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Yunho woke up one morning feeling very strange. He didn’t have a stomach ache or a temperature so he didn’t think he was sick but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. He just felt… weird.
He groaned as he rolled out of bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. His head felt weirdly fuzzy, as if his brain had been stuffed with cotton wool and the desire to go back to bed tugged at his navel. 5 more minutes wouldn’t hurt anymore, surely. Just as the boy went to lay back down, there was a knock at his door.
“Yunho, sweetie, are you awake yet?” The soft voice of Seonghwa called.
“Hmmm” Hummed Yunho as he rolled back into his bed, bundling himself up like a burrito in his soft warm blankets.
Seonghwa took this response as an invitation to enter the room, peeking his head round the corner and smiling to himself when he saw the Yunho shaped lump tucked up in bed still.
“Good morning, Lump, will you be joining us for breakfast?” Seonghwa asked gently as he made his way over to kneel beside Yunho’s bed.
“Hmmf!” Said the lump, wriggling slightly.
The two sat in silence for a minute or two as Seonghwa rubbed gentle circles onto Yunho’s blanket-covered back.
“Well when you do decide to join us your Hyung is making pancakes with strawberries and syrup.”
At this Yunho wriggled around so he was facing Seonghwa, no longer bundled up in his bedding. The older man smiled at the sight in front of him, all messy hair and puffy-faced with a sleepy blush on his cheeks.
“Can I have cream on them as well?” Yunho asked quietly before another yawn took over.
“Of course, baby.” Seonghwa brushed some hair out of Yunho’s face. “Are you feeling alright? It’s not like you to sleep in like this.”
“Not a baby.” Yunho stated as he sat up again slowly, “Feel kinda fuzzy, Hyung.”
Seonghwa paused for a second, mulling this over.
“Well maybe some food will make you feel better, and if that doesn’t work then how about we just spend the day on the sofa watching a movie, how does that sound?”
“Sounds good, Hyung.” Yunho nodded, pulling his blanket to wrap around his shoulders as he got up to follow Seonghwa to the kitchen.
Chaos seemed to have unfolded in Seonghwa’s absence from the kitchen, Hongjoong stood in between the stove and the sink holding a crying Jongho’s hand under the cold tap whilst scolding Mingi and Wooyoung. A teary-eyed San immediately threw himself into Seonghwa’s arms when he noticed the pair in the doorway. Yeosang sat patiently at the table, watching a cartoon on his ipad, feet swinging contently under the table.
“Oh no! What’s wrong, my love?” Seonghwa asked the boy, lifting him onto his hip. He did not get any kind of discernible response though, only receiving a wine in return as San pushed his face into the older man’s neck.
“Oh thank god you’re back.” Hongjoong sighed as he turned to face Seonghwa and Yunho in the doorway. “If I had any idea making pancakes with five littles would be this hard I would have picked something else to make for breakfast.”
Yunho quickly made his way over to the table to sit down, out of the way of trouble, as Hongjoong explained to Seonghwa that Jongho had burnt his hand on the frying pan and Mingi and Wooyoung were trying to “help” flip the pancakes despite being told not to go near the hob.
“Yunho, honey, I’m so sorry could you check on the pancakes for me?” Hongjoong called from the sink where he was still nursing Jongho’s burnt finger under a stream of cold water.
No, Yunho did not want to check on the pancakes, he wanted to sit in his chair and eat and then go back to the sofa and fall asleep whilst watching a spider-man movie. However he knew that as one of the oldest he had to be helpful while so much was going on so up he got, leaving his blanket on the chair behind him. Mingi and Wooyoung stood patiently on either side of him, watching owlishly as he plated up the pancakes from the pan.
“Yuyu, pour out a really big one this time!” Wooyoung suggested happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet and tugging at Yunho’s sleeve. Mingi nodded silently, the pacifier in his mouth bobbing in and out as he watched on.
Yunho moved quickly to grab the jug of batter to pour another pancake out, only thinking about getting back to his blanket and his spot at the kitchen table but of course the universe decided there wasn’t enough chaos in the apartment already and decided to add more. Yunho’s hand reached out and knocked over the jug as if he had no control over it whatsoever, spilling the contents over the kitchen counter and down his pyjamas.
The boy froze as the cold batter seeped into his pyjama shirt, turning slowly to look at one of the older men. A gasp came from Yeosang’s mouth as he watched on from the table. “Appa! Yuyu made a mess!” He exclaimed pointing from his seat at the table.
“‘M sorry Hyung I didn’t mean to.” Yunho mumbled as he took a step away from the counter, the boys on either side of him scampering over to join Yeosang at the kitchen table.
Hongjoong sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s ok, Yunho, just go get cleaned up. I’ll finish the pancakes.”
Seonghwa gently grabbed Yunho by the shoulder with his free hand and pulled him away from the mess and towards the door. San let out a whine when Seonghwa went to place him back on the floor and the older man sighed.
“I’m sorry, baby, are you ok to go get cleaned up by yourself?” He asked.
“Yeah, Hyung, it’s ok.” Yunho said quietly as he gave a small nod and left the room. He wasn’t little; he could get changed by himself like he usually did.
The fuzzy feeling in his head had worsened now and was making him feel very strange. This had never happened before so why now? Nothing particularly out of the ordinary had happened this week to make him sick and he hadn’t eaten anything the night before that would give him a stomach ache.
Yunho slunk his way back to his bedroom where he quickly changed his clothes, wanting to be rid of the pancake-batter-stained pyjama shirt. He picked out some comfy joggers and his fluffiest hoodie then retreated back to the kitchen where he regained his spot at the table where his blanket was still waiting for him.
“Yuyu made a mess.” Yeosang repeated as Yunho sat down next to him.
“We know, sweetie.” Seonghwa said, ruffling the boy’s hair as he walked past, San still clinging to him like a koala to a tree.
Yunho frowned slightly in Yeosang’s direction. Why couldn’t he just go back to his silly cartoon? All Yunho wanted at this point was to get his plate of pancakes and go back to bed. Hell! He’d even go back to bed hungry if it meant he could get rid of this stupid fuzzy feeling that now tickled the backs of his eyeballs but he knew Hongjoong and Seonghwa wouldn’t let that happen.
Hongjoong dropped a sniffling Jongho into the seat on the other side of Yunho, telling him to make sure the babies were all ok then running back to the stove to finish tossing the pancakes.
Yunho swung his legs in an annoyed manner under the table, glaring at the empty place mat in front of him. It was printed with Paw Patrol characters, the dogs smiling back up at him seemed to be mocking him. The boy let out a huff, blowing a single piece of hair out of his face. Why was he expected to watch over the babies at the table but they couldn’t give him a proper placemat? One that wasn’t meant for babies?
Mingi and Wooyoung sat opposite him, seemingly making a game out of making funny noises into their plastic cups. The noise was starting to hurt Yunho’s head.
“Yunnie-Hyung!” Jongho whined from Yunho’s left, tugging at his sleeve for his attention.
“What?”
“I burnt my hand.” Jongho pouted and waved his hand in Yunho’s face.
“I know, Jjongie.” Yunho sighed.
“On the frying pan.” Jongho continued to hold his sore hand in the older boy’s face.
Seonghwa thankfully came to the rescue, placing San down in a chair then taking the seat next to him.
“Jjongie, baby, your Yunho-Hyung isn’t feeling too well today,” Seonghwa suggested, “How about he give him some space so he can feel better.”
“Hwa-Hyung can I have my pancakes on the sofa?” Yunho asked carefully.
“I don’t see why not. If you aren’t feeling too well it’s probably best to make sure you’re comfy and well-rested.”
Mingi made an indignant noise from behind his pacifier, frowning ever so slightly. No one was ever allowed to eat on the sofa in case they made a mess! He dropped the pacifier from this mouth letting out a noise as if to start complaining. Seonghwa quickly gave Mingi a look to stop this.
Hongjoong plated up everyone’s pancakes and got to work cutting up Jongho and Yeosang’s into smaller bites whilst Seonghwa did the same for San, Mingi and Wooyoung. Yunho watched on silently, not moving from his chair. Would anyone cut up his pancakes for him? Where had this sudden need come from?
“Joong-Hyung…” Yunho started quietly, fidgeting in his seat.
Hongjoong looked up briefly from cutting up Yeosang’s breakfast into triangles, humming in response.
“Could you cut up my pancakes for me too?” It came out as barely a mumble, his voice small, as Yunho asked the question into the plate of pancakes rather than to Hongjoong.
Hongjoong paused for a second, shooting a very quick look in Seonghwa’s direction before finishing helping Yeosang.
“Of course, baby.” Hongjoong agreed, making quick work of cutting up Yunho’s pancakes for him.
“‘M not a baby…” Yunho mumbled to himself quietly as he watched Hongjoong begin to cut up his food for him.
The fluffy feeling that had been tickling Yunho’s brain the whole morning seemed to double at the attention he got at this moment, making the boy kick his feet happily under the table before he got up to go eat in the other room, his blanket trailing behind him like a cape.
Once Yunho finished eating he found himself curled up in the corner of the sofa with his blanket wrapped tightly around himself, scrolling through random movie options trying to pick something out. Just as he was about to settle on ‘Spider-man: No Way Home’ the sound of several pairs of feet charging towards the living room. Wooyoung, Mingi, Yeosang and Jongho came bursting into the room with Hongjoong and Seonghwa right behind them, San perched on Seonghwa’s hip looking particularly drowsy.
“Yunho, could you pick something that won’t be too scary for the littles to watch?” Hongjoong asked, taking a seat next to him on the sofa.
How unfair! This was supposed to be his time to relax, why should he change what he wants to watch? Anger suddenly bubbled up in his gut.
“Spider-man isn’t even that scary, Hyung,” Yunho whined, sitting up straight and pouting. “It’s not my fault they’re all babies!”
“Yunho…” There was a hint of warning in Hongjoong’s voice. “I won’t ask again.”
“No! I wanna watch Spider-man! It’s not fair!” Yunho raised his voice, thumping his fist against the sofa cushion as tears welled up in his eyes.
“Ok I think someone needs a timeout.” Hongjoong decided, standing up and holding out a hand towards Yunho for him to take.
“No! No ‘m not little I don’t need timeout!” Yunho was shouting now and the younger boys had all stopped what they were doing on the playmat to watch the scene in front of them unfold.
“Yunnie, baby, it’s ok if you’re feeling a bit small right now, but you have to come to time out after speaking to Hyung like that, ok?” Hongjoong knelt down in front of the boy now.
Yunho shook his head violently, tears now beginning to stream down his face. Why was he feeling so emotional all of a sudden? His outburst had brought San up from his sleepy state on Seonghwa’s lap, making the boy start to wail from being woken up.
“I’m not a baby, Hyung!” Yunho cried. “I just wanna watch Spider-man!”
Hongjoong gave Seonghwa a knowing look that was returned immediately. Yunho had never regressed before and had always been fine to look after his ‘younger brothers’ when they were in littlespace but they had both had a feeling that something like this would happen as of recently. Yunho’s demeanor had recently changed and the two had noticed. He was more prone to sulking and had taken a liking to more juvenile interests, always wanting to talk someone’s ear off about super-heroes or roblox games.
“Alright, come with me love.” Was all Hongjoong said in response, taking Yunho’s hand gently and pulling him into his arms.
The two slowly made their way to Hongjoong and Seonghwa’s bedroom with surprisingly minimal resistance from Yunho. Once in the bedroom Yunho threw himself onto the double bed face first. Hongjoong took a seat at the end of the bed, giving the younger boy’s leg a squeeze. This drew an annoyed whine from Yunho. The two sat in silence for a beat or two as Hongjoong let the boy calm down.
“Yunho, sweetie, are you feeling small today?” Hongjoong asked carefully.
There was a noise that sounded partially like a sentence from Yunho, distorted by the bed his face was pressed into.
“Can you turn around and face Hyung?” Hongjoong tried again. “It’s ok you aren’t in trouble.”
Yunho slowly rolled over and sat up with his legs crossed, avoiding eye contact with the older. He didn’t feel little, not in the way his brothers were. But now come to think of it he didn’t exactly feel big either. It was very confusing. Yunho shrugged because there really was no answer he could think of at this moment.
“Can you tell Hyung how old you’re feeling right now?” Hongjoong tried.
Yunho shrugged again, looking at his hands. “Not little but not big either.” He mumbled.
Hongjoong sighed and nodded. “That’s ok. How are you feeling, baby?”
“Not a baby, Hyung.”
“Right, right, of course,” Hongjoong nodded again, “Force of habit, I’m sorry.”
“My head’s been feeling all stuffy and fuzzy since I woke up and I just want to watch Spider-man with Seonghwa-Hyung but you said I’m not allowed.” The boy’s voice wavered. “And the babies were being so loud and I don’t want to always look after them anymore, Hyung, it makes me so tired!”
Hongjoong sat silently listening to Yunho’s explanation, opening his arms to him when the boy started to cry again. They sat like this, with Hongjoong rubbing calming circles onto Yunho’s back, until the younger boy’s cried turned into shallow sniffles.
“Ok, sweet boy, how about you get all comfy in here and I’ll let you watch Spider-man on my laptop?” Hongjoong finally suggested.
Yunho nodded tentatively, his face now pressed into Hongjoong’s chest.
“I’ll get you a drink and a snack too, how about that?”
Yunho nodded again, “Apple juice, please.”
“Do you want it in a sippy cup or a normal cup?”
“Normal cup please, Hyung.”
Hongjoong nodded once more before leaving the room. Yunho quickly dove under the covers of his Hyung’s shared bed, wriggling down so that only his head was above the bed sheet. The door creaked open ever so slightly and someone poked their head through the gap.
“Yunnie-Hyung are you ok?” A tiny voice asked.
“I’m ok, Sangie.” Yunho replied to the little as he crept into the room.
“Not sick?” The younger boy whispered the question as he knelt next to the bed.
“No, Sangie, not sick.”
Yeosang lifted something up from his side, throwing it gently over Yunho’s duvet-covered form.
“I brought your blankie, you forgot it after your time-out.”
Yunho shuffled slightly, then free’d a hand from his cocoon to grab a hold of one end of the blanket.
“Thanks, Sangie.” Yunho smiled gently at the younger boy.
The door opened fully now and Hongjoong emerged with a cup of apple juice and a plate of cut up fruits.
“Sangie, baby, why aren’t you in the living room with your brothers?” Hongjoong asked, placing the plate and cup down on the bed-side table.
“Was bringin’ Yuyu his blankie, Appa!” Yeosang smiled, evidently proud of his good deed.
Hongjoong returned the smile, “That’s very kind of you, now how about you get back to your game? I’m sure Jjongie is missing his partner.”
Yeosang gasped and jumped up from his spot on the floor. “Ok Appa!” He ran out of the room in a flash.
“Ok, sweetie, I’m gunna leave you to watch your film now. Are you going to be ok here by yourself?”
“Yeah, Hyung, I’ll be fine.” Yunho yawned.
Hongjoong unlocked his laptop and opened up Netflix for Yunho to find the film for himself, knowing that the boy might make a fuss at his independence being questioned during this headspace. Yunho hummed contently from the pile of blankets he’d nestled into as Hongjoong walked towards the door. Just before he went to leave the room, the younger of the two yelped:
“Wait!”
Yunho thought about what he wanted to say for a few seconds and then finally stuck two hands out of his blanket pile, each with 5 fingers up.
“Think I’m this old right now, Hyung.” Yunho smiled at Hongjoong.
“Ok thanks for telling me, sweetie.” Hongjoong smiled back before retreating from the room, making sure to leave the door slightly ajar.