Single Father • Namjoon + BTS!Kids

cxlvii.

"What about our eye d-damage?"

"Okay, maybe a little less than even," Tae admitted. "But let's stop talking about the lab and talk about something else instead."

"Yeah, you guys are going to move back in with us," Jungkook said, shifting so he was facing Jimin at an angle, a smile on his lips. "When are you going to move in?"

"Ummm..." Jimin played with his fingers (not that he could see them very well). "Not sure yet..."

"Well, I mean, Yoongi's out of the hospital so there's nothing holding you back," Jungkook continued, tapping his foot on the ground and resting his elbow on his thigh.

"Well, there's Mom," Jimin said, tilting his head slightly and tightening his lips. It wasn't really a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth.

"She can't make you stay," Tae said, frowning uncertainly, but Jimin shook his head, causing the spots in his vision to jump around a bit.

"She's not, it's j-just...it's hard to leave her," Jimin finished, nervous about saying too much, but he knew that if he said too little, they'd never stop with the questions.

"Why?" Jungkook asked with a frown, but it was Tae's question that Jimin responded to.

"What's she like?" Tae asked, his eyes uncertain. It wasn't that he didn't have a slight idea of who she was, but Jin and Jungkook tended to avoid her, so Tae had always stuck with them. He wondered what it would be like to live with her, to be around her all the time. To have a proper relationship with the woman who had brought him into the world instead of trying to pretend she didn't exist.

"She's nice," Jimin began, but he frowned because that sounded too simple, too basic. "She doesn't b-bake us cookies or anything but she probably would i-if we asked. And she's good to t-talk to. A-And she cares a lot about us, all of us, and s-she would sacrifice anything to k-keep us safe." That was close enough to the truth. Maybe too close. "S-So," Jimin began. "Next time I think T-Tae should be in charge of lab safety."

***

Friday night.

Football night.

The two families had decided once again to skip their usual Friday night dinner and instead attend the game together. It would be one of the last games Jin played in, and they wanted to support him. Not just that, it was the big football game the night before the school dance, which meant everybody was there.

Which meant, in turn, that there was a lot of pressure on Jin.

He looked up at the stands and scanned the rows until he found the one holding his family. He smiled at gave them a slight way before turning and grabbing a water club, taking a few sips, and throwing the cup away.

Jin was nervous.

Nervous about what he was going to do.

Nervous about what it would do to him.

He drained another water cup.

"Easy there," a fellow teammate said, and Jin turned to see Changkyun watching him. "Drink too much water and you'll be cramping up on the field." For whatever reason, Changkyun had pronounced the word water differently, as though he were trying to imitate a British accent.

Jin still didn't really understand the kid, not that he'd tried much. "You'll get more time in the game then," Jin replied, looking back at the bleachers.

"Well, yeah, but nobody wants to be put in for someone with an injury. We all want each other to play our best, right?"

"Well, get ready because you're going to be playing longer than expected today," Jin mumbled without an explanation before jogging off toward the bench.