- little vminkook, cg namjoon -

Namjoon is used to messy weekends. Ever since he agreed to become a caregiver, a considerable chunk of his free time is spent cleaning up spills and running after unruly boys.

(this thread takes place before this one https://twitter.com/tinytaehyungah/status/1253277774225330176)

Jimin and Taehyung are as mischievous as they get, always scheming behind their caregiver’s back. Their little antics never fail to make him laugh, even if he sometimes has to put his foot down.

So when Jungkook shyly asks him if he could join in, spend a Saturday with them sometimes, Namjoon is quick to agree. He knows it’s a bit dangerous, this three-littles-to-one-caregiver ratio, but he doesn’t have the heart to turn Jungkook down.

His dongsaeng could clearly use a way to cope with his anxiety and stress.

Jungkook is always fidgeting, fingers curling and uncurling, his knee bouncing up and down.

More than once, his hyungs have helped him in the aftermath of an anxiety attack or cuddled with him when his body just wouldn’t slow down. His mind seemed to wage war against him sometimes, so the least Namjoon could do was offer him this.

Besides, Namjoon assumed taking care of Jungkook would be easy. He liked to join in on Jimin and Taehyung’s antics occasionally, but he would always stop as soon as someone insinuated that he wasn’t a good boy. Jungkook lived for praise, and god he was adorable.

How could Namjoon say no to those big brown eyes? That pout? The sniffle? The lisp? Jungkook was every caregiver’s dream: cute and sweet and eager. Maybe he’d even set a good example for his two unrulier littles. So how hard could it be?

Very hard, Namjoon soon found out. He’s currently comforting a very distraught Tae, who’s clutching his drawing in his clumsy little hands.

“It’s okay, darling. I know you’re upset, but your drawing is still pretty! Isn’t that right, Jiminie?”

Jimin, who’s sitting wide-eyed beside his best friend, nods enthusiastically. He seems a little shell-shocked still and flinches whenever Jungkook cries louder.

“Gukkie was a, a, a meanie!” Tae sniffles, pouting. He lifts two fingers to his mouth, no doubt to soothe himself, but before Namjoon can intervene he hears Jimin offer: “Taetae paci?”

He holds out his own pacifier, a bright yellow one with cute little ducks, and carefully puts it in Taehyung’s mouth. Namjoon perks up a bit. His littles are so cute he just can’t help it.

At first he had tried to stop them from sharing their pacifiers,

since it didn’t strike him as the most hygienic thing, but he’d quickly given up on that.

They always play so well together and never break any major rules when they have a playdate with someone else, so what happened today?

The three littles were colouring together at the kitchen table. Namjoon had wanted to start off with some entry-level activities for Jungkook, afraid to overwhelm him. During the first half hour, things had been going well.

Though they both had their own, Taehyung and Jimin took turns colouring on each other’s sheet of paper, adding cute little hearts and stars wherever there was free space.

Their art styles were quite different. Tae loved to use primary colours, drawing in messy, scratchy lines,

whereas Jimin’s drawings were a lot neater, and he tended to stick to the “correct” colours. Since they liked to make additions to each other’s work, their drawings ended up complimentary, and Namjoon always made sure to hang them up right next to each other.

Jungkook had looked like he was having fun, too. He coloured diligently, careful to stay inside the lines. There was a frown on his face, his tongue peaking out as he focused. The activity seemed to help him relax, so Namjoon was content.

It was a little sad to see his two boys play together while Jungkook kept to himself, but Namjoon attributed that to the kid’s shyness. Surely, he would open up soon and start joining the other two. It was only a matter of time.

For a short moment, such cosy playtime seemed closer than expected: Tae reached out to Jungkook’s drawing to doodle in the corner. Namjoon felt himself smile at his Taehyungie’s kindness: it was just like him to try and include others!