“Appaaaa~” Key whined loudly, making sure he would be heard.

He was upside down on the couch, his head hanging off the edge, and his feet up on the wall. Jinki came into the room, mouth open to ask what was wrong when he caught sight of Kibum. He blinked a few times before walking over to him and poking his stomach, causing his son to let out an involuntary giggle. Key was probably more ticklish than Taemin, though he would never admit it.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

Key puffed out his cheeks, and Jinki raised a brow before reaching out and spidering his fingers across the lower part of Key’s abdomen. Key squealed and lost his balance, falling onto the couch in an undignified heap. He sat up quickly, his arms crossing as a pout overtook his face. Jinki couldn’t hold back the laugh rising in his chest even if he tried - which he didn’t. He’d never seen Key so happy, and it was something he knew he would love to continue to see. But first...

He all but tackled Kibum, pinning him as he tickled him, causing him to scream out in laughter, kicking his legs uselessly. It was less than a minute later that he had tears streaming down his cheeks from laughter. His hair was a mess, and he was gasping for air as Minho came in with Jonghyun on his back, and Taemin in tow. He made a desperate attempt at escape once again, but failed miserably.

“T-Taeminie~” He managed to whine out, reaching desperately for his boyfriend. Said boyfriend backed away slowly, not wanting to be caught in the appa’s torture path. “Jjongie, Minho, help me~!”

Jonghyun snorted, then buried his face against Minho’s neck. Jinki finally relented, pulling his hands back as they watched Key pant miserably, a huge grin still on his face as he wiped at his eyes. Everyone else was grinning as well, but none as brightly as Jinki. Jonghyun stared at him for a while, then nuzzled against Minho’s neck, still giggling slightly at the sight his dongsaeng made. Minho leaned his head against Jonghyun’s automatically, rocking his body side to side just slightly.

“What did you want, Kibum?” Jinki asked, ruffling the boys hair. Said boy was laying on his stomach on the couch now, looking completely embarrassed. He pouted up at the appa, his voice low and pouty.

“I wanted to know if I could dye my hair.” He said, staring up at the elder with big eyes. Jinki brought his hand to his chin, pretending to think about it before sighing dramatically.

“I guess, if you really wanted to, we could make that happen.” He finally said. “But, it’s got to be done by a professional. I don’t want my sons walking around looking like they got attacked by some crazy housewife with a bottle of peroxide.”

“Sons?” Taemin perked up. Jinki rolled his eyes.

“Well, yeah. It’s not fair to let one kid do something and not let the others do the same.” Jinki explained, looking serious. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Jonghyun’s been subtly hinting that he wants a haircut for a while now.”

“You call that subtle?” Minho asked, laughing as he thought of how often the elder would yank at his hair, grumbling to himself while he tried to focus on something.

“You’re right. We should go now before he throws a fit too.” Jinki concluded, getting up and heading toward the coat and shoe room. Key jumped up, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“Seriously?” He asked. Jinki nodded as he passed through the doorway, and Taemin grabbed Key’s hand, tugging him along.

“Someone grab Jjong’s chair. Minho’s not going to be able to carry him all day.” Jinki called. Jonghyun blinked a few times in confusion.

“All day?” He asked as Minho carried him into the coat room.

“Yeah. I figured we could go to the mall, do some fun shopping, instead of mandatory, you know?” Jinki asked. Jonghyun swallowed and nodded, not sure how to react as the appa slid a shoe on his right foot.

------------------------------

It was two hours later that they were leaving the hair salon in the mall, none of them with the black hair they had gone in with. Key and Taemin each had hair stopping at their eyebrows and the tops of their ears, Key’s brown with brightly colored streaks, Taemin’s a yellow-blonde. Minho and Jinki had both opted to get just a trim, leaving both of them with longer hair than the rest, and they both had it lightened. Minho’s was a few shades darker than Jinki’s, but both were brown.

Jonghyun’s was definitely the most surprising transformation, and the most well liked. His hair was now short enough to semi-spike into a faux-hawk, starting a normal brown at the back, then adding a layer of orangey-brown, and finally a light blonde that rivaled Taemin’s. Minho couldn’t stop touching it, and Jonghyun wasn’t going to complain. Jinki lead them all into a small wireless store after, then looked around at them all.

“I think it’s past the time where you guys get your own cell phones.” He said after a long silence. “So, you guys chose the phones you want. I have to go take care of something, but I’ll be right back.”

Key eyed the appa strangely as he trotted off into the mall by himself. It was very uncharacteristic for him to leave them, and he wondered what he could possibly be up to. His suspicions were pushed to the back of his mind, however, when a sales representative came up to he and Taemin, asking if there was anything he could help with. It took the diva all of five seconds to become completely absorbed in his new task.

None of them even noticed when Jinki came back with a small box under his arm. He greeted the sales rep, who had been diligently writing down Key’s multiple decisions, then crossing them out as the boy changed his mind. He’d already filled out the order forms for Taemin, Minho, and Jonghyun’s picks. Jinki came up behind Key, reaching his hand out to tickle the boys side. Key jumped about a foot in the air, letting out a none-too-attractive squeak before turning to yell at whoever had done that. He narrowed his eyes at his father-figure.

“Stop doing that.” He demanded. Jinki rolled his eyes.

“Hurry it up. Jjong was supposed to eat ten minutes ago.” He said.

Key sighed and nodded, pointing to a baby blue smartphone. The sales rep sighed in relief and wrote it down before going out to the back to get the phones. Another fifteen minutes later the phones were all activated on Jinki’s account and distributed out to the boys, and Key had noticed the box Jinki was holding.

“What’s in there?” He asked.

Jinki waved him off and lead them to the food court. He sat the boys at a table, setting the box in the empty seat before going to the fried chicken booth. He bought a box for each of them, plus an extra in case anyone was still hungry afterward, and brought it back to the table. Even Jonghyun was eying the boxes hungrily when he set them down, and Jinki picked up the box on his seat, keeping it in his lap as he ate. It wasn’t until all six boxes of fried chicken had been devoured that Jinki finally set the box on the table.

“Jjong.” Jinki said. The frosted-tipped boy looked up at the appa from his conversation with Minho. “I talked to your doctor. He thinks that you should have something to bring back and forth with you from home to the facility to keep yourself doing well.”

“O-okay.” Jonghyun said, feeling slightly confused. Jinki smiled.

“I thought this might help.” He said, placing the box in his oldest’s lap.

Jonghyun felt uncomfortable, knowing that all eyes were on him, and stared at the box quietly for a long moment. He reached up slowly, feeling a bit scared at the look of anticipation on Jinki’s face. What if he didn’t like it? He didn’t want to let Jinki down, but he was no good at acting. He swallowed hard, his hands beginning to shake as he pulled them back to himself. Jinkis face fell just slightly, and Jonghyun felt guilt wash through him. He thought he was past this. He thought he was ok, but he felt redness bleeding into his face. Would Jinki be mad if he didn’t like it? Why was he even afraid of that? Minho rubbed his back gently.

“Jjongie.” He whispered, and Jonghyun looked up at his boyfriend. “Calm down, ok? It’s supposed to help with your anxiety, not upset you.”

Jonghyun nodded, swallowing hard as he did so. He his lips and took a deep breath as he set his eyes on the box again. He reached up, his hands still quivering, as he grabbed the top of the box to pull it open. He reminded himself over and over that everything would be fine, and in the end decided it was like a bandaid. The worst of it was taking your time, so he opened the box slightly and peeked inside.

In the end, he realized his fears were for nothing as happiness flooded him. He felt slightly shocked, and his mouth hung open as he let the lid fall closed again. He looked up at Jinki in disbelief, and saw the anticipation there, and the curiosity on the others faces. His mouth reshaped itself into a wide smile as Jinki nodded in confirmation to Jonghyun’s silent question. Yes - it really was for him.

“Oh my god.” He whispered, reaching back down to open it completely.

He pulled out the small dachshund and held her against his chest as she whined and sniffed at him. Key and Minho’s eyes were wide as they stared at the unexpected gift, and Taemin found himself facing an unfamiliar emotion - jealousy. He pushed it away as he leaned in to get a better look.

“What are you going to name her?” Jinki asked. Jonghyun looked up at him, confused.

“She...doesn’t have a name?” He asked. Jinki held back a smile, barely, and shook his head.

“They don’t come pre-named.” Jinki explained. Jonghyun swallowed, staring at her for a long moment, then looked at Minho.

“You do it.” He said, pouting slightly. Minho’s mouth fell slightly open as he stared at his boyfriend.

“I...Jjong, it’s your dog.” Minho said. Jonghyun’s slight pout turned into a full fledged one as both he and the puppy looked up at him with huge eyes. Minho was instantly reminded of the nurse’s comparison of Jonghyun to a puppy. She didn’t know how right she was. The aegyo was killing his resolve, but he didn’t break until Jonghyun whispered one pleading word.

“Please?” He asked. Minho sighed in defeat, then looked around the food court desperately. His eyes traveled back to the puppy in his boyfriend’s arms and he pulled a random name from his mind before spitting it out.

“R-Roo?” He offered. Jonghyun looked at the puppy again, then nodded.

“Roo.” He agreed, his grin back and threatening to overtake his face.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder how many of you knew I was partially color-blind? I can usually figure it out, but if I show a picture that doesn't match the color description, or if I describe something one way when you know its another, try to take it easy on me. Joey picks on me enough. ;~;

Anyway, I'm bad at descriptions, but this is what their hair looks like:

Jinki:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zhRE_yspU2o/TKtfRzsy1hI/AAAAAAAABr0/Q5ZaK4J-EHA/s1600/SHINee(%EC%83%A4%EC%9D%B4%EB%8B%88)_Hello_%EB%AE%A4%EC%A7%81%EB%B9%84%EB%94%94%EC%98%A4%ED%8B%B0%EC%A0%B8(MUSICVIDEO+TEASER)_(360p).mp40144.jpg

Jonghyun:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SOPFAs1z1VQ/SubEotKNHJI/AAAAAAAAAL8/GYPokEhWwDc/s640/32zp5oz.jpg

Kibum:
http://i619.photobucket.com/albums/tt271/weareshining/KEY/b0095906_4b49f3a3ad684.jpg

Minho:
http://samgyeoepsalsconspiracy.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/minho2.jpg

Taemin:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfkx48QAK91qbteo6o1_500.jpg


And, I know this may come across strangely, but I absolutely adored Key at the start of this chapter. i don't know why, but I decided to over-animate him and it made my day. :3

After a lot of thought, lots of crossed out ideas, and more penciled in ones, I have finally finished the outline for the sequel to Finding Home and I'm ready to start writing it - but there are 3 major problems I've run into.

1. I don't know what to call it.

2. I can't tell you this one without giving away part of the plot.

3. I haven't finished writing FH yet. Dx

You guys have gotten me so excited to do the sequel, and I've gotten ahead of myself. >.>

Don't worry. I'll figure this out. Sorry for the long authors note D: