Little Ba Reum AU - The roads not taken

Chapter 27

It was still the middle of the night, Hyuk was wearing his sleeping clothes, and he had come from the side door, as well. Feeling bad about himself, he started to chew his fingers even harder.

"Oh, no sweetie, don't do that," Hyuk said, the moment he noticed Ba Reum biting his fingers harder than before. He quickly tugged them out, and was glad to have another paci lying near, "here, sweetheart, use this one."

Ba Reum accepted it immediately, sucking it rather quickly once it was in his mouth, but the little seemed to be calm enough for the moment.

Hyuk went back to the diaper change, putting a clean diaper underneath the naked bum, making sure that the area was wiped before adding a new layer of salve, which got him a wiggling little in return, but no complaints sounded.

The new diaper was fastened, and Hyuk made sure the sleeper was closed again, and lifted the little.

Ba Reum was glad to be back in the big man's arms, still hearing the sounds of the storm raging on outside. If he was with Hyuk, he wasn't so scared, but now he had a fresh diaper, and he was sure the caregiver would want to go back to bed soon.

They were going back to his crib, and Ba Reum was already mentally trying to prepare himself for being put back in there, the edge up and the lights out, to be stuck in the dark while the scary noises continued.

He was unable to stifle the whimper.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll just grab unicorn, and we'll go to my room, okay," Hyuk said, bending down to grab the plushie from the bed.

Ba Reum's eyes widened when he saw Hyuk do that. So, that's how mama was going to punish him for waking him up. He would leave Ba Reum here and take unicorn with him.

For a moment, his lip shook, wanting to cry and grab his unicorn back, but he didn't. He should already be glad that's the only thing that was going to happen. Hell, he had even gotten a paci now, he should be glad.

Prepared to spend the scary night awake and wrapped in his blanket, he was taken by surprise when he was carried away from the crib now.

"Mama?" Ba Reum asked, confused, and looking back to the crib.

"Yes, sweetie?" Hyuk asked, still walking to the room.

"Ba Reum Sleepy there?" Ba Reum asked, pointing at the crib.

"It's scary there. You want to go sleepy with mama?" Hyuk asked, realizing that the little hadn't understood his words.

"Sleepy mama?" Ba Reum asked, not sure if he understanding what Hyuk was trying to tell him.

"Yes, sleepy with mama," Hyuk said with a smile going to his bedroom and putting Ba Reum on the big bed and gave the unicorn to him.

Ba Reum sat up, looking confused at the situation, but Hyuk just patted his head.

"Let's make it a bit safer for you," the big man said, knowing that the bed in the middle of the room would be dangerous for the little, who could fall out.

Pushing it towards a wall, it did make the room look off-centre for a bit, but that was okay, as long as Ba Reum was safe.

Getting in the bed himself, he lifted the sheets and gestured for Ba Reum to go under them as well. Hesitantly, the little moved himself, unsure if he was doing what he should, but mommy smiled and covered him with the blanket before sliding under them as well.

A new thunder sounded, and Ba Reum reacted without thinking, pressing close to Hyuk and squeezing his eyes closed, wanting to not hear the scary noise anymore.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm here," Hyuk said, wrapping his arm around Ba Reum's back, and softly stroking it, "it's okay, mama will keep you safe."

Ba Reum let himself be lulled into safety by the nearness of the man. The scary awakening and the changing of his diaper had made him alert, but the soft voice of his mama and the soft touches on his back where helping him calm down.

Shifting a little, his head ended on Hyuk's chest, and he fell asleep to the steady sound of the caregiver's heartbeat.

Hyuk smiled when he heard Ba Reum's breath even out a bit more, glad that the little managed to fall back asleep. A few thunders sounded, but it seemed that the little was too far gone to react on them anymore.

In the darkness, he contemplated how Ba Reum had called him.

Mama.

A grin spread on his face. He had gotten his parental title.

"You are so sweet," Hyuk whispered in the darkness, unable to believe how happy he was right now. Even though he hadn't been searching for a little for such a long time, it had felt like ages, and he sometimes felt as if he would be forever lonely.

The meetings with Ba Reum were each time unexpected, and he couldn't help but be grateful that he had been the one inspecting the police school that day.

"Don't you worry, I'll take care of you," Hyuk said, "and for school I got a good guy as well. Moo Chi is a bit gruff on the outside, but I think he'll do well in your class."

No answer came from the little, and Hyuk relaxed in the bed, the adrenaline of the sudden awakening slowly leaving his body, and he managed to fall asleep easily enough.

Ba Reum woke up, unable to open his eyes, and just turned to the other side, snuggling into his bed. He couldn't remember it being so nice and soft. And it smelled good as well. Letting his fingers softly stroke the piece of sheet they were lying on, it even felt different than usual.

Nuzzling his pillow, he gave a few slow sucks on the paci on his mouth, his brain almost thinking of something, but he was too woozy to actually let the thought enter his head.

"Are we waking up, sweetheart?" a soft voice came from nearby.

"Mmh," Ba Reum hummed, not really wanting to wake up yet, but not falling asleep again either. A chuckle was heard, and he felt a hand stroke his back. That was very pleasant. Giving a pleased groan, Ba Reum plastered himself against the warm body next to him.

"Can you show mama your pretty eyes?" the deep voice said, a smile almost audible in the sound.

It did make Ba Reum frown for a moment, thinking there was something wrong with that sentence. Sucking his paci a little quicker, he tried to focus his thoughts, wondering what was wrong with it.

Then he realised it, and his eyes flew open, and he sat up suddenly, making Hyuk startle. With wide, fear-filled eyes, he looked at the caregiver in whose bed he was sitting.

"I am terribly sorry," Ba Reum said, feeling his heartbeat quicken when he realised that he had woken the man up in the middle of the night and called him mama.

Surely, nothing good could happen now.