𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 || 𝐉𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐧

III

The alpha is shortly brought out of it when Taeyong practically falls down on the couch next to him. He looks exhausted, and Joshua pats comfortingly at his friend's knee. “There, there. You survived.”

“Barely.” Taeyong groans, but he’s smiling a little — the party was clearly enjoyable for him, too. “Thankfully, Ten is taking care of all the cleanup, right babe?”

“Right.” Ten says, not particularly excited but maybe a bit relieved at seeing his husband finally sitting down. “And I’m taking Hannie with me so you can grill Josh in peace or something.”

“What? No, me and Jisung are busy.” Jeonghan protests.

“You monopolized him all afternoon, I wanna play with him too.” Joshua pouts, extending his arms once Jisung looks at him. The toddler still struggles a little with standing up, but not enough that he doesn’t run towards Joshua's arm, giggling.

“Traitor.” Jeonghan grunts, handing Joshua the blocks. He throws Taeyong a look that can only be described as warning . “Don’t go too hard on him, he happens to be a very important part of making a pup.”

“Damn, I feel so valued.” Joshua mocks, but Jeonghan only snorts. He still touches the alpha shoulder one last time before he leaves, comforting, and Joshua quite appreciates the gesture.

Once it’s just Joshua, Taeyong and Jisung, the omega drops down from the couch to sit in the rug with them. They play with Jisung quietly for a minute, before the silence starts to make Joshua nervous and he blurts out. “How upset are you?”

Taeyong doesn’t look startled by Joshua's sudden words, only sighs. “I’m not upset, Joshua, just worried. I wanted to talk cause I want you to help me understand.”

“That’s fair.” Joshua breathes out, a little relieved but still nervous, though for another reason; he might know he’s not getting an earful anymore, but his friend’s approval still means the world to him. “It’s a lot to explain, though. I’m sure Jeonghan already told you part of it.”

Taeyong nods, looking back at Joshua from where he’s handing Jisung new blocks to shape and lick. “He did, but I want to hear you tell me too.”

And so, Joshua does just that. From the way he and Jeonghan talked about becoming parents for years, to that night at the restaurant, and then all the conversations that followed. He doesn’t bother keeping anything private, because he knows there’s no point; even if Jeonghan hasn’t shared it yet, it’ll end up coming up at one point, just from the nature of their friendship and how they share their lives. Taeyong is a good listener, nodding at the appropriate moments and showing he’s paying attention even with Jisung playing in between them, but his expression is pretty hard to read throughout.

Once Joshua is done, Taeyong looks thoughtful for a minute, and Joshua plays with the one year old to distract himself. He knows he’s being watched, the omega’s gaze studying his expression (and probably noticing his pheromones too) attentively, but he can’t tell what Taeyong is trying to find — isn’t sure he wants to know either way.

“I’m happy you guys talked about it, and I know you’re both taking this seriously,” Taeyong finally starts. “But having a baby is a lifelong commitment. I just want to make sure that you do know that if you do this, you and Jeonghan are tied for life, in more ways than one. He’ll always be part of your life, in a huge way, and there’s no backing out of that.”

“I do know that,” Joshua says resolutely, and this is something he’s confident to say. “But Hannie was always going to be a part of my life; he’s been my best friend my entire life, and I’m more certain about growing old with him than I could ever be with a romantic partner.”