#and namjoon is an awkward introvert that doesn't like ppl

[mini-pretzel]

quite the serendipity

Genre: fluff mostly?? like there’s a lil hint of angst, but like not that much??

Music: time and fallen leaves

Word count: 1k

A/N: i blame my friend that keeps sending me namjin taking care of kid!bts.

Namjoon is not a kid person. Yoongi is not a fan of adults.

But somehow that doesn’t stop them from developing an unlikely bond.

Namjoon never considered himself to be a kid person. Or well, to have any traces of maternal instincts. For him, it was as if they had been cut off and left to rot in a ditch a long time ago.

Along with all of his past relationships.

And he preferred it that way. It was easier. Less mouths to feed, less people to attend to and worry about, less room for betrayal or disappointment. It was just him, his books and his plants in his little apartment.

Things were simple.

Until, they weren't.

It started out like a normal Tuesday. The air was crisp with and the wind still a little too cold for spring, but the sun helped it not get too gloomy as the remains of winter were slowly thawing away. Namjoon was walking down his usual route, on his way home from the grocery store. A new book he found at the library was safely tucked away under his arm, and there was a skip in his step, eagerness transparent in his movements as he was set on getting home to devour its contents.

Then it happened.

Namjoon stopped dead in his tracks where he was walking. His eyes stayed glued to the picture before him; a little boy, about five, sitting on the curb, looking like he really did not want to be there, in a torn shirt and messy hair. There was a mangled teddy bear in front of him, but the boy made no movements to pick it up or put the torn limbs back on the body. But his eyes held so much pain, so much sadness, that it tugged at something inside Namjoon.

He looked like he had been crying; his red eyes and runny nose making it evident, but the displeased pout on his face showed that he was trying to suppress his emotion from the world.

"Hey, kid." Namjoon found himself saying before his brain could register what his mouth was doing.

The boy looked up, his lips turned into a deeper frown, his eyes locking away all the emotion behind their rich brown colour and it made something awaken inside Namjoon. Something he never felt before, and it scared him a little. But now that the attention was on him, he felt compelled to continue his thought--whatever it was, he hadn't really planned it beforehand.

"What happened?" Namjoon, with a gentleness that even he himself found stunned by. He cautiously approached the boy and plopped down beside him on the pavement, easing his grocery bag between them, creating a barrier that he hoped made it so that kid wasn't intimidated. He was determined to keep a significant distance, in case his presence and sudden interest scared the shit out of the kid.

It seemed that, despite his efforts, he still startled the kid quite a bit, as he immediately looked on edge. If pushed further, he'd start kicking, biting and scratching like a feral cat that had trust issues. Which he probably did, and Namjoon wouldn't blame him. Stranger danger was a very real threat. And, really, what was he doing?

"What's it to you?"

It registered in Namjoon's brain that the kid had answered him and he turned to see him eyeing him suspiciously, his upper body leaning away from him.

"Dunno," he said, meaning it, as he looked away, "I don't usually do things like this." he admitted.

"Talking to kids?"

"Talking to people."

There was a silence, and a soft oh.

When Namjoon looked back he saw that the boy wasn't pulling away from him anymore. He was still on guard, but there was something less frosty about his exterior.

"I'm Namjoon." he opted to introduce himself first, to make things easier. "You don't have to tell me your name if you don't want to-"

"I know. I wasn't going to. Especially to an old man like you."

Wow, rude. He was only twenty-five.

What a brat.

Somehow, the thought made Namjoon smile.

"So what happened? Do you want to talk about it?" he tried again.

The boy pouted and crossed his arms, shaking his head, making his whole upper body sway with the movement.

"Fair enough. Are you hungry?"

As if on cue, both of them heard a stomach emit a loud growl. The boy looked as embarrassed as Namjoon amused.

"No." the boy said in a high-pitched voice.

Namjoon shook his head, a smile still tugging at his lips as he fished through his bag and brought out a rice ball wrapped in seaweed.

He gestured with it towards the boy, urging him to take it, and the boy did, albeit hesitantly, his eyes watching Namjoon’s face the whole time; as if expecting there to be a catch.

"Take it, it's yours." Namjoon said as he went back to digging through his bag. "I have some banana milk in here somewhere." he mumbled.

He located it and quickly took a hold before turning back to hand the drink to the kid, only to freeze to see that the kid was staring at him as if he were either a phantom or an angel; like he couldn't believe Namjoon was real.

Namjoon blinked, and the boy kept staring intently, before his eyes fell to the bottle in Namjoon's palm and his tiny hand reached out to take it as well.

After both of the items were safely in his arms, the boy clutched the rice ball and the little bottle so close to his chest, Namjoon swore they would pop and spill all over him. The boy’s glassy eyes were looking at the food in his hands like they were something extremely precious and it made something squeeze inside Namjoon's chest.

"Right, well." Namjoon swallowed, emotion heavy in his throat, "I should be going now."

Really, what was he doing? This was beyond creepy. He wasn’t his dad or anything. And, he definitely had overstayed his welcome.

At least the kid was fed now. Sort of.

Was there enough nutritional value in rice balls for kids?

Namjoon shook the thoughts that were forming in his head away. This was already a break from his routine, he had to get a move on before he did something else that was just as equally as stupid or uncharacteristic of him; like taking the kid to a restaurant and buying him a full hearty meal.

He looped his hands through the bag straps once again and readied himself to stand. After checking that he had his book, he barely took one step forward when he heard a tiny voice say something.

"What?" Namjoon said, turning back to the boy, who was staring at him attentively.

If Namjoon took a step closer and inspected the kid's face further, he would see the little drops of tears on the side of his eyes.

"Yoongi." the boy said, voice thick with emotion. "My name is Yoongi."

A huge smile erupted on Namjoon's features. "Yoongi," he said, and he saw the boy turn pink, a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"Want me to fix your bear?"