Little Dreamies

Bedtime stories

It had taken a long time for Jisung to come around to the idea that Lola was not leaving anytime soon. He had held on to hope that this was temporary and sought comfort in Renjun, who held the same idea. After the incident between Renjun and Lola in the store, Jisung no longer trusted his brother to share his thoughts. Still, Jisung had to admit, it was nice having a mom around. He would never say that out loud but he did enjoy it. Maybe, just maybe, Lola wasn't that bad.

Taeyong had some business to finish up and was staying late at the studio. He hadn't been able to do that in almost two years but Lola was staying with the boys so he took advantage of the opportunity to get some extra work done. 

"Alright boys, time for bed" Lola announced, walking into the living room. At once, the boys scattered in different directions and she only hoped they listened to her and were going to get their showers or baths or whatever they had to do. 

"Noona, help!" Jisung tugged on her hand, pointing to the bathroom. Lola knew what he was asking. She had thought all the boys were able to bathe themselves but it made sense that a five year old couldn't. She knew Taeyong would want her to supervise anyways even if Jisung didn't need help. 

"Come on then" Lola didn't take long to get Jisung cleaned up and made sure that Chenle got everywhere and got his pajamas on right. 

"Alright, up you go" She tugged on Jaemin's shirt, letting him know it was time to get in bed and stop talking to Chenle. 

"Story?" Jisung held a book out to Lola.

"Does your dad read you a story usually?" She wondered. Taeyong hadn't said anything to her about that. The three boys looked at each other and nodded. They were lying. Lola didn't see the harm in it though and sat down on the floor, making sure all three boys were in their beds and could still hear her. By the time she finished reading, Jisung was fighting sleep, Chenle was knocked out and Jaemin was looking at her with heavy eyes. Lola set the book to the side and tucked Chenle's blanket around him before going to the other two. 

"Don't try to fight sleep, baby" She tapped Jisung on the nose and started petting his head. Soon, he was joining Chenle in dreamland. She stood up to Jaemin's bunk and readjustedthe covers around him.

"Goodnight little one" She told him. Jaemin's eyes were closed but he wasn't asleep yet and he mumbled something in response that Lola did not hear. She closed the door and went to check on the other boys. Haechan was attacking Jeno with a pillow and didn't stop even when she walked in. 

"Haechan, you are to be in your own bed" Lola scolded softly. Haechan threw her an innocent look and jumped onto his bed, diving under the covers.

"Does your appa read you two a story as well?" Lola wondered. She had a good idea what the answer would be already. 

"No! We're too old for that" Haechan insisted. Lola didn't see how an eight-year-old and nine-year-old could be too old for a story but she decided not to argue with them. 

"Okay, you can stay up a little but I want lights out in ten minutes" She nodded, tucking the two of them in and leaving. She would go back after checking on Mark and Renjun to make sure they were asleep and their light was off. 

"It's too early!" Mark reminded her when Lola walked into their room. She ignored that and began tidying up the loose pieces of clothes that were lying around. How two preteens could be that messy was still a mystery to her. Taeyong said that's just the way it was and he was used to it but she didn't see how. 

"You don't have to now, I'm just checking on all of you. Renjun, your hair looks dry. Did you not wash it?" Lola noticed. Renjun thought for a moment which gave away the answer already.

"Yes?" He hoped that would work and yet knew it wouldn't. Lola moved out of the doorway.

"Go do it. And don't ever lie to me again" She instructed. Renjun left reluctantly, returning a few minutes later with his hair wet this time and give Lola a look that screamed 'are you happy now?'

"Goodnight boys. Lights out in twenty minutes" She told them and left. Lola went back to Jeno and Haechan's room to find them both asleep. Jeno had been reading but his book lay abandoned on his bed now. She marked his spot and set it to the side, pulling the blankets further up around him so he didn't get cold. Ten minutes later, she heard Mark and Renjun turning their light out and climbing into bed. At the exact same moment, the door to the guest room opened and Jisung came in. There was no Chenle behind him which was odd because usually those two were never far from each other. 

"What is it, Ji?" Lola got up, going over to the five-year-old.

"I can't sleep. When will appa be home?" Jisung pouted. Lola picked him up, setting him on her lap as she sat on the bed.

"Your appa will be home soon and he will come tuck you in and tell you how much he loves all of you. And if you ask him, he might read you another story, don't you think?" Lola had a good feeling Jisung would be asleep before then but if it helped to calm the kid then she would say anything.

"I hope so. I can't sleep without him" Jisung mumbled, already drifting off. Lola stood up and started walking around the room, rocking Jisung back and forth until he was asleep again and then she sat down again and held him. Taeyong would be back soon and he could take Jisung back to the room the youngest three were staying in. 

"Why isn't he in bed?" Taeyong wondered when he walked into the room. 

"Couldn't sleep knowing you were gone" Lola answered. That made sense; all the boys had a bit of separation anxiety being away from him so he didn't go anywhere without them often.

"You don't read the boys bedtime stories?" Lola confronted. Taeyong turned red.

"They always insist on being too old for it" He defended himself. 

"Well, Jisung asked me to read them a story tonight and Chenle and Jaemin seemed really interested in it. Maybe they just like me better" Lola stated, only pretending. She could never be as good as Taeyong was with the boys.

"They probably do. You don't scold them or have to put them in timeout or anything else" Taeyong pointed out. Lola knew that was fair so she didn't argue. There were no more interruptions though Taeyong and Lola both swore that they heard one or two of the boys running around but as soon as Taeyong went to go see what the commotion was, it stopped and all the boys were in their beds again.

_____________________________________
Mark-11
Renjun-10
Jeno-9
Haechan-8
Jaemin-7
Chenle-6
Jisung-5