Archive of Our Own

Karl's nose crinkles as he slowly stirs, eyes fluttering open to trace around the decently dark bedroom.

His fingers are wrapped up in the soft blue bedsheets, hands gripped as he pulled himself up a little to get more comfortable.

He inhaled deeply before he relaxed once more in his space, brain slowly focusing on the warm fingers tips dancing across his clothed side, and the little shapes drawn onto his skin.

It drenches him in fleeting warmth, pulling a smile across his face as he exhales and tries to sleep a little longer.

He does unhook his left hand from its place in the folded bedsheets, moving it downwards to meet with the fingers across his stomach and lacing their hands together.

Dream's body shifts closer to his own, the man inhaling deeply behind him before hiding his face in Karl's neck and pressing a light kiss into his skin.

Their eyes flutter close once more, and they let themselves sleep again, at least Karl does.

Dream pulls back enough to clear his throat, moving his mouth to be unblocked by the others nightshirt before speaking.

"We can't stay in bed for long," he whispered, his voice a deep grumble down in his chest and saturated with sleep.

"Jus' a little longer," Karl whined into his pillow, pulling Dream's arms tighter around himself and refusing to budge.

"Only a little," he slurred back, rubbing his tired head against the others neck and exhaling.

Karl agrees with the other, feeling as Dream's breathing begins to even out again but it didn't necessary mean that the other fell asleep again.

He lets out another exhale as he tries to sleep himself before a funny feeling in his chest stopped him.

Bittersweet.

That's the word he'd use to describe it, it all feels bittersweet.

Tears fill on his waterline and dare to spill over as he tightens his grip on the other, begging for this to not be the last day he'll get to have the other before having nothing for over a week.

He clinches his jaw to keep himself from breaking down in a sob, nose sniffling.

"What's wrong?" Dream asked, concerned.

"I'm gonna miss you," he whispered, burying his face into his pillow as they tipped over.

"Don't cry baby," Dream tried, hands rubbing against his arm and shushing him. "We'll be back before you know it, it really isn't that long," he kept trying to be reassuring to the other.

Dream and Punz are flying back up to Massachusetts later today, but Karl would do anything to have them stay.

Both Karl and Dream made the plan to wait three weeks before Dream would fly back up and help the other move.

It just came as an unfortunate event that two of the boys' had gotten sick for a week, leaving very little time to spend together before they needed to leave.

They cherished the couple of days left they had to spend time together, but the day for them to head North finally arrived, and Karl wished that it hadn't.

As much as he didn't want them to leave, Karl knew Punz needed to go back to Massachusetts.

When the boy traveled down to them, he packed rather light. Meaning that all of his important things, like stream equipment, was left there.

He also is still technically paying for his apartment, so Dream is going to help get everything sorted.

Punz heading back up and packing, also means that they will finally get to move houses, so it really is for the best that Punz goes.

"I know," he muttered back, pulling his face up.

Karl twist around in his spot on the bed, turning to face his boyfriend again. Dream meets him with saddened, watery eyes that search over his face with concern, fingers trembling to touch his soft skin.

"Eight days is a long time to go without you Dream, I haven't in months, neither have the boys." His voice wavered thinking about their boys, and how much more painful it must be for them.

"I know, but you guys can call every day. We'll never be too busy to talk to you," he reassured.

Karl nodded his head sadly, before turning away again as another tear slipped down his face.

Dream rushed to wipe it away, frowning down at the other as his heart broke, but also understanding his pain.

"Only eight days, then, hopefully, never again."

Karl's eyes light up, turning back to look at Dream again at the prospect of never again.

"Promise," he smiled, pulling his pinkie out and holding it up for the other.

"Promise my love," he said back, wrapping their pinkies together and swearing to it, "Now, let's go make breakfast," Dream pushed back from the other, going to stand up on his side of the bed before going to Karl's side.

He held his hand out, both smiling brighter when Karl took it and Dream pulled him up.

"Breakfast for the boys," he whispered, smiling to himself before following the other out of the room and down the hallway.

Yeah, it's a little bittersweet in every sense.

They all were rather silent during breakfast, Dream and Karl whispered to each other, but the three other boys pouted and pushed their food around their plates aimlessly. Their eyes were big and watery when told to stop and eat, none of them listening.

They all ended up pushing the plates away and laying their heads down.

Karl let out a heavy sigh as he looked at the three pitiful boys, shaking his head and realizing that no matter what, by the end of the day, all three are going to end up being little.

He's sure it'll be a bit of a hassle for Dream at the airport if Punz slips before boarding the plane but having Button by himself will make things a lot easier. The baby does tend to listen better to Papa and will probably end up clinging to him.

At much of a little shit Button can be at times, he actually tends to be the best at listening. It also helps that Dream's become a pro at calming him down by now, so there isn't much worry about the boy and his Papa.

He does worry about the other two boys, however.

Karl could tell that they were pushing back their regressions while at the table, noses sniffling in sadness and trying not to cry so their Papa wouldn't feel guilty.

Although he cried earlier, they all know if the little's start crying then Dream's going to cave in.

They decided to head off to their own rooms once they pushed away from the table; Dream and Punz both had last minute packing, and Sapnap and George both needed a break to calm down.

Karl on the other hand, wondered into their nurseries and pulled out outfits for them to wear once they slipped. He also just wanted something to do that could keep his mind from thinking about Dream leaving.

Around one, they all stumbled into the living room for their goodbyes.

He lets out a long, deep sigh as he stands on the outside of the boys.

They always forget how hard saying goodbye is for them, how much dependence and reliance they have on each other.

They'd hoped they wouldn't need to say goodbye like this again, that their effort of chasing Karl down to North Carolina and helping him pack, was enough for them to realize they couldn't go without each other for longer than a day.

At least, that had been their hope.

This time, they don't get to chase after the others, even if that's what they desperately wanted to do.

All of their chest ache horribly as they take watery breaths, trying to find it in themselves to say goodbye to the other.

Dream pulls George into a hug first, arms wrapped tight around the other and whispering reassurance into his ear. His hand rolled up and down his back before they pulled apart, the man grabbing his face and pressing a kiss against his cheek.

George scoffed as he pulled back, shaking his head, and moving to hug Punz next.

Dream pulls Sapnap into a hug next, doing all of the same things that he did for George.

Sapnap has a faint smile on his face when Dream grips his jaw, pressing just as big of a kiss on his face as the other. Karl watches the man glow from the attention, the boy letting himself enjoy the affection for once.

Dream grabs him last, strong arms tightening around his back.

Dream hides his face in Karl's neck and the other can tell he's trying to pull himself together, taking the moment to ground himself again.

This is all just as hard for Dream as it is for them, even he forgets that.

They pull back a little from each other, blue eyes meeting with green and gentle smiles across their faces.

"Goodbye, Karl Jacobs," he smiled, kissing the other gently.

They pulled back and Karl held the back of his head in place, making sure he wouldn't pull away too fast.

"Goodbye, Clay Jones, don't stay away for too long." He laughed, watching the others eyes glow.

"I love you," he whispered back.

"I love you too, idiot," he laughed, finally letting the other go, and moving towards Punz.

Punz's head is ducked down, eyes filled with tears as he refuses to meet his own. Karl understands that it's hard for the other, so he pulls him into a tight hug and rubs his back gently.

"You'll be back home soon," he whispered, "Take care of Papa, alright?" he asked, feeling the little nod his head.

Punz is teetering on the edge of his regression, he can tell, but tries to not push him completely over.

"Love you," Punz whispered.

"I love you too," he told him before they finally pulled apart.

They did one last goodbye, all five stepping onto the porch and watching as they stumbled towards the Uber taking them to the airport.

The boys had watery smiles as they watched them pile into the car.

With one final deep breath, Dream and Punz were on their way to the airport and wouldn't be back home for another eight days.

When the three managed to finally stumble inside the house, it was like all hell had broken loose.

Bug turned around with wide, watery green eyes, bottom lip wobbling as he stared back at his Baba. He swayed in his movements before dropping down, breaking down his front along with it.

Bean was in a similar state, his brown eyes just as watery, and bottom lip quivering.

They looked like kicked puppies as Bean tumbled down to be with his brother, both starting to cry until it hurt their lungs.

Karl took a shaky breath, rolling the nerves out of his hands, before stepping towards his boys and sitting on his knees.

He scooped both little's up in his arms, holding them protectively against his chest as he rocked them back and forth on the floor.

"I know little ones, but Papa and bubba will be back soon." He promised, shushing them as they cried against his chest, tears dampening his shirt.

Karl could feel as his heart clinched in heartache for the boys, his own tears bubbling up into his eyes as they kept crying.

He hates not having a way to help the little's because he can't just easily bring their Papa and brother back. He just wants all of their pain to go away, wants to soothe their hearts little worries and fix everything once more.

He just let them cry for a little longer, before pulling them back from his chest and calming their breathing. They followed along with shaky breaths, saddened eyes watching their Baba until they were calm.

"How about a bath you two?" he asked calmly, already moving to stand with them both in his arms.

In times like this, he feels lucky that they're both rather light and that he can easily carry them, or they might have more of an issue moving them to the bathroom right not.

For a split second, he thinks about setting them down to grab their little clothes, but quickly realizes that they'll both get upset if he leaves them, even for just a moment.

He decides it'll be easier to change them in their nurseries after their bathes.

He pushed the bathroom door open with his foot, Bug being kind enough to flip the switch on for him. He placed them both down on the bathmat, before reaching into the tub and running the warm water to fill it up.

As a distraction, he pulled the basket of bath toys out from under the sink, letting both boys' pick whichever toy they wanted.

Neither are in a very playful mood as they keep pouting, but they both grabbed little boats and held them in their fist.

Karl smiled at their pouty faces as he put them into their bubble bath, gently talking down at the two boys, even as neither paid him any attention.

He made diligent work to scrub their hair with their different scented shampoos, along with cleaning their faces and behind their ears.

As he washed them, they both whined and pushed against his wrist, trying to squirm away from the wet washcloth.

Karl tsked his tongue at their antics, before steadying their heads and making sure they were getting cleaned up.

Towards the end of their baths, both babies were still not the happiest, causing him to frown.

When he pulled them out of the bath, they were rather tearful, even as Karl wrapped them tightly up in fluffy towels. He rubbed away their fallen tears, scooping them back up from the ground and starting towards one of their nurseries.

He takes them into Bean's nursery first, the baby pouting up at him as he tried taking the towel away to change him.

Karl just frowns back at the boy in confusion, eyebrows scrunched up in a question.

"Come on baby, we gotta get you changed," he tried again, to no luck.

Bean shakes his head, wrapping the towel tighter around himself.

"Love, you need to get changed."

"Noooo..." he whined, shaking his head again.

"Baby, please?"

"No," he said sharply.

Karl just sighed to himself, realizing he's going to need to be more firm with the little or this won't go anywhere. He pushed himself up from the ground and grabbed a pacifier for the boy, before pushing it into his mouth.

The baby finally let up on some of his stubbornness, relaxing enough to let Baba take the towel and change his outfit.

Baba put the baby in a white pumpkin onesie, along with a pair of sweatpants. He wiped the rest of his tears that slipped down his face with his thumbs before having to pull them back up again and going to change Bug.

They went the short distance to the other nursery, Karl struggling just as much with changing Bug as he did Bean.

Bug began to whine loudly, pushing Karl's arms away and squirming around on his butt to get away. He tried twisting himself around to crawl away, but Karl placed him back on his butt again.

He's suddenly realizing what Dream meant when he talked about Bug hating to get dressed, this is a completely different baby.

"Bubba, please work with me a little."

Bug shook his head stubbornly, arms crossing over his chest.

"I'm not fighting you Bug; you're going to get changed."

Bug's green eyes widened, lip wobbling as he uncrossed his arms and let Baba change him.

Karl sighed to himself, already feeling a different type of exhaustion as he looks at the boys.

He matches Bug's onesie to Bean's, except Bug was put into a pair of basketball shorts.

Bug's still pouting when Karl's finished, so he leans over towards the boy.

"Buggie?" he asked gently, pulling up the green eyes, "Did Baba using his stern voice hurt your feelings?"

Bug nodded his head tearfully, rubbing at his eyes.

"Okay, well Baba's sorry for hurting your feelings, that was not my intention. I still love you very much, and everything is alright now, okay little one?"

Bug nodded his head, hands rubbing away the rest of tears away from his eyes.

"Let's go play," he told them before pulling them up from the floor and back onto his hip.

Things calmed down for the most part after their baths, and with more food in their tummy's, the baby's perked up again. They both babbled as they sat in the middle of the carpet, playing with their wooden blocks.

Things only got hard again when he was trying to put them to bed, both sobbing loudly at the thought of being in their nurseries.

Karl sighed to himself as he took them to his bedroom, placing them both in the middle of the bed and heading inside the closet to change.

When he was fully dressed again, he came out with two of Dream's hoodie's and pulled it over the boys heads for extra comfort. They both curled into it, even are more tears ran down their faces.

The little's curled themselves around their comfort stuffies, Bean with his white bunny, and Bug with his grey kitty, but they both refused to close their eyes and go to bed.

A single reprieve came when he finally got a call from Dream, man explaining a few different things they had gotten up too before heading back to the apartment and losing time packing.

The little's perked up at hearing their Papa's voice, and once they were told goodnight and that they were loved, they finally settled down enough to fall asleep. Karl pressed kisses into the boys' dewy skin before laying back and closing his own eyes.

He can already tell it's going to be a hard eight days.

***

Karl was right about his unvoiced worry for Punz slipping because Button had made an appearance before they even boarded the plane.

The baby clung tightly onto Dream's bicep and buried his face in his Papa's neck as he whined about the noisy airport.

Dream figured the boy might end up slipping, so he packed them both noise cancelling headphones into his carry-on.

He pulled them out and placed them over the boy's sensitive ears, holding him close to his chest.

When they were on the plane itself, the baby was fairly alright, finding safety in the comfort of his Papa. He even babbled quietly beside Dream and colored in a nice picture for him.

Dream feels really lucky that he's rich and able to afford first class, because it was honestly the easiest way to keep his baby safe and happy during the two-and-a-half-hour plane ride; Button kicked his legs happily and hummed lightly.

Everything exploded into chaos when they finally landed, the airport the most hectic he'd ever seen as large groups of people swarmed the area and their voices echoed painfully.

It was hard for him to even think as he pushed their way throughout the airport to grab their luggage, the little holding his hand and trailing behind his Papa's back.

Dream's so happy that he put the headphones on Button before they disembarked, or the little would've gotten overwhelmed in a matter of seconds in the chaos of the airport.

He doesn't really want to have to calm an upset baby, while still needing to get through the airport.

It was roughly around their normal dinner time when they managed to get to Punz's apartment, their luggage throw haphazardly into the living room area before they ducked out of the front door again.

Dream took them out for a quick dinner, before they were at the apartment again.

He cleaned Button up from all of his airport germs before the baby went down for bed.

Once fast asleep, Dream got consumed with packing for the baby.

He kept packing until he realized just how late it had gotten and called Karl to check up on them, noticing they hadn't called him yet.

He could hear his tearful little's on the other end, but once he told them goodnight, they sniffled back and seemed to fall fast asleep.

Soon, they'll be back together again, and the babies will be happy.

He talked with Karl a little after that, before they decided it would be best for them to go to bed themselves with whispered goodnights.

When they got up the next morning, Punz was big again, and more than ready to put himself to work to pack up his apartment.

They divided the jobs among themselves to make the time go quicker, both working in their own areas.

They came back together only a couple of times, once for breakfast, and another for lunch, but they worked separately for the most part.

Around four-ish, Punz stumbled into the room Dream was working in and rubbed at his eyes tiredly.

"Dweam?" he slurred.

"Yeah?" he asked, still packing up a box.

"Can I go take a nap?"

"Of course," he smiled at the tired boy, and watched as he stumbled towards his bedroom once more.

While the other slept, Dream kept packing up the living room and even made great process to getting the space done quickly.

He stayed distracted until Button stumbled in an hour or so later, sitting on his butt beside Dream.

"Hello baby, you have a nice nap?"

"Mhm," he hummed, smiling sleepily.

"You gonna help me pack baby?" he asked, watching as the little perked up.

He gave Dream a sweet head nod and a face of determination as he twisted towards the box Dream had been packing himself.

Dream handed the baby unbreakable items, watching as he put them in the box until it was filled up. The baby even helped him tape it shut and open up a new box to place stuff inside of.

He placed a kiss against Button's face, arm wrapped around his waist and squeezing his adorable self.

That's how they stayed until their tummy's grumbled, and they finally took a break to eat again.

It was all very soft.

***

When Karl woke up the next morning, he could already tell it was going to be a rough day. He isn't sure what makes him think that, but when the boys' begin to stir awake, he can see his assumption is absolutely correct.

Bug was the first to wake up between the two babies.

From the second his eyes opened up, he started to whine miserably as he looked up at Karl.

He worried for a moment that the boy was sick, but after checking his temperature and it coming out normal, he knew the boy was in a mood.

Karl sighs to himself and heads down to his nursery, pulling out different clothes to change him into, causing him to whine louder.

Bug squirmed around in his place on the changing table, absolutely having none of it while trying to get onto the ground, or at least from being changed.

"Bug," he warned, flashing a glare as he flattened his fingers across the little's stomach to keep him in place.

Bug became a little teary eyed from his Baba saying his name sternly, stopping his movements and pouting.

Karl frowned, picking up a rattle from its spot hidden in the changing table, placing it into the little's hands. He followed it by a kiss to his forehead, before getting to work and finally changing the little.

He found that the little had woken up wet, so Karl cleaned him up and put a new diaper on him, followed by a random pair of his basketball shorts. Karl figures it's alright to keep the pumpkin onesie and Papa's hoodie on him; it also gets him off the changing table faster.

With an orange pacifier pressed into the boy's mouth, he scooped the pouty boy up and took him into the living room.

He placed the baby behind the coffee table and turned the tv on for him to watch it.

Karl still needed to go get his brother and start on breakfast, so the distraction was necessary.

He quickly flipped through the different channels until he found one playing baby looney tunes, watching as Bug's eyes grew wide and he became engrossed in the tv show.

Knowing that commercial breaks would bore the boy, he also pulled down one of his coloring books and crayons. He let the baby know it was alright to color by himself, as long as he only colored on the paper, then he headed back up the stairs.

The sound of faint sniffling perked up his ears, pulling him to move faster towards the bedroom.

Karl could feel his heart breaking when he pushed the door open, Bean laid curled up in the middle of the bed with silent tears rolling down his face.

He scooped the boy up in an instant, holding him against his chest.

"What's wrong baby?"

"Wef," he cried, hiding his face in Karl's shoulder.

"Oh baby, I was changing brother. I'm here now, Baba's got you," he promised, rocking the little around the room.

Bean kept crying into his shoulder as he clung tighter, tears dampening the fabric of Karl's shirt.

Karl rocked him around the room until his tears had calmed down into nothing more than sniffles, whispering sweet words into the baby's ear as they headed down the staircase.

He caught eyes with Bug for a second, noting that the baby was smiling from his spot on the floor, before he turnt to head towards Bean's nursery.

He decided to only change Bean's pants, like he did Bug. He figured the little might get too hot wearing sweatpants right now, so he changed them out for a comfier pair of shorts instead.

Once changed, he took the little out to be with his brother.

He sat them down together, before going to make their breakfasts.

Bean seems to be a bit happier now as he watches his Baba from his spot in the living room, giggling happily to himself as he crawled across the floor to the wicker basket.

He dug inside of the basket until he found a little toy truck, it looks yellow to himself with the number fifteen on the side. He brr's his lips as he starts to push the car around, laughter feeling the space between them.

Bug looks up to see why his brother is laughing, eyebrows creasing together when he sees his favorite red truck in the others hands.

He drops the crayons he was using and meets at his brothers side, causing brown eyes to widen as they looked at each other, head cocked sideways in confusion.

Bug's frown deepened as he pulled the truck out of his brothers hands, holding the small car protectively to his chest.

Bean cries out when the car's stolen from him, before swiping it back and sticking his tongue out at the other.

With the car gripped more tightly than before in Bean's hands, Bug does the only thing he remembers that'll cause Bean to drop it.

He bites him.

Bug bites around his right wrist, causing Bean to scream out in pain and throw down the toy. Karl turns around to look at them, eyebrows creasing as he turned off the eye and stepped in their direction.

"What happened?"

"Bug bite!" Bean cried out, making grabby hands as tears fell from his eyes.

Karl frowns before bending down to look at Bean's wrist, noticing that he was holding it.

He gasped loudly when he saw the teeth marks on his pale skin, turning to look angrily at the little boy holding the red truck with a guilty face.

"Bug Sapnap Jones," he started hot, dropping the other's wrist, "Did you bite your brother?"

Bug's eyes widened in fear as he dropped the toy, lip poking out as it wobbled.

"Did you?"

Bug nodded his head sadly, wiping at the hot tears as they began to fall down his face.

"Alright, timeout then," he said, picking the baby up and putting him in his timeout spot.

He set a timer for three minutes with shaky hands and ran over to check Bean's wrist.

The bite marks have already began to fade as he rolls his thumb over the marks. He presses a kiss into the skin and places his arm back down as he tries to calm the little, Bean humming miserably.

He stood back up again when the timer went off, bending down in front of Bug as he looked up with wet eyes and a wobbly lip.

"'m sowwy," he pouted, arms reaching out.

"I know," he said, refusing to not offer the boy comfort as he pulled him into a hug, but he did pull back again, "Now, why are you in timeout?"

"Cause, bite bubba."

"Correct, do you bite your brother?"

"No, 'cause hurts."

"Right, what should you do instead?" he asked as he wiped away a few fallen tears.

"Get Baba," he whispered, head falling into his shoulder again.

"Exactly, you should get Baba if there is a problem. Now, I think there is someone you need to say sorry too."

Bug nodded his head, eyes catching his Bubba behind his Baba's back, the baby crawled slowly in their direction while Baba wasn't paying attention.

He let his arms go of the other and looked at his bubba.

"I sowwy Bean," he said shyly, looking at his lap.

"It otay," he whispered back.

They hugged each other unprompted, arms tight around each other before pulling apart again.

"Thank you, I'm gonna go finish breakfast, alright?" he said before standing up.

Bug and Bean played separately from each other while Karl finished breakfast like he said he would.

After they all finished eating, Karl put them both down for a much-needed nap and headed out into the living room.

Karl's hands start to shake horribly as he tries to even out his breathing.

He's never dealt with their fighting when they're small, only big.

Bug bit his brother, really?

He feels like he's going to mess something up here.

Is he even doing a good job?

He can only hope as he distracts himself with washing dishes, anxiety starting to consume him.

Although yesterday felt like it was going to end in a complete disaster, it actually turnt out to be a decent enough day for them all.

After they'd gone down for their naps, they woke up in a much better mood.

They babbled up to their Baba and played sweetly together, then after their Papa called and they talked to him for a little while, it was like they were little angels.

Karl was honestly so surprised with how much sweeter they were behaving after the phone call, also a little suspicious about behaviour, but it all was well.

They once again piled into Karl and Dream's bed at the end of the night and slept together; when they woke up in the morning, they both were big again.

It came as a small comfort to Karl that he got to sleep a little longer in the peaceful silence before wondering down the staircase to find they'd made breakfast for him for once.

He smiled at the boys' and thanked them.

After they finished eating, they wondered off in separate directions to do their own things. Mostly editing, but also a little streaming on Sapnap's front; other than the occasional loud yelling, the house was silent.

It was right before dinner time when they regrouped again, both Bug and Bean slipping as they wondered into Karl's cramped office space.

He smiled up at his boys - reaching over quickly to save his work - then stood up to lead them towards the living room once more. They both decided to sit near the wicker basket and play, except, not together.

Karl decided to scavenge around in the kitchen to find food to make the boys' for dinner.

With his backed turned, mischief grew in the air. 

Bug sat nicely by himself and began to stack the wooden blocks up, making a tower and adding more to the sides the higher it grew.

Bean sat back with his arms crossed, still not fully over what happened yesterday morning with the truck.

He's sure if Papa was here, he'd tell him it was okay, but Papa isn't here.

Buggie ruined his fun, he wants to ruin Buggie's fun too.

Bean crawls over to his brother with a large frown, before sticking his hand out and pushing his tower over. When tears began to appear in Bug's eyes, he shoved his brother over as well.

"No bite me, 'gain," he told him, smugly.

More tears welded up in the little's eyes from being pushed over before the sob ripped through his chest and he threw his head backwards.

After a couple seconds of sobbing, Baba's feet don't come running over fast enough, he decides to shove his brother back, causing him to fall backwards onto his back with a thump.

"No sirs!" Baba said sternly, rounding the corner.

Both of their eyes begin to weld up with tears from his voice, lip poking out and beginning to wobble.

"We do not shove, both of you are going to timeout."

He picked up the two boys and set them in their different timeout spots before walking away to set a three-minute timer.

His heart his beating faster in his chest than normal, and his fingertips feel like they're buzzing as tears weld up in his own eyes.

Slowly, he tries to even out his breathing once more.

The timer ringing sets him back into action again, pushing back everything he was feeling to deal with the boys. Even as pain pings in his chest, he decides to go to Bug first, since he hasn't started it.

"Bug, why are you in timeout?"

"Shove bubba 'ack," he said, pouting.

"Correct, what should you've done instead?"

"Umm..." he whispered, tapping his chin, "Get Baba?" he asked, head cocked to the side.

"Yes. Now, I know bubba shoved you first, but you cannot shove him back. Do you understand?"

"'es Baba," he whispered, nodding his head slowly.

He helped the boy up from his spot, before turning to talk to Bean next, finding the baby pouting in his spot.

"Bean, why are you in timeout?"

"Shovin' bubba..."

"And?"

"Pushin' towew ovew," he said, pout deepening.

"Yes, and why shouldn't you do that?"

"Meen, and huwt bubba."

"Yes, we do not shove. Do you understand?" he asked him.

"Yes, Baba, I sowwy."

"I forgive you, but you need to tell bubba too."

Bean nodded his head, moving from his spot and crawling over towards his bubba. He hung his head down in shame, not meeting his brothers eyes.

"I sowwy bubba."

"It otay," Bug told him back, pulling him into a hug.

When they pulled apart again, Karl was suddenly sat in front of them again, looking at them with wide eyes.

He pulled up their attention before speaking to them.

"Boys, I know you're both upset that your Papa and brother aren't here," he started, watching as they shrunk a little at the words, "but that doesn't give either of you a reason to be acting out. You both know to behave better than this. After we eat dinner, it's bath time, then bedtime, do we understand?"

He asked them, even as a small part of his brain screamed that he was overreacting.

They both slumped down in their spots and began to pout, more tears flooding their eyes.

"Do we understand boys?'

"Yes Baba," they muttered out with wobbly voices, still pouting.

Karl kept to his promise; he gave both of the boys' a bath, washing their hair with their scented shampoos, then they were placed in their cribs for the night.

He looked over the railing of the crib down at his baby Bug, the baby sucking on his pacifier and pouting a little from the earlier bedtime.

Karl frowned to himself as he bent over the edge and placed a kiss onto his cheek.

He whispered reassurance that he still loved him, before wishing him a goodnight and heading over to his brothers room.

Karl put Bean into his crib, watching as he also pouted.

He pushed his soft hair backwards before pressing a kiss onto his skin as well, then whispering his 'I love you's,' and reassurance that the baby needed to hear.

He helped the boy lay down, baby wrapping his arms around his new Strawberry Shortcake doll.

"Goodnight," he whispered for a final time before heading out.

He decided to go to the living room and call Dream, hoping that his boyfriend would make him feel better.

"Hello, my love," Dream said when he answered.

"Hi," he responded, feeling himself melt into the others tone.

"Oh god, Karl, Button was doing the cutest thing earlier," Dream started off on his own tangent.

Karl tried opening his mouth to get a word in, but hearing how happy Dream is with Button, he can't help but feel guilty for having a miserable time.

They should be having just as great of a time but aren't.

So, he doesn't say anything as he listens to Dream babbles on.

He feels just as guilty about not telling Dream about everything that happened, as if he had told Dream. So, when they finally hang up the phone, he wondered back towards the nurseries to check on the boys.

He knows he might not be able to sleep otherwise if he doesn't check on them first.

He has been rather harsh on them.

When he ducks his head into Bug's nursery, the baby is sitting up in his crib and playing with his kitten stuffie. Karl feels his heart drop as he steps into the room, trying not to scare the baby.

Bug gasps a little at his presence but wasn't afraid as he lowered his crib railing and plucked him out of it. Karl then went over to Bean's nursery and found the other in a similar situation.

He got Bean out of his crib as well, heading out and up the stairs. He placed the boys in the middle of the bed, before crawling up in front of them and looking at their sadden eyes.

"Baba wants to tell you boys sorry."

"It otay, Baba," they whispered back at him.

"No, it isn't babies." He sighed, shaking his head. "I know you boys' are struggling not having your Papa home with you, and I'm sure missing your brother isn't helping either. While neither of you should've shoved, Baba shouldn't have reacted so harshly."

"Wove Baba," they whispered, eyes wide.

"I love you too babies," he smiled, pressing kisses into through hair, "Why don't we get some sleep, huh?" he asked, watching as they both nodded in agreement.

The three of them laid down together, curling up against each others and smiling sweetly.

Karl listened for when their breathing evened out before he closed his own eyes and followed them off to sleep.

It's becoming increasingly obvious to Karl that nothing is going to stay alright for very long and will be overshadowed by horrible behavior.

The next morning made it extremely clear.

When he woke up in the morning, he blinked a little cluelessly at the sunlight blinding him. He gently pushed himself upwards from the sheets and rubbed at his tired eyes, gaze falling upon his adorable boys.

They both sucked cutely on their pacifiers, faces relaxed as they slept for a little longer.

But even though they both look sweet asleep, it didn't follow them into their awake state. They seemed to turn into little demons the second they woke up, neither behaving like their normal shelves.

They both rubbed at tired eyed, before making grabby hands to be picked up. Karl complied with their request, heading down the stairs with the two of them to make breakfast, causing him to make a mistake.

He honestly thought that they'd be alright to sit in the living room while he made breakfast, but he couldn't be more wrong.

Karl decided to play Strawberry Shortcake this morning for them, seeing as he played Looney Tunes the other day. He smiled sweetly down at the boys when they sat down together, both engrossed into the tv show.

They seemed settled enough for Karl to leave and make breakfast, man throwing a glance over his shoulder every once and a while to make sure they weren't doing something they weren't supposed too.

However, with his back mostly facing away from the boys, nothing good was going to come out of it.

Karl's heartrate spiked in fear when he heard a sharp yelp from the living room, causing him to twist around and see the ending of Bug pulling his brothers hair.

His mouth sputters open in shock, ready to scold him, when he watched Bean take his uncut fingernails and scratch roughly against Bug's arm, drawing blood as he did.

Both boys' scream out at the sight of it, cries trembling out of their mouths as their eyes filled with tears. Karl's words tumble out of his mouth as he runs out of the kitchen to grab the first-aid kit, finding it difficult to breathe.

He offers endless reassurance to the two boys' as he cleaned Bug's arm, making the blood disappear and hiding the scratches with a Strawberry Shortcake band-aid, those being the only kind in the kit.

Karl's fingers tremble and he's gasping for breath, mind racing as he tried to calm down enough to speak.

When he opened up his mouth to speak, only a squeak came out.

He pushed himself up as best as possible, beginning to realize that he can't do any of this by himself.

He stumbles his way back into the kitchen, trembling hands catching on the sink and having to bend himself forwards before he thinks he can breathe again. He knows he's breaking down.

It feels like nothing can go right, nothing.

His fingers are still trembling as he stands on wobbly legs, stepping the short distance to the dining room chair and falling down to sit in it. He knows he's concerning the boys, because they look at him with scared eyes, but he can't breathe.

A sob catches in his throat as he manages to dial a number from his contacts.

"Karl?" came her soothing accent, causing him to fold over and relax a little. "What's wrong?"

He becomes a blubbering mess trying to answer her question, Dix quickly tells him to breath. Forcing him to push out the air in his lungs first, before breathing back in; he followed as directed.

See keeps guiding the breathing until he's more calm than before.

"What happened?"

"Please, need help..." he whimpered out, wishing he could pull his legs to his chest.

"I'll come over, stay on the line with me if you need," she reassured, causing rustling to come from the other end.

He breathes.

When he no longer feels like his entire body is going to give out beneath himself, he stands up again and heads over towards the babies.

"Baba otay?" they asked with a whimper.

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I scared you, but I'm okay now."

They nodded their heads slowly, eyes still filled with tears.

"Alright, let's talk then."

They once again nodded their heads and down casted their sights; Karl looked at them both before placing his phone down on the coffee table and pulling them both onto his lap, neither baby squirming to get away.

"Now, Bean, should you scratch brother?" he asked.

He felt the baby shake his head, eyes falling down to his lap.

"No Baba, but him pull my haiw..." he whined, pointing.

"I know, but it's still incredibly mean to do."

"I sowwy," he said, actually meaning it this time. "No meen huwt bubba," he whispered.

"Now, Bug, why did you pull Bean's hair?" he asked, turning his head to look at the back of Bug's.

"Him take my toy..." he whined back, clearly pouting.

"That gives you no right to pull his hair," he said, frowning at the back of his head.

"Sowwy Baba, sowwy Bean."

"It otay," Bean whispered, smiling at his brother.

He's finally understanding the full extent to why Dream was struggling so much; this shit is hard.

"Timeout?" Bug asked, looking up.

"No," Karl shook his head, he doesn't have the energy to put them in timeout, and honestly after them seeing him have an anxiety attack, he doesn't want to part with either of them for a second.

He hid his face into the back of Bug's shoulder and held them close.

Karl's going to start a countdown of every minute until Dream finally comes home, hoping time will move a little faster.

Please, don't stay away for too long Dream, I need you.

A knock sounds at the door, causing him to sigh and push the babies off his lap to answer it.

Dix stands behind it, looking like a literal saint as she steps inside.

At least he finally has help.