THE KNOCK THAT CHANGE EVERYTHING [ HEEJAKE FF]

The door clicked shut behind them.

Jake gently toed off his shoes, balancing the small lion hybrid wrapped in a soft blanket in his arms. The apartment was dim and quiet, moonlight spilling through the windows like silver silk. Outside, the city hummed faintly but in here, it was just the two of them.

Heeseung stirred slightly in his arms, warm and sleepy, golden eyes blinking up at Jake with a dazed look.

“Home?” he mumbled, voice hoarse and small.

Jake smiled softly, brushing a strand of hair from the boy’s forehead. “Yeah, baby. We’re home.”

Heeseung’s tail curled a little tighter around Jake’s arm, his cheek pressing into his shoulder. Jake carried him to the bedroom their bedroom tonight. He didn’t want Heeseung waking up scared in his own bed.

He carefully lowered him onto the mattress and tucked the blanket around him, but when Jake turned to walk toward the bathroom, a tiny hand reached out and caught his wrist.

“…Don’t go,” Heeseung whispered, looking up at him with glassy eyes.

Jake froze.

He turned back, crouching beside the bed.

“I’m just gonna change clothes, Hee. I’ll be right back, promise.”

Heeseung shook his head, his small hand still gripping Jake tightly.

“…Sleep here,” he murmured. “With me.”

Jake’s chest swelled with something warm and painful. Love, maybe. Or guilt. Or both.

Without a word, Jake stood, pulled off his hoodie, and climbed into bed beside him.

The moment the sheets rustled, Heeseung scooted closer clinging onto Jake’s side, his small hybrid body curling instinctively against Jake’s warmth. His lion ears twitched gently, and a content sigh left his lips as he buried his face into Jake’s chest.

“…You smell normal again,” Heeseung whispered.

Jake blinked.

“Is that a good thing?”

“Mhm,” the boy hummed softly. “You smell like my home again…”

Jake felt his throat tighten.

He lifted one arm and let Heeseung curl up inside it. His other hand gently rubbed the boy’s back, feeling the slow rise and fall of his breathing.

“You scared me, you know,” Jake murmured, voice quiet in the dark. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought I was gonna lose you.”

Heeseung didn’t respond he was too close to sleep, but his arms squeezed Jake’s shirt just a little tighter.

Jake leaned his head back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. “I promise I’ll learn more. I’ll do better, okay? I didn’t know hybrids could get heat this young. I didn’t know how much you were feeling.”

A soft purr rumbled from Heeseung’s chest. It was quiet but it meant he felt safe again.

Jake smiled.

He leaned down and kissed Heeseung’s head. “Sleep, Heeseungie. I’m right here.”

And for the first time in days, Heeseung slept peacefully.

Not as a hybrid, not as a lion…

But as a child wrapped in the safety of his father’s arms.

___________________________________________

Midnight:

The room was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of the moon pouring through the sheer curtains. Outside, the city murmured gently in its sleep, but inside the apartment, the world had paused.

Jake breathed steadily, completely still—his arm cradling a tiny hybrid boy curled close to his chest.

But the silence broke when small golden eyes fluttered open.

Heeseung blinked slowly, his lashes damp from earlier tears. The fever had gone, but a strange ache still sat inside his little chest. He felt warm now—not from sickness, but from the soft rhythm of Jake’s heartbeat beneath his ear.

Still, something made his throat tight.

Carefully, he pulled back just a little, his tail twitching behind him. His lion ears perked and his eyes studied Jake’s sleeping face—peaceful, tired, kind.

“…Daddy,” Heeseung whispered softly, almost breathless.

He reached out a small hand and brushed his fingers along Jake’s cheek. His skin was rougher than his own—warm from sleep and carrying the scent Heeseung loved most in the world.

Jake didn’t stir.

Heeseung’s lip trembled.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again, voice cracking just a little. “I didn’t mean to be a bad boy…”

He thought of earlier—how scared Jake looked, how confused. How he’d cried and clung and didn’t understand why his body hurt or why Jake smelled like someone else. He didn’t want to be angry. He just didn’t know what to do.

“I got mad… and I didn’t want to…” Heeseung’s tiny voice broke. “I don’t want Papa to stop loving me…”

Tears welled in his eyes.

Slowly, carefully, he slid closer—his little arms wrapping around Jake’s torso. He tucked his face into the warmth of Jake’s chest and held him tight, whispering once more like a quiet promise.

“I love you.”

Jake stirred slightly, not fully awake—but his arm instinctively pulled Heeseung closer, protectively, like it was the only place the boy belonged.

Heeseung smiled through his tears, feeling the strength of Jake’s love without even a word.

And just like that…

The ache began to fade.

End pov: