Minjun

Blackie fit into Minjun's house seamlessly. After Jay had picked out his dog, a Boston Terrier mix he'd instantly named Rex, they'd all headed over to the local pet store to get all of the supplies and toys a puppy and a kitten would need. 

Jun and Gain spent a small fortune on kitten food, a bed and enrichment toys for Blackie. Jun couldn't have cared less about the price. He'd even made a sizable donation to the shelter in Miryo's name.

Taecyeon noticing the uncannily heart-shaped marking on the cat had literally saved his and had given him a chance to win Gain's heart. 

Hearing that Gain thought he'd taken her from her Mommy had broken his heart. He hadn't thought it was possible for his heart to shatter into more pieces, but he'd been wrong. 

The one positive note was that he'd seen Gain smiling at her new kitten and had taken Taecyeon's advice on where to put Blackie's small cat bed in their kitchen. 

Once Gain was happily interested in helping Jay pick out his puppy, Ewon and Nichkhun had taken turns hugging him. He could see in Taecyeon's eyes that he wanted in on the hugging as well, but Jun was just too vulnerable to let Taec touch him. It wouldn't have taken much for Jun to have invited Taec back to his house for dinner and so much more besides.

Thanks to Hwang Narsha's no-man-left-behind policy, he was going to have to spend the entire afternoon with Taecyeon at Sunday dinner. If suffering built character, Jun was well on his way to new heights in strength.

Narsha had been a godsend when Gain had first come to stay with him. She was actively involved in her grandson's life and was pleased as punch to have another "little love" to take care of in the afternoons after school.

Jun could very easily have taken Gain home with him when he left for the day around 4:00pm, but he knew what a good time Gain had watching Judge Judy and learning to bake with Jay and Narsha when she left earlier in the afternoon. It wouldn't have been right to take away that tiny bit of happiness Gain had found in her new life.

"Can Blackie come to Th-unday dinner?" Gain asked from behind him.

Jun startled at the sound of Gain's voice. He laughed at his silliness, hoping his niece would join in. No such luck. Gain stood there frowning at him, as if she were daring him to say no. 

"Why don't we talk about Blackie's rules? Have a seat at the table." Jun motioned toward her usual seat. 

"No!" Gain shouted, scaring the kitten. It bounced out of her arms, crying loudly and scrambled away. 

"That's rule number one. We can't yell around Blackie. She's just a baby and loud noises scare her. You're her Mommy and it's your job to make sure she's protected." Jun was scared to death Gain was going to keep carrying on.

Gain looked down at the kitten who was sitting a few feet away with a wary look in her blue eyes "I'm th-orry I th-cared you, Blackie. What's another rule?" Gain bent to scoop up the kitten. 

Relief barreled through Jun. At least Gain was obeying rule number one "I'll give her water, but it's your job to feed her, okay?"

Gain nodded.

"Last rule is that you need to ask me before you take her out of the house. She's just a baby and we don't want her to get lost outside, right?"

Gain nodded, rubbing her face in Blackie's fur "Right. Can I bring her to dinner?"

"I think Narsha would like that, don't you?"  Narsha had called to talk to Gain last night when he'd sent her a picture of Gain and the cat playing kissy face. He knew the doting grandmother would love to have the tiny cat over for dinner.

Gain nodded. A tiny smile played on her lips.

It wasn't an undying declaration of love, but he'd take it.

Minjun's hands were shaking on the wheel as he drove to Taecyeon's apartment complex on the center of city. Why the hell had he agreed to pick up his ex instead of giving him directions to Narsha and Kwanghee's house? 

He'd lived in Seoul his whole life and knew exactly where Taecyeon's apartment building was located. Pulling up in front of the weathered brick building hurt his heart.

Taecyeon living here instead of in the home they'd created together was Jun's fault. He still had no idea how to broach the subject of what happened that night two years ago with his ex.

It was easy to admit now what a total he'd been in not wanting to listen to Taecyeon's side of the story. His only excuse was the torture he'd lived through when he found out Mark had cheated on him for the entire four years they'd been together at Seoul University. Running through that in his mind now, it seemed like a pretty sorry excuse for pushing Taec away.

Just as he was about to lay on the horn, Taecyeon bounced out of the building with a large shopping bag from Cupcake Heaven in his left hand.

! He'd forgotten the lemony dessert for Gain. They'd been so busy going over the rules for Blackie and getting her packed up in her carrier, he'd forgotten to go to the bakery.

"Hey, Jun. Hi, Gainoo!" Taecyeon opened the back driver's door to set the bag behind Jun's seat "Oh hello, Miss Blackie." Taec made kitty noises before climbing into the passenger side of his Ford sedan.

Gain burst out laughing "Mi-th Blackie." 

Jun, trying to keep a straight face, silently turned around the corner, heading toward Kwanghee and Narsha's house. With his parents dead and Gain not knowing her biological father, he loved that Jay's grandparents were so happy to have Gain in their lives. They'd been bugging Chansung and Junho incessantly about giving them another grandchild and now they had one in Gain.

"How did our Miss Kitty do in her forever home last night?" Taec turned around so he could see Gain.

"Whath a forever home, Taecyeon-thun-thengnim?"

Taec exchanged a happy smile with Minjun "Why don't you just call me Taecyeon-oppa or Taec-oppa when we're out of school, okay? That goes for Blackie too!"

Gain giggled and nodded.

The sound was music to Jun's ears. If only he were the one making Gain laugh like that. Baby steps...

"A forever home is more than just a place to live. It's also finding a family that will love you." Taecyeon offered Minjun a small smile and turned back to Gain.

Jun couldn't help thinking that Gain and Miss Blackie weren't that different. Both of them needed a kind, loving home. Only Blackie seemed more interested in settling in and making herself a part of the family. He just wished Gain would do the same thing "What's in the Cupcake Heaven bag?"

"It’s a ladyfinger lemon torte. The head baker told me this is their most popular non-cupcake dessert."

"I love lemon." Gain chimed in from the backseat "Nar-tha-ajumma teached me and Jay how to make lemon cookieth."

Taec turned around to look at Gain in the backseat again "I love lemon too. I think you're gonna love the cake, Gainoo."

"Whath for dinner? Do you think Nar-tha-ajumma made path-ta, Taec?"

Jun loved how Gain was engaging with Taecyeon. Maybe aside from talking to him about their derailed relationship, he could also ask about how he could get Gain to trust him again.

Taecyeon

Gain had been right on the money about having pasta for dinner. Narsha was making lasagna and she invited the kids to help her layer the noodles, cheese and sauce.

Taecyeon stayed in the kitchen snapping pictures of the kids helping out. He'd gotten a great shot of Jay wiping a smudge of tomato sauce off Gain's right cheek. He'd have to remember to send it to Jun later. 

He figured it was safer for him to stay away from Jun and his friends who were in the living room with Narsha's husband, Kwanghee, watching the Red Sox beat up on the Yankees. Blackie was sitting like a princess grooming herself on Taecyeon's lap.

"So what's the deal with you and Mr. Man?" Narsha dropped him a wink and went back to adding marinara to the lasagna.

Taecyeon burst out laughing. He was stunned that Narsha would just come out and ask him about Minjun "We were together for three years and broke up when he thought I cheated on him."

"But you didn't." Narsha said without hesitation.

Narsha's instant faith in Taecyeon touched his heart. It had been a long time since someone had that kind of blind faith in him "No, I didn't, but he wouldn't listen to me explain until the other day when we had a meeting about little Miss." Taec inclined his head toward Gain, who was happily spooning the ricotta mixture onto the noodles Jay had just added to the lasagna pan.

Even two days later, Jun still hadn't said one word to him about his confession. It was just another warning flag that it was time to move on from Kim Minjun and find a man worthy of him.

Narsha frowned at him "What was his reaction to finally learning the truth?" 

"Radio silence." Taec looked down at his hands "I saw him yesterday at the shelter and we only talked about the business at hand." Taec gave Blackie a quick pat down her newly cleaned back.

"You should go on a date with Uncle Jun." Jay looked serious "He's nice. I bet he'd buy you flowers and take you to 'Talianos for garlic knots and pizza."

Narsha laughed "You're silly. Garlic knots and pizza at Italiano's is your favorite meal."

"I love Italiano's!" Minjun said, looking nervous as he walked into the kitchen.

"Told you!" Jay giggled.

"Kwanghee needs us to look at something out back." Jun didn't take his eyes off the floor.

"Okay." Taecyeon got up and walked with Jun toward the sliding glass door leading to the back yard.

The last thing he heard before sliding the door shut behind him was Narsha's laugh. He knew they'd just been tag-teamed by the Hwang husband and wife.

Minjun

Minjun wiped his sweaty hands on the of his jeans. He never had trouble with anxiety in the past, but his heart was hammering in his chest now. All he had to say to Taecyeon were two simple words, but they were the hardest words in the history of languages to say when you were wrong.

"What does Kwanghee want us to do back here? I can't imagine there's much an elementary school principal and a speech therapist can do in their back yard.

Jun faked a smile for Taecyeon's sake "Kwanghee didn't send us out to do anything for him. I just said that as an excuse to get you outside."

"Thank Christ! Hell, I don't even know what a lawnmower looks like, much less how to use one, remember?"

"That's why we had to hire the landscaper." Jun smiled wistfully at the memory. He'd gone out and bought a top of the line mower and neither one of them could figure out how to turn it on.

They'd ended up paying for a landscaper for the summer, which was better than trying to mow the entire lawn by hand with the weed whacker, which they'd both figured out how to use.

After a few seconds of endless, awkward silence, Taecyeon spoke up "Why did you think I was sleeping with him?" Taecyeon shoved his hands in pockets and gave Jun a hard look "Come to think of it, why did you think I was screwing every man we ever saw? Jesus Christ, Jun, I only had eyes for you!" 

All Jun had wanted to do was come out here and apologize for not hearing Taecyeon out after the incident with the plumber. The last thing he was expecting was for his ex to go on the offensive, even if he had a point "Look at you. You're gorgeous." With his shiny black hair and his black eyes combined with his big and stacked body, Taecyeon was an absolute ten.

Taecyeon pulled his hands out of his pockets and threw them up in the air "What the does that have to do with anything?"

"You're gorgeous and I'm, well, me..." Jun trailed off. He'd always thought Taec was too good for him. It was only a matter of time before Taecyeon left him for someone better looking or with more money.

"Do you really think I'm that ing shallow?" an incredulous look took over Taecyeon's features "What, you thought you were Mr. Right Now and I was still on the hunt for Mr. Right? We were together for three years Jun! We had a house together...we had a life together! I've waited for you to pull your head out of your for the last two years. Doesn't that tell you anything about me?"

Taecyeon had a point. Why would he have been trying to get Jun to listen to him unless Taec really, truly loved him? "I'm sorry, Taecyeon. That's what I came out here to say, that I was sorry I didn't listen to you two years ago. I'm sorry that you were assaulted and instead of being there for you, I walked away. I'm sorry that I was insecure and thought you were going to leave me for another man. I'm sorry for all of it." Jun, looking emotionally spent, sagged and took a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs set around the stone fire pit.

Jun heard Taec sigh behind him before he sat down in the chair next to his own.

"It's been hell living without you. It took almost ten months for me to get used to sleeping alone again. I dogged around for a while thinking that would dull the pain of losing you and all it did was make me hurt more. I miss your smile and the goofy way you snort when you laugh really hard. I miss waking up in your arms and knowing that you have my back. I've tried so hard to move on with my life, Jun, and I just haven't been able to."

"I don't know what to say to that, Taec. I've spent the last two years being angry at you. I tried not to miss anything about you because I was so busy..."

"Hating me?" Taec's voice was strained, as if he were trying to hold back his emotions.

"Something like that." Jun mumbled.

Taecyeon moved to stand up "Great talk, Jun."

"Wait!" Jun grabbed Taecyeon's hand, standing up with him "Don't go. Not yet, I just..." that old zing of attraction sang through his blood as his hand re-familiarized itself with Taecyeon's skin. 

Making eye contact, Jun could see a world of hurt in Taecyeon's stormy black eyes. This was his fault. He was the one with the insecurities, too stubborn to hear out the man who'd loved and lived with him for three years and Taecyeon was paying the price.

"I'm waiting." most of the edge in Taecyeon's voice was gone.

"I miss you, Taec. I miss us." Jun squeezed their hands "I don't know how to fix things, but maybe this is a good place to start?"

"Boys! Dinner!" Narsha shouted from the sliding glass door.

"Yeah, boys! Dinner!" Jay shouted from beside her.

"To be continued." Taecyeon pulled his hand back from Jun and headed toward the door.

Jun watched him turn to go, feeling a spark of hope for the first time in a long time.

The kid-created lasagna was a hit. Jun had told Gain how proud he was of her cooking, but she'd all-but ignored him, sparing him an all too brief smile when he'd complimented her cooking skills. Everyone sitting around the table had shot him sympathetic looks. 

Not that he wasn't blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends in his life, but he was getting sick of being the subject of their pity. Worse, he was sick of being mired in his own pity-party for one. There had to be a way out of the situation between him and Gain. 

Since the kids cooked, the adults had cleaned up. Jun scrubbed the dishes while Ewon dried them. Taecyeon had volunteered to go out with Jay and Rex after the puppy nearly had an accident. 

After their impromptu chat in the backyard, Taecyeon had gone back to keeping to himself. Jun wasn't sure what kind of attitude he was expecting from Taec after he'd apologized, but sullen was the last thing he'd thought Taec would be. The two of them plus Gain were a perfectly matched trio of misery.

Jun was sick of living this miserable life. He'd loved his sister more than life itself and he'd just barely survived losing her. The only thing that had kept him afloat during his darkest days was knowing he had a piece of her left in Gain. 

He'd thought the kitten would be the key to her heart, but he'd been wrong. They'd made a little progress with their chat this morning about Blackie, but she'd barely said one word to him since they'd gotten out of the car at Narsha and Kwanghee's house.

Once dessert had been eaten and everyone raved over Taecyeon having picked it out, he'd packed up Blackie and told Gain it was time to go home. He'd gotten a sourpuss look for his trouble while Gain gave hugs to everyone else, telling them how much she loved them. 

Narsha had been kind enough to tell him that she knew Gain loved him too and that she just wasn't ready to say it yet. Jun knew it was just a bull line meant to make him feel better. In truth, it only made him feel worse. 

Taecyeon had been nice enough to get Gain into her car seat while he'd set Miss Blackie on the seat next to her. The little cat had cried the whole way to the car. Jun assumed she missed Gain, making him feel like he wasn't enough even for the cat. 

Maybe Jun should have gotten a pet for himself while they'd been at the shelter so he'd have at least one being in his life who loved him unconditionally. Taec loved me like that, once upon a time...

The last thing he needed was to start thinking about Taecyeon and the relationship he'd blown to hell by being a stubborn, insecure bastard. 

"Ready to go?" Taec asked softly after he'd buckled his seatbelt. 

"Yeah." Jun shook his head and started the car.

"Are you coming home with me, Taec?" Gain sounded almost giddy.

"No, honey. I've got to go home and do some work for school." "No! Come home with me!" Gain yelled, her tiny voice echoing loudly in the car.

"Gain, what did we say about yelling in front of Blackie?" Jun could feel a migraine coming on. He didn't get them often but when he did they were real skull-crackers. 

"I want Taecyeon! I want Taecyeon!" Gain's voice was shrill and she'd started kicking the back of Taecyeon's seat.

Totally exhausted and out of options, Jun turned to his ex-lover "Come home with us, please?" the only consolation he felt in that moment was that Gain wasn't yelling that she wanted her mother. At least he could give her Taecyeon, if his ex agreed to come home with them. 

Taec nodded easily "Just take me home first, so I can grab my computer and clothes for tomorrow."

Nodding silently, Jun stepped on the gas a little harder. The quicker Taec picked up his things, the quicker he could get home and deal with his headache.