Since I so disliked the last one-shot, I'm getting this one out early just because I want to get back on the horse again as soon as I can. 

Also, with the completion of this one-shot, I officially will have written, though not posted, 25 of the 100 prompts.  I've come a quarter of the way there.  I was really nervous when I first took on this 100 prompts challenge but I'm so glad that it had been working out so well for me and this story.  I feel like a lot of the things that I show here are things that would be mentioned in passing in a narrative style story, just because there isn't time to flush it out or it drags down the pacing of the story.  I had all of these ideas come to me for this couple and this was the only way I could express them all without being obnoxious in the telling of The Showdown.

#18 – Push

“Higher Papa! Higher!”

Taemin smiled and squinted into the sun where the form of his little girl had disappeared temporarily as she swung forward on the swing at the park a couple of blocks away from their apartment building.

“Alright!”  He gave a slightly harder push to his back when she cycled back, but she wasn’t going to go very high.  Taemin still worried about her falling off of the swing.  She was only four and it hadn’t been very long since she started using them anyway. 

“Weeeeee!” Jinae shouted in delight.

While Taemin was enjoying playing with his adorable little girl, whose pigtails were almost reaching her shoulders now; his other half was off buying ice cream for the three of them from a mini-mart across the street from the park.  But now he was on his way back, plastic bag in tow filled with ice creams for them to enjoy on this hot summer day.

Taemin gently, but firmly, grabbed hold of Jinae with one arm and closed his other hand around one of the swinging chains to end the little girl’s momentum. 

“Awwww!  Papa!  Why no more swing?”  Her inquisitive little eyes, feline in shape and very obviously from her Kim family blood, stared up into Taemin’s.  Most kids would have cried if you stopped their swing, but Jinae always asked why first.  He thought it was adorable (though, since it saved him from having to deal with a tantrum he also thought it was utterly amazing as well).

Taemin just pointed at Kibum’s form walking up the asphalt path that flowed through the park and by the children’s playground within. 

“Appa!” Jinae shouted, wide on her little face.  She held up her arms, a silent request for Taemin to help her down from the seat (she was still a little afraid of the jump).

He grabbed her under her armpits and lifted her up and away from the chains, barely having put her down before the little bundle of energy was off, running as fast as her little legs would carry her through the sand, over the wooden sides and into her awaiting father’s arms. 

“You were gone a long time.” She said simply and she hugged him close.

“I know!” Kibum said, watching as Taemin walked up behind Jinae, hands shoved into the pockets on a pair of blue jeans so worn and washed that they were no longer blue but some indefinable shade of grey. 

“We played on swings!” Jinae added, following up with a big kiss on Kibum’s cheek. 

“That’s exciting!”

“I went really high!”

“Did you?” Kibum asked, looking at Taemin with a quirked eyebrow.

Taemin just shook his head and mouthed, ‘Not really.’ 

“Well, guess what I got us?!”  Kibum said, holding up the plastic bag in his hand.

“Toys!”  Jinae shouted with a clap.

“Nope, try again.”

“Candy?!”

“Closer.”

“What?! What?! What?!” Jinae hopped up and down, staring at the small bag in wonder.

Kibum reached one hand in and pulled out a wrapped ice cream sandwich.

“Yay! Ice Cream!”

The family sat down on an empty bench overlooking the playground and enjoyed their ice cream, which was partially melted from the walk back to the park to the perfect level of soft that still held its shape but didn’t require them to bite down with their teeth to eat it.

Though for Jinae, it was still too much to ask for her to eat the entire concoction without ended up with half of it on her face and hands.  She darted her little tongue out to sweep around her lip and any skin around that she could reach before moving on to her fingers.

“No, no, no, none of that now.” Taemin said, already pulling the wet-naps from his pocket and opening one of the packages he started to clean off Jinae’s fingers, hands, and somehow one of her elbows…

Kibum meanwhile, worked on her face, clearing off not just ice cream but spit as well from Jinae’s attempt at emulating a cat and cleaning herself with her tongue. 

“How did it get on your nose?” He muttered aloud as he swiped the cloth past that area of her face. 

“I dunno.” She said simply, shrugging her little shoulders and already hopping along on her feet, waiting for her fathers to let her go off and play again.

Kibum smiled at his daughter and kissed her forehead.

“Alright, you go on and play, but stay where we can see you.”

“Yes Appa!”  She smiled her megawatt smile once more and ran off to play in the sand with some other young children whose parents had brought them to the park.  Taemin watched as she just sat down and started talking with the children like they had known each other forever.  He was slightly envious of her ability.  Even as a child he had always been cautious of people that he did not know, but he was glad that Jinae was different from him in that respect.  She had the odd combination of Taemin’s calm temperament and Kibum’s personability.  He was glad for that. 

And it was with a great measure of pride that he watched her stand up and walk over to a little boy, sitting on the wooden boundaries all by himself and invite him to play with them. 

She pushed over a bucket for him to start filling with sand and the boy let out a cautious smile. 

“That’s our girl,” Kibum said quietly, also having watched the entire interaction.  Jinae took the little boy under her wing and they ended up running all over the park playing on the different jungle gyms that were set up.

“Song Youngnam!” a loud voice called over the park and the boy that Jinae had been playing with perked up and ran over to a portly woman and took her hand, waving enthusiastically back at Jinae as he walked away with presumably his mother.

At the same time Jinae came over to her fathers and yawned. 

“Alright, looks like it’s time for us to go to.”  Taemin said standing up.

“Looks like someone needs a nap.” Kibum added, picked Jinae up and settling her on his hip.

“No nap, not tired.”  She whined, though her eyes would not stay open.

“Uh huh, sure you’re not.”  And sure enough, they hadn’t even left the park before Jinae was slumbering gently on her Appa’s shoulder. 

After they had arrived home and tucked her into bed, they talked about the boy in the park that afternoon.

“He reminded me a little of you,” Kibum said as he made himself a cup of tea.

“You know, I had that same thought.” Taemin smile as he sipped a glass of water. 

“I’m glad she did that, inviting him over to play.”  He smiled as he sat down and waited for the water to boil.  “We must be doing something right.”

“I think we’re doing a lot of things right,” Taemin said, grabbing Kibum’s hand on top of the table and running his thumb across his lover’s knuckles. 

“I remembered when she was really little, being worried about how she would interact at school – but it seems she’s got enough of you in her that it won’t be a problem.”  The younger man continued. 

Kibum just smiled and seemed to stare off into space.

“You think she’ll recognize that boy if she seems him at the park again?” Taemin mused aloud.

“Are you kidding me?” Kibum asked Taemin, looking incredulously at the younger man.  “They’ll be best friends by Tuesday.”

Taemin cocked his head to the side.

Kibum sighed slightly then explained, “She’s a lot more like you than you give her credit for as well.  And she remembers people.  She hadn’t seen Minho’s family for a year but recognized his daughter automatically.  And somehow, even if she doesn’t remember, he will.  Every time he goes to that park he’ll be looking for her.  And since we’re there a couple of times a week, it won’t be very long before they meet up again.”

“So you’re saying that we just met our daughter’s best friend.”

“Yup,” Kibum grunted as he stood to silence the now shrieking tea kettle. 

“Well…at least he’s like me then right?”

Kibum just laughed.  “Right.” 

I just like the idea of them playing with their daughter and wanted to do a little fluffy thing in relation to that. 

Youngnam means eternal and south (apparently it is a popular name in the southern regions of South Korea).  I don’t know if this kid will make a re-appearance later or not.  Right now I’m saying no, but with how my writing always seems to drag me other places we’ll see where things head. 

BTW - still accepting help on any of the upcoming prompts.  As well as any female Korean names and their meanings.  I appreciate any help you can give!