Chapter Text
Minho, Hyunjin, Felix, and Jeongin were all diligently working in the practice studio.
It was their first group project of the spring semester, and thankfully they were able to choose their group for their performance. They had been working hard for hours, with minimal breaks for water, and they were all sweaty and exhausted by this point.
They could go through the whole song, although the latter half was pretty hit-or-miss with the various group members. They would typically focus on the struggle spots and occasionally run the whole piece - mistakes and all.
They had just finished one of their messy full run throughs when Felix nearly collapsed to the ground. He quickly dropped down, managing to land on his rear, and clutched at his lower abdomen with a low groan. Huffing and sweating, Minho approached him, sitting in his heels as he tried to investigate the issue.
“Felix… We don’t have time to be weak like this. It’s just one more hour and then we’re done.”
Minho was a good leader, he really was, but to keep the practice on the schedule they needed to adhere to, he needed to be tough. They didn’t have the time for Minho to be a pushover, and he never was. Minho was a heart of stone, bold, and brave leader. They all respected him as much as they feared him.
“I know, hyung,” Felix was practically panting like a dog. “Just, cramps, need a break, please,” He held onto his stomach for added effect.
Minho huffed, and if Felix didn’t know better, he might’ve thought that he was wearing a face of concern. “Didn’t you just have your heat a few weeks ago?”
Omegas typically had 3 heats a year, roughly every 4 months. Being college age meant that most heats were “scheduled” - or as much as they could be. With the use of suppressants, most omegas tried to have their heats right before fall semester, over winter break, and right at the end of spring semester. It was a rough balancing act and it really messed with their hormones.
Felix, the wounded omega, halfheartedly shrugged. His last heat had been over winter break. “Yes, I know. Just- cramps.”
Felix groaned as he pushed himself to stand. “Just let me take some tylenol and I'll be fine. I’m probably just dehydrated and hungry too.” He shuffled to his duffle bag, digging out some pills and swallowing them hurriedly.
Minho sighed, unable to argue with the sickly omega, but upset at the constraint this put them in. “Okay. Let’s just run through it a few more times and we’ll end early so we can eat. We’ll just have to practice twice as hard next time, then.”
---
The four dancers were all best friends, even outside of their dance classes. They coincidentally happened to roomed across the hall from each other, though they also split with some vocalists for “artistic diversity”.
The two dancing omegas, Minho and Felix, roomed with two vocalists, Chan and Jisung. Likewise, Hyunjin, who was a beta, and Jeongin, who was an alpha, were both roomed with two vocalists as well: Changbin, another alpha, and Seungmin, who was a beta.
As soon as he was back to his dorm, Felix had promptly curled up on the couch. His hands were weakly wrapped around his stomach. As much as he loved Chan and Jisung, he somewhat wished they weren’t home. They tended to be noisy - especially Jisung. He closed his eyes, not necessarily in an attempt to sleep, but just in his efforts to relax. He hadn’t intended to, but with the available quiet, he was able to tune into a conversation going on in the kitchen between Chan and Minho.
Minho was cooking up some food on the stove, the sounds of the sizzling and the smell filling the dorm made Felix’s stomach growl but also twist unpleasantly.
“Just make sure that you’re keeping up on your pills, yeah?” Chan requested quietly but sternly.
Chan was a very caring senior who really took care of all of the boys in their own dorm room as well as all of their friends across the hall. The 8 of them frequently hung out together and, on the rare occasion that the vocal classes and dance classes have assignment crossovers, work together under the name of Stray Kids .
They still didn’t know whether Felix was beginning his heat or not, but they were still holding out that it was Just Cramps - Felix starting his heat would complicate a lot.
“I know. I’ve been making sure I’ve been keeping up with them and I haven’t felt off at all.”
“Good, good… just. Stay on top of it, please?”
Felix hated the implication that this was somehow his fault, that he’d neglected what he needed to do to keep his heats in order. It was Just Cramps for crying out loud.
He heard the padding of feet as someone approached him, so he cracked an eye before opening both. Chan was walking towards him wearing a comforting smile and he knelt down on the ground so he could see Felix’s face.
“Hey little bro,” Inner Brat Felix rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head. He hated being called ‘little bro’, especially by Chan. “Are you feeling any better?”
Felix shrugged weakly. “I guess. Tired.”
Chan reached out to rub at Felix’s shoulder, hoping to ease some of his pain. “Is there anything I can do to help you? I can try and--”
Felix was wriggling further into the couch, almost like he was trying to get away from Chan’s hand.
“Wh-? Do you not want back rubs?”
Felix shook his head. “Sorry. I just don’t really want to be touched right now.”
Chan pulled his hand back, hating the way it felt so wrong to not be giving Felix affection. “Alright then… um, do you want me to go and find that heating pad?”
“No,” Which was a lie. Felix would love nothing more than having the searing heat of the pad burning into his soul, but he knew that his heating pad was buried under mounds of clutter and that it would be easier to suffer through the pain than to try and explain where it was - or worse, go and get it himself. “I’m feeling better.”
Chan wasn’t believing a word of what he said, but Felix’s tone indicated that he shouldn’t push anymore. “Alright. Let me know if you want the Chan Transport to your bed. I’ll bring you some food when it’s done.”
Felix shut his eyes with finality then, falling back into his pained attempt at rest.
Later, Felix wasn’t sure how much time had passed, Chan brought Felix a plate of food. Felix really wasn’t that hungry, so he just nibbled here and there and pushed the food around to make it look like he’d eaten enough.
Chan babied Felix like a pro. He was secretive enough to not let Felix on to the fact he was watching him closely, just simply taking his plate back to the kitchen for him and getting him some ginger ale for his stomach.
When it was time for bed, and Felix looked like he could’ve fallen asleep on his feet, Chan helped him stand up and walk to his bed. Chan used the opportunity to lean in as close as he dared to try and judge Felix’s scent. They’d been around each other enough to know each other's scents, but as a beta, Chan had to work a little harder to really get that smell.
Felix normally smelled like lavender, or if he was in heat, sugar sweet cake batter. Today, though, he smelled like cake batter with a hint of... spice? Spice cake? It was new, and Chan wasn’t quite sure what to think of it.
---
Felix’s cramps seem to resolve overnight, for which he was incredibly thankful. Much to Chan’s relief, Felix’s scent had started hovering back to lavender.
Felix was still curled up on the couch wrapped up in a blanket watching a crime tv show when there was a knock at the door. Felix whined pathetically, but thankful Minho was closer in the kitchen and answered it instead.
At the door stood Changbin, a box of chocolates in hand. Minho simply quirked a brow at him, ready for him to state his case.
“Hi, erm, Minho,”
Minho still raised his brows, waiting impatiently for Changbin to continue. He didn’t miss noticing the way Changbin’s nose was crinkling as he sniffed - no, scented - the area. Almost like he was looking for an omega in heat.
“I heard Felix wasn’t feeling well, and I kind of like him, so I wanted to bring him these.” Changbin was trying to look over Minho’s shoulder, looking and sniffing to see if Felix was in there.
Minho reached a hand out on Changbin’s shoulder. “Down boy. No, you can’t come in.”
“But I wanted to check on-”
“Yeah,” Minho interrupted, snatching the chocolates from Changbin’s hands. “I’ll relay the message. Bye, Changbin.” And he promptly shut the door.
“Hey Felix, I’ve got some chocolate for you.” Minho returned, singing the good news.
---
A few days later, on the tail end of a multi-day streak of practices, they decided to end early. They needed a chance to relax before they burnt out their bodies. They had easily earned an evening off.
Chan had used the newfound free time to work in the studio, where he had been working hard on coming up with a track for one of his music studies - at least until he was pulled from the music due to incessant buzzing from his phone.
14 missed messages from Sunshine
In the midst of Chan reading the notification, yet another one popped up. He opened his messaging app, sighing at the slew of short messages, all demanding the same thing.
Cuddles. Now.
He sighed and called Changbin.
“‘Sup?” Changbin answered quickly.
“Hey bin, are you home right now?”
There was some shuffling from the other side. “Yeah, just finished showering. What’s up?”
Chan rolled his head back until it hit the back of his chair, groaning internally. “Felix is blowing up my phone. I was hoping you could hang out with him,”
“Oh,” It wasn’t that Changbin couldn’t still cuddle with Felix, but now he smelled fresh, clean, and of his soap and less of his own natural pheromones. “I’ll get dressed and go see him. What if Minho tries to bite my head off?”
Chan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then tell him I said so and that he can call me if he really has a problem with you being there.”
As one of Chan’s closest friends, and the oldest alpha in their group of 8, Chan trusted Changbin deeply, especially with matters like this. “Just- if he’s going into heat, get Minho or Jisung in there until I get home.”
“Will do. Bye, Chan.”
Chan put his phone down, groaning as messages continued to flux in. He settled for putting it in Do Not Disturb mode and slipped his headphones on.
With his mouse hovering over the play button for the track he’d been writing, he hesitated while he considered how strange Felix’s behavior had been lately. Felix was usually so affectionate, especially with Chan. Enough so that Chan was always internally battling his own feelings for the younger omega because how could someone not love the little ray of sunshine that was Lee Felix?
But that wasn’t the case, not lately anyways. Felix was hurting now and was shying away from affection. No, not shying away, adamantly avoiding affection.
With the strange behavior, cramps, and change of scents, Chan knew something was going on - but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.