Lonely Kitten

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Although their friends now knew about Minho's headspace and were pretty accepting, the couple still tried to keep their dynamics to themselves, aside from the occasional playdate with Jeongin that is. To avoid any awkward situations, nobody had dared to mention the incident at the park again, which Minho was grateful for. He did however sit Hyunjin and Felix down, explaining what was going on with him. The hybrid had once slipped in their company, leaving the younger two confused as he had suddenly stopped communicating and only kept crying. Considering Minho spent most of his days dancing with them, chances were high a similar situation could arise again, so Hyunjin and Felix should be aware of his regression and how to deal with it.

Still, Minho did his best to avoid slipping around anyone other than Jisung. He only ever really felt comfortable in his littlespace when his caregiver was around, which might have been due to his separation anxiety. The bond Minho now had with his mate, that let him sense whenever the rapper was in trouble, had helped greatly with that but it didn't mean he'd appreciate them being apart. Jisung had been rather busy lately, so the older had avoided his headspace, not wanting to put pressure on his mate but also not wanting to regress without him. The rapper had asked Minho about it, when he noticed it had been a while since the hybrid had last slipped, but the older had lied and insisted that he had slipped a few times while home alone and that he was handling it alright.

Jisung had been shocked to hear that, knowing how much affection Minho usually needed in his headspace and how he'd get anxiety attacks if the rapper wasn't close by. Remembering that his mate had once been home alone while little and had baked cakepops without supervision, Jisung had to admit that maybe the other wasn't that dependent on him anymore. He also told himself that Minho's first experiences with littlespace were when the hybrid was entirely on his own, so him slipping without his caregiver didn't sound that far-fetched. Once Jisung's work allowed him a little free time, he'd make sure to treat Minho on a date to make up for how distant they had become lately.

The amount of time Minho spent without ever slipping into his headspace soon started to wear on the hybrid. He usually only saw Jisung at night when he came home to sleep, which sadly wasn't every night, the rappers starting to pull more all-nighters again. Hyunjin and Felix too figured that something was going on. Chan hadn't asked Hyunjin on any more dates and when the dancer asked, Chan apologized that he was drowning in his work. Changbin and Felix talked on the phone daily, though their conversation often ended up rather short. The rapper promised to take Felix out as soon as he got the chance to. Neither of the two dancers took the separation as hard as Minho though.

Minho had developed a near constant headache, that one day even got bad enough for the hybrid to call in sick and have someone else take over his shift at the café. It wasn't so bad that he really couldn't leave the apartment but hiding his ears made it worse and he didn't think he'd be able to conceal his animalistic features for that long. Jisung was unaware of what was going on with his mate as he had already left for the studio before the older woke up. Usually, they'd get up together but Jisung had set an early alarm, so they could get started earlier and wouldn't have to pull an all-nighter. The rapper had been a bit anxious lately but he blamed his work and lack of sleep for it. He usually got like this when they were busy for too long. That was also why he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on the day Minho stayed home.

When Minho texted their dance-racha group-chat, informing his dongsaengs that he wouldn't be able to make it that day because he had a bad headache, Felix decided to pay him a visit after school. The two hybrids hung out for most of the afternoon, watching movies together. Felix easily understood why Minho couldn't hide his ears, so he didn't blame him for staying home despite not being in that bad condition. He let the older curl up on the couch with his head in the Aussie's lap. Felix scratching his scalp and massaging the base of his cat ears eventually soothed Minho's headache enough for him to agree to a small meal after putting off eating for most of the day. Together they cooked up something light and Felix prepared a pot larger pot of broth, so his hyung had something warm to sip for the rest of the day, so he'd stay hydrated and get in some electrolytes, which should help with his headache at least a little.

The next day, Minho was back to dancing with his friends, though they could tell he wasn't fully back to his usual self, the mood in the practice room a little gloomy. That was also why they didn't dance for too long and decided to take it easy, so Minho wouldn't strain himself too much too early. What Hyunjin and Felix didn't know, was that the only way for Minho to get better was to slip into his headspace. Minho told himself he would do that eventually but he wanted to wait till Jisung had time for him. His plan didn't work out however and the hybrid found himself on the verge of slipping. Minho's mind was already a little fuzzy when he parted ways with Hyunjin and Felix and when he was out, walking back to the apartment, so he could get some fresh air, the fuzziness overtook him and he quickly pulled up his hood to hide his ears when they suddenly popped out.

Passing a small convenience store, Minho decided to buy himself a snack. He couldn't disturb Jisung while the caregiver was still drowning in work, so he should occupy himself some other way, even if it meant watching movies back to back while he munched on his snacks. After picking out a few sweet treats and savory snacks, Minho passed the cooling rack on his way to the check-out. Next to the juice boxes, there were a few small milk cartons with cute print on them. Instantly craving his milk, the little scanned over the different flavors they offered. There was no vanilla milk, which made him pout as he tried to decide whether he wanted banana, strawberry or chocolate instead. In the end, Minho grabbed one carton of strawberry milk before waddling to the check-out.

Luckily, there was a self-check-out option, so he didn't have to interact with anyone, quickly scanning his items before swiping his card. With the plastic bag dangling on his right wrist, Minho punched the straw into the milk carton and tried the first sip. His eyes widened in surprise. This milk tasted amazing. It somehow tasted richer than the vanilla milk Jisung always got him and the fruity flavor made his ears twitch excitedly. He purred softly as he suckled on the straw, slowly waddling back to the apartment building. By the time he made it there, he had finished his milk and threw the carton into the trashcan outside the building. His stomach rumbled as he entered the elevator, making Minho furrow his brows in surprise. He wasn't hungry, so why was his tummy talking to him?

Minho kicked off his shoes by the front door and dropped the plastic bag filled with snacks on the coffee table before he made his way to the bedroom. He clumsily pulled his hoodie over his head to replace it with one of Jisung's. Taking a deep breath to absorb as much of the rapper's scent as possible, the little hugged himself and pouted. He missed his dada. At the same time, Minho knew he shouldn't disturb Jisung while he was busy. Still pouting, the boy clambered onto the bed and dug through the pillows till he had found his baby blanket. If his mate wasn't there to cuddle him, he'd have to make do with what he got. He found his paci in Jisung's bedside drawer and quickly slipped it between his lips.

Clutching his blanket, Minho hopped off the bed, which caused his stomach to gurgle loudly. The little burped softly behind his paci, slipping one hand under his hoodie to rub his noisy tummy. By now, he had lost his appetite and doubted he'd open his snacks anytime soon but he could find himself a cute movie as a distraction from both, his loneliness and the ache that started to grow under his palm. Minho wished he could call Jisung and have his caregiver come home to give him tummy rubs and hold him as he started feeling progressively unwell but something held him back. Alone, Minho curled up on the couch and started to watch "Aristocats", as he sucked on his pacifier, his hands anxiously kneading his baby blanket.