Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
To say both Yoongi's captors were shocked was an understatement, but what was definitely a bigger understatement was at how ferocious he thought his kicks were, and how he flailed his little fists about, swinging every way, thinking he was causing quite a bit of damage.
But, in truth, Yoongi looked like a tiny boy that had just had his first taste of alcohol and was extremely tired, movements messy and uncoordinated, or, a cuter version, a baby hedgehog stretching its limbs on a lovely summer morning.
Even with how weak his punches and kicks were, his nails were uncut and still caused quite a bit of damage when they came in contact with Daddy's cheek.
"Yoongi, calm down." They attempted to subdue him without using force, at least wanting to build some tiny bit of trust, but their words met deaf ears and Appa eventually closed one large hand easily around both of Yoongi's shaky, small knuckles, then he proceeded to wrap a leg over both of the younger's scrawny one's, stopping all movement completely.
It surely was a sight to behold.
With Yoongi's tear streaked cheeks, flushed with colour, and his heavy breathing, it looked as though he was the victim to his own attack. All the energy he had used up had managed him a thin line of red on Daddy's cheek and several small scratches on Appa's arms.
And they both shared a look of disappointment and anger.
Yoongi had seen anger. He had been raised with anger. So why he had turned out a sweet, shy angel was beyond anyone, but this was the result of the snapped thread. The end of Yoongi's rational thoughts.
And he regretted it deeply, fear overcoming him and resulting in piercing wails. Frightened, exhausted and broken.
"Come here, sweetheart," a quiet voice murmured, carefully handling him. Yoongi didn't fight it. He let himself be rocked in his kidnapper's arms, let the soft whispers and murmurs reach him, and soon his sobs gradually rocked down to sniffles and whimpers.
When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the huge bathroom, but in the soft pastel surroundings of his nursery, cuddled securely in Daddy's arms.
"There you go, baby, there's no need to cry." Yoongi stared up, his eyes sticky with dried tears but wide and apprehensive. The older man's eyes were staring down at his own, a sad smile on his face. The scratch Yoongi had caused was puffed up, angry and red, although thankfully not deep enough to cause any bleeding.
The same couldn't be said for Namjoon, though, who was currently absent and that put Yoongi on edge.
"I know it's scary. You're not used to this. It's okay," Daddy whispered, that same sad smile on his face. Yoongi continued to stare with doe eyes, almost in trance. Something deep inside Yoongi made him wish for that smile to not look so sad, so strained and so helpless, but that feeling was quickly washed away when another presence entered the room.
Yoongi whimpered quietly, unknowingly breaking both of the male's hearts.
"I've emptied the bath," Appa said quietly, leaning over his husband on the rocking chair and cautiously stroking the boy's hair, Yoongi squeezing his eyes shut tightly in fright, but instead of the harsh touch he was expecting, the contact was soothing and completely exhausted and teetering on sleep, he leaned into the touch.
"He's exhausted," one of them whispered, Yoongi wasn't sure who. All he could concentrate on was the warmth that cocooned his little body and tender feeling of the hand roaming through his black locks. "Brave little one, aren't you, sugar?"
Yoongi blinked sleepily, fighting the urge to just succumb to darkness.
"It's okay, sweetheart. You can sleep, nothing will hurt you here. Never. You're as safe as can be."
And in his sleepy, exhausted state, Yoongi allowed his mind to believe those words just this time. Just once.
___
The two husbands hung onto each other as they stared over the railings of the crib, their expressions saddened and helpless. Yoongi was curled up, having now regained quite a bit of movement, and in his unconscious state he had habitually made himself small and warm. His cheeks had been dried from the soft fingers of Seokjin, although they were still blotchy and red from the earlier breakdown.
Tantrum definitely was not the word for it.
"It..." Seokjin started, leaning onto his lover, "When he cried, he sounded so...so broken. Did we cause that?"
Namjoon began drawing invisible intricate patterns on the older's knuckle, leaning in and giving him a soft, passionate kiss, reassuring and loving.
"He's had a rough start in life, baby. He's never had to depend on somebody. It's always been just him. Looking at it now, I know we could've started the...process differently, but we can't change the past and it won't do any good to dwell on it, hm?"
Seokjin sighed shakily and Namjoon continued.
"Today," he cleared his throat, "the police had announced that they were discontinuing Yoongi's search. They named him a runaway. No one else out there looked out for him. His father—" Namjoon scoffed, eyes darkening, "—hasn't even returned home. The drunken fucker. This whole town makes me sick—"
"Hey," Seokjin whispered, staring up at his husband with adoring eyes, "calm down. It's awful, I know, but this gives us a better chance at giving Yoongi a new life. A better one. He just...doesn't see it yet. And it's going to be harder after today, but we can't just keep drugging him. That will stop all future trust completely."
They remained quiet, just watching Yoongi sleep peacefully, knowing at least he was content even for a short while.
Eventually Namjoon chuckled quietly. "We can't stare at him forever, baby," he cupped his husband's chin gently, inspecting the slight cut. "He did quite the number on you."
Seokjin huffed a soft laugh, eyes turning towards the tiny little red scratches that adorned Namjoon's arms, dried blood clotting around the larger ones.
"I'm not the only one, love, let's get those cleaned up," he teased his husband, and they shared one last look at their sleeping angel, readjusted the baby monitor, two last pecks were placed upon Yoongi's head and they left the nursery, hoping tomorrow would be much better than today.
