Work Text
The first thing Tan was aware of was an insistent finger poking him in the cheek.“Papa,” a small voice said. It took him a moment to register that it was Antoni, but he sat up once he did. “Papa, let’s play.”“Baby, it’s too early,” Tan said, squinting at the clock. It was barely past five AM. The storm must have woken Antoni. “Let’s put you back to bed.”“But-” Antoni said. His bottom lip quivered as Tan got out of bed. “But, Papa, I-”“No buts, baby,” Tan said gently, walking Antoni back to his room. “You will be so grumpy today if we get up now. I know what sleepy little boys are like.”“Not sleepy,” Antoni said, scowling.“See, you’re already grumpy,” Tan said. Antoni ignored him and climbed back into his bed. “I want you to stay in bed until Daddy or Papa come to get you, okay? Then we’ll have breakfast and play.”A few hours later, Tan was up again. He and Karamo were getting breakfast started before they woke Antoni and Johnny. Karamo had just plated the pancakes there was a scream upstairs. Instantly, both men were hurrying to Johnny’s room. His door was still shut, and the lights were off. Johnny was sitting on the floor, clutching his forehead. Tan and Karamo could see blood between his fingers.“Let me see, Johnny,” Karamo said, gently pulling Johnny’s hand away. “What happened?”“I—I slipped, and I hit my head,” Johnny said. He pointed at the end of his bed.“On the bed post?” Tan asked, and Johnny nodded.“I think he needs stitches,” Karamo said quietly.“I’ll go get the keys,” Tan said, standing up. He got the car started while Karamo helped Johnny pull on a pair of pants. They were out of the house in less than five minutes.It ended up not being as bad as it looked. Head injuries bled a lot, but Johnny only needed two stitches. Still, they spent five hours at the hospital and another thirty minutes at the pharmacy. It was past two by the time they got home, and everyone was exhausted. Karamo deposited a sleeping Johnny on the couch while Tan paused to stare at the morning’s uneaten pancakes.“Not how I pictured spending today,” Karamo said. Tan nodded in agreement. As he stepped into the living room, he picked up on a faint sound.“Do you hear…” He paused, trying to identify his noise. Then it hit him, and his stomach dropped. “Crying.”Karamo froze. “Antoni.”Then they were racing up the stairs for the second time that day. While he ran, Tan prayed that Antoni had aged up and he was just upset about being left alone all day with no explanation. In the chaos, they hadn’t thought to grab him or call Bobby to come by. As soon as Karamo opened the door, they knew Antoni was still very much little. His face was red and streaked with tears. He’d soaked through his pullup, and the sheets were wet. Tan had told him not to get out of bed nine hours ago, and Antoni had listened.Karamo unfroze first. He pulled his youngest out of bed and sat in the floor with him in his lap, mindless of the leaking pullup. Apologies and soothing nothings were pouring out of his mouth. Antoni was too distraught to understand an explanation right now. Tan joined them in the floor and felt his own eyes get wet as he ran his hand’s through his sobbing toddler’s hair.“In trouble?” Antoni asked when he’d caught his breath enough to speak.“Oh, baby, you were never in trouble. It just wasn’t time to get up yet, and then Johnny fell and-” Tan got choked up and pressed his lips against Antoni’s forehead. “I’m so sorry, baby. Papa messed up.”“And Daddy,” Karamo said, holding Antoni tighter.“No,” Antoni said, shaking his head. “No, me. Bad.”“No, baby, you weren’t bad,” Tan said. He really was crying now. “I’m so sorry.”Antoni shook his head again and pressed his face against Karamo’s chest, so he didn’t have to look at either of them. He was mumbling in Polish into the older man’s shirt, and Karamo looked stricken as he rocked the boy. It took twice as long to get him calm this time.“Let’s get you in the bath, Ant,” Karamo said. He waited for Antoni to nod before he stood.Antoni stood on his own feet in the bathroom, but he made no move to undress himself. Karamo made quick work of the soiled pajamas. Antoni started to squirm when he took off the pullup, and they quickly saw why. He’d had diaper rash before, but never this bad. It was clearly painful, and he started to cry again at the sting of the bath water.“I’m sorry, baby,” Karamo said, stroking Antoni’s hair as he settled down. “Daddy’s sorry.”The implication of the diaper rash was also concerning. Antoni had been in pain for hours, and he hadn’t been able to get big in order to take care of himself. He’d been as helpless as an actual child, and much worse things than diaper rash could have happened.“Karamo, can you go check on Johnny?” Tan asked. “I’ve got Ant.”Nodding, Karamo leaned over the edge of the tub to kiss the top of Antoni’s head before he stood. Tan took his spot and grabbed the plastic cup off the counter to wet Antoni’s hair. He shielded his face with one hand, but Antoni closed his eyes anyway. “Daddy and I were downstairs making pancakes for you and Johnny,” Tan said softly as he shampooed Antoni’s hair. “We were almost ready to come get you guys, but Johnny woke up and fell getting out of bed. He hit his head on the bedpost, and we had to go to the doctor for them to fix him.”“Long time,” Antoni mumbled. Tan nodded.“A very long time,” he agreed. Antoni closed his eyes again while Tan rinsed out the shampoo. “It was scary, and we weren’t thinking. I’m so sorry we didn’t come get you.”“’s okay,” Antoni said.“It’s not okay, but it’s never going to happen again,” Tan said. “Understand?”Antoni nodded and closed his eyes. He looked like he could fall asleep in the tub. “I love you, Papa,” he said.“I love you too, baby,” Tan said.