Little: Wonwoo
Caregiver: Mingyu
No one’s POV.:
Despite having gone to bed almost three hours ago, Wonwoo couldn’t sleep. He had so much on his mind, it didn’t seem like he could catch a break from his thoughts. Now what he’d usually do if he wasn’t able to fall asleep was reading but he didn’t dare turn on his reading lamp right now for the fear he might wake up Mingyu. The younger had been quite run down lately, so Wonwoo wouldn’t do anything that might compromise his dongsaeng’s rest. That also included slipping into his headspace.
Wonwoo had been a little for quite some time and it was also the reason him and Mingyu shared a room. Mingyu was his caregiver and so far the only one knowing about his friend’s headspace. Sadly, Wonwoo had become so dependent on the other’s affection that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from waking him. Sighing in frustration, he sat up and swiped his book from the nightstand before grabbing his blanket and throwing it over his shoulder.
Trying to be as silent as possible, Wonwoo snuck out of his shared room and padded down the hallway to the common area of their apartment, where he dumped the blanket onto the couch and placed the book onto the coffee table. If he was going to spend the night reading, he might as well get cozy. Wonwoo trudged to the kitchen and turned on the kettle to prepare some tea. He opted for a herbal one that should hopefully soothe him enough to get sleepy but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. Some nights, he feared his insomnia but he had learned to make the best of it.
Once his tea was prepared, Wonwoo adjusted the lighting in the living room. It had to be bright enough for him to be able to read without straining his eyes but not any brighter than absolutely necessary or else he wouldn’t get sleepy. He slipped under the blanket and relaxed into its warmth, hoping against hope that he might just get drowsy and fall asleep right there. Luck wouldn’t be on his side though.
It had been an hour since Wonwoo had ventured out of his room. The tea was long since gone and he still didn’t feel remotely sleepy. All that had changed was the pressure behind his eyes forming into a consistent headache, which made it hard for him to focus on the words in front of him, the writing now slowly blurring together in front of his sore eyes. Wonwoo barely noticed the frustrated whine, slipping from his lips. Pouting, he shut his book and dropped it onto the coffee table. This wasn’t working and he was tired.
Mingyu woke up early that morning, a small smiled spreading on his lips when he remembered that they had the day off. That hadn’t happened in he couldn’t even remember how long. The thought of just rolling over and going back to sleep was appealing but he noticed the empty bed on the other side of the room and furrowed his brows. Wonwoo would surely want to sleep in too on such a rare opportunity. When the older hadn’t returned to their room within the next ten minutes, Mingyu made up his mind. His friend was most definitely not just using the bathroom. Something else must be up, so Mingyu was going to look for him.
When he exited their shared room, Mingyu noticed the faint light coming from the living room. Scratching the back of his neck, he stifled a yawn as he made his way there. Sure enough, Wonwoo was curled up on the couch, completely absorbed by his book, which he had picked back up after a few minutes of pouting into space. “Hyung?”, Mingyu asked softly, “What are you doing up already?” As Wonwoo’s swollen eyes focused on him, his brows furrowed. Already? Dropping the book into his lap, Wonwoo didn’t manage to hold back his tears any longer and he sniffled: “Appa, Woo nuh sweep.”
Feeling his heart break, Mingyu crouched next to the boy and whispered: “You can’t sleep, sweets? Like, at all?” Wonwoo gave a pathetic nod, making grabby hands at his caregiver. “So you’ve been up reading all night while the rest of us slept?”, Mingyu confirmed, removing his friend’s blanket when he received another nod. Helping the little to his feet before picking him up, he cooed: “You gotta be so tired, honey. Let’s go back to our room.”
Mingyu carefully placed Wonwoo onto his bed and went to his own closet to pick out a sweater. “Do you wanna wear Appa’s sweater? I can go and make you a bottle while you get changed”, the caregiver smiled, handing the other the sweater. Nodding, Wonwoo pouted: “I sowwy, Appa.” – “Now, why would you be sorry, little one?”, Mingyu frowned, cupping the little’s cheeks. Blushing lightly, Wonwoo mumbled: “Chu needs sweep, so Woo nuh wanna wake chu buh now chu ‘wake cause of Woo.” – “Honey, you need sleep too and I really wouldn’t have minded had you woken me up earlier”, Mingyu reminded, “We have the day off, remember? Let Appa see how we can get you to fall asleep and if we continue cuddling till lunch time, so be it. As long as you get some sleep.”
While Wonwoo changed into his caregiver’s sweater, the other went to heat up some milk for a bottle. Warm milk with honey often worked wonders when it came to treating Wonwoo’s insomnia, so Mingyu was frustrated that he hadn’t woken up sooner. His friend wouldn’t be so sleep deprived now, had he just reached out for help. Mingyu couldn’t be upset at the other though when he returned to their room and the little pouted up at him with big, innocent eyes. Settling against the headboard, Mingyu opened his arms and smiled when Wonwoo got comfortable against his chest. He gently brushed the little’s hair out of his face before touching the bottle’s teat against his lips. Wonwoo eagerly latched on, reveling in the other’s affection while he suckled the sweet, warm drink.
The bottle soothed Wonwoo and the head pats did the rest, so Mingyu soon found himself with a sleeping little curled up against his chest.
