daddy's babysitter | yuwin

9 Years

Scene 15
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Nakamoto Mansion
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"Dad, I can't do this," Rin whined as he nervously shook his hands. His black hair had grown out in soft waves and was now covering his frantic eyes.

"Yes, you can. Just man up and get some." Yuta winked playfully as Rin groaned in annoyance. His cheeks were dusted with freckles and a light pink due to his father's suggestive comment.

"Mom, any actual advice?" Rin asked, turning towards Sicheng who was calmly reading as he listened to the madness unfold. His legs were tucked gracefully under him on the couch as he flipped another page.

"Honey, you've liked this kid since you were five. It's cliche, but be yourself. He obviously fell for you, even through your awkward puberty stage, so it's basically impossible to scare him off now." Rin nodded and calmed his shaking hands.

"Thanks, Mommy." Sicheng was surprised when Rin leaned over the couch to give him a hug. It had been a while since he'd shown any affection for his parents, not that it was intentional, but he had been so busy with school and his crush, Haru.

"You guys mean the world to me," Rin whispered, hugging Sicheng tighter. Sicheng blamed the nerves about his first date for his sudden affection, but deep down he knew Rin was seeking comfort. As he grew up he tended to do that. He would become very anxious over a situation and rely on hugs or some form of physical contact with something special. Sicheng would find him absentmindedly playing with Coon as he sat in large piles of homework stacked on his bed, or when the family was waiting for the court's approval of Sicheng's adoption.

"You mean the universe to me," Sicheng whispered back. "Now go have fun, get a boyfriend." He shooed Rin away, resuming his place in his Stephen King novel and fighting the tears threatening to fall. Yuta fist-bumped his son before shoving him out the door.

"Use protection!" He yelled after Rin. Sicheng slapped his arm, scowling at his husband's immaturity.

"Yuta, he's fourteen, Jesus Christ."

"And? Shouldn't every age use protection?"

Sicheng rolled his eyes.

"You know what I meant."

The room went silent as Sicheng was once again absorbed into the wonderful world of Pet Semetary. Yuta was getting bored watching Sicheng read, the man was obviously pretty, but Yuta was hyper and he needed to release his energy. Acting purely on impulse, he snatched the book, not expecting the perilous chase that came after. Yuta hopped over the dinner table, through the hallways, and landed with a thud on the couch. Sicheng landed on top of him, still trying to reach the book just out of his grasp.

"This seems oddly familiar doesn't it?" Yuta panted. Sicheng glanced down at their position, he was straddling Yuta on the couch, sitting right on his sensitive spots. Sicheng smiled at the memory of when he first ended up in this exact spot before coughing awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, it really does."

Yuta smiled at his husband's dorky nature.

"Cutie," he cooed, almost as if he was talking to a child. Sicheng looked at him with disgust.

"I need to wash that awful word off my body." He stood, dusting off his skinny jeans. "If you hurt my book, I will literally rip your hair out." He threatened before walking towards the bathroom. Yuta heard the shower start and his boredom resumed. He gazed around the large room, inspecting every detail of the familiar house. It would never compare to the old one, that's for sure, but it still held memories that they all treasured. He looked into the kitchen, remembering the day a little Rin had made Yuta the ugliest flower crown in the world, but to him, it had been beautiful. He walked down the hallway, stopping at his bedroom doorway and staring at the place he had asked Sicheng to marry him, dinosaur tattoo and all. He continued down the corridor, the water in the shower being the only sound in the house before he stumbled across Sichengs dance studio, the place where he had fallen so much more in love with Sicheng. He walked away from the memories only stopping when he reached the long hallway he had come down, the place that held memories far more special than any room.

Yuta gazed around the now-crowded hallway, admiring all the new pictures that had been added to the wall. The one where they went skiing and Sicheng had fallen off the ski lift. Rin's 13th birthday, his face covered with cake and a loving pair of lips on his cheek, who belonged to none other than Haru. Sicheng's adoption papers for Rin were framed proudly on the wall, both names intact and not scribbled out. Yuta sighed in contentment as the happy memories continued to flow through his mind.

"Is the wall that interesting?" Sicheng asked, leaning against the wall and looking where Yuta was. He was as beautiful as the day Yuta had met him. His black hair was still as dark as midnight, with no grey peeking through, no wrinkles adorned his flawless features and his body was one of a hard-working dancer. After Sicheng graduated college he opened his own dance studio in town. He currently mentored about six kids, all of whom he says are hopelessly in love with each other. Sometimes he'd come home raving about the development in the Chensung relationship, or Jeno and Jaemin. Yuta had no idea who these people even were, but he listened intently and even inputted some of his own advice.

"That hurt like a bitch," Sicheng cursed as he looked at the skiing pictures. Yuta laughed and grabbed Sicheng's arm, pulling him closer. Sicheng winced. Even if the cuts had turned to scars, the memories burned bright in his mind.

"I'm sorry, love," Yuta apologized as he noticed Sicheng's discomfort. The man nodded and tried to draw his arm back.

"You know I love you and all your scars, right?" Yuta began, rubbing his thumb gently over the ragged white lines. It calmed Sicheng down somehow to see someone not disgusted by what he's done. "Nobody likes normal, and these are what make you unique and special. You wouldn't be Sicheng without everything that happened to you, so be proud of them. Be proud that you fought and won to depression. No one makes it out of war unscarred, but at least they make it out."

Sicheng nodded and allowed Yuta to intertwine their hands. The two looked back at the pictures filling the wall, each reminiscing, both with a different perspective, but sharing the same amount of love for everyone in the picture. Sicheng, Yuta and Rin were a family, legally and mentally, and they didn't need papers to tell them that.

Sicheng's eyes caught a picture hiding in the shadows of a large portrait. It was of Rin, every year since Sicheng had arrived, on his birthday. He had the same goofy grin on his face, same caring heart, and the same precious oblivion to the world around him. But each year, the picture got wider, more people came, more friends of Rin and Sicheng finally realized how far they had really come. From one disastrous fourth birthday to his most recent 14th birthday.

"We made it, didn't we?" Sicheng asked with a smile.

"Yeah, we made it."