Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stray Kids was one of the most, no, scratch that, the most respected racing crews in the whole of the underground, their crew consisted of seven members, and their captain is Christopher Bang, a.k.a Chan, a.k.a CB97, he was an incredible racer, wicked smart on the track, always ahead of his opponent by a few steps, used to do street fights too, but he stopped that a long time ago, or so he likes to say.

Next on the lineup is Minho, one of their most ruthless racers, he was well known and well feared. going against him was the second-biggest fear of any poor soul who ended up on the track, the first fear being Chan, of course. Minho went by the nickname Lee Know, but it was rarely used anymore, he raced mainly in cars, dabbling in the motorcycles on occasion, but he preferred to stick to what he knew, and he knew cars lethally.

Now, Hyunjin. With wicked smooth movements, he could maneuver his bike with ridiculous ease, his striking red paint job a blur through turns that could usually slow even the most experienced drivers. He bartends on the sidelines of the races he's not in, his smooth personality brought in more sponsors than his actual driving.

Jisung, 'J.one', intelligence off the charts, he loves building new cars, it's how he rakes in cash to spend on his bike, and his fellow crew members' bikes too, he's into the sleeker bikes, the smaller and faster, the better. His cars on the other hand? Massive. He doesn't race cars, only bikes, so his massive pickup was just for showing off, and hauling his precious bike.

Getting there now, Felix. Came to the crew from Australia, same as Chan, his thing was drifting in cars, and motocross on bikes. Sure, he could tear up a traditional street race on a bike, but he loved getting into the dirt of motocross. He was always hanging out with Jisung and Chan when they worked, those two had a bit of a soft spot for him, and he was always eager to soak up some new knowledge.

Only one more after this I swear, Seungmin. Smart as all hell, likes to join Felix in motocross, likes racing traditional too, he was sort of a jack of all trades, rumor has it that Chan pulled him from the street-fighting rings when he was only fourteen, they've been in the same crew ever since. He likes the social aspect of racing almost as much as the actual sport, always sitting on the counter while Hyunjin bartends.

Finally, Jeongin. The youngest, but he was still able to hold his own in the rankings, sure he didn't have the same amount of years on the track but he made up for it in passion, his dad was a big deal in the underground race scene, but he didn't act like it, super down to earth, he once talked about omelets for about two hours with Jisung. He often rode shotgun with the other crew members, and he loved returning the feeling. Seeing one of his older friends in his shotgun seat being flung into their headrest from the speed was one of his favourite things.

Together these boys made an unstoppable team, a completely unbreakable force. Their opponents would never stand a chance, especially when Jeongin and Seungmin moved up a rank to join their friends in the higher races.

(It's also maybe worth noting that the seven of them were in a relationship, but that's not too important, right?)

Currently, they stood watching a qualifying round, none of them were racing today, they had all passed their qualifiers the races before, this was one of the biggest meets in years, and people from around the globe were fighting to place, and this brought in a few new faces, most notably, a boy on a hot pink Yamaha YZF-R6, and upon the removal of his helmet it was revealed that his dark hair was streaked with matching pink.

"He's, uh..." Jisung swallowed quickly, "He's really pretty," he glanced around, "What? We're all thinking it," his crewmates shrugged, muttering agreements.

"I just want to see him actually race," Chan patted Jisung on the shoulder, "I mean, awfully nice bike, and awfully flashy colour. Be a shame if it's all just for show," He tore his eyes away from the new boy, who was deep in conversation with an organizer, laughing and looking very comfortable in his new surroundings.

Stray Kids dispersed for a while, grabbing snacks and drinks to come back and watch the race, which started with a bang, the pink bike settling in the middle of the pack, the crew mumbling in disappointment, but as the first tricky bend came up, they had to swallow that disappointment quickly.

The bike shot out in front of the pack, most of the other drivers were forced to slow in the bend for fear of a crash, but this new boy skillfully navigated the course, quickly leaving his competitors in the dust.

"He's really fucking good," Felix stated the obvious as the boy sped through the finish line, breaking easily, "And he actually knows how to stop, unlike some people, impressive," Jeongin winked, playfully hitting the other on the shoulder, the two of them quieting down as the new boy was introduced.

"So, new guy! That was quite the race, huh?" Someone pushed the pink-boy to the podium, "You've definitely qualified, welcome to the world's street-racing scene! so, what's your name, pink-boy?" Stray Kids perked up, listening hard for the answer, "SpearB," and just like that, pink-boy was no longer just pink-boy.

The rest of that day consisted of congratulations and drinks for the crew of Stray Kids, and to their great disappointment, the ever-mysterious 'SpearB' has vanished.

"Okay, what do you think SpearB actually stands for?" Minho was sprawled across the laps of his fellow racers, lazily playing with someones-Chan, maybe? fingers, "I dunno," Felix responded from his spot on the floor, playing with a Rubix cube.

"We'll find out eventually," Chan reassured, "Can't keep it a secret forever, y'know?"

Chapter Text

Chan had begun to doubt his own words, this 'SpearB' guy was really set on not sharing his real name, although that wasn't for lack of trying on Stray Kids' part, Seungmin and Felix had approached him in the morning, watching the boy tune his bike up, and sat to congratulate him, they had said he was easy to engage in conversation with, he was fascinating and kind, the words seemed to tumble eagerly from his mouth, voice sharp and melodic, beautiful to listen to.

The two of them had come back with no name, but both giggling over themselves at their conversation, reporting that he was, quote, 'Really, really, pretty,' and 'I think I'm in love,' the other crew members had listened to them ramble about the other racer, the odd joke being thrown out, "Should we be worried?" Minho teased, lightly jabbing Felix in the ribcage, the younger yelping playfully.

For the next few days SpearB was bombarded with offers to join other crews and he denied one after the other, smiling apologetically each time, and each time he cast a gaze to the Stray Kids crew, lingering a little on their captain, Chan, he remembered.

There was something about that crew that stuck out to him, the two members who had talked to him only two days prior were so kind, so easy, and interesting to talk to, and if he wasn't such a coward he would probably go over and talk to them, but he couldn't force himself to actually do it, and good lord, he wished it was one of them asking to join their crew, that invitation, he could not refuse.

"Yo, SpearB!" he jumped, dropping the pliers he was holding, spinning on his heel to face-oh my god he's more gorgeous up close-Chan, the goddamn captain of Stray Kids, "Sorry," Chan bent to pick up the pliers and returned them to SpearB, rubbing the back of his neck a little, "I didn't mean to sneak up on ya," but the famous pink-boy shook his head quickly, "No, it's all good, can I help you?"

"Yeah, I know you probably are up to your neck in invites, but I just gotta throw our name into the ring," Chan started, studying the other boy's face intently, "Look, you're good. I mean, that race was insane, we were all really impressed. We could use you on our team, just think about it, yeah? I'll be in the garage all day, come find me." SpearB already knew his answer, however, he still watched the captain turn and walk away.

"So what did he say? What'd he say, what'd he say, what'd he say?!" Jeongin lay on the back bench of Chans' car as he slid into the car and returned to his fiddling in the front seat, "Nothing yet, Jeongin, the same as it was before I went to go get a coffee," he flashed a fond smile into the mirror, "I'm sure he'll get back to us soon, Innie."

'Soon' turned out to be several hours later, the Stray Kids crew was preparing to leave the garage and go to a bar that most of the racers were planning on hitting, Hyunjin and Jisung bickering back and forth about some nonsense, and finally, finally! SpearB's unmissable pink bike pulled in.

The rider was no longer in his racing gear, black jeans paired with a grommet belt and belt chain, black muscle shirt, a hefty stack of chain necklaces and matching earrings, fingerless gloves, a leather biker jacket, and to top off the look, heavy black eyeliner.

To round it all up, he looked stunning, he set his helmet down, shaking his hair a little as he walked to the crew, looking a little nervous as he fiddled with one of his chains, "Captain," he dipped his head respectfully, "I have a response for you," The crew of Stray Kids suddenly became very quiet.

"So?" Chan pressed a little, "What'll it be, SpearB? Stray Kids or not?" the other boy cocked his head a little, seemingly regaining some of his confidence as he offered Chan a handshake, "I accept, thank you so much, captain." Chan grinned, accepting the handshake.

Chapter Text

The Stray Kids crew was still buzzing with excitement over their new member, SpearB, who still had not revealed his real name, much to the maknae's disappointment, although they had been soothed slightly when he was asked to join them at the bar, the excuse of 'Team bonding!' from Jisung, his loud cheer had caused SpearB to flush a little, cheeks almost rivaling the iconic pink of his bike as he shyly agreed to go.

He had tried to turn and return to his bike and drive on his own, but Felix interjected quickly, "Why don't you ride with us? Chan and Minho are takin' us down in their cars," he watched SpearB hesitate, glancing at his bike with worry evident in his eyes, "Your bike will be safe here, but if you're not comfortable leaving it, we won't be offended," Chan smiled warmly, and pink-boy tore his eyes away from the vehicle, "Okay, I'd love to ride with you."

Seungmin had to clamp a hand firmly over Jisungs mouth to silence the whoop of joy, and Jeongin barely suppressed his own cheer, settling for shaking silently in his seat, allowing Hyunjin to place a hand over his thigh to hold him steady, Chan cast a fond look over his crew before returning his attention to the boy in front of him, "You can ride shotgun with me," he offered, earning a small smile from SpearB, "Sounds good, Captain."

The crew quickly split into two groups, only after a small argument about who got to ride with the new guy, but Chan regained control over the younger members arguing fairly quickly, and it was settled that Minho would take Jisung, Felix and Hyunjin, while he would take Seungmin and Jeongin, who were dubbed the least likely to bother SpearB so much that he would retract his decision to join the crew.

It was obvious to Chan once he started to drive that SpearB was not quite used to not being in control, he looked slightly nervous in the passenger seat, hands fisting and uncurling each time Chan took a turn or stopped, "You alright, man?" Chan stopped at a light, Minho's car right in front of them, where they could see Jisung and Hyunjin fighting in the backseat.

"Yeah, 'm good," SpearB flashed a small smile, and Jeongin instinctually reached forward over the middle console to place a hand on his shoulder, "Minho doesn't like to ride shotgun either, makes him nervous to not be in control," and SpearB tensed a little, the youngest retracted his hand, sending a silent apology for touching him without permission with his eyes and returning to holding Seungmins hand.

Chan finally pulled into park at the bar, watching Jisung and Hyunjin tumble out of Minho's car before he got out himself, opening the door for Jeongin as he walked around to the passenger side where SpearB was standing uncertainly, watching his new crewmates engage in easy conversation, and he was clearly not sure how he fit into that equation, that was, of course, before he was roped into a conversation about his paint-job by Hyunjin before the crew was herded through the doors by Chan and Minho.

"Yo, CB!" a voice shouted over the crowd of voices, and a clearly tipsy Jaebeom, the leader of another crew of racers, Got7, emerged, offering a high five to the captain, "Hey, you got the new guy! Nice racing, SpearB!" he put out a hand for a fist bump, SpearB returned it, smiling a little "Thanks," Jaebeom winked and disappeared back into the crowd after he was found by a few of his own members, who all said their hellos and hugged the Stray Kids before they left, laughing at Jackson trying to waltz with their Captain to the awful pop remixes playing loudly over the bar.

Stray Kids found their way to a booth along the wall before Felix and Jisung went in search of drinks, returning with a tray full, handing them out amongst their members, Felix hesitated to interrupt SpearBs explanation of how he does his eye-makeup to a very intent Hyunjin, "We-uh, we got you a beer? you seem like a beer guy and we forgot to take orders so-uh," He shut himself up and just put the drink down, SpearB smiled at him, "I am a beer guy, thanks, Felix," Felix went a little pink, "Hey, I helped!" Jisung protested, "Oh! Uh, thank you too, Jisung."

The conversation came fairly easily after that, members of other crews drifted past occasionally, offering their congratulations to SpearB, and to Chan for getting him on their team, and Minho and Seungmin drifting off to smoke outside with the members of BlackPink, Minho laying a kiss on Jeongins lips before he left, leaving the youngest wiping his mouth in mock disgust.

SpearB watched the interaction, eyebrows furrowing a little as he watched Minho walk away, arm snaking around Seungmins waist protectively, and Chan examined his face closely, it was well known that Stray Kids was close-knit, but most people just assumed it was a friendship-type thing, not a boyfriend-type thing, and a new worry that SpearB would have a problem with that wormed its way into his brain, but they were squashed when the pink-boy cracked an actual, genuine smile as he watched the little interaction between his new crewmates before returning to his drink and conversation.

There was a point in the night when the smell of alcohol and cigarettes started to get to Jisungs head, and he excused himself, ruffling Seungmins hair as he squeezed out of the booth, making his way outside to lean against a bike rack, he stood there for a while, watching cars go by, before he jumped at the voice behind him, "You okay?"

He turned and standing there in all his beautiful, eyeliner-wearing glory, was SpearB, he approached cautiously to stand with Jisung, leaning against the wall behind him, and Jisung shrugged, "Too many people in there, I can't stand it," and SpearB nodded, "I get it. It's overwhelming sometimes, isn't it?" he cocked his head, "Lotta expectations." and Jisung nodded, "Yeah. Too many people to impress." and SpearB chuckled lightly, "Yeah."

They stood in comfortable silence for a little before Jisung took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, "Do you mind?" and the pink-boy shook his head, "Nah, I don't."

Jisung light a cigarette, taking a short puff before he offered it to SpearB, "Hey, want to share?" he shot a joking wink at him, the other laughing and accepting the burning cig, "Thanks, Jisung," he returned the wink, "I didn't have to remind you that time!" Jisung laughed, and the two stood together, watching cars go by.

Chapter Text

There was comfortable silence as they stood together, sharing the cigarette back and forth, the lingering strawberry flavour and pink tint of Jisungs lipgloss rubbed off a little, who shivered at a harsh wind that cut through his clothes, granted his ripped black jeans, fishnets, and dark red deep-V t-shirt provided little protection to cold, and SpearB chuckled.

"We should head in, huh?" he snuffed out the cigarette under his boot, extending his arm behind Jisung to usher him inside, Jisung grinned, "Sure, Pink-boy," he allowed himself to be swept in through the doors and back to where Stray Kids were sitting, Minho and Seungmin had evidently come back as Seungmin was laughing at Felix trying to stack empty shot glasses into a pyramid.

Jisung slid back into the booth, immediately cuddling up under Chan's arm, the captain not even pausing his conversation with Jeongin, and SpearB awkwardly reclaimed his spot on the edge of the bench, where Hyunjin smiled brightly at him.

"SpearB!" Hyunjin was clearly feeling the effects of alcohol as he spoke, "Hey, man," SpearB responded, almost cautiously as he took in the rest of the table, save for Chan and Minho, the crew was very clearly at least tipsy, his attention was quickly grabbed when Hyunjin flopped over on him, giggling, "Woah! uh-" SpearB tried to prop him back up, the rest of the crew laughing a little at Hyunjins antics before returning to their previous tasks.

"S-sorry," Hyunjin tried to control his sudden giggle attack, "I was-s just thinkin' about your name, 's not really SpearB is it?" his words slurred together a little, then he sat straight up with a terrified glint in his eyes, "I-I mean if it is, it's a really lovely name! I didn't mean-uh," the crew around them laughed at his panic over offending SpearB, and SpearB chuckled, "No-it's, uh, not my name," Hyunjin looked at him intently, waiting for more, but the pink-boy broke eye contact and took a sip of his drink.

Silence fell over the group for a little, Hyunjin was vaguely aware that he had made SpearB uncomfortable and slumped a little, brightening back up when Felix's shot glass tower crumbled and the freckled boy scrambled to stop the glasses from breaking, and Chan snorted, "Alright, Lix. I think that's enough with the glasses, yeah?" and Felix nodded sadly, carefully lining them up on a tray.

Hyunjin and Seungmin had eventually gotten bored and went in search of more drinks, getting lost on their way and joining a game of darts with a very drunk Jackson and disappointed-looking Mark, and Jeongin had bounced over a little later to join the rest of Got7, chatting happily and boo-ing his older crewmates as they continuously missed their shots.

The five remaining members sat together, Jisung had started to nod off against Chan, the captain stroking his hair absent-mindedly, SpearB had finished his drink, plus a few more, and was starting to feel like the table would make a decent pillow, and Minho was wrangling a far-too energetic Felix from busting a move on top of said table.

"I think we oughta call it soon, huh, cap'n?" Minho plunked back into his seat, Felix settling to fiddle with his necklace instead, and Chan smiled, nodding while he watched SpearB blink himself awake again, "Yeah, I think so, we lasted later than usual though," he said, glancing at the neon-lit clock above the bar that read 3:08 AM in large, blue letters.

Chan ended up just carrying Jisung toward the exit after his legs "Lost all feeling!" according to the younger, and Minho had taken Felix by the hand to drag him towards where the darts game had become a dance-off, Felix whining that he wanted to join as he trailed a little behind, and SpearB stumbled over his feet, a combination of fatigue and alcohol making him uncoordinated, to say the least.

The cars were loaded in the same way, Chan couldn't help from watching SpearB in concern as he obviously fought to keep his eyes open, he clearly wasn't used to being social and out late, and Chan was just now realizing that he didn't think through how he would get home.

"SpearB?" Chan's voice jolted SpearB, and the younger realized they had pulled into a driveway, his eyes widening in a sort of panic when he looked to the backseat and noticed the other two were now gone, and it was just him and his new captain in the car, "Y-uh, yeah?" his muscles tensed, looking very much like a caged animal as he made eye contact with Chan.

"Woah," Chan raised his hands in surrender, "I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? Just wanted to know if you want to sleep here, or if I should drop you off at home?" SpearB hesitated, he didn't want Chan to know where he lived, so he swallowed his pride, "I'll, um, I can sleep here? if that-that's okay?" he blushed a little, and Chan smiled, "Wouldn't have offered if it wasn't okay. C'mon, I'll set up the futon for you."

SpearB found it oddly easy to fall asleep in his crewmates' house, Chan had made sure to lend him something more comfortable, "You may look great in those jeans, but I guarantee that you don't wanna sleep in 'em," and the decorations of the room, pictures of the crew, trophies, and a few stray hoodies added to the 'homey' feel, paired with the distant sound of Minho arguing with the younger members, allowed him to doze off quickly.

"He is so cute," Minho said, he and Chan, being the only not-hungover, and therefore the only functioning members, had woken up to make breakfast, and Minho couldn't help but glance over at SpearB, who lay cuddled with a pillow to his chest, wearing too-big clothes that Chan had loaned him.

"I know," Chan agreed, washing his hands, "I just wish-I don't know, we don't know each other." he chewed on his lip, sucking the small silver ring that glittered there into his mouth for a moment while Minho watched him carefully, "I still wish he would at least tell us his name? I guess," the captain frowned, "We've only known each other for like-what? two days? but still, he said yes to joining us, and rejected everyone else, I figured maybe he would trust us a little," he pulled a chair up to the kitchen table and sat down, glancing over briefly as SpearB snuffled in his sleep and rolled over.

"Plus," He added as Minho sat across from him, "Last night? In the car, when we got here he dozed off a little after the other two got out of the car and when I said his name to wake him up, I swear I've never seen anyone look so scared, and I've seen people plenty scared before," he paused, "It was like he thought I was gonna attack him," Minho pursed his lips, "As you said, we don't know him. We don't know what he's been through, y'know?" he reached across to intertwine their fingers together, and the captain nodded, gratefully placing a kiss on Minho's knuckles as he murmured a quiet "I know."

Chapter Text

SpearB groaned as he forced himself to sit up, rubbing sleep from his eyes as his soft blankets fell off his chest, and he pouted to himself over the sudden cold-why was it so cold in the Stray Kids' house? he shook his head, that was a question for later when his head stopped hurting.

There was shockingly no noise in the house, and when he opened his phone with bleary eyes to see it was only ten in the morning, obviously the crew wasn't awake yet, he was just getting settled with the idea of leaving quietly and leaving a thank-you note on the table when he turned his head to see Chan and Minho sitting at a table, discussing something in hushed voices.

Chan noticed the movement and cracked a smile, "Mornin'," He raised a mug in his direction before taking a sip, and Minho gave him a small wave, "You need a coffee?" Chan asked, swirling his own mug around, and SpearB gave him a grateful smile, "Yeah, please."

He joined them at the table with his own steaming mug, "No one else is awake?" he took a sip, savouring the bitter flavour, "Nah, too early. Half the crew isn't functioning before, like, noon," Chan responded, and Minho nodded, "Jeongin and Seungmin will be up soon, though. We'll be lucky to see the others within the next two hours," he smiled, "Also, we washed your clothes overnight, but you're welcome to borrow something a bit more comfortable," the subtle eye-dip that followed Minho's words did not go unnoticed by SpearB, and he blushed, remembering he was still dressed head-to-toe in Chan's clothing.

SpearB was still on edge as he sat with the two oldest members, his fingertips tapping a dull rhythm into his mug, eyes darting around, taking in his surroundings, it was clear that someone in the household loved being in the kitchen, each appliance matched in colour-a light, sunshiney yellow, and there was a framed brownie recipe resting next to the mixer, the fridge was also decorated with art, as well as a few prize ribbons from past races, and SpearB could really feel the love that had gone into the room, he could almost picture himself living there, but he knew that was a stupid thought.

His thoughts were broken when a hungover Seungmin stumbled his way down the stairs, hair ruffled from sleep, and being closely trailed by an equally miserable-looking Jeongin, "Hey, it's the babies!" Minho winked at them, and they both groaned, "Shut up, please." Jeongin mumbled, dragging a chair across the floor to sit as close to Chan as possible, making Seungmin cringe at the noise.

The oldest two were quick to fix plates of breakfast for the younger ones, and they dove in with a terrifying hunger, SpearB chuckled softly when Jeongin finally came up for air, the youngest looked embarrassed briefly before he realized he was far too hungry and far too hungover to care.

"So," Chan started, moving to put both his and SpearB's mugs away, "I'm gonna head back to the garage soon, got some stuff to finish, you want to come with?" Seungmin groaned and shook his head, but SpearB perked up a little, "Sure," he stood to be eye-level with his-his-captain, "Could I-uh, borrow some clothes? It's not a problem if not-I just don't want to wear tight clothes right now, but I could! it's okay-" he rambled a little before Chan cut him off with a grin, "Of course, you can!"

He was quickly given a change of clothes, just a pair of black sweatpants and a tight black t-shirt, and Chan gave the three boys sitting around the table a peck on the cheek each before grabbing his keys and heading towards the door, SpearB waving a goodbye, "Will we see you later?" Minho said, but it sounded more like a statement than a question, and SpearB nodded, he was more than okay with seeing them soon.

Chan slid into his car, glancing over at SpearB in his passenger seat, "You wanna control the aux?" he offered, wanting the other to feel more comfortable in his car, and SpearB nodded, "Sure!" he connected quickly, hitting play on a rap playlist and settling back in his seat, "I like your taste," Chan grinned as a song he knew came on, SpearB grinning back, his hangover headache almost forgotten as he rapped the lyrics alongside his captain.

They pulled into the garage, deep in conversation about a shared favourite artist of theirs, SpearB's iconic pink bike coming into view, and the two of them hopped out of the car, walking toward where it stood, which slowly allowed the brutal scrapes along the previously perfect paint job to come in to view, and SpearB could've cried when he saw the words they spelt out, Chan inhaling sharply, "How the hell..."

Chan's mind reeled as he took in the distress of his newest member, he had promised him that the bike would be safe, he would never trust him again, and there was no plausible explanation for how someone had gotten into the garage without him, he had the master key, plus the security system...they had to have already been inside when they locked up before heading to the bar, he snapped back to the present moment at a sniffle that SpearB had tried to conceal, tears pricking his eyes from viewing his most prized possession.

The words scratched brutally into his bike had struck such fear in his heart that he just wanted to run again, to change his name, again, and get as far away as he could, luckily for him, Chan seemed to hear his mind working and gently touched his arm, SpearB looked at him with such a broken expression that he could hear his heart shatter on the floor, they stood still for a moment, neither willing to intrude on the others space, before, finally, SpearB couldn't contain a sob and Chan pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

There, where the pink paint had been scraped away to reveal the original colour of the bike, from back before SpearB had painted it, the sunshiney yellow, a colour that reminded him of the kitchen he had so loved only hours ago, now made him feel sick.

'YOU CAN'T ESCAPE US'

And he hid his face in Chan's chest, because maybe when he looked up again it would be gone, he didn't even care that he was showing such weakness to a man he barely knew, all he could think of was how terrified he was.

Chapter Text

The shock was still coursing through SpearB as he sat on a workbench, staring blankly at his beautiful bike, his captain was on the phone with Minho, explaining the current situation and simultaneously trying to pull up the security footage from overnight, but whoever had done this had been thorough, the security cameras had each been knocked out of place, although it really didn't matter, SpearB knew exactly who had done this, and he had never been so afraid.

He could hear Chan behind him, could hear when he hung up the phone with a heavy sigh and joined SpearB on the bench, elbows on his knees as he studies SpearBs face, "I'm sorry, SpearB," his voice was steady, despite his hands trembling, the addressed boy tore his eyes off the bike in front of them, "Not your fault, captain," he sounded so hollow, Chan wanted to be able to protect him so badly, "I promised you it would be safe, I-" "Shut up," SpearB cut him off, "You couldn't have done anything, okay? don't try to apologize for something that isn't your fault," he hesitated before shuffling a little closer to his captain, laying a hand on his bicep and trying to tune the bike out of his thoughts.

Their moment was interrupted when the roar of an engine cut through the garage, Jisungs massive pickup made its appearance quickly, the load of a cargo trailer carrying three new bikes rattling along behind it, and as it parked a clown-car-like assortment of the remaining six members made their appearance, each one looking more dishevelled and exhausted than the last, except for Minho, who looked flawless, as usual.

"Oh, shit," Felix nearly dropped the thermos of coffee that he held as he took in the bike, the rest of the crew standing in shocked silence next to him, jaws open wide enough to 'catch flies' as Minho would say.

Jisung was the first to break the line, sliding onto the bench next to SpearB, "Hey, man," he said softly, trying to pretend not to notice the hand that lingered on Chan's arm or the rapid shaking of his knee, SpearB dipped his head to acknowledge him, his hand sliding into his lap with a sad thud.

"Hey, Jisung," SpearB responded, his voice crackly, "How are you?" Jisung huffed a laugh, "I'm good, dead-tired though," he pursed his lips together briefly, "You?" he asked cautiously, the rest of the crew was finding spots on the floor or dragging new benches to join them as SpearB considered his response, "Been better, honestly," he cracked a smile, "It's just paint, though. I can fix it." he felt a little bad about the half-truth in that, it technically was just paint, but the real meaning beyond those scratches was something he could never fix.

He could remember clear as crystal the day he had met his old crew, they were so cool, so interesting, so much better than him, so much older than him too, they treated him so good-at first-and they made him feel so wanted, so special.

The day his old captain had let him join their crew, being allowed to run with them, to wear their colours, was possibly the proudest day of his life, or so he thought, and he could remember when it started getting bad, too.

When the warm smiles in his direction became scowls, the praise became insults, and the hugs and pats on the shoulder became hits and threats, all leading up to the day he packed up whatever he could and ran, getting on his bike and driving as fast as he could away from their house, leaving behind the closest thing to family he had ever known.

He was brought back to the present by Jeongin knocking over a toolbox with a loud clatter that caused most of the crew to groan and clutch their heads, the youngest apologizing rapidly as he cleared up the tools.

"So," Jeongin cleared his throat as he sat down next to Minho, the crew sitting in unusual silence as each member struggled to come up with something to say, "What do we do?" his question hovered over the group, Chan sighing for what felt like the millionth time, glancing over at SpearB, "We-" the captain started, getting cut off abruptly, "We aren't going to do anything," SpearB said, "I just have to repaint it, and it'll be like it never happened."

Stray Kids was clearly having some problems with coming up with words as the weird silence continued, "We're crew now, SpearB, you can trust us," Chan's words were meant to be reassuring, but they were far too similar to something he was told in the past.

"C'mon, baby, you know you can trust us," his old captain, surrounded by the crew, each one of them taller and heavier than him, looking down on him with matching smirks.

"Thanks, captain, but I'm good," SpearB kicked his legs out, "But, uh, I don't really have the tools to-" Hyunjin perked up a little "I can help!" he cut the pink-boy off, "I love painting things, especially the paint guns!" SpearB nodded appreciatively, "Thank you."

The crew dispersed around the garage, a few of them, namely Felix, Jisung, and Seungmin, found a nice corner to pass out in, draped over each other in a tangled mess of limbs, and Hyunjin lead SpearB to look at the paint colours they already owned, offering to go out and look at new colours soon if he didn't find a shade of pink that he liked.

SpearB could tell that this crew was different from his old one, as he laughed at Hyunjin tripping over a neatly organized row of canisters, sending them rolling across the floor and getting yelled at by Chan from across the garage, and he knew there would be no judgement from anyone, but he still couldn't quite bring himself to explain the extent of the situation to any of them.

Chapter Text

Hyunjin had quickly made him his own workspace in the garage, cutting his own space down, loudly declaring that he and SpearB would be 'besties' as he dragged a spare workbench across the floor, earning loud complaints from the rest of the crew, as well as a disapproving look from Chan.

They worked together in silence for a few minutes, sanding down the scratches and paint chips, prepping the bike for the new shade of pink, which was just a less hot-pink version of the original colour, Hyunjin had offered to custom-mix the same shade, but SpearB insisted he didn't want to be a bother and settled with a colour they already had.

They had succeeded in priming the bike before Hyunjin declared he was both hungry and bored of waiting for the layer to dry, deciding to drag SpearB along behind him to raid the food that they kept in the garage kitchen, a 'room' that Felix and Minho had insisted on putting in after Chan and Jisung spent several days straight without eating in the garage, it consisted of a fridge, sink, a bar-like countertop, a few minor appliances, and a few cupboards stock-full of snacks.

Hyunjin quickly made them both a bowl of instant ramen, Felix and Jeongin wandered over to them to beg for food, Felix rubbing sleep from his eyes as he sat obnoxiously close to Hyunjin in order to intercept a few of his bites of ramen.

Chan joined them not too soon after, being trailed by Jisung and Seungmin, and grabbed an energy drink from the fridge, leaning over the countertop as he cracked it open, calling Minho over before he took a swig.

"Alright," The captain started after Minho had stopped tinkering with his car and made his way over, the crew listening attentively, "So, I just got an invite from Mr. Yang," he nodded at Jeongin, who smiled at the mention of his father, "He wants us to race in a meet the night after tomorrow, it'll be just street racing, a few rounds for cars and then some for bikes, that cool with everyone?" he was met with a few nods, an eye roll from Felix due to the lack of his favourite events, but ultimately he agreed as well.

"SpearB? you in?" Chan asked cautiously, grinning when he was met by an enthusiastic nod, SpearB was eager to get rid of the memory from earlier that day, and maybe the best way to do that was to race alongside his new crew.

The eight of them sat together for only a few minutes before Seungmin suggested a race, claiming that they needed the practice if they were going to compete in a few days, quickly using Jisungs puppy eyes to convince their captain to allow them to have a friendly race around the practice/test track that they shared with a few of the crews that they were close with, figuring out who was joining their fun quickly; Minho, Jisung, Seungmin, and Jeongin, with three of them racing their cars and Jisung on his bike, who complained that he needed one buddy to race bikes with, SpearB apologized when his pleading eyes turned to him, "My bike is drying, sorry!" before he finally convinced Hyunjin to join on his bike.

Each of them hopped on or in their respective vehicle, Chan, Felix, and SpearB getting into the captain's car to head over and watch them race, the three of them placing bets as they drove, although it wasn't so much betting as them agreeing that Minho would, without a doubt, kick the other boys' asses.

They got to the track as a few of the Got7 boys were packing up, accompanied by a member or two of Twice, another all-girl racing group, who were gloating playfully about beating the boys into the ground on their new bikes, both a brilliant electric blue, as they passed the Stray Kids members, high fiving and greeting each other as they passed, Yugyeom confirming that they were going to the meet and excitedly talking with Minho about it.

The members who were racing quickly got themselves set up, trash-talking each other happily, Jeongin and Minho were locked in an argument about the punishment for the loser, eventually settling on having to buy dinner for the entire crew, a bet that Felix seemed quite pleased with as he leaned over the barrier on the side of the track, listening to his crew bicker playfully.

Jisung and Hyunjin appeared, and SpearB realized this would be the first time he saw anyone on his crew actually race up close, of course, he had heard the stories, as well as seen a few of the endings to their races, but never seen them in their gear, and to him, Jisung and Hyunjin were both wearing red and black, the Stray Kids colours, SpearB realized, and he thought that their gear was possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

They both held their helmets, hitting loosely against their thighs as they approached their individual bikes, Hyunjins was brilliant red, while Jisung had a glossy black with a red graffiti-like design, and when SpearB looked closer he could see each member's signature marked into it.

"You're in for a treat," Felix leaned in to talk to SpearB as the crew started their vehicles, Chan readying to start the race with a flag, waving it down in one smooth movement, and they shot off, the wind from them racing past pushed SpearB's hair back, and he couldn't stop himself from cheering alongside Felix, laughing as Minho immediately took the lead, while Jisung and Hyunjin neck and neck right behind him, closely followed by the other two cars.

They raced around the track, Jeongin eventually took second place, finishing just a few moments behind Minho, and the others all pulled in very close together, Jisung and Hyunjin looking disappointed as they removed their helmets to watch Minho tease Jeongin, Seungmin sighing as he accepted the punishment as the loser, "What do you want for dinner?" he asked sadly, Minho grinning widely as he responded with his favourite restaurant, before suggesting a second race, "Loser buys dessert?" and the others cheered, quickly agreeing.

Chapter Text

They stayed at the race track, SpearB gazing wistfully as Jisung and Hyunjin raced a 'biker only' loop, wishing his bike was ready to race with them, he didn't like that the first time he would race alongside his new team was going to be in competition, where he would be racing against them rather than with.

"Your bike will be ready soon!" Felix asked, as if reading his mind and hip-checked him gently, "You'll be racing like a lunatic with them before you know it," the freckled boy turned back to the race, laughing when Jisung lost, removing his helmet with a scowl that he only lost as Hyunjin gave him a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth, beaming brilliantly.

Each of the boys who had been racing eventually tired of creating new rules for races as the sun was setting and they had already lost Jeongin, who had given up after the 'loser has to wear outfits we choose for the next week' bet was placed, deciding he valued his dignity above all else, Hyunjin wishing he had followed him off the track as he came in a split second after the others.

"Ready to home, guys?" Chan asked, earning nods and agreement from his crew, "SpearB? you crashin' with us again tonight?" he turned his attention to the shorter man, who pursed his lips, "Please stay!!" Jisung begged, but SpearB shook his head, "No, uh, I think I need to go home, wear my own clothes, y'know?" he motioned to his outfit, earning a snicker from Chan, who tried to play it off as a cough.

His refusal to stay over again had triggered pouting and complaining from the younger members, but he held to it, he wanted to head home to put his thoughts in order, especially after having little to no alone time for days.

He asked Chan to leave him at the garage, not quite wanting the others to see his shitty apartment building, the captain made sure he had everyone's numbers and social media in his phone before he left, offering over and over to drive him home, but he refused, accepting a hug from Jisung before he watched them drive away, beginning his slow march toward his house.

SpearB buzzed into his building, stepping into the elevator with one of his neighbors who nodded at him, both stepped out as the elevator dinged, entering the hallway lined with doors, each one with peeling greyish brown paint and a dinged-up number.

He entered his apartment, shoulders slumping the second the door closed behind him, face relaxing out of the hard expression he wore constantly while he was outside, he kicked his shoes off and stumbled into his living area, which was also the kitchen, as well as his bedroom, which was just blocked off from the rest of the room by a curtain.

SpearB-no, Changbin, made his way to the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of water and collapsing onto his couch, eyebrows furrowing as he saw the note folded on his coffee-slash-dining table in front of the couch, ripping it open with shaking hands.

To our dearest 'SpearB',

The crew misses you, so much. You can't imagine how much it hurt when you left us like that, you ripped us apart, baby. I can't believe you, we needed you, and you left us.

You're gonna pay for that, sweetheart, that's a promise.

Forever your captain, Joon Woo.

He sighed, putting his face in his hands as he flopped into his couch, tears threatening to fall as he rubbed his temples, his old captain had not only figured out where he lived, but also how to break in and leave vaguely-threatening notes on his coffee table.

He briefly considered texting Chan, who made him pinky-promise to text him if he needed anything, but what would he even say? 'Hey, captain! someone broke into my apartment and left me a note, please come comfort me?' he dropped his phone next to him with an exasperated groan.

Eventually, he gave up on sitting and wallowing in his situation, moving to change into his own clothes and turning on the TV, flipping to watch 'The Princess and The Frog' for the millionth time.

His phone started buzzing repeatedly, he turned on the screen to see that he had been added to the 'Stray Kids Crew' group chat, where Minho was talking with Seungmin about what they were going to order for dinner before they settled on a place to get burgers and the conversation shifted, he put his phone down for a while before the buzzing started getting to him and he re-opened the conversation.

Sunshine: anyone wanna go to the store rn & get snacks??? im hungry and everything we have sucks.

Seungminnie: bleghhh go urself i dont wanna move

HANNNN: im down but only if u drive cause ill fall asleep if i do

Cap'n Chris: If anyone goes can you get a pack of Redbull? I'm out and I don't wanna go to the store today.

Sunshine: u text like an old person <3

Cap'n Chan: Shut up <3

SpearB looked away from his phone again, watching his movie before the mention of his name re-captured his attention, muffling a laugh at the way he had been welcomed into their group chat.

HANNNN: yoooo spearb in da chat !!!

SpearB: hello :)

I.N.urhouse: I wanna go shopping!!!

I.N.urhouse: omg hi SpearB!!

Sunshine: 1. hi spearb welcome to hell, 2. whos coming im leaving rn

HANNNN: me and the baby are otw, spearb u wanna come get an atrocious amount of snacks with us?

He hesitated, he did want to, but he didn't want to seem weird by always tagging along with them, but they did ask him first, he groaned internally before texting back a quick;

SpearB: yeah sure! im wearing pjs tho and i am not gonna get changed so deal ;)

Sunshine: ok we'll meet u at the Emart on the corner of 3rd

Changbin paused his movie, huffing a little as he stood up off the couch, ruffling his hair before putting a black cap on and examining himself in the mirror; black and grey pj pants and a slightly oversized black hoodie, he nodded in approval before pushing out the door, grabbing the keys to the busted up 2004 Toyota Corolla that he had bought after fleeing his old crew, he sighed internally about the others seeing the shitty car, but shook himself of the negative thoughts, which was easier said than done, considering everything that had happened in regards to his old was pretty negative.

He started the car, it choked a few times before starting and he smacked the top of his dash in annoyance, he really couldn't afford the parts to fix the car up and it was already bad enough how ugly it was, he made his way to the store, still reeling over the two messages from his old crew, knuckles white on his wheel as he drove.

Chapter Text

SpearB could immediately tell where Felix had parked, the Nissan GT-R in shiny neon red stood out against the other cars, but the three beautiful men leaning over the hood stood out even more. 

He parked, feeling more than a little embarrassed as he opened his car door, the three men looking over at the awkward creaking noise of the door opening, little flakes of rust falling off the bottom as he stepped out, straightening up to watch his crewmates look over his car, Jeongin was unable to hide his look of surprise as he took it in, Jisung looked a little taken for a moment before grinning and offering SpearB a hug, which was accepted happily.

"Heya, SpearB!!" Felix grinned his beautiful smile, and it was like the whole parking lot was illuminated for a brief moment, giggling when SpearB tripped on a bit of uneven pavement, and Jeongin was quick to offer a hand to stabilize him, fingers lingering a moment too long on his arm, pink tinting his cheeks before he hid his face. 

"How ya doing?" Jisung asked, taking in SpearB in all his pajama-wearing glory, the taller man wasn't much more dressed up, wearing a pair of black cargo sweatpants and a white cropped t-shirt followed by a leather jacket, "Not too bad, you?" SpearB lied through his teeth as he handed Felix a basket as they entered the store, Jeongin holding the freckled boy's hand and swinging it absent-mindedly. 

Jisung shrugged, motioning around wildly with one hand as he tried to find words, "I'm fine, stressed, I guess, but when am I not, ya'know?" he shot SpearB a joking wink at the end of his sentence, Felix rolling his eyes and snorting a little, picking up the requested Red Bull for their captain, dropping Jeongins hand, who pouted for a moment before wandering away to look for snacks. 

"So, Felix," SpearB started, "Quite the car out there, is that what you race or...?" he trailed off, allowing the Australian to finish his thought, "Nah, I have a BMW M3 that Ji and I toyed around with and designed," he light up even more-if that was possible-at the mention of his car, "Not to be rude, but where do you guys get the money for these types of cars? I mean, racing pays, but not this well," Jisung gave him a crooked smile, "Innie's dad is loaded, so some of our crap is from him, but then the captain fights on the side, likes to tell everyone he stopped, but you should see some of his bruises. Hyunjin bartends, plus we all work at the garage to rake in cash when needed." 

The explanation hung in the air for a while, SpearB accepted it, it made sense to be fair, Chan was wicked strong, and he had seen Hyunjin on the side of a race a while ago, mixing drinks. 

"And you?" Felix asked, "Your bike is so nice, man, no way you don't do something on the side," SpearB's fingers hesitated over a box of Oreos, "Uh, my old crew-" he licked his lips, eyes a little panicked as he tried to find the end of his sentence, "They were where I got and modded my bike, and, uh, you guys saw my car. I don't have much besides that bike, honestly," he averted his gaze, trying not to look at either of the other three-Jeongin had returned and was pretending to be disgusted by Jisung clinging to his arm.

"Well, you did a damn good job with the bike," Jeongin smiled, beginning to drag the older men towards the checkout, "And we have spent far too long debating what flavour of ice cream to get, we all know we'll get both, so let's just not," he grabbed both tubs of frozen desserts on the way, Felix nodded, "I agree with him! about the bike, at least, pistachio sucks and we should never buy it." 

SpearB grinned as he followed them, the relief he felt over no one making a comment about his car was overwhelming, it was odd how comfortable he felt with these practical strangers, but here he was, witnessing them argue playfully over who got to 'beep' their items on the self-checkout. 

"So," Jisung dragged his 'o' out while they left the store, each carrying a bag, "What're your plans for tonight?" he checked his phone for the time, 9:48 blinked back at him, SpearB shrugged, "Probably gonna watch a few movies, that's it, you guys?" "Cool, cool," Jeongin bobbled his head, "We've got no plans," the youngest tossed the groceries carelessly into the backseat of Felix's car, SpearB paused for a minute to consider, "You guys would be welcome to come hang out with me, my apartment is kinda shitty but-" Felix cut him off with an enthusiastic "Yes!" 

They took their separate cars so the three younger men could drop off their groceries, SpearB headed back to his apartment to try and control the mess, hesitating as he reached for the note that he had left on his table, folding it up and tucking it safely into his pocket. 

The rapping at his door alerted him to his crewmates' arrival, he opened the door, revealing the three of them, plus a tired-looking Hyunjin, all wearing pajamas, Felix holding a Tupperware of brownies. 

"Heya, SpearB!" Jisung skipped through the door and kicked his shoes off, "Hey, guys, sorry about the-uh, well, everything," SpearB flushed a little when they took in his apartment, but none of them said anything, instead entering the room and settled on his couch, Felix placing his Tupperware on the table and opening it, allowing the smell of his baking to waft through the room. 

SpearB joined them on the couch, allowing Jeongin to wrestle the remote away from him and choose a movie, and quickly started a conversation about the best Disney princesses, the five of them coming to an agreement about Mulan being far superior. 

They had just finished a movie when SpearB stood to grab a bowl of snacks, not noticing the paper fluttering to the ground as he stepped over Felix, who seemed to prefer the floor to the couch, who noticed the paper as it unfolded on the way down, unable to help himself from picking it up. 

"SpearB?" Felix's worried voice carried over the room, and the addressed man turned to see him, heart dropping out of his chest when he saw the piece of paper in his hands. 

Chapter Text

SpearB could feel his heart shatter all over the floor as he watched Felix reread the note, his face a bit pale as he did, the other three scrambled to read over his shoulder, Hyunjin looked queasy when he looked back up at his crewmate. 

"Who...?" Jisungs question died in his throat, staring at the 'sweetheart' scrawled on the page, and Jeongin stood in one sharp movement to stride across the floor to stand eye-to-eye with SpearB, opening his arms in a silent offer of support, and the older couldn't help but collapse into them. 

The four younger men were quick to return SpearB to the couch, the oldest avoiding eye contact like the plague, before Jeongin broke the silence, "Who is this? was it the same people who messed with your bike?" he asked softly, Spearb grimaced before nodding, "They're...my old crew, Joon Woo was my old captain," He explained, biting his lip hard as he allowed the other boys to digest that information. 

"You had another crew?" Jisung asked, the thought that Stray Kids wasn't SpearB's first crew stung a little, but seeing the note and the length they would go to hurt SpearB made him madder than anything, and seeing SpearB clench and unclench his fist before confirming made his blood boil, what had they done to the poor man that had made him leave? 

"Does Chan know?" Hyunjin asked, and SpearB shook his head quickly, "No, and he can't know-no one can, you guys weren't supposed to know," he sighed, the image he had been trying to assemble in front of the younger members was officially gone.

"I'm glad we know," Felix smiled his perfect, warm smile, "We're crewmates now, we have your back," SpearB could've been embarrassed by how tingly he felt at those words, but he was too caught up in his discomfort to feel anything more. 

They hung out together, a movie playing in the background that no one was watching, SpearBs heart was still pumping far too fast, but the company of his younger crewmates felt nice, like he belonged there, and like he had always been with them. 

The clocks finally hit 2 AM, and the four younger boys finally decided they had to go home before Chan flipped his shit over them being gone, "I don't want to leave him alone," Felix whispered, Jisung agreeing softly, "Should we ask him to come over? is that weird?" he tugged his boot on, Jeongin overheard, and automatically assumed that Jisung would be too anxious to ask himself, so he offered instead, "SpearB, come with us? I don't think we wanna leave you alone after...that," he motioned toward the note that had been left on the table. 

SpearB hesitated, did he really want to sleep at their house for the second night in a row? the answer was obviously yes, but he didn't want to be a bigger burden than he had already been, he had only been part of the crew for a few days and yet...he could feel himself getting sucked into their personal lives, and it terrified him. 

He could feel the eyes on him as he thought, the boys all wearing their shoes by now, just standing in the entrance as they waited, "Okay, yeah," and Jisung grinned, "I'll text the captain that we'll be a little longer so you can get some clothes!" 

The drive back to Stray Kids' house was uneventful, a quick rock-paper-scissors game settled on who got the middle seat, Hyunjin grumbling about how he had the longest legs and should therefore get shotgun as he climbed to sit in between Jeongin and Jisung in the back, who had decided to award SpearB the passenger seat.  

It was closer to 3 AM when they finally got home, and Chan was still waiting up on the couch when they tumbled through the door, the captain rose to his feet, eyes on SpearB as he approached, the shorter boy shrinking under his gaze before his captain motioned for him to follow. 

They entered the kitchen, the questioning eyes of the other boys following them, minus Jisung, who looked slightly guilty. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chan asked softly, SpearBs breath stuttered for a moment, "Tell you what?" his captain gave him an unimpressed look, "Jisung texted me about the note, why didn't you tell me anything? your old crew, or even just about the note?" he sighed, ruffling his hair, SpearB bit at his lip, "I-I wanted to tell you but I-" he twisted his fingers nervously, and Chan deflated a little, "No, no, I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at them-your old crew," 

It was unfair how safe being around Chan made him feel, "Sorry, I didn't mean to stress you out," SpearB screamed inwardly, he hated how comfortable he was around this man, "It's okay, I should've told you, I'm sorry," he hesitated, "I trust you guys, I just...struggle with it, I guess," and Chan smiled, "Don't apologize, I get it," 

Chan lead SpearB back to the living room, where the younger men were setting up a nest of blankets, "We're not going to bed, you can't make us," Jeongin stuck his tongue out at the captain, but the youngest's eyes were already drooping. 

To their credit, they did try to stay awake, with Chan watching fondly from the side as his crew attempted to stay awake while watching How To Train Your Dragon, but Hyunjin was snoring with his head on SpearBs shoulder before they made it halfway through, the smaller boy blushing furiously, trying to cover it up as best as he could.

Chan tucked them in once they had all fallen asleep, smiling when he saw how well SpearB fit in, as well as lifting Felix's head to fit a pillow underneath so that the younger boy wouldn't wake up with a sore neck. 

The captain stood, slipped on his jacket, and grabbed his keys, heading for the door, he was going to figure out who Joon Woo was, and he couldn't let anyone know that he was leaving, if word got back to Minho that he had left at this hour...he decided not to think about it anymore as he headed for his car. 

Chapter Text

"SpearB?" Seungmins voice roused the pile of sleeping men, he and Minho standing together, looking down over them, both with sleep-ruffled hair and pajamas and the addressed boy sat up, Hyunjin flopping off of him with a groan, blinking up at him.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep, or wake you up, sorry Hyunjin," SpearB apologized, reaching to tame his bedhead, "We asked you over to sleep, bro, stop apologizing," Felix mumbled, sleep thick in his voice as he flopped an arm over to pat him on the shoulder, but he missed, instead smacking Jisung in the face, waking him up. 

Minho hadn't said anything yet, staring over the group with a furrowed brow, "Has anyone seen Chan?" he asked finally, after counting the men in the room on his fingers, "He was here last night," Jisung supplied as he sat up, rubbing his cheek where Felix's arm had hit him, Minho's eyes darkened at the information, "Seungmin, would you check the rooms for me? see if Chan is here," the younger nodded and shuffled down the hall, and when he came back he shook his head, "Not here, Minho," 

The oldest sighed, "I'm gonna kill him," he glanced around the room, "I'll be back, gotta find our captain," he turned on his heel to get changed, a glimmer of anger shining in his eyes brightly, the younger boys who had seen this happen before, where their captain had gone missing in the middle of the night, only to reappear days later, dripping blood, so Minho's reaction wasn't out of the ordinary. 

"So," Felix looked awkward as he detangled himself from Jeongins limbs and the blankets they had wrapped around them, the youngest finally waking up and frowning, tucking his head back into Felix, too sleepy to process what was happening, "SpearB, want breakfast?" he offered, pushing the youngest off of him, earning much complaining from the youngest. 

They got up after that, Minho rushing through, giving a quick kiss to Jisung's cheek as he left, "See you guys," he grabbed his keys, slamming the door behind him, causing Hyunjin to flinch a little, and SpearB to watch the door quizzically before Jeongin took pity on him, "Chan gets protective," he pursed his lips, "He just wants to keep us safe, doesn't really care what happens to him, he was really mad about that note yesterday, that's probably why he left," 

SpearB cast his eyes away, falling silent, "Sorry," he felt like he had been doing an awful lot of apologizing recently, and Jeongin scrambled to tell him, "No! this is just how he is, it's not your fault that he left, he just wants to keep you safe!" he grasped at his crewmates hand, giggling a little when SpearB turned red-he blushed a lot, the youngest realized, a sneaking suspicion that maybe their newest member wasn't as straight as Minho had bet on, which could earn him twenty bucks, but at that moment, they all just enjoyed watching Felix cook them pancakes. 

Minho slammed his door closed, marching himself towards the building, storming through, earning a few 'Hey, Minho's from people around the room, which was dimly lit, even in the morning, with a fighting ring in the middle, and bar tables and stools littered aimlessly around, as well as a few punching bags and mats, the room was pretty disgusting, but he knew his captain. 

"Christopher," Minho stopped in front of his boyfriend, eyebrow raised as he took in the sight in front of him, his captain dripping in sweat, a few smears of blood, whether it was his or not was unclear, but the man didn't seem injured as he beat at a punching bag, knuckles bruised to hell when he finally looked to see Minho, a look of pure fear fluttering across his face, "What time is it?" he croaked, "Time for you to stop," Minho rifled through his bag for a moment before producing a water bottle, tossing it to Chan and motioning for him to sit down. 

"What the hell are you doing, Chan?" Minho asked when he finally got him to take a seat and sip on his water, the older avoiding his eyes, "I tried to find out who wrote the letters to SpearB, who fucked with the bike, but I can't fucking figure it out-no one knows who the hell Joon Woo is, no one knows shit," he finally said, all in a rush, spitting out the last word, then he immediately halted, "Sorry, fuck, I don't mean to get all yell-y, I just...want to keep him safe," he sighed, "But I can't, I don't know how," 

Minho looked at him warmly, "You can't protect all of us all the time," he reached to grab his bag, "Let's go home, now, you look like hell," he was still mad at Chan, for sure, but if he yelled at his captain in front of the other people in the...fight club? Minho never came to these places if not to find Chan, and never actually figured out what they were called, but anyway, if he yelled at his superior in front of the others, Stray Kids could get a bad reputation from it, Chan always had to be perfect and calculated, always in control while in public. 

He ushered Chan out, the two of them splitting up to take their separate cars home, Minho paused them both in their garage, "Chan?" he blocked the door, taking in the older in proper lighting for the first time, he looked awful, dark circles of both stress and lack of sleep tattooed under his eyes, this was visibly not the first all-nighter he had pulled this week, paired with the bruises along his jawline and arms, the blood, now definitely belonging to him, had trickled out of a few small cuts along his abdomen, nothing serious, but enough to stress Minho out. 

"I know, I look awful," Chan frowned, looking down on himself, "Sorry for making you come to get me, again, it won't happen again," and Minho snorted, "We both know that's not true, captain, let's go get you cleaned up, without the kids seeing you first, okay?" he smiled at him, finally urging him inside.

Chapter Text

Minho created a slight diversion to allow Chan to slip past, mostly unnoticed, a few of the boys greeted him, but none noticed his state as he hurried to wash up, SpearB looking a little suspicious. 

The second oldest followed him after a moment, slipping into the bathroom and sighing, observing his captain remove his shirt, the blood crusted over it stuck a little to the small cuts, making Chan wince while he removed it. 

"How did you even get those?" Minho asked cautiously, eyeing the three little stripes of red across his abdomen, Chan avoided eye contact, "I accepted a fight, they said they could get me information but, nothing," he poked at one of the cuts, looking miserable as Minho made him sit down, opening a medical kit, "You keep telling me you'll stop fighting, captain," he started disinfecting the cuts, Chan clenching his fist, "I can't, I don't know why, but every time someone challenges me it's like...I lose the ability to say no," he bit on his lip, Minho seemed to accept that, although he stashed that away to talk later, and started the shower for him.

He hung out while Chan got in the shower, slipping out quietly to get Chan a change of clothes, not wanting to leave the room for long and face the teasing they would certainly receive from going to the bathroom together. 

"Here," Minho handed Chan the clothes, an oversized black hoodie and matching black sweats, allowing him to get changed before he took a towel to his hair, ruffling his curls free of water, as Jeongin hated when he walked around with still-soaking hair. 

"Thank you, Minho," Chan smiled, taking the towel gently to hang it, and Minho offered a quick hug to the other, who happily obliged, wrapping him in his arms, the two of them standing for a second, arms lingering around each other. 

They split, and Minho practically ordered Chan to go take a nap, pushing his shoulders gently toward his bedroom, the captain weakly fought, but he gave up as soon as Minho raised an eyebrow at him.  

Minho entered the kitchen to see if he could snag a few pancakes, taking in the scene of SpearB and Jeongin arm wrestling-the youngest was putting up an impressive fight, but ultimately groaned in annoyance as he lost, while the other four cheered them on, SpearB grinning as he flexed jokingly, sleeves of his hoodie rolled up to show off, and Minho had to take a second to appreciate how pretty the boy was before laughing fondly at Jisung challenging him to arm wrestle, lasting a solid five seconds before pretending SpearB had broken his arm dramatically, the newest addition was so perfect for the team, and Minho couldn't be happier to see it. 

"Is Chris okay?" Felix broke off from the group to serve Minho breakfast, piling more than one serving of food, as if he already knew he was going to force Chan to eat half of it, the younger was always good at reading other people, and Minho shrugged, "Same as usual, I think," he ruffled Felix's hair affectionately, who protested and complained, but still leaned into the touch a little, "He could probably use a few extra hugs today, though," Minho added, giving an exaggerated wink and walking away with his plate stacked so high it was almost cartoonish. 

Minho opened the door to Chan's room, plate balancing dangerously on one hand as he entered, seeing Chan on his laptop, as usual, the captain looked up abruptly, a guilty look painting his features, and Minho rolled his eyes, "I told you to take a damn break," he said without any real bite, settling on the bed beside him and beginning to eat, giving Chan every other bite off the plate.

They sat together long after there was no food left, and they could hear the kids playing Mario Kart down the hall, not being able to escape their love of racing, even on off time, and the echoing laughter and joking insults being shouted over the mildly obnoxious music made Chan smile, "We made a good call with SpearB, huh?" the younger nodded, pushing his hair back, "You did," he half-smiled, "He fits so perfectly. I don't think it'll be long before he trusts us fully," he lifted a hand, crossing his fingers to support his last statement, and Chan nodded, "Here's hoping," he copied the hand gesture, letting his hand fall over Minho's, dragging the other into a hug, laughing when he tried to escape. 

Neither of them moved for a while, it had been ages since they had downtime, where the captain wasn't rushing around in a panic to get things done, although they both knew their time was running short, as they did have a meet that night, and they would have to start getting their asses in gear, as well as forcing the kids to get ready, this thought seemed to occur to Chan first, reaching for his phone to check the time, it was only noon, but he figured if he wanted a chance at getting both out of the house and to the garage by five-and getting SpearB's racing gear from his apartment, he should start getting things in order.  

The news that the Mario Kart tournament had to be cut short was met with loud groans and complaints from everyone except SpearB, who looked sad at the end, as he was dominating, but unsure if he was allowed to complain yet, so he kept his mouth shut, glancing around uncertainly, "I need to get home then...for my gear and everything, could someone...? if not it's okay! I can walk-" Jisung launched himself to volunteer to drive, giggling at the shocked look on SpearB's face. 

The house was full of excited chatter, a few of the boys had decided to do their makeup, and Felix, Hyunjin, and Seungmin were having an impromptu fashion show, each of them sporting the Stray Kids' colours; black and red, their jackets all the same, with their names splashed across the backs, although they all had put their own twists on the look.

Hyunjin with heavy silver chains and smoked-out eyeshadow, black jeans covered in patches, and a black cropped long sleeve, Seungmin in the tiniest hint of eye makeup as he wasn't the most confident in his abilities, a black-and-red checkered top, and black cargos, while Felix was wearing tall black combat boots with dark red cargos tucked into them, paired with an oversized black-and-red Harley Davidson t-shirt.

Jeongin blushed the second he saw them, becoming flustered at how good they looked, making the others coo annoyingly at him, peppering his face in kisses, much to his (faked) dismay. 

Chapter Text

Getting to the meet was easier said than done, even after Jisung and SpearB had left to pick up SpearB's gear. Wrangling five other people, as Chan discovered, was not easy, and as Minho joined Jeongin in flustered staring at their boyfriends, he lost his only faithful ally in the war against his own crew. 

They eventually made it out, heading for the garage with only a minor struggle against who was driving, Felix had wanted to 'warm up', which by now, Chan knew really meant 'put the car in a wall' and he had shut down the idea quickly, which brought about much pouting from the younger members. 

Jisung and SpearB had become quite close, as they drove together to SpearBs apartment, blasting music and singing poorly along to the lyrics, bursting into fits of giggles each time one of them drew a blank on one of the songs, and as they pulled into the parking lot of his building SpearB was almost disappointed to get out of the car. 

"You nervous?" Jisung asked, hitting the elevator button impatiently, and SpearB shrugged, "More nervous that the paint on my bike wont be dry than actually racing," he huffed a laugh, barely concealing his nerves as he did so. 

Jisung gave him a side glace, clearly seeing through his ruse while they entered the elevator, "I'm sure it will be, Hyunjin knows what he's doing, trust me," he knocked SpearB on the shoulder lightly, trying to ignore the fizzle in his chest each time they made contact with each other in the cramped space, and SpearB nodded, "He seems like it, I'm really happy with the colour too," 

The conversation stopped for a bit as they walked down the hall to SpearB's door, Jisung comfortably leaning on a wall once inside, watching his crewmate find his things around the room, "We need to get you a team jacket soon," he stated, raising an eyebrow at the neon-pink and black racing gear, "We're gonna look like fucking Valentine's day, with the red and pink," he giggled, SpearB gave him a look, snorting a laugh, "I guess so?" he shook his head, "I like the pink, but I guess I am a Stray Kid now aren't I?"

Jisung seemed pleased with that, nodding enthusiastically, "You are! I feel like we're complete now," he confessed, "Like we were always missing a piece before we found you," he turned pink, glancing down at his boots, and SpearB could feel his own cheeks burn, "I feel like I've found where I'm meant to be," he said quietly, folding his jacket haphazardly and putting it in a bag before straightening to look at Jisung eye-to-eye. 

There was a brief moment where they stared at each other, cheeks still pinkish on both ends, SpearB's eyes flicked down to Jisung's lips and back up to his eyes, and then, as if some magical force was drawing them to each other like magnets, their lips met. 

The kiss lasted several moments, so gentle, SpearB reached to softly cup the younger man's face, and they split, both taking a small step back before, with more passion and certainty than before, they met again, easily slotting their lips together, as if they had been doing this forever, as if they had never been apart, SpearB took control quickly, biting softly on Jisungs lower lip, tongues moving to clash with each other before, inevitably, Jisung gave in, a soft hum was drawn from his mouth when his phone went off, and he reluctantly drew away, fingers lingering over SpearB's wrist. 

He opened his phone, sighing as he saw the text from Felix, although he felt a little guilty about being annoyed at the other just for texting him, and then, the guilt of having kissed SpearB hit, and he chewed nervously on his lip. 

Sunshine: get ur asses to the garage before the captain loses his marbles pls <3333

HANNNN: we r on tha way. i gotta tell u smth tho 

He glanced up, seeing SpearB watching him anxiously, "I'm really sorry, Jisung, I didn't mean to-I mean, I know you're dating the others-but, I don't know, I'm sorry," he rambled for a second, Jisung raising a hand to shut him up, "It's okay, I'll tell them, they won't be mad, I mean, they will be, because I kissed you first, but," he stopped when SpearB's jaw slacked, "What do you mean first?" and Jisung laughed nervously, "Nevermind!" 

Sunshine: are u ok??

Sunshine: Ji??? 

Sunshine: u cant say that and then stop responding!!! 

Sunshine: Bro. 

HANNNN: sorry!!!!!! i was distracted

HANNNN: spearb is very pretty 

HANNNN: also tell seungmin he owes me 

HANNNN: becuz guess who kissed the newbie first & not u ^.^

Sunshine: WHAT 

Sunshine: proud of u babe 

Sunshine: fr tho we gotta talk abt this in person i need details & for the sake of good communication u should tell the others too 

HANNNN: i will. we r leaving rn, i love u!

Chapter Text

The drive between SpearB's apartment to the garage was quiet, but not uncomfortable or tense, Jisung rested a hand comfortably on SpearBs thigh as they drove, humming along to the radio as he pulled into the garage, giving the older boys thigh a quick squeeze, causing a flush to spread over SpearB's nose and cheeks as he got out of Jisungs iconic red pick-up truck.

Jisung made eye contact with Felix as he hopped out, who smirked and eyed him over before shooting a wink and helping load Hyunjin and Jisungs own bike into the pick-up, allowing SpearB to socialize and give his bike a final approval before departure, Hyunjin skipping over to him to chat about the paint job and to ask how he felt about the races, to which SpearB gushed over his bikes' new look and how excited he was, making Hyunjin giggle happily.

The buzz of excitement was heavy over the garage, members clasping each others hands and chatting loudly, placing bets on who would beat who and throwing around friendly jabs, Felix had decided to join the bike race, as the meet did not boast a motocross event, much to loud complaints from both himself and Seungmin, motocross was hard to come by, the tracks it required were near impossible to secure, and both of them were missing their preferred event.

Felix joining the bike race left the lineup as follows; Hyunjin, Jisung, Seungmin, SpearB, and Felix on bikes, and Minho, Chan, and Jeongin in cars.

The events were spaced out, and not all of them were guaranteed to be in the same heat, but the giddiness of the day ahead was catching up, as they all tugged on their team jackets, except for SpearB, who's hot pink racing leather made him stick out amongst the red sea.

"I feel bad," Chan said quietly to Minho, who nodded, watching SpearB glance at his reflection with dissatisfaction in the floor-length mirror that Felix insisted was a necessity for a garage, 'How else will we know how wonderful we look?' he had complained until Chan cracked and gave in, "He should have had a jacket by our first meet together." the captain frowned, "It's not like we knew we would need a random extra jacket with the name 'SpearB' on it." Minho said soothingly, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend and leading him towards their cars, while the bikers were all piling in to Jisungs pickup, much to SpearB's worry, the poor boy still didn't love not being in control of a vehicle, those driving cars at the meet would have to go separately.

Pulling in to the meet was loud, as usual, they could see Twice, BTS, Got7, and BlackPink setting up, the venue chosen was a massive parking lot next to an old abandoned parking garage, six levels of pure adrenaline-inducing track that Mr. Yang had payed to be constructed, filled with twists and spots for removable stunt-ramps for any biker who decided to show off on the lot outside. Why there was such a massive amount of parking there, no one quite understood, but was deeply appreciated by all.

More crews showed up over the course of the next several hours leading up to the first event, Hyunjin set up his portable bar-tables and began to fulfil orders, chatting and laughing happily as his old friends from other crews filtered towards him, members of Ateez and (G)-Idle had showed up and now took up the spaces next to the Stray Kids crew, where introductions were made to SpearB, who fit right in with the new crowd, talking about bikes and music to anyone who filled the chairs next to him, earning quite a few jealous glares from the rest of his own crew.

Jisung found a moment of quiet to pull the crew aside, after whispering to SpearB that he needed to explain what had happened between them to the rest of his-to his boyfriends, to which SpearB flushed but nodded and moved to stand, but Jisung shook his head, "Hangout here. It'll be fine, I promise." before flaunting away.

The conversation went rather smoothly, besides the annoyance that they hadn't been told sooner, "Honestly, Jisung, this is not the time, nor place for an important conversation," Chan had said with a raised eyebrow, "I know! but I couldn't not tell you any longer, I felt so gross keeping it from you guys, and I was too distracted at the garage earlier-" Jisung wrung his hands with anxiety, "Ji, we aren't mad you kissed him," Minho glanced around the huddle, "Right?" to which he got nods of approval, "However we are at a meet right now, which is super not the place to be having a conversation like this, but, at the same time, I don't think anyone here can honestly tell you they don't also want to kiss him, too." they wrapped up in a group-hug, after Chan said "We need to talk about this more later, but thank you for telling us."

SpearB stood awkwardly on the outskirt of the group huddle, after hearing the announcement for bikers to head to the track, he coughed to grab their attention and relayed the message, and quick smile from Jisung and brief touch on the back relaxed his nerves.

The bikers lined up at the start line, Stray Kids had lucked out and been placed in the same race together, alongside a few members of Twice, Red Velvet, BTS, and Got7, to make nearly twenty racers in total, this was the largest group that anyone involved had ever been placed in, and the air was heavy and thick with fear from watching crewmates, this number of racers increased the amount of danger tenfold, too many people on a narrow track meant bigger, more lethal crashes, Chan and the other captains were lined up, white-knuckled on the railings that stopped them from stepping on to the track, each with worry lines prominent and exchanging looks that meant, 'we will all take turns killing the organizers later'.

The countdown to begin was started, engines revved loudly, and just as the numbers changed to the word 'Go!' SpearB caught a glimpse of the face he dreaded, blood turning to ice in his veins as his old captain faded back into the crowd, winking at him, before SpearB realized he was still at the line and shot off, trying to make up the distance between himself and the pack.

Chapter Text

"Why isn't he going? why isn't he going?" Jeongin caught his lip between his teeth, gnawing nervously until it was reddening and swelling, watching SpearB for the solid five seconds before he came back to reality and shot off after the pack, his engine screaming, Minho gently touched the lip, tugging it free, "None of that, Innie. I'm sure he's fine," but his eyebrows were furrowed nervously, eyes darting between where SpearB had reached the last of the pack already, his skill on display as he navigated, and his captain, who had begun cracking his knuckles nervously, the other captains looking surprised at the rough start, word of SpearB's skill seemed to have spread quickly.

SpearB was cursing himself inside his helmet, shaking himself of the thought of his old crew being present as he fought for his place in the pack, now neck-and-neck with Hyunjin, who was battling for fourth place against a Twice member-Jeongyeon, if memory served, who's teal bike and racing gear was covered in black spirals that made his head spin if he looked for too long, he had made up nearly fourteen places by the second turn, and he could vaguely make out the Stray Kids logo on two bikers ahead, he couldn't tell who they were, or where the third was, but he forced his eyes back to the track.

"Holy shit, he might have it," Minho muttered, eyes glued to the screens, the racers had gone out of sight, but luckily for the crowd watching, the track had been lined with cameras, "Yeah," Jeongin was breathless as he watched the pink dot on the track zip past Hyunjin, stealing fourth, something Hyunjin was sure to complain about dramatically later, and then quickly overtake Felix's third place spot, who had lost some momentum in a particularly sudden twist.

Chan was about three seconds from having a panic attack, his breath was stuck in his throat as he tracked his members places, Jisung, unsurprisingly in first, SpearB in third even after a terrible start, which was so hot it made Chan want to kiss him, Felix and Hyunjin battling it out for fourth, and Seungmin coming in at sixth, the rest of the pack began to thicken behind them in a straightaway, the remaining fourteen racers overtaking each other, this was a recipe for disaster, he saw RM, the captain of BTS, tense, seemingly coming to the same conclusion as him as he watched his own members climbing in rank, and as the final bend came around and the top five came in to view, one of the Got7 boys, who had dropped to the middle of the pack after the track narrowed abruptly, and was too far to tell which he was, spun out, taking out three other riders with him.

Jay B yelled as he watched the crash, Chan's heart lurched for him, the racers in front crossed the line before they could even tell what had happened, Jisung's victory lasting only a moment before he looked behind him and saw the flames of a bike's engine as it's rider scooted backwards on his ass, one leg dragging awkwardly.

Chan had to restrain Jay B for a moment before letting him sprint over the barricade, waiting for the rest of the unharmed riders to clear the area, then following suite, heart dropping when he took in the crumpled body of Seungmins bike, he hadn't been able to make out which riders were taken out, but he thought his boys were far enough in front to be unharmed, he yelled back at Minho, who took Jeongin by the hand and lead him to the finish line, where the four who had finished in front stood, mouths open in shock and horror as they watched Chan and the captains pull the injured riders from the wreckage.

There had been four bikes in total, the boy-Yugyeom-who had originally lost control was in tears, both from the pain of his dislocated knee, which had gotten stuck under his bike as he crashed, as well as the guilt from causing the crash, although no one truly blamed him, the other three involved had been Twice's Tzuyu, who removed her helmet quickly and assured everyone that she was okay, just shaken, BTS's Jungkook, who was sporting a wicked case of road burn after his jacket had ridden up, and Seungmin, who had hit a guardrail after avoiding hitting Jeongyeon, and was now laying, groaning as he took off his helmet and was greeted with Chan's panicked face.

"Are you okay?" Chan asked at the same time as Seungmin said "Is my bike okay?" to which Chan choked on a breath, "You were just in a crash-and you want to know if-if your bike is okay?" he shook his head, tugging the zipper of Seungmins jacket down, surveying the bruising that was blooming along his arm, by this point the rest of their crew had joined them, each staring in concern at the awkward angle of his wrist, "I'm fine, it just pinches a little," the second youngest protested as he was lifted off the ground by Chan, and at the same time taking in the wreck of his bike, "No-nonono, shit," he blinked hard, the stinging of his wrist now multiplied by the pain of losing his bike, "It'll be okay, Seungmin." Chan said, keeping his calm as best he could while he lead his crew back to where they set up.

The captains were soon called out to discuss the wreck, Chan only leaving after he was made one hundred percent sure that Seungmin was okay, and leaving a quick kiss on his temple, offering the four other riders involved in the race congratulations, to which he received tight-lipped smiles, SpearB lacked any and all colour in his face, and Chan wished he could stay and comfort his crew as he ducked out of their popup tent.

"Chan, hey," Jay B nodded to him, "How's Seungmin?" his hands shook rapidly, giving away his nerve, "He'll be fine. dislocated his wrist in the guardrail, but he jumped off his bike before it crumpled, how about Yugyeom? and Jungkook?" he smiled tightly a the rest of the captains, "Yugyeom is okay, we reset his knee, but he feels...awful," Jay B frowned, "Except we," he jerked his head in RM's direction, "looked at his bike wreckage..."

"Jungkook is fine, too, he's scraped up but still raring to go," a ghost of a smile played on RM's lips, "But, yeah. We looked at the wreckage, someone fucked with his steering. I think that crash was planned," he pursed his lips, "We just can't figure out how, or why. Got7 has no known enemies, and now we have to figure out if we should cancel the rest of the events. Red Velvet and Ateez are clearing the track together, just in case."

"Maybe we should cancel. What if it's more than just Yugyeoms bike?" Jihyo, the captain of Twice, offered, frowning, "I mean, I don't like it either, but it might be the smart thing to do," she frowned, and RM nodded, "I don't feel good about possibly putting anyone else in danger, but I also think this meet is important. Getting this many people together was...a struggle, we don't know when it'll happen again."

Irene-Red Velvet, captain, pursed her lips, "What if we all take a hour or so to check our vehicles, do a security sweep, and see if anyone on our crews wants out, then we move forward with the second bike race, that way we can be as safe as possible, and still get to finish the meet." she spread her hands in front of her, waiting for a response, "Seems okay to me." Chan said, worry gnawing in the back of his mind, the rest of the captains murmured agreement and dispersed back to their own crews.

Chan ducked back into the tent with his crew, taking in the nerves and worry on everyones face, SpearB blinking back tears and shaking, while Jisung had a hand resting on his leg, face creased in distress, "Chan,"Felix approached, laying a quick kiss on his cheek, "What's happening?" he backed up, leading Chan to sit on a workbench next to him, "We're taking time to check the rest of our vehicles, doing a security sweep, then moving forwards with the events, if anyone wants out, feel free to say so."

SpearB raised his eyes to meet Chans, "I know who did it." his voice was shaking, eyes watering, leg shaking so badly that Jisung retracted his hand for a moment.

Chapter Text

All eyes rested on SpearB, Seungmin cradling his wrist as he leaned against Jeongins chest, who had a protective arm wrapped around him lazily, the ever-present worry line between Chans eyebrows deepening as he watched SpearB shake in his seat, "Who was it?" his voice came out soothingly, although he was already drawing conclusions in his head, and the shuddering breath SpearB drew in was almost enough confirmation.

"I think-I know it was my old crew. I saw my captain...the one who sent the note? right before the race, that's why I froze at the start line," he inhaled deeply, trying to calm the shaking in his voice and the trembling in his hands, "This is very like him, to sabotage a bike like that, he's sending a message to me, that I'm-uh, that I'm not safe, and they have no problem hurting other people. I don't think they'll do anything else today, it's not their style to hit more than once in a day..." he trailed off, eyes searching Seungmins face, "I'm really, really sorry, Seungmin. It's my fault you got hurt, they're trying to scare me."

Seungming got up abruptly, wincing when he twisted his wrist in pushing off Jeongin, who reached to stable him on instinct, "It is not your fault," he said sharply, good hand waving around as he began pacing, the rest of the crew observing, Chan deep in thought, only partially listening, "You are not responsible for people being-being so shitty. They are the only people at fault here. Not. You." he punctuated his last words, grabbing SpearBs hand as he sat back down with a harsh exhale.

A silence fell over the group, eyes flitting between each others faces, all settling on Chan when he opened his mouth, "Seungmin is right, this is not your fault," his voice was steady, in control, as always, "You're sure they won't do anything else today?" he accepted the tiny nod of SpearBs head, "Okay. You will always be safe with us. Everyone involved in the accident today will be fine, okay? It was not your fault, and they will never, ever get this close to you again, I promise."

SpearB allowed his muscles to relax, he had been bracing for yelling from Chan since the accident, so used to being the punching bag of his old captain, but he was given only care and comfort, even from Seungmin, who had been hurt because of him, he had been treated so well since meeting these men, and he couldn't help but believe Chan when he said no one could hurt him now, he offered another little nod, words failing him out of anxiety as tears pricked his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks, before he swallowed harshly and punched down the emotion, "Thank-thank you." he said in a small voice, avoiding eye contact while Jisung rubbed tiny circles into one of his palms.

Chan gave them marching orders, telling Seungmin to stay with SpearB, and the rest of them would check the cars while the next motorcycle race happened, originally they had wanted to watch-more of Twice was in it, so were a few members of Ateez, and a few other groups they were close with, but ultimately they decided to stick together, calm their broken nerves before they went to the awards.

Awards were given per race, so Jisung and SpearB a medal and podium, but overall ranking was based off best time throughout both races, so Jisung would be on the podium in either first or second, and SpearB would not place overall.

SpearB sat with Seugmin, glancing guiltily at his wrist every time he thought the younger wasn't looking, they made small conversation, trying to rekindle the excitement of that morning, talking about which of their crew they were sure to come in first place, Seungmin willing to stake his life on Chan winning first in both his race as well as overalls, and SpearB arguing that Minho and Jeongin could probably take him out if they wanted to.

"I really don't blame you, stop looking at me like that." Seungmin said abruptly, as he raised an eyebrow at his companion, "But you should!" SpearB frowned, "If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be hurt!" he exclaimed, and Seungmin scoffed, "People get hurt in races! that's just how it is. Stop feeling bad, right now." he grabbed the others hand with his good one, and air of finality about while he finished speaking, providing no room for SpearB to argue, "Fine." SpearB said, a small mock-pout forming as he desperately tried to fight the flush tinting his ears pink, the thoughts of his old crew temporarily being banished from his mind.

They sat still for a moment, electricity buzzing around their joined hands before Seungmin broke the silence, "Oh, fuck it. Can I kiss you?" and laughed at the shocked expression that crossed the others face before he nodded, Seungmin shuffled forward to join their lips, SpearB giggling when he slipped a little off the bench they were sat on before he grabbed his hips to steady him, tilting his head before they broke apart, both blushing softly and shyly avoiding eye contact.

"Guys!" Jisung burst into the area, freezing when he took in the scene in front of him, "Oh my god, Seungmin you too? I'm so proud, good job," he grinned, showing off his heart-shaped smile as he rushed towards them, kissing Seungmin on his forehead, the his cheek, then his lips, before turning his smile to SpearB, "Two outta seven ain't bad," he joked, SpearB snorting, blush becoming more and more vibrant, "Okay-get off me, Jisung," Seungmin complained, "Why did you come in here all excited?" and Jisung gasped, "Awards! Let's go!" he tugged gently on Seungmins bicep, beckoning for SpearB to follow.

Awards were generally kept as brief as possible, and soon the first race's podium was standing to receive their awards, Jisung beaming on top, the awfulness of the end of his race forgotten for at least a brief moment, second place went to Yeri of Red Velvet, and third to SpearB, who looked a little uneasy.

The winners of the second race were announced, first and second to two members of Ateez, Yunho and San, and third was awarding to a grinning Dahyun of Twice.

The overall podium went as follows; Jisung in first, beating out Yunho for first by only a split second, Yunho in second, grinning and shaking Jisungs hand, and third overall to Yeri, who flashed a peace sign as she stepped onto the podium, accepting her medal.

After the winners were announced their crews were free to mob the podiums, tackling them in hugs and congratulations, Hyunjin and Felix playfully arguing and teasing SpearB for stealing third place from both of them, and Seungmin making sure everyone knew he would have won without the interference.

Chapter Text

Chan prided himself on his ability to turn off his own emotions in favour of keeping his crew safe, but right now he felt like he could throw up from his own anxiety, the idea that both he and Minho would be separated from the rest of their crew for the duration of their race made him want to scream and drop out, the lists for the car races had been circulated; he, Minho, and Jeongin had been placed in the second race, the races had been reworked, allowing for everyone of the same crew to race together, in order to diminish the desire for foul play.

Being in the second race allowed them to celebrate their winners from the bike races, as they collectively decided not to watch the first race, electing instead to hang out together and settle their still-shot nerves, Jisung and Seungmin cuddled closer than usual to SpearB, who seemed to be trying to break a record for 'pinkest blush ever', and his hands had stopped shaking as badly.

"Not to freak anyone out, but I think we all need to talk later," Chan announced to the room, causing his crew to stiffen and look at him expectantly, "Definitely." Minho agreed easily, eyes darting around the younger kids, "Uh, is it-is it bad?" Jisung asked nervously, and Chan felt bad immediately, forgetting how his anxiety would spike at the dreaded words 'we need to talk', "No, Sung, it's not bad. I just need to make sure everyone is okay, especially after today." he explained softly, and the younger nodded appreciatively, "Okay, yeah...we do." Jisung nodded, glancing not-so-subtly at Seungmin and SpearB, who looked down.

"Okay, so clearly that meant something, right?" Minho murmured in Chans ear, who nodded, "They aren't as slick as they think they are," he smiled fondly, arm snaking around Minhos shoulders, who scoffed but didn't brush it off, "Neither are you." he teased gently, kissing his jawline quickly, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Chan chuckled, settling in to hit place on the bench as he observed the men surrounding him, keeping a watchful eye over the way SpearBs eyes still darted nervously around.

The three car racers checked over their vehicles a bit before their race started, word had gotten around about the top three from the first race; Lisa of BlackPink, V of BTS, and J-hope of BTS, three very formidable opponents, Lisa was bloodthirsty on the track, and Chan was kind of glad he wasn't up against her, they always got carried away when they raced together, but that also meant the times to beat in order to place overall would be tough, and he needed his crew to place well at this meet.

"Ready?" Chan asked Jeongin, who promptly bonked his head against his car door while getting out, "Ouch-yeah, I'm ready. You?" he rubbed at his head, wincing as he did so, "Very ready. You feel okay?" Chan reached out to touch the spot he hit, "Yeah, I just bumped it, Chan, it's okay," Chan furrowed his brow, "Not that, about everything that happened today, the crash, SpearB, and also what Jisung told us?" Jeongin fell silent for a moment, considering his words, "I think so. I'm worried for SpearB, and Seungmin really scared me. I'm...really scared, what if someone hurts more of us? and SpearB, I feel so bad for him...but also I wish he trusted us more? I mean...we still don't know his name, but I know his old crew hurt him. And Jisung...I don't mind? SpearB is wonderful. I really think...I don't know, maybe, in a few months...he could be-could be one of us? properly? like with us?" Jeongin searched Chans face after his final words, "Is...is that okay?" "Of course it's okay, baby. I agree," Chan cupped the side of his face, pulling him in for a soft kiss, "Good luck on the track, Innie. See you at the start line." with that, he turned towards his own car, watching Jeongin smile and pull out of his spot, Minho following him, and Chan bringing up the rear as they headed for the start line.

"You excited to see the race?" Hyunjin asked, arm draped over Felix's shoulders as they stood beside the track, the five remaining Stray Kids members standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the crew was well known for their complete disregard for personal space, "Yeah, I am," SpearB smiled, he stood between Jisung and Seungmin, who still cradled his wrist awkwardly, but he was more distanced than the rest of the crew, still unsure of how he fit in to their dynamic, "Who do ya think is gonna win?" Felix asked casually, leaning in to Hyunjin slightly, "Not sure. Probably Chan, but the others could maybe stand a chance too, if they're lucky." Seungmin put in, "Maybe? I think they have a real chance, if they race anything like I've heard." SpearB said, the conversation quickly ended as the countdown began, engines becoming nearly deafening.

The power of his car felt natural under his fingertips, Chan felt like the machine was an extension of himself, and as he sat ready at the line, he could see the red and black of Jeongin beside him, and a few down was Minho, who gave him a mock salute when he saw him staring before turning his attention back to the countdown.

'Go!' flashed across the screens displaying the countdown, accompanied by a gunshot, and the roar of engines breathed new life into Chan, flying down the track like he had been born behind the wheel, Jeongin immediately conquering second place, Minho in third, and the rest of the pack forming behind them, "They're insane." SpearB breathed, and the others smiled, "No kidding." Felix grinned, hands over his ears.

Chan dominated first, Minho and Jeongin battling between second and third the entire race, other racers got in close sometimes, but their efforts were crushed before they could hold any hope of keeping their place, the Stray Kids members too skilled in their handling to be taken over, their only real competition had been in the first race, although the racers with them were technically very skilled, they were too timid to pull the more dangerous maneuvers that Stray Kids and other crews like BlackPink, BTS, or Twice were willing to do.

It came as no shock when the brilliant red of Chans car passed the line first, his crew on the sideline screaming and cheering for him, "What did I say? What did I say?" Seungmin giggled in SpearBs direction, who rolled his eyes and grinned widely, Hyunjin kissing Felix in celebration, who laughed into the kiss, and when Jeongin and Minho crossed the finish line it was only by half an inch that Minhos wheels were ahead of the youngest.

The second the racers got out of their cars and removed their racing helmets Minho and Jeongin raced into Chan, who laughed and spun the three of them around, kissing them both as he did so, and as the rest of Stray Kids and the other crews poured onto the track to usher them towards the podiums, he couldn't help but let his eyes linger on SpearBs face a moment longer then strictly necessary.

Chapter Text

There was no after party, the winners were awarded and celebrated, but the captains all agreed to end the meet early in order to settle their crews nerves, many of the racers in the first motorcycle race still looked pale, hands trembling on guardrails, and so the decision to say quick goodbyes and leave was an easy one to make.

"SpearB?" Chan asked softly, they had just wrapped up packing up their bikes, and SpearB had been staring into space for the past several minutes, but he jolted at his captains voice, looking up with red-rimmed eyes, "Yeah?" he asked, fingers coming to rub at his eyes, "We were wondering if you wanted to come home with us, or if we should drop you off?" Chan sat across from him, hands open on his knees, "I-uh, I don't know," SpearB responded quietly "I don't want to bring any more danger to you, I can't-the race, my bike, that-stupid-note...it's all my fault, I can't, I can't do it, Chan, I'm dangerous," he blinked hard, "I'm ruining it all, you guys, I'm a wreck, it's my fault Seungmin got hurt, I'll rip you guys apart, I know it, I'm sorry, I can't, I can't, I c-" his rambling was cut short, tears slipping down his cheeks, when Chan pulled him into a hug, the angle awkward and uncomfortable from their sitting positions, but comforting all the same.

"You are not dangerous, SpearB, you won't hurt us, you can do this, it will all be okay, I promise," Chan said gently, fingers trailing through SpearBs hair as he tried to collect himself, "Changbin," the smaller corrected, sniffling, "I'm sorry?" Chan pulled back, hands settling on his shoulders, "I-my name? it's not SpearB...obviously, it's-it's Changbin," he looked down, avoiding eye contact, as well as avoiding answering his captain properly, who moved to cup his face in one hand, "Thank you for trusting me." and the younger smiled shakily, tears still streaming down his face, before he tucked his face back into the crook of Chans neck, letting himself relax in his hold.

"Hey, captain-" Minho said, stopping abruptly when he took the two of them in, "Shit, sorry, I'll come back in a few," he began backing back out of the tent, "No, no, it's fine," Changbin took two steps back, wiping harshly at his eyes, "Sorry, sorry," his voice shook before he cleared his throat, "I'm all good," "What's up, Minho?" Chan asked, one hand resting on Changbins shoulder, "We're done packing up our bikes, all except SpearB's, should we load it with ours or...?" he cocked his head to the youngest, taking in his teary eyes, "You okay?" he reached out to gingerly wipe at the tear tracks, "Yeah, sorry," he replied, "Stop apologizing," Chan said firmly, "You've done nothing wrong." he tightened the grip on his shoulder comfortingly, Minho offered a hand to SpearB, "Come home with us today, you shouldn't be alone right now, yeah?" he smiled, and SpearB took his hand reluctantly, "Okay."

There was soft cheering when it was announced SpeaeB would be joining them at home, accompanied by worried looks at the red eyes and sniffles, and he ultimately chose to ride home with Chan in his car, trying to give a reassuring look towards the rest of the crew, Jisung with a worried crinkle between his eyebrows.

"So, Changbin," Chan started gently, stopping at a red light as he twisted to look at the boy in his passenger side, taking note of the cars containing the rest of his crew behind them, "I don't want to push, but I need to know about your old crew, I'm worried." he put his hand over the centre console to touch Changbins knee, "I...okay." Changbin stared at the captains hand, cheeks going pink, and he inhaled deeply.

"When I was much younger-like...fifeteen, I think, I got signed into a crew, my old captain, Joon Woo, he was kind of my mentor, he was like...ten? fifteen? years older than me?" he frowned, the memories returning in a rush, Chan listened intently as he slowly accelerated, "It was all really good at first, the whole crew was so sweet and so nice and they all loved me, and I loved them, too, then...I don't know, I turned eighteen, and they got mean, worse than mean, they treated me like...uh," Changbin blinked hard, "Property. I didn't get a say in things, I did what they wanted, when they wanted, and 'no' didn't really mean anything to them," his voice cracked a little, Chans eyes widening as he understood slowly, "Oh, fuck, Changbin, I'm so sorry," the younger waved him off, "It's fine. Anyway, it got too much for me, I ran away, they couldn't find me for a few months...then I guess I got too confident, when I signed to you guys word got around, I think they saw a picture, and...they tracked me down," he sighed, "I'm sorry, again, for how much trouble I've been, I understand if you want me gone." Chan abruptly put on his hazards, pulling over to the shoulder, the other Stray Kids cars passing him.

"We do not want you gone. I do not want you gone," Chan said, looking at him intently, "You fit in perfectly, you complete us, please, don't even suggest leaving." his hand over the console trailing up to his arm, his phone buzzing at the same moment, a text from Felix reading;

Sunshine: we saw ur car pull over

Sunshine: all ok?

Chan responded to the text, a quick 'All good, we'll meet you at home <3' and looked back at the younger man next to him, "Sorry, that was Lix," and Changbin shook his head, "It's okay, but...thank you." he sniffed gently, trying to avoid the tears that threatened the edges of his eyes, "Of course, Changbin, now let's get home, yeah?" and Changbin nodded, watching as his new captain turned off his hazard lights and pulled back into the lane, heading for home.

Home, a word that Changbin was beginning to understand.

Chapter Text

Pulling in to the driveway was beginning to feel scarily normal to Changbin, and seeing Jisung splitting a cigarette with Felix, who both grinned and waved at the car, sent a warmth spreading through his body that he couldn't explain.

The two hopped out of the cars, the bikes still loaded into the back of Jisungs pickup truck, who explained, after following them inside with Felix, both chewing mint gum on the way to mask the smell of cigs, that they were about to die of starvation, and so stopping at the garage to unload first would have been a suicide mission.

"So, how is everyone?" Chan asked, somewhat awkwardly as he stood in the doorframe between the kitchen and living room, Changbin standing slightly behind him, the rest of the crew sprawled out over their couch and armchairs, Seungmins injured arm resting uncomfortably over Jisungs thighs as he lay over Jeongin, the captain received a chorus of 'okay's and one 'terrible' from Jeongin, who was struggling to shove the second-youngest off him without jostling the arm, which had been put in a splint by Minho.

"Okay...so," Chan stepped to the side to bring Changbin into full view, "Like I said earlier, we really need to talk," Jisung stiffened again, "And it is still nothing bad," Chan smiled warmly in his direction, the younger relaxed before going back to playing with Seungmins hair, "But it's important. We haven't really had the chance to talk about...everything since Ch-SpearB joined the crew-which isn't his fault!" he hurriedly reassured, and the addressed boys mouth twitched upwards, "It's okay, Chan," he turned his attention fully to the rest of the crew, "My real name is Changbin, I was using SpearB to try and avoid my old crew finding me, clearly that didn't work..." he glanced to Seungmins splint, who frowned, "If you apologize again I'll start screaming."

The awkward tension in the room soothed after that, the rest of the crew echoing Changbins name back to him, testing how it sounded in their mouths, "Pretty name for a pretty guy." Jisung sent him the most exaggerated wink he had ever seen, to which he received an eye roll, before Changbin and Chan joined the crew on the couches, Changbin sliding to sit on the floor next to Felix.

"So..." Hyunjin started, "How do we start?" he had moved to sit next to Chan in the armchair, the captain chuckled, ruffling his hair affectionately, "I guess...we need to talk about a lot, mostly about, well...Changbin," he looked down at the mentioned, "Sorry, this is gonna be super awkward." Changbin laughed, "I figured, yeah, it's fine."

Changbin began to explain the story of his old crew, sharing only the bare minimum of details, he was too apprehensive to be more vulnerable then strictly necessary, the boys surrounding him frowned, Felix gritting his teeth next to him, he ended his story and looked to Chan, "I don't think that's all you wanted to talk about...am I right?" he asked, trying to joke at the end of his sentence, but it fell flat as his hands began to tremble.

"Yeah," Chan agreed, looking at Jisung, who shrank in anxiety at being put on the spot, "Um...like I said at the meet, me and Sp-Changbin...we, um, kiss-kissed," he looked down to fiddle with his fingers, "I don't know what it meant to him, we-we didn't have much time to talk...but-but, um...it meant something to me?" his voice raised like a question at the end, Jeongin reached to touch his arms and comfort him, Changbin blushed, "It meant something to me, too," he looked to the rest of the crew nervously, "But I know you're all together, I don't want to mess anything up, I'm really sorry." he apologized, "I think we need to ban you from the word 'sorry'" Minho said sarcastically, "No one is upset, you're all good, Changbin." his words were firm, no room for arguing.

"I do think that we need to talk about that more, though," Hyunjin frowned, "I mean, I'm not upset that it happened, but if it meant something to both of you then we should talk about what that means for...us? You two should talk privately first, I think..." he offered, "That sounds good," Jisung nodded, and Changbin agreed softly, glancing nervously at Seungmin, who's eyes widened as he pushed off Jeongin as quickly as possible, "I kissed Changbin, too!" he blurted, "Right after the crash-fuck, I should've said sooner, I was so distracted, fuck, guys, I'm so sorry." the room went quiet, Seungmin looking panicked, and Changbin biting his lip nervously.

"I mean, it might not be my place, but I'm obviously okay with it," Jisung said quietly, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm horribly upset that he copied me, but otherwise, I-well, I did it first." he shrank a little in his seat, Jeongin was now free of Seungmin and began to shuffle closer, pulling Jisung into him, kissing his jaw softly.

Eyes turned back to Seungmin to speak, "The kiss also meant something to me," he looked at Changbin, who nodded, "Me, too..." and looked away, "So then, maybe the three of you should talk, yeah?" Chan said, looking around, "I don't think anyone is upset, just...we need to communicate better, okay? that goes for everyone," he looked around for confirmation, Hyunjin pursed his lips, nodding, and the three addressed also agreed quietly, "Okay...is it okay if I go make a quick call?" Changbin asked, not really intending to call anyone, but sensing that the rest of the crew needed to talk without him, and when no one objected he stood and left the room.

"Guys, we need to talk about this, relationships can't work without proper communication," Chan glanced around, letting his arm settle around Hyunjin, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet, "You two kissed Changbin, that's fine, no one is mad at you, right? we've gone over that?" he asked for confirmation, earning nods in response, "But we need to know these things. Do either of you have feelings for him?" he let the question hang for a moment, observing the faces of his crew, "Okay, scratch that, who in this room has feelings for him?" hesitantly hands raised, each member of the crew looking around to confirm it, seven hands up, each with pink dusting their cheeks, "Okay...so now what?" Jeongin asked the room, no one seeming to have an answer.

Chapter Text

Nothing came of the confession immediately besides pink flushed cheeks, Changbin had stuttered out a strangled 'I like you all, too.' but Chan insisted that Changbin take time to think about this new development, though Jisung had added, "Feel free to kiss us anytime, though." and wiggled his eyebrows at him jokingly, though the others all nodded as though it was the most serious thing they had heard all day, and the pink-boy had nodded, eyes wide with shock as he had been dragged towards the kitchen by Felix, who insisted they needed to eat. 

The night was filled with comfort, the stress of the day eventually bubbling over in Jisung, who broke down sobbing in Minhos arms as the eight of them had reconvened in the living room after eating, the silence suddenly pierced by his gasping breaths and the soothing tones of Minhos voice. 

Later on it was Changbin himself who cracked, he felt the lump rising in his throat and excused himself from the room, tears prickling at his eyes even as he stood and took two stumbling steps before crumbling, Hyunjin darting out to catch him before his knees hit the floor, "Shit, Changbin-" he broke off at the first sight of the tears racing down his cheeks, silent sobs wracking his frame as he shook in the taller boys arms. 

Chan was on his feet and next to them faster than anyone else could react, wrapping an arm around Changbin and leading him out of the room gently, motioning for Hyunjin to sit down, the taller protesting even as he followed orders.

"Changbin?" Chan cupped his face softly, leading him to sit on the edge of his bed in the room he shared with Felix, their beds pushed together to form an awkward double-queen, but the two of them were perched on the side that was technically Chans, who, receiving no answer from the younger, reached out to pull him into his chest, cradling him as he gasped for air, "Hey, it's okay,"  he rocked gently, and Changbin reached to claw at his own arms in his panic, "No, none of that." Chan took his hands, rubbing circles into them and humming deep in his throat to calm him, allowing Changbin to sob into his shirt as they sat together. 

His cries carried through the house, those still seated in the living room frowning in concern, though they knew not to intrude, no one was better suited to soothe the newcomer then their captain, and instead they settled on linking arms and cuddling up close together, attempting to block out the painful sounds. 

Changbin gathered himself eventually, his nose and eyes reddened and damp, and as he pulled away from Chan he couldn't help the apologies tumbling from his lips, though Chan was quick to shush him, opening his arms again and pressing a soft kiss to his temple as the younger continued to whisper under his breath, choked out 'I'm sorry's and 'Please's to which Chan continued to hush and respond with caring 'It's okay's and 'You're okay's until even Changbin began to believe him, breath finally evening out. 

Changbin inhaled, ready to say something, when Chan held up a hand, "If this sentence in any way includes the word 'sorry' I encourage you to rethink it, because it isn't necessary, you've done nothing wrong," and Changbin bit his lip, "Fine, thank you," his voice was still shaky, "Thank you for what?" his captain smiled at him, a rush of warmth flooding through Changbin as he did so, "For...everything, I guess, being part of Stray Kids feels so...right, I feel so at peace here, with you all, so, thank you." the older grinned wider, "You complete us, I know that sounds super cheesy...but I really, truly believe it." 

Silence fell, not awkward or uncomfortable, but simply silence, punctuated only by Changbins sniffles, the two looking at each other, though Changbin attempted to avoid eye contact at all costs, then, like gravity had changed directions and now Chan was the earth and Changbin was all things drawn to it, he was leaning in, eyelashes still glimmering with his hard-cried tears, "Is it okay?" and Chan nodded, their lips meeting, finally, god, finally, slotting together as if they were two pieces of the same puzzle, a puzzle with six other pieces. 

Their kiss lasted a few moments, soft, Chans fingers coming up to brush against Changbins cheek, and as they broke apart he giggled nervously, then reconnected their lips in a second kiss, this time he wrapped his other arm around his waist, pulling their bodies flush against one another as Changbins own hands wandered over his chest, they broke apart only once more in order to catch their breath and for Changbin to whisper "Thank you." over, and over, and over again before they joined again, the horrible events of the day fading in to the background as time went on, tongues fighting briefly (very briefly) for dominance, (Chan won), but, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end as Jisung, (why is it always Jisung?) opened the door cautiously, the two men lurching apart at the noise. 

"You're kissing?" he asked, somewhat incredulously, eyebrows raised, "Without me?" he pouted, taking in the scene, both the other men with reddened, puffy lips, and Changbin with tear-stained cheeks and a pink tinged nose, "Guys! They're kissing!" he spoke-yelled down the hallway at the living room, being met by a few whoops and one "Does this mean we need to have another talk?" from an exasperated Felix.

Jisung closed the door behind him, slipping into the room, "On a real note, is everything...better?" he cautiously avoided the words 'good' or 'okay' because, realistically, none of them were either, but 'better' could be achieved, especially after kissing Chan, who, in Jisungs opinion, was one of the most superior kissers in the world and fully capable of kissing anything better, and Changbin nodded shyly, "A lot, yeah." he responded, the other joining them on the bed, tucking himself into Chans side easily, Changbins heart aching at how easily they slotted together, though, and he felt bad for thinking it, he wasn't far off from being a part of that dynamic. 

Chapter Text

The three men sat in silence, minds still reeling as they processed the events of the day, loud voices from outside the door cut floated over them like clouds; Seungmin trying to use his injury to bully Jeongin into kisses, Minho shouting at Hyunjin from the kitchen after a rather loud clanging sound, and Felix's laughter at the two youngest.

Jisung nodded off quickly against his captains shoulder, who tightened a protective arm around him as he surveyed Changbin, who, while no longer actively crying, was still sniffling with red-rimmed eyes, focused on a point just above the doorframe. 

"Changbin," Chan spoke softly, as though he was afraid his voice might startle the other, "I seriously don't want to push you, but I need to know if there's anything you're hiding about your old crew. We can't put the kids in danger anymore," he squeezed Jisungs shoulder to emphasize his point, "Seungmin got real lucky earlier-hey, stop that," he took Changbin's hand in his free one, stopping him from scratching angry lines into his skin, "Its not your fault, we just have to protect each other, yeah? You've got us now, lean on us a little, okay?" his eyes crinkled into his smile, Changbin shoved down the wave of tears that threatened to fall again, "Okay. I want to tell you, but-uh, can you...not tell anyone else? just for a bit? please, I'm just not ready for...everyone to know." 

Chan nodded in confirmation, gently lowering Jisung to lay fully in the bed, turning his attention fully to the younger, who exhaled shakily, staring at his hands in his lap.

"Like I told you, Joon Woo was my first captain, the crew was called 'FEAR', I think it stands for something stupid, I'm not sure. his older brother was my dads friend, so he always knew me, and would take me to the track when I was little, so I trusted him a lot. He was thirty-ish when he signed me on, I was freshly fifteen." Changbin sighed heavily, twiddling his fingers, "As I said, all was pretty good, I raced in the junior divisions, I placed good, brought in money...they all liked me. I was good," his voice shook and he cleared his throat roughly, "They always told me that I was good." 

He hesitated for a few moments before he continued, "I guess it started being weird when I was seventeen, it was like...lingering touches, weird comments, stuff I didn't really think too hard about. but when I turned eighteen...it was like they had been waiting for the moment that they could stop...holding back," he blinked hard, once, twice, three times, Chan reached to take his hand again, but he pulled back, "it took me almost five more years of that to realize I needed out, so I packed my shit up one day and made a break for it. I held on to my bike and some clothes, and I got as far away as I could. Haven't heard from my parents or anyone since then, I know they believe whatever lie Joon Woo told them about how ungrateful I was, or how my disappearance was just me acting up for attention...but I ran, until I got cocky and started racing again...I was on my own for maybe a year, then I found you guys." 

Chan had taken to sitting in silence, a permanent worry line creasing his forehead.

"Joon Woo is more powerful then you think, he's not very well known for a reason, he doesn't want to be. he races anonymously, his whole crew does, and he's fucking dangerous. Chan, every moment I stay here with you guys is another moment you're in danger...I can't do that to any of you, I really like being with you guys-really! but-" his voice was rising as he got more upset, and Chan finally lurched forward to silence him in a crushing hug, "I'm not gonna let you go." his voice was crackly with emotion, but spoken in a tone so firm it left no room for argument.

They settled together for a beat, Chans fingers finding home in Changbin's hair, raking through the black and pink highlights gently before a quiet knock at the door brought them back to reality.

Felix poked his head in after a moment of hesitation, taking in the three men on the bed, Jisung fast asleep, curled into the heat radiating from his captain, who was tightly wound around the slightly trembling frame of their newest recruit.

"Um, Minho sent me to get you guys to come eat...I can come back though, sorry," he started to close the door, giving a little bow of his head as he did so, "Nah, Lix, it's okay," Chan stopped him, releasing Changbin slowly and giving Jisung a shake to rouse him, "We'll come now, yeah?" he nodded to Changbin, who blinked hard, "Yep!" his cheerful tone so obviously faked, but for now, he was given a pass.

The dinner table was already chaos when the remaining half of the crew joined them, Minho, looking both exhausted and amused, sat at the head of the table, surveying the carnage of Seungmin, who was weaponizing his injury to guilt Jeongin into feeding him, Jeongin, looking miserable and mildly worried, as he struggled with feeding both his boyfriend and himself, and Hyunjin, who had his head down on the table, moaning loudly about how Jeongin would never treat him as nice as this if he was the one hurt.

Jisung slid into the chair closest to Minho, shuffling to split the head and leaning obnoxiously over his shoulder, the elder sighing in resignation as he began to feed his lover off his own plate, and Felix sitting next to Hyunjin to pat his back, chuckling at the drama.

Chan and Changbin were left to take the two remaining seats, Chan, as usual, took the other head of the table, and Changbin the spot to his left.

The table was decidedly made for eight people, Chan decided as he looked over his now-complete crew, previously they had an unbalanced amount of seats on either side, or only one head, which always felt like a weird power imbalance to him, but now...the addiction of Changbin rounded them out, like they had always been missing that extra chair on his left.

Chapter Text

Dinner ended, resulting in a heated game of rock-paper-scissors to assign the dishes, Seungmin was quick to moan loudly about how much pain he was in, excusing himself from the game, followed by Minho, who reminded everyone who had cooked, the two of them sitting back to watch the carnage, Minho lazily draping a leg over Seungmin's lap.

Changbin refused to allow himself to be removed from the game, coming to regret it immediately when he lost miserably, though Chan insisted he would help while the rest of the crew filed out slowly to start a movie.

The atmosphere finally lightened as the two men got to work on the dishes, the general chatter of the crew talking over a Studio Ghibli movie filling their ears while they worked comfortably together.

"Will you stay the night?" Chan asked, tone forced casual, but his ears tinted red in a way that let Changbin know he was anxious about the response, "If you'll have me, it's getting late, after all." Changbin responded, shooting a wink, and his captain grinned, "I agree. far too late for any of us professional drivers to be on the roads." he nudged him with his shoulder, putting the last of the dishes away before he tugged the younger towards the living room.

They settled in for the movie, every member seemed to be struggling to keep their eyes open, and slowly they drifted off, eventually leaving just Seungmin, who liked to stay awake as long as he could in order to make sure everyone else was okay, and Chan, who never slept enough.

"Chan?" Seungmin said quietly, eyes still fixed on the glow of the screen, his captain hummed in response, "I'm scared," he said flatly, gaze unwavering, "The race really freaked me out, I'm terrified of it happening again. I've never felt so...powerless." the older sighed heavily, "I know, love, trust me, I'm gonna fix it, yeah? don't worry."

Seungmin stood and stepped gingerly over his crewmates, snuggling up underneath Chans arm, "If you tell anyone I did this willingly, I'll kick you so hard." he said softly, "Oh, I know." Chan responded, kissing the top of his head gently.

The younger nodded off rather quickly, and Chan gently extracted himself from the mess of limbs, laying Seungmin down cautiously, making sure his injured wrist was in a safe position.

The captain got changed silently, slipping out of the house and starting his car, headlights switched off in order to avoid waking his kids up while he pulled out, hands white-knuckled on the wheel.

His destination was a dingy 'fight club' bar, one he had sworn up and down that he stopped frequenting when Minho had yelled at him for the injuries he obtained there, but the anger crackling through his body took him down the familiar streets, reasoning that Minho would never find out.

"Yo, Christopher!" a drunk man who Chan didn't immediately recognize draped himself over Chans shoulders the second he pushed through the heavy wooden door, "We missed you, man!" he planted a very, very wet kiss on Chans temple, who wiped it off and tried to disguise the curl in his lip, "Hey, man." he said awkwardly, trying to place where he knew the mans face and failing.

Chan extracted himself and slid into a rickety barstool, the bartender eyeing him up and down, a man around Chan's age, Mingyu, a member of Seventeen, if he remembered correctly, before hesitantly putting his usual on the sticky wood in front of him.

"You're back," Mingyu said, eyebrow raised, "I assume Lee Know has no idea?" the use of Minhos alias threw him for a moment, it was so scarcely used that he had stopped associating it with his boyfriend ages ago, "Uh, no," Chan took a sip of his drinks, the alcohol burning his throat on the way, "And I would very much like to keep it like that, yeah?" he cocked his head, and the bartender scoffed, "Yeah, good like keeping anything from that guy, captain." he patted his shoulder good-naturedly before going to break up a brawl that was quickly getting out of hand.

Chan studied the room, recognizing vaguely a few other members of Seventeen, they didn't fight much but were more there to keep Mingyu company, and a couple girls who he had met briefly, but not enough to actually remember their names, everyone else was a complete stranger, the man who had thrown himself over Chan upon his entrance was standing alone in a corner, eyes narrowed suspiciously, then he marched himself over to the bar, standing next to him.

"Chrissy!" the man said, obnoxious as before, "Finish that drink and get in the ring with me, would ya? I haven't had a good fight all night." he dragged his 'L's and slumped against the bar a little, and Chan sighed, still unable to figure out who this guy was, "Yeah, sure, mate. Give me a second." he knocked the rest of his drink back, wincing softly.

It was after he ducked under the barrier that the man grabbed him by the chin, pulling him in close, "I know you have our Changbin. We will get him back." he snarled, and his face slipped into place in Chans mind.

It had been years ago, but he vaguely remembered now encountering this man when he had first became captain, his name was Siwoo, and as his eyes widened with the realization, his jackets embroidery declared him as second-in-command of FEAR.

White-hot anger overtook him as he swung a punch, knocking the mans hand off him, and making a gnarly crunch when it collided with his jaw, Siwoo spat angrily and wound up to hit back, landing a hit near Chans throat, who seized his arm, throwing him roughly to the mat.

They tussled for a long time, Siwoo catching his nails against Chans cheek and ripping, landing a few more solid scratches and hits while they attacked, Mingyu hesitating by the edge, ready to intervene.

Finally, Chan pinned the man down, a slow stream of blood trickling down from his upper arm and around his hand where it gripped Siwoo's neck, who snarled, red spit bubbling through his teeth and out the corner of his mouth as he thrashed angrily, but to no avail. Chan had never been so grateful that he went to the gym as often as he did.

Siwoo tapped out, and there was a few moments that Chan fantasized about squeezing until his oxygen stopped, but unlucky for him, Mingyu had to do his stupid job and pull him away, "Okay, Chan. You won." and Siwoo pushed himself to his feet, spitting angrily, chest heaving, "I'll fucking kill you, Christopher Bang." and he stumbled out the door, bell tinkling cheerily behind him.

Chapter Text

"Wanna explain that, Chan?" Mingyu asked, disappointment painting his face as he lead the addressed man to a seat at the bar, "You're usually so..." he waved his hand around vaguely "I don't know, put together." he frowned, reaching out to wipe some blood away from his brow bone, rubbing it between his fingers. 

Chan sighed, eyes fluttering closed and dropping his head back, "That man-Siwoo, right?" he opened one eye to watch Mingyus face, who frowned, "Not sure. He pops in every few weeks, but never actually introduced himself..." he trailed off, "I could ask the other bartenders, but I really don't know." Chan sighed, "Fair enough. He's a member of my new crewmates ex-crew...they treated him, uh, badly." he reached up to brush a trickle of sticky red from reaching his eye, and Mingyu nodded slowly in acceptance, "S.Coups would probably do the same for any of us." he said, heading behind the bar and grabbing a bright red medical bag.

Chan thanked every god in existence that there were no other patrons left in the place, most had taken their early leave during his tussle with Siwoo, while Mingyu poured some rubbing alcohol onto a gauze pad, swiping it swiftly over the cuts littering his arms and face, ignoring the wincing from the other. 

"Can't do much more than that, sorry, man," the crease between Mingyus eyebrows was becoming worryingly deep, "Some of the ones on your arms look really deep, he get you with his nails?" "Uh, yeah, I guess so," Chan ran a finger down his own arm, the blood beginning to reappear in the cuts, "It'll be fine. I appreciate it, mate," he forced a smile, "And sorry for all of this, you definitely don't get paid enough for it." Mingyu let out a surprised laugh, "Don't be sorry, you got rid of all my clients, I get to go home early. some of the others might still be up!" his eyes lit up at the thought of his members, likely up late gaming.

"Go home, Chan," Mingyu clapped him on the shoulder, careful to avoid the bruises blossoming over his arms, "Talk to Minho before he figures this out on his own. Poor boy doesn't need any more of this stress," Chan furrowed his brow, flinching at the cut crinkling over his eye, "What do you mean?" and the other looked at him incredulously, "Minho comes in here sometimes, just to make sure you're not here. Seems totally frazzled every time, he worries about you, y'know. Just something to think about." he smiled, warmth seeping in from his eyes while he headed back around the bar. 

"Thank you, and sorry again, Mingyu." Chan waved, walking a little unstable as he headed for the door, pain flaring up in his legs as he did so, Siwoo must've gotten him in the joints worse than he had thought.

He got in his car, resting his forehead on his steering wheel, inhaling deeply and reaching to flip down the mirror on his sun-blocker, studying the bruising he feared would only deepen in colour, and the few cuts littering his face, Minho was going to lose his mind, he decided, flipping it back up and starting his car.

The driveway to their house had never seemed so short before, the various vehicles of his crew parked so carefully never seemed so daunting as he approached the door, entering through the garage as he parked next to Jeongins car, sitting in his car after he killed the engine.

He jumped when he finally got out of the car and reached for the door to the house, looking up to see it opened and blocked by Minho's body, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, eyes swimming with worry.

"Hey," Minho said quietly for fear of rousing the others, "Hi." Chan offered weakly, "It's almost five A.M." the younger said, anger lacing his tone, mixed with so many other emotions Chan couldn't begin to come up with a response, "Come in, Chris. I'll fix you up." he moved out of the door, taking his captains hand and leading him in, taking a moment to study the bruises with disapproval.

Chan took the all-too familiar place of sitting on the closed toilet, allowing Minho to take out the med kit and begin his thorough look over of his body, fingers ever gentle as he traced the damaged skin.

"So, what was it this time?" Minho made a valiant effort to mask the tremble in his voice, "Couldn't sleep? BamBam called you down? Are you just getting bored not fighting? what is it Chris? why can't you stop? you promised me that you would," his voice started cracking, and Chan was reminded that in all the years of knowing Minho he had seen him cry on only four occasions, "Minho, stop," Chan reached to grip his wrists, but the younger evaded, "No, Chan, seriously, why can't you fucking stop? You keep telling me you will, why do you keep lying to me?" a tear fell, and Chan finally got a grip on his boyfriends hands, "I got in a fight with one of Changbins old crewmates. I'm sorry, I don't know why I can't stop going back there, there's something wrong with me. I'm so fucking sorry, Min, I know I keep saying it. I know, I don't want to hurt you, I know I am, and I know you're stressed and you're tired of being worried about me and I know I'm not a good captain, but I can't stop. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please, I'll be better, I can be a better captain, I can be a better boyfriend, I can be better." his shoulders started shaking, and Minho wrapped his arms around his neck, letting him bury his face into his stomach as he started to sob.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Chan kept mumbling his apologies into Minhos shirt, hands forming fists into the back of it, tears drenching the front, and the younger stood and held him, tears of his own slowly making their way down his face, fingers raking paths through his hair, "I know, Chan. I know you are."

Finally they separated, Minho brushing Chans hair out of his face, "Lets talk after we sleep, okay?" he sniffled, "I think right now we'll get nowhere." he wiped his own face, taking one final look over the daringly bandaged arms of his captain before he lead him to an unoccupied bedroom, past the entangled sleeping forms of their crew in the living room. 

They both changed quickly into pyjamas, Chan allowed himself to get pulled under the covers, Minho wrapped a protective arm over him, and Chan vaguely realized that he liked it when Minho took care of him, reaching up to gently cradle his face and lay a kiss on his lips, "I love you." and Minho rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty great."