✧ paris ✧ discussion

Leo and Bae reside in this particular, small, town home


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Bae

Leo




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Leo turned the page of his daily planner, he was going to pick up shifts at the café. There was no way that working four days a week would pay the bills. It would be hard considering he was going to college at the same time, Leo had plans to become a lawyer, eventually. His parents had wanted nothing but that since the day he was born. Things had become... difficult after his son had been born, Bae. Leo not only had college, but he was supposed to be finding a new intern program at a prestige law firm sometime in-between everything else going on in his life. A long, drawn out sigh escaped Leo. He had thought that moving from South Korea to Paris would make things better for he and his two, almost three, year old son. They'd been in the city for a whole whopping month, and things had only become harder, not easier, for the small, young family. Leaving his parents behind, and essentially his sons mother, had been harder than he thought it would be.

But Paris offered a better college, as well as a new culture for his son to be introduced to. He would learn Korean, English, and French. Things would have to change though, and soon, because Bae wouldn't be happy with his daddy being taken from him for even longer each day. Perhaps he could find a paid internship? Leo opened up a new tab on his laptop, which was laying on his mussed bed, his fingers were flying over the keyboard when he thought he heard a small voice down the hall. "Bae?" He called out, shutting the laptop, and waiting to see if a little person would come rushing towards his room. Bae's room was only a few feet down the hall from his, and they shared a large bathroom. The town house was fairly small, but it had two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living area, that was what mattered. Plus there was a park right across from the street, so not having a yard didn't really effect them much.

Bae had been taking a nap in his room, something rarely done but he'd actually fallen asleep while playing with his toys. He woke up and yawned, sitting up from where he'd faceplanted into a pile of stuffed animals and scrubbing at his eyes. "Appa?" he said, looking for his daddy as he pushed himself up onto his feet. He heard his name called out from the other bedroom and he grinned, dashing towards the other bedroom as fast as his chubby legs could take him. "APPA!" he cheered, bouncing when he saw him and grabbing onto the blanket to haul himself up onto the bed. He crawled on the bed and tackled him in a hug, giggling all the while. "Saranghaeyo!" he said, proceeding to kiss his daddy repeatedly on the face and giggle. "Appa, I has drink?" he asked after he stopped kissing him, leaning back to stare into his face, both his hands squishing Leo's cheeks. He loved the smoothies that his daddy would make for him, as well as anything that involved his daddy really, with the only exception being when he was working.

Cars going by could be barely heard inside the town house, the street outside was fairly busy since they were located in the middle of Paris. But there was a black, steel gate between their home and the street, so Leo hadn't seen a problem with the location, and it put him right in the middle of everything. So no need for a car, which was good, since in Seoul they'd used public transportation as well. The sound in the house coming from the street was almost muted, so the sound wasn't a problem either. He shook himself from his thoughts as a small form came running towards his bed, the chunk had a time getting up onto the bed, but once up, he was tackling Leo. The young dad wrapped his arms around his son, and hugged him as Bae spoke to him and messed with his cheeks. "Saranghaeyo Bae," He kissed Bae's soft, chubby cheek, and picked him up as he stood. Leo was wearing a pair of joggers, and a plain tee, he walked barefoot to the kitchen. Leo sat Bae down on the tiled countertop, and started grabbing fruits, and juice as he prepared a smoothie for his boy. "So, how was your nap? Did you get your room all cleaned up?" Bae had been in the midst of 'cleaning' his room, when he'd finally passed out. Leo knew the answer was no, but he asked anyway, reminding Bae of his responsibilities. He held back a smile as he watched Bae's expressions, it was so hard to look serious when his son was so adorable. Banana's were soon on a cutting board, along with a variety of fruit, Leo began chopping it all up, "Go ahead and pour some juice in the blender," Leo added, he nodded toward a jug of juice he'd placed strategically near Bae. It would probably end up being a messy task, but it was fun to involve Bae in the kitchen, and house duties.

While the initial move to the new location in Paris had not been an easy adjustment for Bae (the transition in time zones was the hardest and he was awful cranky for a while), he was finally starting to settle down and feel more at home. Though he did miss his grandma and grandpa, he knew that they left because it was important. Plus, there was a park nearby! Which meant lots of playing for Bae. He was still in his superman pajamas, having not wanted to change out of them this morning, and his hair was all mussed up from conking out in his stuffed animals. Bae giggled as he was picked up, wrapping his arms around him as he was carried to the countertop and singing something about dancing baby beenies. He watched as his daddy started to prepare a smoothie, then looked up at his face when he asked about his nap and the room he was supposed to be cleaning. He immediately looked guilty, because about two seconds into cleaning his room, he'd gotten distracted by playing with his toys and then fallen asleep with the room actually messier than when he started. "Um.....Bae tooked a nap before I cleaned rest way...." he said, thinking about the pile of toys in the middle of his room he'd woken up in, the toy cars scattered on the floor, and the dangerous minefield of lego pieces. Bae watched his daddy cutting up the fruit, wanting a piece but knowing better than to just grab at it. Leo had given him a stern lecture about how sharp knives were and how he could get a big owie from them, so he never got near them. He brightened when he said he could pour the juice and reached over to grab it in both hands, lifting it up and giggling as he poured it, giggling harder when some splashed out and got on his clothes and the counter. "I help daddy!" he said proudly, setting the jug back down with a solid thump that caused more of the liquid to slosh out. "I put fruit in too?" he asked, though he asked, it was likely he wanted to just eat a piece or two rather than dump it in the blender.

The guilty two year old almost did Leo in, he could barely handle his son looking so deflated. Leo was glad to see Bae's face light up again when he mentioned 'helping' him with the smoothie. The juice poured out of the pitcher quite fast, sending some of it sloshing over the side. Leo just chuckled, and didn't get upset at all, he slid Bae a few banana pieces, and a piece of apple. He knew that the little tike was just itching for a snack, not really into the whole process of actually making the smoothie. The moments of wanting to help daddy, and be around daddy wouldn't last forever, so Leo planned on savoring each and every moment him and Bae had like this. Leo carefully placed the knife in the sink, then began putting handfuls of cutup fruit into the blender. Once it had some added yogurt and Chia seeds, he put the top on, and started the machine up. He held his hand over the lid until it looked all smooth, then he turned it off, the contents went into a sippy cup, which was then handed to Bae. "Here ya go Bae," He lifted his son off of the counter, and placed him neatly on the floor. "Lets see if appa can get ahold of some of that mess, maybe appa can get your room in order," Leo headed to the toddlers room.

Bae grinned when Leo gave him a few banana pieces and a slice of apple, gurgling out a "Thank you, Appa!" before shoving a piece of banana into his mouth and munching away. His little legs kicked on the counter, watching Leo add all the smoothie things to the blender. He ate the other banana piece and moved on to gnawing on the apple slice, eating all of it except the peel. He had made the mistake once of taking a bite out of a banana peel, and since then he'd taken to not wanting the peels of anything, claiming they were 'icky' (even though things like apple peels were not gross) and he refused to eat them. He made whirring noises as the blender made his smoothie, rocking back and forth as he pretended he was a blender too. Giggling when it was done, he clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Smoovie Smoovie!" before reaching out to wrap his hands around his sippy cup and took a big drink. "Thank you, Appa!" he chirped out around the cup, the words a little muffled since he was drinking and talking. After he was on the floor, he sipped on his drink and looked up at his daddy as he spoke of cleaning his room, and ran to the room ahead of him saying, "Wait! The Letgo!" he tripped and his sippy cup went flying out of his hands, but thanks to the design, it didn't spill drink anywhere. He picked it up before going to his room and shuffling around, trying to pick up all his legos so Leo wouldn't step on them....only to get distracted when he saw his elephant Ko Kee Ree and tackled it instead, the sippy cup in one hand and the elephant in another as he grinned and chattered to the elephant and tried to give it some of his smoothie.

The grin couldn't be helped as Bae ran towards his room, yelling about legos, he fell on the way, but was soon up and running again. "Hey I think you hurt the floor ahdeu," son, Leo commented, he stopped in the doorway of Bae's door, he leaned against the doorjamb. Bae had quickly begun picking up the small blocks that could cause immense pain to an adult, but then became distracted by his favorite stuffed animal. With his sippy cup in one hand, and Ko Kee Ree in the other, he began a long winded, one sided, conversation, and was from then on, hopeless. Leo rubbed a hand over his jaw, it didn't bother him in the least to watch Bae use his imagination, to see him be so loving, and caring towards his pretend friend. Bae was a unique, loving, warm child, that would one day become a fine young man. Leo shook himself from his thoughts, and bent down, he began gathering up toys and sorting them, slowly but surely he began to put things where they were supposed to go. Until his phone rang, he put a few dinosaurs on Bae's bed, and took his phone from pocket, he quickly slid his thumb over the green circle, to answer the call. After a few minutes of speaking, he hung up with the person on the line, and turned to Bae, "It looks like we'll have to get dressed Bae, we have to go buy some things for a dinner we're apparently hosting tonight," Leo scooped Bae up and walked over to the small closet, the door was already opened. "What should you wear?" Leo murmured as he began thumbing through the many outfits stuffed in the closet. Leo's mother had made sure that her grandson would never be in short supply of clothes, and it was obvious. Leo managed to pull out an outfit and set it on the bed, "Why don't you get started on this, while I go get myself dressed, hm?" Leo left Bae to it, but didn't have much confidence of Bae getting far before he got back.

Perched upon a small chair in his room that went to the small table he loved to draw at (and on, if the scribbles all over the table were any indication), his little legs kicked as he talked to Ko Kee Ree all about how today was, and how he'd helped his appa make the smoothie they were 'sharing' and so on, eventually running out of stuff to talk about that happened that day and moved on to a story he started to make up on the spot. By the time his smoothie was finished, Leo had gotten off of the phone. Setting the cup down, he looked up at Leo as he spoke about getting things for dinner. "Who we have dinner host?" he asked curiously, wondering who would be coming over to eat with them. "Is friend like Ko Kee Ree?" he asked excitedly, wiggling a little as Leo started to thumb through his clothes. He got excited when he saw his halloween costume from last year, a lion complete with a fluffy mane, but he kept going past it until he chose a different outfit. "Oh! I wear that!" he declared, putting his hand on the outfit that Leo had chosen. When he was told to get started, he immediately started to strip. That part he was very good at, the rest....well...he was still figuring out the rest. In no time, he was naked save for his underpants. Grabbing the shirt, he moved to try and tug it on, but his arm and head got stuck in the neckhole, with most of his head still covered by the shirt. He tried to tug it on and it didn't move, he tried to pull it off and the same thing. Panicking, he started to run around, bumping into things as he shouted, "Appa! Appa I stuck!!! Help!" before falling over after tripping over his elephant.

Leo called over his shoulder, "We're hosting for Sahm-chon(Uncle), its a new person he's considering for internship in a firm that he may be starting in Paris." Not that Bae would probably understand anything he just said, besides the Sahm-chon part that is. Leo started shucking his clothing off as he strode towards his own wardrobe. He walked into the large closet and began going through his own clothes the way he had just gone through his sons. Soon enough he had pulled out a pair of jeans, a tee, and a distressed blazer. Soon he was dressed and hurrying out of his room with a pair of socks in hand. Bae's calls had him running to the little boys room to examine the situation. He quickly covered his mouth and held in a laugh, poor Bae was knocking around the room, and finally tripped. Leo shook his head, his hand dropped as he walked over and set his socks down, he struggled with Bae for a moment, eventually getting the little boy's shirt on correctly. "That wasn't an easy task, now was it?" Leo kissed Bae on the cheek, "I'm sorry, here, I'll help you the rest of the way," Leo helped Bae pull on a pair of overalls over the shirt, and get his socks and shoes on, before pulling his own socks and shoes on. "Okay, lets go," Leo reached down for Bae's hand, there was an organic market just down the street from them that they could easily walk to. Since they would only be going for one meal, they could easily carry it back to the town house. The pair walked out the door, Leo locked it, and then led Bae to the sidewalk, turning right they began walking down the streets of Paris, the city of love.

"Host sahm-chon!" Bae had cheered while he was getting dressed, which is possibly the reason he ended up stuck in the first place. Whenever he got distracted while getting dressed, he usually messed it up somehow. Last time, he tried to wear his pants as a shirt because he thought he'd heard his friend Neo outside and stumbled out half dressed with his hands in the air and looking through his zipper. He honestly had no idea what the rest of what Leo had said was, he only knew that meant company, which meant friends. And that was the big deal to him. As Leo helped him fix his shirt, Bae grinned and said, "shirt attacked me, but appa saved me before I got eated." and giggled when he kissed his cheek. "Shirts are hard to put on, appa. I can't see in them." he explained, stepping into the overalls and helping with the clasps. He loved putting on shoes and socks, though more often than not he'd topple over trying to put them on since he insisted upon standing to do it, but he had no sense of balance on one foot, oftentimes not even with both feet on the ground.

He started to bounce excitedly when Leo said for them to go. He loved going outside, even if this was to get food. "S'go, s'go!" he cheered, nearly tripping over his own feet in excitement as he held his daddy's hand with the biggest grin on his little face.

When Neo put his hands on Leons face, he paused in his walking so that all of his attention was on the little boy as he told him rather seriously how this place was important to him. Leon nodded seriously and said, "I'm glad you have a bestest place to be. I hope that one day, that my house can be considered such a place to, if you'll have me."

When Leo mentioned his cooking, Leon grinned and said, "Well, I'm not in culinary school for nothing, hopefully it won't be a flop." he glanced at Neo and asked, "Are you going to be my helper today? I'm really going to need it, especially to help put all the cheese and sauce and toppings on." The way he said it was different from how some parents made it seem they needed 'help'. Leon said it in a way that said he genuinely wanted him to help, no matter the mess that might come with it. He loved the idea of cooking with Neo, and any chance that would help with their interacting to see how he might like him was welcome.

When they got to the house, Leon set Neo down and took off his shoes out of habit, placing them by the door before following Leo into the kitchen and moved to retrieve what he had asked. "Do you have a premade sauce for the pizza?" Leon asked as he moved to place the flour and things on the counter. "I can make one if not."

Bae was an excited ball of energy when they got to the house. Having finished his drink he was definitely hyper as he bounced on the counter, then paused to eye the red thingies his appa was slicing up. "Appa, I has one of the apple slice?" he asked, pointing at the pepper.

Neo thought about Leon's words, if you'll have me, they meant so much more than just living with him. Neo wondered how long it would take before Leon would tire of him and abandon him back at the orphanage. He stuck his thumb in his mouth, a habit he hadn't yet broken, and sucked on it as he watched the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. Leon was pulling odd things out of a cabinet, his hyung Leo was pulling food out of the fridge, and Bae was asking to taste apples, which were really peppers. The toddler giggled, "Pweppa's taste yummy! Bae should twy it," Neo was encouraging his friend, gesturing with his free hand to put the food in his mouth. He then turned to face Leon, folding his legs criss cross apple sauce, and prepared to help.

Leo was dicing up peppers when his son asked if he could have one, except he'd meant a pepper not an apple, "Peppers Bae, these are peppers. They do kind of look like apples, since they're red, don't they?" Leo held up a small sliver, "Here, do you want to try one? They're not hot, just savory, if you like them then you can put them on your pizza." Leo nodded his head as Neo told Bae how good the peppers were, "They are delicious." Leo went on to cut onions next, with his eyes stinging he glanced towards Leon's direction, "I have the base tomato sauce, and I have tomato paste, could you do anything with that?" Leo moved onto mushrooms, letting the boys use butter knives to help, he figured he had enough for them to have some fun as well, though Neo seemed far more interested in helping Leon.

Leon knew that he could never replace Neo's parents. Whatever memories he might have of them would probably be considered his parents, while he would only ever likely be a replacement, perhaps like a step-parent. But he still hoped that he could have a good relationship with Neo, a close one. That's why he said if you'll have me. Because he wanted a family with Neo.

Leon smiled over at Neo as he moved to gather ingredients to make the sauce, pulling out the paste and sauce to have as a base, but he knew that a bit of seasoning would really make it into a pizza sauce with some good flavor. "Got any fresh tomatoes? I usually toss in at least a bit of diced tomatoes to cook down in it. Oh, and maybe a bit of garlic?" Leon asked Leo curiously. He figured while the sauce was cooking, he could help Leo with the pizza dough and entertain the boys by showing them how to toss it up into the air and spin it. He'd practiced a long time to get it right and to not smack himself in the face with pizza dough, which he did a lot while practicing.

Bae shook his head with a grin when Leo and Neo said that it was a pepper not an apple. He took the slice and said, "Siwwy Appa and Neo, dis is an apple." He moved to take a big bite, and the moment he realized it wasn't an apple was clearly marked on his face in a rather hilarious fashion. The taste was nothing like an apple, and while it wasn't bad either, he wasn't expecting the different taste despite having been told and shortly after the surprise wore off his face crumpled and he dropped the bit of pepper still in his hand, looking like he might cry because it wasn't an apple, or maybe he remembered that he was still sticky from his drink? It was hard to say.

Leo nodded his head, "Yes, there are tomatoes in a basket over there on the counter. You can use as many as you li-" He stopped mid-sentence, because his sons face had turned utterly horrific, the pepper was long abandoned on the counter, and Bae was distraught. Leo put down his knife, and one of the colorful vegetable's he'd been cutting up, he scooped Bae into his arms and held him close to his chest. "What happened Bae? Did the pepper not make you happy? I'm sorry," Leo cooed at the little tike, he then opened the fridge and pulled out some apples that were already sliced, he set them on the counter with Bae, "Here you are, will this help?" Leo smiled kindly at his son, before resuming the task at hand.

Neo watched with interest as Leon started putting ingredients in a pot, his eyes wide. Usually his meals came from cans, or he didn't get to see the makings of them at all. Being in the kitchen was kind of forbidden at the orphanage, so he always had fun when he could actually be in a kitchen. "Me help?" He questioned Leon, wondering when he would get his hands on something. He was momentarily distracted by the abandoned pepper on the counter, he reached over to take it, and popped it into his mouth before anyone could say no, he crunched on the savory vegetable, happy with its tanginess. "Leon is big name," He commented, trying to pull conversation from his possible foster parent, or permanent parent, dare he hope?

Bae reached up for his Appa as soon as he was pulled into his eyes, sniffling and a soft mumble escaping him. "I 'ticky, Appa." He was distracted for a bit by the sliced apples that Leo got for him, sticking his hand out to grab one and shove it in his mouth to chew furiously. "I chwange?" he asked Leo, looking up at him with his mouth stuffed with apple. If he changed by himself, it was likely he would just wander back out of his room in nothing but his underwear, or with his shirt stuck on his head again.

Leon moved to get the tomatoes, finding a cutting board to dice them up. He arranged what he wanted to go in the sauce on the counter, having the amount that he wanted in in a seperate thing. For example, all the spices he was going to use was all in a little cup, and he was doing the same with the diced tomatoes, and he opened the cans and moved the sharp tops out of the way. "Alright, its time for you to help." Leon said, moving to scoop Neo up so he could be at the same height as the counter. "Alright, see all this stuff? I need help getting it all in the pot, think you can help me?" He smiled at Neo as he ate the rest of the pepper that Bae had abandoned, a bit amused by it. "My name is actually the shortest in my family. I have 2 big brothers and 2 big sisters with bigger names." Leon said to him. "Rosemary, Renee, Charlie and Brandon. You'll be able to meet them all, you know. They love my cooking and come by all the time for a home cooked meal." He glanced over at Leo as he added, "In fact, they are actually sad they can't get bagged lunches from me anymore." he laughed a little. "It can't be helped though, we aren't exactly within walking distance of each other anymore, they went to different colleges all over the place." He glanced at Neo after, making sure he didn't need any help dumping the stuff in the pot. He planned on starting the dough after the sauce was ready to simmer on a low heat while everything else was being prepped.

Leo set the oven, getting it preheated for the pizzas. He turned, Bae was crunching on some apples, his face not so sour, but he wanted to change. Leo didn't blame him, he was a bit sticky, and it would be easiest if he changed him himself. Leo glanced towards Leon, "I'm going to get him changed, will you be okay here with Neo?" He waited for Leon to nod, then scooped up Bae and headed down the hall towards the childs bedroom. He opened the door to reveal a little boys room, with toys strewn here and there, beautifully decorated, thanks to his mother. Leo put Bae down and went to the gray dresser, he began searching for a new outfit for Bae. He pulled out a burnt orange hoodie, and pants, with grey stripes beneath. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] Leo grabbed Bae up off the floor and began changing him, which was an exercise all in itself. First he began tugging off the shirt, getting the arms out was the hardest part, "Bae, no not that way, wait, whoa, yeah there you- no no, don't put you arm through the head hole, oh mo, Bae, ah there we go!" He finally managed to get the shirt off, now it was the chore of getting another on, plus the pants.

Neo hung onto Leon when he picked him up, clinging to his hyung as he put him where he needed to be, only then did he let go. Neo looked at the ingredients before him, only recognizing one or two, "You mwake wunch?" Neo seemed impressed, he had always gotten a peanutbutter sandwich in his lunch box, but he didn't think that this was something to brag about, so he didn't. "I meet?" Neo rose both little brows, "When? Oh," Neo decided that being distracted was bad, and started piling things into the pot, he was making a tower inside the pot with all of the ingredients, trying his best to do as he was told. "You," Neo pointed towards Leon, "Wants Neo? Loooooooong time?" It was hard to know how long he would be with Leon, so he didn't want to get his hopes up. "No go back?" Neo didn't understand the adoption process.

Bae was not an easy person to dress, but this was as much because he wanted to help as it was he thought it a game. As such, he basically became a wiggly worm giggling and tossing his arms and legs everywhere attempting to help but mostly ending up doing the opposite. "Gotta get me!" Bae said with a giggle, trying to take off in his underwear.

Leon nodded when Leo inquired as to if he would be alright with Neo while Bae inevitably got changed, his attention still mostly on the little boy he was with. "Yup, I cook all the time," Leon answered with a smile, watching as he made a tower of the ingredients. "My family loves the yummy food I make, and I bet I could make yummy food for you too. Like pancakes shaped like things with chocolate chips in them, or blueberries." He hesitated before saying, "Make sure you dump the sauce out of the cans, okay? That way we can cook it all up for the pizza." He watched Neo with the ingredients while he did the math in his head on when his siblings would all be in town again. "Well, they all live all over, so it won't be for another week or two at least. But that will give us time to get to know each other better before they visit, so that's fine." He blinked when Neo pointed at him, then a warm smile showed on his face at his question. "Yes, I do want you. For longer than a long time. I want to raise you like Leo is with your friend Bae. I don't know if it would be too much right now, but I wanna be like your Appa. What do you think about that?"

Bae took off, Leo went after him, and caught the little boy up in his arms just as he got to the hallway. He let out a grunt as Bae wiggled in his arms, he took the little rascal back to where the clothes were laid out and began the chore of putting the clothes on the little boy. It was a handful, and a chore, each day to dress the little tike, but Leo wouldn't change it for anything. He enjoyed the moments and memories they made together, even the trials. Leo managed to get Bae's shirt on, but he was having a hard time getting the pants on him, everytime he was near getting them on, Bae would kick them back off again. "Alright, no pants it is! Lets go help finish up the pizzas little man," Leo finally caved, not seeing the battle worth the fight. He was a little guy, it was fine if he ran around in a shirt and undies, right?

Neo paid special attention to the sauce, and made sure to get all of the red stuff out of the cans, at least all that he could, he was shaking them over the pot. Following Leon's direction, and pleased with himself for being a help. "Cancakes? I wike Cancankes!" Neo all but bounced on the counter, "Sywup, pours allls over em," He made a drizzling motion with his hands, trying to explain himself. Then he listened as Leon spoke of his family, Neo really wanted to meet them, they sounds like they would be fun, much like Leon himself was. Neo's eyes grew as big as saucers when Leon mentioned that he wanted to be Neo's Appa, his mouth even dropped open for a moment, and it felt like everything was still to the little boy. "Me? You can has me! I wants go, pwease? Stay," Neo dove for Leon's arms, "Wif you!"

Bae squealed in laughter as Leo caught him, wiggling and giggling up a storm. He was happy as a clam when he spent time with his Appa, and doing stuff like this meant they could spend more time together, which made him even more happy. Bae was a bit of a problem with putting his shirt on, he kept trying to put his head through the wrong hole, but he was at least trying to help. However, he'd had quite enough of wearing pants today, and was rather determined to keep kicking them off until Leo finally said no pants. He cheered and stormed out of the room, then raced back to grab his elephant to show Neo and raced out again to see Neo and Leon hugging. He tipped his head to the side, then looked up at Leo and said, "I has hug too?" and held his arms up for his Appa, not really understanding what was going on.


Leon opened a few drawers until he found a wooden spoon and put it in the pot. "Do you wanna stir it? Or shall I?" he asked, grinning at how excited Neo got about pancakes. "I'll definitely have to remember to make some for you." He was worried at first that what he said might scare Neo off, so he was relieved and very happy when Neo said he could have him. His arms opened and wrapped around Neo as he dove for his arms, snuggling him close as he said, "I'm so happy." he placed a kiss on his head, then leaned back a little to look at Neo. "Now, before I'm allowed to take you home with me, the place you are at right now will have me fill out lots of papers and come take a look at my house to make sure its safe for you. But I promise to spend lots of time with you between now and then, okay?" He wanted to make sure that Neo understood why he didn't take him home straight away so he wouldn't be upset.

Leo was following Bae into the kitchen once more when they walked in on an endearing scene, Neo and Leon were hugging, and Leon was offering assurances to the little boy. Leo's heart melted for the duo, and he was truly thankful that he'd met such a good guy. Neo deserved a happy, dedicated family, and it looked like he would have that with Leon. Bae began begging for his attention, and asking for hugs, Leo laughed, he grabbed the boy up and hugged him tightly, he was also thankful for his own son. He had his own insecurities there, what if Bae's mother screwed up their lives? Or went after him for full custody? Leo buried his face in his sons hair before setting him down, "Lets go finish the pizzas," He said excitedly.

Neo was hugged, and loved on, before Leon began talking to him about things that involved being able to keep him. Neo cocked his head to the side, trying to understand everything that was said to him. "I not go now? Why?" Neo's eyes teared up, and threatened to go down his chucky cheeks. He didn't want to go back to the awful orphanage, he wanted to stay with Leon, and never return to that place. Maybe he could stay with Leo and Bae? He knew that wasn't possible, but the little boy couldn't help but wish that he never had to return to the building that seemed to hold him prisoner. It was filthy too, or at least when there weren't inspections it was. IF the investigators came then it was a totally different place, and every childs face was scrubbed clean.

Bae grinned and snuggled right into Leo's arms when he was scooped up. "I love Appa's hugs the most," he said as he tucked himself up against him. He was glad that Neo was happy too. The cafe drink making man who had a name like his Appa's was really nice, and he hoped that he took very good care of Neo. "Pissa!" Bae cheered when Leo spoke of it, bouncing around and then reaching for the counter to either help or look for something to eat or drink, or maybe all three.

Leon meanwhile, had to figure out how to explain to Neo how the adoption process worked. "If I had my way, I would take you home right now. But, I don't have all the things that are needed to take care of you. I dont have a bed for you, or clothes, or toys or anything. I want to make sure that I can take good care of you with all the things you need to be healthy and happy, and the orphanage has to see that too. However, that doesn't mean you won't see me. I'll take you to spend time with me every chance I have. We can cook together, and you'll be able to see where you are gonna be living, and we'll spend time here with your friend Bae. The time will pass by so fast you won't even notice, yeah?" he lifted a hand to run his thumb along Neo's cheek to catch any escaped tears. "I'll do everything I can to make the process faster too, alright? Cause nothing will make me happier than to bring you home."

After setting Bae on the counter, Leo grabbed some ingredients and a piece of dough. "Here buddy," Leo helped Bae with making a pizza station, he wanted the experience to be as easy as possible for the little boy, as well as fun. "You pick, what do you want on your pizza? Meats? Veggies? Maybe some of both?" The counter was an array of colors and textures.

Neo was upset about not getting to go home with Leon immediately. He was beginning to understand why with Leon explanation, but it didn't make any of it easier for the little boy. He leaned into Leons hand, and reached for a hug, only wanting to be consoled at that moment by his... by his.., "Appa!" He squealed happily.

((*dies of the cuteness* omg he called him Appa he's so precious <3))

Bae grinned excitedly when he looked over all the stuff to make his own little pizza with some of the dough Leon had made. He bit his lip and said, "Lossa cheese! And.....Mushies!" he said, pointing at the mushrooms. "Ohoh! And this!" he said, pointing at the pepperoni. "Oh and lossa cheese." he added seriously, nodding his head. After announcing it, he moved to start piling on ingredients...before the sauce could be added.

Leon wanted Neo to feel better about the whole process, and he didn't hesitate to pull Neo in for a hug. His heart definitely melted when Neo called him Appa, and a huge grin showed on his face as he held him tight. "That's right, I'm your appa and you are my adeul." (son) Wanting to make Neo smile, he set him down on the counter and ruffled his hair. "Watch this." he said, then moved to get some dough and started to toss it up in the air like what you might see at a fancy pizzeria, the dough spiraling and going out into a pizza shape.

Bae squealed and clapped his hands excitedly when he saw what Leon was doing and pointed. "Appa look! It's fwying!" he exclaimed.

Leo nodded to all of the ingredients that Bae was pointing to, he then watched as his son piled on the ingredients, without sauce. He didnt say a word, he figured he would pull off all of the ingredients once the sauce was ready, and then put them back on. He was proud that Bae picked mushrooms, there was at least one vegetable on the pizza. He watched eith awe as Leon began tossing the dough around with ease. "Like a true Italian," he commented, grinning. It was quite the show for him and the two boys, Leo went over to stir the sauce.

Neo was scooped up and cuddled sweetly, his eyes were squinted with his big grin he had on his face. Neo clapped his hands, excited for his new family to be a thing. 'More pway dates wif Bae? When we wive togeva?" He was worried he wouldnt be able to see Bae as much after the adoption. Bae was his bestfriend, he couldnt just leave him behind. Neo was temporarily distracted however once Leon began throwing dough up, at that point Neo was back on the counter. He began clapping his hands and squealing with delight as he watched the pizza show.

Bae watched Leon with huge eyes, then turned and reached to pluck a mushroom off the pizza he had put together to munch on it, then frowned and looked at the rest of the mushroom in his hand critically. It didnt' taste the same as the mushrooms that were on the other pizza he had before. "Appa...is mushies go bad? No taste right." he said, offering the slightly squished remnants of the mushroom he'd eaten to his father for inspection. He'd never had an uncooked mushroom before and the taste was different.

Leon grinned and said, "You wouldn't believe how many times I've gotten dough stuck to the ceiling before I finally mastered this." he caught the dough after one last throw and moved to lay it out to get ready for toppings. "The sauce should be about done, by the way," he added, noticing that Leo was stirring it. Glancing at Neo, he smiled and said, "Of course. I wouldn't take you away from your best friend. You'll still get lots of play time with Bae."

Leo laughed, a full belly laugh, looking back at his son's face, he was very upset about how the raw mushrooms tasted.
"No son, the mushrooms just aren't cooked, so they have almost a rubbery taste to them right now. Raw mushrooms are an acquired taste, not that you know what I'm even meaning by that," Leo took the mushroom and tossed it in the trash before taking the sauce off the stove, and turning the stove off. He set the sauce on the opposite counters to the boys, so that they wouldn't burn their hands. He looked towards Leon, grateful that there was an actual adult in the house, besides himself. It was nice to have someone that he could have an adult conversation with. "So Leon, I could take you over to the orphanage first thing in the morning, if you want?"

Neo was completely entertained by his Appa, and was glad to hear that his friendship would not be broken by getting a new home. Bae was his closest, and well only, friend, and he would have been devastated not to have the other boy in his life. "Bae, I has new Appa!" He called over to his friend cheerfully, then scrunched his nose at the half eaten mushroom, that didn't look appetizing at all. "Ugh Bae, whas dat?" Neo munched on another pepper, liking the tanginess of the vegetable. Neo wasn't much of a picky eater, but seeing a half-eaten piece of food, well he wasn't really into that.

Bae tipped his head to the side, a frown on his face as he pondered what his Appa said. Food tasted different when cooked? He hadn't known that before! He grinned when Neo said he had a new Appa and bounced, clapping his hands excitedly. "Yay! You has Appa like I has Appa now! We mus' cewebwate!" he declared, looking around for something to throw like the people in cartoons when they had parties. He decided that cheese would work and grabbed two fistfuls of cheese, throwing it up into the air like confetti as he cheered out, "Hooway!!!! New Appa!!!" The only consolation to the cheese flying around was that he had tiny hands, so there was only a little cheese all over the place. He decided what he threw wasn't quite enough and reached for more cheese.

Leon couldn't help but laugh at Bae asking if the mushrooms had gone bad, then glanced over at Leo and answered his question, "Yeah, first thing in the morning is good. I don't have class til 12, so I'm free anytime before that." He looked a bit startled when Bae suddenly started throwing cheese in the air, too caught off guard to respond as fast as Leo might as he reached for more cheese.

The boys were truly having a fine time in the kitchen, warming Leo's heart, he was just about to respond to Leon when Bae began his own celebration party and was throwing food around. It was funny, and it took everything in Leo not to laugh, he had to try to be serious, because he had to tell little Bae that he couldn't throw food around the kitchen. As Bae reached for a second helping of cheese, Leo grabbed him and began tickling the little tike. "Nope, no more of that," He let the laugh out, he couldn't help himself as he tickeld his son, Bae was just too cute for words, and it was hard to chastise such an adorable little boy. Leo gave him a big kiss on the cheek before setting him down on the counter again, away from the cheese. "It is a very good thing that Neo has an appa, but we need to keep the food throwing to a minimum please, young chef" Leo winked at Bae before he took a round of pizza dough from Leon and began scooping warm sauce onto the dough.

Neo's little jaw dropped open when Bae began throwing food, tears gathered in his eyes as he worried for his friend and the consequences that might come with such misbehavior. His hyung's reaction was quite different than what he thought it would be, he picked up Neo's friend and began tickling him, not spanking him, or sending him to his room. It was so different from the orphanage, Neo wasn't sure he would ever get used to it. He turned his head to look at Leon, his eyes wide. "Thas bad. Bae bad, Bae gets in twouble?"

Bae squealed in laughter as his Appa tickled him, tossing his hands into the air as his laughter filled the room. "Sowwy Appa, I had to frow the cheese. Neo has an Appa now too. We gotta make big happy cause he has Appa!" He declared, turning to squish his daddies cheeks. "Appa is vewy important to me, so I is vewy happy that Neo has an Appa to be vewy important to him." He watched Leo as he set him back on the counter to make the pizza, grinning and sticking a hand in his mouth to chew on his fingers, an old habit from when he was teething that he hadn't quite gotten out of yet.

Leon grinned and moved to pick up some of the cheese from the floor to toss out, not wanting to step on it and make a bigger mess to clean up later. When Neo spoke to him, he straightened from cleaning the cheese and looked at Neo, thinking for a moment on how to answer. "Well....yes, Bae did do something he was not supposed to." he said carefully, moving to pick Neo up. "But, he didn't mean to do a bad thing. So instead of getting in big trouble, he gets a little trouble by being told not to do it." He glanced at Leo, then Neo, wondering if he made any sense. "Do you understand?"

Leo was thankful that he had such a big hearted son, one that already knew the importance of family. Tears gathered in the young mans eyes, he had to blink them back, so that he didn't worry Bae with them. He smiled weakly, "You're completely right, we should celebrate, maybe we can make a cake this week for them, and throw a big party, what do you think?" Leo started sprinkling cheese on the pizza, and even gave Bae a handful so that he could help with the pizza, giving the little tike something to do. Leo looked over at Leon, he was having an awkward conversation with his son, wow son, yeah that was going to be something he had to get used to. He nodded to Leon, giving him the heads up that he was explaining the situation well. Neo didn't come from the same background of his own son, so there would be things that Leon would have to explain.

Neo rose both brows, then squished the brows together, like he was thinking hard, he nodded his head, slowly, understanding was coming to him. "I fink so. I no get spanked? If I frow food?" He looked over at the varieties of food on the counter, then decided against it, he started waving both hands in front of him, "Nevamind I not wants to." He was leery about boundaries, and wasn't sure what was okay, and what wasn't. Usually he would just follow whatever the other kids at the orphanage did, but that usually got him in a lot of trouble. He had some marks to prove it, plus the lack of toys in his room, that was part of his consequences in his own home.

Bae clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Cake! Cake! We make one dis big!" and spread his arms wide with a big grin. "Pahtee!" he cheered, waving his arms around excitedly. "We dance and eat cake!" He leaned forward as Leo started to put cheese on the pizza, and grinned when he was given some to help, looking very serious as he put his cheese on the pizza. "No frow dis time," he promised as he did so.

Leon dipped his head to Leo, then looked back at Neo, watching him think about his words. "Well, we would rather you not throw food if you can help it." Leon corrected the little boy in his arms with a smile. "But if you do it by accident, you won't get in trouble." When Neo said he didn't want to, he leaned forward to kiss his forehead and said, "Don't worry. I'll help you learn everything." and smiled at him. "How about we help make the pizza, hmm?"

"Yes, lets not throw it this time, it upset Neo I think," Leo agreed with Bae, "Oh great job Bae! Look how evenly you spread that cheese, here, do you want to add the pepperoni's?" Leo handed Bae a stack, from the other pizza that Bae had piled high, and would need to be redone. He was being sneaky about it, so that Bae wouldn't notice. "Yeah, you guys come help with the pizzas, " Leo agreed with Leon, he scooted some ingredients their way, so that everyone could join in on the fun of pizza making. The kitchen was a disaster, and anyone that could have walked in would have thought it was world war three in the kitchen, but Leo wasn't one bit worried about it, and found it to be perfectly normal. Him and Bae made lots of messes, and were experts at cleaning them up, so they didn't break their traditions by keep it clean just because they had guests.

Neo was very confused by the kindness he was shown, he was used to it from Leo hyung, but not anyone else. Maybe he really could have the same kind of appa as Bae did? Neo sat on the counter and looked at the red sauce in the pot, then at the dough beside him, "You helps Neo? I no pour swauce." Neo didn't think pouring sauce should be a childs chore, it looked hot, he'd rather help with the cheese and veggies, that looked fun, it was what Bae was doing too.

Bae wondered what he'd done to upset his friend, but when he looked over, Neo seemed pretty happy with his new Appa, so he let it be. If he was happy that was good. Bae had his focus all over the new pizza to decorate and didn't notice that the toppings were coming from the one he had put toppings on before. He eagerly reached for the pepperoni when Leo gave it to him, and did his best to make the pepperoni outline of him and his dad holding hands, though it was hard to tell that was what it was given what he was using. "Is time for mushies too?" Bae asked, looking up at his Appa. He loved cleaning up after they cooked just as much as he loved cooking with his Appa.

Leon smiled and said, "Of course. I'm happy to help." and moved to take a scoop of the sauce, swirling it expertly across the pizza before using the base of the ladle to smooth it out to right before the edges. "Time for cheese, do you like lots of cheese?" Leon asked, moving to grab a handful to bring closer to Neo so he could spread it.

Leo wondered what was going on in Bae's little mind, he was scattering the pepperoni, but in a very precise way, like he was making a pattern of some sort, a pattern that Leo couldn't see. He handed over some freshly cut mushrooms, "Yes, time for the mushrooms, you'll like them once they're cooked. What about sausage, should we put that on there? Or bacon? What about pineapple?" Leo held up each item, and let Bae take a look at them, so that he could pick what he wanted on the pizza. Leo believed in his son being able to make his own decisions, without anyone lending their own thoughts. He wanted Bae to be independent, to be his own person.

Neo leaned towards the pizza, his eyes followed the ladle, as it made designs on the pizza, and then it was all smoothed out, and it was one, big, red circle. "Oh cheese," Neo reached a little hand out and grabbed some cheese, then began carefully scattering it over the pizza. "I wuv cheese!" He chirped happily, helping Leon with the pizza, he grabbed some pepperoni's from Bae's stack, since he hadn't used all of his, and began putting those on too. "More?" Neo wasn't sure what else they should put on the pizza, but he was happy to hear what his Appa thought.

Bae grinned and grabbed two handfuls of mushrooms, sprinkling them all over then looking thoughtful as he looked at the other toppings there were to offer. He decided on bacon and grinned as he used it to put hair on his and Leon's head on his pizza drawing. "I done!" he said happily, smiling up at his Appa. "Wook! I dwew us!" he pointed at the pizza eagerly, waiting for praise.

Leon smiled and said, "I love cheese too, its my favorite topping. Let's put lots of it." he was so happy with Neo, and he couldn't wait to be able to take him home. "Hmm....we could put some bacon, do you like bacon?" He didn't bother suggesting tomato since there were chunks of it in the sauce to add the flavor he liked. He glanced over at Bae's pizza when he announced he was done and grinned. "Nicely done!" he praised.

The pizzas were coming along great, Leo helped Bae with his, and put some of the mushrooms on the pizza as well, trying to help to put them on evenly. He finally got to know what his son was trying to make when he announced that he drew them.
"It's perfect Bae! I love it, you're doing a great job, so are you Neo," He called over, before taking Bae's pizza and sliding it into the oven. He then turned and started cleaning up his and Bae's station, getting some semblance of order in the kitchen. "Bae can you scoop the cheese on the counter into this trashcan?" Leo scooted the trashcan next to the counter, right beside Bae's feet.

"I likes it," Neo watched with interest as Leon sprinkled on bacon, he reached in with his small, chubby hand and grabbed some to sprinkle as well. "Ah, Bae all done?" He glanced over at his friends pizza, he felt slow, but it didn't seem to be a big deal. Leon wasn't rushing him, and no one was telling him to hurry up, so he figured he had time. THey finished with the pizza, and he clapped for Leon to put it in.