Hybrid Discovery [SKZ fanfiction]| Lee Felix and Bang Chan

Pampered sleep

'And that was the best solution you came up with?' Felix is scolding them.
Jeongin, Changbin and Chan are kneeling before their owner with low heads and pouty faces.
Felix woke up in the afternoon to a lot of tumult in the living room. Seungmin had been sleeping in his room and asked them what was happening, revealing Mimu being cared for by Hyunjin and Chan. Felix had been gasping for air, seeing the poor animal hybrid after all those days. He had bombarded the others with questions, leading up to him scolding them.
'This was the best plan!' Jeongin defends himself.
'Breaking into someone's house to kidnap their cat?' Felix huffs. 'Using a leash of all things? And what about you falling down, also calculated in your plan?'
'He managed to fly,' Changbin mumbles, getting the attention of his owner.
'So what? If it was you, you would've been dead. Also, you went outside without telling. What would you have done if something happened to you and I wouldn't know where you were, huh?'
Changbin whimpers and lowers his head to his owner.
'Ash, don't do that. I'm worried, not angry,' Felix quickly hushes him. 'And you,' he says to Chan with a soft glance. 'You should've woken me up. You're the oldest. Take responsibility.'
All three of them feel guilty about their actions and look to the ground.
'Lix, we know you're worried, but what else should they've done? Left her in that room? It may not have been the best of plans, but they got her here,' Minho susses the human.
'I know, I know,' Felix mumbles, sighing out loud. 'I- I just can't forgive myself if something were about to happen to you all. You're my family.'
'And she's our friend,' Jeongin pouts, looking away from Felix.
They're all silent as they let that sink in. Felix knows the youngster has a point. It's the reason why he has been awake these past nights, having trouble falling asleep. With a big sigh he takes the three of them in a hug, none of them against it.
'You're right. Just- Don't scare me like that, alright?'
He looks over his shoulder to the living room where Hyunjin is taking care of Mimu. Of all people, he's the one doting on her and being above protective. Maybe he doesn't show it with words, but he definitely does with his actions and Felix is very proud of Hyunjin. He releases his hybrids and walks over to Hyunjin and Mimu. The feline is still sleeping on Hyunjin's lap.
'How's she doing?' Felix asks.
'Pretty well. Mostly dehydrated and a light fever. With some sleep and light meals, she'll get better.'
Felix gives the Slow Worm hybrid a soft smile and ruffles through his long hair to the demise of the hybrid. He doesn't stop the human as he doesn't want to wake up the cat on his lap, but gives him a semi angry look. Felix chuckles and sits beside him, watching the feline sleep.
'Any idea why she was locked up?' he asks his friends who are joining him in the living room.
'No clue, didn't seem like her owners were home. Maybe an accident?' Jeongin tries.
'No,' Chan interrupts him.
The others look at him as he chews on his bottom lip and stares at the black cat hybrid.
'No accident. The granny would never leave her alone that long,' he mumbles.
'But, she's been here all the time without her owner looking for her,' Changbin replies.
They all stay silent and look at the hybrid. Only she knows the truth.

After two days Mimu begins to feel like herself again. Waking up in the neighbors' house was a blessing and the biggest surprise was the reptile hybrid, Hyunjin, being at her side at all times. He nurtured her back to health without saying much. Only instructing her with what he was doing, pressing her to drink and eat and saying she had to sleep some more. Her first instinct was to flee away from him. His cold demeanor scared her most of the time, but now he seems... caring?
She had been shivering from cold and sweating profusely because of an uprising fever on and off. It made her immensely tired and she couldn't be more thankful for the hybrids who took it upon themselves to care for her. Whether it was by feeding her or simply keeping her company, they were there.
'You're up?'
She makes a big stretch and looks up to the owner of the voice. Bang Chan sits beside her, taking off his headphones and smiles at her. The others seem asleep and the clock on the wall tells her it's an hour past midnight. She's been sleeping the whole day and finally feels a little better. She mewls softly at him and he pats her head. She loves how his big hands know exactly where to pat her. Probably because he's the same species and knows the best spots to comfort a cat. She purrs into his touch and stares at the headphones.
'Ah, these? I had a long afternoon nap and now I can't sleep. I tried listening to some soft tunes to get sleepy again. It helps me... when I have trouble relaxing.'
His words sound troubled and Mimu simply tilts her head to him. Elaborate?
Chan scratches his neck. 'You made us worry these days.'
He sits up to rephrase his words when she lowers her head and ears. Seemingly thinking she's at fault for the trouble she gave them.
'No, no, no, you're not the cause. The whole situation is. Argh, I mean- I was worried, because you were sick. I was afraid you were dying even though Hyunjin told me multiple times you'll be alright. I'm sorry.' He wipes his hand over his face whilst fumbling with his words.
Mimu shakes her head and presses it against his arm, wanting him to stop hiding himself. She can feel there's more behind Chan's words. Bad memories. But she's not the one to pry. Instead she pats with one paw on the couch. He looks at her while she kneads the spot, turns around herself and sits herself down. Looking up at him with anticipation.
'You want me to sleep with you?' he asks.
She places her paw on the spot beside her again to confirm his words.
'You sure?' he asks, being answered with an almost scolding growl.
'Yes ma'am,' he chuckles, placing his headphone on the coffee table and standing up to transform into his cat form. It's been a while since he slept in his cat form as Chan prefers sleeping as a human. His cat hearing mostly wakes him up, being a light sleeper. He jumps up on the couch and takes a seat next to Mimu on the spot she pointed at. It's not often they're next to each other in their cat forms. Most of the time she's either playing with the others or in the company of Felix. She's with Chan often, but mostly when he's human. Seeing her stare directly into his eyes at the same height feels weird. It's like he looks in the mirror. There's almost no difference in their appearances, apart from the obvious malnutrition she suffers from. He wonders if she would be the same height as him when standing up in their human forms. She taps again on the couch to signal he has to lay down and Chan follows her order. When he wobbles his shoulders to make himself comfortable she surprises him with scooting over to softly lick his head to groom him. His first reaction is to back away, but he let her, curious why she would initiate such behavior. Cats groom each other as a sign of trust. To give comfort to the other and to show they accept them. For her to show this is surprising.
It dawns on him when he starts sulking off. She's doing this to make him feel comfortable to sleep. His eyes become heavy and he softly purrs back to her as a token of appreciation. It doesn't take long before he's asleep.

They are so adorable, Felix thinks while snapping a photo of the two black cats on his couch. They're both curled up against each other and that's a first for him to witness. Mimu had been sleeping with the other hybrids, mostly with Changbin and Han, but seeing her this close to the other black cat hybrid was simply too cute for words. She seems pretty fond of Chan, but always hesitant to approach him.
Felix tried to see if his neighbors were home in the meantime with no successes. He somewhat feels guilty his hybrids literally kidnapped the feline hybrid, but he's glad she's okay. He will keep checking up on his neighbors and in the meantime keep her with him and his hybrids. Yes, the house is already crowded with the other seven hybrids and sometimes Felix wonders how he ended up with this many pets, most of them choosing to stay with him even though it means they're illegal pets. Well, another one won't hurt, right?

He makes himself breakfast - Call it lunch as it's already twelve o' clock- and checks his phone to check his schedule. He has to wake up Hyunjin in an hour as the Slow Worm has to go to work for Doctor Zeeps. Changbin had already left for his job as an assistant instructor at the local gym. He's proud of the two taking up jobs as working as a hybrid isn't easy. They both insisted on it being his legal hybrids and thus able to get actual jobs. It's a big help for their finances as buying groceries for the eight of them isn't cheap. Felix wishes he could give them better living conditionings, but with his pay out he barely could afford the apartment. Not that any of them are complaining. All of them are content with their lives, glad for different reasons to have a place to call home. Felix loves them all and can't think of a life without them at this point. Even though they drive him crazy from time to time with their shenanigans. He's by no means stern enough to keep them at bay and hates the idea to play as their owner for real. He doesn't "own" them, he lives with them as a big family.
Mimu hops on the table and softly mewls at him while he spoons his breakfast in his mouth. 'Finally feeling better?' he asks her, scratching her head.
She purrs under his touch and flops besides his arm, not letting him lift it.
'I'm happy for you. Know you're more than welcome to stay over until your owners come back. I'll try to contact them for you whenever I'm able.'
She stares at him and he can see how her big eyes are full of appreciation. He smiles at her and finishes his breakfast. 'Time to wake up Hyunjin. Want to help me?'
He walks over to the living room and crouches over to reach into the terraria under the tv. Mimu is standing on her back legs and has both front paws against the glass while she sees Felix picking up the limb Slow Worm. Hyunjin takes time to wake up and needs warmth to get his limbs started, Felix learned from Doctor Zeeps over the years. The herpetologist taught him everything he needed to keep Hyunjin happy and healthy and was the sole reason Felix got his license to be able to keep the reptile at home. He explains the warmth issue to Mimu who curiously swings her tail around.
'Reptiles are pretty slow when they're not warmed up. That's why there's a thermal lamp in his enclosure.'
He wraps Hyunjin around his wrist and cuddles him to his chest to give him his body warmth. The Slow Worm's grip gets tighter around his wrist as the reptile hybrid wakes up.
'Good Morning, sleepy head. Look who came to wake you up.' Felix shows the black cat hybrid beneath his feet to the Slow Worm who slowly blinks. Mimu mewls at him and rubs herself against Felix's legs.
'I'll bring you to the bathroom to get up,' Felix says to Hyunjin. 'You have to work in like- less than an hour.'
'You should've woken me up earlier!' Hyunjin grumbles when he leaves the bathroom in his human form. 'Oh, good morning, Mimu. Let me check up on you before I leave.'
He bends down to the black cat who shyly approaches him. He lifts her chin and checks if he can see anything out of the ordinary. 'Nose seems fine. Her throat is still a bit inflamed. When I'm back I'll check her temperature again. Can you get her to drink some more before you leave for work, Lix?' he asks his human who nods.
'I'll ask Doctor Zeeps for tips to help her get back on her feet some more,' the reptile hybrid says.
Mimu huffs at him and Hyunjin gives her one look with a raised eyebrow. 'You're underweight. We'll let you leave when you're fattened up some more,' he scolds her.
The black cat hybrid tilts her head at him and hides behind Felix's legs. 'He means well,' Felix coos her, but she doesn't seem to trust his words.
Hyunjin leaves the house and Felix wakes up Chan who's still in deep slumber. The others are already up and about, but the other black cat hybrid is far off in dreamland.
'Chaaaannn... How is he even able to sleep this well when he normally wakes up with the smallest sound,' Felix grumbles.
Chan hides his cat head in the cushion of the couch when Felix tries to wake him and only after he hears Mimu mewl he lifts his head.
'Welcome back to earth. Since when are you able to sleep like the dead?' Felix teases him.
He picks up Chan and the bundle of clothes next to the couch and drops him off in his bedroom to give him time to change. Chan comes out within a few minutes and with small eyes, still heavy with sleep, he mumbles something about it being early.
'What did you do with him?' Felix asks Mimu who huffs at him.
She jumps on his lap and demands scratches from him, which Felix gives into way too easily. She's too cute.