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He needs to reevaluate his decisions in life.

That's what Baekhyun thinks as he stands in his living room, his mouth hanging open and his eyes teary because there it is, his new and very expensive couch, ripped apart, synthetic stuffing flying everywhere, the cushions nowhere to be seen and small pieces of fabric still lingering in the air. He wants to cry and torture whoever did that to his precious piece of furniture, but then he hears the jingle of a bell and closes his eyes, counting to ten so he won’t lose it.

Baekhyun patiently waits for all hells to be unleashed.

"Hyung, you're back!" A voice screams and the sound of the jingle becomes louder. Baekhyun forces a smile as he sees the boy running towards him, a big smile on his lips, disheveled hair and messy clothes; tail wagging fast from side to side and his ears twitching constantly. Chanyeol is happy. Baekhyun knows Chanyeol is always happy and so, all anger is quickly washed away simply because he doesn’t have the heart to erase that precious smile from his face.

"Yeol." Baekhyun says, making it sound more like a plea for mercy.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" The hybrid exclaims and starts to move his hands frantically in front of Baekhyun's face. "I was sleeping with the window open and then the neighbor's cat came in and he tried to scratch me you know how much he hates me so I growled at him and he got angrier so we started a small fight and─"

"Yeol, Yeol stop." Baekhyun cuts him off. Chanyeol stops his fast blabbering, but keeps his mouth open for another second, remembering later that he has to breathe as he slumps down on what is left of the couch with a loud thud. Chanyeol squirms the moment his skin touches the scratched fabric, suddenly feeling itchy all over.

Baekhyun decides to ignore him, convinced that it’s just another of the hybrid’s quirks to get his attention. Instead, he looks around the room and finds all the windows closed, exactly how he left them this morning before leaving for work.

You love this boy more than anything ─Baekhyun says to himself─. Keep calm and take a deep breath.

He sits on the arm chair and runs his fingers through his hair, letting out a long tired sigh. Chanyeol's ears perk up at how distressed his owner sounds and moves closer to him, sniffing cautiously and recognizing Baekhyun's smell like he always does every time he comes back home. It’s comforting for Chanyeol, Baekhyun knows, so he just let him be.

"I'm sorry, hyung." He whispers with a small sniffle and big, bright bicolor eyes. It’s impossible for Baekhyun to stay mad at those eyes and he knows he’s going to regret this again at some point of his life.

"It's okay, it's just a couch. Come here." Baekhyun says, patting his lap and Chanyeol happily shifts his position to rest his head on his owner's thighs. "But you have to promise me that you'll try to behave next time, okay?"

"I promise." Chanyeol answers, smiling up at him. Baekhyun smiles back and nods, even though he knows it’s a promise that is meant to be broken probably in the next five minutes.

They stay in silence for a while. Baekhyun thinking about getting another couch that Chanyeol can't destroy, maybe a wooden one or one of those uncomfortable love seats, but he ends up dismissing the ide as soon as it comes, he knows Chanyeol will find a way to make a mess, anyway.

The silence is suddenly broken by a whimper. Baekhyun frowns and looks down at Chanyeol, he hadn’t noticed the moment the hybrid had moved away and it’s now sitting back on the floor, squirming and twisting his arm back on an awkward way, trying to reach his back to scratch it.

"You okay?" Baekhyun asks him, worried.

"It's just... too itchy, I can't─" Chanyeol grunts and whines, twisting now his entire body.

"Please don't tell me you have fleas, I can't deal with─"

"Hyung! Of course not!" The hybrid exclaims, offended. "But it really itches!"

Baekhyun rolls his eyes and shakes his head. He takes Chanyeol by the arm and forces him to straighten up before he can hurt himself. Baekhyun urges him to stretch his arms up and Chanyeol does, still squirming a little, cheeks puffed and a stubborn pout on his face. Baekhyun removes his hybrid’s shirt and just as he thought, there are pieces of the synthetic stuffing sticking to his skin, making it all red and causing a small rash. Baekhyun sighs.

"Come on, you're going to take a bath while I make dinner, okay?"

Chanyeol’s right ear twitches at the mention of food and baths. He loves warm water, bubbles and Baekhyun’s cooking. He also loves to sniff on those shiny powders Baekhyun uses to make the water colorful and smell nice. Bath salts, his owner had told him. Chanyeol knows he has strictly forbidden to eat them and since he’s a good puppy, he obeys.

"Please don't make a mess!" Baekhyun yells from the kitchen when he hears Chanyeol running up the stairs, probably removing his clothes on the way and leaving them scattered all over the place.

When Baekhyun finishes with the food, he rushes upstairs, praying to find everything in order. He enters the bathroom to find a Chanyeol sitting inside the empty tub, covering his private area with his hands, swaying his tail impatiently and slightly out of breath for the run. Baekhyun can’t help but smile when he walks in to get Chanyeol’s favorite citrusy scented salts.

“I couldn’t remember which one is the hot water.” Chanyeol confesses with a small voice.

Baekhyun chuckles. "Get out for a moment, it’s going to be cold." He motions his hands at him.

"But I'm ." Chanyeol whispers, his cheeks coloring of a light shade of pink.

"Don't be silly, come on." Baekhyun insists, but Chanyeol remains there, blinking up at him with his large eyes. “Fine.” He sighs. “Here’s your towel. Wrap it around you, I won’t look.” Baekhyun says as he turns his back to the hybrid.

Chanyeol steps out of the bathtub and quickly wraps it around his waist, sneaking glances at his owner to make sure he’s not cheating and looking. The hybrid has never been shy around Baekhyun, but lately, he’s been feeling a little bit weird and self-conscious about his body; Chanyeol knows the itchiness was not from the stuffing material of the couch, because just a few days ago, he had have to crawl on his back over the grass to get rid of it, dirtying his clothes and staining them of green. Also, gaining a scold from his owner. His voice is getting deeper and his nails sharper, he blames them for the scratches that appear on his body from time to time. His gums and teeth are hurting; he had wanted to explain Baekhyun that he just wanted to get some relief by chewing on something rough, that’s why he had bitten the corner of the coffee table, but he’s afraid that his owner won’t believe him and worse, he’s scare that Baekhyun won’t want him anymore once he notices all the changes his body is suffering. Plus, he’s also growing down there and it feels weird.

Baekhyun announces the water is ready, pulling Chanyeol out of his thoughts. The hybrid moves fast to get in, letting out a long sigh at the warmth. Baekhyun rolls his sleeves up and kneels next to the tub, getting ready to wash his puppy, like he always does.

“Um… I can do it myself, hyung.” Chanyeol mutters. Baekhyun quirks an eyebrow, confused because it’s him the one always begging him to scratch his back and wash his hair.

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol nods. It takes Baekhyun a moment to convince himself of what his puppy is saying and accept to leave him alone. “Okay.” He says, albeit hesitantly. “I’ll be in the kitchen. Be careful and call me if you need me.” Baekhyun warns with a stern voice.

Baekhyun leaves the bathroom, still confused and a little bit worried about his hybrid’s behavior.

Bathing by himself is easier than Chanyeol thought and he’s proud of himself by the times he comes out of the bathroom and changes into his favorite pajamas. He goes back downstairs, pulled by the delicious smell of homemade fried chicken. He sits happily on his spot next to Baekhyun and begins munching on the food, feeling a bit of relief on his still aching teeth.

Baekhyun watches him eat with a smile on his face and a napkin ready to wipe the ketchup out of the puppy’s mouth and cheeks. All the anger from earlier is easily forgotten and even though he knows he should have given the puppy a much harsher warning for being a constant trouble, he’s incapable of being angry at him. Chanyeol is the definition of adorable.

Baekhyun sends him to brush his teeth and greasy fingers as soon as they’re finished with their food, he tells him to wait for him in bed, since Chanyeol had developed the habit of sleeping with him, which is probably not a really good idea. He doesn’t want Chanyeol to get too used to it, but he also can’t say no to him. Is not that he minds, really, but Chanyeol isn’t capable of staying still during the night. By now, Baekhyun is used to waking up with Chanyeol’s feet on his face, with the hybrid curled up on his stomach, facing the pup’s or in the worst case scenario: him on the floor and Chanyeol sprawled out on the bed like a starfish.

Baekhyun gets in bed after finishing his own nightly routine and Chanyeol immediately clings to him, nuzzling his nose on the crook of his owner’s neck and whimpering pitifully. Baekhyun quirks an eyebrow, amused at the puppy’s behavior and lifts a hand to scratch behind the hybrid’s ears.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, merely for the fact that he knows that all Chanyeol wants is attention.

“I just don’t like it when I’m all alone in here.” Chanyeol answers, voice muffled by Baekhyun’s neck.

“You’re not alone, I’m here.”

“No, I mean… when you’re gone for work. I don’t like to be alone.”

Baekhyun sighs. “I know, baby.” He says, feeling truly bad for having to leave his puppy alone all day. “But I have to work so I can take proper care of you.”

“I know but I─ I just… don’t like it.”

“Tell you what, if you promise to behave, I’ll take you to work with me and you can play with Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun says, smiling down at his worried puppy.

“Kyungsoo’s a mean cat.” Chanyeol pouts. “He likes to pull my ears and step on my tail.”

Baekhyun can’t help but laugh, apologizing later to the very offended hybrid.

“Xiumin is also there─”

Chanyeol’s ears perk up at the mention of the bunny hybrid. “I like Xiumin! I can chase him!”

“No, no.” Baekhyun shakes his head. “Poor Luhan almost had a heart attack last time he saw you with his bunny’s head in your mouth. So no chasing, promise me, Yeol?”

Chanyeol puffs his cheeks. “Fine.”

“Good, now get some sleep.” Baekhyun says, kissing the boy’s temple and moving their bodies together so they can lie on a more comfortable position.

In less than a minute he’s feeling Chanyeol’s warm breathing against his neck. He envies the hybrid’s ability to fall asleep so fast and easy. Baekhyun stays awake for a while longer, listening to the soft snores of his puppy.

He still remembers the first time he saw Chanyeol at the shelter. He had been kind enough to accompany his friend Jongin to get a hybrid of his own. The younger boy had been annoying him about a really beautiful gray colored Scottish Fold hybrid, with small mottles of black on the ears and tail he had seen at the shelter downtown. Jongin had squealed like a t