#hahahahshdwjhdjss im dead

[briar-oses]

**sort of a throwback this time lol. tang bo also adopted seo-ah already

ever since they rescued that small child from that dilapidated hut one fateful day, tang bo noticed chung myung's distant behaviour. he knows of chung myung's already lacking social life in his sect, something the sword saint has no control of.

and really, no one is as crazy as he is, befriending the sword saint all on his own.

granted, chung myung isn't someone to initiate social interactions unless necessary, being surprisingly introverted. he would be perfectly content to stand somewhere and wait for tang bo whenever he had something to do during their travels, preferrably somewhere with less crowd or something close to a shop that sells alcohol. the people who had the pleasure of getting the brunt of his ire most likely started the fight first...

... most of the time.

tang bo knew that it wouldn't end well for him if he'd force his hyung-nim to bond with the child but this little girl would be a big part of his life, and he wanted to atleast have his hyung love her as much as he does.

in the distance, chung myung is seen talking with his jangmun sahyung, completely in his element. tang bo likes that look on him, completely engaged in the conversation and being listened to in return. the baby on his lap coos and tang bo turns his attention to her.

“Hm? What was that?”

the baby reaches to the direction of where chung myung is standing, making adorable sounds. tang bo chuckles. his daughter is too cute.

“You like hyung, huh? Me too, little lady”, he says, to the baby, all giggly. the baby giggling at him giggling. perhaps tang bo finds a semblance of kinship with his daughter, as she's also completely enamored with the figure of his Taoist hyung.

tang bo adjusts his hold on his daughter, adjusting her seat on his lap so that she's facing chung myung in the distance. the other disciples in mount hua have no problem interacting with the baby, always finding time to visit despite their training.

Perhaps we need to take this one step at a time...

***

“Huh?”

chung myung is faced with a smiling tang bo, holding out his small daughter to him in hopes to—

“I want you to hold her, hyung”

the sword saint stares at his companion with narrowed eyes. “Are you crazy, you bastard?”

“Don't call me names in front of my daughter!”

chung myung scoffs. it's been almost a month since tang bo took in the child as his own. having been involved in her rescue, chung myung initially thought that after they nursed her back to health, they would find a family to take care of her as they're both respective elders of their sect.

as it turns out, tang bo's fondness for children extended to those outside his family. and being the one who mostly took care of the baby girl, the dark saint quickly became attached.

“She's not my kid, why would I do that.”

tang bo huffs, annoyed. “Hyung! just do it, will you? for me?”, he pleads.

“Why would I do that for you?”

tang bo lets out a frustrated sound, considering whether it'd be too early for his daughter to witness acts of violence this early on in her life. “Just do it!”

“... Do you not want her anymore?”

tang bo shields his daughter away from the bastard Taoist, fuming. he has the gall to look disappointed, his hyung! “Ah!! Don't say things like that in front of her!”, he yells, covering his daughter's ears as he looks at her.

“Don't listen to him, okay sweet one?”, says tang bo, completely ignoring chung myung's 'So it's okay to say it if it's behind her back?'

the little girl merely laughs cutely, clearly not understanding what is happening.

chung myung huffs. it wasn't unusual for tang bo to ask things of him. there were times whenever they were out together that tang bo would end up being occupied with whatever he's working on, leaving him left alone wandering the tang estate. the tang family was extra welcoming whenever it was those days.

but this?

“.. Are you crazy?”

“Stop asking me that, hyung..”

tang bo was well-aware of his position in the sect. chung myung was not someone whom people in his own sect can casually approach, only with the exception of chung mun, chung jin, and a handful of other elders. not that it mattered to him, but the fact remains that this crazy guy still wants him to hold a child of all things.. he's not exactly child-friendly.

plus he wouldn't know how.

“Hyung”, tang bo calls, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Just hold her, please?”

chung myung stares. “Why?”

the other sighs. “I've thought about this for a while already....”

“You're actually thinking for once?”

“...”

“...”

tang bo clears his throat, adjusting his grip on his ever fussy daughter. “Like I said, I've thought about this for quite a while already and I figured that I could trust her with you when I'm out doing business.”

“Can't you just bring her?”

tang bo shrugs. “On some occasions, maybe. But what if it's dangerous?”

chung myung raises an eyebrow. “And you think I'll be here when you're out there fighting?”

“It's not that I'll die that easily..” tang bo sighs. “It's just in case, hyung. Here, I'll help you”, he says, holding out his bright-eyed daughter to the hesitant sword saint.

chung myung stares at the held out baby girl with a slightly scrunched up look on his face, highly uncomfortable with... whatever. he holds out his arms and carefully holds the small girl by her sides, with a few distance between himself and the little girl he's holding.

tang bo holds the urge to laugh at his hyung's awkwardness. it's endearing to see him try so hard. albeit reluctant, it was unusual to see a prodigy struggle at something. “Here, hyung. Let me help”, he says, walking closer to the sword saint.

“You have to support her head and body”, tang bo says, maneuvering chung myung's arms into the proper position, making sure that the baby is not hurt or uncomfortable.

((so sorry for the horrible sketch.. i did it in the middle of class <33

tang bo stares at the scene in front of him. the plum blossom sword saint awkwardly holding his daughter, looking more constipated than comfortable. chung myung is clearly out of his own comfort zone. the gentle but secure hold, the way he diligently follows tang bo's instructions in holding the small girl.

Is this what they said about seeing new sides to people when they become parents?

..

...

Huh?

the thought halts tang bo. parents? parenthood? wait wasn't he the parent here? why is he thinking about his hyung being a parent when he was just—

tang bo's entire face flushes red from the realization. did he really just— why did he even—

“Yah! What are you thinking so hard about? She's waking up! Take her!”, chung myung exclaims, snapping him out of his thoughts. his hyung is clearly not knowing comfortable with holding the baby any longer than necessary.

tang bo huffs. “You're so dramatic, hyung.. She's an angel!”

“Whatever! Just take her! I held her like you wanted!”

tang bo sighs. “Yes, yes give her here”, he says, taking the baby from chung myung's hold. the little girl quickly finds comfort in her father's arms and tang bo's heart soars.

he then went on and gushed about how absolutely perfect and endearing his daughter is to an exasperated chung myung, those dangerous lines of thought left unaddressed in his mind. to him, his objective to let his hyung hold his daughter is a success!

**

chung myung is seen having the child in his hold for many more times after that day, and when asked, he simply responded with: “That bastard keeps telling me to do it”

for the people observing him, they felt like that wasn't the only case, making this yet another secret they're keeping to the grave. they can't ever risk receiving the sword saint's ire, of course.