Disclaimer: All credit goes to The Literary Dragon!

Jiyong's hand tightened on Dara's. He might have tried to go another way before they were spotted, but Hojin had the type of voice that carried. Jaejoong looked up from the door of the museum that he and Kiko were just exiting. His eyes flicked over the three of them before he smiled. He turned and whispered something to Kiko. She turned, her eyes narrowing when she saw Dara standing between Jiyong and Hojin.

"Hello, Jiyong," Jaejoong purred. "Treating the babysitter to a night on the town."

"'Dara-noona might be my new mommy," Hojin piped up. "Daddy and 'Dara-noona talked at the park. Now, they kiss lots. And Harang said that-." Dara pulled her hand away from his and covered his mouth. One of these days, she was going to sit down with Hojin and have a serious discussion about tact. It was time he learned what it was and how to use it. He was kind of like Jiyong in that way. Both of them just spouted off the first thing that popped into their heads.

"So," Kiko said in a dead calm voice. "You are dating the babysitter. You shouldn't let your child pick your dates. You could do so much better." She gave a brittle laugh. "Though I guess you can't do better than me. It's your loss."

Jiyong assumed a pose of indifference. Dara could tell that he wasn't really relaxed because he still held her hand and his grip was crushing her fingers. "I don't know about that, Kiko. At least with Dara, it isn't like kissing a dead fish."

Kiko turned red. Jaejoong laid one hand on her arm. "Don't get all worked up, dear. Jiyong is a mongrel with unrefined tastes. He wouldn't know a good thing if it bit him in the ."

Hojin wiggled out of Dara's hold. "You take that back, monkey man!" he shouted.

Dara didn't like the cold look in the eyes Jaejoong the little boy. "You shouldn't call the nice man a monkey, Hojin," she soothed, pulling him closer to her and farther away from Jaejoong.

"Why not? Daddy said that the mean man is a smelly baboon. And a baboon is like a monkey. I learned that on Sesame Street." Hojin crossed his little arms over his chest, looking just like his daddy when he insisted on being stubborn.

Dara silently appealed to Jiyong for support. The corners of Jiyong's mouth twitched. "You shouldn't call Jaejoong a monkey, Hojin," he told his son. "It's an insult to monkeys everywhere." Jaejoong went rigid and, if looks could kill, Jiyong would be six feet under.

"By the way," Jiyong continued, ignoring the murderous looks being sent his way. "What are you two doing in this part of town anyway? You wouldn't happen to be spying on us, would you?"

Kiko glared. "Why would I want to follow you around?" She stepped closer to Jaejoong and linked her arm through his. "Jaejoong, being his usual generous self, has agreed to let this second-rate museum display his collection of carvings dating from the feudal era."

Jiyong opened his mouth for another retort when Teddy came into view with Durami still attached to his hand. Teddy coolly surveyed the group before him. Ignoring his brother, he turned his attention to Jaejoong instead.

"A pleasure to see you, Jaejoong." Teddy's expression didn't change by so much as a hair. He could have been commenting on the weather. "I trust that all is well with you."

"Quite well, thank you," Jaejoong replied. "Come along, Kiko. The atmosphere around here is too common for me."

He stepped to the side to walk around them. His eyes fell on Durami, clinging to her guardian. Durami squeaked, the first sound Dara had heard her utter, and cowered against Teddy's side. Jaejoong stared at her for a moment, before smiling and walking on. Dara tried to suppress an automatic shiver. The smile made her think of a rabid wolf.

"You had better watch yourself with that one, little brother," Teddy said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "Jaejoong is unscrupulous and ruthless. He is clever enough to not get caught. And he always gets what he wants."

"Feh!" Jiyong snorted. "You worry too much."

Teddy sighed, abandoning the argument before it could begin. "At least try to keep Haeum out of trouble." He pulled the little girl forward.

Dara bent down to Durami's level. "Hi Haeum, my name is Dara. We're going to the toy store. Do you want to come with us? We'll have lots of fun." She held out her hand.

Haeum stared at Dara for a long moment with her big brown eyes. Abruptly, she held out her arms. Dara lifted her up, cuddling her close. Teddy left, promising to pick her up in a few hours. Hojin clung to Dara's skirt, pouting because she was holding someone else. Jiyong scooped him up; tickling him into giggles, before allowing him to ride perched on his shoulders.

"Toy store, here we come!" Hojin sang at the top of his lungs.

^**^

Teddy had come and gone and taken Haeum with him. Dara flopped on the sofa, content to just sit. Who knew taking two young children to the toy store could be so exhausting. She squirmed slightly, remembering her embarrassment when the loudspeaker had requested the presence of an adult to retrieve a small boy from the decorative fish pond. Hojin stood waist deep in the water trying to catch the goldfish so that he could kiss them. His innocent declaration was that Daddy said that kissing Mommy was like kissing a fish and he was curious. Jiyong paid for the ones flopping on the ground gasping out their last breaths, but refused to buy one for Hojin. He said that a fish was something to eat, not a pet.

Haeum was not much better. She stuck close to Dara in the store, but once they were at Jiyong's place it was a different story. She still refused to talk. Finding out what she wanted had to be done by guessing. Hojin thought it was a great game, which led to a rousing round of charades. Once or twice Dara intervened to keep Jiyong from strangling the stubborn little girl.

Now, Jiyong sprawled at one end of the couch with Dara taking up the rest. The overcast sky outside and the weatherman promised more rain, but Jiyong insisted that it would be snow. Dara decided it wasn't worth arguing about. She grunted when a hefty child pounced on her stomach.

"Let's play a game, 'Dara-noona," Hojin begged, bouncing up and down.

"Isn't it time for your nap?" Dara sat up to keep him from jumping on her bladder.

Hojin shook his head violently. "Nuh-uh, I'm not tired! I want to play a game!"

From the other end of the couch, Jiyong said something but his voice was muffled by a sofa cushion. Dara pulled the cushion off of his face. He made a half-hearted grab for it, but she held it just out of reach.

"Why don't we play Hide and Seek," he repeated, giving up on getting the cushion back.

"Can I be 'it'?" Hojin asked. Jiyong nodded agreement as he pushed himself into a more upright position.

"While he's looking for us," Jiyong whispered to Dara as Hojin covered his eyes, preparing to count. "We can find someplace to sit and relax. He'll wear himself out before too long."

"I'm counting now," Hojin announced. "One, two, three, um, four, seven. . .um. . .eleventeen. . .um. . .five."

Jiyong gripped Dara's hand and pulled her after him. He seemed to be looking for something, poking his nose into different rooms before walking on. They came to a closet in the upstairs hallway. Jiyong opened the door, pushing her inside before following and closing the door behind him. It was a tight fit. Dara blinked as the small space was flooded with light. A single bulb hung from the ceiling, its cord still dancing from being pulled. Jackets hung from the hangars, a small stool and a broom took up the floor space. Dara turned around to find her face just inches from Jiyong's well-toned chest. She blushed, especially when he solved the space problem by sitting down on the stool and pulling her into his lap.

"Shouldn't we be hiding in separate places," Dara stammered, trying valiantly to control her blushes.

Jiyong chuckled, the vibration tingling through her body. "This is more fun." Tightening his arms, he nuzzled his face into the side of her neck. Dara was vaguely aware of Hojin shouting, "Ready or not, here I come!"

She wanted nothing more than to melt into his embrace, but something had been bothering her since that afternoon. It took a great deal of willpower to push Jiyong away. He made a sound of protest and tried to pull her back.

"Stop it, Jiyong," Dara commanded. "I need to ask you something." He sighed, but loosened his hold.

"I need to know if what Kiko said is true."

Jiyong thought on the earlier conversation and drew a blank. "What did she say?"

"Did you decide to ask me on a date just because Hojin likes me?" She swallowed heavily and continued. "Or is it because I look like Kiko?" Dara couldn't see Jiyong's expression because her face was turned away from him, but she could feel the tenseness in his body.

"I guess I should be flattered," she said when he didn't answer. "Hojin comes first. He's adorable and I love him. And he needs a mother figure, and-." Jiyong stopped her rambling as he had once before.

Jiyong finally pulled away and cradled her cheek in his palm. Dara instinctively leaned into his touch.

"You're the most exasperating person I have ever met." Dara's eyes widened in shock. Jiyong placed a finger on her lips to prevent her from speaking. "You're argumentative and stubborn. Not a day goes by that I don't want to smack some sense into that thick skull of yours. In short, you drive me crazy." He leaned forward to claim her lips in a harsh kiss. He groaned when she willingly opened to him, allowing him to deepen the kiss. His hands tangled in her hair, holding her still while her own arms wrapped around his neck. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss. She was panting, face flushed and eyes glazed.

"You are also the kindest, most generous person I know." He smiled when she blinked at him in confusion. "Hojin adores you. You've prevented me from making an of myself several times and I. . . well, I'm getting used to having you around."

"I'm getting used to being around," Dara said shyly. Jiyong leaned forward to kiss her again.

"I found you!" Hojin shouted, flinging the closet door open. "It's Daddy's turn to be 'it'!" Dara blushed. Here she was, sitting on Jiyong's lap and kissing him, and his son walks in on them. The pink tinge on Jiyong's cheeks assured her that she wasn't the only embarrassed one.

It only took two more games of Hide and Seek before Hojin was yawning. He was fast asleep when Dara began gathering her things together. Jiyong walked her to the door, after making sure that she wasn't in need of a ride home. She was looking forward to the walk; it would give her time to think. Fat white flakes started to drift down as she stood on the porch, saying goodbye.

"I was right." Jiyong smirked at Dara.

"About what?"

"It's snowing." He took her hand, tugging her closer. "That probably means I'm right about other things."

"What other things?" Dara made an attempt to retrieve her hand. Actually, she didn't try very hard.

"That I'll miss you when you're gone." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and grinned at the adorable pout on her face. "Hurry back and we'll pick up where we left off in the closet." Laughing at the blush on her cheeks, he went inside and shut the door

Dara stared at the closed door for several seconds, before turning away. The snow was coming down thicker and starting to pile up on the lawns. She sighed and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "Who knew babysitting could be so enjoyable."

------ Third update! This chapter is too cute T_T