Hongjoong chewed on his bottom lip as he went over the list one more time. He had volunteered to do the first official grocery run for the house and had taken down the requests from everyone for the kind of food they wanted.

After confirming everything was on there, he grabbed his keys and his wallet and made his way to the front door.

Then he paused when he saw Mingi leaning causally against the wall next to the door. "Where do you think you're going?" The taller said with a slight smirk.

Hongjoong just held up the list as his mouth opened a little bit, although no words came out.

Mingi chuckled and pushed off the wall to open the door. "Let's go then."

"But..."

"But nothing. You said we weren't to go out by ourselves. I figured that goes for you too." Mingi winked at him and motioned for Hongjoong to continue.

The older felt his cheeks heat up as he focused on the view directly in front of him and hurried out the door.

Damn him... He always knew what to do to get Hongjoong a little flustered, and the older didn't know what to do about it.

Nothing had really happened between the two of them since their last conversation when he had confessed that he didn't know how to date. Mingi had seemed understanding, and truthfully, they really hadn't had a chance to do anything since Wooyoung got hurt and they moved into their new building.

Hongjoong could feel Mingi fall into step behind him and did his best to keep a straight face will walking to his car.

"Nice ride." Mingi said, and the older glanced over to see a look of awe on Mingi's face.

"Thanks, I restored it myself with the help of Yunho." Hongjoong stepped inside and smiled as Mingi took in the interior. The car itself was an old car from a few decades ago, but with a lot of time and love, the inside had been restored to support all the modern technology most cars had.

He loved this car so much.

They drove in silence to the nearest store and awkwardly made their way up and down the isles grabbing random items off their list.

Hongjoong bit the inside of his lip as Mingi's shoulder brushed against him while reaching for the top shelf to get some oil. He must have also made a sound because Mingi turned to him and gave a soft smile. "So." The taller looked around.

They were alone in the isle.

"So." Hongjoong copied, fidgeting a little bit.

Mingi set the oil down in their cart then lifted a hand up to brush Hongjoong's cheek gently. "You're cute when you get flustered." He said softly.

Hongjoong felt himself turn red as he glanced at the floor. "I can't help it. You make me nervous." He added quietly.

The taller smiled and took a step back. "Our fearless leader, nervous." He chuckled.

"I never said I was fearless." Hongjoong glanced up at Mingi and felt his heart beat faster at the smile there.

"I know." Mingi turned back to the list and started to read over it.

Then, as they started walking, he took Hongjoong's hand in his, lacing their fingers together as he pushed the cart.

This was... Nice.

Neither one felt the need to say anything about it, but Hongjoong could tell Mingi was happy that he hadn't pulled away.

He didn't want to either.

Hongjoong had been doing a lot of thinking, and yes, he had a job to do. He wanted to rid the world from the mafia and gang bosses that had taken over. A lot of people wanted that.

But that didn't stop those people from embracing other parts of their lives. They still got married, had kids, traveled. They tried to live.

So he had decided to try it too, even though he had no idea what he was doing. The last person to show him any affection, besides his friendship with Yunho, was his father.

It was time for something new.

So Hongjoong let Mingi gently pull him through the store as they finished shopping. Even as they paid, they never broke contact.

It was a peaceful feeling for Hongjoong. And he was proud of himself. He had decided to take a risk, and it looked like it might pay off.

They loaded the groceries into the back of his car and just as Hongjoong went to take the cart back, Mingi grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

Hongjoong brought his hands up and hugged him back, smiling into the taller's chest. "If we didn't have groceries I'd say we should stay out a little longer."

"We have plenty of time for that. We will take it slow, for your sake." Mingi whispered into the top of his head. "So let's get back and feed the kids." He chuckled and Hongjoong thought he felt him kiss him through his hair.

"Yeah, Yunho probably needs some more coffee." He said with a smile as he hopped into the driver seat. "Maybe that will cheer him up a bit."

"Yeah he did seem a little... Moody today. Is everything ok?" Mingi glanced over at him.

Hongjoong had been wondering the same thing. Yunho had been scowling a little more than normal during the meeting, at least before he had gone into the kitchen. It hadn't seemed like a caffeine deprived scowl... But maybe he just read it wrong.

"I guess we will see. He can be grumpy when he hasn't had enough coffee. I keep trying to come up with ways to help him quit, but he refuses to try. It's a comfort to him, so getting him to give it up is easier said than done."

Mingi hummed and glanced out the window. Then he sat up a little straighter and glanced at the rearview mirror.

"I know, I saw it too." Hongjoong said, clenching the steering wheel. A car had been following them for a couple of blocks now.

"Do you recognize it?" Mingi asked, sitting back in his seat so he looked casual again.

"No." Hongjoong ran a finger over his bracelet to pull up the calling system. "Yeosang."

"What is it Boss?" The younger answered quickly. Hongjoong rolled his eyes at the title.

"I need you to send a drone out. I think Mingi and I have a tail."

"On it." The line was silent for a few minutes. "Tracking your bracelet now to get your location... Sending out drone."

Hongjoong had to hand it to him, the kid was quick.

"Alright, I've got you in my sight. Running diagnostic on the car now."

"Are you ok Hongjoong?" Yunho's voice came through.

"For now. Be ready though, we might need a 'Side-Swipe'."

Hongjoong could practically feel Yunho beaming through the phone as he ran to his car. If things came to it, the taller could be counted on to provide a good distraction to get Hongjoong away from the tail.

He made a random left turn down a side street, his eyes flicking to the care in his rearview mirror as it also made the turn.

Another right, then left turn confirmed to him that this person was following him.

"The plates aren't in any of our systems, so they are fake." Yeosang said. "Sending the nearest the officer the information now."

"Good job, Yeosang. Let's see if that scares them off." Mingi smiled at Hongjoong, but the oldest wasn't ready to celebrate just yet. There was no way he was driving home with this person behind him. And whoever it was, they were persistent.

They had to know that Hongjoong knew about them by now. So either they were oblivious and didn't know it, or they were trying to do something else.

"Car 221 is on its way."

"Is there any way you can see who's driving, Yeosang? If we can get a face and run it that might help." Hongjoong asked, taking another right and an immediate left.

"One step ahead of you. There are two people in the car, both armed. The car itself seems to be enhanced. According to my scans... it's bulletproof, even the windows. I'm trying to get an angle where I can see the face, but the windows are tinted so it's making it hard."

Hongjoong didn't like this. His instincts told him to flee, but there was no way to do that without possibly hurting a civilian. Not right now at least.

Either this person had recognized Mingi and were out for revenge because he stole from them... Or they were after Hongjoong because he was the new Chief of Police and had been doing a much better job than the previous chief.

"Yunho, head out. Aim for 'Side-Swipe' on 51st and Trial." Hongjoong ordered.

"Got it." The younger responded quickly.

"What's 'Side-Swipe'?" Mingi asked.

Hongjoong smirked as he made a sharp turn to go to the intersection he had indicated. "Yunho is the best damn driver you'll ever meet. If you need a quick getaway, he's your man. He is a gutsy fool who isn't afraid of anything when he's driving. 'Side-Swipe' is something we came up with to help a fellow officer ditch a trail like we have now. You'll see."

As the intersection got closer, Hongjoong glanced down a street that gave him a view of 50th. He saw Yunho zip by so he stepped on the gas.

"Hold on." He warned Mingi as the car picked up speed.

The one behind him did as well, weaving in and out of traffic just as easily as Hongjoong did.

A few cars honked at them, but Hongjoong's only focus was the light in front of him. He pressed a button in his car to keep the light green in his direction and floored the gas pedal.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of metal, indicating that Yunho had driven into the wrong lane, preparing to run the red light and cut off traffic.

There was the perfect gap.

"You're kidding, right?!" Mingi almost yelled as he pressed himself into his seat.

Hongjoong was able to get a couple of cars behind him as he sped through the light.

Right as Yunho whipped behind him, causing several cars to slam on their breaks and swerve to the side.

And trapping the car in question amongst the chaos.

"Fuck!" Mingi gasped, placing a hand over his heart as he breathed heavily. "You guys are insane!"

Hongjoong laughed. "You kind of have to be to be a cop in this city. Yunho, are you ok?"

"Oh I'm great! Can we do that again?"

The older chuckled and kept driving, still making a few detours before driving back to the house.

Yunho had beat him there and was waiting in the garage, leaning against his car with his arms crossed, one leg bent, and a wide smile on his face.

The door opened and San poked his head out, smiling once he saw Yunho was back. He hurried to the taller's side, and Hongjoong heard him asking if Yunho was ok as he stepped out of his own car.

"I think that question would be better for Mingi." Yunho said as he walked around his navy blue sports car and looked Mingi up and down.

The thief was bracing himself against the side of Hongjoong's car, knees shaking slightly.

"Yup. I'm totally fine right now. Just saw my life flash before my eyes... Several times." Mingi said, eyes wide as he stared at Hongjoong's car. Then he lifted his hands up and backed away from it as if just now realized he could have died in there.

Yunho laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a baby. That was amazing!" He bounced on the balls of his feet as Hongjoong walked over to Mingi.

"Are you ok? I didn't mean to sca-" He was cut off as Mingi pulled him into a bone-breaking hug, but seemed to relax almost instantly once Hongjoong hugged him back.

"I'm better now."

Hongjoong felt himself blush a little and let the hug last a few seconds longer before he stepped away.

San and Yunho had already taken a load of groceries inside, so hopefully they didn't see any of that, but Hongjoong had a feeling they probably did.

He huffed and grabbed a couple more bags and walked inside.

The four of them worked to put everything away, with an unexpected break as Yunho cheered when he saw the several bags of coffee Hongjoong had bought him.

He stooped down and lifted Hongjoong off the ground and spun in a circle, making the four of them laugh.

The noise was enough to draw Seonghwa and Jongho into the room and the six of them chatted happily until Yeosang came in with a stern look on his face.

"They got away." He said, looked at Hongjoong.

"Damn..." The chief said, slamming his hand against the table.

"I tried to get a good view of them, but it was almost like they knew I was there. They jumped out of the car and kept their heads down as they ran into the crowd and fought their way through. And then it was like they vanished. I have no idea where they went..." Yeosang said, looking down.

Hongjoong walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. You helped a lot today, thank you."

The younger looked up and puffed out his chest a little in pride.

"Where's Wooyoung?" Seonghwa asked, looking around.

"Sleeping in my bed." Yeosang chuckled.  "Jongho dropped him off earlier and he was out in almost an instant. He was supposed to be keeping me company."

Seonghwa gave a soft smile as he pulled a bottle of medicine out of the cabinet and left the room.

San and Yunho also walked out, following Jongho, to the training room, and Yeosang left to go back to his office, leaving Mingi and Hongjoong alone again.

Their fingers laced together as if by instinct as they both worked to finish putting away the remaining groceries.