Chapter Text
Where am I?
Felix hadn’t quite woken up yet, he just knew subconsciously that he wasn’t in his bed, but it was warm and he felt safe, and he was surrounded by a woody, rain-soaked scent of a forest, with the subtle, grounding sweetness of wet timber. He rubbed his face closer to where the scent was coming from - he never wanted that scent to leave his nostrils, it was so, so good. He took another deep inhalation, feeling like purr—
“You done scenting me yet?” A voice asked over his head.
Felix went rigid, his thoughts freezing as the realization dawned that he had been sniffing another person as if it were a drug. He carefully removed his face from – Minho’s neck!? – and looked up at him. “Sorry. Don’t know why I did that...” He muttered sheepishly. “You smell nice, though.”
Ugh. Felix mentally smacked himself... Like complimenting him would help, Felix?!
Minho raised an eyebrow. “Glad it meets your approval,” he said sarcastically.
Felix was about to apologize again when the wind suddenly took off and he got a whiff of his own scent. It was awful — a sweat-damp stink mixed with the metallic scent of stale blood. That combined - he slapped a hand over his mouth - with the fact he hadn't brushed his teeth in ages...how could Minho stand it?
“Is there any way for us to find some water? So I can wash myself?”
“What?”
Oh right, Felix still had his hand over his mouth, so he placed his hand a little away before repeating his question.
Minho proceeded to life his head and sniff the air? Felix found that action strange, but with the way Minho was carrying himself, seemingly sure and rather powerful, Felix figured it was a hunter’s trick. Not that he knew if this Minho was a hunter or not, Felix was straight up guessing here, because why else would he been so deep into the forest?
In fact, all he had done since waking up here was guessing – Felix wasn’t sure of anything anymore and he didn’t want to think about how he might never see his Minho again, or what it means that there was a Minho here, but essentially as a stranger. So, he did the only thing he had done since Minho found him and ignored the pain like a persistent tightness blooming around his heart.
“There’s a stream nearby,” Minho declared, “we’ll take a break there.”
“What are you thinking about?” They had walked only walked for a few minutes by this point and Felix hadn't expected a conversation, much less from the stoic and reserved man carrying him.
He looked up at the sound of Minho’s voice, bemused. “What do you mean?”
“You look deep in thought.” Felix hadn’t expected Minho to actually care. He felt a bit of warmth enter his chest, along with a hint of shyness, even if the other asked rather nonchalantly - he still asked.
“I was just wondering how... how I’m alive...” Minho's eyes narrowed, seemingly paying more attention. “With the wounds I got and how much blood I lost. It shouldn’t be possible. How are my leg still attached to my body – I felt the brown wolf bite it; it felt like it bit right through the bone. Not to mention the woman’s claws – claws, Minho! - punctured and ripped the back of my neck. If the blood loss didn't killed me, the infections should’ve!” By the end of Felix’s word vomit breakdown, he was out of breath and his throat was practically begging for him to stop yelling – it had suffered enough and still needed rest.
However… as someone used to using his voice quite frequently due to idol job, Felix subconsciously took a note of how much less his throat hurt - sufficiently enough to make him notice - and how quickly his throat seemed to have gotten better...
Minho waited until Felix had calmed down, until his breath was even again and his heart rate somewhat steady. “You heal quickly, what's so surprising about that? Your body should fight off infections easily.”
“It's not humanly possible to survive that, Minho!” He said, now more anxitated and a little concerned – Minho wasn’t quite understanding the severity of the situation.
Minho just sighed, then stopped walking to put him down on the ground. Before Felix could process, Minho grabbed Felix’s wounded leg and ripped the already mostly destroyed piece of fabric off to reveal his leg. “Hi! What are you doing!?” Felix yelled, face red.
Minho’s cold eyes snapped to his, cut through him, and he felt himself going still – but not before he let out a tiny whine.
Minho’s eyes suddenly softened, his touch felt a bit more gentle. “Look.”
Felix looked down at his leg and gasped, not believing what he was currently seeing. He grabbed his leg - his hands sliding over Minho’s - and investigated his now almost completely healed wound.
A shutter went through his whole body and he found himself starting to tremble – what was going on? “This is — impossible - wh-what… I don’t - I don’t know what's going on!” He bust out crying, this was just too much – his leg should look like an animal had mauled through it, and yet it looked almost fine. Had Felix just thought the severity had been higher than it actually was, so blinded by the pain and his mind had exaggerated the wounds?
Wounds.
His hand flew up to the back of his neck and a sob fell out of him - the skin felt smooth, not even a scar. “How?” He cried, vision blurry and confused. “How is this possible?” Felix was hysterical at this point, gasping for air as he clutched his chest in a suffocating panic. This can't be.
“Hey! Hey, hey hey, look at me,” he distantly heard, like someone was calling out to him underwater. “I said, look at me!” Felix’s eyes flew to Minho’s, like the other had commanded him and Felix had no choice to obey. He blinked, tears still streaming down his face, his whole body was shaking.
Minho seemed to be searching for something on his face or eyes, but when he couldn’t find whatever he was looking for, he just sighed and pulled Felix into his arms. His hand went to the back of Felix's head and pushed down, pressing his face into Minho's neck.
It took a long time before Felix’s body stopped shivering, before his sobs finally subsided, and while he still wasn’t able to stop his silent tears, the woody scent of Minho lulled him, tricked his mind into relaxing. The warmth and comfort after the mental breakdown, made him feel drowsy, head heavy, eyelids flickering. He nuzzled closer, burying his nose into the place where Minho’s neck met his shoulder and took deep breaths, soothing his aching heart, almost like a band-aid. If he was in his right mind, he would've scratched his head, bewildered at how Minho's scent had such a strong effect on him.
He didn’t know how long Minho held him, calmed him down, but Felix was grateful, especially considering that to this Minho, Felix was but a stranger, a stray he had decided to pick up.
When he was mostly back to himself, – as much as a could in the light of the situation – he continued to lay in Minho’s arms, feeling safer than he had in days. He was a bit embarrassed, sure, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.
Even if it wasn’t his Minho, it was still a Minho and Felix strongly believed that any Minho’s, no matter where, would be kind.
“I’m sorry,” Felix managed to get out, his voice hoarse after crying and yelling again, “I didn’t mean to break down on you.”
Minho just squeezed him in response, and for now, that was enough.
While he didn't keep track of time, Minho had held him long enough for the sky to darken, and the insect noise to lessen. When Felix forced himself to pull away, he couldn’t bring himself to meet Minho’s eyes, mortified at his breakdown. Sure, any sane person would've probably had the same reaction, but still… his face was bright as a tomato.
“Is it too late to get to the water now?” He asked shyly, almost apologetic - he had wasted Minho's time, after all, but he could really use some water right about now. He had never felt this dehydrated before – his tongue was sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Minho’s answer was to pick Felix up, bridal-style and started walking. He wasn't one to say much, was he.
“Woah, you don’t have to do that – apparently I can walk by myself now...” He joked, only to slap himself lightly on the mouth – why was his first instinct to make light of the situation?
“No need, heal completely first, then you can walk.”
Felix didn’t want to argue, and he did think Minho had a point, so he wrapped his arms around Minho’s neck and placed his face on his shoulder, again breathing in that delicious scent. His own Minho had picked up Felix like this many times before, so Felix just closed his eyes and pretended he was home, in the arms of a loved one.
When they finally reached the stream, Felix sent a prayer of thanks. A part of him wanted to jump directly into the stream, but his rational side stopped him – he had acted childish enough already. He mentally ordered himself to act like the adult he was.
He carefully walked closer to the stream, wary and still finding it hard to believe that he was almost completely healed. He crouched down and quickly washed his hands the best he could before he put them together to gather water to drink – he had to do this a good few times before he felt hydrated enough. He knew he couldn’t gulp down too much, too fast though, so he restrained himself to go at a slow pace.
Once that was done, he started stripping. It didn’t occur to him once think this was a dangerous thing to do because in his mind, Minho was still a Minho and wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, had Minho wanted to hurt him, he could’ve done it ages ago.
When the ruined clothes came off him and onto the ground, he walked slowly into the stream, cautious of the current. He didn’t think he had much strength left to fight the current, should he slip and fall.
He felt a presence beside him and knew Minho had followed him into the water – he didn’t know if it was due to wanting to wash himself or to watch over Felix; either way, Felix felt comforted by his presence.
He washed and rubbed himself to his best abilities without a soap, removing all traces of blood, sweat, and dirt. He then ducked under the water and came up much more clearheaded. The water felt refreshing and not as cold as he expected it to be, sending a pleasant tingle through his tired muscles as he dared to wade deeper into the water, his feet touching the stones resting on the streambed.
Once done, he could no longer find anything to distract himself and took a peak at Minho. His own Minho had always been well trained, his body fit and perfectly balanced musculature, staying lean and powerful through working out and dancing; his thighs and lower body had always been his strongest muscle placement. That along with his extremely good features, a defined jawline and sharp eyes, he was a very wanted man.
This Minho, however, was that, and for some reason, more. He was more muscular, if Felix wasn’t wrong – and he refused to be wrong about any of his members’ bodies because he had massaged them everywhere – and he had a slight aura that his own Minho didn’t have. His Minho had aura, don’t get him wrong, but this was different. He couldn’t quite put his finger as to what it was that was different, but he knew there was something, something laying just beneath the surface.
“Done looking?” Minho’s voice snapped Felix out of his thoughts, eyes flying to lock on the other's, and with a flaming face, he realized that he’d been starring, and been caught doing so.
Unexpectedly, Felix all of a sudden had a flashback to his conversation turned argument he had with Hyunjin and quickly looked down. He didn't want to fight with Minho, who was most likely his only shot at surviving this place.
“Sorry,” he muttered, hoping Minho hadn't taken offense to his ogling.
“I don’t mind, but you should definitely buy me dinner first...” Minho said with a tiny smirk.
Felix knew he was trying to lighten up the mood and felt his shoulders (when had he tensed so much?) lower and relax. He figured it would be best to be honest, and jump in on the teasing. “Sorry, I don’t have any money.”
Wait, should he admit that? What if Minho no longer wanted to help him? They hadn’t discussed money – should they have?!
Luckily, the other man just snorted, but said nothing else. Felix could only assume that Minho wouldn’t have any problem with him being unable to repay him – at least not with money.
Felix cleared his throat before asking. “Are we making a camp or continuing walking?”
Minho didn’t say anything for a few minutes, making his gut slowly fill with anxiety the longer the silent lasted.
“We can stay here until tomorrow. You should be fully healed by then.” He started to walk towards the shore, and called over his shoulder. “I’m gonna look for some food, you should stay here.”
Felix was about to reply when Minho hoisted himself up from the water – naked. Completely naked – his ass starring right at Felix’s face; it was a great ass, there’s no denying that. He licked his slips unconsciously, and once it dawned to him what he was doing, he mentally slapped himself. He dared to look up at Minho's head, only to blush, his gaze meeting the other's. Felix swallowed as his mouth went dry, Minho had seen him admiring his ass. He was about to apologize – he felt like all he did was apologize – when Minho winked at him and walked away.
Before Felix could even try to calm himself down, Minho was gone.
Felix took his time in the water as the current helped massage his muscles and feel relaxed. He also decided to wash what was left of his clothes, as he didn’t feel like putting them back on dirty. He only got out of the water when his skin turned pruney and his body drowsy, knowing it was no longer safe to stay in the water, because with his luck, the probability of him falling asleep was embarrassingly high.
The first thing he did once he was out, was to find a place to dry his clothes. He found a few stones that were big enough to stretch out the clothes, hoping it would speed up the drying process – the fast they dried, the less time he spent naked. He then sat down on one of the stones he hadn’t used for his clothes and waited.
If he hadn’t rested in Minho’s arms easier, he probably would have fallen asleep by now, but while his body felt tired, his mind refused to stay quiet. He still had no conclusion about what was going on, but he needed to stay calm and not let his panic take over. He had already done that, and it got him nowhere. Well, it did get him a hug, but still… He was also struggling with not constantly crying, missing his members, his family and friends, but having a Minho here helped him more than he would like to admit.
His scent, his presence, had a calming effect on him. Maybe it was a false sense of security due to Felix’s connection to his Minho – this world’s Minho was, after all, almost a complete replica; a doubleganger, really. There were only slight changes and it made it harder for Felix to keep reminding himself that he wasn’t safe – not truthfully.
He just sat there, his mind kept racing, going in every directing, never finding a solution that sat right with him, while he waited – both for his clothes to dry and for Minho to come back.
When Minho finally returned with two rabbits - rest in peace, little rabbits, Felix thought sadly – the clothes had yet to dry and thus, Felix carefully positioned his body, in an effort to not flash his private parts.
Minho barely gave him a glance, walking past him to a more open area and started to move things around. Felix stretched his neck to see what he was doing, eyes landing on the other's hands and his mouth lifted a little – Minho was making a fire. How was Felix supposed to keep his guard up when the man was being considerate while wearing his Minho’s face.
Felix didn’t want to feel more of a burden than he already was, so he asked if Minho needed any help, only to be turned down.
Let to his own devices, all Felix could do was to patiently wait for the food to get ready, and while he waited, he studied the other. Minho was still naked (wait, had he hunted for food while naked?) and some sweat was rolling down his very firm, tan back, his muscles moving beneath the skin at his movements. Said movements while pulling the rabbits – he tried not to think about that part – were efficient and like he had done this many times before.
This man seemed very comfortable being naked while making them food, and when Felix felt a hint arousal in his lower region, he was filled with shame so overwhelming that he felt the sudden urge to jump back into the water and have the current wash him away. Here he was, acting like a creep to his rescuer and caretaker
Minho’s body suddenly stilled - and if Felix’s wasn’t mistaken – and took a deep breath, before relaxing his body and continuing with their dinner.
Felix released his breath – he hadn’t even realized that he had stopped breathing - but for a second there, Felix thought Minho might have smelled his arousal. However, that was impossible, right? Even if possible, he was sitting too far away for the other to notice that... Shaking his head, he decided he needed to look at something safer and promptly turned his body away from Minho to look at the stream instead, wishing he was in it.
His gaze never steered away from the water, his eyes practically glued to it, until Minho called his name, snapping his concentration, and informing him that the food was ready. The grilled rabbit meat was actually good, and to Felix's satisfaction, managed to eat himself full this time.
After eating, they cleaned themselves up by the water and Felix determined his clothed had dried enough. He quickly put on what was left of it and instantly felt more relaxed, a cover of clothes was another layer of protection. While half the fabric of his left foot was gone, the pants stayed mostly intact, and the sweater had a few rips, it covered him enough that Felix didn’t feel naked.
He then looked up to see what Minho was doing and saw the man had laid down on the ground, ready to sleep for the night. Felix didn’t dare to lay to close to him, as didn’t want to be a bother, and decided where he was currently standing was an alright place to sleep. He laid down on the cold, solid surface, the grass barely helping with the harshness of the ground and closed his eyes, hopeing sleep would come easily tonight.
He didn’t know how long he laid there, unable to fall asleep, but he could hear the smooth breathing coming from Minho and knew the man was already deep asleep. He had probably slept out in the open many times, but Felix hadn’t.
He knew what the problem was and that was that he didn’t feel safe, even if Minho a few feet from him. Felix liked to be held, especially after something traumatizing had happened, a leftover fear from a scary movie or incident. All Felix had to do was to call or text, and one of the members would come and sleep with him, would hold him safely in their arms. But he couldn’t do that here as he didn’t have his phone, and, despite how much it hurt to admit, his boys most likely didn’t exist here.
Hell, Felix wasn’t even sure if phones, or even electricity, existed here. He hadn’t seen Minho with one – he didn’t even have a lighter, and based on their clothes, wherever Felix had ended up in, it didn’t feel like the modern society he was used to. And that meant that his members were far, far away from him, and the only one here was, this stranger, Minho.
Felix looked over at the sleeping figure – he looked so at peace, where he laid, like he had no worries.
'Go, sleep with mate'. Felix blinked, his body slightly jolting. The inner voice had been quiet since meeting Minho, and the first time it started speaking again, it was for this? It would seem that the inner voice felt safe with Minho...
He’s not your mate, Felix said to his mind, speaking for the first time back to the inner voice, as weird as it was.
However, Felix was tempted. Would it be so bad to sleep closer to him? He shouldn’t though...
After what Felix like hours, he could no longer stop himself from following his instincts, his needs and his body moved with no control.
With shame and crimson cheeks, he got up and walked over to where Minho was laying and carefully laid down beside him, biting his lips wile trying not to make any sounds. He didn’t dare to snuggle closer, but from where he was now laying, he could feel the other’s warmth and it gave him a false sense of security, enough to feel the lure of sleep. When he closed his eyes this time, it didn’t take long for him to enter dreamland.