Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hongjoong had planned to stay home and spend time with his husband Seonghwa and his 4 year old daughter Aurora after finally getting allowed a leave of absence from work, but his little joy all went down the drain when he received a call from his dad back from Korea

“Son, your mom is very ill... we need you here.. as soon as possible.” Hongjoong heard his dad’s voice waver, realizing he was trying to hold his tears back.

The time was currently 10 in the morning and the earliest flight Hongjoong could book was at 6pm. He rummaged around the house packing his suitcase with a worried seonghwa following him making sure he was okay and didnt miss any necessary item.

“When will you be back?” Seonghwa softly asked, hoping he didn’t upset his husband with his selfish question.

“I don’t know, Seonghwa” Hongjoong replied back while rubbing his thumb on the back of Seonghwa’s hand. Hongjoong tried not cry but the more updates he got on his mom’s health, the more he was breaking on the inside. He tried to busy himself with packing which did work as a temporary remedy, but now that he was alone and in the comfort of hwa’s arms, he let his mind wander and felt the urgent need to break down.

“Your mom will be okay. Take as much time as you need” Seonghwa gripped Hongjoong’s shoulders and firmly comforted him. Hongjoong hugged Seonghwa and allowed a tear to roll down his cheeks.

They were currently seated in the waiting area, waiting for Hongjoong’s flight to be announced. Seonghwa and Hongjoong sat with their daughter Aurora in between them while their hands were tangled from behind and their other hand played games with Aurora and her favorite stuffed teddy bear.

“Daddy, why are you going again?” Aurora asked with those beautiful set of curious eyes that Hongjoong loved so much. “My mom is a little sick” Hongjoong pouted, trying to stay positive in front of his daughter.

“When will daddy be back?” This time Aurora turned to look at Seonghwa. “He’ll be back very soon baby. Very soon”

“Why can’t we go with daddy?” Aurora questioned Hwa again. “I didn’t get a leave from work, baby. Plus you have school too.” Seonghwa reasoned with his daughter. “Okay” Aurora replied and sulked back down.

Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong and squeezed his hand in reassurance. Aurora snuggled herself next to Hongjoong while holding Seonghwa’s index finger. The older and the younger looked down at their daughter and smiled whole heartedly. The way Aurora was close and attached to both of her fathers warmed seongjoong’s heart.

“Next flight to South Korea is now boarding please have your passport and ticket ready” Hongjoong heard his call. He sighed heavily and stood up, getting ready for his departure. “This is it. I gotta go” Hongjoong looked between Hwa and Aurora. Hongjoong bent down to Aurora’s height and took her hands in his own. “I’ll be back very soon baby. I’ll call you and daddy everyday. I’ll miss you” Joong pressed a kiss to her forehead with a smile.

Joong got back up and stood in front of Seonghwa, feeling speechless.

“You don’t have to say anything. I understand” Seonghwa whispered. “I’ll miss you” Joong mumbled trying to suppress his tears as he didn’t want to break down in front of Aurora. “I’ll miss you too. We’ll be okay. You just focus on your mom and your family. I’m here for you” Seonghwa pressed his lips to Joong’s forehead and Joong let his head fall into the crooks of Hwa’s neck.

Joong broke apart and kissed the top of his daughter’s head one last time before he waved with a smile and walked away.

“Daddy..” Joong heard sniffles behind him which caused him to stop. He turned around to see Aurora crying tears.

Seonghwa didnt know if Aurora just chose not to acknowledge Joong’s departure till now or if reality hit her all together as she saw Joong walk away, but whatever it was, it had him feeling broken.

Joong noticed Seonghwa tightly hugging their daughter as he patted her back, tears lacing Hwa’s eyes too at this point. Hongjoong saw Hwa mumble words of comfort to Aurora but they didn’t seem to work as Aurora pulled back from Hwa’s chest to look at Hongjoong and cried even more. Hongjoong couldn’t even run back because he had crossed the line that led him to boarding and security didn’t allow him to go back.

Seonghwa ushered Hongjoong to leave, his eyes silently comforting Joong to not worry. But Seonghwa knew. He knew Hongjoong would definitely worry.

Hongjoong mustered all his courage and turned around to walk away. Promising himself he won’t turn around anymore. He couldn’t. He was too broken.

“I want daddy back. Why is he leaving?” Aurora cried hard into Seonghwa’s chest and Hwa pulled his daughter closer. Hwa let a tear of his own fall down as he looked up, trying to compose himself before he reached the point of no return. “Daddy is not going far away baby. He’ll be back soon; before you even know it. And like daddy said, we can call him every night. He needs to be with his mom right now.” Seonghwa brushed his hands through Aurora’s hair and patiently waited for her calm down.

“Let’s go. Let’s get you to bed. You must be tired” Hwa picked Aurora in his arms and let her head fall comfortably on his shoulder as her little hands wrapped around Hwa’s neck.

When Seonghwa and Aurora finally reached home, a cold emptiness hit Hwa, mocking his reality of Joong’s absence.

Hwa laid his daughter down on her bed and got himself situated next to her. He ran a hand through her hair letting her doze off into a state of unconsciousness.

“If daddy calls tonight while I’m asleep can you tell him I love him?” Aurora questioned in a whisper. Hwa took a second to process Aurora’s words before he kissed her head.

“Of course baby I will. Daddy already knows.”

Chapter Text

4 months had passed since Hongjoong left and there was still no sign of return. To say Seonghwa missed Hongjoong would be an understatement. As promised, Hongjoong called every night, if not, every other night to talk to Hwa and Aurora. Aurora missed Hongjoong too but when they’d settle to talk to Hongjoong, her day would instantly become better and she’d find utmost happiness in this form of interaction, but for Hwa it was different. He yearned to be there with Hongjoong, for Hongjoong.

Hongjoong’s mom’s health wasn’t getting any better, but it wasn’t getting worse either and that worried Joong. Seonghwa would call every other day and talk to his mother and father in law, feeling awful that he couldn’t be there, and thankfully they understood.

There was later a time in between when Hwa was finally offered a leave of absence but Aurora had caught the flu and Hwa couldn’t travel with his sick daughter so he rather opted to save that opportunity for when he really needed it, and that day arrived sooner than expected

When Hwa’s phone rang in the middle of the night disturbing his sleep, he quickly moved Aurora’s head off his arm and rolled over to answer it, worried that Aurora’s sleep must’ve been disturbed too.

“Seonghwa. I really need you here. The doctor’s said mom doesn’t have much time left. I’m scared Hwa, I’m really s-scared. Please.” Hongjoong’s voice cracked and Seonghwa was wide awake in his bed now.

“Hey baby. Don’t cry. I’ll catch the first flight available in the morning. I promise I’ll be there soon” Seonghwa carefully whispered words of comfort, hoping they’d reach Hongjoong, but he knew they won’t be of much help.

“I need you here Hwa” Seonghwa could clearly hear Joong’s cries at this point. Seonghwa gulped the lump in his throat and felt his dry throat close up in pain. He instantly got up to grab his laptop. “I’m booking the tickets right now baby. I promise I’ll be there soon. I promise” Seonghwa felt at a loss of words. He knew words wouldn’t be of help now, he needed to be there with Hongjoong.

The earliest flight Hwa could find was at 8 in the morning. He booked it.

He glanced at the time and noticed it was almost 3 in the morning. Sleeping right now was not any option anymore, instead Seonghwa got up and started packing clothes for himself and Aurora. He packed as many clothes as he thought he needed, not stopping to think. He ran through his and Aurora’s suitcase 3 to 4 times, repeating every necessary items he knew he needed, making sure he didn’t miss any.

Around 5:30 am Hwa sat down next to Aurora to wake her up. “Hey baby, wake up” Seonghwa gently ran his hands through Aurora’s hair. Aurora shuffled in her bed wincing at the unexpected disturbance. “Baby” Hwa shook Aurora’s shoulder.

“Daddy I want to sleep” Aurora whined but tried to open her eyes. “It’s not even morning yet” she reasoned to which Hwa chuckled.

“Sorry to wake you up early baby but we have to leave. Daddy needs us. We have to go to Korea. Our flight is in 2 and a half hours” Hwa explained. Aurora sat up in bed alarmed upon hearing that she’ll finally meet Hongjoong. Without any more questions she lethargically got up and freshened up.

“Got your favorite teddy?” Hwa questioned by the entrance of the door after loading their luggage in the car. Aurora nodded her head as she walked down the stairs and Hwa smiled. “Let’s go, you ready?” Aurora nodded. Hwa bent down and picked Aurora up in his arms. After grabbing the breakfast he had prepared for the both of them, he left locking the door behind him

The time was currently 6 and the airport wasn’t that far. Seonghwa sighed in relief when he finished baggage and security procedures on time, leaving him with half and hour to kill before he had to start boarding. They were seated in the waiting area and Aurora had her head resting in hwa’s lap, slowly feeling sleepy with the passing second. Hwa texted Joong his flight details and got back to running his hand through Aurora’s hair as he let his own head fall back allowing himself to catch some rest.

“8 am Flight for South Korea is now boarding. Please have your boarding pass ready. Thank you” the attendant announced. “Baby get up that’s our cue”

Once they were inside and seated, seonghwa took out Aurora’s mini blanket and tucked her in her seat. “Go to sleep” he whispered. “But I want to meet daddy” Aurora pouted. “We still have 14 hours before we get to meet daddy. I promise I’ll wake you up. Get some rest you’re tired” Hwa assured. Aurora rested her head on Hwa’s arm and allowed sleep to take over Hwa.

Now that Hwa was alone, in his own thoughts, feeling relieved that the hustle had ended, he couldn’t get himself to sleep even though he was tired as hell, all he could think about was Hongjoong.

“The flight is about to leave” Hwa texted Joong one last time before he lost network in the air.

Thankfully, before he knew it, he knocked out.

The 14 hour ride finally ended and they both got off. Hwa felt shivers run down his spine at the thought of finally seeing his husband. A familiar feeling of warmth and a strange feeling of fear engulfed him. He was scared to see the state Joong was in.

Once Hwa and Aurora walked out after grabbing their baggage, the looked around for Joong. “Look, there’s daddy” Hwa softly spoke as he guided Aurora’s eager eyes to where Joong was standing and Joong immediately rushed to his family with a wide smile.

“Baby!”

“Daddy!”

Joong and Aurora both called out as Joong picked his daughter up in his arms. “Oh baby I missed you” Joong whispered as he hugged her with closed eyes, taking in the moment of finally meeting his family.

Joong opened his eyes to look at Hwa. Aurora might have missed it but Hwa didnt miss it. He couldn’t. Joong’s bloodshot red eyes spoke volume. Hwa’s heart sulked at the sight. Joong extended his arm out to Hwa, calling him in for a family hug. Hwa gladly walked up and wrapped his arms around Joong and Aurora.

Hwa felt Joong’s hand travel to his shoulder and tightly grip his leather jacket. As Joong hid his face in Hwa’s chest, Hwa heard Joong sniffles. “I’m here baby” Hwa quietly comforted.

He was here. And he was here to stay.

Joong led Hwa and Aurora back to his car and they left for home.

After reaching home Joong situated Aurora next to him on the bed, pulling her closer to himself. He waited for Hwa to freshen up as he put Aurora to sleep. When Hwa finally showed up, Joong slightly smiled at the sight. Joong turned to face Hwa as Hwa laid down and wrapped his arms around Joong’s waist.

“I missed you” Joong teared up as his eyes eagerly ran across Hwa’s face. “Hey. I’m here. I’m here to stay now. I won’t leave without you. We’ll get through this together” Joong cried a little at Hwa’s words.

“I don’t want mom to go. I don’t want her to leave me Hwa..” Joong cried into Hwa’s chest. Hwa shut his eyes as he felt his own tears threaten to fall.

“Your mom loves you. She’ll always be with you” Seonghwa managed to mumble. As much as Hongjoong tried not to cry out loud, at this point he couldn’t help the sobs that left his mouth. Thankfully Aurora was too tired to wake up upon hearing Joong’s sobs

Days passed and what Joong feared had became reality no matter how much he prayed against it. Joong and Hwa dropped Aurora off at one of their friend’s after the funeral and allowed a day for themselves. Joong cried hard against Hwa’s chest and Hwa let his own tears fall. Joong kept mumbling how he missed his mom.

“Why’d she have to leave Hwa. I can’t live without her.” Joong pulled Hwa even more closer to himself. “I love her Hwa. I want her back. Bring her back. Please” Hwa sobbed against Joong’s head, feeling ashamed at how helpless he felt at the moment.

Joong’s cries finally died down after hours. Hwa laid Joong down and pulled him closer, tangling their legs together. He kept running his hands through Joong’s hair, silently praying for this tough time to pass by quickly. Thankfully, Joong fell asleep within time, eyes still puffy, and breathing still labored, but Hwa didnt mind. He just wanted Joong to rest and feel better.

-

3 months had passed and things were better now. Joong and Hwa were getting ready to leave for America. “You sure you okay dad? If you want you can come stay with us, right Hwa?” Joong asked

“Yes of course! No need to ask me. Feel free to come any time dad” Hwa smiled at Joong’s dad. “Thanks kids” Joong’s dad affectionately kissed the top of both Joong and Hwa’s head, followed by Aurora’s head. “Visit again, princess. Don’t wait for your dads to get a day off” Joong’s dad warned. The family chuckled at the interaction and proceeded to leave.

At the airport, Aurora sat in between her dads, snuggled next to Joong while she tightly gripped onto Hwa’s index finger with one of her hands. Hwa’s hand played with Joong’s, remembering how they were caught up in a similar setting around 7 months ago, the night Joong was leaving for Korea.

“I’m glad you’re coming back” Hwa whispered. “It feels great to be back.” Joong replied and Hwa moved forward to press a quick, soft kiss to Joong’s lips.

“With my little family” they both smiled and looked down at Aurora who was busy playing with her teddy bear.