*This song just... fits the message of this story, I think. And this final bit :). Girl-SYML
Minho was just about ready to fall asleep in his car as he stared up at the house. Perhaps it would be easier to sleep there to have a quiet night for once. But that wouldn't do, he couldn't leave his position of being a parent even for one night while his spouse was left to handle their two month old daughter.
With a sigh, Minho gathered his things, made sure to close the door to his car quietly as he got out, and then headed inside, ready to snuggle Jisung and Nari after a drawn out day at work. He just hoped Nari would actually attempt to sleep tonight.
The house was quiet when Minho stepped inside and locked the front door, and he glanced around with a raised eyebrow. Nari was not in her crate in the living room, but her nursery at the top of the stairs was dark when there was usually a night light on while she slept in there. So she likely wasn't there either.
Afraid of disturbing the peace on accident, Minho kicked his shoes and coat off before silently making his way into the kitchen. The lights were on and a bowl of half-finished food sat next to Nari's high chair, meaning Jisung was pulled away from his dinner at some point. That made Minho frown a little, and he turned some lights off as he quickly headed up the stairs.
The bathroom in the hall was lit up, and at a peek inside, it was clear that Jisung must have given Nari a bath, because the area all around the sink was splashed with water. Minho turned the light off and made it down to their bedroom.
The door was open a crack, showing off the low lamp light spilling from their bedside table. "Ji?" Minho whispered, lightly pushing the door open. He stepped inside and immediately checked his own pulse, because laying in the middle of the bed, was his little family.
Jisung was laying on his side, legs curled up and arms curled down around where Nari was nestled against him. He was asleep, glasses slightly strewn against his face and hair falling over his forehead messily. Nari was also very much asleep, one of her tiny hands curled into her papa's blue sweater, and Cocoa Beans was at the foot of the bed, one paw resting purposely on Jisung's foot.
Like Minho often did, he immediately pulled his phone out and took a picture, fighting to contain his squeals and coos of his rising cuteness aggression. Then he tiptoed forward, moving like he was made of peanut butter as he reached to take Jisung's glasses.
Jisung took a sudden breath in, eyes opening sleepily yet growing alert at once. He started pushing himself upright. "Nari-?"
"Shh, everything's okay, baby," Minho quickly whispered, taking the glasses and petting Jisung's messy brown hair. "Nari is right here, I just got home."
Jisung melted back into the bed, sighing out in relief as his gaze moved down to his daughter. He pulled her into his chest, eyes shining like he was holding something beyond precious. "She was really fussy tonight, but as soon as I came in here to change out of my shirt that got soaked from giving her a bath, she settled down."
Minho set his husband's glasses on the night stand. "So you fell asleep with her?"
Jisung's cheeks flushed. "I didn't really mean to. I sat down to rock her and... yeah." He shifted to lay back on his pillows properly, carefully keeping Nari cradled against his chest and kissing her head. "I swear I'll clean everything up-"
"Ah, what did we talk about?" Minho interrupted softly as he pet Cocoa Beans, who'd just noticed his presence. "We shoulder everything together. Sometimes I'll do more, sometimes you will, but we will always strive for...?"
Jisung lightly rolled his eyes, but his smile was soft. "Balance."
"Very good." Minho crawled onto the bed and over to the loves of his life. He kissed Jisung and then set a hand on Nari's head, where she was already sporting dark fuzz. "She's actually asleep," he whispered, disbelief coloring his voice.
"It's a miracle." Jisung smiled down at her. "She's like her papa, an insomniac."
"Good thing she's not related to Chan. She would never sleep."
They both laughed softly but quickly quieted down again when Nari stirred. They held their breath, but she remained asleep.
Minho couldn't resist any longer, and he carefully took her into his arms. She was so small, so precious, so theirs. "I think she really does have my nose like Seungmin said." A cheesy smirk. "And your cheeks. The perfect combination."
Jisung tilted his head. "Are you saying we're the perfect combination?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
After fawning over his daughter and telling Jisung about his day, Minho returned the sleeping baby back to his mate. "I'll clean everything up, then I'll come to bed."
"But you were working all day."
"Honey," Minho chuckled, glancing back at Jisung as he changed out of his work clothes, "in this balance we have, I'm still behind, if you think about it. You're the one that went into labor for fifteen hours after carrying a tiny person for several months. So I have some catching up to do in the 'work' part of being a parent."
Jisung winced, clearly remembering the rather horrific process it was to have Nari. "Okay, you can clean."
"I'm at your command."
It was a bit of a process cleaning everything up, including the slightly flooded mess in the bathroom, but Minho did it all happily, especially when it reached midnight and he didn't hear Nari wailing upstairs. He could only hope that she was beginning to grow out of that phase of waking up every other hour throughout the night, but tonight could very well be a fluke. Either way, he was enjoying the quiet.
With everything locked and light turned off, Minho finally made his way back to the bedroom, and he leaned in the doorway for a moment, just admiring Jisung and how beautiful he looked, how much he glowed while holding Nari. And Minho couldn't believe what his life had become within a matter of years.
He'd somehow gone from being a confused college student trying to figure out how to live in America while also wondering where his life would go depending on his father's decisions, to being a stable figure with a beautiful mate and a healthy daughter. And all it took was meeting a forgetful omega that didn't even know what he was.
In that moment, Minho thought he felt something near his shoulder, and a familiar voice seemed to whisper, "Look at what you two have built. I'm very proud of you boys."
Minho's gaze quickly flicked to the side, but the image of Beth that he swore he saw wasn't there. He looked across the room to where one of the pictures of Beth and Jisung hung, and he smiled, slowly looking back at his family. "We did it, my love."
The following morning, Jisung sat with Minho for breakfast in the dim light coming from outside, smiling brightly with Nari perched on his hip. "Min, I had a dream last night. Beth came to visit us."
And just like that, they fell into a wave of memories, their lively conversation backed by the gentle sound of rain falling outside.
♠♠♠
As these pages close, Beth turns to you.
"Now, now, deary, don't be sad. Don't let the closing of one book let you believe that a story is over, nor does it mean there are no other stories out there to discover." A wink. "I'm not just talking about books, honey.
"Where ever you are, whatever your book looks like, whether it has torn pages and a wrinkled cover or a perfect title, I will always be proud of you.
"Things may hurt, change might be difficult, but if you embrace it all with that strength that I know you have, you will see that life can be worth the struggle.
"Jisung and Minho faced their own challenges, and they'll have more to come, as will you my dear. But know that I am here to cheer you on. I watch over everyone, not just my boys.
"You're doing amazing, deary, and I hope you enjoyed this story. Now go out and create your own."
The End
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Y'all... we've made it. I didn't think of this story as super long but it's 203 pages on google docs, so at least it's not tiny lol. The glimpses of life last chapter kinda showed that Beth pops in every now and then to check on them, so we were being like her in that sense.
I like to go back to the beginning of my books once they're done and updated on here, and I actually cried, it's almost nostalgic, I'm weird lol.
With Nari's name, I just looked at Korean girl names and it can pretty much be translated to Lily, and though not mentioned in the story directly, they did give Nari's middle name as Beth, so her English name is Lily-Beth. Just a lil fact for ya!
Also! I'm open to doing a Q&A on here, so if you have questions about their future or Nari's, ask away, and I'll answer all questions in another little part on here.
Last thing: If you want the proposal scene or the wedding, or the time around Nari's birth, I can post a bonus, but only of one of those lol. So choose.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READINGGGGG. I LOVE YOU AND BETH DOES TOO.
Have amazing days, dearies!