Felix Centric One Shots

Where the Heart Listens (TF)

"He heard what others couldn't—and found a family that listened back."

The town still smelled like broken trees and wet earth, the air heavy with the ghosts of what had been homes just a few days ago. Cracked pavement twisted around the remains of cars and roofs, the occasional child's toy or photo album peeking out from the wreckage like the town itself was trying to remember who it used to be. Stray Kids had been walking for hours, the weight of the devastation pulling at their chests with every step.

Chan crouched beside a collapsed front porch, brushing aside shards of shattered glass. "This house is totaled," he murmured, looking over his shoulder at Minho, who was scanning the sky with narrowed eyes.

"No structural integrity left," Minho agreed. "But it looks like someone tried to take cover. That bathroom in the back? Tub's still standing."

"I'll check it out," Hyunjin offered, already moving carefully over the broken tile as the others followed at a distance.

The bathroom door creaked on its hinges as Hyunjin pushed it open, revealing a small space somehow untouched by the rest of the destruction. Inside the old porcelain tub was a blanket—a dusty, flower-patterned one, barely covering the small figure curled up inside it. He blinked up at Hyunjin with wide brown eyes, a pacifier halfway out of his mouth and curls matted with dust.

"Oh—" Hyunjin sucked in a breath, kneeling slowly. "Hey, baby. It's okay. You're okay."

Felix didn't cry. He just blinked at him, silent but wary, like he was still deciding whether the man in front of him was friend or foe.

"There's a kid," Hyunjin called softly. "He's alive."

The others were at his side in seconds, Minho's hand going instinctively to Felix's head, brushing away the dirt. "How is he alive in all this?"

"Must've been hidden just in time," Jisung said, voice low, as if afraid to spook him. "Tub saved him."

"Where's the mother?" Jeongin asked, glancing around.

"Found her," Changbin answered from just outside the bathroom. His voice was tight. "Didn't make it."

A silence settled in the space. The kind that comes when something far too big to understand stands in the room with you.

Felix suddenly reached out and grabbed Minho's finger with a soft little "Mmm..." like he was testing the name of a stranger.

Minho looked down at the toddler's hand wrapped around his own and felt something shift inside his chest. "Hi," he whispered.

A woman working nearby, in a vest labeled with another rescue unit, stepped closer. "Poor thing's gonna end up in that old orphanage if no one claims him."

Chan's head snapped toward her. "What orphanage?"

She shrugged. "Only one nearby. But it's full and rundown. Not much of a future there, to be honest."

Chan looked back down at Felix, who was now resting his cheek against Minho's forearm, thumb in his mouth. The little boy's other hand still clutched the edge of his mother's blanket like he didn't quite realize she wasn't coming back yet.

"No way he's going there," Chan said firmly.

The others looked at him, surprised, though none of them argued.

"We're not just leaving him," Chan added, voice rising with conviction. "We've seen enough destruction for a lifetime. If we can save him, actually save him, that's something."

"You serious?" Changbin asked. Not doubtful—just stunned.

"We have room," Chan said, turning toward them. "I'll start the paperwork when we get back to headquarters."