Jin’s not a morning person. His best hours are between noon and five. It takes him a while to get going in the mornings, which is why on school days he wakes up an hour before he needs to get Taehyung up; he needs that time to center himself and become human. The weekend, when he’s not on call at the hospital, is his favorite time because he can sleep in and make up for the rest he’s lost. But as any parent of a five-soon-to-be-six-year-old can tell you, sleeping in can be dangerous, especially if your child is Kim Taehyung. You’re never really sure what you’ll wake up to find.

The numbers on the LCD screen say nine AM, and Jin groans as he rolls over in his bed. It’s been one whole week since his date with Namjoon, and apart from a flurry of text messages and several quick goodnight phone calls, he’s barely had anytime to see the man. Today he plans on changing that. It’s his first day off in seven days, and he plans on spending as much of it as possible staring at Namjoon’s smile. The bed creaks as he pushes himself into a sitting position after untangling himself from the covers.

As his feet make contact with the cold wooden floor, his mind registers that his adorable son who woke him up at four in the morning stating, “Appa, my bed doesn’t want me to sleep, but your bed always wants me to sleep,” before crawling under the covers with him and promptly falling into slumber, is no longer in the bed. Panic has him slipping his feet into his slippers quicker than usual as he tries to leave his bedroom as speedily as possible, hoping against hope that he makes it out in enough time to stop whatever Taehyung’s young mind has come up with to keep him occupied as Jin slept.

Racing down the hall, Jin finds Taehyung sitting on the living room floor, surrounded by every toy the child has, watching cartoons and chuckling to himself.

“Oh, thank God,” he whispers under his breath.

The last time Taehyung woke up before him, the youngster had somehow found the screwdriver Jin kept hidden in a hallway closet and proceeded to unscrew all the knobs from every door and cabinet in the house. It took hours to put it all back.

“Appa, Appa,” Taehyung jumps up from the ground straight into Jin’s arms.

“Morning, bud,” he greets, ruffling the child’s already unkempt hair. “Whatcha watching?”

“Pororo,” Taehyung tells him as Jin lowers him back to the ground.

“Ahh, are you hungry, bud? What do you want for breakfast?” Jin asks as he walks toward the kitchen, leaving Taehyung in the living room.

“I waited to eat with you, Appa,” Taehyung replies.

“Waited to eat with me?” Jin questions the child’s odd response.

“Huh-uh, I maded a surprise for you, Appa,” Taehyung says as he gets up and runs past Jin into the kitchen.

Jin freezes. Taehyung has a surprise, one that he came up with while Jin was asleep and not able to supervise. Slowly, almost carefully, he walks into the kitchen, scared of what he’ll find.

“Ta-Da!” Taehyung exclaims as Jin tries to calm his frantic nerves.

Cracked eggshells lay scattered across the floor, and what appears to be yellow goo is dripping from the fridge and the bottom cabinets. As Jin delves further into the kitchen, he finds the source of the yellow substance sitting in a large bowl on his countertop.

“I maded breakfast, Appa; are your surpriseded?” Taehyung’s wide innocent eyes look up at him, and Jin doesn’t have the heart to disappoint the youngster.

“Oh, Appa is very, very surprised, Tae,” he tells his son honestly. “Uhm, what is it?”

“Uhm,” Taehyung mutters, climbing onto a step-stool to stare into the bowl. “Breakfast?”

“I see that.” Jin tries not to laugh at the little boy’s quizzical frown as he stares at his creation. “What’s in it?”

“Uhmm eggs, and milk, and cereal, and power stuff,” Taehyung starts.

“Powder stuff?” Jin cuts the little boy off.

“Mmm, the powder stuff that Appa make pancakes with,” Taehyung informs him.

“You mean the pancake mix?”

“Mmm, the powder stuff, and uhm, green stuff because green stuffs are healthfie for you,” Taehyung explains, and you can hear the pride in the little boy’s enthusiastic response.

When Jin peers into the bowl, he sees a large green bell pepper floating in the yellow mixture. It takes Herculean strength to not chuckle at the sight of the green vegetable swimming in the center of the sea of yellow and white.

“Wow, that is very green.” It’s all Jin can think to say. “Appa is very proud of you for making breakfast; you’re turning into such a big boy. It’s too bad that Appa wanted to take you to Mr. Smileys for happy face pancakes today,” Jin throws in nonchalantly.

Mr. Smileys is Taehyung’s favorite place. The restaurant’s founder created it to be a kid-centric atmosphere where families could come and dine without the fear of their children not finding something to eat. Taehyung’s favorite thing is the strawberry happy face pancakes. Taehyung loves pretending his pancakes are alive, and Jin has happily sat through many animated Taehyung vs. pancake conversations.

“Mr. Smileys,” Taehyung repeats with wide eyes.

“Mmm, but it seems like we can’t since you made breakfast,” Jin continues his reverse psychology.

“And, and, and we could have pancakes with happy faces?” Taehyung questions.

“We could, but I guess we’ll have to do it some other time, since-”

“But, but Appa, we don’t haf-to eat Taetae’s breakfast today,” Taehyung cuts him off. “Because, because strawberries are better for you than green things, right?

“Well, yes, strawberries are very good for you,” Jin plays along, happy that the youngster has taken the bait.

“So, so, so we can go to Mr. Smileys still, Appa?” Taehyung asks urgently, and Jin can’t help his chuckle.

“Mmm, well, if you really want to,” he answers hesitantly.

“I want to; I want to Appa, pleeease,” Taehyung pleads.

Jin revels in his victory, silently congratulating himself on being such a sneaky parent.

“Okay, if you truly want to, we will go to Mr. Smileys for breakfast.”

Taehyung’s cheers of joy fill the kitchen.

“Maybe we can see if Appa Namjoon and Kookie want to come, too,” Jin muses out loud and is startled when Taehyung screams in excitement.

“Really, Appa? Rreally we can bringed Kookie and Appa Joon? That would be the bestest thing ever, and Kookie can have healfie strawberries too.”

“Oh, that’s right. We want Appa Joon and Kookie to be healthy. Okay, you go get ready for a bath, and Appa will call Appa Joon and see if he and Kookie would like to join us.”

“Yay!” Taehyung exclaims as he runs down the hallway toward the bathroom, discarding clothing on the way.

Jin takes a deep breath before walking to his room to get his cellphone. It’s been a week since his date with Namjoon, and the euphoria of that night has yet to wear off. They’ve been in constant communication with early morning texts and late-night calls. His heartbeat quickens at the thought of hearing Namjoon’s voice, and an unconscious smile colors Jin’s voluptuous lips.

His free hand fidgets with the hem of his nightshirt as the line rings.

“Hyung, morning,” Namjoon’s sleepy voice greets him.

“Morning, did you sleep well?” he asks, trying to calm his thundering heart.

Jin believes that he could love Namjoon for a hundred years, and every day would still feel like the first time he saw the man.

“I did, hyung. Did you sleep well?” Namjoon returns the question.

“Mmm, I slept in and woke up to Tae having made breakfast, which is why I’m calling, so that my child and I don’t die from eating raw eggs and pancake mix with a green bell pepper on the top. I was wondering if you and Jungkook would like to go to breakfast with us?” He wonders why he’s nervous, why he still carries the fear that he’s overstepping some invisible line.

Namjoon is special to Jin; it’s not just mere attraction for him. The younger man feels like the completion of himself, like the missing piece in the puzzle of his life. He doesn’t want to screw it up, doesn’t want to make a mistake, and yet he knows that one day he will inevitably disappoint the man, not because he wants to, but simply because he’s human.

“I would love to.” He can almost hear the smile in Namjoon’s voice as he responds, and it calms all of Jin’s fears.

“Excellent! Tae and I will be by in an hour to pick you both up.”

“Okay, hyung. We’ll be ready,” Namjoon tells him.

“I’m happy we get to start the day together,” the words fly out of his mouth before Jin can stop them. “, sorry, that didn’t make you feel uncomfortable, did it?”

“Hyung, why would I feel uncomfortable? I’m so excited to see you and Tae. I never feel uncomfortable around you, hyung; you make me feel safe.”

Jin pictures Namjoon blushing as he speaks and wishes dearly he was there to see the man’s face as speaks these words.

“I still get nervous, that I’m rushing you, that I’m pushing my feelings onto you. I never want to do that. Promise to tell me if you ever feel like I am doing that?” Jin requests.

“I know I’ll never have to say that to you, but I promise to let you know if I feel uncomfortable, hyung.”

“Appa, come quick! The water is turning into a big sea,” Taehyung calls from the bathroom.

“Oh !” Jin exclaims on the line. “Taehyung is in the bathroom alone. Gotta go. See you soon, Joon. I love you.”

The statement is automatic, natural. So natural, in fact, that Jin doesn’t realize that he’s said it until after he’s disconnected the call and he’s two-thirds of the way finished with Taehyung’s bath.

“Oh !” he blurts out when his mind finally decides to remind him of his words.

“Ooh, Appa, you said a baaad word,” Taehyung whispers cautiously, eyes wide with worry.

“Sh-“ he stops himself before cursing yet again. “I’m sorry, bub. Appa was just surprised about something.”

“Bad words are bad, Appa. But s’okay since you didn’t mean it. God will forgive you since you’re the bestest Appa,” Taehyung informs him with a smile.

“That makes me very happy to hear, bud,” he tells the youngster as he finishes washing Taehyung off and lifts him out of the tub. 

Jin contemplates calling Namjoon back but decides it’s best to see the man in person. The fear of crossing lines once again rears its ugly head, and he prays he hasn’t made a mess of things.

It’s Yoongi’s idea to bring Jimin along to their meeting with Chanyeol. At first, Hoseok’s against the idea, but when the older man explains that meeting the little boy will give a face to the cause that the lawyer is fighting for, he relents. The fond smile on Chanyeol’s face as he interacts with his son tells Hoseok that he’s made the right decision by listening to Yoongi.

“Mmm, okay, so you know colors,” Chanyeol says somewhat seriously as he and Jimin converse. “But, can you spell your name?”

“Yes, I’m very smart, right Appa?” Jimin answers, side-eying the tall lawyer in the most adorable way.

“You are the smartest,” Yoongi answers, and Hoseok confirms with a nod of his head.

“J I M I N. Jiminie,” Jimin spells out, with a smile that says ‘I told you so.’

“I see,” Chanyeol responds with a nod. “That was good, but here’s the real test. Ccan you spell your name backward?”

Yoongi and Hoseok look at each other, exchanging glances of uncertainty. Jimin pauses for a moment, looking at Chanyeol as though he’s trying to figure out what the man means.

“Backward?” he asks, head cocked to the side.

“Mmm, backward,” Chanyeol repeats with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Jimin draws his brows together in concentration. The table erupts in laughter at the little boy’s next move. In answer to Chanyeol’s challenge, Jimin turns his back toward the man and begins to spell his name once again.

“There, backward,” the little boy declares triumphantly, turning back around to munch on his final piece of chocolate muffin.

Chanyeol cannot stop laughing, and Yoongi stares at his little boy with obvious pride at Jimin’s out of the box th