AN: A little sequel to I’m Sorry. Just to let you know that well, all is well.

Disclaimer: This story is inspired by real-life people, but any circumstances similar to real-life situations are purely coincidental.

—000—

Win

He knows he shouldn’t, but Win secretly smiles at the pout on his daughter’s lips. 

Claire’s lower lip is jutted out and probably keeps getting longer every time Win glances at her, but he thinks it’s cute. It’s obvious that she wants to cry, but she is trying hard not to. She always tells him and Bright that she will be as strong as Papa and as brave as Dada.

Brave. The little girl hasn’t forgotten what happened a couple of years ago, and when she’s finally older enough to understand and ask about it, Bright has explained it to her.

She has always called Win brave ever since. Win thinks he doesn’t deserve it, but Bright tells him that if he wasn’t as brave as Claire thought him to be, they wouldn’t be this happy right now.

Speaking of happy—Claire isn’t very happy right now. Their daughter has developed a love for football because of her parents, so they’ve enrolled her in a football camp. She loves it and has always been eager to attend training, always going home with a smile on her face and stories about her day. 

Today, she has no smile on her face and has no story to tell. Her team lost at football today. While no one from her team is blaming her, she thinks it’s her fault for not being able to kick the ball that would have saved their team.

Win glances at the clock. It’s almost 7. Bright promises he will be home before 7. Bright is the busier father this month because he’s finishing four songs for Win. It’s now in the recording phase so he has to go to the studio to do it.

Win on the other hand has learned to balance his work, and has a more flexible schedule now courtesy of Off. He might have lost brand deals when he left a couple of years ago, but more came after that—this time, brands with advocacies led the line. So Win has been able to choose his own projects and endorsements.

It wasn’t exactly easy when he came out with the truth that day, with some of his so-called fans turning out to be homophobic, but the real ones stayed and kept supporting him since. 

They have personally met Bright and Claire as well, and have been very open in declaring full-pledge protection, whether online or in person.

Win couldn’t be happier and more content. While he has always appreciated every affection from his fans, he’d rather lose some of them who can’t accept Bright and Claire’s existence in his life. Family comes first to him now, and Bright and Claire are his family.

“Claire,” Win gently calls. 

Claire looks up from the television and stares at him. “Dada?”

“Papa will be home in a bit,” he says. Win finds himself smiling at the mention of his husband. Bright has never changed. He is still that man who’ll protect his family fiercely. Win’s glad he has found a best friend and a romantic love in one fine man. He and Bright are soulmates and will remain as that forever. No one or nothing could have stopped them anyway. They only ever needed to catch each other’s eyes to ignite destiny.

As if on cue, Win hears the beep of the front door unlocking. Claire hears it too because she immediately wipes her eyes and tries to mask her face, making her expression look fierce, too fierce if someone asks her Dada. 

“Love, I’m home! Baby Girl, Papa’s here!” Bright’s voice announces his arrival before he even steps into their view. 

“In here,” Win calls back. He smiles as he sees Bright enter his line of vision. He looks so tired; his half-ponytailed hair has tendrils that have come loose. His eye bags can also give Win’s eye bags on shooting days a run for their money.

But he is still wearing a smile for him and Claire. And Win will always marvel at the fact that this handsome man is his and Claire’s. 

Bright catches his eyes first. His smile widens as he walks towards Win, embracing his lithe frame from behind, and holding him tight as if they haven’t seen each other for a while. Win holds the arms that embrace his waist and closes his eyes, taking in the wonderful smell and warmth of Bright. 

The long embrace after a long day at work is a routine. A form of catharsis for the long-time lovers. It takes away every negative emotion a stressful day has given them.

The embrace is a simple pleasure they never deny each other, even during those times they have misunderstandings. Win will always offer Bright an embrace, temporarily forgetting what they are fighting about; and then just continue with it after they both get their dose of lifeline.

It relaxes them both, allowing them to deal with everything and anything. It might just be a few seconds of a hug, but it’s everything for them.

“Love you,” Win hears Bright whisper before he feels his lips on the side of his neck. 

“I love you,” Win whispers back and hugs him tighter for a few seconds before disentangling from his warm arms. He turns around and meets Bright’s beautiful doe eyes again. “Love,” he says as he casually fixes the collar of Bright’s dress shirt. He subtly glances at the small form of their daughter who’s sitting too rigidly in his opinion before staring back at his husband’s amused eyes. “She is waiting for you. She wouldn’t cry for me, but she would for you. She needed to let that emotion out. I do hope you know that she gets that stubbornness from you.”

Bright chuckles and leans forward to rub his nose against his—a habit he had developed since they were literally just bros. He has always found Win’s nose perfect, and he always makes sure to show him just how much.

“I’m on it,” Bright whispers confidently, making Win chuckle. Bright steals a kiss from his lips before he turns and makes his way to their daughter.

Win crosses his arms and watches the scene unfold in front of him.

—000—

Bright

She is so obvious, Bright thinks as he takes a few seconds to stare at their cute daughter. Claire has grown in two years in terms of character, but she’s still almost the same physically. Round cheeks that are red as tomatoes and a porcelain skin that matches Win’s. She might not be biologically theirs, but honestly, she looks like a perfect mix of him and Win. If only one of them can bear a child, Bright thinks their biological offspring will look like Claire.

Not that it matters. Claire will always be theirs. In fact, Win and he are thinking of having two more kids through surrogacy in the near future. But that will never take away the fact that Claire is their firstborn.

Claire, their little angel, is currently acting out of character.

The little girl has always preferred reading books or listening to music, which he probably thinks is his influencer. So whenever she watches a show, it means she is trying to distract herself from something.

Bright slowly sits beside her and pulls her closer towards him. Claire seems to not want to look at him, but she surrenders to his Papa’s embrace.

“Baby,” he greets. “How is my beautiful daughter this evening? I told you, Uncle Off does the most ridiculous things on television. You shouldn’t be seeing these things.” Off, after all, used to be a celebrity. But he had gotten tired of being in the spotlight and decided to become the manager of one of his friends, who’s Win. He still occasionally does guesting, though.

True enough, Off is on TV, doing a challenge with another local celebrity. He is trying to eat something gross and is making the most ridiculous facial expressions. Usually, Claire will laugh at Off’s quirks, but tonight, it seems even he won’t do it.

“This is bad,” Bright thinks. He shakes his head and stares at their daughter. Claire remains silent, and Bright sees her lips quiver. She is also still refusing to look at him. 

Bright meets Win’s eyes. The younger man nods at him. Bright winks, subtly reassuring his husband that he got this. 

It makes Win giggle, his already small eyes turning smaller at the action. And it sends warmth toward Bright.

“I’ll give you privacy,” Win mouths. Bright watches as he turns away and makes his way to their kitchen. Bright temporarily ends up in a trance. Win is beautiful, and he just gets more beautiful as he ages. 

I’m a lucky bastard, he thinks before bringing his attention back to their daughter, still silently thanking the gods for bringing Win into his life.

He sighs contentedly before patting his daughter’s shoulder.  “Claire, can you look at Papa, please?” he asks softly. Claire does it out of being polite, but she has barely turned her head.

Utterly stubborn, Bright thinks, and wonders if she truly got this from him. After all, this tiny gesture reminds Bright of his husband whenever they’re having a little spat. Win can go for hours not talking to him. 

Bright kisses his daughter on top of her head and slowly turns her so she can face him. “What’s wrong, Baby?” he asks. At first, there’s no response. But Bright waits. 

And then—his gentle voice seems to have been what Claire needs because just a minute later, she finally reacts. 

And breaks down. 

The little girl starts speaking and starts crying at the same time.  “We lost at football today, Papa,” she says, her chest heaving as she continues to bawl her little innocent heart out. But Bright doesn’t stop her. She needs this. He and Win don’t want her to think that crying is bad and is a sign of weakness. They want her to understand that it’s okay to cry instead of keeping her emotions all to herself.

It’s never a good practice for the heart.

So Bright listens to her explain what happened without telling her to stop crying. 

From the corner of his eye, he can see Win watching them. But the younger man doesn’t make any move to join them. 

This is another thing they had talked about after that incident years ago. They want Claire to know that both of her fathers are always there for him, hence they make sure that the three of them always spend time together. 

But they also want to give her solo bonding moments with just one of them to strengthen their bonds with her individually. So they agree that whenever Claire needs to talk to one father, the other won’t interfere unless necessary.

Today is one of those moments.

“Claire—” Bright starts again when he thinks Claire’s calm enough. 

“Papa…” she sniffles. “I’m sorry that Claire isn’t able to win the game. I dedicated the game to you and Dada. I told my coach the game is for you and I will win it for you. And I… didn’t.”

And finally, Claire jumps at her Papa and buries her face in his chest. Bright smiles and embraces his daughter tightly. 

“Never feel sorry for the things that you tried your best at, Baby Girl. Papa is very proud of you and so is Dada. Losing is a part of life, Love. And that is okay. I know it’s difficult to accept, but always remember that it’s okay to lose as long as you know how to get up and fight again when you feel like you can. And you can take your time, okay, Baby Girl?”

But Claire continues to cry silently. And Bright simply allows her because sometimes, a good cry is all that’s needed to feel better. 

He remembers the times Win used to come to his apartment after a really stressful day at a shoot and just cried on Bright’s shoulders without telling him why. The stress of being a most sought-after artist often got to him. And even though he looked like he enjoyed it all the time, he didn’t. 

Bright was just his friend then. Win had no idea he loved him. Bright was just always there whenever Win needed him, but he was really just a bro back then. Nothing more.

Bright had loved him in silence. Win had never heard the longing of his heart until he almost lost Bright. Bright had almost given up and had started giving himself boundaries so he wouldn’t cross the line with Win.

And Win—well, it made him realize that the emotional distance from Bright was something he couldn’t take. It started opening his eyes and his heart. And when he finally realized what Bright had been showing him all along, he made sure to let him know. 

And then he started chasing after Bright this time. And the rest was history.

Claire falls asleep in his father’s arms. And he can’t help but feel his heart breaking at the sight of her tear-streaked face.

A few minutes later, Win finally joins them and leans against his husband’s side, handing him a glass of wine. Bright loves to have a relaxing sip whenever he arrives home from a tiring workday.

“Thank you, Love,” he says with a grin. “She is really sad, isn’t she?”

Win lays his head on Bright’s shoulder. “Her Papa is a good football player. She thought she didn’t measure up to your standards.”

Bright puts the glass down and wraps an arm around Win’s shoulder. “My heart was breaking, but I was trying not to let it consume me. We should tell her all the time that as long as she does her best, we will be proud of her. I don’t want her to experience what other kids experience. I just want her to be happy about doing the things she loves.”

Win places a kiss on his clothed shoulder. “She is a lucky girl to have you as her Papa, Bright. And I couldn’t be luckier. Thank you for choosing me, still choosing me after everything.”

“And here I thought I was the luckiest man alive for having you love me. Off actually keeps rubbing it into my face that I’m the luckiest bastard after him.” 

Win laughs. Of course, he knows Off will say that. He is Gunnie-whipped.

“Do you remember the first time we brought her home?” Win asks as he nuzzles his face on Bright’s neck. “You were so scared and excited and… you couldn’t take your eyes off her.”

“I couldn’t help it, okay? She was so beautiful. Not that it changed. But seeing her just… she took my breath away.”

Win nods. “She’s the most precious thing. I have never imagined I could love someone more than you.”

“HEY!”

Win laughs. And it sounds like music to Bright’s ears.

“Come on,” Win says. “Give her to me so I can bring her to her room, and you can eat your dinner, and we can go to bed early.” Then he adds, “… and then I can eat you.”

Bright blushes. “WIN!”

“Ssssshhh. Little ears,” Win admonishes as he carefully extracts Claire from Bright’s arms. Once secure in his arms, he pecks Bright’s lips. “I’ll be waiting.”

“Win! I swear to—”

But once again, Win just laughs. Bright swears his husband is going to be the death of him one day. 

But Bright’s not one to disobey a direct order. 

So he’ll eat his dinner like the good boy that he is and come to bed early to have his dessert.

Or rather for Win to have his dessert.

Sounds like a good plan.

Oh yes. All is well in their family life. And Bright plans to let it stay that way.

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