de🤤

The pack expects the worst when you open the door, getting mentally prepared to see whatever horrible condition you might have their youngest in. Their heart yearns at the thought of their beloved Koo trapped in a cage or tied up somewhere. What they do see however, is not something they know how to react to: Jungkook, lazily rolling on your couch with his eyes transfixed on a giant TV.

No collar, no leash, no cage. But no one has enough time to take it in as he springs up upon seeing his pack, darting into Namjoon’s arms and prompting the rest to wrap their hands around the two. The hug is tight and filled with muffled I missed yousand I love yous. Jungkook envelopes himself into all of their scents—the swirl of orange vanilla soaking into his skin and making him feel whole again. There’s not one wolf without glossy eyes, not even the alpha who’s ditched his stoic façade the instant his pup melted into his arms.

Namjoon only snaps out of it when he realizes you’re still there, carefully prying the wolves off of him and making sure everyone’s presentable for you. The rest get the hint and quickly comply—well, everyone except Jungkook. Their youngest has other plans, as he’s making his way to you and pulling you towards the pack.

“Y/N look, everyone’s here! It’s my whole pack!”

The other wolves feel their blood run cold, Namjoon quickly springing into action, reprimanding Jungkook for not addressing you properly.

“We’re so sorry Miss, he’s young and still learning. I’ll teach him better.”

The Alpha feels his chest get tight, realizing the weight of his responsibilities at the moment: this is a new environment with a new person, and he has to get all of his pack in line to not get punished here.

Your voice brings him out of his head,

“It’s okay, I asked him to call me y/n. I’d actually like for all of you to do the same.”

They don’t know how to react, unsure if this is a test.

“Relax guys! It’s not a test.” Jungkook reassures, reading their minds perfectly as he had the same thoughts a couple days ago.

“I don’t do tests like that; you don’t have to worry. Now, I bet everyone is starving. Jungkook, could you help me set the table please?”

He enthusiastically follows you to the dining room, while everyone else follows much more cautiously, standing awkwardly and watching the two of you place dinner plates and silverware. You’d told Chef Gyu to start making enough larger portions, which is why there’s more than enough wagyu beef to go around.

“My friend, Yoongi, will also be staying with us for some time. He’s having dinner at the office, so we can dig in without him.”

The wolves only half-register your words, as the smell and sight of the steak is taking priority. It’s still hard to believe that they’re sitting here with the heavenly meal on the plate in front of them. If the name thing wasn’t a test, this surely has to be; it’ll be any minute now when you laugh at them before taking the plates away, giving them the same grool they’re used to in the labs—if you even feel like feeding them today.

Even Jungkook, who’s slightly used to the good food, is taken aback by today’s extravagance, feeling uncomfortable eating so well as a hybrid.

This time you’ve had Dr. Gong do the allergy tests with the collar removal, so you don’t feel hesitant in giving the “Eat up” command. It’s the first direct order you’ve given tonight, and the unsure wolves slowly start reaching for their silverware.

Jin can’t help the exclamation that escapes his lips the moment the food grazes his tongue, almost crying at the flavorful sensation. It feels as if the three months of wet, tasteless grool is erased in one bite of the best thing he’s ever had. He’s quick to cover his mouth, apologizing instantly for making noise.

“It’s completely fine Jin, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the food.”

“Th-thank you so much Mis—um—y/n.”

You look around the table fondly, until your eyes drop to two of the wolves: Taehyung and Hoseok, sitting side by side.

Taehyung looks at the food with strong desire but can’t seem to use his utensils properly enough to get anything into his mouth.

“Taehyung, is something wrong with your hands?”

The wolf timidly looks up, meeting your eyes. He doesn’t want to say why his hands are hurting—doesn’t want to give you a bad first impression—but it’s not like he can lie to his new owner.

“I w-was bad a couple days ago, so they punished me…twenty five hits to each knuckle…but I learned my lesson! I won’t be bad here ever!”

Embarrassment takes over as he remembers a child getting hurt under his watch. Jin and Jimin were so good at being caretaker hybrids, watching over the children in the testing labs perfectly, but he seemed to be lacking every time. He was trying to be funny, to make the little girl laugh, which she did…but she laughed so much she missed a handle on the monkey bars and ended up with a scraped knee. Worst of all, he started panicking the moment she cried, causing Jin to have to swoop in and clean her wound.

Eating was manageable when he just had to put a spoon to his lips, but trying to cut with a knife and fork were making his fingers cringe. You’re also cringing yourself, thinking about how much each strike on the knuckles would hurt. The other wolves are cursing themselves internally, being too entranced by the food to see if Taehyung was doing alright.

“May I have permission to help feed him?” It’s Jin who jumps in, caretaking instincts on overdrive.

“Yes of course, do whatever you need to.”

Once Jin starts feeding Taehyung, you shift your attention to the hybrid next to him.

Hoseok’s taking the food to his lips, but there’s no indication of joy on his face, in fact, he looks stressed.

“Hoseok” you speak up, causing the man to sit up straight, “do you not like the food?”

His eyes go wide, “N-No! I love it, it’s very delicious. Thank you so much!”

He berates himself for looking ungrateful.

What if she takes it away from everyone because of me? What if I’m the reason my packmates starve tonight?

“It’s okay if you don’t like it. I can get you something else.”

The rest of them know why he’s not eating, but only Jungkook finds it in himself to speak up.

“It’s not the food…Hobi hyung isn’t supposed to eat a lot…”

It pains him to say it, just as it pains the rest to hear it, but that’s how things worked at the lab. Whatever portion the rest got, Hoseok always got half. The other five used to give him theirs, but that was quickly shut down once the researchers started monitoring meals. Their next attempt at solidarity was to only eat half themselves, but there’s only so much you can fight when commands are given out with the Obedience Collar on. A time came when the hormones were perfected, and there was enough in their bodies to make them care more about obeying orders than their precious, underfed packmate.

“Why not?”

Jungkook shifts in his seat nervously, wanting desperately for anyone else to talk. Hoseok seems far too terrified to say anything, but Namjoon thankfully speaks up.

“Romantics aren’t supposed to eat a lot…they have to keep in shape for—um—sexual desirability purposes.” He regurgitates what the researchers drilled into their brains.

Hoseok’s face goes as red as a tomato. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the topic of sex. It wasn’t always like that: there was a time, before the lab, when he would itch to feel his packmates intimately, but that’s all been drained by now. Months fulfilling the lewd commands of complete strangers can change a person like that—make sex and intimacy feel like an obligation.

You don’t know why you keep getting surprised at the cruelty of Kang and his operation, but every new finding makes you wish Kang wasn’t in a holding cell right now—but rather on the street where you could bash his head into a car door.

But you can’t let yourself look shaken up. Someone’s got to be strong for them, someone aside from Namjoon, who clearly needs a break.

“Eating well doesn’t make anyone any less desirable. You can eat as much as everyone else if you want to. Understood?” You’re tone isn’t stern, but very much firm.

“Yes M--Yes! Understood!”

Rest of dinner is filled with knives scraping plates until there’s no more food left, everyone eating to their heart’s content. Hoseok still looks like he’s battling himself with each bite, but he eats nonetheless.

Jin insists on doing the dishes, springing up and collecting empty plates the moment he’s done eating. You’re about to show them to their rooms when the doorbell rings.

“Oh, that must be Yoongi. I’ll go get it.”

You make your way to let him inside, seeing his tired visage with two suitcases in hand. You can’t help but feel sorry towards him, knowing how much strain is on his workload having to assist the CCO instead of you, and on top of that, you’re taking away his off-work time now too. You hate how much you rely on Yoongi for everything—how much he offers to take care of everything. It makes you feel like you’re taking advantage of him, no matter how many times he assures you he wants to help.

You feel extra shitty on days like this, when you can tell work is draining him completely.

“Thank you again for coming.” You take his coat and briefcase as he walks in, the hybrids all staring and unsure of how to act. Yoongi looks at Jungkook, giving him a smile as he sees the boy for the first time. He tries to smile at the rest, but it’s tight-lipped, as he feels horrible knowing the first time they saw him was when they were being paraded around as experiments. That’s the worst first impression he could possibly leave.

“You should get some sleep; you look exhausted. I can handle wound care by myself for the night.”

He looks confused for a second before catching on. Of course you’d told them he was mainly here for wound care.

“Oh-uh okay, if that’s alright. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you’re already such a huge help.”

He mumbles a “nice to meet you all” before making his way to his room—aka the guest room he always sleeps in when you have your emergency overnight work meetings.

The hybrids follow you as you let them see the other rooms, letting them know there’s three free ones plus Jungkook’s and they can share however they want. It feels funny offering up the rooms; you’d always felt so lonely in this mansion of a house. It was picked out with your father’s money when you turned twenty-one, opting for the most opulent place you could find to throw parties—back before you inherited the business, and your biggest stress was which outfit to wear or yacht to buy.

You look remorsefully at Jungkook, thinking about his life at twenty-one versus yours. You don’t know if it hurts more to look at him or Jin, who’s the same age you are right now but with none of the independence that comes with it.

Namjoon knows what his pack is thinking throughout the tour, so he takes a chance and asks.

“Is it okay if we all share Jungkook’s room?”

You turn around in surprise, not expecting such a request. It makes sense, you suppose, and you can’t blame them for wanting to stick together.

“There’s only one bed in there. I don’t know if that’s enough for all of you, even if it is a king-size.”

“We’ve slept in way worse before. It’s more than enough!” Jimin pleads from behind his Alpha.

“If that’s what you guys want, then it’s fine with me.”

You see them visibly relax a little bit.

And so everyone crowds into the youngest’s room, features in awe thinking of their packmate enjoying such a lavish room. You scan around, thinking of how to give them more room to sleep. You never had the need to get any air mattresses, as five guest bedrooms is usually more than enough. That’s when it hits you to drag one of the futon couches from another room into theirs, with Jungkook doing most of the heavy lifting.

“Alright, this one folds out and can fit two people if the bed gets too crowded. We got that figured out, so all there’s left is bandages plus meds, and we can call it a night.”

You work carefully on each hybrid, going down the line with the wound care kits. Jimin and Jin ask every two minutes if they can help, which nudges Taehyung to ask as well, but you refuse to let them.

The three exchange glances of confusion and fear. It’s not exactly a good sign when an owner isn’t using their hybrids, as the researchers reminded them constantly at the lab.

“But this is what we’re trained for. We’ll do it really well, let us prove it to you.”

“I have no doubt you’d do it well Jin, but that’s not what this is about. You should be resting, letting others take care of you for a change.”

___

“She hates us, doesn’t she? She hates us and she’s going to give us to the state first thing tomorrow.”

Namjoon wants to calm Jimin down and assure him that’s not the case, but he’s not even sure himself. Aside from letting Jin do the dishes and Jungkook helping here and there, you’ve denied their services the entire night. You wouldn’t even let the Alpha guard your door for you, insisting that you had excellent security already.

If you had excellent security, and housekeepers, and a personal chef…what the hell could they contribute to be good for you? How long did they have until they were sent away for being useless?

The atmosphere in the room is strained, similar thoughts going through everyone’s mind. Even Jungkook’s. As nice as you’ve been to him so far, he’s not naïve enough to forget that you’re the owner and he’s the hybrid. He was gifted to you, by the most vile people he’s ever met, and it’d be dumb to trust you fully. Does he obey you fully? Absolutely. But trust? That’s only for his packmates.

He sits up from Jimin’s lap, looking at his defeated face and attempting to boost morale. “We just have to show we’re useful hyung. If we can show that, I think we’d all be happy here!”

“We’d all love to stay Koo, I mean this place is more than we’ve ever imagined, but how are we supposed to be useful if she already has everything we can give?”

Hoseok finally speaks up.

“I’ll go try.”

No one says a thing as they watch him leave the room, with everyone’s first reaction being relief. If Hoseok does this right, then maybe no one will have to leave. They know he doesn’t enjoy his role—it’s the one they’d want to do the least—and if they were in their right minds, they would never let him offer himself up in such a way. But no one’s in their right minds, and all they want is to be good for you.

___

You’re applying moisturizer when you hear the knock on your door.

“It’s me, Hoseok. C-can I come in?”

You make your way over to unlock the door.

“Are you really tired?”

Truthfully? Yes, you are. Today’s been an insane rollercoaster of emotions, with the stress of work and the adoption, but you don’t want to turn him away if he needs to talk about something.

“No, I’m happy to make some time for you if you need.”

He nods, inching his way closer, fluttering his eyelashes in the flirty way he’s perfected. If you weren’t so exhausted, this would be the point you’d catch on.

“So, what can I help you with?”

Before you can register what’s happening, his hands are on your waist and your noses are almost touching. Those beautiful brown eyes have narrowed to a much more seductive gaze, making your breath hitch.

“I’m actually here to help you” even his voice is lower, raspier than before, “just tell me how. If you need me to behave, I can do that. If you need me to take control, I do that well too.”

He says the last part in a whisper, breath fanning your neck as he leans closer to your ear, “Just tell me your fantasies. I can do it all.”

It all attacks your senses at once—his soft vanilla scent, that half-lidded sultry gaze, and those damn heart shaped lips. Your heart threatens to fall out of your chest with how hard it’s beating, and you know he can hear it too. It’s been far too long since you’ve been intimate with anything other than your vibrator, and it’s disconcerting just how quick he can rile you up. His eyes are zoned in on your lips, and there’s nothing you want more at that moment than to just give in and feel good.

But then he bites his lip, and you notice something. Notice that it feels calculated.

The look in his eyes only reinforce this. There’s no real desire there, but rather contrived lust. It’s like the gears in his head are turning, telling him:

Okay bite your lip…now. Perfect.

Flutter your lashes more, they always like that.

Maybe I need to get closer.

It becomes clear that this is just a routine, one that’s not bringing him pleasure at all. And that’s enough to snap you out of the trance—guilt hitting you like a truck as you push him back. You’re not supposed to have these thoughts when you know what he’s gone through. It’s clear he’s not in control of his actions right now, so how could you even think to take advantage of him like that?

God, his bandaged neck is right in front of you, and you still had those thoughts. Are you really that low y/n?

Hoseok’s having his own mental breakdown at the rejection, blood running cold the second you push him away. You don’t want him. He doesn’t get it…your heart was beating fast, and you looked like you were into it. Was his voice not low enough? Should he have winked the way they taught him in the lab? Was dinner actually a test and now you don't want him because he's too fat?

He's already disappointed you just at the seducing stage. Great.

Now it’s his heart that’s beating fast, palpitating at the thought of having to go back and explain his failure to the rest of them. How disappointed will they be once he tells them he can’t even be desirable enough for you—when that’s all he’s been trained to do for three fucking months?!

What am I supposed to do if I’m the reason we all get shipped to a shelter in the morning?

The thought alone causes tears to spill from his eyes.

You’re pulled out of your own head at lightning speed the moment you notice, which is admittedly too late as he’s full on sobbing now.

“I’m so sorry y/n. I’ll be better—” he’s gasping for breath in between the sobs, “I’ll do anything you want— Please don’t push me away.”

“Hoseok…that’s not…that’s not why I brought you here. You don’t have to force yourself to do things you clearly don’t want to.”

Ah. So that’s where he messed up. He made it obvious he wasn’t into it.

Stupid Hoseok. Dumb Hoseok. Can’t do a single thing right Hoseok.

A new stream of tears wet his cheeks and you’re scrambling.

“Sweetheart, please look at me,”

He lifts his head up, trying to look at you through blurry lenses. The affectionate nickname doesn’t go unnoticed, giving him a sliver of hope.

“I know you’re trying to be good for me by doing this, but you’re already so good.”

Confusion is clear on his features.

“But I haven’t done anything useful.”

“That’s not true. You’ve been so polite, all of you have, so polite and so” it makes you recoil saying the next words, but you know it’s what he needs to hear, “well-behaved.”

His ears perk up at that, as if you’re dangling another piece of that delicious wagyu beef in front of him.

“Really?”

“Yes Hobi” you try out the nickname, and it’s obvious by the way his eyes light up that you’ve made the right choice.

“Now, how are we feeling about washing up, wiping those tears off, and getting you back to the others?”

He holds the bottom of your shirt at the mention of going back.

“Wait! C-can I stay the night? Just sleep next to you? If I go back now…they’ll hate me.”

If you were any less physically or emotionally worn-out, you would’ve explained that no one would blame him because there’s nothing he did wrong—but all you want right now is a quick fix to keep him from crying and a good night’s sleep.

“Okay.”

____

A/N: Got this one out sooner than I thought I would since I had some time off work! Likes, comments, and reblogs are always highly appreciated!

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The day starts off as typical as any other, with your assistant bringing you your morning coffee. You mindlessly take a sip while scrolling through your emails, except what welcomes your lips isn’t the usual Americano, but some Iced Matcha abomination—disgustingly too sweet for nine o’clock in the morning. You look up, ready to give Assistant Min a piece of your mind, but instead see a woman in his place.

“Who are you?”

The woman flashes you a nervous smile, hands fiddling in front of her stomach.

“Yoongi-ssi had an emergency, so I’m filling in. I’m the new hire, S—”

“I don’t care what your name is, this isn’t my coffee order. Bring me my Americano before my first meeting.”

“I’m so sorry! I was taking orders for all the executives, so I got confused. I’ll bring it asap!”

She runs off, feet clicking with each hurried step of her heels.

You toss the unnaturally green drink in the trash, annoyed at the setback in your morning routine. After shooting a quick "Are you okay?" text to Yoongi, you're back to your work.

Emails pile up in your inbox as they do every morning, mountains of classified information that you need to comb through before your 10am meeting. It’s tedious, but it’s the family business after all. Your grandfather started Shin Investments in the forties, and your dad took the business to new heights when he took over, now with your parents retired and on some island in god-knows-where, it’s up to you to make sure the company doesn’t lose its footing in the venture capitalist industry.

It's twenty minutes later when your Americano does arrive. Your eyes narrow into slits upon holding the cup in your hands.

“It’s lukewarm.”

“Oh my god, I apologize! Mr. Han stopped me on the way here, briefing me about what to prep for the afternoon meeting. I did not mean to take so long! I’ll heat it up and bring it back.”

You wave your hand dismissively.

“No need. You’re fired.”

The woman almost stumbles on air at your words, catching her balance quickly.

“Miss Shin p-please..I really need this job! I won’t make a single mistake from now on!”

“Too late.” You reach for the cup, the second one of the day to end up in the trash. “Please leave before I call security. I have work to do and no caffeine to help me.”

She doesn’t leave, but rather falls to her knees, waterworks in full effect. You let out a irritated huff.

“Please! Please, I need this!”

You don’t pay the commotion any attention, used to such scenes happening in your office by now. You simply dial security.

Your receptionist watches the new girl get dragged out, eyes sympathetic as she’s tossed right in front of the front desk.

“She-she fired me…all for a cup of coffee…I’ve worked so hard to get into this company and she just…for a fucking cup of coffee!”

Mascara stains a black rim around her eyes.

“I’m so sorry Seulgi-shi. You don’t deserve that.”

“M-maybe I should go beg for a second chance after some time has passed? What if I come back in the eve—”

“You’ll be wasting your time. That would’ve worked with the previous bosses…but Miss Shin is as tough as it gets. It’s unfortunate, but I’ve seen countless people get fired for less than a cup of coffee—dragged out here just like you.”

You overhear the conversation, as the security guard didn’t properly close the door on their way out. You can’t say it makes you feel all that good, crushing some fresh-faced new hire’s dreams, but it sends a message. You knew what you had to do once the company was signed over for you—how you had to conduct yourself to survive. The world of venture capitalism was cutthroat to say the least, and still considered “not women’s business” by many. The sad reality was that, if you wanted to be taken seriously, you’d have to be feared—because respected was rarely an option. So, you play your role well and let the rumor mill do the rest, so everyone knows not to mess with the ruthless bitch of a CEO at Shin Investments.

You walk into the meeting room and the vibe immediately changes: the once lively room of everyone asking each other how their weekends went turns silent enough to hear a feather fall.  Only sound is that of your red-bottoms click-clacking and earrings jingling. You take your seat, motioning for the standing executives to do the same. They can tell you’re more irritated than usual, and that could easily mean a demotion with one wrong move.

“Everyone’s here so let’s jump into it: where are we with HoloPad?”

“We’re at the audit stage ma’am.”

“Still?”

The tension in the air is palpable.

“Th-there’s been some—erm—gap in the books. They are working on fixing it right now.”

“So they’re cooking the books?”

“I-uh-I wouldn’t say—”

“Calling it something else isn’t going to change the fact that they’re cooking the books Mr.Choi. Call off the deal.”

The executives stare at each other with dumbfounded faces, hushed complaints erupting at the table.

“But ma’am…the CEO is the heir of Jun Tech…it’s not advisable to ruin our relationship with them.”

A bunch of others chime in with the same sentiment, and you have the room of men turned against you as usual.

“Is that so Mr.Choi? Do you really advise me to invest millions into a venture that can’t even provide proper financial records? All to avoid making the Jun family angry? Mind I remind you that this is a business, not a family drama?”

“It’s just—”

“And all of you who agree with Mr.Choi here…don’t think I don’t notice the new watches on your wrists. Can’t be a coincidence, can it? Everyone who wants to continue with the deal happening to buy the newest Jun Tech watches at the same time?”

Five people, including Choi, scramble to take off their watches, heads down in shame.

You let out a hollow laugh. “You all are too dumb to even be bribed properly, I can’t believe it! Anyways, I expect five letters of resignation on my desk by tomorrow morning. This is me extending my grace for all the work you’ve done in the company so far, but if you don’t voluntarily leave, I will not hesitate to disgracefully remove you.”

That’s the last thing you say before click-clacking your heels out the room, not missing the outbursts of “bitch” and various other insults blaring from the other side of the door as soon as you leave.

It’s moments like these when you just want to call your father and have him step in to help, but you can’t. You can’t be seen as a fragile little daddy’s girl in a room full of bloodthirsty businessmen. You keep your composure until you’re in the comfort of your office, where you let yourself decompress for a minute. Only a minute, though, because your receptionist is soon knocking at your door to remind you of a charity event tonight—a reminder that would’ve come from the temporary assistant if you had not fired her an hour before.

___

The charity auction seems standard, with the usual crowd flaunting off their rare pieces of art and jewelry under the guise of doing something good. You’re not in a place to judge too much, considering you’re also here doing the same thing. You are the only one who seems to see how ridiculous it all is though, for the little that’s worth.

“Y/N! Long time no see!”

You’re immediately swept up into various groups of people wanting to “catch-up” (aka keep in your good graces for their next business venture).

Yup. A typical day.

Until Kang Byung-hun approaches you with that same condescending smile he gives you at every event. He’s a short, plump man, a little bit older in age than your father, and he’s a complete pain in your ass. The not-so-subtle jabs during formal dinners, gossiping behind your back, and overall misogynistic world-view makes you want to tear out your hair every time you see him.

“Mr.Kang!” You say in the cheeriest tone, smiling wide. He’s a pain, but he’s got a lot of influence, and you’d be an idiot to dismiss that.

“Ah Y/N. I see you’ve done yourself up for this event. On the lookout for a husband, are we?”

You keep your smile through gritted teeth.

“Just looking my best for the noble cause, sir.”

“I’m sure.”

The wait staff comes around with wine at just the right time, because god knows you can’t deal with this without at least some alcohol in you.

“Oh, I actually do have some business with you. Are you down to talk in private a bit later?”

“Why wait? Let’s talk now.” You’d rather just get it over with.

“It requires some preparation. Have to make a few calls and get some things here. I was going to put on a nice presentation in your office, but now’s a good as time as any!”

“Sounds good sir.”

What you wouldn’t give to just go home, take off these uncomfortable heels, and just face-plant on your soft bed right now. But nope, you have to wait around for this jack-ass to put on his little show. As much as he dismisses you, Kang Byung-hun is no idiot when it comes to business. Whatever his newest idea is, he knows Shin Investments is the best option for financing—especially in the bad state of the market right now.

So an hour before the party is supposed to end, you get a tap on your shoulder by Kang’s assistant, and promptly follow her to one of the spare rooms at the venue. Kang sits with a glass of champagne in hand, flashing a smile that you can’t stand. You take a seat across the circular table.

“We already exchanged pleasantries earlier, so I’ll just cut to the chase. I just got the patent for a new piece of revolutionary technology, and I’d like for Shin Investments to finance the project.”

“What type of technology are we talking?”

“How aware are you with the current market for hybrids, Y/N?”

You shrug nonchalantly. Honestly, the topic of hybrids makes you uncomfortable, as you think of it as unethical to own anything even remotely human, but you keep your personal preferences to yourself.

“I know it’s a booming industry, especially in the last three years. And I know the market is big for training tech right now.”

“Precisely!” He beams. “Training technology is in high demand. You saw how much of a hit the snake hybrid calming diffuser by Pet Armor was. Sold out in minutes! Not to mention raised the demand for snake hybrids in general. That’s when I knew I had to get in on the action and expand to the hybrid market.”

“So is that what it is? Is Pet Paradise launching its own diffuser? For a different type of hybrid?”

He shakes his head, “Nope. You know how I like to do things big, Y/N. A new hybrid diffuser is too small of a scale. What we’re creating will change the hybrid market forever.” He ends with a snap of his fingers, to which his assistant takes cue.

Before you can even process what’s going on, a leashed wolf hybrid is brought into the room.

Your attention immediately goes to the bulky metal collar around his neck, filled with buttons and stats.

“Meet Jungkook, one of the hybrids we’re beta-testing on. That magnificent thing around his neck is the Obedience Collar, and it’s going to blow your mind.”

You feel sick, dinner threatening to come up your throat the sight. The boy looks no older than twenty-one, and has more fear in his eyes than you thought possible. He’s trembling, eyes trained on the floor, trying to make himself small in the big room.

“Now, it’s no secret that wolf hybrids are amongst the hardest to train, that’s why they make the perfect subjects for this,” his assistant hands you an iPad as he talks, “first, I’d like for you to watch a video of Jungkook before he started wearing the Obedience Collar.”

You reluctantly click play, seeing the wolf hybrid with so much life in his eyes. Life and anger. He’s growling and punching his way through a team of researchers, thrashing around for his dear life.

“What a violent and unsophisticated creature he used to be!”

You have to consciously unclench your fists, making sure not to show your true feelings. It’s excruciating to sit there and listen when all you want to do is see how Kang would like it if a group of strangers got their hands on him like that.

“But now, with Pet Paradise’s newest invention, he’s the most timid little thing you could own!”

“A shock collar? Hybrid shock collars are already a thing, Mr.Kang.”

Your voice shakes slightly, and you hope no one notices.

“No no, that’s not what this is. A shock collar is a good training tool, of course, but it’s not the most efficient way to train a hybrid. If you swipe on that iPad, you’ll see the design of this collar is far advanced.”

So you hold your breath and swipe.

And whatever you’re expecting, it’s worse.

This isn’t a normal collar by any means, as proven by the product shots. The inside is lined with thin needles, which you can’t see as they are quite literally jammed into Jungkook’s neck right now.

Holy fuck.

“You see, Y/N, the Obedience Collar works from the inside. The collar is supplied with our newly developed synthetic hormones, which are injected into the bloodstream through the needles. The hormones are specifically structured to work with the DNA of most mammal hybrids, and can even make something as unruly as a wolf hybrid behave. The changes take effect within fifteen minutes of collaring! There’s a little hormone pack in the back of the collar,” he motions for Jungkook to turn around, and the boy obeys instantly, showing the rectangular box in the back of the collar, “those will need to be refilled every six months—which we’ll sell separately, so the business model is more than sustainable. Isn’t this a gold mine of an opportunity?”

Keep calm Y/N. Breathe. Compose yourself.

“Very impressive stuff,” you force out, “but I’m not sure Shin Investments is the right fit for this project. Wouldn’t you want a partner more familiar with the hybrid market?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, Y/N. What kind of venture capitalist is afraid of diversifying their portfolio? You can’t survive this industry if you only play in familiar territory—your grandfather and father both know this very well. Besides, I heard a rumor that the deal with Jun’s son won’t be going through. I’m sure the board members are having low morale right now…so why not appease them with an even better deal?”

You can’t stand the way he chastises you. What you can’t stand even more is that, from a business perspective, he’s making sense. You know a lucrative business when you see one, and this is definitely one of those. And as unintuitive as it seems, it’s all legal. Hybrid abuse isn’t really a thing the government concerns itself with, which is why the only real law is not to intentionally kill one, and even that is enforced loosely. There’s no rules being broken, no shady deals, just a proposal as legal as the meeting you had two days ago where a start-up pitched their new smart fridge. Except this time it’s not a smart fridge you’re discussing, it’s the life of a very scared and no doubt in pain hybrid, that’s standing less than five feet away from you.

Kang sees the gears in your head turning as you find any way to refuse this deal for a rational reason. So he starts playing his game of mind-chess once again, a game he’d mastered since before you were even born.

“Look, I’ll be frank with you. If you were any other woman, I wouldn’t even consider bringing this deal to you. Because we both know most women tend to be too emotional to do good business. But you’re not like that—hell, you’ve got more backbone than half the men at this party. So, what’s stopping you?”

There it was. The emotional card. The thing you were most concerned about, how showing even one ounce of emotion could be blown out of proportion because of your gender. You’ve worked too damn hard to create your reputation, and that’s why the next words out of your mouth spill before you can even think about it.

“You’re right, I was being too cautious. Let’s start with the proper procedures during work hours.”

Shit. He got you. Checkmate.

The man’s face erupts in the sleaziest grin possible.

“Perfect! You won’t regret this, it’s going to be big! In fact, I have one more surprise for you!”

You raise your brows, not needing anymore fucking surprises tonight.

“It’s Jungkook! He’s yours for the month!”

Your eyes nearly bulge out of your head at that statement.

“Excuse me?!”

“It’s a token of our appreciation. You get to be the first ever person to own a hybrid with an Obedience Collar! You can see first-hand how remarkable the technology is. There’s five others from his pack that we can continue our tinkering on, so one less won’t hurt us. Don’t worry, the synthetic hormone part is fully developed, we’re just trying to make the collar look sleeker.”

It’s not uncommon nor unethical for you to be gifted prototypes. Businesses love giving you a taste of what you’re putting your money into, as a way to give you confidence in the product and maybe even open up possibilities for a bigger investment. But you’d never thought someone would give you a fucking hybrid.

You almost open your mouth to decline, saying something along the lines of not wanting the responsibility of a hybrid…but then something comes over you. You realize that declining means sending Jungkook back to the lab—and you just can’t bring yourself to do that. The damage you’re going to be doing by investing in this collar is going to be devastating as it is, no doubt making you the indirect torturer of many hybrids to come, but in some twisted sense of morality—you want to at least save the one in front of your eyes. Maybe even pretend that you have some good left in you.

“Thank you. I’d love to take him.”

___

The car ride back is silent and tense. Jungkook hasn’t said a single word, much less lifted his head to even look at you. He’s still trembling in the passenger seat. You have zero clue how to approach the situation. It’s not like you can take off the collar, as it’s a prototype with data still being transferred to the lab. You agreed to take him home to give him a better life, but you haven’t exactly thought far enough ahead as to how; judging by how scared he is right now, you know this isn’t going to be easy.

It's midnight when you reach home, and all you want to do is sleep. But you can’t yet, not until Jungkook is settled in. You lead him to a spare bedroom; it’s incredibly spacious and practically decorated for royalty, with a king-sized bed right in the center.

“This is where you’ll be staying.”

You see his head lift up for the first time, doe eyes scanning the room in disbelief.

“It’s late so we’ll talk more tomorrow, but for now sleep here. I don’t have nightclothes for you yet, so just sleep in what you’re wearing for the night. There are water bottles on the nightstand if you get thirsty. Do you need anything else before I head to bed?”

He adamantly shakes his head no, prompting you to exit. However, right as you’re about to walk out the door, you hear rumbling. More specifically, his stomach is rumbling. You turn back around.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

No response.

“If you’re hungry, you need to tell me.”

Those words seem to turn some gears in his head, as he utters his first words of the night.

“I’m hungry Miss.”

It catches you off guard how quickly he gets the words out, much different from the no-speaking rule he had enacted on himself up until now.

That’s when the realization hits you.

If you’re hungry, you need to tell me.

It sounds like a command, and that damn Obedience Collar is sure to make him comply.

You let out a defeated sigh before guiding him to the kitchen. Your cook has already called it a day, so you prepare one of the few things your tired brain can handle—frozen waffles. You toss them into a toaster, drizzle some syrup, and pile on a generous amount of whipped cream before pushing a plate in front of the awestruck boy.

“Eat up.”

With the eagerness in which he digs into the plate, you’re sure he’d be the same way without the direct command.

And that’s how your first night with Jungkook goes, with you making sure he’s fed and in his bed before heading to your own. You notice he’s trembling a little less. Baby steps.

____

One leg pushed back behind your ear, the other over hiked high above Hoseoks shoulder as his skilled slim hip rut against you. Bullying his way inside your walls. Nights like this he took his time, playing with your clit with his slender veiny fingers, watching you take every inch you feel it deep in the pits of your stomach, the bulge of his cock imprinted in your tummy.

He loved watching your fat brown pussy lips get coated in cream and cum from his and yours previous orgasms. You take him like a champ, squealing when he pinched your pink swollen clit when your eyes closed.

"Come on baby, look at Daddy." He cooed, slapping your tit that spilled from your tank top. You cry and cry for him watching him slide in himself through you with ease. The soft jingle of the anklet he bought you ringing in his ear and the pretty french tipped toes that he paid for.

He'd push your other leg back behind your ear as he leaned down and kissed you sloppy your tongues intertwining, as he pounded right onto your love spot. You both pull away with a long line of spit your fingernails scratching and clawing at his back as your stomach dips and your legs quiver. Hoseok loves it when your getting ready to cum, you get more verbal and nasty. "Fuckin' me s'good daddy"

Hoseok made pretty noises groaning and huffing letting you know that your making him feel like the luckiest man in the world with the way you grip onto him.

"Gonna make me cum on again baby" he hissed, as you tighten around him liquid spilling from you as you let out a string of curses and dirty words. So slippery he popped out of you shooting over your stomach inner thighs and cunt.

You both panted loud coming down from your highs laying in the sticky mess. You'll clean it up in the morning.

A breeze washed over him as the door closed with a loud thud, it was at least a little warmer than the cold air outside. Yoongi glanced around taking in the symphony of multicolored lights illuminated the air, casting a vibrant palette across the dance floor. The room throbbed with an infectious energy, resonating with the beat of the music that reverberated through every corner.

Soon, his eyes found the bar, a couple of nicely dressed men sat at the stools. Without another thought, Yoongi strutted to a seat, leaving an empty space to separate himself and another man.

“Whiskey.” He said in a deep raspy voice despite how the woman working was already in the middle of making another drink.

“Yoongi!” A older sounding man suddenly called out of him, making his head turn to the man on the stool next to him. He recognized the man as one of his dad’s friend.

Perfect. He scoffed to himself, hoping his drink would came faster.

“Now what are you doing in a bar like this?” The man asked with a scratchy laugh, hitting his shoulder.

Yoongi tried to let out a small chuckle that ends up sounding dry. “Same as you.” He spoke, turning back to the bar when he hears the bartender loudly slam his drink on the counter.

He goes to take a large swig as the old man continues to chat and laugh with him, his reeking odor hitting his face as he turns to look back at him.

Behind the old man, Yoongi notices the dance floor. Bodies moved in sync with the rhythm, twisting and gyrating, surrendering themselves to the intoxicating melodies. But one soul figure seemed to catch everyone’s attention on stage.

Slowly, he started to tune out the annoying old man the more closely he watched. But unlike the other men in the bar, he watched with curiosity rather than lust. Your movements were elegant and graceful, your tight crop top and glittery skirt making every sway of your body seen.

Your hands played in your hair and caressed your body as your body moved, painting a mysterious story about you with help of the music. Your eyes closed and a bright warm smile on your face as if no one else was there.

Despite dancing in a shabby club probably to make ends meet, you were dancing as if this was your long time dream.

“Her?” The old man’s itchy voice suddenly came back to him, pointing to you on the stage. “That’s Y/N. She’s kinda a favorite here.” He said and this made Yoongi even more intrigued.

“Has she worked here long?” Yoongi asked glancing back at the old man as he nodded. “Almost a full year.” He said and everyone clapped and whistled as you suddenly came down from the stage with a warm smile.

Yoongi just hummed before quickly finishing his drink before paying the bartender and leaving, deciding to dismiss the thought of talking to you.

But at weird hours of the day Yoongi would think about you, so every time he happened to pass the club he went in and watched you perform.

This happened for weeks. He never said a word to you, he never went further than the bar. Until one day when you had stepped off the stage, looking cheerful as usual, only to be met with two men meeting you half way.

Yoongi watched, his blood starting to boil as the man surrounded you, complimenting you and touching your hair. It didn’t take them long before they got more physical, grabbing your arm to stop you from walking away as they started to trail closer to you so that their body touched yours.

Yoongi can see the panic and fear settle in your face before his vision was blocked by the taller men.

Without thinking, Yoongi practically sprung up from the stool, furious as he made his way over to where the men had circled you.

“Move.” He said, his voice deep and hoarse as the two men slowly turned around to face Yoongi.

“Mind your business, hot shot.” One man spoke, obviously trying to spook Yoongi which only wanted to make him laugh.

“I’m not going to waste my breath telling you again.” Yoongi said simply, remaining calm as he watched the two turn irritated.

“You wanna get jumped punk?” The man said, raising his voice as he stepped closer to Yoongi.

Instantly and without warning, Yoongi’s right arm swung in the air. His already clenched knuckles that were in his coat pocket suddenly flew out and connected to the guys face, all of his pent up angry unleashing.

Before anyone can react, he punched him a second time, this one making him stumble to the ground with a yell of pain.

The other man quickly backed away with his hands in the air, “I don’t even know that guy.” The man claimed before quickly rushing off.

Yoongi looked up from the ground where the other man was laid, his nose now bleeding heavily as Yoongi stepped over the body, ignoring his groans when he did so.

“You alright?” Yoongi spoke, his expression softening as he meets your eyes. His eyes glazed around your face as he inspected you, trying not to get lost in your gorgeous and unique features as he looked for any sign that they had touched you.

“I’m fine.” You muttered back, out of breath from shock as you looked at the man on the group and then up at him with wide eyes.

“Thank you.” You say with a polite bow, taking a moment to collect yourself before a small smile appears on your face.

“What?” Yoongi asked, curious on why you were suddenly smiling and chuckling despite everything.

“Well, I was wondering when you were going to come talk to me.” You say with a teasing smile only making Yoongi more confused. As if reading his expression you chuckle. “You think I haven’t noticed you always coming in here and watching me?”

Yoongi bit the inside of his cheek, shrugging lightly as he looked away. “I don’t care if you noticed or not.” He spoke in a defensive tone, harsher than intended. He saw the smile on your face drop slightly in disappointment and he bit the inside of his cheek harder out of frustration. He didn’t want to be responsible for a frown on your face when you always wore a smile.

Wordlessly, Yoongi took out his wallet, taking out three hundred dollar bills and holding his hand out for her to take.

Your eyes widen in shock, chuckling nervously as you shake your head, denying it. “Why..?” You start to question, getting a little suspicious.

“For the inconvenience, and all the dances I’ve watched without tipping.” Yoongi states with a serious expression, trying to cover up any other intentions he might of had.

“You just have that much on you at all times? That’s risky.” You respond, still hesitant to take the money. Yoongi lets a smile crack at the irony, “I’ve been watching you for weeks and that’s what your worried about?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Do you want a favor in return or something?” You ask him, still skeptical as Yoongi rolls his eyes. “I guess we’ll never know if you don’t take the money.”

With a sigh, he watches as you slowly take the money out of his hands and put it in your pocket. “Thank you.” You mumble as he turns around and heads for the door. “Wait!” You call for him in confusion, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him as he turns around slightly.

“What’s the favor?” You ask in confusion but Yoongi just looks at you before continuing to walk out without a word.

It doesn’t take Yoongi long to wonder back into the club days after that. Despite the weird exchange it only made him want to get to know you more. But something in him grew colder when he walked in the club only to see you not onstage. Usually around this time you had already started and had a small crowd of men watching you.

“Whiskey.” He ordered in a lower tone as he sat down, tapping impatiently on the counter as he waited. “This was stupid.” He mumbled to himself, ashamed of how he had gotten caught up with this stripper and was just about ready to leave it all behind.

“Min Yoongi! You’re back!” He heard your familiar voice right next to him, causing his head to turn to the side in confusion.

“What are you doing here?” He asked his finger slowly stopping as he looked at you, sat next him in the bar.

“Aren’t you going to ask how I know your name?” You reply instead, wiggling your eyebrows playfully. “I assumed you already knew.” Yoongi spoke calmly, lightly shrugging even.

“Cocky much?” You reply, jokingly rolling your eyes with a smile. “How did you find out, if not the internet?” Yoongi asked curiously, as the bartender slams his whiskey on the counter.

“Well when the son and CEO of a million dollar company starts to take notice to the best employee in the club, word gets around.” You reply with a slight grin and Yoongi can’t help but chuckle a little.

“Cocky much?” He echos your words as he sips on his whiskey and this only widens your grin further. Yoongi stares into your smile, feeling a weight being lifted off his shoulders when he realizes it’s been a while since he actually genuinely smiled for once.

When he finishes his drink he takes out his wallet and pays for the bad alcohol before taking out another three hundred and handing it to you, not waiting for you to take it this time.

“This has to be your way of flirting with me.” You mumble in disbelief as you stare at the bills before reluctantly shoving it in your skirt.

Yoongi scoffed, shaking his head in disagreement. “I don’t have time to flirt.” He mumbled firmly while looking at his empty glass.

“You have time to come here.” You differed causing him to bite the inside of his cheek, standing up and dusting himself off. “Wait that didn’t mean leave!” You state quickly getting up with him and Yoongi can’t help but glance at the sudden look of displeasure and sadness on your face as your hand brushes against his as you attempt to stop him.

“I..actually like having you here. You make me feel safe.” You mumble sheepishly as Yoongi stood there, completely frozen as he took in your words. How had he, of all people, made you feel safe? In a run down place like this?

“Then your standers are low.” He said in a low voice, a hint of playfulness in his tone as you look back up at him, snickering at his comment.

“You say that, but under that frown and sharp eyes is a warm hearted gentleman.” You speak causing him to look away from you, not wanting to take your words seriously. He didn’t want to show any signs of vulnerability, he’d never be ready for anything heavy.

“You don’t believe me?” You challenged him, seeing his silence and he heard the heard an underlying tone in your voice when you asked. “If I asked you to walk me to my car, you’d hundred percent do it.”

Yoongi scoffed and rolled his eyes at you, but quickly knew not to didn’t deny it. “See! You would.” You grinned at his sour expression, knowing you were right.

“Whatever, do you want to be walked to your car or not?” He asked trying to dismiss the fact all together. He had never seen himself in a situation like this, feeling embarrassed and maybe bubbly.

You laughed at the question but nodded, grabbing your nearby coat that was filled with stains as you attempted to squeeze your shoulders in the coat.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, walking in front of you as he leaded the two of you out of the door and to your car. Yoongi sighed as he looked at the state of it, effortlessly taking out his wallet and starting to count some bills.

“If you’re going to give me more money don’t bother.” You quickly said as the two of you made it to your car, stepping in front to him and holding onto his hand so he would stop rummaging through his wallet.

“I don’t need it, I’m fine!” You tried to convince him and he simply raised an eyebrow at you, before going back to counting, taking out a couple hundreds as he did so.

“Then consider it flirting.” He mumbled in a flat tone, taking out five hundreds and getting ready to hand it to you.

As he looked back up from his wallet he felt something soft touch the corner of his lips, eyes widening in shock when he realizes how close you were to him and before he could stop it, you had planted a gentle kiss on the corner of his lips.

Your lips lingered on his skin for a couple seconds before finally pulling away from him, taking a step back.

“Come back tomorrow, okay?” You say with a warm smile, practically glowing in front of him as you spoke to him in a soft low tone.

Silently, Yoongi watched you chuckle at his reaction before getting into your car and slowly driving off, his heart thumping as he watched your car drive off onto the road.

He slowly started to move again when your car was far away enough that it was out of view, as if snapping him out of a trance.

“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

You're a hybrid, nothing anyone does to you is illegal. They could kill you and get 5 years tops. If anything you're probably about to get euthanized for fighting. Being put down doesn't scare you, you almost feel grateful at the prospect. Being taken away from a life that holds you down, just like the weight of seeing hurt people under you from your hands.

 All this pain you cause yet you crumble inwardly when it's done to you. You're pathetic.

“Yeah yeah I'll get the bitch.” you hear a man yell over his shoulder as he walks to you. He grabs your arm and you hiss at him but he laughs resulting in the others too as well. “Careful snake, we play dirty here and you wouldn't like that or…would you?” he says feeling up your sides and your leg twitches but can't move. You can't defend yourself, can't fight against the people who hurt you, and hurt those you care about.

“Woah feisty huh? How do these scales on your neck feel when touched? Have any other places?” he says with a smirk and you feel like throwing up. You hate this feeling the feeling only a hybrid would know. To be laughed at, mocked, and treated as if you don't matter because, in reality, you don’t but there's nothing you can do.

You could fight and scream out your anger and frustration but that would just lead you back to a place like this or worse jail. You are not thinking about yourself right now though, all you seem to can think is where is Hoseok? If he's somewhere similar to this building with people like this you'll find every last one of them and do all you can to make sure they know not to touch him again.

You'll make sure they learn their lesson because you’ll teach them it.

You can handle this and you could handle it even more if it was for hoseok but you can't because he's not here because you didn't protect him. 

You failed. 

“Stop playing and take her to the back.” you hear another man say through a laugh. They chat some more as they guide you down a dark hallway with mold spotting the ceiling. 

“Home sweet home snakey, this is your new paradise until someone adopts you but with those scales and that vertical eye your luck doesn't seem too grand.” he says undoing the cuffs around your ankles before pushing you into the room. 

He locks the door behind him and you watch through the clear glass enclosing as they walk away. They didn't undo your handcuffs but at least you can walk around.

The smell of fear reeks in this place along with wet drywall. You don't have a window to look out of to see where you're at and how far it would take to get far enough away. You don't have your hands to escape or defend yourself and mostly you don't have him. You feel your chest plummet with dread at the realization. 

This is it for you, you don't get a second chance. People like you aren't given those. You feel your eyes well with tears because you're stuck. You're stuck here and part of you wishes they'd just hurry and take you to a room and end your suffering in the world by taking you out of it. 

You feel yourself falling asleep from the tiredness that crying has done to your body and the aftermath of left adrenaline.

───────

You can't believe you're still thinking about that night even though it's been so long, three years to be exact. That doesn't mean the night isn't still on repeat for you many days of the week. It's something that scarred you, one that can’t be seen on the skin. One where you can't be around officers without overwhelming distrust. 

They took something from you, something you can't get back but you suppose you can't blame them. It is your owner's fault after all. 

The guy that made Hoseok's life hell in the first place. Your mouth feels bitter thinking of your old owner when you know you don't have to anymore yet do we ever truly stop hurting or thinking about things that still live with us as a shadow? You don't think so but what do you know?

All you do know is that hybrids have many more rights than they did that night. Hybrid protection laws are a big thing now. Many shelters and sanctuaries are professional and filled with people who advocate for hybrids rather than wish bad for them or worse do harm to them. Obviously, you still have the tools who are only in it for the money or praise of being a ‘good person’.

There are still some things that hybrids can't do. You can live on your own but a lot of places have it where hybrids can't purchase a home in their own name. That law is also applied to cars. You don't have to have an owner but it's good to have one these days for certain things like that. An owner can help hybrids with a lot, like putting the house in their name and letting the hybrid stay in it. 

You hear others talk about how not all owner hybrid bonds and relationships are like they used to be. You don't know about that though because of what you knew of them to be.

When people adopt hybrids some use it as a way of saying ‘Hey if I help you out, can you help me out as well?’ It sounds good but you don't trust it, none of it. 

The thought of being owned again repulses you because you don't want someone to have power over you like that. You have to wear some form of identification to the person you are owned by. Just the sound of it makes you pissed, no one owns you and you're gonna make sure it stays that way.  

The good thing is that you can do things on your own and be on your own without an owner. Like getting roommates or going to a place that helps you by letting you stay in their housing. You only heard of that part in passing, what place would let hybrids stay in it for free? There has to be a catch to it.

You heard there is a thing in some places called an adoption list. You can be added or removed at any point and it's all on your own word. This place doesn't have that though because it's an adoption shelter. No one spares a second glance at you most of the time unless it's one out of surprise, you don't mind though.

Even if this place had an adoption list you wouldn't have asked to be put on it. 

All the staff is acting standoffish and a bit weirder than normal today towards you. Some say stuff like “It was nice getting to know you.” or  “Are you excited?” and the weirdest one of them all was the small old lady who grew attached to you pulling you to the side just as you were about to walk into your room. “I can't believe I get to see you growing, blossoming!” she says with such a genuine smile your heart almost feels warm but confusion is set and stone as your first feeling right now. Growing? Blossoming? What is she talking about?

“You look confused, you don't know dear?” she asks with a look of her own. You nod and she laughs to herself. “Oh my, everyone must have been too nervous to tell you. We all know how you are when you don't sleep too well and your file says last night was a rough one. You know we check you all once a night and they said you were just tossing and turning the whole time they were in this hallway. ” she says concern lacing her brows and you bite back a snappy comment. 

You like her, she is someone you began to look out for when around but still, you don't like people coming at you when you're not looking.

She was the first person to treat you gently and she’s the first person you didn't feel weird letting do that. You're not gentle, not someone to disregard but you'll let her see you as sweet because you only want to treat her as such.

“You're going to the middle station in about an hour. I don't know how long you'll be there but let's hope not for long. I want you to go somewhere great!” she says cheerfully and you feel your lips twitch upwards at the tone. “Why am I going to the middle station? Why not Yeonjun?” you ask, thinking about how the bunny hybrid probably deserves it more than you. 

He's been here since you first got here, the both of you arrived that same night. You were found rummaging the streets after you ran from hybrid control. They found you again but that's a moment you hate thinking about. You're not easy to catch, they just got you on a bad day.

“Yeonjun isn’t ready yet, we wanted both of you to go but he declined. He isn't a big fan of change but he'll get there one day. He does look up to you so maybe this will encourage him.” she smiles squeezing your shoulder but the whole sentence felt oddly overwhelming. Someone shouldn't look up to you or take your footsteps as something to follow.

“So what makes me ready? I mean I haven't done much these last two years.” you say looking to the side out your window at a bird landing on the seal. You finally ran away from your first shelter after a year of staying there only to be put here a year later, staying here up until now.  

“That's exactly why, you have got in a good bit of altercations most for good reason some not so good Miss Y/n.” you groan at her implication. 

You hate when people address you by your name, the staff learned that quickly. Turning to call you Mamba after the first hiss and bared teeth to them at the call of your real name. 

Yet this little old lady didn't care and still did, it was annoying at first but she's the only person you let call you your name. It feels like it should be said by her, respect for respect. She respects you and so you'll be respectful and let her use your name without a hiss. 

Also, it's nice to hear someone say it as your parents did. The roll of it off their tongue made it sound beautiful, like a name that's only heard for a princess but you don't like it anymore. In the life that the world has created for you, the name is nothing but a reminder of everything you could have been but are not.

You don't hate your name but yourself. Your parents wouldn't like your name being associated with who you are today plus…you just don't like being called it. 

“You haven't had to need much help in anything, but needing help is fine and I wish you would ask for it more often but I digress.” she says when she feels you stiffen. “and sure we don't know much about what actually goes on up in there.” she motions to your head. 

“But I know and believe you'll do good at whatever is decided and remember you can always refuse what they offer and try to get something else. Hybrids can live on their own and stay out of shelters once approved there. Yes, there are still restrictions in place with that but there are many options to be able to live on your own.” she reminds you while still thinking, lips pursed in concentration.

“Although it's good to do those steps when you truly feel ready, don't rush into the unknown before getting to fully know the known. It will be too chaotic.” she says sternly and you find yourself nodding. 

“But I believe you will do amazing in whatever you do. You're a fighter, strong, and incredibly clever in things to do with the body. I know it's because of your past but those traits are good in a lot of jobs." She reminds you with happiness. She pauses from saying her next sentence when her phone rings. She picks it up walking a little bit away to have more privacy just in case it was about another patient but you can kind of hear either way, far or close. 

You're going to the middle station? You honestly don't know much about it besides many hybrids hate it while many love it. It's a small stay, maybe a month at most from what you've heard. You don't know what you’re going to do or what you want to do and you don't like the thought of others trying to figure that out for you. 

“Dear, they're here earlier than we thought. I don't want to let you go.” she says with a fake cry and you shake your head at her antics. “But I actually really do because you're ready for the world dear or wherever they happen to send you before that. Just know that outside of these shelter walls you're going to blossom.” 

She helps you pack but you don't have much, just a few birthday cards from her and some clothes that they got you from online shopping. They'd have days where hybrids would get on the computers solely for getting things they need or want. They noted quickly that you liked monotone colors with maybe a red and orange piece added to the cart as well. 

They decided to stick with those colors on your birthday cakes that you had practically begged them to stop giving you. They listened thankfully. 

Most staff actually never talked to you much unless needed. You just didn't fit into what they wanted to have as routine. From your objections to softer things like birthday cakes to fun things like making friends. You just weren't interested in being involved. If anything you wanted to leave and just feel fresh air without having to have it while being monitored. 

You're grateful though, they respect your boundaries and you could have gone to a shitty shelter like the very first one you got sent to after that night with your owner. You could even be back at the ring getting your ear bit and scales ripped, yet you're not but that doesn't take away from the anger and loneliness that rests under your skin. 

You're not lonely in a way dealing with people. You are lonely in a way of missing a part of you that you don't have and never have met. It's weird because usually loneliness is not felt this way but you want that person you could be here and without her sometimes it's difficult. 

Yeah, these four walls you have called home make you think too much.

“And remember dear! Being a fighter is good but not literally Y/n! Also, make sure to cut your nails often, I know you like the look even if you don't say it but still keep them in shape!” she yells as you walk out the door with the two security guards from what you're assuming is the middle station. 

You hide your cheeks that flush at her words, god why is she saying all of this? You hiss back at her but she knows it's not threatening with the way she laughs the two other men don't seem to know that with how they block you from her. “Oh, she didn't mean it like–never mind, do well Y/n!” she says before you can’t hear her anymore. 

───────

“Sorry about the handcuffs, we do that just in case the hybrid we’re picking up is hostile to change.” a man with glasses and brown styled hair says smiling at you but you just nod. The truth is you hate the handcuffs, hating the feeling and the memories of it. You hated seeing him in them more than you hated being in them. 

“I’m the head psychiatrist here. My name is Dr. Den. I'll be the one everyone reports back to when things happen or if things get added to your file. Do you know what all we do here?” He asks as he guides you to follow him to his office, the security guards in tow. You shrug and he smiles, you don't like it. 

It's not threatening but it's not like the old lady's smile. It's more serious rather than pleasant but you don't care. You're not here to be coddled. You sit when he motions to a chair and he tells the security that he'll not be too long and you're internally grateful for that. He shuts the door before walking behind his desk. 

“Well, the middle station is just as it sounds, somewhere in the middle. It's only for hybrids and was specifically made for them. It's a place for when staff at wherever you previously were thought you were ready to move on from that or it can be something else. A place for those who sign up to come from whatever situation they were in before. Whether it be leaving an owner from abuse or trying to find guidance.” you hum, you're not that interested in learning the history of it and he continues.

“What we do here is evaluate you.” you hiss lowly at that and he nods with a laugh. You don't like him. 

“We get that response often. We're not running tests or making you do things against your will but we will be asking you questions on certain things daily as well as giving homework booklets to you until you don't have to do them anymore. In reality, it's paperwork but homework sounds lighter does it not?” he asks with a small smile and you just shrug not caring about all that. 

They just better not push their luck too far, they don't know you, and you don't want them to. Let's keep it that way. 

───────

The next month consist of nothing but questions and boring meetings with other hybrids. Some seem kind of fucked up and clearly not ready to do anything other than get themselves together first. Rude of you to think but they're probably thinking worse about you. 

Sure the questions were boring and quite frankly you didn't want to answer most of them so you didn't. They didn't push but they did repeat the question you refused to ask a week later and continued that until you gave an answer.

You figured out though they know when you're lying and you don't like that. You don't like that they know things you haven’t told them like they're figuring you out. Seeing how you are without you giving permission to. You hate doctors, they always find your weakest things and use them for their own gain and claim it to be for your own. 

The meeting with other hybrids however is what irked you the most. They were group meetings outside of having to see each other at lunch and other areas. Claiming these meetings were to build bonds or help figure out how but you call bullshit.

You think it's to see if you're ready enough to talk to strangers outside of those you desire to speak to but what the hell does that have to do with anything? You should be able to live freely without the addition of “can talk efficiently and build social bonds well with others” or some shit on your file. 

You are starting to get sick of Dr. This and Mrs.That asking you “What do you think from your past has made you this way?” fuck is that supposed to mean? You're not a certain way and even if you were, why is it any of their business?

You didn't answer the question the first time so why would you answer it the third time it gets asked that week?

It's Sunday and you're wanting to just lay down. Feeling tired from all the recent talks you have had to have. You're walking to your room when you hear your name being called and it's Mrs.Olivia. You sigh and walk to where she tells you to follow her to a room you've never been in. It's not that much of a different layout than the others.

You find yourself standing in a room with burgundy flooring and brown-tinted walls. There’s a couch towards a wall and you take a seat in the middle. Making sure that you’re filling both seats so if anyone comes in they don't try to sit near you, seeing all of it taken. 

Right when you do that though she writes something on her clipboard. Did you do something wrong? You didn't even say anything yet. 

“Hi, Y/n. Today we’--" "It's mamba.” you cut her off snippy and she pauses before realization falls onto her face. “Right sorry, sometimes I read your chart before we come to speak to you and it gets in my head. So mamba, right sorry.” she says genuinely but you don't respond. You begin looking around the room to see paintings and a few pictures on the wall of hybrids of all kinds standing next to her with big smiles.

You haven't been in Mrs. Olivia's office and you haven't spoken to her more than you could count on one hand. You wonder why these hybrids are so happy next to her, was it all for the camera?

“So hi mamba, today I'm going to just ask you some questions. Some new, some old.” she says and you grumble at the indication. “First I want to ask what do you think from your past has made you this way?” she asks friendly and you glare at her. 

“I said I wasn't answering the question the last four times someone asked me so I’m not now.” you spit and she hums as she writes something down. “This one is a bit more vulnerable but it helps us with some things feel free to not answer okay?” she says softly to you dismissing your refusal to answer the last question. 

“Have you ever cared about someone?” you freeze and see his smiling face flash in your head. Hear his laughter bouncing off the iced-over walls that cover your heart.

You're so caught up in your thoughts that you don't see her nod to herself and write something down. “Yeah but it's not important.” you reply trying to steer clear of going down that direction any further. “Do you have people you consider close?” she asks and you laugh bitterly. “Not anymore I guess.” you say quietly and your voice sounds pathetic. So you sit up straight trying to fix that, you got out of line.

“Okay well this is the last question for today and then I'll let you get to your room. what from your past do you think will play a part in dictating your future?” she asks with a smile and you just shrug feeling annoyed already. “The fights I guess.” you mumble out and she nods.

“How come? Is it something you're not proud of?” she asks and you laugh. “Nah that's not it, I've never lost a fight besides one in the beginning and once got a draw.” you say and you miss the way she tenses slightly at the anger your voice holds as you recall the draw.

“But no I'm not necessarily proud but I'm not ashamed either. People know who to and who not to mess with and they know where I'm at on the list. Plus I don't lose.” you explain and she writes something down again. 

“I know I said that was the last question but I'm curious about one more thing. Do you help others when they need it?” she questions and you just shake your head before answering. “If it's not my business I don't get involved, you get beat up for shit like that even though I know how to hold my own, why get into someone else's problems?” you say but even to your ears it sounds like a lie but it's true.

You wouldn't help someone unless it was dire, fuck do you look like Superman? People should be able to hold up on their own and if they can't they need to learn. 

She stands up and you follow suit. “Well, that’s all for today, thanks for cooperating. We’ll get back to you soon.” she says and you nod walking past her. “And y/-, Mamba, tomorrow we are going to have a meeting with Dr. Den. I just wanted to let you know that'll be happening around 12 PM.” she says and you answer with thumbs up continuing your way forward. 

You only like this place because it's quiet like the shelter yet loud enough to at least feel lived in, not like you're just in another silent cage waiting to get picked up for usage. The shelter didn't make you feel like that often but sometimes it was difficult when the old lady wasn't there. 

She was the only one who often made it feel like somewhere where hybrids are there to have a chance to be something else. On other days it was just a boring cage you wanted to flee from so this place has its pros. 

You don't sleep well that night being too caught up on what you might've missed when you were looking away in her office. What you might have said wrong or a little too right. You hate when they write because you don't know what it's about and what it's saying. Tomorrow you just hope that the meeting goes well, a step closer to you getting out of here.

───────

You don't hate this guy but you don't like him either. He feels sneaky like all doctors do. Too watchful and too nosey. 

You watch as Dr. Den walks in with quickness saying his apologies for being a few minutes late but you wouldn't care if he didn't show up at all.  “Hi, Mamba. Big news today and big change but I want us to go through this all first and see if you like our proposal. Before I let you speak, I would like to say everything that'll happen today. What's Happening is we've come to a conclusion and we know it's been two months which is a little long for a middle station stay in some cases but I hope it wasn't too blah for you.” he jokes and you don't smile so he continues. 

“Though it's considered a longer stay than normal it was necessary and I'm glad we did prolong your stay. This prolonged stay happens when we need to think about things more or evaluate things a bit longer and deeper but let's get to the exciting change, remember you can refuse.” he reminds you. 

You honestly aren't too worried about what is going to happen to you. Wherever you go or whatever you decide yes or no to is all going to end the same with you being a free woman in some way or another.

“Okay so with the information we've gathered from group meetings, one on one meetings, and observation alone we have decided to send you to The Rain to Sun estate. It's a beautiful estate about 30 minutes out so close enough to here, the big city for things but also far out enough for the estate to have a bunch of nature and privacy for the hybrids staying there.” you act as if you're not listening but you are. 

You're eager to hear about where the information they've assumed about you or came to their own conclusions ended you up at. 

“How many hybrids?” you ask agitated at the thought but you could take anyone that comes to you. A lot of hybrids don't scare you, humans are kinda the ones you don't  mess with too easily. They're dirty at heart. 

“Well, it is a large estate with people living in the large mansion which is the main house, and some living on the land themselves. It's a place many do grow to love so much that they stay there. There are hybrids of all ages and kinds that stay there along with some of the workers such as nurses, doctors, psychiatrists, and security. Not all do stay there though, some get to choose not to.” he informs you and you assume he's trying to soothe the thoughts that are popping in your head at the information. 

“The thing is though you can stay there but you don't have to forever, it's a transitional thing. You can leave if desired and stay if the opposite of that.” he says with a smile so genuine that your curiosity about this place grows.

He shows you a bit of pictures, most are drone shots to show the size of the land, and holy shit it's huge so big that you think you will get lost but you know you'd be able to smell your way through the difficult routes. Another thing that caught your eye was that the picture was taken at night. You assume to not show the number of people living there but with the size of the place it's easy to see just how many rooms are filled.

“There isn't much to tell you about it except that it's a fantastic place with amazing living conditions. It has a very positive nature as well as caring staff and we thought about this very hard but it seems like it will be perfect for you.” he says, clicking out of the photos to look back at you. “Why?” you find yourself slipping out. What made them think that?

“Call it doctor's intuition Mamba but remember you can always refuse to go if you truly don't want to go to this place we can always keep looking and see what is a better fit.” he assures you and Mrs. Olivia nods in agreement. You want to act like you're thinking about it but it doesn't take you long to voice that you're fine with the decision and that you'll go. 

The rest of the day passes by in a blur because before you know it it's the next day and you are in Dr. Den’s office at 12 PM again. “Excited?” he asks with a voice of excitement of his own. 

You don't answer and he just keeps typing until he hears a knock at his door. “Come in.” he says not looking away from the computer until he glances and sees who it is. It must be someone he's expecting because he grins as he waves them in. 

“Mamba, these are the men who will escort you to The Rain and Sun estate today. However, before I let you go I want to make sure you have everything and that you're positive this is the destination you want to go to after leaving mid-station?” he questions and you can tell he's serious, he's giving you the option and you thank him for that but you're fine. 

You are kind of ready to leave this place more than you thought you were. “Yeah I'm good.” you answer looking down at your bags. You hear them talking but you feel like you're missing something. You realize and shoot up they jump at the action. “I forgot something, can i?” he smiles and motions you to go get what you need. 

You walk out and rush to your room quietly and look under the bed you've occupied for the last two months and smile at the thing you almost forgot.

You almost forgot your birthday cards. 

It was knowing that the banquet was in two days that filled you with nerves and excitement. Knowing that you were in the final three, filled you with dread and joy. On one hand, you had come to make friends with plenty of the people in the palace and not being able to see them again as easily as you had been, made your heart hurt. But on the other hand, if you weren’t chosen, you would become a concubine and would never be able to find the love that you deserved as you would be branded the king’s woman. Another thing that you knew, if you were to become a concubine, was that the women who had caused you so much annoyance and hurt in your life, would be the queen, and they would get rid of you, right to the lowest position, and you would be stuck at the bottom of the pile for the rest of your life. This scared you more than you thought it did, and as the thoughts came to your head, so did the realisation of where you were. So, you tried to distract yourself, thinking about all of the good times that you had, especially that day. You had finally met the king! 

The thought of the king brought a gentle smile to your face, a blush blanketing your already rosy cheeks. You couldn’t help but look at the bookshelf that had been placed in your apartment before you even got home. Some of your other gifts lay around it, such as your hanbok and accessories, and even some of the gifts that the Queen Dowager had gifted you during your days together. 

 *a few days before * 

Today, you were meeting with the Queen Dowager and her ladies again for a meeting. These events had quickly become something that you deeply enjoyed and looked forward to. You received a note from her this morning, letting you know that she wanted to have a separate meeting with you after the meeting, and letting you know that she wanted to have the luncheon with just you. To which you of course obliged, sending a quick letter back, alerting the Queen Dowager that you were excited and would meet her later. 

The meeting ended quicker than you had expected and before you knew it, you were back in the cherry blossom garden, in the palladium that overlooked the small lake that sat in the middle, sat across from the Queen Dowager. You had decided today that there was no better day than to wear the hanbok that she had gifted to you, allowing the both of you to reminisce on the memories of the past two weeks. You had spent plenty of time together whether it be luncheons or part of the process. You could even say that you were closer with the Queen Dowager than you were with your family members. 

“I have another gift for you, chin-aehaneun. I hope that you love it as much as I loved it. It was the wedding outfit I wore when I married Namjoon’s father.” The older woman speaks, beckoning a number of servants towards the two of you, each holding a box and placing it at your feet. Before thinking about your actions, you leapt up and moved towards the woman, throwing your arms around her. 

“eomeoni gamsahabnida, I can’t thank you enough for this, but surely it should go to the future queen?” you spoke, still hugging the woman as she hugged you back. However, at the end of the sentence she pulled back and looked at you before speaking “ttal, you have passed the interviews, and I know that you are a favourite of all of the boys, I have a feeling that you will be wearing that hanbok, should you choose to, within a few months” you couldn’t help but let the tears fill up in your eyes, never having felt as loved and welcomed as you had been the last two weeks. 

Memories of the past two weeks began to come to you one by one, each bringing a smile to your face. Remembering meeting each of the boys, from the youngest to the oldest. It didn’t matter what situation you had met them in, every time you met them, happiness overpowered wherever you were. You remembered walking through the gardens with your best friend Yeji, and wandering the library with the cat-like Yoongi. Nearly every moment that you had spent in the royal grounds was a happy one, and to think of leaving it, leaving those people, made you feel sick to your stomach. 

A knock at the door to your chambers brought you out of your memories. You quickly shook your head and stood, racing to your front door, wondering who could possibly be at your door. It wasn’t like it was late or anything, you just weren’t expecting anyone till later on, when you were expecting your best friend Yeji to arrive to sleep over. Opening up the door, you saw one of the servants that followed Kim Namjoon around, tending to his requests. He stood there in a monochrome white outfit, each piece of white clothing being a different white to the rest. In his hands, he held a large black box with gold dragon details engraved and painted onto the sides. The man was red in the face and it was a stark contrast to his outfit, the colour only returning to his face once he had placed the box down just inside the door to your chamber. “This is a gift from the King and his closest companions, they request that you wear it to the banquet in 2 days time” he tells you before bowing and retreating. You call out to Chan and Changbin hoping that one of them would be in your chamber, resting in their rooms, and to your luck, both men were in. All it took was a smile and a point to the box for them to understand what you were asking of them. 

Once the box was in your room, you eagerly opened the lid, not expecting what was inside the box. It had to be the most beautiful piece of clothing that you had ever seen, even more beautiful than the previous hanbok that you had been gifted. At the top of the box there was a crimson red jeogori, the goreum being an almost shiny golden material with dragons embroidered into the ribbon. The jeogori itself had threads of gold stitched into it, so that when the light shined onto it the right way, it was an even more stunning sight to behold.  Pulling out the jeogori out of the box, you place it carefully to the side on a spare cushion and move onto the chima, which was equally as stunning. The majority of the chima was the same gorgeous red, with gold stitched into the fabric. However, at the very bottom of the chima, there was a gold band that went all the way around and went down until the hem. On this strip of gold, there were the same dragons embroidered as part of the goreum. Tears began to well up your eyes, as you pulled the chima out of the box and noticed that there were even more items inside the box. This was the most beautiful thing you had ever received and yet the things coming out of the box seemed to be getting more and more beautiful. 

Next out of the box was a smaller box, pulling the lid off of that, there was a pair of red gomusin, with dragons painted onto the toe area of the shoes in black and gold. Tucked neatly beside them was a pair of red beoseons, a small dragon embroidered in a golden thread on the inside of each sock. Peeking into the box once again, you noticed 3 more boxes. You decided to go for the next biggest box. Repeating the same move of opening the lid and peering in. Inside this box was a jewellery set, which included earrings, rings, necklace and even a set of cheopji. The pair of cheopji each had a dragon made of gold with red gems placed where the eyes should be. The necklace was a dainty chain with a dragon head pendant hanging from it. The earrings matched the hair pins, two dragon heads, although smaller, with red gems where the eyes should be. And as you placed the ring on your pointer finger you realised that it looked like the dragon was wrapping itself around your finger, and a small giggle left your mouth. You placed all of the items into the box and moved onto the next box. 

The third box that you picked up was again, smaller than the last. Inside this one, held a small bracelet. This box however held a note inside. The note read: 

“Eolin-I, I can’t wait to welcome you into our family, wear this hanbok with pride, you deserve it. Eomma” 

The note made the tears that were gathering in your eyes, finally fall. Even the Queen Dowager had added something into the box of beautiful gifts. Your heart felt full with happiness. 

Inside the last and final box there was a norigae and another note. This note read “Chin-aehaneun, we hope that you adore our gift as much as we adore you. We all look forward to you wearing it. Sincerely, King Kim Namjoon and boys”. 

Moving the note to the side, you stared at the exquisite piece of fabrics before you, that had been crafted to form a norigae. The main ornament was a gorgeous red jasper crystal shaped into a dragon head. But there were two smaller ornaments hanging underneath it, made of a crystal like stone, engraved into butterfly shapes. This made you smile, reminding you of the conversations you had with the boys about your best friend, and her nickname. The knot that both attached to the goreum and held the ornaments was the same red and gold fabric that the hanbok was made out of. The knots that held the ornaments were rather small, but they only made to make the beauty of the ornaments stand out. And finally, the tassels that hang underneath the butterfly ornaments, were the same gold and red fabrics that were used. Everything in the box was stunning, and you couldn’t believe that you were lucky enough to be able to wear something as stunning as what was before you. 

Your heart filled with joy as your eyes fell with tears that once again fell with happiness, as you held the hanbok close to you. 

— * — * — *— * — * — *— * — * — * fast forward — * — * — *— * — * — *— * — * — *

Today was the day of the banquet. You had barely slept during the night, being filled with both nervousness and excitement. The last few days, you had been spending time with Yeji, the Queen Dowager, and secretly with the King himself, hidden away in the shelves of the library. The banquet was to begin in the early evening, and the three remaining ladies were to arrive after the King and his men. Each one would be announced one by one, and once all the ladies were in the room, the ladies would be told to come forward in turn. And finally, music would begin playing and the King would step forward and that is how the kingdom would announce who would be the new Queen. The process had been drilled into you by the Queen Dowager, who would also drop hints that it would be you. She wouldn’t let you make a single mistake, as she already saw you as her daughter, and she adored you, and despised the other two contenders. 

Within 10 minutes of being awake, one of your ladies had knocked on your door to the bedroom. With your consent, she opens the door, bows deeply towards you, and announces that she has prepared a bath for you. You smile at the woman, getting out of your pool of comfort and follow her towards the bathroom. 

The bathroom was much more different to the one you had at home. The bathroom at home was almost cold, with dark colours, and stone details. But the bathroom in this chamber was full of light and colours. The bath was built into the ground and had an outer barrier of stones around it other than where the steps into the bath were. Inside the bath, the water was almost white, and you guessed that they had probably added some milk to make the water even better for your skin. Once you got to the edge of the bath, Hwasa turned around allowing you some privacy to unrobe and get into the bath. Once you were in the bath, you noticed that there were rose petals floating around the water. You kept your hair up at Hwasa’s request, and found a ledge in the bath to sit on, and let your body sink into the water until it reached your shoulders. You let out a gentle sigh, notifying Hwasa that she could turn back around. Once she did, she made her way to the door, bowing once more before leaving. 

You sat in the bath for around 30 minutes, allowing the water to cool and calm your nerves. The realisation that your calming bath was over, was Hwasa re-entering the room along with Hyo-Seong. One handed you a robe, and the other placed a towel at the edge of the bath so that you could dry your feet once you stepped out of the bath and reduce the risk of slipping over. You pulled the robe shut around you and followed them out of the room and into the main room, where your hanbok was placed onto a wooden figure, the accessories being placed on the dressing table, and the shoes being placed next to the clothing. Makeup and other styling accessories were also placed on the dressing table, such as combs and gels to keep your hair together. You were placed into some underwear and then the robe was wrapped back around you, before you were placed into the chair. Hwasa began to comb your hair, trying not to hurt you when detangling any knots you had in your hair, whilst Hyo-Seong sat next to you, using a dye similar to the colour of your hanbok to dye your nails to match them. Once Hwasa had finished detangling and Hyo-Seong had finished one hand, they moved onto another job. Hwasa moved on to braiding your hair with multiple different braids of different types. And Hyo-Seong moved to your other hand, continuing her job. Hyo-Seong finished her job first, and moved to stand up, helping Hwasa with your hair. Once your hair was braided, with multiple intricate braids across your head, the cheopji were placed on either side of your head, piercing through one of the braids in your hair that was formed in the shape of a bun. Both ladies take a step back and admire their work with large grins on their faces, making brief eye contact with you in the mirror that was placed above the dressing table. 

Next the ladies moved onto the makeup. They used a plant ash that was used with a delicate brush to create eyeliner, defining your eyes. A slightly inky like powder that looked clumpy yet watery, was used along with a spikey looking brush, was combed along your eyelashes, elongating them, and defining them with the dark black colour. Next they used a fluffy brush along with a yeonji powder, and brushed it lightly across your cheeks, allowing them to look naturally healthy and rosey. Then they added a small amount of water and picked up another brush, swiping it across your lips, darkening them to become almost the same colour as your hanbok.

Once all the makeup was completed, they began placing the majority of your jewellery. Placing in the earrings and doing the necklace up at the back of your neck. Then they turned you around, placing the socks onto your previously cold feet. Once the socks were on they pulled you up from the seat and moved you towards the wooden figure. They took the chima off of the figure and placed it on the ground before you stepped into it. Once you had stepped into it, they pulled it up to your bust. It took you a few moments to realise that it was a dress-like chima, and you needed to put your arms through the straps. There was a slight ribbon detail at the back of the dress that allowed them to tighten the chima to fit you perfectly. Then the jeogori was placed onto your body, the sleeves reaching your wrists, and the length covering the top part of your chima. Hyo-Seong then tied up the goreum, before placing the norigae onto the ribbon of the goreum. Hwasa follows this action by placing the remaining jewellery onto your body. Finally, the shoes were placed in front of you, as both ladies took a hold of your hands allowing you to hold onto them as you balanced on one foot to put the other into the shoe. 

By this time, it was almost time to make your way to where the banquet was being held. The walk to this building would be a short 5 minute walk. So you took the moment of peace that you had to rest and admire your outfit, everything from your clothing to your jewellery to your nails to your makeup. Before you knew it, it was time for you to leave. You opened up the door to your chambers and made your way out of it, Yeji waiting for you outside of the door, dressed in a beautiful peach colour, with butterfly shaped accessories. 

“OMO!” Yeji practically screams at you.”You look like the future queen eolin-i. You look so yeppeoyo! Everyone is going to have their eyes on you all night! Gajah!”

You can't help but smile and blush at your best friend's words, as you link arms with her. The walk to the room felt like it passed in a few brief seconds with the constant chatting between you and your best friend, rather than the five minutes it took to get there. Once you arrived you noticed Eun-bi and Seol-Hyun also waiting outside of the entrance, dressed in purples and pinks. Yeji squeezed your arm before bowing ever so slightly towards the women and entering the hall. A guard dressed in all black began towards your group announcing that the king and his men were on the way and that it was tradition that the women would hide until they had entered so that they couldn't see them. With a nod, you all moved to hide behind a wall away from any peeking eyes. Once the three of you had hidden out of sight, Eun-Bi turned to you with a sneer on her face “Why on earth would you wear the royal wedding colour, and with dragon details, who do you think you are? Don’t you think you’re a bit full of yourself for someone who looks the way that you do?” Seol-Hyun laughed at the comment before adding “It’s almost like you're asking for everyone to laugh at you”. Before you had the chance to respond, the same guard who had asked you to hide appeared again, alerting you that you could now enter the room, and the order that you would be going into the room. To Seol-Hyun’s joy, she was first, followed by Eun-Bi and then you. Seol-Hyun moved towards the large doors, and waited for them to be opened. You couldn’t see what was in the room, but you could hear the claps and music as the first lady was welcomed into the room. The doors were kept open as Eun-Bi moved toward the door, and entered. The noise of music and clapping continued. 

With a breath, you took a step towards the door,  it was your time to enter the room. You kept your head high and level, and stepped into the room. You walked as elegantly as you could towards the front of the room where the other ladies were waiting. On your way to the front, you made eye contact with Yeji, sending her a small grin before moving your eyesight towards the front, before accidentally making eye contact with the Queen Dowager, who gave you a loving smile and a wink that you would have missed if you blinked. Before you knew it, you were at the front of the room, standing next to Eun-Bi, in front of the king. 

The King looked even more handsome than he did in his last ceremonial robes that he wore when handing out his gifts just two days ago. Namjoon stood up and smiled at the crowd, the crowd growing silent within moments, eagerly waiting for his announcement. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for attending the announcement banquet. Today I will be announcing my future bride, your future queen, in front of you all. I hope you all love her as much as I have begun to. Now for the announcement”. He took a few steps forward until he stood in front of the three of you. He first stood in front of Seol-Hyun. The crowd remained silent. Namjoon spoke again “Thank you for being a part of this process but you will not continue through to the next stage. Please step off to the side, someone will be along soon to talk to you about what will happen next.” He told her, before moving to Eun-Bi, who turned briefly to you, smirking at you as if to say haha I win. After this look, Namjoon also made brief eye contact with you, sending an almost hidden smile your way. “Eun-Bi, thank you. However, you also won’t be entering the next level, please join your friend to the side, someone will also be along to speak to you”. The look on her face nearly made you laugh out loud, but you held it in. Eun-Bi begrudgingly moved to the side, joining the crowd and standing next to her friend. Namjoon then moves to stand in front of you. He cautiously takes your hands in his larger ones, looks you in the eyes before looking around at the crowd. He straightens his back, and smiles before speaking “This is Lady Seo Y/N. Over the past two weeks, myself, my closest friends and even my familys have gotten to know this beautiful young woman before us. I have fallen a little more in love each day, and I would be honoured if Lady Seo would accept my request to become both the Queen and the Royal Bride”.

“Yes, My King, I accept”

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permanent

Seokjin continues to lick your blood off his lips, placing a languid kiss on your shoulder. “You and Taehyung have become very close, why don’t you ask him?”

You have. So many times. He dodges every question you ask, only reiterating how untrustworthy the pair of vampires are, how unfairly he is being treated. “You were friends, what happened? You and Namjoon too…” you trail off as you think back to Seokjin’s memory of the group sitting and laughing all together.

By his silence you wonder if you’ve upset the vampire, but he remains as unperturbed as ever. “Well, if you let me in, I could show you why.” His hand rests on your neck, pushing your chin backwards onto his shoulder.

You frown, it’s a trick and you know it, but even if you wanted to it was impossible.

You don’t really know why or how you can reject his pull, but ever since that night Jimin showed you how truly heartless he could be, Seokjin’s powers stopped working on you.

“I just don’t understand why he’s chained. Did he do something…horrible?” you swallow, tilting your head to look up at the vampire. Seokjin uses the opportunity to kiss you, a slow teasing peck.

His kisses have become much more affectionate now, his caresses much more pleasant. But still, you thought of Taehyung and the warmth he emitted in his embraces and you began to wish for that instead, feeling guilty.

“He did.”

You hear a large booming noise, it sounds like it’s somewhere below you. Seokjin chuckles softly to himself as you shift against him. “But we’ve all done horrible things.” He stands up, lifting you in his arms.

“Y/n, the powers we have can be…difficult to handle at times. The chains are for Taehyung’s benefit.” He stares into your eyes, “You don’t believe me,” Seokjin states, noticing your clenched jaw.  

“I don’t know what to believe.” He drops you on your bed. “I know I’m a prisoner here, like him,” you look away from Seokjin again, crossing your arms over your body.

The vampire looks down at you with a soft expression, hand pulling your chin to look at him once more. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’ll let you rest.”

Seokjin turns but you stop him, holding onto his hand. His company was far better than spending the night alone, vulnerable to Jimin visiting you instead. “No- Stay?” you stutter, turning your head instinctively, hoping to entice the older vampire.

Seokjin lies down, making himself comfortable beside you and you rest your head on his chest. There is silence where his heartbeat should be. You tap your fingers over his heart. “Is there anything you can tell me about Taehyung?” you ask softly.

“We all learned to be resourceful, we knew how to hide in the shadows to get the things we needed, but Taehyung...” Seokjin sighs, “He never liked it, he loved being the center of attention. He is quite charming, yes?” he teases you. “When we were all together, indulging in the nightlife, he and Jimin could draw in a crowd like that,” Seokjin smiles. “You saw, how Jimin was...mesmerizing.” 

---

You awake, fur heavy around your body. You touch soft ears twitching under your fingertips. “Hoseok,” you croak out. His tail swishes around quickly now that you’re awake.

“Cute,” you whisper, burying your head in fur. Daylight fills the small hut. “Where’s Yoongi?” you ask, looking around for the merman. The large wolf lets out a low ruff. 

“I don’t understand you,” you laugh tiredly. He rolls his body up, large paws tucked underneath him. You hug his auburn nape, on the border of sleep again. “Don’t go,” you whisper, regretfully remembering Hoseok’s pleas to you when Seokjin relived the memory with you decoding his barks and howls. 

Hoseok lays his large snout on your pillow, letting out a short huff. Hoseok wasn’t going to leave you, he was just going to find a place to transform back to human. You want to understand him, don’t you? He swishes his tail, knocking it into your legs.

You pet his head, relaxing again. His large brown eyes look over to you confusedly before he closes them, reassuring you he was going to stay. 

It’s only a short while before you wake again, this time with strong arms wrapped around you. This time Hoseok answers you preemptively. “Yoongi is searching the island for signs of Jimin and Jin,” he says.

“Oh, okay,” you say surprised. You stay silent in each other’s embrace. “Hoseok?” You look down at his bare chest pressed up against you, “Are…y-you naked?”

“W-Well, you wouldn’t let me go!” Hoseok exclaims accusingly, his cheeks flushed red.

“Oh, okay,” you stutter, still holding him tightly.  

Hoseok breaks eye contact with you, tucking your head under his chin, trying to think of something other than your warm body and enticing scent only growing sweeter.

“Why did you come back? You got what you wanted, why come back here?” he grunts.

You think back to the life you had left, reduced to a couple of boxes and a death certificate. Your parents who were happy but unprepared for you. Your friends who did not make it. The days you felt so lost and useless, the nights you spent dreaming about this place. Technically, none of that ever happened, but the lost memories sat heavy on you nonetheless. 

Hoseok felt so warm, his heartbeat loud and fast against your ear. You thought about all those nights alone in your childhood bed, cold and lonely. God, how you missed hearing this. You let out a soft sigh against him, snuggling closer to him, listening as his pace quickens. “Hoseok, I promise…” you swallow, pulling away to look at him, “We will leave this island together. Or we’ll stay, but I won’t leave without you, okay?”

Hoseok nods, his hand resting on the side of your face, thumb tracing the curve of your cheek, appreciating your soft features and sparkling eyes and…beauty. 

You run your hand up his torso, touching…metal?

No, rock.

The gem around Hoseok’s neck starts sparkling a dazzling red light, stunning both of you.

“Take it off!” you yell. You and Hoseok scramble to pull the necklace over his head. You tug the jewel up and you heard him clearly, the voice that called out to you before, possessed you, Taehyung’s voice calling your name, telling you to put the necklace on. 

You realize Taehyung’s mark had never really left you. 

Hoseok looks into your eyes, watching as they begin to glow red, a sight that haunted his dreams ever since you had first encountered Jimin. He quickly pulls the jewel out of your grasp, flinging it into the hut’s wall, grabbing your face to make sure what he saw was correct, desperately hoping he hadn’t.

Your eyes refocus, back to your natural color and relief washed over him like a cold shower. But the red light behind him only grew brighter, until the entire hut was filled, blinding you both.

When the light dissipated you were holding each other tight, both breathing heavier than before. 

“H-Hoseok?” you ask him, trying to catch your breathing. You feel hot all over from your confession. You lick your lips, is that why you felt like this? Your heart pounded in your ears, caught in Hoseok’s intense gaze.

Hoseok stares at you, hands tightly holding the sides of your face. ‘I won’t leave without you,’ you said. Hoseok felt his chest tighten as he let himself believe in your words…trust you. 

He nods. Why does he feel so jittery, every nerve ending in his body buzzing? Why are you breathing so heavily, your mouth parted, eyes looking up at him so fiercely?

Hoseok kisses you, unable to control himself, his lips crashing against yours. 

Your hands find purchase in his wild hair, mimicking his tight hold on you. It felt so good to taste him, to surrender yourself to his fierce affection. You devoured each other, you breathed each other in, gasping for air, unwilling to part. 

It was Hoseok who broke away first, hugging you tight, trying to calm himself as he buries his head in the crook of your neck.

“Hoseok?” you ask breathless.

“He’s back,” Hoseok mumbles into your neck. 

Hoseok was right, the door creaks open, the merman walking in as you push away from each other.

You freeze in tense silence. 

Yoongi figures out your circumstances easily, his eyes narrowing on the both of you, gaze stopping on the werewolf specifically. The way his body was blotched red, Hoseok grabbing a pillow to cover up his obvious-

“Where the hell is the necklace?”

Hoseok looks down confused. Where is the necklace?! “I…uhhh-” You both look around frantically, Hoseok tripping over himself to pull on clothes and you trying to look for the necklace with your eyes half covered.

Yoongi scans the hut, sharp eyes noticing the new dent in his wall immediately. Did that idiot try to break the necklace again? He walks over to where it lies, picking up the piece of jewelry. 

Hoseok runs his hand over his neck, straining to think when he removed the necklace, but he couldn’t remember. Something wasn’t right.

“I’ll keep it,” Yoongi says glaring at the werewolf, pocketing the necklace for now.

“You should hide it,” you say, shivering inside. The necklace felt dangerous…how did it end up on the floor, you don’t remember Hoseok taking it off!

Yoongi hums, “I didn’t find them, but they’re alive. I found this in one of the caves.” Yoongi holds out a torn and bloodied coat, throwing it at the werewolf. “Well?”

Hoseok sniffs it, grimacing, “It’s Jin’s alright. We need to go, we have to tell Joon.”

Yoongi scoffs. “You go, we’ll catch up with you.” Yoongi holds his hand out to you, pulling you to his side and holding your waist protectively.

“How are you?” He addresses you, words spoken sweeter than you were used to, hand fixing the jeweled comb in your hair, flustering you. The merman's eyes focus on your lips.

The werewolf grinds his teeth, emitting a low growl from his throat and charges for the merman. “Hoseok!” you push against his chest as the merman smirks behind you. “What are you doing?!” But Hoseok has his sights on the deadpan man behind you, glaring at him furiously as he wraps another arm over your waist.

“Let her go,” he growls in Yoongi’s face, who remains impassive, letting the werewolf dig his own hole as his jealousy builds. You try to push the pair away from each other fruitlessly, their strong bodies caging you in their silent standoff as Hoseok shoves the merman’s shoulder. 

“Stop! Hoseok, stop!” ‘Do they have to fight right now?!’ you think, just when everyone was finally getting along, what is wrong with them! 

“Yes, stop, dog.”

You look over your shoulder, giving the merman an accusing look and Hoseok charges again.

You yell, stuck in between them, their bodies pressing up against yours, making you aware of how inhumanly strong both are…how tight and muscular their bodies are…dammit. 

The stubborn pair refuse to budge. You were literally being crushed between a rock and hard place! “BOTH OF YOU STOP,” you scream, making the pair wince. 

“This is your fault!” Hoseok barks.

Your eyes go wide, “M-My fault? My fault?! You-” you dig your finger into his insufferably perfectly sculpted chest, “YOU ARE THE MOST AGGRAVATING-”

“You’re aggravating!” Hoseok yells.

“You are both aggravating.”

You wheel around, facing the merman. “YOU-”

Yoongi places a soft kiss on your lips, just long enough to extinguish your rising anger. “You are the most aggravating,” he looks past you to the shell shocked werewolf, “Right?”

Hoseok grinds his teeth, glaring at the merman. You think he might lunge at him again, but Hoseok crosses his arms, rolling his eyes instead.

“She is,” he huffs.

You blink.

---

You swim up, breaking the water’s surface with Yoongi right behind you. It was the cave under the waterfall, you smile, enjoying the sound of the rushing water after so long. You look over your shoulder, “Ready?”

The merman pauses, “Wait.” You wade in the pool, swimming towards the merman. “How are you feeling?” Yoongi asks. 

“I’m okay.” Well, apart from being disoriented from the quick way Yoongi pulled you through the water…and the longer kisses the merman had given you at the bottom of the sea, the way he had lingered in those moments, his unexpected enthusiasm…and tongue. 

You feel hot all over again remembering his mouth against yours. “Are you sure?” he asks.

You lean against the rocks, nodding. “It’s overwhelming, remembering everything again. The whole time I was gone, I forgot everything. I couldn't even remember my name,” you confess, smiling sadly.

Yoongi thinks about what you said, body submerged up to his eyes, staring inquisitively at you as he meanders closer, his predator tendencies emerging only to make you smile at how cute you found him in those moments..

He propels his body up, waves hitting you and making you giggle. “If you couldn’t remember, how did you come back?”

“It took awhile but I got my memory back. I was, um, gone longer than you think…Namjoon’s watch...” you wince missing the gold piece, it had become a comfort to you for all those months. Yoongi nods, leaning into you closer, “This place never came back, but…I did have dreams of this…of you. Even though at the time I didn’t understand what that meant, I felt drawn to find out. I ended up back at the portal not knowing why. Taehyung…” you shake your head.

“It feels like he’s still inside my head. He’s the reason why I’m back, I know it.” Taehyung is to blame, you can feel it, thinking back to his delighted expression. Everything else felt fuzzy, but his eyes…they haunted you…like another pair of eyes, red and piercing…tearful..

“I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe. The d- Hoseok and the others, they will too.”

“You’ll do that for me, even though I came back empty handed?” you ask teasingly.

“You are enough.”

“Yoongi…”

“Hoseok is probably waiting for us.” He leans his head against the rocks, looking up at the cave’s stalactites.

“Oh!” you nod, swimming again.

The merman pulls you back by the elbow. “He can wait.” Yoongi is enjoying the time he finally has alone with you, you made him worry for so long after all, he deserves some compensation.

“You enjoy making him angry,” you accuse, your eyes narrowing on the merman.

“You do too,” he challenges, smirking.

“I don’t!” you yelp, as Yoongi’s arms lift you above the water, holding you close.

“You like making him jealous,” he says, his smirk growing wider, letting you fall slowly back into the pool, your wet body sliding against him. 

The merman is purposefully provoking you with each flirtatious gesture. And it’s working, you feel your stomach tighten, warmth dropping through your body even in the cool water. “You like making him jealous,” you breathe out.

He drops you until foreheads meet, your noses touching, your lips so close together you just have to tilt your head only a fraction more-

You run your hand across Yoongi’s defined jaw, kissing him as fiercely as he kissed you under water, enjoying his lips more this way without water surrounding you where you can focus on his soft skin and warm mouth. 

He presses you against the pool’s rocks, tongue exploring your mouth as he takes control, hands brushing against the wet fabric clinging tight to your body, finger tips running over your breasts in teasing slow motions. Your legs tighten around his hips, thighs rubbing over his scales.

“So how do mermaids-” you gasp as he grips your ass possessively.

“That’s a lesson for later.”

You pout as he kneads your flesh, pulling mewls from your lips. You lean your head against his, closing your eyes, overwhelmed by him, “When is later?”

“Impatient woman. There is someone else who is impatiently waiting,” Yoongi glances to the side.

“Then we better go,” you kiss him again, hands reaching for what you want most...his tail.

Quicker than you, Yoongi holds your wrists behind your back. “Still?!” you whine. “Now you’re just playing hard to get.”

He continues to tease you with deep kisses, his tight embrace, mesmerizing stare. You struggle against his hold, panting against his lips, “More.”

“Tell me how much you want me and I’ll let you come,” he says, biting his bottom lip waiting, enjoying in your dismay. ‘Let you,’ huh. Your foot slides along his tail, legs tightening around him.

You’re too curious, and way too riled up now not to give in. “I want you, merman.” you whisper, wiggling in his tight hold, “Please, Yoongi. I want you so badly,” you moan seductively.

Yoongi smiles deviously. “Cum for me then.”

You shake, looking down, your body instantly reacting to his words. Oh, this is cheating.

This is definitely unfair, you think as your legs try to close, unable to as he watches you, eyes shining sinfully. You core pulses and you arch your back, jaw slack.

You would be stubborn and try to fight it, he thinks. You glare at him and he rolls his tongue over his lip, his own body hot with arousal, eyes darkened by your faltering cries of pleasure, resisting the urge to do more, holding onto your wrists and keeping you above water as your body tenses, on the precipice of release.

The pleasure becomes too much and you throw your head back. “I’m-” you shudder, your body aching to be filled, core clenching tighter as pleasure washes over you like water. 

“Coming?” Yoongi teases, low smooth voice like honey dripping over you, affecting you even more as your core gushes, throbbing and pulsating deep within you. 

You let go, toes curling, unable to resist the seductive siren’s words. 

---

“You have an unfair advantage, you know,” you mutter, your arms around his neck. Yoongi swims under the waterfall, holding your tired body in his arms.

“You enjoyed yourself, didn’t you?” he teases.

“What about you?” you ask, fixing the wet strands of his hair out of his face. “How would I…” You look down at his bare chest, biting your lip, sneaking a hand to try to touch his tail.

He pulls you underwater, before standing up on legs. “Next time.”

“Yah!” You spit out water, wiping your face, kicking your legs to be let down.

Hoseok barks impatiently at the pond’s edge, and he keeps barking at you. “Sorry for the wait,” you mutter, ringing out your dress. Not knowing what the large wolf was saying was no doubt a blessing in disguise with the way he kept yapping at you. “Um?”

Yoongi used his pack again to pull out fresh clothes, the necklace stayed tucked securely inside the magical pouch. “He says he can smell you, what’s wrong with you, and some other words you probably don’t want to hear.”

Perhaps Hoseok had rubbed off on you, you growled at him.

The wolf backs away, ruffing again, unable to stop himself from having the last word? Bark?

---

Hoseok stopped just short of camp, beginning to growl in warning. You noticed the pack leader making his way towards your group, but Hoseok’s growls only become louder once Namoon is in front of you, confusing you.

“Hoseok, go to the house. Find Jungkook and control yourself.”

The wolf lets out a couple of angry yips before obeying his leader and bounding away quickly.

“Namjoon?” you ask wearily, and the leader’s face softens, pulling you into a hug.

“Stabbing Seokjin, impressive, little one,” he looks you up and down.

“Come on,” he tells you and Yoongi. “I hoped Hoseok was with you somewhere, I’m glad I was right,” he says without looking behind you. You couldn’t tell if he was upset, but the leader’s voice sounded tired and relieved, however his body language remained guarded. 

You stepped inside the werewolf’s house.

It looked much darker than you remembered. Before everything was open and sunlight filled the house. But even with the sun high in the sky, the house remained dark.

Jungkook crashes into you, lifting you off your feet with his embrace. “You’re okay,” he mumbles into your hair.

“I think so,” you whisper, hugging him tightly back. “Where’s Hoseok? Oh!” Hoseok moved to your left side, silently acknowledging you.

His expression looked angrier than you’ve ever seen him, which was saying a lot. Yoongi stood close to your right. The leader closed the door behind you. They all stood next to you at the entrance, which was odd considering the large size of the house...

“Seokjin?!” your eyes go wide, noticing a pair or red orbs across the room from you.

The vampire looked different, he looked so…unkept! Seokjin wore slacks and a loose fitting sleeved shirt, hair lying dry and not styled like you're used to.

‘Speak of the devil,” another voice speaks, “or no, actually, the one who let the devil out.”

You hold on tightly to Hoseok’s and Jungkook’s hands. You don’t know when you had reached for their comforting touch, but they squeeze yours back reassuringly. 

Jimin sits on a cushion, kicking his legs out, annoyed he was stuck in this vastly unpleasant situation.

“Jimin.”

The vampire in question frowns. The way you addressed him was not what he expected from you. There was relief in your voice as you said his name and the annoying look of hope in your eyes.

“You are going to be the reason we all die.”

“Jimin, stop,” Jin says. “Dove, we need to know what Taehyung said to you,” he asks, much more diplomatically. 

You shake your head, trying to make your way closer to the vampires, but the men around you have made an impressive barrier.

Now what are you doing?! Jimin thinks. After everything you’ve done! If you get any where near Jin or him, Jimin plans to drain you dry. Well, he can’t do that yet. Not until you answer all their questions.

He hates being stuck here, hiding in the shadows of the wolf’s den. Why did Seokjin bring him here of all places to heal, he could have healed himself practically anywhere else on the island. But no, he was stuck smelling like dog and now having to deal with you again. He scowls.

How are you going to explain the lost months you experienced, the things you witnessed in Jimin’s memory. You stare at the angry younger vampire, how are you going to convince Jimin to help you?

“Jimin, you need to bite me.”

“What?!”

---

“Im stopping to get gas namjoon.” I say annoyance lacing in my voice. “I said no we need to keep looking.'' Despite his disagreement I pull into the gas station anyways. “No we need to-” “the only way to keep looking is if i have gas. without it we would have no car. namjoon i get it you're worried and you want to find them but right now we need gas.” you say turning the car off and walking into the store to pay. Of course right when you step out of the car it starts pouring down rain. Just my luck. 

The old man greets you kindly “hi can i get 20 on pump..” you look to see where your car is “3.”  you say looking back at the man. He just smiles. He takes the money and goes to put it in the register but he's still tapping on the screen. It's about 3 minutes before he looks at me and says “sorry complications.” i smile “no worries.'' you  see someone behind the counter but you can't see them that well. Until they suddenly pop up “hi!” he says cheerfully and loudly. You blink your eyes a few times before getting your face back to normal from the shock. “Hi” I smiled at him. “You smell very peculiar” “thank you?” you say in a question because is that a compliment or?

The boy laughs “I mean well, you smell nice, just haven't  smelt such a scent. My name is Yeonjun!” he says enthusiastically. You can't help but giggle. He has so much energy at this time of night at such a quiet location he must have been waiting for someone to come in. The old man must have finished because he tells Yeonjun to tell me it's ready. “Well i hope you have a nice night yeonjun.” you say as you walk out, you hear a loud “you too lady that smells nice!”

I laugh to myself as I pump the gas. You get back into the car and crank it up and of course namjoon isn't pleased. “Had fun talking for an hour?” I groaned “it’s not my fault he was having complications and plus it was only like 7 minuets so calm your tits dude.” you say starting to drive. you hear a laugh and look in the rearview mirror to see jin giggling to himself. Taehyung fell asleep long ago saying “boba makes you sleepy” but you think he was just tired.

You ride around looking at streets, looking through alleyways until it's about 11:30 pm. You turn into the last street that you guys haven't checked. Looking out the windows you still don't see anything “namjoon i don't think-” before you can even have the thought to stop him namjoon is out of the car. you don't know how he didn't fall or hurt himself but good thing you were going slow.  It's raining so hard you tell him to hold up but he doesn't hear you.

You pull over to park and hop out of the car. Jin and Taehyung follow you “namjoon wait!” you say running through puddles after him “found them i think.” he says to you “you think?!” I yell exasperated. He jumped out of a moving car because he “thought” he saw them. This man is one of a kind. Looking behind you to make sure Jin and Taehyung are okay “you guys good?” you yell over the heavy wind and rain. They both nod, you walk a bit further to catch up to namjoon and he runs.

You groan, are we playing tag? Feels like I'm in gym class doing a damn pacers test. You almost lose him after he turns a corner but you follow after him. That's when you see him in front of a group of what looks to be about four men. You can't make out if they’re hybrids because of how heavy the rain is and it's dark out, nothing but an orange street lamp lighting the alleyway dimly. 

Before you can question if he found them you see a shorter man hug namjoon. You guess he did find them. Jin and Taehyung run past you to them, you see the silhouettes of the seven men all hugging each other. You watch with a smile, you don't want to interrupt but it's raining hard and you don't have a jacket. You walk up to them slowly and see them all look at you. Jimin's face lights up “y/n!” he runs to you “what are you doing here?” he asks, surprised.

I smile “me and those three.” you point to namjoon, jin and taehyung “have been looking for you four all day basically. Namjoon almost ripped my head off when we stopped for gas but we didn't stop because he was determined to find you all tonight.'' I said to him, The hybrids are all listening. “That doesn't explain how they wound up with you?” Yoongi says with accusing eyes. “It's a long story. Do you guys want to stay at mine tonight? It's raining pretty hard?” I ask hopeful.

I don't want them to sleep in this weather. They're already soaked and none of them have jackets except for jungkook. Namjoon growls “no.” Yoongi looks up at you “yeah no thanks we'll stay out here.” you look and see Hoseok shaking and yoongi is too but he'd never admit that, especially to you. They all are because no matter if they are half their animal counterparts they are still half human. That means they too get cold and sick

“You'll catch a cold and this isn't weather to sleep in. plus when's the last time you've eaten?” you question him. “We don't need your help so can you stop acting like you're our owner or some shit? We said we're fine out here so leave us be. You're annoying.” Jungkook says through chattering teeth. You want to argue because you know this is a bad idea but who are you to them? No one. They don't have any reason to trust you. You back away despite Jimin's whines.

“Okay.” you walk away and turn the corner. What Jungkook said kinda hurt your feelings because you didn't want to appear annoying or like you're demanding. You just care, you care and in the end that's what hurts you but you don't regret caring. You can't help but feel like you're leaving them to a death wish. Who knows how worse the weather could get? Despite your worries you just keep walking knowing there's nothing you can do.

Jimin looks at where you just disappeared turning back to his mates with pleading eyes “no jimin.'' Namjoon says with no room for discussion but Jimin isn't having it. “Its literally fucking pouring. Who knows if we'll survive the night. With how hard the wind and rain is. It could be a tornado coming or something worse. Look at Jin, he's freezing” they look at Jin and see him soaked with his arms wrapped around himself.

“And look at poor hobi he can barely keep his teeth from chattering. One night won't kill you ya know? It doesn't make you any weaker to say yes to her offer. But staying out here for the night isn't smart.” Jimin states angrily. Namjoon just stares at him but Jimin isn't backing down on this, not when he knows he’s right. Namjoon sighs and rubs his hands over his face “fine but one night, nothing more.” 

They run to catch up to you. They see you're just about to get into your car “y/n wait!” you hear jimin say looking up you see the hybrids jogging to you “does the offer still stand?” “always.” you reply without a second of hesitation. It shocks namjoon that you still said yes to them despite some of them not liking you, despite some of them being hesitant to you.  It must be Jimin's charm that made you say yes. 

(poor joonie doesn't know that you said yes because of all of them, not just because of jimin.)

—————————————————————————

They all pile into your car and good thing you have a suv because if you didn't it'd be an uncomfortable ride back to the house. It's a quiet drive, you try your best to drive safely. It's a bit difficult to see with how your windshield is filled with rain no matter how much your windshield wipers wipe it. Luckily you get home safely with no accidents. Everyone gets out and follows you to the door. Your hands are numb and shaking from how cold it is tonight.

You hear someone groan behind you “do you know how to open a door?” Jungkook says annoyed. You hear someone hit his arm “ow..” he whines. Eventually you get it unlocked and right when you walk in it's like getting hugged by a blanket. Warmth spreads through your body and you accept it gratefully. It makes your body tingle and sting as if you're thawing out but you move on from the feeling quickly too immersed in the warmth to care.  

You decide to make a fire in the fireplace real quick to warm up the place a bit more. You feel all of them watching you but you ignore their eyes. Once the flames are alive you turn to them. “I'm about to go get you guys some clothes. There's two bathrooms upstairs and one down here, not counting the one in my room so you can all take turns.” Yoongi laughs “what?” Did you say something funny?

“why would we take turns showering when we all fu-” you hear hoseok gasp before hitting yoongi in the back “yoongi!” confused on what he was about to say you just walk away to fetch them the clothes. You walk back with your hands full and lay the clothes on the couch. “Be right back.” you yell before hurrying down the hallway back to your room. You couldn't carry the towels with the clothes because your hands were full. You come back and drop the towels too. 

Namjoon is just staring at you. “You gonna take em?” you question. Without saying anything they grab the clothes they each want and towels and head to the showers. You yell loud enough for them to hear “oh and uh sorry about the no underwear cause you know uh yeah..” you trail off at the end you hear someone laugh and you groan. Because why would you say that? You could have just ugh, never mind! you decide to not let the embarrassment sink in too long because you also need to shower. 

You get to your bathroom and undress before getting under the hot water. God you can't help but think on how this even happens. I mean how does one even run into 7 hybrids in the span of 2 to three weeks and then find out they’re a pack? You have been so caught up with the crazy things life has been throwing at you that you haven't started any commissions. You need to get on that really soon. Though you still have the money from your mom, you want to make your own and stay as stable as you can. You decide to take a bit of a long shower. Wanting to relax but you can't seem to no matter how hard you try. You think back on little things you've noticed but left unsaid about the pack. 

The way when you argued back with namjoon a bit loudly he flinched. The way Jimin got nervous when you quirked your eyebrow at him as if that signaled you were angry. The way jungkook was barely conscious but tried to stay just conscious enough to defend himself. How yoongi and hoseok watch closely to everything you do as if you're going to try something. All the way down to how Jin gets nervous when you stare at him for too long as if you'll try something because you either like what you see or don't.

Taehyung though he doesn't act much in any kind of way which makes you curious. He didn't seem angry or nervous that you helped like Namjoon and Jin had he asked you for a drink. He didn't talk much either as if when he spoke you'd think something of him, judge him. The only thing you noticed about taehyung was how he talked. It was very short and basic sentences.

Most of all you can't help but think why they all got split up when they obviously didn't want to be. You remember Jimin saying the person who hurt Jungkook was Timmy? Tanner? No, that wasn't it, what was it? Tony! Tony was the guy who hurt jungkook and you don't know tony but fuck him for hurting jungkook. Jungkook may be a bit of a jerk but I think it's for protection or he could just not like me, who knows?

You finish up your shower and get dressed. You look in the mirror as you brush your hair, once finished you go to open the bathroom door but you hear something break. Rushing to the kitchen to see what happened you see Taehyung crouched down near a broken vase. Everyone is standing watching you and your reaction. They all seem scared and nervous. it's the one your mom bought you when you were younger. It's special to you because it reminds you of her but you're not angry because things happen but taehyung takes your silence as anger.

He's on the ground instantly picking up the glass with his bare hands “sorry I'm sorry” he's crying as he keeps picking it up. you walk closer but taehyung just sobs harder “no please didn't mean too” “hey taehyung it’s okay” you say gently bending down to stop him from picking up more pieces but taehyung doesn't hear you, he only sees that your getting closer and he drops the vase pieces to put his hands up to block himself “please don't hurt me” he looks up at you through teary eyes his face one of pure fear.

You can't help but step back. Who has hurt him this bad and scared him this much to where he would think you'd hurt him over a broken vase, an accident. You put your hands up in the air “taehyung i'm not going to hurt you i would never, it's okay. I'm not mad at you things happen you didn't mean to break it.'' you say softly. He puts his hands down slowly and just stares down at his cut up hands.

With the way he was picking up the pieces so fast it was bound to cut his hands. You say as gently as you can “do you mind if i clean your hands?” he looks up at you and then to someone behind you as if he wants, no needs confirmation that this is safe, that this isn't a trap. Whoever he is looking at must nod because Taehyung gets up and follows you. “No one touch that okay? I'll clean it after I'm done with his hands.” I say without looking behind me. 

Once I pulled taehyung into my bathroom I sit him on the toilet. I look under the sink for the bandages, gauze and neosporin. “I'm going to clean this okay?” he nods but doesn't look up at me. I take his hands one by one into mine and clean it. He hisses but doesn't try to pull away. As I'm applying the ointment to his hands I decide to talk to him a bit “you know that i'm really not mad right, it's just a vase. My mom gave it to me when i was young.” he looked up at that face showing his guilt “but you wanna know a secret?” he doesn't respond so you continue “it was pretty ugly.” you whisper to where only you and him can hear.

He giggles at that, showing a cute boxy smile to you. Your heart warms at the sight. You wrap his hands and help him stand up. “There you go bubs. If they hurt too bad let me know but the most they'll do is sting because they're little scratches, nothing too bad “ you say to taehyung as you both walk into the kitchen.

You look down to see the glass gone confused. You look around but all the hybrids just stand in the same spots that they were before. “I don't know who cleaned it even though I said not to because I didn't want any of you to get hurt but thank you, truly.” I smile at them all. You have a feeling the person who did it is a special someone who didn't want to come here or be under your roof again with how his cheeks turn pink but you decide to look away before he gets angry.

“I know it's late but are you guys hungry ? if you're not up for something heavy i’d suggest and prefer you eat a snack at least.'' I say, I turn to jimin who's already looking at me expectantly “jimin” he nods and smiles. He was hoping you would ask him to show them where everything is because it makes him feel useful and makes him feel like he's returning your kindness. He shows them where the snacks are and where the drinks are at. Even shows them where the cups and silverware are too. 

Once they've all picked their desired snack they just stand nobody sitting. Maybe they want to eat in their rooms? you know they must be tired ”you can eat your snacks in the rooms ya know?.”  you say through a yawn, damn you must be tired too. They look at each other and decide to do just that. They all walked into the room where Jungkook and Jimin slept. “There's about four extra bedrooms so you can all sleep in pairs if you want.” you tell them.

Yoongi laughs again “why would we sleep in separate rooms when we fu-” this time it's jimin who stops yoongi “yoongi stop!” Jimin says with red cheeks. You don't know what yoongi keeps hinting at but whatever it is, it makes the others embarrassed. You want to ask what he keeps hinting at but decide against it, must be an inside joke. “Well goodnight guys. Feel free to come get me if you need anything. Jimin knows where my room is at.” you say as you start to walk away from the doorway. You hear about two ‘good nights’ assuming one from jimin and the other sounded like hoseok. 

Hopefully tomorrow the weather is a bit better because you know how much they don't want to be here but you'd never be able to sleep knowing you didn't try to get them under a roof tonight. Knowing Jungkook cleaned the glass even though he's a bit of an ass made you  giggle to yourself.

He's just a big softie you think as you close your eyes. Maybe they all are, maybe they had to be tough to survive. Listening to the rain is calming as you close your eyes. You were just about to go to dreamland but dammit, there's the sounds of the window again. You need to get that fixed soon.

Nothing made you less embarrassing to them. The eyes of the other rich families, your family did business with becoming too much for them to handle. So they arranged for you to soon get married to one of their friends' sons. Saying something like “it'll do our family image good.” you didn't want to be engaged or married unless it was to your love, your sun. your family, who was very religious, began to pray to god to “make her normal '' ever since you didn't present the day you should have. 

Even though you did present, they just felt like something was wrong with you. Your parents would claim that you presenting late has caused you to act differently.  Made you be “controlled by the devil '' all because you simply dyed your hair.  That's how you got engaged to him. They were sick of you embarrassing them, sick of you not being the person they wanted to mold you to be.

So your parents gave more money to that family so their son would hurry up and engage you and take you to his home. They trusted him because he's “rich y/n and a good christian man.” You didn't want to go with him already feeling your skin being burnt at the smile he's giving you. You cried and begged your parents to let you stay home. Tried To reason that you're too young to be sent away to a man, to be married. 

Only to get slapped in the face. Your mother had slapped you, looking down at you with a face of disgust.  “Stop making a fool out of yourself and us more than you already have and pack your bags.” you looked over to your neighbors to see him staring at you. You wish you both could run away and become someone new but you can't. You watch with tears as his parents usher him away. so you packed and was sent with the man your parents want you to be with.

You learned his name was jaebeom. He smiled at your parents and even grabbed your bags for you appearing kind. The car ride back to his place was suffocating as if your lungs knew this would be their last chance to breathe normally, to breathe air so calm. He asked you questions but you didn't reply. “That’s okay i'll get you to talk.” he said in a disgustingly soft voice. 

When you first got to his house he guided you to his room claiming “this is our room now.'' The first two days were fine. You assumed maybe you had the wrong impression of the guy but you know how the saying goes. “Always trust your gut feeling.” Your third day staying with him you went to eat but found he had locked all of the cabinets and changed the pantry door knob to one with a lock.

Confused, you turned back to find him staring at you with that same smile that burns your skin. He had told you that you were already chubby and that he was going to be willing to look past that but lately he found it overwhelming to look at you because you are getting too big. You argued that you barely eat and that it has only been two days, you wish you never said anything. 

You got hit in the face so fast you didn't even realize it until the pain settled in “dont talk back.” he said into your ear. You stayed there just holding your face. “Omegas are supposed to be pretty, I'm just helping you.” he claimed as he took you to the bedroom. You didnt wnat to have sex with him but you were too afraid to speak up, too afraid to be hit again.

So you stay quiet and you stay quiet for years but being quiet did nothing. You had been quiet ever since that day and still got treated lowly. Being hit for things you didn't even know you did wrong. “woke me up too early” hit. “You didn't speak to me in the right tone.” hit. The One that hurt the most because no matter how hard you try you couldn't fix this one.  “you're still too big” hit. Hit. hit. 

One night the abuse got so bad your fiance had gashed you in the face from your forehead through your eye to your cheek. You ran out the house to your parents telling them what happened, blood dripping down your face onto your neck but all they said to you was “it's too late for this, he's a good man y/n, a good alpha. You probably did something out of place. Besides,this may be God's will.” then they shut the door in your face. 

Their own daughter is bleeding and they can't find it in them to care. You have never hated god, never despised her no matter how much your parents use her against you but in that moment you did because if this is god's will, then you hate her. you hate her for putting these invisible chains onto your body, keeping you to this life of misery.

You feel hands grab you and pull you back a hand over your mouth as they throw you into the car. You could recognize that ash scent anywhere. “thought running away was going to do something omega? should have listened and this wouldn't have happened. I do everything for you and you decide to talk back. It's just food you'll be okay without it for another day.” he growls at you in the car. All you can think is oh, this isn't that bad at least you still have your sight. 

A week passed since your incident and nothing has gotten better if anything it's gotten worse. The only upgrade is you get a meal at 8pm everyday now. He watches you as you cook the meal everyday. making sure you only put  this much of that and this little of this. Making sure to read out the calories and carbs to ingrain in you how much is too bad. He claims “this should thin you out some but knowing you not much.” you wanted to cry from humiliation, cry from pain, but you can't and you haven't been able to in a while. Body dried up from tears since the first week of staying with him.

You were about to sit down and eat the small meal you made when he reminds you “remember omega lose a pound and you'll get to nest, gain a pound and you'll get in trouble and we wouldn't want that right?” nesting the only time you get to slightly indulge in such a thing is through your fantasy books. A reality you can never have. With how you presented late and was immediately thrown into the hands of someone who doesn't let you indulge in your instincts.

You have never nested. you don't answer choosing to be silent and pick a piece of broccoli. You feel your head being yanked back by your hair “right?” he growls “y..yes alpha.” he smiles that same smile. The same smile that burns your skin every time it reaches his eyes. Eyes full of toxic flames that fill your lungs with smoke. 

One day your fiance left to go to one of those rich people's parties claiming he had “business” that you couldn't be around for. You already embarrass him in front of his poor friends so he doesn't need you embarrassing him in front of the important ones. You always wondered what business he did but you were too scared to ask.  You got up from where you were reading a fantasy book. Something that always managed to take you away from here.

He had them around the house, he'd never read them claiming “only betas and omegas read.” you wanted to scoff you knew plenty of alphas who loved reading, especially your love, he loved reading to you and vice versa. You miss him.  You were slightly hungry having only one meal a day with a calculated water intake has made your appetite non existent but today you are for some reason. You know better than to dwell on it, it would only cause you to want a treat you can't have. 

You walk past the pantry and see it's open. All the food you don't get to have is now easily accessible to you. You..you shouldn't. Omegas are supposed to be pretty and he's helping you get pretty. So you ignore it until you can’t anymore, just one granola bar wouldn't hurt. So you sneak in as if someone will hear you, as if you make too much noise he’ll appear. You unwrap it slowly trying to make as little noise as possible.

You hesitate, this will cause you to gain weight. Your stomach will hold onto any food it can get right now. You go to take a bite and decide fuck it. It’s grainy, you haven't had one in forever that it almost feels like dirt is in your mouth but the flavor is good. Slightly sweet with a hint of salt. You go to take another bite when you hear the pantry door open, light from the kitchen shining on you as if to further humiliate you in front of the eyes of the man who has made you this way. 

He drags you out of the pantry and into the kitchen floor. You see he's not alone as laughter cuts through the room, gun powder you note, they all smell of gunpowder. “This is what happens when you take pity on the ugly duckling boys, no matter how hard you try and help her she just stays this way.” he says taking a knife out of his pocket and cutting your shirt slightly to expose some of your stomach. “You try to help her be pretty to become a good omega and she undoes my efforts by disobeying.” he says as he makes you stand “look at them “ he growls.

you don't listen and he grabs my face “i said look!” he growls louder. “You need to learn your place and i thought what better way to teach you then by having others help me huh?” your eyes welled with tears something that has been foriegn to you for  awhile now.  You shake your head and they all laugh “omegas don't get to say no.'' Your eyes pan the front door that's open. You would rather die trying to get away from this nightmare than die with the regret of knowing you didn't try so you run and you run fast. You eventually run so fast you make it to the woods. 

Run, keep running, just keep going. Is all you can think of as you run as fast as you can through the forest. You don't know where you're going, you've never been out of the hands of your fiance since you've been with him. Every Time you went out it was with him. You haven't had freedom and you've been hid away for a while. You believe it's because your parents wanted that, wanted the trace of you to be forgotten, even by them. 

Body caving deeper into survival mode because you knew if you stayed with him you would eventually die from his hands or yours. You feel the thorns cutting your legs, the glass in the dirt getting stuck in your feet. The cold night air burning your throat, the rushed intake of air making your lungs feel as if they're going to collapse but you can't stop. You can't stop until you can't see the light from the house until you can push no more. You look back to see that the house is no longer in your sight but you know better then to stop, then to get comfortable and recede to walking. 

After what feels like hours you stop running and catch your breath. Lungs aching as if needles are being punctured into them. You look up to see the moon big and blue hued. You haven't been out in forever. Haven't been able to leave the house on your own in years. You're finally alone and it's kinda scary but so free. You feel as if you're wind traveling on its own without anyone to stop or guide it.

Once your breathing has even out you decide it's probably safe to walk. Walking forward you begin to hear the sounds of cars but it only sounds like a few passing by. You see a light and what seems to be a small dingy store. You see a man sucking a lollipop while leaning against the side of his black truck. You know not to trust anyone but you don't have any other option, you don't know what else to do.  “Sir, do you mind telling me where I am?”  you ask through a strained voice. 

The man stares at me with wide eyes taking in my appearance slightly. He takes out his lollipop “sorry lady but i know better than to trust these kinds of tactics.” He says going to walk away but you grab his arm “no tactic swear! i just i..i don't know where i am and I have nowhere to go so I was wondering if maybe you can just tell me where I am please?” you say in a panic as you check the woods behind you, you doubt he would follow you but you want to check  

Namjoon finally looks at all of you and he almost gasps. Your legs are bleeding and feet puddled with the blood from your legs injuries. Your shirt ripped. Your face too has a huge scar on the left eye from your forehead down your eye to the middle of your cheek that looks as if it's in the stages of healing. He spots the bruises on your face and arms, legs spotted as well. He wants to say he doesn't believe you but with the way your pupils are blown wide and shaking, he does.

He doesn't know why but he helps. “Get in.” you look at him wide eyed “what?” “I said get in.”  you don't know why you listen but you're going to blame it on the fact that this man smells of peace. The smell of a sunny dewy morning hitting your nose and almost making you purr. You haven't smelt such a scent in years. you do as he says and get in the passenger seat. Namjoon backs up quickly, his tires definitely leaving marks as he pulls out. He starts driving and slows down after he realizes he was speeding a bit.

He was supposed to leave work, come get gas and then head back home. He didn't think picking up what he assumes is an omega was on the list. Your smell is nothing but blood and stale sour candy. He looks to the side to see you staring out the window, eyes empty of any emotion. Just what have you been through?

He hears his phone ring and picks up audio going to his airpod. “Hello?” “Namjoon hyung Jin is asking, What's taking so long?” Namjoon looks over to you. Should he take you to the hospital or his home? Jin could fix you up but he can't just bring you to the house unannounced “i'll be home in a minute and uh Hoseok tell Jin to get the med kit and things ready” he hears Hoseok gasp “why? Are you hurt?” he asks, full of concern Namjoon smiles at that.

You, however, had always been part of the unlucky few. The people who lived in violence and chaos. Murderers, thieves, mafias, they were all violent means to an end. Normal people think of them as evil, unnecessary, and something that needed to be ended forever. But life wasn’t so simple. People needed power, and when politicians wanted governments toppled, the organizations were there. When local gangs wanted drugs to fund their business, when thieves needed jobs, when normal people whose lives spiraled out of control needed help to get back on their feet, the organizations were there.

There were always two, as long as you could remember, at war with each other for supremacy. Jungkook’s was more well versed in trafficking— weapons, humans, drugs, the general type of illegal contraband that no one ever seemed to know the source of. Their agents infiltrated small gangs, built them up bigger and stronger and made them into their puppets. Anywhere there were figurehead regimes, or money being traded behind the scenes, it was the work of Chessman’s pawns. They trained their agents to be manipulative and sly, and never caught at the scene of the crime. They were a dog-eat-dog organization. If you wanted a higher position, you fought for it, your status was always in flux, and people were always being overthrown by the next most ambitious person.

Jungkook had been eighth in line for the Head out of 1,268 agents, a constant routine of clawing at every advantage and using every underhanded tactic he could get to get closer to the top, and he was almost there. But then he met you.

Your organization was versed in espionage and political affairs. Each and every person in the company was trained to be a human weapon. You all knew dozens of different fighting styles, hundreds of different languages, thousands of different types of poisons and when to use them. Your organization was rigid in structure and discipline, unlike Jungkook’s. The top stayed at the top and the agents were taught to kneel at their feet, punished if they ever bent out of line. You were nothing but tools, and were reminded of that constantly, made to think of yourselves as worthless disposable weapons, even though a single one of you could render a nation’s government to pieces. Your organization worked closely with officials who wanted more power, and framed and killed people who were in their way without leaving a trace, making the most brutal murders seem like accidents. You were one of Jackal’s top shadow puppets, and you liked it that way.

Until you met Jungkook. After the organizations realized how much of a threat they were to each other, they talked their agents with getting rid of other at every opportunity. You and Jungkook were specially assigned to each other, you skills making you an equal match, and the best equipped to handle each other. You often ran into each other on missions where your organizations fought over the same target. But something about him kept you from killing him. You don’t know why, but when you looked into his eyes the first time, you couldn’t complete your extra objective. You had never failed an order, you usually completed them in record time. You would call ordinarily call failing to complete an order a defect, but now, years later, you were sure it was a blessing. You and Jungkook danced around each other on missions, fighting but not hurting, teasing but never threatening. You quickly grew fond of each other, and even bonded over your shared struggles.

Jimin hummed to himself as he thumbed through your file, eyes scanning the papers. He idly swiveled in place while sitting in Namjoon’s fancy desk chair, one foot propped up on the desk.

Normally he wouldn’t go through the effort of reading a file. It wasn’t usually any of his business. Files were raw information, data gathered by Yoongi that Namjoon used to craft a mission. Whatever they needed to know, Namjoon would tell them.

But Jimin was curious. It was a weird feeling honestly, almost new with how long it had been. For so long he had been bored. Content, but bored. Bangtan was successful and feared and money had been flowing in almost nonstop. They owned half of downtown, and basically controlled the rest due to their surrounding allies following their every order. They had a monopoly on trade, and had squads full of adoring henchman to take care of any opponents. Everything was perfect, and it was boring.

In the years after Jungkook left, they’d had nothing but luck, and Jimin hated every second of it. Jungkook was a breath of fresh air, he brought light and laughter to the house and fun to their lives that they didn’t have before him. And when he left, he took all of that with him as well, and it was worse knowing how much happier they could be— how much happier they had been— with him there.

For a long while, they tried to pretend they were fine with him being gone. They were fine with an empty seat at the table instead of him pouting for them to feed him from their plates, they were fine without him running around and laughing and bumping things over, they were fine with some peace and quiet while they worked instead of him talking their ear off. Really, he was annoying, he was needy, he was clingy— he was far more work than than he was worth. He was definitely the most demanding pet they had ever had to entertain. And yet, their lives had never been so miserable without him.

Finding him again after he left was easy. But you were an unforeseen variable. Jimin could still feel the way his blood boiled when he saw you. A part of him thought Jungkook would be a wreck without them, he was always clinging to them in the manor, how could he ever live away from them after needing their attention for so long? But instead, he was off in the woods, happily playing house with you. How could he be happy when they were suffering?

But Jimin remembered, under all the rose tinted memories of the happiest days with Jungkook, there were bad days. Days where he would mope around, days where no one would spare him attention, days where they would snap at him out of irritation, days where he would get jealous. Before, Jimin never understood his jealousy. Of course they loved him, he was the one they kept around most, even if they paid attention to others. They proposed to him even, of course they wanted him around forever.

But, seeing the closeness between you and him, Jimin now understands just what that kind of jealousy feels like.

He tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully, staring down at the polished mahogany surface. Knowing you though, seeing you interact with Jungkook and the rest of the boys in the time you’ve been here, Jimin can’t help but think. You had skill, plenty of it. In the time you’ve been here, you’ve done nothing but prove it. While you irritated him, something else in him flared back to life seeing you in action. The way you moved and fought was so precise, so calculated, so deadly and yet beautiful he couldn’t help but be enraptured by it. He had never encountered so much power in anybody besides him and his loves. Even some of Bangtan couldn’t compare to your ability.

Maybe they had been thinking about all wrong.

Jimin blinked, coming out of his thoughts from an approaching sound. He could hear the footsteps and smiled to himself, sitting up straight in the chair as he waited for the person to enter. Namjoon pushed the door open, stepping into the room and stopping in the doorway in slight shock at the sight of Jimin. “What are you doing in here?” He asked, suspiciously eying the file ahead in front of him.

“Aw, c’mon Joonie. I can’t pay you a visit?” He faux pouted, but Namjoon only narrowed his eyes, more suspicious. “Okay, okay, fine. I was looking over our new pet’s file.” Jimin sighed dramatically, standing from the chair and picking up the file, moving to slip it back into the file cabinet.

Namjoon raised an eyebrow at Jimin’s sudden interest. “Why? What were you looking for?” He asked, moving to sit down in his chair.

Jimin walked back to him, perching on the arm of his chair, slumping against Namjoon. “Well, for one, I was looking for details on her abilities. And, for leverage.” He sent Namjoon a sly smile.

“Leverage?” Namjoon tilted his head, not really following.

“I’ve been noticing some things about her. Like, the fact that she’s much more cooperative than someone’s whose been kidnapped ought to be.” Jimin trailed his fingers along Namjoon’s collar, feeling the fine thread of his suit as he spoke.

“Of course she’s being cooperative. We aren’t giving them a choice.” Namjoon replied, pulling out a notebook and pen, arranging his desk back to the way he liked it since Jimin had pushed his stuff out of the way.

“That’s different. It’s not like she’s doing the bare minimum. She’s interested, maybe even invested, in helping us.” Jimin responded, sitting up, gesturing with his hands to emphasize his point.

“She wants to see the organizations crumble as much as we do.” Namjoon reasoned.

“So does Jungkook, but he’s not giving us input on mission or helping us torture hostages.” Jimin retorted.

Namjoon sighed, resigned, looking straight at Jimin as he asked for an explanation. “What are you saying?”

Jimin rolled his eyes like it was obvious. “I’m saying that our new pet might have a bit of a perfectionist streak. She wants to help us because a part of her, albeit small, wants to impress us. She puts up a cute fight, but she always listens to us in the end.”

Namjoon looked at him intently, thinking on what he said for a moment, then turned back to fixing his desk, shaking his head. “I think you’re reading too much into it.”

“Think about it, Joon. No one told her to get Taehyung’s flashdrive. No one told her to save me, but she rushed to my side when I got shot. When we were splitting up roles for the mission, she insisted on joining and said that she was skilled enough to handle it.” Jimin rattled off, counting the instances on his fingers. “She could’ve sat back this whole time if she didn’t want to help us, but she does.”

Namjoon listened as Jimin spoke, tapping a pen in his hand against the table. “Alright. So, you think she’s eager to please. So what?”

Jimin smiled, a wicked curve to his lips. “So, I’m saying we use this to our advantage. We give her some rewards for helping us, a couple gentle pushes in the right direction, and not only will we have her as a little puppet, but Jungkook won’t have any reason to resist us either. He’s holding back because of her, I can sense it.”

Namjoon was still giving him a dubious look, so he continued, huffing. “Listen, I’m never wrong about these things. We just need to start small, and soon she’ll be putty in our hands.” Jimin eyes cut into teasing slits, smiling again. “And stop acting like you don’t like the idea. It’s so obvious that you’re fond of her already. Don’t you like the thought of a cute little baby doll around the house?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m being completely professional about this.” Namjoon denied, turning back to the desk and starting to write nonsense in the notebook.

“Right. And that’s why you let her sass Jin and give input on missions.”

“She has a lot of good ideas, it’d be inefficient to ignore them.”

“Sure,” Jimin teased, pinching his cheek. Namjoon chuckled, raising a hand to bat it away, when the door creaked again, you peeking in. Jimin didn’t hear any footsteps this time, a fact that surprised him. He knew the walking patterns of everyone in this house, but as he thought about it, he couldn’t recall if he’d ever even heard yours. You just get more and more interesting, he thought to himself.

“Joon?” You called into the room, peeking through the crack of the door. You moved to step in, then stopped after noticing Jimin inside as well. “Oh, if you’re busy I’ll go.”

“You’re fine, pet. Come in.” Jimin cooed encouragingly, before you could run out, and you timidly stepped inside, eyeing him like he’d jump at you.

“What is it?” Namjoon asked patiently, with none of the usual bite he’d have when he was talking to one of their underlings who barged into his office. Jimin struggled to hold back a smile, he was always right about these things.

You stood tall, demanding, “I need a new suit for the up coming mission. I tore mine in the last one, and it was too tight anyways.”

“We’ll find you another one.” Namjoon agreed, and you nodded, but stood there a second longer as if there was something else you wanted to say, fidgeting in place.

Jimin smirked. He could guess what this was about. You had been eyeing his and Hoseok‘s customized suits last time, and a professional like yourself was probably used to more high quality material. “You know, pet, if you do extra good for us on this next mission, you might even get a special custom suit like the ones we have.” He purred.

Your eyes sparkled at that, even if the rest of your face didn’t betray your excitement. Bingo. You nodded with the type of forced calm people had when trying not to outwardly celebrate. “Okay.” You said simply, turning and leaving, Jimin glimpsing a hint of a smile as you face away from them.

“Huh.” Namjoon said, staring at the door after she left. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I’m always right.” Jimin replied smugly. “She has a big ego. But we can use that to our advantage.”

Maybe the only issue with Jungkook being their pet before was that they needed another one to keep him company.

—

Yoongi wasn’t the fighting type.

Well, not exactly. While he wasn’t the type to throw a punch, he was absolutely the type to be sniping from the rooftop, steady and almost clinical in his aim. He was the type to be cynical even in the most positive of situations, the type to throw your words back in your face when arguing, the type to hang back and watch you make a fool of yourself and then laugh. He was the annoying, high and mighty, holier-than-thou type, and he had always been that way. It was funny to watch people fail, and even funnier that he had never failed at anything himself. His whole life he had been a genius, and always did everything better than the next guy. He was perfect and calculating.

He had never been tripped up by anything, until he met Jeon Jungkook.

When they found him, Jungkook was a skinny little shrimp, scared of his own shadow. He was scared of them for a long while, until he realized they weren’t trying to hurt him and then he clung to their backs every second of the day, using them like a personal shield for his anxieties. They knew he had potential, everyone does, it just takes a certain mindset to drag it out of them. They taught Jungkook how to defend himself by throwing him into the deep end and he came out better and stronger for it, rising above his fears and becoming more confident each day they spent with him.

Jungkook was full of surprises. While they had had pets and guests before, Jungkook was the most permanent, and Yoongi can still remember the way it threw him for a loop when he realized— when they all realized— they actually had developed a— somewhat twisted— form of love for the boy they had taken in. He was more than entertainment, he was cute bunny smiles and uncontrollable laughter. He thrived under the attention they gave him and begged for more with no shame. He quickly became comfortable and sassy and when he came out of his shell, he spent every moment making them happy.

Yoongi can still remember the first time Jungkook made him laugh because it was the first he had laughed at all in a long while. That was what tripped Yoongi up. The feelings Jungkook could pull out of him. All his life he had perfected the art of emotion. He knew how to control it, how to keep his cool in situations, and suddenly this kid came along and made him laugh with every stupid question, letting out snorts and chuckles that Jungkook insisted were cute, with that same wide bunny smile on his face. Cute. He’d never been called that before.

And it made it even worse when Jungkook had left. No one smiled for a long time after that. Everything felt off kilter, askew, like gun with a sticky trigger. The sudden loss of joy in their life was sticking to their every thought, and they had to push past the emotions to function even semi-normally.

Yoongi knew that Jungkook hated the parties. Honestly, if the others guys weren’t so dense when it came to other people’s emotions, maybe they’d have noticed too. He hated the parties himself. They were always too loud, with too many people with too much skin showing trying to get close to him. The only reason he ever came out of his room for them instead of locking himself inside was the way Jungkook would glue himself to his side. The younger man probably thought he was being subtle, they way he would casually lay himself across their laps, talk louder, flirt harder, and generally try to compete for their attention even more than he usually did, trying to be more interesting than the other people in the room. It almost hurt seeing the way the look on his face would desperate and pained when the other boys would push him away, hardly sparing him a glance. But then he cuddle up into Yoongi’s side, small and shy again and Yoongi would play with his hair, and they’d be in their own world again, ignoring everyone outside of their little bubble.

Yoongi could see the signs before he left. The other boys just saw it as cute rebellion, but Yoongi could see the way he would withdraw with every argument, emotionally, physically, mentally, not coming out of his room at all sometimes. And he couldn’t blame him. When he escaped, Yoongi knew. He saw him through the security cameras, jumping down from his bedroom window and running. He was supposed to report that sort of thing to Namjoon or Jin, but he made the excuse that he was hungry and went to the kitchen for some tangerines, “accidentally” turning off the cameras and alarms outside Jungkook’s bedroom.

The boys were furious naturally, in the way that people are when they don’t see how their own mistakes lead to their own misfortune. They tracked him down quickly but didn’t go after him, wanting to wait until he crawled back. They continued on with life as normal, but it wasn’t.

Jimin quickly grew tired of parties, grew tired of everything. He snapped at everyone who spoke to him, and eventually people stopped coming over for parties, and he stopped inviting them, moping around the house and whispering about how Jungkook would’ve loved the color of the sky or whatever random thing reminded him of the younger man that day. Namjoon grew quieter, he was always a quiet man, but he became distrustful of others around him, taking on more and more of the duties he usually relegated to others until they were essentially doing everything themselves. Jin was always on the phone calling people and asking about him, always tracking Jungkook’s every movement. When Jungkook was on a mission and off the grid, it was obvious in the way Jin’s shoulders would bunch tight and tense, and he would pace around the house anxiously. Hoseok was constantly training, but it only frustrated him more since Jungkook was his favorite training partner. Yoongi could always hear the thud of him beating the punching bags, hitting hard enough to almost knock them off the chains. Taehyung had always been introspective but now he was far more withdrawn, he and Jungkook were incredibly close and part of Yoongi thinks he probably blames himself for Jungkook’s leaving in a way. He wasn’t always into technology, but after Jungkook left, Taehyung asked Yoongi more about hacking and tracking, likely to try and pinpoint Jungkook’s location for himself.

And now, having him back was weird, because it was almost like old times. If Yoongi let himself zone out, he could almost believe nothing has changed. But there were plenty of changes. Yoongi could hear Jungkook’s voice again, but it was deeper, more experienced. He wasn’t the same cute kid they had all spoiled. He was toughened by life alone, and he was angry.

“Even after all this time, you’re still so similar to before,” Yoongi mused as he turned away from his computer, spinning his chair to face his bedroom door. “So why are you acting like I don’t already know you’re there?” He called out into the hallway and waited.

Jungkook slowly stepped into view, eyes everywhere but Yoongi. He looked around his room, lingering on the things that had changed. “You finally got rid of that ugly vase.” He said by way of greeting, gesturing to the flowers in the corner. They were in a sleek silver vase, rather than the colorful clay one he used to have. He’d gotten rid of most colorful decor after Jungkook had left, his room becoming a monochrome wasteland.

“I vaguely remember you telling me to get it in the first place.” Yoongi raised a brow, and Jungkook scoffed.

“As a joke. Anyone with eyes could tell that thing needed to be destroyed in a fire.” He deadpanned, but Yoongi could hear the slight amusement in his voice.

Yoongi bit his lip to hold back a smile. “What do you want?”

Jungkook shrugged noncommittally, digging throuh drawers and snooping through his shelves. “Y/n’s getting ready for her mission debrief. Jin said I shouldn’t bother her.”

Yoongi’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “And you listened? I’m surprised you didn’t break the door down.”

“Y/n can handle herself. They won’t hurt if she’s valuable to the mission.” Jungkook said, but Yoongi knew that wasn’t the whole truth.

“So why are you here?” He clarified his question, watching as the muscles in Jungkook’s back just slightly tensed, him freezing in place almost imperceptibly.

Jungkook looked at him over his shoulder, then at the open door. He walked over, closing the door silently then turned back to Yoongi, eyes glinting with determination.

“Uh oh, am I in trouble?” Yoongi joked dryly.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes at him, talking like Yoongi didn’t speak at all. “Why are you guys being so weird?”

“Huh?”

“What are you hiding? Why haven’t you thrown one of your stupid parties? Why are you doing work yourself instead of being lazy and making your expendables do it? Why don’t you have other pets keeping you company?” Jungkook rattled off question after question.

“Jungkook,” Yoongi said. Jungkook almost flinched at the sound of his name, plain and simple. No Jungkookie, no kookie-baby, just Jungkook. “Do you remember when we proposed?”

Yoongi asked the question with so much tenderness that it took them both by surprise, silence settling in the room like dust for a long moment. “I wish I didn’t.” Jungkook grumbled, looking away and kicking an empty water bottle that had been lying on the floor.

“We told you that you were like nothing we had ever seen before,” Yoongi stood from his chair, taking slow steps towards Jungkook as we spoke. “That you had given us new purpose for living, and that nothing had ever been so incredible as it had when you were with us. Did you think we were lying?” Yoongi was almost whispering the last few words, close enough to Jungkook that he had to look up to meet his eyes. The younger man had never been so tall before. Yoongi thought it suited him, him being tall was new, like his bravery, like his fury, like his independence.

Jungkook stared down at him, eyes still steely with the look he had when he was working hard to figure something out. “I don’t know. You guys lied about a lot of things.” He shrugged again, trying to maintain a casual air despite the heavy atmosphere.

“We never lied. We made mistakes, sure, but we never lied. You were more important to us than anything. We just lost sight of that for a while.” Yoongi explained, Jungkook immediately scoffing.

“And you expect me to believe that? How do I know this isn’t you just manipulating me? That you aren’t just saying whatever you can to make up for your past fuck ups?” His eyes narrowed into a fierce glare, with no real heat behind it. Yoongi could tell he wanted to be angry, but he couldn’t muster up the emotion, not right now. He wanted answers more than he wanted to be angry.

You breathed in and out, calm and content just being this close to him again. “Because you know us. You know me. Only you can tell if we’ve truly changed. And if we are lying to cover our ass, you wouldn’t believe us anyways. Not until you see it for yourself. I don’t think you’re the type to be won over with praise anymore.”

Jungkook huffed, “It doesn’t matter. You kidnapped me and my love, and you’re forcing us to help you. And don’t think for a second that I actually believe you’ll just let us go after all this.”

Yoongi shrugged. “I’m sure you’d find a way out anyways. And we’re not making you do anything you didn’t already want to do. Chessman and Jackal have been a thorn in our sides, like Namjoon said, and they’ve been tracking you. If we get rid of them, you could go back to your cute little cottage and not worry about moving every two months.”

Jungkook narrowed his eyes, studying Yoongi’s calm countenance for a lie. Yoongi took the opportunity to look over him as well. His hair had grown longer and shaggier in the time they’d been apart, it was always a cropped bowl cut, with a cute fringe that hung over the forehead when he was with them. But now he could see the remnants of blue dye at the ends and wondered about that story, what made him want to dye it, if you encouraged him or if it had been a spur of the moment thing Jungkook surprised you with. He had a small scar on his cheek that Yoongi wanted to run his thumb over but didn’t, and one that cut through his eyebrow that Jungkook probably thought made him look cooler. He was always reckless that way, getting excited over battle scars like they were tattoos, which, Yoongi noticed, he also had trailing over his arms. He had a couple tattoos when he was with them but not so many, not so colorful and detailed. And his shoulders were broad in a way that would make even Jin jealous, and he stood tall in a way that made Yoongi swear that if he squinted he’d look just like Namjoon.

“You’ve barely done anything since we’ve gotten here.” Jungkook eventually said, expression still guarded. “The others have been angry but you’ve been acting like you don’t care at all. Even less than you normally do.”

“Maybe I just don’t.” Yoongi tilted his head.

“No. You’re pretending.” Jungkook called him out easily, batting the excuse away almost as soon as it came out of his mouth. “So, what? Do you hate Y/n too?”

Yoongi quirked an eyebrow. Jungkook posed the question like it was meant be intimidating, like he wanted to make sure Yoongi wouldn’t try anything with you, but it almost seemed curious. Like he was asking for his opinion, or his approval.

“I think Y/n’s just as strong and crazy as you are, maybe more, but she holds back. But as far as the people you could’ve chosen to replace us with goes, I’m glad you found her. She suits you.” Yoongi replied honestly, seemingly more than Jungkook was expecting from the slight widening of his eyes.

Yoongi wouldn’t tell him about how he was the one doing all the research on you when they first started going after you, and that he had dragged up an (almost) complete timeline of your life, all your highs and lows, the ways you dragged yourself out of the mud again and again and the way you watched over Jungkook fiercely ever since you’ve first met him.

He wouldn’t tell him about him about how Yoongi was immensely impressed by the way you fought and his eyes keep drifting your form in the security cameras in the mission when you saved Jimin.

Yoongi wouldn’t tell him about how he thought it was cute when you argued with Jin and Hoseok, and how he could tell Namjoon had a soft spot for you already, or how he could feel one forming for you in himself.

Yoongi wouldn’t tell him that under different circumstances they’d likely all be obsessing over you the same way they were with Jungkook, considering you seemed to be the exact kind of crazy Bangtan usually sought out in their pets.

And Yoongi especially wouldn’t tell him that he had never been angry at Jungkook, and never could be, even with you in the picture.

Jungkook eventually sighed, breaking the silence again, stepping back towards the door. “Well, that’s good enough I guess. One less enemy in this house.” He grumbled, seemingly done with his psuedo interrogation.

Yoongi spoke up again as Jungkook had just put his hand on the door, making him pause. “None of us are your enemies, Jungkook-ah.”

Jungkook walked out of the room, almost like he hadn’t heard Yoongi at all.

—

Hoseok brushed against you as he walked into the room, shoulder bumping into yours in a definitely purposeful movement. You eyed him as he passed, not letting him intimidate you.

He eyed you in turn, eyes sweeping down your figure. “Your suit fits better this time.” He commented, carelessly settling in a chair in the corner.

“Yup. And I’ll have a custom made that fits even better after this mission.” You smiled proudly. “But I’ll be able to outdo you in this one just fine.”

“You keep telling yourself that, pup.” Hoseok smiled with no warmth. “If you can make it through this mission without making any mistakes, I’ll take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about you.” He responded, seemingly no faith in your abilities at all, though you were quite sure you had proved yourself already. No matter, you reassured yourself inwardly, just do well on this mission and they won’t be able to deny your skill ever again. You weren’t one to be under appreciated, and while you definitely didn’t care about what they thought about you as a person, you would make sure they knew your worth as a fighter.

“Get ready to eat your words then. I never make mistakes.” You replied, eyes cut into slits as you stared him down.

“Everyone slips up sometimes. And you’ve been a little too perfect lately.” He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes right back, the two of you glaring in the tense silence until the door opened.

Hoseok looked to the door, breaking eye contact first— which you counted as a small victory— as Namjoon walked in. “Just you today, Joonie?” Hoseok smiled easily, mood immediately sweeter at the sight of his love. He was always more smiley around the guys, you noticed, making it difficult for you to believe he was the same person sometimes. The same man who would glare at you was also the same man who would give his boyfriends the most tender stares and touches, soft and gentle like they’d break, and not like they were kings of the underground.

Namjoon hummed in response, opening the file. “This mission isn’t as serious. Simple recon, you get Warner in, he does the dirty work, and then you bring him back.”

Warner, still currently in the “dungeon” as Jungkook called it, was going to pose as your puppet. Bangtan would give him a couple crates of valuable supplies that he “stole” and let him barter with the informant he was meeting for information and a possible position in the organization. Since he was able to bargain with them, you assumed it was an agent of Chessman— Jungkook’s old organization— who he was meeting, but you weren’t yet sure, and it was better to prepare for every eventuality anyways. The thought that you might be seeing a familiar face form your organization tonight was both nerve wracking and blood boiling.

“So all we have to do is watch and don’t be detected.” Hoseok nodded after listening to Namjoon explain the objectives, then sent a sidelong glance at you. “Think you can handle that, puppy?”

“I’m a master at stealth. This will be a piece of cake.” You boasted.

“You certainly have a great sense of pride.” Namjoon commented almost thoughtfully.

“Of course it is. I’ve worked hard, and that deserves to be recognized.” You said, glaring at Hoseok as you put an emphasis on the last half of your words.

“Of course,” Namjoon said again, almost to himself. The closed the file in front of him and moved for the door, leading you all out. “Let’s go retrieve our prisoner then.”

—

As Hoseok sat in the backseat of the car next to you and a squirming Warner, he thought about how he’d rather be doing anything else. He hated this. He hated you for suggesting this mission. Honestly, Hoseok hated you for a lot of reasons.

One, you took Jungkook away from them. If it wasn’t for you, Hoseok wouldn’t be down a sparring partner, and their lives wouldn’t have been so miserable. Jungkook would’ve been happy when they found him again and they could’ve made it up to him for all the tough times before and be living happily ever after.

Two, Jungkook was in love with you. Not only had he moved on after leaving them, but he had given his heart to another person. He had laughed and cried and touched you, and you had comforted him and made him feel better and made him fall in love with you. Jungkook chose you, unlike how they were the ones to find him. And now because he was in love with you, he would likely never choose them over you ever again.

Three, he had to watch Jungkook be in love with you. He had to watch the stupid happy looks on your faces when you held hands, or kissed, or just looked at each other because you were so in love that you just couldn’t see the others face without breaking into a smile. Jungkook used to look at them like that. But now, he was like that with you. It was disgustingly sweet and made him want to punch a wall every time he saw it.

There were plenty of other petty reasons Hoseok couldn’t stand you, but most of all, he hated how much you reminded him of Jungkook. It was impossible to say that you and Jungkook weren’t perfect for each other. You had the same sense of same sense of humor as each other, the same focused look when you would go into a mission, the same mannerisms whether it was loading a gun or dusting off your suit, everything you did had Jungkook sewn into it and he hated it. He hated seeing echoes of someone he loved in someone else. He hated the way you would bicker with Jin, because that’s what Jungkook used to do. He hated the way you would volunteer to help with missions, because that’s what Jungkook used to do. He hated the way you walked, the way you talked, the way you breathed, because all of it was a reminder that you spent time with Jungkook while they were all losing their minds wishing for him to come back.

Warner bumped into his shoulder for the fortieth time in the last ten minutes and Hoseok snapped, grabbing the rope around his neck and pulling as he growled. “How does a man who’s tied up move so goddamn much?”

Warner didn’t answer him, because he had a piece of tape over his mouth, but instead stared up at him frightfully. He was tied up still, because Hoseok didn’t believe he wouldn’t just try to run as soon as they got outside, rope around his wrists, elbows, knees and ankles for good measure. The rope around his neck was just for intimidation factor, for moment like this where Hoseok needed something to grab and pull.

“We’re almost there, just avoid hurting our hostage before we get to the rendezvous point.” You rolled your eyes and Hoseok huffed, shoving Warner into you. You shoved him back more towards the center, ignoring the muffled groan Warner let out as you both irritated his bruises from your previous “discussion” with him in the basement.

Jin was driving the car, quiet for most of the ride as he sensed the tension between you two. He glanced into the rear view, seeing the both of you with arms crossed and looking out the windows like siblings on a road trip they didn’t ask for and sighed in relief as you slowly got closer to the destination. “Just remember to be careful. We don’t have sights on you for this one, so make sure to watch your corners and lead Warner back here as soon as the meeting’s over.”

“We got it, babe.” Hoseok said as the car rolled to a stop outside an abandoned warehouse, dark with overgrown plants creeping up the sides. “I’ll keep the puppy in line.” He said as he climbed out.

“I’m not a puppy! And I don’t need to watched.” You hissed, getting out your side and taking a wooden crate out of the trunk.

“Whatever.” Hoseok snapped back, grabbing Warner from the backseat and slinging him over his shoulders like he was a bag of marshmallows.

Jin did not feel any confidence in your ability to watch each other’s backs, but waved you both off anyways, saying good luck and moving his car to a more hidden spot until the two of you were finished.

You crept up to the side of the building as quietly as possible, the people Warner was here to meet were likely already inside, waiting. They told him to come alone, so you needed to get him and inside and make yourselves scarce. Hoseok propped him up against the wall, undoing the ropes and then ripping the tape off of his mouth, ignoring his squeal at the pain.

You shoved the wooden crate into his arms, not giving him a moment to recover. It was full of random ammunition and weapons, things Wanrer could use to barter with the informant. “Remember: these are the supplies you ‘stole’ from Bangtan during your raid. Try to trade them for information we could use or, most preferably, a position on the inside of the organization. Don’t mess this up.” You threatened, stressing the last sentence with a dire seriousness, watching Warner’s eyes widen at your intensity.

“I— I remember, I swear.” He squeaked and you nodded, stepping back.

“Good. Now go.” Hoseok pushed him towards the direction of the entrance, making him stumble over over his own feet, and the two of you watched him walk inside, making sure he wouldn’t run.

“Now, we just have to get inside.”

“What’re you talking about? There no way we can get in without being noticed, it’s an empty warehouse.” Hoseok eyed you dubiously. “It’s just wide open space, they’ll see us instantly.”

“Places like this usually have a lot of vents and ducts on the ceiling. If we can get up top, we can climb in through one and sit up in the rafters unseen.” You replied, pulling a grappling gun fork your tool belt.

“That’s stupid. What if we make too much noise, or fall?” He critiqued.

“Just don’t.” You said, rolling your eyes. You shot the gun up to the roof, watching it catch on the edge. You gave it a couple test pulls to test the stability. “Look, you can stay out here if you want, but I’m going in.”

“Fine.” Hoseok huffed. “Give me that, I don’t trust you not to drop us.” He held out his hand for the grappling hook and you pulled back.

“And I’m supposed to believe you won’t drop me?”

“Do you want to get in, or just stay out here and argue?”

“Fine.” You acquiesced, handing him the gun, and he wrapped his arm around your back, holding you tight as he let it pull both up to the top of the building.

To Hoseok’s surprise, you both made it in easily, popping open a grate on a vent that came out the top of the building, crawling in and navigating through the vents until you were close enough to hear conversation, coming upon another grate you could see the meeting through. Quietly, you pulled up the grate, and stared down into the room.

As you looked in on the scene, you saw they had already started talking. The informant was dressed in a white suit, crisp and clean. He spoke in a monotone voice, sounding almost bored as he spoke with Warner, who in contrast, was sweating bullets.

Warner’s voice cut into your ear as he spoke, voice lowering so much that you had to strain to hear them. “Listen, I know what we came here for, but I figured, before you get your stuff, you could help me out.” He whispered conspiratorially to the agent.

“What is he saying?” You murmured to yourself, anxiety chilling your body. This didn’t sound like any of the things you outlined for Warner to say. He was going way off script.

“Help you how?” The agent asked, confusion marring their clinical and smooth tone. Clearly whatever Warner was saying was throwing them for a loop as well.

“I was captured by Bangtan, I’ve got two of their agents trailing me right now, they’re osmewhere here, if you help me get rid of them—“

“That dumbass! He’s ratting us out. I told you he wasn’t shit but you just couldn’t help but want to be right all the time!” Hoseok hissed at you, but you were just staring blankly down at the scene below you, as if in disbelief.

“You were compromised?” The rendezvous agent cut Warner off, professional air completely abandoned, replaced with worry and anger that Warner didn’t seem able to sense.

Warner nodded, a smile on his face as he realized the agent understood. He continued speaking more enthusiastically, as he pleaded the other agent for help. “Yeah, exactly! Listen man, you’ve gotta get rid them for me, they’re threatening my life—“

Bang! Warner’s body slumped lifelessly to the floor, and Hoseok felt his heart drop.

The agent had whipped out a small handgun, nailing Warner right between the eyes. He turned to the guards in the room, barking orders frantically. “Search the perimeter, make sure the agents he was talking about aren’t within range. Open fire if you see anyone unfamiliar, and shoot to kill.”

Hoseok sighed, “That idiot. Let’s get out of here before we get shot.”

You crawled forward in the vents silently, maneuvering yoursef over another grate directly above the men grouped in the middle of the room around the informant relaying commands. You pulled up the grate, deathly silent as you pulled out two handguns strapped to your belt, one in each hand. Hoseok did not like the look on your face.

“What are you doing? We should be heading towards the exit.” He repeated.

Your head raised, locking eyes with his. Your face was completely blank, but your eyes screamed with silent fury, so much so that Hoseok almost flinched. “I’m finishing this mission.” You replied, calm like the eye of a hurricane, then dropped down from the rafters like a hawk diving for its prey.

Hoseok watched in awe for a moment. It was clear the guards weren’t expecting you to come to them, and it was doubly clear that they hadn’t thought to look up, two of them going down just from the force of you landing on their necks, another three going down as you swiftly planted bullets in their backs, shooting before they even had the chance to turn around.

From his vantage point, Hoseok could see a squad of guards coming in through an exit on the far side of the room, sneaking up on you. He waited until they were under him to drop on top of them as well, hearing some bones snap as they broke his fall. For good measure, he shot them, then focused on making his way over to you and covering your back.

There weren’t many guards at all in the abandoned safe house, clearly they were only planning on having to subdue Warner and not getting followed by secret agents set on killing them all. You two cleared out the building quickly, you swirling a path of destruction through the guards and Hoseok cleaning up behind you. The room eventually feel silent, no more guards left to stop you, as your eyes searched your surroundings for any remaining threats. You heard shuffling and looked to see the informant, clean white suit now dirty, slowly crawling towards the door on his hands and knees.

Hoseok leveled a gun at him. “Oh no, you don’t—“

“Stop!” Your arm knocked into his, knocking his shot off course and making him hit his shoulder instead of his head. The informant cried out in pain, ignored by Hoseok who instead turned to glare at you.

“Don’t tell me you’re about to say some high and mighty shit about murder being wrong when we just cleared the house.” He rolled his eyes.

“Not at all.” You said, turning towards the agent who was now sniveling on the floor, struggling to prop himself up on his elbows. You walked over to him, stepping on him and pushing him down in place with your foot. “We’re down an informant because he shot Warner. So he’ll be taking his place.”

The informant cried. “You— you won’t get away with this! You— you can’t—!”

You moved your foot over his bullet wound, pressing into it and twisting your foot. He cried out loudly then stopped abruptly, passing out from the pain. Once he stopped squeaking, you turned to Hoseok, cracking a smile that was weirdly innocent with the sprays of blood in your face.

“Carry him for me?”

Hoseok nodded, at a loss for words, stopping to sling the agent over his shoulder. He followed behind you as the two of you calmly walked out of the warehouse, no souls left to stop you. His blood thrummed strangely in his body, energy and adrenaline still pumping through his veins thinking of the ways you fought, alluring and dangerous. He was both impressed and terrified by your calmness, like you didn’t just enact your vengeance on a room of unsuspecting agents. Just thinking about it could still give him chills, seeing the content look on your face while you took them down with ease, like you weren’t affected by it at all. Your breathing had hardly changed after exerting yourself, like you had just taken a nice walk in the park. Hoseok wanted to know just how much of yourself you were hiding from them.

Hoseok thought you would hold them back, that you’d be a stick in the mud, but clearly, you did not like to play around. “No qualms about killing this time?” He asked, keeping his voice casual. “Jimin said you made a big fuss about killing on your last mission.”

“I don’t take kindly to having my operations jeopardized.” You said, in that all too calm voice, and Hoseok realized, oh, you weren’t calm at all actually. Looking closer he could see your hands shook and clenched into fists periodically, like you needed to punch something or scream, and your voice was hard with the effort of keeping venom out of your tone. You were angry. “Warner could’ve cost us everything. But he already got what he deserved.” You turned to look at Hoseok and the body slung over his shoulder, flashing a scary sweet smile over your shoulder. “But I think our new catch is even better.”

Hoseok shook his head in disbelief as you faced forward again. Looking at you now, he took back his earlier statement. What he hated most of all was how much he didn’t know about you.

—

You curled up in his lap, the two of you sharing a seat as you rested your bodies from the stress of the night. Your head laid in his shoulder as you closed your eyes, breathing him in. His hand laced into your hair, slowly petting it. His other hand landed on your bare thigh, and he smirked, looking up at you. “Have I ever told you how much I loved your thighs?”

You smiled, rolling your eyes. “Yes, many times. As well as my eyes, my arms, my tummy, my chest, my neck, my lips—“

“Oh no, the secret’s out,” he said, dramatically placing a hand over his heart. “I love you.”

You snorted and flicked his forehead, “Dork.”

“Your dork.” He said, leaning in to plant ticklish kisses on your neck. You giggled, the most beautiful sound in the world (if you asked Jungkook). He loved every part of you, sure, but he especially loved the parts of you that didn’t show, like your smarts, your skills, your voice, your kindness, your cleverness, and your problem solving that has gotten him out of more situations than he could count. He gripped your thigh harder, his kisses getting more intense as they trailed up to your lips, getting lost in the way your lips felt against his.

He pressed down the wave of irritation inside him at having to be here, in his ex-fiancées’ house, surrounded by the people he could’ve gone his whole life without ever seeing again, instead at home in the little cottage the two of you called home, where the only thing you had to worry about was who had to wash the dishes (which was almost never Jungkook) and who had to take out the trash (definitely never you). Even more, he was upset that they kidnapped the two of you before he could even show you the surprise he had for you.

The first time he had ever successfully hidden something from you, a gift he knew you’d love because he spent months looking for one as perfect as you, a little velvet box that accompanied a four word question.

But of course, the universe couldn’t allow him to be too happy. As proven when Hoseok walked back into the room, noisily kicking a chair and jolting you two apart. Jungkook missed your lips on his already.

“Oh sorry. Was I interrupting something?” You looked over your shoulder at Hoseok grinning smugly as Jungkook glared daggers at him over your shoulder. “I came in to tell you that you two that Namjoon said to get some rest. We’re debriefing tomorrow over breakfast.”

“With pleasure.” Jungkook scoffed, the two of you standing. “This has been the longest night ever.” He murmured as you moved past Hoseok into the hallway towards your room.

You were met in the hall with a tired looking Jin and Taehyung, having just exited the clinic. “How’s Jimin?” You spoke, your voice seeming to catch them by surprise. Taehyung glanced at Jungkook, eyes appreciatively roving over Jungkook’s torso, then strangely, his eyes landed on you, scanning down your torn outfit and exposed skin for a long moment, and then away again like he never saw you at all.

“Stable.” Jin responded evenly, glancing down at you as you ended up walking alongside each other. “The bullet didn’t hit anything important, but he’ll still have a flesh wound.” His voice was flat, but you could tell he was relieved by Jimin’s condition. You nodded in understanding, conversation over as you all came to the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

You yawned, exhaustion finally getting to you. As you lifted a hand to rub your eye, you felt someone snatch your wrist, someone stopping you in place. You turned, seeing Jin looking down at your hand with a serious look on his face. “You’re injured.” He said.

You looked at what he was staring at, noticing a few small scrapes on your hand, already scabbing over. “Oh, I didn’t even notice. No big deal.” You shrugged, moving to take your hand back, but he held it tight in place, grip surprisingly strong.

“Even small wounds can get infected. You need to be treated before this gets worse.” He insisted, leveling you with a stern look.

“You should be more careful.” Taehyung added with his arms crossed, looking at you with that same stern expression. You looked between the two, surprised they were paying attention to you at all. Up until now you were treated like you were invisible, now suddenly they were worried over a small scratch?

Jungkook groaned, running a hand down his face. He turned to you, “He’s not gonna let up about this. Go with him, it’ll take like two minutes.” He pressed a kiss to your cheek. “I’ll get the room ready for us. Do you want me to run you a bath?” He asked, soft and comforting and you just wanted to melt into him.

“Yes, please.” You answered, kissing his cheek in return, and he smiled wide, walking off up the stairs.

“Wow, the puppy does have manners.” Jin teased, watching your exchange. Taehyung let out a snort and you cut a glare at him. “Aw, look at her pout.” Jin chuckled and you ripped your hand out of his grip.

You scoffed, “Let’s just get this get over with.” You walked to the clinic with Jin, definitely Not Pouting the whole way there, and walked in. You didn’t see Jimin, but after looking around, you figured he was likely in a different room more suited for patients and recovery. This one seemed more like a medical storeroom, equipment and bottles lined up on shelves and laid out on desks. Jin pulled out a roll of bandages and some antiseptic, gesturing for you to come closer from where you had stopped at the door. You stood, hesitant to let him treat you, and he looked up at you when you didn’t come closer.

“Sit down. Now.” He threatened, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t going to entertain your hesitation. You huffed, reluctantly moving to sit in the chair in front of him, and he smiled smugly when you listened.

“Good girl.”

“Don’t call me that.” You snapped.

He raised a mocking eyebrow, tone filled with faux innocence as he pulled out a cotton round to soak up the antiseptic. “What? I can’t praise you when you’re being a good girl for me?”

You scrunched your your nose in disgust. “Actually, just don’t talk at all.”

“I get it. That kind of talk is reserved for Jungkook.” He spoke, eyes glowing with something unreadable as he teased you. “I bet you’re a perfect little pet for him.”

Your narrowed your eyes at him, focusing on the alcohol being poured onto the cotton round instead. “I’m not anybody’s pet.”

“Sure doll. I’ll let you believe that.” He hummed. As he moved the cotton round towards your hand, you tensed up almost imperceptibly.

But Jin still noticed, pausing and glancing up at you from your hand. “Relax, it’ll only sting a little.”

“I know. I just always hate this part.” You half whispered. Your foot tapped against the floor anxiously and he sighed, watching you fidget nervously for a moment before kneeling down in front of you to be eye level with you.

“Here, I’ll count down and you can squeeze my arm.” He held his left arm out and you quickly closed your hands around his wrist, already tightening your grip on him in anticipation. He counted slowly, “3, 2, 1.”

He moved closer again to disinfect your hand, wiping your skin as gently as possible and if you squeezed his arm hard enough to break bone, well, Jin wouldn’t complain. He wrapped up your hand with the bandages and made sure they were secure. “There. All done.”

“Thanks.” You mumbled, inspecting them for a second before scurrying out.

Jin sighed to himself as he watched you leave, mind flashing back to the anxious way you eyed him when he had the antiseptic. Why did you have that reaction? How much about you did they actually know? They collected a file of information on you and still didn’t know much. Maybe you were more interesting than he thought you’d be, he thought, cleaning up the supplies he pulled out.

—

Jungkook stirred the bath water, slightly too warm and scented like vanilla and flowers. Just like you liked it.

Jin used to like lavender, and Yoongi used to like cedar, and Hosoek used to— he shook himself out of that train of thought. It didn’t matter what they liked anymore, but no matter how many times he told himself that his brain wouldn’t forget, holding on to the information like he’d be tested on it, and being here hasn’t helped him forget.

Every corner he turned made him remember. He spent so much time here, every hall had a memory attached and if he was quiet enough he could almost hear it. Namjoon pushing him up against a wall for the first time, Taehyung giving him the first weapon he crafted for him, chasing Jimin down the hall, making funny faces at Yoongi through the camera. If all he had were good memories, he would’ve missed the place.

But he also remembered the parties, the guests they would invite, the way they would look at other people the same way they looked at him. They had always had an open relationship before him, so why he did he think that’d change? He had hope they’d focus on him when they proposed, but nothing changed, they treated Jungkook the same way as all their guests, but Jungkook didn’t get to live a life of his own after the night ended. He just had to pretend like he was fine sharing his loves. The night he left was the freest of his life, and he was free until his old organization found him.

(But even his old organization led to you, so he couldn’t complain much. Jungkook would go through any amount of torture if he’d have you after.)

But, weirdly, since being here, he had noticed some things that were different. For one, they had pictures hung up of him. In the past, they never hung pictures of him. It was always them, they owned the mansion, and him. He was always a possession. But now, pictures of him and them on equal standing decorated the halls, like he imagined all the imbalance.

Secondly, they didn’t have parties anymore. They used to have parties all the time, Jimin usually hosted and planned them, they were an excuse for them to invite their allayed and throw their lavishness in their faces, make them remember who had more money and power. They would have servants on display and show off their prettiest pets. Drinking, dancing, fucking, it was all so loud and dirty, the memories made Jungkook shiver. They definitely would’ve had one by now if they were still throwing them, the parties happened often and ran long. But Jungkook hadn’t seen any of that, hadn’t heard any live music or seen any guests. The house was almost too quiet without it.

Bangtan was a lot more isolated in general. They ran their missions themselves now. When Jungkook first met them, they did almost none of their own dirty work, acting through underlings and soldiers and reaping the benefits. He begged them to let him go on missions and slowly they started joining him too. Now, it seems like over the years he’d been gone, they’d started doing all the heavy lifting themselves. Maybe they had changed… maybe it would be different this time if he—

Jungkook shook himself out it again, occupying his mind with preparing the supplies for after the bath. Lotion, body oil, towels, he liked to pamper you afterwards. It had been so long since being here, since he got to just have his hands on you and—

“Jungkook?” You said his name, stepping into the bath room. He blinked, realizing he had zoned out staring at the wall with a towel clutched in his hands.

“Hey baby, you ready?” He melted instantly, warming at the sight of you. You nodded and he stepped over to you, planting kisses on your skin as he helped you undress and you did the same for him, the two of you settling into the bath water without taking your hands off each other.

You settled against his chest as he washed you, soapy hands slipping against your soft skin, massaging you as you relaxed. You let out a soft sigh and it set his nerves on fire, everything you did was so addictive to him. Even the way you fought. Epically the way you fought. Maybe it was a product of his messed up upbringing but something in Jungkook was always a little too excited when he saw the look on your face while you fought. The focused bloodlust in your eyes always had him lusting for something else.

You moved like art, the blood that splattered on you only paint to compliment your skin, Jungkook could watch you all day. He was always extra Penny up after missions. He finished washing you, rinsing off your doing with the bath water and moved his hands lower down your body. “You know, baby, I’ve been—“

You interrupted him with a snore, head lulling against his shoulder.

Or you both could just go to sleep. That’s cool, too. Jungkook sighed, lifting you into his arms and carrying you out of the now cold bath water. He towed you off, rubbed lotion into your skin gently as to not wake you up, and put a shirt on you to sleep in.

As he laid you in bed and settled in beside you, Jungkook smiled, closing his eyes. He could wait.

—

The next morning, Jungkook was clingier than you expected, arms wrapped around you and pleading for you to cuddle with him longer, laying kisses on your neck again making you giggle. You would’ve indulged him if Yoongi hadn’t come over the speakers in your room, saying, “Breakfast time, lovebirds, we’re waiting.”

Jungkook groaned, dragging himself out of bed as you got ready for the debrief. “I can’t believe we both forgot.” You giggled while you were getting dressed.

“Yeah, it totally slipped my mind.” He murmured, lazily dragging on a shirt.

Once you arrived in the dining hall, you noticed a couple of things.

One, You hasn’t expected it after the craziness of last night, but Jimin was at the table, laughing and pushing away Jin’s spoonful of food from his face. His arm and chest were bandaged up, a tank top loosely covering his frame. You had never seen him so… domestic. All of them seemed more relaxed.

“You shouldn’t be raising your arm!” Jin fussed.

“I’m fine, it doesn’t even hurt.” He brushed him off, but took the spoonful of food Taehyung offered him on his other side, smiling gratefully at him.

“That’s because of the painkillers. You can still damage the muscle!” Jin raised his voice, but there was no bite behind it, you could tell he was just concerned.

(Unbeknownst to you, Jungkook was also adding something to his mental “Things That Had Changed” list: Four, they talked to each other nicer than he remembered.)

Two, there was another chair at the table. The table’s arrangement had always seemed awkward, it was obvious always made for eight chairs and they were just being spiteful by taking one away for you to not have a seat. But now, all eight were there, complete with a another separate plate of food. You could tell which seat was meant for you by the pink sippy cup with a giraffe on it filled with juice by the table setting.

“Ah, the lovebirds are here.” Yoongi gestures to you two with the cup of coffee in his hand, noticing you two floundering by the doorway.

“Jungkookie,” Jimin smiled brightly at him, then surprisingly, looked you directly in the eyes and smiled at you too, a bit more teasing than the way he addressed Jungkook. “Pet.” He practically purred.

“Come sit, we were just about to start discussing.” Namjoon wanted you both over, immediately getting to business.

“We figured you’ve earned your own seat, kitten.” Yoongi explained, watching you eye the chair warily.

Jimin rolled his eyes. “More like I convinced them. You can thank me later, pet.” He winked at you.

“And we even got you a special cup so you don’t drink too fast or spill.” Jin teased.

You huffed, not deigning them with a response, which only made them laugh as you took a bite of your food petulantly. In all truth, having their attention on you was unnerving, and while the teasing seemed non malicious for now, you had no idea how long this would last.

Three, the tension in the room was lighter. Slightly, but definitely noticeably. You didn’t take it as a good sign. You had been burned too many times to wait for the other shoe to drop.

“Alright, alright,” Namjoon waved his hand, gesturing for them to settle down. Even the uptight leader had a smile on his face. “So, I only know what happened on our turf last night.” He flipped through a file he had in front of him, probably the case files of last night.

He began, “Hoseok and Taehyung’s mission went off without a hitch. Ateez had more manpower than we were expecting, but we held them back from the warehouse well. They didn’t even make it past the front door.” Namjoon relayed to you, Jungkook, Jimin, and Jin. Yoongi seemed unfazed, but it was likely he already knew. He seemed to know everything before it happened, and you had definitely seen him head into Namjoon’s office to talk with the man last night instead of going to bed like the rest of you.

“And we even managed to capture Warner.” Hoseok added with pride. Namjoon nodded in confirmation. Your eyes widened in surprise, that was great news. A hostage would make the next steps a lot easier, especially if you could manage to use him as an double agent.

“But, from what Yoongi tells me, it didn’t go so well for you all.” Namjoon says, clasping his hands together.

“No,” Jungkook shook his head, speaking up for the first time since you’d entered the dining hall. “They had way more people than we were accounting for, and realized we were there way quicker than we thought too. Obviously, Jimin was injured in the firefight.”

“And you didn’t recover the gun.” Namjoon said, expression growing disappointed as Jungkook shook his head, even though he already knew the answer.

“No. It was destroyed by some stray bullets.” Jimin answered, obviously upset too.

Namjoon frowned, then sighed, a stressed exhale as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He mumbled, “So all this planning was for nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say it was for nothing,” you said, pulling out the small flashdrive from your pocket. In all the hustle and bustle of last night, you forgot to tell anyone you had it. It seems like even Yoongi didn’t know you got it, because everyone turned to you in shock, eyes focused on the object held between your fingertips.

“My flashdrive.” Taehyung said, staring at it intently, standing and leaning towards you. You held it out across the table and he took it gingerly from your fingertips, studying it in disbelief, then looking up at you, a different expression than usual, but still unreadable. “You actually got it.” He said, looking at you directly for what felt like the first time, eyes fixed on yours for more than a just passing glance.

Jungkook’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s what you were doing.” He said, putting together your sudden disappearance when they were in the stairwell.

“It was in Hongjoong’s office, not the storeroom we searched.” You said. “I figured it’d be worth searching for since the flashdrive sounded much more valuable than the gun.”

“It is. More valuable than you know.” Taehyung said to you, before sitting back down, sending you one more meaningful look.

Namjoon sighed again, but this time, in relief. “You got the flash drive. That’s incredible, so much of our progress is gained again. Yoongi, Taehyung, I want you immediately refamilarizing yourselves with it and start manufacturing the weapons as soon as possible, I want them mass produced and distributed for our men.” He said. “Now that we have the blueprints back, we’ll be able to double, no, triple our efficiency…” He started mumbling to himself about the logistics and you let your eyes drift around the table. Jimin watched the look on Taehyung’s face as he held the flashdrive in his hand and glanced over to you, sending you another coy smile before glancing back. You locked eyes with Yoongi who raised an eyebrow at you while sipping at his coffee, and then, Hoseok, glaring dangers at you.

“So anyways, the hostage.” Hoseok said irritatedly, knocking Namjoon out of his thoughts.

“Oh, right.” Namjoon blinked, focusing back on the meeting. “So, with the hostage, our plan was to get all the information he has about Ateez that we could and use it to get them out of the way completely, but there’s a few problems with this.”

“One being that we don’t know how much he actually knows about Ateez. We’re pretty they were using him as an expendable lackey, so he may not be a good source.” Yoongi expanded.

“Why even focus on Ateez? We could be using him against the organizations.” You pointed out. “He still has a meeting with their informant on Tuesday where they’re expecting him to bring weaponry as a trade for a foothold in their corporation.”

“So what?” Hoseok challenged, crossing his arms, his eyes piercing into you.

You met his stare, not backing down. “If we play this right, we may be able to have an inside man. We get Warner on our side, get him to gain their trust, and bring back us information.”

“Right. Because he’s so inclined to work with us.” He droned sarcastically.

“We just have to make him inclined. We threaten him a little and maybe trail him to the meeting to make sure he doesn’t try any funny stuff.” You explained.

“It’ll take more than a little threatening. Guys like Warner don’t change overnight without some torture. Can you handle that?” Hoseok leaned forward, scrutinizing you “It’s not for the soft hearted.”

“Nothing about me is soft. I assure you I can handle it.” You shot back

Namjoon hummed, considering what you had both said. You looked around now that you had snapped out of your tense exchange, all of their eyes darting between you and Hoseok with amusement. “It could work.” He actually said.

Hoseok protested, “Or it could go horribly wrong. What if they catch us eavesdropping? We’d be throwing ourselves into their arms.”

“I think it’s a good idea.” Jungkook shrugged next to you, having just been quietly stuffing his face with food this whole time. The planning parts of missions he never paid attention to. He went in, did his job, and went home. You were definitely the arguing type though, so he left you to it, deciding to just watch the cute twinkle in your eyes when you had a point to make.

Hoseok scoffed. “Of course you do.”

Jungkook crossed his arms, defending you. “Me and Y/n know how to be discrete. I say, the two of us go—“

“And how do we know you won’t run off with your organization as soon as you two are away from us?” Hoseok raised an eybrow.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes. “I’d rather die than go back to them. Even if that means staying with you.” He rolled his eyes.

“Okay.” Namjoon cut into the discussion. “We send Warner and trail him, use him to dig out more information and then use that to plan our next move.” Namjoon proposed. He turned to Hoseok, “And if you’re so worried about Y/n and Jungkook running away together, than you go with Y/n.”

Hoseok looked offended. “I’m not going on a mission with the puppy! If she gets us busted because she doesn’t know what she’s doing—“

“I know what to do,” You pleaded, not wanting to go with him either. “Why can’t I go with Jungkook?”

Namjoon shook his head, “Even if it wasn’t about you running away together, you think and fight too similarly. It’s best to have multiple point of views and skill sets on a mission, especially if we’re only sending the two people.”

Hoseok glared at you across the table, realizing by his tone that Namjoon had already made his mind up “Don’t mess this up.”

“I should tell you the same.” You hissed.

—

Warner was out cold when Hoseok and Namjoon led you to the basement. He was slumped in an old wooden chair, head hung to the side as his body was tied to the chair’s frame. Hoseok walked over to him and kicked the chair while Namjoon closed the door at the top of the stairs behind you. Warner startled upright, gasping for air as he snapped into consciousness.

“Let me out of here! If you hurt me, you’re gonna have Ateez and my organization coming after you!” He yelled, slurring slightly as he shook off unconsciousness.

“No one’s coming for you, Warner. No one has even noticed you’re gone.” Hoseok drawled, standing still and threatening in front of him.

Warner panted, “That’s not true! I have an important meeting, if I don’t show up they’ll come find me—“

“Or they’ll move on and not spare a second thought on a snake like you. You had to beg them for this meeting in the first place, what makes you think they’ll care if you don’t show up?” Namjoon spoke.

Warner looked in your direction, noticing you and Namjoon by the base of the stairs in the corner. Namjoon glided towards him, standing in front of you, almost blocking you from view.

“They— they will! I know it!”

“You’re an amateur. They have plenty of other expendable people they can use.” Hoseok said, no sympathy in his voice.

“Fine! Just kill me then, if I’m so useless!” He shouted, sweat flying off his forehead.

“We aren’t going to kill you. Not unless you fail us.” Namjoon said, calm and terrifying. It sent shivers down your spine and you could tell Warner was more affected than he was trying to let on.

“I’m not doing a damn thing for you.” He laughed, nervousness echoing in the sound.

“We feel you’ll be inclined to.” Namjoon replied, showing a hint of a smile, not that is reassured Warner in any way. His eyes darted past Namjoon to you, watching silently.

“Hey, pretty girl! Why don’t you ask them to let me out of here, honey, I swear it’ll be worth it.”

You resisted the urge to scrunch up your nose in disgust, instead placing a pretty smile on your face as you stepped forward slowly. “You know what Warner? We will let you out.” You leaned over in firing of him, meeting his eye level. “But you gotta help us first, can you do that?” You batter your eyes at him and he groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes.

He huffed, “I already said I’m not doing sh—“

You swiftly closed a hand around his throat, squeezing hard and choking him, cutting off his words. “You didn’t have an option. Either you help us, or you die.” You said again, same pleasant tone.

“You… need me…” he wheezed, struggling against your to no avail, still tied up.

“No. We don’t. You’ll make our job easier, but we can easily do this without you. This is a matter of whether you want to live or not. If you want me to stop choking, agree. If you want to continue struggling for air, refuse. Simple.” You tilted your head, watching him, pressure of your hand not letting up even an ounce.

He choked for few more second, wheezing and gasping for air until finally nodding. You released him, him gasping and breathing immediately. “You have a meeting with an agent of the organization, correct?” You asked, just to make sure.

“Yes.” He coughed, easily giving up information after being so close to death. “In two days, 11pm.”

“Good.” You smiled. “We’re going to make sure you make it to that meeting.”

—

You were, in contrast, in ill fitting jumpsuits, your slightly too tight and Jungkook’s too big. You could see the way it couldn’t even reach your ankles, could feel how it restricted your movements ever so slightly, but they apparently had nothing better. Jungkook was too big to fit into his old combat gear so they threw him a spare that was basically the size of a king size blanket.

“We’re not rookies.” Jungkook argued, arms crossed as he pouted like a petulant child. You had the urge to pat his cheek and coo at him, even knowing that he’d probably just swat your hand away.

“We can’t say that for sure, who knows what those organization people filled your head up with. Never mind the fact you’re probably a bit rusty.” Yoongi shrugged.

“These suits sure as hell don’t help.” You snarked, and Yoongi only shrugged again, smirking, obviously not sorry about it.

“Survive this mission and maybe you’ll get better ones.” You turned your head toward the voice, watching Jimin slink into the room from a separate changing room, adjusting his thigh holsters. He, like Hoseok, looked perfect. His hair was slicked back out of his face, besides a lock of hair that escaped to drape over his forehead. His suit emphasized his muscles as well, similar to Hosoek but different in the fact that his arms and thighs were thicker, clearly more suited to hands on forms of combat, where individual strength could gain the upper hand. His suit did nothing but serve to make you jealous.

You had a perfect combat suit, back with the organization. You hugged, looking to the other door, where Namjoon, Jin and Taehyung were supposedly coming to meet you if they would hurry up. You sure as hell didn’t miss your organization, but at least there you had certain benefits. You quickly reminded yourself though, that the benefits were far outweighed by the drawbacks, a shiver running down your spine.

The door finally opened, after a few more moments of silent waiting, Namjoon coming through with a file of his own and Jin and Taehyung in tow.

“Nice suit.” Jin smirked as he walked past you.

“Shut up.” You snapped.

Jin stopped, turning back to raise an eyebrow at you. “Excuse me?”

“Jin, if we could begin please.” Namjoon intervened, tapping the table with a finger as he looked at Jin expectantly.

“Namjoon, did you hear what she said to me?”

“So, let’s review one more time.” Namjoon said instead, Jin rolling his eyes and glaring at you as he walked away. You smiled, sticking your tongue out at him, watching him sputter indignantly.

“Hoseok,” Namjoon began. “Your role?”

“My role is to stay on site of the warehouse, watch over the foot soldiers and security and make sure nothing goes to shit.” Hoseok said, still bouncing the ball and barely paying attention.

“Sure.” Namjoon tilted his head, deciding to just move on. “Taehyung?”

“I will assist Hoseok and watch over the security cameras, making sure to let him know if anything suspicious happens and directing the security in general.” He reported, face that same blank, unreadable expression as it always was.

“Good. Yoongi?”

“I will be going with Y/n, Jungkook, and Jimin and directing them around Ateez’s base once I hack into the security.” Yoongi droned, bored already.

“Ateez?” You asked, halting the smooth flow.

“Yeah, that’s the rival gang that Hongjoong leads. The one we’re about to invade. You didn’t even know their name?” Jin asked, narrowing his eyes at you.

“Well, it’s not like anybody bothered to explain it to me. I figured it wasn’t crucial to the mission.” You defended, narrowing your eyes back at him.

“Well, aren’t you the perfect little puppet.” Hoseok smiled, no warmth in his face whatsoever.

“Can we just focus on this mission so we can know what we’re doing?” Jungkook groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. “And I can get out of this room.” He mumbled under his breath, making you have to hold back a giggle. He smiled at you behind his hand and you relaxed, the tension that had come into your body leaving as you leaned into his side. You didn’t need to worry about a thing. You and Jungkook were on a mission again, together and that’s all you needed.

“Jin, your role?”

“Getaway driver. I’ll be taking Yoongi, Jimin, Jungkook, and the pet to Ateez’s warehouse and then waiting on them to call for ride out.”

“Right.” Namjoon towards you now, looking you directly in the eyes with an intensity that still intimidated you. “Now, it is crucial you understand what you’re doing. Y/n, your role?” He asked expectantly.

“My role is to assist Jungkook and Jimin as we go through the warehouse. Directed by Yoongi, we will make our way into Ateez’s arsenal and take their Pirate sniper and then get out.” You said, repeating the information you had memorized a thousand times already.

The Pirate sniper was a gun, designed originally by Taehyung, that they replicated using schematics on a flash drive that Ateez stole from BTS years ago. Ateez could only ever produce one because they didn’t the resources to mass produce it like Bangtan could. The only reason they made it in the first place and sacrificed resources was as a power play. And now, Bangtan wanted to steal it back, as a reminder of who was really in power.

“I think it’s stupid we’re only getting the gun.” Hoseok scoffed. “That flash drive has countless unique designs Taehyung made with his blood, sweat, and tears, and they have all of them. If they decide make another, or something on that flash drive that’s even more powerful—“

“They can’t, they don’t have the resources—“ Jin dismissed, but Hoseok cut him off again.

Hoseok cut back in, his hand slamming against the table. “They didn’t have the resources, but that was years ago. We can pretend all we like that they’re still the rookies they were when they first popped up, but they’re becoming a real threat now. They’re getting more resources and connections and as long as they have that flash drive—“

“We can’t do anything about that now. Later, but not right now. The longer we stand here, the more time we lose.” Namjoon said with finality, making Hoseok reluctantly keep his mouth shut. “So, Jungkook, Jimin, your mission is the same as Y/n’s. Stick together, keep each other safe. Yoongi, I’m trusting you to keep watch over everything over there.” Namjoon nodded towards the older man, gathering up the files, and you all stood at attention, ready for the real challenge to begin.

“You got it, boss.” Yoongi replied, sliding a silenced pistol into his inner jacket pocket. “Let’s go.”

—

The ride there was uneventful. Jungkook’s leg shook on the backseat next to you and you knew he was likely a bit nervous. He always was when going into missions, but now especially since you had been off the job for a couple years now. You both had kept up your skills enough for self defense, but going back into running missions when you had retired from this life was definitely different, even you felt some jitters creeping up on you. You laid your hand over his knee, calming him, and he laid his hand over yours, the two of you silently reassuring each other the whole ride there.

“Alright,” Jin slowed to a stop in an area filled with trees, nothing but underbrush and darkness around you. “This is your stop. If you keep heading straight ahead, you’ll come to the back of their warehouse, the control room should be somewhere in the back hallway.”

“Got it. Let’s go.” Jimin said, sliding effortlessly out of the car. Yoongi got out the passenger seat and you and Jungkook slid out the back, following them.

“Be careful.” Jin called out, driving out of the area.

The four of you walked forward, eventually coming up to the fence around a tall building, the area lit with street lights around the complex.

“No cameras facing this way,” Jimin said after doing a quick scan. He snorted. “Amateurs.” He knelt down, holding his hand out for Yoongi to use as a boost over the fence while he, Jungkook, and yourself scaled it easily. You moved quickly to the back door, spending as little time in the light at possible and pressing yourself up against the wall out of sight.

“They don’t even have guards on patrol.” Jimin critiqued as you all crept towards the back door.

“They probably don’t have any to spare. From what Taehyung’s saying, the scale of the attack on our base is bigger than we expected. They must be using all their spare men for the raid.” Yoongi said, reporting what Taehyung was telling him in his earpiece. “But we’ll handle their raid just fine.”

“Of course.” Jimin smiled proudly, stepping away from the wall as you all came up on the entrance you were looking for. He stared up at the door. “Does this door have any alarms attached to it?” He asked, turning to Yoongi.

Yoongi scanned the door, eyeing it for any tripwires or alarms attached to it. “Mm, no, it should be fine to break open.”

“Good.” Jimin turned, swiftly kicking the door in. It burst open with little resistance to his powerful kick, swinging open to reveal a long bright hallway with doors on either side and another door at the very end. You all walked in, surveying each door. Jimin spun in a circle, studying each closely. Honestly, they were identical, you couldn’t tell what might be behind any of the standard beige doors. “Well, one of these is the control room.”

“You gonna kick all these open too?” You quipped, and Jimin side eyed you, rolling his eyes.

“I can pick the locks.” Jungkook said, stepping forward and pulling out a ring of jingling tools from his belt. He picked open door after door before finally opening one to reveal monitors and controls. “Bingo.”

“Great, then this is where we leave you.” Jimin said to Yoongi. “We’ll be waiting on your commands.” He turned to head towards the main door at the end of the hallway that would lead you into the rest of the base, Yoongi nodding and stepping into the room, fingers tapping away to access their systems and surveillance with an ease that screamed experience. Everything about the way they did their missions was with intense precision and skill. It was no simple feat to be able to take over the underground the way they had done, and yet they hardly broke a sweat doing it. They were truly a group of talented individuals that had come together, and dangerous because of that very reason.

You walked over to where Jimin was standing, all of you waiting until you heard Yoongi confirm there was nothing on the other side to open it and continue forward.

At some point, Jungkook had been a part of that finely tuned machine. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye, his face blank. While he outwardly hated being near them, it was undeniable that he was easily slipping back into whatever routine he had around them in the past, easily reading their movements and following their commands when it came to missions, knowing their next move before they even said anything. He shadowed Jimin while you all walked, made the decision to pick the locks before Jimin could even say anything about it, subconsciously watching your backs whenever Jimin was leading you forward. But you didn’t point it out, especially since he would likely just deny it.

Jimin sighed in contentment as you strode through the empty hall. “I love easy missions.” He said, not even bothering to be quiet.

“It shouldn’t be this easy. This place is like a ghost town.” You commented, keeping your voice low. Something felt off. There was no way that they would have a deserted base, no matter how amateurish Bangtan believed them to be. You looked at the walls, mentally mapping out the pathways you had traveled. The place was a sterile white, the walls, the tile flooring, the doors, all devoid of any uniqueness. What were the chances that all their soldiers really were away attacking Bangtan’s base?

“Oh please, these guys aren’t a threat. We’ve squashed them into the dirt countless times and we’re about to again.” Jimin replied, seemingly treating this like a walk in the park. “Them getting this gun has been so annoying. Since Taehyung designed it, it’s incredibly powerful and dangerous to have pointed at you. Having them sniping at us from rooftops has made dealing with them hell lately. I can’t wait to take back what’s ours.”

You hummed, only half paying attention. As you walked, you looked around the facility. It honestly wasn’t as elementary as Jimin made it seem. Sure it was no Bangtan base, but they were the underground princes of Asia at this point. For a supposedly small gang, this was rather impressive. Not that you would say that out loud, Jimin might skin you alive.

“Turn down this hallway, and at the end there will be stairs to the top floor. It’s on the top floor in a safe room in the same hallway as Hongjoong’s office.” Yoongi directed. “As long as you stick to the emergency exit to get up there, you shouldn’t be detected. I’ve turned off the cameras ahead of you.”

Jimin acknowledged him, the three of you taking care to tread lightly as to not make a sound that would give away your position. You stalked to the base of the stairs, creeping silently up the stairs, senses focused on picking up any distant noise that would indicate someone approaching.

“Anyone on the floor, Yoongi?” Jimin spoke quietly, listening for movement on the other side of the door.

“No. You’re in the clear. I’d move quickly though, it seems like the guards are on the move.” Yoongi’s voice crackled through your ear. “I just took down the cameras in this hall, but I’m sure it’s a matter of time until they notice.”

You three crept down to the end of the hall where Yoongi said the safe room was, Jungkook stepping forward to pick the lock. In a matter of seconds, the door was open and you slowly entered, moving past shelves and piles of other weapons and materials they had stored in here. It seems like only their most precious items were stored inside.

“This must be where their leader keeps the stuff he wants to keep an especially close eye on.” Jungkook murmured, looking at some army grade body armor stacked on top of some crates labeled ‘fragile’.

“Damn,” Jimin cursed across the room, rifling through a drawer. “I was hoping Tae’s flash drive would be somewhere in here, but I don’t see it, and we don’t have time to search thoroughly.”

“I suggest you take the gun now and run. We may not have time for the flash drive, but we have time for what we came for, so focus.” Yoongi hissed trough the earpiece, and Jimin rolled his eyes, walking to the back of the room.

“Fine.” Jimin acquiesced, going to the gun that was propped on display almost proudly above a crate with other ammunition and weapons. It had Ateez’s logo scratched onto the base of it, their logo priory shown. Jimin slung the strap over him shoulder, securing it to hang on his back. “Well, this was easy. Let’s go home.”

As you turned towards the door however, you could all hear the sound of footsteps echoing through the hall.

“Five people coming straight towards you. More coming up the main stairway. It seems like they figured out we’re here.” Yoongi reported. “Take down these people as fast as you can, and head back towards the way you came.”

Jimin smiled, rushing into the hallway to meet, letting out a soft giggle that was far too angelic for what he was about to do. “Now we have some excitement!”

“Is he usually this excited about killing people?” You whispered to Jungkook as you followed into the hallway to back up Jimin.

“From what I remember, yes.”

The two of you made it out the room to see two men already down on the floor, Jimin practically running circles around the rest, or rather, flipping circles. He moved around them so swiftly you weren’t even sure if he was touching the floor. He kicked at one guard’s chest sending him flying into the wall, grabbed another guard’s arm that was racing for him and flipped him up into the air before throwing him towards another guard coming to charge him. He then whipped out his handgun, planting a bullet soundly into each of their stunned heads.

“All done.” He said, turning to you and Jungkook while slipping his gun back into his holster. He cast an annoyed look at you. “I really don’t know why Namjoon wanted you here. Me and Jungkook could’ve done this perfectly without you.” He hummed, stepping over the bodies like they weren’t even there.

“Better safe than sorry.” Jungkook responded, cutting off whatever other snarky remark he was about to say in favor of getting the mission done as quickly as possible. “Now let’s go.”

A thud caught your attention before any of you could move, all of you realizing too late that it was the sound of a door opening down the hall. Then, all you could hear was sirens.

“They triggered the alarms.” Yoongi said.

You rolled your eyes. “Thank you, captain obvious.”

Yoongi continued, ignoring your comment. “The cameras are still off, so they won’t know where you are unless they spot you and tell others. But you can’t go the back way anymore, there’s people coming up the stairs now.”

“What’s the quickest way out of here?” Jungkook asked.

“There’s are two ways you can take. You’ll have to fight both ways, but you go straight forward and take the first right, you’ll find the main stairway. There’s less people there and a more direct exit out of the building.”

The three of you took off towards the hallway, running to where Yoongi directed you, finding nearly the whole hallway blocked by guards that were making their way to you. Wasting no time, you started clearing your path, launching yourself at a guard off to the side. You landed on his chest, his head slamming against the ground as he hit the floor, springboarding off him towards another guard who you kicked in the chest, then ducked down and swiped his leg out from under him while he was stunned. Taking your gun out of your holster you quickly shot them all in the leg so they wouldn’t get back up, and continued fighting the other guards that had moved in on you.

You could see Jungkook and Jimin also fighting out the corner of your eyes, all of you taking down the men easily without breaking a sweat. The fighting was a unforeseen complication, but all of you had the skill to hold your own, even if it meant using a few more bullets than expected. Quickly, you had all battled everyone blocking your path to the hallway, leaving a sea of bodies in your wake littering the floor.

“I think that’s a new personal record.” Jimin smiled to himself as he stretched. “What was that, two minutes?”

“A minute forty seven, I think.” Jungkook said, patting himself down to check for any injuries or debris.

“Shit,” you heard Jimin hiss, looking over to see him pulling the gun off his back, or, what was left of it. It seems in the fighting a stray bullet or punch had hit the gun, causing it to snap into pieces, barely attached to the strap anymore. Jimin dropped it to the ground, letting it fall further into a pile of rubble. “It’s completely useless now.”

“At least they can’t use it anymore.” You said as an attempt of consolation.

Jimin hummed, staring down at it on the floor before stepping away from it. “I suppose. We’ll just remake it better.” He turns to you, attention caught by you digging around the bodies of the guards on the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Seeing if any of these uniforms are salvageable.” You said, pulling up a limp body and examining its clothes for any bullet holes. You looked him, noticing a splotch of blood on his side, and dropped him onto the floor, unclipping the golden chain around his neck and pocketing it.

“Why?” He asked, nose scrunching in disgust, an expression probably only Jimin could manage to make look cute. “They look sweaty.”

“Disguise is half of the job.” You said, taking the over shirt and pants of a female guard and slipping into them. “If we look like them, they might not stop us.”

“That’s a great idea.” Jungkook gasped, joining you in stealing a uniform for himself.

“You want us to put on sweaty uniforms for a small possibility it might help?” Jimin said, tone dripping w unease.

“Do whatever you want.” You huffed. Unbuttoning a nearly pristine shirt from a female guard and putting it on. By the time you found a pair of pants to wear, Jimin had joined you in taking clothes, all of you fixing the uniforms over your combat suits.

“Now that we’re done playing dress up, get back to escaping,” Yoongi said, and you could practically hear him roll us eyes over the comm. “No one’s in the stairway, but I can’t say how long that’ll last.”

Taking Yoongi’s advice, the three of you started down the long, now empty hall, towards the door to the main stairway.

“This is bringing back so many memories,” Jimin hummed, moving to fall in step next to Jungkook. "Remember when we first met?" He asked dreamily looking over at Jungkook with a smile.

"You mean the time when you handed me a gun and told me to impress you or you’d toss me back in the street?" Jungkook deadpanned.

You pace slowed, then stopped as you passed a door that caught your attention. You looked back at Jimin and Jungkook still walking ahead, then peeked back through the window.

"We were just joking." Jimin rolled his eyes, voice echoing slightly as they continued down the hall. Jungkook gave him an unimpressed look. "No really, we were. We'd never have thrown you out, we knew from the moment we saw you that there was something special about you."

“Was it how naive and gullible I was?" Jungkook quipped back.

Your eyes studied the door once again, seeing a name plate that read ‘HJ’. Almost on instinct, you struck the doorknob, breaking it and the lock mechanism and moved inside carefully in case of any alarms. After a moment of silence, you determined that, one, there were no alarms, and two, your suspicions were right. You were inside Hongjoong’s office. The picture on the desk and notebook filled with hurried handwriting with reminders of dates for meetings confirmed that. Your eyes scanned the room, bosses always kept valuable stuff in their personal spaces.

You peeled your head back into the hall. Jimin and Jungkook were focused on marching ahead. You would have to make this quick, you didn’t have time to rifle around the room to your hearts content. You looked around the room, digging through drawers and cabinets. You found a gold watch, a thin Diamond necklace, and a bag full of money. You pocketed the watch and necklace (authentic and classy), leaving the money (you had plenty of your own), and finally stumbled upon what you were looking for in the bottom drawer of his desk: a simple black safe. The outside looked plain but it was high quality, had you not been better trained it might’ve taken you a while to pop open. But you made quick work of it using one of the Bobby pins pinning your hair back from your face.

Inside, there was more money, a photo of eight men (one of them Hongjoong, the rest you weren’t sure), and at the very back, under an envelope, a sparkly gold flash drive. You snatched it up, closing everything back up the way you found it, and rushed back out into the stairway. Hardly a minute had gone by, and you moved to catch up with your teammates.

As you pushed the door open and hopped down the stairs to catch up with them, Jimin and Jungkook turned to you with confusion. “Where were you?” Jimin asked, not even noticing you had slipped away.

“I thought I saw one of the guards getting back up. We’re all clear.” You dismissed, tucking a hair behind your ear. Jungkook shot you a suspicious look, but didn’t ask anything, and the three of you continued on.

“Everybody up, the intruders are still in the building somewhere, I want every floor searched!” A voice shouted below you, a flood of guards rushing up the stairs. You forced yourself to relax and look like you know what you were doing, sending a pointed look at Jimin and Jungkook to do the same.

“Where are you two going? The intruders are supposed to be on the upper floors.” A passing guard asked you, eyeing you suspiciously.

“We went up there and didn’t see them so we’re searching the floors below.” You explained, adding some irritation into your tone to make it seem like you were annoyed he was interrupting you.

“I see,” he nodded. “Spread out to some of the lower floors, it’s possible they may have moved already!” He yelled out to the others, moving past you. You shot a satisfied look at Jimin, continuing down the stairs.

“That was easy,” You breathed as you exited onto the main. You smiled over at the other two with you, Jimin pouting at the fact that your plan worked. “I think we’ll be able to walk right out the door in these.”

“Hey you!” A voice yelled behind you. “Where are you going?” You turned, seeing a man stride up to you, with narrowed eyes.

“We’re searching the lower floors for the intruders.” You answered.

“Shouldn’t you be with your squad? Where’re your badges? And your pins?” A look of realization crossed his face. “Unless… you’re the—“

Before he could finish his sentence, Jimin had whipped out his gun, planting a bullet square between his eyebrows. He toppled over, lying in the floors within seconds.

“Jimin!” You gasped.

“What?” He asked, stepping over the body and continuing to the other stairs Yoongi mentioned.

“You just killed him?” Jungkook questioned.

“Yeah. He was about to blow our cover.”

“We didn’t have to kill him so quickly,” you sighed. “We could’ve knocked him out, immobilized him and stuffed him in a closet somewhere, or—“

“I think there’s something I’m not understanding here. If they die, they can’t get back up. Isn’t that best way to immobilize someone?” Jimin raised an eyebrow at you.

“Stop arguing. Your exit is going to be on your left, main entrance past the lobby. It’s deserted right now, but you won’t have long until they start to search down here, too.” Yoongi interrupted you. You sighed and dropped it, Jimin would never listen to you about anything without a fight and now was not the time. Getting out of here was of the utmost importance and no amount of arguing would fix a dead body.

Finally, after what seemed like endless walking, the exit doors were finally in sight, and the night sky was calling you through the windows.

“Where are you three headed?” A voice came from behind you, stopping you all in your tracks.

“I swear to god…” Jimin hissed under his breath, as the three of you turned around, irritated at being repeatedly questioned. A man stood there, authoritative in his stance, staring down each of you suspiciously. He was wearing different clothes form the others with more badges and shiny pins, and had a keener look in his eye. Something told you it’d be harder to trick him than the others. “We’re searching this level for the intruders.” Jimin spouted the same excuse you had used with the others.

However, this man seemed undeterred. “Are you sure?” The man asked, not believing your answer so easily. Your hand shook slightly before you reigned it in. “If you’re looking so carefully, why was there a dead body on the pathway you just came from?”

Jungkook answered, but you had seen him look the guy up and down the same way you had, and that he had come to the same conclusion. This man wouldn’t believe a word you said. “The intruders must’ve just gone that way, we’ll go look for them there—“ he said, forcing his tone to be level and casual, trying to get out the situation anyways.

“No.” The man said. His voice was deathly calm as a squad of guards started to emerge from behind him. “I don’t think you will.” He lifted his hand, pointing at you with a sharp smile as seemingly every guard in the building filed into the large lobby room. “Get them.” He commanded, and instantly the guards charged towards you, guns and batons raised. You tried to stay near Jungkook, but they separated you all from each other, forcing you back against a wall.

You fought back their attacks, managing to keep the guards from landing a hit on your body while staying close enough to use their bodies as cover from the gunfire. Irritation grew as you fought off the seeming infinite flow of people moving in on you. You were getting sweaty and hot and you could feel the excess fabric slowing you down. You growled, the frustration getting unbearable, and ripped the shirt you were wearing off, wrapping the torn fabric around a man’s arm and using his trapped hand to flip him over your shoulder. Next, the pants were ripped off and tied around the neck of a man who charged you, pulling it tight until he went limp in your arms and slumped to the floor. You reached down to a knife strapped to your thigh and slashed out around you, cutting and slicing some of the guards, spraying blood into the air and floor. While they were stumbling back from you, you took the chance to rip the seams cutting off the movement of your arms and legs, making it easier to rip off the sleeves and pant legs of your jumpsuit.

With more range to kick and jump, you could easily flip over the enemies and dodge their attacks, jumping out of the way in just the right moment to make them charge at each other and redirecting their weight to throw them around and knock them to the ground. You used your knife like an extension of your arm, slicing and stabbing, and slowly less and less guards got back up to challenge you.

You fought swiftly like a hurricane, spinning and attacking the horde surrounding you from all angles, striking them in the chest, groin, head, whatever you could hit. This was your element, hand to hand combat where you could just let yourself go on autopilot, groans of pain around you tuned out as you focused on hitting all their weak spots. After a while of fighting, you were finally able to look around you and locate where Jimin and Jungkook were, moving to get closer to them and make sure thay were okay.

Luckily, they seemed to be holding their own well, Jungkook was punching back at the people attacking him, ducking and dodging under attacks swiftly, moving in when his enemy had an opening and knocking them out cold with a right hook. Jimin was ducked behind a pillar, stealthily taking down the people wielding guns in the room down with his own pistol. Bodies dropped around the room in quick succession as he landed precise shots on each of them.

You caught Jimin’s eyes while you fought, glancing over for a brief second and seeing already him staring right at you while he reloaded with a glint of darkness in his eyes as they seemed to rake down your form. What was that look about? It wasn’t the usual hate and annoyance he had in his eyes but more of a deep heat, the kind that simmered in your core. You shook the thought away, choosing to focus on making your way over to where Jungkook was.

Jungkook looked over as you made your way to him. “That’s a nice look on you.” He smiled, pointing to your now completely bare thighs, narrowly dodging under a punch being thrown as him. “Mind if I borrow your knife?”

You tossed it to him while sweeping the leg of a guard creeping up next to you. Now that you had cleared the way, more bullets were being fired, making you have to stay low and duck around things to stay out of sight. Jungkook had used your knife to cut open the top part of his jumpsuit, the loose sleeves hindering his movements. You smiled at his toned chest on display, the black tank top under the suit clinging to his skin like a second skin. “That’s a good look for you,” you repeated his words teasingly as you stood behind a nearby pillar for cover.

You settled against the pillar, catching your breath as you took out your own gun. You didn’t like to shoot people. It was too permanent a fate, and felt cowardly, especially if the person wasn’t fighting back. But in situations like these, a well placed bullet was useful in at least slowing people down. You took your aim as you peeked out from behind your pillar, shooting your enemies’ shoulder or leg to disarm and distract them. Jungkook shouldered in next to you behind the pillar, taking a breather and using the chance to scan the room, much more empty than when you all began fighting. “Yoongi, get to the exit, we should be able to escape soon.” He said into the comm.

“You sure?” Yoongi’s voice answered in your earpiece. He had been watching over the cameras to let you all know if more guards were coming and from where, but their forces were dwindling for a while now. The only people left in the building were already inside the room with you, and you had found the exit so his assistance was no longer needed. It was a miracle they didn’t know Yoongi was in the building too, or else he might’ve had the same troubles you were facing.

“Yes, we’ll be fine.” Jimin jumped into the conversation, agreeing with Jungkook. You eyed his figure across the room, ducked behind an upturned table as he reloaded his gun. “Make sure you get to safety and call Jin. Once he pulls up, we’ll all make a break for the car and leave.”

“Understood. You guys are on your own now, be safe.”

Jimin moved closer to you guys, rolling and ducking behind a pillar near where you and Jungkook were hiding. “Well, this mission became a bit messier than expected.” He said, leaning out to fire a few shots then moved back into cover.

“You could say that again.” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “But you always did underestimate others.” He scoffed, turning to beat up a couple guards who had approached your position.

Jimin shrugged unapologetically. “Still though, this reminds me of old times.” Jimin said out to Jungkook while shooting. “I’m so glad we can run missions together again. It’s going to be so much more fun now, and you can show me the skills you picked up when you were away from home—“

“Oh my god, Jimin, I don’t know why you guys are so obsessed with me when it was you who threw our relationship away in the first place!” Jungkook snapped, punching the guys he was fighting extra hard in his anger.

Jimin scoffed in disbelief, glancing over at him. “What are you talking about? We did nothing but love and cherish and spoil you, we gave you everything!”

“Right, having other people in our house and in our bed was loving and cherishing me, I get it.” Jungkook hissed at him sarcastically.

“What? Jungkook, those people didn’t matter.” Jimin rolled his eyes, leaning out to fire more shots.

“If they didn’t matter, why were they there?!” Jungkook yelled. “Who knows, it would’ve just been a matter of time until I didn’t matter to you either!”

Jimin froze, tone filled with concern and confusion. “Is that what you think?”

However, before Jungkook could even answer, a bullet shot across the room, lodging itself right into Jimin’s chest, and down he went. You and Jungkook rushed towards him behind he even hit the ground, pulling him fully behind the pillar for cover.

“Jimin, can you hear me?!” You exclaimed, sitting him up against it as he heaved for breath.

He squeezed his eyes shut, gasping. “Yes, stop shouting. I-I’m fine, I just need to…”

“Don’t you dare close your eyes right now! You need to get up so we can walk out of here.” Jungkook yelled, kneeling down next to him watching his face closely.

Jimin shook his head. “No, no, you guys, you have to leave me.”

“No—!“ You both protested.

“—I’ll be dead weight. Literally. It’s not worth it, go. You’ll get away faster if you leave me, I can hold back some of the guards—“ Jimin said, arm weakly reaching out for his gun, thrown to the floor a couple feet away from him.

“In your condition? Sure, you’ll be real capable. Stop spouting nonsense and get the fuck up!” Jungkook shouted. He tapped his earpiece, making sure Yoongi could hear him. “Hello? Yoongi, Jin, we need you here immediately, Hurry up!”

“We’re on our way, get outside and we’ll be there in a minute.”

You looked up at Jungkook, taking in deep breaths as you readied yourself for your next steps, tucking Jimin’s gun back into his belt and handing yours to Jungkook. “Jungkook, clear my path. Jimin, this is gonna hurt.” You hefted Jimin up over your shoulder as Jungkook took your gun, wielding his and yours as he fired at anyone in your way. You rushed past him while he held the door open for you, firing at anyone aiming at your back and the people who followed you out as you shielded Jimin from any danger in your arms, running out towards the perimeter gates.

The sound of a car rolling up in the trees to your left caught your attention, you hurrying over to it as Jin got out after seeing Jimin hurt. He quickly scanned his body, worry all over his face. “What happened—?!”

“What do you think happened? Get back in the car so we can leave!” Jungkook said after catching up with you all, pulling open the back door.

“He got shot close to his heart, he’s losing too much blood! I have to start treating his injuries now or else he might not make it back home.” Jin explained as he got a better look at him.

“Fine, I’ll fucking drive.” Jungkook rolled his eyes, climbing into the front seat that Jin left open.

“Yoongi, help me.” Jin asked the pale man, who nodded, the two of them quickly getting to work.

You handed Jimin to Jin and hopped in the passenger seat next to Jungkook while Yoongi, Jin and Jimin took up the backseat, turning it into a makeshift operating room within seconds. You looked back seeing Jin had pulled out tweezers, needles, and bandages from a compartment in the car.

Jungkook hit the gas, speeding you away from the base.

Jin reprimanded, ranting as he tried to keep his hands steady pulling the bullet out of Jimin’s shoulder. “Easy on the gas pedal, we’re working back here, and if you break my car—“

Jungkook cut him off, talking to you as he glanced in the rear view mirror. “They’re following us.”

“Jungkook, keep the car steady.” You commanded. Snatching Jimin’s gun from his belt, you opened up the sun roof, standing up on the middle console and aiming at the car following behind you.

Using his gun, you understood Jimin’s urge to brag about it— his gun was exceptionally powerful and efficient, the bullets fired out of the gun easily popping the tires and shattering the window of the cars behind you, making them swerve off the road. You fired at the line of cars until there were no more left, watching them pile up on the side of the road. Jungkook did his best to keep his driving smooth, easily gliding around sharp turns to not jostle you, not that it would’ve mattered. You were built for stuff like this, and nothing would’ve kept you from hitting your mark.

Inside the car, laying across the seats, Jimin stared up at you, vision spinning and hearing hazy as Jin hastily tried to stabilize him in the backseat, watching you handle his gun with ease, and from the sound of tires screeching behind them, he guessed you were doing a good job at it. You should’ve left him back there, it would’ve been so easy, escaping would’ve been much less messy if you left him behind and jumped into the getaway car. It’s what he would’ve done if you or Jungkook were shot and it’s what any of the other guys would’ve done if they were on this mission with him instead. They didn’t like to think about it, but self preservation comes before anything and the path of least resistance usually bears the best results. If they couldn’t keep themselves alive, then they were no use anyways.

But here you were, standing above him on the center console like a guardian angel, and in the moments before his vision started to go dark he could’ve sworn he saw wings. You ducked back into the car, done dealing your justice, and looked down at him. Weirdly, there was worry in your eyes.

“We’re getting you home safe Jimin. I can promise you that.” You said, and he believed you. His eyes closed.

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