#bts scientist namjoon

[crazy4myself]

No Harm List | Pt. 14

Word count: 5.5k ish

Warnings: explicit language, violence, sexual themes

Summary: You live in a city where crime runs rampant. One day, you save a young boy’s life, not knowing that he is the most powerful crime lord's heir. And you have just been put on the no harm list.

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A/N: Hiii lovelies I know it had been literal years since I’ve properly updated. To avoid confusion you may want to go back a few chapters to refresh; I recommend part 12. Also some of the next few chapters may look familiar bc I re-wrote them. But I think you will like this version much better :)

“Why did you avoid me after we kissed?” you asked again, your voice clear. You did not make yourself elaborate. You didn’t tell him how you’ve felt lost and helpless these weeks. And if you could take it back, you would. But if you were honest with yourself, no part of you really wanted to.

You just looked at him expectantly and watched him squirm in the silence. “Because.. I’m a coward,” he offered, looking down at his hands.

Your silence was loud in the air between you, pressuring him to keep talking, “I was scared because BTS has already put you in so much danger already. I mean, we're not even dating, and you were basically held hostage.”

“Don’t pin this on me.” you cut him off. You knew it was a valid point, but it wasn’t his only reason for not talking to you. “Whether or not I endanger myself to date you is a decision for us to make. Why did you avoid me?” you asked again.

“I was scared. I was scared it was an impulsive or pity kiss after being shot. I was scared you didn’t have feelings for me, so I avoided the rejection.”

You quirked a brow in disbelief. Oh, sure, he was scared of you rejecting him. “It’s true!” he insisted.

“And I don’t even know if I could date you,” he added, and you felt a part of your chest ache at the confession.

“I don’t know if I'm capable of dating with my lifestyle. It's not only a safety hazard, but I don't know if I’m capable of giving you any more of myself than I already have. I think about you all the time. And I love spending time with you. But our friendship, where we were before that kiss, it’s all I know how to give people.”

He turned to you, eyes searching your face for any signs of hurt or betrayal, but he couldn’t read your expression as you quietly whispered, “And what if I told you that’s enough?”

Jungkook parted his lips but was at a loss for words.

“I’ve never really dated,” you explained, “And I don't think I know how to. And school is so stressful, and the program is only going to get more complex. I’m not sure I have time to learn and figure out the ‘right’ way to do it.” You paused as you saw his eyebrows furrow in confusion, and you realized how contradictory you were sounding.

“I like you, Jungkook. I like what we have, and I liked kissing you. But before now, I didn’t think I could date you. Not because of the whole ‘gang’ thing. But because I think-” your voice cracked, “I think something in me broke when I lost Daewon. I never,” You paused to swallow.

“I will never let anyone in like that again because it hurt so bad when I lost her. And we weren’t even together romantically. So, imagine how bad it would hurt to lose a partner?” a hot tear rolled down your cheek, and Jungkook reached up to wipe it. You leaned into the comforting heat of his touch as his callused thumb rubbed soothingly on your cheek.

“What I’m trying to say is we both clearly have boundaries and walls. And we both suck at keeping the other out of some of them. So what if we loved eachother in whatever fucked up way we know how and at least reap the benefits of having shitty partners?” You offered with a hesitant smile.

“The benefits being?” Jungkook asked with a quirked brow.

Mischief glinted in your eyes as you smiled at him before lifting onto your knees and crawling towards him on the couch. Jungkook knew this conversation wasn’t over. He knew he should stop you and assure you that nothing about you was broken for being cautious about who you loved. He wanted to tell you that you were good and kind and would make an incredible partner in any capacity, and he was worried he wouldn’t deserve what you were willing to give. But his mind went blank as you inched so close that he could feel your breath against his face as you murmured, “I can think of a few.”

You moved confidently but still grazed your lips against his in the softest touch as if asking for permission.

Jungkook leaned forward, capturing you in the kiss and pulling you into his lap. It was just as hungry as last time, as if he had been waiting to taste you again. Jungkook felt his body come alight at the joy of feeling you pressed against him. His hands rubbed eagerly against your thighs before wandering up your sides, your arms, and your shoulders as he took all of you in.

The touch wasn’t as much for pleasure as it was a claiming. But still, you skin tingled in response. A trail of goosebumps rose in the wake of every brush of his callused hands.

Finally, you broke the kiss to catch your breath. Pressing your forehead against his, you both smiled like idiots as you took eachother in.

Jungkook leaned in to kiss you again, softer this time. As if the raw desperation passed, he would savor every second now that he had you. His hands were firmly on your waist, and his thumbs rubbed in a soothing motion, lower, and lower as they crept under the hem of your shirt.

You felt core core turning molten and couldn’t reflect back on the last time you had been with someone in this way.

Jungkook’s mouth was hot against your neck, trailing down from behind your ear lower and lower, looking for the spot that made-

You gasped and arched against him in pleasure, your chest pressing harder against his.

There it was, his mind thought in primal satisfaction, as he bit down right above your pulse point, making you writhe against him further. He had been replaying the sounds you made during your last kiss in his head an embarrassing number of nights he was alone. He wanted to map your body right now and learn every spot that made you sigh and moan for him. His hands had migrated further up your ribcage, your skin flushing hot beneath his touch as his thumbs swiped just below your bra.

He was about to reach around to unclasp it when a cough from the kitchen cut his ministrations short. You both turned in shock to see Yoongi placing an expresso pod in the coffee machine.

“J-Hope is in the garage you might wanna,” he waved his hand in the air in a vague gesture to separate. “Or don’t,” he said with a shrug, “I think his reaction would be funny.”

You were scrambling off Jungkook's lap and shoving a pillow between the two of you. Your lips were swollen and bruised from the kiss. You straightened your shirt, which was more rumpled from your earlier fight than anything, and placed a pillow between the two of you as if to protect your chastity with seconds to spare before the sound of Hoseok’s footsteps echoed from the garage. You locked eyes with him as soon as he made it in the entryway. You could feel the anger radiating off of him as he entered the room.

“What happened?” He demanded.

Jungkook calmed his breathing, grabbing the pillow barrier to instead place on his lap as he reminded himself that the bakery was attacked. Hoseok had no clue that Jungkook was just kissing his best friend and that he was not in danger.

“Hobi!” you were up in an instant, ignoring his foul temper as you wrapped your arms around him.

He caught your embrace effortlessly, his eyes tracking you and then noting Jungkook and his new emotional support pillow as he squeezed you tightly before letting you step back.

“Are you okay?” you both ask in unison before cracking a smile.

“I’m fine I just had to lay low. What happened at the bakery tonight?” Hoseok pushed.

Your smile faltered for a moment. “There was an ambush, they didn’t touch me. I can’t say the same for them, but they’ll be fine.” you started.

Hoseok’s brow rose at your implication, “You took out four of the Black Tips best men?” he asked. He didn’t sound disbelieving, he sounded… impressed and maybe a little proud.

“Only two, and I wouldn’t call them the best. Why are you here if you’re in hiding?” you asked, ignoring the way his approval warmed you chest. “And why were you in hiding? And when did you dye your hair?” you pushed. Reaching up to touch the murky black locks. It was obviously box-dyed and barely covered the bright red it was days earlier.

Hoseok smiled tight-lipped before moving to the couch, “I’ll tell my story if you promise to tell yours when Jin and RM get back.” He offered.

You refrained from pointing out that the reason you were at the Den in the first place was to do exactly that. You were too eager to get some answers from Hoseok. Who quickly filled you in on the details of the fake assassination attempt that ended in a not-so-fake assassination charge. That led to Hoseok and Yoongi hiding out in some shitty safe house an hour outside the city, living off Raman noodles and re-dying their hair to more subtle colors.

By time Hoseok had finished, the other members of BTS began filing in. Hoseok told you they had only been called out of hiding so Yoongi could manage the video footage of the bakery and nearby security cameras for the police department and insurance claims. Jin wanted to edit out any evidence of a gang-related interrogation, or else their relationship was going to get a lot more complicated with the local authorities.

But apparently, there was no need. Yoongi was fuming when he returned from his office, informing the others that while the security cameras were able to stream live footage to their system, the memory had been wiped from BTS’s computers.

He still had to cover their tracks of abducting the Black Tips on any city cameras. But otherwise the gang was relying on you as the sole witness to the night's events.

Well, you and the four Black Tip members who attacked you. The men were currently stored away in a safe house under the greenhouse on the Den’s property. But with the excessive exposure to Jimin’s smoke, there was a chance their memories would be unreliable, if not nonexistent.

Jimin couldn’t even estimate a wake time for the men due to the level of gas they inhaled. It could be days before anyone could get answers out of them.

When Jin and Jimin finally returned from filing their reports to the authorities, everyone settled in the living room to hear your account. You recalled the night's events as detailed as possible, telling them how the man in the suit tried to buy your loyalty from BTS and describing him to the best of your ability.

To your relief, they all listened quietly while you spoke, and when you were done, it was V who helped you fill in any gaps you may have missed by prompting you with questions. His presence was steady and soothing, and you realized he was giving you a glimpse of the spider at work. The others didn’t dare interrupt him or ask their own questions, they trusted him to gather every drop of information.

What did the man in the suite look like?

Did he ask about BTS’s current movements?

What ‘sins against the city’ did he want to hold BTS responsible for?

What information did he want you to report back?

You didn’t have any answers to half of those questions, confessing you spent most of your time stalling and trying to get the man to reveal why he was bribing you of all people. You were convinced at the time that the alarm had alerted BTS of your situation and that they would arrive at any minute. The thought of the man getting away didn’t seem like a possibility.

And a small part of you, despite promising yourself you owed BTS nothing outside of your contract, couldn’t help but feel like this oversight was a failure on your part. Somehow, you let the gang down.

Jin clarified that the alarm had been disabled along with the cameras hours prior to the break-in. It was by luck and V’s intel that they managed to get to you when you did.

“And isn't that a big fucking problem?” Hoseok growled, unable to stay quiet any longer.

He stepped forward, glaring in Jin and Jimin’s direction, “Do you realize how irresponsible it was to schedule her on a closing shift alone.” He accused.

“Hobi, it’s fine I worked late all the time at my last job,” you started trying to diffuse the situation.

Everyone in the room refrained from pointing out how well that had gone for you.

“No, it’s not fine. This isn’t like your other job. What if they tried to get information from her at that moment, and she had nothing to give? What if V didn’t call in time? There are a thousand different ways this could have gone wrong. She is not a member of this gang,” Hoseok snapped.

You flinched slightly at his tone.

“She doesn’t have the tattoo. Debt and favors aside, she should not be this deep in BTS’s affairs. She should not be alone in our businesses. That bakery is a cover for Jimin’s lab and loitering drug money. Why the hell would you think it okay to leave her alone there?” He continued.

Jin’s face was like a stone as Hoseok lectured him, not wanting his own emotions to invalidate his brothers. “You're right.” Jin agreed, and you could see the full weight of tonight's events take a toll on him as his shoulders sagged and he turned to you with guilt in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry I put you in danger, Ella. We will never let it happen again.” Jin promised his voice was soft but earnest.

“It sure as hell won’t because she’s not working for you anymore.” Hoseok snapped.

“That's not your call to make,” you argued.

Hoseok turned to you, frustration evident on his face, “Do not fight me on this. You know tonight was too dangerous.”

“She was the dangerous part of tonight. She was fine.” Jungkook pushed, standing next to you.

“Stay out of this!” You and Hoseok snapped in unison.

Jungkook’s face puckered like he tasted something sour, but he sat back on the couch's arm.

“Tonight, you were lucky that man wanted you alive. He could change his mind at any point why can’t you see the danger in that.”

“I'm bound by contract to keep working off my debt,” you argued as you turned to RM for backup.

RM crossed his arms, taking in you and Hoseok as he contemplated his response.

“Blood debt runs deeper than civil law,” Hoseok said before his leader could voice his opinion. And a tense stillness fell across the room.

“Have you forgotten she’s on the No Harm List? That we are supposed to be willing to die for her.” he pushed. The whole gang's demeanor changed at the reminder Jimin downcast his gaze as his shame sank into his gut.

“I don’t want that,” you pushed, horrified, “Take me off the list I don’t - I did not ever want that.”

“Daewon, please, why won’t you let me protect you!”

The room fell quiet as his sister's name echoed through the room.

Your chest ached as understanding settled in, “Oh, Hobie,” you sighed.

“We’ll take a vote,” RM ordered, unable to stand another minute of this fighting. “We have damage control to take care of, and everyone is tired. We meet first thing, and we will decide as a team what we should do about Ella.”

Hoseok’s smile was mirthless at his boss’s half-ass attempt to placate him. “See you bright in early,” he said with a salute before turning for the garage.

You stared after your best friend, hesitant to follow him. “And do I get a say in that decision?” you asked RM softly.

RM sighed, “Your opinion will be considered when we vote. You will have full control over how we go about re-negotiating your contract if it comes to it.”

Assuming that was the best you could get, you sighed, eyes flicking over to Yoongi who flanked RM’s left, his arms crossed and his expression stoic.

“I guess I’ll go catch up with Hobi,” you offered hesitantly, not knowing what to do. Yoongi met your eyes but said nothing. Taking Yoongi’s silence as his answer, you squeezed Jungkook’s hand in a silent farewell before you followed Hoseok to the garage.

Hoseok kept his eyes forward as you approached his vehicle. He was sitting in his Porsche the engine purred a soft accompaniment to the rhythmic thump of his music.

“Can I catch a ride?” you asked, already settling into the passenger's seat and buckling before he could give an empty “Sure.” in response.

You didn’t ask where he was taking you as he sped out of the Den’s parking lot and into the streets of the seventh ward. His options were limited if he was still a wanted man, and you figured you would end up at your apartment by the end of the night.

“We need to pick up another box of hair dye. Whoever did yours did a shitty job,” you said, reaching to run your fingers through his hair.

The unique thing about your friendship with Hoseok was you two were forced to mourn together when you were getting close. Meaning you both had a talent for ignoring the elephant in the room and settling into a normal life where you talked around the big issue.

It wasn’t always healthy to ignore your problems like that. But for you and Hoseok, it worked. After big changes like this, you both had a habit of turning off your feelings for a while and giving each other space and time to process instead of forcing each other to talk about an issue before you were ready.

It’s what you did with Daewon’s death. It’s what he did for you when you first found out about BTS.

So tonight, you could make space for him. The two of you could go through the rest of the night without talking about the bakery or BTS at all if he didn’t want to.

You glanced out the window, realizing what street he was turning on.

“We’re going to see Dae?” you asked, surprised as he pulled to the side of the road outside the city’s botanical garden. The gardens were closed, which was no surprise considering it was close to one in the morning. But that was never a problem in the past.

“We didn’t visit her on her anniversary this year,” Hoseok said simply.

You both visited separately, though you wouldn’t point it out. At the time of Dae’s anniversary, you were still giving him the silent treatment for lying to you about BTS. You had visited Daewon’s grave on your own and saw that it had already been cleaned, and her favorite flowers decorated the small plot, meaning Hoseok had already beat you there.

At the time, you had felt guilty for the relief you felt in your chest. Visiting her that day came with the fear that you and Hoseok would cross paths before you were ready to face him. And you think Dae would have been disappointed to see the two of you arguing on top of her grave.

Because of that, neither of you had gone through with your tradition of robbing the botanical gardens.

Your freshmen year of college was filled with many adventures since moving to Alcor was still a novel experience, but it also came with many nights of being homesick. While Gautier was technically a territory of Kros, the country Alcor resides in, the cultures were very different. And the climate was shockingly different in the cold and wet port city where the smell of sea salt was on the breeze, you missed the clean and fresh scent of blooming heathers and rosemary in the spring, and the taste of sweet figs right off the tree in the summer time.

One night, when you were suffering from a rather nasty bout of homesickness, Daewon took you to the botanical gardens and taught you how to break in at night. At the back of the property, a mighty magnolia tree bloomed outside the garden's fence. It was almost too easy to scale the tree’s sturdy branches and dismount on the other side of the garden. The fences were lined with countless bamboo trellises fortified with different vine plants, making for an easy escape anywhere inside the garden.

You remember how your heart fluttered the first night the two of you broke in. You had to make an effort to hold in your nervous giggle as you scaled the magnolia tree and landed on the mossy lawn of the prehistoric trail, which was lined with ZZ plants and ferns with curling fronds. Sneaking your way through the trail and across the lawn of irsis leads you past the desert exhibit and to a greenhouse that honored the terrain of the eastern colony you called home.

The air was warm but much dryer thanks to the special ventilation system, but despite the heavy humidity missing from the air, the small shrub like plants thrived in the rocky soil, filling the air with the fragrant and aromatic scent of rosemary, lavender, and heathers.

You remember how a knot built in the back of your throat as you ran your fingers over the woody rosemary bush, taking in the earthy pine-like scent. Dae sat with you and listened to you go on about your childhood home for hours.

The giant rosemary bushes that were planted around your house were a staple in your kitchen and bathroom growing up. Your mother was always placing sprigs in her hair products, using it as her own perfume.

You told her the story of how your dad always tried to recreate your mother's french toast recipe on your birthday, but he always forgot to sweeten it so it just tasted like egg bread.

You told her stories of how your father courted your stepmom and how you watched them fall in love again, and build a new family together. One you didn’t fit into as snuggly, not for lack of love in your home, but because you were so much older than your siblings and you had your own dreams and life you were ready to find in Alcor.

Dae held you when you cried, then jokingly played the national anthem to Gautier on her cell phone. You guys laughed and danced around the greenhouse as she struggled to keep up with the lyrics.

The memory brought warmth to your chest years later, just like all the other memories with Daewon. But beneath the warmth, a sharp ache still lingered. Daewon wasn’t perfect by any means; she had a temper like her brother, and she could brood like no other.

But she was good. Daewon was good and fun and she loved so fiercely and encouraged and celebrated her friends. She was the type of person to buy you an ice cream after you failed a test and a cake if you passed.

She was the first person to encourage and support you in your adult life, even in scandalous situations like bringing you a spare set of clothes to the frat house so your walk of shame was a bit less shameful the next morning.

“God I miss her,” you sighed as you approached the magnolia.

“Me too. Every day.” Hoseok agreed quietly as he watched you scale the branches.

He was a worry wort and always made you go first in case you slipped.

“Did Daeown ever know? About BTS?” you asked curiously as both climbed higher in the magnolia tree.

“She knew some of it, like selling the spare car parts, and she could obviously guess some more once I got the tattoo, but she didn’t know everything.” He offered as you reached the branch just past the tall fence that protected the gardens.

‘She didn’t know I shot people,’ she could almost hear Hoseok say.

You ducked low as you approached the branch that led into the garden. Grabbing onto the limb above you to balance yourself, you carefully made your way forward as the branch dipped under your weight.

“Careful,” Hoseok warned.

“Whatever,” you said, rolling your eyes as you let go of the limb stabling you, tightening your core as you jumped from the tree. It was less than a 5-foot drop, but you kept your knees bent as you landed, feeling the impact reverberate back into your legs. You hissed as the pins and needles feeling swarmed the balls of your feet.

“You gotta tuck and roll,” Hosek laughed as you wattled out of his way.

You watched as he lowered himself on the branch the muscles in his body tensed before he sprung forward, extending his legs with his knees still slightly bent.

You sometimes forget the athleticism Hoseok hones in his body. You take for granted how smooth and precise his movements are. It was something you still couldn't quite replicate when you trained with Jungkook. But as you admired your friend, you wondered if he was responsible for training Jungkook to master his own smooth agility.

As his feet touched the ground, he pushed his momentum forward, curling into a ball and rolling across the grass.

“Ow fuck!” he exclaimed as he backrolled over a raised root of a nearby tree.

“And that's why I don’t tuck and roll,” you teased, walking towards him, the ach in your legs nearly forgotten.

You wandered out of the exhibit and towards the iris lawn. Dae’s favorite flowers were blue irises. She used to always pick a few of the flowers any time they visited the garden and keep a vase of them in the dorm room.

“You know they’re bulbed plants one day, we can go to the store and get our own,” Hoseok suggested.

“It’s not the same she says they smell better when they’re picked from the garden here,” you insisted.

“It’s not like she’ll be smelling these,” Hoseok grumbled under his breath but obliged when you held out your hand for his pocket knife.

The theft was quick and efficient. You cut loose five of the flower's long stems and returned back to the fence. Taking care that the flowers were unharmed as you shimmied up one of the trellises.

You were both back in the car within 15 minutes and driving down the road to her grave. The visit was a quiet one. Not tearful like in years past, and for a moment as the two of you kneeled and placed the flowers against the tombstone, you didn’t know if either of you were going to speak at all.

“Do you think you’ll ever leave the city,” Hoseok asked quietly.

You looked at him, startled, “You know my dream is to be a travel doctor,” you replied.

“Is that still your dream?” He asked.

You were quiet for a moment, your eyes searching his face for any indication of where he was going with this.

“Y/N, you were determined once. Focused. You lived and sacrificed for that dream and would never jeopardize it. And lately, you’ve-” You closed your eyes as you caught on to his intentions.

“Continued to sacrifice for it,” you interrupted him, “everything I’ve done, the debt I have isn’t so I can play gangster. It’s so I can finish school. The moment I graduate and the moment I pay off my debt, I’m leaving the city.” You assured.

“You could leave now,” he urged.

“Take a residency somewhere I know your grades are good enough for that accelerated program.”

“I can’t run out on my debt. They will find me.” You hissed.

“They won’t. Jungkook will pull RM off your trail, and they can’t send me after you. I would go with you. You’re the only family I have.” Hoseok pushed his voice urgent, “Things are getting bad. There’s a turf war brewing, and the Black Tips aren’t working alone. I don’t think that man who came after you tonight is from the west side. If power players from the East are involved, this whole city will go to shit. This isn’t a petty fight; people will die. The inner circle and whoever is affiliated with them will have a target on their back.”

“What about Yoongi?” You asked.

Your question was double-sided. You knew about Hoseok’s feelings for him and his unwillingness to move on from him over the years. Hoseok was always privet with the gang side of his life, but even before you knew of BTS, you knew of Yoongi and the web of feelings he carried with him. And you also knew of the second's ability to track down and find anyone. If RM wanted either of you dead, Yoongi would find you in a heartbeat and probably had the skill set to dispose of you himself, too.

Hoseok's eyes downcast “He would let us go.”

“You’re expecting a lot of loyalty from someone you plan to betray.” You pushed.

“You’re putting up a hard fight for someone who claims they don’t have a real reason to stay,” he pressed back.

You looked away from your best friend. The man who treated you like his own sister from the beginning. Who was ready to give everything up and run to make sure you were safe.

Why weren’t you willing to give up your fraction of this world in return?

“Perhaps things are more complicated than I give myself credit for. I kissed Jungkook, and I can’t just leave until I figure that out.” You admitted embarrassed. You braced yourself for the teasing or the anger. But Hoseok's face was calm as he responded his eyes ernst and urgent.

“I fucked Yoongi,” Hoseok countered. “If I don’t leave now. I never will.”

A/N: I haven’t updated in so long I totally forgot how tags and formatting work on this post. Hopefully it finds the intended audience… let me know if you read and enjoyed it!!! Xoxox

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[rusgoo]

mad scientist namjoon, from my bts halloween au🐨🧪🥼

if youre interested in the other members designs, pls follow me on t1kt0k and tw1tter! same user @RusGoo

[spookyserenades]

Trouvaille - Chapter Eight

Pairing(s); BTS OT7 x Reader

Genre/Themes; Hybrid!AU, themes of the supernatural and the occult, religious themes, violence, hurt/comfort, horror, romance

Rated; 18+ for swearing, violence/gore, future sexual themes. Reader discretion is advised.

Word Count; 23.4k

Trouvaille Masterlist

Trouvaille playlist

Updates on the 7th of each month

Annnd it's August!! We've come a full year (at least, since I've begun writing Trouvaille) and now the story is matching up with post dates 💃🏻 I hope you're all well! This update features some angst, and the final two scenting scenes.... one of which is particularly spicy, as a head's up! This chapter concludes the scenting arc, and after this, we'll be moving more quickly into other plotlines 🥳 There's also plenty of tender moments in this chapter, so I hope you'll enjoy those as well. As always, comments, feedback, questions, and even ranting/screaming is always welcomed! My inbox is open, as is the taglist. Without further ado, please enjoy this update!!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Jeongguk gracefully pulled back from her body, the agile movement allowing him to land backwards on the balls of his feet so he could lean against one of his bed posts, staring down at Y/N with lidded eyes. Adjusting the strap of her tank top back over her shoulder, Y/N frowned slightly when she realized the fabric covered his mark up. Jeongguk hummed, appearing to be gathering his thoughts before he resumed the conversation they were having prior to his… collapse. 

“So, none of us particularly like Taehyung. I mean, that much is fucking obvious. Contrary to what you may have assumed, I think you’re a pretty smart girl– I’m sure you’ve picked up on all of us avoiding him like a virus,” Jeongguk began, a thoughtful look spreading across his face. Stunned by the compliment, Y/N felt herself flush from the neck upwards. 

“Even so, he’s not a threat to us. If he wanted to kill any of us, he would have done it already. So really, there’s no reason for us… er, Namjoon, really, to knock his teeth down his throat. Yet. From what Yoongi told me about his little chat with the bear, Taehyung is in no hurry to befriend any of us yet– all the more reason for us to give him space,” Jeongguk adjusted the loose collar of his tee shirt as he spoke, before trudging on, “If things get sticky and there’s cops knocking on the front door somewhere down the line, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We’re all keeping an eye on him in the meantime, but I’m confident he won’t hurt you, at the very least,” Jeongguk continued, watching Y/N carefully as she heaved her upper body up so she could sit up straight. 

“So what you’re saying is… you’ve all decided to steer clear of Tae, but keep him under surveillance at all times? And all the while, he’s content with just keeping to himself? Is that right?” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, the elk hybrid’s tapered ears flickering lazily as he nodded in response. “Is it wishful thinking to hope fights like that won’t happen again between any of you?”

Chuckling without responding to her inquiries, Jeongguk passed a tattooed hand over his face, moving to his wardrobe to pull some fresh sweatpants out of it. While his back was turned to her Y/N dragged her eyes up from his legs, over his muscular back, and to his mussed hair and antlers. His antlers were truly something to marvel at; though the scale of them were significantly smaller than were when Y/N first saw them while he was still in elk form. She wondered if that was some kind of trait scientists had worked into elk hybrid DNA. After all, it would be pretty difficult for Jeongguk to carry around the weight of full-scale elk antlers while shifted into human form. The shape of them seemed to encircle his head, perhaps another scientist’s idea, maybe to prevent others from colliding into the antlers accidentally, compared to the way if they’d branch out horizontally– taking up more sideways space. They were covered in a rich brown velvet and looked soft to the touch, Y/N staring at them unabashedly since his back was turned. 

Squinting, she noticed the very tip of one of his antlers, one that was crooked like a tree, seemed to have a viscous liquid sluggishly rolling down the length of it, and as she leaned closer to get a look at it, Y/N realized it was blood. Stiffening, Y/N immediately got to her feet, rushing over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder without thinking. Jeongguk flinched in surprise, looking down at her with a scandalized expression as she got on her tip-toes to confirm that he was truly bleeding. 

“Jeongguk, you’re bleeding! One of your antlers!” Y/N exclaimed, reaching her hand upwards to touch before stopping herself abruptly. She didn’t know if antlers, like hybrid ears, were sensitive, and didn’t want to risk him getting angry with her. 

A noise of surprise fell from his lips, gripping his sweatpants in his fist and stalking towards his bathroom while mumbling to himself. Y/N followed after him hot on his heels, eyes on a spot of velvet covering his antlers that seemed to be beginning to peel away from the bony appendage. In the mirror, he turned his head in a few different directions, a deep grimace appearing on his face as a droplet of blood slipped down his antler and onto his cheek. 

“Aw, fuck… its late August, I forgot about this bullshit. Don’t worry about it, I’m not hurt. My velvet’s just shedding,” Jeongguk groaned, using the back of his hand to smear the blood off of his face with annoyance. “Unfortunately, I’ll be walking around here for the next few days looking gory as hell, and it makes a goddamn mess.”

“How often does that happen?” Y/N asked, awed. Gripping the lip of his granite sink vanity, Jeongguk made eye contact with her reflection. 

“Just once a year, usually around this time,” Jeongguk answered, spinning slowly so he could look down at her again. “Alright, let’s focus, here. I want to shower and sleep for at least four hours.”

Blushing, it dawned on Y/N that she was taking up a bit too much of his time especially after he had stayed up the entire night, clearing her throat. Part of her ached to ask more questions surrounding the particular subject of velvet shedding; such as if it was painful for him, but she bit her tongue. 

“You’re right, okay. What else should I know?” Y/N inched backwards into his bedroom, the elk hybrid leaning his hip against his sink vanity. Out of the corner of her eye, she clocked the charm bag she had made him resting on his dresser, beside his notebook and the ruby rosary he’d used to get rid of that entity. He had half a mind to ask about it, one million questions begging for answers from the elk hybrid, but she had to keep it together, for now. 

“Last night was a full moon. Namjoon is a wolf hybrid… Do you know what I’m trying to say?” Jeongguk narrowed his eyes purposefully when Y/N shook her head with confusion.

“You know, how there’s that idea that wolves howl at the full moon and are riled up by it? Technically, it’s something of a circulated rumor, but I’m led to believe that there’s some truth in it. It’s not like he’s a werewolf or anything, so stop looking at me like that. I think a full moon just influences his mood, that’s all. He’s more agitated and moody than he’d be otherwise. This whole week leading up to the full moon the wolf has been acting bizarre, anyways; fine one moment, pissed off the next with no explanation as to why. It gave me whiplash, at first, before I put the pieces together.”

She was still staring at Jeongguk incredulously, trying to process that he was pretty much telling her the explanation for Namjoon’s behavior was adjacent to Hollywood lycanthrope lore. Her mother always used to tell her people tended to act a bit strangely on the nights of a full moon, but never really put much stock into the theory. If anything, it was a sort of flimsy excuse as to why Namjoon had totally flown off of the handle, but she’d take any information Jeongguk would give her gratefully. 

“I suppose if that is true, certain things would make more sense to me,” Y/N began slowly, trying not to make any more funny faces at the elk hybrid or insult his insight. “I get what you mean. He’ll be willing to converse one minute and the next he’s either glaring at me or avoiding me like I’m the plague. You two worked together to get rid of that entity, and the following day you both had that little spat outside…” 

“It’s his species. Wolf hybrids aren’t adopted very often, they’re extremely temperamental, territorial. He’s been trying to establish dominance over the rest of the house since he’s gotten here,” Jeongguk yawned, another trail of blood falling from his antler and running down the side of his face. He didn’t seem to notice. “Then again, none of the hybrids you’ve adopted find homes quickly, unless they plan on shooting us or something. Not many humans are comfortable with lions, tigers, and bears in their homes.”

Snorting at his Wizard of Oz reference, Y/N sobered up a bit. The sad reality that she had only come to adopt her hybrids because no one else had wanted them, apart from someone looking to hunt them down for sport, had her stomach churning. Hybrids that were spliced with domesticated animal DNA were always the popular choice for the average potential adopting owner looking for companionship, as most people knew how to handle animals such as cats, dogs, and rabbits. The behavior of a jaguar hybrid was quite different than any house cat hybrid she had ever met. She thought it wise to order some guidebooks online that night; if she hadn’t known about Jeongguk’s velvet shedding, or Namjoon’s sensitivity to the moon cycle, what else didn’t she know?

“A lot of humans are just evil. Honestly, I’m surprised that they haven’t passed a law making hybrid hunting illegal. Makes me think some of these lawmakers partake in it themselves,” Y/N seethed, the primal urge to protect her hybrids coming back to her again. It seemed to be a frequent emotion, especially in the past 24 hours. “Alright, let me get out of your hair, or I’ll go on a tangent. Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

“Yeah, I think that’s it. They’re probably going to be pretty pitiful when you go down to confront them, just warning you. They know they fucked up, neither of them want to upset you any further, so you should be good. You might need to patch them up a bit, they both got a few good blows to the face. Reeks of blood in here,” Jeongguk sighed, flicking the light on in his bathroom, turning the shower tap on as he spoke. 

Growing antsy, Y/N decided it was time to get a move on before Jeongguk started stripping in front of her, knowing that he wasn’t exactly above that. She had a feeling Jeongguk knew exactly how much he affected her. With a jolt, her brain registered that it was highly likely that all of the hybrids in the house heard the pitiful noises she made when they scented her. It was slightly embarrassing, but there was nothing she could do about it. It probably wasn’t even something they thought twice about. 

“Right, so I’m going to go talk to them, I guess… clean them up. Please get some rest, then come get some food, okay? Oh, and thank you, again, for everything. You’re sweeter than you look, Jeongguk,” Y/N couldn’t help but to tease him a little bit, Jeongguk snapping his head around as he was checking the water temperature and sending her an unimpressed grimace. She could see a whisper of amusement in his midnight eyes, however. 

With that, Y/N offered Jeongguk a sincere smile before shutting his bedroom door and setting off down the hall. Mindlessly brushing a hand over the shoulder he had scented, Y/N felt her skin flushing as she thought about how brazen he had been, and how he was able to just switch it off in a flash and resume civil conversation with her. It was a bit disorienting, she thought, swiping the first aid kit she’d dumped on the bottom step of the staircase before running up to talk to Jeongguk. 

Taking several breaths, Y/N started the short distance down the hall to Namjoon’s bedroom. The door was open; light from his large windows flooding out into the hallway, and Y/N hesitated as she approached the doorway. She could tell both of them were in there, the sounds of heavy books being slid back into their spots on the bookshelf and the ruffling of clothes being folded telling her so. Swallowing down her nerves, Y/N entered the room. 

Namjoon was by the bed, which had been made already, folding all of the clothes he had torn out of his wardrobe. He was facing the window, away from her, but his ears were flat against his skull and his shoulders were drooped, so she knew he was aware of her presence. They had almost completely restored the room to how it was before all hell had broken loose the previous night, the blood on the floor mopped away, each item on Namjoon’s desk placed back in their rightful spots. Taehyung was staring at her from the book shelf, looking from her face to the medical kit in her hand while he cautiously placed a clothbound book about candle magic back in place. 

“Morning,” Y/N greeted evenly, wanting to ease into the scolding as best she could. Judging by the thick cloud of doom in the room she had walked into, both of them already felt bad enough. 

Entering the bedroom a bit further, she eyed Taehyung, who had hung his head and started to lift another book off of the floor. He’d changed into a fresh outfit, but looked disheveled and sleep deprived. She placed the first aid kit on Namjoon’s bed, standing a few feet from him as she unzipped it slowly. 

Namjoon was surreptitiously avoiding her eyes, Y/N watching him fold a pair of jeans with his knuckles bloodied and bruised. He had thrown on sweats and a simple white tee shirt, and had apparently showered with his damp silver hair pushed back from his face, but like Taehyung, his appearance was tired and out of sorts. Silently, she scooped up the small armful of clothes he had folded, placed them back into his wardrobe, and marched back to her spot beside him. 

“Come here, both of you. I want to clean up your injuries before they get infected,” Y/N commanded firmly, pointing at the bed she wanted them to sit on. “And, we need to talk. Or, I can talk and you can listen.”

Taehyung moved promptly, though rather leisurely, sitting on the foot of Namjoon’s bed. In consequence, the wolf hybrid sprung out of the way, nearly knocking Y/N over in the process. Gritting her teeth, she waited for Namjoon to sit down on the mattress a few feet from Taehyung with reluctant obedience. He still wouldn’t look at her. 

Slipping into injury evaluation mode, Y/N assessed their wounds while trying to remove her emotions with great difficulty in doing so. Both had torn and bruised knuckles; Namjoon had a nasty cut over his right eyebrow and a split lip, Taehyung’s cheekbone and jaw was bruised and it looked like he might have bitten through his lip with his teeth when Namjoon had directed a blow there. Tutting, Y/N got to work by beginning to load up some cotton rounds with disinfectant. 

“You two don’t have to be best friends, hell, you don’t even have to like each other. But you cannot get physically violent like that, no matter how you rationalize its justification. It’s not fair to the others that they were forced to break up your fight last night.”

Y/N knelt in front of Namjoon, who was closest to her, taking one of his hands that was gripping his knees and arranging his digits to be splayed over hers, dabbing away caked-on blood with the cotton round as she spoke. His hand was limp in hers, like he had resigned to being touched, and she could finally feel his amber stare on her even as she focused on his injured hand. He didn’t react to the stinging sensation of the disinfectant, even when she moved over to his dominant hand that had the brunt of the damage to the knuckles. She was erring on the side of being especially gentle with her ministrations, considering they were paired with a bit of a scolding. 

“What would have happened if they weren’t here? If it was just the three of us, would you have fought until one of you got knocked out or killed? You know I can’t break up a physical altercation between any of you, you’re hybrids. Stronger and faster than me, sharper instincts, and you’re men on top of it all,” Y/N continued, rising from her knees to sit in between the two of them. “I know you’re both more than capable of having a conversation to hash out conflict. The violence was unnecessary, and it really broke my heart to see you two like that.”

The solemn vocalization of her feelings echoed about the room hollowly. She motioned for Taehyung to give her his hands while she saturated another cotton ball with fresh disinfectant. He slid his hand into hers easily, remaining eerily quiet as she cleaned him up. Surprisingly, both hybrids hadn’t made an attempt to respond to her in any way, almost making her feel guilty for even attempting to admonish them in the first place, but she knew she had to put her foot down before things escalated again. There was not a cell in her body that wanted to be patching up wounds inflicted by each other in the near future, and she was making that clear. 

Pulling out some Neosporin, Y/N swiftly applied it to both hybrid’s hands, taking a few moments to collect her thoughts. The room was deathly silent, Y/N getting the feeling both of them were holding their breath. Shocked that Namjoon was letting her touch him this much, Y/N let out a ragged sigh, ready to wrap their hands before moving onto their faces. 

“Namjoon, could you pass me that roll of gauze, please?” Y/N murmured, squeezing his palm lightly as she dabbed ointment on the knuckle of his right index finger, the most mangled one of all. Clearing his throat, Namjoon rummaged around in the kit, the roll of gauze appearing before her face at once. “Thank you.”

“Y/N… I’m sorry,” Taehyung whispered suddenly, Y/N motions wrapping the gauze around Namjoon’s hand methodically pausing for a moment. “I started it, shoving Namjoon. It spun out of control from there.”

Namjoon’s grip on her hand tightened as he grunted lightly, Y/N peering up at him curiously. There was a deep frown on his face, knowing that Taehyung was taking a bit too much of the blame. She finished wrapping up his hands, turning to Taehyung to do the same. She still had their faces to work on, Y/N clocking the dried blood crusted onto the sharp edge of the Kodiak hybrid’s jawline. 

“I shoved him first,” Namjoon muttered, remorse dripping from his tone ever so slightly. Stunned, Y/N gawked at Namjoon through her peripherals while trying her best to steadily wrap Taehyung’s hand, looping the gauze around his thumb and back over his palm. 

“Please, just– can you both try to avoid fighting like that? It makes me sad, seeing you two beat up like this. Please promise me you won’t do something like this again. No more violence in this house,” Y/N finished what almost felt like a parental spiel, dropping the gauze in her lap as she got up from her seat between them. 

She was met with two pairs of eyes hesitant to lock with her own, and Y/N wondered what some of the others had said to them to get them to such a somber state of mind. Taehyung nodded, looking at his feet, while Namjoon’s ears drooped even further downwards. 

“Alright, I’m done scolding. I’ll get some washcloths from the bathroom, fix up your faces,” Y/N brightened her tone a few degrees, spinning on her heel and disappearing into Namjoon’s en suite. 

She returned after a couple of short moments, two warm washcloths in her hands as she stood in front of the wolf hybrid. Finally, he looked her in the eyes, his as unreadable as always, Y/N gripping the cloth in her hand before leaning down a bit to scan his face. Sighing sadly, she used her free hand to tuck a couple of fingers under his chin, tilting his face upwards and to the side so she could begin to blot away at the dried blood crusted around his eyebrow. While he definitely grew rigid with her close proximity and touch, Namjoon allowed her to clean up his face gently. 

Cupping his jaw with her hand, Y/N dabbed all of the blood off of Namjoon’s brow, cheekbone, and finally his split lower lip as tenderly as she could, all while avoiding getting lost in his turbulent gaze. She tried to work quickly; the silence around her was absolutely deafening, and she was well aware that Namjoon wasn’t exactly keen on receiving physical touch. 

“Okay, Namjoon… looks like you’ll just need a bandage over your eyebrow,” Y/N murmured absently, peeling the paper from plastic of a butterfly bandage to apply over the site. No matter what, both hybrid’s injuries would likely disappear within two days with their healing capabilities. “Sit still for me, won’t you?”

Y/N gently requested the latter part of her statement, noting that Namjoon was slightly squirming in his seat, his fluffy silver tail beating against his mattress periodically. He didn’t appear to like obeying orders from her, Y/N able to spot that from his body language a mile away, but did so without an utterance of a complaint. He really must have felt bad about his behavior the previous night. 

“I… shouldn’t have said those things to you last night,” Namjoon vocalized out of the blue as she was smoothing the bandage over his brow bone. “I’m… sorry. Uh, hmm. Yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t actually think of you in that, um, way.”

Namjoon spoke as if it was the first time he was tasting a genuine apology on his tongue, the words clunky and awkward in his mouth. Even still, Y/N could detect the sincerity in them, even if it was the most bizarre way she had ever been apologized to. She kept in mind Jimin and Jeongguk’s theories that he hadn’t had much practice in being around sensitive emotions. She wondered if the speculation on his file that he had been a hybrid raised in the wilderness was actually true, based on his difficulty with dealing with certain emotional situations, but brushed it aside for later as she used a clean finger to spread some Neosporin onto his swollen cut lip. She didn’t miss the tiny intake of breath that came from him as her finger traced over the soft flesh.

The apology hung in the air heavily as she figured out how to respond. She’d pretty much forgiven Namjoon already, after his display of contrition and Jeongguk’s speculation that the full moon may have agitated him into volatility. As seconds ticked by and he was left without a reply, Y/N moving away from him to toss the bandage wrapper in the trash by his desk and the bloodied washcloth in the hamper, Namjoon began to fidget uncomfortably again. Humming, she turned back to him, reaching out to graze across his cheek softly. He stilled at the touch, pupils blown wide. 

“I know. I forgive you, Namjoon,” Y/N smiled softly as she brushed her thumb over his elegant cheekbone, hoping that this event wouldn’t encourage the wolf hybrid to build up even stronger walls around himself. “Let’s try to put this behind us. Okay?” 

Dropping her hand from Namjoon’s face, she turned her attention to Taehyung sitting stoically on the bed, his tongue peeking out from between his lips to try and get rid of some of the crusted-on blood at the corner of his mouth. Using the remaining clean rag, Y/N gingerly washed away the blood around his mouth, the Kodiak hybrid flinching as she passed over the tender, bruised area by his jaw. She quickly mumbled out an apology, using her palm to brush his curls off of his forehead to make sure the area was without injury. There was a small scrape by his hairline, Y/N dabbing away at it with a sigh. 

“You got each other pretty good, huh? If we ever have an intruder, I’d actually feel bad for that son of a bitch,” Y/N attempted to lighten the mood, tired of simmering in angst and gloom. 

Though neither of them chuckled at her joke, Y/N felt Taehyung’s posture loosen up a bit from beneath her. He didn’t need any bandages on his face, so Y/N expertly disinfected the wounds and finished up with the Neosporin. She ruffled Taehyung’s curls back into their place, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze before packing up the first aid kit. 

“I think you’ve put this place back together well enough, you two should eat and take it easy the rest of the day, maybe get some space. Just find me later and I’ll refresh the gauze on your hands,” Y/N slung the strap of the kit over her shoulder, motioning for them to stand and follow her out into the kitchen. When she was patching up Namjoon’s face, she heard his stomach grumbling, and wanted the both of them to have a proper breakfast. “Yoongi made these really yummy pastries, perfect for fall coming up… some kind of hash, as well.”

The mention of pastries seemed too tempting to pass up for Namjoon not to stand from the bed and inch towards the door, Taehyung following close behind. Smiling, Y/N felt them waiting for her as she returned her kit to the closet beneath the stairs. She noticed Namjoon’s ears finally perked up after being flat against his skull for so long, a few shades of color coming back to his complexion. Taehyung remained a touch grim, shuffling beside Y/N silently as they headed for the kitchen. 

Only Yoongi remained in the room, Jimin and Seokjin’s plates cleared away as they obviously fled to other parts of the house, perhaps to nap or wash up. The leopard hybrid was busy stacking leftover pastries onto a platter, the kitchen polished to a shine. Stiffly, both Namjoon and Taehyung took seats at the opposite ends of the kitchen; the former perching on a barstool, the Kodiak hybrid sliding into the booth of the breakfast nook. 

“There’s still some hash left. Though, I’m not really in the mood to share it with either of you,” Yoongi said as soon as Namjoon sat across from where the leopard hybrid was standing and arranging pastries onto the platter, Y/N snickering lightly. 

Now close by Yoongi’s side, Y/N attempted to butter him up a bit so he’d concede and let the other two eat. He peered down at her curiously, the curiosity quickly replaced by suspicion as she batted her eyelashes at him and placed a hand on his forearm. He looked pretty with his hair tied back, displaying several shiny silver hoops dangling from his ears, the tips of which were blushing pink. 

“Yoongi, come on, can’t you share a little? You made so much. I want another cinnamon roll, too, anyways,” Y/N pouted, really laying it on thick. She hypothesized Yoongi was pretty easy to convince if teasing was involved, his tail flicking furiously behind him as he stared down at her hard. 

“Fine,” Yoongi grumbled, Y/N letting go of his forearm with a satisfied hum. “But I’m not serving them. Get it yourselves.”

Yoongi eyed the other two hybrids in the room with contempt, all while placing the pastry with the most cinnamon and icing on it on a plate, offering it to Y/N promptly. He was too cute, and too sweet, for his own good, she thought. 

“Thanks, Yoongi,” Y/N took the plate gratefully, smiling at him brightly as she immediately dove into the pastry. 

She remained by his side, as he placed plastic wrap over the leftover pastries, though not before Namjoon was able to swipe one from where he was sitting. The wolf hybrid winced as the split skin of his lower lip stretched to take a bite, Yoongi chuckling lightly and shaking his head. 

“Serves you right,” the leopard hybrid muttered, Y/N stepping on his foot as soon as the words left his mouth. In retaliation, his tail flicked back furiously enough to smack the back of her thigh, forcing a muffled squeak out of her mouth stuffed full with pastry. 

Taehyung had filled up a plate with hash wordlessly, returning to the breakfast nook to eat by himself. After she was done with her cinnamon roll, Y/N decided to refill Yoongi’s coffee mug for him, ambling over to the coffee bar. She happened to peer out the kitchen slider window, a flash of something colorful outside catching her eye. Startled, she set Yoongi’s mug down, getting closer to the window. 

“Oh my gosh! Is that Hoseok?” Y/N exclaimed, spotting the vibrant orange coat of a lean fox scampering around the backyard playfully. Foxes didn’t typically come out during the day time, and Y/N could hardly remember the last time one had visited her backyard. 

“Yeah. I think he wanted to blow off some steam. Seokjin should be out there with him too,” Yoongi replied from across the kitchen, putting some condiments back into the refrigerator. “It’s not too often hybrids like to shift more than necessary, it’s more comfortable to be in our human forms. But being in animal form has its uses, mainly to expend any pent-up energy.”

Following Hoseok’s quick movements around the back yard with eager eyes, Y/N could barely keep track of him. Another noise of exclamation came from her as a separate form came into her view– a blue-black jaguar, slinking lazily around the hedges leading further back into the property. The sight was startling, of course, even though she knew it was only Seokjin. A childlike giddiness welled up inside of her as she watched the two hybrids explore the backyard, wondering if it would be alright for her to go outside and take a look at them more closely. 

“Why don’t you go out there? Unless you prefer gawking from afar,” Yoongi’s voice echoing her inner thoughts was suddenly much closer to her, taking his refilled mug from the coffee bar with a wry grin. 

“Would it be okay? I mean, I don’t want to bother them or anything, if they’re trying to blow off steam,” Y/N questioned, Yoongi looking highly amused. 

“I doubt you’d be bothering them. Just make sure you turn around when they shift back, so you don’t get flashed,” Yoongi confirmed, pointing to the lawn chairs with both hybrid’s sets of clothes, folded neatly. 

Scandalized, Y/N felt her face become as hot as an iron, though the desire to potentially interact with Seokjin and Hoseok while they were shifted greatly outweighed her embarrassment towards Yoongi’s comment. She could hear Namjoon muttering from his seat several feet away, Y/N yanking the slider door open excitedly before she could stop herself. She knew that Yoongi would be able to handle any bickering between the other two, and definitely nip it in the bud, so she left the three of them in the kitchen without too much worry. 

The temperature outside was boiling and only growing hotter, Y/N cursing as she stepped out into the sunlight on the patio. Autumn’s arrival had never been so anticipated by her, especially as she began to perspire as soon as she felt the heat on her skin. She could no longer spot Seokjin, but could see Hoseok, who had paused his energetic sprints around the backyard to stand statue-still, staring at her with his head cocked. 

Hoseok was a beautiful fox, his coat a glossy sunset color, his frame athletic and larger than most foxes she had seen before. Even from afar, she could now confidently tell that it was Hoseok, his clever eyes remaining and glowing even in his animal form. All she could think to do was wave, swearing she could hear Yoongi’s laughter from inside of the house, but it was one of the last things on her mind. Before she could even gather her thoughts enough to ask Hoseok to come closer, he did. 

Hoseok bounded over to her, a noise of delight tearing from her lips as he sped past her in a flash, circling around her form joyfully while chittering softly. Y/N couldn’t believe she had an opportunity to interact with a fox so closely, Hoseok continuing to dash around her as if to dare her to try and catch him. Giggling, Y/N sunk her knees down into the sweet-scented warm grass, hoping he’d approach her once she lowered herself down. It was strange, to keep in mind that she wasn’t dealing with a wild animal, but with Hoseok, her charming and sunny fox hybrid. 

“Hoseok, are you having fun? It’s not too hot out here for you?” Y/N cooed, trying her best to track his movements as he circled closer and closer around her body kneeling in the grass. 

Hoseok chirped from behind her, Y/N feeling the bristly brush of his tail against the back of her arm as he got nearer than ever, until he made his final semi-circle to face her more fully. By the way she was sitting, Hoseok’s face was only an inch or so below her chin, Y/N able to count the black whiskers on his snout. 

“You’re awfully cute like this, you know?” Y/N couldn’t help but comment, fingers twitching to reach out and scratch under his chin. She found it easy to tease Hoseok when his sharp tongue was unable to quip back, the fox hybrid leaning back on his haunches and staring at her inquisitively.

All at once, Hoseok stretched forward, his body laying down in the grass and his face settling down on Y/N’s knees. Trying not to squeal at the sensation of soft fur of his face brushing her knees as his chin settled in her lap, Y/N froze, her hands hovering mid-air as Hoseok made himself comfortable. 

“Oh boy. Cozy, Hoseok?” Y/N chuckled, still refraining from indulging her desire to bury her fingers into Hoseok’s lustrous fur, as difficult as it was. Still, she couldn’t help but ask, at the very least. “Can I touch?” 

Of course, Hoseok was unable to answer in his shifted state, but he nuzzled his face further into the bare skin of her thighs, tail swishing behind him languidly. Taking his reaction to her words as a go-ahead, considering he hadn’t yanked himself away, Y/N promptly buried a hand in the silky fur between his ears.

 Immediately, she massaged through the fur, lightly scratching Hoseok’s scalp with her fingernails as his eyes slipped shut with the sensation. Like always, she avoided the hybrid’s ears out of consideration for their sensitivity, stroking down from the crown of his head to between his shoulder blades. In her lap, Hoseok had become a boneless heap, enjoying every touch she had to offer, his breath coming out in short pants wafting over the skin of her legs. 

She must have hit a sweet spot right behind one of his ears, Hoseok shuddering as his eyes snapped open. Kneading her fingers into the spot a bit more firmly in response, a tiny growl came from the fox, the pink of his tongue flashing before her eyes as he dragged it in a long strip over her thigh. Jolting at the velvety, wet sensation, Y/N’s cheeks were flaming, though she wasn’t exactly surprised that Hoseok was teasing her even while fully shifted into his fox form. 

“Cheeky boy,” Y/N muttered, still stroking the soft fur behind his ears as she looked away from him, trying to find Seokjin in the tall grasses and weeds making up the backyard. “Hmm… where’s my Seokjin, huh?” 

Mostly talking to herself, her hand slipped away from Hoseok’s crown as he sat up, head turned towards the large tree by the picnic table. Slow blinking at her through his peripherals, Y/N followed his gaze, squinting at the tree a little ways in the distance. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, the thick branches of the ancient oak tree cloaking the picnic table in ample shade, the vibrant green leaves rustling with the dry breeze. Taking a closer look once Hoseok nudged his nose towards it, Y/N scanned the crooked branches stretching across the sky as she got to her feet to follow Hoseok trotting over to the tree. 

“Oh!” Y/N squeaked, finally managing to see what Hoseok was trying to show her. Seokjin had climbed the tree, resting on a particularly thick branch lazily. 

One of his arms was dangling off of the branch, Y/N gulped at the razor-sharp claws hanging in front of her face. Hoseok barked out a strange sound close to the word wow, pawing at the tree trunk as Seokjin placidly opened his eyes, peering down at her and the fox hybrid. Her pulse was racing, not being able to get over being near such a large (and usually lethal) cat. In one fell swoop, Seokjin elegantly jumped down from the branch, Y/N stumbling backwards in shock as he landed in front of her. The impact he made with the soft grass was barely audible, Seokjin incredibly light on his feet for his size; considering his stocky build and strong musculature. Trying not to stare at his fangs as Seokjin returned Hoseok’s vocalizations with a hoarse, guttural noise, Y/N watched as Hoseok got in the jaguar’s face and began to screech, as foxes do when engaging in fights. 

“Uh oh. Are you two fighting now?” Y/N giggled, Hoseok immediately clamming up and sitting down to stare at her. “Aren’t you best friends, though?”

Seokjin pulled away from Hoseok, stalking towards Y/N. Doing her best to remain still, she allowed Seokjin to approach her without shying away– his copper-penny eyes boring into her intensely. To her great surprise, Seokjin ducked his head, nudging Y/N’s palm and apparently attempting to get her to pet him. A soft exclamation fell from her mouth, her fingertips smoothing over his skull while he leaned up into the touch with a feral purr. She kept repeating in her mind– it was her sweet, gentle Seokjin, the one who held her until she fell asleep the previous night, not a wild jaguar that might take her hand off. 

“So pretty,” Y/N breathed, getting a good look at Seokjin’s blue-black coat.

 Darker fur along his torso was decorated with rosettes, and his coat was glossy, but Y/N did not miss some of the old scars littering his body, much like the ones she had noticed the day she had adopted him and treated the wound on his side. Biting down on her lip, Y/N focused on scratching behind Seokjin’s ears, him seeming to enjoy it just as much as Hoseok had by the way he was rubbing his face against her thigh. Using her free arm to swipe sweat off of her forehead, Y/N ached to head back into the AC, even being in the shade wasn’t enough to convince her to spend any more time outside. Hoseok began to pant as he sniffed around the oak tree, the heat surely taking a toll on him as well. 

“Guys, we should head in. It’s too hot out here to be out for very long, and I’m dying for a popsicle or something. Care to join?” Y/N cupped Seokjin’s face, scratching below his ears soothingly as she spoke. His eyes were shut, turning to putty in her hands. 

Hoseok promptly scampered to the patio where he had left his clothes, Y/N trailing after him with Seokjin close behind. The latter seemed a little disappointed that she had to stop petting him in order to follow Hoseok, but he trudged beside her quietly regardless. Reaching the scorching-hot pavingstones of the patio, Y/N heard the slider door yank open, but was too busy staring at the fox and jaguar in front of her. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to being so close to apex predators like that, willing to be pet and doted on. 

Her vision cut out as a sinewy hand pressed over her eyes, another gripping her waist as she was pulled into someone’s chest abruptly. Squealing, Y/N grabbed at the wrist keeping her waist in place, the scent of vanilla and mulled spice filling her senses. 

“I told you to turn around, or you’d get flashed. Those two are shameless,” Yoongi whispered into her ear, Y/N shivering at the paired sensation of his hair brushing against her neck and his gravelly voice from inches away. Even though she tried to squirm away from the leopard hybrid, his grasp on her was ironclad, keeping her firmly in place with her back against his chest. 

“Hey, Yoongi, you’re gonna give the poor girl a heart attack, sneaking up on her like that,” Hoseok’s voice finally rang out in the humid air, Yoongi’s clamp over her eyes only growing firmer. 

“Put some pants on, Foxy. Standing there chastising me with your junk out, have a little decency or self respect, at the very least,” Yoongi replied gruffly, Y/N all but melting into his chest with the proximity and the timbre of his voice. 

“Oh, like what you see, kitty?” Hoseok shot back over a mouthful of laughter, the sounds of fabric sliding over flesh from a few feet away heightened with one of her senses robbed from her. 

“You never seem to run out of shit to say, huh?” Yoongi griped, his pinky finger threading through one of the belt loops in her denim shorts. For some reason, the action felt incredibly intimate. “Your fly is down, Seokjin.”

All at once, Yoongi’s hand dropped from her face, Y/N blinking rapidly as bright sunlight burned her eyes once her sight was returned to her. Yoongi maintained his grip on her waist almost possessively, and she knew the sweat rolling down the back of her neck suddenly had nothing to do with the heat outside.

As her eyes focused, she caught Seokjin tugging up the zipper on his jeans, his broad shoulders straining against the white tee shirt he’d shrugged on haphazardly. Gulping, she averted her stare as Hoseok clomped over to her with his plastic slides slapping the paving stone patio, cocking his head to look at her inquiringly. 

“How did the scolding go? Tail between their legs? Not that Taehyung has much of a tail, in the first place,” he asked dryly, the expanse of his dewy golden skin exposed by a flimsy muscle tee (that he must have picked up at the mall) catching sunlight and dazzling her. 

“Foxy,” Yoongi’s tone had a warning edge to it, his hand finally retreating from Y/N’s waist as he pulled the slider door back open, a rush of cool air flooding out into the patio space. “Shut it, already.”

“Yoongi, honey, it’s alright… everyone deserves to be filled in,” Y/N insisted, motioning for both him and Hoseok to head into the house before her, Yoongi’s tail going ramrod straight at the sound of his name being called. “Everything went smoothly in my opinion, Hoseok. I’m hoping that this incident won’t be repeated, I can’t bear the thought of seeing any of you hurt like that again.”

“You’re being mushy, again, silly girl,” Yoongi chortled between words in front of her, Y/N noting that both Namjoon and Taehyung had vacated the kitchen. 

Muttering under her breath over Yoongi’s incessant need to poke fun at her, she shut the door behind Seokjin, who was smiling at her so kindly that she thought she’d fall over at the way his full lips tugged into the saccharine shape. It was difficult to grasp just how breathtakingly beautiful Seokjin truly was without even trying, donning such a simple outfit and nearly dripping with sweat. She had to tear her eyes from him promptly in order not to dwell on that fact for too long. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay, so I’m a sap, whatever! Anyways, thank you guys for everything last night… helping with the cleanup after the cookout, intervening during the incident– all of it,” Y/N passed a forearm over her dewy forehead, mind on peeling wallpaper off of the second floor hallways– when she was upstairs earlier, she realized the paper had pulled from the walls in large sheets due to the recent heatwave, even with the new AC system pumping through the house. 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re overly forgiving?” Hoseok poked Y/N in the shoulder as he leaned over the island they had congregated at, a devilish grin revealing his sharpened incisors. “No, wait. Alice said you’re ‘known to be too trusting’, if I remember her words correctly from that phone call you had last week.”

“H-hoseok!” Y/N squeaked, her face coloring with mortification. Simply shrugging, Hoseok traced patterns into the granite of the island countertop, as if he hadn’t said anything at all. “Al–”

“Hoseok, didn’t you want to show me how to use the sauna? Quit the wiseass act, for once,” Seokjin vocalized abruptly, his fingertip and thumb tugging at Hoseok’s russet ear sharply. At the contact, Hoseok braced himself on the granite with a swiftly masked dark grimace, springing into action. 

“You’re lost without me, Jinnie,” Hoseok choked, his hands trying to grasp at Seokjin’s tail as the jaguar hybrid lured him out of the kitchen and in the direction to the basement. “Hey! Where’d you learn the word ‘wiseass’, anyway? I didn’t teach you that!”

As Hoseok’s voice faded, Y/N was left staring at Yoongi’s silhouette illuminated by the fridge light as he rummaged around in the drawers, his ears fluttering with each subtle move she made rounding the counter as she reached his side. The leopard hybrid was silent until he happened upon what he was looking for; sending a smirk over his shoulder at Y/N. 

“Here, have a drink. Hot out there, huh?” Yoongi tossed Y/N a bottle of electrolyte water, which she miraculously caught mid-air. Uncapping it, she took several greedy swigs, narrowing her eyes at the leopard hybrid’s smug expression. 

“You know? You’re a real wiseass yourself, Yoongi,” Y/N accused, just about fed up with his borderline flirtatious banter. “Come on, let’s watch a movie or something… I’ll put on something boring, so you can take a nap. You’ve been up pretty much all night, regardless of what you told me this morning.”

Yoongi watched her carefully as she finished her drink, even allowing her to tow him along to the parlor entrance from the kitchen with her hand wrapped around his dainty wrist. Supposing she could save the wallpaper-peeling endeavor for the next day, perhaps when it wasn’t so hot, she decided to spend some personal time with the hybrids after the chaotic day before, Y/N felt Yoongi’s tail occasionally curl around the back of her knee as she dragged him to the parlor. She was pleased to discover Jimin occupying the room already, freshly showered and perky, poised in the leather recliner as they entered the room, a Star Wars movie playing on cable. It was clear that Jimin didn’t know how to fully operate the TV and remote control yet; distinct confusion painted all over his features. 

“Jimin, sweetheart, want to watch something else? If this isn’t up your alley, let’s change it!” Y/N declared, swiping the remote from the coffee table once situating a limp Yoongi against one of the couch armrests. The leopard hybrid was pretty much half asleep by the time she had towed him into the parlor room, much to her delight– he was adorable when he was sleepy. 

“Ah, I hate to be a bother, Y/N,” Jimin murmured, barely above a whisper to accommodate Yoongi’s clear drowsiness. His sandy ears remained alert, his expression clear, leading Y/N to believe he may have gotten a decent night’s sleep even after the events of the previous night.  

“Shh, Jimin, you’ll never be a bother,” Y/N assured speedily, flicking through her digital movie stash in search of something that may intrigue the coyote hybrid; and after a few moments she spotted something that could potentially spark his interest (not to mention, potentially bore Yoongi to unconsciousness). “Oh! I think you might enjoy this– Casablanca. Old Hollywood, with its charms and all!”

Jimin leaned forward on his seat, eager butterscotch eyes roaming over the film’s description. She had kept in mind his taste in literature– Joan Didion’s ode to some of the gripes of Hollywood in Play It as It Lays– and ran with it. While the film wasn’t necessarily similar to the book he had brought with him from Montana, it was Old Hollywood, and Jimin struck her as someone who preferred a classic to a flashy space movie. As per usual, Jimin’s emotions were easy to read, and he was obviously curious. 

“Looks entertaining, Y/N. I’ll gladly watch it with you,” Jimin shot her his award-winning smile, Y/N hardly able to press play with the reception of the gesture. The added fact that he had finally dropped the “Miss” from her name had her heart racing, to boot.

The film began to roll fuzzily on the flatscreen, furthering Yoongi’s relaxation into the couch cushions. Y/N took it upon herself to spread a knitted throw over the leopard hybrid, hoping that the action would convey her deep gratitude for talking to Taehyung the night before. Whatever he had said, clearly it had worked some magic in calming the Kodiak hybrid down. 

It was incredibly peaceful; enjoying an old movie, with a drowsy Yoongi several inches away from her on the couch, and Jimin’s insightful commentary on the film itself every once and a while. Staying with the two of them for the time being, Y/N felt her stress surrounding the others, the house renovations, and the possibility of additional physical fights between the hybrids melt away. 

Yoongi began to stir in his drowsy state beside her, low rumbling purrs coming from his chest as he maneuvered himself closer to Y/N. Unceremoniously, Yoongi curled onto his side and dropped his body down heavily, his head landing in Y/N’s lap as he pulled the blanket closer around himself. Jolting in surprise, Y/N let out an amused snort in response, Yoongi’s ear fluttering sluggishly with his eyes shut. Glancing at Jimin sideways, the coyote hybrid thoroughly invested in the film and seemingly paying no mind to her nor Yoongi, Y/N began to gently card her fingers through Yoongi’s hair, the inky strands slipping through her fingers like rivulets of water.

 A deep, satisfied sigh deflated his chest slowly and rounded out in a purr, apparently enjoying the sensation, Y/N tucking a lock behind the shell of his human ear and stroking the long strands by the nape of his neck. Ever since Yoongi had scented her, he had grown increasingly clingy and almost affectionate, which was something she didn’t entirely mind at all, if she was being honest with herself. It was almost like in another life, or in another existence entirely, she and Yoongi had been in this position before, had brushed each other’s lives in some way. 

Continuing to fiddle with the leopard hybrid’s hair while he fell into a deep sleep on her lap, Y/N returned her attention back to the film and the occasional exchanged comments with Jimin. She was able to fish her phone out of her pocket without disturbing Yoongi, filling an online shopping cart with seven different guidebooks for each hybrid she had adopted. 

Y/N had the feeling that she’d have extra time to read the books while she was at work the following week, considering foot traffic would be light with the end of the summer season. Not to mention, she wasn’t giving tarot or psychic readings, so she knew that there would be a few hours where she’d have nothing to do but sit on a stool behind the counter– in her mind, a good way to spend it would be educating herself on her hybrids. Once the order was placed, she relaxed deeper into the couch, lightly massaging Yoongi’s scalp as the movie rolled on. 

The rest of Saturday passed slowly like honey dripping from a wooden dipper; consisting of lazy movie marathons with Jimin, napping Yoongi, and later Hoseok and Seokjin– all while trying to beat the heat with popsicles, and ordering sushi for dinner instead of having to cook. Booze began to flow around 5 o’clock, Hoseok making some kind of tequila concoction with crushed ice and lime for everyone, which finally roused Yoongi out of his sleep and off of Y/N’s lap, puffiness filling out his cheeks. Once he had moved off of her, she made her rounds to respective bedrooms, writing down sushi orders from Jeongguk (who had also just woken up from his nap with sleep wrinkles on his cheek), Namjoon, and Taehyung– the task akin to pulling teeth with the latter two. 

When the food arrived, by some miracle all seven hybrids joined her in the parlor to eat, even though Namjoon and Taehyung were carefully avoided by the others throughout the meal. The two that had fought took seats far from each other; Namjoon on the window seat a little ways away from the TV, Taehyung on a chair further back in the room by the entrance to the kitchen. Thankfully, not a single word was uttered by anyone surrounding the fight or the presence of the Kodiak and wolf hybrids, everyone’s full attention on the continuation of the New Girl binge they were in the middle of. 

The only thing that seemed a little off to Y/N was Hoseok’s behavior, even though he tried his best to put on his most beguiling smile as he mixed up cocktails, he seemed on edge compared to earlier on in the day. Most interestingly, Y/N could tell it wasn’t due to Namjoon’s presence for once, as the fox hybrid appeared less frightened and more agitated, so she kept a particular eye on him as he absently picked his way through a California roll. He didn’t even poke fun at Seokjin like he normally did, even when the jaguar hybrid had opened up a soy sauce packet in a way that had it exploding all over the front of his tee shirt, deepening her concern. 

After a couple of hours of watching the show and snacking on the Japanese takeout, Hoseok abruptly excused himself, making a beeline for the basement. Frowning, Y/N looked to Seokjin, who had been sitting on the floor in front of her feet, his head tilted backwards to make eye contact with her. 

“What’s up with him? Do you know?” Y/N whispered into Seokjin’s nearest rounded ear, which twitched rapidly at the action, the jaguar hybrid’s eyes narrowing in the direction of the hallway to the foyer and basement.

“Yeah, I have a hunch. Maybe you should check on him,” a slight knowing edge was mingling with Seokjin’s melodic tone, causing Y/N to ease herself off of the couch. Tequila was fuzzying the edges of her sight, but she was still able to step her way around Seokjin after giving him an appreciative hair ruffle, ambling in the direction of the basement. 

Deep down in her gut, Y/N had a minute clue as to what Seokjin was alluding to when she had questioned him. Hoseok was one of the last to scent her, along with Jimin, both of whom she was monitoring subtly for any symptoms of refraining from doing so. Hoseok’s fidgety, strange conduct during dinner certainly strengthened her suspicions, though it was his particular clingy mannerisms in fox form earlier in the day that had set off certain alarm bells in her head. 

Still hearing quiet mumbling mingling with TV audio as she wrenched open the door to the basement, Y/N thought it best to shut it behind her once she was descending the steps and if her suspicions were confirmed. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to hybrid scenting rituals, anticipation flooding through her bloodstream as she tiptoed down the stairs. 

The metal sound of dumbbells clanking together bounced around the bare acoustics of the basement almost immediately once Y/N reached the bottom step. It was a pipe dream to believe Hoseok had gotten true rest since the night before the cookout considering this wolf phobia, the excess of exercise Hoseok was performing was indicative of something deeper, clearly. 

Coming into view of the gym space thanks to the mirrored wall, Y/N caught Hoseok performing aggressive overhead presses, his back turned to her and impressively heavy dumbbells grasped in his fists. Hoseok was nearly dripping with sweat, the amount of it not enough to chalk it up to his five minutes in the gym, his complexion in the mirror blotchy as he repeated a lifting motion over and over again. Still in his dampened muscle tee and sweat shorts, Hoseok’s chest heaved as he exercised, even though he knew she was standing behind him. She could tell by the way his posture locked up, his tail grew rigid, and his nostrils began to flare. 

“Hoseok,” Y/N began, the fox hybrid promptly ignoring her and continuing his reps with renewed vigor. “Hoseok, stop. You’re gonna strain a muscle, you’ve been active all day.”

Y/N laced her words with heavy implication, knowing that clever Hoseok would undoubtedly catch onto the unsaid. Still, he refused to put down the dumbbells, staring at his own reflection in the mirror stormily. Hissing, Y/N marched up to his side, glaring at the fox hybrid’s stubborn side profile, tangible waves of body heat coming off of him like a furnace. Wondering why Hoseok was so reluctant to scent her, his attempts to abstain from the act so painfully apparent it puzzled Y/N to no end. Hoseok was one of the hybrids who warmed up to her the quickest, and usually didn’t shy away from physical contact, so the behavior was bizarre to say the least. 

“Hoseok. Are you ignoring me? You look like you’re going to pass out, would you please put the weights down and look at me?” Y/N raised her voice a decibel or two, Hoseok’s jaw clenching and unclenching as a prominent vein appeared on his forehead. “Fucksake, Hoseok–”

Growling, Hoseok finally slammed the dumbbells back onto the metal rack, spinning on his heel to stare down at her with a cocked eyebrow. There was danger written all across his features, in a way that Y/N had never considered Hoseok could possess, sending a shiver down her spine as his darkened eyes swept over her face. His chest was heaving, taking two big steps towards Y/N, making her back up in consequence as her heart began to race. 

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to swear at you, I was just worried because you look so–”

“Look so what?” Hoseok cut her off sharply, backing her up until her ass made contact with the seat of the stationary bike, and there was nowhere left to go. “What do I look like?”

“Um! You’re just flushed, you don’t look bad or anything, I mean– I don’t think you could look bad–” 

“You’re always talking yourself into a corner, darling, and look where it's gotten you this time,” Hoseok interrupted her babbling again, using one of his sneaker-clad feet to lightly kick between her ankles and widen her stance, Y/N slamming her mouth shut in response. “I’ll stop you there, before you dig yourself into a deeper hole.”

“You– and you’re always t-teasing me!” Y/N accused weakly, her words getting caught in her throat when Hoseok wrapped his hands around her waist firmly enough to have her wincing, finding herself plucked off of the floor and being placed onto the seat of the stationary bike. 

Now eye-level with the fox hybrid, she gawked at him with wide, startled eyes, following the bead of sweat running down his temple and coasting down the side of his face. His hands remained on her waist, with enough force to likely bruise, Hoseok more worked up than she thought. Distantly, she cursed Seokjin inwardly for not giving her more of a warning surrounding the fox hybrid’s state, but as Hoseok’s tongue peaked out from between his lips to dampen the flesh, most coherent thought fled from her mind. 

“I’ve told you before. You make it too easy for me,” Hoseok replied, his usually bright tone replaced with something darker, more predatory. 

All Y/N could do was stare at him, effectively pinned to the seat with his vice like grip on her waist and his dangerously brilliant eyes boring into her like he could see through her skin. They swept over her throat, his Adam's apple bobbing as he let go of one side of her waist to drag a fingertip up and over her clavicle, tapping his index finger against her thrumming pulse. Shuddering, her eyelids slipped shut as her breath began to come out in small pants, Hoseok chuckling lowly at her reaction to his touch. She felt pathetic, basically turned into a puddle already and he hadn’t even gotten close enough to bite her. 

His index finger trailed upwards to crook under her chin, his thumb resting beneath her lower lip, tilting her head up and to the side a bit. A small groan spilled from Hoseok’s lips as her throat became more exposed to him, her scent undoubtedly filling his senses powerfully. Squirming in her seat, Hoseok’s grip on her waist loosened, the hand traveling to the back of her head as he took a fistful of her hair. He wasn’t being gentle by any means, his fingernails digging into her scalp as he threaded strands through his digits, pulling her closer to his face as she finally opened her eyes. 

Hoseok was but a breath away from her, Y/N finding herself focusing on the freckle kissing his cupid’s bow, his eyes lidded as he stepped impossibly closer, slotting himself between her legs and dipping his face down to nuzzle at her jawbone. Eyes rolling back in her skull at the sensation of his lips ghosting over her jaw, Y/N bit back a whimper, her hands finding purchase on his bare biceps, his skin slightly slippery and feverish with perspiration. 

“Hoseok…” Y/N whispered, sensing that he was stalling a little bit, taking deep breaths through his nose while tucked into the crook of her neck as his ears twitched at the sound of his name. 

“What, are you eager or something?” Hoseok returned coolly, lifting his head to speak into her ear directly. His breath ghosting over the sensitive area had her practically clawing at his skin. “Patience, my darling.”

The dulcet tone of his voice caused the whimper to finally tumble from her lips, Hoseok grinning against the shell of her ear before she felt the sharpened points of his incisors nip roughly at her earlobe. The action had her pressing closer to Hoseok, her chest flush with his as her hands fumbled to the back of his tank top, gripping the dampened fabric as an anchor. With the implications of the fox hybrid’s words, she no longer held any doubts that all of the hybrids were aware just how much she enjoyed when they scented her, the realization both humiliating and exciting once it dawned on her. 

“Oh? Are you embarrassed? Worried that the others upstairs will hear you?” Hoseok murmured into her ear, hand dropping from her jaw to press against her lower back, the force of the touch making her spine arch harder into Hoseok’s chest. “Doesn’t matter anyways…”

Feeling Hoseok’s heart racing as he pressed himself against her, Y/N began to shake in response to his tone and shamelessness, using her thighs to squeeze Hoseok’s hips in an attempt to get him to hurry up and bite her already. Sighing deeply, Hoseok nudged the tip of his nose against the corner of her jaw, his soft lips finding the tender spot beneath her earlobe and planting a featherlight kiss there. Y/N knew then, Hoseok was unabashedly trying to rile her up; this was a new side to the fox hybrid Y/N had no idea about– rough, wild, domineering.

The kiss was immediately followed by the fox hybrid finally baring his teeth and sinking them into the same spot he planted his lips seconds prior, the razor-sharp sting of his incisors tearing into her flesh with borderline reckless abandon. Too startled by the blinding pain to make a noise, Y/N’s mouth dropped open in a silent scream as she felt thin streams of her blood running down the side of her neck. Growing entirely limp, her body weakly slumped against Hoseok’s firm chest, the pain of the bite fading more slowly than any of her previous ones, perhaps because of the harsh way he had torn into the skin, his hand on the back of her head still yanking at strands with force. 

“A-ah, ouch, Hos-seok,” Y/N sobbed lightly, gliding shaky hands up to Hoseok’s shoulders for purchase, the fox hybrid groaning softly into her neck as her fingernails clawed at his deltoids. As the throbbing began to slip away, the fogginess of pleasure that came with the bite overtook everything– the combination of the two sensations almost too much to bear. 

Pulling his teeth from the wound, Hoseok adjusted her in his arms by using a forearm to curl securely around her lower back, hand tangled in her hair moving to stroke the back of her head more tenderly. A couple of involuntary tears slipped down her cheeks in response to the overwhelming sensations washing over her; eyes rolling to the back of her skull when she felt Hoseok drag his tongue in fat strips from the base of her clavicle to just over the bite by the curve of her jaw, collecting the thin trails of blood that had dribbled from the wound.

Y/N was hardly aware of the low whines she was letting out as Hoseok held her more gently, paying almost reverent attention to cleaning up the area he had bloodied. He was supporting most of her weight in the process, Y/N winding her arms around his neck loosely to keep herself somewhat upright as he once again pressed a soft kiss over his mark. She blearily eyed the crescent-shaped divots she had created on the skin of his shoulder, a delirious scenting-addled brain remarking that she, too, had claimed him in some way. While Hoseok had been quite rough with her, she didn’t really mind, especially because all tension had drained from his body since, and he was now holding her so tightly. 

“Sorry about the pain, I think I picked a tender spot…” Hoseok suddenly murmured into her neck, moving his arms so he could hug around her waist, hooking his chin over her shoulder. Finally, she could drop her head down into the crook of his neck, still feeling the loopiness of the bite. “I waited too long, lost control a little bit.”

Hoseok drew soothing patterns on her back as he embraced her, warmth spreading through Y/N as she nuzzled into him. His scent was comforting, and she was honestly relieved that he had finally calmed down from his incessant bouncing off the walls, but all at once she was exhausted. 

“Do you need to sit here for a bit? Or do you want me to carry you upstairs?” Hoseok spoke again after several beats, piece by piece of Y/N’s intelligence coming back to her as the fog cleared from her head. “We should probably get you a glass of water, you bled a bit and it's so hot outside… I’m surprised Yoongi or Jin haven’t come down here to fight me yet.”

“No more fighting,” Y/N weakly choked into Hoseok’s warm skin, lifting her heavy head up a few inches to speak more coherently. “I s-swear, you’re all going to be the death of me, b-between the scenting, teasing, and the angst.”

Hoseok heartily laughed at her stuttered sentiments, pressing his fingertips into the tender muscles of her back as he held her. She realized she never answered Hoseok’s first two inquiries, blinking kittenishly at the fox hybrid as he studied her face calmly. The warmth and friendliness to his features had returned. 

“You don’t have to carry me, we can just go up together. I should bid everyone goodnight, anyways– it’s about time I attempt to get my sleep schedule under control before I head off to work Monday morning,” Y/N managed to articulate clearly, secretly praying for a peaceful Sunday before driving Seokjin and Namjoon to the city for the book club and then herself to a nearby suburb to pick up her shift at Judy’s metaphysical shop come Monday. 

Making a move to stand up from her seat on the exercise bike, Hoseok inched away as she lowered her feet to the ground, his proximity still quite staggering as she tried to un-pin herself from his body against the bike. As he processed her words and movements, Hoseok shook out his limbs, stepping aside so she could move freely once more. Though, she couldn’t get very far without his sturdy hand slipping against her’s, intertwining his fingers securely around her own and their arms interlocking in an almost serpentine way. 

“I forgot about you starting work on Monday,” Hoseok remarked, and Y/N could have sworn she caught Hoseok faintly pouting, but nonchalantly let him lead her still slightly slackened body to the stairs. 

His hand clasped in her’s was rough, but warm and steady. He parted with her momentarily and dashed into his bedroom, softly ordering her to put on his hoodie as she quivered by the stairs waiting for him. With her brain less rational than usual, she slipped the woodsy smelling hoodie over her head without a word, Hoseok’s hand entangling with her’s once more as soon as it was draped over her body. 

 “Jinnie told me he’s going with you, you’re dropping him off at the library with the godforsaken wolf.”

Sucking in a lungful of careful breath, Y/N nodded to the best of her ability as the pair of them clambered up the stairs at snail's speed. With Hoseok’s immediate drop back into his sharp-witted persona, Y/N was left a touch whiplashed. How had he gone from dangerous desperation to happy-go-lucky in a matter of minutes? “I’m afraid my mother has roped Seokjin into the extracurricular, if you will. Though, you’re all more than welcome to join the bookclub… my mom would love it of course, and it gives you a chance to get out of the house,” Y/N noted, slightly lamenting the fact that her hybrids didn’t have many opportunities to engage with much of society due to their limited rights. 

“I’m not really into books in that way. Don’t get me wrong, I read, but I can’t picture myself dissecting thematic overtones in the same room as that wolf. Besides, I’d rather bother Yoongi all day. He’s funny when he’s agitated,” Hoseok held the door to the basement open for her while he responded, tugging her hand as they both cleared the last step into the foyer. 

“Well, just don’t push his buttons too much. He’s skilled with a knife, you know,” Y/N giggled, nudging his hip with her own as they made it into the kitchen. With a snort, Hoseok released her hand, retrieving a pitcher of water from the fridge and pouring her and himself a large glass. “I’m going to scour the internet, see if I can find other clubs or activities for hybrids in the area, maybe there will be something that interests you. That way you don’t have to be cooped up here all the time!” “Ha, like a hybrid summer camp or something?” Hoseok pondered, a playful lilt to his voice. Contrary to his words, Y/N knew Hoseok was interested in pursuing new hobbies, he’d had let it slip during their chat earlier that morning. 

“No, not a summer camp, silly. There’s a recreation center not so far from here, they might have sports teams or art classes…” 

“You should see if there’s a ghostbusting club for the elk,” Hoseok slid Y/N her glass of water, a smug look on his face as he registered the unmoved reaction from her towards his jab at Jeongguk. “Come on, it was a little funny. Don’t tell me you’re already smitten with him.”

“Hoseok, I swear,” Y/N groaned, taking her water and moving towards the entrance to the parlor. She could catch a glimpse of Taehyung from where she was standing, still curled up in the chair by the window and fiddling with the hem of his blue flannel as he watched the TV from afar. “One of these days you’ll meet your match, and then you’ll have to hold your tongue.” 

The fox hybrid’s melodic chuckles were dampened in volume compared to the chatter and volume from the television, the rest of the hybrids still in their spots around the parlor as if she and Hoseok never even left. She wanted to bid them all a good night, hoping to get into bed before 11 PM, so she began with Taehyung, reaching into her pocket for the roll of gauze she had tucked in there earlier to change out the old bandages. Hoseok returned to his seat on the floor beside Seokjin, carefully avoiding the Kodiak hybrid as Y/N knelt before him to replace the gauze. 

“Can I see your hands?” Y/N murmured quietly, holding her palms out expectantly as she snagged Taehyung’s attention. 

His garnet eyes softened as he stared at her knelt form on the floor, leaning forward and immediately resting his large hands in hers, the movement carrying his strong sandalwood scent with it. The weight of his hands was solid and unyielding, Y/N immediately removing the old bandages from that morning and inspecting his knuckles. To her great surprise, the wounds already appeared to be half-healed, mostly scabbed over and bruised at that point. Still, she preferred to wrap them so he wouldn’t snag the scabs on his sheets when he went to bed, swiftly wrapping his hands up and giving his fingers a light squeeze. 

“Alright, you should be good after this! I forgot you guys heal so quickly,” Y/N grinned at Taehyung, appearing quite thoughtful as she began to pull her hands away. “I wanted to say goodnight, too. I have to start heading to bed a bit earlier so I can get up for work on Monday without an issue.”

Taehyung’s ears fluttered, eyes taking in every inch of her face as she spoke. He had an air of unease about him, Y/N figuring that he was still thinking about the events that had unfolded the night before, possibly trying to scan her face for any hint of fear towards him that might still be lingering. Really, she wasn’t afraid of Taehyung, even after learning the dark secret he had been keeping from everybody and the fist fight that occurred between him and Namjoon. Deep down, she knew that Taehyung had probably agonized over harboring a secret so damning, and it wasn’t like he plotted the murder… he had been metaphorically cornered, forced to choose between life and death. Whether that was naive or not, that was yet to be seen. 

“Goodnight,” Taehyung’s deep, mellow voice drew her out of her thoughts, her eyes locking with his once more and away from his wrapped knuckles. “I hope you sleep well…”

He was much, much closer to her face now, one of his hands moving out of her grip to cup her cheek swiftly before getting nearer than ever, planting a firm, resolute kiss between her eyebrows, the action so unexpected it had Y/N’s jaw hanging loosely. Blinking stupidly, Y/N put a hand over the spot his warm lips had stamped affection over, slowly rising to her feet. Taehyung’s eyes were focused back onto the television, leaving her to trudge away in a bit of a stun. 

Snapping out of it the best she could, she made her rounds to each hybrid clumped on and around the couch, Seokjin making grabby hands for one of her palms and squeezing it tight with a disappointed look in his eyes that she was retiring early. Jeongguk grunted in response to her bidding goodnight with blood sliding down his cheekbones from his shedding velvet, smirking up at her as she bashfully recovered from both Yoongi and Hoseok hooking arms around her legs from the floor in a sort of joint-hug. Man, they were all getting clingy– and her poor heart could hardly take it. After smoothing her hand over Jimin’s shoulder and exchanging a set of ‘sweet dreams’, Y/N eyed the window seat Namjoon had been sitting on, now vacated. Perhaps he decided to hit the hay early, too, but she still wished that he’d said goodnight to her. 

She exited the parlor, grinning as she heard the TV decrease in volume as Hoseok turned it down a little, making her way through the dimly lit foyer with her cheeks warm. Hardly paying attention to where she was going, her thoughts surrounding her regret that she’d have to sleep alone in her bed that night, Y/N let out a squeak once she realized there was somebody standing in the hallway leading to her bedroom. 

Shifting awkwardly from one foot to another, hands stuffed into the pockets of his gray sweatpants, was Namjoon, his ears flickering at the sounds of her footsteps creaking against the rickety floorboards. In the moonlight, his eyes still glowed amber, and his presence had a shiver dancing along the ridges of her spine. Approaching slowly, Y/N prayed he didn’t sense her minor apprehension in doing so. 

“Can I have a word?” Namjoon broke the heavy silence as soon as she got close enough for him to murmur, Y/N nodding slightly as moonbeams from the skylight made the silver strands of his hair practically sparkle. He was almost otherworldly. “About last night…”

“Oh, uh, is something still on your mind? I suppose I haven’t really talked to you much today…” Y/N managed to choke out, dreading what he was about to bring up. There was a chance he’d be looking to argue with her again, which was the last thing she wanted on her mind before she went to bed. 

“It’s not about the fight,” Namjoon quickly interjected, the lightest peachy flush dusting the tips of his human ears as he looked away from her. Temporarily relieved, she waited for him to get to the point, composing his face into a more serious expression while he assembled his thoughts. “It’s about your mother.”

Blinking, Y/N felt ice flood through her veins, wondering just how many times Namjoon could take her completely by surprise like that. Apparently sensing the dread coursing through her, Namjoon pulled his eyebrows together, stepping closer into her proximity. His scent, a manly musk mingling with floral honey, infiltrated her senses with the movement, and oddly brought her comfort immediately. 

“Ah, don’t worry, please. I pulled a few Tarot cards from her last night, and wanted to discuss it with you… before everything else went down,” Namjoon remarked quietly, tilting his head down in an attempt to catch her eyes. 

Moving to bury her hands in Hoseok’s hoodie pocket, her fingers brushed the little roll of gauze within the fabric, avoiding eye contact with Namjoon cowardly. She still had to swap out his bandages. 

“Even when I told her not to do any more readings on you guys after Tae, she still did…” Y/N muttered, bitterness flooding her taste buds. “Did she tell you that you were going to die in seven days, or something?”

Namjoon seemed to choke on his intake of breath, Y/N finally meeting his eyes as she watched him try to mask the shocked amusement wash over him. 

“N-no, I should hope not!” Namjoon breathed, removing his hands from his pockets to rub at the bare skin of his arms, as if a chill washed over him. Cute. “Seriously, though. I need to talk to you, can you come in for a minute?”

Namjoon jerked his head backwards to his bedroom door, the room filled with dusty lamplight and smelling like essential oil floor cleaner. Chewing her lip, Y/N followed the wolf hybrid into the room. He shut the door almost completely behind her, clearing his throat and pointing to his desk chair. 

“Here, sit. I managed to take a few notes about what I pulled, before…” clearing his throat again, Namjoon ushered Y/N over to his chair, which she lowered herself onto while he leaned one hip against the desk to look down at her. “Anyways, take a look.”

The Magician - Apparently representing the querent; myself. Change in a situation or an environment needs to be brought about through a certain skill set (I?) possess… Spiritual development. Concentration is needed. 

The Eight of Cups - My interpretation of this is seeking out higher spiritual power with the risk of abandoning material or previous efforts or successes/abandoning what one already has. Turning your back on something important, forgetting someone or something…

The Nine of Swords - Impending disaster, unavoidable fate. Whatever the disaster may be, nothing can be moved past until it is dealt with. 

Namjoon’s handwriting, as beautiful as ever, curled across the weathered parchment in smudged indigo ink, the page littered in smaller notes she couldn’t quite read and a series of arrows and underlining. Another tiny clue into who Namjoon was fell into place in her mind– apparently, he knew enough about Tarot to grasp the meanings of each card, and she could feel him inspecting her from his perch on his desk as she looked over his notes. 

“So? What do you think?” Namjoon vocalized after a few moments, taking his notes from her gently. Y/N noticed the wrappings on his hands had some of his blood seeping through, making her frown. 

“Huh? Oh, you want my thoughts on the cards?” Namjoon nodded in response to her breathy inquiry, his bitten ear twitching as she scooted the desk chair closer to him, in order to get a better look at his notes once more. “I’m a bit rusty with Tarot, Namjoon.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure you remember more than you think you do,” Namjoon insisted eagerly, his desire for any kind of information from her etched across his features and laced in his tone. Humming, Y/N scanned the notes again– she might as well give it her best shot, for his sake. 

“Hmm. So… I think you’re correct in guessing that you’re represented by The Magician, part of the Major Arcana. The other two cards you pulled aren’t particularly positive cards, especially The Nine of Swords. The suit of Swords typically indicates a sort of intellectual challenge to overcome, whereas the suit of Cups alludes to a spiritual challenge. I’m not sure what your beliefs are, Namjoon, but to me… these cards suggest that there is some sort of spiritual trial you’ll have to face, something that you’ll have to use your knowledge and experience to overcome,” Y/N began deliberately, eyes on the ceiling as if to summon some of her Tarot knowledge back into her brain.

 “This obstacle you’ll have to face might bring you a great deal of anxiety, and you may become so wrapped up in fixing it that you forget to check in with reality from time to time. The fact that you came up as The Magician is a comfort; whatever you may face I’m confident you’ll be able to handle it and come away with even more experience than ever before,” She concluded, feeling a little badly she couldn’t give a better analysis. Sixteen-year-old Y/N could have given him a thirty minute in-depth reading with enthusiasm. 

Namjoon seemed to be in deep concentration, lips pursed as he stared at the piece of parchment as if it was going to start speaking to him. A small, amused smile stretched across her face as she waited for her words to sink in, tapping her pointer finger on his knee in front of her to get his attention. It certainly did the job, Namjoon staring at her like she had grown a second head at once. Snorting, she fished the gauze out of Hoseok’s hoodie pocket, reaching out expectantly for his hands. 

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Namjoon muttered, though he put down the parchment and stretched out his hands either way. 

“Indulge me,” Y/N whispered, cradling his palm in front of her face so she could gingerly peel the soiled gauze off of his knuckles. He hissed, whether in response to the gauze sticking to his wounds or her words. 

His knuckles hadn’t quite scabbed over like Taehyung’s had yet, but Y/N supposed he took a few more harsh swings than the Kodiak hybrid had. Brushing her thumb over his skin tenderly, she held her breath as she re-wrapped his hands, waiting for him to say something, anything at all. 

“Did I provide you with any useful insight, or were those theories you’ve already considered?” Y/N finally prompted, placing his hands back down on his lap. This time, he seemed reluctant to lose contact with her, as his left ring finger dragged along her palm more slowly than it should have. 

“You’ve definitely confirmed a few things for me, thank you,” Namjoon replied, easing himself off of his desk and shaking out his tail he was sitting on. “I don’t know if I should tell you this, because I know you’re going to bed…”

Freezing her movements in rising from his desk chair, Y/N gawked at the wolf hybrid’s cryptic expression. What now?

“Well, now you have to tell me, or I won’t sleep a wink,” Y/N insisted, standing up to her full height and feeling Hoseok’s hoodie skimming her thighs as she straightened out. Stepping closer to him, she cocked her head, waiting for him to open his mouth and cut to the chase. 

“I’m not sure that Jeongguk and I were able to permanently banish that entity last week. I think, based on this reading, and some of the tension still lingering, it might try to come back,” Namjoon uttered softly, carefully scanning Y/N from head to toe as if to analyze her body language and reactions. 

Her shoulders sagged, not exactly taken aback by this revelation, because she, too, had entertained the idea. She still didn’t have any idea what kind of ritual the two of them had carried out to banish the entity in the first place, as she was totally unconscious throughout, and barely had the time to ask either of them about it amongst the chaos of the last week. There were the grounds to consider, where the Y/N had accidentally summoned the entity all those years ago in the first place– she highly doubted Namjoon nor Jeongguk had broken free from her side to cleanse the grounds that night. For all she knew, it could be lurking at the edges of the property, waiting for the right moment to gain entry into the home again. 

“Yeah, I was thinking that too, lately. I’m not sure what you two did to stave it off for this long, but it is likely that I’ll have to do some heavy-duty protection wards around the property and the house next weekend. I might even have to do a full-scale banishment, if that doesn’t work,” Y/N sighed roughly, twisting her hands in the soft material of the hoodie’s pocket.

“Can I help?” Namjoon blurted, his back straightening out in purpose, eyes widening fractionally. “You should enlist Jeongguk’s help, too. If we work together, the chances of successfully getting rid of it are higher.”

Stunned, Y/N felt her mouth dropping open, wondering if this was Namjoon’s way of making it up to her for the way he acted the previous night, especially considering Jeongguk was the one to break up the brawl and haul the wolf hybrid away and Namjoon was still willing to team up with him. Maybe, he saw it as his ‘spiritual challenge’ he must overcome, or maybe he was more interested in the paranormal than she originally thought. 

“You wanna help?” Y/N repeated meekly, Namjoon nodding once. “Alright, that’s a good idea– the three of us together can cover more ground quickly. When I go to work on Monday, I’ll pick up some things for the wards. If it comes to a full-scale banishment, we should wait for the next new moon in two weeks, just before your birthday.”

Namjoon froze, the constant sway of his silver tail even pausing, as pure astonishment washed over him. Cocking an eyebrow at his reaction, Y/N wondered if she said anything out of turn, or if he was re-thinking the whole ordeal now that she was discussing details. 

“How do you know when my birthday is?” Namjoon asked, his complexion turning quite pale and then quite pink. 

“What do you mean? It was on the clipboard at the shelter, and on the hybrid database I logged onto once I got your ID number from your official adoption certificate,” Y/N put her hands up as if she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Namjoon was so bizarre. 

“Oh,” was all he offered in response, again gaping at her like she had an extra head. 

“Anyways, we can discuss all of this some more tomorrow. Have you finished Wuthering Heights yet? I’m taking you and Seokjin to the library on Monday, don’t forget,” Y/N began to inch towards his door so she could head to bed. If she stayed any longer, she ran the risk of opening her big mouth and asking him about his favorite cake flavor, or a gift he had his eye on, and ruining her planned surprise of making all of the hybrid’s birthdays special in general. 

Mortification further radiated off of the wolf hybrid in tangible waves, evidently not finished with the book, as he frantically turned to his nightstand and fumbled for the book. He seemed to have about 70 pages left. Trying not to giggle at his endearing mannerisms while his guard was down, Y/N reached his door while he was distracted. 

“I’m heading to bed now, see you in the morning, okay? Don’t stay up too late reading,” Y/N called, giving him a little wave. Jerking his head up, Namjoon allowed the corner of his mouth to curl up shyly. 

“Goodnight, Y/N,” the wolf hybrid returned, his amber eyes trained on her and the sensation of it remaining long after she shut his door behind her.

Once settled under her quilt in her bedroom, Y/N tapped out some reminders on her phone in an attempt to extract one million floating tasks from her brain and trap them in written word. There was a grocery list from Yoongi, some things she wanted to pick up for Jimin at the hardware store, and a reminder to look for hybrid clubs and activities. Some stray ideas for Jeongguk and Namjoon’s separate birthday parties, a note to call Ben and the twins, as well as a small list of items to look for at Judy’s on Monday. 

She had never felt so busy in her life, even when she was working back-to-back shifts at the animal hospital, but she found that all of the things she had on her plate brought her excitement, rather than exhaustion and dread. Apart from, of course, the very real possibility that she’d have to deal with that nasty entity again. As she switched off her lamp and got cozy, she tried not to dwell on ghosts and demons, or the fact that the bed felt empty without Seokjin, and willed herself into what she prayed to be a sleep full of pleasant dreams.

Sunday morning was rainy, gloomy, and the stifling heat was thankfully broken. Y/N hauled herself out of bed early to shower and pick out her outfit for work the next day. An alert on her phone told her that all of her hybrid guidebooks had been delivered and were waiting on the porch for her, so she sped out of her bedroom to collect them and stow them by her nightstand before any of the hybrids could notice they were there. It wasn’t like she didn’t want them to see the books, she just didn’t want to give them another reason to tease her about her lack of hybrid knowledge. 

Once the books were tucked away, she followed her nose to the kitchen with her laptop under her arm– a buttery, sweet smell floating through the house and making her mouth water. Most meals these days were completely taken care of by Yoongi, purely because he often beat her to the kitchen to do so before she could even lift a finger. Yoongi had told her not to worry about feeling guilty over him preparing meals for the rest of the house, as cooking was something he genuinely enjoyed, but she still felt odd about letting him shoulder the responsibility. 

Yoongi had prepared an almost comical stack of pancakes that he was consistently adding to a hot plate in one of the warm ovens, his long hair damp with his morning shower and tucked behind his ears. The counter was littered with sliced fruit, boats of maple syrups, sticks of butter and mixing bowls. The only other hybrid in the room was Jimin, who Y/N had noted preferred to rise early over the past week. He looked a bit hungover, nursing a rather large cup of coffee, cheek cradled in his palm and sandy ears drooping. Both hybrids perked up as soon as she waltzed into the room, Yoongi shuffling over to her with a mug containing coffee made to her precise preference. The realization that he had gotten the ratio of cream to sugar exactly right had a flush settling over her cheeks as soon as the drink washed over her taste buds. 

She sat next to Jimin, the coyote hybrid oh-so-subtly slouching closer to her on his barstool, and made small talk while they waited for some of the other hybrids to make their appearances. Setting up her laptop, she drummed her fingers against the keyboard, wondering which part of her to-do list she should tackle first. Jeongguk’s birthday was fast approaching, and a flash of panic struck through her when she considered there might not be much time left for her to order gifts and a cake for him. 

“Morning! Is there bacon?” Seokjin’s sweet voice had her eyes tearing away from the loading Best Buy home screen to seek out his face. 

He was in almost the exact same outfit as Yoongi, a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved thermal, but Seokjin’s was a cornflower blue and Yoongi’s was a deep wine color. Immediately, he widely smiled at Y/N, offering her an enthusiastic wave, to which she returned with a slight chuckle. 

“Haven’t made it yet,” Yoongi replied, flipping a pancake mid-air as if he was Gordon Ramsay or something. “I’ve been waiting for it to thaw, over by the sink. I’ll get to it.”

“Can I cook it?” Seokjin moved to the island, inspecting the limp package of uncooked bacon. Y/N exchanged a sideways glance with Jimin, who still managed to convey his amusement even though he really looked like he would rather eat mud than a piece of bacon Seokjin cooked. 

“Can you even cook? Do you know how to operate the stove?” Yoongi lifted an eyebrow at the jaguar hybrid, Seokjin’s ears fluttering in annoyance. 

“I’ve watched you enough times to gather the mechanics, thank you,” Seokjin grumbled, Y/N desperately trying to swallow down laughter with Jimin practically shaking next to her. “And on my phone, too. When I can’t sleep, I watch cooking videos, I want to learn.”

Y/N straightened out at this, tilting her head to look at Seokjin while his back was turned to her. There were instances where he couldn’t sleep? Was she selfish to lament the fact that he hadn’t disclosed that to her previously? Distracting herself from dwelling on that, she half-listened to Yoongi slide a skillet onto the stove for Seokjin and scrolled around on her laptop for a video camera for Jeongguk. Aware of Jimin looking over her shoulder, she finally came across a reasonably priced one with all of the specs she was hoping for– full spectrum, night vision, easily hand held. With the camera and a protection plan in her virtual cart, she clicked the option for in-store pick up, so she could drop by later that day on her grocery and hardware store run. 

As if summoned as soon as the order went through, the elk hybrid traipsed through the entrance of the kitchen in his black hoodie, fiddling with a couple of his hoop earrings as he scanned the room. To Y/N’s surprise, he promptly planted himself on the other empty barstool beside her, and thankfully she had already closed out of the Best Buy website. 

“Good morning,” Y/N greeted, feeling somewhat shy with his onyx stare boring through her. His eyes flickered to her laptop screen, where she was idly viewing the gallery of a local bakery, mumbling the same greeting back. 

The fatty scent of bacon began to infest the room, Seokjin diligently turning pieces over in the sizzling pan and looking deeply satisfied with himself. He appeared to be doing quite well under Yoongi’s watchful eye, even though occasionally an acrid smell would fill the kitchen when he’d burn an odd piece. Slowly, the remaining hybrids found their ways to the kitchen; Hoseok grumpily complaining about the early hour still in his pajamas, Namjoon dressed smartly in a crisp linen button down and slacks, and lastly Taehyung, who entered the room so silently and unacknowledged by the others Y/N didn’t even realize he was sitting at the breakfast nook until she turned around at the sound of the rain increasing in density against the window. He gave her a half-smile, the red flannel he had on picking up the peculiar color of his eyes, Y/N giving him her brightest grin as if to make up for the fact that everyone else was ignoring him. 

She turned over the ways in her mind that she could find out what kind of cake Jeongguk would want for his birthday, and all of them would give away the surprise and her intentions. Chewing on her lip, she felt Jimin shift closer to her yet again, his body heat quite comforting as his arm brushed hers. Shutting her laptop once Yoongi declared everything was ready, Y/N saw that he and Seokjin had set up a buffet style pancake bar on the island, the jaguar hybrid appeared gleeful and proud of himself, which had her practically melting when she got up to get a plate. 

Namjoon was in front of her in the sort of clumpy line they had all formed to fix up their breakfast plates, Y/N spooned stewed berries onto her pancakes as she decided to slyly get the information she needed, in probably the most roundabout way possible. She did seem to like making things harder for herself. 

“There’s this new bakery in town I want to try out, and I’ve been thinking about ordering cupcakes or something. I’d like to get you all your favorites if you tell me what they are,” Y/N announced nonchalantly, settling back into her seat and cringing somewhat as she basically heard crickets. 

Getting the hybrids to tell her what they wanted when it came to food was always like pulling teeth, and she chalked it up to the fact that they likely didn’t have many opportunities to select things of their own preference. It saddened her, but now that they were with her, they really didn’t have to hesitate so much. She wished she could say that in so many words, but she didn’t want to risk hitting any raw nerves. Predictably, Hoseok responded first as soon as the shock cleared from his face. 

“Uh… I don’t really know, all cakes are good cakes!” He began– not off to a good start. “I guess I like vanilla the best if I were to choose, simple but classic.”

“I liked those lavender cupcakes from the cookout, the ones your friend Ben brought,” Seokjin volunteered, a thick layer of maple syrup coating his voluminous lips. Nodding, Y/N added the two answers to a notes document on her phone for when their birthdays rolled around. 

After what felt like forever, she was able to pry out an answer from all of them, and she had finished her stack of pancakes long before the list was complete. Strawberry cake for Taehyung, Yoongi liked chocolate with raspberry filling, Namjoon gave a vague answer with just ‘chocolate’, and Jimin had classic tastes like Hoseok with simple vanilla. Of course, Jeongguk was the last to answer, too busy staring at his phone and snacking on the burnt pieces of bacon Seokjin had set aside separately. 

“Jeongguk? How about you?” Y/N nudged his shoulder with her own, and ironically he genuinely looked like a deer in the headlights, antlers and all. 

“Huh? Oh, cake… I don’t like cake that much. I guess I enjoy cheesecake, but that's more of a pie, if people were being more honest with themselves,” Jeongguk finally responded while absently using his napkin to blot some blood away from his face that had been dripping from his antlers into his hairline, looking back down at his phone. Interesting!

“Cheesecake? Gross. Also, have you ever even seen an actual pie? Because they don’t look like a cheesecake,” Hoseok accused, his russet ears turned backwards as if his honor had been insulted. 

“You’re an agitating motherfucker,” Jeongguk remarked simply, getting up to rinse his plate and stick it in the dishwasher. Yoongi began to shake with laughter, especially upon catching a glimpse of Hoseok’s visage cloaked with surprise. 

Once the kitchen was cleaned up, the job going by quickly with so many hands, Y/N decided it was as good of a time as any to head out on her errands so she could spend the rainy evening cozy in the parlor. Before everyone vacated the kitchen, she notified the hybrids that she was heading out. 

“Do any of you want to come with me? It’s pretty shitty weather out there, so I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to tag along. I just have to go to a few stores,” Y/N narrowed her eyes at the pelting rain outside of the kitchen window, hoping the grocery store wouldn’t give her paper bags. 

Minutes later, Y/N– considerably damp from running to her car like a crazy person, found herself in the driver’s seat, Yoongi beside her, Seokjin and Taehyung in the back. The rest of the hybrids elected to stay at home, and Y/N was grateful Jeongguk hadn’t joined her so she could pick up his camera without raising suspicion. 

“Jimin looked rough this morning,” Yoongi remarked offhandedly, his tail swishing languidly behind him as he pushed a half-full grocery cart down the bread aisle. 

Nudging him softly in the ribs, Y/N tossed two packages of hamburger buns into the cart while Yoongi bared his pointed incisors at her. The force of the nudge wasn’t enough to cause any pain, and she knew Yoongi was just trying to tease her again– but regardless, she was thinking the same too. The coyote hybrid slunk away to his bedroom shortly after breakfast, claiming he wanted to take a shower and read, looking less sparkly than he usually did. Maybe tequila was not his friend. 

“You know, he’s the only one who hasn’t scented you yet. He probably feels like shit because of that,” Yoongi continued after a beat, examining a loaf of milk bread and dropping it into the cart as well. Y/N stiffened, not used to any of the hybrids explicitly bringing up scenting unless right before the act. 

“God, you think? Why didn’t he tell me– and we’re not going to be back for at least another hour,” Y/N stared at Yoongi with alarm, the leopard hybrid shrugging with a lazy flicker of his ear. “What if he collapses like Seok–” Y/N immediately cut herself off with a hand clamped over her mouth, whipping around to stare at the jaguar hybrid with an apology clinging to her tongue. To her surprise, he wasn’t trailing after her at the moment, only Taehyung was at the end of the aisle scrolling through his phone. 

“Don’t worry, he took off towards the produce like five minutes ago. Not that he’d care if you brought that up,” Yoongi assured, scanning the crumpled list in his hands distractedly. “Jimin will be fine. Actually, he has more self-restraint than most of us, which is pretty impressive.”

“Oh, was that a compliment for Jimin? Warming up to him, are you?” Y/N teased, Yoongi gritting his teeth and pushing the cart ahead of her. She caught the hem of his thermal, tethering herself to him so she wouldn’t be left behind, snickering the whole way. 

“He’s one of the more tolerable ones. Seokjin’s fine, too. Jury’s still out with Foxy…” Yoongi replied begrudgingly nonetheless. 

She didn’t know what was taking over her, but she wiggled her fingers against the wine-colored fabric covering Yoongi’s sides to tickle him once she was next to him, eliciting a purr and a tiny, toothy smile from the leopard hybrid. 

“And what about me? Is the jury still out on me, too, Yoongi?” Y/N prodded jokingly, straightening out a wrinkle on his shirt while he reached for a jar of peanut butter on the shelf. 

Yoongi paused, his tail brushing the length of her thigh as he turned to look down at her, a mysterious expression on his face as she continued to fix his wrinkled thermal. She forgot that she was in the middle of the grocery store with two other hybrids to worry about, soaking in the thoughtful twinkle in his hazel, feline eyes. 

“Verdict is still pending,” Yoongi replied, smirking at the pout stretching across her face at his response. She let go of his shirt as he pushed the cart towards the produce section, Y/N ready to ice him out for a bit out of spite, until he continued. “‘Course I like you, sweetheart.”

Nearly tripping over a display case of cup ramen noodles, Y/N felt her body go both hot and cold as Yoongi simply slunk away with the cart, tail curling placidly behind him as if he didn’t say anything out of the ordinary. The nerve! Heart racing, she managed to pluck up the rest of the vegetables on the list that she could remember, spotting Seokjin not too far away merrily stacking cartons of strawberries in his arms. 

With the groceries in the trunk and the three hybrids safely buckled into their seats, Y/N dragged them to the hardware store and blasted in and out to pick up a basic toolbox for Jimin. The coyote hybrid had wanted to get started on stable work that morning, but because of the inclement weather, he was stalled and Y/N wanted to get him some new tools to cheer him up. 

Beside her, Seokjin was humming along to a Radiohead song on the radio. Yoongi had let him take the passenger seat on the way back, which was probably best for Y/N’s nerves considering he had dropped the ‘of course I like you sweetheart’ bomb on her. Not that she had calmed down at all, with Seokjin seeking out her hand immediately as soon as he clambered into the car, idly fiddling with her fingers as she used her other hand to keep an unsteady grip on the steering wheel. 

“Just one more stop to make…” Y/N managed to squeak over the music, rain, and the blood rushing in her ears. 

Seokjin traced her knuckles with his fingertips, causing goosebumps to pebble up the flesh of her forearm. She didn’t have the guts to sneak a peek at him reacting to her clear enjoyment of his touch. Y/N was going to die an early death, and the cause of it would be the seven hybrids she adopted. 

A middle-aged man from the Best Buy store brought out Jeongguk’s camera after Y/N made a quick phone call for curbside pickup, not wanting to trudge out in the rain again. A box appeared in the window, and she tried not to frown, noticing the highly judgmental look on the man’s face as he looked from Y/N, to Seokjin and the way the jaguar hybrid was holding her hand, and even going so far as to peer into the back seat to raise an eyebrow at Yoongi and Taehyung. She could somewhat read the look on his face, typical dirty male thoughts as his eyes flickered back over her, zeroing in on the especially bruised bite Hoseok had given her on her neck.

“Thanks, have a good night,” Y/N ground out, wanting to yank the mustache off of the man’s face. Seokjin gingerly leaned over her body to accept the box, flashing the undeserving man a sharp-toothed beautiful smile. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you will too,” the man mumbled, clicking his tongue and promptly heading back into the store. 

Infuriated, and not knowing what the fuck that meant, Y/N swore at him while rolling the window up, adding a middle finger for good measure even though the man’s back was turned. She’d have to write a nasty Google review about that particular Best Buy. What was he insinuating?

“Wow, what a dick…” Y/N seethed, blasting through a yellow light so she could get home as quickly as possible. “Looking at me like I’m some sort of depraved sicko.”

“Don’t pay attention to those motherfuckers. Those are the type that think the purpose of hybrid adoption is…” Yoongi stopped speaking abruptly, noticing the dark look crossing over her face from the rearview mirror. She knew where Yoongi was going with that thought, and didn’t like it at all. 

Some perverse people would indeed adopt hybrids for the sole purpose of entering a sexual relationship with them, which filled Y/N with utter disgust. Adoptions should be made from a place of wanting to give a hybrid a home and offering friendship and protection, not simply to exploit them in that way. Seokjin softly squeezed her arm, her fury definitely palpable and coming off in waves. She didn’t care. 

“You’re not pieces of meat Yoongi,” Y/N snapped, the leopard hybrid’s eyes widening as she caught them in the rearview again. “He should’ve kept his mouth shut, it was fucking rude and the assumption is insulting. I’m sorry you three had to sit through that, I’m fucking livid… maybe I should call Ben and see if he can somehow dig up some dirt and get him fired…”

She had forgotten Taehyung was even behind her, silently witnessing her spiral into simmering rage, until she felt him gently pat the top of her head, reaching over her headrest. Somehow, that simple touch had her melting back into her seat, some of the red in her vision clearing away. 

“It’s okay. It’s happened before, it’ll happen again, people with dirty looks and assumptions. What matters is that we’re with you, and their opinions don’t matter,” Seokjin murmured quietly, his words wrapping around her heart and effectively making her hold back a swoon. By then, her anger was gone, and Yoongi struck up a conversation surrounding what he planned on making for dinner. 

When they got back, the three hybrids took care of the groceries, Y/N leaving Jeongguk’s camera in her car for the time being. As she unlocked the front door to the house, Taehyung gave her a one-armed hug, noticing she was still a little perturbed from the whole Best Buy dickhead exchange. She leaned into his strong frame, letting Yoongi in with his fistfuls of plastic grocery bags, humming as the Kodiak hybrid’s sandalwood scent calmed her down pretty much entirely. 

Shuffling into the house, she helped Yoongi put everything away in the kitchen, before parting with the three hybrids to seek out Jimin. She wanted to check if he was feeling alright, give him his new toolbox, and hopefully encourage him to scent her. Because she had work the next day, she felt anxious about leaving him for most of the afternoon if he started feeling even worse. 

Jimin’s door was closed, so she knocked carefully to alert him of her presence, however he likely heard and smelled her coming down the hall anyways. A somewhat hoarse ‘come in’ responded to her knocking, Y/N awkwardly shouldering her way in with the heavy toolbox. Jimin was lounging on his blue velvet chair by the window, which was cracked open and bringing the earthy smell of the rain in. His hair was neatly combed back and he was dressed in simple sweats and a long-sleeved cream cotton shirt, and he looked leagues better than he did that morning. Still, the way he death gripped the book he was holding, and the subtle twitch in his jaw seemed to be the cracks in his carefully constructed composure. 

“Good book?” Jimin nodded, his ears fluttering as he put the book down to listen to her more fully. “Got you something!”

Y/N set the toolbox down on the windowsill beside the chair he was sitting in, not noticing the way he stiffened as she got closer. What she did notice, however, was the sensation of piercing yellow eyes burning a hole in her face, which had butterflies battering around in her guts. She did a little ta-da jazz hands number, grinning at the coyote hybrid as he tore his eyes from her face to inspect what she was offering him. 

“Oh! Are these for…” Jimin began distractedly, swallowing thickly as if the room was filled with some kind of mind-altering gas. “This was on my list I sent you.”

“Mm-hm, I know you wanted to get out there today and start chipping away, and I figured you were a bit disappointed that the weather is inclement. I picked this up to cheer you up,” Y/N explained, wondering how on earth she could bring up the fact that he still hasn’t scented her. 

In reaction to her words, Jimin’s cheeks flooded with a peachy blush, Y/N resisting the urge to reach out and pinch them. For a few moments, they went over Jimin’s plans– he was going to fix up the chicken coop first, as it was the easiest job on the list– the rasp of the coyote hybrid’s voice pleasant in her ears as he spoke. He seemed to relax a bit after a few moments, scooching closer to the edge of the chair to talk to her. When she opened up the toolbox to show him everything inside, trying to wrestle a screwdriver out of its spot, her fingertips nicked the sharpened edge of the tool, making her hiss in pain as the metal sliced the skin of her pointer finger. 

“Ugh, I didn’t think those things could be so sharp,” Y/N whined pitifully, holding her injured finger up to her face, inspecting the wound with her lip jutting out into a pout. 

The atmosphere immediately changed, and it was almost like the room dropped several degrees in temperature. In her folly, she hadn’t registered Jimin’s sudden silence, the way his posture turned coiled and rigid, and his tongue swiping over his lower lip hungrily. Quite literally forgetting that she was standing in Jimin’s room and that he was even in front of her, Y/N flinched in surprise when the coyote hybrid wrapped his roughened palm around her wrist. Pausing, she stared at Jimin with widened eyes, his own eyes a bit more lidded than she remembered them when they were discussing chicken wire. He was focused on the blood running down her fingertip, a pointed tooth biting down on the flesh of his lower lip, his jaw clenching once again.

“I should probably get a bandaid,” Y/N whispered, Jimin’s grip around her wrist delicate but keeping her in place. “Jimin?”

Apparently her words were falling on deaf ears, the coyote hybrid pulling her closer to him as if spellbound, and Y/N was similarly dazzled as she allowed him to tow her between his spread legs. Cringing as she caught a whiff of her own blood, she blanched when Jimin held her injured hand delicately right in front of his face. Just like that, she was ensnared by the coyote hybrid, eagerly holding her breath. 

“Come here,” Jimin huskily broke the silence, mingling with the pattering of rain on his windowsill. 

He spread his legs further, tugging her down carefully, a muffled squeak coming from her as she found herself perched on Jimin’s left thigh, his free arm wrapped around her waist and her legs dangling between his. Briefly, she felt like she was sitting on Santa’s lap at the mall– but the thought disappeared as soon as it popped into her head. His thigh was strong underneath her, toned from likely years of being an equestrian, but his arm slung around her waist was gently secure and tender, contrary to the fact that he’d really just pulled her down onto his lap.

“J-jimin?” Y/N breathed, close enough to him now to hear barely-audible growls bubbling up from the back of his throat, his eyes slipping shut at the sound of his name. Most of her hybrids seemed to have similar reactions when she said their names– she distantly wondered why that was. “What are you…?”

Y/N knew pretty well what Jimin was doing, but she couldn’t find her words to encourage him with her looking at her like she was an angel that appeared in his bedroom on a cloud. After sending her a pointed eyebrow raise, Y/N made herself comfortable in Jimin’s arms, his lavender shampoo calming. Her heart was pounding still, the intensity at which Jimin examined her head-to-toe dizzying, and his ears perked up forward and alert when her breath began to come out in shorter huffs and puffs. 

“Is this alright?” Jimin whispered, slowly rotating her wrist by his lips, his voice so low and breathy she had to lean closer into his chest to hear him. She pulled her eyebrows together, because clearly it was okay– she wasn’t about to deny him an instinctual need, especially when the others had already done so before him– Y/N nodded either way. 

“Yes?” Jimin hummed, his grip around her wrist loosening so he could swipe up a drop of blood running down her wrist with a pointer finger, the growls in his throat becoming more audible by the moment. “I’m yours? You’re mine?” Going completely still with this utterance, Y/N gasped, unable to break away from Jimin’s penetrative, hazy gaze. She knew, with all of the experiences she had with the others, that they tended to say things that seemed to stem from a more instinctual area of their brain before they scented, but the coyote hybrid’s words held such meaning that she could hardly process them rationally. She was his, she was all of theirs, there was no denying– each of them had completely claimed a spot in her heart– there was no room for conceiving the idea of ever abandoning them, which she knew was a reason many of them held off on the ritual in the first place, thanks to information she had learned on the internet shortly before Yoongi had scented her. Jimin, however, needed further confirmation, which she was more than willing to provide.

“Y-yeah. Yes, you’re mine,” Y/N managed to stutter, feeling Jimin’s hand wrapped around her waist drop to her thigh and squeeze ever so slightly. 

Entranced, Y/N watched as Jimin pulled her wrist to his mouth, the only sounds now coming from the downpour filtering in from the cracked window behind the two of them. Keenly concentrated, Jimin ignored her blood, staining his own fingertip and running down her palm, choosing to pull the tender underside of her wrist to his lips at a glacial speed. Time was suspended, much of the rushed thrill from some of the scenting rituals she had been through with the others absent but the intensity still very much there. 

“You smell so sweet…” Jimin growled, the hand on her thigh flexing against her muscles briefly; and Y/N could almost detect thin restraint in the grip, Jimin was ever the gentleman regardless of his animalistic instincts.

With her eyes half-closed, Jimin at last brought his lips to her flesh, placing a hot open mouthed kiss by her wrist bone. The ample petals of his mouth were delicate, but the action was searing against her flesh as he basically made out with her inner wrist, his devious tongue peeking out occasionally to trace along one of the veins closest to the surface of her skin. Mewling softly, Y/N slackened her body weight even further into Jimin’s embrace, letting him fully support her as he mopped up some of her blood with a swipe of his tongue. 

“Jimin…” Y/N sighed dreamily once he passed over a particularly sensitive spot with a barely-there drag of his teeth, eyes drifting shut. “I–”

“Shhh…” the coyote hybrid shushed her tenderly, the pointed edges of his canines finally grazing what she presumed to be his chosen area to mark, Y/N hooking her free arm around Jimin’s neck without a second thought. “Just relax, I’ve got you.”

With a mixture of a groan and a primal growl, Jimin sunk his teeth into her vulnerable wrist almost painlessly, the action so smooth and sensual Y/N could only focus on the blissful expression blooming over the coyote hybrid’s sculpted face as soon as he broke skin. If she wasn’t limp before, she certainly was after that, Jimin’s plump lips wrapped around the edge of her wrist as he infused his scent with her own with his teeth buried in her flesh, and the cloudy sensation the bite brought on having her head lolling back onto the coyote hybrid’s shoulder. The calming scent of lavender enveloped her senses, and Jimin was being so gentle with her, she swore that she could fall asleep on his lap, listening to his measured breaths and the rain outside. 

Through fuzzy vision, she watched Jimin not only brush his tongue over the bite he created, but also clean the blood from her wounded finger as well, satisfied grumbles coming from his chest by her ear. Giggling at the ticklish sensation, Jimin hummed, now holding her hand gingerly as he took a look at the screwdriver injury, his lips dropping into a tiny pout. Y/N reached out with her free hand, still chuckling weakly, and poked his fleshy cheek, indulging in a desire she had been harboring since she adopted him. His eyebrow cocked up in response, a playfulness in his golden eyes as she withdrew her hand, and he decided to retaliate by completely taking her off guard– he brought her wounded finger to his lips and enveloped the tip of the digit into his mouth. 

Gasping, stared at Jimin’s lips wrapped around her finger, dissolving into utter shock as his tongue whirled around the cut, the minor sting disappearing under his ministrations. It was her turn to groan, not sure if the action of him tending to her wound in this way was sweet or total teasing on the coyote hybrid’s part. A distant part of her wondered if the soothing properties of hybrid saliva soothed all wounds, not just marks left behind by scenting, because it certainly felt like her cut was already treated and bandaged. He pulled the digit from his mouth slowly, never breaking the intense eye contact they were currently suspended in, Y/N realizing her hand around his neck was entwined with the cropped blonde hair at the base of Jimin’s neck, embarrassingly, tightly so. 

“Better?” Jimin’s ears twitched, likely picking up her accelerated heart rate, finally releasing her hand and brushing some hair from her face. “You’ll still need a bandage, but it should be soothed. And, you should be more careful, Y/N.”

Mumbling into his shirt, Y/N secretly agreed with him; if that was how he reacted when she got hurt, it was better for her nerves to avoid doing so at all costs. She focused on Jimin’s forgotten book, cast aside from when she first entered the room, and he was reading her old copy of The White Album that he must have swiped from the library. Distantly, she recalled something Alice once said– nothing more attractive than a man who reads Didion. 

“Alright, up you go,” Jimin cleared his throat, using his hand on her waist to nudge her up and forward, off of his thigh, standing with her as she got her footing. “I have some bandaids in my bathroom. Stay here, for a second.”

Jimin leveled a sweet smile at her, though his expression was serious and there seemed to be a few things floating around in his head, his eyes a bit far away. She shifted from one foot to another, humming as Jimin squeezed her shoulder softly before retreating to his bathroom, the sounds of him pawing through his vanity drawers making her ears perk up. Taking a moment to look around his room, it seemed that Jimin had made himself somewhat at home, though the room was quite unchanged compared to the day she brought the coyote hybrid home. The only things she noticed that indicated someone was occupying the recently renovated bedroom were bits and bobs on his dresser, which she neared closer to to get a good look. 

The knapsack that he had traveled from Montana with hung from a knob on the dresser, but the contents were carefully placed on the surface of the dresser. On the left hand side, the formerly crumpled hat he had pulled out of the bag last week was smoothed out and sitting by a lamp, a couple pieces of jewelry (a silver bracelet, silver hoop earrings) placed on a leather square, and on the right was his coiled belt and buckle, as well as a photograph. Footsteps approached before she could take a look at the photo, Y/N peering up at Jimin with a sheepish expression when he caught her snooping. Simply smiling at her, he took her wrist gently, peeling paper off of the bandaid he’d fetched and wrapping it around her little injury. Her eyes drifted back to the photo, the edges of it weathered and crinkled. 

“That’s me and my sister, I was twelve, she was nine,” Jimin plucked up the picture, offering it to Y/N gingerly. 

Taking it like it was made of glass, Y/N brought the photo closer to her face, a tinier version of Jimin grinning at the camera on the back of a palomino horse, one of his front teeth missing and a mini cowboy hat placed precariously on top of his head. In front of him was a little girl, his sister, with the same honey blonde hair and bright golden eyes, her cheeks rounded as she was frozen mid-laughter, Jimin holding onto his sister tightly while she gripped the horse’s reins. 

“Aw, Jimin! This is so sweet, you two are adorable, and you look so alike,” Y/N cooed, placing the picture back down on his dresser while still admiring it. She’d never been to Montana, but the nature surrounding the two young hybrids was gorgeous and wild. “I can find a frame for this, so you can display it properly.”

A pang of sadness spread through her chest, wondering if Jimin missed his sister, his family, and old life. Perhaps, in the future, there would be an opportunity for her to book a flight and take Jimin to visit his family– now that he was adopted and not on the run, there would be no reason for him not to go see them every now and again. 

“You meant it, right?” Jimin asked quietly after a few moments, Y/N tearing her eyes away from the photograph to search his eyes with confusion. “A few moments ago… am I really…”

Yours. Y/N knew what he was getting at after scanning his expression, the coyote hybrid easier to read than some of the others she had adopted. Humming, Y/N stepped closer, reaching out to squeeze Jimin around his middle, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He hesitantly reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her securely. 

“Yeah. You’re mine. I’m yours.”

After a drizzly night spent watching Masterchef and devouring some kimchi stew and rice to combat the damp chill of the outside, Y/N made her rounds saying goodnight early once more, once she had cleaned up the kitchen with Yoongi and finished untangling herself from Hoseok on the couch. Shockingly, each hybrid besides Jeongguk and Namjoon had given her a big hug before she crawled to her bedroom with enough heat in her cheeks to fry an egg on the flesh. Though he hadn’t hugged her, Jeongguk let her dab a bit of blood off of his face with a tissue when she said goodnight to him from his spot on the recliner, a piece of his velvet hanging loosely from one of his antlers as he bit his lip and stared at her. Namjoon simply smiled at her, dimples and all, saying he’d see her in the morning. 

Cursing when her alarm went off bright and early at 6:30 the next morning, Y/N sluggishly fumbled her way through her morning routine, blindly tapping out a wake up text with her toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. 

Y/N: Good morning boys, ready to leave by 7:15?

Seokjin: Morning Y/N :) Yes!

Namjoon: ^^

Y/N: Perfect, see you in a few

Y/N shimmied into her outfit, some linen pants and a black long-sleeved shirt trimmed with lace she had fished out of the back of her wardrobe, hastily throwing on some Stevie Nicks-esque makeup. If she was going to work at a metaphysical shop, she might as well look the part. Satisfied, she left her room with her tote bag, making sure her wallet and keys were in there. She wasn’t paying attention, so she stumbled into Namjoon in the hallway, the wolf hybrid making a sharp oof sound as she collided into his back. 

“Oh, sorry Joon,” Y/N wheezed, a bit of fuzz from the caramel sweater he was wearing sticking to her lip gloss and her head dizzy from smacking into a solid wall of back muscle. “In a fog… it’s so early,” she continued with a slight whine, Namjoon turning to face her with his face almost entirely pink. 

“Um, it’s okay,” the wolf hybrid managed, coughing into his fist awkwardly as he followed her to the kitchen clumsily. She needed coffee, ASAP– she hadn’t even noticed Namjoon had been taken off guard by a nickname that had rolled off her tongue accidentally. 

Yoongi was in the kitchen, naturally, still in his pajamas but placing items into paper bags. Of course, he already had her coffee ready for her, which had her reaching up to ruffle his hair in appreciation. Seokjin tiptoed into the kitchen shortly after, dressed neatly in a rose pink henley and jeans, excitement lighting up his orange eyes like a jack-o’-lantern. 

After slamming some leftover pastries Yoongi made the other day down their throats, the leopard hybrid was shooing the three of them to the front door by 7:15, Namjoon and Seokjin scrambling to the car while she hung back. As she began to wave goodbye to him, Yoongi grabbed her elbow, halting her. 

“Here, this is for lunch. Give one to each of the others, too,” Yoongi thrusted the three paper bags into her arms, making Y/N stare at him wildly. Yoongi made them lunch to go?

Unable to help herself, she leaned forward and up, planting a kiss on Yoongi’s cheek, the leopard hybrid squeaking in surprise the moment her lips touched the sleep-rounded flesh. Pulling away, Y/N saw Yoongi had gone rather statue still, mouth dropped open in shock. Giggling, Y/N made her way down the porch steps, casting one more look at the stunned leopard hybrid standing with the front door wide open. 

“Thank you, Yoongi! Have a nice day, I’ll see you tonight,” she called, waving at him with the lunch bags swinging in her fist. It felt nice to have somebody think of her, making sure she had something to eat midday. She’d have to pick up something extra delicious for dinner, in thanks. 

The weather was cool, leftover from the rain the previous day, so as soon as she slid into the car, Y/N hiked up the heat in the cab, though it hardly worked, shooting Seokjin a smile in the rearview mirror. He returned it, accepting the bag she offered him with slight confusion. 

“Yoongi made us lunch. Isn’t that nice?” Y/N sighed while settling Namjoon’s bag beside his thigh, flinging the car into drive and praying that she could beat traffic to get the two hybrids to the Boston Public Library in a timely fashion. Judy had told her to show up around 8:30, so she was definitely in a time crunch. 

“Why is this camera down here?” Namjoon asked after a few moments of listening to the tinny Rolling Stones tape she had begrudgingly put on for him, pointing to the box by his feet. 

“Oh damn, I have to wrap that…” Y/N muttered, honking at someone stalling at a green light. “I got it for Jeongguk, his birthday is on Thursday. I thought he could use it for his paranormal investigation, if he wanted to take it up again.”

“Are you throwing him a party?” Namjoon spoke again incredulously, picking up the camera box and examining it, from what Y/N could tell out of the corner of her eyes. 

“I guess the cat’s out of the bag! It’ll be just the eight of us, though. I like to celebrate birthdays. I ordered him a cheesecake last night, even,” Y/N relented, knowing she wouldn’t be able to hedge around Namjoon. 

“That’s sweet, Y/N,” Seokjin offered from the backseat, Y/N catching his eyes in the rearview, his scrunched up in mirth. 

“You two can keep a secret, right? I’m a little bummed I couldn’t keep it a surprise, now you know you two will be getting parties too,” Y/N pouted, jumping on the highway and cringing at a crackling skip in the tape. 

The two hybrids fell silent with this, as she predicted. None of her hybrids particularly enjoyed being the center of attention, apart from Hoseok, of course. She knew that Seokjin would definitely keep the secret since she asked, and Namjoon and Jeongguk were a bit on the outs at the moment, so she wasn’t particularly concerned he’d spill the beans to the elk hybrid. 

“So, since you know now, can you give me some ideas on what to get you for your own birthdays? I don’t want to pick out something you won’t like,” Y/N broke the silence, crossing her fingers over the steering wheel she’d get at least a semblance of an answer from either of them. 

“Um…” Seokjin mumbled timidly from the backseat, fastidiously staring out the window to focus on the bay outside of Boston. 

“I really wish that when I was brought into the shelter, I knew what happened to my trailer,” Namjoon spoke suddenly, stunning Y/N so much she accidentally stepped on the brakes by a ramp a little too hard. “I didn’t have much, but my tapes were in there, my books. It’s probably sitting in some junkyard now.”

“I can probably see what I can do about that,” Y/N began slowly, her mind already coming up with a list of all the junkyards and impound lots around Boston. 

“It’s alright. It’s likely it’s been cleared out, or impacted already. Uh… maybe you could find an old Walkman at a thrift store, or something,” Namjoon looked down at his feet, ears fluttering. 

“I’ll see what I can do about the trailer, I’m serious, Namjoon,” Y/N insisted, once again attempting to make eye contact with Seokjin through the rearview. “Jin? Come on, give me something to work with!” Y/N teased playfully, Seokjin clearing his throat and nervously wiping sweaty hands on his pants. 

“I don’t really know,” Seokjin admitted softly, causing Y/N’s heart to ache. Seokjin was in a lab most of his life, and spent more recent years performing in a circus– perhaps there wasn’t much time for leisure or exploring interests. “Maybe we could all go to a restaurant?”

“We can do that! After the book club, check out some local restaurant menus online, we’ll go anywhere you want,” Y/N encouraged brightly, finally managing to navigate into the city and minutes away from Boylston street. “We’re almost there, I’m going to call my mom so she can meet you two out front.”

By the time she hung up from her mother, who was nearly shouting with excitement in her ear, she was double-parked in front of the library. She told the two hybrids when exactly she’d be picking them up from the library later that afternoon, that they could hang out and read until the club started around 11. As soon as her mother appeared at the top step of the library, Namjoon bid her a gentle goodbye, eagerly exiting the car and jogging up the stony steps of the building. 

“I hope you have fun today, Seokjin! You can always text me if you need me,” Y/N watched as he unfastened his seatbelt, his tail curling around his waist in what she perceived to be in response to having to part with her. 

“Good luck at work today, Y/N,” Seokjin replied, giving her shoulder a light squeeze as he pushed himself out of the car. 

She stayed put until she saw her mother sling both her arms around the hybrid’s shoulders, talking to them animatedly as they disappeared into the library. Shaking her head, Y/N honked back at someone behind her, pissed that she was blocking part of the road, and set off to her new job. 

Taglist; @blancflms @grazysf @sbromp @jaxavance @sunderlight @ot7nem @mageprincess7 @wittyreader @drenix004 @mayla548 @skyys-universe @ddaeng-angmoh @trtlthts @exfolitae @kalala22 @xiusmarshmallow @bangtans-momma @zae007live @paigetj @singukieee @serendididy @lilacdreams-00 @dreamerwasfound @ninjacups @osakis-gf @itwillbealways-d @xthefuckerysquaredx @momowantscats @molshole @g-oomz @uarmyhore @lopprhe @oopscoop @xicanacorpse @i-like-anime13 @hemziii @demarie04 @im-sinking-in-mud @talkyoongitome @bangtxnbxunch @primrose2507 @kihyunniesmonbebe @7evensin @lilmxchis

Please do not repost or translate my work. Thank you!

[wildestdreamsblog]

BTS Members Masterlist

He had to make sure that the two of you would have the happy ending you and him deserved.

Kim Seokjin

Hiraeth - You had always been his, and anyone who tries to take you away from him will pay a dangerous price. 🍷🥃🍸

Drabble 1

Lover’s Oath - A man found frozen in time by a group of scientists turned out to be the rich missing heir of the Kim Clan. Oh, and he happened to believe you were his beloved. (Exlusively on Ko-fi)

Elysian - You thought it was just a harmless fun, an innocent and childlike flirting on your part when he never reciprocated your advances. Too bad you didn’t know you were flirting with the mafia prince.

Min Yoongi

You’re not leaving me - You were done waiting for him, done being alone in this relationship. But it turns out Min Yoongi is someone who won’t let go. Idol!AU 🍷🥃🍸

Latibule - In which you didn’t know who he truly was- until it was too late. Or in which he found heaven in you. Mafia/Detective!AU 🍷🥃🍸

The Story of Us - You wake up in the body of the second female lead in a manhwa, determined to rewrite your fate. No longer willing to be trapped in unrequited love for the elusive main lead, Min Yoongi, you set out to change the ending of the story. But leaving him behind isn’t as simple as you thought. As the lines between fiction and reality blur, the narrative begins to shift in unexpected ways—Yoongi, who was once only devoted to the main female lead, starts to see you in a new light. Can you escape the cycle of heartbreak, or will you find yourself entangled in a love story you never asked for?

Jung Hoseok

The more you hate - They say there is a thin line between love and hate. But they never told him crossing that was dangerous. Idol!AU 🍷🥃🍸

Kim Namjoon

Baby Fever - Yandere!Namjoon. The two times he said he wanted a baby and the one time he made one. Idol!AU🍷🥃🍸

And now you’re mine - Senator!Namjoon. You broke up with him almost a decade ago, so why was he now doing his evil ways to get you back to him? 🍷🥃🍸 exclusive ko-fi content

Kim Taehyung

Drabble 1

Jeon Jungkook

Nothing was gonna stop me - Yandere!Jungkook. Breaking up with him was not as easy as you thought. Idol!AU 🍷🥃

OT7

In All Lifetimes - Reincarnation!AU 🍷🥃🍸 Part: Prologue

In All Lifetimes - Second Life Kofi Exclusive

Mafia World

Might as well be drunk in love - love potion!AU

Might as well be drunk in love - Day 2 sneakpeak

Members reaction

Maknae line (when you try to break up with them)

Maknae line (when you caught them cheating kn you)

Hyung line (when you caught them cheating on you

Maknae line (when you try to move on from them)

Hyung line (when you try to move on from them)

Maknae line (when they realized they’re falling for you)

Vmin line (when you leave them during their military service) kofi exclusive

Hyung line reaction (when you visit them in prison to say goodbye)

Miscellaneous

3000 followers celebration

Exclusive Membership Content ✨

[beautifulpersonpeach]

im so confused about that taekook pic. is jimin trolling? it's like he's toying with us? pls plss plss don't forget this ask bpp. pls answer my asks. i don't get why everything feels fake about jikook, tkk, jimin. is he even happy? it's like hybe is pulling the strings and trying to confuse jimin stans to frustrate us.

*

Ask 2:

At this point I just feel like we're getting played with lol. By who and for what? I don't know. But I've felt this way ever since we got photos/video that jimin did in fact get a cake for his solo and I'm sure big hit saw what the fandom was saying about him not getting one and they still waited to announce that he did.

BTS just isn't fun anymore for me rn. There's just this tension surrounding everything. And not just with shipping. It's fandom wide blatant favoritism. Shifting confusing narratives from the guys themselves (Jungkook claiming he's not trying to shy away from the maknae image when that's all he's been saying for months now???). Tae doing whatever it is that he's doing (bless his heart chile). Namjoon seems to be a mess rn, I wanna give him a hug, he speaks like life is kicking his ass. And our jiminie, I can't get a read on but he seems happy. And the other 3 being in the army so they're not causing trouble lol.

These taekook pics from jimin, hmmm idk, maybe it's his way of telling people he doesn't care about the backlash, and tae bringing jungkook up constantly, and we should back off.

It's all a mess. I never thought I'd long for the day we'd get a real break lol. I WANT to miss them.

I don't hate them. This is just exhausting. It's like them and the company are trying to be strategic with everything and it feels a bit disingenuous? Idk if that's the word. Maybe disconnected is more the word. And I know they've always been strategic in the things they do, so idk why this feels different to me.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble in your inbox lol

*

Ask 3:

Something feels wrong about suchwita. It feels forced. Am I the only one who feels Hybe is doing damage control with jikook to contain the fallout from Golden? BPP I'd like to hear what you think about vminkook's date, suchwita revealing the travel variety in context of all the controversies that happened lately. Does Jimin just not care about taekooker hate? He might be kind but he's still human.

*

Ask 4:

I give up on Jimin. Tired of stanning a grown man letting himself get played for a fool. Hybe, you won. Gloat away BPP. You and the rest of the OT7 cows win.

*

Ask 5:

BPP your asks about that RM - FACE credits controversy from Pjms reminded me of one debate I saw btw flat earthers and scientists. It's the most fascinating thing I've ever seen. The part that made me think of you is how flatearthers called the scientists uneducated, said they did their own calculations and made their own observations to arrive at fringe theories that disputed the wider consensus. I found it so strange how both scientists and flat earthers could observe the same thing but reach widely different conclusions. I know you've been going over and over with solos for some months so I hope this can make you laugh a bit BPP.

https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=Q7yvvq-9ytE

***

Hi Anon(s),

Lol, Anons in asks 1 through 4, why are you letting your minds torment you over things that should be obvious? Anon in ask 5, you sent me that ask last week, but it feels apt to post it now given the sort of asks I've gotten in the last few hours.

How many times can we go over the sort of conspiratorial thinking that plagues people who eventually become akgaes, thought patterns that have been shown several times this year to be completely misguided? If the only conclusion you can reach after everything we've seen in the last 10 months, after seeing Jikook, Taekook, Yoonmin, Vmin, and Yoonkook's conversations recently, is that 'someone' must be trying to pull a fast one on you, then maybe you should take a step back.

Honestly, in my opinion, you all fit the profile of people who should engage with k-pop very sparingly. Most times, I've observed these sort of views (also in the case of flat-earthers) are caused by gaps in foundational knowledge about the subject coupled with personal implicit biases. I see this happen all the time, and it's unfortunately the sorts of people who think like this who only get further sucked in, to the point they lose any semblance of a reference point. If you're still at the point you're asking these questions, especially Anon in ask 1, 2 and 3, there's still a chance. I'd suggest a clean break, a detox period, and very limited exposure going forward but starting from scratch and actually watching official content from the early years. A lot of people who joined the fandom post-2020 have only seen compilations and selected clips of BTS's formative years, and so they lack the background to better interpret everything that's happening in Chapter 2 - from why HYBE wouldn't respond to akgaes whining about cakes by posting it right away, to how vminkook have behaved throughout Chapter 2.

Listen to how you feel and please step back.

With flat earthers it's funny because in a bid to be skeptical, to 'question everything' so they aren't "played as a fool", they end up becoming just that. For most other people there's no joke, but for them the joke is always on them.

*

Thanks for the video, Anon in ask 5. But rather than make me laugh, it did the opposite. The conclusion of the video is that no flat-earther, not one, changed their minds after debating with the scientists. I had a theory that the people who end up as akgaes were always going to be that regardless of any arguments that run contrary to their beliefs, because at the heart of it, it's not about the arguments but about them. But I hoped I could be wrong. Extrapolating the conclusion of this video to my theory, the suggested implication is bleak as hell.

Anyway, stream Golden and enjoy jikook jikooking. Sounds like we're about to get a full calendar of content.

[flurrys-creativity]

Found Family

Pairing: Kim Namjoon (BTS) x GN!Reader; slight OT8?!; Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship AU, some Angst, some Fluff, suggestive at one point, Found Family trope; Rating: sfw, NC-17; Warnings: mentions of Namjoon being a bad boy, mentions of child abuse (Jungkook is the “child”), a physical fight including insults and punches, bruises and split knuckles, nudity, a little suggestive, hints of sexual activities, nightmares, lots of bickering, overworking; Wordcount: 12.367

Summary: People would say Namjoon was someone dangerous. Not to you though and not to those you cared for. You realised that when Namjoon helped you saving Jungkook from his abusive father. You also realised it when your old college friends and Jungkook’s friends visited more often and continued to stay at your place. That crazy bundle of people was his found family.

A/N: I rewrote this story sooooo many times... and I basically only wanted to write that “save JK” part... now we have a lot more

“Are you awake?”

You groaned and turned away from the voice beside you. “No”, you mumbled and pressed your eyes close, hoping to cling to the faint sensation of sleep. It had taken you hours to somewhat feel tired. 

Sure, you kind of noticed that someone had entered your bedroom and laid down next to you, but deep inside of you, you had hoped you could still continue to sleep.

A deep chuckle filled your ears.

You sighed heavily, accepting sleep wasn’t meant for you just yet. You turned back around and searched with your hand through the dark until you linked fingers with another hand. “I didn’t expect you tonight”, you whispered, a smile ghosting over your lips. 

Even though you wanted to sleep you were happy in his presence. His natural scent engulfed you and put you further under his spell.

Namjoon’s calloused fingertips painted small figures on the back of your hand as he chuckled again. “I haven’t visited you in a while now. You’re early in bed though. What are you up to these days?” He squeezed your hand before his gaze flicked up to your face. 

The dim light of the moon outside of the window behind him illuminated your face just enough to see your reaction. An annoyed scrunch of your nose and a downcasted look.

“Work. It has been a little tough lately.” Another deep sigh fell from your lips as you once again started to repeat the list of duties you still needed to fulfil inside of your head. Whenever you finished a task, somehow three new tasks appeared on your list and it felt like you weren’t getting anywhere.

“Wanna talk about it?” Namjoon moved his free hand to your face and brushed a few strands of hair behind your ear, leaving his hand on your cheek.

You contemplated his question, not wanting to escalate and spill all your troubles like a waterfall without any end in sight. On the other hand talking about it could relieve your stress and maybe give you an idea what you could do with some of your problems. Kind of like scientists used rubber duckies to find the solution to a problem.

“Hm?”

“Are you willing to be my rubber ducky?”

Another deep chuckle rang through the air, making every fibre of your body tingle. “Rubber ducky, hm?” Namjoon snickered again. “I’ll be anything you need.”

You smiled, feeling your heart flutter in your chest. Even though people considered him as a bad guy, he was nothing but sweet and understanding towards you.

You had met him at a party during your first year of college, where he got into a fight with a group of students. You can’t really remember what made you walk over to them, telling the guys some kind of lie and watching them scurry away until you were alone with him. At first Namjoon had blocked any of your attempts to talk with him but you on the other hand were quite persistent. 

Ever since that party you met him around campus every now and then. Your presence was somewhat refreshing in Namjoon’s opinion. You never pried into his private life, silently patched his wounds up while talking about your classes without asking him where he got those. He knew you were curious, seeing the dozen questions in your eyes, so he appreciated it even more that you didn’t question him.

Namjoon squeezed your hand again, reassuring you to let your emotions out whenever you were ready. You sighed and scooted closer to him, leaning your forehead against his chest until it nodded in sync with the movement of his chest when he breathed. A tremble ran through your whole body, thinking about the new workload on top of your shoulders and the fact you’re already struggling. “I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to fulfil all the requirements.”

He hummed lowly, knowing there was no use suggesting changing or even dropping out of some classes. You would never give up on the extra credits that might be useful later on.

“I feel like I’m slowly giving up. Even you noticed that I’m in bed early. Usually I stay awake studying or preparing for classes but here I am. In bed. Doing nothing.” You sighed and closed your eyes, a list of things you should be doing appearing in your mind. “I offered to tutor younger students for one of the classes I had during the first semester. Maybe that was a bad idea though.”

“Are there others tutoring too?”

“Yeah, there are five others with me. We should be working together and checking in on what topics we want to cover next but none of them answered my emails so far and I really don’t have the energy to run after them.” A small pout appeared on your lips and tears pricked at the corners of your eyes. 

Namjoon softly wiped them away with his thumb, kissing the top of your head. “I know you wouldn’t drop the tutoring”, he said, scoffing in amusement when you nodded, “but I suggest you simply do your thing. You reached out to them and if they don’t answer you it’s not your fault. Ignore them, do what you think is right and everything will work out in the end.”

“What if I get in trouble for not working with them in the end?” You sniffled silently, rubbing with the palm of your hand over your cheeks. “I really don’t wanna get in trouble.”

Namjoon rubbed over your upper arm, placing soft kisses on your forehead, temple and cheeks. “How about you take some time tomorrow to create a tutoring plan and send it to your professor? If they tell you that’s fine with them, you’re good to go.”

“So I’m not giving up right now? Maybe I should get back up and work some more.”

You were about to push yourself up, when Namjoon wrapped his arms around your body and pulled you close against his. “Absolutely not. Resting is just as important. You’re staying here with me and trying to relax a little.”

You sighed deeply but relaxed in his hold nonetheless. Even though a part of you still worried and wanted to keep working, you could see and most importantly understand his reasoning. “I’ll cut my lunch break short to do that then.”

“Not sure if the guys let you do that”, Namjoon chuckled and readjusted both your positions until he felt comfortable and closed his eyes, ready to drift off any given moment.

You groaned and hid your face in his chest. You had somewhat ignored that you usually met your friends during lunch. Even though they were quite understanding, neither of them would accept you cutting your lunch break short for work. Especially not Jin, who basically lived for food.

“I’m trying anyway or do both at the same time.”

“Good luck with that”, Namjoon mumbled, struggling to stay awake after a long day.

You stretched yourself and placed a kiss on his jaw line. “Next time I’m all ears for your day.”

Namjoon chuckled softly and patted your back. “Appreciated.”

Soon enough both of you fell asleep and when you woke up the next morning, you were alone again. Only a note was left on the pillow next to you. Namjoon often left before you woke up in the morning, sneaking out of your apartment the way he got inside. Even though you didn’t see him as someone bad or dangerous he was extremely conscious about your image and tried to hide his connection with you. Which you ignored much to his dismay.

You smiled sadly, wishing he had stayed a little longer as you read the note with a scribbled heart at the side. Nobody would think that such a giant loved to create cute little things like this note and you liked knowing this side of him. It felt like a side exclusively for you. With a soft sigh you placed the note inside a little box you kept in a drawer next to your bed. Every note found its place there. Sometimes you grabbed the box and read through the notes again - especially when you hadn’t seen Namjoon for a while.

After stretching one more time you got up and ready for the day, going to classes, doing assignments and forgetting about everything else. 

Only when you met Jin right before lunch break did you remember that you were meant to meet the group and that you did forget to eat at all during the morning. When Jin found out while you two walked to the cantine, he immediately started scolding you.

“Sometimes I think you should become a rapper”, Yoongi said as he joined you two, shaking his head in amusement upon hearing Jin simply continue nagging you. “What did you do this time?” He looked you up and down with a soft smile, knowing full well Jin’s rants could be unreasonable from time to time.

“Forgot to eat”, you admitted shyly, laughing awkwardly when Yoongi stared pointedly at you. 

“Well, I’m not gonna judge you since I’m definitely not better.”

“Not better at what?” Hoseok joined the group and looked expectantly between the three of you, grinning brightly as a greeting. 

“Eating regularly.” Both you and Yoongi answered in unison.

“That’s not good for your health!”

“I’ve been trying telling them that ever since we met each other”, Jin sighed dramatically, “but they won’t listen to me.”

Yoongi only shrugged his shoulders. “If food wasn’t necessary I would ignore it completely.” You nodded along, thinking about all the time you could use otherwise instead of cooking or preparing three meals a day.

“Would you eat at all if we didn’t meet for lunch every day? What are you eating during the weekends, Shorty?”

“Cereals.”

Jin smacked his forehead before he glared at you. His gaze told you, you shouldn’t be sounding so proud when saying that.

Yoongi snickered next to you, mumbling he only ate take out - if at all. 

You giggled as well, bumping your side into his, showing him silently you understood. 

As soon as you all sat down at a table, you pulled out your notebook - ready to do the workload you wanted to do while eating. You didn’t even notice the stares of your friends on you as you quickly typed away. You bit on your lower lip, struggling with the wording of the paper.

“Put that notebook away and eat!” Jin glared at you and then stared pointedly at the food next to you that slowly turned cold.

Hoseok leaned over to you, reading over the things you’ve written. “What class is that for? I don’t recognise the topic.”

“It’s a lesson plan for the tutor class I’m holding.”

Yoongi scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think you already have enough on your plate? Someone else should hold them. Do you even get enough sleep?”

You looked up from the screen with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t talk to me about sleep, Grumpy”, you gently scolded him, pointing out he had days where he only consisted of energy drinks and coffee. Days where you stopped by and brought him ramen or any other kind of fast food. “Seeing your hands I have a feeling you’re not getting much sleep either.”

Hoseok and Jin both shot their gazes towards Yoongi’s hands, surprised to see several band-aids on his fingers.

“Where the hell did you get these from?”

“What did you do to get hurt?”

You smirked triumphantly while Yoongi sighed and shot you one single glare, silently getting off of your back. “I bought an old house.”

“You bought what?” Instead of focusing back on your notebook like you had planned, you shut it and looked at Yoongi with wide eyes. Despite having seen his fingers you hadn’t thought about that.

“An old house.”

“Why?” You asked the question the other two had on their tongues as well.

He shrugged his shoulders again. “Felt like a good investment.” Yoongi barely finished his sentence before the others bombarded him with more questions.

You listened intently, your initial workload completely forgotten. You couldn’t fathom getting a house while still being in college, you even struggled to know what you wanted to do the next week. So thinking about your own home in the future seemed like something far off in the distance.

“If the house is nice we could stop crashing at Y/N’s place”, Hoseok thought out loud, followed by Jin agreeing loudly and Yoongi groaning in despair. 

You giggled softly. “That does sound like a nice idea. My living room gets easily crowded with more than two people in there.” You winked teasingly towards Yoongi as he glared at you. “I even promise to help you renovate the house in exchange.”

“Fine.”

Jin and Hoseok immediately joined that promise and started to make plans for when they could come over and what needed to be done.

You slowly tuned out of the conversation again, looking over your own schedule with tight lips. Even though you definitely wanted to help Yoongi, you already felt the dread clawing at your insides, knowing you had less time to prepare other things.

“Hey, Y/N?” Hoseok waved his hand in front of your face, grinning once he caught your attention again. “You should come to my dance class after your tutoring sessions. We can go to Yoongi’s together once my classes finish as well.” He pointed at the open slots on your schedule with his finger.

“You don’t expect me to dance though, right? I could prepare for the next class during that time if you don’t mind.” A pained smile crossed your face and you hoped he would simply agree with your suggestion.

“Alrighty! Though I can’t promise you, you’ll follow your own request.” He grinned once more and patted your shoulder.

~~~

Over the last few weeks you somehow managed to get some sort of rhythm with all your duties - even if it meant less sleep and sometimes no meals because you were too focused on a task. Though as long as you functioned it was alright.

You tried not to stress over little things like Namjoon always told you but seeing that only one student from the first semester came to the tutoring session did get under your skin. You placed your bag on the table at the front with a heavy sigh. “There is some sort of unwritten rule that if there aren’t more than four students the tutoring doesn’t have to..”, you couldn’t finish the sentence, feeling slightly upset with the fact you couldn’t keep the students, “you can go home if you want.” With that you turned away and stared blankly at the desk in front of you, trying desperately to keep your tears at bay. 

“I’d still like to get the tutoring session.”

You jumped up and turned around with wide eyes, surprised the young male hadn’t left the room. You quickly wiped over your cheeks and blinked a few times. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t mind but maybe we can go over stuff you don’t understand instead of the plan I made.” You waited hesitantly until he pulled his books and notes out. With a soft smile you grabbed your own bag and walked over to his seat in the last row, sitting down right across from him. “Thank you”, you whispered and looked down on his notes, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

During the tutoring you often drifted off topic with questions Jungkook asked you, listening to your stories with wonder in his eyes. Soon enough you realised he didn’t mind talking about other stuff than the topics for his class. Though you only realised it once you looked at the time and saw that you were already supposed to be at the dance studio. “I’m so sorry for keeping you over time!” You jumped up and packed your stuff, mumbling more apologies to the young man. “I didn’t realise what time it was. You should say so next time! I didn’t want to keep you away from home.”

Jungkook flinched at the mention of home though when you stopped to look at him with a questioning gaze he played it off and told you he had fun today and didn’t mind staying behind. He ever so slowly packed his own stuff as if he tried to buy some time.

You wanted to question him but before you could open your mouth your phone started ringing. You apologised again with a pained smile and rushed out of the room, accepting the call and immediately saying that you were on your way.

Slightly out of breath you reached the dance studio and quickly slipped into one of the training rooms. You plopped down on a bench at the side of the room with a soft sigh, leaning against the wall behind you with closed eyes. You heard Hoseok’s voice over the music and opened one eye with a small smile on your lips. 

A group of dancers tried to follow his choreography in the middle of the room, focused on his every movement and call.

“You’re late for class”, a deep voice whispered next to you.

You laughed softly and shook your head, getting rid of your initial surprise. “I’m no dancer. I’m just a friend of Hoseok and waiting for him.” You stretched out your hand and introduced yourself.

The man next to you followed with his own introduction, explaining he currently couldn’t dance due to a twisted ankle but his friend refused to go alone to the dance practice - hence why he sat on the bench.

Even though you had planned on working while waiting on Hoseok, Taehyung pulled you into a conversation - way too happy he had found some distraction in you. Within half an hour you knew quite a lot about him and his friend Jimin, which made you wonder why you still didn’t know a thing about Jungkook despite having talked with him for over ninety minutes.

This thought stuck with you and gnawed at your insides. No matter where you were or what you did, your mind constantly went back to Jungkook. You were distracted during the renovations - being basically of no use - and even later during your nightly study session. The constant distraction continued the day after and after that too. By now you were sure that thought even plagued you in your sleep.

If you could fall asleep that is.

“You’ve been twisting and turning around for a while now. What’s on your mind?” Namjoon wrapped an arm around you and pulled you against his sturdy chest, finally ceasing your relentless moving.

You sighed heavily and tried relaxing into his hold but the second your muscles relaxed, alarm bells went off in your head again. You groaned and pressed the palm of your hand against your forehead. “It’s just this kid. I can’t seem to shake it off thinking about him. I don’t even know why and I will see him tomorrow during the tutor session again but… I don’t know.”

“Tell me more about this kid.”

You frowned, trying to find the beginning of whatever you wanted to say about Jungkook. You also struggled to keep his identity a secret since you weren’t supposed to talk about your students. Everything you experienced with them was supposed to be confidential.

“As long as you’re not saying his name, you’re not breaking any rules.”

A small pout formed on your lips. He knew just too well what you were worrying about. And so you told him everything. Everything except the name. Though it wasn’t much to begin with, only the few things you had noticed over the time you spent with Jungkook.

From him being extremely quiet over him only wearing long sleeved, baggy clothes despite the heat up to Jungkook always staying behind and wasting as much time as possible before going home.

While you were talking, Namjoon tensed unconsciously.

“What’s wrong?” You stopped talking as soon as you realised how tense he was.

“Next time you see that kid”, he swallowed harshly, “don’t let him go home.” With that Namjoon stood up and rushed out of your room.

You sat up, worry lacing your features. The reminiscent warmth next to you slowly faded underneath your fingertips. You weren’t able to fall asleep that night. 

You didn’t know much about Namjoon but you knew he avoided his emotions and more importantly avoided letting others see his emotions. But from his reaction you knew it had to be something serious.

You dragged yourself through the whole day until the tutoring session, seeing Jungkook already sitting in the classroom and doodling on a piece of paper. 

You still didn’t know what to do. How were you supposed to keep him away from his home? You were his tutor and at the end of the day you had to let him go, no matter how much you would have extended his stay. You also didn’t want him to think you were punishing him for staying behind.

Jungkook didn’t seem to think that at all. His smile brightened whenever he glanced towards the clock and noticed more and more time passed.

Yet when your phone rang - just like last week - his smile immediately vanished. He slowly started packing his stuff, knowing it was the end of the tutoring after all.

You noticed the shift in his mood and bit on your lower lip, remembering Namjoon’s words from last night. “Hey,” you started hesitantly, catching Jungkook’s attention instantly, “would you like to tag along? I’m going to the dance studio around the corner. If you want to, we can continue our discussion while I wait for my friend.”

You’ve never seen Jungkook pack his stuff this quickly, making you laugh quietly. Within seconds Jungkook stood next to you, eager to follow you to the dance studio.

Though once you reached the dance studio, Jungkook got so distracted by the practice held by Hoseok that he couldn’t concentrate on anything you said. “I’m sure you could join them if you want to”, you said loud enough to get his attention - even for a short moment.

He stared at you like a deer caught in headlights, contemplating what you said in silence. His gaze wandered to the dancers following Hoseok in front of the large mirror, longing to join them.

“It’s alright”, you reassured him, smiling softly and basically shooing him away from the bench you two were sitting on.

Hoseok grinned at you through the mirror as soon as he noticed the newcomer dance along. You had mentioned the situation only briefly when you two had arrived and Hoseok wasn’t one to question it - at least not as long as it wouldn’t be harming you or any of his friends.

You could be resuming to study for one of your classes but somehow you were transfixed on Jungkook and his dancing. He quickly followed along, grinning like a kid on the morning of its birthday. Though during a jumping move your breath got caught in your lungs. You only saw a glimpse of his torso but you were sure you saw several bruises.

You kind of hoped to see Jungkook’s torso again to confirm it but throughout the rest of the practice it never happened.

Jungkook came back to you like a little puppy, practically glowing from the inside after the joy he just experienced.

“You should come by more often”, Hoseok told him and patted his shoulder, turning to you then. “Where did you find such a natural?” He laughed brightly and grabbed his duffel bag. “Ready to head to Yoongi’s?”

You smiled and shook your head, being used to Hoseok just asking one question after the other without even waiting for an answer in the first place. “Don’t remind me. There’s still so much work to do at his house.”

For a moment you even forgot Jungkook still stood next to you, shifting from one foot to the other. Only when Hoseok turned to him again and asked him if you two should drop him off somewhere did you focus on him again.

To your surprise Hoseok managed to convince Jungkook to drop him off at his home before you two wanted to head towards Yoongi’s new house.

Yet when you two did exactly that, your stomach twisted in pain. You silently watched Jungkook walk up the patio of the simple suburban looking house and after a moment of hesitation vanish into it.

Hoseok drove off again, humming cheerily along to the radio on the way to Yoongi. 

Yoongi and Jin sat on the Hollywood swing they installed a few hours ago, waiting for you and Hoseok to arrive. Jin lazily waved with his hand as Hoseok parked in front of the house, jumping out of the car and skipping up the few steps towards them. 

You on the other hand only stepped out of the car and looked over your shoulder. Something inside of you begged you to get back, begged you to get to Jungkook.

“Y/N?” Yoongi stood up, noticing something was wrong. 

“Namjoon wanted to stop by, in a bit, don’t worry!” 

Even though Jin’s words should be reassuring and comforting to you, you could only muster a pained smile. “I have to get back.”

“Back to where?”

Yoongi ignored Jin’s question and grabbed his car keys, tossing them to you without a question. With a quick movement of his head he pointed to his car.

You mouthed your thanks and rushed to his car, getting in and driving back to Jungkook’s place. 

You couldn’t stop thinking about him, couldn’t ignore the guilt flaring up inside you and the vision of the bruises but most importantly you couldn’t stop thinking about Namjoon’s reaction when you told him about Jungkook.

You arrived back in the suburban area. Some of the houses looked a little worn out, with colour splitting from the walls or graffiti tainting the once beautiful surface.

You stopped the car in front of a small house with only two stories and the porch. Most of the curtains were closed and if you hadn’t seen Jungkook entering the house prior you would have thought nobody was home.

Biting on your lower lip, you got out of the car and walked to the front door. You raised your hand, about to knock against the wood, but your knuckles hovered over it. 

You heard screaming from the other side of the door and something crashing, making your stomach drop with dread. You swallowed harshly and finally knocked against the door. 

Waiting.

You knocked again, this time even louder than before. 

You heard heavy footsteps behind the door before it was nearly ripped out of its frame with the force the man used to open it.

“What?”

You flinched at his brute tone, quickly blinking a few times before you were able to recover. “Hello Mr. Jeon? I’m Jungkook’s tutor.”

“Did that brat cause trouble?”

Your eyes widened in shock when you heard how negatively he talked about his own son. “No, no”, you rushed out, “not at all. I stopped by because I forgot to give him some important notes. He needs them for the upcoming exam.”

“I can give them to him”, he grunted and stretched a hand out towards you.

You laughed nervously, brushing some strands of hair behind your ear. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to give them to him personally. There might be some things we need to make clear.”

“If he’s too dumb to understand the notes it’s his problem.”

“I’m sorry to disagree with you, Mr. Jeon, but as his tutor it’s my duty to make sure Jungkook understands what the notes are about.” You stared at the man in front of you, keeping eye contact despite wanting to turn around and just leave.

The man looked you up and down with an uninterested look. He resembled Jungkook a lot, you noticed, just a little older and less boyish. He wore a suit, with his tie loosened around his neck. If it weren’t for his tousled hair and the hard look in his eyes, you might even like him. But something about him, set off the alarms in your head.

“Could you please get Jungkook?” You tried again, your eyes darting to the area behind him, hoping Jungkook would appear in the hallway any minute.

“No.”

You tensed and looked back at the man in front of you.

“He’s unavailable at the moment.”

“When will he be available then? I really need to speak to him.” You pressed, the unrelenting feeling in your stomach gripping you even harder than before.

The man scoffed and leaned down to be on eye level with you. “Why wouldn’t you be able to give that brat the notes tomorrow? What is the real reason a young and pretty tutor needs to talk to him?”

Your eyes widened in shock, swallowing harshly at the indication in his question. 

Before you were able to redeem yourself in front of him, you felt a presence behind you. Mr. Jeon straightened again and stared behind you, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Get the kid”, Namjoon ordered lowly, and for a moment you weren’t sure who he was talking to, “I’ll take care of this bastard.”

You jumped slightly, when Namjoon pushed you into the hallway, before he attacked Mr. Jeon, pressing his arm against the man’s throat and holding him against the door frame.

You hesitated, staring at Namjoon, whose face was twisted with rage. You’ve never seen him like this and it somewhat scared you.

“Go!” He growled, glaring towards you for just a second.

You turned around and hurried further into the house, gently calling for Jungkook. You found him on the kitchen floor, dozens of glass shards around him. He had his eyes closed and didn’t react when you had called for him.

You rushed into the kitchen and dropped on your knees next to him, ignoring the glass cutting through your pants.

“Jungkook? Hey, can you hear me?”

He groaned and opened one eye, turning a little on his back so he could look up to you. “Y/N?” Jungkook coughed badly and writhed in pain. “What are you doing here?”

You had tears in your eyes. You had the feeling this wasn’t the first time Jungkook was mistreated and you were shocked you hadn’t seen it earlier. Even disappointed in yourself for not understanding the signs sooner. Yet, Namjoon had caught on to them immediately.

“Getting you out of here”, you whispered, your voice broken from the tears you tried to hold back. “Can you get up?”

Jungkook pushed himself up, closing his eyes in pain. He breathed heavily and halted for a few seconds before he was able to look at you again. This time with both his eyes open. 

“He wouldn’t let me leave like that.”

You bit on your lower lip, your heart breaking from the hurt tone in his voice. “Don’t worry about that. You won’t stay here a second longer. Not as long as I’m here.”

“He’s going to hurt you as well.”

Before you were able to answer, a loud crash interrupted your conversation. You winced slightly, hearing Jungkook’s father screaming in rage. “Fucking scum! How dare you lay a finger on me!”

Jungkook stared towards the general direction of the commotion, before he slowly turned to you. “What..”

“Let’s just hurry, okay?” You asked with a forced smile. “We get some of your stuff and leave.” You helped Jungkook up on his feet.

He leaned half of his weight onto your smaller form. Something you hadn’t noticed before. Even though Jungkook was younger than you, he was already significantly taller.

Jungkook directed you towards his room, where you placed him on his bed before you grabbed a large bag and started throwing in clothes and other necessities. Once the bag was full you grabbed his college bag and stuffed books, his notebook and more into it.

“Do you need anything else?” You asked and looked around his room, unsure what else to pack.

Jungkook watched you warily before he leaned over and pulled one stuffed animal from underneath his pillow.

You softened, seeing him holding the plushy with trembling hands. “Hold it in your hand. We wouldn’t want it to get squished in the bags, yeah?”

A crooked smile played over his lips as he nodded, pushing himself up again. Without saying anything he hoisted the bigger bag up on his shoulders and dragged himself over to take the other bag as well.

“No, no, no”, you pulled the heavy bag away from him, “I’m going to carry this one.”

Jungkook nodded and slowly walked out of his room, his hand continuously hovering over anything near him, ready to catch him at any time.

You hurried next to him, wrapping your free arm around his waist to steady him. You guided him through the hallway and only stopped when you saw Namjoon wrestling with Jungkook’s father.

“Namjoon!” You called out, fearing he was about to kill the man with the force he put behind his punches.

Both men stopped fighting briefly, staring at you and Jungkook. 

Namjoon softened upon seeing your fear-stricken face. “Get out”, he mouthed towards you, “I’ll see you tonight.”

You wanted to nod but instead a scream escaped your throat as Mr. Jeon punched Namjoon square in the face. He pushed him off and quickly stood up, staggering towards you and Jungkook.

“You can’t take this brat!”

You froze and stared at the man with wide eyes. There was no way for you to fight back against him. Definitely not with Jungkook leaning on you for support. You saw Mr. Jeon raising his hand, ready to hit you.

Instinctively you closed your eyes but before you felt the impact, you were spun around. You opened your eyes again, facing away from Mr. Jeon. Instead Jungkook stood between the both of you, taking the hit of his father.

You gasped in shock, the slap ringing loudly in your ears. 

“GET OUT!” Namjoon yelled and pulled Mr. Jeon away from you and Jungkook, punching him over and over again.

Jungkook didn’t hesitate and pulled you out of the front door. He tried to walk most of the way on his own but at the same time he was glad he could lean on you, afraid he would fall otherwise.

You looked back over your shoulder, scared for Namjoon, who stayed back in the house. Even though you knew he was able to stand up for himself, you were still scared he would get injured badly.

“Y/N?” Jungkook’s weak voice pulled you out of your worry. “Where do we need to go?”

“That car.” You chided yourself mentally, needing to focus on the task at hand. Jungkook was injured and you needed to get him away as fast as possible. You threw the bags into the trunk and helped Jungkook on the passenger seat, before you sat behind the wheel yourself. You looked back at the house one last time. Then you started the engine and drove towards your own home.

“How bad are your injuries?”, you asked and glanced towards Jungkook shortly, quickly focusing back on the road again. “Should we stop by a hospital?”

“No hospitals please.” Jungkook leaned his head against the window, his eyelids heavy. “I just need some rest.”

You glanced at him again, doubt playing over your features. “If you don’t want to go to a hospital, would it be okay to let a friend check you? He studies medicine and is close to becoming a doctor.”

“A friend?”

You hummed, focusing on the street ahead.

“Okay”, Jungkook whispered, “if it’s a friend I’ll trust him.” 

Soon after you arrived at your home and helped Jungkook into your living room. He passed out minutes after you sat him on the couch. While you brought his bags into the room as well, you dialled the number of Jin, waiting patiently until he picked up.

“What’s up Shorty?”

You ignored his teasing and cut straight to the matter. “You need to come over!”

“Are you finally asking me out on a date?” He laughed loudly, and you could imagine him wiping away a stray tear.

“Jin, please. I need your help.”

He immediately sobered up, upon hearing your desperate tone. “What’s wrong?”

“I need you to come over and check up on someone”, you explained quickly, moving over to Jungkook and carefully sitting down next to him.

“Okay, what happened?”

You heard Jin rummaging through some things on the other end of the line. As well as the murmurs of Hoseok and Yoongi.

“I found him passed out on the floor.”

“A few more details, Shorty. I need to know what I should take with me.”

You quickly explained everything you could think of, waiting for Jin to ask a few more questions, which you answered as well.

“Alright, I’ll be there in ten.”

You thanked him and cut the call, placing the phone on the little table in front of you. Your gaze drifted to Jungkook. 

His face twisted in pain and a small whimper left his lips as he slightly moved. He clutched the stuffed animal to his side, his fingers digging deep into the plush.

You gently brushed a few strands of hair out of his face, watching him silently. You smiled sadly when your eyes landed on the plushy, an old, pink bunny. 

A knock on your door ripped your attention away from Jungkook. You quietly hurried to your door and smiled in relief seeing Jin standing in front of you. “Thanks for coming.”

He hugged you briefly and motioned you to guide him to his patient. “You didn’t tell me he passed out.”

“I thought he was just resting. If I’m correct he always just rests.” You frowned in thought, nibbling on your lower lip as you started to worry.

“So you’re telling me now he had ‘accidents’ like this more than once?” Jin cocked an eyebrow and kneeled on the floor next to Jungkook. His fingers carefully lifted Jungkook’s hoodie, revealing dozens of bruises - some a deep purple while others already faded into a yellowish green.

You gasped in shock, eyes trained on the bruises, realising he had some of them for weeks. And you only noticed today.

“It’s good you got him out of wherever that was”, Jin mumbled, gently palpating the boy’s upper body. “No broken ribs. At least something positive.”

Jungkook suddenly sat up, pushing Jin away and crawling to the end of the couch. He stared with wide eyes towards Jin, his whole body trembling.

You slowly walked into his line of view. “Jungkook? Hey, how are you feeling? You apparently passed out?” You glanced towards Jin, who nodded with your statement. “I told you about my friend, right?” You carefully sat on the edge of the couch, still keeping a little distance from Jungkook. “The almost doctor?”

“The what now?” Jin protested but you shushed him immediately, ignoring how he mumbled he was a real doctor already.

“That is Jin. He was checking up on you. I’m sorry we scared you. Do you need a minute to collect yourself? I think Jin needs to check a bit more when you’re ready for it.”

Jungkook’s eyes darted towards you and he slowly relaxed again. “Are you going to stay here with us?”

“If you want me to stay I can do that. Though I don’t mind giving you some privacy as well.” You smiled gently. 

“I think it’s better when you get out of the room, Shorty”, Jin jumped into the conversation. “I’m sorry but after I saw your torso, I have to ask you to take off most of your clothes. I need to check if there are any more severe injuries that need immediate treatment.”

A blush appeared on Jungkook’s neck and cheek and he quickly avoided looking at you.

“I could just turn around?” You suggested, feeling Jungkook didn’t want you to leave. “I promise I won’t look.” With that you turned around and faced your bookshelf, reading the titles of the books one after another. You heard some rustling behind you and for a second you really wanted to turn around and look, especially because Jin gave no reaction at all.

You were about to read the titles of your books for a third time when Jin cleared his throat and told you that you could turn back around again.

Jungkook sat awkwardly on the couch, clutching his pink bunny against his chest while Jin sat on your small couch table. 

“No strenuous tasks, no sport and a lot of rest.” Jin told him, glancing towards you every now and then, as if he wanted to make sure you would keep an eye on that as well. “I assume you’re staying here?”

Jungkook turned to look at you, unsure what to answer.

“Yes”, you jumped in and nodded quickly, “I’ll prepare the couch as soon as possible. And then you’re free to stay as long as you want to.”

“Then I suggest, you, young man, rest up and don’t move around, while Shorty over here prepares your bed and I’ll cook something so you can regain some strength.” Jin clapped into his hand and stood up, stretching his body shortly before he walked towards your kitchen.

Soon enough you heard him curse loudly. “How the hell are you able to live?! There is absolutely nothing here to cook anything at all!”

“There is!” You shouted back from the living room, struggling to get the sheets on the couch.

“Instant ramen is NOT actual food!”

“You’re able to eat it, are you not?” You grunted and fell onto the makeshift bed, pushing yourself up again and blowing some strands of hair out of your face. “Then it IS food.”

“Don’t argue with me, woman!” Jin shouted and stomped out of the kitchen. “I’ll be back soon, but I need to buy stuff. I really can’t believe you’re still alive. Do you even eat regularly?! I swear to god, Shorty. I told you to stop only living off of instant ramen and coffee or energy drinks. That is NOT healthy.”

You sat back on the couch again, pushing some hair back before you crossed your arms in front of your chest. “I know it isn’t healthy but it IS the only way to get through all required tasks.”

“Required, my ass”, Jin laughed and shook his head, “you do too many additional classes. They aren’t necessary!”

“Of course they are! It looks better on my degree with all that stuff.”

Jin sighed. “Whatever, I’ll be back in a few.”

You blew a strand of hair out of your face as you let yourself drop back against the couch, a small pout adorning your face.

“Y/N?”

You turned to Jungkook, your features softening immediately as you saw his doe-like eyes. 

“You only called him a friend but you two seem very close.”

You scrunched your nose in amusement, remembering how a lot of people assumed the same thing whenever they saw you together. “Yeah, only a friend. My best friend but nothing more. We kind of vibed immediately and just became closer over time. Jin is somewhat part family to me. Like a brother even? Or maybe a weird uncle?” You laughed lightly and shook your head quickly. “He’s there whenever I need him, which is great.”

“And the other man? The one you called Namjoon?” Jungkook was curious as to how you were connected with that man. He observed you squirm on the couch, a soft smile playing over your features. 

You weren’t able to answer though when both your and Jungkook’s head snapped to the crash coming from your bedroom.

Without hesitation you stood up and walked to your room.

“Wait”, Jungkook whispered harshly, one hand stretched out for you, “you can’t just walk in there without any sort of protection.”

You were about to tell Jungkook it was okay when the door to your bedroom opened and Namjoon stumbled basically into you.

You quickly wrapped your arms around his middle, trying to steady him in your arms as he leaned against you, his head resting on top of your shoulder.

“Hey”, he breathed lowly, one of his hands squeezing your hip momentarily, “are you okay?”

You gently brushed his hair out of his eyes and kissed his cheek. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that question?”

Namjoon hummed, ignoring your question. “How’s the kid?”

You looked over your shoulder to Jungkook, who observed you two with wide eyes. “I think you should answer that since you know best.”

His eyes widened even more, but he was able to stutter his answer, thanking Namjoon as well for saving him.

“That’s good”, Namjoon hummed, his eyes closing and his body getting heavier.

You struggled holding him up and hurried with him over to the couch, nearly dropping his larger form onto the cushions. 

“Should Jin check him as well?” Jungkook asked and looked at Namjoon, seeing a few cuts on his cheek and arms.

“He never allows it”, you sigh and move him into a more comfortable position, “but he also experienced worse. Some food and sleep should do the trick again.”

The front door opened again and Jin walked into the room with a bunch of bags full of groceries. “Hey Shorty, guess who I met at the store?”

You looked up and blinked a few times, praying he didn’t just invite whoever he met over to your place.

“Grumpy and Happy!”

You couldn’t help yourself but snort at their nicknames, remembering how Jin came up with them one day during a lunch break. 

“I thought they were at Yoongi’s? Did you invite them?”

“I wanted to but they wanted to get back to the house, yeah. So I invited them for the next weekend. You should be free, right?” Jin walked further and vanished into your kitchen, rummaging through the bags before he was able to start cooking. “It’s nice to see the whole crew here again.”

“It would, but why my place? You guys always leave such a mess! Can’t we go to Yoongi’s house then?” You whined and trotted after Jin, pouting greatly when he turned to you and only shrugged.

“Stop pouting and take care of those two. I’ll take care of the food.” He gently pushed you out of the kitchen, snickering when you still pouted.

You thanked him unwillingly and walked back to the living room, seeing Jungkook staring at Namjoon with wide eyes. He sat stiffly on one side of the couch, not daring to move at all, while Namjoon had his eyes closed and seemed to be passed out.

Your gaze turned to Namjoon, noticing how his knuckles were split open and bruised. A soft sigh left your lips as you walked to your bathroom and got your own first aid kit, not wanting to use Jin’s stuff without him next to you.

You walked back to Namjoon and kneeled on the floor next to him, gently taking one of his hands to clean them.

Namjoon hissed and wanted to pull his hand away but your grip on him was strong enough to hold him there.

“Will you stay tonight?” Your voice was barely above a whisper but you knew Namjoon still heard you.

“Are you sure you want me to stay?” Namjoon mumbled and pried an eye open, observing your reaction. He had seen the fear in your eyes earlier today. The fear you had due to him. Not the situation, not the other man. No, fear of him.

“Please.”

He closed his eye again and relaxed slightly. “Then I’ll stay.”

The corners of your lips twitched shortly into a sad smile, glad he wouldn’t just leave again. You silently cleaned his hands. Once you finished you were about to stand up and bring your kit away again, when Namjoon grabbed you by the waist and pulled you down on the couch, trapping you between the backrest and his body. You squealed and giggled lightly while your legs dangled over his body. 

“You’re not hurt, are you?” He nosed against your neck, taking in your scent. Namjoon wrapped his arms around your middle and held you securely in place, growling lightly when you tried to get up again.

“I wasn’t the one fighting.”

“Hmm. You got attacked though.”

You placed a hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead with a soft smile. “Jungkook saved me back there.”

Namjoon hummed again before he sat up and turned to the younger boy. “Thanks kiddo.”

Jungkook blushed slightly from the attention on him now, so he quickly nodded and looked away again.

At that moment Jin walked into the living room, carrying a tray with food and dishes. “Something easy on the stomach, for you guys.” He glanced towards Namjoon, hesitating for a moment before he spoke again. “That bruise on your jaw doesn’t look too good.”

“No need to tell me you’re more handsome. I know that already.”

“That’s not what I meant”, Jin sputtered, his ears turning red, “I wanted to suggest giving you an ointment for that.”

Namjoon lightly touched his jaw, still feeling the throbbing from the punch earlier. He winced shortly and pulled his fingers away again. “No need, but thanks.”

You narrowed your eyes, not happy with his answer, but he ignored your staring. Instead he grabbed you and pulled you between his legs, pressing your back against his chest while his arms snaked around your middle and gently rested on your lap. “You can kiss it better later tonight”, he whispered in your ear with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Not in front of the kid you two!” Jin scolded him and sat next to Jungkook, giving him a double serving.

“You guys know that I’m an adult, right?” He tentatively asked, looking between Namjoon and Jin. 

“Compared to my age you’re a kid.” Jin said and Namjoon nodded along, while you rolled your eyes.

“It’s not that they don’t see you as an adult. But calling you kid gives them the chance to pamper you.” 

Jungkook grinned brightly, while Jin and Namjoon tried to argue against your explanation. 

“So, if I were you, I’d take it.” You smiled as well, loving the flustered looks on both of your friends.

During the meal you saw Jungkook getting more and more lively, especially with Jin. Both of them bickered whenever they had the chance to do so. It made you happy seeing that carefree side of him again.

Jin stayed until late into the night, helping you with cleaning the kitchen and living room after the meal. When he left, he reminded you of the meeting with your friends during the weekend again, telling you he’d revive the group chat to plan some stuff.

It didn’t even take him a minute after he left before you heard the ping of your phone, the melody you used for the group chat playing through the room. Knowing he was still standing in front of your closed door, you loudly called him an idiot, smiling brightly when you heard him laughing and finally leaving.

As you returned to the living room you saw Namjoon had already gone into your room, leaving Jungkook sitting on the couch like a lost puppy. You walked over to him and placed the blanket and pillow for him on the prepared part of the couch. 

“It’s not much but I’ll find a solution for the future, I promise. The bathroom is down the hallway and you already know where my bedroom is. Should you need anything you can come to me any time, okay?”

Jungkook nodded and thanked you softly, waving you goodnight before you left the room. He looked around the room, checking where all his stuff stood. He still couldn’t fathom this was real. Somehow Jungkook still believed he was just dreaming and would wake up any minute - back in his own room and back with his father. He was scared to fall asleep, fearing it would trigger this dream to end. Still, he crawled onto the makeshift bed after turning off the lights, clutching his pink bunny close to his chest.

You tiptoed into your room, careful not to make any sound in case Namjoon already slept. You were about to change into your pyjamas when Namjoon grabbed you and pulled you onto the bed, caging you underneath him. “So you’re still awake”, you whispered with a small giggle.

“You know I only sleep well with you in my arms.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on your lips, the kiss turning more and more desperate with every passing second. 

You could feel how he battled with himself, even though you didn’t know what was the cause for his inner turmoil.

“I’m sorry”, he breathed once he broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against yours, “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”

“Don’t”, you whispered and pulled him down onto you, ignoring the fact you were only halfway dressed. You gently ran your fingers through his hair as Namjoon rested his head on your chest, listening to your steady heartbeat. “There is no need to apologise. I don’t expect you to protect me all the time. Just like I don’t expect you to walk for me. I have to walk on my own and sometimes I will fall. I can’t avoid that. You neither. But you can help me up again so I can continue to walk. So even if you don’t protect me, I’m happy when you’re by my side and help me afterwards.”

Namjoon’s grip on you tightened and you knew he wasn’t agreeing with you on that. Ever since you met him, he always wanted to keep you safe, to keep you protected.

Silence came over the both of you and even though you wanted nothing more than to rest and leave the events of the day behind you, your mind couldn’t calm down. You restlessly fidgeted with your fingers and squirmed underneath Namjoon every now and then.

“What is it?” He asked gruffly, not able to rest himself with your behaviour.

“I’m sorry”, you whispered and patted his head softly, “I just. I didn’t want to ask with Jungkook around. But his father..” You couldn’t finish your question, too scared of the answer.

“He’s alive if you want to know that.”

You breathed out in relief, not even realising you had held your breath to begin with. “Okay.”

“Not that he deserved that though.”

“That’s not our call to make.” You kissed Namjoon’s head and finally relaxed underneath him.

“What if it were though?” Namjoon pushed himself up and stared down at you, trying to suppress the smirk upon seeing you still only halfway dressed. “If it were our call, what would you choose?”

You sat up as well, starting to get rid of your clothes as you wouldn’t be able to sleep in them. “I don’t know. Probably the reason why I didn’t want to become a judge.”

Namjoon stopped you from reaching for your pyjamas, leaving you in your underwear. “You really don’t have the slightest wish to just end that scumbag’s life?”

“What if I had?” You looked Namjoon straight in the eyes, not wanting to miss a single reaction. “What if I wished for something even worse than death? What if I wished eternal suffering for him because he abused his own child? What if I wished I could be the one making him suffer for the rest of his life?”

A smirk appeared on Namjoon’s lips. “I corrupted you too much then.”

You scoffed and hit his chest playfully. “And here I was working on your redemption.” 

Namjoon snickered and pulled you on top of his lap, his large hands gently gliding over your exposed skin on your waist. “And how would you do that?” He cocked an eyebrow, challenging you to an answer.

You gently grabbed his wrists and moved his hands further up your torso until they rested on your breasts. “With my heart”, you paused and moved your hands away from his, unclasping your bra, “my soul”, you slipped out of your bra and leaned forward over Namjoon, “my mind”, you kissed his lips before you whispered into his ear, “and my body.”

“Damn you, woman”, Namjoon breathed out, his eyes sparkling slightly upon squeezing your breasts and feeling your bare skin underneath his fingertips, “you really drive me crazy.”

“That’s a sign it’s working.” You grinned and kissed him again, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Then it’s working damn well”, he grumbled against your lips, moving his hands now down to your ass as he pulled you closer against his body.

~~~

Later that night you woke up in Namjoon’s arms, his body still pressed flush against yours from behind. You sleepily rubbed your eyes, wondering why you even woke up to begin with, when you heard screaming.

Alarmed, you pried yourself out of Namjoon’s arms, threw his large shirt over your body as well as your panties, and hurried out of your room. You quickly followed the screaming to the couch. Without a thought you rushed over to him, running over to his side where he was thrashing around in his sleep.

“Jungkook”, you crawled onto the couch as well, avoiding his limbs as much as you could to shake his shoulders. “Jungkook, wake up! It’s a bad dream.”

The young man gasped loudly when he woke up. His eyes darted frantically through the dark room until he focused on your shadowy figure next to him.

“You had a nightmare, sweetheart”, you whispered and sat next to him, opening your arms if he wanted to have a hug. You knew from your own experience you always craved a warm hug after a nightmare, but you wouldn’t force one onto him.

Jungkook looked at you for a second longer before he started to cry and crawl into your arms, bawling his eyes out while you soothingly rocked him from side to side. He hid his face in your lap, the tears slowly but surely staining Namjoon’s shirt, while Jungkook had his arms wrapped around your middle, shaking with every sob that escaped his mouth.

You hummed some sweet melodies as you ran your fingers through Jungkook’s hair, calming him with every stroke.

“Can”, Jungkook hiccuped, “can you stay here?”

“Of course I can. If you think it will help you sleep again.” You smiled softly, looking down on his trembling body. “It’s going to be alright. I promise.”

Soon enough Jungkook drifted back to sleep but his grip on Namjoon’s shirt and his hold around your middle never loosened up.

After a while you passed out as well, sleeping in that uncomfortable position until Namjoon woke you up the next morning, sending you a questioning look, as to why the kid was half curled onto your lap.

He helped you get out of Jungkook’s strong grip until he suddenly whimpered.

You immediately turned back to Jungkook, humming lowly and running your fingers through his hair.

Namjoon made a sound of understanding in the back of his throat, kissing you on the cheek and leaving the room again.

It became a somewhat regular occasion at night that you woke up and walked over to Jungkook, calming him down again after a nightmare. On rare occasions Namjoon would wake up before you and do the same.

The first time you had woken up in your bed due to the missing heat. Confused, and still pretty sleepy, you had gotten up and searched for Namjoon. Even though he didn’t directly live with you, he would always tell you when he would leave again and since you didn’t get a note, you were slightly on edge.

Your nervosity died down when you found Namjoon, humming a melody in a sleepy tone, with Jungkook curled over his chest. It took everything within you to not squeal at them loudly for how cute they looked.

Instead you had crawled onto the couch as well, snuggling up on Jungkook’s other side and wrapping your arm around his and Namjoon’s body.

On the even rarer occasion where Jungkook would wake up from a nightmare before you and Namjoon, he would knock at your bedroom door, waiting until you or Namjoon let him in. 

It reminded you slightly of a small child needing to feel the protection of its parents after a nightmare. And thinking about it, even though Jungkook was of legal age, he probably had to grow up early on, not having the opportunity to be just a child when he was young.

Normally Jungkook was too embarrassed when the morning arrived, pretending to be the strong adult again, but more often than not did you see that innocent child in his actions. Be it playing with a puppy when you all visited the park for a picnic, be it playing games on his phone while sticking his tongue out in concentration or even the excited sparkle whenever you had a small surprise for him.

Even Namjoon mentioned to you that Jungkook was more of a child than an adult, receiving a gentle slap from you on his arm as you told him to let Jungkook be. Namjoon immediately used that chance to tease you, telling you how much you resembled a mother with your behaviour around Jungkook.

“I’m no mother”, you squealed and tried pushing him away, laughing loudly when he caught you and held you hostage in his arms.

“Not yet”, he mumbled into your ear, gently nibbling at your earlobe.

“Not in front of the baby!” Jin shouted as he slammed the door to your apartment open, Hoseok and Yoongi following him.

“We’re not even doing anything!” You yelled back and rolled your eyes, getting up to greet them anyway.

“I didn’t know you had a baby”, Hoseok said excitedly and hugged you just as tight as always. “Congrats to the mother!” He looked over your shoulder to Namjoon. “And the father.”

“Why do I have the feeling whatever Jin said wasn’t referring to an actual infant?” Yoongi grumbled as he mustered your reaction.

“Because apparently Jin has decided to turn Jungkook younger than he actually is.”

“You have a child?!” Hoseok practically screamed and grabbed your upper arms, shaking you slightly. “When did that happen?! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US?! Who is the godfather?”

You wanted to cry or rip your hair out in despair, though your irritation settled with a simple twitch of your eyelid. “I don’t have a child either.”

“Then who is Jungkook?” Hoseok tilted his head to one side, resembling a confused dog with his large, questioning eyes.

You sighed and moved out of Hoseok’s grip. “Jungkook is my student. Remember the naturally talented dancer? That’s Jungkook.”

“So where is that student of yours?” Yoongi walked into the living room, greeting Namjoon on the way before he sat down on the couch and got comfortable. His eyes quickly moved towards the door upon noticing a movement.

You followed his gaze, seeing Jungkook nervously stepping from one foot to the other. When you two locked eyes, his basically screamed for help. Before you were able to bribe him though, Jin had found him standing in the doorway as well.

He immediately walked over to Jungkook and slung his arm around the younger one, pulling him into the living room. “This is Happy”, Jin introduced and pointed towards Hoseok, who was grinning from one ear to the other and waving excitedly towards Jungkook. “And this is Grumpy.” Jin now pointed at Yoongi, who glared at the older man, rolling his eyes once he deemed there wouldn’t be a correct introduction from him.

“Actually their names are Hoseok and Yoongi”, you said and briefly explained why Jin called you and those two by nicknames.

Jin ignored your statement and pulled Jungkook towards the couch, placing him right next to Yoongi. 

“Maybe Jungkook should have invited some friends over as well to feel less uncomfortable”, Yoongi mentioned while grabbing a pamphlet for takeout.

“Oh, the more the merrier! It would have been so much fun!” Hoseok agreed and nodded excitedly.

Your gaze wandered from your friends to Jungkook, feeling your stomach drop when you saw how timid he sat on the couch. “I didn’t even think about that”, you admitted. “I’m sorry.”

Jungkook quickly shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.” 

Despite that you continued to worry about it. You glanced at Jungkook every now and then, drifting deeper into your own thoughts. You’ve never seen him with one of his classmates. You wondered whether he had friends outside of school but somehow your intuition told you there were none.

“Hoseok, are you still working as a dance instructor? Once Jin gives the go, is it possible for Jungkook to join your dance classes?” 

You piped up again when Namjoon suddenly asked Hoseok that question.

“Yeah, turned into a full-time job now”, Hoseok answered with a bright grin, “I even changed majors for it!”

“Then Jungkook and I could stop by again?” You asked quickly, leaning forward and imploring Hoseok’s eyes. You missed Namjoon’s knowing smirk, having guided you towards a direction that somewhat helped you out of your worrying.

“Of course!” Hoseok clapped into his hands and jumped up, showing some smooth movements to an inaudible beat. “You’re always welcome!”

You turned your attention to Jungkook. “Would you like to go again? It could be an escape from hanging around me all the time.” You laughed softly, remembering at one point in your life you needed your alone time from everything and everyone.

Jungkook nodded hesitantly, mumbling something about not minding being around you and immediately getting teased by Jin for that.

You smiled and leaned back, satisfied you found a way for him to get in contact with some peers. “Would you mind joining us?” You whispered towards Namjoon, who had wrapped his arms around your body again, pulling you close against his body. 

“I’m no dancer”, he simply told you and kissed your temple, watching with you how Jungkook warmed up to your group of friends.

~~~

Ever since that afternoon Jin, Yoongi and Hoseok have dropped by your place more often. Especially Jin, who made up the most ridiculous excuses to visit. At one point Yoongi simply agreed with such an excuse and came over as well, ignoring your stares throughout the night since you couldn’t believe he would do such a thing.

It took you a while to understand why Yoongi did such things, until you watched him place some of his food on Jungkook’s plate once he noticed the younger one ate all his meat.

“How is your house coming along?” You asked Yoongi casually. “I’m sorry I haven’t been helping you out as much anymore.”

Yoongi shrugged with his shoulders, placing more meat on Jungkook’s plate. “It’s not done but I’m able to live in it now.”

“That’s awesome!”

“Eh.” Yoongi scrunched up his nose, not entirely agreeing with you. “It’s quite spacious.”

Jin immediately chimed in, grinning brightly as he laid his arm around the smaller man's shoulder. “So you want all our meetings now at your place. You could have told us so!”

You grinned awkwardly and turned your attention back to Yoongi. On one hand you’d be delighted to meet up somewhere that wouldn’t get as crowded as your living room but on the other hand you didn’t want to pass the problem to someone else.

“You guys would be staying for a day or something and then the house is empty again, not really helpful.” Yoongi scoffed and rolled his eyes, scooping some rice into his mouth. He looked at you for a long moment before he shortly glanced over to Jungkook and the makeshift bed, he had been sleeping on for a month now, and looked back at you again.

“I’ve been meaning to ask”, he mumbled and you were barely able to hear him over he chattering of the others, “the house offers lots of space and rooms.”

You tilted your head to the side, unsure what Yoongi was hinting at. Your gaze wandered around the group and your - in comparison - tiny living room before it landed back on Yoongi. You frowned and blinked several times, gently shaking your head. 

“Your apartment is only meant to be for one person, yet three people are living in it.”

“Are you asking us to move in?” You turned to look at Namjoon, realising he followed the whole conversation already. You raised your eyebrows, silently asking him for his opinion and leaning further into his embrace.

“It would be nice for the kiddo”, he murmured into your ear, “and I don’t mind as long as we’re together.”

“You sound like a dad”, you teased him and kissed his cheek, giggling when Namjoong pulled you harder against himself while growling softly.

Yoongi cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of everyone inside the living room. “So? What do you say?”

You felt how all eyes moved to you, staring at you somewhat expectantly and curiously. “I don’t know what to say”, you answered him hesitantly, “it’s your home. I don��t want to intrude.”

“I’m offering you to make it our home. Jin and Hoseok already agreed to move in. It’s just you now.”

“But I can’t speak for Namjoon or Jungkook!”

Namjoon chuckled lowly and kissed your cheek. “I already told you I don’t mind where we live as long as we’re together.”

“And Jungkook here refuses to leave without you”, Jin added and jabbed the younger man’s side while laughing.

You looked at Jungkook with wide eyes, surprised to hear that. At the same time you noticed how he blushed and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.

“So?” Yoongi repeated his question. “What do you say?”

You shrugged with your shoulders, shaking your head in disbelief. “I, uh, I’m saying yes, sure, why not.”

~~~

It still took some time for you to pack and move out of your apartment. You were sure it would have been a lot more without Jungkook and Namjoon by your side, who both willingly carried all the boxes and bags, so you basically didn’t have to lift a finger at all.

At Yoongi’s house Jungkook got his own room on the same floor as yours and Namjoon’s room. He also spent more time on his own or tagged along with the others - especially Hoseok to join the dance classes, where he met Jimin and Taehyung.

Both of them regularly came over after classes, playing with Jungkook or even helping out with the continuous renovations. 

Somehow they fit in perfectly with the group. None of you ever questioned them being around and it happened more often than not that one of you even invited Jimin and Taehyung over.

~~~

You sat on the steps of the porch, observing the younger ones and Hoseok playing foot-minton on the grass. You nursed a glass of lemonade in your hands, smiling at the peaceful atmosphere. From inside you heard Jin and Yoongi cooking in the kitchen, bickering and sounding like an elderly couple.

Namjoon sat down behind you, gently pulling you closer into his lap and wrapping his arms around your middle. “What’s on your mind?” He kissed your neck and rested his chin on your shoulder. 

“That I might be pushing a few classes to a later point.”

He chuckled softly and tightened his hold on you. “What made you consider that?” He knew you must have been thinking about it for quite some time now as you actually said it out loud.

“I want to spend more time with you. With all of you. But with all the classes I barely have any freetime. I also decided to quit tutoring since all these brats don’t want to show up in the first place.” You laughed softly and leaned into Namjoon, resting your head against his chest.

“I like the sound of that.” 

“Not in front of the kids!” Jin yelled out as he carried two dishes out to the large table on the porch. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“At least the same amount of times as I have to tell you that we’re not doing anything”, you argued back, unable to keep the grin from your lips. “Also the guys aren’t our kids, Hoseok’s even the same age as Namjoon.”

“The way you’re mothering them they are your kids”, Yoongi chimed in, carrying more dishes out of the house.

You leaned around Namjoon to playfully glare at Yoongi. “Sure you’re the right one to say that? I could list you a whole lot of incidents where you’re basically worse than me. Do you want it alphabetically or in order based on the time?”

The bickering between you caught the attention of the players on the grass. “Honestly? All of you act like our parents at times”, Taehyung said with a snicker, laughing even more when Jimin nodded enthusiastically.

“Or better”, Jungkook added shyly, glancing towards you and Namjoon.

You smiled at him, stretching one hand out towards him. Your smile widened even more when he grabbed your hand. You pulled him towards you, giggling upon hearing his surprised yelp. Still, he wrapped his arms around you for a hug, basically melting into your embrace.

Taehyung and Jimin leaped forward, joining the hug with giggles. You weren’t able to see them but you felt Jin and Hoseok joining the hug as well, followed by some muffled groaning and another quick impact, indicating Yoongi joined the hug too.

“I gladly accept you as my family”, Jungkook whispered into your neck, tightening his hold on you. 

“You are part of the family. All of you.”

© all rights reserved  

Taglist: @xavi-in-kpopland​

[seokjinsonlyone]

Twin 👀🎶 where have you been 🎶🎶

You requested and I came/lh

This is less like a list and more like general thoughts I guess, but what do you associate the bts boys with? Like colors or songs specifically. Cause I always associate Joon with blue or like a forest green and Hobi with rainbow colors fr. I always also associate mf doom with Namjoon tho (I could go on about this and about bts individual rap influences but that’s for another day 🙃/lh)

But girlie how have we been? I hope you’ve been doing good 🫶

looolll twiiiinnnnn i’ve been good i think im a sleepy girlie all the time bc i wake up so early everyday but i’ve been well!! thank you for always askiiinnnggg 💞 and thanks for asking this question bc i love it omg

as for colors i don’t even know if there’s like a specific color i put them with personally i think i just go by their mic colors LOL

so joonie blue, hobi red, tae green, jk purple, yoongi black, jin pink, and jimin yellow although do i see jimin as yellow???? maybe white???? undecided on that front

as for songs tho hmmm

i know for sure earlier i was listening to for all the dogs again right and another late night came on and i was like oh i know me and tae would be vibing to this also idgaf with yeat like we would get down so bad to those songs fr but also! whenever i’m listening to like laufey or d4vd or any of those like alt pop jazz type songs i think of tae [another late night // drake ft. lil yachty | this is how it feels // d4vd ft. laufey]

when it comes to hobi like whenever i listen to j cole i think of him for obvious reasons LOL but also okay so during hobis birthday live in 2021??? he was wearing that blue and green sweater it was like a field and it had clouds on it anyway during that live he was playing all the r&b girlies so whenever i listen to like sza or summer walker mariah the scientist MUNI LONG 👀 i think of him like i just know he get it [no role modelz // j cole | love galore // sza ft travis scott]

so for joon i specifically remember him like live updating us on his listening progress when donda dropped so kanye and joon go hand in hand for me like sorry as problematic as he may be his music is so good especially like early 2000s ye like college dropout/graduation era unparalleled truly [all falls down // kanye | no church in the wild // kanye, jay z, frank ocean]

i associate jk with the (k) pop scene! so like the girlies like ms ariana grande newjeans lesserafim which i mean is his own doing like i’ve just seen him sing their songs one too many times like i can sooooo imagine him doing the smart choreo and it pains me that i won’t be able to see it 😪 and the boyssss like justin bieber primarily the kid laroi i remember he had a prettymuch song in his playlist once so when i listen to them i think of him but also silk sonic bc that album had him down bad in 2021/2022 [ditto // newjeans | stay // the kid laroi ft justin bieber | leave the door open // silk sonic]

now with yoongi obviously when i’m listening to trap music i think of him bc that’s the kind of music he be listening to so like 21 savage lil durk kendrick but also the other type songs i associate him with have less to do with him and more to do with the fact that his guitar became his third arm so whenever there’s like a more acoustic guitar based song brain goes yoongi <3 [a lot // 21 savage ft j cole | backseat freestyle // kendrick lamar | the only exception // paramore]

i’ve always felt that jin really just be listening to whatever top 40 hit he hear on the radio or is floating around the internet at the time so fr fr it’s not even any specific genre or style i associate him with like i could really see him listening to anything but i mean if i had to choose probably ballads the most i think bc that’s the kind of music he be singing OH and coldplay they go together obviously and frfr that like movie montage music like the kind of songs you would hear playing after the climax of a movie and the main protagonist is forlornly going through their days living through the consequences of their actions a how to save a life type beat kinda music [easy on me // adele | true love // coldplay // rich baby daddy // drake ft sza and sexyy red]

and finally we have mr park jimin i associate him with usher bc that’s his man crush so whenever i wanna feel the plight of a black man i throw on the confessions album and i imagine me and jimin getting into it i feel like i should associate him with hip hop more bc that’s what he be into like even after hearing face it just be throwing me off that thats the type wave he be on LOL i think it’s bc he’s my soft precious baby like he literally sang serendipity and then his this is jimin dance videos the stuck with you choreo like those vibes cannot be easily shaken [burn // usher | irene // jimmy brown | up down // t pain ft b.o.b.]

[ggukiejeonara]

안녕..!! This my first fiction on Tumblr. I'm a author on Wattpad as @Ggukiejeonara. I also posted this novel on wattpad, so check it out there;)

Posting on 16.01.2023

Love & Knight

Chapter - 1

1. | Characters |

This will give you the detailed information about their personality and their profession. There are few characters which will add on later chapters, I'll introduced at that time;)

There are many unlisted and unsayed mysteries and secrets which you'll know later if stick with this book "Love & Knight" :) ;)

• Choi Jiah

- 24 years 

- Kind-hearted 

- Fierce and Savage 

- Don't want to be in love, think it as overrated 

- Her Secret Code 462 [?] 

- Good at 'Taekwondo'

Profession - Cardiologist

• Ella

- 22 years

- Mysterious and Bold

- Best friend of Jiah

- Good at flirting

- Her Secret Code 420 [?] 

- Good at 'Karate' 

Profession - Psychologists

• Ara 

- 23 years

- Sharp-minded and Tough

- Night-owl and clumsy 

- Jiah's bestfriend

- Her Secret Code 360 [?]

- Good at 'Taekwondo' & 'Karate' because of her friend

Profession - Software engineer and Al expert

• Seo-Jun 

- 25 years

- Pervert and gives Bad-boy vibes

- Fierce and stubborn

- Have secrets

- The only male friend of 'Trio'

- His Secret Code 440 [?]

Profession - Lawyer (deal with criminal cases)

• Jiwoo 

- 10 years

- Cute and Emotional

- Have heart illness 

- Bubbly and love her unnies

- Friendly and quite savage 

- Her parents died when she was young

• BTS

Leaders of one of the biggest mafia gangs in Korea.

No one knows their undercover identities

Why? Because if someone wants to infiltrate or betray them they don't have any information to spill because their identities are always hidden

Still they're one of the famous Ceo's of South Korea 

• Kim Namjoon

Main leader

Very intelligent

In charge of plans and tactics when on mission

Give all the orders

Role: Leader and Brains of the group 

• Kim Seokjin

Eldest

Very caring about his members

Has a bubbly personality but can he dead serious when on mission

Amazing with healing wounds and treating injuries

Makes and creates potions/drugs/antidotes etc

Role: Scientist 

• Min Yoongi

Member call him as "Suga" 

Always front in battlefield

A kind of playboy 

Mess with him well…. there's no escaping 

Role: Killer

• Jung Hoseok

Has a jolly and bright personality but can also be very serious

Expert with technology

Keep eyes on their rivals

Keep their information, data safe

Cheerful and caring 

Role: Data Analyst 

• Park Jimin

Gorgeous but deadly

Sneaky

Flirt

Highly skilled at stealing

Can steal anything, money, weapons, girl's hearts 😏

Role: Thief 

• Kim Taehyung 

- Cold hearted, care for people he get attached to

- Tough, Fierce and stubborn

- Don't really care about others feeling

- Can do anything to complete his goals

Expert in making and handling weapons 

Profession - One of the famous business tycoon in South Korea 

Secretly a Mafia and member of 'Bangtan'

Role: Weapons Master 

• Jeon Jungkook

Youngest, most recent member of Bangtan

Hesitantly but voluntary joined Bangtan 

Very smart and talented 

Can break into highly advanced and protected technology

Loves all his hyungs more than anything

Role: Hacker

• Kang Eun-jae

Tall, dark man with brain

Person who only care about his profits 

Heartless and selfish 

Fierce, trap people in his talks

Playboy and think women as his robot 

Fight, to be killed is the only solution of his problems

[he'll add after 11 chapters]

[Taehyung × Reader] [Jungkook × Reader] [Jimin × Reader]

I don't any image and gif, credit goes to their respectful owner. This story is totally mine so don't copy or translate my novel no plagiarism !!!!

This series contain violence and erotic stuffs so if you're uncomfortable with this then don't go ahead;)

© Ggukiejeonara all rights are reserved

[aloneatpeace]

Hello there so I have questions about my fic two fic actually I was writting the bts fan fic and i apologise for hand I have no experience in writing what so ever . And the member are real right they're real people, it's not like when I write fic Derek Hale or sam Winchester they are fictional character right.

So I've been writing Apocalyptic world new chapter and it is set in decades in future and the reader is female but i do not mentioning the name , age , hair colour, eye colour , skin colour or body type or nationality this is for everyone you get it right.

As said I'm new and some of the fic I saw the word. 'Hyung' i know the meaning and older brother I got it from goggle and further 'unnie' 'nonna' wait there is one more and 'oppa'

Okey back to the matter I saw an article type of thingy where someone said bts fanfic are whitewashed or something i don't understand it or clearly remember it (i have the memory span of dory sorry for that).

And I thought is that a problem? If it is am i also doing it unintentionally? I don't know and Kim namjoon Kim seokjin min yoongi Jung hoseok park jimin Kim taehyung Jeon jungkook are real person right and I'm writing a fic with the. As characters but it doesn't have anything do with the real person.

Apocalyptic world taken place when the world is hit with nuke and solar flare and zombie and all that stuff going on and the world started again from new system and stuff and bunch of psychotic scientists trying to find cure by lock teens up and plotting all kind of tests .

So the wicked have children all over the world in name research and resuce they put to maze wiped their memory .

Take that in i thought maybe i shouldn't add 'hyung or 'unine' or 'Noona' or 'oppa ' and taking that as they were all same age so i didn't find any problem with it

But when I tried to write on new chapter of Fall of Empire. Which is set in historical period of time but it not accurate or real pure fiction( i hated studying history in class because i always mess up the years and numerous time I had to rewrite and huge as essay it still gives me nightmares.) So my question is should I add that all I mean no disrespect to any of them or anyone. again I want the reader inserted as I said before not mentioning the name , age , hair colour, eye colour , skin colour or body type or nationality.

For me fanfic of any character have been a safe space where I know nothing could hurt me and I have my comfort character with me as sad as that I'm not embarassed to admit and I know there is people out there like me and I want you to enjoy your reading time.

And also I'm so so sorry for not updating any of my fic I am trying trust me one moment I have the stroy plot line in my mind but the moment i sit down to write nothing comes and worried about my exam and i haven't covered the syllabus yet so I'm sorry for not updating I will update as soon as I can . .

And thank for all the interaction with my fic not just my bts fic but all my fic i appreciate your efforts and thank you.

[joonberriess]

I do agree that people over analyse shit bts posts cause i saw on pinterest today, a photo of namjoon today from a shoot and he was wearing that scientist-coat and somewhere on that 'single' was written in very small handwriting(fans were like omg he's single) idk how people do that😭🙏

any army that isn’t twitter i don’t like, some insta and tiktok r cool (SOME) but the majority r just a no for me luv

[whipped-for-kpop-fics]

What could go wrong?

This was supposed to be just a lil crack oneshot but here we are almost 3k words later. 

I hope you get at least a little entertainment/amusement from this and I hope someone has a lil giggle over it other than me while I wrote it.

Genre; BTS magic au. crack. bad grown up words. Chee thinks she’s funny...again and also she doesn’t think shit through before writing

Jin likes to make potions and with Taehyung’s help, test it on the rest of BTS AKA

Jin fucks up a Youth potion with Taehyung’s help and they use their unsuspecting friends as human guinea pigs

The room was bright and spacious with counters and shelves full of various looking liquids and solid forms that honestly, Taehyung couldn’t name. That’s not to say his intelligence was lacking exactly but bluntly put, his intelligence was lacking in everything that didn’t hold his interest(and some things that did). Science was certainly not something that interested him in the slightest bit.

“Ah! You’re here!” Jin exclaimed popping up from behind a counter where he had been rummaging in the cupboard. He placed a brass pot on the countertop as Taehyung stood on the other side, watching his elder curiously.

“Why are we in Namjoon’s lab exactly, hyung?” Taehyung replied, eyes glued to the pot as Jin started to pour different liquids inside. “You don’t know anything about science.”

“But I do know magic!” Jin grinned. “Did you bring what I asked?” Taehyung nodded and pulled the small vial of dragon’s blood from his jacket pocket. He held it out, watching as Jin’s eyes glistened with excitement and he snatched the vile, holding it to his body protectively. His eyes flickered with a look of adoration as he eyed the vial and Taehyung was pretty much waiting for him to hiss out “my preciousss”.

“Why did you ask me to bring that? Hyung must have something similar around here.” Taehyung looked around curiously.

“How many times must I tell you, Taehyung? Science and magic don’t mix therefore I cannot use any of Namjoon’s ingredients to make my potions.”

“He doesn’t know you’re here, does he?” Taehyung realised, a shit-eating grin stretching his cheeks as Jin pouted down into the pot, vial in his right hand as he stirred the mixture with his left. “Ah hyung, are you having relationship troubles?” Taehyung teased.

“No. We’re doing great, thank you very much.” Jin snapped then took a breath and straightened up. “He just-he doesn’t agree with my potions.”

“Don’t tell Yoongi-hyung that, he’ll only rub it in. I can hear him now. I told you magic and science doesn’t work and neither does a scientist and fucking magician.” Taehyung imitated Yoongi in an exaggerated gruff tone that made Jin snort out a laugh.

“Magician. He always makes me sound like I pull rabbits from hats.” Jin scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“You did though,” Taehyung mumbled.

“That was once, Taehyung and I’d appreciate it if you stop bringing it up. It’s not my fault Jungkook drunk the potion. I told him not to.”

“He thought it was a protein shake,” Taehyung remembered with a giggle. 

They both looked down at the pot at the mixture started to steam and bubble. 

“Is that supposed to happen?”

“Yes, I know what I’m doing.” Jin scoffed, sprinkling in a handful of what Taehyung could only describe as dried gnome penis’ into the mix. He made a face of disgust.

“And..what exactly is it that you’re doing?” He enquired, shuffling back cautiously.

Jin had only been dabbling with magic for ten months but he was impatient and decided to wander from the path very quickly. He often attempted potions that the sane only tried their hand at after their progression to a full-fledged wizard. But of course, Jin decided that he didn’t care for all the labels and would brew whatever magic he wanted. His friends decided that if he had earned the right to be called Sorcerer, he wouldn’t dismiss the title as easily as Apprentice.

“A youth potion.” Jin looked at Taehyung as if he held all the universe’s secrets in his brass pot. Taehyung only stared, blinking rapidly as he tried to understand his elder’s excitement. “A beauty potion, Taehyung!” Jin reiterated and then, Taehyung’s expression matched his own.

“Oh!” Taehyung stepped up close to the counter and peered into the pot. “You finally found one!”

“It took a lot of research and trips to obscure little run down magic shops but yes, I finally have found the potion that will help me regain my youthful glow!” Taehyung’s eyes lifted to take in Jin’s appearance. 

Jin was only 3 years older than Taehyung and honestly, the age gap wasn’t visibly obvious to most but as Taehyung had known Jin for a few years already, the younger could notice the subtle signs of ageing Jin’s features showed.

“Ah, so that is why the dragon’s blood.” Taehyung hummed in understanding.

Dragon’s blood was known to have numerous benefits for the skin. Halting wrinkles. Maintaining a healthy complexion. Preventing blackheads. Minimising pores. The list goes on. Taehyung applied it ritually to his skin morning and night and he had never glowed so much in all his life.

“Yep, having a friend in the fashion industry has its perks.”

“Why can you never call me what I am? I’m a model hyung. My face is worldwide famous.” Taehyung pouted sulkily. Jin had never called Taehyung by his actual job title.

“Do you call me by mine?”

“You don’t have a job.” Taehyung scoffed. “You quit when you discovered magic.”

“I still own and run restaurants in three major cities, I’ll have you know.” Jin defended, giving Taehyung an offended look. “And they are all doing amazing, for your information.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say hyung.” Taehyung rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the potion. “So, this potion, it’ll make the user look younger?”

“Yep.” Jin nodded. “Ah, Joonie is going to be so surprised!” He beamed happily at the thought of his boyfriend’s joy. “I mean, once he gets over that we went behind his back and used his lab without permission.”

“What? We?!” Taehyung gawped. “What do you mean we?!”

“You’re here, you supplied the vital ingredient.” He wiggled the vial as if to remind the male opposite him.

“I didn’t know what for! I didn’t know you’re making a youth potion!”

“Why else would I be at Namjoon’s lab?” Jin scoffed as if it was obvious.

“To visit your boyfriend maybe, I dunno?”

“Don’t sass me if you want your share of the potion.”

“My share?” Taehyung enquired, attitude flipping so fast as he leant on the counter, a sweet smile on his face. “You’re sharing with me Jinnie-hyung?”

“Of course.” Jin gave an almost too kind smile back and something twisted in Taehyung’s stomach. Suspicion.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Like what? I always smile like this, Taehyung.” He chuckled, waving a hand dismissively as he turned his attention to remove the cap from the vial. Taehyung gave him a disbelieving look but decided to push the subject aside to pay attention to the blood dripping into the potion. As the blood hit the ominous, bubbling, black liquid, slivers of silver rippled across the surface to rapidly disappear underneath.

Jin replaced the cap and they both peered into the pot. They squinted in confusion when nothing happened.

“Is that right?” Taehyung whispered as if he would disturb the potion and ruin it.

“Of course it is, I made it,” Jin whispered back harshly.

Suddenly spots of shimmering silver appeared on the surface and ribboned out to one another until there wasn’t a speck of black left.

“Well, that’s appetising,” Jin grumbled sarcastically as the liquid settled and turned a dull, grey colour.

“Put more in,” Taehyung suggested.

“What?”

“Dragon’s blood. Put more in.”

“I followed the recipe.”

“The greater the amount, the greater the effect.” Jin scrunched his eyebrows in uncertainty. “Come on hyung, it’s a beauty product, a natural, ingredient that I have been smothering on my face twice a day for two years. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Any normal person would hear those words and nope straight out of there. “What’s the worst that could happen” is a rhetorical question that attracts the very worst that is overlooked in the implication. Everyone knows that nothing ever turns out right when those words are uttered. Everyone except Kim Seokjin it seems. Guess he didn’t get that memo.

“You’re right.” Jin decided and Taehyung smiled in proud satisfaction as Jin opened the vial back up and poured the remainder of the thick, deep purple liquid into the pot.

The reaction was quicker that time. Only a few seconds pass between the initial rippling of silver to the splotches appearing on the surface. Once the surface settled, what remained was no longer a grotesque sludge grey. It wasn’t exactly the sparkling silver either. It was somewhere in the middle of the two. A pale, shimmering grey.

“That’s kind of pretty.” Taehyung cooed. “Is it finished?” Jin nodded and carefully transferred the mixture into two jars.

“You only need a couple of drops at a time, about a teaspoon,” Jin informed, securing the lids tightly.

“Okay.” Taehyung helped Jin clean up and put everything back in order so that Namjoon wouldn’t notice anyone had invaded his private workspace.

Only once everything was back in it’s place did the pair return to the two jars. Jin opened one jar and held a small spoon out to Taehyung. “Me?” He asked surprised. “I am not trying it first!”

“Yes, you are if you want some,” Jin spoke through his teeth as he smiled sweetly at his younger.

“Hyung!” Taehyung gasped accusingly.

“What?” Jin scoffed, his smile dropping. “You seriously expect me to try out a potion I found in a dusty old book from three centuries ago on myself?”

“Well, I’m not going to be your test subject.” Jin pouted. “No!”

“Great, how are we supposed to test it now?” The pair fell into thoughtful silence as they mulled over the possibilities, occasionally mumbling a suggestion out loud only for the other to shoot it down.

“Aren’t we all going to your house tonight for dinner?” Taehyung suddenly remembered, looking up at Jin with an idea in his eyes. Jin tilted his head slightly in curiosity but simply nodded. “Well, we could always slip it into someone’s drink…”

“Are you saying we roofie our friends?” Jin gasped dramatically.

“Like you haven’t done it before.” Taehyung sniggered.

“True.” Jin also giggled. “Who should be our target?”

“Everyone.” Taehyung’s eyes widened with an evil excitement that honestly kind of scare Jin.

“No, Taehyung, we cannot do it to everyone.”

“Why?” The boy whined, frowning in disappointment.

“Because if it goes wrong-”

“Then they’ll all have the same symptoms and we can pass it off as some kind of weird bug.” Jin fell silent as Taehyung’s fast suggestion. “We can just stick to water and they can all have some of that punch you made last time!”

“And why will we be drinking water, not alcohol?”

“Because you’re cooking and I can’t drink alcohol right now due to the show coming up.” Jin’s eyes sparkled with eager enthusiasm to put their plan into action realising that for once, they had a foolproof idea.

What could go wrong?

***

Taehyung and Jin found themselves watching in fear as before their very eyes, Jungkook started to shrink in his chair.

“What is happening?!” He yelled frantically, looking at his hands that shrunk in front of him. His eyes snapped to Seokjin, about to start questioning him but he was shrinking at such a rapid rate that he couldn’t form the words.

“What did you do?!” Namjoon shrieked, looking at Jin with terrified eyes.

“Honey I shrunk the kids?” Jin offered lamely only to yelp in surprise when Namjoon started to shrink too. “No! Joonie!” He yelled desperately, grabbing hold of his boyfriend but of course, there was nothing he could do. Jin’s attention was glued to Namjoon but Taehyung’s eyes darted from person to person as slowly, five of his friends reverted to toddlers.

“I think you didn’t read the recipe properly,” Taehyung mumbled, watching wide-eyed as Hoseok started to bawl in his chair.

“Me?! You told me to add more dragon’s blood!” Jin defended looking at Taehyung, his eyes just as wide as Taehyung’s. “I shouldn’t have listened to you!”

“I need to poop.” The pair looked over at the small voice, landing on Jimin’s eyes staring at them across the table. “Jiminie needs helpies.” He pouted, making grabby hands across the table.

“Ohmygod, we turned our friends into babies,” Jin mumbled. At that moment, Namjoon fell of the chair while trying to reach Jin and burst into tears. “Oh shit!” He reached out and pulled Namjoon up onto his lap to cradle the little boy.

“Oooh, hyung said a bad worrrdddd!” Yoongi giggled, pointing at Jin.

“Is okay Hoseokie,” Jimin spoke, patting Hoseok on the head while the boy still cried his eyes but out for what reason, Jin and Taehyung certainly didn’t know.

“I want cake,” Jungkook announced.

“What? You haven’t eaten your dinner yet.” Jin responded automatically, not even realising until he had finished talking.

“But I don’t like yucky vegetables.” Jungkook made a face and pushed his plate away.

“I need to poop.” Jimin reminded, looking at Taehyung while still patting Hoseok’s head. “Taehyungie, Jiminie needs to poop.”

“Go then,” Taehyung responded, making a face. “I’m not taking you.”

“But I need help.” Jimin frowned.

“You’ve pooped on your own before, hyung.” All five little boys suddenly stopped what they were doing to giggle madly.

“You called Jiminie, hyung!” Namjoon snorted, wiping his nose with the back of his way oversized sleeve. Jin made a face of disgust at the action.

“That is your best shirt, Namjoon!” Jin scolded. Namjoon looked up at Jin with wide eyes that brimmed with tears at his elder’s loud tone. “Oh no, don’t cry, I’m sorry.” Jin panicked, holding the boy back to his chest.

***

It was precisely 9:57 by the time all five little boys had fallen asleep wearing just a t-shirt each that reached their feet, not even underwear underneath. Taehyung and Jin finished tucking them into Jin and Namjoon’s king sized bed, glad Namjoon had insisted on getting such a big bed, before flopping down on the sofa together. They were practically dead on their feet. They never realised looking after toddlers was so tired. They suddenly had a great respect for parents, including their own.

“What are we going to do?” Taehyung whined.

“My boyfriend is a three-year-old,” Jin mumbled distantly. “The love of my life is three years old!” He squeaked, looking at Taehyung with wide eyes. “Ohmygod, I feel like such a creep. I’m going to get arrested!”

“Unless you do something to him now, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Taehyung scoffed. “You don’t plan on treating him as your boyfriend anymore, do you, hyung?”  

“No, of course not.” Jin scoffed. “Don’t be absurd.”

“Well, stop saying stupid things.” They both groaned as they heard a whining coming from the bedroom.

“Not it.” They both spoke. Neither had the energy to argue let alone move so they stayed still and quickly, the noises stopped. They sighed in relief.

“Seriously though hyung, what are we going to do about this? Is there an antidote?”

“No.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“So...what are we going to do?”

“No idea.” Silence fell upon them as they tried to think of a solution to their seemingly impossible situation. “Put them up for adoption?” Jin joked earning an unimpressed look. “I was joking...sort of.”

“I think...we’re going to have to raise them, hyung.”

“Don’t say that,” Jin whined. “I’m too pretty and young to be a father to five.”

“And I’m not?!” Another silence fell upon them.

“I guess, we’re going to have to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Get married and buy a house.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry that I don’t want our children to grow up in single-parent households getting passed between homes for the rest of their lives.” Jin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he sulked, turning his back to Taehyung for extra dramatics. “Why don’t you want the best for them, Taehyung?”

“I do.” Taehyung groaned and moved over to gently put a hand on Jin’s waist soothingly. “I just, I don’t love you like that.” Jin sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

“Why aren’t I good enough for you?” Taehyung sighed and hugged Jin.

“You’re just not up to my standards, hyung. I’m an international model, you’re just an Apprentice.” Jin gasped and jumped up, pushing Taehyung away.

“You can sleep on the couch tonight.”

“What? No. Hyung, let me share the bed.” Taehyung whined following Jin to the guest bedroom. Jin just closed the door in his face making Taehyung groan loudly in annoyance. “Fine! I’m going out! Have fun looking after them alone!” He hit the door with his palm before turning, only to find Namjoon and Jimin looking up at him with wide eyes, their little pudgey hands connected. “Oh, why aren’t you in bed?” Taehyung softened and crouched down to talk to the boys at their level.

“Jiminie wanted me to come with him,” Namjoon explained. He looked past Taehyung to the door. “Is Jin-hyung in bed?”

“Yeah, he just went in.”

“Did you have a fight?”

“No.” Taehyung smiled lightly. “Just a little disagreement.”

“Can I sleep with hyung tonight?” Namjoon looked up at Taehyung hopefully. While Taehyung hesitated for a response, the door opened and Namjoon beamed at the sight of Jin smiling down at him.

“Of course you can Joonie, come and give hyung big bedtime cuddles!” He encouraged so Namjoon ran forward with arms held up. Jin immediately picked him up and returned into the room, closing the door behind him.

“Hyung.” Jimin spoke softly as he tugged Taehyung’s t-shirt to gain his attention.

“Yes, Jiminie?” Taehyung smiled gently at the adorable little boy.

“I need to poop.” Taehyung’s face dropped.

“Again?” Jimin just nodded so Taehyung sighed and got up. “Okay, but we really need to look into this. No kid should poop this much.” Jimin took Taehyung’s outstretched hand and together they went to the bathroom where Taehyung had to hold Jimin on the seat so the child didn’t fall in.

Jin and Taehyung were in separate rooms looking after different children but they both had the exact same thought.

How the fuck am I going to look after these kids?

Honestly, I don’t even remember what prompted me to write this but something did and now here we are just over 2 hours later. I’m as confused as youa ll about this whole thing but hey, congrats for sitting through it haha

Honestly(y am I so honest tonite tho), this was actually a pretty cool idea and I’ve never seen anything like it and I was thinking of making a lil series after this part called “Babysitting Bangtan” to show Tae and Jin raising the little kiddos but this one part took me longer than I intended so I’m not gonna pointlessly write more for my own entertainment lol

~Chee

[cryxtalsnow]

ㅤ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ㅤ ͏ ͏ ،ɴᴀᴍᴊᴏᴏɴ ᴩᴀᴄᴋꜱ ღ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴏʀ ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢ

[ichwillkeinenblognurlesen]

#2022 Season’s Greetings #BTS #RM #Mad Scientist #Kim Namjoon #Namjoon #Jin #Shadow Hacker #Kim Seokjin #Suga #Gray Painist #Min Yoongi #Yoongi #J-Hope #Mystic Strategist #Jung Hoseok #Hoseok #Hobi #Jimin #Alley Cat #Park Jimin #V #Fate Reader #Kim Taehyung #Taehyung #Jungkook #Action-taker #Jeon jungkook #JK #Trailer #Merch

[serenashinart]

Mad Scientist Namjoon ☣

[bangwoolofbangtan]

Season's greetings 2022 (RM)

[ahandfulofregrets]

so am i supposed to believe that bts DON’T read fanfics of themselves after the release of THOSE pics from the 2022 season’s greeting?