Little Ba Reum AU - The roads not taken

Chapter 8

Ba Reum walked next to the tall caregiver, keeping the plushie hugged close to him and just loving the feel of it. He never had a plushie before, and he felt as if he should be paying it more attention, but he couldn't let himself go like that in public.

"There's an ice cream booth," Ba Reum said, pointing it out, "which flavours do you guys want?"

"Mmh, do they have something with lemon?" Hyuk's father asked, squinting at the menu.

"There's some lemon sorbet, sir," Ba Reum said.

"Please, say Chang Wook, and a lemon sorbet sounds wonderful, no cone for me," the man said, smiling at the little, who nodded.

"And what do you want, sir..uhm, Hyuk," Ba Reum asked shyly, but politely.

"Some banana would be nice," Hyuk said.

"A cone?" Ba Reum asked, wanting to be sure that he got Hyuk exactly what he wanted.

"Yes, please," the big man said, smiling at Ba Reum in a way that made him feel safe and warm, and he tried to resist the urge to put his thumb in his mouth.

"Can you hold the stuffy for me?" Ba Reum asked instead, holding it up towards Hyuk, not wanting to accidently spill anything on it. The big man took it easily and put it on his lap while he went to sit on a bench with his dad.

Ba Reum took out his wallet, looking at the money in there, and frowned. Last time, Hyuk had given him an ice cream with two scoops, and he wanted to say thank you now, she he needed to get two ice creams with two scoops, taking out a few coins, he was relieved to have just enough money to get four scoops in total, and went to stand in the row with a big smile, relieved that he could do this at least.

"He seems nice," Chang Wook said to his son, who was waving at Ba Reum standing in the row, the little waving back with a big smile.

"He does," Hyuk said, his eyes fixated on the little.

"You sure someone like that wouldn't fit with you?" Chang Wook asked, seeing his son look startled, and then look at the unicorn on his lap.

"He said he was an older toddler," Hyuk said, "They.... don't need the care I need to give,"

"Too bad," Chang Wook said, feeling a little disappointed, "but perhaps you two could try?"

"He's got compatible caregivers with the little agency," Hyuk said, closing the conversation just when Ba Reum came walking with the ice creams, holding them out with a big smile, and a look of excitement.

"They're artisanal made, so they must be super good," Ba Reum said, and Hyuk was surprised that the little didn't ran back to the booth after both he and his dad took the ice cream.

"Let's test it out," Chang Wook said, taking a bite, and appreciating the sweet and sourness of the lemon sorbet.

"Where's yours?" Hyuk asked, not licking his one yet before he knew that Ba Reum had one of his own.

"Oh, no, I didn't have dinner yet," the little said, as if this explained why.

"But you can have your dessert before," Hyuk said, "otherwise you can't have one,"

"That's fine," Ba Reum said, looking a little surprised, and shuffling a little, and Hyuk saw a hand shyly reach out, before pulling back.

"Do you want the unicorn back?" Hyuk asked, holding the stuffy out to him, and Ba Reum nodded, quickly taking the stuffy in his arms, and hugging it close, trying to not think about the fact that he would have loved an ice cream.

"I should be getting home now," he said softly, not wanting to bother the two anymore.

"Really? That's a shame," Chang Wook said, "my son was just saying how much he enjoyed your company tonight,"