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It only took one look at his current situation for Felix to realise that his team was probably going to kill him.
Don’t get him wrong, they’d definitely resurrect him after. Killing each other was something they threatened a lot, but they all knew that they actually couldn’t really live without one another. Hence why they’d probably kill Felix for getting himself in a situation where he was very likely to be killed.
So, yes, if Felix’s current predicament was anything to go by, then his team was going to kill him. That was if the bad guys didn’t kill him first…
“I said listen brat!” came the voice, the familiar grating hiss clanging along the walls of Felix’s ears and into his brain. The words had barely even processed before there was a sudden explosion in his cheek, a bright burn sizzling on the side of his face from the force of the slap as the entire world tilted and he rocked over onto the floor, smashing the side of his head onto the wooden ground. His arms were tied behind his back, wrists bleeding and raw and unable to break his fall.
Apparently Felix was supposed to be paying attention to the bad guys on the verge of killing him…
He blinked twice, the room spinning a few times before it settled again, the side of his face stinging up a storm and a pair of sleek heeled boots looming threateningly a few inches from his face.
Felix didn’t even flinch.
He slowly moved his head, looking through a few bloody strands of blond hair at the woman stood towered over him. The woman who could and absolutely would kill him if Felix didn’t start cooperating.
“I thought we agreed to keep this simple, kid,” Yeji hissed again, her dark hair swooping ominously over one side of her face, covering the scar down her right eye that Felix’s very leader had put there just a few ragtag months ago, “You tell me where the rest of your little friends are hiding and you don’t get hurt anymore.”
Felix had the nerve to laugh at that, his bruised lips pulling into a grin and half his forehead still pressed to the ground. He knew he was in absolutely no position to be laughing at anyone, but he found it funny that anyone thought he’d give up the location of his team that easily.
“You’ve gone soft, Yeji,” Felix’s deep voice curled gloriously around the words, not yet letting his pain show, “You must really be out of the game if you think it’s going to be that easy to break me.”
The words were enough to have a whip of anger crackling through the air, Yeji’s perfect face pulling into a ferocious growl that rumbled along the ground. Felix was jostled up at the sound, Ryunjin and Chaeryeong’s hands snapping around his arms and forcing him back onto his knees. Their nails dug into Felix’s shoulders, his already injured body starting to cave under the pressure.
But Felix knew it was a long time before he would truly break. A long, long time.
It was well-known that the Itzy gang were out to destroy Stray Kids for good, to claim their territory and kill their members and establish their own rule of the gang’s underground city for good.
Felix didn’t care what kind of power Itzy were after, he was actually all for their eternal rule if that’s what they wanted, but he was absolutely not okay with the murder of his members. Stray Kids had been dodging Itzy for a while, only engaging in fights when there was no other choice. They should have known it would all come to a battle one day. They should have known one of them would eventually be forced to pay the price of their feud.
But whilst Itzy had Felix tied-up and beaten in an abandoned warehouse, they weren’t out searching for the other members who were way too out in the open and exposed for Felix’s liking. No matter how much bleeding it required him to do, Felix had to hold out for as long as it would take his members to get back to their hiding spot. Felix would take a hundred beatings if it meant his members were safe.
“You really thought you had us?” Felix smiled a bloody smile, his voice obnoxiously infuriating as he grinned up at Yeji, ignoring the brutal way the grips tightened on his shoulders, “But you only managed to get one member, Yeji. You failed.”
The words were said so bloody teasingly that Felix knew they were perfect. The angrier the Itzy members were, the more irrational they were. The less likely they’d want to do anything except rain their fury down all over Felix.
Felix didn’t know whether it was fortunate or not that he turned out to be right…
“You bastard!” the screech was high-pitched and painful, absolutely teeming and shrieking with rage as it slashed through the air.
Felix barely had time to process it before a pain like no other was detonating on the side of his face, Yeji’s knuckles and golden rings connecting right with his eye. The entire world swung again as the ground rushed up to meet him, Felix’s chin connecting with the unforgiving wood as an almighty crack echoed all through the room. A strangled wheeze of pain escaped him before he could stop it, his chin slicing open and immediately splurging blood that Felix watched collect all under his face.
The hands that had been on Felix’s shoulder moved to his hair, yanking his head up with another cry as Ryujin came to crouch in front of him, her face buzzing with joy and lips pulled into a sadistic smile that made a shiver curl all down Felix’s spine.
Yeji was never one to get on the ground to do dirty work, her girls were the ones who’d always enjoyed that a little too much.
“You’re just a piece of dirt to us,” Ryunjin’s low voice was delightfully ominous, her piercing eyes stabbing right into Felix’s with a chuckle that would live forever in his nightmares.
“We don’t care what we have to do to get you to talk,” the perfect silk of Chaeryeong’s voice slithered into Felix’s ear, sounding so creepily soft as it accompanied the manicured hand tightening its grip in his hair, “So you better tell us where the other pathetic little boys are hiding.”
“Never!” Felix hissed, ignoring the harsh tug at his scalp, “You can’t hurt me.”
All five members laughed at that, their giggles so chilling that Felix couldn’t hold back a full-body shiver. Every inch of his skin twisted at the movement, his cuts and bruises all searing with sharp agony.
“You couldn’t be more wrong, little boy,” Yeji stared straight down at him with a shiny flash of teeth, her heeled boot coming to rest on his torso, “We can hurt you. We can hurt you a lot.”
With that, Yeji brought back the boot and slammed it straight into Felix’s ribs. He let out a cry, lungs seizing and ribs pounding as the pain flared like a rocket ship. He could barely breathe around it, still painfully aware of Yeji cackling down at him.
Felix was about to snap out with an insult when it happened again, this time from behind. Yuna let out a delighted little noise before he own boot was slamming straight into Felix’s back. Felix choked, gagging into the ground as Ryujin and Chaeryeong cackled at the pain on his face. He felt blood start to trickle up his throat, his whole body shaking and stuttering.
But it still wasn’t enough.
It would never be enough.
“Do whatever the hell you want,” Felix wheezed into the ground, managing to move his head enough to glare straight up at Yeji, “I’ll never tell you where they are.”
At the words, Yeji’s face darkened. Something that could almost be called defeat scorched along the lines of her face. But the defeat only made her angrier, the thought of giving in filled her with a rage so palpable that Felix could taste it.
It tasted like blood on his tongue.
Felix knew it was coming when another boot smashed into his side. And then again. And again. Again. Again. Again.
They came from all sides, Ryujin’s hand smacking over his face, Chaeryeong’s fingers clawing at his neck, Lia holding down his ankles to keep him from fighting as they just hit, hit, hit over and over and over again.
Felix just had to last long enough for his team to be safe.
Cries of agony dragged themselves out Felix’s mouth around the blood gushing from his teeth, his body jostled and burned, his vision blurred and head spinning with all the agonised movement.
“You could stop this whenever you wanted!” Yeji’s high-pitched shriek was menacing, her voice shaking with the effort she was using to kick Felix, “Just give up your team and we’ll never hurt you again.”
Felix had to last longer.
“Not a chance,” Felix’s voice mangled around the pain, a tormented wail escaping through his lips, “I’ll never give them up.”
“Not without a little more persuasion you won’t,” was all Yeji said before she switched targets. Her gaze locked straight onto Ryujin’s, an inferno burning between them that made Felix realise that he was really, really screwed.
He barely had time to protest before Ryujin was suddenly yanking on Felix’s wrist and pinning it to the floor, moving her fingers out the way as Yeji brought up her boot and slammed it straight down onto Felix’s wrist.
There was an almighty crunch.
Felix screamed.
He saw stars around the pain, his mouth open and back convulsing and entire body rippling with the impact. The agony infected all up his arm, festering and blistering as it went, his veins alight and every one of his nerve endings sweltering with flames.
The boot came down again. Felix swore the entire world descended into fire.
But then the fire burned hotter. It glowed brighter. It got a whole lot louder.
It took Felix too long to realise that there were more suddenly voices in the room, that the movements around him were wilder and sharper than before.
Ryujin shot up from beside Felix, Lia’s grip disappearing from his ankles and Chaeryeong’s hands sliding off his face. The air was full of swearing and shouting, Felix coming to his senses enough to realise that he recognised those voices.
It wasn’t Yeji’s menacing scratch of nails on a chalkboard. It wasn’t Chaeryeong’s silky glide or Lia’s sadistic giggle. It was something else. It was someone else.
“Let him go,” a painfully familiar accent curled so perfectly around the room, dripping with so much boldness, so much determination that Felix almost lost his breath.
Chan.
Felix would know that voice anywhere.
A relieved sob was choked into the ground as Felix finally managed to blink open his eyes. His vision was half-obscured by the ground, his bruised and battered face still pressed into the wood, but he managed to peer through his bloody strands of hair to the stand-off in the centre of the room.
Itzy formed a wall in front of Felix, their posture statue-steady and feet planted like mountains. Felix could see the way their shoulders tightened in a show of strength.
But beyond them were seven other stances that Felix had never been so happy to see in his life. His members stood alive and breathing and healthy, half of their gazes locked onto Itzy with the force of a volcano about to erupt. The other half looked down at Felix, the eyes he’d fallen in love with teeming with upset and anger as they raked their gazes over him, their fingers all curling threateningly around their guns.
Itzy were strong. Really strong. They’d proved that countless times.
But Stray Kids were one member down and they would never get tired of proving that no one should ever, ever mess with Stray Kids when they had a member to get back.
It was barely even a fight.
Felix closed his eyes so he didn’t have to watch it, just listening to Minho’s terrifying taunts and Changbin’s sinister snarls as it broke out. Itzy gave it everything they could, but they all knew the cards were stacked against them. It was barely even a minute before Felix twitched at the feeling of fingers brushing over the side of his face, gentle fingers, so different to the ones that had been slapping him only moments before.
“Lix,” came the voice, Felix unable to hold back a sob as the warmth filled his ears, “Shh, baby, it’s okay.”
Even as Felix opened his eyes he could barely see, the darkness crawling closer and closer as the pain set in. But him and his team had never needed anything more to communicate. Hyunjin understood as his hand moved down to rub over Felix’s neck, cold palm resting against the heat of his bruises.
“I’ve got you, you’re okay,” Hyunjin whispered as he leaned in closer, blocking the fight still happening behind them, “Just focus on me, baby. It’s going to be alright.”
Tears slipped down Felix’s cheeks before he could stop them, another gentle hush leaving Hyunjin’s lips as he reached up to wipe them away. Felix couldn’t help but lean into the touch, a pathetic whine leaving his lips. He couldn’t talk any more than that, but Hyunjin still understood him just fine.
“I know, sweetheart, I know,” Hyunjin said soothingly, his face now barely an inch from Felix’s, “Just close your eyes, okay? Just close your eyes and we’ll protect you.”
“No,” Felix forced the word out, his voice cracking as his good hand snapped up to grip around Hyunjin’s wrist, squeezing with the little strength he had left, “No… can’t leave you. You… you have to be okay.”
Despite the situation, Hyunjin’s face pulled into a small smile. He shifted their hands so that he was the one holding Felix’s, lifting it up to place a gentle kiss on his fingers.
“We’re all okay, angel,” Hyunjin’s eyes shone down at him, “We’re all perfectly okay. Just close your eyes for us now. Close your eyes and we’ll all be here when you wake up.”
Felix tried to argue, he really did, but he’d always been weak for Hyunjin’s voice. That and the pain that was pulling him further and further under were no matches for him.
Another whine left Felix’s lips as his vision faded away, falling asleep to the sudden sounds of more knees hitting the ground around him and another hand finding its way into his hair.
The members’ comforting voices were the last thing Felix heard before he finally let go.
-
It took a while for the world to fall back into place.
Felix drifted for some time, body weightless and mind occupied with nothing but the numbness tingling along the edges of his skin and the darkness drifting past his thoughts.
It was almost peaceful.
But it didn’t take Felix long to notice a slight niggling at the back of his mind, an irritation itching along the sides of his skull and spreading through his brain.
Something wasn’t quite right.
Feeling started to come back slowly. Aches and pains anchoring Felix back down to earth, his face throbbing lowly with more bruises beating up his sides. His wrist sweltered something fierce, fingers unable to move and a permanent fire burning along the skin.
But the pain wasn’t the only thing Felix felt. There was something more, something… urgent.
Felix tried to whine, tried to move, tried to alert the world of his presence, but moving was hard and the world was scary and he was somehow still so, so tired. Felix felt like he’d slept for days and yet he wanted to sleep some more.
However, the urgency in Felix’s mind was flashing brighter, setting off alarms all through his thoughts as his control finally made its way to his eyelids.
Felix blinked his eyes open, taking a moment to adjust to the light before his whole body came alive with the sight that greeted him.
Felix was in his room at the Stray Kids house, the room he shared with Chan and Changbin. His own bunk bed was just a few feet away from him, Changbin’s bed underneath him with at least three different members’ blankets draped over his front.
The room was almost dark, the lights dimmed to a gentle orange, but the glow-in-the-dark stars that Felix had glued to the ceiling weeks ago were glowing and glittering brighter than ever, reminding Felix of the sight he’d woken up to after many nightmares. The same sight that was usually followed by something even more comforting.
Felix managed to turn his head and a smile played over his lips.
Hyunjin and Jisung were tangled up in each other in Changbin’s bottom bunk across the room, both in t-shirts and shorts with their hair messy and limbs cojoined. A blanket covered their bottom half, clearly lovingly draped over them at some point only to be half-kicked-away by the efforts of two wriggly monsters who couldn’t stay still even in their sleep.
Chan was sat facing them, his butt on the floor and knees pulled to his chest, leaning with his back against the bed Felix was lying in. His hair was also messy, but his shoulders and posture were relaxed, a soft melody being hummed from his lips that warmed the room.
The only other one of them around was Seungmin. He was sat at the desk on the far side of the room with his back to them all. Spread out in front of him were all his medical tools, a tune of his own being hummed from his lips as he cleaned and polished and organised all of the instruments that had saved all the teams’ lives more times than they could count.
Felix had absolutely no doubts that Seungmin had been working his magic to heal him. Even through all the pain, Felix could feel the bandages wrapped around him, the stitches carefully swaddled through his cuts, the care that had been put into putting him back together.
Felix was about to try and open his mouth when the talking was suddenly done for him. The door opened gently, Jeongin hitting it with his hip as he struggled through the doorway with a tray of steaming mugs.
“Hyungs, I made you some tea,” Jeongin whispered, taking a step into the room before he glanced up and just so happened to make direct eye contact with Felix, “FELIX-HYUNG!”
The screech almost made Felix jump out of his skin, even more so when it brought the whole room alive.
Seungmin shot up from his desk, clattering all his tools together and knocking half of them to the floor in the process.
Hyunjin and Jisung leapt up in bed, both smacking their heads into the top bunk and crying out in pain.
Chan scrambled to his feet, tripping over his socks and ending up tangled on the floor with his wide eyes staring straight at Felix.
Felix didn’t know where to look.
The decision was made for him when Jeongin released another dinosaur-like screech, this one loud enough to shake the whole house. He barely even seemed to think about it as he slammed the tray of tea none-too-gently on the desk before he was sprinting across the room.
“Hyung!” Jeongin squealed, throwing himself on the bed next to Felix and wrapping both arms around his neck, burying his face in Felix’s chest, “Felix-hyung!”
Felix ignored every single pain the movement brought as he turned to bury his face into Jeongin’s hair, his whole body trilling with delight and begging for more, “Innie.”
A sob was choked into Felix’s chest as Jeongin’s tears soaked through his shirt, Felix not mentioning it as he brought up his non-injured hand to squeeze Jeongin’s shoulder, his skin preening at finally, finally getting to touch his team again.
Felix’s injuries didn’t matter. The people he loved would always be able to heal them.
The point was only proved further when everyone else in the room finally sprung into action, Hyunjin and Jisung both jumping onto the bed by Felix’s feet, each reaching up and squeezing one of his knees. Seungmin flopped himself on Jeongin’s back, Jeongin letting out a whine that was drowned out by Seungmin reaching over and planting a loud sloppy kiss on Felix’s cheek.
And Chan… Chan came to settle himself next to Felix’s head on his pillow, one of his hands immediately finding its way into Felix’s hair whilst the other gently came to stroke featherlight fingertips over Felix’s bruised cheek.
“Hyung,” Felix couldn’t stop the words slipping from his lips, his eyes immediately staring into his leader’s, tears prickling at the edges.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Chan hummed quietly, one of his fingers brushing the tears away, “You’re okay, little one. You’re safe.”
A smile pulled at Felix’s mouth at the words, the pain in his lips secondary to the warm feeling that Chansent flooding all through him.
But peace was never a long-term thing in the Stray Kids house.
It was only a second later that the door was flinging open and crashing against the wall with a loud bang! The whole group flinched, heads whipping to stare at where Changbin and Minho were now stood half-sheepishly, half-urgently in the doorway.
“Yongbokkie!” Changbin practically screeched, scurrying round the bed and coming to crouch on the floor by Felix’s side, “You’re awake!”
“Welcome to the land of the living,” Minho joined behind him, his face playful but his eyes holding a sincerity that Felix couldn’t miss, “Pull a stunt like that again and I will kill you myself.”
A small grin couldn’t help but work its way onto Felix’s face at the words, his heart warming at the pure love that Minho wasn’t able to keep from his voice.
“I love you too, hyung,” Felix simply said, almost managing a giggle when Minho’s eyes just narrowed playfully.
But then Chan was tapping Felix’s forehead, clearing his throat to get the whole group’s attention.
“We’ll save the lectures for later,” Chan said, giving Felix a pointed glance that he couldn’t help but shrink at, “For now, let’s just relax yeah?”
The group didn’t need to be told twice. Jisung and Hyunjin were quick to clamber back to the bottom bunk they’d been lying in, tangling back up with one another and both staring lovingly wide-eyed at Felix. Minho stood up to distribute the tea that Jeongin had walked in with, Changbin stealing Chan’s mug and going to lie on Chan’s top bunk with it.
Chan stayed where he was, shifting a little to make room for Jeongin who climbed over Felix to lie against the wall, draping himself over Felix’s side. Seungmin came over with some fresh bandages, trying to get Jeongin to move so he could check Felix over, but Jeongin refused, pouting and whining until Seungmin just huffed and worked around him.
Felix couldn’t help but revel in the attention, the aches and pains easier to ignore with his group’s soft touches and sweet presence around him. Chan made sure to help him drink water and take painkillers, Jeongin encouraging him the whole time with soft teases and reassuring chirps. Hyunjin and Jisung applauded when Felix was able to sit up enough to give Seungmin access to his back, both of them cheering when Felix was allowed to lie down again.
It all reminded Felix just how worth it his group was, of how the beating he had taken was absolutely nothing compared to the pure joy and love his team gave to him.
He’d never dare to say it outloud, but Felix would do the whole thing again if it kept them all safe. Felix would let himself get hurt even worse if it came to his group’s safety.
But Felix didn’t want to start an argument, so he simply stayed in content silence.
“You’re an idiot, so you’re going to be hurting for a while,” Seungmin eventually said, running soft fingers over Felix’s ribs and having the nerve to look apologetic when Felix winced, “But it’s nothing permanent. It’ll be a long recovery, but a full one.”
“And you’re absolutely not allowed out of my sight until it’s completed,” Minho said, Felix giving him a look that Minho matched with equal intensity.
“Or mine,” Chan joined in, and Felix groaned when he realised that he was fighting a losing battle.
“Just enjoy it, Yongbokkie,” Jisung spoke up from where he was pillowed on Hyunjin’s chest, giving Felix a wink, “I bet the hyungs will get you ice cream whenever you ask.”
“I absolutely will not,” Minho was quick to say, but the way his fists clenched and his body tensed made them all realise that Minho absolutely would run out the room to get ice cream if Felix so much as mentioned it.
Felix almost took him up on the offer, knowing Minho would appreciate being given something to do. But Felix couldn’t bring himself to say anything, not wanting a single one of his lovers out of his sight when seeing them made him feel so at peace.
Changbin also voiced out that he was willing to get ice cream, throwing a pillow in Hyunjin’s direction when Hyunjin tried to request some for himself. Felix just shook his head as he watched them, feeling Jeongin snuggle further into his side.
“Felix-hyung isn’t allowed outside my sight either,” Jeongin said into Felix’s shoulder, his voice quiet and tired but carrying his signature maknae intensity that they’d all long since learned not to ignore.
Felix couldn’t help but smile softly, letting his head fall to rest in Jeongin’s hair, “Okay, Innie.”
At the words, the entire room lapsed into a soft silence, seeming to sense that it was time for a peaceful moment. They’d fought the battle. They’d had their reunion. It was time to relax.
They were all safe. They were all breathing. They’d be okay.
One by one, the members dropped off to sleep. Jisung and Hyunjin curled into each other like cats, throwing down a pillow and a blanket that Minho used to fall asleep on the floor. Seungmin joined Changbin in the top bunk, both of them snoring within minutes. Jeongin’s breath evened against Felix’s side, his body relaxing and eyes closing until he was out.
That just left Chan and Felix.
Chan had moved further onto Felix’s pillow, shifting so he was fully sat on it with Felix’s head cushioned in his lap. His hands stroked tenderly through Felix’s hair, his head leant on the wall behind him and his face staring into space, eyes sparkling under the glow-in-the-dark stars and jaw highlighted in the soft dim of the room.
Felix stared up at him in silence. Chan was just so, so beautiful.
It wasn’t until the whole team were most definitely asleep that Chan spoke, his voice quiet enough not to wake anyone but firm enough that Felix knew to hang onto his every word.
“You really scared us today, you know?” Chan’s voice was a hum, probably trying to cover up the true pain that wanted to leak into his voice. Felix couldn’t help but swallow heavily.
“I’m sorry,” Felix said, “I never meant to worry you.”
“I know you didn’t,” Chan looked down at Felix as he spoke, his eyes gazing straight into Felix’s, “But you did, and I don’t think I’m wrong when I say that you knew you were going to worry us.”
Felix winced, the unavoidable truth behind the words hitting him harder than he expected.
“I did know,” he eventually said, his voice cracking, “But it was better to worry you than the alternative.”
Something on Chan’s face broke at that, his hands moving to cup Felix’s cheeks, leaning down so they were only inches apart. Felix could feel Chan’s breath hot on his face.
“You let them hurt you,” Chan whispered, voice breaking with a pain that Felix wished he could take away, “Just so you could protect us.”
“They were asking where you were,” Felix couldn’t stop himself from saying, “I wouldn’t tell them.”
At the words, Chan closed his eyes. A deep breath wracked all through his system, his grip tightening on Felix’s face. Felix just reached up his good hand to curl around Chan’s wrist, squeezing gently.
“It’s okay, hyung,” Felix whispered, “I’m okay.”
“I know you are,” Chan opened his eyes, moving down to press a soft, barely-there kiss on one of the bruises under Felix’s eye, “You’re so strong, Felix, so strong.”
Something Felix couldn’t pinpoint warmed in his chest at that, his body squirming as Chan chuckled against him.
“But you don’t have to do that, okay?” Chan carried, making sure Felix was looking at him as his eyes sparkled with something serious, “Protect yourself just as much as you protect us. Don’t let someone do this to you just because you think it’s best for us. We’ll be okay, but only if you’re okay too.”
Felix didn’t know how much he believed the words, but he found himself nodding at them all the same. Chan’s soft but commanding gaze could convince Felix of anything. If Chan said it was okay, then it was okay.
“Thank you, little one,” Chan smiled warmly, leaning back a little so he could rake his eyes over all of Felix’s face, “You did so well today.”
Felix couldn’t help but smile, every single drop of his pain forgotten as Chan smiled back. He leaned in again, letting his kiss land on Felix’s lips this time, just a small gentle brush that had Felix’s skin tingling.
“Just go to sleep, okay?” Chan whispered against him, “I’ll be here to protect you from anyone who ever tries to hurt you again.”