Never Judge

"Ha!" Ian exclaimed with a laugh as he read through the articles and comments online. "It seems like all they can talk about is how adorable Yoyo is!" Ian handed the tablet over to Cedric to show him how they were praising the little boy's genes.

[Future Reyes Heir or Future Playboy] 

Cedric laughed as he read through the article.

"I better keep my son away from Alexi then." Cedric said with a chuckle as he continued to read through the gossip article. "Emilio, who is your favorite uncle?" Cedric asked his son with a grin.

"All of my uncles." Emilio said as he looked up from the little puzzle he was solving on the ground.

"But Yoyo," Ian said as he walked over to the little boy and sat next to him. "If you had to pick one uncle, just one, who would you like to be like when you grow up?" Ian leaned forward as if to tell the little boy to say his name.

Of course, Emilio was smarter than he looked, he gave his uncle a sweet and innocent smile before finally looking up towards his dad.

"None!" Emilio said with an angelic laugh. "I want to be like my daddy!" He proudly declared.

Cedric laughed at his son's smart answer, even if he was to place this kid in front of the press the press wouldn't be able to trick him into giving them the answers that they wanted.

"Emilio." Cedric said as he laughed at his son's answer. "Go on, pick a favorite uncle." Cedric managed to say in between laughs.

"Uncle Ian might get mad." Emilio said as he looked up at his uncle with worried eyes.

"What?!" Ian asked in shock as Cedric glared at him. He hadn't done or said anything and this overprotective father was already gunning after him.

"Promise my son you won't get mad." Cedric said in a warning tone.

"Emilio, I won't get mad. Uncle Ian won't get mad." Ian said as he patted the little boy on the head as he continued to look up at his father in awe.

"Wait, what?" Ian suddenly asked as a realization hit him. "Emilio!" Ian said loudly in an irritated tone.

"Daddy!" Emilio cried out as he saw his uncle's expression.

"Really, Ian?" Cedric asked as he got out of his chair and picked his son up in his arms. "You just promised the kid that you wouldn't get mad and now you are shouting at him?" Cedric asked his friend.

"Well…" Ian was at a loss for words, he couldn't believe that the father and son duo were teaming up against him.

"Yoyo, don't be afraid." Cedric looked at his son and smiled. "Uncle Ian cannot hurt you as long as I am here." Cedric said as he comforted his son.

Emilio looked at his father tentatively as he hesitated in speaking.

"Emilio, even if I am not around, people would never dare lay a finger on you. You will be protected and you will also be strong." Cedric told his son in a stern yet tender voice.

"Uncle Ray." Emilio suddenly said as he buried his head in  his father's chest.

Everyone in the room was taken by surprise as Emilio said who his favorite uncle was. 

"You like that thug more than me?" Ian asked in an amused but angry tone.

"Hey," Cedric scolded his friend. "Watch your language around my son." He warned his friend.

"In what world is thug a bad word?" Ian asked, clearly confused as to what he said wrong about Ray.

"Emilio does not need to know about that part of the world yet." Cedric warned as he looked angrily at Ian.

"Woah." Ian said in a defensive tone as he backed up a little bit.

"Uncle Ray is so powerful that he commands the whole underworld!" Emilio exclaimed excitedly that he jumped a little in Cedric's arm.

Cedric almost dropped him in shock as he heard his son talk about how Ray controlled the underbelly of the country.

"Emilio, where did you hear about that?" Cedric asked his son as he was forced to put the little boy down on the ground.

Emilio looked up at his dad as his eyes began to water, he was about to burst into tears. Unfortunately for Emilio he had already used this technique on Cedric in the past when he didn't want to get scolded. So Cedric simply rolled his eyes at his son.

"I'm not falling for that again, Emilio!" Cedric said sternly to his son. He had no plan of falling for the little boy's tricks again. 

"Daddy!" Emilio cried. "I don't want to." Emilio said as he shook his head vigorously.

"Yoyo, you better tell your dad before he gets mad." Dave told the kid. 

Cedric knew that Emilio's real favorite was Dave, he saw Cedric's assistant as an older brother rather than as an uncle. That's why Emilio didn't say that his favorite uncle was uncle Dave.

"The man told me." Emilio said in a soft tone.

"What?" Cedric asked in surprise. His son rarely interacted with people who weren't from the Reyes family or members of their staff. "What man Emilio?" Cedric asked.

"The man that visited me at home." Emilio told his father, it was clear in his voice that he was afraid of what Cedric would have to say and how he would react.

Emilio quickly ran behind Dave, seeking shelter behind his older brother.

"You know, there isn't anything I can do to protect you right?" Dave asked the little boy as he picked him up. "You better tell your father about this man, it's not safe Yoyo."

Emilio looked tentatively between his Uncle Dave and his father. 

"Just tell him Yoyo." Dave encouraged the child in his arms.

"There was a man that visited me at the Reyes Mansion when I was with grandpa yesterday." Emilio finally said.

"Did he give you his name?" Cedric asked as he tried to control his anger. He wasn't mad at his son, he was mad at the security team, how could a stranger have approached his son inside the compound.

"He said he was my friend." Emilio told the adults with an innocent and worried look on his face. 

"Did he tell you his name?" Cedric asked his son again, he was now more worried because it seemed that his son was protecting this mysterious man.

Emilio hesitated for a but before finally speaking up. "He told me to call him Uncle Aiden."

At that Cedric felt the world drop around him.