Baekhyun had always found Jongdae to be bold, even inappropriate at times, and full of life. But he never thought Jongdae as a person to sit around like nothing even mattered.

Life had always been fun for him but, lately, it had just become dull.

Life outside the college bubble had hit him hard. And Yifan and Zitao leaving only made everything worse.

"It's like us being a really successful band of 12 and suddenly having two members leave. That's what it feels like." He had said one day. 

Sure, they all missed Zitao and Yifan but it wasn't the end of the world. Maybe for Jongdae, it was.

He sat on the couch playing video games like he had been doing all day every day for the past couple weeks. Plates, silverware, and food wrappers surrounded him.

Baekhyun found himself stepping over Jongdae's propped up feet to get rid of some of the trash. They didn't want mice in the house.

"Would you get up for once?" Baekhyun wondered as he balled up a pop tart wrapper in his hands.

"I do get up to use the bathroom." Jongdae responded, eyes glued to the game. It was a first person shooter game he and Baekhyun used to play all the time. In 7 years, the game hadn't changed one bit. That was the good thing about games.  

Baekhyun sighed.

"I have two kids, a husband, and a dog to clean up after. I don't need to clean up after you too."

"Fine. Then kick me out. I'll beg my parents to let me stay with them."

Baekhyun sighed once more. Jongdae needed his friends then more than ever. Baekhyun wasn't about to abandon him. 

"Chanyeol and I are taking Mina school supply shopping. Do you wanna come?" She was starting 1st grade next week. Because he had missed her school supply shopping last year, he promised not to miss it again.

"No." Jongdae responded. 

Baekhyun walked over to the television and pressed the off button. The sounds of gun violence and shouting suddenly disappeared. 

"What the hell?" Jongdae asked, annoyed.

"Let me rephrase that. Chanyeol and I are taking Mina shopping." Baekhyun pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "Get your in the shower so you can come with us." 

Jongdae groaned. "I have no boyfriend, no life, no money, no job. Baekhyun, what do I have to live for?"

"You're being overdramatic. Get your in the shower, now." He scolded in a way that made Jongdae want to do exactly what he said, afraid of the consequences. 

"You're mean." He murmured as he stood up and stretched. "When did you get so good at scolding?"

"Try having kids. Scolding is a necessary tool."

Jongdae chuckled but did as he was ordered and showered, doing everyone a favor. It had been a few days since he had seen the showerhead. 

While Jongdae was showering, Chanyeol was getting their son ready. Baekhyun walked into the nursery while his husband was dressing Jaxon. 

Chanyeol looked up when Baekhyun entered. "Did you convince Jongdae to come?"

"I forced him to come. He hasn't left the house for at least a week."

"I know." Chanyeol murmured. They were both worried about their friend. All Jongdae really needed was to be cheered up and motivated. The problem was, they had no idea how to do it.

"We have to get him back to his old self." Baekhyun said to himself.

"And how are we going to do that?"

Jongdae needed to realize that things didn't always go according to plan and when things didn't, you just had to make the best of the situation. Sitting around playing video games all day was not making the best of the situation. 

Jongdae had always taken life a day at a time. He didn't know how to plan for the future. And now that he needed to buckle down and get serious, he had no idea how to go about it.

Whereas, Baekhyun and Chanyeol had always been thinking about the future since they became parents at such young ages and had to think of ways to give their children the best possible future. 

Jongdae didn't have kids as motivators. He had nothing. 

"I don't know. Maybe I'll call Kyungsoo and we can figure something out."

Chanyeol nodded and finished dressing Jaxon. He picked him up to coo at him but the baby whined, wanting to be held by his mother instead. 

Baekhyun allowed Chanyeol to place him in his arms. The older husband cradled his newborn baby who seemed content. 

Chanyeol kissed Jaxon on the head before kissing Baekhyun on the lips. It was refreshing to have a baby in the house again. It was comforting to know they were able to enjoy it more, not worrying about money and school at the same time.

They had come a long, long way. They had grown up. They were adults. But it was Jongdae's turn. And they just wanted to do everything in their power to help.

**

An hour later, Baekhyun found himself behind the wheel of their silver Volvo. He put all his attention on the road, ignoring the sounds of arguing behind him.

"No, we're listening to my music!" Jongdae exclaimed. 

"No, my music!" Mina retorted. 

Chanyeol rolled his eyes. They had been at it for a while. 

"Jongdae, you're 24 years old, she's 6. Why are you even arguing?" Chanyeol finally interjected. 

"Because I wanna listen to my music." He whined. Was Jongdae ever going to grow up?

Baekhyun, who had had enough, turned off the radio altogether. "Since we can't seem to agree, there won't be any music."

When he glanced in the rearview mirror, he saw identical pouts on one adult and one child which he completely ignored. 

The first stop on their little outing was for school supplies and groceries. Jongdae's display of his inner childishness didn't stop at the arguing.

After getting the school supplies and moving on to the groceries, he and Mina were like partners in crime. 

When Baekhyun and Chanyeol had their backs turned, Mina and Jongdae kept sneaking unnecessary things into the cart. Cookies, candy bars, and ice cream to name a few.

It seemed like they couldn't keep their eyes off the kids. And yes, in their eyes, Jongdae belonged in the kids category. 

After finally making it to the checkout line, however, Baekhyun realized they had forgotten diapers for Jaxon.

"I'll be right back." He said and left the long checkout line to get to the baby aisle. Jaxon was in a baby carrier strapped to his mother and Baekhyun found himself talking to his son.

"What are we gonna do with your Uncle Jongdae?" He wondered, looking down at his son.

Jaxon looked up at his mother and blinked. Of course, he had no idea what was going on.

Baekhyun chuckled and kissed his son's chubby cheek. He stood in front of the diaper aisle with all the different diaper brands. He reached out to pick the right one just as his phone rang.

Temporarily abandoning the diapers, he saw it was Kyungsoo calling. He picked up immediately. 

"Hello?"

"Can you talk?" Kyungsoo asked.

"Yeah, I'm just at the store. What's up?"

"I have an idea on how to help Jongdae. Hopefully, we can make it work."

Baekhyun smiled. "I'm listening."

By the end of the conversation, Baekhyun realized Kyungsoo was a ing genius. His idea would be the perfect way to help Jongdae. It was foolproof for sure. Hopefully afterwards, Jongdae would be back on his feet and on the road to taking care of himself. 

When Baekhyun and Jaxon returned to the checkout line, Chanyeol, Mina, and Jongdae were next. When he left before, they were the last ones in the line. 

Chanyeol didn't notice the length of Baekhyun's absence too much. His attention was on Jongdae. 

Jongdae held an Xbox 360 game close to his chest. He was begging Chanyeol to let him have the game.

"Please."

"No."

"Come on, it's the latest game in the series."

"I don't care. Put it back." Chanyeol stated as he began to put the groceries up on the conveyer belt.

"But-"

"I didn't let Mina get that toy she wanted so why should I get you that?"

Jongdae looked upset that Chanyeol was comparing him to Mina. "She's a kid. I'm an adult."

"In that case, you should be buying it yourself."

"I don't have any money."

"My point exactly."

Baekhyun interjected as he put the diapers on the conveyer belt. "Just buy him the game."

Jongdae smiled in triumph as he put the game up on the conveyor belt to be checked out. "Baekhyun's definitely my favorite parent."

"I'm his favorite." Baekhyun smirked. He was in an exceptionally good mood after talking to Kyungsoo and he couldn't wait to tell Chanyeol all about the plan.

**

Later that night after dinner, Jongdae was playing his new video game while Mina was playing with Jaxon on the floor in the living room. No one was in the kitchen but Baekhyun and Chanyeol. 

Baekhyun didn't waste that opportunity. He told Chanyeol all of what Kyungsoo had up his sleeve.

"What do you think?" Baekhyun wondered as he sat on the counter. Chanyeol stood in front of Baekhyun and wrapped his arms around his husband's waist.

"It's a great idea. But how long would you be gone?"

Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol's neck. "Just for the weekend."

"It'll be your first time being away from Jaxon."

"I know." Baekhyun wasn't looking forward to that part. He hadn't been away from Jaxon for longer than a few hours since he'd been born. A whole 48 hours would be difficult. "But Jongdae's my best friend. He needs me."

"You're a good friend." Chanyeol murmured as he leaned in to kiss Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun kissed back. "You'll be okay with the kids?"

"I'll be fine."

Baekhyun left the conversation at that in favor of wrapping his legs around Chanyeol's waist to bring him in closer. They kissed tenderly, hoping to not be interrupted. 

Thankfully, they weren't interrupted but still refused to do more than kiss in the kitchen. Before it got too intense, they decided to rejoin their family in the living room. 

Chanyeol helped Baekhyun hop down from the kitchen counter. Right then he got a text from Kyungsoo saying that everything was arranged. 

Baekhyun was partly surprised Kyungsoo was able to pull everything off without a hitch but was happy nonetheless. By the upcoming weekend, they would put their plan into action.

**

Jongdae usually wasn't a morning person. Yet, he found himself waking up at 6 and not being able to fall back asleep.

Unsurprisingly, Baekhyun and Chanyeol were already awake because of Jaxon. 

Jongdae found them both in the kitchen when he went to get a glass of orange juice. Jaxon was at their feet on his baby mat, playing with a set of colorful plastic keys.

Baekhyun's back was to Jongdae. His shirt was lifted up and Chanyeol was leaning forward to Baekhyun's chest.

Jongdae couldn't tell exactly what they were doing but knew he felt uncomfortable when Chanyeol started touching Baekhyun's chest.

"You're doing it wrong." Baekhyun laughed. 

", how is this supposed to go on?" Chanyeol wondered in frustration. 

"Pu