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“Koo-yah! You’ve got a package!”
Jungkook pauses his game, certain he heard someone calling him. He shifts one of his headphones off his ear with his shoulder and listens, waiting. Silence. He resumes his game but decides to keep his headphone off, just in case.
“Jungkook-ah! If you don’t get down here I’m gonna open it without you!” Hoseok teases. Jungkook pauses his game again and nearly trips over his desk chair in an attempt to get out of his room. The wire for his headset pulls taut and they crash to the floor. He winces, feeling a piece of his soul slipping away. Those were expensive. “Jeon Jungkook, can you even hear me?”
“I’m coming! Don’t open it, hyung, I’m coming!” Jungkook calls, ripping open his bedroom door and half-sprinting down the hallway towards the front door to his and Hoseok’s apartment. He barely stops himself in time so he doesn’t barrel into Hoseok, who’s carrying a medium-sized box towards their couch. The older boy moves the box away from Jungkook as he gets closer, knowing that the younger boy has a bad case of grabby hands, even outside of littlespace.
“Ah, wait for me to open it, Koo-yah.” Hoseok chides. He bats Jungkook’s hands away and swipes the scissors from the kitchen, opening them and slicing through the packing tape.
“Hyung,” Jungkook whines, “You’re being too sloooow.” He tries to wrestle the scissors from his hyung when - like the little shit he is - Hoseok opens the box even slower. Hoseok laughs and ruffles his little’s hair. “Hyung!”
“Hyung’s sorry for teasing, KooKoo. Now, let’s open the box, huh?” They each grab a flap and pull the box open. Inside the box, beneath and in between all the air packets, are a few things. Two plain pacifiers, one red and one black, tucked together in a small drawstring bag. Two long-sleeved onesies, both covered in game controllers but one neon-coloured and the other pastel-themed, neatly folded. Resting under the onesies is a blue and yellow bunny sippy cup, with two little nubs on the top for the ‘ears.’ And finally two rabbit plushies - one solid white with a blue ribbon around the neck, and the other a mottled orange with a green ribbon.
Gasping, Jungkook reaches into the box and pulls the plushies out. He squeezes them for a moment, one in each hand, then hugs them to his chest and beams. They’re so soft! And squishy! And cute and adorable, just like him and oh, what should he name them, it has to be a good name, something perfect, somethin-
“Koo, honey,” Papa coos, getting Koo’s attention. He looks up at his Papa, eyes sparkling, and excitedly shows him his plushies. “I see them, sweet boy! They look just like my baby bunny,” Papa leans in and kisses his nose and Koo giggles. “What’s my sweet baby bunny gonna name them?”
Koo holds up the white one first, “To,” he says cutely. He holds the orange and white one up and says “Kki.” Hoseok thinks he needs to sit down, that was about the cutest thing he’s ever seen in his life. He plops down next to the still-open box and pulls his little one down to sit in his lap. Koo snuggles into his Papa’s chest and makes the two plushies bounce and play around on his Papa’s shoulders. Papa lets him for a bit, loving that his baby is calm and relaxed enough to regress.
Since Jungkook brought up this whole thing he’s been jumpy and tense, like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Hoseok to suddenly announce that he isn’t okay with being his Papa anymore. Hoseok was hoping the arrival of all his little stuff would help the younger boy feel more secure about it all.
Once Koo had his fill of playing with his plushies - only a few minutes, the baby’s attention span when he was little is flighty, at best - he crawled off of his Papa and over to the box, peering over the side. Koo tilted his head and set Kki down so he could reach in and grab the sippy cup. He pulled it out, looked at it, turned it in his hand a few times, then decided he was going to nibble on the ‘ears.’ Hoseok immediately shot forward and gently pried the sippy from Koo’s hands.
“Oh no, little one, no thank you, give that to Papa, please,” he said, trying his damnedest to not be affected by the baby’s big brown bunny eyes. He looked so sad...no Hoseok, you must be strong. The sippy hadn’t been washed yet and it didn’t even have anything in it for Koo to drink. Germs, Jung Hoseok, think of the germs. He can nibble on it all he wants after a quick wash and fill. “Oh, sweet boy, don’t cry.”
“Pa!” Koo sniffled, reaching for the sippy. Why did Papa take it away? Was it not for him? But it looked like a bunny! And he’s Papa’s baby bunny! And...and...and Papa always told him that only big boys drank from glasses, and Koo isn’t a big boy, so...so what was Koo supposed to drink out of? His eyes sting and he feels a sob climbing up his throat.
“Papa knows, honey bunny, but he’s gotta wash it first,” Papa says softly. “Here, grab To and Kki and let’s go to the kitchen, okay?” Koo shakily grabs To and Kki in his arms and lets Papa pick him up to carry him to the kitchen. He cuddles the bunnies close when Papa puts him down on the counter beside the sink. He watches silently as Papa unscrews the lid on the sippy and starts to wash it. Papa dries it off with a dish towel and fills it with water, before screwing the lid back on and handing it back to Koo.
“For Koo?” The little asks, looking from the sippy to his Papa. Papa smiles encouragingly and nods.
“Yeah, baby. For Koo.” He says, lightly nudging the sippy. Koo looks down at it again and sticks the ‘ears’ in his mouth. He whines when no water comes out - his sippy doesn’t work! His eyes begin to water again and Papa kisses his forehead to try and get him to calm down. He gently wraps his hands around Koo’s and presses the little button on the front of the sippy - the top pops open and a little silicone straw bounces up.
“Here honey, try that.” Papa says, endeared and heart so, so full. Koo sniffles and sucks on the straw, eyes going wide when he gets a mouthful of water! The little smiles around the straw and continues happily sucking, kicking his legs back and forth and lightly hitting the cabinets. Papa picks him up again and they go back to the living room.
Koo gets set down on the living room rug and happily starts playing with his bunnies again, making them play and hop around, all over his legs, the coffee table, the couch, the TV stand, anywhere he can crawl to. He makes them talk to each other, though only in his head, because he’s shy when he’s little and doesn’t like to talk very much.
Hoseok takes the bag with the paci’s and the two onesies out of the box and sets them aside while he breaks the box down to store it better. He makes sure Koo is okay - he doesn’t look like he’s even aware his Papa is in the same room as him - before taking the paci’s out of the bag and cleaning them in the kitchen sink. When he comes back he crouches down to his little and holds one paci in each hand.
“Which paci does my Koo want to use today?” He asks, smiling. Koo looks between the pacis in his Papa’s palms for a moment, then sticks his thumb in his mouth. Hoseok laughs and chooses the black one for him. “No no, honey - yucky germs are on Koo’s hands, you’ll get sick. Koo doesn’t wanna get sick, hm?” Koo shakes his head silently, eyes big and trusting. Koo doesn’t like being sick.
Hoseok coaxes the little’s thumb out of his mouth and presses the nipple of the paci to his lips. Koo doesn’t like it at first, turning his head away, but once Papa slips it in, Koo discovers that he rather enjoys the paci. He smiles at his Papa in thanks and goes back to playing with his new bunny friends. Papa boops his nose and stands. Koo waves at him when he walks back towards the couch.
Hoseok picks up the two onesies and goes to throw them into the hamper; he wishes Koo could wear one now, but he doesn’t know where they’ve been or who’s touched them, so it’s better to wash them first. He also wishes he bought some blocks or something. The bunnies were great as Koo’s first real littlespace toy, but he’ll need something else very soon.
Big Jungkook has a multitude of hobbies and it doesn’t seem like Little Jungkook will be too much different. Maybe he should get some finger paint or something? Jungkook likes art. He’s…a bit young when he’s little though, nearing babyspace. What if he tries to eat the paint?
Back in the living room, Hoseok settles on the couch and grabs his laptop. Koo is now playing near their shoe rack, one bunny in each of his shoes as he makes both the bunny and the shoe hop around.
Hoseok ended up buying child-safe, non-toxic finger paint, a plastic tablecloth, and an apron, because Big Jungkook was normally conscious enough to not get paint all over his clothes and didn’t see the need to buy one. Little Jungkook wouldn’t have that level of motor control or concern. He also bought a set of soft foam blocks and a few picture books. Hoseok closes the lid of his laptop and stretches, looking around for Koo.
The living room is empty.
Tamping down his mild panic, Hoseok shoots up from the couch and runs to the kitchen, images of baby Koo playing with knives or upended in the trashcan or knocking their toaster off the counter and right onto his head-
The kitchen is empty, too.
Oh my god, he lost his little. He’s a horrible Papa, Jungkook is never going to trust him again, if he even lives long enough to come out of littlespace. Oh god, don’t think about Jungkook dying, don’t think about Jungkook dying, don’t think about Jungkook dy-
“Pa!” The voice comes from the dining room and Hoseok nearly slips and falls in his rush to check, scanning the dining room for signs of his lost little. Koo crawls out from under the table, a wide smile on his face and hair all messy. He isn’t holding his bunnies. The older man visibly relaxes and sighs in relief, sinking to his knees and bringing his little into his arms.
“Hey sweet boy, what are you doing under there?” He asks, leaning around Koo’s head to see under the table. To and Kki are sitting on one of the chairs, facing each other. Jungkook’s shoes are on another chair, one facing out and one facing to the side. Koo’s sippy is between the shoes, lid flipped open. Koo’s pants are also draped over the chair that his bunnies are sitting on, like a tablecloth. Hoseok looks down and sees that Koo is indeed not wearing pants. “Koo, why did you take your pants off?”
“Too hard.” Koo takes his paci out to reply to his Papa. He briefly gets distracted by something behind Hoseok but his attention quickly swivels back when he starts to play with his Papa’s hair, enjoying the shine and texture.
“What’s too hard, sweet bun?” Hoseok asks, confused. Too hard to speak? Too hard to get his pants off? He already took them off though. Koo pats the chair closest to them.
“Too hard.” He repeats.
“The...chair?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Okay, honey bunny.” Hoseok kisses Koo’s nose, then his cheeks, then his forehead, then his chin, then everywhere he can get his lips on. Koo giggles happily; it tickles! Hoseok slows down when Koo’s giggles turn breathless and presses a final kiss to his baby’s forehead. “Can Koo get his shoes, his pants and his bunnies from under the table, please?”
“Mm,” Koo sticks his paci back in his mouth and crawls back under the table. His pants come flying out to land ungracefully in front of Hoseok, then one shoe, then both bunnies, and finally the last shoe. Koo crawls out from under the table, sippy in hand and clacking against the floor with every step. Hoseok gathers Koo’s pants and shoes as he stands, taking the shoes back to the shoe rack where they belong and folding the pants over his arm. He walks back to Koo to see his baby yawning, and he’s too late to save his paci from bouncing across the floor, but it’s alright. He still has the red one.
“Grab hold of To and Kki, sweetpea,” Hoseok says, bending down to pick Koo up. Once the baby, his bunnies and his sippy are in his arms, Hoseok heads towards the bedroom to deposit the baby for a nap. He kisses Koo on the cheek and walks back out to the kitchen to put his sippy in the sink and grab his paci from the floor. On the way back to the bedroom he stops in the bathroom to wash the paci, before bringing it back to his baby on the bed.
Koo has shifted so he’s on his side, both bunnies tucked under his arm and his face hidden in their soft fur. Hoseok tosses Koo’s pants into the hamper and tiptoes over to try and get the baby out of his shirt, so he can put some pajamas on him. He decides, after looking down at Koo and feeling his heart melting out of his chest, that he’ll leave the baby to have his nap in his shirt and boxers.
Papa climbs in behind his baby and wraps an arm around him, briefly squeezing just the slightest bit. He pulls the covers up and over them and buries his nose in Koo’s hair. He smells like his shampoo and Hoseok smiles. He hopes he can stay with Koo for as long as possible.