Lonely Kitten

58

Already waddling towards the oven, Minho barely remembered in time that he'd need to use oven gloves. The little's tongue poked out the corner of his mouth from how focused he was on the task, carefully carrying the cake over to the cooling rack. He had been afraid of dropping it but heaved a sigh of relief when it was safely set onto the rack. Abandoning the gloves, Minho proudly clapped his hands at his good work and waddled to the stove. It was still off, so the chocolate in the bowl hasn't melted yet and he could treat himself to a few pieces. Baking was hard work after all. With nothing else to do for now, the little returned to his mandala coloring book and continued to color as he waited for the cake to cool down.

Not really good with reading the time when in his headspace, Minho had no idea how long he had waited but he had managed to finish an entire page, so he figured he could check on his cake now. He hesitantly approached the cooling rack as if the cake could burn him if he as much as looked at it the wrong way but when he finally jumped over his shadow and tapped it with his index finger, he was relieved to find it only a little warm. Just to make sure, the hybrid continued to poke it for a while, giggling in excitement that he had gotten a step closer to making his own cake pops. Especially because he was getting to the fun part now. Minho unceremoniously dumped the cake into a bowl, breaking off a small piece to try and purring at the sweet taste. Though hesitant at first, he plunged his hands into the bowl, squishing the cake. A happy squeal escaped him at the mushy texture, the cake sticking to his palms as he continued to crumble it.

Minho truly enjoyed himself, mushing the cake under his hands. He seemed to have a thing for funny textures when in his headspace. Kneading his blanket or running his fingers over the soft material. It had been the same with Jisung's porridge, the mushy and sticky texture making him giggle. The little barely remembered what he was supposed to do when the cake was crumbled and just continued to knead it in his hands, occasionally slipping small bites between his lips and twirling his tail. In a moment of clarity, Minho realized he'd have to roll the mushy cake into balls but they wouldn't stick together all that well. Searching the internet and smearing his phone screen in the process, the little learned that he was supposed to add cream cheese to help it stick but if he remembered correctly, cream cheese was made from milk and would probably make his tummy icky again. Minho opened the fridge and curiously studied the items inside. Hopefully his favorite vanilla almond milk would work too.

Adding a little bit of almond milk, Minho was able to squeeze the soggy cake crumbles into a ball about the size of the cake pops he had eaten earlier. He was becoming even more of a fan, witnessing that his favorite milk could do anything, and took a sip straight from the milk carton, a small dribble of milk running down his chin. Minho continued to form small cake balls and placed them onto a plate till he was left with only a tiny bit of cake that wasn't enough to really make a cake pop out of. The little just shrugged before popping it into his mouth and rummaging through the drawers for the skewers. He struggled with the first few cake pops, not really sure how deep to put the skewers in but after a few attempts, he had it figured out. As the task on hand became easier and required less focus, Minho's thoughts went back to Jisung. The fact that he could reliably feel if something was wrong with his mate had significantly eased his separation anxiety but he was still a bit nervous not knowing when the rapper would come home or if he'd come home at all. Hopefully 3racha wasn't planning an all-nighter because the little really missed his mate right now and who would eat his cake pops with him if Jisung didn't come home?

Minho's eyes widened in realization as he put the cake pops into the fridge and glanced at the stove. It was finally time to melt the chocolate and decorate. Though excited at first, the little grew nervous as he turned on the stove. Just because taking the cake out of the oven had gone well earlier didn't mean that he'd be as lucky with the double boiler now. Minho's nerves were eased by the sweet scent of melting chocolate that wafted through the kitchen not much later, his pupils dilated as he stirred it. It almost distracted him from the sprinkles but luckily, he remembered just before the chocolate was completely molten. Unsure of how to proceed, the hybrid studied the boxes and decided he'd transfer the sprinkles into small bowls, so he could reach his hands into them easier. When his bowls were set up, Minho retrieved the cake pops from the fridge.

Jisung had talked to Chan and Changbin about wanting to finish a little earlier today and since they weren't all that busy, it wasn't a problem for any of the rappers. He wanted to surprise Minho, though he wasn't sure whether it would really work or if the hybrid would be able to sense his presence as soon as he got close to their apartment. Jisung knew the other wasn't practicing anymore because Changbin had texted with Felix earlier, the Aussie telling him he needed to study and that the three dancers had had to part early because of that. He had considered picking up some cake pops on his way home, remembering how much Minho had loved them but according to Changbin they had been out to eat cake pops earlier and he didn't want his mate to get a tummy ache, so he decided against it.

Minho had come across a small problem when decorating his first cake pop. Coating it in chocolate had worked just fine, the cake not falling of the skewer like he had feared, but after he had covered it in colorful sprinkles, the little realized he had nothing to put it in, so he was forced to lay it down on the plate again. The internet advised filling a cup with uncooked rice and sticking the skewers in there, which Minho promptly tried and which luckily worked alright but the cake pop that he had had to lay down on the plate still looked messed up. Oh well, it still tasted amazing with the chocolate still soft, he noted as he nibbled on it to hide the evidence of his mistake. With his lips smeared with chocolate, Minho continued to work and with a little practice, the cake pops started to turn out quite well. He was just finishing up, when the front door opened. Too focused on the task at hand, he didn't notice Jisung walking up behind him and startled when the rapper snaked his arms around his middle.

Hissing, the hybrid turned to face his attacker and didn't watch his hands anymore, his finger lightly brushing the side of the pot. A loud screech escaped him as he dropped his cake pop, tears shooting to his eyes at the burning pain. Jisung gasped, pulling his mate towards the sink and holding his hands under the running tap. "You're okay, Min", he hummed, barely managing to hide the worry in his voice, "I'm sorry, I scared you. I thought you had heard me." Minho only sobbed, trying to pull his hand from Jisung's. His first instinct wasn't to hold it under cold water and when he managed to tug his hand out of the other's hold and started licking his finger, the rapper had to notice that the boy was little. His cat-side always came out stronger when he was regressed and this was typical cat behavior. It only made him feel worse about having scared the boy.

Gently pulling Minho's hand way from his mouth and guiding it back to the sink, Jisung whispered: "The cold will help, Minnie. I promise it will be okay but we need to cool your skin for a bit. Dada's so sorry, little prince." The hybrid whimpered, burying his face in Jisung's chest as the other stroked his back with one hand, the other holding his under the stream of cold water. Jisung didn't care about the chocolate ending up smeared on his clothes as Minho continued to rub his face into them, trying to soothe himself by inhaling as much of his mate's scent as he possibly could. They stayed lie this for a few minutes and when the rapper turned off the water to examine Minho's finger, he was relieved that the skin was only a bit red and not blistering, at least not yet. "Alright, let's put some ointment and a cute little band-aid on it and then you can show me what you were working on that had you so focused" Jisung smiled, picking the little up and carrying him to the bathroom.

Once Minho's booboo was treated, he made grabby hands at Jisung, wanting the rapper to hold him again. The rapper carried him to the kitchen and handed him an icepack to numb the pain a bit and softly rocked the boy in his arms. "Minnie make cake pops", the hybrid sniffled softly, pointing at the glass he had placed them in to let the chocolate harden. There was only a single one left that wasn't decorated yet, so Jisung praised: "Wow, my Minnie did an amazing job, didn't he? They're so cute and there are so many. I bet it must have been hard work." Minho nodded, giving a sad whimper. He didn't like when his dada placed him down to sit on the only spot on the kitchen counter that wasn't covered in his baking equipment.

Still, he watched curiously as Jisung dipped the last cake pop into the chocolate and asked: "Which sprinkles do you want on that one, Minnie?" - "Hm... Bwue!", the hybrid announced already a bit more enthusiastic. Jisung obediently added some blue sprinkles before frowning: "Huh, it doesn't look nearly as cute as the ones you made. That can only mean one thing... We need to let it disappear really fast so nobody will see how bad of a job dada did with this one." He lightly blew on the cake pop a few times before winking at Minho and feeding it to him. The sweet flavor soothed the little and exhausted from working so hard, it was easy for Jisung to settle him on the couch with the icepack and his bottle filled with cool milk. While Minho was occupied watching a cartoon, the rapper cleaned up the kitchen and took a few pictures of his mate's adorable baking before joining the other figuring they wouldn't need dinner anytime soon.