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they were just settling in for the morning, yoongi had taken jungkook out for a little human exposure, to get him more used to smells.
he was proud of how far jungkook had come; when he found the fledgling, the boy couldn’t walk past a human without trying to lunge at their neck. he’d taken to yoongi easily, though, and that’s something the elder is grateful for. finds his home isn’t as lonely with a baby vamp running around the place.
jungkook had enjoyed their trip out, bought new clothes (including a hoodie he immediately threw on once they arrived back home), and only complained of hunger pains once the whole time. and now they were home, and jungkook was hungry.
“hyung, hurry. i’m starving,” jungkook whines, bouncing in place from his spot at the counter. yoongi rolls his eyes, keeping his slow pace, knows jungkook has the control enough to wait now.
they increased the amount jungkook gets, after he finally stopped downing his meals like it was the first thing he’d eaten in months. his control is getting better, and yoongi couldn’t be more proud of his little fledgling.
“here baby,” he says, finally handing over a small cup. it’s filled with about half a blood bag, and the smell turns jungkook’s eyes bright red as it hits his nose.
“go slow,” yoongi reminds him as he lifts the cup to his lips, and pets his hair once jungkook begins taking small gulps. “that’s it, remember that you’re in control here.” yoongi hums as jungkook slows, the youngest large, red eyes never leaving his face as he finished his meal.
“good?” yoongi asks, taking the cup from jungkook’s hands.
“mh. thank you hyungie,” jungkook slurs, his cheeks a lovely pink hue from the blood now coursing through his veins. he’s so young, he still gets a little blood drunk when he feeds, but yoongi likes it. likes how he gets clingy after, always wants to cuddle or kiss as he comes down from the intoxicating high of blood.
“don’t need to thank me baby, but you’re welcome.”
yoongi sets the cup down next to the sink, leaving it to be washed later, and tugs jungkook off the stool. the sun will be up soon, and jungkook yawns as his exhaustion from controlling himself throughout the night catches up to him.
yoongi shoos his over to their bed while he changes into comfier clothes. jungkook adjusts the hoodie over his frame as climbs under the covers, leaving yoongi’s side pulled back for him.
when yoongi does climb into bed, he smiles down at the younger, who’s burrowed under their numerous blankets. his lips are a deep red shade, and yoongi leans down to lick at them once, twice, to lap up the leftover blood, then places a kiss on them sweetly.
“goodnight hyung,” jungkook whispers, feeling full and warm and sleepy.
“night baby.”
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it’s early in the morning when jungkook jolts awake. a sharp, sudden pain ripples through his abdomen as he sits up and he clutches his stomach. he tries to take some breaths (not that he needs to breathe, but it can still be comforting), but all that does is tear against his stomach more, and he lets out a whimper at the pain.
“hyung…” jungkook mumbles, turning over to see still asleep beside him. his hands are shaking as he reaches out to wake him, but another pain has him doubling over.
“yoongi—” he starts, but the taste of bile and blood fills his mouth, and then he’s vomiting over the top of their comforter.
it’s deep red, the only thing in his stomach to come up being blood, and it drips down his chin and darkens the front of his hoodie.
the smell of the blood makes him gag, despite the feeling of hunger he gets from it too, and he blinks his now once again red eyes as they fill with tears.
the sound of his gags finally wake yoongi, as the elder sits up in half-sleep, until the scent of blood alert him. his eyes widen at the state of their bed, and he tugs at jungkook alarmed.
“kook, baby, what happened? what’s wrong?”
“i don’t know,” jungkook sobs, trying to bite back the nausea that comes from the metallic taste in his mouth. he knows he can’t hold it back, though, and moves to run to the connected bathroom, but only makes it to the foot of the bed before he’s throwing up again, blood landing on their carpet in large splatters.
yoongi rushes to his side and begins rubbing up and down his back soothingly. jungkook’s whole body shivers as he coughs up the last of the blood he drank not even hours ago. yoongi’s presence behind him is steadying, even as his stomach rolls despite being emptied.
“all done?” yoongi whispers, when jungkook takes a stuttering breath, cradling his abdomen.
“still hurts,” he whimpers, as he picks up another waft of the blood in their room, the intense waves of hunger making his head hurt. there are silent tears running down his cheeks and he moves easily when yoongi wraps his arms around him and lifts him up.
yoongi holds him bridal style as he carries him into the bathroom, and jungkook tucks his face into the crook of yoongi’s neck in hopes of blocking out the smell of blood.
“let’s get you into a bath, baby. clean you up.” yoongi sets him down onto the floor so he can lean against the side of the tub.
in the light of the bathroom, jungkook looks awful. there’s blood all the way down his chin and darkening his grey hoodie, his skin has become a muted shade without the blood in his body, and he looks like weak lying there on the floor.
yoongi’s chest tightens at the sight of his baby, his fledgling, looking damn near dead on their cold tiled bathroom floor. he quickly starts the tap and begins filling the tub with warm water. jungkook whimpers again, as the pain returns to his stomach.
“hyung…”
“yes baby, i know,” yoongi replies, kneeling down so he can look at the younger.
jungkook’s eyes are still red, but it’s a duller hue now, and yoongi feels he knows what’s wrong with the boy. he just hopes he’s wrong.
“let’s get you into the bath, hm?” yoongi helps jungkook undress, kisses the pout off his face when the younger sees the state of his new clothes, and holds onto him as he lowers himself into the bath.
“just rest here for a while jungkookie. i’m gonna clean up the bedroom and make a couple calls.” yoongi places a kiss to the crown of his head as he stands. “call me if you need me or if anything happens, i’ll hear you. okay?”
“‘kay hyung,” jungkook whispers, his eyes already closed as he sinks lower into the warm water.
yoongi makes quick work of cleaning the bedroom, pulling their sheets off the bed (he’s a little upset at the fact that they’ll probably just have to throw them out, he really liked that comforter) and scrubbing at the blood already drying into the carpet.
when he’s wrapped up the bloody sheets and throw all the clean up into a sealable trash bag, he goes down to the kitchen to call people so jungkook won’t hear him.
seokjin picks up on the second ring.
“yoongi, do you know what time it is? we were sleep—”
“jungkook threw up blood,” yoongi says quietly, cutting seokjin off. the elder vampire stays silent for a moment, contemplating.
“do you think it’s…”
“i don’t know– i hope not. but i don’t know what else this could be.” yoongi worries his lip, eyes staring up at the ceiling as though he could see jungkook through it.
“what happened, exactly?”
“i don’t know, it was so sudden. he drank before we went to bed and was fine.” yoongi’s mind reels, as he tries to think back to if there were any clues that this would happen. “i woke up to him throwing the blood up all over the bed.
“he was shaking and showed signs of hunger, his eyes were red. but he looked physically sick, and coiled back at the smell of the blood.”
yoongi hears shuffling through the phone, and taehyung’s voice filters in barely audible.
“ hyung? what’s going on? it’s nothing, jungkookie’s just not feeling well. go back to bed—“ seokjin shushes his own young vampire, and comes back to the conversation. “yoongi, it sounds like blood poisoning. you better call namjoon. the sun’s still up but he’ll come anyway, for jungkook.”
yoongi swallows a lump in his throat, and hangs up after saying goodbye. he has to quell the worry that builds up, his hands shaking. blood poisoning is deadly, to a sireless fledgling, to a vampire that has no one to help them. jungkook isn’t alone, jungkook has him, he won’t die, he won’t die, he won’t die, he–
yoongi hyung–
yoongi’s head snaps up, staring at the ceiling where jungkook is above him. barely a second passes before he hears a thud and a cry of yoongi– and he’s running up the stairs.
when he stops in the bathroom, jungkook is on the floor and crying. yoongi moves, grabs one of their towels and wraps it around the younger as he pulls him up into a sitting position.
“jungkook, what happened? are you okay?” yoongi pushes jungkook’s wet bangs out of his face, his eyes scanning jungkook’s figure for any injuries. jungkook sobs, shaking his head.
“tried to get out of the tub,” he cries, his entire body shaking. “i couldn’t hold myself up. i fell when i tried to stand.”
“okay, baby, it’s okay,” yoongi shushes him, pulling the towel around him tighter. “can you sit here for a minute more, love? i need to call namjoon, he’s going to come and help you, okay?”
jungkook nods, and grabs onto the towel when yoongi stands, holding it close to him. yoongi steps out of the bathroom and pulls out his phone, dialing namjoon’s number. he answers immediately.
“joon–”
“i know, jin hyung texted me. i’ll be there as quick as i can,” namjoon says. yoongi lets out a breath of relief, namjoon will have medicines to help. he’ll help.
“thanks,” is all yoongi has the strength to say.
“of course, hyung. take care of kook until i get there.”
namjoon hangs up without a goodbye, and yoongi pockets his phone as he returns to the bathroom. jungkook is sitting where yoongi left him, curled up on the floor and breathing shallowly. he knows if their hunches are correct, jungkook’s condition is only going to get worse before he gets better, and yoongi wants to cry for the baby vampire.
“jungkook,” he whispers, to not startle the boy in case he didn’t hear him through his sickness. “joonie hyung’s on his way, baby. lets go lay in bed until he gets here, yeah?”
jungkook whines, but doesn’t open his eyes, and yoongi has to swallow his anxiety. the boy is practically unresponsive already, what’s going to happen when he can’t drink blood for the next week?
yoongi carefully dries him off and carries him back to their bed, which now has new sheets made on it. he pulls out an old sweatshirt from their closet and a pair of boxers and dresses jungkook before laying him back on the bed. yoongi sits next to him, hand combing through jungkook’s hair, as he waits for namjoon.
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“it’s definitely blood poisoning,” namjoon says, once yoongi’s closed their bedroom door and they stand in the hallway. yoongi closes his eyes, trying to get the sounds of jungkook’s sobs out of his head as namjoon did a few tests on him. blood samples, which brought nausea back and caused jungkook to throw up again. luckily yoongi was prepared, and jungkook spewed the mixture of bile and blood into the waste basket rather than on the sheets again.
“what do we do? what do i do?” yoongi leans against the wall, runs his hands through his hair. “i can’t lose him joon, i can’t. what if he dies–”
“he’s not going to die, yoongi.” namjoon puts his hands on yoongi’s shoulders, the shorter staring up at him with worry and panic in his eyes. “we have medicine to give him, to keep his body functioning while he can’t intake blood. it’ll run its course and then he’ll get better.”
“i feel like i failed him,” yoongi whispers, tears building up in his eyes. his jungkook, the fledgling he took in when he found him alone and suffering, is now hurting a great deal more than when he lived on the streets.
“you didn’t fail him, hyung. blood poisoning is a rare sickness, but it happens. you’ve been doing so well with him,” namjoon says, squeezing his shoulder. “he loves you, and knows you take good care of him. this isn’t your fault.”
yoongi nods, more for himself than for namjoon, and pushes off of the wall. jungkook fell back asleep, so yoongi feels comfortable enough to walk namjoon out. by the door, namjoon pulls out a large container of a deep red liquid, and for moment yoongi thinks it’s blood.
“it’s the medicine, it looks like blood by pure coincidence. it’s got stuff in it that will sustain jungkook’s body, will give him the nutrition he won’t be getting from blood in the meantime. i’ll warn you, it’s gonna taste awful and he’ll probably try to spit it out, but he has to take it three times a day, twice if he starts to look better, stronger.”
namjoon passes the bottle, and yoongi cradles it to his chest. the only thing standing between jungkook and a second death is this mixture, and yoongi holds it close like it’s his own child.
“call me if anything changes, good or bad.” and with that namjoon tugs his coat closer to himself and disappears into the sunlight.
when yoongi returns to their bedroom, medicine and supplies in tow, jungkook is awake and staring at the ceiling. he doesn’t move his body when yoongi enters, but the elder sees his eyes flick in his direction. yoongi walks over to the bed, sitting down on top of the covers next to jungkook.
“hi, baby. how’re you feeling?” yoongi brushes up his bangs, feels his forehead. there’s no fever, which is a good sign. it’s a tiny win, in yoongi’s mind.
“bad,” jungkook manages to say, his throat hoarse from getting sick and crying. “what’s wrong w’me?”
“it’s… it’s something called blood poisoning, baby. fledglings can get it if they’re sireless or left to fend for themselves.” yoongi stares down at jungkook’s wide eyes, and he feels for him. he’s probably terrified.
“but– but i’m not sireless. i have you– why would i…” he starts to get teary again, and yoongi takes that as a sign to scoop up the boy again, holds him in his lap as he drapes the blanket over them both.
“i know, you have me. it’s rare, but it can happen. almost like catching a stomach bug,” yoongi says, trying to make it sound less… scary. even if yoongi is scared out of his mind.
“what’s gonna happen to me? what is… blood poisoning?”
“it’s a sickness that makes your body reject blood, that’s why you got so sick this morning.”
“i can’t drink blood? but what will i eat, i can’t not eat—” jungkook starts to panic, and yoongi’s sire mode kicks in. despite his own fears, he has to reassure his fledgling that he’ll be okay.
“that’s what this is for,” he says, motioning to the tall bottle of liquid. “it’ll keep you nourished until you can drink blood again.”
“it- it won’t be forever?”
“no, baby. not forever,” yoongi nuzzles his nose into jungkook’s cheel lovingly, and feels the younger relax a little. “it’ll go away, like every sickness does.”
yoongi sits jungkook up then, so he can take the first dose of medicine. he warns jungkook it’ll taste bad, but when the younger downs the small cup, he’s not expecting it to coat his throat and taste like mud and spoiled blood. his mouth immediately begins to reject the liquid, but yoongi is quicker, and slaps a hand over his mouth to trap it inside.
“breathe, jungkook. swallow, and take a slow breath.”
he does, and his body shudders from the taste before slumping down in exhaustion. yoongi removes his hand, wipes some saliva from jungkook’s lips with his thumb.
“i know it doesn’t taste good, but it’ll keep you strong while you’re sick.”
“can we cuddle?” jungkook asks, his body still weak as he lets yoongi lay him down.
“of course. i’m not gonna leave your side for even a second,” yoongi says, pulling jungkook into his embrace.
“promise?” he sounds so unsure when he asks, like he might wake up from a dream in a cold alleyway, and yoongi will be gone and his hunger will be back to what it was, overwhelming and uncontrollable. yoongi’s arms tighten around him.
“i promise.”
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the next week goes by horribly slow. jungkook sleeps most of the day, his breathing so shallow yoongi has check multiple times if he’s even still breathing. but then jungkook’s chest rises, and yoongi relaxes again.
jungkook wakes up a few times from pains, his stomach tightening and trying to reject whatever remnants of blood must still be in his body. yoongi helps him up, as he dry heaves into their waste basket, nothing coming out on account of his empty stomach.
by the end of the sixth day, jungkook’s feeling somewhat better. he’s fully alert, as he sits up in bed talking slowly with taehyung and jimin. namjoon came to check up on him, and brough jimin and hoseok along, and when taehyung caught word of it, he demanded he and seokjin visit too. yoongi watches as jungkook smiles, a sight he hasn’t seem much of in almost a week.
jungkook catches yoongi’s eyes on him, and reaches out towards the elder, making grabby hands. yoongi smiles, and stands from his chair to walk over to the bed. he wedges himself behind jungkook, so the younger can lean against him and rest.
they continue chatting, until yoongi feels jungkook’s breathing slow, and he peeks down to see the baby vampire asleep against his chest.
the younger vampires coo at him, until their sires shush them and motion for everyone to leave. yoongi waves goodbye from the bed, as jungkook stays sleeping. as silence envelops the room, he brushes back a few strands of jungkook’s hair, and holds his little vampire closer to his body, lowering them both down until they’re lying in bed, jungkook’s gentle breathing the only sound in the room as yoongi, too, falls asleep.