"Thanks Minseok, you're the best."

"No problem hyung, go have fun with your boyfriend." Minseok winked at Taemin, who blushed.

Jeez, were any of Onew's friends not erts?  

"Shut up you little brat, it's not like that." Onew scolded the baby faced boy.

"Whatever you say hyung." Minseok laughed. Onew sighed and grabbed his keys from behind the counter.

"You know what to do. Don't burn down the building, we'll be back in a couple hours." Minseok looked scandalized.

"As if I would do anything that would harm this precious coffee. You know me better than that Hyung."

"I know that Luhan is going to pout if he finds out you love coffee more than him."

"That's not true!" Mineseok replied, although the loving look he gave to the coffee maker begged to differ.

Onew laughed, grabbing Taemin and leading him out the door to the car. Onew slid into the driver's seat and started the engine, pulling out quickly.

In the car, Taemin was fawning over Minseok's adorable looks, much to Onew's discontent.

"Oh my god, those dumpling cheeks! And his eyes, they were so big! He looks like a baby! So cute~" Taemin squealed, while Onew gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, he's cute."

"How old is he Onew? Omo he looks so young!" Yes, Onew's friends may be erts, but they were attractive erts.

"He's 22 Taemin. He's not that young." Taemin rolled his eyes at his grumpy boyfriend.

"Then what does that make you? An old man?" The familiar nickname jolted Onew out of his mood, and for the first time in a while, memories of a different boy slapped him in the face.

"Yah, Lee Taemin..." He warned.

"I'm just joking hyung, calm down. Seriously though, is he really 22? He looks younger than me!"

Onew let out a small laugh at the dancer's amazed face.

"Yes Tae, he's 22. His boyfriend is 22 as well, and just as baby faced." Taemin's jaw dropped.

"There's two of them?! Omo, I have to meet him! They must be the most adorable couple ever!" Taemin smiled like an idiot, imagining two Minseok's laughing and being lovey dovey together.

Onew frowned and shook his head. "That's impossible, there's no way they're the cutest couple ever."

"Why can't they be? If his boyfriend is anywhere as cute as him then-"

"They can't be, because the most adorable couple is us." Taemin shut up and blushed, silenced by the elder's sudden act of cheesiness. Also, Taemin realized, it was the first time Onew had acknowledged them as an actual couple. Sure, they'd acted like a couple, but it was nice to hear it out loud. Especially when he knew how nervous Onew was about being in a relationship again after so many years.

"You cheesy idiot." Taemin complained, but the annoyance was hard to believe, as he pecked Onew on the cheek directly after he said it.

"We're here." Onew announced a few minutes later, parking the car behind the building as Jonghyun did.

"Thanks for the ride Hyung." Taemin smiled.

"No, thank you. Now I get to see you practice." Taemin blushed, suddenly nervous. It made no sense, as Onew had seen him dance before, but something about this being practice, not performance, made it seem so much different. The two walked down the hall, Taemin still red and Onew patting himself on the back for his great idea.

It was a terrible idea.

Sitting in the back, eyes glued to Taemin's , Onew realized what a mistake he had made.

Not the seeing Taemin dance part. That was a great idea. Watching the younger dance was one of the iest things he'd ever seen. Onew would gladly give up doing anything else if it meant seeing Taemin dance for the rest of his life.

No, the bad part of his plan was the fact that there were nearly 15 other people in the room, snickering at his obvious arousal.

One of the girls noticed him staring in the mirror, and blushed before miss-stepping and falling over. Onew cringed; the fall had looked painful. Taemin, who had been beside the girl, bent down to help her out, giving Onew a perfect view. Onew squirmed in his spot, growing more uncomfortable with each passing moment.

Home now, we need to go home now.

"Alright, shake it off, we've got to get this choreo down before we leave." Hyoyeon said loudly, her usually happy face looking frustrated. Onew could only imagine how much pressure it was leading all these dancers, especially for something so important. He gave the girl props, he would have freaked out within the first 10 minutes.

His musings lasted about another five seconds, before the music started, and his eyes were once again following Taemin.

It was an hour later when they finished, and Taemin walked over to Onew, body glistening with sweat and face flushed. Onew swallowed hard, unable to take his eyes off of the dancer.

"Ready to go?" Taemin said, smiling tiredly. Onew nodded mutely, gathering his senses and standing up. The two made their way out of the dance studio and down the hall, walking silently side by side. Halfway there, Onew reached into his back pocket and swore.

"What's wrong Hyung?" Taemin asked.

"I lost my phone." Onew admitted, his hand grasping nothing but thin air in his pocket. "Just wait in the car for me. I'll be right back."

Taemin laughed and kissed Onew's cheek.

"Alright, just don't take too long okay?"

Onew nodded and ran back the way they came while Taemin only shook his head at the elder's forgetfulness and made his way down the hall.

Taemin stepped out the door, but had only made it one step before he noticed that he wasn't alone. Fear overtook him as he slowly turned around, hoping it was some or murderer, and not his parents, anyone but his parents.

"Umma?Appa?" Taemin stuttered.

"Hello Taemin."

"How did you find me?"

"How stupid do you think we are?  Of course we found you."

Taemin remained silent, having no answer.

"Come on Taemin. You've had your fun, it's time to go home." His mom made a grab for him, but Taemin stepped back, quivering in fear.

Mrs. Lee frowned. "Stop being such a brat and come with us."

Taemin shook his head, backing up until his back hit the wall. His mother took a step forward, gaze full of fury.

Taemin heard the door open and looked to the side, heart dropping as he caught sight of Onew's face. Taemin waved his hands wildly, only managing to get a confused look.

"Taemin, what's going on-oh." Taemin's desperate attempt at signaling the elder to stay away went unnoticed as Onew stepped out of the door and into the view of Taemin's parents. Taemin looked between his parents and Onew in horror. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening, this wasn't-

"Taemin, who is this?" Taemin's father stared at Onew, his expression stone cold. Beside the man, Taemin's mother's contorted into a look of disgust.

"He's probably another , brainwashing our son. I bet you sleep with anyone who lets you, don't you, you little ? First that Jongin boy, now this man. What a disgrace you are." She spat.

Onew was in shock. He had known from what Taemin and Jonghyun had told him that the younger Lee's parents weren't the nicest people on the planet, but how could they speak to Taemin like that? Even Jonghyun and Kibum's parents hadn't been that bad.

"I do NOT sleep around!" Taemin flushed pink. The insults shouldn't affect him, yet still, he found they hurt to hear. "And Jongin is just a friend."

"And what is this man? Your new boy toy? You really need to quit with this disgusting habit of yours Taemin." Taemin's mother tore into her son viciously, seemingly getting joy out of seeing her words affect the dancer.

"Don't talk about Onew like that!" Taemin yelled, weakness gone now. "Insult me all you want mother, but don't you dare say anything about Onew."

The horrid woman sneered at Taemin's words. "I can say whatever I want young man. I am your mother. And he is nothing but a good for nothing ic ."

"I said don’t talk about Onew like that!" Taemin threw himself at the woman, not caring that she was his mother anymore, wanting nothing more than to smack that awful look off her face. Onew dragged him back, holding him tight as Taemin writhed in his grasp.

"Let. Me. Go. Onew!" Taemin yelled, fighting against the elder's iron grip.

Mrs. Lee shook her head sadly.

"What would your brother think of you right now?" Taemin's mother said coldly. Taemin gasped, eyes wide at the remark. Onew felt him fall against his chest, too shocked to continue fighting free. In an instant, Taemin's gaze turned to ice.

"Don't you dare bring Taesun into this." Taemin replied, hands clenching into fists. Onew stared at the younger boy, confused. Hadn't Taemin said he was an only child? Who was Taesun?

"What? Afraid of the truth? Afraid to know what he would think if he saw you now, you stupid little ?"

"Stop." Taemin whimpered.

"What would he say Taemin?" She said, her voice suddenly turning sickly sweet. "That he's disappointed in you, that you're a disgrace. That you threw yourself away. That you're a disgusting excuse of a man, a shame to the whole family. That he can't believe you'd rather be off dancing and having with men than help your family when you're needed. That he wished you were never his brother. He's ashamed his brother is a queer. Don't you think he'd say something like that?"

"Mrs. Lee!" Onew spoke up, startling everyone. Taemin's mother narrowed her eyes, daring the barista to speak another word. Ignoring the killer gaze, he continued.

"Mr, and Mrs. Lee, your son is a fine man and an excellent dancer. He has worked long and hard to get where he is now, and has achieved more than most people his age have. While others may be studying, he has worked to create a career for himself. He is diligent, hard working, and one of the most respectful people I have come to know. If you only saw Taemin dance, you would know-"

"Why the hell would I want to watch this brat dance? It's wrong, a man should not be dancing, especially not my son."

"Please excuse me for being rude, but your blames are absolute bull , based not on facts, but on bias." Taemin gaped at Onew, unable to comprehend what was happening.

A sharp slap sounded throughout the alley, bringing Taemin back to reality. He felt himself fall to the ground as Onew dropped him in surprise, hands flying to cover the reddening mark on his face. Sharp nails dug into his arm as he was yanked upward roughly by his mother.

"Let him go!" Onew yelled, somewhat muffled, and Taemin realized with horror that Onew's mouth was bleeding. Onew caught Taemin's other arm, so that the dancer was no caught in an odd-and painful- sort of tug-of-war. Himself being the rope.

"Let go this instant, before you regret it." Taemin's mother hissed.

"No. You let go Mrs. Lee. How can he ever prove that he's a hard working son if you never see the end result?"

"What are chattering on about now?"

"Let Taemin dance, let him perform in the concert. You can't say he's worthless without letting him prove himself. That's just idiotic." Truthfully, Onew had never spoken to an elder so disrespectfully before, but something about this woman made it easy. In Onew's eyes, someone who treated others so lowly didn't deserve respect, no matter the age.

"I can do whatever I damn well please you insolent brat. Now let go. Taemin is going home, far away from you and your disgusting habits."

"Let him go." A quiet, but powerful, voice interjected. Everyone turned to look at Mr. Lee, all looking shocked that he had spoken.

"Finally, you help me here. Listen to him you queer, and let Taemin go."

"No." Mr. Lee spoke again. "Ji Sook. Let go of Taemin."

"What?!" She screeched.

"I said, let go. Let the boy prove himself. If he thinks he's so good, let him show us what he can do. " Everyone was too shocked to speak, unsure whether they should believe the man.

"But Dongwook-"

"There's no harm it can do. He can't get any worse than he is now. He wants to prove himself so badly, fine." Mr. Lee Onew.

"Just know boy, if he fails to impress me-and I am hard to impress- then he is coming back with us, and you. You are going to go somewhere you will never be seen again." Onew felt like his veins had had ice water shot into them. Mrs. Lee finally let go and the two walked down the alley, away from the two boys who looked as if they'd just been sentenced to death.

Onew felt Taemin shiver in terror in his arms, and instinctually wrapped his arms around the younger.

Slowly, they made their way to the car, Onew having to bear most of Taemin's weight as the younger was too shaken by the encounter to even walk correctly. The ride back to the shop was silent, Onew deep in thought and Taemin simply unable to speak.

Onew could only imagine how Taemin felt right now. To have such an encounter with the people who had raised you, for the woman who gave birth to him to hate him so much... Onew couldn't imagine it. Sure, he wasn't the closest with his parents, but he didn't think they could ever be that heartless to him if the tried.

And to be so horrid to Taemin, of all people! The sweet, innocent, caring boy deserved nothing but love, and Onew's knuckles were white from how tightly he gripped the wheel just thinking about the way his mother treated him.

A part of him felt guilty butting in and sticking Taemin in the spotlight (though he already was kind of). It was like instead of letting Taemin be eaten by a pack of wolves in front of him, he'd simply made it so Taemin could entertain them before he wasters apart. Entertainment and a show. It sickened Onew, knowing he had caused part of this. He'd wanted to save Taemin, but instead he'd only managed to get him a bit of time. He knew there was no way the boy's parents would let him free after the concert, but it wasn't like he could say that to Taemin. Any hope he could give to the younger he would, even if it was a lie.

“You’re bleeding.” Taemin said quietly, eyes on Onew’s face. Onew knew; he could taste the iron like liquid in his mouth, but until then had refused to give it any thought.

“I’ll treat it at home.” Onew muttered, eyes on the road. Taemin nodded and sank back into his seat, eyes closing soon after.

Onew carried Taemin through the door, ignoring the curious glances, and made his way over to Minseok. Upon noticing them, the barista's already large eyes widened even more at the sight of a disheveled Onew and broken looking Taemin.

"Hyung, what-what happened? Your face-and Taemin-"

"I'll explain later, just... Can you take care of the shop for the rest of the night? If you want to close early, that's fine, I know Luhan is probably waiting for you at home."

"It's fine hyung. Go take care of Taemin. He looks like he needs you right now." Onew looked down at the face of his boyfriend, distressed even in sleep and nodded.

"Thank you Minseok." He said, and headed up to his apartment. After setting Taemin gently on the couch in the living room, he left to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. When he walked back out, cups in hand, he noticed Taemin had disappeared, but before he could worry too much, the younger was back, holding a wash rag and ice pack in his hand. Onew set his cup down and handed the other to Taemin, before he sat beside him.

"Thank you hyung." He said, voice raspy, before setting to work on the elder’s face. Once the blood had all been cleaned away, Taemin handed him the ice pack, eyes solemn.

“It’s going to bruise.” He told the elder, looking guilt ridden over the fact. Onew shrugged and placed his hand on the dancer's thigh, massaging it softly.

“It’s fine Taemin, its not like it won’t heal. Besides, I’ve had a lot worse than this before. Stop worrying.” Taemin sighed and set his cup on the table, turning away so he wouldn’t have to look Onew straight in the eyes.

"Lets leave hyung." He said suddenly.

"Bwo?" Onew stared at Taemin in shock. Had he misheard?

"I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you because of my parents, if I fail. Please, let's go, let's get away from here."

"Not this time." Onew shook his head. Running away would do nothing, he knew that first hand.

"What?"

"I won't run away again. And I won't let you run away again. You spent so much time proving to your parents that you weren't a failure, you can't just give that up now because they've threatened me."

"Hyung-" Taemin looked terrified, more scared of what the future held than he had ever been before.  Onew grabbed Taemin's hands and held them close.

"I won't let them hurt you Taemin. And I won't let you hurt yourself. We're going to stand together, and I will help you defeat your parents. I won't let them win. Arasso?"

Taemin bit his lip, uncertainty still ruling his mind. Finally, he sighed and moved to rest his head against Onew's shoulder. "Thank you hyung."  

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And the emotional roller coaster leaves the boarding zone! Time to grab your umbrellas and rain boots, the storm has only just begun. 

Also, like how I added Minseok (a.k.a Xiumin of Exo) in there? I couldn't just have a coffee shop fic without that adorable real life barista. And my favorite non SHINee pairing's slight appearance lol. I couldn't resist.