“What happened?!” Sungmin exclaimed, jumping from his seat in the waiting room as his husband came rushing through, their crying son in his arms.

          The red mark on the boys head had swelled considerably in the minutes it had taken Kyuhyun to reach the infirmary, causing the injury to appear far worse than it probably was.

          “Minkyung was playing with him and he hit his head on one of the tables in the play room.” the younger explained, not once stopping as he bypassed the nurses station and headed down the hallway that lead to Zhoumi’s office.

          “What!? Were you even watching him?” Sungmin asked, his tone clearly accusatory.

          “Of course! I swear I only took my eyes him for a minute. Eunhyuk and I were talking. I thought he’d be fine!”

          “Of course you did…” Sungmin mumbled and then their conversation was brought to a temporary halt as they entered the doctor’s office.

          Zhoumi’s eyes lifted from the papers on his desk as the small family entered, closing the door behind them. He had to admit that he wasn’t very surprised to see them. The poor child was accident prone, he’d probably been in his office at least once every other week, usually for small scrapes and bruises, things that could be easily overlooked. If he didn’t know them as well as he did, he probably would’ve suspected child abuse.

          Instead he blamed it on first child syndrome. They were good parents, if you didn’t count the constant fighting. Jinsang was their first, they loved him to death and while some of the injuries were preventable, most were not, and were just a toddler being a toddler. They were basically learning with him, but were paranoid, perhaps more so than what could be considered healthy.

          He had been prepared to give the baby a once over and send them off with his usual ‘keep a closer eye on him’ farewell, but the after spotting the alarming size of the bump on his head, he began thinking differently.

          “Bring him here” he instructed, standing quickly and moving around his desk to stand before it, holding out his arms expectantly.

          Kyuhyun nodded as he stepped forward, passing the sniveling baby over to the doctor who immediately began to examine him.

          Zhoumi checked his heart and took his temperature. He frowned as he checked Jinsang’s eyes, noticing that only one was dilating properly. “What did he hit his head on?”

          “A table” Kyuhyun responded.

          “How long ago?”

          “About five minutes..?”

          “Did he lose consciousness?”

          “…Yes” Kyuhyun nodded “Bu-”

          “He what!? Why didn’t you tell me that before?”  Sungmin shouted, glare hard set on the younger.

          “I didn’t exactly have a chance! It was only for a few seconds and then he sat up and started crying.” Kyuhyun defended, the fight beginning again.

          “Enough.” Zhoumi scolded softly. “Stop doing this in front of him.” And when the parents quieted, he explained “I believe he has a mild concussion, nothing too serious so don’t worry. I need you to keep him awake for twenty four hours and make sure he has plenty of water. If he begins to vomit or develops difficulty with simple motor skills bring him back down and we can take an x-ray, alright?”

          Sungmin nodded as he reached for his son, taking him gently from the doctor’s arms.

          “Min…I’m sorry, and don’t worry he-”

          “Don’t bother.” Sungmin growled, glowering at the younger before he stormed past him and out the door.

          Kyuhyun was frozen for a few moments, gaze directed at the floor as he worked to gather his swirling emotions.

          “Kyu…listen.” Zhoumi began “We have a few great psychiatrists, I could recommend one for you and Sungmin to see. They might be able to-”

          “No…” Kyuhyun lifted his head, his eyes meeting the older’s with a wan smile gracing his lips.

          Zhoumi could clearly see that the expression did not reach his eyes.

          “It’s fine. We’ll work it out, we always do” Kyuhyun lied, and then his heels, following the same path his lover took out the door before the doctor could try and argue.

          ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

          Ryeowook sat quietly, rocking back and forth with his newest daughter in his arms in the recovery room, his lover sound asleep in a hospital bed just a few feet away.

          Yun had been asleep, but after five long hours without food had at last awoken to cry and was now contentedly away at the bottle she had been offered.

          He watched her eat, observing how her eyes crossed with great focus as though the bottle would disappear if her gaze left it, and listening adoringly to the soft ling and grunting noises she made. She was truly beautiful, with soft black hair and equally dark eyes, pudgy cheeks that definitely came from her father, while her tiny nose and lips were obviously inherited from Ryeowook himself.

          He hoped she would grow to be as pretty as her sister, but even if she didn’t she would still be perfect in his eyes, and Yesung’s as well.

          His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the door clicking open, and while he had expected a nurse, he still wasn’t surprised to find his eldest daughter waltzing in instead, Eunhyuk in tow, just as he had been earlier.

          “Eomma!” She called, rushing to Ryeowook’s side and freezing when she spotted the bundle in his arms.

          “Shhh!” He quickly hushed, glancing to Yesung who merely shifted a bit in his sleep, before stilling again.

          “Sorry…again.” Eunhyuk began sheepishly. “She threw a tantrum and refused to go to bed. I thought you’d be ok with her coming to say good night at least.”

          The younger smiled and took note of his daughters pink pajamas and puffy red eyes. “It’s fine. I guess I was expecting that.” He sighed, running a gently hand through Aemi’s hair to straighten out the tangles, she didn’t notice of course, her gaze still locked on the tiny infant in his arms. “Can you give us a minute?”

          “Sure, I’ll be out in the hall.” Eunhyuk smiled. He closed the door on his way out.

          “We talked about this.” Ryeowook began, and the girl’s eyes flicked up momentarily before resting back on Yemin as though she hadn’t even heard him speak. “You need to stay with Hyukkie and Hae until tomorrow so Appa can rest.”

          “Then why can’t I stay with you?” Aemi pouted, reaching a hand cautiously up to pet her sister’s hair.

          Ryeowook smiled, not missing the way Yun’s eyes watched her carefully, examining her every move, before her attention was re-averted to the near empty bottle. “Because I need to watch Yun.”

          “Yun…” Aemi repeated. “I want to hold her.”

          “You want to hold her...what?”

          “I want to hold her PLEASE.” The girl corrected, and Ryeowook had no choice but to concede.

          He smoothly switched places his daughter, helping her sit in the rocking chair and getting her situated, before carefully handing Yun, who had finished her first bottle, over to the girl, his hands never completely leaving her. “Ok stay still, try to not to move too much. Hold her head up…there.” He smiled at the sweet picture and wished he had been smart enough to remember a camera that morning when he was gathering their overnight bag.

          There was silence for a few moments, the only sound to be heard was the faint and occasional gurgling from Yun, before Aemi spoke.

          “Why are you Eomma when Appa has babies?” She asked curiously, and Ryeowook had to admit he was a bit startled for a few moments. He hadn’t been expecting her to figure something like that out so early.

          “Because if Appa was Eomma, we’d all starve.” He chuckled, and when Aemi didn’t quite seem to get the joke he decided to answer more truthfully. “Because Eomma can’t have babies, but Appa can.”

          “Why can’t you?”

         “Because…well…” Why couldn’t he? Of course he knew, after five years of living there he understood the entire science of it, but explaining it all to a four year old wasn’t that simple, especially since was that last thing he wanted her to understand at that age. “Because Appa….Appa has a place where you and your sister were able to grow. I don’t”

         “Why not?”

         “Because that’s just not how I was made.” Ryeowook shrugged, and he knew he was failing miserably.

         “Can I grow babies?” She asked curiously. “Or am I like you?”

         “I don’t know yet. I hope so, but we won’t know until you’re bigger.” And that was more or less true, Aemi and Sunhee were the first girls in their entire world, and because the genes from both their parents were both so different Zhoumi had told them that there was an increased chance of sterility, since they were a so called "hybrid breed". The same was true for Jinsang, Kyungil, and now Yun as well. Until they were old enough to reproduce, no one knew if they were even able to do so.

         The girl seemed satisfied enough with the new information, or possibly too tired to ask any more questions. She yawned, and it was then that Ryeowook decided to call it a night.

         “Alright, time for bed.” He chuckled, carefully removing the infant from his daughters lap and placing her gently in her hospital bassinet to sleep.

         The moment her arms were free, Aemi was rubbing at her eyes, yawning once more as her smiling mother picked her up and cuddled her as he carried her quietly to the door.

         “You’ll have your lessons tomorrow with Sungmin and Kyuhyun, just like always, and I’ll be there to pick you up right afterwards, alright?” He kissed the top of her head “I promise this is the only night it will be like this. I love you.”

         “I love you too.” She mumbled, though from sleepiness or unhappiness Ryeowook wasn’t sure. She leaned up and kissed his cheek regardless, and even allowed him to pass her off to Eunhyuk without even the smallest fuss.

         He felt sad watching her leave, and hoped she didn’t think they were choosing her new sister over her, because they weren’t, well…entirely, but at that time Yesung and Yun's recoveries were top priorities, just as Aemi’s had been when she was born.

         Yesung groaned as the younger moved across the room to check on his daughter, already sound asleep and after a few seconds, he turned to find his lover watching him.

         “Yun?” He croaked in question, and Ryeowook flashed him his most reassuring smile as he spoke.

         “She’s fine, sleeping. How are you feeling?”

         “Awful.” Yesung groaned, motioning the younger over.

         Ryeowook hurriedly obliged, rushing to Yesung’s side.

         “You should sleep. Yun doesn’t need you right now.” The older sighed, wincing a bit as he scooted over to make room for the smaller.

         “And you do?” Ryeowook teased, smiling when the older nodded in answer. He carefully slid beneath the sheets, curling up beside his lover and placing his head on Yesung’s outstretched arm.

         “I love you.” The older sighed, eyelids already heavy. He was still exhausted, though he’d probably already slept for ten hours.

         Ryeowook snuggled closer as he replied softly “I love you too.”

         ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

         Kyuhyun shifted onto his side, then onto his back, before he ended up right where he’d started on his stomach, not able to find any comfortable position on the stiff, unforgiving couch in the playroom. You’d think by now he’d be an expert at couch sleeping, he was forced to do so at least once a week after all, after the countless and pointless battles he’d engage in, and lose, with Sungmin.

         Eventually he stopped moving, settling for staring blankly up at the tall ceiling on his back, contemplating when things really began going wrong, which was a fairly reoccurring topic in his mind.

         It was probably a couple months before Jinsang’s first birthday. Kyuhyun had been watching him and the infant had accidentally rolled off the couch, but landed without injury.

         Sungmin had appeared un-phased by the incident when Kyuhyun had informed him of it, worried of course, but not upset. As the month dragged on however, the younger began to notice that Sungmin was blocking him off from their child, finding excuses to pick him up before Kyuhyun could, or assuring him he was fine where he was. The opportunities to hold his own son had become too few and far between, and when he decided to confront the older about, Sungmin had gotten upset, furious even, and the calm argument had escalated to a full on screaming match for the entire castle to hear.

         That was the first night he had been forced to sleep on the couch.

         After that, things had relatively gone back to normal, but the tension between them was still obvious. Kyuhyun was allowed to hold his son just as he had before the incident, but the peace between him and his lover over that only lasted another few weeks.

         During their second argument, Jinsang caught his finger’s in their dresser drawer, as both were too busy yelling to pay attention. The accident, in the end, was blamed on Kyuhyun, who was facing the toddler’s general direction when it happened, even though Sungmin was technically in his way.

         After that, it became a regular thing, two or three weeks of uncomfortable discussion before a fight would occur, and they’d avoid each other once more. Their arguments usually began over an incident with Jinsang, either an injury, no matter how small, or something about the way either one was teaching him; which led to accusations of over protection, and in some cases neglect, and then they were yelling.

         Kyuhyun hadn’t been entirely lying when he told Eunhyuk things were going better between them, after all before Jinsang hit his head they hadn’t fought in over a month, however, that was most likely attributed to the fact that they had barely spoken once a day to each other, even when they were working with the children together they hardly spoke. The less communication they had, the less fighting they’d have to deal with.

         His thoughts were interrupted by a small shuffling sound to his left, and his head lifted from it’s position atop his arms to find Sungmin staring down at him, a fussy Jinsang squirming in his arms.

         Kyuhyun sat up, surprised to see the older at such a later hour, especially after he’d been banned from their bedroom. “Min…” He began softly, pausing when the toddler was placed gently in his lap.

         “He wants you.” Sungmin informed “I’ll come get him in a few hours.”

         “Wait!” Kyuhyun object as the older was turning to leave. Making sure he had Jinsang balanced on one arm he outstretched the other to catch his lover’s wrist. “Can’t we watch him together?”

         “I don’t want to fight in front of him again.” Sungmin sighed, shaking his head.

         “We don’t need to fight.” Kyuhyun reasoned, eyes pleading. It had been months since they’d had a decent conversation. He missed being able to just talk with the older, even about the silly things he used to for.

         “Not now Kyu…” Sungmin sighed, sullen.

         “Then when?”

         “I don’t know…but not now.” And as quickly as he had appeared he was gone, leaving Kyuhyun standing dumbfounded with his son cooing in his arms.

         He carefully set Jinsang down, the toddler immediately taking an interest in a toy that sat on the other side of the play room.

         Kyuhyun just sat back on the couch and stared at the door, fighting back unwanted tears of frustration. Everyone always said they needed to sit down and just talk things out, but how the hell were they supposed to accomplish that when Sungmin would barely even look at him, let alone speak.

         He had no idea what to do, and like always began wondering about marriage. Out of their group he and Sungmin, as well as Siwon and Kibum, but they didn’t have anywhere near the same level of commitment the other’s did, were the only ones that weren’t married. He simply hadn’t been into the idea of a sappy ceremony and reception party. If they loved each other, and knew it, why did they need to go and make some big spectacle out of it? Plus, Sungmin never really seemed to mind, but he wondered if things would have been different had they gone through with it. Maybe they’d feel more obligated to get along and work things out as opposed to avoiding their problems.

          Whatever it was, he’d have to do something fast, or he feared he may lose the older for good.

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