Participation Awards

Sleepover

As the other members gathered around the table, Adrien opted to stay in 'Jin-Hyung's' lap. Adrien recognized them all, but seeing them in front of you was so different than seeing them through a screen. Namjoon carried in some papers and sat next to Jin and Adrien so he could let Adrien read them. Taehyung sits on the other side of Jin so he can be close to Adrien as he'd been the closest one to him so far other than Jin. The others filled in randomly.

Adrien was positioned on Jin's lap and face toward the table. Jin kept his arms loosely around his middle to keep him from slipping off. "So Adrien, would you like to see our rules and boundaries before you agree to sign the match contract?"

Adrien was surprised they were allowing him to read information about them before signing the confidentiality agreement, so he shook his head. "Should protect. Need the confidential paper." He felt a bit frustrated that in his current space, he couldn't quite trust himself to say big words right.

Namjoon smiled at him and pulled out a paper. It was the full contract for confidentiality. "You're such a respectful little one. Your hyungs appreciate you looking out for us. If it would help you feel more comfortable, you can sign it. But we won't submit it to our lawyer until you've read it while completely big. Is that ok?"

Adrien isn't sure that's exactly how that works, but he nods. It does help him feel a little better that he doesn't have to read a strongly worded document after existing in document hell all day. He signs the paper as best he can. "Sorry... I am really bad at signing. I can't get it to look pretty or the same every time..."

Jin lightly pets through his hair and hums. "That's alright for now. If it bothers you, your hyungs can help you with your handwriting sometimes."

Adrien nods and watches as Namjoon slides the contract to Taehyung, who slides it into a folder he has. "Rules now?" Adrien asks because he really does need to know if they are rules he can follow before he agrees to all this.

Namjoon smiles and lays a laminated paper in front of him. "I know it might be hard to remember all these, but we'll have a few copies pinned around the house so you can find them if you need to. The first rule is you need to listen to your hyungs. We are all your caregivers after this point, and we will do our best to make sure you are safe and cared for."

Adrien nods. "If I think it's something not good for me, I can ask to get approval from the others?" He had situations come up before where he had a caregiver who only wanted him to do what he liked and didn't care if it was good for Adrien or if he consented to it, for that matter.

Taehyung rubbed his arm with the backs of his fingers. "If you truly think it's something not good at all and you feel like your safety is on the line, you're allowed to call Jae to come and take you somewhere safe until it's resolved. We'll pay for your apartment to be kept, and we'll send a cleaning service every now and again so you'll have a space just for you to be safe."

Adrien nods and feels a little relieved that he didn't have to lose his apartment but also guilty for using their money like that.

Namjoon kept on with the rules. "The next rule we'd like to discuss. We would never want you to feel like you can't have a job or finances while you're with us, but it is our preference that you not be employed."

Adrien blinks at him, processing the words. To a lot of people, it would be so offensive. Expecting someone to be financially dependent on someone they don't know when they have no way of knowing it it will actually work out. For Adrien, those words were magic. Being autistic and a little, being employed was the worst possible case for him. He couldn't handle loud noises, he wasn't good at reading and anticipating customer needs or improvising, so customer service was awful. He had so much anxiety that the littlest suspicion that he messed up or inconvenienced someone and he'd crumple. He wasn't smart enough to grasp IT or support concepts. That's how he got stuck in accounting, but even that weighed on him like a boulder.