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seonghwa sighed as he brought the last luggage down the staircase, backpack slinging over one shoulder.
"okay guys!" he shouts into the living room "I'm ready to go~"
one by one, each hyungs walks towards the front door, the last one to join is hongjoong- clutching onto his plush cat, eyes barely open. he feels bad that they had to wake the younger up early, but in order for seonghwa to catch his flight on time, he has to arrive early- and 5 in the morning is definitely early.
the poor kitten looks grumpy, and seonghwa knows for sure he'll most likely become cranky later. "c'mere, baby" he mumbles, holding his arms out. the younger stumbles over to the oldest, albeit too busy rubbing at his sleepy eyes. he picks his baby up, placing him on his hip as rocks him in his arms for a little bit.
"I'm sorry hwa woke you up so early from your sleep, sweetheart." he places a gentle kiss on top of the kitten's head. "but hwa wants to say goodbye before I leave."
the older decided (or more so was strongly persuaded) to leave on a little weekend getaway- just by himself. and at first he immediately turned it down, he doesn't want to leave his baby. it'll feel weird for him as well as the kitten to not have each other around for 2 days- but with a lot of convincing from his friends, he reluctantly agreed. ("even mama's need some me time!")
seonghwa felt uneasy when he began to pack his stuff the night before as hongjoong was fast asleep on the bed. the kitten had a busy day of running around and playing so it was no surprise that he fell asleep a little earlier than usual.
he couldn't explain it, but he felt uneasy leaving hongjoong behind- granted his hyungs will be watching him. it's only because the pair do almost everything together, from the minute they wake up to the minute they go to sleep at night.
"hwa is going to be back soon, okay? your hyungies are going to be staying with you! that's so exciting!" seonghwa keeps the excitement in his voice at a soft tone.
hongjoong however is still too sleepy to even open his eyes, choosing to snuggle into the warmth of his hwa. seonghwa just continues his rocking motion, placing his cheek on top of joong's head.
"you guys know his schedule and routine so there shouldn't be too much of a problem. if anything, you have my number and I wrote down my parents' number just in case..." seonghwa began his lecture "if he'd like to go to bed a little later than usual that's fine as long as it's not past 8:30...oh! and don't make him oversleep in the morning or he'll be more prone to tantrums...ummm...don't give him candy or junk food...he has some spare pull-ups in the bathroom just in case-"
"seonghwa!" wooyoung interrupted, making seonghwa jump at the raise of tone. wooyoung's heart falters only momentarily for the way the eldest hyung looks at him almost wounded.
"hongjoong has been with us before, you don't need to worry..."
seonghwa sighs "yeah, but it'll be the whole weekend I'm gone! 2 whole days, wooyoung!"
jongho steps in this time, hands on hongjoong's arm to encourage the older to pass him over. and at first he doesn't. he takes the smallest step back while clutching onto his baby tighter.
"I'll call you later, okay, my lovebug? mama loves you so much, you be my big boy, okay?" seonghwa presses a kiss onto his forehead, keeping his lips rested for a moment before handing him to jongho.
the tone in seonghwa's voice made the younger wake up a little bit more. why did mama sound sad? is mama crying?
he looked up at the older, sure enough seeing his eyes growing watery. he let out a small whimper, making grabby hands at seonghwa.
"oh, baby, I'm sorry. mama has to go now, I promise I'm going to come back, okay?" he leaned over to press one last kiss on his cheek. "you be a good boy for your hyungies. I love you to the moon and back."
it hurt him to leave his baby in an emotional state, almost wanting to just drop his stuff and comfort him- but he knew he had to leave now.
"I'll see you guys on Sunday, I'll call later to check on him." hongjoong's whines grew louder, within the minute of seonghwa closing the door did the tears starting rolling down his cheek.
"wan' mama..." he whimpered. "mama! wan' mama!" he shouted impossibly louder, tears tickling his neck as it travels down.
"oh, honey, you're okay" wooyoung coos, going to pick up the baby in jongho's arms. he holds his hand on the back of his head as he rocks him around the room.
the room is filled with painful mewls and small sniffles, occasionally small "shhs" are heard from wooyoung.
"mama is coming back, but your hyungies are going to be here to spend time with you" his hyung coos in his ear.
hongjoong hears footsteps approaching followed by a hand rubbing circles into his back. "woo is right, lovie" yunho's voice fills his ears "we're here to keep you safe until mama comes back-"
"-and we're gonna have so much fun!" adds yeosang. more footsteps spill into the room.
the kitten's ears are pressed down into his curly hair. instead of mewls, this time it's the silent crying. no matter how many times he rubs at his eyes, more tears continue to fall.
inbetween his sobs, he's interrupted by small yawns. he stares into space with droopy eyes before continuing to bawl his eyes out.
"come, my dear, let's go back to sleep." wooyoung pats his back gently, turning around so he can face his hyungs. "say night night to your hyungies."
instead of a wave goodnight, they bid farewell with the sounds of an exhausted kitten crying for his mama.
-
"hey, look who's awake" jongho greets, a small smile forming on his lips.
"and look who woke up a little grumpy" wooyoung adds, holding onto an upset kitten. he's sifting through the fur on his tail. it's as if he continued to cry while he was sleeping due to fresh looking tear stains on his cheeks.
wooyoung himself seemed to struggle helping the kitten go back to sleep- from rocking him in his arms, to giving him his blanket and pacifier to even running his fingers through his hair. the only thing that seemed to calm him down enough to get some more sleep was giving him seonghwa's pillow and one of his shirts.
getting him up and dressed was fairly easy, breakfast was a little complicated; but luckily with the help of san and mingi making airplane and train noises to feed him seemed to do the trick.
the younger seemed in better spirits but overall was still in a mushy mood- he just wishes hwa were here. but he feels a little better knowing all of his hyungs were here
all 6 of the hyungs rotated taking turns in caring and entertaining the younger- ranging from playing with the garden hose in the backyard with yunnie and minnie, to blowing bubbles with jongie and sangie, to even playing dress up with sannie and woo.
"oh, look who's calling, joongs" jongho shows the kitten his phone screen, loud squeals fill their ears as he sees who's picture shows up.
"hey, hwa!" hongjoong sits patiently- or attempts to. he's squirming in his spot with joy knowing that his hwa is on the other line.
he made a small whine as he makes slight grabby hands at jongho'e phone, making everyone smile. "joongie, I think someone wants to say hello~"
the younger squeals and faintly purrs as he handed jongho's phone carefully.
"is that my baby on the phone?"
hongjoong lets out the loudest squeal and nods his head vigorously. "hwa 'aby! mis'th my -wa!"
"well, hello my precious baby!" seonghwa coos over the phone "I miss you, too!"
the younger tries to hide his tears, but terribly fails. it's been a rough morning but to hear his hwa's voice makes him feel just a little bit better.
"awe, my baby, why the tears? are you okay?"
his dam breaks- hongjoong starts to let his tears fall freely and before anyone can comfort him, he's practically wailing into the phone.
"hongjoongie, what's wrong?" he doesn't register who's voice he hears, he's just feeling upset because the one person he wants isn't home.
" 'ommy....I wan' my 'ommy..." he places the phone down gently on the couch and hides his face in his hands.
he feels arms wrap around his stomach and places him on their lap. "oh, sweetheart, you're okay" his sannie hyung holds him close in his arms.
jongho reaches over to grab his phone "yeah, one second, hold on... don't hang up, yet...joongie, look who it is!"
the younger lifts his head up and sees none other than his hwa on the phone. "oh baby, you're upset" seonghwa talks gently "what is making you feel upset, joong?"
hongjoong feels more tears spilling down down cheek as he looks at his hwa from the screen. if only he were here with him...
"I wan' 'ommy..." he leans into san's embrace, clutching his plush cat when it's placed in his lap. " 'ommy yef'"
seonghwa watches through the phone how visibly distressed the kitten looked. he's grateful that his hyungs are being gentle and comforting but it's just not the same. he can feel a sense of longing grow in his chest as he can't comfort his baby who is a blubbering mess.
"hongjoong, you know mommy would never leave or abandon you, I made you that promise and I will always hold it true. mommy loves you very much, you know that. your hyungies are there with you until I come back, alright? It's okay to be upset and miss mommy when he's not around, but you're my strong boy and you will be safe."
the younger shyly nods, turning his body and curling into san's arms. if he wasn't tired before, he's definitely tired now from all the crying he's done.
san hands him his blanket, making sure he's tucked in. "goodnight, my star. mommy loves you to the moon and back."
and the kitten didn't respond for he was already out; sleeping soundly in san's arms.
"we're sorry about that, hyung." jongho apologizes, moving the phone so everyone can be seen on screen.
but seonghwa on the other hand- looked relieved. "I expected this, honestly, we're always glued to the hip. he experiences bad separation anxiety and constantly needs to be reassured that I'll be coming back if I'm gone." he explains, running a hand slowly through his hair. "but I feel like sometimes the separation is good for him, you know? even though he'll be inconsolable at times..."
"we're doing our best to keep him distracted and in good spirits, don't worry." wooyoung reassures.
"It just hurts us seeing hongjoong like this, hyung." mingi adds, playing with a loose string of fabric to distract himself.
seonghwa coos at the younger "I know you guys are doing all that you can and I'm grateful he is surrounded by a strong support system..." his lips tug at the corner, forming into a smirk "he'll always just be a mommy's boy..."
everyone feels reassured by seonghwa's gentle yet short words. they do however turn the conversation around and discuss what they've done during the day to keep the kitten distracted.
"alright, I'll let you guys go, I don't wanna risk waking him up. I'll call later, hopefully hearing me again will keep him in a good mood." seonghwa smiles and waves at them all, before jongho presses the end call button and they're met with a blank screen.
hongjoong will be okay. they all keep fresh in their minds seonghwa's words: hongjoong is just a mama's boy.
-
after hongjoong's mid-day nap, seonghwa told them- or more so warned- that the younger is normally active and bouncing off the walls- and that's exactly how he was.
he had a little snack of apple slices (with the skin peeled off because he doesn't like how it tastes) and definitely no juice (but wooyoung may have slipped some in his sippy cup- all watered down though)
and now the kitten is in much better spirits and causing everyone to have headaches forming.
he noticed that his sannie and woo hyung left and it was just sangie, jongie, and yunnie and minnie hyung with him- with the promise that san and wooyoung will come back later for dinner.
"sangie! sangie! sangie!"
hongjoong was definitely full of energy and following right behind that was him being in a giggly and goofy mood.
"yes, joongie, dear?" yeosang asked, somewhat patiently.
"sangie! my kitty! 'appy li'e me!" he holds out his plush cat, giving his hyung permission to pet him.
"that's so nice, honey...why don't you go show your minnie hyung?"
hongjoong gasps, eyes sparkling as he runs over to find said hyung. "minnie! minnie!"
yunho groans slightly, rubbing at his face "we gotta take him out or he's gonna drive us all crazy"
suddenly jongho gasps pointing his finger in the air "let's take him to the park! he can run around the playground and tire himself out for bedtime."
yeosang smiles, going to grab his face and plants a little smooch on his lips then his cheek. "jongho, you amazing absolute genius! you lovely, wonderf-"
"-alright" yunho stands up holding his hand out for the couple to tone it down. "let's go get a small bag packed and we'll tell the babies-"
"-tell the babies what?" now it was mingi's turn to interrupt. he crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at his boyfriend.
jongho places his hands on his thighs and sighs as he pushes himself to stand up. "we're taking hongjoong to the playground."
the taller's face lights up, clasping his hands together "perfect! I know there's a hybrid one in town somewhere, let me look it up." he turns around in front of yunho "and this baby is already ready, go get the other baby ready now."
fake gagging noises are heard from the couple near the couch as they cover their eyes and mouth. yunho can only smirk and playfully roll his eyes. "alright, there's a child present in the room...let's be civil and appropriate now." yeosang instructs the taller duo, already making his way up the stairs towards seonghwa and hongjoong's bedroom to get his stuff packed.
"yunnie! there ye'?"
"we're almost there, joongie"
"jongie...now?"
"hong, you heard your hyung...we're almost there."
"min-"
"hongjoongie!" mingi exclaims, shining smile so he doesn't scare or upset the kitten. "you're in a bubbly mood now, aren't you? are you excited to go to the park?"
the kitten hides behind his hand as he giggles. he nods his head happily, clutching onto his plush cat. he just feels so happy that he's ready to burst with joy! he's excited to go to the park with his hyungs; something he hasn't done in a while.
it's silent in the car, or at least somewhat with the way hongjoong constantly asks if they arrived at the park yet. they keep him in good spirits by singing his favorite songs (if either hyung has to sing "you are my sunshine" one more time-), or just asking him questions to keep him happy.
"joongs, look, we're here!" exclaims yunho not even a few minutes later.
they dont waste time and hurriedly unbuckle themselves and the kitten and make their way to a little shaded area to use as a resting stop.
"we'll be right here, love, go play with your hyungies." yunnie instructs, nodding his head at his other hyungs.
"jongie! wan' go on swin'! sangie! wan' go s'yide!" before he runs off, he gently places his cat plush in the middle of his taller hyungs on the soft grass they're sitting on.
" 'yungie wa'ych my kit'ye, p'ease..."
and off he goes to pull jongho and yeosang by the arms towards the swings and slide. mingi looks down at the plush cat and pats his head softly.
there are a few other people here with their hybrids but they can still faintly hear hongjoong's excited squeals and laughter.
"It is so relieving to hear him laughing instead of crying." yunho sighs out.
mingi nods in agreement "that was pretty rough this morning...and who knows how he'll be at bedtime." he bites his bottom lip in worry "you heard seonghwa, they are both glued to the hip..."
"joong will be okay, min." yunho reassures as he nods his head to confirm his statement. "yeah this morning was definitely rough, but like seonghwa said maybe this little separation would be good?"
"I just hope so, we just have to trust what seonghwa says because after all he is a mama's boy." the pair look at each other before breaking into a small fit of laughter.
from the looks of the sky, the sun is slowly beginning to set. a few of the people occupying the park begin to pack their stuff up.
hongjoong's mewls of excitement are heard from where they're sitting. he holds on to the chains as jongho gently pushes him on the swing, yeosang is occupying the next seat swinging back and forth himself.
"what do you wanna have for dinner, lovie?" yeosang asks the younger.
he kicks his feet absent-mindedly but ends up shrugging his shoulders "I don' n'yow..."
"that's alright" reassures jongho, bringing the swing to a full stop "we can ask your other hyungs to give us some ideas...come on, let's go see them."
"j-jongie..."
"yes, joongie?"
the younger twirls his fingers around, looking down at his shoes instead. "wan' go s'yide...with jongie..."
"awe, of course." he holds his hand out, the younger gladly accepting it as he gently pulls his hyung towards the slide.
yeosang watches with warmth in his chest as he sees jongho sit on the slide and places hongjoong on his lap. it's such a heartfelt moment that he just had to snap a few pictures- and have may or may not sent them to seonghwa.
he pockets his phone just as the pair were heading towards them. "alright! let's go get some dinner!"
after bath time- with extra drops of lavender ( seonghwa's favorite scent)- and dinner time- they all decided to order pizza (cut into small pieces for joong)- came the time of the day that they were all dreading the most- bed time.
yunho and mingi ended up leaving after dinner, leaving san, wooyoung, yeosang and jongho with the younger; but not after receiving lots of praise from his hyungs at what a good boy he was today and promises of coming back to play soon.
they help the kitten wind down by all staying in the living room together and play his disney movies. hongjoong sits snuggled inbetween wooyoung and yeosang, making sure his cat plush is covered with his blanket just like he is.
his head is leaning on yeosang's shoulder but holding onto wooyoung's hand. the group sit quietly for if they were to talk loud and start goofing around, hongjoong would join I and would take a while for him to wind down.
"sangie, my dinn'ey mobie..." he mumbled after he let out a yawn.
his hyung smiles at him, petting his hair softly "you're very smart, joongie, it is your disney movie. do you know which one it is?"
the kitten shrugs "mon'eys in it..."
wooyoung laughs quietly "monkeys, my dear. your movie has monkeys in it as well as elephants and other kinds of animals. this movie is called tarzan."
"mon'eys, woo. I say mon'eys." he looks up at his hyungs with his eyebrows furrowed. it's almost as if he's trying to be intimidating the way he's looking up at him.
wooyoung doesn't have the heart to scold or anything so he nods along, hiding his smile. "good job, hongjoongie."
a few moments later a song softly begins playing in the movie. hongjoong briefly sits up and points at the screen, eyes shining like diamonds "mama sin' tha'!"
all the hyungs coo at the realization that seonghwa sings the song "you'll be in my heart" to hongjoong...fills them with warmth to know that their eldest hyung is a little cheesy but also genuine and nurturing to his child.
"awe, joongie, mama sings you that song?" wooyoung coos at the younger, earning a nod in response.
suddenly hongjoong sits up and looks around the room, eyes growing wide with what looks like unshed tears. "where mama? mama no' here all d'yay..."
the 4 of them look at each other urging one another with their eyes 'who's gonna tell him first?' the one question looming over the room.
jongho sighs "joongs...mama is coming back tomorrow. remember you talked to him on the phone earlier before we ate dinner?"
hongjoong's shoulder hunched in on himself, he buried his face in his blanket keeping his face hidden. with the song seonghwa sings him playing in the background and wondering where he's gone, he feels tears pricking at his eyes.
he faintly mumbles a soft call of his mama's name, slowly standing up from his spot and with a tight grip clutches his plush toy and blanket. he then shuffles his way up the stairs.
his hyungs watch him curiously leaving the living room. wooyoung stands up first, turning back to give them a look of 'wait for me to come and get you' before they all decide to follow the younger.
wooyoung follows the sound of faint sniffling, now entering seonghwa's bedroom.
"oh, honey, what happened?" wooyoung's heart breaks at the sight of hongjoong curled into the sheets on seonghwa's side of the bed.
"what's wrong, lovebug? are you feeling sleepy?" wooyoung earned a shake of the head.
"do you want to watch your disney movie in bed?" another shake of the head.
this time hongjoong shyly points to where his heart is. " 'ama..." his voice sounds mumbled and wet from his tears.
wooyoung's eyebrows raise in sympathy "oh sweet baby, come to woo." he has his arms open and not a moment too soon he's holding an upset kitten in his arms.
he rocks him back and forth in a soothing manner to calm him, but all that's heard is his hiccuped cries.
he's gentle with rocking him, keeping a hand on the back of his head securely. "joongie bear, mama is coming back tomorrow. it's okay to miss him, but you know mama always comes back to his little baby."
"wan' cy'all 'ommy..." his voice is muffled by the fabric of wooyoung's shirt.
his hyung kisses his temple "of course, baby. let's go get my phone and we'll call mommy."
hongjoong held on tightly as he smushed his face in the crook of his woo hyungie's neck.
"oh, perfect timing, here they are."
"joongie?"
the kitten's head shoots up at the familiar voice he's grown to know and love. he looks over to see none other than his mama on san's phone screen.
"hey, there's my little starshine." he greets, his warm smile makes the younger feel a little better.
" 'ama..." the kitten makes grabby hands at the eldest in a desperate manner. "wan' 'ama..."
"oh, honey bear, mama is going to give you all your hugs and kisses tomorrow when I'll be back, I promise." his response does little to reassure, it takes hongjoong a lot of reassurance especially when he's in this state.
"sannie hyung was telling me that you guys were watching our favorite movie it was playing your favorite song!"
this makes the kitten perk up a little bit. he wipes his tears and nods "mama s'yon' "
suddenly wooyoung sits up straight when an idea comes to mind. "joongie do you wanna hear mama sing your song for bed time?"
the younger nods once again clutching onto wooyoung's shirt. he leans his head on his shoulder, a small yawn makes its way past his lips.
since it's a little past his bedtime, wooyoung- along with san- carry the sleepy kitten up to his bedroom and tuck him in with his blanket and plushie.
"mama's baby is all tucked in?" seonghwa's voice fills the quiet room.
hongjoong nods sleepily, rubbing at his eyes. he's half asleep with the way he's munching on the plush cat's ears instead of his pacifier.
softly seonghwa's melodic voice fills the quiet room from the speaker. hongjoong wipes at a stray tear falling from his eyes. he softly grips at the fuzzy blanket and before they known it, he's out like a light within seconds.
"he's asleep, hyung" san whispers through the phone.
seonghwa smiles before silently nodding "thank you, guys. I'll let you know when I'm coming home tomorrow."
"see you then."
-
"joongs, it's time to wake up, bubba" yunho's voice starts soft. he slowly starts rubbing the youngers back, noticing the way he must be slowly waking up by his cat ears slightly twitching.
hongjoong slowly sits up, letting out a big yawn before hiding in his blanket. he's trying to speak but it's incoherent with the way his blanket is smushing his face; but yunho has a feeling it has something to do with seonghwa.
"joongs, mama is coming back real soon!" he gently picks him up and places him on his hip. "let's go greet the day and then mama will be here."
hongjoong's morning routine started as usual- getting dressed, brushing his teeth (with the help of wooyoung), and eating breakfast (his eggs and toast ripped into small pieces for him to easily eat with his utensils).
the central air conditioning is on, a hot and muggy day ahead of them. the television is on for background noise. since he woke up, he's been in a sensitive yet mushy mood.
the younger hasn't seen seonghwa in 2 days, surely enough he's feeling sensitive about it. he's coloring at the coffee table with yunho and wooyoung; san and mingi do some last minute checks around the house.
"are you coloring in a star, joongs?"
the kitten nods " mama s'yar...mama 'aby"
hongjoong continues to color in the picture on his coloring page. he's definitely quieter than usual; which hurts the hyung's hearts. they don't like seeing the kitten like this but they know in a few minutes he'll be his bright and bubbly self.
a few minutes later, sannie and minnie join them, all sharing knowing looks and try their best to hide their smile.
seonghwa said he's on his way back home any minute.
"joongie, are you happy mama is coming home soon?" wooyoung asks, passing him the yellow crayon.
hongjoongs nods, a small smile on his lips. "mama pi'yure... I ma'e mama th'yis."
"and mama is going to love it..." san begins to smirk, the faint sound of a car door closing is hears from the elders. "in fact...I think you can probably give it to mama now."
hongjoong looks confused, but his eyes grow wide at the sound of the front door unlocking and opening. he drops his yellow crayon when he sees who walks in the living room.
"MAMA!"
"hey, my sweet honeybear, mama is home!" seonghwa's voice makes him break into tears as he almost slips on the carpet and runs up to the older.
he lifts up hongjoong in his arms and spins him around, holding his hand on the back of his head securely. "oh, baby, mama missed you so much."
hongjoong's tears spill onto seonghwa's shirt, his cries are muffled into his neck. yunho helps bring his suitcase in as san begins to clean up the papers and crayons.
for a moment, they give the pair some privacy as seonghwa rocks him in his arms. the kitten hasn't stopped crying the whole time; and seonghwa isn't going to tell him to. he can't imagine what he must have went through not having him here.
"let it all out, baby. mama is home now, mama is here with his baby." he pats his back as he rocks him around the room.
hongjoong clutched at his shirt and rests his head on his shoulder, keeping his face buried in his neck. he hears his hyungs enter the room and they all start talking to his hwa.
the younger feels content hearing seonghwa's voice and being held by him once again. he can feel his eyes drooping and before they know it, sweet hongjoong fell asleep in his mama's arms.
after a few more minutes of discussing how the kitten was and how his trip went, the house grows quiet at the sound of all 4 of the hyungs leaving.
seonghwa grabs the kitten's blanket and goes to sit on the couch, wrapping his with the fabric and holding him in his arms- his luggage can wait a day or two to get unpacked.
"you'll be in my heart, my sweet starshine." he presses a kiss onto his forehead. "mama love you so much."