Heechul was still drowsy when loud music made him jump scared out of the bed. Henry and the twins woke up crying. Heeyeon was taking the boy out of his crib and Heechul ran to the others room to check what was going on. 

The triplets. By the third time that week, the boys woke up earlier and played loud music to “practice” for their audition. 

“One of these days” - Heechul bit his toast in a grumpy way - “I’m killing them” 

“I’m gonna die of a heart attack” - Leeteuk was still having troubles to breathe- “ow, my heart” 

“Ryeowook and Kyuhyun were so scared they moved to our room…” - Heeyeon sighed - “They are irritable since they don’t sleep well” 

“Kyuhyun has other reasons to be irritated” - Heechul sipped his coffee 

“He will get rid of that splint in a few days” - Heeyeon looked at him perplexed- “I thought he didn’t feel that much pain anymore…” 

“Not that pain” - Leeteuk joined the conversation- “Kyunnie has ‘troubles’ again. He haven’t… you know. He is constipated” 

“Again?” - Heeyeon worried - “Poor baby…” 

“He gets really upset since his tummy gets bloated and well, you already know that. Depending on how bad it is, kid even wets himself” 

“But… shouldn’t we do something?” - Heeyeon was concerned. She hated seeing the boys suffering - “Like stool softeners or some medicine… I don’t know” 

“Boy already takes them” - Heechul left out a tired sigh - “Its the damn painkillers. I’m sure they made his bowel problems worse”

“Also, Kyunnie’s diet is way low on fiber” - Leeteuk added - “Heechul was right when he said his pickiness was actually causing him troubles” 

“And since they are twins… Ryeowook is in a terrible mood because Kyuhyun feels bad” - Heechul pouted - “My babies are such nice friends… not like others” 

“The triplets love each other, Heechul” - Leeteuk twisted his lips - “And the fault is yours. I don’t understand why would you let them participate in something like that” 

“Wow wow ow” - Heechul shook his head - “just because they are triplets doesn’t mean they won’t have to compete against each other in life”

“It’s horrible” - Leeteuk folded his arms - “You are feeding this madness of sibling rivalry”

“That is completely healthy til some point” - Heechul folded his arms as well - “And the sooner they figure out how to handle it, the better. Just imagine in a few years when they start fighting over girls!” 

“I don’t really care about sibling rivalry as long as is healthy” - Heeyeon glanced at them - “But I’m totally against this thing of the dance school”

“Why?”

“cuz they are FOUR years old” - Heeyeon hissed - “They are not even five yet! They are not even in kindergarten! That stupid school shouldn’t be doing something so hurtful to little kids!” 

“Sounds like you are mad at them” - Leeteuk sat next to her - “I thought you would be the one that supported the idea of having the kids develop their talents” 

“But not like that” - Heeyeon shook her head - “You guys have no idea how awful it is for little children to get classified or rejected in one of these things. An audition? Being four? Just let them join for God’s sake! It’s a festival for parents! Nobody cares if there are twenty or twenty three children!” 

“She has a point” - Leeteuk nodded 

“She is completely right” - Heechul kissed her head - “But sadly, we can’t go against the school rules. And the boys are truly obsessed with the test and so. I know someone will end crying but things are like that, and life is like that” 

“Whatever” - Heeyeon sighed annoyed - “Oh, by the way… his diaper was dry” 

“Henry’s?” - Leeteuk was happy - “That’s cool. Did you take him to the toilet?”

“Yes” 

“Did he pee?” 

“Nope!” - Heeyeon said full of enthusiasm- “But he did it right after I diapered him again!” 

Heechul laughed. Henry turned two recently. Birthday party was chaotic and the boy behaves just the same as always. Only difference was that next day they found him trying to fit on Ryeowook’s old daycare uniform. Apparently, he had this crazy idea that you would automatically go to daycare when turning 2. The adults found it funny but they knew it was more likely Henry would start daycare the next scholar year in a few weeks. Leeteuk proposed to try potty training since he thought it would be easier to start when he was home 24/7. 

So far, Henry achieved things like sitting on the toilet without crying and learning to pull down his pants. He would also announce whenever he peed or pooped his diaper. It was really cute. Henry seemed to like the idea of being diaper free and wearing big kids undies. 

“Did the twins give you troubles?” - Heeyeon asked. She wasn’t there by the time Heechul and Leeteuk potty trained the other ones 

“Ryeowook basically potty trained himself” - Heechul explained - “Of course there were lots of accidents and things that went wrong… but overall he did really well and got fully potty trained in a short time” 

“Kyuhyun was different” - Leeteuk continued - “He stayed in diapers longer and had troubles when we started potty training. He was afraid of the toilet, then he would ask to be back in diapers… he struggled a lot, actually” 

“Awwww” - Heeyeon found cute how the twins were so different - “Sounds like Kyunnie had a hard time!” 

“Oh no, Leeteuk had a hard time!” - Heechul recalled those days - “He would spent the whole day cleaning messes” 

They were laughing until they heard something fell. 

“Who is there?” - Heechul called - “Ryeowook, did you come downstairs again?” 

There was no answer. Leeteuk tried to peek and saw a little Kyuhyun lurking behind the corner. 

“Shoot, he heard us” - Heechul whispered to Heeyeon - “Act normal and pretend we weren’t talking about him” 

“Kyunnie, did you need anything?” - Leeteuk approached him - “Aren’t you going back to sleep?” 

“I…” - Kyuhyun was upset - “The bed…” 

“Did you get sick? Are you alright?” - Heeyeon rushed to him - “Does it hurt?” 

Kyuhyun got anxious when Heeyeon inspected him quickly. He tried covering but it was clear he had wet himself. He disliked the idea of Heeyeon knowing he wet their bed. He hoped to tell his dad or uncle first. 

“Did you had an accident?” - Heeyeon relaxed. If it was just a wet bed, she could handle it. 

Kyuhyun nodded full of embarrassment. Could this situation be more humiliating? Yeah it could. 

Once upstairs in the room, Henry accused him the very moment the adults crossed the door. 

“GYU!” - The chirpy toddler pointed at the wet bed from his crib - “GYU WEE WEE!” 

Kyuhyun turned deep red. He hoped it was just a nightmare but it felt too real. 

“Ryeowook, wake up” - Heechul was trying to wake the boy - “I need to undress the bed,Cmon” 

“Wookie pee?” - Ryeowook asked half sleep. The boy touched around using his hand and got up violently after finding a wet spot - “Nuh!” 

The boy was confused when he found his pajama was dry. He sighed in relief and tried to go back to sleep.

“Even if you didn’t do it, you still have to get up” - Heechul shook the boy a bit - “Cmon, Wookie” 

Heechul changed his strategy. He started tickling him. Ryeowook was laughing hysterically. 

“Ztop! Ztop!” - Ryeowook couldn’t catch air - “Need to pee!” 

“Then go pee!” - Heechul slapped his in a playful way - “And please don’t do it on the floor!” 

Ryeowook got up and walked to the toilet by himself. He already knew how to take pees without an adult. He felt like a grown up. 

“Kyuhyun help me undress this thing” - Heechul called the silent boy - “You take that corner. Good job! That’s how is done!” 

Kyuhyun smiled a bit thanks to the praising.

“You know this is ok, right? It happens to the best of us” - Heechul kept talking during the whole cleaning process - “I was a bed wetter when I was a boy like you. Siwon was a bed wetter too, Yesung and Kangin had also wet the bed at some point. And the triplets… pfff. You should see them” 

“Kyu Sowy” - Kyuhyun shrank shoulders and did a sad face “Wuined bed” 

“It’s ok~ don’t let this little accident ruin your day” - Heechul snuggled him - “Cmon. We are going to wash and then have breakfast” 

“I will do it myself” - Eunhyuk was proudly adding salt to raw eggs before throwing them in a pan- “Like this”

“Ohhhh, you are so good at this” - Leeteuk praised - “How are the eggs going to be?” 

“It’s going to be an om—- scrambled eggs” - Eunhyuk corrected quickly as his omelette broke when trying to turn it to the other side - “I will add cheese now” 

It was funny to see Eunhyuk so involved into making his own meals. Leeteuk worried a lot since a young boy in the kitchen was always dangerous, but at the same time, he liked the idea of the boys learning to cook and appreciate their own work. 

“Done” - Eunhyuk showed his mom the scrambled eggs - “Look” 

“Oh whoah, they look so well!” - Heeyeon exaggerated on purpose - “Did you make this yourself? For real?” 

“Uhum. Uncle helped me” - Eunhyuk blushed due to the compliment - “I like them like this” 

“You do? I’m taking notes” - Heeyeon found really nice Eunhyuk would tell them what he liked and how he liked it - “I’m so proud of you, baby” 

“Mommy I made myself a toast” - Donghae wanted to get praised too. He walked towards Heeyeon holding a burned bread - “It’s a black toast” 

“Oh, so creative” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “But Hae, I think we should do another one. This one burned a bit” 

“A bit? That thing is darker than Kangin’s future” - Yesung teased 

“My future? I’m not the one burning toasts” - Kangin scoffed 

“Did I fail?” - Donghae was about to cry - “No good?” 

For a moment, Leeteuk feared Heeyeon would be capable of lying to the child and eat the black bread. 

“Mmmm, it’s nice for being your first time” - Heeyeon tried - “But practice always make it better. I think we should try doing another one, ok?” 

“Kay…” - Donghae wiped some tears. His pride was hurt 

On the other hand, Ryeowook was a born natural when it came to cooking. He flipped his fried eggs with skills even if Leeteuk was freaking out behind him. 

“Be careful, Wook” - Leeteuk was nervous - “It’s hot, Remember? Don’t get too close” 

“Done” - Ryeowook chirped as he placed eggs in different plates - “kezzup!” 

“Ketchup” - Leeteuk sighed. Ryeowook was bossy - “Here you go” 

“Noooo! Mysefff!” - Ryeowook protested when Leeteuk tried to use it himself - “Wook do it awone!” 

“Suuuuuureee” - Leeteuk rolled his eyes - “Show me how you do it” 

The very moment Ryeowook pressed the ketchup… it splattered everywhere. Even the boy’s face  received some. 

“Nooooo!” - Ryeowook was crying now - “Eggiezzzz!”

“What’s going on?” - Heechul found a crying boy - “Why are you crying so early in the morning?”

“MY EGGZZZ!” 

“He put too much ketchup by accident” - Leeteuk was doing his best not to laugh. He knew it would happen - “It’s ok Wook, I’m cooking new ones for you and your twin” 

“Kyu eatz this one” - Kyuhyun pointed at one of the fried eggs Ryeowook made - “Loo’ well” 

Heechul panicked. He felt warm over the fact Kyuhyun wanted to cheer his brother but those eggs were too full of ketchup. He didn’t think the kids should try them. 

“What do we do? Use a napkin?” - Heeyeon whispered to Leeteuk- “They can’t eat that” 

“Go sit, I will take them to the table” - Heechul winked at his friends and pretended to slip - “Oh no! Boys! I’m so so sorry! They fell!”

The twins even went to console Heechul who felt incredibly bad for letting their eggs fall. The adult even covered his face and faked he was hurt. 

“No zad dada!” - Ryeowook was hugging in a very sweet way - “Wook wuvs you!”

“Kyu helps cleanin” - Kyuhyun was tossing the eggs on the trash can and then using a napkin to clean the floor - “Nothing happen’d” 

“Mama, can you help me later?” - Sungmin was back hugging her - “I need help on my presentation… all of them” 

Eunhyuk grunted. Donghae sighed. 

“I must say I’m impressed” - Heechul commented - “I thought you didn’t want to dance on the ‘big stage’ “ 

“Oh, I don’t want to” - Sungmin shrank shoulders - “but we are allowed to do our hair and wear make up” 

Heechul face palmed himself. Leeteuk giggled. As always, Sungmin was unpredictable. 

“Make up is for girls” - Kangin joked - “Are you a girl?” 

“No” - Sungmin shook his head cutely - “And everyone can wear make up” 

“Have you seen any boy with make up?” - Kangin scoffed 

“Rockstars” - Sungmin said calmly - “And the guy from the news on tv” 

“He actually won this one” - Yesung teased Kangin - “He is smarter than you” 

“Minnie, don’t you think you already have many things to do?” - Leeteuk was trying to convince him to desist when it came to dance competition - “You have a recital and you are supposed to give the graduation speech at daycare” 

“I can do everything” - Sungmin said confidently 

“Like a Barbie” - Kangin teased

Sungmin got upset. He could endure some of Kangin’s teasing but that one went too far. He wasn’t a girl. Yeah, he liked stuff that made him look girly but he was a boy. 

“Stop teasing him, would you?” - Yesung grew annoyed - “I think is nice he has no troubles being who he wants to be” 

“Of course you would defend him” - Kangin kept going - “You always wanted a little sister” 

Heechul was the first to react when Yesung jumped on Kangin. He held the boy with skill while Leeteuk separated Kangin from them. 

“COME HERE COWARD!” - Yesung kicked in the air - “IM DONE!”

“UNCLE! LET ME GO! WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT!” 

“NO ONE IS FIGHTING, BRATS” - Heechul yelled - “YESUNG DONT YOU DARE TOUCHING A SINGLE HAIR OF YOUR BROTHER. AND KANGIN, JUST STOP!” 

Heeyeon observed how the other kids were unaffected. Usually, they would get stressed at situations like that. She wondered if those fights between them were common. She was a little shocked to discover Yesung would actually engage in fights with Kangin. She always thought Hani exaggerated when she said Yesung took after her when it came to hot temper. It wasn’t like Heechul wasn’t the calm type either. She was sure no biologist would ever approve mixing Hani and Heechul genes if asked. 

“Mommy” - Donghae was calling for her attention - “Can you help me practice after school?” 

“Sure” - She agreed without thinking twice 

“Mom, you are going to help me too, right?” - Eunhyuk suddenly joined - “I really need to win this one” 

“I will help you” - Heeyeon started - “But you don’t need to win, ok? You all are incredibly dancers full of talent” 

Donghae blushed. Sungmin played coy. Eunhyuk just sighed. 

“Have a nice day!” - Heeyeon was kissing goodbye each of the boys - “and don’t fight!” 

“Ehem” - Heechul was standing infront of her - “You forgot one” 

Heeyeon stamped a kiss on Heechul’s cheek on a playful way. The kids did a complain sound from the car. 

“They are getting kissy kissy again!” - Donghae protested - “Mom and Dad are both mine!” 

“Mama kizzed Dada!” - Ryeowook squealed in a funny way - “Cute!”

“Blegh, who wants to see that in the morning” - Kangin shut his eyes - “It’s gross” 

“Oh God please forgive my parents for living in sin, Amen” - Siwon was praying 

Leeteuk found hilarious Heeyeon would stare at Henry for hours waiting for a cue or a signal the toddler needed to go potty. She would also encourage him to sit there without success. 

“How come he doesn’t pee?” - Heeyeon was frustrated - “His diaper is dry. Is this normal? It’s almost lunch time and he haven’t peed once” 

“It’s actually interesting” - Leeteuk tilted his head - “His brothers peed like every five minutes” 

“Is he dehydrated?” - Heeyeon was worried - “Henry, we should drink some—“

“Pee!” - The boy ran to her quickly 

“Are you peeing?” - Heeyeon was confused 

“I think he is saying he needs to” - Leeteuk dragged the potty closer - “Cmon Henry, show us how it’s done” 

Success. Leeteuk and Heeyeon were just so proud. Henry managed to pee in the potty without tears or any struggle. He went back to play like nothing. 

“He peed a lot” - Heeyeon observed - “Could it be he is actually holding it?” 

“That’s a good thing” - Leeteuk wondered if Henry had more bladder control than they thought - “Little kids pee a lot not only because they have small bladders but also because they lack control” 

“Maybe Henry was actually ready to potty train” - Heeyeon was shocked - “I didn’t expect that” 

“Neither did I” 

Henry was proud of himself. He needed to get rid of diapers as soon as possible. He didn’t like the fact he was the only one wearing those. His brothers would always say he was a baby… and he was convinced it had to with the fact he wore diapers. 

“Mr Kim, can I talk you for a second?” 

“What did they do now?” - Heechul sighed when the triplets class teacher approached - “What did they bring now?”

“Oh, nothing” - The teacher chuckled - “Actually, they haven’t done anything like that” 

“Weird” - Heechul found it strange. The triplets were like little masterminds playing tricks and doing silly things all time - “Were they quiet today?” 

“That’s what worry us” - The teacher sighed - “You see, they sat at separate tables as soon as they arrived. And we haven’t seen them interact between them. Not even once” 

“They are ignoring each other” - Heechul nodded - “This is all about that stupid dance competition. You see, the boys have an audition at dance school and they are competing against each other” 

“Oh”

“Yeah” - Heechul sulked - “Their mom and their uncle aren’t fond of it. I’m not either, but I don’t think we can stop them” 

“Good luck” - The teacher knew how it was - “Just let us of know if there is something we can do for them” 

“Thanks” - Heechul smiled - “I really appreciate it” 

“Mr Kim” - now it was one of the twins teachers - “About Kyu” 

“Did he wet himself? No? Then, he got sick? Not that either?” 

“I think he is in pain” - The teacher whispered to him - “He says he is fine but he moves awkwardly and… It’s not the first time we see a child with a stomachache” 

“Oh”

“We tried to take him to the toilet but he refuses to sit” - The teacher informed - “He is a very shy boy after all” 

Right. Heechul knew that was part of the problem. Kyuhyun hated using the toilet at daycare or any place that wasn’t home specially if they weren’t with him. Daycare was a must since he spent many hours there. However, he was told more than once by the teachers Kyuhyun would only pee. 

Usually, Heechul would wait for his older kids to walk to the car. Today, a teacher accompanied them. He widened his eyes realizing how they looked like. 

“What the hell? You look like if you had crawled on hell” - Heechul was shocked. Yesung and Kangin had messy hair, ripped clothes and even dirt on their uniforms - “How are you going to explain this?” 

“They got into a fight” - the teacher explained 

“With who? Godzilla?” - Heechul did a disgusted face when he noticed blood on Kangin’s cheek - “Seriously, guys” 

“Why don’t you tell your dad?” - The teacher frowned - “Cmon. Tell him the truth” 

“We fought each other” - Yesung said first - “And I won” 

Kangin sulked. Heechul wasn’t sure what was more impressive. If the fact his kids almost killed each other, Kangin lost or that Yesung was so chill about the whole thing. 

“Are you telling me you did this to your little brother?” - Heechul inspected Kangin’s purple eye - “Really? How you dare?” 

“It’s not like Kangin didn’t hit me either” - Yesung complained - “haven’t you noticed I’m not wearing my glasses?” 

“Did you break his glasses?” - Heechul turned to Kangin who nodded quietly - “Damn it, boys! How many times have I told you to not fight? And why would you hit someone with glasses in the face? That’s dangerous!” 

“It’s like cheating” - Yesung bluffed - “But I still won” 

“I don’t care who ‘won’ “ - Heechul was truly angry - “You guys are brothers! Just look at this mess. Teuk is going to freak out! And Heeyeon… just wait until she sees you!”

The boys sighed. They knew they would be in troubles for what they did. And still, they felt well with themselves. Fighting each other was somehow therapeutic for them. Adults just didn’t get it. Yesung and Kangin explosive dynamics were like that: they would hit each other really hard and then spent the next few weeks as best friends. 

Heeyeon wasn’t impressed. She barely reacted. She just made sure of grounding them until high school. No one protested. They both knew she was right to be mad and therefore wouldn’t dare going against her. They even apologized to her twice. Leeteuk on the other hand, wouldn’t stop nagging them about how what they did was horrible and followed them around the house trying to make them reconcile. 

“Why aren’t you helping me?” - Leeteuk accused Heechul as the man was getting ready to get out - “And where are you going?” 

“To the paediatrician” - Heechul pointed at Kyuhyun- “we have an appointment. It’s going to rain and there will be probably traffic”

“Fine” - Leeteuk cooled down - “I hope it goes well. I don’t want anything else to worry about” 

“Are you ok?” - Heechul tilted his head - “Don’t worry that much. I’m sure Yesung and Kangin will be back to being friends in a few minutes” 

“How can you be so sure of it?” 

“They are brothers” - Heechul was confident - “They say they hate it but they can’t live without each other” 

“Kyunnie, are you ok?” - Heeyeon was worried since the boy waddled. He refused to eat at lunch and no one forced him knowing the situation he was on - “Does your tummy hurts?” 

“Do you want to try going potty again?” - Heechul offered - “No? Ok. We are going out—- Ryeowook, you stay here” 

“WHYYYY” - Ryeowook stomped his feet - “We go TO GWE THEW” 

“You don’t” - Heechul was pushing him back to the living room - “Not today. The appointment is only for Kyu, ok? I swear I will bring him back to you in no time” 

“U pwomize?” - Ryeowook was cheeky - “Dada takez care of Kyu?” 

“I will” - Heechul ruffled Kyuhyun’s hair - “We are going to make sure he is fine and then come back to you. Right Kyu?” 

Kyuhyun nodded shyly. He was hugging tightly his penguin plush. 

“Good duck” - Ryeowook chirped 

“Duck” - Heechul chuckled - “Cmon Kyu Kyu, let’s go” 

Kyuhyun was obedient. He was a really good boy. He wasn’t feeling well and still he would listen to Heechul and follow instructions. 

Heeyeon found herself doing grocery shopping with the triplets after Leeteuk refused to leave the house. He feared the kids would try fighting again. 

“Mommy, can we buy this?” - Donghae asked cutely while holding a cereal box - “Please?” 

“Mmmm let me check the ingredients first” - Heeyeon wanted to make sure it had nothing they could be allergic to - “Seems fine” 

“We need rice and pasta” - Eunhyuk was carrying a heavy package of rice - “Can I pick the pasta?” 

“Sure, choose which one you want” 

“I want spaghetti” - Eunhyuk was holding two packages of it when Donghae shook his head 

“I want the short one” - Donghae was pushing him aside - “This one” 

“Oh, it’s fine. We can buy both types” - Heeyeon wanted to avoid a fight. Also, she was ok with the boy having preferences - “Now, milk” 

“Banana milk for the twins” - Sungmin added to the shopping kart- “Strawberry for Hyukkie Hae and Siwonnie and Chocolate for me” 

“Good job” - Heeyeon praised him - “You know, since we are already here… We should plan what we want for dinner” 

“I want Mac and cheese” - Eunhyuk chose quickly - “Lots of cheeeeeeese” 

“Donghae? Sungmin?” 

“Sounds good” - Sungmin agreed - “I want that too” 

“Hae too” 

“Hey, that’s our song!” - Donghae got excited when the song they had been practicing was on the speakers.

They started dancing. Heeyeon found it cute. She wasn’t desperate to go back home so she let them have fun dancing at the supermarket. When it ended, some people even clapped for them and did some cheering. 

“Oh, they are so cute” - an old lady approached them - “You are so lucky” 

“Yes, I am” - Heeyeon smiled pleased 

“Are they the same age? Don’t tell me they are triplets!” 

“We are triplets!” - Donghae chirped - “Hae is the youngest one!” 

“Can I ask you a question?” - Eunhyuk made sure Heeyeon went back to reality - “Who did it better?” 

“The dance? Oh no, the three of you were amazing” 

“That’s not true” - Eunhyuk sulked- “Donghae was too rushed. He even missed steps” 

“Is that so? I didn’t notice” - the old lady was nice to them - “You three are wonderful” 

“Thank you!” - Sungmin was polite - “Have a nice day!”

“I didn’t miss steps” - Donghae was upset - “I did it well”

“You forgot to do some steps” - Eunhyuk insisted - “It wasn’t good enough. You are not going to win this, Hae. But it’s fine. I’m a better dancer after all” 

“Mommy, I don’t like what Hyukkie says” - Donghae was whinny- “He is being mean to me” 

“Hyuk, stop being mean to your brother” - Heeyeon scolded - “You had fun right? That’s what really matter. The three of you are good dancers” 

“He made a mistake” - Eunhyuk insisted again - “He should know that” 

“But Hyukkie, your choreo isn’t on point either” - Sungmin shrank shoulders calmly - “You forgot to do the ending” 

“I…” - Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Sungmin was right. He had committed a mistake too. 

“He he” - Donghae was now chuckling despite being about to cry minutes ago - “Hyukkie is going to lose too” 

“We are all going to lose” - Sungmin giggled - “We are going against those two kids”

“Jiyong and Taeyang aren’t better than us” - Eunhyuk was highly annoyed by Sungmin’s statement - “I’m a better dancer” 

“But they have been in the school longer” - Sungmin continued - “They joined before we did. So, they have practiced way more than us” 

“Sungmin, you shouldn’t give up without trying” - Heeyeon worried the child was too harsh on himself - “You need to be confident in order to success. Not in dancing… everything you do turns out better if you have some confidence” 

“I’m confident I’m going to lose” 

“Then just don’t do it” - Eunhyuk was bitter - “You said you didn’t care at all, right? Don’t go around taking my spot if you are just playing” 

“It’s not your spot” - Sungmin stuck out his tongue - “First, you have to earn it” 

“Hae is going to earn it first” - Donghae raised his hand - “I wanna dance on the big stage and wave to daddy, mommy and uncle from there” 

“Awwww” - Heeyeon found him cute 

“That’s stupid, you can’t wave” - Eunhyuk was angry - “You need to follow the choreo” 

“Who cares” - Donghae shrank shoulders- “I want to wave, I wave. I also think I could add some steps” 

“That’s not how it goes!” - Eunhyuk complained when his brother did another dance - “That’s not it!”

“I like it!” - Sungmin was trying out Donghae’s new version - “It’s better!”

“It’s not!” 

“Boys, don’t yell. We are at the store” - Heeyeon scolded them - “And it doesn’t make sense to keep arguing about the audition. All you gotta do is practice and try your best” 

“I’m gonna win” 

“No, you are not!” 

Heeyeon sighed. If she could choose, she would rather be potty training Henry or taking Kyuhyun to the doctor. Any of those two sounded great in comparison to hear the triplets fight about the dance thing. 

Just as Heechul predicted, Yesung and Kangin were playing videogames together. Leeteuk wasn’t happy about the purple eye or the broken glasses… and he definitely, didn’t understand the psychology behind it. Why would they fight each other so badly and then go back to normal like nothing? What kind of sorcery was that?

“Ouch, they killed me again” - Kangin did a hurtful expression 

“It’s ok, take one of my lives” - Yesung was nice 

“Awesome” 

“Oops, they almost got you” 

“Can we trade weapons?”

“Sure” 

Leeteuk shook his head. They were on another level. Someone was pulling his pants. 

“Uh? Henry?” 

“Poo” - The boy announced.

It took a few seconds to Leeteuk to realize Henry was asking him for the potty. The babysitter was pleased to discover Henry had no troubles at all doing his business in the toilet. He sat there and pooped like if he had done so his entire life. 

“Good job, Henry” - Leeteuk praised him - “You pooped in the toilet” 

“Henwy ‘inz” - the boy danced a bit - “Henwy! Henwy!” 

Leeteuk found hilarious Henry cheered for himself. The boy had an outstanding personality, that was sure. 

“Henwy is so Zmawt!” - Ryeowook was also praising him - “Good boy!” 

Henry hugged his brother. It was funny since he was as tall as him being a whole year younger. They even kissed. Leeteuk was sure Kyuhyun would put on a show if he saw those two being that close. 

But truth to be told, Kyuhyun had other things to worry about. 

“It’s fine” - Heechul was trying to keep a cool face despite being in despair and wanted to curse out loud 

“No” - Kyuhyun protested as he started crying - “No no no no!” 

“Kyunnie, it’s ok! ” - Heechul soothed him - “It’s ok if you can’t hold it” 

Problem with toddlers was that when you gotta go, you gotta go. They got stuck in traffic, Kyuhyun asked for the toilet, Heechul was sure he couldn’t grant his wish fast enough to prevent an accident. The boy was desperate. And if toddlers had little control over those situations…  constipated toddlers had even less control. Heechul preferred a wet seat than a hurt toddler. He tried convincing the boy that it was fine to let go if he felt that bad but Kyuhyun was stubborn. 

Heechul was as desperate as his toddler. He would check him on the mirror and suffer since the boy was clearly in distress. He looked around: they were trapped in the middle of nowhere with cars at both sides. Peeing at the side of the road wasn’t an option. It could be dangerous for the child. And Kyuhyun had troubles “letting go”. Out of his kids, he was the one that struggled the most at things like that. 

Heechul rummaged the car’s glove box trying to look for something he could use. A cup, an empty bottle. Anything. He only found toilet paper,wipes, and diapers. 

Without even thinking it twice, the parent  unfasted his own belt and managed to get to the back seat. They were now truly stuck and the cars wouldn’t move at all. It was his chance to aid the boy. 

“Kyunnie, I’m here. It’s ok” - Heechul reassured him - “Let’s undress, ok?”

“Kyu wanna pee” - Kyuhyun cried - “ Huwtz, dada. Huwtz” 

Heechul had experience undressing kids quick enough. He was good at it. Now, he only had a problem. He knew Kyuhyun was going to protest. 

“Diapey” - Kyuhyun said scared - “No baby! Kyunnie no baby” 

Kyuhyun cried out of pure frustration. Heechul hated himself for even trying but it was clear it was a better option than wetting pants before the appointment. Not to mention it was messier if the kid wet his seat. 

“Kyunnie, I need to go back and drive, ok?” - Heechul kissed him at least four times - “Everything will be alright. If you want you can use the diaper, ok? And if it happens by accident is also ok” 

Kyuhyun agreed. The young boy hated the idea but he was also certain of how it would end. Heechul started checking on him again using the mirror. The kid was really pale.

“Kyunnie, are you ok?” - Heechul worried - “are you feeling sick?”

Cool, Heechul thought. Today, it wasn’t his day. Kyuhyun would probably throw up and wet himself at the same time. Nice. Whatever it happened it seemed like his car wouldn’t make it clean.

“Nuh” 

He wanted to believe him but that face wasn’t from a kid that was fine.

“Kyunnie, what if I tell you a joke?” - Heechul last resources started showing up- “what do you call a fake noodle?”

Kyuhyun looked at him. Heechul turned to the boy. 

“An ‘impasta’ ! ” - The adult did a funny face 

Kyuhyun actually laughed. He squirmed on his seat but couldn’t avoid laughing. Kids loved jokes like that. 

“Here is another one: what do cats have for breakfast?” 

“Dun know” - Kyuhyun was smiling 

“Mice crispies!” 

Kyuhyun bursted in laugh. Heechul felt better seeing him like that. 

“Dada, Kyunnie is peeing” - Kyuhyun confessed scared - “Iz coming out…” 

“It’s ok, once we get to the parking lot at the hospital… I will take the diaper off and help you clean” - Heechul explained in sweet way - “Its ok if you pee” 

Kyuhyun left out a sigh relief. He chuckled. Heechul felt better too. 

“Dada” - Kyuhyun called him seriously- “Whewe cowz go on fwidays nights?”

“Where cows go on Fridays nights?” - Heechul was caught off guard 

“To the mooooooooooviez” - The kid said in a funny way 

Heechul laughed hysterically. Kyuhyun was also good at the game. 

“Why can’t leowawd hide?” - Kyuhyun said another one - “Cuz he a’wayz spotted” 

“What do frogs order at the restaurant?” - Heechul was having fun too 

Kyuhyun shook his head expectantly. 

“French flies!” 

Kyuhyun laughed so hard. Heechul was thankful the boy was wearing a diaper. He would have wet himself even without having to pee. Heechul was even tearing from laughing hard until he heard a familiar sound. 

“Oops” - Kyuhyun giggled 

“Grossssss” - Heechul joked - “Kyunnie you farted!” 

Kyuhyun laughed harder. He found those jokes the best. Leeteuk often complained about how the kids loved poop and fart jokes the most. It couldn’t be helped since they were all boys. 

Kyuhyun did it again. Heechul’s reaction was priceless. 

“You brat! We are trapped in here!” - Heechul couldn’t believe it - “You are going to pollute our air!” 

“Uh oh”

“Did you fart again?” - Heechul wrinkled his nose - “Kyunnie, I’m serious. Please stop” 

There was no answer from the boy. Heechul found it suspicious. He checked the mirror and saw that guilty look. 

“No way” - Heechul was going to die - “Kyunnie, are you pooping?”

Kyuhyun nodded shyly. 

“You can’t be serious” - Heechul’s face hit the steering wheel 

Heeyeon was trying to cook dinner. Trying was the word she looked for. It was still too early to start but taking into account she had several children running around the kitchen… time was needed. 

“Oh no no” - Heeyeon stopped Ryeowook from taking macaroni out of the boxes - “That’s the last step” 

“Mama, I’m dirty” - Sungmin complained after getting some buttercup on - “grossss!”

“What’s—- Donghae, are you sure you poured the right milk?” - Heeyeon was smelling the pot - “I think this is banana milk” 

“I want pink Mac and cheese” - Sungmin smirked - “Let’s do it with strawberry milk” 

“No” - Heeyeon was firm as she cleaned the boy’s hand - “bring me the Normal one” 

“When you were a ballerina how did the teacher choose you for the dance?” - Eunhyuk was asking her again - “What did you do?”

“Nothing, I just danced and they chose me” 

“Mama, Wookie spilled!” - Ryeowook pointed at the mess he just made 

“Mommy, I think I burned my finger!” - Donghae cried for attention 

“Hey, someone spilled juice on the floor” - Sungmin pointed down - “oh, Nevermind. I think Henry peed” 

“Pee!” - Henry pointed at his puddle 

“Ok, enough” - Heeyeon needed air - “I will clean Henry’s accident and you guys will go play or something” 

“We need to help you cooking” - Eunhyuk tried - “That’s how I will overcome my ‘picky’ habits. I’m a highly sensitive boy” 

Heeyeon took a deep breath. Again, she would switch places with Heechul. She preferred to take Kyuhyun to the doctor. Also, she would rather be studying for exams like Leeteuk. That sounded way easier. 

Leeteuk was sure that whatever the other two were up to, it was better than being on a chair doing homework. Studying was so boring. He didn’t know how Heechul managed to get three degrees. He admired him so much… He was sure that his brother was actually pretty bright and prepared for the future. There was nothing he couldn’t do. 

“Ok, so… here is the plan” - Heechul was panicking - “I will change your diaper, I can do it” 

Kyuhyun was calm. He was actually in a good mood after pooping. He was feeling well now. No bloating, no pain, no bladder pressure. It felt awesome. 

“Kyu pooped~” - The boy said merrily 

“I’m glad you did… It’s just…” - Heechul wanted to cry. It has been a while since he had to face something like that. Henry was still in diapers but he was younger, he pooped daily, and most of the time either Heeyeon or Leeteuk changed him. Wiping butts was one thing… changing a fully soiled three year old was another level. 

It didn’t help the space was cramped. Changing a toddler in a car was always difficult. But Heechul wasn’t going to risk himself to walk towards the hospital and let Kyuhyun spread the mess. 

“Kyu is peeing” - the boy warned him 

“Again? Whatever” - Heechul sighed - “Tell me when you are done” 

Heechul couldn’t believe his kid. First, he would be totally against the diaper. Then, he would use it to max capacity. Although he knew toddlers were hard to read… this was an unusual behaviour. Kyuhyun was the type of boy who would get easily frustrated over an accident. And he had two in a short span. 

“Can I change you now?” - Heechul tried to sound friendly. He was having a hard time but it wasn’t the boy’s fault  - “Can you please be a good boy and help me?” 

Whatever Leeteuk or Heeyeon were doing… he was definitely having it worse. What could be worse than changing a really dirty diaper in your car after having a  torturous ride? 

“Nuh” - Kyuhyun shook his head when Heechul showed him underwear - “Diapey?” 

“Oh ” - Heechul left out. He felt like he had messed up more than Kyuhyun- “Big boys wear undies, right?”

Kyuhyun attempted to cry when Heechul tried to dress him. The parent had no time to waste with an upset boy. They were already late for the appointment. Heechul wondered who would kill him first if Kyuhyun started wearing diapers again. Heeyeon or Leeteuk? He bet it would be Leeteuk. 

“I think she finally broke waters ” - Kangin told Leeteuk 

The man got scared and tossed his notes aside. 

“Is Heeyeon crying? What did you do to your mom now?” - Leeteuk didn’t ask twice. He was going downstairs as fast as he could 

“I’m not crying” - Heeyeon said - “yet” 

“Oh my, what happened to the kitchen?” - Leeteuk grew concerned - “What’s that?” 

“Blue Mac and cheese” - Heeyeon faked a smile - “they are already grounded” 

Leeteuk saw a round of boys facing the wall with their arms up. 

“At least I can cook now” - Heeyeon told him - “I swear I have cursed the psychologist at least twice for proposing we let them cook” 

“How did they make it blue?” - Leeteuk was grossed out by the blue sticky sauce - “Do we have…?” 

“This” - Heeyeon gave him an empty marker - “They would have poison themselves too” 

“Well, those are safe for children” - Leeteuk tried to smile - “They wouldn’t have died. A tummy ache maybe” 

Heeyeon gave him a deadly stare. Scary. She was scary when mad. 

“Ouch! Mom, Eunhyuk pinched me!”

“No, I didn’t! Hae moved!”

“MAMA, WOOKIE WANNA PEE” 

“I think Henry is drawing on the wall” 

“Can I cry now?” - Heeyeon looked at Leeteuk- “I really want to cry” 

“Wait, Kangin said something about you breaking waters…? But you weren’t crying…”

“Pfff, that sounds like what you say when someone is giving birth” - Heeyeon teased - “unless you know about another pregnant lady—- oh” 

“I’m going to kill him” - Leeteuk left out as he walked to the backyard 

“Mamaaaaaa” - Ryeowook was pulling her dress - “Can Wookie Go pee?”

“Of course, baby” - Heeyeon winked at him - “You are grounded but you have rights” 

Heeyeon heard Leeteuk screaming. Yep. He definitely found Batman’s girlfriend giving birth. He returned to the kitchen holding Kangin’s from his ear. 

“HOW COULD YOU?” 

“She needed a safe place to deliver the babies! Batman brought her here! I wasn’t going to kick out a pregnant lady!”

“She is not— We are so done” - Leeteuk wanted to cry 

“Hey, how is the study going?” - Yesung asked in a try to annoy Leeteuk 

The door. Leeteuk and Heeyeon were happy to have Heechul back. They needed each other. Kids were going to eat them alive. 

“So, how did it go?” - Heeyeon greeted him with a kiss - “Babe, are you alright? You feel cold” 

“Must be the rain” - Leeteuk saw the chirpy toddler running around in a good mood - “But at least Kyuhyun feels better” 

“Yeah, about that” - Heechul dragged both adults with him - “I screwed up”

“Hey, that mouth” - Heeyeon shook her head - “what if one of the kids hear you?”

“Kyunnie—-“

“Hi baby!” - Heeyeon was getting a big hug from the so called kid - “Are you feeling better? Did the doctor help you?”

Kyuhyun shook his head in a sweet way. 

“Dada!”

“Dada helped you? He is so nice” - Heeyeon held him. 

She wasn’t that skilled like Leeteuk or Heechul but she wasn’t that clueless either. Heechul could feel panic spreading his face when Heeyeon lifted the boy’s shirt and the diaper waistband peeked. Leeteuk widened his eyes. 

“Don’t tell me that’s—“

“Mama!” - Kyuhyun snuggled against Heeyeon- “Kyu pooped diapey!”

“Kyu, can you give us a second?” - Leeteuk faked a sweet smile and sent the toddler to play 

“We were stuck in traffic! I swear! And I didn’t know he was going to poop! He said he was going to pee and—“

“I’m not saying anything” - Heeyeon said calmly as Heechul seemed about to cry - “I just don’t understand why is he wearing one now” 

“He asked for it” - Heechul felt guilty - “I tried to refuse but he was so upset. I think he was scared to have another accident…”

“Well, the diaper needs to go” - Leeteuk said in a soothing tone - “Let’s ignore it now since it has been a hard day for all of us, but tomorrow morning once we change him to daycare… the diaper is gone. Forever” 

“He is really happy now” - Heeyeon pouted - “Do you think this is a regression?” 

“Could be” - Leeteuk sighed - “But if that’s the case, the best thing to do is not engaging with it” 

“Why are you taking this so well?” - Heechul grew suspicious- “I thought you would kill me” 

“I know things happen” - Leeteuk was really sympathetic- “And I love you. I understand no one is perfect” 

“This is about the test, right?” - Heechul grew serious - “You feel like you are going to fail it” 

“I don’t feel it” - Leeteuk got shy - “I’m sure of it” 

Heeyeon patted his back. They were all a mess. But they had each other and they would survive. 

Dinner was actually good. The Mac and cheese turned out very nice thanks to the fact Heeyeon re did it three times. She got practice. The last one, it was perfect in every single aspect. And the kids loved it. All of them. 

After putting the kids to bed, Heechul stayed up late helping Leeteuk study. It was easier that way. Leeteuk was very grateful for the fact Heechul was a nice teacher. He explained in a way that made it feel so easy… 

Next morning, the adults were sure everything was on track. There were no wet beds, no fights between the boys, Kyuhyun peed in the toilet and wore his underwear, Leeteuk could study all morning since Heeyeon looked after Henry… everything was fine. Just fine. Or at least it looked like that. 

“What do you mean with ‘we are not friends now’ ?” - Heechul was chasing after the triplets - “Hey!”

“We are not friends! We are enemies!” - Donghae yelled on Leeteuk’s ear - “Hyukkie is a a a villain!”

Heechul wanted to laugh. Villain was like the ultimate insult for a toddler. 

“Minnie don’t want to dance” - Sungmin told Heeyeon- “I wanted to participate, but this is too much. Today at daycare, we fought again” 

“I’m gonna dance and I’m going to win” - Donghae puffed his cheeks 

“Sounds like we have troubles again” - Leeteuk sighed - “Kangin, I swear to God. Don’t go to the backyard”

“Have you seen them? Are they ok?” - Kangin asked anxiously- “Did everything go well?”

“I haven’t checked on them” - Leeteuk scoffed 

“She had three” - Heeyeon was showing pictures to Kangin - “See?” 

“AWESOME!”

“Seriously?” - Leeteuk grew concerned - “didn’t I tell you to not go near the raccoons? You are pregnant! What if you catch a disease?”

“I didn’t” - Heeyeon shook him off - “I asked Heechul to do it” 

Leeteuk gave him a deadly stare. Heechul ran upstairs and hid himself until lunch time. 

Afternoon wasn’t different. Heechul took the boys to dance class (hoping to talk to a teacher and explain the situation), Kangin was out for the Boy Scouts and Yesung went to basketball. Siwon was at tennis with his cousins. 

Leeteuk was trying to study when Kyuhyun interrupted him. The babysitter thought it was cute until he realized something was odd. 

“Do you need to go potty?” 

“Uhmmmm” - Kyuhyun thought for a while - “Nuh” 

“Are you sure?” - Leeteuk asked calmly as he recognized the movements - “I think you need to poop”

Kyuhyun shook his head. Leeteuk sighed. Even if the boy said otherwise, he took it to the toilet and made him sit. The boy told him a couple jokes he had learned from his dad. 

Heechul didn’t have luck at the dance school. Teachers were truly stubborn. Their great solution included retiring the three boys from the audition and wait until the next festival to participate. Heechul didn’t ever consider it. After all, he was sure Eunhyuk would definitely hate him for that. Sungmin and Donghae would forgive him someday… But Eunhyuk? If boy got that upset for missing a class, he was sure he would cut him out of his life if he forbid him to participate. 

Heeyeon was busy finishing her tasks. So far, she had managed to keep her project secret despite living in a full house. She was sewing in a good mood when she heard crying. She looked to the crib next to her. Not Henry. One of the twins maybe? 

“Huwtz! Huwtz!” - Kyuhyun shook his head - “I wanna down” 

“Its ok, it’s ok” - Leeteuk held the kid and helped him get down the toilet - “Does it hurt? Shall we try later?”

Kyuhyun nodded. He hugged Leeteuk. The boy was shaking. 

“What’s going on?” - Heeyeon asked in a concerned way - “why he cried?”

“I thought he needed to poop” - Leeteuk was patting the boy - “He is shivering… Can you pass me a thermometer? I want to make sure he doesn’t have a fever” 

“Sure” - Heeyeon looked around - “This one”

“Kyunnie, I’m going to put this in your ear, ok?” - Leeteuk warned him - “You know how it goes”

“Beep ee” - Kyuhyun said softly as he imitated the sound the thermometer did 

“Beep ee” - Leeteuk smiled to him - “Whoah, such a brave boy. You don’t have a fever, uh?”

“Yay!” 

Heeyeon laughed. At least he seemed to be in a better mood. She couldn’t go back to her project, though. Now that she was at their sight she became the twins toy the rest of the afternoon.

Once Henry woke up, every strand of hope of having a calm afternoon went away. The boy was unstoppable. Heeyeon didn’t know how, but he managed to open the cage and the birds flew around freely. She didn’t bother at all, but Leeteuk was going to freak out. 

“Robin, Steve” - Heeyeon called the birds - “Let’s go back home! Cmon!” 

“Robiiiiin, Steeeeeve” - Robin repeated - “Silly girl” 

“Did she just make fun of me?” - Heeyeon pointed at the bird while the kids laughed - “I swear she is making fun of me” 

“How does the bird go? Chirp chirp” - Robin spoke non stop - “And the wolves?” 

Heeyeon laughed too when the bird howled. The female cockatoo was something else. She would talk and play jokes. Steve, however, limited himself to whistle and imitate some noises. He was shyer. 

“Wobin! Wobin!” - Ryeowook was dancing in a playful way - “Let’s dance!”

The cockatoos were truly invested. They both loved music and would dance whenever the kids requested so. They were also Henry friends that helped him practice talking when no one was around. 

Heeyeon didn’t want to stop the fun. She figured out the kids and the birds would be happier that way. 

“Let’s feed Wobin and ‘Zteve” - Ryeowook was holding a bag of seeds - “Wobin and zteve food” 

“What flower was this again?” - Heeyeon tested Henry 

“Zunpowew” - Henry said confidently 

“Suuuuuuuuunnnnfloooooooooweeeeeeeer” - Heeyeon made sure of stretching the pronouncing- “Ryeowook, can you try it too?”

“Zunfwowew!” - Ryeowook chirped 

“And Kyunnie?” 

“Sunflowew” - Kyuhyun said shyly 

“Sunflower” - Robin did it best than them 

“Cool” - Heechul arrived - “The bird talks better than them” 

“It’s not like that” - Heeyeon hit him with a cushion - “So, how did it go?”

“Either Eunhyuk wins this or I’m moving to another country” 

“Baby!” - Heeyeon laughed 

“Chit” - Ryeowook jumped excited - “Bad word! Bad word!”

“” - Kyuhyun repeated perfectly 

“What are you teaching them now, Heechul?” - Leeteuk was going downstairs- “Were you teaching them bad words?”

“No” 

“Yes!” - the kids bounced 

“Swineeeee!” - Robin chirped excited as she saw Leeteuk  - “Teuk swine” 

“Oh common” - Leeteuk couldn’t believe the bird insisted on calling him like that - “I even feed you!”

“Swine swine swine” - Robin flew around and landed on Heechul’s shoulder to snuggle - “Love youuuu”

“Awww” - Heeyeon found it cute - “She loves you” 

Steve flew and got on Heeyeon’s shoulder. He started cuddling. 

“Steve is very fond of you” - Heechul observed - “Maybe it has to do with fact you were the one that rescued him”

“So, how did it go?” - Leeteuk asked Heechul- “at the dance school…?”

“Why does everyone ask?” - Heechul sighed annoyed - “It . Teacher is an egghead” 

“Heechul” - Leeteuk scolded as the twins rejoiced. They loved learning bad stuff 

“He is hard to get” - Heechul faked a smile - “Let’s just say the only reason I’m not going to fight him is because the boys love the school and classes are nice” 

“Teacher iz boiled eggy” - Ryeowook interpretation made Heeyeon laugh - “liwe Humpty Dumpty”

“Wasn’t humpty a raw egg?” - Leeteuk scratched his head - “Nevermind, don’t go around saying things like that” 

“So, did the bagels give you troubles?” - Heechul lifted Henry up in the air - “were they good boys?”

“Ung!” - Ryeowook replied quickly 

“They were very well behaved” - Heeyeon giggled- “I think they earned a reward~”

“Piano time!” - Heechul chirped in a happy way as he placed Henry down - “Let’s go my bagels!”

“Yay!” - the twins followed excited. Kyuhyun still had the splint and couldn’t play at all using both hands but he was happy anyway. 

Someone rang the bell. Mina was there to drop Siwon back from the tennis practice. 

“He did well” - Mina greeted Heeyeon- “and he is such a gentleman!”

“Oh, if you are back that means Heechul should be leaving soon” - Heeyeon bit her lips - “Kanginnie and Yesungie are about to get out” 

“I don’t think they will like to know their mother treats them like babies” - Mina joked - “Boys tend to be so prideful!” 

“You don’t say” - Heeyeon shook her head - “I really don’t get this manly pride thing” 

Heeyeon didn’t want the piano lesson to end so soon. She asked Heechul to let her go pick the kids. Leeteuk worried and tried to follow her but she refused saying he had to study. 

“Well played” - Leeteuk felt like a kid who just got sent to his room - “She is getting good at this” 

Yesung and Kangin didn’t give her troubles. Instead, they were very well behaved. Maybe in a try to compensate for the fight. Next stop was the dance school. Heeyeon hated herself for setting a foot inside a place like that. Only God knew how many nights she cried and swore that her kids would never go through the same pain. 

She got the chills remembering those days in which she was scolded for not having a straight back or just spinning to the wrong side. Cold went down her spine as soon as she spotted the triplets trying to keep the rhythm in an upbeat song. Choreography was good, there was no doubt of that. However, they looked exhausted. 

“My babies” - She pouted - “You are so good at this…” 

“Mommy came!” - Donghae spotted her first - “Mommy! Mommy! Come dance with us” 

“Oh no, I’m here to get you” - Heeyeon smiled softly - “Let’s go home” 

“Home? It’s not time yet” - Eunhyuk sat on the floor and stretched - “Five more minutes!”

“Fine” - Heeyeon agreed - “Five more minutes”

“I bet five bucks the triples will get into an argument before going out of the school” - Kangin whispered to Yesung’s ear 

“Kangin, that’s horrible” - Yesung rolled his eyes - “Ten bucks they do it here in the classroom”

“Deal”

“Mama, look at what Minnie learned today” - Sungmin was showing her some new steps - “Ta da” 

“I can do it too” - Donghae was trying to compete for attention - “See?”

“That’s not how is done” - Eunhyuk was next. It was clear who owned the place of number dancer of the family. Heeyeon sighed. This was going to be hard to watch. 

“Oh, are you their mom?” - the so called teacher approached her - “They won’t stop talking about you! I wanted to meet you!”

(Yeah, I also wanted to meet you, Mr boiled egg)

“I’m Heeyeon. Nice to meet you” - Heeyeon faked a smiled - “I’m the lucky mom of these wonderful children” 

“They have talent” - The teacher nodded - “They were born to perform” 

“Uhum” - Heeyeon bit her tongue - “They are truly special. They are more than just dancers. They are kids with big dreams and aspirations”

“I can tell. They are very hardworking” 

“It’s a pity not everyone will get a chance to shine” - Heeyeon gave him a bad look - “I’m aware of that petty audition thing” 

“Ohh, well. It can’t be helped” - The teacher shrank shoulders - “Like I already explained to Mr Kim, choreography was meant for twenty kids. Adding two more would be chaos. Also, if we let them participate, we would have to let the others” 

“I get it” - Heeyeon lied 

(I actually don’t, egghead)

“So, kids” - The teacher went back to the triplets - “Remember to practice! The one who wins on Saturday gets the chance to perform on the big stage!” 

“Yayyyy!” - the triplets jumped excited.

Heeyeon hated that guy. He was all cheerfully encouraging her sweet children to compete against each other. Also, it used to be like that. Her ballet professors were all smiles even if the kids were literally trying to kill each other for a good spot. 

“I’m going to win” - Eunhyuk fixing his shoes - “I’m sorry for you” 

“Don’t be sorry, loser” - Donghae fought back - “I’m the one winning”

“That’s not true! Minnie tell him who is going to win!” 

“Yeah Minnie! Tell him!” 

“Jiyong, probably” - Sungmin shrank shoulders - “You keep forgetting we are not the only ones taking part in the audition”

“Just say you like him” - Eunhyuk teased - “Are you his girlfriend?”

Donghae laughed. 

Heeyeon didn’t see that coming. She wasn’t ready to stop a fight… if you could call it that way. 

“MOMMY! MOMMY!” - Eunhyuk cried as Heeyeon tried to take Sungmin off him - “He hit me!” 

“I’m not a girl!” - Sungmin was mad. Heeyeon had never see him like that - “I’m tired you always make fun of me!” 

“Ten bucks” - Yesung extended his hand towards Kangin 

“Worth it” - Kangin was having fun - “This is cool” 

“Whoah” - Donghae was amused - “Sungmin kicked your !”

“Enough of this madness” - Heeyeon was so done - “you three: grounded. No videogames, no tv and no audition” 

“No, mommy, please” - Eunhyuk cried annoyed- “I’m sorry for teasing Minnie! I’m sorry!”

“Hae is sorry too! We won’t fight again, we promise!”

“Mama, Minnie was the one who hit” - Sungmin sighed - “It was MY fault. Don’t ground them”

“It’s not just the hit” - Heeyeon said annoyed - “You have been terrible siblings these past few days. I don’t want dancing to separate you. It was supposed to be a fun activity you could enjoy together” 

The triplets got lectured all the way back home. Heechul didn’t dare to ask when he saw Heeyeon’s face. She was truly scary when mad. She reminded him of Hani. Maybe she did have her explosive character after all. 

“What did you do now?” - Heechul hissed to the kids - “Did you get in troubles?”

Heeyeon reached their bedroom. She got inside and closed the door without lock. She started crying. Getting mad at the kids hurt her twice. She was also stressed. What were they supposed to do? Were the kids willing to compete against each other to the extent of forgetting they loved their brothers? 

“Heeyeon” - Leeteuk called her softly - “are you ok?” 

“No” - Heeyeon hugged herself - “I blame pregnancy hormones and Heechul’s ” 

“Completely understandable” - Leeteuk hugged her - “Don’t cry, ok? I will talk to them later. Let’s find a solution like we always do” 

Heeyeon wiped her tears and nodded. Leeteuk was so nice to her. They were best friends now. He took care of her like his own baby sister. It was a warm feeling. 

“Oh, I think mommy is right” - Heechul was being followed by the triplets - “You guys took this competition thing too far” 

“But I was born—-“ 

“To perform? I don’t know about that” - Heechul stopped him - “But I do know you guys were born three. You are special, you know? Having a sibling is nice… and having a twin? Even better. But having two twins! That’s a blessing, don’t you think?”

The triplets looked at each other. They felt bad for the things they did or said lately. 

“Eunhyuk, can you imagine your life without dancing?” 

“No” 

“Try to imagine it without your twins” 

Eunhyuk gasped. Too cruel. He didn’t want to live in a world like that. His twins… yeah, they annoyed him but also, they were his best friends. They were always together. 

“Papa, if Minnie sits down… would you let Hyukkie and Hae try?” - Sungmin spoke carefully - “Dancing is fun… but I think I don’t like it that much compared to Hyukkie or Hae” 

“Minnie, that’s not—“

“Hae, won’t take the audition either!” - Donghae raised his hand - “Dancing is important but I love my twins more than anything else. I want Hyukkie to be happy!”

“Guys…” - Eunhyuk eyes were filled with tears - “a-are you sure of this?”

“UNG!” - his twins hugged him 

“But you have to win!” - Hae hit his shoulder - “I help you practice!”

“Jiyong won’t stand a chance if we work together” - Sungmin lend him a hand - “Cmon. We have no time to waste” 

“Very cute and all” - Heechul clapped his hands - “If you have only realized this sooner… but now Mom said you couldn’t participate, remember?” 

The triplets sighed. They had less than three days to convince their mom they weren’t going to kill each other for the spotlight. 

Next day, everything was back to normal. Well, almost. The triplets were back to themselves and so did the others. Only difference was that Kangin still had a purple eye and Yesung was wearing his contacts since glasses weren’t ready yet. 

School day was calm. No teacher called to give bad news. Henry potty training was going well. Leeteuk was taking tests at the university. Heeyeon was working on her secret project… 

And so, Saturday came peacefully. Heeyeon had agreed to let Eunhyuk participate under a warning. They attended the event for Eunhyuk, but the silly trio insisted about performing together. The teacher let them. 

Eunhyuk won the contest. Yet, unexpectedly, they all did. 

“Come again?” - Heechul was shocked when the teacher explained to him judges said the three of them should participate - “We went through hell for nothing?”

“I didn’t think they would change their minds” - teacher explained - “They tend to be very strict”

“Well, I don’t really get it” - Leeteuk was still exhausted after so many tests that week - “But I’m glad for them” 

“I do get it” - Heeyeon nodded - “I bet these schools haven’t changed in years. They are too cute, that’s why”

“You really think they got allowed to perform just because they were cute?” - Leeteuk smiled - “are you saying so by experience?”

“Maybe” - Heeyeon blushed - “Pretty privilege is a thing, you know” 

Heechul thought his hellish week was finally over. He was relaxing on the bed when he felt someone crawling next to him. 

“Oh, it’s you” - Heechul rubbed Kyuhyun’s tummy - “How are you feeling?” 

The kid haven’t pooped again since the car incident. Heechul worried for the boy as he tried all he could to ease his pain. Kyuhyun flinched when Heechul tried pressing his tummy.

“It’s bloated. Again” - Heechul sat up - “Should we try going potty?”

Kyuhyun refused. 

“How can I make you feel better…?” - Heechul was actually asking himself out loud. He didn’t expect the boy to answer. 

“Diaper?” - Kyuhyun asked in a low voice

“Do you want a diaper? For what?” - Heechul found funny Kyuhyun would ask him for that 

“Poo” 

“You will poop if you are wearing a diaper?” - Heechul couldn’t believe his son - “I don’t think so, Kyunnie. Big boys are supposed to go potty, don’t you think?” 

Kyuhyun blushed. He knew that. It was just that his last experience trying to poop in the toilet wasn’t good. He was really in pain and then, turns out his pain went away when he had ‘an accident’ wearing a diaper. His little mind made the connection: diaper = no pain. Toilet = pain. Toddlers were simple minded when it came to things like that. He was now afraid of sitting on the toilet since he thought it would hurt him like the last time. 

Heechul was having a hard time debating against himself. If by any chance, Kyuhyun was right and he just needed a diaper to succeed… it wasn’t a very high price to pay in order to keep the boy free from pain. Then again, his boy had been potty trained almost for a year. Teuk was going to kill him. But Kyuhyun would feel better and he wouldn’t have to worry that much. The kid would be in a better mood, the bed would stay dry, accidents wouldn’t happen that often… 
Heechul decided he would find a way to solve the issue with Kyuhyun and toilet fear later. First, his boy’s health. 

“Come here. I’m giving you the diaper, ok?” - Heechul whispered - “But you can’t go around wearing this. Only here and only to poop. Do we have a deal?”

Heechul searched for a diaper. He diapered the boy and locked the door. Last thing he wanted was getting caught by Leeteuk. 

Heechul sat on the toilet with his phone. Kyuhyun was squatting next to the bathtub. He pretended to be watching his phone, but the parent was actually keeping an eye on the boy. 
Kyuhyun had no success. One thing was having an accident, another one was doing it on purpose. His already potty trained mind had a hard time breaking the barrier. 

Kyuhyun seemed scared. He searched for Heechul’s comfort getting closer to him. He would whimper and strain his face. The parent got an immense amount of happiness when he felt something fell in the diaper. Anyone else would think he was crazy. Perhaps, because they haven’t experienced something similar. To a parent whose child would be days without passing stool there was nothing more rewarding than poop finally coming out. Heechul really didn’t care how it did it. All he cared about was that Kyuhyun wouldn’t suffer anymore at least for the next few days. 

“Sowy” - Kyuhyun apologized 

“What for?” - Heechul sighed. As he got the wipes - “I said it was ok”

“No peein’ diapey…” - Kyuhyun pouted as he recalled Heechul’s rules - “big boys pee in toilet” 

“Big boys also poop in the toilet” - Heechul left out without thinking  - “Sorry, kiddo. It was mean. I know you don’t do it on purpose” 

Kyuhyun was standing in a funny way with his legs spread away. It was clear he actually didn’t like doing his business in a diaper. Heechul realized they could stop worrying about the regression. They only needed to figure out how to make the boy comfortable around the toilet again. 

Of course, even if that was what he was supposed to do… it got addictive to just hold onto the easy solution. Two days later, Heechul was diapering the boy once again. 

“And I thought this week was going to be easier” - Leeteuk sighed - “Explain yourselves” 

“Kyu needs to poop and he finds easier going in a diaper” - Heechul explained fearing for his life and the boy’s - “It gets really painful for him and I thought this was better than watching him suffer. I promise I will work on a solution but—“

“Ok” - Leeteuk agreed - “Let me know if you ever need help” 

“Ha?”

“Well, you are not always home” - Leeteuk scratched his head - “So, if he ever needs to ‘go’ while you are not around… I don’t mind” 

“Why aren’t you mad?” - Heechul grew suspicious- “Is this one of this moments in which you know things are going to backfire at me later and you want me to learn my lesson?”

“No” - Leeteuk shook his head - “You said it yourself… this  is a temporary solution for a big problem. I don’t know what kind of person you think I am but I won’t let a child suffer just because I don’t want him to wear diapers” 

“You are hiding something” - Heechul was sure of it. There was no way Leeteuk was going to let him win that easily 

“No, and now you owe me one for keeping the secret” 

“You are definitely hiding something!”

“No, I don’t know what you mean” 

Heechul grinned. There was nothing more important in the world than teasing Leeteuk. In a try to ‘convince’ him from telling the truth he tackled him on the bed and started tickling him. 

“Just tell me!”

“Heechul, grow up!” - Leeteuk was hitting with a pillow 

“You failed that test, didn’t you?” - Heechul was having a blast - “just admit it! You failed and that’s why you are being nice to me” 

“I actually failed half of them” - Leeteuk confessed between giggles - “I at studying!” 

“Oh, but that means you passed half of them” - Heechul smiled softly - “Good job” 

“I failed half of them” - Leeteuk repeated - “And I’m sorry… after all you guys did for me…” 

“Teuk, this is your first time studying like this” - Heechul did a spin with his finger to mean the whole house - “It’s actually amazing you can study something here. I got three degrees but wouldn’t have one if I had at least one child back then” 

“Thank you” 

“Also, I now owe Heeyeon a trip to the mall” - Heechul chuckled - “we did a bet about your grades” 

“What did you bet on?”

“I said you would have to repeat the whole thing” - Heechul bit his lips - “I’m sorry but the kids and I give you so many troubles…” 

“Well, I don’t think I will have to repeat the course at all” - Leeteuk puffed his cheeks in a funny way - “I still got a chance to pass the subjects in a few weeks” 

“Cool” - Heechul helped him get up - “I will help you study” 

“Boys, have you seen my brush?” - Heeyeon went inside the room followed by Henry - “it’s a—“

Kyuhyun was going outside the restroom at that very moment. Bad timing. He was wearing a  diaper.

“Oh” - Heeyeon wasn’t surprised at all - “Have you seen my brush?” 

“HA” - Henry was smirking in a naughty way. 

He caught Kyuhyun. He caught Kyuhyun being a bigger baby than him. He was succeeding at potty training… Kyuhyun was having a regression. He was going to make sure his “big” brother paid for his wrongdoings and teasings. He ran out of the room before anyone could stop him. 

Kyuhyun looked at Heechul in panic. 

“He is going to tell the others, isn’t he?” - Leeteuk sighed - “Siblings” 

“Who cares” - Heechul laid comfortably on the bed - “Nobody understands half of what Henry says” 

“Why are you giving me that guilty look?  - Heeyeon was back brushing her hair. Kyuhyun wouldnt face her - “Is because of the diaper? I think is fine if you need it” 

“You don’t seem surprised” - Leeteuk pointed out - “Who told you?” 

“No one, but Heechul was acting weird” - Heeyeon was once again proving girls were on another level - “and Kyuhyun was way too happy the other day”

“Baby, guess what” - Heechul smiled playfully 

“You owe me a trip to the mall, don’t you?” - Heeyeon clapped excited 

“How you know that?” - Leeteuk grew concerned. Heeyeon seemed to know everything going on in the house. 

“Leeteuk, sweetie” - Heeyeon cleared - “I date Heechul and help him raise nine children. You can’t hide anything from me” 

“You certainly cannot” - Heechul did a funny face to Leeteuk 

Kyuhyun pulled Heeyeon’s dress. He was trying to drag her to the restroom. The woman found amusing Kyuhyun kept some etiquette even wearing a diaper. He wouldn’t go around the house doing his business. 

“Poor Heeyeon” - Heechul teased - “Kyu likes to torture her”

“She is a wonderful girl” - Leeteuk looked at Heechul with love - “You are so lucky” 

“Indeed” - Heechul nodded - “Both of my wives are wonderful. One is better than the other when it comes to studying but…” 

Leeteuk laughed. He could always count with Heechul for that. Last weeks tested them as parents but they survived thanks to their beautiful bond. 

As expected from Henry, he did manage to serve chaos by sharing the information he got by accident. Even though his intentions were to bother his brother, he never meant to cause any real damage. He was a baby boy that only wanted to have fun. 

Kyuhyun was terribly mortified by the fact everyone in the house was aware of his problem. Not because his brothers , but because he was ashamed of his doings. Toddlers were self conscious too. He had his pride and self steem. He was already three years old. He wasn’t a baby anymore. He considered it humiliating to experience a setback in toilet training now. 

Again, Henry and the other kids never meant any harm. They were just kids. And just like everyone else, they made mistakes. Sadly, they got to learn a hard lesson about how words could bring real troubles. 

“I-Is that bad?” - Yesung was fully scared as he saw the car leave under the heavy rain - “He is going to be fine, r-right?”

“TWIIIN! TWIIIIIIIN” - Ryeowook was desperately crying next to the window - “KYUKYU!”

“They won’t have to stay the night there… right?” - Kangin shook his head in denial - “Kyuhyun can’t sleep without Ryeowook”

“Papa, Mama” - Sungmin cried - “Kyunnie…” 

“Uncle? “ - Siwon was concerned - “why aren’t you talking?” 

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to talk. He just couldn’t. He had a big lump in his throat. He had seen the kids get sick before… but this one was different. It had been a while since he felt so scared. He could compare this to the time Donghae needed surgery and Heechul wasn’t home… or when he found Heechul trying to get Ryeowook to breath that time when the twins were younger. 

————————————————————————————

Author comments ~ 

Hi there~ Are you enjoying the updates? It’s been a while since I got to do it like this. 

I hope you have a great week <3
Special hi to those studying right now. I feel you. Finals . 

Author notes 

About potty training 

If you go back to the chapters in which Leeteuk potty trains the kids that wore diapers at the start of the story (Triplets + twins) you will see each kid has a different reaction to it. Some take longer than others. For example, the twins potty trained at very different times even if they were born the same day. And if you pay attention to details, Kyuhyun was the one who struggled the most out of the kids Leeteuk had to teach. Now, Henry seems to be doing just fine despite being younger than Kyuhyun at that time. 

This is not because because one child is “smarter” than the other. It’s about being “ready”. Not only mentally but when biology allows so. Sphincter control may vary a lot from child to child. 

Ps: don’t worry about Kyu. He will be just fine. :)