“I think that’s the last of it.”

Jisoo sighs deeply, wiping his brow as he straightens back up after setting the last box down along the wall with all the others. He’ll have to sort through them and decide where the contents of each should go, but right now his legs are screaming at him to take a break.

“So what’s for dinner tonight? Takeout or pizza?” he asks as he flops back on the couch and drapes an arm over his eyes. He grunts when he feels a weight on his stomach and tiny hands insistently smacking at his chest.

“Pizza, pizza, pizza!”

“Alright Channie, I’ll order it in a minute” Jisoo smiles, slightly lifting his arm off his face to see his little brother pouting at him. “Hyung is tired right now.”

Chan whines at him, flopping onto his chest. Jisoo chuckles at the pout on his little brother’s face, ruffling Chan’s hair with his other hand. Neither of his roommates are back yet; Jeonghan’s off running an errand with his sister and Seungcheol’s at work. It’s just him and Chan at their shared apartment right now.

He sighs quietly, lightly Chan’s hair as the four year old babbles at him about his favorite pizza. Normally around this time, he’d be coming home from work while Chan would be eating dinner with their--

He swallows, shaking his head. He can’t dwell on that right now, not when Chan’s still with him. He’s gotta stay strong, for him, for both of them. Jisoo ruffles his brother’s hair fondly, stretching his arm out and grabbing his phone before dialing his usual pizza place and making the orders.

“Okay Channie, pizza’s gonna be here in fifteen minutes,” Jisoo says after hanging up, tossing his phone on the table. He grunts when Chan squeals happily, bouncing on his chest. It doesn’t bother him though, he’d do anything to make his little brother smile brightly like he is right now. He scoops the child into his arms, making airplane noises as he runs around the apartment, pretending Chan’s an airplane.

“Wheee!” Chan cries happily, laughing brightly as Jisoo hugs him to his chest, patting the older’s cheeks. At the sound of the front door unlocking he grins, telling Chan that Cheol hyung’s back. Chan doesn’t pay attention, demanding for more airplanes.

“Well, it looks like someone’s having fun.”

Jisoo turns to the doorway, laughing at the sight of Seungcheol hopping about while trying to toe off his shoes. Chan hides his face in Jisoo’s shoulder, shyly peeking out as his brother goes over to help with Seungcheol with his things.

“Heya Channie,” Seungcheol coos, gently pinching his cheek before turning to his roommate. “Did you get settled in yet?”

Jisoo nods, jerking his head in the direction of the boxes as Chan squirms in his arms. “Just gotta unpack the boxes now. We’re having pizza for diner by the way; Chan’s request.”

“Pizza?” Chan asks eagerly, perking up only to pout when Jisoo says it’s not coming yet. That makes Seungcheol laugh and ruffle Chan’s hair before he asks Jisoo if he needs any help unpacking.

“I was gonna leave it for tomorrow actually,” Jisoo says with a quiet laugh as they go over and sit on the couch. “Chan’s bed is already set up in my room and I’ve taken out some of his clothes for tomorrow.”

“Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

Jisoo frowns, letting his brother squirm out of his arms and run around the apartment. Seungcheol’s right, he does have work tomorrow and he hasn’t looked up daycares for Chan yet with how busy he was in the aftermath of his parents’ funeral.

“I do,” he says, biting his lip in thought. “I don’t know anyone who can take care of him last minute though. You and Jeonghan work tomorrow too, right?”

“I don’t know about Hannie, but I actually have off tomorrow,” Seungcheol shrugs, chuckling at Chan running around making airplane noises. “I can look after your brother while you’re gone.”

Jisoo nods, eyeing him scrutinizingly. Seungcheol shrinks a little awkwardly under his stare, staring back at him slightly bewildered.

“Is that not a good idea?”

“Yes and no,” Jisoo says with a shrug, catching Chan before he can run into the coffee table. “I think I’d feel better if Hannie was with you.”

Seungcheol pouts at him, about to protest when they hear the doorbell ring, still pouting even as Jisoo heads to the door, Chan close on his heels.

“PIZZA!”

Jisoo laughs, ruffling his brother’s hair fondly as he opens the door, coming face to face with his other roommate instead of the pizza delivery person. He can’t help but laugh again when Chan eagerly asks if he’s the pizza man.

"Pizza man?” Jeonghan blinks, stepping into the apartment. “Last time I checked, no.”

“Hyung, want pizza!” Chan whines, clinging onto Jisoo’s leg with a pout. Jisoo grins, penguin wobbling out of the way with Chan clinging tightly on him so Jeonghan can toe off his shoes. Jeonghan laughs, bending down to Chan’s height and poking his cheek.

“Are you not happy to see Jeonghan hyung?” he says with a pout, making puppy eyes at the child. Chan immediately shakes his head, stubbornly insisting he wants the pizza man now! Seungcheol cackles at Jeonghan’s put out expression, sticking his tongue out at him before the doorbell rings again.

“Third time’s the charm Channie,” Jisoo smiles, asking Seungcheol to grab his wallet while he opens the door once again. Thankfully it’s actually the pizza man, much to Chan’s delight. Once they’re all settled around the coffee table, they dig in eagerly, occasionally getting scolded by Jeonghan to chew and then swallow by how quickly they were scarfing down the pizza.

“Hannie, do you work tomorrow?” Jisoo asks, carefully wiping leftover sauce around Chan’s mouth. Jeonghan nods in the midst of bickering with Seungcheol over who would be stronger between Superman and Wonder Woman.

“Yeah, but I get off early tomorrow,” he shrugs, jabbing Seungcheol’s ribs. “Why do you wanna know?”

“Cause I’m not sure if I can trust Cheol to look after this lil squirt while I’m at work,” Jisoo says simply, petting Chan’s head as his brother giggles at the other two bickering in front of him. “I didn’t look up any daycares yet with all the stuff that’s been going on and Cheol offered to take care of him.”

Jeonghan nods understandingly; since his parents’ funeral, Jisoo’s been throwing himself into taking care of Chan while dealing with the aftermath of his parents’ death. It’s a surprise he hasn’t broken down yet. He tells his friend he’ll be back in the afternoon, making a little jab at Seungcheol.

“I’m sure he can take care of a kid for a couple hours,” he snickers, flopping over when Seungcheol shoves at him. Jisoo rolls his eyes when they start wrestling, picking Chan up so he can give him a bath.

“Try not to knock over the coffee table again please,” he calls over his shoulder, jostling Chan a little bit on the way to the bathroom. His brother’s eyes are already drooping a little as the child smushes his face against Jisoo’s shoulder. Jisoo laughs softly, making a detour to his room to grab Chan’s pajamas and a spare towel.

Once he’s finished giving Chan a bath and tucking him in bed, he goes back out to the living room where his roommates are curled up on the couch watching some drama (and still bickering). They scoot over a little, making room for him to flop in between them with a tired sigh.

“You sure you can take care of Chan?” Jisoo teases, nudging Seungcheol with his elbow. Seungcheol groans, head knocking back on the back of the sofa while Jeonghan and Jisoo snicker at him.

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of kids,” he says with a huff, scowling at the two. “Is that really so hard to believe?”

Jisoo doesn’t dignify that with an answer, sticking his tongue out at him instead. Seungcheol grumbles at him, lightly kicking his shins.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see how you really do tomorrow,” Jeonghan snorts, flipping through the channels. “I’m betting you’ll call Soo in three hours panicking cause you can’t find Chan.”

“Alright, no fighting you two, you’ll wake him up,” Jisoo laughs, getting comfortable between them. They watch some movie Jeonghan settled on while Jisoo tells Seungcheol everything he needs for tomorrow. When the credits start rolling, Jisoo stands up, stretching his arms as he yawns, telling them he’ll head to bed first and reminding them not to stay up too late. The other two bid him a good night before he disappears into his room with a quiet click of the door behind him.

“Still betting you’ll call him in three hours.”

“Shut up!”

“I left some emergency numbers on the counter if you can’t reach me,” Jisoo says hurriedly as he quickly checks his things, Jeonghan passing him a piece of toast. “But text me after if anything happens, got it?”

Seungcheol nods, yawning a little as he watches them bustle around the kitchen. He would’ve slept in, but Jisoo woke him up, saying he needed to tell him important things about taking care of Chan.

“Really, we’ll be fine Shua,” Seungcheol says reassuringly, snagging a piece of toast for himself. “Promise.”

Jisoo still looks a little unsure, but he nods, dashing out the door after a last reminder to stay out of trouble. Jeonghan leaves shortly after with a lazy wave of his hand, door shutting behind him, leaving Seungcheol alone in the apartment with a still sleeping Chan. Seungcheol yawns, heading back to his room after taking a look at the clock to catch a few more hours of shut eye until Jisoo’s brother wakes up.

“Hyung?”

Seungcheol stirs a little, blinking as he rolls over only to startle when he comes face to face with a wide eyed Chan.

“Uh, Chan, you’re up!” he coughs, sitting up on his bed. “How long have you been awake?”

Chan frowns, staring at him before padding out of his room. Seungcheol quickly follows him, watching as the child wanders into the living room and the kitchen, calling for his hyung. He opens his mouth, about to say he’s right there before Chan calls for Jisoo hyung, a confused and scared expression on his face.

“Oh, Channie, Jisoo hyung’s at work,” Seungcheol says quickly, jogging over to him. Chan looks up at him, eyes already shiny with tears. Seungcheol panics a little, he’s gotta calm Chan down before he starts crying.

“Work?” Chan asks, clutching his elephant plushie tightly. Seungcheol nods, bending down to his level, explaining that Jisoo will be home before dinner. Silently he prays that’ll be enough for Chan to calm down as the boy pouts at him.

“Hyung come back later?” Chan asks after a few moments, still looking a bit unsure. Seungcheol nods, petting his head as he promises Jisoo will come back.

“Do you want breakfast buddy?” he asks, holding out his hand for Chan to take. Chan hesitates a little before grabbing his hand and nodding, letting Seungcheol help him sit at the table. Seungcheol opens the refrigerator, grabbing the milk and a couple ingredients for their breakfast, pouring the milk in a cup for Chan and setting it in front of him.

“I’ll have breakfast ready soon,” he grins, ruffling Chan’s hair. Chan nods, setting his plushie on the table before drinking the milk and Seungcheol has to hold back an ‘aww’ at how cute Chan looks.

So far, so good. Seungcheol smiles to himself as he starts making eggs; he can totally take care of a child. He’s only met Chan a few times before he came to live with them, and he seems like a pretty mild mannered, if not slightly hyper, kid.

Once he’s done preparing their breakfast, he sets a plate in front of Chan, chuckling as Chan thanks him and eagerly digs in.

“So what do you wanna do today kiddo?” Seungcheol asks, cutting into his pancake. Chan puffs his cheeks in thought, nose scrunching up cutely.

“Park!” he says happily, munching on a yummy pancake. Seungcheol grins, telling him they can go after they finish eating and get dressed. It takes a bit of chasing and playful wrestling after they eat for Seungcheol to get Chan dressed and ready, but soon enough they’re walking to the nearby park, Chan babbling about elephants on the way there.

He lets Chan run off to the playground after taking his backpack and elephant plushie, settling himself on a bench not too far away from the playground. Seungcheol smiles, keeping a watchful eye on Chan as he runs around with the other children there. Jeonghan’s so gonna lose that bet; it’s only been about twoish hours and he still hasn’t called Jisoo. They really didn’t have to worry, he’s more than capable of looking after Chan.

“WAHHHHH!”

Or maybe not. He’s immediately on his feet, eyes darting over the playground looking for Chan only to breathe a sigh of relief after seeing it was someone else’s kid screaming. He sinks back onto the bench trying to calm down a bit as he scans the playground for Chan, finally relaxing when he sees the child on the monkey bars. God, that nearly gave him a heart attack. After that little incident, he keeps a closer eye on Chan making sure he doesn’t get hurt.

Jeonghan yawns, glancing over at the clock on his desk, only to groan when he sees the time. He’s still got quite of bit of time left before he can leave, even though he’s pretty much done with all the work for today. Maybe he should check up on Seungcheol, make sure he isn’t getting into any trouble of anything. Yeah, he’s gonna do that, he’s due for a break anyway. He grabs his phone and mug off his desk, heading to the break room as he dials Seungcheol’s number.

“Hello?”

“Yo, Cheol, still alive?” he asks with a snarky grin, filling up his mug with water. He sniggers, he can practically hear Seungcheol scowling at him over the phone as his friend tells him to shut up.

“We’re over at the park right now,” Seungcheol says, sounding a bit out of breath. Jeonghan hums, leaning against the counter.

“Why do you sound like you ran a marathon though?” he asks, taking a sip of water. He smiles when he hears Chan babbling over the phone while Seungcheol tells him he got roped into playing a game of tag with Chan and the other children at the park.

“We’re actually about to go eat something,” Seungcheol adds, making sure Chan has his backpack and plushie with him before they start walking to the bus stop. “You wanna come with?”

“Are you paying?” Jeonghan asks, laughing when Seungcheol gives him an exasperated yes. “Alright, you pick the place and I’ll meet you guys there.”

Jeonghan heads back to his desk after hanging up, making sure to drop by his boss’s office to tell him he’s heading out for lunch soon. He plops into his chair with a sigh, opening up his program and fiddling around some more with it until he gets Seungcheol’s text with the location of a local sandwich shop nearby. With a grin, he grabs his things and heads out of the office. Thankfully it’s actually not that far of a walk, and he can see Jisoo’s brother running around Seungcheol when he gets close to the shop.

“Haven’t called Shua yet?” he asks as he reaches the two, bending down to ruffle Chan’s hair. Seungcheol rolls his eyes, flipping him off as he opens the door for them, ushering them into the shop.

“Nope,” Seungcheol says, holding Chan’s hand to keep him from running off. “Seriously, you two gotta have more faith in me, as you can tell, I’m perfectly fine looking after him.”

“You say that now, but what about later?” Jeonghan teases as they get in line. Seungcheol rolls his eyes, ignoring him in favor of picking up Chan and asking him what kind of sandwich he wants.

As soon as they finish ordering, they grab a table outside on the patio at Chan’s insistence. Jeonghan smiles as Chan eagerly tells him about what he did at the park, laughing when he catches Seungcheol dozing off in the corner of his eye.

“I think you tired out Cheol hyung, Channie,” he says with a grin, nudging Chan to look over at Seungcheol. Chan giggles, reaching over and patting Seungcheol’s cheeks, telling him to wake up. Seungcheol groans, telling him he is awake.

“You have way too much energy kiddo,” he says fondly, patting Chan’s head. Chan just smiles proudly at that, brightening up when he sees a server coming to their table with their sandwiches.

“You’re getting old Cheol,” Jeonghan teases, biting into his sandwich. Seungcheol rolls his eyes, cutting Chan’s sandwich into smaller pieces. They eat in silence for a little bit, hunger taking over socializing for a bit. When they’re halfway through lunch, Jeonghan asks what they’re gonna do next, wiping a bit of sauce from Chan’s mouth.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Seungcheol shrugs, yawning a bit. “I’m down for a nap though. What do you think Chan?”

He frowns when he doesn’t get an answer from the child, looking down to find him staring off at something. He shares a look with Jeonghan, both of them looking in the direction of his gaze to find a family of three nearby laughing and chatting together.

Jeonghan bites his lip, looking down at Chan again, noticing his forlorn expression. He moves to kneel in front of Chan, asking quietly if he’s okay, gently squeezing his hand. Chan swallows, hesitating a little before shaking his head.

“I miss Mama and Appa,” he mumbles, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. Jeonghan nods understandingly, giving Chan’s elephant plushie to him, quietly comforting him. Seungcheol frowns, wondering what he can do before a thought comes to him.

“Do you wanna visit their graves Channie?” Seungcheol asks kindly, pulling out a tissue for him. Chan blinks up at him, nodding his head as he squeezing his plushie to his chest as he climbs off the chair, taking Seungcheol’s hand.

“I have to get back to work,” Jeonghan says quietly to Seungcheol, grabbing his bag. “But I’m gonna see if I can take off so I can go with you guys.”

“You don’t have to-” Seungcheol protests, pausing when Chan tugs at his hand.

“Han hyung come too?” Chan asks, looking between the two. Jeonghan smiles, bending down to his level as he tells him he can if Chan wants him to come. Chan nods at that, saying he wants Jeonghan to come too.

“Okay, Hyung’ll come too,” Jeonghan says with a kind smile, straightening up again before talking to Seungcheol. “Give me a few minutes to talk to my boss and then we can go.”

Seungcheol nods, leading them out of the shop before Jeonghan’s calling up his boss. Chan’s still a little quiet, lightly swinging Seungcheol’s hand back and forth as they wait for Jeonghan. A few minutes later Jeonghan hangs up, telling Seungcheol he got the okay to leave early.

“Do you wanna get something nice for your parents Chan?” Jeonghan asks as they head back to the bus stop. Chan nods before pointing at a nearby flower shop, saying he wants to get flowers for them as he tugs at Seungcheol’s hand.

A few minutes later, Chan’s roaming around the flower shop, frowning as he looks for the perfect flowers to take. Jeonghan keeps an eye on him while Seungcheol answers a text from Jisoo, asking if his little brother’s doing okay.

To: Shua
We’re fine, just ate lunch

To: Shua
Hannie got off early so he’s hanging with us for the rest of the day

From: Shua
Don’t get into any trouble! I gotta head back now but I’ll be home around usual time

From: Shua
Chinese sound good for dinner?

To: Shua
Sounds good to me

“Hyung!”

He looks up, laughing a little at the sight of Chan trying to hold a bouquet of lilies a little too big for him to handle without stumbling. Quickly he tucks his phone away and grabs the bouquet before Chan can fall over, ruffling his hair.

“Ready to go?” he asks as Jeonghan walks over, Chan’s backpack and plushie in his hand. Chan nods, grabbing their hands and tugging them out of the shop, telling them to hurry up. They both laugh at his eagerness before Jeonghan leads them to his car. Soon enough they’re on the way to the cemetery, Chan singing along to the radio.

When they get there, Chan’s quiet again, insisting on carrying the bouquet of lilies as they walk over to his parents’ grave. Seungcheol cleans the area a bit before Chan places the bouquet between the tombstones.

“Hyung, what do I do?” Chan asks, looking unsure of himself. Seungcheol crouches down to his level, suggesting that he tell his parents about what they did today. Jeonghan agrees with him, settling down on Chan’s other side, nudging at him to sit. After he does so, Chan’s quiet for a bit before he hesitantly starts talking, telling his parents about the fun he had with Cheol hyung and Han hyung.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan share a smile as Chan goes on, becoming more animated as time passes. He tells them about living with Soo hyung and all the yummy food he had before he gets quiet again, sniffling a little as he tells them he misses them.

“Soo hyung said heaven’s nice place,” he says, rubbing his eyes. “Said I see you much, much later.”

Jeonghan gently pats his head as Chan tells the tombstones he’ll be okay and not to worry about him because he has Soo hyung and hyung’s friends!

“I come visit again with Soo hyung too!” Chan says with a bright smile, though Seungcheol can see tear tracks on his cheeks. After bidding them a goodbye, Chan gets up, turning to them and saying they can go now.

“Do you feel a little better buddy?” Seungcheol asks, gently wiping Chan’s cheeks. Chan nods, taking his backpack from Jeonghan before they leave the cemetery. He ends up falling asleep on the drive back, cuddled up in the backseat with his plushie.

“He’s handling their death better than I thought,” Jeonghan says quietly, looking back at the sleeping child. Seungcheol hums, saying that Chan’s got a good support system helping him cope. His friend smiles, agreeing with that as they reach the outskirts of the city before asking Seungcheol to call Jisoo and let him know they’re on the way home.

Jisoo’s just finished setting the takeout on the coffee table when he hears the front door unlock. He jogs over to open it up, smiling at the sight of Chan fast asleep in Jeonghan’s arms as he lets his friends in.

“How was he?” he asks softly, shutting the door behind them before they sit on the couch.

“Energetic,” Seungcheol laughs, letting out a deep sigh as he sinks onto the couch. “You really didn’t need to worry at all Soo.”

Jisoo rolls his eyes, shoving at him playfully before he takes Chan from Jeonghan, telling them to dig in. While they’re doing just that, he gently pats Chan’s cheeks, murmuring for him to wake up. His brother whines, blinking blearily at him before he focuses, letting out an ecstatic squeal at the sight of his older brother.

“Hi Channie,” Jisoo laughs as Chan hugs him tightly, ruffling his hair. “Food’s ready, wanna eat yet?”

Chan nods eagerly, impatiently squirming as Jisoo fixes a plate for him while he tells his brother about what he did with Cheol and Han hyung today.

“We visited Mama and Appa too,” Chan tells him, digging in once Jisoo sets his plate in front of him. Jisoo frowns, looking at his friends at that.

“He saw a happy family while we were out and missed your parents,” Jeonghan explains with a sad smile. “So Cheol suggested we go visit them.”

Jisoo lets out a quiet ‘ah’ before Chan gets his attention again, telling Jisoo that he told Mama and Appa that they’ll visit again. As they eat dinner, Chan tells him more about today’s adventures, yawning a little when his plate’s nearly empty.

“Sleepy now?” Jisoo asks, wiping Chan’s mouth and smiling fondly when his brother nods. “Alright, bath time and then we’ll get you to bed squirt.”

“We’ll take care of clean up,” Seungcheol tells him, waving him off when Jisoo starts to protest. “You go take care of him.”

Jisoo nods gratefully, scooping Chan up in his arms as he carries him off to the bathroom, leaving Seungcheol and Jeonghan alone in the living room. When he finishes washing Chan up and tucking him in bed, Jisoo finds Seungcheol knocked out on the sofa and Jeonghan cleaning up the leftovers.

“He wasn’t kidding when he said Chan had way too much energy,” Jeonghan laughs. Jisoo rolls his eyes, helping Jeonghan clean up before they take the other couch after draping a blanket over Seungcheol.

“You visited my parents?” Jisoo asks quietly. After a nod from Jeonghan, he asks how Chan was during the visit, biting his lip a little.

“He told them about what we did today,” Jeonghan says with a smile. “And that he’ll be okay because you’re with him.”

He laughs a little at Jisoo’s surprised expression. “Shua, you’re a good brother,” Jeonghan says. “It’s because of you that he’s handling this so well. Have a little more faith in yourself.”

Jisoo smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “I’ll try,” he says softly, rolling his eyes at Seungcheol’s snoring. “But it’s.. Difficult. Half the time I don’t even know if I’m doing things right and I don’t wanna screw things up with Chan.”

“You don’t need to do this all on your own,” Jeonghan reminds him, patting his shoulder. “Cheol and I are here to help you know. And before you say anything, no you’re not being burdensome, we’re happy to help out whenever you need us to.”

Jisoo sighs, leaning his head on Jeonghan’s shoulder, quietly thanking him. “If I didn’t have you and Cheol, I think I’d be a lot more overwhelmed.” He confesses, smiling fondly at a sleeping Seungcheol.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Jeonghan smiles. “We’re always gonna be here for you Shua, don’t forget that.”

Jisoo nods, yawning a bit as he gets comfortable, tugging another blanket over them. With a soft good night, he shuts his eyes, dozing off on Jeonghan’s shoulder. He may not know what the tomorrow’s gonna throw at him and Chan, but with Seungcheol and Jeonghan by his side, there’s no doubt they’ll get through it together.