Jonghyun had fallen back into an easy, comfortable sleep not long after they had finished. He was on his side, his shirt on the floor somewhere near his pants, and he had a small smile on his face. Minho lay behind him, gently massaging Jonghyun’s lower back in hopes of alleviating some of Jonghyun’s pain. He didn’t complain once throughout the whole thing, only letting out happy moans and soft sighs, the loudest noise coming with his , but Minho knew there was going to be some pain, if only from hearing others talk about it.

Finally, around three he stirred. He was comfortable in the bed, there with Minho, and he was struggling with his agoraphobia, but he knew he had to get up. He sat up slowly, a little afraid of the pain that might come, but he was pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t as bad as he had anticipated. It still stung a little, but it was tolerable. Minho pressed soft kisses to Jonghyun’s shoulder, and the boy felt his eyes slip shut again.

“I didn’t know it would wear you out so much.” Minho said softly, his tone slightly apologetic.

“I didn’t mean to sleep so long.” Jonghyun said, catching sight of the clock and blushing. Minho’s arms went around his waist.

“Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll make you something to eat.” Minho said. Jonghyun pushed out his lips, thinking to himself for a moment before turning to his boyfriend.

“You know I love you, right?” Jonghyun asked. Minho couldn’t help but smile.

“I love you too.” He said, catching Jonghyun’s lips. When they parted Jonghyun pouted up at him.

“Then, can we have noodles?” Jonghyun asked. Minho rolled his eyes.

“Yes, we can have noodles.” Minho said, sliding off the bed and helping Jonghyun up. “Now go shower. What do you want to wear?”

“Pajamas.” Jonghyun said simply. He saw no point in dressing for appearances if no one was going to see him. Minho rolled his eyes and tossed Jonghyun a pair of pajama pants, a t-shirt, and some clean boxers. “Can...can you wash the sheets?”

“Yeah.” Minho said, already moving to pull them off. Jonghyun smiled and headed to the bathroom, hoping that the heat from the shower would ease his sore muscles.

When Jinki finally came home around 6, he seemed a little surprised to see Jonghyun curled up on the couch, his head on the arm, still dressed in his pj’s. He pressed a hand to the dozing boys forehead, but when he felt no fever he looked a little confused, before taking a seat beside him. He had no way of knowing, of course, that Jonghyun had been just about bled dry of any and all energy his body had previously held after Minho had decided to join him in the shower. Besides that, he was just too comfortable to move, but he did crack a lazy eye at the appa.

“Are you feeling ok?” Jinki asked softly, and Jonghyun nodded sleepily.

“I’m just tired today.” He mumbled out. Jinki bit his lip.

“Well...I wanted to talk to you about something before Luna gets here with Key and Taemin.” Jinki said, petting Jonghyun’s hair. “Are you feeling up to talking?”

“Mhm.” Jonghyun hummed out softly. Jinki smiled softly, his eyes rolling.

“How would you feel if Luna came to stay here?” He asked softly, and Jonghyun shrugged.

“She always stays here.” He said. Jinki laughed softly.

“No, Jonghyun...I meant, if I offered for her to live here.” Jinki clarified. Jonghyun’s eyes opened a little wider, and Jinki watched as he thought it over. It wasn’t long before the boys eyes misted, and Jinki was about to start backtracking when Jonghyun spoke up.

“Are you gonna marry her?” He asked softly, and Jinki’s eyes widened.

“I...I mean...I...” Jinki sputtered. He took a deep breath, getting over the shock of the question, and looked back at Jonghyun. He was still waiting for an answer. “I...I would like to, but that’s not what I’m asking right now.”

“Are we going to have to call her ‘umma’?” Jonghyun asked, and Jinki’s heart sank in his chest.

“Aniyo.” He said softly. “She’s just going to join the family we have now, not replace anyone.”

“...ok.” Jonghyun said, nodding slowly. Jinki noticed the tears were retreating with no small amount of relief. “She can live here, and you can marry her if you want.”

“Are you sure?” Jinki asked, and Jonghyun nodded.

“I’m gonna go lay down upstairs, ok? I’m still tired.” Jonghyun said, getting up and walking somewhat uncomfortably toward the stairs. As Jinki watched him, he couldn’t help but wonder if Jonghyun had fallen, being that he was limping a little, but he decided not to say anything and let the already stressed boy go.

“You’re going to marry her?” Minho’s voice floated in from the kitchen doorway, and Jinki looked up at the wide eyed boy.

“I would like to, yes. But I don’t exactly have a plan to.” Jinki said, not sure what to do about the hurt expression on the boys face. He half expected Minho to storm off, or demand an explanation, so he was a bit surprised when Minho came to sit beside him. “Is everything alright, Minho?”

Minho was quiet for a long time. He wasn’t one for speaking too much, nor was he someone to get emotional unless it was under extreme circumstances. He hadn’t seemed to care too much when he found out Jinki was dating, but suddenly he seemed exactly like what he was - a child. Jinki wrapped an arm around him silently, and to his surprise Minho tucked in all of his long limbs, making himself as small as possible.

They had all had their baggage explosions, except for Minho. He never seemed to care much about the life he had lived, always just doing his best to make sure everyone liked him. It was easy to forget that it wasn’t just kindness that led him to behave that way, but also a little part of his brain that was as messed up as the rest of the boys. Maybe more so. He needed to feel loved, and like he was wanted. If he felt rejected in any way, it was the most heartbreaking sight to see. Apparently, there was some form of rejection taking place here, though Jinki couldn’t see it.

“Don’t forget about me.” Minho finally whispered, and Jinki was shocked to see the tears on his sons face. Minho did not cry.

“I would never.” Jinki said softly, petting Minho’s hair with a concerned expression.

“You already did.” Minho said. Jinki’s eyebrows went up.

“What are you talking about?” Jinki asked softly. Minho started to shake his head, but Jinki was honestly a bit offended. “Minho. Tell me.”

“You took Key, but not me.” Minho started, not looking at the appa. He paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts and hoping that the other wouldn’t speak up. He needed to get this out. Jinki, for his part, took a moment to catch on to what Minho was saying, and when he did he was too buried in guilt to speak right away, which left time for Minho to speak again. “You took me home last. You introduced Luna to everyone but me, instead of just waiting a week for me to come home. And you didn’t even think to tell me when Jonghyun went missing. The other stuff, yeah, it hurt, but how could you not tell me Jonghyun was gone?”

Jinki could have hit himself. He had been too caught up in Jonghyun’s anxiety, Key’s wild behavior, Taemin’s need for attention, and his relationship with Luna to even realize he was letting Minho down. It was coincidence that all of these things had happened to Minho specifically, but he couldn’t deny that he would feel left behind if it was him in Minho’s shoes.

“Minho...I...” Jinki felt a heavy weight in his stomach, and he wasn’t sure what to do or say to make Minho feel better. “I was going to take you. My wife at the time-”

“And yet you want to remarry.” Minho said, his tone bitter. Jinki swallowed hard.

“It wouldn’t be like that. She was mean, Luna’s not like that.” Jinki said, and when Minho didn’t respond he hugged him tighter. “I brought you home last because I...I just didn’t think. There’s no other excuse than that. Key makes his stress so much more obvious, so I didn’t even stop to think that being there was bothering you so much.”

“What about Luna? What about Jonghyun?” Minho asked, still trying to hold onto something that would explain the pain he was dealing with. Jinki was shaking slightly now.

“Jonghyun was so stressed out when they figured out I was seeing Luna, and...I just didn’t want to stress him out any more. So, when he asked to meet her, I just introduced them. It wasn’t about anything or anyone else.” Jinki said. “She asked about you, when she saw you weren’t there. You were not forgotten about, in any sense of the word. You just weren’t there.”

“And what about when Jonghyun went missing?” Minho asked, a little hint of acid in his tone. Finally, the dam broke. Jinki reached up to wipe at his eyes, even as Minho stayed curled up right where he was. It was obvious he was looking for an explanation, a reassurance, but his words, and the sincerity of his emotions hit Jinki hard. It took him a minute to answer.

“Honestly.” Jinki said softly, once he had gotten his emotions reigned in. “I just didn’t want to break your heart, too. I never thought we wouldn’t find him by Friday. The possibility never even crossed my mind. I wanted you to come home and see him there, waiting for you so we could all sit down and tell you what had been happening. I never thought you would come home in the middle of it, and have to have that same fear we all had.”

“It didn’t work.” Minho said. It wasn’t an attack, nor was it a bitter remark. He was merely speaking the truth.

“I know.“ Jinki said, his lip still trembling slightly. “I’m sorry.”

Minho reached around, offering the appa a small hug before scurrying away. He didn’t want to stay in the awkwardly emotional environment he had created, and intended to go upstairs and make sure his lover wasn’t suffering from their previous events. He paused though, in the doorway, and looked back at the appa who still looked upset. He was only good at comforting Jonghyun, and he didn’t quite know what to do.

“Appa...it’s...it’s fine. Just...don’t forget me anymore, ok?” Minho said, still feeling uncomfortable. “If you love Luna, then marry her. If she wants to be our umma, though, she’s going to have to work hard. For now, I just want to get to know her.”

Jinki looked at him, slightly shocked, but nodded as fat tears trailed down his cheeks. Minho hurried toward the stairs, taking them two at a time and not stopping until he was in front of his bedroom door. He pulled out his phone, feeling a little stressed as he sent a text to Key.

‘Appa’s crying.’ He paused in his writing when he heard another set of soft sniffles coming from the other side of the door, then took a deep breath and added on to the text. ‘Jonghyun is too. You need to come home. I don’t know what to do.’

He hit send, then stuffed his phone in his pocket and went into his room, going straight to Jonghyun’s bed. The boy looked miserable, his eyes red, and his hair a mess. Minho took a seat, gently rubbing the elders back and completely at a loss for what to do. What was wrong with them all today? Why were they getting so emotional? He watched as Jonghyun peeked up at him, then buried his face again.

“Jjongie?” Minho said softly. Jonghyun let out a weak sob into the pillow. “Talk to me. I don’t know how to help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

Jonghyun spent another several seconds sniffling before eventually rolling slightly and looking up at his boyfriend. His boyfriend, who he loved so much it hurt. His boyfriend, who he could count on for anything. His boyfriend, who could always find a way to take the pain away. But right now, he knew Minho couldn’t help him, and somehow that only hurt worse. Finally, he choked out the last words Minho ever expected to hear, and Jonghyun watched as Minho’s heart shattered in his chest.

“I want my mom.”