Prompt: Can you please continue the last prompt you did for blurring the lines, after Jin comes home and how he comforts Kai?
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Hiro was fast asleep in my lap, and Nora was nodding off as I played with her hair. They'd sat on the couch with me watching movies, too afraid to leave me. My leg was starting to hurt again, but I was trying to pretend everything was fine.
The front door opened and my heart rate picked up. Shit, Jin was going to know something was wrong.
"Hey, wake up. Dad's home," Nora said, shaking her brother a little.
Hiro stirred and looked up sleepily. "Huh?"
"Dad is home," Nora repeated.
Hiro rubbed his eyes as Jin entered the room. Jin's eyes immediately fell to my leg, taking in the awkward angle I'd put it at to relieve the pressure, and the way I'd cushioned it carefully.
"Dad," Hiro said, holding his arms out.
Jin lifted Hiro into his arms and kissed his head. He reached out to give Nora a one-armed hug.
"What happened?" Jin asked, nodding at my leg.
"It's just sore. It'll be fine," I said.
"If you're going to lie, then shut up," Jin said, setting Hiro down on the couch next to his sister. "You two, what happened?"
He watched as they nervously looked from each other to me. I'd asked them not to tell, but I knew they were worried and didn't want to lie to Jin.
"If you care about your dad, you'll tell me what happened to him," Jin said.
"Fine," I snapped, feeling angry and frustrated. "Kids, go upstairs. Go."
They scampered off the couch and hurried upstairs. Jin sat on the coffee table and watched me.
"I fell. I fucking slipped cleaning the floor and I fell and I couldn't get up. I couldn't give them their lunch or watch them. They had to lay on the floor with me watching a movie because I couldn't fucking get up," I said, angry tears pooling in my eyes. "Happy? I scared our kids and humiliated myself."
"And you weren't going to tell me," Jin said.
"Would you want to admit that?" I demanded.
"No, probably not," Jin said. "What are you getting so worked up over, Kai?"
"I suck at being a parent because I can't even get up when I fall," I said, that frustration leaking into my words.
"So? I don't care. It's not like it's your fault you have a shit leg," Jin said. "We're a mess of a couple, anyone could tell you that. Remember that time I fainted in front of Hiro and he slept in our bed for the next three nights because he was so scared?"
He got up and left the room. He came back with painkillers in his hand, giving them to me. I took them, praying they'd kick in quickly. God, my leg hurt.
Jin sat next to me, our legs touching together lightly. "You can call me when that happens. Getting hurt because of your bad leg doesn't make you a bad dad. Being too stubborn to call for help when you can't look after the kids does."
I knew he was right, but I hated hearing the truth, so I picked up my cane and hit him in the legs with it. His expression didn't change, and he let out a mild, "Ow".
"I want to be a capable dad," I said quietly.
"You are. You're just also stubborn as shit," Jin said, putting his arm around me. "Having a problem you can't help doesn't make you a shitty dad or an incapable one." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Leave it to you to make more work for us as parents. We should probably come up with a plan for them to follow if I ever faint or you ever get hurt when we're alone with them. At least if they're prepared, they'll be okay."
I closed my eyes, trying to reel in my anger and frustration. Jin was right. We both had issues that could put the kids in danger.
"Lev," I said, looking over at Jin. "We can have them call Lev. He'd help."
"We'll figure out a plan and a backup plan. But we can do that later. Come on," Jin said, getting up and helping me up.
I let out a hiss of pain as my leg touched the ground. Jin let me throw my weight on him so I could stand.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Hot water helps, right? You lay in the bath until you can move again, and I'll make dinner." He helped me limp along, his hand on the small of my back. "It's not your fault, Kai. But it is your reality. Being thick-headed about it just puts them kids in a bad spot."
"I liked you better when you repressed everything and ignored all problems," I grumbled, but I knew that was a lie. He'd been so much better about talking things out over the years.
And we needed this. I was stubborn and he could be impassive, and neither of those things would protect our kids. We needed to be honest about our faults and make sure our kids were safe.
The kids peeked out at us and I sighed, gesturing them over. I hugged them to me, Jin keeping me steady.
"What do you want for dinner? Dad will make whatever you want," I said.
"Hey, I didn't agree to that. Don't speak for me," Jin said, lightly hitting my arm.
"How's your leg, daddy?" Hiro asked.
"It-" I stopped and looked at Jin before sighing. "It hurts, buddy. But I'll be okay if I take care of it."
There was a lot they'd learn from the two of us. I didn't want them to be afraid to ask for help or admit when they were hurt. But they were kids, and they would copy my examples.
"We're both getting there," Jin mumbled, pulling me a little closer to himself. "Stubborn ass husband."
"Emotionless ass husband," I said.
Jin helped me into the bathroom and left me to set up a hot bath as he took the kids out. I slipped my body into the water when the bath was ready, closing my eyes. I was glad I had Jin. As infuriating as he could be sometimes, we'd helped each other learn and grow. We'd pulled ourselves together for our kids, and when one of us started to slip, the other was right there to pull them back up and talk some sense into them. We weren't perfect, but we were doing our best, and that was all we could really do.
