A wave of nervous energy flew through Leeteuk as he jogged ahead of Heechul up the front steps to their apartment.  The deal they had made with Yesung was somewhat of a relief but mostly it was a bundle of uncertainty in Leeteuk’s heart.  He had no clue if he was doing the right thing, if the papers would work, or if it was all worth it.  He was positive though that if he saw Donghae, all of his doubts would be erased.

                “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.” 

                Rolling his head around to look at Heechul with half joking annoyance, Leeteuk said honestly, “I just really think I need to see Donghae.  I think if I do that, I’ll be okay with the insane thing we just did.” 

“There’s no need to rush though,” Heechul assured with a wicked smile, putting a hand on Leeteuk’s shoulder as he caught up with him.  “I’m sure Kangin hasn’t killed him while we were gone.” 

                There was a pause and in that pause a scream could be heard issuing from within the apartment.  Leeteuk looked at Heechul with horror, and then spun around and fumbled to unlock the door.  When he finally succeeded he pushed the door violently open and jumped into the foyer. 

                Posed ready for action, he froze, mouth agape. 

                Kangin and Donghae were in the living room, framed in view by the foyer entryway.  The boy was clinging to Kangin’s back, one arm wrapped around the man’s neck and the other extended outward, the scream from earlier had clearly been his.  The broad shouldered man he was clinging to was spinning rapidly turning into a blur, one arm behind him to make sure Donghae didn’t fall and the other extended out like an airplane.  Leeteuk’s jaw dropped even further as he saw that Kangin was laughing.  A wide smile was plastered on Donghae’s face and he was yelling in delighted fear.

                 Heechul stepped into the house beside Leeteuk and also caught sight of the scene.  He laughed and said to Leeteuk loud enough for everyone to hear, “Well, this is unexpected.”

                Kangin came to a halt at the sound of Heechul’s voice.  Both he and Donghae looked like deer caught in the headlights.  Neither looked away from the two men who had just interrupted them even as Donghae slid down Kangin’s back and hit the floor.  However, the boy was quick to recover when he realized who was home. 

                “Leeteuk!” he exclaimed excitedly, running over and jumping up at him.  Completely caught off guard, Leeteuk stumbled back a step, reaching his arms up quickly to catch Donghae in an awkward hug. 

                “Hey,” he greeted looking down at the top of Donghae’s head and then at each of his roommates.  Heechul was biting his lip looking highly amused over at Kangin who remained flustered in the other room.  “Um, how are you, Donghae?” Leeteuk asked.

                “Kangin and I were playing,” he explained excitedly, as Leeteuk returned his feet to the floor.  “It was awesome!” His round eyes were full of bouncing light as he eagerly chattered on, “He was pretending to be King Kong and I was a pilot and I was attacking him and he was going,” Donghae proceeded to reenact a sound effect filled action scene, finishing by saying, “Kangin is so cool!  And strong too!  I bet he could pick up the whole couch with just one hand.”

                Caught up in Donghae’s infectious smile, Leeteuk looked over his head at Kangin and teased, “I bet he could.”  Kangin blushed and grumbled about something or other, breaking into motion, and pacing around the couch.

                “I was really worried when I woke up and you were gone,” Donghae continued, drawing back Leeteuk’s attention.  “But it’s okay because Kangin said you’d be back and we had a lot of fun while we waited.” 

                Heart surging with warmth, a smile overtook Leeteuk’s face.  “I’m glad that you guys got along so well.”

                Donghae nodded then turned to look up at Heechul.  “Hi, Heechul!  Why are you making that face?”

                Leeteuk looked over to see what Donghae was talking about and saw his friend desperately trying to suppress a stream of laughter bubbling up from his throat.  Heechul waved dismissively.  “Nothing, nothing,” he squeaked out, a hand in front of his mouth. 

                Shrugging and looking back at Leeteuk, Donghae asked innocently, “Where did you guys go?”

                The room went silent as the three roommates realized they had done all of this without ever asking Donghae what he wanted.  Knowing that it was time to have a talk but having no clue what he was going to say, Leeteuk stalled, “Um, why don’t I put some water on the stove so we can make tea and we’ll all sit together in the living room and talk about it.  Okay?” 

                Donghae nodded and Leeteuk headed for the kitchen.  Heechul started to follow him but the slightly older man turned and gave him a look indicating he should stay behind with Donghae.  Realizing he was being allocated to babysitting duty as Kangin had already gone to the kitchen, Heechul made a face.  Leeteuk made sure Donghae wasn’t looking then quickly stuck his tongue out at his roommate before hurrying toward the kitchen.

                Leeteuk gave Kangin a wide, childish grin as he walked into the kitchen.  “Looks like you didn’t have any problems without us.”

                “Aish,” Kangin sighed, turning away in exasperation.

                “You’re just a big old softie, Kanginnie,” he teased 

                “Don’t call me that and how did it go?”

                Going over and getting the kettle off of the stove and bringing it to the sink, Leeteuk answered, “I think it went well.  If you’ll believe it, Heechul’s master of forgery is only 19.” 

                “Seriously?”  Kangin rolled his eyes and added under his breath, “Can you believe that guy?”

                Turning on the water, Leeteuk responded, “Yeah, but he seemed like a decent person.  A little odd, a little frightening, but I think it’s just an act.  And if we’re to believe his and Heechul’s testimony he’s one of the best in the business.  We should have the papers within the week.” 

                “And you think he’s trustworthy?”

                Hesitating slightly as he turned the water off and closed the kettle, Leeteuk turned and answered, “Well yeah, I mean, Heechul’s knows him from foster care and they’ve kept in touch all of these years so…”

                “And you trust Heechul?” Kangin pressed, sensing Leeteuk’s hesitation. 

                “Of course!” he quickly exclaimed.  Then clamped his mouth shut and glanced toward the living room, realizing how loud he’d been. 

                “I meant his judgment,” Kangin amended, not as concerned about the noise. 

                Turning on the stove and placing the full kettle over the burner, Leeteuk affirmed, “Absolutely.” 

                “So what are you going to tell Donghae?”

                Sighing and swiping an arm across his forehead Leeteuk guessed, “The truth?  I mean…I really don’t know.” 

                “Well, you better figure it out soon.” 

                Putting a hand on his hip and flipping his bangs out of his eyes in a familiar nervous habit, he turned around and asked, “But what if he doesn’t even want to stay with us?  What if I’ve completely gone and jumped the gun?”

                Kangin actually smiled and answered, “I think that’s the last thing you have to worry about.” 

                He looked out across the living room and Leeteuk followed his gaze to where Donghae was once again reenacting his morning to Heechul who was sitting on the couch.  Heechul was leaning forward in enthusiastic interest and Donghae was jumping around excitedly.  Both were laughing happily. 

                “You’re right,” Leeteuk sighed.  “I guess all there’s left to do is just…tell him.”

                “Good.” 

                Leeteuk didn’t move an inch. 

                Rolling his eyes, Kangin got behind his friend and steered him toward the living room.  “Go on, we’ll do it now.  No need to wait for the water to boil.” 

                “But…”  Leeteuk cut his protest short as with one good shove, Kangin forced him into the living room.

                Donghae and Heechul looked up as Leeteuk stumbled into the room and he froze awkwardly under their stares.  He felt Kangin slip by him and go and take his place in the big arm chair.  Realizing that all eyes were now settled on him, Leeteuk walked toward the empty space on the opposite side of the couch.

                “Donghae, why don’t you come and sit with us?” Leeteuk said, patting the open space between himself and Heechul as he took his seat.  The boy must have sensed the serious change in the conversation because he didn’t bounce as much as he went over and jumped up onto the couch between them. 

                Opening his mouth and taking a deep breath, fully prepared to launch into a speech, Leeteuk was caught in Donghae’s trusting stare and exhaled, losing his resolve.  He couldn’t pretend that he knew what he was doing.

                Adjusting his mindset he started, “Donghae, what would say if I asked you to stay here with us?”

                Eyes widening, Donghae spun his head around to make sure he looked at each man in turn and then looked back and Leeteuk, checking his tone as he asked, “For how long?” 

                Breathing in deeply, Leeteuk supplied, “Forever?” uncertainly. 

                If it was possible, Donghae’s eyes grew even wider and he looked around the room once more. 

                “Do you mean it?  Really?”

                Leeteuk nodded and though he kept his eyes on Donghae he could sense Kangin and Heechul also nodding. 

                Donghae’s face broke into a grin and he looked like he was consciously suppressing the urge to explode when he asked, “I can really stay here with you guys forever?”

                “Yes,” Leeteuk affirmed, a small smile playing at his mouth.

                Squeaking excitedly, Donghae was suddenly up in a flash, bouncing on the couch cushion gleefully and then throwing himself at Leeteuk for a hug. 

                “Thank you,” he repeated over and over again.  Leeteuk tried to smile and share in the joy that radiated off of the boy, but as he looked over at Heechul and saw the serious look on his face, he knew he couldn’t let himself be caught off guard. 

                “Okay,” he interrupted Donghae’s excitement, picking the boy up and sitting him back down on the couch.  “Here’s the thing.” 

                The smile faded from Donghae’s face.

                Struggling as he searched for the right words, Leeteuk looked toward the ceiling as if he might find the answers there.  “There is…a right way and a wrong way of doing things.  And in almost every case, the right way of doing things is also the lawful way of doing things.  Do you understand?” Donghae’s face was blank, his mouth open in forgetfulness, but Leeteuk figured if he didn’t understand yet he never would.  “Okay, well, in any case.  To do this legally, and properly and all that we have to have papers saying you can stay here.  And it would take a long time.  And in that time, you wouldn’t get to stay with us.” 

                Appearing distressed, Donghae innocently said, “But…I want to stay here.”

                Not helping to allay the boy’s fear with a lame half-smile, Leeteuk attempted to respond, “I know.  We figured as much.  So…we’re not doing things the right way.” 

                Donghae perked a little, but his confusion remained. 

                “What I mean by that is….well, what we’re doing is…” 

                “We’re skipping over the government.  Basically, we’re cheating a little so that we can keep you,” Heechul deftly came to Leeteuk’s rescue.

                Nodding and waiting until he had Donghae’s attention again, Leeteuk scratched at his hair.  There was a ball of nervous energy in the pit of his stomach as he continued, “Right.  So basically we have all the papers we need for you to be able to stay here legally, but we’re getting them in an unconventional way.” 

                Donghae still seemed confused so Kangin broke in, “We’re doing something illegal so that you never have to leave.  We didn’t want to risk losing you, so we are having a friend of ours make the papers that will say you can stay here with Leeteuk as your guardian.” 

                “Exactly,” Leeteuk agreed, studying Donghae to see if he showed any signs of understanding.

                The boy’s head was tilted to the side and he seemed to be thinking over what he’d been told.  His tongue rested against the side of his open mouth and his stare was blank.  Leeteuk tried not to smile at the puppy-like antics, knowing he needed to get across to Donghae the seriousness of the situation. 

                “So, the papers you’re getting that say I can live here…they’re not real?”

                Feeling guilty and uncertain under Donghae’s burning question, Leeteuk put his hand on Donghae’s shoulder to make sure he was really paying attention and answered honestly, “Well, not exactly, no.  But they will look real and they will make me your legal guardian and in the meantime you won’t have to leave.”

                “So, they’re forgeries.” 

                Leeteuk nodded, wishing that Donghae hadn’t known that word. 

                Donghae unexpectedly brightened.  “So, it’s kind of like you’re spies and you’re infiltrating secret government associations to plant false leads?” 

                Scratching his head, Leeteuk conceded, “Um ,yeah, a little something like that.”

                “That’s AWESOME!” 

                Leeteuk started to smile but the tension that had settled in the room didn’t break, even under Donghae’s renewed excitement.  The conversation was far from over and Donghae’s excitement almost made it worse.

                “But listen, Donghae,” he insisted, taking hold of both of his shoulders to stop him from bouncing.  “This means that you have to be careful, okay?  The story is that I’m your brother and I was made your legal guardian but if we’re not careful someone might know we’re lying and then we’d all be in trouble and they’d take you away.”

                Donghae didn’t seem the least bit fazed.  “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!”

                Not quite convinced, Leeteuk looked beyond Donghae at Heechul, wondering what he should do.  Heechul reached out and tapped Donghae on the back.  The boy turned to look at him and Heechul asked, “What will you say when someone asks you where you live?”

                “I’ll say I live with Leeteuk hyung, and Kangin hyung, and Heechul hyung,” Donghae answered confidently. 

                Heechul shook his head, “No, you have to say that you live with Leeteuk hyung, his name is the only one on the papers.”

                “Oh,” Donghae tilted his head like he was soaking up the information. 

                “What if someone asked you why you live with your brother?”

                This time Donghae seemed stumped.  Heechul, however, wasn’t looking at the boy but at Leeteuk who seemed utterly distressed. 

                “We’ll work on all this stuff later,” Heechul said reassuringly.  He seemed to be addressing Donghae though he was looking at Leeteuk.  Now meeting Donghae’s eyes he said, “The only thing you have to remember now is not to tell anyone that the papers aren’t real or anything else like that, okay?”

                “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!” Donghae exclaimed.   

                “Good,” Kangin said, drawing his attention.  “Now, there’s still one more thing you have to do.”

                Giving Kangin a look, Leeteuk asked, “There is?”

                “Yes,” Kangin nodded, pausing for dramatic effect as he leaned his elbows on his knees.  “You have to get really, really excited.”  A smile broke across Kangin’s face and it soon found its way onto Donghae’s face as well. 

Taking the order to heart, Donghae jumped up and started bouncing on the couch.  “This is so awesome!  We’re going to be family,” he dropped onto his knees and bounced into Leeteuk hugging him fiercely before spinning around and catching Heechul off guard by throwing himself at him.  Heechul returned the hug a little awkwardly but his eyes were shining.  He pushed Donghae off murmuring, “pabo” with a smile as the boy slid off of the couch and ran over to hop up into Kangin’s lap to hug him as well.

 “We should celebrate,” Donghae exclaimed, “We should have a party and eat junk food and watch movies and—” 

                “Maybe we should start a little smaller first,” Leeteuk interrupted, catching Donghae as he ran by the couch again in a fit of energy.  He was endeared at Donghae’s enthusiasm.  “How about we buy you some new clothes first, and bed sheets, and. . . Definitely new shoes and food and…” 

                “Hyung, you don’t have to do all that!”

                “Just let him go, Donghae,” Heechul advised, “It’s best to let him just buy you everything he wants.”

Donghae broke free of Leeteuk’s hold and jumped up on the couch beside Heechul where he sat bouncing excitedly. Heechul frowned at the boy and played with a strand of his hair.  “And you could probably also do a haircut.”

                “What’s wrong with my hair?” Donghae said mischievously.

                “I honestly don’t even know if this can be considered hair anymore,” Heechul laughed, looking at the knotted mess. “Plus, a wise hyung of ours once said that seeing a change in the mirror is the first step to seeing a change in yourself.” 

                “Who was that?” Donghae wondered, wrinkling his nose a bit at the phrase.

                Heechul looked over Donghae’s head and met Leeteuk’s eyes poignantly as he answered, “Well, I only have one hyung.”  Leeteuk smiled so warmly, his eyes literally shone.  His heart swelled happily as he thought back on how only a short time ago Heechul had insisted he hadn’t had any family.   

                “Who?” Donghae interrupted the moment with his insistence. 

                “Leeteuk, pabo,” Heechul said, giving the boy’s shoulder a light shove. 

                “Wow!” Donghae exclaimed, “Leeteuk’s older than you?  He must be really old!”

                “Hey! “ Leeteuk and Heechul exclaimed simultaneously.

                “I’m only 24, you know.” Leeteuk said while Heechul heartily concurred.

                Kangin, meanwhile was laughing hysterically, his eyes turning into cartoonish triangles.  He stood up and seeking out the laughter like he was drawn to it, Donghae got up and ran to his side.  Kangin picked him up and said, “Let’s leave those dinosaurs alone, Donghae, they might hurt themselves trying to keep up with us young guys.”

                “You’re like 4 months younger,” Leeteuk mumbled under his breath, but no one heard him.  

                “My mom used to call me a dinosaur,” Donghae shared brightly. 

                Happy that Donghae didn’t seem distressed at the mention of his parents, Leeteuk wondered, “Why is that?”

                “Because I look like one,” he explained, turning his hands into claws.  Kangin whispered something into Donghae’s ear and the boy nodded excitedly.  Then both of them looked evilly over at Heechul and Leeteuk. 

                “Oh no.” 

                Knowing what was coming, Heechul and Leeteuk both scrambled off of the couch as Donghae chased after them with a roar to the backdrop of Kangin’s laughter.

A/N  WOOHOO, finally got this one done!  And don't worry about Yesung, he's coming back next chapter.  And by my calculations about 3 chapters from now we should have another new character too!  And don't worry, all of the plot won't be solved magically, there's still plenty more to tell with this storyline.  Just a bit of a calm before the storm, not to frighten you. XD  <3

These next few chapters are pretty well planned out in my head and I've already written chapter 19 so HOPEFULLY the waiting won't be too long, but I am swamped with work so bear with me, as you always do. XD  <3 

This chapter is dedicated to KittehtheCat because I could not provide her with a sandwich.  XD  <3 

Finally, comment if you want to experience the magic of internet communication, subscribe if you're reading and like to get occasional notifications about it, and just know that I love you and you never fail to keep me motivated!!!  <3