The beach house

27

Today Jeno insists he will buy Taeil and Joy a wedding gift. It's the least he can do, and while he knows Taeil has more money than him, he knows he will appreciate a gift from the heart.
"Are you guys coming with?" Jeno asks as he gets ready to call an Uber.
"Of course we are." Renjun says. They wouldn't dream of letting him go alone, not only because they plan to smother him with love until his surgery but also the inherent danger of Yuta's stalker and Taeyong's unstable ex.

When they get to town he freezes.
"Guys, I've never bought a wedding gift before, what do I do?" He asks, wishing he would have researched it a bit.
They walk from shop to shop trying to come up with the perfect thing. He wants it to be something special. The last shop they find is a pottery store. Everything is made right there in the store and is exquisite quality. He picks a beautiful vase then happens upon a sculpture of a pair of hands intertwined.
"How much is this one?" He asks the shop worker.
"That one is custom made every time. If it is not for you then you can get a certificate to give to the recipients, then they come in and get it casted. It is $150 for the whole session." He smiles to his boyfriends who look at him proudly for finding the perfect gift.

"I'll take that." He says excitedly but Jaemin grabs his hand.
"Wait babe, why Don't we get this too and it can be from all of us? Unless you'd rather do it alone? I mean i shouldn't presume." Jeno smiles softly.
"I would actually love to give them a gift from the three of us." He honestly didn't know how this worked. He wasn't sure if it was ok to ask. He's still getting used to the whole boyfriends thing.

They decide to make a day of it and get ice cream too. Renjun and Jaemin take turns feeding him which he secretly loves. He giggles when Renjun purposefully touches his spoon to the tip of his nose. He pauses though when he hears it. Renjun and Jaemin immediately pick up on his frozen frown.
"Baby? What's wrong?" He holds his finger to his mouth.
"Shh, listen. That voice is so familiar." He turns to see a handsome, tallish man at the counter. He can't place it but the voice is so familiar.

He watches as the man grabs his ice cream cone and turns looking him directly in the eye. He smirks and walks up.
"Looks like you got in the house again, I was wondering what ever happened to you." He chuckles and walks away as the others look on stunned.
"Wait? That's the guy that rang the doorbell?" Jaemin asks.
"Yeah, I guess." He says softly.
Renjun quickly stands and tries to run after him, of course the others aren't far behind.

"Damn it! I can't find him. I was going to yell at him for not helping you." He says with a pout. Jeno grabs his hand and kisses his fingers.
"Thank you. I love you." He says sweetly.
"Honestly though he did alert you to my situation?" He says with a shrug.
"Like a coward though." Renjun says angrily.
"It's ok though, I'll get him the next time I see him." Jaemin chuckles along with Jeno as they walk toward their car.

When they get home Doyoung and Taeyong are cooking together.
"Hey cuties, we made enough for everyone." Taeyong sing songs.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Renjun asks.
"Oh I don't know, it could be the sex?" Renjun scrunches his nose.

"Or maybe it's the fact that Yuta is safe in a policeman's arms at the moment and I feel like we will be able to put this whole stalker situation behind us. I've started helping Joy make a few last minute arrangements for her wedding. We even booked a surprise honeymoon for them that will whisk them away as soon as the wedding is over." Jaemin shakes his head with a smile.
"That was a mouthful." Taeyong's cheeks heat up.
"Sorry, I'm just excited and hopeful. I just want this wedding to be amazing, they deserve it." He starts to tear up so Doyoung hugs him from behind.
"It's ok, you can talk all you want baby." Taeyong makes a cute face and the others all melt a little inside, even Renjun.

"Hey Jen? Can we talk outside please?" Taeyong asks with a shrug.
"Yeah." He responds right away, he glances over at Renjun and can see that he isn't showing jealousy like he was, he's so happy. When he gets out the door he can see already that Taeyong is upset.
"What's wrong?" He asks softly. Taeyong turns with tears streaming down his face.
"Is it Jaehyun?" He shakes his head no and tries to catch his breath.
"Doyoung?" He shakes his head again.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy f-for you but I'm so scared and honestly? I really Don't think we are out of the woods with this stalker thing and Jaehyun is on my mind and I don't know why I'm laying this all on you?" Jeno rolls closer and pats his lap.

"I know I can't calm your fears about any of that really but I will tell you that I will be ok. No matter the outcome, I've decided that what ever I'm dealt I will play the hand." Taeyong laughs.
"Bullshit. You are scared shitless." Jeno nods and allows him to hug him.
"I really am, and I Don't want my boyfriends to know so I guess we are in the same situation." Taeyong let's out another little chuckle.
"I'm going to miss you so much. You may just think that I'm only friends with you because we slept together but it's more than that.
I feel we have a connection. Like we were brought together by fate. You've done so much for me and you don't even know." Jeno scoffs.
"You are the one that drove them to insane jealousy which forced us together finally. I think you are pretty helpful too." Taeyong laughs and plays with his hair.

"Not only did you calm my raging hormones, you gave me confidence, made me feel good about me and you stood up for me even against someone you loved. That says a lot about your character." Jeno smiles softly.

"You did all that for me too you know? Since my accident I hadn't had sex once, so there is that. You made me feel like even with this defective body, someone could find me at least attractive enough to get off." Taeyong scoffs loudly and wipes Jeno's eyes.
"I hope you realize that even for me, it wasn't that simple. I could see your beauty, I still can. You are a very attractive man and you deserve all the love you get from those boys." Jeno smiles again through a new round of tears.

"I'm so glad I found you Taeyong and I'm so glad we are friends. If I come out on the other side of this surgery? Will you still be there? Even if I still can't walk?" Taeyong's grip tightens around his waist.
"You will come out of it for sure and I will be there. I'm never leaving you. You are my bestie for life now wether you like it or not." Jeno nods with a big smile.

"As far as the other stuff? I think you should talk to Doyoung about it, I know he is right there with you and will protect you from anything." Taeyong nods and wipes his eyes.
"I'm going to be there for the surgery. Don't worry." He says seeing Jeno frown.
"I am planning on coming right back here the next day for the wedding. I just need to know you will be ok." Jeno finally nods.

"We should probably head back in?" Jeno asks quietly as Taeyong is still sitting on his lap. He giggles.
"I suppose we should, I don't want the little scary one to come and get me." Jeno laughs, a pure pretty laugh that brings a little comfort to Taeyong's weary heart.
"Thank you, for this. I really needed it." Taeyong says softly before opening the door.

He half expects Renjun to be standing there with his arms folded, glaring angrily. So he's quite surprised to see all of them sitting at the table eating. They go to the table and each dish a plate. Everyone can tell they had an emotional conversation but don't think they need to ask.

"Hey, are you all still on for the carnival tomorrow?" Renjun asks excitedly.
"Are you kidding? I love carnivals." Taeyong responds.
"Good. I want us to have a great time together." Jeno kisses Renjun on the cheek.
Everyone coo'd at Renjun's sweetness, even Taeyong who is still slightly scared of him.

Taeyong talks a little to Doyoung about his fears but doesn't want to pile everything up at once. He already feels really bad for unloading it all on Jeno. It's enough to give him a good nights sleep though.