"That corner first, and then that corner, and then this corner, and then that corner," Jimin instructed softly, clutching the blanket to his chin while peeping over it to see if Namjoon was tucking him in correctly.

"Like this?"

"No, the other one goes before that one."

Namjoon tried again, but Tae finally stepped in to demonstrate, fixing the blankets.

Jimin hummed happily, vibrating inside his blanket nest as Tae ruffled his hair and gave him a kiss on his forehead, holding his bangs back so they wouldn't get in the way.

Then Tae turned to Namjoon. "That's how Mommy does- did it. That's how he likes it, okay?"

Namjoon nodded, watching Tae climb back into his own bed, pretending like he was fine, but Namjoon knew that Tae had a soft spot for Jimin and was always trying to take care of him.

But then who will take care of Tae?

Namjoon gave Jimin a kiss on the forehead, to which Jimin squeezed his eyes shut and giggled, before going over to Jungkook's bed. "Night night," Namjoon whispered, and Jungkook cooed softly at him as Namjoon gave Jungkook a kiss on the forehead as well, making sure he was properly covered in blanket.

Then Namjoon went to Tae's bed.

"I don't need to be tucked in," Tae announced while making sure to stay quiet so he wouldn't bother his brothers. "I'm a big boy. I'm all grown up."

"All grown up, huh?" Namjoon asked casually before he began tickling Tae.

Tae lasted three seconds before he erupted in giggles, but then he slapped a hand over his mouth, looking horrified, as he looked to check if he'd woken up the others.

"Relax," Namjoon whispered, smoothing Tae's hair with his hand. "You still have a lot of growing up to do. Just take it slow, all right? There's no need to rush."

Tae pouted but sighed while nodding ever so slightly, rolling over so he didn't have to admit it to Namjoon.

"That's a good boy. Now let me give you a kiss."

"Uh uh."

"I'm not leaving until you get your goodnight kiss."

"Uh uh, I'm too big!"

"Tae..."

Tae huffed before rolling back over, pointing to his forehead. "Fine, but just right here. And you can't tell Jimin or Kookie."

Namjoon smiled but stopped himself, trying to maintain all seriousness as he leaned in and gave his rebellious little kid a goodnight kiss. "Good night, Tae. I love you. You know that right?"

"Yeah, Daddy. You only tell me every day," Tae moaned before he broke out in giggles. Then he cut off again, like he was embarrassed. "I love you too, Daddy. Now go already."

Namjoon just chuckled, exiting the triplets' room and heading over to the bigger kids' room. He knocked on the door and waited until he heard the rhythm of quick footsteps running across the floor and jumping into bed and the click of the light switch being flicked off.

"It's time to sleep," Namjoon scolded gently, but he didn't plan on punishing them. Maybe another time, but it was late and he was feeling generous.

"Night Daddy," Hobi chimed cheerfully. "I need a goodnight kiss!" He made kissy lips, and Namjoon laughed before leaning down and giving him a peck on the nose since that always made Hobi laugh.

"Night Yoongi," Namjoon called out as he climbed up the first three rungs on the ladder.

"Night," Yoongi said, hesitating before taking the initiative as he leaned forward and gave Namjoon a quick kiss on the forehead.

Namjoon blinked, completely surprised. Yoongi's been so affectionate lately...I wonder why? "That's awfully sweet of you," Namjoon said, smiling at Yoongi, who buried his face in a pillow.

Then Namjoon ended next to Jin's bed, having climbed back down the ladder and crossed the room. "Night sweetie."

Jin grinned at Namjoon. "Night, Daddy!" He stood up on his bed, messing up his blankets as they slid off of him. He bounced twice before wrapping his arms around Namjoon's neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Then he hopped back down and rolled around until his blankets closed around his like a burrito.

Namjoon carried his smile to bed, thinking that life couldn't get any more perfect.

***

Namjoon dropped all the kids off at school the next day except for Tae. He'd felt like he'd been neglecting Tae a little bit, and he'd gotten used to relying on Tae to be the "big brother" of the three triplets (even though he was born two minutes after Jimin). He felt like he needed some alone time with his little alien. Besides, all Tae was missing was playing with building blocks and maybe the first 3 letters of the alphabet if they were really turning it up a notch.

His decision had caused a bit of an issue in the car though because Jimin didn't want to go to preschool without Tae and had clung to Tae until Namjoon had forcibly lifted him out of the car.

"You can be a big boy for one day," Namjoon had said, consoling Jimin. "You'll be fine, I promise."

Jimin had finally calmed down enough for Namjoon to drop him and Jungkook off, although it had been more with help from Tae than his own words. Tae had rubbed Jimin's back and told him that if any of the boys in their class bothered Jimin, Tae would bite them the next day to teach them a lesson. While Namjoon hadn't even been able to get Jimin to stop crying, Tae had made him laugh.

The older kids went off to school without any issue. Hobi had seemed a bit reluctant until he saw a classmate of his, Namjoon guessed it to be Wonpil since Hobi talked about him so much, and ran off.

"So, our day of fun starts with a small trip to the grocery store because Daddy forgot to buy stuff for dinner this week," Namjoon began, and Tae just kicked his feet happily.

"Sounds good," Tae said.

***

Only it wasn't good. Namjoon could see that now as he stared across the shopping cart - Tae strapped in the front compartment - at the woman who used to be his wife.

Thank God Tae can't see unless he-

Tae craned his neck, twisting around in his seat. "Mo-" he automatically began, but he cut off as though sensing that the word had been tabooed. Tae looked back to Namjoon. "Daddy, it's..."

Namjoon just nodded, patting Tae's head absently as he stared at the woman who had taken so much from him and his children. "Why..." His voice was rough. "Why are you here?"

"Because I ran out of lettuce," she said dryly, "and I don't grow any in the garden."

"Oh, so you have a garden now," Namjoon replied, swallowing. "That's nice."

"Yes, it is. The carrots are turning out rather well," she said stiffly, and Namjoon noticed her eyes drifting down to the kid in his cart.

He cleared his throat, drawing her attention back up to him. "That's great." He nodded. "Just great."

She was silent for a moment. "Still working at the same place?"

Namjoon shook his head, leaning on the cart so Tae's face was pressed up against Namjoon's chest. He wanted to hug Tae, but he couldn't let himself or Tae appear weak in front of her. "No. Got a night shift job."

"Night shift?" She blinked, looking genuinely surprised. "When do you sleep?"

"Why do you care?" Namjoon couldn't stop himself from saying before he exhaled. "Speaking of sleeping, where's the guy?"

Her lips pursed, and whatever semblance they'd had of a conversation instantly shattered. "He likes whole wheat bread. I believe he's grabbing a loaf."

From against his chest, Namjoon heard the vibration as Tae whispered, "Whole wheat is gross. Jin said so."

Namjoon fought back a smile, and he didn't have to try hard when he was staring at the woman who had broken seven hearts overnight. "Well, I guess you'd better find that lettuce then."

Namjoon went to push his cart, but she suddenly called out, "Taehyung."

Taehyung's reflexes forced him to look at her, as she'd used the same tone of voice on him that she'd used before she'd left: slightly reprimanding, sharp around the edges. He swallowed, his "big boy" facade slowly disappearing as his eyes widened and his lip quivered. "D-daddy says y-you left us," he whispered, but she didn't react.

"Yes, well," she began, and Namjoon absently noted that her lipstick was the same shade as it had been before. "Everybody leaves for something." She hesitated as though realizing how bitchy she sounded. "Taehyung, I-"

"Right, chicken nuggets," Namjoon muttered. "How could I forget?" He quickly pushed the cart away from her, cutting her off, cutting off the words she might have said.

Taehyung, I still love you.

Taehyung, I regret leaving you.

Taehyung, I'm sorry.

***

Namjoon stopped the cart once they'd gotten far enough away, and his inhales and exhales were sharp and quick.

Tae's lip was still quivering, and Namjoon finally took the opportunity to wrap Tae in a firm hug. "I'm so sorry, baby. You were so brave, so strong. I'm so sorry..."

Namjoon felt his tears soaking into Tae's hair, and he quickly wiped them away, not wanting Tae to see.

How had I ever thought that I was over it, that I was ready to move on? I can't even see her, let alone talk to her, and she still terrifies me because I'm afraid of how she's going to hurt me - or worse, my kids - next.

If she ever got custody...I don't know what I would do. The kids are my life. I'm nothing without them. They're all that's holding me up, holding me together.

Namjoon hugged Tae for a long time, unable to move a muscle due to the tension that had become the master of his body, tear tracks evident on his face, until an old woman tottered over to him.

"Don't cry, sweetie. I'll give you my buy one get one 50% off coupon. If there's anything I've learned in life that I can pass on to young men like you, it's that 59 extra cents for a pound of chicken isn't worth crying over," she said before handing Namjoon a coupon and walking away.

Namjoon just stared at the coupon before he burst out laughing, making Tae laugh simply due to the contagious nature of laughter, even though laughing was the last thing they felt like doing.

"All right, looks like we're getting two," Namjoon announced and Tae cheered, albeit a little less enthusiastically than normal, as Namjoon tossed the two dinosaur packages into the cart.

Namjoon tried to find the woman to thank her since she'd broken him out of his frozen moment, but she was gone. Namjoon decided that it was some sort of miracle. He almost felt like crying out of gratitude over it.

But, as he'd been so wisely instructed, 59 cents was nothing to cry over.

***

Namjoon and Tae just went back to their house and watched Tae's picks for movies all day since Namjoon wanted to do anything he possibly could to cheer Tae up, but Tae, despite his worries, seemed to be bouncing back just fine. Still a little shaken, but nothing some aliens couldn't fix, or at least act as a bandage for the time being.

Then Namjoon strapped Tae into the car and picked up Jin and Yoongi, followed by Hobi, before parking at the preschool.

"Stay in the car and be good," Namjoon said, rolling the windows down a little bit (but not enough for Tae to manage to crawl out) before going in.

"Daddy's been gone a long time," Hobi said, craning his neck to peek out the window. "What's taking him so long?"

"You know how Jungkook is," Yoongi said. "How all the girls like him or whatever," he said, and Tae nodded, the main source of gossip about preschool life.

"It's gross," he said, his voice still a little uneven.

Yoongi frowned slightly, picking up on Tae's off-kilter vibe, and he ruffled Tae's hair.

Jin sighed. "Yoongi's right. It's probably nothing."

"I hope Daddy hurries though," Hobi said, peeking out the window anxiously. Wonpil had actually convinced Hobi to eat a quarter of his sandwich so he wasn't hungry, but he knew he would be when he finally got home. For some reason, he was able to eat fine when he was in his house, maybe because it felt like a safe area for him.

"He'll be here," Jin said, staring out the window. "Any minute now."