My Way ||| Ateez

61

Life was a little chaotic at the house now that there were two newborns that needed to be taken care of. And with them being only two months apart, they kept everyone on their toes.

The two sets of new parents did the best they could to watch over their own child as best they could, while the other four hunted, cleaned, and ran into town.

About six months after Theo was born, Jongho made a call to Maria asking if she could come by the house to take a look at him. He and Yunho had noticed some slight differences between him and Avayla and were starting to get concerned.

He hoped they were overreacting, but they trusted Maria, so they wanted her opinion.

She was there in just under an hour. "What's the matter?" She asked as Jongho grabbed her hand and brought her to Theo's room.

Yunho was dozing in the rocking chair as he nursed, but he blinked several times when the door opened. "Hey lo- Maria? What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to figure that out myself." She said with a smile, walking over to pat Yunho's cheek. "How is little man doing?"

"He's doing great. Just hungry right now." Yunho gazed down at Theo fondly.

"Yunho." Jongho growled, moving closer. His beta looked up and bit his lip.

"Ok, we have some concerns."

Maria sat down on the bed and looked at the two of them. "He seems perfectly healthy, what's going on?"

"Well, he just doesn't seem to respond to things the same way that Avayla does." Yunho said, looking down as Theo cooed, pulling his face away. He glanced up at his mother and smiled, waving his tiny hands. Yunho grinned and stuck one finger out for Theo to hold onto for a moment before lifting him up to his shoulder at patting Theo's tiny back.

"What do you mean dear?"

"Well," Jongho ran a hand through his hair. "When we are in a room all together, Avayla will glance around when she hears a new sound or try to focus on whoever is holding her or talking to her. And while Theo will do that too, he really only focuses on who is holding him."

Maria hummed and waiting for Yunho to finish burping Theo before she reached for him. His eyes got wide as he was handed over, but as soon as he saw Maria's face, he cooed again.

"That's right baby, Maria is here!" Yunho said, leaning over. His face fell a little when Theo didn't turn to look at him. "See what I mean?"

"All babies develop differently." Maria said quietly.

"Can we show you what we mean?" Jongho shifted nervously. She nodded in response and the four of them moved to the living room where Seonghwa was playing with Avayla on the floor.

"Oh! I didn't know you were here Maria." Seonghwa said, giving her a wide smile. Avayla tilted her head and let out a little squeal, clapping her hands together.

"Jongho called me. Do you mind if I do a couple of things that will involve Avayla too hun?"

Seonghwa gave them a concerned look but shook his head. "No, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Maria moved to place Theo on the blanket next to Avayla. The little girl cooed and reached for Theo, a bright smile crossing her face.

When he seemed to register what was going on, he turned to her and returned the smile, letting out a softer sound.

"Avayla." Maria said. The little girl turned her attention to the kind woman. "Hello my sweetness! How is my precious girl today?" Avayla squealed in response. Then the beta turned to Theo, who was still staring at his 'sibling'. "Theo. Theo, honey?" She tilted her head as he still didn't look at her.