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"so, he kind of follows the same schedule that joong does, which is why I asked you in the first place." seonghwa holds his arms out for the baby in yunho's arms.
the baby smiles as he makes grabby hands at seonghwa, sitting comfortably on his hip. "but if anything, text or call. it won't be too much with the two babies, right?"
seonghwa smiles a little at the fact that he referenced hongjoong as a baby. "it'll be good, but if anything, I'll let you know."
yunho hands over the baby's backpack "everything he'll need or want is in here. he had breakfast already so he's good until lunch...if he gets fussy, he might want a bottle...um, let's see-"
"-I hate to say this, because it's usually you guys telling me this, but I don't want you to be late" with his free arm, he gently pushes yunho in the direction of the door.
"say bye bye to yunnie, baby!" seonghwa encourages the child in his arms, as he watches yunho say goodbye to his cousin.
he goes to close the door and place the baby's backpack on the couch just when the sound of sock-clad feet entered the living room.
in enters hongjoong, who has his blanket wrapped around his shoulders, nuzzled up into his neck. he goes to rub his eyes, but pauses at the scene in front of him.
seonghwa can already tell he definitely has a million questions running through his mind.
"hey, baby, good morning" seonghwa smiles "today, we're going to be looking after yunnie's baby cousin. his name is parker. can you say hi to baby parker, joongs?"
hongjoong slowly walks up to the baby in seonghwa's arms.
(he's totally not thinking of how he should be the only one in his hwa's arms)
the baby smiles up at the kitten, waving his hands excitedly. hongjoong, for a moment, just stares at the baby. he's seen a few babies out in public but never one up close in person; so he's a little confused on what to do.
"hwa needs your help watching parker today...I'm really asking you because I know what a big boy you truly are" the older encourages, placing the baby onto the carpet.
hongjoong lowers his blanket from his shoulders as he goes to sit on the floor. parker crawls over to where the kitten is sitting, mindless babbles fill the air.
hongjoong remains quiet as he watches the baby try to crawl up onto his legs. in his young mindset, the kitten thinks that the baby is trying to hurt him; so he whimpers rather loudly, trying to scoot away from the baby.
seonghwa can sense that it'll take time for hongjoong to grow accustomed to being near the child, but nonetheless let's the baby play somewhere else. he doesn't want hongjoong to feel overwhelmed.
-
the rest of the day follows as is;
seonghwa keeping the baby entertained, while also showing attention to hongjoong so he doesn't feel left out.
it was rather easier said than done, as whenever the baby began to fuss over something, hongjoong would try to do the same.
whenever parker grew fussy over wanting a bottle, hongjoong mewled for attention for the same reason.
even during lunch, seonghwa gave the baby his food, having to help feed him while also making sure the kitten was eating his.
hongjoong just stared at the baby when he saw seonghwa feed parker his food. he even made airplane noises!
hongjoong wringed his hands together, shyly looking up towards the older. "hwa...fee' me too, p'ease?"
seonghwa only smiled at the kitten, placing a kiss to his forehead. "hwa has to feed the baby because he doesn't know how to eat. but joongie is my big boy who knows how!"
the younger deflates at hwa's answer, but nonetheless eats his lunch like the big boy he is.
-
during naptime is where things grew a little challenging. seonghwa closed the living room blinds, to make it more calming and easy to fall asleep.
hongjoong is sitting on the couch as a soft sounding lullaby plays from seonghwa's laptop fills his ears. once he hears that, he knows it's time to wind down or take a nap.
changed into a fresh diaper, parker was sat on a pile of pillows and blankets seonghwa made on the floor; assuming the worst if he just let the child sleep on the couch.
just like the kitten, the child has his own blanket and stuffed toy. hongjoong sat criss cross on the couch, watching seonghwa help the baby go to sleep.
"honey, are you feeling sleepy?" seonghwa asked parker gently
the baby could only rub his eyes, slight pout forming on his lips. "yunnie..." he mumbled faintly.
seonghwa cooed as he held the child in his arms "it's okay, dear, yunnie is coming soon. come, let's take a nap that way yunnie will be come faster!"
to help soothe the child, seonghwa walked around the room, patting his bottom to help him go to sleep.
hongjoong began to feel tears pooling in his eyes. seonghwa always does that with him, so he can't help but feel jealous watching his hwa do that with another baby.
even when they were playing, seonghwa paid just a little more attention to parker than hongjoong. at the time, the older didn't think much of it, hongjoong prefers to play with his cat toys by himself than with other people.
so he doesn't really focus on the kitten, of course keeping an eye and ear out for any alert sounds.
hongjoong even almost hissed at the child, when he saw him cuddling up to seonghwa and even go to place a kiss on his cheek. only he can do that!
it made him feel annoyed when seonghwa kept calling him a "big boy"; as much as he was one, having someone younger than him in the house felt almost like a competition for seonghwa's attention.
the kitten quietly rubs at his eyes, trying his best to hide his face in his blanket. seonghwa places the sleeping child onto the makeshift bed he made.
he, however, pauses in his tracks when he looks at the kitten, seeing him wipe harshly at his tears. in general, he hates seeing hongjoong cry; but what breaks his heart the most is the silent crying, trying to hide his tears. that's when he knows hongjoong is genuinely hurting or upset.
he makes his way over to the kitten, lowering his hands away from his face. his eyebrows drawn in when he takes a look at the younger's red face "oh my honeybaby, it makes hwa sad seeing you like this. what's wrong, bubba?"
hongjoong knows he has to be quiet due to the child sleeping, but he can't help but let out a pained whimper as he scrambles into seonghwa's arms.
hongjoong doesn't answer, just grips tightly onto seonghwa's shirt. his ear are pressed down as he momentarily glances at the sleeping baby; shaking his head as he buries his face back in seonghwa's neck.
for a second it's silent- minus the small sniffles coming from the younger. hongjoong has his tail wrapped around seonghwa's wrist, the same hand that's rubbing his arm soothingly
"wan' 'aby go 'way..."
seonghwa sighs softly "why do you want the baby to go away?"
hongjoong fiddles with his thumb before mumbling "'aby take hwa 'way"
the older kisses hongjoong on the forehead before wrapping his arms around him. "hongjoong, no one is taking me away. parker is only staying for a little bit today and then yunnie is going to come and take him home."
he pulls away slightly to lift hongjoong's chin up, his round eyes filled with unshed tears. "baby, I know today kind of threw you off, but it was only for today. no one is taking me away from you and no one is taking you away from me."
"no hwa bi' boy...hwa 'aby..." it hurts to hear his voice grow wet by the second. seonghwa didn't think that this would genuinely hurt hongjoong's feelings.
the older pauses for a moment. "hongjoong, you are my big boy. I'm so proud of how far you have come in your life. but at the end of the day, and no matter what happens, you will always be my baby. my sweet hongie baby"
faint purrs fills the quiet room and the kitten snuggles closer into his hwa. seonghwa reaches over to hand him his blanket the second he begins to yawn.
"now my baby, let's go take a nap, I can tell you're tired." hongjoong shakes his head, shyly pointing at the child sleeping.
"no wan' 'aby here...'aby go 'way, p'ease"
"now as much as I know you're not a fan of having parker with us today, that is not nice to say. he's staying with us only for a little bit more and then he's leaving. I raised you better than that, we can't say stuff like that because it hurts our feelings."
hongjoong's ears pressed flat as he looks up at seonghwa with round eyes. "sorry hwa...I goo' boy"
seonghwa only sighs, leaning his head onto hongjoong's. "you always will be my good boy. just be careful with what you say sometimes, okay?"
the kitten nods, before another yawn takes over. he lazily slumps into seonghwa as his eyes begin to flutter.
a sudden knock on the door jolts the younger out of his sleepy haze, whining as he grips onto seonghwa's arm.
"relax baby, let's go see who it is" seonghwa lifts him onto his hip as he saunters over to the front door.
hongjoong tries to keep his eyes open, but he faintly hears yunho's voice entering the house. seonghwa holds him closer as he rocks him gently side to side.
"hey, how did it go?" asks yunho, stepping into the living room.
"it was good...a little setback during naptime...but we'reall good." answered the older. yunho turns around, watching as he nodded his head to the kitten.
"hongjoong got jealous, huh?" yunho smirked slightly
seonghwa sighs "big time. he was genuinely upset that your cousin was over. I didn't think it would affect him that much. but we're all okay now."
yunho makes his way over to the sleeping child, lifting him in his arms. seonghwa tried his best to help pack his belongings, or as much as he could with a sleepy kitten in his arms.
he looked over to see if the said kitten was sleeping, but his eyes were still blinking slowly; fighting to stay awake.
seonghwa whispered in his ear that if he's tired, he can close his eyes and sleep. his only response was a tight grip on his stomach.
the older explained how the baby's day went while yunho got him dressed and ready to leave. the baby, like hongjoong, was barely awake but registered that his big cousin was here, clinging onto him tighter.
"thank you so much for watching him, I'll tell my aunt how he was. I'll see you soon. you too, joongs." yunho placed a soft kiss onto the younger's forehead before closing the front door.
"hwa...I s'eepy" hongjoong mumbled, voice muffled by seonghwa's shirt.
"let's take a nap then, baby" seonghwa digs in his pocket to retrieve the younger's pacifier, plopping it in his mouth.
it's a comforting silence between the pair. seonghwa goes to tuck hongjoong into bed, running his fingers through his hair; watching as he falls asleep.
the only sound is hongjoong sucking contently on his pacifier. the older leans down to place a kiss on his soft cheek.
"get some rest, my baby. you've had a busy day."
he stands near the kitten for a few seconds, making sure he's sleeping peacefully as he stops by the bedroom door.
"I'll always love you, my big boy" he whispers before leaving the bedroom.