Ponytail princess
“How about Changmin?”
Jaejoong snorted. “No way I’m letting your brother babysit our daughter in that dusty apartment of his.”
“Hey, it’s not that bad.”
“Are you kidding me? It looks like he cremated someone in there.”
Yunho ran his fingers through his hair, smiling at his yawning daughter sitting half-asleep on the floor. Their little girl, Eun Hee, had just turned four and she was by all means a handful.
“Binky,” she said firmly.
“No, you’ll get your binky when it’s time to sleep, you-”
“Binky.”
Yunho shook his head, “No binky-“
“Binky.”
“No-”
“Binky.”
Jaejoong sighed, picking her up despite her attempting to wiggle out of his arms “Honey, listen to daddy, okay? Be a good girl.”
“No, thank you.”
Did the young parents just get some attitude from their 4 year old? Why yes they did.
“And you wonder why it’s difficult to find her a babysitter. Come on, just let Changmin do it. He can come over and you and I can go out to dinner. It’s been ages since we last went on a date.”
“I don’t know… I strongly suspect he bribes her with ice cream.”
“No, that’s me. I do that.”
Jaejoong hated leaving their little girl, even if it was just for a few minutes, but he had to admit Changmin was really good with kids, and Eun Hee loved him.
“Fine.”
20 minutes later, they could hear Changmin’s rusty old car pulling up in the driveway. Yunho’s brother was a rather... special human being. Kind to the core, but… special.
He barged through the front door, sporting a rather filthy looking fur coat.
“But shit, it was 99 cents!”
Yunho hid his face in his hands, wishing his brother could just be normal, for just one fucking day. Well, at least he was a funny character. That was something.
“Changmin, take that thing off. You look like Hagrid.”
“Swagrid,” he replied, sauntering into the living room.
Jaejoong had always liked Yunho’s brother. He was lively, funny, easygoing and very social. He knew deep down Yunho was a tiny bit jealous of how everyone seemed to like his brother, no matter what.
“So, where is my little munchkin?”
“Uncle Chang!” Eun Hee screamed, running towards him and nearly tripping over her toys in the process.
“Hi, princess! How are you? You and I are going to have so much fun. Hey, I brought something for you.”
Jaejoong smiled, feeling warmth spreading through his chest. Every time Changmin visited, he brought a book for his niece. She got just as excited every time.
“Look at this, sweetie. Can you tell me the name of the animal on the cover?”
The little girl cocked her head to the side, trying to remember the name of the green creature on the book cover. She turned around, silently asking her parents for some clues while chewing on her ponytail.
“Cater…” Yunho whispered.
“Caterpillar!” she answered, rather proudly.
“Yes! This is a book about a very very hungry caterpillar,” her uncle explained. She laughed and quickly dragged him over to the couch.
“Read,” she said cutely.
Eun Hee was totally into the story when Jaejoong felt hands sneaking around his waist. “It looks like everything is under control here. Why don’t you go get ready?”
He bit his lip, seeing how happy and cheerful his daughter was made him not want to ever set foot outside the house. He loved to hear her laugh, watching her and Yunho play, watching how proud she got when she accomplished something on her own for the very first time. He never wanted to miss a single moment.
“Jae?”
The raven smiled, squeezing the strong arms around his waist. “Why can’t we just order some takeout?”
“I thought you wanted to go out?”
“I do. Just not tonight. I mean, look at her. She’s so perfect, isn’t she?”
“She is. You know, Jae, without you and Eun Hee, my house would be clean, my wallet would be full, but my heart would be empty. “
Jaejoong laughed, nodding in agreement.
So they decided to order takeout and stay home with their precious little daughter instead. And Changmin.
The evening was filled with laughter, happiness and love. They all knew one should never take a moment spent with family for granted.
As night fell, Jaejoong carried a sleepy little girl upstairs and into the princess like room. Safely tucked in bed, Yunho sat down next to her, and poked her nose, then her cheeks while singing, “twinkle twinkle little star, do you know how loved you are?”
The little girl hugged her binky tight, her eyes feeling heavier by the second.
He gave her a kiss on the forehead before turning off the pink nightlight.
Once inside their own master bedroom, Yunho cupped Jaejoong’s face in his hands. “Twinkle twinkle little star, do you know how loved you are?”
Jaejoong blushed, “yes, I do,” he whispered before leaning in for a sweet kiss.