✔️ Appa Kissed Santa? ➳ vmin

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Currently, however, Jimin's face was a mask of horror as he saw Jeongguk's eyes brimming with moisture.

"Ji-appa no more love Tae-appa!" his bottom lip wobbled as he clasped onto BunBun desperately. The sad squeaking noises it elicited made it sound like it was crying too.

"No! Remember Tae-appa's first on the list of people I love?"

Jimin, panicking, hastily got down on his knees and tried to staunch the tears flowing in rivulets down Jeongguk's chubby cheeks.

"Ji-appa lying!"

Jeongguk's distraught wails roused Taehyung immediately, evident as Jimin heard his pounding footsteps before he burst through the kitchen door.

"KOOKIE," he rushed over, scooping up the sobbing child and patting him soothingly on the back. "Shhh... It's okay, Tae-appa's here."

But Jeongguk merely wept against his father's shoulder, staining Taehyung's shirt with his snort. "Ji-appa no more love Tae-appa! Ji-appa lying!"

Taehyung shot a quizzical look over the top of Jeongguk's head. Jimin grimaced back and seized the opportunity to mouth the words 'TALK, NOW', wringing his hands with obvious worry.

After quite a bit of cajoling, Jeongguk's parents sat him on the couch in the living room while they conversed in the kitchen with hushed voices. Their hearts ached at the sound of their young son crying quietly in the adjacent room.

"What was that about?" Taehyung leaned against the kitchen countertop; the helm of his shirt hung loosely off his collarbone. He carded a hand through his bedhead nervously as if he already knew the answer.

"Gukkie saw us last night," Jimin's face heated pink at the memory. "Under the mistletoe."

The tips of Taehyung's ears were already red as he cleared his throat noisily. "Oh, that." His eyes suddenly widen in shock. "Wait, are you saying- That plant-"

His jaw dropped open while the gears of his mind whirled and clicked furiously, taking a while to fully connect the dots in his head. "Oh my god."

With a groan, he smacked his forehead in disbelief before collapsing into the nearest chair. "Jeongguk thought you were sucking faces with Santa!"

"He thinks I don't love you anymore." Murmured Jimin sadly.

Jeongguk had always been a very bubbly and mild-mannered child: he never threw tantrums or crying fits, result of his good upbringing. Jimin and Taehyung had instilled good manners in their son, showering him with lots of love as well as spending quality bonding time with him (After adopting Jeongguk when he was barely a month old, Jimin had decided to retire and become a stay-at-home dad, something he never regretted). They really wanted to give him a happy childhood, for Jeongguk to grow up to become someone who was welcomed anywhere and possessed all the skills to lead a good life when they were gone.

So the fact that Jeongguk was bawling his eyes out made this a very grave issue – he had never cried this intensely before. Taehyung and Jimin exchanged disturbed looks.

"Jeongguk's going to find out eventually when he grows older anyhow. I just didn't think this early." Jimin muttered gloomily.

"But still!" Taehyung argued. "I don't want to destroy his belief just yet. We need to protect his innocence as long as we can. There's 'gotta be a way around this." He scrunched up his face in concentration and mussed up his hair in the process. A small smile played on Jimin's lips as he watched Taehyung because even after all these years, he loved it when Taehyung's forehead furrowed and how his lips moved as he mumbled to himself whenever he was deep in thought. Also the fact that Taehyung was always young at heart.

A few minutes later, he snapped his fingers and grinned. "I know what to do. Trust me."

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