Lost puppy?
Lost PuppyXiumin walked along the streets, painfully aware of the shoulder straps of his messenger bag digging into his shoulders as he crossed the road. Just a few more blocks to go. He gritted his teeth as he hefted the bag up ti his shoulder. Reminder to self: kill Byun Baekhyun when home.
Stupid Byun, making him swap with his own slot - did someone order weights or something?! He gingerly the last parcel, and winced as the solid, heavy block shifted and his shoulder sagged again. Turning his head, he counted the door numbers ... Twenty six, twenty four, twenty two, twenty ... Nineteen. Minseok attempted to run, seeing the speck of light in his long, torturous hours of darkness and labor -
Ow.
Minseok found himself kissing number nineteen's dorstep as he lay sprawled on the ground, pinned down by the horrendously heavy parcel on his shoulder. He moaned - then the door clicked open, and he froze.
"Oh - must be my parcel, then?" Xiumin looked up, panting, then gaped as the heavily built man bent down and with one easy jerk, pulled off the parcel with one hand. The man smiled cheerfully. "I wasn't expecting it to be delivered by a messenger but never mind!" Xiumin was to stunned to answer, mutely pulling out a pad for him to sign.
*Later*
Xiumin jogged through the streets, counting the streetlights as he went. He couldn't stop a grin from creeping over his face - he had almost forgotten what it felt like to be able to walk unburdened by a parcel. He felt like he could fly -
"Ow! What the - huh?" Xiumin rubbed his shoulder, blinking at the cardboard box that had fallen into him. He jumped as he heard a scratching noise from within - what was that?? He started to steadily back away silently, his heart bucketing as he heard a another thud. His heart started to race as he glanced frantically around, looking for a weapon, but it was too late - the box tipped over, almost in slow motion, and Xiumin opened his mouth to scream -
"Woof?"
A small ... Puppy? Xiumin lowered his hands, feeling a heat creep into his face as he looked around, hoping that nobody had seen. He looked back down at the little animal, who was stratching its ear as it stared innocently up at him, its big brown eyes shining. Xiumin bent down, cooing at its cuteness.
"Awwww ... Look at you!! So cuuuute ..." gushed Xiumin, as the puppy barked and wagged its tail, jumping up to paw at his knees. Xiumin noted its scraggly, muddly fur, and frowned. "No-one owns you?" The puppy blinked at him, then whined. Xiumin reached down to tug ay the scruff of its neck - no collar. He was a stray??
"What's a cute little stray like you doing here?"
I mean, who would blame Xiumin for taking pity on a cute, harmless, innocent, adorable stray?
"Suho?" called out Xiumin from the front door, his arms trying to contain the puppy who was wriggling with excitement (he hoped) in his arms. A few seconds later, a set of footsteps came thudding dosn the hallway and the door clicked open.
"Oh thank God, Xiumin hyung, I was getting worried -"
"I told you not to worry, umma," Baekhyun rolled his eyes from the couch - then jumped up. "Oh my God is that a -"
"- puppy?" finished Suho, his eyes wide. "What ..."
"He's back?" Chanyeol came running down the stairs, then blinked. "With a puppy?"
"Aww! It's so cuuute ..." squealed Kyungoo, poking it playfully as he yipped and squirmed about. Suho stood still, blinking. "Uh ... Maybe you should come in, Xiumin?"
"What's it called?" called Baekhyun, then seeing Xiumin's shrug, his face lit up. "Ooh, whatcha gonna call it?" Xiumin pondered for a few seconds, watching the puppy skittering around the floor, yipping happily as Suho chased after it, mumbling something about dirty carpets.
"I think I'll call it ... Chen." The puppy looked up at him at that moment, and Baekhyun asked it, "You happy with Chen?" The puppy - Chen - dipped its head as it barked, and Kyungsoo giggled. "It likes it, look ... Awww ..."
That night, after a good three hours of Suho and Kyungsoo attempting to give the newly-named Chen a bath, Xiumin flopped down on his bed, switching off the lights. The house still felt a bit quiet, and he wished that Luhan and Lay would come back from whatever they were doing (he ddidn't bother to listen) quicker. Tao and Kris were going to come back sometime tonight, from their ... From their ... Xiumin scratched his head, frowning. Now that he thought of it, he didn't listen to where they were going either. Aish. Better ask Suho tomorrow ...
"He wondered how they would react to Chen. Tao ... His cousin would probably like it, he mused. Lay and Luhan ... the two brothers he didn't really know. Lay would probably love Chen - but most likely not as much as Kyungsoo. He sighed. He actually hadn't expected Kyungsoo to fawn over Chen that much ... Since when did he love puppies? Jongin liked dogs ... Probably. He would be fine ... And Kris ... He blanched. Just don't step on him or something clumsy, knowing you ... he pleaded mentally.
Then suddenly something thudded onto his chest, and a milisecond later he felt something big and wet and sticky on his cheek. A familiar yip sounded out, echoing off the walls of his room. Xiumin bit back a scream and hissed, "Chen what are you doing here?" Chen ... It sounded nice, he noted. The puppy whined and tucked its tail between its legs, looking up at him with sad eyes. Xiumin tried to control himself, but -
"Aww I'm so sorry Chen, come here," Xiumin cooed, and immeadiately the puppy yipped happily a jumped up, wagging its tail, barking. Xiumin stopped himself from covering its mouth (pointy teeth? Nope) and whispered, "Shush, boy, you're gonna wake up Jongin and you don't wanna do that -" Chen stopped and cocked his head. Xiumin frowned, a fleeting thought crossing his mind. Could he understand him? Then the puppy started pulling at his bedsheets and Xiumin dismissed the thoughts.
Finally, after a long few hours of attempting to make Chen settle down and sleep, Xiumin glanced at the clock, groaning when he saw the numbers 11:58. Already? He mumbled something and shifted the sleeping puppy to the side, and lay down, closing his eyes.
It was only then when Xiumin realized that he had forgotten to murder Baekhyun for the weighted parcel.
*Chen's POV
I opened one eye, then the other, confirming that the older boy - Xiumin, did I remember the boy in the black jacket call him? - was asleep, then I quietly scrambled off the bed, padding silently over to the door. I looked under it, seeing the light shining from underneath. Someone's still awake? I blinked, then unconsiously, my tail started wagging. Who was it? I scratched at the door, butting and pulling it until I had opened a tiny crack just enough for me to slip through. Looking back and making sure Xiumin was still fast asleep, padded down the hallway and started climbing down the stairs, a sequence of falling, getting up, staggering, dropping off a stair, falling again. I mean - climbing. I whined and my face scrunched. I'm a big puppy - I can climb stairs!
Of course, it would be a lot easier if you were h-
No shut up, i hissed back in my mind. Not yet. The time isn't right.
Whatever you say, my other half grumbled. I finally rolled and dropped off the last stair, landing with a thud and a yelp on the wooden floor. I lay there for a second, then scrambled back up as I heard a squeak of a chair and footsteps. I looked up to see the same boy eho had first greeted Xiumin ... Xiumin called him Suho, right? Suho? I wagged my tail as the boy's brow furrowed. "Chen? What you doing here, boy?" He bent down to scoop me back up, and deposited me on the couch.
If I'd had eyebrows, I would have raised them. What are you doing up this late? Never mind me - I'm just a puppy! I cocked my head to the side, fixing him with what I hoped was an inquisitive stare. Tell me, tell me ... Suho blinked, then sighed. "It's not like you'll understand but ..." I perked my ears. I'll understand ... What's going on? I stared up at him, keening lowly. He looks sad. Why does he look sad?
Suho shifted a file of papers and said quietly so no-one could hear him, "It's not much, but I'm just doing a little extra ... Work ... So that we can keep this house." He smiled slightly. "If you can call this a house." I blinked. This late, though? And why doesn't he want anyone to know? Suho saw me blinking, and sighed. "I bought this ... House ... From this group. I needed somewhere to stay, me and the others, and the previous landlord was on the verge of kicking us out. They want it back, but I can't just give it away - at least not until we find a new place." I sighed. Oh. "So I look for a new place during the day, work extra during the night for them." He glanced quickly out of the window, then at the clock. I cocked my head. Was someone else going to come? Was he waiting for them? Suho looked back at me, and added, "They threatened once to take away them. And they do have the power to - every time they go out, I have to wait to make sure they come home. Kris hyung and Tao are coming home soon, and every time anyone goes out, they could be ... By them ..." Suho trailed off, biting his lips. Then a confused expression passed over his face. "Wait, why am I telling this to you?" I shrugged - then panicked. Oops!! Don't notice, don't notice - Suho stared. "You know, for a moment I could've sworn that you ..." I held my breath. Then Suho started laughing, burying his face into the cushions to stifle it. "Oh gods I really am going crazy ..."
In response I yipped and his ear, grinning a doggy smile as he scrunched up his face in half-disgust. "Right you." I lay down on the couch and turned to look at him with big brown puppy eyes (literally), trying as hard as I could to get my message across. Suho blinked, throwing a last glance down at the papers, then sighed and zipped up the folder, stuffing it unceromoniously under the desk. "Fine, you puppy," he grumbled. "You win. Come on - I'll make sure to close the door properly."I squirmed happily in his arms as he carried me back up to his bedroom.
The next morning
"Guys Taoris is here!"a familar voice screamed, making the whole housed group wake up abruptly. Jongin hissed a string of sleepy curses before wriggling under the covers and falling back into his deep slumber. Chanyeol and Baekhyun jumped up, crashing into Sehun in the process, scrambling down the stairs like the innocent kids they were. Chen opened his eyes, trying to get back up from the sofa but accidentally losing his feet and flopping back down again.
"Suho! Why are y- oh, who's this?" Kris frowned, staring at the puppy with his head cocked to one side. Chen's face scrunched up and he decided to stare right back, cocking his own head to the side to add effect. Kris blinked and jumped back. "Did that thing just -"
"Ge, it's not a thing, it's a he!" cried Tao leaping forwards and dumping all his bags into the elder's arms as he went, leaving Kris to stagger back, almost falling to the floor under the heavy weight. Tao gazed at the puppy. He looked up at Xiumin, who had just run down the stairs and was currently helping Kris untangle himself. "Hyung what's his name?"
"It's Chen!" squealed Kyungsoo, running down. The latter immeadiately started to fuss over the little dog, petting his fur as Kris looked on with a confused face. "I didn't expect Soo to be this ... erm ... Keen?" Suho, who was still blearily looking up from the couch, shrugged. "Me neither, but then I'm not exactly complaining."
"Does that mean Kyungsoo hyung does all the work for the C ... Erm ... Ch ... Chen?" mumbled Tao to Kris, who whispered back, "Probably. Look at him ..."
"So when is Luhan hyung coming back?" piped up Sehun, looking around eagerly. "He's coming back soon, isn't he?" Chen pricked his ears. Another person? He wriggled out of Kyungsoo's arms and jumped up at Sehun, who squeaked and fumbled clumsily. Kris pulled out a small diary and flicked through the schdule. "No, not until the day after tomorrow, at least ..." Sehun looked dejected. Tao put his arm around him, whispering something about bubble tea, and he perked up. Suho looked away from the two maknaes, smiling slightly. "And Lay?" Kris blinked. "Erm ... Either today lunch or tomorrow morning, I'm pretty sure." Suho nodded. "Right, uh ... Kyungsoo can you make breakfast? I kinda fell asleep ..." He scratched his head nervously, grinning sheepishly. Kyungsoo nodded, then ordered Minseok and Sehun to go out and buy food for Chen. "Nothing weird," he said firmly, pushing some money into their hands. "And NO Sehun, no bubble tea." Kyungsoo hesitated, then added a "Yet," after seeing the maknae's face fall.
Baekhyun flopped back down onto the sofa on top if a faintly Chanyeol, and setlled himself, asking, "So Kkamjong hasn't woken up yet?" Suho glanced up the stairs at the silent, dark, still room. "Nope." Baekhyun sighed, and wriggled around to find a more comfortable position on top of the younger, who was making muffled protests that no-one bothered to take notice of (Baekhyun was making an effort to hide it from Suho umma). "I'm bored," he said after two minutes. Suho looked up again, and yelped as Kris pulled him off the couch and let him thump onto the floor, effectively jarring the sleep out of him. "Uh ..." he looked at Chen, who was wagging his tail, currently pawing at Tao, who had already 'taken measures to protect my preciouses' (you know, right?). Kyungsoo called from the kitchen "Make Kai take Chen for a walk. Chen needs exercise." After a few moments, he added, "They BOTH need exercise." Kris sat down on the now empty couch, dropping his bag onto it. "Okay, who's gonna tell that to Kai?"
Silence.
"See, this is why we never get anything done," sighed Kris. Baekhyun opened his mouth and quipped in, "Not me - he kicked me the last tim-"
"BYUN BAEKHYUN!!" screamed Suho. "Get off Chanyeol NOW!!" Tao looked on with feinged interest as Baekhyun rolled quickly off a gasping Chanyeol, flashing an innocent smile at Suho. Suho glared back. "How many times do I have to tell you that -" Chanyeol pouted at Baekhyun, his large eyes pleading. Suho shut up quickly, watching with anticipation. Chanyeol pouted longer, and Baekhyun sat frozen. Chen blinked and wagged his tail a few times, his ears pricked. Why did they all stop talking? Baekhyun blinked a couple of times, and after a long, tense silence, he broke. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry Yeollie, just don't give me that face again -"
Chanyeol grinned, and ChenOn blinked in confusion. Oh. Baekhyun spun round and glared at the remaining boys, his black eyeliner making his eyes look dark and dangerous. "Who taught him that face?" he hissed. Chen yipped and scrambled behind Suho, who was not-so-subtly hiding behind Kris. Tao gulped. "Uh - I'm going for a walk no needtofollowme BYE!" the maknae ran out if the door as Baekhyun scrunched up his face. "Why ..." he moaned. "Ily Kris hyung is as pathetic as I am ..." Kris scowled. "Excuse me, I am VERY -"
"Cool, yea, heard that before," snorted Jongin as he flashed a mischievous grin at the elder. The boy attempted to make a cool entrance by slouching down the stairs, but only managed to trip and had to flail around and grab at the railing to stop himself from falling (although that didn't mean he didn't hear Kris's mutter of "Serve you right you brat-")
"Kris Wu!" snapped Suho, and Kris immeadiately put on what he must have thought was an innocent face. "We do NOT have swearing in the house!!" Suho glared daggers at Kris, and Jongin mumbled, "Call this a house?" Baekhyun stifled a grin, only Chen temembering the previous night and only Chen noticing the momentary flicker of emotion that flashed over Suho's face, vanishing as quickly as it had come. "Kim Jongin ..." Chen grew bored of the small arguments and padded into the kitchen, his nose detecting a strong smell of something yummy. He nosed open the door carefully, squeezing in and skittering over the slightly damp tiles to the rough, clumsy little kitchen. He recognized Kyungsoo's smell, and the said boy turned as he heard something - then spotted Chen. "Oh Chen boy here you are!" he carefully put down the spoon to scoop up Chen, and the dog yipped as he craned his neck to get a look at the food. Ooh! Was that pasta? He loved pasta - could he hav- oh wait. He was a dog. Right. No cheese. Kyungsoo caught him staring at the food, and giggled. "Water's here, Chen! Nothing too weird, Xiumin and Sehun will come back with proper food soon ..." He trailed off, scrunching up his face. "I hope." He pushed a plate filled his water towards Chen, who began lapping it up quickly, relishing the coolness of the wet liquid travelling down his throat. He hadn't eaten or drunk since he had -
"Ohmygod the food!" shrieked Kyungsoo, as he heard a loud fizzing erupt from the multiple pans on the crooked stove. Chen watched with vague intrest, lapping up the last dregs of water from the small bowl.
The next day
Sehun opened his eyes sleepily, wondering why he felt so excited today. Blinking and rubbing his eyes, he wracked his braibs for ideas - then his eyes flew open.
Luhan was coming back today!
Finally!
Sehun was about to jump up out of bed when suddenly, he heard a strange noise between a growl and a yip and something pale and furry slammed into his chest, knocking his back onto the bed as the thing dived into a tangle of covers. Sehun screamed as he thrashed around, the thing in the covers rolling about to almost completely tie up Sehun in the twisted bundle of sheets as it continued its quiet yipping and occasion growl.
"HYUNGSTHERESSOMETHINGINMYROOM!!!" He shrieked, flailing about as he attempted to crawl away, but only managing to get himself even more stuck.
"Sehunnie??" He heard a muffled shout and a thunder of footsteps running down the corridor towards him. "HELP!!"
He recognized Kai's voice, slightly slurred from sleep but still somehow yelling from the next room, something along the lines of "Sehun's in trouble!!" and then there was the familiar, high pitched shriek that was NOT Tao attempting to come to his rescue, but instead the foortseps were already heading away. The bundle underneath the sheets jumped up and his hand, which was underneath the covers, felt a row of pointy, hard, TEETH.
"IT BIT ME!" he howled, just as his door burst open, with the majority of the boys (Tao had fled a long time ago, and Kai had somehow fallen back alseep outside his room, and Kris suddenly had to leave for "Urgent meeting save Sehunnie without me BYE") pouring in.
To see the youngest boy helplessly tangled in a flurry of moving bedsheets, with a continously moving lump underneath.
Kyungsoo heard the barks, and his brow furrowed as the pan he held aloft sank down by his side. "Hang on, isn't that -"
"SEHUN CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"Suho's voice drowned out his confusion as the elder pushed through - then froze.
Sehun whimpered under the sheets, then shrieked as something wet streaked across his neck. Why weren't his hyungs saving him???
"Hold up a sec ..." Xiumin yelped, pushing back Suho. "I swear that ..." Kyungsoo nodded. "Isn't it ..."
Cowering frozen under the covers, Sehun suddenly heard an explosion of noise. Was it his hyungs (finally) raking the much needed action to save their precious maknae?
...
No, it was the loud, boisterous sound of Baekhyun and Chanyeol exploding into fits of laughter. He blinked, then heard Suho's voice - which was obviously trying (and failing) to keep the laughter out of it, say to him, "Sehun-ah, you can come out now." In the background, from the ... Garden? ... He heard another set of voices explode into howls of laughter (what ... Was that Kris and Tao?)
Trembling with fright - I mean, bravely and heroically - Sehun lifted the covers and crawled out pathetically and his breath hitched as he saw
A very certain golden-brown puppy with the name of Chen, sitting upright on his bed, in a nest of his now slightly chewed-up bedsheets, drooling and wagging his tail playfully. Sehun looked at the hyungs, all of them (except Suho and Kyungsoo, who were desperately trying to hold it back) rolling on the floor, holding their stomaches and laughing their heads off. He pretended not to see Baekhyun and Chanyeol, unable to stand, howling with laughter. Kyungsoo giggled and pointed to Chen, who blinked his big brown sparkling eyes innocently at him.
"Why were you screaming, Sehunnie? Chen just wanted to play!"
The hot flush of embarrasment slowly crept over his face as he stuttered wordlessly for a few seconds, before whining and diving back into the bed in shame, only to scream and jump back out again as he felr the wet patch if doggy spittle drip over his face.
A/N: tbh it took me ages to write that bit I've never written comedy before and this is so cringely XD
Later that day, Chen was bored.
Xiumin - or Minseok, as he learned his real name was - had work, delivering letters "I'm not gonna let that Byun brat trick me again," he had growled. Anyway, he was out if the house. A few minutes later, Baekhyun had also run out, screaming that he was late for work and why did nobody tell him. Chen had shaken his head secretly, wondering if Baekhyun knew it was because he had never bothered to tell anyone his scehdule. Tao and Sehun had dragged out Kris, to go shopping. By the look on Kris's face, this had happened more than once, not with good results. Kai had been forced to go with Kyungsoo to the resturant he worked in, to see whether he could get a job there. Suho was taking a nap, and since Chen had spied him taking up extra hours of work, he didn't want to disturb him.
Chen was bored. He padded aimlessly around in a few circles, before dropping onto the floor, his ear flopping over his eyes. Boorredd ... Ni-one to play with me ...
How about now? A voice in his head said. Chen perked up. Why hadn't he thought that? Because what if someone sees? His mind screamed back at him. Chen gulped. That would mean trouble, but ... He hadn't been for like, a month ... He whined and slumped down onto the floor. Maybe next time, he mused. After all, it would be kind of strange if the boys just walked in and saw another -
Click. Chen perked up as the door opened, revealing someone with a beanie pulled on over his hair, and a mask covering his face. Chen sniffed cautiously ... Who was this? The man, who hadn't noticed him yet, kicked off his shoes and started walking towards the stairs with purpose, and Chen deducted that the boy new where he was going. Chen sniffed again ... But he still couldn'trecognize the smallish figure. What was he doing here?
He didn't remember Suho or Xiumin or Kyungsoo or anyone saying anything ... Chen watched suspiciously as the figure started up the stairs, towards the room which was slightly open. Chen suddenly realized that it was someone's room.
Suho's room!
Chen started barking as he ran up the stairs after the figure, who promptly spun around in alarm. Chen growled as he skidded to a halt in front of him, blocking his way down the corridor and raising his hackles. The man - boy, really - blinked in surprise, frozen in the process if pulling off his mask. He frowned, removing the rest of it, and tried to step around him and carry on, but Chen growled, and the boy stopped again, jumping back as Chen padded forwards. He looked towards the open door, and called out, "Suho-ah? Please explain why your puppy wants to kill me - ah!" Chen jumped at him, and the boy stumbled backwards just as Suho stuck his head around the corner, trying to flatten his hair which was currently sticking out in different directions. He frowned. "Luhan hyung?" He tapped his leg, "Chen! No, don't eat his tie, that's not good for you -" Chen instinctively dropped off and bounded over at Suho's call, and the boy - Luhan - gawked at Suho. "What ..."
"I wasn't expecting you back so early ..." Suho smiled. "Oh, and this is Chen - Xiumin picked up this little guy on his way home ..." Luhan nodded, but stepped cautiously around Chen as he siddled into Suho's room. "Why did he try to kill me though?"
Suho laughed. "Oh come on, Luhan ... Chen wasn't trying to kill you -"
"He was!" protested Luhan, sitting down on Suho's bed. "You ... He was jumping at me and growling and barking and he tried to bite me-" Suho sighed, but he was still grinning. "Lu ... I saw it. He barked a few times, chased you, blocked your path, growled, and jumped once, barely even reaching here" - he tapped his knees -"and not ONCE did he bite. He just your tie." Luhan blinked, and then Suho quickly added, "Yet you scream -"
"- Like a girl?" Suho looked up in surprise, seeing Kris leaning on the door, smirking at Luhan. Luhan gasped. "How DARE you -" Chen looked at Suho inquiringly. So he wasn't a bad one?
Suho caught him looking and shook his head. "Chen, this is Luhan - DON'T eat his tie next time, okay boy?" He patted his head, and Luhan stared. "You talk to it?"
"It's not an IT, he's a he," protested Suho. "And sometimes I feel like he can understand us ..." Chen scowled - or tried to scowl - at Luhan. He understands! And he's not an "it"! Luhan frowned. "You know ... I swear that the dog just frowned at me."
Later that day
Sehun rested his legs on Luhan's lap as he fixed his gaze on the TV screen, his mouth forced into a straight line of determination as his fingers flew over the controls of the Xbox control. Besides him, next to Luhan, Kai sat as well, concentrating on the screen. Chen sat in the corner of the sofa, watching with intrest as the game progressed.
"HAH! Take THAT Oh Sehun!!" yelled Kai suddenly, making Chen jump about three feet into the air. Chen threw a scowl in his direction - then suddenly panicked again. Oops ... I'm not supposed to throw people scowls! Kai, however, was too deep into his game to notice the unnervingly human-like actions of the small brown puppy. Chen watched the game again, running a small commentry in his head. Nooo ... Sehun you should attack and drive him forwards and then sneak up from behind, he's got no defence there -
The door opened and Kyungsoo walked in, dragging Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and as they passed by, Chen caught a few words of Kyungsoo's angry ranting. "- shouldn't have, what if -" Luhan looked up from the tattered sofa. "What did they do this time?" Kyungsoo threw a smouldering glare at Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who cowered there like children who had been caught doing something naughty (which, I suppose, they are). "Chanyeol and Baekhyun threw rocks at a cat but the cat was the cat of this big red house at the end of the road. Someone rich, clearly ..." Xiumin frowned. "... Oh?" Kyungsoo threw up his hands, and walked away to the kitchen, mumbling something about "what if they saw" and "lucky we were alone". Kai and Sehun glanced at each other, shrugged, then continued their game. Chen would have grinned if he wasn't a puppy. Xiumin uttered a "Meh," and went back to sorting out piles of letters by postcode. Kris and Tao were upstairs in Lay's room with latter helping them in some business-related something Chen didn't bother listening too. Suho was still at "work", wherever that was. Chen padded over to his bowl and lapped up the remaining dregs of water thoughtfully. Upstairs, the door opened and Kris and Tao came out, followed by Lay. Chen watched as the first two walked off down into their rooms, talking. He watched as Lay slowly spun in several circles, as if he were lost, before giving a small "Ah!" and walking off into the bathroom. From the other side of the room, Xiumin sighed. "How did he manage to forget where the bathroom is?" he asked Chen. Chen barked in return, wagging his tail in agreement. Xiumin laughed, got up to refill his water, and continued doing his work. Chen yawned and burrowed into the crook of Luhan's arm on the sofa, falling into a half-asleep state.
Chen didn't remember when he woke up, or what time is was. He raised his head and looked around - Sehun was sleeping on Luhan's shoulder whilst the latter had his earplugs in with closed eyes. Chen wasn't sure whether he was asleep or not. Kai was nowhere to be seen, but the open door upsatirs showed he was in his room. Chen padded over to the fridge, where a cluster of sticky notes were plastered.
"Another hundred deliveries ㅠㅠ - Xiumin"
"Gone out to buy stuff, out if town - Kyungsoo"
"Meeting with Lay and another company SHINee Coorperations - Kris"
"Office duty - Tao"
Chen ran back over to the door, clambering onto the seat by the window to look out. It was darkening quickly. Chen frowned. He felt like something wasn't right. He walked over to Luhan, wondering. Why did he feel so ... Nervous? He nosed the button that switched off the TV, and the bright moving lights on the screen flickered into darkness. Chen stoof in his small form in the near darkness, his bright eyes shining in the gloom. He walked around for a few moments, confused. Why did he feel like this? Chen frowned, shaking his head and padding towards the front door, then tensed as he heard a set of foosteps outside.
Thud, thud. Chen growled lightly, then raced over as the door opened and he was startled to see a dishevelled Kris with a crying Tao behind, their faces filled with a raw panic Chen had only seen once, when -
"Kris?!" Luhan leapt up, waking up Sehun, who started to grumble until he caught sight of the two elder malesby the door, when he blanched and disappeared up the stairs, to wake up Kai. Chen raced over, his heart plummeting as he heard two words of the conversation as Luhan attempted to calm the two younger boys. "- Suho hyung -"
Chen's mind flashed back to a few days before. It seemed so long ago - but he still remembered. Suho. The "group" of people whom he said that he was constantly scared that would do something to the others. Now it had happened, Chen was certain - but to Suho himself? He glanced at the three boys by the door, and at Sehun and Kai, who where currently stumbling down the stairs, Kai still unmistakeably drowsy but the panic clear on both their faces. Chen raced over to the desk that Suho "worked" at, jumping up onto it and rifling through the drawers, searching for something that he knew would explain everything. He dodged Sehun's hand, swatting it away and burrowing further in. Where was it?
It was here somewhere. E knew it.
"Chen - now is really not the time -" Luhan said weakly, but stopped as Chen pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper in his jaws. It was lined but the edges were jagged, as if were torn out of a notebook. Chen could taste the ink, and he jumped off, heading for Kris and dropping the paper at his feet. Kris blinked, before frowning and picking off the paper off the floor, and Chen watched anxiously as his eyes flickered back and forth, reading rapidly. Luhan was still frozen next to the desk, and Sehun and Kai were staring, along with Tao. Kris' eyes froze at the end of the paper. Everyone watched on in a tense silence, until Kris finally stuffed the paper into his pocket, grabbed his jacket, and ran out of the door, followed closely by the others. Luhan picked up Chen as they headed down the road.
Chen never knew it would come to this.
Too soon.
Later
"They haven't found them yet?" asked Kyungsoo anxiously, his eyes wide. The police officer shook his head. "They'd set out on chase but he haven't heard anything yet." Kyungsoo bit his lip and nodded. "Okay. I understand. Thank you, officer ..." the policeman shook his head. "Poor kids ..." he mumbled. Luhan frowned at that. "I'm twenty-two." Chen wriggled uncomfortably inside Luhan's zipped-up jacket. Dogs weren't allowed in, thought Chen. He wriggled a bit more, then stopped as he felt a warning hand on his back. "Doctor," hissed Luhan. "Stay STILL Chen .. Yes, I'm sorry ... Just a bit longer ..." Xiumin whispered to him. Chen settled down into the dark warmth of Luhan's jacket, quietly whimpering. He should have been able to do something, of course - but he was stuck in this until he found a -
"Guys he's out," said Kris, standing up as the glass door opened and a stream of doctors and nurses filed out. Chen pricked up his ears, listening intently as he caught hold of the conversation. "... Yes, he's in a stable condition and should wake up in ten minutes or so -" Luhan let out an audible sigh of relief (which Chen felt - literally, since he was crammed against his chest and stomach) and asked if they could go inside. The doctor must have nodded, because a second later, Chen felt Luhan's arm underneath him to stop him falling out as he stood up, swiftly walking into the room. A momsnt later, Luhan ped his jacket, carefully placing Chen on the chair. "If someone else comes in, hide under the bed, okay?" he instructed. Chen nodded before thinking - then quickly covered it up by scratching his neck. When the last of the eleven other boys had sat down, Chen finally managed to turn and look at Suho.
Chen whimpered.
Suho's face was still, but somehow too pale ... He was glad that the doctors had cleaned off the blood. There was an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, connected to a large box with steamed up and cleared on a slow sequence. One arm was plastered in a cast, and the other had a small IV line inserted, covered with a strip of tape. A layer of bandages covered Suho's torso. Besides him, Chen heard Sehun whimpering and he watched as Tao hid his face in Lay's coat, his shoulders shaking. Finally, Kris broke the silence. "Who ..." his voice died out shakily. "Who was it? They said it was ... Deliberate," he said carefully. Xiumin shook his head. "There's no way it couldn't have been. It just ..." he helplessly made a punching movement through the air. "Came out of nowhere when the lights were green, swerved to avoid the others, ploughed straight .. into Suho." he swallowed. "Then they fled." Chen growled in agreement. He padded up to tje bed, rose up and balanced on his back legs, and supported himself on the side of the bed with his paws as he gently nosed the sleeping boy. He looked around nervously. None of those people were hidden here, watching them, were they? "One thing, though," Chen looked back at Xiumin. "I'm not joking - I feel like Chen can really understand us sometimes." Chen froze. Was he not careful enough? He wagged his tail in what he hoped looked like cobfusion as all the boys' gazes were him. Luhan tilted his head. "He stops when I tell him to, comes when I ask, doesn't pee indoors even though we never trained him, and then most of all ..." "He found the letter," finished Kris. He locked gazes with Chen, who was in a jumble of thoughts. Whattodowhattodowhattodowhattodo ... "How did he know, ge?" inquired Tao, blinking at the puppy who was sitting on a chair. Chen internally gulped. Uh ...
"Hyung?!" Chen jumped at the rather high-pitched voice of Sehun as he stared at the figure on the bed. Chen watched nervously. The beeping of the heart moniter increased slightly, and he looked on anxiously as the red line started to widen at an alarming rate.
Later
°°°
"Ugh hyungggg ..." moaned Baekhyun, clinging onto the said boy's arm. "Don't scare me like that, you're gonna give me a heart attack ..." Suho grinned, and nudged him (as much as he could with a recently re-located shoulder an an arm in a thick plaster cast), saying, "Well, I'll try not to ..." Chanyeol broke out into a grin, and whapped the maknae lightly on the arm. "Sehunnie was hyperventilating." Sehun poute- I mean, death glared at Chanyeol. "I was not." Kai cooed and attempted to pinch Sehun's cheeks, as the younger swatted his hands away. "Awww baby Thehunnie, it's okayyy ~~~" Luhan snorted and said, "You were the one who was actually screaming." Sehun smirked, as Luhan and he shared a grin as Kai was rendered speechless. Tao watched on, giggling.
"Wait - how did you guys know?" asked Suho suddenly, frowning. I never told anyone exep- anyone." Kris raised an eyebrow. "Say that again, please?" Suho hesitated, then huffed. "Okay, but it's kinda ... Weird ..." Xiumin laughed. "We live with these guys, we are the definition of weird." Suho flashed a smile. "You've got a point. I .. Uh ..." he trailed off, looking embarassed. "I kinda told ... Uh ..." Lay nudged him. "Say it already??" Suho threw a desperate glance at Chen, who just yipped happily, rather enjoying seeing the boy so flustered and red. "Chen, okay? I told it to ... Chen. The puppy. Oh gods ..." he buried his face into the bedheet. "And I though I wasn't part of you crazy people ..." he mumbled from under the bedsheets.
The whole room erupted into laughter, and Chen jumped around the people on the chairs (or in Sehun and Tao's case, rolling on the floor), barking happily. Suho glanced up sheepishly, and Chen bounded over, balancing on his hind legs to his face. Xiumin grinned. "Well, Chen probably understood, didn't you boy?" he ruffled his fur. "That's why he got the letter. He must've seen you do it." Kris nodded. "You should just have told us though ..." he said. Suho looked over at the rest of the group, who still were laughing around. "They can't even keep a straight face for thirty seconds, you think they can handle it?" Kris rolled his eyes, but Chen could see he was supressing a grin.
When night had almost fallen, Suho had ushered them out of the room, promising that they could come back tomorrow and no, he wasn't going to be kidnapped by aliens in the middle of the night. The visiting hours were over ages ago, but they had begged the friendly-looking nurse for some extra time. Suho made them spend the night "somewhere else", and after a few minutes of discussion, the eleven other boys (or rather, Lay) had thought up if the wonderful spectacular plan of sleeping in the shed, where the "group" would mostly likely not find it under a canopy of tangled, overgrown vines and leaves that had never once seen a pair of shears in its life.
Chen opened one eye, then the other, seeing that all the other boys were fast asleep, draped haparzadly over one other in a tangle of limbs. A single, flickering blub dangled from a beam in the ceiling, casting a mellow light over the sleeping figures as Chen silently crept over to the door. He nosed open the door, letting the cool night air chill his face, before padding towards the house, scrambling up into the living room. There, he swiftly checked the door was locked and barred, along with the windows. Finally he recalled the warm feeling he had felt a few hours before. It was like him feeling like he ... Belonged. He felt so right with them. It had been such a short time, only about a week, but in that period of time, he got to know them all and their (almost outrageously) different and colourful personalities.
He'd done it, he mused, climbing up onto the sofa. Honestly, he thought that finding them would take so much longer than this. But somehow, he found them - or rather, they'd found him.
Tomorrow, he told himself. Tomorrow I'll do it.
A quick trip upstairs to a small cloest filled with spare clothes, a quick dash outside to do his business, and Chen settled down for the night.
The next day, Xiumin opened his eyes sleepily, and tried to stretch his arms to rub his eyes until he reailzed that he was lying a) on top of a snoring Luhan who had an arm slung lazily over Sehun's body and b) Lay was sleeping on top of his arm, rendering him unable to move at all. He grumbled and tugged at his arm, freeing his and rolling off Luhan - ultimately rolling onto Kai, who, being Kai, didn't move at all. Xiumin sat up, yawning, and looked around blearily. He blinked, his gaze floating over the pile of entangled limbs, arms, and the occansional visible face, and he frowned as he felt like something was missing. Then he looked at the bundle of curtain that a very certain, light brown, playful, dark eyed puppy had slept the night before - the empty bundle of curtain. He searched the room, standing up only to see the open door. He frowned.
"Guys?" he yelped. Nobody except Lay and Kris stirred. He huffed, walking over and (almost lightly) kicking the nearest person (which happened to be Kai) in the ribs. "I think Chen's escaped." Immeadiately, everyone woke up, with a chorus of "What"s and "Where is he"s and "How do you know"s. Xiumin held his ears, escaping outside, and saw the tiny footprints in the soft loose dirt, leading up to the house. Turning behind to make sure the others were awake, he traced them uo to the front door of the house, and he tried the door only to find it was locked. Just then (immactulate timing, he thought) Lay and Tao appeared on either side of him. Pulling a small, rusted key out of his pocket, Lay unlocked the door, and when it still didn't open, Tao kind-of-lightly kicked the door in a certain place, and Xiumin nodded in appreciation as he heard the dull thunk of the bolts falling out of their clamps. Carefully, Kris pushed open the door -
-and simply said, "What the hell?"
Luhan poked his head in, with a nervous Sehum hiding behind his back, and blinked. "Who ..."
Xiumin stepped into the living room, only to find a boy, maybe around Baekhyun's age, standing in the room in front of them, a grin on his face. He frowned - there was something familiar about this boy ... His brown/black hair, his contagious grin, the way he stood, his dark brown eyes ...
(READERS!! Can you guess who this new boy is?? It's pretty obvious .. Right?? ^^)
Then it clicked.
"No way ..." breathed Xiumin, and the boy's grin widened. "Hi hyung!" Behind him, he heard Luhan's sudden gasp if surprise, and he knew that he knew too. Kris' deep voice was heard suddenly ... "Aren't you -"
"Ohmygod!" yelped Kyungsoo and Sehun in unison. Tao still blinked rapidly, a confused expression plastered over his face, until a sudden realization slowly washed over his features. "Oh .. No way??" he yelped. Kai and Lay were starting to grin.
The boy (who, Xiumin noted, was dressed in an orange loose shirt and black trousers that he recognized as from the spare cloest) smiled at him. He waved.
"Annyonghaseyo, my name is Kim Jongdae ..." a mischevous glint sparked in his eye "Or you can keep on calling me Chen."
`
THE END
A/N: Happy birthday Chen!! :) I can't believe it already?? Wahhh ... Time passes so quickly huhu ... Anyway this is a little fic for our Chen!! (The puppy? Me and my friend whom I introduced to kpop recently and she fell in love eith Chen ^_^ we think he reminds us of a puppy, idk haha ...) This is my first attempt at comedy so please bear with me ... Haha ... And yes there is that actiony angsty bit, yes?? Was it good?? O.O ... oh, and did any of you notice? Chen is wearing the clothes he wore for the Lotto promotions (i think ^^) Hehe ... I dont know if anyone noticed though, haha
PLEASE COMMENT!!!! I would LOVE to read what you think ... Anything I can improve on? Anything good?? Huhu ... And subscribe if you like it please!! :)
Again, HBD CHEN!! .사랑해요!!
Lots and lots and lots of love,
meemow123
ps. I wrote a note on the EXO-L fanboard too haha ... I'm an official EXO-L!! It feels so surreal ... Huhu <3<3<3 Any EXO-Ls?? Or just anyone who loves EXO?? :)
Love ya all!!
- meemow123
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