Archive of Our Own

Hoseok had always thought that being a shifter was great, the fact that he also happened to shift into a giant bunny even better because lots of people liked to cuddle him and they weren’t scared. Shifters were also pretty common, so it wasn’t something that he needed to keep hidden which was a really good thing. Trying to hide the fact that you could shift into a giant floppy eared bunny while living with 6 other guys would be near impossible.

So yea, overall being a shifter was an awesome thing… until it wasn’t.

Now don’t get him wrong here, it’s not like he just one day woke up and didn’t like being a shifter, it’s more he’s really not a fan of the downsides of being one. Like losing the ability to control his  shifts when he’s sick, and not being able to move through the apartment easily due to his size; both situations he was currently suffering from.

Letting out a huff of air, Hoseok laid his head on the couch in the living room, the rest of his body stretched out in the clear space between the couch and tv. He had turned down the offer to go out to dinner with the rest of the group because he had been feeling under the weather all day, and so he had split off to come home when they left dance practice earlier. He didn’t think he had been in bad enough shape for this to happen, but likely the fact that he was exhausted from practice and then got caught in a sudden rainfall on his walk home probably sped things up.

‘I hope someone comes home soon.’ he thought to himself, a shiver running through him from his wet fur. He hadn’t had time to dry off before  he suddenly shifted and he was currently dripping water everywhere.

‘At least my head’s dry or Ki would kill me for getting water all over the couch.’

Getting colder by the minute due to his wet fur, Hoseok was close to trying to squeeze down the hall in his rabbit form when he heard the front door open. His first reaction was happiness, the fact that someone was home meant that he’d be able to get some help until he was able to change back. Right on the heels of that feeling of happiness, though, was one of embarrassment and shame. He’s a grown ass man and the 2nd oldest in the group! He should be able to look after himself.

Before he had too much time to spiral into those darker thoughts his attention was grabbed by who walked through the door.

Kihyun.

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When Kihyun had left dinner early to come home and check on his hyung, the last thing he expected to see when he walked into their apartment was the giant rabbit staring at him from the living room.

His first reaction was shock. Hoseok-hyung hadn’t looked that ill when they split up earlier, they had tried offering him a drive back but he waved them off saying that he was hoping the air and short walk would help him feel better.

His second reaction was anger. Why did he wave them off and leave on his own when he was obviously worse off than he seemed? If he can’t move easily — or at all really — around the apartment in his shifted form, he should have asked for help!

The last and strongest reaction, however, was the one to finally get his feet moving: worry. Shaking his head, he quickly removed his shoes and jacket before making his way over to his bunnified hyung.

“Hoseok-hyung,” he murmured softly, coming to a stop beside the shifter and gently petting his head before moving down towards his neck noticing how wet the fur was a moment before he felt a tremor run through the large rabbit in front of him.

“You’re wet, did you get caught in the rain on your way home??”

Seeing him nod Kihyun quickly headed for the hall closet where they kept the extra blankets before making a stop in his own room to grab his hairdryer. Coming back to the living room, he quickly deposited the stack of blankets on the couch beside Hoseok’s head before grabbing one and spreading it out over his back, rubbing it all over the fur to help soak up some of the excess water.

“Did you know this was going to happen when we split up earlier?” he asked as he tossed the now wet blanket onto the floor behind the couch and grabbed a dry one and covering Hoseok back up before plugging in his hair dryer. Starting with the tail Kihyun began blow drying the wet fur in front of him.

Hoseok shook his head. Another thing that absolutely sucked about being a shifter was not being able to communicate with his members when he was in his bunny form. Lying his head back down on the couch and relaxing under Kihyun’s gentle but meticulous ministrations, he thought back to what he had learned about shifters and how there was a way to form a mental connection with people you were close to. He wasn’t sure of the details, however, so he made a mental note to look into it and then — depending on the results — possibly bring it up with the other members later.

Seeing his hyung relax, Kihyun gives him a small smile from where he’s drying his fur. He’s glad that this didn’t happen on purpose, he knows Hoseok prefers to look after everyone and doesn’t like being fussed over but, honestly, none of them mind. If anything, they’re going to be a bit jealous (also worried but that’s a given; he’s their bunny hyung, after all). Not to mention knowing ahead of time that he won’t be able to communicate much beyond nodding his head makes things a lot easier in the long run.

Feeling himself relax after knowing that his hyung wasn’t suffering on purpose, Kihyun focused back on drying his fur, humming gently under his breath. Hoseok may not be an actual rabbit but having wet fur when he’s already ill isn’t any good so the sooner he can get him dry the better.

Hoseok woke up a little while later — having fallen asleep as he warmed up —  to his head being moved and set down on something still comfortable but not quite as soft as the couch, and a light weight on his head. Opening his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of Kihyun’s t-shirt clad tummy in front of him, which he quickly took advantage of by nuzzling his nose right up against him and closing his eyes again in contentment when he felt what he now realized was Kihyun’s hand on his head start to move.

Registering that he was covered by another dry blanket and that there was no lingering chill from the wetness from earlier, Hoseok was content to go back to sleep but Kihyun’s voice caught his attention before he drifted off again.

“Hoseok-hyung, I need to let the others know that you’re okay. Do you want them to come home?”

He thought about it for a minute. He was warm and dry, and while he didn’t have the energy to shift back yet he already had Kihyun with him. With nothing else needing to be done, he shook his head no before settling it back on Kihyun’s lap.

“Okay. I’ll let them know then.” Kihyun said with a smile. Quickly opening up their group chat on his phone and sending everyone a message letting them all know that he and Hoseok were fine and there was no need to rush home. Getting a chorus of okay’s and that they’d be home later, along with a message from Hyunwoo to get some rest if needed, Kihyun set his phone off to the side and got comfortable.

“Wake me up when you shift back, hyung. I’ll make you some ramen” he murmured softly, placing a kiss on the fuzzy head in his lap and getting a gentle nuzzle against his stomach in return.

Following his hyung’s example, Kihyun closed his eyes and let himself relax. With one hand beside him on the couch and one resting in  Hoseok’s fur, he quickly fell asleep.

When the others returned a couple hours later, they found them still in the same position. Pictures were taken at the cute sight (courtesy of Minhyuk and Jooheon, who were cooing at the scene before them) before Hyunwoo dismissed them all to head to their own rooms. After all, there would be plenty of time to cuddle Hoseok in the morning, whether he was shifted or not.

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It was after supper and, after having just gotten changed, Jooheon was once again watching from where he stood in the hallway as Hoseok got ready to head to the studio. He had been doing this for over a week now: going to practice, coming home, eating, and then heading out to the studio, only to get home after 2am. The late nights were beginning to show too, and the last thing Jooheon wanted was for his hyung to get sick again.

“Hyung” he called, moving from the hallway to the living room and leaning over the back of the couch where Hoseok was sitting as he tied his shoes. “Do you really have to go to the studio tonight?”

“Afraid so, I’ve gotta get this done.” Hoseok said, leaning back enough that he could see Jooheon and give him a smile before reaching up and ruffling his hair.

From this angle the under eye circles that Hoseok was spotting were huge — not to mention dark — making it look like he had two black eyes. Jooheon really didn’t want him to leave. But he couldn’t say anything to change his mind and make him stay, so he just watched quietly as Hoseok finished getting ready.

“I’ll see you later Honey~” Hoseok sing-songed while throwing Jooheon a grin as he opened the door.

“Be safe, hyung!”

Jooheon waited until the door had closed before hopping over the back of the couch and leaning back, staring blankly at the ceiling until Changkyun’s face came into view above him. They stared at each other in silence for a couple minutes, Jooheon’s fingers idly playing with the bunnies along the top of the pink thigh highs he was wearing until Changkyun spoke up.

“Hyung’s left again?”

“Yes…” Jooheon trailed off, pulling his knees up to his chest so he could wrap his arms around them.

When he didn’t elaborate further, Changkyun walked around the couch and sat down beside him, pulling him into his side. Placing a kiss on his head, he turned to rest his cheek against the black hair and let silence reign while Jooheon got his thoughts in order.

“I just don’t understand why he’s working so hard right now. We have time before our next comeback, and we don’t need new music for the tour. I just want him to rest. He looks so tired.” the last bit coming out muffled from where he had buried his face in Changkyun’s chest.

“Lets go make sure he rests, then.”

“What?!” Jooheon shot up from where he had been curled up against Changkyun and stared at him in surprise.

“You want to make sure he rests, right?” he asked, getting up from the couch and stretching before looking back at a still shocked looking Jooheon.

“Well, you’re not the only one worried about him so let's head over to the studio and convince him to sleep for once.”

Jooheon was still for a minute before nodding as a smile large enough to show his dimples appeared. He quickly jumped off the couch and was heading for his shoes when Changkyun spoke up from behind him.

“You might want to at least pull some pants on over your shorts, it’s pretty chilly outside.”

Jooheon stopped and looked down, taking in his thigh highs and shorts before he turned back and pouted at Changkyun.

“Fine, but I’m taking them off when we get to Hoseok-hyung’s studio, I want to be comfortable.”

Changkyun nodded his agreement and proceeded to get his own shoes on while Jooheon went to grab a pair of pants to cover up with. When he came back he quickly slipped on his shoes and they both grabbed their jackets, making sure they had their phones, wallets and keys with them before heading out the door.

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Hoseok huffed in frustration. His search about how to be able to communicate with people who weren’t shifters was proving to be a lot more difficult than he thought it would. Shifters were able to communicate with each other regardless if they were family or not; and a mental link was established with family members of a shifter as soon as they were born, whether anyone else was a shifter themselves or not. It was only when he left home that Hoseok realized how much easier that connection had made things.

Yet another search brought up the ridiculous idea of learning to write by holding a pen or pencil in his mouth and Hoseok closed the browser with a growl — he was a rabbit, his teeth in his shifted form were not meant to hold things. He opened up the song he was working on instead, getting lost in the music.

Sometime later, Hoseok was sitting back in his chair staring moodily at the track, something didn’t sound right and he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Just as he was getting ready to start the track again, he found himself pulled backwards a bit before Jooheon climbed onto his lap with a grin, his dimples on full display.

He reached up to pull his headphones off his head — the reason he didn’t hear the door open —  when a second set of hands gently removed them for him and set them on the desk before a weight draped itself across his shoulders. Turning his head to the right he was met with Changkyun’s face sporting a lazy but fond smile.

Huffing out a small laugh, Hoseok brought his arms up and around Jooheon’s waist, where he had curled up on his lap, to keep him from falling. He leaned his head back onto Changkyun’s shoulder before speaking.

“So...you two are playing the maknae line rest squad tonight, are you?”

“Mhmm” Changkyun hummed “Joohoney there was worried and so was I. You’ve been working too hard when there isn’t a need to.” he said, placing a quick kiss to the other’s forehead before leaning his head against Hoseok’s where it rested on his shoulder.

Jooheon, who had tucked his head into the crook of Hoseok’s neck and shoulder during the exchange, spoke up.

“Is there something wrong hyung?” he asked, laying a soft kiss to the side of his neck.

Hoseok breathed out a sigh. Yes, there was something wrong but he wasn’t ready to talk about trying to find a way for him to communicate with them when he was shifted yet, not until he had more information. But there was also something wrong with the song, that he could work with.

“I’m just…” he started, picking his words carefully “having trouble finding the missing piece, I guess is the best way to describe it.” he gently squeezed Jooheon’s waist before bringing a hand up to gently run it through Changkyun’s hair. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” he hated making the others worry, but he always felt extra guilty when he caused the 2 youngest to worry for him.

Jooheon lifted his head from where it was resting and gently took Hoseok’s face in his hands, tilting his head down until he was looking him in the eye and shook his head.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I do the same thing sometimes so I understand, but you and the others are also there to help me out when I get stuck. We just want to be there for you too.”

“You don’t have to do everything yourself, hyung. You’re allowed to ask for help.” Changkyun added, driving the point home.

Hoseok bit his lip, blinking his eyes against the moisture he felt gathering there before giving both the maknaes a soft smile.

“Okay.” he said softly.

Jooheon and Changkyun both immediately brightened up, Jooheon’s dimples once again making an appearance with the large smile adorning his face and Changkyun looking younger than he was with his own wide smile. Both happy that their hyung had listened to them.

“Do you want me to listen to the track now hyung?” Jooheon asked, looking almost eager as he glanced at Hoseok’s computer screen.

“Nope, we’re going to sleep now.” Changkyun cut in, standing up from where he had been slouched over the back of Hoseok’s chair for the last couple of minutes and making his way to the fold out couch that was in the room. The other two might be his hyungs, but he knew them well. If they got started on that track now, then they’d be up all night and that would make the whole purpose of coming here pointless.

Jooheon pouted at Changkyun as he pulled the cushions off the couch before pulling out the hide-a-bed and a couple of blankets, but knew he was right. Looking back at Hoseok, he couldn’t help but give him a small smile.

“He’s right, we’d never get any sleep if we start working on this now. Come cuddle with us? I’ll listen to the track first thing tomorrow so that we can work on it.”

On the one hand, Hoseok really wanted to work on the track and get it done. But on the other hand, he was pretty tired. He wasn’t completely blind to the effect that the late nights had been doing to him either.

Nodding his head to let Jooheon know that he agreed with the plan, he quickly saved his work and shut down the computer before grinning at Jooheon and picking him up bridal style as he stood from the chair.

“Ack! Hyung! A little warning would be nice!”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, carrying Jooheon over to where Changkyun was already lounging on the bed and dropping him on the mattress, crawling onto the bed as well after taking off his jeans and shoes.

Changkyun quickly pulled Hoseok down onto his back, taking advantage of his surprise to actually move him around easily and curl up against his side. He threw his arm across his hyung’s chest and settled his head on his shoulder, content as he could be as they waited for Jooheon to settle in.

Hoseok had reached for Jooheon as soon as Changkyun had stopped moving, but was surprised when Jooheon moved away from him to get off the bed again. The question of why was on the tip of his tongue when the reason made itself known in the form of Jooheon shimmying out of his pants to reveal sleep shorts and a pair of long, light pink thigh-highs with little rabbits poking their heads over the top.

“You wore a pair of your thigh-highs outside the apartment... and it’s the pair I bought you” Hoseok said in awe, knowing that Jooheon was always careful not to risk letting them be seen outside of the members.

“Of course I did. You’re more important and I was comfortable, though I am glad I had the pants for the walk over here. That wind was cold.” he said as he climbed back onto the bed with Hoseok and Changkyun. Throwing his own arm across Hoseok’s chest and a leg over his hips he settled his head onto Hoseok’s shoulder on the other side where he could see Changkyun grinning at him.

Realizing that between the two of them, he was essentially pinned to the bed; Hoseok huffed out a laugh before tilting his head down and kissing one, then the other on their heads.

“Alright, I get it. I’m not going anywhere, and thank you for coming to check on me.”

Moving in sync, Changkyun and Jooheon both lifted their heads to place a kiss on each of Hoseok’s cheeks.

“You’re welcome~” they sing-songed as they settled down again.

Grinning like a fool, Hoseok closed his eyes and let himself relax. It was nice knowing that he had people willing to help him, he was looking forward to working on the song with Jooheon in the morning.

Listening to Hoseok’s breathing even out as he fell asleep, Jooheon gently pulled his hand back so that he could grab Changkyun’s. He moved their joined hands to rest over their hyung’s heart and mouthed a quick “Thank you”  to Changkyun before closing his own eyes and slipping quickly into slumber.

When he was sure Jooheon was asleep, Changkyun gently untangled their hands and quickly grabbed his phone, shooting off a message to the group chat explaining where the three of them were. Hyunwoo was the only one still awake and responded with a good night, taking the time to inform them that they had the next day off and to make sure that they were all home in time for lunch as Kihyun was planning on cooking.

Changkyun replied in the affirmative before locking his phone and putting it away. Once again he linked his hand with Jooheon’s and settled his head back on Hoseok’s shoulder. Content to be there with them, he soon followed them in sleep.

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It was with a much lighter heart that Hoseok turned on his computer to start a new search for his communication problem with the others. The last couple of days after the impromptu slumber party with Jooheon and Changkyun had been very productive, as he worked with the two of them on the track he had been having issues with.

The music for the track had been finished yesterday, all that was left was to finish working on the lyrics — which he could do just about anywhere — so he had come to the studio today with the sole intention of doing some research. He did promise Jooheon that he wouldn’t spend more than a couple hours today, even going as far as to set an alarm so he wouldn’t lose track of time.

Opening up a new browser window, he clicked in the search bar and carefully typed in what he was looking for.

‘How to initiate a new telepathic bond with non-shifters outside of family’

As he hit the enter key, Hoseok crossed his fingers and hoped that this worked. This was the only way he could think of to word the question that may actually give him some decent results. He knew such communication was possible, but he didn’t have any friends or family who he could ask about it which only left him hard way of doing it.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the search page finished loading. There, the very first result, was exactly what he was looking for. It was an article written by a Shifter Specialist and just by the preview below the link Hoseok knew it would have the answer he was looking for.

‘Yes, it is possible for telepathy connections to be formed outside of families and other shifters….’

Clicking on the link to open the page, Hoseok leaned over his keyboard and quickly started skimming through the article, looking for the information he now knew was there. When he finally came across the part he was looking for, he had to stop and read through it a couple more times, not sure he wanted to believe what he was reading.

‘I get this question a lot from shifters, and partners of shifters alike. Yes, it is possible to create a new telepathic connection between a shifter and a non-shifter who are not related, however I always encourage people who are thinking of doing so to think long and hard about it. The connection once formed cannot be reversed, it is permanent. So, in situations like a romantic relationship if the couple splits they will still have that connection together, though it does not interfere with creating new relationships, or opening new connections.

Another reason I urge people to think carefully before making the decision is this. It requires the non-shifter party to be bitten. Normally either above the heart or around the junction of where a person’s neck meets their shoulder. It is painful, not only that but the shifter gene is present in everyone and bites have been known to trigger this gene in some people causing some non-shifters to become a shifter.

If you are a non-shifter and looking to form a connection with a partner, romantic or otherwise you need to ask yourself “Am I willing to deal with the pain?” as it will linger as the bite heals and could be more or less painful depending on which form the shifter initiating the connection uses. The bite has be to hard enough to break skin, after all. You also have you ask yourself “Am I willing to learn how to function if I become a shifter?” as it is not always an easy adjustment for some. If you are unsure or answer negatively to either of these questions, perhaps forming a connection isn’t for you and you should instead work together to develop your own method of communication when the shifter party is in their animal form.’

Hoseok fell back against his chair, a growing feeling of horror starting in his chest as he stared at the article. He would have to bite each one of his members. He would have to willingly hurt his family, just to be able to talk to them when he was shifted.

Reaching out for his mouse, Hoseok closed the browser window and shut down his computer before standing. He found out what he needed to know, there was no point in staying now as he definitely would not be getting any work done.

‘Home...I need to go home’ he thought to himself, mechanically gathering up his belongings and shutting off the studio lights before heading out the door. He was so lost in his own head, he didn’t notice that Hyungwon had called out to him from behind; having been in the building for a vocal lesson.

Hoseok’s thoughts consumed him as he made his way out of the building, his body working more on muscle memory and instinct to avoid running into people than actively thinking about it. If he wanted to talk to his members in his rabbit form he had to bite them. He had to use his teeth and bite hard enough to draw blood and hurt them, all for the sake of being able to talk. How was he supposed to bring that up?

‘Hey, I was doing some research on how you all could talk to me when I’m shifted, and all I need to do is to bite you until it bleeds. It can be on your chest, right over your heart, or on your neck! It’s completely painless for me, but it’s going to hurt you until the bite heals, isn’t that great!’

Hoseok shuddered at the thoughts running through his head and he could feel the moisture building up in his eyes. He knew he needed to actually sit down and talk about this with the others, but he needed to come to terms with it first.

Finally reaching their building, Hoseok decided to take the stairs rather than wait around for the elevator. He needed to keep moving, the minute he stopped the tears would come and he didn’t want to deal with that in public.

Finally reaching the door to the apartment, Hoseok fumbled with his keys, trying to see through the unshed tears to find the right one. He vaguely registered someone coming up beside him but didn't pay any more attention until the person in question opened the door. Mumbling out a quick thanks, Hoseok ran into the apartment straight to his room —  ignoring everyone calling out to him along the way — and closed the door.

Looking at his bed Hoseok quickly dismissed curling up in it. It was too exposed and he didn’t want to talk to anyone yet, which meant he needed to shift and he didn’t fit on his bed in his rabbit form. However, he did grab the blankets and pillows from the bed and threw them in the far corner of his room before going to his closet and pulling out the extra blankets and pillows he kept there, taking them over to the corner as well.

It was with conflicted thoughts and tears finally beginning to spill over that Hoseok began building a nest for himself. On the one hand, if he never brought up the idea of opening up a connection with everyone then it would always be a guessing game of what he needed or what happened, like with the situation with Kihyun a few weeks ago. On the other hand, he would be purposely hurting those he loved and he was terrified. What if he bit too hard, what if he seriously injured one of them and caused irreparable harm?

Wiping his tears, Hoseok sat back and surveyed his now completed nest. Deeming it good enough, he quickly checked to make sure his door was unlocked. He wasn’t going to be able to talk to the others while shifted, and he felt guilty enough already as he knew he was making them worry over his behaviour. Happy that the others would be able to check on him if they felt the need to, Hoseok settled into his nest and shifted.

Immediately, he picked up on the low murmurs of the others talking in the hall though he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He curled up as small as he could make himself and let his thoughts consume him as he felt the guilt begin to eat away at him.

Hopefully he would figure out what to do sooner rather than later.

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Hyungwon was worried.

It wasn’t really uncommon for Hoseok to not hear him after coming out of his studio, but the completely haunted look in his eyes was enough to make Hyungwon’s blood run cold. Hoseok looked as if his world had just fallen apart on him. Worried for his friend —  but also hoping things weren’t as bad as they seemed — Hyungwon opted for following Hoseok home, rather than potentially scaring him by getting his attention when he was clearly lost in his head.

As Hyungwon followed Hoseok through the building to the exit, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. Hoseok was clearly worse off than he originally thought. Normally, even if he was feeling a bit down, Hoseok would have responded to any of the staff who greeted him but he wasn’t reacting at all. Hyungwon was quick to smooth over any ruffled feathers, saying that Hoseok was trying to work out a track issue and how it makes him ignore the rest of the world around him until he figures it out. Luckily with that explanation people seemed mollified.

Reaching outside, Hyungwon was actually relieved to see Hoseok pick up the pace and start walking faster towards home. He could tell Hoseok still wasn’t fully aware of what was going on around him but at least he wasn’t going to run into anyone. Hyungwon kept pace with Hoseok the whole walk home, close enough that he could easily keep an eye on him but far enough that he wouldn’t startle him either.

When they finally reached their apartment building, Hyungwon opted to forego following Hoseok up the stairs and took the elevator to meet him up there instead. Hyungwon expected Hoseok to already be inside the apartment by the time he reached their floor, so he was surprised to see him still outside the door, as he quietly walked closer he quickly understood why. Hoseok’s breathing was heavy, as if he was holding back tears -- he may have been actually, his head was down so Hyungwon couldn’t see his face -- and he was fumbling with his keys.

Stepping up quietly beside Hoseok, Hyungwon reached forward and opened the door with his own set of keys. Pushing open the door a bit, he stepped back slightly to let Hoseok go in first. A good thing too because, after hearing Hoseok mumble what he assumed to be a thank you, he ran into the apartment as if he had a hellhound after him.

As Hyungwon followed him,he saw Jooheon smile and go to greet Hoseok only for him to blow right by him without acknowledging he was even there. Hyungwon held his breath until he heard the door to Hoseok’s room close, then sighed and leaned back against the front door to close it.

“Was that Hoseok-hyung I just heard run in?” Kihyun asked, coming out from the kitchen.

Hyungwon nodded his head before making his way over to Jooheon, who was still standing in the same place he had been when Hoseok ran past him. He had his bottom lip pulled between his teeth as he stared down the hallway in worry.

“Staring down the hall isn’t going to make him come running, unfortunately” Hyungwon said, coming to stand behind Jooheon and wrapping him up in a back hug, resting his chin on Jooheon’s shoulder.

Nodding his agreement even though he didn’t move from where he was standing, Jooheon leaned back into Hyungwon and gripped onto the arm wrapped around his chest with both hands.

“What happened hyung? He’s been in such a good mood the last couple days and he was fine this morning when he left for the studio. Did something happen to the track?”

“Not that I know of, though he did come out of his studio looking like something big had happened. He didn’t even hear me call for him when I tried to get his attention.”

Hyungwon and Jooheon were both still facing the hallway as they talked so they both saw when Changkyun came out of his room and moved towards Hoseok’s door. They held their breath as they watched him crack open the door — obviously not wanting to intrude but still wanting to check up on Hoseok — when they saw his eyes widen. He quickly closed the door and came down to meet the rest of them.

“I don’t know what happened but Hoseok-hyung is in his rabbit form and he’s made a nest in the corner of his room.” Changkyun said, looking between the 3 of them and back at Hoseok’s door.

Hyungwon took a deep breath and slowly released it as he let go of Jooheon and thought things through. Bunny Hoseok meant that he didn’t want to talk about whatever was bothering him — at least at the moment — and a nest meant he wanted to feel comfortable and safe; the reason for it being in a corner.

He could work with this.

“Kihyun-hyung could you please let Hyunwoo-hyung and Minhyuk-hyung know what’s going on?” Hyungwon asked, passing off a still worried Jooheon to Changkyun before moving around the group to make his way down the hall.

“I can, should I get them to pick up anything on their way home?” Kihyun was already opening up the group chat to send the message.

“Maybe just some ramen, I’m not sure if we have any left. Hoseok-hyung may not want to eat much later but he’ll at least eat a bowl of that.”

Nodding his head, Kihyun headed toward the couch, gently pulling Changkyun and Jooheon along with him to help keep the two of them occupied.

“Where are you going hyung?” Changkyun called over his shoulder as he followed Kihyun and Jooheon.

“Me? I’m going to take a nap.” Hyungwon said, a smile appearing on his face as he headed down the hall towards a certain bunny.

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Hoseok had finally managed to calm his thoughts down enough  to be able to fall into a light doze when he heard his door click open. He jerked his head up at the sound only to relax as he realized it was just Hyungwon. Knowing his friend wouldn’t demand that he change back and talked about what triggered his isolation, Hoseok closed his eyes again with the intent of going back to sleep.

He had almost drifted off again — emotional turmoil was exhausting — when he felt a gentle tug on his ear before it was  draped over something. Opening his eyes, he looked to his side only to see Hyungwon curled up beside him, head level with his own and  a small smile on his face while Hoseok’s ear covered his his torso, a light blanket over his legs.

Rather than trying to go back to sleep right away, Hoseok patiently waited for Hyungwon to start talking. It wasn’t unusual for him to join Hoseok when he isolated himself like this, and whenever Hyungwon joined him he always had something to say. Nothing bad, more like gentle reminders and even blunt statements when the occasion called for them; but he never demanded for Hoseok to say what caused him to isolate himself from the others in the first place. All he asked was that Hoseok listened to him and talked about the issue or issues when he felt he’d be able to.

“You know,” Hyungwon started, reaching a hand up to gently stroke the fur on the side of Hoseok’s head “whatever you have going through that pretty little head of yours must be pretty important. You didn’t even notice me following you from the company building this afternoon.”

‘ What?! ’ Hoseok thought back to his walk home, realizing very quickly that while he had vague memories of people calling out to him,he didn’t answer any of them. His heartbeat was starting to pick up when Hyungwon spoke up again.

“Woah, I didn’t say that for you to freak out. Everything is fine, and the staff at the company were completely understanding. You’re okay.” Hyungwon soothed.

It took a couple minutes of silence, along with a steady rhythm of petting from Hyungwon for Hoseok to calm down again. When he did, the look he gave Hyungwon conveyed his guilt, as well as his apology for ignoring him earlier.

“You’re fine, I promise. I didn’t mean to upset you either, but the last time you got this lost in your head, it had something to do with the rest of us. Considering that you went so far as to build a nest too I’m guessing it’s pretty important.”

‘ Considering it involves potentially hurting all of you on purpose , yes I’d say it’s pretty important. ’ Hoseok thought sarcastically. For the moment, he was actually quite glad that he couldn’t speak in this form. Not yet anyway.

“I can also tell from the literal ‘scared rabbit’ look on your face that you’re not even close to being able to talk about whatever’s going on in your head yet, so here’s what we’re going to do.”

Hyungwon wiggled around a little bit as he made himself more comfortable, placing a soft kiss on the side of Hoseok’s face before he settled down beside him so that he was curled up comfortably against the soft fur.

“You and I, we’re going to take a nap. When we wake up, I’m going to ask you to shift back and we’re going to go get something to eat. Hyunwoo-hyung and Minhyuk-hyung are going to be bringing ramen for dinner. After dinner, Jooheon is going to want to cuddle if you feel up to it. If not, we can come back here and talk, though it doesn’t have to be about what’s bothering you if you’re not ready yet.”

Hyungwon let out a yawn, breaking up what he was saying before he spoke up again.

“I do ask that you talk to us when you’re ready about whatever’s bothering you. Either the whole group or you can just talk to one of us to start and we’ll do our best to help you. You’re not alone, you know, and just because you’re one of the eldest doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help.”

Hoseok couldn’t help but let out a huff in amusement at that, Jooheon and Changkyun had said something similar to him a few days prior. Nuzzing the top of Hyungwon’s head briefly to show his agreement, Hoseok finally felt himself relax. Yes the results of his search were scary as hell, he didn’t want to hurt the others. But Hyungwon was right in that he needed to talk to them. It was their own decision to make after all and if someone didn’t want to do it they would let him know.

Listening to Hyungwon’s breathing even out in sleep now that he had said all that he wanted to say, Hoseok closed his own eyes and let sleep take him. His last thoughts being that he’d figure out how to bring up the topic after his nap. Maybe he could ask Hyungwon if he had any ideas how to bring up an awkward topic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week. That's how long it took Hoseok to build up the courage to bring up the topic of biting everyone so that they'd be able to talk to him in his rabbit form.

So of course the day had to go to hell halfway through.

They had been in the dance studio for most of the day, practicing the various choreographies just to keep in shape for the tour coming up in a few months. They had started going over Alligator as the final song they would do before heading home. They planned to rest and have either a movie or game night (both would probably happen, if Hoseok was being honest). Everything was going great up until the last jump.

They all went into the jump smoothly, but when they landed a loud cry caused everyone to stop in shock. Minhyuk was on the floor clutching at his ankle, the joint already showing signs of swelling and bruising. Hoseok and Kihyun were the first members to snap out of their shock, rushing over to check on him while Changkyun ran to grab their manager.

When he reached Minhyuk's side, Hoseok kneeled down behind him and carefully pulled him into his lap, gently shifting him into a bridal style hold and trying to coax him into relaxing so Kihyun could check his ankle while they waited for Changkyun and their manager to arrive.

“Minnie, please, Kihyun really needs to take a look at your ankle so we can see how bad it is. You can hold on to me, I won’t put you down and I’ll stay with you the whole time, I promise.” Hoseok offered, placing gentle kisses along the back of Minhyuk’s neck while rubbing his back, trying to get him to unfold and stop clutching at his leg.

In the meantime, Kihyun had taken a seat at Hoseok’s side where Minhyuk’s legs were draped over his arm. Humming lightly to get Minhyuk’s attention, Kihyun gently ran one hand down the back of his leg, supporting it just above where the swelling was now very noticable, and gently squeezing Minhyuk’s hand with his free one.

When Minhyuk finally raised his head a bit to look at Kihyun with watery eyes, he was greeted by a soft smile. Between that, and the tight grip that Hoseok now had on his waist, Minhyuk slowly straightened up, opting instead to take Hoseok up on his offer and twisting enough so that he could wrap his arms around his shoulders and hide his face in Hoseok’s neck.

Clutching Minhyuk tighter to him, Hoseok watched as Kihyun looked at his ankle, trying to get an idea of how bad it might be. He didn’t want to remove his shoe until after he could get it checked out as they weren’t in a good spot for trying to let him rest.

“There’s definitely bruising, but it’s hard to tell how far down it goes, though. He definitely needs to go to the hospital to get it checked out.”

Minhyuk whimpered, tucking his face further into Hoseok’s neck who tilted his head down to nuzzle against him to try to comfort him. It was at this point that Changkyun came running back to the studio.

“Hongsik-hyung is waiting downstairs with the van.”

With those words, everyone started moving. While Changkyun caught his breath, Jooheon, Kihyun and Hyungwon quickly gathered everyone’s belongings and Hyunwoo came over to help Hoseok off the floor. Taking in how tightly Minhyuk was clinging to him, Hyunwoo looked at Hoseok.

“How do you want to do this?”

“If you can grab my elbows to make sure I don’t fall I should be okay.”

“Okay”

Getting down on one knee, Hyunwoo carefully grabbed onto Hoseok, doing his best not to jostle Minhyuk. Once he was ready he nodded to Hoseok who tightened his grip slightly before speaking quietly to the man in his arms.

“We gotta get up Min, it might hurt a bit but we’ll do our best to keep your movement as little as possible okay?”

Pulling his head back slightly to look at both Hyunwoo and Hoseok, Minhyuk  nodded his head before hiding it in Hoseok’s neck again, a quiet “Okay” following. Carefully shifting around so he could set his foot firmly against the floor, Hoseok looked at Hyunwoo and nodded.

“On the count of three?” Hyunwoo asked.

“Yea.”

“Okay, one.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

They made it to their feet with relative ease and finally headed for the door. The group moved as quick as they could without Hoseok jostling Minhyuk too much, though the somewhat frequent tightening and loosening of his arms around Hoseok’s shoulders told him that there was enough movement to be making the trip very uncomfortable for the vocalist.

Finally reaching the van, they were all quick to get settled and head off. Because it was on the way, Hongsik quickly dropped off everyone at the apartment before heading to the hospital, except for Minhyuk and Hoseok; who was still holding the other. As they pulled away, Hoseok and Minhyuk — who was calmer than he was at the studio — waved until the others were out of sight. Lying his head down on Hoseok’s shoulder, Minhyuk sighed, looking at his ankle with dread.

“I hate being in pain” he muttered, trying to distract himself from the very thing he hated.

Hearing what Minhyuk said, Hoseok’s breath caught in his throat. Pain was the worst case scenario he had with the bite for opening up the telepathic link with everyone. Drawing a deep breath to steady himself he laid his head on top of Minhyuk’s before speaking.

“I’m sure the doc will get you all fixed up in no time Min.”

“I know,” he sighed “but it’s still going to suck not being able to practice or do much while it heals.

“That’s understandable.”

As they arrived at the hospital and maneuvered themselves out of the van, Hoseok couldn’t help but focus on his slowly spiraling thoughts.

‘Min hates pain How can I ask him about the bite?! But maybe...he’ll be okay with it? It’ll hurt and probably be tender until it heals but it wouldn’t necessarily get in the way of work or any other activities he needed or wanted to do….right? If not, it’s okay. I don’t need to talk to everyone.’

As they made their way into the hospital, Hoseok’s thoughts wouldn’t stop bouncing around his head, making him unable to focus on much other than following Hongsik-hyung and getting Minhyuk checked out.

‘I can still ask the others when we get home. If something ever happens that makes me stuck in my rabbit form, I need to be able to tell someone. There’s bound to be a couple that will agree with that. Everything will be fine.’

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Everything was not fine.

Hongsik-hyung had just dropped off Hoseok and Minhyuk at their building after finally finishing at the hospital  and Hyungwon was there, waiting for them. They had messaged the group when thry were leaving, asking someone to meet them downstairs as there were a pair of crutches that needed to be carried up.

With Minhyuk — who was dozing from pain meds — securely in Hoseok’s arms and Hyungwon carrying the crutches, they made their way upstairs. The door opened for them as soon as they were standing in front of it; Jooheon having been waiting for them.

They walked inside and Hyungwon put the crutches away while Hoseok made his way over to the couch where Kihyun, Hyunwoo and Changkyun were all waiting. Setting Minhyuk down on the spot set up for him — a few pillows leaning against the arm of the couch and one on the seat to help elevate his ankle — Hoseok let out a sign as he straightened up. Everyone looked between Hoseok and Minhyuk before Kihyun finally spoke up.

“So, what’s the damage?”

Hoseok ran a hand through his hair at the question, grimacing  as he felt how stiff it was from where the sweat dried in it earlier, before crossing his arms and looking at everyone.

“Grade 1 sprain, but almost a grade 2. The doc wants him to rest his ankle as much as possible, keeping it elevated and icing it for about a half hour two to three times a day. He also wants it to stay wrapped and the crutches are to be used for the next 2 weeks for any moving.”

“I go back to get checked out in 2 weeks, but the doctor figures I should be okay to walk on it by then. No going back to practice for at least 3 weeks, though.” a drowsy  voice spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at a sleepy Minhyuk, who had woken up with all the talking and was staring at Hoseok with a pout on his face.

“Hey Minnie” Hoseok said with a small smile “how are you feeling?”

“Sleepy. In pain too, it hurts and I hate it.”

At the reminder of Minhyuk’s intense dislike of pain, Hoseok’s smile fell but he shoved his feelings about that away, instead reaching down and combing his fingers through Minhyuk’s hair.

“I’m sorry Min, I know it sucks. How about we get some ice for your ankle? That should help a bit.”

“Already got it hyung.” Changkyun said, coming out of the kitchen with an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel and passing it to Kihyun who placed it on Minhyuk’s wrapped ankle.

While everyone was beginning to fuss over their injured member, Hoseok quietly excused himself, planning on taking a shower and trying to work up the courage again to bring up the the topic of establishing of a telepathic link with at least some of the members. However, Hyungwon caught him before he got too far, catching his shoulder to stop him.

“Hyung” he said worriedly “are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just tired. I was just going to go take a shower so I can clean up and then come back.” Hoseok nearly bit his tongue, hating to lie but not knowing how else to explain the feeling of dread that he’d been experiencing since first hearing Minhyuk’s vocal hatred of pain.

The others who had heard part of the conversation were all smiling at him, even Minhyuk, though he was also biting his lip as if he had something to say. Hyunwoo, seeing what he was doing, gently nudged his uninjured foot to prompt him to speak.

“Hoseok-hyung.”

“Yea Min?”

“Would you...would you mind shifting tonight so that we can cuddle? You fur is really soft and I think it might help me sleep better”

He looked so uncertain, as if he was asking too much, but also so cute with how he was nibbling on his bottom lip that Hoseok couldn’t help but give him a real smile.

“Of course Min, I’m just gonna go shower quick and then I’ll be back. We can make it a slumber party out here if you all want.”

At the offer, everyone’s faces lit up and those that could were up and moving. Shoving unneeded furniture out of the way and grabbing blankets and pillows while Hoseok went to take his shower.

When Hoseok returned a little while later, everyone took a seat on or around the couch while he stood in front of it looking at everyone.

“Okay, we all know the drill by now. Does anyone have anything they need or want to ask me? I’m probably not going to shift back until morning.”

“You know, it really sucks, not to mention how inconvenient it is, that we can’t talk to you in your rabbit form, hyung. Do you know if there’s any way around that?” Jooheon asked.

Thrown off by the unexpected question, Hoseok felt himself tense. The others didn’t know he was already looking into that and tonight was definitely not a good time to bring it up.

“I...never actually thought about that. I’ll have to look into it. It would make things a lot easier, wouldn’t it.” Hoseok let out a little chuckle, not noticing how Hyunwoo had narrowed his eyes slightly, able to tell that something about that question had bothered him.

“Anyway, communication issues aside, anything else?”

When no one spoke up, Hoseok nodded and shifted, settling quickly onto the floor where the others had built an impromptu nest that they could all fit in. Hyunwoo stood and picked up Minhyuk, settling him down against Hoseok’s neck while Hyungwon made sure the other’s foot was elevated properly.

“Ah, this is awesome.” Minhyuk said happily, snuggling back against Hoseok.“thank you hyung, I only wish it was better circumstances that we were having a cuddle party.”

The other members all voiced their agreement as they all found spaces to settle. Hyungwon curled up beside Minhyuk while Jooheon and Changkyun trapped Kihyun in between them and curled up on Hoseok’s otherside.

“We should do this whenever one of us gets hurt...if that’s okay with Hoseok-hyung.” Changkyun spoke up.

“Or, we could just do this when we’re all healthy instead so that none of us have to deal with being in pain.” Hyungwon said dryly.

“I agree with Hyungwon-hyung.” Jooheon spoke up “I’d rather be free to cuddle how I want and not have to deal with any pain even if I don’t absolutely hate it like Minhyuk-hyung does.”

“Besides, there’s no guarantee that we’ll all be together whenever one of us is injured, anyway. It depends on our schedules.” Kihyun pointed out.

As the others continued their conversation Hoseok closed his eyes and felt his heart sink. While none of them actively hated pain as much as Minhyuk did, they all disliked dealing with it. He couldn’t bring himself to bring up biting them. He knew he should give them all the option to accept or decline themselves but he just couldn’t ask them to let him hurt them, not to mention it could cause any one of them to turn into a shifter themselves. The thought of asking something like that was actually making him ill.

Feeling a hand on his head, Hoseok opened his eyes, only to be met with the sight of Hyunwoo lying in front of him and gently stroking his fur. He had a knowing look in his eyes, though whether it was because he knew what Hoseok was thinking or because he just thought Hoseok was bothered by the idea of the members being in pain, Hoseok wasn’t sure.

“I don’t think Hoseok is liking this topic of conversation.” Hyunwoo spoke up, his voice gentle but subtly reprimanding, prompting the others to offer their apologies.

“I’m sorry hyung, I know you don’t like seeing any of us hurt. Thank you for caring so much” Minhyuk said, turning his head so he could nuzzle into the side of Hoseok’s neck in apology.

The others followed with similar statements, all either petting him or nuzzling into him. The exception being Jooheon who actually climbed mostly on his back to give him as close to a proper hug he could before retaking his place with Kihyun and Changkyun.

Hoseok ground his teeth together lightly, causing him to start purring to let them all know they were forgiven. As everyone settled in to sleep, Hoseok resolved to just work out something with signals and body language to talk to the others, deciding to never bring up the topic of biting them. Even if it would make things easier, Hoseok wasn’t one to give up just because something was difficult. With his decision made, he settled in, never noticing how Hyunwoo had kept watching him, a thoughtful look on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A month. That’s how long it had been since Minhyuk had sprained his ankle and Jooheon had brought up the topic of Hoseok communicating while shifted. It had been a month since Hoseok began acting strangely.

It wasn’t anything overly noticeable, but Hyunwoo had always been more of an observer than a conversationalist, so he started picking up on little things. Hoseok was spending more time in his studio, supposedly looking up any information about shifters communication, and he seemed more distracted when he wasn’t working.

He wasn’t shifting as often.

It wasn’t uncommon to find Hoseok shifted when he was relaxing, or to find him hiding in his room in rabbit form if he needed some time to himself, without talking to anyone. Lately, however, he had only been shifting when the others asked him or if the group had a slumber party in the living room. Even then, he would only shift when they were getting ready to sleep, his reasoning being that he wanted to be able to answer people if anyone had anything they wanted to talk to him about or any questions they had. Though it was a logical thing to do, it wasn’t ever something that bothered him prior to Minhyuk’s injury.

The others seemingly hadn’t noticed yet, though Hyunwoo had seen both Hyungwon and Kihyun giving Hoseok some strange looks, so he wasn’t completely sure about that. He’d usually catch the looks on the others faces   during the days when Hoseok had hidden himself away in his room, actually locking the door. His excuse being that he was taking a nap and wanted to avoid anyone coming in to join him or bother him.

Hyunwoo shook his head and turned his attention back to the counter, where there was a fresh pot of coffee that had just finished brewing. As he was pouring himself a cup, Hoseok came into the kitchen with his head down and looking nothing like his usual happy self. Pulling down another mug, Hyunwoo poured Hoseok his own cup.

“Good morning” he said, sliding the coffee towards him.

Hoseok jumped slightly, his head snapping up to look at Hyunwoo, having not been paying attention to whether or not there was anyone in the kitchen when he came in. Relaxing at the sight of the older man, he gave a small smile; one Hyunwoo noticed that did not reach his eyes.

“Morning hyung. Thanks for the coffee.”

“You’re welcome.” Hyunwoo watched as Hoseok prepared his coffee the way he liked it and grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl before looking back at him.

“Cereal?” Hoseok asked

“Yes please.”

Hoseok grabbed an extra bowl and a couple of spoons, tucked the cereal box under his arm and grabbed his coffee before heading over to the table. Hyunwoo brought the milk and a bowl of cut fruit to the table before going back and grabbing his coffee and the sugar. They sat in silence for a bit, eating and drinking their coffee before Hyunwoo spoke up again.

“What are your plans for the day?”

Hoseok, with his mouth currently full, just gave Hyunwoo a shrug before taking a sip of his coffee and swallowing.

“I’m heading to the studio this morning for a bit, Jooheon wants my help with a new track he’s working on. Other than that I have no plans, why?”

“Come to the gym with me this afternoon? We haven’t hung out in awhile.”

“Sure, what time did you want to meet up?”

Hyunwoo grabbed a piece of fruit and thought for a minute while he ate. Hoseok and Jooheon both had a habit of getting lost in their work while they were in the studio, so it would probably be easier if Hyunwoo picked him up. It was on the way to the gym anyway.

“Why don’t you take your gym bag with you when you and Jooheon head out. I’ll come by around 11:30 to pick you up and we can grab a light lunch before hitting the gym, my treat.”

“Okay!”

A genuine smile crossed Hoseok’s face, one that seemed like it was slowly becoming more and more rare. Hyunwoo was relieved to see it, even if it was only at the suggestion of lunch together. He wasn’t going to force Hoseok to talk about what was wrong, but maybe he could get him to relax enough to fill him in about what he had going on in his head.

They finished their breakfast in silence, the atmosphere lighter than it was earlier. As they were cleaning up their dishes, Jooheon came in, all dressed for the day and looking for Hoseok.

“Morning hyungs!”

“Good morning Jooheon.”

“Morning Honey!”

“Are you ready to go Hoseok-hyung?”

“Give me 5 minutes, I just need to grab my gym bag. Hyunwoo-hyung is picking me up later.”

“Okay!”

Jooheon watched with a smile on his face as Hoseok left the room. When he was gone, his smile dropped and he looked at Hyunwoo, expression serious.

“Are you going to try to get Hoseok-hyung to talk about what’s been bothering him lately?”

Hyunwoo finished drying the bowl in his hands and put it away before turning to Jooheon, a thoughtful look on his face.

“You’ve noticed he hasn’t been acting normal either, then?”

“I think all of us have noticed by now actually.” Jooheon said, running his hand through his hair “we’ve just been ignoring it and acting normal because we’re not sure of what to do.”

Hyunwoo nodded, leaning back against the counter.

“I can’t force Hoseok to talk, that will just make things awkward and  he’ll withdraw even more. What I’m hoping today will do is relax him enough that he’ll be more open to talking to someone, or let something slip so that I can approach the subject instead.”

“Ah.” Jooheon nodded in understanding. Starting to fiddle with the hem of the sweater that he was wearing, he spoke up again, a small waver in his voice showing his uncertainty. “You don’t think… that when I brought up the idea of searching for a way for us to talk to him when he’s shifted  triggered this, do you?”

Hyunwoo shook his head, coming forward to enfold the younger in a hug.

“I don’t think you triggered this change in behaviour, but I think it has something to do with that topic. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this and fix it.”

“Okay”

Jooheon relaxed into the hug. It was in this position that Hoseok found them a couple minutes later, his gym bag thrown over his shoulder. His expression changed from happy to worried as soon as he walked into the kitchen.

“Is everything okay?”

Jooheon jumped up, his smile big enough to show his dimples as he turned around to answer Hoseok.

“Everything’s fine hyung. I just wanted a hug from Hyunwoo-hyung before we left.”

At his explanation Hoseok relaxed, the smile coming back to his face.

“Great. Well, I’m good to go whenever you are.” he looked to Hyunwoo “I’ll see you around 11:30?”

“I’ll be there.” Hyunwoo nodded, a smile on his face.

With that, the two of them headed out and Hyunwoo went off to get ready himself. As much as he was hoping to be able to help Hoseok, he was also just looking forward to the two of them just spending some time together.

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Hoseok was in a great mood. Hyunwoo had picked him up as promised around 11:30 and they had gone for a light lunch together, the atmosphere nice and relaxed. They had spent an hour or so afterwards just wandering around and window shopping; having not wanted to start their workouts immediately after eating.

They had been at the gym for a couple hours now and Hoseok couldn’t believe how much better he felt. He made his way to the mats, starting to do some stretches to cool down after finishing his workout.

He knew he hadn’t been acting normal. At least, some of the others were beginning to worry with the shift in his behaviour since Minhyuk had sprained his ankle and he had resolved to never bring up the results he had found in his research. Spending time with Hyunwoo like this, though, was a huge help. He resolved to work on his behaviour, starting with letting himself shift more again. It may not be necessary for a shifter to actually change very often, but he missed cuddling his members and wrapping them up in his fur for no reason other than that he wanted to.

Finishing up his stretches, Hoseok grabbed his towel and headed over to Hyunwoo who had just finished up on the shoulder press.

“I’m finished for the day, do you want me to wait for you?”

Hyunwoo lowered his water bottle from where he had been taking a drink and shook his head, grabbing his own towel and wiping his face before speaking up.

“I’m going to go a couple rounds on the punching bag first. You can head back, I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you back home.” Hoseok started  to walk away before stopping. He turned back to face his friend.

“Hey hyung?”

“Hmm?” Hyunwoo hummed, looking up from where he was wrapping his hands. He was greeted with one of Hoseok’s wide smiles, making him look younger than he actually was. Hyunwoo’s breath caught in his throat, it had been a month now since the younger man had looked this happy.

“Thank you for doing this with me today. I really needed it.” Hoseok said, his smile diminishing, but no less happy. Hyunwoo let a smile of his own form.

“Anytime. I’ll see you at home.”

Hoseok quickly headed to the change rooms and got dressed, deciding to forego the shower and just take one when he got home. He was in such a good mood that he never realized that he forgot to put his phone back in his bag. Making sure his hat and mask were in place, he headed out the door.

The evening was great, not too cold but still refreshing after spending a couple hours at the gym. Hoseok was enjoying the walk when a noise caught his attention. Coming to a stop, he looked around, trying to pinpoint where the sound came from. Thinking he may have just been hearing things, Hoseok was about to start walking again when the sound came again a little louder and a little clearer as well.

‘That sounds like a groan...a hurt person, maybe?” Hoseok thought to himself, looking around. It was while he was doing so that he caught sight of what appeared to be a lit phone screen partway down a deserted side street. He started to walk towards the small light, calling out as he went.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Halfway to his destination, the light went out. Hoseok stopped, seeing someone stand from where the light had originally been coming from. Nothing was said, but a door opened a bit closer to where Hoseok was standing, 4 more people coming out to stand in front of him. As the one with the phone joined the other 4 Hoseok started getting a bad feeling. The strangers were all dressed in black, masks covering their faces like his own and ball caps being worn under pulled up hoods, casting their faces in complete shadow.

“Can I help you?” Hoseok asked warily. He didn’t like the look of these guys, and started tensing, getting ready to get out of there as soon as he had the chance.

“I dunno, can you?” One of them retorted.

“What he means” another said “is that you might be able to help. Don’t suppose you know about anyone who goes by here that’s a shifter who turns into a giant rabbit do ya?”

With that comment, alarm bells immediately started ringing in Hoseok’s head. While he knew he wasn’t the only giant rabbit, they were still pretty rare and he had yet to hear of another one within Seoul. Shrugging his shoulders as nonchalantly as he could, Hoseok responded.

“Sorry, can’t say I have. I gotta go though, I’m supposed to meet some friends for dinner. Good luck with your search.” Hoseok turned around to leave, only to stop short. Behind him and blocking the way were another 3 people dressed in black.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be leaving just yet.”

At that, Hoseok heard the ones behind him beginning to move as the same time  the people in front of him walk in his direction.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hyunwoo had just finished the first round with the punching bag when he decided to call it a day.

He’d had an uneasy feeling ever since Hoseok left and he couldn’t concentrate, so Hyunwoo grabbed his towel and water bottle before heading back to get changed. Like Hoseok did earlier, he decided to shower only once he got home.

As he reached his locker, he saw Hoseok’s phone sitting on the bench and shook his head fondly, even though the uneasy feeling in his gut intensified. Quickly getting changed and putting Hoseok’s phone in his bag so he wouldn’t forget it, he pulled out his own and messaged the group chat.

‘Someone tell Hoseok that I have his phone, please. He left it at the gym.’

He was about to put his phone away when it started ringing. He accepted the call after seeing Minhyuk’s name on the screen. Before he could even say hello, Minhyuk spoke up.

“Hoseok-hyung’s not here, wasn’t he with you?”

Hyunwoo felt his blood turn to ice and quickly shoved the rest of his belongings in his gym bag. Not even bothering with his hat and mask, he grabbed everything and headed out the door.

“Hoseok left about 30 minutes ago. He said he was going home, he should have been there by now.” Hyunwoo was jogging now, looking through the windows of shops that he passed as well as looking down any alleys and side streets.

“Oh my god, and he doesn’t have his phone. Do you want us to meet you to help look for him?”

Hyunwoo was about to respond when a familiar scream ripped through the air a little ways ahead.

“I think I found him. Don’t leave the apartment!” Hyunwoo said, his voice hard as he used his position as eldest as well as group leader to make sure they listened. “I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I can.”

Without waiting for an answer, Hyunwoo hung up and shoved his phone into his pocket. Breaking into a run, he approached  the place where he thought he had heard the scream come from and turned the corner. His heart dropped at the sight that greeted him.

Hoseok was sprawled on the ground in his rabbit form, with a group of 4 people surrounding him while another 4 were unconscious on the ground.

Hyunwoo didn’t even think. He dropped his gym bag and ran in the direction of the person closest to him, shoulder checking him into one of his accomplices and knocking them both to the ground.

The other two still standing charged at him and when the first one threw a punch, Hyunwoo grabbed his wrist and swung him around, letting go  abruptly and watching as he flew into the other. While they were all on the ground trying to get their bearings, Hyunwoo pulled out his phone. The assailants immediately scrambled to their feet and ran away when they saw what he had in his hand, leaving the unconscious ones where they were. Hyunwoo didn’t bother chasing them, more worried about how Hoseok was doing.

Crouching down beside Hoseok’s head, Hyunwoo gently ran his hand through Hoseok’s fur, breathing a sigh of relief when Hoseok’s eyes opened.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Give me a minute okay?”

Hoseok didn’t move other than to blink once in response. Hyunwoo took that as agreement before calling 112. Informing the dispatcher of their location what had occured before hanging up and turning his attention back to Hoseok.

“Hey, can you change back? I want to see how bad of shape you’re in”

Once again Hoseok didn’t move, only this time he blinked twice.

“Two blinks… I’ll take that to mean you can’t shift?”

One blink.

“You know, this would be a lot easier if I could talk to you” Hyunwoo sighed “we really need to make that a priority once this is over with.”

He was watching Hoseok as he said this and so he saw him lower his gaze, almost as if he was… guilty. Hyunwoo’s eyes widened, his stomach dropping as to why Hoseok would have that expression.

“You already know how to make it possible for us to talk when you’re in this form… don’t you.”

One blink, and no eye contact.

A lot of things started falling into place in Hyunwoo’s mind and he sucked in a breath. He gently stroked Hoseok’s head before speaking to him firmly.

“Look at me, please.” Hoseok raised his eyes, meeting his friend's gaze “As soon as this is over, we need to talk.”

Hoseok just blinked once, lowering his gaze.

“Do you know why you can’t shift back?”

Instead of blinking, Hoseok moved his eyes somewhat to the side. Hyunwoo followed his gaze and paled when he saw the syringe. Quickly dialing 119, he explained the situation and was told that help was on the way.

Moving out of his crouch so he could sit beside Hoseok, Hyunwoo sent a message off to Hongsik-hyung asking him to meet them at the hospital, as well as a message to the group chat. He let everyone know that he found Hoseok and told them where they were headed to and that it would take a little while before they could go home. The responses from everyone showed that  they all wanted to meet them at the hospital but Hyunwoo firmly told them to stay home.

He didn’t want Hoseok to feel overwhelmed and he had a feeling that they were going to be in for a long night when they got home to begin with.

He pet Hoseok’s head when he noticed the sirens in the distance and the reflection of emergency lights, speaking just loud enough for Hoseok to hear him.

“We’ll make this better. I promise.”

-----------------------------------

It was late when Hyunwoo finally arrived in their building with Hoseok.

Hongsik-hyung had helped him get inside before leaving because Hyunwoo had his hands full carrying Hoseok. He promised to message if they needed anything and headed for the elevator.

During the ride up to their floor, he couldn’t help but remember that only a month ago Hoseok had been in his position, carrying an injured Minhyuk. While both situations resulted in someone hurt, Hyunwoo couldn’t help but feel a bit worse for Hoseok.

The substance that had been injected into him was an illegal drug that not only forced shifters to change forms but also immobilized them. Luckily, the dose that Hoseok was injected with was fairly low and was able to be flushed out with a couple IV’s.

When he was finally able to shift back, he was very drowsy. They quickly checked him over and Hyunwoo winced when he saw that a good portion of his torso was covered in bruises, including his arms. But other than that, he was only prescribed some pain killers to help with the pain and told to take it easy until the bruising went down. It was shortly after that Hoseok had fallen asleep. Apparently it was a common side effect of the drug and he was released to sleep it off at home.

Stepping off the elevator as it came to a halt, Hyunwoo quickly made his way down the hall. Hyunwoo was trying to think of how to knock on the door to let the others know they were back only to realize it wasn’t needed. The door opened immediately as soon as they stood in front of it, a disheveled and red eyed Minhyuk having been the one to open it. Minhyuk opened his mouth as if to say something, before shaking his head and moving off to the side.

As Hyunwoo stepped into their apartment, the others were quick to get up from where they were sitting, only to stop short once they took in the sight in front of them.

Hyunwoo was carrying Hoseok bridal style, who looked unusually small and fragile in his arms. Hyunwoo gestured with his head towards the hall before he started to walk, listening to the sounds of the others following behind. As he reached Hoseok’s room, Hyungwon walked past Hyunwoo and opened the door for him. Inside, the group found Hoseok’s bed neatly made, but also a nest in the far corner.

While Kihyun pulled back the blankets for Hyunwoo, who gently placed Hoseok in bed, Hyungwon went over to look at the nest, Minhyuk hanging off his shoulder.

“This nest has been used recently.” Hyungwon said, surprised.

“He must’ve been shifting and using it whenever he came in here to nap” Kihyun said softly as he came over to stand beside them while Hyunwoo ushered Jooheon and Changkyun over to the group as well. When everyone was together, Hyunwoo looked at them all.

“We might as well have a seat so I can explain what happened.” Hyunwoo started, sitting on the corner of Hoseok’s bed, far enough away that he wouldn’t disturb him but close enough to put himself at ease.

When the others had made themselves comfortable in the nest, cuddled together for comfort, Hyunwoo began.

He explained his plan, starting from breakfast this morning, and paused to see everyone nod in agreement when he mentioned how Jooheon had figured that they probably weren't the only ones who had noticed that something was wrong with Hoseok. From there, he recounted the day and how Hoseok had seemed much happier when he left, right up to when they were waiting for emergency services. The only thing he left out was what he had figured out about the communication issue, Hyunwoo wanted Hoseok to be awake for that.

----------------------------------------------

A few hours later, the sky was just beginning to lighten outside when Hoseok started to stir.

Everyone was asleep in the nest minus Hyunwoo, who was beside Hoseok’s bed with his head pillowed on his crossed arms, on top of the mattress. Blinking his eyes open, Hoseok stared at the ceiling and tried to orient himself. The last thing he remembered was being at the hospital and feeling sleepy after getting his injuries checked out.

As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized that he definitely was no longer at the hospital. Turning his head to look to his left, he recognized his shelves and his closet, quickly coming to the conclusion that he was  in his room back at home.

When he tried to sit up, a sharp feeling of pain shot through him, causing Hoseok to fall back with a grunt.

“Hoseok?”

He turned his head in the direction of the voice and was met with the sight of Hyunwoo beside him, obviously not yet awake if the look of sleepy confusion on his face was anything to go by.

“Hey hyung.” Hoseok replied, a smile crossing his face as Hyunwoo’s eyes widened once he realized that Hoseok was indeed awake.

Getting up from where he had been sitting on the floor, Hyunwoo moved to the bed. Sitting down again, this time beside Hoseok’s head, he leaned down and placed a kiss on Hoseok’s forehead. When he pulled back, he started running a hand through Hoseok’s hair, just staring at him for a moment with a look of relief on his face, before finally speaking up.

“Hey yourself. How are you feeling?” Hyunwoo asked softly, not wanting to disturb the others yet.

“Like I’ve been beaten black and blue.” Hoseok responded, a wry smile on his face. Hyunwoo had to muffle a laugh at that.

“That’s a pretty accurate description. You’re feeling fine otherwise?”

“A bit tired still, but other than that yea, I’m okay.”

“Good.”

The were silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet, when Hoseok started to fidget a bit. Hyunwoo looked at him, an eyebrow raised in question until Hoseok closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

“Could you...help me sit up please?”

“Of course.”

Hoseok kept his eyes closed as he felt Hyunwoo slide his arm under his shoulders to help him up, he could feel his ears already getting warm, which signaled the fact that they were turning red. When Hyunwoo started lifting him, Hoseok sucked in a breath as the pain from his injuries still caught him off guard, even though he was expecting it this time. When he came to a stop, he took a number of shallow breaths in an attempt to ease the tension caused by moving.

“Do you think you can stay up for a minute while I rearrange some pillows?” Hyunwoo asked, his arm still lying along Hoseok’s shoulders “I think you’ll be more comfortable if you’re reclining a bit rather than completely upright.”

Hoseok nodded, still focused on his breathing. He gripped the blanket over his legs when he felt Hyunwoo remove his arm but managed to stay upright easily enough. When Hoseok felt Hyunwoo return his arm to his shoulders to help lean him back, he opened his eyes. He still wasn’t keen on meeting Hyunwoo’s gaze so he stared straight ahead, only after he was settled back against his pillows did he realize  that he was staring at the rest of the members curled up asleep in his nest; and Changkyun was staring straight at him.

Hoseok could tell that Changkyun wasn’t quite awake yet, his eyes were half lidded and looking like he was about to fall asleep again. Mentally preparing himself for a hopefully gentle dog pile, Hoseok smiled before raising his hand and waving.

“Morning Kyunnie.” Hoseok watched as it took about 10 seconds for the recognition of what was happening to cross Changkyun’s face.Then all hell broke loose.

“Hyung!”

Hoseok could only watch in amusement as Changkyun’s call roused the others. Well, that and the fact that he was tripping over them trying to get out of the nest and to the bed. Soon enough there was chaos as the others also scrambled to get up, Hoseok just tilted his head to the side and rested  it against Hyunwoo, who had resumed sitting beside him already, watching everything unfold.

When the others finally made their way over to the bed, he was expecting them to crowd around to see how he was doing because Hoseok knew that the whole situation had worried them. But they surprised him because rather than trying to hug him, they all took up various positions on and around the bed, instead.

Jooheon and Changkyun took claim of the foot of the bed and — once they cleared it with him that it was okay —  draped themselves over his legs. Minhyuk and Hyungwon each sat on the edge of the mattress on either side of him, each holding one of Hoseok’s hands while Kihyun took up a mirror position to Hyunwoo and began combing his fingers through his hair.

As they all sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the fact that Hoseok was awake, Hyunwoo couldn’t help but smile. The difference in the atmosphere between when they first came into the apartment versus now was huge and everyone was much more relaxed. The smile slowly faded from his face after a few minutes, however. There were things that needed to be discussed; sooner rather than later, and it was most likely not going to be an easy discussion.

“I know we’re all happy now that Hoseok’s awake,” Hyunwoo started, getting everyone’s attention “but we need to talk.”

“Can’t it wait until later?” Hyungwon asked.

“Unfortunately not,” Hyunwoo said, looking at Hoseok “it’s about what that just happened.”

Hoseok tensed up as Hyunwoo spoke. He knew exactly what they needed to talk about but he wasn’t ready, he didn’t know if he would ever be. He’d been doing such a good job  at ignoring the results of his research and how much it terrified him, and now; with Hyunwoo saying that they needed to talk, it was all brought to the forefront. He bit his lip and looked down at the blanket, he couldn’t look at any of the others for this.

“What about it?” Kihyun asked, looking at Hyunwoo.

Everyone had noticed when Hoseok had tensed, and the fact that he was avoiding looking at any of them revealed that he probably knew exactly what this was about and that it wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation.

“It has to do with being able to communicate with Hoseok when he’s in his shifted form,” Hyunwoo started “or, more accurately the fact that we can’t communicate with him when he’s shifted.” Hyunwoo noticed Hoseok tensing up even further as he spoke. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy for the other but it had to be done. Moving his arm so that it wrapped about Hoseok’s shoulder again, he pulled him closer to his side and tried to offer all the comfort he could.

“The communication issue needs to be solved, it can’t be put off any longer,” he continued “if the syringe that those people had used wasn’t still at the scene then there’s a good chance we’d still be at the hospital right now.”

“Jooheon-hyung and I can start doing a search later today, see what we can find.” Changkyun spoke up.

“That won’t actually be necessary.” Hyunwoo looked down at Hoseok and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Hoseok?”

“Hoseok-hyung?” Jooheon asked softly “What’s Hyunwoo-hyung talking about?”

It was silent for a couple minutes, the only movement made being Hoseok pulling his hands out of Minhyuk’s and Hyungwon’s so he could clench them in his lap as he leaned more  into Hyunwoo’s side. When no answer came, Hyunwoo leaned down to softly speak to him.

“It’s alright Hoseok, just tell us.”

“I…” Hoseok started, taking a shuddering breath “I already know how to do it. For us to talk when I’m shifted.” he said softly.

The silence following Hoseok’s statement was deafening. No one moved and it didn’t even seem like anyone was breathing. It was Hyungwon who finally broke the silence, a sinking feeling forming in his chest when he thought about how long Hoseok may have had the solution.

“Hyung, how long have you known this?”

At the question Hoseok let out an audible whimper; gripping the blankets so tightly that his knuckles became white. When he answered, it was soft. So soft that if the others weren’t as close as they were, they would never have heard it.

“A little over a month.”

“What?!” was the general response. Everyone then started speaking over each other so it was hard to tell who yelled out first.

“Did you not want us to know?”

“When did you even start looking?”

“Is this why you’ve been shifting less?”

“So how do we do it?”

Each question found Hoseok curling up deeper and deeper into Hyunwoo’s side without ever looking at any of them. It was only when Hyunwoo noticed him shaking that he gestured for the others to be quiet for a moment, and asked the most important question.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” his own voice cracked slightly.

Hoseok finally pulled away from where he had been hiding and looked up at Hyunwoo, tears running down his cheeks and lips swollen from biting them so much.

“Because what I have to do to make the connection terrifies me,” a sob ripping it’s way out of his throat.

At that statement everyone moved. Jooheon and Changkyun crawled up Hoseok’s legs, one behind the other so they were both straddling him; each lightly gripping one of his hips in a hand while holding each other’s free hand. Hyungwon, Kihyun, and Minhyuk all squeezed further on the bed, Minhyuk and Hyungwon each taking one of his hands again and beginning to rub them, placing small kisses to try to comfort him. Kihyun and Hyunwoo each combing a hand through his hair and placing gentle kisses on the top of his head and forehead. They continued this until his breathing had steadied, Minhyuk broaching the question that was on everyone’s mind once it had eased.

“Hyung, what do you have to do? Maybe we can figure out a way to make it easier?”

“I don’t think that’s possible Min.” Hoseok took a deep breath before continuing, knowing if he stopped now he’d never get it out. “The connection is formed through a bite, so I’d have to bite you all hard enough to make you bleed either here.” Hoseok gently freed his hand from Minhyuk’s grasp, gesturing to where his neck met his shoulder before moving it to his chest and laying his hand over his heart. “Or here. That alone is enough to already make me sick and hate the thought of subjecting you to it, but it could also seriously change your lives.”

“What do you mean, hyung?” Kihyun asked.

Hoseok sighed, trying to get his thoughts in order. When he reached up to wipe his face, he found his hand grabbed by Minhyuk again. Before he could even ask for it back, Jooheon was leaning forward to wipe his face with a tissue, taking the chance to place a kiss on the tip of his nose that he couldn’t help but smile at.

“You were saying hyung?” Changkyun prompted, resting his chin on Jooheon’s shoulder as he settled back in his previous position.

“Right,” he nodded “the connection is permanent, there's no reversing this once it's done. The bigger reason is that the shifter gene is present in everyone, only it’s dormant in non-shifters. Bites to open up communication between shifters and non-shifters who aren’t family have been known to cause the gene to become active.Like, a non-shifter can become a shifter. If my bite triggers one of you to change, that will be a huge adjustment to deal with, especially as an adult. It’s terrifying.”

Hoseok looked at each of them in turn; eyes wide with tears that were once more beginning to fall and begging for them to understand why he avoided telling them. The others remained silent for a moment, exchanging looks with each other before Hyunwoo spoke up.

"We understand why you didn't tell us, but Hoseok," Hyunwoo gently tilted Hoseok’s head back so he could see him clearly, softly brushing away the tears before he continued "at least a couple of us need to be able to talk to you when you're shifted. If something like last night ever happens again we need to be able to ask you what's wrong."

"Hyung." Minhyuk said, squeezing the hand he was holding to make sure he had Hoseok’s attention "You made the decision not to tell us about this when I sprained my ankle, didn’t you?"

It was more of a statement than a question and as Hoseok stared at him, guilt clearly visible on his face; Minhyuk made his decision.

"Bite me first. It was my injury and probably my reaction to the pain, as well as the conversation that happened after that made you feel you like you couldn't talk to us about this." Minhyuk sniffled and scrubbed at his eyes with a hand before continuing. "If something had happened because Hyunwoo-hyung couldn't talk to you, I'd never forgive myself."

"Oh Minnie, no. It's not your fault, I should have said something regardless of my fears"

"Hoseok’s right," Hyunwoo spoke up, giving a small smile to them both "but also, I'm getting the first bite. I was in a fight and spent hours at the hospital, I'll feel a lot better the sooner the connection is established." Minhyuk nodded his agreement and Hyunwoo turned his gaze to the others, taking in their serious expressions.

"You all have to decide for yourselves if you want this, I can't make you do it. For those that do decide to do this, if anyone turns into a shifter we'll deal with it together. Besides," he added with a grin at Hoseok "we've already got an expert with us to help us adjust."

"I'm not an expert though, and this won't work the same as the stories where someone gets bitten by a werewolf and becomes one themselves," Hoseok said, already worrying about everyone "everyone has their own genetic coding so it's not like you'll all turn into giant rabbits like me."

"You know how to control the shift though," Kihyun pointed out "outside of when you're sick anyway." he teased.

"Kihyun-hyung's right. Besides, what kind of best friend doesn't make sure he's always able to be reached by the other if needed." Hyungwon chimed in with a smile.

Jooheon and Changkyun looked at each other for a moment before smiling, turning to look at everyone else.

"We're in!" Jooheon said, dimples out with how big his smile was.

“Besides, if any of us turn into a shifter and hyung can’t help us, we can ask around. I’m sure someone we know would be able to help.” Changkyun added.

“It’s settled then?” Hoseok asked tentatively, looking around at everyone. He was still nervous about doing this, but they all looked determined to go through with it, which eased a lot of his anxiety.

“It is,” Hyunwoo said “you just need to tell us when, and how we’re going to do this.”

“Oh, um..in a couple days then? If we’re doing this I want to be shifted so I can tell if it worked or not, and I don’t think I’ll be able to shift comfortably for a couple days.”

“Anything else?”

“I want you all to pick where you want me to bite you. It doesn’t really matter to me too much but I want you as comfortable as possible when we do this.” He paused, trying to think of anything else. “Oh hyung, you should let the company know. You’re all going to be sore as the bites heal, not to mention that make-up is going to have to be needed depending on the location.”

“Of course. I’ll call Hongsik-hyung once we’re done here.”

“Okay.” Hoseok let out a yawn, his eyes falling partially closed. The others, without saying a word, immediately went to work, readjusting him so he was lying down.

“Get some rest,” Hyunwoo said softly as they others quietly made their way out of the room “you’ve had a long morning. We’ll be here when you wake up.” Hyunwoo leaned over and placed another soft kiss on Hoseok’s forehead. When he straightened up again, Hoseok was already asleep. He smiled softly at the sight before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later found the group gathered in their living room, the furniture pushed back and a drop sheet like people used when painting placed in the center. Everyone was dressed comfortably and, in the case of those getting bitten, they were wearing something they didn’t mind getting stained. They had had a meeting with the company who; after Hoseok’s attack, agreed that it was best for them all to have some way of communicating. Their makeup staff was also prepared, a few extra products now on hand for hiding the scarring once the wounds healed.

Hoseok finished going through their first aid kit, making sure they had enough gauze, bandages, and ointment to treat the bites afterwards and to try to reduce the scarring. Looking up at where the others were sitting; basins of water between them so Hoseok could rinse any blood from his fur between members, he couldn’t help but smile. Yes he still wasn’t keen on this idea, but as he had it pointed out to him numerous times, it was for the best; the now mix of purple, blue, and red decorating his torso driving that point home.

“At least the ice should help numb some of the pain.” he thought to himself.

It was decided last night that, to try to cut down on the amount of pain the bites were likely to cause, everyone receiving a bite would get an ice pack to sit on the area they were going to have bitten. That was over an hour ago and Hoseok could tell that if they waited any longer they were going to start getting even more stressed than they already were. Standing up with first aid kit in hand, Hoseok moved closer and smiled at them fondly; clearing his throat to catch their attention.

“We have everything we need, so I think we’re good to start.” He started out saying, setting the first aid kit on the ground beside him. “I’m going to shift for this, for a couple of reasons. First, hopefully, sharper teeth will mean less pain. Second, I need to be in my shifted form to be able to tell when the connection is made.”

“Should we be sitting or standing?” Kihyun asked.

“Sitting is probably the better option, though the 3 of you who are having me bite you above your heart; I think it’ll be more comfortable if you lay down.” Hoseok looked seriously at the group before speaking again. “Are any of you having second thoughts? You don’t have to do this today if you’re really bothered by it.”

“No.”

“Nope, I want to get this over with.”

“I’m not changing my mind.”

“Nah, today’s good.”

“The sooner we do this, the sooner we can have a proper cuddle night with movies.”

“Let’s do this.”

“Alright. Feel free to grab my fur if you need something to ground you. Pulling and squeezing are also acceptable for this time only, just please not my ears.” Walking a few steps away from them so he’d have room to shift, he continued “When I come up to you make sure there’s no fabric in the way. Does anyone have any questions?”

“If your bite triggers us to become a shifter, how will we know?” Jooheon asked.

"Ah, I'm not really sure to be honest," Hoseok said, looking kind of sheepish. "when I shifted the first time it was a complete accident and I was pretty young. I do know others who haven't shifted until their teens or older, though. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Seeing everyone nod in understanding, Hoseok took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he prepared himself to shift.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked once more.

"Yup!"

Hoseok nodded once at the answer and shifted, unable to put off the inevitable any longer. He approached Hyunwoo first where the other was leaning back on his hands, shirt already off and ice pack placed to the side with Kihyun sitting just behind him to tend him after.

Once he was close enough, Hyunwoo reached out and wrapped his hands around the back of Hoseok’s neck as he rested his forehead against the fur covered one in front of him.

"I'm ready, it'll be okay."

Since he couldn’t respond yet Hoseok, gently pushed against Hyunwoo’s chest with his nose, gently encouraging him to lay down. When he did as asked, Hoseok found where he needed to bite, closed his eyes, and bit down. It was hard enough to break the skin but not so hard as to bite a chunk out of the other. Hyunwoo’s only reaction was an audible grunt, as well as his hands tightening in Hoseok’s fur.

“ Hyung, are you okay?” Hoseok asked, letting go and and backing off a little bit,staring at Hyunwoo where he was still lying with his eyes closed.

“I’m fine, Hoseok,” Hyunwoo blinked his eyes open and looked at him with wide eyes. “I’m guessing the fact that I heard your question and answered you before realizing I wasn’t talking out loud meant that it worked,” he said a lopsided but happy smile on his face, the others were all grinning as well.

“Yup!”  Hoseok replied happily, already washing his face with Kihyun’s help before moving onto Minhyuk.

After everyone had been bitten and the injuries tended to, Hoseok remained in his shifted form for a while, letting everyone get used to talking to him without having to speak out loud and hearing his replies directly in their head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a few days later that some interesting results came to light.

Jooheon was staring out the window, pouting at the rainy weather while he sat topless on the arm of the couch so that Minhyuk could change his bandage when he sighed.

“I’m so sick of the rain” he thought to himself, wishing for nothing more than to see the sun for a bit.

“Aww, it’ll be sunny again soon, Joohoney.” Minhyuk cooed, giving the younger a back hug while still being careful of the bite. Stiffening in his hold Jooheon turned his head to stare at his hyung in shock.

“Hyung… how did you know that I was complaining about the weather?”

“You said it out loud, didn’t you?” Minhyuk asked, confused at Jooheon’s reaction.

When Jooheon shook his head Minhyuk immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Hoseok who was at the studio. Putting him on speaker so that Jooheon would be able to hear him as well, Minhyuk set his phone on the back of the couch, needing his hands free  to finish taping down the gauze on Jooheon’s neck. When Hoseok picked up after the third ring, he sounded excited, starting to talk before Minhyuk or Jooheon could even say hello.

“Min! You won’t believe what I just found out!”

“What is it hyung?” he asked, exchanging a look with Jooheon, hopefully this would be something good.

“I went back to that article that I found when this whole thing started,” he said “Apparently, when groups like ours have everyone bitten by the same shifter, there’s a chance that the group as a whole could end up with a telepathic connection with each other and not just the shifter. It also means that if there are any new shifters, a second round of biting won’t be necessary to form new links either!”

Minhyuk and Jooheon looked at each other in shock, then as the idea started to settle they grinned, Jooheon even getting up and grabbing Minhyuk’s arm as they jumped up and down in excitement.

“That’s awesome news hyung!”

It was mid-jump when Jooheon discovered that they did indeed have at least 1 new shifter. One minute he was jumping in excitement with his hyung, the next there was a very large dog in the living room.

“Minhyuk-hyung?” Jooheon asked, staring at the dog in awe. It was bigger than Hoseok’s shifted form.

“Jooheon? What happened to Minhyuk?” Hoseok asked over the phone.

“It’s me Honey, could you ask Hoseok-hyung to come home please? I don’t know how to change back.”

“Uhh, Hoseok-hyung? Could you come home please? Minhyuk-hyung just shifted.”

“Oh! So that’s what happened. I’ll be home in 10 minutes.”

“Thank you hyung.”

Locking Minhyuk’s phone and putting it in his pocket so it wouldn’t get lost or fall off the couch, Jooheon looked at his hyung, still marvelling at how big he was.

“Well, at least we shouldn’t have any more surprises now?” he asked.

“Probably not. I mean, what are the odds of a bite creating more than one new shifter?”

That question was answered a few days later when an exhausted Hyunwoo shifted into a giant bear in the middle of the dance studio.

Everyone looked at each other without saying a thing because they all came to the same conclusion.

Things were going to be a lot more interesting from now on.