Bouncing Jonghun in his lap, Jongin watches as the former chews on one of the tails to a stuffed mouse before he looks over at Sehun, who is in the midst of loading the dishwasher by the sink. Jongin hates that he still smells like wet dog, but he shoves the thought aside when Jonghun hops off his lap and proceeds to entertain himself with a bouncy ball. Jonghun ends up bouncing it all around the kitchen until he accidentally knocks over the salt shaker, causing salt to fly all across the table. Sehun only sends Jongin a look when the latter proceeds to pick up a few flakes with the tip of his finger before he  them all off.

Jongin feels his phone vibrate and he blinks when he sees three new texts - one from Baekhyun asking him if he's doing alright, one from Chanyeol complaining about the 'gross dog smell' attached to his (brand new) car seats, and (an unnaturally long) one from Luhan, in which the latter informs Jongin all about how 'awesome' his brother thought 'their little adventure' sounded after he rang him up and told him about it, despite his mother still being 'weirdly pissed off' at him for some reason. Jongin fights the urge to text Luhan back by calling the latter every insult he can possibly think of, because he would rather not have Luhan play cards at his house ever again if it means getting wrongfully thrown in prison and nearly mauled by dogs, all within less than two hours. He ends up typing out a quick message, in which he reminds Luhan to stop by tomorrow morning and pick up his cards before Jonghun gets to them first.     

Placing his phone on the table, Jongin figures that he shouldn't be mad, because he feels the warm relief still coursing through his veins, which erupted in his chest after he came to the realization that Sehun most likely didn't know the truth, mainly because Sehun didn't, in fact, immediately disown him upon leaving the station. In fact, Sehun didn't ask any questions when they approached the parking lot and got into Chanyeol's car (Jongin fought the urge to question Sehun where his car went, but decided against it). Sehun also didn't question Jongin during the twenty minute ride (during which he kept an unusually tight grip on Jongin's hand), nor after they stopped by Chanyeol's house, dropped off the latter's car and subsequently walked back home, which Jongin found relieving, to say the least. Jongin figured that he was in the safe zone the moment he slipped Sehun's wallet, which Luhan discreetly handed him before they parted ways, back inside Sehun's coat pocket after they walked in the front door ten minutes later. All in all, Jongin is just glad that he managed to escape being listed as a criminal for the rest of his life, and thus saving himself from being tossed out onto the streets to fend for himself.

Even though he never ended up getting his chocolate egg, Jongin figures that he'll make do without it before he perches himself on the chair and encourages Jonghun as the latter practices his ABCs out loud. It's not until Jonghun spots the fiery red cards still scattered across the floor that he squees and scampers towards them, which has Jongin subsequently flying out of his chair and picking them all up (because even though he might hate Luhan's guts, Jongin figures that he'll be kind enough to not let his cards get demolished). It suddenly hits Jongin, as he gathers them up into a neat pile, that it's Friday, meaning that it's his turn to pick out a film for their weekly movie night. With that thought in mind, he eagerly skips towards the living room (after he accidentally slips on one of Jonghun's bouncy balls scattered all around the floor). Jonghun immediately seems to get the hint, because he scrambles to his feet and excitedly clings to Jongin's leg. However, Jongin barely makes it three steps before he hears Sehun's voice.

"Jongin, could you get back in here? I want to talk to you for a minute."

Jongin halts and blinks. At first, he internally panics, because he lowkey worries that Sehun might have caught him placing his wallet back in his coat earlier, but he dismisses the thought off before he swallows thickly. Figuring that Sehun is simply going to ask him to prepare some snacks, Jongin turns back around and skips into the kitchen. He's about to ask Jonghun if he would like popcorn or salmon treats when Sehun suddenly turns around, which nearly makes Jongin trip over his own two feet. Jonghun impatiently tugs on the hem of Jongin's jeans and squeals something along the lines of 'Movie', but Jongin finds himself trudging towards the same chair he just sat on after Sehun points to it with an unreadable look on his face.

Swinging his legs back and forth, Jongin bites his lip as he feels Sehun's gaze burning holes in his head. Despite the fact that his heart is racing a million miles a minute, Jongin knows that he doesn't have anything to worry about, because there's no way that Sehun saw him putting his wallet back earlier (unless Sehun secretly has eyes at the back of his head), so he simply perches himself on the chair and fidgets with the hem of his sweater. However, it's not until a few minutes pass that the silence threatens to suffocate him, but Jongin doesn't get a chance to get up and open the window before Sehun opens his mouth to speak.

"Jongin, what in the actual hell were you thinking?" Sehun asks after a whole minute's worth of silence. Even though there's no bite in his voice, Jongin still finds himself swallowing at the way his arms are crossed over his chest and the stern look on his face. "I honestly thought you knew better than that." Sehun runs a hand through his hair, and it's not until they fall into silence yet again that he clears his throat, which makes Jongin flinch. "Well?"

Jongin doesn't say anything for a whole minute, and he's lowkey hoping that Sehun will quit staring at him like that if he doesn't look him in the eyes. However, fate doesn't seem to be on Jongin's side when Sehun, clearing waiting for a response, clears his throat again. The thought of Sehun kicking him out the door for knowing all about his nonexistent criminal antics has Jongin vigorously shaking his head. "I didn't-- I mean, it was-- I didn't want him to-"

"Do you have any idea what could have happened if you hadn't run out of gas?" Sehun asks in exasperation and he doesn't give Jongin a chance to reply before he continues. "I don't know if Luhan told you to do it, but you know exactly how I feel about him pressuring you into doing stupid things," he says, not even bothering to mask his concern as he sends Jongin a stern look, which the latter attempts to dodge with all his might. "I don't want to have to keep an eye on you every minute, I've let you get away with plenty of things he's made you do in the past, but this is very dangerous and I have to make sure you never do it again." Sehun walks towards the table when Jongin remains silent. "Okay?"

Ears twitching, Jongin chews on his bottom lip as Sehun's words swim through his head. If he's going to be honest, he has no idea why Sehun is yelling at him instead of Luhan, but he doesn't bother questioning it when Sehun furrows his eyebrows. The fact that Sehun is blowing up at him for something he had no part in only fuels Jongin's irritation, and the next thing Jongin knows, he's growling under his breath. "Why're you-- I didn't even-- It was Luhan's fault, I didn't want him to do it--" Jongin feels his ears droop when Sehun only raises an eyebrow. "I didn't want him to take it, but he did anyway, I told him he shouldn't have. It's him you should be yelling at-- I'm not a criminal, I promise-- We didn't steal your money, it's all there, go look--" Jongin has to cut himself off to swallow the sob threatening to escape his throat when Sehun puts a hand on his hip, all while Jonghun calls their names from the living room.

Sehun is silent for a minute. "You know I don't care who's fault it is," he says with a strict glare in Jongin's direction. "I just need to know that you understand just how dangerous these things are and that you'll never do it again, no matter what." It's not until they fall into silence again that Sehun runs a hand through his hair and sends Jongin a sharp look. "Jongin, look at me."   

Pouting, Jongin wordlessly fidgets with the hem of his sweater. He hasn't told Sehun (and probably never will), but he learned all about the dangers of thievery when he swiped a cookie four years ago, from the fresh batch that his second foster mother made specifically for his foster sister, and Jongin doesn't know if he should laugh or cry over the fact that Sehun thinks he's stupid enough not to know something as simple as that. "Now you're just talking to me like I'm a kitten," he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest and avoiding Sehun's eyes. 

Shaking his head, Sehun sighs in exasperation. "Jongin-"

"I already told you, we didn't take anything, I never wanted him to do it, I know it's bad, but I'm not a-- Why're you blaming me for something I didn't do," Jongin says all in one breath before he scoffs. He makes a mental note to launch Luhan into outer space before he irritatedly tugs on a lock of his hair. "Can we watch the movie now??? Jonghun's waiting," he says and points to the living room with a grin, which falters as soon as he sees the look on Sehun's face. "I said I didn't take anything!!" 

Sehun furrows his eyebrows before he sighs under his breath. "Jongin, that's not what I'm-" 

"Stop being mad at me for something I didn't do," Jongin whines, tail swaying back and forth in agitation. "I'm not a thief, I didn't do anything, so stop yelling at me-- I don't get it--" He sends Sehun an irritated scowl when the thought of Sehun possibly taking Luhan's side for whatever reason hits him. "What're you so mad about, anyway-"

"My car," Sehun harshly growls, the loudness of his voice nearly making Jongin fall off his chair. He runs a hand through his hair in exasperation and makes sure that Jongin is looking at him before he continues. "Listen, I don't care if Luhan pressured you into it, or who's fault it was, or if you didn't want anything to do with it, never, ever step foot inside the car on your own without my permission, you could get yourself--" He cuts himself off when Jongin suddenly looks up at him with wide, puzzled eyes which makes Sehun choke on his last word. He has to take a few breaths to regain his composure before he sighs and clears his throat. "Point is, always ask me if you want to take the car somewhere and I'll go with you, do you understand?"

Jongin blinks and runs a hand through his hair as he tries making sense of what he's hearing, only to huff when his head won't stop spinning. "Wait--" He blinks again but he doesn't get a chance to open his mouth to speak again when Sehun suddenly points right at him.

"I said, do you understand?" Sehun sends Jongin a sharp glare, which makes the latter want to turn his face away before it can explode with heat. "I need a 'yes'."  

Jongin ends up blurting out a garbled 'Yes', despite not having fully processed Sehun's words and it's not until he comes to the full realization that Sehun isn't, in fact, kicking him out that he nearly collapses with relief. Despite that, Jongin finds himself blinking in confusion as he scratches the back of his right ear. Come to think of it, he does recall Sehun locking his car keys inside one of the drawers to the shelf immediately after they walked in the door earlier, but Jongin dismisses the thought when a small smirk creeps up his lips. "I'm still a better driver than Luhan," he mutters, only to clamp his mouth shut when he sees the look on Sehun's face. Jongin fights the urge to remind Sehun that if he wasn't a great driver, they wouldn't have come out unscathed like they did, but he decides against it before he sighs and buries his face in his hands. "I just wanted a chocolate egg--"

Sehun sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "You should've come upstairs and told me, I would've-" 

"But you said we weren't supposed to disturb you while you were on the phone," Jongin whines with a pout as he sits perched on the edge of the chair. A thought hits him and he chews on his bottom lip. "But--" He fiddles with the hem of his pink sweater. "Luhan said that driving's an adult thing, and like-- You're always telling me to be...y'know independent and mature and adultier and...stuff, right???" Jongin has to close his mouth shut when he worries his brain might implode from all the confusion filling his head. He opts to watch Jonghun as the latter scribbles something on a piece of paper on the floor and loudly hums the tune to 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

Sehun is silent for a minute. "Mature adults don't put themselves and their friends in danger," he sighs. "And I'd much rather you come upstairs than take my keys and head off on your own, without my permission." He sends Jongin a pointed look, which makes the latter blush and turn his face away. "Thinking rationally and not giving in to things you don't actually want to do is more like it, though," he says after a while and ruffles Jongin's hair. Jonghun runs up to the table and shows them his drawing, which has both Jongin and Sehun smiling in awe.

Jongin huffs and grabs Sehun's hand when Jonghun asks Sehun to come over and draw flowers with him. For a moment, none of them say anything, and Jongin tiredly rubs his head against Sehun's wrist as he listens to Jonghun fumble with the box of crayons. Jongin can't shake just how strange it is that Sehun is more against simple dishonesty than having his possessions stolen, and he figures that he didn't do a good job at hiding his pout just now, because Sehun subsequently sends him a questioning look. "I mean, it's just-- I think getting robbed is a whole lot worse than driving someone's car," he quietly mumbles before he blinks and jabs Sehun's arm. "But you drove Chanyeol's car, didn't you???" he squawks, to which Sehun replies with a nod. "But then...nevermind."

Sehun gently brushes a lock of hair from Jongin's eyes. "For starters, I asked him if I could," he says with a pointed look at Jongin, who only looks away whilst blushing profusely (even though Sehun figures that Chanyeol most likely would have been okay with if even if he didn't ask). He briefly decides against saying the next part out loud, but he ends up doing so, anyway. "And secondly, I actually know how to drive a car." Inevitably, Jongin scoffs, to which Sehun responds by shrugging unapologetically. "Sorry, kiddo, but it's true-"

"You should've seen us, though," Jongin squees, his eyes lighting up as he wildly gestures in all directions. "It was like a video game!! We like, drove really fast and raced a bunch of different cars and--" He clamps his mouth shut when he realizes that he probably isn't doing himself (or Luhan, for that matter) any justice. Jongin doesn't even need to look up to know that Sehun is most likely sighing to himself, which makes him giggle as he inspects his sweater, which still reeks of wet dog. For a second, Jongin contemplates heading upstairs to change, but he forgets all about it when Sehun ruffles his hair.

"As much as I don't want to, I believe you," Sehun says in an exasperated tone before he playfully pinches Jongin's cheek, which results in Jongin nearly chopping his hand off. "And I'd much rather prefer you taking my money over driving off in my car without my permission and putting yourself and others in danger," he adds and places a hand on Jongin's shoulder when he sees the twinkle in Jongin's eyes. "That's not to say-" 

"So you were worried about me???" Jongin blurts out while he makes a mental note to call up Baekhyun and ask him about the science behind Sehun's warped logic. One of Jonghun's bouncy balls comes flying towards him and Jongin instinctively catches it before he tosses it back at Jonghun, who only erupts into a fit of giggles after it bounces off his head. Jongin pulls out his phone to take a picture, only to curse when he accidentally drops it on the floor, and he finds himself flying across the kitchen when Jonghun rushes over (before Jongin can even blink), picks it up and proceeds to run back inside the living room.      

As he hears Jongin loudly scolding Jonghun for stealing his phone, Sehun slides into the chair and winces when a dull thumping sound fills the air. Sehun sort of wishes that Jongin didn't ask him that, because all it does is remind him of the feeling that spread through his body, the moment he arrived at the store, when Chanyeol called and curiously asked him if he knew about the 'awesome frigging car chase taking place on one of the highways just outside Manhattan', which had Sehun flying over to Chanyeol's house, dropping Jonghun off and hightailing it towards the nearest highway in Chanyeol's car (which Chanyeol let him borrow without an ounce of hesitation upon learning the details). Sehun gathers a few salt flakes on the table as Jongin warns Jonghun that 'he better not drop and break his freaking phone', which is closely followed by Jonghun's loud laughter. 

One thought quickly leads to another, and the next thing Sehun knows, he's trying to shove the blonde woman's voice out of his head when she proceeded to inform him that Jongin and Luhan spent twenty whole minutes cruising down the highway, forty five miles above the speed limit, with one of the doors wide open. Sehun is still glad that he found himself on the said highway shortly after Jongin and Luhan (and his car, which was thankfully undamaged but taken away to be retrieved at some point tomorrow morning) had been sent off, because Sehun doesn't know what he would have done if he happened to witness Jongin and or Luhan falling out of the vehicle and onto the busy highway (especially Jongin, given the latter's fear of loud noises and strangers). The mere thought makes Sehun shudder as he stares at his newly made salt pile. On the other hand, Sehun figures that he should probably give Jongin some credit, because if their antics were nearly as horrible as the blonde woman described them, Jongin couldn't have been such an awful driver, after all. Sehun knows for a fact that he won't be telling Jongin about it, though, in fear of giving the latter any more ridiculous ideas.   

Sehun doesn't even realize that Jongin has settled himself in his lap until he notices just how tightly he's gripping Jongin's hand. Jongin emits a pained mewl and swats Sehun's arm when he worries his fingers might break, and Sehun mumbles a low apology as he snakes his arms around Jongin's waist and rests his chin on Jongin's shoulder. "Of course I was worried about you," he says, fighting the urge to tell Jongin that he still is (and probably always will be) before he kisses Jongin's hair. Jongin's sweater still smells like the ice cold air that filled the entire station, which only reminds Sehun of the horrified look on Luhan's mother's face when they ran into each other outside the station, minutes after they both received the call. 

Despite the cold sensation that flooded Sehun's system after being told that 'his weird cat husband had been taken in' (which made Sehun want to hang up the phone), he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least somewhat happy with the outcome, considering the circumstances. Sehun didn't get a chance to feel happy for very long, though, when the thought of Jongin possibly spending years locked up struck him and nearly made him want to vomit, which is why Sehun is still surprised at how easily they managed to convince the blonde cop to release Jongin and Luhan, after just half an hour. Sehun figures that he's got Luhan's mother's persuasive skills, as well as her repeatedly informing the blonde woman that 'the boys were like that and simply didn't know any better', to thank for that.

"Luhan said there's a lot of scary people in jail who could beat you right up," Jongin mutters and tugs on Sehun's sleeve. "But I wouldn't let them beat me up," he says with a grin, which slowly slides off his face when he pouts. "I thought they were gonna keep us there forever and take us to those weird guys." He sighs and watches one of Jonghun's bouncy balls roll across the floor. Jongin makes a mental note not to step and accidentally slip on it later before he grins up at Sehun. "But you'd still want to visit me if they did, right??? Right???"

Jonghun tosses a mouse toy at them, which is covered in drool, and Sehun ducks in the nick of time to avoid it hitting him in the face. He subconsciously chews on the inside of his cheek, because he knows for a fact that Jongin most likely wouldn't last five minutes in a room full of said people. In fact, Sehun would even go so far as to say that Luhan wouldn't, either, and the mere thought of Jongin locked inside a room full of violent criminals is enough to make him nauseous. Sehun fights the urge to tell Jongin that he'd bail him out the first chance he got, even if it meant putting himself at risk of ending up in prison, as well. "Of course I'd visit you, silly," he says after a minute of silence and playfully flicks Jongin's nose.

Jongin blinks, eyes twinkling as he looks up at Sehun with twitching ears. "You would???" He grins and nearly tackles Sehun to the floor when the latter nods. "I'd visit you too," Jongin squees and tightens his grip around Sehun's waist to the point that Sehun has to pry him off before he can suffocate to death. "I didn't want Luhan to take your wallet, though." Jongin fiddles with Sehun's watch and hops off the chair when his thighs go numb. "I had nothing to do with it, I promise." He looks up at Sehun with wide eyes, and there's something about the way they gleam with desperation that makes Sehun want to scream.

Sehun ruffles Jongin's hair. "I believe you," he says before he notices that Jongin's phone isn't in his pocket. He doesn't even need to ask where it is, especially when he hears the loud sound of a phone camera clicking. Sehun fights the urge to tell Jongin to take his phone away from Jonghun, since he doesn't want a repeat of what happened last month (when Sehun made the decision to leave his phone unlocked on the coffee table while he used the bathroom, and he almost found himself unable to delete all nine hundred photos afterwards when Jonghun tearfully begged him not to).

Jongin, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he'll definitely be spending half an hour deleting a bunch of pictures off his phone later, simply hops off Sehun's lap with a grin. He sort of wants to brag and tell Sehun how skillfully he drove down the highway with all the wind entering the vehicle, despite nearly colliding with at least twenty cars. Well, that, as well as how cool Luhan looked as he drove, but Jongin decides against it in fear of Sehun possibly terminating his friendship with Luhan for all eternity. "You don't need to watch me all the time, cause I can take care of myself," he says with a grin, to which Sehun responds with a look of disbelief. "And you shouldn't be so mad, you'll get wrinkles," he mutters, jabbing Sehun's forehead with his finger.

"Cut that out," Sehun huffs, slapping Jongin's hand away. He keeps his other arm tightly locked around Jongin's waist when Jonghun picks up his unfinished drawing and rushes into the living room. "I just need you to understand that some things are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, no matter how cool they may seem, that's all," he says whilst he cards his fingers through Jongin's black locks. It's not until Jonghun calls their names from his spot on the couch that Jongin offers to microwave some popcorn, which has Sehun (only half jokingly) shaking his head. "Sorry, kiddo."

"But I'm better at making popcorn than you," Jongin says, genuine hurt lacing his words as he pouts. He honestly has no idea if Sehun is referring to his near fatal lasagna making attempt or today's events, but he isn't willing to bet on it. Instead, he huffs in defeat before he skips into the living room to join Jonghun on the couch, only to squawk upon seeing that Jonghun is scribbling red all over the armrest. Jongin yanks the crayon out of Jonghun's chubby hand and tosses it over his shoulder, hoping Sehun won't notice as he crawls onto the couch. The pillows are soft and plump, a huge contrast to the cold, stone floors pressing against his cheek earlier, and Jongin prays that Sehun won't yell at him for ruining the cushions when he proceeds to knead them in contentment.   

Sehun chuckles low in his throat, which nearly makes Jongin fall off the couch in surprise. "See? You're becoming more mature already," he hums, leaning against the doorframe. He picks the crayon up off the floor and fights the urge to tell Jongin that this is probably the first time he's actually stopped Jonghun from misbehaving instead of encouraging him, which Jongin tends to do 99.9% of the time. It's not until Jongin mouths something along the lines of 'Shut up, Sehun' that Sehun sends him a wink and returns to the kitchen.

Jongin blinks as he hears Sehun pressing a few buttons on the microwave. He has no clue what Sehun meant, but Jongin figures that going to jail might not have been so bad after all (even if he'd rather Luhan called him a kitten for the rest of his life than go back there again). Jongin feels his mouth watering when he catches a whiff of freshly popped popcorn, but he doesn't get a chance to get up and tell Sehun to add more butter this time when Jonghun suddenly tosses a bouncy ball at him, which accidentally hits him square in the eye. Jonghun seemingly doesn't notice as he excitedly scampers around the living room and comes to a stop by the shelf in which they keep the camera (Jongin figures that if Jonghun knew how, and was tall enough, he wouldn't hesitate to snap a photo of Jongin rolling around on the couch and dying of pain). Jonghun plops down on the floor and proceeds to loudly recite his ABCs whilst Jongin gets off the couch and flips through their movie collection.

Sehun returns a few minutes later with a large bowl of popcorn, which he nearly drops after Jonghun tries climbing up his leg in excitement for the nth time. He doesn't even get a chance to place it on the coffee table before Jongin proceeds to stuff his face (Jongin figures that he's entirely entitled to food at this point no matter what Sehun might say). Sehun turns the light off, making sure to turn his face away as to not get blinded by the screen, before he sinks into the cushions. He practically lies on top of Jongin while the latter attempts to get the remote to start up. Jonghun immediately hops onto the couch when the movie starts up and curls up on top of Sehun's legs, after he refuses to lie down beside Jongin (due to the dog odor still lingering on Jongin's sweater). Sehun briefly tells Jonghun to quit tugging at the belt loops on his jeans as he wraps his arms around Jongin's torso and peppers his face with kisses, all whilst Jongin swats Sehun's face in embarrassment.

Jonghun attentively watches the scenes unfolding before him while Jongin rolls over and nuzzles his face in Sehun's chest. He figures that there must be something about being a criminal for an hour that makes him exceptionally sleepy, because he finds himself unable to keep his eyes open when Jonghun proceeds to mimic one of the character's dance moves. The window blows open and Sehun promptly gets off the couch to shut it before Jonghun can beat him to it. As Sehun fumbles with the lock, he makes sure to scold Jonghun for blindly jumping around open windows, all whilst the latter points to a couple of raindrops racing each other down the glass. On the other hand, Sehun figures that he's probably obligated to invest in a child proof window lock of some sorts at this point (or at least get the lock fixed), but he shoves the thought aside before he grabs Jonghun's hand and walks them back to the couch.

Inevitably, Jongin is already fast asleep, which Jonghun either doesn't notice or care about since he immediately runs up to the couch and tugs on Jongin's hair. After distracting Jonghun with a bouncy ball, Sehun contemplates carrying Jongin upstairs so that he can sleep on their bed instead (especially given that Jonghun is ruthlessly bouncing the ball all over the place), but he decides against it when Jongin hums in his sleep and buries his face in one of the pillows. Sehun ends up climbing back onto the couch as quietly as he possibly can before he lies down next to Jongin and scratches the latter's ear. Jongin's hair and sweater both smell like the inside of Sehun's car, which makes Sehun shiver as he places a blanket on top of Jongin and gently tucks him in. Sehun places a kiss on Jongin's cheek and holds him tight as he watches Jonghun dance along with the colorful cartoon characters on the screen.

♡