#soppa

This managed to spook Asger awake. He startled, gasping and then jumped a little when he saw the kid sitting there. “Soppa! What...”

“Sorry.” Soppa retreated quickly, slinking off the side of the bed. The other kids giggled a little.

Asger suddenly remembered he was in bed with Tand and he blushed profusely. “This isn't what it looks like... I just slept over.”

Soppa nodded. “You make noises when you are asleep.”

Asger blinked. “I snore?”

Soppa nodded again silently.

“Ah, I'm sorry... I wasn't aware.” Asger rubbed his face. “Gods, what time is it...”

He looked for his phone and checked the time. “It's still early...”

“Hungry,” Bita chirped from bed.

“Of course, let me see if I can put something together...” Asger started getting out of bed but he paused as he noticed Soppa quickly go to the mini-fridge in the room and start going through it. Then, he seemed to change his mind and chose the box of cereal Asger had bought and just grabbed that to bring to his siblings. Bita and Sten held out their hands and he gave them each a handful.

Asger walked over and shook his head. “While it's fine to eat cereal like that, it's much better with milk.”

“Milk?” Sten asked.

“Yeah. Let me show you.” The room also had a small selection of dishes, so Asger grabbed a bowl and the milk from the fridge, before pouring himself a bowl of cereal. He sat with the kids and offered Bita a spoonful. “Try that.”

Soppa grabbed his wrist though and pulled the offering towards him before putting it in his mouth. Asger was a little taken aback, but then realised that Soppa always tried food first before giving them to his siblings. He gave the kid a chance to test it out.

After chewing a moment, Soppa nodded quickly. “Good.”

“Glad you like it.” Asger took another spoonful and this time had permission to feed the other kids. Bita and Sten both liked it as well so he gave Soppa his bowl and poured two more for them. They didn't know how to hold spoons properly yet, so they mostly just tried to drink it, or even fish the wet cereal out with their hands. Asger internally reminded himself to teach them to use cutlery later, but for now it was quite amusing watching them figure it out.

Soppa finished first so Asger took him to the bathroom to show him how to wash his face and hands. While they were there, Asger took a moment to speak to him separately. He dried his hands and looked at the kid through the mirror.

“You take good care of your siblings, hm?” Asger commented. “You make sure they eat well, I notice. And they follow you.”

“They are not big like me,” Soppa said.

“That’s true, but you're not so big yourself,” Asger pointed out. “Does your dad not do these things for you?”

Soppa tilted his head. “Sometimes... But sometimes he can't.”

“And why can't he?” Asger asked.

“Sometimes... He is getting food,” Soppa said. “And sometimes he is tired. He is very tired when another sibling is coming.”

“Ah, I see...” Asger understood. After all, being a single parent to three kids is no easy feat, and having no extra help left Soppa in position to take on extra responsibilities, despite his young age.

“Would it be cool if I helped you with taking care of your siblings?” Asger asked.

Soppa nodded. “Yeah.”

“Anything you don't like, you can tell me,” Asger said.

Soppa nodded again.

Asger then noticed the tag sticking out the front of Soppa's shirt. “Can I show you the trick I know for getting your shirt on to the front?”

“Front?” Soppa asked, looking down.

Asger chuckled. “Yes. The clothes you wore in the dark realm didn't really have a front or back, did they?”

Soppa shook his head. “Tand made them all the same.”

“Tand made your clothes?” Asger asked.

“Yeah. From the trees. With a big, um... This big thing in his room. He used the um, slidy thing... With the lines.”

“Lines? What, like strings or thread? A loom?” Asger blinked a few times. “Well, that's rather impressive. I imagine that type of work takes a long time.”

Soppa shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Well, he doesn't have to do that anymore.” Asger raised his hands. “Lift your arms.”

Soppa did as told and Asger removed his shirt.

“So the trick is, you see this tag?” Asger said, showing the manufacturer’s tag. Soppa nodded. “If you turn the shirt inside out and just focus on getting your head through the neck hole, just remember to have the tag facing forward, away from you. You understand?”

Soppa only nodded again.

Asger handed him back the shirt and took his own off to demonstrate. Since he was in a button up however, he just undid the top two buttons to open the neckline and then started to pull it back on like a t-shirt. “I'll show you. See? Inside out, tag away, and I stick my head through the hole, flip it all down... And there.”

Soppa was nodding before but his eyes lit up, seeming to really understand now. He held the shirt in front of him with the tag away, and got his head in, but once he flipped the shirt down on himself, his arms got a little lost inside and he got stuck.

“Almost got it! Relax your arms.” Asger helped pull his little arms through. “There. Perfect.”

Soppa looked at himself in the mirror, now seeing the white animal printed on the front. He looked at Asger. “What's that?”

“The graphic?” Asger smiled. “That's Miffy. She's a rabbit.”

“Rabbit?”

“Yeah, they're very cute little animals. I got the shirts because they kinda reminded me of you kids, with the ears,” Asger said.

“Rabbit...” Soppa repeated, pulling his shirt out taut.

Asger patted his shoulder. “I'll show you a real bunny one day.”

“Bunny?”

“Ah, it's like a cuter term for rabbit.”

“Oh.”

“Let's go back to your siblings, okay? Come on.”

Just as they came out of the bathroom though, there was a musical knock on the door.

“Hey, anyone up?” Korsy called in.

Asger quickly went to get it and opened the door. “Brother. God morgon.”

“Yeah, bro. Start packing,” Korsy said. “We're out of here at noon.”

“What? So soon?” Asger said. “I thought you had another month and a half here.”

“I do, but APID Euro needs the rooms, so we're gonna take you folks across today,” Korsy said. “Sorry, man.”

“No, it's fine!” Asger looked back to see Tand starting to stir. “I'll get everyone ready.”

Korsy then took a moment to notice Asger wasn't in his own room and was standing in his pyjamas. A grin spread across his face.

Asger just realised what it looked like. “Korsy, listen, nothing happened. I just slept over.”

“Uh huh.”

“I wouldn't do anything.”

“No, of course not. There's kids in the room.”

“Right. We were just watching a film last night, and I fell asleep.”

“Uh huh. And you brought your pyjamas over for a movie?”

“I—They're comfortable!”

“Mmhm. I bet you kissed.”

Asger was at a loss for words and just stood there flustered.

Korsy patted his cheek. “Get packed, lover boy. I'll be back at 11.”

Asger sighed. “Alright. See you later.”