Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Finally, the day off that the boys had been waiting for forever, had arrived. As soon as they had stepped into the dorms, Jeongin had immediately regressed, letting out a loud squeal before running to his bedroom to retrieve his plushie, and waddling back to Felix, shoving the item in his face. Felix laughed and took the boy's hand, leading him to the living room so they could spend some time together. Despite his exhaustion, Felix was happy to look after the little and it made him feel relaxed, pushing away the nasty knot of nervousness that had been twisting his stomach all day long. 

Standing in the middle of the hallway, Minho watched the scene unfold before his eyes and started twisting his fingers, pulling on them, while he bit on his lower lip. He too wanted to regress and be with his caregiver, but two things were holding him back from giving in to his headspace: 1, his caregiver was probably exhausted and wishing for nothing more but peace and quiet, and by being little, Minho couldn't let him have that; 2, his caregiver was in the other dorm and it made the boy anxious to regress in front of his dongsaengs, or regress and have to walk to the other dorm. And asking Seungmin to walk him there wasn't an option, as he knew the younger had been very clear about what he'd do as soon as he arrived: sleep. 

"Minho hyung?" The boy jumped and looked up, only to find Felix standing there with a soft smile on his face. "Are you okay?" Minho opened his mouth and closed it, words refusing to come out of his mouth, resulting in him only shaking his head. "Are you little right now?" Again, the boy shook his head. "Do you want to be little, hyung?" Minho looked at Felix, eyes teary and bunny teeth mercilessly biting on his lower lip and pulling on the delicate skin, tearing it. Upon seeing that, Felix gently reached out and pulled the lip away from the teeth's vicious grip, causing Minho to blush and look down at his hands. "You know you can be little, hyung," Felix continued. "Innie and I will take you to the other dorm, yeah?"

"No…," Minho whispered. "Hyung is tired."

Felix smiled, realising that Minho was close to slipping and probably between being big and small. 

"He is, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be more than happy to take care of his little Min, mhm?” Felix insisted, his smile soft. 

Minho shook his head yet again and fiddled with his fingers. “Hyung- no…”

“What if I go to the other dorm with you and Innie comes with us too?” Felix suggested. Minho shrugged, but Felix knew that the boy liked his suggestion. “Come on, Min,” he said softly, holding out his hand for Minho to take, which he did. “Let’s go get Innie, sweetie.”

Minho followed Felix to the living room, head low, still not quite sure that going to his caregiver was the best thing. When Jeongin saw the two boys, he happily skipped over to them and stopped right in front of Felix. Pointing at Minho, he tilted his head curiously.

“Is Min small?” he asked, his voice slightly high-pitched. Felix shrugged slowly and Jeongin turned towards Minho. “Is Min small?” he asked. 

“Min-,” the boy started, voice shaky. “Min wan’ see Channie ‘yung…” he whispered.

Jeongin lifted his eyes to Felix. “Can we go see him, hyung?” he asked and Felix nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go, baby.”

Felix helped Jeongin, then Minho, put their coats on, then left the two littles together and quickly ran to Minho’s room to retrieve the boy’s plushie and all the things that he’d need as he was pretty sure that Minho would be spending the night there. He went back to the front door where the two boys were waiting, Jeongin holding Minho’s hand and smiling brightly as soon as he saw his caregiver.

“Let’s go?” Felix said. He grabbed their hands and they left the dorm. Felix had forgotten to send a message to his hyungs and he realised that as they arrived at the dorm, but he believed it wouldn’t be such a big deal. He pushed the front door open and entered. “Hyung?” he called.

Hyunjin appeared, a glass of water in his hand and when he saw the three boys he smiled. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Min wanted to see Channie hyung,” Felix replied, giving Hyunjin a knowing look.

“Oh, is Min small?” he asked softly. Minho shyly nodded. “How old are you now, Min?” The boy looked at his hand and held out three fingers, causing Hyunjin to coo at him before looking back at Felix. “Well, Chan hyung and Changbin hyung left for the studio, but I’ll take care of him until they come back. Is that okay with you, Min?”

“Channie no here?” Min asked softly, tears filling his eyes as he looked at Hyunjin who smiled.

“He’ll be back soon, angel. Why don’t we go and settle in the living room? Do you wanna watch a movie?"

Minho shook his head and stared at the floor as he started gnawing on his lip yet again while fiddling with his fingers. As a little, Minho was shy and very quiet, barely ever voicing out what he wanted until his frustration was so high he'd start crying silently then sobbing until one of his caregivers would panic and beg for him to explain what was wrong. It had been extremely unsettling for Chan at first and caused moments of extreme stress for the caregiver; when big, Minho barely ever cried, but as a little, especially when he was tired or feeling particularly vulnerable, tears were rather recurring. To this day, Chan still wasn’t used to it and found himself powerless whenever the little cried. He was grateful Hyunjin was there, as for some unknown reasons, he always seemed to know what the little needed. Maybe it was because he was always observing instead of doing since he wasn't an official caregiver. 

Despite that aspect of his little personality, Minho was an absolute angel and quite easy to take care of. He never disobeyed, never threw a tantrum, never screamed when he was upset. He was a big ball of cuddles and kisses, mostly clinging to his caregiver and asking to be petted, hugged and cradled. He loved watching Chan in his studio working and loved it even more when Changbin was there too: the latter always spoiled Minho and usually made him sit in his lap while working. Minho would curl up on the couch, hugging his plushie to his chest, sucking on his thumb or his pacifier when he didn't forget to take it with him and watch his caregiver and Changhin work; and when hungry, he'd gently go up to Chan and tug on his sleeve, whispering "Channie eat?", with his head tilted to the side and so much innocence in his eyes that it made Chan coo at his dongsaeng and immediately get up to fetch some food. Then Minho would sit quietly again and eat, sometimes alone but most of the time with Changbin who would feed him and praise him, loving the soft giggles that would come out of the boy's mouth. 

Right now, Minho was standing in the hallway, eyes staring at the floor and filled with tears, twisting his fingers, his lower lip quivering. He wanted to see his Channie hyung, wished he could find refuge in his strong arms, lay his head against the older's chest and listen to his heartbeat until he fell asleep, feel Chan's fingers in his hair and his voice whispering praises to him. But he wasn't there. Minho hadn't regressed in weeks due to stress and promotions as well as practices and although he had tried to suppress his headspace tonight, it had taken the better of him as soon as Felix had started talking to him like he was little. His headache had been too powerful anyways, so letting the fuzzy feeling and softness take over felt like heaven. 

"Baby," Hyunjin said softly. He approached the boy and wrapped his arms around his shivering figure. "Come on, let's get comfy, yeah?"

Minho let Hyunjin guide him to the couch, the worried glances Felix shot Hyunjin going completely unnoticed by the little. Hyunjin just smiled at him and waved him off before giving Minho his full attention. Once Minho was seated on the sofa, Hyunjin crouched before him and placed his hands on the boy's knees. 

"Minnie," he said softly. He gently placed his hand on top of Minho's to make him stop hurting his fingers so much. Minho froze and tears slowly started rolling down his cheeks, the sight causing Hyunjin's heart to break. His eyebrows joined and he cupped the little's cheeks, wiping the tears with his thumbs. "Minnie," he whispered. "Channie hyung will come back soon, okay?"

Minho nodded but didn't meet Hyunjin's gaze, and Hyunjin knew that this meant that the nod was only to please Hyunjin; Minho needed something else to completely reassure him about his Channie hyung coming back soon. Hyunjin bit his lip as he knew Chan was busy and had told everyone to not disturb him, for he had very important things to do… unless it was something urgent, he had added. Well, Minho being little was an absolute emergency, so it counted as ‘ something urgent ’.  

"How about we call Channie, mhm? Would that make you happy?"

The suggestion was effective, as Minho lifted his innocence-and-sadness-filled eyes on Hyunjin, tears never stopping their flow, a small glint of hope sparkling in the boy’s pupils, and the urge to hold the boy and hug him tightly only grew in Hyunjin’s heart. Minho silently nodded and Hyunjin beamed at him before pressing a soft kiss on his damp cheek.

"Okay, wait here," the blonde said as he got up. He then quickly went to his bedroom, retrieved his phone and rushed back to the living room. 

As soon as Hyunjin was out of sight, Minho panicked: where had Hyunjin gone? Why did he leave? Had he grown tired of Minho’s crying? Minho started fidgeting, looking around, thinking that maybe Hyunjin was joking and was just hiding behind him, but he was wrong: Hyunjin was gone. A sob rose from his chest, reaching his throat and pushing past his lips. The little tried to swallow it, pressing his thumb between his lips and sucking on it quickly to prevent himself from crying. But it was so overwhelming, panic washing over him in waves, that the little started shaking.

“‘d’innie?” he called softly, words slurred due to his thumb in his mouth, a hiccup interrupting him. His breathing was irregular, chest heaving, and heart pounding, hiccups racking his body. “‘D’innie?” he called again, his voice high-pitched and quivering, eyes widening with fear, before his eyebrows joined. Minho had to face it: Hyunjin wasn’t going to come back, he was tired of him. 

Realising that he couldn’t stop himself from crying, Minho curled himself into a ball, face into a pillow to muffle his cries, almost suffocating himself in the process, his entire body trembling, sobs violently racking it. He bit on his thumb, desperately trying to ground himself. In his panic and despair, Minho hadn’t heard the gasp coming from behind the couch, nor the rushed steps. His head was throbbing and spinning, his body was tingling in the nastiest of ways, his eyes were stinging and his nose was running. It was only when Minho felt Hyunjin’s presence that he lifted his head, and upon seeing his beloved hyung, his features contorted as he choked on a sob and made grabby hands at him, hiccuping as he did so, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. 

"Oh, baby!" Hyunjin exclaimed. He got up and quickly took the boy in his arms, sitting on the couch to get more comfortable. Minho instantly hid his face in the crook of Hyunjin's neck, his hands gripping the boy’s hoodie like he was scared Hyunjin would leave him again. "I told you I'd be back, kitten, mhm? Were you scared?" Hyunjin felt Minho nod and he started rubbing soothing circles on Minho's back. "I'm sorry, aegi. I'm right here."

Hyunjin started peppering kisses all over Minho's head, his hand rubbing the boy's back, his other arm tightly wrapped around him. 

"You're tired, baby, aren't you?" Hyunjin whispered. Minho hiccuped again and nodded, slipping his thumb between his lips and sucking on it quickly to calm down. The blonde smiled and kissed the little’s head. "How about we call Channie hyung and then we take a nap?”

Minho nodded. He pulled away from the blonde and looked at him expectantly, unshed tears clinging to his lashes, stray ones slowly making their way down his cheeks. "Nap wif you?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper and slurred due to his thumb in his mouth.

"Of course baby," Hyunjin replied with a reassuring smile. "I'm not leaving you, okay?"

"’D'innie 'tay," Minho said softly. He then let himself slump back against Hyunjin's chest, his head in the crook of his neck. Hyunjin chuckled and started to gently thread his fingers through Minho's hair.

"I'll stay, kitten." They remained quiet for a moment, Hyunjin tasting this delicate moment, wishing in his heart that he was Minho’s caregiver… But he wasn’t, Chan was and the thought of his leader seemed to bring him back to reality. "Do you want to call Channie hyung, baby?"

Minho moved again and smiled, pulling his thumb out of his mouth. "Yes, ‘T’annie hyung," he said.

Hyunjin smiled and helped Minho turn around so the little was between Hyunjin’s legs, his back against the blonde’s chest before Hyunjin pulled out his phone and video-called Chan who answered with a tired sigh. "What's up, Jinnie?" He asked. He looked tired and it was clear that Hyunjin was interrupting him in the middle of something.

"Someone wants to say hi," Hyunjin replied with a smile nevertheless. He then moved the phone so Minho could be seen on camera. Chan immediately gasped: Minho was small and by the looks of it, he had been crying a lot, which was never good and always broke Chan's heart. The leader felt his heart clench and break at the sight: he wished he were there, by Minho’s side to hold him and reassure him. He also wondered why Minho had regressed… And it worried him, causing him to chew on his bottom lip, his eyebrows joined together. However, he slightly shook his head, not wanting his little to see that Chan wasn’t happy. 

"Hey there, kitten," the leader said softly, flashing the younger his best smile. "How's my baby doing?" 

Minho only nodded, his eyes wide, eyelashes wet with unshed tears, as he stared at Chan. He didn't want to say that he wasn't feeling good, that he needed Chan and longed for his hugs and kisses; he didn't tell his caregiver how icky his heart was, how much he yearned for his touch and praises. It didn’t matter how small he felt, Minho didn't want to disturb Chan, he didn't want to force Chan to come back, however desperate the little was. So instead, Minho slumped back against Hyunjin's chest and slipped his thumb between his lips, his eyes never leaving Chan, feeling a little happy to just look at him since he couldn't touch him. 

Having no reply and only his little staring at him made Chan a little worried and he looked at Hyunjin who made discreet gestures to let the older know that Minho wasn't feeling okay. 

"Baby?" Chan called softly, flicking his eyes towards Minho who hummed. "Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

Minho never moved the rest of his slumped body as he turned his head up towards Hyunjin and looked at him before looking at his caregiver and shaking his head. 

"Why, kitten?" Chan pleaded.

"'t'annie busy," Minho explained. 

"I'm never busy for you, angel. Do you want me to come back?" Once again, Minho shook his head. He then gripped Hyunjin's wrist and shook it gently, showing it to Chan. 

"'yunjin d'ere," he said. 

Chan did his best to not show he was hurt by those words. He felt unworthy of being Minho's caregiver, he wasn't there enough for him, it was always Hyunjin… He should be the one holding Minho and kissing his head the way Hyunjin was doing right now. He should be the one hugging him and telling Minho how good he was, how pretty and perfect and cute and adorable he was. But Chan wasn't. Chan was working, as always, and neglecting his role as a caregiver. Sometimes, Chan wondered if he shouldn't ask Minho to take Hyunjin as a caregiver instead of Chan, but the latter was so attached to Little Minho that he couldn't bring himself to ask his dongsaeng such a question. Chan pushed away all his thoughts and ignored the aching of his heart.

"Are you being good with Hyunjin, kitten?" He asked, hoping to have an answer. But all he got was a nod. He was about to ask another question when Minho pulled out his thumb and grinned.

"'am good wif 'yunjin 'yung!" He exclaimed, turning his head towards the blonde boy and puckering his lips, asking for a kiss which Hyunjin happily gave him. Minho squealed as soon as he felt the blonde's lips on his own in a quick peck and clapped his hands together excitedly. At that moment, Chan felt his heart tighten and be pulled by different feelings: happiness and relief from seeing his Minho finally relaxing and being excited, and jealousy and sadness from seeing that small peck and Minho beaming at Hyunjin. 

"I'll be back soon, baby, okay?" Chan said. Minho looked at his caregiver, his thumb finding its home in his mouth as he nodded. "Take care of him?" Chan told Hyunjin who nodded and smiled.

"Always, hyung," the blonde grinned. Chan almost winced before hanging up.

As soon as the call was disconnected, Hyunjin put his phone on the side and placed both hands on Minho's waist before leaning in and pecking the little's cheek.

"You're feeling much better now, aren't you?" He chuckled. 

Minho nodded and pointed at the phone next to him. "'tannie 'yung," he said before grabbing Hyunjin’s hand and looking up at Hyunjin who nodded and smiled. 

"How about I put a movie on now, while you try to nap? How does that sound, kitten?" Hyunjin asked.

"Yes!" Minho exclaimed happily. 

"Alright. I'm gonna need to move you while I put it on, okay?" 

Minho nodded and let Hyunjin move him on the couch before getting up. Minho watched Hyunjin leave the living room for a few seconds and come back with Minho's favourite plushie and his pacifier, skipping up to him and crouching down in front of the little. Hyunjin shook the plushie before Minho's eyes and gave it to him as soon as the little made grabby hands at it. Minho immediately clutched it to his chest and opened his mouth when Hyunjin presented the pacifier to him. With a chuckle, Hyunjin slipped the item between the little's lips and got up to play a movie. He then went back to the couch and sat down, chuckling when Minho immediately made Hyunjin's lap his home, snuggling into the blonde's chest while tightly gripping his plushie and eagerly sucking on his pacifier, eyes on the screen now displaying a cartoon. 

Not even ten minutes into the movie, Hyunjin noticed how Minho’s eyes kept fluttering close before shooting open, his suckling slowing down before going faster. Hyunjin repressed a laugh and hugged the little tighter, pressing a soft kiss on top of his head. He then softly moved Minho so the boy was lying on the couch and placed a blanket on top of his sleeping figure. With one last kiss, Hyunjin went to his bedroom and gathered his brushes, painting and canvas, then headed back to the living room and settled on a stool, placing everything on the coffee table next to him, making sure to not make any noise. 

A few minutes went by - honestly Hyunjin lost track of time - with Minho sleeping soundly, small gasps and hiccups escaping his lips every now and then as his suckling on his paci had slowed down almost to a stop, his hand clutching his white bunny plushie in his fist before Hyunjin heard the key rattling and the door opening and closing. He put his brush in his glass of water, wiped his hands on his apron and got up to check on Minho who had stirred softly. He gently brushed the brown strands away from the little's face and smiled at the boy's peaceful and innocent face. Hyunjin loved Minho; he loved his hyung, for sure, but he adored and cherished Little Minho, and he loved taking care of him, loved giving him kisses and hugs, stroking his hair and having the boy clinging to him, hugging him, smiling at him and asking for his attention. 

“Hey,” a soft voice whispered next to Hyunjin who whipped his head towards the origin of the voice before smiling.

“Hey, hyung.”

Chan kneeled next to Hyunjin and gently started threading his fingers through Minho’s dark lock. Hyunjin moved his hand away and remained in the same position for a few minutes before standing up and clearing his throat.

“I thought you had work to do,” he said.

Chan kept his gaze on Minho’s sleeping figure and smiled softly. “Yeah… But seeing my baby so sad like that made me realise that work could wait.” Chan sighed, his fingers stopping their movement for a few seconds and his eyes flickering up to Hyunjin. “I had to see him… and take care of him, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Hyunjin replied. His heart clenched at the words. He felt bad for wishing Chan hadn’t come back. He felt bad for wishing Minho would wake up and choose Hyunjin as his caregiver. Hyunjin was a horrible person for wishing for all this. He bit the inside of his cheek, cleared his throat and straightened up. “Well, I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll go back to my room.”

Hyunjin quickly gathered his art supplies and left the living room, heart heavy, before entering his bedroom and closing the door. He put everything down and glanced around, a lump forming in his throat. Dammit! Why did he have to get so attached to little Minho? Why did he have to get so attached to his hyung, to begin with? His crush had only grown when he had discovered Minho’s little side and he loathed himself for it. He just wanted to take care of his hyung all the time, hug him, cuddle him, spend all his time with him, feed him, have him watch him as he painted… But Hyunjin didn’t have that. Little Minho had chosen Chan and that was the end of it.

Hyunjin sat on his stool with a heavy sigh, grabbed a paintbrush, and swiped the colour on a brand new blank canvas. But after a few moments, he decided it wasn’t good enough. He stopped painting, got up and went to his desk, opening his notebook and grabbing a pencil. He stared at the white page for a moment before leaning over the diary and writing. 

Back in the living room, Chan was sitting on the couch, Minho in his arms, his eyes growing heavier as time went by. But just when he thought he’d get some sleep, Minho stirred and slowly blinked his eyes open. He squirmed slightly and realised someone was holding him; he expected it to be Hyunjin, so he softly giggled and turned his head to ask for a kiss but his eyes widened and his smile dropped when he saw Chan staring back at him with eyes full of love.

“Hey, baby,” the caregiver said. He kissed the little’s forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

Minho didn’t reply and looked around, craning his neck as he scanned the room. “Where ‘d’innie?” he asked. He looked up at Chan and pouted, completely oblivious to the way his words were like a knife to Chan’s heart. The caregiver smiled.

“He went into his room when I came back here,” he said. He pressed a kiss on top of Minho's head and tightened his hold around the boy's waist. Minho slumped against Chan and giggled.

"I miss'chu," he mumbled. He placed his hands on top of Chan's arms and started playing with the sleeves, scratching the material.

Chan smiled. "I missed you too so much, kitten. Hyung is so sorry for not being there sooner."

"H'ung wi' 'tay now?" Minho asked, turning his face towards his caregiver and staring at him with big doe eyes. Chan's heart flipped a few times in his chest when he met Minho's gaze. The boy truly held all the stars of the sky in his eyes; it was obvious when he was big, but when he was little, it was almost overwhelming.

"I will, my baby. I'll stay with you."

"A'ways?" Minho asked in a whisper, his eyes searching Chan's.

The caregiver thought that he'd die of a heart attack at this point, or melt in a puddle of fluff. Either way, Minho was going to be the death of him. "Always," he breathed against Minho's temple.

***

Two weeks later or so, Hyunjin found himself in his bedroom, sitting on his stool, pencil in hand, body leaning over a large piece of paper on which was drawn a handful of lines and forms that the boy kept retracing over and over again. He had his headphones on, immersed in his music, completely oblivious to the outside world. He was so absorbed by his work and music that he didn’t hear the soft knock on his door, which caused him to jump out of his skin when he felt something tug on his sleeve.

Dropping his pencil, Hyunjin’s hand flew to his heart, clutching the material of his shirt as he gasped. He quickly removed his headphones and looked to the side, ready to glare at whoever had disturbed him. However, his eyes widened in surprise, and worry and concern filled them in a matter of milliseconds.

Standing at his side, his bunny plushie pressed against his chest, a teary-eyed Minho was looking at him. Hyunjin quickly turned around to face Minho and gently cupped his face. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, concern laced in his voice.

“‘T’annie gone,” the little replied, his bottom lip quivering. 

“When did he leave?”

“Min woke up, an’ ‘t’annie no d’ere no more…,” the little explained.

Hyunjin frowned: Chan hadn’t made any plan of going out today that he knew of… That was weird. “Were you in your dorm or Channie hyung’s bed last night?”

“‘T’annie bed.” Minho fiddled with his plushie, lowering his gaze to his hands. “Wanna see ‘t’annie…”

"Oh, I know, baby, I know," Hyunjin said. He got up and hugged the little, frowning as he thought about why Chan had left the dorm today. When he pulled away, Minho was looking up at him with big eyes and it took everything in Hyunjin to not coo at the boy and pepper kisses all over his face. "Hey, how about we go and have breakfast?"

"Min hung'y," Minho said softly, pouting at Hyunjin who smiled gently. 

"Let's go, baby."

Hyunjin turned around to make sure his paintbrushes wouldn't dry, only to feel a hand fisting his shirt. He turned around and found Minho, one of the ears of his plushie stuck between his teeth and lips, hand gripping Hyunjin's shirt tightly.

"You okay, kitten?" Hyunjin asked.

Minho kept staring at Hyunjin. "'d'innie no go?"

"Of course not. I'm not going anywhere. Come now, Min, let's go eat."

Hyunjin grabbed Minho's hand and led him to the kitchen where he helped the boy sit on a chair, before dropping a soft kiss on top of his head and walking to the cupboards to retrieve the necessary ingredients to make breakfast. 

Once he was done, he put everything in a bowl and place it in front of Minho who shyly smiled, putting his plushie aside in favour of eating the delicious food Hyunjin had prepared for him. 

"T'ank you!" The little exclaimed, giving Hyunjin his biggest smile, bunny teeth showing, causing the blonde to falter and want to cry and melt into a puddle of fluff. He didn't hold back this time and cupped Minho's cheek, pressing a soft kiss on his lips; the squeal then giggle he got in response made his heart burst. 

"You're too cute, kitten," Hyunjin sighed. "What am I going to do with you…"

Minho happily nodded, mouth full, sparkly eyes staring at Hyunjin. The latter sighed in defeat and pulled out his phone to call Chan. He tapped the contact name and pulled the device to his ear, two beeps were heard before the leader answered. 

"Hello?"

"Hyung, where are you?? You didn't say you were leaving the dorm today!" Hyunjin said, panicked.

"What? I told Changbin I'd be out for the day."

"Hyung, are you kidding me? You left Minho alone!"

"He was sleeping when I woke up, I figured he'd be okay…"

"Well, he's not- he's not okay ," Hyunjin snapped. "He's little, and you just left him! He came to me, he was crying, for goodness' sake!"

There was a moment of silence, during which Hyunjin turned towards Minho who had finished eating and was holding his plushie, looking at it and happily babbling. "Look, I didn't know he'd wake up little," Chan admitted. "I took care of him last night, and we went to bed. I really thought he'd be big in the morning… I'm sorry…"

Hyunjin sighed through his nose and frowned. "It's too late for apologies, hyung," he dryly said. "You know what, whatever. I'm taking care of him today, you do your thing."

And with that, Hyunjin hung up. He felt terrible for speaking that way to his leader and for hanging up that way; but most importantly, Hyunjin felt horrible because of the reason why he did this… And it had seemed so easy…

He had called Chan because he was Minho's official caregiver, so he felt obligated to do so. But in truth, Hyunjin was glad to have Minho all to himself, to take care of him and entertain him. He didn't want Chan to come back right now. Hyunjin was a terrible person.

The blonde boy sighed, his eyebrows joining, and he looked at the little who was staring at him with sparkly eyes and the sweetest smile on his pretty face. 

"'d'innie we p'ay now?" Minho asked, tilting his head to the side.

Hyunjin chuckled. "Sure, let's play. What do you wanna do?"

"Min wanna make a d'awing faw 't'annie 'yung!" The little said.

Jealousy squeezed Hyunjin's heart. How did Chan deserve a drawing when he didn't care about Minho enough to come back to him? It was the second time Chan was failing Minho and yet, the little still loved him enough to want to draw something for him. It was unfair, truly. Hyunjin had been the one to take care of little Minho, he had comforted him when he was crying, and he was the one little Minho came to when Chan wasn't there. 

However, Hyunjin didn't let his jealousy show and instead, gave Minho a soft smile. "Alright, kitten. Let's make a drawing for Channie hyung."

Minho happily waddled towards Hyunjin and grabbed his hand, pulling him along with him towards the living room. He then plopped down on the floor, plushie in his lap, and looked up at Hyunjin expectantly.

"I'll go get everything you need, kitten, hold on," Hyunjin chuckled, before leaving the room and heading to his bedroom to retrieve the paper and colouring pencils. He went back to the living room, finding Minho patiently waiting on the floor, his thumb having found home in his mouth. 

At that moment, Hyunjin wondered how on earth it was possible to not prefer spending one's entire life with this precious little, instead of having to work. How could Chan prioritize going to the studio over staying here with little Min? It was just beyond him. 

"Here you go, angel," Hyunjin cooed, placing the paper and pencils on the coffee table. 

"T'ank you! D'innie 'yung is da best!" Minho exclaimed as he happily clapped his hands together. 

It took everything Hyunjin had in him to not collapse on the floor and clutch his heart. Instead, he sat next to Minho, handed him a pencil, which Minho grabbed before starting to draw lines and random shapes. The little drew for half an hour, Hyunjin sitting next to him, handing him the pencils he needed every now and then and watching with a soft and loving smile. 

Once he was done, he put the colouring pencils down and took the paper in his hands, holding it up for Hyunjin to see. The latter let out a dramatic gasp.

"That's beautiful, Minnie! You're an artist, aren't you!"

Minho giggled and put his drawing down before throwing himself in Hyunjin's arms, causing the blonde one to fall back on the carpet, Minho on top of him. Hyunjin didn't push Minho away, but let his arms wrap around the little's waist, his fingers slipping under Minho's shirt and tracing mindless patterns on the boy's back, while Minho buried his face in the crook of Hyunjin's neck. 

"'d'innie is ma new bed!" The little exclaimed happily, letting out a giggle. "'d'innie-bed."

Hyunjin laughed and turned his head to kiss Minho's temple. "You're adorable, kitten."

They remained like that for a long time, Minho basking in the attention and love Hyunjin was giving him, tiny shivers making their way up his spine from the fingers tracing shapes on his skin. 

"'d'innie?" Minho whispered against Hyunjin's neck.

"Yes, kitten?" 

"Where 't'annie?"

Hyunjin winced, fearing the little's tears. "I don't know, angel. But he'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay," Minho whispered. 

"Good morning!" A loud voice exclaimed, interrupting the two boys' comfortable silence. Hyunjin lifted his head and smiled at Jisung who smiled back. "What's going on here?"

"You're up late," Hyunjin replied. 

"Well, I did go to bed late," Jisung sheepishly smiled. "Where's Channie hyung?"

Hyunjin sighed. "Out…"

Jisung nodded and cleared his throat. He looked at the two lying on the floor and raised an eyebrow. "Is Minho…?"

"Yeah."

Jisung grinned and approached the two, crouching in front of them, and poked the little's cheek. "Hey there, sweetie," he said. 

Minho lifted his head and smiled back. "Hi," he whispered. 

"Oh, my Minnie is so cute!" Jisung exclaimed. "Did you eat?"

"Yes. 'd'innie make food faw me," Minho said before burying his face into Hyunjin's neck once again. 

"Lucky you! Jinnie is taking good care of you, isn't he?"

Minho nodded. Jisung gently stroked the boy's head before getting up and heading to the kitchen to get some food in his stomach. 

"Oh, by the way," he called from the kitchen, "Felix said he'd come by with Innie. Apparently, they're feeling a little lonely." Jisung took a bite from his food. When he didn't get any reply, he walked back to the living room, mouth full. "You heard me?"

"I did, but I can't scream with the baby on me," Hyunjin said. 

"Fair point. Well, anyways, I was thinking, since we have two littles with us, maybe we could play with them and make sure they have a great day. Changbinnie hyung will join us in a minute."

"Sounds great. Isn't Seungmin coming too?"

"He has vocal practice. He'll join when he's done."

"Ah, okay."

"Say, Jinnie…"

"Mhm."

"Does Channie hyung know that Minho is small?"

"Yes, he does."

"Then why isn't he back already?"

"Look, why don't you ask him yourself, cuz I sure would like to know as well," Hyunjin frowned.

Jisung raised his eyebrows. “Jinnie, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Hyunjin stubbornly said. 

“Clearly… Felix will be there in a sec, why don’t you and Minho get up from the floor and get some toys. I’m pretty sure Channie hyung has some in his bedroom.”

“Yeah, okay.” Hyunjin gently pulled his hands from under Minho’s shirt and stroked his head a few times. “Come on, aegi, let’s get up, yeah?”

Minho quickly complied, lifting himself off Hyunjin and sitting on the floor as he watched the blonde boy get up. 

“Let’s get ready, Min, Felix and Innie are coming.”

“‘T’annie too?” Minho asked as he started following Hyunjin, tightly gripping the latter’s shirt, the ear of his plushie back in his mouth. 

Hyunjin turned around and faced Minho. He cupped the little’s cheeks and pecked his nose. “I don’t know, angel. But we’re going to have a lot of fun. Channie hyung will be back before you know it!”

“But- I wan’ ‘t’annie…,” Minho whispered, his lower lip quivering and tears quickly brimming his eyes.

“Baby, don’t cry, you’re okay,” Hyunjin smiled softly. “We’re gonna get dressed, and if you want, you can wear one of Channie hyung’s hoodies, so it’ll be as if he was with you. Does that sound good, kitten?”

Minho nodded and sniffled, puckering his lips for a kiss that Hyunjin gave him, before heading to Chan's bedroom. On their way to the bedroom, they came across Changbin who smiled at the two and gave Minho a kiss on the cheek.

"How's our sweet kitten doing?" He asked.

"Min is good."

"I'm glad. Where are you heading to?"

"We're going to get this little baby dressed," Hyunjin said. 

"Oh, do you need help? If you want I can do it-"

"No," Hyunjin interrupted. "It's fine, I'll do it."

Changbin raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything.  "Okay," he said, "well, if you need any help, don't hesitate. You know, since Channie hyung is his caregiver, and he's not there, we can all help."

"Of course," the younger said. "But right now, it's fine. Thank you, hyung."

Changbin smiled, ruffled Minho's hair and walked to the kitchen. Hyunjin made Minho sit on the bed while he went to the closet, fishing for the fluffiest and largest hoodie he could find in there; he let out a small noise of victory once he found the one, closed the drawer and walked to Minho, helping him put on the piece of clothing. After that was done, he helped him change into a pair of sweatpants, also belonging to Chan. 

Minho looked down at his outfit, brought the sweater paws to his face, burying his nose in the material and beamed at Hyunjin. "Min smell like 't'annie!"

Hyunjin chuckled. "Let's go, angel."

With a smile and inquiring eyes, Minho held out his hand for Hyunjin to take, and once the latter did, the little giggled and the two of them headed towards the living room where they found Felix talking with Jisung, Jeongin sitting on the floor, colouring while Changbin watched him. 

"Minnie!" Jeongin squealed once he spotted the other little. He got up and ran to Minho, clumsily wrapping his arms around the boy.

"Hi," Minho shyly said. 

Jeongin pulled away and grabbed Minho's hand. "Wanna do colouring with me?" 

Not daring to say that he had already done that, Minho simply nodded and followed his friend to the coffee table, joining him on the floor and accepting the paper and pencils he was handed. 

The afternoon went by pretty quickly with the two littles busy drawing, then playing together, supervised by the olders, then begging them to join - though it didn't take very long for the four boys to break and join their adorable littles in whatever games they wanted to play… 

Soon, the evening came, bringing Chan and Seungmin along with it. As soon as the leader entered the dorm, Minho gasped and sprang on his feet, dashing for the front door. When he spotted Chan, he ran to him and threw himself in his caregiver's arms and burst into tears. 

Chan easily caught Minho, picking him up and soothing him as best as he could while he made his way to the living room. He sat on the couch and held the crying little close to him, gently patting his back and whispering loving words and praises in his ear. Minho only choked on his tears, hiccuping and gripping onto Chan's shirt hard, the fear of seeing him leave yet again overwhelming him in crashing waves. 

"My baby, my sweet, sweet baby…," Chan whispered. 

Minho hiccuped and sobbed. "Miss-missed 't'a-nnie - so- so much."

"I know, baby, I know… I missed you too, my darling. Channie is sorry. Hyung is so sorry he left for so long."

"'t'an- 't'annie no go- ever-" Minho hiccuped. 

Chan tightened his embrace around Minho, his eyebrows joining and his heart twisting in pain at the little's distress. "I'm sorry, baby, forgive me," Chan said. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

Minho nodded against Chan's shoulder. 

"I'm here, kitten, I'm right here." Chan kept rubbing Minho's back and giving his cheek a kiss here and there. "Can you calm down for hyung, angel? Yeah? Can you do that?"

The little nodded again and his thumb found his mouth as he tried his best to calm himself down and stop crying to please his caregiver. He squeezed his eyes shut, terror of having his caregiver leave again because he had grown tired of the little's tears seized Minho's body, causing it to harshly shake. 

It didn't go unnoticed by Hyunjin who quickly approached the couch and sat next to the two. He gently stroked Minho's hand.

"Minnie, baby," he called gently. "Channie hyung isn't going anywhere, okay? Even if you keep crying. You can cry, aegi… You've had a long day, haven't you? Without Channie hyung… It wasn't easy, but you were so brave, darling. Hyung is so proud of you…" Minho whimpered and nodded again. "Can you look at me, angel?"

Minho let out another whimper, but finally let his eyes flutter open, red and teary, unshed tears clinging to his eyelashes. 

"There we go, you beautiful baby," Hyunjin grinned. He gently wiped the little's damp cheeks. "See? Channie hyung is still there. You're safe, yeah?"

"Min safe," the little repeated, words slurred by the finger in his mouth, his big doe eyes staring back at Hyunjin who kept smiling and stroking Minho's cheeks. 

"You are, baby," Chan jumped in. He pulled away from the hug, his heart breaking a little when he heard Minho let out a tiny noise, sounding like a wounded baby animal. Once Minho was sitting up on Chan's lap, facing him, the caregiver cupped his face and swiped his thumb on his cheeks before pecking his nose. Minho giggled. "There's my angel!" Chan smiled. "How about we go to the kitchen, we have dinner and you tell me all about your day? Then we'll go to bed. Does that sound good to you?"

"Yes," Minho shyly smiled, lowering his head.

That is until he remembered something… He gasped and wiggled his way out of Chan's lap, then grabbed one of the many papers laying on the coffee table and brought it to Chan.

"Min make t'is faw 't'annie," he explained. 

Chan took the drawing and his heart melted and exploded at the same time, different emotions bursting and crashing against each other. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many thoughts jostling in his brain… He didn't deserve any of this, truly and he wanted the boy to know this. However, he smiled and hugged Minho tightly. "Thank you, kitten, it's beautiful. I love it!"

And one thing was for sure, that drawing would join the other many drawings that hung on his wall in his studio. 

Before going to bed, while Chan was in the shower, Minho went up to Hyunjin and pulled on the blonde boy's sleeve. 

"What is it, kitten?"

Minho silently pulled a piece of paper from behind his back and handed it to Hyunjin. "Make t'is faw 'd'innie."

Tears quickly filled Hyunjin's eyes, hands shaking ever so slightly as he took a hold of the drawing, heart pounding in his heart. "I love it so much, Minnie. So much!"

Minho climbed on Hyunjin's lap and pointed at the drawing with one finger, while he slipped his thumb between his lips. "'d'innie is best. Min love 'd'innie so so much!"

Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Minho's waist and hugged him tightly, peppering kisses on the little's neck, causing him to squeal and giggle, while he squirmed in Hyunjin's lap.

"Nuh-uh, 'top!" He giggled. 

Hyunjin finally stopped and pressed one last kiss against Minho's cheek. "I love you so much, kitten."

It was with a bright smile that Minho fell asleep that night, curled up against Chan, his plushie clutched against his chest, feeling safe with his caregiver's strong arms wrapped protectively around his body. Minho had the best caregiver in the world, he was sure of it.

Chapter Text

When he woke up, Minho's head was pounding and his eyes were stinging. With difficulty, he opened his eyes, frowning deeply when he realised he wasn't in his bedroom. Ah, yes. He remembered now… He had been in his headspace yesterday… All day… Damn, he must have been incredibly stressed to slip so easily and for such a long time.

Minho pushed the blankets away, intending on getting up, but he was suddenly pulled back by strong arms wrapped around his waist. He gasped and frowned yet again, tried to squirm his way out of the tight grip but to no avail. With an exasperated huff, he turned his head only to find himself face to face with his leader. 

Well, today wasn't his lucky day. He didn't want to wake his hyung up, as for once, he was sleeping, but at the same time, Minho really really needed to get up, go to the bathroom, have a shower and eat. And he also needed to take care of his eyes and head, because there was no way he was going to manage through this day if he didn't take painkillers and apply something to his burning eyes. 

"Hyung," he whispered. "Channie hyung!"

The only reply he got was a grunt and the arms around him tightening. Minho went limp into the hug, defeated, and started thinking quickly. The minutes went by, and the more minutes passed, the more Minho realised he really needed to pee. It made him wonder if Chan had remembered to take him to the bathroom last night before going to bed, because right now, it felt like his bladder was about to explode. 

Minho squirmed some more and whimpered, unable to stop himself from doing so, tears brimming his eyes. He barely ever cried, but his need to pee was so strong, the pressure on his bladder too strong, holding everything in was so painful, that he couldn't stop his tears from falling, along with the harsh tremble that seized his body, his blood running cold in his veins, cheeks flushed and sweat beading on his forehead. If an accident were to happen, Minho would be absolutely mortified and humiliated, and he knew he'd slip, which he didn't want to do since they had a schedule today. 

Minho was growing more and more desperate. He didn't have his phone so he couldn't call one of his members to come and help him. He didn't have a choice. He had to wake Chan up, there was no other solution. 

"Chan hyung," he whimpered and sniffled. "Channie hyung wake up, please. Chan!" He finally cried out. 

Chan jolted awake. "Minho? Are you-"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence. As soon as he loosened his grip around Minho, the latter bolted out of the bed and ran out of the room to the bathroom, bumping into Jisung on the way, and locked himself in. Jisung was left in shock in the corridor. And Chan was still sitting on the bed, blinking and mouth agape. 

In the bathroom, Minho was washing his hands, his cheeks damp with tears, his hands still shaking, his cheeks flushed. He avoided looking in the mirror and splashed water on his face, sighing in delight at the cold feeling, and dried his face. 

Soft knocks on the door caused him to jump. "Minho?"

Chan. Right, he must have been shocked when Minho ignored him and ran out of the bedroom… He sounded worried.

"I'll be right outside," Minho said. 

He sighed and unlocked the door, finding himself right in front of a very worried Chan. "Are you okay?" The leader asked. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Minho shrugged. "I'm gonna go back to my dorm." He walked past Chan before turning around. "Uhm… thank you. For uh… taking care of me yesterday."

"Of course, any time, you know it," Chan warmly smiled. 

Minho nodded and walked to the front door. He put on his shoes and left. As soon as he entered the other dorm, he made a beeline to the shower, ignoring Felix's questions on his way. Once he was done, he went to the kitchen where he found Seungmin already having breakfast there. 

"Hi, hyung," Seungmin smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"Hey. Yep, I did." Minho replied as he went through the cupboards to make himself some breakfast and coffee. "Dance practice today?"

"Yeah. And recording as well. They're waiting for us at 8 am sharp for dance practice. And the recording is at 4 pm."

"Thanks. Are the others awake?"

"Felix is for sure, I don't know about Innie."

Minho nodded. "Was uh… was IN small yesterday?"

"Yeah, but he was rather shy and uncomfortable, so he stayed with Felix in his room all evening and slept there as well."

"Oh okay." Minho took a seat across from Seungmin and started eating in silence, trying to recall the events of the previous day. He remembered feeling stressed but he wasn't sure why and it bothered him to no end. However, before his frustration could get the better of him, a smiling Jeongin entered the kitchen.

"Morning hyungs!" The maknae said. 

"Hey, feeling better?" Seungmin asked. 

"Definitely! I think I have enough energy for the rest of the week!" Jeongin grinned as he sat next to Minho and started eating as well. "How are you feeling, hyung?"

Minho frowned but cleared his throat. "Well, my eyes are burning and I feel like someone hit my head with a stone."

"Mhm. Well, you were pretty distressed yesterday."

"Why?" Minho asked before he could stop himself. 

Jeongin and Seungmin exchanged a quick glance. "Chan hyung was out again when you slipped and Hyunjin hyung took care of you," Seungmin replied. 

"Oh… What do you mean again?"

"Well, it's the second time in a row that Chan hyung wasn't able to be there when you were little, and I think little you took it rather badly. When he came back, you cried for an hour at least."

Minho groaned. That was rather pathetic of him… And it had clearly distressed little Jeongin if he was feeling bad all evening and had to lock himself up with Felix until the next day.

"Don't be sorry," Jeongin quickly jumped in. "It's Channie hyung who should be sorry. Hyunjin hyung was the one who managed to calm you down."

That made Minho frown yet again. How come Chan, his official caregiver, didn't manage to do that? Though Minho usually remembered quite well what happened when he was little, this time it was strangely such a blur, and Minho could only remember bits of what had happened. He remembered drawing with Hyunjin and lying on him for a while… He remembered playing with Jeongin as well, but otherwise, his memories were failing him. 

With a frustrated sigh, Minho got up, cleaned his bowl and cutlery, and left to get ready for the day. He needed to get to the bottom of what had happened the previous day. 

Once everyone was gathered in the practice room, Minho made his way to Hyunjin and sat on the floor next to him to stretch. He missed the way his dongsaeng tensed next to him, too deep into his thoughts, and started doing the work.

“Hyunjin,” Minho finally broke the silence.

Hyunjin looked up at his hyung. “Yeah?”

“What happened yesterday?”

Straight to the point. Minho didn’t feel like sugarcoating it, he needed to know.

“Uhm… Well, you were in your headspace when you woke up, but Channie hyung wasn’t there, so you came to me and I took care of you,” Hyunjin quickly said. “I called him, but he was busy, so we spent the day together.”

“Oh…” There was a moment of silence. “I’m sorry.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened in surprise before he furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

“I’m sorry you had to put up with me.”

“What?” Hyunjin repeated, flabbergasted. “Hyung, what are you apologising for? I had a great time taking care of you! Why are you sorry?”

Before Minho could reply, the choreographer called the eight boys to gather around, leaving Hyunjin confused and without an answer. Minho moved far away from Hyunjin, standing next to Jeongin and trying his best to listen to what the teacher had to say. He was confused. Somehow, Hyunjin was making him feel so small, and he didn’t understand why. Right now really wasn’t the time to slip, Minho needed to work. 

The boy kept stealing glances at Hyunjin, a strange feeling of warmth and fuzziness spreading in his chest, causing him to smile before he quickly shook his head and looked at his teacher. He sunk his nails into his palms to ground himself and not give in to his little self that seemed to want to take over, run to Hyunjin and lie with him all day long. Where was this coming from? Even Chan didn’t make him feel this way. Minho only regressed when he needed time to recharge his battery, or when he was stressed or in a bad place. 

“Minho, I’ll leave you to lead the practice, I have to go to check some trainees,” the choreographer suddenly said, interrupting the boy’s trail of thoughts. Minho quickly nodded in understanding and watched the teacher leave the room.

He took a deep breath, pushed away the growing fuzzy feeling, and turned to other members who were looking at him expectantly. All, except Hyunjin, who only had an expression of deep worry contracting his features as he stared at Minho. The latter shook his head and cleared his throat before giving instructions to the other members. The music started and they got into the practice.

The week that followed was pretty much the same: Minho was avoiding his headspace and Hyunjin who took it hard. It wasn't that Minho was mad at him or hated him, no. Minho was scared and confused, he didn't understand why he felt so comfortable and why he felt fuzzy and like he needed to regress when around the younger. It was rather obvious that his little self had become attached to the younger, but that only meant that being around Hyunjin made it too easy for Minho to regress. And right now, he really couldn't afford it. 

Minho knew he had been little too many times in just a week - twice was too much, in his mind. He had responsibilities, he was the second eldest, he had to take care of the younger ones, he had to monitor practices, had to be there for Chan; and when Little, Minho knew he was nothing but a burden. He knew that when in littlespace, he was clingy, sensitive, vulnerable and in constant need of attention. And this was another reason why it bothered him so much to have become so attached to Hyunjin.

Hyunjin loved to go out during off days, draw, paint, write, and go to art galleries… Minho was only holding him back if he was little. The more time went by, the more Minho started hating himself for being the way he was. And it resulted in him hiding away in his room whenever he felt on the verge of regressing. He'd curl into a ball in his bed, hugging his bunny plushie and squeezing his eyes shut to prevent the tears from falling and to try and push away his headspace. 

By the end of the second week, the tension between the members and Minho had become unbearable; but the fact that Minho had become silent, distant with the others, only speaking to them for work purposes, was making Hyunjin and Chan beyond worried. Chan had tried to talk to Minho, he had tried to get him to open up but to no avail; the younger had only brushed it off and assured his leader that everything was fine and he was just stressed about the soon to come comeback. 

On the other hand, Hyunjin didn't try anything. He was afraid that if he tried to make Minho speak, the boy would only close himself up even more and push him away, so Hyunjin waited. Instead, he started showing his hyung small gestures of affection, discreet ones, to show Minho that he was there for him if he wanted. 

It started off with him bringing Minho an iced americano one morning before dance practice; then hot milk with honey before vocal practice or recording session; he brought Minho his towel when he noticed the boy wincing in discomfort at the sweat running down his neck; one day, Hyunjin made Minho a very small painting of forget-me-nots and gave it to him one evening. And that night, Minho cried himself to sleep. 

The small painting seemed to do the trick however. It had been three weeks since Minho had started to distance himself from everyone else, and at the end of that third week, Hyunjin had given the painting to Minho. The older didn't say anything, only whispering a thank you as he took a hold of the small piece of art; once Hyunjin left, he rushed to his bedroom, placed the painting on his night table, grabbed his plushie, and watched the painted flowers, tears quickly filling his eyes before he burst into tears. 

Three weeks. Three weeks of navigating between big and small, of avoiding and pushing away his headspace, of having to live with a growing headache, of being so scared of being a burden, terrified to fail the other members by letting go of his responsibilities even for a moment. They had tried everything to get Minho to feel better and say something, but it was a painting that did it. 

When Minho woke up the next day, his eyes were puffy, red and stinging; his heart was heavy and as if it kept sinking and swaying with every thought that popped in his head, like a boat in the middle of the stormy ocean, causing nausea to painfully twist his stomach. His head was pounding, so much so that he felt like crying. He felt torn, wanting to get comfort but at the same time scared to ask for it. He wished for arms to wrap around him, for that gentle voice to tell him he was good, that everything was okay. He wished for those kisses, so soft and loving; he wished for that voice to sing to soothe his shattered heart. He wished for those eyes to look into his own and show him that he was loved, that he was okay, that he could cry, that he was safe.

One look at the forget-me-nots, and Minho couldn't even stop himself from regressing anymore. His lower lip wobbled and his chin quivered, breathing quickening and tears brimming his eyes. He brought the ear of his plushie to his mouth and got up, gently waddling to the door of his bedroom, opening it and shuffling his feet towards Felix's bedroom. He gently knocked on the door.

"Lixie?" He asked, his voice quiet, his throat tight. 

The door opened, revealing a very disheveled and sleepy Felix. "Hyung? What's up?" Minho whimpered and shook his head, his glassy eyes meeting Felix's sleepy ones before they widened. "Min- Min, what's wrong?"

"D'innie," Minho whimpered, shakily pointing down the corridor. 

"Okay, hold on, sweetie, lemme just get changed okay?" Felix turned around before stopping in his tracks and turning back to Minho. He took the boy's hand, led him into the bedroom and made him sit on the bed while he went to change. Once in the bathroom, he pulled out his phone. "Jinnie, hey, sorry to disturb you… but it's important."

Minho was sitting on the bed, hands shaking, fingers twitching around his plushie, teeth biting into the ear, as he tried to ground himself. He was absolutely terrified of the others' reaction and at the same time, yearned for their hugs and comfort, the two emotions only causing his head to spin and heart to clench, a sob rising in his throat and threatening to escape his tightly gritted teeth. Minho knew he had caused his members a great deal of stress by distancing himself so much; he knew Chan was worried sick and Hyunjin had tried his very best to make Minho feel a little better, and it only made him feel horrible and loathe himself even more. 

The boy was slowly losing himself in his dark thoughts, not realising that tears had started to slowly run down his flushed cheeks and that his breathing had picked up, while he dug his nails into his palms. He didn't notice Felix coming out of the bathroom and walking up to him. It was only when the bedroom door was slammed open that Minho jumped and snapped his head up towards the origin of the noise. As soon as he saw who it was, he burst into tears and started sobbing harshly, getting up from the bed and tripping over his own feet as he tried to walk to the door. 

Hyunjin quickly moved and caught the boy in his arms before gently lowering himself on the ground, Minho along with him. The little gripped Hyunjin's shirt as he wept against the blonde's shoulder, his tears slowly soaking the piece of clothing. Hyunjin gently rubbed Minho's back, gently hushing him and peppering soft kisses against the little's head. 

"Minnie," Hyunjin whispered. "My beautiful kitten… you're okay, baby… you're okay… Jinnie's here, mhm? I've got you, aegi, I've got you…"

Minho kept sobbing, the noise quickly alerting Seungmin who rushed into Felix's bedroom, eyes heavy with sleep but wide with worry. 

"Minho? Minho?" He called as he entered the bedroom. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Hyunjin knelt on the floor, Minho curled in his arms and sobbing harshly. Seungmin glanced at Felix whose eyebrows were knitted together, while his teeth were biting his lower lip. "What's going on?" He asked. 

"Minho regressed, I think," Felix replied. "He's not okay…"

Minho heard the voices, but through his crying, his head spinning and throbbing, they were twisted, sounding harsh and dry. They were all mad at him weren't they? Hyunjin was just being nice, but he was mad, that was for sure. They were going to scold him as soon as he stopped crying… maybe punish him as well, as they should. He wasn't good, he hadn't been good, and now he had awoken everyone because of his cries, oh what a hateful boy he was being! Minho's breathing was too quick, he was working himself into a panic attack, his sobs only growing louder. He needed to apologise, he had to, then maybe they'd yell a little less and would be a little less mad at him. Minho really was sorry, he really wanted to be forgiven, he didn't want to be punished; a punishment meant being on time out, alone, in a corner, without any comfort, and it terrorised him. 

"Min- Min s-sowwy-!" Minho managed to say before hiccuping and coughing. "S-sowwy!"

"Oh, aegi, aegi!" Hyunjin quickly said. He gently threaded his fingers through Minho's hair and pressed his lips against the boy's forehead. "You have nothing to be sorry for, kitten… Hyungs are not mad at you. No one's mad at you. You're okay, yeah? You're all okay, sweetheart…"

Minho shook his head. "M-Min- bad-," he gasped. His fingers twitched around the fabric of Hyunjin's shirt that was squeezed in the little's tightly curled fists. "H-H'ung m-mad-"

Hyunjin's heart shattered when he heard the choked up words, the tone so desperate and broken. He needed Minho to know that no one was mad at him, that everything was okay, but the most urgent thing to do was to bring the boy out of the panic attack that was quickly taking over. He tightened his hold on the shaking body curled up in his arms and kissed the top of Minho's head.

"Baby," Hyunjin whispered. "I'm not mad, I promise you." He kissed Minho's head again. "You're okay, angel. No one is mad at you, no one's gonna hurt you, I promise…"

Hyunjin lifted his eyes towards Felix and Seungmin, gesturing for them to do something. The two quickly shook themselves out of their trance and approached the pair, Felix resting a hand on Minho's back, while Seungmin stroked the boy's hand.

"Jinnie's right, Min," Felix said softly. "You're not in trouble, no one is mad at you. We love you so much, Min."

"We're actually glad that little Min is back, you know?" Seungmin added. 

The words slowly sank into Minho's head and heart, soothing him. They weren't mad? They really weren't? He wasn't in any kind of trouble? He was okay? Was it all real? Minho slowly went limp into Hyunjin's arms, his sobbing quieting down to silent crying, sniffles and hiccups here and there. He let the gentle caresses calm the tremble of his body, the kisses on his hand and head ground him, and the whispered praises pull him away from his dark thoughts. 

"D'innie- d'innie no mad?" Minho whispered, his face still buried into the crook of Hyunjin's neck.

The blonde boy shook his head. "Of course not, kitten. How could I ever be mad at you?"

To Hyunjin's relief, Minho finally calmed down, breathing more regularly despite a hiccup or a deep sigh interrupting him, tears clinging to his long eyelashes, tear tracks drying on his red cheeks. In all honesty, if Minho hadn't calmed down, Hyunjin really wouldn't have known what to do, and the more the boy had kept sobbing, the more desperate he had grown. He hated seeing his precious Minho cry, it destroyed his heart, shattering it in million little pieces, and Hyunjin didn't want to admit that whenever he saw the little's tears, his own were quick to fill his eyes as well. 

"T'annie?" Minho whispered. He pulled away from Hyunjin's neck and sniffled as he looked up at the blonde one. 

"What is it, baby?"

Minho pointed towards the door, looking at it before looking back at Hyunjin, with his red eyes big and filled with innocence. "t'annie? Go see t'annie?"

"You wanna go see Channie hyung?" Hyunjin asked. Minho nodded, his thumb finding his mouth as he kept staring at Hyunjin expectantly. 

Jealousy squeezed Hyunjin's heart yet again, but how could he blame Minho? He couldn't do anything about it… At the end of the day, no matter how many times Hyunjin looked after the little, the official caregiver was always the number one choice, and the one Minho would always go back to, no matter what. So Hyunjin smiled and nodded. 

"Okay, kitten, let's go see him then," he said. 

Hyunjin gently pried Minho's arms away and got up from the floor, pulling the little up along with him. He held out his hand for Minho to take, and the two of them left the bedroom, Seungmin and Felix watching with worry in their eyes. 

"You think Hyunjin will ever tell Minho hyung the way he feels about him?" Felix asked once the others had left. 

"Honestly? I don't think he will," Seungmin sighed. "It's Hyunjin… he'll just pine, wait, hurt himself in the process…"

"That's painful… Come on, give him a little credit," Felix winced. 

"Have you just met Hyunjin?" Seungmin replied. Felix rolled his eyes, unable to hold back a smile.

Hyunjin guided Minho to his bedroom, telling him to wait before he went to the boy's closet to retrieve an outfit for him to wear. Getting an oversized hoodie and comfortable sweatpants, Hyunjin walked back to Minho who put his plushie next to him and lifted his arms up in the air, waiting for Hyunjin to undress him. Hyunjin chuckled and gently pulled the boy's tee-shirt up and off his body. Seeing him shiver, the blonde boy was quick to exchange his sleepwear for another shirt and helped Minho put on the hoodie. Once he was done, he moved on to the pants. 

"See t'annie now?" Minho asked as he got up, dressed and ready to go, bunny plushie in hand. 

"Yes, angel. Come on."

Hyunjin grabbed Minho's hand and headed to the front door. He helped Minho put on his shoes and tied his shoelaces for him before opening the front door, stepping outside and closing it behind him. They walked for less than five minutes before reaching the other dorm. By now, Minho was excited to see his caregiver, a big smile on his face as he swung his and Hyunjin's linked hands together. Hyunjin pushed the door open, helped Minho take off his shoes and let him run to Chan's bedroom. 

Minho softly knocked before opening the door. Once he saw Chan, sitting at his desk in front of his computer, Minho waddled towards the older and gently pulled on his sleeve.

"T'annie?" He called. 

Chan looked to the side and smiled as soon as his eyes landed on the precious boy. "Hey, baby!" He happily said as he wrapped his arms around the little's waist. "How's my angel doing?"

"Good!" Minho giggled. 

"I'm so glad my baby's better," Chan said. He kissed the top of Minho's head. "What are you up to?"

"D'innie he'p Min," the boy explained. "Min wan'ed see t'annie. T'annie can p'ay wiv Min?" He asked, hopeful eyes staring at Chan's face. 

The older's smile slowly faded, his expression morphing into one of sorrow. "Oh, baby… Channie's sorry, but he has a lot of work to do… I have to leave soon…"

Minho's heart tightened and broke a little at the words: Chan, his caregiver, couldn't play with him. It seemed to the little that he hadn't been able to spend time with his caregiver in forever, and he had hoped that today he'd finally be able to. Clearly it wasn't an option. Minho wanted to cry. He felt the tears quickly brim his eyes and his throat tighten, but he'd be brave. He'd be brave for Chan, because maybe Chan was just as heartbroken as Minho was, and he wasn't showing it. Minho could be brave like that too. He'd be a good boy, like Chan wanted him to be, then maybe, when his caregiver would be back, he'd give Minho many cuddles and kisses, so it was worth it, right? 

Swallowing his tears and heartbreak, Minho smiled, his fingers playing with the strings of Chan's hoodie. "Okay," he whispered. "Min p'ay wiv d'innie, yes?"

"I'm sure Jinnie would love to," Chan smiled. Minho nodded, head lowering as his eyes focused on his own fingers, lips pouty. "You know I love you so very much, right?"

Minho grinned and threw his arms around Chan's neck. "Min love t'annie dis mu't too!" He exclaimed and giggled into Chan's neck. 

Chan bugged him back tightly. "You're the best boy in the world."

Minho giggled and pulled away. He then walked out of the bedroom, hiding away his tears, and went to the living room where he saw Hyunjin sprawled on the sofa next to Changbin who was on his phone. The blonde boy had his eyes closed, head against the cushions, which meant that he probably was sleeping. Fearing to wake him up, Minho quietly waddled towards Changbin and tapped his knee. The rapper jolted but smiled at the little, putting his phone away and opening his arms for Minho who happily climbed on Changbin's lap and hugged him. 

"D'innie s'eep?" He whispered, big doe eyes staring into Changbin's eyes. 

"I don't know, baby. Why don't you go hug him?" Changbin whispered back. 

"Min no want to wake d'innie," Minho replied very seriously. 

Changbin chuckled. "Alright, baby. Where's Chan hyung?"

At the mention of his beloved caregiver's name, Minho pouted and lowered his head. "T'annie busy…"

"Oh… well, why don't we play together while Jinnie sleeps, mhm? What do you wanna do?"

"Min s'eepy," the little admitted, snuggling closer to the rapper's broad chest. 

"Oh I see. Well, why don't we put a movie on and rest? What do you say?"

Minho smiled and nodded. Changbin kissed the little's cheek and moved to reach the remote. He quickly turned the TV on and put on Netflix, choosing a kid show that Minho enjoyed. He pressed play, and after lowering the sound, he put the remote away and wrapped his arms around Minho, allowing him to snuggle and get comfortable as he watched the show. 

In Minho's mind, watching TV and sleeping would make time move faster, which meant he'd be able to spend time with Chan sooner. He brought his thumb to his mouth and began sucking on it before a soft hand pulled it away.

"Don't do that, baby," Changbin said softly. "I'll go get your pacifier, okay? Wait for me."

He gently moved Minho to sit on the couch and left the room to retrieve the item, knowing perfectly well that there was one in Hyunjin's room. The dancer always kept little gears for Minho, just in case. Once he found it, Changbin quickly went back to the living room and held it in front of Minho who squealed and giggled, happily accepting the paci that Changbin slipped between his lips. After that, the rapper sat back on the couch, Minho quickly claiming his lap as his seat, paci bobbing between his lips, head resting against Changbin's chest, eyes on the TV, plushie in his hands. 

Thirty minutes later, exhausted after all his crying, Minho had fallen asleep into Changbin's arms, small snores being heard while his paci kept bobbing faster, then slowly, to a stop, before going faster again. Changbin felt his eyes grow heavier and heavier until he fell asleep as well, his arms still tightly holding Minho close against him. It was to this adorable sight that Hyunjin startled awake. He rubbed his face and groaned, yawned as he stretched his body and let out a long sigh before looking to the side. 

As soon as he saw his two band mates, he had to stop himself from squealing and melting on the floor right here and there. He quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures, smiling to himself when he sent them on the group chat. He put his phone away and only then did it dawn on him that the one holding Minho right now was Changbin and not Chan… where was Chan? 

Frowning, Hyunjin got up from the couch and left the living room to go and look for the leader. But he was nowhere to be found. At that moment, guilt filled his heart: did Minho know? Was this why he was with Changbin? Hyunjin had fallen asleep on the couch so fast, thinking Chan would be taking over and looking after Minho… Did Minho cry? Oh, Hyunjin would really hate himself if he had failed Minho right now…

A knot uncomfortably twisted his stomach as he went to the kitchen to get some food ready for when Minho and Changbin would wake up. A frown had fallen on his face, the uneasiness only growing the more time went by. Hyunjin didn't understand why Chan had left Minho again, he didn't understand how Chan could so easily prefer work over little Minho. 

Back in the living room, Minho stirred, eyes fluttering open. He rubbed the sleep out of them and looked around him, gently sucking on his paci, head still resting against Changbin's chest. He looked down at his bunny plushie, then up at the sleeping rapper before lifting a finger to poke Changbin's cheek. Changbin slightly groaned but didn't wake up, causing Minho to frown slightly. He was hungry now and he really wanted attention. But being a shy little and uneasy about expressing his needs, he decided it would be best to leave Changbin alone and try and get some food by himself. 

With a little struggling, Minho managed to squirm his way out of Changbin's arms and got up, his bare feet making contact with the warm wooden floor. Plushie clutched to his chest, Minho quietly padded to the kitchen, hoping that there would be some food he'd be able to eat without cooking it. But he was surprised to see Hyunjin busy at the stove, and a large smile appeared on his lips. He ran to the tall boy and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin's waist, resting his head against the blonde's back. 

Hyunjin slightly jumped and turned around, his heart bursting in his chest at the sight of little Minho looking at him with his big doe eyes sparkling with innocence. 

"My beautiful baby!" Hyunjin gasped, melting when Minho giggled. "How did you sleep?"

"Min s'ep' good!" He happily said, words slurred by the paci still lodged in his mouth. 

"That's good. Are you hungry? Jinnie made you some food. Your favourite!"

Minho gasped at the words and clapped his hands together. He then turned around and went to sit on a chair, placing his plushie and paci next to him and eagerly waiting for Hyunjin to serve him the food. It goes without saying that Hyunjin really had to contain himself to not kiss Minho all over his face and squeeze him into the biggest hug ever; he gently placed the bowl of rice and cheese sticks with ham in front of the little whose eyes shone with excitement. 

"T'ank you!" Minho grinned at Hyunjin. "D'innie kiss?" He then asked, puckering his lips to receive the demanded kiss. 

Hyunjin didn't think twice before pecking the little's lips, earning himself a squeal and an excited giggle. He had noticed how he was the only one little Minho wanted kisses on the lips from, not even Chan could do that. It was like a special something between Hyunjin and Minho, that seemed very important and precious to the little, since he asked for it as many times as possible. Hyunjin didn't complain and wouldn't complain, ever. 

As the day went by, Minho grew more and more restless. Sure, Changbin and Hyunjin were entertaining him and making sure he had everything he needed, gave him hugs and kisses, but Minho really was hoping to finally have some time with Chan… And he felt like he was being a brat and would be acting like a spoiled child if he asked for his caregiver, so he didn't say anything and tried his best to be brave like Chan. He hoped that Chan missed him like Minho missed Chan; he hoped he'd be back soon, even if it was just to sleep, Minho could settle for that, even less, if his caregiver was too busy, it was okay. 

Minho really did his best to act as if everything was okay, he really did his best to be grateful to Hyunjin and Changbin for taking such amazing care of him, never snapping at them or showing how much his heart was aching. But little Minho could only hide his pain for so long. 

They were sitting in the living room, on the carpet, Minho in between the two, colouring. As the hours had gone by, the little's discomfort and pain had only grown, so much so that now, Minho felt like he was on the edge of bursting and it was scaring him. If he started crying, Hyunjin and Changbin would be hurt and would think that Minho is being ungrateful, that their hard work to entertain the little and keep him happy was all for nothing. 

When Changbin handed him another crayon, Minho took it with shaky hands, while a tear slowly made its way down his cheek. He quickly wiped it, but the gesture was caught by Hyunjin who immediately wrapped an arm around Minho.

"Baby? What's wrong?" He asked, face contorted into an expression of worry. Minho shook his head, already hating himself for having given into his internal panic and pain. "Min, kitten, come here," Hyunjin softly said as he gently pulled Minho against him. 

"Min s-sowwy," the little hiccuped and sniffled. 

Hyunjin glanced at Changbin and frowned, only getting a shrug in reply. "Don't be sorry, darling, it's okay, you're okay. Can you tell Jinnie what's wrong?"

"Min-," the little stopped and buried his face into Hyunjin's chest, shaking his head. 

"Tell me, I won't be mad or upset or sad, I promise."

"Wan' t'annie…," Minho whimpered. He lifted his head, his tear-filled eyes staring into Hyunjin's whose heart shattered at the little's broken expression. 

"Oh baby, I know, I know," Hyunjin said, patting Minho's back as he hugged him tightly. "Shhhh… you're okay, aegi…"

Hyunjin softly cradled Minho, whispering to him and kissing his forehead until the little went limp in Hyunjin's hold. Changbin checked and told the blonde that Minho had fallen asleep, before gently taking him in his arms and waited for Hyunjin to be seated on the couch before placing the little on the blonde's lap. He then placed a blanket on top of them and started clearing the living room. 

When Minho woke up later that day, he felt arms around him and lips against his temple. He slightly squirmed and turned around only to gasp, before tears quickly rolled down his cheeks. He snuggled against his caregiver. 

"T'annie," he whispered. He wasn't calling him, really, only saying his name, as his heart seemed to heal and warmth spread in his chest. 

"Forgive me, angel," Chan whispered back. 

"Min neve' mad at t'annie," little Minho said. He pressed himself against Chan, face into the older's chest, tears flowing, but this time of relief and happiness: Chan loved him still.

~~~~~~

Chapter Text

It was another day at the Stray Kids dorms, and since Minho hadn't regressed immediately, Hyunjin had taken the opportunity to go out and go to this art exposition he had heard of and had been dreaming to go to. Before leaving, he had ensured that Chan wouldn't be busy for the day, in case Minho ended up being little. He wouldn't be happy if Chan was to abandon Minho again . And that was an understatement. 

After asking Chan multiple times if he would indeed be staying at the dorms and would be free all day long, and having heard his leader answer him every single time that yes he would, Hyunjin left, still feeling a little anxious and unsure. 

It had been a few weeks since Minho had last regressed, and although they had had only three free days during that time, the others were surprised that their Minho hadn't gone into his headspace, unlike Jeongin, who had been a little any time possible. So the others were waiting for that moment, hoping that Minho wasn't back into a dark place where he was drowning in dark thoughts.

But Minho was fine, truly. He wasn't in a bad place, wasn't feeling particularly stressed or unhappy, despite all the work they had to do, so he didn't feel the need to be little. Though he loved being in his headspace, loved being taken care of, the attention, the fussing, he just didn't feel like he needed or particularly deserved to be little right now. Not that he thought he had been bad or anything, but just that the others were tired as well, so he didn't think he deserved more rest than the others. He, of course, didn't tell the others how he felt, as he knew they would insist on him regressing, and Minho really didn't have the courage to listen to their fussing right now. 

So here he was, on the couch, TV displaying a cartoon chosen by Jeongin who was curled into a bunch of fluffy blankets, fox plushie in his hands, his fingers fiddling with it, his eyes sparkling with excitement. It was raining outside, so there wasn't much to do; however the little was perfectly happy with being cosy while watching his favourite movie. Felix had been the one to make sure his little was comfortable and warm before leaving to have a shower and then make lunch. Minho had found him and had taken it upon himself to look after little Innie. The latter was nicely curled up to Minho and had placed the blanket over his hyung's lap. 

Despite trying his best to ignore the cartoon currently playing, it was slowly starting to make Minho feel small, making his stomach twist with anxiety; and so, to prevent his headspace from taking over, he had taken his phone out and was scrolling through it, trying to not listen to the sound coming from the TV. Maybe he needed to regress in the end… But he didn't want to. He shook his head and cleared his throat before getting up from the couch.

In his hurry to leave the room, however, he forgot the blanket that was covering him, resulting in the fluffy duvet being pulled along with him, suddenly uncovering Jeongin who made a small noise of disapproval at first, then let out a scream of frustration when Minho wouldn't stop pulling. Minho froze in his tracks and turned around to face little Jeongin who was frowning and glaring at him, hands fisting the blanket as he tried to pull it back on him. 

Seeing Jeongin in this state of frustration and incomprehension hit Minho hard; the boy hated causing his members any kind of discomfort, it made him stressed and he'd end up loathing himself for it, even when it wasn't even his fault. The situation had been a lot to handle already, with him being on the edge of regressing for almost an hour, and now this… Minho slipped instantly, heart dropping to his stomach when he realised he was the cause of Jeongin being upset. 

Little Minho looked at the blanket entangled around his legs, then at Jeongin, before quickly scrambling to put it back on little Jeongin.

"Min sowwy!" The little exclaimed. "Min bad, Min sowwy!"

Jeongin frowned as he pulled the blanket back on himself and looked at Minho whose eyes were wide with fear. "Why Min sorry?" Jeongin asked, confused. 

"Make Innie u’set," Minho explained, fiddling with his fingers. 

"Min come," Jeongin said, patting the spot next to him, the frown on his face disappearing and morphing into a soft smile. 

Minho nodded and climbed onto the sofa, sitting down on the exact space Jeongin had pointed at, his eyes riveted on the fingers he was twisting. The older little gently lifted the fluffy plaid and placed it over Minho so he'd be warm, before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and gently pulling the younger little towards him, until Minho had his head against Jeongin's shoulder. 

"Min okay?" Innie asked. He smiled when he felt a nod against his shoulder. "Wanna watch the movie with Innie?"

"Yes, p'ease," Minho whispered. 

"Innie is happy Min stay with Innie," Jeongin giggled. Minho smiled and snuggled closer to the other. 

They remained this way for a little while, simply enjoying each other’s company, ignoring the world around them. Felix, who had finished making lunch, entered the living room, not at all expecting what he saw, but before saying anything, he snapped a few pictures, too tempted by the two littles’ cuteness. With a smile, he approached them and gently stroked Minho’s hair who leaned into the touch.

“Hey, Min,” Felix said. “You okay?” Minho nodded and snuggled closer to Jeongin. "And how's my Innie doing?"

"Innie is so happy!" Jeongin beamed at Felix then wrapped both arms around Minho, hugging him tightly against him, causing the boy to giggle. "Innie loves Min so much!"

Minho lifted his head, a soft blush creeping up his face and spreading across his cheeks. "Min love Innie a lot lot too!"

At this point, the two of them just had to be teaming up to kill Felix with their cuteness and how adorable they were. 

"How about we go have lunch, now, mhm?" Felix said.

"Yes!" Minho happily exclaimed, head shooting up from Jeongin's chest, his entire face lighting up with excitement, eyes sparkling. 

Felix chuckled. "Alright, let's go, you two."

The caregiver got up from the couch and held out both hands for the littles to take, before the three of them headed to the kitchen. Felix made then sit down at the table, while he went to get the food and serve them. 

"T'ank you Lik'y!" Minho said, giving Felix his cutest smile, bunny teeth showing and eyes turning into small crescents. 

"You're welcome, sweetie. Innie, baby, what do we say?"

"Thank you, hyungie," Innie cheekily grinned. 

The two littles happily started eating, giggling together every now and then, Jeongin turning to wipe Minho's mouth when he noticed the younger little had clumsily eaten. Felix was happy he was able to witness everything, and jealously kept it to himself. He knew that if the others knew what was going on right now, they'd stumble into the kitchen in a second to loudly coo at the two littles and take as many pictures as they could, and Felix preferred simply enjoying and dying of cuteness overload by himself. 

Just when he thought he'd be safe from anyone interrupting the adorableness going on, Felix jolted when he heard someone enter, and turned around, only to see his leader with a big smile on his face. 

"Hello, everyone," he greeted. 

Minho gasped and let his spoon fall on the floor with a loud noise as he quickly pushed himself away from the table and jumped off his chair to run to Chan. "T'annie, t'annie, t'annie!" Minho yelled. The little threw himself into his caregiver's arms, wrapping his legs around Chan's waist and dropping sloppy kisses on the man's neck and cheek. Chan laughed and hugged his baby tightly, kissing his cheek softly. 

"I missed you too, angel," he said. "Have you finished eating?"

"No. Felik' make good food!" 

"Let's get you to finish that meal then, okay?" Chan smiled. When Minho nodded, he gently placed the little on the chair and gave him another spoon, but ended up feeding him, basking in the loving gazes and sweet giggles Minho let out. "Say, Min," Chan then said. "What do you say you come with me to the studio today, mhm?"

Minho gasped and nodded happily, showing Chan his bunny teeth. 

"I thought you didn't have to work today," Felix frowned while he wiped Jeongin's mouth. 

"Something came up, but I can still take care of Min, so it's okay."

Felix nodded in understanding, yet unsure of the statement. "If you say so… Just call if you need us to take over with Min, okay?"

"Yeah. But I'm telling you, it'll be fine, won't it, baby?" Chan said, voice getting higher when he looked at his little who nodded and giggled. "Alright. Then we'll get ready and go to my studio when you're finished, okay?"

"Otay," Minho whispered before opening his mouth for another spoonful of food. 

Before leaving, Chan had made sure to pack a bag with everything little Minho would need: his plushie, pacifier, colouring books, colouring pencils, little books, toys and a tablet, if Minho really got bored. The ride to the studio went by fast, Minho blabbering stories to Chan who happily listened and patiently answered everything Minho asked. Once they arrived, Chan placed Minho on the couch, handing him his colouring things, his plushie and slipping the pacifier between the little's lips, before he went to his desk and started working. 

At first, little Minho kept waddling up to him, gently pulling on Chan's sleeve to either show him his art, ask for help or ask a question, and each time, Chan patiently complied. But it was getting difficult for Chan to focus on what he had to do, and despite the fact that he really wanted to give Minho all his attention, he had to work. He had a deadline to meet and there wasn't any time to lose. 

Chan felt terrible when Minho approached him to show him a new drawing and he vaguely replied, barely looking at the little who pouted at him, but seeing his caregiver wasn't going to do much more, went back to the couch. Minho understood: Chan was busy, so he'd just have to entertain himself and leave Chan alone. The more time went by, the more little Minho grew tired of being on his own, but he didn't dare to disturb Chan who now had his headphones on. 

Minho curled up on the sofa, hugging his plushie against his chest and suckling on his paci. He was a bit chilly, but it would be okay. His eyes grew heavy, and while he tried to keep staring at Chan and observe him, sleep was quick to take over and before he knew it, he fell asleep. 

Meanwhile, Chan was on the verge of breaking down into tears as he felt like he'd never meet the deadline and that what he was doing wasn't remotely good enough. He had worked so hard, yet it seemed nothing was ever good enough and he'd be late. Stuck with his swirling thoughts and stressed about the whole ordeal, Chan grabbed his backpack, turned the lights off and left his studio. He quickly climbed into the car waiting for him and, to forget his self loathing, he pulled his phone out and sent a few texts on Bubble, smiling at the replies he got. 

"Chan-ssi, we're here," the manager said. Chan lifted his head and nodded with a smile. 

"Thank you."

He got out of the car, throwing his bag on his shoulder, and walked up to the door of his dorm. It seemed the others had been waiting for him as a smiling Hyunjin swung the door open. 

"Hey hyung!" He happily said. He looked around Chan, craning his neck and looking behind the leader, before his smile disappeared, his expression morphing into one of fear. "Hyung… where's Minho?"

Chan frowned, absolutely confused. "What?"

"Where's Minho? Felix told me he had regressed and you had taken him to your studio. Oh my god, hyung, please tell me you didn't forget." Hyunjin begged. The sinking feeling that had settled in his stomach was now being replaced by absolute dread. The thought of little Minho alone at the studio, confused as to why he was alone all of a sudden was making Hyunjin sick to his stomach. 

"Fuck!" Chan exclaimed, suddenly realising what he had done. "Fuck, I didn't- shit!"

Hyunjin glared at him. He quickly grabbed his coat and slammed the door shut behind him before calling a taxi. "You better hope for your sake that he's asleep and hasn't realised that his caregiver forgot him," he said through gritted teeth. 

Chan could only nod. He felt terrible. He was the worst caregiver in the world, and he hated himself for having done such a horrible thing to the precious little that was Minho. Back when Minho had revealed his little self, Chan remembered how he completely fell in love with this side of his dongsaeng; he remembered how he loved taking care of him and receiving all the hugs and kisses. And when Minho had come up to him to ask him to be his official caregiver, Chan's heart had burst in his chest and he had immediately accepted. Chan had always made sure to be there for little Minho and live up to his role, but now he was completely failing him… Three times he hadn't been able to take care of Minho, and even though it wasn't okay and he didn't like it, it was nothing compared to what he had just done. 

Back at the studio, Minho stirred and let out a small noise of satisfaction, squeezing his plushie against his chest before he smiled and opened his eyes. Thinking he'd see his beloved caregiver, busy with work, humming to himself, Minho's heart only dropped to his stomach when he realised Chan wasn't there, and worst of all, he was in the dark. Panic seized his heart and entire body, causing it to shake as tears filled his eyes, his blood turning into ice in his veins. 

"T'annie?" He shakily called out. But there was no reply.

Minho sat up, fingers twitching around his plushie and chest heaving as he tried to contain the rising sobs threatening to escape. He quickly and desperately sucked on his paci, trying and failing to calm his nerves. He was alone, in the dark, and he was terrified of the dark, he was so scared… there wasn't anyone to hold him and reassure him. 

Time went by, Minho trying to hold back his tears, but too much time had passed for Minho to keep believing this was a joke and his caregiver would be back. The Little had to come to the conclusion that Chan had left him, probably abandoned him, and Minho didn't even know why. Did Chan forget about him? Had Minho irritated his caregiver? Had Chan grown bored of Minho? Did Minho do something bad? Maybe… maybe Chan didn't love him anymore… 

That last thought was too much for little Minho who burst into tears, harsh sobs violently shaking his body. Unable to keep his lips closed, the paci slipped out and fell on the floor, the boy making no move to pick it up. The darkness around him seemed to suffocate him, wrapping around him in the most uncomfortable and terrifying way. Too scared to stay in the room, Minho managed to get up and stumble to the door, tripping over his own feet. He grabbed the handle, but only panicked even more when he realised it was locked. He was locked inside a dark room, alone, and he didn't understand why. 

The boy started screaming and sobbing, coughing and hiccuping, his throat going dry as he did so and causing him to cough even more and close his mouth to swallow his saliva, only to gasp for air when he opened his mouth again. He didn't understand what was going on: he was having such a nice time with his caregiver, even though he was working, being in his presence was enough. And now, he was locked inside a dark room, and he didn't know why. Was he being punished? But Minho didn't remember doing anything to upset Chan… What was going on?

After more screaming and trying to force the door open, Minho let go of the handle and clutched his plushie to his chest, staring at the door through his tears, until he let himself fall on the floor and curl into a ball there, calling out a name.

"D'innie-," he whimpered. "D'innie- Min- s-scared… Min scared!" He cried. 

He hid his face into the fur of his bunny plushie as he kept sobbing. He didn't hear the door being unlocked and slammed open, nor did he hear the gasp. It was only when he felt hands on him that he lifted his head. As soon as he saw Hyunjin's concerned face, he threw himself in his arms, sobbing even louder. 

"Oh, my baby, my baby!" Hyunjin exclaimed, hugging Minho as tightly as he could, tears brimming his eyes, throat tightening and heart racing. "My sweet baby, my angel… I'm so sorry…" 

He managed to reach the sofa and placed Minho on his lap, hugging him and cradling him as he tried his best to hush him softly, kissing the top of his head and his damp cheeks. Minho hid his face in the crook on Hyunjin's neck, his small hands grabbing onto Hyunjin's shirt as tightly as he could, trying to listen to the blonde.

"Shhh… it's okay, kitten, I've got you, I've got you," Hyunjin whispered. He didn't know what to do to get the little to calm down, and he really couldn't blame him, so he did the first thing that came to his mind: sing. " You are my sunshine… my only sunshine… you make me happy… when skies are grey… " His voice was breaking and barely above a whisper as he sang. " You'll never know dear… how much I love you… "

The gentle lullaby seemed to work as Minho's cries started to die down, his tense body slowly going limp as he slumped further against Hyunjin. Throughout this entire time, Chan was standing at the door, helpless, with tears streaming down his face. He didn't dare to approach the pair, he felt incredibly unworthy of even being there; why did Minho still keep him as a caregiver when he was making him go through such terrible things, things that Minho didn't deserve for a second? How did Minho still love him? Chan didn't think he deserved to be forgiven, but he still owed Minho one hell of an apology…

"Min sowwy," whispered the little.

"What?" Hyunjin frowned. "Why are you sorry, love?"

Minho lifted his head and looked at Hyunjin. "T'annie punis'ed Min."

Hyunjin's heart broke at the statement: so Minho thought the reason why he had found himself locked in the dark was that he was being punished. 

"Oh, baby, no, no," Hyunjin sighed, hugging Minho tightly. "You weren't being punished. Channie made a mistake. He didn't mean to." Hyunjin looked up at Chan and motioned for him to come over, which the leader hesitantly did. 

Chan knelt on the floor and kept his hands to himself, despite his desire to take Minho's hand and kiss it while apologising over and over. If Minho didn't forgive him, Chan would be fine with that, because he really didn't deserve the boy's forgiveness. 

"Min…," Chan called out softly, voice shaky. "I'm so sorry. Channie is so terribly sorry… Channie's a very bad person for making Min hurt like that… Baby, I'm so sorry…"

If Minho had been big, Chan would have been able to give the boy a proper speech, to tell him that it was a mistake, that he was unworthy, that maybe he should change caregivers and ask someone else, because really, Chan wasn't doing a good job. But Minho was small and distressed, so Chan didn't know if using big words was a good idea or tell him those things as well. 

Minho pulled his head away from Hyunjin's neck and stared at Chan, eyes red and teary, cheeks flushed and damped, lips red and swollen, his expression completely broken, Chan's heart shattered even more. He couldn’t help it and took a hold of Minho’s hand and pressed a long kiss on top of it before looking up at the boy.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he repeated. “Channie wasn’t mad at you, Channie never meant to hurt you, you weren’t being punished, I promise you.”

Minho stared at Chan for a moment, his other hand still fisting Hyunjin’s shirt, his plushie under his arm, tears clinging to his long eyelashes, chest heaving with a sigh or a hiccup from his previous sobs. He then lowered his gaze, lips pouty, heart racing as fear rose in his chest.

“T’annie… T’annie ‘till love Min?” he whispered.

“Of course I do!” Chan replied without a second of hesitation. “I love you so much, Minnie. Channie loves Minnie so so much!”

Minho slowly nodded and laid his head against Hyunjin’s chest, his voice barely above a whisper when he spoke again. “Min love T’annie too.”

“I promise you, angel, that I will never do anything like this ever again. But if you don’t want me anymore, then it’s fine.”

At that, Minho straightened up, eyes going wide as he looked at Chan, tears quickly filling them. “T’annie no want Min no more?” the little whimpered.

Hyunjin glared at Chan so hard, the leader cringed. The blonde boy quickly hugged Minho and kissed his cheek while his fingers threaded through the little’s hair. “Of course Channie wants Minho. Channie would never want to abandon Minho, right Chan hyung?” Hyunjin said, the last words being spat through gritted teeth. 

“No, baby, that’s not what I meant,” Chan jumped in. “I just think that Channie is a bad person and doesn’t deserve Minnie’s forgiveness.”

“Min forgive T’annie,” Minho whispered.

“Thank you, baby,” Chan said and gave Minho’s hand another long kiss. "Thank you…"

Minho gently pulled his hand away from Chan's grasp and went to grip Hyunjin's shirt again, moving around to get more comfortable, until his head was against Hyunjin's chest, and he was being held like a baby. 

"D'innie?" Minho whispered.

"Yes, love?"

"D'innie love Min?"

"I love you so much, baby."

Minho smiled and snuggled against Hyunjin who tightened his hold on the boy. Chan slowly got up and went to his desk chair, sitting on it and facing the pair, heart heavy. He didn't want to upset Minho any further, and though he didn't want this, he knew he had to bring up the subject soon…

Chapter Text

Despite having been forgiven by his little, Chan was still upset about what he had done. It didn't matter that Minho still loved him and wasn't mad at him, Chan was angry at himself. He didn't think he deserved to be Minho's caregiver anymore; he didn't think he should keep this role, since he couldn't live up to it. And looking back, Chan thought Hyunjin would be the best choice, the one he could give the role to. He had seen how Hyunjin and Minho had grown close and attached to each other, so maybe Hyunjin could become the official caregiver. 

With that in mind, Chan walked up to Hyunjin one day, after practice, while the others were busy talking and stretching. 

"Hey, Jinnie, can I talk to you?" 

"Sure," Hyunjin smiled. "Do you want to go somewhere private?"

"Yeah, that'd be best."

Hyunjin nodded before walking to his bag to grab a towel and some water, and followed the leader out of the practice room and to his studio. Hyunjin closed the door and faced Chan who was sitting at his desk chair, his expression unreadable; the boy bit his lip and sat on the couch, scratching the back of his head. 

"You wanted to talk?" Hyunjin said, breaking the heavy silence. 

"Yeah… uhm… I wanted to ask you something, actually," Chan replied. He twisted his fingers and kept fidgeting in his seat, his teeth sinking into his lower lip and tearing the skin. "This isn't gonna be easy. To be honest, I feel awful for asking you this, and I don't want to, but I feel like this is the only way. The truth is, I'm not being a good caregiver, you know that." Hyunjin stopped himself from saying anything; yes, Chan had made mistakes, but he was still an amazing caregiver… "Minho deserves the world. He deserves all the love in the universe, he deserves the attention he needs, he deserves someone who always looks after him and makes sure he has everything he needs. I'm not that person; I thought I was, and I want to be that person, but I'm not… I'm not." Chan took a deep breath and scratched the material of his jeans. "So. Well, I thought that the best thing to do is to take a step back and stop being Minho's caregiver. And I'm asking you… you know, to be his caregiver."

Hyunjin's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, back straightening and cheeks reddening. "Hyung, what are you talking about?" He said. "You can't do that- you can't do this to Minho! He'll be crushed! He chose you for a reason, and he keeps choosing you, every single day and every time he regresses. Even if you make mistakes, he still comes back to you, don't you see that? Hyung, if you tell him you can't be his caregiver anymore, he won't understand and he'll think you don't love him anymore. Please, don't do this!"

"Hyunjin, I'm drowning in work, I don't have enough time to take care of Minho," Chan reasoned. "I love him. So, so much. That's why I'm asking you to be his caregiver, because I can't treat him the way he should be treated, and if I remain his caregiver, I'll just keep making him miserable. I don't want that."

"Channie hyung," Hyunjin said, voice low and serious, "Minho looks up to you, he loves you. He forgets about the times you weren't there, it doesn't matter to him, because he knows you'll always be back; the times he remembers are the times you're with him, hugging him and taking care of him."

Chan sighed, looking down at his feet before flicking his eyes towards Hyunjin who was staring at him, eyebrows knitted together. "But don't you wanna be his caregiver?" Hyunjin opened his mouth but closed it again quickly, unable to find a reply to that. "Come on, Jinnie… I've seen the way you look at him, the way you take care of him and make him your priority whenever you can. He's grown really attached to you, you know?"

"But-"

"Sometimes, when it's just him and me, he asks me about you; he asks where you are… he named one of his favourite plushies after you, and when he goes to sleep, it has to be next to him or he won't sleep. He always asks for kisses from you, always on his lips. He doesn't ask me that. Though, I'm not offended in the least, don't worry," Chan quickly added when Hyunjin was about to reply. "Please, Jinnie."

Hyunjin lowered his gaze and bit the inside of his cheek. He really wanted to accept this. "I can't do this to Minho, I'm sorry, hyung."

"Hyunjin, I'm really desperate here," Chan insisted, his features tensing. 

"I can help you out, like I did the last four times, but I can't replace you. Try to understand. It's not that I don't want to, I do, I really do. But Minho won't understand. He just won't, you won't be able to reason with him."

Chan ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh. "Okay," he nodded. "Alright. Thank you, though."

Hyunjin nodded and cleared his throat before getting up. "Okay. Well, I'll get going then." The boy walked to the door, his hand lingering on the handle. He turned around and faced a very defeated Chan. "It'll be alright, hyung. You'll find a way, don't worry. And I'm always there to help."

"Yeah, thanks, Hyunjin." He said softly with a tight smile. "Hey, what if… what if I tried to reason with Minho?" He asked.

"You can try. But if I were you, I wouldn't."

"Thank you."

"Just… don't hurt him. He's so vulnerable when he's in his headspace…"

"Yeah I know… I'll think about it." 

With a final nod, Hyunjin left the studio, heart heavy. He really loved Minho a lot… He wished he had agreed to being the official caregiver, he wished he could have Minho all to himself, but he also knew that Minho, though he loved Hyunjin a lot, wouldn't agree to that. As a little, Chan meant caregiver and caregiver meant Chan , it's just the way it was, and Hyunjin knew he couldn't change that fact. You can't expect a child to claim another man as his daddy when he already has one. 

Meanwhile, Chan thought that telling Minho and asking him to take Hyunjin as his main caregiver was the best thing to do. Hyunjin said he wouldn't be able to reason with him, but what if he told big Minho? Then the change would be easier… Chan had to try. He wanted what was best for Minho, and he really thought that this was the best. 

He got up from his seat, left his studio and headed to the dance practice room where he was sure to find Minho. He opened the door, only to find the latter sitting on the floor, plushie in hand, cheeks damp with stray tears and Felix behind him, rubbing the boy's back and kissing the top of his head. When they heard the door open, Minho looked up and his face lit up when he saw his caregiver, ready to run to him, only to slump back against Felix, his expression morphing into an unsure one.

"Hey," Chan said softly. He closed the door and approached the little; only then did he see the scowl on Felix's face. The leader crouched before Minho, extended his hand and gently wiped the remaining tears. "How's my baby?"

Minho stared at him for a moment and brought the plushie to his face, hiding himself behind it. "Chan, can I talk to you for a sec?" Felix asked. Chan nodded and got up. "Wait for me, okay?" Felix then told Minho who nodded, before going to the other side of the room with Chan. “Hyung, is it true?”

“What?”

“You don’t want to be Minho’s caregiver anymore?”

“What? Where did you hear that?” Chan asked, heart racing. “Did Hyunjin-“

“Hyunjin didn’t say anything,” Felix said, shaking his head softly. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, hyung…”

Chan stared at Felix for a moment, trying to find words while he kept wondering how Felix knew. “Look, I’m trying to find the best way for Minho to be happy in his headspace, taken care of and loved. Hurting him is the last thing I wanna do.”

“I know that,” Felix said softly. “But Minho doesn’t, and he won’t understand.”

Chan let out a frustrated sigh, tears gathering in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do, Lix…”

“You’ll figure it out, don’t worry. Meanwhile, Minho regressed and he needs you.”

The leader nodded, turning his head towards Minho who hadn’t moved and was looking at the two boys with curious and worried eyes. Chan smiled at him and walked up to him, crouching before the little. “Hey, baby,” he said. He gently petted Minho’s hair. “Let’s go back to the dorm, okay?”

Minho nodded and shyly took Chan’s hand before getting up from the floor and following his caregiver out. Chan felt the grip on his hand tighten, his fingers being squeezed, but didn’t say anything, simply stroking the back of Minho’s hand with his thumb. 

As soon as they stepped into the dorm, they were welcomed by a loud squeal and Jeongin throwing himself into Chan’s arms, before hugging Minho who froze under the touch and only squeezed Chan’s hand harder. It only made Chan confused since Minho usually enjoyed the touch and usually hugged Jeongin back; yet here he was, all tense and a second away from pushing the other little away.

“Min wanna play?” Little Jeongin asked after pulling away from the hug. “Binnie hyung put toys for us! Innie was waiting for Min.”

Minho only stepped closer to Chan, burying his face into the older’s shoulder. “That’s so sweet, Innie,” Chan replied. “Come on, kitten,” he then said. “Let’s go play with Innie.”

Minho repressed a whine in the back of his throat, fear and uncertainty settling in his stomach. Nevertheless, he followed his caregiver to the living room, watching as Jeongin happily skipped over to the soft carpet that had been laid on the floor, with toys scattered around on it. Chan gently guided Minho to the playpen and made him sit on the floor. He then got up, and this time, Minho let out a whimper, turning towards his caregiver, plushie in his hands, teary and pleading eyes looking up at Chan.

“Baby, don’t worry,” Chan quickly reassured. “I’m right here, on the couch. Go on, play with Innie.” 

The Little stared at Chan for a while before looking down at his lap and then up at Innie who was smiling at him. Defeated, Minho gripped on his plushie and slid on his butt to get closer to Jeongin before grabbing the toy the other little was handing him. Minho looked at the Lego piece for a moment, not moving, then looked at Jeongin who handed him another piece.

On the couch, Chan was bouncing his leg up and down and biting his lip mercilessly while digging the nail of his thumb into his other thumb. He was watching Minho and it was clear something was wrong with the little: he seemed unsure, frustrated, sad and scared, and Chan didn’t know why and there was no way to know what was wrong. He wondered for a moment if Minho knew Chan’s intentions, but he quickly shook the thought away, as there was no way Minho had heard anything; Chan had been in his studio while the younger had been in the dance practice room.

His thoughts trailed off to how he still hadn’t been able to talk to Minho, the fact that he still didn’t know what to do about all this… He understood why Hyunjin didn’t accept his request, but at the same time, Chan was upset that the younger turned it down. Chan would have to wait until Minho was big again so he could tell him. He could try while he was little, but Minho seemed to be very uncomfortable in his headspace right now, so it wasn’t a good time. But it was making Chan more and more desperate, as he knew he’d have to leave soon for work… again…

The frustration was only building inside Minho’s heart and the little had no idea how to deal with it. He wanted Chan to care for him, he needed his caregiver to take care of him and show him love, but it seemed that wouldn’t happen… The negative emotions were too much for the little. He stared at Jeongin for a moment, then at his hands holding the Lego and all of a sudden, he threw the toy at Jeongin, the piece hitting the other little right on the head. Jeongin whipped his head towards Minho, eyes wide in shock before his expression morphed into one of hurt and anger.

“Ouch!” He exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot on the side of his head. “Minho, that’s mean,” he pouted. He turned away from his friend and focused on his construction.

But Minho wasn’t having it. He slid closer to Jeongin and held out his hand, his fingers closing onto the bare skin of Jeongin’s arm and pinching harshly. The little screamed and tried to pry Minho’s fingers away but to no avail, causing him to scream even louder.

Chan, who had first stared in shock when Minho had thrown the piece of Lego at Jeongin, quickly got up and marched towards the two littles. He slapped Minho’s hand gently, causing the little to quickly let go and look up at Chan before bursting into tears. Felix ran into the living room as soon as he heard his little scream and rushed to him to hug Jeongin who was pouting at Minho and holding onto the place Minho had pinched.

Chan grabbed Minho and picked him up. “That’s bad, Minho!” He said with a deep frown. “You’re a bad boy, Minho.”

Minho wrapped his arms around Chan’s neck and sobbed into the older’s shoulder. For a moment, Chan felt bad, but he had to discipline Minho; it was so strange, the little never acted this way, he never hurt others, he was usually so sweet, kind and gentle… What was up with Minho? Chan was more and more confused. 

With Minho still wrapped around his body, Chan walked out of the living room and into the corridor. He tried to put Minho on the floor, but the little was holding onto Chan tightly, the caregiver having to pry the little’s arms away.

“Minho,” he sternly said, “let go. You’re being punished right now. I’m putting you on time out. We don’t pinch others and we don’t throw things like that, do you understand me?”

Minho obeyed but didn’t say or do anything, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed harshly, making grabby hands at Chan whose heart broke at the sight. But he had to do this, he had to punish Minho.

“Face the wall, Minho. I’ll come and get you once you’re calm and once you’ve thought about what you’ve done.”

And with that, Chan walked away. Immediately, the little grew even more distressed and he started wailing louder, hiccuping and coughing in the process. Seeing his caregiver leave only caused him to panic and he crawled towards the man, trying to escape the punishment and make Chan come back and hold him. Chan did, but his frown had deepened and his lips were turned downwards, features tense, an angry expression on his face. Minho sat and looked up at him, sobbing harshly, hoping the man would take him in his arms and hug him and tell him everything would be okay. But Chan only grabbed the little under his arms and placed him facing the wall yet again. There was no way Minho was escaping this: Chan was really mad at him.

Once Chan had walked away, little Minho kept crying and crying, hot tears running down his cheeks, his body trembling and his chest heaving with hiccups and coughs. He tried to calm himself down by sucking on his thumb, but as soon as he had managed to stop crying, his caregiver’s angry face appeared in his mind, and Minho’s features contorted and he started crying again.

Minho hadn’t meant to hurt Jeongin, he hadn’t meant to be a bad boy, he wasn’t… he wasn’t a bad boy… But Chan didn’t want him anymore, he didn’t, and Minho didn’t understand why. Why didn’t Chan want to be his caregiver anymore? Why was Chan rejecting him? Was he tired of Minho? Did he grow annoyed with the boy? But Minho always did everything he could to not cause too much trouble. He always did everything to be as quiet as he could, not needy… Chan had told Hyunjin he didn’t want to be Minho’s caregiver. The little had heard. And Minho’s heart had shattered into millions of pieces.

“T’annie… t’annie no go-,” the boy hiccuped. “Min s-sowwy-“

Minho didn’t know what else he could have done to cause less trouble; he didn’t know what else he could have done for Chan to not have to take too much of his time to look after Minho. Maybe Minho shouldn’t have told Chan about his littlespace; maybe he should have remained quiet about it and should have hidden it, like he did before. Foolish, stupid Minho! Thinking he could tell the members about his little self. Selfish Minho, for forcing the leader to take care of him.

Minho remained sat on the floor, sobs wracking his trembling body, tears burning his skin, cheeks flushed and teeth biting into his thumb. Bad, bad Minho. Such a bad boy. Mean boy, mean little Minho. He didn’t deserve to have a caregiver, he didn’t deserve to have Chan. He had ruined everything and he didn’t even understand why and how. What had gone wrong? What had he done?

“M-Min t-twy be better-,” the little hiccupped. “T’annie- T’annie-…”

With the amount of crying the little was doing, he soon felt lightheaded, body tingling, head spinning and throat going dry. He felt so alone, so small and stuck in his headspace, Chan had abandoned him and Minho’s heart was broken in so many pieces, it was suffocating him. What would he do now? Was he going to have to remain alone when in littlespace? Having a caregiver had been such a dream come true for little and big Minho; and when Chan had accepted, had even suggested to be Minho’s caregiver, the boy had almost cried of relief and happiness: he wouldn’t have to hide himself anymore, he wouldn’t have to deal with his headspace on his own. But now, it seemed he was back to square one, back to being lost and unsure, scared of being on his own and longing for a caregiver; except this time, Minho had to deal with being abandoned, with being unwanted, and it was crushing him.

He tried, he really tried to stop crying: Minho bit on his thumb harshly to try and suppress his sobs, he tried holding his breath but it only ended up with him choking and gasping for air, with the fear of not being able to breathe causing him to cry even more. Minho never thought he’d have to go through this, he never thought he should have been scared of being left alone, because he trusted Chan to never ever leave him. But here he was… 

“Min?? Baby?? Oh my god!!” Minho heard someone gasping behind him, but he didn’t dare to turn around. After all, he was being punished. But when he felt arms wrapping around him and someone pulling him against a warm body, Minho looked up. As soon as he saw the beloved face, the little turned around and buried himself in the other man’s chest, his tears soaking the soft material of the hoodie. “Shhh… shhh… I’m here now, you’re okay, you’re okay.”

Hyunjin held Minho closely, rocking their bodies together as he pressed kisses on top of the little’s head. He didn’t understand why he had found Minho sitting on the floor facing the wall, wailing and shaking, and seeing that Chan was nowhere to be around, he figured it had to do with the older. The state of distress in which he had found the little had shattered his heart, he had never seen his precious Minho this upset ever, even when he had found him on the floor in Chan’s studio. And the fact that no one had come to collect Minho meant something had happened…

“Angel, what happened?” He asked softly. “Can you tell Jinnie what happened?”

“M-Min hur-t ‘nnie-,” the little hiccuped. “P-punis’ed.”

Hyunjin frowned. “You hurt Innie?”

Minho nodded against Hyunjin’s chest. “S-sowwy!” He cried.

“Shhh, it’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” Hyunjin whispered as he hugged the little tighter. “Was Chan hyung there?” Minho nodded again. “Were you playing with Innie?” Another nod. It was a bit difficult to understand the situation but just as Hyunjin was about to ask another question, Minho beat him to it.

“T-t’annie no wa-nt Min- n-no more!” Minho sobbed.

Shit. Minho knew. He knew Chan’s intention. Had the leader explained it to the little or had Minho figured it out? Or worse… had he heard? Hyunjin would get to the bottom of this, but right now, the most important thing to do was to get Minho to calm down and put him down for a nap. Maybe a bath would do him good as well. 

“Kitten,” Hyunjin whispered against Minho’s temple. “Jinnie’s gonna take care of you right now, okay? We’re gonna take a warm bath…~, then we’re gonna get into the warmest pajamas we can find…~, and then we’re gonna take a nap. How does that sound, angel?”

Minho coughed but nodded against Hyunjin’s chest, fingers twitching around the man’s shirt.

“Okay. Let’s go, love.”

With a little difficulty, they both got up, Hyunjin holding Minho close to him, and headed towards the bathroom. Hyunjin locked the door and made Minho sit on the toilet lid before crouching in front of him. The defeated and beyond sad expression on Minho’s face, along with the tears still rolling down his flushed cheeks, his red and teary eyes and his dry lips, broke Hyunjin’s heart. He placed his hands on Minho’s knees.

“Baby,” he said softly with a gentle smile. “We’ll talk about everything later, alright? Right now, we need to get this cute little kitten into the bath! Jinnie is gonna take care of it. Can you get out of your clothes, for me?”

Minho sniffled and nodded. He really wanted Hyunjin to keep hugging him, and he wanted to bury his face into the crook of his neck and never leave the blonde’s warmth; he wanted kisses and praises, and wished he could get Hyunjin to smile at him and tell him he loved him… But Minho thought that being needy probably was the reason why Chan was abandoning him, so he wasn’t going to risk Hyunjin doing the same thing. He scratched the material of his sweatpants and twisted it between his fingers, not daring to meet Hyunjin’s gaze.

“What is it, love? What do you want?” Hyunjin asked, sensing Minho’s discomfort. “I’ll give you anything you want. I promise.” Minho shook his head, lips trembling. Hyunjin kneeled on the floor, cupped the little’s face, gently forcing him to look him in the eye, and smiled at him. “Does my beautiful kitten want kisses?” Minho shrugged, avoiding Hyunjin’s gaze. The blonde boy chuckled and pressed a gentle kiss on Minho’s lips. “There.” The blush that quickly spread on the little’s cheeks was so endearing, Hyunjin couldn’t resist kissing him again. “My kitten is the cutest!” He exclaimed. “Alright. I’ll draw your bath now, okay? If you need help, I’m right here.”

Hyunjin got up, opened the tap, checked the temperature and once he felt it was good enough, he nodded and let the bathtub get filled. He then turned to Minho who was standing, finishing to undress himself. Once he was done, he stood there, shivering, goosebumps quickly appearing on his skin. 

“Oh, come here, baby, you’re cold!” Hyunjin said before grabbing a towel and wrapping the little in it. He then pulled him into a hug, humming a gentle melody while kissing his head every now and then. 

By now, Chan probably had gone to check on Minho, especially since it had grown quiet, and Hyunjin was pretty sure the leader was panicking and looking for Minho, but Hyunjin really couldn’t care less. He gently pulled Minho away from him, immediately reassuring him.

“The bath is ready, let’s get you inside, okay?” 

He unwrapped the towel and helped Minho to step into the bathtub and lower himself into the warm water. The little shivered in delight and remained still, letting Hyunjin wash his body and his hair. The feeling of Hyunjin’s hands on his scalp and skin was slowly making Minho sleepy and the little started to relax more and more. 

“Okay, baby,” Hyunjin said softly. “You’re all done. Let’s get out and get you dressed, yeah?” 

Minho was about to lift his arms up but quickly stopped himself and clumsily stood up, stumbling, and he would have tripped if it weren’t for Hyunjin’s arms catching him and helping him out of the tub. With great gentleness and delicacy, Hyunjin dried Minho’s body and hair before wrapping him into the blanket again. He unplugged the tub, took Minho’s hand, unlocked the door and went to his bedroom. Passing by the living room was inevitable and because Minho was walking slowly, there was no way they’d go unnoticed. As soon as Hyunjin saw, from his peripheral vision, Chan getting up, he frowned and held up his hand.

“Nope,” he loudly said without stopping. 

The two boys stepped into Hyunjin’s room, the taller one closing the door behind him and making Minho sit on the bed.

“Alright, angel,” Hyunjin said. “I’m gonna find you the comfiest clothes I have okay? Then I’ll get you dressed and we’ll take a nap.”

Minho nodded, fingers clutching the towel around his body, eyes following Hyunjin’s every move. The blonde boy walked to his dresser and started looking through his clothes, quickly finding what he was looking for. With a big smile, he walked up to Minho, put the clothes on the bed and gently unwrapped the towel. He helped the little put on a pair of underwear, a tee-shirt and a pair of shorts, then put the towel aside, undid his bed and helped Minho get under the covers.

“Do you wanna sleep alone or do you want me to stay?” Hyunjin asked.

The answer was rather obvious to Minho: he didn’t want to be alone and he certainly didn’t want Hyunjin to leave, but telling him that would probably make Minho a burden… He stared at Hyunjin for a little while then shrugged and turned his back at Hyunjin, tears gathering in his eyes and heart clenching. 

When he felt the mattress dip, Minho didn’t dare turn around. “I’ll stay with you, kitten,” Hyunjin whispered as he wrapped his arms around the little. 

Minho hesitantly turned around and looked up at Hyunjin, searching his eyes, and once he was sure of Hyunjin’s sincerity, he slowly snuggled up into Hyunjin’s chest, the hint of a smile appearing on his lips when he felt arms around him. Exhausted by the amount of crying he had done, Minho’s eyes fluttered close, sleep washing over him quickly, Hyunjin’s heartbeat and the lullaby he was quietly humming soothing the little. 

Meanwhile, Hyunjin couldn’t sleep. Never had Minho acted this way when in his headspace before; even though he had always been shy and barely voiced what he wanted, he had never been so quiet, never stopped himself from asking for kisses and hugs. Something was really wrong, something bad for Minho to be this uncomfortable and distressed while in littlespace, and it was making Hyunjin worried, as this headspace was usually a way for Minho to relax. He really wanted to go up to Chan and ask him what had happened, but he was pretty sure the leader wasn’t doing great right now either. 

Hyunjin looked down at Minho, watching the sleeping little for a moment: his cheeks were pale, his eyes and lips swollen, his eyebrows knitted together in an expression of pure sadness, his chest rising and falling regularly, the rhythm broken by a deep sigh or a soft hiccup here and there. With a gentle finger, Hyunjin traced the little’s features, softly pushing away the boy’s hair. Minho was so precious and it hurt Hyunjin so much to see him like this. Maybe Hyunjin should accept Chan’s offer… maybe he should become Minho’s caregiver. But then again, Minho was clearly feeling abandoned by Chan right now, maybe even unloved…

At that last thought, Hyunjin’s heart skipped a bit in pain and he hugged the little tighter, pressing a soft kiss on his forehead. He was going to protect his little Minho with everything he had; he’d get to the bottom of this and they’d get through this. Hyunjin wasn’t going to let Minho get uncomfortable and upset in his headspace, he’d make sure the little would get back to normal. 

As time went by, Hyunjin felt his eyes grow heavy with sleep, the sleeping little cuddled up to him only making him more and more relaxed, and he soon let himself fall into a deep slumber, head against Minho’s, lips against his forehead, arms protectively wrapped around his body. Hyunjin didn’t care about the world, about what was going on, nothing mattered. Only Minho; only having him in his arms, safe and secured. 

Minho was his whole world, his everything, his treasure. And Hyunjin was set on protecting him and making sure he was happy. Nothing else mattered. 

Chapter Text

When Minho woke up, he was still deep in his headspace, his stomach twisting and hurting, eyes stinging and head throbbing. He was confused, feeling uneasy and uncomfortable, wanting to cry every two seconds with his heart sinking at the thought of his caregiver. His mind mercilessly repeated the angry words Chan had said, and fed him the memories of Chan’s angry expression, the slap on Minho’s hand, and the fact that Chan didn’t want to be Minho’s caregiver anymore. The boy started shaking, his fingers curling around Hyunjin’s shirt as he tried to get even closer to the blonde, rubbing his face into the shirt, throat tightening and threatening to cut his air supply. 

Feeling the movements and hearing small whimpers, Hyunjin startled awake and blinked the sleep away before looking down at Minho. He saw him squirming and whimpering, rubbing his face into Hyunjin’s chest, struggling to get even closer… It was evident that the little was in distress. Wrapping his arms tighter around Minho’s body, Hyunjin pressed a soft kiss on top of the little’s head.

“Hey, baby,” he whispered. “It’s okay, I’m right here. You’re okay…” Minho froze and slowly lifted his face to look at Hyunjin who softly smiled at the little and gently stroked his cheek. “Hello, kitten,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”

Minho nodded as he slipped his thumb in his mouth and lowered his gaze, looking at his fingers that were playing with Hyunjin’s shirt. Hyunjin gently stroked Minho’s hair, his hold always strong and tight on the little who pressed his head against Hyunjin’s chest. Hyunjin bit his lip, face tensing with worry: Minho had slept for barely half an hour, his eyes were puffy and he was now non-verbal which never happened. He had no idea what had happened before he found Minho sobbing as he sat facing the wall, clearly punished. He also didn’t know how the little found out about Chan’s intentions, and despite his desire to become the main caregiver, Hyunjin knew he could never take Chan’s place. And he didn’t want to.

“Do you wanna sleep more, kitten?” He asked.

Minho shook his head, eyes on his fingers playing with Hyunjin’s shirt. 

“Okay. Are you hungry?”

Again, Minho shook his head.

“You must be thirsty. Let’s go to the kitchen to get some water, okay?”

Feeling Minho tense at the words, Hyunjin almost backed away from his suggestion, but then again the little needed to drink water. He gently moved and sat up before getting out of bed and helping Minho out as well. The little gripped Hyunjin’s hand and silently followed the man out of the comfort of his bedroom, his thumb never leaving his mouth. 

When they arrived in the kitchen, Hyunjin helped Minho sit on a chair at the table and walked away to get a glass of water. Hyunjin hadn’t made two steps when Minho got up and followed him, unable to shake the sinking feeling of being abandoned by yet another person he loved so much. He knew he shouldn’t be so clingy, it was dangerous, but he didn’t think. He just needed Hyunjin- and Chan… he needed Chan. But he wasn’t there and he probably wouldn’t ever take care of him again. Hyunjin froze when he felt a hand gripping his shirt and when he turned around, his eyes met Minho’s teary and scared ones.

“I’m not going anywhere, angel,” Hyunjin softly said as he gently pried Minho’s hand away before pressing a soft kiss on his knuckles. “I’m just gonna get you some water, okay? I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Minho stared at Hyunjin pleadingly and when the caregiver moved away, the little whimpered, shaking as he remained still in his spot, fighting every single one of his urges to go after Hyunjin, in order to obey the latter. When Hyunjin walked back to Minho and handed him a glass of water, his heart clenched in worry as he saw the little. He gently guided him to sit on a chair and gave him the glass only to take it back when he realised the little’s hand was shaking so much he could barely hold the glass. 

Hyunjin quickly grabbed a bottle and poured the water into it and gave it to Minho who managed to get a few sips of water. The little paused and grabbed Hyunjin’s hand, squeezing it, and a wave of relief washed over his body when Hyunjin gently squeezed back and rubbed his thumb across the little’s hand. Minho brought the bottle to his lips and finally drank a good amount of water, fingers twitching around Hyunjin’s as he slowly suckled on the bottle. 

“There we go,” Hyunjin softly said with a smile, taking the bottle away from Minho who lowered his head. “What does my kitten wanna do, mhm?”

Minho didn’t say anything, simply holding onto Hyunjin’s hand. The blonde pursed his lips and frowned in worry, trying to think of something to do.

“Do you wanna go on the couch?” Hyunjin asked. “We can relax there, maybe watch a movie?”

When Minho didn’t react or say anything, Hyunjin took a deep breath and simply got up.

“Okay, let’s go then, angel.”

Minho obediently followed the caregiver out of the kitchen and into the living room. They found Changbin there, slumped into an armchair and mindlessly scrolling on his phone. He lifted his head and smiled at the two boys joining him.

“Hey,” he said, locking his phone and dropping it on his lap. “How are you two doing?”

“Could be better,” Hyunjin mumbled as he helped Minho sit on the couch. He then looked at Minho and stroked his cheek. “I’m just gonna get you a blanket, your plushie and paci, I’ll be right back okay? You’re not alone, Binnie hyung is here, yeah?”

Minho whimpered and shook his head, tears filling his eyes as he grabbed Hyunjin’s hand and looked up at him with pleading eyes. 

“Baby-“

“Hey, I’ll go get his things,” Changbin jumped in. “You stay with him.”

“Are you sure?” 

“He looks like he’ll cry if you step away from him,” Changbin replied. “I don’t mind. Stay with him.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

Changbin smiled and left the living room to retrieve everything the little would need. Meanwhile, Hyunjin sat next to Minho and was surprised when the little simply lowered his head and started fiddling with his fingers, making no move to snuggle into Hyunjin.

The little didn’t dare say that he really wanted Chan, that he missed him and wanted to be with him. He missed Chan’s arms, missed his voice, his kisses and his hugs, his small praises and his loving words… his heart was aching. He was in so much pain he didn’t even know how to word it. He didn’t want to annoy Hyunjin, to force him to take care of him, even if the boy seemed like he enjoyed taking care of little Minho. 

“Minnie,” Hyunjin said softly, “do you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

Minho opened his mouth but nothing came out and he closed it quickly. 

“Baby, I’m right here. Do you need hugs? Kisses?”

The little didn’t move. Yes, he wanted hugs and kisses, he wanted Hyunjin to hug him tightly and tell him Chan would come back soon and take care of him. He wanted Hyunjin to tell him that this was just a nightmare and that he needed to wake up, that he’d find Chan smiling at him and opening his arms for Minho to snuggle into, the older rocking their bodies together as he whispered praises into Minho’s hair. 

Hyunjin sighed, features tense with worry. “Come here, angel,” he said. He wrapped his arms around the little and gently pulled him into a tight embrace. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”

Tears pooled in Minho’s eyes. How would things be okay? He was living his worst fear and it seemed that there was no issue.

“Do you trust me?” Hyunjin asked. The little nodded. Of course, he trusted Hyunjin. “It’ll all be okay, you’ll see.”

They were interrupted by Changbin entering the living room, holding Minho’s bunny plushie, his pacifier and his favourite blanket. He gently handed the little the plushie and presented the paci to Minho who parted his lips and immediately suckled on the object as soon as it was pushed into his mouth. Changbin smiled and covered the little with the blanket. Hyunjin was surprised but smiled when Minho squirmed and grabbed the blanket to pull it over Hyunjin’s legs as well. 

“There, you’re all set,” Changbin said. “Do you wanna watch a movie, Min?”

The little shook his head. 

“Do you want something to eat?”

Minho couldn’t find the words to explain that his stomach was so tight from anxiety and sadness that the idea of food made him nauseous, so he simply shook his head again.

“Just rest, kitten,” Hyunjin said. 

With a soft nod, Minho closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep, while fuzziness slowly filled his brain and he couldn’t understand what was being said around him.

Changbin sighed and sat next to Minho, his fingers threading through the little’s hair. 

“What happened?”

“Chan hyung is doubting himself as a caregiver and thinks he’s not worthy of being Minho’s caregiver anymore,” Hyunjin explained. “He asked me to replace him and somehow Minho knows. I don’t know how… So now, he feels rejected. He’s gone nonverbal and it really worries me, it never happened to him…” Hyunjin kissed the top of Minho’s head. “Do you know what happened earlier? Innie was there I think from what I’ve heard. When I came back from practice, I found Minho sitting facing the wall and sobbing his heart out. From what he managed to explain he hurt little Innie.”

“I was there when Innie and Felix were there, I even played with Innie,” Changbin replied. “But I left because Jisung needed me, so I have no idea…” He paused. “I can’t imagine what Minho is going through right now,” he said sadly. “I came back like an hour ago and found Chan crying and leaving for the studio. I tried to ask him what was wrong but he just left. Maybe I should go and talk to him.”

“Maybe that’ll help,” Hyunjin hummed. “He didn’t listen to me when I tried to tell him that he was an amazing caregiver and couldn’t be replaced. He needs to know that Minho loves him to death and wouldn’t ask for anyone other than Chan.”

“Except you,” Changbin said.

“What do you mean?”

“When Chan isn’t around, you’re the one he goes to. Not me, not Seungmin, not Jisung, you. He loves you as much as he loves Chan.”

Hyunjin frowned for a second. “I know he loves me, I love him too, but I doubt he loves me as much as he loves Chan.”

“You’re so dense,” Changbin sighed and shook his head. “Do you even see the way he looks at you? Or the way he sticks to you and asks for your attention, whether small or big? Come on, you can’t be that blind.”

Hyunjin tried to reply but shut his mouth. He never really noticed… He was so stuck in his belief that he loved Minho more, that he never considered once that Minho could see him as another main caregiver. No, Changbin was talking crazy, there was no way this was true.

“I don’t think-“

“Look, I know what I’m talking about,” Changbin interrupted. “You can ask the others and they'll tell you the same thing. I’m gonna go see Chan and talk to him, you take care of this angel. He needs to eat something as well.”

“Sure, yeah, okay,” Hyunjin nodded.

Changbin got up and smiled at the pair. He pressed a soft kiss on top of Minho’s head and exited the room, leaving Hyunjin to his thoughts. It was cold outside and the night was falling. Changbin shoved his hands in the pocket of his coat and quickly walked towards the JYPE building, head low, mouth covered by his scarf. In all honesty, he had no idea what he’d tell Chan and how he’d get Chan to understand the situation but he’d get there. He had to. 

As soon as Changbin walked through the doors, he happily sighed at the warmth enveloping him, his body relaxing instantly. After walking through corridors, he finally reached the door to the studio where he was sure Chan had locked himself. He knocked and waited for a few seconds before pushing the door open. He was surprised to see his leader in his desk chair, his arms crossed over the desk and his head laying on them, eyes closed.

“Chan?” He ventured. But the man didn’t move. 

Changbin approached and noticed the leader’s soft breathing: Chan was asleep. The younger man took a moment to study his hyung’s face, his heart clenching with sadness and pain when he saw the tracks the tears had left down Chan’s pale cheeks, the soft hiccup escaping his lips every now and then, a clear sign that he had worked himself up in his crying. Changbin didn’t want to wake him up, but at the same time, he thought of little Minho, waiting at home, in a similar state of distress. With a sigh, he put a hand on Chan’s shoulder and gently shook him.

“Hyung,” he called. “You need to wake up.”

A small groan was heard as Chan stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He frowned and squinted his eyes, disoriented at first, and sat up to look up at Changbin who smiled at him.

“Bin? What time is it?”

“8 pm.”

“Oh… What are you doing here?”

Changbin stared at Chan for a second and sighed before taking a seat on the sofa. Chan turned to face him, frowning.

“We need to talk, hyung,” Changbin softly said. 

“Of course! What’s wrong?” Chan asked, thinking Changbin had something to tell him or a problem he needed to share. 

“It’s about Minho.” 

Chan tensed and lowered his head, joining his hands on his lap. He cleared his throat. “What about Minho?” He asked, his voice shaky and barely above a whisper.

“He needs you, hyung,” Changbin said. “You’re an amazing caregiver and Minho loves you so much. He’s in so much distress that he’s gone nonverbal right now. He doesn’t want to eat and doesn’t want to do anything. He doesn’t even dare ask Hyunjin for attention, hugs and kisses.” Chan’s heart painfully clenched at the words. “He wants you , Channie hyung.”

“How can he want me when all I’ve done is hurt him? When I didn’t take care of him when he needed me, I punished him without even taking the time to ask him what was wrong. I forgot him in my studio, even locked him inside, in the dark,” Chan replied, his eyes shining with tears and his face contorted with pain. “I’ve wronged him so many times, I’m drowning in work and I can’t find the time to actually take care of him.”

“Those were mistakes, hyung. It happens to everyone.”

“Minho shouldn’t have to suffer because of me,” Chan said, voice low. 

Changbin eyed his leader for a moment, thinking. “You’re right, he shouldn’t. He’s suffering right now because he doesn’t understand why you’re rejecting him. I can only imagine what he’s going through right now. In his little head, he thinks you’ve grown tired of him, he thinks you don’t love him anymore.”

“What?” Chan blinked and his eyebrows joined, his expression morphing into one of worry, pain and confusion. 

“Minho has always been a shy little, always making sure to not bother anyone, to not be a burden; he’s always been rather quiet unlike Jeongin who’s hyper and always down to play. But Minho not talking anymore is worrying. I know for a fact that he’s in so much pain his little self doesn’t even know how to express it. So he cries, whimpers and looks terrified when Hyunjin moves away, be it barely by an inch,” Changbin explained. “I’m pretty sure he’s scared Hyunjin will leave too, now.”

Chan stared at Changbin, processing everything the younger had just told him. And at the end of it, Chan felt like his heart had been stabbed multiple times, and like there was an iron fist squeezing it so tightly it was getting hard to breathe. This was his fault, again. But what could he do? Chan knew that if he remained Minho’s caregiver he would hurt him again as he did before. Wasn’t it a good solution to step down and let Hyunjin take over? Surely big Minho would understand… he needed to talk to him.

“What if I talked to Minho when he’s big? Explain everything to him. He’d understand, I’m sure. And then it would get easier for his little self to accept the change.”

“You’re really that oblivious?” Changbin almost scoffed. “Minho chose you big and small. Knowing him, if you tell him your reasoning he’d act as if it was okay, but I know that deep down he’d be crushed. God, how are you and Hyunjin so blind??” Changbin exclaimed. “It’s so obvious!”

Chan flinched at the sudden outburst. “What do you mean?”

“He loves you, both of you!” Changbin snapped, exasperated. “Ask Jisung, or Seungmin, or Felix. Hell, even little Jeongin would tell you the same thing!” Changbin suddenly got an idea. He pulled out his phone and started a video call with Felix who was quick to pick up.

“Binnie hyung? Everything okay?” The Aussie asked as soon as he saw the older on his screen.

“Hey, is Jeongin small right now?”

“Uhm yeah, why?”

“Can I ask him a question?”

“Sure…” Felix squinted his eyes at Changbin and frowned before turning to Jeongin. “Sweetheart, Binnie wants to ask you something.”

There was a squeal and then Jeongin’s smiling face appeared on the screen making Changbin smile in return.

“Hyungie Binnie!” The little happily said. 

“Hey, cutie! Can I ask you something?”

“Yes!”

“Who does Minho love?”

“Min love Innie!” The little cheekily said and giggled.

“Of course he does!” Changbin grinned. “But tell me, who does he love the most?”

“Min love Channie hyung an’ Hyunjin hyung the most, most !” Jeongin exclaimed, spreading his arms to emphasise his words. 

“Does he love Channie hyung more?”

Jeongin shook his head.

“Oh. Does he love Hyunjinnie more then?”

“Nuh-uh!” Jeongin said, looking very serious. “Min love Channie an’ Jinnie same. The most!”

“How do you know that?”

“Cuz Min say that to Innie. He say he love them the most,” Jeongin replied very seriously. 

“Thank you, Innie,” Changbin smiled. “You’ve helped me a lot. You’re the best boy.”

Jeongin blushed and giggled, leaning into Felix who kissed his head. 

“Is that all?” The blonde asked.

“Yes, thank you. Sorry for disturbing you,” Changbin said.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. Bye, hyung!”

“Bye.” Changbin cut the call and looked up at Chan. “You heard him.” Seeing as Chan wasn’t saying anything and only pursed his lips, Changbin sighed. “Look, the solution isn’t to step down and not be Minho’s caregiver anymore.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Chan whimpered as he buried his face in his hands. 

“You will find a solution,” Changbin assured. “Right now, you need to come home and see Minho. Reassure him. Then we’ll figure this out.”

Chan looked up at Changbin and slowly nodded. “If you’re sure.”

“It’s the right thing to do right now.”

Chan nodded again and got up, followed by Changbin. They left the studio, then the building and walked in silence towards the dorm. Anticipation and anxiety twisted Chan’s stomach, the man fearing what he’d see when he’d step into his dorm. How would Minho react? Would he cry? Would he seek him out? His touch, his hugs? Would Chan be able to give him what he wants? Chan wanted to, but if in the end, he’d go through with his decision of not being Minho’s caregiver, then he’d crush the little even more… Ah… how did things get so complicated? 

Before he knew it, Chan was standing at the door of his dorm, Changbin taking the keys out and unlocking the door. When they stepped inside, it was quiet, apart from a soft humming that sounded like a song. Chan took off his shoes and slowly walked to the living room where the humming was coming from. He smiled, though sadly, at the sight of Minho curled up against Hyunjin, his thumb between his lips - the paci having fallen god knows where -, as Hyunjin gently cradled him with his arms around the little, softly singing to him. Chan took a deep quiet breath and stepped closer. 

“Hey,” he said, his voice breaking. Hyunjin looked up while Minho’s head shot up, thumb leaving his mouth, big wide teary eyes looking up at the leader. 

For a moment, Chan found himself crumbling under the soft worried gaze, but at the same time, it only reinforced his decision to stop hurting the precious little by not being a caregiver anymore. 

“Is Hyunjinnie taking good care of you?” Chan asked softly as he took a seat next to Minho who followed the man’s every move. When he didn’t get any reply, Chan bit his lip. Not only was Minho not talking, but he wasn’t even replying with a gesture. “Hyunjinnie is a good caregiver, mhm?” Chan tried again. 

The reaction he got was certainly not something he had expected. The little let out a broken sob as his body started shaking and he pressed himself closer to Hyunjin before bursting into tears, hiding his face into the crook of Hyunjin’s neck.

“Baby, baby, shhh, shhh, it’s okay,” Hyunjin quickly said as he wrapped his arms tighter around the trembling little. He then looked at Chan. “Hyung…,” he whispered, confused as he didn’t understand why his leader had said that.

Great, Chan thought, I hurt him again.

Chan helplessly stared back at Hyunjin, suddenly feeling incapable of finding the words to comfort the little. What had happened? Chan used to know what to do and say for Minho to calm down. Was he so stuck on his decision that he couldn’t comfort Minho anymore? In his head, Minho was Hyunjin’s little now, not his. Who better to comfort Minho than Hyunjin himself now? 

“Channie hyung,” Changbin said, interrupting Chan’s thoughts. The leader looked at his dongsaeng and then back at Minho.

“Min?” He called gently. “Channie loves you, baby.” 

Minho slowly moved away from Hyunjin and turned to face Chan whose heart shattered when his eyes fell on Minho’s broken expression. He didn’t say anything, simply staring at his caregiver while his arms remained tightly wrapped around Hyunjin. 

“Channie loves you so much,” Chan repeated. He wanted to reach for Minho’s hand, wanted to take the boy in his arms, to take everything back and apologise over and over. He wanted to remain Minho’s caregiver, to spend time with him, to make him smile and laugh, to kiss him all over his pretty face. What had he done? All this because of work? There had to be another way. 

Minho turned his face to Hyunjin and tucked his head into the blonde’s neck once again, his thumb slipping between his lips, quickly suckling on it. The little wanted nothing more than to snuggle into Chan and have his arms wrapped around him. He longed for Chan’s kisses and touches, his gentle praises. But Chan had said he didn’t want Minho anymore; so he had to deal with it. Despite how much pain he was in, little Minho had to deal with it, and had to accept it. And maybe Chan did love him still, maybe. Minho wanted to cry because of how it hurt to be rejected by his caregiver whom he loved with all his little heart. 

A soft whimper was heard, followed by a choked sob as Minho tried to press himself closer to Hyunjin who kept rubbing his back and kissing his hair, whispering soft reassurances. Minho was tired, so tired of crying. He wanted to sleep, wanted to close his eyes that were burning and stinging, wanted to forget what had happened, go back to when he hadn’t told anyone about his little self. He rubbed his head against Hyunjin’s chest, his fingers finding the man’s hoodie and gripping it tightly. 

“Hyung,” Hyunjin said again, his eyebrows joined in worry. “You need to do something. We can’t let him be stuck in his headspace right now. Please.”

“Maybe if we can talk,” Chan suggested. “With you, I mean.” 

Hyunjin nodded. “I think it’s a good idea, but Minho won’t accept me going away…”

“I can try and take care of him,” Changbin jumped in. Hyunjin glanced up at him and hesitantly nodded.

“Baby,” he said to Minho while Changbin approached. “Channie and I need to talk. Can you stay with Binnie?”

Minho quickly shook his head, gripping Hyunjin’s hoodie tighter and whimpering. 

“It won’t be long, angel, I promise,” Hyunjin tried again.

“I’ll give you lots of hugs, yeah?” Changbin said. He put his hands on Minho and tried to pull him away from Hyunjin. 

The feeling of someone taking him away from Hyunjin sent crashing waves of panic through the little’s brain and body. His eyes went wide and he harshly pushed the hands away as he started crying hysterically, and tried getting closer to Hyunjin. 

As soon as Minho had reacted, Changbin had pulled away. But the little hadn’t realised and kept panicking, his cries getting louder. He managed to climb on Hyunjin’s lap, the blonde man’s arms wrapping around his waist. Hyunjin started rocking their bodies together, hushing the little and humming a song to the boy, his lips pressing kisses against his temple.

“I’m here, kitten, I’m right here,” Hyunjin whispered. “Nobody’s trying to take you away from me. I promise. I’m here…”

Chan watched everything with growing worry. Minho had never ever acted this way and they needed to do something quickly. They couldn’t let him stay that way. 

Hyunjin grabbed the blanket that had stayed on the couch and covered Minho with it with Changbin’s help. He pulled it over Minho’s head, making sure he’d feel completely and utterly protected. With the soft material over his head that was resting against Hyunjin’s shoulder, his nose touching Hyunjin’s neck and breathing in his scent, Hyunjin’s arms around him, Minho finally calmed down, his wails dying down and turning into soft hiccups. His thumb found his mouth, his other hand playing with Hyunjin’s hoodie. 

He was safe.

“Let’s wait until he falls asleep,” Hyunjin whispered as he leaned back against the sofa. Chan nodded and sat back as well. 

He wished to rub Minho’s back as well- better yet, he wanted to be the one holding Minho right now and telling him he was okay, promising him to never leave, to never hurt him again. But he wasn’t. He felt like he was a stranger to Minho and it hurt. It hurt so much. But he deserved it after hurting the little like that. He had no right to complain. 

A few minutes later, Hyunjin felt Minho getting heavier and his breathing getting deeper and more regular, which meant he had finally fallen asleep. He kissed the top of the little’s head through the blanket and turned to Chan.

“So…,” he said. “You wanted to talk?”

“Is he asleep?” Chan asked.

“Yeah.”

The leader nodded and cleared his throat. “I… I don’t want to not be able to take care of him,” Chan admitted, lowering his head, his fingernails scratching the material of his jeans. “I hate that can’t comfort him and give him the attention he needs.”

“Then tell him you made a mistake and that you still want him as your little and still want to be his caregiver,” Hyunjin replied. It hurt to say that. He wanted Minho to be his little. But he also wanted Minho to be happy, and the only way for him to feel better was for Chan to keep his role. 

“I hurt him…,” Chan said.

“Not on purpose.”

“Still.”

“Hyung, Minho isn’t well, he needs you. He doesn’t care that you hurt him in the past, I’m pretty sure he even forgot about it.”

“What if you were both his caregiver?” Changbin suddenly said, startling Chan and Hyunjin who had forgotten that Changbin was there. 

Hyunjin was the first one to speak. “What?” 

“Minho loves you both, equally,” Changbin continued. “He loves you the most, Jeongin said. It seems like the perfect solution, don’t you think? That way, when Chan is busy, Minho still has Hyunjin to go to and doesn’t need to be in any kind of distress because of it. He’d have another main caregiver.”

Hyunjin looked at Chan with his eyebrows raised. “That seems like a reasonable solution,” he said. 

“Actually, that would be perfect,” Chan smiled. “You know what Minho wants even better than I do, you love taking care of him and he’s attached to you.”

“And he loves you and considers you as his caregiver no matter what,” Hyunjin replied, giving Chan a pointed look. It made the leader chuckle. 

“Right.”

“Finally!” Changbin exclaimed with a sigh. “Took you long enough to figure that one out.” Hyunjin and Chan softly laughed. “Now you need to tell him and ask him if he’s okay with that.”

“True. But he’s asleep. I think he’s done enough crying for today,” Hyunjin said very seriously. “Let’s put him to bed and we’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

Chan nodded and got up. He gently took Minho in his arms, holding him close to his chest, and followed Hyunjin to his bedroom. Once the blonde man had pulled the blanket, Chan gently placed Minho on the bed and waited for Hyunjin to join him. He then pressed a kiss on Hyunjin’s forehead, another on Minho’s head, and left the bedroom after whispering goodnight. 

***

When Minho woke up the next morning, he found himself out of his headspace but feeling horrible. His eyes were burning and swollen, his head was aching really badly, and he was cold and hot at the same time, shivers running down his spine as sweat gathered on his forehead. Wincing in pain, he let out a small groan and sat up with difficulty, pushing the covers away. Only then did he notice the figure laying next to him and it made him realise that he wasn’t in his bedroom but in Hyunjin’s.

He had no idea what had happened the previous day. He only remembered crying a lot, feeling stressed, sad and hurt; and he was aware of those uncomfortable feelings still lingering in his heart. He got up and left the room, walking straight to the kitchen to get some water. His throat was scratchy and his mouth dry. He put the glass in the sink and headed to the front door. Putting on his shoes, he carefully opened the door, stepped outside and closed it behind him, before walking towards his own dorm. Luckily, it wasn’t locked and Minho hurriedly went to the shower after retrieving some clothes for the day. 

They had practice today, so Minho had to be at his best. The hot water somehow felt painful against his skin, the shower head felt so hard and weird in his hands and he almost stumbled and fell but managed to catch himself before anything happened. What was going on? Minho squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, then opened them and finished his shower quickly. Once he was dry and dressed, he went to the kitchen to get some food and tried to smile when he saw Felix and Jeongin already having breakfast. 

Felix gave his hyung a worried glance. “Hey, hyung,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am. Good morning,” Minho replied, surprising himself at the sound of his raw voice. “I don’t think I ate yesterday, I’m hungry.”

Felix nodded and frowned. “You look really pale, hyung…”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Like I said, I need to eat. That’s all.”

Felix decided to not push any further but promised himself to keep a close eye on Minho. 

When they got in the car, Minho sat as far away from everyone as possible, curling up against the door, arms wrapped around himself, and closed his eyes. His stomach was churning, his head spinning, he was shivering and yet he was sweating profusely. He missed his bed and wished he could be underneath his blanket, sleeping… just rest his heavy head against the softness of his pillow, and change into dry clothes as well - his current shirt was sticking to his skin. 

“Hyung,” a soft voice said as a hand gently shook his shoulder. Minho had to repress a whine and simply frowned and fluttered his eyes open. “We’ve arrived.”

Right. They had dance practice. Minho had to be at his best and help the others out, he couldn’t show any kind of weakness. Despite his body screaming against it, Minho sat up and turned to Felix who looked at him with a worried expression.

“I’m coming.”

Felix nodded and left the car followed by Minho who had to close his eyes again and hold onto the car to ground himself, his head spinning suddenly and his legs feeling so weak he wondered if he’d be able to even stand. But he had to. He had to. He took a deep breath and followed Felix into the building of the company, then up to the practice room. 

When he entered, the others were stretching and whispering between themselves, quickly getting quiet and looking up when they saw Minho and Felix. Feeling too dizzy to care, Minho simply sat on the floor, far from the others - Felix next to him -, and started his own stretching, unaware of Chan and Hyunjin’s worried stares. Once he was done, he got up but suddenly felt lightheaded and had to grip Felix’s arm to ground himself. He didn’t see how Hyunjin took a step towards him but stopped and remained in his place. Seeing how Minho had avoided him since the morning, he wasn’t sure what would set him off, and given the events of the previous day, Hyunjin didn’t want to risk anything. 

Minho cleared his throat and stepped into the middle of the room, facing the mirror and getting everyone’s attention. He gave Jisung a short nod and the latter went to play the music. Everyone looked tense, exchanging worried and unsure glances. Something was wrong with Minho, but they had no idea what and what had caused it. Did he remember the previous day? Was he sick? Was he uncomfortable? So many questions and some of the members couldn’t even formulate their questions. One thing was for sure: something was wrong with Minho. They didn’t understand why he didn’t just tell them if something was bothering him or if he was unwell, but they didn’t want to push their member. 

The music started and the boys began their dance practice, following Minho’s lead and trying to push away their growing worry. Not two minutes had gone by before Minho stumbled and let out an involuntary whimper, blushing furiously in shame at the sound he had made. He frowned and apologised to the others, continuing to dance.

“Minho,” Hyunjin said, voice laced with concern. 

Hyunjin’s voice caused Minho to feel all fuzzy for a moment, the desire and need to slip only getting stronger when he met Hyunjin’s gaze in the mirror. But he pushed through the feeling and avoided the blonde’s eyes. He tried to force his exhausted body into keeping up with the steps, but there was so much he could do before it refused to cooperate.

“Minho,” Hyunjin called again softly. “Stop it.”

No, no. Minho couldn’t stop. He couldn’t let the others down just because he wasn’t feeling well. He needed to keep going, they needed to get this choreography, learn it and make it perfect. His head was spinning and throbbing, sweat was rolling down his spine, cold and hot shivers kept running through his body. He hadn’t realised that the others had stopped dancing and hadn’t seen Seungmin cutting the music. 

“Baby, you need to stop,” Hyunjin gently said. Minho shook his head and suppressed another whimper. He tried again to move but suddenly stumbled, his vision getting blurry, then white with stars, before he collapsed, unconscious. 

When Minho woke up, he let out a loud whine of pain and discomfort as his head kept throbbing and spinning and he was still feeling so hot yet was shivering with cold. He gripped his blanket and pulled it closer to himself, wanting to curl into his bed, only to realise his head was lying on something firm. He sluggishly blinked and tried to lift his head, but let it fall back as it was aching so much. He suddenly felt a hand on his head and fingers threading through his hair.

“Shhh, baby, you’re okay.”

The voice was muffled and at the same time it sounded so loud, the fingers in his hair were soothing yet it hurt, everything felt so wrong and Minho’s breathing picked up as tears pricked his eyes. The boy started squirming, letting out small whimpers of pain and his hands gripped the shirt that was covering the chest on which his head was laying. 

“You’re okay, kitten. You have a really bad fever right now,” the person explained. 

“D’innie…,” Minho choked on a sob. 

“Yes, my love. I’m right here. Not going anywhere, okay?” Hyunjin said. “I’m gonna need to give you some water and medicine. Your fever is abnormally high. But you’ll be okay, I promise.”

“Min feel icky,” Minho whined. Tears rolled down his flushed cheeks. 

“I know, darling, I know,” Hyunjin soothed, pressing a soft kiss on top of Minho’s head. “Can you get up a little bit, baby?”

“No need,” someone interrupted, entering the room and quickly walking to the bed. “I got him a bottle.”

“Oh thank you, Channie hyung! Look, baby. Channie got you a bottle. Can I move you so I can give it to you?” Hyunjin asked, his voice not above a whisper.

Minho shakily nodded and let Hyunjin move him around until he was sitting on the blonde’s lap. Hyunjin gently pressed the nipple of the bottle against Minho’s chapped lips and the little immediately latched on it, welcoming the fresh liquid into his mouth and down his dry throat. His head was resting against Hyunjin’s chest as he laid sideways on the blonde’s lap, his fingers gently squeezing Hyunjin’s shirt and then relaxing before squeezing again. He let Hyunjin hold the bottle for him and he simply suckled and drank the water, having no idea that Chan had slipped a pill in the water to help with Minho’s fever. The little’s eyes were fluttering shut, sleep washing over him in slow waves, while his suckling slowed down until it came to a stop.

Hyunjin gently pulled the bottle away and, with Chan’s help, moved Minho so he was lying on the mattress. The boy shifted and snuggled closer to Hyunjin who smiled and kissed his head before turning to Chan with a worried expression.

“Do you think we should call a doctor?” He asked.

“I don’t know… let’s wait until the medicine has had some effect. If his temperature doesn’t go down, then we’ll call a doctor,” the leader answered.

“Okay.”

“Do you need me to take over?”

“In a few minutes maybe, yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

When Minho woke up for the second time, he was completely disoriented and was still feeling awful. His entire body was aching and was seconds away from crying. He didn’t understand where he was, what was going on and could barely open his eyes. He wanted to sleep, but he was in such a bad state that despite his desire to fall back asleep, he was incapable of doing so. He squirmed and whined, letting out a broken sob and only managed to settle down when the arm around him moved and brought him closer to a body. Minho pressed his face into the shirt and breathed the scent, letting out a small noise of satisfaction when he recognised Chan.

“Sleep, angel,” Chan whispered. “Your fever is still high.”

Minho relaxed against Chan’s hold and let sleep take over his exhausted body. As soon as he had closed his eyes, Hyunjin was entering the bedroom. He walked to the bed and sat on Minho’s other side, gently rubbing his hand against the little’s back.

“He’s still burning up,” Hyunjin whispered worriedly.

“I know… Can you take over? I’ll call a doctor,” Chan said. Hyunjin nodded and took Chan’s place, bringing Minho close to him. The little whimpered but settled down. “Given his state, if his fever doesn’t go down, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask manager-nim to give us some time off… It’s not gonna be easy with our schedule, I hope they’ll manage…”

“I’m sure they will,” Hyunjin softly said. “What’s most important right now isn’t our schedule, promotions and everything, but Minho’s health. It’ll be okay, hyung.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Of course, you’re right,” Chan nodded. He looked at Minho who was curled up against Hyunjin, features tense with pain and sighed. “I’ll call manager-nim and the doctor.”

“Keep me posted.”

“Of course.”

Chan exited the room, chewing on his lower lip, brows furrowed. He had no idea how Minho caught this fever and wondered if it was because of the events of the previous day. It had to be. Minho hadn’t eaten, had barely drunk, had cried so much… He probably made himself sick because of everything that happened. And it worried Chan to no end. He couldn’t help but think that this was his fault, he was the cause of all this.

He took out his phone and found his manager’s name. He tapped on it and brought the device to his ear, not waiting long before the man answered.

“Yes, Chan-ssi?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Chan started, “but Minho is having a bad fever, it’s been a few hours, I’ve given him some medicine, but it’s not getting better. I think that we should call a doctor.”

There was a short silence before the manager spoke. “I’ll call the doctor and tell you when he’s coming, Chan-ssi,” he said. “Since we don’t know what he caught, I think it’s best if you all stay at the dorms for now. I’ll call the CEO and tell him.”

“Thank you, manager-nim,” Chan replied. The man hummed and hung up the phone. 

After staring at the black screen for a few seconds, Chan walked to the kitchen where he found Seungmin who looked up at him with eyebrows raised. 

“How’s he doing?” He asked.

“Well, he’s got a bad fever but he’s not getting better,” Chan answered. “Our manager is gonna call a doctor. He also said we all have to stay in the dorms for now. We’ll get more information later.”

Seungmin nodded in understanding. “Okay. You wait for the call, hyung. I’ll go tell the others. I think Jeongin is regressed anyways, so it’s just as well.”

“Thank you.”

Chan sat at the table, bouncing his leg and trying not to bite his nails. He really wanted to go back to Minho, but his manager was about to call him, so he had to wait. He wondered if Minho woken up, if he needed anything, if he was okay, maybe feeling a little better-

Chan jumped as his phone went off. He scrambled to pick it up. “Hello?”

“Yes, Chan-ssi. The doctor is on the way,” the manager said on the other line. “Also, I called the CEO. He told me to tell him the doctor’s verdict and they’ll make a decision then.”

“Thank you so much, manager-nim.”

The manager hung up after bidding Chan goodbye, the latter not wasting a second to jump off his chair and quickly going back to Hyunjin’s room. When he entered, his heart broke when he heard small whimpers along with some squirming. He approached the bed and sat down, gently running a hand up and down Minho’s back. The little whined and shivered, curling into an even smaller ball as he gripped Hyunjin’s shirt.

“Is he not getting better?” Chan whispered.

Hyunjin looked at the leader, eyebrows joined in worry. “No… He’s still burning up…”

“The doctor is on the way.”

“Good.”

“Wan’ t’annie,” Minho whimpered, voice sounding so fragile and small.

“I’m right here, baby,” Chan quickly said.

“Nuh… no… t’annie…,” Minho whined, choking on a sob. “You- not t’annie- wan’ t’annie…”

“Baby, it’s me, I’m here,” Chan whispered. He gently stroked Minho’s cheek but quickly pulled his hand away when Minho tried to push him away.

“Where t’annie,” the little desperately asked, tears rolling down his flushed cheeks. His eyes were half closed, shining with fever and tears.

Chan looked at Hyunjin. “Is- is he… delirious?” Hyunjin frowned as his eyes widened with growing worry. “I’ll go see if the doctor’s arrived.”

Chan got up and left the room, heart heavy. He could still hear Minho calling for him, then for Hyunjin, hearing the latter trying to sooth him but to no avail. The doorbell rang and Chan ran to the door, flinging the door open. Standing there were one of his managers and their doctor. With a sigh of relief, Chan greeted the man and welcomed him inside, waiting for him to take off his shoes before guiding him to Hyunjin’s room. 

Chan entered the room, followed by the doctor, and walked to the bed where Minho was now asleep. Hyunjin looked up at Chan and smiled then greeted the doctor; he bit his lip when he realised they’d have to wake Minho up. He felt bad about it as the little had gone back to sleep only a few minutes ago and looked exhausted. The doctor circled the bed and grabbed a stool before sitting on it by the bed.

“Hello, Hyunjin-ssi,” he said with a smile. “Would you mind waking Minho up so we can proceed to the examination?”

Hyunjin nodded then looked down at Minho and gently shook him. “Min, baby,” he called. “You need to wake up, love.”

The little stirred and whined softly, his eyes fluttering open; but he quickly closed them and frowned, his head throbbing and spinning. “No…”

“The doctor is here, angel,” Hyunjin gently insisted. “You need to wake up so he can help, okay? Can you do that for me?”

“Wan’ t’annie,” the little whispered.

Chan quickly jumped in and took Minho’s hand. “I’m right here, love. Can you wake up and let the doctor help you?” Minho tried to squeeze Chan’s hand and opened his eyes, looking at Chan who smiled. “Hey, baby,” Chan smiled. Minho kept staring at him with glassed over eyes, softly blinking at the leader. 

“Hello, Minho-ssi,” the doctor said. “I’m going to examine you, okay?”

“He’s very vulnerable right now, please be gentle,” Hyunjin said. The doctor nodded. He then took out the things he needed and approached Minho who, with Hyunjin’s help, turned around to let the doctor do what he needed to do. 

The little didn’t move throughout the entire examination and kept holding Chan’s hand. He let the doctor lift his shirt and prod at his belly, let him check his heart, his forehead, take his temperature, touch his legs, until it was over. When the doctor pulled away, Minho turned on his side and snuggled into Hyunjin, closing his eyes.

“‘Ti’ed,” he mumbled.

“Sleep, now, baby,” Hyunjin whispered. 

“Well,” the doctor said as he put his things away, “he didn’t catch any virus or bacteria. I can’t see anything wrong with him, apart from that fever. Did he go through something emotional or anything like that?”

“Uhm, yesterday wasn’t easy for him at all. A lot of crying and barely any food,” Hyunjin answered. “He was very distressed.”

“Mhm… Well, he needs a lot of rest, water and food. I’ll give you a prescription for some pills to give him every six hours and the fever should go down. Don’t hesitate to give him a bath as well.” 

Chan and Hyunjin attentively listened and nodded at the instructions.

“I also think he shouldn’t participate in any group activities such as practicing, going on lives, interviews or MC for a few days. I’ll make sure to give a report to your manager so they can take care of it. Call me if you need anything. He should get better in two to three days.”

“Thank you so much, doctor,” Chan said, relieved. The doctor got up and smiled at the boys. “I’ll escort you out.”

“No need. Your manager is waiting outside. You should stay with Minho right now.”

“Okay, thank you again.”

The doctor nodded and exited the room. Chan sighed and turned to Hyunjin. “Want me to take over?”

“Yeah. I’ll go and run him a bath,” Hyunjin nodded. Chan bent down and gently pulled Minho away from the blonde, earning himself a small whine, and laid on the bed, arms wrapping around the little and smiling when he felt Minho snuggle closer to him. Hyunjin looked at them with a smile and left his bedroom for the bathroom.

Bathtime wasn’t easy at all. Minho was crying, calling for Hyunjin, shaking his head and gripping Hyunjin’s arms when he tried to lower him into the bathtub. In the end, Chan had to get into the bath as well, pulling Minho against his chest, while Hyunjin washed the little’s body and hair. He hummed a soft song throughout the entire process, kissing Minho’s wet hair and smiling at Chan who peppered kisses on Minho’s cheeks, fingers intertwined with the little’s. 

Once Hyunjin was done, he went to get a towel and helped Minho out of the tub, wrapped him in the towel. Chan then picked the boy up, bridal style, smiling when the little squirmed and turned to press his face into Chan’s chest. The leader brought his precious little back to Hyunjin’s room and sat on the bed with him, watching as Hyunjin walked to the dresser to retrieve some comfortable clothes for Minho. When he found them, he went back to the pair and kneeled in front of Minho who was sitting on Chan’s lap, sucking on his thumb and watching Hyunjin’s every move. 

The blonde smiled at the little and put the clothes on the floor. He then took a hold of Minho’s foot and gave it a kiss, grinning when it earned him a soft giggle, slurred by the thumb in Minho’s mouth. 

“Cutie baby,” Chan said, kissing Minho’s cheek. The little blushed and kept staring at Hyunjin, softly suckling on his thumb. 

Hyunjin grabbed the sweatpants and gently pulled it up Minho’s legs to his waist, Chan helping by lifting Minho up slightly so Hyunjin could pull it up. He then took the t-shirt and chuckled when Minho lifted his arms up in the air so Hyunjin could put the shirt on the little. When he was dressed, Chan helped Minho back on the bed and laid beside me, only to sit up when Minho whined and made grabby hands at Hyunjin. Thinking that Minho wanted the blonde boy and not the leader, Chan started to get up but his eyes widened when he heard a choked sob. 

Minho had pulled his thumb out of his mouth and was now making grabby hands at Chan. Hyunjin quickly understood and took one of Minho’s hands.

“Do you want both of us to stay with you, angel?” he asked. Minho stopped crying and looked at him with teary eyes before nodding. “Oh, baby! Don’t worry, we’ll stay with you.”

Minho waited for the both of them to settle on the bed, and once he was satisfied, he laid between Chan and Hyunjin, turning his head into Hyunjin’s shoulder. When he felt two arms wrapping around his tummy, Minho let out a happy noise and slipped his thumb between his lips again. With his other hand, he grabbed Chan’s hand and, feeling safe, he slowly fell asleep. 

For the next two days, Minho kept drifting in and out of consciousness, stuck in his headspace, head spinning and throbbing. Whenever he woke up, he reached for Chan’s hand, bringing it to his lips and pressing a weak kiss on it; he’d snuggle closer to Hyunjin, gripping his shirt, and slipping his thumb in his mouth, letting out a noise of happiness when his plushie was pressed against him and he could hug it. As soon as the doctor had given his diagnosis to the managers, a statement was released, telling STAYs that Minho had a fever and wouldn’t be able to participate in any group activities until further notice.

Three days later, Minho woke up feeling much better, thirsty and hungry. He opened his eyes, squirming a little and flicking his eyes up to see a sleeping Hyunjin on his left and Chan on his right, busy on his computer. It took the little a moment to realise that both Chan and Hyunjin were by his side. Chan was next to him. Chan was there. With uncertainty, Minho turned completely towards the eldest and looked up at him with worried eyes.

“T’annie?” He whispered. 

Chan jolted and looked down, smiling when he met Minho’s big doe eyes staring at him. “Hey, baby,” he said softly, stroking the little’s hair. “How are you feeling?”

“T’annie ‘d’ere?”

“Yes, I’m here, angel,” Chan replied. “I’m right here with you. Channie isn’t going anywhere.”

Minho seemed to contemplate Chan’s words for a moment. “Wan’ Min?”

Chan closed his laptop and put it on the nightstand before scooping Minho up in his arms and pressing a kiss on his cheek. 

“Min, sweetheart,” he said. “I always wanted you. Channie loves you so, so much. I made a big mistake and I’m so sorry that I hurt you. Channie is a meany for hurting Min so bad, mhm?”

“T’annie no meanie,” Minho protested, his hand curling around Chan’s shirt, a frown on his face as he stared at his caregiver. “Min love T’annie.”

“And Channie loves Min the most,” the leader replied. “Channie loves Min so much, he always wants to be with Min.”

The little giggled at that. He slid an arm around Chan’s neck and rested his head against the older’s chest, while suckling on his thumb. Chan wrapped both his arms around Minho, pressing a kiss on top of his head, and sighed in relief: this felt right, holding his precious little Minho against him felt right. What demon had possessed him to think he could ever not be Minho’s caregiver? With Hyunjin as another main caregiver, things would get even better, Minho would be taken care of, given the affection that he needs… Chan regretted not having thought about this earlier and he mentally cursed himself for having to put Minho through so much just because he was so stuck on a stupid decision that wasn’t even the right solution. 

Hyunjin stirred and let out a small noise before opening his eyes and smiling at the sight of Minho curled up in Chan’s arms. The blonde boy sat up and rested a hand on Minho’s back then leaned in and kissed the little’s head. 

“Hey, kitten,” he whispered. Minho pulled away from Chan and turned to face Hyunjin, giving him a big beautiful smile. “Oh, my baby looks so much better! How are you feeling, angel?”

“Min fee’ happy,” Minho said. “T’annie love Min.”

“Of course he does,” Hyunjin agreed. “He loves you so very much, mhm?”

Minho nodded. “D’innie love Min?”

“Jinnie loves Min so much! Min is Jinnie’s whole world,” Hyunjin smiled.

The little giggled again before turning serious and worried. “D’innie no leave Min.”

“Never, angel. I will never leave you!”

It felt so good to have Minho talking again, smiling and giggling. As Hyunjin looked at him, he realised there was something in the little’s eyes, some kind of concern that Minho didn’t seem able to voice out. It took a moment for Hyunjin to understand. He looked at Chan, giving him a knowing look, and after receiving his leader’s approval, Hyunjin spoke.

“Baby,” he said softly, his hand cupping Minho’s cheek and stroking it gently. “Channie and I love you, and we both love taking care of you. We want to give you so much love, and play with you…~ give you baths…~ presents… And we talked a lot.” Hyunjin paused for a moment and smiled when he saw how attentively Minho was listening, staring at him with sparkly eyes. “Kitten, we wanted to ask you if you’d like for both of us to take care of you.”

Minho’s thumb left his mouth with a wet pop. “T’annie an’ D’innie p’ay wiv Min?” He asked.

“Yes, would you like that?” Chan asked. “That way, when I have to work, you still have Jinnie, and when Jinnie is away, you still have me. So you’re never alone. And when we’re both here, you have even more love to get.”

Minho blinked slowly and grabbed Hyunjin’s hand, then Chan’s and brought them together. “T’annie an’ D’innie take care of Min?” The two caregivers nodded. “Min- Min-,” the little tried to speak, only to choke on his words, tears filling his eyes.

“Baby? Baby, what’s wrong?” Hyunjin asked, panicked and straightened up to cup Minho’s face. A tear rolled down the little’s cheek.

“Min can ‘ave T’annie an’ D’innie, both,” the little hiccupped.

“Yes, baby. You get to have both of us, always,” Hyunjin soothed, wiping away the tears. 

Minho leaned his head against Chan’s chest, looking at Hyunjin, and put his thumb back in his mouth, while his other hand was playing with the hem of the sleeve of Chan’s shirt. Hyunjin smiled at the little and kissed his nose, causing Minho’s eyes to flutter and the little to smile. 

Minho finally had his Channie back as his main caregiver, and now Hyunjin had joined. He couldn’t be any happier. He felt so safe and loved it was overwhelming, his heart fluttering at the thought and a smile appearing behind his thumb. 

“Channie and Jinnie love you so much, kitten,” Chan whispered into Minho’s hair before kissing his head, Hyunjin nodding in agreement as he gently rubbed Minho’s back.

“Min love you,” the little whispered back. 

***

It goes without saying that after these events, Minho was back to his usual shy but happy self. He was often found colouring with Hyunjin, or curled up to him, pacifier between his lips, plushie in his arm, while Hyunjin read him a story; other times, he was sitting on the floor, staring at Chan playing with him and trying to build a tower, only for it to crumble when it went too high, sending the little into a fit of giggles. He loved when Hyunjin made him food and fed him, he loved when Hyunjin gave him a bath and when Chan got him dressed, and he loved when they put him to bed. 

But Minho’s favourite moments were when both Hyunjin and Chan were there, when they both tried to build towers with Minho, when they both coloured with him, when they both sat on the couch with Minho and read him stories, when they both had dinner with the little, bathed him and got him dressed then put him to bed. Most importantly, when Hyunjin and Chan would climb into bed with Minho in the middle, wrapping their arms around him, peppering kisses on his face, his arms and hands and his head, stroking his back and tummy and whispering ‘I love you’s. That’s when Minho felt the safest. That’s when Minho felt the happiest.

One day, Minho was in the living room of his dorm, sitting on the floor with his paci bobbing between his lips, plushie in hand, a piece of Lego in his other hand. 

He had woken up feeling little and had slipped quickly, waddling out of his bedroom and to the kitchen where he found Felix putting a ball of food in front of Jeongin who squealed happily. 

“Hey baby,” Felix said when he saw Minho standing at the entrance of the kitchen. “Do you want some food too?” 

Minho nodded and went to sit next to Jeongin who beamed at him, happy to have his little brother next to him. After breakfast, Felix took the two littles to the living room and gave them toys to play with while he went to take a shower, making sure Seungmin wasn’t far away, in case something happened. 

Minho was busy handing Jeongin the Lego, watching as his big brother built the tower with much focus, and hoping it wouldn’t collapse any time soon. 

“‘nie he’p?” Minho asked.

“Minnie is best help!” Jeongin nodded with a bright smile, taking the piece of Lego Minho was handing him. “Want to do the tower too?”

Minho nodded with a smile and clapped his hands before sliding closer to Jeongin. He listened to the other little’s instructions carefully and with shaky hands, he put a piece on top of another, turning to Jeongin to make sure he had done well. “Good?”

“Yes! Minnie did great!” Jeongin happily exclaimed before clumsily hugging his little brother. 

The little blushed and handed Jeongin another piece, deciding he preferred watching, too scared to ruin Jeongin’s masterpiece. After a while, Minho grew tired and gently pulled on Jeongin’s sleeve.

“‘nie s’eep?”

“You wanna nap?” Jeongin asked. Minho nodded. “Okay! Innie will go ask Seungminnie-hyung if we watch a movie!”

Jeongin quickly got up and ran to the kitchen, excitedly dragging the older out to the living room and asking for the movie. Seungmin smiled at the two boys and first helped Jeongin put away the toys, reminding him how important it was to put away things we were done using. Minho looked at the two of them, yelping when Seungmin suddenly picked him up and placed him on the couch, pressing a kiss on his forehead. Jeongin quickly jumped next to Minho and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, the two waiting for Seungmin to put a movie on.

An hour later, Minho was dozing off, his head resting against Jeongin’s shoulder, his paci slowly bobbing between his lips, fingers still clutching his plushie. The movie was still playing and Jeongin was very focused on it, giving Minho a few glances every now and then, making sure he had everything he needed, pulling the blanket over Minho when it slid off a little. 

When the front door opened, neither littles moved, one too engrossed by the movie, the other half asleep. But as soon as Jeongin heard their leader’s voice, he snapped his head up, mouth open, before gently shaking Minho awake. The little whined and frowned, annoyed that he was being awakened that way. 

“Min, Min! Channie-hyung is here!” Jeongin excitedly said.

“Minnie? Kitten?” Another voice called. Hyunjin.

As soon as he heard the voice, Minho’s eyes shot open, the sleepiness disappearing from his face and making way for a big smile. He turned around and squealed when he saw Hyunjin appear at the door, a big bright smile on his lips. 

“D’innie, D’innie, D’innie!!” Minho called, making grabby hands at the blonde who laughed and quickly made his way towards the excited little. He quickly wrapped his arms around Minho and pulled him to his chest, hugging him tightly before pulling away and peppering the little’s face with kisses.

“Hi, my baby!” Hyunjin happily said. 

“Hi,” Minho shyly replied, blush spreading across his cheeks. 

“Ah you’re so cute!” Hyunjin exclaimed. “Channie-hyung! Come see our cute baby!”

Chan appeared at the door, smiling brightly and joining Hyunjin to cuddle Minho who giggled, his small hands going to grab at Chan’s shirt and Hyunjin’s hair. 

“I missed my cute little love bug,” Chan said. “Did you sleep well, angel?”

Minho nodded and squealed when Chan dropped a kiss on the little’s paci. Hyunjin giggled at the interactions and softly pulled the pacifier out of Minho’s mouth and before the little could whine, he placed a gentle kiss on the little’s lips, laughing when Minho turned red and hid into Chan’s chest. 

Chan and Hyunjin sat on either side of Minho, holding him close to them, kissing him and asking him how he was, telling him what they had planned for today: some colouring, going to the studio with Chan, practice with Hyunjin, food, games, bath time and of course bed. Minho thought he was in heaven, never having felt this happy and complete ever. 

With two caregivers who loved him more than life itself, a big brother currently curled up in Felix’s arms, hyungs always ready to play with him. 

Most importantly, Chan and Hyunjin both loved him, both wanted him, both took care of him, and they wouldn’t trade this for the world.

Neither would little - or big - Minho…

~ The End ~