Outfit

Everyone wishes to rule the world.

-04.30.102,014

“Are you trying to stand out?” Nia hissed looking at the fourth outfit Luhan had tried on. The other males had gotten their outfits picked fairly quickly while the brat simply could not understand the meaning of discrete. It was like he wanted everyone to look at him. He need not worry about that though, he was so good looking that they would anyway. “Can you just pick something dark like everyone else?” She questioned glaring at the floral shirt the male was wearing.

“You have to be joking! I will not look like the gloomy cloud no one wants around!” What he was talking about Nia had no clue. He was insisting on wearing flowers saying that manly men such as him could do so. She did not question his logic as she had learned quickly that insulting his manly-ness was like asking to be harassed. “You all may be fine with looking depressing, but not me, no way!” Luhan insisted as he walked out of the room and down towards the front door to grab his shoes.

Nia could hear a chorus of ‘finally’ from the other males. She could also hear them sniggering at Luhan’s outfit though he paid them no mind. Following the males footsteps Nia quickly found herself surrounded by the group. Tao was glued to her arm in a second and she knew he would refuse to let go. He may have been excited, but he was also scared. He had every right to be for both. It would be the first time going out for all of the males since they had arrived. It was also extremely dangerous and they all knew that.

They just had to see their stupid plants.

Sliding on her own heels Nia made sure she had everything that she would need before they left. Her identification card was the most important of all the things she was bringing. That was how they would enter the garden. Then she made sure she had her phone and keys before making her way to the door. Nia also had a special surprise hidden away within her bag for the males later on. She let the males out before also letting herself out and locking the door.

“Hurry, hurry lets go!” Yixing cheered grabbing Nia’s free arm and pulling her along. He was by far the most excited. He had been talking about seeing all of the trees and other plants non stop for the past two days. Honestly, Nia felt like she was about to stab him. She could not handle the normally calm and collected boy. Yixing was one of the three she could trust to be amiable, but ever since she relented and agreed to let them go he would not shut up.

Looking back on it, Nia was starting to regret agreeing to let them go to the green sector. The first time she had agreed she could feel her stomach drop and the second time she felt like she might actually die. Nia still was not sure exactly how they had gotten her to forgive their  stupidity enough to let them go.Really they had not done anything to earn such a reward, but she had found herself falling prey to the trio yet again and even Yixing had teared up and nearly begged her to let them go. She finally relented before he could get on his knees. She was heartless, but not that badly.

The two eldest led the way with the rest of the merry group following them closely. Nia could hear the two talking about all of the plants and flowers they would see and smell. All of the males were slightly let down that they could not touch the pants. She had found it stange at first, the idea of touching the flora, but apparently down on the surface they could touch everything. Even Nia had to admit that it sounded wonderous. To be able to touch the flowers would be a dream come true to her. She was sure that they felt like the rarest of silks.

“When was the last time you went to the green section?” Jongdae questioned over Nia’s shoulder trying to steal her attention from Yixing and Tao who were rambling about some pink flower that they were sure to see, as it was the most beautiful. “I bet you went all the time before we showed up right?” He questioned further a kittenish grin passing his face as he peered at her from behind.

“Actually, I have not gone to the green sector in a long time.” She had to stress that it was sector and not section. Sections were areas within sectors and not even children mistook them, let alone grown men. “Even before you all showed up I was busy. Maybe even more so, with dating and work and school. I had a real life back then.” She told them laughing at the idea of her ever going to school on a regular basis or lord forbid having time to date even wanting to date was out of the question.

“Dating?” Minseok questioned looking back at her. Nia could feel her face heat up under his stare. She had not expected him to be payigng attention. Risking a look back she found that not only he had heard her, but Yifan had as well. Feeling the need to bury herself alive Nia simply nodded trying to get out of having to explain herself. “What is that?” Luck was definitely not on her side.

“Well, its when people go out and do together and uhm, do an activity?” That had to have been the worst explanation for anything ever. She was hoping they would give up with that. It was the only way she could make it out alive. If she had to say anything more then she might die of embarrassment. Only the males could make her feel so awkward about something so normal.

Normally she would not care if people knew that she was a serial dater, but the group was different than normal. Nia actually cared about what they thought of her. She only dated to keep the loneliness away. She did not care for or converse with her dates, but instead they went out and did things that one could do alone just together. It never did much as Nia was always lonely no matter how many dates she went on.

“So, are we on a date?” Tao questioned bouncing and holding Nia closer than she already was. Scandalized Nia let out a loud indignant ‘No!’ before she could think to do otherwise. Automatically, Tao deflated and huffed, but instead of pushing Nia away he only pulled her closer as though he could possibly bring her closer than he already held her. “How do we make this a date?” He really knew how to push her buttons and ask the most awkward questions. It was almost as though he had some sort of radar for questions that she wished to avoid.

“Uhm, well,” Nia honestly did not know how to answer that. Never had she thought about going on a date with Tao, he was too much like her brother for her to date him. “We cannot do that.” She told him softly trying to avoid his whining. That obviously would not work, not with Tao. “Dates are between two people and are supposed to be kind of romantic.” Nia’s voice seemed to fade away with each word she spoke and yet she knew that the males would hear her as they had unbelievably good hearing.

“You’re taken?” Jongdae screamed and Nia just knew that they male was pointing at her. It was a habit he had that would not break no matter how many times she pressed that it was rude to point. “We have been together for nearly two months and you are just now admitting to being taken? I thought you were a good woman; how could you do this to me, to us?” Oh god, he was garnering way too much attention. He could be a soap actor. That was all Nia could think of as she turned to watch him sputter and continue pointing at her.

“Jongdae, stop it. I am sure Nia can explain.” Yifan gave the other male a slap to the head and Nia would have felt better if not for the fact that his glare was suddenly directed at her. “Now explain this lover to us, and explain well.” Oh, oh now he was threatening her. That was exactly when she did not want to tell them about dating. She cursed her own mouth for even uttering the word. And why had the not heard of it? Luhan watched more dramas in the past two months than she had in the past twenty years.

Mentally, Nia was freaking out. They were in a very public place and she was with a large group of desirable males. If that was not attention grabbing enough one of the males seemed to be accusing her of cheating while another was backing him up making them both seem like her lovers. And, and she had two males hanging off of her. Nia looked to Minseok and Luhan, but automatically knew that they would be no help. Minseok looked annoyed as he narrowed his eyes at her and Luhn had a eating grin as he looked like he was enjoying her misery. She promised to return it ten fold later on.

“There is not anyone else.” Nia seethed glaring at Jongdae as he tried to question her. “I dated a lot before. I was lonely so I was trying to fill the time by going out with people, okay?” Gaze dropped to the floor Nia felt more pathetic than she had in a long time, possibly ever. “It’s pathetic and I’m not proud of it so I did not want to tell you guys.” She had wanted to pull away and crawl under a rock, but the grip Tao had on her arm would not let her do such a thing.

Finally, the males were quiet and followed Nia to the green sector. She could still hear the spectators watching her and whispering as the did so. They were probably just spreading rumors about how she dated a lot and cheated on all of those people. None of it was illegal so she did not need to worry about that, but her image on the other hand seemed to be going down the drain as of late. First missing so many classes then spending time with someone far below her and now she was a a cheater. How much worse could it get?

Entering the gardens was easy enough. The male on duty was so ensnared by the group's looks that he nearly forgot to have Nia scan her identification card. It irked the girl enough that not only was he not drooling over her, but he also had the gall to ask for Yifan AND Luhan’s numbers. He was acting as though the rest of the group did not exist as he blatantly flirted with the two. At one point he even offered to have the taller of the two over to his place. Needless to say both turned him down. Funnily enough Yifan stuck to Nia’s side the second the male came too close.

To Nia’s surprise all of the males were actually behaving like normal members of society. Other than their exaggerated reactions they were blending in perfectly. She could feel the pride swell in her heart. It felt akin to how a mother feels while watching her child go to school for the first time. Each of the males were willing to wait until the area that they wanted to go to. Nia had decided to wait for the actual gardens until the very end and to go to the ‘woods’ first.

Watching the males it became apparent that they had not seen many of the trees as the kept asking her what each one was called and questioning where they grew. Nia had to explain the different types from a bonsai to a pine tree. Though they could not identify the trees Nia could see the joy on the faces of the males. Even the ever stoic Yifan was smiling brightly at the plant life around them.

Regret washed over Nia as she watched the males. She had kept them away for so long. Though it may have been for their own good she could not deny that she knew they would need out at some point. Nia just wanted them as safe as possible for as long as she could make it last. Deep down she knew that their time on the levels was coming to an end. There was no telling how or when, but a feeling deep down told her that it could not last forever.

“Your face is going to be stuck like that.” Nia heard the voice she knew belonged to Minseok from her right. He was smiling playfully at her as she looked at him in confusion. “That thinking face. You look like you just got some bad news. Mind telling me what’s bugging you?” His words were crass and rough, they always were.  Minseok smiled in earnest at her just as he always did. He would never pressure her or make her tell him anything she did not want to and that was exactly why she always wanted to tell him everything.

“I’m going to miss you.” Nia whispered quietly to make sure that the others would not hear her words. She could see the confused look that Minseok sent her imploring for more than that. “When you go back down, I will miss all of you so much.” There was no reason to deny it as far as she was concerned. She had admitted it to herself long ago. If she was lonely without them after just one night of knowing them then how bad would it be after being together for two months?

Minseok did not reply and instead opted to take Nia’s hand from Tao who put up little resistance seeing as he was captured by the beauty of the willows. Nia could see that Minseok was guiding her somewhere away from the others, but she was not sure of the exact location. He obviously knew exactly where he was going as he guided her through thickets of trees and left their group behind. Nia snuck a short peak back and found that the only one to notice their departure was the Luhan as he smirked and waved to them.

Several minutes past before Nia realized where they were heading. Minseok was taking Nia to the section of the ‘forest’ that only couples ever visited. She could feel her hands becoming clammy in Minseok’s hold as her nerves began to get to her. In all of her dates Nia had never been to the Sakura Section, it was considered an area for those who were truly serious in their relationships. Though she knew that there was no way for Minseok to know this Nia could still feel a fluttering nervous feeling in her stomach.

“These trees,” Minseok murmured pulling Nia as close as he could. “Grow down below.” He whispered with his lips brushing the shell of the girl’s ear. She could feel the blood rush to her face as  his breath washed over her. “They die easily if not tended to and loved as they need to be. But, once they fully mature they are some of the strongest trees not to mention the most beautiful.” At that point it was hard to believe that Minseok was still only talking about the trees. Maybe he was, but to Nia it almost seemed like he was talking about someone.

The elder always had a way of speaking that left the other speechless. He had a loutish way of wording certain things and he contracted far too much for Nia’s liking, though he was not nearly as bad as Jongdae or Yifan. But, every so often Minseok would speak like one of the wise old sages from the fairytale books. Like he had seen a thousand live and remembered every second of them. He was someone that she could always rely on to give her direction and advice when she was lost on her own.

Minseok was the rock that Nia needed.

“Hmm.” She could not get even a word out at Minseok’s little speech. She was not sure if it was from the words he had glided over her ears or possibly the gentle hand that was skimming over the small of her back. His touch was as light as a feather and suddenly she stopped making fun of all the girls in those fairytale books from her childhood. The butterflies, whatever those were, were real and they had taken up residence in her stomach at the same time as Minseok placed his hand softly at her waist pulling her closer.

“You’re as dense as the day I met you.” Strike all of those nice thoughts. He may have been nice, but he also just called her stupid. “You have never picked up the hints have you?” Hints, for what, were they playing a game she did not know about? The boys did like to pull pranks on her. “How you don’t see it is beyond me. Maybe this will help, I know what this place is.” What was Minseok on about? Of course he knew the gardens, Nia had told them all about it.

A solemn gaze from Minseok was all the answer Nia would gain as she questioned him on what he meant. Instead of saying anything Minseok held her hand tighter in his and pulled her closer by the waist. As he held her hand so tightly Nia could feel herself understanding what Minseok was trying to say to her a moment ago. He was not talking about the gardens he was talking about the Sakura Section. He knew, he knew it was a place only for couples. Minseok knew that if they were seen there together then everyone would know they were together and that there would be no more dates for her in the future, not that there would have been otherwise.

Looking down at their hands Nia thought about pulling away. If she kept her hand in his then would that not give away the wrong impression to everyone else. They were not together so it seemed wrong to Nia to make others think of them that way. Was it so wrong though? If there was someone that she would not mind others to think she was dating it would be Minseok. Maybe he was not as desirable as  she was, but Nia found him to be much better than any of the other males who took an interest in her. To her Minseok was more desirable than any other person she had ever met.

“If you’re still holding my hand when we leave then you accept my feelings.” Minseok’s soft voice pulled Nia from her inner thoughts. “No worries about the future or what may happen, we can deal with that when it comes.” The males going back down. “Also, I know I’m not the only one. I can’t say I won’t care, it’s only normal that someone would want something they love all for themselves, but I won’t stop you either.” Love, did he say he loved her?

Head spinning Nia looked from their hands to Minseok’s smiling face. From his words she expected him to be bitter and grimacing with a fake smile plastered to his face. She really needed to stop expecting normal things from Minseok. His face was settled with a serene smile that showed Nia that he was at peace with what he had told her, that he really would accept whatever she wanted in their relationship.

Relationship. They were not in one, but that was exactly what Minseok was offering. He was offering a relationship that was different than any of the other ones she had ever been in. Nia knew that a relationship with Minseok would be loving and full of support. But, he was also suggesting that other people be involved and Nia was not sure how she would feel about that. She had never been good at sharing and to share someone that she cared about was something that she had never thought about. It was as she had told the him and the others, it was taboo for there to be more than two people in a relationship.

“I do not think that would work very well.” Nia admitted  quietly. “ I am not very good at sharing.” It sounded childish even to her own ears and Nia’s eyes drooped to the floor in embarrassment. Minseok was trying to be open and she was telling him that she could not or rather would not share. She may have grown in the time that he and the others had been with her, but deep down she knew that there were some things about her that would possibly never change.

Upon hearing Minseok’s tinkling laughter she found herself looking up to find Minseok looking at her his monolid eyes filled with mirth. She could not for the life of her figure out why he looked so happy. Had she not just turned him down? Was it a test? If so then she would be extremely disappointed in the male. He was usually the one who saved her from such things and not the one putting her through them.

“Sorry Nia, I think you misunderstood my intentions.” Minseok told her using his hand on her waist to turn her so that they were stood face to face noses grazing. It was possibly the most intimate position she had ever been in. She could faintly hear a few gasps that their actions elicited from the people around them. Nia had only to look up just the slightest and she would be eye to eye with the Minseok. “I never intended to take someone else. For me there is only you. And, if you’ll have me you are all there ever will be.” She could feel her breathing slow to a near stop as the endearing twinkle in Minseok’s eyes came closer and closer. Nia could feel the roughness of his face and the sincerity in his quiet promise.

“Didn’t I tell you before in our culture it is perfectly normal for a female to take multiple males and you said so yourself that there are also things like that here.” He was teasing her and Nia could tell. It was starting to become a trend with him that day. Say something really sweet and then say some not low key insult and see if she noticed. She was starting to wonder if she had missed a sweet comment and insult combo. “So, don’t worry okay? You won’t have any competition.” Minseok assure her, but there was something about what he was saying that really caught Nia’s attention.

“And, what about you?” She questioned looking over at him and found a confused expression littered his soft features. “I would not want to have competition, it would hurt, so why would you be so open to it? I would never wish to hurt you Minseok; you have been so good to me and to return that pain seems more cruel an act than I would ever want to commit.” She could have denied it and told him that there was only him in her heart, but they both would have known it was a lie. Nia knew that she had feelings for Minseok and that they were pure, but she knew that she had also grown a fondness for a  certain jerk that refused to leave the spot he had taken in the girls thoughts. He was always there in the back of her mind just like Minseok.

The smile that Minseok gave in reply seemed to be rather bitter. Nia could tell that it was not a bitterness towards her, but something else. He had obviously resigned himself to the facts long before they had ever met. Minseok knew that the chances of him ever being with someone who was only with him were slim to none. It was something Nia had never given a second thought to. She always knew that she would never have to share her lover with anyone, but Minseok always knew that he would have to with anyone she wanted to be with. It felt wrong to know that Minseok and the rest had so little power over something as important as their own love lives.

Words were no longer shared and Minseok released Nia just the slightest so that she would be able to face away for them to be able to walk back to the others. He let go of her waist, but as promised he never let go of her hand. He was serious when he said that she would be his only one, just as serious as he was about letting her be with another. His father had made it more than clear that if he loved a woman he should not smother her and should let her do as she wished.  Minseok would do just about anything the woman in his hold told him to do, he was hers and had been for a very long time.

Frankly, in the beginning Minseok found Nia to be nothing more than a sweet face which really did not mean much on the surface. But, as the had become closer he saw her in different lights and different situations and realized that she was much different than he had originally assumed. She was a lot more put together than most of the ‘pretties’ they had down below. Nia took care of herself and Ola for years and had been taking care of himself and the other males as well. How he put up with people like them he had no clue. They were obviously vastly different from Nia and her people, but she set aside everything she had ever learned and welcomed them into her home.

Obviously, she was more than just a pretty face and kind heart. She was strong too and he knew that better than most people, even the other males they lived with. Nia was harboring people that she should not have been and actively trying to smuggle them out. She had told Minseok all about what would happen to them if they were found. Honestly, it was the only reason he had not wanted to pressure her into taking them the gardens. Minseok knew the pressure and responsibilities that the young girl was facing for him and the others. It worried him as he knew there was little to nothing that he could do to help ease her situation, he was after all part of the reason she was in such a hard place.

Not only were the enforcers a problem, but she was actively trying to to die when she was out looking for a way to return them home. More than once she had come home scraped and bruised. She had even been robbed once when she went to one of the lowest levels. Minseok had tried to tell her not to go back to the area again, but she gave him the same answer she  always gave him when something bad happened. ‘It’s the only way to get you all home, Seok.’ He couldn’t count on his fingers the amount of times she had come home and something had went wrong while she was searching. Nia may have been able to hide it from the others, but not from him, he could see through her. He could see what she was doing for them.

“Thank you.”

“Finally!” It was Luhan who saw them first. Nia could tell right away that something was wrong. There were two liberators standing with the group of males causing her hair to stand on end. No one was on the ground or, like, dead so that was good. “Sorry Nia, we ran into a bit of a problem.” Luhan told her as she approached the group. He was stating the obvious as Tao’s arms were being held tightly one each by the liberators. The boy was in tears which put the others on edge, but they knew not to cause anymore of a scene though Nia knew Yifan was about to pounce to his brothers aid.

It was shocking to Nia that Yifan had not immediately try and take out both of the liberators. She knew that it was the sort of thing he would do, after all, he had threatened to kill her when she was trying to help. Nia could only imagine how he would react if someone was trying to hurt Tao. She knew without looking that he was string at her, his gaze always made her feel heavy, usually in a good way, but not at that moment. They were depending on her and Nia knew that she was the only one who could help them out of the hole that they had dug themselves.

“What seems to be the problem?” Nia did not waste her breath on Luhan as she knew the liberators were only going to be so forgiving. “I’m sure we can sort this out like civilized desirables. Please, unhand my brother.” She could practically feel the questioning looks that she was receiving from the males around her, but at least they were smart enough to keep their mouths shut and not say anything.

“Miss Lee,” The liberator to her left spoke and Nia could feel her hackles rising at the fact that he knew who she was. “You are well respected, but your friend here is not giving us his identification to show us how to liberate him.” So they were planning on punishing Tao, but they were trying to figure out how far to go. People were punished differently in each classification. The highest would easily be able to get away with murder while the lowest would not even be able to speak wrongly without being jailed for years. Liberators loved their job as they ‘thought’ they were helping people, so they probably wanted to know how far they could go with Tao.

“Exactly what did he do?” Nia questioned trying to avoid looking at the male in their hands. Tao was looking at Nia in despair. He had done something, the liberators do not attack people for no reason. They were ruthless and left no room for argument, but as far as Nia knew they almost never went against protocol. They would give Tao no less than they deemed he deserved. Tao was right to be afraid. If she looked at him then she may lose her cool and that would be no good for any of them.

“This one here,” The other male began roughly pulling Tao forward forcing him to let out a pained yelp. “Thought that it would be okay to touch one of the plants. Then he began arguing with us and refusing to show us his identification.” The man held a tone that Nia knew well. The jerk must have been of a high desirability class. He thought he was better than Tao, hell he probably thought he was better than Nia. She could hear it in the sneer that showed as he spoke and could see it in the rough grip that the man held on Tao. This did not sit well with Nia.

“Give me your identification tags.” Nia demanded and for a moment the people around her were still. The liberators thought Nia was speaking to Tao. “I am waiting liberators.” She demanded and held out her hand as though to show that she was not joking in any way. The rude ones reaction was immediate and violent. He threw Tao from his grip suddenly causing the other to lose his own and Tao to fall to the floor. The others were quick to help Tao from his fall as Yifan immediately pulled Tao into his arms, as if that would keep any danger away. For a moment Nia thought the liberators would not listen, but it was protocol and they forked over the small tags. Reading the tags Nia could feel a smirk cross her lips.

“Seems that today is not your lucky day.” Nia spoke softly looking at the liberators. “Classification K38F4ΘASMMΘX and I284ΘΘASMM42. are these correct?” Nia questioned looking at both of the males who nodded in silence. “I’m under Classification CΘΘAΘΘACBDΘJ, so I guess we all know how this is going to go down.” Both of the males stood at attention after hearing Nia’s classification number. “But, I am willing to be merciful this time. Apologize to my brother and our friends and I will let you go with a warning.” It would normally be suspicious for someone to ‘be merciful’, but Nia could tell they were willing to take what they could get seeing with how far down the ladder they were from her.

“He still needs to learn his lesson. He was touching a flower and that is against protocol.” It was the one with a lower level of desirability. “We cannot let him walk away without being liberated of his wrong doing, ma’am.” Nia could tell he was straining himself to be polite to her. At least he was trying, the other one seemed to not be able to utter a word as he was too busy fuming at Nia and trying not to lash out. Childish really.

Facing Tao Nia raised an eyebrow in question. She had specifically told him not to touch any of the plants. The kid could not listen to save his life, literally! Why was he touching a plant and better yet why were the others letting him touch the plant? Sighing Nia gave a shake of her head before reaching back to her bag and turning back to the liberators. She did not have to see their faces to know that the were becoming restless. Most people would rather take liberation than speaking back to a liberator, but Nia had no other choice.

“It truly is not your lucky day.” She told the males softly shaking her head. “My brother probably choose that plant as I told him I was going to purchase one for him. He must have gotten too excited and started touching without warning anyone before hand. This was all just a misunderstanding.” She hoped her acting was as convincing as she thought it was. Nia even showed off the card that she had brought for the day. She was happy that she really was happy that she really was planning on buying them a plant.

All of the males in the area were stunned into silence. Nia looked directly at the liberator who had been much more professional and did not want beat her to a pulp. She offered her card to him to show that she really had the credentials to buy a plant straight from the gardens. Originally Nia had planned to buy a plant for herself when she was older. Those plans went out the window when the males came around. She had worked much harder since they came. Nia was making an effort to fit in and not draw attention to herself. She just wanted to get the money so that she could spoil the males. They always seemed so happy in her fake garden that she thought she would surprise them with a real plant of their own.

Of course, almost getting arrested was not how she planned for it to go down.

The liberator motioned a worker over and the began whispering and pointing at a plant. Nia could see that the plant was originally nice, but looked like it was dying and she found herself hoping that was not the one that Tao had been touching. Scanning Nia’s card to verify her intent the liberator looked up tilting his head to the side in a show of confusion. She was unsure of why he was staring at her like that. He had probably caught on to the fact that Nia had no clue what the problem was. She had more money on her card than he had probably seen in his life. When he turned the screen and showed Nia the total of the plant that Tao was touching the girl could feel herself becoming faint.

“You are willing to pay this much for such a crappy plant?” She wanted to scream out in denial, and say he had made a mistake, but if she did that then Tao would still be in deep trouble. All Nia could do was nod a soft, fake, smile playing at her lips as she could feel the judgement coming from the liberators and the worker from the gardens. She gave a pointed look to the worker and suddenly the small male was off and grabbing tools to dig up the plant and make it ready to be transported while Nia paid for it. It hurt to watch almost all of her saved up money going down the drain as the plant looked like it was about to fall over.

“Tao, you had better love me for this.” The girl growled as soon as the liberators left without a word. “I just spent my life savings on a dying plant since you could not listen. We could have gotten a nice not dying one, but you just would not listen would you?” Nia was half teasing him, but also partially serious. She was going to continue, but stopped when she was suddenly attacked with multiple pairs of arms. Nia could hear multiple people saying ‘thank you’s as the all held her tightly. “Right, guys we are in public please.” She whispered as they had already drawn a crowd and she was not wanting people to continue watching their group. They needed to go.

“Get off.” Nia could hear a normally sweet voice turned deep and threatening and suddenly all of the bodies that were tightly held to her were throwing themselves away. Feeling a hand sliding over her back and down to her waist Nia could feel her face flush at Minseok’s possessive touch. “You all need to calm yourselves and stop acting looks idiots. Isn’t that why she had to save us, again?” Minseok questioned harshly sending a glare to the three males who were previously hanging off of her. He also sent glares to Yixing and Yifan who stood by while everything happened.

“Did you guys not learn anything since we let the kid in?” Minseok continued grilling his friends as they stood in front of him with their heads bowed. It was moments like those that Nia remembered that he was the eldest. Clutching his sleeve Nia pulled him down so that they were looking eye to eye before she sent a hasty look to the people staring at the group. “We’ll continue this later.” It was not only a threat, but also a promise.

The worker quickly returned with Tao’s dying plant. He gave us the care instructions even though those obviously were not working if the plant was in such bad shape. Even Nia’s tiny house plants were in better shape than that plant. Tao listened closely though along with Luhan and Yixing who were also both enraptured. The other three looked like they were ready to leave, their eyes darting to and fro as if danger was approaching and it probably was. Once the worker finished explaining everything to Tao, Yifan was pulling him along to the exit with the rest in tow.

Nia was ready to go. It had been an eventful day and she just wanted to go home and force Yixing to rub her feet since he had magic hands. She would have to listen to Tao babble all night about how thankful he was for the plant. She knew it was coming and earlier she was looking forward to it, but after his stunt she was far less interested. Nia was starting to realize that she was trying to put the restraints of her people on those who were much more free spirited. They had explained what their culture was like and she knew that it was nothing like hers. She could feel her will to fight with Tao fading as time went on.

“Please,” She started as they arrived home. “If you are going to let someone into my home or do something stupid like today, please, let me know ahead of time.” Nia would try and go with the flow so as to avoid fights. She did not know how much more time they had together and Nia wanted to treasure all of their remaining time together. “What, why are you looking at me like that?” The males were all giving her puppy dog eyes that told her she had done something wrong and it made Nia want to pull her hair out. She was trying to help and be more amiable and yet she was still able to upset them.

“Will it ever be ours?” Yifan surprised Nia with his question as he was never the one to answer her question and let one of the others answer her questions. “You always say min, mine, mine. Will it ever be our home too?” The hurt look on Yifan’s face told Nia he was not teasing her, but was being completely honest with his question. She had never thought that she was upsetting them by calling it hers and not theirs. She had always just assumed they thought it was just a place for them to stay while they were there.

“You, do you all want it to be?” She could feel her heart pounding as she looked at the males in front of her. Soft nods were her answer. Nia could feel her eyes well with tears and swiftly lifted her hand to her face to wipe them away. She knew that they wanted to go back down as it was dangerous for them to stay up on the levels.  So, to know they wanted her home to be theirs, it made her heart swell with happiness. “Then it will be, for as long as we are all here together this will be our home.”