Home Is Where the Heart Is

Chapter Six

Seokjin woke up to whispers, Tata's embroidered face centimeters away from his own, the wall of the folding bed, warmth, and the type of confusion that only came from really, really good sleep.

The whispers were little, high tinkling voices trying their absolute best to be quiet. Which in the world of toddlers, was barely anywhere near quiet, but it meant his toddlers were alive and functional and not screaming in pain or distress, which was always a win in Seokjin's book.

Seokjin smiled to himself and pulled Tata close to cuddle. He settled back into the bed padding. The kids were fine. He could spare a few more minutes of relaxation before it was time to get up.

"Can we wake up Appa?" That was Jimin. The baby had a certain lilt to his words. And the whine was engrained into Seokjin's soul, at this point.

"No no," Taehyung argued. "No wake up Appa. Daddy says, Daddy says Appa needs sleep. Appa cooks and clean and play and love me so much, he needs to re-re.... rechair. Like a battery. Daddy says."

The room was silent. Then, Jimin asked, "Who is Daddy?"

"Oh!" Taehyung chirped. There was a shifting sound. "That's Daddy."

Another pause. "Can we wake up Daddy?"

"Yes," Taehyung mumbled. "Ta— I try. I send Tata on special mission. But Appa hug Tata."

"Tata trapped," Jimin mourned. "Mission failed."

"Mission failed," Taehyung echoed just as mournfully.

Seokjin bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing. The puff of air behind his head didn't succeed as well.

He registered it before he registered it — the list of facts. One: he was facing the low wall of the bed on his left side, which shouldn't be possible, because there'd been a gap of space between himself and said wall last night, filled with a sleeping Jimin. Two: Jimin and Taehyung were whispering, together, somewhere above his head. Three: the puff of air from a barely contained laugh. Four: the full body warmth behind him that nothing short of a fully sized wolf-adult could produce.

Seokjin turned over as casually as he could, since he was still pretending to be asleep and didn't want to scare the kids by jerking upright and immediately screaming in embarrassment, and slowly opened his eyes.

The half-lidded gaze that met his own curious one made Seokjin's stomach drop into his feet. The corners of Jeongguk's lips were turned up in a smile that screamed content and Seokjin didn't know what to do with that bit of information, either.

(So, naturally, he banished it into the forbidden corner of confusing Jeongguk facts. He'd have to tidy the corner up soon. They were starting to spill over and interrupt his regular daytime thoughts.)

Jeongguk chuckled and shifted himself so close Seokjin could feel the man's breath against his face.

"Do you want to get up?" His voice was low. Low low. Lower than Seokjin's stomach in his feet which plummeted down to the first floor at the sounds of Jeongguk's morning tone. "I can take the boys for a while, so you can get more sleep."

He wasn't tired. Not anymore, anyway.

"We can get up," Seokjin said, very evenly and calmly and not at all three pitches too high, thank you very much. "Jimin needs to eat."

"Then come on, Appa," Jeongguk teased, and in Seokjin's mind this was a horrible, terrible, tragic time to tease, "let Tata go so he can complete his mission."

Seokjin did not kick Jeongguk. There were children watching and no blanket for privacy to do such, so instead he slipped his hand under Jeongguk's oversized hoodie — oh, whoops, was that actual skin? Ha. Haha. — and pinched.