Twinkle || BTS

Reality

Namjoon came home to a dark, silent house- an experience he hadn't felt in what seemed like decades. Ophelia had yet to fully settle in, so coming home to one of his housemates fruitlessly attempting to put her to bed was a common occurrence. He tip-toed up the steps (if he was the one who woke Lia up, his friends would not let him see the light of day. Lia tended to be a heavy sleeper, however, so there wasn't much need to be overly quiet) and to the nursery. Peering in, Namjoon blinked once, twice in confusion when he noticed the empty crib. His mind blanked, and he rushed to his bedroom to get Jin.

The bedside lamp's gentle light illuminated the room just enough for Namjoon to see his boyfriend reading on their bed with Lia resting on his chest. Namjoon's heart rate quickly evened out, and a smile crept onto his face at the loving sight. He softly closed the door behind him, causing Jin to focus his attention from his novel to the new presence in the room. Namjoon saw the stress and worry on the elder's face, his smile faltering in response. "What's wrong?" He asked, perching himself on the edge of the bed.

"Lia's sick," Jin whispered, stroking the girl in question's pink hair. Namjoon frowned and laid on the bed next to Jin- he moved Lia's hair slightly to see her pale, sleeping face. She felt hot to the touch; Namjoon could tell she had a high fever before Jin could even mention it.

"She must have injured her anal cavity from refusing to use her diapers. Almost immediately after that, she started spiking a fever and puking." Jin chuckled out of exhaustion, "Long and rough day; Hobi looked ready to faint until I made him leave."

Namjoon's heart hurt at the thought of his baby suffering. Even in her sleep, she looked distressed. While he was slightly offended Jin didn't bother to call or even text him about Lia, it didn't feel right to bring that up when there were bigger issues to deal with. Maybe in the morning, everything will have magically fixed themselves, and Namjoon would finally have his happy little baby.

Nothing felt right to Henry. Nothing felt real. His sister disappeared without a trace and it felt like nobody was trying to find her. He stared up at his blue ceiling- he took down all the glow-in-the-dark stars a week after Ophelia left. It was her idea to put them up there, and it felt wrong for them to be there when she wasn't.

"I used to have a bunch of these things in my bedroom when I was little," she said with that signature Ophelia smile- wide and genuine, a smile that gave Henry a sense of home.

"They're gay," Henry quickly dismissed such a baby-ish decoration, but his big sister didn't take any offense. Every time Henry invaded her room he was infatuated with those small stars. It was obviously just an act- his way of saying 'I'm 12 now and I can't admit I like things.'

It's been a month. Ophelia left- no, she was kidnapped. Ophelia was kidnapped March 14. She turned 18 on April 7. Her senior prom was next week- April 19.

Henry somehow got more depressed at that thought- Opehlia was so excited about prom. After school one day- two weeks before she was kidnapped- Ophelia took Henry dress shopping. He begged and pleaded to be dropped off at home before she went to the dress shop, to which Ophelia whined that all the good dresses would be taken in that short time frame. And so, Henry sat in the boutique for what felt like hours watching his sister try on dress after dress. "You don't even have a date," Henry complained.

Ophelia, the ever kind and caring Ophelia, simply turned around and smiled at her younger brother. "That doesn't matter. Do you want to go with me? They have a chocolate fountain that I know you'll love!"

"Ew!" Henry was disgusted at the thought of being his sister's date. Looking back now, he realized she only did it out of love. She could have gotten mad at Henry for pointing out her single status, but instead invited him to join her. From the movies he watched, most older sisters would be disgusted to have their little brother tag along to any event, better yet prom. Yet here Ophelia was, thinking of Henry's own interests above her own.

God, he did not deserve her.

The front door opened, quickly followed by hushed voices and a baby's squeal. Henry's heart stopped for a moment until he remembered that it couldn't be his parents (it couldn't be Ophelia, either). Quickly after Ophelia disappeared, their parents ran off. Ophelia's older friends volunteered to watch over both him and Rose so they wouldn't get thrown into foster care. To Henry, it seemed like everything tied to Ophelia was full of goodness.

The squeaking of his door made Henry flip over to face whoever was entering. The sudden light from the hall made him squint- had he really hidden away for that long? Grace stood in the doorframe, Rose on her hip and her own daughter, Ashley, holding onto her hand. Or, well, finger.

Henry knew little Ashley well; before Rose was born, he would tag along with Ophelia every time she went to visit Grace and Ashley. It shocked him how big she has gotten, being nearly two years old now. The thought of baby Rose ever becoming sentient kind of scared him.

Henry remembered how much joy Ashley brought both Grace and Ophelia, with Grace dubbing Ophelia "Auntie Lia." The two had been friends since they were little, and Henry knew Grace basically all his life. A little over a year ago, Grace brought the two siblings on a vacation over spring break.

"I got a sugar daddy, so don't worry about money or anything."

"Tell him to hit me up sometime," Ophelia gave Grace a playful wink. Grace gasped and softly hit her younger friend in the arm.

Their dynamic was sisterly and close, and Henry almost felt like an intruder when around them. The hotel room they stayed in that week was almost like a mini apartment, with a living room and a separate room for the beds. After exploring the rest of the hotel by himself, Henry returned back only to find the living space empty and soft voices coming from the 'bedroom.' He sat in front of the door, doing what most little brothers did and eavesdropped.

"It's weird to think of how much you and Henry have grown up," Grace's voice hit Henry's ear first.

"Stop acting like you're ancient- you're only three years older than me," The familiar playfulness in Ophelia's voice made Henry feel at ease.

"I know, but I still you the two of you as the little kids from across the street." There was a pause until Grace continued speaking, "Am I doing this right?"

"What right?" Ophelia asked.

"This," Grace replied, referring to the sleeping baby lying between the two of them, "I have no idea what is right when it comes to parenting. Do I breastfeed? Do I use cloth diapers? When do I introduce solid foods? Do I co-sleep?"

"Shut up, you're doing fine," Ophelia gave her reassurance through the teasing way only best friends can do. "And for the record, aren't we kind of co-sleeping with Ash right now?"

Grace snorted, "Only because we couldn't get her to nap in her pack and whatever it's called. I'm just terrified I'm going to kill her or something."

"Don't say that! Both of you survived for six months so far, just keep it up for another six months, and then maybe a few more after that."

Both the girls laughed but kept it quiet as to not wake the sleeping child. A peaceful quiet filled the hotel room after that, and Henry nearly rose from the floor until Grace spoke up.

"I really do love you, Lia."

The now two-year-old Ashley climbing on his bed snapped Henry back to reality. Through his teary eyes (although he'd never admit he cried), he saw the hopeful expression on Grace's face. Once their eyes met, her smile only grew larger.

"We got a lead."