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“Daddy? What’s wrong with Honey?” Came a small voice from the living room. Kihyun tilted his head from where he stood at the stove, attempting to look into the living room. Hyungwon had clearly called out to Minhyuk, but he still couldn’t help but be concerned as to what the eight year old could have been referring to.The sound of shuffling papers reached Kihyun’s ears, most likely Minhyuk setting down his paperwork he brought home. When his husband let out a small gasp alarm bells went off in Kihyun’s head. He turned the heat off for the food, not wanting to leave it unattended with the burners on, and headed into the living room.“Minhyuk?” Kihyun said, approaching the brunette. “What is wrong with Honey?”“I’m not sure,” Minhyuk whispered. He was crouched next to Honey, the young vanilla lab panting under his touch. Kihyun’s gaze shifted to his son and when he took in his child’s appearance he practically ran to his side out of sheer concern. “Hyungwonnie,” Kihyun said soothingly, placing a comforting hand against Hyungwon’s back. “What happened?”“He fell over when he tried coming to me,” the eight year old whispered, eyes shining with unshed tears. “He just, fell and peed himself. I’m scared dada.”Kihyun didn’t know what to say, knowing it would be unfair to give the child false hope. He merely hugged the boy closer to him, tenderly wrapping both his arms around Hyungwon as the child fully climbed into his lap.“We need to take him to the vet,” Minhyuk said, worrying his lip between his teeth as he turned to Kihyun. “Will he be okay, daddy?” Hyungwon asked.“I’m not sure pumpkin…” Minhyuk sighed. Kihyun gazed at his husband, eyes growing wet. Minhyuk seemed to panic when he saw his eyes well up, quickly moving over to the two of them. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Hyungwon’s head, smoothing a hand over his hair, before placing a kiss against Kihyun’s forehead. He pulled back and looked at the two of them with a tender love, softening Kihyun’s heart slightly. He gazed at Minhyuk before shifting his eyes to Honey. Kihyun deflated at the sight of the poor dog and held Hyungwon tighter.“We should get towels, clean Honey up and wrap her in a clean towel,” Kihyun said. Minhyuk moved to stand up but before he could Hyungwon pulled out of Kihyun’s arms and moved away from them. “I’ll get them,” Hyungwon said, glancing back at the two of them before walking past Honey and towards the linen closet. “He’s such a good boy,” Minhyuk whispered, watching their son fondly.“Yeah,” replied Kihyun, voice hushed. “I’m glad he came into our life when he did.”Minhyuk smiled softly at Kihyun before shuffling away and scooting closer to Honey, Kihyun following closely behind him. Kihyun reached out and pet Honey’s head, the poor pup looking up at him with glazed eyes. Kihyun’s chest grew tight and his throat felt hot, emotions threatening to spill out over the single look their dog gave them. It was almost too much.“I got the towels,” Hyungwon said, voice muffled by the large stack of towels he had in his grasp.“Oh baby,” Kihyun chuckled. “You didn’t need to get so many.” He stood up and grabbed three from the pile, leaving hyungwon with only two in his arms.“I didn’t know how much would be enough,” Hyungwon whispered, voice meek. Kihyun sighed and ruffled the child’s hair, doing his best with physical affection to show it was ok. He handed one of the towels to Minhyuk and his husband immediately began to mop up the piddle that Honey had released when he collapsed. Kihyun looked on, grief striking through him. The poor pup was barely coherent. If Kihyun had to guess based on his past experience, Honey had most likely had a stroke. All of the signs were there, and if it was what happened, they would all be losing a family member. Minhyuk pulled another clean towel out of Kihyun’s hands. It slipped out and onto the floor, pooling at his feet. Minhyuk moved it to cover up the rest of the pee before grabbing for the last towel Kihyun held. He draped it over Honey and wrapped it around him, tucking it under his back and tucking it under his feet.“Hyungwonnie, can I have another towel?” Minhyuk asked the eight year old. Hyungwon simply nodded and held the fourth towel out. Minhyuk made quick work of wrapping it around Honey’s backside.“Hyungwon,” Kihyun called out, reaching for his son as he watched Minhyuk bundle Honey into his strong arms. “I think, we might need to put Honey down.”“Put down?” The child repeated.“Kihyun don’t,” Minhyuk bit out. His gaze was cold, but behind it there was fear. “Minhyuk, we can’t keep him in the dark,” Kihyun sighed. “We need to be honest with him and you know it.”“But he can’t just!”“Can’t just what,” Kihyun snapped. There was a whimper nearby, pulling both of them from the argument. Hyungwon had taken a few steps back, fear and unease clear in the way his shoulders hunched up and how he clutched the towel. Kihyun sighed and kneeled down, gesturing for Hyungwon to approach. The child stayed put, clearly upset. “I’m sorry, Hyungwon, Kihyun,” Minhyuk said, surprising Kihyun. “I shouldn’t have snapped at dada like that.”“I’m sorry for yelling too,”Kihyun said, abashed. He looked down at his hands but was surprised when a small set of feet entered his field of vision. He looked up and Hyungwon took one of his hands with both of his small ones, squeezing it.“It’s okay,” Hyungwon assured, looking at both of them.“Give me a hug?” Kihyun prompted. Hyungwon nodded, a shy smile playing on his lips as he leaned down and hugged Kihyun. Kihyun took the opportunity to scoop Hyungwon up, holding him as he stood up. The child giggled and wrapped his arms tightly around Kihyun’s neck. He couldn’t help but smile fondly at the child but his expression once more turned grim as Minhyuk’s voice rang out.“Do you know what it means to put something down Hyungwon?” Minhyuk asked. Hyungwon simply shook his head in response, unaware of the implications behind the words. Kihyun sighed, stroking his sons hair.“I think we would be best off explaining it in the car,” Kihyun told them. “Do you want to hold Honey with you in the back?” Kihyun asked Hyungwon, bouncing him slightly in his arms.Hyungwon nodded in response, tightly hugging Kihyun. He couldn’t help but sigh as the child settled into his arms. He was truly grateful to have had the opportunity to raise Hyungwon with Minhyuk, he just wished they could have protected him from losing a pet until he was older.Kihyun sighed and kissed Hyungwon’s forehead, whispering into his hair.“We’ll be okay, you’ll be okay.”
