"You're so pretty.." Jeno remarked as he brushed out the youngers wet hair, looking at the boy's reflection in the mirror. Jaemin blushed a bit at the sudden compliment as Jeno set down the brush, fluffing his hair with his fingers. He kissed the youngers cheek softly with a smile before standing and walking to his closet. "How about one of my hoodies hm? Or do you want something else?" Jeno asked as he went through the clothing in his closet. Jaemin stood up and walked over, taking a couple of graphic T-shirts and a hoodie. He smiled and nodded as he held the items over his arm. Jeno chuckled. "Alright, they're all yours."

"Thank you." He said. Jeno ruffled the boy's hair again and sighed.

"Welcome. I need to go ask my mom something. When you're done changing you can come down, alright?" Jaemin nodded and watched the older go, taking off the robe and swiftly changing into the clothes. He smiled at his reflection in the mirror and nodded before taking one last glance at the board of Polaroids. He reached up and carefully pulled one down, smiling at the photo and nodding before sticking it in his pocket and walking out of the room.

He closed the door gently behind himself and turned to walk down the stairs until he heard-

"Psst. Hey! You!" Jaemin furrowed his brows and turned to see a girl poking her head out of one of the rooms. She waved for him to walk over and so he did, interested in what she wanted. With caution, he made his way closer to the room only to be grabbed by the wrist and pulled in.

The door was shut behind him and he stood with wide eyes, hands instinctively coming up in a defensive position, flinching as if waiting for something to hit him. He heard a soft laugh and took down his hands, blinking a couple of times.

There were two girls. One sitting on the bed on her phone while the other was right beside him. Some oldish Taylor Swift song that Jaemin was familiar with played in the room, the foreign smell of nail polish hanging in the air. The girl who had pulled him in looked him up and down with a smile.

"Gosh, no wonder Jeno's obsessed with you. You are really good-looking for a boy!" Jaemin chuckled nervously.

"Uhm thanks but-"

"Don't worry about Jeno. I'm older so he won't be a problem to shake off. However, I wanted to talk to you about some stuff." Jaemin nodded slowly before the girl pulled him over to sit on the bed. The other one looked up from her phone with a smile and they both took a moment to take in his appearance before the first one leaned back against the headboard.

"So, what's your name again? You're the Jaemin one right?" Jaemin nodded slowly, glancing around the room. The girl chuckled. "Well I'm Sunjae and this is my friend Ryn. I'm Jeno's older sister. By like two years. Don't worry I'm not gonna try to take you away from him, I already have Ryn." Jaemin nodded slowly, comprehending the information that was being thrown at him.

"So if you're Jaemin... Hang on." She leaned over her bedside dresser and opened the top drawer, pulling out a small notebook and pencil before flipping about ten pages in and stopping. Jaemin's name was written neatly at the top in fancy lettering, under it was aesthetic bullet points listing different traits, and on the page beside it were a couple of other Polaroids, some of just him alone but one of him and Jeno. Jaemin leaned forward, gently turning the notebook so he could look at the picture. He smiled when he realized what it was. He pointed down at the photo.

"That's from last July. Jeno took all of us down to the creek and I pushed him in." He let out a small laugh at the picture of them splashing each other in the creek. "I remember the lecture he gave us all on the way back about how we were gonna catch a cold, but he wouldn't stop laughing about it." Sunjae nodded lightly, holding her pen and labeling under the Polaroid "July 2019 - Creek". Jaemin smiled as he looked over some of the bullet points. "So what is all this anyway?" Sunjae chuckled.

"Ryn and I made profiles for each of you that describe your traits. There are even some stories in here that Jeno told me." Jaemin nodded slowly as he flipped through the other profiles. "Jeno never tells us exactly where he goes or why he goes there but he always seems excited to talk about it. I swore to him I wouldn't tell our mom so he tells me all he's comfortable with and I write it in here. Mostly to keep track of everything. Besides, Jeno likes to have a physical object to represent or show his memories, so this will be perfect." Jaemin gave another nod and smiled.

"Well this is a lot of stuff you've got here.." Sunjae nodded.

"I do what I can.." She remarked with a smile as she read over more of the bullet points on Jaemin's 'profile'.

"Sunny, what about the uhm, outfit?" Ryn asked, causing Jaemin to tilt his head. Sunjae's face lit up.

"Oh my god, I almost forgot! Okay, Jaemin, you are one of, like, three of the guys that I think would look amazing in.. Here hang on." She said, excitedly going from her bed to her closet. She opened it up and pulled out an article of clothing that made Jaemin's eyes widen.

"A.. A skirt..?" Sunjae nodded.

"You would look adorable and Jeno would so dig it." Jaemin nodded softly, thinking about what the girl was saying. He had never thought of wearing a skirt but, maybe he wouldn't look too bad...

He stood up carefully from the bed and walked over, getting pulled by Sunjae to stand in front of the mirror. She carefully placed the skirt over his figure where it would sit and nodded.

"It would definitely be a cute look for you." Ryn stood up from the bed and went to Sunjae's dresser, opening it and pulling out a pair of knee-high socks. They faded from black at the top to light grey at the bottom, two yellow stripes at the top. She handed them to Sunjae who nodded, suddenly gasping as she set them on the floor.

"Oh my god, I just got the best idea ever. Ryn, find my black heels they should be in my closet. Jaemin, sit tight." He nodded, sitting down on the floor silently while Sunjae rushed out of the room. Ryn chuckled and began searching the bottom of the closet as she had been told to.

"So, are all six of you gay?" She asked. Her voice was deeper than Sunjae's, and almost threatening if she wasn't smiling. Jaemin nodded a bit.

"I mean, I think so. Well, I know Jeno is bi and Renjun's poly, but basically, all of us are gay for each other I guess." He explained. She nodded, pulling out the heels and setting them on the ground. She sat down beside him, pulling out her phone and playing some game on it. Jaemin leaned over to watch. "I feel like Jeno isn't gonna be happy when he gets up here.. We were supposed to go back to the clubhouse quickly, Chenle, Jisung, and Renjun are all alone... Hyuck might even be there by now and that can only spell trouble." Ryn shrugged.

"Sunny will figure it out. She always does." Jaemin nodded again.

"So, are you guys dating?"

"Well, we-" Ryn stopped talking as Sunjae came busting back in.

"Found it!" She exclaimed, showing a black and yellow ACDC t-shirt. Jaemin tilted his head.

"Isn't that Jeno's?"

"Yep. That's the point. Guys can't resist when their lover wears their clothing. They immediately get interested." Jaemin shrugged as she walked over, handing him the shirt.

"Whatever you say-" Jaemin stopped when he saw Jeno standing in the doorway out of the corner of his eye. He turned and smiled brightly at the older, opening his mouth to speak.

"Jeno, go away! We're giving your boyfriend a makeover." Sunjae said as she went to the door. Jeno groaned.

"But we need to go, the other guys are waiting and Donghyuck just texted me-" Jaemin wasn't paying much attention to their conversation anymore, just squirming from where he sat as he waited to go to Jeno. Ryn smiled softly as she watched him, noticing how he was fidgeting.

He was just itching to be by Jeno's side.

"You've fallen hard kid.." Ryn said as she stood. Jaemin looked up at her. "Just be careful." She remarked before gathering the items for the outfit. She got a backpack out from the closet and stuffed the clothes in, zipping it and giving it to Jaemin who had now stood up.

"Sunny, they can go, it's alright. We just finished up anyways." She remarked as she brought Jaemin with her to the door. Sunjae paused and sighed, nodding her head.

"Alright.." Jaemin went to Jeno quickly, the older pulling him into a hug as soon as he could. Jeno glared a bit at his sister over the youngers hair, feeling Jaemin's tight grip on him. Ryn looked him dead in the eyes before speaking.

"You be good to him Lee Jeno. I'm not kidding." She warned sternly. Jeno nodded, feeling a little intimidated by the girl's stare. He let go of Jaemin and looked down at him with a smile.

"Let's go?" Jaemin nodded, his hand falling into Jeno's as the older lead him down the hall and stairs, then out the door.

"What were you talking to your mom about?" Jaemin asked as they walked down the street. He went to get a lollipop from his pocket, freezing when he remembered they were in the pocket of the jacket that Jeno had put in the hamper. The older smiled and pulled something out of his pocket, handing it to Jaemin, who gratefully accepted the candy. He popped it in his mouth and continued to walk, Jeno still at his side.

"Nothing important. I was just asking her a question is all." Jeno said with a shrug. "I got my answers and then Hyuck texted me so I told her we had to go. She's pretty chill." Jaemin nodded.

"She is. Your sister and her friend... They're interesting. I mean they're nice but, Sunjae is a little strange." Jeno laughed.

"Yea, she is. But I still love her even if she isn't a Lee." Jaemin tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"My father cheated on my mom with another woman. My mom was pregnant at the time and she wasn't gonna get kicked out so she told him to leave, and he did. Well, the woman he was cheating with also found out that my dad was married and she came to apologize to my mother, explaining that she had no clue. She and my mom kinda became friends and were talking often, and one day my father left her. Well since she had been a stay-at-home mom to care for Sunjae, my dad was the only one providing money for her. When he left he took all of that money with him and she couldn't afford to care for Sunny anymore, so my mom took her in. The rest is history I guess.." Jeno explained.

"Jesus your dad sucks." Jaemin said. Jeno shrugged.

"Well, there are worse.." He remarked. Jaemin looked at his feet as they walked, feeling a small pit form in his stomach as he nodded.

"Yea.." Jeno noticed the sudden change in the youngers attitude as they approached the clubhouse and he pulled him close.

"I'm sorry Jaem, I didn't mean-"

"No, you're fine. Really I-I need to get over it." Jeno shook his head gently.

"Your fear is justifiable Nana. I'm just really sorry that I didn't, you know, censor my wording if you get that." Jaemin nodded.

"It's alright baby, I know you didn't mean it like that." Jeno sighed as he opened the clubhouse door.

They walked in to see Chenle and Jisung on the couch. The older of the two was playing games on his switch while Jisung sat upside down, his legs over the back of the couch and head hanging off. When he spotted the two he gasped.

"You're back!" He exclaimed, adjusting from his spot to sit upright and run over to them. Jeno smiled.

"Mhm. Did you two make any trouble for Renjun?" He asked. Jisung shook his head.

"Nope! We were angels." The youngest said with a smile. Jeno chuckled and began to get himself a soda, handing one to Jaemin as well who gladly took the beverage. "Oh, by the way hyung, don't freak out but Donghyuck brought-" just then they all turned their heads (except Chenle) at the sound of the door to the dance studio opening, revealing just the thing Jisung was about to talk about. Jeno's face darkened suddenly, proactively holding Jaemin closer by the waist as he gave the boy the nastiest glare he could muster. "Mark." Jisung finished, slinking back a bit towards the couch. Chenle could sense a Jisung in distress and paused his game, getting up to stand by the youngers side.

"Why the fuck are you here?" Jeno asked. Mark smiled a bit before stepping aside, revealing Donghyuck. The younger smiled at Jeno, the expression quickly fading as he saw how mad the older boy looked.

"Jeno, he's just here to hang out. I figured it would be fine. He helped me get home safely last night so I just thought... Maybe...." Jeno's expression didn't change, watching as Renjun appeared, walking past both of them. He looked upset by something and it set off too many red flags for Jeno.

"Mark leaves now, or I go home and take them with me." Jeno said, referring to the other five who were watching. Renjun walked over to be with Jeno, the younger immediately pulling him into a hug and feeling Renjun begin to cry into his shirt. Mark didn't move, he just remained leaning against the doorway with that stupid smirk on his face. "Did I not say it loud enough for you? Now!" Jeno said, raising his voice in the silence. He hated to raise his voice around his boys, especially when he saw Chenle flinch out of the corner of his vision and felt Renjun and Jaemin do the same. Mark raised a brow.

"Is this really necessary Lee? Wasn't our little fight last night enough for you?" Jisung and Chenle furrowed their brows, looking at Jeno in confusion. "I know you want what's best for them but they aren't children and you aren't their dad. You can't control them or this property nor the people on it." Mark said smugly, taking a step closer to Jeno. "It's really cute what you have going here. A happy little family hidden away from the rest of the world. But how long can this really last? How much longer can you shelter then from the truth?" Mark got closer to Jeno who moved Renjun behind him and let go of Jaemin's hand to let the younger move away. Mark continued to approach until his hot breath was fanning against Jeno's ear. "You can't hide them forever Lee. One way or another the baby bunny will stray from its burrow and then it's only a matter of time before the fox gets what it wants." He said softly so that only Jeno could hear him. The boy growled lowly, quickly grabbing Mark by the shoulder and slamming him against the wall before moving his hand to be around the boy's neck.

"You keep your hands off of them!"

"Jeno! Let him go!" Donghyuck shouted. Jeno scoffed, pressing his hand harder against the olders neck before doing as told. Mark dramatically fell to the ground and took in a deep breath before standing and running past him and out the door. Jeno watched him go with hatred in his eyes, rage burning in his stomach. "Jeno what the fuck did you do that for! He was here to apologize for last night why did you-"

"I'm just trying to protect you.." Jeno muttered.

"Just trying to protect me? By keeping me stuck here, forcing me to fall in love with one of you guys? I don't want-"

"I'm trying to protect what I love!" Jeno yelled, turning quickly to the younger. "If I don't have you then what am I?! If I let you out there on your own you would be dead in seconds! You're so fucking naive just listen to me! I know what I'm doing! Just listen and trust me for once in your goddamn life, I am not the bad guy, I am on your side, I can help you, just stop pushing us all away, Mark!" Jeno yelled, stopping suddenly. His breathing was heavy as his gaze fell to the ground, his expression weakening to something none of them had ever seen. Something sad and vulnerable, scared and pitiful. He blinked away tears as he shook his head. "I-I'm sorry... I just... I meant...." He stopped again, letting the stiff silence hang in the air for a moment before he turned and walked out the door.

"Jeno," Jaemin called weakly after the older as he watched him go, shoulders slumping a bit.

"What did he mean by that?" Chenle asked softly. Jisung shook his head.

"It's nothing I'm sure... He probably just slipped up. He must've meant Donghyuck... right?" Jisung asked, looking to his hyungs for answers.

"I don't know.." Jaemin answered carefully as he stared at the door where Jeno had gone.

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