Pairing: SKZ & Felix

Genre: Hybrid AU

!!TW!! : referenced captivity, referenced hybrid experiment, referenced abuse, past conditioning, mild angst, implied panic attack

(requested by @honeymoons)

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"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yes, hyung."

"Don't forget to drink lots of water—"

"I won't."

"—and don't eat too many snacks, I don't want you to get sick—"

"I'll be careful."

"—and you can call me at any time—"

"I know."

"—and if you want to leave for whatever reason, the others won't be mad—"

"Hyung!" Chan stopped, eyes going a little wide, and Felix smiled fondly. "I'm going to be okay, hyung. You're rambling, now."

The wolf heaved out a sigh, his shoulders slumping a bit. "I'm just worried, Lix... It's your first time, and I don't want anything to go wrong. Are you sure you don't want to stay here?"

"Mmm, stay cooped up in my room while you're having a secret meeting in your office all day or go out and have some fun with everyone else at the amusement park? I wonder which one's best, really," drawled the younger.

Chan huffed, ruffling the boy's hair. "You're spending too much time with Innie."

"How is that a bad thing?" retorted Jeongin, suddenly popping his head in the hallway. "Lixie, we're about to head out. Are you ready?"

The cat instantly beamed. "Yes! Let's go!"

Seeing Felix so excited, Chan truly couldn't say anything else. There was no denying that he was extremely worried and, even though Minho had promised to keep him updated the entire day, he still felt a little anxious.

They'd just celebrated Felix's first year with them, and the cat was doing better than ever. He'd improved a lot since, both physically and mentally, and he'd started becoming a lot more confident and outspoken lately – which was great, of course, but no amount of improvement would ever change the fact that he was basically Chan's baby.

They'd brought Felix to the city numerous times already, helping him get adapt to civilization and get used to people, humans and hybrids alike. It wasn't easy at first, but he'd stopped having panic attacks a few months back, now, and the others figured he was finally ready for a little more... excitement, so to speak.

Chan would have gone along with the rest of his pack had it not been for the important meeting he'd be having later – the reason why the others were leaving the house in the first place. It didn't happen often, seeing as Chan would rather keep work at his office in the city, but there were times when it simply couldn't be helped.

"Chan, we're going to be fine," assured Minho, patting his shoulder as he walked past him. "If anything does happen, we know how to handle it, alright? Don't stress too much, just focus on your work."

The wolf nodded at that. "Alright. Have a nice day, then. Bring me back a souvenir, would you?"

"Will do – I'll win the ugliest plushie just for you!" taunted the cat.

Chan rolled his eyes a bit, knowing Minho would probably do exactly that. He then proceeded with biding everyone else a good day and, when came Felix's turn, the young cat gave him a tight hug.

"I'll see you later, hyung."

"Hmm. Call me if you need anything."

With a smile and a nod, Felix then quickly ran outside to join the others in the car – they were taking the big one so they could all fit in it, and he happily took his seat between Jisung and Jeongin. Soon enough, Minho was driving away, and Chan heaved out a sigh.

He wanted nothing more than to join them and have some fun too, but his work couldn't be pushed aside. He'd simply wait for his next day off to go out with everyone.

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The amusement park was loud. Felix didn't really know what he'd been expecting but, even with the earplugs firmly stuck in place, his sensitive ears kept on twitching and catching all sorts of noises.

There were machines and people and shouts and laughter and music. Dozens of smells were mingling together, making his stomach rumble in envy and his mouth salivate. And everywhere he looked, all he saw were colors and games and prizes and faces filled with happiness and joy and—

"Lix?" Jeongin's hand slipped into his, effectively grounding him. "Are you okay?"

"I- I'm fine," gulped the cat, squeezing the fox's hand. "Just- just a bit overwhelmed."

"We can always go somewhere else—"

"N- no!" cut Felix, vigorously shaking his head. "I wanna stay here!"

"Then how about we all go grab something to eat, first?" suggested Minho with a small smile. He poked Felix's twitching nose. "Smelled something you like, Lixie?"

The boy flushed a bit in embarrassment, he was still pretty bad at hiding just how much his animal side had control over him. Still, Minho smiled at him encouragingly, and he then remembered all of the exercises he'd done with the older cat to try and learn how to use his abilities instead of rejecting them – such as his heightened sense of smell.

"It smells... like meat. And- and a little spicy?" He licked his lips, excitement growing as he caught another whiff of the scent that caught his attention. "This way!"

He excitedly tugged Jeongin in the direction of the smell, and the others chuckled a bit, quickly following after them. They were simply glad Felix seemed to be taking well to the change of scenery, and they simply hoped the entire day would go without a hitch.

.

As it turned out, Felix had smelled giant chicken legs that were practically the size of his head. Ever since being taken in by their little makeshift family, though, he'd developed a healthy appetite and, as such, he managed to eat a full one without any issue – which definitely pleased the others, who still remembered how hard it used to be to just make him eat half-a-bowl of rice.

After filling their bellies with delicious carnival food, they decided to take some time to digest by heading for the game stands and arcades. They spent the following two hours or so trying out all of the games, sometimes winning prizes, other times leaving empty-handed, but still having had a lot of fun.

And, now that Felix had finally gotten used to the energy of the amusement park, he felt ready to take on the actual attractions. He wasn't interested at all in the bigger rollercoasters, but the carousel instantly caught his attention. He was delighted when the little red car he'd picked started moving while the entire attraction began spinning just fast enough for it to be fun, and he eventually got off with a wide smile on his face that showed off his little fangs.

(Yet another blatant improvement, the others mindlessly noted. Back when he first started living with them, Felix had been extremely self-conscious about smiling so widely, since he was always punished for showing his teeth – the bastards who used him always told him it was a sign of aggressivity.)

They moved on to another attraction – the teacups. At that point, any and all reserves Felix might still have had were completely gone as he and Jisung made their teacup spin so fast it made him dizzy. He was having so much fun, and he was giggling uncontrollably by the time they got off the ride and moved on to the next. He even ended up taking out his earplugs!

As they walked through the crowd to make their way to the next attraction, however, a strange noise caught his ears. They twitched, trying to focus on that sound amongst all the other noises, and he didn't even notice as the rest of the group kept on walking while he slowed down the pace.

There!

Overjoyed at having been able to single out the noise he wanted – something he wouldn't have been able to do a few months ago – Felix didn't think twice before veering off the main street and heading for a smaller one. And there, barely a few meters further, right between two stands, Felix found... a human boy.

He was young, probably no older than eight. He was curled up on himself and crying, and there was some blood on his scraped knee, too. It was no wonder no one else had noticed him, he was partially hiding behind a trashcan, and Felix's heart instantly went out to him – he could only understand how scary it must be, to get lost in such a big world with no one to rely on.

He slowly lowered himself before him, and he smiled when their eyes met. "Hi. I'm Felix. What's your name?"

"Woo- Wooyoung," answered the little boy, sniffling a bit. His tears were still falling, but he now seemed to focus on the ears atop his head. "Are you- are you a hybrid, Mr. Felix?"

He laughed a bit at the nickname. "Yes, I am. Do you want to touch them?"

"Can I?"

He lowered his head and, after a moment of hesitation, the little boy reached out and gently petted his ears. He pulled away a few seconds later, letting out a soft giggle.

"They're soft!"

"Thank you!" beamed Felix. He took great pride in how well he groomed his fur. "Hey, how old are you, Wooyoung?"

"I'm seven!"

"Really? You're such a big boy already!" he gasped, making him giggle again. "But tell me, did you get lost?"

At that, his smile fell a little. "I- I didn't mean to... I just- I just saw a game and I was curious and- and when I turned around, my dad- my dad wasn't there anymore... and- and I got scared 'cause there were too many people."

Felix hummed in understanding. "That's okay. I'll help you find him, alright?"

"R- really?"

"Really! Can I pick you up, Wooyoung? So you don't get lost again?"

He nodded fervently, and Felix carefully picked him up. Thankfully, their little encounter seemed to have made him forget about his scraped knee and, as soon as he was up, his hands shyly petted Felix's ears again, awe written all over his face. Felix chuckled softly and let him do as he pleased, glad it helped him relax.

Stepping out of the small alley, Felix glanced around, before realizing he simply had no clue of who he was looking for.

"Hey, what's your dad's name, Wooyoung?"

"Hongjoong! And my other dad's here too, his name's Seonghwa!"

"Alright. Why don't you tell me what they look like while we start walking?"

.

"Guys. Where's Felix?"

Everyone instantly froze at Changbin's question and, at once, they all stopped walking and looked at each other. As told, the youngest cat wasn't anywhere to be found. Panic instantly rising, the six of them started frantically looking around them, hoping to find the freckled boy not too far... but failing miserably.

Felix had disappeared. He was gone and oh my God Chan's going to kill us—

"We have to find him – now," instructed Minho, trying his best not to just run off and find the kitten. "Hyunjin, Jisung, you go back at the entrance. Jeongin, Seungmin, you two go back down this street, see if you can find him. Changbin and I are going to the lost kids' center, see if we can get a hold of him through the security there. Keep in touch with your phones, tell us as soon as you find something. Go, go, go!"

As the group promptly split up, Jisung instantly noticed the look on Hyunjin's face.

"What's wrong, Jinnie?"

"I'm just worried... He must be so scared right now, alone and lost!"

.

"—and then he tripped and ended up with flour all over his face!"

Felix burst out laughing as Wooyoung finished his tale with a proud grin. As it turned out, the little boy was quite mischievous by nature, and he'd played more than one prank on his parents. Encouraging him to talk also helped in keeping him calm, so Felix had no qualms asking for more details.

It was about thirty minutes into their search that they accidentally found their way to a building with a large, red and yellow sign on which was written "Lost Children Center", and Felix couldn't help but feel amazed. They truly thought of everything! It was a lost and found for people!

"How about we go in there? Maybe they can find your dads more easily," suggested Felix.

"Oh, right!"

So they went inside. The moment they stepped foot into the lobby, though—

"Wooyoung!!!"

"Felix!!!"

The human boy and the hybrid instantly froze, their eyes going wide as four people suddenly rushed up to them. At first startled, Wooyoung then let out a happy cry.

"Dads!!!"

Felix put him down, and the boy instantly took off, rushing up to his fathers' arms. The cat couldn't help but smile softly at the happy reunion, though he was quickly distracted from it by arms strongly closing around him.

"You reckless boy! Do you even realize just how badly you scared us!?"

"Min- Minho-hyung... Changbin-hyung...?"

It's only then that Felix realized he, too, had actually gotten lost. He'd been so caught up with trying to help Wooyoung, he completely forgot about the rest of his friends. Feeling a little bad, he let Minho coddle and scold him to his heart's content while Changbin contacted the others to let them know Felix was alright.

"Lixie!" Wooyoung suddenly ran back to him and hugged his legs tightly, grinning widely. "Thank you so much! I found my dads, now!"

"Yeah, I can see that," chuckled Felix, patting his head. "But I think you've given them enough grey hair for the rest of the week, hm? Be good, now."

Wooyoung's smile turned a bit sheepish at that. "I will!"

"Felix-ssi...?" He looked up and found said dads now before him. The taller one had just spoken up, smiling softly. "Thank you for finding him and helping him."

"Of course!" beamed the cat.

"Dad, dad! Can I see Lixie again? Please?" pouted Wooyoung.

"Woo, that's not—"

"I'd love to!" exclaimed excitedly Felix, turning to Minho. "Can I, Minho-hyung?"

The older cat sweatdropped a bit – count on Felix to make friends with a kid ten years younger than him. But then again, seeing them interact was incredibly cute, and he'd feel bad for tearing them apart like that...

"I'm sure we could arrange something," he relented, offering a smile at the two unsure fathers. "Why don't we exchange numbers, and talk about this later?"

The taller one's smile relaxed. "That'd be nice, yes."

While they exchanged numbers, the two boys cheered and exchanged a high-five. Today might have gone a little off tracks for the two of them, but they definitely couldn't complain about the aftermath.

.

After meeting up with the rest of the group, Felix bid goodbye to his new friend, and everyone agreed to call it a day. The moment they got back into the car, Felix fell asleep with his head on Jisung's shoulder, and none of them had the heart to wake him – even if he hadn't been scared by being separated from them, Felix had still had a pretty tiring day.

When they finally got home, Jisung volunteered to take him inside. He managed to coax Felix out of the car and into his arms, the younger cat instantly wrapping all of his limbs around him like a little koala. The six hybrids then finally found their way back inside, careful not to make any noise and keeping to the living room and the kitchen since they'd seen an unknown car outside – meaning Chan still wasn't done with his meeting, and the second floor was thus off-limits for now.

Felix was now stuck between being awake and sleeping, purring in Jisung's lap while his fellow cat gently petted his head. The others were scattered over the other couches, talking in low tones about their day while comparing the prizes they'd won.

After about twenty minutes, they all heard a door opening upstairs. Chan's voice echoed, soon followed by another man's – they were biding each other a good day, with the wolf now guiding his guest back to the door.

"Lix?" Felix had tensed up the moment he heard the voices. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I—"

Before he could say anything, two figures appeared in the doorway. One was Chan, and the other was a man in a suit – his visitor, obviously. The man smiled at them.

"Oh, hello!"

"Everyone, this is Kang Hyunsuk," introduced Chan. "Kang-ssi, this is my pack. They—"

Hyunsuk's gaze swept over the people in the room but, the moment his eyes met Felix's, the cat's pupils dilated, and he let out a loud hiss. A heavy silence instantly fell over the room, but Felix didn't notice, his fur bristling and his tail standing straight as he kept on hissing at the man before them, clinging tightly to Jisung.

"Down, Yongbok!" snapped Hyunsuk.

The freckled boy instantly let out a whimper, recoiling away from him and hiding his face in Jisung's shoulder. The silence in the room only grew thicker, though, and the tension rose as the man belatedly realized his mistake.

Yongbok was the name Felix had been given back in the facility – his "human" name.

Which could only mean one thing.

"You bastard!!!"

Minho was the first to snap, pouncing at the man with his claws out. Hyunjin and Seungmin managed to catch him and hold him back before he could maul the human, knowing he'd only get in trouble for it, but Chan was quick to take over – with a growl, he grabbed the man's shoulders and harshly pinned him to the floor, ignoring the man's protests and curses.

Jisung quickly carried Felix out of the room, taking him back to his room with Jeongin in tow, while Hyunjin and Changbin stayed behind to keep an eye on the situation. It had all happened so fast, no one really knew what to do, but one thing was certain: Hyunsuk was one of the people who hurt Felix, and they wouldn't let him get away with it.

Settling down in bed, Jisung kept on rubbing Felix's back. "It's okay, Lix. He can't hurt you anymore, I promise. We won't let him, okay?"

The freckled boy simply nodded, hugging Jisung a little tighter. His heart was beating fast, he was obviously trying not to lose himself to his memories. He wasn't crying, just breathing a little erratically, and Jeongin draped himself over his back to help make him feel a little safer.

"We'll protect you, Lix," he promised softly. "We're family, and family looks after each other. No one will ever hurt you again, I swear."