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“Felix. Felix.”
Chan’s voice is loud and stern, and it’s coming from somewhere above. And Felix is… on the ground?
“Felix. Hey, open your eyes.” Chan’s voice softens only a little. It still sounds like a command, not like coaxing.
Felix doesn’t want to move. He’s sleepy and deeply tired. And he doesn’t like the tone Chan is using, like Felix is in trouble. He doesn’t remember doing anything bad.
Thinking of it, he doesn’t even know where he is.
“Felix, look at me.”
A hand pats his cheek gently. Felix knows he shouldn’t ignore his alpha’s calling, but he’s just so exhausted.
“Hyung… Leave him. I don’t think it’s helping,” Minho says.
Chan growls.
It’s the prospect of a conflict that wakes Felix up, if only a little. He tries to open his eyes and sees only blur. Chan and Minho must be on their knees next to him. They’re very close. Blue sky’s above them. He can’t make out their expressions.
“That’s it, Felix. Keep looking at me.”
Felix wouldn’t say that he’s looking at Chan. He can barely recognise him. He wants to ask what happened, but a small whine builds up in his throat instead.
He feels sick. Is he sick? Did he faint?
“Take a deep breath, Felix,” Minho says. “Are you gonna throw up?”
How did he know?
Felix attempts to shake his head, but it’s as if his body is frozen, his cheek glued to the ground.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Chan says, even though Felix has no idea what happened.
Why is he on the ground? What was he doing? Right… He and Minho went to a shoe store. But they didn’t end up buying anything, so they left, and… And…
“Breathe deeply. It’s gonna pass,” Chan continues.
A hand strokes his head. Felix feels uncomfortable, hot all over and dizzy. He must be sweating.
He hears some noise, but it’s not coming from Minho or Chan. He realises that if he really lost consciousness somewhere near the store, then he must be on a busy street, exposed to people’s looks.
“Sorry, can I help you in any way?” someone asks.
Chan growls.
“Chan…” Minho scolds him. “No, we’re good. But thank you for offering.”
“Should I call an ambulance for you? Did he pass out?”
“No, he got scruffed.”
Scruffed. Felix doesn’t remember it. Was it Chan? Why would Chan scruff him? Did Felix do something bad? He doesn’t remember.
“Did I do something?” he asks. God, he sounds so mumbly.
“Sorry?” Chan asks, leaning down. It doesn’t surprise Felix that he didn’t understand what he just said.
“Did I do something bad?”
This time Chan hears him. “No, baby, you didn’t. Of course you didn’t. It’s not your fault.”
What is not his fault? He still doesn’t get it.
“What happened?” he asks. A bit of spit runs down his chin, and he feels so embarrassed. It’s like he lost control over his body.
Is that how being scruffed feels? But Chan never did it to him, so what could Felix possibly have done to warrant it?
“Do you not remember? Let’s talk about it when we’re at home, then.”
God. Is it not over? Is Felix going to get lectured for doing something he doesn’t even remember doing?
“What did I do?” he asks miserably.
“You got scruffed, Felix” Minho answers. “But the alpha isn’t here anymore. You’re safe.”
“And if he comes back, I’ll beat him up.”
“Chan…”
Felix doesn’t know what to make out of it. “What alpha?” he asks.
“Don’t think about that alpha,” Chan says sternly.
“Do you think you can sit up?” Minho changes the subject.
Felix can barely move, so he doubts that’s possible. “I don’t think so.”
“Okay, let’s stay like that for a bit longer then.”
“I can’t see you very well.” Felix has no idea why he says it, and it’s clearly a wrong move, because Chan growls again.
“Chan, for god’s sake, please calm down,” Minho says in an authoritative tone.
“Sorry. Sorry, I just…”
“I know you’re mad, but let’s focus on Felix, and on getting out of here.”
“You’re mad?” Felix asks, his voice small.
“Not at you, baby. Not at you.”
Felix hears even more noise. He thinks he sees some figures around him. Not very far away but not very close either.
“Can you all please leave us alone?” Minho asks. “There’s nothing to look at.”
The figures hesitate. Apparently, to them, there is something to look at. An omega on the ground.
God, what would Felix do if this happened to him and nobody from his pack was around him?
“Let’s try to sit you up, okay?” Minho says, and Felix nods. Maybe it’ll be okay if Minho does it for him.
Once he’s sitting with his back to the wall, he somehow feels relatively stable and manages to not fall back to the floor. But maybe that’s only because Minho is holding him by the shoulders.
“I’m going to scent you, Lix, okay?” Chan asks, and Felix finds it strange that he’s asking.
But he quickly understands why, once Chan’s nose rubs against his neck. It hurts.
He lets out a high-pitched whine, but Chan doesn’t stop. Why is it so painful? It should never be painful.
After a moment, Chan sits back, and for the first time since regaining consciousness, Felix sees him clearly.
“There you go,” Chan says. “Better?”
“It hurt.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“Let’s go home,” Minho says.
Now that Felix’s vision is no longer blurry, he sees how many people gathered around them.
“Yeah, let’s go home,” he agrees.
*
“What’s this smell?” Hyunjin asks before Felix can even see him. And then, after he sees him, he mutters a mere: “Oh.”
“What happened?” Jisung follows. “Felix, are you okay?”
“We’ll tell you later,” Minho says. “Felix, do you want to go to our nest?”
“Yeah.”
He feels safe in Chan’s arms, but Chan can’t carry him forever, and the nest is the second safest place.
Seungmin and Jeongin are in it, making out, but they stop once they see them.
“Felix?” Seungmin asks. They both look so worried.
“I’m okay. I promise I’m okay.”
Chan deposits him in the middle of the nest, and immediately there are hands on him. Seungmin and Jeongin and Hyunjin and Jisung are all touching him.
“Be careful with the scenting,” Chan warns.
“Why? What do you mean?” Seungmin asks.
“He got scruffed.”
“What?” Jeongin sounds so heartbroken.
“I’m okay,” Felix repeats. He doesn’t want them to worry. He feels way better now, and he doesn’t even remember the scruffing.
Actually, he feels very sleepy. The way everyone touches him feels like a massage.
A very good, relaxing massage.
“Take care of him,” Chan says.
And that’s the last thing Felix registers before he falls asleep.