Without Words ✔️

Tummy time gone wrong

Seungmin had eventually stretched out on the carpet with Chan cuddled into his side, the little snoring softly from the congestion. Unable to really move Chan while he slept, the members had decided to have a Disney movie marathon, setting in the living room, so they'd be close by should their little need them. Luckily, when the leader woke up a few hours later, his fever had gone down a bit and his head wasn't hurting as badly. He was still just as little though. He gave a muffled whine behind the fingers lodged between his teeth. "Had a good nap?", Seungmin whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to Chan's messy curls. The little babbled something unintelligible, crawling away from Seungmin and curling up in Felix' lap. When the dancer looked at him, Chan made grabby hands at the coffee table, the members watching him in confusion and desperation.

"You want some more tea?", Felix guessed, picking up the sippy cup from the coffee table. Chan nodded but refused to get out of his caregiver's lap. Chuckling, Changbin took the sippy from Felix and went to refill it while the members paused their movie to fuss over their little instead. Chan seemed to enjoy the attention, giggling at the funny faces Jisung pulled at him. Hyunjin had gone to collect the thermometer, smiling when he returned and found Chan eagerly latching onto the sippy cup, Changbin held to his lips. The little gave a weak cough when he moved away from the sippy, his swollen throat making it difficult to swallow without choking. Lightly patting Chan's back, the rapper muttered praises before allowing Hyunjin to take their little's temperature. It seemed the medicine was doing a great job for the time being, so the members found themselves in a rather tricky situation. They had a baby to entertain.

What was tricky about that, was that Chan only had little gear tending to his usual headspace range and with how tiny he had slipped, he found no interest in his coloring books, blocks and jigsaw puzzles. After searching up activities for infants, Jeongin had an idea. He decided to introduce Chan to tummy time. Laying down on his tummy, a picture book in his hands, the maknae waited for Felix to place Chan next to him. The little seemed to like the position, intently studying the illustrations while he listened to Jeongin telling the story.

While their youngest kept Chan occupied, the other members had a meal and Jisung found a small container, that he filled with beads and wrapped in tape as a makeshift rattle for their baby leader. After finishing their story, Jeongin traded places with Changbin, so he too could eat something. The rapper encouraged Chan to drink a few more sips, wanting him to stay hydrated in hopes of kicking this cold fast. The little soon grew fussy again though. While his fever was still down, the urge to cough had returned with a vengeance and he struggled to go five minutes without coughing.

Still lying on his front, Chan buried his face in his arms, muffling cough after cough. All the coughing was upsetting his tummy, especially while lying on it, so he was grateful when Minho helped him sit up. A hoarse whine left his lips before he choked out another cough, tearing up as Minho rubbed his back through the fit. Seungmin had gone to refill Chan's sippy cup with apple juice, tipping it against the little's lips when the coughing had finally tapered off. Whining, Chan shook his head and moved away from the sippy. His tummy was not happy and he didn't want any more liquid swishing around in there. "Just a few sips to soothe your throat, bub", the vocalist shushed, cupping his friend's cheek. Eventually, Chan accepted a few sips just because trying to argue his point seemed impossible.

What he really wasn't happy about though, was when they placed him down on his tummy again. It triggered a bout of hiccups, which made him even queasier. Changbin showed Chan the rattle Jisung had created but the little wasn't really interested. Hiccupping again, he whined in discomfort. Thinking the little was simply confused by his body's workings, Changbin chuckled and traced Chan's back. He had almost calmed the other down another hiccup rocked the Aussie's already upset tummy. Whimpering, the little rested his forehead on his arms and tried to breathe through the queasiness. Chan soon realized that this wouldn't end well if he didn't relieve the pressure on his tummy, so he lifted his head and braced his palm against the carpet, trying to push off the floor enough to roll over. The fever had zapped his strength though, causing him lay his head down again, swallowing the saliva pooling in mouth.

Though Chan heard his caregivers talk, he couldn't focus enough to figure out what they were saying. Holding his breath, he tried to suppress the hiccups but failed miserably, a sickly burp slipping out. Chan's heart raced and he tried to focus on the hand stroking his back, so he could distract himself from his twisting tummy. The members knew that Chan was not content but with him being nonverbal, they had a hard time figuring out what he needed. No matter what question they asked, the little would only respond with whines and whimpers. Whispering soothing nothings, Changbin stroked Chan's back in hopes of comforting him till they had figured out what was bothering him but they shouldn't get the chance to. Chan was barely able to lift his head from his arms as his stomach lurched, cloudy liquid gushing from his lips. Though startled, Changbin reacted immediately, slipping his arm under the little's chest and hoisting him up into a sitting position.

It was only now that they could see his face properly, that the members noticed how ashy pale Chan's skin looked as he hung limp in Changbin's arms, the rapper cradling him against his chest. Hiccupping nauseously, Chan squeezed his eyes shut and got sick again. Tears spilled down his cheeks and he whimpered as Minho crouched next to them, holding a bucket under the little's chin just in time to catch the next round of sick. "Oh, bub", the dancer cooed as Chan's chest hitched with a helpless sob. With one arm still looped around the leader's chest, Changbin used his other hand to pat his friend's back as he coughed up another mouthful. Switching from patting his back to tracing it, the rapper whispered: "Breathe, baby. It's okay, just catch your breath."

It took a while for Chan to calm down but he eventually leant back against Changbin's chest, completely spent. He tuned out the hushed conversation between his caregivers, too exhausted to pay attention. Only opening his eyes again when Jisung picked him out of Changbin's arms, Chan sniffled, trying to figure out what his caregiver was doing. The rapper had made a beeline for the bathroom, setting Chan down on the rug as he ran the Aussie a warm bubble bath. With his tummy still churning, Chan whimpered when Jisung wanted to get him out of his soiled shirt. Lifting his arms over his head caused Chan's stomach to give an angry gurgle but Jisung shushed the little quietly before he could break into tears again. The rapper had some difficulties getting Chan into the tub but once the Aussie was settled, clutching his rubber duck, the tension melted off his face.

While the rest of the group went about cleaning up the mess, Changbin headed to Chan's bedroom to pick out a fresh change of clothes for him. Minho rushed to join Jisung as he expected the younger to be struggling to take care of Chan on his own. Surprisingly, he wasn't. With the warm water and mountains of bubbles flowing around him, the little had finally stopped fussing and calmly floated. Smiling, Minho crouched next to the tub and hummed: "Your tummy feeling okay now, bub?" Chan gave an uncertain hum, keeping his eyes closed. He lightly squeaked his duck and smiled at the sound. Chuckling, his caregivers relaxed too. If the leader cheered up that easily, he couldn't be feeling too bad. "Channie, can you sit up so hyung can wash your hair?", Jisung tried, picking up the bottle of shampoo. All he got in response was another uncertain hum, Chan too focused on his toy to pay his caregiver any attention. Gently cupping the leader's flushed cheek, Minho repeated Jisung's question and managed to get the other to sit up. Chan rested his back against the side of the tub, while Jisung massaged shampoo into his wet curls. Seeing that his dongsaeng had everything handled, Minho excused himself to check on the rest of the members.

With so many helping hands, the living room had been cleaned in no time and they had also aired the common area out to get rid of the smell. Two blankets had needed to be washed, so Felix and Jeongin had taken a trip back to their own dorm to collect some more blankets. They were a little shaken, not having expected a cold to turn into this, and Jeongin couldn't help but blame himself for encouraging tummy time as it had obviously gone so very wrong. While Felix tried to comfort his dongsaeng, Hyunjin and Seungmin stood in the kitchen and stacked some saltine crackers onto a cute plastic plate. They hoped they could help Chan settle his unhappy tummy and maybe he wouldn't be so fussy anymore. It was truly difficult to take care of the little when he wasn't able to tell them what he needed.

After placing Chan's fresh clothes onto the sink, Changbin made his way to the living room and set up the humidifier to help the stuffy little breathe a little easier. The rapper also made sure to set up the couch with a few more pillows and a bucket, so they wouldn't be caught by surprise again. Minho joined him, carrying Chan's wolf plushie that he had collected from the leader's bed. Now, they could only hope they had finally figured it out.