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Namjoon may have his eyes on the television in front of them, but he can feel Taehyung beginning to fidget on his seat beside him. The toddler whimpers again for the umpteenth time, this time also beginning to bite at the head of the rabbit plushie he’s holding. Namjoon sighs and reaches out to try to take the plushie out of the child’s mouth while trying his hardest not to jostle Jungkook, who’s currently dozing on his chest. That plushie is Jungkook’s and the younger alpha wouldn’t be pleased when he finds out that his fellow alpha hyung has ‘claimed’ what is his. The pup glares at him when the plushie is ripped away from his grip, turning his back on his father and crossing his little arms in front of his chest.
“Tae, what’s wrong? Are you sleepy?” Namjoon runs his fingers through Taehyung’s soft hair. “Wanna nap with Dada and Kookoo?”
Taehyung shakes his head, “Bored,” he turns around again to face Namjoon. “Where’s Papa and Jiminie?”
“Jiminie doesn’t feel good so Papa has to take him to the doctor, sweetheart,”
“They go away so long,” his lower lip begins to tremble and Namjoon curses inwardly. “I wanna play with Jiminie, a-and hug Papa,”
“You don’t want to play with Dada?” Namjoon tries, cringing when the pup shakes his head. “Alright, I’m gonna put your brother in his room first then we’ll talk about this, okay?” he stands up, heading for the youngest pup’s bedroom so that he can sleep comfortably in his crib. His heart clenches when Taehyung lets out a little sob.
Namjoon heads back to the living room after making sure Jungkook is sleeping comfortably and kneels in front of Taehyung, taking both of his smaller hands in his. “What do you wanna do, baby? Want Dada to make you something?”
He shakes his head again. “Papa,”
Taehyung clings to Seokjin more than he does to Namjoon. Usually, alpha children tend to cling to their alpha parent more compared to their omega parent, but Taehyung seems like a rare case. Namjoon sometimes thinks if he’s too busy with his job that he doesn’t spare enough time to bond with his children and the thought makes him sad.
He moves to lift Taehyung up, cradling him to his chest. Taehyung grabs a fistful of Namjoon’s shirt and sniffles. Seems like the pup is actually tired and sleepy. When Jimin stayed awake the night before because of his fever, Taehyung had been up too for several hours, before Seokjin managed to coax him to fall back asleep.
Namjoon walks to the kitchen with Taehyung in his embrace and opens the fridge. “Here baby, look,” he tries to pry Taehyung’s face away from his chest. “You want pudding? Papa also bought orange juice yesterday, or perhaps do you prefer ice cream?” Seokjin will banish his ass for feeding their pup sugary snacks so close to his naptime but he’s desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures.
Taehyung shoves his fingers into his mouth, seeming to be thinking his decisions over. He ponders his decision for a few moments before taking his fingers out of his mouth and points at the pudding with a saliva-coated finger timidly. Namjoon chuckles and grabs one package of the pudding before sauntering to the kitchen counter to grab a tissue, wiping Taehyung’s finger clean. After dumping the tissue in the trash bin, he grabs a small spoon and walks back to the living room.
“Do you want Dada to feed you or can you do it yourself?” Namjoon asks, presenting the spoon in front of Taehyung’s face. He smiles when Taehyung makes no move to take it from him and just opens the pudding to begin feeding his pup. Taehyung is usually very cheerful but when he’s cranky, it’s a completely different story. As he feeds the pup, he thinks about what kind of activities they can do to keep Taehyung entertained until Seokjin comes back. The cartoon on the TV doesn’t seem to entertain him, he looks too sleepy to be playing with his action figures, and Taehyung will only hear a story from his favorite book if Seokjin is the one reading it... His mind then goes to the nest Seokjin had built in their bedroom and he remembers how much the young alpha likes to play there, be it with his parents or with his siblings.
When Taehyung is done eating and Namjoon has cleaned the food residue near his mouth, he takes Taehyung to the master bedroom. There’s a space in one corner of the bedroom reserved specifically for Seokjin to build a nest that the omega usually uses when he’s nursing their pups or when his heat is near and he just wants to be there. It has also become a playground for the pups and a place for them to go when they sulk, Seokjin’s soothing omega pheromones and scent can do wonders in making them feel better.
Taehyung’s mood seems to be in a better condition after a little snack and he crawls away from Namjoon’s lap as soon as they sit down, plopping himself down in a pillow near the corner of the nest. He makes a happy sound in the back of his throat and begins rolling around the nest, occasionally hugging and scenting a pillow here and there.
“Smells like Papa,” he looks up at Namjoon with a big smile and giggles.
Namjoon joins his pup lying on the nest and nuzzles the pillow Taehyung is holding. “You think Papa smells good?” he asks and Taehyung nods eagerly. He flashes the pup his dimpled smile. “I think so, too.”
The alpha grabs Taehyung and tickles his belly, laughing along when the pup tries to escape his hold while whining pitifully. He rests his pup’s small body on top of his chest and sweeps away a few stray hairs that’s covering his eyes. “Say Taetae, what do you think about building a nest for Papa and Jiminie when they come back?”
Taehyung laughs, flailing his hands around and smacking Namjoon’s nose in the process. “Dada silly, Papa says Dada makes ugly nests,”
Ouch . Namjoon tries not to be offended at his pup insulting his nest-making ability and pinches Taehyung’s nose playfully. “But I have Taetae to help me,” he adds, grinning when Taehyung stops flailing around and puts on a serious face. “Taetae is good right?”
Taehyung gets up wordlessly, and Namjoon groans a little when he steps on his stomach in the process. He watches as Taehyung crosses his arms and looks down at his father who’s still lying down. “But Taetae only help, okay? Dada should work,”
Namjoon runs a hand on his face, shaking his head and chuckling lowly. It seems that all of their pups inherit at least eighty percent of Seokjin’s sassiness. “Yes, sir!”
Taehyung sits on the couch as Namjoon starts working, moving the coffee table in front of it to make space for the nest they’re gonna build. Seokjin and Namjoon always take turns vacuuming the carpet for at least twice a week, but he still fetches the vacuum cleaner to make sure the carpet is really clean.
Namjoon grabs fresh sheets and covers while Taehyung goes to retrieve Seokjin’s favorite striped pillow from the master bedroom. The alpha coos inwardly when the pup struggles to carry the big pillow without tumbling. Taehyung then collects more pillows from his and Jimin’s room, along with their favorite plushies and sets them on the couch. Namjoon is in the middle of arranging the covers on top of a thin mattress when Taehyung tugs at his pant leg.
“I wanna take Kookoo’s bunny but he’s sleeping,” he looks up at his father, looking genuinely confused; Namjoon can faint right then and there from the cuteness.
He squats down to Taehyung’s eye level and caresses his cheek. “We’ll take care of Kookoo’s stuffs later, okay? Right now will Taetae please help Dada fix the covers?”
They’re almost done putting the pillows and plushies when Jungkook’s cries echo throughout the house. Namjoon quickly runs to the pup’s bedroom and takes him out of his crib. “Is someone hungry?” he coos, walking to the kitchen to take the milk Seokjin had pumped earlier out of the fridge. “Or are you just lonely?”
Taehyung comes running into the kitchen with Jungkook’s plushie in hand just as Namjoon warms up the milk. “Kookoo don’t cry! Look, Hyung has your plushie,”
Jungkook looks down at his brother from his perch on Namjoon’s shoulder with interest, making grabby hands for the bunny plushie Taehyung is holding. Namjoon bends down so that Jungkook can take the plushie and Taehyung runs away to the living room. When they enter the living room again, Taehyung is already sitting on the nest, the pillows and plushies are already set very neatly. There’s also Seokjin’s favorite baby blue pullover and Jimin’s yellow sweater, Namjoon smiles when he realizes that Taehyung knows that omegas also like to throw some of their clothes into the nest.
“Good job, Taetae!” Namjoon cheers as he sits down with Jungkook, looking content as he drinks his milk. He fishes out his phone from the pocket of his pants with his free hand and unlocks it. “Do you guys want to see Papa and Jiminie?”
“Yes!” Taehyung cheers, throwing his arms in the air.
Namjoon dials Seokjin’s number, hoping that his mate isn’t currently driving to be able to pick up his video call. Taehyung is leaning on Namjoon’s thigh, looking at the phone screen with utmost interest as he waits for his omega father to pick up. He lets out an excited squeal when Seokjin’s face appears on the screen.
“Papaaaaaaa!”
“ Oh, Taetae, darling, how are you? ” Seokjin says from across the line. Jungkook who has his eyes closed is suddenly very alert when he hears his father’s voice.
“Me and Dada made a nest!” Taehyung exclaims proudly. “For Papa and Jiminie,”
Namjoon angles the phone so that Seokjin can see all of them and the nest. “Taehyung did a really good job,”
“Is that so? That’s wonderful, sweetheart, ” Seokjin pans the camera to the backseat to show Jimin leaning on his baby car seat, half-awake and looking very sleepy. He looks better; when they were getting ready this morning, his face was very pale, eyes red from crying all night. “ I’m sure Jiminie will love it ,”
“Come quickly,” Taehyung moves forward, shoving his face to the screen. “I miss Papa,”
Seokjin’s eyes soften and he smiles. “ I will, darling. See you later? ”
“See you later, babe,” Namjoon says. “Drive safely.”
Jungkook falls back to sleep as soon as he finishes the milk and is now lying comfortably in the nest. Taehyung meanwhile, is struggling to stay awake beside him when Seokjin and Jimin arrive. Namjoon silently warns Taehyung not to scream because Jungkook is sleeping before they get up together to greet the omegas. The alpha is pleasantly surprised when he sees Jimin walking by himself besides Seokjin instead of being carried, his chubby fingers gripping Seokjin’s slender ones tightly. He must feel much better now.
Taehyung immediately hugs Seokjin’s legs as soon as his father is within reaching distance, asking to be picked up. Seokjin laughs and grants his wish happily.
“Someone seems to miss me,” he chuckles, rubbing his nose with Taehyung’s. Namjoon watches with a soft smile when Taehyung nods repeatedly.
Feeling left out, Jimin whimpers from his spot and Namjoon is quick to lift the pup up. “Are you feeling better, darling?” he kisses the top of Jimin’s head and brings him closer to his chest when the pup begins scenting him.
“He has an inflammation in his throat, the doctor said the fever will go away tomorrow and that Jiminie should rest a lot today,” Seokjin smiles, rubbing the pup’s back with gentle strokes.
“Your brother made you and Papa a nest, does Jiminie want to see it?” Namjoon asks. “Jungkookie is sleeping there now,”
Taehyung seems to be vibrating in Seokjin’s hold as he awaits for his twin’s response. When Jimin nods his head, he squeals (again) and hides his face in Seokjin’s neck out of excitement. He asks to be put down when they reach the living room, looking very eager to show off his hard work to Jimin.
“Does Jiminie like it?” he asks, playing with the sleeve of his shirt and looks down.
Jimin inspects the nest from Namjoon’s hold, wriggling in his hold. Namjoon gets the message and squats down, releasing his arms from around the pup and letting him approach Taehyung. “It’s beautiful, Taetae.” he giggles and hugs his twin. Taehyung grins at him before tackling him down with his legs, ignoring Seokjin’s panicked be careful, darling! and roll around the nest together. Suddenly the older twin doesn’t look as sick as he did before.
Namjoon glances to his side and sees Seokjin inspecting their rowdy pups with an enamored look on his face. His freshly-dyed brown hair paired with an oversized off-white sweater makes him look extra fluffy and Namjoon gets a sudden urge to kiss his mate. He leans forwards and does just that, smiling against Seokjin’s mouth when the omega lets out a surprised yelp.
“Did you feed Tae something sugary while I was away?” Seokjin whispers when they part away, glancing to where Jimin is struggling to keep up with his very energetic brother. “‘Cause that much energy so close to his naptime couldn’t come from something that isn’t sugar ,”
The alpha gulps, avoiding his mate’s gaze. He can feel Seokjin placing a hand on his chest, sliding it down until he reaches his stomach and pinches him there. He lets out a pitiful cry, “Ow, ow, I’m sorry, Jinnie! He was crying and I am weak!”
Seokjin just giggles and lets him go. “You need a punishment,” the omega continues to snicker as he pushes Namjoon down the nest, climbing on top of him as soon as his back hits the soft surface.
Namjoon closes his eyes and waits for another painful pinches from his mate with bated breath only to feel a weight on top of his chest. He looks down and finds the omega nuzzling his neck. He smiles and kisses the top of Seokjin’s head. “Tired?”
Seokjin nods, shoving his face further into the crook of Namjoon’s neck. “I miss you,” the whiny undertone in his voice stirs something in Namjoon. He maneuvers their position so that Seokjin is lying under him. Just as he’s about to lean down to steal another kiss from his mate, a tiny hand comes into his view and he stops.
“Kookoo woke up,” Jimin croaks out, his voice still sounds hoarse.
Namjoon turns around and notices Jungkook beginning to flail his arms and kick the air with his tiny legs, his red face scrunching up in discomfort. The youngest alpha has always been a light sleeper, he must’ve woken up from all the commotion.
Seokjin gets up and coos at his oldest, kissing Jimin’s forehead, “Thank you for telling me, baby.”
Namjoon sits back up and watches Seokjin crawls to where Jungkook still lies, scooping the fussy pup into his arms and bringing him closer to his chest. He settles down beside his mate and beckons their other pups to come closer as Seokjin lifts his shirt up to begin nursing their youngest. Jimin and Taehyung tumble together into his lap and make themselves comfortable, watching their little brother nurse quietly. Namjoon puts one arm around Seokjin and rests the other around the twin, hugging the loves of his life close to him and sighs contentedly.