Summary: Chan was used to stress. Through time and with the help of his members, he'd call himself fairly good at managing it, too.
But when one bad day dominoes into multiple... well... everyone has their breaking point.
Good thing Chan has people who're there to catch him.
Word Count: 2.2k
A/N: Chan needs a break and this fic is my way of giving it to him LOL but also who doesn't want to just, snuggle with a giant dragon and let all their worries melt away??
⁽ᵈᶦᵛᶦᵈᵉʳ ᵖᶦˣᵉˡ ᵃʳᵗ ᵇʸ ᵐᵉ⁾
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Chan was very blessed to be in the position he was in.
He had his hoard and he got to do his dream job alongside them. He felt creatively fulfilled. He got to travel the world.
He was truly so grateful for all he had.
But, of course, that didn't mean every moment was perfect.
He’d gotten used to the stress, though. He learned how to manage it, how to stand up for himself and his members, how to breathe through small frustrations, and generally even rough days were only temporary.
At the end of the day, though, everyone had their breaking point, and god Chan felt like he’d been standing on the edge of his for days.
It started with Seungmin catching a cold over the weekend. Obviously, Chan wasn’t upset with Seungmin about that. What he was upset about, however, was that Seungmin had been forced to come into work on Tuesday when he still wasn’t feeling 100%. Seungmin had insisted he could handle it, but Chan could see the pale sheen he had most of the day, and the way his eyes glazed over when he thought no one was looking.
Then, Changbin was double booked in the middle of the week. Management was hardly any help, and his day had already been packed, so he just had to run himself ragged trying to make everything happen that needed to be done.
On that same day, they’d gotten a few new backup dancers who were joining them for a practice session. They were preparing for an upcoming award show performance. One of the backup dancers was… a bit of a cunt to put it lightly. He was a half-elf who was clearly misogynistic. He rolled his eyes at the other female dancers who’d joined their practice, and barely hid the disdain on his face when he looked at Y/N.
The others had noticed too, obviously, but Y/N hadn’t been too bothered by it.
“This is only temporary,” she told them, “We can just, make sure he isn’t in future projects, right? But it’d be too hard to replace him now. I’ll be okay.”
He didn’t like her having to “deal with it,” none of them did, so they all made sure to keep a close eye on the guy during practice.
Which of course, meant they spotted when he messed up the routine, leading to him bumping into Y/N.
He immediately blew up on her, saying that she had been wrong. Hyunjin and Minho had gotten in his face so fast, Chan hadn’t had time to react.
Despite hissing and raised voices, no one actually fought. Chan stepped in front of Hyunjin and Minho and the two settled down slightly as Chan postured towards the other boy and told him he was dismissed.
They could find a new backup dancer. He could give a fuck less at this point. He wasn’t going to take someone berating his members over their mistake.
He still got yelled at about it later, though, saying it wasn’t his call to make. After some heated conversation, the higher ups were still upset with him, but a new backup dancer was brought in nonetheless.
Other small things added to the ever present stress being held between his shoulders. A new employee saved one of their composition files wrong, leading to a 30 minute recovery process. His lunch hadn't been sealed properly and spilled in his bag. One of his favorite shirts got caught on something and ripped. Oh yeah, and his phone decided to update overnight, making his alarm get messed up so he was late to work one day.
Chan rushed into work that morning, apologizing to staff and giving quick bows as he headed for the meeting he was scheduled to go to. He'd texted Han and Changbin, who were also in the meeting, and they promised they saved him a seat.
He felt so frazzled as he slipped into the room, bowing and apologizing again before sitting between his friends. He was so frayed trying to catch up and focus in on what was being said that he didn't catch the looks Han and Changbin passed between each other.
The meeting passed by in a blur, but Chan's day was jam packed. The moment they were dismissed, he apologized once more for his tardiness and scurried off to his next thing.
He didn't see the way Felix and Jeongin hovered behind him during choreo practice.
He didn't catch the looks Hyunjin and Minho shared during their outfit fitting.
He barely noticed Y/N bring him lunch, just mindlessly eating as he scrubbed through their new track on his laptop.
Honestly it felt like he'd been watching his day happen through a foggy window, but the glass was cracked. All it would take was one small incident for the whole thing to shatter.
Seungmin glanced at him through the recording booth glass as he finished up his take. “I'm the last one today, right?” He asked Chan.
Chan blinked, trying to focus on what he was saying. “Um, yeah, I think so.”
Seungmin nodded, hanging up the headphones and walking out of the booth. He stepped over to Chan and put a hand on top of his laptop. “Save your work.”
“Huh?” Chan asked, brain lagging behind too much to process what Seungmin was asking.
Han was suddenly beside his shoulder, leaning over to save what he had opened before moving Chan's hands out of the way so Seungmin could close the laptop.
“Wait, what?” Chan repeated.
“Come on hyung, we're going home,” Changbin said as he shouldered his bag.
“But, I still have one more meeting,” Chan protested.
“Minho and I got it rescheduled,” Seungmin told him as he picked up his own bag. “Now come on. We're going home.”
Chan followed behind them, still feeling foggy, until he spotted the other five members waiting for them near the elevator. Instantly he felt a deep, instinctive part of himself perk up.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight.
His shoulders lost a fraction of the tension they'd been holding all week with his whole hoard here in reaching range, and only his hoard. He urged Han to walk ahead of him now, previously the succubus had been walking alongside him, so that he could keep all of them in sight.
They squeezed into the elevator together and Chan felt himself relax just a little bit more having them all in a smaller space together.
When they got to the garage and had to split into separate cars, his whole body locked up.
Y/N looked back and noticed just as Minho did. The faerie stepped back to hook her arm around his while the vampire sighed fondly.
“I know hyung, it'll only be for the drive, alright? Come on, go sit with the faeries and puppy.” Minho encouraged softly, steering Chan towards one of the cars. “Changbin and I will keep an eye on the others, okay?”
Chan sighed and allowed Y/N to tug him into the car. Felix and Jeongin climbed into the seats behind them, and Seungmin slid in to sit on Chan's other side. Chan glanced over, wanting to watch to make sure the other four got into their car when he spotted their manager approaching.
Instantly he felt some of the tension creep back into his body, but before he could get up to see what he wanted, Changbin stepped over and firmly shut the door to their car.
Chan blinked, confused, as he watched Minho and Changbin stand practically guarding the car he was in as they talked to their manager.
At one point their manager looked past the two and towards the car, and Chan swore he heard a rumbling growl through the door.
“Holy shit, I think Minho just hissed at him,” Felix whispered in awe from the backseat.
Finally, with one last glare from Minho and Changbin, their manager turned around and walked away.
Minho nodded to their car and Changbin turned to wave with a big smile before they finally got into their own car and the convoy headed off.
The drive back home was a blur for Chan. Hell, even the walk up to the dorms was a bit spotty. Y/N and Seungmin each kept a hand on his arm as they headed up the building and towards their dorms. It felt nice, grounding but also safe knowing they would get him wherever it was they were going.
Finally, they stepped into Chan's dorm and Chan blinked as they all toed off their shoes and set their stuff by the door.
The other four, who'd been in the other car, were already here. Chan glanced down the hall and saw Changbin and Hyunjin pushing some furniture around. Han peered around the corner at them and smiled.
“Alright, everyone shift, come on,” he said as he gestured for them to follow to the main room.
“Shift?” Chan asked as he followed along dutifully.
“Yep,” Han said, “and you can't get out of this one Chan.”
Honestly, he didn't want to. He nods, shucking off his shirt and pants before letting the change take over his body.
His wings curl into his body, tail tucked close as he shuffles into the room and lies down in the center. Their main living room had just enough space for him to be in his form. If he stretched out his wings, he'd be able to touch both walls.
As he settles onto the floor, he feels the other members join him. Two faeries giggle as they sit near his head. He feels fur from Seungmin and Changbin as they curl up near his stomach. Minho tucks in with Jisung in the crook of his tail. Jeongin lounged near his front leg, and Hyunjin sat near him, leaning against Chan's stomach.
Oh. This is what he'd been missing.
A wave of exhaustion and pure relaxation washed over him. Muscles he didn't know he had unclenched. Chan lets his eyes flutter partially closed, keeping a lazy eye on his members. They were all more relaxed than he'd seen them all week, too. They were chatting softly with each other, just enjoying their time together where they were able to truly be themselves.
Eventually the group started discussing what food they wanted to eat. Chan just hummed or grumbled anytime a question was directed at him. He didn't even feel that hungry, but additionally, he was barely listening to what they were saying unless it was directed at him. It just sounded like a soft, background buzz in his mind.
Chan couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this truly relaxed. The worries in his mind were gone. He wasn’t thinking about schedules, songs, or comebacks. He wasn’t thinking about anything beyond the pleased feeling he had from having his hoard all accounted for, safely resting atop him.
Then, his calm was interrupted by a firm knock at the door.
Chan immediately, instinctively curled tighter around his hoard. His low growl rumbled out of his body as he glared at the door, daring someone to enter.
Those nearest to his head, Hyunjin, Jeongin, Felix, and Y/N, moved to soothe him. Chan grumbled, trying to tune in to what they were saying, but he was distracted by Minho trying to stand up.
His tail curled further around the vampire, his grumble growing again at the thought of his hoardmate trying to leave.
Didn't he know he was safest here with Chan?
Minho huffed affectionately. “You big loaf, I'll be okay. I just need to pick up the food they left at the door. You want us to eat, don't you?”
He did. He wanted his hoard happy and healthy at all times. Sighing, Chan relaxed his tail just enough for Minho to push out from under it. He kept an eye on the vampire the whole time as he opened the door and pulled the bags inside.
Only once the door shut and was locked again did Chan let himself settle again.
They spent the rest of the evening like this. Not a single member seemed bothered to try and leave. They ate dinner, watched a movie, and played games until one by one they started to fall asleep where they lay.
Chan was the last to give in to the pull of rest. He wanted to make sure each member was safe and comfortable first. The faeries and succubus were the first to close their eyes. Jeongin and Seungmin followed shortly after. Hyunjin checked on the faeries and gave Chan a small kiss to his side before curling up and sleeping.
Changbin was partially trapped by a sleeping Seungmin, and Minho was equally trapped by a cuddly Jisung. Changbin nudged his head against Chan's side fondly before resting his head atop Seungmin's side and letting his eyes drift close.
Minho glanced at Chan fondly. “Night hyung. We love you.”
Chan's heart melted. He hadn't spoken much the whole evening, but he couldn't leave that unanswered.
“Love you, too,” he rumbled softly before his eyes finally shut, giving in to the best sleep he'd had in months, surrounded by those who meant the most to him.
Zootopia was about how racism can be found anywhere and ignorance is a weapon that politicians use to fear monger and maintain control meanwhile Zootopia 2 was about the elimination of entire communities in race wars to force minorities out of their homes and the use of racism to divide people so the wealthy can profit... hmm..... interesting, that doesnt sound familiar at all.....
