Playing with dolls was nothing new to Kyuhyun as his sister used to drag him to play with her when they were kids. That, of course, was years ago, but ever since Nabyeol started playing with them, it became part of his day to day, just as Jongwoon's. It wasn't unusual to find either of them lying down in the floor, next to Nabyeol, surrounded by a dollhouse and all the dolls and plushies she owned, especially if it was in the weekend. Construction toys were also a favorite, although sometimes she just used them to build a house for her dolls. There were times as well they were in front of Kyuhyun's computer, playing Nabyeol's horse videogames or some educative ones they somehow found a way to make competitive. Jongwoon wondered where she took her competitiveness from.

But anyway, they played with her dolls more oftenly.

And that's how Jongwoon found them after returning from work that Friday, playing in the living room. And this time with the plus of Kyuhyun having his hair tied in two pigtails and wearing some stickers in his face. The two of them were so focused in the game they didn't realize Jongwoon had arrived, so he had the chance to see Kyuhyun talking in a falsetto as he faked the doll's dialogues to then use a very low voice to interpret the dragon plushy. Nabyeol, who also had her cheeks covered with stickers, was playing the role of a magic princess with her favorite doll while her dinosaur toys were her minions.

The storyline was messy and didn't make much sense, but just seeing them laughing at the inconsistencies and out of nowhere plot twists was very amusing. They looked so cute as they snickered together that Jongwoon couldn't help but take a photo of them. Or maybe saying a lot was more accurate.

The constant sound of his phone camera alerted Kyuhyun, who started complaining about him taking so many photos instead of greeting them. He still got up to steal a kiss from Jongwoon, his welcoming. Nabyeol ignored that, as she was busy sitting her doll and the other plushies in the table. After she finished, she got up in a jump and ran to hug the just arrived Jongwoon.

"Yeye appa!"

"Hi, my little star." He patted her head after releasing her from the hug, an opportunity she used to jump excitedly.

"Look, look! I got a star in class." She smiled smugly (very much like Kyuhyun did) as she showed him the golden star sticker in her forehead.

"Woah, how cool!" He crouched to be on the same height as her. "How did you get it?"

"I answered all the additions pefectly... Per-fect-ly!" Noticing her misspelling, she corrected herself. "I was the best."

"How great! Our Nabyeol-ah is so smart." Jongwoon's comment made Nabyeol's smile grow wider.

Kyuhyun ruffled Nabyeol's hair while looking proud. "Our girl is a little genius, she even knows how to subtract numbers up to ten."

"Ten minus three is seven." She used her little fingers to check the count and smiled more smugly when Kyuhyun told her she was right.

"Such a bright child." Jongwoon cooed on her as she giggled. He then looked at Kyuhyun before talking. "She took that after me, don't you think?"

Kyuhyun had the nerve to scoff. "No offense, hyung, but mathematics have never been your forte."

Jongwoon got up with a frown. "I got good grades in my maths classes." He complained while pouting.

"Really? Then how much is 7×8."

"Uh... 54!"

"Wrong, it's 56." Kyuhyun and Nabyeol laughed at Jongwoon's defeated expression, looking quite a lot like two mischievous devils.

Not wanting to be the only one being tested, he suddenly pointed at the younger man. "Kyuhyun-ah, 9×6?"

Kyuhyun didn't expect the question, so it took him some time to process it. "Uh!? 9×6? Uhm..."

However, seeing he didn't give an immediate response, Jongwoon started counting down. "Three, two, one! Silpae!" Now Jongwoon and Nabyeol were the ones laughing at Kyuhyun's undignified face.

"I know the answer! It's 54."

"You were too slow, so it doesn't count."

"I'm still better."

"I almost got it right, that's better than no answer."

"They say it's better late than never, which probably is better than getting it wrong."

"? That doesn't make sense."

"Your answer didn't make sense."

Their bickering was interrupted by Nabyeol, who tugged at both of their shirts with her hands. "We can learn multication together when I grow up a little."

Her words were so innocent they made their expression soften and a fond smile to grow in their faces. Jongwoon cupped her face with his hand before kissing her forehead. "Multiplication, darling. And sure, we'll learn together."

Nabyeol nodded with enthusiasm, already imagining how it would be when they studied together. It definitely would be messy, her dads were very noisy, but it would be very entertaining. As she was thinking about that, her belly growled, generating a small blush to spread in her cheeks. Both adults looked at her in surprise before the three of them laughed.

"It seems our little princess is hungry." Jongwoon said as he saw Nabyeol pouting.

"We should have dinner now that hyung is here." Kyuhyun looked at Nabyeol before talking with an edge of strictness in his voice. "And we'll need to wash our hands for that." He also looked pointedly at Jongwoon, making the older man pout for being treated like a child.

Nabyeol nodded, ready to follow Kyuhyun's instructions and wash her hands, but both him and Jongwoon stopped her.

"But before that, Nabyeol-ah, what do we have to do with the toys after we play with them?"

Nabyeol whined and made faces, but she answered anyway. "We store them so they don't get lost."

"Exactly." Jongwoon nodded satisfied at the answer, but soon noticed her reluctance and how much she was grumbling.

"But Kyu appa also played with them... Doesn't he have to store them?" Nabyeol looked at Kyuhyun while pouting, making the latter sigh.

"Who said I wasn't going to help you?" His words were a good enough incentive for her to look less dejected.

"Yeye appa too?"

"Of course I'll do. But you're the one who will do the most, alright?"

"Oki."

After tidying the living room and storing all the plushies and dolls, they washed their hands and went to the dinning room. The food was good, as most things Kyuhyun made, and so was the mood. They listened to each other happenings of that day, chatting and sometimes bickering about silly things. At some point, Nabyeol remembered something that caught her attention when she was talking with her friends at school.

"Sooah-ya told me she's getting a baby brother." She talked as Jongwoon used a napkin to clean her face.

"She's going to be a great noona. Let's prepare a gift for when the baby is born." Jongwoon was already searching in his mind for ideas for a proper gift. Sooah was Nabyeol's best friend, so he wanted to do something nice for her family.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Nabyeol's innocent voice asked something, a certain dreaded question.

"Where do babies come from?"

Both adults stilled in their movements. It was the question.

They knew this moment would come sooner or later, Nabyeol was in that age to ask about everything. But although they had prepared, it was still something they weren't completely ready for. They looked at each other, silently trying to push to each other the task of explaining the topic, but after she looked at one of them in particular, Kyuhyun didn't have other option but to answer.

"Well..." He started, unsure, but remembered what he read on one of the multiple books about parenting he studied. Simple and honest is the best. "There is a special cell called egg and another called . When they mix, a baby starts growing in a mom's tummy." She already knew living beings were made of cells (not in detail, of course), so that should be enough.

Nabyeol thought about his words before nodding, signaling them she understood. "So I was in a mommy's tummy before?"

"Yes, your birth mom carried you for nine months and then you were born." Kyuhyun explained to her.

"You were a baby so tiny and beautiful." Jongwoon said, pinching her nose.

Nabyeol giggled as she hid her nose, before asking something else. "So does being born mean going out of your mommy's tummy?"

"Yeah, more or less."

"Ohh."

Surprisingly, she didn't ask any other question related to it. Both adults sighed in relief as they didn't need to dwell more in the matter. They continued talking about other topics.

After some minutes, however, Nabyeol turned to stare at Kyuhyun analytically before patting his belly. He was taken aback, but he got even more surprised with the next question she asked.

"Is there a baby in appa's tummy? It's bumpy..."

Kyuhyun was speechless, even sightly offended. They had just explained her that the mom is the one who carries the baby, so did she considere Kyuhyun as the equivalent of a mommy? That couldn't be. He was her father (so manly the pigtails in his hair couldn't damage his masculinity) and although he hadn't stepped a gym in ten years, he wasn't that out of form. His belly was just a consequence of eating well, it wasn't bumpy.

Jongwoon, on the other hand, looked at the two of them agape, but he erupted in laughter after a few beats. The situation was so hilarious he couldn't stop even when Kyuhyun glared venomously at him, so he just patted the younger's back amused. Kyuhyun's glare only intensified. However, it was more terrifying when it changed into a smirk. He leaned into Jongwoon's ear and whispered.

"If anything, wouldn't it be more fitting if you were the one carrying the baby? We could try making one tonight."

Jongwoon blushed after catching the implications in Kyuhyun's words. He hit his arm while grumbling that it wasn't true, but Kyuhyun still laughed at him. He was amused by Jongwoon's red face and nagging, different to Nabyeol who was pouting as she was starting to feel ignored (a very unusual thing, despite how busy Jongwoon and Kyuhyun were). Seeing the frown in her face caused by the lack of answer, Jongwoon recomposed himself as Kyuhyun held back his laugh and cleared his throat.

"No, sweetie, there's isn't. Most men can't carry a baby in their tummy, so neither your dad nor me can give birth to a baby."

Nabyeol nodded, staying silent for a few seconds. That attitude was unusual, so both parents payed extra attention to her. "Is there something wrong, sweetie?"

She hesitated, but at the end her soft voice was heard. "Is that why you adopted me? You wanted a baby but you couldn't have one?"

Both Jongwoon and Kyuhyun's eyes softened at the question. The older one took Nabyeol from her seat and sat her in his lap, hugging her, as the younger one crouched in front of her, caressing her  cheek and head. It was a somewhat touchy subject, so they wanted to be very careful when talking about it.

They didn't want her to think of herself as a replacement, second option or a burden. She was their most cherished light, their little star, so they always highlighted how much they adored her.

"We adopted you because we started loving you from the moment we met you."

"You're our precious and adorable daughter no matter what."

Nabyeol smiled with pink cheeks after she got her answer, feeling so happy and warm in her chest. She loved when her parents said things like that, even when it was sometimes embarrassing. Only because of that she wasn't going to complain as much about having to take a bath later at night. She would need to save her stickers, though.

_____

Author's notes: Nabyeol (나별) means "my star".