Archive of Our Own ^beta

Hongjoong was tired. Absolutely exhausted. He loved his job very much, but some days it was emotionally hard. Today had been one of those days. His feet dragged across the pavement as he climbed out of his car to walk towards his house. He froze, seeing a lump in front of his house. He walked up the stairs and gasped. A poor hurt fox was lying on its side. When its big blue eyes looked at Hongjoong, it whined in pain, but tried to scooch closer to him.

"You poor thing. Hold on just a second, okay? Don't move." Hongjoong said. He stood up, unlocked his door, and walked in. He quickly got a first aid kit, and a blanket to wrap the animal in. Luckily, Hongjoong was a veterinarian. He wasn't very skilled on wild animals, but it should be kind of like a dog. They were in the same family.

He grabbed the blanket and walked outside to see the fox still laying there. He draped the blanket over the orange furred fox, and gently tucked it around the fox and picked it up to cradle against his chest. "You must not feel well if you're letting me hold you like this. Foxes are mischievous little things, aren't you?" He cooed while he stroked the fur on his muzzle before laying him down on his bathroom counter. "Let's look at the damage, shall we?" He unwrapped the fox, and with a quick peek was able to tell the fox was a boy. He liked to always check, lots of owners seem to get upset if you misgender their animals. If only people got up in arms like that for actual people, but he digresses. "Oh baby boy, that looks nasty." The fox had a gash on his side, multiple cuts around his legs, and on his muzzle and ears. "Shit, I'm going to need to shave your fur in these places, and bathe you too. You won't bite me, right?" He shook his head thinking he must be exhausted when the fox seemed to nod. He unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt, and rolled them up. "I was going to come home, take a shower, and go to sleep. Taking care of an injured fox was not on that list, but it's fine. At least I'm off tomorrow." He muttered to himself while shaving the fur delicately off the fox. It unnerved him that the fox was so good and still, even as it trembled and whined in pain.

After quickly stitching up the worst of the wounds, Hongjoong started up a quick bath, testing the water to make sure it wasn't too hot or cold. "Hmm, I wonder." He looked up on his phone if he could use his soap on the fox. Turns out, that was a bad idea. He cursed until he saw his dish soap was an ok substitute. "Hey little guy, you hold tight I'll be right back, ok? Don't move!" He knew it was kind of silly to speak to a wild animal, but the fox maybe seemed to understand what he was saying. Or at the very least, knew Hongjoong was only trying his best to help him.

When he returned from the kitchen, the fox looked at him, one of its ears twitching, probably from pain. "Good boy." He said. Petting him on the muzzle. The fox made a small yip and flipped over, belly up. Happiness welled up in Hongjoong, because the fox was being vulnerable with him. "let's get you in the bath." He said, turning off the taps. He grabbed the fox gently, and his little paws started a swimming motion before he even put him in. Hongjoong giggled at the silly fox. "It's not too deep, precious. You don't have to swim." He put him down in the water. The fox sat down, folding his ears back to keep water out of them. Oh so carefully, he bathed the animal. He got all the mud and blood off the poor thing. When he drained the bath, the water was brown and red and he grimaced. He wrapped the animal in a towel, and delicately wiped him down before blow drying his fur. Then he found a spare comb, and brushed out his fur, pouting at the all bald spots. It had been necessary, but he still felt bad. Finally, he disinfected the other cuts, shushing the poor fox when he whined and yipped at him. "I know it stings, precious. But it'll help, I promise." He bandaged him up and sighed in relief. "Done."

The fox seemed to observe his wounds before standing on its hind legs, and putting its front paws on his chest, headbutting his chin before licking him. Hongjoong giggled, "You are such a docile sweetheart. I'll keep you with me tonight, and let you out tomorrow." He sighed heavily, "Well, I'll take a shower now too. I'll open the door so you can explore." He pet the fox, who nibbled on his fingers, "We'll eat after my shower. Just…don't tear up my house, ok?" He really must be tired because the fox seemed to nod again as he went to open the door. The little fox took one look at him, and when he began to take his shirt off, he hopped off the counter and left the bathroom with its white tipped tail swishing behind him.

He really was a strange little fox. But Hongjoong really liked him already. He was sweet, and his big eyes just seemed really human. Like, he could understand everything Hongjoong said to him. He didn't have to wonder where the animal came from. Behind Hongjoong's house there was the woods. He obviously came from there, and dropped on his porch. Lucky for him, he dropped in front of a vet's house, who had an absolute love for animals.

He came out of the bathroom, and thankfully his house wasn't torn to shreds. God, this fox was really good. He was laying down, looking like a little mummy all bandaged up on his couch. He kneeled down beside the fox, and gently toyed with his ears giggling as they flicked against his fingers. The fox gently bit his fingers, but he pulled away with a pout, "After all I've done for you, you bite the hand that will eventually feed." The fox huffed, licking up his cheek, and he grimaced. "Alright, alright, I get it. Now, I'm not a great cook, but I can make some meat. That should be good. Had I known you would be here, I would have brought some stuff from work." He stood up and began walking to the kitchen, the little fox padding behind him. "Maybe I should bring supplies from work. I live by the woods, no telling what might show up here. I should be prepared. But I know foxes can eat meat, and that's my specialty. Only because it's my favourite. My best friend Seonghwa taught me how to cook it so he could be assured I wouldn't live off ramen." He dug into his fridge, looking for ingredients, "Like there's something wrong living off ramen. It's food, right?" He asked, looking at the fox who barked at him in response. He giggled at the sweet fox, pulling out a pot and pan. "Luckily for me, I have some rice to use as a filler since you'll probably get more meat. I was going to get takeout, but you can't eat that, so home cooked it is." He grabbed the rice, and pulled the top off the container, and dumped it into a bowl as oil sizzled in the pan.

The little fox seemed to dance between his feet, screeching happily and making him trip. His screeches sounded like high pitched laughter, as he cursed at him. "Seems you're feeling a little better. That's good. Little mischievous butt head." He plated up some meat, and set it on the floor. "Here you go, precious. I know you shouldn't name things so you don't get attached, but I feel like you need a name." He stroked the fox's fur as it walked over to him and began licking and eating the meat. "I know it doesn't matter, but my name is Hongjoong." He stood up and began making his own plate. "It'll probably come to me after you're gone. But I do want to take pictures with you because you are adorable." The fox made a noise like a purr, and he giggled.

After eating, Hongjoong pulled out his phone and took a few selfies with the fox. He was amazed as the little animal stares right at it, and even tilted his head and smiled (baring his teeth) for the pictures. He really was a curious fox. "You have a little dot under your eye," Hongjoong said, running his thumb over it. "That's so cute."

"Alright, I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. I again please don't tear up my house. You should be resting." He flopped down on his side drawing up the covers and he sighed heavily. One of the good things about a good paying job was an extremely comfortable bed. He gasped and snapped his eyes open when he felt something furry bury in next to him, and tuck a little twitchy eared head under his chin. He smiled fondly, and stroked the fox's fur until he finally fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he stretched out his limbs and groaned loudly. At the foot of his bed, he saw a fox doing the same with a yawn. He laughed and pat his lap. "Come here, precious, let's get a look at those wounds." Surprisingly the fox obeyed, and laid in front of him. Even more surprisingly the bandages were still in place. Most animals, especially a wild one, would probably tear their bandages off. But he knew already that this fox wasn't like any other. He looked over his cuts and they had healed really well actually. He hummed and dragged his fingertips delicately over the stitches "I'm worried about these stitches. I used dissolvable ones in case you left, but this wound still seems pretty nasty. I can't keep a wild animal though." He sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair, "I answered my own question. I'll put more cream on it, make you some breakfast, and send you on your way."

True to his word, Hongjoong did exactly that. He opened the back door. "Alright, you're free from my human clutches. Go on." The stubborn fox planted his butt on the floor, his white tipped tail swishing behind him. He looked like he was glaring at him. "Come on now. You're a wild animal, you should be running far away now." The fox yipped at him. He gave a long suffering sigh, and walked over picking the fox up. He pressed a kiss against his muzzle. He received a lick on his cheek. "You're a sweet little fox, precious. But I can't properly take care of a wild animal. I don't know if you can understand me, but you can come to me if there's ever a problem, ok?" He set the fox down outside, and the fox gave him a look like a kicked puppy. "Don't look at me like that. Go on!" The fox ran towards the tree line of the woods. Hongjoong watched as disappeared and sighed. "Precious would have been a good name for him." He walked back into his house, sure that would be the last time he saw the fox.

~~~~~~

The orange fox ran through the woods, following a path he knew so well. He came across an oddly shaped tree, and shuffled under the roots. There, he pulled a hatch open with his mouth. He closed it behind him, and descended down the stairs. He walked into a homey looking area. There was a boy with a sharp jaw line and broad shoulders sitting on a couch. He looked up and gasped. "Wooyoung, oh thank god." He said.

The fox, Wooyoung, flicked his ears before being bathed in a bright golden light. Tendrils of smoke curled around his body as he stood completely up and clothes appeared on his body. Now, there was a boy standing there. "Sorry San. Those fucking hunters sent the dogs after me, and I got stuck in a bramble bush. It tore me to fucking shreds. I found that house by the woods and thought, oh I'll just rest here until I can transform back. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of blood from a nasty gash, and I couldn't."

San covered his mouth, "How are you here now?" He asked.

"A nice human found me. He lives in the house. His name is Hongjoong, and he's a vet. That means he cares for animals." He lifted up his shirt to show the stitches in his side, "See? He patched me up. He washed me and fed me and cuddled me at night!" He said, stars dancing in his eyes "He called me precious, and kissed me lots. Oh Sannie, I really like him."

"He's a human, Wooyoung. He loves animals, not you." San said gently.

Wooyoung pouted, "He's not like other humans, San. I can tell. I really like him."

"I just don't think it's smart. You best stay away from him."

Wooyoung wanted to cry, even though he knew, logically, that San was right. But Hongjoong was different and special. When he looked through the house he could also tell that he was probably really lonely too.

~~~~~

"Oh, how cute!" Yunho said, looking at the pictures Hongjoong showed him. "and he was just on your porch, bleeding?"

"Yeah," Hongjoong said fondly. It had been 2 weeks, and his fellow vet friend Yunho had finally come back from a business venture overseas. "He was silly and cute. I really wish I could have kept him. But you know, he's a wild animal."

Yunho nodded sagely, "You did the right thing. But he's the cutest fox. His ears are so big."

"I know." Hongjoong squealed "he was the cutest little thing. Maybe I should adopt a low maintenance animal."

"Cats are a good choice." Yunho said.

"I don't like finicky cats."

"You're right. You're finicky enough, hyung."

Hongjoong stuck his tongue out at him. He wasn't wrong, but still he didn't have to call him out like that. He just couldn't get that adorable fox out of his head.

It had been a long day full of surgeries. Hongjoong was absolutely beat. He climbed out of his car, and walked up the path to his house when someone came running up to him, covered in blood. He recoiled, until he saw what was in this person's arms, a bleeding and whimpering grey fox.

"Hongjoong, I didn't know where else to go. Please, help him! He's my friend."

Hongjoong wanted to ask so many questions. Who are you? How do you know my name? How did you know where I live? But this grey fox looked bad, and the boy holding him was crying so hard. He saw something familiar in his big blue eyes that dripped with tears. He couldn't just leave the fox in his arms to bleed out and die. He'd get answers later, and provide care now. "Come on, let's get your friend inside."

He opened his door, "Bathroom is upstairs first door on the right. Grab a towel under the sink, and try to staunch the bleeding. I'll go grab my stuff."

After the incident with the little fox, Hongjoong had brought tools and things he would need from work just in case it happened again, and he was so glad he did. He grabbed the kit, and hurried to the bathroom where the boy was petting the whimpering fox "It's ok, Sannie. Hongjoong is gonna patch you up. It's going to be fine."

Hongjoong's heart ached for him. He seemed very attached to his fox friend. He rolled up his sleeves, and grabbed a pair of gloves, snapping them onto his hands. "Tell me about your friend here, what happened?" He said while unwrapping the fox to assess the damage.

"His…his name is San. And we were out in the woods, and we got attacked by wolves and San he," he sniffled, voice warbling in emotion, "he protected me."

"You shouldn't play in those woods, it's full of dangerous animals, and crazy ass hunters." Hongjoong said, grimacing at the torn flesh on the foxes neck, and nasty bite wounds. "Shit, hes been beat to shit, but I can't see because of all the fur and blood. I'll shave him down really quick, stitch up the obvious wounds, then bathe him to get the rest, ok? Mr. uh..."

"Wooyoung. My name is Wooyoung."

"Ok. Will he bite?"

Wooyoung shook his head, "No, not at all. Sannie is docile, I promise."

Another docile fox, weird. It was quiet as he stitched up the obvious wounds on the fox who whimpered in pain, but hardly flinched and didn't even growl or get aggressive. It was strange, but what wasn't in this situation, really? "Alright, let's start up a bath for you, Sannie." He turned on the taps, grateful he had some animal safe shampoo to wash him.

Suddenly, Wooyoung pressed a hand to his side, doubling over with a grunt of pain. There was blood pooling on his hand, and Hongjoong freaked out because he couldn't operate on humans! "You've been hurt!" He yelled, ready to call emergency services. There was a puff of orange smoke, and he pinched himself. There was a little orange fox with big blue eyes lying on the floor, whimpering in pain. When he got closer, he noticed a small patch of regrowing hair, and the marks of stitches just like…"Precious?" He said aloud.

The fox covered his muzzle bashfully. Hongjoong felt like this mind was spinning, but well, here's another hurt fox…ok. He grabbed the fox, who was Wooyoung he guessed, and laid him next to San. He turned the bathroom taps off, snapped on a new pair of gloves and worked on Wooyoung's wounds now. When he was done he gently placed each fox in the lukewarm bath. Wooyoung was a little better off than San. He had to hold San gently and pour water over his body, while Wooyoung could sit up.

"So…is San a…shapeshifter or whatever you are too?"

Wooyoung nodded. God, this whole situation was messed up. "Ok, well I'll take care of you both like foxes right now, but you have a lot of explaining to do. Ok?"

Wooyoung nodded again, and Hongjoong gave a self suffering sigh. He pressed his hand on San's chest, "fuck me. His heart beat is really thready. I think…fuck." Hongjoong pulled San out of the bath, and wrapped him up in a towel. He also wrapped up Wooyoung, who squeaked at him, in a towel as well. "Listen," he said, panicking, "I'm going to take you guys to my clinic. I think San has internal injuries, and I need to open him up. His heart beat is thready, and he's shaking really bad." He threw his shoes on, and grabbed the two wrapped foxes, and put them in the backseat of his car, started it up, and called Yunho on speaker.

"Hyung, it's so late. What's up?"

"Yunho, I, uh, found some injured foxes by my house. One of them I tried to stitch him up, but his heart beat is thready. His skin looks pale, and he's trembling really badly. Can you assist me in a surgery? I know it's late, I'm so sorry."

"Oh sure, yeah I'll be there in five. It's not a problem."

"Thank you." He hung up and noticed a small orange head poking out between the front seats. "Yunho is one of the other vets at the clinic I work at. He's actually a good friend of mine too." Wooyoung whined, placing his paw on Hongjoong's shoulder. "You're both going to be fine, ok. I promise. I'm a really good vet, you won't lose your friend." He grimaced when Wooyoung's cold wet nose pressed against his cheek, but he appreciated the sentiment.

Wooyoung went back to San, nuzzling against his cheek. This was all his fault. San was bleeding all over the towel he was wrapped in, and his breathing was unsteady. He couldn't lose his best friend, it would kill him. He trusted Hongjoong, he did, but every second ticking by felt like an eternity. Every second he was closer to losing San.

"Woo," San said. They could understand each other even as foxes.

"Shut up, dummy. Don't waste your strength." He said, licking against his cheek, and hating the taste of blood there. "Just hold on, Hongjoong will patch you up. He has to."

They finally made it to the clinic, and the lights were already on. Yunho's car was already parked, and Hongjoong was grateful. He grabbed the little foxes, and ran them into the clinic. "Ok Yunho, take Wooyoung, the orange one, and put him into a cage. Wooyoung, you'll be fine, just relax and rest, ok? I'll take San, and start prepping him for surgery." Thankfully, Yunho didn't ask why they had names, especially after seeing the blood soaked towel the fox was wrapped in. Hongjoong laid San on the countertop, and put on some gloves. "Alright sweetie, this is gonna pinch." He put an iv in his arm, holding it down with some colorful tape. "Now, just breathe deep so you can fall asleep, ok?" He said turning up the gas, and putting a mask over his face. San's eyes closed, and he was out like a light "Perfect. Good boy. Now, don't you die on me."

Yunho was already prepping for surgery when Hongjoong walked in and laid the fox down on the table. He walked into the back with Yunho, and started to scrub down for surgery.

"What's up with foxes coming to you, hyung?" Yunho asked with a small smile.

Hongjoong sighed, "I don't know."

"The little orange one, Wooyoung, is that the fox you saw two weeks ago?"

Hongjoong nodded while scrubbing his hands. "Yeah. He was uh, laying down on San by my house. They were covered in blood. I tried to stitch them up, but while giving them a bath San started trembling, and his heartbeat was thready."

"Why the names?"

Hongjoong choked, "Uh, something to call them to distinguish the two. Let's go." He said, drying off his hands. San was passed out, and Yunho began setting him up for surgery. Putting a heart monitor on him, and monitoring his vitals

"Good call, hyung. That's a terrible heart beat, and his blood pressure is really low. He's going to need a transfusion."

"I don't think Wooyoung will mind. I think they are a pack or something."

Hongjoong got to work.

~~~~~~~

Wooyoung pouted at being stuck in this cage. He wasn't an animal…fulltime. He understood, but he didn't have to like it. He wanted to pace or do something with all this nervous energy, but he knew he was still hurt and needed to rest. Somehow, he did manage to fall asleep. The cafe was actually warm and had soft blankets in it. He woke up to someone jostling him around. He blinked open his big blue eyes, and saw Yunho grinning at him.

"Hey baby, sorry to wake you up. Hyung said I should tell you San made it through the surgery, and that I need you to be a good boy, and let me take some of your blood. San needs a transfusion. And you're the only fox blood on hand. He said, he thinks you're smart, and you'll understand? I think he's going senile."

Wooyoung barked a few times, the sound sharp and rough like a laugh. Yunho didn't know, but that was fine. He held out his paw, holding still, wincing when Yunho stuck the needle in. Yunho was flabbergasted. "You really are something else. So still and good. Good boy." Yunho said, scratching behind his ears which made him purr contently.

The loss of blood made him lay down on the table, feeling a little woozy. Yunho pulled the needle out, and he lost track of time. Soon he was looking up at Hongjoong's face. He was wrapped in a blanket like a baby, and he felt really shy.

"You're ok. Don't think I forgot what you are. But your a patient right now. You probably feel tired from having your blood taken. I stitched you up again, but you need to eat this." Hongjoong pushed a bottle to his lips. No way, he wasn't about to eat like a baby in front of his crush. He pushed his hands away with his paws, moving his muzzle away from the bottle. "Don't be so stubborn. I won't think less of you. It's milk with a raw egg and some leafy greens blended in. The bottle makes it easier to eat. Don't fight."

The mixture sounded absolutely vile. But he remembered Hongjoong was looking at him as a dog. He shook his head, barking at him. Hongjoong tilted his head "You…aren't like a dog, huh? Uhm, what about if I scramble the eggs?"

Wooyoung nodded, despite it making him feel light headed. "Fine, but if you pass out I'm forcing the bottle in your mouth." And he muttered something that sounded like little shit as he walked away. Wooyoung cackled as he walked around the office. He saw a grey lump inside one of the heated cages and got on his hind legs to peer in. He squeaked, being picked up by Yunho. "He's alright. Little fighter, he is. Took your blood well, and he's on the road to recovery."

Wooyoung looked at Yunho, twitching his ears, "You really are a curious fox.' he stoked his muzzle, "Let's see, he did have internal damage. He had damage to his lung, and the damn thing collapsed. I've never seen Hyung reinflate and stitch a lung so fast in my life. He was so determined to save your little friend. It was touch and go. I think if Hyung hadn't picked up that heartbeat, he wouldn't have made it."

Wooyoung looked at Yunho with big shiny eyes, and then touched the cage, whining. He almost lost his best friend,and he wanted nothing more than to cuddle him. Yunho sighed, "Normally, I'd be worried about you tangling up the wires and the lines and say no, but there's something curious about you two, so ok." Yunho opened the cage, and placed Wooyoung inside, "Just be careful, ok?"

Wooyoung took care around the lines, and curled up next to San, laying his head on his back. He could cry hearing his heartbeat, and feeling his warm fur as his head went up and down from San breathing at a steady rate. He was ok. He was alive. Hongjoong saved San, and he was so grateful to him.

San lifted his head "where 'm I?"

"Rest. You gave everyone a scare." Wooyoung said, gently biting on his ear.

"Mmm 'm hungry."

As if Hongjoong heard him, he walked in with two bowls of scrambled eggs with kale. "Ah, San, I hope you're hungry. You both need to replenish your blood." He set the bowls on a table, and grabbed the two foxes, setting them in front of the bowls. He took care with the tubes still connected to San, and held him steady to eat "There you go. Good boys."

It took a few days, but soon Hongjoong had two rambunctious foxes in the back of his car. He told Yunho he'd be releasing them back into the wild. Instead, he plopped them down in his living room, and stood there, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

Twin lights glowed around the foxes, and he looked away as smoke curled around them, forming clothes.

"Uhm, I can explain?" Wooyoung said with a pained smile.

"Then explain." Hongjoong said.

"We're hybrids!" San said.

Hongjoong snorted, "I've never heard of hybrids like you."

Wooyoung scoffed, "Because we really want to be experimented on. There's a lot of us actually. Some just live as normal humans who have to transform every once in awhile. That's how the legend of werewolves started. There's all different types. We are obviously foxes. There are wolves, dogs, cats, and even bears. I never meant to burden you like this. But you said if anything ever happened I could come back to you."

Hongjoong's ears burned red. He had said that, but he didn't expect to see the cute little fox as a very cute boy. "Well, I'm glad you did. San, you're a fighter."

San grinned, deep dimples in his cheeks. "I couldn't leave my very best friend."

Hongjoong finally took a seat in the lounge chair across from them, "So now what? I just release you back into the wild?"

"You could…" Wooyoung said, hesitating, "But you could…keep us?"

"K-keep you?"

"Yeah, we owe you for San's life, and I can cook and stuff. We won't be a burden. I promise."

It was crazy, but Hongjoong couldn't ignore that the proposition of having people in his too big house sounded nice. So he agreed, just for now.

~~~~~~
A few months later

"I'm gonna be late!" San said, running through the house. "Shut up, Yeosang!" He yelled at a boy who was giggling at him.

"San, calm down." Hongjoong said, fixing his tie. "I'm surprised it took so long for Yunho to ask you out."

"Well, it was kind of a hurdle with the whole hey I turn into a fox, that's why me and Wooyoung have the same name as those foxes." San said with a whine.

"Water under the bridge." Hongjoong said, cupping his cheek and stroking his high cheekbones with his thumb. "Don't eat him, ok?"

"No promises." He said as the doorbell rang.

With Wooyoung and San living with him, they also had other hybrid friends who came and went through Hongjoong's house. Seonghwa (his own best friend), a rabbit who was mated with Yeosang, a cat. And Mingi, a wolf who was mated with Jongho, a bear. His house was full and lively, and he loved it. Seonghwa opened the door, and Yunho stepped in, giggling when San launched into his arms, "Hey gorgeous, ready to go?" He asked.

"I'm leaving. Don't stay up!" San said, grabbing Yunho's hand, and closing the door behind them.

Wooyoung wrapped his arms around Hongjoong's waist from behind, and nuzzled against his neck, pressing a soft kiss there, "Do you think they'll wind up as happy as us?" He asked.

That's right, his sweet little fox had become his boyfriend. Wooyoung had been very persistent despite Hongjoong's hesitance. Soon, they fell into an easy rhythm, and before he knew it, he was in love.

Hongjoong giggled, bumping their heads together, "If I've learned anything these past months, it's that anything can happen."

Wooyoung giggled, "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too, precious."