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It had been a while since San and Hongjoong had accidentally revealed themselves as regressors in front of Seonghwa and Yunho. They'd also decided to tell the rest of the group, not wanting to keep it a secret as it was too hard to conceal. Since then, Yunho had become San's main caregiver and took care of him every time he regressed. Yunho loved it, don't get him wrong, but he wanted to be able to be taken care of as well.
"Sannie, I don't understand how you do it." Yunho sighed. San turned to him from his spot on his bed, lowering his book and seeing the other pouting at him. He tilted his head and hummed.
"What do you mean, darling?" San asked. Yunho huffed and looked away, pulling a blanket over his lap.
"Just... regress." Yunho huffed. "I can't seem to get into the headspace like you do." He said. San furrowed his brows together and closed his book.
"It's not a competition, hyung. You don't have to slip if you don't want to." He told him as he scooted off his bed and onto Yunho's. He pet Yunho's hair while the latter leaned against him. Yunho hummed.
"I know but... I want to, but I can't." Yunho explained. "And you always seem so happy and stress free when you're small." A pout covered the older's face. "I wanna be able to do it too." He said. San nodded to signal understanding. San pulled Yunho onto his lap.
"How about we push a day aside for you to slip this week? Jongho and I can take care of you." San suggested. Yunho pouted and looked away.
"But... I don't wanna take up your time." Yunho told San. The younger furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.
"No, no, buttercup, I love taking care of you. I'd spend all my time doing it if I could." San explained. A blush crept upon Yunho's face and San chuckled. "You're so cute, darling. So what're you saying?" He asked. Yunho sat up on San's lap, wrapping his arms around San's waist. He nodded.
"Sure. I wanna try it." Yunho said. "But... can you do it with me?" He added. San cooed at him.
"Sure, baby, if it makes you more comfy." The younger told him. Yunho nodded. San rubbed his back and placed his chin on Yunho's shoulder. Yunho let out a small sigh followed by a giggle when San patted his back.
"What're you doing?" San hugged him tightly.
"Nothing, I just can't wait to be small with you." San pointed out. Yunho's stomach flipped and he cooed. "You get so cute when you regress, I can't wait." The younger said.
After talking with Jongho, Yunho and San told the others, asking them to give them some space for a day as Yunho was a bit shy of his regression. They sat in the living room, watching cartoons and colouring. Though they were watching his favourite show, and he loved colouring, Yunho couldn't seem to calm down.
He felt nervous and vulnerable, almost a bit embarrassed about slipping. He watched San, who was completely comfortable, scribbling different colours into his book. Yunho pouted to himself. He felt a bit bad for not being able to slip.
He flinched as he heard someone walk into the room. He turned around slowly to see Mingi, who looked a bit surprised to see Yunho regressing. Jongho greeted Mingi and Mingi greeted him as well as the littles.
San was happy to see him, jumping to his feet and hugging Mingi. Yunho watched, knowing San was always very clingy when he was regressed. He pouted and looked away, trying to focus on his colouring. Maybe that might help him.
"Are you feeling shy, Yuyu?" Mingi said, sitting down next to Yunho. Yunho flinched and gasped, dropping his crayon. He looked away, humming. He didn't know what to say. He was having such a hard time that it made him even more stressed. With Mingi staring at him, his heart pounded.
"I..." He started. He almost felt like he'd insulted Mingi by not answering. His ears went red and he felt like he couldn't breathe as he looked up and saw Jongho's eyes on him.
Jongho sat down next to Yunho as well, rubbing his back. Yunho shied away from his touch, but didn't object when Jongho placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay, little one?" Jongho asked. Yunho looked around, his eyes darting to anywhere but Mingi and Jongho.
"I'm just... a bit... nervous." Yunho said quietly. Mingi cooed at Yunho, holding his hand. He could feel Yunho shaking.
"What's wrong wif Yuyu?" San asked, looking up from his picture.
"He's just not feeling very well, darling." Jongho told San. San made his way over as well, sitting in front of Yunho. Yunho looked straight at the floor, feeling a bit suffocated. San rubbed Yunho's arm and Yunho began to feel even more panicked.
"You'll be okay, Yunnie." San told him.
"That's right, darling, don't worry about anything." Jongho said. "You can just be tiny and let Mingi and I take care of you." Yunho squeezed onto Mingi's hand harder. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and then let go of Mingi's hand. Jongho watched as Yunho stood up and sighed.
"Please stop babying me." He mumbled before turning around and walking to his room. He plopped himself down into his bed and curled up. He didn't know why he couldn't slip. It just made him feel so nervous. He closed his eyes and decided it was time for a nap, hoping no one would come in to check on him.
He was right. No one came in to check on him. They all thought he'd needed some space and time to be alone. Yunho thought that was what he needed as well, however when he woke up he couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. He sighed and stood up, his stomach grumbling a bit, signaling dinner time. Slowly, Yunho made his way to the kitchen, seeing Seonghwa and Hongjoong. Seonghwa turned around from his spot at the counter and smiled at Yunho.
"Oh, hi, Yunho. Dinner is almost ready, can you set the table?" Seonghwa asked before turning back around. It seemed like he was cutting up some vegetables. Yunho hummed and began setting the table. He still felt a bit nervous from earlier, the panic lingering in the air around him. Hongjoong and Seonghwa spoke to each other, but Yunho didn't pay attention to their words.
He was too stuck in his head, frustrated about what had happened earlier. He jumped when he felt a hand on his back, bringing him back to reality and out of his thoughts. He turned around to see Mingi.
"You okay, darling?" Mingi asked softly. Yunho looked down and sighed. He couldn't lie to Mingi about how he felt.
"Yeah. Just... anxious." Yunho said quietly. Mingi hummed.
"You think you can eat dinner?" Mingi asked. Yunho nodded.
"I'll try." Yunho said. Mingi knew that when Yunho was nervous, food was the worst possible thing for him to be around. It made him feel even more anxious and nauseous. Mingi sat next to Yunho at the table, holding his hand from under the table cloth.
During dinner, everyone spoke happily, everyone sharing what a good day they'd had, San talking about finally being able to regress. There was a lot of chatter as usual, but Yunho stayed quiet. San kept talking, going on about how nice it was to have Jongho and Mingi take care of him. And then he mentioned Yunho.
Yunho froze at the sound of his name. He didn't really want to talk about what had happened earlier, but everyone's eyes were on him, expecting an answer for why he couldn't regress. Whenever a member couldn't get into headspace, they all talked about it and how to help, but Yunho didn't want to talk about it.
"Um..." Yunho started. Mingi squeezed his hand reassuringly from under the table. "I don't know." Yunho said quietly.
"There has to have been a reason, hyung." San said. The others agreed, chipping in on what the reason might be.
"Were you feeling sick?" Wooyoung asked. Yunho shook his head.
"Not enough comfort items?" Yeosang pondered. Yunho shook his head again.
"Too tired?" Hongjoong suggested. Yunho shook his head again. They kept going, asking him questions. Yunho looked down at his lap and shook his head as more of the questions bombarded him.
The food in front of him began to look inedible, disgusting almost. He felt sick just looking at it, thinking of finishing it. He took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself, but his lungs hitched like a sweater getting caught on a door handle. Mingi began to feel his hand loosing feeling as everyone kept talking. Yunho was squeezing his hand so hard it cut off circulation.
"Guys, I think that's enough." Mingi said, but no one seemed to hear him. Yunho shifted closer to Mingi.
"It's just weird." San claimed. Yunho huffed.
Everyone's words hurt Yunho's ears. They kept trying to get answers, each talking one after the other. They were whispering but it sounded like screaming to Yunho. He began hyperventilating and turned to Mingi, his eyes still looking down. He turned away from everyone else and threw himself at Mingi, tears falling from his eyes.
"I-I don't know!" Yunho cried out, shutting everyone up. Mingi was a bit taken aback. He slowly wrapped his arms around Yunho, his eyes wide. Mingi looked up at everyone else, not knowing what to do and Hongjoong looked back, sending a signal through his eyes and a hand wave to tell Mingi to bring Yunho out of the room.
"Shhh, it's okay, Yunho." Mingi said quietly, picking Yunho up. He nodded to the others and walked Yunho out of the room. Mingi took Yunho to his room, sitting the boy down on his lap and holding him.
"M' just scared..." Yunho choked out. "s' scary, M-Mingi..." He sobbed. Mingi nodded, humming and rubbing Yunho's back.
"I know, I know, sweetheart." Mingi reassured. Yunho huffed. He shook and cried in Mingi's arms for what felt like half an hour, babbling and constantly apologizing.
"Sorry... Yuyu's s-sorry, Mingi." Yunho apologized.
"Oh, pumpkin, there's no reason to be sorry." Mingi said. Yunho shook his head.
"Didn' mean to start cryin'... jus' m' being dumb..." Yunho muttered. Mingi pulled Yunho away from his chest and dried his cheeks, shaking his head.
"You're not dumb at all, Yunho. Not at all." Mingi said. Yunho pouted and sniffled. He didn't say anything else, just threw himself back into Mingi's chest and started crying again.
"Wan' papa.." Yunho said quietly. Mingi hummed, looking for clarification. "J-Jongie... papa..." Yunho cried.
"Oh, you want papa?" Mingi asked. Yunho nodded. "I can go get him if you want." Mingi said. Yunho looked up and nodded.
"Please." He said. Mingi nodded, moving Yunho off of him and ruffling his hair. He handed Yunho one of his stuffed animals, a large stuffed frog that was sitting in the corner of his bed.
"You wait here, I'll go get papa." Mingi said. Yunho nodded and Mingi stepped out. He walked back into the living room, seeing Jongho sitting in the living room with Yeosang and Wooyoung. They were concerned about Yunho, all talking about him and what was happening.
Mingi slowly walked over, not wanting to surprise the three of them. Jongho looked up and smiled as Mingi kneeled down next to him.
"What's up? Is Yunho okay?" Jongho asked. Mingi nodded.
"He's alright. He says he wants you." Mingi told him. "You go comfort him, I'll make him some warm milk and get some comfort items." Mingi said. Jongho nodded and then froze.
"Wait, he's regressed?" Jongho asked. Mingi nodded.
"I think he panicked when everyone started talking at the table and it threw him into headspace." Mingi explained.
"Alright. I'll go." Jongho said. He walked into Mingi's room, seeing Yunho curled up on Mingi's bed, tears falling from his red eyes. Jongho sighed at the sight and Yunho looked up with a gasp.
"Papa!" He gasped. Jongho smiled and sat down next to Yunho. Yunho immediately hugged the younger. "Papa... dunno whas' goin' on." Yunho said quietly, his voice shaking, speaking in between hiccups. "Scared."
"Oh, darling, you're just slipping." Jongho said, holding Yunho to his chest. "It's okay, it's normal." Jongho whispered.
"Yunnie never been real tiny before... got scared to be small n' then got really small." Yunho explained. "D-don' tell Sannie, please, papa... please don't tell Sannie." Yunho begged. Jongho was confused.
"Why don't you want Sannie to know, buttercup?" Jongho asked. Yunho began crying louder, unable to hold back his sobs.
"Cause... only Sannie can be this tiny, Yunho s'posed be big n take care of Sannie!" Yunho retorted.
"Yuyu doesn't have to be big all the time. Yunnie can be as tiny as he wants whenever he wants." Jongho said quietly. "I know it in my heart that Sannie doesn't mind you being tiny. Sannie loves tiny Yuyu just like everyone else does." Jongho reassured him. Yunho's crying calmed down a bit.
"Everyone else?" Yunho asked. Jongho nodded and hummed.
"Yes, everyone else loves baby Yuyu." Jongho said with a smile, rubbing Yunho's back.
"But everyone else scare Yuyu... Yuyu get scared."
"You got scared? How come you got scared, sunshine?" Jongho asked. Yunho hummed and looked up from Jongho's chest.
"Cause everyone else lookin' at Yuyu... n' everyone talkin', made Yuyu 'fused n' scared 'cause didn't know what was goin' on." Yunho said, more tears streaming down his face.
"Aww, darling." Jongho cooed. Yunho pouted.
"S-still dunno what's going on..." Yunho mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Jongho asked him. Yunho grumbled and sniffed.
"Just... feel nervous... going in n' outta bein' tiny, it's scary." Yunho said. Jongho hummed and brushed Yunho's hair with his fingers. He knew small comforts like that could help him regress.
"That's okay, sunshine, it's normal to be scared of that. Do you wanna be big or do you want papa to take care of you?" Jongho asked. Yunho hummed and thought.
"Want papa." He told Jongho. Jongho nodded and chuckled.
"Alright, bubba, then don't worry about being big." Jongho consoled. "Do you wanna go out and colour? No one will bother you, it's just Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Mingi out there." Jongho said. Yunho hummed.
"Not now..." Yunho trailed off. "Gotta... calm down." Yunho said in between gasps. Just the thought of going out there again made Yunho's lungs shrink. It felt so hard to breathe, just thinking about it.
"That's okay, I understand. Just breathe, baby boy." Jongho said. Yunho nodded, taking in a deep breath. "One, two, three, four, and out, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good boy." Jongho praised, coaching Yunho's breaths. He continued to count his breaths up and down and Yunho followed, obediently taking in deep breaths and slowly letting them out. Yunho nodded once he felt a bit more calm. "That's my good little prince."
Mingi stepped in suddenly with a baby bottle in his hand. He waved to Yunho who smiled, his face still a bit puffy and red from all the tears.
"Hey there, pumpkin." Mingi said quietly, sitting down next to Jongho and Yunho.
"Ah, look what dada brought you." Jongho said, pointing at the baby bottle in Mingi's hand. Yunho's eyes lit up at the sight.
"Bobble!" Yunho exclaimed. He reached out with grabby hands and Mingi handed the bottle to him.
"You think you can hold it yourself or do you want me or papa to feed you?" Mingi asked. Yunho looked at the bottle in his hands and then looked back to Mingi with pleading eyes.
"Dada." He said. Mingi smiled and nodded, holding the bottle up for Yunho.
"Alright, bubs." Mingi said. Yunho drank from the bottle quickly and quietly, finding comfort in the warmth of the milk inside. It made him feel much smaller having it being fed to him. Jongho and Mingi watched, praising Yunho quietly as he sipped at his drink. Once he was done with the milk Mingi replaced the bottle with a pacifier.
"You wanna go out and colour now, prince?" Jongho asked Yunho. The little nodded.
"Up?" He asked quietly, his voice mumbled by his pacifier. Jongho chuckled and lifted Yunho up. Yunho giggled at being picked up. It made him feel much tinier. All the thanks to Odin for Jongho being so strong.
Jongho carried Yunho out to the living room, Mingi following closely behind. Mingi greeted both Wooyoung and Yeosang, quietly informing them that Yunho was regressed.
"Is our little Yuyu feeling tiny?" Yeosang asked Yunho as Yunho sat down on the couch. Yunho looked a bit shy, nodding slowly and fumbling with his thumbs. "How big do you feel, little one?" Yeosang asked. Yunho looked at his fingers, counting them before turning to Yeosang and putting one up.
"Ah, I see, we have a little baby on our hands." Wooyoung chirped from the other side of the couch. Yunho nodded abruptly, agreeing with Wooyoung. Wooyoung stood up a d moved to sit closer to Yunho. "What a cute little prince!" He exclaimed, ruffling Yunho's hair. Yunho giggled, his shy demeanor slowly being chipped off.
"Oh, this little baby is a prince?" Yeosang gasped. Wooyoung nodded and smiled at Yeosang, playing along. Yunho nodded with a large smile on his face.
"We've been graced with the presence of a handsome little prince, Sangie!" Wooyoung continued.
"Yes, we have, Woo! What an honour!" Yeosang giggled. Mingi and Jongho listened to the two playing along with Yunho while they sorted out the crayons and colouring books for Yunho to choose from. "And what might be the reason for this great prince's visit? Are you passing by on an adventure, little one?" Yeosang asked. Yunho shook his head.
"Colour!" Yunho said. Yeosang and Wooyoung both made an exaggerated gasp.
"You're gonna show us your fine art skills?" Wooyoung asked. Yunho nodded happily.
"Well, little prince, why don't you start by picking a picture to colour in?" Jongho asked with the books in his hands. Yunho smiled and giggled, reaching out to Jongho. Jongho held up the books for him and he picked out his favourite fairytale colouring book. Mingi brought over a box of crayons, placing them on the coffee table in front of the couch.
Yunho picked out a page for himself and then handed the book to Yeosang, silently asking him to tear the page out by making gestures with his hands.
"You want me to take it out?" Yeosang looked for clarification. Yunho nodded. "But then it might get lost before you even get to colour it in, darling." Yunho shook his head and pointed to the book, then pointed at Yeosang, pointed to the book again, and then pointed at Wooyoung. The two were confused so Yunho pointed at the crayons.
"He wants you to pick out a sheet and colour with him." Mingi explained. Yunho nodded and hummed to signal that Mingi's answer was correct.
"Oh, I see. Here you go, bubs." Yeosang said, slowly tearing out the page.
"Tank yous." Yunho said quietly, the words a bit incomprehensible due to the pacifier between his lips.
"You are very welcome, prince." Yeosang said. Yunho pointed to the book again and Yeosang knew that was his cue to look for a page he wanted to colour. He picked one, ripped it out and then handed the book to Wooyoung. "Are you gonna colour with us?" Yeosang asked. Wooyoung took the book.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss a chance to colour with the great artist prince." Wooyoung said. "I'm gonna pick this one because it's a prince and it reminds me of you!" Wooyoung told Yunho. Yunho giggled, his legs kicking around as they dangled off the couch. Yunho held up his picture and pointed at Yeosang. The illustration was of a faerie.
"Like Sangie!" Yunho said.
"Faerie Sangie?" Wooyoung asked. Yunho nodded. Yeosang held up his picture.
"Mine is a pretty princess, I picked it out because she reminds me of Woo." Yeosang fibbed.
"Pwincess Woo!" Yunho said. "Pwetty!" Yunho exclaimed. Wooyoung could feel his cheeks heat up from both embarrassment and adoration.
"Princess? Pretty?" Wooyoung asked with a chuckle playing behind his words. Yunho and Yeosang both nodded.
Jongho, from the other side of the couch turned to Mingi who was watching over the three as they coloured. Jongho waved Mingi over to whisper something to him.
"What is it?" Mingi asked quietly.
"He's in good hands here, so I'm gonna go talk to San." Jongho said.
"Did something happen with them?" Mingi asked.
"Well, Yunho said he feels bad about regressing because he always takes care of San." Jongho explained. Mingi nodded, understanding. Yunho suddenly gasped and everyone looked at him. He ignored the gazes and stared straight at Jongho, his face looking distraught. He shook his head quickly.
"Not Sannie, don' wan' Sannie to know Yuyu's tiny..." He said quietly, his ears slowly heating up as he felt everyone's eyes on him.
"Darling, I wasn't going to get Sannie, I was just going to speak with-" Yunho interrupted Jongho, shaking his head again.
"No! No talk! Yuyu gotta do it!" Yunho whined. He looked down at his picture, tears welling up in his eyes. "Gotta do it by self... when big." He said. Jongho nodded and walked over to Yunho, petting his hair.
"I understand, little prince." Jongho said, leaning forwards and kissing Yunho's forehead. Yunho grabbed onto Jongho, hugging him tightly.
"Yuyu sleepy." He said quietly. "Bedtime?" He asked Jongho. Jongho cooed and picked him up.
"Yes, let's bring you to bed, little one." Jongho said. "Say goodnight to princess Woo and Faerie Sangie." Jongho chuckled. Yunho nodded and waved at them as Jongho carried him out.
"Nini Woo, nini Sangie, nini dada, Yuyu love yous!" Yunho said softly. The others returned the farewell and began cleaning up as he left. Yunho cuddled into Jongho's arms tiredly, resting his face in Jongho's shoulder. Jongho opened the door to Yunho and San's room and saw San sitting on his bed, scrolling on his phone. He didn't say anything, just raised a finger to his lips to signal San to be quiet. Yunho turned around and saw San. Yunho gasped and the pacifier fell from his lips.
Immediately he began to squirm in Jongho's arms, trying to pull away from his grasp. Jongho tried to hold on as Yunho weakly punched at his shoulders, whining and grunting as he tried to pry away from him. Yunho succeeded in pulling himself away from Jongho and immediately ran for his bed, pulling the covers over his head.
"Yunho?" Jongho asked, confused. Yunho didn't answer, he just curled up into a ball further. Jongho kneeled down next to the bed and San shifted in his own bed to get a food look at what was going on. "Darling, what's wrong?" Jongho asked. He was met with a sniffle. San got down from his own bed quietly as he heard small weeps from Yunho's bed.
"Sorry." Yunho said quietly. "Didn' mean to be small, didn' wanna, m' sorry... m' sorry, Sannie." Yunho cried. San's eyes widened at the words and he turned to Jongho in disbelief.
"I'll talk to him, Jjong." San whispered. Jongho was hesitant to leave Yunho alone, but nodded and slowly left the room. San felt his heart shatter as Yunho kept crying. The covers began to shake.
"Yunho, baby." San said quietly. Yunho gasped when he heard his voice. "Yuyu, don't be startled, it's okay." San whispered. He placed a hand over the bundle of blankets. "Sannie isn't mad if Yunho is small. Sannie's happy that Yunho can be small." San told him. Yunho sniffled and the crying quieted down. "Come out from there, little one. Tell me what's on your mind." San said. Hesitantly, Yunho turned over and peaked his eyes out from the covers. San smiled at him. "There's my precious baby." San said.
"Not bad for bein small?" Yunho asked. San shook his head. "But... only Sannie can be small. Yuyu gotta take care of Sannie." Yunho said.
"No, baby boy, you don't always have to take care of me. We can even be small together!" San exclaimed. Yunho's eyes lit up and he removed the covers from his face completely and sat up.
"Really?" He gasped. "Yuyu have play date wif Sannie?" He asked. San nodded with a wide smile on his face.
"Yes! Next day off we'll be small together!" San told him. "How's that sound?" Yunho nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah yeah!" He said. "So... Sannie not mad?" San shook his head and sat down next to Yunho, wrapping an arm around the regressor.
"Sannie's not mad at all." San said. Yunho leaned his head on San's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Sannie is proud of you, little prince. You're so brave for being able to tell me what's wrong." San praised. Yunho giggled happily and hugged San tightly.
"Yuyu gonna go beddy bye now." Yunho said quietly. San nodded.
"Do you want you paci, bubs?" He asked. Yunho had forgotten about the pacifier that fell onto the ground. He nodded softly and San stood up to retrieve it. Yunho felt cold without San next to him and pouted as San left the room to rinse the paci off. When he returned he saw Yunho's pout. "What's with the long face, Yuyu?"
"Sannie cuddle wif Yuyu?" Yunho asked, his eyes wide and glossy. San cooed and made his way over to Yunho after turning off the light.
"Of course, bubba." San told him. He layed down next to Yunho and allowed the regressor to cuddle up to him.
"Thank you, Sannie." Yunho said as San popped the pacifier between the little ones lips. He layed his head on San's chest and held onto his hand as San wrapped his other arm around Yunho's back, trailing his nails up and down lightly. Yunho closed his eyes and felt himself drift off to the comforting touch. "Yuyu love Sannie, nini." He said softly.
"Sannie loves you too, pumpkin."