Chapter Text
He's been doing this long enough that you would think he wouldn't be so stressed out. And really, on some level, he's not. Concerts, fanmeetings, award shows, Minho is used to them by now and is pretty comfortable with how they go, not really worrying too much, at least consciously. Subconsciously, however, his body seems to be running on debut level stress for this one. Perhaps because there's so much being prepared for, so much he's being asked personally to do. It's a lot, tour is a lot, and Minho is finally, the night before the first show of the Run It Tour, feeling the weight of it all.
But a funny thing happens sometimes when Minho is this level of tired and stressed. It's not quite a meltdown, per se, but it is a bit of a…letting go. He doesn't catch it right away, in fact he almost resists it, but slowly, some of the others pick up on what's coming and begin to prepare accordingly, especially Jisung.
***
It starts in the morning with his run—it's harder than usual, he's more exhausted, his head a bit fuzzier, but he thinks it's just the anticipation for the next day and all that he has to get done before it comes. Jisung, however, picks up on it immediately; he would, as Minho's long-time owner. He doesn't say anything right away, but that morning over breakfast, he brushes Minho's hair back, scratching lightly at his scalp as he places a few gentle kisses along his brow.
"Rough morning, jagiya?"
Minho hums a reply and leaves it at that, not worrying at this point in their relationship, because Jisung will understand—and he does, maybe better than Minho himself.
Jisung makes a mental note before they leave to set out Minho's things for when they return, hastily pulling something from their bedside table before dashing out of the door behind his boyfriend.
"Bye, Richard, Daddy loves you," he calls over his shoulder as he pockets the necklace.
The next person to pick up on it is Hyunjin, who so often has spent time with Minho and Jisung during these periods of rest for the older man.
"Hyung? Is everything okay? You look…tired."
Minho huffs a laugh and rolls his eyes. "Me? Tired? Can't think of any reason for that, Hyunjin-ah." He looks at the younger man with a slight deadpan gaze, but by now Hyunjin can see through it to the real exhaustion behind the look.
He pets Minho lightly on the head, over his backwards cap, and makes a mental note to grab a few things he recently purchased to bring over to Minho and Jisung's later—and he knew already there would, in fact, be a Later. He couldn't wait.
A few of the other members pick up on some other tell-tale signs that Minho was probably going to go into his kitten headspace that night—or, perhaps more likely based on his attitude towards everyone checking in on him, be coaxed into it. He was zoned out between practices and quieter than usual, but also more playful as well. Jeongin let him some play with the strings of his hoodie during a break, noting the way Minho's eyes lingered on the swaying fabric for some time before he silently moved in and began batting them around. Changbin had to bite back a coo when Minho briefly—very briefly before catching himself—made biscuits on the front of his shirt, kneading at the younger man's belly for a quick moment before blinking himself back to reality and blushing profusely.
Jisung watches him throughout the day and begins to worry Minho might not make it home before losing himself in his headspace completely—it was unlikely, as the man was quite in control of it, but he seemed to be losing an internal battle the longer the day went on. At lunch, Jisung gathers everyone but Minho and lets them know he has a plan, inviting them to come over if they'd like to. At one point, he manages to pull Minho aside to check in on him, but the man seems determined to brush him off.
"Hyung, I'm worried about you. You've been running yourself into the ground lately with this comeback and tour and new workout routine. I think… I think we should do something tonight." Jisung looks at him pointedly, trying to get Minho to acknowledge what the rest of them had been picking up on—that he has had one foot in his headspace all day, but his boyfriend is ever a stubborn one.
"I'm fine, jagiya. I'm just…tired. That's all. Trying to reserve my energy for tomorrow."
"You know, baby, they're letting us go a little earlier tonight so we can rest… We could always—" Jisung sighs as the managers call them back over to continue practicing.
He almost reconsiders his plan; he doesn't want to back Minho into a corner to get him into his headspace. However, the moment he watches Minho play with Chan during their livestream, kicking his feet in a distinctive manner that Jisung has seen all too often during playtime, he resolves himself to get his boyfriend to relax that night.
"Minho-yah," Jisung starts as they pack up their things before they make their way to the vans, "I think tonight we should—"
"Order out. I agree, jagiya," Minho cuts over him, stiffening up at Jisung's words.
"Kitten," Jisung says softly under his breath, something a little firm in his tone. He exhales heavily when a quiet whimper leaves the other man and Minho's eyes scrunch close.
"Don't," Minho whispers. "I can't right now."
"You can, though. We're going home."
"We have a concert, Jisung-ah." Minho shoots him a pitiful excuse for a glare, his determination wavering, his fingers trembling.
"Tomorrow, kitten. Tonight, we have to rest."
"I can just…go to bed early, it's fine."
"Min…do you not want to go into your headspace tonight? Or is it something else?"
"No… I… I want to," he whispers, looking over at Jisung with wide eyes. "But I haven't been in kittenspace for so long, I'm just… I don't know. Feeling nervous about it for some reason..."
"Embarrassed?" Jisung smiles fondly when Minho nods shyly at his informed guess. He knows the older man sometimes gets this way about going into his kittenspace, as he calls it, feeling like he's supposed to be more mature and cool than that. "Baby, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You know I love taking care of my baby kitty, and you know the others adore playing with you. Would it be better if it was just the two of us?"
"Yes? No… I do like when the others come over… I just…" Minho exhales shakily and picks up his bag. "I don't know. It's stupid."
Jisung then pulls out the necklace he had grabbed that morning—one of their more discreet collars. "What if… What if we collar up for the ride home and see how that feels, and then go from there, yeah?" He smiles again as Minho's eyes widen and soften as they stare at the heavy silver chain with a single charm in the shape of a cat's head on it—only they know that on the back of the charm, written in tiny, delicate font, is the word, 'kitten.' "Would that be nice, baby?"
Minho swallows heavily, not taking his eyes off the necklace, and nods shyly. "Okay," he whispers.
"You're allowed to want this, Min," Jisung murmurs as he brushes his fingers down Minho's cheek. "It's not embarrassing, and it's not stupid—it's also not lesser of you."
"Yeah…super hot and cool and sexy of your boyfriend to crawl around on the ground in cat ears, meowing," Minho scoffs, his lip wobbling.
"Um, it actually is, and you fucking know that," Jisung says with a loud laugh.
"Freak," Minho replies, his lips twitching with the hint of a smile.
"All day, every day, jagiya—especially for you."
A sigh of contentment leaves Minho the moment the heavy metal is resting against his collarbones.
"Good, kitten?"
Minho blinks at him for a moment before giving him an innocent tilt of his head and pointing at himself. "Kitten is good?"
Jisung chuckles and shakes his head, looking around before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Minho's forehead. "Yeah, kitten is good. Let's go home, baby, yeah?"
"Yes, please," Minho sighs, exhaustion lacing his every syllable.
Jisung places a hand on his lower back and guides him out towards the garage. As tired as he is, he knows there is a bone-weariness that his boyfriend has been feeling; all he can hope to do tonight is help Minho feel safe enough to release some of that stress and pressure.
***
The ride home is smooth. Minho's head droops onto Jisung's shoulder, and his small fingers play with a piece of string on Jisung's pants. He's quiet and reserved, which tells Jisung he's not quite in his headspace yet, but that he easily could be soon enough. He wants to speak up, ask him a few things about tonight, but he won't, not with the manager in the car. He waits, instead, until they're hauling their things into the elevator up to their apartment.
"Want help slipping, baby?"
Minho sighs. "I might need it… I was trying, but…" He shrugs. "There's a small wall there, I guess. Something keeping me from going."
"Maybe just because we were in the car?"
He shakes his head. "No, because it's been an internal resistance all day. Like… I want slip into it, but I also don't, or am afraid to, I dunno." Minho's head bumps against the back of the elevator. "It's hard to explain. I just feel like…I shouldn't."
"Because you're our hyung?"
He shrugs, his lip wobbling a little.
"Want me to help you?," Jisung offers again, rubbing his hand up and down Minho's bicep.
He looks over at Jisung with sparkling eyes and a downturn frown. "Please?"
Jisung sets their things down the moment they're inside their apartment and takes his boyfriend by the hand, leading him towards their bathroom. He likes starting things out with a shower, and after the long day they've had, it just made sense anyways. Jisung takes his time, gently washing his and Minho's bodies and hair, not letting the other do anything himself.
"Just relax, kitten," he murmurs as he scrubs the shampoo into Minho's scalp. "I've got you."
He dries them off and wraps Minho up in a towel before unceremoniously scooping him into arms and carrying him to their bedroom. Jisung watches the blush creep along Minho's face as he sees the items Jisung had laid out that morning when he lays the man down onto their bed.
"Jisung, I dunno…"
"Boxers, briefs, or panties," Jisung asks, gently brushing over the man's hesitation.
Minho swallows heavily. "Others are coming?" Jisung nods, and Minho replies, "Um… Boxers then. I think I'd die if any of the others saw me in anything else," he huffs, his ears a bright red.
"You know, I can put you in boxers and panties, kitten, if you want something else for later, for when it's just us."
Minho's hands come to cover his face as he groans quietly. "I…"
"Whatever you want, baby," Jisung reassures him. In response, Minho just nods his head. "Would you like that?" Minho nods again. "Can you use your words?" Jisung chuckles when the other man shakes his head. "Too shy, kitten? Okay. Do you want me to choose which ones?"
Minho nods a third time, peeking out from between his fingers only when the bed shakes so that he can watch Jisung go over to the small dresser which keeps their play things and lingerie. He picks out a simple light pink bikini with a bow and lace around the edges, and then grabs a pair of Minho's boxers and an oversized t-shirt from their closet.
It's quiet while Jisung dresses him; Minho turning a brighter pink each minute, but silently doing as he's told. "Lift your bottom for me, baby," he murmurs as he slips the panties on, tucking Minho gently into them. "Good boy." Jisung smiles when a tiny whimper leaves the other man at the praise; he knows this is a key part of helping Minho feel okay enough to slide into his kittenspace. "You look so pretty, kitten," Jisung says as he pulls the oversized t-shirt on, the hem settling around Minho's waist when he lays back down, showing off the pink panties.
Minho looks up at him, eyes a little glassy. "It…looks okay?"
"Beautiful, baby. This pair always look so sweet on you. Want the boxers over them, or some shorts?"
"Boxers, please."
Once he's finished dressing Minho, he throws on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt of his own before making a place to sit down on the bed. "Come here," he says, patting his chest and clicking his tongue softly.
Minho blushes a little deeper and sits up. "I'm not really in my headspace yet," he says, but crawls his way towards Jisung anyways, wobbling a little as he goes.
"I know. But we'll get there." Jisung smiles up at his boyfriend as he settles into his lap. "Hi, baby."
"Hi."
"Ears or collar first?"
"Collar, please."
Jisung unhooks Minho's necklace, setting it carefully down on the bedside table, and picks up the light pink collar with a bow. A shiver rolls down Minho's back when the clasp locks at the back of his neck, and his shoulders visibly relax a little. His fingers toy with the pendant that reads, 'baby kitty,' as his eyes look a little more out of focus.
"Working?"
Minho nods sluggishly. "Yeah. Ears, please?"
"Of course," Jisung says softly before slipping a simple pair of black cat ears onto Minho's head. He smiles a little to himself at the quiet hum that leaves his kitten's lips. "Better?"
"Better," Minho affirms, the word a little slurred this time.
"Tail and socks, too?"
Minho seems to think on it but eventually nods. "Yes, please."
"Aigoo, my baby kitten is so polite tonight." He presses a kiss to Minho's cheek. "Paws and tail it is." He clips a fluffy black tail to Minho's underwear and helps him slide his feet into thigh high black socks with thick pink paw pads on the bottom. "Oh my gosh," Jisung sighs, "what a beautiful little kitty I have in my lap!"
His kitten giggles before hiding his face into the crook of Jisung's neck. "Kitten's pretty?"
Jisung wraps his arms tightly around Minho and kisses along one of his heated ears. "The prettiest kitten I've ever seen. I can't believe I'm so lucky to have you."
Just then, the doorbell rings. Minho's head pops up, his eyes alight with curiosity.
Jisung lets out a soft gasp. "I wonder who that is!"
Minho looks at him excitedly, letting out a little meow, and Jisung knows then that it worked, and Minho is now settled into his kittenspace. "Friends?"
"Yeah, baby, I think your friends are here."
The cat hops off his lap and carefully off of the bed and stretches, his arms going out in front of him as his hips go up into the air.
"Ooooh, big stretch," Jisung coos as he gets up himself. "Lets go see who all is here." Minho meows again and follows along behind him, crawling on all fours. He chuckles to himself as he opens the front door over Minho's loud, insistent meows. "I know, baby, I know. I'm letting them in. Hi, guys, come in."
Everyone shuffles in, kicking off their shoes and laughing as Minho excitedly chirps and rubs himself against their legs.
"Come on, kitten," Hyunjin calls sweetly, "let's get out of the entryway—we have some special things for you."
At that, Minho stops nuzzling against Jeongin's thigh and dashes after the man, into the living room.
"Yah," Jeongin calls, "we were having a moment!"
"Well, come have a moment in the more spacious living room."
Despite the couch and chair offering up a more comfortable seating situation, the boys take a spot on the floor, leaving enough room in the center for Minho to crawl around in, coming up to each of them with shining eyes.
Hyunjin pets along his head, brushing his bangs back. "Guess what I've got, kitten." He picks up a little grocery bag and shakes it, and from it comes a muffled tinkling sound. He pulls out a couple of toys—a fish that rattles and crinkles and a wand with a long strand of fabric, a few feathers, and a bell. Minho's eyes dilate in excitement as he watches the string sway back and forth. As soon as it lands on the ground, he pounces and begins to bat it around as Hyunjin dangles it above him, pulling laughs from everyone around him.
"Cute," Jisung sighs, "but really, Jinnie, we didn't need more wands." He looks over at the stash next to the couch.
"Nonsense, you always need more wands."
"Aigoo," Seungmin says with a laugh as he reaches out. "Someone caught a feather in his mouth, hm?"
Minho looks up at him with a pout and a feather stuck in the side of his mouth, which he is busy trying to paw out.
"Let me get that."
They spend a good while like that, pulling out toys for Minho to play with, complimenting him every time he manages to do…well anything, really. They just happen to find anything and everything their kitten does adorable. But soon Minho seems to tire out, panting softly as he finds his way towards their leader.
"Hi, sweetheart," Chan coos while scratching under Minho's chin, "hyung has a treat for you."
Minho's eyes widen and sparkle. "Treat? Treat for kitten?"
Chan chuckles and nods. "Yeah, baby, a treat for our precious kitten." From his bag, Chan pulls out a pudding cup and a little spoon. "Can he?," Chan asks, looking over at Jisung, which Minho then also does, giving his owner pleading eyes.
Jisung shrugs and gives him a nod. "Sure. Kitten's been so good today, I think he deserves it, don't you?"
At that, Minho chirps happily and crawls his way into Chan's lap. As Chan opens the packaging, Minho nuzzles his cheek and paws lightly at his chest, letting out the softest meows.
"Oooh, oooh, baby's excited, isn't he?," the older man giggles. "Come here, open up for me." He takes a spoonful of pudding and holds it up against Minho's lips, which the cat happily parts.
Minho hums, pleased, and he leans himself further into Chan's chest and arms. He meows quietly, his eyes blinking slowly in bliss as he takes another mouthful of pudding.
The room quiets down, everyone watching as Chan feeds him, cooing and chuckling whenever Minho paws at the older man for more. A heavy sigh leaves Minho's lips as he practically collapses all of his weight onto him, his eyes drooping sleepily. Chan whispers, "All done, sweetheart?" Minho nods sluggishly and Chan sets aside the nearly empty cup.
"I think he's about out," Felix murmurs, and sure enough, Minho's eyes are heavy and the biscuits he makes against Chan's chest are slow and drawn out.
"Good, let him sleep. It's been a long fucking week, and they've been pushing him so hard with all of the choreo and stage planning," Changbin murmurs.
Suddenly, Minho whines and sits up, swaying a little in his seat in Chan's lap. He looks around frantically until his eyes land on Jisung. He makes grabby hands at his owner, causing Jisung to chuckle a little.
"Aish, okay, okay, come here, baby." Jisung gets up and scoops Minho into his arms, carrying him over to the couch where they settle down. Minho curls up in his lap and begins to softly purr as Jisung pets his hand along his full belly.
Hyunjin laughs when Chan pouts. "Come on, hyung. He loves you, but you're not his owner."
"I know, I know. Jisung privileges, as always."