Trusting (KTH)

Chapter 14

Neither Clara nor Taehyung got much sleep that night. Clara kept being jarred awake feeling the need to check on the boys to make sure they were unharmed and safely tucked into their crib. Every time Clara left the bed it woke Taehyung who was otherwise wrapped tight around her.

After the third time she got up Taehyung followed after her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "Clara dear, the boys are fine. Look, they are sleeping. You should be sleeping too."

"I just keep waking up from bad dreams and I feel like I need to check on them. I'm sorry for disturbing you. I know you have a lot on the schedule and need your sleep."

Taehyung nuzzled into her cheek. "You need to rest too. If it would make you feel better, let's just take the boys into bed with us. They can sleep in the middle. How does that sound?" He was already moving to the crib to collect one of the boys. Not waiting for Clara to answer he nodded to Clara to encourage her to get the other twin and follow him back to the large bed. As soon as Taehyung was sure that his small family was tucked in comfortably he allowed himself to drift back off to sleep for a few more hours.

It didn't take long for Taehyung to remember why the twins generally didn't sleep with them except in the most unusual circumstances. He'd been punched in the face repeatedly and woken by strong kicks in the chest on several occasions. Right now it seemed like his little cub was hoping to take over his spot in the bed, pressing him further and further toward the edge.

But even if he was awake, he could see the rest of his family sleeping soundly which made it all worth it.

Clara quickly woke up when the boys began to stir in the morning, feeling like she could use a bit more sleep but still happy that she'd had at least one longer stretch of uninterrupted rest. While Clara sat up and brought one of the boys to nurse, Taehyung slowly opened one eye to peer at her.

"I honestly don't know how you survived pregnancy. Did they really move around this much while you were trying to sleep? How did you ever rest?"

Clara laughed at Taehyung's whining. "Eventually I guess I just got used to it. But I am sorry we disrupted your sleep last night. If you want we can figure something else out for tonight. I just feel better when the boys are close right now."

"Well then you must have been feeling great last night because if your experience was anything like mine at least one of these rascals was very very close to me all night. Including several times when his fist was in my nose."

Clara leaned over and kissed Taehyung's forehead. "Oh my poor sweet baby. I hope you will survive." With a small smile at Taehyung's grumbling she refocused on the little tiger that was snuggled against her. "You and your brother need to make sure you are treating daddy respectfully, ok? He takes care of us so we need to take care of him too."

Taehyung smiled at the sweet scene. He really did love seeing his wife and the boys together. Hearing Clara acknowledge the core role he played in their life, even when he was gone for long hours day after day, assured him that his efforts didn't go unnoticed.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry but I have to leave rather early today. But I want you to please feel comfortable asking Yoonseo if you need anything ok?" Taehyung learned over the little tiger to gently kiss Clara's lips.

"Mmm" he hummed, "I can't wait to get back so I can collect more of your sweet kisses."

Clara blushed as Taehyung slid out of the bed to get ready for the day, then only took the time to give another quick kiss to Clara and both boys he headed out to meet the rest of the members.

Before long Clara had the boys dressed and ready for the day and was drawn to the main room of the suite by the smell of breakfast. Yoonseo was just finishing setting it up when she peaked out.

"Oh good you are here." Yoonseo gave her a small smile. "Breakfast is ready."

"Did you order some for me too? You didn't have to do that but it does smell delicious." Clara was eyeing the food as her stomach growled.

"Taehyung ordered it before he left. He wanted to make sure you were taking the time to eat well." Yoonseo motioned for Clara to come closer so she could grab a plate.

"That was so thoughtful, let me just get the boys settled with a few toys. I'll be right there." Sometimes Clara couldn't believe how perceptive Taehyung was. In fact she had missed most of her meals yesterday caught up in the busyness of having both boys. Now that she thought about it, she was ravenous.

BTS was doing radio interviews for the morning and they had their final concert in the city that night. Yoonseo turned on the radio so they could listen in on the interviews. Clara normally didn't follow the band on media, knowing that the personas they had for the public didn't quite match her experience of them in person. She found it jarring to see their stage personalities, so she was perfectly happy limiting her interactions with the members to real life.

The interview seemed to go well. There were a lot of questions about the twins but Namjoon handled them politely and efficiently while staying on message. "Yes, you can imagine our crew member's shock when he discovered the twin's picture all over the internet. We hope that everyone will respect their privacy." Further questions were met with the same response, "we hope that everyone will respect their privacy" without budging on giving any additional information.

She was proud of the way the boys composed themselves and protected her and Taehyung. She knew the boys were nervous about English language interviews but she was glad to hear each of them chime in with small thoughts and jokes even if she knew it took a lot of bravery. During Jungkook's visits he would test his English responses to questions on Clara for feedback, more comfortable with her soft spoken supportiveness that ensured he didn't feel embarrassed while he was still learning. And Taehyung's English was also improving at the same time as her Korean improved, a necessity if they were going to communicate well.

She knew today was going to be a long and difficult day. They worked hard at their concert last night, had another concert tonight, and needed to finally face the media about all of the rumors. She knew she'd sent Taehyung in less than the best condition with pretty limited sleep. So she sent him periodic texts throughout the day telling him how well his interview went, making sure he was eating and drinking well, and sharing short anecdotes and pictures of what the boys were up to.

Clara was once again busy preparing for their transition to a new city. They were expected to leave the following evening so she needed to use her time wisely to make sure everything was ready to go.