Lonely Kitten

10

TW: anxiety attack

Jisung barely managed to catch up on sleep over the course of the week, only exhausting himself further when their manager told them that their deadlines had been moved closer and that they'd have to speed up their producing. Although Minho had developed the habit of deliberately turning down his food, just so the rapper would feed him a bottle in the evening, he now forced himself to eat the cat food. It still didn't taste good but he didn't want to worry the younger as he already had so much on his plate to deal with. The hybrid mostly made himself invisible at the studio, so he wouldn't distract the trio, only climbing into Jisung's lap when the younger got fidgety from his nerves.

He knew his purring calmed the rapper down but couldn't do so because they needed a quiet environment to do their recording. Instead, he'd nudge Jisung's trembling hands with his nose and softly lick his fingers, tickling his skin with his rough tongue, no biting though. The rapper would take a shuddery breath and shakily run his fingers over Minho's fur, slowly calming down. It hurt the hybrid to watch the younger suffer like that but there wasn't much else he could do to help. All he could do was hope that they'd finish up soon and take a break, so they could get the rest they needed. Chan too watched his dongsaeng exhaust himself but was glad to see him calm down with Minho in his lap. Before, Jisung would have long since had a full-blown anxiety attack but so far, the cat always managed to soothe him before it reached that point.

That didn't work forever though and Chan soon sent his dongsaeng to take a day off despite them not being done yet. The Aussie claimed it was mostly editing that still needed to be done, so Jisung wouldn't be of much help anyway. Minho was glad the younger finally got the chance to rest but the damage had already been done. With the exhaustion and lack of sleep that had accumulated over the past weeks, the only thing that had kept the rapper functioning was his work. It mostly distracted him from the racing thoughts in his head and helped him push past his anxiety but that also meant that he bottled most of his feelings up and it took little for him to break. Changbin had taken Jisung and Minho home, while Chan stayed at the studio editing and waiting for Changbin to return. Changbin made sure Minho was fed, so Jisung would only have to worry about himself for a while, which already seemed like a lot to ask of the young rapper at the moment.

"Will you be alright on your own or should I call your parents?", the older asked, checking the fridge and cabinets, afraid his dongsaeng had missed the opportunity to go grocery shopping and was running out of food. He was relieved to see that the apartment was all stocked up and Jisung would have everything he might need. "I-I think I'm good", the younger replied quietly, fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves, "I really shouldn't be here though. I should be at the studio with you and Chan-hyung, not lazing at home and letting you two do all the work." - "Sung, you wrote most of the lyrics and worked so hard. You deserve a break", Changbin sighed, walking his dongsaeng over to the couch, "You know we always split the work and it has always been Chan-hyung doing the editing. What we really need you to do though, is to take care of yourself. We can see you running yourself thin and your mental health is just as important as your physical health, so please just take a breather, catch up on sleep and come back when you feel better. Whether that'll be tomorrow or the day after that, doesn't matter. What matters is that you're okay. You can even take a break longer than that but please check in with us, so we know what's up and don't get too worried." Jisung nodded, looking to the ground and watching Minho rub against his leg. He weakly picked the cat up and placed him on his lap, stroking his soft fur to hold back the tears. He couldn't break down in front of Changbin now, not when it were his hyungs finishing up on their own and him only resting.

"Do you need me to make dinner or do you promise me to eat something before going to bed?", Changbin asked, "If you want, you can order take-out or whatever too, just eat, okay?" Again, Jisung nodded, not trusting his voice, afraid he'd break down right then and there. "Alright, I guess I'll head back then", the older smiled sadly, "Take care, Sung." - "Call me if you need me at the studio", Jisung whispered, biting the inside of his cheek. Lying that he would, Changbin said goodbye and returned to the studio to help Chan, which left Jisung alone with his thoughts.

The front door had barely closed when the first tear trailed down the boy's cheek, then the next and soon there was no stopping anymore. Jisung's throat felt tight as he struggled to take a deep breath, chest hitching with sobs, that he tried to muffle by clamping his sweater paws over his mouth. He felt so cold all of a sudden but also so, so tired. His chest ached as he choked on a sob, making him cough.

Minho gave a sad meow and gently nudged the younger's arm in hopes of getting him to remove his hands from his face so he'd breathe a little easier. It didn't work though and the overworked rapper only got more stressed out, shaking violently. The hybrid really wished he would have told Jisung about his true identity because then he could shift into his human-form, hold him and tell him that everything would be okay eventually, even if it didn't feel like it right now. He had been too much of a coward though, too self-centered. Always enjoying Jisung's affection without ever showing him his face. Now it was too late for that. If he'd shift now, he'd probably only freak the younger out more.

Trying to bring Jisung's attention away from his worries and onto him, Minho started to purr loudly, aware that the sound usually soothed the rapper. It wasn't enough, so the hybrid nudged the backs of his hands, finally getting the younger to remove them from his mouth. It broke Minho's heart to hear the boy's strangled sobs and painful hiccups. Jisung didn't really know what to do with his hands, now that they were removed from his lips and he almost tangled them in his hair, if it wasn't for Minho climbing onto his arm to trap his hand in his lap. The hybrid curled up on Jisung's hands, successfully trapping them under his body as he continued to purr, pressing his head into the rapper's chest. He could hear the boy's heart beating rapidly, so he kept nuzzling into his chest, hoping to distract the younger from the ache. Being reduced to near silent sobs, that still made his chest hitch and shook Minho too, Jisung freed a trembling hand and weakly ran it through the hybrid's fur as he tried to focus on his surroundings in an attempt to ground himself.

Closing his eyes, the rapper tried to name five things he could feel. 'Minho's fur, it's so soft. He's purring so loud, I'm pretty sure the entire couch is vibrating from it. The couch is pretty cold, I should probably adjust the air conditioning. The tag in my hoodie is scratchy. Oh, and Minho is licking my hand', Jisung listed in his head, opening his teary eyes again to name five things he could see: 'Minho's fur looks almost silver. I left my bag by the door. Minho's bowl is empty although Changbin fed him earlier.' Looking down at the cat in his lap, the rapper muttered: "Kitten, did you eat all your dinner?" *meow* Although the tears still kept falling, Jisung forced a watery smile, kissing Minho's head. He was exhausted but the tears just didn't stop, so he carefully shifted to lay on the couch and Minho adjusted his position and got comfortable on the boy's chest, now that the sobs had died down. The hybrid kept purring, the soothing vibrations lulling Jisung to sleep, with one hand on the cat's back.

When he was confident that the younger was asleep, Minho wiggled out of his hold and made his way to the rapper's room. It had been a while since he had last been human, so it took a bit longer for him to shift. He quickly went through Jisung's closet to borrow some clothes he could put on, noticing how much the boy seemed to like oversized hoodies. When he was dressed, he made his way back to the living room and quietly approached the younger. If he accidentally woke him up, he'd probably give the rapper the scare of his life, so he had to be more than careful.

Minho carefully rotated his left wrist and found it still aching, so he slipped his right arm around Jisung's shoulders and the left arm under his legs. There was no way, he'd risk dropping the boy he had started to care for so deeply. Luckily, the younger had exhausted himself so badly, that he didn't even stir when Minho placed him on the bed. He only groaned softly when his sore body met the soft mattress. Noticing Jisung shiver in his sleep, the hybrid covered him with the blanket and went to the living room to retrieve his own baby blanket that the rapper had taken along to the studio as always. It was what always soothed him, so Minho tucked the soft comfort item into the younger's hands and smiled when Jisung clutched it to his chest before snuggling his face into it in his sleep.

Afraid of being found out, Minho quickly unpacked Jisung's bag and put everything in the places he had watched the rapper retrieve it from before undressing and carefully folding the clothes he had borrowed. He then shifted back into his cat-form and got on the bed next to the younger, snuggling into his side and hoping Jisung would sleep long enough to recover from his breakdown, so he could wake up feeling more like himself tomorrow.