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Usually, on a standard weekend morning, it would be the whistling of the goldfinch and crooning of the robins high in the treetops, paired with the early spring sun casting waves of warm glow onto the bed sheets, like unravelled glittery ribbons tying the blankets down as if they were the wrapping paper and the streaks of sun the bow that held it all in place, that would wake Kun up. The toasty warmth and snugness eventually rousing him from his slumber to greet the day, and to feed the hungry cat scratching at the closed bedroom door.
Sometimes, even, it would be an excited little, but not so little, boy crawling under the covers and unabashedly covering his cheeks in sweet little kisses with giggles laced between. Anything that wasn't the shrieking of his alarm was a great way to wake up, but if you asked, Kun would definitely say his favourite way to wake up would be to his baby boy Chenle scattering his face in tiny pecks.
However, this time it wasn't the birds singing their melodies that emerged Kun from his deep sleep, and neither was it the heat of the sunlight, nor his face being smothered with kisses of innocent love. Instead it was the hair-rising screams emitting from the room beside his own.
“Chenle,” Kun whispered, voice trembling with gut stricken fear not for himself, but for his roommate. He quickly cleared his throat of sleep and tore the quilt from his body before tumbling off the bed and leaping over the fallen cushions towards the bedroom door. Something smashed behind him, and Kun surmised it was the lime green vase that had been sitting on the dresser collecting dust. It wasn't anything significant or exorbitant — he had gotten it from a charity shop last summer — it just occasionally held bunches of hand-picked flowers from the park that died within the night.
Swiftly turning the corner and nearly stumbling over a frightened feline, Kun twisted the doorknob and pushed it open, a little too harshly, because it collided with the bookcase behind and a few picture storybooks fell to the floor. Kun paid it no mind and scanned the room. No axe wielding murderer, or burglar hiding inside the shadows. Just the quivering lump underneath the covers. Kun sighed and strode over, carefully sitting down so he didn't startle the poor boy.
“Chenle, baby,” he whispered softly, and lifted his hands up to remove the patchwork blanket, and his heart shattered into a million pieces when he saw Chenle curled up into the tiniest of balls, shivering with terror as sobs tumbled from his mouth with incoherent words. Chenle seemed to of felt the draft of the room hit him, and jolted his neck up, a cry on his lips, but upon seeing who it was he held out his arms and wept.
“Daddy.”
The sound was wet, shaky and incredibly petrified. Oh, how Kun just wanted to scoop the smaller up onto his lap and hold him close, whisper everything would be all right. So that's exactly what he did.
Kun shushed him quietly, lifting up under his armpits and gathering him onto his knee, settling himself until he too was comfortable on the bed. The room was slightly on the chilly side so he grabbed the blanket and swaddled it around Chenle, who was babbling, burying his face into the man's chest. Kun would have to sacrifice his bare feet to the cold but that was perfectly okay.
“Lele,” he cooed, attempting to quieten his cries before they sent him into a full-blown panic attack. He was already hiccuping and gasping for breath due to the intensity of the sobs. “Take a deep breath for Daddy, baobei.”
It was strikingly obvious that Chenle had had a nightmare, a rather rare occurrence. Little Chenle was a rare occurrence in itself, which is why Kun treasured every moment of it when the boy regressed. When Chenle wasn't little, they were just roommates. Best friends. Kun was in his last year of university and Chenle in just his first year of college. Their relationship was completely platonic and while what they did between themselves were strange to others, it was how they wound down after a particularly hard day. Kun admittedly wished Chenle regressed more often because taking care of someone else, making them feel loved and looked after was the thing that just melted away his stress. But sometimes just a good movie and cuddling on the sofa could do that.
Kun continued cradling Chenle to his chest, instructing him to breath in, and then out, until his breaths were regulated and he was sniffling dismally, cheeks wet with drying tears and nose all snotty. Kun cooed at the sight of his baby’s tiny hand fisting his pyjama shirt, but cringed a bit when he went and rubbed his runny nose all over it. It wasn't a big deal - he’d just change it when Chenle was asleep again.
“What happened, huh, baby?” Kun asked gently and brushed Chenle’s brunette fringe away from his eyes. They were looking up at him, all large and glossy; a perfect picture of complete innocence.
Chenle let another wet sob out. “Bad dream,” he murmured, and another tear slipped out. “No ’yike it, Daddy. Lele no ’yike it!”
“Oh, I bet you didn't like it, little one. Daddy’s sorry you had a bad dream.” Kun caressed the younger's rosy red cheek, admiring the light freckles spread across his button nose. “Can you tell Daddy what it was about, Lele?”
More tears made an appearance, and cries bubbled up from Chenle’s raw throat. Kun whispered words of comfort, sweet reassurances, and held him closer, waiting patiently for him to speak, and eventually Chenle croaked out:
“D-Daddy left Lele. Didn’t like Lele n-no more!”
Kun closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He knew what those kind of dreams were, the kind where loved ones hurt you or left you behind. He’d woken up weeping from a few himself when he was a child and it sometimes left him unsettled for hours after. Because although he knew his mother loved him with all of her heart, wouldn't ever hurt him, the odd nightmare of her being as cruel as can be randomly popped up in his sleep.
Readjusting their position, Kun lifted Chenle’s chin until their eyes met, brushing away a tear with the pad of his thumb. Cinnamon eyes gazed into his own.
“Daddy won’t ever, ever leave his little boy. Never. Okay, Lele?” Kun said firmly yet gently. Chenle whimpered, and gave a nod. “I’m so sorry you had that terrible dream, Lele, but Daddy’s right here. Daddy isn’t going anywhere.”
Chenle lifted his arms up and around Kun’s neck, hiding his face. “Love you, Daddy.”
With a smile, Kun hugged his baby back. “I love you, too, Lele.” He pulled back and yawned, just remembering how late it actually was, but Chenle's throat was sore from crying and Kun knew some warm milk with honey would soothe it, and hopefully send the younger back to sleep.
“How about some honey milk, baobei?” An excited noise made its way out of Chenle’s mouth and he pulled back, nodding voraciously with puppy eyes, noticeably still unsettled by the dream. When Kun thought about it, he wondered why Chenle was hiding under the covers when he opened the door, but then he remembered the smashed vase and what a ruckus he had made to rush over. He had probably scared the Little even more.
“Okay, little one.” Kun stood up from the bed, and with the blanket as well, lifted Chenle onto his hip. He was by no means heavy, but they were pretty close in height. Kun wasn't much taller, although Chenle was quite frail and skinny, which definitely made it easier to carry him.
When they entered the kitchen Kun switched the light on and the room came to life with the artificial glow. Their cat, Buttermilk, jumped up onto the counter top and mewed loudly, as if she were telling Kun off for giving her a fright earlier. Kun grinned and scratched behind her ear apologetically. Going to prop Chenle beside her, the younger whined and gripped onto Kun's snotty pyjama shirt.
Kun raised an amused eyebrow. “Lele, I need to make your milk. I can't do it if I carry you, can I, baby?”
“No, Daddy.” Chenle grumbled in defeat but soon became happy when Buttermilk swaggered over, purring delightfully and butting her head against his hand. He giggled and swung his socked feet - boring white socks, because he'd gone to bed Big.
Preparing the milk on the stove, Kun watched them in adoration. “Is she giving you kisses, Lele?”
“Lots of kisses for Lele,” Chenle said with a sleepy smile. Kun quickly mixed in the honey and poured it in Chenle’s baby bottle, a simple white one adorned with outlines of sheep. He tested the temperature on his wrist - perfect.
He gathered Chenle back into his arms and handed him the bottle. As soon as it was in Chenle’s hands he began gulping it down, slumping his weight in his daddy’s hold. Kun tightened the blanket around the smaller in his hold and carried him back into the bedroom, swaying his body to try and rock Chenle to sleep. They stopped in front of the mural on one of Chenle’s bedroom walls. It was a jungle with animals peeking out from the trees and leaves with friendly faces.
Kun swore his heart combust when Chenle lifted a hand and waved towards the painted animals.
“Is baby saying hello?” he cooed, and Chenle nodded tiredly, still suckling on the bottle. Kun waved, too. “Hello, giraffe, I can see your spots.”
Chenle giggled.
“Oh, hello, zebra, what lovely stripes you have!” Kun chuckled when Chenle giggled again, a milky burp bubbling from his mouth.
He leaned down and pecked Chenle’s soft brown hair, carrying him to the bed and getting comfy beside him. Chenle managed to finish the whole bottle and continued to suck, so Kun swiftly switched it for a purple glittery dummy. Forgetting about the dried snot on his shirt, Kun decided to sleep with his baby tonight, cuddled together in the blanket, and soon after Buttermilk joined them.
No more nightmares.