Can't Stop: Causing Chaos

by MooseTheGoose

Summary:

Or: A look into the daily lives of the boys and their exhausted parents.

(aka, a compliation of all the fluff, chaos, and shenanigans that didn't fit into the other series.)

Updated: "The Creek" 12/01/25

*This work will be updated as I come up with more plotlines for it, but in the meantime, each chapter is independent so they can be read separately!*

Chapter 1: Camping

Bang Chan and Lee Minho had planned everything.

Because they were Eomma and Appa. Obviously. 

Three tents.

Bug spray.

Extra socks.

Felix’s weighted blanket.

A laminated checklist of food, water, and fire-starting supplies.

Even a backup emergency generator just in case someone (Jisung) forgot to charge their phone before the trip.

They were determined: this would be a peaceful, bonding experience.

No screens. No distractions. Just nature, family, and vibes.

The perfect summer vacation activity for their boys. 

If only it were that easy. 

Day 1, 10:03 AM: Arrival

“Okay, guys!” Chan called, clapping his hands as he pulled the trunk open. “Let’s have some fun, huh?”

Jeongin immediately tripped over a root and landed face-first in a patch of wildflowers.

“Hyung, my nose is itchy—”

“DON’T RUB IT, YOU’LL MAKE IT WORSE! TRUST ME!" Changbin barked, already wiping his nose on his sleeve. “There’s something evil in the air. I can FEEL IT.”

Minho rolled his eyes, “That’s pollen, Bin.”

Changbin sniffed. “Pollen is evil.”

Chan was already dosing out Changbin's allergy medication with the percision of a veteran surgeon. 

3:27 PM

The tents were up.

The fire pit was prepped.

The sun was shining.

The birds were chirping. 

Not too warm, not too cool. 

It was perfect. 

Unfortunately, that’s when Hyunjin discovered a beetle the size of a quarter near his sleeping bag and screamed like someone had been murdered.

“OH MY GOD, IT LOOKED AT ME!”

“It’s a bug,” Seungmin muttered, unbothered as he rummaged through the snack bag. 

“YEAH, WITH EVIL INTENTIONS!" 

Minho had to physically drag Hyunjin ten feet away and give him a granola bar to calm him down.

8:19 PM

Campfire time.

The sky was a canopy of stars, laughter echoed in the trees, and marshmallows were toasting gently on sticks.

The fire crackled in the pit, reflecting a soft amber light over all of their smiling faces. 

It was perfect.

Until Jeongin had eight marshmallows in under six minutes and declared, “I feel kinda weird—”

Then promptly threw up all over his new hiking boots.

Felix patted his back sympathetically while Hyunjin and Jisung laughed so hard, tears were streaming down their faces.

Changbin screamed and climbed onto the picnic table because he saw an ant.

Chan sighed, rubbing his hands across his face. “Only 40 more hours to go.”

***

Day 2, 12:31 AM

“Hyunjin,” Minho said, face completely blank. “you have to pee at some point." 

Hyunjin shook his head vehemently, curling himself tighter in his sleeping bag. “I’m not going in the woods alone. It’s dark. There are creatures.”

“You’ve had three bottles of water since dinner. You’re going to rupture something.”

Hyunjin just scowled and burrowed himself deeper. “If someone goes with me, I'll consider it.”

Minho rolled his eyes and tossed a flashlight to Jisung, who just happened to be walking into the tent. "You're up, squirrel boy. Go protect your borther from the creatures." 

“I swear to fucking god," Jisung muttered, grabbing Hyunjin’s hand, “if a zombie eats me, I’m divorcing you.”

Hyunjin blinked. “We’re married?”

“We are now.”

2:04 AM

Seungmin’s quiet whimpers woke Chan instantly, his Dad Instincts™ flaring. 

The poor goalie was curled up on his open sleeping bag, limbs tucked into his body, trying not to touch it. 

“It's too scratchy." Seungmin murmured, trying his best not to cry. “I hate fleece. It feels terrible. I tried so hard but I just can't.... 'm sorry Appa.”

Chan's heart shattered. "Oh baby boy... it's alright. Appa would rather you wake me up than be uncomfortable." 

Seungmin just nodded, letting himself be tugged into Chan's arms. 

Changbin swapped Seungmin’s sleeping bag with his. 

Felix fetched the cotton blanket Minho had packed just incase.

Within fifteen minutes, Seungmin was snoring in Chan’s lap.

11:46 AM

Changbin tried to chop wood.

He sneezed thirteen times in a row, threw the axe ten feet accidentally, and then cried because his eyes were itchy.

Jeongin, sipping Pedialyte from a plastic bottle, patted him on the back. “You're doing amazing, sweetie.”

Minho was starting to look like he wanted to walk into the lake and never return.

Jisung and Hyunjin were still asleep. 

Felix, ever the angel, was busy making pancakes on the griddle. 

Seungmin stared into the fire, still recovering from his late-night fight with the evil fleece-lined sleeping bag. 

***

Day 3, 4:55 PM

As they packed up the site, Chan glanced around at his babies:

• Jisung, covered in bug spray and wearing three pairs of socks “just in case the ground bites”

• Hyunjin, brushing his hair in the reflection of a car window, pouting

• Seungmin, wrapped burrito-style in a soft blanket, napping peacefully

• Jeongin, sipping electrolyte water and dramatically declaring, “I’ve been reformed”

• Felix, arms full of pinecones because “they’re cute”

• Changbin, sniffly, red-eyed, but proud of the one log he split with an axe

Chan looked over at Minho, who had a leaf in his hair.

They both looked like they aged ten years in three days.

“I love them.” Chan whispered.

Minho nodded. “I do. I do. Just.... sometimes. Sometimes I think about leaving them in these woods.”

“....same.”

***

Despite every breakdown, every bug-related incident, every allergy attack and meltdown, there was laughter. 

There were s’mores and silly songs and sunrises by the lake.

There was Hyunjin falling asleep on Jeongin’s shoulder, and Seungmin finally admitting he liked the stars, and Jisung quoting bear safety tips in his sleep.

And at the end of the day, it was family.

It was love. 

Sticky, chaotic, wheezy, and tearful love. 

They loaded into the van exhausted and filthy, and Chan turned to Minho with a soft grin.

“Same time next year?”

Minho stared at him blankly. “Absolutely not.”

“…okay....maybe.”

Chapter 2: 잘한다, Lix!

Summary:

Or: Felix wasn't fluent in Korean when he first joined the team. But when he started to learn? He learned how to weaponize it way too quickly.

The first time Felix ever says a sentence in Korean, it's to Jeongin. 

It's a clumsy attempt, accent and intonation all over the place, and the grammar is, quite frankly, incomprehensible, but he grins through it like he’s just scored the winning goal.

“나는… 어… 너의… 바나나… 빼앗았어요?”
(I… uh… your… banana… I took it?)

Jeongin blinks.

Then he crumbles to the floor, howling with laughter. 

“You stole my banana?”

Felix’s grin falters for a moment. “Is… is that not right?”

“No, no, it is!” Jeongin wheezes, wrapping his hyung up into a hug, “It’s just—why is that the first full sentence you know?”

Felix beams. “Because banana is the easiest word to remember!"

***

From there, it snowballs.

Before long, the entire team is in on it. 

Hyunjin starts leaving little post-it notes around the house, labeled with both Hangul and Romanization.

The fridge: 냉장고 (naengjanggo)
The couch: 소파 (sopa)
The cat (a stray neighborhood cat that Minho feeds religiously): 고양이 (goyangi)

And every time Felix successfully remembers one, there’s cheering.

Literal cheering.

Like he's just won the Olympics. 

“LIXIE, YOU ABSOLUTE GENIUS SUNSHINE!” Jisung screams when Felix correctly conjugates to eat.

Minho, startled from his reading, raises an eyebrow and calmly says, “잘했어, Yongbok.” (Good job.)

Which, from Minho? Is the highest praise anyone has ever gotten. 

Including Chan. 

Felix glows for the rest of the day.

***

High on praise and eager to please, Felix starts studying harder.

Not phrases that are useful, like where's the bus station? or I need help. 

No. 

He starts deliberately learning phrases that will make the others melt.

“형, 너무 귀여워요.”
(Hyung, you’re so cute.)

He says it to Changbin one morning, completely unprompted, while they’re brushing their teeth.

Changbin drops his toothbrush in the sink and nearly collapses. 

“DID YOU JUST— YOU CAN’T JUST— YOU’RE SO—THAT SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED—”

He doesn’t finish the sentence, unable to contain the absured amounts of affection surging through his system. 

Instead he grabs Felix's face and kisses him. 

Right on the lips. 

Felix giggles.

Mission accomplished.

***

He learns I love Minho-hyung the most in the world next.

Uses it during a private moment in the locker room after a win.

Minho blinks rapidly—a telltale flutter that means he’s overwhelmed.

Then he mutters, “I will destroy anyone who ever makes you cry.”

Which is Minho for thank you, I love you, I’m deeply touched.

***

Felix’s favorite target, of course, is Chan.

His first hyung. 

His Appa who'd been there with him through everything. 

Who sat with him patiently, translating all the menus and interviews and anything else Felix couldn't yet understand. 

He collects little phrases for him like treasures.

“형, 오늘도 멋있어요.” (Hyung, you look handsome today.)

“사랑해요, 크리스 형.” (I love you, Chris-hyung.)

“안아줘요?” (Can I have a hug?)

Chan dies every single time.

No matter how tired he is, no matter how stressed, all Felix needs to do is look up at him, smile, and say in slightly strange but perfectly sincere Korean,

“형 너는 나의 천사예요.” (Hyung, you’re my angel.)

Chan wiould literally move the entire world for him if Felix so much as asked him to. 

***

The others catch on.

They realize Felix is weaponizing his cuteness.

But do they stop him?

Of course not.

They live for it.

They encourage it.

They correct his grammar gently, offer new words, and praise him like he’s just learned to fly every time he strings a proper sentence together.

“You’re a fucking menace.” Seungmin says fondly one night when Felix asks, “Seungminnie, can you cuddle me because I feel small in my heart?”

Weird wording, but 10000% kill rate. 

Seungmin sighs and opens his arms. “Come here, you language-learning emotional sniper.”

***

By the end of the year, thanks to all of their collective hard work, Felix is conversational.

His sentences are still sometimes a little strange—translations of English idioms that don’t quite work—but they’re sweet, full of effort and love.

And the boys?

They keep cheering.

Keep hugging.

Keep reminding him:

“You’re doing so well, Lixie.”

“Your Korean’s amazing.”

“We’re so proud of you.”

And Felix?

He keeps learning.

Not because he likes being able to order on his own at restaurants. 

Not because he wants to communicate with their coaches and fans. 

But because he wants to make sure that the people he loves the most, always know it. 

Chapter 4: The Creek

Summary:

Or: There's a creek in the woods just past their backyard.

There’s a creek in the woods just past the backyard of The House.

It's not far, just beyond the fence, down the worn deer path that cuts through the tall grass and between the trees.

The boys discovered it their first summer in the house, when the heat had turned the air thick and still, and boredom made them curious.

Now, it’s theirs.

***

They go there almost every day in the summer, after training when they're sweaty and hot but the chill of the air conditioning inside of The House feels like too much. 

Shoes kicked off at the edge of the grass.

Shirts flung over branches.

Shorts abandoned in a heap by the rocks.

It’s always a mess of tangled limbs and laughter, their bodies crashing through the cold water, boxers soaked and clinging, hair dripping into their eyes. 

Jeongin’s usually the first one in, cannonballing so dramatically that Hyunjin shrieks about his hair— once spikey buzz cut now grown out to his shoulders—getting wet.

Everytime.

Without fail. 

It's like a promise. 

Jisung slips and slides and clings to anyone near enough to reach. 

Felix floats on his back like he’s part of the creek itself, long blonde hair floating around his head like a halo. 

Seungmin pretends to hate it—pretends he’s too good for such silliness—until someone (Changbin) dunks him and he starts laughing harder than anyone else.

Changbin makes it his life mission to grab as many of his brothers as he can and dunk their heads in the chilly stream. 

And while the boys splash and scream and make up absurd rules to creek games that change every day, up the hill, The House stays nice and dry. 

***

Chan and Minho lounge in the living room, sprawled across the couch with legs tangled and the windows wide open.

The curtains blow away from the window with each gentle gust of wind. 

The ceiling fan hums above them, metal pull strings clinking softly with each turn. 

There’s a half-finished glass of lemonade on the table, Chan’s book of game plans turned facedown on his chest, Minho’s fingers drawing lazy circles along his wrist.

And through the screen, they hear them.

“Hyunjin cheated! He started running before Jeongin finished counting—”

“YOU were the one who called it a ‘reverse race.’ What fuck does that even mean?!"

“Felix! You’ve been floating for twenty minutes, you're supposed to be the judge!!”

“Is that MY sock in the TREE?! If Eomma sees what you did, you're fucking DEAD." 

***

In all the years they've been playing at that same creek, the boys never caught on. 

That the windows were open on purpose.

That the house was built this way, just slightly uphill from the creek, so sound carries like a secret between trees.

Chan and Minho don't tell them.

They just listen.

And it's always their favorite time of the summer. 

When the world is syrupy and golden, and their babies are outside being young, and safe, and happy.

When Seungmin laughs so hard he snorts.

When Jeongin calls someone an idiot, but it’s filled with affection.

When Hyunjin tries to climb a tree and Changbin ends up needing to fish him down. 

That’s when Chan squeezes Minho’s hand and whispers, “We did good, jagi.”

And Minho, who’s not one for words, just leans over and kisses Chan’s temple in quiet agreement.

***

Sometimes, there are calls.

Because the boys know they can be heard if they really shout. 

So when the air splits with:

“CHANNIE-HYUNG! JEONGIN SPLIT HIS LIP ON A ROCK!”

or

“MINHO-HYUNG, SEUNGMIN'S HAVING A MELTDOWN BECAUSE HE GOT MUD IN HIS SHOE!”

or 

“APPA! EOMMA! FELIX FELL AND KNOCKED THE WIND OUT OF HIMSELF!”

Minho doesn’t even flinch.

Just sighs, grabs a towel and the first aid kit, and disappears down the path with a muttered, “They're your kids.”

Then Chan, without fail, snorts and says, “Tell them that, Eomma.”

But his smile is soft.

So, so soft.

***

When the sun sets and the crickets start singing is when the boys finally stumble back up the hill with damp hair and wet clothes sticking to their skin. 

They stand in a patient line as Chan hoses them off, one by one, spraying away all of the mud and sticks and leaves clinging to the skin of their calves. 

It's only then that Minho allows them into the living room through the sliding glass door, eyes watching like a hawk to make sure they don't stray from the carefully placed path of towels to the shower. 

Then, finally, finally, once the boys are warm and pink from the shower, wearing loose shorts and no shirt, do they get to sit down on the couch. 

Because Minho will be damned if he had to clean one more mudstain from off of his cream colored couch. 

Felix brings out the popsicles. 

Jisung cues up Mario Kart on the TV. 

The rest of the boys either grab a popsicle or a controller and cuddle up between the cushions. 

Chan and Minho just sit on the other end of the couch, the windows now closed against the night, watching their kids slowly fall asleep on each other like a pile of puppies. 

Happy.

Tired.

Sun-kissed.

Safe.

***

Later, in bed, with the fan spinning slow above them and their boys asleep in their own beds down the hall, Minho whispers, “You ever gonna tell them we can hear everything?”

Chan laughs softly into Minho's hair. “Never.”

“They’d start performing.”

“They already scream like they're auditoning for a horror movie." 

“…True.”

They fall asleep to the quiet hum of crickets far below their bedroom window, night wind softly rustling the curtains. 

And in the morning, when the sun climbs high and the house is bursting with sound, the listening will begin once again. 

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 5 of Stray Kids On Ice (Hockey AU)