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It had been four months since the Pack Rehab System reached out to them again.
His previous pack was an abusive, cult-like environment where Felix was not valued as an equal. He barely valued as an omega since he was raised his whole life believing he was a mistake. The P.R.S got involved when most of his pack was arrested on various abuse and neglect charges.
A recent tip to the police lead to half of an entire pack getting put into the system and the other half in jail on abuse and neglect charges.
"We have a male omega: 21, blonde, freckled, Australian like Chan. We think he'll do better with you since he doesn't seem to enjoy being around his former packmates even after all the arrests," Nayeon told Chan over the phone. "You all were so good with Jeongin, he didn't even wanna leave and you helped Seonghwa find a good pack. A few months with you and we think he'll feel a lot better."
Chan and Minho went to pick him up a few days later while the rest of the pack finished up making space for him and filling up their schedules for the day so he wouldn't feel overwhelmed.
He was just wearing a black hoodie and sweats, arms clutched around a backpack that held what few possessions he had.
"Felix," she said, gesturing to them, "this is Chan and Minho. They're going to foster you for a bit."
His big brown eyes looked them up and down before warily looking back at Nayeon, seemingly unsure of what to say.
"If you don't want to come go with, it's all fine, Fe-
He cut her off, whispering an "I'll go with them."
And he did.
-☀️🌟🌕-
Wounds don't heal overnight and they figured out pretty quickly that Felix's were still very fresh.
It took him about two weeks to understand that he didn't have to ask permission to feed himself. It took another week for him to willingly leave his room for long periods of time. He would even occasionally join some of the others, mainly the omegas and betas, in what they were doing but from afar.
It was no problem; He needed to feel comfortable around them at his own rate.
There was a slight setback after Felix had accidentally broken a plate after dinner. Before the glass had even shattered across the tiles, he was already hiding behind the door in his room, scent alight with fear.
He didn't come out until the day afterwards.
Seungmin took it upon himself to comfort him about it.
"Hey," he said, "your okay."
Felix had just looked at him, unconvinced and hesitant.
"No one's gonna punish you about the plate. Plates are easily replaced."
The omega had moved his eyes to the sleeve of his beloved hoodie, raking his bitten nails over the skin of his knuckles.
"Are you sure?"
Seungmin nodded, faintly smiling. "We've all broken a plate or two. Jisung three. Changbin five. I'm very sure."
Felix has smiled. Whether it was genuine or out of nervousness, the beta didn't know but he did know one thing.
Felix's smile was as bright as the sun.
-☀️🌟🌕-
By the end of the third month, Felix was starting to come out his shell. He actively joined the others, mainly Hyunjin and Minho, on outings from the house. He would join Seungmin when picking up Jeongin from class.
And— as long as one of the betas or omegas were with him— Felix would even go with the alphas to the studio.
And when he wasn't out, he'd mostly be found in the living room, cuddled with Soonie, Doongie, and Dori keeping him company while he spent the day on Jisung's Switch.
But there was one place he hadn't gone.
The pack room.
Minho had showed it to him initially on Felix's first day but he never went past the doorway. The entire room was void of any actual furniture, minus a floor table and what looked to be a bedside dresser and fairy lights. On top of the two California king mattress' tucked in the corner was a yo buried under a mountain of pillows, clothing, and stuffed animals. Felix was able to smell each of the members from the hallway alone.
Felix didn't get it, honestly. Why would an entire room be needed for something like this The house was huge, yeah, and had more than enough space for all of them but why was it so important that they needed an entire room for it?
Minho said he should use it whenever he wanted to. For his nest but he didn't know what that meant either.
Nesting…? They weren't birds.
He thought about asking one of the others but he didn't want to bore them with his questions.
-☀️🌟🌕-
When Minho got home, all three of his babies greeted him at the door.
A normal occurrence. Soonie always sat on top of the shoe cabinet. Dori would be laying on the welcome mat, usually tearing at its edge. And Doongie…
Doongie wasn't here.
Not too unusual; He was a cat after all.
Doongie had appeared from the hallway that lead to the omega side of the house, meowing at Minho.
"Hey, Doongie." He had walked over and tried to rub his head but before he could, the cat slithered back down the hall, tail high in the air.
Feeling a bit slighted, he dropped his bag and followed his cat out of pure pettiness, chasing it all the way to the pack room.
"Hey! I'm your dad! Get back her-"
Doongie wasn't alone. Felix was there.
Felix was in the pack room.
"Felix!" he cheered, a huge smile on his face. "Your here."
Minho couldn't figure out who was happier about it: Him or his omega.
As the head omega, he had been begging the younger omega to nest in the pack room for a few weeks. Of course, it was more subtle drops and allusions in passing conversation but he was so happy to see him finally being comfortable and-
Why was he sitting in front of some sticks?
Minho's glee turned to confusion, his voice echoing his concern.
"What're you doing?"
Looking at him with such innocent eyes, Felix was just sitting in the middle of the yo, back straight, cross-crossed, surrounded on both sides by pillows and clothes. In front of him on the soft padding was just a couple of sticks from outside.
He looked surprised, moving one of his hands to cup his wrist. His eyes flickered down to the sticks before back to Minho, looking anxious.
Occasionally, they'd notice Felix participating in self harm adjacent behaviors. Picking and pinching his skin. Methodically plucking out very specific strands of hair. Biting the inside of his mouth.
And raking his nails against his forearms until white marks were left in its wake.
They always tried to dissuade him calmly but it wasn't something that would be easily fixed. Jeongin even did it sometimes still.
Felix was quiet for a moment before he looked around the room, eyeing the stacked pillows and plushies. Doongie had waltzed back in and flopped on the floor in front of sticks, nose sticking out to sniff them.
"But… you said I should nest here."
Minho huffed before quickly catching himself. "Y-yeah but," he gestured back to the sticks, "this… isn't exactly nesting."
It was now Felix's turn to look perplexed, looking back down at the sticks. "So… this isn't nesting?"
And that's when it clicked for Minho.
Felix, at 21, had never nested before.
-☀️🌟🌕-
After talking with Chan, they both decided to bring it up with him later.
Post dinner was the perfect time. After the plate incident, Felix didn't want to handle dishes anymore so he would just be in his room while the others, still riding their post dinner highs, would be too distracted talking and cleaning the kitchen.
Chan knocked on the door first.
"Felix, do you feel comfortable letting us in?"
His response was quick and curt.
"Yes hyung."
Chan quietly opened the door.
He wasn't like Seonghwa who tried to make the place his own, keeping the walls bare and only keeping the decorations that were already there. And also unlike Seonghwa, Felix was very clean and organized, everything meticulously laid beside each other.
Whether that was a just a quirk or a result of his previous home had yet to be answered.
Much like earlier, he was sitting on his bed, Switch in hand. Doongie at some point had made his way in here and was curled at the foot of the bed. His eyes went back and forth between them.
"Is something wrong?"
"Not exactly."
Felix's face faltered a bit as he paused the game "Did… Did I do something wrong?"
"No, Felix," Chan affirmed "You didn't do anything wrong. Minho was just concerned about the nest thing."
His frown deepened, setting the Switch aside.
"Was I not doing it right?"
Chan and Minho both looked at each other, unsure of how to say it.
"Felix." Minho calmly started, going first "And it's okay if this is true but… have you nested before?"
He just looked at them, arms already cradling himself.
"… No?"
"That's why you brought in sticks then?" Chan queried. "Because you don't know how?"
Not looking at either of them, the younger omega nodded, gaze sharply planted on the cover of his bed. He had slouched in on himself, an attempt to make himself look smaller.
Jeongin was the same way when he first came as well, always fearful that what he was doing was wrong and that the slightest mistake would get him sent back to the PRS. Like his previous homes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"You have nothing to be sorry for." Chan made a move to kneel at the foot of his bed. "You didn't do anything wrong."
Felix, though, thought differently, already tearing up
"But… I didn't know.."
"And that's okay." Minho jumped in. "No one here is mad at you; You had no way of knowing that if you were never taught."
"I… I don't know what to do…"
Doongie crawled into Felix's lap, loafing despite the omega's tears.
"That's okay too. Minho can help with that, if you want him to."
"Yeah," Minho said, kneeling on the carpeted floor to not alarm him, "we could start with a nest in here. And whenever you want to, you could move it to the pack room when your ready."
"Does that sound okay Felix?"
-☀️🌟🌕-
It did sound okay to him.
Because the following afternoon, he and Minho— accompanied by Jisung and Changbin, who insisted on joining— were in the nearest superstore. They were almost done actually. Minho had grabbed a comforter and matching pillow. Jisung added a hoodie and Changbin gave him… a box of snacks?
"Every good nest has snacks!"
Jisung agreed, adding another box. Minho just rolled his eyes.
"I think your both just hungry."
They were turning back to the front to checkout when Jisung, distracted by something, decided to bolt off away from them.
"Ooo! Hyung!" He held up and orange triceratops dotted with blue and green spots "Look at this SquishyPal!".
"A what?" Felix found himself saying.
"Their a brand of stuffed animals," Minho answered. "Really popular nowadays."
"Jisung, you don't need anymore," Changbin said, gently putting the speckled triceratops back on the shelf, "you already have like twelve."
"You do know thirteen is the number of victory, right?"
"And didn't you say twelve meant perfection?"
"And wwhhyy can't I have both, hyung!?"
Sighing, Minho leaned over to him. "If you want to pick one, you can. Their gonna be at this for a while."
The SquishyPals came in all sorts of animals, shapes, colors, and sizes, with half of the whole aisle containing just them. A purple and white spotted cow. A teal dragon. A white cat who was part pink boba cup. A pig with a cream colored belly and a purple bow tie.
There might've been enough for the pack to fill a whole room with them.
He was just going to ignore them, was even walking back to Minho's side before something caught his eye.
They were more wide than their squishy brethren but its beady eyes and adorable beak spoke out to Felix. Its sides folded into little wings and it had a charming duck tail curled up its back.
Actually, he didn't know if were a duck or a baby chicken but whatever they were, he needed them.
He needed to take it home. To protect and shelter it from a harm he didn't even think about until now. The feeling consumed every fiber of his being.
And for the first time in years, he felt his inner wolf rumble within.
"Do you like that one?"
Felix jumped, forgetting he was even with others.
Minho chuckled. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you but this one," he pointed to the duck, "Their pretty cute, aren't they?
felix: *turns back to look at them* Yeah… they are
Minho: Do you want it?
He looked at him, unsure of what to say. "Is… that okay? Are stuffed animals nesting items?"
Minho nodded "You can nest with whatever you want."
Felix, feeling safe, reached out to grab them, recently manicured nails (courtesy of Hyunjin) digging into the soft fabric.
To finally hold them in his hands felt so nice. He felt grounded. He felt like the little creature was protecting him. A cute face to stand against such evil forces.
Eventually, they were back in the car now, Changbin and Jisung in their own world in the backseat, arguing about the meaning of numbers. Felix was already buckled in the front, happily looking at the creature while Minho got in the driver's seat beside him.
"Do you like your Squishy?"
"I do." He looked back down at the creature, freckled face scrunching in happiness. "I think I love them already."
"Well that's good
"I wanna name him Bboki" He turned back to look at Minho, asking "Is it… normal… to want to name your stuffed animals?"
"Of course" Minho smiled, starting the ignition. "I think it's a perfect name."