Archive of Our Own

Seungmin had fucked up. 

Big time. 

And by that he meant that he'd made the mistake of shifting while Felix was out of the house and surprise surprise, he'd gotten the zoomies. 

There wasn't that much free space in their apartment. Sure, there was some space in the living room where he could run without too much worry of knocking into anything, but he was notoriously bad at staying in that area when he got the urge to run around. Most often he was found zipping up and down the hallway and running tight circles around their dining room table which Felix always scolded him for. 

"You're going to hit something," Felix was always telling him. And the others always agreed with him. The one time he'd shifted and gotten zoomies in Chan's studio he'd nearly given the older man a heart attack from the way he'd ran around and risked breaking their equipment. 

So now here he was. He'd left the living room and was barreling around the kitchen and the dining room, taking tight turns as his paws thudded hard against the ground, ears flapping atop his head as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. It was just so fun running around like this and once he got going there was really no stopping himself. 

Except, he took one corner just a little too tightly. His side bumped into the leg of the dining room table and he was knocked over with a huff, whimpering slightly at the pain in his side from the impact. But he would very soon find out that there were bigger problems. 

You see, Felix was always receiving flowers from someone, or some company. He was practically the ambassador for the whole world at this point and so there were almost always pretty flowers on their table, and someone (he thought it was Hyunjin) had bought him a big beautiful vase to display all those flowers in. 

Said vase was heavy, delicate, and very breakable. And it tipped over when Seungmin collided with the table. 

He was still on the floor panting and sniffing at his bruised side when it started rolling down the table, right towards where he was laying under it. He looked up just in time to see it tipping over the edge but he had no time to scramble away before it was falling right next to him and shattering in all directions. 

He yelped, leaping to his feet to run away but there was broken porcelain all over the floor and he couldn't avoid stepping on it. 

The pain from bumping into the table was nothing compared to the sharp sting that shot up his paw as he stepped on the broken shards and one got dug in deep and he put weight on his paw to run away. 

He yelped, stumbling away on three legs as he held his injured paw up to his chest. It throbbed as he hobbled into his bedroom and crammed himself under his bed. 

He shoved himself under there sometime when he got scared. Which wasn't too often because he'd usually go to one of his boyfriends instead but none of them were here and besides, he was starting to feel guilty. 

Felix had loved that vase, and it was extra special because it had been a gift from Hyunjin. He was gonna be so mad when he came home and found it all broken because Seungmin hadn't been able to control his zoomies. 

He curled himself up against the wall, ducking his head to sniff at his paw, investigating it. His nose bumped against a shard of porcelain that was stuck halfway in his paw and halfway out, definitely the cause of his pain. 

He whined pitifully, and made the mistake of trying to lick over it to make himself feel better. It worked for a couple seconds, his tongue soothing over the painful area and dulling the pain slightly, but then he licked over it at the wrong angle. 

The broken porcelain dug into his tongue, cutting it. He yelped louder, and his tail shoved its way between his legs as he pressed back further against the wall. His injured paw was tucked securely back against his chest while his other one came over his eyes, encasing him in darkness. 

He wasn't sure how long it was before he heard the sound of the door opening and Felix announcing his arrival. His paw still throbbed dully and his tongue was stinging something fierce. 

He whimpered to himself as he listened to Felix walk through the apartment, no doubt coming across the broken vase and piecing together that Seungmin must be responsible for it. 

"Minnie?" He heard him call, and there was an urgency in his voice that he hadn't expected. He whimpered again, back pushing against the wall. 

He didn't want to face the disappointed look that he felt sure was on Felix's face right about now. 

"Seungmin?" He heard again. Felix still sounded frantic, and it sounded like he was running around the apartment. He was opening doors, still calling for him over and over and eventually he opened the door to Seungmin's room. 

"Minnie? Are you in here, puppy?" 

Seungmin trembled, completely guilt ridden and convinced that Felix was going to yell at him for breaking his pretty vase. His sheets were rustling, Felix probably trying to find him tangled up in his bed and his closet door was opened, too. 

Felix huffed, and he left the room. Seungmin could hear him still searching around the apartment but pretty soon he started talking again. 

"Chan hyung? Hyung, can you come over?" 

Seungmin pressed his paw tighter over his eyes, trying not to listen. If Chan was coming over then he was really going to be in trouble. 

"It's Minnie—he broke a vase and there's some blood on the floor but I can't find him. I think he's hiding from me." 

Seungmin whimpered to himself. He was torn between running out from under the bed and staying under there forever. He was notoriously bad at accepting the consequences of his actions when he was shifted and he just knew he was in for a scolding once Felix and Chan figured out where he was. 

"Minnie?" Felix called again. "Can you come out, baby? I know you're hurt, I just wanna help you. Please?" 

Seungmin called bullshit. No way he'd get out of this without some kind of talking to, even if Felix was focused on his injury at first. Besides, he knew once they found him he'd be forced to let them look at his paw and touch it and that was going to hurt. He just wanted to stay tucked against the wall until the pain went away. 

Felix didn't end up finding him before Chan got there, though he wouldn't be surprised if his oldest boyfriend ran the whole way over after hearing that he'd gotten himself hurt. 

"I don't know where he is," he heard Felix say, and his heart clenched at the sound of his voice. He sounded near tears, and it made him want to run out there and jump into his arms. 

"It's okay, Lix. Where have you checked?" 

He didn't listen as Felix listed off all the potential hiding spots in the apartment he'd looked for him, but his ears perked up at the sound of his bed being mentioned. 

"He hid under my bed once," Chan explained, his footsteps getting closer. "That time he chewed up my TV remote and felt all guilty about it." 

His bedroom door was opened and Seungmin froze, trying not to breathe loudly even though he knew he was about to be found. 

Sure enough, Chan got down on his knees and the next second there was a pair of concerned brown eyes peering under the bed, softening slightly at the sight of him. 

"Hi, puppy," he crooned, and Seungmin tucked his nose into his uninjured paw, hiding. 

"Aw, baby. Can you come out, please? I just wanna look at you."

What a big fat fucking lie. 

Seungmin whined, tail uncomfortable between his legs. 

Chan sighed. 

"Baby. We're worried about you, okay? You hurt yourself, yeah?" 

Seungmin just whined again, and Chan tried to crawl further under the bed. His hand extended, fingers reaching far enough that Seungmin could untuck his nose and give them a cautious sniff. 

"It's me, puppy," Chan said soothingly. "Will you come and see me?" 

Seungmin thought it over. He knew if he said no Chan was just going to move his bed and get him out anyways, so maybe he should minimize his naughtiness by coming out when he was asked. He really didn't want to add anything else to the list of things he needed to be scolded for. He wanted to be Chan's good boy, so he uncurled himself and shuffled nervously towards his boyfriend. 

Chan smiled at him as he came out of the bed, and his hands wrapped around him as soon as he was in range. 

"C'mere, baby," he murmured, sitting up and plopping Seungmin into his lap. "Where did you get cut? One of your feet?" 

He was probably making it pretty obvious by the way his injured paw was still tucked tight against his chest, not letting Chan or Felix get a good look at it. 

"You have to show us, Minnie," Felix said gently. "If you're hurt we need to help you." 

Seungmin whimpered, but Chan had already taken hold of his injured paw and was coaxing it away from his body. There was a sharp inhale from the both of them as the shard of porcelain came into view, sticking out of the soft skin between his paw pads. 

"Minnie…," Chan breathed. "Baby, this isn't good." 

His hand moved up paw, getting dangerously close to where he was hurting and Seungmin panicked. He squirmed hard enough that he was able to get out of Chan's grip, falling onto the floor with a thud. 

"Seungmin—" 

Felix reached for him, and managed to get a hand around him but Seungmin yelped, properly freaking out now because his paw hurt like a bitch and he just knew someone was going to have to pull the broken shard out at some point and it was going to hurt even more. 

His puppy instincts were going haywire in his brain, ramped up from his distress and he barked, trying desperately to pull himself away from Felix but the blond held on tight.

"Seungmin, we need to look at you," Felix said urgently, trying to pull him onto his own lap. Chan reached for his paw again, gripping it tighter this time and pulling it up to his eye level. 

Seungmin panicked hard, his mind convinced that Chan was going to tug the shard out with no warning and without even realizing what he was doing he yelped and barked, struggling against their hold and as Chan spread his pawpaws for a better look at his injury he felt himself start to pee. 

"Hyung!" Felix warned, and they both let go of him. 

Seungmin managed to get his bladder under control as he scurried away to the other side of the room. He was hunched over, limping, and his tail was shoved painfully between his legs. 

He couldn't believe he'd just done that. Peeing all over the floor in fear was something real dogs did, not hybrids. He whimpered in embarrassment, not daring to look over at Felix and Chan for fear of their reactions. 

"Oh, baby…," Chan sighed, and he glanced towards Felix. He said something quietly to him, something even his sensitive puppy ears couldn't pick up on. 

Then Chan turned back to him. 

"Okay, we're not gonna touch your paw anymore, pup. But we need to take you to the vet." 

Felix winced as he said it, probably able to anticipate how much Seungmin would not like hearing that. 

"It's not an option," Chan said firmly when he whined. "There's a broken shard in your paw, as I'm sure you've noticed, and it needs to come out. I don't want to risk doing it myself in case I hurt you more so we have to go in. I'm sorry, baby." 

Seungmin just whined again, eyeing the puddle on the floor right in front of his two boyfriends. 

"Don't worry about that," Chan said quickly when he noticed where his gaze was aimed. "We know you're scared, Minnie. I'm gonna clean it up quickly while Felix gets you ready to go and then we'll head out." 

Felix approached him cautiously and slowly, clearly trying not to spook him. 

"I won't touch your paw," he reminded him, reaching a hand out for him to sniff just like Chan had done earlier. "Can I pick you up, puppy?" 

Seungmin nodded and Felix scooped him up in his arms, cradling him tight against his chest while making sure his paw wasn't pressing against anything. 

"Bet it hurts pretty bad, hm?" He murmured. "Were you scared?" 

Seungmin just nuzzled into his chest, trying not to think about what would happen to him once they brought him to the evil vet clinic. Nothing good ever happened there and he was sure this wouldn't be the exception. 

His vet was always so misleading. She was so nice and kind and gentle, always talking to him a lot whether he was in human or puppy form. But her kindness never seemed to stop her from poking him with needles and sticking a thermometer up his butt. 

Felix walked him around the apartment, bouncing him slightly, as Chan cleaned up the mess he'd made with paper towels. His collar was slipped around his neck, the one he was required to be wearing when he left the house in his hybrid form, and Felix clipped his leash to it even though he was pretty sure he'd be carried the whole way there. He didn't think they'd make him walk on three paws. 

"Are we ready?" Chan asked, coming out of his room looking frazzled. "Let's get going, I want to make sure you're okay." 

He could tell Chan was forcing himself to drive the speed limit the whole ride to the vet, and he'd even called them briefly to let them know they were coming.

Seungmin was still cradled pitifully in Felix's arms, his stomach queasy from the thought of what the vet was going to do to him. 

They arrived way too quickly for his liking and Felix passed him off to Chan when they got there. He tried hard to enjoy being bundled up in Chan's arm rather than focusing on the feeling of dread building in his stomach. 

They were put in a room immediately instead of having to wait in the waiting room like usual. 

Chan and Felix were fussing over him, but they stayed true to their word and didn't try looking at his paw again. His tongue was still hurting from the cut but neither of them had noticed it and he was hoping the vet wouldn't either. 

She came in quicker than usual, probably due to how frantic Chan had sounded on the phone earlier. He tried to shy away, tucking his nose into Chan's shoulder but he couldn't stop his boyfriend from standing up and placing him down on the exam table. 

"Hi, Seungmin," she said kindly, bringing her hands around him to help steady him. His injured paw was still held up against his chest, not wanting to risk putting weight on it. "I heard you had a little accident today, hm?" 

Seungmin didn't look at her, and instead peered pleadingly towards Chan in hopes that he would save him. But of course he didn't.

"None of us were there for it but he must've hit the table somehow and knocked over a vase that was on it. And then we can only assume he accidentally stepped in one of the broken pieces." 

His vet hummed. "Yeah, that would be my guess, too. I'm gonna take a look at this Seungmin, okay? Chan, can you actually pick him up again? It'll be easier like that." 

She tugged on his paw, bringing it away from his body so she could see it. "It's definitely stuck in there pretty good. We're gonna get it out, Seungminnie." 

He whimpered, trying to pull his leg away but she was holding it tight. 

"I know you don't want me touching it, but how am I supposed to make you feel better if I can't? You can stay nice and comfortable with Chan while I get it out, okay?" 

Chan held him tighter, readjusting him so he was a little higher up and could tuck his nose into his neck, snuffling at his scent. 

"Just stay here, puppy," Chan said soothingly as Felix came up behind him to pet his head. 

"I'm going to take these tweezers and pull this piece out," his vet told them. "Hopefully it's just this one intact piece otherwise we might need to numb the area and make a little incision if there are more smaller pieces. But let's hope not, yeah?" 

Seungmin whined, his body trembling as he heard the clink of the tweezers being picked up. He couldn't stop himself from growling into Chan's neck as she picked up his paw again. 

"Hey," Chan said softly. "None of that, puppy. We're all trying to help you here." 

"Let me know if he tries to bite," his vet said. "We may have to muzzle him if he does." 

Seungmin only growled louder at that, appalled at the thought of being muzzled. He'd never bite anyone, especially Chan. And he'd definitely never been muzzled before. 

Though he'd also never peed himself as a puppy either so he wasn't sure what he was capable of right now. 

"He peed earlier when we tried to look at it," Chan warned, and Seungmin's face would be burning if he were in human form. "He might do it again." 

"Fearful urination is normal in a situation like this," the vet assured them. "It wouldn't be the first time it's happened in this room, that's for sure." 

Seungmin growled again loudly, both because of the way they were talking like he couldn't understand them and because he was still terrified. 

"Be good, Seungminnie," Chan said, his hand firm on his back. 

There was a sharp twinge of pain that shot through his paw as his vet gripped the porcelain shard with her tweezers. He yelped and squirmed, trying to get away from the feeling by clawing up Chan's body but he was held in place too tightly to move. 

"Hold on, baby," Chan said, "We'll do this as quickly as possible, I promise." 

Seungmin's tongue came out on instinct, licking over the skin of Chan's neck. It only partially worked at soothing him, and he found himself licking frantically as the vet gave an experimental tug on the shard buried in his paw. 

He whimpered at the pain and licked some more over Chan's neck, probably rubbing it a little raw since he knew his tongue could feel sort of rough but Chan didn't mention it. 

He squirmed around some more, trying to escape as there was another tug on the shard and his nails were digging deeply into Chan's shirt as he growled some more, part of him hoping he sounded menacing enough to get the vet to back off. 

"Stay still," Chan said through gritted teeth, but his fingers dug into the bruise forming in his side from where he'd hit the table just as the vet tugged on the porcelain hard enough that it partially slipped out and he panicked just like he had earlier, though this time it expressed itself differently. 

His mouth, which was still pressed into Chan's neck, opened. It was like his brain blanked out and he didn't know where he was or who was holding him, all he knew was that he was in pain and someone was holding him down and not letting him get away. 

His mind and body felt like he was in danger and he needed to get away. He bit down on whoever or whatever was keeping him in place and struggled with all his might, managing to pull away when the arms around him jerked away. 

He fell down on the metal exam table, miraculously managing to protect his paw in the drop. He scrambled back, his brain still in flight or fight mode, until his back was pressed against the wall unable to move any further. 

His chest was heaving, his eyes blown wide as he scanned his surroundings. 

Right, he was at the vet clinic. He could see his vet standing just to the side of him, Felix on the other side with eyes almost as wide as his were, and Chan…

Chan was right in front of the exam table, one hand pressed against his neck and when he brought it down Seungmin could see teeth indents and red skin. 

Fuck. 

He'd bit him.

He'd bit Chan. 

His heartbeat sped up for an entirely different reason and he hunched in on himself, mortified. His tail was tucked so far between his legs that it almost hurt and his ears were pinned uncomfortably to his head in shame.

"Seungminnie," Felix said softly. "That wasn't very nice…" 

"He's not quite himself," his vet told them. "He's scared, and in pain. We'll muzzle him to get this out and then he'll start to feel better. Do you mind holding him down or should I bring him to the back?" 

"No, I'll do it," Chan said. "I think he'll be even more freaked out if he's not with us." 

His vet opened a cupboard and pulled out a muzzle which Seungmin watched with wary eyes. He couldn't bring himself to look at either Chan or Felix, and didn't want to know what they were thinking about him. 

He was so embarrassed. But mostly he was just ashamed of himself and ridden with guilt. First he'd broken Felix's special vase, then he'd peed all over the floor, and now he'd bitten Chan. He wasn't feeling like a good boy at all right now. 

"Are you going to let me put this on or is that going to be a struggle as well?" The vet asked, approaching him with the muzzle. 

Seungmin let her slip it over his nose and mouth without trying to fight it. He wanted to get muzzled if it meant keeping his boyfriends safe from him, because three minutes ago he would've sworn that he would never actually bite one of them, but now he knew different. 

"C'mere, Seungminnie," Chan said, taking a step forward and picking him up again. He was brought back up to the same position, his nose pressed against the indents he'd left in Chan's skin. He whimpered pitifully but Chan shushed him.

"It's okay," he soothed. "I love you, puppy. You're being really good for us." 

Seungmin didn't know how that was possible but Chan was rubbing a gentle hand up and down his back before he tightened his arm, holding him more securely than he had last time. 

"Just hold still for a minute while we help you," his boyfriend said. "I know you can do it." 

Seungmin wasn't sure he could, but he wanted to try for Chan. He tensed up his body and was happy to find out that he could stick his tongue out to lick with the muzzle on so he focused on soothing his tongue over Chan's red skin in apology. 

"Good boy, Seungmin," Chan murmured just as he felt the tweezers take hold of the broken shard again. He whined feebly as she tugged, feeling the porcelain moving around under his paw pads as the vet delicately pulled out it, trying not to cut his skin any further. 

Felix had come up behind Chan again, his fingers petting the top of his head and telling him how good he was being. He wasn't sure he believed him, but he was trying to keep as still as possible. 

"Almost there, Seungmin," his vet said, and just as she voiced it there was another firm tug from the tweezers and he felt the broken porcelain leave his paw. Chan cooed from right next to him, so he'd probably been watching. 

"There we go," he said. "Does that feel better?" 

And it really did. Already a couple seconds later and his paw was still throbbing but the pressure in it had lessened and he felt relieved, less panicked. 

Chan readjusted him in his arms so he wasn't tucked as closely to his neck anymore. 

"I need to do a few more things, Seungmin," his vet said, and he whined. 

"I know, I know. But I need to poke around a little just to make sure there isn't anything still in your paw. I don't think there is but I need to make sure before I stitch you up." 

"Stitches?" Felix repeated nervously. 

"Yes, just two of three so this cut heals nicely. So can I see your paw again?" 

Seungmin let her take it in her hand reluctantly but Chan praised him and that made it a little worth it. She poked around his cut with another, smaller instrument but he refused to watch so he wasn't quite sure what she was using. He felt her dip into his cut a little, probing inside to see if she found anything else and he whimpered, claws digging deep into Chan again as he licked soothingly at his neck. 

"Good boy," Chan kept repeating. "Almost done, honey, I promise. You're doing so well." 

His vet poked around for a little more before declaring "I don't see anything else."

He whimpered in relief and Chan ran his hand down his back again while Felix scratched at his ears.

"That's some good news," the blond said.

"Yes, and what's even better news is that I can numb the area now before I do his stitches, so there shouldn't be any more pain. The only bad news is that I'm going to inject the pain medicine and I know he doesn't like needles."

Seungmin squirmed as she said it, whimpering pitifully into Chan's shoulder.

"Can we take the muzzle off now?"

"Let's just wait until I inject him, to be safe. We're almost there, Seungmin. You're being really brave for us."

Again, he felt like that was a lie, because he definitely didn't feel very brave when he glanced up and caught sight of her preparing a syringe.

"I'm going to inject this in a couple places around your paw," she explained. "And it should take effect pretty quickly. 

Seungmin licked at Chan's neck again as she took hold of his paw and held it still. He jerked and whined at the sharp poke but Chan shushed him and Felix was trying to distract him by scratching his ears. 

There was another poke, and then a third before he was done and heard her walking away. 

"All done," she announced. "His paw should get numb in the next minute or two."

"And the muzzle?" Chan asked again.

"Yeah, that can come off now."

He heard a click and the muzzle loosened around his mouth before Chan pulled it away and dropped it on the floor.

"Hi, baby," he murmured, pressing a kiss against the side of his nose. "I'm sorry we had to do that."

Seungmin wanted to say that he was sorry he bit him, but since he couldn't speak right now the best he could do was offer Chan a few licks against his fingers.

He was still embarrassed and couldn't quite meet Chan's eye. He also wasn't convinced that he wasn't in for the scolding of a lifetime tonight once they got home. His stomach churned at the thought of Chan telling the rest of them that he'd bitten him.

But before he could think about it more he noticed his paw going numb, and he hit it against Chan to test it out. 

"Does it not hurt anymore?" His boyfriend asked, taking his paw in his hand to study it. 

"Looks like it," his vet said. She poked around his paw pad a couple times with her finger and Seungmin didn't react to any of it. "Let's get these stitches in quickly and then you guys can head home, I'm sure he's eager to be out of here." 

Truer words could not have been said. Seungmin sat very still and was patient for his stitches, though he refused to watch them. It was a little weird, because he could feel stuff happening on his paw but there wasn't any pain and he was able to mostly ignore it, choosing to look over Chan's shoulder at Felix instead. 

"Good boy," the blond murmured to him softly. "We'll be home soon, Min." 

The stitches went quickly. Quicker than he'd expected, actually. It felt like no time at all had passed when Chan was adjusting him again in his arms and telling him that they were done. A quick glance at his paw showed three stitches holding his cut together.

"I'm just gonna check over his body to make sure there isn't anything else we're missing," his vet said, and Seungmin whined as he was pulled out of Chan's arms and set on the exam table. His paw still felt numb and he stumbled when he tried to put weight on it. 

He kept his mouth firmly shut, not really wanting her to see the cut in his tongue. Knowing her she'd probably announce that he was going to die from it and convince Chan that he needed more stitches. 

Her hands wandered over his body, checking for any more injuries and he squirmed uncomfortably as she pressed on his side where he'd hit the table. 

"Seems a little sore here," she said out loud. "I'm willing to bet this is where he and the table disagreed. Right Seungmin?" 

He nodded his puppy head. 

"Nothing feels broken, and he'd definitely be acting a little more dramatic if it was, wouldn't you?" 

He just pouted at that, trying again to squirm away from her prodding fingers. 

"I'm sure it will leave a nasty bruise once he shifts back, and he can always put a cream on it later if he wants to." 

Her fingers moved up to his neck, pushing his fur around and pressing down to see if he reacted to anything. She looked in his ears, too, but didn't find anything worrying.

He whimpered when she moved to his mouth and tried to push up his lips.

"Will you let me see inside your mouth, Seungmin?" 

When he kept it shut she raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Were you licking over your paw?" 

Damn her, she always read him like a book. 

"You think he hurt his tongue, too?" Felix asked, the worry returning to his face. 

"Well, he doesn't want me to look so I assume so. I'm sure he was trying to lick over his injury and maybe cut it a little, though I don't see any blood around his lips so I don't think it's too bad of a cut. Will you let me see, Seungmin?" 

"Minnie," Chan said firmly. "Open your mouth, please." 

He sighed, not wanting to be any naughtier today. He relaxed his jaw and let the vet pry them open the next time she tried, opening his mouth wide so she could see his tongue. 

She hummed. "Yeah, looks a little irritated, but no blood. I bet it stings a bit, hm?" 

Seungmin whined as best he could with his mouth open.

"I'm not worried about it," his vet said, letting go of his mouth so he could shut it. "It'll heal on it's own, though it'll be uncomfortable until it does. I'll send you home with some more pain meds, they're pretty easy, and once he's shifted back he can manage them on his own. They should help with his tongue as well as his paw." 

"Thank you for making time for him today," Chan said. "We were really worried." 

"It can be scary when they get hurt," she nodded, "especially when he's shifted and can't talk to you like normal. But luckily it wasn't anything too severe. He should be feeling better in a couple days and we'll have you guys come back soon to get the stitches out." 

Seungmin whined petulantly at the thought of coming back but Chan shushed him. He thanked the vet (Seungmin reluctantly peeked out of his shoulder at her when she ruffled the fur on his head) and kept him in his arms as he paid and made an appointment with the front desk to get his stitches out. 

"Would you mind driving?" He asked Felix as they walked back to their car. "I think the two of us need to have a little chat, hm?" 

Seungmin ducked his head as Chan got in the passenger seat with him, refusing to look up as he braced himself for Chan's disappointment speech. 

"Seungminnie. Can you look at me?" 

Chan was holding him up to eye level, tilting him this way and that to get Seungmin to meet his eye but he kept turning his head the other way. His tail was still tucked and his ears were still against his head. The shame and embarrassment from earlier had risen up again, along with the guilt. 

Chan sighed, giving up on getting him to look at him. 

He was lifted up a little higher, and the next thing he knew Chan was blowing raspberries on his tummy. 

He yelped in surprise, all four paws kicking out on instinct at the ticklish sensation, his front two batting at Chan's face to push him away. 

Chan looked up, grinning, and attacked his neck next, blowing raspberries there as well. 

Seungmin barked at him, still pressing against his face with his paws as his bottom two kicked out uselessly at Chan's chest. 

"He doesn't like that," Felix laughed from next to them. 

"Maybe he'll look at me now," Chan said, lifting him up again. "Hm? Will you look at me now?" 

Seungmin looked at him nervously, but when he met Chan's eye he didn't find the anger or disappointment that he was expecting. Instead, Chan's eyes were soft. 

"You did really well there, puppy," he said gently. "We're both really proud of you." 

Seungmin huffed as well as he could as a puppy, very much in disbelief. How could he have been when he could still see the teeth indents on Chan's neck? 

He shoved his head forward and licked over the skin there in apology before looking back up at Chan.

"Yeah, I know," his boyfriend said, frowning. "I bet you feel pretty guilty about that." 

Seungmin looked down again, tucking his tail and pinning his ears flat. 

"Hey," Chan said. "Listen to me, puppy. You were in a lot of pain back there and I knew you were really scared, too. Your instincts took over you for a second, hm?" 

Chan kissed the top of his head. 

"Those instincts are there to keep you safe while you're in this form, and I won't ever be mad at you for something you can't control. You were trying to protect yourself, right? And your mean hyung was holding you down while you were in pain." 

Seungmin wasn't convinced so easily. He still felt so guilty, both for breaking the vase and for biting. How could Chan brush things off so easily when usually he was pretty good at keeping Seungmin in check as a puppy? 

"He's still pouting," Felix said helpfully, glancing over. "You've gotta do a bit better than that, hyung." 

Chan sighed again, and brought him closer to nuzzle his face. 

"Seungminnie. Are you still upset? What are you upset about?"

Seungmin smacked his neck with his paw.

"You're upset about biting me?"

Chan brought him to his chest, hugging him tightly. 

"I promise I'm not mad about that, baby. And I don't want you to beat yourself up about it, okay? It was a mistake and you weren't thinking clearly. Besides, you didn't even break skin, I don't think those little puppy teeth of yours could actually do much damage."

Seungmin smacked him in the face this time and Chan laughed. They were pulling up to his and Felix's apartment and Seungmin clung to Chan's shoulders when they got out of the car. 

His boyfriend blew raspberries on his tummy again on the walk up to their unit as he tried to squirm away.

"His tail is almost wagging," Felix laughed. "Keep it up, hyung. 

"Gonna wag your tail for us, Min?" Chan cooed, pressing kisses to his stomach again. "Come on, I know you want to."

Felix joined them, and soon Seungmin was being attacked from both sides. Chan was littering his stomach with kisses while Felix covered his head, and he couldn't help the way his tail finally untucked itself from between his legs and wagged tentatively.

"There it goes," Felix smiled. "Chan hyung, can you believe our silly puppy thought we were gonna be mad at him for breaking a vase and threatening you with his tiny little teeth?"

"He's pretty silly," Chan agreed, and he threw Seungmin up in the air a couple inches before catching him. Seungmin flailed, his tail slowly picking up speed behind him. 

He barked at them, not really sure what he was trying to convey but there was a big build up of emotions inside of him.

He could feel the pressure in his chest starting to deflate the more they pressed kisses against his fur. He barked again and Chan laughed. It was always extremely easy to charm him. 

He faltered a little when they walked past the table and he caught a glimpse of the shattered vase on the floor as well as two blood smears that Felix must have spotted. 

"Here, you take him to relax and I'll clean up," Chan said, and he was passed into Felix's arms. He didn't think he'd be allowed to walk on his own until he decided to shift back into a human. He'd been so scared and upset earlier that he hadn't even considered it, but he should probably switch back before he and Felix went to sleep so he could properly talk to him. 

"Come sit down with me, Minnie," Felix said, plopping them both down on the couch. "You wanna watch something?"

Recently they'd been putting on different animal documentaries to entertain him when he was shifted since he loved watching the different animals on screen, and he usually sat with his nose to the tv even though Chan was always telling him to step back.

Now he was content to snuggle on Felix's lap while he watched the screen half-heartedly, more focused on Felix's fingers rubbing his tummy. 

"Hyunjin has already ordered us a new vase, by the way," he said, and Seungmin's ears perked up. "It wasn't super expensive if you were worrying about that."

He had been. Or at least, he'd been worried Felix would be upset about it being broken but if it could be replaced so easily he felt a bit better about breaking it. 

Chan joined them a few minutes later and Seungmin found himself squished between their two bodies.

"The others wanted to come see you and make sure you were okay but I told them they had to wait until tomorrow," Chan said, scratching his ears. "I think it would just overwhelm you and I think you should get some rest after today. Okay, baby?"

Seungmin yipped in agreement, resting his chin on Chan's knee. That sounded perfect to him. He was pretty tired after everything had happened and his eyes were already drooping.

"We love you, Seungminnie," Felix said softly as they slipped shut. "Though hopefully the next time you get zoomies you'll be a little more careful."

Seungmin just grumbled, though his tail smacked against Felix's leg as his boyfriends continued petting him until he fell into a peaceful sleep.