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Everyone these days seemed to have a little, they were cute, fun and, to put it simply, adorable. Living in a house with 5 other men could be loud, sure, however, Chan believed they needed a new atmosphere to strive in. Welcoming a new member to their slightly chaotic family is exactly what they need, they all had money coming in to supply for a little and most of them had bugged Chan about it at least once in the past. Now that they had a big enough house, enough money and space, it was perfect.
Changbin works at a clothing store specialising in littles, he would be able to pull a few strings and get some clothes for free or at least discounted. Later in the day, Chan brings it up to everyone and, to say the least, they were all on board. Questions had been asked left, right and centre.
"When can we go?" Jisung asks practically bouncing in his seat, he was maybe the most obvious when it came to expressing excitement. Collectively, everyone was beyond excited to have a little in their lives. They'd shared a house back when they were at university and ever since then they'd ultimately decided to keep living together, paying was easier with six men and, with combined efforts, they were able to keep the house up and running.
Chan thinks about Jisung's question, they had the stuff to buy obviously yet with all the paperwork that goes into adopting a little, it would probably make sense to go straight away.
He hums, "Sometime this week?" Chan says checking for what everyone else seemed to think, Changbin grinned silently cheering, Seungmin and Jeongin nodding in approval, Jisung making his happiness known and Felix had begun to plan out things to buy.
They had eventually decided on a Tuesday to visit the centre, a day that Chan had off from his job working in a law firm, they hadn't thought on who would go with him yet though. Given the day, it wouldn't be Felix nor Jisung since they both have work all day, Changbin started later in the day so it would also be quite unlikely that he'd go. That leaves Seungmin and Jeongin, they'd have to rock paper scissors on who goes. Chan would be happy having both of them with him but overcrowding the littles wasn't a brilliant idea, two would be enough, three's a crowd.
Today, it was Friday.
After their discussion, Felix had grabbed his laptop and, with Jeongin, had started browsing little essentials. Currently, they were scrolling through a site for wallpaper. The Australian boy had been put in charge of the interior, he was going towards sort of clouds in the bright blue sky sort of theme, pastel blue with a bit of white here and there. His inspiration had come from Toy Story, Andy's room had baby blue walls with painted white clouds and Felix found it perfect. There wasn't too much he could do without knowing the little, he may not like the colour blue, maybe he was more of a purple boy or green. That was another thing they'd decided on, a boy. With 6 men living in the house, they had all decided that it would probably be for the best and besides, they wouldn't want to make the little uncomfortable.
It didn't take long for Tuesday to roll around, everyone was at work including Jeongin since he was called in due to an emergency, he begs to differ. A meeting about their change in coffee beans didn't seem like an emergency to him, or half of the other staff at the company either.
Which left Seungmin cheering in victory, he’d be sure to rub it in Changbin’s face when the man gets home later on. The duo had left for their half-hour journey at 10 o’clock in the morning, it seemed like every traffic light they had to pass turned red as the car approached. The half-hour journey ended up being forty minutes, they were just thankful they made it in time for their appointment. The adoption centre didn’t allow walk-ins since it could be stressful for the little’s if too many visitors arrive at one time. It was restricted down to 5-6 people in the room at once.
“Good morning, do you have an appointment?” Chan goes through the details with the receptionist while Seungmin admires the artwork on the walls, it was his way of calming the nerves that felt like butterflies fluttering around in his stomach.
They’re directed into a corridor, large glass windows separating the littles from them. The younger takes a breath as he pushes open the doors, the loud atmosphere immediately making itself known. In one corner, a boy sat building a tower with blocks screaming every time it fell, in another, there was a short boy colouring in with another little, they were both full of grins.
The two walk over smiling at the littles that were drawing, at the sight of two men, they look up smiling even more.
One of the littles clap their hands at the two, Chan chuckles finding it absolutely adorable, “Hello there, what’re you drawing?” The little one holds up a drawing with two stick figures, clearly him and the friend. An arrow is pointed to each, one saying Jungwon and the other saying Sunoo.
Seungmin sits on the floor talking with them for a bit while Chan goes to interact with another little who was playing with some plushies alone, he had learnt his name was Juyeon.
When they think that they’ve met and played with every little, they meet again outside of the room on the other side of the glass windows.
They talk for a little bit before heading back out with smiles on their faces, “Any questions so far?” The voice coming from a worker caught their attention.
“Not yet, thank you,” Chan says needing some time to think.
Neither of them knew what to say so the younger breaks the silence first, “Anyone stick out to you?” Chan sighs shaking his head, they were all perfect but just not the right one. The two boys who were drawing were wonderful but their friendship seemed too strong to separate, the boy who was building blocks was far too energetic for the 6 who had no experience and the little playing with plushies alone didn’t really like Chan or anyone for that matter.
“Same,” He sighs, they go to turn around but a hand on his arm belonging to Chan stops him.
The man points a finger back into the room towards a fort-like structure that both of them had failed to see before, “Hey, look…” Chan mutters showing Seungmin what he was seeing, there were a pair of feet sticking out.
"Ah, that'll be Hyunjin and Minho in there," They both turn their attention to the worker who stepped forwards following their gaze.
"Hyunjin and Minho may as well be family with how close they are," Her face falls as she continues talking, "It's unfortunate they haven't been adopted yet, most people don't want to take two littles on at once but they're so close that they refuse to leave each other's side," Chan and Seungmin nod along staring back at the two on the other side of the glass, the shorter boy has settled himself in Hyunjin's lap looking as if he were about to fall asleep.
Seungmin sighs, it really was a shame, "How old are they? In headspace,"
The lady pulls hums, "It can vary, usually the oldest is Hyunjin around the age of 5 but it can drop and if that seems to be the case, Minho will force himself into an older headspace. Though he is usually around 2-3,"
They make their way back into the room heading towards the blanket fort, they still at the entrance not wanting to intrude.
Seungmin clears his throat saying a quiet “Hello,” to not frighten anyone.
Shuffling was heard and some muttering and eventually a tallish boy with longish brown hair that was half up, half down emerged. His hand was holding onto something inside the structure that Chan nor Seungmin could see but could only assume it was the other little they had seen.
“Hello!” He chirps, his smile was the most beautiful thing on Earth, they didn't know which little was Hyunjin or which one was Minho with the lack of description from the worker.
Chan sits cross-legged mimicking the smile on the latter’s face, “Hi there, what’s your name?” He asks softly.
“Hyunjin,” He beams, “And this is Minho!” The enthusiastic little shuffled to the side revealing another little who was trying to hide back behind Hyunjin but since they were both holding hands it made the angle a fair bit difficult.
Seungmin waves at the shy little who, in return, gives a small smile back. He had brown fluffy hair, a perfect nose and soft eyes that never looked up.
"Hello there sweetheart,” Chan says trying to get the boy out of his shell, Minho doesn’t say anything back but he does crawl out of the fort and back into Hyunjin’s lap like he had been moments before. It was evident that Minho had a younger headspace than Hyunjin like they'd been told, Chan and Seungmin took that into consideration when interacting with the two.
The whole time they sat there talking to the boys, mostly Hyunjin since Minho didn't seem to open up easily, it was clear that they were like brothers. It was a shame that they'd agreed on one little and not two, either way, Chan's mind kept bugging him about it.
The drive back was mostly quiet filled with occasional chatter, no decisions were set in stone yet and they'd have to consult everyone on the goings-on of today.
The oldest sighs as the car come to a stop reaching the end of the traffic jam, "Do you think we have enough skills for two?"
"Two what?" Seungmin asks as if they had only gone out for a drive and nothing else.
Chan pulls the clutch averting his eyes back to the road, "Littles, Seungmin, do we have space for two littles?" He asks, Seungmin ahhed as his head came out of the clouds and back into the land of reality.
"I think we do," He admits, "Hyung, I really think it would work with them," The pleading tone in his voice was evident as he tried to convince the man that it would be a good idea to adopt two rather than their initial deal of one. He felt as if he had built a list of arguments to persuade Chan that it would be the best choice they'd ever make.
Eventually, they got back.
Walking into the front room, they were met with awaiting eyes obviously wanting to know the ins and outs of their day.
Jeongin, who looked beyond frustrated from his day at work, was the first to break the ice, "Please tell me you have good news,"
The duo exchange a look, Seungmin deciding on letting Chan spill the beans as he lightly shoves Changbin out of the way so he can take a seat on the couch. Felix and Jisung were huddled up under a blanket, mugs of hot chocolate in their hands looking as if it were a cold winters day and not July.
The silence was almost unbearable as Chan slumped down on the floor, Jisung felt his heart pound against his chest at the tense atmosphere not helped by Felix's ring hitting the edge of the mug every couple of seconds.
"Felix," Chan starts, the boy in question raises his head awaiting the next words, "Rather than a room for one, could you make it a room for two?" The boy nods so quickly that Jisung has to put his drink on the floor to prevent spillage.
Changbin gasps shooting up from his spot on the couch, "You're not joking right?" Chan shakes his head with a laugh, he could have sworn he saw tears in the man's eyes as he fell back partially onto the couch and mostly on Seungmin who was sure to let the man fall.
For the rest of the day, they talk about Hyunjin and Minho and the type of things to buy. By the sounds of it, they should be purchasing things for ages 5 and under which wouldn't be a problem at all. Ever since Changbin had started working in a place for littles he had made it his dream to be a caregiver and now that it was finally happening he couldn't be happier. Jeongin hadn't really been all too bothered until his brother got a little, after bonding with the boy he would happily say that he was destined to be a caregiver. A similar story with Jisung but he'd just known that caregiving was for him, he remembers looking after Chan when he fell ill and, though it may be different to littles, he felt a sense of pride at his skills. All six of the men strived to be caregivers.
☆☆☆
The next day, they headed back to the centre but it was now Changbin, Jisung and, once again, Chan as he was the only man in the house that could drive. This time, it was nearing 4 PM as they'd had quite a busy day, Felix was out with Seungmin on the hunt for some decent beds for the boys and Jeongin had been put in charge of buying plushies- the logic being that he is the youngest and would know best.
As they enter the building, the receptionist gives them a warm welcome as she leads them back down the familiar hallway. Changbin and Jisung wave at the littles whilst pulling faces making them giggle.
They enter the room which wasn't as loud as it was yesterday, Chan guesses that they've probably tired themselves out from running around all day. The fort from yesterday was empty but Chan saw Minho sat holding a plushie tight to his chest, Hyunjin didn't seem to be there. The curly-haired man frowned at panic on his face, he really couldn't wait to put a smile on the little's face.
"That's Minho," He tells Changbin and Jisung who coos at the sight, "I'm not too sure where Hyunjin is though..." Wherever his eyes travelled to, there was no sight of the boy. He feels bad as he watches Minho stroke the fur back on the plush, he figures it's probably a coping mechanism while he waits for Hyunjin to come back.
Chan beckons Changbin and Jisung over with him, Minho stares up recognising Chan but not the other two. The plushie comes up to cover his face from the visitors, Jisung sadly smiles at how shy the little seemed to be.
"Hello sweetheart, do you remember me?" Chan asks not wanting to scare him even more, he hopes Minho knows who he is for some reason.
Minho slightly moves the plushie, his eyes flickering up and back down, "Channie," He whispers having recalled his name from yesterday's introduction, "No Minnie," He observes Seungmin's absence, he finds it cute as does the two standing behind who seemed to be overwhelmed with cuteness.
"That's right Min, do you mind if we sit here?" He wants to make sure the little would be comfortable with two new people and himself sat down with him without the addition of Hyunjin, he wanted to ask but, then again, he was sure that if he did it would probably make him upset again. At least talking to him appeared to distract him.
Minho is hesitant, his eyes searching for the other little as he reluctantly nods. Chan sits in front of him whereas Jisung and Changbin sit on the pillows surrounding them, Minho spares a look at them probably curious as to who they were. Just as they were going to introduce themselves, Minho gasps extending his arms out to someone behind them. The trio turn their heads watching as Hyunjin toddles over, he tilts his head when he sees Chan again, it wasn't often someone would come to see them twice.
He settles down next to Minho who was now hugging the boy's side, "Channie back?" Hyunjin asks, Changbin notices the inquisitive yet hopeful glint in his eyes. He wonders how many times these boys had almost been separated, from what they were told, it happens often. It was either both or none and, luckily, the 6 of them were beyond thrilled to have both.
"Of course I came back," Hyunjin preens at the implied compliment, Minho's ears turn a shade of pink at the words.
The little's eyes go to Changbin who was flicking through a sensory book that he'd picked up off of the floor, "Ah, I'm Changbin," He introduces himself setting the book back on the ground making a mental note to voice the idea of them to Jeongin.
"Binnie like bunnies?" The quiet voice belonging to Minho caught his attention, he was pointing at the rabbit on the back of his phone case, he'd seen it half price in the shop and had to buy it.
Changbin nods, a bright expression plastered across his face, "Bunnies are the best," He whispers back as if it's a secret for only him and Minho to know, the little shyly nods agreeing with the man.
"Min like bunnies," He holds out the rabbit plushie for Changbin to see, "Min's bunny," He lets Changbin hold the plush with the promise that he would be gentle, it was a white rabbit with beautiful blue ocean eyes.
"What's its name, Min?"
The little shuffles closer to Changbin leaving Hyunjin's side but a hand was still clutching the other little's hoodie, "Baek," It was a lovely name, Changbin thinks, he notices the name written on the label and under that was also the owner's name, Lee Minho.
All the while, Jisung had been interacting with Hyunjin getting to know what type of little he was, he'd found out the boy quite liked to go to parks despite not being able to go often and his favourite colour was white but he was a big fan of sushi. Jeongin and Felix were missing out by not having met these angels yet.
Hyunjin tuns to Changbin seeing the book back in his hands, "Binnie have a little?"
Changbin shakes his head, "We don't," He wasn't sure what the look on the boy's face meant, "But, we may soon," The cryptic reply confused both Minho and Hyunjin, they could only hope they both finally had a home together.
"How would you feel if we told you we wanted to adopt you?" Jisung says softly, they notice the way Minho tightens his hold around Hyunjin, "Both, we'd like to adopt both of you,"
They didn't know what they were expecting but it certainly wasn't for both of them to burst into tears on the spot, the only thing that mattered was the wide smiles the littles both had on their faces. Hyunjin and Minho hugged the life out of each other before making sure to squeeze Jisung, Changbin and Chan in turn. Chan had already phoned up the centre the previous night to see if it would be possible and they'd been over the moon that someone was willing to adopt both of them, the only thing that stood between them was the littles answer and by their reaction, it was a yes.
Despite wanting to leave the place straight away, Hyunjin and Minho had to stay there for a further week while all the paperwork gets finalised. They'd be sure to visit them in that week, Felix and Jeongin getting dibs on the first visit. Now all they had to do was wait and decorate.
☆☆☆
By the end of the week, Felix had successfully decorated the room with the help of Seungmin and Jeongin. The walls were a baby blue shade with fluffy clouds scattered around just like he had envisioned, white shelving units with kittens and puppies painted on the side of the wood. When Felix had met Minho and Hyunjin, they'd spoken about what type of room they'd like and most of what they'd asked for was sitting right here. Jeongin had splashed out and spent an awful lot of money on plushies and duvet covers, he took his role as plushie supplier very seriously. There was a toy box in the right-hand corner which had animals painted on it, the amount of money they spent on it was a little drastic but when Chan had seen it in the shop he wasn't going to leave without it. The toys inside had all been bought by Jisung, he'd spent around 3 hours in one store filling his cart with all sorts and he'd left with 4 large bags which Changbin had almost had a fit at.
Their wardrobe was filled with new clothes, Changbin had managed to get them all half-priced, he wonders how much of a dent his wallet would be suffering if he didn't work there. The clothes he'd chose ranged from summer clothes all the way to winter clothes, swimming gear, a variety of shoes, coats and accessories. Seungmin had also chipped in buying matching pacifiers and blankets.
Maybe they had gone a bit overboard...Oops?
When the morning finally came, all of them were beyond nervous, they'd had people around all week with documents to sign, house checks for health and safety and all was well. Now that everything was finalised, Jeongin couldn't wait to just relax in the company of the littles.
It would take a bit of time to get them settled in but it would all be worth the time and all their hard work.
"Hyung, how much longer?" Jisung whines as his back bends over the couch, Chan looks up rolling his eyes at the question being asked for the nth time.
It was still the morning, "Around 2 hours," like he had told him only ten minutes ago when he last asked.
The two hours of waiting was filled with pacing, cleaning up and more pacing. Unfortunately, not all of them could be there since they have jobs which left Chan, Jisung and Jeongin waiting around for the door to knock. There had been a false alarm when the mailman came to deliver a parcel, everyone had stood up all at once rushing over to open the door.
The door knocks again, Jeongin takes a breath walking towards the door opening it seeing a woman standing with more documents in her hand, he almost wants to cry having seen so many stupid papers all week.
"Could you just sign here please," She explains what it is and he signs it, it the van behind them, a man walks out with two suitcases rolling behind him. Chan stands up taking the luggage and dropping it off to the side, for now, they could deal with that later.
Jisung, Jeongin and Chan stand in the doorway watching as the door on the van slides open revealing Hyunjin who was bouncing in his spot and Minho who was a little bit calmer as he held the bunny plushie Baek closely in one hand. Jisung worried it might take a while for Minho to settle in, Hyunjin appeared to be a lot less nervous than Minho always was.
After what feels like forever, the boys make it to the front door sheepishly waiting for the lady to step aside. A few more words were exchanged and much to their delight, the door was shut.
"Welcome home, boys," Chan said breaking the ice, Hyunjin jumped up and down looking around in awe while Minho subtly kept his excitement to a minimum despite his internal screaming at the large house.
"Jinnie an' Min get to stay?" Minho still wasn't completely sure that this was set in stone, nothing like this had ever happened to them before. He was used to the day in day out routine at the adoption centre, the little was used to the large rooms with far too many bunk beds, the disgusting but bearable food for meals and the loud atmosphere that he'd put up with.
Jisung doesn't quite understand the question but answers it to the best of his ability, "Always, this is your home now kitten," Minho didn't give an answer, instead, he lets go of Hyunjin's hand to wrap his arms around Jisung's waist. It was a good start, in fact, it was a great start.
"Would you like to see your bedroom?" Hyunjin gasps nodding his head, he had been waiting to see what it looked like for ages, well, one week. He pulls on Chan and Jeongin's hands in the direction he hopes is the bedroom.
Jisung stands with Minho cuddling his waist, the little pulls back with a pout extending his arms, "Sungie carry?" Jisung was proud to be the first one to get to do this as he hoists the brown-haired boy into his arms, maybe he worried all for nothing.
As the littles enter their bedroom for the first time, their faces break out into the most cheerful expression that Jeongin thinks he's ever seen and that's saying something since he saw Changbin when he graduated and he doesn't think he's ever seen him happier.
Hyunjin runs to the toy box opening it and clapping his hands at all the different kinds of things to play with, Jisung stands with Minho still wrapped around him smiling in victory at his choice of toys. Minho's eyes scanned the walls pointing every now and then at the animals, courtesy of Felix.
One of the main things Hyunjin fell in love with was the large garden, he'd requested a swing set which was sitting in the back next to a row of bushes. He thanked them numerous times, Minho wasn't so keen because of the height it could go up to even if it wasn't that high, it was to him. Rather than the swings, Minho seemed happy to spend his time sitting on the grass picking the daisies with Changbin and Seungmin who had gotten home moments ago. Felix would be home in a few minutes after he finishes his side job of tutoring, it helped bring in the extra cash which they'd certainly be needing now.
"Innie!" Hyunjin calls out running towards him with a stone in his hand, "Look look," To Jeongin it just looked like a plain old stone but to Hyunjin there was an imprint of a fox, apparently it looked alike to the younger caregiver.
"Felix, you're missing out," Seungmin teased the boy as he walked into the garden grinning at the Hyunjin swinging back and forth under the supervision of Jisung and Chan, Minho was still picking daisies but he was now making them into a flower crown with the help of Seungmin.
Minho lifts his head at the mention of Felix, "Lixie, flower," He says, Felix walks over settling down next to Changbin on the grass praising Minho for his beautiful creation.
"It's beautiful baby," Felix ruffles the little's hair, "Are you going to wear it?"
Minho debates the question before shaking his head, "Lixie wear it," He declares shuffling a bit to lift his hands to place the crown on his head, Seungmin snaps a few photos of the exchange knowing full well his storage was already running out.
☆☆☆
They both settled in fairly well, the household of eight was a dream and none of them could ask for anything more. The first night had been a bit rocky...Minho had slept like sleeping beauty while Hyunjin had gotten up crying over a nightmare. Thankfully, Changbin had been passing by and had heard the whimpers, it was all resolved pretty quickly and, while Changbin did like his own bed, he ended up holding Hyunjin close until he felt safe.
It happened a fair few times after that too, sometimes they were caused by something he'd seen on tv or simply his imagination but he was always fine when someone was there to hold him close. Most mornings one of the caregivers would come in just to see Hyunjin and Minho wrapped around each other sleeping peacefully, they were truly inseparable and it was far too cute.
☆☆☆
"Do we have everything?" Chan double-checked looking everyone over for the millionth time, today they had planned to go to the beach since neither of them had ever been there. Chan had only found out about this while watching The Little Mermaid with Minho who voiced his liking towards the sea without ever actually being there.
Everyone filled up the van that Chan had the joy of driving, Felix in the passenger seat with his phone telling him the directions. Minho and Hyunjin sat next to one another with Changbin at their right, they decided on playing eye-spy for a good half hour of the journey and for the rest they just fell asleep leaning on one another's shoulder.
"We're here!" Chan announced waking up everyone in the back, Minho yawned rubbing at his eyes as he reached his arms out for Seungmin to carry him to which he complied. Hyunjin didn't really like being picked up no matter what age range he found himself in, he much preferred to be holding someone's hand or cuddling at their side.
It didn't take overly long for them to find a suitable spot on the beach, Changbin and Jeongin battled with the blanket to settle down on the sand making Hyunjin giggle at their terrible attempts.
Seungmin, Jeongin and Jisung laid down shutting their eyes to relax for the first time in weeks, the sun shining down on them making everything better. Chan sat with Minho between his legs who was building a sandcastle with the bucket and spade that Felix bought from the gift shop across the road. Hyunjin was walking around the beach hand-in-hand with Changbin collecting seashells in a green bucket that he'd picked out with Felix, Changbin wasn't exactly sure what the little wanted to do with the shells but, knowing him, they'd probably end up coming home with them.
"Sungie, Minnie, Lixie, Innie!" Minho shouts patting Jisung's leg as he was the closest to him, the three sit up giving multiple praises at the castle the boy had built. He'd started placing stones around the outside that Jisung began to pass him.
Hyunjin skipped back over with his bucket full of shells, "Min, use shells," They both continued to build up the castle with the help of Chan and Changbin, soon enough they deemed the castle perfect and stopped adding to it.
"Swim!" Hyunjin cheered, "Lixie swim with Jinnie?" Felix nods and they disappear down to the shoreline, the sea was cold but with the hot day, they were sure to relish in the coolness.
Minho sits watching the duo with a pout, "What's wrong love?" Seungmin asks while brushing his hair out of his face.
"Min wan' swim too," Seungmin chuckles standing up lifting Minho up into his arms again and takes him down to the shoreline. Hyunjin and Felix were waving at them, the water was only up to their waists as they splash around.
Seungmin tries to keep his chill as the cold water travels up his body with every step forwards, Minho gaps as his feet finally reach the water, "Cold," He whines lifting his legs higher making Seungmin struggle a bit.
"It'll be warm once you're in baby," It's a phrase he hates, it's alright once you're in, no matter how many times he got told it, it never helped and here he was telling it to someone else. It was nice to not be on the receiving end of the useless phrase.
"Sharkies in here too?"
"No sharkies here, only fishies," Seungmin replies still warming up, he wants to laugh at Minho's imagination but refrains from doing so besides the cold water was a big distraction.
Soon enough, all eight of them were splashing around in the sea, inflatable beach balls being tossed back and forth. Minho and Hyunjin screaming as the once cold now warm water got splashed around them, Chan watched out of the way with a huge smile on his face.
"Ahh, who wants ice cream?"
"Me!"