"Jeno, are you ready?" Jaemin called, smiling when he heard a soft 'mhm a'most.' from the room. He looked down at the completed coloring pages on the table from earlier and smiled, bending down to look closer at Jeno's.

He had colored a picture of two cats cuddling in a basket, one of them a mix of vibrant pink and purple scribbles that trailed outside the lines while the other was colored a sparkling green.

"Okay, we can go now Jaem, I'm ready." Jeno said, pulling a soft red hoodie on over his head as he walked in. Jaemin swore that the hoodie had belonged to him at one point, but it didn't matter. Jeno looked comfy.

"Where are we going?" Jeno asked softly, holding Jaemin's hand tightly as they made their way down the apartment stairs. Jaemin smiled at the older's soft voice, finding it comforting. They hadn't left the house much since the incident so feeling Jeno's hand in his was reassuring.

"We're going to the park. Haechan, Renjun, and Minjun are gonna meet us there for lunch." Jeno nodded slowly, feeling a smile spread across his face as they made their way outside."That's nice... It's really pretty out today." Jeno observed allowed, looking around them. He wasn't wrong. It was a beautiful day. The sun was high in the bright blue sky, only a few scarce clouds hung in the air. it wasn't windy but a small breeze was blowing, making the trees sway. There were those iconic birds chirping as they do in every K-drama, but despite the beauty of the day, Jaemin couldn't help the paranoia that seized him as they walked down the sidewalk. He had decided they would walk to the park since it wasn't far, but he was beginning to regret that as they passed more people, more prying eyes, more swinging hands that could reach out and rip Jeno from his life all over again. He knew that it was justifiable. Considering all that they had been through it made sense that he would be skeptical of everyone around him. It was revealed that everyone he thought he knew, everyone he thought he could trust was working against him. They were all just a part of some elaborate scheme to take Jeno away from him, and if that had succeeded once what was stopping them from doing it again?

He was.

He was stopping them.

He wouldn't let anyone hurt Jeno ever again.

Jaemin had unknowingly pulled Jeno closer as they walked, eliciting a soft giggle from Jeno who was oblivious to the dark thoughts swarming the younger's head. Jeno began to swing their hands as they got closer and closer to the park, enjoying the warmth from the sun on his skin. Eventually, the park came into view, the place littered with couples and families, people walking their dogs and teenagers causing harmless trouble, and there, in the middle of the park, a blanket was laid out with a small group of three enjoying the sun on it.

"There they are!" Jeno exclaimed, pointing at the spot. Jaemin sighed with relief and began to quicken their pace towards the three.

"Renjun! Haechan!" He shouted. The two looked up, followed by their son who looked at them curiously. Once there, Jeno sat down excitedly beside Haechan who had a wiggling Minjun in his lap. Minjun whined and struggled against his Dad's grip.

"Papa! I wanna see uncle smiles!" He whined, dragging out the last syllables of his sentences. Haechan chuckled.

"Okay, okay, go ahead." He said, releasing the boy who waddled to Jeno excitedly.

"Uncle smiles! I missed you so much!" Minjun exclaimed, leaning forward to give Jeno a tiny bear hug. The older smiled warmly and hugged the boy back.

Jaemin was captivated by the sight, feeling warmth and excitement rush through him as he realized that they would get this soon. They would get a family, a baby for Chenle to spoil, a friend for Minjun to love, a child of their very own.

And none of them missed the way Jeno's hand mindlessly rubbed his stomach as he spoke to the toddler.

Apparently, even Minjun didn't miss it.

"Are you hungry?" Minjun asked curiously, tilting his head. "Papa made us sandwiches for when we wanna eat." Jeno shook his head.

"I'm alright for now, thank you," Jeno said kindly, lifting Minjun into his lap. The toddler nodded.

"Do you have a tummy ache? Papa has special medicines for that." Jeno shook his head again.

"Nope. My tummy doesn't hurt either." Jeno said, noticing that the other three had busied themselves with a conversation.

"Then why we're you rubbing your tummy?" He asked, looking curiously at the small bump of a stomach that Jeno had been rubbing earlier. He rubbed his tiny hands on it experimentally and looked up at Jeno with confusion. "And why isn't your tummy soft like Minjun and Papa? Do you have abs like my daddy?" Jeno laughed a bit at the child's confusion, finding the innocents endearing.

"No no. I'm pregnant. That means I'm going to have a baby soon." Minjun gasped and clapped his hands excitedly.

"Oh my, really! Does that mean I'll have a new friend?" Jeno nodded.

"Yes, it does." Minjun smiled brightly.

"I like that! I hope it's a boy. Dad says boyfriends are the best!"

"So, what are you going to do about your job Jaemin? Are you gonna keep working for Ten even after what happened?" Renjun asked, taking a bite from one of the sandwiches Haechan had put out. Jaemin looked at Jeno who was tickling Minjun and sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't feel safe leaving him at home alone like that..." Jaemin said, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought.

"Have you thought about starting your own business?" Haechan asked, getting comfortable with his head on Renjun's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Renjun nodded at Haechan's words.

"Yeah. You're a great baker, why not open up your own bakery? I'm sure Chenle would be willing to help you. Then you could be with Jeno too." Haechan sat up and nodded excitedly.

"Someday you could buy a small two-story building, and the upstairs can be where you live while the downstairs is your bakery. Then once your kid grows up, Jeno could help you. Besides, with your own business, you could keep taking care of him while your workers work!" Haechan said. He seemed so excited for them, it made Jaemin and Renjun chuckle.

"Maybe I could open a little bakery... but I don't know about the two-story building. We just moved into our apartment and I know Jeno likes it there, so I wanna stay." Haechan visibly deflated and Renjun laughed, patting Haechan on the back.

"If it really means that much to you Hyuckie, we could open a bakery in a two-story building," Renjun said. "I don't care for my parents house all that much anyway. It'll be nice to finally move on." Haechan looked overjoyed at the option and he gasped.

"Then we can hire Jaemin as our first worker so that he can have whatever hours he wants!" Renjun smiled and nodded, looking to Jaemin expectantly. Haechan turned to look at what Jeno and Minjun were up to, smiling when he noticed Minjun had fetched a couple of toys from the bag they had brought and was happily occupying the both of them with his antics. Jaemin nodded happily.

"That would be great! It'll be nice to have someone who understands our situation as my boss." He smiled and Renjun gave a nod before looking over at Jeno as well and smiling. There was still something like regret that rested in Renjun's eyes as he gazed at the boy, and Jaemin wondered if it was because of what he had done or because he felt responsible for Mark's doings. Haechan crawled over towards them to join in their game of pretend and Renjun let out a small sigh.

"You two will be flawless parents.." Renjun remarked. Jaemin remained silent, not sure what to say, so Renjun continued. "For one, you already know how to provide for someone, and for another thing, he will have no problem spending all his time with a little kid." Jaemin nodded slowly l, biting his bottom lip as he thought about something again.

He was doing a lot of thinking today.

"I wanna go to college." Jaemin suddenly blurted, causing Renjun to turn to him with raised brows, obviously taken aback by the sudden announcement.

"College? That's a lot of work.. Especially if you're gonna be doing a job too. You won't get much time with Jeno..." Renjun said, frowning. Jaemin nodded.

"I know but if I go to college then someday I can get a better job to support us. I want us to live on our hard work, not on Chenle's pity." Jaemin said, looking at Jeno who was giggling from something Haechan had said. "I don't want to live my life as a leech on your cousin. I need to get on my own two feet... I need to get us on my own two feet." He said the last part softly, hoping that Renjun wouldn't mention it.

But he did.

"Jaemin, you don't have to fight all of your battles alone," Renjun said, placing a hand on the younger's back. "I know you feel like you can do it all on your own, but we're always here for you, okay? You shouldn't feel like you have to hold both of you on your own. That's just not how a happy relationship works." Jaemin shook his head.

"I don't mean it like that, Renjun. Jeno gives so much more than I could ask for, I just feel responsible for him. More responsible than I did before. I feel like if anything happens to him again... If he has to endure any more pain... It'll all be my fault." Renjun shook his head.

"Jaemin, you're doing everything you can to protect him. All I'm gonna say is that we have your back. If you ever need it, Hyuck and I are always here for you two. If you ever wanna come to drop him off at our house for the day to hang out with Minjun, we'd be more than happy to have him over." Jaemin nodded slowly and looked over at the other three. Haechan was playing with Minjun, the toddler submerged in whatever universe they had created, and Jeno looked zoned out, his eyes locked onto a figure that stood on the sidewalk a small ways away. He didn't look frightened, more so curious, tilting his head as he watched them. Jaemin looked at the person who Jeno was staring at, but he saw nothing familiar, nor out of the ordinary about them. Their hair was a messy black heap that somehow looked okay, and they wore a dark coat with grey jeans and tall black boots. They had a mask on that covered their mask and nose, so the only thing Jaemin could see decently was their dark eyes. He swore he saw them watching Jeno from where they stood, but he shook it off, figuring it was just his paranoia again.

But the more he thought about the figure, the worse he felt.

"Renjun," Jaemin said, trying to keep his voice low and tone calm despite the way his hands had started shaking. "how long do you think Mark was sentenced?" He asked. Renjun looked up from his sandwich, noticing how scared Jaemin looked. He held the younger hand and shook his head.

"A long time Jaemin. I bet he'll be sentenced for life, don't worry, I bet you won't be seeing him anytime soon." Jaemin nodded, more to reassure himself than to show he understood. He looked at the figure and swallowed harshly. Jeno was still watching them with a transfixed gaze, his breathing now heavier.

"Jeno," Jaemin called, getting the older to turn around and look at him. That's when he saw the look of discomfort and fear on his face, the expression not being clear before. Jaemin motioned for him to come over and Jeno easily obeyed, crawling over to him and sitting in his lap happily. Jaemin sighed, feeling relieved again now that he could feel Jeno close to him. "did you eat any of Haechan's yummy sandwiches yet?" Jaemin asked. Jeno shook his head as a no and buried his face into the other's chest. "Aw, well you should eat soon. Then we can go to visit Chenle." Jeno looked up excitedly and nodded, getting off Jaemin's lap to be in front of Renjun.

"Can I have a sandwich?" He asked sweetly, his voice softer than before. Renjun smiled, giving a nod as he pulled the plate out from beside him and held it out for Jeno. The boy picked a sandwich off it and began to munch on it, sitting back beside Jaemin as he ate. Haechan and Minjun made their way over too, Haechan putting away the boy's action figures while Renjun handed him a sandwich.

They spent the rest of their lunch in peace, the person who had been watching them eventually walking off and putting the Nomin couple at peace. They made pointless conversation about house cleaning and taking care of Minjun, the toddler nodding along despite not really paying attention, and smiling proudly anytime he could coax a laugh out of Jeno. Eventually, they all finished eating, bidding each other goodbye with smiles and waves.

As Jeno and Jaemin walked hand in hand back to the apartment (they wanted to drive to the hospital), Jaemin was overcome by the sudden feeling that they were being watched, but since they were almost back he didn't pay much mind and just picked up the pace a bit. But, when he noticed Jeno tensing beside him, he knew he wasn't just imagining it, and they hurried even faster back to the apartment.

Jaemin unlocked the car and made sure Jeno was in before he got in, putting the key in the ignition with a sigh. He reached over and held Jeno's shaking hand, letting out another deep breath as he squeezed it gently.

"It's okay. We'll be fine. Let's just get to the hospital." Jaemin said, moving his hand back to the wheel to pull out. Once out of the apartment parking lot though, he went back to holding Jeno's hand while the older stared out the window.

"He won't come back..." Jeno said with a soft, shaky voice. He sounded unsure, as if he was asking a question more so than reassuring them. All Jaemin did was nod and squeeze his hand.

"He won't come back." Jaemin repeated the older words, somehow mustering the courage to keep his voice steady. Jeno nodded slowly, watching the scenery go past them like normal, but nothing felt normal. He felt trapped, hunted, the only anchor of safety being the person beside him. He hated that the only place he felt safe was locked up in his own home, that everyone had turned into his enemy. He had his small family, but how long could they keep him safe before they were putting themselves at risk?

"I don't..." Jeno began, pausing to take a deep breath. "I don't ever want to feel that helpless again. J-Jaemin please, p-promise me he isn't coming back." Jaemin held onto the older hand tightly, lifting their joined hands to kiss the older knuckles.

"I promise you Jeno, he isn't coming back." Jeno nodded before turning to look out the car window again, trying to relax as they continued the drive to the hospital.

← t b c →