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taeyong was worried about chenle. the boy hadn't slept well in weeks, according to the other dreamies, and taeyong was pretty sure he wasn't eating. he had tried to get renjun to talk to chenle, hoping that talking in his native language would help, but nothing had come of it. all renjun had been able to weasel out of him was that he was tired, and that was just stating the obvious. as time went on, taeyong’s worry grew in his gut, and he knew he was going to have to confront him directly. he knew the dreamies schedule was about to get worse, and he didn't want chenle to hurt himself.
a tiny voice in taeyong’s head told him that it was his fault. he wasn't being a good enough leader and hyung, his members didn't feel like they could talk to him.
but he knew that wasn't true. he's had long talks with doyoung about this before. it's a frequent source of anxiety for taeyong, but he's taken major steps to overcome it.
now, there's a few methods that the members of nct use to cope with stress. they don't have room for very many because of their schedules, but they've found a few that work. one of the more...unorthodox methods is age regression. several of the members have realized that regressing to a younger headspace allows them to escape the stress of the adult world, and releases pent up anxiety.
this is the method taeyong wants to introduce to chenle. he knows the boy is used to it, he's seen johnny and mark in headspace already. he just hopes that chenle won't take it the wrong way if taeyong suggests it to him.
taeyong decides he's had enough when jeno comes to him with those puppy dog eyes, saying that chenle collapsed during practice and has locked himself in his room and none of the dreamies know what to do. jeno is close to tears, and jaemin, haechan, and jisung are trying to calm down renjun, who is currently hyperventilating. if anyone says that the dreamies don't have a bond, they're lying. when one of them is hurting, they're all hurting. same goes for the rest of nct, taeyong corrects himself.
“how long has he been in there, love?” taeyong asks jeno gently, enveloping the boy in a tight hug.
“m-maybe thirty minutes?” jeno says, obviously trying not to cry.
“i'm going to go check on him, okay? everything is gonna be fine, jeno.” taeyong soothes, rubbing jeno’s back and trying to emulate his best calming energy. “why don't you go ask one of the hyungs to watch a movie with you guys while i talk to him?”
“o-okay,” jeno answers, taking a deep breath. “i can do that.”
taeyong gives jeno one last squeeze before letting go slowly, guiding him to where the other dreamies were. renjun has finally stopped hyperventilating, and now they were all just sitting there, holding hands. taeyong’s heart aches as he looks at them all, silently wishing the person in charge of their schedules would burn in hell. he makes his way to chenle’s room and knocks softly.
no answer.
taeyong sighs and tries the doorknob. it surprisingly opens, and taeyong is greeted with a dark room, with chenle’s huddled form in the corner of his bed. taeyong slowly makes his way over, and notices chenle's soft snores. he's asleep. taeyong’s not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. he perches on the edge of the bed, and slowly reaches over to chenle, gently carding his fingers through the boy’s hair.
he doesn't know how long he sits like this, just stroking chenle’s hair, listening to chenle’s soft snores. after a while though, chenle starts to shift. taeyong notes that his eyes are moving rapidly back and forth under his closed lids, so he puts a hand on his shoulder. this immediately backfires however, because chenle jerks away from taeyong’s touch and curls into the corner where the wall meets the bed. chenle’s breathing picks up and he starts mumbling in a distressed whisper.
taeyong climbs fully onto the bed and pulls chenle into his lap and attempts to shake him awake.
“chenle, baby, wake up! it's just me,” taeyong soothes, gently gripping chenle’s shoulders.
chenle awakes with a gasp, and stares into taeyong’s eyes. his breathing is ragged and tears are welling in his eyes, threatening to fall. taeyong pulls chenle into his chest and starts rubbing chenle's back, humming softly like he used to when they were trainees. the dam breaks then, and chenle is heaving ugly sobs into taeyong's chest. he grips onto the older’s shirt tightly, as if he was afraid he'd leave.
“shhh, baby, it's okay,” taeyong whispers. “let it out, lele.”
“lele is just s-so tired, hyung,” chenle cries, too distraught to care that he's making a mess of taeyong’s shirt.
“i know, baby,” taeyong says, heart breaking at chenle’s words.
“lele dreamt that he messed up an’ that all his hyungs left and he was all alone-”
“lele, honey, no one is leaving you,” taeyong interrupts, leaning back to look into chenle’s eyes. “we all mess up sometimes, lele, even your hyungs.”
“even hyungs?” chenle whispers incredulously, eyes as wide as saucers as he sniffles.
“of course! we mess up all the time, no one is perfect,” taeyong assures, wiping away the tears on chenle’s face with his thumb.
chenle smiles slightly, letting taeyong grab a tissue from the nightstand and clean his face. taeyong does so gently, kissing chenle's forehead softly when he finishes.
“hyungie?” chenle whispers as taeyong sits back down after throwing away the tissue and gathers him in his arms.
“yes, love?”
“lele feels...fuzzy,” chenle says slowly, fiddling with the hem of taeyong’s shirt.
“oh baby, i think i know what's going on,” taeyong replies, caressing chenle's cheek. “are you feeling small, lele?”
“y-yes,” chenle replies in a small voice.
“do you want hyungie to take care of you? make you feel better?” taeyong asks, and chenle nods. “do you wanna start with some comfier clothes?”
“yes please, hyungie,” chenle says, hiding his face in taeyong’s shirt. “want to wear kun ge’s clothes please?”
“of course, lele, let's go see him,” taeyong replies, standing up slowly.
as expected, when he stands up all chenle does is make grabby hands at him to be carried. taeyong chuckles and picks up chenle without too much difficulty, he prides himself on his ability to pick up his members when they feel small. chenle immediately wraps his arms and legs around taeyong like a koala, burying his head into taeyong’s shoulder.
taeyong carries chenle out of his room and down the hall to kun’s, knocking softly on the door and praying no one walks by. kun opens the door and takes one look at the boy in taeyong’s arms before ushering them in.
“lele is feeling small, and he wants some of your comfies,” taeyong says in explanation, shifting chenle so he can sit on kun’s bed. thankfully lucas is out with mark, so chenle is more comfortable.
“of course, lele!” kun smiles, leaning over to tap chenle's nose. “now tell gege what made such a pretty boy so frowny?”
“lele had a bad dream,” chenle whispers as kun gets up and starts rummaging in his closet.
“oh, sweetheart, i'm sorry,” kun says sincerely, turning around with a shirt and pajama pants in hand. “i trust that taeyongie here chased the bad dream away?”
“he did! taeyongie made it all better!” chenle replies, smiling as taeyong maneuvers him so kun can dress him.
kun continues talking to chenle to cheer him up as he and taeyong quickly get him out of his clothes and into kun’s. he's practically swimming in it, but he's happy. he smiles at both kun and taeyong before hugging them both tightly.
“lele, i think some of the others are watching a movie, do you wanna join them?” taeyong asks after a bit, running his fingers through chenle’s hair.
chenle nods, before turning to kun with pleading eyes. kun understands immediately, picking up chenle with a chuckle. taeyong leads them out to the living room, where the dreamies are strewn around the room along with johnny and jaehyun on the couch. taeyong sits in between johnny and jaehyun, and kun sits on the other side of johnny. no one says anything about chenle, everyone is used to age regression at this point and recognizes that chenle has regressed.
there's some random disney movie playing, probably johnny's choice to help calm the dreamies after their emotional day. taeyong smiles softly up at johnny, who leans down to kiss his forehead. he looks over johnny, and coos when he sees chenle slowly nodding off in kun’s lap.
taeyong sighs contentedly, snuggling into johnny’s side. he'll count today as a success, and it's not long before he's following chenle into a deep sleep, with no bad dreams in sight.