Relevant Character Ages for this chapter:

Chenle - 6 Years Old
Jaemin - 7 Years Old
Renjun - 7 Years Old
Yukhei - 8 Years Old

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The sight that greeted Sicheng when he entered the kitchen was nothing unusual, It probably should have been but the sight of seven year old Jaemin sitting at their kitchen table was a more common occurrence than you’d think. In fact, the boy seemed to spend more time at their house than he did his own and Renjun had taken to referring to the same aged boy as his brother despite them having no actual relation.

Any other day, he’d sit down and talk with the boy about his day but there are more pressing matters that Sicheng has to attend to, namely the eight year old boy currently observing him cautiously from the doorway but making no move to make his way any further into the room.

“Jaemin darling, I think it’s time for you to head home now. Did you have lunch with Kun and the boys?” Sicheng inquired, watching the young boy huff but get to his feet none the less, eyeing the other child in the doorway before turning to answer.

“Yeah…” He trailed off, carefully folding the sheets of paper he’d been drawing on and placing them on top of the burgundy book he was carrying before hugging both items to his chest. “Thank you for having me,” the young boy said politely, bowing almost ninety degrees and almost losing his grip on the items he was holding as he did so before straightening up again.

“It’s always a pleasure Jae, do you need me to walk you back over the street?” Sicheng replied, knowing the boy would decline as always but unable to stop himself from asking just in case. Either way he’d watch from the window to ensure that the boy got home with problems, for both his own piece of mind and that of Yuta and Hansol also.

Jaemin shook his head, already slipping on his shoes with limited difficulty. The other child, who’d only moved from his spot to make sure he was well out of Jaemin’s way, was watching the scene with wide eyes from the bottom of the stairs.

“Bye!” Jaemin called, slipping out the door and looking both ways dutifully before running across the empty road. Sicheng watched amused as the boy avoided his own house and instead, knocked on the door to Jaehyun and Doyoung’s, not eager to go home just yet. Appeased the he was safe, Sicheng moved away from the window and turned his attention back to the newest addition to their house.

“This is my house and it’s also going to be your house now Yukhei. Do you want to come and sit down and we can talk and maybe have something to eat before I ask my husband Kun to bring the boys in?” Sicheng waited patiently for an answer, knowing that Yukhei had recently been removed from less than ideal circumstances and was having some trouble with communication.

“It’s okay if you want to stay there but how about you take your shoes off and put them on the rack by the door and then we can talk. You can tell me about the things you like.”

Yukhei didn’t move at first, watching Sicheng with wary eyes and jumping slightly when there was a small crash from upstairs followed by a hurried assurance from Kun that nothing was broken. It was easy to see that the boy was far from comfortable but Sicheng couldn’t help but find him adorable, huddled on the bottom step in his parka with a blue scarf wrapped snugly around the bottom half of his face and floppy dark hair falling into his eyes. He was the epitome of childlike innocence and Sicheng had to mentally remind himself not to hug to boy and frighten him even more.

He and Kun had discussed the idea of fostering extensively and after two successful adoptions they’d come to the conclusion that they had more than enough space and love to welcome another child into their home. The idea had garnered varying responses from their boys; Chenle seemed happy with the idea but neither Sicheng nor Kun were entirely sure that he actually understood what they were talking about. Renjun on the hand, had met the suggestion with a stout refusal and a tantrum every time the subject was brought up there after. They’d told both boys that Yukhei would be coming home that day and Renjun had said nothing, choosing to scowl accusatorily at Kun who had been bewildered by shouldering the full blame from their eldest child. Chenle was in an unusually good mood but that could be attributed to the fact that he’d eaten half a bag of sugar before Sicheng had managed to find and stop him that morning rather than his being excited about the upcoming event.

“What do you think Yukhei? Do you think you could like it here?” Sicheng continued, aiming to show the boy that he wasn’t bothered by his lack of response and that he wasn’t just going to give up on him.

“It’s clean and nice.” Yukhei muttered, so quiet that Sicheng almost missed it completely but the words drew an easy-going smile from him, happy that the child was actually choosing to respond with minimal prompting on his part.

“I’m glad. Do you want to take your coat and scar