Work Text:
It had now been a week since the warm fuzzy feeling first clouded Chan’s mind, and it wouldn’t leave him alone. Soonyoung kept telling him to just relax and give into the feeling, if it’s happening this often it must mean something.
But Soonyoung just didn’t get it. He couldn’t get it.
Soonyoung never had this shame in regressing. He so willing tried it, and maybe he didn’t tell any of the other members, but it’s because he doesn’t need to. Chan doesn’t want to slip because he knows he’ll need this.
He knows he’ll crave being coddled and smothered in the other members love. He just wants to messily eat chicken nuggets torn up into even tinier pieces because ‘our baby boy can’t possible eat such big pieces, no no he’ll choke’. And god once he finally gets a taste of that. Gets to relish in that feeling, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to let it go.
“Chan, if thumb sucking is seriously going to be an issue, you need to consider a pacifier,” Soonyoung said pulling Chan out of his thoughts along with his thumb that he just noticed was in his mouth.
“I’m not that much of a baby, Hyung. I don’t need a pacifier.”
But maybe Chan really did want one. Maybe he had been looking into them late at night, hoping no one would someone see his phone screen, how could they? Chan didn’t know, but he still worried about it.
“I’m not calling you a baby, I’m just suggesting-“
Soonyoung’s words drifted of into the air as Chan became once again consumed by his own thoughts
Specifically, he couldn’t stop thinking about the discovery he made a couple of nights ago. It was the first day he found himself with his thumb in his mouth and before Soonyoung had even brought up the idea, Chan thought of a pacifier. It really was logical, Chan couldn’t have his thumb be all chapped and raw, fans would notice in a second. They would immediately jump to the worst conclusion.
There it had sat in Chan’s brain for the past two days, the pastel pink pacifier the was slightly transparent and covered in sparkles. Chan almost slipped the moment he saw it, and teeters on it every time he thinks about it.
“Why are you holding back? You said you would try it, so why won’t you do it when you so clearly need to?” Soonyoung cut through Chan’s train of thought again, him pulling the thumb out of Chan’s mouth this time.
What neither of them were expecting was the loud whine that fell out Chan’s mouth the second he did that.
“Hyungie, ‘ean,” Chan muttered as he pulled his hand back to himself before slowly curling into himself, almost trying to act small.
“Oh, sweetie, no. Hyung, just doesn’t want you to hurt yourself. This is why we need to get you a pacifier,” Soonyoung said, halfway through wondering why he’s trying to have an important conversation with someone in the mind space of a toddler. No real progress was going to made right now.
“Hyungie, can I wear one of your sweaters? Yours bigger.” And how was Soonyoung supposed to say no to the softest pair of puppy dog eyes in the entire world. That look could truly bring the meanest people in the world to their knees.
“Or do you want one of Mingyu’s? His are the biggest!”
Chan’s eyes widened as he listened closely to what Soonyoung was saying.
“THE BIGGEST!?” Chan screamed in excitement. “What you wait for, le’s go right now!”
Chan started quickly pulled Soonyoung out of their shared room, but before the younger could get a hold of the door knob, Soonyoung quickly got a hold of the boy stopping him in his tracks.
“Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll bring back the sweater, sound like deal?”
“But-but how do I know you’ll pick the biggest, softest, nicest sweater. I gotta go wit you,” Chan whimpered, about to try and sway Soonyoung with an on slot of tears.
“Flower,” Soonyoung called out. A nickname that had seemed to found it’s place into the moments wear Chan was most sensitive.
Soonyoung could tell Chan knew he really shouldn’t go out there and get the sweater himself. Not with all the unknowns, but he still just wanted his sweater, and he wanted it to be special.
“I promise to pick out the best one, any special requests?”
“Make sure it’s pink,” Chan whispered, a soft blush coating his cheeks as he shifted away from Soonyoung’s gaze.
“You got it, Flower.” Soonyoung pressed a gentle kiss to Chan’s head before quickly slipping out of the room and booking it up the stairs to Mingyu’s room, praying to every god he could think of that he wasn’t in his room.
As Chan was left alone, he looked around for something to occupy himself. There was paper on Soonyoung’s desk, but drawing seemed like too much effort right now. Honeslty, everything seemed like a lot of effort and all he really wanted to do was take a nap.
Looking at his own bed and then Soonyoung’s, the little was drawn to the large pile of tiger plushies on the older’s bed. They looked so soft and squishy and all he wanted to do was bury himself in them.
As Chan snuggled into the plushies, pulling the biggest one tightly to his chest, the door cracked open with Soonyoung quickly sneaking through it.
“Swea’er?” Chan whined as he peaked one eye open to look up at Soonyoung.
“The biggest, softest, pinkest one he had.” Soonyoung grind as he held up the baby pink sweater that looked like it would be massive on Soonyoung, meaning it would be practically falling off of Chan.
Without needing to be told, Chan excitedly raised him arms waiting for the elder to dress him in the massive blanket of fabric.
Quickly the oversized shirt Chan had been wearing was replaced with sweater, allowing the boy to slip further into his headspace.
“Noonoo, wanna cu’le,” Chan whispered as he pulled Soonyoung’s hand to follow him into the mass of blankets and plushies.
“Is my little flower tired?” Soonyoung whispered in return as he pulled the smaller boy to his chest, never receiving an answer in return as his breathing quickly evened out and he fell into a gentle slumber.
It really did seem like little Channie always just wanted to sleep, but maybe that was just Chan’s body’s way of copying with the boy always being so go-go-go and never wanting to take a break.
Even if all Soonyoung ever got to do in the presence of little Chan was sleep, he was fine with that. Whatever he needed, he just wanted to make sure he got it.