Petty Purrloiner

by innieinnit

Summary:

“You know, hyung’s gonna kick you out one of these days.”

“He has. Can I live with you until the opera spell wears off? Hyung says I’m not allowed back until Dori can meow again.”

Shocked, Felix whips his head to the side to face Jisung. “What?! Jisung, I have a single bed and the hot water only works for ten minutes per day. You are not staying here. God, I can’t believe Minho-hyung has done this to me.”

“He hasn’t,” Jisung says. “I’m doing this to you. Minho gave me strict instructions to not harass sweet Yongbok-ah.”

“Then why are you here, harassing sweet Yongbok-ah?” Felix whines.

“Who else am I meant to harass?!”

OR

Shapeshifter Felix gets stuck as a cat. Chan rescues him.

Notes:

During his first term at SNU, Felix got turned into a cat.

He supposes that’s what happens when your roommate is a witch. To Jisung’s credit, he had apologised profusely and turned Felix back as soon as he managed to find the counter spell in his grandmother’s old spellbook. Unfortunately, it had taken a week.

It had been terrifying at first. Felix had yowled sorrowfully at his reflection, ignoring his remorseful roommate in the background who begged him to be quiet because it was a no pets allowed dorm and he didn’t want Felix to be confiscated. Felix felt he was within his right to complain – he was a damned cat!

Once he’d calmed down a bit, the little black cat sat opposite Jisung and tilted his head, a silent demand for his roommate to explain himself.

“So… I’m a witch. Whenever I sexile you from the dorm, I’m actually practising magic. That boyfriend that I’ve been refusing to let you meet… isn’t actually my boyfriend. Lee Minho is just a hot guy who I stalk on Instagram.”

Jisung had finished the conversation with a fresh pair of scratches on his hand. One for the whole ‘you’re a cat now’ thing, one because Jisung had been lying to him.

During that week, Felix grew quite accustomed to life as a cat. Lazing around, sleeping in sunspots, tearing up Jisung’s clothes when he left them on the floor for too long. It was fun. Another positive was that their dorm was on the ground floor, so Jisung left the window open for Felix to come and go as he wished.

It blew shut in the wind when Felix was out, once. He sat on the windowsill and cried pitifully, scratching at the glass as if it would magically disappear. He was desperate to get back inside; Jisung wouldn’t be back for hours and the wind was exceptionally strong, taking every chance to blow him sideways and send him to the ground. He wasn’t very good at navigating with his cat anatomy anyway, he did not need the wind to add a new layer of difficulty to his experience.

Just as he was about to get swept off of the windowsill by a particularly harsh gust of wind, two arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a warm chest.

“Hello, kitty,” a soothing voice crooned. “What are you doing out in weather like this?”

Lee Minho might not have been Jisung’s boyfriend at that point, but he was Felix’s saviour.

Felix was taken inside and, shamefully, he’d been so distracted by Minho’s fingers scratching the top of his head, he completely missed the chance to run away. Instead of hiding somewhere until Jisung got back, he ended up in one of the bedrooms on the third floor.

Figuring he had no other option, Felix sat in Minho’s lap for hours as he spoke to a guy named Kim Seungmin. He found out that the two were old family friends, that Seungmin was taking sociology and Minho really was doing a masters in culinary arts as Jisung had said. At least the witch had based his lies in fact.

Minho and Seungmin had just started to crack out beers when there was a harsh knocking at the door, which swung open to reveal Felix’s rather dishevelled looking roommate.

“I’m sorry, but have you seen– you’ve stolen my cat!”

After ten minutes of Jisung begging for Minho to give him the cat back, he eventually snatched Felix out of Minho’s arms and stormed out of the room.

“That was so fucking embarrassing,” Jisung hissed as he walked back to their dorm. “Why did it have to be Minho?! And you, traitor, you were no help!”

Felix had told him, once he was human again, that it was what Jisung deserved for turning him into a cat in the first place. And, yeah, maybe he could have come when Jisung called his name instead of staying in his jelly-like state in Minho’s lap, but the man gives good head massages, okay?

It wasn’t until three weeks later that Felix realised he could turn back into a cat at will. Well, the first time was kind of an accident after sneezing too hard. It turned out that whatever Jisung did in his first spell had changed something in Felix, and the witch was not going to get his mum involved in fear for his life, so Felix’s only choices were to learn how to control it or never sneeze again.

And anyway, there were benefits to being a cat.

Felix became matchmaker extraordinaire by greeting Lee Minho in his cat form and enticing him to their dorm room to meet Jisung. It was meant to stop Jisung whining about how he’d murdered any chance he had of being with Minho. All it did was start a new annoyance in the form of Jisung never being able to shut up about Minho. At least Felix got free massages in the form of Minho’s gentle fingers combing through his fur.

Minho had asked, once, why Jisung’s roommate was never around. Both Jisung and Felix had gone stiff. Minho only worked out the mystery when he’d left Jisung’s room, one day, making it to the end of the corridor before he’d remembered that he’d left his keys behind. He’d gone back and opened the door to find Jisung and a half-naked Felix staring at him in shock, with no cat in sight.

“Ah,” Minho had said. “So that’s why you won’t take me up on my offer to look after your cat until you move out of halls.”

Luckily, Minho still petted Felix often after that. Felix is pretty sure it’s the only thing that got him through his dance assessments that year.

Now that they’ve graduated, Felix lives alone in a boxy one-room, because he shared an apartment with Jisung in third year and one year worth of Minsung sex was about as much as Felix could handle hearing.

But rent is high, and bills are expensive, so Felix uses his cat form for less… wholehearted means.

“Get back here, you bastard! Somebody stop him!”

It’s not like he does it for fun, okay? He needs to survive. To survive, he needs food, to get food he needs money and to get money, he needs to steal. Or, you know, get a job. He’s trying, but after a long month of sending applications he’s only been offered one interview. The last of his money went towards his rent, and his kitchen cupboards are so bare someone would look inside them and think that nobody even lives there.

“You fucking bitch, I’ll end you!”

What the man running after him doesn’t realise is that he’s picking a fight with the wrong guy. Not because Felix can actually fight him back (he can, in theory, being the proud owner of a black belt, however in practice he hasn’t eaten enough to sustain him in a fight), but because the man has to find him first.

And from his place perched on top of a dustbin, the man’s wallet underneath his bottom, Felix watches with glee as the man runs around the corner and freezes, wondering where the hell Felix has gone.

“Goddamn bastard, stealing money from a good, honest, hardworking man such as myself,” The man grumbles, deciding to run further to see if Felix had slipped away unnoticed.

And he has. Felix stands and takes the wallet in his mouth then jumps off the bin and trots away, feeling rather smug. He knows stealing is wrong, honest, but when he sees a dickhead man shouting horrible things at his girlfriend in public, Felix can’t make himself feel bad for making him his target.

Eventually, he reaches the alley beside his shabby, run-down apartment building and jumps onto the dustbins. From there, he leaps onto a window ledge and then onto the metal of the fire escape. He runs up the stairs to his floor with his prize in between his perfectly pointy teeth, dreaming about all the delicious food he’ll be able to buy. Oh, chicken! Maybe he can even buy chicken!

With one last precise jump, Felix lands on his windowsill and slips in through the crack he’d left himself. He drops onto his bed, the wallet slipping out of his mouth, and a satisfied mewl falls after it as he nuzzles the covers.

His bliss is short-lived, as suddenly hands grab him and lift him into the air. Hissing, Felix’s paws fly up to attack, but he goes limp when his eyes meet Jisung’s.

“Hello there, little kitty,” Jisung says, reaching up to scratch Felix behind the ear. “That’s a rather fat looking wallet you’ve acquired.”

Felix wriggles in Jisung’s grip until the witch puts him down on the bed. The cat closes his eyes and taps into his human side, letting it overflow him and dominate his feline side. When he opens them again, he glances down to see his fully-dressed human body – courtesy of Jisung, who had cast a spell so Felix wouldn’t be naked every time he changed back. There had been some awkward situations in the past, like that time Jisung came home to Minho holding a very naked Felix and almost turned his best friend into something much worse than a cat.

“Why are you here?” Felix asks, bringing his legs up to sit cross-legged while his hand finds the stolen wallet.

“Had a fight with Minho,” Jisung sighs, sitting next to him. “Apparently he doesn’t find it funny that Dori can now sing opera. But he was ill, and hyung was so worried! I was just trying to help.”

Felix shakes his head. Jisung was fully aware of the rules when he moved into Minho’s apartment – no magic around the cats. He only has himself to blame.

“You know, hyung’s gonna kick you out one of these days.”

“He has. Can I live with you until the opera spell wears off? Hyung says I’m not allowed back until Dori can meow again.”

Shocked, Felix whips his head to the side to face Jisung. “What?! Jisung, I have a single bed and the hot water only works for ten minutes per day. You are not staying here. God, I can’t believe Minho-hyung has done this to me.”

“He hasn’t,” Jisung says. “I’m doing this to you. Minho gave me strict instructions to not harass sweet Yongbok-ah.”

“Then why are you here, harassing sweet Yongbok-ah?” Felix whines.

“Who else am I meant to harass?!” Jisung replies. “You’re my only friend who wasn’t Minho’s friend first. And anyway, the bed will be big enough for both of us if you sleep in your cat form.”

Felix really hates his best friend, sometimes. Honestly, he does.

“Fine,” Felix grumbles. “But you’re not taking any of my hot water. Cold showers for you. Did you at least bring any money with you to stock the cupboards?”

Jisung winces. “I left my wallet at home.”

Felix is not above murder.

Huffing, he stands from the bed. “I’ll go and get it–”

“No!” Jisung cries, catching Felix’s wrist. “You can’t, or he’ll know that I harassed sweet Yongbok-ah, and then I’ll be in even more trouble!”

Breathe, Felix. Just breathe.

“Can’t you magic your wallet here?” Felix asks.

“No. Because of the protective wards I put on Minho’s apartment, no spells can reach inside of it.”

“Why do you need protective wards anyway?!” Felix yells. “It’s not like you’re the high warlock of Seoul! What enemies could you possibly have?!”

“It’s witch code to put protective wards up when you live with somebody who doesn’t have magic! I’m just obeying the laws!”

Felix sighs, slapping a hand to his face.

“Come on, Felix, don’t be a sour puss. It’ll be just like the old days when we lived together in uni!”

“We don’t have any money, Jisung!”

“You’re literally holding a wallet!”

Ten minutes of bickering later, they open the wallet and find 80,000 won. Jisung extends his hand for a high-five. Felix glares at him until he drops it.

“You’re being so grouchy today,” Jisung says with a pout.

“Yeah, well, I’m hungry as shit and if it wasn’t for you, I would be sinking my teeth into some juicy, crispy, delicious chicken right about now.”

“I’ll make it up to you!” Jisung calls, standing up and snatching the money from Felix’s hand. “I’ll go and do the food shopping right now! You just sit here and relax, okay? I’ll be right back, I promise!”

 

***

 

It takes fifteen minutes for Jisung to return, a suspiciously short amount of time given Felix lives a ten minute walk away from the nearest supermarket. Felix’s heart falls to the floor when he looks over at Jisung to see he isn’t carrying any bags of food.

“What the hell happened to going on a food shop?”

Jisung jumps, looking over at Felix with a classic hand-in-the-cookie-jar expression.

“Oh. A food shop. Right. Now, Felix, don’t be mad–”

Felix is on his feet in an instant. “What did you buy? Jisung, what the hell did you buy?”

“I’m sorry! The lady, she had them on offer – 20,000 won a piece! – and you just can’t refuse prices like that, you can’t–”

“Jisung, if you don’t tell me what you bought right fucking now–”

“Magical rat tails!”

Felix blinks.

“Magical rat tails. Magical… rat tails. Magical rat tails. You spent 80,000 won on magical rat tails.”

“Not all of it! I’ve still got twenty–”

“That’s not enough for us to live on, Jisung!”

“I’m sorry!”

“I’m going to Minho’s,” Felix says, turning back to his bed. “Enjoy living off of 20,000 won.”

“Wait, no, Felix, I’m–”

Felix doesn’t hear the rest of Jisung’s sentence because he shifts and jumps through his window onto the fire escape, muttering to himself in a series of small unhappy mewls as he makes his way down.

He’s not actually going to Minho’s. He just wants Jisung to sweat a bit. He’ll come back in half an hour with a new wallet and finally order chicken – which he will eat in front of Jisung and laugh at him when he whines about being hungry. Maybe he’ll throw him a wing, if Jisung’s remorseful enough.

 

***

 

Finding people to rob is easy.

Felix makes his way further into the city and finds a restaurant with outdoor seating, grateful for the warm autumn evenings that encourage people to sit outside. The restaurant has a stone wall running along one side that he leaps onto, tail flicking as he scans the people at the tables.

He ignores the elderly couples and the people who look the same way he did in university – eating every last scrap of their small-plate portions because how the hell are they meant to afford this and their rent? – and focuses on the people in suits with gelled back hair, expensive watches glinting on their wrists. Just because Felix steals, he isn’t completely without morals.

The cat’s yellow eyes land on a man who’s immersed in a phone call, his date sitting with her arms crossed, staring off to the side.

Gotcha.

Leaping down from the wall, Felix pads over to the woman’s feet and meows, lightly. She looks down and her face breaks into a smile as a quiet coo leaves her lips. Felix pushes his head against her ankle, rubbing his body against it as he passes, then circles around to do it again. Two acrylic nails start to scratch the top of his head and he mewls appreciatively, pushing up into the feeling.

When he thinks he’s charmed her enough, he reaches his front paws onto the edge of her seat, looking up at her with the best sparkly-eyed expression he can muster.

“Aw, do you want to come up, sweet boy?”

Meow!

The woman pats her lap and Felix jumps up into it, settling down on the woman’s thighs. He’s not completely heartless, he’ll keep her company for a bit while the man’s on the phone.

Except, the man doesn’t seem to want to get off the phone, only stopping his conversation to bark his order at the waiter who comes by. The woman says her own order with an apologetic smile, hands smoothing through Felix’s fur.

Eventually, Felix gets tired of waiting for the man to get off the phone – as does the woman, if the way her eyes keep flicking to the time on her own says anything – and starts to make his move. Luckily, in true middle-aged man fashion, the suited man has laid his keys and wallet out on the side of the table. His phone would probably join them if he hadn’t been talking on it this whole time.

Felix stands up in the woman’s lap. She moves back against her chair, arms dropping to let Felix jump down, but to her surprise he jumps onto the table instead. Before she or the man have time to react, the cat leans down, plucks the wallet and leaps onto the floor.

“Hey! Stop that cat!”

Well. Now the man’s off the phone.

Skittering through the crowd, Felix tries his best to navigate himself away from the numerous pairs of hands that reach for him. He hisses the best he can with the heavy leather wallet in his mouth, running underneath tables and through pairs of legs until he reaches the outskirts of the seating area.

“It’s got my damn wallet! Stop it!”

Looking back, Felix sees the man standing and pointing at him which gives him the urge to roll his eyes. Come and get me yourself, you ugly, rude–

The ground suddenly disappears from underneath him and Felix panics, throwing his legs out to scratch whoever’s picked him up. He turns to face them, a hiss on the tip of his tongue, and – oh.

Felix is face-to-face with one of the most handsome men he’s ever seen.

He has a rectangular face with a sharp jaw. His hair is dark brown and parted to the side, falling towards his thick eyebrows that rest above his downturned eyes. He has a strong nose and plush lips that Felix almost wants to put his paw against, just to see if they feel as soft and bouncy as they look.

Balancing Felix in his arm, the man brings a big, veiny hand up to hover underneath the wallet.

“Can I have this, Little One?”

Little One. Little One?!

The wallet slides out of Felix’s mouth and plops into the man’s hand. It wasn’t voluntary, but rather because Felix is suddenly paralysed due to the loss of communication with his brain.

The man smiles – oh, he has dimples! – and scratches Felix’s head. “Thank you.”

“So, you caught the little rat,” a voice says from the side.

The handsome man’s expression falls slightly. Felix turns to see the man he’d stolen the wallet from standing in front of them.

Handsome Man holds the wallet out. Felix mewls in dismay. There goes his food for the rest of the week.

“It’s alright. Happy to help–”

“Wretched thing,” The suited man interrupts. “It must be true what they say about black cats.”

Felix hisses. The suited man flashes his eyes at him. The arms holding Felix get firmer, pulling him back into Handsome Man’s chest.

“Yes, well. Enjoy your dinner, sir,” Handsome Man says, his voice slightly clipped.

The men bow to each other and Handsome Man turns, making his way over to a table at which a woman is sitting, looking very bored. Not the same type of bored that the last woman was – ignored and dejected – but more… unimpressed.

“Ew, Chan-oppa, why did you bring it over here?” She says when she looks up.

Handsome Man – Chan – sits in his seat, depositing Felix in his lap.

“The poor cat is skin and bones,” He says, picking up his chopsticks. “He’s probably hungry.”

To Felix’s delight, the chopsticks seize a piece of chicken from Chan’s plate and then head directly towards Felix’s face.

“Here you go, Little One. Eat up.”

The woman scoffs. “Only you would feed a stray cat on our date, oppa.” The comment doesn’t sound endearing.

Felix, on the other hand, is thoroughly endeared. Here is this handsome, amazing man with a sexy set of biceps on him who is feeding a starving cat from his own plate. Not only is he one of the most gorgeous people Felix has ever seen, but he has a heart of gold, too. This woman should think herself lucky to be on a date with him!

“I could feel, like, all of his ribs when I picked him up. Feeding him a bit of chicken isn’t hurting anyone.”

“Whatever,” the woman says, giving Felix a look before dropping her issue. “Anyway, what was I saying?”

“You were talking about how Eunhee stole your centre part.”

The woman launches back into her story, but Felix pays little attention. He finishes the chicken, sadly unable to lick the chopsticks before Chan pulls them away, and then finds himself snuggling down onto the man’s left arm as he strokes his thumb rhythmically up and down Felix’s cheek. It’s just like the first time he met Minho all over again.

Purring as the man reduces him to a pile of jelly, Felix shuts his eyes and starts to doze. He hasn’t slept on many people since being able to shift into a cat – Jisung, Minho, sometimes Seungmin – because he doesn’t really feel comfortable doing so, too nervous to be that vulnerable with anyone else. But this Chan guy fed him chicken from his plate, and his hold feels so secure, and he’s stroking his thumb with just the right amount of pressure to hypnotise Felix into a drowsy state…

Felix startles when he feels himself being lifted, his claws latching onto the thing underneath him. There’s a slight gasp, and someone says See? That thing’s feral, Channie, until Felix realises that he’s being held in Chan’s arms once again as the man steps out from the table they were sitting at. It’s clear of dishes. Felix must have slept through the rest of their meal.

“He’s not feral, or he wouldn’t have let me do any of this in the first place,” Chan replies, matter-of-factly.

The woman scoffs. “Whatever. You should put him down now, oppa.”

“I can’t,” Chan says.

“You can’t?”

He can’t?!

Chan shakes his head as both the cat and the girl stare at him in disbelief.

“Look how skinny he is, and how dull his coat is; he’s obviously not being fed enough. He doesn’t seem in enough of a state to be a stray, but maybe he ran away from home and he’s got a microchip, or something,” Chan says. “I can’t just let him go. He could get hurt.”

Okay. Maybe Chan has a bit too much of a good heart. It’s not like Felix has a microchip, the vets will definitely advise Chan to take him to a shelter and that most definitely cannot happen, how the hell will Felix ever escape?!

But the idea of scratching this man’s arms up makes guilt swell in Felix. Chan has been so nice, and he's fed Felix chicken off his plate, and Chan’s defending him from his date even though Felix is just a cat…

He’ll find an opportunity to escape. A less violent opportunity. It’s fine. It’s not as if there’s a vet open at this time of night for Chan to go for a microchip check, anyway.

“This is the problem with you, oppa, always trying to adopt strays. You know you can’t fix everyone, right?”

Why the hell is Chan on a date with this woman, anyway? She’s fucking rude.

“Yeah. I know,” Chan replies. Felix licks his fingers. Chan starts scratching the cat’s chin.

Chan walks the woman away from the restaurant and down the street, where a black Land Rover with tinted windows pulls up. She turns to Chan and leans in as if to kiss his cheek, but she jumps back when a displeased rumble leaves Felix’s throat.

Looking down at him with a wrinkled nose, she says, “Yes, well, I’ll see you next time, oppa, when you’re… cat-free.”

“Yeah. It was lovely to spend time with you, Ji.”

Really, Chan? Was it really lovely to spend time with her?

Ji climbs into the car and blows Chan a kiss, before the door shuts and the Land Rover pulls away.

Chan sighs, looking down at Felix. “Business dinners are the worst.”

Meow!

It roughly translates to ‘thank fuck you’re not dating this woman’.

“I can’t take you to the vet until the morning, Little One. I have a friend who’s good with cats, though, maybe he can keep you for the night,” Chan says, scratching behind Felix’s ear.

What? Why can’t I go to your apartment? Felix complains up at him in a series of meows.

“I know, I know, but my landlord doesn’t allow pets,” Chan explains. “Minho’s really nice, he’ll take good care of you.”

Oh no. Minho. Minho… as in Lee Minho? Jisung’s Minho? Surely not. There’s loads of Minho’s in Korea. But… Minho who’s good with cats, Minho? Minho… who Felix has just remembered has a friend named Chan, Minho?!

Now, Felix is a lot of things, but a bad best friend he is not and, even if Jisung kind of deserves it for spending all his hard-stolen money on magical rat tails, he won’t allow Chan to bring him to Minho if he can help it.

I’m sorry, beautiful man, I’m so, so sorry…

Felix hisses and extends his claws, digging them straight into the man’s arm.

“Hey! Ow, Little One, stop that!” Chan gasps.

Now, the aim was for Chan to drop him so Felix could run away and never be seen again. It was not for Chan to pick him up by the scruff of the neck and hang Felix in front of his face like a naughty kitten.

If cats could pout, Felix would.

“Okay, okay, you can stay with me for the night – just tonight, so my landlord doesn’t throw a fit. Alright? If I stop scruffing you, do you promise not to claw me?” Chan negotiates, looking directly into Felix’s eyes.

The cat grumbles in agreement.

With a wince, Chan slowly lowers Felix back to his arm, as if expecting to be attacked again, but the cat settles down easily. Chan lets out a relieved breath.

“Okay. You’ve gotta be good, though, hm?”

Felix wishes this man was saying those words to him in a very different context.

 

***

 

Chan’s apartment is expensive and modern, and so unbelievably bleak it looks like nobody even lives there, kind of like Felix’s kitchen cupboards. Honestly, if Chan hadn’t typed in the passcode and said ‘We’re home’ when he walked in the door, Felix would think it was a show flat.

“It’s not much,” Chan says as he ventures into the living room, sounding a bit awkward. “I mean, it is , I’m not saying it’s a bad flat or anything, I just haven’t had much of a chance to decorate…”

Now, Felix doesn’t know much about Chan, but he does remember Jisung whining one weekend two years ago about how Minho was spending the whole weekend helping Chan move. Felix only remembers this because Jisung had said Minho was doing it instead of, and Felix quotes, ‘pounding this tight hole’. Sadly, the memory of that line will never fade from his mind. If this Chan really is Minho’s Chan, he’s had two whole years to decorate, and yet Felix can’t see any evidence that anybody lives here at all.

Nevertheless, it’s clean and comfortable, and Felix won’t say no to staying in an apartment he could never hope to afford without selling one of his kidneys. Which is an avenue he hasn’t explored and maybe, given his current situation, he should. How easy is it to access the dark web? There’s definitely some deranged fucker out there who would love to cut him open and–

“I guess you need, like, a little bed or something. Urm… I don’t have a litter box, either…”

Chan deposits Felix on the sofa, with a warning not to go on the floor because he’d probably get trodden on.

Step on me, daddy.

Amused, Felix watches as Chan rushes about his apartment, trying to find things to use to make a little cat setup. He finds a dinner tray and places it on the floor in the kitchen, then retreats to a room at the side which Felix assumes to be some sort of office; he reappears with a shredder. He empties the shredded paper into the tray and nods.

“That’s the litter box sorted…”

It’s certainly a solution, just one Felix will not be using.

Chan returns the shredder to the maybe-office and comes back out with a cardboard box.

“This can work as a bed. Need a blanket or something…”

The cardboard box goes on the floor next to the makeshift litter box, and then Chan goes into a different room. Felix waits patiently for him to come back out, but after ten minutes, he gets bored and jumps down from the sofa to follow Chan into the room.

The cat finds Chan rifling through his wardrobe, although it looks more like he’s reaching into the void. Everything inside of it is black.

Felix meows.

“Oh, hello. Sorry, I’m trying to find some T-shirts that might be comfy for you… Turns out I don’t actually own a blanket,” Chan says with an insecure chuckle. “Well, I do, but it’s at the studio right now. Slept on that sofa one too many times.”

Where the hell did Chan come from? This man who not only feeds a stray cat chicken from his own chopsticks, but takes the cat home and makes it a bed out of his own T-shirts… Felix is well and truly endeared. Chan is the best man.

Armed with a heap of black, Chan scoops Felix from the floor and carries him back to the living area, once again placing him on the sofa before walking over to the kitchen. Felix jumps off the sofa to follow him, stopping next to where Chan kneels in front of the cardboard box, arranging his clothes into it.

Felix meows at him, and Chan turns to him with an exaggerated sigh for following him, which turns to a big smile. A hand comes down to pet Felix’s head and the cat pushes into his touch.

“Who could ever be mad at you, hm?” Chan asks, reaching down with his other hand to pick Felix up. “Now, try this.”

Chan lowers Felix into the box, and Felix happily buries himself into the comfy T-shirts. They smell nice, fresh laundry and Chan’s natural scent mixing together to create a comfort Felix’s broken mattress could never provide.

“Good?” Chan asks.

It would be better if I was wearing your T-shirt instead of lying on them, but…

Felix meows his satisfaction.

“Okay. Good. Good. Ah, shit, you’ll need food, right? I think I’ve got some tuna somewhere… Stay there while I find you something.”

Chan stands up and walks over to the kitchen counters. Felix jumps out of the box to follow, sitting a few paces behind so he can watch as Chan digs through a cupboard. For how much money Felix assumes Chan must have, the cupboards are looking pretty bare. Not as bare as Felix’s, but definitely more bare than Felix would keep them if he had the funds to live in this apartment.

“Ah, here it is! Tinned tuna doesn’t go out of date for ages, right?” Chan mumbles as he inspects the side of the tin.

Please don’t poison me.

Chan shrugs and opens another cupboard to retrieve a bowl. “You’re a cat. I’m sure you’ve eaten worse things.”

… Thanks.

He has, but that’s besides the point.

Felix’s tail swishes as he watches Chan drain the tin and fork the contents into a bowl. A whole tin of tuna is basically a feast by Felix’s standard nowadays. God, he misses living at home in Australia, when his dad would grill up burgers and sausages and pork skewers on the barbecue. That was the good life.

“Hey, I thought I told you to stay!” Chan says when he turns around, bowl in hand. “I could tread on you if you’re not careful, and then what would I do?”

Mrrrrow!

“Fine, fine, I’ll let you off. Only because you’re cute. Here, you want some dinner?”

Chan places the bowl of tuna on the floor. Felix scrabbles for it so quickly that his paws slip on the black kitchen tiles and he almost faceplants straight into them. Chan laughs at him, but Felix is too busy inhaling the fish to meow his displeasure.

When the bowl is empty, sparkling from where Felix has licked it clean, warm hands pick him up and cradle him to a built chest.

“I’m surprised you managed to fit all that in. You must have been pretty hungry…”

You should see my cupboards, bro.

With a heavy sigh Chan sits on the sofa, placing Felix in his lap. He looks down at Felix and puts a hand on top of his head, and fuck why am I a cat right now?! He should be looking down at me while I wrap my lips around–

“Wanna watch some Netflix, Little One?” Chan asks, reaching for the TV remote. 

Felix meows in response, and does a little spin to settle down in Chan’s lap, head facing the TV. Chan’s hand runs along his back.

“What should we watch? Maybe a movie…”

Felix doesn’t pay much attention to what film Chan is choosing, relishing in the feeling of Chan’s hand brushing through his fur. Despite how nice it feels, he can’t help but wish he was a human right now, with Chan’s hand running through Felix’s hair as his head rests in his lap.

Maybe the tuna is getting to his head.

Chan settles on a comedy, and falls asleep fifteen minutes into the film.

Felix stays until the credits, and then regretfully slips out of the apartment as the next film starts on autoplay.

It makes him feel bad. Chan spent all that time making a little cat station, and ensuring he ate, and worrying over stepping on him, and he’ll wake in the morning and not be able to find Felix anywhere. Imagining Chan’s reaction is a little painful, both the idea of him turning his flat inside-out in a frantic search, and the other option of him shrugging and simply brushing Felix off with an ‘oh, well’.

It doesn’t matter. Felix will be back – hopefully as a human, next time. This won’t be the last Chan sees of him, that’s for sure. Felix just needs to make sure Jisung doesn’t do anything else to piss Minho off.

 

***

 

“I thought you’d died!” Jisung wails, Felix tightly in his grip. “Or worse – that you’d actually gone to Minho!”

Felix rolls his eyes. “I didn’t die or go to Minho.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that! Why didn’t you answer my texts?”

“I was a cat!” Felix defends, trying to pull away to no avail. “My phone was in the magical void along with my clothes and opposable thumbs.”

“I’ve told you, your body doesn’t go into the void because it–”

“Transforms, not swaps, I know,” Felix cuts in, having heard this same line many times before.

Jisung pulls back to squint at his friend, but he doesn’t remove his arms from around Felix’s middle. “Why didn’t you just change back?”

Red invades Felix’s cheeks. The sight has Jisung tugging him into his apartment to push him onto the bed.

“Explain yourself, Felix Lee,” Jisung says, in English – a strange habit he’s had since the first year of uni when he found out Felix is from Australia.

“There’s nothing to explain – really, there isn’t! I went to a restaurant to steal money off some rich dude and some other dude stopped me. Now can we go to bed? I’m really tired. I need to get some sleep for that job interview tomorrow.”

Jisung scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s always been scarily good at knowing when Felix is lying, or even when he’s just bending the truth, a little.

“Something else happened, I’m sure of it.”

“Not really. I just stole some chicken off the dude’s plate and then we went our separate ways. I tried to find someone else to rob but I got tired. That’s it,” Felix says, mentally begging Jisung to give in and believe him.

“Fine, if you say so,” Jisung sighs, dropping his arms. “Go brush your teeth.”

Felix jumps up and kisses his friend on the cheek, a little apology for running off and not texting, then goes to brush his teeth.

Later, when they’re tucked up in bed, Jisung whispers to the cat curled up next to his head, “Can I make a potion in your sink tomorrow?”

Felix hisses at him.

 

***

 

Felix doesn’t get the job, not that he’s particularly surprised.

It had been a long shot – a position in an office he wasn’t quite qualified for, but figured he might as well apply to. He needs the money. God forbid he has to phone up his parents and ask them to pay for him to fly to Australia so he can move back in.

On the bright side, a kind old woman thought he was homeless when he’d stopped against the wall to put his head in his hands and question all his life choices, a result of not washing his coat in too long, and now he has enough for three bottles of soju to console him.

Despite the cold, Felix chooses to sit outside the convenience shop on one of the plastic chairs available, pulling his coat closer to him. It’s getting colder during the night. Felix doesn’t think he’ll be able to afford heating costs. Maybe he can buy another blanket, or temporarily move in with Minho and Jisung for the winter.

The crack of the bottle cap is the first step of his relief. Maybe relief is too strong a word, implying that some of the weight is being lifted from his shoulders when really, they’re just turning numb. He lifts the glass and touches it to his lip, the alcohol tingling on his tongue as it flows in.

This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. Felix was supposed to get a stable job after university and take charge of his life, but he’s falling so far behind, like he missed the gun at the starting line. Now he watches as everybody sprints ahead, and no matter how hard he pushes his legs he just can’t close the gap.

The first bottle disappears quickly, and the second one just as fast. Felix nurses the third bottle between his hands, staring down the street as he watches people walking. It’s starting to get dark, Felix should probably make a move himself, but he doesn’t want to open his front door and see that expression – Jisung’s excited face as he eagerly asks how it went. Felix doesn’t want to watch it fall faster than a cat from a tree when Jisung’s met with the answer. It’s easier to sit here and pretend he’s not letting anyone but himself down.

The third bottle comes to a slow and painful end. Felix doesn’t notice until he knocks the bottle back, the green glass clinking against his front teeth, and nothing but a drop rolls onto his tongue. He grunts and lowers the bottle onto the table with a donk. He looks down at it, wondering if it will refill if he stares hard enough. It doesn’t. He should have known; he’d tried the same trick on his bank account. That didn’t work, either.

It shouldn’t take too long to walk home. It usually wouldn’t, but it’s hard to coordinate his legs when all he has in his body is alcohol. It squeezes his brain between its hands, stopping the thoughts from flowing through. The only thing that has room to squish past is the ever-looming sense of failure that’s taken to living rent-free in his mind. At least he can’t feel the cold anymore.

Felix practically hugs the wall as he makes his way down one of the smaller side streets, grumbling to himself as he allows the rough brick to scratch against the soft skin of his palm. He doesn’t really feel it, the same way he’s stopped feeling the cold, and the same way he can’t feel the eyes watching him.

“Hey, pretty boy. Where are you going?”

Felix pulls his head up from the wall to swing it in the direction of the voice. Three men are approaching, and Felix squints at them in the dark, trying to make them out. They seem to be middle-aged, still in their suits from whatever day jobs they were lucky enough to snatch. Felix envies them.

“Home,” Felix answers, smacking his lips together. His mouth feels dry.

The man frowns. “Come on, you can’t go home now. The night’s so young.”

His friends snicker. Felix scoffs.

“Like me. I’m too young. For you. Bye.”

His attempt to side-step the man is blocked by one of the others stepping forwards, a nasty grin overtaking his lips. “Funny.”

A sense of urgency starts to push through Felix’s brain, forcing all of his thoughts through the tight gap until the alcohol’s grip starts to loosen. This is dangerous. Felix needs to watch himself.

Ever glad for his ability to sober up in dangerous situations, Felix takes a couple of steps backwards. His eyes dart around the street, looking for anyone who could help, or any excuses he could use to slip away. Annoyingly, there’s no shops or passers-by on this road.

“What’s up, baby?” the third man pitches in. “Nervous?”

“Leave me alone,” Felix mumbles, trying to sound confident but his tongue is slow to catch up with the words.

It makes the men laugh.

“Don’t be scared. We just want to show you a good time,” the first man says, reaching out towards Felix’s hand. Felix glares at him.

“What a feisty one,” the second man pipes up. “We should teach him some manners.”

It’s apparent that these men aren’t going to take no for an answer, and Felix would rather not stick around for whatever ‘lesson’ these men plan to give him.

He does the only thing he can think of. He shoves the man closest to him and runs.

Running after three bottles of soju is hard. His feet are slapping against the ground in a way that’s practically guaranteeing shin splints, and he can forget about hoping to stay in a straight line. He’s surprisingly quick, but he’s always been a little flighty, and there isn’t exactly any fat on his bones to slow him down. Perks of not having enough money to eat three meals a day. Luckily, the men chasing him have prominent beer bellies that suggest they definitely do not have rows of empty cabinets in their homes.

Felix flies around the corner of the street and heads straight for the alleyway that comes into sight, practically throwing himself into the pile of bin bags sitting against the wall as he wills himself into his cat body.

Bad idea.

The thing about his bodies is that, while they are different, they are still essentially the same. Jisung had explained it better than Felix ever could, but the gist of things is that the magic is transforming his body from one into another, not swapping his consciousness from one to the next. In other words, the three bottles of soju will still affect him after transformation.

Felix has been tipsy in his cat form. He’d spent the whole time yowling in complaint until Minho scooped him into his arms and rocked him to sleep. If Felix thought being in cat form after one beer was bad, nothing could have prepared him for how his tiny cat body would handle three bottles of soju.

Badly. It handles them very badly.

This must be what it feels like to be put inside of a tumble dryer. Felix is insanely dizzy and he can’t stand upright on his paws, his body swaying this way and that as if his head has become twenty times heavier. He crashes into the bin bags and then lands in a heap on the floor with a pained mewl. When did he start being able to feel every turn of the earth? He didn’t know it was spinning this quickly.

Suddenly it’s falling away from him. Felix kicks out his legs as panicked yowling sounds from his mouth. He doesn’t work out what’s going on until a pair of eyes meet his own. It’s one of the men he ran away from, peering down at him with mirth.

“Did you see where the whore went, little kitty?” The man asks.

Felix whines, writhing in the man’s tight grip. The spinning floor disco wasn’t fun but at least it was better than these sticky fingers.

“What the hell is wrong with it?” one of the other men asks. “Fucking rabid, or something?”

“Fuck knows. Maybe it got hit by a car,” the man holding Felix replies.

“Put it down and let’s go get another drink,” the third man says. “The whore’s obviously slipped us.”

Yes, put me down. Please put me down.

The first man scoffs and, sneering down at Felix, he mutters, “Gotta be cruel to be kind. Lights out, kitty.”

Then, he raises Felix above his shoulder and launches the little cat at the wall.

The crack when meeting the brick is excruciating. The only thing worse is the thud to the concrete that follows.

Felix readily welcomes the darkness that comes after.

 

***

 

The headache is the first thing he becomes aware of.

It’s not unusual after a night of drinking, dehydrated and in desperate need of a coffee he can’t afford. No, what’s unusual is the ache covering his entire body that grows and grows the longer he’s awake. Jisung may not be the best witch, but the accelerated healing spell he’d done on Felix after he’d gotten a papercut that he couldn’t stop whining about that one time works pretty well. And yeah, his mattress is shit, but it’s never felt this hard before.

And there’s car sounds. Felix is used to the sounds he hears from his window, and cars don’t often drive down the derelict road his apartment building sits on. Most of the people who live there can’t afford to run a car.

Did he get drunk and pass out on the fucking street?

Felix forces his eyes open, but the light assaulting his pupils makes them slip shut. A small puffing noise leaves his lips, and he waits ten seconds before he cracks his eyes open again.

Yep, he’s definitely on the street. But there’s something wrong, something Felix can’t work out with his alcohol addled brain. It looks wrong. Dampened, almost, and like he’s looking through a camera at the wrong angle.

A mewl of frustration leaves his lips–

A mewl?!

Eyes flying open, Felix shifts his head to look down and sure enough, he’s met with black fur and tiny paws.

He’s a cat. He’s a fucking cat. Not only did he get drunk and pass out on the streets but he did it as a cat.

But he didn’t pass out from the alcohol, did he? No. Something else happened. Something–

Lights out, kitty.

Crack. Snap. Crunch.

Oh God.

Taking a breath, Felix tries to stand up, but he can’t even make it onto his paws. His right leg is bending the wrong way, and the pain in his shoulders when he tries to shift his body is immense.

Okay. Okay. Felix needs to not freak out right now. He needs to transform back into a human and phone Jisung who can come and work his magic and heal him and help him get back home. It’s fine. It’ll all be fine. Felix just needs to change back. He just needs to phone Jisung.

Changing forms is easy. Felix shuts his eyes and allows his mind to go blank, then focuses his thoughts on his human self. He pictures his slim body, the bones that are starting to jut out of his skin, the freckles on his shoulders that match those on his cheeks, his small nose, his blonde hair with glaring black roots that’s more like a dip dye now than anything–

Felix’s bones crack and he screams. Caterwauling fills the alley as Felix’s little body writhes on the floor, crunching and snapping as it tries to transform. The pain is unbearable. It’s white hot and blinding, the worst sensation Felix has ever felt in his life.

So he stops. Felix lets go of his transformation and his body flops to the concrete, his breathing ragged as the searing returns to a dull ache.

The transformation has never hurt before. Made him tired, maybe, but it was never painful.

Fuck. Okay. Fuck. Now Felix is starting to freak out a little. There’s no way he’s going to be able to get his broken little cat body across Seoul. If he can’t transform, he’s stuck here. This needs to happen, no matter how fucking painful it might be. He needs to transform.

Taking a deep breath, Felix once again empties his mind. He focuses on his eyes, the curve of his lips, the way his waist dips, his legs – but it hurts, it hurts so badly. He wails in pain, once again dropping the transformation. It’s too much to bear but if he can’t transform and he can’t walk back as a cat then he’s going to die here–

Suddenly the floor isn’t underneath him anymore. Panic and pain shoot through him, but Felix can do little more than meow his displeasure. Despite being too poor to pay his bills and feed himself, he’s never felt this helpless in his life.

The last time he was picked up, it ended with him being thrown at a wall. This time will surely end in his death.

Except–

“Hey there, Little One. It’s okay, it’s alright, I’ve got you. Don’t try to move too much, hm?”

Except Felix opens his eyes and there he is. Chan. The most perfect man to ever exist, who feeds cats with his own chopsticks and makes them beds out of his T-shirts. He’s here and he’s holding Felix so gently and suddenly, Felix’s situation doesn’t seem as scary as it did a minute ago.

Help me, Felix mewls.

“Shh, none of that. Save your strength, okay? I’ll take you straight to the vet.”

Chan holds Felix to his chest. Felix doesn’t find it easy to give others his trust, but the warmth and the sturdiness of Chan’s hand underneath him feels safe, and Felix finds himself allowing his eyes to slip shut.

Chan’s got him. He’ll make sure Felix is okay.

 

***

 

Felix wasn’t particularly worried about the vet on the way here. Jisung has warned him against the vets before, unsure if it was safe given that Felix isn’t actually a cat, but he was too busy craving the sweet release of morphine to put up any arguments.

Now he’s here, however, he’s being wrangled with the sickening fear that they’ll decide he’s past saving and euthanize him before he has a chance to lift a tiny black paw and try to make a hobbled escape.

They’d been directed to the waiting area. There’s printed pictures of people smiling with animals on the wall that look like they’ve been taken directly from a website full of stock photos, under which sit a row of grey plastic chairs. The floor is an ugly green colour that seems to have sparkles in it, for some reason, and there’s a bunch of dogs slobbering all over it where they wait at their owner’s feet. Felix used to love dogs, but since the whole cat transformation thing he finds it harder to see them in the same light that he once did.

Chan sits with Felix in his arms, who’s been making a series of complained yowls that have earned Chan some strange looks. Felix would feel bad if he had the capacity to feel anything past the pain that’s overtaken him.

Honestly, for an emergency situation, these vets are taking their damn time.

Mrrow!

“I know, I know. Just wait a little more. I’m sure they’ll see you as soon as–”

“Bang Chan?” A woman calls from a door to the side of the waiting room.

Chan quickly stands from the chair and hurries over, trying his best not to jostle Felix too much.

The woman leads Chan through some corridors to a door labelled ‘Examination Room Three’, which she pushes open.

“Doctor Kim, your next patient is here.”

“Thank you,” the vet greets, smiling kindly as Chan enters the room. He seems to be smiling down at Felix more than up at Chan. “Who do we have here?”

“Urm… he’s a stray,” Chan replies, walking over to the examination table in the middle of the room. He doesn’t put Felix down, though. “I found him in an alley. Well, I knew him before that. I fed him some chicken, once.”

The vet raises his eyebrows, as if asking whether he’s meant to be impressed. Chan chuckles awkwardly.

“Well, place him down on the examination table. I’ll have a look.”

Chan gently places Felix on the table. The way his body spills onto it is rather pitiful.

“I think one of his legs is broken, it’s bent weirdly. There’s some blood, possibly a cut–”

“Thank you, Bang Chan-ssi. I will do an examination and determine what is wrong.” The ‘myself’ is implied. If Felix wasn’t struggling not to pass out, he’d have half a mind to hiss at the man for his tone. Chan’s just worried.

Gloved hands close around Felix’s body. The touch is gentle, like Chan’s, but more clinical and thorough. It doesn’t hurt much, but there are a couple of places that pull pained cries out of Felix. Each time that happens, Chan’s hands flinch, as if he has to stop himself from snatching the kitten back.

“We’ll have to do some x-rays. The right leg is broken and there may be a joint luxation in the left shoulder,” Dr. Kim says.

“A joint luxation?” Chan asks.

“Dislocation. I don’t think any of his ribs are broken, just bruised, but we will cover this in the x-rays to be sure. You said you found him in an alley, not on the side of the road?” the vet questions, and earns a nod in reply. “Then this is most likely a case of animal abuse. Unfortunately people do mistreat strays to this extent.”

“Oh,” Chan says, and his tone is so disheartened that Felix makes a small grumbling noise as if to consolidate him. As if Chan’s the one who needs the comfort right now, when Felix’s whole skeleton is basically crumbling to pieces.

“The x-rays will show us the extent of the damage, then his shoulder can be set, his leg can be fixed and casted, and we can handle any other problems. I don’t suppose you have anywhere to be? This is going to take a while.”

Chan shakes his head.

“Alright. I should warn you, this is going to cost you a lot of money if you’d like for us to follow through with these procedures, Mr. Bang. The other option is euthanization – not my preferred choice, but if you’re not willing to pay the fees, it may be the only option if we can’t find somewhere to take him in.”

Please, no!

Felix makes a wailing sound, but it’s barely heard over Chan’s own voice.

“No! No, there’s no need to think about that. I’ll cover all the costs. I can afford it.”

The vet nods.

“Alright. The nurse and I can get started, then. If you’d return to the waiting room, I will have somebody call you back in once we’re finished.”

It’s the first time Felix hisses throughout the whole ordeal, and the sound is so sharp and sudden that the little cat almost jumps at it himself. He doesn’t want to be left in the hands of this random man, not without Chan there to make sure he’s not going to secretly euthanize him–

Chan squats next to the table, his kind smile taking up most of Felix’s vision as one of his big hands rests over Felix’s body.

“You don’t need to worry. You’re in good hands, okay? I’ll be waiting right outside.”

I don’t want to be in good hands, I want to be in your hands.

However, Chan is not a vet, and if Dr. Kim doesn’t pump Felix full of morphine soon, the cat may have to take more drastic measures to end the pain.

With a small consenting meow, Felix allows Chan to pull away and get back to his feet. The man thanks the vet and disappears through the door, leaving Felix all alone to fend for himself.

“Alright, little cat, I’m going to pick you up now. Please don’t bite me, hm?”

 

***

 

Felix gets so much morphine, he floats through the whole x-ray and surgery processes until he’s finally being delivered to Chan in a blanket with a cast wrapped around his leg. The vet talks, telling Chan all about Felix’s condition, but the cat is too busy trying to pull his tongue back inside his mouth and stop drooling all over the blanket to listen. It’s not working too well.

Most of the journey home is lost to Felix. He focuses on the increasingly familiar warmth of Chan’s body and the sound of Chan talking, to him or someone else he isn’t sure, but his voice is soft and lulls the cat into sleepy relaxation.

It’s sometime after Chan sits on his sofa with Felix on his lap that the cat manages to catch his thoughts.

A small whimpering sound is all it takes to alert Chan that he’s awake, and for a sturdy finger to stroke the top of his head between Felix’s ears.

“Hey there, Little One. You feeling okay?”

No, Chan. I was thrown at a wall and now I’m stuck as a cat.

Felix makes a wailing sound.

“Oh, shh, hey now. It’s alright. I know it hurts now, but it’ll heal. The vet said you’ll make a full recovery!” Chan enthuses.

How long will that take? Humans can have casts for as long as twelve weeks – is it the same for cats? Jisung will have reported Felix as a missing person by that point.

No. Surely he’ll be able to transform back to a human before then. He just has to wait for a few days. When his body recovers a bit from the trauma and the accelerated healing spell works its magic, it’ll be easier to change. Probably. He hopes.

It won’t be that bad, anyway. He managed as a cat for a week in university, he can handle being a cat for a few days while his injuries calm down. Plus, he has an absolute hunk of a man ready to wait on him hand and foot. Even taking Chan out of the equation, Felix will spend the time in a more comfortable apartment that is definitely up to date in its heating bills and will be fed. Technically, this is a win.

“Do you want some water? I’m sure you’re thirsty.”

Now Chan mentions it, Felix’s mouth feels as if he’s been drying it out with a hairdryer.

Chan leans forward and picks up a mug on the coffee table. He sits back and places it in his lap next to Felix, tilting it so the water is closer to the cat’s face.

Pushing his face forwards, Felix laps up some of the water. His tongue is slow and sluggish, and he dribbles half of it on Chan’s lap, but he’s in too much pain to be embarrassed.

“There we go. Good boy.”

Yes, I am a good boy. I’m such a good boy, honestly. I went to the vet and everything.

“You’re not allowed to eat anything yet. The vet said we had to wait for a while,” Chan says.

Felix isn’t mad. His jaw is stiff and it hurts, chewing won’t be pleasant right now. Instead, he flops his head back onto Chan’s lap and starts to wonder about Jisung.

Is the witch looking for him? It’s not like Felix has never stayed out all night before, but he hasn’t got any casual relationships on the go, and he’d have texted Jisung if he’d met somebody and didn’t intend to come back until the morning. Jisung must be freaking out by now. Felix’s phone might blow up when he eventually gets it back from the magical void.

It’s not like he can do anything, unless Chan leaves his phone unlocked on the sofa and fucks off long enough for Felix to manage to text Jisung with his nose.

But hey, Felix should look at the bright side! At least he wasn’t euthanized.

They stay on the sofa for a while longer, Felix once again dozing while Chan watches something on Netflix, answering emails on his phone every so often. Felix vaguely questions if Chan isn’t at work purely because of him and adds that to the list of reasons that make Chan the best man to ever exist – missing work because he found a stray cat that was injured and needed his help. He could have taken Felix to the vet and left him there, but no, he’s staying to nurse Felix back to health.

Eventually, Chan scoops Felix into his arms and stands.

“Come on. I reckon you can eat something now, Little One. You must be hungry.”

Felix couldn’t really feel the ache of his empty stomach under the ache of the rest of his body, but now that he's thought about it it’s difficult to ignore.

Chan rests Felix on his left forearm and navigates through the kitchen with his right. He finds a small dish and puts it on the counter, then retrieves some cat food from the cupboard.

“I thought I might see you again one day, even though you were gone when I woke up. Good thing I planned ahead, eh?”

Oh, this man is melting Felix’s heart.

“I left the temporary litter box and the bed out, too. Just in case.”

Felix turns his head slightly to look down, and true to Chan’s word, the makeshift litter box with the shredded paper and the cardboard box with his black T-shirts are still sitting against the wall. Felix starts to feel a little guilty for leaving that night, but it’s not as if he could have stayed.

And then another thought occurs to him. He’s going to have to use the litter box. He’s going to have to use the litter box, and Chan is going to have to clean up after him.

Maybe he should have been euthanized. Maybe this isn’t a silver lining, after all.

 

***

 

Chan says up late. Late late.

Felix doesn’t mind. He’s still enjoying the warmth of Chan’s lap, and even though he’s stopped dozing off every ten minutes, the show Chan’s watching on Netflix is quite entertaining. Actually, Felix lets out a little mewl of protest when Chan turns the TV off.

“Come on, time for bed,” Chan says, his voice sounding weary.

He takes Felix into his arms and stands up, then shuffles over to the kitchen and deposits the cat into the little cardboard box, making sure he’s covered well in his blanket.

“I’m going to get ready for bed, and then I’ll come back and say goodnight, okay?”

Meow!

Chan nods and stands, yawning and stretching his arms before trailing off towards his room.

Felix wriggles around as much as he can without causing himself too much pain, trying to get comfortable. His thoughts wander once again to Jisung, and he considers how difficult it’ll be to get up and find some way of contacting the witch after Chan’s in bed.

If Chan is magically one of the few young people with a landline phone, all Felix will be able to do is meow down the line to Jisung. He’d need to get access to Chan’s mobile to type out a text, but that’ll only work if Chan leaves it unlocked or if his password is 000000. Plus, it’s not like Felix will be able to reach it if Chan leaves it anywhere other than the floor. Turning back really does seem to be Felix’s only option.

“Hey, Little One.” Chan walks back into the kitchen and sits cross-legged in front of the box. “Settling in okay?”

Felix makes a small, despondent noise.

“Still in pain, huh? I’m sorry. I can’t believe somebody would want to hurt you, that’s so fucking cruel. You’re so tiny. Why the hell would they do that to you?”

Chan reaches forward and strokes the top of Felix’s head. 

“I don’t really know what to do with you,” Chan admits, then. “I’m not exactly the most prepared for this sort of situation. Like, of course I wasn’t gonna leave you in that alley, but… I mean, I’ve never even owned a cat, let alone an injured one.”

It’s easy. Just keep stroking my head and never, ever come into the room when I’m in the litter box. We will have no problems.

Chan sighs and shifts to the side so he can rest his head against the wall, but he keeps his fingers tracing gently up and down Felix’s fur.

“Maybe I should call someone.”

Felix makes a small rumbling noise as Chan finds a particularly nice spot to scratch behind his ear. His eyes slip closed, relishing in the feeling as it lulls him to sleep.

Chan’s eyes slip shut as he starts to fall asleep, too.

They both wake up ten minutes later when Chan slips from where he’s perched on the wall and thuds loudly to the kitchen floor.

 

***

 

To Felix’s surprise, Chan doesn’t go to work the next day, either. Instead, he walks into the kitchen with his eyes half open, his curls flying about his head and asks Felix if he’s alive.

After a little affirming meow, Chan nods and pulls a frying pan out of a cupboard.

“Breakfast. Do I even own anything to make for breakfast? I can’t remember the last time I ate breakfast,” Chan mumbles to himself as he goes, opening cupboards and the fridge to look for suitable breakfast items.

Felix watches from his place in the box, wondering if this is how pathetic he looks when he paces up and down his own kitchenette, trying to find something that isn’t yet another pack of ramen from the five-in-one box he bought in the discount section.

“Can I eat cod for breakfast?”

Felix meows his dissent. 

“You’re right. Cod isn’t a breakfast item.”

Suddenly, a series of beeps fills the space, and then there’s shouting.

“Christopher, what the hell do you mean you’ve got a cat?!”

Felix’s eyes go wide. That voice is familiar. Very familiar.

There’s the sound of shoes hitting the floor and then softer footsteps as the person makes their way from the hallway towards the kitchen.

Light brown hair, cat-like eyes, a sharp nose – Minho. It’s Minho.

Thank God. Oh thank God, Jesus, Mary, Joseph – the whole gang. Minho’s here. Minho’s here and he knows that Felix can turn into a cat and he has a phone and a mouth and can tell Jisung what happened and God, thank you so much for Lee Minho. Maybe Felix won’t have to use the makeshift litter box after all.

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Minho asks, narrowing his eyes at Chan.

“Shouldn’t you?” Chan replies. “Make me breakfast. All I can find is cod.”

“I’m not here for you, I’m here for the cat,” Minho retorts.

Chan waves a hand in Felix’s direction. Minho looks down at him with excitement, but his look quickly turns to shock when he registers who he’s looking at.

“Felix?!” Minho shouts, his eyes widening so much Felix fears his eyeballs might fall out.

“Who?” Chan mumbles from where he’s buried himself in the fridge, trying to find something more suitable for breakfast than cod.

Meow!

“Urm. The cat. It’s a stray that I’ve fed before. I named it Felix.”

Minho flashes his eyes at him and points at Chan, as if asking what Felix is doing in a box in Chan’s flat. Felix shakes his head.

“You know my cat?” Chan asks, sounding a little hopeful.

Minho scoffs, looking up at Chan. “He’s not your cat.”

“Why are you being so defensive?” Chan whines, a slight pout on his lips.

God, he’s so fucking adorable. If Felix wasn’t so focused on his only chance of escaping life as a cat, he could stare at that expression for hours.

“Bedroom. Go get changed. Do your hair. I’ll make breakfast.” Minho takes Chan by the shoulders and pushes him in the direction of his room. “Go. Now. Go.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Chan says.

Minho waits until the bedroom door is shut before he’s flying to his knees in front of the cardboard box.

“Felix, that is you, isn’t it?!”

Meow.

“Erm, right, uh… blink three times if that’s you.”

Felix blinks three times.

“... Was that just a freaky coincidence or are you actually Felix?”

Mrrrrow!

“Okay, okay, you’re Felix! God, such an unhappy noise coming from such a little mouth. What the hell are you doing here?”

Felix cannot exactly explain that, he’s a cat. He meows instead, and hopes that when Minho says he can understand cats, it’s also because of one of Jisung’s spells going wrong and not just a fun joke.

Unfortunately, it looks like the latter.

“Has this got something to do with Jisung? Because I swear to god, I’ll skin him alive – Lee Yongbok, just because you’re a cat doesn’t mean I can’t tell when you’re rolling your eyes at me.”

Mrrrr…

“Fine, it doesn’t have anything to do with Jisung. Do you need me to kidnap you so you can turn back? Hasn’t Chan left your side this whole time?” Minho whispers, glaring up at the bedroom door.

This is tiring. Felix is grateful Minho is here to save him, he really is, but there isn’t much point in it if Felix doesn’t have a way to explain the situation.

“He’ll still be another ten minutes, probably. Why don’t you change back now? I’ll open the door and pretend you ran away,” Minho suggests.

Felix gives him a dead look. Even if he could turn back, that is an incredibly shit idea. Firstly, Chan would probably spend the next two days looking for him and even so, without changing back Felix can’t get very far in a cast, which he tells Minho by raising his leg with a pitiful mewl.

“No, you’re right, the cast and all. Fuck. I don’t know what to do. Has Chan at least remembered to feed you? Damn man can’t even feed himself.” Minho reaches down to stroke Felix’s head.

The familiar touch is calming. Despite how nice Chan’s fingers felt in his fur, having somebody who knows who he is, what he is, here to help him with the situation offers a kind of comfort that Chan can’t give him.

“It’ll be okay. Chan has to go to work at some point, man’s a workaholic, there’s no way he will stay home another day. Tomorrow you can turn back and make your escape, okay? I’ll gaslight him into thinking there was never a cat and that he needs to get more sleep. What? It’s a win-win. He’ll be so scared about hallucinating a cat that he’ll start sleeping more,” Minho says with a grin.

It’s, once again, not the best plan. Minho would have to erase all traces of vet bills from Chan’s bank statement, for one. For another, giving Chan a health crisis isn’t exactly the nicest way of encouraging sleep. Felix would be happy to promote healthier ways when he’s no longer meowing and covered in fur.

Either way, Felix can’t change back and that, most likely, isn’t going to change by tomorrow.

Minho pulls away and stands, walking over to the fridge. He scans the inside of it and mumbles a couple of curses aimed at Chan before pulling out some items.

“Some of these are so out of date,” Minho says with a wrinkled nose. “Maybe you should change back and get a job as Chan’s official caretaker. It’s probably safer for you to take care of him than it is for him to take care of you.”

The mouldy items go flying as Minho throws them towards the bin. Felix buries his nose in the blanket when the smell wafts over to the cardboard box.

As Minho focuses on making breakfast out of the few edible ingredients he finds in Chan’s fridge, Felix brainstorms ways to get the point across to Minho that he can’t change back. He can’t really think of anything, unless he manages to somehow convey that he wants to type something out on Minho’s phone. Maybe Felix can charade it.

Even so, at least Minho knows where he is now. If he sees the missing posters Jisung is probably stapling to lamp posts at this current moment, he’ll be able to stop the police search in its tracks. If the police would even bother searching for him. Okay, he can stop the Jisung search in its tracks. Then again, the couple aren’t talking. And, if the police were involved, Minho can’t exactly say ‘hey! I know where he is! It’s this cat here.’

Okay. So maybe Minho knowing where he is isn’t actually that useful after all, but it’s still kind of comforting that at least somebody aside from him in this apartment knows he isn’t really a fucking cat.

Chan reappears from his bedroom looking less like he’s just been pulled from the grave and gives Minho an appreciative smile when he sees the other cooking.

“Thanks, Min.”

“Yeah, yeah, do me a favour and clean your fridge out from time to time. Half of that shit was mouldy.”

Chan goes a little red.

“I haven’t been at home a lot recently. We’re producing most of the songs for one of the girl group comebacks and it’s taking a lot of time,” Chan explains.

“Well, you have the whole of today to do some flat maintenance,” Minho points out. “So what happened? How did you come across Felix?”

The curly-haired man winces.

“I found him in an alley. He was all crumpled at the bottom of a wall. Animal abuse, the vet said.”

Minho turns to look at Felix with big, sad eyes.

“Really? Somebody abused you?”

“No, the cat.”

“I’m talking to the cat. Watch the food.”

Minho crouches in front of the box again while Chan moves in front of the pan.

“You were hurt by some scumbags? Tell me where they were, Lixie, I’ll find them and beat them the fuck up,” Minho claims, drawing gentle circles on the top of Felix’s head. Felix meows in a demand for extra pity. Minho hums along sympathetically.

“Are you gonna read his mind with your cat-telepathy, Min?”

“Shut up, Christopher. My son was beaten up.”

“I thought Soonie, Doongie and Dori were your only children?”

“Felix is an exception.”

Chris turns around, a slightly awkward expression on his face. He hesitates before he speaks. “In that case… would you mind taking him?”

“What?” Minho asks, looking up from Felix to the other human.

“Well, I’m not exactly the best person to look after him; I know nothing about cats! He’s probably not going to be very happy here, and I need to get back to the studio, and I know you’ll take good care of him…”

Felix wouldn’t mind that too much. Getting unlimited cuddles from Minho, whenever and wherever he wants them? It sounds nice. Plus, Minho won’t make him eat cat food. Plus, plus, Felix doesn’t mind Minho clearing up his shit from the litter box as much as he minds Chan doing it. Still embarrassing, just slightly less so. He won’t be able to tell what’s Felix’s and what’s genuine cat shit, anyway.

However, Felix’s heart sinks as Minho winces and says, “I can’t. It’s not really a good idea to bring him into a space with three other cats, especially if he’s injured. They might not react well to him and if they’re territorial… it’s not like he can escape them if they try to fight him.”

Fuck. Minho’s probably thinking it doesn’t matter if Felix stays here or not because he can simply turn back and leave – which, by the way Minho, he cannot.

“Oh, okay. In that case, maybe I’ll find a good shelter–”

“You will not.” Minho stands up and turns to Chan, almost chest to chest, and points an accusing finger at him.

“But I’m not allowed a pet, it’s in my tenancy agreement–”

“Christopher, if you get rid of that cat I’ll cut off your nuts, roast them and feed them to the squirrel that lives in the tree outside my apartment building.”

Chan’s eyes widen and he raises his arms in surrender.

“Okay, okay, I won’t give him to a shelter.”

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

“Good.”

“But Min, I really don’t think I’m the best person to–”

Minho sighs deeply.

“Listen, all you have to do is remember to feed him and give him his medicine, okay? Offer some cuddles and attention every now and then. It’s not hard.”

Chan looks down at Felix as if his very touch might set the cat on fire. Felix looks up at him thinking that it could, if he would just turn back to a human goddamnit.

 

***

 

Another reason why Minho’s amazing escape plan wouldn’t have worked is that Chan wakes up the next day and decides that Felix will die if he’s left at home by himself.

Felix almost scratches the man as he’s woken from his sleep, the uneasy feeling of being lifted making him panic.

“It’s okay,” Chan’s soothing voice chimes in. “It’s just me.”

It’s enough for Felix to shut his eyes and let himself doze… until he hears the sound of the apartment door shutting.

His eyes fly back open and a meow tumbles from his lips. Is Chan going against his promise? Is he taking Felix to a shelter, after all?

Oh no, this is bad. He’ll take him to a shelter and Minho won’t realise Felix can’t turn into a human again and nobody will adopt Felix and he’ll be euthanized and–

“Are you excited to come to work with me, Little One?”

Oh. Chan’s taking him to work.

Mrrrrr.

“Wow. I can feel the enthusiasm.”

Felix considers biting him, just a little nibble, but going back to sleep is much easier.

 

***

 

“Why have you got a cat?”

Felix looks up at the man peering down at him. He’s very buff, more so than Chan. He has a round face with a defined jaw, small but plump lips, and shoulders so wide Felix thinks he could easily take a nap on one of them.

“Long story,” Chan says, stepping into what looks to be a recording studio, but Felix can’t see much past the other man standing in front of them. “But I have to look after him.”

The man narrows his eyes, peering down at the cat. “Did you, like, step on it or something?”

“No!” Chan cries, pulling Felix tighter to his chest. “I wasn’t the one who hurt him, Changbin, I found him like this – look, Minho wouldn’t take him and he wouldn’t let me give him to a shelter, like, he threatened to feed my nuts to a squirrel, so now this little guy is staying with me for a while. He can be our studio mascot.”

I’d much rather be your boyfriend, to be honest, Chan. Is the mascot position going to lead to opportunities for future promotions which enable me to rise to that level? 

Apparently the failed interview is still lingering in Felix’s mind.

Changbin shrugs, raising his hand to scratch Felix behind the ear. Felix does not mind. While his heart now belongs completely and utterly to Chan, Changbin is very attractive and Felix will never say no to attention from an attractive man.

“He’s cute,” Changbin says, and then his eyes light up as a thought occurs to him. “Hey, if you’re allowed to bring your cat, then can I bring Hyunjin?”

“No,” Chan says, firmly.

“Why not?!” Changbin whines, so loudly it makes Felix wince.

“Because a cat and a boyfriend are very different things, and the studio is on a boyfriend ban,” Chan points out, raising his eyebrows at Changbin.

“Listen, the boyfriend ban is unfounded! You can’t prove that the stain on the sofa is cum!”

“Shh, you’re scaring Felix,” Chan says, walking past Changbin to sit in one of the spinny office chairs.

“Felix?”

“My cat.”

Changbin sits down in the chair next to Chan and frowns down at Felix. Felix stares back up at him.

“I don’t like how he’s looking at me.” Changbin’s face scrunches into a sour expression.

“You just said he was cute…”

“He looks like he knows more than he should. Like, his eyes hold knowledge. Are you sure this is a cat and not a skinwalker, hyung?” Changbin asks, not daring to break eye contact with Felix.

To be fair to him, Changbin’s not entirely wrong. Felix isn’t a skinwalker, but he knows more than a cat should.

Chan clicks his tongue. “Don’t be mean to my cat. You’ve been watching too many of those skinwalker TikToks.”

Chan should listen to Changbin more. He has some good instincts.

Squinting his eyes, Changbin raises an eyebrow at Felix. If Felix had his eyebrows, he’d raise one back. Instead, he meows. Changbin shakes his head and turns away.

“If you’re allowed your cute, creepy cat, I’m allowed Hyunjin over for lunch,” he announces, sliding his phone out of his pocket – supposedly to text whoever Hyunjin is.

“Fine,” Chan concedes. “But no fucking on the sofa or my cat will eat you.”

Changbin scoffs. Felix growls. Chan laughs.

 

***

 

Hyunjin, as it turns out, is a god.

Okay, he isn’t really a god – or maybe he secretly is. Jisung’s a witch, so Felix wouldn’t be surprised – but he’s one of the most angelic, heavenly men that Felix has ever laid eyes on. Changbin better count his lucky stars that Hyunjin is his boyfriend. Not that Changbin’s looks are anything to scoff at, either.

Fortunately, Hyunjin thinks Felix is one of the, and he quotes, ‘cutest things in existence’ and spends the first fifteen minutes of his appearance fawning over him. Unfortunately, Chan then leaves to get lunch and Changbin and Hyunjin start making out intensely on the sofa.

It’s a bit awkward. Chan left Felix on his office chair, so it’s not as if he’s directly next to them, but he can see them under the arm rest and he isn’t exactly strong enough to fight his way out of the blanket and turn himself around – especially as Chan gave him some painkillers not too long ago, and they’re starting to make Felix feel a little woozy.

Actually, awkward isn’t a strong enough description. Felix feels like a fucking creep, a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here.

Closing his eyes only helps marginally, as he can still hear the smacking of lips and small grunts that come from the pair. He meows in annoyance. It’s only a small sound, but it makes Changbin look at him over Hyunjin’s shoulder.

“What?” Hyunjin asks, pulling back to sit up properly on Changbin’s lap, cutting off Felix’s view of the producer’s face.

“The cat’s staring at us.”

“It’s a cat, Binnie. A cat.”

“But it feels like he’s watching us.”

I’m not trying to, believe me.

“Just ignore it,” Hyunjin mumbles, leaning back in.

There’s a couple more kissing noises, before–

“No, babe, seriously. I really can’t do this with that cat watching.”

No, you really can’t do that with this cat watching. Please don’t. Non-consensual voyeurism isn’t sexy. I’m happy to watch any other time with consent because you’re both really hot but–

“Jesus Christ,” Hyunjin sighs and climbs off of Changbin’s lap. He turns and walks to Chan’s office chair, gently scooping Felix up into his arms.

“Binnie-hyung thinks you’re a skinwalker, little cat. Isn’t he so silly?” Hyunjin coos, scratching the top of Felix’s head.

Apologies to Hyunjin, but Felix thoroughly disagrees. Changbin just saved them from an incredibly bad situation.

“Don’t come crying to me when it eats your hand,” Changbin grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hyunjin sits in Chan’s chair, cuddling Felix closer. “I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to come crying to you if he was a skinwalker. He’d probably kill me before I had the chance.”

Changbin glares at Felix as if he actually will rip Hyunjin to shreds. Felix makes an unhappy grumbling sound. Changbin may not be wrong about Felix not being just a cat, but that doesn’t mean he has to be rude.

“Should you even be holding him? You’re allergic to cats,” Changbin says, then.

With a shrug, Hyunjin replies, “I can always take an antihistamine. Besides, he’s too cute not to cuddle! Look at his little face! I might steal him. Why has Chan-hyung got a cat, anyway?”

“He found it, I don’t know,” Changbin answers. “He’s calling it the studio mascot.”

“Chan’s keeping him?” Hyunjin asks, his tone picking up in excitement. “I’m going to force him to let us come over more if he is.”

“I’m not keeping him,” comes a voice from the door.

“Why not?” Hyunjin asks, pouting.

Chan shoos him out of his chair, swapping the bag of food in his hands for Felix. Hyunjin wrinkles his nose slightly at the trade.

“I’m not allowed pets, the lease doesn’t allow it. Plus, I’m not exactly the right person to look after an animal,” Chan says, sitting on his chair as Hyunjin puts the food on the little coffee table by the sofa. 

“I think having a pet would be good for you!” Hyunjin protests, “You’d be forced to look after him and then maybe you’d remember to look after yourself, too.”

Huh, Minho had said something similar. Is this man really that bad at taking care of himself? Of course, Felix has noticed Chan’s terrible sleeping habits, and then there was the whole mouldy food thing yesterday, but he seems so… sensible. Competent. Put-together. Felix wouldn’t peg him as the type who forgets to look after himself.

“Jinnie, stop trying to get him to keep the skinwalker.”

“He’s not a skinwalker, Changbin!” Hyunjin groans.

“Look at his eyes! He’s practically waiting to attack!”

“My God, you’re a child–”

Chan and Felix sit and watch the couple argue, the producer feeding Felix small bits of chicken. Neither finds it in themselves to interfere.

 

***

 

It takes two more days of living with Chan for Felix to realise how secretly incompetent the man is. He’s a capable producer and an amazingly skilled lyricist, but in other areas he is, quite frankly, a bit shit.

Life as Chan’s cat allows Felix to observe a plethora of unhealthy habits and shattering routines. Skipping breakfast, surviving off of black coffee until midday, staying at the studio until well past midnight. And then there’s the clumsiness and general lack of care. This includes, but is not limited to: Chan crashing into three door frames, forgetting to turn the oven off after cooking, wearing mis-matched shoes to work (one black, one white), walking away from his laptop with his headphones attached and pulling it off the sofa, eating meat that he’d left out on the side for two days and putting metal in the microwave.

Felix is sure he’s never meowed at someone so much in his life. At this point, the reason Felix wants to turn back to a human is less to resume his life and more to make sure Chan doesn’t cause the end of his own.

Luckily, thanks to Jisung’s accelerated healing spell, Felix starts being able to walk around by himself the day after the metal in the microwave incident. It’s good, because Felix has decided he’s going to start taking care of Chan. His friends all seem to think he needs it, and through Felix’s observations he’s come to conclude that Chan’s practically useless by himself. Again, great producer, amazing man, rubbish at basic survival.

Felix’s first target is Chan’s morning routine, which currently goes something along the lines of:

• Snooze alarm 1
• Snooze alarm 2
• Snooze alarm 3
• Snooze alarm 4
• Wake up to alarm 5 and emerge from bedroom
• Fall asleep against the wall while stroking Felix’s head
• Wake up to Felix meowing
• Feed/medicate Felix
• Shower and brush teeth
• Get changed
• Gather bag and leave apartment with Felix tucked securely in arms

Being woken up to a cat yowling at his door instead of his usual five alarms is enough for Chan to come tumbling out of his bedroom, landing heavily on the floor, face-to-face with an unimpressed looking Felix.

“What, what?!” the producer panics. “Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!”

Meow!

Felix moves forward to Chan’s hand, rubbing his head against it until Chan gets the hint and starts scratching him behind the ear.

“Felix,” Chan groans. “I thought something really bad had happened. Wait, how did you get out of the box? Y-You can walk? What? Is that even allowed? The vet said…”

Chan pushes himself up until he’s sitting on his arse and stares down at Felix with a confused frown. Felix meows up at him and pointedly ignores Chan’s dick between his legs. Apparently, the producer sleeps naked. Felix is trying so hard not to be a pervert.

“Huh. Okay. So you can walk. Nice. Okay. That’s gotta be good, right? Like, you couldn’t walk before…”

Mrrr…

“Sorry! Sorry. Breakfast time, of course. That’s what you want, right? Give me one second.”

Chan goes back into his room and comes back out a minute later, sadly now wearing joggers.

Scooping the cat into his arms, which Felix is thankful for because it’s fucking hard to walk with a cast, Chan stands and makes his way to the kitchen. Felix has to calm himself down because his face is pressed to Chan’s pec, and if he doesn’t do some excitement control he might do something stupid like lick the man’s nipple.

Chan deposits Felix onto the counter as he prepares the bowl of food, then places them both on the floor so Felix can eat. Instead of eating, the little black cat looks up at him and makes an unhappy sound.

“What? It’s chicken!” Chan defends. “You like chicken!”

Felix does like chicken – loves chicken, actually. However, he would also love for Chan to eat some breakfast. Telling him that as a cat is a little difficult, but he can try.

“Come on, please eat,” Chan sighs. “You can’t take your medication on an empty stomach.”

Mrrrrow!

“Don’t ‘mrow’ me, Little One…”

I can and I will.

“Felix, please. What are you waiting for?”

Chan seems to consider the situation, mumbles something about a TikTok he saw and then takes Felix’s dish. He puts it in the microwave, pretends to press the buttons while making some beeping noises and finally a ding with his mouth, then gets the dish back out.

“See, cooked to perfection! Let me just add the seasoning…” The producer grabs a pepper grinder from the cupboard and pretends to season the food. “And voilà!”

Pleased with his tactics, Chan places the dish back on the floor. Felix looks at him.

“Okay, that didn’t work,” Chan mutters, putting his hands on his hips. Felix almost nods along, before he remembers that would probably creep Chan out.

With his next idea firmly in mind, Chan sits cross-legged on the floor beside Felix and pretends to feed himself food from the dish.

“Mmm, so yummy,” Chan says, chewing exaggeratedly and tapping his stomach.

Again, the cat does nothing but stare.

Deflating, Chan seems out of ideas.

“Okay, you’re not hungry, hm? You can eat at work.”

Actually, Felix is starving, and when Chan goes to pick him up he squalls and stretches his head towards the bowl. Chan’s hands retreat immediately.

“Kitten, I don’t understand what you want. If you’re hungry, then just eat it. It’s okay…” Chan reassures, reaching forward to scratch Felix’s head. Felix ducks under his hand, not letting his fingers touch.

Sighing, Chan scrunches his eyes for a few seconds before he gets to his feet and opens the fridge, digging around in the vegetable drawer until he brings out an apple. He sits next to the cat and takes a bite, stopping mid-chew when Felix bends down to start on his own food.

“Really, you just wanted to eat breakfast together?”

Felix yips his agreement.

“Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked. I’m a genius.”

The cat makes a weird snorting noise into his bowl, but for the human’s benefit, Felix will allow Chan to go on thinking that eating breakfast together was his idea. So blissfully naive.

 

***

 

Usually, the earliest Chan manages to get anything into his stomach is around 8 a.m., when he’s sitting at his desk in the studio. He’ll have a mug of coffee, black, and live on nothing else but refills until Changbin whines about being hungry around lunchtime. However, the apple that morning seems to have kick-started his digestive system, and Chan has to leave the office around 10 a.m. to find a vending machine.

Changbin watches him in confusion when he returns with an armful of snacks, and then turns his confusion to Felix when Chan tells him that the cat wanted to eat breakfast together, and now he’s hungry again. Felix is sure Changbin is planning an exorcism in his head.

The next target for Chan’s reform makes itself apparent when Changbin leaves the studio at 8 p.m. and tells Chan not to leave too late. For the past few days that Chan’s been bringing Felix to the studio, this instruction is usually ignored. However, today Felix will ensure that’s not the case.

He allows Chan to work a little longer, enjoying the warmth of being curled in Chan’s lap, the producer’s hand returning to his head every now and again to play with his fur. However, when the clock on the wall shows that it’s ten-thirty, Felix puts his plan into motion.

Stretching in Chan’s lap, Felix starts his series of complaints.

Meow.

Mrow!

Mrrrrrrrrrow!

Annoyingly, he gets no response. Felix looks up, realising Chan probably can’t hear him with the bulky headphones resting over his ears. Huh.

Extending his good front leg, Felix kneads gently at Chan’s stomach. This earns him a hand that scratches at his ear, but that’s not quite the goal Felix is aiming for, so he pushes harder. It has no effect.

Huffing a little, Felix unsheathes his claws and, saying a little apology in his head (although Chan kind of deserves it), he embeds them in Chan’s abs.

The producer hisses, harshly, looking down to the cat as his hand finds Felix’s paw where it rests on his stomach.

“Ow, that hurts!” He says, trying to detangle Felix’s claws from his top, but the cat is determined to make little holes in the fabric.

The thing is, Chan is too nervous to handle Felix with anything less than the utmost delicacy, so the cat finds it easy to slip his paw past Chan’s hand and continue his attack on the brunet’s firm skin.

Throwing the headphones to the desk, the producer scoops the little thing by his stomach and quickly stands, bringing Felix’s claws away from him. His shirt, however, is still stuck on them and the action makes Chan’s top lift, displaying his beautiful abs. His beautiful abs that Felix manages to hit when he throws one of his back legs forward.

“Hey, that’s enough!” Chan calls, firmly. He tugs his top away and raises the kitten to his eyeline, much like the first time they met, except this time he isn’t holding Felix by the scruff of the neck, lest he hurt the cat’s already tender shoulder.

So thoughtful. The best man.

Chan fixes him with a pair of shiny eyes that make Felix feel bad, and he asks, “What has gotten into you?”

It’s not as if Felix can reply, or point out the fact that Chan has been here too long. The only thing he can think of is turning his head to the side to look at the clock on the wall.

Frowning, Chan turns his head, too. He looks at the clock, before scoffing and turning back.

“What, I suppose you want me to go home?”

Meow!

Chan laughs. “Did Changbin put you up to this, Little One?”

Felix fixes him with a look that says something along the lines of, he thinks I’m a skinwalker, we are not in cahoots. Somehow, Chan doesn’t pick all that up.

“Fine, fine. I guess you’re tired. Let’s go back,” Chan says, bringing a hand up to scratch Felix behind the ear.

Felix rubs his face against his hand, happily.

Sadly, when they get back to the flat Felix is faced with another problem: getting Chan to go to bed.

To Felix’s surprise, Chan makes food as soon as he gets in. Eating breakfast must have done wonders to his metabolism. Unsurprisingly, after he eats this he disappears into his home studio to continue working there.

This is a problem that Felix decides to leave for tomorrow. Even miracle workers need rest.

 

***

 

The next day, Felix does go into Chan’s home office with him after work. All he achieves with his complaints is Chan putting his headphones on Felix’s head and taking a photo-album worth of pictures of him while cooing about how cute he is.

And Chan is so wonderful, so attractive, but Felix is seriously considering first degree murder. However, the death glare he gives Chan only seems to make the producer laugh more.

“I’m sorry, Little One! You just look so tiny – I’m not laughing at you , I promise.”

Mrrrr…

Felix will have to find a new tactic.

 

***

 

Minho must have a habit of letting himself into Chan’s apartment, because while the producer seems shocked at the sudden appearance of his friend, he never really seems all that surprised. Not as surprised as Minho is to see Felix, anyway.

“Why the hell are you still here?!” Minho gasps, looking down at Felix where he sits in his cardboard bed.

“I live here,” Chan mumbles, sleepily, digging around in the fridge for an apple. After three days of breakfast with Felix, it seems that an apple is his new go-to.

“Not you, I meant Felix!” Minho says, bending down to make some serious eye-contact with the cat, as if he’ll be able to read Felix’s thoughts through his eyes.

“You told me not to take him to a shelter…” Chan says.

Minho makes a face at Felix. Felix hopes he’s making the same face back.

He knows what his hyung is really trying to ask: why have you not transformed back and run away, yet?!

Felix meows at him. Minho runs his thumb over the cat’s cheek.

It takes five strokes for it to click. Minho’s always been particularly quick-witted.

‘Can you not change back?’ he mouths.

Felix blinks three times.

“Fuck.”

“What?” Chan asks, crouching next to Minho.

Thinking quickly, Minho replies, “Fuck you, Christopher, because you’ve kept this poor little cat in a cardboard box. Eat your apple and go and get dressed, I’m taking you to the pet store.”

Grumbling about needing to eat the apple with Felix, Chan puts it on the side, straightens up and disappears into his room. When the door shuts, Minho picks Felix up from the box and brings him up to his face.

“Really, Lix? You can’t change back?” Minho whispers, worriedly.

Felix nods, making a sad little mewling noise.

“Are you sure you’re not just doing this ‘cuz you have a crush on hyung? I’m sure if you turn back he’ll fall in love with you, I mean, you’re totally his type, and–”

Felix hisses at him.

“Okay, okay, it’s not that. Shit. Is it because of the injuries?!”

Felix nods again. Finally, finally , he can be freed from this hell. Chan will never have to clear another one of his shits out of the litter box ever again.

Sure, it’ll be sad at first. Chan will think that the cat ran away and might even slip back into his bad routines, but then Felix can get Minho to introduce him to Chan as a human and Felix can fill the cat-shaped void in his heart and make his life even better than cat-him could ever have hoped to achieve.

“Fuck. Okay. Shit. Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Mrow!

“Right. Right. Sorry. You’re a cat. Fuck. Urm, right. Well. Chan-hyung’s not bad to you, right? Like, you don’t mind living here, surely. He’s really sweet when he tries. It’s just, Dori’s still singing Nessun Dorma,” Minho says, wincing slightly.

Felix hopes his eyes convey the words ‘What the hell are you trying to say, hyung?’

Minho seems to get it. “Jisung and I still aren’t talking. And if you can’t change back anyway, I mean, I think I trust you more with Chan-hyung than I do with Jisung. Remember when I broke my finger, he tried to heal it and it fell off and I started growing a new one? I had to wear gloves for weeks, in the summer. Like, what if he tries to heal you and it all goes wrong? Maybe it’s better if you heal naturally…”

The cat’s jaw drops open. He’s never been so astounded in all of his life. Minho is really prepared to let him suffer in this litter box hell just because he and Jisung are too stubborn to talk to each other now that Dori can sing Habanera.

Sure, Jisung’s healing spells might make him lose his head or turn into a candelabra or something, but that has to be better than making one of the hottest men in existence handle his excrement!

A low growl starts in Felix’s throat.

“Listen, Lixie, I’ll make it up to you, okay? I promise!”

 

***

 

As it turns out, Minho’s version of ‘making it up to Felix’ is trotting through the pet shop with a trolley and packing it full with cat products until Chan’s card is likely to hit a payment limit.

Chan follows behind with Felix in his arms, looking around shiftily as if anything he touches might blow up.

“So, we’ve got a bed, litter box, scratching post, cat tower, toys, treats, brush, nail clippers, shampoo just in case…” Minho trails off, checking the items on his finger as he lists them all.

“I… really don’t think I should be getting all of this,” Chan says. “It’s not like I can keep him.”

“You’re rich enough, Channie,” Minho says, patting Chan on the shoulder. “You can donate them afterwards if you decide to heartlessly discard darling little Felix.”

The words make Chan pull Felix tighter to his chest. It would be cute, if the cat wasn’t being slightly suffocated by the hold.

“I’m… I’m not going to discard him,” Chan mumbles. “Even if I was going to give him away, I won’t do it until he’s healed. I mean, how do I know that whoever I give him to will make sure he takes his medicine? Or what if they buy him the regular cat food that he refuses to eat, and then he starves to death?”

Oh, be still Felix’s beating heart.

“Then keep him.”

“Minho, I’m not allowed pets, it’s in my–”

“–Tenancy agreement, I know. Pick out a collar.”

Felix’s eyes widen. What type of BDSM shit is this? The type that Felix can’t even enjoy because he’s not a human, goddamnit.

Chan must look hesitant, because Minho sighs.

“You want to look after him for the time being, right? Even if it’s not permanently, he needs a tag, just in case! Imagine if someone finds him at the studio and takes him home? I’m just making sure Felix doesn’t get lost,” Minho insists.

With how little Chan is actually apart from Felix, the cat sincerely doubts this will happen. He supposes it’s for Minho’s peace of mind. Maybe it makes him feel less guilty that he won’t tell Jisung where Felix is.

Chan picks out a collar, a light blue one that looks pretty against Felix’s black fur, and a little heart-shaped tag that they get engraved.

At the checkout, Chan gets charged 250,000 won. Felix almost passes out.

 

***

 

“Oh Fe-lix, sweet Fe-lix, I’m wonderin’ if you can feel it, the beat of my heart when you’re near me, it’s beating oh so quick-ly, Fe-lix, little Fe-lix…”

Felix did think that Chan was staying up every day purely because he’s a workaholic who can’t stand the thought of sleeping without checking enough things off of his to-do list, but he’s starting to think that maybe Chan’s allergic to shutting his eyes. He’s been sitting on the floor strumming an acoustic guitar and serenading Felix with little songs including his name for the past hour. It’s cute and all, but it’s nearing four a.m. and the little giggles Chan gives between lyrics that were endearing are starting to sound a little too close to Joker-level insanity for his liking.

In other words, it’s way past Christopher’s bed time. Sadly, the meowing tirade that Felix directed Chan’s way has been interpreted as him singing along, and not as him begging for the producer to put them both to bed.

It’s as Chan is coming to the end of ‘Felix My Heart is Beating for You’ that a brilliant plan comes to Felix’s mind, after the thought if your heart is beating for me then why the fuck can’t we go to bed?

After all, Felix can walk now. It’s hard with the cast because it’s slippy, but his leg is getting stronger by the day. He could just go to bed. And if Chan’s heart beats for him, then Chan’s just going to have to come along.

So, pushing himself to his feet with a little grumble, Felix starts making his way out of the room.

“Felix what– hey, wait, Felix… where are you going?” The sound is akin to something a dog would make as it watches its owner leave for work. It’s rather heartbreaking, but Felix is tired, and if he has to listen to his name in a song one more time he might throw himself at a wall.

As Felix strides out of the room, he hears Chan scrambling to put the guitar away and follow along. Felix thinks maybe Chan might have to be taught something about healthy attachment practices.

“Little One, where are you going?” Chan whines.

If you shut up and follow me you’ll work it out soon enough, Felix meows at him.

Luckily, the tone of Felix’s meows seem to convey this message, or one like it, because Chan follows silently from there on. He flinches and reaches his hands out every time Felix slips on his cast, but he manages to restrain himself from snatching Felix into his arms along the way.

Eventually, after a painstakingly long time that has Felix regretting every time he complained about being short as a human, he makes it to the side of Chan’s bed. He sits beside it and mewls, pawing at the bedframe with his good front leg. He would jump onto it, but he doesn’t want to know how badly that’ll go with the cast.

“You wanna get up there?” Chan asks, but he dutifully reaches down to lift Felix onto his bed.

Walking on the bed in the cast is exasperatingly difficult, but eventually the cat makes it to the pillows and huddles next to one, pulling his body into a little loaf to settle down and shut his eyes.

“Felix, you can’t sleep here…”

Mrrr…

“I’ll roll over and squash you! What if I hurt your bad leg? Or what if I break one of your other legs? I’ll take you to the kitchen if you want to sleep–”

Hiss!

Now, Felix would never usually take such drastic measures with Chan. He’s wonderful, the best boy and should be protected at all costs. However, if Felix is going to make Chan sleep then this needs to happen, even if his heart clenches painfully when he sees the rejected look on Chan’s face.

“Okay, okay, fine. You can sleep here. Let me go and get ready…” Chan mumbles, his shoulders drooping slightly as he makes his way to the bathroom.

The sight is painful, but Felix has to remind himself that he’s doing this for Chan. After all, the man has to wake up for work in under three hours.

Ten minutes later Chan tumbles into bed beside him, luckily wearing boxers. He lies on his back and brings his phone to his face, and it’s not quite sleeping but at least he’s in bed.

Happy with the development, Felix climbs onto Chan’s chest and curls up. A warm, familiar hand starts playing with his fur and a deep rumbling purr comforts both of them into the sweet embrace of sleep.

 

***

 

Somehow, through hard work and a lot of meowing, Felix manages to get Chan into a routine, of sorts. This includes breakfast, leaving the studio before midnight and being in bed by 2 a.m. Call him a hero, he deserves the title.

Felix enjoys his life with Chan. He likes watching Chan struggle to keep his eyes open as he chomps through an apple in the mornings. He likes curling up in Chan’s lap and having the man run his thick, veiny hands through his fur. He likes perching on his cat tower and watching Chan panic because he can’t find him, and the devastating smile that comes onto his face when Felix meows to let him know where he is. He loves falling asleep on Chan’s chest, knowing his purr has the power to make Chan get more than three hours of sleep each night.

It would just be a lot better if Felix were, you know, human. If he could shake Chan’s shoulder when he starts falling asleep halfway through breakfast. If he could hold those beefy hands in his own, smaller ones. If he could watch Chan open the door to his apartment and smile that bright, fulfilling smile because Felix, the human, has come to see him. If he could make Chan tired enough to sleep in other ways–

And for the small reason that Jisung’s started putting up missing posters.

Chan has a habit of carrying Felix around with him, even though the cat is getting more and more mobile as the days go. Maybe it’s because he’s getting more mobile – Chan can’t make sure he’s not going to do something stupid and hurt himself if he isn’t in the flat with Felix, which means Felix has to follow him through his day. It’s not as if Felix minds, particularly. If he had it his way he’d never have to be without Chan again. Plus, if Chan had left him at the studio he’d have to put up with Changbin trying to ‘catch him out’ for being a skinwalker.

Whatever the reason, Chan’s got Felix in his arms as he walks to the corner shop, chatting happily to the cat about one of the tracks he’s working on – something he does a lot to sort his thoughts and ideas. Felix is looking around as they walk, people-watching as he listens to Chan ramble, when suddenly his eyes catch a very familiar face. His own.

There, on a lamp-post, smiling at him in black and white. Above it in bold, red letters is the word MISSING.

Oh. That’s not good. That is very much not good.

Now, it’s not that Felix shouldn’t have expected this – after all, from Jisung’s perspective he left for a job interview and disappeared off the face of the earth. It’s just, Felix didn’t necessarily expect Jisung to start sticking up flyers which promise a reward that Felix knows Jisung can’t afford, not without either running back to Minho or using unlawful magic. It would definitely be the second option, too; his friends are fucking stubborn.

God, Jisung’s so dumb. At the same time, Felix is flattered his friend thinks he’s worth that much money.

Okay. Okay. Felix needs to think. This whole missing thing isn’t ideal, considering Felix cannot return right now – not as a human, at least. He prays to god Jisung hasn’t involved the police, because they’d expect Felix to be dead if he doesn’t show up soon, and then it’ll make his eventual reappearance even more difficult to explain. Maybe Felix should try harder to contact Jisung, or maybe he should work on convincing Minho to end the silence and give in for the greater good, or maybe–

“Wait… why do I recognise him?”

… You what now, Channie boy?

Chan walks closer to the lamp-post. Felix looks up at him to see him squinting at the picture, his eyebrows scrunched.

“He looks so familiar.”

Meow!

Usually Chan pays undivided attention to Felix if he meows, but the sound doesn’t even make the producer look down. His finger flickers against the cat’s body, but that’s about it. He’s completely engrossed in the picture, obviously putting every bit of his brain power into searching for the answer he can’t seem to grasp.

… Jisung could have used a nicer picture, jeez.

“Wait,” Chan says, eventually, pulling his head back on top of his shoulders. “This… this is Minho’s friend. I’m sure of it. Felix. Yeah, it’s–”

Chan looks down at the cat in his arms. The cat looks up at him, owlishly.

“Felix. Huh. Minho named you after his friend.”

Mrow…

“Wait, shit, Minho’s friend is missing!” Chan exclaims.

The producer quickly digs around for his phone in the big pocket of his hoodie, and Felix catches sight of the contact name ‘Min’ and an ugly photo of his hyung before Chan’s bringing the phone to his ear.

“Pick up, pick up,” Chan mutters as the phone rings.

It doesn’t take long for Minho to accept the call.

“Hey, Christopher. What’s up?”

“Hey, urm… weird question, but have you heard from your friend Felix lately?”

There’s a pause, then, “... Felix?”

“Yeah. Have you heard from him?”

“Not for a couple of days. Why do you ask?”

Felix looks up at Chan to see him wincing, obviously realising that he’s going to have to be the one to tell Minho that his friend is missing. What a terrible responsibility.

“Okay, listen, I’m gonna come over, alright?”

“Why?” Minho asks, sounding rather suspicious.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about. I’ll see you in a few,” Chan says.

Minho tries to say something, but Chan hangs up the phone and slides it into his back pocket, then reaches for the lamp-post to rip the poster from its staples.

“Shit. This is going to be difficult. Fuck. Okay. It’s fine. I’ll work it out. I can think about what to say on the way there,” the producer mumbles to himself.

Felix lets out a little shriek as he’s suddenly shifted in Chan’s arms and then the producer is running. Running. It’s bouncy and uncomfortable, and Felix thought he’d enjoy the feeling of Chan’s pec jiggling against him but honestly it’s kind of hitting him in the face a bit.

Suddenly Felix’s reasoning for wanting to bite Chan’s nipple is a lot less sexual than it originally was.

 

***

 

Chan runs solidly for around fifteen minutes. Felix doesn’t think he could run for even two without stopping to hack his lungs up at the side of the pavement – he hasn’t done much working out since he left university – so it’s quite impressive.

The pace slows to a fast walk and Felix looks around to see that they’re approaching the apartment building that Minho and Jisung live in.

“I hope he’s home from work by now, I didn’t ask,” Chan pants, his fingers jabbing the codepad next to the door of the building. It seems Minho isn’t the only one with unlimited apartment access in this friendship.

Minho and Jisung’s apartment is on the third floor. Chan takes the steps two at a time, too impatient to wait for the lift, and if Felix wasn’t stressing over his own disappearance, maybe he’d stop to appreciate the strength of Chan’s thighs. As it stands, he’s too busy worrying about police involvement. How will Felix explain his disappearance to them without making it sound like he went on a drug-fuelled bender, or has gone insane? I spent a few days as a cat! Straight to the psych ward.

Chan skids to a stop in front of Minho’s door and pounds his fist into the wood. Minho opens it with a raised eyebrow and a cat on his arm. There’s the faint sound of opera in the background coming from the other end of the flat.

“Christopher, why are you breaking down my door?” Minho asks, obviously unimpressed.

Shifting awkwardly, Chan says, “We’d better go inside to talk about it.”

Despite his confusion, Minho complies and is given barely a second to ask what’s going on before Chan’s stepping in and shutting the door behind him. The flat is spacious but not too big, with a cosy, autumnal feel, way more homely than Chan’s show flat. Felix notes that it’s tidier than usual, probably because Jisung hasn’t been home in a few days.

“Urm. Do you want a drink?” Minho asks, eyeing Felix in Chan’s arms as if the cat will start to explain Chan’s actions. He does not.

“No, I’m fine. Let’s sit down, shall we?”

Minho puts Doongie down, who scampers off into the apartment, and says, “Christopher, you’re scaring me a little. Why are you being all… cautious?”

Oh, you know, hyung. Nothing big. Just my missing person poster.

The two go into the lounge and sit down, Minho at the end of the sofa while Chan settles into the armchair and places Felix in his lap. He can see Soonie watching him from the other end of the sofa, intrigued at the presence of another cat.

“So… I saw something when I was out today,” Chan says. “Something that– are you listening to La donna è mobile?”

Minho blinks. The sound of opera fills the small silence. “Yeah, it’s playing on the Alexa in the other room.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand that,” Chimes the Alexa sitting on the bookshelf at the side of the lounge, giving away Minho’s lie.

“They’re out of sync,” Minho says, quickly.

“I didn’t know you like opera,” Chan replies.

“I don’t. I really don’t. Dumb thing is broken.”

“Can’t you just unplug it?”

“Oh, I wish I could.”

Chan coughs. “Anyway, Min… I just want to warn you, the thing I have to tell you, it… it won’t be pleasant. It’s going to be difficult to hear, but I thought that you needed to know.”

An awkward laugh, almost self-conscious, presses past Minho’s lips.

“What the hell are you talking about?” There’s an impatience to his words that he doesn’t bother to hide. That’s the thing with Minho, he doesn’t like being kept in the dark. He prefers people to get to the point, especially if what they’re saying concerns him.

“It’s about your friend Felix. There’s not really any gentle way to say this, so I’m just gonna– yeah. You know how you said he hasn’t been in contact with you for a little while?”

Minho’s eyes flicker down to Felix, then back up to Chan.

“Yeah…?”

“Well, I think I know why.”

There’s a stillness as this registers in Minho’s mind, and then his eyes are widening.

“You know?” He gasps, looking back down to the cat, his index finger flickering in Felix’s direction, ready to point.

No, Minho, no! You’re grossly misreading the situation! Felix wails, a sound that Minho can’t understand. Hopefully Felix’s tone will give some indication of the impending disaster.

“Wait, you know?” Chan says, disbelief coating his tone.

“Yeah, I was one of the first people to know that Felix is a ca–”

“Missing.”

There’s complete silence after Chan says it. Minho looks completely blank, mouth hanging open as he struggles to grasp the concept and quickly switch narratives in his head. Chan isn’t here to tell Minho that Felix is a cat. Chan’s here to tell Minho that Felix is missing.

“What?” Minho asks, his eyes back on Felix who quickly shakes his head.

“I found a poster,” Chan says, reaching into his pocket to pull out the torn and crumpled piece of paper that he ripped from the lamp-post. He unfolds it and then passes it over.

Minho takes the poster, his bewildered expression melting into concern.

“This is… for Felix?” Minho says, peering back up at Felix. The cat can read his expression easily. Jisung is dead meat.

If Felix had a death wish, and the ability to speak a human language, he’d tell Minho that this could have been avoided if he’d told Jisung where Felix was in the first place. To be fair on Jisung, from his perspective in this situation Felix would also assume the worst. Minho should have texted him telling him where he was, or taken Felix back home himself.

“He’s your friend, right? The one Jisung met in university?”

“Uh… yeah,” Minho says, his eyes meeting Chan’s.

As sharp as Minho can be, it’s clear he’s a bit lost on what to do in this situation. Luckily, Chan seems to think Minho’s dazed state is because of the shock of his friend’s disappearance, and not because said friend is the cat currently sitting in his arms.

Chan reaches across the space between them, taking Minho’s hand in his.

“Look, we’ll find him, okay Min? I’ll help you search and I have contacts in the police. We will do everything we can to make sure he comes home safe.” His tone of voice is gentle and reassuring. Felix would believe anything that leaves Chan’s lips if the producer spoke to him like that.

Wait – he’s got contacts in the police?! Shit, can he stop being so helpful for three seconds?

“Jisung can’t afford this reward,” is what Minho chooses to say next, most probably because he doesn’t know what else to say. “I hope he doesn’t plan on using me as a wallet.”

The producer frowns. “How do you know Jisung made the posters? There’s no name.”

“I’ve told you that Jisung and I are Felix’s only friends – apart from Seungmin, but he’s not in Seoul right now,” Minho answers. “It has to be Jisung.”

Felix makes a low rumbling sound, which roughly translates to you told him I have no friends? Wow, hyung, way to make me look like a fucking loser. Chan strokes a finger between his ears.

“Wait, but… if Jisung made the posters, why didn’t he tell you Felix is missing?” Chan asks.

“Because we’re in an argument right now! He’s the reason my life is plagued by opera!” Minho states, raising his voice.

Chan’s jaw drops. “Jisung didn’t tell you that your mutual friend is missing because you’re angry that he made the Alexa play opera?”

“Playing Opera Classics on Spotify.”

“Alexa, stop!” Minho sighs and slumps back on the sofa. Felix wishes, once again, that he wasn’t a fucking cat right now. “Jisung sucks.”

“Look, that doesn’t matter right now. We should focus on Felix, hm? We can help Jisung look,” Chan says, tone gentle.

Minho’s eyes fall back to Felix.

“Let me get my car keys.”

 

***

 

Turns out there are upsides to Chan seeing the missing poster. Yes, it completely sucked that he saw such a horrendous, mugshot-esque picture of Felix, but Chan is now on his way to meet up with Jisung to help him search for his ‘missing friend’. Due to Chan’s developing separation anxiety towards the injured cat in his care, this means that Felix is also going to the search for… Felix. Finally, Jisung will know that Felix isn’t, y’know, dead, and everyone can move on with their lives.

Except, Felix isn’t 100% sure Jisung isn’t going to knock Chan out when he turns up with the cat in his arms. He still remembers the expression Jisung had when Felix had gone missing that first ever week he was a cat, when he’d found Felix curled up on Minho’s lap. Felix had been missing for less than a day and Jisung accused Minho of theft. What will Jisung do to Chan if Felix turns up after being missing for over a week, and with a cast on his leg at that?

Minho sends Chan ahead while he finds a place to park the car, but Felix thinks it’s an excuse to have more time to mentally prepare himself before seeing his boyfriend again. Either way, Chan arrives at the apartment building alone.

“I think this is the place, Little One,” Chan murmurs, looking up at the rundown building. It makes Felix cringe a little, knowing that Chan’s going to be standing in his boxy one-room in less than ten minutes. Especially considering what Chan’s apartment looks like.

The door to the apartment block is meant to be passcode operated, but it’s been broken since before Felix moved in. Jisung must have told Chan this in the texts, because he doesn’t attempt to press the buzzer. Instead, he reaches for the handle and pulls it straight open. He steps inside the lobby – grey, drab and dirty with flickering lights and graffiti on the walls – and looks at the lift, which has peeling duct tape in a cross over the doors. That’s been there since before Felix moved in, too.

“Guess we’re taking the stairs,” Chan says.

He makes his way to the door at the left labelled ‘staircase’, only to jump back when he opens it because– oh my god, is that a fucking rat?!

Felix hisses, wriggling against Chan.

Let me free! I can take that bitch. Let me go, Chan! I gotta get that motherfu–

“It’s alright, Little One. It’s gone,” Chan says, hugging Felix closer to his chest as he steps through the door.

With a few more grumbles, Felix accepts that Chan isn’t going to let him go after the rat and settles back down in his arms. His hunting instincts fade to embarrassment when he sees that the bottom three steps are covered in broken glass, and the unmistakable stench of piss starts to float down from the next floor up. He’s too ashamed to appreciate the way Chan manages to step up to the fourth step in one go, or the grunt that leaves his lips when he does it.

Luckily, the smell of piss disappears when Chan steps onto Felix’s floor. Chan seems relieved by it, too, his breaths getting heavier now he isn’t restricting them.

Nerves start to fill Felix as they get closer to his door – nerves and excitement. Nerves because Jisung’s reaction is completely unpredictable. One thing is sure, though; if Jisung tries to attack, Felix will defend Chan with all his might. He can’t have his best friend murder this magnificent man before he’s had the chance to marry him. Excitement because Felix is finally getting closer to life as a human and the possibility of marrying Chan.

“Number thirty-five…” Chan mumbles as he reaches Felix’s door. He raises his hand and knocks.

It takes Jisung way too long to get to the door, considering the miniature size of Felix’s apartment, but eventually it creaks open.

Jisung is… a sight. His hair is so greasy that it’s sticking up in all directions, his skin is pale and it looks like he’s stuck his fingers in charcoal and wiped them underneath his eyes, with how prominent his eyebags are. His lip is bleeding, as if he’s been biting it, and Felix can see snot coming out of his nose. He looks like he’s been battling a slew of illnesses the entire week – which is possible, given that Felix’s gas bill should have come through by now and he hasn’t been around to pay it, so he isn’t sure the flat has any heat.

Yeah, Jisung’s the one who permanently altered his DNA to be able to turn into a cat and sure, he might have spent the money Felix stole for food on magical rat tails and okay, he did come round uninvited and take over Felix’s flat, but… but seeing Jisung like this makes Felix’s tiny heart break. This is the result of losing Felix – absolute devastation. Felix can’t look at it for one second longer.

Mrrrrow!

Jisung’s head snaps down to look at Felix, and there’s a flash of recognition, the dare of hope on his face.

“What the fuck?” Jisung asks, pointing a finger and a frown down at the cat.

Obviously confused, Chan frowns at Felix, too. “Urm… that’s my cat. His name’s– urm,” he hesitates, obviously trying to think of a fake name so he can avoid the whole ‘my cat is named after your missing friend’ debacle.

He doesn’t get a chance. One second Felix is in Chan’s arms and the next he’s being hugged to Jisung’s chest as his best friend starts to sob.

“Oh! Urm… yeah, you can hold him. He’s very cute! Comforting. Yeah,” Chan says, hands dancing in the space between them, unhappy with the loss of their prize.

Felix and Jisung ignore him. The cat burrows his head into Jisung’s shoulder, purring intensely to let his friend know how happy he is to see him and comfort the wails that are breaking from Jisung’s mouth. It makes Felix feel a bit emotional, his own eyes becoming wet, and he can’t help but let out little yips and whimpers as Jisung holds him in his shaking hands.

Poor Jisung. Poor, wonderful Jisung. Poor, wonderful Jisung, who is Felix’s best friend in the entire world.

Felix moves his chin up to rest it on Jisung’s shoulder, his eyes roam his boxy one-room and– Hang on. The flat is a mess! Is that an investigation board pinned to the wall? I won’t get my deposit back if there’s loads of tiny holes in the– Oh my god, what is that stain on the– Has Jisung been making potions in the sink?!

Nevermind. Jisung can rot.

Hissing, Felix starts to struggle in the witch’s arms, pricking his claws into Jisung’s top and making lots of little holes in the fabric. Chan, being the best boy that he is, instantly notices Felix’s struggle.

“I think– Jisung, I think maybe he wants– maybe you shouldn’t hold him so tightly, I don’t think he likes–” Chan tries, his hands brushing against Felix’s lower half, trying to take the cat back into his trustworthy embrace.

“FELIX!” Jisung bawls, pulling the cat tighter to his chest. “ MY FELIX!”

Chan is clearly overwhelmed with the stress of seeing his cat in peril and at having Jisung mourning his ‘missing’ friend. One of his hands goes to pat Jisung’s shoulder while the other wraps around Felix’s body, gently trying to free him from Jisung’s air-tight grip.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright. We’ll find him, okay? We’ll find him. Just– Just let go of Fe– urm, of the little one and let’s go inside, hm? We can calm down a bit and then go out to search for him. Sound good?”

“FELIX!” Is the reply, Jisung’s hands closing around Felix to the point he thinks his tiny cat lungs might burst.

“I know, I know, but– I’m sorry, Sung-ah, but you’ve got to be gentle with my cat, he’s got a cast and–”

“Jisung, let go of the cat.” All three of them freeze and look at the new arrival. Minho stands behind Chan, thoroughly unimpressed with the scene. “You’re going to break his spine.”

With a whine, Jisung loosens his hands and, thankfully, Felix is swept back into Chan’s gentle hold. One of Chan’s hands instantly works at smoothing down Felix’s fur, while the cat shoves his face into Chan’s forearm.

“Minho,” Jisung whimpers. “Felix–”

“We’ll find him,” Minho stresses, a hint that only Jisung is meant to get. It roughly translates to ‘you fucking idiot, Chan doesn’t know that Felix is the cat he’s holding’. “Let’s go inside.”

Sniffling, Jisung steps away from the door to let the others in, pouting down at the cat the whole time. Chan and Minho get rid of their shoes at the door and walk inside. Minho directs Chan to sit down on the little two-seater sofa, which he does. Felix winces when he thinks of all the food stains that cover it.

Chan looks around, inspecting the place, and God, living in the tiniest room in existence is embarrassing enough without it being at the level of devastation that it’s managed to reach in Felix’s absence. He isn’t exactly the tidiest person around, but Jisung’s level of mess makes this place look like a scrap heap.

Luckily, Minho saves Chan’s first impression of him, somewhat. “You’ve left the place in a tip. Think about how Felix would feel.”

Meow!

“I-I’ve been busy,” Jisung mopes, and Felix starts to feel a little bad for the witch again when he sees that the bed is covered in copies of his missing poster.

“Evidently,” Minho says, rolling his eyes.

“Hey,” Chan says, gently, his hand catching Minho’s arm. It’s obvious that he’s telling Minho to cut his boyfriend some slack.

Minho seems to remember that he, too, is supposed to be anguished over Felix’s disappearance, because he goes over to Jisung and pulls him into a hug. He whispers something in his ear, which Chan obviously assumes to be words of comfort as he does a little relieved sigh.

It’s actually something about how Jisung’s on thin fucking ice because Dori’s started choreographing stage routines along to his opera numbers, and if he’s not careful he’ll have to get used to living in Felix’s shitty box flat because Felix will be living with Minho instead. Felix would feel bad for Jisung, but everybody who knows Minho knows the number one rule of being in his life: Don’t fuck with Minho’s cats.

Minho pulls back and pats Jisung, a bit too harshly, on the head. “There there.”

Wincing, Jisung bats Minho’s hands away.

“But, what are we going to do about– I mean, Felix isn’t actually–” Jisung cuts himself off, giving Chan a side eye. “Do we just knock him out?”

“Me?” Chan asks, pointing a finger at his chest.

“Jisung!” Minho explodes.

“What? There’s no code for what to do in this situation!”

“I literally just told you not to–”

“But how are we supposed to get around the whole ‘Felix isn’t actually missing’ shit? Chan offered to tell his contacts in the police! I’m scared of the police!” Jisung whines.

“He’s still sitting right there!” Minho exclaims, pointing a finger at Chan. “If he didn’t realise Felix wasn’t missing before he certainly has now! Why don’t you just tell him Felix is a fucking cat, too?!”

“Minho!”

“Wait, wait,” Chan says, shaking his head. “Can someone please explain what the hell is going on? Your friend isn’t missing? And he’s… what? A cat?”

“It’s– it’s not like that,” Minho says with a sharp laugh. “We’re just kidding. Joking! It’s all a joke!”

“You’re… playing a prank on me? So you just faked Felix’s disappearance, with the posters and everything? That’s… a bit fucked up…”

“No, hyung! We wouldn’t do that to you!” Jisung says, waving his hands around. “Felix really was gone! But he’s not anymore! It’s all fine!”

“Then where…” Chan starts, but his face falls as something seems to click.

Chan looks down at Felix. Felix stares wide-eyed up at him.

“Jisung, are you trying to tell me that Felix is my ca–”

“SOMNUM!” Jisung shouts, throwing his hands towards Chan.

Chan slumps against the backrest of the sofa, his hands falling to his sides. A slight snore starts in the back of his throat.

“Jesus Christ,” Minho mutters, slapping a hand over his face. “I told you to stop spelling people!”

“I panicked, okay?! What the hell did you want me to do?!”

“Not spell him?!”

“At least I did something! Were you just gonna let him work out that Felix is a cat?!”

“I was thinking of something!”

“No you weren’t!”

“But you shouldn’t have spelled him! You know that you’re not good at magic! Do you want Chan to join Dori in the opera career?”

“That’s mean! My magic has been getting better!”

“Dori’s literally doing dance routines!”

Felix has a feeling these two are going to go on for a while if he doesn’t intervene, so he hisses. Loudly. Probably the loudest hiss he’s ever managed in his life. Minho and Jisung both turn towards him, their expressions turning a little guilty. Chan’s hands twitch at his sides, as if they want to find Felix, and if Felix wasn’t so busy giving his friends a death glare then he’d probably find it cute.

There’s about five seconds of reprieve, before–

“Look at what you’ve done now, you’ve upset Felix,” Minho says, turning to Jisung.

“Me?! You’re the one who–”

God, Felix does not have the strength for this.

 

***

 

Eventually, things settle. Felix may or may not have had a ten minute nap on Chan’s chest while Minsung were finishing their argument, but that’s fine. It was a nice nap.

“I still think erasing his memory is the best way,” Jisung says, “I’ll just take the past couple hours and he won’t remember that he saw the posters. It’s easy enough.”

“I say we gaslight him. Wake him up and make him think he dreamt it,” Minho says with a shrug.

“That’s just mean,” Jisung points out. Felix has to agree.

“Erasing his memories is also mean!”

“It’s nicer than making him think he’s gone insane!”

“You’re insane, you–”

Mrr…

“Sorry Felix.”

“Sorry Lix.”

“Maybe it would be better if I just erased his memory of Felix altogether. Like, we can’t exactly let him continue thinking he owns a cat. Felix is a human,” Jisung says.

“Baby, no offence, but there’s no way you’ll be able to remove over a week of memories without fucking something up. That’s difficult for even an advanced witch. Maybe we should call your mum–”

“We are not bringing my mum into this!” Jisung whines. “I don’t wanna get told off!”

“Jisung, you’re twenty-three.”

“So?! She’ll still tell me off!”

“Okay, okay, fine. We won’t tell your mum.”

Felix is glad. Chan doesn’t deserve to have his head messed around with. Besides, Felix did not spend over a week slaving away to get Chan into a better routine just to have it all erased from his head. That would be more painful than having a game save file corrupt and losing all his progress.

“Thank you.”

“But if we’re not telling your mum, we’re gaslighting him.”

“Min, that’s not going to work!”

“Christopher has mad sleep issues! Mans probably can’t even tell when he’s awake or asleep anyway!”

“Here’s an idea,” Jisung says, before turning to the cat on Chan’s lap. “Felix should decide. What do you think, Felix? Do we erase two hours of his memory, or do we gaslight him?”

… Well, neither exactly sounds ideal. But, Felix supposes, if they have to choose one then it makes sense to erase his memory, right? The gaslighting thing might not even work, and it’s kind of mean. What if Chan starts thinking that he’s going insane? Plus, what if Felix does want to share his secret with Chan in the future when they inevitably start dating and fall in love? He’ll know that they gaslighted him and he’ll be upset. But then again, if he finds out they erased his memory he’d probably also be upset.

Eh, what he doesn’t know can’t hurt him. Felix trusts Jisung enough to not fuck this up, which is saying something considering he’s still living through the consequences of one of the previous times Jisung fucked up.

Felix stands up and walks over to Jisung with a small meow.

“See! I knew Felix would agree with me,” Jisung gloats, reaching up to scratch the back of Felix’s head.

Minho groans. “Fine. Do your little memory spell, but I swear to god Jisung if you fuck anything up I’m calling your mum straight away.”

“I’m not going to mess anything up! Have a little faith in me!”

“That’s exactly what you said before Dori started singing Flower Duet!”

 

***

 

Getting Chan back to his flat is… well. They’re stopped a couple of times by concerned onlookers who have to be redirected with a cheeky spell from Jisung, but otherwise they don’t run into many problems. They totally didn’t let Chan fall out of Minho’s car, no. Never.

“I’m not doing that again,” Minho puffs after dumping Chan onto the sofa. He collapses onto Chan’s legs, grunting when one of the producer’s knees jabs into his ribs. “Never knock anybody out ever again.”

Jisung huffs, slightly, stroking a tense hand over Felix’s head. “I saved the day and all you’re doing is complaining.”

“You were the one who put Felix’s missing posters up in the first place. The day didn’t need saving until you ruined it,” Minho points out. “You should go and take those posters down, by the way. I’ll stay here with Felix until Chan’s awake.”

“No. I’m healing Felix and we’re leaving together.”

Springing up from the sofa, Minho reaches his hands out for the cat. “No chance. I’m not risking Felix’s health.”

“Felix will be fine!” Jisung protests, snatching Felix away.

“When I broke my finger your ‘healing spell’ made it fall off!” is Minho’s rebuttal. “It’s better to let Felix heal naturally. It’s not like he’s missing or anything, and quite frankly Chan’s apartment is a much nicer place for him to stay than his own. No offence, Lix.”

Felix can’t be offended if he agrees.

“But I want Felix with me.” Jisung frowns, pushing his lips into a pout.

Minho sighs. “He’ll be fine. He’s probably thoroughly enjoying Chan’s nudist tendencies. Right, Felix?”

Again, Felix cannot deny straight facts.

Jisung gives the cat a shrivelled look. “Felix…”

Sorry, Sung. I love you a lot but how am I meant to give Chan a handjob with no arms?

Luckily, Jisung has become something of an expert when it comes to Felix’s cat expressions because he understands what Felix is trying to say.

“Fine. Fine, stay here with Chan. See if I care.”

Jisung does care. A lot. They all know it. 

“... Hyung, if I fix Dori can I come back to the flat?”

“You are never going near Dori again.”

 

***

 

“There is no way you were asleep all evening. You declined, like, five of my calls!”

Chan sighs as he watches Changbin toe off his shoes. “I was. I woke up on the sofa.”

“So you declined them in your sleep?” Changbin presses, crossing his arms.

“Maybe? I don’t know! All I know is I woke up and it was eleven p.m.”

“Hyung, do you know how worried I was?! You went to the corner shop for instant noodles and then disappeared. I was about to put up missing posters,” Changbin says, walking past Chan into his flat to flop onto the sofa.

“Missing posters,” Chan mumbles, frowning as if it rings a bell. Felix holds his breath.

Luckily, Changbin hasn’t finished his rant. “Yeah! Like, you could have let me know that you were going home. You didn’t even take your bag!”

Said bag now sits by the front door where Changbin had dumped it after he came in.

Shaking his head, Chan makes his way over to the sofa to sit next to Changbin. “I’m sorry, Bin. Really. I have no idea how I ended up back here. All I remember is leaving the studio.”

Changbin turns suspicious eyes onto Felix. “I bet he knows.”

I do know.

“Changbin, he’s a cat!” Chan groans.

“Do you have any other explanation, hyung?! I bet he was the one declining my calls, too!”

To be fair, Felix did decline the calls. Chan needs more sleep, okay?! And they were having such a nice cuddle, too…

“If my cat was a skinwalker, don’t you think I would have been eaten by now?” Chan asks, raising an eyebrow at Changbin who points a finger at him in return.

“You’ve been eating more since you got that cat. He literally meows at you to eat. Maybe he’s just fattening you up like in Hansel and Gretel.”

“Maybe you should have had a nap,” Chan mutters, pulling Felix protectively towards himself.

Felix does feel a bit bad for Changbin because he isn’t entirely wrong – Felix isn’t a cat. However, the only thing Changbin’s accusations are achieving is doubts about his mental stability. Even Hyunjin’s started ignoring Changbin’s rants in favour of cooing over Felix. If Changbin ever finds out his secret, Felix will have a lot of apologising to do. It’s not exactly like he can let them know that he’s anything other than a cat, though. They could sell him off to scientists, or something! God knows Jisung wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. They’d have to get Jisung’s mum involved and that woman is scary when she’s mad!

“No, wait, I’ve got it! He’s trying to steal your wallet.”

Chan blinks a few times. “What?”

“Well, the first time you met the skinwalker it had taken a wallet. That’s what it wants. You’re rich, hyung, he’s probably just waiting for the moment you leave him alone,” Changbin insists.

“Changbin, need I remind you that I found him dying in an alleyway. My cat has no agenda other than healing.”

… and sucking your dick, Channie.

“Fine. Just don’t leave me alone with it because I’m sure I’ll be its first victim as I’m the whistleblower,” Changbin says, turning his nose up at Felix.

Just to fuck with Changbin, Felix winks.

“Did you see that?! Your fucking cat just winked at me!”

“Okay, Changbin.”

“He’s a fucking skinwalker, Chan-hyung!”

“Sure, Changbin.”

 

***

 

What Felix didn’t consider was that he’d have to go back to the vet. He may have escaped Changbin’s accusations, but when the vet sees that he’s healing freakishly quickly he’s definitely going to be dissected.

The simple solution? Don’t go. Chan’s making that a bit difficult, though.

“Come on, Felix, please?” Chan begs from where he’s lying on his front, peering at Felix who is hiding under his bed. “Nothing bad is going to happen! He just wants to do a checkup, that’s all.”

Felix hisses at him, swiping a claw at one of Chan’s hands that reaches into the crevice towards him.

“Did you just hiss at me? Little One… that kind of hurts…”

No, Chan! Don’t guilt trip me into going to the vet, you bastard!

“I thought we were friends. I can’t believe you’d do this to me…”

Feeling bad, Felix meows at him. Chan meows back. Felix no longer feels bad.

Don’t mock me, either. This is a life or death situation!

“I promise it won’t be bad! I’ll even take you to the pet shop after and you can choose a new toy, how’s that?” Chan bribes.

The type of toy I wanna use with you is not cat appropriate, Chan.

A small grumbling noise comes from Felix and Chan sighs, pulling one of his hands back to scratch the bridge of his nose as he thinks.

“Okay. Okay, new tactic,” he says before he pushes himself to his feet and retreats from the room. Felix watches his feet disappear around the corner and he’s tempted to come out from his hiding place to go and see what Chan’s doing, but he’d better not risk it. His organs are better left inside his body, thank you very much.

It doesn’t matter, anyway. Whatever tactic Chan tries will simply not work on a very determined Felix, because he is not letting some random vet cut him up and– that smells like chicken.

Chan’s feet reappear and he walks towards the bed. Felix expects his head to duck into view but instead it’s Chan’s hand that comes down in the gap between the bed and the floor, a piece of fried chicken from last night’s takeaway held firmly between his fingers.

“Don’t you want some chicken, Felix? Come out and eat it.”

This is animal cruelty. Chan is so fucking mean. How could he do this? How could he make Felix choose between dissection and chicken?

Meow…

Chan lies next to the bed and smirks at the obviously interested cat as he waves the chicken around, tauntingly.

“What, you don’t want it? Well, can’t let it go to waste…” Chan stares Felix directly in the eyes and takes a bite.

Mrow!

The producer laughs. “You want it? You just have to come get it, Little One. Come on. Come take a bite.”

I’ll bite you in a minute.

Despite Chan’s very tempting offer, Felix is a professional. He will not be taken to the vet no matter what move Chan pulls.

Except, Chan sighs and says, “Have it your way, then,” before disappearing from the gap.

Believing he’s succeeded, Felix relaxes. That’s before the bed disappears from over him and he’s being caught in a strong hand.

“Gotcha.”

Felix has never been angry that Chan has muscles but by God are they Chan’s worst features right now.

 

***

 

“Little Felix here has healed remarkably quickly,” the vet, Dr. Kim, says as he inspects the cat in his hands, a mix of awe and astonishment in his voice. “Cats heal fast but… this is quite something.”

If you try to dissect me I’m going to claw your eyes out and give them to Jisung as potion ingredients.

“But that’s a good thing, right?” Chan asks.

“Of course. In fact, given the results of the x-ray I think he should be in the clear to have his cast taken off.”

Nevermind, Dr. Kim is Felix’s favourite person in the world and he should get a promotion. The cast is itchy as fuck and needs to come off as soon as possible.

“Really? Are you sure that’s safe? I mean, you said it yourself that it’s really quick, what if we take the cast off too soon? Could he get a permanent injury? Or what if he re-injures himself? And what about–”

Chan’s totally spiralling.

Meow!

The producer looks down at Felix with a withered expression. The vet looks at Chan the same way.

“Look, Mr. Bang… Sometimes when people care for injured animals that are dear to them they can develop some attachment issues. As the primary caregiver they become overly concerned and have trouble giving the animal space to recover. Do you feel that this is maybe something you resonate with?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Chan answers.

Dr. Kim takes his hands from Felix and puts them in his pockets. Chan snatches the cat up and brings him to his chest.

The vet blinks. Chan blinks back.

“Right. Well, if you want to leave the cast on a little longer that is certainly an option, but I believe he may not need it,” Dr. Kim says.

“Would it be bad to leave the cast on?” Chan asks, nervously.

“Not in this situation, as he hasn’t had it for that long. However, Felix may be more comfortable without it. Casts can cause swelling and chafing and it makes it harder for them to walk around properly. If he doesn’t need to have it on any longer, it might be a good idea to remove it.”

Chan’s expression is something a little short of devastation. “Swelling and chafing?”

“In some cases. I am not saying this will be the definite outcome if you choose to keep the cast on for a little–”

“Take it off.”

Finally. Felix will be free.

“Before I do, you’re planning on keeping him, I assume?” Dr. Kim says.

“Yes,” Chan answers. Felix thinks back to Chan’s tenancy agreement that definitely does not allow pets, but if Chan remembers that little hiccup then he doesn’t seem to care. Then again, he’s got a cat tower and all, now, so Felix supposes he’s past the point of no return.

“Then we should probably get him microchipped, don’t you think? It would be terrible if he was lost.”

Nevermind. Dr. Kim should get fired.

 

***

 

Having the cast off has brought a new lease of life to Felix. No longer is he confined to Chan’s lap in the studio, now he is free to roam around and sleep anywhere he pleases. Well, honestly he pleases to sleep in Chan’s lap, but it’s fun to occasionally jump onto the desk and walk over to Changbin just to freak the other producer out.

As well as this, Chan doesn’t have to carry Felix everywhere because more often than not, the cat is trotting along at his heels. Chan hates it, constantly whines because what if I step on you, Little One?! but Felix likes it. He likes being able to move properly. Having a cast was one of the most restricting experiences of his life, and Felix has been caught in Jisung’s death grip multiple times.

The thing is, he’s healed. The cast is off. Felix should, theoretically, be able to turn back now. He’s just a little scared. Not only because of the absolutely blinding pain that he felt when he tried to change back the last two times, but… what if this is the end of his time with Chan? Even though Minho is friends with Chan and will most likely be happy to introduce the two of them, that doesn’t mean he will want to keep in contact with Felix.

The more Felix thinks about it, the less likely it seems. Chan is busy, he probably doesn’t have time to get to know Felix. Sure, Felix is in his life now but it’s as a cat. Having the capacity for a cat is not the same thing as having the capacity for a whole other person. So Minho can introduce them, sure, but Felix can’t see it going any other way than Chan maintaining a polite ten minute conversation and leaving at the earliest pause. Even if he doesn’t, what if he decides that he doesn’t like Felix? It’s not like Felix could casually return to him as a cat. He’d feel bad sleeping on Chan’s chest knowing Chan doesn’t like him.

However, it’s not like Felix can keep living as Chan’s cat either. Sure, they escaped the search party once but if Felix doesn’t go back to his life then somebody will eventually notice. His mother must already think he’s dead because he hasn’t replied to any of her texts for ages, and he needs to get a job so he can pay all his bills. He’s sure he must have so many outstanding payments by now. And is he really content to let Chan clear up his shit in the litter box for the rest of his life? Two weeks worth is quite enough, thank you very much.

So… really, he can’t be blamed for taking a couple more days to be around Chan. And it’s not just for Felix’s benefit, either – it’s for Chan’s. He has to make sure the new routine will stick when he’s not around, which he does by giving Chan less prompts throughout the day. Amazingly, Chan manages to follow his new routine pretty well. Sadly, it’s further proof that Felix’s time is coming to an end.

He’ll go. He will. Just a couple more days. He just wants to fall asleep on Chan’s chest for two more days.

Just two.

Plus, Felix needs to find a way to delete the microchip tracking app off Chan’s phone. That’s going to be a pain in the neck – not just deleting the app, but removing the damn thing from where it was inserted.

Maybe it would be a safe idea to get Jisung’s mum involved in that process. Felix doesn’t fancy singing Funiculì, Funiculà.

It’s fine. Felix doesn’t have to think about that now. He can think about it in two more days.

 

***

 

Jisung said ‘make that one’.

Not literally, but the next day he walks into Chan’s flat with a big smile which turns into a desperate look in Felix’s direction when Chan’s back is turned, and Felix just knows. This cat shit ends today.

“So, what’s up?” Chan asks as he leads Jisung towards the sofa.

“Not much. I tried to find you at the company but you weren’t there…” Jisung says, perching awkwardly on the edge of the sofa when Chan gestures for him to sit.

“Yeah, Changbin and I decided to work in my home office today. We thought a change of scene might jog our brains a bit with this track that we’re stuck on,” Chan explains, moving his hands from his lap so Felix can jump onto it.

To Chan’s surprise, Felix goes for the empty space beside him, instead. This doesn’t stop him from reaching for one of Felix’s ears to play with. The cat supposes he’s too distracted by the way Jisung’s nervously shifting around to properly think about why Felix would choose the sofa over his favourite place, Chan’s lap.

“Are you alright?” Chan asks Jisung, softly.

“Yeah. Of course! Why not?”

“It’s just, you’ve never come to see me without Minho before. Is it because of him? Are you two still arguing? I’m sure if you fix the Alexa then–”

“The what?” Jisung tilts his head.

“The… Alexa. You know. It’s playing opera?” Chan prompts.

“Oh. Right. The Alexa. Sure. Sorry, hyung, could I have a cup of tea?”

“Of course!” Chan says, quickly getting to his feet. “Sorry, I should have offered. I’ll go and make one and we can talk in a minute.”

With a reassuring smile, Chan disappears into the kitchen.

Jisung dives straight for Felix.

“Felix, you have to come home now!” Jisung hisses, his expression half frantic.

Felix tilts his head. What, why?

“You missed your rent payment and your landlord came over. She saw me in there and maybe there was a potion in the sink and – Felix, you’re going to get evicted!”

Shit. Oh, shit. What the hell is he supposed to do?! Even if he does turn back, he hasn’t exactly managed to get a full time job considering he’s been a fucking cat for the past two weeks. Fuck! Was Felix really so distracted by Chan and his massive tits and his fat biceps and his caked up arse that he forgot that oh, yeah, paying rent is a fucking thing?!

Yes. And that is not a crime, anybody else would make the same mistake.

“You have to come with me. I’m going to steal you from Chan. You can change back at home, okay? If not we’ll do it with magic. Maybe we can… I don’t know, beg Minho to pay your rent or something. We’ll work it out,” Jisung promises.

The witch looks around. The door to the home studio is shut and Chan’s still in the kitchen. They’re in the clear.

“Okay, come on.”

Jisung picks Felix up off the sofa and the cat barely has a chance to blink before he’s being shoved up Jisung’s hoodie.

Then there’s frantic footsteps, not the most subtle considering Jisung is trying to get away with catnapping Chan’s ‘cat’.

“It’s fine, we’ll be gone before–”

“Hey, Sung-ah, where are you going?”

What were you saying, Jisung? We’ll be gone before Chan notices? Yeah, not with your fucking elephant footsteps.

Jisung freezes in place. He doesn’t turn around, luckily, or Chan would see the big lump under his hoodie that is most definitely Chan’s beloved cat.

“Oh. Urm. Minho called. He wants to. Urm. Have sex! So. Yeah. Gotta go!” Jisung cheers before lurching forward towards, Felix assumes, the front door.

“Wait, hey. I know that it can be difficult to talk about these things, especially to me because I am technically Minho’s friend, but that doesn’t mean I’m not here to listen to you. You don’t have to be ashamed. Why don’t you come sit down, have some tea and we can go through everything together, yeah?” Chan suggests, his tone gentle and persuasive.

God, Chan, can you stop being the best boy for one minute?!

“That’s. No. See, I can’t talk to you. Actually, urm, my problem… is you! I don’t like you hyung. Goodbye.”

Jisung makes another dash for the door, but there’s a plopping sound as he trips over something and then suddenly the witch’s weight is crushing Felix into the floor.

The cat yowls. Everything goes still.

“What was that?” comes Chan’s hesitant voice.

“It was me. Yow!” Jisung says with his best cat impersonation.

“Jisung…”

“Anyway. Urm. I hate you or whatever. Bye.” Jisung scrambles to his feet, his arms cradling Felix from underneath to keep him from falling out of the hoodie.

“Turn around,” Chan demands. His tone leaves no room for argument.

Talk to me like that, daddy.

Jisung pauses again. Felix holds his breath.

“And why should I do that?” Jisung asks with a nervous laugh.

“Because I think you’ve got my cat in your hoodie.”

“HA!” Jisung explodes. His arms tighten. “That’s so funny of you! But actually, my problem with you extends to your cat. I don’t like your cat either. Bye hyung!”

“Han Jisung.”

There’s a small sigh and Jisung’s arms slowly loosen as he turns around.

“Listen… it’s rude to comment on somebody’s lumpiness. I’ve been eating a lot since the argument with Minho, and–”

“Take my cat out of your hoodie.”

“Okay.”

There’s a rustling and then Felix is once again seeing the light of day as Jisung uncovers him. The first thing Felix sees is Chan’s stern and unimpressed expression and fuck that’s hot.

“Can I ask why you’re trying to steal my cat?” Chan asks, one eyebrow flickering and fuck that’s even hotter.

“Minho can speak to cats and he said your cat isn’t happy here and that he needs to be stolen and–”

Okay, Felix is all on board with the rescue mission but he is not on board with straight up lies. Chan is the best boy and Felix is so, so happy here. Jisung deserves the claws Felix embeds into his skin.

The witch hisses. “Ow, Felix, you little bastard–”

“Can you not call my cat a bastard?”

“I’m bleeding!”

“Maybe I should take him back,” Chan says. He steps closer and reaches out his arms. “Felix only just got his cast off, he’s still stressed from his accident. He’s probably really confused and scared right now, he can’t be blamed for retaliating.”

“Listen, there is no way I’m giving this cat back to you.”

Chan stops, lifting his eyes from Felix to Jisung. “What?”

“I am emotionally impaired! I need the cat!” Jisung whines. “It’s not fair that Minho gets three and I don’t even have one.”

If there’s a look called ‘you’re fucking insane and if you don’t let go of my cat in three seconds I might punch you in the jaw’ then it’s exactly the look that Chan’s wearing on his face right now.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t play around with Felix like this. He’s recovering from an injury. Give him back.”

Chan’s hands find Felix, trying to dig him out of Jisung’s arms. The witch tightens his grip.

“No.”

“Jisung.”

“No.”

“I’ll call Minho,” Chan threatens, stopping Jisung’s attempts to tug Felix away by stepping closer.

“Minho can’t stop me! None of you can!”

Okay, this is getting a bit out of hand.

“Leave my cat alone! This is harassment! PETA is on the way!” Chan whines, breaking his stern persona for something more desperate.

“PETA don’t know where you live! And they’re dickheads, anyway! If you trust PETA then I deserve to take the cat!”

“He’s my cat!”

Fingertips sink into Felix’s side as Chan tries to pull him out of Jisung’s grip, but the witch is relentless in his hold. His arms are vise-like around Felix’s body. Felix feels like a toy being fought over by two selfish toddlers.

Mrow!

“You’re not even allowed a cat! Your tenancy agreement doesn’t allow it! I will call your landlord!”

“You don’t know his number!”

“I can find out!”

Okay, Felix was really enjoying his last few days as Chan’s cat but this is really starting to feel uncomfortable. 

Mrrrow!

“You’re hurting Felix, Jisung, let go!”

“No! He’s my best friend, not yours!”

“Just get your own cat!”

This would be so much easier if Felix was a human right now.

“Hyung, no offence but you’re ruining everything!”

“You’re the one trying to steal my cat!”

Seriously. If he had his mouth back so he could tell them to shut up, and his arms so he could push them away from each other, and his hands so he could cover his ears because the whining is getting annoying.

A tingling starts in Felix, something he hasn’t felt for two weeks and oh fuck WAIT–

Toes stretch into fingers, fur dissolves to leave soft skin and Chan falls to the floor with a very human Felix who lands on top of him.

Chan stares up at Felix in fearful shock, his eyes and mouth wide. Felix laughs awkwardly.

“Urm… hi,” Felix says.

“I KNEW YOUR CAT WAS A FUCKING SKINWALKER!” Changbin screeches from the doorway of Chan’s home studio.

 

***

 

Being scolded by Chan might be worse than being scolded by Jisung’s mother.

Felix and Jisung sit on the sofa with their hands in their laps and their heads down as Chan paces in front of them, the discussion being supervised by Changbin who felt it was necessary to introduce a knife to the scene just in case Felix attacks them. He sits on the single seater with his arms crossed, knife in his right hand.

“I just feel so… confused. Bamboozled. You guys… lied to me,” Chan says as he paces.

“I’m sorry,” Felix croons.

Chan holds up a hand towards him. “It’s you I’m most upset with, Little One. I mean, this whole time… and you were sleeping in my bed… and you saw me naked…”

“You looked very good,” Felix says, before he can stop himself. He cannot be blamed, his thoughts have been trapped inside his head for two weeks, now. They have to come out at some point.

Chan stops his pacing to give Felix a withered look. Felix shrugs, slightly, but doesn’t dare to meet his eyes.

“It’s bad enough that I’ve had my space violated, but… this whole witch stuff? Jisung, you really expect me to believe this? I mean, sure, my adorable tiny cat turned into a fully grown man who might also be adorable but, like, he’s a man, I don’t think I can comprehend witches on top of that. Like, I feel like I’ve gone fucking insane!” Chan rambles.

“You… you think I’m adorable?” Felix asks, glancing up with a little smile.

“Is that all you took from what I just said?” Chan snaps, turning to Felix with a look sharper than the knife Changbin’s holding.

Felix ducks with a whimper and shakes his head.

There’s a sigh and then Chan perches on the coffee table in front of Jisung and Felix, his hands clasped in front of his mouth as he thinks about what to say next.

“Explain it to me again,” he says, eventually.

“So, I’m a witch and–”

“Not you, Jisung,” Chan cuts in. His eyes land on Felix. “I want to hear it from Felix. Is that even your name?”

“It is,” Felix confirms, his voice weak.

“Well. I want to know your side of the story, Felix.”

Felix coughs and takes a deep breath. “I met Jisung in university. He’s a witch and he accidentally turned me into a cat and since then I’ve been able to switch forms as I please. The night before you found me I had a job interview and it went badly, so I got drunk. These men wouldn’t leave me alone and I tried to escape in my cat form, but… Well, cats don’t handle three bottles of soju well. I couldn’t walk properly and the men found me and… threw me at a wall.”

Chan twitches as if he wants to reach for Felix, but he refrains.

“When I woke up I couldn’t shift back to being human because the injuries made it too painful. I… I thought I was going to be left there to die. I had no way of getting back and no way of contacting Jisung, and then… and then you found me. Of course we’d already met at the restaurant so I knew who you were. I was so relieved because you’d fed me from your own plate and made me a bed out of your own T-shirts and… I thought that it didn’t matter that I was stuck as a cat because I’d be safe with you.” Felix’s voice breaks slightly and he peeks up at Chan to see the producer’s expression. It’s a mix between disbelief, concern, hesitation and slight pity.

“It’s not like I had any way to tell you who I am, and I couldn’t change back nor could I contact Jisung. Minho knew, but he and Jisung weren’t talking–”

“Minho knew?” Chan says, staring at Felix in disbelief. “And he still made me spend all that money on cat products?”

Felix winces.

“To be fair, hyung, you are insanely rich,” Jisung pipes up.

“That’s not the point! He let me adopt a man!” Chan exclaims, pointing a finger at Felix.

“I didn’t exactly want to be stuck as a cat,” Felix mumbles, his lips pushing into a pout.

“Can I interject?” Changbin asks from the side. “Can you please tell Chan that you winked at me the other day? Because I don’t appreciate being made to look like a lunatic.”

“Bin, that’s not really the most pressing issue here, is it?” Chan says, tiredly.

“But it is! He made me look like I was crazy!” Changbin rants, shaking the knife in Felix’s direction.

“Put the knife down,” Chan instructs, waving Changbin away.

“No! We still don’t know his intentions! I mean, what if–”

“I’m sorry, okay?” Felix says. “It’s not like I did all of this on purpose. Apart from the wink, but like… everything else wasn’t intentional. That goes for this whole situation. I didn’t want to lie to you, Chan, but… what else was I supposed to do?”

There’s a pause after Felix’s words. Chan holds his eyes but Felix can’t read the expression inside them. He hopes it’s compassion. He can’t really tell.

It’s not nice. After two weeks of getting to see Chan’s core, experiencing the man he is not just around his close friends but on his own in the privacy of his flat, it hurts to meet a wall. Maybe just as much as it hurt to meet that one two weeks ago. Felix regrets turning back when he did. He wishes this happened in a better way.

But then again, if Felix had gotten to know Chan as a human then he would have had to tell him eventually, and it would hurt Chan more knowing that the person he’d become friends with had been lying to him the whole time. Chan doesn’t deserve that.

“I’m sorry, Chan. I know that this situation can feel invasive and I didn’t want to deceive you. I… I was just doing what I had to. I was injured and vulnerable and I didn’t have any other choice. But, I wanted to say… I’m glad that it was you who found me that day. I was so scared until you came. You– you saved my life and I’ll never be able to repay that. Thank you for looking after me for all this time. I’ll– I’ll find a way to pay you back for the vet bills and for the cat equipment. And… and you won’t have to see me again. Not if you don’t want to.”

Felix stands from the sofa and bows at a sharp ninety degrees. He holds it for five long seconds, then straightens up and makes his way towards the door.

He ignores the light blue collar that lies on the floor in the entryway, snapped from the shift that ruined everything. He ignores the tears that drip onto his cheeks. He ignores the thought that it might have been the last time he ever gets to see Chan as the door falls shut.

 

***

 

The moment Minho sees Felix standing in front of his door, he sweeps the younger into his arms and holds him tightly. The tears Felix has been holding in since leaving Chan’s flat all burst free.

“Jisung texted me,” Minho says.

“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Felix sobs.

“I know.”

“I really like him, hyung.”

“... I know, Lixie. I know.”

 

***

 

Being evicted isn’t so bad.

As Felix is human again, he moves into Minho’s spare room. Minho was pretty sure Felix’s landlord wasn’t allowed to evict him so easily, but upon finding out that Felix signed a tenancy agreement without reading it and that it does, in fact, give the landlord the right to kick him out without any notice, Minho drops the suggestion of funding legal action. Felix knows his hyung wants to scold him for being stupid and appreciates that he holds himself back. Felix doesn’t have the strength for a lecture right now.

The first two days are spent wallowing in Minho’s flat and crying about missing Chan. Apparently Chan wasn’t the only one who developed attachment issues. The rest of the week, after an ‘inspiring’ speech from Minho that went along the lines of ‘you’re too sexy to cry and I’ve run out of tissues so you need to stop’, is spent looking for jobs, helping Minho cook dinner and then curling up on the sofa next to his hyung to watch TV. He doesn’t change back to his cat form, partly not to upset Soonie, Doongie and Dori, partly because Felix is scared he’ll get stuck in it again.

One thing that Felix isn’t sure how Minho manages to put up with every single day is the constant backtrack of opera. He supposes his hyung must be deaf to it by now.

“I saw Christopher today,” Minho says.

Felix deflates, slightly. “Oh.”

“He looked tired,” Minho continues.

Not knowing what to say, Felix nods.

Minho leaves it a minute before he sighs. “Look, Felix, maybe you should just go and talk to him?”

Felix vehemently shakes his head. “I can’t. I told him that he would never have to see me again if he didn’t want to, and… I’m pretty sure he doesn’t. I mean, wouldn’t you be creeped out if Soonie turned into a fully-fledged human? Especially if you’d spent all this time clearing up their shit!”

“You’re really stuck on this whole litter box thing, aren’t you?”

“It’s embarrassing!” Felix whines.

“Look, Lixie, I really think you should speak to him. He looked really miserable without you.”

“Miserable without me, or miserable because of me?”

Minho sighs again and reaches up to run a hand through Felix’s hair. “I’ve known hyung for a long time, now. I know he misses you. I can tell.”

“He probably misses his beloved cat who might as well have died.”

“Felix!” Minho groans.

“What? It’s true!”

“You can’t be sure of that. I know that he’s been lonely for a long while now. He won’t admit it, but he is. Sure he goes to the studio and works with Bin every day, but why do you think he stays at the studio late into the night? He doesn’t like being at his flat by himself. That’s why he hasn’t bothered to decorate it since he moved in. It’s not a place he likes being. And you heard him, he isn’t allowed a pet due to his tenancy agreement but he was easily persuaded into keeping you,” Minho says.

“You threatened to feed his nuts to a squirrel, hyung,” Felix points out.

“Small details.”

Despite that… It makes sense. After all, even Chan’s bedroom barely has any personal touches. The room that looks the most lived in is Chan’s home studio and if what Minho’s saying is true, that’s purely because Chan uses work to distract himself. Actually, during those two weeks that Felix was in his flat, Chan only spoke to Bin, Hyunjin and Minho – and he only spoke to Minho because he invaded his flat on multiple occasions.

Maybe Chan is lonely. Maybe he did enjoy having Felix around. Maybe–

“Maybe he can buy a real cat, then.”

“You’re infuriating, Lixie, you know that?”

“I’ll talk to Chan again when you let Jisung move back in.”

Jisung’s been staying in a hotel since Felix was evicted.

“I’m not letting Jisung move back in until Dori stops singing opera.”

Dori continues his rendition of Libiamo in the other room.

 

***

 

Another week passes and Felix finds himself sitting in a small square office – more like a cubical, really – being interviewed for a job. It’s nothing big and complicated, just a position as a barista in a cafe Minho suggested he apply at.

The guy interviewing him is nice. He’s around Felix’s age and started the interview by saying ‘my name is Jeongin and I don’t get paid enough to interview you professionally so as long as you pass my vibe check you can have the job.’ They’ve been talking about Overwatch since.

“Oh, shit, I need to get back to work. It’s been, like, half an hour,” Jeongin says, standing up from where he was sitting on the edge of the desk.

“So… Can I have the job?” Felix asks, his eyes shining up at the other.

“Yeah. Just know I’ll fire you if you get on my nerves, though.”

Felix grins, quickly standing up to bow. “Thank you so much! You don’t know how much I needed this!”

“Your desperation gives you away,” Jeongin replies, but he smiles afterwards. “Welcome to the team. Come in at nine a.m. and I’ll show you the ropes. Oh! And remember to add me on Discord.”

After thanking him again and promising to both show up on time and add Jeongin on Discord, Felix makes his way out of the office into the front of the cafe. He’s looking down at his phone to text Minho the good news, not paying attention to where he’s going and–

“Oh, I’m sorry– Oh.”

“It’s the skinwalker,” Changbin says, looking at Felix with slight distaste.

Hyunjin, who’s standing next to Changbin, swats at him. “Don’t call him that, Binnie.”

“Why are you at my favourite cafe? Are you stalking me?” Changbin asks, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, Felix understands why Minho was pestering him to get a job at this particular cafe.

“I… I just got employed here,” Felix says, quietly, shifting on his feet.

“Congrats!” Hyunjin says, smiling brightly. He steps forward and takes Felix’s arm. “Talk to me outside for a minute?”

Nodding, Felix allows Hyunjin to lead him outside. They both ignore Changbin’s look of betrayal.

There’s a few tables outside the cafe. Hyunjin leads Felix over to one. It’s a little chilly to be sitting outside, autumn quickly turning to winter, but the sun is shining and the gentle rays warm Felix up a little when he’s settled into the seat.

“So… you’re Chan’s cat.”

“I am,” Felix says, nervously.

“I had to apologise to Changbin many times for not believing his skinwalker theory. I’ve been cooking every night for the past two weeks,” Hyunjin says.

Felix winces, guilt churning in his stomach. “Sorry…”

Hyunjin laughs. “It’s alright. He tried to make it a month but I pointed out that you weren’t actually a skinwalker and therefore he wasn’t actually right, nor was I ignoring any danger that he was in. We’re ordering takeaway tonight.”

“Still, I didn’t mean to deceive anyone,” Felix mumbles.

“Changbin told me what happened. Nobody blames you, Felix.”

That’s unlikely. Who else is there to blame in this situation?

“Changbin’s being grumpy because Chan and I weren’t listening to him and kept brushing him off, but he isn’t actually mad at you. He said so himself that your situation is perfectly understandable, ‘even if you are a skinwalker’. And Chan…”

“Chan?” Felix prompts, glancing up at Hyunjin.

“Chan’s writing sad songs as if his husband went away to war and he’s been left at home with the kids,” Hyunjin states.

No, that can’t be right. Chan said that he felt violated and like his trust had been broken. There’s no way he’s upset about Felix’s absence. He’s upset because of what Felix did to him.

“Well, that isn’t a promising expression,” Hyunjin says, watching Felix’s face twist. “I know hyung was a little… caught-out at first, but you can see why. His cat had just turned into a man and then he learned that witches exist. It’s a lot to put on a person. Lots of information to process. Of course he was going to have a mental breakdown. But, Felix, now he’s come to terms with it, I think he misses you more than anything.”

“I don’t think so. I mean, if you found out that the cat you let live with you and sleep in your bed was a random man, wouldn’t you also be freaked out?”

“Oh, for sure,” Hyunjin says. “I most certainly wouldn’t be tracking him by his microchip on my pet location app every single day.”

Felix blinks.

“He’s tracking my microchip?!”

“He’s worried about you. That man could barely put you down when you were a cat, that kind of concern doesn’t just disappear. Cat or man, he still saved you from that alley and took care of you, he wants to know that you’re doing okay. Plus, you weren’t living with him for any malicious reason. He knows that you had no bad intentions. And anyway, you don’t have to worry about feeling like a creep because he’s being a creep right back. Like, stalker much?”

Felix doesn’t know what to say. The only thing he can get out of his mouth, once again, is, “He’s tracking my microchip?!”

Hyunjin’s eyes scrunch up when he giggles. He’s very pretty. “Yup! He probably knows you’re at this cafe right now. He takes regular breaks from his songs to open his phone and stare at the little red dot labelled ‘Felix’ with a sad face emoticon.”

He put a sad face after Felix’s name. He put a sad face after Felix’s name. That’s so cute and sad, what the fuck?

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Felix asks, next. “If Chan really wanted to talk to me then he would have come to find me by now.”

“Dear kitten, I’m telling you this for when Chan comes to find you. He knows where you are at every point of the day, it’s only a matter of time before he follows the dot. God knows he needs to leave the studio at some point. He’s been sleeping on the sofa,” Hyunjin informs him.

Ah, so he’s dropped his routine. All of Felix’s hard work has been ruined. He thinks back to what Minho said, about how Chan doesn’t like being in his apartment because it feels lonely.

“But if that’s true… why hasn’t he come yet?”

“I think he’s scared that human-you can’t give him what cat-you gave him.”

Felix is scared to ask. He does anyway.

“What did I give him?”

Hyunjin smiles, a little sadly.

“Someone to come home to.”

 

***

 

When Felix gets back to Minho’s, he’s tired and craving a hug. Minho isn’t home from work yet, so Felix picks Doongie up off the floor and takes him to the sofa for a cuddle. Because he can’t contain his thoughts for a second longer, he starts telling Doongie all about his day.

Doongie listens to all Felix’s thoughts. Poor Doongie is all too ready to run away the second Minho walks through the door, and happily does when Felix lets go of him to latch onto Minho instead.

“You know the vet microchipped me? Well, Chan’s been tracking me with it.”

Minho’s eyes practically bug out of his head. “He what?!”

“Yeah. Apparently he checks it more than he checks his texts.”

To be fair to Minho, he tries to hold his laughter. Felix sees it in the way his lips curl. It doesn’t work.

“Hyung!” Felix whines.

“Sorry! Sorry! That’s, just… wow. What a fucking loser.”

“As if you didn’t spend the week tracking Jisung when he had that trip with university.”

“He was my boyfriend and in a different country! Chan’s your ex-owner and knows exactly where you are,” Minho protests, shifting on the sofa to get more comfortable with Felix’s weight on top of him.

“Anyway, Hyunjin says Chan wants to talk to me but he’s too scared. I would go and talk to him but I don’t want to pressure him into it. I meant what I said when I told him that he never had to see me again. It’s just…” Felix trails off, unsure how to word what he wants to say.

“It’s just that Chan’s a coward so he won’t do it and you’re in love with him so you can’t stand the thought of never seeing him again?”

Honestly… yeah.

“Well, I wouldn’t put it like that,” Felix replies.

“You don’t need to. I’ve done it for you,” Minho says, proudly.

“Hyung,” Felix whines. “Please be a bit more serious.”

Minho pulls Felix in closer, pressing a small peck into his hair.

“You worry too much, Lixie. You didn’t do anything maliciously and you didn’t physically hurt him in any way. As you said to him, it’s not like you had any other choice but to pretend to be a cat. You were injured and vulnerable and scared. It’s not like you could have walked back home with that cast, anyway, especially as Chan barely left you alone. You’ve apologised and offered to pay him back. You’re not in the wrong here.”

“I agree with what you’re saying but I still feel gross about it,” Felix admits.

“That’s because you care about him. Nobody likes hurting someone they care about, even if they didn’t mean to,” Minho says.

“That’s why Jisung’s sleeping in a hotel?” Felix retorts.

Minho snorts. The sound is more affectionate than Felix expected. “Exactly. I didn’t kick Jisung out because I was angry at him – well, it wasn’t the main reason. I know my boyfriend well. If Jisung were here he’d spend all day trying to reverse the spell to make me happy again even if I tell him not to. I love Jisung a lot, but I’m not risking Dori like that.”

Oh. Felix supposes that makes sense – Jisung probably would attempt everything to fix Dori. He’s always trying to be more helpful with his magic and he doesn’t like watching the people he loves being sad, or struggling with something that he could make better. If something can be fixed with his magic then Jisung will be determined to do it.

“It’s the same for Chan in a way,” Minho continues.

Felix frowns. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Well, it’s true that Chan isn’t talking to you right now, but he doesn’t want to give you a chance to make things worse.”

“Oh.”

“Wait, I worded that badly. What I mean is if you were constantly around him trying to apologise and explain yourself, he might grow tired and frustrated without the proper space to process things. He just needs to come to terms with the truth and get over his hurt. And anyway, if he felt that strongly against you he would have made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with you when he first found out.”

There’s a truth to Minho’s words, Felix supposes, but… the thing is, Chan’s a really nice guy, he probably just didn’t want to hurt Felix’s feelings and–

Minho flicks Felix on the head.

“Ow!”

“Stop making excuses in your brain! I can literally see you doing it! If Chan hated you then he would have cut you off on the day he found out, but you were the one who left. He also wouldn’t be tracking you on his app–”

“Maybe he’s tracking me to make sure I’m nowhere near him while he waits for his contact in the police to serve me with a restraining order.”

“Felix. You’re catastrophizing. You didn’t do anything on purpose and Chan knows that. He’s probably just too scared to reach out. Like, would you know how to talk to a man after believing he was your cat?” Minho huffs.

That… is a very good point, Felix would have no idea what to say. Especially if his entire world had just been turned upside-down thanks to the confirmation of shapeshifters and witches.

“So… what do I do?” Felix mumbles.

Minho smirks, slightly. Felix is scared of that expression.

“Well, why don’t we use that app to our advantage? If he knows where you are all the time, then he’ll know if you turn up outside his door. Don’t ring the doorbell or anything because then you’re not demanding his attention. You’ll just be there, just in case. It’ll be his choice if he wants to go out to talk to you or not,” Minho suggests.

That… actually sounds like a pretty good plan. Chan really wouldn’t have to see Felix again if he doesn’t want to. Felix can just show up, wait for a few minutes and then leave again. If Chan doesn’t come out to talk to him then… then it’s time for Felix to start trying to move on, no matter how difficult that might be.

But Felix doesn’t want to lose Chan. They only spent two weeks together yet Felix can’t imagine not having that man as part of his everyday life and god, maybe he’s being a bit too eager or obsessive but… is it so bad to want to be close to somebody as wonderful as Chan? With that big, dopey smile; his safe, warm arms and his laugh that makes Felix feel all gooey inside? When a man like that exists and his heart is the purest of gold, how is it possible for anybody to experience being in his circle and force themselves to leave with nothing?

Felix doesn’t want to live a life without Chan. Life without Chan would be as empty as the silence surrounding him.

Wait, what?

“I can’t hear anything,” Felix says.

“Huh?” Minho asks, clearly on a different path from Felix’s thoughts.

“I can’t hear anything. Can you?”

Minho hesitates. “No?”

“Exactly.”

Felix looks at Minho, expectantly. His hyung frowns, but it doesn’t take long for realisation to cross his face.

“Oh. Dori’s stopped singing.”

 

***

 

Chan knows he’s here.

Well. If Chan has been as glued to the tracking app as Hyunjin says he has, then he does. If not, Felix might get banned from the building for suspicious loitering. Not that he’s been here that long – only five minutes – but still. Sitting against the wall opposite somebody’s front door isn’t exactly the most normal thing in the world.

It’s better than showing up to the studio. Felix was worried that he’d be escorted out by security straight away if he went in there without an ID and started waiting around, so Minho had texted Hyunjin with a plan to lock Chan out of the studio. Something about spamming the keypad with password attempts until it locks permanently and needs security to reset it. Anyway, whatever they’d done worked because Hyunjin sent a confirmation text that Chan’s spending the day in his home studio.

If Hyunjin’s calculations (or Chan Maths, as he’d called it) are correct, then Felix only needs to wait fifteen minutes until it’s definite that Chan knows he’s outside.

Surprisingly, Felix is mostly fine. Nervous as hell but he’s keeping calm, telling himself he might as well be here because it’s not like he can go back to Minsung’s flat, anyway. Felix was warned about the amount of making up they had to do. Jisung had even given Felix the keycard to his hotel room. He’d forgotten to tell Felix which hotel it was before he was stumbling into the flat with Minho and slamming the door behind him, but Felix can work it out. Somehow. Or maybe just ask Hyunjin if he can spend the night there, although Changbin might not agree due to his suspicions and beliefs about Felix being a skinwalker.

As the minutes tick on, however, and five turns to ten, Felix starts to wonder if Chan knows he’s here yet. He probably does, right? Unless he’s really in the flow of a song. He still has a job, it’s not like he can check Felix’s location at every minute of the day. Felix knows better than anyone how much of a workaholic Chan can be – he spent two weeks watching the man work himself to exhaustion.

But… if Chan doesn’t come outside… would it be okay, maybe, if he asked Minho to give Chan a message? That way Chan doesn’t have to see him but Felix can remind him to keep eating breakfast and to come home from the studio before 11 p.m. and to make sure he doesn’t stay up until the early hours making random little songs up on his guitar.

What are the songs about now that Felix is gone? Is it possible… could they still be about him?

Ten turns to fifteen and Felix gets his answer. Chan Maths says that Chan must know he’s here by now, yet he hasn’t come to see Felix. Whether it’s because he doesn’t want to or because he isn’t ready yet, it’s not as if Felix can come back multiple times to check. That would be stalking, and while Chan following him on the app is one thing, showing up to Chan’s flat to sit outside it multiple times is another.

Chan just needs more time. Maybe. Well– maybe not. Felix doesn’t know. He doesn’t know and he isn’t sure it’s healthy to set faith up in false beliefs. It’s likely Chan wants nothing more to do with him. Maybe Felix really does have to let him go.

With a sharp inhale, Felix gets to his feet. He throws a longing glance at Chan’s door and begins to walk away.

Knock knock knock.

… Huh?

Spinning on his heels, Felix turns and stares at Chan’s door, his eyebrows scrunched into a frown. It sounded like someone just knocked on the door, but like… from the inside?

No. He’s making it up in his head. Felix is just too hopeful.

Deflating, he turns back around to make his way down–

Knock knock knock.

Nope, Chan’s definitely knocking on the inside of his door. That’s definitely a thing that is happening.

Turning to it once again, Felix calls out, “Hello?”

There’s a few seconds and then the door opens, slowly sweeping back to reveal the owner of the apartment.

Felix stares at him. Chan stares back.

“You didn’t knock,” Chan states.

“I didn’t.”

“I knocked for you.”

“I wasn’t going to knock,” Felix informs him. “I was waiting for you to come out and talk to me.”

“How did you expect me to know you were out here if you weren’t going to knock?” Chan counters.

“... The microchip app,” is Felix’s slow reply.

Chan’s eyelashes flutter as he blinks quickly. He looks a bit like he’s having a facial seizure.

“You know?”

“I know.”

Felix’s heart is beating so fucking fast, it must be trying to compete with Chan’s eyelashes.

“Well. I was waiting for you to knock.”

Felix frowns. “How long?”

“The whole fifteen minutes.”

This man, I swear to god.

“Why didn’t you come out and get me?!”

“Why didn’t you knock?!”

“I wanted to give you space!”

“I wanted to give you space!”

 

***

 

Eventually, the two find their space in Chan’s living room. Felix sits in the middle of the sofa while Chan sits in the single-seater. There’s a very loud silence between them. Felix wishes Dori were here singing opera songs to break the tension.

“I kinda said what I wanted to say last time. I’m just waiting for you to say stuff,” Felix speaks up, although his tone is a little timid.

Chan nods. “Okay. I can say stuff.”

Chan proceeds to say nothing else.

“I can turn back into a cat if that would be easier.”

“No!”

…

“No. Sorry. Urm, it’s fine. I mean, it’s nice. Seeing you. Seeing you is nice.” What a great explanation from Chan.

“Okay.”

Dragging a hand down his face, Chan sighs deeply and turns his body more towards Felix.

“Look, I’m not mad at you. I was, a bit, but as you said it’s not like you had any choice in the situation. I keep thinking about how scared you must have been and what would have happened to you if anybody else had found you and… I’m glad it was me. I’m glad I was the one who found you. Cat or not… we still have a bond, either way, so I can’t say that I don’t care for you.” Chan’s tone is gentle as he speaks. Felix thinks he can detect some optimism in it, but he doesn’t know if he’s just hearing what he wants to hear.

“So… you aren’t going to get a restraining order against me?”

“A restraining order? What? Felix… no! Why would I need a restraining order?” Chan asks, softly.

“I saw your dick!” Felix whines, pointing at him.

“And I cleared your shit out of the litter box, I think we’ve both been violated.”

Felix slaps his hands to his face. “I was hoping you wouldn’t think about that particular detail. Why did you say that? You really didn’t have to say that Chan.”

“But you also saw my dick.”

“That’s not as bad as having one of the hottest men you’ve ever seen clear up your shit from a litter box!”

“It’s fine, Felix! They were only small and– wait, one of the hottest men? What?”

This conversation is going so, so south. Felix wishes he were a fucking cat right now so he didn’t have to participate in it any longer. Then again, it may be dangerous to leave Chan to his own devices lest he start rambling and say something even worse like ‘hey, remember when I had to check if you had a dick or not to see what gender you were?’

Pulling his hands away from his face, Felix says, “Back to the topic. You… seriously still want me in your life?”

Chan looks a little bashful. “I mean, yeah. If you… if you want to be in it. I mean, I’m not sure how well we’ll get along as people but you put up with me for two weeks without trying to escape so that’s got to count for something, right?”

Yes, it does! It really does! Please let me in your life Chan please I’ll cry–

“I think so. I mean, I think we vibe. Like that time when you were on the phone to your mum! You said ‘mum, it’s pretty late in Sydney, why are you calling?’ and, like, I’m from Sydney, too! And I was desperate to tell you and talk about it but, like, it’s not like I could meow it out for you. And then when we were watching that show on Netflix together you kept making comments about it and, like, you were saying exactly what I was thinking! And you were asking me what I thought of your songs and I know it was just an offhanded question because you knew I couldn’t reply but I actually had so many things to say and I had some suggestions at one point, not that I even know anything about producing songs, but I listen to a lot of music and–”

And Chan’s looking at him with sparkling eyes and such a fond smile that it makes Felix blush, embarrassed.

“What?”

“It’s nice to hear you talk, Felix. Although it’s a little sad knowing you had so many things to say to me and you couldn’t tell me them,” Chan says, his voice soft and endeared and– and–

“I’d like to talk to you more. I mean, if you want.” Felix shares it in a whisper like a secret.

“And I’d very much like to listen to everything you have to say,” Chan says, his own whispered secret in return.

“Well, can I start by saying that I’m very disappointed that you haven’t stuck to the schedule that I spent hours meowing at you to get in?”

“No you may not.”

Felix throws his head back with a laugh. Chan watches him with awe.

Standing from the sofa, Felix reaches a hand down to Chan. “Come on. We should go and get some food before the blood in your veins turns to black coffee.”

“Are you going to meow at me if I don’t?”

“No, but I’m not above biting you.”

“Is that any way to treat the man who’s been ever-so-graciously cleaning your shit out of the litter box?”

…

“Okay, okay– I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t bite me– PLEASE DON’T BITE ME!”

 

The end.

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading !!! Jesus this took 934239048 years I am SO glad to finally post it !!! This originally started as a jikook fic back in 2018 and I found it a few months ago in my drafts and decided to make it chanlix asjnkldjklasd tbh i changed most of it, the only thing i left was jisung (Taehyung) buying magical rat tails with the stolen money lol

Thank you so so so much to Red for betaing this mess and thank you to Malina for listening to me whine about it and also Humi as well asjkldjklsdjksd love you lots <3

I know seungin weren't really in it but... i might have some ideas for them in this universe icl HAHAHAHAHAHA but i don't want to think about this oneshot for at least two months so don't expect a follow up rq i still gotta get my degree rip <3

Please drop a comment if you'd like, I'd love to know your thoughts!

Rennie xx

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