Kangin came home with the three older boys an hour and a half later. The twins kept yawning while Kangin and Leeteuk helped them get ready for bed. Kangin managed the brushing of teeth while Leeteuk helped Siwon find his pyjamas pants that were mysteriously missing.

“Will you come tuck us in, Teukie umma?” Hyukjae asked when he was ready to go to bed.

“Yes, of course, sweetie,” Leeteuk answered when he came back into the bathroom after successfully finding Siwon’s pyjamas pants.

“Stupid toothbrush!” Donghae suddenly shouted, throwing the toothbrush at the mirror and startling everyone present.

“What happened, Hae?” Kangin asked with a little frown, picking up the toothbrush and removing the froth on the mirror with a paper towel.

“It’s just stupid,” Donghae sulked, sending his twin brother and their nanny a nasty glare as if it was their fault, before stomping off to his room.

Hyukjae looked after him with wide eyes before looking at Leeteuk. “Does Hae hate me now?” he asked, tears gathering in his eyes.

Leeteuk immediately pulled the small boy into a hug. “No, he’s just tired,” he assured the older twin, even if he wasn’t sure that was the only reason Donghae was acting out. He gently led Hyukjae into the twins’ room as well, tucking him in and pressing a goodnight kiss onto his forehead while Kangin kissed Donghae and then they switched.

“Goodnight, Hae, sleep tight,” Leeteuk whispered once he turned to tuck him in. The boy lay with his back to the room, facing the wall. He didn’t answer Leeteuk even though the adult knew he was still awake. The nanny let out a soft sigh before making his way to Siwon’s room.

“Is Hae mad?” the oldest child asked, having witnessed the scene in the bathroom when he passed by to go to his room. Leeteuk nodded as he down on the edge of the bed, taking the Harry Potter book from the night stand. The boy looked at the adult before sitting up and wrapping his arms around him. “Don’t be sad, Teukie. He misses our real umma. She liked him a lot,” Siwon explained in the hopes of making Leeteuk happy again. He hadn’t even gotten around to asking if he wanted to be his umma too and he thought he probably shouldn’t ask now when Leeteuk was sad.

“I know,” Leeteuk sighed softly and hugged the boy back. He sent Siwon a fond smile when the boy released him and sat down on the bed again. “You all miss her, don’t you?”

“Well, I don’t think Wookie remembers her. He was very small when she left. Donghae misses her a lot but he doesn’t like to admit it. I think she liked him the most of us,” he mused with a serious expression.

Leeteuk couldn’t help but ask, “What about you, Wonnie?”

The boy looked down at his hands for a little while before speaking. “I miss having an umma,” he answered slowly. “But I don’t miss her,” he said, voice not strong enough to cover up the fact that it was a lie. “She didn’t want us anymore.”

Leeteuk’s heart broke completely at the sight of the small boy trying to keep his tears from falling as he tried to convince himself that he didn’t miss his umma. He put the book down and gently pulled Siwon closer until he was sitting on his lap, wrapping the blanket around him gently. “Sweetie, it’s okay to say you miss your umma,” he said softly, holding the now crying boy close.

“But she didn’t want us anymore!”

Leeteuk honestly didn’t know how to respond. After all, it really did seem like their mother hadn’t wanted them and had left for something she thought was ‘better’. He gently Siwon’s hair while trying to calm the boy down. “I don’t know your mother, Siwon, and I don’t know why she thought that there was anything more important than you in this world. But it’s her loss. You are wonderful and she won’t get to see that because she made a stupid choice. You didn’t do anything wrong, I promise you that.”

“Will you be my umma?” Siwon asked in a low voice, hiccupping slightly from crying.

“I can never replace your real umma, but I can try my best to give you the love your umma was supposed to give you,” he answered, hoping that it was understandable for the eight-year-old.

Siwon nodded and rested his head on Leeteuk’s shoulder, still sniffling. “Can I call you umma?” he asked softly.

“If you want to, you can,” Leeteuk said, pressing a kiss to the top of Siwon’s head.

“Can we just stay like this instead of reading tonight, umma?” Siwon asked, testing out the word that had a foreign feeling to it after not having been used for so long.

“Mmh,” Leeteuk hummed while nodding, rocking the young boy slowly. He soon started humming the soft tune of a lullaby that his mother used to sing to him when he was young. He felt Siwon relax in his arms and the boy was soon half asleep. He gently stood up, laying the boy down and tucking him in before kissing his forehead.

“Umma?” Siwon asked sleepily, earning him a hum in response. “Yesung asked if you would be his uncle if you said yes to be my umma. Will you?” He opened his eyes halfway, looking at the nanny with a mixture of expectation and sleepiness.

“Of course,” Leeteuk replied, smiling Siwon’s thoughtfulness towards his friend. It was cute. He brushed the hair away from his forehead and kissed him again. “Sleep tight, sweetie.”

Leeteuk woke with a start, brought out of his dream by a knocking sound somewhere. He wasn’t sure if it was in his dream or in real life, though. He looked at the clock on his bed stand; it was 2.44. He had just settled down again when a soft knock was heard on his door, making him jump in surprise. He stood up, slightly scared of what he might find on