Jinki was freaking out. All four of them were having ? All four?! And he found out all at once?! He brought his hands to his face, trying to calm down as he made dinner. If he was being realistic, he should have suspected at least Key and Taemin, but he couldn't wrap his head around the other two. They were too nice for that, weren't they? Someone would have had to have felt some pain, and neither of them liked causing pain...so it made no sense. Unless they were just confused. Maybe they hadn't actually - but Jonghyun did have that limp. He groaned, pressing the heel of his palms to his eyes.

"A-appa?" A small, scared sounding voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to see Taemin and Key standing in the doorway. "Are you mad?"

"I'm not...mad. I'm just a little surprised." Jinki said softly, and Taemin suddenly shot across the room. Within seconds the appa had his arms full of the maknae, and a moment later he had Key awkwardly hovering beside them.

"Luna says you don't want us to grow up." Taemin said suddenly, and Jinki couldn't help but laugh.

"She hit the nail on the head with that one." Jinki admitted. Taemin looked up at him with wide eyes.

"We have to grow up, though." Taemin said, and Jinki smiled sadly.

"I know." He said, petting Taemin's hair. "Why don't you go set the table for me?"

"De, appa." Taemin agreed, easily falling back into his happy state. He trotted over to the cabinet, and Key was about to follow him but stopped when Jinki caught his eye.

"You are, without a doubt, the nosiest person I've ever met." Jinki declared softly, and Key shrugged with a small, sheepish grin. "I know you have this...undying curiosity, but you really don't need to know everything. Jonghyun and Minho are both really embarrassed now. But, more than that, Taemin got caught up in the crossfire this time too."

"I...I know..." Key said, the smile gone from his face as his eyes lowered to the ground. "Mianhe, appa..."

"Don't apologize to me." Jinki said. "Apologize to Taemin, Minho, and Jonghyun."

Key nodded slowly, then moved to help Taemin set the table.

After dinner, Jinki and Luna vanished into his room. He had been a bit off the entire dinner, speaking up a beat or so too late during a conversation, and saying things that really didn’t make much sense. It left the entire room in a bit of an awkward state, and it would have been a lie to say the boys weren’t more comfortable after he went to his room, which in turn actually made them a bit uneasy. Usually, he made them comfortable by being there.

Jinki flopped face down onto his bed, not saying anything as Luna took a seat beside him and ran her fingers through his hair. He turned his head slightly to look up at her, and she smiled at him. He sighed and rolled over, his head going into her lap, and she giggled.

“Gonna make it?” She teased, and he shook his head.

“They’re going to kill me.” Jinki said, his expression serious. Luna laughed, and a moment later he did too. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Why do you have to do anything?” She asked, and he scrunched his eyebrows up.

“Because I’m the appa.” He said, looking confused. She rolled her eyes.

“Jinki.” She said. “What can you even do? Boys will be boys. You know that.”

“I know...it’s just...” He sighed. “Should I put them in separate rooms?”

“What good will that do?” She asked, and he shrugged.

“Stop them from-” He started, but Luna shook her head.

“You don’t want to stop them.” She said firmly. “Most kids would rebel, find a way to do it anyway. With these boys, though, they’re just going to think they did something wrong, and they’ll never do it again. They’d feel too guilty.”

“Why are you always right?” Jinki pouted.

“It’s in my DNA.” Luna said, shrugging it off.

“So I should leave them where they are?” Jinki said. Luna nodded. “Anything else?”

“Maybe think about investing in some condoms, or-” She started, and he shook his head, eyes wide.

“Nope.” Jinki said. “All set. No way.”

“Jinki...” Luna said, and he sighed. “Jonghyun’s gonna be seventeen in, what, two weeks?”

“Eighteen days.” Jinki said. “I know.”

“You can’t make them stop growing. You can only teach them how to be safe as they grow.” Luna said, petting his hair again. “If you want, I’ll get them the stuff to-”

“Luna.” Jinki said, and she paused. “Can I ask you something?”

She raised a brow, looking a bit concerned. He looked nervous, and that was completely unlike him. She nodded slowly, and he bit his lip. He looked a little shaky, and the way he was acting made her a little nervous as well. Was he disappointed in her approach to the situation? He took a deep breath, his eyes squeezing shut.

“I’ve only done this once before in my life, which admittedly is more than most, but it ended badly. So, before I ask, can you make me a promise?” His voice was soft, and he opened his eyes and looked up at her. She saw a vulnerability there she had never seen before.

“What promise?” She asked.

“If your response...isn’t what I’m hoping for. Can we just pretend I didn’t ask?” Jinki said. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“L-lose me?” She asked, her eyes widening a bit. What was he going to ask? “I don’t want to lose you either. Or...or the boys. Jinki, before anything else...can you promise me that if this doesn’t work out, for any reason...that you’ll still let me see them?”

“Of course, Luna.” Jinki sounded a bit breathless, and slowly, he pushed himself up off of her lap and looked her in the eye. “Luna...what I...what I wanted to ask is...would you consider...being my wife?”

Luna’s mouth opened slightly, but she seemed completely stunned. Jinki was biting his lip, and he had fear in his eyes. They sat this way for a while, Luna slowly opening and closing like she wasn’t sure what to say. Finally, she swallowed hard, then took a deep breath.

“Is this a general question...or...are you proposing?” She asked, sounding breathless.

“I...I’m proposing.” He said. “I have a ring in the nightstand...I had a whole...elaborate plan...but...honestly, Luna...I see how you are with my boys, and they love you. I love you. And I know you love us, too. You were such a big help when Jonghyun went missing, and then today you-”

“Yes.” Luna said, cutting him off. He stopped talking all at once.

“Yes?” Jinki echoed in disbelief. She nodded.

“Yes. I will marry you.” She said, and Jinki’s eyes dampened.

He leaned in, catching her lips. It was a slow, sweet kiss, and when he pulled back she laced their fingers together. He glanced down at their hands and suddenly pulled his away, turning quickly to dig through the nightstand and actually produce the ring he had promised moments before. He found the box easily, and held it out to her with a sheepish grin. She took the box gingerly into her hands and opened it slowly.

Tears sprang to her eyes when she saw the ring inside. She lifted her eyes to him and he smiled softly, reaching out to take it and slide it onto her finger.

“Is that-” She started, her voice shaky.

“White sapphire, on a white gold band.” He said, nodding.

“How did you know?” She asked, and he smiled.

“You told me, before we started dating.” He said, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

“That was over two years ago.” She said, and he shrugged.

“I know.” He said. She kissed him again.

“Should we go tell the boys?” She asked, and he pretended to think about it.

“Maybe. But then they’ll just ask all kinds of questions, like...when are you moving in? Or...when’s the wedding? Or-” She put her hand over his mouth, a huge smile on her face.

“I’ll move in whenever you want me to.” Luna said. “And I don’t care when or where the wedding is, as long as they’re all there.”

“Hmm...” Jinki said. “You should move in this weekend.”

“Should I?” She asked, her tone teasing. “Well, that seems like a lot of work.”

“I’ll hire movers.” He said. “As for when and where, we should let Key plan it.”

“He would be good at it.” Luna agreed, and then they both burst into laughter.

“Come on.” Jinki said, tugging her off the bed with him. They headed down to the living room, and instantly the four boys looked up at them. In the excitement he was experiencing, Jinki had forgotten the awkwardness that had taken place earlier in the day. “Can we talk to you guys?”

Four affirmative head bobs greeted his question, and he glanced over at Luna, not sure where to begin. She rolled her eyes at him, then looked around at the boys with a serious expression. Best to get the awkward out of the way before the big announcement, right?

“Since your appa is so ill equipped for this situation, I’m going to take you out shopping to get what you’ll need for safe .” She said, smiling a bit at the uncomfortable shifting of everyone, including her fiance. “Until then, please just try to hold off.”

She was met with flaming red faces all around, and she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. She raised her hand automatically to cover , accidentally putting her ring on display. Key homed in on it within a second, and he was across the room before another second could pass. He stared intently at it for a moment before turning to Jinki as everyone else slowly realized what it represented.

“When did you do that?” He asked, and Jinki’s eyebrows went up.

“Just now.” He said. “We were coming down to-”

“You didn’t take her out somewhere special?” He asked, throwing his hands up. “What’s the point of asking for my advice if you’re not going to take it?”

“Key...I never asked for your advice. You just offered it.” Jinki pointed out, an amused expression on his face.

“You...you’re getting married?” Jonghyun suddenly spoke up. All the eyes in the room turned to him, and hearts began sinking when they saw his damp eyes. Luna nodded slowly, and a few tears slipped out of Jonghyun’s eyes. He got up and moved to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her.

“Is that ok, Jonghyun?” She asked, and he nodded, pulling back to smile up at her. She looked at the other boys. “And what about you guys?”

Confirmations came in from all around, and Jinki draped his arms over Jonghyun’s shoulders from behind, his chin resting on top of his eldest son’s head. It was quiet for a moment, and Minho was biting at his lip, looking like he wanted to say something. Jinki raised a brow at him, and he sighed.

“Ok, you’re getting married, and that’s great and all, but there’s something you haven’t cleared up.” Minho said, pointing an accusatory finger at the appa. “When is she moving in?”

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So, there's a question that you guys may or may not have about Jinki, and it's going to be addressed within the next like...3 chapters, wherever I decide to fit it in.  And yes, I am continuing this series(?) with a third fic, and I believe that one will actually be the final one. There are a few things I really need to work out as far as that goes, and in theory I could kind of just pop the ideas into this one, but...I don't feel that that would shed enough light on them, and I feel like it would make the story seem rushed.

THIS FIC IS NOT OVER YET. I'm just mentioning another one that will follow, not wrapping this one up early, not cutting this one short. I have a plan, my friends. I promise~

Are you guys wanting for character profiles? I can add them in if you want.