Work Text:
"GUYS! guess what!?"
seonghwa is heard running down the steps (carefully) and makes his way into the living room where his friends reside.
"joongie just shifted into a kitten while he's asleep!" he exclaimed somewhat calmly not wanting to disturb the sleeping hybrid upstairs.
"wha-"
"wait, I wanna see!-"
"-no wait, woo! this is really important" seonghwa stops the younger from running up the stairs and barging into the bedroom.
yunho turns in his spot on the couch, looking up at the eldest. wooyoung sighs- a little too dramatically- but nonetheless does the same.
"okay, listen carefully" seonghwa starts "joong has only shifted twice so far, so I'm still figuring out how he is when he's a kitten. just treat him like you normally would but don't overwhelm him. he can still eat the same food and drinks, just a small amount though. what I do know is that when he shifts back into his human form, he's very emotional, like more than normal. keep me updated on how he's doing or if he needs anything."
the two hyungs sitting down stare at the eldest with wide eyes, and seonghwa sees them briefly glance at each other and then back at him.
"I don't wanna overwhelm you guys, I just want him to feel safe. I don't want him to feel nervous or uncomfortable."
wooyoung stands up from his spot and rounds the couch and gives his hyung a brief but strong-gripped side hug. "hyung, he's always safe with us, we'll text you if anything comes up."
yunho stands by the staircase, listening for any sounds if the kitten were to wake up. wooyoung finishes his small talk with seonghwa, before the eldest grabs his belongings.
"oh, one more thing! he absolutely loves to be carried in his blanket like a little baby, he loves the closeness...I'll see you guys later tonight." he blows a kiss to his friends and turns to make his way out the door.
almost on cue, once the door is pulled shut, the hyungs hear small but somewhat loud meows coming from upstairs. with gentle but exciting footsteps, yunho and wooyoung make their way into the bedroom.
they see none other than hongjoong in his tiny kitten form, pawing at the sheets as he lets out small purrs. the duo just stood for a second and watch him in his own little world before wooyoung steps forward.
he keeps his voice soft when the kitten looks up and sees them, climbing over the blankets. "hi, little baby~" wooyoung coos as the kitten sniffs his extended hand. immediately he recognizes the scent, and he lets out a tiny mewl before plopping himself into the palm of his hand.
"look, yunnie is here too, joongie!" he swivels around so the kitten can see his other hyung, letting out more loud mewls when he sees his yunnie hyung, but now sees how tall he really is!
hongjoong almost falls out from wooyoung's hand with the way he looks up at yunho and lets out a little meow. he looks like a puppy with the way his tail is moving back and forth. once snug in yunho's palm, the kitten looks around in awe. he's forgotten how tall yunnie is and what everything looks like from this height.
"just be careful with him please" warns wooyoung, watching at how the taller is now tossing the kitten gently into the air. he follows yunho out of the room, as he makes his way (or more so runs down the stairs) into the kitchen. he figures it'd be fine to keep the kitten on top of the dining table instead of the floor when wooyoung searches the fridge to find something for him to eat.
"now don't tell your hwa about eating on the table, shh!"
--------
"joongie! pspsps, come here baby!"
meow.
"joongie, are you hiding from us?"
meow.
"oh come on joongie~ we have to start eating dinner soon before mama comes!"
mrr-meow.
"joong, seriously it's time to come out now."
mrr-eow.
"alright, fine! stay under the bed then!"
"wooyoung-"
"-im walking away right now because woo hyung needs to cool off!"
yunho could tell by his tone that he wasn't genuinely mad but he was beginning to sound a little huffy. he watches with his arms crossed at the way the youngest hyung stomps out of the bedroom
he rolls his eyes before crouching down to reach the kitten's level. he sees joong laying contently on the rug under the bed, with no sign of moving whatsoever.
"don't listen to your woo hyung, he's just feeling cranky." yunho reassures the kitten, who's licking his paw and running it over his ear.
"however, if you'd like to come out and have something to eat, we will be in the living room." he gives the kitten a choice, but ultimately falls on silent ears as joong stands up to only turn the other way; his fluffy belly on display as he gets comfortable.
now it's yunho that sighs as he stands up to head to the living room. 'never would have thought that hongjoong would become sassy as a kitten' he thinks to himself.
--------
"hongjoong get down!"
"you're going to get hurt!"
they only get an almost annoyed sounding meow in response. when hongjoong is in his human form, he's the sweetest cuddly baby ever but they have now realized that once he's shifted into a kitten, he's a mischievous little kitten who doesn't really listen well.
yunho thinks it's due to the fact that he probably hasn't been able to shift into his kitten form for how many years due to the hardships he faced in his past. wooyoung just thinks it's because seonghwa isn't here and he's acting out because of it.
"hongjoong you're seriously going to get hurt...please come down"
wooyoung is met with yet another loud meow. he sighs as he watches the kitten try to climb up on the table from the chair- purring lightly when he successfully does so. he looks over to see yunho grabbing his phone in a rush.
"what are you doing?"
"I'm gonna record him so hwa knows what he does when he's a kitten"
"...you mean ignore us?"
"exactly!"
for a moment, it's quiet as the two hyungs watch carefully how said kitten is climbing up onto the chair, then proceeding to hop onto the dining table.
"joongie, honey, please come down you're going to get a booboo" wooyoung pleads almost desperately at this point.
but once again, the mischievous little kitten chose to ignore his hyungs and walks casually around the table. he paused for a moment, to lick again at his paws.
the sounds of birds chirping outside makes him stare out the sliding glass door before sure enough spotting a little blue bird near the glass.
they see his bottom wriggle in the air as his stomach is pressed low to the table. that's when yunho hits the stop button on his phone; he recognizesbthe way joong is in his "hunting" position and will pounce and attack- or at least try to from his height.
"joongie, no!-"
but instead of hongjoong jumping off the table, his little paw slipped and the poor kitten would have gotten dangerously hurt or injured if it wasn't for his yunho hyung cuffing his hands and running up to the piece of furniture to safely catch the kitten.
it was silent for a moment. wooyoung comes running to his friend's side as they both examine the little kitten. he seems to be moving his body and tail in good condition; however, tiny mewls escape which gradually grow louder.
"get me his blanket, woo" yunho instructs calmy for the kitten's sake.
wooyoung then returns with said blanket as yunho goes to wrap it around the little baby. "oh, sweet baby, did you have a little scare?"
said kitten snuggles further into his blanket, taking a small section into his mouth. if they were to make eye contact, they'll be able to nice how the younger's eyes are watery. "woo and yunnie told you not to go up there, honey."
yunho gently rocks him around the room, cradling the blanket-wrapped kitten like an infant child in his arms. "oh sweet little joongie, it's all going to be alright." he places a small kiss in the middle of his ears.
"come, let's all go and see what we can make you for dinner."
the kitten then let's out a loud mewl, subconsciously sinking further into the blanket and his hyungs arms. "don't worry, dearie, yunnie isn't letting go. you're safe with us."
-
"is he in the living room?"
"no he's upstairs in the bedroom...last I checked, he was sleeping."
wooyoung checks his phone for the time, seonghwa should be coming home any minute. "I'm gonna go check on him before hyung comes home."
he makes his way up the stairs as yunho does a double check of his belongings. the kitten has been sleeping for a while even though he knows that cats tend to do that, he just wanted to make sure joong was okay.
but just as he turns into the bedroom, wooyoung gasped at what he saw. it made matters worse due to the room being pitch dark, hongjoong's cat eyes were reflecting from the light coming from downstairs and immediately wooyoung is met with 2 wide green eyed staring at him.
"oh shit..." he whispers as he takes a moment to regain his breathing. "oh my goodness, joong, you scared woo."
he looks back at joong and sees none other than his eyes becoming watery, mewling softly. wooyoung gently pets his back to comfort. "joongs...you okay, dear?"
he really does wonder if hongjoong can understand him because the minute he asks what's wrong, the kitten mewls softly as he slowly crawls into seonghwa's side of the bed and nuzzles against the pillow.
"awe, sweet baby, do you miss your mama?" he kisses the top of his head and continues petting his back. "mama is coming back any second, I promise."
suddenly hongjoong mewled loudly and scooted farther away from his hyung. he didn't want his woo or yunnie hyung (as much as he loves them), he just misses his mama. for the younger, it feels as if he hasn't seen seonghwa in a long time and he tends to grow weary when the elder is gone for too long.
wooyoung is patient and understanding so with a final kiss to his forehead, he leaves the door open as he exits the bedroom. he'll always respect hongjoong's boundaries.
as his hyung left the room, hongjoong sat up and hastily began to wipe at his eyes. the younger feels his skin begin to warm up as he searches around the bedroom for the one person he desperately wants.
it doesn't help either that he's in a dark bedroom, minus the light downstairs casting a faint glow. he misses his mama so bad, he can't help the amount of tears that begin to make their appearance.
contrary to the tears and growing nerves upstairs, downstairs is met with smiles as seonghwa (finally) walks through the door.
he places his belongings hastily on the counter as he kicks off his shoes. "how did it go? I hope he didn't give you guys too much tr-"
"- 'ommy...m-m...ommy!"
the hyungs and seonghwa stare as the small voice emerges from the bedroom. out comes hongjoong in his human form hastily wiping his eyes as he stumbles down the staircase.
"oh my sweet baby, yes hello, mommy is here now." seonghwa coos the minute hongjoong runs into his arms and is automatically placed onto his hip.
"wan' my 'ommy..."
seonghwa excuses himself as he takes hongjoong into the next room. he holds him tightly in his arms as he gently sways back and forth. "I know, baby, it was hard not having mommy here." he places a kiss onto his forehead and leans his check on his head. "mommy is here now with his little baby, just take your time, angel."
hongjoong grips tightly on seonghwa's shirt rather a little with too much force when the eldest makes his way back into the living room.
he's wrapped in a blanket found laying on the couch as seonghwa begins to rock him back and forth in place. "I hope he didn't give you guys too much trouble while he was in his kitten form."
the hyungs share a look before pulling out their phones to show the eldest just the kind of shenanigans hongjoong into when he's a kitten.
seonghwa figures there's no real harm done, but will definitely have a good talk with hongjoong when he's in better spirits. he can't really be mad...after all, he's still new to shifting into his hybrid form and processing his emotions after.
"...awe it sounded like woo hyungie was feeling a little frustrated...come give joongie's mama a hug, dearie."
wooyoung rolls his eyes but nonetheless can't decline an offer of one of seonghwa's hugs. as he wraps his arms around him, he's careful with the kitten in his hyung's arm...and also didn't miss when seonghwa called himself joongie's mama.