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Chapter Text

*****

That one time, after an ‘easy’ mission, decidedly was not. 

--__--__--

'Aish, the lot of you are gonna make me go gray!' -Chan, after an exhausting, rather dangerous mission.

'It's not our fault you're old, hyung.' -Seungmin, flirting with death.

'It's a good thing hyung doesn't have laser eyes.' -Felix, watching worriedly from the side.

'It's not his eyes I'd be worried about, Minnie.' -Jisung, grinning a bit madly.

'It's not like hyung can catch him if he goes invisible." -Hyunjin, the oddly practical one.

'I'm leaving. I need to start dinner. Have fun retrieving our resident ghost.' -Minho, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

'Seungmin isn't a ghost, Minho-hyung. I mean, I don't think he is. Turning invisible isn't the same as being a ghost...is it? Maybe Binnie-hyung is right? Maybe he's an alien. Aliens can probably go invisible. What do you think, Lixie-hyung? Which way makes more-' -Innie, rambling until Changbin grabs him in a headlock.

‘Ah, ah, he lost his breath.’ -Changbin, shoving the maknae into Chan's arms.

‘Let’s go home.’ -Chan, sighing.

Chapter Text

****

Grabbing a couple jars of sauce and setting them in the carriage, Chan eyed the cart critically. Was that enough to feed the ravenous, bottomless pits he called dongsaengs? 

Better grab another box of pasta. 

Maybe two more loaves of garlic bread and some more meatballs too. The amount of food his boys could consume in one setting was both mind boggling and possibly, slightly, concerning . 

As he rounded the end of the aisle, rechecking his mental list, his phone rang. Patting his pockets in an attempt to locate it, he finally did, yanking it loose.

“Hello?” Did he forget anything? 

“ Hi, Chan-ah .” 

“Hyung! How are you?” He was next in line and he set the divider near the end and waited for the person in front of him to finish. 

“ I'm alright, kid. How're things ?”

“Pretty decent, hyung. I just ran out to grab dinner. Thought after the week we've had, a quiet dinner at home would be good.” He began to put his groceries on the conveyor belt. 

“ That sounds nice. Chan-ah? ”

“Yes?” Weren't there three bags of premade meatballs? 

“ Have you seen the news ?”

“No, hyung.” Where…? Oh, there it was. Under the loaves of bread. “I'm in line at the store. Why?”

“ There's a fairly familiar looking group of teenagers stopping a robbery down on Fifth.”

-silence-

“ Chan ?”

“That's not possible . I only left the apartment twenty minutes ago.” He didn't move, couldn't move. Until the person behind him cleared their throat. He tossed the boxes of pasta onto the belt and pushed his carriage up. “Are you sure?”

“ I'm watching it right now, kiddo .”

“No.” More because he didn't want to believe the kids would leave after he told them to stay home, not because he doubted that Jungeun-hyung was telling him the truth.

“ Sorry, Chan-ah, but those Stray Kids are definitely yours .”

“But how did they…” He put the divider up for the person behind him. 

“ You taught them well, Chan-ah. Your Stray Kids are everywhere….”

Chapter Text

***

“I'm home!” Chan called down the small front hallway as he toed off his shoes.

“Kitchen!” Jisung called back, “what took you so long, hyung? You were gone forever!”

Rolling his eyes while grinning fondly, he picked up the takeout bags he'd grabbed on his way home from his meeting with the mayor, and headed to the kitchen. 

He stepped into the small room and set the bags on the counter to his left, turning to greet Jisung, only to stop short. 

The teenager was grinning at him around a giant mouthful of pizza. “Hi hyung! What'd you get?” he asked, peering around Chan to look curiously at the bags.

Chan sighed when he spotted three large pizza boxes sitting on the stove behind Jisung. “Dinner, kiddo. Dinner you apparently don't need.” 

Still grinning, Jisung shook his head. “I was hungry and you won't let me use the stove-”

“You nearly burnt down the kitchen when you tried to make toast, Sungie. So no, you aren't using the stove.” Chan sighed.

Jisung shrugged. “Yeah, you won't let me use the stove. So I called Jungeun-hyung and he ordered pizza for me!”

“So I see.” Chan agreed softly. He turned back to the takeout bags and took them to the fridge. He grabbed a vitamin water and a paper plate from the top of the pizza boxes. 

“Did Jungeun-hyung bring the pizza here?” he asked, sitting next to Jisung with his own plate of pepperoni pizza, “or did he have it delivered?”

“Came 'ere." the boy mumbled around another giant bite of pizza. 

Ruffling the kid's hair, Chan pulled out his phone, swiped the screen and punched in Jungeun’s number. 

“Hey, hyung,” Chan said when the older man answered, “you do know I know how to feed my kid, right?”

Chapter Text

***

Some Tuesday a few weeks after Changbin has come to live at the dorm.

“Hyung?” Changbin asks as he comes to stand in the doorway of the living room. 

“Hmmm?” Chan-hyung responds from the couch, rather occupied with the book in his hands.

“Oh, what're you reading?” Changbin asks. He comes closer, shoving his hands in his pockets and peering over the back of the couch. 

Chan-hyung glances back at him. “Some Nat Geo book on capybaras that Jisung insisted I read.”

“Aren't they just giant rats?” Changbin leans further over the couch, near Chan-hyung's head so he can see the book.

His hyung chuckles. “Basically. But don't tell Sungie I said so, yeah?”

“Course not,” Changbin says. He takes a few steps away from the couch, leans against the large bookshelf to his right. “Can I ask you something, hyung?”

Chan glances again at his dongsaeng, gives him a quick smile. “Sure, kid. What's up?”

Changbin hesitates a moment, running a hand through his hair before rushing into his question. “Well….Yujun, one of my old contacts, texted me the other day. He said he can get me - us a really good job-” Changbin stops short when Chan-hyung glares at him.

If looks could kill…RIP Changbin.

“No.” One word. Over. Done. Final. Chan-hyung gives him a look Changbin recognizes. It's the one that stops Jisung in his tracks. 

“But, hyung!” He just can't help himself. Yujun’s text was so-

“Absolutely not. Do you hear me, Seo Changbin? No.”

††

Late one Friday, a few weeks later, after a harrowing mission.

Changbin drops onto the couch next to Minho-hyung and slumps against the older. “Why are all these missions so hard?” he mutters, eyes already half closed. 

“Bad guys don't want to be caught, Changbin-ah, it's not rocket science.” Minho-hyung is extra tired, Changbin knows; they used his super power quite a bit. But the barb still stings.

“I'm not stupid, hyung.” Changbin's pouting and he doesn't care. Minho-hyung doesn't have to be so mean.

“Boys,” Chan-hyung chides, as he enters the living room with a tray of mugs. The heavenly scent of tea has Changbin sitting up a bit. 

“Hyung?” he murmurs a few moments later, around the lip of a mug filled to the brim with tea and honey and spices Changbin doesn't know the names of.

Chan-hyung looks over at him from the opposite couch, where Jisung is curled up with his head on their hyung's lap. “Bin-ah?”

“You know what I was thinking?” Changbin asks, studiously looking at his tea, as if he was conversing with it and not Chan-hyung.

Minho-hyung stiffens. Lands a not-so-soft warning smack on the outside of Changbin's thigh. Changbin stifles a yelp, rubbing at the sting and Chan-hyung clears his throat. 

“Don't, Bin. The answer is no.” 

Changbin can feel Chan-hyung staring.Feels Minho-hyung raising his hand again. 

Maybe he's pushing too much. 

“But, hyung! I haven't even-”

“Changbin!”

††

An early morning Monday, some weeks later. 

“If we could take jobs like the ones I used to take, Sungie, we'd be sooo very rich,” Changbin whines, laying on the bottom bunk, looking up at Jisung. 

The younger, dangling over the railing of the top bunk, grins down at his hyung, a bit like the Cheshire cat. “Channie-hyung won't let us.”

“Yeah, yeah, maknae. You're no help.” 

A pillow flies through the air and hits Changbin's nose. Giggles bounce around the small bedroom. Changbin jumps up and rocks the entire bunk bed side to side. 

“If you make another dent in the walls, Jungeun-hyung is gonna make you pay for it!” Jisung snorts. He falls back onto the bunk and away from Changbin's tickling fingers. 

“That's why I need even just one of my old jobs, Sungie. Just one.” The bunk hits the wall with a solid thwack and Changbin releases his hold and steps back. His hands go to his pockets and he glances over his shoulder at the bedroom door. 

Jisung still giggles. 
The door opens and Chan-hyung stands there.

“Bin-ah, if you've made another hole in the wall, Jungeun-hyung is going to-” Chan-hyung sighs when he spots the crushed plaster.

“Sorry,” Changbin whispers.

Chan-hyung sighs again. “Aish, Bin-ah. Hyung will pay for it this time, but you really need to be aware of how much force you are using. I know you can control it.” 

Chan-hyung is disappointed.
Jisung is grinning over the edge of the bunk. Brat.

“I can pay for it,” Changbin mumbles. He pokes at the dent in the plaster. “And I could contact Yujun and see-”

“Seo Changbin.” 

Changbin freezes at the tone.
Jisung is no longer giggling or grinning. 

“The answer is no. The answer will always be no-” 

Chan-hyung stops abruptly, looks stricken. “I'm sorry, Bin-ah, maybe I shouldn't be so-” 

He stops abruptly again, shakes his head and turns to Jisung. Not happy. 

“Han Jisung! Absolutely not ok! My emotions are my own. You know better. Out. Find Minho-hyung and see if he needs help with breakfast.” 

Chan-hyung crosses his arms. Watches Jisung slowly climb down from the bunk. 

Changbin watches too. 
Winces with Jisung when Chan-hyung sends him from the room with a pretty solid swat. 

“That's enough, Bin-ah,” Chan-hyung orders softly. 

“But, hyung -” Changbin snaps his mouth closed at the look Chan-hyung sends him.

“No. I don't operate that way. We don't operate that way. You know better. Stop asking.”

Changbin nods.
Chan-hyung sighs.

††

Late afternoon on a Wed, a few months and a couple extra dongsaengs in.

Changbin sidles up to Chan-hyung in the kitchen. Peers over his shoulder.

“What're you making, hyung?”

“Jjigae.”

Changbin grins. “Easy and delicious.”

Chan-hyung nods. He stirs the stew. 
Turns to Changbin and ruffles his hair.

“What are you up to?” 

Changbin shrugs, moves back a little too quickly, hits the table behind him. It scrapes across the floor and Chan-hyung sighs. 

“Sorry,” Changbin mutters, “did you end up ordering a new rug?”

His hyung nods. He moves to sit at the table and looks up at Changbin. “Minho ordered it. It should be here this afternoon.”

“Innie really didn't mean to spill that bottle of Violet Shatter on the last rug.”

Chan-hyung looks at him sharply. “Jeongin shouldn't have had that bottle of Violet Shatter in the first place and as his hyung, you shouldn't have encouraged him to take it.”

Changbin pouts. “You already yelled at me and Innie for that.”

“You brought it up.” Chan-hyung says with a shrug. He gets up and stirs the stew again. “So, what have you and Lix been up to, Bin-ah?” 

Changbin looks up, a glint in his eye. “Just looking up some stuff on the web.”

“Yeah? What kind of stuff?” Chan-hyung is reading the back of a bottle of spices, not fully paying attention.

“Nothing super important. Just you know, looking up job opportunities.”

“Mmm.” Chan-hyung is pawing through their very well stocked spice cabinet, muttering things Changbin can't quite hear. 

“Lixie got into VICE and there's a really good paying gig that we should totally check out-”

Chan-hyung stills. Deliberately sets down the spices he holds with a solid thud. 

“You allowed your dongsaeng to go on a known villain website?”

Changbin swallows hard. “No?”

Chan-hyung spins around and pins Changbin with a look. “Did you ask, allow or suggest that Felix hack into VICE?” 

Changbin winces. “Maybe? But, hyung there's-”

Chan-hyung grabs a long handled spoon from the jar on the counter and advances towards the fighter. 

Changbin gets up from the table so fast, his chair tips over. He starts to ramble a bit. Backs away from the angry superhero. “Wait, hyung! Wait!”

But Chan-hyung doesn't wait. He stalks his second eldest with a fierce look and an intense grip on the spoon. 

And Changbin runs.

Chapter Text

***

Chan heard the alarm ringing, he did. But he was absolutely certain he hadn't even set an alarm. He reached out, trying to whack at the little block with the shiny green numbers, only to realize - now that he was slightly more coherent - that it wasn't his alarm, it was his phone. 

Sliding his hand under the pillow, he dug the phone out and blinked blearily at the caller ID. “Hyung?” he half slurred, shifting a bit to lean back against the pillows, “is something wrong?”

“Are all the kids home?”

Chan shot upright, fully awake at the concern in Jungeun-hyung’s voice. 

“They better be!” he whisper yelled, jumping from his bed. He shoved his feet into his slippers out of sheer habit and glanced at Felix's bed across the room. One.

He darted out the door and down the hall. “I'm checking now! What's wrong?”

“Some green haired kid is trying to pull Axiom Sanders from an airplane.”

Chan had just thrown open the door to Minho, Jinnie, and Seungmin's room and he stopped short at his hyung's words. “None of the boys have green hair, hyung.” 

Breathing a little easier, he stepped quietly into the room, using the light from the hall to make sure the boys were in bed like they should be. Two, three, four.

“I know, Chan-ah. But they change things on me all the time. Are they home?”

Closing the bedroom door, Chan crossed the hall a little faster as Jungeun-hyung's concern fueled his own. He opened the door to Sungie, Bin and Jeongin's room, counted three heads and let out a heavy sigh. Five, six, seven. 

“They're all home, hyung. Why are you even awake at this- Wait. Did you say airplane?!”

“Thank the heavens, Chan-ah. Yes! Check the news. I don't know who it is.”

Closing the boy's door, Chan jogged back down the hallway to the living room and turned on the TV. He didn't even have to search for anything. It popped up immediately, a Channel 8 News Flash running across the bottom of the screen. 

The live footage was grainy and shaky, but it clearly showed a young man with green hair, wrestling with Sanders. The younger was trying to yank the larger, low key thief towards the back of the plane, and Chan's heart about left his body when the teen kicked the exit door open. Sanders jerked them both backwards, causing them to fall to the floor.

“Kid’s about to get himself killed,” Jungeun-hyung breathed out, concern evident in his voice.

Chan was moving without thinking, kicking off his slippers and grabbing his boots from near the front door. “I'm going. Hyung can you come-”

“I'm on my way, Chan-ah.” the phone clicked as Jungeun-hyung hung up and Chan tossed it on the hallway table so he could pull a sweatshirt over his head. 

“Hyung? What's wrong?” 

Looking up in surprise, he gave Jisung a tight smile as he stuffed his phone in his pocket. The boy was standing in the hall, hair sticking up every which way, rubbing at his eyes. 

Chan pointed at the TV. “Hyung has to go help. Jungeun-hyung is on his way. Stay here and don't give him any trouble.” 

Jisung glanced at the big screen and moved to flop onto the couch. “Why does he get to take on criminals by himself, hyung? You won't let us. He's the same age as Binnie-hyung. Is it cuz he can fly? Flying’s not that much more amazing than what we can do. If I could fly, could I take on the Hanzaki Bandit by myself? Hyung, it's really not-”

“Jisung!” Chan interrupted, trying to pick the important pieces of info from his kid’s rambling, “do you know this kid? Did you say he could fly?”

Nodding, Jisung pulled a blanket that was resting on the back of the couch, down over the top of him. “He sure can, hyung. Don't you ever watch the news?”

Blinking in confusion, he watched the news all the time, he held in another sigh and repeated his order. “I'll be back in a bit. Don't leave. Jungeun-hyung will be here soon.” 

****

Chan's phone rang again just as he turned the corner onto Runway Ave, the airport just minutes away now. He hit the speakerphone button, not bothering to try and read the caller ID. 

“Yeah?” 

“Hyung!! Thank the heavens! Do you have any extra kids at your place? I swear he was here when I went to bed, and I told him to quit running off without telling me-”

“Easy. Who are we talking about?” Chan asked his younger brother as he put the van in park and shut it off.

“I, well I took in a kid- just a week ago I think? I found him- I'll explain it later, but hyung! He's gone!”

Chan slammed the van door and began running across the tarmac, heading for the control room. He had a terrible feeling he knew who Joong-ah was looking for.

“If he has green hair and can fly, meet me at Mun-Dong Airport.” he ordered, flinging open the door to the large white building and charging up the stairs, "and I hope you have a good reason for not telling Geun-hyung that you took in a kid!"

“That's him!  And I do, sort of! It's confusing, but,” there's rustling on the other end of the line, "sorry, I dropped the phone. I just don't- I told him someone always needs to know where he is, but…hyung, I'll see you there!” 

Chan shook his head and stuffed his phone back in his pocket as he entered the air traffic control room and began to fire questions about the airplane, who was flying it, where it was going, how far from the airport it was and if they had video or audio contact. 

*****

Chan stood on the runway now, watching the plane circle overhead. It hadn't taken long to contact the pilot of the small personal plane. He'd been aware of the issue, and had turned back, trying to stay calm as the fight raged on not far from the cockpit. 

As the plane started to descend, Chan watched in shock as someone -or rather, quite possibly someones, came hurtling from the rear of the small aircraft, falling in a crazy fit of twirling and twisting that had him holding his breath and trying to gauge where they were going to land.

Storming footsteps came up behind him, but he didn't turn, still trying to tell if he was going to have to perform some kind of lifesaving act before the young daredevil and his catch hit the ground.

As he watched, he felt the owner of the footsteps come to a stop beside him. “I don't know what he was thinking,” the younger breathed, “I'm gonna…I'm gonna-”

He trailed off as the the green haired teenager slowed down, no longer looking like he was on a collision course with the ground. He landed with ease, despite having his hands full of the larger, older Axiom Sanders. 

Grinning as soon as his feet hit the tar, he looked to Chan's right with big excited eyes. “Hongjoong-hyung! I did it! I got him!” 

There was a pause and then Chan’s youngest brother fairly exploded.

“Kang Yeosang! What the actual hell!?”

***

Chapter Text

***

Everything had been going fairly well. He'd shown up shortly after Felix had pinpointed the alarm, planning to make quick work of a simple break in. 

There'd been three young men trashing the place when he arrived, and while he was technically outnumbered, it was not at all in brains, and he'd easily subdued the first two. 

Then the third had thrown something at the store's night lights and plummeted them into complete darkness. And now everything was falling apart faster than a sidewinder down a steep dune. 

Chan could hear the last thief fumbling around in the dark on the other side of the store, but he couldn't see over there at all. He backed himself against the wall, keeping his staff at the ready. 

“Can I help?” a whisper near his ear had Chan's weapon at the unknown’s throat, a startled squeak leaving the stranger. 

“Who are you?” Chan hissed, while keeping an ear out for any sound of the thief moving around in the dark. 

“That's not important, is it? I mean, I can help you and that's a big deal, right? I don't think I should have to tell you-”

Chan’s free hand went to cover the teenager's mouth - because from the voice, it was another cheeky teen and where did these kids keep coming from? 

“Who are you,” he growled softly, carefully pushing them towards the back door. He couldn't risk going after the third thief when there was another, younger life at risk.

The wannabe hero shook his head, dislodging Chan's hand long enough to give a whiny high pitched answer. “Do you want my help or not?”

“No,” he muttered darkly, “we need to get out before-”

He was shoved from behind then, and he let go of the kid to turn and swipe his staff low and hard. It connected with something, a pained grunt and a thud indicating he'd hit someone hard enough they fell.

“C'mon kid. Out-” he turned back to the boy and was momentarily blinded. The entire area where they stood was lit up, bright as day. 

And there was a rather cocky looking young man grinning at him, brilliant as a freaking Christmas tree. 

“Told you I could help.”

**†**

Chan sat across from the spiky haired teen at a small deli on a corner near the dorm. He'd checked in with his own kids and was now giving this free range super powered dongsaeng his disappointed dad look, the one that made both Jisung and Seungmin whine.

“I don't get why you're upset, sunbaenim. I helped. Or, I could've, if you'd let me!”

Chan blinked in surprise. Cocky and a bit mouthy. “I didn't even know you were there, kid. And if you're going to help someone, it helps if they are aware of your presence.”

“You're just as bad as my hyung,” the teen muttered, glaring half-heartedly across the table at Chan, “never letting us do anything.”

Chan sat back in the booth and crossed his arms. “Your hyung?” he asked, voice hard.

Big brown eyes stared back at him for a long moment, before the kid shrugged and his gaze turned to the plate of hotteok in front of him.

Sighing as realization dawned, Chan uncrossed his arms and pulled his phone from his pocket. Something told him he was about to make a phone call, and something further told him, he already knew who the call would be to.

“What's your name, kid? And who's your hyung?”

Sliding down in the seat, eyes going wide once more, the teenager shook his head. “No. He doesn't need to know. He thinks-”

Refraining from rolling his eyes with some effort, Chan swiped the phone screen and hit a regularly used contact. He turned the phone so the sulking teen could see the name, then moved the phone to his ear. 

“He's gonna kill me!” the younger half wailed, slumping over onto the booth seat. 

Sighing again, Chan turned his attention to the phone when the man in question answered. 

“Hey, Joong-ah. I think I have something that belongs to you, and if I'm right, it'd be nice if you could start telling me when you've collected another kid.”

**†**

“Jung Wooyoung!” 

“Hyung! It's not my fault!” the kid cried, scooting away from the elder as Hongjoong arrived at their table.

Leaning back in his seat to watch the theatrics, Chan couldn't help but grin at Hongjoong's look of disbelief. His little brother’s arms crossed his chest and the younger leader cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Then whose fault is it, Wooyoung-ah?”

“Jongho’s! He dared me!”

**+**

Chapter Text

**†**

Chan looked around the dining area of the prestigious D’arte Hall, and reached up to tug at the collar of his too tight suit jacket. Jungeun-hyung had suggested that if Chan was insistent on doing something foolish as becoming bait, that he at least needed to look the part.

He'd snorted -in the privacy of the bathroom- he wasn't stupid, at his hyung's worry. The collective of SHINE were taking every precaution in the city's annual Memory Dinner, a welcome event reserved for Elders of SHINE and newly registered heroes, and only an absolute idiot of a criminal would think they could come in undetected.

SHINE was not using them as bait.

When Jin-hyung had called, asking Chan to join the Dinner, he'd explained that there was an unprecedented number of heroes who had registered in the last year. And while SHINE was not expecting trouble, if there was, the extra manpower would be there as needed.

Chan understood. The concern that so many superheroes in one room could be tempting for a villain, made more than a little sense. And due to that concern, Jin-hyung had also made it very clear, no junior heroes. 

The boys had not been impressed.

Jungeun-hyung hadn't been impressed either. He'd scoffed and muttered something about how things had changed, while digging through a sales rack of suitable attire. What ‘things’, Chan wasn't really sure, but he'd nodded along with his hyung, dutifully trying on different shirts and pants until Jungeun-hyung was satisfied with his ‘suitable attire’. 

Suitable attire. More like wretched attire. 

Chan adjusted his collar again, wishing he'd fought Jungeun-hyung a little harder on the clothing choice for the night. He shifted a bit, adjusting the sleeves of the jacket for no reason other than something to do and was about to just take the darn thing off, when someone called his name. 

He grinned, waving when he saw Joong-ah coming through the large double doors, with Gunil-ah right on his heels. He'd known they were coming, but seeing them made the too tight suit almost worth it. It wasn't often he was able to enjoy time with his brothers outside more intense hero related endeavors or family time. 

His grin grew even bigger when Sangyeon came in behind the other two. Chan hadn't seen his older brother in quite some time. “Yeon-hyung!” he called, “over here!”

Maybe the night wouldn't be all that bad. Suitable attire aside.

***†***

“More water?” The blond waiter was back at their table, for the fifth time in less than an hour and Chan couldn't help but wonder why. 

“-how many dongsaengs are you at now, Channie, huh?” Sangyeon-hyung was asking, and Chan pulled himself from the over attentive waiter to his hyung.

“You know, hyung. I've got seven kids. I don't need anymore. But this guy-” Chan pointed at Hongjoong, “I keep finding his recently acquired kids all over the city!”

“Twice, hyung. You've only found two of them. I have four.” Hongjoong retorted with a roll of his eyes, "and Yeon-hyung already knows. He's teasing."

Chan scoffed. “So far.”

“Talk to me when you reach ten, kiddos,” Sangyeon-hyung chuckled, nodding his head when the same blond waiter came back, offering lemonade this time, “I've even got a few here tonight.”

Gunil shuddered and shook his head hard. “Three, Yeon-hyung. Three is all. Don't curse me.”

Chuckling softly, Chan reached forward to ruffle the second youngest's hair. “Give it time, kid. You have three so far.”

Gunil ducked away, batting at Chan's hand. “Not funny, hyung.” 

“Aish, the lot of you act like you don't like being hyungs and I know that's not true. Maknae-yah, what was it you said to me-” Sangyeon’s gentle barb was cut off by a deafening boom. 

The four heroes shot to their feet, followed by half the room. “Who is that?” Gunil whispered, darting a concerned glance at Sangyeon as a giant humanoid form came storming through the newly created gaping hole in the wall, carrying a large metal device.

“I think the more concerning question is what is that,” Chan muttered, glancing around the room. There was a bit of a shocked hush at the moment, though numerous heroes were already on the move towards the threat, while others were rushing to the aid of civilians.

The oversized beast took the device and aimed it directly at a group of heroes to his left, the hush breaking as Jin-hyung signaled to his co-heroes. They bolted across the hall, Jin-hyung clearing two tables and a bunch of chairs to land directly in front of the crazed villain. 

Sangyeon threw off his suit jacket then, reaching back to grab his bow from its hold, then turned to Gunil. “You, out. Get home to your kids.”

Gunil shook his head, yanking his short swords from within his coat sleeves.  “Hyung, I can help! We don't even know what's happening yet!”

Sangyeon gave the younger a look, and pointed towards the door behind them. “Out! Unless you've been registered longer than I think?!”

With a pout that almost made Chan chuckle -if there hadn't been some kind of dark overlord trying to take out a roomful of heros- Gunil gave Yeon-hyung a quick nod before running towards the exit doors. 

The Elders of SHINE quickly joined Jin, keeping the up-to-no-good thug at bay while the younger heroes began moving panicked civilians from the hall. Chan's staff had been in his hand moments after the wall had been broken and Hongjoong was tugging his hand crafted throwing stars from his pockets just now. “Hyung, what should we-”

“You two, get as many civilians out as you can,” Sangyeon ordered, “I'm gonna help Jin-hyung and the others. Move, now.” 

As Sangyeon turned, he nearly bumped into the blond waiter, who was back at their table again. And while their hyung simply moved around the young man with a soft order to get out of the building, before disappearing into the crowd, Chan had had enough. There was something off about that waiter and he was going to figure out what it was. 

As soon as he escorted as many civilians from the hall as possible. 

**†**

The Elders of SHINE were handling the rotten brute, just as Chan thought they would. He and Hongjoong were on their third trip escorting civilians from the building, when Chan saw the blond waiter…doing the same. 

And that made no sense. Chan knew something was off with the waiter, but the young man behaving like a hero was not what he expected at all. Grabbing the waiter by the arm as he rushed by, Chan jerked him to a stop. 

“Who are you?” he demanded, pulling the waiter out of the way of another group of civilians being ushered from the hall. 

The waiter glared at him, his eyes flickering from blue to brown and back, the action causing Chan's breath to momentarily freeze. “Who the heck are you?” he demanded again.

The waiter shook his head. “That's not important! Let go! I can help!” he hissed, tugging at Chan's hold on his arm. 

“Can you?” Chan countered, gently shaking the young man.

“Hyung, there's more people-” Hongjoong rushed up then, stopping short when he saw Chan's hold on the waiter. “Channie-hyung?”

Nodding his head towards the rear doors, Chan didn't answer, he simply moved closer to the exit, the wannabe hero in tow. “I don't think our friend here is a waiter,” he said, once the three were standing at the back of the hall, “but I'm not sure who he is.”

Hongjoong looked from the waiter to Chan and back again. The young man's eyes flickered again, and a bit of a growl left Honjoong.

“What the heck are you doing here?!” the younger hero snapped, stepping even closer. 

Blinking in confusion, Chan released his hold on the young man, as Hongjoong’s arms crossed his chest.

“You were supposed to ask if I could come!” the obviously-not-a-waiter cried. 

“You're not registered! They wouldn't have let you! Yeon-hyung made Gunil-hyung go home! And he is registered!” Hongjoong said in exasperation. He turned to Chan then, pointing at the waiter. “Tell him, hyung! Tell him he's not supposed to be here!”

Blinking again, why did these things always happen to him? Chan looked back at the waiter, really looking. The young man's eyes flickered again and Chan sighed.

“Another one of your kids, Joong-ah?” he asked, raising one eyebrow in the direction of Hongjoong's dongsaeng.

Hongjoong's shoulders lifted in a half shrug. “Not exactly…”

The young man's body shivered and his entire countenance changed. His entire everything changed. No more blue eyed, young blond waiter, but a dark haired, brown eyed young man. “I'm Park Seonghwa. And I'm older than Joong-ah.” 

Not a dongsaeng then. Chan sighed. “But you aren't registered yet?”

Seonghwa shook his head. “No, sunbaenim. I've just joined up with Hongjoong-ah. I only realized my power about six months ago.” 

“Like I said, you don't belong here, hyung. Not yet. It's not safe. You're still learning to control your powers! I told you this!” Hongjoong’s arms had crossed his chest a second time and he was staring hard at his hyung.

“You didn't know it was me though, did you!? I told you I could fool anyone, even you! I came to your table seven times, Joong-ah!” Seonghwa argued, huffing in annoyance. He glanced at Chan, who shook his head. 

“Sorry, Seonghwa-ssi, but Joong’s right.” Chan replied, not unkindly. In this instance, Hongjoong was right. The elders would never have let a non registered, barely-used-to-his-powers hero into the Memory Dinner. The rules were the rules after all.

Another loud boom rocked the building then, and the three turned as one, argument forgotten. The very real threat of danger jerked them back to reality and Chan opened his mouth to bark out a few orders, but didn't get the chance.

“I got this!” a new voice yelled from somewhere off to Chan's right. “Let me at this baddie! He ain't that tough, leather’s tough, but I'm tougher!” 

Blinking in absolute confusion once again, Chan watched a young, blond, slightly gangly teenager dart across the floor, in and out of chairs and tables like he'd trained for it. The boy stopped short at a rolling tray full of dishes and grabbed a plate from the mess of dishware. 

“Hey you!” he yelled, flinging the plate like a ceramic Frisbee of doom, “take that, ya big old meanie!!”

The plate flew with remarkable precision, slamming into the giant device the villain was wielding with a crack! so loud, Chan winced. 

The machine shuddered, sparked and made a horrendous squealing noise before hissing like a teapot about to blow, then crackled and fell to pieces.

There was a stunned silence until the dish thrower let out a rebel yell, hollering, “Physics are awesome and so am I!’

Things happened quickly after that, the elders taking the no good fiend into custody, older heros sending their younger counterparts home, and clean up crews being called in. Chan said goodbye to Hongjoong and Seonghwa, the two still in a heavy debate about whether or not the elder should've been there, then jogged to where Jin-hyung stood when the older hero waved him over.

Just a few minutes later, he was wrapping up a quick conversation with Jin-hyung, Sangyeon and a few others, when the hero of the night charged up to them, grinning so wide Chan was sure the kid's face was gonna crack like the villain’s machine.

“Hyung! Did you see that?!” the boy asked Yeon-hyung, “all that stupid practice with Younghoon-hyung really worked! Scary perfect aim, right?!”

Sangyeon smiled, hooking an arm around the teen's shoulders and pulling him in close for an over zealous hug. “You did great, Keb. Excellent work!”

Chan agreed, and he said as much, just as his phone rang. He'd forgotten he even had a phone in the chaos of the last hour and he fumbled with the numerous pockets the suit jacket had trying to locate it.

Pulling it free from one of the inside pockets, he glanced at the screen. 

Jungeun-hyung. 

Stepping away from the others, he swiped the screen. “Hi hyung, is everything ok?”

“Oh, everything's just peachy, Chan-ah. So how's the not-being-bait working out for you?”

††

Chapter Text

***

“It's not my fault!” Jongho whines, with a stamp of his foot. He's smart enough to back away as soon as his foot hits the ground though, even before his Hongjoong-hyung has started across the floor towards him. “I mean, maybe I dared him, but he didn't have to do it!”

Hongjoong stops midway across the floor, considering. He's studying Jongho and after a moment of him staring into Jongho’s freaking soul, he raises an eyebrow. “Did you dare him, knowing he would do it, Choi Jongho? Don't you dare lie to me.”

And while he's never actually scared of his hyung, Hongjoong-hyung was certainly not playing. Jongho couldn't help but start bouncing on his toes, the anxiety needing a way out, while the possibility of consequences is keeping his mouth shut tight.

“Maknae-yah, this reminds me very much of another situation. One that we already had a talk about. And I do not like repeating myself.” Honjoong's arms crossed his chest and he leveled his youngest with a look that made the teen squirm where he stood.

“But he didn't have to do it, hyung!” Jongho whined, shifting from foot to foot, “I didn't do anything wrong!”

There's another moment of Hongjoong just looking at his youngest and then a determined look settles on his face. “Come. I think a more detailed discussion is in order.”

Jongho disappears.

And Hongjoong should've been expecting it. He knows the boy can teleport and yet it still startles him, every time.  

“Choi Jongho!”

Chapter Text

***

“Hyung, do you really think there's someone in there?”

Chan honestly doesn't know.

“I don't know, Minho-yah. Let's be careful, yeah?” 

“Jungeun-hyung will kill us if we aren't,” Innie whispered from behind Chan, “he told Sungie-hyung that if he didn't listen to you this time, he'd be sorry.” The maknae sounded awed, and Chan couldn't blame him. 

It took a lot to make their hyung upset, and Jisung held that record. Of course, the kid also held the record for being the most spoiled, so Chan figured it worked itself out. 

“Snitch!” Jisung snarled from where he stood next to Changbin, bouncing a bit in anticipation, “it's not like hyung was only talking to me!”

“Mostly you,” Seungmin snarked, flashing invisible when Jisung tried to smack him. 

“Hyung!” Jisung whined, turning so quickly towards Chan that he hit Felix and the startled teen morphed into the bunny on Changbin's shirt. 

“Way to go, Feely Fred,” Changbin said with a roll of his eyes, “c’mere Lix. Switch back, bud. We need you non bite-sized.” 

Chan couldn't help but chuckle when Changbin picked up the floppy eared Felix, hugging him tight before handing him off to a somewhat startled Hyunjin. 

“Let's go. I want to check it out and get back home. I'm hungry,” the fighter said, heading towards the mouth of the large aqueduct pipe. 

Minho, who'd been quietly watching everything, snorted. “You're always hungry, Bin-ah. But I agree. Hyung?”

Chan whispered something in Felix's ear - the teen had just morphed back, and then nodded. “Yeah. Let's go kids. Mayor-nim wants to make sure this isn't being used illegally.”

§

“Hyung, I wanna go home now,” Felix whimpered half an hour later. He was nearly climbing Chan's side, nervous as anything, something about the tunnel really not sitting well with him.  Chan was debating having the clingy shapeshifter morph back into a bunny. 

It'd be easier on his arms.

“Alright, Lix. We're going. You lot see anything?” Chan asked, gently hauling Felix up and onto his back, “hold on to me, kiddo.”

“Nothing, hyung. I'm not sure what Mayor-nim was worried about.” Minho replied, grabbing hold of a wandering Jisung and pulling the teen close to his side.

“Me either,” Changbin agreed, “c'mon, Innie-ah, let hyung give you a piggyback too.” Changbin knelt in front of the maknae, who grinned and threw himself on the older’s back. 

“Don't look at me,” Hyunjin snipped at Seungmin's curious-yet-cocky look, “I'm not carrying you anywhere.”

“That's because you're weak,” Seungmin snapped back, “hyung ought to make you-”

The tunnel lit up then, a buzzing sound cutting Seungmin off. Felix and Jisung let out twin shrieks of surprise, Chan hollering for Hyunjin to throw up a force field, seconds before a blazing ball of fire went whizzing by the group. It bounced off the wall behind Chan and landed in the water at their feet, fizzling into nothing.

Shoving Jisung behind him, Minho headed back inside the tunnel, jerking to a stop when Chan grabbed his arm.

“Min.” 

“That thing almost took out my dongsaengs,” Minho growled, frustrated, “someone is in there!”

“Jinnie got the force field up in time. The kids are alright, Min-ah,” Chan soothed, though he agreed with his eldest, “we’ll go check it out, but we need to go together, yeah?”

Minho huffed, but nodded. “Yes, hyung.” 

“Jin-ah, do you think you can hold a force field while we check this out?” Chan asked gently. The young inventor lacked confidence in his abilities, something Chan worked tirelessly to fix. 

“I'll try, Channie-hyung. But you know I can't-” Hyunjin cast a concerned look around their group, then back at Chan, “what if I can't?”

Smiling softly, Chan reached out to ruffle the teen's hair. “It's all right, Jinnie. You do your best, that's all you need to do. Hyung and the others are here too. Alright?”

Changbin hopped across the open space between them, earning giggles from the Innie-monkey on his back, to bump shoulders with Hyunjin. “You got this kid. I mean, you're almost stronger than me with those things, huh?”

The taller teen snorted, giving Changbin a half grin. “Not really, Binnie-hyung, but I'll try.”

And then they were encased in a lightly humming bubble of energy, Chan shifting his hold on Felix as they headed inside, together.

§

“There's nothing in here,” Seungmin huffed a bit later, “definitely no one.”

But Chan wasn't so sure. 

Something tingled at the back of his neck and made the need to protect surge in his chest. He looked over at Hyunjin, concerned. “You alright, buddy?”

Hyunjin nodded, though it was obvious he was straining, beads of sweat bubbling on his forehead and dripping down his temple.

“Hyung, I don't think-” Jisung looked from Hyunjin to Chan, Changbin rushing forward just as Hyunjin slumped against the wall of the tunnel.

Changbin caught him before he could slide to the ground and he threw a scared look back at Chan, only to find him right at his side, reaching for the boy’s forehead.

“Aish, Jin-ah. Are you alright? You need to tell me if you can't hold it any longer. You don't run until you can't go anymore.” Chan said, checking Hyunjin over carefully.

“I'm alright, hyung. Just tired.” 

“Buddy, that's the problem,” Chan sighed, gently running his hands up and down Hyunjin's arms, “Bin-ah, you can carry him, yeah?”

Changbin nodded. “Course I can, hyung. C'mon, Jinnie. Up you get.”

Chan turned back to the others, Felix and Innie both scared, Jisung clinging to Minho's hand like a lifeline. Seungmin just to Chan’s left, trying his hardest to not look bothered by anything that was happening. 

And Chan made a decision. 

“Let's go home. Whatever was here isn't bothering anything now-”

The tunnel lit up then, the buzzing sound once again echoing through the tunnel. 

“Get down!” Chan hollered, grabbing Seungmin and Felix, the two closest to him and pulling them to the ground. Minho followed suit, he already had Jisung, but he grabbed Innie, shoving them both to the wet floor of the aqueduct pipe, while Changbin pushed Hyunjin down, dropping on top of the younger.

Someone screamed, Chan fairly certain it was Felix, the fiery ball of flames - this time slightly bigger than the last - flying by Chan's head and hitting the wall behind him. It bounced crazily, back and forth, nearly hitting Changbin's legs before landing in the standing water by the fighter’s knees. 

As soon as the ball hit the water, Minho was on his feet, storming further into the aqueduct pipe, yelling things Chan most definitely did not teach him. 

He was up and moving, seconds after Minho, ordering the others not to follow, though he knew better than to expect that to actually happen. “Lee Minho! Wait!”

His oldest did not wait however, and Chan had to run to keep up. He rounded a bend in the tunnel seconds after Minho, stopping short at the scene in front of him. 

“What the actual hell do you think you're doing?! You nearly killed my dongsaengs! Twice! What's wrong with you?!”

A young man stood a few feet from Minho, staring at them both in shock and confusion.  “I, I…sunbaenim, I didn't-” he fumbled, wide eyed as he tossed a flaming fireball back and forth in his hands like Changbin tossed a basketball. 

Minho didn't hear the apology though, or maybe he didn't care, Chan wasn't sure. 

“Yah!!” Minho snapped, “it's a giant concrete tunnel! Where did you expect your weapon of destruction to go once released?”

“There-there wasn't anyone in here, before…I d-don't-” the young man was starting to shake, his jet black curls bouncing across his forehead. 

Fear permeated the room and Chan moved quickly to stand in front of Minho. “Easy, Min. Easy. I don't think this is what you think. Let hyung talk to our flame thrower, yeah?”

Minho was not happy and Chan knew it, but as he usually did, the younger stepped back, muttering darkly as he did. “He almost killed the kids, hyung.”

“Yeah,” Chan soothed, looking back at the other teen, “but he's scared too. Let's find out what's going on, alright?”

§

The flame thrower stood with his back to the wall, staring at Chan with wide, innocent eyes. “I'm sorry, sunbaenim! I didn't know you were in here! I wouldn't have shot if I did!” the younger yelped, bouncing the small fireball back and forth in his hands now.

“It's alright. No need to panic. Have you just figured out your power?” Chan asked gently, as he slowly stepped closer to the nervous teen. 

Yeah. Another teenager.

The young man nodded, peering around Chan to look behind him. “Just last week….uh, who are you guys?” 

Sighing, Chan looked behind him and frowned at the lot of them. Sure, he hadn't really expected them to stay, but they were told to stay and that was definitely not staying.

He turned back to their rather petrified hothead. “I'm Bang Chan, and these,” Chan said, waving a hand towards his dongsaengs, “are my boys. What's your name?”

“Song Mingi.” the kid whispered, moving the fireball between his hands like one would roll dough.

“Pleased to meet you, Mingi-yah. It's hard to figure the ins and outs of a new power, yeah? It takes time, and that's normal,” Chan encouraged, “but it's kind of late tonight. Shouldn't you be heading home soon?” Chan stopped just a foot or so away. He could smell the anxiety rolling off the teenager now and he gave him another gentle smile. “I'm not upset, we're alright. It was an accident.”

“I can't seem to control the direction, sunbaenim,” Mingi whispered, “a-and, no. I don't..I have no…there's no home to-” the kid trailed off, the fiery ball falling from his hands and into the water. 

Chan's heart clenched at the look the boy gave him then, and it took only a moment for an idea to form. “Alright. Everything's alright,” he said gently, the same way he talked to Felix when the shapeshifter’s nerves got to him, “come, Mingi-yah. I have an idea. The van is warm and we have snacks.” 

The dark head shot upright, wide, sad eyes peering up at Chan through a fringe of slightly curly hair. “Snacks?”

“Jungeun-hyung's blackberry tarts and Minho-hyung's peanut butter cookies!” Innie piped up from where he was hanging on Changbin's back once again, “they're the best!”

“Except for maybe Jungeun-hyung's raspberry pie,” Jisung added, “it's really hard to pick between them.”

“But there's no pie in the van,” Seungmin scoffed, “hyung nixed anything squishy after Innie dumped a whole container of gelato on the back seat.” 

“I didn't do it on purpose!” Innie screeched, Changbin covering his ears and snapping at him not to yell in his ear.

“Do you want to come with us?” Felix whispered, tugging free of Hyunjin's hold on his shoulders to move closer to where Chan and Mingi stood, “hyung won't hurt you. And if he has an idea, I bet it's a really good one.”

The flame thrower held Felix's gaze for a few moments, then looked back at Chan.

“Ok.”

§

“Hello?” 

Chan grinned even though his younger brother couldn't see him. “Hey, Joong-ah. Could you meet me down at the docks on Gefli?”

“Hyung, I swear all my kids are here. I'm looking at the whole lot of them.”

“I know, Joong-ah,” Chan chuckled. He glanced in the rearview then, watching the boys talk, and share stories and food with their newly acquired friend. “But there's something here that I think you'll find very interesting.”

“But Hyung!” Hongjoong almost sounded whiny and Chan bit back another chuckle as the younger continued, “Seonghwa-hyung is making bulgogi!”

“Come, Joong-ah. It'll be quick,” Chan said gently, “hyung promises.”

There was a pause, some shuffling noises and then a soft sigh. “Alright. I'll be there in ten.”

§

Chan stood outside the van, leaning against the side door, waiting. Hongjoong would be here any minute and he would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit giddy. This was kind of fun when it wasn't happening to him. 

Hongjoong pulled up just minutes later, his tiny bright orange car making Chan chuckle, as it always did.

“Channie-hyung, I really don't understand why I had to come here-” Hongjoong said as he stepped out, quickly snapping his mouth closed at Chan's raised eyebrow. 

“Maknae-yah, just humor your hyung for a moment, yeah?” Chan asked, unable to hold the semi stern look, “come see.”

Hongjoong crossed the small space, stopping next to Chan and looking at him expectantly.

Grinning, Chan slid the van’s door open, a few of the boys squeaking in surprise, his oldest even jumping to his feet, ready to defend, only to sit back down when he saw Chan.

“Mingi-yah, this is your Hongjoong-hyung.” Chan said, smiling big and warm at the younger, while Hongjoong just stared, gaping for a few seconds. 

And just as Chan was about to say something more, he could've sworn Mingi's eyes grew wide and round as those anime characters on TV Innie insisted on watching all day and night. But when he blinked, and looked at the kid again, he had to wonder if he'd really seen anything at all. 

And then Hongjoong was making a noise that could only be described as a coo, and the younger super hero moved past him, climbed right into the van, and took Mingi gently by the hands.

'Come, come, love! Your Seonghwa-hyung is making bulgogi, and just wait till he sees you!”

Chapter Text

***

Yeosang stares at the short, jet black haired kid that stands in front of him, wringing his hands. 

“So you've just been coming here every night, teleporting all over the place and hoping you don't wind up stuck somewhere you can't get out of?” he asks incredulously.

The kid nods, dark eyes all wide and sad. “That's why I'm here,” he whispers, “I got stuck inside the subway for hours once.”

Yeosang blows out a breath, his bangs fluttering from the action. “And the airport has been better?”

The kid nods again. “Landed up there once,” he says all quiet, pointing to the top of the old control tower, “but I was able to get off before I fell.”

Yeosang follows his point and sucks in a startled breath. “Really, kid? Don't you have parents or anything?”

Tears well in the kid's eyes and he starts to shake. 

“Alright, alright. It's ok! I'm sorry I asked! I, uh, oh!! I know someone who can help! You got a phone?”

The boy's lip is trembling and he sniffles hard, but he nods.

Yeosang reaches out and pats his shoulder, only a little bit awkwardly. “Ok, good. It's really alright. I know this hyung, ok? He'll help you, I promise.”

Yeosang pulls out his own phone. “So, what's your name?” he asks, swiping the screen.

The teenager blinks rapidly for another moment. “Jongho.” he finally whispers.

“Alright, Jongho-yah. I'm sure Chan-hyung can help, he's real good at this type of stuff!”

And Jongho nods.

**†*The Next Afternoon*†**

Yeosang breathes in the smell of something amazing and garlicky as he steps inside the dorm. 

Seonghwa-hyung is probably making dakgangjeong, and he kicks off his shoes in his hurry to get to the kitchen and see if he can snag a bite.

“Hyung! Are you making-”

Yeosang stops short in the doorway to the kitchen. 

“What're you doing here?!” he cries in surprise, and maybe a tiny bit of despair. 

Seonghwa-hyung turns from the stove and smiles all big and sappy. “Sangie! This is Jongho. He's staying with us now! Isn't he adorable?!”

**†**†**

Chapter Text

**†**

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” — Albus Dumbledore

**†**

Jongho stares at the television. Stares at the news report that Yeosang and Mingi are watching. 

He can't move. 

He wants to move. 

His eyes fill with tears and he starts to shake. 

And he still can't move.

“Alright my loves, I've made some hotteok and twigim -” Seonghwa-hyung says as he enters.

And the tears spill over.

“Jongho? Baby! What's wrong?!” Seonghwa-hyung hands off the tray of treats to Yeosang almost faster than their now blue haired flyer can take it. 

Rushes across the living room to grab Jongho in a tight, tight hug. 

Jongho sobs just once, then nearly folds in Seonghwa-hyung’s embrace, shaking his head when his hyung again asks what's wrong. 

Jongho is shuffled across the floor, Seonghwa-hyung being oh so careful with him, until they reach Hongjoong-hyung’s overstuffed chair. Jongho is pulled down into his hyung's lap and Seonghwa wraps him up in a hug that makes Jongho cry more, even as he's trying to tell his hyung he's ok. 

He's not ok.

The expose on the Juridym Research Facility that's still blaring on the television makes it impossible for him to be ok.

Seonghwa is rubbing Jongho's back in a firm up and down motion, whispering gentle nothings in his ear and Jongho leans in, desperately trying to tune out the television. 

“What's wrong with Jongho-yah?” Wooyoung - Jongho's not sure when he came in - asks, breaking through the talk of scientists, experiments and the unknown. And then, “Hyungs! Turn that off!” 

Seonghwa somehow tightens his hold even more when Jongho jolts at Wooyoung's angry hiss.

The silence that follows after, though, is wonderful. Jongho is able to slow his sobs into soft crying within a few moments. He goes limp in Seonghwa-hyung's hold, melting into him in a way he couldn't before. He buries his face in the older man's shoulder, sniffling hard. 

“What's wrong, Jongho baby?” Yeosang's voice is quiet and laced with concern and Jongho worms an arm behind Seonghwa-hyung’s back, pulling himself tighter against his hyung's chest. 

He's not ready.

But Wooyoung is.

“He didn't tell you, did he?” Wooyoung asks. He sounds very close and Jongho wishes he wasn't. 

Wishes Wooyoung would go back to wherever he was a few minutes ago. Because he's not ready.

He whimpers, shaking his head against Seonghwa-hyung’s shoulder. His hyung gently shushes him, rubbing circles on Jongho's back, then kisses the little bit of Jongho's face he can reach. “Young-ah?”

Jongho's eyes are closed and his face is still buried in Seonghwa-hyung's shoulder, but he feels someone sit on the chair.

“Jongho's parents-” Wooyoung starts, then pauses when Jongho stiffens. 

Seonghwa-hyung keeps up his administrations, whispering in Jongho's ear that it's important. That they need to know what's wrong so they can help.

Jongho sniffles again, the tiniest of whimpers leaving him when Wooyoung clears his throat. 

“Our maknae,” Wooyoung starts slowly, “his parents…they were taken by Juridym. And, they didn't make it out.” 

The tears are back.

***

Jongho isn't sure how long he cries, but when he hears Hongjoong-hyung's voice, he shifts a little bit, trying to peek out at him. 

“Maknae-yah?” Hongjoong-hyung's voice is soft, softer than Jongho's heard it in the few weeks he's been with this new family of his. 

He shifts again, so he can see his hyung even better. Hongjoong-hyung is looking at him with a look Jongho can't really read, but it's gentle he thinks, and maybe a little concerned. 

Someone's told him. Probably.

He sniffles again and turns his head back against Seonghwa-hyung's shoulder.

“Jongho-yah. Sweetheart. Can you look at hyung?” Hongjoong-hyung's voice is still that soft, gentle tone and as much as Jongho wants to keep his face buried in Seonghwa-hyung's shoulder, he twists a bit to look at Hongjoong-hyung. 

“Hyung loves you, baby,” Hongjoong-hyung says, gently cupping Jongho's cheek, “we all do. You're safe here with us. For always.”

And Jongho can't help it.

He's crying again. 

But it's not just sad tears this time. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

**

“Um, how do we get out of here?” Wooyoung looks around the pitch black space, then back at Jongho. Or where he assumes Jongho is. 

“I don't know! I told you this wouldn't work!” Jongho sounds near tears and Wooyoung frowns, though he knows the younger can't see him. 

“You didn't either! You said you thought you could do it!” he snaps back.

“Nuh-uh!” Jongho cries, and he is definitely sniffling now, “you asked if it was possible and I said theoretically it was!” 

Wooyoug pulls his phone from his pocket and turns the flashlight on, shining it around in the darkness. “Then why are we stuck in an alley somewhere!?” 

Jongho shrugs, sniffling again. “I don't know! I told you I got stuck in the subway that time!” 

“But you got out!” 

“It took me hours!” Jongho wails, as he wraps his arms around himself. 

Wooyoung can see the tears flooding his brother's eyes. He grabs Jongho's shoulder with his free hand and tugs him close. “Alright, alright. I'm sorry, don't cry.”

“It's your fault,” Jongho cries, “hyungs are gonna be mad and I don't want them to be mad!”

Jongho may have a point, but Wooyoung can't think about that quite yet. They have to get out of here first. “Where's your phone, maknae-yah?” he asks.

Hongjoong-hyung and Seonghwa-hyung will be way less upset with the baby. 

“I left it on the table like you told me too!” Jongho shoves his face into Wooyoung's shoulder and mumbles something about following directions. 

Wooyoung gapes at the youngest. “That was before we left!”

Jongho shrugs, sniffling all the while. “You never told me to pick it back up!”

“We were teleporting across the city-” Wooyoung pauses, shaking his head, “aish, it's ok. I'll just use my phone, calm down.”

“We .. We don't know if it'll work here,” Jongho whispers, backing out of Wooyoung's hold so the older can send a text.

“We will in a minute. And since we don't even know where here is,” Wooyoung mutters, ignoring the hiccup-y gasp that comes from the big eyed baby in front of him, “if the text works, at least hyung can locate us.”

“We only went for candy.” Jongho whispers, “we weren't doing anything wrong.”

“Hyung's not gonna care about that,” Wooyoung says, hitting send on the quick text he'd typed out, “it'll be ok, baby.”

“Not a baby,” Jongho mumbles, rubbing at his eyes, “but what about me teleporting with you?”

Wooyoug grimaces. “I dunno, maknae-yah. It was a good plan, who walks if they can teleport? But I'm not sure hyungs will see it that way.”

***

Hongjoong tries to glare at his two youngest. He's retrieved them from the dark alleyway tucked in between two looming old buildings. It is just a few streets over from the candy store Wooyoung has told him Jongho was trying to teleport them to. 

“Explain, please.”

Jongho sidles up to Hongjoong then, lip jutting out at an impressive angle. The maknae's arms reach for Hongjoong and he blows out a breath. He pulls the maknae close a second time and hugs him tight. He drops a kiss to his baby's head and opens his other arm to Wooyoung. The older boy slams into him and Hongjoong drops a kiss to his tousled head too. 

“It was scary, hyung,” Jongho whimpers after a moment of silence, “it was dark and we couldn't see anything. I didn't mean to bring us there.”

 “Mmmm,” Hongjoong hums in return, “Young-ah, what happened?”

“Just what I said before, hyung. Jongho-yah teleported us to the candy store.”

“Except he didn't, Jung Wooyoung, did he? You did not end up at the store at all,” Hongjoong says, gently pushing the teenager away so he can look him in the eyes, “this is why we have a rule about Jongho not teleporting without checking with one of us. So we can make sure he arrives at his destination.” 

“But hyung!” Wooyoung pouts, “walking is sooo yesterday!”

And Hongjoong stares at his second youngest. Stares at him, trying to comprehend the meaning of the absolute nonsense that has just left his kid's mouth.

And he can't. 

He points towards the car. “We're going home. We're going home and you can explain to your Seonghwa-hyung why you're three hours late for dinner.”

Jongho gasps. “Hyung!” he cries. 

Hongjoong shakes his head, still pointing at the car. 

“No. You broke the rule together, you can face your hyung together.”

***

Seonghwa-hyung is talking gently but firmly to them and Wooyoung is blinking furiously, trying to keep the tears at bay. His hyung asks him what they would have done if they'd wound up somewhere dangerous. 

Tells him that Jongho looks up to him and that he should be setting a better example. 

Not encouraging him to break the rules for their own pleasure. 

That he expects more from them both.

And Wooyoung sobs.

Chapter Text

**

“Alright, Gun-ah, alright,” Chan soothed his slightly frantic younger brother, “I'm sure they're not far.”

“But Chan-hyung, it's been hours!”

And Chan understood the younger hero's concern, he did . But if he'd learned anything in the last year, it was that dongsaeng heros tended to disappear. 

Frequently. 

“Did you call them?” Chan handed the bowl of popcorn he'd been holding to Jisung, then looked over at Geun-hyung, pointed to the phone, then the kitchen. Their hyung nodded, telling Changbin to go ahead and restart the movie. 

“Three times each! The others called them too! They're not answering!”

Leaning against the kitchen counter, Chan sighed softly. “Alright, kiddo. Calm down. I'll go look for ‘em. Let me make sure Geun-hyung is ok to hang out with the boys for a bit.”

“ I already looked in all the normal places, hyung! ”

Chan chuckled softly. “Then I'll look in all the abnormal places, yeah?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line and then, “ That doesn't even make sense , hyung.” 

Chan could practically hear the eye roll that accompanied Gunil's statement. “I'll call if I find them, and you call me if they answer or come home, yeah?” he asked.

“ Yeah. Yeah ok. Thanks, Chan-hyung. ”

***

Searching all the abnormal places really meant looking in places younger heroes weren't allowed, and so far, Chan hadn't found either of Gunil’s youngest boys. 

He was heading back to the dorm, the route past his old high school familiar and-

Chan blinked, a double take needed to be sure he was looking at what he thought he was looking at. He pulled the van over, parked it, and stared. 

The entire baseball field was covered in a sheet of ice . Normal enough in the middle of winter sure, but it was currently the end of summer . 

Shutting the van off, Chan headed across the open area towards the bleachers. He thought he heard…. He did hear talking. Hushed, excited whispers from the direction of the dugout. He veered that way, then paused again. 

The air seemed to crackle and Chan swore he could smell frost, despite there being few clouds in the sky. He looked up anyway, the blue sky and late afternoon sun confirming what he already knew. 

“ Jooyeon, he's gonna do it again!” 

And that confirmed he'd found the missing dongsaengs. But neither of them were ice makers-

A blast of cold air rushed by Chan's face, and he blinked in surprise, the freezing air actually hurt his cheeks. Another layer of ice was forming over what already lay on the field, and he could see intricate designs and feathered weaving appear as it did.

Who was doing this?

“ Look, Jun Han! It's starting, do you see it?!”

Pulling himself from the intricate beauty of ice on ice, he pulled his phone from his pocket as he made his way to the dugout. 

First things first. He sent Gunil a quick text.

“I've found your wandering dongsaengs.” 

And then he stepped into the dugout. “Jun Han and Jooyeon!”

Chan would be lying if the startled meeps didn't give him a tiny bit of satisfaction. Little brats taking off and scaring their hyung. They deserved to be a bit startled.

“Hyung!!” Jun Han, the slightly older of Gunil's maknaes exclaimed, while Jooyeon simply darted behind his hyung and didn't say a thing. 

And then there were three . An older, taller teenager stood to the left of Gunil's boys, looking just as surprised as they did.

Chan crossed his arms and glared at the maknaes he knew. “Your hyung is worried sick about the two of you!” he scolded, before turning slightly and asking the unknown teenager, “and who are you?”

***

“I'm…I'm a-” the older boy glanced at Jun Han, who shrugged helplessly, before looking back at Chan, “I, I can go-...?”

Chan raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “No. You stay. What's your name?”

“I'm Kim Sun-woo,” the teenager answered quietly after another moment, “I'm sorry for disturbing things.”

“I'm Bang Chan. You didn't disturb anything. I take it the ice is your doing?”

SunWoo nodded, one hand rubbing his opposite shoulder. “Yes, sunbaenim. It'll melt though and won't cause….I mean it doesn't, I didn't damage…” the teenager trailed off, glancing worriedly up at Chan. 

Chan couldn't help but soften his look. “No damage done. But I'd still like to know why you're out here coating the school field in ice. You already know these two brats, I take it?” Chan asked, waving a hand at the maknaes.

“Hyung!” Jun Han cried softly, “we're not -”

“You want to tell your friend where you're supposed to be, Han Hyeong Jun?” Chan asked. 

The boy shook his head miserably, Jooyeon grabbing his brother's arm and yanking slightly. “You said Gunil-hyung knew !” he whined, “I don't want to be in trouble!”

“I know them,” SunWoo whispered, pulling Chan's attention back to him. He shifted where he stood and then continued, “and, uh…I know you don't know me , uh, not yet , but I think you know my hyung.”

Chan raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who might that be?”

“Lee Sangyeon.” 

***

Chan led the boys out across the field, towards the van, phone to his ear.

“ Hello?”

“Hi, Hyung. How are you?” Chan opened the van door and pointed inside, three dongsaengs miserably climbing in.

“Chan-ah? Is something wrong?” Yeon-hyung’s voice was concerned and Chan bit back a sigh as he slid the van door closed. 

“Are you missing anyone, hyung?” he asked as he rounded the front of the van and pulled his door open. 

There was a pause, Sangyeon-hyung simply breathing.

“I shouldn't be, Chan-ah. But I suspect you're going to tell me otherwise.”

Chuckling, he couldn't help it, it was usually him these things were happening to, Chan nodded, though he knew his brother couldn't see him. “I've found Kim Sun-woo decorating the high school field in ice.”

A heavy sigh left his hyung and Chan waited, starting the van and looking back at the boys. They'd all buckled, and were staring back at him, just as miserably as a few minutes before. 

“ Please hand the phone to him .” Sangyeon-hyung said softly.

“Sure, hyung. He wasn't actually doing any harm though.” Chan felt compelled to add. 

“ I'm not going to kill the boy, Chan-ah,” Yeon-hyung chuckled softly, “ give him the phone, please. ”

Turning in his seat, Chan handed the phone towards the back. “SunWoo, it's your hyung.”

Obviously startled, the boy just blinked at him for a moment, before unbuckling and moving up to take the phone. “H-Hyung?”

***

He'd dropped SunWoo off at Yeon-hyung’s apartment and was headed to Gunil's house now. 

He glanced in the rear view and sighed. 

Jooyeon was crying, though the youngest was trying to hide it by burying his face in his brother's shoulder. Jun Han was awkwardly patting his back and Chan could hear the older boy trying to comfort him. “It's gonna be ok, Eon-ah. I promise.”

It didn't seem to help much, Jooyeon letting out a bit of a sob. 

“Did you plan on meeting with SunWoo, kids? Or did you take off with no actual destination in mind?” Chan asked by way of conversation.  

Jooyeon only sobbed again, Jun Han still patting him gently. The older boy's eyes met Chan's briefly in the rear view. 

“SunWoo-hyung messaged me this morning,” he answered, wrapping an arm around Jooyeon’s shoulders, “I asked Gunil-hyung but he said we had the meeting today and couldn't go.”

“You told me-” Jooyeon whimpered and Chan could see Jun Han whispering in the younger's ear again. 

“Our maknae's never been in this kind of trouble with hyung before,” Jun Han said after a moment.

Chan stopped at a light, and he turned to raise an eyebrow at the older of the two teenagers. “It doesn't sound like he should be in trouble today either, yeah?”

Jun Han slowly shook his head. “No, hyung. I'll tell Gunil-hyung that it's my fault.”

“Good lad,” Chan praised softly, as the light turned, “Eon-ah, your hyung told me you've been able to hone your skill a bit better recently. How does that feel?”

The youngest pulled his face from his brother's arm, meeting Chan's eyes for a second. He sniffled a bit, rubbing his cheek on Jun Han’s sleeve. “I, it f-feels good, hyung. I'm still t-trying to uh…trying to-” he trailed off, hiding his face back in Jun Han’s shoulder.

Jun Han rolled his eyes. “He's still struggling with aim,” the teenager ruffled the other boy's hair, “but he's not throwing them wildly anymore. Younghoon-hyung has helped him a lot.”

Chan grinned in the rear view. “Hoon-ah is a very good teacher, yeah?”

Both boys nodded, Jooyeon giving Chan a tiny grin from where he was still partially buried in Jun Han's arm. 

The van went quiet then, until they pulled into the driveway of Gunil's little cottage, and then Jun Han shifted upright a bit. “Hyung?” 

Chan put the van in park and turned to look at the boys. “Han-ah?”

“Thank you for…thank you for not scolding too much. Jooyeon…he's…he's the baby .” Jun Han whispered, hugging the maknae tight when the boy whimpered again. 

Chan grinned as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “I'm sure your hyung will scold enough to make up the difference, yeah?”

Grimacing, Jun Han nodded. “Yes, Chan-hyung.”

“Alright kiddos. Let's go face the music, hmm?”

**

Half an hour later, Chan typed in the passcode to his apartment. Stepping inside, he had barely managed to close the door and kick off his shoes, when Jisung came running up, sliding across the tile and almost colliding with Chan.

“Hyung! Jungeun-hyung was just gonna text you! Come see the news report!” the boy cried, tugging Chan down the hallway. 

“Sungie, kiddo, let hyung get a drink and breathe ,” Chan laughed as the teenager pulled him into the living room.

“Chan-ah, you won't believe this-” Jungeun-hyung said, pointing to the TV, “I think you need to-”

Chan looked at the TV, watching a recording of a young man racing his way through the streets of Seoul, followed by none other than Detective Kamora. When the camera returned to a news reporter, he looked back at his hyung, questioning. 

“The boy walked right through walls and cars,” Jungeun-hyung stated quietly, eyeing Jisung, as the boy started to bounce in excitement.

Chan sighed. “Phasing? That's a new one,” he said. He listened to the news reporter explain where they'd obtained the video from, but when she started debating whether or not the teenager was a hero or villain, he rolled his eyes. “Alright, I'm going.”

“Be careful,” Jungeun-hyung said, coming up and wrapping a gentle arm around Jisung, “the boys and I will get dinner ready.”

“Awe, hyungs!”

**†**

Chapter Text

**

Seonghwa hummed softly as he read the back of a box of treats Jongho had pleaded with him to buy the next time he went shopping. Gasping at the sheer amount of sugar listed, he shook his head and stuck the box back on the shelf. 

He double checked his list, pleased that he had gotten everything, short the sugar laced snack, and had come in under budget, he headed towards checkout.

Still humming, he began putting his groceries on the belt, and then paused. He looked at the end cap of goodies, cinnamon twists, honey crisps and a few prepackaged versions of hotteok, and thought, let's get some of those!

He reached for them, grabbed two of each snack, and tossed them on the belt with his other items. 

Even though he didn't want them. 

Yes, you do. 

No, he most definitely didn't want any more snacks.

Yes. You do.

Seonghwa shook his head, reached for the snacks and pulled them off the belt before they reached the clerk.

Put them back. You really want them!

This time Seonghwa whirled around, searching. He didn't know exactly what he was searching for, but something wasn't quite right. 

Everything's fine!! 

The words echoed in his head, but they were not his.

He watched a few shoppers walking by, mothers with small children in tow, a grocery clerk engaged in conversation with an older ajeossi, and then his eyes landed on a teenager standing near the exit. 

Just….standing there. The boy caught his eye and ducked his head. His arms crossed his chest, hugging himself, and he scuffed the toe of his shoe on the shiny tile.

Turning back when the clerk cleared her throat, Seonghwa grabbed one package of honey crisps and tossed it on the belt. He paid for his items and thanked the clerk, then collected his bags and headed for the exit.  

Pausing near the teen, Seonghwa raised an eyebrow in a way he'd definitely learned from Hongjoong. “Is there anything you would like to say to me?” he asked quietly. 

Big brown eyes in a much too thin face, looked up at Seonghwa. Those eyes then darted to the grocery bags in Seonghwa's hands and back to the floor. 

Seonghwa took in the boy's disheveled state; his dark brown hair a mess, the clothes that were much too small, and his heart clenched. He reached into one of the bags and retrieved the honey crisps. “You wanted these?” he asked softly, holding out the bag of treats.

The kid's head shot up and he stared at Seonghwa, looking from the treats, to Seonghwa and back. “You mean it?”

Seonghwa nodded. “All yours.”

The teen just stared for another moment, before snatching the bag from his hand and bolting out the door.

Shaking his head, Seonghwa headed out the door himself, reaching for the phone in his pocket when it started to ring. 

“Hello?”

“Hyung! Did you get them? The Jujustars? Don't they look good? I bet they're good!”

***††***

Seonghwa leaned back against the building, mindlessly scrolling social media while he waited for Wooyoung. It had been a week since the grocery incident, and his second youngest dongsaeng had been home with a bad cold for nearly that entire time. 

And now that the boy was almost fully healed, he'd been begging Seonghwa all day to run down to the food cart -that he could see out the living room window- to get a corn dog. 

A corn dog.

Seonghwa loved the boy dearly, but he rarely understood him. And by the eighth or ninth time their Nightlight had asked him to please bring him downstairs, Joong-ah had given the teenager a look that clearly said he'd reached his limit. 

So Seonghwa brought Wooyoung down to the food cart. 

Yeosang had tagged along, but the boy didn't want food, he was leaning against the wall near Seonghwa, watching the hustle and bustle of the street. Seonghwa had come to realize that this was normal for their flyer and other than the occasional glance, he left his dongsaeng to his people watching.

“Here, you want this?” 

Seonghwa looked up. That was Wooyoung, he was sure, but who was he talking to? He blinked in disbelief as he watched his dongsaeng hand over the corn dog he'd just waited twenty minutes for, and had almost gotten himself in trouble over, to a scruffy looking teenager. That made even less sense. Sharing was not one of Youngie's best skills. 

Wait. 

He knew that scruffy looking teenager. 

He pushed himself away from the wall, telling Yeosang he'd be right back. “Who's your friend, Young-ah?” Seonghwa asked as he approached the boys. 

Wooyoung grinned at him, then shrugged a bit helplessly. “I gave him my corn dog,” his dongsaeng said, voice almost a whine. He looked terribly confused, and was looking longingly at the corn dog.

Nodding, Seonghwa gave the boy a soft grin. “I can see that, love,” he said as he dug into his pocket, “why don't you get yourself another one,” he handed the teenager some change, and gently pushed him back towards the food cart.

Seonghwa then looked at the slightly older boy. The kid blinked at him, mouth slightly open, as if he wanted to say something. He was clutching the corn dog to his chest in a way that would've been comical if it wasn't heartbreaking. 

Fighting back the overwhelming urge to give the boy a hug, Seonghwa waved a hand towards the cart . “Is one corn dog enough?” he asked, “I can-”

“I don't need your help.” 

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow at the tone of the blatant lie. Of course not. The child was obviously doing so well that he had to telepathically scrounge food from strangers.

“Is one enough?” he repeated his question, pulling his wallet from his pocket, “or would you like more?”

“How many will you get me?” The question was fired back at him so quickly, it took a moment for Seonghwa to register what had been said. 

And then he chuckled softly. “Here,” he said, holding out some won, “get yourself a couple. But if you find you're still hungry later, I'm making dakgangjeong for dinner.” 

Seonghwa stood there, holding out the won, for a number of minutes before the boy finally snatched it, backing away quickly. 

He wasn't sure why he'd offered dinner to the skittish teen, but he wasn't regretting it either. Watching him go, his heart hurting at the injustices that seemed to haunt superpowered children, Seonghwa turned to smile at Wooyoung a moment later, the teen happily munching his treat.

“Who was that, hyung? I really don't know why I gave him my corn dog. Do you know?” Wooyoung asked as he sidled up next to Seonghwa and grabbed his hand, “I think he needed it though, don't you? You'd never let us go out looking like that, and Hongjoong-hyung would have a fit if we didn't say thank you when someone gave us something-”

“Slow down, darling. Breathe,” Seonghwa chuckled softly, “yes, I think he needed the food. And yes, we most definitely should use manners, but let's have a bit of compassion, hm? We don't know what he may be going through.” 

Seonghwa gently squeezed Wooyoung's hand, then tapped Yeosang on the shoulder. “Come now. I want to make sure I have everything for dinner.”

Wooyoung bounced along next to him, swinging their hands. “What're you gonna make, hyung? I can finally eat without my throat hurting! I want whatever you're having! Sangie-hyung, is there any tteokbokki left-”

Wooyoung was cut off as Yeosang grabbed the younger in a gentle headlock. “I think I liked it better when you could barely talk,” the green haired flyer teased, ignoring the other boy's indignant yelp, “but yeah, there's tteokbokki left.”

Shaking his head at the antics, Seonghwa pushed the button on the elevator, mentally cataloging the contents of the refrigerator and wondering if he had enough garlic to make Maneul Jangajji as well.

*

The apartment smelled of garlic chicken, spices and tea. It was lovely really, and Seonghwa couldn't help but smile as he sat down on the couch. It was nights like these that he loved.

Wooyoung dropped onto the couch next to him then, flopping over sideways into Seonghwa's lap, and grinning up at him. 

“Hyung?” 

Running a hand over the adorable imp’s hair, Seonghwa smiled. “Young-ah?” 

“Will you bring me and Jongho and maybe Mingi-hyung or Sangie-hyung to the arcade tomorrow? Pleeeeease?” Wooyoung was widening his eyes, trying, Seonghwa was sure, to make anime eyes like their Mingi-yah did. 

Chuckling softly, he again ran his hand over the second youngest's hair. “We’ll see, darling. You've only just healed.”

Wooyoung pouted at him, but before the boy could plead his case, there was a knock at the door. 

Gently shifting his dongsaeng onto the couch, Seonghwa handed him the remote. “Find that new show that hyung likes. I'll be right back.”

Still pouting, the teen took the remote and rolled over to face the TV. Seonghwa headed for the front door, calling over his shoulder that he'd get it, when Joong-ah hollered from down the hall, for someone to answer the door. 

He hadn't ordered anything recently and he wasn't expecting company, though he supposed any of the others may have invited someone over and forgotten to tell him. It wouldn't be the first time. 

Punching in the passcode, he hauled the door open without bothering to actually check who was there. 

“Did you mean it? About the dakgangjeong?”

Chapter Text

***

The door clicked shut behind him, and San leaned against it, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and sucked in a few deep breaths-

“You know, if I could phase through walls, I'd do something way cooler than outrun Detective Kamora.” 

San’s eyes flew open at the semi mocking words, and he stared at the long haired teenager who was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“How'd you get in here?!” he asked, taking a step down the hall, “the door was locked!”

The teen nodded, legs swinging freely. “It was. But the window wasn't,” he giggled, “so I had Sangie-hyung fly me up here.” 

“Fly?”

“Sure. He flies, you phase, I glow. Jongho teleports. We all have our things, right?” The teen jumped down from the counter, moving across the kitchen to the fridge.

“Hey!” San kicked his shoes off and darted into the kitchen. “Get out of there! That's not yours!”

The kid grinned over his shoulder. “It sure isn't. Seonghwa-hyung would have a fit if he saw what you have in here!” The teen backed away from the fridge, holding a box of donuts to his chest. “Can I have one of these? Please? Our maknae tried to get hyungs to buy these, but Hongjoong-hyung said none of us have an ounce of self control and we'd eat them all in one sitting.”

The boy dropped into a chair at the table, San watching in confusion and maybe a bit of horror, as the kid opened the box and pulled one of the sweet treats out. 

“But that's not true! See? I'm only going to eat the one, if you say it's ok?” The teen looked up at San then, eyes wide and innocent, a big grin on his face.

San narrowed his eyes. “You’re touching it. I don't want it back in the box.”

“Awesome! Thanks!” The teenager stuffed half the donut in his mouth, then grabbed the Danger Mouse magazine that was sitting on the table. He glanced up at San, a wicked look in his eye. “Really? Flyer or Frier? Who's your best match?”

San glared to cover his reddening ears. “It's an informative journal!”

“It's Teen Beat for superheroes,” the other teen countered, shoving the last of the donut in his mouth, “but Mingi-hyung likes it too, and Hongjoong-hyung says I can't tease him about it.”

“Who are you?” San demands, snatching the box of donuts as the kid reached for another.

Pushing the magazine away, the teenager huffed and picked up a few crumbs from the table. “I'm Wooyoung! C'mon, you have to come to my house and meet everyone.”

“What? You don't even know who I am!”

“Sure, I do. Yunho-hyung is great at detective work, and when he can't figure it out, he just calls up Lix-ah. You're San.”

Blinking hard, San tried to hide his surprise. “That's not creepy at all,” he said. Probably a bit more snidely than his Eomma would appreciate. 

“Hey! You look like Mingi-hyung!” Wooyoung says, and San can't think about anything else as the kid rambles on, “he blinks like that. He can do anime eyes! Well, he can't control them, they kind of do their own thing, which is freaky sometimes, but he's trying. Jungeun-hyung says he'll figure it out eventually and Jimin-hyung is going to show him how to- wait!” 

San freezes as he's about to put the donuts away. He looks back at Wooyoung.

“I want another one! Please? That's the only thing you won't like much about our place, probably. Hyungs don't like stuff with too much sugar. Yun-hyung says it's dumb and they shouldn't be able to stop us. He got scolded for saying that though. But you'll like it anyway. Just don't make Hongjoong-hyung mad. He's not fun when he's mad. One time, Jongho-yah-”

“I live here, Wooyoung,” San interrupted, putting the box of donuts back in the fridge, “I'm not worried about what your hyungs think.”

Wooyoung looked sadly at the fridge, then back at San. “You will be. C'mon. They don't know where I am, unless Sangie-hyung tattled, but I need to get back before they find out and think I'm missing. I think Seonghwa-hyung is making kimchi-jjigae for dinner, do you like that?” Wooyoung jumped to his feet, carefully pushing the chair back under the table, while San stared at him, trying to decipher the deluge of information.

“Kimchi-jjigae?” San finally asks, watching Wooyoung closely for any sign he's being lied too. He hasn't had a real meal in ages. Mostly microwave dinners and raymeon and the sweets he's pretty sure Wooyoung is still pining for. Kimchi-jjigae sounds wonderful, if he's being honest.

Nodding hard, Wooyoung darts forward and grabs San's hand. “Yeah! It's so good! Seonghwa-hyung cooks the best food. You'll like it! You can room with me and Jongho,” Wooyoung is pulling him across the kitchen towards the front door, “we're more fun than the others,” he adds conspiratorially, winking as he pulls his sneakers on. He continues as soon as they're on. “Mingi-hyung is alright, but he's kind of shy. Hyung says he's perfect just the way he is, but sometimes he's a bit of a scaredy cat,” Wooyoung stops again, watching San as he puts his own shoes on. “Don't tell hyungs I said that, ok? They'll scold….how do you unlock this?”

San grabs his coat from the hook on the wall, then moves to the door to type in the passcode. He looks at Wooyoung, then at the door and back to Wooyoung. “I'm only coming for dinner. I live here. I don't know you. Or your family.”

Wooyoung grins and grabs his hand once more. “You do now! You know, it's too bad you can't make me phase with you, then we could walk through buildings all the way back to the dorm! I know someone who has invisibility and he can cover others to make them kind of invisible-”

San just nods as the door closes on Wooyoung's newest ramble.

***††**

“Jung Wooyoung, where have you been?” 

The question is fired at them as soon as they enter the apartment and San takes a step back as the door closes behind him. 

But Wooyoung tugs him forward, pushing him in front, as if using him for a barrier, and San is suddenly face to face with a tall man with dark hair and kind eyes. 

Well, maybe slightly upset, kind eyes. 

“Seonghwa-hyung!” Wooyoung chirps from behind San, “this is San and he's come for dinner. San’s a phaser! He can walk right through walls and things, how cool is that? He's gonna stay here with us now!” San opens his mouth to argue, but Wooyoung shoves him into the older man's arms. Annoyed, he twists to look back at Wooyoung. 

“I'm not!” he snaps with a glare.

Wooyoung only grins. “Sure you are!”

“Sunbaenim!” San cries, looking back at Seonghwa for support, “tell him I'm not!”

Chapter Text

***

“I don't want to!” The teenager crossed his arms and glared. 

“Not a valid excuse, kid. Hop to it.” 

Hongjoong could be patient. He could. Not an easy feat, though Jungeun-hyung did say he was better now than when he was younger, but still. This particular dongsaeng wasn't making it easy. 

“I'm not a kid, you're not that much older than me!” The teen hadn't moved an inch and Hongjoong felt the first threads of annoyance creeping up his chest. 

“But I am older and I'm your hyung and your leader.” Hongjoong infused his tone with a bit more sternness and gave the boy a look even his wild card Wooyoung wouldn't cross.

“I'm not going to!” Yunho said flatly, his lower lip going out in an impressive mimicry of their maknae when he tried to butter up a hyung to get what he wanted. 

“Jeong Yunho. Do what hyung told you too.”

“No.” The word was almost snarled back at him and that was it really, wasn't it? 

A look of pure determination settled on Hongjoong’s face and his eyebrow went back up all on its own. “No?” 

Yunho swallowed hard, hesitating.

Good. He ought to be hesitant about defying his hyung. Hongjoong re-crossed his arms and put on the look that usually preceded someone getting smacked. Just for good measure. 

“No, hyung.” Yunho said, tone just this side of respectful.

Had this been Mingi or even Wooyoungie, Hongjoong may have felt an absurd desire to chuckle. However, it being his oldest, albeit his newest, dongsaeng, laughter was not what he was feeling. If the boy wanted to push, Hongjoong was the king of pushback. 

Just ask Jungeun-hyung. 

“Last chance, Yun-ah. Choose wisely.”

“You can't make me!”

And there it was. The challenge his hyung had been warning Hongjoong was coming.

“Wrong choice, kiddo.” Hongjoong stepped forward and gently took his oldest by the wrist. “Let's go.”

Yunho's eyes widened in obvious understanding and he twisted, trying to pull away.

Hongjoong gave a firm yank to the teen's wrist. “No. You made your choice. Now you face the outcome of that.”

Yunho shook his head. “Hyung, I…”

“Come to my room, Yun-ah.”

†*†*†*†

Yunho was laying on the couch, his head on Seonghwa's lap, when Hongjoong emerged from the shower some time later. The elder was running his hand through the boy's hair, talking quietly to him, though it looked to Hongjoong that his oldest dongsaeng was half asleep.

Not too surprising, if he was being honest. It hadn't been pleasant, for either of them, and despite Hongjoong giving the teenager a solid hug and soft reassurances after, it hadn't taken long for Yunho to ask to see his Seonghwa-hyung. 

Hongjoong had obliged, though not without a few more hugs and a quick kiss on the head. He'd left the two talking quietly in the kitchen while he'd headed for the bathroom.

He sat down near Yunho's feet, and gently tapped them. His eldest shifted a tiny bit, and looked down the couch at Hongjoong, but didn't speak. 

“How are you feeling, kiddo?” Hongjoong asked softly, setting a hand on Yunho's feet. The teen looked up at Seonghwa, who nodded at him, and the boy sat up slowly, twisting around. He laid back down, this time with his head in Hongjoong's lap. 

Hongjoong smiled down at his dongsaeng and gently carded his fingers through the kid's fringe. “How are you feeling?” he asked again, after a few moments of silence. 

Yunho rolled from his side to his back and looked up at him with wide, sad eyes. “I'm sorry, hyung. I didn't…it was…I should've…”

Chuckling fondly, Hongjoong put a finger on his oldest's lips. “Next time, love, just do the dishes, hmm?”

Chapter Text

***

Riiinnng!!

Startled, Hongjoong pushed the papers on his desk around, trying to locate his phone in what he called organized chaos, and Seonghwa-hyung called disaster, Joong-ah. 

Pulling the phone from underneath one of Mingi-yah’s textbooks - why was that even on his desk - he swiped the screen. “Hello?”

“ Joong-ah, please tell me all your kids are home .”

“Of course they are, hyung. It's Tuesday morning. They're here or at school, why?”

There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “ It's almost 5pm, Hongjoong-ah. Please tell me you haven't been holed up in your study for more than eight hours.”

Hongjoong sat up straighter, somewhat due to the tone of his hyung's voice, but mostly so he could check the clock on the wall behind him. 

The traitorous clock on the wall. 

“Not a full eight,” Hongjoong muttered as he got up and stretched, “probably only seven at most.”

“ Kim Hongjoong .”

“Sorry, hyung. I'm going to check right now,” Hongjoong said, trying to keep his tone level as he opened the door, “but I doubt Seonghwa-hyung would've left me alone if I'd been that long-”

“Joong-ah! It's about time! I've been texting you for hours!”

Seonghwa-hyung’s timing really could have been better. 

“ You have been holed up in there since this morning, haven't you, Kim Hongjoong?”

Maybe he had been, but he was aware that wouldn't be a good answer to his hyung's question. “No,” he muttered, trying to give himself time, “I've been in and out.”

Seonghwa-hyung's raised eyebrow wasn't necessary. Neither was Jungeun-hyung's humph on the other end of the line.

“All the kids home, hyung?” he asked, brushing past the elder and heading for the kitchen. Suddenly he was very hungry. 

“ So you don't know, do you Joong-ah?” Jungeun-hyung's voice was full of what Hongjoong hoped was fond exasperation. 

Grabbing a bag of honey crisps from the pantry -Seonghwa-hyung had to be making dinner soon- Hongjoong looked back at his currently less upset hyung. He pointed at the phone, silently pleading for the elder to help him. 

Blowing out an annoyed breath, Seonghwa-hyung rolled his eyes. “The only one not home is Wooyoung.”

“See, hyung,” Hongjoong said into the phone around a mouthful of crisps, “almost everyone's home. Nothing to worry about.”

“ That's just what I was afraid of, Joong-ah. Give Seonghwa the phone please.”

Hastily swallowing his snack, Hongjoong straightened from where he'd been peering into the fridge. “You can tell me, hyung. I'm listening.”

“ Yes, Joong-ah, but you don't have the info I need, because you've locked yourself in your study, again . Give the phone to Hwa, please. ”

Hongjoong glared at the phone and handed it to Seonghwa. The elder put it to his ear and greeted their hyung. He chuckled and looked back at Hongjoong. 

“Hyung says it's no use glaring at him.” Seonghwa said with a much too gleeful giggle as he leaned back against the counter.

Hongjoong let out a huff and dropped into a chair at the table, still glaring. He munched the remaining honey crisps, only half listening to his hyungs. He wondered if a notice in the local paper would help deter people from going to the Park-Dong District and getting themselves into trouble…he'd ask Yeon-hyung, he knew the folks down at the Hyeonjiui Segye Hanji-

“I did text Joong-ah a few times,” Hongjoong looked up when Seonghwa-hyung said his name, the elder's sharp look at Hongjoong entirely unnecessary. 

“I know, hyung. I called Youngie but he didn't answer,” Seonghwa-hyung was saying now, “yes, hyung. We'll call him again, Chan-hyung too.”

Hongjoong shot upright at that. “Hyung, let me talk,” he said as he moved across the kitchen, “ please. ”

Seonghwa-hyung raised an eyebrow again, but handed the phone over.

“Hyung, I don't want to call Chan-hyung! He's going to tell me-” Hongjoong pleaded, stopping abruptly when Jungeun-hyung cleared his throat.

“ Joong-ah, Bin is missing. Chan-ah called me looking for him. You need to call him so you can figure out where the boys have gone.”

“Bin-ah’s missing?” Hongjoong asked, surprised. That changed things, didn't it? 

“ Don't you even think it, Joong-ah.”

“I wasn't thinking anything, hyung!” Hongjoong was not whining. He wasn't. “How long has Bin-ah been gone?” 

Distraction sometimes worked. 

“ Don't you lie to me, Kim Hongjoong. Since just before lunch. Ask Seonghwa when Wooyoung left.”

Frowning at the phone, distraction hadn't worked, Hongjoong looked at his present hyung. “When did Young-ah leave?”

Seonghwa-hyung could really stop looking at him like that. 

“He asked me if he and Mingi could go to the arcade-”

“Again? That kid-” Hongjoong shook his head. His second youngest would be at that crazy place every day, all day if he could. 

Seonghwa nodded. “I told him they could go if they were home by three. They have homework. Mingi-yah came home. He didn't know where Wooyoung had gone.” 

Hongjoong covered the phone and yelled. “Boys! Kitchen, now !”

“ Aish, Joong-ah! Less yelling. Didn't we talk about this ?”

**††**

“It's not my fault your kid convinced my kid to-”

“Honestly, Joong-ah!” Chan snapped, blowing out an annoyed breath, “it's not some kind of contest!”

“Young-ah went to the arcade ,” Hongjoong said. And maybe it was slightly more snide than it would've been if Jungeun-hyung or even Jin-hyung had been with them. But they weren't. 

“Aish! I should've asked Hyungs to come with us. You're ridiculous !” Chan put the van in park and yanked the key from the ignition. “Can you handle being with me while we look, or should I call Yeon-hyung?”

“Yeon-hyung is nicer.” Hongjoong mumbled as he got out of the van. 

Maybe he slammed the door. Maybe he didn't. 

Chan-hyung was suddenly right in front of him. “Well? I'd like to find my kid today , so if you need Yeon-hyung, let's call him now.”

Hongjoong glared to cover the tiny bit of nerves that always flared whenever one of his hyungs looked at him like that . It wasn't fair really, that they still had that ability. He was an adult. 

“Hongjoong!” Chan's voice snapped him from his annoyed thoughts. 

“We don't have to call him,” he muttered, “he'd probably get mad for calling him away from his boys.”

Chan rolled his eyes and gently cuffed Hongjoong's head. “He wouldn't. You know you're his favorite.”  

“I'm not,” Hongjoong whined, “Gunil-hyung is.” He jogged to keep up with Chan as his brother headed towards the recently closed radio station.

“Liar,” Chan retorted with less of a snarl than before, “ you are. He found you and claimed you first, and you know it.”

It was true, and Hongjoong did know it. But why did Chan always have to be right about everything? 

“I'm not right about everything,” Chan said as he pushed the door open with his foot, “just that you're Yeon-hyung's favorite.”

Hongjoong stopped on the stairs and looked up at his older brother. Had he spoken out loud? Chan just grinned at him. 

And Hongjoong stuck out his tongue. 

Chan shook his head. “Brat.”

Hongjoong took the steps two at a time, shoulder bumping the elder as he scooted past. “Hyung doesn't like it when we call names,” he called over his shoulder. 

“And he doesn't like it when you're a menace,” Chan countered with a chuckle.

Hongjoong stopped, looking back at Chan with what Jungeun-hyung called his Cheshire cat grin. “I'm not a menace.”

“Sure you aren't, maknae-yah. Come, let's go look. Felix tracked their cell phones somewhere in here.” Chan said, as he slung an arm around Hongjoong's shoulders.

Hongjoong nodded, leaning into Chan, just because. “Hyung?”

Chan led them through another half open door and into one of the main rooms. “Maknae?”

“It really is your kid's fault.”

“ Aish! Joong-ah !”

Chapter Text

****

“We were trying to stop the bad guy! You can't be mad about that! It's our job! Hyung, are you even listening to me?”

Hongjoong was listening. 

Sort of. 

Actually, he'd stopped listening a bit ago, in an attempt to not jump into the backseat and prematurely kill his second youngest. 

“Jungeun-hyung says you aren't supposed to ignore someone when they're talking to you! We didn't even go that far and it wasn't really dangerous! Can't you just-”

“Jung Wooyoung,” Chan snapped. 

Apparently, Chan-hyung was listening. And he'd had enough. “I suggest you stop talking unless you'd like to see a side of hyung that you won't like.”

Hongjoong straightened up a little, that tone meant business. 

But it wasn't directed at him, was it? He suddenly had to stifle a ridiculous desire to laugh. It was nice to not be on the receiving end of one of Chan-hyung's scary threats. 

“Joong-Hyung!? It's not fair! Why can't you-” 

The boy just didn't know when to stop, did he? He should let his dongsaeng feel Chan's wrath - he could see his hyung's hands tightening on the wheel - and maybe Wooyoung's scratchy voice rankled a bit more than normal. 

Aish. He wasn't a monster though. Not really.

“Wooyoung. Hush. You heard Chan-hyung. We'll talk about this at home.”

“I don't want to hush,” Wooyoung muttered darkly.

And Hongjoong jerked forward, his chest slamming against the shoulder belt as the van moved to the side of the road and came to a harsh stop.

The kid had done it now. There was no going back. Hongjoong knew that look. He twisted in the seat and glared at his dongsaeng. “Don't come crying to me.”

The boy's eyes went wide at his words.  Chan-hyung put the van in park and very deliberately unbuckled his seat belt. 

“I'm sorry!” Wooyoung yelped, squishing his body against Changbin, who until that moment had been as quiet as a mouse. 

“Get off me,” he hissed, shoving the slightly younger teen away from him, “you're the idiot who hasn't shut up this whole time!”

The driver's side door opened and closed and within moments, the van’s side door rolled open. Chan-hyung stood there with an expression Hongjoong hadn't seen in quite some time. 

The elder pinned Wooyoung with a look. “I've had just about enough of your mouth, Jung Wooyoung, and since you can't seem to control it, I'm going to help you.”

And Wooyoung squeaked.

**††**

“Yes, hyung. We're home now. Chan-hyung should be home soon.”

“And Wooyoung is alright, Joong-ah? You're not lying to me?”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “I'm not lying, hyung. Young-ah is perfectly fine. As fine as can be expected after incurring Chan-hyung's wrath and waiting for mine.”

Seonghwa-hyung turned from the stove and frowned at him, disapproval more than a little evident.

Hongjoong returned the look with a frown of his own. He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “What? Should I be celebrating our second youngest's ability to sneak off and worry us all?”

Seonghwa huffed. “Of course not, Joong-ah. But I think wrath is a bit of overkill don't you?”

Hongjoong didn't think so. The boy had caused more than a little issue for him and there really wasn't any excusing his behavior. “How many times have we told them no solo missions, Hyung?”

“Chan-hyung already-” Seonghwa tried.

“For being an impulsive, mouthy brat.” Hongjoong countered. 

“Joong-ah,” Jungeun-hyung's voice in his ear startled him. 

He held up a finger to Seonghwa-hyung and turned back to the phone. “Hyung, I'm not actually gonna kill him.” Maybe his voice was a bit of a whine. But his hyungs were ridiculous.

“It should be a token punishment then, Joong-ah. You didn't even know he was missing,” Seonghwa argued softly, sitting across from Hongjoong and picking up pieces from his abandoned LEGO project, “the boy doesn't need-”

Huffing in annoyance, Hongjoong ignored his present hyung's upset. “Jungeun-hyung? I promise we're all fine. Can I call you later?”

“Alright, Joong-ah. How about I come for dessert?”

That was not part of Hongjoong's plan. But he couldn't tell his hyung no. He wouldn't. The boys loved him. Hongjoong loved him. 

“Can you bring some apple tarts?” he asked instead.

“Yeah, baby. I can bring some. And ice cream for Youngie.” Hongjoong could hear the indulgence in his hyung's voice right through the phone. 

Hongjoong snorted. “And ice cream for Youngie,” he agreed, “oh and hyung?”

“Yeah, baby?” 

“I'm not a baby.” Hongjoong said. He wasn't. 

“Sure you aren't, maknae-yah,” Jungeun-hyung chuckled, “I'll see you in a little bit.”

**††**

Hongjoong sat on the couch with Wooyoung curled up next to him on one side, Mingi on the other. They were all watching Big Hero Six (Youngie's pick, but the others hadn't complained). Hongjoong was carding his fingers through Wooyoung's hair, and running a hand up and down Mingi's back, happy to have his entire family all in one room. 

The front door lock beeped just as Bayamax and Hiro took to the sky, and Hongjoong slid out from under a softly protesting Mingi to go meet his hyung. He'd just made it down the hall when the door swung open, Jungeun-hyung shouldering his way in, arms laden with gifts. Grinning, Hongjoong was about to take something to help, when thundering footsteps came from behind him. 

“Hyungie!! Jungeun-hyung!” Wooyoung ran past Hongjoong, straight for the elder. The man barely had time to set down the bags he held, before their Nightlight threw himself into his arms. “Hyung! It's not fair! Chan-hyung and Joong-Hyung smacked me! Tell them that's not fair!”

Hongjoong blinked both in surprise and a bit of adoration. The kid was good.  

“And what is this, Joong-ah?” Jungeun-hyung asked, giving him a look over Wooyoung's head. Hongjoong shrugged. There wasn't anything to be done about it now, even if their hyung didn't like it. 

Besides, that look shouldn't work on him anymore, it shouldn't. 

“He deserved every smack,” he said - very non defensively, “he disappeared without telling anyone, tried to handle an unsanctioned mission, solo-”

“It wasn't solo,” Wooyoung pouted from within the safety of Jungeun-hyung's arms, “Binnie was with me!”

“My word, kid. That sounds really familiar, doesn't it?” 

Hongjoong blinked, his eyes widening in surprise at the new voice. He stood frozen for a moment, staring as a figure emerged from behind Jungeun-hyung. 

“Are you just going to stand there, Baram?”

Hongjoong flew across the floor, barely managing to avoid the grocery bags, and slammed into Yeon-hyung, hugging him fiercely. 

“I didn't know you were coming, hyung.” Hongjoong breathed out, his hands fisted in the material of Yeon-hyung's sweatshirt.

“It's good to see you too, Baram.”

Chapter Text

***

“Hyung?” 

Seonghwa had turned the TV down as he put the phone to his ear. 

“Yes? Who is this?”

“Seonghwa-hyung?”

Swallowing the absurd need to chuckle, Seonghwa nodded, not that the person on the other end could see him. “Yes,” he answered, sitting up a bit and reaching to turn on his bedside lamp. 

“Hi, uh, hi hyung. This is Felix…Lee Felix, you know, Chan-hyung…?”

Frowning, Seonghwa turned, swinging his feet to the floor. “Felix-ah? Is something wrong?”

He looked at the clock on the table. 

10:30pm

Not terribly late, not really. But, he had been in bed -though not asleep- and surely Felix should have been too. 

“Do you uh, I mean, do you, can you... hyung, can you come pick me up?”

“Felix, are you at home? I mean, yes of course I can. But, where's your hyung?” Seonghwa stuffed his feet in his slippers and crossed the room to his dresser in search of clothes. 

“He's…he went on a mission…with Hongjoong-hyung.”

Right, of course. Seonghwa knew that.

“Why didn't you call Jungeun-hyung, honey? I'm coming, don't worry. I'm getting dressed now,” Seonghwa said, slipping into some clean sweatpants and a t-shirt, “but he lives closer, doesn't he?”

“I'm not…I'm not at home, hyung.”

Straightening up, Seonghwa took a deep breath. “Felix, where are you?”

“At the Zoo.”

And Seonghwa thought that San and Youngie were the only ones who could manage to take his breath away. And not in a good way. 

“The Zoo? Honey, you're going to have to explain better than that.” Seonghwa moved quickly from the room he shared with Hongjoong to the one across the hall. 

He peered inside, relieved to see Jongho's dark head on his pillow, Wooyoung's telltale feet-on-the-pillow-head-at-the-end on the bottom bunk, and San's arm across his forehead on the top bunk. 

“Jisung…Jisung wanted to help Chan-hyung,” Felix's voice had a distinct wobble to it.

“Are you safe? Felix, listen to hyung. Are you safe, despite being at the Zoo?” Seonghwa asked, refusing to think too hard about how ridiculous a question that was. 

Felix's sniffle through the phone was nearly his undoing. “I-I'm ok. I'm sitting on a bench. But hyungie, it's dark and it's cold and I want to go home.”

“Aish. Sweetheart, if Jisung wanted to help Chan-hyung, how'd you wind up at the Zoo? And where's Sungie now?” 

More sniffling and then Felix was whisper-wailing again. “I don't knooow. Hyung, the animals here can't get out, right?”

“No, Felix, the animals are safely closed in. You'll be alright, hyung's coming.”

“Thank you, hyung.” Felix's sad whisper had Seonghwa moving quickly down the hallway. 

“Felix, honey? Stay with me while I check on the other boys real quick, alright?”

“Yes, hyung.” 

Seonghwa paused on his way to the front door to peek in Yunho, Mingi and Yeosang's room. Yeosang was sprawled out on the floor, head on a textbook, fast asleep. Mingi was curled up in a ball on his bed, at least three different blankets surrounding him. He blinked owlishly at Seonghwa from behind glasses that were tilted sideways. 

“Hyung?” he whispered, fixing his glasses before setting his phone down on the pillows in front of him, “is everything ok?”

Smiling softly, Seonghwa nodded. “Everything’s ok, darling. I need to run out and take care of something. Yun-ah will be here if you need anything. You should be heading to bed anyway. Put the phone away, alright?”

Mingi nodded, looking very small and sad without even meaning to, and Seonghwa couldn't help but cross the room to give him a fierce hug. 

“Everything is alright. Hyung won't be gone long. But you need sleep. Isn't your history exam tomorrow afternoon?”

Mingi nodded, a tiny pout forming on his face. He opened his mouth and Seonghwa put a finger to the teen's lips. “No, put those lips away, darling. They don't work on me. Get some rest and hyung will help you go over your history in the morning.” 

He dropped a kiss to Mingi's forehead and left the room, skirting around Yeosang's body. He'd have Yun-ah move their flyer to his bed. No one liked waking up on the hard floor.

“How are you doing, Lix-ah?” he asked as he hurried down the hallway, “I'm going to text Jungeun-hyung and Minho-yah to make sure they know what's going on.”

“I'm scared, hyung.” Felix whispered with a sniffle, “I don't like this.”

Seonghwa was nearly certain the boy was crying now. “I know, darling. I'm on my way,” he reassured. 

He found Yunho in the kitchen, making a late night snack. “Hi hyung,” the teenager said around a mouthful of sushi, “are you going out?”

Nodding, Seonghwa gave the boy a quick hug. “Yes, I need to go help with something. But I'll be back soon. Sangie's fallen asleep on the floor again, can you get him into bed?”

“Sure, hyung. But, are you sure you don't need any help?” Seonghwa had to stifle the smile that threatened when his oldest dongsaeng appeared to be sizing him up. 

“No, darling. I appreciate you asking though.” Seonghwa grabbed his wallet from the counter and turned towards the front door. “Keep everyone home, and call Jungeun-hyung if there's a problem, alright?”

Yunho was still looking at him as if he didn't quite believe Seonghwa didn't need help, but he nodded, dutifully answering in the affirmative. 

“I'll be home soon. Get some rest, love!” he called, grabbing his coat and keys as he headed out the door on his way to rescue an adorable, lost, shapeshifting dongsaeng.

Chapter Text

***

Hongjoong was nestled against Yeon-hyung's side, only half watching the new movie they'd put on - Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - simply listening to the soft chatter between his hyungs and his boys. 

Jungeun-hyung was sitting on the other side of Hongjoong's feet, Wooyoung and Jongho both competing for his attention. Their Nightlight was squished up against the elder’s side, still pouting off and on about the injustice of how he'd been treated, Hongjoong sure their hyung was indulging the boy in ways he never would have done for himself or his brothers. 

The maknae was in the man's lap, trying to explain the absolute silliness of what was currently happening on the screen, and in true Jungeun-hyung fashion, the elder was nodding and agreeing with the boy, Hongjoong quite positive his hyung had very little idea what Jongho was really going on about.

Oh, how Hongjoong loved his hyung. 

“Hey, Baram,” Yeon-hyung said, gently poking him in the side, “are you even listening to me?”

Wiggling closer to Yeon-hyung in an attempt to ward off any more attacks, he shook his head. “I didn't know you were talking to me,” he said, only a tiny bit defensively.

There was a chuckle from the other side of Yeon-hyung and Hongjoong glared at his oldest dongsaeng. “You hush, Yun-ah.”

Yunho, feeling rather brave apparently, with a hyung to separate them, stuck out his tongue in response. “You get mad at us when we aren't listening,” the teen said, only to let out a squeak when Yeon-hyung poked him in the side as well. 

“Be nice, Yun-ah. There's been enough upset today.” Yeon-hyung gave his extra dongsaeng a squeeze. “Just watch the movie, kiddo.”

“It's true though, hyung,” the teenager mumbled, shifting around to lay his head on Yeon-hyung's lap. 

“I know it is,” Yeon-hyung agreed with a chuckle, “but there's no need to bring it up.”

“Hyung!” Hongjoong grumbled, inching as close to Yeon-hyung as he could without actually being in his lap, “be nice to me.”

“I'm always nice to you, baby,” Yeon-hyung said, running a hand up and down Hongjoong's back.

“Hyung!” Hongjoong cried. He wasn't a baby. Not anymore. And he didn't need his hyung reminding his kids that he used to be the baby. 

Yeon-hyung leaned down and spoke quietly against Hongjoong's hair. “Aish, Joongie. You've always been my baby. It's not changing now.”

Hongjoong grabbed the hem of his hyung’s sweatshirt and began to rub the material between his fingers. “The kids, hyungie,” he whispered back, “they don't, I can't have…you heard Yun-ah just now.”

“You don't think I can handle your dongsaeng, Baram?” Yeon-hyung’s arm went around his shoulders and tightened. “You know who you're talking to, don't you?”

Hongjoong nodded. Of course he knew. “Yes, hyung,” he said, “but-”

“But nothing, Joongie. Trust hyung.” Yeon-hyung shifted carefully so he could see Hongjoong without disturbing Yunho. “I was wondering if you wanted to go up to Heros R’ Us with me?”

Hongjoong sat up so quickly, he banged his head against Yeon-hyung's shoulder. “Yes!” 

Yeon-hyung chuckled and leaned forward to look over at Jungeun-hyung. “I told you he'd say yes, Hyungie.”

Their hyung grinned. “You and Yeonnie did go there all the time when you were younger,” Jungeun-hyung said, eyes twinkling.

Hongjoong waited. That twinkle meant-

“Are you sure you're not too grown up for such trivialities, Joong-ah?” he teased, as he ran his hand through Jongho's hair.

“Hyung!” Hongjoong whined softly, “I love Heros R’ Us!”

He really did. The discount store never failed to have something for everyone, and it usually had trinkets and useful, though unusual, supplies that you'd never find anywhere else.

“Seonghwa-hyung brought us a few weeks ago,” Wooyoung said around a yawn, “but Joong-Hyung was at the Shine meeting. I got a light up night stick.”

“And Seonghwa-hyung took it away,” Jongho said, his words slurring with sleep, as he began to nod off in Jungeun-hyung's arms, “cuz he wouldn't stop bonking us on the head with it.”

“I wasn't! I was practicing!” Wooyoung cried in defense when Jungeun-hyung ​looked down at him with one eyebrow raised. 

Yeon-hyung snorted softly. “Your dongsaeng is just full of himself, isn't he?”

Hongjoong shrugged and laid his head against Yeon-hyung's shoulder. “He's your dongsaeng too.”

Chuckling, Yeon-hyung ran his hand through Hongjoong's hair. “That he is, Baram.”

Warmth flooded Hongjoong's chest at his hyung's easy acceptance and he scooted impossibly closer. They sat like that for a few moments, Hongjoong soaking in the simple fact that his hyung was here.

“Hyung?” he whispered, rubbing his cheek on Yeon-hyung's shoulder.

“Yeah, kid?”

“When are we going?” 

“Tomorrow afternoon set well with you?” Yeon-hyung asked, gently massaging the base of Hongjoong's neck.

“Yeah.” Hongjoong nodded, as he buried his face in the soft material of Yeon-hyung's DragonballZ sweatshirt. “Tomorrow is good.”

Chapter Text

***

“Alright now, Jinnie-ah?” Jungeun-hyung asked the teenager as he ran a hand down the boy's arm, “hyung has to bring your cousins home. I'll be back shortly. Chan-ah said he'll be home in just a few minutes.”

“I-I'm ok, hyung. Did…did you tell Chan-hyung?” Hyunjin asked, his lower lip trembling.

Jungeun-hyung nodded. “Yeah, kiddo. He knows,” he says, not unkindly, “but your hyung isn't going to scold you anymore.”

“He's going to want to talk though,” the young inventor whispered, sniffling. 

Jungeun-hyung pulled the boy close for another hug. “Yeah, sweetheart,” he chuckled softly against the teen's head, “he's going to want to do that.”

“I really am sorry,” Hyunjin whispered, “I am.”

Jungeun-hyung smiled and gave the boy a hug. “I know,” he said, kissing the teen's forehead, “Hyung loves you.”

**†**

“Kiddo, why didn't you tell anyone?” Chan asked, running a gentle hand over Hyunjin's hair.

The teenager shrugged, sniffling hard. 

“You can't just leave, buddy,” Chan said with a sigh, “no one knew where you'd gone. Your brothers were here, and Jungeun-hyung. Mingi and Younghoon too. Honey, you could've told any of them. They'd have helped you. Why didn't you?”

Another miserable shrug.

Chan sighed again.

“Do you understand why your hyung was upset? Why everyone was a bit upset?” he asked, tugging Hyunjin towards the couch. 

Sniffling dramatically, Hyunjin didn't answer, just stared at Chan, lower lip poking out in a tiny pout. 

“Hyunjin-ah,” Chan sighed, reaching out and brushing the boy's hair from his forehead, “you know better.”

Hyunjin's eyes filled with tears and he held out his arms, the silent plea nearly breaking Chan's heart. He drew the boy in close and kissed the side of his head. After a moment though, he gently pushed the energy-making teen back so he could look at his face. 

“Do you understand why Jungeun-hyung was upset?” Chan asked again, tipping the boy's chin up when he tried to look away. 

Another shrug. 

“Hyunjin. Answer hyung's question,” Chan ordered softly, giving the boy a half-hearted look, “enough stalling.”

“Hyung … he's never…he was mad.” Tears pooled again in the gangly teen's eyes and he blinked furiously. “I've never…Jisung a-and Seungminnie, but not…not me!” The last few words turned into a small wail and Hyunjin pushed himself into Chan's chest with a sob. 

He squeezed his third oldest tight, and pulled him down to sit on the couch. “Honey, hyung was much more scared than he was upset. You can't disappear without telling someone where you're going. That's a rule, yeah?”

Hyunjin nodded. “But it was a su-surprise!” the boy wailed, “you can't….it spoils the surprise!” He shoved his face into the crook of Chan's neck, tears soaking through.

Quietly shushing the upset teen, Chan used the hand that wasn't rubbing the boy's back to pull out his phone. He swiped a finger over the lock and tapped on his hyung's name. 

The line only rang once before it was picked up. 

“Chan-ah? Is everything alright? I'm almost back. I stopped to grab chocolate eclairs.” 

Barely able to stop the laugh that bubbled up, chocolate eclairs were Hyunjinnie’s favorite, Chan nodded against the teen's head. “Everything's alright, Hyung. I just wanted to ask you something. But if you're almost here, it can wait.”

“I'll be there in ten, kiddo. Are you sure you're ok? Is Jin-ah ok?”

“Yes, Hyung. I'm alright,” Chan answered, gently jostling the boy in his arms, “Jinnie needs another cuddle and a word, but otherwise, he's ok.”

“I’ll be right there, Chan-ah. Tell Hyunjin I love him, yeah?” 

Chan hung up and set the phone down. “Hyung says he loves you. Did you hear that?” he asked quietly.

Hyunjin nodded, sucking in a deep breath. “He's not still mad?”

Chan shook his head. “You scared him, Jinnie. We have rules for a reason,” Chan chided softly, still rubbing the teen's back, “and you didn't follow the rules. No one knew. Your Jungeun-hyung was about to call in all your Uncle-hyungs, and probably half the city’s heros. Next time just tell someone where you're going.”

Hyunjin let out another sob and shoved his face back in Chan's shoulder. Chan let him cry for a few moments more, then held him away from him again. “No ones mad, or upset. Not anymore. And you're going to follow the rules from now on, yeah?”

Hyunjin ran his sleeve over his eyes, and gave a small nod. “You're not mad?”

Chan chuckled softly. “No, kiddo. I was a bit upset. You know the rules. But I also know Jungeun-hyung pretty well. His lectures are legendary. You should ask your Hongjoong-hyung about that sometime,” Chan said, grinning down at the boy, “I figure you've learned your lesson.”

Sniffling, Hyunjin took another shuddery breath. “Hyung…hyung scolded me, really scolded,” he said around a small sob, “he's never, I didn't…he's never done that before.”

Chan had no doubt his hyung had delivered a well deserved scolding, but he also knew that was all his hyung would do in this type of situation. His teary eyed, budding inventor hadn't meant any harm, he just hadn't been thinking. 

“Are you going to disappear again, without telling someone where you are?” Chan asked softly. He used the cuff of his sweatshirt to wipe the tears from Hyunjin's cheeks, and gave the boy one of his ‘think before you speak’ looks.

Hyunjin took a few deep breaths and then shook his head. “No, hyung. I'm sorry.”

“Good boy,” Chan praised, “you're all right, honey-”

The keypad on the front door beeped and Hyunjin froze for a moment, only to bolt from the couch a second later. He ran out of the living room and up the hallway towards the front door, Chan following quickly.

Their hyung had barely pushed the door open, a bag swinging from one hand, when Hyunjin was in his arms. Handing the bag to Chan, he wrapped his arms around Hyunjin in a tight hug. 

“I'm sorry, hyung, I'm sorry!” Hyunjin was crying again, his face buried against the older man's chest. 

Jungeun-hyung gave Chan a look over Hyunjin's head, and Chan couldn't help but roll his eyes. “We were just talking. He's still a little upset.”

“I didn't mean to scare you, hyung, I didn't!”

Jungeun-hyung hugged the boy even tighter, whispering something in his ear that Chan couldn't hear. Hyunjin nodded, sniffing hard and wiped the tears from his eyes. He took a stuttering breath, then rested his head on their hyung's chest again. 

“Do…do y-you like them?” Hyunjin's halting whisper was muffled against Jungeun-hyung's shirt, “d-do you, hyung?”

Sighing fondly, Jungeun-hyung ruffled the boy's hair. “The trees are beautiful, sweetheart. The sparkling yellows really compliment my garden. Don’t they, Chan-ah?"

Chapter Text

***

“C'mon kiddo, show hyung your arm,” Chan said, gently pushing his youngest onto the couch. 

Innie shook his head, one hand clasped protectively over his opposite arm. “It's not that bad, hyung.”

“Innie-ah, you were bitten by an alien marsupial…creature thing. I need to check. Let me see.”

“But-”

“Let me look at your arm, baby. It's important.” Chan knelt in front of the maknae, reaching for the boy's upper arm.

“Hyung, I'm not,” the teenager whined, tightening his hold on the wound, “I'm not a baby.”

“You are.” Jisung crowed from behind Chan, “you’re Geun-hyung's baby and Chan-hyung's-”

“Jisung!” Chan snapped, throwing an annoyed glare over his shoulder, “go change and get washed up. You're not helping.”

An obstinate look -one that Chan was honestly getting a bit tired of seeing- settled on Jisung's face and Chan bit back a sigh.

“But I don't want to,” Jisung whined, kicking his foot against the living room floor, “I want to see the gash on Innie's arm!”

The maknae sucked in a breath, looking at Jisung in a bit of surprised hurt. Chan patted his low-key ninja on the knee, and turned a bit to see his first kid. 

“Your brother was injured during a mission. He's not a side show, Han Jisung. Go do what I said,” he ordered, holding up a hand when Jisung opened his mouth, “no. No more arguing.”

It took a moment, but Chan had more practice with holding a stern look on an uncooperative dongsaeng than he really cared to think about, and Jisung finally looked away. 

“Fine!” the boy huffed, taking a few angry steps away from the couch, “but how am I supposed to know how to care for a Jevcka bite, if you won't even let me see it?”

Holding back the rising desire to throttle his unruly dongsaeng, Chan spoke quietly. “I'm not telling you again, Jisung. Go, now. Jungeun-hyung will be here soon, and I don't think you'd like my current report on your behavior, should he ask,” Chan added quietly, ignoring the gasp that came from Jisung. 

It was probably bad to use his hyung as a way to make the boy behave, but at this moment it worked -Jisung letting out a huff as he stormed down the hallway- so he didn't care. He turned his attention back to Innie, moving to sit next to him on the couch, and gently wiped a few stray tears from the maknae's cheeks.

“C'mon, honey. I gotta see the damage. We need to clean it and make sure you don't need a doctor,” Chan said, gently tugging at the boy's hand. This time, Innie let him, whimpering softly as Chan examined the jagged teeth marks near his shoulder. 

“I don't need a doctor,” Innie said with a miserable sounding sniffle and a shake of his head.

Chan sighed, and leaned forward to kiss the maknae's forehead. “I'm gonna clean it out and we'll see what Jungeun-hyung says, alright? I'm not sure what kind of problems, if any, Jevcka bites can cause.”

Because despite having run into Jevckas before, he'd never been bitten by one, or been around anyone who had. Thank God his hyung was a literal dictionary of knowledge.

He grabbed the first aid kit from the coffee table and rummaged around until he had antiseptic wipes and antibiotic cream. 

“Minho-hyung is bringing back some lunch and when your Binnie-hyung gets out of the shower, I bet you anything he'll watch Ben Ten with you, yeah?” Chan gently cleaned the wound as he spoke, poking and prodding at the injury in an effort to get it as clean as possible. 

“Ok - owwww,” Innie whined softly, jerking at the pressure Chan was applying to one of the deeper parts.

“Sorry kiddo. Hyung has to make sure it's really clean-”

The front door lock beeped then and Chan looked over the back of the couch and down the hall, more than a little relieved to see his hyung stepping into the dorm. 

He'd know what to do.

“Hyung's here,” Chan said, patting Innie's knee, “let's see what he says, yeah?”

His youngest nodded, tears filling his eyes. “I really don't want to go to the doctors, Channie-hyung. The Clan didn't go to hospitals or doctors or anything…”

“Hey, sweetheart,” Jungeun-hyung greeted Innie as he sat next to him, “can hyung look at your shoulder?” 

Chan watched in a bit of awe as their more often than not, don't-touch-me maknae nodded, let out a sob and climbed straight into the man's lap. 

“Hyung,” the boy sobbed against the older man's chest, “it hurts!” 

Chan's heart about melted at the look his hyung gave their baby ninja before promptly tucking the boy’s face into the crook of his neck. He whispered something Chan couldn't hear in the teen's ear, looked at the wound, then glanced over at Chan.

“I know you've already cleaned it,” he whispered, as he rubbed a hand up and down Innie's back, “but how long ago was he bitten?”

“An hour or so? Yeon-hyung sent us home after the bite, and we came right here.” Chan gently carded his hand through Innie's hair. “I sent Minho for food and Bin is showering,” he added quietly.

Jungeun-hyung nodded. “That's good, Chan-ah. I brought medicine that will fix it right up. No doctor, Jeonginnie, and no hospital, baby. Ok?”

“Not a baby,” Innie mumbled from where his face was pressed against Jungeun-hyung's neck, “Sungie-hyung keeps saying that and I'm not.”

“Of course you aren't, Innie-ah, hyung's sorry,” Jungeun-hyung soothed, “I'll talk to Sungie about it, alright?”

Innie nodded hard. “He wasn't being very nice to Channie-hyung either.”

“Oh?” Jungeun-hyung looked over the boy's head at Chan, one eyebrow raised. 

“He's Sungie, Hyung. You know how he gets,” Chan said with a shrug. 

His hyung hmm'd in response and Chan figured Jisung was in for it now. Nobody picked on their maknae. Not if Jungeun-hyung had anything to say about it. 

“Alright kiddo. Let's get that bite all bandaged, yeah? Then we can watch TV together?” Jungeun-hyung shifted the teenager upright, sliding him gently to sit on the couch. “And where's Lix-ah? Maybe he'll watch TV with us too?”

The man grabbed the bag he'd set on the coffee table and took a container out of it. Opening it, he reached for Innie's arm, the boy watching him with wide eyes.

“Felix was pretty scared by the whole situation. He was next to Innie when it happened. Seonghwa offered to take him home with them for a couple hours,” Chan explained, gently taking Innie's hands when the boy tried to stop Jungeun-hyung from applying the ointment to his wound. 

His hyung nodded, gently packing the wound with medicine, then carefully wrapping it. “He's ok, though?” 

“Yeah, he's alright, hyung. Hwa knows how to get him out of his own head. He'll be right as rain when he gets back,” Chan said, using his hold on Innie's hands to pull the boy a bit closer and kiss the side of Innie's head, “you're all right, maknae-yah,” he soothed the boy’s whimpering, “look, Geun-hyung’s got you fixed up already.”

Innie looked from his arm, to Chan, then to Geun-hyung, before crawling back into the older man's lap and curling up. Chan chuckled softly. Innie may not be a baby, but he was definitely their hyung's maknae and everyone knew it. 

Though, to be fair, his hyung had a soft spot for maknaes in general. Chan had seen Jongho and Eric and Jooyeon with his hyung, just as much as he'd seen Innie, and it was more than a little obvious. Even Jin-hyung’s youngest, the oldest of Jungeun-hyung's boys' maknaes, his hyung treated him the same. And don't even get him started on how everyone treated Hongjoong. 

“Chan-hyung! I'm all done washing up! I did what you said, can't I look at the bite now? You know it's not fair that you-” Jisung's voice preceded him into the living room, the boy himself halting a few feet from the couch. He blinked a few times, glancing back and forth between his hyungs. When he started to fidget, Jungeun-hyung raised an eyebrow and gave him a look.

“And what is this I hear about you picking on Innie-ah and giving your hyung a hard time, Han Jisung?”

Chapter Text

***

Chan held back a coo as he looked at the softly hiccuping teen. He reached forward to gently wipe the last tears off the boy's cheeks, then tugged him in for another hug. 

“When hyung says don't do it, it means you don't do it, Sung. Have I made myself clear this time?” Chan asked against the younger's ear. 

“Y-yes,” Jisung whimpered, trying to move closer to Chan's chest, “I'm sorry! I'm…sorry!” Jisung sucked in a breath, tears rolling freely once more, “do you think.. Do you think Binnie-hyung’s going to…going to hate me?! I don't want him to hate me!”

Chan hugged the boy even tighter against him. “He doesn't hate you, baby. I promise you he doesn't,” he soothed, gently running a hand through Jisung's hair, “your Bin-hyung loves you-”

“But it was my idea!!” 

Chan shushed the boy, his hand still running through Jisung's hair. “Bin-ah is capable of making his own decisions, Han Jisung. You didn't force him to do anything he didn't want to. He got himself in trouble, the same as you got yourself.” Chan sat back on the bed and pulled the boy into his lap. “Want me to bring him in here so he can tell you that himself?” Chan asked, moving his hand to rub at the boy's back. 

The teen let out a stuttering breath and then nodded, almost climbing Chan’s chest with his need to be close. “You're sure he's not mad?” he whispered.

“I'm positive, baby. Hold on, let me text him.” Chan pulled his phone from his pocket and shot off a text to his second oldest.

Nodding, Jisung stuck his face in Chan's chest, rubbing his cheek on the soft material of Chan's Heros ‘R Us sweatshirt. 

Chan kept up a soothing litany of reassurances as they waited. It didn't take long, the door to Chan and Felix’s room opening just a few moments later. Jisung turned his head, peering out cautiously as Changbin stepped into the room. The fighter eyed both Chan and Jisung with the same amount of cautiousness, hesitating in the doorway. 

“C'mere, bud. Sit with Hyung and Sung, yeah?” Chan asked, patting the bed. 

Changbin crossed the room and sat down, immediately leaning against Chan's shoulder. “Hi, hyung. Hey Sung.” 

Chan's free hand went to his second oldest's back, rubbing at the teen's shoulders, much the same as he had done earlier in the day. “Bin-ah, our Sungie is really worried about you being mad at him-”

Changbin shot upright, gaping a bit. “Mad at him? Why would I be-”

“Cuz going there was my idea and we got in trouble and I got you smacked-”

“You're dumb, Han Jisung,” Changbin interrupted, reaching out to gently whack the younger's head, “I got myself in trouble. You didn't twist my arm…and even if you had tried, it's not like you could've made me, huh? I went cuz I wanted to and it seemed like fun-”

Chan cleared his throat pointedly and Changbin huffed lightly.

“But we shouldn't have. And I'm not mad at you. Maybe a little bit at Seungminnie, right? He's the brat who told Hyung we were missing-”

“Changbin!” Chan's hand tapped warningly against the fighter's lower back and with a hmph, Changbin scooted away from Chan. 

“The point is, Sung, I'm not mad at you. Quit being a dummy, alright?” Changbin leaned over and grabbed Jisung by the arms. He pulled the teenager into his own lap and wrapped his arms around the younger. “Did Channie-hyung smack you too hard, huh? Should I hide his laptop or that ridiculous SHINE badge? Maybe the keys to the van?”

“Now who's the brat?” Chan growled softly, fingers digging into Chanbin's ribs, the older of his dongsaengs shrieking a bit at the tickling attack. The unexpected teasing had the desired result, and Jisung shook his head, giggling around his remaining tears.  

“It's ok, Binnie-hyung. If he had, Geun-hyung would avenge me and that's way worse than any of those things.”

“Brats!” Chan jokingly snarled, reaching for Jisung and tickling him as well, “the whole lot of you!”

**†**

“Hyung?” Changbin said as he dropped onto Jungeun-hyung’s floral couch, “I'm realllly bored.”

“Sorry, kiddo. You and Sungie are stuck with me until tonight.” Jungeun-hyung greeted the younger with a soft smile as he moved his laptop to the side table. 

Flopping over, Changbin whined softly, laying his head on the elder's lap. “It's not fair,” the fighter pouted, “I wanted to go to Bang! Pow! Zap!”

“Well, maybe next time you and Sungie get the bright idea to carry out a faulty-because-you-didn't-verify-your-info, unsanctioned reconnaissance without telling anyone where you're going, you'll remember this and won't do it again.” Jungeun-hyung said, brushing the bangs from the fighter's forehead.

Changbin huffed an annoyed breath, then looked up at his hyung with a bit of a saucy grin. “Being here with you isn't really a punishment, hyung.”

Jungeun-hyung smiled. “I'm really glad to hear that, sweetheart. But you do understand why your hyung made you come here, don't you?”

“Ugh,” Changbin whined as he rolled his eyes, “you're not supposed to sound like a hyung, hyung.”

Jungeun-hyung chuckled. “I'm sorry, baby. Every once in a while I have to be the hyung my boys remember, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Changbin huffed, letting out an annoyed breath, “Channie-hyung said that we aren't allowed to go on missions like that, especially not alone. He'd warned us not to pull any more dangerous stunts and we did. So we don't get to go to Bang! Pow! Zap! with the others.” Changbin answered, pout still firmly in place. 

Jungeun-hyung gave the boy one of his infamous looks. “Yeah, kiddo. Direct disobedience to do something so unnecessarily dangerous, is an absolute no go. You should talk to Joong-hyung and ask him about the Lim Gyuri Deal. Let him tell you how much I didn't appreciate him putting himself in danger for no reason.”

“Hyyung!” Changbin whined at the soft scolding, “Minho-hyung and Sungie went by themselves for Dr. Telerhk! And Seungmin is always doing things by himself. We didn't even get hurt yesterday!”

Jungeun straightened, looking down at Changbin much more sternly. “For which I'm extremely grateful, Seo Changbin,” he said, his tone harder than normal, “but the fact is you shouldn't have done it in the first place, and that you could've gotten hurt. For no reason. And you know that the others got in trouble the same way you boys did, when they went off the rails. And for what? Bin-ah, after all that, what did you two manage to accomplish, hmm?”

Lower lip still in an impressive pout, Changbin huffed once more, holding Jungeun's eye longer than most of his other grand-dongsaengs could. When he finally looked away, it was to mumble a fairly sulky response. “Nothing. Nam Sachi wasn't who we thought she was and the power plant wasn't a safe place to try to carry out reconnaissance.”

Jungeun-hyung poked him in the belly. “And now you're here, instead of at the new arcade that Young-ah is forever talking about, hmmm?”

Changbin shifted up a bit, leaning more against the older man's side than being in his lap. “It's not fair.” 

“It's very fair, honey. And like I said, maybe you and Jisungie will think harder and smarter next time, yeah?”

“That's what Chan-hyung said,” Changbin muttered, picking at the SHINE lettering on Jungeun-hyung's sweatpants, “but Wooyoung and I have been planning to go there for ages. Hyung could've found something else to take away.”

“There will be other days for the arcade. You and Sungie need this, even if you don't think you do.”

“That doesn't even make sense,” Changbin grumbled, laying down on the couch and throwing his legs over Jungeun-hyung's lap, “I need to go. Jongho-yah said he can beat me at Rhythm and Rhyme and that's so not true.”

Chuckling, Jungeun-hyung patted the boy's knees. “Trust me, Bin-ah. Your hyung knows what he's doing-” 

“Can I come out now?” Jisung's voice called from the hallway, “I'm bored out of my mind, hyung! Please?”

“Are you going to behave, baby? No more nonsense? No more tantrums?”

“I didn't throw a tantrum!” Jisung cried, tone just this side of respectable. Jungeun was pretty sure he heard the boy's foot slam into the floor. 

“You did, Sungie,” Changbin said before Jungeun-hyung had a chance, “quit being a brat. I'm bored too and I wanna watch a movie. If we're stuck here with Geun-hyung, we should at least get to watch Black Panther, right?”

Footsteps sounded in the hall, Jisung coming closer. “Will Channie-hyung be ok with us watching Black Panther? That's kind of like a reward, isn't it?” the boy asked, sounding decidedly sniffly.

“Chan-hyung isn't here,” Changbin said, wiggling his feet in an attempt to keep them away from his hyung's tickling fingers, “and Geun-hyung won't stop us, will you?” 

Jisung was in the doorway to the living room now, watching Jungeun-hyung with wide eyes. 

The man looked from Changbin, who was grinning knowingly, back to Jisung and his big hopeful eyes. “Aish. Come here you,” he said, waving Jisung close, “Bin-ah, find the movie, yeah?”

Changbin nodded, reaching for the remote as Jisung ran across the living room and landed in Jungeun-hyung's lap. The man let out a bit of an oomph but his arms went around the younger and he kissed the side of the boy's head. “Alright, what do you two want for dinner, hm?”

Chapter Text

***

Seonghwa pulled into the parking lot for the Park-Shang Zoo and put Hongjoong's tiny orange car in park. He shut the vehicle off and grabbed his phone. Jungeun-hyung had been texting with him since he'd told the man what happened. Minho had responded only with a short thank you hyung, but Seonghwa hadn't expected anything more from the slightly younger hero. 

“Are you at the Zoo yet? Have you located Felix? Are you both alright?”  Seonghwa could feel Geun-hyung's concern right through the text and, as he often did, he wondered just how he'd wound up with such a wonderful family. He was more than a little grateful.

He sent a reply, telling his hyung that he was there, he'd have Felix call him as soon as he found him, and yes, that he was alright. They both knew it was unlikely that Felix would answer the phone right now. Honestly, that he'd called Seonghwa at all was rather surprising. 

He sent a quick update text to Minho as well, got out of the car and headed for the front of the Zoo. There was, of course, the small matter of getting inside the locked gates, but Seonghwa had been training with a rather oversized family of Superheros, for many months now. 

He could figure it out. 

***

Fifteen minutes later, his phone rang as he rounded the corner of the lion's enclosure. “Hello?”

“Hyung? Are you close? I hear something and I don't know-”

“It's probably me, Lix-ah. I just passed the lion enclosure, do you know what animals you're near?” Seonghwa asked, aiming the small flashlight he'd brought with him along the path in front of him. 

“I dooon't!” Felix wailed, Seonghwa wincing at the high pitched wail, “Hyyyuuung, where are you?!”

“Felix, I need you to calm down. Hyung's almost there.” Seonghwa made himself sound much sterner than he felt, wanting nothing more than to wrap the boy up in a tight hug. “Look around you and tell Hyung what you see.”

The boy sniffled. “It's dark out,” he whined softly, so obviously pouting that Seonghwa had to stifle a snort, “I don't know what's- hyung, is that you?!”

Aiming the small flashlight towards the only logical direction Felix could be, he was just able to make out something in the shadows. Taking a few steps further, he spoke into the phone. “Do you see me, honey?”  

“Hyung?!” Felix cried, the words accompanied by a small sob, “hyung!” 

Seonghwa hung up and stuffed the phone in his pocket, opening his arms wide. “C'mere, baby.” he called.

The teenager ran across the open space between them, slamming into him with such force, Seonghwa stumbled back a few steps. He wrapped his arms tightly around the younger, hugging him fiercely. 

Despite trying rather hard not to be, he had been fairly concerned, and to have his dongsaeng-nephew in his arms, safe, was more than a little relieving. 

“Thank the heavens you're all right, honey. You had me very worried.”

**†**

Jisung crept along the side of the building, trailing far enough behind his hyungs that he was fairly certain they didn't know he was there. 

Which was rather frustrating, because, well…because he wanted them to know he was there. 

Why didn't they know? 

He'd been following them for nearly forty minutes, and Chan-hyung should've noticed him by now. 

He was a superhero after all. So was Joong-hyung.

It was dark and scary out here. He really didn't like dark and scary places. And Chan-hyung knew that! He should know that Jisung was out here and that he was scared and that he needed Chan-hyung! 

And…and it didn't matter that he wasn't supposed to be here. 

Sure, he knew they were chasing a criminal through the Park-Dong District, and he knew the guy had stolen important paperwork from one of the legitimate research facilities in the city, and he knew that his hyungs were rather busy. 

But Chan-hyung should know he was there, without him actually having to tell Chan-hyung he was there.

The man had super hearing, for crying out-

A metallic clinking noise just ahead of him froze Jisung in his tracks. 

“The next one's going to hurt.” 

That was Hongjoong-hyung's voice. Hard and cold…and scary. And it was not how he'd expected to have either of his hyungs find him.

Jisung swallowed the whimper that rose in his throat. He took two tentative steps forward, then dropped to his knees when he heard the pinging sound of metal on metal again. 

“Hyungs?” he whispered, wrapping his arms around himself, “Channie-hyung?”

Within seconds Jisung heard a very light shuffling noise, and a figure stepped out of the shadows in front of him. 

But when the figure let out what sounded like a growl, Jisung shivered. Not Channie-hyung then.

Hongjoong-hyung.

And, he couldn't help it. Without too much forethought, he sent some emotion bending feels into the semi-darkness in front of him. Well maybe he could help it. But he didn't. Joong-hyung was upset, and maybe he wanted to try to calm him down. Just a little. 

“Han Jisung, step out right this minute.” 

Jisung cringed, but clambered to his feet as he'd been told. He could barely see his hyung, but he stepped closer to the general area where Hongjoong-hyung was. “Hi…uh, hi, hyung. Funny meeting you here.”

Another sound left Hongjoong-hyung and Jisung’s eyes widened as the elder moved towards him. 

“Are you alright?” Hongjoong-hyung asked a moment later, reaching out to grab Jisung’s shoulder and pull him close. His voice sounded a tiny bit less growly, and Jisung had to blink back sudden tears.

“Han Jisung! Are you alright?” his hyung asked again, lightly shaking the shoulder he held.

“Y-yes, hyung.” Jisung said, “I'm.. I'm ok.”.

Hongjoong-hyung let out a relieved sigh, and then frowned, Jisung's stomach dropping to his toes. “You almost weren't, you absolute menace. I almost took you out with one of my stars. What in heaven's name are you doing here?!”

Jisung sniffled, unable to answer, and Hongjoong huffed softly before using the hold he had on Jisung's shoulder to tug him close. He wrapped him in a fierce hug, rubbing up and down Jisung's back with a small but strong hand. 

It wasn't Channie-hyung, but it was pretty close, and Jisung buried his face in the man's shoulder, letting out a sob. “I'm sorry, hyung. I'm so sorry.”

Hongjoong-hyung pulled away a bit and kissed his forehead. “You'll be sorrier when Chan-hyung finds out you're here,” the elder said, ignoring Jisung's tiny gasp, “where are the others? You didn't come alone, did you?”

And suddenly Jisung remembered.

“FELIX!”

Chapter Text

*****

This is a running list of the powers I currently have bestowed on our favorite superheroes, along with the ones I am still debating, the ones that are in the works and the ones I have absolutely no idea as of yet. 

I will be continually updating this chapter as things fall into place and I figure out the powers/skills that the rest of them have. 

As previously mentioned, suggestions or ideas are always welcome.

Also, yes, I'm aware that I'm being rather silly in my explanations. I hope they make you chuckle like they made me chuckle. 😂📝

Big thanks to mosaic _vine for requesting this list!!

Chan's Boys-

Chan - Turns into a wolf. Extra strong in this form and in either form has super sensitive eyesight and hearing/senses. Carries a Bo Staff for some missions.

Minho - His entire body is elastic-y/stretchy. And if you listen to what he tells Chan-hyung fairly regularly, he's part cat. As most of us now know....he truly is. ♥️📝 He has tiny, sharp claws in his fingertips. 😉🐈 

Changbin - Has *super*- super strength. Is extremely strong without really trying to be and it actually can be a bit of a hindrance.

Hyunjin - Can create force fields. Most are small, but he's working on it. Is also a bit of an inventor. Most of his ideas work, they're just quirky.

Jisung - Can manipulate other people's emotions. He's really quite good at it. He didn't know he had it, until after Chan realized it was a power and not just, you know, the power of cuteness/puppy dog eyes that was making people bend to Jisung's desires, lol. 

Felix - Is a shapeshifter. But he can only shapeshift into things he is looking at/can see and only animals and inanimate objects. It sometimes happens without him meaning to do it, like when he's startled or nervous.

Seungmin - Can become invisible. He's also a fairly good crime fighter. He doesn't need any assistance, he works alone! 

Until Chan.

Innie - Is an extremely well trained ninja. Who also happens to be a bit on the clutzy side. 

Hongjoong's Boys - 

Hongjoong - Did you read the Winds of Change?  Hongjoong has the ability to both manipulate wind and create blasts of wind.

Seonghwa - He's a shapeshifter of sorts, he can change his entire being to look like other people. (But not objects. Not sure about animals yet)

Yunho - He's a telepath. He's still learning how to use his skill. You know, for more important things than trying to convince random strangers to buy him food. He can also read minds, a little bit? Not majorly invasive. HJ doesn't let him do so with family. 

Yeosang - He's a flyer. He's good at what he does, though he's struggled with fears about it on occasion. Well, we thought it was about his power, but it was really about something else, wasn't it? 😉📝♥️ He's not allowed to carry anyone currently, but that's Wooyoung's fault, obviously. We also now know - if you've read all the way through, that his hair changes color annnnd that he's an alien from Cyrgil. 

San - He's a phaser. He can walk straight through walls and cars and whatnot. He's only recently found out about his power and he is still learning about it. 

Mingi - He's a flamethrower. He can make flaming fireballs of all different shapes and sizes, with his hands. He also can make anime eyes, but currently has little to no control over when they start doing their thing. Doesn't stop him from attempting to use them to make extra special, extra adorable maknae like puppy eyes if he needs them. ;)

Wooyoung - He glows! That's basically it. Ha! He can light up a room like a Christmas tree and it has proven itself a fairly useful power on numerous occasions. He's learning to light up single parts of his body at a time. Thanks, San. 

His type of power would be considered 'substandard' or not 'really' a power, by certain members of society. Wooyoung, however, DOES NOT CARE. 😅 And his family -all of them- don't care either. 

Jongho - He teleports. He has no problem teleporting, in and of itself, buuuut landing in the correct place…well that's harder than it seems. And he's not supposed to teleport anyone with him, because it's bad enough when one person winds up in…you know, the ocean, never mind two.

Jin’s Boys -

Jin - He can jump crazy high/far. He's got serious skills and has the distance/height of where/how to go, down to an exact science. 

Yoongi - Healing powers - can heal cuts, bruises, small injuries, colds. Nothing bigger than that. (At least not yet) And had a basic ability to tell what's wrong with someone, sickness wise.

Hoseok - I know, but I'm not telling yet. There's a story coming shortly. It's mentioned very briefly in 'Kettle of Fish'. ;)

Namjoon - he can sense/knows other people's powers. It's a big responsibility, something of that caliber, yeah? Interesting that, hmm? 

Jimin - A big THANK YOU to ScoutSugaKookie, Jimin has a power!! 🎉 But I can't tell you what it is quite yet. Should be revealed whenever I get around to finishing the second chapter of 'Kettle of Fish'. 

Taehyung - He has powers similar to X-Men's Rogue. Though his do not practically kill the other person. lt's more a borrowing of their power and it's a limited time deal. 😅 ⏰  Freebie reveal! Not sure why I told you when I haven't done his story yet, lol.

Jungkook - He can talk to animals! Animals of all shapes, sizes and kinds! He's not the best at knowing when he *should* and *should not* though, and it causes some interesting and unusual problems. 

Sangyeon's Boys - 

Sangyeon - He has super speed! I haven't delved too much into the ins and outs of his power yet, but I do know he also carries a bow and arrows.

Jacob - I have yet to settle on a power for Jacob. 

Younghoon - He is a bit like Hawkeye..? He's a skilled marksman and has been teaching a handful of the others aiming skills. I'm not actually sure if he has a technically ‘named’ power yet…

Hyunjae - Currently unknown

Juyeon - No Ideas

Kevin - He has a skill/power that has to do with aiming. Little fuzzy on the details currently. 

New - He is able to multiply himself/create hologram versions of himself.

Q - He is a vampire. Quite possibly related to the most important, well known vampire in the world. No, it's not Dracula. Please, get your head out of the fairytales. 

Claudius Klar. Obviously. Yeah, you've never heard of him, but you're not a vampire, so…. That's your issue. 

Juhaknyeon - It's a mystery - but it's becoming clearer....

SunWoo - He's an ice maker. He's got some seriously artistic abilities with ice. He came to be with Sangyeon fairly late, possibly one of the last one or two kids that Yeon-hyung took in. 

Eric - Tae-Kwon-Do-Break-Dance Style Fighter. Yes, I'm serious. 

Gunil's Boys - 

Gunil -  He's a glider/can defy gravity for short periods of time.

Jungsu - Jungsu has super hearing!! 

Gaon -  Our lovely cotton candy haired Gaon is half ghost! Have you read Give Up the Ghost? 😉👻📝

O. De -  He's a sea monster/human. Think....Luca, if you've seen it, as that's literally where the idea came from. O. De has some other things going on, we'll learn them together as we go though, yeah? 

Jun Han - Our Jun Han is a super mathematician genius! And he's super smart alecky when he wants to be. So much to reveal. So little time to write it all. 

Jooyeon - Our maknae of alllll the maknaes, creates force blasts with his hands. Aiming is something he struggles with.

Chapter Text

~Hair Raising~

*****

“Sangie-hyung! You won't believe what I -” Jongho flung open the door to his hyung's room and stopped short.

Yeosang-hyung stood in front of the large floor length mirror that Yunho-hyung had brought home some weeks earlier - Jongho hadn't bothered to ask why, running a hand through his hair. 

His brother turned quickly, the hand that had been running through his hair, suddenly frozen in place. 

Frozen in place in his purple, orange, then blue hair. 

Jongho blinked twice. 

Yeosang-hyung's red, green and then yellow hair. 

“Hyung?” Jongho whispered, moving across the floor. He stopped next to Yeosang-hyung, who moved his hand from his hair and gave Jongho a sideways grin. 

“Maknae-yah?” 

Jongho’s eyes got even bigger as Yeosang-hyung's hair went white, then pink and finally, a shimmery shade of gold. 

Yeosang-hyung didn't say anything and Jongho couldn't help it. He reached up to gently touch his hyungs's hair. “Hyung! Your hair…what is…how did you…do hyungs know?!”

Yeosang-hyung shook his head. “No, maknae-yah.”

Jongho blinked again, giant puppy dog eyes staring at the now golden haired flyer.

“But why? I thought you just dyed it…-" Jongho started, and then his mouth dropped open, "Sangie-hyung! Joong-hyung thinks that too, and he says we're supposed to tell them-”

Yeosang-hyung held a finger up to his lips. “It's a secret, Jongho-yah. Can you keep a secret?”

No one had ever asked him to keep a secret before! Jongho nodded rather wildly, bouncing a bit on the tips of his toes. “Yes! Yes, Sangie-hyung, I can!”

Chapter Text

***

Yunho sat at the table, eating hotteok and scrolling through his phone, when Jongho came storming into the kitchen and threw himself down in a chair. 

“I just can't do it!” the maknae wailed, dropping his head down on his folded arms. 

Blinking in confusion, Yunho waited a moment, expecting one of their hyungs to follow the baby in. They'd both been working with Jongho lately, for different things. 

But they didn't come. 

“Jongho-yah?” Yunho reached out and patted Jongho's arm, “what's wrong?”

Jongho mumble-wailed something into his arms, but Yunho couldn't make out what it was. 

“I have no idea what you just said, maknae.” Yunho scooted his chair closer and ran a hand through the younger's hair. “Can you tell hyung what's wrong?”

Jongho shook his head, sniffling, then turned his head just a bit to look at Yunho. “I caaaan't dooo iiit!”

Yunho waited but when Jongho didn't say anything more, he gently scratched the younger's head. “Can't do what, baby?”

Jongho glared, his teary eyes softening the effect. “I'm not a baby, hyung.” 

Swallowing a chuckle, Yunho shook his head. “Of course not, maknae-yah. But I still don't know what's wrong.”

“I keep…it just won't…and I did,” Jongho sniffled, rubbing his nose on his shirt sleeve, “but it never works!” The teen's voice rose to a wail and Yunho winced. 

“Easy, buddy. I don't even know what you're talking about.” Yunho moved his chair so they were side by side, and put his arm over the younger's shoulders. “What were you doing?”

Jongho took a couple deep breaths. “I....I was on the roof,” he mumbled after a moment, his eyes flicking down the hallway, then back to Yunho, “practicing.” 

The last word was nearly impossible to hear and Yunho frowned in confusion.

“What?” Yunho asked, brushing Jongho's bangs from his forehead, “say that again.”

Groaning, Jongho shook his head. “Hyyuuung,” he whined, “you know what I do up there.”

Yunho nodded. He did. But Jongho wasn't supposed to be practicing by himself. “Where are hyungs?” he asked, poking the maknae's cheek.

Jongho's eyes widened to puppy dog size within seconds. “Seonghwa-hyung went to the market,” he whispered, eyes flicking down the hall again, “and Hongjoong-hyung was taking a shower.”

Nodding, Yunho moved his hand from Jongho's head, to his back, trailing his fingers up and down his brother's sweatshirt. “Maknae-yah, what happened?”

“I tried to teleport into the apartment. Just into the apartment, hyung! I tried so many times and I just couldn't do it! I'm never going to be able to dooo iiiit!” Jongho cried, dropping his head back on his folded arms with a sob.

Yunho tried to frown. Jongho really shouldn't be practicing without hyung's help. He always wound up in the wrong places, though they were generally not far away from where he was trying to land.

And their hyungs were always saying they should support each other. Torn, Yunho began to rub his brother's back once more, the younger sniffling rather loudly. Yunho swiped his phone screen with his free hand, doing a quick search for sayings of encouragement. He was still pretty new to this whole big brother thing and the Internet was always a wealth of info.

Skimming the first one that popped up, he shook Jongho a bit with the hand on his back. “Jongho, baby! Listen. Listen!” Yunho said, glancing at his phone again, “you'll always fail if you keep trying!” he exclaimed hurriedly.  

Jongho turned his head to peek at Yunho, his eyes wide and hurt and filled with fresh tears.

Startled, his intention was to make Jongho feel better, not cry harder, Yunho looked at his phone once more. 

Oh no. No, no, no, no. 

Jongho let out a much bigger sob, and tears began tracking down his cheeks. 

“Jongho, I'm sorry .. What I meant, that's not -” Yunho stuttered, grabbing his phone and wiping the screen free of hotteok crumbs, “I meant…you'll always fail if you don't keep trying! If you don't! Are you listening?! I'm sorry!” Yunho grabbed Jongho's hand, tugging it free from under his head and patting it. “Jongho?”

The tears had begun to race down Jongho's cheeks, again the opposite of what Yunho had been aiming for, the younger boy sucking in sob after sob. 

And Yunho didn't know what to do. Jongho was sad and upset and he didn't know what to do about the tears, at all. So he did the only thing that made sense in the moment. 

“HONGJOONG-HYUNG!!”

Chapter Text

***1***

San glared at the textbook. Then he glared towards the front door where Hongjoong-hyung had left a bit ago for a meeting with some other heros. He couldn't glare at his hyung. He wouldn't. He wasn't dumb.

Even if he thought finishing the one subject he absolutely hated, was dumb. He could graduate without it, the school had even told Hongjoong-hyung he didn't have to finish it. 

But his hyung had said something about finishing what you started. And getting all the knowledge you could, and some other nonsense he'd only half listened too. 

Groaning, he dropped his head onto the textbook. Osmosis, that was a thing right? If he laid here long enough, the knowledge would just feed into his brain all by itself? 

He'd been laying there for a little bit, his head on the book, tracing lines on the table with his fingers, when he heard someone enter the kitchen. 

“You know osmosis doesn't actually work, right?” Yeosang-hyung asked from somewhere above him, “and hyung's not going to like you just sitting there.”

“Go away,” San whined, waving a hand in the flyer’s direction. 

“C'mon, Sannie. It's not that hard,” Yeosang-hyung said, pulling out the chair next to him and sitting down. He tugged the book from under San's head and began to skim the page. “Where's the workbook?”

“Huh?”

“The workbook, Sannie. That goes with this textbook.”

Oh right. There were two books for this class. He pointed at his bookbag on the floor. 

Yeosang-hyung leaned down and rummaged through the bag. “Got it,” he said a moment later, setting it on the table. 

San heard him flipping through pages, but he didn't pick his head up from the table and he kept his eyes closed, hoping his hyung would just go away if he didn't interact. 

“San?”

“Mmm?”

“San,” Yeosang-hyung's voice was…stern. And that wasn't like their flyer at all.

Opening his eyes, San found Yeosang-hyung staring at him. “Hyungie?” he whispered, slightly nervous now. 

“You have a project due tomorrow. Tomorrow, Choi San. Did you read any of this?”

San’s head snapped up and he grabbed the books from Yeosang-hyung. He read part of the chapter in the textbook and then the workbook. It wasn't possible that he'd wasted two entire weeks, was it? How had he missed this?! 

Hongjoong-hyung was going to kill him. It was one thing to dawdle and take until the last possible moment to finish an assignment. It was another thing to waste a couple weeks worth of time and have nothing to show for it. 

He glanced towards the door again, willing it to stay shut, then he looked at Yeosang-hyung. “I don't know…I didn't, but I don't know how I missed the project-” San trailed off, flipping through the pages again. 

“What do I do?” he whispered. He could feel the panic rising and Yeosang-hyung must've seen it too, because his hyung patted his head and turned towards the hall.

“SEONGHWA-HYUNG!!”

***2***

Seungmin raced towards the elevator, then veered at the last moment, heading for the stairs at the back of the hall instead.

He grabbed the door handle and turned it, shoving with all his might. The door flew open and he almost stumbled in his hurry to get inside the stairwell. 

He flashed invisible, bolting up the stairs with every last bit of energy that he had. On the third floor, he ran for the elevator, punching the up button with such force his fingers hurt. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for the doors to open. Did it always take this long?! 

He looked back towards the stairwell and let out a breath. Nothing. Good. 

The elevator dinged and he squeezed through the doors before they'd even opened all the way, smashing the eight button as soon as he was inside, then held his breath as he waited for the doors to close.

Once they did, Seungmin flashed back, taking a few deep breaths. He was almost home and that thing wasn't behind him. 

He was mostly positive anyway. 

The elevator dinged again and the doors opened. He peered into the hallway, looking back and forth a few times before stepping out. He flashed invisible again, just to be safe, though invisibility had only somewhat helped him today, and ran down the hall. 

He could see their apartment door now and he raced the last few feet, skidding to a stop and typing the passcode in with only slightly shaking fingers. 

And that's when he heard it. 

The hissing, Darth Vader-esq noise of the tiny, flying, scary for its size, alien-villain that had been chasing him for nearly an hour.

Seungmin looked over his shoulder, and let out a startled meep. It was right behind him. How did the thing know where he was, when he was invisible?!

Had the door unlocked? There was no time to wonder and he shoved the door open, scurrying inside and slamming it behind him. 

But instead of the sound going away, it got louder and as Seungmin turned again, he watched in horror as the alien came right through the door. 

It reached for him, even though he was still invisible, and in that moment, Seungmin didn't care about the hundreds of times he had told everyone that he didn't need anyone. Didn't care what his brothers would say, or who teased him or for how long.

In that moment, there was only one thing he wanted. 

“CHANNIE-HYUNG!!”

***3***

“What is going on here?!” Yunho stepped into the kitchen, looking between the two teenagers suspiciously.

A stifled sob from Mingi.

A wide eyed look from Wooyoung.

“Answer your hyung.” Yunho said, trying to make sense of what was happening in front of him.

“I didn't mean too!” Wooyoung exclaimed, fiddling with something small in his hands.

“Yes, you did!” Mingi snapped back, tears filling his eyes as he gave his arm a tug and it didn't move. 

Wooyoung stepped away from the table, looking semi wildly over his shoulder, the container dropping from his hands. 

“Don't you dare, Jung Wooyoung,” Yunho said darkly. “Mingi-yah, are you alright?”

“Hyung, I'm stuck!” His third youngest dongsaeng cried. 

“I can see that, buddy. Are you alright, other than that?” Yunho asked, watching Wooyoung from the corner of his eye.

“It hurts if I move,” Mingi whimpered, lower lip jutting out. 

“Maybe don't move then?” Wooyoung muttered, rolling his eyes.

Yunho turned an absolutely fierce look on Wooyoung, then sucked in and let out a deep breath. 

“Mingi-yah, hyung will fix it, yeah?”

“But how?! My arm is glued to the table!” Mingi wailed.

Wooyoung snickered softly, covering it behind a hand when Yunho glared at him again. Yunho moved forward and carded his hand through Mingi's hair. “Hyung knows. It's alright, baby.”

“He's such a baby. It's only a little bit stuck.” Wooyoung said sullenly, crossing his arms.

“You,” Yunho nearly snarled, with a point at their Nightlight, “sit.” 

Wooyoung wisely dropped into the seat closest to him and Yunho turned towards the hallway. 

“HONGJOONG-HYUNG!!”

Chapter Text

~Hairy Situation~

****

Jongho was still on cloud nine (Yeosang didn't understand why Seonghwa-hyung said that. Cloud 9 wasn't any different from any other cloud) as he left the room, and Yeosang let out a heavy sigh. 

He hadn't told Jongho the full truth, of course. That would've been disastrous.

But he'd had to tell him something. Something that wouldn't be the end when Jongho inevitably spilled…now how did that one go? San had just used it the other day, when Jongho almost told Wooyoung what they were getting him for his birthday.

Spilled the beans. 

Yeosang shook his head. It was another one of those nonsense statements that he didn't understand. Similar to needle in a haystack. Yunho-hyung had told Hongjoong-hyung that, when they were trying to find his cell phone. 

Why would anyone be sewing in a field of hay? 

Yeosang grabbed the brush from his nightstand and ran it through his hair. His red, then white, then green hair. 

If anyone found out the truth…..if any of the others….they'd tell. He knew they would. It was a rule after all. And Yeosang wasn't sure he could handle having no place to-

Yeosang threw the brush on the bed and watched it bounce. 

If Jongho told one of the others that Yeosang’s hair changed on its own, due to unknown reasons from his past, no one would be too upset. 

Because they couldn't know the real reason. Hongjoong-hyung couldn't know the real reason. His color changing hair would be the least of his problems. 

He looked in the mirror again, contemplating. He ran a hand through his hair. His blue, then pink, then back to shimmery gold hair.

He looked pretty good in gold. 

But all that glitters isn't gold.

Jungeun-hyung had said that in a discussion with Hongjoong-hyung over the merit of some SHINE related program. 

And Yeosang sure wasn't good as gold either, like Seonghwa-hyung had once said Mingi was. 

Liars couldn't be. 

Chapter Text

~Split Hairs~

*****

                       -Two days later-

“C'mon, hyungs! I want to play the game! You guys have been playing for ages!” Jongho sat on the couch and flopped over with a huff. “Joong-hyung says we're supposed to share!”

“This is my game, maknae. I don't have to share anything that's mine,” Wooyoung said without even looking at Jongho at all. 

Mean. 

Mingi shot him a sympathetic look. “It is his game, baby,” the flamethrower whispered, “do you want to play a game with me later?”

“The TV isn't his,” Jongho muttered, “it doesn't matter what the game is. I'm gonna tell Seonghwa-hyung if you don't let me play!”

Slamming the pause button so quickly it caused Mingi to yelp, Wooyoung turned to glare at Jongho. “You yell for hyung and I'll tell him I know where those missing Lego pieces went.”

Mingi gasped. Seonghwa-hyung had been beside himself when the last handful of pieces from his newest Lego set went missing. It didn't make sense that Jongho knew where they'd gone, but the look on the maknae's face said he did.

“Young-ah, just let Jongho play a round, huh? He can play my character.” Mingi, ever the peacemaker, scooted backwards across the floor, holding out his controller to a rather grumpy looking Jongho.

Jongho sat up and crossed his arms, his look mutinous. He refused to take the controller, glaring at the back of Wooyoung's head. “If you don't let me play, I'm going to .. I'm going to..” their teleporter frowned, then jumped to his feet. “I know something you don't know!”

Wooyoung snorted. “What does that have to do with anything? I still don't need to let you play.”

“But, it's about Sangie-hyung!!” Jongho cried, then slapped a hand across his mouth, falling back onto the couch.

“What do you mean?” Mingi asked, setting his controller down and moving to sit next to Jongho, “is hyung ok?”

His hand still over his mouth, Jongho nodded, eyes wide. 

“Well, what is it, maknae-yah? What's the big secret?” Wooyoung asked, tossing his controller on the floor next to him. He leaned back on his hands to glare at Jongho when the younger didn't answer. “I don't think you know anything. You just want to weasel your way into playing my game!”

Looking like he'd been slapped, Jongho's hand fell from his mouth. “That's not true! I do know something! Sangie-hyung’s hair changes color, all by itself!”

Chapter Text

~Hair Trigger~

*****

Yeosang stared at Jongho, Wooyoung and Mingi. The three had come barging into his room seconds before, Jongho nearly in tears, babbling something about ‘no one ever believing him’, while Wooyoung smirked and Mingi looked on worriedly. 

It didn't take much to figure out what had happened. Leave it to the baby to have told almost the entirety of the maknae line the secret he'd told Yeosang - two days ago - that he could ‘totally’ keep. 

“Hyung, tell them!” Jongho pleaded, grabbing his arm and looking at Yeosang with a wide eyed innocence that the flyer didn't believe for a second. He may not have been all that experienced in having little brothers, but he wasn't dumb.

“Tell them what, maknae-yah?” Yeosang asked, trying to keep the rising panic at bay. He should've known the secret wouldn't last. His own or Jongho trying to keep part of it. He tugged his arm from Jongho's grip and crossed his arms like he'd seen Hongjoong-hyung do a million times. 

“About your hair, hyung! They wouldn't let me play - well Mingi-hyung was going to, but Wooyoung-hyung wasn't and he was being mean and I told them I knew something they didn't know and Wooyoung just laughed so I told them about your hair and they think I'm lying! Hyung! I'm not lying, am I?!”

Glancing across the room at the other two, Yeosang could understand why Jongho felt the need to tell. Sorta. Wooyoung had his own arms crossed and was giving Jongho a look that was part cocky and part annoyed, while Mingi stood off to the side, wringing his hands nervously. 

And that's what made him stuff the panic down. Mingi. It wouldn't do for him to go running to hyungs. 

“Mingi-yah, everything’s all right.” he moved towards the younger, taking his hand and pulling him towards the bed, “sit with hyung. You too, Jongho. I'll explain.”

Well. He'd explain some of it. Not everything. Obviously.

Yeosang sat down, gently pulling Mingi to sit next to him. He patted the bed in invitation for Jongho, the younger was hovering around him like. What was it? Oh! Bugs to honey?! Bees!! Like bees to honey! 

Yes! That was it. At least that expression made sense. Jongho bounced onto the bed, sitting cross legged and giving Wooyoung one of those looks Hongjoong-hyung would have told him to wipe off.

“What about me?!” Wooyoung pouted from the doorway, annoyed for another reason now. “I want to know your secret!”

“Thought you didn't think I had one?” Yeosang asked, putting an arm around Mingi's waist and squeezing. 

“How was I supposed to know the baby was telling the truth?! Why do you have secrets anyway? Aren't we supposed to not?” Wooyoung grumped, stomping across the floor and coming to a stop in front of Yeosang.

And Wooyoung wasn't wrong. 

“Seonghwa-hyung says we should always believe the best of people.” Mingi whispered, and Yeosang sucked back a sudden sob. 

Oh. Oh that would be so much worse than Hongjoong-hyung being mad at him for lying. Seonghwa-hyung looking at him, disappointed, for being the kind of person they couldn't believe the best of.

Hot tears filled Yeosang's eyes and he blinked furiously to keep them back. What a mess. A terrible, horrible mess and he should never have come-

“Hyung!” Wooyoung demanded, throwing himself on Yeosang's lap, ”tell us!” 

Chapter Text

****

Jin watched the short, dark brown haired kid weave his way in and out of the normal chaos of the fish market at noon. He and Hobi had only just arrived when he'd spotted the young teen. Something wasn't quite right with the boy, Jin could just tell, but he hadn't pinned down what it was yet.

He turned from watching the slightly ragamuffin kid, to hand his second oldest the neatly wrapped package he'd just purchased. Hobi took it with a grunt, the gangly teen giving him a bit of a pout. The extra hands were a necessity when it came to purchasing -and carrying- enough food for the four of them, but Hobi hated the smell of fish. 

He'd had to leave his oldest at home with his youngest though, not wanting to go through the tears they'd had the previous time the maknae had come with them. His youngest's ability to talk to animals was an absolute unnecessary evil at times. 

Dying fish have no good tales to tell. 

It had been a rather tragic day, one that Jin had no interest in repeating. But his kids really were bottomless pits, nearly eating him out of house and home on a weekly basis. So the trip was also a bit of a necessary evil.

And sure, Jungeun-hyung had warned him. 

His hyung had told him the moment he'd brought Yoongi home, eight months ago now. He'd told him, that bitter cold night just before Christmas, when he'd pulled Yoongi from the nearly frozen waters of Lake Tsencha, about dongsaengs and family and love, and how being a hyung was the very best. Told him everything Jin already knew, because he had the best hyung on the face of the planet. 

And Jin knew it wasn't going to be easy. He knew when he'd been rubbing Yoongi dry with a thick towel straight from the dryer. Knew it while he'd stuffed the protesting teenager full of tea and cookies that Jungeun-hyung had brought over. Knew it when he snuggled the curly haired blonde on the couch in his newly rented apartment.

And then Jungeun-hyung had warned him - with a soft grin and a hug so fierce Jin had felt it down deep in his bones. “Stock up, sweetheart. You're gonna need it.”

And that was why, barely a week after the now infamous Perch Perils and Sappy Salmon stories, they were back again. 

Maknae-less.

“Hyung?” Hobi was tapping him on the shoulder, “hyung, this is gross, can't you take it?”

Unable to hold back the chuckle that bubbled up at the look on his dongsaeng's face, Jin nodded. “Give it to hyung, baby.”

Hobi rolled his eyes as he handed it over. “The baby's at home, hyung.”

“You're all my babies,” Jin said, ruffling the teen's hair, “come on, I need to grab a few other things. How does maeuntang sound?”

Nodding eagerly, Hobi followed Jin across the crowded market.

**

Half an hour later, they headed back towards the car, Jin carrying all but a small bag of kimbap that Hobi had found in and amongst the hundreds of fish vendors.

“Hyung?” Hobi asked, as Jin unlocked the car, “are you going to ask him or should I?”

“What?” Jin opened the trunk and set his packages down. “Ask who?”

The teen huffed and crossed his arms. “Hyung, you've been watching that kid since we got here. I bet he's hungry, that's why-”

“Come back here!”

The angry shout from across the lot had Hobi jumping in surprise, the ground rumbling for just a second. Jin closed the trunk quickly and turned, blinking at the scene across the way.

Dashing across the parking area, a bulk of a man chasing behind him, was the brown haired teenager. 

“Hobi, in, right now!” Jin ordered, pointing at the car. The startled boy did so, and Jin shot across the pavement, covering nearly the entire space with only a few jumps.

He landed a few feet in front of the brown haired teen, snagged the boy around the waist and, holding him tight, jumped back the way he'd come, leaving the irate man behind. 

“Get in the car!” Jin said, as he set the teenager next to the back door. He didn't wait to see if the kid obeyed, quickly moving to the front. Grateful that his dongsaeng had the foresight to start the vehicle, he was putting it in gear only seconds after he heard the back door open and close. 

There'd be time for questions and explanations later. 

**

“Hyung?” Hobi whispered when they'd been on the road for a bit, “should I call Jungeun-hyung?”

Jin glanced back at the younger teen, the boy staring out the window, and nodded. “Why don't you text him. Just let him know we need him to come to the apartment, alright? Text Yoongi for me too, ok?”

“Yes, hyung,” the boy said. He pulled the phone from his pocket, texting quickly. Hobi set the phone down a moment later, and tapped Jin’s thigh. “Hyung, can we- Jin-hyung, can you get me something to eat? I'm hungry and I haven't eaten since breakfast.”

Confused, he'd definitely gotten Hobi something to eat while they were at the market and it was barely after lunchtime now, Jin was about to say no, when his second oldest tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the back of the vehicle.

Ah. Talk about earth shifting moments. There was a reason they called Hobi their sunshine.

“Right, Hob-a. We'll run through McDonald's,” Jin agreed, “there's one just up here a bit.”

When he pulled into the fast food chain a few minutes later, he looked in the rearview. Their new friend was looking back at him, face blank. 

“Do you like McDonald's?” Jin asked, as he pulled into a parking space and looked at the teen again. The kid's face clouded and he didn't answer. 

Just staring.

It was a bit unnerving.

“Do you not like McDonald's?” Jin asked next, putting the car in park and turning in his seat to fully look at the younger.

The boy shrugged.

Looked at Hobi. 

Looked back at Jin.

“Are you buying?"

Chapter Text

~By a Hair's Breath~

*****

“But I don't want to do it again!” Jongho pouted. He crossed his arms and glared - as much as he dared, at Yunho. “I've already done it a hundred times!”

“Six,” San corrected with a giggle, “you've done it six times.” The phaser leaned against the training wall, sucking down a bottle of water.

Jongho glared at him too.

“We train for a reason, maknae,” Yunho said, unbothered by Jongho's maknae-ity. He waved a hand towards the target opposite San. “You know Hyung said for you to practice this today.”

Stomping across the rooftop, Jongho grabbed the small dart gun. “This is so dumb,” he muttered, stepping back and aiming half-heartedly. The dart bounced off the edge of the target, clattering onto the concrete with a ting. 

“Jongho,” Yunho sighed, moving to pick up the dart, “do it properly.”

“I'm a teleporter, not a marksman,” the teen whined, pout growing even bigger, “I don't need to learn this!”

“I bet Younghoon-hyung would tell you otherwise,” San snorted, picking up his own dart gun and waiting for Yunho to move.

“Younghoon-hyung wouldn't be this patient when you're not even trying. Hongjoong-hyung wouldn't either,” Yunho stated rather firmly, handing the dart back to Jongho and gently pushing him out of the way so San could take his turn, “it's not that hard, baby.”

“I'm not a baby!” Jongho whined as San took his shot, “how come other hyungs don't have to practice this?”

“They do. But Mingi and Wooyoung have classes today. They'll practice later. Not sure where Sangie is,” Yunho replied. He pointed to the dart gun. “C'mon, maknae-yah. Just a few more tries, alright?”

Grumbling, Jongho waited for San to collect his dart - it had stuck just to the left of the bullseye, which certainly didn't help Jongho's mood - then he took aim.

This time the dart stuck to the very upper right corner of the target. Way off base but at least it hadn't fallen off, or missed entirely. 

Jongho couldn't help but grin at Yunho, who grinned back and ruffled his hair. 

“I knew you could do it,” Yunho praised, “a few more tries and then we'll take a break.”

***

“No one wants to watch documentaries on The History of Seoul,” Wooyoung whined, sitting on the couch and curling up next to Yunho, “hyung, do we have to watch this?”

“Sangie was in here first, Young-ah,” Yunho said, putting his arm around their Nightlight, “you can watch this for a little bit, then we can find something to watch together.”

Wooyoung thunked his head back against Yunho's shoulder. “Bor-innng. I already went to school today.”

Yeosang shifted on the other side of Yunho. “We can change it, hyung. I know no one likes the stuff I do,” the flyer offered, setting the remote on Yunho's leg.

“No, kiddo. You can finish it,” Yunho said, giving the other teenager back the remote, “it wouldn't be fair.”

“It wouldn't be fair, but it'd be nice,” Wooyoung muttered, yelping when Yunho poked him in the side. 

“Why do you like these shows so much?” San asked, and he sounded truly curious. He sat on the opposite couch, Mingi right next to him. Jongho was laid across their legs, Mingi running a hand through the teleporter's hair. 

Yeosang shrugged. “I guess I like…the history. The past is….interesting…?”

“Kind of like your past, huh Sangie-hyung?” Jongho asked, the secret rolling off his tongue once more, “I mean, if something in my past made my hair change colors, I'd think-”

“Jongho!” Mingi and Wooyoung snapped at nearly the same time, Mingi whacking at the maknae's shoulder.

“Your hair changes colors?” San exclaimed over Jongho's indignant yelp, “like…by itself?”

Chapter Text

~Turn a Hair~

*****

They really needed to tell Hongjoong-hyung.

It had only been three hours and Yunho was feeling guiltier by the absolute minute, and he hadn't even done anything. Hyungs weren't home, so it wasn't like he could actually tell anyone yet, but it just felt wrong.

Because…why keep something like that a secret? 

Especially here, with their hyungs? No one cared a bit about Mingi's anime eyes. It was just part of Mingi. And hair that was able to change color wasn't anywhere near as odd as Mingi's eyes. Really. Those could be super freaky. 

Something wasn't setting well, and Yunho wasn't certain just what it was. But he wanted to talk with Yeosang. Needed too. Alone. And definitely before hyungs got back from having dinner with Jungeun-hyung. 

***

Yeosang startled slightly as Yunho-hyung came into the bedroom without even bothering to knock. His hyung moved across the bedroom, coming to a stop near the bookshelf.

“So, are you just gonna keep lying and hope that no one ever figures anything out?” Yunho-hyung asked, leaning against the desk to his left. 

“Figures what out?” Yeosang asked, eyes darting to the bedroom door and back to Yunho. He shouldn't do that. Questioning a question and then not holding someone's gaze only made him look more suspicious. 

Seonghwa-hyung had told him that before, usually when Yeosang wasn't being truthful about the safety of a recent flight. And the last time he'd done it, the elder had told him he didn't appreciate Yeosang fibbing and then he'd gotten a few unexpected swats for his trouble.

Yeosang was fairly certain the swats had hurt Seonghwa-hyung more than they'd hurt him, but the ‘don't tell Seonghwa-hyung unbelievable nonsense when he's expecting actual answers’ rule was now permanently etched in his brain.

And if the last few days had taught him anything, it was that he didn't understand people at all. No matter how much he thought he did. And now everything was getting away from him. If he had just not forgotten about the-

“Sang-ah? What's going on?”

Yeosang sighed. His brothers were too curious. Curiosity could kill a goat, couldn't it? And that seemed…bad. Wait, no. It could kill a cat, though Yeosang hoped that wasn't a true statement either. Cats were cute. Especially kittens, and he thought-

“Sangie? Talk to me.”

Yunho-hyung was looking at him with one eyebrow raised and he looked so much like Hongjoong-hyung at that moment, it was scary. 

“There's nothing to tell you,” he stuttered out a moment later, stepping back and taking a seat on his bed.

“I don't believe you. Just tell me, kid. It can't be all that bad.”

Oh, it could be. It was.

He shook his head, sniffling softly.

“Yeosang.” 

Groaning in frustration, apparently stubbornness was as natural a human trait as curiosity, Yeosang flopped over sideways, pulling his Superman pillow close so he could wrap his arms tight around it. 

Small comforts. 

“You won't believe me,” he muttered, squeezing the pillow even tighter.

Yunho moved to the bed and sat in front of Yeosang. “Try me, kid.”

Chapter Text

~Tear Your Hair Out~

*****

Yeosang could be stubborn too. Not as stubborn as Jongho or Wooyoung, or even Mingi when he was dead set on something, and certainly not as stubborn as Hongjoong-hyung, but he could do it. 

Probably. 

“Aish,” Yunho whispered after a moment, “there's no need to be so stubborn, kid.”

There was. Yeosang had dug himself a hole he wasn't sure he could get out of, he couldn't stop his body from doing things that were natural for it, there wasn't any way to fix it and everyone was going to hate him-

“Easy, kid.” Yunho-hyung had wrapped his arms around Yeosang and pulled him into a hug, pillow and all. “No one is going to hate you.” 

Had he said that out loud? 

“You've been here the longest, Sangie,” Yunho-hyung continued talking against his hair, “you were Hyung's first kid. There's no way that whatever you're hiding would change how he feels about you.”

“He's gonna be mad.” Yeosang mumbled against Yunho's chest. The elder was wearing one of Jin-hyung's old band sweatshirts, the material worn and almost as soft as his pillow. “We're not supposed to lie.”

Yunho chuckled softly. “Yeah, there is that. But I'm not sure this falls under the kind of lying that Hyung meant when he made the rule.”

Yeosang pulled back and looked at Yunho, confused. “What does that mean?”

Yunho ran a hand through Yeosang’s hair. “Well, I still don't know what you're hiding, kid. Or why. But I'm guessing you had a pretty good reason for not telling hyungs?”

Yeosang shrugged. “I thought so,” He mumbled softly. 

“And it wasn't because you didn't want to get in trouble, right? Or because you did something you weren't supposed to?” 

Thunking his head back against Yunho's chest, Yeosang slowly shook his head. “No. That's not why.”  

“And you didn't lie to their faces when they asked you something?”

Yeosang shook his head. “No, hyung. I've gotten in trouble for that. I won't do that again.”

“Smart kid,” Yunho cheered, grinning at him, “so what's the big secret, Kang Yeosang? Are you hiding a dragon in the attic? Are you related to the Hanzaki Bandit?” Yunho asked. Yeosang giggled despite himself. His hyung let out a mock gasp. “Have you spent time in jail?!”

“Hyung!” Yeosang cried, “I think hyungs would definitely be upset if I didn't tell them I was a criminal.”

“Yeah, good call, kid. So, it's the dragon in the attic, right?”

Giggling again, Yeosang shook his head. “No. Seonghwa-hyung would lose his mind.”

“Good point. No dragon. And you're not related to the Hanzaki Bandit?” Yunho asked, pretending to study Yeosang’s face. 

Yeosang stuck his tongue out and shook his head. “No.” 

“Good thing. That'd be awkward.” Yunho shifted back on the bed, pulling Yeosang tighter against him. “Oh! I've got it! Last guess and then you have to tell me, deal?”

Yeosang sniffled. He supposed he was going to have to tell someone today, and Yunho didn't appear to be planning to kill him. And maybe Yunho would take pity on him and tell hyungs for him. You know, while he hid behind his brother's back like the coward he was. “Ok, hyung,” he agreed, “last guess.”

Yunho shifted him around so he could see his face better. “Alright kid. Here goes,” Yunho snickered softly, winking at him, “are you, Kang Yeosang, an…alien?”

Yeosang’s eyes widened and his breath froze. He blinked at Yunho in utter disbelief, one hand fisting tightly in the sleeve of his brother's shirt. “How did you know?!”

Chapter Text

~Let Your Hair Down~

*****

Yunho didn't know. He had been teasing the younger, trying to get him to lighten up a bit. Yeosang wasn't an alien, that was the craziest-

He'd. Been. Joking. 

Yeosang wasn't hiding a dragon in the attic, he wasn't related to the Hanzaki Bandit, he hadn't spent time in jail and he most certainly was not an alien.

But Yeosang was looking at him all weird and sad and shocked, and Yunho had the strangest feeling that maybe….as unbelievable as it was, that somehow, Yeosang was.

“How did you know?” Yeosang whispered the words again and Yunho realized his brother was shaking. He tightened his hold around the younger and ran a hand up and down Sangie's back. 

An alien.

Sometimes Yunho wished that Hongjoong-hyung hadn't banned him from at least trying to read the family's minds. Times like this. Then he probably would've known months ago what Yeosang was hiding and he could've talked to him about it in much more detail. Figured out a plan and worked through it. Instead of being slapped in the face by it.

“Older brother intuition,” Yunho joked softly, when he realized Yeosang was still waiting for an answer. Then he shook his head. “Just kidding. Sangie, I didn't know. And, I'm still trying to-”

Yeosang huffed and tried to pull out of Yunho's hug. “I knew you wouldn't believe me.”

“Hey!” Yunho pulled the smaller teen back against his chest. “You kind of just dropped the news of the century on me, kid. Give me a couple minutes to process.”

Pouting, Yeosang thunked his head against Yunho's chest again. “It's not the news of the century, hyung,” he muttered with a sniffle.

“Close enough, kid. Hush for a moment.” Yunho squeezed him tight, resting his cheek on his brother's head. 

They had to tell hyungs. Jungeun-hyung too. He knew everything there was to know about…almost anything. And while Yunho was fairly certain that aside from hyungs being understandably upset that Yeosang waited so long to tell them - and not angry-upset, more of a this is important information we should have had from the beginning-upset, he didn't think much would change. 

Everyone loved Yeosang. He was family.

They would need to know where Yeosang was actually from, of course, and oh! Thank the heavens that Sangie hadn't ever gotten really hurt and had to go to the hospital. Assuming that his body wasn't exactly the same as a humans, even a human with powers, that could've been disastrous-

“Why do you call me that?” Yeosang's voice interrupted his thoughts and Yunho smiled softly at the younger. 

“Call you what?” 

“Kid. You don't call anyone else that.”

It was a good question. And honestly, Yunho didn't know. Actually, maybe he did. Yeosang may have been the fourth oldest, but he also had an innocence to him that even Mingi didn't. 

And now Yunho knew why.

“I think,” Yunho said, running his hand through Yeosang's hair, “that you remind me of someone. But mostly, because you're my kid brother, right?”

Yeosang rolled his eyes. “I'm an alien, hyung. I'm not-” the golden haired teen sucked in a shaky breath, “I'm not. And what about the others? They're really your brothers-”

Yunho squeezed Yeosang again, tossing the teen's Superman pillow to the side so he could get a better hold on the younger. 

“They are. And so are you. This doesn't change anything, kid. Just makes us a way cooler family. Wait till Youngie finds out. He's going to hold it over Bin-ah's head forever. Didn't Innie say once that they thought Seungminnie was an alien?” 

Yunho had heard the story one of the first times Chan-hyung's boys spent the night, and he'd heard varying versions of it since. 

A giggle escaped Yeosang and he nodded. “But he's not,” he whispered after a moment, “he's like the rest of you.”

“Mm. I think we need to talk to hyungs, kid. They need to know and they can tell you this doesn't change anything.”

Yeosang stiffened in his hold, then turned abruptly, shoving his face in Yunho's chest. 

“I'm scared, hyung,” he mumbled, and Yunho realized with a start, that Yeosang was crying. 

Like, actually crying. 

Holding him tightly with one hand, Yunho dug around for his phone with the other. He pulled it from his pocket and swiped the screen. 

–Hyung, are you almost home? Something's happened -nothing dangerous and no injuries - but we need you here. –

Hongjoong-hyung's response was almost immediate. 

We'll be there in 15, Yun-ah.

Chapter Text

***

~Bad Hair Day~

Yunho was rubbing Yeosang's back, slow and gentle, when his phone chimed a few minutes later. He swiped the screen and couldn't help but grin at the text from Seonghwa-hyung.

Yun-ah, tell Sangie that Biggie-Hyung says everything is going to be fine. And no, he's not telling you how he knows it involves Yeosang. 

Yunho texted back one handed, while he continued to rub Yeosang's back.

-Tell Geun-hyung that he's right, of course. And that I stand by my theory that he is magic.-

Yunho sent his response, then enlarged Seonghwa-hyung's text and tapped Sangie's back. “Look, kid. From Hwa-hyung.”

Yeosang peeked out to read the text and promptly burst into fresh tears. Yunho couldn't help but kiss the side of the flyer's head. “You're really working yourself up over nothing, kid. We're going to sort it all out.”

“It's not nothing though,” Yeosang cried, “I'm.. I'm not like you. I'm…I'm from another planet!”

“Hush. Let's just see what hyungs say.” Yunho spoke firmly, tucking Yeosang back against his chest, “you're part of our family, kid. That isn't ever going to change.”

Yeosang shook his head, and Yunho let out a soft sigh. It wasn't worth fighting with the flyer at the moment. It was best to wait for hyungs to tell Sangie themselves. 

He sent off quick texts to San and Mingi to check in. San had taken Jongho down to the apartment’s gym earlier, and Mingi and Wooyoung had declared they were going to watch as many Ben Ten episodes as they could before someone kicked them off the TV. 

The return texts confirmed the boys were all fine, and Yunho scooted all the way back on the bed, taking Yeosang with him. He leaned against the wall, tugging Yeosang as close as he could, closed his eyes and waited. 

Hyungs would fix everything.

***

“Well, I'm not sure we can fix everything,” Seonghwa-hyung said when Yunho told him that same thing a little bit later. The elder chuckled softly, reaching out to gently shake Yeosang's foot. “But if you can explain what's going on, we can certainly try to help.” Seonghwa was sitting on the edge of the bed, Hongjoong next to him. 

Yeosang was sitting next to Yunho, but the younger had his face stuck in his Superman pillow again and he was refusing to look at anyone. 

“C'mon, kid. Just tell them,” Yunho said, moving his shoulder just enough to rock Yeosang's head, “there's literally no point in keeping it a secret any longer.”

“Sang-ah,” Seonghwa added, shaking Yeosang's foot again, “let us help you, baby.”

Yunho sighed when Yeosang shook his head. “It is a pretty big deal, hyungs. And he's afraid you're going to be angry at him. But it isn't actually the end of the world.”

Hongjoong-hyung blew out a breath, and Yunho wasn't surprised when he moved across the bed, took Yeosang by the arms, and hauled him into his lap. Patience wasn't their hyung's strong suit. “Kang Yeosang,” he said, voice soft but firm, “look at me.”

The teenager obeyed almost instantly, dropping the pillow, as Hongjoong-hyung brushed the bangs from Yeosang's forehead. “Tell me what's happened. Hyung is not going anywhere. And neither are you. Do you hear me?” Hongjoong-hyung held the flyer's gaze and the teen blinked twice, then nodded.

Yeosang took a few deep breaths and rubbed his eyes. He looked from Yunho to Seonghwa and back up at Hongjoong. “Hyung…hyung, I'm not …. I'm not, I'm not from here….” 

Hongjoong nodded. Yeosang's eyes flicked to Seonghwa and back and then the words tumbled from him in a rush. “I'm not…hyungs, I'm not from Earth! I'm-I'm an alien. I'm from one of the outer planets called Cyrgil. My grandparents sent me to Earth because of the civil war,” Yeosang sucked back a sob, and Yunho peeked at Seonghwa-hyung - the man looked as shocked as he'd felt earlier - “I'd only been here a few weeks when you found me and I can't go back now and I don't want to and Yunho-hyung said everything will be o-ok, but I'm s-scared-”

Seonghwa-hyung's face morphed from confused to concerned at Yeosang's broken words. He reached forward and pulled Yeosang from Hongjoong-hyung's hold, wrapped his arms around their flyer and squeezed with all his might. “You aren't going anywhere, Yeosangie, you hear me?”

His words were soft, Seonghwa-hyung’s usually were, but they were said in that tone that Seonghwa-hyung used when he meant business. They soothed something inside of Yunho that he hadn't realized even needed it, and he slumped back against the wall, relief flooding his chest. 

Yeosang's face was buried in the crook of Seonghwa-hyung’s neck and the elder was whispering in his ear, one hand carding through the boy's gold hair. 

Yunho glanced at Hongjoong-hyung, who was doing a remarkable job of not looking all that surprised with the current information drop. Yunho figured they threw enough crazy stuff at him on a fairly regular basis, that their leader had nerves of steel. 

Hongjoong-hyung scooted across the bed to Seonghwa-hyung's side, took one of Yeosang's hands and squeezed it.

“Yeosang.” Hongjoong-hyung spoke in that quiet, no nonsense tone that Yunho was sure their leader had learned from Jungeun-hyung. He waited for Yeosang to look at him before he continued. “Thank you for telling us. Your hyungs are right. You are not going anywhere,” Hongjoong affirmed, holding the flyer's gaze, “you're our family, you're my kid, and we all love you.” 

Chapter Text

**Chapter 1 - Shadow of Doubt**

Hongjoong ran after the Hanzaki Bandit, feet thudding against the cracked pavement. “You know,” he huffed out, annoyed, “there's no point in running when I know where you live!”

And with that he stopped running, bent over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. It really was stupid to chase the lowlife when he could just call Detective Kamora and let the officer pick him up in a few hours. 

Besides, it was getting late. He'd been invited to Yeon-hyung's for dinner and it was likely near done. The elder’s japchae was some of the best and he had no intentions of having to eat it reheated. 

A moment later, breathing easier, he turned, heading out of the alleyway between two of the city's decent hotels, only to duck in surprise as something flew past his head, landing near a large dumpster a hundred feet away. 

Blinking in confusion, he looked up, and then behind him. 

Nothing. 

But there had been something.

He was sure of it. He headed for the dumpster, stopping once he got close, listening. 

Still nothing. 

He jumped up on a stack of pallets, climbing up to look inside. Gross. Channie-hyung would definitely have something to say if he saw him hanging over the side of some back alley dumpster.

Weirdly though, there was nothing in it. Well trash, obviously. But nothing like a strange, unidentified flying object.

About to jump to the ground, he paused. He thought he heard what sounded like a groan. He looked in the dumpster once more, but there was definitely nothing of importance in there. He heard another noise, even quieter than the last, and shifted on the pallets to look at the ground between the dumpster and the building.

What the actual heck?!

Jumping to the ground, he skirted around the pallets to the open area, hoping he'd been seeing things.

He had not.

Staring in absolute confusion at what appeared to be a teenager, crumpled on the ground, Hongjoong stepped closer and gave the ragamuffin-like bundle a tiny poke in the side with his foot. “Hey, kid? You ok?”

The cotton candy haired teenager didn't move at all, but Hongjoong heard a soft groan again, and without even thinking about it, he pulled his phone from his pocket. He hit Jungeun-hyung's number and waited, gently nudging the boy's arm with the toe of his boot. “Kid?”

Well, he assumed it was a kid. Looked like one, though he also looked…odd. Fuzzy wasn't quite the right word. Like….like a mirage in the desert, kind of blurry? Whatever it was, it was weird. And if it wasn't for the tiny groans, Hongjoong would've thought the kid was dead. 

Glaring at his phone - why wasn't his hyung answering - Jungeun-hyung always answered his phone. Frowning, he knelt next to the boy, reaching to set his hand on the kid's shoulder.

And about fell over backwards when the teenager flung himself around, arms flailing defensively, nearly smacking Hongjoong in the face.

“Hey!” 

His yell had the boy jumping to his feet, staring at him with odd, almost cat-like eyes, seconds before he made a mad rush in Hongjoong's direction. 

He sidestepped, nearly colliding with the dumpster, just as the kid leaped forward and slammed into the building. Sort of. The teen and the wall blended momentarily, as if he was in the wall, only to be kicked back, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

“What the- kid? Hey, kid! Are you alright?” Hongjoong went to the boy's side, dropping to his knees and shaking the boy's shoulder rather forcibly. 

And his hand sank into the teen's shoulder. Hongjoong jerked his hand back in horror. 

Holy Moses! What was wrong with this…this person?! And why wasn't his hyung calling him back?! Like, he really needed him this time. This wasn't about apple crisps or wayward nephew-dongsaengs or Hongjoong feeling a little clingy. He needed his hyung because what the actual heck was going on? 

Riiinnng!

Hongjoong startled and then grabbed for his phone, the form on the ground twitching slightly at the ringing. “Geun-hyung?!”

A chuckle hit his ears. Not Geun-hyung. 

“Hey, maknae-yah.” Gunil-hyung’s voice came through the phone and Hongjoong groaned. 

Gunil-hyung was not who he wanted- well…..wait. A hyung was a hyung at this point.

“Hyung, are you busy? I need you to come here. Quickly. I found a….there's this, well I don't know what he is? But you need to come,” Hongjoong rambled, quickly tacking on a, “please?”

He reached for the boy's body again, this time setting a hand on his back, infinitely glad when he came in contact with the normal resistance of skin beneath the ripped T-shirt. He left his hand there, rubbing gently as he waited for Gunil-hyung to answer.

“What do you mean you don't know what he is? Where are you maknae?” 

“Well, I thought he was dead at first,” Hongjoong said with a bit of a shrug, “but he jumped up and-”

“You thought he was dead?! Joong-ah, where the hell are you?”

“Geun-hyung doesn't like it when we swear,” Hongjoong said distractedly, as he moved his hand up the boy's back a bit, “I'm in the alley by the new Holiday Inn down on Hwasal. I need you to come, hyung. There's something really odd about him.”

“I'm coming, kiddo. Did you call Hyung?”

“Don't call me kiddo, hyung, it's weird. And, of course I did!” Hongjoong whined, “but he didn't answer. Hyung always answers!” Hongjoong blew out an annoyed breath and moved from his knees, to sit on the ground, still rubbing at the teenager's back. 

“Easy, Joong-ah. He can't always answer. He has a life.” Gunil-hyung sounded a bit out of breath, and Hongjoong hoped it was because he was rushing to get here. 

“He always answers when I call,” Hongjoong muttered darkly. 

“Don't be stubborn. You know that's not true. I'll be there in a few minutes.”

It was true, but Hongjoong didn't want Gunil-hyung to get annoyed with him, so he nodded, not that his hyung could see him. “Thanks, hyung. Hurry.”

“I am, Joong-ah. I'm hanging up now.”

The line clicked and Hongjoong set the phone next to him. He cautiously moved his hand a bit further up the boy's back. His hand didn't sink there either, thank the heavens, and he could feel the boy breathing. That had to be good, right? Though the kid had been still for a long time, was that bad? 

He didn't know. 

Maybe Gunil-hyung would.

Chapter Text

**Chapter 2-Ghost of a Chance**

It didn't take his hyung long. It shouldn't, Gunil-hyung lived more in city than any of them, and Hongjoong got to his feet when he saw his brother half running, half gliding towards him. 

“Hyung, look!” Hongjoong pointed at the kid as Gunil came to a stop. The elder grabbed him in a quick hug before kneeling next to the motionless teen. He reached out to put a hand on the boy's forehead, but yanked his hand back like Hongjoong had done earlier.

“My hand-” Gunil-hyung said, looking at the teenager in confusion, “what-”

Hongjoong nodded hard. “I told you, hyung, isn't it freaky?! And he hasn't moved since he slammed into the wall,” he said, waving one hand toward the building behind them. He knelt next to Gunil-hyung and poked at the kid's back.

“He slammed into the wall?! Joong-ah! We need to get him to the hospital!”

Hongjoong shook his head, poking at the teen again. “I don't know, hyung. There's something really strange about him, right? Maybe…maybe we should see if Yoongi-hyung can help him first?” He stuck a finger in the boy's ribs, oddly satisfied when the kid flinched. 

“Joong-ah, for heaven's sake, quit poking him,” Gunil-hyung said, smacking at his hand, “but yeah, that's not a bad idea. Especially if Geun-hyung isn't answering.”

Hongjoong glared, yanking his hand back, and holding it against his chest protectively. There was a reason he hadn't called Channie-hyung. Gunil-hyung wasn't supposed to act like him. “I'm not hurting him,” he whined, “and I still don't know why Hyung didn't answer.”

Gunil-hyung gave him a really unimpressed look. “No wonder Channie-hyung snaps at you all the time,” the elder muttered, pulling his phone from his pocket, “and I told you. Hyung has a life.”

“Hyung!!” Hongjoong cried, shoving at Gunil-hyung’s side, “Chan-hyung loves me!” 

Gunil-hyung sighed, putting his phone to his ear. “I didn't say he didn't, maknae- Yoongi-hyung! Hi! You won't believe this, but-”

Huffing, Hongjoong turned away and went back to tapping the boy's back, gently. “Hey, kid,” he said, shaking the hand on the teen's back, “c'mon, wake up. We need to get you to my hyung.”

The teenager shifted just slightly, and Hongjoong tapped him again. “C'mon, wake up. Let's get you out of here, right?”

The teen groaned, flinging one arm out and batting at Hongjoong's hand. “Stopit.” 

The mumbled words almost made Hongjoong grin. “I'll stop if you sit up. C'mon kid. You need a doctor, or something.”

“NoIdon't.”

This time Hongjoong did grin. “You brake checked a wall, kid. I thought you were dead.”

The boy groaned and slowly rolled onto his back. He tossed an arm over his eyes - a move that didn't cause his arm to sink into his head, Hongjoong noticed. Though the strange, hazy look still covered half the kid's body.

Freaky, really. And Hongjoong had a brother who could turn into a wolf. 

“I ain't dead,” the younger scoffed, struggling to sit up.

“I can see that,” Hongjoong chuckled, “but we have a hyung who can help, he's a healer.”

The kid managed to sit, though he looked queasy and a bit like a strong wind would knock him over. He shook his head. “Don't need it.”

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. Sure he didn't. The kid could barely sit.  Was he really going to have to man handle the stubborn brat to get him to come with? 

“C'mon, up you get,” Gunil-hyung stepped close again, no longer on the phone, and reached forward, taking a handful of the boy’s T-shirt, “Yoongi-hyung said he'd like to meet you, if you're willing.”

The teenager shook his head again, pulling at Gunil-hyung’s hold. “I ain't going to no doctor!”

Gunil-hyung nodded, bringing the kid gently to his feet. “No doctor. Just our hyung. He won't hurt you.”

The boy wobbled, and Gunil-hyung let go of the shirt to set a hand on the younger's hip, steadying him. The kid sidestepped, glaring at Gunil-hyung. “You can't make me.”

Hongjoong snorted. Gunil-hyung may not be able to make the brat, but he sure could. 

He got to his feet and reached for the younger, only to stop quick at Gunil-hyung's soft. “Yah! Joong-ah!”

He blinked at the elder, unable to stop the tiny pout that jumped to his lips. “I wasn't going to hurt him!”

“Leave him be,” Gunil-hyung said, giving him a look before turning back to their unusual friend, “he's capable of walking to the car on his own, aren't you?”

The boy's glare faded. “I don't need a doctor,” he muttered again, “I really don't.”

Gunil-hyung nodded. “No doctor. I would just like to have you checked over by our hyung. At his apartment, yeah? You look like you've gone a few rounds with Kim Jong-shin.”

Hongjoong blinked in surprise when the half dead, surly teenager giggled. 

“I feel like I have,” the boy whispered, one hand moving to rub at his opposite arm, “I tried to stop a robbery, but there were too many of them.”

Well, that explained some of his ragged look. Hongjoong watched his hyung, not sure what to do next. 

He didn't have to wait long.

“You look pretty roughed up, kid,” Gunil-hyung said softly, holding out his hand, “I'm Gunil and that's Hongjoong. What's your name?”

The teen stared for a bit, but he eventually took Gunil-hyung's hand and shook it. “I'm Kwak Ji Seok, but I go by Gaon.”

“Nice to meet you, Gaon-ah. My car's parked out on the street. Feel free to come with us.” Gunil-hyung pointed down the alley. He took Hongjoong by the shoulder and started walking. 

“Hyung, what are you doing?” Hongjoong hissed, looking back over his shoulder as Gunil-hyung pulled him along, “you can't just leave him here!”

“I can't make him come with us either, Joong-ah. Not everything requires force, maknae,” Gunil-hyung whispered, “And trust me, just once, yeah? Hyung knows what he's doing.”

Huffing lightly, Hongjoong let himself be led down the alley to Gunil-hyung's Jeep. 

He hopped into the passenger seat as soon as Gunil-hyung unlocked the doors, then looked back down the alley. Nothing. 

He turned to his hyung, ready to tell him exactly how wrong he was. 

“He's not-”

“Hush, maknae-yah,” Gunil-hyung cut him off, “use that tiny bit of patience I know you have and just give the kid a moment to think.”

Rude. He had plenty of patience. There just was no need to use it, if you could make someone obey. It was faster and more efficient that way too. He pulled his phone from his pocket. Maybe Geun-hyung had texted him back. 

He had not. Also rude. 

What if he'd been in danger or injured? What was the point of cell phones if people weren't going to use them? That's what he was going to tell Hyung. That's what the elder always said to Hongjoong when he didn't answer his phone. He needed Jungeun-hyung-

Hongjoong startled as the back door of the Jeep opened. He twisted in the seat, staring until Gunil-hyung pinched his arm. 

Ow! He hadn't meant to stare. Gunil-hyung really needed to stop acting like Channie-hyung-

“Just your healer hyung?” 

Hongjoong’s head snapped back to the teen with the quiet question. The kid was standing just outside the Jeep, those odd cat-like eyes trained on Gunil-hyung.

“Just my healer hyung,” Gunil-hyung confirmed, “he lives with other hyungs, but no doctors.”

The kid hesitated for another moment, then climbed into the Jeep, pulling the door shut behind him.

Chapter Text

***Hair Spray***

As soon as the words left Joong-hyung's mouth, Yeosang's hair started changing colors, and then the flyer was scrambling from one hyung's lap to the other, clinging to Joong-hyung with an intensity that Yunho had only ever seen in Jongho, when the maknae was having one of his Juridym nightmares. 

It made something deep in his chest twist wildly and he crept across the bed to grab Seonghwa-hyung's hand. “Hyung?”

Seonghwa-hyung's arms circled Yunho and he hugged him tight. “I think Sangie's hair is affected by his emotions, Yun-ah.”

Yunho nodded against the elder’s shoulder. “It started changing the other day,” he whispered, “Sangie said he usually can control it.”

Seonghwa-hyung nodded, but didn't say anything more, simply rubbing at Yunho's back, as Hongjoong-hyung started talking again. 

“Sang-ah,” Hongjoong-hyung said, gently pushing Yeosang back so he could look him in the eye, “I wish we'd known this from the beginning, mostly for safety reasons. Baby, what if you'd been injured and needed medical attention? I have no idea if your body requires anything special or if there's anything we may have done that could've injured you more. We would've been scared out of our minds if something happened and you started…I don't know, bleeding black blood or something-”

“Orange,” Yeosang mumbled from within Joong-hyung’s arms, “I'm - I'm so sorry,” Yeosang hiccuped. He was rubbing his eyes, looking small and forlorn and Yunho kind of wanted to squish him in a hug. “I didn't mean- I can't fix, don't be angry, please don't be-” 

Hongjoong-hyung about crushed their flyer in a hug then, cutting off whatever he'd been about to ramble on about.

“Oh Sangie,” Seonghwa-hyung breathed out, “no one's angry, sweetheart.”

“I'm not very happy that you hid all of this,” Hongjoong-hyung added softly, a look passing between him and Seonghwa-hyung that Yunho didn't quite understand, “but I'm not angry. Do you understand the difference?”

Yeosang nodded slowly. “I'm not in trouble, but we need to talk?” he asked with a bit of a grimace.

“Yeah, baby. That's what it means,” Joong-hyung said with a smile, “is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Still sniffling, Yeosang looked at Yunho, who nodded. “I…my hair changes color by itself. I mean, I can usually control it,” he whispered, “but,”

This time, Hongjoong-hyung chuckled softly, running a hand through the teen's now blue-green hair. “I can see that, love. Do you know why it's having trouble now?”

Yeosang nodded. “It's my age. I can't remember what Seonghwa-hyung called it when Jongho's voice changed? But it's like that. And, and my body goes…wild a bit…? But sometimes it's my emotions.”

“Like now,” Seonghwa murmured softly, reaching out to take Yeosang's free hand.

Yeosang nodded again. “I'm sorry,” he mumbled against Hongjoong-hyung's shoulder, “I really, really am.”

Hongjoong-hyung gave Sangie's hip a bit of a solid pat. It wasn't hard enough to be considered a warning smack, but it wasn't exactly a love pat either, and the flyer gasped softly, looking wide eyed at their hyung.

“Enough apologizing, Sang-ah. We understand why you thought you couldn't tell us and we're going to move on from here. No more lying. I need you to tell me anything you think is important. Anything. Understand?”

Yeosang nodded slowly, still staring at Hongjoong-hyung with giant puppy dog eyes. His lower lip trembled and Yunho shifted out of the way, fairly certain Seonghwa-hyung was going to grab their flyer in another crushing hug. 

And he did.

***

“So, wait,” Wooyoung said, flopping down on the pile of blankets on the floor, “you don't fly because you have a superpower, you fly because you're an alien?! That's so cool, hyung! Why didn't you tell us? I can't wait to tell Changbin!”

Yeosang flushed at Wooyoung's obvious hero worship, turning slightly to bury his face in Seonghwa-hyung's Legoland sweatshirt, and Yunho held back a snort at their hyung's long suffering sigh.

“Baby, we're intrigued and excited,” Seonghwa-hyung said, with a pointed look at Wooyoung, “you might want to at least try and answer some of their questions, hmm?” 

Yeosang stiffened a bit, then whispered in Hwa-hyung's ear. 

Rolling his eyes, Seonghwa-hyung shifted Yeosang a bit on his lap. “Everyone on Cyrgil can fly, Youngie.”

Wooyoung grinned, grabbing Mingi's hand and pulling him onto the blankets with him. “Did you hear that, hyung? About Sangie-hyung?”

Mingi nodded, pulling his Charmander blanket around him. “Joong-hyung told me. Sangie-hyung, you look human, does everyone on Cyrgil look that way? Or are you like Seonghwa-hyung and can change the way you look?”

“Oh yes, hyung!!” Jongho piped up from where he sat next to San on the couch opposite Yeosang and Hwa-hyung, “do you change your body like you can your hair? Hyung, you have to tell us all about your planet! What's your favorite food there? Are there giraffes and, I don't know, soft shelled turtles? Do you have a sun and moon? Can you mind control like Yunho-hyung? What about-” Jongho's incessant questions came to an abrupt halt as San grabbed the maknae and covered his mouth with one hand and tickled his side with the other. 

Jongho erupted in giggles, flailing like a dying fish, and Seonghwa-hyung mouthed a thank you to San. 

Yeosang shook his head. “We look like you,” he said, shrugging, “I can't change anything but my hair. We have animals but they don't look like the ones here,” Yeosang continued, his voice getting softer as he leaned back against Seonghwa-hyung, “we have the same sun as you, but there's no moon. Nights are really dark. Young-ah’s power would be super helpful there.” Yeosang grinned down at Wooyoung, who gave him a thumbs up. 

“I don't have mind control, Jongho-yah,” Yunho said, shaking his head, “and I think if Sang-ah did, we'd probably have some idea.”

“Or would you?” Yeosang asked softly, eyeing Yunho from where his face was still half buried in Seonghwa-hyung's chest. 

Yunho blinked at their alien flyer. Was he teasing them? 

“No mind control in our family,” Hongjoong-hyung said as he sat down next to Jongho and pulled him into his lap, “anything else of interest Sang-ah?”

Yeosang shook his head. “There's a lot about my planet I could share, but I don't think there's anything else I need to tell you..?”

Hongjoong-hyung chuckled again. “Fair enough, love. Now. What should we have for dinner?”

Chapter Text

***†***

Hongjoong stared at his dongsaeng-nephew. The boy didn't actually mean…how in the world…..he needed someone to please tell him that this child hadn't lost his sibling. 

And if he had, why was Hongjoong the one having to deal with the fallout?! Why was it taking Chan-hyung so long to come back?!

Jisung was staring at him with big, sad eyes, the ones Seonghwa-hyung called puppy dog eyes. But Hongjoong liked puppies and he didn't particularly like his dongsaengs when they were using puppy dog eyes on him. 

Because it usually meant trouble. Like right now. 

“Where is Felix?” he asked, pulling the boy in close, and doing his best to look the younger in the eye, despite the lack of light.

Jisung's eyes couldn't possibly get any wider, and then, at the look Hongjoong leveled on him when he didn't answer, the teen shook his head and tried to back up a step.

“Where is Felix, Han Jisung?” Hongjoong demanded, tightening his grip on the boy's shoulders. 

“I don't knooow!!” the teenager wailed, sniffling hard. 

Hongjoong looked at his dongsaeng in disbelief. So the kid had managed to lose his brother. How exactly did one-

“You don't know what, Han Jisung?” Chan's voice came from behind Hongjoong, and the sad eyed menace in front of him, burst into tears.

***†***

Seonghwa led the way back to the car, Felix's sniffling becoming nearly non existent the longer they walked. “Hyung?”

“Yes, Lix-ah?” 

“Do you know where Sungie is?” 

Seonghwa gave the teenager a rather confused look, then shook his head. “I don't, sweetheart. How would I? What were you boys planning to do?”

They'd made it to the car now. Felix looked at him - eyes brimming with tears, and didn't respond.

“Felix, answer hyung.” Seonghwa said, more sternly than he wanted to be. But he needed information. 

The blonde's lower lip started to tremble and he gave a half hearted shrug. “Sungie…. Sungie asked me…Chan-hyung is on a mission-”

Seonghwa nodded. “Yes, honey. Joong-ah is also. But that doesn't answer my question.” 

“Jisung really wanted to help on the mission…. And maybe…..maybe we tried to follow Chan-hyung?”

Nodding even though that didn't give him any more info than he already had, Seonghwa reached out and caught the younger's chin, making him look him in the eye. “Honey, if the two of you were following hyungs, how'd you end up alone at the zoo?”

“Sungie…. Jisung thought hyungs were going to the Szerr building, so we took a cab over there,” Felix paused, glancing up at Seonghwa, “but, but I-I told him that didn't match the ping.”

Leaning against the car, Seonghwa raised an eyebrow. “Go on, Lix-ah.”

“Don't be mad!” the shapeshifter cried, holding out his arms.

Seonghwa refrained, with difficulty, from pulling the upset teenager into his arms. He needed answers. “I'm not mad, Felix-ah, but neither you, nor Jisung are supposed to be out here, alone, are you?”

Wide eyes stared back at him, and a couple tears spilled over. The teen sniffled, wrapped his arms around himself, and slowly shook his head. 

“Finish your story, Lix-ah. I still need to message hyungs and get you home.” 

***†***

Hongjoong turned to Chan-hyung, half glaring. “Must you always make them cry?” he snarked, stepping away from Jisung, so Chan-hyung could get to his sobbing mess of a teenager.

Chan-hyung snorted as he moved past him. “Not always,” he said, “sometimes they yell.”

“Brats,” Hongjoong commiserated.

Chan nodded. “The whole lot of them,” he agreed softly, taking Jisung in his arms and squeezing him tight, only to gently push him away a moment later.

“Tell me everything, Han Jisung, but firstly tell me how you've somehow managed to lose your brother. And don't you dare leave anything out.”

Sniffling harder than Hongjoong thought was warranted, the boy nodded, taking the wadded up bandana that Chan-hyung gave him. He wiped his nose and then blinked sadly at Chan-hyung. “I don't know where he went or even if he did go somewhere! Maybe he just stayed on the bench?” 

“No, Jisung-ah, he did not.”

***†***

Felix sucked back a sob and shook his head, more wildly than the previous head shake. “Chan-hyung…. And, and Minho-hyung…they'll be upset….”

“They may be, and if they are, it'd be understandable, sweetheart. Neither of you asked, and you've scared a lot of people. Minho especially.” Seonghwa said, not unkindly, but with a firmness that made Felix start crying in earnest.

And Seonghwa couldn't help it. He wasn't a monster. He reached out and pulled the boy close, wrapping him in another hug. “Finish telling hyung what happened, Lix-ah,” Seonghwa soothed, as he ran a hand up and down Felix's back. 

“There wasn't anyone….there was no one at the Szerr building - I told Sungie there wasn't. And Sungie…he told me…to recalibrate the ping.” Felix was whispering now and Seonghwa was rather glad he held the boy in a hug, or he wouldn't have been able to hear him. 

“And that's what I did, Hyung,” Felix continued, “I recalibrated and gave Sungie the new ping. Which wasn't far from the one I told him first. But then I got a text from Jungsu about the new GTA game - you know, the one, Jongho-yah and Jungsu and I have been waiting for?” Felix sniffled, running the sleeve of his sweatshirt over his face. “And…and when I looked up, he was gone.” 

“Hmmm,” Seonghwa murmured softly, “ do you think maybe Sungie got tired of waiting for you?”

Felix shook his head. “No,” he said rather darkly, though the sniffles softened the heat in his reply, “I think he didn't bother waiting.”

And honestly, Jisung's impatience was rather legendary within their family, right up there with Wooyoung’s, so Seonghwa understood. “And you wound up here, because?”

“Hyung!” Felix whined softly, “I know he was following the ping, but I didn't want to do that, by myself. It was really scary.”

Nodding, Seonghwa pulled his phone from his pocket and sent off a few more texts to hyungs, motioning at Felix to keep talking, when the boy just stared at him. 

“You aren't going to believe me,” Felix moaned, “and…and it's embarrassing.”

Seonghwa raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Felix was turning into a sulky teenager right before his eyes. He needed to channel Hongjoong or Chan-hyung…. Someone who could make a pouting dongsaeng spill the beans.  

Jungeun-hyung. 

He hit the contact on the screen, but held the phone to the side, and gave Felix a look. “Tell me how you wound up at the zoo, Lee Felix.” 

He heard the tiny click of his phone and then Jungeun-hyung was talking, small and a bit tinny, but there. ‘Hwa? Is everything alright?’ 

Felix looked at him in betrayal. “Hyung,” he whimpered. 

Putting the phone to his ear, Seonghwa quickly explained the situation, then handed the phone to Felix as Jungeun-hyung requested. 

Felix glared at him through teary eyes, but he took the phone, softly greeting their hyung.

There was silence for a few moments, tears spilling down the shapeshifter’s cheeks once more. He nodded at something that was said and then looked up at Seonghwa and took a deep breath. 

“There was a really creepy noise. I got scared. Really scared, hyungs! And .. And there was a billboard, a billboard for the zoo,” Felix paused, took a couple deep breaths and continued, “I morphed into a meerkat and I ran. I didn't stop…not until I saw the cheetah exhibit. That's when I realized I was at the zoo.”

“Oh, Felix,” Seonghwa breathed, fighting back the ridiculous need to laugh, “what are we going to do with you?”

Chapter Text

**Chapter 1**

Life wasn't really worth living anymore. 

He stared at the lake water, rough and wild from the recent storm, cold and bitter from the freezing temps. The wind whipped at his clothing, the cold air sucking away any warmth he'd built up on the walk over. The white capped waves crashed into the shore with no regard for anyone standing there, but they were also mesmerizing, and one could understand the temptation to follow a mermaid down, despite the danger.

***

It was just after seven, the night air crisp from the skittering wind. The gnarly and bare branches crashed against each other, snapping and cracking, while the remains of fallen leaves rustled across the pavement. The moon shone bright after the recent storm, and he walked the familiar path, hands tucked into his thick winter coat. 

***

The lake was cold, his toes already numb from the frigid water that seeped through his worn sneakers. He forced himself to take another step into the loch, even as it lashed and beat at his ankles. He wished for socks, maybe they'd have held off the icy waves just a bit longer. The wind howled like a living, angry thing, smashing into him until he could no longer breathe. Only a few more steps, and it'd be over, the hosu claiming him like a pirate of old. 

 There was no other option.

Was there?

***

It was only a flash of white. Likely just the waves breaking against the shore, but something nagged at him that it wasn't. He hurried down the well worn path, hooking left and taking the steps two at a time. He hit the beach running, feet thudding against the frozen sand, his eyes on the crashing water. Something was there. He just didn't know what.

And as he raced down the shoreline, he saw it. He saw the flicker of white, under the silvery glow of the moon. 

Someone was in the water.

***

The baggy material of his shirt whipped around him like an angry ghost, the wind relentless. He battled the waves that knocked at his knees, pushing him further into the depths. The beauty of the lake was now lost as sirens grabbed him with boney fingers, dragging him into the murky water, and doing their damnedest to suck the very life from his body. 

So much for healer. 

He couldn't even save himself.

***

It was a race against time. 

He wrestled his way through the angry loch, desperate to reach whoever the waves were hurling about. His feet were chunks of ice already, his legs icicles, but he pressed on, step after step, until he was able to wrap his arms around the folds of sopping white shirt and pull the much-too-thin body against his chest. 

"Hey-" he gasped, waves rocking him, "I've got you."

***

He couldn't even dispose of himself correctly. He knew he was broken. Knew he was as much of a screw up as any one person could be. But he hadn't even been able to …. hadn't had the guts to…

He'd tried. He'd tried so hard.

Samchon Ki would be so proud. 

“Hey.” 

He jolted at the soft call, blinking fiercely at the awful bright lights. Why were they so…loud?

“You're in the hospital, eolin-i.”

What? How'd he get … he shook his head slowly, wincing as pain bounced back and forth between his ears. Never mind how. Who? No one ever called him nice names, never mind pet names. 

He was vaguely aware that someone's hands were wrapped around one of his own, and he blinked a few more times, trying to clear his vision. But the awful, glaring, fluorescent lights were so terribly loud, and he didn't understand why-

“The lights, please?” 

A moment later, the room was beautifully, magically quiet. He turned his head to look at the owner of the hands, cracking his eyes open just enough to see there was a young man sitting there, right next to his bed. 

“Welcome back, eolin-i. I'm Kim Seokjin.”

Welcome back? Oh right. He'd tried- 

He swallowed hard and did his best to look the stranger in the eyes. 

 “Min Yoongi.”

Chapter Text

***

"Family is not defined by our genes, it is built and maintained through love."

***

“Hakny-yah!” Sangyeon grabbed his third youngest and yanked him away from the front door of one of the city's most dangerous businesses.

The teenager jerked in surprise, big brown eyes looking up at him in horror. “Hyung!!”

“Don't hyung me. Where are Juyeon and Kevin?”

The teenager's eyes shot full of tears at Sangyeon's tone and he pointed at the building. 

Sangyeon sucked in a frustrated breath. “Your Chan-hyung's van is down the street. Go on.”

“Chan-hyung?” Haknyeon blinked fiercely, tears brimming in already-at-capacity eyes. 

Sangyeon nodded. “Yes. I asked him to come. Are any of your cousins here?” He asked, one eyebrow raising slightly. 

The boy blinked a few times before slowly nodding. 

“Ju Haknyeon!” Sangyeon snapped, “answer hyung.” 

The boy wrung his hands nervously. “I didn't know he was gonna be here! I swear I didn't!” Haknyeon cried, backing up a step at the look Sangyeon leveled on him. 

Taking a deep breath, Sangyeon reached out a hand and gently tugged his kid close. “Who is here, Hakny-yah?”

The teen blinked rapidly and started to sniffle. “Jungsu.”

Sangyeon just stared for a moment. “Jungsu is here?”

Haknyeon nodded. “Yes, hyung,” he said, sniffling even harder.

That was very much not expected. While none of the boys should be here, that particular nephew most definitely should not be anywhere near this building. “The van, Hakny-yah. We'll talk about this more at home.”

“Is Chan-hyung in the van?” the younger whispered, a few tears escaping and running down his cheeks.

Sangyeon raised an eyebrow. “He is not. Go on now.”

“Hyungie?” the boy whispered, reaching out a hand and tugging at Sangyeon's sleeve, “I'm sorry. I just wanted to…they never take me with them-”

Catching the teen's hand, Sangyeon cut off whatever the boy had been about to say, pulling him close once more and hugging him hard. “Yeah, kiddo. We'll talk at home.”

Sniffling even harder, the younger nodded and then turned, hurrying down the steps and across the lawn to the road.

First things first. Sangyeon pulled his phone from his pocket. He sent Chan an update and then tapped on Gunil's name. It only took a minute for his younger brother to answer. 

“Hi hyung! I haven't talked to you in awhile, what's going on?”

“Gun-ah, it's nearly five, do you know where your kids are?” Sangyeon asked as he opened the front door to the Green Viper Dojo and stepped inside.

******

The van was quiet. Really quiet, with the exception of occasional sniffles. 

Chan was driving, and though he wasn't as white knuckled as Yeon had seen him at the end of some missions, or in the aftermath of picking up his own boys after some non sanctioned nonsense, he could tell his younger brother was still rather upset. 

“Chan-ah,” he said, after taking a quick look in the rearview at the boys, “everyone’s alright, Tiger.”

His brother sucked in a breath at the nickname, gaze flicking to Yeon for a quick moment before returning to the road. “I hate that place, hyung. I truly hate it.”

Yeon nodded, reaching out to set a hand on Chan's shoulder and squeeze gently. “I know, kiddo. I'm really sorry I had to ask you to come. But the boys are alright. All of them. My knuckleheads. Jungsu. Binnie. And Taehyung.”

He watched Chan glance in the rearview, and then the younger gave him a rather anxious look. “I texted Tae earlier. I know he's alright. I really do, but I haven't heard…. I haven't had a chance- I'm not sure-”

Mentally slapping himself, Yeon grabbed his phone from where he'd set it on the console. “Hold on, Channie. Hyung will call, ok? I promise he's alright, but I'll get him on the phone for you, yeah?”

“Thank you, hyung,” Chan said, his eyes never leaving the road, but the next sniffles Yeon heard were definitely not from the back of the van. 

******

They were almost to Gunil's little house, when Sangyeon's phone chimed. Taehyung hadn't answered his earlier call, and Yeon could tell that Chan was getting more anxious by the minute. He swiped the screen and opened his texts. 

Hyung? I'm sorry, I was in class. Is everything alright?

Sangyeon smiled at the phone. ‘No worries, kiddo. We're alright. Are you busy?’ he texted back.

I'm not busy, hyung. Yoongi-hyung said he'll bring me over if you needed me?

‘Have him bring you to your Chan-hyung's, alright? There was an incident at the Dojo. Everyone's ok, but your hyung is a bit upset.’ Sangyeon quickly texted, and then waited, knowing the younger was going to- 

Sangyeon's phone rang. 

“Hello?”

“Hyung, can I talk to Chan-hyung? Is he ok? What happened? Who was there? I didn't hear any news reports…it was one of the boys, wasn't it?!”

“He's alright, I promise. He's driving, but you can talk to him in a few minutes, yeah?”

“Ok. But Yeon-hyung, he hates it there. What happened?”

*******

Jungsu didn't even make it to the front door of the little cottage, before Gunil burst out the front door. Jungsu froze, Gunil meeting him in the middle of the cobbled walkway. Gunil grabbed the boy in a fierce hug, whispering something in the teen's ear.

Sangyeon hung back a moment, giving his brother time to say whatever he needed before joining them. He moved closer after a minute, gently setting his hand on Gunil's shoulder. “You two alright?”

Jungsu didn't look at him, his face buried in Gunil's shoulder. Fair enough. The teen had been thoroughly scolded by both himself and Chan, once they'd located him and Yeon's own brats. They'd hugged him too, of course. But there was nothing on the planet that was quite like getting a hug from your hyung. The kid probably needed the hug more than anything. 

Gunil met his eyes over his dongsaeng's shoulder, his hold on the younger tight, almost painful. “We're going to be fine, hyung. We've got a lot to talk about though, yeah?” he said, carefully pushing the teen away from his shoulder, to try and catch his eye. 

Yeon held back a chuckle when Jungsu gave what sounded like a whine and tried rather hard to bury his face back in Gunil's shoulder. But the glider didn't let him. He held the teen away, reaching one hand out to tip the boy's chin up. “Is there something you need to say to Yeon-hyung, Kim Jung Su?”

Jungsu’s gaze flicked everywhere but at Yeon for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath. He looked at Yeon, his dark brown eyes swimming with tears, and gave a small but sincere bow. “I apologize for doing something so stupid. Please forgive me. I'm sorry you had to retrieve me.”

Jungsu's gaze had returned to the ground and he was shifting nervously, trying to get even closer to Gunil than he already was. Rolling his eyes, Yeon reached out and grabbed the blonde teenager, pulling him into a hug. “I love you, you little idiot,” he chuckled fondly, “and I'll always come get you. No matter what. Got it?”

The boy stared at him for another long moment, before shoving his face in Yeon's chest and hugging him tight. Yeon glanced at Gunil, his younger brother looking a bit like Jungsu. He opened his free arm, and Gunil slammed into him seconds later. 

“Thanks, hyung,” Gunil whispered after a moment, Jungsu echoing the words, though they were muffled in the fabric of Yeon's sweatshirt. 

*******

Yeon followed his boys into the apartment, his dongsaengs moving at half a snail’s pace. He chuckled to himself when a good share of his not in trouble dongsaengs, who'd been watching TV in the living room, gave them a hasty hello and disappeared upstairs, aware that their hyung needed time with the three boys he had.

Jacob was in the kitchen with Eric, likely teaching the maknae some new cooking skill, as was their recent evening routine. His oldest merely waved at him, but Eric grinned, big and wide, bouncing in front of the stove, until Jacob set a hand on his shoulder. 

This time Yeon did chuckle, waving back at them. Jacob moved to slide the kitchen door closed as Yeon followed his three miscreants into the living room, pointing them to the couch, while he leaned against the wall near the TV.

Kevin raised his hand within seconds of sitting and Yeon had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He quirked an eyebrow at the teenager instead, Juyeon and Juhaknyeon both ducking their heads at the action. 

“Kevin?”

“I just wanted to point out that we only went because Jung-ah texted Hakny-yah that he was going. We had to stop him. He's our dongsaeng and we're supposed to-”  

Kevin stopped, mid ramble, when Sangyeon's eyebrow rose even higher. He had a fairly good mimicry of Geun-hyung's, and he knew how effective it was. “Was I clear when I told all of you that you were not to go anywhere near the Green Viper Dojo?”

The younger and older of the three were still staring at the floor, shifting a bit in their seats, while Kevin scratched his ear again, darting glances up at him. Sangyeon waited them out. It was only a matter of time before one of them cracked.

“Hyung?” And there it was. 

Kevin again. Not unexpected.

“Moon Hyung-Seo?” The teen winced. It wasn't often that Yeon called Kevin by his full name, but this wasn't a bit of teenage silliness. This was intentional disobedience. The Green Viper Dojo was a place none of his boys had any business being and they damn well knew it. 

And Jungsu should absolutely never-in-a- million-years have been there again either. If he had texted Hakny-yah, then that was something else they needed to discuss.

“We're uh, we're,” the teenager faltered, brushing his purple streaked blonde hair from his eyes, “we're alright, you know? Crackerjack cool and Tiny Tim steady, right?” The boy looked at his brothers, but neither of them returned his look. Yeon was actually fairly certain the youngest of the bunch was crying. 

“Kevin?” 

“Hyung?”

“Was I clear?”

The teenager held his gaze for only a moment, before hanging his head. “Yes, hyung.”

“And you two? Haknyeon? Juyeon? Was Hyung clear?” he asked, clearing his throat when neither boy looked at him.

“Yes, hyung.” Juyeon answered, elbowing his brother when the younger teen didn't say anything. It took another moment for Haknyeon to also agree, but once he did, Sangyeon shifted upright.

“So why were you there? Did Jungsu text you, Hakny-yah?”

The youngest nodded, still looking at the floor. “Yes, hyung,” he whispered, “he read something about an investigation and wanted to see what he could find out.”

Sangyeon frowned, pinning Juyeon with a look when the eldest of the three glanced up. “And instead of immediately telling your hyungs that your cousin was about to go back to the place he'd nearly lost a body part at, you chose to go with him?” 

Juyeon held his gaze, though Sangyeon could see tears in the teenager's eyes. It took another moment, but the boy finally gave a small nod. “We...I...when Hakny-yah told me, I…I thought we should see if there was any truth…I wanted to…” Juyeon trailed off, a tear sliding down his cheek. 

“Go on,” Yeon said, voice dangerously soft, “you wanted to what?”

Juyeon gulped, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he got anything out. “I wanted to help.”

Kevin glanced between his brother and Yeon and suddenly began rambling again. “Hyung, when Juyeon-ah told me, I was the one who said we should totally go check it out. We didn't tell Hakny-yah what we were doing, but I guess he figured it out, and followed us. When we got there, Jungsu was already there. We had told him not to go, not to do anything dumb, Juyeon even told him if he did, he'd smack him. Hyung, he didn't listen-”

“Mmm,” Sangyeon interrupted, “that seems to be going around, yeah?”

Juhaknyeon burst into tears. 

Sighing, Sangyeon moved across the living room, motioning for the boys to make space for him on the couch. They did and he sat down, hauling his eldest maknae onto his lap and hugging him tight. “Aish. And I thought no one could beat out Joong-ah in trouble per square inch. Then you three go and pull this harebrained nonsense…”

“I'm sorry, hyung. I really am,” Juyeon whispered, scooting closer, “we thought we could just scope it out, but then Jungsu was there and we had to get to him and get him out. We didn't even know Hak was there until you brought us to the van.”

Kevin's head had found Sangyeon's shoulder and he nodded against it. “It's true, hyung. We did wrong, we should've told you or Gunil-hyung right away, but…but we tried to keep Hakny-yah and Jungsu-yah out of it.”

It was quiet then, short Haknyeon’s soft sniffles and Yeon couldn't help but squeeze the boy even tighter. 

“What am I going to do with the lot of you,” he sighed, “you absolutely should have told hyungs so we could've kept Jungsu from endangering himself. And the two of you should never have gone to the Green Viper. It's been forbidden since day one. And you,” Sangyeon jostled the boy in his arms, “didn't belong there either,” he continued, sighing softly, “alright, go on. We'll finish this in my room.”

Haknyeon’s head shot up, nearly colliding with Sangyeon's chin. The boy's lower lip was trembling as he looked sadly up at Sangyeon. “Hyung, no,” he whimpered.

Softening his look and his voice - he didn't have a soft spot for his third youngest. He didn't and if he did, well you'd never get him to admit it out loud. “Did you go somewhere, alone? Somewhere you're not allowed, Hakny-yah?”

The youngest blinked at him, a few more tears spilling over. He nodded after a moment and Sangyeon gave him a gentle look. “Then let's take care of this, kiddo. Start fresh.”

The boy blinked at him for another moment, then bolted from his lap. Juyeon looked at Sangyeon in concern and Sangyeon waved him after the younger, Juyeon ducking his head and disappearing down the hall.

His only kid left, his comedian, ice breaker and all around funny man shot him a hopeful look. “Any chance of getting time off for good behavior?”

Again refraining from rolling his eyes, he stood up, crooking a finger at the teen, beckoning him to also stand. 

Kevin's eyes grew saucer round and he shook his head. “It's ok, I didn't mean it!” he yelped, “sorry, hyung. Bad time for a joke, huh?” The boy didn't move and Sangyeon reached out to take the boy's arm and pull him to his feet, landing a half hearted swat to his backside. 

The kid let out a muffled ow, and looked up at Sangyeon with a pout. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and stood there, blinking sullenly up at Sangyeon.

“You all done now?” Sangyeon asked, tone stern.

Still pouting at him, Kevin nodded. 

“Good. Go with your brothers.” 

Kevin hesitated only a second more, before thinking better of whatever he was going to say. He took off down the hallway, much like Hakny-yah had, and Yeon took a deep breath before following his kids to the bedroom. 

*****

Kevin was sprawled out on the living room floor, grinning madly at New and Eric, who were laying on the floor opposite him. They were playing a ridiculous game of poker, using Pokemon cards as betting chips. Sangyeon caught New’s eye and gave him a grateful grin. He was thankful for how quickly Kevin recovered after not-so-pleasant conversations, but he was even more thankful that his boys understood each other so well. Sangyeon had hugged Kevin, tight and sure, and Kevin had hugged Yeon back. But they all knew their jokester's go to comfort was searching out a few of his brothers and sticking close to them for a good few hours. The others always complied and Sangyeon couldn't love his kids any more than he already did.

Juhaknyeon on the other hand, took his time, sucking in all the comfort he wanted from Sangyeon, the elder not releasing him until the teen removed himself. And then the boy would seek out Younghoon. It was always Younghoon and Sangyeon knew it always would be. They'd come to him together and they had a connection that Sangyeon would've understood, even if he didn't know their history. Hakny-yah would spend the better part of the next few hours just sitting on Younghoon’s lap, and the elder would let him, simply taking him with, if he had things to do. 

And Juyeon? Juyeon was squished up against Sangyeon's side, holding a giant fistful of Yeon's sweatshirt in his hands. The teen was kneading the material between his fingers, still sniffling occasionally. He was probably the most sensitive of Sangyeon's boys, the one that took everything to heart and came around slower than the rest after not-so-pleasant conversations.

Sangyeon carded a hand through the teen's hair, gently rubbing the base of his neck before moving to run his fingers through the boy's curls again. “You gonna make it there, baby?”

“Eric's the baby, hyung,” Juyeon whispered, shifting upright a bit, without releasing his hold on Yeon's shirt, “why do you always call me that?”

Chuckling softly, Sangyeon squeezed his dongsaeng tight and kissed his head. “Hmmm, maybe because you remind me of Joong-ah.”

“Hyung?” Juyeon exclaimed softly, rubbing his cheek along the sleeve of Yeon's shirt, “I'm not outgoing or bold or brave like Joong-hyung..?”

Sangyeon grinned. “No, my Yeonnie, those aren't the traits that do it. It's you, kiddo. There's something about you, not the things you do or don't do, that reminds me of Joong-ah. And you know why else?”

Juyeon shook his head, scooting closer until he was almost in Yeon's lap. “Why?”

“Because I love you.”

Chapter Text

***

“But it's not fair!”

Jungeun sighed softly and set the bowl of japchae on the coffee table. “Life isn't fair, sweetheart. But you're injured. You can't go running around the city with a busted arm.”

“Yes I could,” the teen whined sullenly, “but someone has to let me!”

Jungeun hmm'd. “You can't, maknae-yah. It's non-negotiable. Understand?” He sat down next to his oldest boy's youngest, and raised an eyebrow. 

The teenager huffed, glaring at Jungeun from behind his Rocket Raccoon pillow. “It's not fair!” he pouted again, lower lip at an impressive angle, “they've all gone on a mission, and I'm stuck, here.”

“I was unaware that visiting your hyung was such a travesty,” Jungeun said softly. He handed the sulky teen a can of Dash.

The teen took the soda, eyes lighting up a tiny bit. “That's not what I meant,” he whined, taking a sip, “it's not you, I just want to be with them on the mission!”

“I know, but you can't, sweetheart,” Jungeun said, tone a bit harder this time.

“I won't get hurt!” the boy cried, shoving at the coffee table with his foot, “they can keep me safe.”

“Hey, now,” Jungeun said sternly, reaching out to gently take the boy's chin in hand, “no tantrums. You know better.”

“But, hyung!” The whine was accompanied by another glare, and Jungeun returned it with an unimpressed look of his own.

“No buts. Doctor's orders. You've got a few more weeks to go.” Jungeun let go of the teen's chin to grab the japchae and offer it to his upset dongsaeng.

The kid threw his pillow on the floor and took the bowl. “I bet Yoongi-hyung would let me go,” the boy snarled into his food, “and he'd be able to fix it if I hurt it more-”

Jungeun cut him off with a firm tap to his thigh. “Your arm was broken, Jeon Jungkook. Yoongi cannot fix broken bones. He most definitely would not let you go,” Jungeun spoke softly but firmly, “and if he did, both of you would be having a rather unpleasant conversation with me, do you understand?”

Jungkook's eyes widened and he nodded, face changing from sullen to miserable, as tears welled in his eyes. “It's just not fair.”

“Sweetheart, life isn't fair,” Jungeun reiterated, “but it's not the end of the world. You'll be right as rain in just a few weeks.”

Tears dripped down the maknae's cheeks and Jungeun's heart couldn't take it. “C’mere, baby.” 

“Not a baby, hyung,” Jungkook mumbled as he inched closer to the elder.

Taking the soda and japchae from the boy, he set them back on the coffee table, then hauled the teary eyed teenager into his lap. He ran a hand through the younger's hair, gently shuffling him around until he was sitting sideways, leaning against Jungeun's chest. 

“Hyung?”

“Kook-ah?”

“What…what if they decide they don't need me?” Jungkook whispered, his face half buried in Jungeun's T-shirt.

Jungeun rolled his eyes in exasperation, knowing the teenager couldn't see him. “Jeon Jungkook, how long have you been with us?”

Jungkook shrugged, his shoulder bumping Jungeun's chin. “I don't know, hyung. A long time I guess.”

“Long enough to know that's not how this family works?” Jungeun asked semi-sternly, jostling the boy slightly, “long enough to know that? Hmm, maknae-yah?”

“Yes, hyung. But I've missed so many missions and they're-”

“They're not going anywhere. You can go on missions with them, when you're healthy, baby,” Jungeun said, turning the younger so he could look him in the eye, “they absolutely adore you, honey. You have a literal army backing you.”

It was quiet then, Jungkook thinking while Jungeun rubbed the boy's back. 

“Hyung?” Jungkook whispered after another few moments.

“Maknae-yah?” Jungeun reached for the remote and turned the television on, searching for the original Power Rangers, one of his maknae's favorite shows.

“You wouldn't really…you know. You wouldn't- Yoongi-hyung isn't really a kid…”

Jungeun chuckled fondly and squeezed the teenager tight. “Rules are rules for a reason, kiddo. And they're for everyone, right? So what do you think?”

Grumbling under his breath, Jungkook wiggled closer to the elder's chest. “I don't like when you act like a hyung, hyung.” 

Jungeun kissed his head. “Don't act like an unruly dongsaeng, baby and I won't have to.”

“I'm not,” Jungkook whined, thunking his head against Jungeun's chest, “I'm not unruly!”

“Ahhh, you're just perfect then?” Jungeun teased, tickling the boy's side, “the golden maknae, yeah?”

“Yes!” Jungkook shrieked, twisting away and batting at Jungeun's fingers, “that's what Jin-hyung says!"

Chapter Text

***

Gunil sat on the couch holding his youngest in a loose hug. Jun Han sat next to him, fidgeting and playing with the fringe of a throw pillow Geun-hyung had bought as a housewarming gift.

Dropping his free hand to Jun Han’s bouncing knee, Gunil planted a kiss on Jooyeon’s head, and whispered in the boy's ear. The youngest nodded, sliding off Gunil's lap. “Go find Gaon-ah, kiddo. Tell him what hyung said, alright?”

Jooyeon looked at him with sad eyes. “Yes, hyung. I'm really sorry.”

“I know, maknae. Go on. Find your brother. I need to talk to Han-ah, ok?” Gunil reached out, gently tucking the boy's hair behind his ear. 

Nodding again, his youngest backed up, then turned and headed towards the stairs and the loft bedroom that Gunil's two oldest shared. When the boy had disappeared up the steps, Gunil sighed softly and turned back to the elder of his maknaes. 

“Han-ah,” Gunil said, gently squeezing his dongsaeng's knee, “what did Hyung tell you this morning?”

Jun Han burst into tears. 

***

Gunil almost wished Jungeun-hyung had been slightly less good at loving his dongsaengs and teaching right from wrong. Then maybe he wouldn't be having this conversation with his own teenager. He could just pretend that the events of the day didn't happen and that none of this mattered. 

But it did.

And he loved his boys much too fiercely and strongly to pretend it hadn't. There was no acting as if nothing had happened. The boy lied to his brother and snuck out. The amount of terrifying thoughts that had run through Gunil's head while his dongsaengs were missing, wasn't something he cared to go through ever again.

Wrapping an arm around Jun Han’s waist, he took the boy with him as he sat back on the couch. Pulling the boy close to his side, he rubbed soft circles on his dongsaeng's stomach. It always helped the anxious teen, and Jun Han sighed as he leaned into Gunil.

“Hyung, I didn't…it wasn't supposed to-” his math whiz whispered after a few moments of silence, “I really wanted to see SunWoo-hyung, and I didn't want to tell him I wasn't allowed to go and I didn't think we'd be gone that long and Ye-Joo wouldn't go if you said no. I didn't think-”

“Aish, sweetheart. Aren't I the one who's supposed to be doing the scolding?” Gunil pulled the teary eyed teenager into his lap. “Calm down, Han-ah. You're ok. Jooyeon is ok. You made a mistake, but it's not the end of everything.”

“I'm sorry, hyung!” The teenager twisted around, shoving his face in Gunil's shoulder. 

“Yeah, kiddo,” he said, carding his fingers through the boy's hair, “I know.”

And he did. 

***

Jungsu dropped onto the couch next to Gunil and Jun Han. “Was hyung too hard on you, Junnie?” Gunil's oldest didn't wait for a response, simply pulling his younger brother from Gunil's arms, into his own. 

Gunil rolled his eyes, and gently flicked Jungsu’s forehead. “He's grounded, you little menace, I didn't dropkick him.”

“Oh, Junnie-yah, it's even worse than I expected. Should I call Geun-hyung? He'll sort out our hyung, huh?”

Jun Han giggled into his brother's shoulder, which was exactly what Jungsu had intended, the elder giving Gunil a triumphant look. 

“You two are ridiculous,” Gunil huffed fondly, running a hand through Jun Han's hair once more, “and the rest of you? O.De-yah? Gaon-ah? Eon-ah? I know you're hiding on the stairs. Han-ah is fine. Come see.”

Storming footsteps echoed off the living room walls, the three boys nearly falling over each other in their hurry to get into the room. Jooyeon slid across the wooden floor and Gunil grabbed the boy around the waist, pulling him onto his lap. The youngest looked up at him with a grin, then shrieked as Gunil tickled him. 

O. De threw himself onto the couch behind Jungsu, giggling at the elder's yelp when he nearly toppled into him. Jungsu reached around, trying to flick the younger's forehead in retaliation, but O. De was both quick and wiry, and he backed up before the flick could land.

Gaon, Gunil's quietest, came to a stop next to Jungsu and Jun Han. He reached out to take the younger's hand in his own. His second oldest looked more concerned than was necessary, but Gunil knew it was just Gaon being…. Gaon. 

“You're alright, Junnie, yeah?” Gaon asked, sitting on Jungsu's lap opposite Jun Han. He ignored the low oomph his older brother let out when he did, peering intently at Han-ah. 

And their smarty pants second maknae giggled. He swung the elder's hand back and forth, giggling again when doing so nearly smacked Jungsu in the nose. 

“Hyung didn't kill me, Gaon-hyung,” Jun Han darted a grin at Gunil before looking back at Gaon, “I'm grounded. It sucks, but I shouldn't have done it.”

“What're the mathematical odds of dying from a grounding though?” O. De asked, shifting around on the couch so he was scrunched up behind Jungsu, one hand resting on Jun Han's back.

Jungsu swung his arm up and around, catching O. De around the neck and pulling him even closer. “Probably not as great as Junnie-yah wishes.” he chuckled. 

“Ugh, hyung, that's not funny.” Jun Han groaned, thunking his head against Jungsu's shoulder, “I don't want to die, but if hyung lessened the grounding, I wouldn't complain.”

Jooyeon crawled from Gunil's lap to O. De’s, his eyes wide with curiosity. “How long did you ground him for, hyung?” 

Gunil shook his head, giving a light huff as he stood up. He reached out to ruffle Jun Han's hair. “Two weeks. I'm sure the possibility of dying from boredom during that time is unlikely, mathematical or otherwise.”

Gaon looked up at him, eyes twinkling and Gunil cocked an eyebrow. The boy may be his quietest, most low key overall, but he had a wicked sense of humor, and Gunil was never exactly sure what to expect from him. 

Gaon looked back at Jun Han, eyes still twinkling a bit too much for comfort. “If you die, can I have your skateboard?”

Chapter Text

**Chapter 3 - Ghosted** 

The drive to Jin-hyung's apartment was quiet, other than the tiny frustrated noises that Joong-ah made every time he looked at his phone. Gunil would've laughed at his brother's upset -their hyung was probably just in the shower, or on the phone- if it wasn't for the fairly miserable looking dongsaeng in the back seat.

He caught Gaon's eye once, and gave him an encouraging smile. The teen stared back at him blankly, before looking out the window again. And sure, there was definitely something very strange about the kid, but more than wanting to know what it was, Gunil just felt a rather fierce desire to keep the hurting teen safe. 

*†*

Gunil followed Yoongi-hyung into the kitchen, where Jin-hyung was throwing something together for them to snack on. He'd left Gaon in the capable hands of Hobi-hyung. The elder had put the TV on, both maknaes already bickering over what they should watch. Gunil gave Hobi-hyung a commiserating smile, before ducking into the kitchen. He wasn't much for maknae wrangling, especially not when the maknaes in question were Joong-ah and Jungkook, but Hobi-hyung rarely seemed to mind. 

He leaned against the counter near Jin-hyung and peered into the pots on the stove.

“Bulgogi, kiddo,” Jin-hyung said, reaching out to gently ruffle Gunil's hair, “one of Joong-ah's favorites, and tteokbokki. Almost everyone likes that.”

Gunil nodded, though he wasn't really sure Joong-ah had a favorite food. Their brother would eat anything that didn't run off the plate on its own. Possibly even if it did. He snorted softly. “I bet Gaon will eat anything, hyung. He's got to be hungry, yeah? He's skinnier than Joong-ah was when Yeon-hyung brought him home, don't you think?” he asked softly.

Jin-hyung reached out to tug gently on Gunil's ear, and he leaned into the familiar touch. “Yeah, sweetheart. I think your Gaon is even thinner than Joong-ah was, though I really don't know how that's possible.” Jin-hyung opened the oven and peered inside. “Sweet bread should do the trick, hmm?”

Gunil couldn't help but grin. “I'm sure he'll love your sweet bread, hyung.” He looked over at Yoongi-hyung. “But what's wrong, or rather…is there something wrong with him?”

Yoongi-hyung, who was sitting at the table with a cup of tea, glanced at Jin-hyung, then darted a look at the living room. 

“Close the door, Gun-ah,” Jin-hyung said, setting a cover on one of the pans, “I think we need a bit of privacy.”

Gunil obeyed, crossing the kitchen and closing the sliding door. He leaned back against it and took a deep breath. “Hyung?” 

Yoongi-hyung glanced at Jin-hyung again. Something passed between them that Gunil didn't fully understand. Then the elder turned down the stove and moved to sit at the table as well. “Gun-ah, c'mere kid. Let's hear what Yoongi thinks, hm?”

Gunil nodded, pulling his phone from his pocket as he came to sit at the table. He shrugged at Jin-hyung's look. “I get the feeling we're going to need Jungeun-hyung real soon.”

Jin-hyung chuckled, reaching out to pull Gunil's chair closer to him. “Not a bad idea, sweetheart. Alright, Yoongi-yah, what's the verdict?”

Yoongi-hyung looked at Jin-hyung, then Gunil. He ran a hand through his hair, then pulled his cup of tea even closer, fiddling with the handle of the mug. “Gun-ah, there's nothing wrong with Gaon. Well, I mean, he's not sick,” Yoongi-hyung paused, giving Jin-hyung another of those looks, “he's just…dead.”

Jin-hyung choked on his tea. “Dead?!”

Nodding, Yoongi-hyung gave Gunil an apologetic look. “Yes. At least, sort of?”

Apologetic look or not, Gunil gaped. His mouth dropped open, then closed, then opened again, eyes wide and confused. Had his hyung just said-

“Yoongi,” Jin-hyung said softly, reaching out to set a gentle hand on Yoongi-hyung’s shoulder, “eolin-i, are you feeling alright?”

Gunil wanted to know the same thing. The teen they'd found in the alley was quite obviously not dead. He was living, breathing, walking, talking, sitting-in-the-next-room-watching-TV-alive. 

Yoongi-hyung chuckled then, soft and deep and oddly soothing. “I'm alright, hyung. And technically, so is Gaon.” Yoongi-hyung reached across the table and took Gunil's hand. “I don't know how it's possible kiddo, maybe Jungeun-hyung will, but your new dongsaeng is both alive and well, not.”

This time, Gunil shook his head. “That-that doesn't make any sense. How do you know- are you sure? Where's Namjoon-hyung? Not that I don't believe you, Yoongi-hyung…. But how can someone be dead but not dead at the same time!?” 

Yoongi squeezed Gunil's hand. “I don't know, kiddo. Maybe Namjoon-ah will, he does tend to get more info than I do. But I'm betting Jungeun-hyung will have an even better idea. He's probably run into something like this before.”

Gunil disentangled his hand from Yoongi-hyungi's grip and fell back against the chair. “So what you're really saying hyung, is that I've got an undead dongsaeng?!” 

Yoongi-hyung grinned that big gummy smile that melted Jungeun-hyung anytime the man saw it. “Yeah, Gun-ah. Congrats on finding our first ever zombie teenager.”

"I'm not a zombie!” a voice snarled, “I'm part ghost!”

Chapter Text

****Chapter 4 - Ghosting It****

Part……ghost? Was that even possible? And if so, how?

Gunil turned away from his hyungs to look towards the door of the kitchen - which was still closed, to see Gaon standing this side of it, a fierce scowl plastered across his face. Gunil blinked a few times before taking a couple steps closer to the teenager. 

“You're a ghost?” he asked, stopping a few feet from the awfully-prickly-for-a-ghost teenager.

Gaon didn't move, just scowled even deeper at Gunil, and gave a jerky nod. “Should I leave now?”

Gunil tipped his head to the side, confused. “No,” he said, moving to lean against the counter, “Jin-hyung almost has the food ready. Are you hungry? Do you need to eat? I'm not sure-” 

Gunil suddenly had to fight back a slightly horrified laugh as a forgotten image from the movie Casper resurfaced, running through his mind like a runaway train. 

Please let it not be like that.

The kid dragged a hand through his pastel hair, darting a look at the elders behind Gunil, before looking back at him. “I can eat. You want me to leave after that?”

Gunil felt movement behind him and then Jin-hyung was talking, from somewhere behind his shoulder. “Do you want to leave?” his hyung asked. 

The teenager's look darkened into more of a glare and he shifted on his feet. “Doesn't really matter much what I want, does it?”

“Sure it does. We aren't in the habit of kicking folks out just because they're different,” Gunil answered, still a bit confused. Jin-hyung set his hand on Gunil's shoulder and he leaned back against his hyung without really thinking much of it. “And I'm not planning to hold you here against your will either,” Gunil added, “not that I could, considering you can walk through walls, yeah?”

The ghostly teen struggled to keep his fierce look in place, but a harsh laugh escaped and the look became more of an irritated smirk. “I can't always,” the boy said, taking a step further into the kitchen, “being half ghost is a pain in the ass.”

Gunil heard the aborted snort that Jin-hyung let out and he gently elbowed his hyung. Jin-hyung responded by wrapping one arm around Gunil's middle and squeezing lightly, before he let go and backed up a step. 

How Jin-hyung had known Gunil needed that hug was beyond him. 

“Is it really that bad?” Gunil asked, truly curious. 

The half human teenager nodded fiercely. “It sucks, sunbaenim. I hate it. I think I'd rather be an…an alien.”

“That's not all it's cracked up to be either,” Jin-hyung mumbled under his breath as he turned back to the stove, Yoongi-hyung coughing into his sleeve to cover a laugh, Gunil was sure. He threw an annoyed glare over his shoulder at both his hyungs. 

They weren't helping. 

“Do you want to tell me more about it while we eat?” Gunil waved a hand towards the table. “I bet Jin-hyung will let the maknaes eat in the living room, so there's less people in here,” Gunil said with a glance at Jin-hyung, “but Hobi-hyung will want to eat here,” he added, leaning in Gaon's direction and cupping a hand to one side of his mouth, “Hoseokie-hyung is a bit of a neat freak.”

“Yah,” Jin-hyung snapped softly, with no actual heat in his tone, “don't be rude, Gun-ah.”

Gunil exchanged a look with Yoongi-hyung, who laughed outright this time. “Is it really rude though, when it's true?” the healer chuckled, “cuz you know Hob-ah would agree, hyung.”

Jin-hyung reached back, gently flicking Yoongi-hyung on the temple. “Aish, you're as bad as the maknaes, eolin-i.”

Yoongi-hyung grinned at Gunil, stood up and stepped over to the stove. “And whose fault is that, hyung?” he asked, leaning against Jin-hyung's arm and breathing deep, “it smells great, hyung, it really does.”

“It does, sunbaenim,” Gaon agreed, before Jin-hyung could respond to Yoongi-hyung's snarky question. The ghost boy moved across the kitchen to peer around Jin-hyung's other side, “I do like bulgogi,” he whispered, backing away as quickly as he'd come, “but I haven't had it in awhile.”

“Well, now’s as good a time as any then, hmm?” Jin-hyung murmured, turning to give Gaon a soft smile, “you ready to eat?”

Gaon looked back at Gunil, who nodded. “You go ahead, let hyungs take care of you. I'll tell the others and be right back, yeah?”

Gaon looked from Gunil to Yoongi-hyung, then let his gaze rest on Jin-hyung. “You're really,” Gaon paused, again glancing at Gunil before looking back to Jin-hyung, “you're really not bothered by me being part ghost?”

Jin-hyung shook his head. He reached out and gently hooked a hand behind the teenager's neck, Gunil staring a bit in surprise when the rather snarly kid let him. 

“I'm not, hojeo,” Jin-hyung said softly, his thumb gently massaging the side of Gaon's neck, “I guarantee that no one here is. I'm guessing Gun-ah hasn't told you much about us yet, has he?”

Gaon shook his head and Gunil darted a look at Yoongi-hyung, the elder was snickering softly, Gunil guessing it was from their hyung's use of hojeo. 

Jin-hyung wasn't really wrong - the teenager was as prickly as a hojeo, and he'd said it with such fondness, you couldn't get upset about it.

Gaon didn't seem to be anyway. 

Gunil stepped just a bit closer to his half dead dongsaeng. “We're all a bunch of odd ducks, Gaon-ah. Truthfully, you'll fit in just fine.”

Chapter Text

***†***

Mingi darted up Jungeun-hyung's front porch steps, then paused, hesitating. 

He hoped his hyung really was back home. 

Jungeun-hyung had been gone for a few days to an important SHINE gathering, though Mingi didn't understand why. His hyung wasn't even part of SHINE. It made no sense at all. 

And it wasn't a big deal. He didn't really care that the elder had been unreachable for a period of time. He didn't need him or anything.

Well no. 

He definitely cared. He cared a lot. And he actually, totally, definitely needed him.

And he hadn't been here when Mingi needed him. 

Mingi peered inside the colorful stained glass of the front door. He could see a few lights on through it and hope rose in his chest. Yunho-hyung had said in passing that he thought their Biggie-Hyung, as Wooyoung had recently begun calling him, would be home around dinner time. 

He took two steps closer to the door, hesitating again. He pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped the screen. He dismissed the few messages from Seonghwa-hyung and clicked on the one from Wooyoung.

‘Where are you?! Seonghwa-hyung is going batty!’

Mingi sucked in a breath and tapped out a vague reply. Wooyoung couldn't share what Wooyoung didn't know.

His phone chirped at another incoming text and he clicked on it. It wasn't from Seonghwa-hyung, but he closed his eyes anyway, unsure he actually wanted to read what was sent. He peeked at the phone a moment later. 

‘I know where you've gone, Mingi-yah. Text Seonghwa-hyung RIGHT NOW, so he's not going out of his mind with worry and I won't kick your ass for stressing him like this.’

Mingi shivered. Yunho-hyung was scary when you got him upset. It very rarely happened and he was slightly horrified that he'd been the one to ignite the fire in Yunho-hyung this time. 

His fingers only shook a little when he texted back, agreeing to tell Seonghwa-hyung right away. It was really the only thing to do when Yunho-hyung sounded like that.

He sucked in a deep breath, and swiped to the messages from Seonghwa-hyung…and winced. 

His hyung had gone from simply wondering where he was, to much more concerned, to if you aren't in danger, you will be, and back to worried in just a couple texts. 

Sucking in a deep breath, he texted back. ‘I'm ok, hyung. I went to see Jungeun-hyung. I really missed him. I'm sorry that I worried you.’ 

He peeked at the front door again, stepped forward to knock and then paused. What if he wasn't back? Mingi wasn't sure he could handle that. Not with Hongjoong-hyung being gone also. He'd been called out the day before on an unexpected mission a few towns over, and Mingi was fairly sure if Biggie-Hyung wasn't home, he just might fall apart.

The outside light flicked on just then, and Mingi let out a surprised meep. The front door opened and Jungeun-hyung stood there, looking at Mingi with one eyebrow cocked. 

Mingi recognized the look, but it wasn't one he'd really ever had leveled on him before.

“Hi hyung!” he managed to squeak out, just as his phone chirped at him again, “you're back!”

***

Jungeun-hyung was in the kitchen getting tea and snacks, by the time Mingi dared to look at his phone again. 

Jungeun-Hyung had texted with Seonghwa-hyung in between a number of ‘Aish, Mingi-yah’s and a few hugs that were so tight that Mingi could practically feel the crumbling pieces of his emotions being forged back together. But Mingi hadn't looked at his phone since his initial text back to Seonghwa-hyung.

He swiped the screen, tapped on the text and winced.

‘I'm extremely relieved to know that you are safe, Mingi-yah, but you are well aware that you are not to leave without telling one of us where you are going. We need to talk about that when you get home.’

So maybe Mingi wasn't going home. 

Maybe Mingi would just stay here until Seonghwa-hyung was no longer upset.

It wasn't realistic, Mingi was aware. Jungeun-hyung would never let him get away with that. And he had a terrible feeling that if he didn't return tonight, Seonghwa-hyung would simply show up and haul him back. Possibly by the ear. 

He'd seen it happen with Wooyoung before, and a few times with Sangie-hyung too. And he had no desire for that to happen to him.

‘Yes, hyung. I really am sorry. Yunho-hyung said Biggie-Hyung may be home tonight, and I just had to come. I didn't mean to scare anyone.’

He honestly hadn't. 

Sure, he was aware of the rules, and he could've told any of his brothers where he was going. But Jungeun-hyung had left him for three days.

And Mingi needed to see him. He needed to know, for absolutely certain, that his grand-hyung had come back. 

Because…because he couldn't lose another person.

***

He'd finished the tea and sweet bread that Biggie-Hyung had given him, then climbed straight into the man's lap, dropped his head on the elder’s chest and listened to his heartbeat. Mingi was too big, really, much too tall to fit well, but Jungeun-hyung held him like it didn't matter.

His hyung carded a hand through Mingi's hair. “Mingi-yah, I know you missed me. I missed you too. Very much. And hyung understands why this was hard for you. But you know what you did wrong, yeah?”

Mingi nodded, sniffling hard. “Yes, hyung. I should've just told someone. Yunho-hyung probably would have brought me. I really did miss you though!” he cried, wrapping his arms around Jungeun-hyung.

“I know, kiddo,” Geun-hyung said, hugging him back, “next time, just talk to your hyungs before you leave.”

Mingi choked back a sob. “Joong-hyung isn't even home.”

Jungeun-hyung nodded. “Yes, Seonghwa told me when I talked to him earlier. And I know that Joong-ah leaving wasn't expected, and hyung knows that was unsettling, but Mingi-yah,” Jungeun-hyung said softly, gently pushing back the boy’s fringe to look him in the eye, “baby, running away, even to run here, isn't the answer.”

Tears flooded the teen's eyes. “Everybody was leaving,” he cried, running the sleeve of his sweatshirt across his eyes, “and when Yunho-hyung said you were coming back today, I had to see! Hyung, I had too.”

Jungeun-hyung sighed, pulling Mingi close to his chest and hugging him tight. He held Mingi close for a few minutes, softly humming a tune Mingi didn't recognize, but was soothing just the same. After another few moments, he shifted Mingi up a bit to look him in the eye.

“Sweetheart, your hyungs love you. More than you could ever imagine. Joong-ah is always telling me how much he loves being able to come home to you all. And your Hwa-hyung? Baby, that man would claw someone's eyes out if they tried to take him from the lot of you. No one is ever leaving you, not like that.” 

The tears started again and Mingi sniffled hard. “I know…I really do…” Mingi said around a sob, “but when you leave…I, I don't like it, hyung. I don't like it and I just, I don't-”

Jungeun-hyung nodded, threading his fingers through Mingi's hair. “I know it's hard, Mingi-yah. I do. And your hyungs understand. You just need to tell someone when you're feeling like this. Hyungs can't help you if you don't tell them what's wrong.”

“I can't tell hyungs if they're not here!” Mingi cried, shoving his face into the elder's chest.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Jungeun-hyung said, pulling him close and squeezing him tight once more, “we'll work on it, yeah?”

**†**

“Hyuuung,” Mingi half whined an hour later, as he climbed into the passenger seat of his hyungs's van, “Seonghwa-hyung is going to scold me right into next week.” 

Chuckling, Jungeun-hyung leaned across the console and pulled Mingi close enough to kiss his forehead. “And whose fault is that, baby?”

Mingi frowned. What he desperately wanted to say, that it was Jungeun-hyung's fault for leaving, would likely get him scolded more, so he huffed and settled for a pout. “I missed you.” he whimpered, buckling his seatbelt. 

“Mmm,” Jungeun-hyung hummed softly, “but missing someone doesn't give you permission to break the rules, sweetheart, does it?”

Mingi crossed his arms and glared out the window. Jungeun-hyung didn't have to keep making sense. It wasn't fair. 

He startled when Jungeun-hyung tapped his thigh. “Ow,” he pouted, though it didn't hurt. 

It was the principle of the thing.

“Mingi-yah, don't be difficult,” his hyung chided as he started the van, “you deserve whatever scolding your Hwa-hyung gives you. You know better, baby.”

Mingi crossed his arms, still pouting. Just because he deserved it, didn't mean he had to like it.

“Song Mingi,” Jungeun-hyung said, more sternly than Mingi liked, “answer hyung. You know better, don't you? There's a rule, yeah?” Jungeun-hyung put a hand on his cheek, and Mingi's eyes shot full of tears. Again. 

Hongjoong-hyung did have a rule. And if he was being honest, he was rather lucky that it was Seonghwa-hyung at home and not Hongjoong-hyung. Seonghwa-hyung tended to be less…hands on than Joong-hyung. 

But he wouldn't have left in the first place if Hongjoong-hyung was home. 

Probably. 

“Yes, hyung,” Mingi whispered, sniffling miserably, “we’re not supposed to go off on our own without telling Joong-hyung or Hwa-hyung.”

“Safety reasons, sweetheart. Right?” Jungeun-hyung asked, his hand still on Mingi's cheek. 

Mingi nodded. He still didn't like it. 

***†***

Mingi glanced at Jungeun-hyung over his shoulder. The elder smiled and waved him forward. Letting out a bit of a huff, Mingi typed in the passcode and pushed the door to the apartment open. 

He stepped inside, only to halt again when he heard Seonghwa-hyung call from the living room. “Hyung? Mingi-yah?”

Jungeun-hyung gently pushed him further into the apartment, answering Seonghwa-hyung as he closed the door.

Mingi frowned. Hyung didn't have to do that. Mingi could have simply run to his bedroom and hid out until Hwa-hyung was no longer upset, if Biggie-Hyung had not announced they were home. 

Not fair.

Jungeun-hyung obviously didn't share the sentiment. He pointed to Mingi's shoes as he toed off his own, then continued his gentle pushing right down the hall, once they were both in socks.

“Hyung,” Mingi whined softly, as Biggie-Hyung steered him into the living room. He put the brakes on as they entered though, Jungeun-hyung letting out a bit of a long-suffering sigh. 

Seonghwa-hyung was sitting on the coffee table, looking at San-ah and Sangie-hyung on the couch. Sangie-hyung was leaning against San-ah, which was odd enough, but he also looked really unhappy. 

Mingi didn't get to think much of it. 

“Mingi-yah!” Seonghwa-hyung was up and crossing the living room in seconds, pulling Mingi close in a fierce hug. “Thank the heavens you're alright! Don't you ever do that again, I was worried sick!”

And despite the scolding tone, despite how much Mingi had thought he didn't want to see Seonghwa-hyung, he was suddenly overwhelmed by the obvious care in his hyung's voice. He wrapped his arms around the elder and hugged him back, as tight as he possibly could. “I'm sorry, hyung. I'm so sorry.” 

And maybe he was crying again, and that prompted Seonghwa-hyung to gently shush him, and why had he ever thought his family was going to leave him? He stood there, wrapped in his hyung's embrace, the elder comforting and scolding in equal measure, until Jungeun-hyung's unusually stern voice came from across the room. 

“Hwa?” the elder asked from where he sat on the couch next to a still grumpy looking Sangie-hyung, “just what has happened here?”

Chapter Text

“How about we start by not leaving him alone with his fears?” 

Jungeun-hyung did not sound happy, even through the tiny phone speakers, and Seonghwa felt a bit bad for their emotion bending dongsaeng. Leaving your brother behind and alone was apparently a really good way to rile up their hyung. 

“I apologize. Hyung is a little upset. Hwa, take Felix home, please. Minho needs to see for himself that his brother is alright. I'll be there shortly.”

Felix gasped softly. “Hyung?”

“Hyung needs to talk to you, Chan-ah and Jisung. I know you've had a fright, but this was absolutely not ok.”

And then Felix was crying again. 

Seonghwa took the phone from Felix, listened to their hyung's further instructions, then hung up. There were a few texts, including one from Chan-hyung, but Seonghwa wanted to get Felix in the car before answering anything. 

“C'mon, love. Standing here all night will only make you colder, and get Hyung more upset, right?” Seonghwa unlocked the car and opened the passenger door. “In you go, sweetheart. It won't take long to warm back up.”

Felix sniffled hard, nodded, and climbed into the front seat. Seonghwa made sure the boy was settled, crossed to the other side of the vehicle, got in and started the car. 

“Alright kiddo. Let me tell your hyungs we're on our way, and then I'll get you home.”

Felix didn't answer.

****

“He didn't?” Jisung whimpered, running the sleeve of his sweatshirt across his nose. 

Teenagers were gross, Hongjoong didn't care what anyone said. They were. “Use the bandana you have right there in your hand, Han Jisung,” he muttered, pointing at the piece of cloth, before turning to Chan, “and what do you know that I don't?”

Chan quirked an eyebrow, his eyes glinting a bit. Hongjoong groaned. “You know what I mean, hyung!”

Chan grinned at Hongjoong, then looked back at Jisung. He raised an eyebrow, the teenager squirming at the look. “It seems that Hwa got a call awhile ago from Felix. He was alone, scared and lost…at the zoo.”

Hongjoong couldn't help it. He snorted. The zoo? How? Only one of Chan-hyung's kids would wind up alone in a zoo, while the other ran around chasing his hyungs - in the dead of night. When they should've been home, in bed. 

Chan-hyung was ignoring Hongjoong entirely, just looking steadily at Jisung. “Why was Felix alone, Han Jisung?” 

The kid let out a nervous squeak. “I don't know!” he cried, taking a step back when Chan-hyung crossed his arms, “I mean, I do… we went to the Szerr building, but you and Joong-hyung weren't there. So we sat down while he recalibrated the ping,” Jisung whispered, bouncing on his heels nervously, “he gave me the new ping, but he just kept sitting there, texting with Jungsu. Hyung, I was bored out of my mind-” Jisung was whining and Hongjoong kind of wanted to smack him. 

“You shouldn't have been out of the house anyway, Han Jisung,” Chan-hyung interrupted Jisung's ridiculous tirade, “if you had been at home where you belonged, you wouldn't have been bored.”

Jisung blinked rapidly, holding back tears, which had Hongjoong scoffing. Then the kid started sniffling and he couldn't help but groan, must they always cry? Chan-hyung turned to give him a look then and he shrugged. 

What did his hyung want from him? Their mission was on hold, Jisung was dragging his way through trying to blame Felix for the night's events, even though Hwa-hyung already had Felix. Couldn't they just go home and get it over with there?

“- he got a text from Jongho and I knew they weren't going to stop…..and maybe, maybe I thought I could…. come back and find him after?”

Oh for the love of all that was holy! “How's that working out for you?!” Hongjoong snapped, stepping back quick to avoid the half hearted smack Chan aimed at his head. 

“Hyungie, I'm sorry,” the younger was actually crying now and Hongjoong rolled his eyes. 

And they said he was a whiny maknae. 

***†***

Seonghwa couldn't quite keep the sappy grin from his face as he sat next to Jungeun-hyung. The elder had Felix in his lap, the younger's face buried in their hyung's Highlander sweatshirt. Hwa reached out and ran a hand through Felix's hair, just as Minho appeared from the kitchen, carrying a tray of tea. 

“I'm going to head home soon, honey. I need to get back to the boys,” Seonghwa said softly. Felix didn't move from where he was snuggled, but he nodded. Seonghwa sniffed fondly, then took the tea Minho gave him with a smile. “Thank you, Minho-yah.”

The older teen nodded, and moved to the other side of Jungeun-hyung to sit down. “Sit up brat and drink this.”

“Minho-yah,” their hyung chided, even as he gently jostled Felix, “is that necessary?”

“You've been spending too much time with Hongjoong,” Seonghwa chuckled before Minho could answer, “he would be proud.”

Jungeun-hyung huffed and gave Seonghwa a look. “You're not helping, Hwa,” the elder said, tapping his thigh.

Seonghwa squeaked and scooted away, nearly dumping his tea, which made Minho smirk and Felix giggle, the younger sitting up enough to take his own cup.

“Alright, Lix-ah. Now let's talk, hm?” Jungeun-hyung asked just as Felix took a sip.

“Aww, but hyung!” 

*†*

Some time later the front door lock beeped, followed by soft voices and the sound of feet in the front hallway. Jungeun slid Felix to the couch as he stood up, ready to meet his boys in the hall.

“It's late, Sung. Let's talk so we can get to bed,” Chan's voice got louder as they neared the living room, “don't look at me like that Han Jisung, this was so out of the realm of ok.”

“But, hyung!”

Jungeun stepped into the hall, arms crossing his chest once more. “But hyung nothing, Han Jisung. Explain yourself, this minute.”

Chapter Text

**

Hongjoong set his drink and cookies on the table, at the booth that overlooked the park, and slid into the seat. He took his laptop from his messenger bag and set it on the table too. He sent a quick text to Jungeun-hyung, letting him know where he was, picked up his soda, and opened the laptop.

“Do you ever use your power to knock things over?”

He jolted a bit, startled by the unexpected voice. Dash splashed from the newly opened drink, spraying the tip of his nose and dripping down his chin. 

He put the soda on the table, grabbed some napkins from the holder and wiped his face, then the drops that dotted the tabletop. He turned, ready to give the owner of the voice a piece of his mind. 

And blinked in surprise. 

A lanky teenager peered at him over the back of the booth. The teen, who couldn't have been much older than Hongjoong himself, gave him a shy smile. 

“Do you?” the kid asked again, pushing at his glasses. His horrible, tacky, fluorescent yellow glasses, that slid back down almost immediately. The kid didn't bother to fix them a second time, running a hand through his short spiky hair instead.

“Power?” Hongjoong asked with a bit of a frown. 

There were superheroes all over the city and beyond, but they weren't exactly advertising who they were to the entire planet. And it was unusual to have a random stranger make assumptions. 

Especially an assumption that was scarily close to the truth.

The kid shifted a bit, and tipped his head to the side. “Yeah. You're aware you have one, right?”

Hongjoong snorted. Smart ass. 

Although, maybe not? The other teen was just looking at him, less smug and more…..curious? 

Snap decisions are rarely accurate, Joong-ah. Jungeun-hyung's words in the back of his head were annoying, despite being true.

“Yes, I'm aware,” he said, twisting a bit in the seat, “but how do you know?”

A look Hongjoong couldn't read crossed the teenager's face, and then he shrugged. “I asked you first.”

Hongjoong snorted. Maybe he was a smart ass. “I can if I want to, yes.”

The kid grinned. “That's cool,” he said, sliding out of his seat and coming around to stand near Hongjoong's table, “can I sit here?”

Hongjoong waved a hand towards the table in answer, and the other teen slid in across from him. Hongjoong pushed his plate of Dasik across the table, and the kid dug in almost immediately, cookies disappearing so fast, Hongjoong’s mouth dropped open in surprise. 

“I'm Kim Hongjoong,” he said, collecting himself. He picked up his drink and quirked an eyebrow. “So, how’d you know?”

“Kim Namjoon,” the teen said, leaning back and crossing his arms, “I don't really know. I just…know.”

“You just know?” Hongjoong asked, reaching for his laptop - this was the kind of information Yeon-hyung loved, “since you were young, or was it more recent?” 

Namjoon shrugged. “I think I've always known, but I didn't understand until recently. How about you?”

That made sense. Hongjoong typed quickly, and glanced at the elder. “I've known since I was ten. Is it your only power?”

Namjoon tipped his head to the side again, studying him. “I have another.”

“Really?!”

**†**

Hongjoong's phone chimed again, and he apologized to Namjoon as he tapped to look at it.

‘Joong-ah, it's nearly 7. You were supposed to be home in time for dinner.’

Swiping the top of the phone, he looked at the time. Why did this always happen to him? He tapped out a quick reply. -Sorry, hyung. I lost track of time. I'll be home soon, I promise.-

‘Are you still at Seoltang & Gimi?’

-Yes-

‘Jin-ah will be there any time now, love.’

Hongjoong nodded even though Jungeun-hyung couldn't see him. He texted back, -Yes, hyung- then closed his laptop, and shoved it back in his bag. 

“Do you live around here?” he asked Namjoon as he snapped the buckle on the bag. 

“No. I don't really live anywhere,” Namjoon answered, picking at the leftover cookie crumbs, “do you?”

“I do,” Hongjoong answered, waving the phone in his hand, “with my hyungs. You should come-”

“Aish, Joong-ah! Hyung's been worried! It's family dinner night- oh, hello! Who's your friend?”

Chapter Text

****

He should still be in the water. His body floating away, never to be seen again. Not in a hospital with someone treating him so soft and kind, as if he would break with one wrong word.

He just might. 

He glanced at Kim Seokjin. The man hadn't left the room for any longer than necessary for two days now. An older man, the one Yoongi vaguely remembered from Seokjin’s apartment, had come by the night before, with clothes, a gentle smile for Yoongi and a few quiet words with Seokjin, before disappearing as quickly as he'd come. 

Now Seokjin stood across the room, just out of hearing range, talking to a nurse. About him, Yoongi was sure. It was likely she was telling Seokjin that he was fighting a losing battle. 

Yoongi couldn't blame her. 

She wouldn't be wrong.

He needed to sit up. Needed to be productive. Attempt to function like a normal person. That's what Samchon Ki had always told him. Yoongi had never quite figured out what that meant. He'd never made the man happy enough to be told. 

He tried to shift upright. Tried to make his weak limbs cooperate. He wasn't completely incapable. He hoped.

“Hey, hey,” Seokjin said, and he was at his side almost instantly, “let someone help you, eolin-i.”

But he was beyond help. It had been drilled into him for years. And he should tell this man that. Make him leave before he was involved in the disaster that was Min Yoongi. There was no need for-

“Yoongi-yah? Did you need something? A drink? Are you hungry? Do you need medicine?” Seokjin was crouched near Yoongi's head, the fingers of one hand gently threading through his hair.

It felt nice. And Yoongi struggled to think through the emotions filling his chest. They weren't necessary or needed. Emotions caused problems. 

“I'm alright.” His voice was rough and strained and he hated how weak he sounded. But it was normal, really. No change there.

Seokjin chuckled softly. “I don't believe that for a minute, eolin-i. Let me get you some water, yeah?”

The elder didn't wait for Yoongi to answer, simply getting up and crossing the room to the small stand near the door. Yoongi watched him pour a cup of ice water, while asking the nurse something Yoongi couldn't hear. She nodded though, and left the room, as Seokjin brought the water back. 

“C'mon, sweetheart. Drink up. Lunch will be here soon, and hyung asked for some more meds for you.”

Hyung?! Oh no. No, no, no. 

Yoongi didn't deserve…eolin-i was bad enough. He couldn't handle any more loss once Seokjin decided he wasn't worth it. 

Everyone decided he wasn't worth it. “I'm not…you can't, no one ever wants to-”

“But I do.” Seokjin's voice was solid and soft and true, and in those three simple words, a teeny, tiny broken piece of Yoongi's heart, started to mend.

Chapter Text

~A Few Days Later~

Yoongi woke up slowly, the fluorescent lights once again making it difficult to think. But that wasn't right. Where was Seokjin? He always had the nurses dim the overly bright room lights. He blinked, sitting up slowly. 

And realized Seokjin wasn't there. 

There was a nurse though, by the door, fiddling with his chart. She looked up and smiled. “Your friend has just gone to the lobby. His brothers came to visit. He'll be back shortly.” 

Yoongi nodded, though he didn't really understand. Seokjin hadn't mentioned brothers. Not once in the week he'd been here. Not that they'd had any overly in depth conversations. But, still.

The older man, the one Seokjin called Geun-hyung, had come by a few times. Always with food or clothes, and a smile that made Yoongi want to smile back. But, no brothers. Yoongi would have to ask, if he was brave enough. 

But then came the question, if Seokjin already had a family, why did he want Yoongi?

It didn't make sense. 

*†*

Nearly an hour later, Seokjin still wasn't back. And Yoongi was about to rip the IVs and wires from his body, run from the room and find the elder. Maybe. Probably not. But he needed to do something. Anything to curb the anxiety that was crawling through his chest like a tank on uneven ground. 

He twisted around on the bed, eyeing the cords and monitors with distaste. He kicked his foot in annoyance when the blanket got tangled in his feet. It only served as a reminder that Seokjin wasn't there to fix it. 

The nurse -one he didn't recognize and certainly didn't want- asked if he needed help. He shook his head with a tiny huff, and shifted around some more, kicking his foot until the blanket let go. Then he buried his face in the stupid stark white pillow and tried to go back to sleep. 

Seokjin would be back. The nurse had said so. Right?

*†*

“How is he?”