{completed} cuties » stray kids

silly » jeongchan

little!jeongin
caregiver!chan

jeongin feels insecure about how he talks in little space.

~*~

Jeongin had always liked his voice. It was soft and he knew it was, everyone knew it was. He sounded just as young as he really was, unlike Felix who sounded like a grown man in his 30s. Jeongin didn't know how he ended up with such a babyish and gentle voice, but he definitely wasn't complaining.

He loved how his friends all fawned over him whenever he spoke happily, as the pitch of his voice would rise with his growing happiness. The only thing his friends didn't like about his voice was the dolphin screams he could muster when he felt like being annoying, which was a lot of the time.

Jeongin loved his hyungs, though. He loved how preciously and gently they treated him, like he was a fine piece of art that had to be protected - because he was. And the urges the others felt to protect Jeongin amplified whenever he was little.

Chan's favourite thing about Jeongin when he was little was the way he spoke by far. It was adorable to hear him struggle over certain words (not in a sadistic way) and listen to how he pronounced his words and shortened/combined other words to make new ones. Jeongin was definitely an articulate little - he was always able to voice what he wanted and if he couldn't voice it, he would act it out.

At first, he didn't mind how he talked while little, but he noticed the other members laugh whenever he had trouble pronouncing something or spelling something out and it confused him. He didn't know that the others weren't laughing at him, but only laughing because he was so cute they couldn't help it.

Of course, Jeongin read the situation wrong, and being little his sensitivity had been multiplied by a hundred, and he snapped.

"Stop laughing at me!" He yelled, standing up with his fists clenched. "You're all being meanies!"

Chan stopped laughing first, his smile soon replaced with a look of worry as he stood up after Jeongin.

"Baby, we're not laughing at you," he tried to explain, but Jeongin was having none of it.

"You are!" He exclaimed. "You're all laughing 'cus I talk funny and it's mean! You're all mean!"

Chan definitely wasn't expecting that, standing shocked for a moment as Jeongin ran off to his and Chan's room, slamming the door behind him and leaving the other members stunned.

"I'll go talk to him," Chan sighed, making his way to his and Jeongin's room and knocking on the door.

As expected, Chan received a 'go away' from Jeongin on the other side of the room, but Chan knew he had to sort this out with his baby and he knew secretly that was what Jeongin wanted too.

So he opened the door, and one thing he was not expecting was for Jeongin to throw a pillow at him as soon as he entered, and while Chan knew Jeongin was upset with them, throwing things was still a big no-no.

"Hey," he snapped. "We don't throw things, Innie. I know you're upset, darling, but throwing things won't solve anything."

Jeongin looked up at Chan with teary eyes and nodded, and Chan moved to sit on the floor opposite his baby.

"Baby boy, none of us were trying to make fun of you or make you feel silly with how you talk," Chan began to explain. "We all adore you, little one, and we just find you so cute that when we laugh it's because we're just so happy that you're happy! You talk a lot when you're happy, love, so we're just trying to be happy with you. Do you understand, baby?"

Jeongin nodded sadly at Chan, wiping his tears with the sleeve of the pastel jumper he was wearing.

"Innie sowwy he yelled at everyone, Daddy," he apologised sadly. "And for throwing the piwwow at Daddy."

"That's ok, little baby," Chan replied, holding his arms out for Jeongin. "Now come and give Daddy a big hug."

Jeongin didn't hesitate, crawling into Chan's lap and crying into his caregiver's chest as Chan hugged him, swaying from side to side in an attempt to calm Jeongin down. In the end, it seemed to work, as Jeongin's sobs subsided into little whimpers and then into nothing but steady breaths, as Jeongin fell asleep on his caregiver's lap.

Chan kissed Jeongin's forehead, moving so he could at least lean against one of the beds. But Jeongin didn't stir, and Chan smiled at the sight of his baby so peaceful.

~*~

a lil short piece of fluff uwu