Attention Seeker✔️

6

Jisung gave Minho a few minutes to calm down and rest, knowing the boy was quite overhwelmed with everything that's been happening. Eventually, the rapper asked: "Do you want to go and tell the others? I'm sure they won't be as upset when they hear your reasons and I know that you don't want to go to bed without having this fight resolved." – "D-Dada", the little stammered, remembering the disappointed look on his daddy's face. Jisung smiled at him sadly and whispered: "Let hyung help you wash up a bit and then we'll go see him, yeah?" Minho gave a hesitant nod and wrapped his arms around his caregiver's neck, so the other could get up with him in his arms. Jisung waited a moment before opening the bedroom door, listening if anyone else was out in the hallway. He didn't want to run into anyone before Minho had a chance to emotionally prepare himself for the confrontation.

"There you go", the rapper cooed, running a cold washcloth across Minho's puffy face. The little's eyes were swollen, the skin an angry red, making it obvious that it hurt to keep them open but Jisung didn't want to send the boy to bed when there was unresolved conflict. Folding the washcloth, the caregiver rested it over Minho's irritated eyes and hummed: "Does that feel better, kitten?" The dancer gave a soft hum of confirmation, not daring to move. When the cloth had eventually turned warm, Jisung removed it and patted his friend's face dry with a soft towel before applying a light layer of moisturizer. Minho's eyes remained closed, the bright bathroom light stinging too badly, but he didn't mind, feeling save in his caregiver's presence. The rapper gently cupped his cheeks and pecked his nose, making the little squeak in surprise before he relaxed, soaking up the affection. "Hyung's just going to put some chapstick on your lips and then we're all good to go. You still okay with that?", Jisung asked softly, reaching for Minho's favorite strawberry chapstick. The dancer's lips were dry and cracked from crying and Jisung didn't want the skin to tear once the boy started talking again.

Though anxious, Minho gave a small nod and allowed his friend to put the chapstick on his lips. The sweet flavor was somewhat soothing, so he tried to focus on that when Jisung carried him on his hip. The pair slowly made their way down the hallway to the leader's room and Jisung struggled a bit, tapping his foot against the door to let the know they were there. Felix opened the door for them, the hurt still evident on his face when he stepped aside to let them in. Chan and Changbin looked at the two questioningly and Jisung sighed: "Someone wants to apologize and I think all of us need to have a talk. Could you please comet to the living room and get the others, so we'll only have to explain once." – "He slipped for real now?", Changbin questioned doubtfully and the younger nodded. Chan too wasn't so sure, so he gave his dongsaeng a long scrutinizing look and hummed: "How do you know that he is really little?" Minho's eyes burned as he heard the doubt in his daddy's voice. He knew he should've expected it but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

As his eyes brimmed with tears, Minho had to turn his face away to hide it from the oldest. Nuzzling against Jisung's shoulder, he soon found himself suckling on the rapper's sweater to keep calm. "We talked and Min explained himself. Just like I was able to tell he was faking it earlier by the way he talked, I can tell he really slipped by the way he sounded. Hyung, please trust me", Jisung pleaded. Sighing, Chan nodded and announced: "Let's all meet in the living room in five minutes, I'll get the others and you can go ahead, get settled and sort your thoughts." The rapper nodded with a relieved smile, they would hear them out.

Jisung could tell that Minho was growing restless in his lap as the rest of the group was settling in the living room, so he comfortingly rocked the little as they waited. He noticed that most of them were still upset and annoyed glares were exchanged but they would listen. "Kitten, do you want hyung to explain?", the rapper offered, feeling protective of his baby. Nodding nervously, Minho gripped the other's sleeve. He was anxious to face the other members but Jisung was right, they deserved an explanation. Maybe they'd even be more understanding although Chan had been so cold towards him earlier. As Jisung took a deep breath to brace himself, he absentmindedly fixed Minho's skirt for him, so that it covered his thighs perfectly and the dancer started to feel a little bit cuter in his outfit already. He made the mistake of glancing at the members faces as he waited for his caregiver to explain. Most looked annoyed, while Felix looked heartbroken and Chan's face was neutral, emotionless almost. Minho couldn't stand to look at them anymore and hid his face against Jisung, who comfortingly stroked his back.

"Alright, sorry for bothering y'all but Min wants to tell you something", the rapper started, gently nudging the little's side. Barely lifting his head from Jisung's shoulder, Minho mumbled: "Min sowwy." – "Yeah, so what happened today was that he had a really bad day. I think we've all figured that out already. Min really needed to slip, so that he could get away from his thoughts for a while, however, when he tried, it just didn't work. He couldn't slip and thought he'd surely slip if we just treated him like he was little. You can tell, it didn't work earlier. I told him that if we had known the truth, we could've helped him but he hadn't wanted to talk about what had happened and was afraid we'd pressure him to explain when he just wanted to leave it behind and forget. That's also why I don't exactly know what happened during his schedule earlier but I can tell that it was weighing heavily on him if he was so desperate to slip. We agreed that you deserved to know what's going on because our Min isn't an attention seeker. He just needed to feel loved after today", Jisung explained, looking at their friends expectantly.

Chan patted his thigh and sighed: "Kitten, come to daddy." Hesitantly, the little clambered off of Jisung and waddled over to the older. The leader wrapped his arms around Minho's waist and pulled the boy onto his lap. "Thank you for apologizing", he smiled genuinely, "It was really that bad today, hm?" The younger nodded, not daring to make eye contact with his daddy. To make it easier for the little, Chan shifted him, so that the dancer's back rested against his chest. This way they were close but didn't make eye contact, so Minho could relax a bit. Then Chan fixed his skirt for him and rested his chin on the little's shoulder from behind, humming: "You are aware of what you did wrong and know not to do it again in the future, don't you?" The younger nodded, almost tearing up again as he played with his daddy's hand, looking down at his lap. "If something similar to today happens again, you can talk to us. Just tell daddy or one of your hyungies that you need to be little but can't slip on your own, yeah? If you don't want to elaborate, just say that you don't want to talk about it right now and we won't press further but you need to be that honest with us. Can we agree on that?" Not looking up, Minho nodded and muttered: "Sowwy dada an' sowwy hyungies."

"Aish, kitten. What am I gonna do with you?", the leader chuckled, tightening his arms around the dancer. Looking offended, Minho protested: "Min nuh kitty cat!" – "What are you then?", Chan smiled teasingly, watching the little play with his fingers till he lifted the Aussie's hand to his mouth and lightly bit the side of it. With a quiet 'nom' he softly gnawed on the leader's hand. Chan's eyes widened and he fake-gasped: "Are you possibly a little baby tiger?" Giggling happily, the little slipped deeper at the use of his favorite petname and his eyes sparkled cutely. Soon the group broke into a laugh as the leader desperately tried to remove Minho's teeth from his hand. It didn't hurt him and Chan wasn't serious about getting him to let go but the little found his exaggerated struggle hilarious and the leader really wanted to see his baby laughing again. "Somebody give this baby a pacifier or I might not have a hand tomorrow", he whined dramatically, making the boy in his lap giggle all over again, kicking his legs.

They continued to fool around for a while but it was obvious that Minho was exhausted. Deciding it was bedtime for the little, Chan waited till each of the members had hugged him goodnight to show him that they weren't mad anymore and then carried him off to the bedrooms. Jisung followed suit, offering: "Do you want to stay with hyung tonight?" The dancer nodded and Chan had already walked in the direction of Jisung's room because he knew the little usually wanted to stay with the rapper when he had to go to seep in his headspace. While Jisung got changed, the leader went to Minho's room to get him a big shirt to sleep in and also collected his fluffy blanket and stuffed cat. The little was already dozing off as he waited for his daddy to return and sleepily let the older change his clothes.

Jisung already waited under the fluffy blanket for Minho to join him and instantly wrapped his arms around the little when he snuggled into him. Chan gently tucked the blanket around both of them and left a soft kiss on the dancer's forehead before turning to leave. "Wait, chu need kiss Soorie too", Minho protested when the leader's hand reached for the door handle. Chuckling, the oldest turned back around and walked up to the bed. He took the stuffed toy the little held out to him and kissed the plushie's soft fur before handing it back to a content Minho, who pressed the cat against his chest before scooting impossibly closer to Jisung. Smiling at his dongsaens, Chan whispered: "Sweet dreams, you two." Then he turned off the lights and quietly closed the door behind him.