Taemin and Key both woke up to noise in the hallway. Taemin got up and opened the door. He noticed two boys running down the hallway. 

 

"Who are you?" One of the boys asked. 

 

Taemin didn't answer. He just looked at the other boy. He didn't trust them and didn't want to talk to them. He just closed the door and locked it. 

 

 

 

The other boy frowned. "That was weird. He just closed the door." 

 

"Yeah." the boy frowned. 

 

 

 

Mrs. Choi came in. "Hello boys, I took in two foster children today." 

 

 

 

"Oh. We saw one of them. He opened the door and just closed it after Minho asked who he was." The older boy said. 

 

"They're really shy. The older one doesn't talk at all." She said. She knocked on the guest room's door.  

 

 

 

Taemin opened it up slowly. 

 

"I want you and your brother to meet my boys. This is Minho and Jonghyun." She said. 

 

Taemin looked at the boys, then back at Mrs. Choi. "Key's still asleep..." 

 

"Okay, why don't you boys help Taemin unpack." Mrs. Choi said. "I'm going to start dinner." 

 

 

 

Jonghyun nodded. "Okay mom." 

 

 

 

Taemin froze. He slowly opened the door wider and let the boys in. He watched them closely, making sure they didn't go near Key. 

 

Minho frowned. "We won't hurt you." 

 

Taemin looked at Minho. 

 

 

 

"How old are you?" Jonghyun asked. 

 

 

 

Taemin didn't answer. 

 

"I'm 14." Minho said. 

 

"I'm 15." Jonghyun said. 

 

 

 

Taemin looked at them. "I'm 12...Key is 14..." 

 

"Hey, we're the same age." Minho smiled. "So what do you like to do?" 

 

"I like to dance..." Taemin said, his voice soft and almost quiet. 

 

"That's cool. You'll have to show us one day. I'm sure you're amazing." Minho smiled. "I love to play soccer."

 

 

 

"I play soccer too, but Minho is the best in our team." Jonghyun said. 

 

 

 

Taemin didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. 

 

"You don't have much do you? You can have some of my things." Minho said. 

 

Taemin frowned. "I don't want your stuff. We don't need things." 

 

 

 

"So you're orphans?" Jonghyun asked. 

 

 

 

"Key and I ran away." Taemin said. 

 

 

 

"Why?" Minho asked. 

 

Taemin hesitated to tell them. 'We are staying with them...I guess it won't hurt...' "Our parents were horrible people. They were very abusive to us. My older brother tried to protect me but now he's hurt so now I take on the role of the big brother." 

 

 

 

Minho hugged him. "I'm sorry. That's horrible."

 

Taemin freaked out and pushed Minho away. "Don't touch me!" 

 

 

 

"I'm sorry." Minho said, pulling away. 

 

Taemin frowned and stood next to Key, protectively. 

 

 

 

Jonghyun frowned. "We won't hurt you." 

 

"I didn't mean to scare you." Minho said. 

 

 

 

"No one touches me or my brother." Taemin said. 

 

"I'm sorry..." Minho said. 

 

Taemin looked at him. "Help me unpack and then go." 

 

Minho nodded. He helped unpack. 

 

Jonghyun joined in. 

 

 

 

Taemin helped but he stood a good distance from them and kept an eye on Key. 

 

Key started waking up. He freaked out when he noticed Minho and Jonghyun in the room. 

 

Taemin went to him and held him. "It's okay. They are Mrs. Choi's kids. They are helping us unpack." 

 

Key kept panicking. He had become scared of any older man. 

 

"Jonghyun, leave the room." Taemin said. 

 

 

 

"Why?" Jonghyun asked. 

 

 

 

"Because Key doesn't like older men! Minho's his age. So you get out!" Taemin said. 

 

 

 

Jonghyun quickly left. 

 

 

 

Taemin held Key and cradled him. "It's okay. Minho's the same age as you. He won't hurt you." 

 

Key started calming down. He clung to Taemin. 

 

Taemin cradled him. "It's okay. I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to you." 

 

Minho frowned. "Is he okay?"

 

"He's scared of older men. Our father was harder on him then me." Taemin said. 

 

"Oh..." Minho frowned. "Do you want me to get anything?"

 

"Can you get him a glass of strawberry milk?" Taemin asked. 

 

Minho nodded. He left and came back with the glass and a teddy bear. "Jonghyun said to give this to Key." 

 

Taemin nodded. He handed Key the milk and the bear. 

 

Key slowly drank the milk and cuddled the teddy bear. 

 

Taemin looked at Minho. "Thank you." 

 

"Mom said it was dinner time."

 

Taemin nodded. "Okay...we'll have to eat up here. Key won't be comfortable around Jonghyun..." 

 

"Okay..." Minho sighed. 

 

"Can you get our plates? I can't leave Key alone and he can't see Jonghyun." Taemin said. 

 

Minho nodded and went down stairs. 

 

Taemin stayed with Key. 

 

 

 

Jonghyun frowned when Minho came down alone. "Where's Taemin and Key?" 

 

"They want to eat in their room." 

 

 

 

"Okay..." Jonghyun sighed. 

 

"I'm going to bring up their food."

 

 

 

"Okay," Mrs. Choi said. 

 

 

 

"I want to help too, but Key's scared of me. Taemin said he doesn't like older men. I mean...I'm only a year older..." Jonghyun said. 

 

"Maybe he just needs to get used to you. You could try introducing yourself." Minho said. 

 

 

 

"Okay...I'll try..." Jonghyun said. He helped make the plates and brought it to their room. 

 

Key got nervous once he saw Jonghyun. 

 

Jonghyun waved at Key. "Hi. I'm Jonghyun. I'm 15 years old. I won't hurt you either." 

 

Key look at him. He waved back shyly. 

 

Jonghyun smiled at him. "I'm the one who thought of giving you the teddy bear." 

 

Key hugged the bear tight. He had never had a teddy bear before. 

 

"I'm glad you like it. It was mine when I was little." Jonghyun said. 

 

Key smiled weakly at him. 

 

 

 

Taemin held Key's hand. He was watching Minho and Jonghyun closely. 

 

Minho handed Taemin the plate. 

 

Taemin handed it to Key and took the other plate. He ate slowly, watching Key. 

 

Key ate slowly. He was still a little nervous but he was getting more comfortable with Jonghyun. 

 

Taemin ate less than half the plate. He always gave Key more food at home so he wasn't use to eating a lot. While he made sure Key stayed healthy and ate. 

 

 

 

Key finished half the plate. 

 

 

 

Taemin smiled. He looked at Minho and Jonghyun. "We're done." 

 

 

 

"You didn't eat much." Jonghyun said. 

 

Minho frowned. "You need to eat more."

 

"We're fine. This is more than we usually eat. Key ate half the plate." Taemin said. 

 

 

 

"You didn't even eat half of it." Jonghyun said, looking at Taemin's plate. 

 

"Why don't you just take two more bits." Minho said. 

 

 

 

Taemin frowned. "I'm fine." 

 

Key took two little bits. 

 

Taemin sighed and ate two more bites. "Is that good?" 

 

Minho smiled. "Yeah, do you guys want to come watch a movie with us?"

 

Taemin looked at Key. "Do you want too?" 

 

Key shrugged. 

 

"It's up to you." Taemin said. 

 

"It'll be fun." Jonghyun said. 

 

Key nodded.  

 

Taemin led Key downstairs. He held him close. 

 

Key sat quietly on the couch as Minho started a movie. 

 

Taemin stayed close to Key. Minho sat next to Taemin. 

 

Taemin held Key in his arms. 

 

Key laid his head on Taemin's shoulder. 

 

Taemin smiled. 

 

Jonghyun sat down next to Key. 

 

Key got a little uneasy but didn't move.

 

Taemin noticed and held him closer. 

 

Mrs. Choi came in with a tray of snacks. 

 

Taemin didn't touch them. 

 

Key smiled and ate a few strawberries. 

 

"I'm going out shopping. Anything you boys want?"

 

"Can you get more sports drink?" Minho asked. 

 

"Can we get banana milk and strawberry milk?" Taemin said. 

 

"Of course, anything else?"

 

"No thank you." 

 

"Okay, I'll be back soon. Will you boys be okay without me?"

 

Taemin nodded. "Yeah..." 

 

She smiled and left. 

 

Taemin stayed close to Key. 

 

Key curled up. 

 

"Try some snacks." Jonghyun said. 

 

Key looked at the plate. He didn't know what most of it was. 

 

"There's cheese and crackers. Some fruit too." Jonghyun said. 

 

Taemin stared at the food. He was nervous to take any. 

 

Key took a cracker. He ate it slowly. 

 

Taemin watched. He took one and ate it slowly too. 

 

"Have you guys never tried these before?" Jonghyun asked. 

 

Key shook his head. 

 

"Oh. They're really good." Jonghyun said. 

 

Taemin grew quiet. No other kids had talked to them before. Not even at the other home. It was weird that these boys were. 

 

Minho gave him a cantaloupe piece. "Try this, Taemin."

 

Taemin froze and stared at it. "What is it?" 

 

"It's cantaloupe. It’s really good." Minho said. 

 

Taemin took a tiny bit. He chewed slowly. "It is good...thank you..." 

 

Minho smiled. "I'll be right back."

 

Minho left and came back with two bowls of ice cream.

 

Taemin looked at them. "What is that?" 

 

"It's called ice cream." Minho smiled. 

 

Taemin frowned. "Ice cream?" 

 

 

"It's a type of dessert." Jonghyun said. "It's really good." 

 

Minho gave them the bowls. 

 

Taemin took a bite. He smiled and took another bite. "It's yummy!" 

 

Key slowly took a bite. He smiled.

 

Jonghyun smiled. "It's really good, right?" 

 

Key nodded. He smiled at Jonghyun. 

 

Jonghyun smiled back. 

 

Taemin noticed. Key never smiled at anyone but him. 

 

Key finished his bowl of ice cream. 

 

Taemin finished half of his. 

 

Key yawned. He laid down with his head on Taemin's lap. He stretched his legs out onto Jonghyun's lap. 

 

Jonghyun smiled and stayed still. 

 

Taemin watched Jonghyun closely. 

 

Key fell asleep. 

 

Taemin couldn't relax. He didn't trust Key's legs being on Jonghyun's lap. 

 

Minho noticed. He carefully took Taemin's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's okay, Taemin."

 

Taemin freaked out at the touch and pulled his hand away. 

 

Minho frowned. "I won't hurt you." 

 

Taemin looked at Minho. "I-I'm sorry..." 

 

"It's okay, why don't you and Key go to bed?" Minho said.

 

Taemin nodded. He tried to pick up Key, not wanting to wake him up. 

 

"Let Jonghyun carry him up." Minho said. 

 

Taemin froze. He shook his head. "No. No one can hold him but me." 

 

Minho frowned. "It's okay, Taemin. We won't hurt you." 

 

Taemin frowned. He was starting to panic. He didn't want anyone touching Key. 

 

"Taemin? Calm down. It's okay. No one is going to hurt you or Key." Minho said. 

 

Taemin continued to panic. He held Key close and sat on the floor. 

 

Key had woken up from being moved. 

 

Taemin continued to hold him close. 

 

"Taemin, calm down. You can't carry Key." Jonghyun said. "I won't hurt him." 

 

Key pulled away from Taemin. He held Taemin's hand and rubbed his back. He could tell Taemin was starting to hyperventilate. 

 

Taemin started to calm down at Key's touch. He curled up to him and stayed quiet. 

 

Key hugged him. 

 

Taemin hugged back. "I'm sorry..." He said, his voice soft. 

 

Key pulled away and kissed his forehead.  

 

Taemin looked at him. "I'm just very protective over Key. I haven't let anyone hold him or touch him except me. We have lived a really hard life and... I just want to protect my brother. I'm sorry...I don't trust people easily..." 

 

"That's okay, Taemin. We'll earn your trust." Minho said, giving him a warm smile. 

 

Taemin looked at his hands. 

 

Minho sighed. "You should get some rest." 

 

Taemin nodded. He led Key back to their room. 

 

Jonghyun sighed. "It's going to take a while for them to heal..." 

 

Minho nodded. "Yeah, were you ever that bad?"

 

Minho was the only biological child of the Choi's. They had been told they weren't likely to be able to have kids and adopted Jonghyun. When Minho came along, they had been overjoyed. 

 

"No. I wasn't abused." Jonghyun said. "Their parents must have been really bad." 

 

"Your biological parents died when you were one, didn't they? Do you even remember them?" Minho said. He knew Jonghyun thought of his parents as his real parents. 

 

Jonghyun shook his head. "No. All I know is your parents. I don't remember mine at all." 

 

Minho nodded. "Well, I'm glad you're my brother." 

 

Jonghyun smiled. "I'm glad too. I wonder how long Taemin and Key will stay." 

 

Minho shrugged. "Let's clean up."

 

Jonghyun nodded. They finished cleaning up when Mrs. Choi came back. 

 

 

“Where’s the boys?” Mrs. Choi asked 

 

"Taemin and Key are sleeping." Jonghyun said. 

 

"Taemin had a panic attack." Minho frowned. 

 

"Oh, the poor boys. Will you help me put everything away?" She said. 

 

"Of course." Jonghyun said. They helped put the groceries away. "Mom, how long will they be staying here?" 

 

"I'm not sure. A while though. Probably a year." 

 

"Okay. Key's getting comfortable around me. He put his legs on my lap and fell asleep." Jonghyun said. "But Taemin just freaks out if anyone touches him." 

 

Minho sighed. "He doesn't like me."

 

"He doesn't like anyone." Jonghyun said. "He wouldn't let me carry Key. He had a panic attack." 

 

"Why don't you boys go to bed? It's getting late." 

 

Jonghyun nodded. "Okay. Night mom." 

 

"Night boys." Mrs. Choi smiled. They heard the front door open. 

 

"I'm home!" A man's voice said. 

 

"Father!" Jonghyun smiled and ran to him. 

 

"Hey buddy!" Mr. Choi said, giving him a hug. 

 

Minho smiled and ran to him as well. "Hey Dad!" 

 

"Hey Minho!" Mr. Choi said, giving him a hug. "How are you boys?" 

 

"Good," Minho smiled. Mrs. Choi can in and gave her husband a kiss. "Eww." 

 

Mr. Choi chuckled. "It's not eww. Kissing is what two people in love do. You'll figure that out when you fall in love." 

 

Mrs. Choi smiled. "We have two foster boys who will be staying with us." 

 

"Okay. Where are they?" Mr. Choi asked. 

 

"I wouldn't go see them. They don't trust older men." Jonghyun said. "Or trust anyone." 

 

"Key?" Minho noticed Key standing alone at the top of the stairs. He had tears running down his face. 

 

Jonghyun frowned. "What's wrong?" He went over to him. 

 

Key looked at his hands. 

 

Jonghyun went to him. "That's my appa. He's nice. He won't hurt you." He said. "Do you want some milk?" 

 

Key took his hand. 

 

Jonghyun led him to the kitchen and gave him a glass of strawberry milk. 

 

Key slowly drank it. His hands were shaking. He was terrified of Mr. Choi. 

 

Jonghyun frowned. "He's really nice. He's my appa. He took care of me when I was adopted. He won't ever hurt you. I promise." 

 

Key stood up and started going back upstairs. 

 

Jonghyun followed him. 

 

Key went back to his room. He watched Taemin sleep. 

 

Jonghyun went to leave, but Key grabbed his hand. 

 

Jonghyun looked at him. "Do you want to sleep next to me?" 

 

Key nodded. 

 

 

 

Jonghyun led Key into the chair and held him. He rocked him gently. 

 

Key slowly fell asleep in his arms. 

 

Jonghyun smiled. He laid Key back down carefully and laid down next to him. He soon fell asleep.