It happens to the best of us ✔️

~6~

The two littles fell asleep not long after their meal, cuddled together on the couch. Luckily, Chan was able to keep the soup down, so Hyunjin allowed himself to go to sleep early too. The dancer was completely drained from taking care of two littles, one of which was sick and the other was throwing tantrums. Felix had come to terms with Chan having a little side too, though he pushed the thought of the leader maybe not being his daddy anymore far, far away. Felix was the first one to wake up, still in his headspace. He wriggled out of Chan's arms and made his way to his room to play for a while till the other two would wake up. Sure, playing alone was boring but he knew better than to wake his friends. Both of them really needed their sleep. Hyunjin woke up next and when he went to check on Chan, he found the leader alone on the couch. Careful not to wake him, he brushed his fingers against the older's forehead, noticing with relief that his fever was gone. As he waited for the Aussie to wake up, the dancer made his way to the kitchen to brew a pot of ginger tea. Though Chan seemed a lot better and didn't look nearly as pale, Hyunjin didn't know how well his stomach would feel, so he wanted him to have some tea first before they'd try food.

When Hyunjin took the tea to the living room, the leader was already sitting up on the couch, rubbing his face. Since he didn't know whether Chan was still in his headspace, he settled for a neutral: "Good morning." – "Morning, Jinnie", the older yawned. "Here I made you some tea. How do you feel?", Hyunjin smiled. The leader accepted the cup and answered: "A lot better actually, just a bit weak and tired still but otherwise fine." – "Was yesterday the first time you went into littlespace? If not, why didn't you tell us?" Frowning Chan looked at the younger, he had been little? Then the memories came back to him and he bit his lip. He should go talk to Felix. Where was the younger Aussie? Had he left. "I never slipped before. How is Felix doing? That must have been so confusing for him", the oldest mumbled. Hyunjin agreed sadly: "Yeah, he struggled a bit in the beginning. I passed by his room this morning and heard him playing. The two of you should probably talk some time. How was your experience in littlespace? Will you be little more often now, not that I'd mind taking care of you, just to know, so that I'm more prepared?" Well, did he like being little? Not really. Chan was used to taking care of himself, so giving away his responsibility and control over himself made him anxious. He felt defenseless although he trusted his friends. "Can't promise it won't happen again but it's not really something I'd enjoy on a regular basis", he shook his head.

Chan finished his tea and decided to go check on Felix who was probably still little if Hyunjin had heard him play earlier. He knocked at the door and cooed when Felix opener it wearing his cat-onesie. "Channie?" – "Hey sweetie, did you sleep alright? Can daddy and Lixxie have a talk?", the older smiled. "Daddy?" – "Yes, daddy not Channie" – "DADDY!", the little squeeled, throwing himself at Chan. The caregiver wrapped his arms around the younger and gently guided him to his bed. "I'm okay, baby. Daddy and Lixxie are both okay now", he hummed, "Daddy's sorry if he scared you." – "Chu still daddy?" – "Of course I am. Lix, I love taking care of you. Yeah, I slipped once and I can't promise it won't happen again but I'm not planning on doing it", Chan frowned. Felix looked at him in worry, mumbling: "Chu can be little if chu want to. Nuh stop 'cause of Lixxie." – "Baby, it's not like that. It almost stresses me out more when I'm little and I feel more relaxed when I'm big and get Lixxie-cuddles. It's hard to explain but you can ask Hyunjin about it. It really helps me relax and take my mind off of things when I take care of you. Although I'm the caregiver, I still feel really soft when I'm with my little Lixxie. Everytime you do something cute, I get all mushy inside and when you're happy and giggly, my heart just goes boom boom." With that, Felix cheeks turned a soft shade of pink and he hid against Chan's shoulder, who let out a quiet laugh and ran a hand through the little's hair.

"Sunshine, if I'm not mistaken, Minho and Jisung are coming back today, so let's go eat some breakfast with Jinnie-hyung and get ready, yeah?", the older announced, pulling Felix to the kitchen with him. The little happily waddled along, holding his daddy's hand. Hyunjin smiled when he saw his friends had talked and figured things out. He placed a bowl of cereal in front of his dongsaeng, greeting: "Good morning, cutie." – "Good mowning, Jinnie-hyung. Look, daddy's back", Felix grinned. The two caregivers laughed fondly and sat down to eat too. Hyunjin ate cereal like Felix while Chan stuck with some plain toast, if that settled alright, he'd get himself something else later. The little had gulped down his breakfast within minutes, wanting to get ready as fast as possible. Hyunjin helped him clean up because the younger had spilled a bit in his rush, making the older chuckle: "What are hurrying for?" – "Hyungie, Jiji-hyung and Minmin come latew", the Aussie whined impatiently, ready to run off to the bathroom as soon as Hyunjin was done wiping his shirt.