Arcadia 11

Thirty-seven

Opening the door to their dorm they were met with balloons, streamers, confetti, and seven other people. Jackson and Jaebeom stared at them in mild shock and confusion, while Yugyeom and BamBam rushed to say hi. Their voices low as they didn't want to disturb Markie.

All seven members of Bangtan were crowded around the youngest two of GOT7, excitedly chatting about BamBam's return and the things he missed. Youngjae greeted their guests and then disappeared down the hall to lay Little Markie down, but before he could leave the room Yoongi caught the dried tears on Markie's face. Excusing himself he got up and followed the two into Mark and Jackson's shared room. The two stuffed toys he owned sat on his bed, but other than that there was no indication that a Little even lived there. No clothing, toys, or even soft blankets could be found. Finding this a bit discouraging he didn't notice when Markie spotted him, or when the Little started making grabby hands at him, all he could think about was fixing their problems.

"'Oogi!" A small voice called, breaking him from his thoughts and putting a smile on his face.

"Why, if it isn't the cutest little baby!" He said, looking straight at Markie, he knew his tough guy facade didn't mean anything when it came to those he cared about. Stepping further into the room, he joined the two on what he assumed to be Mark's half, a few pictures of his family and some of his gaming equipment took up the desk, but other than that, there wasn't much in terms of decorations. "How have you been, precious?"

Markie smiled, grabbing the hem of his shirt and tugging on it until he came closer. He gave a satisfied smile and soft hum, then closed his eyes. Contentment seemed to radiate from him, but it was hard to miss the sunken cheeks, pale skin, and heavy bags under his eyes.

"He's been regressed since they took him to the hospital, we're trying our best to make him feel safe and loved, but on days like this, it's hard." Youngjae murmured, petting the Little's head. "I know it's selfish and wrong, but I just-"

Yoongi cut him off with one look. He had seen Mark break down, seen how utterly and totally the other male had given up of himself for these boys, and he'd be damned if they didn't love him whole heartedly. "Did Jackon ever tell you how he found out?"

That got him a shake of the head and wide eyes staring at him in confusion. "Mark had just left your dorm, he wasn't used to you guys noticing him. He said something about feeling like he was taking attention that didn't belong to him." The younger winced, but Yoongi just pressed on. "He came by to see Taehyung,  who was one of the only people to know he'd been a Little and had been the only place he felt comfortable regressing. It had been maybe three, four weeks since I had seen Mark, but it was obvious there was something going on with him."

He heard someone walking up the hall, but ignored it and kept going. "Poor kid was exhausted and stressed to the point that he couldn't even regress all the way. When he first regressed, all his Little side wanted to do was be held, and shown love." The person stopped outside the door, sighing before entering. "It took all of us promising him he was safe and that no one would judge him for him to give in just a bit more, not fully, he never did fully regress that day. When we talked to Namjoon about calling Jackson and having at least one of your members made aware of Mark's Little Space..." He let out a sigh, the image of Mark's panicked breathing and wide, terrified eyes all he could see for weeks, even now the image was hard to repress.

"He was more scared of being  kicked out of your group than he was of a group of basically strangers taking care of his Little side." A deep voice cut in. Yoongi turned to see Namjoon, he was dressed for Little Space, but had yet to decide if he wanted to regress. "It was so... hard to watch someone so strong and so dependable crumble into nothing. He was devastated at the thought of you guys finding out and hating him. By the time we finally talked him down and got him to relax again, I gave him that tiger, hoping it would prove that we would never turn our backs on him." Yoongi gave Namjoon a smile and held out his hand, to which Namjoon eagerly clung to.

"When Jackson finally met Namjoon and accepted him without hesitation, I knew Jackson would do whatever it took to keep Mark from falling into his mind again. We thought he would be taken care of and loved, but then we got a call from Jisoo," At Youngjae's confused stare he clarified. "your physician used to work for the flower shop I did deliveries for. We've been friends and kept in touch all these years. He was the one to suggest regression as a way to help with my anxiety, it didn't work for me, but it did for Namjoon."

"So, our doctor knows all about this stuff? Why didn't we hear about this sooner?" The younger asked in defiance.

"Would you have listened?" Namjoon asked. Watching as Youngjae deflated and gave a shrug.

"Jisoo was heartbroken at how little care Mark had been receiving at home. He threatened to take Mark and quit, said he'd send Markie back to L.A. and find a new job somewhere the artists are actually treated with respect. He's seen enough to know that Mark isn't the only one hiding his coping mechanism from his band."

"He'd be damned if Mark got hurt while doing it though." Namjoon said, eyes locked on the sleeping form before him. Without thinking he squeezed Yoongi's hand a gave a tired yawn.

"Alright, let's get you to bed. Someone needs a nap." Yoongi whispered, going to steer his Little out of the room.

"Wait, you don't... He... Markie gets lonely when he sleeps." Youngjae stuttered out, embarrassed to be talking to the members of BTS so casually. "What I mean is Yoongi-sii, Namjoon-sii is more than welcome to share Markie's bed, he sleeps better when there's someone with him." He said, his eyes staring at Namjoon's grass stained knees.

"Sleep with Markie?" Namjoon asked, starting to slip into Little Space, and who was Yoongi to deny his baby anything?

"Yes, you can sleep here. But you have to sleep, no waking up the baby or Hoseokie won't give you cuddles tonight." He knew that was a lie, Big or Little Hoseok would find a way to cuddle with Namjoon, the two were always finding ways to cuddle without being caught on camera, both reveling in the physical affection.

Youngjae moved over enough for Namjoon to slide in, immediately curling around the other Little and falling straight to sleep.

"Do you know lucky you are that Markie is comfortable around you?" Yoongi asked after a few minutes. "It took us years and so much work to get Namjoon to even admit there was something going on. Even now, he keeps things to himself because he doesn't think we would approve or that we would even care." Yoongi ran a hand over his baby's cheek. "Be grateful Mark opened up to you, because there's a lot of idols out there that lose their members instead."