Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was relatively quiet, only the sound of Seungmin and Felix chattering in the kitchen could be heard amongst the sizzling from the pan. Lately, all it had been was quiet and it wasn't even the quiet that you could find peace in, it was the type of silence that was deafening to be surrounded by with all your thoughts as clear as day floating around in the open.  

Chan was having one of those days, sitting in the absolute stillness of the apartment was torture enough and even though Changbin was sat humming a calm melody in the background, it just sounded dead. He needed something to fill the void.

The man let out an exasperated sigh as he stood up, "That's it, I'm going out," He announced to the only other person in the room, Changbin. The latter furrowed his eyebrows clearly not sensing Chan's tense atmosphere like a cloud on a beautiful summer day. 

"Want me to join?" He asked, a worried tone evident in his voice which Chan didn't fail to miss. He raked a hand through his curly brown hair nodding ever so slightly at the question, hopefully, this way he'd be able to have a decent conversation. It wasn't like he hadn't had a full-on conversation for a while, he had, it was just that he was bored. Beyond bored, it was like life was a neverending cycle of the same old routine and he wanted-no, needed a change. 

Perhaps it was the fresh air, the sound of birds chirping in the bright morning sunshine and, not to mention, an actual humorous topic of discussion between the two that made Chan feel adequately better. They'd found themselves taking a walk along a narrow canal, a few swans swimming along without a care in the world piqued Changbin's interest for a good two seconds before something else caught his eye. 

"Hyung," He tapped the man's arm pointing over to a moving blur in the distance, "What's that?" Both pairs of eyes began squinting to clear the image a little, not that it was really effective but as they neared closer to the flailing of limbs in the distance, the scene unfolded. 

"Oh- Oh my gosh," Chan panicked seeing a person violently coughing in the murky water, his head falling under the water as he attempted to stay afloat but failed. No further questions were asked as the younger of the two flung his jacket to the latter diving into the dirty water of the canal instantly wading through the water to the drowning man's aid. Chan watched with worry plastered all over his face from the path while silently praying for both of their safety. Struggling with the limbs flying all over the place, Changbin secured the body close to his chest as quickly got them back to land. 

Sure, it felt a little awkward with the positioning being that this mystery man was gripping Changbin's biceps for the life of him (even though they were now on the pavement) but they figured that the situation had been undoubtedly shocking for him. Though soaked head to toe, from what Chan could see, the man was very attractive. Brown sopping wet hair sticking to his forehead, once white now brown hoodie weighing him down and his facial features were those of an angel. 

"Are you alright?" Changbin questioned as he continued to stiffly lay on the ground with the beautiful man gripping onto him for dear life, shaking and breathing erratically. The question in itself was kind of stupid, it was clear to anyone that he wasn't alright. 

When an answer didn't come, Chan gently nudged the man trying to get some words out of him but all he saw was an object falling out of his pocket and onto the floor. Laying on the ground next to the trio was a baby blue pacifier with small white stars as the design. 

Chan gasped, his eyes growing wide, "What's your name sweetheart?" He asked while mouthing to Changbin that he is in fact a little which caused Changbin to frown, the thought of a little being in such a dangerous situation by himself was enough to upset him. None of the boys that lived in the apartment had ever taken care of a little, they got their experience from tv programmes and observing caregivers in public. 

The little moved his head from where it was tucked tightly into the frowning man's neck, he remained silent but began coughing violently causing more panic and the addition of tears. 

"Come on Bin, we're taking him back with us," Chan said all while helping him up and securing Minho in his own arms rather than Changbin's, after all, being cuddled against wet clothes would just make him colder. As bright as the sun was this morning, it wasn't emitting all too much heat and the slight breeze wasn't helping. Along the way, they got a few odd looks from people passing by but they didn't stop to interrogate them. 

By the time the front door was being opened, the little was weeping into Chan's collar and terribly shaking limbs remained wrapped around his frame with a death grip. At the sound of tears, five pairs of feet padded into the front room all having mixed reactions. One of the boys with longish blond hair, Hyunjin, quickly ran off into the bathroom to fill the tub. Jisung and Jeongin were instructed to go out and buy little essentials, Seungmin and Felix started whipping up some food which left Changbin to fetch some fresh clothes and Chan to try his best to calm the boy down. 

"You're alright here, you're okay angel," He whispered, a slight distraction from the sopping clothes leaving his body. While Chan undressed the little he couldn't help but notice the scatter of bruises on his torso, no matter how much he tried to calm his temper down, nothing but anger filled his veins. How could someone hurt such an innocent soul? No wonder the boy seemed reluctant to let go of Chan, he was petrified. 

At that moment, a particularly horrifying thought came into the man's head. 

What if someone threw him in the water? 

"Do you have a home sweetie?" The innocent boy sobbed louder shaking his head rapidly, "Shh shh okay I understand, I understand," Before Chan could question him further, Hyunjin came running into the room beckoning the two over to the bath which had now been filled with warm, bubbly water. 

The little held impossibly tighter to Chan as Hyunjin came into view, "Would you like me to go, baby?" Hyunjin asked, he knew what had happened from Changbin filling them in a few minutes ago before he hopped into the shower in the second bathroom. He seemed to debate the question that he had been asked but eventually shook his head, Hyunjin could stay. 

"Thank you bub," He smiled warmly, he had always been good with kids so when he swiftly moved the boy into the tub without too much resistance it wasn't too surprising. When the warmth surrounded his small petite body, his shaking decreased and his hold on Chan's hand loosened. Whether it was from the relaxing aura of the bath or the exhausting morning, the boy fell asleep while getting his hair washed. 

Hyunjin turned to Chan with a look that could only be described as pure concern, "What's his name?" He asked while softly carding his fingers through his hair making sure all the shampoo was out. Chan shrugged with a sight, "I'm not sure, I did ask but things happened," 

The younger nodded, "Do you think he has a caregiver?" The words sparked the flame that had started dying down in the eldest chest, sensing the tense atmosphere Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. 

"When I asked he seemed terrified," Hyunjin cast his eyes down to the tiled floor full of hurt, "I want to keep him," He suddenly said out of the blue, Hyunjin had never seen Chan be so certain of something in his entire time of living with him. 

It was then that Hyunjin too wanted to protect this sweet boy, give him all the love he deserves and much more. 

A few hours passed by and he still hadn't woken up, the two had gotten him out of the bath and dressed him in some warm clothes and he was now sleeping soundly in Felix's bed who said he didn't mind having to sleep in someone else's bed for a while, being a cuddle bug it would be a bonus for him. Sitting next to him was Changbin who was scrolling on his phone for any information about the boy, nothing seemed to be coming up. 

"Binnie Hyung, we got these," Jeongin said quietly as he shuffled into the bedroom presenting him with a few new pacifiers, a kitten plushie and a soft pink blanket with a rabbit stitched onto the material. 

He smiled at the young boy, "Thank you Innie, you're the best," Changbin grinned up at him watching the way the younger's ears tinted red at the compliment. 

"Oh, I know," He played it off with a sassy comment like usual as he escaped the room finding Seungmin to help with whatever he happened to be doing which ended up being the dishes so that was worthwhile. 

Another member of the household was Jisung, he was arguably one of the loudest boys but his heart was as pure as gold. Having a little to entertain sounded perfect for Jisung, in fact, as harsh as it sounds, the blond secretly hoped he didn't have a home so he could stay with them. Currently, he was sat flicking through a catalogue he had picked up outside the supermarket for littles and circled items that he thought would be convenient or things that he just wanted to buy.

"Where's Chan Hyung gone?" Jisung asked once Felix slumped down next to him on the couch, Chan had left a while back without a word looking like he was on a mission. Felix briefly explained something to do with going to the authorities and seeing if they could get legal guardianship over the little but the fellow Aussie wasn't too sure how much he could do given they didn't even know his name yet. 

Jisung hummed at the reply, "What if he's scared of us?" He pouted, that would be the last thing he wanted. In his mind, he had a long list of things he wanted to do with the little like playing games, going to parks, getting to know what's inside those bathrooms that are strictly just for littles and caregivers because, to him, it was like a whole mystery. 

Hyunjin, having overheard Jisung's worries spoke up from his position leaning against the doorway, "I don't think that'll be a problem," The two on the couch averted their eyes from one another to look at the older, "Think about it, he seems to have an attachment to Chan and Changbin Hyung and they had only just met him. Then he warmed up to me fairly quickly too," He explained finishing off with his main point, "I think if you show you're no harm to him, he'll trust you," 

Felix felt a wave of protection wash over him, if this poor boy trusted people this easily then God knows what danger he could get into or has previously gotten into. His thoughts were put on hold when Changbin came walking out of the bedroom with the timid boy wrapped around him avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room staring at him. 

Changbin navigated them until he was sat on the far end of the couch, he mouthed for them to make slow movements as not to startle the frightened little who was still very much clutching onto him. 

Felix was the first to talk given he was sat closest to the two, "Hello prince, my name is Felix," He smiled warmly at the boy reaching a hand out to stroke his cheek with the back of his hand, a nice gesture. 

"He's so sweet," Jisung said in awe at the pink cheeks of the boy huddled up in Changbin's arms, "I'm Jisung," He waved from his spot beside Felix, shockingly enough, a small hand shyly waved back. 

"You've met Hyunjin," Changbin said calmly pointing to the said man across the room who raised his hand in response, "And I'm Changbin," He finished hoping that the little would speak and tell them his name too. 

"What about you, what's your name kitten?" Jisung said, the pet name slipping off of his tongue without a second thought, he seemed to like it. 

The little opened his mouth to talk, "Minho," Minho, Lee Minho, he was no longer just the little that Chan brought home. 

"That's a beautiful name Min," Hyunjin said trying to ease his nerves, Minho smiled timidly letting out a quiet thank you with a slight lisp which was beyond adorable. 

Minho's head turned towards the kitchen as Seungmin entered with a bowl in his hand, "Here you go sweetie, I hope you like it," Seungmin announced with a subtle smile settled on his lips, Jisung saw it thought but decided to not point it out. Seungmin was the type of guy to not admit to being soft, maybe it hurt his pride or something. 

Felix took it upon himself to take the bowl from the other's hands, "Open up sunshine," he sang softly as he brought the spoon up to feed the little with, as he swallowed it, Seungmin watched intently to find out what he thought. Everyone in the house loved his cooking and he was yet to meet someone who thought otherwise. 

"Good?" Minho nodded happily opening his mouth for another dose of the delicious soup, "Good boy," Seungmin praised as he too collapsed onto the couch beside Hyunjin, Minho preened at the praise and continued to happily eat the food offered to him. 

From the corner of the room, Jeongin stood with one of the new pacifiers in his hand waiting for his chance to give it to Minho. It didn't take too long for the soup to be consumed given how hungry he seemed to be, now with Jisung wiping away the remnants on his mouth, Jeongin made his entrance. 

"Paci," Minho gasped making grabby hands for the object, his eyes travelled up to the man's face, he had sharp eyes that reminded the boy of a fox, auburn hair and the most handsome smile in the world. 

The handsome man knelt slightly to be eye level with him, "Here you go buttercup," Once the object was in his hand, he quickly took it into his mouth with a quiet relaxed sigh. Jeongin briefly introduced himself per Jisung's request, Minho had smiled the best he could with a pacifier in his mouth. Either way, he was too cute for their own good. 

"Innie," With his voice so quiet, it was almost hard to make out what he was saying but those sat near him heard just fine once they concentrated. Changbin looked down at him brushing the loose strands of hair out of the little's eyes. 

"You want Innie baby?" He asked making sure he had heard correctly, Jeongin, who was sat on the other side of the room practically gasped at Minho's request to be with him. As a response, Jeongin stood up making his way over to him gently taking the pliant body into his arms. 

The feeling of Minho wrapping his arms around his neck, head happily resting on his shoulder and small hands fiddling with the toggle on his hoodie was something the youngest never thought he'd ever experience. In his opinion, littles were sort of a mystery; they could ever be lovable or chaotic. There was no in-between. It was too early to tell what Minho would be like, sure, right now he acted like he was as good as gold but who knew what he'd be like when he settled down and grew used to his new living arrangements. 

It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep in the loving arms of Jeongin, due to this, he refused to move an inch. It was the same feeling as when a cat got comfortable on your legs, it was now your duty to make sure it was happy and content. Chan had walked through the door with some documents in his hand, nobody questioned him and instead watched as his head tilted ever so slightly with a small smile tugging at his lips. 

"Looks like he likes you," He mused with a slight smirk at the red ears on the man, "Ahh so cute," Chan snickered at the reaction he gave, Jeongin did his best to shoo him off with the one hand that wasn't rubbing slow circles into Minho's back. 

The day went on like that, Minho sleeping on someone's chest while the other's cooed over his absolute adorableness. 

"Min wan' play," He whispered, something the boy's had all noticed was that Minho didn't seem to like talking overly much and when he did it would only be a whisper. Seungmin had guessed it was because he was shy, he was pretty sure that in a week or two he would be screaming like all the other littles he had seen about town. 

Hyunjin and Jisung offered to play with Minho, they played hide and seek which they soon realised the little was absolutely useless at but it made the game that extra bit funny and besides, it was good to see him relax in their presence. At one point, Minho had shyly asked Chan if he could hide under his legs and once he curled in a ball under his legs, he let out something short of a squeal. 

Everyone in the room froze at the sound, it was the sound of an angel, beyond perfect. Nobody dared to say a thing wanting the moment to last forever, Felix pouted at the fact that it hadn't been recorded. 

-

Dinnertime went by and the eight of them found themselves sat around the table, Minho seemed to be struggling a little to eat the food on the plate. Something about having to pick up the food with chopsticks happened to be quite a difficult task for him, however, he continued to struggle in silence. In an attempt to actually get some of it in his mouth, he drowned out the noise of laughter around the table and put all of his efforts into navigating the chopsticks. Just when he thought it had worked, his fingers moved and therefore so did the utensils. The poor boy felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes, he was so hungry and the food was sitting right in front of him, almost taunting him. 

Thankfully, from the left of him, Felix saw the pure frustration and all the hard work he was putting in. He almost wanted to take a photo, so sweet. 

"Aw Min," He chuckled a bit, "Would you like a hand love?" Felix offered with that bright cheerful toothy grin of his, Minho pouted and nodded with a quiet "please,". The man took the chopsticks from his limp hand and swiftly picked up the piece of chicken that had been falling all over the place for the past ten minutes, when he brought it up to the little's mouth he sang out 'ahh' making Minho giggle a little, that heavenly sound they'll never grow used to. 

Jisung and Changbin dramatically clutched their chests, the older's head hitting Jisung's with a small thud and an overly loud whine at the impact. Seungmin rolled his eyes slapping the backs of their heads as he walked by to put his plate in the sink, Chan laughing at the usual mess of dinnertime. 

Seeing as Minho was distracted with Felix, Jeongin decided to ask the question that had been on his mind for a while, "Where's he going to sleep?" They had decided on Felix's bed which meant Chan and Changbin would also be in there if anything happened, the other would probably go and sleep with Hyunjin for the next few nights until they work something out.  

"Do you reckon he'll wake up and have nightmares or something?" Hyunjin questioned, none of them had considered the possibility of a nightmare occurring and, if it did, they'd more than likely end up staying awake all night with him. 

Chan hummed, "It's a possibility, I'll talk to him about it before he goes to sleep," Hyunjin wasn't quite sure what Chan meant by that but he left it deciding it was probably best, besides, Chan always seems to know what to do. 

"So, what would you like to do now?" Chan turned to Minho with a small smile, the little shrugged as he put on a thinking face. There weren't many ideas coming to his mind, maybe colouring-in, a movie perhaps or another round of hide and seek. 

"Can Min watch movie?" Chan nodded making a move to pick Minho up, he had picked up on the fact that he wasn't the biggest fan of walking and was happier when held close to someone else. 

There wasn't the biggest movie selection but they made do with what they had, the boys all ended up watching a classic Disney princess film per Minho's request and partly because Jisung had been mildly offended when he had found out that he had never seen it. At first, Minho had been sat in-between Seungmin and Jisung but he soon started craving the comfort of a caregiver...If he could call them his caregivers, he wasn't all too sure about what was really going on. He didn't want to assume anything but he was already a little too attached to this mini family of seven men already. 

"Sungie," Jisung averted his eyes down to the little one who was holding out his arms, he happily helped Minho settle down onto his lap in a way he could still continue watching the tv. He was fairly relaxed in the comfort of another person, not that Minho would ever tell them but he felt himself grow more peaceful at every little thing these people did for him. He didn't have a favourite yet, Chan and Changbin were the ones that brought him in so he had a pretty good liking to them but, then again, Hyunjin had been so thoughtful during bathtime and when he and Jisung had offered to play. 

Jeongin seemed to be a little hesitant with him at first but quickly warmed up and refused to let anyone disturb him as Minho slept comfortably on his lap, for that reason Minho also had a firm fondness for him. Seungmin talks to him in such a calm way that he feels so cheerful when interacting with him and, not to mention, the delicious food he can cook. Felix too was a great chef, he was also such a kind soul that was willing to do anything which had been portrayed at dinnertime. 

Time went on and he found himself fighting to stay awake, he didn't want to sleep yet. Minho's eyelids flickered shut betraying his desire to stay awake for longer, the movie was coming to an end and being cuddled up to Jisung was lulling him to sleep even faster, before he knew it his head had fallen onto Jisung's shoulder and he was sleeping. At the impact, Jisung looked down with an adoring face, bringing his hand up to brush the strands of hair out of his face. 

"I think we should get him to bed," He announced to the room all while trying not to wake Minho up, Chan peered over nodding at what he'd said. Getting him to the bedroom was fine but then came a problem, he wasn't dressed in pyjamas and they weren't about to let him sleep in clothes he'd worn all day. 

In the room, Chan and Jisung stood debating their options, "Why don't we just wake him up?" Jisung reasoned it would be easier to navigate the clothing if Minho was aware and able to cooperate but if he were sleeping they'd be trying to manoeuvre limp limbs all over the place. Chan sighed, he didn't want to wake him up but they didn't really have a choice. 

From where Minho was laid down on Felix's bed, the two began patting him, shaking him and saying things to pull him out of his sleep. It was a bit of a strange way to try and wake someone up but they found Minho to be quite a deep sleeper apparent by the way his eyes remained closed and his lack of movement. 

"Minho sweetheart, we need to get you ready for bed," Chan attempted as he saw the little squint his eyes open with a small huff of annoyance, soon enough, Minho was battling to stay awake while Jisung swiftly put on a blue jumper with a kitten stitched onto it. Jeongin and Jisung had thought the pyjama set looked completely adorable so they just had to buy it alongside the kitten plushie that was on the shelf opposite. 

Once the man had dressed him, the two men hummed in approval of the style of clothing, if it was possible for Minho to look cuter than he already did then this was it. Just as his head started to lull to the side, Chan sat on the edge of the bed making sure that he got to tell the boy what had been on his mind since dinnertime. 

"If you need anyone for any reason tonight, come and wake one of us up, we won't mind at all," Chan explained making sure Minho hadn't fallen asleep, "I'll be just over there and Changbin will be over there," He pointed to the relevant beds, watching as Minho's eyes followed promptly nodding as a yawn slipped past his lips. 

"Thank you Channie," He wrapped his arms around his waist making sure to thank Chan verbally and physically at the same time, a way that he was sure the message would get across. Minho wasn't one for words, his vocabulary being sort of limited as well as his desire to talk. In Minho's eyes, actions speak louder than words. 

Jisung had since left bidding farewell to the little before he shuffled off to his bedroom leaving Changbin to take his place already dressed in his red plaid nightwear. 

"G'night prince, sleep well," Changbin ruffled his hair all while tucking him in, Chan flicked the lights off making sure to leave the door slightly cracked open to allow a bit of light in. He didn't know if he was afraid of the dark but he wasn't going to risk it and, besides, he wasn't sure if Minho would admit to it. Yet another thing he'd realised about Minho in the span of one day is the fact he doesn't ask for help when he needs it, Felix had had to ask him if he needed help at dinnertime but if he hadn't noticed Chan isn't exactly sure if Minho would have reached out for assistance. 

As time went by, Chan recognised the usual light snoring coming from Changbin's bed, he heard the little murmurs that Minho would make while deep in dreamland and quickly felt his eyes drooping shut. The night went by slowly, Chan woke up a good three times before it even reached 1 AM due to the worry that Minho wouldn't be comfortable or that something was wrong. Each and every time he awoke he made a point of checking on Minho to see if he was alright, he had rolled around a bit since his last check but aside from that, he was peachy. 

The man fell bad asleep again until he felt his blanket moving around, not much but enough for his arm to be let out into the cold air of the night. Chan hadn't fallen asleep long ago and, as a result, his eyes opened and his hands moved to pull the blanket back up. 

A voice from the side of him almost made him jump right out of his skin, "Channie," The voice was quivering, like he was beyond scared of something and Chan had never snapped into action so promptly. Looking to the side, he didn't see anyone standing there but as his eyes darted around the space, he saw Minho sat on the floor beside Chan's bed with tears running down his cheeks. 

"Oh Min sweet baby," He stepped out of his bed leaning down to pick Minho up and place him on his bed, he slipped back into the covers snaking an arm around the whimpering boy. Instantly, Minho wrapped both of his arms around him seeking comfort from whatever just happened. 

"What's wrong baby?" 

"E'ryone go," Chan put two and two together, it must have been a nightmare that had caused this. Though, he was glad that Minho had come to him for comfort instead of suffering alone. 

While rubbing slow calming circles on his back he spoke up, "You're not alone prince, we all love you," It wasn't a lie, the household had never been livelier. 

-

Minho fell asleep again in the arms of Chan, he felt warm, loved and cherished for one of the first times in his life. It was a nice feeling, the feeling of belonging, feeling whole and loved as you could turn to anyone and they'd listen. 

Having seven caregivers was a blessing and Minho was going to savour every hour. 

Chapter Text

"Maybe he's just sleepy?"

"I think he's just thinking,"

"He could be playing a game?"

All heads snapped to Jisung who had proposed the most ridiculous answer, they all looked at him as if he had told them that he was an alien. In response, Jisung shrugged with a huff. 

Hyunjin, Jisung and Changbin were standing behind the couch watching Minho stare out of the window silently pouting, he wasn't crying but he had a sort of gloomy atmosphere surrounding him. Earlier in the day, Chan had gone out claiming he'd be back in around three hours and ever since then, the little had been burning holes through the glass waiting for the man to reappear. 

It had only been an hour. 

Minho hadn't really bonded with everyone yet, he was familiar with everyone but would go to Chan if anything were wrong. It was only the third day of having a little in their household, to say the least, they were not completely sure on what to do in the circumstance. 

Hyunjin was the first one to attempt to distract him, "Would you like to go to the playground sweetheart?" The other two behind him thought it was a good idea and the way that Minho turned his attention from the driveway to the blond's face showed he too was interested. 

"Yeah that sounds like a great idea," Changbin said attempting to persuade him further, "There will be swings, slides, roundabouts, ice cream," At the mention of ice cream, Minho's eyes lit up looking like they could hold all the stars in the universe. Hyunjin smirked at his idea of being the winner, they'd attempted this for a good thirty minutes before coming up with this. 

"Let's go-" Jisung sang before looking down at Minho in the clothes that he had gone to sleep in, "To get you dressed!" He finished trying to make the boy happier about getting changed, one thing they had noticed is that he hates getting changed. Arms would be flying everywhere, whining, kicking and a lot of squirming. 

At the words, Minho whined getting onto his legs and trying to run off. Not expecting this, the three stood dumbfounded in the middle of the lounge watching as his figure rounded the corner and out of their sight. 

"Why did we not expect that?" Hyunjin said under his breath as he and Changbin walked off to collect the runner, Jisung stayed knowing full well he'll probably come running back through here in a moment.

Oddly enough, Minho was nowhere to be seen. They checked every open door, the bathroom, the bedrooms, kitchen and living room and even Chan's office but there was no sign of him. The only room they hadn't checked was Seungmin's, he had come down with a cold a couple of days ago and swore that if anyone were to disturb him, he wouldn't hesitate to rip their heads off. 

Changbin nor Hyunjin wanted to risk their lives so they left that door shut. 

Just seconds before they had chased after him, Minho had gone rushing through the mass of doors deciding on what one to choose. In the end, he decided on Seungmin's room. 

He wanted to knock but inside he knew that they wouldn't be far behind him, so he grabbed ahold of the doorknob turning it and quickly closing it. When he turned around he was met with Seungmin laying in his bed, his eyes were squinting open trying to see who it was which was a bit difficult given he had just woken up. 

Minho stood like a deer in the headlights, the expression on the man's face was frightening. 

"I swear to- Oh, Minho," His face softened and a sleepy smile fell onto his lips at the little cowering by the door, "C'mere," Now relieved that he wasn't mad at him, his socked feet padded across the floor and over to Seungmin who was more than happy to be in his company. 

Now sat cuddled up to him, Seungmin questioned why he was even in his bedroom in the first place.

”Don't wanna change,” Seungmin hummed understanding the situation, he’s been on the receiving end of Minho’s kicks only two days ago. 

“It’ll all be over and done within a few minutes if you just let them,” Minho shook his head, whatever it was that made him hate changing so much was a mystery to all of them but now, with Minho alone in his room, he was going to try and get to the bottom of it. 

Before he said anything he tried something else, “What if we were to give you the clothes and you change by yourself?” The little seemed happier at the proposal but the caregiver knew that Minho would just end up with arms in leg holes and legs in a shirt. 

“Don’t wanna be alone, want Minnie to help,” This was new, Seungmin wasn’t sure if he was interpreting what was said correctly. 

“Would you like me to get you dressed now?” He asked making sure it would be ok, they still didn’t have a lot of clothes for the little and all that he did have was his own underwear and a couple of shirts. For now, they were restricted to just dressing him in their clothes until they got a full wardrobe for him. 

At the question, Minho stayed silent thinking about an answer. Eventually, he cautiously nodded still not 100% on board. 

“I have these,” He said holding up a red hoodie and some black jeans, it didn’t really appeal to the little. 

He shook his head.

”How about this?” A pastel blue hoodie and grey shorts, Minho seemed keen so Seungmin brought them over and walked back over to the drawers pulling out a pair of underwear he’d never worn and some socks. 

“Arms up love,” Minho did as he was told lifting his arms in the air allowing the man to take off the jumper he had worn to bed, once off, he wrapped his arms around his torso restricting Seungmin’s sight. 

Noticing his discomfort, he was quick to put the plain white t-shirt and a blue hoodie over him. It was fairly obvious what may have happened to the boy in the past but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions. 

“Would you like to do this part yourself?” Gesturing down to his bottom half, Minho nodded taking the clothes and waited for Seungmin to turn around. 

Still not satisfied he said, “Minnie cover his eyes?” Doing as he was told, he brought his two hands up to block out his vision. 

A few moments of silence went by, just the sound of shuffling could be heard. 

“Done,” He whispered allowing Seungmin to turn around, to his surprise, he had managed to get dressed just fine.

”Hey Min,” He started off a little weary not completely sure on how to phrase such a question, “Is there a reason why you’d rather get dressed by yourself?” 

Minho stiffened in his spot, he trailed his eyes up to Seungmin’s face holding out his arms to be picked up. The man walked forwards picking him up and laying back down on the bed with Minho who had wrapped his arms around his neck with his head tucked in nicely. 

“Min doesn’t like the stares, mean people used to stare an’ colour,” He said all while patting his stomach for emphasis, while the man understood the first part, the second part confused him a little. 

“Colour?” 

“Meanies left blue and purple colours,” While saying all this, he had peaked his head out and was now playing with the toggle of the hoodie with his eyes staring up at Seungmin. His eyes were nothing short of innocence, he was too pure for this dark world.

Seungmin nodded making sure to hold him closer, he ran a hand up and down his back soothingly trying his best to reassure him without words. 

“That’s never going to happen hear angel,” He said, “Never ever,” 

He made sure to remember the information to tell to Chan when he gets back, but for now, he would have to deal with Changbin, Hyunjin and Jisung thinking they’d lost Minho. 

Said men were all planning their funerals in the front room, either Minho had gotten drastically better at hide and seek or he had gotten out of the house. 

Seungmin opened his bedroom door walking down the hallway with a dressed Minho wrapped around him like a koala. At the sight, the trio all gasped and fell to the floor out of pure relief. 

“Oh thank God he’s alive,” Jisung cried alongside Hyunjin who was saying pretty much the same thing. 

“How…How did you get him dressed?” Changbin asked completely shocked at this, they struggled to get him changed with four people in the room let alone one. Seungmin shrugged putting off explaining until later on when everyone was present to save himself from repeating it over and over again. 

Now that he was dressed it meant they could get on with their plans of going to the playground, that's the only thing that had worked on keeping his mind off of Chan. Aside from the whole dressing fiasco, Minho was a lot brighter than he had been an hour ago. Currently, he was playing some sort of clapping game with Hyunjin all while giggling away at the funny noises coming from Jisung. 

"Are you ready to go now kitten?" Jisung sang watching as his eyes widened remembering the promise of ice cream, Minho nodded quickly allowing Changbin to slip some shoes on his feet and tie the laces with no hassle. He looked at Seungmin expecting him to come with them, the frown that fell on his face made Seungmin feel guilty but at the same time, he felt loved. 

Minho was bringing all sorts of emotions into this household.

"Minnie not coming?" He asked quietly, still not having said anything louder than a hushed whisper. They weren't sure if that was worrying or not, the only thing that kept them thinking it might change is the fact that it hadn't even been a week yet. 

Seungmin shook his head walking over to hug the boy a final time, "If you find Minnie a beautiful flower I'll get better and take you out another time, how about that?" He said with a smile on his face, Minho contemplated the offer and, soon enough, he agreed. 

"We gotta find a pretty flower Sungie," He said making sure Jisung understood how important this was to him, the man hummed, an amused glint in his eyes as he stared at Seungmin who glared back. 

"If you lose him, you're dead," Those were the last words he said before disappearing back into his dark, stuffy bedroom. Hyunjin gulped as he scuttled out of the door following in the footsteps of Changbin and Jisung, Minho seemed to have transferred from his feet onto Changbin's back. 

A short walk later, they arrived at the park. There were a few other people, caregivers with littles, some owners walking their dogs and a fair few children having the time of their life in the morning sun. Leading them down to the little's park, Minho's eyes started taking in the new scenery. It was pretty, colourful flowers arranged neatly in their own garden, freshly cut fresh green grass, the sunlight gleaming down onto the river and the singing of birds up in the trees. 

The trio let him scurry off in the park, while they kept an eye on him they started to talk. 

"Do you reckon he'll ever speak?" 

"What do you mean, he is speaking Hyung," Jisung asked, clearly confused at Changbin's inquiry. 

He sighed at Jisung's lack of understanding, "Like actually talk, not whispering," He said elaborating on his previous question. 

Hyunjin shrugged, "Give him a few days and he probably will, this is all new to him," He paused to glance up making sure he was alright, "He's probably just a bit apprehensive,"

Amid this conversation, Minho came back towards them with tears brimming in his eyes. None of them knew what had happened, he hadn't fallen, nothing had happened in the five minutes he had been in the park. 

"What's wrong baby?" Hyunjin cooed taking it upon himself to take the boy into his arms, he sniffed hugging Hyunjin back tightly making sure to take some of the fabric of his shirt into his clenched fists. 

"Spider on the swing," He whined pointing over to the swings, Jisung tried his best not to laugh while Changbin stood up walking over to the set. Looking down that the swing, there was a spider, it was probably the size of a pea, black with medium-sized legs. Nothing to be scared of. Taking in his hands, he put the 'beast' on the floor letting it scuttle away into some nearby cranny. 

He too wanted to laugh at the little's fear of such a harmless creature but stopped himself when he saw Minho running towards him with open arms. He knelt down letting the boy wrap his arms around him. 

"Thank you, Binnie, spider gone bye-bye?" 

"The big scary monster has gone now," Changbin mused. 

Minho smiled pulling Changbin's arm over to the swing, "Binnie push Min!" He shouted, he actually shouted. Maybe it was weird to be proud of the pitch of someone's voice but Changbin couldn't care less, he was beyond happy. Jisung had gripped Hyunjin's arm pretending to wipe a tear away. 

A slightly dramatic family but Minho was all for it. 

Changbin had been happy about the new tone in voice but that was soon proved not to be such a good thing when the evening rolled around and Chan hadn't come home yet...

Chapter Text

Chan yawned as he walked through the aisle in the store, he had gone out to look for some shoes that would fit Minho since he only has one pair which were actually Jisung's old trainers. Though he had gotten sidetracked when talking to a friend he saw in a coffee shop and before he knew it, it had gotten rather late in the day. The man had promised Minho that he'd be back at around midday but it was now coming up to 5 p.m. and he had only just picked up a pair of shoes for him, he knew Minho wouldn't be best pleased. 

When Chan had left that morning, his heart broke at the desperate cries coming from the little at his absence making him just want to abandon his duties and turn around to spend all day with him. He was brought out of his thoughts when his phone started buzzing in his back pocket, he sees it's Jeongin calling and picks up straight away. It was rare that Jeongin calls, he would normally just text him and even that was unusual. 

"Hello?" 

"Hyung, when are you back?" 

In the background, Chan could sort of hear crying mixed in with a deep voice who assumed must be Felix. 

"I'm on my way back now, what's going on?" He asked speeding up his footsteps. 

"Minho won't stop crying, and it's so loud," He whined, "He wants you," 

"I'll be fifteen minutes,"

Chan hung up breaking into a jog, the clouds darkening above didn't look promising either. 

Back at the house, Minho wailed at the window prying off the hands trying to calm him down. The tears streaming down Minho's face continued as did the shouting, Changbin had been over the moon earlier when the little had shouted but now it was starting to do his head in. 

"Want Channie now!" He screamed as loud as he could, his cheeks pressed up against the window in an attempt to see the man, it wasn't very successful, Felix who had been calmly talking to him backed off after almost being hit in the face. 

Seungmin walked forwards, a hand pressed to his head annoyed at the incoming headache, "Guys leave him, let him cry and he'll give up eventually," The other's all looked at him not knowing if it would really work, they reluctantly took their places on the couches trying to ignore the loud cries from across the room. Carrying out his plan, Seungmin put the tv on and continued their evening as if there were nothing wrong. 

He had gotten the idea when in the supermarket the other day and saw a caregiver ignoring their little, at first, Seungmin felt angered at the actions but then he realised what was happening. The little quickly started allowing their caregiver to comfort them instead of throwing a tantrum, sure, it seemed quite harsh but the outcome would be worthwhile. Minho cried for a prolonged period of time, not caving in and Hyunjin was starting to doubt the plan. 

Until...

Minho slumped back onto the carpet, screaming stopping and was replaced by quiet crying. He turns around making eye contact with Felix and begins to cry harder, he holds out his arms expecting the man to come to his aid. Felix doesn't have to be asked twice, he stands up taking a few strides over to the boy and picks him up. Minho wraps his legs around his waist and arms around his neck, he lets his head rest on the Australian's shoulder breathing violently. 

"Shh shh, I've got you, angel," Felix soothes returning to his spot on the sofa with the addition of a little in his lap, "Breathe for me, one, two, one, two," He instructs the boy seeing he was just working himself up into a panic attack, as is breathing calmed down so did his tantrum. It would only be minutes before Chan said he'd be back, they weren't particularly sure what Minho would do. If he starts crying again, Jisung thinks he might just cry too. 

As promised, fifteen minutes later, Chan bursts through the door continuing his pace to Felix and Minho. The little stares up at him, red teary eyes and a quiet gasp making it past his lips. Everyone silently watched as the man took Minho into his arms, his muscles flexing as he hoisted the brunette boy into his arms. Jisung watched waiting for the tears to start again and they did just not loudly, instead, as the tears flowed he stayed silent. 

"Min baby, I'm so sorry I'm late," He apologised wholeheartedly, Minho shook his head not saying a word making it difficult to work out if he was saying no or shaking his head for another reason. 

"Sweetheart, I got this for," Chan pulls out a kitten plushie, similar to one he'd been gawking at in a shop window the other day but they had to keep moving so the poor boy didn't get to have it. 

Minho hugs the kitten to his chest, his nose brushing the fur as he shuts his eyes refusing to look at Chan. He worries he upset the boy, it was a likely event given he was hours later than he had promised and maybe Minho is one to hold a grudge. 

The evening went on like that, Minho silently minding his own business while Chan tried his absolute best to make it up to him. Seems like they went from whispering to shouting and now not even whispering was on the table. They were lucky if they even got a nod out of him.

At this moment, Changbin was attempting to get the boy into the bath, "Bubbles or no bubbles?" He asked looking over at Minho who was wrapped in a towel sitting on the closed toilet seat, not a word had been said since his fit earlier. To the bubble question, he just looked up innocently blinking at the man giving him no answer. Maybe he was thinking about it, whatever Changbin's mind told him was just to ease his frustration. 

He gives up just deciding to pour bubbles in whether he likes it or not, he usually has bubbles in his bath so it was a good chance he'd be happy with it. Minho stares blank-faced as the bubbles form, he let a slight smile slip which Changbin didn't fail to see.

“Ahh so our little boy did want bubbles,” Changbin mused, a smile ghosting his lips as he turned the taps off. Minho frowns down at the water, he hasn’t particularly enjoyed bathing after the whole falling in the water situation and he also wasn’t a fan of getting in the bath in front of people. He only really let Seungmin do those things like getting him dressed, into the bath and anything along those lines. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the other members because he did, Minho didn’t want to trust anyone too fast. 

In the past, trusting too fast had landed him in a river. 

Changbin waits around the corner telling Minho he can get into the bath and call him back when he's settled down under the cover of clouds, also known as bubbles. It only then occurred to the caregiver that Minho probably wouldn't let him know when he was ready if he hadn't been speaking all night, he furrowed his eyebrows trying to think of a way to know when the boy was ready. There was no chance he would just walk in, the man knows how fearful that could be for him, he could call out to him or maybe ask the boy to knock twice on the bath if he were ready. Okay, that'll have to do. 

"Minho," He calls out, "If you're not going to talk could you knock once for yes and twice for no?" He waits, feeling a little stupid but when he heard a soft knock against the ceramic tub it was worth it. 

He grins at his genius idea, "Thank you, baby, are you ready for me to come back in?" Another knock sounds, he pushes open the door seeing the little sat waiting in the bath with some foam in his hands which, by the looks of it, he was about to put in his mouth. 

"Ah ah ah," Changbin light-headedly warns, "That won't taste nice," The little tilts his head feigning innocence as he places the bubbles back in the water, Changbin turns around to grab a bottle off of the counter and when he turns back around a handful of bubbles are being eaten by the one and only Lee Minho. Changbin almost groans out loud, the little grimaces at the soapy taste in his mouth and Changbin honestly is about 3 seconds away from weeping when the boy starts crying.

He strokes his hand through the boy's hair trying to comfort him without getting water on himself, "Shh shh, here," He hands him a lollypop which he had been saving for later after Minho had gone to bed, his eyes brighten as he takes the stick in his hand slotting the ball into his mouth. There goes his strawberry lollypop. 

He laughs as he watches Minho smile at the lolly in his mouth, he was truly a mystery. Today must have been a bad day, Changbin won’t hold it against him. 

There’s a knock on the door, “Can I come in?” It’s Chan, probably trying to find a way for Minho to open back up to him and not stray away. Minho stares at Changbin, not knowing what the look exactly means, the man opens the door letting the latter in. 

His face was more sullen than usual, he was clearly still upset about making Minho sad but there wasn't much he could do about that. The little avoided eye contact deciding on lightly splashing the bubbles with his small hands, Chan frowned at the sight. 

"Baby, I'm sorry," Chan apologised again, "Would you like these? I found them in my room," He shows the boy some rubber duckies, Minho extends his hand taking the toy and smiling as it floats along in the tub. Some sort of extra brownie points for Chan. Despite giving him the ducks, he remained silent averting his eyes elsewhere. Chan sighed, Changbin patting his shoulder as he walked out of the room. 

When Changbin got the boy out of the water, Seungmin was sat waiting for him on Felix's bed, they still hadn't arranged a room for Minho. Felix was quite content with sleeping in Hyunjin's bed, as was the other. Minho had grown comfortable with Seungmin getting him dressed, he was the only household member that he had felt happy to be vulnerable in front of. Not that he wasn't comfortable with the others, he was, he just found trusting one person to do one thing was easier. 

For example:

Chan- Minho found that the eldest was best at caring for him when he had nightmares, anytime he’d wake up in the dead of night it wouldn’t be a surprise if Chan was still awake. Everything from his warm hugs to his soothing voice helped comfort Minho until he was able to fall back asleep. 

Changbin- He was sort of an all-rounder but Minho quite enjoyed bathtime with Changbin, he liked to make his experience the best with bubbles, bath bombs and whatever scent he’d pick out. Minho also drifted towards Changbin when he wanted to watch movies, he just seemed to enjoy them as much as the other. 

Hyunjin- He had a talent when it came to distraction, his games were top-level amusement and Minho was all for it. He also trusted Hyunjin with styling his hair given his hair was a masterpiece, stunning.

Jisung- This boy was by far the best at nap time, Minho wasn’t much of a fan when it came to napping but somehow with the promise of Jisung being at his side, he didn’t mind it so much.

Felix- Minho secretly loved going out with him, he just had the best taste when it came to shopping. Another thing that Minho adored about Felix was his calm demeanour, if he ever wanted to be embraced in the biggest hugs he’d go to Felix.

Seungmin- Obviously he was his go-to when he needed to get dressed, aside from that, Seungmin also took Minho out on little nature walks which he admired a lot. He found himself having a lot of un on those walks, they'd made it a weekly arrangement. 

Jeongin- One thing Minho loved about the youngest of the household was his bedtime stories, he was great at making things up on the spot. Minho would be distraught if Jeongin's bedtime stories got taken away from him. 

Lastly, bedtime. Minho still hadn't quite worked out who he preferred to put him to bed, everyone was great at it and as long as someone was there to tuck him in and kiss him goodnight he'd be happy with any arrangement. Usually, whoever puts him to bed ends up staying with him until he falls asleep, last night it had been Hyunjin who had stayed with him all night after falling asleep too. 

***

The night grew nearer, Minho was sat on Jisung's lap on the couch with Jeongin sat at his side running his finger through Minho's hair. He found himself drifting in and out of sleep, his head lulling to the side until it eventually met with Jisung's shoulder. His arms were loosely wrapped around his middle while one hand held onto Jeongin's unoccupied hand, he had been playing with the ring but just ended up finding comfort in the other's gesture. 

"I think we should get him to bed," The youngest whispers as he nods his head down to Minho's sleeping form, the other looks down softly smiling as he makes moves to get him to the bedroom. Chan walks in stopping Jisung in his tracks, he takes one look at the sleeping Minho in the man's arms and snaps a picture of the two making sure to add it to the folder dedicated to Minho. To say the least, that folder was taking up most of his storage. 

Soon enough, everyone found themselves in bed fast asleep, even Chan. Not a soul was awake in that house, it had begun to rain at around 1 in the morning and a strong breeze outside making the twigs hit against the window is what eventually woke Minho up. He sat up hugging the blanket to his chest and the plushie that Chan had bought for him earlier in the day, his eyes snapped to the shadow on the wall moving as if it were a person creeping around. In reality, it was just the tree in the garden moving from the wind, a loud crash outside caused the little to bury himself under the covers trying not to make a sound. 

His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, the twigs hitting the window continued and the shadow dancing in the room hadn't stopped either. He wanted someone, anyone. More specifically, he wanted Chan but what if he wasn't there like earlier? In Minho's mind, Chan didn't want him, he'd been too clingy to him and, as a result, he stayed out late. If Chan wasn't an option right now, who would he go to? Minho didn't want to upset Chan further, peeking his head out of the cover he saw Chan fast asleep looking the most relaxed he thinks he's ever seen him. 

Changbin had gone out for most of the night, he'd only come back a couple of hours ago so Minho thought it would only be fair to let him sleep. Hyunjin and Felix were off the table, there wouldn't be space for another on the bed they've been sharing. The other day, Seungmin had whined at Changbin for waking him up at 7 in the morning and Minho didn't want to suffer the wrath of Seungmin. Not that he would mind the little waking him up, but he didn't know that. 

That left just Jisung and Jeongin, he had been cuddled up to the older of the two for most of the night and he sort of craved the maknae's hugs. Warm, full of love and his head pats. Jeongin it was. 

The little slips out of the bed making sure to grab the plushie as he scampers out of the room and into the hallway, he remembers that the younger shares a room with Jisung at the door just a short distance from Chan, Felix and Changbin's room. A quiet sneeze was heard in the distance halting Minho, his heart hammers as he tries to find the source of the sound. Minho runs towards his destination slamming open the door with a loud whimper, not caring about waking everyone up. 

His feet carry him over to the closest bed, Jeongin's, and immediately wraps himself around his form crying into his chest. The younger, who had woken up at the slam, was a bit disorientated however, he caught onto the situation fairly quickly.

"Shh shh, there's nothing to be afraid of," He attempted to calm him down which worked for the most part but it didn't completely stop the boy's shaking, across the room he could see Jisung's empty bed which explained the sneeze in the kitchen. It wasn't unusual for the man to get up in the middle of the night for a drink or a late-night snack. 

Minho settled down into the warmth of his arms, falling asleep once more. 

There was a long day ahead, better get all the sleep they can. 

Chapter Text

Jeongin woke up the next morning well-rested with a sleeping Minho nestled in his arms, he smiled warmly running his hands through the little's hair feeling the boy's head lull into the touch. 

In the other bedroom, Chan was waking up looking over to see Changbin sleeping soundly, he lets a brief smile settle on his lips for a while before the expression morphed into one of panic. Minho was no longer laying in the bed across from his own, the empty mattress staring back at him as if it were almost mocking him. Never once had Chan woke up and not seen Minho in the room, he was either cuddled up to his chest after slipping in his bed or he'd be sleeping away huddled up in the duvet. 

He walks over to Changbin suspecting that maybe, just maybe, the little may have gone into bed with him instead. No, that wasn't the case. After lifting up the duvet, all he saw was Changbin's bare legs that were spread across the bed and Chan wonders how he was even comfortable sleeping like that. 

He shifts around at the cold air entering his blanket, "What-" He rasps out, "What're you doing?" Changbin groans tugging the sheet back up to his neck savouring in the warmth, Chan briefly explains causing Changbin to mutter something about personal space as he falls back asleep. 

"Jeongin, have you seen- Oh," He breathes out seeing Minho sat on the younger lap playing with his larger hands, Minho turned his head at Chan's voice almost squealing and running over to him before remembering what he'd told himself the night before. 

"Minho love, can Channie have a hug too?" It was a long shot, even Jeongin was unsure whether Minho was going to just ignore the man or get up and give him what he'd asked for. Much to their surprise, he shifts his weight until Jeongin gets the hint and sets him down onto the ground, he toddles forwards wrapping his arms around the older for much longer than any usual hug. Chan smiles widely at the progress from yesterday, now that he had the little back in his arms the next step would be to get him to open up and, on top of that, make it up to him for being out so late yesterday. 

He leans down a bit hoisting the boy up into his arms, Minho moved his arms to wrap around his neck and eventually bringing his hands up to play with his new ginger hair that Chan had impulsively dyed last night. Chan chuckles and leaves Jeongin to get dressed, he notices Jisung's empty bed but doesn't question it thinking he was probably just up early eating breakfast or something. 

"How's my sweet angel this morning?" Chan asks trying to keep his facial expression calm despite the tugs on his hair, Minho moves his hands down to the man's cheeks squishing them together giggling. He seemed to be in a younger headspace than usual, maybe that's why he wasn't talkative. 

Minho continues his attack on Chan's face, "'Appy!" He cheers, it was as if he had forgotten what he'd only told himself moments before, the mind works in mysterious ways. Chan cheekily grins once he's settled the little down on the counter deciding to squish Minho's cheeks as payback, he squeals taking the caregiver's hands in his own to stop the squishing. 

Chan looks down at his hands being held by much smaller ones belonging to Minho, "You have tiny hands baby," He teases swinging them back and forth, he had never been happier that he doesn't have to go out today, and, if he did, he would just take Minho with him no matter what anyone had to say about it. 

Interrupting their cute moment, Hyunjin comes into the kitchen yawning loudly stretching his limbs all over the place. 

"Jinnie, Jinnie, Jinnie!" Minho raises his voice outstretching his arms to the tired boy, Hyunjin brightens as he shuffles over to pick him up. They spin in circles for a few seconds before Chan steps in not wanting two dizzy boys around dangerous kitchen appliances. 

Instead, Hyunjin ops on dancing the best he can with a little bouncing in his embrace. Chan watches amused as he starts to make some breakfast for the little, it was relatively early which meant none of the others would be up for a while. Well, Jeongin was up and Jisung. 

Chan furrows his eyebrows realising that he wasn't in his bedroom nor the kitchen, "Do you know where Jisung is?" He asks Hyunjin who nods, his dancing coming to a stop much to Minho's annoyance. 

"Didn't he tell you? He said he was going to visit his brother for the weekend," Hyunjin says, the conversation vaguely rings a bell in his mind and it would make sense that he'd have to leave early given he lives over an hour away. Minho frowns pieces parts of the conversation together, he didn't understand too much but, one thing he did understand was that Jisung wasn't here. 

Chan, noticing the mood change, walks over, "what's with the sad face?" 

"Sungie," He says as if he's requesting him to show up even if he knew that was impossible, "Sungie," He whines kicking his legs against Hyunjin's, the man struggles to keep ahold of him and ends up setting him down on the floor saving his legs from more kicks. He doesn't run away or even stand, he slumps back on the floor pleading for Jisung, Chan nor Hyunjin knew what to do. 

"What about we call him, hm?" Minho stopped his whining at the mention of being able to talk to Jisung, he nodded looking at Hyunjin expectantly. He may have only really known the men for around a week but he had grown attached very quickly. 

The boy pulls his phone out of his pocket, scrolling down to the correct contact and calling him, he picked up fairly quickly. 

"Hyunjin, everything alright?" He questions, it was rare for him to call out of the blue, he was more of a messaging type of guy. Minho claps his hands at the voice of Jisung coming through the speaker, a smile settling back down on his face. 

Minho whines making grabby hands at the phone which Hyunjin gives him, "Sungie!" Minho gasps, he's never really been given the opportunity to hold a phone and now that one was in his hands, it seemed to amaze the boy. 

Catching on to the situation, Jisung gasps back, "My little kitten!" Minho giggles hearing one of his favourite nicknames, "Is everything alright?" He asks more aimed at Hyunjin more than Minho, Chan was still in the corner watching over the little not wanting to leave his side just yet.

"Miss Sungie," Minho answers wanting nothing more than to hug the man to death, you could hear Jisung coo from the other end of the line alongside Jeongin who was standing in the doorway. 

"Sungie will be back on Monday baby," The day meant nothing to Minho, he didn't know the difference between a Tuesday or a Friday. Nevertheless, he nods making a small sound of acknowledgement.

"Min get huggies on Mon-Mon...Ay?" The slight mess up of the word is the main cause of the malfunction among the overlookers, Chan slumps against the counter, Jeongin against the doorway and Hyunjin flopping down onto the floor. Minho just stares at them all in confusion. 

"Of course sweetie, all my hugs are reserved for good boys," Minho preens at the praise, he was going to be the best boy for Jisung's hugs. 

That's how breakfast ended, Minho was impatient for Jisung's hugs but, as Jisung had said, he had to wait for Monday. The only issue was, he didn't understand the concept of days or time for that matter. Seungmin had been elected leader of teaching Minho the basic necessities of everyday life covering the days, months, time, special dates and other random things that google and Felix told him to teach. Felix was sort of there at his side as moral support, for Seungmin if he were to lose his patience which was unlikely...But not impossible and for Minho in case he would get frustrated trying to learn all these new things all of a sudden. 

"Okay, so January, February, March-" Seungmin reads out stopping when he looks up seeing Minho taking the paper in front of him and throwing it across the room landing in front of Changbin's feet who had been observing the once sort of successful teaching. 

Seungmin sighs running his hands through his own hair, "Minho," He sternly warns, he wouldn't have minded if it had been a while but they only started 3 minutes ago. Chan had gone to get a shower and it was like Minho suddenly found it appropriate to misbehave. Minho picks up another sheet scrunching it up into a ball and chucking it across the room, the paper goes at a surprisingly fast speed flying directly towards Changbin's face. The crumpled up ball hadn't exactly been smoothed out with much care resulting in quite a few corners sticking out, the danger ball smacks right into Changbin's eye which he hadn't seen coming until it was too late. 

He clamps a hand on his eyes hissing at the pain, "Shit," He curses under his breath but everyone in the room heard it loud and clear, Changbin doesn't move the hand away from his eye as he hurries out of the room and down to one of the bathrooms shutting the door leaving everyone in silence. 

Felix turns his head to Seungmin who held the same startled expression, their eyes both moved to Minho who seemed to be in a state of shock not moving or even blinking. The freckled man kneels beside him to try and get a reaction out of him, the dead silence was alarming the two of them. 

"Minho love," He says but the boy just blinked looking at Felix's face before bursting into tears full of wailing which Seungmin almost clamped his ears at but restrained from doing so, instead, he got up running off to fetch Chan and check on Changbin. Felix picks the little up holding him close to his chest running his hands up and down in an attempt to calm him down, the wailing continued as did the rushed footsteps of the eldest.

Hyunjin had gone out right after breakfast in search of a new necklace and maybe a gift or two for the little, Jeongin had gone out too but would be back in a matter of time leaving just Chan, Felix, Seungmin, Changbin and Minho present. Chan rushes into the room not knowing what had gone on but seeing Minho this broken was heartbreaking, he had never seen him cry this hard. Minho cried, cried and cried. 

Neither Felix nor Chan knew what to do, whatever they did he seemed to continue with his heartbreaking cries. Changbin still hadn't come back and Seungmin hadn't either, part of Felix thinks that if the man would come out and show Minho he was okay he might calm down a little.

"Binnie's fine baby, he was just a tiny bit shocked," Seungmin leaves out the part where Changbin had been staring into the mirror with one teary red eye staring back at him, he also doesn't mention how Changbin had cursed about another ten times as he held a cold compress up against it. The younger boy wasn't too sure if ice is what his eye needed but he let the man get on with it, he wouldn't lie, Changbin's eye didn't exactly look beautiful right now. He hoped by the time they got Minho to chill a little his eye may return to its proper colouring minus the bloodshot issue. 

The little still wept into Felix and Chan's grasp but he moved his head to look at the person talking, he took in the words still feeling the guilt eat him up inside to no end. The door opened revealing Jeongin, a bag hung loosely in his hand which he dropped at the scene. 

"What happened in here?" He quietly asks Seungmin who explained the last ten minutes, Jeongin's eyes widened taking in the information. 

He whispers back, "Is Hyung alright?" 

Seungmin shakes his head, "Not really, the corner scratched his eye," Jeongin gasps, that must be painful, "I'm surprised it didn't start bleeding," He mutters quietly as to not let the little know the severity of his actions, to say the least, Minho wouldn't be throwing paper carelessly anymore. 

In the bathroom, Changbin sits on the closed toilet lid scrolling through his phone aimlessly as he holds the ice up to his eye. He'd looked in the mirror moments ago seeing two completely different eyes staring back at him, his right eye looked perfect whereas his left eye looked like he had gone through some sort of zombie conversion, it was terribly bloodshot, watering and throbbing. Changbin hadn't known that an eye can throb, he never wanted to know but here he is battling through the pain. 

All he wanted to do was go out and comfort Minho, tell him it wasn't his fault, tell him that accidents happen but he didn't want to startle the boy even more with his horror-like features. His eyes drift to his hair, maybe if he took the gel out and let it naturally fall he could hide his eye behind his bangs as he had done during his emo phase. Nobody is allowed to mention said emo phase.

After a few attempts, he gets his dark hair to cover the most part of his injured eye and, if anything, it was a sign that he should probably book an appointment with the hairdressers soon. He takes a breath and undoes the door, he steps out walking slowly back to where the commotion was taking place. Jeongin and Seungmin turn to face him, they both try not to laugh at his stupid attempt of covering his eye. 

"Have you gone e-" 

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Kim Seungmin," He grunts out pushing past him seeing Minho shaking into Chan's arms, his face was buried in his neck but he was sure there were many tears streaming down them leaving his eyes all puffy. 

Chan and Felix tilt their heads up also trying not to laugh at the hairstyle but it was overruled by their concern for the man, the eldest gestures for Changbin to stay quiet and move his hair. He does as instructed, Chan winces at the sight as does Felix, he quickly lets his hair fall back over it covering the sight. 

Changbin sits next to Chan, Minho still not noticing all the movement, "Angel," He calls out as he brings a hand up to card through his hair, "Minho baby," He tries again gaining success when he pulls his head out to look at Changbin with a broken face. Minho doesn't say anything, he just cries even more as he falls into Changbin's arms hugging him ever so tightly as a way of apologising. 

The man does his best rocking him back and forth, shushing him, whispering things, telling him he's okay and, eventually, it did work. Minho stopped crying and just stayed wrapped around him refusing to let go. He whispers an apology, Changbin accepts it right away claiming it wasn't his fault in the first place. 

"You're a good boy for apologising," He assures him, "Good boys get rewards, don't they?" Changbin pulls out another strawberry lollypop, identical to the one he had had in his pocket a few days ago but gave it to Minho after he consumed bubbles. He unwraps the plastic holding it up to Minho's lips, he opens his mouth letting the candy sit on his tongue, the mix of flavours bringing a small smile on his face.

Changbin thinks at this point he may as well just keep a lollypop in his pocket for Minho instead of himself, they always end up in his mouth rather than his own anyway. Hyunjin enters the house soon after confused at everything ranging from the hurt face of Minho to the change in Changbin's hairstyle. 

"Oh, are you going through a phase Hyung?" He asks in a mocking tone, Changbin sends a death glare at him deciding to have a little fun of his own, he lifts the hair breaking down in laughter at Hyunjin's pure state of horror. 

"What the fu- Fudge!" He changes his wording in an instance at Chan's glare this time, Minho didn't need to hear anymore curse words today. Or ever. 

That night, Minho sat with Chan in the bedroom while he tucked him into bed. 

"Min still good boy?" He says quietly, Chan frowns not wanting Minho to think anything along those lines. 

He sits down cuddling the little close, "Of course you are," 

"Still get Sungie's hugs?" 

Chan nods, "Sungie wouldn't say no to such an angel,"

"Binnie 'kay?"

The man hums, "He's more than fine sweetheart, nothing to worry about," His eye was still a little red but most of it had cleared up, he had been quite lucky.

"Channie not mad?" 

Chan frowns again, "Why would I be mad?" He questions with a concerned tone. 

"Min hurt Binnie an' annoy Channie," 

"Baby you've never annoyed me, ever and that was an accident, you didn't intend to hurt him," Minho nods listening to Chan's words, the fact that Minho thought he was annoying Chan pained him. He hadn't got a clue where he'd got such an idea from. 

Minho smiles finally satisfied that he hadn't annoyed Chan, that night they fall asleep wrapped up under a warm blanket and Chan swears to protect the boy to the end. 

Jisung hadn't heard about any of this, he'd be in for a ride when he comes back. 

Chapter Text

Chan wakes up early the next morning partially from Minho talking in his sleep and mostly from Changbin snoring obnoxiously loud. It was 6:30 AM but the man decided to get dressed almost jumping out of his skin when an alarm sounded off from the other’s phone.

Changbin stirs blinking his eyes open to silence the blaring alarm, “Stupid thing,” He mutters quietly making a move to get up.

”Where are you off to?” Chan asks scaring the life out of Changbin who sharply inhaled.

He looks at Chan as if he’s stupid, “Work, Hyung, where else?” 

“Just asking…” He keeps his answers short knowing how moody Changbin could be in the mornings, especially before work.

Changbin tugs off his shirt picking up the white button up on the ground next to him, “Why’re you up so early?” 

Chan shrugs, “Just am,” He runs a hand through his hair trying to get it to look somewhat decent, "Is Jisung back today?" Changbin hums with a slight nod as he fastens the tie around his neck making sure appeared well presented, he hated his work attire but it couldn't be helped. 

"Yup," He says popping the p, "Around midday I believe," His eyes drift over to Minho who is sleeping soundly while sucking on his thumb, his pacifier lost in the blanket that had been half kicked off the bed. 

Chan makes a noise of acknowledgement, "Minho will be happy," The boy had been asking when Monday would be arriving, Seungmin still had to teach him but after the eye incident they'd taken a few days off to get things back to normal. Jisung had promised Minho hundreds of hugs and the little had been waiting for them for what felt like forever. 

Changbin leaves shortly after eating breakfast to his boring office job, he hated working there but it paid well so he decided to put up with it for now. Luckily, for the past week, he'd used his holiday up so he could spend time with Minho but unfortunately, his days were over. Chan worked from home most of the time and only had to go in 3 times a week, emailing and phone calls dominated the best part of his days and when he wasn't working from home he too would be in an office or a studio. 

Everyone was starting to get back to their daily routines, going back to work, weekly shopping trips and saving money rather than splashing out. Minho had been used to everyone being home most of the time, so there were a few worries about how he would only have around three people home at once. Since today was Monday, Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, Felix and Seungmin would be working. Of course, they all started at various times in the day so it wasn't as if Minho would wake up with just Chan and Jeongin present in the house. Monday just so happened to be the day that most people were working, the least amount being on Saturday and everyone had Sunday off so that was a bonus.

Though, Changbin started at 8 AM sharp which meant it was pretty unlikely that Minho would be awake in time to say goodbye alike Jeongin who also started at that horrifically early time on the days he had work. 

Chan finds himself sat at the kitchen table with Felix having an early breakfast before he had to leave for work, Felix taught English to kids which got him a decent amount of money at the end of the day.

Back in the bedroom, Minho rolled around in the bed dangerously close to the edge of the bed. It wasn’t surprising when his body flipped down onto the floor with a loud thud, Minho had woken up at the impact when his head had smacked the corner of the nightstand. At first, he didn’t cry, he just sat in shock before the loud screaming and crying commenced. 

Chan had been saying goodbye to Felix waving him off like a parent sending their child to school when he’d heard the first scream, he’d missed the sound of thud due to being outside. He rushes inside fumbling with the door, he rounds the bed seeing Minho curled into a ball clutching his head in a pool of blankets. 

“Minho baby,” Chan frowns moving forwards to pick the boy up, he was stopped in his tracks when the little scooted away from his arms. 

He cried and cried yet didn’t let the caregiver anywhere near him to help, Chan was lost for words. Yesterday, he had been cuddled up to him and now Minho looked as if he were terrified. 

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Chan crouches down keeping a bit of a distance, he doesn’t want to overwhelm the little when something was clearly wrong. 

Minho remains in his ball shaking, “No!” He shouts startling Chan, “No, no, no!” Soon enough, there was a chorus of no’s being yelled. The door opens again revealing Seungmin and Jeongin who appeared to be beyond worried. As they were about to come closer, Chan puts his hand up signalling for them to stay back. 

The older didn’t know what to do, he obviously didn’t want to leave Minho when he was like this but, at the same time, he couldn’t keep trying to help and only make the situation worse. He stands up reluctantly walking to the doorway where the two youngest stand. 

“Hyung, what’s going on?” Jeongin asks peering over the bed to see the little sobbing into his arms, all he wanted to do was hold him close until the tears stopped. 

The frown remained on Chan’s face while he spoke, “I…I don’t actually know, he won’t let me near,” He explains, Seungmin looks down at his feet as Chan talks. 

“Seungmin?” 

He looks up with an unreadable expression, “Yes Hyung?” 

“Is there something wrong?” Chan was great at reading people and Seungmin was one of the easiest to read. 

The boy sighs, “Something happened the other day,” He thinks back to the time in his bedroom when he dressed Minho, “I forgot to mention it,” Chan stares expectantly at him waiting for him to elaborate. 

“I think I know why he doesn’t like people dressing him, or bathing him,” Seungmin says quietly as he starts to explain the bruises Minho had mentioned, the way he always became nervy when vulnerable. 

Chan had suspected it right from the first day but there really wasn’t much he could do, the best thing he could do is provide Minho with the best. All 7 of them poured all their love and care onto Minho like no tomorrow. 

The man nods inhaling sharply as he rounds the corner of the bed again, he feels tears prick at his eyes at the sight of the poor boy curled into himself. 

“Minho,” His voice is soft and calm, it had taken a few deep breaths for the lump in his throat to will away, “You’re safe here,” He wasn’t sure what to say as he slumped against the wall next to Minho, he still refrained from reaching out to him in case the boy was still stuck in his head. 

Minho sobs loudly again lifting up his head to stare at Chan through teary eyes, he crawled over into Chan’s lap clutching onto the fabric with all his might. 

“Channie,” His voice is muffled from his face being smushed into the black hoodie he’d put on, “Ouchie,” Minho sniffs as he holds his hand to his head as if he hadn’t just been telling Chan to back off moments before. 

He secures Minho under his hands as he stands up leading them out to the bathroom where he’d have better lighting and first aid kits, Seungmin and Jeongin trailed behind making sure everything was alright. The man lightly runs a hand through Minho’s brown hair feeling a lump starting to form, he makes sure to apply some cream as quickly as he can to avoid more crying. 

For the rest of the morning, Minho clings to Chan refusing to let the man go anywhere out of his sight. It wouldn't have been a problem if Seungmin and Jeongin hadn't gone out to buy groceries but that was the reality Chan was faced with. The man really needed to use the bathroom and with Minho attached to him like a leach, there was no way he could go anytime soon. 

He'd tried to go twenty minutes ago but Minho had started balling his out again, even when Chan had promised to be under a minute Minho continued to wail like there was no tomorrow. The man had picked up his phone to message the boys to see when they'd be back, apparently, there were road works and they'd be another hour. 

Chan couldn't wait another hour, hell he couldn't even wait ten minutes. 

Minho was as happy as ever when holding onto someone but as soon as contact was lost, he'd start panicking. Chan knew it must have something to do with this morning and he was going to get to the bottom of it just as soon as he can go to the toilet without being followed. 

Currently, the boy was sat on Chan's lap watching some children's show mumbling words when the characters would ask a question. 

"Sweetie, would you like a drink?" When Minho nods, Chan settles him down on the space next to him. Just when he thinks he's won, Minho stands up cuddling at his side. 

The man wants to cry, "I'll be back in thirty seconds baby, you don't want to miss your show, do you?" Okay so even blackmailing him didn't work, Chan was running out of ideas. 

"Channie better than show," Chan would have melted at the words if it wasn't for his full bladder, the pure innocent eyes staring up at him screamed the cutest boy in the world. 

As promised, he makes Minho a drink with his very helpful assistance. He lets Minho run ahead to the couch, he feels bad as he quickly diverts his footsteps down to the bathroom leaving Minho to cry out for him. Even if he didn't take more than a minute, that didn't calm down Minho's cries from outside the bathroom door. As Chan hurridly washes his hands, he opens the door and the sight breaks his heart. Minho lays curled up in a ball just like this morning, his head must be pounding from all the screaming and crying in just one day.

"Minho baby I'm so sorry, c'mere," And he does feel sorry, he feels unbelievably bad for basically running off leaving the boy to run after him just to have a closed-door in his face. The little doesn't act like he did this morning, instead, he let himself be lifted into the man's arms sobbing into the material of his hoodie again. 

As Chan sits on the couch, Minho gripping him almost making it hard to breathe, he starts to wonder what was going on in that little head of his. It was clear to anyone that there was some sort of separation anxiety going on but whether it was just to Chan or to everyone, he didn't know. He'd cried when Seungmin and Jeongin had left so it was a strong possibility. Chan thinks it's the idea of being alone, he believes that if there was someone else in the house right now that he could leave the room and Minho would be fine without him and with the other person. 

While stuck in his thoughts, the front door opens revealing Jisung carrying twice the bags that he left with. The little hadn't heard him since his head was still very much buried in Chan's neck and hoodie, the older man had heard though. He smiles attempting a wave, Jisung grins abandoning his belongings to pester the two. 

"Hyung," He smiles, "Minho," Jisung sings watching as the boy's head shot up at the sound of Jisung's voice, he gasps squirming around on Chan's lap to get into the arms of the latter. Jisung does as Minho wants once he's settled down on the couch, he notices the red blotchy eyes, tear-stained cheeks but doesn't question it. He'd ask Chan later. 

It didn't take long for Minho to fall asleep on top of Jisung with their arms both wrapped around one another, the younger boy also feels his eyes grow heavy. He forces them to stay open wanting to catch up with Chan before completely passing out. 

"How've things been here without my wonderful presence?" Jisung jokes, his hand never stopping stroking the little's hair knowing that if he were to stop Minho would wake up again. 

Chan sighs, "A mess?" He half-jokes but the humour was lacking in his words, "I think we need to try and suss out what happened to Minho before he got here," None of them had ever tried to figure out since the first day, they'd all had their own vague ideas but none that was certain and they wouldn't know if they didn't ask the boy himself. 

"Did something happen?" The once humorous tone to his voice had now turned completely serious, Chan doesn't even know how to reply. Even he didn't know what happened, so much had happened he didn't even know where he should start. 

"Well, yes and no," He starts, "I don't think he likes being left alone," The way he puts it sounds cryptic, no little likes being left alone so that wasn't unusual. 

Sensing what Jisung was about to say, he continues his explanation, "I know that that's normal but he looks as if he's about to have a panic attack every time he's alone," He frowns again letting his head fall into his hands, Jisung almost moves to comfort the older before realising Minho is sleeping in his arms. 

"Hyung, none of this is your fault, you know that right?" Oh Jisung, always knowing what thoughts were buzzing around in his head. Chan was predictable at his point, years of friendship had given Jisung the ability to see right through Chan. 

"I know I know," He mumbles into his hands, "I just feel like there's more I could do to help," The sad truth was that he didn't know how to help without going to a specialist and that was out of the question given Minho seems to have trust issues which were understandable given the circumstances he and Changbin had found him in. 

The blond boy nods, "I get that Hyung, I feel the same," He admits despite not knowing that half of it, "There are a few things that I think might help," While staying at his brother's, Changbin had called him on the first night telling him all about the drama of that night, and his mind had been racing with thoughts since then. 

"He trusts us now and I think he's afraid that we're just going to vanish," Chan listens to Jisung explain his theory, everything he was saying made perfect sense, Minho cried every time they left thinking they may not come back. One possible explanation for this would be the time Changbin dived into the water to save Minho all those days ago, someone had obviously left him there and never came back. 

"You're a genius," Chan breathes ignoring the way Jisung says some sassy comment back in return, "But how do we fix that?" 

Jisung shrugged, "Not sure," Just as Chan was about to open his mouth, he continues. "Before you yell at me, I think a good idea would be to just ask him. We're all hopping around the subject like it's the plague," Chan hates how factual that statement is, just how accurate it seemed to be. 

"I'll ask him later," Whenever later was. 

☆☆☆

Jeongin and Seungmin had come back soon after that and as a sorry for leaving, they'd sat on the floor and coloured with him for an hour while Jisung napped on the couch. Chan had experimented with leaving the room and Minho had been fine which confirmed his suspicions of being alone in general, nothing to do with who it was. 

"Minnie, Innie, look," Minho holds up his drawing of a cat, the features were a bit questionable but Seungmin gave his best praise as Jeongin said what a wonderful cat it was. Minho seemed to be genuinely proud of his work despite it looking as if it had three eyes and tails for arms, he had intended it to look like a real cat but something must have gone wrong in the process. Either way, Minho shuffled over to the doorway of the kitchen in search of Chan. 

When he couldn't find the man in the kitchen, he huffs turning around to Jeongin, "Where's Channie?" Jeongin doesn't even recall him leaving the room, Seungmin appeared to be just as clueless. 

"Why don't you try his bedroom sweetie," Minho nods, drawing held in his hand, and scrambles off to find him again. He walks the familiar route to the bedroom pushing the door open to see three empty beds, his heart beats faster in his chest at the lack of one of his caregivers. Chan had told him where everyone else was, he hadn't liked the fact everyone had to go to work but at least he knew where they all were. 

The next stop would be his office and if he wasn't in there then Minho thinks he might just cry all over again, too much crying for one day. He stands in front of the door fiddling with his fingers not knowing what to do, it wasn't often at all he went in there. Chan didn't really like people being in there without his supervision fearing that something might get broken, though he had told Minho he was welcome inside anytime. 

"Channie inside?" He whispers into the room, he'd pushed the door open a tiny bit seeing a slither of what was inside. Upon pushing the door open more, he doesn't see Chan but he does see an empty room, there was no computer like there had been in the past, no unorganised papers scattered all over the desk. It looked abandoned. 

He falls to the floor, his eyes searching around the room for anything that could resemble an office. Nothing. The carpet, however, was new. He doesn't remember there ever being soft light grey carpet in here. If he thinks hard enough, he could have sworn it was wood and not carpet. The walls too were no longer the boring old cream paint, it was now a beautiful baby blue shade with clouds aligning the top. 

"Minho, what are you doing in here baby?" The voice catches him off guard, his heart now pounding in his chest from being startled rather than from fear. Chan sits down on the floor next to him holding his hand, with a smile he follows Minho's gaze to the walls. 

It was supposed to be a secret, "Do you like it?" Everyone had chipped in buying the carpet and wallpaper, the other day when they'd taken Minho out to the park, they had gotten the carpet fitted. The wallpaper had been a work in progress, they usually got to work on it once Minho had gone to sleep. 

Minho nods, "Pretty," His eyes are still following the clouds around the walls and skirting boards, Chan won't lie, he is immensely proud. He and Hyunjin had spent a good two hours scrolling through wallpaper sites just to find the perfect one. 

"I'm glad you like it, Jinnie and I thought you would," 

"Jinnie an' Channie?" 

Chan hums ruffling the little's hair slightly, a habit by this point, "Mhm, this is going to be your room," Chan explains, "It was supposed to be a surprise," Chan laughs a bit at the way Minho giggles. 

He crawls over to one of the clouds pointing at it, "Jinnie draw?" He'd seen Hyunjin drawing the other day and was amazed by his talent, Minho couldn't wait for the man to get home so he could show his drawing and see what Hyunjin would think. 

"Not quite, but he has drawn something else for you," It was still a work in progress, Hyunjin had picked up on Minho's love for cats and was drawing a picture of the little snuggled up to a kitten. Of course, it was going to take time but Hyunjin seemed sure in himself that he could finish it by the end of the month. 

Minho gasps at the words, "For Min?" 

"For our favourite boy," Chan sings loving the way Minho squeals in delight, this was his chance to ask. As much as he didn't want to ruin the moment, he either asks now or doesn't ask at all. 

"Can Channie ask a question?" Minho looks up at him nodding awaiting the question, Chan runs his fingers through the boy's hair hoping it would keep him relaxed and comfortable. 

"Do you like it here?" He decided that starting off with simple questions would keep him at ease rather than jumping straight into what he really wanted to know. 

Minho nods smiling happily, "Min loves it," he hugs Chan again to emphasise his point, "Binnie saved Min," He whispers, Chan seemed shocked to hear the words come out of his mouth. Ever since that day, he had never brought up the events, honestly, Chan thought he had just forgotten about it.

"We're so glad we saw you, you're the best, sweetest little boy ever, okay?" Part of Jisung's method was to praise the little, give him compliments to make him feel as if he belongs, which he does. He guessed that Minho might think he's a burden or something, Chan had never thought of that. 

Minho sits there listening to every word that falls from the man's mouth, "Min not bad?" 

Chan holds his close again making sure to make this part crystal clear, "You're an angel, the best boy," He says, "Why would you think you're bad?" 

"Min got yelled at before by big scary man," As he talks Chan is now the one to intently listen, he was glad Minho could talk about it and he was even more thankful Minho seemed to be a bit older today. 

"Scary man didn't like Min," He pouts thinking back to the events, "Said Min was bad e'ry day, an' wan'ed me gone," he huffs and it's a miracle to Chan how Minho isn't crying, in fact, Chan thinks he is closer to crying than Minho was. 

Chan swallows not really trusting his voice, how could someone say such things to such an innocent soul? 

"But then Binnie and Channie found Min!" He grins ever so thankful he was now in the protection of 7 amazing caring men, he felt like he belonged, like he had a family to lean on. 

They spoke for a bit longer, Chan trying to dig up what had happened and, in the end, he did find out a few things. What he had guessed was correct, he'd just been abandoned by the lake, whether he fell in or not was still a mystery but the man doesn't think he could bear the truth. Minho had mentioned to Seungmin about bruises but that was a one-time thing, it was more just words and mockery each day. 

That evening once Minho had gone to bed, Chan had updated everyone on what had happened. They all understood why he was so skittish when getting dressed, why he would flinch if someone moved their hand suddenly or why he took a while to open up and trust them. 

"So what're we going to do about this whole alone thing?" Hyunjin asked, it was a good question since there was bound to be a time in the future when Minho had to be alone for at least five minutes. 

Felix had proposed the idea of getting Minho to adjust little by little but Chan didn't want to risk him overwhelming himself each time. Changbin had mentioned how they could just take him to work with them if that ever happened, that too wasn't a suitable option. 

"Well, he's going to be sleeping alone in his own room soon," Jisung mutters, the boy wasn't used to falling asleep without someone next to him so that was also going to be a problem. 

"We'll work something out," 

Chapter Text

When Chan had said that taking Minho to work with him wasn't an option he really meant it. 

"Hyung, what're you going to do?" Hyunjin asked fiddling with his fingers, everyone was out of the house with either work or plans and there wasn't anyone around to watch Minho for the day. It was already nearing 2 o'clock which was the time Chan had to leave for work, he had a meeting to attend which luckily would be online from his studio but, after that, he really had to get some work done since he'd been a fair bit preoccupied lately. 

The only people present in the house was Chan, Hyunjin and Minho. The younger would be more than happy to look after him but the problem was he had to visit his parents today, it had been arranged a good few weeks ago and calling it off now meant he'd have to wait even longer to see them. Changbin had tried to get the day off but he wasn't very successful, they only offered him the morning off which wasn't the issue. Changbin still took the morning off despite not needing to, in his defence, he wanted a few hours more sleep. 

Chan sighs quickly checking up on Minho who was attempting to dance to the choreography being shown on the tv, "I can't take him to work with me," He groans threading a hand through his own hair in an attempt to relieve his stress, "When are you leaving?" 

Hyunjin checks the time, his eyes widening, "Now, I'm already late," He fusses with his coat and shoes already feeling guilty for having to leave Chan in this situation. Before leaving he quickly shuffles over to Minho hugging him and saying his goodbyes, then he was out of the door. He'd be back bright and early tomorrow morning but that wasn't early enough. Chan needed someone to come back within the next thirty minutes. 

Twenty minutes went by in no time and nobody had gotten home yet, he knew Seungmin would be back at around three but leaving Minho alone for a minute was dangerous let alone an hour. There was absolutely no chance he was going to leave the little alone for an hour unsupervised for many reasons, the main one being him somehow getting hurt and the other being the whole alone issue that they still were trying to work on. Progress was being made albeit slowly, they could now leave Minho alone in a room for more than five minutes without tears but it would still stress him out a little which made it that much harder for them to continue. Why leave him alone when you could cuddle and snuggle? Quote Jisung. 

Chan sat on the couch, his leg bouncing up and down catching Minho's attention. He skipped over touching the man's leg bringing him out of his inner turmoil, Minho frowned seeing as Chan stopped. 

"Channie bouncies," At first, Chan was confused at the word, then he realised Minho was patting his knee waiting for him to start bouncing his leg up and down again. At least his stress brought joy to Minho. 

He starts it again playfully rolling his eyes at the way Minho tries to sit on his lap, "C'mere," He laughs letting Minho perch on his right leg, to say the least, Minho had never smiled so widely. Those five minutes made Chan forget about his troubles until his alarm went off, he had to leave in ten minutes and he'd come to the conclusion that he had to take Minho with him. 

He looks at what the little is wearing, it's very cute and colourful and not professional at all compared to Chan's white button-down and black slacks. Usually, he didn't have to be too smart but today there would be important people being shown around and the company had requested that everyone must be at their best. 

"Do you want to play dress-up baby?" At the mention of a game, Minho nods already dragging Chan to his bedroom where he stands waiting for Chan to pick out some clothes. When he picks out a rather smart looking shirt and some black trousers, Minho doesn't look as excited. 

He turns his nose up at the choice, "Min doesn't work," He pouts recognising the type of clothing in Chan's hands, he hadn't picked up any shoes yet but Minho was sure he was going to hate it. 

Chan gives him a sympathetic smile, "I know sweetheart, can you do this for me?" He explains the problem and at the mention of going out somewhere, even if it was to a company, Minho was suddenly all for it and even let Chan change him without any hassle.

Seeing Minho dressed formally really threw Chan off, he'd never seen Minho out of adorable dungarees and oversized hoodies belonging to one of the boys. The only thing that made him look like he always did was the innocent look in his eyes and the small pout at the uncomfortable clothes. 

"You look amazing," He compliments, "It's only for a few hours sweetheart," Chan knows he'll be in the studio until some ungodly hour in the morning but he was sure someone would come and pick Minho up as soon as they could, he'd sent a message to the chat and, by the looks of it, Jisung would be able to pick him up in just over an hour. 

The journey there wasn't very eventful but by the time they got to the entrance, Chan was a fair bit nervous in comparison to Minho who was gawking over the size of the building. Another problem is that Minho was holding his hand, he'd tried to let go a few times but every time the little had started whining about it. He holds a bag between them hiding their entwined hands, his genius idea only worked from the front he just hoped nobody would see. He was certain the receptionist had seen but that wasn't too important, with a smile and bow he hastily moved on. 

"Oh, Chan!" The man stops in his tracks searching for the voice, Minho seemed to be looking around too. His eyes fell upon one of his friends, Jinyoung, who also worked here though he was planning to leave soon, something about a new. Chan would miss him. 

He smiles quickly glancing down at the bag which kept their hands hidden, "Jinyoung Hyung," He smiles hoping the conversation would be a quick hello and goodbye. 

Of course, that doesn't end up happening. Instead, Jinyoung introduces himself to Minho with a smile and a hand to shake. Chan freezes knowing that Minho wouldn't really understand the concept of a formal introduction and a handshake, even if he did he'd be little and it would be obvious that something was off. Much to his surprise, Minho lets go of Chan's hand, a small smile flowering on his face as he held his hand out. 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Minho, Chan's friend," He introduces, Chan keeps his complete and utter shock concealed as Jinyoung and Minho chat for a bit. Never once had Minho come out of his headspace, the boys had just assumed it had been so long that he simply couldn't or really didn't want to come out of it. His voice was very different when out of headspace, it wasn't much deeper just more volume to it. It still had that soft, honey-like tone to it but with a sense of maturity behind it. 

When Jinyoung walks away, Chan leads him to his studio without saying a word, he couldn't risk someone hearing their conversation. Another reason was that Chan simply didn't know what to say to him, surely it would be beyond awkward. 

The door shuts and Minho takes a seat on the couch behind all the screens, Chan sits on his swivel chair facing Minho with a smile trying to find his words. 

"Minho?" He questions, he didn't really know how to act, he'd grown used to little Minho but not this Minho. 

The man lets out a quiet laugh, "That would be me," he pauses before continuing, "I- Thank you so much," He suddenly says, his face was serious, eyes slightly watering and it was at this moment that Chan saw part of little Minho break through but only for a split second. 

"No no," He dismisses, "Thank you," Chan doesn't know exactly what he's thanking Minho for but he was beyond grateful for him for bringing the household together, adding some enjoyment into their daily lives. 

Minho shakes his head, "I've done nothing but been a hindrance," He frowns, "You really didn't have to take me in," He says quietly trailing off at the end, Chan stands up making his way to sit next to the man on the couch. 

"We all wanted to, you are the best thing that's ever happened to us," As cringe as it sounds, it was true, "Honestly Minho," 

The younger wraps his arms around Chan's neck crying into his collar, shaking in his arms, and hiccuping every now and then. Chan holds him close rubbing his back in comforting strokes, he knows how hard it must be on the boy. 

"Please," He sniffs, "Thank everyone for me," Chan could tell he was struggling to stay out of headspace, he would be regressing again any time soon.

Chan reassures him telling him that he would, "Could you also tell Changbin that I'm sorry about the whole eye incident," Chan nods laughing at the event, sure it wasn't funny at the time but now they could all look back and have a giggle over it. Despite the initial pain, it made for a good memory. 

"He really doesn't mind, he was laughing over it the other day," 

Minho huffs, "But I hurt him," 

Chan shakes his head, "He's fine, really," He says, "He'll just be upset he can't tell you that himself," In all honesty, that was the truth, Changbin along with everyone else would be distraught that they missed such a moment. 

"There are a few other things I want the others to know," Minho admits pulling back from the hug, he fiddles with his hands pushing back the need to regress again. He knows once he slips he won't be able to come out again for a month or two, he wasn't completely sure how he managed to force himself out of headspace in the first place. 

Chan sets his phone up on the desk recording the conversation, Minho didn't appear to be shy or put off by the idea at all, he quite liked the idea of being able to record a video for them. In a way, it made him laugh. 

He started off by thanking everyone just like he'd done to Chan and then got into a list of things he wanted to say to everyone: 

"I wanted to start off by saying sorry to Chan for ignoring you over something so small," He giggles watching as Chan groaned at the memory, "Little Minho can be petty," Which wasn't an understatement. "I'm also sorry for waking you up every time I have a nightmare..."

"Changbin, I'm really sorry for hurting you with a paper ball and stealing your lollipops all the time," Since the incident Changbin's lollipops had become Minho's property. 

He moves onto Hyunjin on a lighter note, "Thank you for sort of teaching me to dance in the kitchen that day and hugging me at every chance you get," Chan just knows Hyunjin would cry from hearing this later on. 

"Jisungie, thank you for playing around all the time and wasting your energy on running around all day," Minho smiles at the phone, "You really don't have to," 

Moving onto Felix he feels a pang of guilt, "I'm sorry that you have to teach me things I should already know and the fact that you gave up your bed for me..." He apologises knowing that he was still sleeping in Felix's bed every night.

"And Seungmin I'm sorry for barging into your bedroom when you were ill and I'm also sorry to Hyunjin, Jisung and Changbin for running off that day. I also wanted to thank you for being so patient with me to find out the reason behind the whole changing issue," 

He quickly ends the topic moving onto Jeongin with a smile, "Innie, you were the first one who made me feel comfortable and relaxed on the first day, thank you ever so much. As well as calming me down after a nightmare that time," 

As soon as he reached the end of his apologies, he regressed again flying forwards into Chan's arms for a hug. The man stares down in shock hugging him back with just as much enthusiasm. The door opens revealing Jisung staring at the two in confusion, partly because of the formal attire and mostly because of the phone still recording them. 

"What're you recording Hyung?" Jisung asks tilting his head, he takes Minho into his arms letting Chan stand up to stretch his legs and turn the recording off. 

Jisung squints his eyes at Chan's face, "Have you been crying?" He asks full of worry, "What's wrong, has something happened?" 

Chan was quick to shake his head, "Nothing bad, nothing bad at all," Jisung grew more confused and even more so when Minho started demanding bouncies since his leg was doing the same thing as Chan's was earlier. 

"You missed Minho," Chan says not realising that it would make no sense to Jisung. 

He furrows his eyebrows, "What do you mean? I only saw him a few hours ago," At the frown on Minho's face Jisung was quick to continue, "But obviously I missed my little kitten so so much," 

"I mean Minho, you missed Minho," 

"Am I missing something here? If I am correct, this is Minho," He says using the same tone that Chan had used when saying the littles name. 

Chan just passes him the phone clicking play, by the end of it, there were at least 10 tears dripping off his cheeks. Minho watched with curiosity pointing at the screen stating the obvious saying it was him every two seconds.

"I missed Minho, why didn't you call me or something?!" He cries hugging Minho impossibly closer, "I missed Minho," He whines and when everyone else saw the video they all had a very similar reaction and as Chan had predicted, Hyunjin had started sobbing into Felix's neck. 

Today was different, a good different. 

He wonders what tomorrow could possibly bring.

Chapter Text

Ever since Minho had come out of headspace the other day with Chan, it hadn’t happened since but the little kept getting reoccurring nightmares and it really wasn’t doing anyone any good. 

Each night, Minho refused to go to sleep, he’d cry and shake his head until the caregivers would just let him stay awake knowing he’d end up falling asleep at some point wrapped up in someone’s arms. The only problem with that is when they carried him to his bed to sleep, he would wake back up and refuse to go back to sleep going back to square one. 

It had made Chan lose more sleep than he was used to, he’d had endless nights of no sleep while trying to relax Minho and the worst part was the little would wake up a few hours after he eventually fell asleep in a state Chan could only describe as pure terror. 

The other members had taken it upon themselves to create some shifts, due to Chan’s lack of sleep, the household was starting to feel the effects of it. The oldest wasn’t working as well as he could which wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t need money to pay the bills and Minho would whine for the man while he caught up with some sleep halfway through the day. 

Tonight it had been decided that Changbin and Jeongin would be in charge of staying up with Minho. They weren’t sure how long this process was going to go on for because it wasn’t healthy, Minho needed his sleep as much as every other person in the house. More importantly, nobody could stand seeing Minho so distraught every single night. 

He hadn’t told them what the nightmares were about yet, they’d started around three days ago after he and Hyunjin had gone to the store. Hyunjin had tried to recall exactly what happened that day but Minho had been happy as ever browsing the plushie section of the shop and even when they got back he was bouncing off the walls with excitement. 

“Hyung,” Felix frowned, nobody had been that happy lately with all that was going on at night, “Do you think he’ll sleep tonight?” He asks mainly because he’s so tired, hearing Minho cry so much was hurting the poor Aussie so much. 

Chan doesn’t know how to respond, in truth, he doesn’t have a clue what’s going to happen tonight. The night it had happened, he got no sleep but Minho got a few hours. The second, Minho had gotten more sleep but kept crying while sleeping. Last night, neither of them got any sleep. 

“I don’t know Lix,” He sighs rubbing at his eyes, “I don’t know how to stop it,” He whispers feeling ashamed, Felix nods coming closer to hug Chan knowing it must be difficult for him. 

“It’s not your fault,” He reassures running his hand up and down the man’s back, “Maybe it’s like when he wouldn’t be alone, he’ll come around soon enough,” Felix says that but inside he was nervous as to what might happen or not happen. 

“Channie, Lixie,” The two look over to the couch where Minho had been sat watching tv but he now appeared to be yawning and rubbing at his eyes as Chan had been. It wasn’t too late, they’d had dinner early and it was now approaching 6:30. 

Chan walks on over fighting the need to sleep, “What’s up angel?” He smiles letting Minho wrap his arms around his torso. 

“Min is sleepy,” He admits yawning again, Chan tries to conceal his excitement as he turns to look at Felix who appears to be exactly the same already running off to let the others know. 

Chan nods picking Minho up, “Let’s get you into bed then, how does that sound?” He holds his breath waiting for Minho to start crying and kicking his legs to be put down but none of that comes, the little just nods tucking his head into Chan’s neck. Minho was already in comfortable clothes so Chan didn't have to go through changing him this time and was able to tuck him straight into bed. 

Of course, he joined the little letting him cuddle up to him as they both fell asleep and hopefully stay asleep. Felix checks in on them every so often seeing the same sight of the two sleeping, as usual Minho was muttering words in his sleep but nothing noteworthy. He'd already been sleeping for longer than he had been which was shocking but no one was complaining. 

The next time Felix walks in to check on them, Chan is laying awake with Minho curled up on his chest as if he were a cat. He catches sight of the boy in the doorway, the man sends a smile his way as he carefully lifted his hand flashing a thumbs up. He decides to stay claiming the space on the bed next to Chan, they stay there for around 40 minutes whispering between them before Minho wakes up. 

He blinks his eyes open balling his fists up to rub at his eyes, everyone knew Minho was cute but this was simply just beyond adorable. Although he had slept peacefully for the first time in three days, it was now coming up to half nine and Minho had just woken up which meant he probably wouldn't go back to sleep for a while. It wasn't much of a problem but Chan had built Minho a good sleep schedule and it was all starting to crumble down before his eyes. 

"Lixie," He pouts making grabby hands at the younger, "Wan' Lixie hugs," Chan gasps pretending to be greatly offended but it would be doing him a favour since his legs had gone numb from Minho laying across him, the little gives Chan one last hug but keeps holding his hand. 

"Did you sleep well, baby?" Felix asks, crossed fingers hoping for a good answer. 

Minho makes a noise in the back of his throat, "Slept well," He confirms, "Channie was in Min's dreams," He giggles resting his head on Felix's chest to look over at the dream invader who was proudly smiling. 

"Oh~ What was your dream about?" Chan recalls the time Jisung had told him that he was in his dream, he almost regrets asking after hearing the complex storyline Jisung's sleep-deprived brain had managed to come up with. 

Minho hums squeezing his eyes shut to try and remember the dream, "Channie an' Min went out an' saw big plushies!" He exclaims as he begins telling Chan all about the lifesized bear plushies walking through the streets of Seoul, both Felix and Chan laugh fondly at his imagination egging him to tell them more. 

Though the dream does give Chan an idea. 

"How about we go out tomorrow, Channie will buy you as many plushies as you want," He says ignoring the shocked look on Felix's face because Minho will remember that and if they were unlucky they'd be spending a god awful lot of money of overpriced plushies but they were all for spoiling him. 

Minho lifts his head off Felix's chest to nod with a big smile across his face, "Love Channie," Minho beams then turn around to face Felix, "And love Lixie too!" 

The rest of the night went by with minimal problems, all seven caregivers were just over the moon they all accomplished a full nights sleep. It looked to be benefiting Minho too, he was a lot more lively than he had been the past few days and he even had Jisung out of breath chasing after him. 

"Put shoes on or else someone's going to get hurt," Seungmin warns from the couch, running on laminate flooring with socks on was just asking for an accident to happen, Jisung rolls his eyes calling after the little who kept running away from him but turned his head to look at his caregiver. His body quickly bumps into something in front of him, confused he lifts his head seeing Changbin grinning evilly down at him. 

Soon enough, screams and loud giggles were all that could be heard in the house as Changbin and Jisung claimed the titles of tickle monsters. Chan watched in the corner with an amused smile on his face recording the moment, he was so thankful they'd found Minho that day because he was an angel, a perfect addition to their little family. 

"Alright alright, give him some mercy," Chan chuckles as he approaches Minho with his shoes, "Are you ready, sweetie?" He questions as he slips on Minho's shoes, the little nods already holding out his hand so Chan could take it. 

He coos ruffling his hair, "Good boy," Praises always seemed to make Minho's day, everyone already tried to compliment and praise him as much as possible for that reason. 

"Just Channie an' Min?" He asks staring up at Chan with those round eyes, those same eyes once glared at him for not giving Minho his pacifier fast enough. 

Chan nods, "I believe so unless you want someone else to come? I'm sure if you ask nicely they'll agree," Minho wouldn't even have to ask for them to agree, he had each and every one of them wrapped around his finger without even knowing it. 

Minho stands thinking about his options, he'd spent quite a lot of time with Felix lately, he'd just played with Changbin and Jisung for a good portion of his morning which left Jeongin, Hyunjin and Seungmin. At that moment, Jeongin walked into the room waving at the two by the front door. A decision had been made. 

"Innie," Minho grins pulling Chan over to the youngest, "Does Innie wan' come with Channie an' Min? Please," He adds on the end hoping it would make Jeongin agree, the boy had only been on his way to watch some tv so he nodded happily. 

"Of course, lovely manners sunshine," Minho preens hugging Jeongin while he attempts to tie his shoelaces with a body restricting his movements. 

The walk to the town wasn't too far, only 10 minutes. Minho had taken the liberty of swinging both Chan and Jeongin's hands back and forth all while skipping and every now and then the two caregivers would lift him up in the air, it really made Minho feel like he had it all. He did have it all. 

He giggles, eyes crinkled up alongside the enthusiastic open-mouthed smile gaining the attention of some passerby who all looked at him earnestly obviously just as affected by the little's behaviour as his two caregivers were. 

"Is that...Minho?" The little stops laughing to stare up at the voice which had said his name, Chan and Jeongin instantly tighten their hold on his hands standing slightly more in front of him given everything they know about Minho's past. 

Chan looks at the stranger, expression borderline intimidating, "Can we help you?" The man smiled awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck sensing Chan's annoyance already. 

"Hyukie?" Minho gasped trying to move forwards with a bit of struggle, "Channie an' Innie, Hyukie," He rambles pointing his finger at the man Hyukie. 

He lets out another awkward laugh waving at Minho through the gap, "I'm Minhyuk," He introduces himself, "I used to look after Minho for a brief period, maybe around a month or so..." He trails off seeing the ice-cold look on Chan's face, "But then he had to go back," He frowns obviously remembering the events of the past. 

"Back? Back where?" Came Jeongin's voice who now had Minho resting on his hip, the little seemed content resting his head on Jeongin’s shoulder watching the conversation. 

The man, Minhyuk, started explaining everything that they’d wanted to know ranging from who Minho had grown up with up until this point. It wasn’t all bad. 

He tells them about his cousin who had been Minho’s primary caregiver for many years, he’d never really had time for the boy always working which meant he was often left with his cousin’s friends. The friends in question must have been the ones that did those God awful things to the little, Minhyuk didn’t go into much information with that not wanting to talk about it in front of Minho. 

“My cousin, Hyunwoo, found out about it and got his so-called friends behind bars for a good portion of their lives, from what I know they’re still there,” Minhyuk sighs leaning back on the bench they’d found themselves on, Minho was in his own world picking flowers not listening to the words falling from Minhyuk’s mouth. 

Chan listens nodding every now and then, “Hyunwoo…Where’s he now?” He asks, he wants to talk to him and find out what exactly happened. Curiosity always got the best of him. 

Minhyuk shrugs, “Last I heard, he had moved abroad for work-related reasons,” He pauses before remembering something, “He never did anything to hurt Minho, he really did cherish the boy but one day he had to give him up,” It only made sense, it was unfair on a little to be left alone without a caregiver and even more so with abusive company. 

“First, he gave him to me but I was useless,” Minhyuk chuckles recalling some of the incidents, “One day we went out and within the first two minutes I’d lost him in a crowd,” Chan smiles knowing full well Minho would do that. 

“He can be a bit of an adventurer,” Chan reasons, “What else?” 

“I used to take him to the beach, at the time I had a holiday home, I taught him how to swim but after the tide pulled him under one day he gave up on learning,” He explains, “Here, I have these pictures,” He hands Chan his phone showing pictures of the little on the shoreline, he looks to be a few years younger than he was now, the same old smile on his face. 

He scrolls through the photos, for someone who only had Minho for a few weeks, he sure did have a lot of pictures. Jeongin peered over his shoulder watching the photos go by, he felt relieved knowing not everything was bad, he was glad there were good times Minho could look bad on. 

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money to keep it up,” Minhyuk frowns, “No matter how many extra shifts I picked up, none of them were enough to pay the rent and care for Min,” Chan could see his eyes watering and he realises, Minhyuk must have really cherished Minho just as much as he does himself. 

“The day I had to drop him back off at Hyunwoo’s place, I hated myself, I never forgave myself,” He had previously mentioned that he didn’t know about the goings-on up until the last moment which made it even worse. 

“How’d he end up with you two?” Minhyuk asks, he can already tell Chan and Jeongin are to be trusted. 

“Well, it’s a long story,” Chan starts explaining everything from the river situation all the way over to the nightmares. 

“He still has nightmares?” 

Chan nods, “Yeah…” 

“Don’t worry, it’s common among littles,” Minhyuk reassures, “It’ll only happen once or twice every few months,” Chan nods, glad to know it wasn’t anything they had caused. 

They spoke for a bit longer, neither of them knew how he ended up at the river but that didn’t matter, they were all just happy to know he was now safe. Minho also seemed to be more than happy with his life right now, even if they were now walking back in the pouring rain. 

“Do you think he remembers all of it?” Jeongin asks Chan after a moment of silence as Chan opens the door letting Minho race over to Hyunjin on the couch. 

“I hope not,” He sighs, “If he does, he doesn’t look to be affected, it was a while ago now,” 

From the couch, Hyunjin speaks up, “I think our favourite boy wants to watch a movie,” 

That’s how they all ended up piled up on the couch snuggled with each other not caring about anything. It was all pretty quiet apart from the sound of the tv playing in the background up until the point Minho sneezed once, then twice. 

“You alright, baby?” Jisung asks brushing the hair on Minho’s forehead back. The little nods settling his head back down on Jisung’s chest but as the movie progressed he kept sniffing. 

Changbin stood up going over to collect some tissues, Minho didn’t enjoy the experience of having his nose blown for him but it had to be done. 

“You don’t think he’s getting sick do you?” Seungmin whispers to Chan who suddenly feels guilty about making them walk back in the rain. 

“It’s a possibility…” 

Chapter Text

"Alright, I think it's time for bed, don't you?" Changbin announces looking down at the droopy eyes of Minho which would snap open every few seconds in an attempt to stay awake, the movie had finished long ago and since then everyone had just been chatting and making jokes while Minho practically slept on Jisung's chest. 

The little doesn't even try to protest with Changbin as he holds his arms up to be carried, but of course, before Changbin took him to bed, Minho always had to hug everyone goodnight. After the rounds had been made, the man walks them into his bedroom, knowing that Minho wouldn't want to sleep alone. The progress on Minho's bedroom was coming along swiftly, it would probably be done within a few days. 

Thankfully, Seungmin had gotten him dressed after dinner, which meant he could just put him straight into bed after a trip to the bathroom. Brushing his teeth was a nightmare, with Minho constantly falling asleep in his arms, Changbin found it quite a challenge to actually get the toothbrush in his mouth to do the job. Every few seconds he'd have to stroke Minho's cheek to get him to come back to reality and spit the toothpaste into the sink, normally he hated this part of the night but he seemed to be too tired to care about that. 

"Sleepy," He complains whining into Changbin's neck, he nods telling him he could sleep in just a few moments since he too was getting tired and his arms were starting to ache from holding Minho for this long. 

He pulls back the covers moving the notebook he'd left there from this morning, "Do you want your plushie?" He asks before he settles down, he usually slept in Felix's bed so it made a difference to be in the same room yet another bed. Even if he did change his mind, the plushie was only a few steps away. 

"Wan' Binnie," Minho whines struggling to keep his eyes open again, Changbin doesn't keep him waiting, he's already dressed ready for bed which saves him from wasting more time. 

He cuddles up to Minho securely wrapping his arms around him, "Goodnight sunshine," With that being said, Minho falls asleep within an instance happy in the embrace of Changbin. He doesn't expect himself to fall asleep as fast as he did since it was only around 9:30 but shockingly enough, he quickly fell asleep alongside the little. 

From the front room Hyunjin sat there when his eyes landed on Changbin's phone, "Hyung left his phone," He observes, "How is he not bored out of his mind," He thinks out loud, don't get him wrong, he loves snuggling with Minho but there was only so long he could go without scrolling through social media or playing some game he'd found on the app store. 

"I'll go and give it to him," Seungmin pushes himself up off the couch grabbing the phone and walking out of the room, the door was left open slightly so he quietly enters looking over at the bed. Changbin and Minho were both passed out, Changbin snored lightly and Minho was sucking on his thumb while wrapped up in each other's arms. There weren’t many times when Seungmin would lose his mind but today was an exception, this sight was the exception. 

“Channie Hyung, look at this,” He gestures for the eldest to come over but of course everyone trailed behind to see what was so important. 

“That’s…The cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Jisung whispers clutching onto the doorframe, mouth dropped open like Chan who hadn’t said a word. 

Out of the experience, Jeongin gets a new lock screen and a pleasant feeling in his chest.

The rest of the evening went by quite quickly without Minho to amuse them with his quirky behaviour or sweet actions, everyone had started going to bed leaving Hyunjin alone with his earphones and sketchbook open trying to complete a drawing he'd started a week or two ago. He'd just been sitting watching over Minho who was happily doodling away on the coffee table when he felt it. Inspiration. He quickly took a few photos and since then, he'd been drawing one of his favourite works yet. Chan had seen the slight progress he'd made and praised him a lot which fueled his passion. 

It wasn't unknown among the boys the general times of when each person decided to wade their way to bed, Hyunjin didn't really fit into that. The boy would either sleep at 2 AM or 4 AM, despite this, he still got plenty amount of sleep. He just found the nighttime to be very relaxing, nobody was around to bother him (not that anyone particularly did), he had free range of the room and could take late night walks that everyone was strongly against. 

It was rare anyone would wake back up after going to sleep, sometimes someone would wake up and grab a glass of water or use the bathroom and when Minho woke up he never left the room he was in since there was always someone in there with him. He only stops drawing when his hand starts to cramp up, his eyes were growing heavy with the need to sleep but he pushes it back knowing he could go another hour. It was only 2:15. 

Hyunjin slumps back on the couch giving his back a break from being hunched over, it felt as if a persistent pressure was weighing him down so in contradiction to previous thoughts he decides to pack up his things and head to bed. It wasn't much of a task but he just couldn't be bothered to move, there was a blanket draped over the back of the couch that Minho had been wrapped up in earlier and he could just use the cushions in the placement of pillows. There really wasn't much thought put into it as he shut his eyes falling into a deep slumber that should have lasted for at least 6 hours. 

It only lasted around 2 hours. 

A bright light caught him off guard as he brings the blanket up to cover his eyes like a teenager shrivelling up from the curtains being opened, he peeks an eye out seeing the clock showing him it was 4:26 AM. He can hear the sound of glass and running water but nothing other than that, at first he thought it was someone just getting up for a glass of water but nobody ever turned on the main light for that. 

On unsteady legs, he stands up stretching his body out shuffling into the kitchen where he sees Felix yawning looking as if was about to fall asleep standing. What he thought was a glass of water was actually the bottle they'd bought Minho soon after his arrival filled to the brim with water. It looks as if Felix is searching through the cupboards for something but wasn't getting anywhere, Hyunjin walks over to him almost making the poor boy jump out of his skin. 

"Sorry, did I wake you?" He says quietly, voice rough with sleep, "Do you know where the medicine is?" He says not waiting for an answer to his previous question, Hyunjin raises his eyebrows in question starting to grow more concerned by the minute. 

He opens the cupboard where everything should be, "Looks like we've only got these," Hyunjin holds out a box of tablets that looked far too big for anyone to naturally swallow, "What's going on? Are you not feeling well?" He frowns already moving closer to hug the younger boy who greatly hugged back. 

"I'm fine," He answers, "It's Minho, he's all shaky, Chan Hyung said it's probably due to the weather or maybe he caught a bug from somewhere," Felix explains quickly getting back to work with finding the right medicine but all they could find were the large capsules that would be no good. 

"He won't swallow those," Hyunjin frowns, his eyes dart over to the door, "I'll go buy some, the pharmacist is open 24/7," Any other day Felix would have protested but Hyunjin was already pulling a coat on and tying his shoelaces in a hurry and neither of them could stand the thought of Minho laying awake all night in pain. 

As Hyunjin left the house, Felix grabbed the bottle heading back into the bedroom where Minho was bundled up in Changbin's arms silently crying and consistently, uncontrollably shivering even with the added body warmth of his caregiver with the addition of the blankets surrounding him. Chan was there too, awake as ever petting a hand through his hair, whispering calming words which didn't look to be much help. 

"Here," Felix hands the bottle to Chan who smiles albeit worried, "There was no medicine, Hyunjinnie went out to get some more," He informs the two who nod hoping he wouldn't take long, the pharmacist was probably a ten-minute walk in the less shady side of town where the streets were well lit, police guarding the area so they weren't concerned too much. 

"Hey baby," Felix sits next to Changbin taking Minho's hands into his own, "Do you want some water? It might make you feel better," It wouldn't but it was important to keep him hydrated, Minho weakly nodded opening his mouth when Chan held the bottle up to his lips. He didn't drink much before pulling back whining when Chan brought the bottle back to his mouth, at the imposition he hid his head in Changbin's chest. 

Apart from waiting there wasn't much they could do for around twenty-five minutes, they sang to Minho who actually calmed down at their soothing voices, told him funny stories about his caregivers which made him crack a smile for the first time that night and just cuddled up to him. They weren't particularly sure how much more this would progress, he had a high temperature which was obvious without a thermometer (they did use one though), chills and potentially a headache, the little wasn't exactly good at telling them what hurt and what didn't. 

The sound of the front door opening and closing was like music to their ears even more so when Hyunjin entered the room with a bag in his hand. The sight of Minho wrapped around Changbin still crying broke his heart, he couldn't help but want to cry with him.

"I got a few things, I wasn't sure what we would and wouldn't need," He admits pulling out various items and placing them down on the bed, the most useful thing was definitely the banana flavoured liquified medicine, Chan briefly thinks that strawberry would have been better but that wasn't really up for discussion. The second most useful item would be the hot water bottle, even if his stomach didn't hurt it would at least warm him up a bit. 

Chan gets the spoon that came with the box pouring the not-so-satisfying murky coloured medicine to the right amount, he just hopes Minho doesn't mind it since he had to have two spoonfuls.

"Open up sweetheart, this will make you feel a lot better," This time, unlike the water, it would actually be effective. Putting up no battle, Minho opens his mouth again letting Chan pop the spoon in his mouth but as soon as it touched his tongue he started crying for it to be out. That was not banana flavoured, in Minho's eyes it tasted like sewage water mixed in with something littles were not allowed to say...

Chan makes sure he swallows the first load before going back in with another spoon, to no surprise, he refuses this spoonful and keeps his mouth clamped shut preventing the horrific taste to meet his tongue ever again. 

"Minho," Chan sighs obliviously tired from being up this late, "Please, I promise this is the last one," He begs just wanting to get back into bed, he felt unbelievably bad for the little but if he didn't get at least 2 more hours of sleep he was bound to be grumpy all day and that would benefit no one. 

Chan hands the spoon over to Changbin who had both Felix and Minho nestling their heads on his shoulders, Felix had fallen asleep long ago before Hyunjin had even gotten back and Minho was hiding from the spawn of satan sitting on the spoon. Changbin wasn't exactly sure what difference it was handing the spoon to him, there was no way Minho would willingly have another load of it. 

"Come on love, we'll buy a different flavour in the morning," Changbin reasons and luckily, Minho took the spoon into his mouth whining once again at the vile taste, "Good boy," He smiles down at him moving them into a comfier position, at the same time trying not to wake Felix up who was still very much dead to the world on his shoulder. 

Chan leaves a kiss on Minho's forehead before finding his spot back in his own bed, Minho didn't sleep right away obviously not feeling the effects of the medicine within the first five minutes but with some extra love and attention from Changbin he stopped crying and settled down. Eventually, he fell back asleep leaving the house in silence once again, Hyunjin had taken Felix's bed deciding to stay in the same room to prevent waking up Seungmin by entering their shared bedroom. 

Everyone would be in today since it was a Sunday, no work, just relaxation...

That would usually be the case if it wasn't for a sick Minho, his symptoms didn't just magically vanish overnight, in fact, they probably got worse. That's what Chan thinks anyway as he looks down at the curled up sleeping little, sweat glistening on his forehead which was very much hot to the touch but the shaking seems to have subsided. 

It was still quite early, Jeongin wasn't up yet which was saying something since he got up at the crack of dawn every day meaning seven in the morning. Felix was up, Hyunjin was blinking awake too from the movement of Chan getting dressed already slipping some shoes on. 

"Where are you going?" Hyunjin rubs his eyes tipping his head back with a yawn, "It's not even eight," 

Chan chuckles at Hyunjin's confusion finding him adorable, "Shop, there are a few things we should probably get before he wakes," Laying awake this morning he'd come up with a mental list, soup, better-flavoured medicine, some sort of treat, extra blankets, tissues and something from the little's section that would be a good distraction. 

Hyunjin hums letting his head fall against the pillow, "Bye-bye Hyung," He yawns already falling back into the land of dreams, Chan fondly shakes his head quietly leaving the room. He doesn't make much of an effort with breakfast just grabbing some fruit out of the bowl, he'd end up getting a drink on the way back anyway and probably some sort of pastry make-do breakfast. 

Due to the early hours, the shop wasn't busy at all meaning he could stand in front of a section for however long he wished to without getting in someone's way. The medicines all stared back at him begging for him just to chose one and move on with his life but there were just so many flavours, banana was a no go, the strawberry one looked promising but then so did the cherry and the orange looking one. 

"Don't know what flavour to pick?" Chan jumps slightly at the friendly voice of a lady coming from beside him, she had a kind expression and from where her phone lit up he could tell she was a caregiver too. 

Chan awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, "Yeah, he's a bit fussy, banana didn't satisfy," The woman nods knowing what it's like, she advances forwards picking two boxes off the shelf. 

"These are favoured in my household," She holds up the orange flavoured one and one that didn't have a particular flavour but the box had cute cartoons on them, "I hope I helped," She smiles giving Chan the boxes which he gratefully takes. 

"Thank you ever so much," He was glad to see there were still nice people in this harsh world, as she walked away Chan turned the corner making his way to the food section of the store picking up some soup and bunging it in the basket. He also grabs some ice cream because y'know, it might soothe Minho's throat and it's not just because Chan got excited when he cookie dough flavour on for half price. 

As he'd promised himself, he grabbed a hot drink in a takeout cup and a bagel to eat on the way back, the sun was shining down and it appeared to be a beautiful day. It was a shame Minho was under the weather, if he had been feeling okay Chan would have taken the chance to take everyone out for a picnic or something. 

He'd only been gone for around 45 minutes, he figures Jeongin and Seungmin would probably be awake by now and perhaps Changbin but who knows. Chan opens the door stepping inside, the house seems oddly quiet only the sound of a chair moving against the tiled floor in the kitchen could be heard. 

"Morning Hyung," Jeongin smiles before eying the bag, "You've been out?" He asks already advancing towards the older to inspect the contents of the bag over his shoulder. 

Chan hums, "Yeah, Minho didn't like the banana one," He replies without thinking twice but when he saw Jeongin's confused face he realised the boy had been sleeping without knowing a single thing, "Minho's caught some sort of bug," He catches him up, Jeongin nods helping Chan with putting everything away. 

"How is he now?" Jeongin says taking one of Minho's clean bottles from the cupboard to fill it with some warm milk, his mum used to do it when he was ill as a child and now it was his turn to do the same. 

Chan wasn't even sure if he was awake, "Not too sure, I was about to go and check," He mutters throwing his finished drink in the trash, "Last I saw he was still sleeping in Changbin's bed," 

"Changbin Hyung?" Jeongin says as if he's shocked at the name that came from Chan's mouth, "He left a few minutes ago," Chan whips around asking where but Jeongin didn't have a clue, he just said he looked to be in a rush and didn't even grab something to eat. 

He hopes Felix is awake to know where the man has gone off to. His suspicions were correct when he enters the bedroom seeing Felix sitting up with Minho still wrapped around him like a huggable sloth, he wasn't sure if he was awake or not. 

"Everything okay?" Chan mouths to Felix who gave a hand gesture in return telling him yes but no, Chan didn't expect anything much and the fact it wasn't a straight no was better than anything. 

Sensing what he was going to ask, Felix points down to Minho then to the missing plushie that should be sitting on his bed all that was to show was pillows and a sleeping Hyunjin who hadn't touched the plushie. 

Chan doesn't get the whole story but just nods, "Is he sleeping?" He whispers fed up with hand gestures that were getting them nowhere, Felix doesn't know and he tells him just as much. He'd woken up a few minutes before Chan had got back but quickly found comfort in Felix's lap which is where he'd been for a good fifteen minutes now. 

"Minho~" Chan softly calls out, not loud enough to wake him up but enough to alert him if he wasn't sleeping, the little moves his head so he isn't pressed into Felix's chest and is now blinking up at Chan with bleary eyes. He would have cooed if it wasn't for his runny nose and watery eyes, they'd never dealt with a sick Minho but there was a first time for everything. 

He doesn't move the little in fear it would upset him, rattling him around would do no good if he had a headache which was quite likely and with him regularly resting his head on somebodies shoulder that seemed to be the case. Now was the moment of truth, Jeongin took a seat on the edge of the bed with the warm bottle of milk that Minho took an immediate interest in while Chan measured the medicine again in the spoon that Minho held a grudge against. 

"Say ahh," Oddly enough, Minho opened his mouth letting the new taste pool on his tongue, "Is this one better?" He asks feeling like he wants to cross his fingers in the hope it was up to his standards, if it wasn't, he had one last box to try. 

Minho sniffed nodding opening his mouth for the second lot, Chan victoriously smiled high-fiving Felix at their progress. Chan would pay that woman endless amounts of cash for her helpful advice, she was a godsend. 

Hyunjin woke up for the second time today just in time to watch Minho being cradled like a baby in Chan's arms as Jeongin held the bottle for him to drink, sick Minho was certainly a lot more cuddly and vulnerable than well Minho. 

"Did he actually take it?" Hyunjin gawks pointing at the orange decorated box, Chan nods with a proud smile, Hyunjin joins in making a fuss about how good Minho was. 

"Why are we all gathered in here?" Jisung asked from the doorway tugging Seungmin behind him, "Why is he so cute, it's unfair," Jisung dramatically pouts even more so when he and Seungmin catch up with the drama, it just goes to show how close they'd all become. 

Seungmin had quickly gotten to work on cooking up some soup remembering to thank Chan for restocking, Felix got up to help the younger in the kitchen while Hyunjin got a shower leaving Jeongin to whine outside the door that it was his turn even if there were two bathrooms. 

Chan held Minho for a while longer but his legs grew tired pretty quickly, resigning he gives the little to Jisung who had been impatiently waiting for his turn. The room was getting quite stuffy from all the people that had slept in their last night combined with the fact nobody had opened a window since Minho was already cold enough as it was. 

"Oh Jisung," Chan says while he remembers, "There are some thicker blankets in some bags, I think I left them in the kitchen," He nods bringing his hand up to salute at the older as he takes a limp Minho over to the couch, he sets him down already making a move to collect the blankets which apparently awaited him in the kitchen. 

Before he got far, even a step away, Minho whined beckoning him back, "Sungie stay," He looked up at him with those eyes, the irresistible eyes that Jisung couldn't betray. To make it harder for him, Minho holds his arms out asking for hugs and Jisung was weak at the knees for the little especially when he was acting so damn cute which was nothing unusual, he'll never get used to it. 

"Seungmin! Can you get the blankets?" Jisung calls out hoping he'd hear, after hearing the groan and mummers coming from the other room he knows he's won. Annoying Seungmin could possibly be one of his favourite activities ever. 

A blanket comes flying towards Jisung which he only just managed to catch, "Thanks," He gives a cocky smile settling down on the couch behind Minho who was happy to wrap his arms around Jisung's torso and rest his head on his stomach where he could feel the man breathe. It was a funny sensation but Minho found enjoyment out of it. 

"Having fun?" Jisung laughs positioning the blanket on top of them both, he holds his breath watching as Minho stared up at him in confusion, with his hand he starts to pat the caregiver's stomach waiting for it to start moving up and down again. Jisung, who was starting to go lightheaded, breathed in and out again savouring in the way Minho gasped looking at his hand like his tapping had bought it back. 

"You're too cute," 

Not long after, Seungmin walks in with Minho's breakfast in a bowl, Felix followed behind with some hot chocolate that they'd poured into one of his bottles that was usually used for milk. They didn't know if Minho would like hot chocolate but by the name, Minho would happily give it a go. 

"Are you hungry?" Seungmin asks pulling a chair over to sit in front of Jisung and Minho, it took a bit of manoeuvring before they were in a suitable position to safely eat.

Minho shook his head trying to push the bowl away, "Don't want it," He huffed trying to worm his way into Jisung's side which was ineffective, "No, hurts," He whimpers trying his best to not look at the reactions of the caregivers. 

Chan walks on over, seeing the commotion and quickly catching onto what was going on, "Why don't you want it, hm?" He asks taking his seat on the arm of the couch beside Jisung's head, Minho repeats his previous words but finding out what hurt was a challenge in itself. With some pointing, they managed to find out that yes, he did have a headache, his stomach hurt which was never a good sign also explaining why he didn't want food. 

"You don't have to eat all of it, how about a few mouthfuls?" Felix chips in with his suggestion which Minho didn't look too pleased with but it was better than having to have all of it. 

Seungmin takes the spoon making sure it was cool enough before feeding it to him, "Good?" He asks hoping Minho liked it since he tried a new recipe he'd seen online, when Minho opens his mouth for another he knew it was perfect even more so when Changbin walked through the door smelling the food and quickly claiming a bowl for himself. 

"What took you so long?" Hyunjin asks, "You left ages ago," 

Changbin groans even thinking about it, "The shop was closed so I had to go to the other one," Everyone instantly understands, the shop in question was a good half an hour drive away which meant money spent on taxis but it was worth it. 

Once he sat down, he put the bag to the side praising Minho for eating so well. The praise only made him eat more, mission archived. Like they thought, Minho did like the hot chocolate and actually asked for more when he'd finished the first load. It wasn't the most unhealthy thing in the world so they agreed much to Minho's delight. 

For the rest of the day, Minho lounged around with Jeongin, they'd both fallen asleep a while ago and were yet to wake up and nobody planned to wake them up. Nobody dared make a noise, silently tip-toeing past the couch, texting whatever it was they wanted to say to the group chat. The only time anyone got near the sleepy heads was when Chan gently took the hot water bottle from Minho's sleeping form to fill it back up with hot water since the last load had gone cold. He must have been very tired because he didn't wake up. 

His fever was still there, it was starting to improve with the medicine and hot beverages. Chan remembers the ice cream sitting in the freezer, it didn't seem like Minho had a sore throat but why not treat him anyways for the hell he's endured. 

They waited for them both to wake up before announcing the treat of ice cream which ended up being another hour or so, Hyunjin and Seungmin left the room to fill up eight bowls of ice cream, being quite generous to the portion sizes. 

"Here you go, your highness," Hyunjin dramatically bows making Minho laugh feeling as if he were on top of the world despite the germs wreaking havoc in his body. Another few days and he'd be back to normal, until that point, he'd just have to use everyone's hugs as a form of treatment. 

Nobody was against that. 

Chapter Text

Minho was feeling significantly better a week later, back to running around and chasing the boys every chance he got and no matter how many times the little would play chase inside, Chan still had the underlying fear of someone slipping over. It wouldn't be disastrous but this was little Minho and little Minho was no stranger to tears. Only a day ago did Minho start bawling his eyes out over his favourite hoodie going in the wash, he says it's his but what he means is Hyunjin's hoodie. 

It was a Sunday today, wet and rainy. Nobody wanted to go out but it wasn't much of a choice when they had to go out to do some final shopping for Minho's bedroom, they'd come to the conclusion that every night Minho would be able to pick someone to cuddle with and that way the other boys wouldn't have numerous toys and plushies scattered around their bedrooms like they had when the little hadn't had a space to store all these toys. Though, there was always an occasion when one of them would lay in bed and get prodded by a sharp object like a racecar which had happened to Seungmin a few nights ago. After feeling the corners digging into his spine, he picked the car up chucking it across the room coincidently landing on Hyunjin who had yelped at the impact. If anyone asks, it was a ghost, not Seungmin. 

Back to Minho's bedroom problems... 

He'd complained to Chan the other day that the sheets were too dull, he took mild offence given the sheets were what he used on his bed. Plain black sheets were not acceptable in Minho's mind, he wanted someone more out there like dinosaurs or animals. 

"Minho, Minho, Minho...Where's Minho?" Changbin muttered under his breath peering in each room he passed by, they'd been playing a one-sided game of hide and seek meaning that Minho was simply hiding because he didn't want to go out in the rain. In fairness, nobody wants to go out in the rain. The closer Changbin got to the bathroom, the more his ears picked up on the sound of tapping. 

As he pushes to door open, the rustling of a curtain- most likely the shower curtain- was heard crystal clear. Pulling back the shower curtain he saw Minho trying to hide in the tub but what hadn't gone to plan was the leftover puddle of water that the little had accidentally sat in. Maybe he was a little troublesome from time to time but Changbin loves him nonetheless. 

"Come here you rascal," Changbin chuckles taking him out of the tub rolling his eyes at the now soaked pants he was wearing, "Gosh, what should we do with you, hm?" Minho giggles wrapping his arms around the caregiver's neck and messing around with a few strands of hair. He was in a lot more playful headspace than usual messing around and causing trouble seemed to be his forte today. 

As Changbin carries him back to his bedroom to get him into some dry clothes, Chan looks to be passing by not doing anything in particular, "Channie, Channie, Channie!" The little calls out squirming in the caregiver's grasp. It was unsaid, but everyone was fairly certain Chan was his main caregiver after watching the two of them interact through the months Minho had been with them. 

Chan beams letting Changbin hand over Minho, "Hello baby~" He sings bouncing him up down eliciting a whole load of giggles, "Why are his clothes wet?" He asks Changbin confused at the sudden change, he'd only seen Minho a few minutes ago.

Changbin gives a look to the little who had happily curled up in Chan's arms, "He hid in the shower," He answers before walking away making sure to ruffle the little's hair, it seemed to be his signature move at this point. 

"You hid in the shower did you now?" Chan laughs pushing the door open, "My cheeky little monkey," He smiles swinging them around making the boy laugh even more. The two of them just sort of had this bond, when Minho was joyed so was Chan, when the little was in tears crying over something tiny or huge, Chan was sad to see it but always at his side to support him. 

Something else that had changed since Minho had first come through the doors soaked from the river was his confidence around everyone, he was still a bit shy in public but that was understandable however he had no fear of shouting around the house or running risking bumping into someone. It was odd to say but Chan was rather proud, he was also proud that Minho had come to trust them all completely in various ways. He no longer made a scene when changing time arrived, didn't create too much of a fuss when bath time came by, and never really argued when being told no. Though, saying that, the little still liked to fight back a bit when being declined.

Minho happily sat on the bed swinging his legs back and forth watching Chan open the drawers grabbing some dry clothes, without the caregiver seeing him, the boy smiles widely tilting his head a bit. To Minho, Chan was everything, he was family, he was security, he was his home. The same goes for everyone else, he loves them more than anything. The eight of them were now a family regardless of how it worked, they were one big family. He keeps his eyes on the older man as he pulls out some bottoms and moves onto the other drawers. 

"Daddy," Minho suddenly speaks up. Chan doesn't know what else he says after that, he's frozen in his place, mouth agape and eyes glistening with tears at the name that had left the little's mouth. It doesn't take a genius to realise that Chan is beyond happy, Minho hadn't seemed to realise why but the red tint flushing on his cheeks showed he was very much aware of what he'd said. By the looks of it, the little was just a bit embarrassed but still happy nonetheless. 

"Yes, baby?" Chan answers blinking away the tears, if anyone were to see him they'd think he's an absolute mess. 

Minho frowns at the sight, "Why are you crying?" He pouts, "No tears," 

Chan wetly laughs heading on over to Minho, "Because I'm happy," He answers picking the little up grimacing at the still damp clothes. Minho didn't understand, how could tears be happy?

"Not sad?" Chan shakes his head, "Daddy's happy?" He checks and when the caregiver smiles widely again, he thinks he understands a little more than before. Oh, Chan couldn't wait till the others got to hear this. It's not that Chan has been waiting for this moment but, it was exactly that. 

Deciding not to waste any more time, Chan gets the little dressed again, ties his shoelaces and they head out the door. Minho is relatively quiet during the car ride too preoccupied with Seungmin's phone which had been playing Peppa Pig but had now moved onto Pororo, this had led Minho to ask to dress up as Pororo the little penguin for Halloween. At the vision of Minho dressed as a sweet penguin, those orange circular glasses the character wears and that was enough reasons to say yes right away. 

It was a shame Halloween wouldn't be for a while. 

Seungmin vaguely wonders how Hyunjin would react seeing their little running around dressed like a character out of his favourite childhood show, he wishes he could tell him but he was in the other car. Due to the fact that there were eight of them, they always had to split up when travelling a group. They were lucky Chan and Changbin had their driving licence. In the car currently with Minho was Changbin driving, Seungmin to Minho's right in the back and Felix in the passenger seat. 

"Is there anything you want to buy sunshine?" Felix asks twisting around in his seat, Minho lifts his head from the phone thinking about the question. As a little, there weren't many things he wanted besides toys. 

He hums putting his finger to his chin to emphasise, "Min doesn't know," He admits, "Got many plushies, Sungie got new pacis yesterday- Oh! Min wants a big fluffy blanket," He answers beaming at his choice, he only had one blanket but he'd spilt ice cream over it and it had left a mark on it...He had it in him to be feel bad given it wasn't actually his blanket but nobody seemed to mind that much. Nevertheless, he had apologised straight away. 

"That's a great idea baby," Felix praises knowing how much he strives from it. Minho was a simple little at heart, a bit of validation and security and he was happy as ever. 

Changbin hums having been listening to the conversation, "How about some outdoor toys?" It was a valid point, they had many toys for the boy to play inside but not so much outside. They had a decently sized garden, enough for him to run around in and play a game of tag. 

Minho thinks about it before nodding, "Binnie is a genius," He states while grabbing Seungmin's hand to play with the silver ring he'd put on this morning. To the words, Changbin laughs falling into a conversation with Felix in the front while the theme song playing from Seungmin's phone catches the little's attention again. 

Getting to the mall didn't take too long, they'd arrived a minute or two before Chan had with the others which wouldn't have been an issue if Minho wasn't whining about their whereabouts every two seconds. When their car had eventually pulled up, it was like a whole reunion had taken place. 

He gasps seeing Jisung stepping out of the car, "Sungie!" Minho giggles running forwards to hug the life out of the boy, "Missed Sungie," He mutters into the fabric of his hoodie despite having only seen him before leaving the house, the caregiver was happy to hug the whiny boy for a bit. 

Then Chan stepped out. 

“Daddy!” He squeals running over to jump into the man's arms almost knocking him over in the process, he stays silent once situated in the arms of his main caregiver, eyes shut and not caring about the world around him. The world around him, mostly the six others who didn't know about this new step in their caregiver/little life, were beyond shocked all having mini aneurysms at the new title. 

Jeongin stood there smirking at Chan who had quickly looked away from the youngest when they'd made eye contact, Hyunjin and Felix were practically bouncing up and down and everyone else either had wide starstruck eyes or simply smiled like idiots. 

"Well," Jisung starts, "Looks like he's declared a winner," He snickers at the blushing face of Chan and the oblivious Minho who had resorted to fluffing up Chan's hair. Everyone agreed with the statement but there was no jealousy present, it had been made pretty clear right off the bat that Chan would be the main caregiver. Another reason as to why they really didn't mind and if anything were over the moon was due to the fact Minho heavily relied on all of them regardless if Chan was present or not. Minho was all-inclusive. 

"Hey, there's no winner," Chan points out brushing the bangs out of Minho's eyes, "Right baby?" He asks but the boy just looked up staring at the grinning faces of the others in confusion, he'd been a bit busy trying to give Chan the best hairstyle he could ever ask for. It still remained the same probably with a few knots now. 

After the whole fiasco, they found themselves in a department store in search of the perfect bed sheets for Minho which was starting to become a difficult task with how fussy he was when it came to patterns. He didn't like stripes, the colour yellow, flannel print or what he calls boring colours which included brown, cream, white and black. Nobody entirely minded, their cart was starting to get filled rather quickly anyway with all eight of them making their own additions. 

"Minho love what do- Where's he gone?" Hyunjin frowns darting his eyes all over the place, he was standing right next to him a second ago talking about space and the bright stars that he can see from the windows at night. 

Felix turns around from browsing the towels to panic alongside Hyunjin, "What do you mean where is he?" He says with uneasiness laced in his voice, "He was here a second ago, he can't be far." He just hopes that Chan doesn't find out they've lost Minho, they'd never hear the end of it but that was a concern for the near future. 

"He's probably found one of the others," Hyunjin reassures mostly to ease his own nerves, "What if he runs into someone bad?" He suddenly panics, "There's been a lot of kidnappers recently in the news," He unhelpfully adds concerning them further. Felix abandons the towels to grab Hyunjin's hand and drags him out of the aisle to try and find their missing little, Felix's words of "he can't be far" seem to be a lie because he certainly isn't anywhere near. 

It only got worse when Jisung, Changbin and Seungmin catch sight of Felix and Hyunjin running from aisle to aisle like a child lost in a supermarket, "What're you doing? Who have you lost?" Changbin muses before his face falls, "No way...You haven't. Have you?"  

The threatening look from Seungmin wasn't helping them in any way nor was Jisung's loud gasp when he caught onto the situation, "You've lost our baby!" He cries tagging onto the search team. Now with five of them on the hunt for Minho, it felt like they had a better chance of finding him. The only problem was is that they were in a massive department store with many floors, many turnings and a lot of shoppers going about their daily life. 

"Minho!" They shout loud enough that he'd be able to hear if he was nearby, "Minho!" Their calls didn't attract the little but rather two painfully worried members of the household. 

"Why are you looking for Minho?" Chan inquires, "I swear to God if you've lost him," The five boy's sheepish faces told him all he needed to know. The search party had now been upgraded to the entire household minus Minho. 

What they didn't know is that Minho wasn't even on the ground floor anymore, he was on the second floor washing his hands in the restroom as if everything was as it should be. He had just been standing in an empty aisle containing photo frames when he came out of his headspace, he had absolutely no idea why he was there but all he knows is that he must've wandered off without his caregiver's knowledge. It wasn't like he didn't try to find them, he really did but all he saw were middle-aged women. The man had been searching for them for around ten minutes before he decided to take a quick trip to the toilet which just so happened to be on the second floor, a whole floor above where he should be. 

Minho shakes the water off his hands looking at his reflection in the mirror, he smiles happily seeing the outfit he was in; he wore white dungarees with a baby blue jumper underneath, a pacifier clip hanging from the top of his clothing and some matching blue converses which he recognises to be Jisung's rather than his own shoes that they'd bought him. The outfit made him feel small, happy and at peace but he didn't want to regress again, not when he was in the middle of a store without his caregivers. 

Don't get him wrong, he much preferred being in headspace and when he came out of headspace, like now, he was always beyond confused, mildly angry and mostly scared of the adult world around him. Though, while wanting to be little as soon as possible, he knew that it wasn't safe for him to be little and alone with all these strangers. It was beyond obvious that he was a little, the small kitten plushie that Chan had bought for him all those weeks ago sticking out of his pocket was the cherry on top. 

It was at times like these that he wished he had a phone, or at least knew one of their phone numbers. Then he remembered. One day, Jisung had been thinking of ways to keep Minho safer in public in the unlikely event that he got lost and had slipped a piece of paper into the pocket of his coat. He holds his breath slotting a hand into his coat and smiles widely when he feels a lose piece of paper right where Jisung had placed it. 

On it held on the boy's phone numbers, house address and some extra bits of information that Minho didn't bother to read. It wasn't hard to find someone to help him, not when he looked like a lost puppy trying to find its owner. 

"Excuse me," He timidly asks, not being used to talking to strangers or being out alone in general. Thankfully, the kind lady he had approached had taken pity instantly seeing as he was most certainly a little and his higher-pitched voice added to the illusion as well as his not so standard grammar when engaging in conversation. He was sort of out of touch with the adult world being little for 99 per cent of his life. 

"Oh honey, are you lost?" She asks, frowning slightly when Minho nods not helped by his bottom lip quivering, "Don't cry lovely, we'll find your caregiver," She assures and Minho nods keeping his mouth shut as he hands her the piece of paper. Although he was big right now, he felt an awful lot like he was little. He knows he's not in headspace right now but the fear of being lost not knowing where he was triggering a feeling of absolute terror in his mind. He hadn't felt like this a few moments ago, but the reality of it was starting to kick in. 

The woman takes the paper reading over the numbers, "Is there a particular one I should call?" She asks showing Minho the list, he scans over them not knowing who to choose. He knows whoever he calls will come right away with the others, then his mind goes back to the car ride and he wants Seungmin, he wants those warm comforting hugs that the younger happily gives to him even though he apparently hates hugs. He knows he's the only exception. 

"That one," He quietly says pointing to Seungmin's name and number, the lady smiles dialling the number into her phone and holding it up to her ear. There was a pause where Minho didn't know if he was going to pick up or not, he knew out of seven numbers one of them had to pick up. 

"Hello," The woman starts talking presumably to Seungmin and Minho lets a breath go, over the moon that he'd answered, "I've got- Sweetie, what's your name?" She quickly asks feeling a tad bit guilty she hadn't found out earlier. 

"Minho," 

"I've got Minho here, he's a little lost," She continues to explain the situation but Minho doesn't listen when she's telling Seungmin their whereabouts, he's too focused on watching the lift waiting for the doors to open and for his caregivers to come running. 

She hangs up the phone handing the paper back to Minho, "He should be here in a minute," She assures him, "He sounded really worried," The lady adds on making Minho feel increasingly bad for wandering off, so bad that the first few tears spill over his eyes and a choked sob forces its way out of his mouth. 

"Oh, my gosh, there you are," Seungmin rushes over engulfing Minho into a big hug, "We thought we'd lost you," He sighs running his hand through the boy's hair, he quickly thanks the lady a few too many times before turning his attention back to Minho. 

"I'm sorry," He rushes out wiping the tears on his cheeks away with the back of his hand, "I didn't know what happened when I came out of headspace and I couldn't find anyone so..." He trails off seeing the shocked expression on Seungmin's face. Oh yeah, he wasn't aware he wasn't little at this exact moment. 

"Wait, Minho?" He gasps and Minho had no idea what he's about to do but his questions were answered when he pulls him into another hug, this time he's not so sure as to why but he gladly hugs him back. 

Seungmin eventually pulls back at the same moment the others were rushing over having just come from the lift, "Before you say anything," He pauses, a small smile settling on his lips, "Thank you so much," 

Minho tilts his head not knowing why he was being thanked, he didn't feel as if he'd done anything to deserve thanks but he didn't mention it, it was a little difficult to mention anything when he had everyone else swarming around him. A brief explanation from Seungmin had everyone even more shocked, oddly enough more taken back than when he'd called Chan Daddy earlier on. 

"Minho," Jisung frowned moving forwards, "Are you okay?" He checks, noticing the tear tracks on his face, he found it a little unusual given he wasn't little right now. The older sniffs nodding letting a smile settle on his face to ease his worry. 

"I'm fine, thank you Sungie," He replies and Jisung beams at the use of his nickname still being used by the man even out of his headspace, just as well because none of them used honorifics with him which he was glad for. 

They decided to move their conversation to the cafe inside the store, all eyes on Minho but he was no longer terrified but rather comfortable and ready to talk. He liked seeing the boys outside of his headspace, it was different, a good different.

"I'm so glad I'm here for this unlike last time," Jisung says making sure to glare at Chan making Minho laugh, it had been rather amusing watching Jisung whine about missing big Minho last time. At least he hadn't missed out this time. 

Changbin, who had been quiet for the most part just listening in, finally spoke up saying, "I know this is really out of the blue but thank you for staying with us," Nobody said it but everyone wanted to say the same thing, maybe it's what Seungmin was thanking him for earlier. 

Minho's cheeks grow a little red at the words, "You're all the best, I should be thanking you since I didn't get the chance to last time face to face," He was still a bit upset about that, though he was thankful he got the chance to talk to Chan at least along with that video. 

"How do you come out of headspace?" Jeongin asks out of curiosity, even Minho doesn't know the answer to that. 

He shrugs, "I'm not too sure myself, I sort of just open my eyes and I'm here," He admits not knowing how else to explain it, "I must've walked off earlier, I'm really so sorry," Minho apologises again to everyone. They all just dismissed it showering him with affection instead and Minho knows, he's safe with them. 

"Oh, there's something I've always wanted to know," Hyunjin pipes up, "What's your favourite thing to do when little?" 

Minho thinks about it for a while, there were so many things he liked to do, he liked to draw, cuddle, run around and so much more. 

"I think...Snuggling," He admits casting his eyes down at this lap, "I like cuddling," 

Everyone coos and it does something to Minho, he feels himself slipping again and suddenly it's like he hadn't been out of headspace at all. It was funny like that, little Minho had no memory of his time out of headspace but big Minho had every memory of his time when little. 

He doesn't know why they're all cooing and smiling but he feels small now, very small. The pacifier dangling from his clip finds its way into his mouth fairly quickly and he settles down on Felix's shoulder, his eyes fluttering shut. The caregivers all caught on quieting down and whispering between them. They were all beyond happy that they got the chance to talk to big Minho, thank him for making their life that extra mile better. 

"I think we should get him home," Chan mutters, "I can take him back now if you all want to get back to shopping?" He suggests knowing they hadn't overly been there for too long and would probably want to grab a few more things on their day off. 

Jisung yawns catching himself off guard, "I'll join you," He takes a sleeping Minho off Felix's shoulder and carries him down to where the car is parked and sits in the back with the little rather than in the passenger seat. 

The ride is silent and Chan wonders why until he peeks back when he pulls up at a red light and sees Jisung and Minho both passed out in the back leaning on each other. He chuckles turning back around and putting his foot down trying to get them home faster. 

For the rest of the day, until everyone got back, Jisung and Minho napped in the younger's bedroom while Chan cleaned up the house. By the time they all got back, the little was sitting and watching a show with Jisung and Chan at his side. He hadn't really spoken feeling too little to take part in a conversation but the two caregivers quietly stayed by his side all cuddled up. 

"He's so cute it's unfair," Changbin whines seeing how Minho is now sprawled across their legs, he's too precious he thinks. 

"Maybe we should put him to bed," A chorus of disagreements was heard, nobody wanted to say goodnight to Minho. It was like one of those epiphanies, they'd all realised how much Minho means to them and it was scary but...None of them could imagine life without their ball of sunshine running around. 

Thiers. 

"You can play with him all day tomorrow,"

Chapter Text

“Lee Minho, put that seagull down!” 

Things were going smoothly for the boys, well, as smoothly as it could go when Minho kept picking up the seagulls in the park. He called them his friends, Chan called them flying balls of bacteria. 

It had been just over a year since Minho officially became theirs, they’d overcome many hurdles, and gone through ups and downs to finally reach a state of contentment. Although Minho hadn’t been too keen at first, Chan had booked him to see a specialist once a week and it had really been doing wonders. His confidence was starting to grow more, he wasn’t so panicked around strangers and he could actually be separated from his caregivers for over 3 hours now. 

It was progress. 

The only thing that maybe wasn’t for the best that had come out of such growth was Minho’s troublemaking tendencies. With his confidence, he also got a little bit more mischievous. Changbin can’t count all the times he had woken up to marker all over his face, luckily they hadn’t been permanent. 

Today was a nice day, the sun was shining down, the skies were clear and everyone had decided to go have a day out. Including Chan. Jisung and himself had taken Minho to the local park where he would be able to drain off some of the energy he was carrying around with him today. While Minho was running around, screaming and catching seagulls, Chan was trying his best not to go into what Seungmin had named Dad Mode and try and let Minho have a good time. 

His problem was that Minho’s version of a good time usually held a risk of danger, for instance, picking up seagulls. They were so gross, harbouring germs and stealing his chips every time Chan looked away for more than one second. On the other hand, Jisung was running around with Minho encouraging the behaviour to continue. 

Sometimes Chan really does think he has two babies to look after. 

“Sungie lookie!” Minho squeals, squatting down on the floor where he’s pointing at an array of flowers planted in the ground. Jisung smiles, standing behind him with a soft smile. Minho was really an angel. He could go from catching birds to admiring nature in a matter of seconds. 

“For Daddy?” He asks, staring up at Jisung with hopeful eyes, “Please?” Jisung supposes picking one flower won't hurt. 

Minho carefully inspected each flower, ensuring that Chan’s flower was the perfect one. He ends up picking a red one which he tells Jisung it’s because red means love and Min loves Daddy! 

He runs off, tugging Jisung by his hand back over to the bench where Chan was watching them with the biggest smile ever. “Hey, baby, what’s that you’ve got there?” Chan beams, more than thankful he’d found something else to occupy himself with rather than the chip-stealing thieves (also known as birds).

“For Daddy,” Minho presents the red flower, shyly looking down at his feet suddenly feeling timid in front of his main caregiver. “Sungie helped too,” 

Chan quietly laughs, taking the flower from Minho and placing it next to him, “C’mere sweetheart,” He pulls the little into a tight embrace, showing just how thankful he was. There were so many things he wanted to thank Minho for, the list extended for miles. 

~

By the time they had gotten back, Minho was exhausted, already falling asleep on Jisung’s shoulder as he carried the little through the door. From the couch, Changbin stands up quickly, taking Minho from Jisung’s arms and into his own without waking him up. 

“It’s fine, I’ve got him,” Changbin whispers, already sensing that Chan was about to help, “Go and get that work done that you were on about,” He teases, smirking at Chan who reluctantly walked off to his office with a loud sigh at the prospect of work. 

After being a caregiver for just over a year, Changbin had successfully nailed getting Minho dressed. Dressing someone really shouldn’t be as difficult as it is and while Minho was fast asleep, it was even harder. His limbs were like jelly, flopping back down before going where Changbin wanted them to. However, now he could change Minho in just under two minutes. 

It was something he would forever boast about. Though not to Seungmin; Seungmin could change Minho in less than a minute. 

Once he’s gotten Minho into his pyjamas, he tucks him in, leaving a kiss on his forehead before heading out of the room. Looking after Minho was a reward, something about him brought comfort to Changbin. If he was having a bad day, Minho would smother him with hugs and if he wasn’t having a bad day? Minho would still give him all the hugs in the world. 

Minho ended up sleeping for around an hour before waking back up, alone in the bedroom and searching for someone. Anyone. He opens his mouth before promptly shutting it again, speaking was too much…Speaking was a big thing, he was far too little to be speaking. 

So he did the next best thing. 

Loud cries- no- wails filled the house as Minho cried up a storm in his bedroom. Being alone was something he had adjusted to in an older headspace, however, babyspace Minho couldn’t stand being alone. Not even for a second. 

Then again, a baby shouldn’t be left alone. 

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here,” Hyunjin rushes in, awkwardly kicking his shoes off as he enters. He had stepped through the front door at the exact moment Minho had started crying and from there on out, he had thrown caution to the wind. All his belongings created a trail to the little’s room; his bag, coat, keys and shoes. 

Hyunjin catches his breath as he falls against the sheets, pulling Minho into a tight hug while he’s at it. His cries quickly quieten down as if he hadn’t been upset about anything in the first place, at the thought, Hyunjin stifles a laugh.

“How are you, baby?” He coos while blindly searching for Minho’s pacifier on the nightstand, and eventually he finds it. 

In response to the question, Minho gurgles, whining loudly when Hyunjin took far too long in putting the pacifier in his mouth. 

“Oh,” Hyunjin gasps, finally piecing his behaviour together, “Oh my gosh, baby Min!” He beams, hugging him even tighter at the prospect of getting to spend a day with even littler Minho. 

Was he the luckiest man alive or what? 

“Guess what~?” Hyunjin sings as he enters the room, gently swaying to keep Minho at ease. Chan raises his eyebrows, noticing the change straight away. Minho didn’t always have a pacifier, rarely actually. He only really ever wanted it when he was feeling down or if he was in a younger headspace and, by the looks of it, it was the latter. 

“I’ll go make him a bottle,” Changbin announces from the couch, already walking off toward the kitchen with a mission in mind. Chan watches Hyunjin dance around with the little before deciding to grab a few things from Minho’s bedroom, his favourite blanket to start with. 

By the time Chan had gotten back, Hyunjin had taken the initiative to lie down with the baby, feeding Minho with the bottle Changbin had made. It was adorable, really. There weren’t often days like this anymore, there was usually more jumping off the walls than quiet, sleepy moments. 

Although the quiet sleepy moments were rare and, God, so adorable, everyone gained endless energy from watching Minho run from one side of the room to another as if he were being chased by Jisung when he was in his tickle monster persona. 

“How long do you reckon he’ll stay that small for?” 

It turns out, Minho was still that small by the evening when everyone had gotten home. Jeongin hadn’t left his side for the entire time, making sure Minho always had someone to cling onto. Just like the first day they had brought Minho home, the little was happy to stay close to Jeongin. 

“Ow ow ow! Hyung help!” Jeongin cries, craning his neck down in an awkward fashion. Minho had gripped his hair in a tight fist, tugging on it with pure curiosity. Not a thought behind those eyes. On the other hand, Jeongin felt like his hair was about to rip from his scalp. Devil Baby Minho.

Laughing at his pain, Seungmin snaps a few pictures, videos and voice notes before actually taking Minho’s attention away from Jeongin’s hair. Such a sweet boy, Seungmin thinks. 

“He’s just having fun, aren’t you baby?” Seungmin grins over at Jeongin while stealing the baby from his arms. It was his time now. Holding Minho was almost like an energy booster, especially when he would instantly wrap his arms around your neck and get comfy. 

Perfect. 

Jeongin pouts but makes no move to fight back, sharing is caring after all. 

“Minnie,” Minho yawns and speaks for the first time in a good few hours, which didn’t go unnoticed by Seungmin. It seems he had started to wake a little from his baby haze, Seungmin doesn’t know whether to be happy or sad. Both were great. 

“Hey angel,” Seungmin smiles down at the little in his arms, bouncing him around as he walks over to the kitchen where Chan was typing away on his laptop, “What’re you doing Hyung?” 

Chan lifts his head, an immediate smile stelling on his lips at the sight of Minho all cosy in Seungmin’s arms, “Just finishing up this document, should be finished in no more than ten minutes,” 

“Dada,” 

Within a split second, Chan shuts the laptop, “I’ll finish that later. Hi Min!” 

“Da!” 

~ 

Some days, Chan takes Minho to work, he’d gotten to know many of his coworkers now. Nobody minded the little running around, interrupting them from their work for a few minutes. He was the energy booster in the building. 

“Good afternoon Mr Bang,” The receptionist welcomes before letting her eyes drift over to Minho who was giddy at his side, “Afternoon Min,” She waves over at the little who enthusiastically waves back with a big toothy smile, he was always happy to see everyone, no longer the shy little who he’d once brought home. 

Keeping ahold of Chan’s hand, they make it into his studio in no time. Unlike the first time Chan had taken Minho to work, everyone now knows that Minho is Chan’s little. 

“Can Min see frens?” 

Ah, yes, his friends. 

Chan finds it quite amusing, Minho would vanish off in the building to talk to all the other workers. He likes to visit the HR department the most for some reason, Chan suspects it’s because one of the workers there always has a gift for him. Mostly a snack. 

“Of course baby, make sure you’re back soon,” 

Minho nods, hugging Chan before running out of the room with his bunny plushie held loosely in his hand. After spending most weekends here, Minho had gotten to know the way rather well as well as the staff. Everyone was friendly, even the CEO of the building loved him. Then again, who didn’t?

“Woonie!” 

His favourite friend to visit in the HR department was Dowoon, every time he saw him, he’d get a lollipop! Changbin used to always give him lollipops, when Dowoon gives him one, he always feels warm inside remembering Binnie too. 

“Hey sweetheart, look what I’ve got for you,” He presents Minho with a plushie, different from the usual lollipop he normally received, “I saw it on my way to work and had to buy it for my favourite little boy,” 

Minho gleefully smiles, thanking Dowoon profusely before taking the penguin plushie, another one to add to his collection! His wardrobe was filled with plushies, most of his clothes had been moved to separate drawers for that exact reason, besides, he rarely even slept in his own bedroom so he didn’t see why it couldn’t be used for a plushie storage room. If anything, his bedroom seemed to be more of a playroom.

~ 

Of course, not everything still went smoothly after a year had passed, there were still times when Minho’s crying broke their hearts to pieces. 

Like tonight.

“Shh, you’re alright sunshine, you’re okay,” Felix hushes, bouncing Minho softly in his arms as he continues to cry and cry. It was the middle of the night when Felix had awoken to the sound of Minho crying beside him, shaking as he gripped Felix’s shirt in the darkness of the bedroom. 

It wasn’t often but every now and then, Minho would wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare. Felix still remembers the days when they couldn’t go three days without a nightmare taking place, it was now maybe once or twice a month. 

After having a year to master his skills, Felix would like to think he was quite good at getting Minho to calm down. He sits back down on his bed, gently moving Minho’s head to rest on his chest where the little would be able to hear his heartbeat. 

A natural grounding technique Felix had found. 

Then he sings. 

A few months into calming Minho down after nightmares, Felix worked out that Minho tended to relax to the sound of his voice. It didn’t matter whether he was talking, whispering or singing, it just worked and Felix wasn’t going to question it. He could be reading anything from a takeout menu to the ingredients on the back of a cleaning solution he’d found in the bathroom. 

Carrying Minho to the couch out in the front room, he keeps quietly singing, slowly hearing Minho’s cries dissipate into the occasional hiccup. Just like every time when this happens, Felix turns the tv onto the cartoon channel and watches as Minho’s wet eyes light up at the sight of his favourite characters on the screen. 

Just like magic, no more tears. 

Going back to sleep wasn’t really an option, from past events, he’d learnt that Minho would just wake back up in twice the panic. Besides, it was only 5 in the morning, missing a few hours of sleep didn’t matter that much. 

Despite the pain involved in these moments because damn it hurt to even hear it, Felix savoured the afterpart. The part where they can just lay and cuddle the heartbreak away, like now. 

Minho contently laid on top of Felix, his ear pressed to the caregiver’s chest where he could clearly hear his heartbeat, his thumb slotted between his lips and Felix’s arms wrapped around his waist. Minho was happy here, safe and sound. 

There were certain times when Minho didn’t like using his paci but rather he’d prefer to just suck on his thumb, it usually happened after he had a nightmare. Felix didn’t mind it, although it isn’t exactly good for him to suck his thumb, it didn’t happen often. If Minho was more comfortable this way then Felix was more than happy to let it slide. 

While Minho was wide awake, watching the show that was currently on, Felix was on the verge of falling asleep. It was a bad idea to sleep when he was the only person available to watch the little right now given that it was still in the early hours of the morning, and anything could happen. 

However, despite trying to stay awake, Felix couldn’t help but doze off every few minutes only for him to snap his eyes back open not even a minute later. His eyes were burning with the desire to sleep, to wrap himself back up in his warm covers where he could drift off to the land of dreams. 

He barely notices when his eyelids close again until he’s forcing them open again only to see Jeongin looking down at him with a lopsided grin. He’d woken up to the sound of Minho giggling, at first he had been petrified at the sound of laughter in the vast darkness but it didn’t take him long to figure out who the laughter belonged to. 

“Go and get some sleep Hyung,” Jeongin laughs at Felix’s sleepy nod, not even bothering to resist as he hands Minho over to Jeongin with a final hug. 

Getting comfortable again, Minho lays on Jeongin’s chest like he had been with Felix but makes sure to wrap his arms around the youngest’s neck for extra safety. With a fond smile, Jeongin brushes the bangs away from Minho’s eyes so he can see better; he makes a mental note to get Minho an appointment to get his hair cut. 

For now, Jeongin would just watch the show with him. 

~

By the time it was deemed acceptable to be awake, Jeongin and Minho were sitting on the floor playing with some of Minho’s toy cars. It had gotten to around 6:45 in the morning when the little had gotten bored of watching cartoons. Personally, Jeongin had gotten bored 10 minutes in but he powered through, he knows just how much Minho adores watching the animated shows. 

In the doorway, Seungmin stood there, fondly smiling at Jeongin and his baby laughing together as their plastic cars crash into one another in the middle of a top-speed race. In other words, a race around Chan’s shoe. 

Minho looks up, gasping loudly when he sees another one of his caregivers in the room, “Minnie!” He squeals, running over and jumping up into the man’s arms. Being used to his antics, it was just second nature to catch Minho when he came running his way. 

“Where are you going?” Jeongin asks as he clears the floor away, nobody needed to stand on sharp plastic today, these cars were nearly as deadly as a rogue piece of lego. 

Standing there in his shoes, Seungmin gestures towards the door with the hand that isn’t supporting Minho’s weight, “Shopping, it’s quiet in the morning,” There was nothing more that Seungmin hated than shopping when you couldn’t walk two steps without having someone bump into you as if they had absolutely no self-awareness. 

Gasping, Minho pouts at Seungmin, “Min come too? Please?” How could anyone say no to that face? It’s a crime to be as cute as Lee Minho. 

“Of course baby, let’s go get you dressed first!” 

Without hesitating, Minho let Seungmin pull the hem of his t-shirt over his head to be quickly replaced with another item of clothing. Although Minho fully trusted all his caregivers, he still held a soft spot for Seungmin when it came to getting changed. 

“Blue or pink?” Seungmin asks, holding up two hoodies, “Or green?” 

Minho debates it, looking between the two hoodies and down at the white shorts he was wearing, “Pink!” He beams, putting his arms in the air as Seungmin gets the hoodie on him. 

Minho seemed to have an unhealthy addiction to hoodies… 

~ 

“Hold Minnie’s hand baby,” Minho does as he’s told, lacing his fingers with Seungmin’s as they approach the entrance to the supermarket. 

In the car, Minho had fallen asleep and since waking up, he seems to be feeling a tiny bit smaller than before. His vocabulary was a little more limited and Seungmin had noticed Minho was an awful lot more clingy right now. 

If he could, Seungmin would carry Minho through the store but the basket in his hand was taking up the space. 

While Seungmin stands, flicking through the various options of powdered milkshakes, Minho rests his head on the caregiver’s shoulder. Being close made him feel safe. Seungmin ruffles his hair, fondly smiling at the boy on his arm. 

“Open up sweetheart,” Seungmin smiles, placing Minho’s paci in his mouth. Immediately, Minho lets out a content sigh, wrapping his arms around Seungmin’s torso. Maybe Minho was just a bit too small for shopping right now. 

~

It had been a good few weeks since Minho had gone into baby space, they hadn’t experienced it again but this time they would be more prepared. Changbin had even gone out of his way to buy some more essentials. 

“Hyung, what’re you thinking about?” Changbin asks, following Chan’s gaze to the river they were walking by. They had decided to take Minho out on a walk down the canal, it was a beautiful day so Chan and Changbin thought it would be nice to get out. 

Chan tears his gaze away, shaking his head, “Nothing important,” He looks down at Minho who was standing in the middle of them, holding both of their hands and, God, he would protect him forever and always. 

“Lookie! Swings!” 

Yeah, always.