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Thanos knew every part of Nam Gyu, or so he thought. He knew how he preferred bitter to sweet, energy drinks to coffee, long gentle touches to quick passionate moves. He knew the curvature of his body and the mole on his thigh, the way he’d get quiet when high, the odd things that made him dysphoric. He knew that Beanie Baby was special to Nam Gyu, but what he didn’t know, wasn’t allowed to know, was that Nam Gyu regressed.
Nam Gyu was scared that part of him would weird Thanos out and he wouldn’t want to be with him anymore. Secretly, Nam Gyu had regressed many times around Thanos. Mostly in his arms when they were going to sleep and Nam Gyu didn’t have to move or say a word. But now, he was in Thanos’s arms crying because his leopard Beanie Baby had juice spilled all over it.
Thanos, now thrust into an unfamiliar situation, had a hunch of what was going on. He knew that Nam Gyu had breakdowns before, but he always dealt with them privately. Thanos always wished Nam Gyu would’ve opened up to him and let him in on any pain he was having. Now was his chance to prove to Nam Gyu he could handle him when he broke down.
Nam Gyu watched as the little leopard in his arms was carefully taken out by Thanos. Nam Gyu paused his crying, eyes searching Thanos’s, but ultimately ended up crying harder and reaching for his Beanie Baby.
“It’s all right, little one,” Thanos said as gently as possible, “I’m going to clean him up for you. You can help if you’d like.”
Nam Gyu paused his crying once again, chest seizing up in struggling breaths. He wiped his sniffling nose with his too-long sleeves that nearly covered his hands. He looked up at Thanos and nodded cautiously.
Thanos set the leopard down on the table they had been eating at, and searched the cabinets of the kitchen for some white vinegar. Once he had found it, he took the plushie up in his arms, leaving one extended to Nam Gyu. Nam Gyu took the outstretched hand before him and followed Thanos to the sink.
Thanos filled the sink up with water first, then asked, “Would you like to place him in the water?”
Nam Gyu nodded and took a hold of the plushie, carefully submerging it in the water. Maroon tendrils seeped out of the fabric into the miniature bath. When lifted out by Thanos, the plushie was still obviously stained.
“Next,” started Thanos, “We take some of this…” He trailed off, getting a paper towel and the white vinegar. He wet the paper towel with water then put some white vinegar on it. “Then we dab this onto the stain. See?”
Nam Gyu nodded and reached for the paper towel. Now he was the one dabbing away the stain of his prized plushie. He felt so much relief. Thanos smiled down at Nam Gyu and hugged him, little leopard in both their arms.