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Sion loves Laundry Day. Which just happens to be on Fridays when he gets the day off from work. Another opportunity to have a peaceful time organising his and Yushi’s clothes, it somehow brings him contentment, so it was a little ritual of his. It’s the moment when an incoming video call pops up on his phone. «Little sister.» She only calls when she needs something, he thinks to himself, but picks up the phone.
“Oppa!” Her voice is cheerful as always and, judging by the background noise, she is probably in her car. “How is my favourite brother doing?”
“Quit playing, Seeun-ah,” Sion says, loading the final pieces of clothing into the washing machine. He stands up, making his way to the living room. “And I’m your only brother. What do you want?”
“I can’t call my brother when I miss him?” Sion just glares at the screen, waiting. “Okay, okay… I just need someone to look after Narin this weekend.”
“Am I some kind of free labour to you? And I have plans with Ushi.” Sion was relaxing on the couch, fidgeting the string of his hoodie in his hands. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to babysit Narin – she’s an adorable four-years-old – but he made a promise.
“Like what? Lazing around, binge-watching some shows? You literally see each other every day, I’m sure he will understand,” as soon as she finishes the last sentence, Yushi enters the room, standing in the doorframe. Before Sion could stop himself, he smiles in his direction, quickly returning to the call.
“Okay, whatever, I’ll call you later.” The call ends without his sister saying anything. His attention shifts back to Yushi.
“Hey,” Yushi smiles, suddenly looking so small. “Did anything happen?” he frowns a little, knitting his eyebrows in concern. The couch sinks under his weight when he joins Sion.
“Not really… It’s just my sister, she needs someone to watch her kid this weekend,” Sion explains, “And I said that we had plans, but she doesn’t listen, as always,” he looks apologetically at Yushi, gauging his reaction.
“Oh,” Yushi only says as Sion’s heart drops to his stomach. The last thing he ever wants is to disappoint Yushi, “It’s okay, really. We can visit that store next time. And I never got to meet Narin, I think it would be nice. And you might want extra help babysitting,” Yushi bursts in one breath and unexpectedly Sion is so adored by this side of him: thoughtful, understanding, always willing to share his burden.
“You want to help… with babysitting?” Sion chuckles at the thought itself – in his eyes Yushi has always been the baby that needed to be looked after – but they’re not in high school anymore, and Yushi is not the shy kid who needs Sion’s protection, he supposes.
“Hey! I’m good with kids, you know!” Yushi looks almost offended, his lower lip pouting.
“Oh, is that so?” Sion’s teasing goes on and on, he’s laughing with his full chest now.
“They love me! Maybe you’re just scared Narin would like me more than you,” Yushi says with arms crossed, still trying to hold his ground despite the teasing.
“Okay-okay,” Sion pats Yushi’s head lightly. “Thank you. And you don’t have to do it, if you don’t want to, you know that, right?”
“I do,” Yushi confirms in his soft voice. “But with you, I don’t even need to force myself. I think I would agree to do the stupidest stuff with you, like joining a school talent show with zero stage experience.”
“We have already done that.” Sion shoots his eyebrow at the statement.
“See?” Yushi shrugs.
“And what do you mean the stupidest? We even got second place!” It’s Sion’s turn to be offended now.
“From the bottom. And other kids voted for you because you’re good-looking.” Even if Yushi is right, Sion, ever so stubborn, won’t admit that.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
“Here's clean clothes and diapers, here's her favourite toys, if anything happens, just call me, okay?” Seeun is relentless as she gets back into the car.
“Okay, okay, just go already, I’ve got everything under control!” Sion doesn't sound convincing to his sister, he assumes, but she just sighs and drives away from their parking lot, as Sion waves in her direction, holding Narin by her hand.
“Shall we go now, Narin-ah?” Narin nods once and they get up to their apartment.
Sion enters the door code. 05-04-04. They are met with a perfect smell of freshly washed clothes and detergent. Yushi isn't in the living room, so he’s probably in his own room. Sion places the bags by the closet and goes back to Narin.
“Narin-ah, are you hungry?” Sion says in a soft tone; he bends down, so his eyes are on the same level as her. “Or shall we play a little? What do you think?”
“I want to play with Sionie-samchon!” Narin jumps to hug Sion by his neck, and he lifts her up. “Sionie-samchon is so strong!” The room is filled with pure child happiness and laughter.
After playing for a while, Sion goes to check on Yushi, because he hasn't come out of his room once after his return. Sion is worried, since Yushi promised to help him. It’s not like he is obligated to, but still… Still, he hopes they could spend some time together after cancelling their plans to go to the vinyl store Yushi told him about. Or maybe Yushi is upset about this whole thing, and doesn't want to see him? Before his overthinking brain made him turn around, he takes a step towards Yushi’s door.
Three light knocks. A secret code they agreed on when Yushi moved in. It was a little silly, since there were only two of them, and Yushi stopped using it after the first year, but it was something Sion didn’t want to let go of – something that was only theirs. Yushi gave up on trying to make Sion change his mind about it, as he insisted it was to respect Yushi’s privacy. But Sion was always welcomed in Yushi’s personal space, just like this time.
“Hey,” Yushi’s fluffy, unstyled hair peeks out of the doorframe first.
“Hi,” Sion softens upon seeing Yushi in his unguarded state. “Are you feeling unwell? You haven’t come out in a while,” he says, his voice quieter than usual.
“Yeah, m’fine,” Yushi rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, “I think I juss feel asleep while playing on my phone. Didn’t hear you coming back,” It’s clear that Yushi just woke up from a nap. At least he isn't sulking.
“Okay. It’s dinner time soon. Do you want something in particular?” Even if Yushi is sulking, the best way to win his forgiveness is food.
“Anythin’s fine,” Yushi is still hazed from his sleep. “I’ll join later, need to freshen up.”
“Okay,” Sion’s gaze lingers a little longer on Yushi.
He goes back to Narin and starts preparing dinner – chicken soup and fried rice with some side dishes. Sion serves everything on the table, not forgetting a mug of fresh water for Yushi. For someone who insists on hating water, Sion cares too much about Yushi staying hydrated. He calls for Yushi one more time, before sitting down and helping Narin to get her food. It takes a couple of minutes for Yushi to get out of the bathroom, his hair still wet after showering.
“Thanks,” Yushi takes his mug with tulips design on it and sips some water. “You should drink more water, too.” Yushi got matching mugs for them in order to motivate Sion to drink more water, but he rarely uses it, sticking to his usual fizzy drinks.
“I’ll try,” Sion just laughs it off. “Stop nagging and just eat. Here, this one turned out nicely.” Sion puts some food on Yushi’s plate. Yushi likes Sion’s fried rice, so he tries making it more often, adding kimchi into his serving.
An hour flies by in quiet conversations as Yushi has a chance to ask more about Narin and Sion’s family in general. It's not like Sion wasn't going to tell everything willingly.
“I will clean up everything here, you should rest a bit,” Yushi stands up from the table, and starts gathering cutlery to place it in the sink.
“We can help, right, Narin-ah? And then we will play together,” Sion doesn't want to leave Yushi alone as he is used to doing even mundane tasks together.
“Yes!” Narin cheers, “I’m a big girl now!” She takes one plate and walks towards Yushi, handing it to him.
“Just be careful,” Sion says, taking the remaining plates.
Yushi washes all the dishes, while Sion is wiping them dry and places them back into the cabinets. Yushi is humming his favourite song, the one he has been singing for a few days now like a jukebox, and Sion closes his eyes for a moment, dissolving in this comforting, peaceful feeling. He ignores the way his heart thumps every time their fingers brush when Yushi hands him clean plates.
“It's getting late. Narin-ah, shall we get ready to go to bed?” Sion lifts up Narin, but she doesn't answer, just keeps rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. He is thankful he doesn't have to fight for his life when it comes to sleeping time.
Making sure Narin is asleep, Sion quietly leaves the room, and finds Yushi lazily plastered on the living room couch.
“Hey,” he smiles in Yushi’s direction. “Exhausting, right?”
“Not at all,” Yushi shrugs. “And you're doing all the hard parts anyway. I’ll be more helpful tomorrow.”
“You don't have to be helpful. You can help by just staying around, I enjoy your company, you know,” Sion mutters, flopping next to Yushi. “I guess you're not going to sleep yet. Are you down to watching something?”
“Mhm,” Yushi shrugs one more time. “But you pick.”
“You say that all the time!” Sion jokingly complains.
“I trust you. It never fails me,” Yushi nudges Sion’s side with his elbow, making him ticklish.
“You're unbelievable,” Sion says but he is already searching for the movie he’d been wanting to watch for a while now. They end up sleeping on the couch, curled together after watching a movie till 2am.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
Sion wakes up earlier than both Yushi and Narin. Yushi is still curled up next to him, sleeping peacefully. Sion brushes away damp hair from his forehead, tucking it carefully behind his ear, afraid of waking him up. He noticed Yushi is cuddling himself – he was always sensitive to cold – so he brings a blanket from his room, and looks at him one more time before getting to start his day, as he still has his babysitting duties.
They spent their breakfast just like their dinner last night. Sion made scrambled eggs with fruit salad, they chatted a lot, trying to act like Narin's parents, and then Yushi and Sion made dishes, occasionally brushing against each other and humming their favourite songs together, while Narin watched cartoons in the living room.
“By the way,” Yushi says as he’s placing the last plates into the cabinet, “The dish soap is running out.”
“Oh, I know,” Sion interrupts him. It seems like Yushi was going to say something else, but it’s a bad habit Sion always blames himself for. “I already ordered the new ones, and I saw some of your stuff was running out too, so I ordered it as well.”
“Oh… Thank you,” there’s a surprised expression written on Yushi's face, but it isn't that big of a deal for Sion, it’s easier this way to order everything in one go.
They decide to go to a park to get some fresh air away from their apartment. There are a bunch of moms with their kids, so their trio is noticeable among the crowd. Narin plays around, laughing joyfully with other kids, while Sion and Yushi sit on the bench near them.
“These moms are looking at us all the time, do you think they're judging us?” Yushi suddenly says, filling the stretching silence.
“I don't think they care. Maybe your handsomeness is what gets their attention,” Sion shrugs, playfully nudging Yushi's side.
“Don't be ridiculous!” Yushi would’ve probably hit him for his remark if it wasn't for all the people around.
“What? Am I lying?” Sion gets serious for a moment before going back into his teasing mode. It’s a war Yushi can’t win against him, so he just has to accept the way he is. “Ugh,” Sion yawns dramatically, “I suddenly miss the comfort of our lovely couch, let's head back home.”
“Already?” Yushi is taken aback for a second. “Are you sure?” Sion will never force Yushi in uncomfortable situations, so if this is one of them, he feels like he needs to fix it.
“Yeah,” At this point, it’s just an excuse. Did Yushi figure that out too? But he doesn't say anything. “Maybe I got old,” Sion jokes it off and calls for Narin to get back.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
“I think we still have the crayons I got back in high school,” Sion looks for them in the drawers. “Narin-ah, do you want to draw?”
“Yes!” The kid gets really happy at the idea, and not realising it, Sion and Yushi are smiling from ear to ear themselves.
The three of them sit at the table plastered with colourful crayons. Narin scribbles everything very diligently: a tree, a squirrel, a seal, a croissant? Suddenly. She explains that mom loves eating bread before work.
Then, Yushi gets an idea that he didn't share with Sion; they’re whispering and giggling, not showing it to him until it’s finished. What is it now? Anticipation is eating Sion alive and, finally, when Narin's art work is done, she proudly presents to Sion her portrait of him: a cow.
A purple cow holding a tulip between its teeth.
And it’s all accompanied by Yushi's ringing laughter. Sion can’t even be mad when the drawing is so cute and Yushi is so cute.
They end up sticking it to the fridge for everyone who would enter their apartment to see.
“Alright, kids! What do you want for lunch?” Sion stands with hands on hips, deep in thought.
“Am I a kid now too?” Yushi sulks at him, so cute; maybe he still is a baby to Sion, after everything.
“After today, I'm getting convinced about it,” Sion smiles at him warmly, trying to dissolve the frown on his face. “But don't say ramen again, you should eat proper meals sometimes too.” Now it's Sion's turn to nag.
“Says the guy who eats sweets all the time and drinks soda as if it was water,” Yushi counters, rolling his eyes.
“Hey, not fair!” Sion playfully hits Yushi's butt. “Alright, we're going to eat rice with beef and vegetables and drink lots of water!” At least, they should set a good example for Narin, he considers at the end.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
“Now!” Narin exclaims after they have lunch. “It's time for Narinie's beauty salon to open!”
“What?” Sion and Yushi start exchanging glances as if this is a sitcom episode.
“Why would Seeun even pack a kids make-up kit? She knew what she was doing,” Sion sighs, complaining to Yushi yet still surrendering to Narin's antics. He knows Yushi doesn’t like all that sticky story on his face, and after all he’s the one to fulfill the babysitting duty. And it isn’t this bad. Really.
While Narin’s doing the princess make-up for Sion, Yushi keeps switching between empathetic looks and shameless giggles. And Sion could bet he sees him snapping pictures of him. Sion couldn't blame him, if it was anyone else, Sion would have probably teased them nonstop. Maybe it’s his reckoning.
When the make-up’s done, Yushi takes one more picture – with princess wand, tiara and everything. Sion, smiling too sweetly to the camera, makes a mental note to get rid of the princess-themed stuff. Or to turn Yushi into the next victim.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
“It's time to get ready to sleep,” Sion says after dinner.
“No-o! I don't want to sleep,” Narin opposes. “When I wake up, I will already have to go, and I don't want to leave Sionie-samchon and Yushi-samchon…” She seems genuinely upset and it somehow warms Sion's heart.
“Alright, how about this? We will make a fort out of pillows and blankets, play for a little and sleep right there?” Sion finds a compromise in order not to end up making a kid cry.
“So fun! I love this idea!” Narin is cheerful again really fast – Sion always knows how to make kids happy.
They bring pillows, blankets and lights from the bedroom and start building a fort. Yushi is really serious about it, calculating the best angles so it will stand longer. When they’re finished, it looks perfect – like it came straight out of the fairytales – very cosy and pretty with the star-shaped lights shining through.
“Let's play!” Narin starts jumping happily with Yushi; such an adoring view. Sion wishes he could keep this moment in his memory forever.
Then Yushi picks Narin up and starts circling around, joy flooding over them. Opposite to their delight, Sion's face expresses something else – he gets terrified, for both Narin and Yushi.
“Yushi, wait–” He couldn't hear him because of cheers and laughter, “She has motion sickness–” Too late. Suddenly, Narin is throwing up. Right on Yushi's clothes.
“Oh. My. God.” Sion can see panic plastered on Yushi's face, not knowing what to do and where to put Narin.
“Ushi, it's okay,” Sion steps closer and takes Narin from his arms. Seems like she wasn't affected that much, but he still makes sure she’s alright, cleaning up and giving her fresh water. “Wait here, Narin-ah, okay?” A short nod. Yushi’s still frozen in place.
“Ushi, let's go,” Sion grabs his hand and guides him to the bathroom. He tries not to dwell on the warm feeling from the touch, focusing on what's happening around.
“Do you hate me now?” Yushi's eyes are glued to the floor.
“What? Of course not! You didn't know, it could have happened to anyone,” Sion tries to reassure Yushi.
“I lied. About being good with kids. I never tried babysitting and just wanted to hang out more with you. And instead my selfishness caused even more trouble,” Yushi seems like he’s about to start sobbing and Sion knows he has to do something.
“Ushi-ya, look at me. Look at me,” he grabs his face with both hands, holding him in place. “You did nothing wrong. Narin probably forgot what happened already. And I'm ready to deal with as many problems if I'm with you,” Yushi seems to calm down. “These two days were really fun, and all thanks to your presence. So don't worry about it, okay?”
“Okay…” Yushi still looks anywhere but Sion, and Sion can't tell if it’s out of guilt or something else.
“Now, lift your arms, please?” Sion's voice is as steady as ever.
“What?!” Yushi's face tinges red.
“We still need to change your shirt, remember?” Sion explains.
“Oh, right,” Yushi sounds somehow disappointed, but he still is embarrassed. “I can do it myself.”
“Okay, I'll go grab a clean one from your room. I'll hang it on the door handle.”
Sion is with Narin when Yushi comes back from the bathroom.
“Is everything alright?” Sion’s still worried.
“Yes, don't worry about me.” Yushi is… avoiding Sion's gaze? Sion knows eye contact isn’t Yushi's strongest ability, but even this feels somewhat new.
“Narin-ah, are you ready to sleep now?” Sion asks in a soft voice.
“Yes! I want to sleep next to Yushi-samchon!” She lies next to Yushi, hugging him by the arms. He has no escape now, and Sion smiles at him in a “nothing-I-can-do” way. After some time passes, Yushi falls asleep with Narin in his arms. They look so peaceful, Sion can’t help it and takes a picture of them – a little revenge. Then Sion falls asleep too.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
“Thank you, oppa and Yushi, I really owe you for looking after Narin,” Seeun’s holding Narin’s hand, the bags already loaded into the car. “And sorry about your plans.”
“It's alright, we’ve had a fun time, haven't we, Narin-ah?” Yushi says with a gentle smile, patting Narin’s head.
“Yes! I already want to play with samchons again!” Such a cute kid, Sion thinks to himself, how can she be his sister’s daughter? There had to be a mistake.
“You should come over sometimes, or we can hang out somewhere else, like arcades,” Sion suggests, which gets him a look from Yushi.
“Do you think only about games, hyung?” Yushi teases. Well, not only.
“Oppa, aren't you too grown for arcades?” Seeun joins him; they both laugh, but there isn’t spite in their words.
“I swear to god, you two should never meet, all you do is make fun of me!” Sion isn’t better than a kid now, but he needs to protect his image. “And you should be grateful I’m willing to look after Narin.”
“Sorry, my one and only precious brother, I appreciate your kindness and hard work,” Seeun says exaggeratedly on purpose, which annoys Sion even more.
“Will Yushi-samchon come too?” Narin asks with hope in her voice. Maybe Yushi’s words about kids loving him weren't a complete lie, after all.
“I would love to,” Yushi smiles sweetly. Somehow, his smile starts affecting Sion differently. He can’t pinpoint it, but it echoes with something warm and familiar in his ribs.
“Yippee!” Narin starts jumping and clapping.
“Don't get too excited, the time hasn't come yet,” Seeun tells her, then turns back to Sion and Yushi, as they’re still standing in the parking lot. “We’ll get going now, thank you once again.”
“Bye-bye!” Narin waves to them happily.
“Be careful on the road,” Sion says, and they go back to their apartment.
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
“Let's clean everything up here,” Even if he won't admit that, Sion is pretty exhausted after these couple of days, so he wants to bring their apartment to its previous state and finally get some rest.
“Why? We made so much effort to build this fort and it turned out prettily,” Sion can hear Yushi pouting even when his back is turned to him.
“Do you want to play in it?” Sion chuckles, “Just like we did when we were kids, huh?” Nostalgic memories flash in his mind. The times when nothing else mattered, except their own little bubble.
“Remember how we used to build forts, just like this one?” Yushi sits under the fort's roof, turning the star-shaped lights on, “We would stay up all night, sharing made-up stories or secrets, trying not to wake up our parents with our laughter,” His voice gets quieter.
“Do you miss those times?” Sion sits next to Yushi, looking into his eyes. They glow prettier than the lights surrounding them.
“Why would I? When you're still here with me,” Yushi sounds serious. A sudden realisation hits Sion: he hasn’t even considered the possibility of separating with Yushi. It was always two of them. When two years ago Yushi had to move in with him because of financial problems, Sion took it as a sign. It felt like the most natural thing in the world: they fell into each other's rhythms immediately, as if it was supposed to be only this way.
“Then why are you reminiscing about those times all of a sudden?” Yushi’s thinking deeply about something – Sion has never seen him like that. Maybe when he stands in front of the ramen section, not being able to decide which one to get. But this one seems like an even more serious matter than ramen.
“I have… One more secret to share.” Yushi decisively looks him in the eyes. Is it..? No, there's no way Yushi could feel about him this way. But what if..? Yushi is probably waiting for Sion's reaction, but his thoughts are spiraling about what Yushi might say next, “Hyung? Are you with me?” He starts waving his hand in front of Sion's face.
“Oh. Sorry, I blanked out. What do you want to share with hyung?” The sudden slip of third person speech, an old habit making itself known in most critical moments.
“I think I like hyung,” Oh. “And not as a friend,” Oh. Sion knew it was coming. But why now?! He can’t even form proper words.
“You do the talking part all the time, so let me make up for it,” Yushi holds Sion's hands in his, but this warm feeling is welcomed now. Their fingers intertwining with practiced ease. “I like you. I think it has always been this way – it's impossible not to like hyung. The way you always know which words to say… The way you're always so kind and warmhearted. And I was worried you wouldn't want to be with someone like me, so I thought it would be easier to keep just being friends.” Sion thought so, too. Even in something like this, they act the same way.
“But the more time passed, the more I realised it wasn't enough anymore.” Yushi takes a deep breath, “I want to stay by your side and joke around, I want to take care of you when you need it and do the chores together, I want to sleep and wake up next to you, sharing your warmth… Damn it!” Yushi's frustration surprises Sion, his hair disarranging in every direction, his lips bitten from nervousness. Perhaps, even Yushi can stress about things sometimes, “Hyung, I just want you. And nothing else.”
“Ushi…” Sion feels like he will explode if Yushi keeps on saying this nonsense. Before he could think of it better, his body moves on its own. He leans into Yushi, and getting the right signal from him, he finally closes the taunting gap between them.
Kissing Yushi is exactly how he imagined: it’s soft and sweet – it’s better than fizzy drinks. And it feels just right. Call it cliché, but in that moment Sion feels like they were made for each other. No, he knows that by heart. This person in his arms is his, just like Sion belongs to him.
Yushi clinges to him like a newborn kitten, not rushing to detach. Sion wants to look at him one more time.
“Hyung, your eyes are so round, like boba pearls. Just an observation,” Sion can’t hold it in anymore and laughes out loud.
“What? Are you hungry?” Sion starts patting Yushi's head, untangling his curls, “You did great,” He feels bad for making him stress out so much for the past few days, “I like you too, Ushi-ya, more than you could imagine.”
“Hyung, this is not a competition of who loves who more!” Yushi starts pouting, but Sion can only be adored by his antics.
“Maybe for you. After your confession I'm losing by 0-1. I should hurry and do something.” But he says it half-heartedly – he can't be childish forever – even if his feelings for Yushi make him feel like a young boy again.
“I was right, you only think about games all the time!” Yushi playfully hits his shoulder. “If you want to be my boyfriend, you should get serious about it.” Yushi drops it casually, but his words make something tingle in Sion’s chest.
A boyfriend…
That would be nice.