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Chapter Text

You and Jungkook met by chance when you started tutoring alongside your best friend’s brother for some extra cash. You were meeting up with Josh to get his advice on how to help a student you were tutoring when you ran into the bunny-hybrid and you just sort of blinked in surprise as he caught the book you dropped.

He was a little shy, but so were you.

You both stood there, trying to think of something to say until you both started talking at once.

Josh intervened right about then, asking you to take over tutoring Jungkook because the help he needed was more in your wheelhouse.

Thus, you two started getting coffee together and he told you about his family and you told him about your lack-thereof. Just you and your former owner, who would be on his honeymoon for Christmas.

That’s when he got the idea to invite you to his family’s Christmas, insisting that they wouldn’t mind and that there would totally be enough food for you and that they wouldn’t buy presents for you so you didn’t have to buy presents for them.

“What if I already got you a Christmas present?” You teased, thinking of how it was waiting in your room to be wrapped and how you had planned to give it to him at your next tutoring session. You were always well prepared for things, storing them away due to your squirrel genes. You finished Christmas shopping before December even hit.

He had gotten flustered. “Well…we could exchange gifts. No sense in returning them.”

You grinned at him. “You got me a gift already?”

He looked away, sort of sheepish.

“Jungkook, you are a complete sweetheart. But…won’t it be a little…awkward?”

He shook his head. “Dinner is technically completely separate occasion for us. We’ve already done presents in the morning and lunch is the big thing. Dinner is mostly whatever was left of lunch and we’re all just…chilling. Goofing off. The kids are with Eomma and Appa. We’re playing games and barely hitting the eggnog and mulled cider. Jimin, Yoongi, and Jimin’s wife enjoy some catnip. You’ll like them. Well, Namjoon and his mate can be a little standoffish, but they’ll warm up. They’re wolf hybrids.”

“Really? That’s so cool. You know they’re going extinct,” You said. “Actually, that’s going to be on the next test. Write that down.”

His eyes widened, muttering a curse under his breath and jotting it into his study notes. “This final is going to suck.”

“You’ll be fine. As long as you remember that the breeding of wolf hybrids stopped being practiced the year before I was born.” You jotted down the year in his notes. “You’re positive that your family won’t mind?”

“Eomma and Appa are always saying my friends are more than welcome. They sort of adopt people anyway. Christmas dinner isn’t a big deal. Now, are you going to accept and move on to helping me pass this final, or are we going to schedule tutoring sessions for next semester when I have to retake this course?”

You rolled your eyes and hit his head with your fluffy tail. “You’ve passed so far. You’d get a good enough grade to pass. Wouldn’t look great for your GPA, but you’d still pass.” You stirred your hot chocolate and turned your attention to your own textbook.

“You’re coming, right?” He asked softly, his bunny ears back against his head.

You smiled and nodded. “Yeah, Kook. I’d love to.”

“Good.”

————

You rang the doorbell, though you doubted you really needed to when Jungkook opened the door the moment you pressed it.

He grinned. “You came!”

“I told you I would,” You replied, smiling and following him inside. You let him take your coat and scarf.

Three curious little heads were peeking around the doorway, whispering and giggling.

Jungkook gestured toward them. “The triplets, Nari, Kaemon, and Minsu. You guys can meet her, she doesn’t bite. Right y/n?”

You nodded. “Right. Jungkook has told me lots about you.”

Nari and one of the boys hurried forward, sniffing and smiling at you.

“Are you Jungkook’s girlfriend?” The boy asked.

“Yah, Minsu, what have we told you about sticking your nose where it isn’t wanted?” Jungkook asked, tossing the boy over his shoulder.

Minsu just laughed. “Hyung!”

Nari hopped closer. “Hi, you smell good.”

“That’s not how we start polite conversation,” A woman, Emma—you assumed, said softly.

Nari gave her a sheepish smile. “Hello, I’m Nari, Jungkook-oppa’s little sister. That’s Minsu, and this is Kaemon,” She said, pulling the last little boy from where he was hiding shyly beside his mother’s legs.

“Nice to meet you, Nari.” You shook her little hand, then stood back up at smiled at the woman. “You must be Emma?”

She nodded. “And you’re y/n. Jungkook has told us a lot about you.”

“All good?”

She laughed when Kook gave both of you a scared look. “Of course.”

You smiled. “Thank you for letting me come here—”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. We’re happy to have you. Alright, my little munchkins, time for quiet time with your appa and me.” She herded the two on the floor toward the stairs. “Have fun. Don’t burn the house down. Same rules as always,” She told Jungkook, kissing his cheek after he put Minsu down.

“Yes, eomma,” He replied softly, looking at her with more love than you had ever seen on his face before. It was strange seeing him at home. He was nice, really and truly, but he always seemed a little nervous even around his friends. Here he was completely relaxed, ears in a neutral position and expression completely open.

You loved it.

She disappeared upstairs, calling over her shoulder, “Tell Jin to bring the can of whipped cream.”

“Yes, eomma,” Jungkook waved for you to follow him into the next room. “Bathroom is over there. This is the kitchen and living room.”

You nodded, scurrying a little closer because now you were feeling a little shy as you saw his family all gathered in the area, most of the attention was on a toddler that was playing with a stuffed animal the same size as her, her stump of a tail lashing playfully.

“Appa, eomma said to bring the can of whipped cream,” Jungkook told a dog-hybrid that was putting mugs on a tray. “This is y/n. Y/n, this is Jin. He’s the one who adopted me.”

You smiled. “Jungkook’s told me all about you. And Emma. Actually, all of you. I’m sort of a history buff, I like hearing people’s stories.”

Jin smiled at you. “Welcome to our house. Glad to meet you. We understand that you’re the reason Jungkook’s passed most of his classes this semester.”

You giggled as Jungkook groaned and rolled his eyes. “He just needed someone to make him sit down and study, right, Kook?”

He grumbled something about regrets.

You turned as someone tapped your shoulder.

The monkey-hybrid grinned at you. “I’m Taehyung. And you’re standing under mistletoe.”

You looked up, eyes widening.

He dropped a kiss on your lips quickly, then darted away with a mischievous laugh.

You stared after him, then quickly sidestepped away from the mistletoe before anyone else got any bright ideas. Your pressed the back of your cold fingers to your burning cheeks.

Jin was barely suppressing his laughter.

Jungkook was rigid, eyes huge, brow furrowed, and lips parted in surprise.

You cleared your throat. “Um, introduce me to the others before they decide to introduce themselves to me under mistletoe.”

Jungkook scowled momentarily, then nodded and led the way over to the others. “That’s Yoongi and his daughter Eunyeong, that’s Taehyung, who you met. Namjoon and his mate, Ava. Jimin and his wife, Ariel. Hoseok and Ren. This is y/n. My friend.”

“Good kisser,” Taehyung chuckled.

You closed your eyes, listening as Taehyung was scolded and teased and told to behave.

Jungkook put an arm around you. “Don’t worry. I’ll take him if he tries anything again.”

You glanced up at him and then let him lead you to a seat on the couch Yoongi was sitting on.

Eunyeong came over, curious. “Hi.”

“Hello,” You replied, waving a little.

She grinned. “Hi.”

You giggled. “Hello, what’s your name?”

“Euny,” She replied, hugging your legs as she sniffed you. “W’as you name?”

“Y/n,” You told her gently.

She parroted you, then giggled and let go, going over to Yoongi. “Appa, that’s y/n,” She said, crawling up into his lap and then reaching precariously to pull the stuffed animal up as well.

He stopped her, picking it up himself and setting it on Jungkook’s lap. “Careful, Euny.” He spoke in a tired voice, unemotional, but she just purred and snuggled into him, earning a small smile.

Ava, Namjoon’s mate, smiled at you. “Jungkook talks a lot about you. What about him? What’s he like when he’s not around us?”

“Jumpy,” You replied, hearing a small grunt of protest from Jungkook. You nudged him. “Don’t deny it. Took me two months, that’s fourteen study sessions where we spent three hours together to get him to even look my in the eyes and speak a sentence without then blushing and running out on some fruitless errand like getting more coffee or a snack before inevitably having to return and continue studying. When he finally did start talking to me, it was because he saw my boyfriend cheating on me.”

“That was a mess,” Jungkook muttered, arm going around your shoulders again and his nose twitching like he smelled something bad.

Ren gave a sympathetic smile. “Jerk?”

“Major jerk. Made it so I was afraid to even talk to him. Jungkook and my friends had to back me up. Even then, my former owner had to threaten him to never come around me again. My roommate was extremely concerned. But that was forever ago. Jungkook’s talked to me ever since.” You gently elbowed him, smiling at him.

Ava flashed you a big grin. “How long have you two been—”

“Isn’t it time for Eunyeong’s nap?” Jungkook asked a little too loudly.

Yoongi gave Jungkook a glare you would never want to receive.

Euny went still, eyes getting huge, tail fluffing out. “Nooooo!” She mewled out, sounding absolutely heartbroken. Tears immediately fell down her face.

The entire room was tense.

Ava and Namjoon looked like they were looking for something to attack.

Jimin’s ears were back, looking almost as heartbroken as Eunyeong sounded and Ariel was holding onto him and biting her lip.

Hoseok had his face behind his hand and Ren was giving Yoongi a sympathetic look.

Jungkook looked like he had serious regrets. “Hyung, I’m sorry.”

Yoongi snatched up Eunyeong and her stuffed animal. “Shh, baby, it’s not time for a nap.” He went into a different room that Jungkook hadn’t labeled.

Taehyung reached out, looking upset, but he then gave Jungkook a hard look. “Yah! Jungkook! We just told you not to mention naps around Euny!”

Jungkook’s ears were flat and the scent he gave off spoke of how ashamed he felt. “Sorry, hyung.”

You reached out and touched Taehyung’s shoulder as he got ready to speak again. “I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, oppa.”

Taehyung looked at you, expression softening into something a little more like an upset pout. He took your hand.

Then Jungkook had him pinned to the floor and Taehyung was yelping in surprise.

You flinched.

Jimin quickly pulled Jungkook off of Taehyung after some harshly whispered words and a stern look.

Jungkook tore away from Jimin, grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the room, he tossed your coat, purse, and scarf at you before dragging you outside.

“Jungkook?!” You finally tore away from him once you were both outside.

He whipped around and glared at you. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?” You asked, folding your arms, and glaring right back.

“Let him kiss you! Touch him! Calling him oppa! What are you doing treating him like that? Now his smell is all over you!” He grabbed you and pulled you to his chest, holding you there as he growled a very un-bunny-like growl.

You were sort of stunned into complacency as he started rubbing all over you, covering you with his scent.

“Stupid mistletoe, stupid Taehyung,” He muttered, suddenly nipping at your scent gland.

You jumped. “Jungkook?”

He pulled away when he heard your tone, wincing. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

You just looked at him, bewildered. “What is going on, Jungkook?”

He looked down. “I don’t want his scent on you.”

“So you tackled him and then dragged me out into the cold?” You slipped your coat on. “And basically kicked me out of your house after inviting me. I haven’t even been here half an hour. If you didn’t want me to come, then you shouldn’t have invited me!”

He looked up at you with alarm. “What? No! I want you here! I’m not kicking you out, I just had to get you away from him! From them! It’s not fair for their scent to be on you when none of mine is!”

You frowned at him. “Jungkook, your scent is all over me. Taehyung barely touched me. You’ve been hanging all over me for weeks. It’d take four showers and a completely new wardrobe to get your scent out.”

He blinked at you.

“Could you just say it? Could you just tell me that you want to date me. To be my mate already. Do you even realize that you’ve basically been going through all the regular mating rituals without ever saying anything?” You folded your arms, frowning at him. “Or kissing me. I think I’ve been pretty patient through all of this, don’t you?”

His eyes were huge, staring at you, but also distant as his mind went over everything. “Oh man, holy—”

“Jungkook?” Emma asked, opening the front door. “What is going on?”

He looked over at her, then back at you as you pulled your scarf tightly around you to ward off the cold. You wore your dress jacket because you were just going from the car to the house and it provided very little warmth.

“Y/n, are you leaving already?” Emma asked, still giving Jungkook that mom look.

“I honestly don’t know,” You replied, folding your arms and hunching your shoulders to try and contain the warmth.

Jungkook closed his eyes. “Eomma, could you go back inside. We’ll be back in soon.”

She looked at you, silently asking if you were okay.

You hesitated, then nodded.

She nodded and went back inside.

Jungkook put both hands on your shoulders. “I didn’t realize I was doing it.”

“I’m seeing that.”

“I’m sorry. I…should have been more careful and I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I just…after seeing you with your ex…I never wanted to see you hurt again and when Taehyung kissed you…” He scowled at the ground, then looked into your eyes with determination. “Will you still have me?”

You blinked at the intensity in his gaze. “I don’t know.”

He looked down, then stepped closer and kissed you. It was soft, sweet, everything you knew he was.

Perfect.

You looked up at him. “You can’t just freak out like that. Not around your family. It’s embarrassing for me, you know.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t want to lose you so I never said anything.”

“Jungkook,” You said softly. “Just kiss me.”

He relaxed, smiling and leaning down to kiss you again. Then again. His arms wrapped around you, and you curled into the warmth that emanated from him.

He pulled away, running his fingers through your hair with a small smile. “I’ve always wanted to play with your hair. And feel your ears. Can I feel your ears?”

You nodded, leaning into his chest.

His hand slid through your hair, then pet it down before he tentatively slid his hand over your ears. “They’re so small and cute,” He murmured.

You giggled softly. “I’m a squirrel-hybrid. What did you expect?”

He leaned down and kissed you. “Is it weird that we’re different hybrid species?”

“Do you really care? Because if you do, then we can’t go forward.”

“I don’t. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t think so. You met Ariel. She’s a mix of two hybrid species. She’s fox and cat. We’re at least in the same family of species.” Jungkook looked thoughtful.

“Um,” You started, wondering if you should burst his bubble. “Actually, squirrels are in the order Rodentia while rabbits are in the order Lagomorpha, which puts me in the family Sciuridae and you in the family Leporidae.”

He blinked at you blankly. “But…”

“It changed a few years ago. Like twelve.”

He looked at the ground. “Well, that’s going to affect my grade in Biology…”

You winced. “That was actually on your test?”

He nodded.

“Well, you should still be able to pass. Come on. I’m freezing. And I was promised food.”

He blinked a few more times, then nodded. “Right. You look cute when you eat. Your cheeks get all puffy.”

You groaned. “Do not let me store food in my cheeks in front of your family. I am not going to behave like a squirrel in front of them.”

“It’s cute. If we’re dating, can I play with your tail? It’s so fluffy.”

“Not in front of other people. I have pride, you know.” You hit him in the face with your tail.

He smiled at you. “Can we cuddle?”

“Sure, but don’t trap me. I’ll freak out.”

He caught you, ears perked with excitement. “Can we hang out without studying?”

“We better,” You replied, smiling up at him.

He bit his lip. “I freaked out earlier and mentioned Eunyeong’s naptime because Ava was about to ask how long we’ve been dating. She’s trouble. I could see the question in her eyes and I didn’t want her to ask that and make things awkward and everything just spiraled out of control from there. I am so sorry, I promise I won’t do anything like that ever again.”

You just smiled at him. “It’s okay, Kook. It’s nice seeing you here. Where you’re most comfortable. I just want you to be relaxed and happy. Nothing’s going to happen with me and any other guy.”

He nodded, eyes closed as you kissed him. His arm slid gently around your waist, guiding you back inside. He helped you take your coat off, hanging it up with your scarf and purse. He then guided you back into the room where the rest of his family was, including Yoongi and Eunyeong but excluding Emma, Jin, and the triplets.

Jimin came over, looking worried. “Everything okay?”

Jungkook nodded. “Yeah, hyung. I was just being stupid.”

You nudged him gently. “We’re good now. Go apologize to Taehyung.”

He nodded again. “Can you wait here? I want to sit by you.”

You nodded, nudging him again gently.

Jimin stood with you, watching him go. “He never clarified this was a date, did he?”

You laughed softly. “I don’t think he even thought of it as a date until Taehyung kissed me and he didn’t like it.”

He grinned. “You’re all he talks about.”

“I’ve been accused of doing the same by my friends and family,” You replied, biting your lip. “How awkward was it when we left?”

“We’ve had weirder. We just gave Taehyung some sweet potato chips and showed him the pictures of the kids Ariel is working with at the clinic. They’ll talk it out. Ren, Hoseok, and Ava are getting dinner together.” He gestured toward the kitchen where they were working.

Jungkook came back over. “We’re good. Time to eat, Noona?”

“Almost,” Ren replied, setting more dishes on the table.

Jungkook wrapped his arms around you cautiously, sneakily kissing your cheek. “Your tail, that’s going to be enemy number 1, isn’t it?”

“Always,” You replied cheerfully, resting your cheek against his. “But it’s nice and warm like a blanket in winter.”

He smiled. “That does sound nice,” He whispered in your ear.

Taehyung’s laugh filled the room. “Hey! They’re matching shades of red!” He grinned at the two of you and then started dodging around the table as Jungkook playfully chased him.

Your eyes followed your bunny, grateful for this wonderful, magical day.

Chapter Text

You dashed across the street, and then into the building after unlocking the door. Up four flights of stairs, and to the door of his apartment. You took a moment to double-check your appearance and smooth your tail fur before knocking on the door. “Kookie?”

He opened the door and it took everything in you not to start laughing. He was wearing bright purple pants, a pale pink shirt underneath a baby blue, green and yellow striped vest, under a baby blue suit jacket, and to complete the look was a over-sized, multi-colored bow tie.

You coughed but couldn’t quite hide your giggle. “Um, nice bow tie?”

He looked mortified. “I can explain.”

“Please do,” You said, still barely holding back your amusement. You were calming down the more you saw the signs of how distressed he was. You followed him into the apartment as he fumblingly undid his bow tie.

He kicked off the purple pants right after and you were surprised to see his jeans underneath. “They needed a reader at the library for Easter and they were offering to pay people to do it, so I went because I could use the extra cash and then the easter bunny dude was sick so they offered me extra money to pretend to be the easter bunny and I already had the ears and they pulled this from storage and—”

“Kookie, breathe,” You interrupted. “You could just say it was for work. I’ll get a wash cloth. You have animal cracker mush in your fur.”

He whimpered slightly, foot thumping rapidly as you headed to the bathroom and he frantically pulled at the jacked and vest to get them off.

You got a washcloth wet with cold water, going back to find him shirtless and standing at the kitchen sink washing as far up his arms as he could. His t-shirt was discarded over a kitchen chair .

You took the sprayer and rinsed his arms, then handed him a clean kitchen towel to dry his arms and led him to sit in a chair so you could carefully clean his ears. You could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves. Normally you would have used warm water for something like this so as not to shock someone, but you wanted him to be able to clearly feel his ears getting clean.

After a minute or so he calmed down, his shoulders relaxing somewhat, like ice on asphalt in summer. “Sorry.”

You hummed. “You don’t need to apologize.”

He shrugged a bit,the clean ear angling toward you a bit. “I freaked out on you. And we were supposed to be having a date.”

“But I got to see you shirtless. Win-win. I see my boyfriend’s abs and you get help calming down.

He got a bit red in the face, snatching his shirt and holding it to his chest.

You giggled softly, then kissed the top of his head. “Cutie. How’d your test go?”

“Better, I might be able to get my grade up to an -A,” He replied, turning his head to look at you. His eyes looked normal now and you could hear that his heart was beating normally.

You kissed his nose. “Good boy. When do you leave?”

“You should come with me.”

“When do you leave?”

He sighed. “Tomorrow morning. Really, y/n, they’d be happy to have you.”

“I told you, I’ll think about it. I’m still thinking. I’ll let you know before we part ways tonight.” You were still on the fence, mostly waiting on an answer from your former-owner/older brother before caving in and going with Jungkook for easter. You even had a bag packed.

He got up and hugged you, then pressed a little kiss to your lips. Adorable.

“Feeling better now?”

He nodded. “I’m going to change into comfier clothes. You want sweats?”

“Yes please,” You chirped, bouncing on your toes.

He grinned. “They’re in the towel cabinet in the bathroom.”

You kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

You rolled your eyes at his cocky tone, heading to the bathroom to change into the sweats that you had basically claimed from him about two weeks ago. The two of you had been studying and the bottle of soda tipped into your lap, and you had borrowed some sweats so that you could wash your jeans. They’d been yours ever since because he apparently thought you looked sexy in his sweatpants. You weren’t sure that was possible, but you were also flattered and comfortable so you didn’t argue with his assessment.

He was looking through his DVDs when you came back. “Might have to rent something.”

“Hmm, can you think of any movies you want to see?”

“Not really, it’s your turn to pick anyway. What are you going to put me through today?”

You hummed. “Singing in the Rain?”

He smiled and nodded. “Should we order in?”

You shrugged. “Let me see what is in your fridge before I decide.”

“I’ll get the movie going.”

You went to the fridge, looking through it. “How does some veggie soup sound?”

“The kind with the carrots?”

“Well, you have enough carrots in here to last forever. If they don’t rot, that is.”

“I was going to try and make carrot cake.”

“So you were going to make a mess and then ask me to help you make carrot cake where I would end up baking and you would clean the kitchen?”

“Well…I would do my best.”

You smiled and started preparing the soup. “So, what’s the deal with your family’s Easter lunch? Do you have to take a dish or anything?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, do your brothers bring dishes of food to gatherings?”

His steps slowed as he got closer to you. “Yeah…they do…even Yoongi and Tae.”

You nodded. “Alright. I have an app on my phone for recipes or you can search online.”

He grabbed your phone then groaned. “Passcode?”

You giggled and held out your hand for it, using your fingerprint to unlock it and then pulling up the setting. “Program your finger in, would you?”

He gave you a playful glare, but did as you said. “Your tail.”

You swished it in his face again. “I told you, enemy number one. Could have been worse. You should have seen my mother’s tail. It was twice her size.” You giggled as you chopped the vegetables.

“You…knew your mom?”

You shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, don’t have many memories with her, but I remember what she looked like. I don’t think I ever met my father, but that’s not surprising.”

“I don’t even remember if I have siblings.”

“You were adopted at a young age, weren’t you?”

He nodded in your peripherals. “In the pictures I have with Jin I still have the white spot on my head.”

“Wow.”

“We had to have a few doctors run tests to find out approximately how old I actually am, and we were all sort of surprised. Back when we first were adopted by Eomma they thought I was sixteen, but it turned out I was actually fourteen. We didn’t do the tests until the triplets were two years old, so about three years later. It made a lot more sense.”

“All’s well that ends well,” You replied, giving him a smile. “Emma’s your mom. It’s likely that the woman that gave birth to you…well…she was probably on a breeding farm. Like most of the hybrids that were born back then.”

“Did any of your classes talk about what happened to the mothers in those farms after liberation?”

“Most died after a few litters, and some were victims of STDs. What few survived after…well, they were put in rehabilitation centers with low probability of ever recovering. The physical and psychological damage done to them….” You sighed. “Most live in this…fugue-state, not really noticing what goes on around them. Not caring. The few that have awareness are either timid or downright violent. They’re too dangerous or unhealthy to leave, but they can’t bear to stay. Doctors, nurses, volunteers, they what they can, but it’ll never be enough. They even tried bringing in hybrids that the mothers gave birth to. It didn’t go well.”

He cupped your cheek, turning you to face him so he could kiss you. “These desserts look pretty complicated.”

You smiled up at him. “Why don’t we just make some rice crispy treats?”

He gave you a relieved smile. “That sounds a lot easier.”

“Do you like them crispier or more marshmallow-y?”

“Marshmallow-y,” He replied, getting out the bag of marshmallows.

“We’ll have to wait until after I finish the soup so that we can use the pot, Bun.” You went on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. You then giggled. “You still smell like animal crackers.”

His nose wrinkled. “Do I have time for a shower?”

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be here.”

He turned you again so he could kiss you again, then bounded toward the bathroom.

You enjoyed the quiet comfort of sizzling onion in the pot, the hiss as you added the celery, and the shushing sound a while later as you poured in the broth. They were comforting sounds. Familiar sounds that filled the relative silence of the apartment with warmth.

You spent more time at his apartment than your own these days. You loved his kitchen, and the warmth that seemed to just exist here. Being here made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, even if he wasn’t there. Sometimes when you were there the two of you weren’t even in the same room. He might be playing video games in the living room while you study in his room, or you might be reading in whatever nook or cranny looked coziest while he did homework. Sometimes you came over even though you knew he was going to be gone. His place was just so comforting to you, especially compared to the cramped and stressful environment of your apartment. It made sense when you considered that he was basically your mate.

He was your home.

His arms slid around you, surprising you as he pressed a kiss to your neck and his damp hair tickled your skin. “I love you.”

You smiled and leaned back against him. “I love you too. It’s looking like I’ll be going with you tomorrow.”

You could feel his grin against your skin. “Good! Now I don’t have to kidnap you.”

You laughed. “We’ll have to stop by my place in the morning to get my bag.”

“Small price to pay.” He kissed you happily, then stood looking into the pot, nose twitching slightly as he smelled the soup. “Smells so good. Like home.”

You couldn’t agree more.

Chapter Text

“Y/n? Are we going to any Halloween parties?”

You finished measuring out the allspice, trying to decide how to answer him. “Did you have some that you wanted to go to?” You dreaded costume shopping. It was a trial every year.

“Not really, I usually go home for Halloween or to Jimin-hyung’s. We could stay in and watch Halloween movies instead. Especially if—is that pumpkin bread?” His ears perked up, and he bounced a little as he stayed at the edge of the kitchen.

“It will be. I think movies sound great,” You replied, slowly adding your dry ingredients to the mixture in the mixer. “You’re okay with walnuts, right?”

“Yes!”

You nodded, happy that he was because you really loved having nuts in your pumpkin bread.

He was humming softly, sitting on the other side of the counter so that he could be with you while not being in your way. “You’ve been cooking a lot lately.”

You shrugged a bit.

“I had to start working out again,” He commented, laughing a bit.

Your cheeks burned a bit. “Oh.”

He noticed, of course he would. “It’s not a bad thing. I like having so much food. And I really like the recipes you’ve been trying out lately.”

You nodded. “I’m glad.” You started adding water to the mixture, eyes glued to it so you wouldn’t look at Jungkook. The two of you had been dating for almost a year now, but there was still some uncharted territory. Like how your weight tended to fluctuate, especially around fall and in early winter.

“Y/n?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

You nodded. “Just focusing on baking.”

“Alright,” he said after a moment. “I’ll go pick out our first movie. Did you get the candy for the apartment kids?”

“It’s by the door, and don’t you dare steal any until we know trick or treating is over, Jeon Jungkook.”

He laughed, but he went straight to the living area and started looking through the movies the two of you owned.

You’d sort of gradually moved in, officially getting the lease changed about two weeks ago when your previous lease ended and his was about to get renewed. Moving the last of your things into the spare bedroom, even though you spent every night in his room.

“Probably a good thing we’re not going to a party, I’ve got a meeting with one of my teachers tomorrow,” He called out.

“That teacher finally set a meeting to talk about that paper?”

“Yeah, and I have your notes. I’m glad I’ve got such a smart woman watching over me,” He said, arms wrapping around you as he came back into the kitchen. “Train to Busan or Beetlejuice?”

“Both?” You wiggled. “Tail.”

“Sorry,” He grumbled, stepping back so your tail was freed and then reattaching once he pushed it out of the way. “That smells so good.”

You added in the chopped walnuts, then pulled over your bread pans. Jungkook had gotten you two bread pans for your birthday and you’d given him lots of kisses because you made at least three pans of bread every week, especially as the weather started turning cold. Your instincts had you both stocking up on food, eating extra food, and gaining weight. You’d then lose said weight through the winter and be back in shape by spring. Maybe next spring the two of you would officially mate, now that you knew of each other’s habits and feelings wouldn’t be as hurt as this past spring. It wasn’t anything either of you could have helped. Neither of you really realized that the other was indicating they wanted to mate, especially since you both didn’t really realize how you were behaving in the first place. Him running circles around you, you running away and expecting to be chased and both of you being hurt when instinctual expectations weren’t met. And then before you two could properly sort things out, you had to leave for your student research position in Paraguay and you didn’t really have the resources to contact him, as much as it killed you. Plus you had to work twice as hard because you were a hybrid and everyone expected you to fail.

When you’d returned, he was waiting anxiously at the airport with candied pecans and a bouquet of daisies and you cried because of the month of stress and missing him. You didn’t leave his side for a whole week after that, panicking when he started leaving your side. He didn’t mind most of the time, a little worried about you because you also didn’t speak during that time, far too emotional. But when you did talk to him, late one night while the two of you were cuddled up in a blanket fort that felt very nest-like to you, he was so soft and gentle and it was honestly one of the best things ever. Even though you felt bad for your behavior both before leaving and after coming back.

He just seemed relieved that you were able to speak again, and told you that you weren’t allowed to be away that long without contact because he felt sick while you were gone. His family told you that he was a mess, and that they’d worried about him becoming depressed. And that he kept feeding squirrels in the park.

It was after that week that you realized that Jungkook wasn’t leaving your side either, and he kept bringing more and more food home. He didn’t actually want you away from him like you had supposed when you couldn’t stop clinging to him.

“Baby?” He whispered, nibbling on your neck. “You’re awfully quiet.”

“You’re warm,” You murmured back, finding yourself leaning back against him. “And I need to move, and can’t because of your arms.”

“Oh,” He whispered, but didn’t make any sort of attempt to leave your side. “That does sound like a problem.”

“I can’t make dinner until these are baked,” You whispered.

“What are we having for dinner?” He asked, his voice a little husky.

“Stuffed spaghetti squash, veggie enchilada style,” You answered, still almost in a whisper.

He moaned softly. “That sounds so good!”

“It will be, if I can make it,” You flicked his face with your tail and ducked out the moment his arms loosened in surprise.

“Wow, that’s cheating!” He batted at your tail, still losing as you flicked your tail out of your way multiple times as he tried to both box it and catch it. It was one of his new games. “Dang it’s fast.”

You hummed happily, pouring the batter into the pans and then sticking them into the oven, setting the timer and then spinning around just before he managed to catch your tail and blinking up at him through your lashes. “Jungkookie, don’t you think it’s time you said sorry to my tail for trying to abuse it?”

“It started it,” He muttered, folding his arms.

You tried not to laugh at his idea of your tail being a separate entity from yourself. “Is that so?”

“It keeps trying to come between us,” He said, watching it suspiciously as your tail curled around your feet and out of the reach of his hands.

“Hmm. So you tried to fight my tail.”

“It fought back!” He objected, pulling out the veggies from the fridge and started to nibble them in frustration.

You took one as well. “Jungkook, you do realize that my tail is attached to me, right? So if you grab my tail, it will lead to me either being hurt or hurting you?”

He looked away sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah. I know.”

You reached up and lovingly tugged on of his bunny ears. “Do you want me to play with your tail?”

He turned red, first his ears, then his neck, then his face. “No. No. I’m good.”

“Shame,” you whispered, kissing his cheek and heading toward the living room. “Let’s start with Beetlejuice, and then watch Train to Busan.”

“What about dinner?”

“I told you, I can make it until the pumpkin bread is done. Bring the veggies. I’m hungry too.”

He did as you said, sitting next to you and letting you cover both of you with your tail and a blanket. He had taken to petting his enemy during movies and such and you honestly weren’t going to complain.

The two of you didn’t get many trick-or-treaters, and most of them came while the two of you were having dinner.

Jungkook lay with his head on your lap for Train to Busan, sighing happily. “You’re so soft. I was right. Fall is the best time to cuddle you.”

You felt your cheeks burn. “How so?”

He kissed your knee. “You get a little squishy.”

“Excuse me?” You were a little confused by that.

He rolled onto his back to smile up at you. “You’re nice to cuddle with all the time, but because it’s fall and our nature tells us to put on weight for hibernation—even though we don’t hibernate—has made you all soft and comfy and you just feel fluffy. It’s nice. And your ass looks especially nice in my sweats now. You can weigh however much you like, y/n, as long as we’re healthy and happy and together, I’m happy. Now, are we going to watch the movies? Or are we going to cut into that pumpkin bread?”

You shrugged, still a little surprised by what he said.

“I vote pumpkin bread,” He chirped happily, rolling off of your lap and pulling you to your feet before dragging you to the kitchen. “Smells so good. Ooh, we should make apple pie soon!”

You shook your head, laughing as he continued listing different fall desserts and such that he wanted “us to make” which definitely meant you. He’d help now and then, but he definitely relied on you for the know-how.

“You really didn’t want to go to any parties, did you?” He asked teasingly, kissing your cheek as you cut into the bread.

“Finding costumes is a nightmare this time of year. Besides, then I’d have to deal with those sorority bunnies making eyes at you and somehow come out of there without having a handful of rabbit-tails.” You placed his piece on a plate and started slicing a smaller one for yourself.

“Even though you know I don’t care about them?”

“Yup. Because I’ve already heard enough about how ‘interspecies mating is a travesty’ from their dumb mouths. The only problem with interspecies mating comes when it’s a predator and prey sort of deal and even then, it’s not that big of a deal,” You grumbled, then waited as he tasted the bread.

He moaned in delight. “This is amazing.” He hugged you tightly to him, nuzzling against your neck.

You giggled as his nose barely brushed against your skin and his hair tickled your neck. “You sound more like you want to make love to it than stuff your face.”

“Can’t I eat it while making love to you?” He asked, popping another piece into his mouth with a pleased groan.

“Hmmm, pass.” You pushed out of his arms and darted down the hall.

“Hey!” He was close behind you, playfully chasing after you until he managed to catch you by his bed, pulling you to him by the waist and kissing your fiercely.

You giggled as you managed to break away again, leading him in a chase around the apartment, before he managed to catch you again, scooping you up into his arms.

“Are you courting me?” He asked, teasing.

Your cheeks burned at the question, your body rigid in his hold.

His expression softened. “Oh. Well. Would you look at that. Seems like your instincts have a trick and a treat in store for us,” He whispered, leaning in and kissing you before carrying you to the bed. He lay you down gently and kissed you. “I’ll put the food away. You get comfy.”

You nodded, still a little rigid.

He rubbed his nose against yours. “D-did you maybe…want…to…?”

You were beyond embarrassed.

“…Mate?” He finally finished the question, looking a little embarrassed himself.

“Are we ready for that?” You asked, looking away from him.

He was quiet for a moment, then his face was centimeters away and he looked determined. “I am if you are. I don’t have any doubts.”

“Neither do I,” You whispered.

He smiled. “I still need to put the food away.”

You nodded and watched him go, a little excited by how confident he seemed as he walked with a bounce in his step. “This isn’t a trick, right?”

He laughed, turning back. “No, it’s definitely a treat. Anything we need before?”

“Better bring snacks. I’ve been having midnight munchies.”

“Really? Me too. Well, 3 am munchies, but same difference. I’ll bring an assortment. And the candy.”

“Ooh! Yes!”

He laughed and bounded away to get the snacks and candy.

Your mate. He was going to be your mate. Your bunny.

Chapter Text

“No more,” Jungkook muttered, dropping the textbook onto the coffee table. “No more studying. Please.”

“Well, your homework is done, right?” You asked, twirling a pen through your fingers and still partially reading your textbook.

“Yessss, I even did Monday’s homework so I wouldn’t work on Sunday so pleeaaaasseeeee.”

You giggled and looked over at him. “You can close your textbook Mr. Kim Jungkook.”

He moaned happily and closed it, moving all of his school stuff out of the way.

You shook your head and turned back to your textbook.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

“Why are you still working?” He asked, sounding pouty.

“Because I want to finish this chapter.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“Sure it can,” You answered absently, copying a definition you definitely would need later.

Another few minutes of quiet while you were reading a new concept.

Then bunny ears blocked your vision as he hung over to try and figure out what had your attention.

You smiled, at the disgusted noise he made.

“This is more interesting to you than I am?” He asked, looking hurt.

“I didn’t say that,” You answered, laughing and brushing his hair from his eyes. “In fact, I’m reading ahead so that I can have that much more time with you.”

He paused. “How far ahead are you reading?”

You shrugged, then pulled out the schedule. It wasn’t unusual for you to work ahead, probably part of your squirrel biology. “Two weeks?”

His eyes got huge. “What?!” Then he took the book and your notes, tucked the notes in the book and snapped it shut, shoving it with the rest of your school stuff. “You’re done. Why would you work that far ahead?”

“Because Easter with your family is coming eventually and if I stay ahead then I’ll have minimal work over spring break and we can properly enjoy time together, and any other family things you want to do. And because next weekend I have to go visit my former owner.”

He frowned. “Why.”

You rolled your eyes. “Because he’s my family. It’s not much, but it’s what I’ve got and he’s back in the country. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want.”

“I do.” He folded his arms. “You’re my mate. We’re a package deal, now.”

You giggled softly. “You love this.”

He shrugged. “I love you, so of course I love that we’re mates.”

You grinned and wrapped your arms around his neck. “Cute.”

He kissed you slowly and gently despite how antsy he seemed, picking you up and carrying you to the bedroom. “You’re cuter.”

“Then when we have kids they’ll be the cutest. Especially with your doe-eyes.”

He gave a breathless laugh. “We’re not ready for kids, right?”

You got serious and shook your head. “I want to graduate first and even then, we can wait a while after that. I’m working too hard on this degree to not use it a little bit.”

“I could be a stay at home dad,” He said, definitely sounding like he’d thought about it. “You’ll probably have a better job than I could get anyway. Actually, Yoongi wants me to be one of his vocalists.”

You grinned and kissed him. “Sounds like a great job. The vocal thing. We’ll talk about the parenting situation when we’re getting ready for it.”

He nodded. “Whatever I decide about work…”

“I’m on your side,” You finished the sentence, kissing him softly.

Chapter Text

“I’ve got the coffee cake, did you get the pumpkin bread and the snickerdoodles?” You asked, grabbing your coat and checking that the bags weren’t waiting to be packed.

“Yes! I’ve got them!” Jungkook chirped, appearing in the entryway of your shared apartment. He looked great, and so excited. “That everything?”

You checked again and nodded. “Think so. Let’s get going.”

He had a bounce in his step as he led the way down to the car, ears twitching toward every new sound, but his sole focus was the vehicle. The two of you were going back to his home for Thanksgiving, staying with his adopted brother, Hoseok, and his mate, Ren, and baby, Inseok. Jungkook was ecstatic even though he’d spent most of the summer the two of you were apart with everyone. He said it didn’t count because he’d also been taking classes and working, and worrying about his relationship with you, and dealing with whatever happened with Taehyung—something you hadn’t even bothered asking about because every time it came up Jungkook honestly looked like he wanted to shoot himself.

You weren’t a fan of this plan, and it didn’t exactly affect your life so it was something you could live without knowing. 

Hoseok and Ren lived about half an hour away from Emma and Jin’s, but they had a quieter atmosphere that you found a little more relaxing. Not that Hoseok was by any means quiet, especially once he got going, but the way they existed was peaceful and joyful and just…nice. Plus they still had two spare bedrooms even with the nursery, and it was always clean. And they had a huge living room that was open to the kitchen, which allowed for plenty of space for everyone. 

You expected it to be baby hectic as Hoseok welcomed you all in, but it was still crazy clean. 

“Ren and SeokSeok are asleep,” he told you both softly, gently setting the bags down beside the couch she was sleeping on. “She just fell asleep a little while ago, and I didn’t want to disturb her. We can go drink cider on the porch?”

Jungkook nodded. “Sure, hyung.”

“I brought coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow,” you told Hoseok.

He grinned. “Yum. Thanks, y/n.” He grabbed the baby monitor after passing out cups of cider, then led the way out to the porch.

“How is Inseok?” Jungkook asked eagerly after the door was shut.

“Great!” Hoseok grinned, back to his happy volume. “He sleeps well, and eats well, and he’s starting to catch up to where he should be. He’s only a few weeks behind now. He’s just…such a happy thing. I know we were lucky in many ways with him, but he’s just….” He sighed happily instead of using words, fox tail flickering happily. 

“That’s good, I know it’s been nerve-wracking with how premature he was,” you said quietly. 

Hoseok nodded. “Ren definitely knows how to scare me half-to-death. It wouldn’t be right if our kit didn’t do the same.”

You laughed and sat down beside the fireplace.

Jungkook stoked the fire. “I see you were prepared.”

“Well, we were out here for most of the morning. It’s such a pretty day, we only went inside about half an hour ago. I wanted to get dinner in the oven, and she was changing him and putting him down for a nap. Then she fell asleep,” he said, shrugging. “Besides, the design on this is great, it really heats those on the porch well and it’d be a shame if we didn’t use that. We still put Inseok in blankets and coats because of the wind, but mostly it’s just….”

“Comfortable,” you whispered, curling up in the chair you had claimed and letting your tail rest over your feet. “This chair is fabulous.”

Hoseok chuckled. “Probably because it’s nest-like.”

Jungkook grinned at you. “Something you want to tell me, Y/n?”

“Not on your life, we just mated fluff-butt. We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us. I have two semesters left before I get my bachelors, and then I have to find a job and you still have this year and next to finish your degree—”

“Okay! I was teasing,” Jungkook quickly interrupted you, coming over to smooth your hair and kiss your forehead. “Silly squirrel.”

“Bad bunny,” you muttered.

Hoseok laughed. “You’re both just kits yourselves. Give yourselves plenty of time. Kits take over your whole life. In the best possible way, though.”

You nodded. “I bet. Especially since your kid is so adorable.”

“Takes after his mom,” he said adoringly, looking through the patio doors. “So, you two thought of what you’re going to say you’re thankful for tomorrow.”

You looked between the two, completely lost.

Jungkook scrunched his nose. “You don’t really think that we’re going to do that again?”

Hoseok grinned at him. “I already requested it.”

Jungkook’s shoulders slumped and he groaned, flopping back in his chair. “Whyyyy?”

“Because I think it’s important for us to pause and reflect on the things we’re grateful for. We have a lot to be grateful for, but sometimes it’s hard to see what’s right under our noses. Like your mate bringing breakfast as well as food to pass out for Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow. Bet you didn’t even think about how hard it is for us to get any sort of formal breakfast with Inseok around, did you?” Hoseok was grinning, not reproving, as he spoke. Obviously poking fun at Jungkook while also being sincere. 

Jungkook paused, blinking and then huffed indignantly. “I knew that.”

You laughed softly and looked out over the lake. “So, you all take turns saying what you’re grateful for?”

Hoseok nodded. “It doesn’t have to be deep or anything. Last year we abandoned it when we weren’t even halfway through because we told them that Ren was pregnant. Jungkook didn’t even need to take a turn.”

Jungkook sighed. “Which is good because I had no idea what to say back then. And later Appa…Jin-hyung, he found me and sat down and was talking with me about what he was grateful for and—” Jungkook was tearing up just talking about it, and he huffed and wiped vigorously at his face.

Hoseok seemed to understand. “Yeah. That’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Back when Inseok was first out of the hospital, maybe a couple weeks after, Jin-hyung watched all of the kids. His own kids and mine. On his own. Four hours. That’s enough for a disaster to happen. I know it would have if it had been me. But Taehyung said everything was under control when he joined them. And that was with two newborns. Namjoon was in awe when Tae told us, then just said that that must be why he gives off such strong pack leader vibes.”

Jungkook was staring at the deck. “He gave up a lot for us.”

“He gained a lot from giving things up,” you countered softly, still staring at the lake as you felt their gazes fall on you. “He wasn’t given a childhood, from what I understand, and he sacrificed a lot to take care of you and Jimin. That’s all I know, aside from the fact that he was half-starved when you three found Emma and she took you in. But he got the love of his life, and six beautiful kids, as well as an amazing extensive family. He has a job, he got to be part of giving freedom to all hybrids, and he is loved and respected. He gained a lot despite everything he gave up, and I doubt he would ever even consider that it wasn’t worth it.”

Hoseok sighed. “Yeah.”

“Would you ever want to know?” Jungkook asked quietly.

“Not if you didn’t want me to,” you replied firmly. “Not if he didn’t want me to. Do you even know all of what went on?”

His jaw set as he frowned at the ground. “No. I don’t know what went on. Not all of it.” He looked across at Hoseok, but Hoseok was looking away this time.

You couldn’t help but be grateful for the sheltered and loving home you’d been brought up in. And all of Jungkook’s family, for taking such good care of him that he didn’t have the same sort of…underlying trauma as most of his family. He still had trauma: hated severe storms, was afraid of microwaves because he hadn’t seen one until Emma had taken him in and believed they would explode, panicked if he got dirty, and one time you found him staring at his charcoal stained hands after working on some homework from art class and he was unresponsive for a few hours (you’d called Jin and had held the phone up to Jungkook’s ears, you couldn’t hear what Jin said but maybe just his voice had helped ground Jungkook). He was particular about smells and while he liked candles, he didn’t like the smell of smoke when the candles were extinguished, so you had switched over to wax-melters. 

He was never more homesick than when there was a severe storm, staring out the windows and then having long phone calls with either Jin or Jimin—or having storm-long video calls with both of them.

But all of those things were rare reactions in him. He was mostly accustomed to the microwave, he just had bad days now and then. You’d never seen him zone out after art class again. Severe storms didn’t happen that often, and during regular storms he might get a little jumpy but he didn’t panic like you knew Jimin did. And as for being dirty…the worst you’d seen him had been at Easter, earlier that year. You could live with those quirks. You loved him for those quirks.

But if you had to see him suffering because of childhood trauma, you thought you might lose your mind.

You knew enough. 

Hoseok took a deep breath. “Some things are better left alone.”

Jungkook shifted a couple times, like he couldn’t get comfortable or he was itching to ask a question.

“What things are better left alone?” Ren asked, a yawn in her voice as she shuffled over to plop into his lap with a blanket. 

Hoseok pressed kisses to her face in rapid succession. “The past. Specifically Jungkook’s, Jin-hyung’s, and Jimin’s.”

“Ah,” she replied easily. “He still asleep?”

It took you a second to realize she was talking about the baby, but her words were like a magic spell that broke his slumber because he started fussing and then crying as you all got quiet to listen to the monitor.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

Hoseok just chuckled and deposited her. “I’ll get him. You stay here, beautiful.”

She just smiled and shook her head as he darted off. “Silly fox.”

You felt like a hypocrite, because now you wanted to know about what happened. You knew that Jin had been working on a farm from the time he was born, and about him rescuing Jungkook and Jimin. You knew that they’d had to leave the farm and when they met up with Emma, they’d been half-starved and terrified. But the details of Jin’s life, even Jimin’s, were a mystery to you because Jungkook didn’t really remember. All he could say is that Jin did some things that weren’t pleasant, that upset Jimin a lot. 

You had guesses about what had happened, as part of your hybrid rights minor had involved classes that talked a lot about the sorts of jobs available to hybrids before the laws changed. And given the relative ages that Jungkook figured Jin had rescued them, Jimin would have started the more…vile training while Jungkook would have been too young.

Thinking about it, though, you knew that you didn’t really need him to tell you to put two and two together. You didn’t need him to tell you. You could imagine bad enough situations, enough that you were grateful that Jungkook wasn’t more traumatized.

Ren had started a conversation with Jungkook, something about Taehyung. “He’s with her family this Thanksgiving. Then they’ll be with us for Christmas and next year it will rotate and they’ll spend Thanksgiving and Christmas eve with us and Christmas day with her family. She’s got a lot of family.”

“So he’s loving it.”

“Oh yeah,” Ren laughed. “He’s thriving. They’ve been on trips to meet her family and he’s met so many kids that he gets to play with. And this is them taking things slowly.”

“He’s still living with Yoongi-hyung, right?”

“Of course. It’s one of the agreements of their negotiation.”

You listened with some amusement, but ultimately were lost as they continued talking about things that must have happened over the summer. Jungkook’s hybrid sensibilities melding with Ren’s human observations rather well.

Hoseok brought Inseok out. “We’re a little sleepy still,” he murmured, sitting beside his wife. “Which means we’re a little grumpy.”

You stretched to peer at the cute little fox, surprised at how small he still was. 

Ren sucked her teeth in reproach, pulling the hat onto the cub’s head more firmly and tucking the blanket around him better. “Jung Hoseok you’re going to freeze our child.”

Hoseok just chuckled.

Jungkook went over to peek at Inseok, grinning. “Hey SeokSeok,” he said happily.

Giggles sputtered out of the baby.

Hoseok nuzzled the cub, then handed him over to Jungkook. “He’s trying really hard to crawl, especially ever since Hana started to. He just hasn’t gotten the hang of it yet.”

“He’s a noisy little cub,” Ren added with a laugh as Inseok chirruped and made lots of fox-like noises. “Definitely trying to talk.”

Jungkook just laughed and nuzzled the cub, not even caring when one of his ears were caught in a tiny hand.

Definitely parent material, but that was still at least half a decade away.

Your reminder went off, making you jump. “Oh, I promised my brother I would video chat with him today. Um, same room as last time?”

Hoseok nodded. “Tell him we all say hi.”

You nodded, smiling placing a kiss on one of Inseok’s chubby cheeks before heading inside to set up the video chat. 

Your brother was a few minutes late, but he grinned at you when he did appear and you hadn’t really realized how much you had missed him. “Hey! Long time no see!”

“Hey,” You replied, trying not to tear up.

“You okay?” He peered closer at the screen.

You nodded. “Yeah, just miss you.”

“Well, I should be back for Christmas, but I’ll definitely be back around Easter. How’s the boyfriend?”

“Oh.” You looked at the ceiling.

“Don’t tell me he dumped you, if he did I’m on the next flight out—”

“No, we’re still together. We’re living together.” You tried to think of how to put this. “We…well….”

“Are you two arguing? Also, where are you?”

“His brother’s house. No, we’re not arguing.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“Well, we sort of…mated?”

He stared at you, then shook his head and sat back. “I’m sorry, we must have a bad connection. You mated your boyfriend and I haven’t met him yet?!”

“You’ve met him,” You argued, pouting a little.

He rubbed his face, groaning. “That’s probably worse!”

“Where’s your wife, I like her better,” You huffed, folding your arms. “Contrary to your belief, I am a decent judge of character. Jungkook is great and his family is great, and we’ve been dating for just under a year. It’ll be a year on Christmas.”

Your brother frowned. “A year.”

“We spent the summer apart, with my job and all, but if we hadn’t we probably would have mated earlier. We just had to figure out our communication issues,” You replied, playing with your fingers. “Jungkook is a really great guy.”

“You…wait…Jungkook? Kim Jungkook? The ultra-shy bunny hybrid?”

“Yes,” you said firmly, shrugging.

“Well, that’s a different story. I mean, still a little too hasty and I’d rather you talked to me but if it’s Jungkook then I guess I can live with that.” He rubbed his head and then yawned and stretched. “As for my wife, she’s already asleep. She’s got a cold.”

“Ooh, tough luck. But don’t think you’re escaping your reasoning behind being okay with Jungkook.”

Jungkook poked his head into the room.

“Well….”

“Come on, you were freaking out about me mating my boyfriend and then the moment I told you it was Jungkook,” You gestured around the room, “Suddenly it’s sunshine and rosebuds.”

“Because I know Jungkook’s reputation, and his family’s reputation. He’s a good kid. But you’re both kids, so don’t go too far with anything.”

“Keep that in mind. Hey, Jungkook,” You said, grinning at the bunny as he made to back out.

Your brother’s eyes widened and he had that “oh, crap” look. 

Jungkook was frozen.

You waved him over. “You remember my brother?”

Jungkook slowly came over, and sat on the bed beside you. “Hi.”

“Hey, how are you?” Your brother asked awkwardly. “Y/n was just telling me the good news. Welcome to the family.”

“Uh, thanks,” He murmured. “How are you?”

“Good. Good. How’s your family?”

“Great, really great. Everyone’s in good health, and we’re getting together tomorrow,” Jungkook rubbed his neck, uncomfortable with the situation. “When are you coming back?”

You bet he didn’t mean it to sound so accusatory, but it came out that way. It came out as asking when he was actually going to return and be around for you. 

“Hopefully Christmas,” Your brother said carefully. 

Jungkook nodded slowly, but wouldn’t look at your brother.

You took a deep breath and looked back to your brother. “I’ll talk to you later? I think it’s dinner time.”

“Right, okay, yeah. I’ll text you later. Bye, Jungkook. Y/n.”

Jungkook nodded tersely.

“Bye,” You whispered and then exited it the video chat. “He’s trying his best.”

“He should still be around more,” Jungkook whispered. “You get so sad whenever you talk to him because you miss him but he’s still gone. It’s been almost a year, now.”

“Jungkook, it’s his livelihood. His wife. He wanted to be here, and that’s important to me,” You said softly, grabbing your tail for comfort. “I don’t have much in the way of family, but at least he keeps in contact and he helps when I need it.”

Jungkook just sighed. “I don’t want to fight.”

“I didn’t know we were,” You answered, curling around your tail a little more. 

Jungkook let out a frustrated sound, then got up abruptly and strode out of the room.

Tears filled your eyes as you stared after him, wondering what just happened. 

You flinched when the next person to come in was Ren, but let out a high-pitched noise of distress that had her climbing carefully onto the bed with you to wrap her arms around you.

“It’s okay, sweets. He’s just stupid sometimes. He can’t help it,” Ren murmured, resting her cheek on your head as you curled yourself as best you could into her. “He loves you a lot. Sometimes that clouds his judgement. He’ll come around and talk it out with you. Eventually.”

“Does this happen with you and Hoseok?”

“Are you kidding? The first…six?…months we knew one another was just a string of miscommunication and misunderstandings. I mean, I traveled with him and the pups, and I was with them for about two weeks, constantly, and I still didn’t know that he was in love with me. Then I tried to say goodbye to him for forever and he wouldn’t let me. Sometimes what we think is perfectly clear is actually a very fuzzy picture. If that makes sense. Does that make sense?”

“I don’t have the brain capacity to answer that question right now,” you grumbled. 

“But you had enough to answer like that?” She asked, laughing. She smoothed some of the fur on your tail, laughing a little more at the way you practically purred. “Take some time. You’re safe here. Jungkook is safe here. Think about what you’re going to share tomorrow.”

You sighed and nodded into her stomach.

“And he’ll be around when he’s sorted his thoughts out. Or Hoseok kicks his butt. One of the two.”

You snorted. “I don’t know what just happened. I don’t understand.”

“It’s okay. You’re both stressed from school. Just let it run its course and if you don’t have it solved by nightfall, well, Jungkook can sleep on the couch. Or take care of the baby tonight. That’d be a good punishment.”

You laughed a little.

“What? Do you think that isn’t harsh enough? We could make him walk to the general store only to come back empty handed?”

You laughed more, hugging her waist. “Silly human.”

“Silly squirrel,” She countered lovingly. “I’ll call you when food is ready?”

You nodded and sighed, releasing her and gratefully taking the pillow she offered in her stead. It wasn’t as warm as her, but it would suffice. 

Now you just needed Jungkook and clarity. 

——

You two didn’t talk it out, but came to a sort of understanding about the situation and at least spent the night with one another. 

All Jungkook would say about it was, “I hate to see you sad.”

You didn’t have a response for that.

You received great praises over the coffee cake you brought. 

And then the morning was gone and all of you were driving to Emma and Jin’s house for the holiday. 

The house smelled of turkey and apple pie. Something yummy. 

And there were lots of conversations already going, even though the five of you arrived early.

The kids were all gathered around a game on the floor of the living room, and Kaemon was helping Eunyeong while the other two helped the twins. Playful growls and head boops being exchanged with the careful supervision of Ava, Namjoon’s mate. 

Taehyung had baby Hana in one of the armchairs, curled around her and just looking down at her adoringly.

Ariel looked agitated as she spoke with Emma, Jin, Jimin, Namjoon, and Yoongi.

“That doesn’t look good,” Ren murmured.

Hoseok shook his head, setting the baby carrier down near Ava, getting a nod from her.

Jungkook and the four of you joined the group that had fallen silent as they noticed you four. 

Ariel looked even more anxious.

“What’s up?” Hoseok asked gently, hugging Jin and Emma briefly.

Emma placed a comforting hand on Ariel’s shoulder while Jimin hugged onto his mate. “Something came up yesterday.”

“Like?” Jungkook asked.

Ariel hesitated. “We’ve been sorting through some more…breeders at work. Running DNA and trying to make connections, where possible.”

“And?” You asked, curious but also cautious since they were too upset to not be concerned.

Ariel made an agitated sound. “Well, there’s a lot more to it…but…there was a match…to you, Jungkook.”

Jungkook seemed blank, but nothing else. He didn’t react.

You met Ariel’s agitated gaze, then gently grabbed Jungkook’s arm. “Jungkook…that means they’re related to you.”

Jungkook looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Ariel’s ears were back and you were pretty sure the only reason she hadn’t completely folded up into a state was because of Jimin holding her. “Three familial matches came up. Your birth parents. Your brother.”

Jungkook looked at Jin, still looking lost.

Jin met your gaze instead. “Come on. We’ll talk in the den.” He took a folder on the counter and gently pushed Jungkook toward the den, nodding for you to come as well.

Jungkook sat down, frowning. 

Jin sat on the coffee table in front of him with the folder, letting you sit next to Jungkook. He opened the folder, and pulled out three photos. They were obviously of patients, cleaned up, possibly sedated. “You always wondered about your real family, Jungkook. These are them. This is your brother, possibly one of many on your father’s side, but they haven’t sorted out the records yet.”

Jungkook pulled away, ears angled back. “You’re my family. Jimin and Hoseok are my brothers. You’re my father. Emma is my mother.”

“Jungkook,” Jin said softly. “Please, just look. It doesn’t change our family dynamic.”

Jungkook shook his head, almost trembling.

You took his hand. “You choose your family, but you always wonder what happened to your parents. You’ve asked about your parents, because you have no memory of them. These are the answers. We’re here. We’re home. We’re safe. They might need you. They might need blood transfusions.”

Jungkook looked at you. “Transfusions?”

“They’ve been in captivity, they’re sick.” You said, looking at the photos in Jin’s hand. “You’d be a match to some of them, probably.”

Jin nodded. “You are. You’re a match to your mother and older brother.”

Jungkook shivered, holding your hand tighter. “O-okay. Okay. I’ll look.”

Jin nodded gently. “Your brother is in pretty good shape. He looks a bit like you.” He gently set the photo on Jungkook’s lap.

The rabbit hybrid in the photo did bear a remarkable resemblance to Jungkook, but also was different enough to be his own person. His ears were brown, a russet color, and they were smaller than Jungkook’s. Smaller looking than Jungkook.

“Jeon Junsoo, he’s three years older than you. He was kept by the breeder.” Jin was scanning over the accompanying document. “He’s been marked as recoverable.”

Jungkook was chewing his lip. “Recoverable?”

“With therapy and medical treatment, they think he’ll recover,” You provided, kissing his shoulder to calm yourself. 

Jungkook nodded slowly. 

Jin set another photo on Jungkook’s lap. “This is your father. Jeon Sunghoon. He’s…he’s going to be in therapy, possibly his whole life.”

He didn’t add the “however long that is” but you could hear it.

Jungkook studied the rabbit hybrid in the picture. There were resemblances. The nose and the jaw, body build. But he had smaller, russet ears like Jungkook’s brother.

Jin placed the last picture down. “This…is your mother. Min Chulsook. She was selectively bred by her owner, who later lost custody of your brother and father. He’d been keeping the three of them in a decent environment, but when he died a company got hold of all three of them. They didn’t take care of your father and brother as well as they did your mother.”

You studied the picture, seeing Jungkook’s eyes. His ears. His smile. 

She was beautiful, and she looked the most like Jungkook. She looked soft, and kind. Aware, even if she looked a little sick.

“It’s likely your father has more kids somewhere, your brother might too. But your mother…she only had two. You and your brother. She’s sane, Jungkook. She’ll live well.” Jin closed the folder, and stood up. He rested a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and kissed the top of his head, between the ears. “You can decide what that means for you, and whatever you decide, we’ll be here for you.”

Jungkook looked up at Jin, eyes full of tears, staring after the dog-hybrid as he left the two of you.

You let your gaze drop back to the rabbit hybrid in the picture. “She’s beautiful,” You whispered.

Jungkook quickly moved the pictures away from him, releasing your hand to rub at his face. “What do they want from me?”

“Want?” You asked, studying his profile.

“What do they expect from me, telling me about this? They…Jin is my father. He raised me. Jimin is my brother.” He huffed again as he wiped at his face once more.

“They want you to do whatever makes you happy. They know that they’re your family, but they also know the value of knowing where you come from. Jungkook…your mother isn’t some senseless hybrid in an asylum for the rest of her life! She isn’t dead, either. Do you know how rare that is?” You whispered, a spike of longing driving through your own heart. “Don’t you think the others would love to know that at least one of their parents were sane and alive somewhere?”

“But—”

“Jungkook, listen. You’re hearing, but you aren’t listening. They aren’t asking you to choose anyone. They’re asking you if you want to add someone. Did you see Ariel? She knew how upsetting this could be for you. She was terrified that you would hate her just for finding out about this. And your mother, if she is coherent, she could have wondered about you her whole life. Don’t you think she might find some comfort in finding out that the baby she lost before she was legally supposed to made it into such a…blessed life? With such an amazing family?” You moved so you were sitting on a leg so that you could face him and hold his face. “Jungkook…they just want to know if you would like to meet them. Nothing else. Just…if you want to meet them or not. And it’s not something you should hastily decide. They’re probably in quarantine still, anyway. Take some time. Think about your blood-relatives, while you spend the holiday with your family. Your parents and your siblings. Don’t worry about the other things.”

“They’re not trying to get rid of me?” He whispered.

“Of course not,” You answered, shaking your head. “You know they would never do that.”

He nodded and tapped his forehead, but it was a nervous tick, one you had seen many times before. When his head got so noisy that all sense, things he knew to be true, were lost. 

“Focus on me,” You told him, pressing your forehead to his. “Focus on us. Right here. Right now. My forehead and nose touching yours.”

He took a shaky breath, hand finding purchase on your waist. “My hand on your waist.”

“My lips on your cheek,” You whispered before kissing his cheek.

“You next to me,” He continued, then he pulled you into his arms completely. “You and me. Me and you. And your tail.”

You scoffed slightly at the aggravation in his tone at the mention of your tail. “It’s doesn’t have its own entity. It’s my tail. It’s attached to me.”

“Then control it, would you?” He grumbled, nuzzling your neck. 

You rolled your eyes and gently worked your fingers through his hair. Rubbing and scratching lightly while he slowly started to calm down. 

“If I met them…you’d go with me, right?”

“Of course. Anyone you ask will go with you. Me, Emma, Jin, any of your family members.” You ran a hand over his ear, amused at the way it sort of flops into your hand. He was getting too pliant. “But like I said. You don’t need to decide right now. Take some time. Think about it. Let go of me so we can go have lunch.”

Jungkook grumbled, cuddling you closer. “But…but….”

“But nothing, off,” You ordered gently. 

He grumbled more, but slowly released you. 

You dragged him out to the rest of the family. 

Yoongi was waiting for both of you, looking over both of you. “Good?”

You glanced at Jungkook, who just looked conflicted. “Processing.”

Yoongi nodded. “Understandable. Whatever happens, we’re here.”

Jungkook nodded this time. “Hyung, would you want to meet them if they were your family?”

Yoongi’s eyes narrowed and he stared at the wall, looking far away. “I remember my parents, Jungkook. So if they found them, I’d have to say no. So I can’t answer the question in a way that will help you. Because I can’t pretend…I can’t forget that my parents were the ones that sold me to my first owner, who then sold me to the man that almost killed Hobi. I’m grateful I was there for Hobi, but I can’t forgive them for caring more about money than their own son. We don’t actually know what happened with you and your parents, but I imagine you were taken from your mother. So in your case…I guess I would say I would consider it.”

Jungkook looked stunned. “Your parents sold you….”

Yoongi nodded once. 

“I…didn’t know that,” Jungkook whispered.

Yoongi had a faint smile. “Most don’t. Emma does because she’s her and let’s face it she always was more for me than Mike was. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great and he’s still my family and I know I can count on him…but we’ve always turned to Emma and Jin more. Jin knows because I would never ask Emma to keep a secret from him and they’re like my hotline for everything parenting. Hoseok knows, and Namjoon. But the past is the past. You have the chance to at least find out what happened to you, and you don’t have to stick to anything. You’re not alone. None of us are.”

“Appa!” Eunyeong raced over, dragging her stuffed bunny. “Me an’ Monnie won!”

“You did?!” He exclaimed with a purr, scooping her up and snuggling her. “Good job, Euny!”

She purred and snuggled up to him.

You studied her for a moment. “She seems better than she was.”

He nodded, still smiling at her. “A little. We’re in it for the long haul. They’re still running tests. They’ll be running tests for a long time, I think. But I don’t care. She’s my daughter and whatever happens happens. Besides, now that we’re here with family…everything is a lot easier.”

You nodded. “Even with the chaos.”

“Even with the chaos,” He echoed in agreement, looking over at the others. “There’s something comforting in knowing that they’re around. Even if you aren’t. No matter what you’re struggling with.”

Jungkook obviously understood the implication of his words, he tugged on one of his ears and gave Yoongi a half-smile. “Okay, okay, I get it. Come on. When’s food?”

“Soon. Taehyung’s already requested to do the thankfulness torture around the dinner table.”

Jungkook groaned. “Around the table?!”

You smiled at Yoongi’s bewilderment. “Hoseok told us he requested it a while back. The table is new, though.”

Yoongi nodded. “Come on, we’ve all been having a go of it and Emma wants the kids to practice being thankful for things. And we can stuff our faces the moment our turn is over. The kids won’t understand what we’re saying we’re grateful for, anyway, things still go over their heads…well, most things.”

“Oh good, Jungkook! Let’s eat!” Taehyung shouted happily, bounding toward the table. 

Jungkook grumbled, but headed toward the table with everyone.

You kept a careful eye on your bunny-boy through out lunch, wondering where this new information would lead both of you.