Lonely Kitten

60

After a while of running around, Jisung went back to their spot in the grass. He was panting, shooting Changbin a tired smile when the other rapper joined him. The others were still playing tag but while the two did enjoy working out, they by far preferred strength training over cardio and running definitely wasn't their thing. That didn't mean they weren't happy for their mates though. It seemed like Minho was far better when it came to running than he let on but Jisung couldn't tell if his stamina was a genetic thing or built by excessive dancing. Either way, he enjoyed watching the hybrid so carefree and was glad the other could blow off some steam.

Next to join the pair was Hyunjin, drenched in sweat and panting as he dug through his bag in search of his water bottle. He had thought he knew his fellow dancers but now it seemed they only took breaks for his sake. If they could run like this they surely could dance a full day without breaks. "Are we getting old?", Jisung asked jokingly earning a glare from Changbin. Stretching out on the grass, the older snorted: "Chan-hyung and Minho-hyung are still keeping up, I only hope Felix won't want to do this frequently or I'll just have to make sure not give him sugar." - "This is the first time, I've seen Minho like this and it's concerning", Jisung whined, "He seems to enjoy himself a lot and I can't deny him if he ever wants to do it again but... I really don't want to run."

As the trio caught their breaths, they watched their friends continue to chase each other. Changbin was comfortably laying in the grass, when someone flopped onto his chest. "Hey there", the rapper chuckled, lifting his head to look at Felix. The hybrid too was pretty out of breath and only gave his mate a tired smile as he cuddled into his chest, not caring that their clothes were sticky with sweat. Jisung smiled, seeing so much of himself and Minho in them and glancing towards Minho. His heart fluttered with fondness for his mate. No, he didn't like running but if it made the hybrid this happy, he'd try to do more cardio, so he'd be able to keep up, or at least hold on a little longer than he had today.

Minho giggled as he chased after Chan, actually impressed that him and Jeongin were still keeping up, while Felix had tired himself out. He didn't like to point it out but they did have a natural advantage when it came to stamina. It was only a moment of distraction but that was enough for his foot to get caught on a root, sending the hybrid crashing to the ground. He was kind of lucky to have fallen in the grass but there were some twigs and stones lying around and something had cut his knee when he fell on it. Minho's hands shook when he propped himself up and examined the damage. Chan was already on his way over to check on him, when Minho realized there was a trail of blood running down his leg. He wasn't good with blood, never had been. As his breathing quickened, the hybrid couldn't help but slip into his headspace.

Jisung's stomach tightened with anxiety as his heart picked up speed. He had seen Minho tripping but all of them had tripped multiple times during their game and nothing had ever happened since they were playing in the grass. Now his instincts told him it was different and the fact that his mate hadn't gotten back up yet scared him.

By the time Chan reached Minho, the hybrid was already sobbing helplessly. The older was surprised because Minho had struck him as a tough guy when it came to enduring physical pain. How else would he have survived as a street cat? It wasn't even the pain that had the hybrid worked up like this. The pain was easily bearable, Minho merely feeling his skin sting a bit, but the sight of blood had spooked deeply spooked the little. Looking over his shoulder, Chan could see Jisung getting up and jogging towards them but Seungmin reached them first, closely followed by Jeongin.

It was Seungmin who reacted the fastest when Minho tried to slip two of his fingers between his lips to calm himself down. "Nu-uh, we don't do that", Seungmin scolded, "There's dirt all over your hands." Him and Jeongin made eye contact before Jeongin pulled the little into his lap and stroked his back. Cupping the tearstained cheeks and wiping at the freshly falling tears, Jeongin cooed: "You're okay, hm? Can you look at hyung?" Minho looked at the other, his eyes wide with surprise as he sniffled. How come Jeongin was referring to himself as hyung now? "I-I wa-wan my dada", the hybrid choked out, hiding his face against his friend's neck. Looking across the park, Seungmin promised: "Your daddy is almost here, sweetheart. Jisung is almost here." Chan looked at the younger in utter shock. What were they talking about?

While Jeongin did his best to calm Minho down and keep him from putting anything in his mouth, Seungmin explained: "Some people regress to a younger mental age when they're stressed or scared and when he tried to suckle on his fingers, I figured that was what was going on. It felt confirmed when he asked for his daddy or in other words his caregiver, who is someone that takes care of and watches out for them whenever such a regression happens." While Chan tried to take in the new information, Jeongin managed to distract Minho from his scare, pulling funny faces to make the little laugh.

"What happened?", Jisung panted, finally catching up to them. Patting Minho's head, Jeongin stated: "He slipped." - "Didn't he trip?", the rapper asked confused, kneeling down in front of his mate. "Yeah, that too", Seungmin chuckled, causing the older to freeze. Turning to Seungmin, Jisung stammered: "W-What?" - "Dada", Minho demanded, tugging on his caregiver's shirt as he wanted the other to pick him up. It seemed the cat was out of the bag now. The rapper was mortified but their friends were so chill about it. "You're okay, kitten. Let's go back to the others, hm?", Jisung hummed picking the little up. He tried to calm his racing heart, needing to seem in control of the situation even if it was only for his mate's sake. Since none of their friends acted like something weird was happening, the rapper reminded himself: 'It's only weird if you make it weird.'

He wasn't too fast with Minho in his arms but Chan and Seungmin stayed with them, flanking the pair on either side, while Jeongin jogged ahead. Hyunjin and the ChangLix couple looked at him in worry and confusion but the younger promised them everything would be just fine, while he dug through his backpack in search for his first aid kit. Jeongin had made a point of always carrying band-aids and bandages from the times when he'd frequently found himself being beaten up and needed to take care of his injuries. That was also why neither him nor Seungmin were strangers to littlespace as a coping mechanism. His mate had become his caregiver quite early in their relationship, so his protective instincts had immediately kicked in when he realized Minho had slipped.

While Seungmin explained what had happened, Chan helped Jisung sit down in the grass with Minho in his arms, supporting the younger, so he wouldn't lose his balance. "Look what I got here, bubs", Jeongin beamed, holding up a band-aid, "It has cute little paw prints on it. I'm going to put this on your booboo, okay?" Sniffling quietly, Minho nodded and watched Chan as the Aussie wet a tissue with water and cleaned away the blood, that had almost reached his sock by now. "Thank you", Jisung smiled, as their friends tended to Minho's injury and tried to hide their surprise at the revelation of the hybrid's headspace as to not make the couple uncomfortable.

"Dada, Minnie ish tiwed", Minho muttered, nuzzling his face against his mate's shoulder. Jisung shifted awkwardly in his spot, uncomfortable with the title being used in front of their friends. He kissed the little's forehead, whispering that everything was alright and glancing towards their bags. At least they wouldn't have to pack up much. Changbin and Felix packed up Jisung's belongings and Jeongin brought over Minho's bag, while Seungmin looked at Jisung and smiled: "It's okay, hyung. Take him home, we understand." Though surprised, the rapper apologized to all of them multiple times. It had been them arranging this hang out and now they were the first to leave, it didn't feel right but something in him told him his little was done playing for today and forcing a tired and shaken little to spend time in public didn't sound like the best idea.

Having clicked well, the others decided to stay at the park for a little while longer before all of them went to grab dinner together. It seemed like Minho's dream of fused friend groups might soon be reality.

Back at their apartment, Minho's phone vibrated with a message and after Jisung had helped him unlock it, a happy giggle left the hybrid's lips. It was a text from Jeongin, the younger admitting: "I'm like you and always wanted to have a little friend^^"