Chapter Text
When Felix woke he could hear the quiet murmuring of people in the dining room across the hall. It was comforting to constantly have the reminder of people around him even when he was by himself. Seungmin’s bed opposite his was empty, sheets neatly folded back over. He expected that. He was a late riser himself and Seungmin was almost always gone early for school. Just now, however, summer break had started so Seungmin had no reason to be up.
Felix rolled over and checked his alarm clock. It was a wonderful device as long as he didn’t have to actually abide to its incessant spinning. 9.10AM. That explained why Seungmin was already gone. At this time about half the house would be dead to the world and half would be well into their day.
Next door Hyunjin would no doubt be sound asleep since neither Jeongin or Seungmin had to drag his ass to school today. They would likely be already out and exploring the city. Felix would join them later in their holidays when the instinct to wake up at 6am had worn off them.
Felix got up with a stretch, ignoring the sweet voice in his head that said to curl back under the covers for another hour. Stumbling out of his room brought him face to face with a wall painted a calming mint colour. His and Seungmin’s bedroom was painted a darker green, closer to the muted light from through a canopy, to make them feel more at home. It was a nice touch from Chan, Felix didn’t have the heart to tell him that no paint could hide the fact they were in a geometric brick building buzzing with electricity. He could tune of the electricity now and the cars and planes didn’t make him flinch but they still got the quietest bedroom, facing the back ‘garden’.
Felix slid along the wall until he hid the doorway to the dining room. There had been a door there once. There had been a door there last week. Perhaps there would be a door there in the future. Currently there was nothing but air. Chan and Woojin looked up as he fell into the room and crawled into a chair.
“You alright there, Lixie?” Chan asked with a smile.
“I’m great,” Felix replied. He was getting better at bending the truth. “What are Hyungs doing?”
“Trying to create a solution to the ‘nine people, seven beds’ problem,” Woojin said. They had notes scribbled on paper in front of them and a laptop whirring away at one side. Woojin leaned over to Felix conspiratorially. “It’s not going well,” he whispered.
“But sharing beds is good?” Felix said. He loved getting to cuddle with someone and only the noise of the bathroom next to Jisung and Changbin’s room stopped him being in one of their beds every night. Seungmin unfortunately did not enjoy sleeping next to someone. Ah, he saw the problem now.
“We’re going to have to get a bunk bed,” Chan told Woojin, scoring though his latest design.
“For us?” Woojin asked cheekily. “Channie, I thought you liked cuddles?”
Chan stuck his tongue out and gave Woojin a push. “For some of the kids, obviously.”
Felix loved to watch them together even though Changbin told him that watching people was ‘creepy’. Woojin and Chan didn’t normally mind though and they’d answer most of his culture difference questions. Minho was the best for answering questions but he could also (for now) lie with a completely straight face and he’d tricked Felix on more than one occasion. When Seungmin broke his curse Felix was going to get him back.
“Which kids?” Woojin asked.
Chan dropped his head to the table with a thud. “I don’t know,” he whined before perking up again. “Lixie!” Chan smiled winningly. “How would you like a bunk bed?”
“What’s a bunk bed?” Felix asked. From the sound of it it was a bed that prevented cuddles and Felix did not want that.
“Like this.” Chan spun the laptop around to face him and showed Felix a very strange ladder. “You could sleep up here. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
Sleeping up a tree was fun but that was a dead tree, it wouldn’t rock him in the wind. “No,” Felix decided.
“Damn it,” Chan said. “Who else is there?”
Woojin massaged Chan’s head with his fingers, making Chan’s curls tangle even more. “Nobody is going to want the top bunk baby. You need a new plan.”
“Changbinnie?” Chan called through to the kitchen.
“No, I’m not taking a top bunk,” Changbin said and walked into the room with a slice of toast in his mouth and a mug in his hand. His eyes were dull from a lack of sleep but they brightened when he noticed Felix frowning at him. He set his mug in front of Felix and went back into the kitchen to make another.
Felix wrapped his hands around the mug and inhaled the smell of coffee. Coffee was another benefit of the human world. It wasn’t quite as good as sava tea but it was pretty close. Especially the way Changbin made it, with more sugar than Chan thought was reasonable. Woojin said it was fine as long as they only had a few cups per day and Felix could see why. Coffee was great and it would be terrible if they ran out.
Changbin returned a minute later with a new mug and an apple. Changbin wasn’t a big fan of fruit in its raw form so Felix knew the apple was for him. The fruit here was watery and bland but it was better than toast which appeared to be the other option today.
“Thank you, Binnie-hyung,” Felix said, taking the apple from him.
“You’re welcome, Lixie,” Changbin gave him a small smile and swapped their mugs before sitting next to Felix. “This one has honey,” Changbin explained as Felix whined when the mug was taken from him.
Felix took the alternative offered mug greedily. Honey was much better than plain cane sugar. “You’re the best, Binnie-hyung.” At that moment it was the complete truth.
Felix looked up from his steaming mug to see Woojin looking at them with a knowing look on his face. Felix stuck his tongue out at him. That was a fun reply he’d picked up, mostly from Chan. Woojin did it back, crossing his eyes to make Felix giggle.