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“Appaaaaaa.”

Jin rolled over in bed.  It was 5 am.  He sighed.

“What is it, Tae?”

“Want cake!”

“Tae…it’s 5 am…go back to bed.”

Jin rolled back over, attempting to fall back asleep.  Couldn’t he sleep in just this once?  It was his birthday, after all.  He rolled back over a few minutes later to find Tae pouting up at him still.  He sighed.

“Would you like to come lay in bed with me?”

Tae perked up immediately, climbing up onto the bed.  He was hugging Jimin’s stuffed elephant to his chest, grinning.  He lay down next to Jin and cuddled into his side.  Jin chuckled and pulled the tiny boy into his arms.  Maybe now he’d get more sleep….

Jin awoke with a start at 9 am.  Tae was still sound asleep next to him.  But the other boys were certainly awake by now.  Jin climbed out of bed and headed out to the living room.  None of the boys were there, so he wandered out to the kitchen.  Jimin was standing on a stool at the counter while Hobi and Namjoon read instructions for baking a cake off the back of a cake box.  Jin smiled.  Kookie must still be asleep.

Jin considered what he should do.  He didn’t want the boys to make a mess of the kitchen, but at the same time he knew they would probably like to do this themselves.  He decided to go back and check on Kookie for now.

When he entered the room, Kookie was half asleep and halfway over the railing of his crib already.  Jin picked him up.

“What are you doing, silly?”

“Wanna go see appa…” Kookie frowned. “Happy birthday, appa!” he grinned.

Jin laughed. “Thank you, baby.  Should we go see what your brothers are up to?”

Kookie nodded.  Jin walked back out to the kitchen.  Hobi was cracking eggs into a bowl.

“Why can’t I do it…?” Jimin whined.

“Because you’ll make a mess,” Hobi responded.

Jimin pouted.

“What are you boys doing?” Jin asked, startling all three of them.

“We’re…making a cake.” Namjoon offered lamely.

“I see that.  Can Kookie help you?”

Hobi grimaced but nodded.  Jin smiled and got Kookie a stool as well before standing him on it.

“Wanna smash eggs!” Kookie exclaimed.

“No, no, Kookie.  You can’t smash the eggs,” Hobi replied.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you boys to it, then.” Jin commented before wandering back out to the living room.  Tae was waddling down the hall just then, still half asleep and hugging the elephant.

“What doing?” he asked as he looked out into the kitchen.

“Your brothers are making a cake.  Would you like to go help them?”

Tae nodded and grinned before running out to the kitchen.

Jin decided to settle himself on the couch and watch some TV.  If he wasn’t watching the boys and didn’t have work, he supposed he had some alone time right now.

About ten minutes later, he was interrupted.

“Appa, can you come put the cake in the oven?” Namjoon asked from the kitchen.

Jin laughed and headed out to the kitchen to assist the boys.

——————–

Half an hour later, the cake was baked, and the boys had managed to turn the entire kitchen white while attempting to make frosting.  Tae was crying because his elephant (it seemed Jimin didn’t care too much about it anymore) was now covered in powdered sugar, and Kookie was throwing more of it everywhere while laughing.  Hobi scooped Kookie up and took him down the hall.  Everyone needed a bath now.

After everyone was bathed and in new clothes and Tae’s elephant was in the washer, Jin turned on some TV for the boys while he made the frosting.  Jin decided to let the older boys frost the cake by themselves so there wasn’t too much of a mess.

Soon enough, they were all seated in the kitchen and eating cake.

“Mmm, I think this is one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten,” Jin commented over a mouthful of cake.

Hobi girnned. “Happy birthday, Appa,”