Chapter Text
Johnny awoke to the soft pitter-patter of rain hitting the window behind him. He slowly rose his head only to realize he had fallen asleep at his desk; the computer in front of him still hummed lightly as the screen displayed the early workings of the novel he had been writing. He looked to the lower right of the screen to see the small 3:20 AM displayed there. Johnny stifled a yawn as he brought his hands up to rub at his eyes. Outside, low rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance: the remnants of a passing storm. He saved his work before putting the desktop to sleep, his mind still groggy from the hour-long nap he had accidentally taken. Softly padding out of his office space, he closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. The door across the hall was slightly ajar, so Johnny made his way over and slowly opened it enough to peak his head in. On the floor of the small bedroom sat two young children: a curly, black-haired boy wearing a light green dinosaur onesie, and a brown-haired, chubby cheeked boy wearing a pair of orange striped pajama pants and a matching top. The only illumination in the room came from a night-light plugged in next to the door. The black-haired boy, Mark, was stacking blocks while the other boy, Haechan, watched him silently with a small red bear hugged to his chest. At the slight movement of the door opening Haechan looked up and let out a soft gasp.
“Did the thunder wake you two up?” Johnny asked, making his way into the room. Mark startled at the sudden voice, the blocks he was stacking toppling over. Both boys watched their father crouch in front of them, too nervous to say anything. “It’s alright if it did,” Johnny told them, “it must’ve been pretty loud, huh?”
Haechan quickly nodded his head, looking up at Johnny with wide eyes. “I was scared so I came into Mark’s room. He was scared too.”
“I was not!” Mark shouted, his cheeks turning a rosy pink. “I just knew that you were scared so I let you stay with me.”
Johnny chuckled, gently laying a hand on both the boys’ heads. He ruffled their hair softly, earning smiles from all 3 of them. “It’s alright to be scared. Loud sounds are very scary, aren’t they Haechan?”
“They are! But I was a big boy, Daddy, I didn’t cry or anything!” Haechan quickly stood up from his spot on the floor and stretched his arms upwards, standing on his tiptoes. “This big!”
“That big you say? Well why don’t my two big boys try to get back to sleep now that the storm is over?” Johnny stood and picked up Haechan, resting him on his hip. “I’m sure you’re both very tired.”
Mark yawned in reply and began making his way to his bed in the corner of the room. Johnny followed him, careful to step over the now abandoned blocks on the floor. Once Mark was settled, Johnny used his free hand to pull the covers up around his shoulders. He leaned down and placed a kiss on the boys’ forehead.
“Thank you for looking after your brother.”
Mark gave a soft hum in response, his heavy eyelids already beginning to droop. Johnny smiled down at the four-year-old before turning around and making his way out of the room. He closed the door behind him and made his way to the room at the end of the hall—his own master bedroom. The room was a decent enough size with a closet on the far-right side, a bathroom connected on the left, and a large king-sized bed along the wall shared with the bathroom. Johnny brought himself and his youngest to the bed, pulling the blankets back before setting his son down.
“You want to sleep with Dada tonight?” Johnny knew the answer before he even asked, but he let his son slowly nod, his toddler eyes fighting to stay open against the deep tendrils of sleep. Haechan crawled beneath the covers in the middle of the bed while Johnny got in beside him. When Johnny was settled, Haechan curled up next to him. He had one hand still gripping his red bear plush and the other came to rest on his father’s chest. Johnny softly brushed the hair out of the boy’s face for a moment before pulling him closer. He kissed the toddler on the forehead before closing his own eyes, letting the tug of sleep take over. He felt a pang of guilt at not asking Mark if he wanted to sleep with them, but he knew the child would’ve said ‘no’ anyway. Mark didn’t like sharing a bed with his brother, claiming that Haechan moved around too much. Johnny didn’t have much time to dwell on his guilt though, as he quickly fell into a deep sleep, surrounded by the extra warmth his son provided.