"How's my boy?" Jeongguk greets his son as soon as the little boy enters the apartment. Jin is tailing behind him with a small yet fond smile on his lips.

"Daddy! I missed you!" Storm squeals in excitement. He instantly jumps inside his father's embrace and Jeongguk spins him around earning a fit of giggles. Jin puts the bag down and scans the place, confused as to why there's only Jeongguk inside.

"Where's Taehyung?" He asks cautiously, and Jeongguk immediately settles Storm on the couch before leading Jin inside the kitchen.

"Hyung, did Yoongi hyung or Jimin mentioned something about what happens when Tae's stressed or something?" Jin's forehead creases in confusion, but then his mouth forms in to this tiny 'o' in realization.

"I didn't know it was something this serious, Guk. Oh my God. Is he okay?" Jeongguk motions for Jin to sit down as he picks up a glass of water for him.

"I was really shocked, too, hyung. I fucking panicked on the inside but I know it would do me no good so I tried so hard to stay calm and took care of him since last night. I contacted Yoongi hyung and they're on their way home from Daegu already. I just don't know what else to do..." Jeongguk rambles. He rubs his face with the palm of his hands and Jin could only pat the younger's back in sympathy.

"You're doing great, Guk. Taehyung's calm right now, isn't he?"

"You think so, hyung?" He raises his head to look at Jin in the face. The older is now kneeling in front of him, eyes wide and sparkling with assurance.

"I know so, Gukkie. Now, why don't you explain everything to Storm and maybe, let him meet little Taehyungie?"

"Okay, hyung. Okay," Jeongguk whispers and Jin squeezes his hand before grabbing it to help him stand. As they go back inside the living room, Storm is busy watching his favorite cartoon series, giggling a little bit, and it's when Jeongguk sits beside him that he stops to turn his attention towards his father.

"Storm? I have something to tell you, buddy. Will you listen to daddy for a while?" Storm nods his head and climbs on his father's lap.

"Papa Tata's not around, right? Do you know where he is, baby?" Storm pouts in realization and he tries to climb off Jeongguk's lap to look for his papa. The latter was quick enough to stop him from screaming Taehyung's name.

"Hush, little one. Papa Tata is sleeping inside that room," he whispers, his index finger pointing towards Taehyung's 'nursery' room.

"Is Papa Tata okay, daddy?"

"Papa Tata's not sick, baby. However, the thing is, papa is kinda like Storm right now. And what are you again?" Storm hums and spaces out for a while, thinking so hard to remember the term that Jeongguk would always use to address him.

"Come on, you can do it," his father encourages him, rubbing circles on Storm's nape. The little boy had his bottom lip jut out, like he's on the verge of letting out a wail.

"I-i can't..."

"Yes, you can, baby..." Jeongguk smiles at the hint (well, answer) he gave to his son. Storm sniffs to calm himself and he buries his face on Jeongguk's chest to hide his embarrassment.

"Storm is daddy Gukkie's baby!" He mumbles. Jeongguk coos at how adorable his son is and gives him a small peck on his nose as a reward. Jin could only look at them, enamored at how the soft and lovely moment unfolds in front of him.

"Very good, baby! You did so well!" He praises the little boy, "Storm is a baby, and so is Papa Taetae at the moment."

"Did Papa turn into a baby like me? Did he shrink and go little like Thumbelina or... or Tinkerbell?!"

Jeongguk chuckles at his son's eagerness, "As much as I also like fairytales, love, but no. Papa Tata did not go as little as Thumbelina or Tink. In fact, he's still big like daddy! It's just that he thinks and acts like Storm right now. He likes to play with a lot of toys and cuddle stuffies right now, just like you. You get me, buddy?" A pregnant pause envelopes the room. To say that Jeongguk is nervous right now, would be an understatement. It's been hard for him to process everything, let alone tell his son about things like these.

"B-but Big Tata will come back, right, daddy?"

"Of course, baby. Little Tata is just temporary. It happens when Big Tata is sad and when he wants to feel safe and happy, he lets Little Tata take over him."

"Oh! It's like a safe space, right, daddy? Like how you build me a fort of big pillows so that I would stop crying and then you let me cuddle with Ice Bear, Grizz and Panpan the whole night?"

Jeongguk groans in contentment, and reminds himself to thank the gods for giving him such an intelligent kiddo.

"Wow! My baby's smart! Really, really smart!"

"Can we go to Papa Tata now?" Storm looks at him with hopeful eyes. How can he say no?

"Of course, baby. But we have to be careful not to wake him up, okay? And if he does, remember not to call him papa as of now. He'd like it if you call him hyungie when he's little. Is it clear, buddy?"

"Crystal!" Storm giggles along with Jin who's just listening to their conversation. Jeongguk could only roll his eyes in amusement. The three of them pads their way towards Little Tata's nursery, opening the door in a slow and quiet manner. Once they step inside, Jin almost melts the moment he sees Taehyung all curled up under the blanket, sucking on his thumb. He must've spit his pacifier out and was too deep in his sleep to even bother searching for it.

"Gukkie! He's so cute, oh my god. Did you arrange this for him?" Seokjin stares at younger who's now has his face buried on Storm's hair. He nods in embarrassment but it's cut off short when Storm wiggles his way out of his father's grasp.

"Storm, be careful!"

"Daddy! I think I'm going to love Little Tata, too!"

"Yeah? Little Tata would love to hear that, bub."

"Big Tata or Little Tata, I will purple them both."

Jeongguk smiles, kneeling down to match his son's height. "Of course you will, Stormy. I know you will."

grumpy old man

iMessage

Today at 16:43

Gukkie!
It's Jimin!
We're already otw home!
Yoongi hyung told me to message u
bc he can't 'cause he's the one
who's driving, apparently 🙄

oops
My hand slipped omg akskkd
I meant to send this one

WHAT THE FUCK
YOU FUCKING HAD SEX IN THE CAR
BEFORE U EVEN WENT HOME
AND U FUCKING FILMED
AND MADE A GIF OUT OF IT?!?!?!
HOW DO U FUCKING UNSEE

You're just being an overdramatic ass
Ay knee way
How's our little Taeboo?

No i'm just being me,
an innocent bean
He's doing great, chim
He's busy playing with Jin hyung and
Storm rn.

You only look innocent when
you're asleep
But awww yoongi n i are so happy
that jinnie hyung and stormy loves
playing with him. thank you, gukkie
What would we do without you 🥺

That's it
Bow down to ur king
Peasant

Okay i take all of those back
Kidding aside
Y'know what guk?
You'll make a great caregiver
for taehyung
:)

Uh... thanks?
I guess...

Yoongi has something to say to
you later. See you!

See you, hyung
And please don't pull over
at some remote area to try
and have sex again
Pls

Fuck u
🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻

[read 16:52]

"Peaches, I have a surprise for you!" Taehyung stops playing with Storm and his stuffies to search for Jeongguk. His eyes twinkle and immediately turn into crescents the moment he catches sight of his two most favorite persons in the whole universe.

"Yoonie hyung! Chimmy!" He drops everything to the floor, and runs his way towards Yoongi who's standing beside the shoe rack, arms wide open to welcome Taehyung inside his warm embrace. The older laughs and immediately presses a kiss on Taehyung's forehead. Jimin, on the other hand, waits for his turn. When Taehyung decides it's enough, he tackles Jimin into a tight hug, and Jimin couldn't help but to shower him kisses all over his face.

"Taehyungie missed the two of you so much!"

"We missed our Taetae, too. How's our good little boy?"

"Daddy took care of Taehyungie very well!" Taehyung says, separating from Jimin and he finds his way towards Jeongguk. The younger had a sleepy Storm in his right arm but he still manages to fit Taehyung on the left one. He holds his waist in place, and lets Taehyung's head rest on his shoulder.

"Taetae has been a good boy the whole day! Isn't that right, peaches?" Jeongguk praises him while massaging his scalp. He could hear Taehyung sigh, feeling relaxed because of it.

"That's right, daddy! Taetae's sleepy..."

"Let's get the two of you to bed, hm? Do you want me to make you milk?" The little shakes his head and proceeds to suck on his thumb again. As much as Jeongguk would want to reprimand Taehyung in doing that, and that he should suck his paci instead, he doesn't have the heart to do so because the little is being painfully cute in front of him. The three others could only watch in amusement, knowing looks being shared every once in a while.

When Jeongguk puts his two babies to bed, he's met with the sweet aroma of peppermint tea from the kitchen. With a grunt, he settles himself on an empty seat and lets his head rest on the table.

"Drink, Guk. I know you're tired from taking care of not just one, but two babies," Jimin says, pushing a cup towards him. Jeongguk murmurs a 'thank you' before sipping the tea and he feels his body relax because of the warmth.

"We have a lot of things to talk about, don't you think, Guk?" Yoongi asks him, hands folded on top of the table.

"I believe we do, hyung..."

"Now, how about we start with the 'daddy' issue, hm?" Jimin almost snorts at that, but stops himself before he could even choke on his drink. Jin looks at him with concern but Jimin assures him that he's okay.

"Enlighten me about that one, hyung."

"Okay, so here's the story. A month after Taehyung discovered and got comfortable with himself slipping to little space whenever he's stressed or pressured, he said something to us concerning his caregiver. Hoseok and me? We're just his temporary caregivers, that's why he just calls us hyung, hyungie, or whatever. But you, Jeongguk, he calls you daddy."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know if it's a bad thing for you, but the thing is, Taehyung told us that he will only call someone 'daddy' if he likes them to be his caregiver for a long period of time... You're it, Jeongguk. He wants you. He needs you. Are you up for it?"

Jeongguk's jaw almost drops the down the floor.

"Holy fuck."

"Holy fuck, indeed."