Chapter Text
The dorm was quieter than it had ever been.
Not the usual kind of quiet that came after a long practice day when everyone was too tired to speak. This was deliberate. Careful. Like the whole apartment was holding its breath.
Jin had spent the morning triple-checking the temperature in the guest room they’d turned into a temporary space for their newest member. Soft blankets in muted colors, a nightlight shaped like a crescent moon, and a small pile of plush toys they’d picked out together the week before. No bright lights. No loud clocks. Just calm.
They had all read the reports. They knew this wasn’t going to be like welcoming a regular kid. Three years old. Bunny hybrid. Passed through four homes already. The notes were heartbreakingly short: startles easily, selective mutism, history of neglect, clings to one worn plush item.
Namjoon had read it aloud to them the night before, voice low and steady, and no one had joked around after that. Even Hoseok, who usually filled every silence with sunshine, had only nodded and said, “We go slow. Really slow.”
The doorbell rang at exactly four-thirty.
Six grown men froze in the living room like they were the ones who might bolt.
“I’ll get it,” Jin said, wiping his hands on his sweater even though they weren’t wet. He opened the door with the gentlest smile he could manage.
A tired-looking caseworker stood there with a tiny figure half-hidden behind her legs. The little bunny hybrid couldn’t have been more than three. Huge brown eyes, floppy ears pressed flat to his head, and a tiny cotton tail that wasn’t moving at all. He clutched a faded orange plush carrot to his chest with both arms, the fabric so worn in places it was almost white. A small backpack with a broken strap hung from one shoulder.
“Hi, Jungkook-ah,” Jin whispered, crouching down slowly, keeping plenty of space. “I’m Jin. We’ve been waiting for you.”
The boy didn’t look up. His ears twitched once at the sound of Jin’s voice, but he pressed himself harder against the caseworker’s leg.
The woman gave them an apologetic look. “He’s had a long day. The car ride was rough. He doesn’t usually speak much.”
She handed over the backpack—almost nothing inside—and knelt to say a quiet goodbye to Jungkook. The toddler didn’t react when she left. He just stood there in the doorway, tiny sneakers scuffed, ears still pinned down tight.
“Come on in, baby,” Jin coaxed softly, not reaching out. “This is your new home. No one’s going to make you leave.”
Behind him, the others had arranged themselves carefully. Yoongi sat on the far end of the couch, looking half-asleep like always but with alert eyes. Hoseok was on the floor with a soft blanket spread out like an invitation. Namjoon stood by the kitchen counter, giving distance. Jimin and Taehyung had positioned themselves near the windows, smiling small and gentle.
Jungkook took one hesitant step inside. Then another. His nose twitched, sniffing the air—probably catching all their mixed scents. When the door clicked shut behind him, he flinched so hard his whole little body jerked. The plush carrot was squeezed tighter.
“Easy,” Yoongi murmured from the couch, voice barely above a breath. “That’s just the door. It does that sometimes. We’ll be quieter.”
They watched as the toddler scanned the room with wide, wary eyes. Everything seemed too big for him. The couch, the windows, the six tall men trying their best to look small and safe.
Hoseok patted the blanket softly. “You can sit here if you want, Kookie. Or anywhere. The whole floor is yours today.”
No response. Jungkook backed up slowly until his back hit the wall, then slid down into a crouch, ears still flat. He stayed like that for a long time, just watching them.
Jin moved first, keeping his movements slow and predictable. He brought a small plate from the kitchen—sliced apples and a few baby carrots arranged like flower petals—and set it on the floor a respectful distance away.
“Whenever you’re hungry,” he said. “No rush.”
Taehyung couldn’t help the soft coo that escaped him when Jungkook’s nose twitched toward the food. “He likes carrots, huh? We have a whole bunch. Fresh ones from the market this morning.”
Jimin elbowed him lightly—too much, too soon—but Tae just smiled, soft and understanding.
For the first hour, Jungkook didn’t move from his spot by the wall. He watched every single one of them like they might disappear or change at any second. When Namjoon stood up to get water, the toddler’s ears trembled. When Hoseok laughed quietly at something Jimin whispered, Jungkook curled smaller, hiding his face against his plush carrot.
They adapted fast.
Conversations dropped to whispers. Footsteps became careful shuffles. Jin turned off the overhead lights and switched on the warm lamps instead. The TV stayed off. Music stayed off. Just the low hum of the fridge and the occasional rustle of blankets.
Eventually, hunger won. Jungkook crawled—actually crawled—toward the plate of apples. He snatched a carrot stick with one hand, still clutching his plush in the other, and retreated back to the wall to eat it in tiny nibbles. His ears lifted the tiniest fraction while he chewed.
“That’s it,” Jin whispered proudly from the kitchen. “Good job, bunny.”
Little by little, he explored.
He found the space under the big L-shaped couch and decided it was safe. For a while, only his fluffy tail and the tip of one ear were visible. Then even those disappeared. They could hear him breathing under there, quick and shallow.
Yoongi was the one who eventually settled on the floor near the couch, not too close. He stretched his legs out and leaned against the cushion, pulling a thick book into his lap like he was just going to read quietly. The others drifted into their own soft activities—Hoseok folding laundry with exaggerated slow movements, Jimin doodling on paper with colored pencils, Taehyung humming the gentlest tune under his breath.
Time passed like that. Slow and gentle.
When the sun started to set and the room grew dimmer, a tiny rustle came from under the couch. Then a small hand appeared, gripping the edge of the fabric. A round cheek. Two huge, exhausted eyes.
Jungkook crawled out just far enough to look at Yoongi.
Yoongi didn’t move. Didn’t even turn his head too fast. He just glanced down and offered the smallest smile. “Tired, huh?”
The toddler blinked. His cotton tail gave the faintest, almost invisible twitch.
Then, to everyone’s quiet shock, he crawled the rest of the way out and curled up against Yoongi’s leg. Not on his lap. Not in his arms. Just pressed against the side of his calf, plush carrot tucked under his chin, ears finally relaxing enough to flop sideways.
Yoongi’s hand hovered for a second before he very gently rested it on the floor near Jungkook’s back. Not touching. Just close enough that the baby could feel the warmth.
Jin appeared in the doorway with a soft blanket. He draped it carefully over the little bunny, making sure not to cover his face. “There you go, sweetheart. You’re safe. We’re all right here.”
The others slowly migrated closer, forming a loose, protective semicircle on the floor. No one crowded. No one spoke above a murmur. Hoseok dimmed the last lamp until the room was bathed in golden lamplight.
Jungkook’s breathing evened out. His small chest rose and fell in steady little puffs. One floppy ear draped over Yoongi’s knee. His tail stayed still now, tucked close.
Namjoon’s voice was barely audible. “He’s out.”
Jimin wiped at his eyes quickly. “Poor baby. He must be so scared.”
“He’s here,” Taehyung whispered, reaching out to adjust the blanket with careful fingers. “That’s what matters. Day one. We did okay.”
They stayed like that for a long time—six men sitting in the soft light, watching their tiny new bunny hybrid sleep curled trustingly against Yoongi’s leg. The dorm felt fuller than it ever had, even in the quiet.
Outside, the city kept moving, loud and bright. Inside, everything was soft edges and whispered promises.
Jungkook didn’t wake when Jin carried him later to the prepared room. He didn’t stir when they tucked him into the nest of blankets with his old plush carrot still in his arms. He slept deeply, ears relaxed for the first time all day, tiny nose twitching once in his dreams.
In the hallway, the six of them lingered by the half-open door, watching the gentle rise and fall of their new baby’s breathing.
“Tomorrow we’ll do even better,” Hoseok said softly, eyes shining.
Yoongi nodded, voice rough with something tender. “Yeah. We’ve got time. All the time he needs.”
Jin closed the door most of the way, leaving it cracked so any little sounds would reach them.
“Welcome home, Jungkookie,” he whispered into the quiet. “We’re not going anywhere.”
And in the soft glow of the moon-shaped nightlight, a tiny cotton tail gave one single, sleepy twitch beneath the blankets.