The museum outing drained the adult trio. Running after the excited boys all over in a place where you were supposed to be quiet was quite an experience. In fact, Heechul labeled as a “one time in a lifetime experience”… meaning he wouldn’t repeat it even if the world was ending. 

Yesung’s second birthday party took place at the roller skating rink. Heechul rented the place for the afternoon and invited all the boy’s classmates. Leeteuk worried about safety… taking so many kids to skate in a place where you could barely keep a conversation as loud music played while colorful lights blinked all time. It wasn’t pleasant for the former babysitter, he was sure he would end with a good headache after that. The only reason he endured it was for Yesung. 

The nine years old boy was now blowing the candles. Good. The adults just wanted the day to be over. They were exhausted and they wanted to go home. Sunday morning sounded great in comparison with the busy Saturday they were going through. 

“Mommy, I love skating” - Eunhyuk was good at it - “It’s like dancing but on wheels” 

“This is easy” - Donghae was also showing off - “Look, mommy” 

“Can you record a video, please?” - Sungmin was using the skates like if he had done so all his life - “I want to remember this moment forever” 

“Sure” - Heeyeon was busy recording the triplets when she saw the twins falling over again - “You have your video. You can check it out here, ok? I will go help you brothers” 

“Ouchieeee” - Ryeowook whined as he stood up only to fall again - “ACK!”

“What’s wrong baby?” - Heeyeon knew what was wrong. The twins were still lacking some balance and coordination - “are you hurt?”

“No huwt” - Ryeowook was prideful. He rubbed his face and pretended he was fine 

“Wookie fell on hiz ” - Kyuhyun pointed at his twin with one hand and wriggled uncomfortably 

“What are you doing? Did you fall on your too?” - Heeyeon found weird Kyuhyun would try to spread his legs - “Does it hurt?”

“Nuh” - Kyuhyun put on a sad face - “I sharted” 

“You did… what?” - Heeyeon wasn’t sure if she could laugh - “Baby, what did you just say?”

“I sharted” 

“Do you know what that word means?”

“Poo came out wi fart” - Kyuhyun nodded - “Feelz weird”

“Icky” - Ryeowook did a face - “Thats gwozz”

“It is” - Heeyeon rejected agreeing with Ryeowook when Kyuhyun pouted like about to cry - “But hey, there is nothing to worry about. Let’s just go to the toilet and clean” 

“No no” - Kyuhyun shook his head - “I’m fine. I wait til home” 

“Are you sure?” - Heeyeon pitied the boy - “But I think that if you let me take you to the toilet and wipe your —-“

“Mama, no” - Kyuhyun was blushing - “No here, Pwease” 

“But, baby… you can’t stay like that” - Heeyeon insisted - “Let’s go”

“Nooo….” - the twins were now crying. They just wanted to avoid the toilet there. For them, those were like hell. 

“Why are you holding me so much?” - Kangin complained as Siwon was stuck to him - “I’m not your girlfriend!”

“No, of course not” - Siwon giggled - “We share a more profound bond. We are siblings” 

“Dude” - Kangin pushed him away - “Thats creepy” 

“Fine” - Siwon shrank shoulders and skated towards the triplets - “Guess he doesn’t want to play with us” 

“Of course he doesn’t” - Eunhyuk was folding his arms - “Yesung is the same. They say we are ‘babies’ “ 

“They want to impress their older friends” - Sungmin understood it even if he was a little hurt - “Hangeng and Kibum are also ignoring us” 

“And auntie said Mimi can’t come and didn’t let uncle bring him” - Donghae sulked - “She said Mimi was too young for this” 

“But we are the same age as him” - Eunhyuk didn’t get it - “Even Henry is enjoying it” 

Leeteuk was ‘skating’ with a very energetic toddler. Henry was actually good at it. Heechul had lied about the boy’s age. He said he was three like the twins… since Henry was the same size as Ryeowook and the workers of the rink didn’t bother to check… Henry was granted his wish to try on roller skating. 

“Hey~ you are good at this~” - Leeteuk was counting the minutes left at the place. He wanted to go home so badly - “but you must be tired! It’s been a long—“

“Nuh!” - Henry skated without difficulty still holding Leeteuk’s hand - “Pway more!” 

“You want to keep playing…” - Leeteuk tried to force an smile - “I envy your energy… You haven’t stopped not even a second… and yet, you still want to play”

Heeyeon was greeting the parents of the other kids. Playtime was finally over and they were heading home. Good. Now all she needed to do was to help Heechul and Leeteuk take the kids to the cars and drive back home. It sounded so easy in her head. 

“See you on Monday, Shindong” - Heechul waved goodbye to his little brother - “Next time please convince Mina to bring Zhoumi with you!”

“Sure!”

Heechul was busy saying goodbye to the parents. Heeyeon was also busy on the same thing. Leeteuk was looking after the younger boys. Yesung would run from Heechul to Heeyeon in a try to meet everyone one last time. 

Kids were kids. It didn’t matter if Leeteuk had already asked them to take off their so loved wheels. Boys were competitive, and of course, they wouldn’t waste a chance to get in troubles. 

“Phew, that was the last one” - Heechul was stretching. He was exhausted. He even wore roller skates too and played with the kids - “What do you think, Yesung? Did you have fun?”

“It was awe—“

There was a big sound. Heeyeon squeaked out when she saw the boys crashing one after another. Apparently, they were having a competition… and one of them fell and dragged the rest. 

“Oh no!” - Leeteuk ran to aid the children - “Where are you hurt? Honey…” 

“My elbow!”

“My ankle!”

“I think I hurt my knee!”

“My face feels wet” 

“What are you—- oh, Heechul!” - Leeteuk was really pale. Sungmin was bleeding and this time it wasn’t his nose - “Hey hey hey, stay calm, ok?”

“I’m calm” - Sungmin wasn’t sure of what was going on - “But uncle, you look like if you have seen a ghost!”

“I’m about to become one, actually” - Leeteuk was going to end having a heart attack one of these days - “You are hurt, but don’t worry honey. We will take you to the doctor—- DONT YOU DARE, HEECHUL”

Heechul was about to vanish. He would have dismayed if not for Leeteuk’s warning. His baby had his cute face covered in blood. 

“It’s all right” - Heeyeon was cleaning the mess with a damp cloth - “It’s not deep… but he will need stitches. Press here, baby” 

“We have a doctor here” - The workers of the place had already called the emergency department - “They can treat him here and you will save a trip to the ER” 

“Are you a paramedic or a real doctor?” - Sungmin asked the man treating him 

“MINNIE” - Leeteuk scolded 

“What? It’s my face we are talking about” - Sungmin arched his eyebrows- “I don’t want a scar” 

“Don’t worry. It was a small one” - the man laughed - “and you were pretty brave” 

“Not sure about the second part, but I am pretty” 

“MINNIE” 

The team left the place after examining all kids involved in the fall plus the two adults that seemed about to pass out. Surprisingly, the pregnant woman wasn’t one of them. 

“Finally” - Leeteuk felt like about to resurrect when he placed a hand on Heeyeon’s car - “We are close to being home again” 

The man almost made a celebration when Heeyeon parked the car. HOME. The distance between his bed and him was shortened. The long day was almost over! Yesung’s birthday party was a success and nothing could—-

“UHUUUU” 

“BUAAAAH!”

Leeteuk did his best to hide behind the car when he spotted the older kids wailing after a moody Heechul. He and Yesung seemed to be having a heated argument over what happened at the rink. The others were just crying out of sadness as they were also involved. 

“Hey…” - Heeyeon was there to comfort the crying boys - “Let’s go inside, ok?”

“DADDY IS MEAN!”

“YEYE IS MEAN TOO!”

“I don’t like my stitches!” 

“Mommy, my elbow is still hurting!” - Siwon was holding up his arm. His bruise was treated but pain wouldn’t go away that easily - “Can you kiss it?” 

“Inside, baby” - Heeyeon was pushing the kids inside the mansion while Heechul and Yesung shouted at each other next to the van 

With the excuse of helping the younger boys out, Leeteuk stayed out of the conflict. The twins actually got out by themselves. He only had to help Henry. 

He was holding the cute toddler when something felt weird. 

“Uh? What was that?” - Leeteuk couldn’t help but chuckle - “Did you just poop?” 

“Ung~” - Henry seemed relaxed - “Poo”

“Poor you~ you couldn’t hold it until we got inside” - Leeteuk giggled. Henry was still diapered during outings for a reason - “are you done? Or you want to sit on potty?”

“Done?” - Henry farted again - “No done” 

Leeteuk gave the toddler a big smooch and let him take care of his business even if he was still on his arms. He would rather change poopy diapers than taking part in whichever argument Heechul was having with Yesung. Toddlers were easier than preteens. 

“Minnie, don’t jump on the bed” - Leeteuk scolded as he passed by the triplets room - “If you don’t stop you could get more stitches” 

“Uncle” 

Sadly, Leeteuk’s scolding called the triplets attentions and now they tagged. 

“Trust me, you don’t want to come” - Leeteuk tried - “Henry just did a big poop and I need to change his diaper” 

“Can we help you change him?” 

“I—- uhm…” - Leeteuk didn’t want to since it would take longer and it was going to be messier that way - “Why? It’s gross. You don’t want to do it” 

“But…” - the triplets put on big puppy eyes - “We are having a baby soon… and we want to help too… we want you to teach us how to take care of Cherry” 

Bless them and their good heart, Leeteuk thought. They are so effortlessly cute. Their uncle can’t refuse such a lovely request. 

“We have done this before, right?” - Leeteuk placed a changing mat on the floor - “First, the baby has to lie here” 

“Lie down, baby” - Donghae was trying to put Henry on place but the toddler refused - “Please?” 

“Henry is not a ‘baby’ like Cherry will be” - Leeteuk explained - “Since Henry is a BIG BOY he knows how to lie down by himself. Cherry won’t even walk so… you will have to place it here by yourselves”

Leeteuk actually had fun giving the triplets simple instructions. The boys were as helpful as they could and didn’t put on faces when they had to perform the actual change. 

“Now, we fold it like this…” - Leeteuk was letting them diaper Henry for the night - “Thats it~” 

“Henry, how does it feel?” - Donghae asked cutely 

“Goo’ “ - Henry replied sweetly 

The triplets jumped excited. They were so happy with their own achievement. 

“Mommy! Mommy! We changed a diaper!”

“You did? Such amazing brothers” - Heeyeon kissed them three - “Now go ready for bed, Cmon” 

Leeteuk found cute Henry crawled to him and fell asleep instantly. The boy was drained after playing hard all day. 

“He is so funny” 

“Teuk, can we talk?” - Heeyeon seemed worried - “Now?” 

“Yes, I will place him in the crib” - Leeteuk put Henry in his crib and turned off the lights - “Let’s go to my room” 

“I…” - Heeyeon seemed stressed 

“Look, you don’t have to worry. Toddlers are toddlers” - Leeteuk began - “They just hate public toilets a lot and —-“

“Oh no, no” - Heeyeon shook her hands - “Not that. I’m fine with that. I’m worried about Heechul and Yesung” 

“Oh, they were arguing” - Leeteuk nodded - “They always do” 

“Not like this” - Heeyeon widened her eyes - “I don’t know what they said to each other but I haven’t seen him so hurt in ages” 

“Well, Yesung is nine and most of his friends are around ten and older” - Leeteuk sighed - “It’s normal we are hitting preteens a little earlier” 

“Heechul is literally crying” - Heeyeon urged him 

“Come again?” - Leeteuk thought Heeyeon was referring to the boy during the previous statement - “I thought. Oh. OH” 

“If I go to Yesung’s bedroom right now… I’m grounding him for his entire life” - Heeyeon sighed - “so… could you…? I will handle Heechul, if you don’t mind” 

“No, no” - Leeteuk panicked - “I understand. I will talk to him… and just ground him for a month” 

“Thank you” 

“Where is Dad?” - Yesung asked as soon as Leeteuk crossed the door - “Did he send you?”

“Of course!” - Leeteuk replied snarky - “Your mom did” 

“I swear I have told him worse stuff” - Yesung said sheepishly- “Not that I’m proud of it” 

“Yesung, we have talked about this before” - Leeteuk was tired - “Words can hurt more than swords, right? I thought you have learned the lesson” 

“I know” - Yesung sighed - “But I never thought he would cry just for that” 

“What did you tell him?” - Leeteuk sighed 

“ ‘You are annoying me…?’ “ - Yesung tried 

“I don’t think your dad is hurt just for that” - Leeteuk squinted his eyes - “Look, I don’t know what you told him… but you will apologize. And you are grounded” 

“I get it” - Yesung agreed - “But uncle… problem is… I really don’t know why Dad got so hurt” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Like I said… I told him ‘you are annoying me’ and he went away to cry” - Yesung seemed confused and half scared - “I swear it was like that” 

“Oh, sweetie” - Heeyeon pouted as she wiped Heechul’s tears away - “It’s ok. I bet he didn’t mean it” 

Heechul couldn’t talk as he cried so much. 

“It’s ok” - Heeyeon kissed him softly- “Crying is good for your health. Let it out” 

“Heeyeon?” - Leeteuk was knocking the door - “are you busy?”

“I’m fine” - Heechul managed to say in a way to let Heeyeon go 

“Yeah?” - Heeyeon was now locking eyes with the cause of her loved one tears - “What did you say to your dad, brat?” 

“I don’t know!” - Yesung was scared. He has never seen Heeyeon like that. She was fierce as a lion when it came to protect her loved ones. 

“Well, you better start thinking” - Heeyeon urged him - “Because I can’t stand watching him suffer” 

“I will apologize” - Yesung shrank shoulders - “For everything… and hoping he doesn’t really want a personalized apology” 

Heechul hugged Yesung as soon as the boy crossed the door. He didn’t mind anything the boy had to say… in fact, Leeteuk was pretty much sure he wasn’t even listening to him. He just kept hugging him and giving kisses. 

“Oh, I think I got it wrong” - Heeyeon observed the silly pair - “Heechul wasn’t hurt…” 

“Uh?” - Leeteuk was confused - “what do you mean? He was crying a river not long ago” 

“I think he was touched…?” - Heeyeon saw how Heechul would hug the boy - “He seems to be enjoying” 

“If you say so…” - Leeteuk wasn’t convinced at all. Maybe Heechul would open up and confess what happened after getting some sleep. Fortunately, he and Yesung were in a good mood now. 

Yesung ended falling asleep in their bedroom. He didn’t do it on purpose, he was just exhausted. Leeteuk kindly offered to take him back to his room… but Heechul was having troubles to let him go. 

“He can stay here” - Heeyeon found funny Heechul was having so much troubles to separate from Yesung that night - “It’s no problem, seriously. Our bed is big enough” 

“He is going to freak out” - Leeteuk exited the bedroom still chuckling. He could picture a very confused Yesung next morning - “Cute” 

Heeyeon actually enjoyed having Yesung there. She loved the boy as much as any of the others. But being the oldest sibling out of nine, the kid was always so independent. She wished she could do ‘more’ for him… but at the same time, she didn’t want him to feel she was babying him. She thought that as an older boy, Yesung would be disgusted by the idea. (She had no clue about what the boy truly wanted) 

“Heeyeon, it’s been a long day” - Heechul was half asleep but Heeyeon was having a good time Yesung’s hair- “You should… go… to sleep…” 

“Shhh” - Heeyeon also Heechul’s hair - “It’s ok~ I don’t think I could sleep anyway” 

“Why?” - Heechul tried to open his eyes all he could - “Are you feeling sick?” 

“Not sick” - Heeyeon pouted - “But Cherry won’t stop moving” 

“Cherry, it’s pretty late already” - Heechul placed a hand on the belly - “Go sleep~ We will play tomorrow~” 

Heeyeon giggled when Cherry kicked harder for a few minutes and then calmed down. She could tell the little girl growing inside, found soothing her father’s voice. She would stay quiet whenever Heechul talked. 

“Do you think Yesung will get mad at me if I hug him?” - Heeyeon asked softly 

“No” - Heechul got ready to sleep - “Goodnight, baby” 

“Goodnight” - Heeyeon fixed the blanket for them 

As Leeteuk predicted, Yesung was deeply confused when he woke up at his parents room. He tried to remember what happened and why would he be there. Heechul and Heeyeon were still deep sleep. The parents were drained from the day before. 

Yesung wouldn’t have gotten out of bed if it wasn’t because he noticed they weren’t alone. He saw two grumpy three years old giving him bad looks. 

“Good morning?” - Yesung tried but the twins wouldn’t reply - “Are you ok? Do you need something?” 

“Why are you heeeeeeeere?” - the triplets arrived full of energy 

“Uh?” 

Yesung tilted his head. He didn’t get what was going on. The twins had left without saying a word and now the triplets were complaining about him being there. 

“WHAT THE—-“ - Heechul woke up abruptly when Donghae slapped his face 

“Why is Yesung heeeeeere?” - Eunhyuk whined - “You said we were too big for sleeping here!”

“You are mean!” - Donghae was now crying despite being him who slapped his dad seconds ago - “You lied to us!” 

Heechul noticed that even if the kid wasn’t saying anything, Sungmin looked upset. He would hold his bunny plush tightly and give him side eyes. 

“Whats wrong?” - Heeyeon was having a hard time waking up - “Is everything alright?”

The triplets didn’t answer. They were just giving bad looks to Yesung. Heeyeon was too sleepy to notice what was the fuss all about. 

“Oh, you are awake too” — she unintentionally added fuel to the fire by giving Yesung a sweet kiss - “Good morning, baby” 

Yesung blushed. He was happy. He loved getting spoiled like that… he was still daydreaming when the triplets put on a show. 

“MOMMY KISS ME TOO” - Donghae demanded annoyed 

“WHY YOU ONLY KISS YESUNG?!” - Eunhyuk growled 

“…” - Sungmin rolled his eyes and turned to face the wall. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” - Heeyeon was rubbing her tired eyes - “Did you have a nightmare?”

“I AM LIVING ONE RIGHT NOW” - Eunhyuk pointed at his older brother - “WHY?”

“What do you mean?” - Heeyeon was clueless. Heechul was sleeping again. He was too tired - “Yesung is our son too. He can sleep here whenever he wants” 

“But daddy said we shouldn’t” - Donghae was sobbing uncontrollably- “He said big boys should sleep in their r-room” 

“Papa asked us to sleep in our beds because he said we would cause you troubles” - Sungmin accused the sleeping man - “He said we could hurt Mama” 

“Oh, is that so?” - Heeyeon wondered why no kid had been crawling on their bed for a while - “Heechul, do you mind explaining this to me?” 

“What?” - Heechul woke up again after Heeyeon hit his tight - “oh, it’s you” 

“Did you tell our boys they couldn’t sleep here?” 

“Sort of… why?” 

“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?” - Heeyeon went out of the bed and hugged the triplets - “I thought we had already discussed this! I don’t mind having them here!”

“What a way to start the day…” - Heechul was holding his head - “You rotten brats… look at what you did” 

“You started it” - Eunhyuk sulked - “You said we couldn’t sleep here but Yesung did” 

“And you did all this fuss because you were jealous” - Heechul sighed - “And now mom is upset” 

“It’s your fault” - Donghae tried 

“No, it’s not” - Heechul yawned - “Now go to play and stop causing troubles” 

“Mommy” - Kyuhyun smiled shyly as she walked to the kitchen - “Look, my undies” 

“Great baby, put them in the laundry basket, ok?” - Heeyeon didn’t bother checking what Kyuhyun was showing her - “I will do it later” 

“They awe dry…” - Kyuhyun sulked sadly

“Mama, Wookie iz cookin’ !” - Ryeowook was ‘helping’ Leeteuk to make omelettes- “Loo’ !”

“What a nice boy” - Heeyeon rushed to reply automatically as she rummaged for something - “A ha!”

“What’s she doing?” - Kangin was unamused - “she didn’t even notice we were here” 

“She didn’t say ‘good morning’ “ - Siwon pouted 

“Mama?” - Kyuhyun entered the kitchen and Heeyeon left soon after - “Uh?” 

“She is a little busy, honey” - Leeteuk was also shocked. Heeyeon didn’t bat an eyelash when Kyuhyun walked towards her… it was like if she haven’t noticed - “What did you need?”

“Uh… nothin’ “ - Kyuhyun pouted sadly 

Leeteuk couldn’t ask the kid again as his own cute toddler decided to create chaos. 

“HENWY!” - Ryeowook protected himself from the now violent frying pan - “UHUUUU! EGGY GONNA BURN!”

“No, it won’t” - Leeteuk held the hot pan to prevent an accident - “Henry, don’t play with the kitchen buttons. It’s dangerous” 

“Beep eeee” - Henry loved playing with anything that made any sound. Rising the temperature of the electric stove was just a side effect 

“Heechul” - Leeteuk approached the man and got a bit shocked when his first instinct was to cover himself - “Relax, I’m not going to hit you” 

“You would be the first” - Heechul protected his head - “and you are holding a  pan. If I learned anything from ‘Mother’ is that cooking pans can be weapons”

“Mom hit you with these?” - Leeteuk widened his eyes 

“No, ‘Mother’ the videogame… You could use a frying pan as a weapon…?” 

Leeteuk gave him a confused look. 

“Forget it” - Heechul tried to relax - “What’s going on?” 

“I should be the one asking” - Leeteuk twisted his lips - “What did you to Heeyeon?” 

“Me? Nothing! It’s all the triplets doing!” - Heechul accused - “They tattle taled on me! They said I forbid them to sleep in our bed and Heeyeon went nuts!” 

“Did you?” 

“What?” - Heechul scoffed - “Yeah, I may have suggested them to stay in their beds but—“

“She already told you to stay out of it” - Leeteuk warned him - “She said she didn’t mind having the kids around, remember?”

“I know” - Heechul sighed - “She even cried back then. But still, her belly is growing bigger and bigger… and the boys kick and move when they are asleep. They can’t control that” 

“What is she doing now?

“I don’t know. She went insane” - Heechul looked down - “She came back holding a measuring tape and kicked me out of the bed” 

“Mommy, aren’t you going to have breakfast?” - a cute Siwon asked the very moment Heeyeon appeared in the kitchen glaring at Heechul

“It looks like she is having dad for breakfast” - Kangin said softly as he drank his milk 

“Mama!” 

Henry called for her. Heeyeon’s bad mood drifted away in less then one second. She put on a sweet smile and went to hold the cute toddler. 

Heechul relaxed. He was still too scared to make eye contact, so he even if they sat together… he couldn’t stop looking at his food like an scolded child. 

“Mama, you gonna pway wi us?” - Ryeowook asked carefully - “We gonna build a casthew after bweakfast” 

“Sorry, baby” - Heeyeon rubbed his cheek in a lovely way - “Mommy is a little busy this morning. I have to go out” 

“Today?” - Donghae was shocked  - “Mommy, today is Sunday!”

“You don’t work on sundays” - Eunhyuk gave her a curious look - “Why are you going out?” 

“I have things to do” 

“What things?” - the boys insisted 

“Things” - Heeyeon made a funny face as Henry and the twins laughed - “But I promise to play after I come back” 

“Do you need a ride?” - Heechul asked very wary as he hid behind a magazine - “I swear I don’t have second intentions and I will let you do whatever you want” 

“Sounds awesome” - Heeyeon giggled - “But I would actually like Leeteuk to join me” 

“Uh?” - Leeteuk chuckled- “Me?” 

Heechul agreed to babysit the kids. Leeteuk made sure of calling their mother as reinforcement. He didn’t know what Heeyeon wanted to do, but the woman didn’t seem to be ‘crazy’ or ‘out of her mind’. Although Leeteuk did had doubts when they arrived at the particular store. 

“So? Aren’t you going in?” 

“S-sure?” - Leeteuk was confused - “But It’s not what I had in mind…?” 

“Oh” - Heeyeon glanced at the place - “we are not shopping for clothes or thread today. We are looking for a new mattress” 

“What’s wrong with the one you have?” 

“Nothing” - Heeyeon shrank shoulders - “But I measured our room and realized we could afford having a bigger bed” 

“A bigger bed” - Leeteuk thought their bed was big enough - “Are you guys breaking up or something…?”

“No, don’t be silly” - Heeyeon laughed - “Its just that Heechul keeps insisting on the boys not sleeping there because he fears for me and Cherry. So, having a bigger bed, we could fit better” 

“You are not going to be pregnant forever” - Leeteuk shrank shoulders - “In three months that won’t be a problem” 

“And in three years, when Cherry is over two and her brothers are five and six…” - Heeyeon did a funny nod - “what are we going to do? Kick them out when they are scared?” 

“I truly hope the twins and Henry won’t be invading your bed anymore when they reach certain age” - Leeteuk teased - “I mean…” 

“And I had like to think none of the boys will wet the bed again but…” - Heeyeon smiled playfully- “We need to be realistic. Kids ought to be kids. No one should be forced to grow up before time” 

“You are such a nice mother” - Leeteuk smiled back - “the children are so lucky to have you” 

“Us” - Heeyeon had a tender expression - “You are a nice too. I mean, a nice parent. Not mother” 

Leeteuk laughed. Heeyeon was so cute. 

“About Henry…” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “I was thinking he should start sleeping in a toddler bed. I think the crib won’t be safe for him anymore…” 

“Well, the twins started using toddler beds way before since Ryeowook learned to undo the locks” 

“Smart boy” 

“Henry hasn’t figured them out but…” - Leeteuk swayed his head - “He is big and heavy. A toddler bed would suit him better” 

“Little gymnast baby tried to climb out the other day” - Heeyeon confessed - “I said nothing because I didn’t want to scare Heechul. But I think he has been learning how to do so” 

“Good to know” - Leeteuk remarked sassily as he also was unaware of the problem - “You could have told me” 

“You were too stressed” - Heeyeon did a gesture with her hand implying he was busy studying- “And I think Henry was just trying to get your attention. That’s why he misbehaved so much that week” 

“For real?”

“You are like his mom” - Heeyeon giggled - “I mean, I hold the title but nothing else. I can tell Henry likes you more than me or Heechul” 

“Oh” - Leeteuk blushed - “I’m sure it’s different. I’m his uncle…” 

“You are an angel” - Heeyeon pouted cutely - “and I’m really really thankful for you being part of our lives. You are our family, Teuk” 

“Yes, I know” - Leeteuk teased - “I’m legally a Kim but I’m blood related to you as well. Which make me both, by bloodline and legal laws, the rightful uncle of the children” 

“Very funny” - Heeyeon shook her head - “but we are having our chick flick moment” 

“I love you too” - Leeteuk nodded in understanding 

“HA!” - Heechul exclaimed as he found another piece - “I found a pair!”

“Daddy, this puzzle is too hard!” - Donghae couldn’t find two pieces that belonged together- “It’s going to be impossible” 

“They are so small” - Eunhyuk was squinting his eyes - “How do you even see if they match?” 

“Why are we playing with them?” - Yesung sighed annoyed as he spotted Sungmin collecting all pink pieces - “Do they even understand how to put together a puzzle?”

“They do” - Heechul frowned a bit - “But they are still little for one of this magnitude” 

“Then, again” - Yesung sulked - “Why are we letting them play?”

“Because sharing is caring” - Siwon said cheerfully as he tried his best - “And we are your brothers. You have to share with us” 

“Yesung is annoyed because he wanted daddy for himself” - Kangin made fun of him - “Uhuhuhu, look at me! I’m the poor firstborn! No one pays attention to me so I’m a drama Queen!”

“Why are you here? You don’t even like puzzles!” 

“No, I don’t” - Kangin stuck out his tongue- “But I came for the same reason I came to this world: annoy you” 

“Daaaaaad” - Yesung whined annoyed

“Oh, the doorbell” - Heechul turned his face - “Yesung, can you get the door? It’s probably your grandma” 

“Sure” - Yesung did as told - “Hi, grandma. Dad is being irresponsible again” 

“It’s not even ten in the morning” - Mrs Kim glanced at her son laying on the floor with several scattered puzzles pieces on a table surrounded by curious children - “Oh, are you playing with that?” 

“Grandma! I have all the pink ones!” - Sungmin announced - “I will gather the yellow ones now!”

Yesung rolled his eyes. 

“We hewp too” - Ryeowook was collecting all pieces with an edge - “We have diz” 

“We goin’ to hewp dada make the edwe” - Kyuhyun was highly focused on finding the so called pieces - “Hewe is another!” 

“Oh…” - Mrs Kim saw why the boys struggled - “Heechul, dear and stupid son of mine… didn’t you read the box first?” 

“If you have any problem with my reading skills you can always complain to the person who taught me how to do so” - Heechul faked a surprised expression - “Oh! Wait! It was you!” 

Mrs Kim hit him playfully with a side of the cardboard box. 

“It has one thousand pieces” - Mrs Kim read the box - “This thing is for adults… not kids” 

“Yesung can build puzzles half of that size by himself” - Heechul explained - “So, If I wanted to keep them busy for a long time… I needed a big puzzle” 

“We got ‘em all” - Ryeowook clapped his hands excited as he and his twin couldn’t find any other edge piece - “Dada, Hewe” 

“For example” - Heechul gestured at the twins - “These two are really smart. They figured out building the edge first was something easy since the shape of those pieces were different” 

“I see” - Mrs Kim smiled at the shy boys 

“And then we have Sungmin” - Heechul glanced at the boy - “Sorting by color is also another way of approaching these things. He is actually showing solving skills” 

“That’s nice” - Mrs Kim joined them at the table - “I’m not saying it won’t work… but they could get easily frustrated facing such a challenge, don’t you think?” 

“Oh? Did I hear you just said they won’t be able to do so?” - Heechul exaggerated his tone on purpose - “that they are not good enough?”

“Who is not good enough for this?!” - Kangin was now hyper focused on the puzzle - “I’m going to prove you wrong!”

“We can do this too” - Eunhyuk frowned - “I will gather green pieces. Hae, you get the blue ones” 

“I will help with the edge and flip all pieces to have a better look” - Siwon was also prideful and the competitive out of the boys - “This puzzle won’t win against us!” 

“See?” - Heechul widened his eyes in a funny way - “They love it” 

“The psychologist is going to be rich, huh” - Mrs Kim teased as Henry ran to her - “What about you? Are you all by yourself?” 

“Nuh” - Henry ran to the kitchen and came back holding a fat raccoon - “Bawan!”

“Oh dear” - Mrs Kim was shocked - “Heechul, your baby son is holding the fat raccoon” 

“It’s  Batman” - Kangin complained - “And it’s vaccinated, remember?”

“Even so” - Mrs Kim worried the toddler would get hurt - “Raccoons have sharp teeth and claws” 

“Batman won’t bite Henry” - Siwon sighed - “But Henry could bite Batman…” 

Somehow, the raccoon seemed resigned and pretty used to the toddler fooling around. Henry liked to put him on a little wheeled cart he had and drive him everywhere. Batman would behave mostly like a house cat. Heeyeon even dressed him sometimes. 

Mrs Kim laughed when she saw the boy ‘trying to draw’ Batman. The toddler would lie flat on the floor with his crayons while the raccoon sat next to him. They were good friends, apparently. It reminded her of Ryeowook and Robin. 

“Henry doesn’t fear animals” - Heechul left out - “He touches frogs, lizards, dogs, cockroaches… everything” 

“We pet a goat at the zoo once” - Eunhyuk was excited to share that fact - “And and and they also had big aquarium for touching some fish” 

“I touched a sea star” - Donghae nodded 

“Starfish” - Yesung corrected with his cheeky tone 

“Sea star sounds better” - Heechul whispered to the cute triplet - “You should have named those” 

“Grandma, guess how Donghae called the pufferfish” - Kangin giggled 

“No, I have no clue” - Mrs Kim followed the game - “How did he call them?” 

“Chestnut fish” - Donghae was laughing - “Cuz it was round and spiky” 

“Well, I think it’s pretty clever” - Mrs Kim chuckled - “Now I will call them like that” 

“It sounds like a dish from a restaurant” - Yesung giggled in a good mood. He was starting to feel better thanks to the conversation - “I also pet a lot of animals in the zoo” 

“What about you?” - Mrs Kim hugged Kyuhyun who was oddly quiet - “What did you pet?”

Kyuhyun shrank shoulders and remained quiet. 

“Nothing” - Siwon twisted his lips - “we tried with a bunny but he ran away scared” 

“Maybe we should try with a penguin” - Kangin proposed - “Kyunnie loves those, right?”

“He doesn’t like touching animals” - Heechul explained to his mom - “Kyunnie is a lot more  ‘careful’ than the rest of them” 

“He doesn’t even like it if Ryeowook gets too close to animals he considers dangerous” 

“Oh, well, someone had to inherit my common sense” - Mrs Kim pinched Kyuhyun’s cheeks playfully - “Isn’t that so?” 

“Zoff kitty!” - Ryeowook was carrying Batman - “So Fwuffffyyyyyyy!” 

Kyuhyun pet the raccoon. He had no troubles touching the pets they had. He knew them, so… he considered them as friends. He would touch Robin and Steve too and wouldn’t scream if Yesung showed him the turtles. 

“Wee wee” - Henry pointed to the toilet. It was Heechul’s cue to take him there 

“Good boy” - Heechul praised as he took the toddler 

The grandma was left alone with the other kids. Most of them were focusing on the hard puzzle. Yesung seemed eager to talk. 

“Grandma” - Yesung did his best to put it into words - “Have you ever cried for something dad did?” 

“All time” - Mrs Kim teased - “Your dad was a handful” 

“Right” - Yesung sulked - “But, uhm, like… you would get really hurt…?”

“Depending on what he said or did… yeah” - Mrs Kim grimaced - “He once pretended not knowing me and I got hurt” 

“I see” - Yesung wasn’t sure of what to think - “I made my dad cry” 

“Not unusual” - Mrs Kim teased - “All kids do at some point” 

“Yeah, but… I don’t know why” - Yesung whispered - “I don’t remember what I said… at least not for getting ‘that’ reaction” 

“Sounds troublesome” 

“ It is” 

“Let’s make a deal. You will watch over your siblings for a few minutes and I will talk to him” 

“Would you do that for me?” - Yesung eyes sparkled - “For real?”

“Yup. He is my son” - Mrs Kim ruffled Yesung’s hair - “and you are my sweet cute grandchild” 

Heechul was a bit salty over the fact the kids went to play away with other toys Yesung got from birthday presents. He was actually enjoying their time together trying to put together the big puzzle and now he was left alone with his mom. 

“They are growing up, aren’t they?” - Heechul sighed - “They changed me over a noisy toy or whatever they have there” 

“Is that why you cried yesterday?”

“Who told you that?” - Heechul chuckled - “Was it Teuk or Heeyeon? I’m not going to forgive them easily” 

“Neither of them” - Mrs Kim placed a piece where it belonged - “So?” 

“I was touched” - Heechul shrank shoulders - Yesung and I were having a heated argument and then he shouted ‘I just had the best birthday party ever, this was the best day of my life…’ and I was so but so touched… I heard him saying I was annoying or something but I truly didn’t care about that” 

“No mystery Yesung didn’t have a clue of what was going on” - Mrs Kim found warming the way Heechul would get so emotional over his children - “I’m glad you get confirmation of things going on well. It’s just… next time It would be nice if it wasn’t during an argument” 

“Mom, at this point…” - Heechul laughed - “I’m happy getting ANY confirmation of the boys happiness. It doesn’t matter if it just a silly smile or a confession during a fight… I like to know how they feel… and if they are happy, then, it means we are not doing it that bad” 

“That bad?” - Mrs Kim was amused by Heechul’s way of seeing his own parenting - “You three are good parents” 

“We are not perfect… we commit mistakes… and sometimes those mistakes hurt the children” - Heechul sighed - “I know it’s unavoidable but… I still regret some choices and I know Leeteuk and Heeyeon feel the same way” 

“You said yourself” - Mrs Kim agreed - “It’s unavoidable” 

“I’m pretty much sure I already screwed up a few things this week” - Heechul left out a tired sigh - “and I’m definitely sure we are going to pay for them sooner than later” 

Heechul was too busy finishing the puzzle, he wasn’t really following his mother conversation. 

“And let me thank you as well for helping Leeteuk find his biological family” - Mrs Kim left out 

“He told you about it?” - Heechul wasn’t really into the conversation - “I thought he didn’t want you to know yet” 

“Oh, we already talked about it” - Mrs Kim smiled- “It was a bit shocking at first but… I guess it’s better to know” 

“Right, like… He does looks like Heeyeon and Hani” - Heechul didn’t think twice - “But finding out they were related was definitely a surprise anyway” 

“Uhum” - Mrs Kim tried to control her expression. Heechul had just confessed Leeteuk was indeed related to that family - “It’s a pity they got separated”

“Honestly, I think Leeteuk is less bothered by the story behind than Heeyeon” - Heechul kept matching pieces of the puzzle  - “Although she took very well learning that Mrs Ahn is actually her aunt” 

“I see” - Mrs Kim was shocked. Heeyeon wasn’t the Ahn’s daughter?! 

“Well, she and Hani looked very alike” - Heechul shrank shoulders - “I bet she already suspected it” 

Mrs Kim was lost in her thoughts. What was going on? Leeteuk, Hani and Heeyeon were siblings? Heeyeon wasn’t Mrs Ahn biological daughter? If Leeteuk and Heechul attended daycare together… what happened to the family later? Why did Leeteuk end in an orphanage and Heeyeon being raised by her aunt? What was going on?! 

“…so?” - Heechul was expecting an answer - “What do you think?”

Mrs Kim wasn’t paying attention to what he said. So, she did what all moms did at times like that. She looked around and tried to guess what was the boy talking about. She glanced at the colorful puzzle. 

“Oh, it’s beautiful” - Mrs Kim smiled softly - “Really wonderful” 

“I’m so happy” - Heechul was holding his chest - “I chose it! I thought it would be just lovely!” 

“It is” - Mrs Kim giggled when Heechul suddenly hugged her - “You are hugging me” 

“I know!” - Heechul chuckled - “I’m just so happy”

Mrs Kim forgot about all her worries for a moment. She had a good family. She had nothing to worry about. She would handle Heechul’s confessions about Leeteuk carefully and decided she would think about it very well before making an statement or asking the others. 

Leeteuk wasn’t being different from his mother. He was lost in his own world while Heeyeon kept talking non stop. Judging by the actions, he guessed she was talking about the mattresses she was trying. 

“So? What do you think?” - Heeyeon suddenly turned to him - “What’s your first impression?”

“I think…” - Leeteuk glanced at the mattress - “It’s soft and warm” 

“Yeah! Exactly!” - Heeyeon chirped amused - “Heechul is going to be so happy” 

“Yeah, he will…?” 

Leeteuk found hilarious Heeyeon being so thrilled over a mattress. He, however, got a little confused when Heeyeon chose another one. Siblings or not, it seemed that Heechul was right when he said women were an enigma. 

At night, everyone had something to think about. Yesung was still processing the fact his dad was actually touched and not hurt by what he said. He went to sleep with a silly smile after realizing it didn’t matter as long as he was happy. 

“And it gets even more complicated” - Mrs Kim was telling her husband - “The three of them are siblings” 

“What on… well, they do look alike” - Mr Kim sighed - “Did he tell you why Teuk ended being an orphan?”

“I think he doesn’t have a clue” - Mrs Kim pouted - “and I’m too afraid to ask” 

“I think… we could actually figure it out” - Mr Kim fidgeted - “They attended daycare together, right? So, they most likely lived around our old neighborhood” 

“I guess we could dig a little bit” - Mrs Kim agreed - “Maybe if we find out before Leeteuk does… we could help him overcome whatever it is” 

“Heeyeonnie too” - Mr Kim sulked - “She must be so confused” 

“I’m gonna need your big tomorrow” - Heeyeon told Heechul as they were getting in the bed 

“Tomorrow? Why wait when you have me right here” - Heechul teased 

“Not for that, I need you to try the new matress” - Heeyeon giggled - “They are bringing it tomorrow. We are going to have new bed” 

“Oh” - Heechul laughed - “whatever you please, my princess” 

“Queen” - Heeyeon corrected with a silly smile - “Cherry is your princess, my love. I’m here to rule” 

“Speaking of Cherry” - Heechul sat up quickly with naughty smile - “I already told mom… and she said it was beautiful” 

“Really? Did she like it?” - Heeyeon rolled over to face him properly - “Leeteuk also said it was soft and warm” 

“So… do we have a name?” - Heechul couldn’t hold back his joy - “does our daughter finally have an official name?” 

“Yes, it looks like she does” - Heeyeon smiled sweetly as she rubbed her belly - “I was thinking we should tell the boys after the new ultrasound” 

“Lovely” - Heechul kissed her - “I’m so excited” 

“What’s that?” - Siwon didn’t have any bad intentions, he was just a confused little boy - “Is this from the museum?”

“Uhmm, no” - Heeyeon got a bit hurt - “That’s your sister” 

“That’s Cherry?!” - Eunhyuk snatched the picture of the ultrasound for him and his twins - “She is looking weird” 

“What’s wrong with her face?” - Donghae asked scared - “Is she ok?”

Sungmin said nothing verbally… but his face showed fear. He kept glancing at his parents looking for comfort as his twin held the picture. 

“Well, that’s Cherry” - Heeyeon tried again - “And there is nothing wrong with her… she is going to look way different from that when she is born…”

“That’s a 3D scan” - Heechul was also shocked by the boys reaction - “It’s… uhm, sort of like a picture but is not exact…” 

“Mama, Kyu no liwe diz” - Kyuhyun whispered softly to Heeyeon - “Kyu Wanna see Cherry ‘gain with big scween”

“Big screen? Oh, you mean like when you went with us to the doctor” - Heeyeon got it - “I don’t know if I have other appointments like those before she is born…?”

“Cherry hands” - Ryeowook smiled sweetly as he recognized the tiny hands on the printed scan - “So zmall”

Heechul smiled a bit thanks to him. He was a little frustrated as the kids seemed to think Cherry was ‘ugly’. He knew it was his fault for giving them a picture of a 3D scan knowing how kids were. 

“Well, she is prettier than I expected” - Kangin confessed as he ate a cookie - “Newborns are hella ugly” 

“Kangin!” - Leeteuk scolded 

“But its true” - Kangin pointed at the triplets - “They were incredibly ugly when born and now they look cute” 

The triplets exchanged weird looks between them and then glanced at their parents. 

“That’s not true” - Heeyeon kissed them - “You were cute. And Cherry is going to be cute too, don’t worry” 

“She is pretty” - Yesung was the only of the kids who actually thought that looking at the scan - “she is perfect”

“I also think she is perfect” - Leeteuk was holding Henry and one of the pictures- “See? This is your baby sister” 

Henry ripped the picture apart violently. He then grunted and turned his face away. The adults froze. 

“So… I’m guessing he is jealous…?” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “Henry, it’s ok… Mom and Dad will love you even more after Cherry is born…”

“Ukwee MINE” - Henry frowned in a bad mood - “No wanna baby zis!”

“Well, good thing is that speech therapy is working” - Heechul gulped down - “But on the other side… maybe there are things we didn’t want to know…?”

For Henry, the 3D scan did had an effect. Before that, he never thought of Cherry like an actual baby. Even if the adults and his siblings talked day and night about her… he thought of the future little sister as he thought of Santa Claus or magic creatures. But seeing her there… she was a real thing. A real menace to his peace. It was a real baby like his cousin. He had seen the way his beloved uncle looked at Momo with those eyes filled of love. He couldn’t endure knowing in a few weeks, he would have to watch him spoiling another baby. 

“Maybe we should postpone the toddler bed for a while” - Leeteuk whispered to the shocked Heeyeon

“We need to fix this before she is born” - Heeyeon said half scared - “I can’t imagine what is he going to do if we bring the baby home and he is not ready” 

“He is going to be jealous anyway” - Heechul was calmer after the initial shock - “Kyunnie didn’t like Henry and now they get along… most of the time” 

“Now that you mention it… Kyuhyun used to be really naughty and hard to take care of” - Leeteuk glanced at the sweet three years old doodling on a paper sheet - “But he is now the sweetest boy on Earth” 

“Yeah” - Heechul agreed - “and Ryeowook drove us crazy everyday… Maybe Henry will be the same. It’s just the age—“

The adults freaked out when they heard a big sound. The twins ran scared to hide behind them. 

Henry had climbed up some furniture in the principal bedroom and was taking out everything he knew would belong to his future baby sister. Heeyeon was totally frightened by the aggressive behaviour… Heechul and Leeteuk were less shocked having previous experience with hard to get toddlers. 

“So… The terrible two, huh?” - Leeteuk sighed. He could see himself doing a lot of cleaning the next few days 

“Yup” - Heechul was tired just thinking about it - “I bet three diaper changes we are going to receive several calls from daycare this week” 

“Henry is already potty trained…?” - Heeyeon didn’t get it 

“Oh, honey” - Leeteuk gave her a ‘you poor thing’ look - “He is a toddler” 

————————————————————————————

Author comments: 

Heechul’s bond with his firstborn is better than ever… but what about his youngest? 

Seems like Heechul and Heeyeon had finally chosen a name for baby Cherry! (Although they are going to keep calling her Cherry )

< I don’t remember if the name was between the initial options or if someone wrote it in the comments…? Anyway, don’t make yourself big expectations. >

Have a great week! (>_<) I want to update this story before next week ends but… who knows. We will see. Hopefully, we will ‘read’ each other in a few days.