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Seokjin thinks that in another life, he’d be doing something like acting, or selling pictures of his face for a living. That would be ten times easier than what he actually does on a daily basis, which is chasing down his squirmy Little Jungkook, who- usually is the sweetest baby in the world, who chooses to follow rules and listens quietly- has decided that today was the day to let Taehyung’s influence sway his usual sweet demeanour into something more cheeky.
Devious, even.
So yeah, Seokjin thinks that a career in modelling, doing awkward poses with his already awkward self would probably be easier than chasing said Little around their house. As it stands now, Taehyung has managed to convince their newest addition to the family that it would be more fun to play an impromptu game of hide-and-seek than to let their Daddy Jin and Papa Yoongi get them dressed for Christmas dinner over at their cousin Jimin’s house.
Though, the past five months getting Jungkook adjusted to their house was definitely not an easy one, having been abandoned by his previous adoptive parents for being “too big” to be a Little—Seokjin could honestly punch those self-serving asshats if he were privy to the information, but alas, Laws are Laws, he guesses—meant that Jungkook tried to hide himself in small spaces a lot, had been sickly for the first few weeks from being pulled from his biological headspace for fear of being rejected by Seokjin and Yoongi.
And he was plain fussy and angry for forcing himself to be Big for so many days in a row, making the first week a living hell for the boy (and maybe his Caregivers too). It was tough, but Seokjin would not trade his little bunny for anyone else (convincing Jungkook otherwise apparently only took Taehyung an hour of playing, but the Caregivers had more difficulty getting the baby to accept the truth fully without doubts clouding his judgement).
Except maybe when Taehyung’s got Jungkook wrapped around his long slender fingers. Taehyung could probably set the house on fire and Jungkook would still idolize that boy. And that, at this very second, was a problem that Now Seokjin would very much like it not to be.
There are Good Days, there are Bad Days, and then there are days like today. Days that Seokjin sometimes would like to go- just once- according to plan, but he just shrugs his shoulders and knows that while Past Seokjin would’ve just sat back down and turned on his Switch, he would not trade it for anything else. Not even a million bucks (maybe twenty, but there’d have to be some negotiations, if you catch his drift).
So while Seokjin isn’t proud of what he does next, he knows that Yoongi is already wrangling a squirmy Taehyung into his arms from the sounds of the giggles and calm words coming from the upstairs master bathroom.
Using his most dramatic voice, he sighs, “Oh no, I’ve lost my sweetest baby bunny Kookie. Dada can’t seem to find him, what will I do without him? And to think that I made a whole pot of bulgogi to take to Samchon Joonie’s house, aaaand I even packed some cheese and crackers for snack time, too!” He hears a rustle from the kitchen pantry and a small gasp, which makes him smile to himself at the boy’s innocence, “I guess I’ll just have to eat it all by myself.”
He’s standing at the kitchen archway, trying to see what state the boy will come out of the pantry in, his arms crossed lightly in front of him, his wide shoulder leaning up against the wall.
“Dada, no!” Jungkook pushes the pantry door open. His big brown eyes are wide, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth, his top two worrying on it like the pacifier attached to the string on his t-shirt hadn’t been put there for the very reason. He’s about to run towards Jin, but only two steps forward, he turns back to close the pantry door—this makes Seokjin’s heart swell with pride because even when Jungkook was a little naughty, he still liked to follow the other rules, loved being praised for it—and then runs over.
Seokjin opens his arms and wraps his hands around the boy’s slender waist and pulls his baby boy up on his hip into a big hug.
“There you are! I thought I had lost you forever, little bug!” Seokjin lets the boy rub his face into the collar of his turtleneck sweater. The soft cashmere material is probably lighting up all the right sensory buttons for the Little.
Kookie eat, too, he signs with shy hands. He fumbles with a little, the shapes a bit hard to make on this side of his headspace spectrum—Seokjin knows he’s feeling extra little because he’s chosen to sign instead of words—where controlling his limbs is hard enough, let alone manipulate his fingers. But nonetheless, he’s communicating, and that’s a win for every party involved.
“Okay, okay, Dada won’t eat your snacks,” he pats him on the bum, the crinkle of the diaper under the boy’s sweats just loud enough to remind Seokjin to check if Jungkook’s wet. He knows Jungkook probably is, what with the way he wiggles from the rhythmic pets, but just in case, he asks, “Do you think we should get changed now, bun?”
Jungkook twirls his fingers into the soft material on Seokjin’s chest, watching as he gently tugs at the little fine hairs of the sweater between his fingers. A little nod and an even smaller yeah, followed by the tiniest voice saying wet, that Seokjin’s learned to carefully listen for over the past couple of months.
It makes him smile, proud, that even though he knows Jungkook doesn’t particularly enjoy verbalizing his needs or wants, that it’s hard and sometimes makes him embarrassed to ask for things—for small things like his lovey Kit the brown bunny, or for bigger things like a diaper change (hates it even more when his caregivers have to check for it), so even when it’s just a little hum in acknowledgement or a whisper in his ear, Seokjin doles out the praise in truckloads.
“Thank you for letting me know, bun,” he drops a kiss into his baby’s hair—it’s a little sweaty from the invigorating game—and bounces him on his hip happily, “I’m so proud of my baby bun for tell me with his words.”
Jungkook’s eyes squeeze up into happy little crescents, his two front teeth showing as he preens from the praise (Yoongi told Seokjin it’s his happy bunny smile- the cutest smile in the world, only paralleled with Taehyung’s boxy smile- and he’s not going to disagree there).
Getting ready is easy when Yoongi’s wrangled Taehyung into a quick bath already, a little too sweaty from running away from Papa. Deciding that Jungkook could probably use a little wash himself, they detour into the washroom, and deposits the younger Little in with his brother.
“Kookie, see, I told’ja Dada would have fun, too!” He says, from behind his bubble beard.
“Don’t talk with bubbles on your face, Tae-tae. Or you’ll eat them and everytime you do that, you cry,” Yoongi says, ever so logically.
Taehyung juts his bottom lip out, then wipes the bottom part off, leaving him with a bubble ‘stash.
“S ‘cause it doesn’t taste like how it smells, Papa. They made it so it smells so yummy, but it doesn’t taste like strawberries at all!”
Seokjin laughs as he wipes down Jungkook’s face and hairline with a soft cloth. Jungkook scrunches his face up at the intrusion—he can’t possibly see where the duckies are if Dada’s covering his eyes!
Yoongi helps Taehyung stand and instructs him to hold the towel around him, and goes to grab Jungkook’s big fluffy grey towel for the other man.
“You know, your Papa once licked a tangerine bathbomb because he said the exact same thing,” Seokjin quips.
“That’s why I said Taehyung was meant for this family. He takes after me.”
“I know, and Jungkook is a good baby who doesn’t try to eat the cleaning products. Therefore, he takes after moi. We are most superior, am I right, Kook-ah?” Seokjin fluffs up the Little’s hair with a loose corner of the towel as he hauls him to the changing table in the adjacent room.
“Su-p’r-eee-or,” Jungkook echoes.
“Mhmm, that’s right, my little bun, yes we are.”
Kissing Jungkook’s soft cheeks is a past-time that Seokjin will never get enough of. Jungkook leans into the pecks.
They dress the two boys in matching outfits for their outing to Seokjin’s brother Namjoon’s house. Jungkook in a pair of dark red corduroy overalls and a long-sleeved white and light grey striped shirt, and Taehyung in a pair of forest-green ones with a short-sleeved dark grey striped t-shirt and a hooded cardigan thrown overtop (they have long since learned that it’s just easier to dress the boy in layers, as his clothes go on and off at the tip of a hat. He has a hard time regulating his body temperatures, even after all these years of recovery with Yoongi and Seokjin, from all the years spent alone outside).
It’s nearing Christmas, and you bet your pants that Seokjin’s going to make sure his boys are all festive, and that includes Yoongi and himself (both Caregivers are wearing white t-shirts under a flannel shirt—It’s called compromise, hyung—and some dark pants to match.
Double-checking that they have all their things packed in the trunk (including an abundance of food and a couple of presents for Seokjin’s Little nephew, Jimin), Seokjin goes around to shut the backseat door.
“Tuck your hands in, baby.”
Ever the careful Little, Jungkook nods, pulling his mittened hands in close, hugging his bunny closer.
“Alright, ready, steady, take-off!” Seokjin pulls the car into reverse and pulls out of the driveway.
It’s only three blocks down that Taehyung decides it’s a good time to screech at the top of his lungs, “Wait! I forgot Brownie! We has’ta go back for Brownie, Daddy, pleease!”
“I asked if you had everything, Taehyung,” Seokjin sighs, signalling at the stop sign to make a turn back towards the house.
“I love you?” Taehyung says- it sounds more like a question than a statement- and flashes his biggest, cutest smile.
Seokjin looks in the rear-view mirror, and does his best angry pout, making Taehyung giggle, and Jungkook look at Taehyung with apprehension, a little lost to the situation.
But he takes it in stride and a small smile is plastered on his face after a beat as well, ready to follow Taehyung to the end of the world.
And for all the little annoyances and small inconveniences, Seokjin thinks that nothing can compare to the amount of love and happiness that fills his heart when he sees his family smile like this.
No, he wouldn’t trade it for the world.