Chapter Text
Once back home from their shopping trip, they all quietly entered the house, toeing off their shoes and setting down the bags to be put away later. Chan passed Seungmin to Jeongin who went to put him down for a nap.
They had all decided to sit down and come up with a proper schedule for watching the kid, though when Jeongin came back into the kitchen with the boy still in his arms, they looked at him in confusion.
"He wouldn't let go." He explained. They all quietly cooed, and then made room for their youngest boyfriend to sit, Seungmin still in his arms, face nestled into his shoulder and breathing deep.
Hyunjin laid out a piece of paper, and they all began to think of their daily schedules.
"Well, I have classes from six am to two pm, Monday Thursday, and Friday. On Tuesdays and Fridays, I'm done at twelve though." Minho began.
Felix nodded going next. "I teach the evening classes as we all know, so I start from two pm till eight on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. But on Tuesdays and Fridays, I pick up where Min left off, and I teach till six.
Hyunjin nodded writing that down. "Well for me it depends on when I'm commissioned, or when I have to participate in art galleries." Everyone distractedly watched Hyunjin as he chewed on the end of the pencil he was using. "Though we have the basement where we have my mini art studio, so if I use that I'll basically always be around." Before anyone else could speak up Minho cupped Hyunjin by the back of his neck pulling him in for a kiss.
"You're so hot baby," Jeongin whispered not wanting to wake the kid. The older blonde flushed at the compliment before brushing him off telling the last four to give him their schedule.
"Well technically because of my laptop Bin, Sung and I can work from home." They all nodded in agreement.
"We could always throw up some soundproofing in Channie's office so Innie can record in there if need be?" Jisung offered. Chan nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love it if Innie could be around all the time!"
Jeongin rolled his eyes at Chan yet still leaned closer to his to press a gentle kiss against his lips too.
"So most of us can be home, and if most of us have to be out at least one person will be home all the time right?" Changbin asked. With all nods of agreement, it was settled.
The four would go to the studio on Wednesdays and Fridays at one and those would be any kind of recording days they had.
Once settled they turned on a new drama that Jisung and Hyunjin had been begging to watch. After a
while Seungmin was passed to
Felix, because Jeongin had to use the restroom. The room was quiet while everyone had curled up together on the couch the
TV has a soft sound in the background.
Chan definitely took a picture of Felix who had fallen asleep with Seungmin still curled up to his chest. It was something
the Chan set as his background immediately after.
Before long Minho was shaking the two awake, afraid that Seungmin would nap too long and get his days and nights mixed up.
Hyunjin and Changbin took Seungmin with some of his toys outside so he could get fresh air. He brought his toy trucks and cars and tucked under his arm was his stuffed dog Minji.
They played in the grass, enjoying the fresh air and the breeze that made Seungmin's face flush pink.
He looked alive. And though his extent of playing did not go beyond rolling the trucks back and forth, he seemed very content to do just that.
Changbin sat in the grass watching as his boyfriend quietly engaged with the kid, making him giggle softly every now and then.
It was risky, keeping the kid. But there wasn't much they could do. Changbin was man enough to admit that they were all whipped for this kid. Embarrassingly so.
And just because Changbin did like the kid didn't mean that his fear was gone. He knew something was going to blow up in his face eventually, he just wasn't sure when.
It was only when Seungmin whined at the cold and tried curling himself into a little ball that they decided to go in. Hyunjin kissed him on the head gently and apologized.
Hyunjin scooped all the trucks and cars into his arms, watching as Seungmin lifted his arms wanting to be held.
"Oh no baby, I just picked up all the toys." Hyunjin jutted his bottom lip out in a pout, before smiling a wicked grin.
"Binnie can hold you pumpkin!" Changbin froze, he hadn't held or directly talked to Seungmin since the accident two days ago. Seungmin turned to Changbin and looked at him with those puppy-like eyes and Changbin folded so fast.
"Come here bud." He leaned down making an exaggerated noise as he lifted the boy into his arms. Logically the kid just walked, but ever since he had been found running for who knows how long, they had all silently decided that if the boy wanted to be held then they would carry him everywhere.
Jeongin pointed out that the boy's love for being held probably came from a lack of physical affection throughout his life. That made Felix cry, going into the room the boy was sleeping in and curling him into his arms.
Back inside the house, Seungmin wanted to be let down, and though it made Changbin's heart hurt he let the boy down.
Seungmin began walking around the house, peering into cabinets and opening doors through the house checking out each bedroom and bathroom. Chan told them that he was just curious and to leave him be. He had gotten more comfortable in their home and now wanted to see it all.
Eventually, the boy came back and tugged on Jeongin's shirt asking for TV time. Jeongin couldn't say no to the boy.
Five minutes later the TV was playing, some kid shows in English that Minho sat struggling to understand.
That was how they found seven adults and one kid sitting on a couch watching Octonauts.
Too lazy to get up and cook, they ordered takeout for dinner.
After dinner was finished they looked to see that rain had begun to pour outside, basking the room house in the pitter-patter of the drops.
Seungmin furrowed his brows staring at his trucks that Hyunjin brought in for him.
He began to fuss in Felix's lap trying to push his way off. The older let the boy down and Seungmin walked around the living room looking behind his toy bin, the TV stand, and every nook and cranny he could think of. He walked back to Felix and pointed outside.
"Ou'side." Felix smiled at him saying, "Silly Minnie, it's raining and dark out there, you can't go outside right now!"
Seungmin huffed, repeating his earlier request. Felix just shook his head reiterating that it was raining.
Seungmin stopped his foot and turned around. He wasn't afraid of going outside, and if the older man wouldn’t take him out he'd go by himself.
There was a big hand grabbing Seungmin's wrist, stopping him from continuing his path to the back door. It was Chan. Seungmin looked at the man's face taking in the disappointment lying there.
"Seungmin sweetie, you heard Felix, you can't go outside you'll get sick." The kid did not like the look all of his caretakers were giving him, a mixture of anger and confusion.
"Minji n' me ou'side today!" Seungmin shouted, and he really didn't mean to but he had to make them understand!
Minho stepped him picking Seungmin up in his arms and setting him on the kitchen counter to be at the same height.
"Seungmin you do not yell at Channie Hyung. That's very rude and you need to apologize now." Seungmin couldn't stop the tears that welled up in his eyes and fell down his cheeks.
"NO!" There was another sigh this time from Jisung. "Minnie baby, how about we go take a bath?" Jeongin stepped up next catching on to what his older boyfriend was saying. "Yeah, that's kind of like the rain!" Seungmin began to cry louder shaking his head and shoving Minho's hands that were resting on his shoulders off of him.
"That's enough now Seungmin, you don't get to act like this." Everyone was shocked to hear that from Minho who had seemed to be the most easygoing with the kid. Seungmin was shocked too, he stopped trying to fight against the man and just pulled his legs close to his chest.
His tears began to fall silently and his body shook, from what they assumed was the cold of the kitchen and the cries that wracked through him.
"I don' wanna go ou'side." He mumbled quietly. "Minji ou'side" There was a quiet "oh my god" from Changbin before he jogged toward the backdoor throwing it open and running out into the dark.
Chan tried to call him back but the younger ignored him. After a minute or two Changbin ran back in, his clothes soaked from how heavy the storm was pouring. In his hand was a bunched up sopping-wet thing of fur.
"MINJI!" Seungmin tried to throw himself off the counter to go get his beloved stuffed animal but Jeongin caught him before he could hit the floor.
Seungmin squirmed until he was set down by the older and the boy ran as fast as he could to Changbin who was currently shedding his wet sweater.
Seungmin threw himself onto Changbin's leg, wrapping his arms around the man and hugging him.
Changbin knelt down and pulled the kid into a proper hug while Seungmin kept muttering quietly "thank you's" to him.
Changbin ran his hand up and down the boy's back and kissed his forehead.
As for his other boyfriends, they all stood there feeling like complete jerks. The way they talked to him was awful.
They didn't understand what he was saying, of course, they should've tried to figure out what the boy wanted instead of assuming he was just being misbehaved.
"We have no clue how to raise a kid guys," Chan whispered to the others and they all nodded their heads in agreement.
Jisung dragged Changbin to their bathroom to get him cleaned and into warm clothes, while Chan volunteered for bathtime for Seungmin, making sure to give him an apology for the way they talked to him. And of course, the sweetheart that Seungmin was, he accepted his apology giving Chan a cheek kiss to show his forgiveness.
Minho took it upon himself to clean and dry the boy's toy, trying to make sure that it wasn’t going to be ruined. He'd go to the store tonight if need be, to get a new one.
Felix read Seungmin a bedtime story, his deep voice always lulling his insomniac boyfriend to sleep when he needed it.
It had been long enough since Changbin ran into the rain to get his toy that Seungmin wondered if he would get it back. And as if reading his mind Minho stepped into the room, Minji in hand.
Seungmin watched as the man walked over to the bed and handed Seungmin his toy. He held it close to his chest taking a deep breath in as he laid his head on the dog's soft head, rubbing the ear over his cheek.
It smelled like all of his Hyungs, their fresh scent that all their clothes had bringing him a warmth over his chest and making him sleepy.
He turned to look and saw that Lixie was gone but Minho sat on the edge of the bed looking awfully weird.
"You gots a weird face on Min." Seungmin gently pointed out, making said man's ears burn red.
"Sweetheart, I wanted to apologize for how ti talked to you earlier. It wasn't fair of me to assume you were just being bad."
Seungmin was confused, why was he apologizing to him? In response, Seungmin climbed into Minho's lap, the older letting out a breath and pulling the younger in.
"I forgive you, Minnie," Seungmin mumbled pressing his ear to the older's heart to hear it beat steadily.
"Thank you, baby. We don't deserve you, my little angel." Minho ran a hand through the boy's hair humming a gentle tune.
Seungmin decided he really liked when Minho sang and thought to tell him so. He fell asleep before he could utter a word.
Before they knew it, a week and a half had passed with Seungmin in their care. They had each taken turns teaching him, starting with how to read and write. There were definitely tears during the process, but Seungmin was smart and tended to catch on quickly.
Seungmin had decided that he did not like writing all that much, it was hard. He liked math though! It was easy! If there were two pencils, and someone took one away there was only one left!
It was as simple as that.
He had gotten more comfortable asking for things, and his speech had improved a lot. Sentences becoming more structured.
Minho still refused to let the boy feed himself, even though when Minho wasn't there the kid did just fine doing the act himself.
Seungmin also loved going outside, he would take his favorite toys and go out back and play for hours if they'd let him. Jeongin had also set up a swing that hung from their tree in the backyard, more than happy to push the boy to his heart's content.
Jisung had become the boy's partner in crime. The older often liked to play pranks on his boyfriends and Seungmin was more than happy to help, giggling in mischief at the harmless acts.
Changbin and Hyunjin still loved to go with the boy while he played, Changbin often watching knowing that eventually the younger boy would come crawling into his lap for a nap.
Felix had taught Seungmin how to play a couple of video games, and though the boy wasn't great at them he still loved playing with the older.
It was a sunny afternoon, the leaves from the trees had long turned beautiful red, orange, and yellow. Changbin sat watching Seungmin run his trucks back and forth, making explosion noises and other various sounds while he played.
The older felt pride at hearing the noises, knowing he had come so far. He looked at the kid, his skin looked healthy, with no more dark circles or sunken cheeks. He had gained some weight too, no longer looking like a tiny skeleton.
They weren't perfect yet, there were still times when they all questioned if they could really do this. And Seungmin still freaked out sometimes. Certain situations would send him reeling back into memories of the past.
Sometimes the kid would still be scared to ask for things, like this afternoon. Chan, Changbin, Jisung, and Jeongin had to go into the studio, which left Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix who wouldn't return till later that evening.
Seungmin had been left to draw while Minho and Hyunjin had left the room. Minho stepped out to take a phone call and Hyunjin went to his art studio in the basement.
Seungmin had been trying to draw his picture of his old friend Minji and him back at Mister Sim's house, but he really couldn't ignore the rumbling in his stomach. It felt like a monster was clawing around and trying to eat him from the inside out.
He thought about trying to find Minho, but he didn't want to interrupt his call, and Jinnie was in the basement and he hadn't worked up the courage to go down there yet.
Besides, he had just eaten! He really shouldn't want more food. But yet the little monster in his stomach told him he HAD TO HAVE more food and NOW!
Seungmin quietly set down his things and tiptoed into the kitchen. He found the crackers that he really liked to eat for a snack and grabbed some. He ate them quietly at the table before he put the box back and cleaned his mess.
Back to the living room, he went sitting back down. It didn't take long before his stomach was growling again. He felt like crying.
He pulled his puppy into his lap. "Minji am I turning into a twash monstuh? I eat so much like a trash can." The dog didn't answer. He got up again and made his way back into the kitchen.
Fear gripped him this time, this was his fourth snack of the day, surely they were going to get mad at him! He found some strawberries and blueberries already prepped to eat in the fridge, and so he ate that too.
He grabbed a big cup of water and drank that too.
And back to drawing he went. His picture was finished now, and yet he had just eaten again he felt his stomach grumbled quietly.
He felt like crying.
Minho stepped back inside and smiled and Seungmin. "Hey Minnie, you ready for a snack sweetie?" said boy jumped up, nodding quickly.
Minho chuckled as he walked into the kitchen Seungmin following closely behind.
He sat at the table as Minho reached into the cabinet and pulled out the box that held the crackers, which were now mostly gone. He made a noise in contemplation before putting the mostly empty box on the counter.
Then reaching for the fridge pulling out the empty container that had earlier held the fruits that Seungmin ate.
Oops.
Minho narrowed his eyes before turning to face the kid.
"Seungmin sweetie, did you eat these earlier?" That question alone was enough to make Seungmin burst into tears.
Minho was taken aback and he crossed the kitchen to reach for the crying boy and kneeled down in front of his chair.
"I'm so hungwy all the time! I eated so much food but the monster in my tummy want mo'e!" Minho tried to piece together what the boy was saying before he understood.
"You've been really hungry baby boy?" Seungmin nodded clutching onto Minho's hand as if the elder would snatch it away from him.
Minho couldn't help but laugh. Standing up he picked the boy up and plopped them down in the chair.
"Oh Seungminnie, this is a good thing!" The boy stopped crying as much facing him with a look of confusion.
"It means you're growing!" Seungmin stopped crying, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.
Minho fought the urge to cringe, filing the thought of teaching the boy to blow his nose later.
"G'owing?" Minho nodded. "You're getting bigger baby, so your little tummy is becoming a bigger tummy so it can give the food to your body so it can get bigger!" Minho booped Seungmin on the nose eliciting a giggle.
"Not a twash can monstuh?" Minho laughed gently, kindly. "No Minnie, you're not a trash monster. You're just a growing boy who needs more than light foods till dinner." Seungmin smiled a big toothy grin at Minho at the confirmation that he was in fact not turning into an all-eating monster.
"So how about we get you some good food that'll stick in your belly till dinner hm?" Seungmin nodded enthusiastically at that.
Seungmin began to talk, about what he wanted to draw next, (his trucks) and how when Felix got home he was gonna make him play Minecraft with him. And Changbin owed him a bubble bath when he got back too.
Minho just added commentary where he saw fit, letting the boy talk as much as he wanted, while he made him food.
Before long Seungmin was say with a bowl of steaming rice and meat and he ate it all groaning about a stomach ache.
"Min min, take a nap with me?" Seungmin asked giving him the puppy eyes he knew the older couldn’t refuse.
The boy said he couldn’t move, that he had eaten too much and had to be carried. Minho rolled his eyes fondly.
"C'mon, you little menace." Seungmin giggled again leaving a kiss on the older man's forehead like they often did to him.
"Thank you for the kiss angel. Now go to sleep and I'll wake you when it's almost time for dinner."
And rest he did.
Minh didn't want the boy to know how much it meant to him that he was so hungry. The fact that when they had found him he could hardly eat more than a couple bites without having a stomach ache, to now eating about as much as Jisung did was such an improvement.
He let himself shed a couple of tears before texting the group chat about what had happened. The responses were instantaneous, everyone shedding praise and tears (Felix) and then the unanimous agreement to go to the grocery store to find some snacks the boy could eat that would be more filling than what he had previously.
Minho fell asleep not long after and was woken by a pair of soft lips against his own. He opened his eyes to see Hyunjin standing over him Felix not far behind, holding Seungmin on his hip while the younger played with his hair.
"Hi, sleeping beauty," Hyunjin whispered against his mouth. The younger expected his boyfriend to shove him off and yelped in surprise when Minho pulled him back down on top of him into another searing kiss.
When they finally parted the blonde was blushing his lips a puffy pink. "Hi, Prince Charming."
The two got up and began preparing dinner for all eight of them. There was light conversation as they worked side by side and Seungmin helped cut veggies, his hand holding the knife while Felix held Seungmin's actually guiding the knife.
They packed dinner for their four other boyfriends, planning on taking it to the studio for them.
They got dressed, coats put on, and filed into Minho's car. The drive there was nice, music played over the speakers and the three men sang while Seungmin stared out the window at the fast-passing trees and other cars.
Once at the building, they shuffled in Seungmin being held by Minho, who was the least likely to be approached about the kid due to his somewhat standoffish aura.
This was the first time they had been out of the house other than walking around the neighborhood and the hospital visit.
They reached the studio and knocked gently.
The door swung open revealing Jeongin who grinned when he saw the other boys.
With a mischievous grin, he reached for Seungmin pulling him out of his boyfriend's arms and placing kisses all over the kid's face who laughed quietly.
"Yah Iyen-ah you're going to ignore your boyfriends who brought you dinner?" Minho teased.
Said man just stuck out his tongue pulling Seungmin dramatically closer to his chest and glaring. "My little dove is much more important than you are."
Chan sighed at this standing to take the containers for the others and giving them each a kiss whispering thank you to each one.
Jisung and Changbin did the same in greeting before they sat to eat. Seungmin was passed to Chan who would feed him bites of his food even though Seungmin had already eaten.
None of them pointed it out.
Tomorrow was Saturday, they were all off, and they were going to go grocery shopping to pick out Seungmin's favorite foods.
The three didn't want to go home without the rest of their family, so they all sat there on their phones or quietly watching the four singers work. Seungmin sat and watched some show on Chan's phone until he fell asleep in the later hours of the night.
It was nearing eleven pm when they finally packed it up and headed home. Changbin offered to take the kid off Felix's arms, who gladly accepted so he could hug Chan.
Something they learned was that Seungmin was a heavy sleeper now. Before he woke up at the quietest sound, which was extremely concerning, Though now when Seungmin was sleeping with one of them, he slept like the dead.
They made it home, and though Felix had begun to kiss Chan with more intent now, Chan was much too tired to try anything with him. They had made it to the studio at seven that morning, and the day had caught up with him quickly. So Chan let himself be kissed senseless and then drug to the shower to wash up.
The others quickly tapered off into their own rooms or each other's, and Changbin carried Seungmin to his, and with Minho's help, they changed his and together curled up with him in the middle falling into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning they all woke up slowly and once fully showered dressed and ready they piled into the van on their way to the store.
Once there Seungmin decided that he was a big boy and didn't want to be carried, he wanted to walk!
They let him, one of them holding his hand at all times.
They went through each aisle, asking the kid what he wanted, and putting it into the cart. Honestly, Seungmin was having so much fun despite the fact that shopping was a mundane task, the boys running around poking at him or lifting him high off the ground to reach things on the top shelf (despite the fact that Hyunjin could easily grab it) he would giggle at the act.
Chan tried his best to get them to settle down, pointing out that people were watching them. Jeongin loudly announced that if people cared they could shove it up their- Minho slapped a hand over his mouth.
Then came the ice cream aisle, something Seungmin was super excited about. They turned down the isle and Seungmin looked down it, his blood freezing and heart beating erratically.
There stood Mister Sim, staring right at him.
Somehow Chan had made the boys scatter leaving just the two of them in this isle.
The aisle was packed with people and Chan couldn't push his cart all the way down so he took the boy's hand and placed it on the cart's handle.
"Hey little peanut, I'm going to walk to that freezer right there, and then I'll be right back. Don’t go anywhere." He placed a kiss on the boy's head and briskly walked away.
The fact that it was Saturday clued Chan as to why it was so busy today. He tried to scooch by people, but there were too many, and he didn't happen to be the tallest.
It was less than a minute before he made it back to the cart, but then looked around.
Seungmin was gone.
"Seungmin?" He figured one of the boys came and just grabbed him, but he couldn't see any of them.
He heard them before he saw them, all six boys laughing and tumbling into the aisle.
All child-free.
"Where's Seungmin?" Chan gasped out. All eyes turned to him.
"He's gone?" Minho's voice was hard and angry.
Chan abandoned the cart running through the crowd of people looking for his kid.
He came up empty-handed.
Seungmin was gone.