Twelve Little Brothers

Let Me Live

Joshua's POV

"Okay, I trust you all to be decent human beings. Just have fun and don't get too wet because I don't have extra clothes for everyone. Hoshi, don't go past your feet, okay?" Appa said, and we all just waited to be let out of the car.

"I know, Appa." Hoshi said, and Appa finally opened his door, meaning we could open our doors. As soon as we got out of the van, I saw Bambam run at me from their car, and I was scared he would knock me over.

"Hey, Joshua. Hey, Hansol." We smiled and Bambam grabbed our wrists to drag us to the beach.

"Have you ever been to the beach before? I have. We went last summer. Jackson hyung tried to jump a giant pile of sand, but he ended up eating it. And then one time Mark hyung fell asleep and we buried him in the sand. It was so funny when he woke up. And-"

"Bambam stop dragging Hansol and Joshua! They can walk on their own." Mr. Jaebum yelled from across the parking lot, and Bambam immediately let go of our hands.

"Sorry." He dropped his head and Hansol and I looked at each other, trying to figure out everything he just said.

"It's fine. We've gone to the beach once, but I don't really remember it because it was so long ago." I answered, and Bambam picked up his head again.

"We're going to have so much fun today! It's going to be awesome!" Hansol and I nodded and Bambam ran towards the water again, motioning for us to follow.

And Appa thought we were crazy.

Hansol laughed at what I said and we watched Bambam run straight out into the water after he took off his shoes and socks. I shrugged and pulled off my own shoes and socks before Hansol did the same.

"It's cold! But it feels nice! Come on in!" Bambam smiled and brushed his wet hair out of his eyes.

Didn't Appa tell us not to get too wet?

I nodded and Hansol sighed. Bambam just decided he would take matters into his own hands, so he dragged us into the water with him.

"Appa told us not to get too wet, Bambam!" Hansol screamed in protest, but it was obvious Hansol wasn't too upset.

"Oh come on, Hansol. The water doesn't even reach your shorts." I looked down and saw Bambam was right, but that was until he splashed me.

"Hey!" Of course I splashed him back, and it caused an entire water war. The three of us couldn't stop laughing, and eventually some of our brothers joined in.

I accidentally splashed Jackson hyung full on in the face, and I froze in fear and amusement while he slowly wiped the water off of his face. Jinyoung hyung saw what I did and gave me a thumbs up, but that did it for Jackson.

"I'll give you two seconds to run." My eyes widened and I quickly sloshed through the bit of water I was in and onto the sand. Jinyoung hyung and I ran as fast as we could, but Jackson hyung was faster.

I barely made it to where the Meanies were making a sand castle before Jackson hyung tackled me into the sand. I screamed and Jackson hyung started to throw sand on me so it would stick to my somewhat wet clothes.

"Wonwoo, Mingyu, want to help?" The two year olds immediately nodded and started throwing sand on Jackson hyung instead of me. I smiled and helped them while Jackson hyung pretended to be hurt.

"I meant Joshua, not me." The two of them looked at him like he was crazy, and just decided to crawl back to their sand castle. Jackson hyung gave up on them and ran over to the double y's to mess with them.

From my spot on the sand, I could see everyone playing around, and a smile formed on my lips.

Jihoonie was softly humming to himself and tracing his fingers through the sand, not far from where Appa, Mr. Jaebum, and Mrs. Jaebum's wife were talking. I completely forgot her name. A ways away, Minseo Noona and Mark hyung were talking together while watching the majority of everyone play in the water. Kwannie and Dokyeom were trying to keep Hoshi occupied and they were peacefully making their own sand castle.

I completely gave up on playing around with everyone when I saw Jun pick up Minghao and carry him through the water. Watching everyone have fun was enough, especially since it is now very uncomfortable for me to move now with wet sand stuck to me.

"Hyung, I'm hungry." Mingyu whined as he crawled into my lap and leaned up against my chest. Wonwoo gave up on their sandcastle and crawled onto me too.

"Let's go ask Appa of he has any food then." The two of them nodded, and I was hoping they would get off of me, but they didn't move.

"You have to get off of me so you can get food." Mingyu whined and reached up so in would pick him up. Wonwoo just positioned himself and clung onto my back. I sighed and carried Mingyu on my hip and Wonwoo on my back, over to where Appa was sitting.

"Shua, what are you doing?" He asked with a smile on his face. I groaned and sat down so they would detach themselves from me.

"These two are hungry." Without hesitation, Mr. Jaebum's wife reached into her bag and tossed us each a pack of gummies.

"Thank you ma'am." I bowed slightly and elbowed the Meanies so they would do the same.

"Thankeu." They both mumbled, but she smiled nonetheless. I helped the Meanies open their gummies and we sat together eating them. I looked down at my last three gummies, and then back up at BooSeokSoon. I stood up and walked over to them.

"Do you each want a gummy?" They nodded quickly and opened their mouths. I fed them each a gummy and threw out the wrapper.

"So how's the castle going?" I asked while sitting down next to Hoshi. He pouted and Seungkwan sighed.

"It's okay, but I want to be out there." Hoshi pointed with his good arm towards everybody splashing and sighed.

"We're trying hyung, but it's not working." Dk said, referring to keeping Hoshi occupied. I ruffled Hoshi's hair, but he frowned some more.

"I get it Hoshi. When your shoulder is better we'll come back to the beach and then you can play all you want." Hoshi's eyes lit up and I smiled.

"Really?" I nodded.

"Of course."

...

The ride back home was very silent since mainly everyone was sleeping. Hansol's head was rested on my shoulder, and I watched Chan move around a bit in his sleep.

Our day at the beach was very hectic, but definitely fun. That doesn't stop the fact that I am counting down the minutes until I can take a bath and get this sand off of me though. BooSeokSoon deciding they needed to bury me did not help at all.

"Is anyone awake?" Jihoon whispered from the back row.

"I am." I whispered back.

"Oh. Can I please sleep with you tonight? The couch isn't my favorite." I mentally sighed. Jihoon hasn't slept in his own bed since Hoshi dislocated his shoulder.

"Sure. What's wrong with your bed though?" A minute of silence lapsed through the van, and I thought Jihoon had fallen asleep.

"My bed feels like guilt with a smell of regret."