dad jokes //// sulay

thirty-eight.

"this one or that one, annie?" sehun asked anson, holding up two outfits. anson had woken up extra early to help sehun pick out junmyeon's outfit for the celebrity party.

"hmm.... mommy would look pretty in that one," anson said, pointing to the first outfit sehun was holding up. sehun smiled, looking at it.

"yeah, i thought so too," sehun nodded, "alright, annie, i'm gonna take you to school today because your mom had a lot of work to do today before the party and so he had to leave early, okay?"

"oh, okay. but we need to-"

"pick up jaemin, i know. i also need to pack you both lunch," sehun said, "thank god we have an hour before i need to get you out of here. change quickly and then you can help me pack it, alright?"

"okay," anson said, already beginning to change. once he was finished, sehun helped him with his hair like he did every morning. anson put his homework in his backpack, then looking to sehun expectantly.

"come on, kid," sehun said. that didn't even take ten minutes. anson grabbed his phone from its charger, pocketing it before grabbing onto sehun's hand.

"uncle hunnie, do you think i made my mommy sad?" anson asked.

"what do you mean?" sehun asked the five year old, picking him up and setting him on the counter.

"well, i asked him to tell me about my dad the other day, and he did, but i think i made him sad," anson frowned, "i didn't mean to."

"oh, no, honey, he wasn't mad at you or sad. your father was always a sensitive subject for him," sehun said, "really, it had nothing to do with you."

"oh, okay," anson smiled, "that makes me feel better."

"yeah, no worries," sehun said, walking to the fridge, "what does your mom usually put in your lunch?"

"really yummy stuff. he puts heat packs to keep them warm," anson smiled, "it's something new everyday."

"so like, fruit and stuff?" sehun asked, "cause i don't cook."

"that works too," anson nodded, "he normally puts a smiley face on the bag."

"i'll put in a soda for you," sehun compromised. anson grinned.

"i can live without a smiley face."

"thought so," sehun nodded, "sprite or coke?"

"do we have dr. pepper? jaeminnie likes dr. pepper," anson said. sehun nodded, pulling two cans out and placing them on the counter.

"so, tell me kid, who're the dickheads who've been pushing you around at school?" sehun asked.

"momma told you about that, huh?" jaemin asked, "it's not really a big deal, uncle hunnie. they just glare at me and pretend to bump into me accidentally when it's on purpose. they're petty, and i could probably take any one of them."

"you're damn right you could," sehun said, "i put you in hapkido, boxing, and taekwondo since you were three for a reason."

"speaking of which, the teacher said i can get my green belt soon for taekwondo," anson said. sehun gave him a high five.

"that's my boy," sehun said, winking at anson.

"but it's not like i can fight them. mommy said fights are bad," anson said.

"okay, well, your mom doesn't go with you to school, so he can't stop you," sehun said, "besides, if those boys are pushing you around at school, i give you my full permission to fight them. so you can blame me if your mom gets mad at you."

"really?" anson smiled, "okay, thanks, uncle hunnie!"

"sure kid," sehun nodded, "so, what kind of fruit do you like? no grapes, i know."

"hmm.... jaeminnie likes oranges but i like apples," anson said, "and cucumbers. and strawberries, grapefruit, and if you look in there you'll find some pomegranate seeds."

"you both eat a lot," sehun commented, "no wonder you're growing so tall."

"i'm second tallest in my class," anson said proudly.

"second tallest? who's the first?" sehun asked.

"aero," anson said with distaste, "but it's alright, since jaeminnie said he still likes me."

sehun choked on his spit, coughing violently.

"you wanna tell me what happened there?" sehun asked.

"well, my mom was teasing me about that maybe jaemin wouldn't like me anymore cause now this aero guy is taller than i am," anson frowned, "so i called him, told him to choose, and he told me he likes me."

"and you? do you like him?" sehun asked.

"duh," anson said, "but yeah, i'm second tallest."

"well, you'll be tallest in no time. your dad was super tall, even taller than me. in fact, you'll probably grow to be as tall as him," sehun said.

"was he as tall as zhang yixing? cause he's 6'3 and i hope i get to be that tall one day," anson said.

"yeah, he was just as tall," sehun said, keeping his sarcastic remark of 'cause zhang yixing is your dad' to himself.

"that's cool," anson nodded, "was he funny, uncle hunnie?"

"yeah. made a lot of dad jokes, junmyeon loves those," sehun said, "and he always had a way of saying just the right type of sarcastic remark at exactly the right time, so he was always funny and never rude. was great at picking his moments."

"that's cool," anson nodded, "uncle hunnie, he and my mom were in love, right?"

"of course, why?" sehun asked.

"cause i've been thinking, how much could they actually love each other if they ended up separate anyways?"

"kiddo, your mom and dad broke up for professional reasons, not because they didn't love each other," sehun said, "they're were so in love that other couples were jealous of them. heck, they were so in love that even married couples didn't hold a torch to their type of love. it's awful that they broke up, annie, but sometimes love just isn't enough."

"that's a scary thing to say," anson said. sehun frowned, cutting up fruit and putting it in small containers.

"what is?" sehun asked.

"sometimes love just isn't enough. that's a scary thing to say. most people bother with life just for the chance to find love. isn't that terrifying? i mean, one day you're in love and the next you're not even talking? how can love not be enough if love is all some people have?"

sehun sighed, running a hand through his hair. he looked at anson, who was sitting there glumly. but sehun never believed in lying to make other people feel better, even if he did love them. anson needed the truth.

"anson, that's how the world works. it's sucks. it's not fair, and it's definitely not nice."

"do you think... do you think maybe that if i was never born, my mom and dad would still be together? still be happy?" anson's voice cracked. sehun's heart broke, staring at the boy who he helped raise.

"you shouldn't talk or think like that. your mother and father may not be together, which sucks, but your mother got something out of that relationship that he loves way more than he loved your dad."

"what?" anson asked, looking up at sehun. uncle hunnie always knew what to say to make everything better, even if he normally was grumpy and outrageously honest. sehun moves anson's hair out of his eyes, smiling at his godson.

"you."