Chapter Text
Morning sunlight barely slipped through the curtains of the MATZ bedroom, painting the room in soft gold.
Curled between Seonghwa and Hongjoong, Mingi remained completely knocked out.
The capybara onesie swallowed his large frame whole, the hood long abandoned somewhere beneath him during the night. One of Hongjoong’s custom pacifiers hung lazily from his mouth while a small line of drool dampened the corner of his cheek.
One hand stayed tightly curled into the back of Hongjoong’s shirt even in sleep.
Seonghwa smiled softly at the sight.
Mingi must’ve slipped pretty young sometime during the night.
Carefully shifting upright, Seonghwa tried not to wake Hongjoong beside them. The leader only grumbled faintly in his sleep, still trapped beneath Mingi’s death grip.
“Mm… clingy baby,” Seonghwa whispered fondly.
Today was thankfully a day off.
Still, Seonghwa wanted to get Mingi awake, changed, and settled before the rest of the dorm woke up and filled the house with noise.
Especially because Mingi looked younger than usual this morning.
Probably fussy too judging by the missing teething toy Seonghwa noticed wasn’t tucked beside him where it normally stayed.
“Mingi-ah,” Seonghwa called softly, brushing messy light blue hair away from his face. “Wake up, sweetheart.”
Mingi stirred weakly.
The pacifier shifted slightly as he made a sleepy little noise, eyebrows furrowing immediately.
“Mingi-ah,” Seonghwa tried again gently.
Slowly, Mingi’s eyes fluttered open.
Heavy.
Unfocused.
He blinked sluggishly against the morning light before letting out a huge yawn around the pacifier. Almost immediately afterward, his head dropped back onto the pillow like lifting it had taken too much effort.
Seonghwa nearly laughed.
“So sleepy,” he cooed quietly.
A small whine answered him.
“Mhm, I know.” Seonghwa rubbed his back soothingly. “But when we’re done, you can come back to sleep, okay?”
Mingi looked unconvinced.
Still, he allowed Seonghwa to carefully lift him upright from the bed, making sure not to tug too hard on Hongjoong’s shirt in the process.
The second Seonghwa grabbed the pacifier to keep it from falling, Mingi let out another low, unhappy whine.
“There it is,” Seonghwa soothed immediately. “I got it, baby.”
By the time Seonghwa carried him into the bathroom, the tub was already half-filled with warm water.
Steam curled softly through the room.
Still sleepy, Mingi barely protested as Seonghwa carefully helped him out of the capybara onesie. Normally he could get a little fussy during bath time if he was especially clingy, but this morning he simply leaned heavily against Seonghwa’s shoulder with tired eyes.
“You’re being so good for me,” Seonghwa praised softly.
Mingi blinked slowly at him before lowering himself into the warm water with Seonghwa’s help.
The reaction was immediate.
His shoulders loosened.
A tiny pleased hum vibrated around the pacifier in his mouth.
“There we go,” Seonghwa smiled.
Washing Mingi’s hair ended up surprisingly easy.
The little barely moved while Seonghwa carefully massaged shampoo into his dyed blue hair, gently rinsing away the suds afterward while making sure none got into his eyes. Mingi simply sat there, pacifier bobbing every few seconds while his heavy eyelids threatened to close again.
Seonghwa finally pulled him from the tub, the towel he’d tossed into the dryer beforehand was still warm.
Thankfully.
Because Mingi immediately melted into it.
“Aigoo,” Seonghwa laughed quietly as he wrapped the giant little securely in the fluffy towel burrito-style, tucking it carefully so it wouldn’t slip loose.
Then, out of habit, he clipped Mingi’s pacifier to the towel near his shoulder.
“Almost done, okay?”
Mingi gave a tiny nod.
Back in the bedroom, Seonghwa sat him between his knees on the bed before starting the next step of the routine.
Skincare.
Even when Mingi was little, routines still mattered.
Especially then.
So Seonghwa carefully rubbed moisturizer into his cheeks and forehead while Mingi sat there warm, and pliant beneath his hands.
The little’s pacifier clicked softly against his teeth every few moments.
Chewing again.
Still teething.
“You’re extra little today,” Seonghwa murmured fondly.
Mingi only leaned backward until his entire weight rested against Seonghwa’s chest.
Answer enough.
Once Seonghwa finished patting the last bit of moisturizer into his skin, he pressed a soft kiss against the top of Song Mingi’s damp blue hair.