Lonely Kitten

69

Though Minho quickly bounced back after the incident, it kept Jisung thinking for quite some time. He hadn't seen the hybrid in his headspace for a while and it made him worry. Had Minho refrained from slipping all together or had he tried his best to slip on his own as to not stress Jisung out? If he forgot about his lactose intolerance when in his headspace, there should've been an accident much earlier, had he tried to take care of himself, so the rapper figured his mate had been going without slipping for quite some time. Sure, Jisung had been quite distant but he had thought that Minho would voice his needs but apparently, he had been wrong. As they went back to their everyday life, the younger made sure to frequently check in with his mate to make sure he was doing alright. He couldn't help but blame himself for the incident. He was Minho's caregiver, so it was his duty to keep the little safe, which was difficult when he wasn't around when the other regressed but the only reason he had regressed uncontrolled was because Jisung had failed to monitor his regressions and make sure he didn't put it off for too long. They really needed to work something out to ensure the hybrid's headspace wouldn't end up being neglected again. Jisung figured that his mate had held himself back to avoid adding to the rapper's stress, which was pretty considerate of him but couldn't work well for longer periods of time. Not wanting to give Minho the feeling like he couldn't come to him with his worries, Jisung tried to hide how much his work day might have weighed him down.

Minho could feel the two of them grow more distant, despite being physically closer. Jisung made sure that they spent more time around each other and spoke more frequently but it somehow didn't feel right to the older. Even on the days that Minho could sense his mate's tensions and nerves, the younger would insist everything was fine and that he had enjoyed himself at the studio. Watching Jisung's hands tremble as they made dinner, broke the hybrid's heart because Jisung just wouldn't acknowledge that anything was out of place. Minho spent many nights laying awake, thinking what he had done to lose his mate's trust. He knew he could calm Jisung down if only the younger opened up to him but he didn't. It felt like they weren't close enough to share their worries with each other anymore, so Minho was afraid to mention how he felt their relationship was crumbling. Afraid that it was all in his head anyway because they did talk pretty often and see each other every day, the older just pretended everything was perfectly fine, just like Jisung too had become a master at pretending.

With their thrown-off dynamics, it didn't feel right to Minho to slip besides, whatever caused Jisung to withdraw like this, must be weighting on the younger quite heavily, so who was Minho to add to the rapper's burden? Their nightly cuddles had already started to feel awkward a week ago but neither wanted to deny the other cuddles despite it being rather uncomfortable with the unspoken tension between them. When Minho rested his head on Jisung's chest one day, listening to the rapper's heartbeat, he couldn't help but tear up at the memory of how it used to feel. He couldn't stand this anymore and with how long he had spent without regressing, he ended up slipping fast. Roughly scrubbing at his eyes, Minho wordlessly sat up and got out of bed. He needed to get away from whatever this was if he didn't want to break down in front of Jisung. Curling up on the couch, the little chewed on the cuff of his sleeve as he allowed the tears to run freely down his cheeks.

Jisung had originally thought that Minho only had to use the bathroom but it had already been a while since the hybrid had gotten up and Jisung could feel his chest tighten painfully. He didn't know why his chest ached but it was obvious, there was no way he'd be sleeping anytime soon. Tiredly rolling out of bed, the rapper ventured out to the living room and frowned at the muffled sobs. "Min?", Jisung whispered, slowly making his way towards the couch. The only response he got was a soft hiccup so he quietly took a seat next to the other. The rapper's heart broke when Minho flinched away from his touch and crawled to the far side of the couch to get some space. Not wanting to corner his mate too much, Jisung remained on the other side of the couch but hummed: "What's wrong, Min?" Minho shook his head as his chest hitched with sobs. Growing more worked up, the little started to fuss with his ears, a nervous habit of his that always had Jisung worried. When Minho started to scratch at his ears, the other had to intervene, quickly moving over and grabbing the hybrid's wrists. By now, Jisung had figured that his mate had slipped, warning quietly: "We don't do that, kitten. Your ears are too precious and sensitive for that."

Wrapping Minho in a hug, Jisung successfully pinned Minho's arms to his sides, which initially earned him a few whines but the hybrid barely struggled against his hold. Jisung gently swayed them from side to side, shushing his mate softly before starting to hum a slow song. Sniffling shakily, Minho melted into the other's hold and tried to absorb as much of the rapper's comforting scent as he could. "There we go. Nice deep breaths, kitten", Jisung smiled, "Daddy's got you." Whining softly, Minho latched onto the fabric on his caregiver's shoulder. After taking a few minutes to calm down, Jisung tried again: "Minnie, can you tell daddy what got you so upset? I want to help but I don't know how." He only got a quiet hum as Minho suckled on his shirt and was ready to give up for the time being when the little pulled away, mumbling: "Dada nuh wan' Minnie nuh mowe." - "Why would I not want you anymore, kitten?", Jisung frowned, alarmed by the statement. Minho didn't elaborate though, tiredly laying in his mate's arms as long as the rapper would have him.

"Dada nuh tawk to Min nuh mowe", Minho claimed after a few minutes and Jisung was ready to argue because he had made a real effort to talk to the other frequently no matter how busy he might have been with work. The words died on his tongue though when he realized that despite them chatting, they haven't really 'talked' in a long time. Nuzzling his face into the hybrid's hair, Jisung hummed: "You're right, kitten. Daddy didn't really talk to you much lately, did he? You went without slipping for a long time before and I thought you didn't want to ask me to take care of you because you thought I was stressed, so I tried to make it seem like I wasn't. I didn't want to tell you what was on my mind, afraid that you'd hold yourself back from slipping because you didn't feel like I could handle it. It was never my intention to distance myself like that, I just didn't want you to neglect your headspace the way you did before. I wanted you to worry about yourself first, so I didn't want to put my worries onto your shoulders. It's only now I see, that my actions were doing the exact opposite of what I had intended and I'm sorry. There's no way I wouldn't want you anymore, kitten."

Minho remained quiet for some time, his tired brain taking longer to process Jisung's confession. "So, Dada wuv Minnie wike Minnie wuv dada?", the hybrid asked innocently. To his shock, Jisung shook his head. Pecking Minho's forehead, the rapper denied: "Daddy loves you more than that, so much more. You can't even imagine." Chewing on his bottom lip, Minho tried to figure out how much that might be because he knew he loved his daddy the most and he couldn't imagine anything more than that but if his daddy said so, it had to be a lot.

"You look exhausted, kitten", Jisung cooed, reaching up to pet the little's ears, "Should we go wash your face and head back to bed for cuddles?" - "Cuddwes!", Minho agreed, a small smile finally spreading on his lips. Chuckling quietly, the rapper picked him up and placed him on his hip. They made their way to the bathroom in silence, Minho drowsily resting his head on his mate's shoulder. The little had started to suckle on Jisung's shirt again and whined when the other placed him down on the closed toilet lid. Shushing Minho quietly, the rapper ran a washcloth under warm water and gently cleaned away the drying tear tracks before applying a thin layer of moisturizer. When he picked the little back up, he instantly latched onto his shirt again, so as soon as they made it to the bedroom Jisung retrieved his mate's pacifier. Contently suckling on his comfort item, Minho curled up in Jisung's arms. With his world finally okay again and his daddy gently petting his ears, it didn't take long for the little to purr himself to sleep.