Little Space

good dreams

"Hyung, can I tell you something?" Jimin asked, fiddling with his fingers in his lap.

The two of them were sat in the living room around the table, eating their dinner. They had both gotten their favourite to eat together that night. They spent the day watching movies and cuddling like they did almost every time Jimin came over Yoongi's. The two had been together for a while at that point. In the back of his mind, Yoongi knew it was almost time to ask Jimin to move in.

Yoongi looked up at Jimin, chewing. He nodded to let Jimin know he was listening.

"Hyung, um... This is hard to say, but... Have you ever heard of little space?"

Yoongi furrowed his brow and shook his head a bit. "I don't think so." He put his chopsticks down and rested his elbows on the table, bringing his hands together. Yoongi placed his chin on his fingers and urged Jimin to continue.

"Well... it's this, really, um... There's no good way to explain it." Jimin sighed. His cheeks were burning and he could barely force himself to speak. "It's this headspace. Kind of. I'll explain that later. I'm just gonna say it all, I guess...?" Jimin swallowed and rubbed his face. He couldn't look Yoongi in the eyes. "There's this community of people. Caregivers and... littles. Caregivers take care of littles. Littles are, um... people who are able..." He trailed off and kept his head down.

"Jimin." When the younger looked up at Yoongi, he looked panicked. Yoongi just smiled gently. "It's okay."

Jimin took an incredibly deep breath and continued. "They're people who can regress their age, mentally, and become like a child again. At least in their head. It's age regression. And they act like children and believe they're a child and their caregivers take care of them and... the internet made it to be a kink but... Not really. And there's so many different versions but they all come down to... adults being kids again. Regressors like colouring and — and cartoons and being treated like kids and stuffed animals and...pacifiers and... It's... I'm..." Jimin groaned, putting his head in his hands.

He peeked up at Yoongi. Yoongi was looking up at him with an agape mouth. He cleared his throat and blinked rapidly.

"So... you're... kinky?" Yoongi asked with a cheeky, calm smile on his face. He chuckled a little bit. "I don't see a problem really."

Jimin's eyes welled with tears and he shook his head, looking down. "No, I promise. I'm not... kinky, no. Not with this." He licked his lips. "I'm just... I don't want you to... to think I'm weird and leave me but... I'm one of those people. The littles, I mean..."

"I don't know... what to say." Yoongi sat back and studied Jimin's face. He was obviously terrified.

"I... the last person I told never talked to me again... If you're not comfortable with it, I-I get it... I just don't want to... to lose you, hyung... I'm sorry." Jimin wiped at his eyes with his sleeves.

Yoongi cleared his throat again. "I don't know..." He took too long to think of the right words to say.

"You think it's weird, don't you? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I'll just..." Jimin stood up, picking up his jacket. "You don't have to... It's okay. I get it. I understand. I'll just leave. You don't have to... to call me or anything. It's okay." Jimin sniffled and turned away, hiding his tears from Yoongi as he neared the door.

"J-Jimin, wait — don't..." Yoongi trailed off sadly as Jimin closed the apartment door. "...Leave."

Yoongi groaned, hitting his head on the table. He felt like such an idiot. He didn't think it was weird, he found it kind of endearing. Jimin being small wasn't something new. The caregiver part especially intrigued him; taking care of Jimin almost felt... natural — regardless of the details.

His head shot up as he remembered he had picked Jimin up, meaning the younger had no way to get home. He stood up, running out of his apartment and down the stairs. It took over a few minutes for him to make his way to the lobby and get outside the complex.

Jimin was standing outside in the cold and hadn't even bothered to put on his jacket. Instead, he was crying into the coat softly, shivering. Cars drove by him on the street, each one creating a wind that rustled Jimin's hair and froze him more. Yoongi came up behind him and hugged him tightly. The younger just kept crying.

"I'm so sorry, Jimin. I... I didn't mean to make you feel rejected, I... I really like the idea... Just, come inside and... and we can talk. Okay?" Yoongi whispered against his ear.

Jimin shook his head. "You don't—" he hiccuped. "You don't have to. You d-don't have to talk to me again if y-you don't want to."

Yoongi held him tighter. "Hey, hey, hey." He turned Jimin to face him. He cupped Jimin's cheeks and looked him in the eye, completely serious. "Don't say that. I could never not talk to you. Now, please come back inside. I really wanna learn more."

Jimin sniffled and looked at him in awe. "R-Really?"

Yoongi nodded, moving his hands down to Jimin's shoulders. He smiled reassuringly. "Yes, really. Come on, honey, you're freezing."

Jimin let Yoongi lead him back to the apartment. The whole way up in the elevator, Jimin held Yoongi's hand and wiped at his face. He was completely embarrassed and shy. Yoongi continued to promise it was alright. Once they were back in the apartment, Yoongi sat Jimin on the couch and took a few tissues to dab lightly at his cheeks.

"Even crying... you're still pretty..." Yoongi muttered, grinning as Jimin blushed. When Jimin tilted his head down, Yoongi lifted his face to meet his eyes again. "Hey... I love you."

Jimin sniffled once more and smiled. "I love you too."

Yoongi sat on the couch next to him. "Tell me more about this little thing, okay? I wanna know. Don't be embarrassed."

Jimin nodded with a small smile. Yoongi leaned closer and hugged him as he started explaining.

~

Yoongi woke up with a start and immediately snapped his head to gaze over at Jimin, who was still sleeping. The elder sniffled, finding he had been crying in his sleep. He moved closer to his boyfriend, hugging him and squeezing tightly, peppering the side of his face with kisses.

Jimin woke up from the pressure around his stomach. "Ow, hyung, what the hell are you—" He squirmed as the kisses continued. He heard Yoongi sniffle. "Are you okay?" he asked, turning over in Yoongi's arms to face him.

Yoongi grinned and nodded quickly. "I'm okay. I just love you so much is all."

Jimin furrowed his brow with worry. "What? Then why are you crying?" He lifted a hand to wipe at his tears.

Yoongi shrugged and closed his eyes. He didn't feel the need to talk about something so emotional so early in the morning. "I love you. I mean it, I really do," he whispered.

Jimin chuckled softly and closed his eyes as well. He snuggled into Yoongi's chest and sighed. "I love you too."