As you may or may not have noticed, I started to experiment with the names for them...
Sindre- Norway
Jens- Denmark
Halldór- Iceland
Just this once
In the middle of the night, tiny footsteps were filling the halls with a shuffling sound. Slowly, as if not to wake the occupants of the room, the door to the master bedroom was opened and the little rascal that had awoken from his slumber entered. In the gigantic bed, two silhouettes laid. Completely still and very familiar. They immediately calmed the young one down.
However, the two adults lying in their bed, had awoken as soon as their door opened. A few burglars and raids had made them more cautious in the night, their minds jumping into action as soon as the tranquillity from the night was disturbed.
Sindre was the first one to feel the little Halldór on him, being the one sleeping closest to the door. For a moment, the man wondered if he should pretend to be sleeping, but decided against it. With a soft sigh, he opened one eye and looked at the small human sitting on his stomach.
"Hey little one", the adult whispered, taking in the sleepy face and bed hair the child was sporting. Next to the two, the other occupant of the bed moved, eyes half open and his usual smile not awake yet. But as he saw their new companion, it appeared on his lips.
"Is it morning already", he asked, yawning and stretching, laying sneakily laying his arm around his bedpartner that still had the child on top of him. A huff was heard from the male, but Sindre for once didn't glare at the other.
The three-year old shook his head. Without himself noticing, he had stuck his thumb into his mouth again. With a gentle tug, Sindre removed the digit from the child's mouth, not wanting Halldór to get bad teeth from sucking his thumb.
"Want to tell me and Jens what's got you up this early?", Sindre asked softly, brushing away a few strands of hair that had fallen into the child's face. Again, the little blond shook his head, crawling over to the spot in between the two adults. His small hands clutched to the smaller male's shirt, while Jens started to gently caress mini human's back.
"Did you have a bad dream?", the cheerful male asked, stopping his hands in the middle of Halldór's back. Sindre felt the child nod more than he saw it, eyes half closed and almost drifting into sleep again.
"That's not nice", he said, turning around to face the child that was still holding onto the fabric of his shirt tightly.
"No", the little one whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes. Sindre quickly pulled the child to his chest, making soft sounds and murmuring reassuring things. However, the child didn't want to calm down.
A little lost, the smaller male looked at his bedpartner. Jens shrugged, not knowing what to do either. But then, a memory flashed in his mind.
"My parents used to distract me by going out when I had a bad dream." The other understood and sighed. The bed was warm and comfortable, but it seemed like the blond clutching his light blue shirt was not going to calm.
"Let's go outside then… Maybe that will help."
Still holding Halldór close, Sindre got up and started to rock him, humming softly and caressing his back and hair. At first it seemed to work, the little human started to breathe a little more regular, sobs becoming a little rarer. Only to return in full glory once more.
"Don't go away… Don't die…", the child choked out in between sobs, shaking his head furiously and cuddling the adult that was holding him. In the meantime, Jens had found his clothes and was now dressed. He quickly walked over and grabbed the panicking child, who started to scream until he realised the other was holding him, again starting to shake his head and whimpering about not wanting to be left alone.
As soon as Sindre had gotten dressed, the two adults left the house, armoured with warm jackets and a blanket to wrap around the child once he would calm down. The cold hit them in the face, taking their breaths away for a second. Snow had fallen in the little hours they had slept, but the skies were all clear now and a lovely dance had started above the three humans. Gentle lights, green, yellow, blues and purples were captured in a sea of movements, swirling and jumping across the star filled darkness.
"Look, Halldór", Jens whispered into the child's ear, gently tapping his shoulder. At first, the four-year old didn't want to look, shaking his head and burying himself into the Dane's jumper. But as the tapping continued, he eventually looked up. And stilled.
His tears stopped flowing and he looked up, hick-upping from the harsh sobbing that had tortured his body moments ago. Eyes were wide with amazement, body still as a statue. Jens flashed a grin to his partner when he felt Sindre's warm arms sneak around him, a kiss pressed to his cheek. Because the other was so tall, the quiet male had to stand on his toes. The three of them stayed out there, until Halldór fell asleep. For once, Sindre decided, the little one could sleep in their bed. Just this once, he told Jens, who smiled like an idiot. They fell asleep, all tangled up in a group hug, still enjoying the beauty they had witnessed before.