Chapter Text
Jisung clenches his fist, rubbing at his eyes. They’re stingy, and he wants to cry. His Dada isn’t in the room, and he would throw a fit, but Papa asked him to be a good boy. Jisung loves his Papa, so he’ll be good.
“Papa,” he whines, lifting his arms in the air. Jisung wants to be lifted, but his Papa isn’t picking him up fast enough.
“Papa, up!” He whines again. Finally, his Papa picks him up, and Jisung places his head on his shoulder. His thumb enters his mouth, Jisung sucking on it as his eyes close. It’s not the same as his paci, but Jisung is too big for paci’s. He shouldn’t have them. A tear slides down his cheek from his closed eyes, thumb falling from his mouth as he nuzzles closer to his Papa.
***
It’s been hard. Jisung is happy for his friend, happy that Seungmin has figured himself out. But it’s also caused more problems than Jisung wanted to deal with.
Hyunjin hasn’t been able to take care of him as much as before, now focused on helping Seungmin accept himself and find someone to care for him. The absence of one of his caregivers, and Jisung’s self inflicted boycott of pacifiers, has been draining. When Jisung needs to slip, Hyunjin is in a corner whispering with Seungmin.
It’s caused him and Jeongin to get closer, and spend more time with each other. Jisung has loved that part of it, discovering that the younger is really fun to play with.
“Papa, I wan’ play feet game!” Jisung squeals, running over and stepping onto his Papa’s feet. He turns around, and grabs onto his Papa’s hands for balance, giggling some more.
“Papa walk!” He exclaims, waiting excitedly for when Papa picks their feet up and walks them across the floor. His Papa’s feet don’t move, and Jisung begins to pout.
“Bunny, Papa’s feet hurt. Let’s do another game,” His Papa begs him.
Jisung feels his eyes get wet, lower lip wobbling funny. His Papa doesn’t want to play with him, and he’s hurt.
“Papa don’t wan’ play with Bunny? Papa too tired for Bunny?” He sniffs. He doesn’t let his Papa talk, running away to the corner of the room. He must’ve done something not good to make Papa not want to play their feet game, and Jisung saw on TV bad boy’s go in corners.
“Bunny! What are you doing? Of course I want to play with you, come out of the corner. My good Bunny doesn’t stand in corners!” Suddenly Papa is pulling him away, and Jisung gets more upset.
“No! Papa don’ think Bunny good boy! Bunny need to stand in corner to make Papa happy!” He sobs.
“No sweetheart, that’s not true. Come on, let’s play the feet game. Papa can do it.” Jisung looks at him sideways, not knowing if his Papa is tricking him or not. He chooses to try it out, stepping back up onto his Papa’s feet. His Papa walks them around, but Jisung is still upset. The feeling doesn’t leave, and he hops off his Papa’s feet. He stares at the ground sadly, trying to hold his sadness in.
“Jisung, Bunny, what’s wrong?”
A sniffle, “I’ve got the saddies.”
“Oh honey, let me hug you,” His Papa opens his arms. Jisung shakes his head.
“No hug Papa,” Jisung walks over to the couch. He stares at the TV, wishing his shows were on.
“Papa, where is picture?” Jisung asks, confused.
“It’s off. I’ll turn it on for you baby.”
“T’ank you Papa,” Jisung remembers his manners. Eyes glued to the TV, he forgets his saddies for a little while. His favorite picture is on, the colorful characters of Spider-Man flashing.
“‘Pider-Man is cool,” he says, pointing at the TV. Papa sits beside him, pulling him into his side. Jisung cuddles against him, a fuzzy blanket keeping him warm. He shares it with his Papa, pulling the edges of the blanket till it covers his Papa.
“Spider-Man is cool,” Papa agrees. They watch the movie quietly, and Jisung hopes for a better day. A day where he has both his Papa and his Dada.
***
Jisung pouts, kicking at his blankets with his feet. He’s awake, and Papa isn’t with him. His Papa promised he’d nap with him, but he’s gone. Jisung gets out of his bed, arms crossed as he goes to find his Papa. Before he can walk out of the door, a voice sounds.
“Bunny?” It asks. Jisung turns around, finding his Papa sitting on the other bed in the room. Jisung uncrosses his arms, walking over to his Papa and pushing the thingies on his Papa away. He crawls into the space he made, smiling at the thingies making a mess.
“Papa, you make mess,” he laughs. Jeongin gasps in fake horror.
“I did not make that mess! You made the mess!” Jisung is non-stop giggling, pointing at the floor.
“Papa did it! Papa did it! Papa messy!” He squeals, his Papa suddenly tickling him. Jisung rolls around on the bed, laughing high pitched. His Papa gives up, leaving him panting.
“Alright, I made a mess. Does my cute Bunny want to help me clean it up?”
“No!” Jisung giggles, running away back to his bed. He climbs under the covers, hiding from his Papa. A shadow falls over the blanket he’s hiding under, and it’s scary. Jisung shrieks, the blankets being pulled off him. He comes face to face with his Papa, but all Jisung sees is “Monster!!”
He clings to his bed, trying to get away. The monster wins, scooping him up from his safe spot.
“Monster! Ah!” He yells, squirming to get away.
“This monster is going to eat you!” Jisung screams, raspberries being blown into his neck. Jisung’s let go from the monster, back on his bed. Under the blankies, he puts his thumb in his mouth.
“Aww, Bunny is still tired isn’t he? Papa is sorry, he’ll lay down with you now.” Being held in his Papa’s arms, Jisung feels loved.
***
“Two, three, four,” Jeongin counts. He points at the small pile of cars before them, showing Jisung what the numbers look like. The little has been interested in counting lately, showing off to Jeongin any chance he gets. Jisung has counted how many eyes Jeongin has, and how many blocks he has (even though he can only count to seven.) Taking notice of his interest, the caregiver came up with a game for him to play. They started with bottle caps, and have worked their way up to bigger items, like the cars. Jisung was interested at first, but Jeongin can see him spacing out now, and it worries him.
“Papa, I see Dada today?” The little asks, eyes hopeful.
“I’m sorry sweetie, but Dada is busy today,” Jeongin says sadly.
“Okay Papa,” Jisung’s small voice is sad, and Jeongin feels guilty for having to tell him no once again. Jisung focuses back in on his counting, and Jeongin goes back to helping him. They move up to counting how many books Jisung has, which leads to the caregiver reading him a story. Jeongin feels how attached Jisung is becoming to him, and how their bond is strengthening. He’s proud and happy about it, but wishes it didn’t come at the price it has. There’s nothing to do though, so he puts his all into caring for Jisung, and he knows the little can tell. When he gets kisses on the cheek, or random hugs, it’s Jisung’s way of saying thank you. It’s all the reward he could need.
***
“I need y-your help again.” Seungmin stands in front of Hyunjin, shuffling his feet. He’s nervous, but also excited, because he knows Hyunjin can help him feel better. Seungmin still can’t bring himself to regress on his own, but he’s improved with asking for help when he needs it.
“Feeling little today?” Hyunjin smiles, approaching Seungmin slowly. Seungmin doesn’t shrink in on himself like usual, standing tall and not moving when Hyunjin nears closer.
“Yes,” he says. He’s sure of this, he needs it today.
“Okay cutie,” Hyunjin sits them down on the floor, telling him to sit criss-cross applesauce. The caregiver always says calling things cute names helps make a little feel smaller, and Seungmin can’t help but agree. Sitting across from Seungmin, Hyunjin starts to sing a nursery rhyme.
Seungmin squeals when he recognizes the song, beginning to sing over Hyunjin.
“Daddy Bear is fat, Mama Bear is thin, baby bear is too cute!” Seungmin is practically yelling now, bouncing in place. Hyunjin finishes the song, his voice bright and squeaky, playing it up for the little.
“Yay!! More!” Seungmin giggles, clapping his hands. Hyunjin grins, beginning to sing “head shoulders knees and toes.” They go through a few more songs before Hyunjin runs out, and then he starts the birthday song.
“No birthday!” Seungmin points out. Hyunjin throws his hands in the air, pretending exasperation.
“It’s someone’s birthday though! Not yours, not mine, but someone else has a birthday today,” he reasons. Hyunjin should’ve remembered that he was essentially reasoning with a child.
“No birthday!”
“Alright, what do you want to sing then?”
“Three bears!”
“Again?”
“Three bears!”
“Alright, alright,” Hyunjin laughs, and starts the song again.
***
“Jinnie,” Hyunjin hears a little voice call for him. He looks from his desk to the doorway of his room, seeing Seungmin standing there. Seungmin only refers to him as “Jinnie” when he’s little, and he can’t hold back his surprise. He pushes back from his chair, standing up and rushing to the little. Hyunjin pulls Seungmin into the room, leading him over to the designated corner of the room.
Hyunjin has decorated a corner of his shared room with little things. He created it the first time Jisung called him Dada, wanting a comfortable and safe space for the little to play in when Hyunjin is in his room. It’s got a bean bag chair, a small plastic desk, and some toys scattered around. Hyunjin has found that he’s been using the spot the most for Seungmin recently, as he’s been preoccupied with helping him adjust to little space as the most “experienced” caregiver in the dorm. Jisung has been spending extra time with Jeongin lately, so Hyunjin tries not to worry about him. He still does worry, but Hyunjin also knows that Jeongin is very capable as a caregiver.
“Cutie, are you little right now?”
“Uh huh,” Seungmin answers. Hyunjin smiles, pulling him into a hug.
“That’s good cutie! You regressed all on your own, and you knew to come find me. I’m so proud of you!” Hyunjin coos, ruffling Seungmin’s hair.
“Jinnie, where is puppy?” The little tilts his head in question. Hyunjin nods his head, pulling the stuffed puppy Seungmin is looking for off the little’s bunk bed.
“Here’s puppy! He was sleeping on your bed,” Hyunjin hands the stuffed dog to the boy, and Seungmin snuggles it immediately.
“Love puppy,” he murmurs, petting the fur.
“Why don’t you and puppy play a game together?”
“Yeah!” Seungmin yells, tucking his stuffed puppy under his arm as he searches for a game to play. He finds a ball, and places the stuffed animal on the floor. Hyunjin watches Seungmin run away from the puppy, until he’s directly across from him. Ball in his hand, Seungmin begins a game of passing the ball with his puppy.
Since the puppy is inanimate, Hyunjin crouches behind the animal, and passes the ball back for it. The game goes on for a while, Seungmin giggling every now and then when Hyunjin passes the ball back to him. Halfway through he starts making sound effects, whooshes and bo-ing noises every time the ball rolls. It has Seungmin cracking up in no time.
Hyunjin is proud of how far the little has come since this first began, and thinks that he might be ready for bigger challenges soon. Now that he’s regressed on his own for the first time, Hyunjin is sure there’s nothing left Seungmin can’t tackle. He’ll bring it up soon, but for now he continues their play, letting the boy have his carefree fun.
***
“Seungmin,” Hyunjin’s tone is serious. Seungmin has an idea what this could be about, an unsettled feeling overcoming him.
“Hyunjin.”
“Since I started helping you regress in private, you’ve made a lot of progress. I’m happy for you, but we can’t keep doing this in secret. I think it might be time we tell the other members?”
“Why, why would we do that?” Seungmin asks, shoulders tensing.
“To make it easier for you! You can be little more often if the others know, and you don’t have to be confined to a stuffy room. Maybe you’ll find someone you want to take care of you,” Hyunjin suggests. He can’t help but admit that Hyunjin made some good points, but he’s still not sold on the idea.
“I don’t think I’m ready for that...”
“That’s fine too, but think on it a little, okay Minnie?”
“Fine, I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you,” Hyunjin drops the subject after that.
Seungmin thinks hard on Hyunjin’s suggestion, and he slowly adjusts to the idea. Everyone was very supportive when Jisung first brought the world of little space and regression to them (Seungmin himself was the only hesitant one), there’s nothing to worry about there. Embarrassment holds him back, but Seungmin also knows he can’t keep this a secret forever.
He is forced to contemplate having a caregiver too. Seungmin does want one, and as nice as Hyunjin has been since Seungmin’s discovery, he feels no attachment to him that way. He’s a good caregiver, but Seungmin doesn’t ever see himself forming a bond like that with him.
After a long while of thinking, Seungmin decides to do it. He’ll tell the members, and then he can be little in front of them. Like Hyunjin suggested, he might even find someone willing to take care of him! He wants that, he definitely does.
The next day he tells Hyunjin. The other is excited and supportive of him, and that reassures Seungmin more than he thought. He knows when he tells the members about his discovery, that they’ll support him. This’ll work out, Seungmin is confident in that. Everything will fall into place.
***
Jisung and Seungmin are both little, the first time together since Seungmin’s confession to the group. Jisung is super hyper, dragging Hyunjin everywhere around the living room. This is the first time the two have gotten to spend together in forever, and the little is overflowing with his happiness.
Seungmin is playing by himself, focusing on a specific toy. He’s been obsessed with one of the big dinosaur toys they’ve collected, making up stories as he makes it roar and stomp around. Hyunjin’s kept half an eye on him the whole time, while trying to give Jisung as much of his attention as possible.
“Dada, ladybug!” Jisung points at a sticker, voice impossibly high.
“That’s such a cool sticker, lovebug,” Hyunjin assures him. Jisung suddenly gasps, shock falling over his face.
“I’m like ladybug! Both bug’s!” The wonder in his voice is adorable, and Hyunjin doesn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“That’s right, you’re both bugs. The prettiest, cutest bugs.” Jisung is absolutely gleeful, pointing at more stickers.
Across the room, Seungmin is still playing by himself. Hyunjin hears the boy call out for someone, a “hyung” echoing across the room. Seungmin has strictly called him “Jinnie”, but Hyunjin doesn’t know who else “hyung” could be other than himself. He’s prepared to walk over to the boy, but then Seungmin stands from his place and drags Minho off the couch.
It’s surprising, to say the least. Hyunjin didn’t expect Seungmin to show much interest in the other members, considering he’s so shy in little space. His current playing with the older member clearly proves Hyunjin wrong.
“Dada, ‘ttention!” A hand is on Hyunjin’s face, forcefully turning him to face Jisung. Hyunjin lets out a laugh, shocked by the boldness of Jisung.
“I’m sorry lovebug, was I not giving you enough attention?” Hyunjin asks him cutely. Jisung nods to him, hand dropping from his face now that all of Hyunjin’s focus is on him.
“Play, Dada.”
“Okay baby, what do you wanna play? Dada is all yours.”
***
Jisung stares at his dresser drawer. It’s glaring at him, mocking him with its contents. Jisung wonders why he didn’t just throw them away, why he hid them instead. Just the knowledge of their presence teases him, tempts him.
Jisung has more reasons than his shame of being too old for them to throw away the pacifiers. One of the reasons being he’s embarrassed of his slip up in the dressing room, and if he can’t even handle his comfort items responsibly, then he shouldn’t have them. Jisung shouldn’t rely on others to make up excuses for him.
He didn’t think it would affect him this much is another reason, but boy was he wrong. With the loss, he’s taken to chewing and sucking other things. It’s not the same, nor does it provide him the same level of comfort, but he’s managing.
Hands shaking where he has them balled into fists, Jisung makes himself walk away. He walks into the main room of their dorm, but what he walks in on makes him feel sick.
Seungmin sits on the couch, with Jisung’s caregivers on either side of him. He’s holding both their hands, and Jisung can’t stand this anymore. Head clouding over, he storms to the couch, pulling Jeongin up by the wrist and wrapping his arms around him.
“Mine,” he says, attitude lacing his voice. Everyone in the room stares at him in shock, and Jeongin pushes him back by the shoulders a bit.
“Jisung, what’s up?” He asks. Jisung can’t stop his snarl.
“He’s taken Hyunjin already, he can’t have you too! You’re supposed to be my caregiver, so why are you holding another little’s hand?!” His chest is heaving with his anger, face turning red.
“Jisung, please calm down,” Hyunjin tries to placate him from the couch, but it only fuels his bad mood.
“You can’t tell me to calm down! I never even see you anymore! You’re always with him!”
“I’m trying to help him Jisung! Seungmin is new to this-“
“Not like I know any more than he does! I’m just as new to this!”
“It’s not the same. Seungmin doesn’t have anyone-“
“And who’s fault is that-!“
“Minho hyung,” Seungmin whimpers suddenly, interrupting Hyunjin and Jisung’s arguing. It’s quiet again, this time all eyes on Seungmin instead of Jisung.
“What?” Jisung asks, harsh. Seungmin begins to sniffle, eyes darting around the room. “I want Minho hyung.” Jisung scoffs.
“Of course, this is still about you. Fine, I’ll go get Minho hyung,” he rolls his eyes, leaving the room hastily to find the older boy.
He finds Minho in his bed, phone in his hand. He doesn’t say a word, just snatches Minho up and out of the room. The older is saying something, maybe cursing him out, but Jisung can’t hear it over the ringing in his ears. Adrenaline pumps through his body as he re-enters the main room, releasing Minho and pushing him into the center.
Seungmin bursts into tears when he sees the older, and Minho rushes to the couch. Jisung watches in confusion as Minho soothes him, fingers carding through Seungmin’s hair. He doesn’t say anything to the other, just gives soothing touches. Jisung doesn’t understand what’s going on.
“Jisung...” Hyunjin calls for his attention. He turns his gaze back to the caregiver, expression giving nothing away. Jisung is still mad and hurt, but he purposefully keeps his poker face.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin says. That throws Jisung off, not expecting the sudden apology.
“You’re sorry?”
“Yes I’m sorry. I can tell I've hurt you by just disappearing like that. I have a reason though,” he weakly defends,
“What’s the reason then?” He asks, not being able to drop the slightly bratty tone.
“I was helping Seungmin adjust to headspace. And when I wasn’t helping him with that, I was helping Minho learn to be a caregiver,” he says. Jisung is shocked, Seungmin wants Minho to be his caregiver?
“I don’t understand… when did all this happen?” Jisung surely noticed Hyunjin’s absence, but he hadn’t noticed anything between Seungmin and Minho.
“Well, after Seungmin figured out that he is also a little, he came to me. He wanted me to help him, and Seungmin is our friend, one of our members. I couldn’t just tell him I wouldn’t help,” Hyunjin begins.
“We soon figured out that he couldn’t regress without being talked down, so for a while that’s all we did. I’d talk him down, Seungmin would be little, his stress would decrease. Repeat the next time.”
“Then, he regressed on his own. I didn’t talk him down at all, and it was after that when we decided to tell everyone else about him. And after that, when you two were little together, Seungmin showed interest in Minho for the first time.”
“I can take it from here,” Minho interjects. Hyunjin gestures for Minho to start, and so the older starts his story.
“On that day, Seungmin came up to me. He called me “hyung” cutely, and dragged me off to play with him. I did play with him, and it went really well, I thought he was cute. And then soon after Seungmin asked if I would be with him when he’s little in private. I was confused why he’d want me there, but I agreed anyway. Again, I played with him, and he ended up jamming his finger. When he was crying, I was able to calm him down easily. I just kept joining after that,” Minho pauses his story.
Jisung is becoming antsy with how long this story is, and he shifts from foot to foot in his irritation. Jisung wants to snap at him to hurry, to finish what he has to say. Minho starts again anyway, so Jisung doesn’t accidentally lose his temper.
“Eventually, Seungmin told me he wanted me to be his caregiver, it was… such a confusing moment to me. Why would he want me to take care of him? Our friendship is more play fights and bickering than anything else, I couldn’t see why I would be his first choice for comfort. But then Seungmin explained that our friendship when he’s not in little space can be different from the one when he is feeling little, and it made sense. So, once I thought it over, I decided to give it a try.”
Hyunjin picks up the explanation again, “I started to teach everything I’ve learned to Minho. I tried to rush it, because I was worried about being away from you for so long and I missed you. But it still took too long, and I ended up neglecting you. I couldn’t be more sorry for that.” Hyunjin’s eyes fill with tears, Jisung has to look away.
“Okay well, even with all that...” Jisung trails off. He stares off to the side, fighting against his emotions that are trying to break through.
“E-even with all that… did you really have to leave m-e?” Jisung shrinks into himself, hiccuping back tears. Hyunjin scrambles from the couch, scooping his little into his arms. Jisung clings to Hyunjin hard, nails digging in as an anchor so the other can’t get away.
“Oh lovebug, Dada is so, so sorry. He never meant to make you feel abandoned. You’re Dada’s special baby, I could never leave you,” Hyunjin is fighting back his own tears, heart breaking at having been the reason Jisung is hurt so deeply.
“I miss Dada,” he sobs. Jisung cries in Hyunjin’s arms for an immeasurable amount of time, he lost track forever ago. At some point Jeongin joins their hug, the three of them crying together. Jisung’s head feels floaty, on the edge of dropping but not quite there.
“Dada, Papa,” he says their names, feeling safe.
“Lovebug, you look exhausted,” Hyunjin coos, fingers tickling under Jisung’s chin.
“Sleepies?” Jisung asks, big tired eyes looking at the two caregivers. His Papa and Dada melt before his eyes, and tell him yes. The three leave the main room, Jisung letting his Dada carry him away. They’re in his room, Jisung’s stuffie bear “Snow'' waiting for him. Jisung hugs his stuffie tight, and waits for Dada and Papa to get in the bed too.
His Dada squeezes him from the back, and his Papa faces his front. Between the two people he loves most, with his bear snow, Jisung is finally content. Tiredness from everything weighing on his little mind, Jisung sleeps easily.
***
“Jisung, won’t you please tell us where your pacifiers are. Did you throw them away?”
Jisung doesn’t say a word, staying mute on the subject. Jeongin groans, giving up for the moment. Jisung is a mess from lunch, and he needs a new shirt. He walks to their room, going over to Jisung’s dresser to pick out a new shirt for him.
He finds nothing suitable in any of the drawers he opens, so Jeongin is just about to give up and grab his own clothes. But then he catches sight of a drawer he overlooked, and an idea sparks. Maybe it has extra shirts, something soft and suitable for the little. Jeongin pulls it open, and he stares.
In the place he thought would be spare shirts, Jeongin finds an old blanket. It’s familiar, and Jeongin knows it belongs to Jisung. He picks up the old blanket, and something comes tumbling out of it.
Clanking in the drawer, Jeongin comes face to face with Jisung’s pacifiers. He’s in shock, disbelieving that he found them. Pink and yellow, that specific blue, and the sparkly purple all stare back at him. He picks the blue one up in his hand, examining it in the light. The plastic glints as he turns it around, and then Jeongin clenches the pacifier in his palm.
He leaves the bedroom, a new mission in mind. Setting his sights on the kitchen, Jeongin walks in with a purpose. He sees Jisung still sitting at the table, messy shirt clinging to him. It seems in his absence that Jisung managed to spill his drink on himself too, making the fabric of his already destroyed shirt cling to his skin.
He stands in front of Jisung, looking at the little. Jisung sends him a silly face, clearly in a bubbly mood. Jeongin feels bad that he’s about to derail that.
“Bunny,” he starts.
“Papa,” Jisung repeats, laughing at the way he copied Jeongin.
“Bunny… I found something. You wanna see?”
“Yes! Wanna see!”
Jeongin takes a deep breath, holding his hand out and opening it. Jisung’s face drops when he sees what Jeongin has.
“Bunny, why did you hide your paci’s?” Jisung’s lower lip quivers.
“Don’ wan paci.”
Jeongin makes a surprised “oh?”
“If Bunny didn’t want his paci’s why didn’t he throw them away?”
“Don’ know where can is,” Jisung lies. Jeongin knows the little is familiar with the location of their trash can, he’s thrown away the caregiver’s phone before. He spent an hour digging it out and cleaning it off that day.
Just then, Jeongin catches sight of Minho bringing Seungmin in for lunch. The presence of the other little sparks an idea in Jeongin, and he doesn’t wait before he acts on it.
“Seungminnie,” he calls. He gets the little’s attention, and Jeongin shows him the pacifier. At this point, Jisung is looking back and forth between the pacifier and Seungmin, apprehension on his face. “Jisungie doesn’t want his paci’s anymore. Do you wanna try one yourself?”
Seungmin stares at the blue pacifier, thinking face in place. Jeongin can anticipate his answer, but before Seungmin can even speak Jisung is reacting.
“No! Mine!” He yells, hand reaching forward and snatching the pacifier from Jeongin. Seungmin shrugs, looking away as he lets Minho set him up at the table. Jisung shoves the pacifier in his mouth once he has it, sucking on it immediately. Tears begin to run down his cheeks, and Jeongin can’t stop the “aw” he lets out. The sight is sad, and he opens his arms to enclose the little in them.
“Oh, oh, our little crybaby. It’s ok Bunny, shh don’t cry,” he comforts. Jeongin feels a bit guilty, but he was never going to actually give his pacifier to Seungmin. Still he hates being the reason for his tears, and he thumbs them away as they trickle down.
Hyunjin turns around from where he was cleaning up the mess from lunch time at the sound of Jisung’s tears. Jeongin can hear him walk over, and suddenly the other boy is wrapping both Jeongin and Jisung up in a hug. Jisung’s one hand is tracing the shape of his pacifier, while the other migrates to clench Hyunjin’s shirt. With his head on Jeongin’s shoulder, Jisung has a firm grip on both of the caregivers.
It’s clear to the both of them that Jisung has accepted his pacifiers back for good. Neither of them could imagine Jisung not wanting the item again, the way his eyes are drooping in his comfort shows how safe he feels.
The worst has finally ended, and the two caregivers are glad for it. No more can get in their way, and Jeongin can feel the weight lifting from his shoulders. Of course they’re not free from things going wrong, but they know that. If things do go wrong again though, Jeongin knows they can handle it. They’ve handled and worked through every obstacle imaginable, there’s nothing that he doesn’t think they’re strong enough to get through.
The roadblocks are done for now, no more hills or pot holes looming in front of them. Before them is only happiness and calm, and the trio is more than ready for it. They’re ready to be happy, and to continue building their relationship as caregivers and little.
Their time is now, and they’re excited to experience it.
BONUS
“Dada, wan baba!” Jisung comes running through the kitchen like a bull in a china shop. He flashes by so quickly Hyunjin almost doesn’t see him, but then he’s back and he’s pulling on Hyunjin’s clothes again.
“Dada! Baba!”
“That’s not how we ask for a baba, is it lovebug?” Hyunjin reminds.
“Dada, I wan’ baba, p’ease?” Hyunjin melts at the cute words, and moves to make Jisung a bottle. He grabs one of Jisung’s decorative bottles, the one with a cow on the front. The plastic surrounding the nipple is orange, and it’s one of Jisung’s favorites. He fills it, and then hands it to the little. Jisung happily runs out of the kitchen and back to the main room, resuming his play.
As Jisung arrives back in the main room, he sees Seungmin still playing where he last saw him. Seungmin doesn’t like to run with him, he thinks Jisung’s games are too little for him. Jisung gets sad when Seungmin doesn’t run, but he doesn’t want his friend to be angry with him. One time he dragged Minnie while he ran, and the other yelled at him. It hurt his feelings. He hasn’t tried again.
But seeing his Minnie still playing with the boring puzzles upsets him for some reason. Minnie doesn’t look bored, but he thinks he must be. Jisung doesn’t know how to make his Minnie unbored. He looks at his baba, and he gasps. He knows how to help with him being unbored!
“Minnie need baba!” He whispers to himself. Jisung runs away again, slipping because of his sockies. He keeps going even though he slipped, because Minnie still needs a baba!
“Dada! Dada! Minnie need baba!” He pants. Running makes Jisungie tired.
“Oh he does? I thought Seungminnie didn’t like bottles?”
“No Dada! Minnie need baba now!” Jisung gets stuck, but then remembers to say “p’ease.”
“What kind of baba does Minnie need then?” Jisung thinks really hard. His head feels ouchy from thinking so hard, but then he knows.
“Minnie need ele’pant baba!” His Dada makes the baba quickly, and Jisung runs back to Seungmin.
“Minnie!” He screams. His Minnie jumps, because Jisung accidentally screamed in his ear.
“Ow Sunnie!” Jisung cowers, feeling sad. Is Minnie mad at him?
“Sowry for yellin’ Minnie.”
“It’s ok Sunnie.” Seungmin shrugs, letting it go quickly. Jisung is happy again.
“Baba is for you Minnie!” He shoves the baba into Minnie’s arms, bouncing as he waits for Minnie’s reaction.
“Sunnie, I don’t want a bottle. Bottles are for little babies.”
Jisung feels so sad, he really wanted Minnie to take the baba.
“Minnie, p’ease. Baba have ele’pant,” he insists.
Minnie looks at the room, and Jisung sees him stop at Minho. Minho is Minnie’s hyungie, and he makes his booboo's ok. Jisung thinks Minho is nice.
“Hyungie, can I have a baba?” Minnie’s voice sounds scared.
“Of course you can!”
“Really? No one will make f-fun of me?”
“No Seungminnie, no one here will make fun-“
“I beat ‘em up!” Jisung yells again. No one hurt his Minnie.
“Sunnie, inside voice.”
“Sowry Minnie.” Then, Minnie takes the baba from his hands. Jisung squeals, he's so happy.
“Yay!! We have baba together! Now go see pictures!” Jisung drags Seungmin to the TV.
The two littles sit on the couch and watch cartoons while drinking their bottles, and the sight is adorable. Their caregivers watch on fondly, proud of how well the two get along. Suddenly, Seungmin makes a comment about finding Patrick stupid, and Spongebob is better. Jisung disagrees, and the two start a small fight. Even still, the caregivers are still proud, for it’s the most tame fight they’ve had. They’re doing good.
***
“I’m gonna scare them,” Felix whispers. His eyes are trained on the littles, mischievous glint in his eyes. Minho cackles, while Hyunjin is a little more skeptical.
“I don’t know… Jisung is pretty easily frightened, you could give him a heart attack.”
“That’s kind of the point Hyunjinnie,” Minho snorts, eyes still trained on the littles playing.
“You really want to do that to Seungmin?” Hyunjin doesn’t understand Minho’s ways sometimes.
“Come on, it’ll be really funny!”
“Ugh fine, do what you want. But I’m blaming you both when they pee their pants.”
The two boys are coloring, completely still as they work on their own pictures. Felix takes the opportunity and sneaks up behind them, tip toeing like a villain in a cartoon. Once he’s behind the two, Felix brings his hands down on their shoulders and screams “boo!”
The two littles scream loudly, real fear lacing their voices. Jisung falls out of his chair, and Seungmin stands up from his. Seungmin bolts from the table he was sitting at, running to where Minho is trying not to laugh from the side.
“Hyungie!” He cries, clinging to Minho’s torso.
“Aww poor Seungminnie. Did the big mean Felix scare you?” He coos, running his fingers through the boy’s hair. Seungmin nods into Minho’s chest, too scared to come out and look.
“It was your idea too-“
“Blah blah blah!” Minho shouts over Hyunjin, the other caregiver halfway across the room attending to his own little.
“Jisungie, lovebug, it’s ok. Felix was just playing around, no one is going to hurt you,” he shushes, rocking the boy in his arms.
“I’m sorry Jisung and Seungmin,” Felix apologises. The littles still won’t look up, but Jisung says a small “it’s okay Lix hyung.”
They sure do have a bunch of scaredy cats on their hands.
***
Jisung’s tongue pokes out as he focuses on his feet. Jeongin was dressing the little for the day, when Jisung demanded that he put his socks on himself. Jeongin found no choice but to indulge him, and Jisung ran out of the room with his bare feet and socks in his hands. He’s been on the floor for five minutes now, trying to get them on. Jeongin wants to help him so bad, but he can feel that Jisung would reject him. As he watches the boy miss his toes for the tenth time, Jeongin is just about to go help when Seungmin comes out of nowhere.
“What’cha doing Sunnie?” He asks.
“Putting sockies on,” the little replies, his frustration seeping through.
“Is it hard?” Seungmin questions. Jisung tells him it is hard, never stopping his quest.
“Can I help?” Jeongin is shocked when Jisung drops his hands to his lap, and nods his head. Seungmin moves forward quickly, grabbing Jisung’s hands. He makes them both hold the sock open, and then move the sock down and over Jisung’s foot. Seungmin repeats it with the second one, and lets go when it’s done.
Jisung whirls around and pulls Seungmin into a tight hug.
“T’ank you Minnie.”
“Welcome Sunnie.”
“Was it hard?” Jisung repeats Seungmin’s previous sentence. Jeongin smiles at Seungmin’s sweet reply.
“It was, but it’s ok. We did it together!”
***
The two littles are exhausted. Hyunjin can’t count on two hands how many meltdowns he’s had to put out today. Jisung has been refusing his nap all day, and the boy’s exhaustion has resulted in one cranky baby. Seungmin is also in need of a nap, but the two littles refuse to slow down.
They don’t want to stop playing together, going from one game to the next. Hyunjin has seen them play dress up (Seungmin as a cowboy and Jisung as a superhero), he’s seen them play construction (using fake hammers and saws), and he’s even seen them doing jumping jacks.
The jumping jacks were the final straw, and before anyone got hurt Hyunjin grabbed them. He stopped them quickly, and placed them on the couch together. He ran around gathering blankets and pillows, and made a little bed on the floor of their main room. Hyunjin figures if there was a cool bed on the floor, the two might be more apt to settle down on it.
“Lovebug, do you want to lay on this cool bed down here?” He asks.
“Okay Dada,” Jisung crawls off the couch and onto the floor, getting on the makeshift bed. Once Jisung is on the floor, Hyunjin moves onto Seungmin. He gets the other on the bed too.
Hyunjin can’t leave the two boys alone, but he needs to get Jisung’s pacifier if he wants any hope of getting him to relax. Jeongin and Minho are both in the room, and Hyunjin doesn’t hesitate on asking them for help.
“Innie, can you go get Jisungie a paci?”
“Sure, I’ll be right back.”
“I’m going to get Seungmin his puppy,” Minho says, leaving the room right away.
Hyunjin watches over the littles, making sure they don’t get up from their spots. Jeongin and Minho are back quickly, handing the items over to Hyunjin. He gives Jisung the pacifier, the boy taking it and putting it in his mouth immediately. Seungmin cuddles his puppy upon getting it, holding it close to himself. Seeing Seungmin with his puppy, Jisung calls out for Jeongin.
“Papa, get Snow?” He asks, voice beyond tired. Jeongin goes and gets the white bear, bringing it back to Jisung. All the things the boys need to settle down are found, the three caregivers watch as they begin to cuddle each other. Jisung snuggles into Seungmin’s chest, and Seungmin rests his head against the top of Jisung’s. Their eyes begin to close, and then they’re finally passed out.
Hyunjin sags against the couch, groaning at the stiffness of his body. Minho and Jeongin follow suit, letting out their own noises due to the aches and stiffness of chasing after two child-like boys.
“They say when the baby is asleep, the mom should sleep too,” Minho mumbles suddenly. After a prolonged silence, Jeongin breaks it.
“Are you calling us moms?”
“Yes,” Minho says in a heartbeat.
“Well, then shut and let’s sleep,” Hyunjin butts in, too tired to listen to them any longer. Thankfully the room grows quiet, and it’s peaceful. For the first time all day it’s not hectic, and he soaks in the calm. He hopes this nap lasts long.