. Hoseok was going to ask him who every single person was before he would get to close this picture book.
“Why?”
“Why are they there?” Namjoon clarified, and Hoseok nodded. Namjoon closed the book and put it down, shifting Jungkook and Taehyung so they were sitting more comfortably on his lap. “Because they want to celebrate Jesus being born,” he said. “Just like we do. And that’s why we have Christmas, it’s like a birthday party for Jesus, except everybody gets presents.”
“And Santa brings them!” Jimin exclaimed, standing up on the couch. He put his hands on Namjoon’ shoulder to keep himself steady. “Jinnie says we’re gonna write him letters to tell him what we want,” he told Hoseok and Taehyung. Jungkook, meanwhile, tried to copy his brother and stand up. Namjoon steadied him with an arm around his waist.
“Santa’s comin’,” Jungkook said.
Namjoon kissed his cheek. “Yes, he is,” he cooed. Sometimes, Jungkook didn’t even have to say anything particularly adorable for Namjoon to think he was cute. Jungkook just being Jungkook was cute enough. (It also helped that he was only two-years-old.)
“Are we gonna have a cake?” Taehyung piped up. He was limp in Namjoon’s lap. Namjoon frowned at his droopy eyes and tired little body.
“Cake?” Yoongi asked, while Namjoon sneakily pressed his cheek against Taehyung’s forehead to feel for a fever.
“For Jesus’s birthday,” Taehyung croaked.
Yoongi and Jimin looked at each other before dissolving into giggles. “No, we have cookies for Santa!” Jimin exclaimed. Taehyung just huffed out a sigh, clearly too exhausted and sick to keep up with Jimin. Fortunately, his forehead was cool to the touch. He didn’t have a fever.
“Everything is about Santa,” Taehyung muttered.
Namjoon snorted. “With little kids, it usually is,” he said, ignoring Yoongi’s protests (“I am not little”). He tightened his grip on Jungkook as the two-year-old wobbled where he stood. “What’s important is that we all remember that Christmas isn’t about presents. It’s about Jesus and spending time together as a family.”
Taehyung made a little noise, proving he had been listening. However, he rolled over to bury his face in Namjoon’s stomach a moment later. Jimin, meanwhile, didn’t seem like he had heard at all.
“Hey! Let’s ask Jinnie to help us write letters now,” he suggested. He rushed off with Yoongi and Hoseok in tow. Jungkook nearly toppled over when his brothers all got up from the couch, and Namjoon’s hand tightened into his shirt.
“...You two wanna hear the story again?” he offered when neither Taehyung nor Jungkook moved.
Jungkook nodded and pushed the book back into Namjoon’s hands. He plopped himself down on Namjoon’s lap next to Taehyung. Namjoon cracked open the book. Two-year-olds liked repetition, and Jungkook was no exception. Fortunately, reading a picture book over and over again was one of the easier things Jungkook needed from him, and he opened to the title page eagerly. Namjoon loved reading to his kids.
“What about this one?” Namjoon asked.
“Too short,” Seokjin replied, hefting Jungkook up a little in his arms. Both of their cheeks were flushed pink from the cold, but before Namjoon could pull up the hood on Jungkook’s coat, Seokjin had already done it for him.
The whole family was out searching for a Christmas tree. While Namjoon loved making family memories, Seokjin had kept him out in this field for over an hour. Apparently, none of the trees Namjoon or the kids had pointed out met Seokjin’s impossible standards, and he had the final say on all things Christmas related.
Meanwhile, Namjoon was carrying a very sharp saw. It was heavy, awkward, and dangerous. Namjoon kept worrying Jimin or Hoseok would run into it.
“Honey, do you think any of these trees will suit you?” Namjoon asked. “The boys are getting antsy.” (If antsy meant running around in circles screaming, that is.)
“The right one will jump out at us, I know it,” Seokjin promised. Namjoon didn’t feel at all relieved. Jin had been saying the same thing for the past thirty minutes.
“What about this one?” Yoongi called, gesturing to a tree a couple rows away. There was a big hole in its side.
“That one looks a little dead,” Seokjin answered. He bounced Jungkook in his arms again, trying to get a good hold on him. Namjoon knew his arms were probably getting tired. The sooner they could go home, the better.
“What about the one next to it?” Namjoon asked.
“No, I- Oh, Joonie, what about that one?” Seokjin asked, pointing to a tree a couple rows down.
Namjoon’s shoulders slumped in relief. Finally. “I love it. What do you think, boys?” he asked.
“Which one?” Taehyung asked, scrubbing at his nose with one of his mittens. Namjoon squatted beside him to get on his eye level and pointed. He felt Hoseok and Jimin run up behind him to peer over his shoulder.
“That one,” Namjoon said.
Jimin gasped loudly. “It’s perfect!” he exclaimed.
“And it’s gonna go inside?” Taehyung asked still rubbing at his nose. Namjoon reached into his pocket for a tissue and moved Taehyung’s hand so he could blow his nose.
“Yep. Blow.”
“And then we put presents underneath it!” Hoseok exclaimed.
“By golly, I think he’s got it!” Namjoon said, smiling at Hoseok. He would ruffle his hair, but he was busy wiping snot off of Taehyung’s lip. Fortunately, Seokjin ruffled Hoseok’s hair for him.
“Now all we need is for Joonie to go cut it down,” Seokjin said pointedly. Namjoon sighed, stuffing Taehyung’s used tissue back in his pocket and standing up. There were times where Namjoon had to be a dad and be a man for his family. Cutting down the Christmas tree was one of those times.
“I wanna watch!” Jimin cheered, running after Namjoon.
Namjoon let him tag along. “Just don’t get too close, buddy, this saw is really sharp, and I don’t want to cut your fingers off.”
Namjoon knelt down by the tree, feeling mud seep through his jeans. He held up the lower branches to get a good look at the trunk. The tree was tall and sturdy, which meant Namjoon had a lot of work ahead of him. He looked over to Jimin, who was standing a little too close.
“Okay, Minnie. Back up, all right?”
Jimin nodded. His eyes were big and round and his cheeks were bright pink. Namjoon could help but smile at him. He put his saw down long enough to pull Jimin’s hat a little further over his ears.
Meanwhile, Yoongi walked over. “You gonna cut it down?” he asked, staring at the tree appraisingly.
Namjoon kissed Jimin’s nose. “Yep!” he said, turning to Yoongi. “And actually, I could use your help. Do you think you can help hold it up when it starts to get wobbly?”
Yoongi’s eyes sparkled. “I can help?” he asked.
“Sure, you’re strong! I’ll tell you when you need to hold on, okay?” Namjoon asked, bending over and picking his saw up again. Yoongi jumped a couple times in excitement as Namjoon started to saw the tree down.
“Okay, okay!” Yoongi said happily.
It was rare to see Yoongi get excited over anything. He was usually a pretty laid back kid. He had tantrums, sure (maybe more than most seven-year-olds), but for the most part he was calm, cool, and collected. Namjoon was happy to see him so energetic, especially over something so small.
As Namjoon sawed away, the tree started to shake more and more. When he just had a quarter of the way to go, Namjoon sat back up on his heels and looked up at his family. “Okay, Yoongi, will you hold onto the tree to make sure it doesn’t fall over? Jin, maybe you could help.”
“I got it,” Jin said, putting Jungkook down for a minute. Jungkook’s tiny shoes sank into the mud. He made an upset noise when Jin let him go.
Jin and Yoongi both grabbed onto the tree. “Ready,” Jin said.
Namjoon huffed out a sigh. This was so exhausting. “Okay, here we go,” Namjoon said, diving back in. He finished cleanly sawing the tree the whole way through. “Timber!” he yelled as the tree slid from its stump. Seokjin caught it easily.
“Everybody say, ‘Nice job, Joonie!’” Jin instructed.
“Nice job, Joonie!” his kids all exclaimed.
Namjoon took a bow. “Thank you, boys,” he said gratefully. He grabbed the base of the tree while Seokjin held onto the top. “Let’s go find a tractor to take this thing, and then we can all go on another hayride.” The evergreen fields were far away from the shop where the trees were bundled and sold, so the company gave everyone hayrides to get too and from the field. Yoongi didn’t like the straw getting stuck to his clothes, but the other boys loved it.
“And then,” Jin tacked on, “I think we need some hot apple cider and some sugar cookies to warm up, don’t you?”
“Yes!” Jimin replied.
“Yum,” Hoseok said, and Namjoon couldn’t resist kissing his forehead. Sometimes he forgot how excited he was to have Hoseok in their family, but whenever he remembered he couldn’t keep from kissing him.
This Christmas would be their best one yet, now that they were all together.
Ever since Seokjin and Namjoon had gotten together, Namjoon had been the one to hold everything. In high school, Namjoon held Seokjin’s books. In college, he held his laptop, his book bag, and his hand. When they got married, Namjoon started holding his luggage, his wallet, and his phone. And since the very beginning -for the whole course of their relationship from just friends to boyfriends to husbands- Namjoon had been in charge of holding the shopping bags.
“I think my arms are going to fall off. How many presents do these kids need?” Namjoon asked, lifting up and armful of Toys R Us bags.
Seokjin peeked inside. “Enough so that they all have a happy Christmas.”
“Is our house even big enough to hold all this crap?”
“I’m not sure, but,” Seokjin reached into one of the bags and pulled out a Tickle Me Elmo. “Don’t you think Jungkook is going to love this? How has he lived so long without it? He’s going to lose his mind.” Seokjin tilted the Elmo from side to side, his whole body leaning into the action.
Namjoon smiled. As cute as their kids were, Seokjin was just as adorable, if not more so. Namjoon linked their pinky fingers together, the shopping bags making it impossible to hold hands properly. “You’re too cute. How did I get so lucky?”
Seokjin blushed instantly. “Stop.”
“I can’t. You’re precious,” Namjoon promised. Seokjin’s blush grew darker, and Namjoon’s smile grew wider. He loved how flustered Seokjin got. He loved it.
“Okay, fine. You can freak out over there-“ Seokjin said, pushing Namjoon away from him. “And I will keep walking over here, ignoring you.”
“Aw, babe, come on,” Namjoon whined.
“Leave me alone, you dork.”
“Stop.” Namjoon put down the presents so he could grab Seokjin’s hand. He pulled him in close. “For once, it’s just us. The boys are home with grandma; you and I are together... Let’s just enjoy it. Let me compliment you.”
“It’s snowing.”
“What?” Namjoon asked. That wasn’t what he was expecting Seokjin to say at all.
“Look, it’s snowing,” Seokjin repeated, a little more excited this time. His eyes crossed as a snowflake fell between his and Namjoon’s faces. It was pitch black (the sun went down at 5 o’clock these days), but if Namjoon looked into the glow of one of the streetlights, he could see flakes falling pretty quickly.
“The first snow of the season,” Namjoon realized, his hands tightening around Seokjin’s. “Ah, the kids must be freaking out.”
“I’m freaking out,” Seokjin said. His eyes met Namjoon’s. “You know, maybe we can enjoy our time together. Let’s put the bags in the car and go window shopping.”
“That’s a great idea,” Namjoon said. He looked down at all the bags he had dropped. “Any chance you want to run these over to the car?”
Seokjin smirked mischievously. “No, that’s your job.”
Namjoon groaned. “It’s like I’m your pack mule,” he complained, but he gathered up the boys’ presents anyway. He lugged them over to the car, and by the time he had threw them all in the trunk, Seokjin was staring into the Benari Jeweler’s storefront. Namjoon snuck up behind him. “You got your eye on something?”
Seokjin jumped. “Ah, no, I was just looking at the watches.”
“I feel like I’ve bought you a watch for the past three Christmases,” Namjoon said. Seokjin was hard to shop for. He spent most of his time occupying five tiny kids, so there wasn’t much that Namjoon could buy for him that wouldn’t get beat up or ruined. Watches, however, were one of Seokjin’s favorite gifts to receive.
“Well, I needed all of those. A gold one, a silver one, and a rose gold one.”
“Yes, and now you have every color a watch can come in. I have to get you something else this year,” Namjoon said, determined. His arm snaked around Seokjin’s waist. He loved his husband too much to copout with another boring Christmas gift.
Seokjin layered his hand over Namjoon’s, resting them both on his hip. “I’m sure I’ll like anything you get me,” he promised. He started them walking down the line of shops. Snowflakes caught in his hair and eyelashes. “Is there anything you’re hoping for?”
Namjoon shrugged. “Nah. Having an extra two days off of work with you and the boys is all I really want. I feel like I haven’t been spending enough time with you all, lately.”
“You always say that, and it’s never true,” Seokjin said. “I never feel like you’re missing.”
Namjoon smiled and pulled Seokjin down for a kiss. “Good. Because I never want to be. I always want to be with you.”
Jungkook whined when Seokjin stole his butter knife away from him. “That’s enough icing, Kookie. Why don’t you put on some sprinkles?” Seokjin suggested, passing him a little shaker filled with green sugar granules. He helped Jungkook shake some onto his gingerbread man.
Namjoon surveyed the kitchen. It wasn’t unusual for the whole family to be in the kitchen at once. It was by far the biggest room in the house (other than maybe the master bedroom), and Seokjin spent a lot of his time cooking, so the boys spent a lot of their time playing with trains and cars at his feet.
However, today it seemed more chaotic than usual. The boys were all huddled around the island decorating cookies. Jungkook was sharing his Learning Tower with Jimin. Meanwhile, Taehyung, Yoongi, and Hoseok were all balanced on the bar chairs. Taehyung was strapped into his special seat to keep him from falling.
Cookie sheets full of gingerbread men were cooling on every counter. Seokjin was in charge of decorating most of them. He had piped little faces on each and outlined their bodies. Namjoon’s job was to add M&M buttons to their torsos.
However, while Seokjin liked his gingerbread men to look absolutely perfect, he had set aside a couple batches for the kids to decorate.
“Hobi, peanut, don’t eat too much frosting, or you’ll get a tummy ache,” Namjoon said. Hoseok licked icing from his lips and instead took a big bite of a cookie. Namjoon gasped. “Hoseokkie! You just bit his leg off! You crippled him, he’ll never walk again!”
Hoseok giggled, hiding his face behind his half-decorated gingerbread man.
Taehyung gasped, and Namjoon heard something fall a moment later. “Whoopsie,” Taehyung said, straining against his harness to try to get to whatever was on the ground. Namjoon quickly crossed to the other side of the island while Seokjin cleaned icing out of Jungkook’s hair.
“Hold on, Tae Tae,” Namjoon said, gently pushing him back in his seat. “What’d you lose?”
“The red ones,” Taehyung answered simply, which wasn’t very helpful. They had tons of red sprinkles out. However, there was only one bottle of sprinkles on the ground, and Namjoon bent over to pick it up.
“Red Hots,” Namjoon realized. The container was half empty. “Taehyung, how many of these have you been using?”
Taehyung blinked at him, and Namjoon quickly looked to his cookies. Each was covered in Red Hots. Namjoon huffed out a laugh. “Oh, wow, Taehyung, I’m not sure you’re going to want to eat those ones... But I think Santa will like them. These ones can be the cookies we leave out for him.”
Jimin whined. “No fair! I want to make the ones Santa eats!”
“I’m sure he can eat a few of yours, too, Minnie,” Namjoon promised.
“Yep, he has a big night ahead of him! He has to deliver so many presents; I bet he works up an appetite,” Seokjin agreed, his eyes trained on Jungkook’s bangs as he washed out the frosting with a wet paper towel. Meanwhile, Namjoon switched out Taehyung’s Red Hots with the bowl of red and green M&Ms.
“What’s on the outside of M&Ms?” Hoseok asked, stealing a handful out from under Taehyung’s nose.
“A candy coating,” Seokjin answered automatically. Namjoon was impressed. It was like Seokjin was always prepped with the answer for all of the boys’ most mundane questions. “But Hoseok, honey, why don’t you try using the M&Ms to decorate your cookies instead of eating them right away?”
Hoseok pouted, and Namjoon decided some damage control was necessary. He grabbed a knife and smeared some frosting on one of Hoseok’s cookies. Namjoon made two eyes with chocolate chips and slapped on a Twizzler smiley face.
“It’s a person!” Hoseok said brightly.
Namjoon smiled. “Yep. Why don’t you give him a shirt and some pants?” he said, handing Hoseok a bottle of snowflake sprinkles.
“Sir, yes sir!” Hoseok said, fake-saluting. Namjoon bit back a smile and pressed a kiss to Hoseok’s temple. Seokjin’s dad had taught him to take orders like a soldier over Thanksgiving. It was absolutely adorable.
“And how is Yoongi doing?” Namjoon asked, checking out Yoongi’s station as he walked by. While the other boys had icing and candies spread all over the counter, Yoongi’s spot was perfectly clean. He was only on his second cookie, making stripes across his gingerbread man’s shirt with very precise Twizzler placement.
“I’m okay,” Yoongi answered, bent over his cookie.
Seokjin hummed. “That’s good. You’re doing a good job,” he complimented.
Namjoon shared a look with Seokjin. Lately, Yoongi had been overwhelmingly neat and orderly. They had thought with the adoption, Yoongi would be able to relax a little. However, he was just as stressed as before, if not more so.
“Can I eat a cookie, too?” Taehyung asked, watching as Hoseok devoured the head off his gingerbread man.
“Here, Tae, eat one of mine,” Namjoon said, knowing Taehyung wouldn’t be able to handle a cookie full of Red Hots. Taehyung grabbed it happily with both hands. Namjoon propped his head up on one hand, content to just watch Taehyung eat his snack. He was so cute. However, a yelp from Jimin called him back into action.
“Kookie, that’s mine!” Jimin yelled, pushing Jungkook into the side of the Learning Tower.
“Hey, hey, hey. Jimin. Gentle,” Seokjin said, putting down his piping bag. He picked up Jungkook before he could start crying. “We don’t push people to get what we want. We ask nicely.”
“But he stole it,” Jimin argued.
Seokjin bounced Jungkook in his arms. “It doesn’t matter. You always have to ask nicely. You can’t hit your brother.”
“Especially not at Christmas,” Namjoon piped up. “Santa is watching.”
Seokjin rolled his eyes. He had never liked lying to the kids about Santa, even if it was fun to pretend. “And we wouldn’t want to upset Santa, would we?” he asked.
Jimin’s eyes widened. “No! I want presents,” he said. He thrust his decorating supplies towards Jungkook. “Here, Kookie, you can have everything.”
“That’s very generous of you, Jimin,” Seokjin said, setting Jungkook down next to Jimin again. Jungkook grabbed his green sugar granules, and Namjoon tilted his head to the side.
“Hopefully everyone is just as generous when we go shopping for you tomorrow,” Namjoon mused.
Seokjin glared at him. “I don’t want anything that costs more than ten dollars from any of the kids.”
Namjoon smirked. “I make no promises.”
Later on, after Namjoon had put all the kids to bed, he found Seokjin in the kitchen doing dishes. He noticed his wedding band resting on the island. “Hey, why aren’t you wearing this?” he asked, picking up the ring and holding it up to the light. It was shiny, like it had just been polished.
Seokjin turned to see what he was talking about. “Ah, I didn’t want to ruin it,” he answered.
“By doing dishes?” Namjoon asked.
Seokjin shrugged. “You can’t be too careful.”
Namjoon’s heart swelled. He had bought Seokjin’s engagement ring before he had graduated college and gotten his first real job: back when his only salary came from a part time job at TGI Fridays. (Namjoon shuddered whenever he thought about TGI Fridays.)
He had been dirt poor, and the best ring he could buy for Seokjin was barely a step above something you could find in a cereal box. Honestly, Namjoon was surprise it hadn’t rusted off or turned Seokjin’s skin green yet.
“No, I guess you can’t be,” Namjoon agreed quietly, sneaking up behind Seokjin and grabbing hips. He buried his nose into his neck. “Seokjin. Do you know how much I love you? Because I love you a whole lot.”
Seokjin laughed. “You know, I used to swoon whenever you’d get sappy like this, but now I just think you’re a dork.”
“Stop calling me a dork. If you keep doing it, I’ll start believing it,” Namjoon said pouting.
Seokjin smiled and turned in Namjoon’s arms. He opened his mouth to say something snarky back, but before he could get anything out, rustling on the stairs caught his attention. Namjoon and Seokjin both turned their heads, listening. “Who’s there?” Seokjin asked, when the noise didn’t stop.
Yoongi peeked his head over the banister.
“Oh, Sugar, hello. What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?” Seokjin asked, pulling away from Namjoon to pay attention to their son.
Yoongi squirmed on the step. “Yeah...”
“Is something bothering you?” Namjoon asked. Yoongi only nodded.
Seokjin crossed the room and picked him up. He sat him at the kitchen counter and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “What’s wrong, kid? Why are you worried now?” Seokjin asked, cupping Yoongi’s face with both hands.
Yoongi took a shaky breath. “Have I been naughty?” he asked.
Seokjin furrowed his brow. “Wha-“ But Yoongi wasn’t finished.
“Because what if I’ve been naughty and Santa doesn’t bring me presents? What if I get coal? I don’t want coal; I want to be good. But I think I’ve been naughty, and I’m really scared, and I just want to be a good boy,” he said all in a rush. Seokjin floundered for a moment before cooing over Yoongi and pulling him into a hug.
“Oh, Sugar, baby, you’ve been so good,” he promised.
“But sometimes I have tantrums even though I’m too old,” he said, regurgitating the same words Seokjin and Namjoon always said when he started kicking and screaming. Namjoon felt a pang of guilt.
“When you’re as stressed as you are, Yoongi, it’s okay to have tantrums every now and then,” Namjoon promised.
“Are you sure?” Yoongi asked.
“Positive.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
“It’s not too bad? I’m still nice?”
“You’re still nice,” Namjoon assured him, frowning. Yoongi still didn’t seem pacified. However, before he could continue checking with Namjoon, Seokjin cut in.
“Honestly, Yoongi. Namjoon and I wouldn’t lie to you,” Seokjin promised, throwing a worried look over Yoongi’s shoulder at Namjoon. Namjoon winced sympathetically. He didn’t know why Yoongi didn’t seem to believe their reassurances anymore.
And while Namjoon was worried, and Yoongi was clearly worried, and Seokjin was more than worried, Namjoon couldn’t help but to also feel somewhat endeared. Watching Seokjin take such good care of their son always made Namjoon feel like the luckiest man alive. He had such great kids and such a great husband.
One thing was for certain: Seokjin had made him promise to not let the kids spend more than ten dollars each on him, but he deserved way more than that. Namjoon was going to have to raise the budget just a little bit.
Namjoon plucked a toy sword out of Hoseok’s hands. “Remember, kids, we’re looking for Jinnie, okay? What do you think he would like for Christmas?” Namjoon asked.
He had taken all the boys to Jimin’s favorite store in the world –Target- to do some last minute shopping for Seokjin. So far, only Jungkook had found something he wanted to buy for his dad. He had been clutching onto a red beanie with a brown furry pompom since they had first walked into the store. Namjoon had grabbed a pair of matching red gloves that would work with the touch screen of Seokjin’s phone and called it a day.
The rest of the boys were up in the air. Namjoon had Jungkook in the kid’s seat of the cart, Taehyung and Jimin in the basket, and Hoseok and Yoongi walking by his side. Only two of his kids were fully mobile, but Namjoon was still exhausted by watching them all.
“I wanna get Jinnie a cooking thing,” Taehyung piped up. He looked tired again. Dark circles marred his soft skin, and he was slumped low in the cart. Namjoon wanted to ask if he was feeling all right, but Yoongi piped up before he could.
“No fair! I wanted to get Jin something he can use to cook!” he complained, crossing his skinny arms over his chest. Namjoon sighed.
“You can both buy him something for the kitchen. Just pick out different things,” he suggested, turning the cart out of the toys section and into the kitchen supplies section. Taehyung brightened as they rolled past the kitchen gadgets.
“Those!” Taehyung said, getting up to lean over the edge of the cart and point.
“One hundred and one cookie cutters,” Namjoon read, picking up the package. He looked up at Taehyung. “Tae Tae, this is a great idea!” he exclaimed. “Jin was just complaining about not having enough cookie sheets, too. We’ll get him some of those and this, and it’ll be a perfect gift.”
“Well... Well... Well...” Yoongi looked around frantically before pulling a metal cheese tray with an attachable slicer off the shelf. “I’m gonna get him this!”
Namjoon picked it up, glad Yoongi had picked something Seokjin would actually want. “Yoongi, great choice! I’ll pick up some wine and cheese to go with it later, okay? Then Jin can use this right away.”
Yoongi nodded like he knew exactly what Namjoon was talking about, and Namjoon patted his son’s back. Technically, Yoongi was his only son (at least legally). He was the only one whose adoption papers had gone through; Namjoon and Seokjin were still waiting on all of the other boys.
But even if Seokjin was just a foster dad to some of their kids, he still deserved a present for all of his hard work.
“All right, Jimin. Hoseok. Any ideas?” Namjoon asked.
“A pool,” Jimin said.
Yoongi frowned. “Like a kiddie pool?”
Jimin nodded. “Yep!”
“No,” Namjoon said, no room for discussion. “That’s you thinking about what you would want. You need to think about what Jin would want. What does he like? What do you two like to do together?” he asked.
Jimin squirmed in the cart. His knees knocked into Taehyung, disturbing Taehyung’s resting spot as he lied back down onto the floor of the cart. “Jinnie likes running. On the treadmill in his room.”
“He does like that. Would you want to get him something to help him run?” Namjoon asked. Jimin nodded, and Namjoon paused to think. “Okay... Well, we could get him running clothes, a water bottle, socks... What do you think?”
Jimin’s eyes sparkled. “We can get him clothes?” he asked.
Namjoon nodded. “Sure. Do you wanna get him an outfit?”
Jimin nodded happily, and Namjoon pushed the cart over to the athletic wear section of Target. He picked Jimin up out of the cart and let him run wild for a while. None of the things he picked out went together, but Namjoon was doing his best not to stifle his boys’ creativity. He wanted to let them get whatever they wanted for Seokjin, so long as he could use it.
Ten minutes later, Jimin had picked out a shirt, compression pants, and socks for Seokjin to wear while running. Namjoon felt confident. All they had to do now was figure out a gift from Hoseok, check out, and go home.
Namjoon turned behind him to talk to Hoseok. “Okay, Hobi. What do you want to get for- Hobi?”
Namjoon spun in a circle.
Hoseok wasn’t anywhere. He scanned through the clothing section to try to find Hoseok, but he definitely wasn’t in the area. Namjoon’s heart started racing. “Okay, boys, I lost Hoseok. Does anyone see him?” he asked, frantically sticking Jimin back in the cart so they could go looking.
“I see him,” Yoongi said, pointing to the video games section. Hoseok had a copy of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U in his small hands. Namjoon breathed out a sigh of relief.
Hoseok held up the game when he saw Namjoon walk up. “I think I want to get this for Jin,” he said.
Namjoon picked up the game. “I’m not sure if this is a happy accident or not, but Jin would absolutely love this,” he promised. Seokjin loved Mario. “We’ll have to buy him a Wii U, though.”
“That’s ‘spensive,” Taehyung said. Namjoon usually let Taehyung lie on his chest and watch The Price is Right when he was sick, and he was getting weirdly good at knowing prices.
“You’re right,” Namjoon said. “But Jinnie does so much for us, I think he’s worth it, don’t you?”
“He is pretty great,” Yoongi said under his breath, but Namjoon still heard him. He couldn’t help but squeeze Yoongi into a tight hug and attack his head with kisses. “Ah! Joon! Joonie, stop!”
“Okay, okay,” Namjoon said, letting go so he could grab Super Mario U off the shelf. “Let’s talk to one of the tech guys about a Wii U and get out of here. Does that sound good?”
“Yes,” Yoongi answered.
“Are we gonna wrap all of Jinnie’s presents?” Jimin piped up from the cart, looking at all the things surrounding him and Taehyung.
Namjoon sighed, thinking about the amount of work ahead of him. “Yes, we are,” he answered, not looking forward to it at all. If he didn’t love Jin so much, it wouldn’t be worth it. But Seokjin was doing his best to give all the boys a perfect Christmas, and Namjoon desperately wanted to return the favor.
“They’re so cute,” Seokjin whispered, putting up some last minute ornaments on the tree. The boys had worked hard to decorate it already, but they had only been able to reach the low hanging branches. There were still gaps at the top.
“It’s crazy how adjusted they are,” Namjoon mused. “I thought they would at least make it to 9:30, but they all passed out right at 8, just like always.”
When Jimin had suggested waiting up for Santa, Namjoon had been hesitant. If Christmas was supposed to be everything Seokjin had set out for it to be, the boys would have to be well-rested.
So he had been shocked when Seokjin agreed to let them stay up.
“I knew they wouldn’t be able to stay up,” Seokjin said, dusting off his hands as he looked at all the little bodies lying across the sectional. “Also, look at Jungkook’s chubby cheeks? Is he not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”
“Yes. Look at his nose,” Namjoon cooed.
Taehyung stirred, and Namjoon and Seokjin both froze in their spot. The last thing they needed was a tired Taehyung tomorrow. (If there was one day Taehyung shouldn’t be especially susceptible to seizures, it was Christmas.)
When he rolled back over, Namjoon and Seokjin released a collective breath.
Seokjin turned back to the ornaments. “Okay. Would you carry them upstairs to their beds while I finish the tree? I wanna start stockings soon.”
“You always make me do the heavy lifting,” Namjoon said, but he wasn’t complaining. He didn’t mind carrying their kids to bed. They were so cute, and soft, and warm. Namjoon loved being close to them, especially when they were all worn out and snuggly.
He started with Jungkook.
“If that kid wakes up crying, I will kill you,” Seokjin warned, but Namjoon just shushed him. He bundled Jungkook in his arms and carried him up the stairs easily to his crib.
Before leaving Jungkook’s room, Namjoon paused to look at him. It was nice to see Jungkook so peaceful. He had been such a fussy baby. To see him relaxed was a welcome change. Namjoon leaned over the crib bars to press a kiss to Jungkook’s flat nose. He would miss him as he and Seokjin finished their Christmas preparations. Namjoon wished he could spend all his time with Jungkook; he didn’t want to miss a second of him being two.
He was way too attached.
Namjoon quietly left the room and closed Jungkook’s bedroom door. Next was Taehyung. The three-year-old fidgeted when he was picked up. His nose crinkled unhappily. However, Namjoon smoothed down the crease between his eyes with the pad of his thumb, and Taehyung relaxed. He all but melted in Namjoon’s arms as he carried him up the stairs.
It always felt relieving when Taehyung was asleep. Namjoon always worried about him having seizures, but for some reason, he felt calmer about it when Taehyung was sleeping.
As much as he hated how sick Taehyung was, Namjoon absolutely loved having him as a foster kid. He was pretty sure that out of all the boys, adopting Taehyung would be the easiest. Namjoon and Seokjin were the only foster parents in the area who were prepared to deal with his epilepsy. Taehyung wouldn’t easily be moved to another family or adopted by someone else. Namjoon was confident he’d be placed permanently in their household, and every time he held him, Namjoon couldn’t help but feel excited about one day finally being able to call Taehyung his own.
Officially, of course. He was already Namjoon’s baby in his heart.
After tucking Taehyung in, Namjoon decided to pick up Yoongi before his arms were too tired. Yoongi was seven. He was almost too old for Namjoon to be carting around. However, he still managed to pick Yoongi up from the couch when the time came.
Namjoon carried him upstairs bridal style and tucked him into this bed just the way Yoongi liked it. Seokjin had warned him about coddling Yoongi too much. He wasn’t supposed to give into his slightly neurotic tendencies, but it was Christmas. If Yoongi wanted the covers folded over just so, Namjoon would do it for him.
Seokjin smirked as Namjoon clomped down the stairs for the third time, slightly out of breath.
“Working hard there, huh?”
“Shut up, you could help,” Namjoon complained.
Seokjin waved him off. “I’m sure you’re managing just fine,” he said, his eyes focused on the Christmas tree.
Namjoon rolled his eyes. “You know, this is pretty dangerous. I’m a klutz. What if I knock one of the kid’s head into a doorframe? Or what if I trip and drop one down the stairs?”
“You’re not going to do that,” Seokjin promised.
Namjoon sighed and looked down at Jimin and Hoseok. “No, I guess not,” he replied, scooping up Hoseok.
Hoseok was heavy in his arms, and Namjoon was glad for it. He had come to the house so skinny, and already he had filled out some. He wasn’t worried about Hoseok being emaciated anymore, which was a feeling Namjoon took for granted with Taehyung, Jimin, and Yoongi.
All of the boys had come to the house skinny –even if they hadn’t been starved- and Hoseok was no exception. He had needed to gain weight desperately, and Namjoon was so happy he had. Now he had a better chance of growing properly and developing both physically and mentally.
As Namjoon tucked Hoseok into bed, he released a sigh of relief. Only one more kid to go, and he was pretty light still.
“Namjoon, look, he’s drooling,” Seokjin cooed as Namjoon joined him again in the family room. Namjoon looked over, and Seokjin was right. A puddle of drool was forming on the couch, right under Jimin’s mouth.
“Let me guess, I’m cleaning that up?”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Seokjin said, sending him a flirty wink. Namjoon coughed behind his hand. He had no idea what had gotten into Seokjin lately, but he was being awfully cute and irresistible. Namjoon didn’t need this right now. He was trying to get ready for Christmas.
He ignored Seokjin by picking up Jimin. The four-year-old’s head lolled back over Namjoon’s arm. He was clearly exhausted. Jimin was so energetic during the day he often wore himself out by the end of it. It was cute to see him so dead to the world: asleep with no chance of waking up. Honestly, Namjoon was the exact same way.
Once all the kids were safe in their beds, Namjoon joined Seokjin for good.
“Wanna help stuff stockings?” Seokjin asked, already separating candy into separate piles.
“Sure,” Namjoon offered.
“Cool. If you want, you can start by giving each of the boys a box of crayons and a set of markers,” Seokjin suggested, passing Namjoon a Toys R Us bag. He had bought Twistable Slick Sticks instead of the usual set of 24 crayons for the three younger boys, and Namjoon smiled at the thought of their little hands gripping onto the thicker coloring supplies.
“Will do,” Namjoon agreed, settling into the couch. It was going to be a late night, but hopefully it would all be worth it when Christmas morning finally rolled around.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up!” Jimin shouted, running into Seokjin and Namjoon’s bedroom first thing in the morning. It was a little before seven, but honestly, that was Jimin letting his parents sleep in.
What a lovely Christmas present.
“It’s Christmas! Guess what happened?”
“Ah, what?” Seokjin asked. He sounded groggy next to Namjoon. Meanwhile, Namjoon tried and failed to force his eyes open for longer than half a second. The lights were so bright.
“Santa brought my stocking! It’s on my bed by my feet!” he exclaimed.
Seokjin gasped, and Namjoon had no idea how he was able to act surprised so successfully and so early in the morning. “What? But I thought you left it downstairs!”
“I did! Under the tree!” Jimin yelped.
“And now it’s in your room?”
“Yeah,” Jimin said. “You wanna see?”
Seokjin stretched, yawning. “Of course. Let’s wake up Namjoon, and we’ll both go see,” Seokjin offered. He leaned over and patted Namjoon’s hip. “You up, hon?”
“I’m working on it,” Namjoon muttered, burying his face in his pillow for a minute. He had been mistaken last night when he thought he and Jimin had similar sleeping patterns. He would never wake up this early if given the option. He would sleep until noon every single day.
Eventually, Namjoon managed to peel himself up from the mattress. He stretched as his socked feet hit the floor.
“Okay. Let’s go,” he said.
“This way!” Jimin yelped, rushing off towards his bedroom. Seokjin and Namjoon followed dutifully behind. Namjoon couldn’t remember when it happened, but at some point, Seokjin had laced their fingers together. “See?!” Jimin said, pointing when they reached his room. “My stocking is on my bed! And Taehyung has his too!” he yelped, forcing Taehyung to wake up.
All the shouting must have also woken up Jungkook too because he started crying in his crib. “I got it,” Namjoon offered, while Seokjin acted surprised for Jimin.
By the time Namjoon had put Jungkook in a clean diaper, the whole house was awake. He held onto Jungkook’s hand as Jungkook clutched his stocking close to his chest with his free arm. His trusty Elmo plushie was left in his crib for the time being.
“Oh, look! There’s Jungkook and Joonie. What do you say we all take our stockings downstairs to Jinnie and Joonie’s room and see what Santa brought?” Seokjin said, now that everyone had congregated in Jimin and Taehyung’s room.
“Okay, okay!” Hoseok said, rushing out of the room right away to grab his stocking. Namjoon smiled as he watched him leave. Hoseok already seemed to be in the Christmas spirit, thank goodness.
“Lead the way, Yoongi,” Namjoon said.
“M’kay!” Yoongi agreed. He sounded like he was in a good mood too, which was often times a hard thing to do considering how anxious Yoongi was. He was the most nervous seven-year-old Namjoon had ever met.
The family paraded down to Seokjin and Namjoon’s room. Everyone found a place to settle on the bed, and before Seokjin could try to establish rules, the boys started tearing into their stockings.
“Markers!” Jimin cheered happily.
“Look!” Taehyung said. When he didn’t get any attention, he repeated himself. “Look, look,” he said, holding his own pack of markers up towards Namjoon.
“Oh, wow, Taehyung! Are you gonna draw me a picture?” Namjoon asked. Taehyung nodded, just as Hoseok gasped in excitement from Namjoon’s side.
“We all got coloring books!” Hoseok realized. “Mine is of bugs!”
Namjoon shot a look towards Seokjin, and Seokjin just shrugged. “You liked bug catching this summer, didn’t you Hoseok? That seems like the perfect coloring book for you,” he said, and Hoseok nodded enthusiastically.
While the other boys were putting their things haphazardly across the bed spread, Yoongi was being exceptionally neat, stacking everything just so. He was going through his stocking much slower than Jimin who was tearing through everything to see all his presents.
“We got bubbles,” Yoongi said happily, an adorable smile on his face. Warmth blossomed through Namjoon’s chest. It was moments like these that made him want to squeeze onto his son and never let him go.
“Yes, and look deeper,” Seokjin said. “I think I saw something fun to go with them.”
“Oh, bubble wands!” Yoongi said. “Can we use them later?”
Seokjin shrugged. “We’ll see. We can play with whatever you want today. Maybe you’ll get something else later that you want to play with more. Or maybe grandma will bring something really fun when she and grandpa come over.”
“Hey, wait,” Namjoon said, interrupting. “Jungkook, aren’t you gonna open your stocking?” he asked.
Jungkook shook his head. “No,” he said, hugging his stocking close to his chest.
Namjoon frowned. “But there’s presents inside. Don’t you want to see?”
“No,” Jungkook repeated firmly, and Seokjin threw Namjoon a look. Let it go.
Namjoon nodded. “Okay. You just open it when you’re ready,” he said. Apparently, Seokjin felt like they should be really choosy about the battles they fought today. Fair enough.
The boys continued to look through their stockings. Taehyung was especially excited about a cute set of earmuffs that Seokjin had bought him. They were adorable, with little teddy bears to go over each ear. They reminded Namjoon of Taehyung; he could see why Seokjin had picked them out.
Taehyung finished opening his stocking and looked up at Namjoon expectantly. “That’s Christmas?” he asked.
Namjoon laughed. “No, kid, there’s more where that came from. Who wants to go downstairs and see what Santa brought them?” Namjoon asked.
“Me!” Hoseok cheered, springing up from the bed with Jimin hot on his heels. It seemed like they were racing downstairs.
“No one opens anything without my permission!” Seokjin called after them, throwing on his slippers and running after them before they could start opening things without the rest of the family. Meanwhile, Namjoon picked up his boys: Taehyung in one arm and Jungkook in the other.
“Want to lead the way again?” Namjoon asked Yoongi expectantly.
“Yeah,” Yoongi agreed, walking down the steps a little faster than Namjoon could with two toddlers in his arms. As he got Jungkook and Taehyung settled on the couch, Seokjin started distributing presents and lying out the ground rules.
“Okay, so as much fun as it is to get presents on Christmas, it’s just as fun to watch other people open their presents. So we’re all going to take turns, and we’re going to go in house order,” Seokjin instructed. ‘House order’ meant the order the boys had come to the house in, most recent to last: Hoseok, Taehyung, Jungkook, Jimin, Yoongi. “Hoseok, do you want to open yours first? How about you start with that little one?”
Namjoon settled back into the couch with Taehyung in his lap. He was content to just watch his kids for a while. He had all of Jin’s presents in his bedroom closet upstairs (he used to keep them under his bathroom sink, until The Great Leak of ’08), and he refused to break them out until the boys could divert their full attention into showering Seokjin with gifts.
Hoseok was excited about his Stomp Rocket, Yoongi loved his Snap Circuits, and Jimin couldn’t stop squealing over his new set of train tracks. All of the boys seemed to be having a Merry Christmas, but no one was more excited than Jungkook was when he opened his Tickle Me Elmo.
His hands had been hesitant on the wrapping paper. For some reason that two-year-old Jungkook couldn’t express, he was nervous to open any of his presents. However, as Jungkook peeled back the paper, Namjoon could see him start to melt.
“Elmo?” he asked, looking to Namjoon for confirmation.
“Yeah, Kookie, and look,” Namjoon said. He leaned over to squeeze Elmo’s stomach, and he immediately started laughing. Jungkook jumped, but he seemed happy. He hit Elmo’s stomach again as soon as he stopped laughing.
“What do you think, Jungkook?” Seokjin asked. “It’s your very own Tickle Me Elmo.”
Jungkook stared down at the Elmo doll and tears sprung into his eyes. “Elmo,” he gushed, squeezing Elmo to his chest packaging and all. His face crumbled as he started crying. As he held Elmo close, the button in his stomach went off, and he started laughing again. Jungkook sobbed. “He’s happy.”
“Oh, Kookie,” Seokjin cooed, crawling over to Jungkook’s spot on the couch. He held onto his knees. “Are you just so happy, too?”
Jungkook nodded. “I love Elmo,” he said. However, L was a hard letter for Jungkook even when he wasn’t crying, and the word came out more like ‘Emmo.’
“Oh, wow. It’s been a big day, huh?” Namjoon asked, bouncing Taehyung in his lap. Taehyung had skipped his turn a couple times to look at a pop-up dinosaur book Seokjin had bought for him. Taehyung spent a lot of time lying around sick, so stationary toys were best for him.
“Mhm,” Taehyung said. He held up his book. “Joonie, read.”
Namjoon smoothed down Taehyung’s bedhead. “In a little bit, Tae Tae. We still have presents to open. We haven’t given Seokjin any of his yet, and you guys all bought him great ones.”
“Oh, yeah!” Jimin said brightly as he rode his new tricycle around the sectional in circles. He stopped in his tracks. “Where are Jinnie’s presents?”
“Upstairs,” Namjoon answered. “Do you want to help me carry them down?”
“Yes!”
Hoseok looked up from his new bike. It was a bright blue Early Rider, and Namjoon was exited to help teach him how to ride it before the snow started sticking. “Can I help, too?” he asked.
“Sure,” Namjoon said, picking Taehyung up and lying him down on the couch. He couldn’t carry him and Seokjin’s presents back downstairs. Taehyung made a whining noise, and Namjoon kissed his forehead. “Joonie will be right back, okay? I’ll cuddle you more when I come back downstairs.”
“I want to throw up,” Taehyung whined.
Namjoon frowned. “Why? Because your tummy hurts?”
“No, because you’re leaving,” Taehyung complained, rolling his face pitifully into the couch cushions. Namjoon snorted. Leave it to Taehyung to be hugely dramatic over such a small thing.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, dragging a finger down Taehyung’s cheek. “Just hold on two minutes.”
Namjoon lead Jimin and Hoseok up the stairs, and Yoongi ended up following them. He could hear Jungkook talking to Seokjin as he herded the boys into his bedroom. “It’s Elmo, it’s Elmo.”
“Yeah, Kookie. Squeeze his tummy, and he’ll laugh.”
Namjoon couldn’t help but laugh when he heard Elmo’s giggling and Jungkook wailing a moment later. He felt bad for missing the moment, but as Yoongi, Jimin, and Hoseok rooted through Namjoon’s closet for his presents for Jin, he realized he wasn’t missing anything.
“What’s this one?” Yoongi asked, picking up a small box hidden in the back of the closet.
“That’s a secret,” Namjoon answered. “I’m going to give it to Jinnie later, when you guys are all asleep.”
Yoongi scrunched his nose. “It’s small.”
“Well you know what they say: Good things come in small packages,” Namjoon answered, taking the tiny gift from Yoongi and putting it in one of his shoes. He didn’t want Seokjin to find it too early. “Let’s go back downstairs, yeah? After we give Seokjin his presents, I’ll make breakfast.”
“Pancakes?” Hoseok asked hopefully.
“Even better,” Namjoon promised. “Jin made banana chocolate chip bread.”
“Yum!” Jimin said, gift bags loaded up on each arm. He rushed out of the room yelling. “Jinnie! Open your presents so that we can eat banana bread!”
Namjoon snorted and followed his kids down the stairs. So far, he was pretty sure Christmas was everything Seokjin had been hoping for. But Namjoon still had one gift waiting for Seokjin, and he knew it would make the holiday that much more special.
“So, I think that went well,” Seokjin said later that night as he crawled into bed.
Namjoon peered at Seokjin over the rim of his glasses. “Yeah, I think so too,” he agreed. “Jungkook was so happy about his Tickle Me Elmo. You said he’d be excited, but I don’t think he ever let go of it.”
“He would let go of it, but only to drag his stocking around,” Seokjin said, frustrated. “He never even opened it! He just carried it!”
“He loves it,” Namjoon said. “It’s sweet.”
“I wish he would open it. I gave him all kinds of cute things, like markers, and goldfish, and chocolate, and-“
“Hey,” Namjoon interrupted, reaching out to cup Seokjin’s cheek. Seokjin flinched, surprised to be cut off mid-rant, but relaxed into Namjoon’s touch almost instantly. “Quit getting all worked up. I’m trying to set the mood.”
“Set the mood?” Seokjin asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah. I got you a little extra something, but I don’t want to give it to you while your all worked up,” he said, sitting up in bed a little. He moved his hand to one of Seokjin’s knees.
“Namjoon, you bought me a Wii U. We agreed on nothing over ten dollars from each of the boys; you can’t possibly have another present for me. You went way over budget,” Seokjin complained.
“No, I’m not,” Namjoon promised. “I got a promotion this year, we can afford to spend a little more. And also, I love you, and I wanted to get you something special.”
Seokjin groaned. “Namjoon.”
“I needed to do it, okay?” Namjoon said. “It’s as much for me as it is for you.”
Seokjin pressed his lips together, and Namjoon crossed his fingers. Seokjin was the brink of giving in. “... Okay,” Seokjin caved. “I’ll accept one extra gift. Just one.”
“Yes!” Namjoon exclaimed. He rushed off to the closet and dug Seokjin’s gift out of his shoe. He held it behind his back before going back to Seokjin. He sat on the edge of the mattress. “Okay, so before I give this to you, I have to explain some things.”
Seokjin raised both of his eyebrows. “Explain some things?”
Namjoon nodded. “Yeah, so... So as you know and won’t stop teasing me about: I proposed mostly because you were graduating college, and I was worried you would get a job and move on without me while I was stuck finishing my senior year.”
“Yes, because you were a dweeb,” Seokjin said. “A dweeb who thought I would leave him, when obviously I could never do that.”
“Obviously,” Namjoon agreed. “I should have known... And I should have waited to propose to you. I mean, not because I don’t like being married to you because I do, obviously-“
“Obviously,” Seokjin repeated.
“Obviously,” Namjoon said. “But because... Well, I didn’t have any money. Like any money. And it’s so sweet of you to wear such a cheap, awful wedding band everywhere, especially because you take such good care of it, like I’m pretty sure you’ve been polishing it weekly just to keep it from tarnishing, like it’s so awful, it’s the worst, and just... I just think you should have something better,” Namjoon babbled.
He pulled out the little box from behind his back, and Seokjin gasped.
“Namjoon.”
“Just open it,” Namjoon said weakly.
Seokjin grabbed the tiny box and opened it. He gasped again when he found the expensive wedding ring inside. “Oh my gosh, Namjoon.”
Namjoon bit the inside of his cheek. “Do you hate it?”
“Well, kind of,” Seokjin said with a watery smile. He sounded choked up. “I... I liked my old ring just fine. You didn’t need to do this.”
“But I did need to,” Namjoon said. “It’s been driving me crazy for years, and you’re... you’re such a good dad, you deserve a really nice wedding ring, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” Seokjin said, staring down at the ring. It was platinum with a row of diamonds encircling the band. “It really is pretty.”
“So are you,” Namjoon said.
“Shut up,” Seokjin laughed. He put on the ring. “Namjoon, I don’t deserve this. You’re crazy.”
“Crazy for you.”
Seokjin threw a pillow at him. “Quit it, oh my gosh, I want a divorce.”
Namjoon caught Seokjin’s pillow easily and bopped him on the head with it. “No, you don’t.”
Seokjin rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms around Namjoon’s neck. “You’re right, I don’t,” he admitted, pulling Namjoon in for a kiss. “Thank you for the new wedding band, but I’m not sure if I can wear it... It’ll feel wrong to take off my old one.”
“Well can you wear both?” Namjoon asked, bumping their noses together.
Seokjin grinned. “I’m sure I can make arrangements,” he said, kissing Namjoon one more time. “Merry Christmas, Joonie.”
Namjoon smiled into the kiss. “Merry Christmas, Jinnie.”