What We Used To Be and Will Be

Chapter 28

Bath time was a task that all the caregivers enjoyed with their Little.

Time slowly passed. Jungkook was quiet, he just hugged Hoseok tightly, toying with the loose thread at the hem of his sweatshirt. It was after many warm touches, soft praises, and comforting cuddles that they managed to calm their maknae down. All his hyungs just stood by, not wanting to miss any moments with their maknae, ready to make amends anytime.

The members knew that they had to talk to Jungkook, to address the deep-rooted concerns that the latter had, but none of them knew how to start off the conversation. They were secretly trying to put off the talk for as long as possible too, for fear that it would trigger another round of breakdown from their maknae.

Whilst everyone was lost in their thoughts, the silence was broken when Jungkook scrunched his nose and made a comment that drew fond chuckles from everyone, "Hyungie, smelly".

It was then that it dawned on everyone they were still sweaty from their dance practice earlier.

"Oh yeah? But, isn't Jungkookie smelly too, hmm?" Yoongi brushed his index finger on the tip of his bunny's nose.

"Nooooo... Kookie is not smelly... Kookie is clean! Hyungies are not clean!" Jungkook whined cutely.

"Oh, I think not. Our Jungkookie is definitely smelly." Yoongi continued to tease, which drew a huff from the Little.

"No! Kookie is clean! He smells good and-and he... Hmph! He is not smelly!"

"Hahaha... Okay, okay. Our Jungkookie is the cleanest and smells the best. But, bunny, don't you think you should take a shower? It is getting late and we have to get you ready for bed. Can you be a good boy for us?"

There it is. The golden question that almost always guarantee an immediate compliance from the baby.

"Okay, but only because Kookie is a good boy. He is not smelly."

"Alright then. Come on, baby. Appa will give you a bath now." Jin clapped his hands and held his arms out, a clear indication that he was expecting the maknae to go to him so that he could carry him to the bathroom.

"Appa?" Jungkook tilted his head, as though confused with the nickname.

Jin's froze in his movement, smile on his face strained, panicking inwardly that he might have overstepped the boundaries. The other members held onto their breath too, focusing their gazes on their maknae.

"Appa!" Jungkook beamed and made grabby hands at Jin, which drew a collective big sigh of relief from everyone.

"Alright, here we go~!" The eldest hyung placed his maknae on his hips while he made whooshing sound with his mouth, mimicking the sound of an aeroplane. It was such a joy to be hearing those giggles again.

The rest of the members accompanied them to the bathroom with Yoongi somehow having managed to make a move before any of them in drawing water to fill the bathtub, while Namjoon stepped forward to help Jin in undressing their baby. They took turns planting kisses all over Jungkook's forehead, blotchy cheeks, the tip of his nose, and even his eyelids before placing him into the bathtub. At this point, the members could see no shame at the nudity of their maknae, except the beaming smile on his face.

Bath time was a task that all the caregivers enjoyed with their Little, so when Jungkook was partially submerged in the warm water, they crowded around, feeling relieved to see the Little relaxing himself, but also sad to see the tear-stained blotchy cheeks even though the outburst earlier was long forgotten as his caregivers smothered him with affection.

Yoongi and Hoseok took over, both kneeling next to the bathtub and working together on washing their baby. Yoongi supported him by placing a hand on his back and using the other free hand to give him his bath toys and play with him, while Hoseok washed his hair, massaged his scalp, and cleaned his body with the most caring, comforting touch.

When they deemed their bunny was fresh and clean, Taehyung was quick to push his hyungs aside and lift Jungkook out of the now lukewarm water. Jimin had stepped forward too, a fluffy towel in his hands. However, he did not dare to make any move closer, for fear of rejection from his dongsaeng. Jungkook, who had fell deeper into his headspace, just stared at Jimin with his big doe-like eyes. It was a kitten-like sneeze that broke Jimin out of his trance and quickly wrapped Jungkook in the fluffy towel like a burrito.

By the time Taehyung had placed Jungkook on the top of his bed, the latter was too deep in his headspace to make out any coherent words. He was just biting the soft fabric of his towel and bringing his feet up in the air, all while Namjoon covered his body in a rose-scented body lotion and Jin put on a new diaper for him. Once everything was done, Yoongi and Hoseok took over again to dress Jungkook in a bunny-fitted onesie and dried his hair before Jimin popped a pacifier into the Little's mouth since he had started to suck his thumb.

Everyone watched Jungkook wriggled his way under his bed comforter, evidently showing that he was getting sleepy. His pacifier bobbed up and down in a slow rhythm while he hugged his bunny stuffie tightly to his chest, tiny hands playing with the soft fur of it – something that Jungkook does whenever he was falling asleep.

"Do you want anyone to sleep with you, bunny?" Yoongi asked quietly while petting the Little's head in a soothing manner.

Jungkook hummed and surprisingly, looked at Jimin earnestly. It did not take Jimin any second longer to climb under the bed comforter and hugged his maknae. The others just smiled while they looked down at the two with doting looks. When everyone had left the room after taking their turns placing chaste kisses on the maknae's forehead, Jimin started humming a melody to lull the baby to sleep.

With these turns of events, all the members, especially Jimin, could not help it but wished for the moment to last forever.

The long overdue talk with their precious golden baby could wait.

A/N: Next is the last chapter. Thank you for still sticking around :)