Chapter Text
Namjoon looked up with raised eyebrows as he heard Yoongi let out a frustrated groan from across the room. The elder was sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, laptop perched on his thighs, trying to get work done. It was late; the other boys had already gone to bed. Namjoon would have gone earlier too but when he saw Yoongi staying up, he figured he should keep him company and make sure he didn’t overwork himself.
“Is everything okay, Yoons?” he asked, laying down the book he’d been reading onto his chest. The other boy just hummed in response, pinching the bridge of his nose. Namjoon observed him for a few moments before sitting up and patting the seat beside him. Yoongi opened his eyes and stared. He considered rejecting his offer and continue working but his heavy limbs and eyelids were screaming at him to go join Namjoon on the couch. He clicked ‘save’ on his work (several times, just to be sure) then, closing his laptop, pulled himself up and over to where Namjoon was sitting patiently waiting for him.
Yoongi curled up beside him, bringing his knees up to his chest and leaning into the other boy’s warmth, resting his head on his shoulder. Namjoon smiled lightly, bringing an arm around to gently rub the small boy’s back. The two sat like that for a few minutes, revelling in the comfort of each other. It was Namjoon who broke the silence first.
“Is everything okay, baby?” Baby. There it was. Yoongi whined a little, pressing himself a little closer to Namjoon.
“So tired, Namsie. S’too hard,” Yoongi grumbled lightly. Namjoon registered the slightly higher pitch in his voice and smiled slightly to himself. It had been a while since the elder had slipped into Little space, and he had seen the stress and strain building up ever since.
“What’s hard, baby?” he asked, resting his own head on top of the other’s. He knew well what his hyung was finding difficult, but he thought it best to let him express it himself and let his frustrations out. Instead of answering though, Yoongi simply pointed a tired arm in the direction of his laptop. Namjoon sighed, gently taking hold of his Little’s hand.
“Tell me with your words, baby. Can you do that?” he asked, stroking the back of Yoongi’s hand with his thumb. Yoongi didn’t usually regress beyond the point of being able to express himself with spoken language and Namjoon knew this time was no exception, so he encouraged the other to speak. ‘He’s probably getting too tired to speak, but if I let him go to sleep in this state with all this pent-up stress and frustration, it won’t do him any good,’ Namjoon thought to himself. He patiently waited for Yoongi speak again.
“The ‘puter work,” he whispered, staring over at his laptop and pouting. Namjoon couldn’t hold back his grin at seeing the way the Little’s bottom lip jutted out, as though the laptop had come to life and been rude to him. He tightened his arm around Yoongi’s waist. Good enough answer, he mused to himself. With his free arm, he scooped up the Little’s legs and lifted, until the smaller boy was sitting on Namjoon’s lap. Yoongi whined a little more and shuffled impossibly closer into Namjoon’s form, hiding his face in the crook of his neck.
“I know it’s hard, baby. You just need a break, okay? Does Yoongles want to sleep with me in my bed tonight, hm?” Namjoon asked, gently rocking the smaller. He felt the Little shyly nod; while he would prefer him to speak, he also realised that the small boy in his arms was probably verging on the point of passing out. Without further delay, Namjoon gathered up his strength and lifted himself and Yoongi up off the couch. He carefully carried them down the hallway to his and Taehyung’s shared room. Before entering, Namjoon tapped Yoongi’s side, signalling he needed his attention.
“Baby, Uncle Taehyung is asleep in here too, so you have to be really quiet, okay?” he said, looking down into the other’s puffy eyes. He nodded his understanding, but Namjoon had to make sure. Only he, Hoseok and Jimin knew about Yoongi’s Little space tendencies so far.
“Words, baby. You need to be extra quiet for Namsie, okay? I can’t turn on the light either, so you need to show me how brave you are, okay? Can you do all that for me, Yoongles?” Namjoon asked, gently bouncing the smaller in his arms.
“Okay, Namsie. Yoongles do it for cuddles with Namsie,” the Little whispered.
“Good boy, baby. That’s my good boy,” Namjoon praised. He soundlessly opened the door to the bedroom, the light from the hallway illuminating a path to the bed. Namjoon carried Yoongi over, gently placing him down on the edge of the bed. He lightly placed a kiss to the top of his head before quickly dashing around and gathering things they’d need while they still had the light of the hallway. As his caregiver, Namjoon always makes sure to keep a box full of things Yoongi uses while in Little space hidden inside his closet. After rummaging around for a moment, he brought out two large sweatshirts for them to sleep in, Yoongi’s favourite plushie, and a pacifier. He quickly threw off his pants and shirt, and pulled on his own sweatshirt before closing the door and making his way over to his bed. He felt Yoongi reaching out blindly to grab him.
“Namsie…Yoongi scared,” the Little whispered. Namjoon was afraid this would happen. In Little space, Yoongi hated the dark. Namjoon knew that but they couldn’t risk waking up Taehyung with the light. He sat down beside Yoongi, wrapping a comforting arm around him.
“Shh, Yoongles. You need to be very quiet, okay baby? We can’t wake up Uncle Tae,” he whispered back, rubbing the other’s back. Yoongi pouted to himself but nodded his understanding. Namjoon kissed his forehead before standing up again, bringing the Little with him. Noting the tight fists still clutching his shirt, Namjoon gently grabbed the Little’s hands, bringing them up to his lips to lightly kiss his knuckles.
“Let’s get your dressed for bed then, shall we, baby boy?” he whispered through the darkness. With a quiet ‘okay’ as a response, Namjoon began stripping the Little, helping him into his large sweatshirt. Once he was changed, Namjoon handed him his plushie and pacifier, which the other gratefully took with whispered thanks. Namjoon couldn’t see properly through the dark, but he knew the other looked absolutely adorable.
“You look really cute, baby boy,” he told him. Namjoon swears he could almost see the other beaming through the darkness. With another light kiss to the forehead, Namjoon pulled back the covers, allowing Yoongi to slip into the inside of the bed. It wasn’t uncommon for any of them to share beds, and Yoongi usually dropped his pacifier during the night, so Taehyung never noticed nor suspected anything unusual when he woke up and found his hyungs sleeping together.
Yoongi snuggled down deep into the covers, burying his face into the plushie. Namjoon followed after him, laying on his side to face the Little. He rearranged them so Yoongi was lying with his head on his caregiver’s chest, one arm tightly embracing his plushie, the other gripping onto the neck of Namjoon’s shirt; both their legs tangled up together. With one hand Namjoon held Yoongi securely around the middle, and with the other he gently ran his fingers through the Little’s hair. That always helped Yoongi to sleep, and Namjoon was sure that, even though the elder was clearly exhausted, he would need all the help he can get to fall asleep right now.
“Namsie…” Yoongi whispered, tugging slightly on his shirt.
“What is it, baby boy?” he replied, smiling at the other’s cute slurred-with-sleepiness speech.
“Love you, Namsies,” Yoongi whispered. Namjoon could feel the Little smiling against his chest, making him smile lovingly into the darkness.
“Namsie loves you too, baby boy. Now, get some sleep, okay? I’ll be here,” he whispered back. He pressed a kiss to the top of Yoongi’s head, never once ceasing his gentle strokes through his hair. It wasn’t until Yoongi’s breathing evened out and his tight hold on Namjoon loosened did he allow himself to drift off to sleep too.