Chapter Text
In the end, Hyunjin never told Minho who exactly inflicted the injuries upon him. No matter how much the older pressed him on the subject- it was something that Hyunjin remained tight lipped about.
Almost immediately upon returning back to the dorm- Hyunjin’s, because 3RACHA were out recording, and it was just the two of them.- Minho gave him that disappointed look of his, like he could see right through Hyunjin’s lies.
“I didn’t see their faces,” he repeated for the nth time until it sounded hollow. Until he was sure that he could even convince himself. Had he seen their faces? He certainly didn’t know their names- only that they were bigger than him. Much bigger. “I don’t know who they were. They- they cornered me and asked if I had any money or valuables. It was a robbery.”
Minho raised an eyebrow. “A robbery?” He asked, “are you sure about that?”
“…Yes,” Hyunjin insisted, wrapping his arms around himself because his ribs were sore and bruised. Minho didn’t know of any robbers who purposefully avoided beating someone’s face to a pulp when stealing, and Hyunjin didn’t either, but in a way- he was grateful that his attackers did. At least, he could still do his job and appear on camera even if he wasn’t very comfortable.
The two of them had a standoff at the dorm's doorway for a solid minute, Hyunjin slightly folded in on himself like a bent leaf in the wind, swaying uncertainly. Finally, Minho heaved a heavy sigh and moved closer to set his arms around Hyunjin to steady him. “Come on, let’s get inside.”
Hyunjin couldn't bend down without his ribs crying out in protest, so Minho stooped low to take his shoes off for him, stalking his fingers around Hyunjin’s delicate ankles to fit his feet into the house slippers.
Minho helped Hyunjin to sit down on the couch, warning him not to move while he shuffled to the kitchen where they kept their medical kits in case of emergency. Because of Hyunjin- they would probably need to replenish soon.
Hyunjin settled back onto the couch and gingerly unfolded his tail from his sweatpants, kneading to even on the fluffed fur that was compressed on one side. The lighting in their living area was a warm glow from both lamps situated on either side of the couch.
Their dorm, as a whole, had a warm atmosphere. Hyunjin had been the main one to handle the dorm decorating project, since 3RACHA were too busy at the studio and not around enough to care much for what the space looked like, as long as it was functional.
Hyunjin, in the end, was very happy when they commented on his hanging plants and the wall tapestry behind the television.
Even now, it was a source of comfort for Hyunjin to keep his mind busy staring at the room while Minho shuffled around in the kitchen. He must have zoned out, because his hyung finally appeared a moment later. When he blinked, Minho was already unhooking the clasp of the medical kit to set it out on the coffee table.
“Do you think anything is broken?” He asked as he took a seat on the table across from Hyunjin. “Because if so- I’m taking you straight to the hospital. No arguments.”
The snow leopard took a moment to consider his injuries before he shook his head at the word ‘hospital.’ “No, hyung. I think it’s just bruising.”
Minho frowned suspiciously, “I’ll be the judge of that. Take off your hoodie.”
“Very demanding,” Hyunjin mustered up a comment, despite how terrible he felt at the moment. Still- it wasn’t the worst. He’d been hurt significantly worse in his life- this was just a bump in the road.
“Do it,” Minho chided flippantly, so Hyunjin obeyed. He wiggled out of the hoodie the best that he could without raising his hands too high above his head. He got tangled in the fabric, but eventually Minho grew tired of watching him struggle (or maybe, he found amusement in it) and helped lift the fabric from his head.
Hyunjin could only imagine how messy his hair and ears were at the obsessive ruffling, but he didn’t care, not when it was just Minho.
Luckily, he elected not to wear a shirt under the hoodie, so he didn’t need to worry about another later. Hyunjin almost regretted looking down to see the smattering of fresh bruises that bloomed across his torso like a debauched art piece. It could have been worse- but it also could have been better.
“This may hurt, just hold still.” Minho warned, and then hummed in concentration as he leaned forward to press his fingers into Hyunjin’s sides- not too firm, just a way to tell if his ribs were broken.
As he prodded Hyunjin’s sides, the snow leopard wiggled and let out little hisses of pain and his toes curled and the fur on his tail fluffed up in agitation.
He kept his hands firmly digging into the fabric of the couch- claws extending slightly to create little divots- and didn’t push his hyung away despite his instincts screaming at him to do so. Finally, Minho pulled away with a small nod. “It seems okay. Just bruising… I’ll put some ointment on them to help with the swelling.”
“Okay. Thank you, Minho Hyung.”
“Mhm. Why don’t you sit back a little, now that I know you’re not going to die on the spot.”
Hyunjin nodded sluggishly, because he was growing sleepy now that he was in the safety of his dorm, and his adrenaline was wearing off. The lights around them were dim enough for him to close his eyes and lean against the back of the couch as Minho did his thing.
Hyunjin was slim, so Minho’s hands could almost fit the entire circumference of his waist as he rubbed the ointment into the afflicted areas.
Hyunjin sighed at the cool feeling of the liquid, and shuffled a little closer to offer up his torso to Minho. He wanted to purr at the sensation, feeling droopy, but kept his lips clamped shut and chest tightened. He could only purr when he was relaxed.
Minho worked in silence, paying attention to each bruise diligently, but broke it eventually when he noticed the way that Hyunjin idly pawed at his fluffy ear in a lazy attempt to groom the messy fur.
“…Did they see your ears?”
“Hmm?” Hyunjin huffed, cracking an eye open curiously at the sudden question. He almost didn’t hear it at first, with how he was fighting a losing battle against sleep.
“Your ears,” Minho repeated, patiently, as his thumb swiped over Hyunjin’s chest, neatly avoiding his nipple. “Did the people who attack you see them?”
Hyunjin looked up to the ceiling thoughtfully, because looking into Minho’s burning eyes was simply too hard of a challenge. Especially when he was so close- practically almost in his lap. Hyunjin could feel the brush of his thigh against his thumping tail across Minho’s lap.
And Minho had great dancer legs. Not as long as Hyunjin’s- but more muscled and thick.
“My hoodie was up,” Hyunjin recalled uncertainly. “I’m not too sure. Maybe.”
Minho looked grim, and suddenly, Hyunjin’s slow brain caught up with his hyung's thought process. “You think this was a hate crime of some sort?”
Minho shrugged, “it could have easily been, if they saw you.”
Hyunjin swallowed down his guilt for lying, because he knew that this wasn’t a hate crime. It was targeted, specifically for him.
“And do you think they recognized you?”
Yes.
“Hmm… no. I had a mask on, and some baggy clothes.” Their group was famous, yes, but not exactly famous enough for everyone on the streets to know who they were. In fact- statistics showed that they were more popular in America than South Korea.
As Hyunjin pondered, Minho finished up his work. Even after he was done, his touch lingered on his skin and left trails of fire wherever they traced. His ribs, the dip of his bellow button, the divot between his pectoral muscles.
His other hand that previously rested on Hyunjin’s shoulder, now gently pet his tail. It felt like heaven, but at the same time, Hyunjin felt like he was burning in hell with the guilt of lying to one of the people who he trusted the most.
Minho looked entranced as his hands moved, and finally he looked back up at Hyunjin with that dark gaze. “You know you can trust me, right?”
It felt like a stab to the chest, and Hyunjin’s voice wobbled when he spoke, bottom lip wobbling and eyes watering. “…I know, Hyung.”
Minho studied him like he was a bug under the microscope, and then, he leaned close enough for their noses to brush and their breaths to intermingle. His eyes were half lidded, and Hyunjin thought that in that moment, he looked a lot more like a predator feline than he himself did.
“You’ll tell me one day,” he said in a low voice, and Hyunjin waited with baited breath until finally, he leaned in to connect their lips. Hyunjin tilted his head to the side to give his hyung better access, his tail curling in delight. The kiss wasn’t sweet, it wasn’t slow, and nor was it desperate. It was simply claiming.
Unfortunately, Minho pulled away much too soon, in Hyunjin’s opinion. Minho placed a gentle hand on his chest and caressed Hyunjin’s flickering leopard ear tenderly. Emotion flashed across his dark eyes, but Hyunjin was both too exhausted and stupefied from the sudden kiss to translate what exactly it meant.
“Hyung-“ he choked out, but Minho shushed him by digging those fingers even deeper at the base of his ear in a way that had him keening as he tilted his head, pleased.
“Sccchh. You should get some rest. On your bed, or here on the couch?”
Hyunjin felt like putty, and he didn’t think that he had the energy to move all the way to his room even if he tried. As strong as Minho was- he probably wouldn’t be able to carry Hyunjin’s deadweight. “Here, on the couch.”
“Okay.”
Hyunjin immediately missed Minho's warmth as he pulled away to replace it by draping a blanket across his form. Hyunjin tipped back against the couch cushion and slowly sank low to his back- he couldn’t sleep on his side or tummy like he normally could, with the flailing pain, but this would be good enough. It would have to be.
Minho momentarily left his vision, only to return a few moments later with a glass of water and three white pills in the cradle of his hand. “Here- take these for the pain.” He eased a hand behind Hyunjin’s head to help leverage it up, and then tilted half of the water into his mouth, followed by the pain pills.
“Mmm, thank you.” Hyunjin swallowed it down. He moved to outstretch his arms to pull Minho in, but immediately regretted the action and kept his arms tucked by his side. “Lay here with me?” He asked, blinking up at him.
“I will. I’ll be back,” Minho soothed back his hair fondly, “but I have a few phone calls to make first. Can you wait a moment?”
Hyunjin frowned. He guessed he could. Whatever facial expression he made must have been funny, because Minho chuckled under his breath as he exited the living area for the kitchen, taking the medical kit with him.
Hyunjin gave into the lull of sleep before he could even wait for Minho to come back. All he heard was the padding of feet and the rustling of covers as the weight shifted next to him, and then he was out like a light.
Minho told the others about the situation, judging by how they kept sending glances his way during group practices. They were extra careful with their touches and group choreography sessions were lessened the moment that they noticed Hyunjin was only slightly winded. Hyunjin hated the babying- but at the same time, his ribs appreciated it.
At some point, when Hyunjin was lounging in his room, Chan knocked on the doorway with the silent question- ‘can I come in?’
Hyunjin nodded silently. They always asked him permission to enter his room- his ‘nest’- after the hybrid specialist told them that Hyunjin would grow territorial over his personal space. Hyunjin, admittedly, was- but never with his bandmates.
Chan asked if he was okay, all while scratching between his ears and turning Hyunjin into a purring cat because he knew where all of Hyunjin’s weak spots were.
Hyunjin remained a strong soldier and convinced Chan with a tight lipped smile that ‘he was fine’ even if neither of them believed it. Still- none of them wanted to strip Hyunjin of his independence to make his own choices, not since he was deemed a hybrid that couldn’t do anything for himself, so Chan backed off after Hyunjin gently pushed him away.
Luckily- or maybe unluckily, since it meant that Hyunjin lived his life on his toes, constantly checking his phone- he didn’t get any more text messages from new numbers. Or blocked numbers. Or the strange man.
It had been an entire month, and grimly, Hyunjin thought that the break was simply to give time for his injuries to fade. Now, he wasn’t as painted with bruises, and the bite mark on his neck that he worked so hard to conceal with foundation was completely faded. Every night, he snuck ice packs to press against his aching body until the aches became phantom pains.
Now, running on little sleep and food because Hyunjin had been too nauseous when he woke up that morning to eat a nutritious breakfast- they were getting ready to record a SKZ code episode.
It was an outdoors one where they were to camp in the outskirts of the city. Build their own tents, make their own fires, and cook their own food over said fires. They’d done a similar SKZ code episode before, and it grew immensely popular. Apparently, stay liked to see them camping, and Hyunjin didn’t have a problem with that.
The stylist dressed him in light washed jeans and a yellow sweater, tying half of his hair and adding a dash of makeup before they deemed him camera ready. As Hyunjin clambered into the big camper that had cameras set at each seat. So they started recording now, then.
“Hyunjin hyung!” Jeongin waved him over and patted the seat, “your seats next to me. The staff said so.”
Hyunjin could kiss the staff.
The others were dressed in a similar warm fashion- most wearing flannels for camping. Hyunjin settled in next to the youngest and pinched his cheeks slightly for the camera- since it’s what he always did.
What he was known for when he sat next to Jeongin. Like always, Jeongin groaned in complaint and pushed him away even though Hyunjin knew that he liked it.
The others took their seats in their own chairs in duo’s and a staff member on their camera crew took the wheel. Hopefully- he was a diligent driver because Hyunjin always managed to get car sick in big charter buses and campers such as this one.
They were shortly briefed by the director- they would play a few games during the ride to the camp site, and would be given further instructions when they reached it. For now, Hyunjin clung to Jeongin’s arms and rested his head on his shoulder as the others all talked loudly over one another.
The sun was still up and high by the time they stumbled out of the camper and into the big gravel driveway. Hyunjin’s nose twitched and his tail jerked excitedly, tightly wrapped around his leg, as he observed the atmosphere.
It was a pretty area with towering trees and lush foliage to surround the opening their camp was nestled in. A stream ran down the slope of the hill behind the tents. From here, they couldn’t hear any of the traffic sounds from the main road- only the nature. Chirping birds. Buzzing cicadas.
Hyunjin sighed and instantly relaxed into Seungmin and Jeongin’s sides. They protested, but held him up anyway, endeared with his dramatics.
Eventually, he even managed to convince Minho to give him a piggyback ride down from the gravel parking to the camp sight- to which Minho turned around to walk backwards so that ‘Hyunjin’s butt would be the first to arrive.’
The camera crew, of course, ate the antics up. Hyunjin was pretty sure that even if they weren’t there- his hyung would act the same way. Minho was possibly the most bizarre and strange person that he would ever meet in his entire lifetime.
By the time he was gently deposited back down to his feet, Hyunjin was already too busy sniffing the warm air and distracted by the buzzing mosquitoes to pay attention to the staff's instructions.
In the end, Jisung ended up nudging him in the direction of the tent to the right, rolled up on the ground. When Jisung shoved the instruction manual into his hands, he read that it could sleep up to four people. So they were split in two.
“We’re going to build the tent, while Lix-ah and Jeongin-ah try to start the fire, okay?” He patiently explained, and Hyunjin slowly nodded.
Maybe the others could tell that he wasn’t quite feeling all ‘there’ today- in fact, his mind kept wandering off every little distraction. His senses were heightened and if Hyunjin’s ears were out, they would be swiveling atop his head with every new noise.
As Hyunjin tried to blindly help build the tent, Jisung was surprisingly patient through it all, even when he messed up so much that he had to sit by the fire making station and switch with Jeongin to take a break. He wasn’t very good at fire making, either.
He wistfully glanced out to the grassy meadow and the way that the sunlight seemed to dance across the sea of green. The trees surrounding it, swaying in the distance not too far away like a wall, cast a midday shadow that hardly stretched tall.
He wished they were here camping by themselves- without a camera crew. He could roll around happily in the Meadow with his ears out and tail flicking enthusiastically.
It was only when he was out in the wilderness, disconnected from civilization, did Hyunjin realize how much he truly hated living in the industrialized gray cities. Lifeless and monotonous. The only thing that kept him interested these days was the fact that they were starting to consider touring dates for the upcoming comeback scheduled for the next year.
“You can go out there and relax for a little bit, if you would like.” Felix offered as he sent a conspirative glance from Hyunjin and then to the camera that was set up to record their progress that would be time lapsed unless one of them screwed up badly enough to start a wildfire.
“You’d be okay with it, Lixie?”
“Yeah, just stay in eyesight in case I need to call for you.”
“Okay! Thank you, Felix!” Hyunjin would have leaned forward to kiss Felix on the cheek if the camera wasn’t directly in front of him. He decided that he would do it later, and bounded off to the meadow with towering grass and blooms of pretty flowers in all sorts of colors.
Hyunjin crouched and took his phone out to photograph the moment. Surely, he would paint it later, and then rolled around on his back to bask in the sunshine.
The grass felt prickly against his back and tickled, causing laughter to bubble past his lips as he rubbed himself against it for more of the ticklish sensation. At some point, his tail must have detangled from his pants because it circled his waist and flicked happily.
Once he was settled down and comfy, nestled in the grass, Hyunjin’s eyes felt heavy. He could probably cat nap here for days! Felix probably brought him enough time if he closed his eyes for a teeny tiny short amount of time…
Suddenly, he caught the waft of a new scent in the air, and a nearby bush rustled with movement. Hyunjin lazily cracked an eye open and twisted around into a big stretch, completely flattening his chest to the ground to bend his spine. The scent increased, and he intently scanned the tree line until he finally found it.
A little bunny hopped around, nibbling on the long grass at the base of a large oak tree. Muddy brown fluff nearly blended in, aside from the pink twitching nose. An incomprehensible feeling invaded his chest and thudding heart.
He slowly crawled forward through the grass, one paw after the other, almost completely silent. In the background, he could hear the shouts of the others as one of the tents collapsed- but he was only laser focused on one thing. The rabbit, now just one foot in front of him.
Oh. Was this considered stalking?
Hyunjin’s fingers twitched with the need to reach out and hold the little bunny out of curiosity. He just wanted to caress its fluffy ears…
A twig snapped underneath his hand when he shifted his weight.
The rabbit's head shot up, eyes wide with alert. As soon as it caught sight of the giant prowling cat directly in front of it- the animal turned to hop away.
Hyunjin couldn’t help it.
He really couldn’t stop himself.
The movement caused his instincts to go haywire and his eyes to dilate. His brain screamed ‘chase! Run! Hunt!’
A low grow ripped itself from his chest and his fingernails dig into the dirt to launch himself after it through the forest.
“Hyunjin?!” He heard a few startled voices call from the camp sight, but it was muffled by the thudding of his heart in his ears. He darted from between the trees as fast as he could, laser focused only on the fluffy animal that he chased. It was faster than it looked.
And Hyunjin, despite being a graceful creature, was still clumsy.
He was so focused on his mission, that he missed the low hanging tree branch that smacked him right in the face. Clotheslined, Hyunjin howled in surprise and fell backwards. Hard. The bunny ran away.
With the recent rainstorms, the ground below was moist and muddy. Hyunjin whined in dismay as he sat up and held his burning face. He felt like an idiot- why had he even been chasing that thing in the first place?
Hyunjin tried his best to wipe the sticky mud away from his stained tail and ears that had made an appearance sometime during his class- but trying to wipe it off only proved to be futile when it stained the light fur even more.
“Hyunjin! Jin?!” Voices echoed through the woods until the footsteps and movement of the underbrush became audible.
Both Felix and Jisung emerged from the thick foliage, looking like they’d just run a marathon in their crinkled flannels and messy hair, no longer styled neatly. They both looked relieved when they set eyes on his form, sitting in the middle of a mud puddle a bit pathetically.
“There you are,” Felix sighed in relief as he approached, “why are you sitting in the mud? Let’s get you out of there, Jinnie.”
Hyunjin sniffled and nodded, letting Felix hook his arms under his armpits to ease him up, uncaring if his own clothes got dirty. When he led Hyunjin to sit back down against a tree, he gently touched his tender nose that still smarted with the impact against the tree branch.
“Jesus, Hyunjin. What happened?” Jisung asked as he kneeled at his other side. He tenderly took Hyunjin’s ringed tail to try his best and dab the mud away with a handkerchief. Hyunjin whined because he’d never felt so dirty and disgusting before- physically speaking.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted, so very ashamed of himself. His face went red as he tried to explain- “I just saw a bunny and… and I couldn’t help it.” He finished off weakly. He didn’t say much, but the other two easily put the pieces together in their minds.
“That’s okay, Hyunjin-ah, we were just worried when you suddenly ran off.” Felix thumbed at his face. He hoped there wasn’t mud there, too, even if it felt like it caked every inch of his skin. “The others stayed back to cover for us, but we should probably get back soon before the crew starts to ask too many questions.”
“Obviously, he can’t go back looking like that,” Jisung retorted, and when Hyunjin winced, he automatically looked guilty. “I’m sorry, Hyunjin-ah, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s okay,” Hyunjin nodded, “you were right.” He concentrated for a moment, and just like he always practiced, the extra appendages were gone, fused with his body. He shifted in discomfort at both the tension and the overall gross feeling at being so dirty.
“Felix-ah, the camper that we came in had a shower, right?”
Felix pulled a thoughtful face, before he brightened with a nod. “Yeah! I saw one in the back. Jin- how about we take you there and help rinse you and get the mud out of your tail. I’m sure it’s uncomfortable.”
Hope bloomed in Hyunjin’s chest.
Of course they wouldn’t just make him stew in his own mess for the rest of the episode- even if it was no longer visible. “Yes. That sounds nice.”
Jisung patted his shoulder, flaking some drying mud off of the fabric in the process. “And let’s get you some new clothes. Come on.”
By the time they got back- all of the tents had been built and there were two successful fires in the pits. Smoke curled up to the darkening horizon splashed with pretty colors that Hyunjin would have admired if he didn’t feel so dirty. Yucky. Uncomfortable.
If he really had caught that rabbit, in the end, what would he have done with it?
Just the thought alone made him shiver a little. He didn’t want to know, not really.
“Hyunjinnie, look at you!” Changbin gasped dramatically as soon as he saw him, rushing over to take him by the shoulders as if searching for any injuries. “You’re all ruffed up! What did you do?!”
“I saw a bunny.” He answered simply.
Apparently overcome with a sudden bout of cuteness aggression, Changbin made a strangled noise as he wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, squeezing him so tightly that his feet nearly lifted from the ground. Hyunjin pawed at his chest to put him down once he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t seem to care that Hyunjin got mud on his shirt as he tried to dust the leopard off.
Luckily, the camera crew were on break, all surrounding a van as they ate their dinners before they had to film even more. None of them paid any mind as the group surrounded Hyunjin to fuss over him and pluck stray strands of grass from his dark hair.
His hair had been black for a while. Maybe it was time to dye it again- last time, it was pink. Perhaps, blonde?
Hyunjin shook the thoughts away. He was feeling floaty and letting his brain run a mile a minute- he needed to focus on the present.
Now- when Chan gave him that worried look he always had. Now- when Jeongin laughed a little too loudly at his stained butt. Now- as Felix and Jisung led him to the camper they arrived in.
Clumsily, he nearly tripped over the narrow stairs walking into the vehicle, but Felix was in front of him and Jisung was behind him so together they managed to get him to the back of the camper with the small shower without any injury. At least, now Hyunjin’s face stopped hurting. He severely doubted that there would be any lasting bruises.
“We probably have about thirty minutes before the staff finish eating and realize that we’re gone. Honestly- with how involved they were in their conversation, I don’t think they would have realized we caught the entire forest on fire.” Jisung said as he pulled back the thin curtain to the side of the rod and reached in to turn the shower lever all the way to the right.
Water spilled from the flimsy shower head to patter at the bottom of the shower. It was so short that Hyunjin would need to bend down to wet his hair. So small that he would need to curl up in an uncomfortable position to wash his back.
Luckily, when Hyunjin reached out to caress the water, it was warm on his fingertips. He wouldn’t need to suffer through a cold shower, shivering and teeth clattering to preserve body heat. “Good temperature?” Felix asked, and Hyunjin nodded. “Do you need any help?”
Hyunjin paused for a moment to think, wringing his muddy tail nervously. “I… I don’t know,” he admitted honestly, and Jisung just shrugged.
“How about we wait out here for you, and you call for us if you need anything?”
Filled with gratitude, Hyunjin resisted the cat-like urge to nudge his head against Jisung’s chin in thanks. Instead- he ignored it because he’d listened to his instincts enough for today. They’d landed him in this mess in the first place.
Just as Hyunjin shrugged the stained yellow sweater off of his torso and thumbed at the waistband of the jeans to tug them down- the door to the camper opened. Hyunjin made a startled noise and quickly shimmied the denim back up in an attempt to at least gain some semblance of decency.
“It’s okay!” Chan called from the doorway, “it’s just me!”
Hyunjin huffed in relief and let the jeans fall back to the floor. Worst case scenario- a staff member could have walked in on him with both his ass and his tail out- both were equally as bad.
Chan held up a familiar bottle of lavender soap, Hyunjin’s favorite. “Here, I figured you this would make it easier to wash the mud out of your fur.”
Hyunjin made a pleased noise as he snatched the bottle from Chan’s hand. It was half full. He would need to buy some more soon- he couldn’t use any other, because this was the only kind that made his fur so silky and fluffy!
“Chan hyung! Where did you get this? How did you know that I would need it?” Last he checked- Hyunjin’s washing material was back at the dorm in the shower.
Chan shrugged one shoulder with a lopsided smile that showed off the divots of his dimples. “We’re filming and sleeping in tents outside. I figured that you would get a little dirty- and I know how uncomfortable and squirmy you get when your fur gets tangled. Here’s a brush, too.”
Hyunjin was so thankful that he wanted to cry as he took the offered items to set them down at the bottom of the shower. “Channie hyung! You’re so nice!” He practically tossed himself at the leader, and Chan looped his arms around his bare lower back to hold them steady so they wouldn’t tumble right down the stairs at the doorway.
Hyunjin nudged his nose against Chan’s neck to take in his scent and give him a few thankful lips- it was only when Chan patted the small of his back and wrapped his hands around Hyunjin’s waist to gently push him away when he realized he was almost naked.
“Clothes,” Chan reminded, sounding amused rather than annoyed or flustered. Hyunjin huffed and crossed his arms grumpily to stomp back to his shower and draw the curtains shut as they laughed at him.
If Chan hyung didn’t want him when he was half naked, then he didn’t deserve Hyunjin when he was fully clothed either.
Still…
Hyunjin uncapped the lavender scented soap to squeeze a dollop into his palm. Chan was so nice for remembering the things that made Hyunjin comfortable. He didn’t need soap- but he wanted it, and that was enough for Chan to remember. Hyunjin supposed, looking back when he was too emotional to even see straight- that this was why he decided to ask Chan to be his owner.
Hyunjin swallowed down a sudden ball of emotion in his throat as he clambered to curl up and sit under the spray of water, knees to his chest. He lathered the hybrid friendly lotion into his fluffy ears, mud flaking off to swirl around the drain and disappear. It took a while for him to rid his ears and the rest of his body of mud.
His tail was a challenge.
No matter how much he twisted and turned to try and reach back, his tail refused to cooperate, dodging his hands like the stupid appendage was playing with him. He managed to wash the very tip of the hooked tail after wrangling it, but failed any further. When he tugged a little too hard at the base of his sensitive tail, he bit his lip to try and hold back a strangled yelp.
“Hyunjin?” Felix worriedly called from somewhere outside of the shower, “are you okay in there?”
“Yes, I’m fine I-“ Hyunjin paused to rethink his statement. This was Felix and Jisung- they’d already seen him at his worst. A simply embarrassing wash with an antsy tail certainly didn't qualify as that. “No.. I can’t reach my tail. Can you help me? Please?”
“Of course!”
A moment later, the curtain was drawn back and in entered Jisung and Felix like a couple of squad guards- minus the clothes. Really, Hyunjin thought that their group preferred going without clothes an unhealthy amount.
“Sit with your front to the wall and we’ll reach your tail for you,” Jisung ordered in a mock serious voice, like this was some kind of mission of utmost importance, and Hyunjin just snorted and did as he was told, deciding not to mention the fact that cleaning his tail probably wasn’t a two person job.
Hyunjin curled his legs up and leaned his forehead against the cool shower wall, a soothing juxtaposition to the warm water that trickled down his spine.
It was impossible not to tense up his entire body when Jisung took his fluffy tail between his hands- it was instinct, after all, especially when it was such a sensitive area- but as soon as Felix started to work soap into the appendage, he relaxed forward.
“That’s it,” Felix cooed, “I’ll be gentle, I promise. Tell me if I tug too hard, okay?”
Hyunjin nodded with his cheek shoved against the shower wall, eyes drifting shut slowly with lips slightly parted. Felix continued to keep his touch light as he transferred, scrubbing the mud out of his fur, and then running a brush through it. A few times, he caught a few tangles and Hyunjin jumped with a yelp- but Jisung continued to hold his tail to prevent it from whacking them in the face.
As Felix’s fingers trailed further and further up until they were at the most tender area where his spine connected with his tail, Hyunjin whined a little. It was a strange tinge of pain mixed with pleasure, and if it was any other situation- if he wasn’t so incredibly exhausted from his earlier chase- he was sure that he would be painfully hard between his legs.
As it was, though, Felix kept his touch featherlight and Jisung kept Hyunjin still when he squirmed too much. “Almost done,” Felix soothed him, pouring some more water to dispel the soap still clinging to his fur.
The steam of the hot water was starting to get to Hyunjin’s head, so when Jisung turned the faucet off once he was all rinsed, Hyunjin fell back into Felix, using his shoulder like a pillow. Felix laughed, and it reverberated through his chest like a comforting rumble.
“Here- you stay like that and Jisung will brush the rest of your tail out and dry it.”
“Mmhm.” Hyunjin hummed happily, letting his eyes fall shut blissfully. He didn’t necessarily like it when his tail was brushed- it was much like a tender headed child whining- but Jisung was delicate with his work, brushing and then patting it dry.
“There, good as new. Look at you, Hyunjinnie-ah, all soft and fluffy like nothing even happened.” Jisung took Hyunjin’s tail and presented it to him, and Hyunjin preened happily. It looked more soft and vibrant than it had in days. Hyunjin curled the hooked section of his tail around Jisung’s wrist in appreciation, and then leaned back sleepily to give Felix a kiss along his jawline.
“‘Love you,” he hummed with a lazy smile. “Both of you. Thank you.”
There was a long stretch of silence as Jisung and Felix met eyes over Hyunjin’s head, smiles breaking across their faces. Hyunjin was too tired from the nice grooming to notice.
“Us too, Hyunjin-ah. Our sweet little leopard. We love you too.”