dad jokes //// sulay

eight.

"so, tell me. what was growing up with your siblings like?" yixing asked as they cleaned up the kitchen.

"ah, normal sibling feuds. you know, calling each other a little bitch when they won't give up the tv remote and having our mother nearly killing us when she heard us calling each other little bitches," junmyeon laughed, "what about you?"

"mm, well, my younger siblings always looked up to me, and there was enough of an age gap between me and most of the kids for us to get along well. except for luhan, who's only a year younger than me, but he's always been my perfect child so we never argued. my older brother watched out for us when he could, tried to be around as much as he could even though he was in law school, which i really appreciated at the time because it was kind of up to me to make sure everyone was in bed at the right time, everyone had eaten, done their homework, showered, all of that. my parents weren't home often, they went out a lot, so i kind of took over the parental role in the house since kris-ge was too busy becoming a lawyer."

"wow. you were a total dad," junmyeon said. yixing nodded.

"yep. which is why i often refer to them as the kids instead of my little siblings," yixing sighed, "god, i'm too young for that many children."

"when would you want kids? asking for the future," junmyeon said, "cause, you know, with modern say science people can get pregnant if they have that surgery."

"oh, did you get that surgery?" yixing asked, surprised.

"yeah. i know i want kids one day, so i figured it was best to get it now since it's easier the younger you are," junmyeon shrugged. yixing nodded.

"smart. that's cool. i want kids someday too," yixing said, "i'm not really sure when, since i'm still only almost nineteen, but i've always seen myself as a family type of person. how many would you want?"

"i don't know. enough to crack at least twelve dad jokes a day," junmyeon laughed. yixing chuckled.

"what about you, xing xing? do you know how many you want and what gender?"

"can't control that. i'm fine with either gender as long as i can teach them to dance. but, ideally, i guess maybe five or six."

"five or six?" junmyeon gaped, "xing, are you trying to get a reality tv show?"

"well, my family is large," yixing shrugged, "i want one too, you know? once i graduate, get a job, save up some money, i can really see myself as a future dad."

junmyeon smiled.

"yixing, you're like the only eighteen year old i know who doesn't freak out at the mention of babies," junmyeon smiled, "are you perfect or just mentally ill?"

"i thought you didn't believe in perfect?" yixing laughed.

"ah, guess you're batshit crazy then," junmyeon joked.

"probably. today i tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and then yelled at the crack for getting in my way. in chinese. i'm pretty sure everyone around me thought i was either drunk or high," yixing said, junmyeon snorting.

"wish i could have seen that," junmyeon let out.

"you really don't. not one of my finer moments," yixing shrugged. junmyeon hummed, wiping down the counter while the cupcakes baked.

"so do you miss it?" he asked, "china, i mean. do you miss your hometown?"

"i miss my family," yixing said, "but my town? no, not really. i really like it here. back in china, everyone was always trying to take my future and tell me what to do with it. in china i was living someone else's life, and over here i can really be who i am without worrying what everyone's gonna think of me. albeit, i only know like three people here, baekhyun, his boyfriend chanyeol, and you, so i don't have many people to disappoint, but it's easier for me."

"well said," junmyeon nodded. yixing offered a little smile.

"i guess back in china i was just so worried about letting down, i got so caught up in trying to please everyone that i forgot to take care of myself. i'm still not great at that. taking care of myself, putting myself first. luhan still calls me to make sure i've eaten," yixing sighed, shaking his head.

"i get it," junmyeon said, "really, i do. trying to keep on a smile so everyone would think you're perfect. when i was younger, back when i was getting bullied in school, i had depression. i never wanted to worry mom and dad, so i always pretended everything was fine. until one day, i couldn't. had a whole nervous breakdown during family dinner and everything."

"i'm sorry," yixing said. junmyeon shook his head.

"no, don't be. i'm better now. i graduated culinary as the top of my class, and i just opened up the bakery and it's going pretty well so far. i just, uh, want to make everyone around me proud," junmyeon said, meeting yixing's eyes, "you know, try to convince the family i'm perfect."

"you are," yixing said. junmyeon shook his head in disagreement.

"no, i'm not," junmyeon said, "i look kinda weird and i'm short and i'm hardly making rent. i spend more time with books than i do going out to parties and making friends."

yixing moved closer to junmyeon, who was leaning against the countertop. he placed both hands on the counter, trapping junmyeon.

"so what if you're not the richest? you're pretty, your height is so cute, and you're just barely starting out so you have a lot of time to grow your business. you're funny, you're smart, you have a great taste in literature and you're one of the most sincere people i've ever met. i can say that in confidence and i only just met you. i pined after you for two months, and i've never been happier now that you've noticed me," yixing said, not an ounce of playfulness in his voice as he was completely telling the truth, "i really like you, junmyeon. you may not think you're perfect, but you are. perfect to me, perfect for me, and you don't have to pretend to be happy around me because i'll try my hardest everyday to make sure you really are, even if i have to scour the darkest places of the internet for dad jokes once i run out of material."

junmyeon was speechless, just staring at yixing. yixing's eyes really were something else. the honeyed brown held a hint of a jade green, making them almost hazel. and they held such adoration, such that junmyeon had never been stared at with before. he could really fall in love with those eyes.

he leant up, and without thinking, pressed his lips against yixing's. he stayed there for a second before realizing what he did, pulling away with a deep blush coating his cheeks. yixing was shocked, frozen in his spot.

"oh, god, i'm so sorry," junmyeon spoke quickly, "i don't know what i was thinking, it's probably too soon and you probably don't like me that much-"

"stop rambling already," yixing said, dipping his head down so that he reconnected their lips, hand going to cradle junmyeon's soft cheek, other hand falling onto his waist as he hoisted him up onto the counter so that it was easier to meet his mouth.

junmyeon slightly parted his lips, granting yixing access as he wrapped his arms around the younger's neck, letting them rest there. yixing snaked his tongue into junmyeon's mouth, adding more passion to the already sweet kiss. junmyeon tasted faintly of buttercream frosting. yixing's favorite.

they kissed until they both desperately needed air, breaking apart with heavy breaths and foreheads pressed together, eyes closed and chests slightly heaving. yixing pulled junmyeon closer, bodies pressing firmly against one another as they registered what just happened.

"wow," junmyeon breathed out finally, breaking the silence. yixing's lips curved up into a smile.

"thought i was gonna have to wait another two months before i could finally do that," yixing joked. junmyeon scoffed, whacking yixing's strong chest softly.

"shut up, meanie."

yixing laughed lightly, leaning in for another kiss, and the two could tell it was the start of something beautiful. every relationship starts with a small spark.

they already had a fire brighter than the sun.