~~(Part 2) of "What a Surprise"~~

    "Honey, I'm telling you. Jin being able to get to know Phi will be great for both of them!" Hartz smiled, pacing the kitchen as his wife did the dishes.
    "Hartz, I love you, but I still don't trust him. Not after everything he did to people in high school and then vanishing off the face of the planet." Night spoke firmly, her eyes stern when she looked at him. It's been three weeks since Phi entered back into the couple's life, after abandoning his brother for four years. Something that Night hasn't forgiven him for. " He left you behind for four years before showing up out of nowhere and you still trust him? No, I don't like it."
    "Look babe, he could leave me for ten years and I'd still trust him with my life. He's my brother no matter what." Hartz defended, tucking his bangs behind his ear. "The things he did in high school were shitty, yes, but he's the only family I have left. I want our kids to be able to know their uncle."

Night looked at him with a stern expression, crossing her wet arms over her chest.
    "My answer is no and that's final, Hartz. I don't trust him and I surely don't with our kids." The mother shut the conversation down after that, uncrossing her arms and continuing with the dishes. Hartz deflated and sighed, nodding as he turned to leave the kitchen, muttering a 'yes dear' on his way out. He collapsed on the couch with the baby monitor to keep an ear out for their sleeping daughter, letting out another sigh. Of course she said no, he thought, rubbing his head. His brother was trying to be better but Night doesn't see that, so how can he get it all to work?

His eyes lit up as an idea crossed his thoughts, a smile on his face as he pulled out his phone and unlocked it. His thumbs glided over the keyboard quickly as he typed, pressing send with a satisfied breath. A couple minutes passed by before his phone vibrated, a reply to the text he had sent.

    "I'm interested."

~~~

Jin racked his brain as he and Hartz walked out to the car, curious as to why his dad came to pick him up. As happy as he was to not have to ride the bus, it still confused him. What was the occasion?
    "So, why exactly did you come to pick me up...?" The Senior asked, opening the passenger door and throwing his bag in the backseat.
    "You and I have some plans going on today." Hartz smiled, getting into the car. Jin furrowed his eyebrows, getting his seatbelt on.
    "I don't remember us having plans today..." The teen mumbled, watching the scenery pass as they drove. Hartz hummed with the radio, smiling as he pulled into the driveway of their home. Green eyes narrowed slightly at an unfamiliar car that sat in front of the house, looking at his dad. "Whose car is that...?"
    "That's Phi's, he's involved too." The older man smiled, somewhat quelling his son's anxiety at the mention of his brother being there.

Why was he here though?

The two walked up the porch steps before entering the house, Hartz greeting his brother as Jin shut the door. Phi smiled softly at the two, baby Serenity fast asleep in his arms.
    "Jin, so nice to see you again." The man spoke softly, mindful of the infant in his arms as he stood.
    "U-uh, hey..." Jin greeted, waving shyly to his uncle. "S-so, uh, the plans...?"
    "Right! So, you and Phi are going out to town together. Just the two of you." Hartz started, reaching over and carefully taking his daughter from his twin. "The plan is for you both to get to know each other better."
    "... I-I, I don't know how I feel about this..." Jin fumbled, his anxiety increasing the more he thought about it. What about what mama said? "I-I just met him three weeks ago, I don't know him well enough..."
    "I trust my brother with my life, I think this would be good for you both!" His dad smiled, trying to ease his son's nerves. "Just try it, please. For me."
    "I-I-" Jin tried to counter until he looked Hartz in the eyes, finally noticing just how much this plan meant to him. Tired green looked over at Phi and found the same look, furrowing his eyebrows. "Alright, fine... I trust you..."
    "Great!" Oh, the happiness Hartz felt when he agreed. It was unparalleled. "You two go have fun! If Night asks, I'll cover for you..." He whispered to his brother, winking.
    "W-what was that last part...?"

Hartz smiled at his son, reaching out carefully and ruffling his hair.
    "Don't worry about it, bud. Now go! Go have fun!" He insisted, shooing them out the door. The two walked out to Phi's car as the man opened the passenger side for his nephew, smiling at him.
    "T-thank you..." Jin mumbled, stepping in and sitting down.
    "You're welcome." The door closed as the older Dread brother walked around to the other side, getting in and starting the car. The drive toward town was slightly awkward in a sense as the two just remained quiet, Jin fiddling with his hoodie as he tried to shake the awful feeling he had gotten.
    "I promise that you're as safe as you can be Jin, everything is going to be just fine." Phi spoke up, being able to sense the anxiety radiating off of his nephew. "My brother is correct, this will be great for us both."
    "I-I'm sorry, I'm always really nervous around new people..." Jin told him, letting out a shaky breath.
    "It's quite understandable, my boy. But please, don't stress, this engagement isn't going to take a drastic turn."
    "O-okay..."

The car pulled into the parking lot of a cozy restaurant, Phi shutting the car off before the two got out. They both walked toward the door, the older man opening the door for the teenager. Jin mumbled a 'thank you' and returned the favor, greeting the hostess with a small smile. They got their table and sat across from each other, Phi smiling warmly.
    "S-so, how do we get this started...?"
    "Well, we basically play 'Twenty Questions,' a great way to break the ice and get to know the small things about each other." The white-haired man started, hands folded in front of each other on the table. "I want to know the real you. How school is, home life, how you like being a big brother. Simple things."
    "O-oh, uh, w-well... I'm a senior, so it'll be nice to finally graduate..." Jin smiled softly, his gaze flicking between the table top and his uncle's eyes. Phi smiled warmly, a kind look in his mismatched as he listened. The teenager blinked and sucked in a breath, finally feeling safe in his presence as he continued on.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

~~~

Night sang along to her playlist on her drive home from work, glancing at the time and smiling. She couldn't wait to see her babies. She pulled into the driveway and parked, shutting her car off before getting out, locking her car and walking up the steps.
    "Hartz, Jin, I'm home!" She greeted, closing the door and shuffling her shoes off.
    "Hey there, Moonlight! How was work?" Hartz smiled, feeding their daughter on the couch when his wife walked in.
    "It was great! The kids were great today which made everything run super smooth. Where's Jin?"
    "Upstairs, taking a nap. He said he wasn't feeling well, so I got him all fixed up in his bed."
    "Oh no! Maybe I should go up and check on him, make sure he's not running a fever." Night frowned, looking at the stairs.
    "Oh baby, don't worry! I already went up and checked on him. He's doing fine, no fever.

Hartz' heart was absolutely racing, hoping for her to buy the story so they could move on. She'll kick his ass if she finds out Jin wasn't home... Night felt unease pierce her chest but played it off, smiling slightly at her husband.
    "Okay, if you say so. I should let him sleep and check on him later..." She said, slipping her jacket off and hanging it up. "How was your day?"
    "It went just fine! Serenity and I hung out all day and we went on a walk together, it was nice. She was hardly fussy today." The man smiled, setting the baby bottle aside and burping their daughter.
    "Well that's good to hear, I'm glad." The young mother smiled, walking over and sitting next to him with a breath. "Are you sure Jin is doing okay? He makes me worry whenever he's sick."
    "I promise everything is okay." Hartz told her confidently, rocking their daughter when she burped. Night smiled softly and nodded, leaning over and kissing her husband's cheek gently.
    "Thank you for taking care of him for me while I wasn't here. It's a good thing we caught it before it got worse." She smiled, standing and walking toward the kitchen. She glanced at the shoe rack by the front door and felt something was out of place, furrowing her eyebrows.

Where were his shoes?

    "Hey, honey? Totally random question, but where are our son's shoes?" She asked him, looking toward the couch where her beloved resided. Hartz felt his heart stop, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat as he opened his mouth. "Actually, before you answer, where is his backpack?"
    "U-uh, well, it's all up-"
    "How about you stop lying and actually answer my question. Jin always takes his shoes off at the door and if he wasn't feeling well, his backpack would be by the couch." Night crossed her arms, staring firmly at him. Hartz felt the color leave his skin, immediate anxiety consuming his thoughts.
    "D-does he do that? Huh, H-how funny-"
    "Where is my son?"
    "A-alright, alright, he's out with Phi!" The young father confessed, unable to lie to his wife any further.

Night stared in complete disbelief, grey eyes flashing an angry gold.
    "So not only did you go against my wishes, you did it behind my back?! Are you serious?!" She hissed, glaring at him. "You know for a fact I don't trust your asshole brother and you let him just take our son?! Do you have any idea where they went?!"
    "U-uh, we'll, I-I know they're in town..."
    "You don't know specifically where they are?! Are you insane?!" Night was livid, opening her phone and calling her son quickly. It rang all the way until it went to voicemail, the panic finally setting in as she tried again. "Call your brother. Now."

Hartz nodded and got into his phone, calling Phi and waiting. He pales when the phone rang but no answer, pulling the phone from his ear and stared in shock. Finally realizing his mistake, the younger twin covered his mouth in shock and looked at his angry wife.

Oh how he fucked up...

NightBear15 signing off...