The boys spent the next hour on the playground with the adults taking turns watching them and playing with them. Within the first 30 minutes, Sungmin began to feel tired as well and he went to sleep in his stroller with no problems. Heechul watched Leeteuk play with the twins in the sandbox where they were building some kind of fort for a little while, unable to hide the smile at the interactions between the nanny and his nephews. Then he went to look for Siwon and Yesung and found them in the tower still.

“What are you two doing up here?” he asked as he peeked up to see if they were still alive.

Yesung squeaked in surprise. “Umma! Go away! We are talking about secret things!” he insisted, going as far as trying to push his umma’s head out of the little opening.

Heechul just laughed at his son’s antics. “Okay, okay, I’ll leave,” he chuckled, crawling down again to give the two some privacy.

When they decided they had played long enough and wanted to see more animals, Leeteuk took a twin in each hand while Kangin pushed the stroller with Ryeowook in. Hangeng walked behind Siwon and Yesung who were holding each other’s hands and Heechul pushed the stroller with Sungmin in. They decided to go visit the Africa-house, which had a rainforest and a large water basin where the manatees lived. Siwon was extremely fascinated with the large animals and stood so close to the glass to look at them that his nose was pressed flat against it.

“Come on, they aren’t even exciting or anything!” Yesung insisted, trying to drag Siwon along with him, so they could go see the penguins that lived in a building connected to the Africa-house by a tunnel that went under an aquarium so it looked like you were at the bottom of the ocean.

“But look at them! They are so pretty and graceful!” Siwon argued just as one of the large animals let out a huge bubble of gas from its rear end. Yesung began giggling wildly at Siwon who was now blushing furiously. “Let’s go!” the older boy yelled, trying to ignore Yesung’s laughter as he dragged the younger with him towards the door.

Heechul, Hangeng and Kangin followed, all sporting amused smiles at the two oldest boys and their antics, while Leeteuk came behind them with the twins. Donghae and Hyukjae were busy looking at the piranhas.

“Look at their teeth,” Eunhyuk said, scooting closer to Leeteuk for protection.

Donghae, on the other hand, pressed himself as close to the glass as he could. “Can I have one?” he asked, looking at Leeteuk with stars in his eyes.

“Where would you keep it?” Leeteuk asked with a small smile at the youngest twin’s expression.

“In the sink!” Donghae exclaimed after a short pause, beaming brightly at the brilliance of his plan.

“Where would you wash your hands then, pabo?” Hyukjae mocked.

“I’m not a pabo!” Donghae replied quickly with a pout.

“Boys, we should go catch up with your uncles,” Leeteuk interrupted to divert their attention before the twins could start a full-blown fight.

The tunnel leading to the penguins were split into two sections; one was a glass tunnel that went through the aquarium, while the other was a dark tunnel with different boxes hanging on the wall with different things inside to touch and look at. There was also a huge block of ice with light in it. The twins pressed their hands onto it while squealing with laughter because it was so cold. When they finally made their way into the room with large glass windows where you could see the penguins, Kangin beckoned the twins over to the glass.

“Do you see that penguin with the yellow and purple bracelet?” he asked, pointing at one of the penguins. The twins looked in that direction and then nodded, looking at the penguin curiously. “That is the oldest penguin in the world. It is even older than me!” he told them. The twins looked up at their appa with open mouths and then at the penguins. There were many penguins in the enclosure, and they were busy waddling around, eating, or swimming. There were different kinds of penguins and it seemed most of them had a bracelet in different colours and patterns to help the zookeepers identify them. With all the hustle and bustle of the birds, the twins were quite entertained, laughing and pointing when one of the penguins stole a fish from another and then waddled away in full speed.

Leeteuk went to the stroller Kangin had parked by the wall to check on the sleeping Ryeowook. The toddler whimpered slightly in his sleep and Leeteuk didn’t hesitate to sit down on a bench beside the stroller before gently his cheek. The whimpering stopped and a tiny hand made its way to Leeteuk’s, grasping it so it wouldn’t go. Leeteuk smiled softly at that, his heart already completely lost to the little boy and his brothers.

“He is absolutely wonderful, isn’t he?”

Leeteuk looked up in surprise and found Heechul standing with the stroller with Sungmin in. Heechul sat down beside Leeteuk when the nanny hummed in agreement.

“Sungmin is wonderful too,” Leeteuk replied, smiling at the older male. Even though Heechul had shocked him with his blunt and unabashed ways, he had already decided that he liked the man. He would definitely take a little getting used to, but Leeteuk was pretty sure Heechul would be a fiercely loyal friend.

Heechul smiled at the comment. “Thank you, I think so too,” he responded quietly, looking lovingly at his youngest son who was still sleeping soundly. “You know, I want to thank you,” Heechul then continued. Leeteuk lifted an eyebrow, silently prompting the other man to go on. “Youngwoon is a wonderful father, one of the best there is, but he couldn’t