Attention Seeker✔️

3

It seemed the movie the group had been watching had ended and Seungmin walked past Chan and Minho to put away their bowl of popcorn. Noticing the dancer sitting in Chan's lap, Seungmin couldn't help but coo. "He slipped?", the vocalist concluded, petting his friend's head. Feeling guilty, Minho stayed quiet and just picked up another piece of chicken to munch on. He doubted he could keep up appearances if he had to use his voice, so he tried his hardest to avoid it, waiting for Chan to answer for him: "He had a bit of a rough day, so I guess it's good that he gets a break from that. Poor boy didn't even eat lunch." – "Aww, kitten! You need to eat well", Seungmin pouted, running his hand through Minho's hair and lightly scratching his scalp, "Should I tell the others that he's little?" Taking a moment to think, Chan eventually nodded and smiled: "Yeah, please do. I think our little baby tiger is in desperate need of some cuddles when he's done eating, hmm?" Minho turned to him with a pout and nodded. He really was in desperate need of some cuddles and he couldn't stop his heart from fluttering when the older called him their 'baby tiger', whether that was enough to make him feel small or not. Watching the cute interaction, Seungmin blew the dancer a kiss before walking off to inform the other members that their friend had slipped.

A part of Minho knew that faking wasn't good, whether it was faking an illness to get out of chores or faking being in littlespace to get some extra cuddles from his caregivers, but he told himself that he wouldn't be faking it for much longer. He'd surely slip at some point once his members were there to cuddle him and he couldn't really help it, just needing someone to show him that he was indeed appreciated and loved. Those were things he had been doubting all afternoon, slowly believing the choreographer's words, that his group really didn't like to drag him along. Once Minho finished eating his dinner, he allowed Chan to help him wash his face although it felt very awkward before the two headed towards the living room. "Heeyyy", Jisung dragged out, beaming at the dancer when he met them in the hallway, "I heard that our kitten needs some cuddles." Minho smiled back, giving a shy nod as he latched onto the rapper. Jisung hugged the little back, just holding him close for a moment before tickling his sides. The action caused Minho to tense up and pout at him. With a frown, the rapper stopped tickling him and took some time to look his friend over more closely.

When Jisung usually tickled Minho, the little would squeal and try to run away from him but the rapper figured his friend had just had a bad day and wasn't in the mood for things like that right now. There were a few more oddities though, for example that Minho had gone entirely non-verbal despite acting like he felt around five years old, which was his usual mental age when he slipped. That was just what his headspace was like, filled with fast and excited rambles that sometimes blurred together to incoherent babbling the more passionate he felt about a topic, yet he always somehow managed to verbally express himself, unlike today. Today it was quiet around Minho, which made Jisung feel a little uneasy as he wondered just how bad the other's day could've been if it still affected him while he was little. Not being able to escape your worries even in the safe place created inside your mind was cruel and it would take a lot for that to happen, so what could Minho have possibly been through today?

Jisung carried the dancer to the living room and took a seat on the couch, so he could hold him in his lap. "Are you feeling okay, Min?", he hummed, just to be sure, "You seem a bit off to me." Minho cursed himself inwardly. With how well his friends knew him, he should've known that someone would notice him not acting like he usually did. Mainly because he didn't remember what he was like when he was regressed and tried to act like he thought someone being in littlespace would. He nodded nervously, cuddling into Jisung, so he could hide his face against the rapper's shoulder. Jisung only gave a sad sigh as he rubbed the dancer's back. Something certainly didn't sit right with him but as long as Minho didn't tell him what was wrong, there was nothing he could do about it.

"MIN!", Hyunjin squealed happily. The older flinched but looked up at his fellow dancer, spotting his stuffed cat in his dongsaeng's hands. His eyes widened and he made grabby hands at the soft toy. Chuckling, Hyunjin reminded: "Use your words, cutie." Feeling insecure about how he was supposed to sound, Minho bit his lip. There was no way he could give up on getting his plushie but he was afraid he'd give himself away if he talked. Pouting at the younger, he made even more urgent grabby hands and gave his friend big puppy eyes. Luckily, Jisung stepped up for him and explained: "It's alright, Jinnie. Minnie's had a rough day and hasn't said a single word all evening. You know how much he loves his cat, he would've long since asked for it of he was okay with using his words right now." Hyunjin cooed sympathetically as he stroked Minho's blushing cheek before handing him his stuffed cat.

The next member to join them was Changbin, followed closely by Felix, who brought a sippy cup filled with hot cocoa, as well as a cookie to cheer his friend up. Wanting to create as safe of an environment for a little as possible, Changbin turned on the TV and changed channels till he had found a cartoon that he could play at low volume. It did have the desired effect, helping Minho to relax further into Jisung's chest as his head went slightly fuzzy. Minho felt so close to slipping but somehow, he was stuck. Felix feeding him a cookie helped tremendously but it wasn't enough. It still wasn't enough when the Aussie carefully tipped the sippy cup against his lips and helped him wash down the last cookie crumbs. Not long after that, the entire group had gathered in the living room, Jeongin being the last to join them. The maknae had taken a shower and returned to the living room with Minho's fluffy blanket thrown over his shoulder. He carefully covered Minho and Jisung with it, ruffling the dancer's damp hair. In an attempt to make their friend laugh, the members pulled funny faces and joked around but a laugh was hard to get. They were already relieved when they saw Minho smile, knowing he was feeling better than before.

Their fun didn't last long though. The dancer was exhausted to the bone and he soon dropped his chin on Jisung's shoulder as he pressed tighter against the rapper and closed his tired eyes. He couldn't sleep yet but he just wanted to be held and to feel loved. Sure enough, his dongsaeng instinctively wrapped one arm around his waist, holding him tight while he used the other hand to stroke his back. Minho might not have been little but he still melted into the touch, letting out a soft sigh. "Do you want to go to bed kitten?", Jisung whispered but received no answer. Concluding that the boy had already fallen asleep on him, he decided to voice his concerns to the rest of the group. In a hushed voice, the rapper admitted: "Guys, do you think their choreographing session went really bad? Min is not acting like himself at all and it's worrying me." – "I know that he had been pissed earlier but I don't know what might have happened for him to be like this", Chan hummed as he looked over at the pair.

With everyone thinking Minho was asleep, it came as a shock when the dancer eventually spoke up, startling the members. He spoke quietly, making his voice sound slightly higher than usual when he admitted: "He- He said I'm such a bad dancer and- and that he couldn't imagine how bad the rest of you must be at dancing if you're worse than me." The members felt their hearts break and Jisung tightened his hug. Though the rapper's stomach clenched in sympathy, he was also hit by a realization. Although Minho sounded quite funny with his voice high and distorted like that, he didn't sound little. At least he didn't sound the slightest bit like he usually did when he was regressed. "I'm sorry, hyung", Jisung sighed sadly and felt the dancer tense in his lap. Minho froze when he heard his friend use honorifics, just as the rest of the group, staring at the pair in shock. Afraid that he may have misinterpreted something, Jisung asked carefully: "You're not little, are you?"