Lonely Kitten

26

Not wanting to mess with the hybrid's nest more than he already had, Jisung bent over the little wall of pillows and stroked Minho's cheek to wake him up. He couldn't help but notice that the other felt a bit warm to the touch. Minho's eyes were still swollen and burned when he blinked them open to look at the rapper. "Good afternoon", Jisung smiled softly, unsure if the boy was still in his headspace. That question was soon answered, when Minho weakly lifted his arms and made grabby hands at him. "Hey, kitten", the rapper chuckled, struggling to get the other into his arms, "You built yourself such a cozy nest, hm?" The little dropped his pounding head onto Jisung's shoulder and sniffled: "Minnie icky." - "Oh no", Jisung gasped sympathetically, "What is hurting my little prince?" He didn't get a reply as Minho was already dozing off in his arms, so he just carried the hybrid to the dining table.

When he placed Minho down in his seat, he got a better look at the boy's ears and noted the scratches had already mostly faded. That didn't stop the hybrid from letting out a discontent whine at being out of his Sungie's arms though. "I'll be right back, kitten", the rapper chuckled, retrieving the stack of pancakes from next to the stove, "Here, look! I made pancakes for us. Yeah, I know they look funny but I promise, they're yummy." - "Da!", Minho pouted, slipping his thumb between his lips as he waited for Jisung to pick him up again. That didn't happen though and the longer the rapper was gone, the closer to tears Minho got. When Jisung realized he should get the hybrid some cool vanilla almond milk in his bottle and went to fetch it from the bedroom, that was the last straw. By the time he returned, the little sat in his chair crying as he chewed on his fingers.

"Minnie, hey", Jisung cooed, crouching next to the upset boy, "What's wrong, hm?" Minho only made desperate grabby hands at him and this time, the rapper hurried to comply, worriedly swaying the little in his arms. Jisung carried the other to the kitchen and placed him on the counter, standing between his legs. Cupping Minho's tearstained cheeks, he hummed: "I'll get you some milk in your bottle, kitten. I'm right here though, not going anywhere." The rapper made sure to only rush over to the fridge to get the carton of almond milk before heading right back to Minho and pouring the drink into his bottle right next to him, so the hybrid wouldn't get scared or worked up again. Screwing the lid onto the bottle, Jisung cooed: "Here you go, Min. Can you have some milky for me?" The little sniffled pitifully but accepted his bottle, immediately starting to suckle on it. "That's it. Good job, kitten. Now, try taking a few deep breaths for me. You're doing great", the rapper encouraged when Minho lowered the bottle and the sweet flavor had already soothed him a bit.

After a few minutes of demonstrating deep breaths for the little to match, Jisung wet some paper towels under cool water and gently wiped the other's face with them, cleaning away the tears and laying them over the hybrid's irritated eyes for a moment. "Minnie, can you try to talk to me?", the rapper pleaded, "You're running a bit of a temperature and now I don't know if you're so upset because you're sick or if you got so worked up that you developed a low-grade fever from it." Those were a lot of words and Minho could only blink at the other confused. Seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere with his inquiry, Jisung decided it'd be best to just distract the boy from whatever might upset him and sighed: "Let's have breakfast, kitten. You can even stay in my lap if you promise me you'll eat well." He picked Minho up and koala-carried him to the table, where he got settled with the little in his lap. Being too worried to really have much of an appetite himself, Jisung focused solely on getting Minho to eat something. It helped greatly that he paid so much attention to the hybrid, encouraging every bite, which kept the little eating. Minho wanted the rapper to be proud of him, so he tried to be the best he could and listen to what the other told him.

Eventually, he was full though and hesitantly leaned away, when Jisung tried to feed him more. "You done, Minnie?", the rapper asked softly. Minho nodded but then he noticed the other hadn't eaten anything, so he reached for the plate and grabbed a whole pancake, holding it up to Jisung's face. Jisung broke into a fond laugh but complied and took a bite before taking the pancake from the little. He continued eating, which resulted in Minho clapping his hands, trying his best to cheer the rapper on like he had done for him. The hybrid didn't look really happy yet but at least he could get some enthusiasm from him, so Jisung finished the pancake and reached for another one, smiling: "Do you want to watch a cartoon or stay here while I finish eating?" Minho instantly gripped onto his shirt, pressing himself tighter to the rapper, which was enough for the other to know he wouldn't let go of him anytime soon.

When both of them had finished their meal, Jisung found himself unable to clear the table because he couldn't carry the plates and Minho at the same time and the hybrid did not want to be out of his arms, which he made very clear by whining loudly every time Jisung tried to place him down. Deciding he could still clean up later, the rapper carried Minho to the living room and sat down on the couch with the little in his lap. The boy seemed to be somewhat able to understand him, so he tried again: "Minnie, are you sick?" - "Icky", the hybrid mumbled, leaning against Jisung's chest. That was neither a clear 'yes' nor a no, so he had to ask more specific. "Kitten, did you get upset because I was working for so long?", Jisung hummed worriedly, feeling his heart break when a stray tear ran down Minho's cheek. Hesitantly the little nodded, afraid to upset the other with his response. Tightening his arms around Minho, Jisung closed his eyes and sighed: "I'm so, so sorry, Minnie. You felt lonely again, didn't you?" Minho nodded again, giving a soft sniffle.

Everything started making sense to Jisung now. He wasn't the one with an anxiety attack, Minho was. The hybrid had worked himself up to the point of developing a fever, so no wonder he still felt icky from it. Gently stroking his hand up and down the other's back, Jisung whispered: "I'm sorry, you were lonely. It was never my intention to abandon or neglect you, we were just so busy, that we tried to keep up. Why didn't you say anything though, when I called you? I would've come home for you, Minnie." - "I-I...", Minho stammered, hiccupping softly. Jisung would've really come back for him? He didn't hate him? "Kitten?", the rapper hummed, slipping his hand into his pocket. Minho pouted as he pulled away, so he could look at the other. Holding the box with the pacifier, Jisung explained: "There was something I had wanted to ask you. I learned that littles usually have caregivers and although I do take care of you, I don't know if you see me that way, so..." Showing Minho the pacifier, the rapper rambled: "You were sad because you had lost yours and I wanted to get you one but I also wanted to ask you if you wanted me to be your caregiver. I do care about you a lot, so I wanted you to know I'm always there for you if you come to me and let me know."

Barely able to believe it, Minho nodded frantically, accepting the pacifier when Jisung held it to his lips. Had he not been so run down, he might have bounced on the rapper's lap and rubbed his face into the other's chest. This way, the little almost started to cry again, feeling overwhelmed. Not wanting to see more tears fall, Jisung started to pepper the hybrid's face with little kisses and didn't stop till he heard a soft giggle. When he pulled away to look at Minho, the boy was blushing before he leant in and booped Jisung's face with his paci. "Aww, thank you kitten for giving me a kissie too", the rapper cooed, gently ruffling the little's hair. He was still a bit careful when it came to Minho's ears but when the hybrid rubbed his head into his hand, he eventually started petting his ears too.

Jisung noticed though that Minho still didn't purr, which he usually always did when he was little and received that amount of affection, so he knew the hybrid was still not feeling too great, some of the anxiety probably still lingering at the back of his mind. That was when he remembered something his mother had given him in hopes of helping her son deal with his stress better. He still had a mandala coloring book and colorful pencils, that were supposed to help him relax but had the opposite effect as Jisung usually got really agitated when his hand shook and he couldn't fill the spots neatly. "Minnie, I think I know something fun for us to do", the rapper announced. Minho looked at him curiously, the paci bobbing cutely between his lips. Placing the little to his feet, Jisung took his hand and smiled: "Let's get some stuff together." The walk back to his room took a bit, with Minho not coordinating his legs all that well but the other needed a break from carrying him around for a while. "Here, you can take the pencil case and I'll take the coloring book", Jisung hummed after he had pulled the items from a drawer next to his desk.

Minho clumsily waddled along on their way to the dining table, where the rapper placed the coloring book down and announced: "I'm just going to get us a drink. Can you wait here for me, Minnie?" When the hybrid looked ready to tear up again, he added: "I'm not going anywhere you can't see me." Jisung hurried to refill Minho's bottle and pour himself a glass of juice, which he both placed on the table before pulling the little into a hug. The little's heart was racing, watching his caregiver walk away but he wouldn't cry. The paci bobbed rapidly between his lips as he tried to calm himself and it felt like an eternity had passed till Jisung pulled him into a hug, praising: "Good job, kitten." Pulling away, he squished Minho's cheeks and promised: "I'll stay right here now. Come on, you can sit in my lap and we'll see if we find anything for you to color."