”Baekhyun,” Minseok said, looking up from his book when Baekhyun shuffled from the office to the bedroom with his arms full of pillows and blankets for the third time. The hybrid froze, turning his head to look at the human with wide eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Uhm,” Baekhyun said, his long, fluffy tail swishing behind him. He blinked a couple of times, hugging the pillows a little closer. “Getting extra pillows and blankets for the bedroom?” he said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

Minseok couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly, smiling a little. “I figured as much. I am more interested in why you think all the blankets and pillows in the house need to be in the bedroom all of a sudden?” he asked as he put a bookmark in the book and closed it.

Baekhyun shuffled a little from side to side, a clear sign that he was uncertain about how to answer the question. His golden eyes darted between Minseok and the bedroom door and he looked like he was about to bolt into the bedroom and hide.

“I’m not angry, Baekkie,” Minseok assured him in a gentle voice, getting up and going over to Baekhyun who hunched over to make himself smaller. “Hey?” he said, gently lifting Baekhyun’s face to make him look at him. “You have to tell me what’s going on, love. I can’t help you if I don’t know what we are doing,” he said, giving Baekhyun a reassuring smile.

The fox hybrid looked like he was on the verge of tears, his lips pulling into a sad pout. “The leaves are turning brown,” he whispered, his eyes glistening with unshed tears that begged Minseok to understand. “Winter is coming.”

It took a second before Minseok realised what Baekhyun meant and why he was so upset. Fox hybrids weren’t all that common and Baekhyun’s previous owners had had a hard time understanding that fox hybrids weren’t exactly like dog or cat hybrids – they had more animalistic instincts that were hard to fight, even if they were domesticated hybrids. Minseok had adopted Baekhyun in early spring and it had taken a long time to gain his trust. Baekhyun’s previous owners had scolded the fox hybrid whenever he did something they deemed ‘too animal’, making Baekhyun timid, scared, and very distrustful. It had taken a lot of patience and gentle reassurances to get Baekhyun to trust him and Minseok was so proud of how far the hybrid had come. The little setbacks happened less and less, but this seemed to be a rather big one, considering Baekhyun was practically in tears before he had even explained why he was doing what he was doing. “Winter?” Minseok repeated, looking at the pillows in Baekhyun’s arms. “You are building a den?” he asked, his heart breaking a little when Baekhyun nodded and hunched in on himself even more so than before. Minseok hummed in thought for a moment, nodding to himself before stepping to the side so he could grab the three throw pillows on the couch. “You want some help?” he asked with a smile.

Baekhyun sniffled, trying hard to keep his tears from falling. He knew he had messed up, he knew Minseok would be angry with him, but he couldn’t help it. It was getting colder, the leaves were starting to fall, he had to build a den so he could keep warm during the winter. He had hoped Minseok wouldn’t be angry, after all he had just moved the pillows and blankets from one room to the other, he hadn’t ruined anything. He hunched in on himself when Minseok realised what he was doing and stepped awa